{"id":2245,"date":"2020-06-15T17:22:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T17:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/?p=2245"},"modified":"2023-08-08T15:47:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T15:47:12","slug":"countdown-for-lift-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/2020\/06\/15\/countdown-for-lift-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown for Liftoff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo credit: Kai Weatherman<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

While we humans below the branches of a tall cottonwood tree along the Iowa River at Coralville\u2019s Iowa River Landing have been preoccupied with the effects of coronavirus on our communities, a pair of Bald Eagles has been raising a family of two young eagles in that tree as if nothing were more important!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the species account for Bald Eagles in Birds of the World<\/a> (HawkID login required), juveniles may depart the nest at any time between 8 and 14 weeks. Based on observations of this nest in late February and early March, this pair of juveniles are now likely somewhere between 8 and 11 weeks old. So, first flight, also known as fledging, could take place most any time now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pair of juveniles has already begun branching, which means moving from the nest to other branches in the tree while stretching and flapping their wings, a prelude to first flight. This can be an exciting time to observe the young eagles if you happen to catch them in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, please be as respectful of the birds as possible and observe good etiquette<\/a>. The eagles\u2019 choice of nest site with close proximity to human foot and bicycle traffic makes this a somewhat unusual challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the nest is highly visible from the paved path, depending on the time of day, the juvenile eagles may or may not be visible in the nest.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Kai Weatherman<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Sometimes they may be resting inside but below the rim of the nest, at other times feeding in the nest, and at others perched on a branch off to the side of the nest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juvenile Bald Eagles do not have the white head and white tail characteristic of an adult; it takes about 5 years to acquire adult plumage. It is not uncommon to see one of the adult eagles perched on a nearby tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For details of the nest location see the Sciences Library News<\/a> post for April 13, 2020. For best viewing binoculars are recommended!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like help locating additional information on Bald Eagles, don\u2019t hesitate to contact us<\/a> at the Sciences Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many thanks to Kai Weatherman for authoring this uplifting post and sharing his beautiful photography with us!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image
Photo credit: Kai Weatherman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While we humans below the branches of a tall cottonwood tree along the Iowa River at Coralville\u2019s Iowa River Landing have been preoccupied with the effects of coronavirus on our communities, a pair of Bald Eagles has been raising a family of two young eagles in that tree as if nothing were more important! AccordingContinue reading “Countdown for Liftoff”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":2255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,51],"tags":[167,202,201],"syndication":[171,41],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2245"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2781,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions\/2781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"syndication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/syndication?post=2245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}