News and Blogs

The Canada Geese are Back!

March 21, 2023: Mother Goose with her first egg of 2023!

The Canada Geese are back! Mother Goose laid her first egg of 2023 this morning at 9:36 AM. Are these the same geese? We don’t know but – like peregrine falcons and many other birds – Canada Geese often return to the same nest year after year. If Mother Goose follows the same laying pattern we saw last year, we could see another egg tomorrow! We worked with Explore.org to establish a Canada Goose cam this year. Love them? Check

March 20, 2023: NestFlix and News from Decorah and GSB!

March 20, 2023: HM and her eggs

We have your NestFlix! In Decorah, HD and HM care for their eggs and disagree about a shift change. The Bark-a-lounger is just too comfortable to leave! At GSB, we have meadowlark for breakfast and the return of Ralex Honnold (Raccoon Alex Honnold). Savanna isn’t happy about the raccoon and is absolutely ready to defend her nest box from any intruder. You go, Savanna! When will Savanna lay eggs? We don’t have a schedule for her, so we’ll be looking

March 20, 2023: What are we looking forward to this week?

March 20. 2023: HM glows in the bright, warm sunlight.

What are we looking forward to this week? On Friday, we’ll be hosting a movie night at Convergence Ciderworks in Decorah! Come watch EaglePower with John, Dave, and Amy, meet Dave’s Red-tailed Hawk Jewel, learn more about our programs, and drink delicious cider. Doors open at 5:30 and the program starts at 6pm. More here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1404200043743501. We’re in what Bob used to call the incubation doldrums at our Decorah Hatchery and Xcel Energy Fort St. Vrain eagle nests. But we’re

Egg Colors and Shapes

The Chicago Peregrine Program inspired me to write a quick blog on the colors and shapes of eggs. Bald eagles have white eggs, peregrine falcons have eggs that range from light cream through brick red, and red-tailed hawks have pale eggs that are lightly splotched with brown. How and why do the birds we watch lay differently-colored and shaped eggs? Egg Colors Where do egg colors come from? Once a bird’s egg enters its shell gland or uterus, it is

Will HM’s eggs hatch?

March 14, 2023: HM shortly before leaving the nest.

On Tuesday March 14th, two brush pile burns were conducted south of the Decorah Eagles nest near the hatchery. During the early morning, the wind was blowing to the south, which carried smoke away from the nest. But at about 10:00 AM, the wind switched direction and began carrying smoke north toward the nest. Wind speed also increased from about 2.2 to about 9.2 miles per hour, which blew even more smoke and some light ash as the day progressed.

Nest-guarding and intraspecific intrusions

March 16, 2023: Mr. North and his last evening of incubation.

The Decorah North Eagles have been dealing with a lot of intraspecific intrusions this year. Intrusions happen when members of other species encroach on or enter a nest in search of food, nesting materials, or a nest: think squirrels, mice, raccoons, chickadees, woodpeckers, red-tailed hawks, house sparrows, and other animals we’ve seen in and around our nests. Intraspecific intrusions happen when other eagles intrude on daily nest activities in search of food, new mates, or breeding territories. They can lead

Who’s that eagle with a transmitter?

March 15, 2023: D27 eating roadkill. Based on its striped tail, this was a raccoon. Raccoons aren't true hibernators, but at this latitude, they spend a lot of winter holed up in their dens. They tend to be eager to get out, explore, and eat come spring. Note the dark head streaks. Some eagles retain minimal dark streaking past their fifth year. D27 turns six in about a month.

Who’s that eagle with a transmitter? Photographer Seth Vreeman just sent us these photos. He wrote: “I photographed a Bald Eagle just south of Canton, MN tonight. I was surprised when I got home and saw that it had a transmitter on its back. I was far enough away that I didn’t even notice it. The lighting wasn’t great and, like I said, I was a pretty good distance away. Not my best shots, but pretty cool nevertheless!” Thanks to

March 15, 2023: ID’ing eagles at a bald eagle-palooza on the Mississippi River Flyway!

March 13, 2023: First year eagle on the Mississippi Flyway

It’s a bald eagle-palooza on the Mississippi Flyway! While bald eagles are well-equipped to deal with snow and cold, they can’t fish when the water is covered with a thick layer of ice. These eagles – and many other species – are following the ice line north. As soon as the ice opens up, breeding adults will swiftly wing their way back to their territories. Non-breeders, especially immature juvenile and subadult birds, will probably follow a little later. They don’t

Monday. March 13: NestFlix and News

March 8, 2023: Mr. North at the North Nest. He is an awesome, dedicated father and is doing his best to care for the egg.

Ma FSV laid her third egg at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest on Thursday, March 8, which brings the total number of eggs in our nests to six: three at FSV, two in Decorah, and one at Decorah North. DNF and Mr. North’s lone egg is 21 days old, HM and HD’s two eggs are 16 and 13 days old, and Ma and Pa Jrs eggs are eleven, eight, and four days old! Here’s a peek at what’s going

Where are our eagles? D36, 733, and 834 check in!

January 26, 2023: Golden Eagles belong to the 'true' eagle genus, while Bald Eagles belong to the 'sea eagle' genus. Both are classified as eagles, but Bald Eagles are more closely related to kites.

Thanks for the airmail, eagles! Once again, our inboxes were stuffed with postcards this week as D36 and Golden Eagles 732, 733, 832, and 834 all checked in. Click each image to see a full-sized postcard and click the right arrow to see each eagle’s map! Bald Eagle D36 | Three-Year Old Subadult Male Eagle D36 has moved! Brett wrote: “D36 has begun a flyabout, heading generally SW and west of where he has spent the past several months. What

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