We’re getting a lot of questions about fledglings DN17 and DN18. While the North nest’s fall was pretty dramatic, it’s not that uncommon for nests to fall. I can think of two others this spring off the top of my head: the Denton Homes nest in Des Moines, Iowa, and an offline nest in Brownsville, MN. In the first case, the eaglets were taken from the area for an assessment by Iowa Bird Rehabilitation before being returned to the area of the nest. Unfortunately, the Denton adults didn’t feed their young post-return and they were eventually taken to SOAR. In the second case, which we monitored remotely, the Brownsville adults reunited with their young and the young fledged successfully.
Eagles are very adaptable, which makes them well-prepared for life’s many uncertainties: DN17 and DN18 are learning about life beyond the nest more abruptly than we are used to, but both are doing well! We’ve seen them flying, eating (Mr. North and DNF are continuing to commandeer their flying fish wagons), perching on logs and tree branches, and getting into food fights – all important lessons in Eagle Outdoor School. Monitoring the family via camera is the least invasive thing we can do, which also makes it the best thing we can do!
You have also been asking about our plans for the North nest. We’ll have a better idea in another month or two, but we plan to survey the area for a potential starter nest once the eaglets are really on the wing and moving around a bit more. Our transmitter studies showed us that most eaglets didn’t venture more than a mile beyond the nest for their first month post-fledge. So it’s extremely unlikely we’ll enter the area before our After the Fledge party in mid-July unless there is some kind of emergency. We can start looking at our options after that, but in the meantime, we’ll keep following the eaglets and keeping everyone updated on their activities!
June 16, 2024: The cows appear curious about DN18, who is just barely visible in the grass. Newly grounded flyers sometimes appear incapable of movement as they adjust to a very sudden and – in this case – unexpected transition to the ground!
In other news, the kestrels have fledged and we have a new peregrine falcon cam in a natural rock eyrie nest on Castle Rock, which is located across the Big River from Winona, MN. That eyrie can be watched here: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/castle-rock-falcons/
Decorah North Nest
June 18, 2024: DN18 and DN17 don’t need a nest to practice their eagle table manners!
June 17, 2024: Mr. delivers food on the ground, food fight – https://youtu.be/W-QdtuPRDLU?si=ru5Wffu9YPjaDoG1. With the nest fallen, DN17 and DN18 are having to make a very abrupt transition to life beyond the nest! Mr. North and DNF are continuing to care for them and the two are learning all of lessons of outdoor eagle school!
June 17, 2024: DN18 isn’t quite proficient at eating on branches yet – https://youtu.be/1P2nWLfpOXE?si=RPURTE2Fk-V1scJj. Speaking of outdoor school, here’s an important lesson: eating on branches! DN18 is working on it, but it’s hard to unzip a fish and keep it from falling at the same time!
Tulsa has a longer look at this sequence, including shots below the nest and DNF’s fish delivery, here: https://youtu.be/UiXZVjke14g?si=0iDfCDPpNThRIaM8.
June 18, 2024: A nice look at DN17!
June 17, 2024: Splish-splash DN17 and DN18 take a bath – https://youtu.be/rI6FGwH8V-E?si=qUVs5_WjJrOHFMPG. Nothing like a clear cool stream to wash your cares away! The eaglets clean off and perch on the fallen log: an easy place to reach and possibly a reminder of home.
Back when we were putting transmitters on the Decorah Eagles, we noticed that they seemed attracted to mulch piles. We thought the large, woody, often circular piles resembled a nest. Eaglets also seem attracted to low branches and logs as they learn to fly, perch, and prepare their own food. Low perches keep them out of the wet grass and give them better vantage points/sightlines than perching on the ground.
June 16, 2024: The North Nest has fallen.
June 16, 2024: Views of the fallen nest with starter platform – https://youtu.be/VVyHch92ozw?si=qvygtnjuRkk3p60i. The Decorah North nest fell in August of 2018, although it left the tree and branches intact. We built a starter nest in September 2018 and Mr. North and DNF – Mr. North’s second mate – quickly adopted it. This video shows the wooden framework we used to support our rebuild, the broken limb, and the pile of branches beneath the tree. We are considering next steps, including building another starter nest for Mr. North and DNF.
Wisconsin Kestrels
June 17, 2024: This American kestrel appear to be saying goodbye before it fledged – the last to do so!
The kestrels have fledged. I’ve included some favorite videos from the last part of their life in the nest for all you tiny falcon fans and we have a playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeNR2ocnlCOcwkhZBYXFWZrZXIaiUkr5u&si=kZGZVAsNbg8XN9H1.
The Raptor Resource Project