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GSB Falcons and Blogs

How do we know falcon Zooey’s age?

March 24, 2021 RaptorResource

How do we know that falcon Zooey is two years old? Peregrine falcons have two distinct age-related plumages: juvenile and adult. Juvenile falcons have heavily barred underparts and brownish topsides (“brown birds”), mature falcons have pale undersides with black-barred bellies and blue/slate topsides (“blue meanies”), and two-year-old falcons like Zooey have a mix of adult and juvenile feathers. I love this stage! Tail Feathers (Retrices) Like all peregrine falcons, Zooey has twelve tailfeathers that are numbered one to six from

March 10, 2021: News and Nestflix!

March 10, 2021 RaptorResource

What’s going on at our nests? Mr. North and DNF continue to enjoy a really mild spring so far. We’ve got about 18 days until hatch starts, so keep your fingers and talons crossed! The drama at GSB continues: after ousting interloper Nina, Nova copulated with Newman and than disappeared again. But, with diurnal raptor migration in full swing, Newman didn’t need to wait long for a new prospect. We expect things to calm down soon: since most female falcons

March 9, 2021: Territorial Battle At Great Spirit Bluff

March 10, 2021 RaptorResource

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

News and NestFlix from around our nests!

March 9, 2021 RaptorResource

What’s going on around our sites? Mr. North and DNF are incubating their eggs as we count down to the beginning of hatch in roughly 20 days. The embryonic eagles are a little over halfway through development right now, growing leg scales, tiny talons, and plantar foot pads in the cozy darkness of their shells. We haven’t seen any new eagles in Decorah, although the nest attracted a hungry squirrel this morning, we saw Northern Shoveler ducks in the retention

March 4, 2021: Midnight Movies!

March 4, 2021 RaptorResource

Put your feet up and get ready for tonight’s midnight movie madness! While the Decorah North eagles incubated their two eggs in peaceful splendor (countdown: 24 days), Decorah and Great Spirit Bluff kept us all on the Tilt-o-Whirl! Will a new eagle couple take over N2B? Is Mom warning them away? Who was that banded female falcon at Great Spirit Bluff? Grab your drinks and snacks and get ready for nestflix, information, and a little #musing as we review a

March 2nd, 2021: Spring Nestflix!

March 2, 2021 RaptorResource

Spring is coming and birds are busy at (almost) all of our nests. At Decorah North, DNF wing-whacks a mouse and enjoys lunch, while Mr. North sounds the alarm over an intruder. We have stunning close-ups of both eagles, but we can’t quite get a peek at their egg! Love is in the air at GSB as an unknown female falcon courts Newman and Newman courts mate Nova. He didn’t quite sweet-talk her into their nest box, but it wasn’t

Newman and Nova are back at Great Spirit Bluff!

February 25, 2021 John Howe

By RRP Director John Howe Peregrine Falcons Newman and Nova are back at Great Spirit Bluff! On February 24th, we saw (and heard) male Newman reclaiming his territory and favorite spots, protecting his No-Fly Zone from local eagles, turkey vultures, and owls. Mate Nova joined him on February 25th. What about the owls? We have been testing audio and visual owl deterrents by shining a light at favorite perching spots and broadcasting the sound of barking dogs. Our deterrents appear

January 22, 2021: A Raptor Movie Marathon from Decorah North, Decorah, and GSB

January 22, 2021 RaptorResource

Happy, happy Fri-yay, everyone! The sun is setting and I’m kicking off my Friday raptor movie marathon with a great big bowl of popcorn! As usual, Mom and DM2 continue to tease us with little visits to N2B…not enough for serious nestoration, but just enough to keep us hoping they come back! Mr. North and DNF are very busy working on their 2021 addition, while eagles are stacking up at Great Spirit Bluff, which has just the right amount of

Racheting Raptor Toes: An upside-down eagle at Great Spirit Bluff

January 22, 2021 RaptorResource

An eagle locked on to a branch and flipped upside down at Great Spirit Bluff on Thursday. It hung there for roughly 32 seconds, looking at its perch mates and flapping its wings every few seconds, seemingly unable to let go of the branch it had fastened on. So what was going on? Flexor Tendons and Grip Let’s start by talking about tendons: the tough tissue that connects muscle to bone. Our human flexor tendons run from our forearms to

NestFlix: Decorah North and Great Spirit Bluff

January 14, 2021 RaptorResource

We have your NestFlix from Decorah North and Great Spirit Bluff! I liked all of these videos, but I loved the North Nest bath time with both eagles – I’ve already got a number two favorite video this year! – and Mr. North’s tree trimming. If you want to see bald eagles, don’t miss the eagle icecapades at Great Spirit Bluff. How many eagles can you count? I counted well over twenty on the ice! Thank you so much to

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