Bald Eagles in Iowa

About three years ago my dear husband was picking up rocks on the far east end of our farm. He happened to look up into the towering eastern red cedar trees at the end of our fields and saw a large nest! A Bald Eagle nest!

Eagle Nesting on an Iowa Farm

Our tree is around 40-50 feet tall, with a wide nesting-appropriate area. This eagle pair has hatched and raised baby eagles at least twice since they’ve nested on our farm. Our eagles have not left the area since they have settled here, with access to water in our creek.

Eagles may like carrion for lunch, but they don’t like people. The eagle nest is located on the back of the farm, away from a road that has little traffic. It’s hard to get to the trees that make up this eagle habitat. That’s all good for eagle health.

What Do Iowa Bald Eagles Eat?

The other day, we saw a total of eight eagles having a picnic (on something dead) out in a far field. We think it was Mom, Dad, two other adults, and some eagle children having a get-together. There were four juvenile eagles in the bunch, as they were all brown. Eagles are “opportunistic scavengers” and around here there are rabbits, mice, possum, raccoon, other birds, and deer to scavenge. We’ve seen eagles swoop down and catch rabbits and field mice on the run. Some animals on the list will have “kicked the bucket” and the eagles will eat from the carcass left behind. The other day we saw a herd of at least 22 dear traipsing across an open bean field. That’s a lot of deer!  A single deer would be lots of lunches for an eagle family.

Bald Eagle Insider Information

I don’t really know an enormous amount of information about Bald Eagles, but my sister does! She happens to be a Bald Eagle Monitor for the Iowa Wildlife Research Station, so she not only came out to our farm to have a look with her fancy Vortex monocular, but she also gave me a crash course in Bald Eagles that I will pass on to you!

An eagle nest monitor has three important pieces of information to collect.

• Is the Bald Eagle territory active and occupied?
• How many young are produced?
• How many fledglings are there?

Our Bald Eagle Findings:

• The Bald Eagle nest is very large, with two Bald Eagles circling around. It took around 3-4 months for the eagles to build this large nest. Unlike a human house, they only live in this nest while actively raising their family.

• With the scope, we see at least one chick. It is a dark brown, with his/her head above the nest, waiting for food. A month later, my husband saw TWO chicks! Who doesn’t love twins?

• The chicks will become fledglings the middle of June. They will be leaving the nest during that time and striking out on their own. At this stage they practice their flight skills much like a child learns to swim, moving further from parent to increasingly deeper water or in our Bald Eagle’s case, out in the sky. Some may return to the nest for a few times to roost and get food.

After a fledgling leaves the nest, they are still dependent on adults for around 4-10 weeks to feed them until they gain enough experience to catch their own food. This is so like a young adult; leaving the parental home to strike out, coming back for food or gas for their car!

Fledgling Bald Eagles will check in with their parents for six months to one year, and then they will squat in other abandoned nests. The nests don’t have to be eagle nests. They will squat where ever they can, hanging onto tree branches with their strong talons.

Here’s some additional Bald Eagle facts my sister told me.

• Bald Eagles don’t attain their white head plumage until they are five years old.

• Though they look alike when separate, the only way to discern males from females is when they are next to each other, with females 25% larger than males. Bald eagles aren’t really bald, they have a white head and brown body. Their feet, beaks and irises are bright yellow.

• Bald Eagles are nomads, and don’t live in the nest year-round. Nests are only built for raising young. Otherwise, eagles live and roost elsewhere. They will either live as squatters in other empty nests, or roost in trees. They hold on tight with their strong talons.

• We see Bald Eagles year-round in our area. Their territory is usually a one-mile radius.

A Bald Eagle Story

Here’s a story about a pair of Bald Eagles my sister has been tracking for over four years.

There was a Bald Eagle pair that had an established nest with successful hatchings over the years. Then the Avian Flu caused the death of the female. All appeared to be lost!

Then, the male found a new mate! The new couple started building a new nest. She was given a choice between two nests; the larger nest that was previously occupied by the male and the female that died from the Avian Flu, and a smaller nest built by the male and new female. She chose the smaller, newer nest.

And then they had THREE chicks! She refused to move to the older, occupied by the previous female nest. Things were tight, but they made do. The chicks thrived and became fledglings.

Eagle and Human Behaviors Are Similar

There are many elements of Bald Eagle life that parallel our own human condition. Here are a few examples.

• Chicks (children) are very dependent on their parents.

• Fledglings (young adults) will come back to the nest for food and help while they move out into the world.

• It takes a while for fledglings (young adults) to look like adults.

• Nests (houses) are used to raise young. Otherwise, Bald Eagles are out and about.

• When given a choice, a new mate (partner) will choose new digs over something the ex-spouse lived in.

I will try to post photos of fledglings as they leave the nest this summer.

Be Blessed!