Decorah Bald Eagles

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About the Eagles

The Decorah eagles are nesting near the Decorah Trout Hatchery, located at 2325 Siewers Spring Rd in Decorah, IA. In general, they begin courtship in October, productive mating in late January or early February, and egg-laying in mid to late February. Hatching usually begins in late March to early April, and the eaglets fledge in mid-to-late June. While young usually disperse between August and October, the adults remain on territory year round. They eat live and and dead fish, squirrels, other birds, rabbit, muskrat, deer, possum and anything else they can catch or find. To learn more about bald eagles in general, please follow this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. Visiting Decorah to see the eagles? Please read through our guide to eagle etiquette >> Bald Eagle Etiquette.

Daily Eaglet Calendar

Month: Year:

Month Week Day

April 2018
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat

1 : Day zero: Recovering from hatch Day zero: Recovering from hatch A newly hatched bald eagle. Its white down has not dried and its eyes have not receded back into their sockets. We can see its large eye, pink skin, tiny pink leg and talons (look up by its eye), and relatively light beak, which will soon turn dark. A little smear of yolk still clings to its wing, its egg tooth is barely visible behind nesting materials, and it can't yet raise its head. After it dries off and recovers from the hard work of hatching, it will stretch its limbs and lift its head for its first feeding. It weighs about 3.2 ounces at hatch - roughly the weight of 18 nickels or a deck of cards. Click here for a larger calendar.	2 : Day one: Sitting up and feeding Day one: Sitting up and feeding A one day old eaglet. D29 has long, fluffy white down, a visible egg tooth, a darker beak, and visible ear holes. Although D29 isn't moving around the nest and can't see well yet, it can sit up and is beginning to feed more proficiently. Larger image	3 : Day two: Let the bonking begin! Day two: Let the bonking begin! Eaglet D29 has a sibling! The eaglets started establishing a pecking order today, laying the groundwork for future eagle table manners like fighting, stealing, gorging, and even sharing if the circumstances are right. The instinct to dominate won't entirely go away, but in-nest eaglet bonking battles are usually at their most intense in the first two to three weeks of nest life. We may not like them. but the bonking battles that started today mark an important developmental milestone in the lives of our eaglets.	4 : Day three: Growing beaks, yellow feet! Day three: Growing beaks, yellow feet! Both eaglets are gaining weight and growing two important body parts! Their beaks and mid-toes are growing larger, and their legs and footpads have turned from pink to yellow. D29 is upping its food game with larger bites, while D30 refuses (for now) a subordinate role in the pecking order and food line. D30 is on the left and D29 is on the right. Although the eaglets are very close in age, D29 has a larger beak than D30. Since food is the root of all else besides, it isn't surprising that eaglets' beaks start growing right away. D29's larger beak allows it to manipulate and accept larger pieces of food, which helps fuel its fantastic growth rate. If we assume an even weight gain, D29 should weigh a little more than 5 ounces today.	5 : Day four: new sibling, bigger bites! Day four: new sibling, bigger bites! D31 hatched at 11:44 PM CDT last night and was recruited into the pecking order competition early this morning! Watchers worried that it was missing meals, but Mom and Dad made sure that everyone got fed in between the bonking battles and beakdowns. So how much larger is D29 than either of its siblings? Eaglets go from about 3.2 ounces to 16 ounces in their first seven days of life. If we assume an that each eaglet gains about 2 ounces per day, D29 should be roughly 10 ounces, D30 should be roughly 8 ounces, and D31 should be roughly 4 ounces. D29 has more than doubled in size in four days, and its coordination and bite capability have increased noticeably. On April 1st, Mom and Dad needed to lever small bites into D29's gaping mouth. Four days later, we saw D29 lunge for larger bites that Mom and Dad dangled from their beaks. Like sitting up, leg color change, and beak bonking, feeding proficiency is an important milestone along the road from hatch to fledge!	6 : Day five: A professional poop shoot! Day five: A professional poop shoot! After a rousing early morning beak battle with D30, D29 took a bathroom break. It bent over, pointed its rear end, and shot poop right out of the egg cup! Way to go, D29 - you are pooping like a big eaglet now! So why is this a milestone? Eaglets instinctively shoot poop out of the nest. It keeps the nest cleaner - who wants to lay in poop? - and helps prevent gastro-intestinal parasites. But to shoot poop, eaglets have to be good at standing up, leaning over, elevating their bottoms, and aiming for the outside. A good poopshoot takes coordination, strength, and balance, making it an important milestone on the road from hatch to fledge! Thanks to John Howe for the heads-up on this particular milestone. Nice spotting!	7 : Day six: Babysitting from the skywalk Day six: Babysitting from the skywalk Dad left the eaglets alone in the nest for a little bit today, although he stayed close by to keep an eye on things. The two older eaglets sat up tall and looked around. Although they can't yet resolve images outside the nest, their visual acuity is rapidly improving and they are growing curious about the world around them.
8 : Day seven: Eaglet explorers! Day seven: Eaglet explorers! Despite the unusually cold weather, the rapidly growing eaglets are eager to explore! They are popping out from under Mom and Dad, nibbling at nesting materials with their beaks, and sitting up tall to view the world around them. Exploration helps the eaglets build strength, develop motor skills, and learn about the world around them. As they grow, initial explorations like nibbling nest materials will branch into full-fledged play/practice!	9 : Day eight: Pretty preening Day eight: Pretty preening When birds preen, they remove dust, dirt and parasites from their feathers and align each feather in its optimum position. While D29's exploratory downy nibbles today were cute overload for everyone watching, they also marked an important first step on the road to feather care!	10 : Day nine: Thermal down is starting to pop! Day nine: Thermal down is starting to pop! A close up look at D29 today showed that its thermal down is starting to pop! An hatchling eaglet's fuzzy white natal down is adorable, but not much help when it comes to thermoregulation, aka controlling one's temperature. Denser thermal down provides more insulation and helps nestling eaglets keep their body temperatures at a relatively constant 105'ish degrees. Look for the greyish down to sprout in rows along the eaglets' bodies. It will almost entirely replace their natal down by their fourth week! The colder than usual temperatures have Mombrella and Poptent keeping a tight lid on the eaglets this spring. While it's sad to say goodbye to cute baby fuzz, we'll see more of D29, D30, and D31 once their thermal down grows in. In the meantime, enjoy those earholes now!	11 : Day 10: Eaglet escapee! Day 10: Eaglet escapee! Mom and Dad are keeping a tight lid on the eaglets during a unusually cold spring, but we finally got some warm weather today and D29 took its first sojourn out of the egg cup. At ten days of age, D29 weighs around 2.1 pounds (it it is male) or 2.5 pounds (if it is female). It can't stand on its feet, but it can sit up – way up! – for feeding and shuffle around on its metatarsi. Its feet and toes are yellow, but its tiny talons are still clear. https://youtu.be/y4OEpcoMxs4	12 : Day 11: Cropzillas! Day 11: Cropzillas! Researcher Gary Bortolotti wrote that bald eagles might gain more weight per day than any other North American bird. The majority of their weight gain occurs within the first 30 to 40 days of their lives, and is fueled by their nutrient-rich diet of meat. D29 has just gorged itself on more food than it can stomach! It will store the food in its crop until it is ready to transfer it to its stomach for digestion. This mini 'pantry' helps assure that the rapidly growing eaglets get the nutrients and calories they need, when they need them.	13 : Day 12: Mom and Dad protection mode Day 12: Mom and Dad protection mode The eaglets are 12 days old, 10 days old, and 8 days old today. A winter blizzard introduced itself with a cold rain, which kept the eaglets under Mombrella and Poptent almost all day long. While D29 and D30 have begin to grow their insulating grey second down, they can't protect themselves from rain and snow. Mom and Dad spent time on the nest together and separately to make sure their eaglets were kept safe and dry!	14 : Day 13: Dad delivers huge sucker fish Day 13: Dad delivers huge sucker fish Suckerfish are 'rough' fish: generally considered undesirable by humans, they have large scales, fleshy lips, and a 'sucker' mouth that is wonderful for attaching to rocks and scouring river bottoms for food. They spawn in shallow water during the spring, when water temperatures reach between 47 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The Iowa DNR tells us that males move upstream in large schools, congregating and defending spawning territories that contain gravel riffles and rubble shoals. While suckers are spawning, eagles are raising a family. Suckers make easy prey for the Decorah eagles: they are relatively exposed, there are a lot of them, they congregate below the nest, and they don't leave until spawning is done. The late spring and cold water temperatures have delayed the sucker run this year, but we're finally starting to see them brought into the nest. They are usually eaten a little more quickly than this one was, but Mom and Dad have the pantree well-stocked and are keeping the eaglets under wraps while the weather rages.
15 : Day 14: Grey flannel suits, clown clompers Day 14: Grey flannel suits, clown clompers After a three-day storm, the eaglets seem eager to get out of the rumpus room. We caught brief glimpses of their grey natal down and a very brief glimpse of a large, yellow footpad that looked almost too big to belong to one of the eaglets. Eaglets don't grow evenly. In their second week of life, they experience rapid growth in features like beaks, culmens, and footpads. D29's large footpad looks outsized compared to other body features, but footpads (and middle toes, which begin growing in the first week of life) are an important part of gaining balance and coordination, and help the eaglets shuffle around the nest.	16 : Day 15: Taupe-colored talons! Day 15: Taupe-colored talons! The eaglets' talons are changing from clear to black and growing longer. While mid-toe growth is proceeding at a steady rate, footpad growth is accelerating and legs and feet are yellowing nicely. Wings (as measured by the chord), hallux claws, and tarsi are all starting to grow longer, and the eaglets are entering the steepest part of their weight gain. Today we got a look at D29's taupe talons, rapidly growing footpad, and longer middle toe!	17 : Day 16: A wonderful warble! Day 16: A wonderful warble! The Modern Apprentice defines a warble as 'The action of stretching both wings up over the back simultaneously'. So why is this a milestone? As the 'wing part' of D29's brain lights up, it is learning how and why to move its wings. While D29 won't make its first flight for another 60 days or so, it is already beginning to explore and strengthen its wings and wing muscles in preparation for flight. Pre-flight, D29 will use its wings to help it balance as it learns to shuffle around the nest and stand and walk on its feet.	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Nest Territory and Locations

Mom and Dad
As far as we know, Dad is the original male and Mom is his second mate. Dad is older than Mom, but we don’t know exactly how old he is. Based on plumage color, Mom was four years old in 2007, making her fifteen years old in 2018. Click here for a guide to aging bald eagles based on plumage color and patterns.

Mom is larger than Dad, with a slightly darker head, a pronounced brow, and grey ‘eyeshadow’. This video from 2011 provides pointers on how to tell them apart.

The eagles have built three nests (N0, N1, and N2) on their own. N0 was destroyed in a storm, the eagles left N1 on their own, and N2 was also destroyed in a storm.

Fourth nest N2B is a little more complicated. Humans Neil Rettig and Kike Arnal built N2B in August of 2015. We hoped the starter nest would encourage the eagles to adopt it and keep building, which they did! Footage of the build can be seen here: https://youtu.be/2-xRSBBeIYs. A blog about the nest build can be read here.

2015: The eagles adopt N2B in October of 2015
2015: Humans build a nest (N2B) to encourage the eagles to begin building near the former location of N2
2015: N2 is destroyed during a storm the morning of July 18
2012: The eagles begin a new nest (N2) in mid-October on the north bank of Trout Creek about 700 feet from N1, which is still standing
2007: A four-year old female (Mom) joins Dad at N1 in early December
2007: OM disappears in early fall
2007: N0 is destroyed during a storm. Dad and OM begin building a new nest (N1) in the yard of a home just north of the hatchery
2002’ish: the male eagle (Dad) and his original mate (OM) build a nest (N0) in the hills to the east of the hatchery

Common name: Bald Eagle
Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Length: 2.3–3.1 feet | 71–96 cm
Wingspan: 5.9 – 7.5 feet | 1.7-2.2 meters
Weight: 6.5 – 13.8 pounds | 3–6.3 kilograms
Lifespan: Up to 40 years in the wild

Bald Eagle Vocalization

Links

Decorah Eagles 2018 Nesting Record

Egg-Laying
Egg #1: 2/21/18 @ 7:28 PM CT
Egg #2: 2/24/18 @ 5:48 PM CT
Egg #3: 2/28/18 @ 6:36 PM CT

Hatching
D29: 4/01/18 @ 7:25 AM CDT
D30: 4/02/18, first glimpse @ 7:33 PM CDT
D31: 4/04/18 @ 11:44 PM CDT

Fledging

Eaglet Ages
D29 is 19 days 2 hours old
D30 is 17 days 14 hours old
D31 is 15 days 10 hours old

Eaglets and Outcomes

Year	Nest	Eaglets	Outcomes
2017	N2B	3 – D26, D27, D28	All fledged. D27 is still alive.
2016	N2B	2 – D24, D25	D25 was struck by a car and died. D24 is still alive.
2015	N2	3 – D21, D22, D23	All fledged
2014	N2	3 – D20, D19, D18	All fledged. D18 and D19 were electrocuted. D20 is still alive and living at SOAR.
2013	N2	3 – D17, D16, D15	All fledged
2012	N1	3 – D14, D13, D12	All fledged. D12 and D14 were electrocuted.
2011	N1	3 – E1, E2, E3	All fledged. We last saw D1 in July of 2014. Her current status is unknown
2010	N1	3 – Not named	All fledged
2009	N1	3 – Not named	All fledged
2008	N1	2 – Not named	All fledged

We often get questions about where the eaglets go after they disperse. We tracked eaglets in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017 to try to answer this question. For more information, visit our eagle maps.

This is a field guide to birds we see and hear around N2B. Click a bird to learn more about it!