We have your NestFlix from Decorah North and Trempealeau and we hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Curious about our auction? Check it out and place a bid or more here: https://www.32auctions.com/ATF2024.
Thanks so much, everyone: for watching, sharing, learning, and especially for caring! We’re looking forward to seeing you at After The Fledge this weekend.
Decorah North Eagles
Fledgling eaglets are beginning to wander a little more widely and we’re starting to see visitors in the valley. DNF and her eaglets aren’t happy about the company, but DN18 especially seems disposed to drive intruders away when they get anywhere near his food! The terrific two turned 113 and 112 days old today and are beginning to be absent from our cameras for a longer period of time: sad for us, but an excellent sign for Eagle College and a great time to focus on the North Nest neighbors.
July 15, 2024: It might be too early for even early birds! DN18 and DN17 starting to stir on their roost as the sun’s light penetrates the valley. It’s 5:11AM CDT in Decorah, Iowa.
July 14, 2024: 9 pm Duo together on left side perch – https://youtu.be/SH2gcdk7ebg?si=BUMYXSSRjd_8juv0. Exactly as the video says. It’s nice to see them together again!
July 14, 2024: Wildflower and butterfly tour – https://youtu.be/XVzyJkc8Km4?si=XRZHdNYThL0loPoP. Thistle, a question mark butterfly, fleabane, and various unknown pollinators. A lovely look at the valley of the Norths and some summer residents!
July 14, 2024: A very cool question mark butterfly near the North nest.
July 13, 2024: DN17 & 18 working on hanging pelt, 2 visitor juvies arrive – https://youtu.be/tNymFGf82qE?si=uaoZqFbbuBnRB3g9. The North nest stream bank has become quite damaged from high water and washout, and needs to be repaired. In the meantime, one of the owners is putting up a fence to keep his cattle safe. A pelt ended up stuck on the fence and the eaglets quickly discovered it. In this video, DN17 and DN18 are trying to eat it, although there isn’t much there to eat. The two work on it for some time before 2 visitor juvies arrive at 4:22 and a food fight breaks out! DN18 is feistily ferocious about driving the intruders away. Watch a longer video with additional interaction and chasing here: https://youtu.be/wb85vjM06Vk?si=myNONPFkGDxcD8-q.
July 12, 2024: Duo perching together, foraging, taking a dip – https://youtu.be/wb85vjM06Vk?si=V3f7q1oDUKhpaim6. A foggy morning at Decorah North, with lovely looks at DN17 and DN18. The opening few minutes of the video especially have a beautiful, unearthly quality as the sun rises and burns through the mist.
July 12, 2024: A beautiful misty morning in the valley of the Norths. We’re starting to see a little less of the terrific two on camera as they expand their wanderings…and some visitors to the valley as well!
July 11, 2024: Morning at the pines – https://youtu.be/2F0HqE8dtSg?si=UT6AFcNVGaHsmlij. Bucks in velvet, eagles in the pines. Is this heaven or Decorahadise?
Trempealeau Eagles
The TEs are looking great, although the blackflies are something else! TE1 turned 103 days old and TE2 turned 99 days old. We’re very glad that both of them fledged when they did and we’re crossing our talons for some dry, windy-but-not-too-windy days! We’ve been seeing and hearing a fair amount of them on and around the nest, but I suspect that will change as we head into next week and 30 days past fledge. Keep your eyes and ears open!
July 15, 2024: Mrs. T overlooks the melee at our Trempealeau Nest.
July 15, 2024: Mrs T with a fish. TE2 gets it. TE1 steals a piece – https://youtu.be/3RYB69Zz8Dw?si=P3ZT_2BdtzlxslYt. Mrs T flies in with a fish and TE2 is on the nest waiting. TE1 arrives and they are both squeeing over the fish. Mr T is vocalizing and the kids went silent. TE1 is able to steal a piece of fish. TE2 went upstairs and TE1 joins Mom on selfie perch for a bit. Mrs T went to the nest and TE1 gets there too and grabs Moms foot. Mom gets free and flies off. TE1 to selfie perch and soon flies off.
I like this whole video! We talk a lot about how eaglets learn to acquire food. Early in fledging, they are much more likely to get food by chasing and stealing than by perching. While Mr. T briefly vocalizes in the background, Mrs. T sits on the camera perch, shakes off blackflies, and ignores the melee behind her! Like the video maker, I thought it was funny that the TEs stopped vocalizing when Mr. started. They aren’t the only food thieves in the neighborhood!
July 13, 2024: Flapping wings in the rain – https://youtu.be/C4JVDZQThKg?si=YzIUjjoJspKPumjS. TE1 on selfie perch and TE2 to the left flapping its wing on TE1. TE1 gets down to the nest flapping its wings but goes upstairs when TE2 arrives. TE2 is flapping in the rain, back to selfie perch and back to more flapping in the nest. When the hail falls TE1 comes back down to the nest. TE1 is 101 days old. TE2 is 97 days old. Go to the 13th minute for the best of the rain dance!
Odds and Ends
Two white-tailed eagles have taken a break from breeding to spend a year caring for their injured chick, leaving experts amazed: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2gxvgp6reo. A lot of you sent me this story and it is pretty amazing. The more we pay attention, the more we learn – and the more we understand that all the vivid life around us has consciousness and feeling and care, if if it doesn’t look like ours. Take a deep breath and enjoy the story.
Two cranes try their hand at parenting despite species difference: https://www.wpr.org/news/sandhill-blue-parenting-chicks-international-crane-foundation. This is really neat! So the International Crane Foundation gave a baby sandhill crane to two blue cranes to parent. The two have struggled with unnamed reproductive behaviors that appear to have impacted their fertility. Anyone who watched HD and HM last year might have some idea of what that could look like! By bonding the two over young, the ICF hopes to help them get their groove on and have them more ready to raise young when they are finally successful at breeding. I’ll be following this story.
The Raptor Resource Project