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[STLbf]

Temperatures warm enough for a bath in the creek for DNF at noon.  And she had company, a sub-adult in checker-brown feathering. They flew to the Claw Tree for drying off, then another adult eagle flew in, bumping DNF who flew to the high Love Branches.  I thought maybe it was MrN but seeing later views, I think it's a different almost-adult visitor, who showed up on a Lower Love Branch for an hour or so of preening.  This bird has more dark headfeathers than DNF.  It's a little confusing at time of posting pics at 1:20 PM.

[STLbf]

Around sunrise a loud echoy gunshot was heard, just as MrN flew away from the overnight in Love Branches, leaving DNF perched there.  The shot seemed distant from the nest area, like nearer the cattle farm side of the creek.  Any info?

The 4th pic below is the eagle preening on a lower Love Branch, that I think is an almost-adult visitor, not DNF.  Right or Wrong??

[STLbf]

About 2:00 this afternoon, DNF landed on the Lower Love Branch with a talonful of nest materials.  Another eagle arrived to a higher branch, MrN, I think.  DNF flew her load to the nest and ate more pheasant bones (good for strong eggshells).  MrN joined her to move some sticks.  He had a Y stick and she had that long T stick from yesterday.

 They fuss with positioning until the stick no longer moves when tugged, resulting in strong rails.  Notice that there are no gently sloping limbs for easy access by eaglets-to-come, like the Ladder Branch at the old nest. No problem; eaglets will not miss what they never have.

Gunshots can still be heard, but sound farther away than early this morning.  Do I remember correctly that there is a firing range in the general area?

[STLbf]

Very cold today, and the eagles were mostly out of view.  DNF spent a few minutes arranging cornstalk and husk at the nest, then flew away.  At the same time, MrN was perching in the high Love Branches, and he flew away at the same time.  Hope they have a warmer place to hang out.

[STLbf]

Brrr Below zero today. Cam ops showed two top down views of the nest at about 9:00 AM and again at about 10:00, just before DNF brought a load of grasses.  She didn't stay long.  At about 2:00 PM, DNF brought herself a fresh-killed rabbit and ate the whole thing.  Lotsa warm fur for the nest and lotsa good bones for eggshells.

[STLbf]

Another frigid day for the Norths.  No eagles or any other creatures in view as of noon.  One furry view of the nest.

[STLbf]

The Norths are back at work on the nest this morning, despite the cold and a bit of snow.
In the early daylight hours, there might have been an adult visitor perching in a creek tree; all white head with a dark spot right on top.

[STLbf]

About 10:30 this morning, DNF and a sub-adult perched in one of the trees south of the nest.  They sat for an hour or so, neither moving much until finally the sub-a flew away.  All this time, DNF was holding a frozen, partial carcass of a raccoon, mostly the head.  She picked at it for a while then dropped it as she took off.  She flew to the nest briefly.  On the ground, two crows picked at the carcass for a short time.

[STLbf]

Brrrr again today.  DNF brought grasses to the nest about 9:15 AM.  Then she flew away, next seen perching in a tall tree to the south of the nest, where she was with the sub-adult visitor yesterday.  She was carrying something long like a cornstalk when she flew from the tall tree to the nest.

Love the long view of the nest from the ground camera, shows how high up the nest is.

That tall tree south of the nest is a favorite perching spot for the Norths.  Could we call it the South Tree?

[shep]

January 24, 2025
That looks like nice clean dry hay - lots of it.
Is an egg near?

[STLbf]

Shep, last year DNF laid the first egg on FEB 15.  Nest Records of egg laying, hatch dates, fledge dates, etc. are posted on the chat page, scroll around to find them.

About 4:00 this afternoon, MrN brought a frozen raccoon carcass to the nest.  It's headless, so probably the remains of the raccoon head in the pics from yesterday.  MrN flew off the nest with it just as DNF was landing.  He took it to a lower branch just south of the nest and DNF joined him.  She defurred and ate some of the carcass before flying away, leaving the carcass hanging over the branch.  All that nice fur going to waste instead of insulating the nest.  Ah well.  DNF flew to the ground nearby, located the remains of the head and flew away with it.  Around 5:00, she was perched in the South Tree as it was beginning to snow.

[STLbf]

Couple more raccoon carcass pics from late this afternoon.

[STLbf]

Temperature above freezing part of today, good time for MrN and DNF to bring really long sticks to the nest, work on the bowl and fit, and mating and soaring. Pics of all but the soaring, which you can watch on the rewind soon after the mating at about 11:00.

[STLbf]

The Norths are active today even though it's freezing again.  They started about 7:30 with both testing the fit [MrN in pic] while both ignored the large raccoon carcass on the nest [don't know when it arrived].  After perching together in the South Tree, DNF returned to the nest and removed the carcass to a Lower Love Branch, where she left it hanging. [pic about 9:45AM]

[STLbf]

Both eagles perched on bowed lower branches of another tree just south of the nest about 10:00 AM.  They were distracted from togetherness, probably by the flock of geese that were foraging at the creek.  Eagles went, geese stayed.