Decorah North (Iowa) BE Nest---2020/21

[MaryF]

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HWF would like to welcome RRP's Decorah North Nest back for a new season! This is year 6 for the cam but is the fifth season for them here on our forum.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL DECORAH NEST WHICH HAS IT'S OWN THREAD ON THE FORUM


Mr North and DNF

Link to the cam with chat - https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams ... orth-nest/

Another link to the cam .. https://explore.org/livecams/bald-eagle ... north-nest

Link to the Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/580935642071322

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Nest and area--

Decorah North’ is a very large bald eagle’s nest in a secluded valley north of Decorah. The Decorah North eagles are nesting on private property north of Decorah. Their very large nest is located in a white oak tree in a scrap of forest bordering a valley and an excellent stream is located just across a field where cattle are pastured. We don’t yet know their nesting chronology, although it appears to be somewhat later than their ‘neighbors’ in Decorah. The eagles eat live and dead fish, squirrels, other birds, rabbit, muskrat, deer, possum and anything else they can catch or find.


A few facts about the nest ~~~

*The nest is 56 feet off the ground and is located in a sturdy white oak tree!

*The original nest here was lost in 2018.

*The nest we are watching now has grown from a starter nest built by Kike Arnal and Amy Ries in September of 2018. The eagles adopted it in October of 2018 and moved in! The nest was built on a frame of 4x4s and measures 7×6 feet after the former nest collapsed after the 2018 season!!.

*It is the 4th nest built on this territory since 2009.

*** NEW for 2020/21 --- DNN: We placed one new 4K camera, two new microphones, and one new pasture cam. We did a lot of trimming in the pasture to clear multiflora rose (that stuff is a menace!), gooseberry, stickseed plants, and wood. I’m hoping that we opened it up and removed enough thorny stuff that the cattle will help keep it clean moving forward. I do not have a measurement for DNN.


ID information for the adults--property of and courtesy of RRP

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A quick note from RRP: The nest is located on private property and can’t be seen from the road. We are asking everyone to respect the landowner’s privacy (and cattle) and refrain from visiting the nest in person. Thank you

[MaryF]

Nest history ---

We know very little about the adults here, although they are both sexually mature bald eagles and older than five years of age.

The female on this nest was new in the fall of 2019.

We don't know too much about the nest that we watched last season as it was still fairly new. We do know that it was the fourth nest built on this territory in seven or eight years. We don’t know whether the same pair of eagles have been here all along for sure.

The first nest (DNN0) was built in a pine tree. The branches collapsed after the second nesting season and the eagles moved to a dead elm tree. They nested there for just one year before moving to their current location, in a white oak tree, in late 2013. 2020 marked their seventh season in the Decorah north Nest .



A little history from the first year this nest had a cam--- the 2016 season -- This nest has not really had too much luck with fledging eaglets.

DN3 died on May 11th from a combination of lack of brooding, lack of food, and sibling aggression. Blog here: http://bit.ly/1NrEDnt


Three pretty little eaglets for 2016--DNN 1, 2 and 3

DN2 died on May 25th after consuming contaminated prey. Blog here: http://bit.ly/29Ve1d5

Just two left now. You can see that Mom does not look well

***Mom North became very ill from the contaminated food as well but fortunately she was able to recover and continue to raise the third and only eaglet to survive.

DN1 fledged on 7/9/16 @ 6:30AM CT.


Just one fledged this season

DNN just 1 2016.jpg (73.01 KiB) Viewed 3429 times

2017---


All three eggs did hatch in 2017 (DNN 3, 4+5). Unfortunately the youngest died from hypothermia at only one day old. They named him Dewy


3 little eaglets---Dewy is the smallest

Huey and Looie survived to fledge

[MaryF]

More recent next history---


. We had a very sad and disturbing end to the 2018 season at this nest.2018---

It appears that both of our beautiful, tiny eaglets were lost on May 25, 2018 at the age of 7 and 5 days. Rather than try to write it out I will post what RRP wrote in their blog.


DNN 7 and 8

Eaglet deaths at Decorah North
May 26, 2018 RaptorResource

We are sorry to announce that both eaglets at the Decorah North nest died yesterday. To recap: Mrs. North laid one egg on February 25. That egg broke on March 16th, but she reclutched on April 12th, laying one egg on the 12th and another egg on the 15th. DN7 hatched on May 18th and DN8 hatched on April 20th.

Why did the eaglets die? As we learned last year at Great Spirit Bluff, blackflies carry a pathogen that overwhelms the immune systems of young birds. Today’s blackfly strike, combined with the extreme heat and humidity, was more than the eaglets could take. The North reclutch was inspirational, but we all worried that the late hatch might negatively affect the eaglets – and it did. As John pointed out, what happened at the North nest shows how important the hatch window is in the larger picture. Insect hatches that overlap the vulnerable developmental stages of eagles and falcons can have devastating effects.

Even knowing that our eagles are truly wild, it is really hard and unfair to watch them seemingly succeed, only for their eaglets to perish. Sherri expressed what all of us are feeling when she wrote: “We were given a miracle gift and got to know two eaglets who showed us their fierce and feisty nature for seven and five days…that is what I will hold onto, and the determination and dedication of these parents.” Both parents did their very best to shelter their eaglets from the gnats and the weather. We will continue to love and cherish our eagles and falcons, collect information to help us understand the challenges they face, and act on their behalf. Goodbye, DN7 and DN8 – it was wonderful to know you


Adorable DNN7 and DNN8

A tribute video: https://youtu.be/hxyn-7Ojxq0.

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[MaryF]

More nest history------


.As if losing the one egg in the first clutch in 2018 and then the early deaths of DN7 and DN8 was not enough, on August 27th during a bad storm the nest fell out of the tree!!!


This is the report from RRP ---

We are very sorry to announce that the Decorah North Nest fell last night during a storm. We visited the nest today to assess the damage and look for Mr. and Mrs. North. Somewhat to our surprise, there were no freshly broken branches or limbs at the base of the tree or beneath the fallen nest. Given the high wind gusts and lashing rain that accompanied last night’s storm, we think that the wind blew the nest’s supporting branches off-kilter. The nest, which was heavily laden with water and slippery wet, plunged down between them. Once the nest started sliding, it was all over.

We’ve been asked if we’re going to build a starter nest for Mr. and Mrs. North. The DNN tree is a little tougher to work in than N2B, since the nest was cradled in branches at the side of the tree instead of built into a secure crotch. We are weighing our options and will be making another visit to assess the situation once our camera work on Lake Onalaska is done. We will advise of any options or plans once the tree is evaluated and our climbing experts and Board of Directors have a determination of how to proceed.

We did not find Mr. and Mrs. North, although the weather was stormy almost all day long and they may easily have been hunkered down under cover elsewhere in the valley. We are able to monitor the nest remotely via camera and will be watching and listening for them and checking on their status.

It’s been a tough year for Mr & Mrs North, but we are all very thankful that it is the off-season for them and that there were no eagles in the nest when it went down. You may have questions, so please know that we will do our best to answer them, but in some cases we might not be able to speculate or give a definite response until our site assessment is complete


Here is what remains of the old nest on the ground under the tree

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[MaryF]

Still more nest history---


.It was decided by RRP after checking out the tree that a platform and starter nest would be built in the nest tree to see if the eagle pair would come back and nest there again.

Pictured is photographer, researcher, and eagle-nest whisperer Kike Arnal. Kike is building the platform that will hold the North nest. This site is more challenging than N2B since it is built out on a Y-branch and not the snug crotch of a tree. We have a whole crew preparing sticks, helping to lift things into the nest, getting cameras ready (well, John is pretty much handling audio and video prep, which is a huge job), and helping to keep everyone fed and watered over a long, hot day. We hope Mr. and Mrs. North like their starter nest: it was a lot of work, but we think it is turned out well!

Again from RRP ---

The Decorah North Nest cameras are now broadcasting live 24/7 video again and we’ve spotted a squirrel and a couple of mice. We are anxious to see Mr and Mrs North back on cam and checking out the new digs we constructed for them. The new starter nest for The North’s is roughly 7ft x 6ft. While the ‘short side’ nearest the tree is shorter, the nest is built out more. It is quite large – about 42 square feet. We added a 4K cam and microphone, and kept the other cams in place for a total of 3 PTZ cameras and a fixed cam on the nest tree and the Pasture PTZ cam to provide clearer views of the eagles when they are perched along the creek. The 4K cam has a wiper blade for cleaning and seeing more clearly in the rain. We’ve used this kind of camera to catch incredible footage of peregrine falcons at our Great Spirit Bluff nest, and are anxious to see how it works here when needed. The eagles have never seen wiper blades in motion, so we will be exercising caution using it until they are well into the nesting season.
You may have noticed that the starter platform sits a little higher and is more level overall than the nest that collapsed, but it is in a much more sturdy and stable. We’re very curious to see how they amend and modify their new digs and Mrs North may not need to build up a big stairway to the Ladder Branch as she has in previous years. Although we don’t know that this was Mr. North, an adult eagle visited the nest for a fish dinner yesterday afternoon! https://youtu.be/nzW5jWoom4A

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2019 eaglets ---


DN9--all alone

DNF laid two eggs beginning on February 21st. Both hatched beginning on March31, but DN10 died shortly after hatch. DN9 abandoned the nest early following an intense blackfly swarm. David Kester from the Raptor Resource Project rescued him. He was cared for by SOAR and released in the fall of 2019.


DN9 and the cow before rescue

DN9 on the left in the Soar nursery with 2 Decorah fledglings

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[MaryF]

I guess the above 2 happenings were just not enough for the DNN nest for one year! (2019) This nest also lost it's beloved Mrs. North according to this report from RRP

The beautiful original female--Mes. North

On DNN ~ We have finished combing through archival photos from 2016 to present and have confirmed that we have our same male eagle (Mr. North) going into the 2019 nesting season, but we have had a change in our female eagle (Mrs. North). We are not sure what happened to Mrs. North to prompt this change, but we know it happened in the summer of 2018. With the crazy up and down year that 2018 was at the Decorah North Nest, this seems like just one more sad realization in their story.

Mrs. North was clearly a unique eagle, loving partner, doting mother and excellent provider. As Bob Anderson had wished, our three years of observation allowed additional insight into the life of ‘country eagles’ compared to their city cousins at the Decorah fish hatchery nest. We know you will all have your own special memories of Mrs. North, and ours include her trademark twirl of the corn husk; braving through methomyl poisoning from tainted prey in the 2017 season; loss of her first egg in the 2018 season and her remarkable ability to produce a second clutch of two eggs while incubating them to hatch in over of foot of Spring snow. We’ll also remember her unique ability to use deadly talons to gently foot her eggs to roll them, as well as her penchant for cow placenta – aka cowghetti. Her absence leaves as much of a void as the loss of 5 of their 8 offspring, but we will always remember her legacy. Note that Mr North will continue to have the same name and the new female will be DNF for Decorah North Female. She will not be known as Mrs North (that name is now retired) and she will not be Mom North either. Thank you!



pictures of DNF, the new DNN female --- Thanks ro Philjo!

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In 2020 there was still another loss at this nest of an eaglet ~~~ April 10, 2020. Little DN11 passed away sometime during the night or early morning at the age of 11 days. It appeared to have an obstruction in its throat that it could not clear.

DNN 11

DN12 fledged on June 9, 2020 @ 12:11 PM CDT at just 70 days old!

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[MaryF]

.NEST STATS FOR 2020/21 ~~

*Cam on -- October 5, 2020

*Eggs laid -- Egg #1 - February 16, 2021-- 1:55PM ~~ Egg #2 - February 19, 2021 -- 1:05 PM

*Eggs hatched -- Egg #1 - March 25, 2021 ~~ Egg #2 - March 27, 2021

*Eaglets named --

*Banded --

*Branching --

*Fledged --

*Last seen --

[MaryF]

reserved

[Philjo56France]

09-10-2020
Dad arrived
17h27

18h27

23h55

Decorah North Eagle has landed by Lizzy G Eaglespirit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKvaXFtf1us

10-10-2020

[Philjo56France]

by Lizzy G Eaglespirit.

10-10-2020
6:55am CT Mr North visit nest for the 1st time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so76_laGvyY

Pic from the video

10-11-2020
00h29 Nobody's insight, empty nest
10-12-2020
00h30 Nobody's insight

[MaryF]

An adult visits the nest in the bright autumn colors in the rain.

[Philjo56France]

around 12h15

DNF (watch the video next message)

DNF (watch the video next message)

At the end of the afternoon

a Hawk ?

[Philjo56France]

Before the evening

before night

Is it an eagle ?

Decorah North Nest: DNF Catches Breakfish 10-12-20 ( ginger52 XXX for the )
This is the first sighting of DNF since the cam went live this season on 10/5/20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2P9_kN ... e=youtu.be

10-13-2020 Empty nest

[Philjo56France]

10-13-2020
around 14h30. Windy there.

then it flew to the left toward the stream

[Philjo56France]

10-14-2020
00h00 Empty nest

The RRP Forum says that DNF and Dad were in the nest early this morning (08h30)
~12h45

~15h15 it seems to be a molting eagle or a subadult

The forum says "Subadult"

[Philjo56France]

~14h45 The Subadult at the stream

Highlights some nestorations by Lizzy G Eaglespirit
10 14 2020
Highlights some nestorations
7:09m CT Hawk
Vocals heard
DNF on tree 1
7:31am CT Mr North flew in to the nest and DNF followed
Some Nestorations
7:37am CT DNF take off
7:40am CT Mr North take off
7:40 DNF behind tree 4
8:11 am CT DNF take off to tree 1
8:19am CT take off
11:04am RTH (Red Tailed Hawk ) at tree 3
3 23pm Sub Adult on tree 3
3:32pm CT flew out
3:41pm CT at the creek then take off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zztf2tcZpvM

10-15-2020
00h00 Very windy at the empty nest

[Philjo56France]

06h15

06h26

[IrishEyes]

8:15a
Nest is empty

[Philjo56France]

From the RRP' forum: Early in the morning DNF and Dad were nestorating
https://www.raptorresource.org/forum/in ... #msg686103

around 18h15-18h20 a branched (red tail) hawk flew down out of the screen and then a couple of min later flew away (with prey or not, i don't know)

[Philjo56France]

From yesterday morning
KRDerenzo from RRP's Forum

10-16-2020
00h25 Nobod's insight

[IrishEyes]

Good Morning bonjour Philjo!

6:03a
Still early and no one insight

Weather Report

screenshot_09.jpg (29.18 KiB) Viewed 3315 times

[Philjo56France]

Video from the nestoration yesterday 10-15-2020

to Eagle Cam for the

DECORAH
Decorah North Nest | Norths are busy with nestorations ~ 10-15-2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDj0HR7mpT4

[IrishEyes]

2:24pm
Windy and I can see one eagle here

[MaryF]

Lots of cows---no eagles seen!

[IrishEyes]

7:29pm
Dad and DNF in the tree ..lower left and other tucked in above

Goodnight everyone ... bonjour Philjo!

[Philjo56France]

between 18h35 and 18h47

[Philjo56France]

cont.

[Philjo56France]

10-17-2020
00h00 DNF and Dad are sleeping good

04h26 idem

[IrishEyes]

Good Morning
Dom the DVR
I think DNF in the nest

Up in the nest

And left

[IrishEyes]

Eagle here

s

Nest is empty

End of the DVR scaps