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Search Results for: development

What Makes Bald Eagles Incubate?

March 2, 2023 RaptorResource

We wrote this blog a year ago. I wanted to revisit it given the events at the North nest this year. Mr. North and DNF have been dealing with intruders for a couple of weeks. Instead of perching near the nest, packing in food, and developing the reserves she needs to lay eggs, DNF is guarding her nest, egg, and mate from potential rivals. After egg number one, her testosterone and progesterone should rapidly decrease, while prolactin, a hormone that

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Peek inside a bald eagle egg: 4 days!

February 27, 2023 RaptorResource

As of this writing, we’re still waiting for eggs at Fort St. Vrain. The first Decorah North egg is seven days old and the second is four days old. What do embryonic eagles look like as they grow and develop inside their eggs? Dr. Peter Sharpe from the Institute for Wildlife Studies developed a table of bald eagle embryonic development based on work done by Hamburger and Hamilton (1951). While not all bald eagle eggs hatch in 35 days, the

What’s Going on at the North Nest?

February 24, 2023 RaptorResource

North nest watchers know that 2023 is off to a very unusual start. DNF has laid her first egg on February 16th for two years in a row and her average first lay date, excluding her first year, is February 17. We were surprised when she didn’t lay her first egg until February 20th, especially after her extended stay in the nest on the night of February 14. Male and female eagles both incubate eggs, but female eagles almost always

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How long does it take a bald eagle to lay an egg?

February 14, 2023 RaptorResource

How long does it take a bald eagle to lay an egg? We think that female bald eagles begin laying eggs five to ten days after productive mating begins. In 2018 and 2019, Mom laid her first egg about eleven days after copulation went from casual to frequent…and very determined on Mom’s part. We’ve often seen female eagles take the lead – beak-biting and footing their mates, loudly vocalizing their intentions, and mounting them! You don’t need to be a

Birds and Nest-Building

December 13, 2022 RaptorResource

When I say ‘bird’s nest’, you know the type of nest I’m talking about, right? It could be a bald eagle’s stick platform high up in the branches of a tree. Or perhaps a peregrine falcon’s scrape in dirt, sand, or gravel on a shallow cliff ledge. Or maybe the burrows that bank swallows and belted kingfishers excavate in dirt, the cavity nests that woodpeckers excavate in dead wood, or the woven nests that orioles and weavers build. When I

Learning Eagle Table Manners

May 12, 2022 RaptorResource

We were asked about eaglet growth and development during our explore.org Bird Week chat yesterday. Bald eagles spend about the first half of nest life – say, 35 to 40 days – gaining weight, growing limbs and feet, and growing and replacing feathers. In stage two – about 40 to 75 or 80 days – they begin preparing for life beyond the nest by building muscle, exploring their new wings, learning to unzip prey and feed themselves, and practicing their

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Monday Morning North Milestones and Eaglet Movie Marathon!

April 11, 2022 RaptorResource

We have your Monday morning North milestones and movie marathon! The Decorah North eaglets turn 16 and 15 days old today. While the wet, chilly weather put a damper on nestploration in their second week, we thrilled to several milestones, including a first fish tail (DN15), a first pellet cast (after the fish tail), emerging thermal down, and huge cropzillas on both eaglets! Pellet Casting Why is pellet casting a big deal? Eagle parents feed their hatchlings ‘baby food’ –

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Decorah North Eaglet Update

April 5, 2022 RaptorResource

Today DN15 turned ten days old and DN16 turned nine days old! Although the weather has been a little chilly for adventuring, the two are already beginning to sport some thermal down (it is most visible on DN15 right now) and are eagerly eating everything Mom and Dad bring in. We’ve seen plenty of fish, cowghetti, a rabbit, a chipmunk, and a few red meat UFO’s. What’s on the menu? Sometimes only the eagles know! Who feeds more and how

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March 26: News and Views from Decorah North, Decorah, and the Mississippi Flyway

March 29, 2022 RaptorResource

Welcome to the world, DN16! We also have a feeding and pip at Decorah North earlier on March 26, a third Canada goose egg in Decorah, and an otter and pintail ducks on the Flyway. We hope you enjoy these videos as much as we did: it is turning out to be a very interesting year in Decorah and an extremely adorable year at Decorah North. Spring is a little late on the Flyway, but we’re still seeing huge flocks

A Canada Goose egg in the Decorah Eagles nest!

March 25, 2022 RaptorResource

Mother goose laid her first egg in the Decorah Eagle nest on Thursday, March 24, at around 8:30 AM. After laying the egg, she concealed it under dirt, leaves, and sticks, burying it so completely that I initially wondered where the egg went! Covering her egg helps protect it from predators and lets her delay incubation until she’s laid the full clutch. She will most likely lay egg #2 some time on March 25, or about 35 hours after egg