Monday, February 28, 2011

Decorah,IA Eagle Cam

We often get to see our wild friends up close in their own spaces...bear dens, river cams and trail cameras.

Today, I would like to share an Iowa based Eagle Cam. The Cam belongs to the Raptor Resource Project.

When I first started watching last week I could hear Canadian Geese flying around as I kept my vigil.

It is my understanding the Eagle family are expecting their offspring for the season.

Please enjoy...




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12 comments:

SimplyOutdoors said...

Now that's a cam worth watching. Very cool!

CDGardens said...

SimplyOutdoors- Thanks! I hope you get to catch the fledglings coming out to meet the public.

Lynn Matson said...

When I was watching the Decorah, IA eagle cam Sunday, April 3rd at 2:50 PM, one of the adults (let's assume it was the male eagle) was feeding one of the chicks. As the chick grabbed onto the food from the eagle's beak, the eagle quickly turned his head to the left and tossed the chick onto the outer edge at the 3:00 position. The chick struggled to return to the bowl of the nest but could not navigate up the steep slope of the outer rim of the nest. The male did nothing to retrieve the struggling chick but did feed his cheeping baby.



The "female" returned to relieve the "male" after about about 15 minutes. The female also fed the chick at the edge of the nest but still did not attempt to rescue the floundering chick.



The temperature was 63 F so the question was how long can the chick survive? After 30 minutes living on the edge, the female performed the egg turning move on the chick and scooped the chick into the bowl of the nest to the relief of over 100,000 viewers.

CDGardens said...

Lynn Matson - Thank you for your comment and observations.

I am not an expert on Eagle family life,but posted about The Raptor Resource Project because of its proximity within my state of Iowa.

However, it is my understanding that Eaglets making the most noise are fed more. Soon it becomes the largest of the bunch and pushes it's siblings to the side in order to gain the most food when the parents return to the nest with a meal. So, it seems that the adage of "First come - First served" fits in that instance.

I am sure that with a camera in the nest we will become privy to the rigors of raising an Eaglet from hatchling to young adult.

Anonymous said...

4/5/11
As a birder and an amateur wildlife photographer, I have been riveted to the eagles nest now for 2 days. I have noticed that one adult is feeding the oldest/largest chick only, with a rare scrap going to the smaller one. I also witnessed the "tossing" of the chick to the side. What seemed to happen to me was that while the chick was attempting to feed, the adult turned it's head. The chick, being attached to dinner, was flung. It Was left there within 6" of the edge of the nest for at least 15 minutes. Finally it was scooped/rolled back and tucked under the adult. I have also noticed the second adult feeding. It has gone from one chick to the other, always fairly alternating. It does seem that the smaller, more gray chick is not being tended well by mamapapa in general. A few times I've seen it move out from under mamapapa's breast because it is hungry(?). It has not been fed but instead has been left there and not snuggled back under. I quess nature is what it is. It will be interesting to see what happens when the third egg hatches. I did check Wikipedia to see if I could learn how to distinguish between the sexes. Mama is 25% larger than the male. It seems one of the adults has more of a black line around it's bill. I believe this one is the best hunter. One often comes home without food while the other will come home with a muskrat or a fish or a bird. What a treat for us all. Best wishes to "Little One!"

CDGardens said...

Anonymous - Thank you for stopping by.

I believe we may have been monitoring the Eagle activity at the same time last night.

I saw one of the chicks trying to get out from under the mother's breast. The mother wasn't about to let that chick go anywhere...tucked it back under after turning in another direction,bring the grass lining up around them and then I noticed it opening its beak to let its own body heat escape.

It makes me wonder about the capability of this species for bonding as we have the understanding in human terms.

A question in how they go about determining which of their offspring should survive... I saw food stuffs in the nest.It appeared that supply is not a problem, but I don't know when the next hunting trip was going to be either.

I haven't seen the parents on the nest together or changing shifts.

So much to be learned from this experience put before us with the nest cam. It certainly would be a population builder if all three of the little Eaglets were to survive.

Anonymous said...

Early this a.m. approx 3-5:00 a.m. 4/9/11, both eagles were in the nest and resting. One tucked his head back around into it's feathers. The other was also sitting (attempting to get some shut-eye). One of the eaglets was exposed for a while. I wondered if it would make it. Later in the morning when one of the parent's was feeding, he/she was off to the side so you could actually see the feeding process. I was sad to see the 3rd eaglet had not been fed. I hope it makes it. Thank you all for previous information as there are many questions since this is the first for me...in a live camera feed to all viewers. Very exciting to witness.

CDGardens said...

Anonymous - I am sure that many can say they are learning from their observances of this eagle family. A cheering section at times. We will just have to continue the vigilance to see what the outcome for eaglet#3 will be.

Anonymous said...

Eaglet 3 is a fighter - trying his best. I have noticed that when they are feeding as they are full (satisfied) they drift off to sleep one by one and the Mama (Papa) will continue to feed. Keep your fingers crossed - it would be great to have all 3 survive, imagine when they fly off...............................

CDGardens said...

Anonymous - I am thinking with what seems to be an abundant local food supply it should surely improve Eaglet #3's chances for survival. Especially when the other ones fall asleep and there is less competition. We can hope! ;)

Anonymous said...

I've been watching this very often for days and, even though it seems that the wee one is not being fed, it actually is, and once in a while, gets the food first. The adults take turns sitting on the nest and it's great to see the changing of the guard, as I call it. I've seen both adults feed the babies and there is a steady supply of food. One fish had to be about a yard long! A couple of days ago, the two largest were getting their fair share and the adult walked over to the littlest one and started to feed it, just as the other adult arrived and was eating. The view of the other eagle and the littlest was blocked, but it was clear that feeding was going on for a few minutes. Another time, I watched, in terror, as one swallowed a piece of food that seemed, to me, to be way too large, and then try like crazy to actually get it down its throat. It took another bite from its parent, so I could relax. They're growing like mad and I'll bet that they are as large as a large chicken by comparison to the adults. It's nice to see the caring of the adults. People could learn from this. It everyone was as caring as these birds, there would be no wars, starvation, physical and emotional abuse, animal abuse, or anything else that's evil. PETA and the Humane Society would not have to exist as well as all of the programs for helping people and children throughout the world. It would be as God intended.

CDGardens said...

Anonymous - It is heartening to know that even though number #3 is small due to birth order it still continues to thrive. I really like the fact that both parents are being attentive to their family. Although, it can probably be said that not all pairs have the same success with food supplies and weather conditions. Thanks for the update! ;)