Lots of eagle updates!
After several days flying out to branches and often spending the entire night on the branch, the two oldest eaglets have fledged! This doesn't mean they've left the nest for good, but it means they've flown away from the tree into the "wild blue"... or at least around in the sky above the tree and the farm and the hatchery. I believe they'll actually stay around the nest for up to a year as Mom & Dad teach them how to hunt.
Here's a video of the "middle child", D13, fledging:
I fully admit, I got a lump in my throat watching this!
There's still one more left in the nest, the "baby", D14. In this photo I grabbed this morning, D14 is at the bottom of the photo, and D13 is on the branch squeeing at the little one, as if to encourage him/her to finally branch. So far D14 doesn't seem ready, but he is 4 days younger than the other two, and eagles move at their own pace.
The eaglets, with all their exploring and hopping and hovering, discovered the cameras. An eaglewatcher named Sherri Elliott captured this funny shot:
And here is a close-up I grabbed a few days ago. I'm not sure which eaglet this is, but h/she seems to be saying, "Whatchu lookin' at??"
Finally, news from Raptor Resource Project:
"The Raptor Resource Project will be turning off our Decorah eagle cam, moderated chat, and social stream at 8:00pm on June 30th, 2012.
The eaglets will have fledged and will be spending less time on the nest. We'll use the off season to test and install new cameras, computers, and audio equipment for the 2013 nesting season, build and deploy peregrine and kestrel nest boxes, and begin our pilot kestrel program."
I also saw on the social stream that, if they deem it necessary after inspecting the nest and get the proper permits, they might be removing some of the layers from the nest so that it doesn't get too large for the supporting tree (this will be done after all the fledging is finished). The cameras will be turned back on in November and then come January and February, the eagle watching will begin all over again.
I'm sure going to miss my daily eagle watching, but on the other hand... I might get more done. :\
Here's a video of the "middle child", D13, fledging:
Click to viewI fully admit, I got a lump in my throat watching this!
There's still one more left in the nest, the "baby", D14. In this photo I grabbed this morning, D14 is at the bottom of the photo, and D13 is on the branch squeeing at the little one, as if to encourage him/her to finally branch. So far D14 doesn't seem ready, but he is 4 days younger than the other two, and eagles move at their own pace.
The eaglets, with all their exploring and hopping and hovering, discovered the cameras. An eaglewatcher named Sherri Elliott captured this funny shot:
And here is a close-up I grabbed a few days ago. I'm not sure which eaglet this is, but h/she seems to be saying, "Whatchu lookin' at??"
Finally, news from Raptor Resource Project:
"The Raptor Resource Project will be turning off our Decorah eagle cam, moderated chat, and social stream at 8:00pm on June 30th, 2012.
The eaglets will have fledged and will be spending less time on the nest. We'll use the off season to test and install new cameras, computers, and audio equipment for the 2013 nesting season, build and deploy peregrine and kestrel nest boxes, and begin our pilot kestrel program."
I also saw on the social stream that, if they deem it necessary after inspecting the nest and get the proper permits, they might be removing some of the layers from the nest so that it doesn't get too large for the supporting tree (this will be done after all the fledging is finished). The cameras will be turned back on in November and then come January and February, the eagle watching will begin all over again.
I'm sure going to miss my daily eagle watching, but on the other hand... I might get more done. :\