Tag Archives: Unusual

How many eagles at the North nest?

December 4, 2021: Eagles near the North nest

How many eagles did we count at the North nest this weekend? Juveniles, subadults, and adults stacked up: stalking one another, mantling, quarreling, and hanging out in the Valley of the Norths. Although we saw just six or seven at any given time, it felt like eleventy billion! Why are we seeing so many eagles here? Eagles are leaving remote northern forests for more temperate regions. As cold as it seems to us, there is plenty of open water in

Memory Lane 2021: The Bachelor, Great Spirit Bluff edition

Amhran 92/X, a 2018 hatch from Skidmore Bluff in Hagar, Wisconsin. Newman invited her into his nest box, offered her a food gift, and tried to copulate with her.

We’re used to a little falcon flirting. Despite the species’ reputation for monogamy, we’ve seen and heard males display, chup at, and solicit passing females before their mates show up to chase off interlopers. But Newman was in a league of his own this year as falcon after falcon showed up to flirt and accept his food gifts. While he wasn’t really a bachelor, he seemed to enjoy the attention. Picture dead birds instead of roses, bare-knuckle brawling in place

How long do peregrine falcons live?

Peregrine falcon Michelle at fifteen years old

How long do peregrine falcons live and/or reproduce? This question was inspired by a discussion in the Midwest banding group last week. Jackie Fallon of the Midwest Peregrine Society shared a Facebook post about Hunter, a 21-year old male peregrine falcon who was rescued in Toronto, Canada. Hunter is the oldest known wild-producing falcon in North America: https://www.facebook.com/Canadian-Peregrine-Foundation-149280041803853/. The Manitoba Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project followed up with the story of Princess, a 19-year old falcon who was rescued in Winnipeg,

What’s going on at Great Spirit Bluff?

June 9, 2021: Zooey sits up high to brood

What’s going on at Great Spirit Bluff? Why isn’t Zooey feeding her young? Why doesn’t Newman taken over? And what’s up with Zooey’s shuffling? We turned to Board member and Gyrfalcon breeder Jim Robison to help answer your questions. Although it isn’t true in every case, first time falcon mothers are more likely to be reticent about feeding, to fumble food, to eat dropped food, and/or to feed inappropriately-sized bites to their hungry young. Zooey stashed and prepared food and

News, nestflix, and itsy-bitsy spiders!

March 15, 2021: Mr. North incubates eggs during the March 15 storm.

Snow, snow, go away! Mr. North and DNF rode the storm out after six inches of snow fell on the North nest. We’re looking forward to warmer, drier weather for the rest of the week, which should melt the snow fast: a good thing, since we think hatch will start here in about 13 days! In the meantime, we’ve got wonderful close-ups of the two incubating, nice looks at the eggs, date night, and an itsy bitsy spider piggybacking on

Nothing Goes to Waste

March 16, 2021: Ma and Pa Jr. on the nest, Fort St. Vrain, Platteville CO

Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain eagles rode the big storm out last weekend. Despite an astonishing twelve or so inches of snow, Ma kept the eggs covered through most of it. Male and female eagles both incubate eggs, but females usually cover the nest at night and through bad weather. A female eagle’s larger body size and brood patch helps her stay still for longer periods of time and apply more heat to the eggs and young beneath her. Unfortunately,

March 9, 2021: Territorial Battle At Great Spirit Bluff

March 9, 2021: Territorial battle at Great Spirit Bluff

On March 9 at about 6:37am central time, GSB watchers witnessed a peregrine falcon territorial battle. Resident female Nova came back after a three-day absence and drove interloper Nina away. After ousting Nina, Nova copulated with Newman and disappeared again. Are the falcons okay? Neither falcon appeared to have been seriously injured in the fight. We zoomed in on Nova’s eyes – our primary concern – and they appeared to be fine. Either Nina or Nova could come back to

2020 Newsletter, Featured Partner: Great River Energy

Newsletter 2020: Brenda Geisler holds a nestling falcon

When Great River Energy decided to close its Elk River facility, Brenda Geisler, a 20-year Great River Energy employee and resident raptor expert, immediately started work on relocating the plant’s nest box. “A lot of co-ops are experiencing plant retirements and a lot have peregrine nests,” she says. “Moving this nest is a way to keep this a legacy for this plant and others.” To find the right accommodations in time for the birds’ 2020 return, Geisler assembled a 24-member

What is that bird? It’s a black-bellied whistling duck!

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck on the Flyway Cam in Lake Onalaska/Pool Seven of the Mississippi River

We spotted a black-bellied whistling duck on our Flyway Cam on Monday, August 10th! They are cavity nesters who usually form gregarious flocks of up to 1000 birds, although this one was alone. It was also far, far out of its usual range. E-Bird shows just a handful of sightings in Wisconsin! The Flyway cam is getting busy now and we are seeing a lot of great species. You can watch that cam (and chat!) here: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/flyway-cam/. Click the images

Dr. Laura on Mom’s Eye

January 29, 2020: Mom's eye up close

Thanks to our camera operators’ diligent work and John’s high-powered cameras, we got some excellent photos of Mom’s right eye today! We forwarded them to Dr. Laura, who said: I think that what we are seeing is a scar on the cornea; the cornea becomes opaque instead of clear when it’s been damaged. It does appear slightly raised, which is a bit unusual, so she could also have a foreign object (a small piece of bark, a stick, a grass

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