News and Blogs

Friday, February 16: Happy eagles, a tale of the tail, and our best guess for egg #2!

February 16, 2024: Keep your tail out of my face!

We’re posting just two NestFlix tonight, but they are personal favorites! I love watching Bald Eagle Dads come in for their first peek at a freshly laid egg. Mr. North is an old hand at egg care and he always seems to relish the chance to incubate. Who wouldn’t want to relax in a nice warm nest? https://youtu.be/Lexgasose0g?si=Ev0sQRLx3k8zL_GR Having said that, DNF doesn’t always want to relinquish her spot! While she sat and softly vocalized, he proceeded with nestorations. Her

DNF laid the first egg of 2024!

February 15, 2024: DNF lays her first egg of the 2024 season.

Congratulations to DNF and Mr. North! DNF laid her first egg of 2024 today at 2:12 PM CT. She tends to lay her eggs about 72 hours apart, give or take a little, so we’ll be watching for egg #2 on Sunday, February 18 at about 2:12 PM – although it could be a little earlier or a little later. As you watch the video, listen for her soft chirps and look for egg labor beginning at about three minutes.

Join us for Egg Watch at Decorah North!

February 13, 2024: DNF at the North nest. She did not lay an egg today.

Join us for Egg Watch at Decorah North! DNF didn’t lay an egg earlier today, but we sure thought she might. It isn’t uncommon for fertile and eggnant birds to go through a couple of ‘practice runs’ before laying, which is what we saw today: a good sign that we’ll see an egg soon! Practice your breathing, everyone – DNF has never laid egg number one as early as February 13 before, but she began laying on February 16 in

February 12, 2024: NestFlix and News from Decorah North and Decorah!

February 12, 2024: Mr. North, left. DNF, right. I think they are one of the best-looking eagle couples around!

Are you as egg-cited as we are? All of the eagles we watch are beginning to switch their focus from bringing in sticks to piling up soft, fluffy materials, working on egg cups and cup footings and, in DNF’s case, calling for room service as she builds the resources she needs – especially water! – to lay eggs. Eggnancy is hungry work! Astute watchers might also notice that the eagles are developing brood patches – a patch of bare skin

Presenting: The Diction-Aerie!

A group of people look through binoculars

Looking to brush up on your Eagle-ese? Look no further! As hard as it is to believe now, the Decorah Eagles were one of just a few live bald eagle cams on the world wide web back in 2011. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world took great joy in watching eagles and meeting others like themselves. Seemingly overnight, communities of like-minded people bonded around the Decorah eagles and became close friends. These new-found communities needed a way to

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

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

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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