Raptor Resource Project: Bald Eagle and Bird of Prey Cams

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Tag Archives: Weather

How do eagles stay warm in cold weather?

January 27, 2023 RaptorResource

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

Can birds detect severe weather? Storms, cold, and Bald Eagles in winter!

December 21, 2022 RaptorResource

Can birds detect severe weather? I’m watching the birds at my feeder as a major snowstorm rolls in. American Golden Finches, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Black-Capped Chickadees, and White-Breasted Nuthatches are decimating my seed feeder, while our resident Downy, Hairy, Red-Bellied, and Pileated Woodpeckers clean out my suet feeder. The feeder action started yesterday. Did our birds know a major storm was on the way? While birds can’t predict long-range weather patterns, they have at least two ways to detect and prepare

Why do bald eagles lay eggs in ice and snow?

January 21, 2022 RaptorResource

Why do the Decorah and Decorah North eagles lay eggs in ice and snow? A lot of you – especially those of you who also watch the Florida eagles – are curious about bald eagle egg timing. Wouldn’t it be better to delay egg-laying until mid-March or early April? We’ll unpack the question by starting with a few facts. An Overview of Bald Eagle Nesting Bald eagles don’t all nest at the same time. In the southeastern United States, especially

Eggs and cold weather

February 20, 2019 RaptorResource

This blog was first published on Wednesday, February 26, 2014. It has been updated to reflect Mom’s new mate and includes some information about the Fort St. Vrain eagles as well. Everyone was worried about the eggs in Decorah back in 2014. Iowa was facing a polar vortex while Mom was laying and incubating eggs. While there have been other cold years, 2014 was one for the record books, with windchills of -50F when Mom laid egg #2. Given that 2019

Nest chronology: Egg timing!

January 25, 2019 RaptorResource

This blog discusses the correlation between new mates, temperature, humidity, and egg-timing. We’ve been getting questions about egg timing. Why did Mom and Dad lay eggs later in 2018? Overall, avian egg-timing in the temperate zone is heavily regulated by the light cycle. As the days begin to lengthen, birds’ gonads swell and produce sex hormones. Around the end of January, our bald eagle pairs switch from infrequent copulation to frequent, highly enthusiastic copulation, putting us on notice for egg