9/10/12: Weekly Roundup

John Carton got photographs of both recently fledged Turkey vultures! He writes: 

"The turkey vultures are now able to fly very capably with strong wingbeats, but still are staying close to their "home territory".

Presumably their parents still return to the area to feed them. One would guess that the young birds get some valuable flying practice following each feeding and emulating the departing parent; however, I have not yet had the opportunity to observe it. Today, first one and then the other adolescent left its perch, in strong flight low above the surrounding treetops, easily gaining altitude. Their flights were observably strong and accomplished."

I've been asked about whether or not the adult vultures are still feeding and/or teaching their young to fly and find food. While we don't know the later for sure (yet), John's observations indicate that the parents are still providing at least some food for their young. More of his photographs from 9/8/12 can be seen here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/johncarton/sets/72157631472408848/

D14 remains near Clermont, Iowa, while D1 is still up in Polar Bear Park, albeit on the southern end. Both Mom and Dad eagle have been seen near their nest, and we anticipate that they will stay through the winter once again. We don't have a date for cam turn on yet, but I'll post here once we do.

08/27/2: Weekly Roundup

I'll start with a D14 report from Bob, who writes:

"Mary and I set out to locate D14 on the Upper Iowa River down stream from Bluffton, Iowa. We were getting a strong signal with the PTT receiver as we came down into the valley near what is called the Hutchinson Bridge. As we drove over the old bridge, D14 flushed from its upper beams. He flew to a nearby tree and we were able to get some pictures. Mary and I then met with Dixie Hutchinson to show her where D14 has been on their river property. The land owner from across the river joined us just as a team of horses pulling a large wagon and making lots of noise with their hoofs caused D14 to take flight once again. We were surprised to see him join another immature eagle (D13?) in the air. He broke off and returned to land on the upper beams of the old bridge. All of us could easily see his transmitter."

We believe that D1 remains in Polar Bear Park, but have not had an update for five days. Her transmitter is solar-powered, so it is possible that grey, rainy weather has prevented the battery from charging. I'll post new coordinates as soon as we get some.

The first Turkey vulture (BB) fledged yesterday at about 10:27am. We have a Ustream video highlight here: http://ustre.am/_1GOFB:1cZn. As of this post, LB is still in the barn. I've had some questions about whether or not the TV will return to the barn after they have fledged. I don't know, but have asked for a ground update. I'll post when I get it.

For the next two weeks, we will be testing equipment, building kestrel nest boxes, and installing a Peregrine nest box at a cliff in Bellevue, Iowa. Once we have plans drawn up for the kestrel boxes, I'll post them as well.

Happy birding, online and off!