The Eagle has Landed

The site says the third egg was layed on February 24th at 8:05pm; which is the video you posted....it says the third egg hatched on March 31, which was Saturday....and talk about pecking order....the oldest just popped the younger one on the head......


2012 Egg Laying and Hatching Record
EGG! We have EGG! at 7:47 PM CST Feb 17th. Thanks to elf we also have video.
2012 First Egg Feb 17th
Hatching 3-27-12 D12 Arrives!

Second egg arrived Feb 20th at 9:06 PM CST. Video of the process.
2012 Second Egg Feb 20th
Hatching 3-28-12 D13's Process

Third egg arrived Feb 24th at 8:05 PM CST
Video of third egg!
Hatching 3-31-12 Video to follow

Rhonda wrote:

and talk about pecking order....the oldest just popped the younger one on the head......

I know the feeling. I have a big sister.

It's windy in Decorah today!

Lisa wrote:

Oops! I grabbed the wrong video. Well - at least you saw for yourself that the third one did hatch.

Yeah, they haven't put that video up yet.....probably editing to get just the hatching and not all the waiting......

Momma has her hands wings full with these 3 little ones.....they are venturing out of the nest already and she is working to keep them rounded up....So cute.....

Another windy day......altho, not sure how high up the nest is.....might just be more windy up there.....Momma is very aware of everything around her and keeps a close look out on those babies.....

LUNCH TIME! Dad just got back with lunch...fish and bird.....flew away and now momma is feeding them...

DINNER TIME!!! Close-up of the three babies.....so cute!

Getting SO big!

I just checked them out. I hope the 3rd one is ok. Two of them were being fed and the 3rd one was flopped over on the side of the nest.

WOW! The babies now have their feathers and they have all learned to feed themselves....How cool is that?!?!? Just wow!

Wow, they have gotten big. But I can't watch this anymore right now. The picture wasn't very clear at first, so it looked like the mom was picking feathers out of the nest. When the picture cleared up, she was actually pulling fur off of a small creature, maybe a chipmunk.

GOODNESS! 8 weeks old and will be flying soon!

Copied and pasted off the site.....The Eaglets have really gotten big!

Exciting times on the nest! Wingercizing, hovering, and possible branching this week!

When will they fly?
Learning to fly is a process. They are currently wingercizing. This entails flapping their wings and hopping. Late in the wingercizing phase, a gust of wind will lift them accidentally, and they will hover over the nest because their muscles are strong enough to hold their wings in the correct position and their flight feathers are long enough to sustain the lift.
Branching comes after that. Branching is defined as a small hop and lift onto the closest branch. Unless there is a panner present at the time, we will not see this first very small journey away from the nest to the branch.
Fledge or first self-propelled flight away from and back to the nest tree comes last.
The whole process last 10-13 weeks.

Why do the eaglets so often sit at the dangerous edge of the nest looking out rather than stay more safely in the bowl?
An eagle lives by perusing the landscape in the hunt for prey, and eaglets have the instinct to do this at an early age, as soon as their eyes can focus and see long distances. It would be abnormal for them not to go up to the edge of the sticks surrounding the bowl and look out. Also by instinct eaglets almost never will wander beyond the sticks, so they are not in danger of falling out.

Are the eaglets safe when the parents are not in the nest, especially at night?
Perfectly safe. One or both parents will roost on branches nearby and can fly to the nest in an instant if necessary.

What is a pellet?
At about 4 weeks of age the eaglets begin eating all parts of the prey including bones, scales, fins, fur, feathers, teeth, etc. Indigestible parts are compressed into a pellet that the eagle then casts back up out of the mouth. An eagle might cast a pellet once a day, usually before eating

July 3, 2012
We are very sorry to announce that D12 is dead. D12 was found electrocuted at the base of a power pole on a Sunday morning. We notified the power company, who modified the top of that pole on Sunday and several other poles in the area on Monday. As of this morning, they are continuing to identify and modify poles to make them raptor safe. If you find an electrocuted raptor or other bird by a pole, take it to the nearest wildlife center (if it is still alive) and contact your state DNR or local game warden and the utility company that owns the pole. You will need to:

1. Provide information about the dead or injured bird.
2. Identify the nearest pole to the electrocuted raptor by the pole identification number (on the pole itself) and local landmarks such as cross streets or street addresses (if applicable).

Include as many specifics as you can regarding the species and the incident. If possible, take photographs of the raptor and the pole to submit with your reports and notes.

Power lines themselves are not an electrocution hazard for birds (birds can and do sit on wires), but unshielded poles can be dangerous. The Avian Protection Plan Guidelines include information on raptor safe poles and modification of existing poles. New structures are fairly safe, but older poles may not be. Older poles may have been installed either before people were aware of electrocution hazards to wildlife, or during the decline of raptor populations in America, when interaction was less likely. Here is a link to more information about birds and utility structures, including poles: http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/CurrentBirdIssues/Hazards/APP/AVIAN%20PROTECTION%20PLAN%20FINAL%204%2019%2005.pdf

Poor D12 hopefully this will prevent it from happening again.

I saw a news article about that. I was going to post it but forgot. It's sad to hear that this happened.