News and Blogs

Who’s That Bird? It’s a Short-Eared Owl!

Short-eared Owl | Asio flammeus

A Short-eared Owl visited our island at the head of Lake Onalaska on Sunday. One of the world’s most widely distributed owls, the Short-eared Owl is an open country, ground-nesting species that inhabits marshes, grasslands, and tundra throughout much of North America and Eurasia. What was it doing out during the day? Short-eared owls are active day and night. The reed covered islands at the head of Lake Onalaska provide excellent winter hunting for this and other species associated with

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March 3, 2026: Bald Eagle News and NestFlix

February 28, 2026: HD (left) and HM2 (right)

Want to keep up with news from around our nests? Subscribe to our blog for email updates: https://www.raptorresource.org/about-us/annual-reports-and-papers/get-blog-and-newsletter-updates/ Decorah Eagles HD and HM2 are sitting on two eggs. HM laid her first egg on February 17 @ 6:33PM, and her second egg on February 21 @ 5:03 PM. Look for hatch on or around March 28! Curious about what’s in those eagle eggs? Here’s a peek at day four: https://www.raptorresource.org/2026/03/02/whats-inside-those-bald-eagle-eggs/. Incubation How often does each eagle incubate? Here’s what we know:

Read more Decorah Eagles, Decorah North Eagles, Fort St. Vrain Eagles, News, Trempealeau Eagles

Our Memories of Mr. North

Mr. North feeding DN17 and DN18

Mr. North could still come back, but we wanted to celebrate him regardless. It’s been a hard few weeks for everyone who loved the North Nest in general and Mr. North in particular. I asked our volunteers for favorite moments. Here are their answers. What did you love about Mr. North? In 2016, he was so inexperienced – doing one bite for you and two bites for me. He was just so beautiful, and how he kept that nest so

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Mr. North Disappeared Again. What’s Going on at the North Nest?

January 6, 2026: DNF front, Mr. North back.

On February 6, our camera operators witnessed a chase between two eagles near the Decorah North nest: most likely Mr. North and an eagle we’re calling UM, for Unknown Male. While we didn’t see the outcome, UM must have emerged the victor: Mr. North disappeared for six long days while UM courted DNF and worked on the nest. We try not to get too emotionally entangled with the eagles we watch, but I cheered when Mr. North came back and

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News and NestFlix from Our Nests

February 23, 2026: Beautiful HM2

There’s so much going on that it’s hard to keep up. Time to revive the round-up! To receive email updates, subscribe to our blog: https://www.raptorresource.org/about-us/annual-reports-and-papers/get-blog-and-newsletter-updates/ Decorah Eagles HM2 laid her second egg on Saturday night, February 21, at 5:03 PM. Since she hasn’t laid a third yet, she most likely isn’t going to. Nest N6 is quite deep, which means we aren’t seeing much of the eggs. But HD and HM2 are busy incubating and replenishing their nest with plenty

Read more Decorah Eagles, Decorah North Eagles, Fort St. Vrain Eagles, GSB Falcons, News, Trempealeau Eagles

First Egg at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain Bald Eagle Nest!

February 23, 2026: A first egg for Ma FSV at 8:03 PM MT.

Ma FSV laid egg #1 last night at 8:03 PM MT: her first egg with Pa3. She began laying eggs in 2007 and turns 24 years old this year. Happy 24th birthday, Ma! New mates often push the egg-laying schedule back by a week or two. But this year, Ma laid just one day later than last year. Perhaps Pa3’s excellent attention, including food gifts, nestoration, and frequent copulation, helped them establish their groove more quickly. Last year, Ma laid

Read more Fort St. Vrain Eagles, News, Xcel Energy

Your Questions, Answered: Mom, Dad, DM2, HD, HM2, the nests, and the territories!

Map of the Decorah Eagles Territory

After the Confusion Couch turned into a Tilt-A-Whirl this spring, a lot of followers asked for a Decorah Eagles recap. This blog lists our cottonwood cast of characters (the nests, the eagles, and the eaglets), recaps eagle history, and discusses names and naming. We hope this helps answer everybody’s questions about Mom, Dad, DM2, HD, HM, HM2, the nests, and the territories that surround them!  The Eagles and Their Nests Significant Events 2002 2007 2012 2015 2018 2020 2021 2022

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Why are you shining a light on the eagles?

February 19, 2026: HM2 peers into the darkness

I wrote this blog in 2012 and reposted it in 2020. But since new fans are asking about IR light and our nests, I thought I would post it once more.  We’re getting questions about the night-time illumination of our nests – why are you bothering the eagles at night? – so I wanted to write about visible light, invisible ‘light’, and our IR illuminators. What we see –the world of visible light – is just a tiny fraction of all

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Where will the next egg arrive?

February 18, 2026: DNF and Mr. North in the nest today. The egg cup is clearly visible beneath them. It looks ready for eggs!

Egg watch is on! We’re officially in guessing mode. Will the next egg arrive at Decorah North or Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest? At DNN, Mr. North and DNF have ramped up copulation despite eagle intrusions, and their egg cup is looking beautifully ready for eggs: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-north-nest/ At Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest, Ma FSV spent the entire night in the nest yesterday, head tucked beneath her wing or down in the nest bowl. We were sure we’d

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