We’ve got NestFlix from the North Nest and Trempealeau! The eaglets at both places are learning about life beyond the nest and stretching their wings – literally – as they learn by soaring, chasing, perching, landing, and taking off. Eagle college is a few months away, but it’s best to start preparing now, since the professors are not as acoomodating as Mt. North, DNF, and the Ts. I loved all of these videos, but I especially liked TE2 in front of the camera, poor DN18 getting mobbed, and the July 4th video of DN17 and DN18 perched side by side. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Decorah North Eagles
July 7, 2024: DN18? I think so, given the white. DN18 has more white feathers than DN17.
July 8, 2024: Decorah North 7-8-24 Food delivery, race to claim, food fights, DN18 got it, DN17 later – https://youtu.be/fjW3WCKaxiY?si=J4etjlgfOKLxDoEg. I was a bit surprised at the underbrush food fight we get a view of at 2:20. The underbrush is pretty thick and it can’t be easy to move and flap your wings! DN18 wins it now, but DN17 gets some later.
How often are the eaglets getting fed now? Our camera operators reported three feedings today so far: one by Mr. North and two by DNF. The eaglets might also be getting food from other sources, including carrion and invertebrates, although we haven’t documented them successfully fishing yet. But DNF and Mr. North will continue to support them, especially as they learn to fly and obtain food, live or dead, by fishing, hunting, and stealing.
July 4, 2024: DN18 and DN17
July 7, 2024: The dynamic duo back together – https://youtu.be/fXr5N_ubLxE?si=avvKzzpAheEn4Yb0. Although we aren’t seeing as much of them, the dynamic duo re spending a lot of time together: perching, chasing, soaring, and learning how to fly. It’s nice to see them being besties side by side! I also really enjoyed this July 4th video of the two: https://youtu.be/nf46C-fygC8?si=dL7JHEqCI5uxFuKN.
Do siblings disperse together? The two sibling pairs we put transmitters on – D24 (male) and D25 (both male) and D35 (female) and D36 (male) did not, although our sample size was very small. We will start to see less of them over the next couple of weeks as they widen their explorations, which generally happens after about a month on the wing. Check out the paper here: https://www.raptorresource.org/raptorresource/pdf/Satellite-Tracking-Decorah-article-text-2019-04-01-with-abstract.pdf.
July 6, 2024: Cows drinking in the stream. Moo-rades are my favorite things about the North nest!
July 5, 2024: DN18 getting mobbed, joins DN17 on T3 – https://youtu.be/U_4ikwcTE7E?si=cFFVgSFW7vVTPnrt. I’m not sure what these are – I would have guessed Red-winged Blackbirds, but the shape is a little off and I can’t see patches on their wings. Whatever they are, they are upsetting DN18! After one minute and 24 seconds of harassment, the eaglet flies off to join its sibling on a quieter perch!
Trempealeau Eagles
July 5, 2024: TE2 taking a selfie in Trempealeau!
July 6, 2024: Squirrel takes selfie then TE2 to the nest – https://youtu.be/H-i7c812qvY?si=1Sg152XSnWL6MEhG. Check the video at seven seconds to see a very intrepid squirrel. What in the world is it looking for? It disappears quickly and TE2 makes a hard landing in the nest at about 39 seconds. We talk about learning how to fly, but landings aren’t very easy either!
July 5, 2024: TE2 is on the move in front of the camera – https://youtu.be/UGOZUmczZf0?si=hBMNgCTUHUx6LdOn. It’s a great time for selfies! TE1 turned 93 days old and TE2 turned 89 days old on July 5th. Both of them are busy exploring and we got some splendid looks at TE1 as it clambered around the tree and hopped from perch to perch before vanishing from our site.
What do eagles think of our reflective camera domes, which can act as a mirror? We don’t know, although when they first notice their own reflection, they often seem quizzical: not angry or aggressive, but curious. I have mixed feelings about the mirror test – why would this be useful in assessing animal intelligence? – but a study found that roosters may be able to recognize themselves in mirrors. New York Times gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/science/roosters-mirror-test.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k0.7-6D.dh_IWY_k1h61&smid=url-share and PLOS one paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291416.
The Raptor Resource Project