Turtle Yoga
We took a break from Bald Eagles to bring you...TURTLE YOGA!!
The U.S. is a global hotspot for turtle biodiversity, with more than 60 known turtle species recorded here. This turtle Yogi is a Ouachita Map Turtle based on its very wide eyebrow bars, chin spots, and the black knobs on its carapace. It had a lot of company: we counted 16 turtles of various species basking and stretching on our photo snag yesterday! It's a great time to watch turtles, gulls, cormorants, terns, and sunrises and sunsets on our Mississippi Flyway Cam: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/flyway-cam/
What is this turtle really doing? Turtles are ectothermic (what we used to call cold-blooded), which means they rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature. So if it wants to warm up, it needs to bask in the sun! Heat radiates from its dark shell into its body and it gains additional heat by stretching out and flattening its legs and feet. It's most likely shaking and stretching its front legs to get water out of the folds, tucks, and crevices in its skin: areas that collect water and take a little work to dry out. Namaste, turtle friends!
So where are the US hotspots for turtle diversity? Southeast US Bald Eagle fans, stand up...you are the turtle champions! Especially rich spots include the Sabine River (eastern Texas/Western Louisiana), the Mobile River (Alabama), and the Chattahoochie River (eastern Alabama/Georgia). Here's a map link: http://bit.ly/3Y2uh5V. Figure A includes all turtles.
#turtles #mississippiriver #yoga
Fish fight on the North Nest!
We saw a real tug-o-fish today as DN18 and DN17 scrapped over a small trout that DNF brought in. Note that DN18 used his eagle table manners - gorging everything but one bite down quickly. No one can steal it once it's down the hatch...exception here: https://lauraerickson.substack.com/p/parasitic-jaeger-in-july!
Fledge and post-fledge activities are going on at all of our eagle nests right now and several people have expressed concern that the fledglings aren't being fed. It's common for feedings to decrease somewhat as the new fliers earn their wings and learn to navigate, hunt, fish, find carrion, and defend or steal food. But eagle parents are still caring for their young and all of our nests are busy eagleports - even the North no-longer-nest, where the eaglets are using the nest tree's branches and nest framework for perching, meal prep. and eating. So join us in the No Worry Zone and enjoy the North, Trempealeau, and fort St. Vrain eagles while you can! It won't be long until they start wandering more widely!
Decorah North Eagles
June 24, 2024: Fish deliveries continue, great food competitions, both eat - https://youtu.be/jq4JTHGh8HI?si=qTmHam5B_gopdurh. Outdoor School is going well! A squeeing DN18 is perched with Mr. North when DNF flies in with a fish. DN18 flew down and grabbed it while Mr. North watched and vocalized. DN17 quickly arrived and tried to steal it. She got one bite but DN18 downed half the fish, including its tail. DN17 got her fish a few minutes later, when DNF arrived with fish #2!
June 24, 2024: Mr. finds dropped fish on the ground, has a nice snack - https://youtu.be/yDue-BcshKw?si=SsK5MRLPbmLcLPx3. Finders, keepers! Mr. North enjoys a peaceful snack at the bottom of the tree. Perhaps the eaglets don't realize he's there?
June 23, 2024: 6 34 am DNF brings fish #3, DN17 joins DN18 - https://youtu.be/_bdhMy7hTS0?si=BPmBbc4dYAneC1KT. DN17 and DN18 have a lot to learn. Fortunately, DNF and Mr. North are there to feed the eaglets as
We are sad to report that the Decorah North nest came down this morning after heavy rain added weight to the nest tree branches. The nest tree support branches had been deteriorating and it was just a matter of time before something happened.
We are thankful that DN17 and DN18 both survived and, although it looked like DN18 (perched to the right), could have been in the mix of branches coming down, DN18 is looking good, navigating through the wet grass and being discovered by cattle. DN17 remained in the air through the event and is also looking good. We hope for a normal post-fledge development stage in the coming weeks for DN17 and DN18. We will be monitoring them by camera and boots on the ground as necessary.
It is too soon to tell what our plan is for any nest work since the tree is in the slow process of dying. We will be developing a plan in the coming weeks. Until then, we are looking forward to some extended time with Mr. North, DNF, and our two precious eaglets!
We were getting questions about an injured gosling, so Raptor Resource Project Master Bander David Kester went to check it out. He wrote: "The gosling was from a family unit that has the largest number of young and it was also the youngest. It could not walk and was separated from its clan. I netted the gosling and discovered that fishing line was wrapped around both legs. With the help of eagle (and gosling!) fan Lu Powers, I cut the line away. I placed the gosling back with its family and they all promptly went into the pond. When I checked the next morning, it was still limping a little bit, but could keep up with its family - something it hadn't been able to do the day before. I'll keep monitoring it."
Thanks to Dave for the help! We know that fish can snap line, making it impossible to recover. But if you see line someplace it can be reached, do wildlife a favor and throw it away. 🐥🦆🦅
DN17 fludged (our word for an unintentional fledge) when the branch she was perched on broke at 7:28 AM. DN17's first flight was unintentional and surprised - more 'oh no - wings!' versus 'yay flight!' - but the eaglet quickly and instinctively gained its wings for a strong first flight and the siblings are beginning to explore the great wide world together! Come watch with us for the next part of their grand adventure. Home is where the story starts! https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-north-nest/.
I apologize for posting a video of DN18 earlier today. I put myself in timeout in the Cottonwood Corner!
DN18 fledged today at 11:50AM. The eaglet appeared strong and confident as it looked all around, gathered its strength, spread its wings, and winged its way into the great wide world! Watch the video at about 50 seconds and you'll see DN18 fly off across the pasture, where it was joined by Mr. North on T4. Will DN17 fledge tomorrow? Stay tuned!
Mr. North with DN18 on T4: https://youtu.be/lXOQ8ryk-pA?si=rAdIdQ9zU-6DC72S
DN18 returns! https://youtu.be/fvJc7-vTj14?si=aHQJwDo1yi2NFqc1
DN18 branched this morning at 6:34am, following sibling DN17 on to the left side perch. DN17 and DN18 turned 78 days and 77 days old today. Will we see our first fledge tomorrow? Stay tuned!
We have your NestFlix and news! The dynamic North Nest duo turned 65 and 64 days old today. As we mentioned in an earlier post, fledge could happen in as little as five days, but probably won't happen for another ten or fifteen days. The sibling snuggles are especially poignant now that their nest time is drawing to a close - but I remind myself that the wild blue yonder is calling and a great adventure is about to begin!
A few people brought up blackflies. Female blackflies, like female mosquitos, take a blood meal to obtain the protein they need to lay eggs. They are a normal part of nest life and we don’t know how problematic they will be this year. In 2019, blackflies chased DN9 from the nest at 68 days of age. She wasn’t injured – 68 days old is just short of fledging age – but went to SOAR because of blackfly bites, anemia, and emaciation. She was treated successfully and released in September. If blackflies ground DN17 and DN18 prior to fledge, we will find and assess them. Talons crossed!
Decorah North Nest
May 28, 2024: Landing on sibling, 2nd attempt is better – https://youtu.be/SoEeUxvQ8G8?si=P-nMUNdwEsLIiTqi. The early bird catches the sibling! The eaglets have been practicing flight skills – take off, landing, and flapping! – as they trampoline around the nest. It’s a busy practice pad and sometimes siblings get in the way! Look for a really nice leap-eagle at 22 seconds.
May 27, 2024: Flappercizing, beaking, allopreening, being kids – https://youtu.be/c3_7YjXpjBs?si=gtIA9RDN_vdpxIJr. I love watching the final days of nest school – flight practice 101, eagle table manners 301, allopreening, beaking, playing house – as DN17 and DN18 learn from one another and imprint/unlock behaviors together. I especially enjoyed the close-ups that opened the video, the flight practice beginning at 1:48 (look for a nice leap-eagle at 3:48), and stick play starting at 4:32. Check out 6:30 for a look at DN18’s new decoration. Sticks are for bui
Introducing Leo's Bluff eyrie that produced 4 falcons this year - have a bird's-eye view of the home of natures Top-Gun!
Leo's Bluff along the mighty Mississippi - what a view!!
Whatta week! We're checking in from the field for a short but sweet update. Fans of tiny falcons, rejoice! The Wisconsin kestrels have hatched and are still in the adorable bobblehead stage. The cuteness is very, very strong with this nest: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/american-kestrels/.
You love turkey vultures? We're here for you! The Missouri turkey vultures are hatching now. We have a pip in egg one and egg two should start hatching soon: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/missouri-turkey-vultures/.
While our camera operators, moderators, and videomakers are keeping everyone up to date on the Decorah North Eagles, Mississippi Flyway, and GSB, we're banding falcons. First and foremost: a huge thanks to our volunteers for their hard work and dedication as they share the lives of the birds we watch with you. This was my favorite video from Decorah North today: https://youtu.be/HnZMlpm7up4?si=gGctNRJBrrQO9NZ7. I swear, we start fieldwork and I can't recognize DN17 and DN18 after just a couple of days! Decorah went through a major storm today, but all of our nests are still standing
So far we've banded 13 falcons at four locations: Viserion Grain in McGregor, Iowa; Muscatine Power and Water in Muscatine, Iowa; Great River Energy in Elk River, MN; and the the Dubuque Courthouse in Dubuque, IA. We'll try to get some pictures posted tomorrow.
Close-ups of DN17 and DN18. The eaglets turn 41 and 40 days old today.
DN17 and DN18 turn 38 and 37 days old today and we're getting asked about their likely sexes. We'll be looking and listening for differences (as John Howe pointed out, females tend to have lower pitched voices), but we wanted to address a couple of interesting factors when it comes to eaglet size and sex.
After about 30 days, the weights of the two sexes begin to diverge as females gain weight faster than males. Mark Stalmaster tells us that three major circumstances influence the relative sizes of nestmates: early hatchers are larger than late ones (hatch order), females outweigh males once eaglets reach about 30 days of life (sex), and eaglets may be larger in smaller broods (food abundance). So if one eaglet is female and one is male, we might already be seeing sex-linked size differences if both are standard examples of female and male eagles.
Given the food abundance in the North Valley, it is a little more likely that DN17 is female and DN18 is male. A large, multi-year study of Bald Eagles in Canada found that females represented 64% of first-hatched eggs and 33% of second-hatched eggs in years with abundant food, and 39% and 37% of first- and second-hatched eggs in lean years: i.e. females are rarer overall in lean years. Time - and vocalizations - will tell! If you have a guess, feel welcome to give it, along with your reason, in the comments. Here's a link to the study for anyone who is curious: Does sex-biased hatching order in bald eagles vary with food resources?https://www.jstor.org/stable/42900641.
In other news, hatch has started at the Dubuque Courthouse Peregrine Falcon nest: the first of our sites with a camera to hatch this year! Our next first hatch should happen at Great River Energy. We thought hatch might begin yesterday - 33 days after the penultimate or 4th egg, since Breezy laid five eggs this year, but five-egg clutches can be a little harder to forecast accurately. She was sitting pretty high this morning, which is often a sign of H
I thought it would be a nice time to catch up on the Trempealeau Eagles. TE1 and TE2 turned 26 and 22 days old today. Although it is pretty easy to tell them apart, I was really pleased to see how much TE2 grew in just two days. Watch the first two videos below and compare TE2 at 20 and 22 days to see the incredible difference! This blog talks about DN17 and DN18's third week of life, but it also applies to the Ts: https://www.raptorresource.org/2024/04/08/eaglet-growth-and-development-week-three-2/.
If you watch this eagle family, you know that Mrs. T has been a real supermom: providing most of the fish via her flying fishwagon, putting up with Mr. Ts occasional fish filching, and doing almost all of the feeding and brooding by herself. We were concerned when Mr. T appeared to vanish for a few days right after TE1 hatched, but Mrs. T has kept everyone warm and well-fed and Mr. T seems to be easing, however slowly, into his familial responsibilities. It's a nice eagle family to watch and the Mississippi River location could hardly be better.
April 29, 2024: Mr. T feeds the kids! https://youtu.be/wGT5ReQ3_kM?si=8H617dygOfc_WVoJ. We think Mr. T might be a new father this year. He disappeared from our sight after TE1 hatched, although he might have been providing fish to Mrs. T in the background. He incubated but has done very little brooding and seemed somewhat hesitant about it the first time we saw him do it. And he hasn't tended to feed his eaglets: we recorded a feeding by him on April 9, but Mrs. T has done all of the feeding otherwise...until today! Nice job, Mr. T!
April 27, 2024: TE1 casts s huge pellet: https://youtu.be/BY4stVSN3yQ?si=Zi02gxQiVwIg9cp-. TE1 turned 24 days old today. Despite the challenges at Trempealeau, Mrs. T is keeping both eaglets fed and TE1 casts a nice pellet. The little eaglet struggles to get the pellet out but ejects it quite suddenly at 45 seconds while TE2 looks on!
April 22, 2024: TE2 is napping. TE1 is awake. Cute little feet
Decorah North Eagles
DN17 and DN18 turn 30 and 31 days old today! The dynamic duo are tracking and paying attention to life outside the nest: the place that their parents come from and go to, often bearing food, and the world that their parents see, hear, and respond to: birds overhead, animals on the ground, other eagles, one another. It's a wonderful look at the ways in which instinct and imprinting unlock an important behavior and all the learning that goes with it.
Play is an important part of learning and we've seen a lot of it: nibbling and moving nesting materials, tossing nestovers around (bones make excellent toys!), and playing with siblings. Wingercizing is also taking off as the dynamic duo get better at standing and coordination! They aren't yet ready for the wingercizing Olympics, but it shouldn't be long. Pinfeathers are unfurling, feather cloaks are filling in, and plushy tushy tailfeathers are peeking out, although their flight feathers will only be about 80% of their eventual length when they leave the nest. Flight feathers are longest in juvenile eagles, making them look extremely large. If you see a giant brown eagle near water in the Midwest during the summer months, it's a juvenile eagle. It's hard to overstate how large they look!
Mr. North and DNF are feeding fewer times on average, although the eaglets are eating much larger meals and all the inedible bits that come with them, including an opossum's mandible. It's hard to believe that the peaglets' growth is about to begin slowing given their insatiable appetites. Feather growth and muscular development are taking over from tissue growth and weight gain: a big and important second month change as they begin unlocking, learning, and practicing the skills they will need for life outside the nest. Enjoy now - we have 40 or 50 days to watch them before they fledge!
April 24, 2024: DN17: Warble, PS, & a Walk-a-thon clear across the nest - https://youtu.be/qGQHoeYoqK0?si=hGOtCD2JN6dltwSj. L
The Wisconsin kestrels are back and have laid five eggs! We anticipate hatch on or around May 20 this year.
A lot of you were curious about the new nest box. Why does it look like the inside of a log? From Neil Rettig Productions: "Last year was one of the only years we didn't have kestrels nesting at our barn. A pair was interested in the box, but the female seemed very nervous about the set-up. To our surprise, they selected a screech owl box about 200 yards from the barn, in an old apple orchard. It was a year of missing the little falcons, since they were very secretive and rarely seen.
After the kestrels fledged and the breeding season was over, we removed the screech owl box in hopes of attracting the little falcons back to the barn. After discussions with Cornell and RRP, we also decided to upgrade the kestrel box to a natural cavity. We felt it would help reduce suspicion and better simulate a natural nest.
We also paid attention to the substrate. In natural cavities, kestrels bite and remove bits of rotten wood that are incorporated into the nest when they shape the bowl or scrape. Pea gravel works fine, but kestrels don't incorporate it into their nests, so we replaced it with a more typical material.
The old box didn't sit empty last year. A very determined pair of starlings nested in it and starlings were back again this year. The new natural cavity was prime real-estate and we had an all-out fight between the kestrels and the starlings. We saw and recorded several very dramatic encounters! It was amazing to watch the behavior of the starlings and magical to listen to the vocalizations and courtship behavior of these very intelligent birds.
We didn't want the nest to fail again, so we decided to encourage the kestrels and lure the starlings away. We placed a starling box with a 2-inch diameter hole 10 feet below the kestrel cavity, and that did the trick. The starlings took to the new box, the fighting waned, and everybody seems happy!"
Watch the W
Allopreening or snack sharing? DN17 and DN18 turn 25 and 26 days old today. They are well into their fourth week of life and about a third of the way through their time in the nest.
Eaglets DN17 and DN18 have grey fuzzy thermal down. It's more waterproof than their white fuzzy natal down, but doesn't zip together like feathers: think down coat, not rain jacket. Today was a rainy, windy day at Decorah North and the terrific two did their best to get out of the rain beneath Mombrella's water-soaked but warm feathers.
More about natal down, thermal down, and feathers here: https://www.raptorresource.org/2024/04/16/what-are-feathers-what-is-molt-2/.
