From RRP's FB page:
Where are D36 and D27? D27 sent us a postcard from Minnesota's SE Bluff Country, just 30 miles north of her natal nest, while D36 headed back into central Minnesota after a brief sojourn into Lake Country!
D36 is currently wandering between some small lakes and waterfowl production areas in a heavily agricultural area south of Alexandria, MN. Although I'm not familiar with this part of Minnesota, it looks like excellent habitat for a young eagle, with plenty of options for food, perching, and roosting. One of Minnesota's big nesting eagle strongholds is located just north of D36, which means he should have plenty of company!
Is D27 going to head north this year? Last year, she left for Ontario on June 3rd. Her winter/early spring pattern looked a lot like it does now: not much traveling in January and February, especially through the polar plunge, followed by generalized wandering through NE Iowa and SE Minnesota. Minnesota's SE Bluff Country is a spectacular place for our not-so-young eaglet, who turned four on April 1st! She won't be old enough to start her own family until next year, but she could start to curtail her wandering. We'll see if she visits Ontario again this year! Stay safe, everybirdie - and don't forget to write!
A thousand thanks to Brett Mandernack and the staff of Eagle Valley for sharing their data, maps, and expertise with us. To explore the travels of any of the eagles we've tracked, please visit our interactive maps at
https://www.raptorresource.org/learning-tools/eagle-map/.
