They're Here

 I was watching the neighbor kids and hey they are here.  First hummingbird sighting this year.  I put my feeder out on tax day.  Spring is definitely here now.

LIttle Goslings

 5 out of 6 eggs hatched, not sure what was wrong with #6.  All 5 just jumped, did you hear the gasps all around the country.  They have found 4 but 1 is still missing. I know the last one kept wanting to jump and finally did and we wondered if he got caught up in the twigs, however there are boots on the ground making sure all is ok.  

Per RRP the missing gosling did not make it from the leap.  I has a sad.  RIP little one.  More information to come later.  😢

 

I Has a Sad

 From RRP:

Decorah Eagles Update at N3 with Mom Decorah & DM2

We have finally completed our recent assessment of what we believe is going on at N3 and what Mom Decorah and DM2 are up to. ALL the eagles of Decorah are out doing the things that, well…eagles do. We don’t always understand why they are doing what they do, but they really are not obligated to report back to us humans either!

First, we can report that Mom Decorah and DM2 appear to be healthy and have been hanging out around the nest tree N3 on the Upper Iowa River. Second, some sad news that you may have picked up on yesterday’s notes and photos posted on our FB page. To the best of our knowledge, Mom and DM2 are not incubating whatever egg/eggs they were tending at the N3 nest. As of this writing, we have completed overhead recon of the nest and will report any findings.

It is hard to acknowledge this loss, with our fond memories following Mom and Dad Decorah - from 2007, when she arrived at the hatchery valley until now. So much love and attention have been showered on our eagles over the years. Time passes and things change in the eagle world as we experienced firsthand when Dad Decorah disappeared in 2018 and DM2 stepped in. This was Mom Decorah’s 15th nesting season and if you were following earlier reports, her egg laying timing was definitely late and we really put a lot of field time in to determine that at least one egg had been laid around March 20th and was being incubated. Around April 19th, we noticed that their incubation activities ceased. If a hatch was to happen it would have been this week. Here in 2022, Mom Decorah not hatching and fledging at least 2 eaglets in a season is a first, and something that we are not used to with her successful nesting seasons and eaglets fledged – 39 eaglets over the years!

Things are changing in the hatchery valley and Mom and DM2's territory may be changing too. We do not see Mom or DM2 at the hatchery like we used to and are now combing through our files taking a closer look for the last time we identified them in that part of their original territory. We know that eagle territories change over time and since Mom and DM2 moved their active nest over to N3, they are not in the hatchery valley as much and the lack of their presence leaves an open door to other eagles who would like it. We have new pair of eagles that have settled in and are occupying and defending our rebuilt starter nest at N1. Many watchers are wondering if they could be offspring of Mom and Dad Decorah - it is an interesting thought, but we will never know. Both the new male and female were at N1 last night fending off another visiting adult eagle as night set in. We were wondering if it could have been DM2, but could not tell. They have found the trout in the retention pond and appear to be relatively comfortable with the increased human presence (and geese!) that goes along with the Decorah hatchery nests.

We are in the process of collecting detailed biometric data to identify these eagles and doing our best to document if and when Mom or DM2 visit this part of their territory or possible former territory. That is a tough pill to swallow that another pair of eagles may take control of the hatchery valley, but that could well be happening. Time will tell and we will be following the eagles along the way. Join the RRP crew and enjoy the ride!

 

I had a hard time still watching the nest when dad disappeared but mom was still there.  They have been gone 2 years from view now and knowing that they are not going to nest where cameras are I will not be watching any longer.  I know the geese are on nest now but. I hope Mom and DM2 soar high and with no babies this year wonder what happen to them.

 

Post Cards from D27 and D36

 

Satellite tracking: D27 and D36

Thanks for the airmail, eagles! We received two postcards this week - one from D27 in Harmony, Minnesota and another from D36 near Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Where is D27?

D27 hatched in 2017 and is turning five this year - old enough to start her own family if she decides to settle down right away. She wasn't far from N2B on March 15 and 16, which means we peeled our eyes when new eagles showed up on N1. Could one of them be her, or D24, or even D1? While either or both of these eagles could be Mom and Dad's offspring, they don't have bands or transmitters, which means they aren't any of the eagles we're tracking.

Back to D27! She spent part of March loop-de-looping between Decorah and Harmony, a distance of about 22 miles as the eagle flies. As of April 4, she was exploring the folded hills, deep valleys, bluffs, and rivers that surround Harmony. We know she's spent time here before. Will she settle down or fly back to Decorah? We're crossing our fingers, toes, and talons that we get to find out!

How about D36?

Two-year old D36 is spending time near Cedar Falls, Iowa. If you look at his interactive map, you'll see he is sticking pretty tightly to river and public land. This area is much more developed than the Driftless, which means that animals tend to travel through and live in what natural corridors are left to them. D36's map illustrates why public land - wildlife management areas, scenic and natural areas, county parks, and other set-asides - are so important to our wild neighbors. Last year, he visited southwest Minnesota in mid-March. We'll see if he starts traveling more widely now that lakes are (finally) losing their ice cover.

Even though D27 and D36 stuck pretty tightly to their winter ranges, they put quite a few miles beneath their wings! Since January 1, 2022, D36 has traveled 983 miles and D27 has traveled 690 miles. Most of their flights were pretty short, perhaps reflecting January and February's extreme cold: about 60% of D27's 315 flights were under a mile, as were about 55% of D36's 363 flights. We're looking forward to seeing what both of them do now that spring is (finally) here! Fly high, enjoy the spring weather, and don't forget to write!

 

https://www.raptorresource.org/learning-tools/eagle-map/ to explore the travels of all of the eagles we've tracked.es we've tracked.

Scrappy for April 2022

 She is channeling the Easter Bunny.  She has a new rug and afghan for this month.  An Easter basket and a large egg on the mantel.  I see I need to change her lights out as they have died. Next week. 

I drew out the camper and have started plotting it all out, so many pieces and I need to find a LOT of orange yarn.  

Worried About the Future Goslings at N2B?

 

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

Canada Geese and Tree Nests

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Canada geese are one of the early nesters in North Dakota. In April, they will select nest sites on islands, the edges of wetlands, and occasionally in trees.

The pair in this photo has chosen an unoccupied bald eagle nest, about 40 feet up in the tree. How do the newly hatched goslings get down from the nest? Climb down? Do the adults carry them in their bill?

It takes very lucky timing to witness the spectacle, but some biologists have described the event when goslings leave the nest. In the mid-1950s on the Flathead Valley of Montana, biologists monitored 77 tree and cliff nests where Canada geese were nesting. Some of these sites were up to 200 feet off the ground.

After all goslings had hatched, the adult geese would fly off the nest to the ground or water and start calling persistently to the goslings. One by one, the goslings would jump off the nest, beat their tiny wings on the descent, and plummet to the ground. Goslings are hardy and while some may lay stunned for a brief moment after crash landing, only one gosling out of those 77 nests was found impaled on a branch.

Has It Been 3 Years Already?

 3 years the Fiber Follies hung the hate crime installation.  Browne's Irish Market was the victim of  a hate crime.  To support them being a knit group at the Irish Center we created this piece.  It took us 9 months and it hung for 3 months.  Later that year we hung hats and scarves on the fence for the homeless.  One of the best moments of my life.  Thanks to all who put in the work to make it happen.