Eagle Nest Diaries 2007:

Baby on board! Part 1

---

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

This page begins the 2007 edition of our multi-part Eagle Nest Diaries series that began in 2002 and continued in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. The following events took place on an INHF project site along the Upper Iowa River in 2007. By protecting this land, INHF members also helped protect a bald eagle pair's nest. Keep checking this page as it will be updated whenever we get new information and pictures.

"Exciting news! I think I saw a baby eaglet head very briefly as the mother readjusted herself--and the mother's foot placement was very cautious as she made a quarter turn on the nest. I was pretty sure right away there was something different going on as she was sitting very high on the nest and wings not clamped to body.

At one point I saw a squirrel running up the trunk of the nest tree and then didn't see anything for a bit but suddenly the eagle's feathers started standing out and then she stood up and then did the cover-the-whole-nest-with-the-wings thing. She stayed that way quite a long time before relaxing back into normal posture. I didn't see the squirrel again, but the field-of-view isn't very large and it could've disappeared in any direction.

Anyway, I can't say for certain certain, but I'm pretty sure there's at least one baby so far."

April 17, 2007: Houston, we have confirmation
It's official! There is indeed a baby eaglet in the nest, and both mom and pop are busy during their parental duties. Our source's report:

"Still only saw one baby but saw it for sure today. The mother was on the nest at first and in a while the father came and stood on the edge of the nest quite a while. Finally the female got up and flew away. I couldn't see any baby then, but when the male was trying--clumsily--to get his body parts settled just so onto the baby, he got tipped onto his face and had to put his wings out to catch himself when the wind caught his tailfeathers. (I suppose, with his toes curled up he didn't have much balance as he tried to maneuver himself into the proper alignment with whatever was under him). He spent a long time adjusting himself and would seem to be settled and then would make a quarter of a turn and go through the whole wiggle-waggle all over again. At one point he tried to feed the baby--must have been some leftovers on nest--but that didn't last long and I couldn't tell if baby ever ate anything. The male hadn't brought anything to the nest when he came in."


April 27-29, 2007: Strike a pose
Last weekend our observers were out with the camera. Apparently, weekends mean grub time and Baby took full advantage. Later on some wind came up and gave the eagles a hard time. Here's what our sources had to report:

Proud parents

"A special spring arrival broke out of its shell a couple weeks ago and seems to be doing fine. When these pictures were taken the weekend of April 27th-29th, it was thought the baby was approximately 10 to 14 days old.

This year's baby was hatched a few weeks later than in previous years, but that seems to be common this year. Other eagles in the area and the various raptors (eagle, falcons, owls, osprey) on the Xcel Energy website were all laying eggs weeks later than last year.

Lunch is served

Although the eaglet seemed weak and wobbly at times, it was always ready for more food. And the special on the menu for the weekend was fish. In fact, the only thing on the menu for the weekend was fish. As opposed to last year when it seemed like little or no food was brought back to the nest for long spans of time (a full day in one case), this year it seemed as though the adults returned to the nest quite frequently with fish in "foot." The size of their catches was also quite impressive - especially when compared to the size of the baby! The constantly circling turkey vultures must have been attracted by the fish smell, too, as they were soaring over and around the nest much of the weekend.

A windy weekend

Saturday was a windy day and the male spent most of the time on the nest. The nest is placed high at the top branches of a very tall tree on the edge of a high ridge above the river. The strong winds had it visibly, but gently, swaying in long, slow, back and forth motions--talk about rock-a-bye baby in the tree top! Too bad it causes a bad hair day!

The winds also had many raptors flying and playing in the wind. There were numerous turkey vultures, a couple of Cooper's hawks, a Northern Harrier, Red-Tails and pesky crows. The crows must have a nest nearby as we would catch glimpses of the crow chasing an adult eagle and sometimes the adult eagle would be chasing the crow!



Watch your step!
Wind beneath the wings may be a good thing, but strong updraft tail winds under the tail feathers can be tricky. We had the rare opportunity to witness the power and playfulness of the winds in creating a clumsy-looking eagle. The adult had its back to the wind and was trying to move forward and settle over the baby. To position itself correctly, the parent would ball up its feet (so the talons would not poke the baby), lean forward and take careful steps as it tried to maneuver closer to and over the baby. As it would lean forward, a gust of wind would come up underneath the tail feathers and upend the adult. The adult did a face-plant into the nest with its wings all spread out, trying to catch itself. Discussion was had that maybe the tipsiness occurred because it is harder to maintain balance on balled up feet combined with not being able to to step forward with open talons to regain balance. We actually saw this happen a few times.



Some minor house work
Bedding was also continually rearranged. It had rained the previous days so one theory was the underside of the bedding (grasses and such) was pulled to the top and loosened up to dry quicker. The bedding was also used to cover up the baby, either to keep it warm in the coolness or keep it cool in the direct heat of the sun. Sunday was extremely warm - in the 80s. We could see both the adult and the baby had their mouths open - raptors' cooling system is similar to dogs in that they will pant to dissipate the heat. The adult on the nest diligently tried to keep the baby shaded underneath her/his body and kept it surrounded and covered with the bedding.

It truly was a beautiful day to be in the heart of nature."

Continue to Part 2
Skip to Part 3

A special thanks to Mary Ellen Leicht for donating usage of all eagle nest photos!

Make sure to check back to see what developments occur. For more fun, see stories and pictures from past years or visit the National Wildlife Federation's web site, which contains lots of information and a live Bald Eagle web camera! Another site to check out with a live Eagle camera is www.nu.com/eagles/live/default.asp.

2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / Eagle FAQs

Top of Page