Decorah North Eagles and Blogs

February 8, 2024: News and NestFlix from Decorah, Decorah North, and La Crosse!

January 28, 2024: HM. A treasured eagle in a treasured place.

We’re getting a lot of questions about HM and HD. Here’s what we know! It’s tough to get an accurate copulation count but the two appear to copulating regularly, which indicates that HM is approaching her fertile period. Last year, she laid her first egg on February 25. It isn’t uncommon for first-time layers to float a little earlier, especially in their first two to three years of nesting, so we’ll see when she lays this year. We can’t see

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Bald eagle mating: Courtship, bonding, copulation, and other things romantic!

February 6, 2024: Mr. North and DNF bond at the north nest.

Love is in the nest! We are guesstimating that DNF will lay her first egg on or before February 16. If her egg is going to be fertilized, the two need to copulate a lot. What does bonding look like so far? Mr. North and DNF first copulated on December 9, but bonding frequency really didn’t ramp up until January 28th! What flipped the switch? Lengthening days, swelling gonads, and hormones: a topic we cover here. This is an eggcellent

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February 5, 2024: News and NestFlix from Decorah North and Decorah

February 25, 2024: Eagle Yoga and a lovely look at primary feathers

We’re not pacing the delivery room floor yet, but with an estimated 11 days until egg number one, we’re practicing our breathing exercises! Mr. North and DNF are piling up multiple layers of soft, fluffy grass and shredded husks for their egg cup, adding the final touches to their nestery, and bonding more frequently and intensely. Whatever the date, eggs aren’t far off! I think everyone’s noticed the number of Canada Geese at the hatchery right now. You’ll be happy

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January 31, 2024: NestFlix and Neighbors from the North Nest!

Handsome Mr. North surveys his realm. While we're seeing plenty of North nest neighbors, we haven't yet seen the persistent intruders we saw last year, when deep snow and ice locked northbound eagles down around the nest at exactly the wrong time.

Foraging woodpeckers, nest fit tests, and sticky square dancing…it must be time for NestFlix! The Norths and their neighbors have gotten a lot to admire this week as they work and forage in the unusually warm weather. Enjoy it now, everybirdy – I believe winter is supposed to return next week! Decorah North January 30, 2024: North Nest fit test – https://youtu.be/K6TsC2ll2XM?si=NewAeBbcmr9CY6qv. Is the nestbowl ready for eggs? Mr. North does some testing and fine-tuning to make sure everything is

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Happy Fri-yay NestFlix and News from Decorah North!

January 23, 2024: Mr. North and DNF

Is your egg clock ticking? Mr. North and DNF have us counting down! DNF laid her first egg last year on February 20. If she keeps to her schedule – or lays eggs a little earlier, which could happen given the mild weather – we’re looking at eggs in nineteen days. Nineteen days? How could that be!? We’ll post our best egg guesstimates for everyone tomorrow. In the meantime, kick back and enjoy the videos! Decorah North January 25, 2024:

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January 22, 2024: NestFlix and News from Decorah North and the Flyway!

January 22, 2024: Carpeting the floor of the nest bowl with grass

Put up your feet and chill – we have your NestFlix roundup! I especially enjoyed watching DNF and Mr. North disagree over who gets lunch (Mr. North does not want to share, DNF!), a chunky squirrel sunbathing and eating, and a lovely Cardinal eating multiflora berries! It’s almost enough to make me appreciate multiflora (almost). Stay warm, everybirdie…egglets will be here before we know it! Decorah North January 18, 2024: Great Horned and Barred Owl calling – https://youtu.be/O2H6JIZj84g?si=er3onZE8bUddJr8g. The video

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How do eagles stay warm in cold weather?

January 23, 2023: HD sports eye-cicles on a frosty morning in Decorah. An icy fog left everything coated with frost

Each species experiences the world differently and eagles have capacities that are far different from ours. How do Bald Eagles survive an Iowa winter without adaptive clothing and central heat? A cold January morning coated our eagles in frost and left watchers wondering how Bald Eagles survive an Iowa winter. In general, wintering animals – including humans – need to retain body heat, stay dry, and take in enough calories to support winter’s increased energy demands. We humans put on

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Friday, January 12: News and NestFlix From Decorah North, Decorah, and the Flyway!

January 11, 2024: DNF ate well before working on the North nest. I wanted to reach in and wipe off her beak!

Happy Fri-Yay, everyone! We have news and NestFlix from Decorah, Decorah North, and the Flyway! I loved all of these videos, but I especially enjoyed seeing DNF working on the North nest and watching and listening to duetting eagles on the Flyway. Thanks so much to our dedicated camera operators and videomakers for bringing us such amazing sights and sounds, and to you for watching, sharing, learning, and especially for caring. Rock on, everybirdie! Decorah North January 11, 2024: North

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January 8, 2024: News and NestFlix From Decorah North, Decorah, and the Flyway!

January 8, 2024: Mr. North keeps his eyes on the skies!

It’s good to see you at N1, HD and HM, and to see nestorations and bonding ramping up at the North nest. It’s hard to believe that we’re only about one-and-a-half months away from eggs! Decorah North January 7, 2024: Nest work; cornstalk shredding; cornhusk placing – https://youtu.be/JZTHuQ62LTs?si=71Mrmv6Ztw9KfjDQ. As hard as it is to believe, we’re only about a month-and-a-half away from eggs! Mr. and DNF are hard at work shredding cornstalks, spreading grass, and making sure the nest bowl

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