Raptor Resource Project

Raptor Resource Project We research birds, share the lives of raptors, and transform passion into knowledge and action.

We create, improve, and directly maintain over 40 nests and nest sites, provide training in nest site creation and management, and develop innovations in nest site management and viewing that bring people closer to the natural world. Our birdcams include:

Decorah EagleCam: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/
Decorah North EagleCam: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decor

ah-north-nest/
Mississippi Flyway: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/flyway-cam/
Great Spirit Bluff FalconCam: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/gsb-falcons/
Xcel Energy cams:
https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/xcel-energy-cams/

We have a quick update from Trempealeau! Local followers report that TE3 is busy exploring the neighborhood, including f...
08/19/2025

We have a quick update from Trempealeau! Local followers report that TE3 is busy exploring the neighborhood, including flying past the Trempealeau Hotel (great choice!), checking out the Lock and Dam, and perching on various roofs and trees as she begins to widen her explorations. She's also been seen with other fledgling eagles. While there are more than two nests in the area, it's highly likely that these are her half-siblings from the MN Island. It's good to see her getting out and about.

Thanks to Larry Adams for sharing his photographs and video! I've also included a couple of maps from our Decorah Eagle satellite study to illustrate how dramatically their flight behaviors changed from July through October.

08/13/2025

We're getting a lot of messages about Trempealeau. Although we're going offline on August 15, we won’t begin on-site work until mid-September. But we need this time to prepare for important maintenance and/or upgrades at all our sites: Trempealeau, Decorah, Decorah North, Fort St. Vrain, Great Spirit Bluff, Castle Rock, and the Mississippi Flyway, plus several falcon sites that aren't online. It takes an incredible amount of work to maintain camera systems, computers, and nest sites, and we have a lot of them!

Thank you so much for your patience: our crew is already hard at work making sure Trempealeau and our other nest sites are ready for next season, and our volunteers are getting ready for a well-earned break. We'll post a turn-on date as soon as we have one!

While you wait, check out the Mississippi Flyway and Great Spirit Bluff! It's mid-August, but we're already seeing some staging and pre-migratory behaviors on the Flyway.

Mississippi Flyway: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/flyway-cam/
Great Spirit Bluff:
https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/gsb-falcons/

The Trempealeau Eagle, Decorah North Eagle, and Decorah Eagle cams will go offline for maintenance at 5:00 PM (CT) on Fr...
08/08/2025

The Trempealeau Eagle, Decorah North Eagle, and Decorah Eagle cams will go offline for maintenance at 5:00 PM (CT) on Friday, August 15. Join us on the Trempealeau Eagles page for two final live chats before the break:

> Morning Chat: August 15, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (CT)
> Afternoon Chat: August 15, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM (CT)

Thank you for your support and donations - it truly takes a village to share our incredible birds with the world. We'll be back in October with even better equipment and high hopes for 2026! 🙌

08/04/2025

Did you see? On July 30, we watched an adult Bald Eagle swim with a fish in his talons. He churned his feet, paddled his powerful wings, and stroked steadily across the deep, fast-moving channel as the current carried him downstream. After several minutes, he reached a resting spot: a shoal where he could finally stand. He shook the water from his wings and paused to recover, but he couldn’t take off with the fish. After a short rest, he left it behind and flew off empty-taloned.

But as we know, Mother Nature doesn’t waste anything! Moments later, an intrepid subadult flew in, seized the prize, and swam it over to the snag. It dragged the fish up and wolfed it down before another eagle could get to it. Well…most of it! While the original fish-catcher watched, an adult female flew in, chased the subadult away, and gobbled up the bits that were left. The adult male nibbled around the edges of the buffet, while the subadult – already sporting a crop full of fish – watched from a nearby perch.

If you'd like to learn more about swimming eagles and sinking cormorants, follow this link! https://www.raptorresource.org/2025/08/04/six-swans-a-swimming-how-about-two-bald-eagles-instead/

We posted about our fledge fundraisers and a lot of you asked what we would be doing this fall. Here’s how we’ll be putt...
08/01/2025

We posted about our fledge fundraisers and a lot of you asked what we would be doing this fall. Here’s how we’ll be putting your donations to work in September and October! You can help us pay for it all here: https://www.raptorresource.org/support-the-raptor-resource-project/make-a-donation/.

At Decorah and Decorah North, we’ll be…
- Putting a new camera system in at N6 (the nest that HD and his new mate are building in Decorah, near the hatchery).
- Cleaning cameras at N1, N2B, and Decorah North. We’ll recover the North’s unhatched egg while we’re up in the nest.
- Replacing substrate at N2B and Decorah North.

At Trempealeau, we’ll be…
- Replacing a camera.
- Rerouting cables and replacing cable covers.

At GSB and Castle Rock, we’ll be…
- Cleaning cameras and inspecting cables.

At our other falcon sites, we’ll be…
- Replacing nest boxes or roofs, depending on the site. We have at least one full nest box replacement planned at our site in Fountain City.

On the Mississippi Flyway, we’ll be…
- Cleaning cameras and inspecting solar power panels and cables.
- Adding a new pole and camera system. The river moves and we need to move with it!

Here's a glimpse at some of the ways we've put your donations to work through the years...

Every year, we witness something extraordinary: young raptors standing on the edge of their nests, testing their wings, ...
07/30/2025

Every year, we witness something extraordinary: young raptors standing on the edge of their nests, testing their wings, and taking flight for the first time. Fledging is a leap of instinct, strength, and hope, and a reminder of why our work matters so much.

This Friday, we’re celebrating Fledge Day with a special fundraiser to support the Raptor Resource Project’s mission: safeguarding birds of prey, monitoring their nests, sharing their stories through livestreams, and empowering people to protect the wild world around them.

Your donation helps us:

🦅 Maintain and monitor nest cameras that allow people around the world to witness these incredible moments.
📡 Support research programs that protect raptors across generations.
🌱 Fund the outreach, education, and storytelling that brings these birds closer to the people who love them.

From $1 to $100, every donation matters. Please make a gift in honor of Fledge Day and help keep them flying. Donate here: https://www.raptorresource.org/support-the-raptor-resource-project/make-a-donation/. If you’d like to chat and celebrate fledge with us, join us for our special fundraising chats on Friday, 9-10 am, 2-3 pm, 5-6 pm CDT: https://www.raptorresource.org/trempealeau-eagles/.

Thank you so much for all of your support. We couldn’t do it without you!

Where is TE3? Our eaglet adventurer fledged on July 10 at 7:02 AM, making a short but powerful flight to a branch in an ...
07/29/2025

Where is TE3? Our eaglet adventurer fledged on July 10 at 7:02 AM, making a short but powerful flight to a branch in an adjacent tree. Since then, she’s been busy learning to fly. Flying, like walking, is instinctive, but skill is learned.

If you'd like to learn more about TE3's Big Adventure, follow this link! https://www.raptorresource.org/2025/07/29/te3-learning-to-fly/

The Great Spirit Bluff Falcons began fledging on June 14th. It started with a fludge from falcon Caden, who miscalculate...
07/24/2025

The Great Spirit Bluff Falcons began fledging on June 14th. It started with a fludge from falcon Caden, who miscalculated the distance between the nest box rails and lip. Falcon Dana took a strong, beautiful first flight on June 15, falcon Hallie fludged on June 17, joining Caden, and falcon Madi fledged on June 18, landing across from the cedar perch. Two fledges appeared accidental and two appeared deliberate. How common is this and what does fledge typically look like? To understand fledge, we have to go back about a week prior, when the developing falcons begin getting restless.

More on fledge factors here:
https://www.raptorresource.org/2025/07/24/fledge-factors/

07/24/2025

Two generations of strength, side by side. Mrs. T and TE3 catching the breeze in .

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Decorah, IA

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+12763252662

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We create, improve, and directly maintain over 50 nests and nest sites, provide training in nest site creation and management, and develop innovations in nest site management and viewing that bring people closer to the natural world. To learn more about us, please visit our website at www.raptorresource.org.

Our birdcams include: Decorah EagleCam - ads-free! https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/ and https://explore.org/livecams/bald-eagles/decorah-eagles Great Spirit Bluff FalconCam - ads-free! https://explore.org/livecams/birds/peregrine-falcon-cam and https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/gsb-falcons/ Xcel Eagle, Peregrine, Owl, Kestrel, and Osprey cams: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/xcel-energy-cams/