Nest Update June 2, 2013 - A Squirrel Slappin’ Sunday!

June 3, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow NestSquirrels!!

Whilst growing up in Minnesota I used to long for Sundays such as the nest had today. A soft sunrise as I delivered papers. A clear blue sky that stretched across the dome of the world. A perfect temperature to do just about anything you wanted whether it was go to the lake, play ball in the park or just lay in the grass enjoying the green smell of spring. Thoughts of days like today get Minnesotans through the long, dark winters and are cherished by all. Just wish there were more of them.

Harmony and Peace enjoyed their Sunday on the nest in eaglet fashion too. We didn’t see much of the morning as the cam was down and when it came back up they looked to be fed and contented on the nest. They were taking turns standing and watching their world go by. Harmony was taking her turn when a squirrel came up the side of the nest. As they stared at each other Harmony went into guard stance and tried to wingslap the squirrel as she had seen Mom do. She tried several times and finally the squirrel saw she meant business. He leaped across to the big branch to the upper right of the nest and left the eaglets in peace. Squirrels do not pose a threat to our eaglets as the raccoon did but they might have had a scary few minutes if it came up on the nest. The rest of the day was spent resting, wingersizing and searching the nest for nestovers. Peace found a root to make friends with and moved it around the nest for a bit and gnawed on it here and there. Harmony kept watching for a parent with some actual food in its talons. She was rewarded when Dad showed up with another gosling and dinner was served. By my count that is 4 out of the 6 or 7 goslings that were in the pond a few weeks ago. Mom and Dad goose should move. The rest of the evening was uneventful and as darkness fell all was quiet on the nest.

On to the vid and pics of the day!

A Mexisotan standoff!

MNBound Eaglets Harmony On Alert Wing Slaps at Squirrel

And a selection of pics from the day!

Why aren't you guys outside enjoying the day??

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You ain't coming up here, squirrely!!

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That's it for dinner?? She's carrying this hunger thing a bit far!

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What's he got, Peace?? Just grass, Harmony!

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Sorry, kids! They were out of fish.

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Hey!! Can you guys throw me a sandwich???

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Two can play this game, Harmony!

As we close out this wonderful Sunday I would like to thank Razzle and BBC for the wonderful pics and vids! Thanks! And a twitch of the squirrels tail to the big man upstairs for making this day for us to behold.

See you on the nest tomorrow!

TalonStrike

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below or in the chat room. Also, we'll be updating our official MN Bound LIVE Eagles Facebook Page regularly so you can follow along, like, or share with your friends. We have several site moderators this year to help give optimal information to all that want to learn more about these magnificent birds.

Nest Update June 1, 2013 - A Post Raccoon Saturday

June 1, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow CoonAvoiders!!

Well, just a bit of excitement before bed last night and a subject of conversation all day today. The raccoon’s fate was discussed and rediscussed and as darkness fell Mom was on guard in the nest to prevent a reoccurrence. We will have to wait and see if he returns or if he took last nights lesson to heart.

The day started warm and clear with a beautiful sunrise and a tasty fishy for breakfish. As the morning progressed it clouded up again and a short rain shower hit the nest. Mom flew in for moral support and the kids endured the short shower. Dad and Mom both brought in some new furnishings for the nest after the rain. Dad did a neat thing about mid-afternoon. He brought a pigeon to the nest and just set it down and waited to see what would happen. After a few minutes Peace came over and started trying to de-feather the bird. What a neat sight. After a couple of minutes of Peace struggling Dad pitched in and helped make the nest look like a pillow fight gone bad. Crops were filled and the kids rested up. Peace has also taken to nibbling on Harmony’s wing when she pauses during wingersizing. It’s cute to watch but I’m not sure H appreciates it. Mom came back to the nest at one point and got some mud on her beak and Harmony decided it was her job to improve Mom’s look by removing the mud. Dinner on the nest was something furry and dark red but didn’t look like used raccoon. After dinner Mom dug in the nest and dirtied her head feathers to make her more stealthy in case the intruder comes again. As darkness fell all was quiet on the nest.

On to the pics and vids of the day!

Some selected scenes of the day put together by the wonderful Razzle!

MNBound Eaglets Sunshine to Raindrops Selected Scenes

Harmony squees for lunch during the rain.

MNBound Eaglets Why Does It Have to Rain Mom?

Peace on her first de-feather mission.

MNBound Eagles Peace Helps Dad De-Feather Prey

Harmony turns cosmetician.

MNBound Eagles A Little Something on Your Beak

And select pics from the day.

Pssst! Peace! Do you really think that was the Boogeyman last night??

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See you can do this wing thing lying down!

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Mom's right! This is cooler!

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Nibble Nibble, you're a Tribble! Stop That!

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We gotta get Dad to fix this rail!

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Now just hold still for a minute!

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A preen of the feather to Razzle and BBC for the great vids and pics of the day! Thanks!

It was a fun and lively Saturday here at the MN Bound nest. Hope you had a good day! We’ll see you here tomorrow!

TalonStrike

Nest Update May 31, 2013 - A Wing Waving Friday

June 1, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow Flapadoodles!!

The day on the nest started sunny and calm with a tasty fishy for breakfish. Harmony and Peace got a sort of slow start on this last day before the weekend but things picked up later in the day. First one would wingersize and crash and then the other would try with the same result. Mom or Dad would sit on the nest with them as it was very windy at times. Lunch was delivered in the form of a rabbit so we get to watch another pair of rabbits feet wander around the nest. Dinner was something else furry and was consumed quickly. As dusk deepened the first drama of the season unfolded. A raccoon, in search of a nice meal, climbed up and poked his head over the edge of the nest. Ever vigilant, Mom was there in a flash to show the raccoon the error of his ways. The raccoon disappeared from view and was not seen again this evening. He may have fallen or he may have just skedaddled when he saw those talons coming his way. We may know in the morning if we see a coon tail on the nest for breakfish. Either way I hope we don’t see another one this season. Or at least until the kids can defend themselves.

On to the pics and vids!

The kids having a slapfest with some great music. Thanks Razzle!

MNBound Eaglets Flapperdoodling

The raccoon comes a’callin!

MNBound Eagles Mom Chases Raccoon from Nest

And todays pics!

Posing for the new dollar bill

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Watch This!

Oh Yeah? Well here's one with a half twist!

A stealth approach

Not quite stealthy enough !

Mom! What was that??

That was the boogeyman. Go back to sleep!

Friday again huh? Have a nice weekend!

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A swat of the coon tail to Razzle and BBC for the wonderful pics and vids today! Thanks!

Here’s hoping that your Friday went well and your weekend goes even better! We hope you’ll spend some of your weekend here at the MN Bound nest with us. We’ll see you tomorrow!

TalonStrike

Nest Update May 30, 2013 - A Torpid Thursday (Or How I Started My Summer Vacation)

May 30, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow NestGrads!!

Well, this day marks blog 90 in the continuing saga of the MN Bound Nest. We have had our share of highs and lows and we will continue to bring you the story of our eaglets Harmony and Peace until someone tells us to stop. Some of the classes that have been following us are now out of school for the summer and we hope their teachers gave them the URL of the nest so they can still follow along. We congratulate all those done with school on completing another year of learning and hope you have a good summer. For those still in school, hang in there, summer is coming soon. Harmony and Peace continued their schooling with an eye toward graduating sometime in July. A successful fledge marks their matriculation into juvenile eaglehood. Mom and Dad will take them through eagle graduate school after fledge and teach them the eagle secrets that will let them survive on their own in the wild. It is an intense course of instruction but I have confidence both of our eaglets will pass with flying colors.

The day on the nest was fairly uneventful. Breakfish was something feathered (duck or coot we think) and its a good thing they ate well as nothing more was brought to the nest until dinner time. H&P passed the day sleeping, wingersizing, growing, and doing all the things eaglets do. Dinner consisted of a very large mystery fish that was consumed with great gusto. The kids both tried to feed themselves with Harmony taking a big lead on that. The cam went down for a bit after supper and when it came back up Mom’s head was all dirty like she had been renovating the nest again. As darkness covered the nest Mom came and went a few more times finally leaving the eaglets in peace.

On to the pics and vid!

Getting fed and self noshing on the dinner fish.

MNBound Eaglets Grab A Bite

Todays Pics.

Hey Peace! Have you seen my tie???

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You work on napping while I'm gone!

And you, don't flap your sister while i'm gone!!!

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Nyah nyah na nyah nyah!

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Mom! Harmony's doing it again!

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Dad looks funny when I do this.

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Quick! Hide this!

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She's headed for the compost pile again!

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A flap of the wing to Razzle and BBC for the marvelous pics and vid today! Thanks!

Hope you all had a lovely Thursday at the nest and we’ll see you there tomorrow. TGIF!

TalonStrike

Nest Update May 29, 2013 - A Windy Wednesday (With Some Bugs Thrown In)

May 29, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow GnatSmashers!!

Wednesday dawned sunny and a little windy. As the day wore on it became cloudy and a lot more windy. Harmony and Peace woke up to some nice fresh fish. Harmony is advancing well for her age and tried self feeding 4 different times today. She even mastered the one talon hold down technique. Peace kind of watched and looked at Harmony like “wait till I try that!”. Mom and Dad had a small tug of war over a fish and some nestovers. Mom thought she had won but Dad out-waited her and had the last laugh. Mom and Dad both brought in some new furnishings and the kids help move them around when the parents weren’t looking. But, the big news of the day was the bugs are out in force. All four of our residents seemed to be bothered today by a plethora of gnats and other bugs on the nest. Well, they do say the mosquito is the state bird of Minnesota! It just so happens that at this time every year the bugs wake up, hatch out and seem to infest each nest and bother the eagles. Unfortunately the eaglets have to live with the bugs as well as the smells of the nest as the weather warms up. Harmony and Peace are getting along really well by themselves on the nest. They built a fort together today and they relax and cuddle without much in the way of beakering. Late afternoon Mom brought fish for dinner and the kids had a very satisfying meal. Mom stayed and chased bugs for a while and as darkness fell she was on gnatguard in the nest.

On to the pics and vids of the day!

Harmony’s self feeding begins!

MNBound Eagles Without Adult Supervision