Open letter from Raptor Resource's Bob Anderson: "Greetings to Decorah Bald Eagle enthusiasts all over the world"

(Editor's note: Raptor Resource Director Bob Anderson has e-mailed decorahnews.com with the following open letter to the public):

Greetings to Decorah Bald Eagle enthusiasts all over the world.  On June 16th four of us were traveling to Trempealeau, WI, to band young falcons when we received word that two of the Decorah eaglets had left the nest and flown to the upper branches of the nest tree. We had been expecting fledging to take place between June 11 and June 25, and were delighted with the news. However, we decided to continue with the day's planned banding before going back to Decorah - I had been surveying the Trempealeau cliff, a large wall overlooking the Mississippi river, for over twenty years and was looking forward to banding falcons there. It was most rewarding to don rappelling gear, go over the wall, and find two healthy babies. We quickly banded them and hurried back to Decorah.

David Hecht rushed over to the shop while I unpacked our climbing equipment. I stepped into my office just in time to see him pan the camera and show the two "newly branched" eaglets out on a nearby limb. It was only a short while later that the third eaglet jumped from the nest to the branch to join the rest of the eagle family. I was convinced that the eaglets would return to the nest by evening and joined David to take my turn at the controls of the PTZ camera until well past dark. However, all three eaglets were still out on the limbs of the nest tree at dawn on the morning of June 17th. They remained there all day, returning to the nest whenever one of the adult eagles brought food and flying back to perch on the tree limbs after feeding. 

On the morning of June 18th, I could see only two eaglets in the camera view.  I drove over to the nest site and searched the nest tree, ground, and banks of the nearby trout stream. Nothing. I was perplexed. Later in the morning, as I was speaking to Brian Malaise at the nearby trout hatchery, I noticed one young eaglet flying back to the nest tree as if it had been on the wing for weeks. I raced back to the nest area and took a head count from directly under the nest tree, where I was pleased to find three young eaglets and the adult female. 

We will see the Decorah fledglings less and less as they take to the sky. We will soon be  shutting down the cameras, closing chat, and suspending most Facebook wall posting, although we will continue to provide updates as they become available. Our 2012 plans include improved cameras mounted out of projectile poop range at the Decorah nest, and live video and audio from a Red-tail hawk nest (and very probably a Peregrine falcon nest). This will be an exciting complement to the now-famous Decorah Bald Eagle Cam.

I would like each and every person to consider this:  The 2011 Decorah Eagle Cam turned out to be a truly extraordinary wildlife learning experience for millions of people across the world.

A great many thanks to all of the moderators for spending countless hours educating so many people about the natural world and life history of the Bald Eagle.  The 2011 Decorah Eagle Cam was most likely the largest wildlife education program ever.

There are many people who have donated their time as volunteers for RRP to make the 2011 Decorah Eagle Cam the wonderful, enjoyable, and educational experience that it was.  The following is a list of those individuals who contributed their time to make the Decorah Eagle cam the huge success it evolved into.  My apologies if I have overlooked anyone. Amy Ries, David Kester, Neil Rettig, Kenny Phillips, Shanna Riha, Elfruler, Char, Kathy, Ruby Tugade, Neil Flood, Jim Womeldorf, David Hecht, Karen Lee, Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus, Jacob and Holly Mengelson, Lavonne Bjergum, and the great support team at Ustream. 

Thank you so much for following us. We hope you'll be watching next year!