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Raptor Resource Project
6-7-16 ~ WHATTA WEEK ~ Big Birds 
Written by Sherri Elliott
Wow! Where has the time gone? D24 celebrated its 10 Week BirdDay on Tuesady, and D25's celebrates today. They are the same size of their parents, although often times Mom and Dad Decorah look a little dwarfed by comparison. Whether you are a first year viewer, or a seasoned nest watcher, the thrill of watching the evolution from a 3 oz hatchling with a 3 inch wingspan into a sleek and stealthy raptor weighing 10-12 lbs with 6.5ft wingspan is truly a miracle of nature.
Our little eaglets are now Big Birds and our time with them is waning. The history of previous offspring in Decorah is an average of 77 days old at time of fledging. We'll hate seeing the empty nest when we turn on our computers first thing in the morning, but we'll have the knowledge that they are well prepped to fulfill their destinies on wing as they discover the big world outside the confines of their natal tree. We've seen them step or fly right over crib rails to find new perch positions by branching to the Sky Walk to reign over their terrain, balance beautifully on the big beam, and take tiny toeholds down before plotting a trajectory to fly back to the nest with ease . Very soon they will take the final push for lift off to explore the airways they have only seen their parents and other birds enjoy.
We've watched every milestone moment as the ddarling duo morphed into the ddynamic duo, and now into the daring duo. If you count from egg lay through today, that's over 2,664 hours. If you count from when the camera was installed at N2B and went online Sept. 21, 2015 through today, that's a mindbending 261 days or 6,264 hours. Of course, you can subtract a little if you aren't one of those who have the cam on all night! (you don't?) And whattabout screen caps in your babylet books? On second thought, maybe we should just keep our eaglet obsession to ourselves! It's already hard enough to explain to friends and family why we are AOL watching this feathered family.
How can you not dote on the dd's? They have ddelighted us from the get go, and they definitely dote on each other. With only a 5'x7' playpen, they can't get too far from each other, yet they each have carved out little corners for some 'me' time when not cuddling up close to allopreen, pick bugs off each other, swap beak kisses, or pester in some way. Laying down side by side they look like little airplanes with wings slightly fanned while plotting and planning the activities of the day. They are best buds but are keenly aware of what the other is doing, utilizing sideways or upside down head tilts to scrutinize and size up a sibling to imprint a behavior and then fine tune the move emulating each other in besting competitions.
Wingersizing, hoppersizing, and other tarmac trampoline testing talents have shown plenty of pre-flight proficiency. Sometimes they take turns revving engines to thrill the air show audience, and other times the tandem takeoffs turn into a tussle over invaded airspace. Multiple wing flaps in rapid succession have built both wing and chest flight muscles. Hopping has strengthened legs and now provides the ability to push down on the terra firma to get some vertical lift. D24 wowed the stunt show crowd Monday with an excellent execution of pre-hovering fundamentals. The blustery conditions gave the impetus for a wind assisted propulsion into space, but the commensurate wing assist was not strong enough to sustain a true hover, even though we delighted in seeing dangley feet for a second or two. D25 had been studying the stunt pilot and upon touchdown immediately began wingwhacking D24 with multiple "knock-it-off" head thumps. Ha! Like that is going to hold anybirdie back!
They both have experienced the thrill of mini flight by branching to the Sky Walk. D24 was first on June 1st, and D25 took the trip on June 4th. Since then there have been multiple miles logged back and forth by both as techniques are fine tuned, and only one mishap … a crash landing when D24 came in for a touchdown, misjudged the landing strip and hop squashed D25 in the head on arrival. But practice makes perfect and they are enjoying their new vantage point and new found independence. Sometimes only one is only perched on the branch while the other is in the nest, sometimes both, although a little out of camera range giving us just a glimpse of a beak or tailfeathers. If you haven't yet figured out who is who, you are not alone! Chatters were completely confused on Sunday, June 5th when D25 was out on a limb for nearly 5 hours, not even coming down to eat, while D24 enjoyed the prey practice of pouncing on and trying to unzip the squirrel Mom had provided. By 4 o'clock D25 flew down when a fresh fish was delivered, and then threw a hissy fit over being late for supper. Ah, kids! Last night was another new milestone as D25 celebrated the 10 week BirdDay by opting to stay perched, and spent all night roosting at the tippy top of the Sky Walk, while D24 slept faceplanted and without a cuddle buddy … well, except for the little mouse that came calling after 10pm.
Mantling, stealing, seizing, and scurrying away with prey prizes has provided plenty of practice the dd's will need post fledge in procuring their provisions, and possibly the best prime-time comedy peals from a passel of pedantic pundits peering in on their pastimes. Whew! If you think that was a mouthful, so is the daily drama of dashed drops to determine a steal or a share, or if the eaglets piercing screeenami chorus of begging grunts, snorts, squeees will result in bites spoon fed … umm, beak fed by their parents. While they don't eat as often as they once did, there is no shortage of take out food service offered. The P's have proved they provide a passel of prey, and if somebirdy is hungry there's usually a parcel to be picked from the pantree.
The ddarling dd's are pretty much grown now, but it's fun to still see a little bit of babylet behavior. Sometimes they seem so ready perched on the edges and mentally mapping their territory, and other times nap away good chunks of the day. Nothing in their daily life is without purpose and every behavior preps them for life outside the nest. They sleep stand at night with necks rolled and beaks tucked deeply into backs, but are equally comfortable faceplanted in the nest with leg stretches extended into the side of a sibling. The last growth period is now as flight feathers and tail feathers continue to lengthen to assist in their first flights, and meanwhile we wait for the next aeronautical maneuvers to be honed. They already know how to utilize wings to simulate banking, gliding, soaring and lift, while adjusting tail rudders during mini ground flights from one side of the nest to the other. Hopefully in the next few days we'll see some humongous hang gliding or helicopter hovers. Hold on to your hats, the real stunt show is about to start, and I can't wait!!
Sweet Eaglet Dreams!
Many thanks to RRP and our volunteer camera operators for the wonderful views from Decorah North Nest, [b]and to our video makers who save the history.
and photos
D24 % D25 at 10 weeks
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