Tag: Decorah Eagle Cam

Iowa Flappers

A couple of months ago  I posted the live link to the webcam of the eagle’s nest in Decorah, Iowa.  At that point,the eaglets were tottering around and just a few days out of the egg.  Today, they are grown into young eagles as big as their parents.  Still dependent on their parents for food, they are now practicing flying by flapping and flapping their wings.

Today, one is able to get a bit airborne.  The other is not far behind.  A third, though, has me a bit worried – it likes to stay lying down for the most part it seems, even though it does get up to walk around the nest.    Since I can’t tell them apart, it may be a different one that stays lying down while the others wander and flap.

Eventually, the eaglets will fly to a branch.  And then another, and then soar away.  I am  not sure at what age they become fully independent, but it is always exciting to watch them grow and flap and fly every year.

Joy

Every year I watch the Decorah Eagle Cam,  sometimes just leaving a window open I can watch off and on all day on one of my monitors.    Right now there are 3 little hatchlings, tottering and feeble, still covered with their downy white fluff. There are two cameras at least, and perspective changes and close-ups are done by the remote operators. As time goes by, of course, the eaglets grow, losing their down and begining to sprout black feathers – they are so funny looking at this stage! By June, they are learning to fly and hop from branch to branch in the huge tree where their nest is located. Mom and dad fly around, and bring them trout to eat – there is a fish hatchery nearby – and the occasional dove or hare.

Here, to me, is joy in seeing the cycle of life every year and the beauty of the world we cannot see in our own.