Mrs. Gunderson

We have started our Eagle unit in first grade and are having a blast doing it!!!  We have learned some very interesting facts about Bald Eagles and are watching an eagle cam to get up close and personal!  In April we will be taking a field trip to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha!  We are very excited.  During our unit we have had the chance to see things "life size."  It is amazing how large and magnificent these birds are!  Some interesting facts about eagles:

• They have 7,000 feathers!
• From the tip of their tail to their beak they can measure from 36-42 inches, the average 1st grader is 50 inches!
• Their wingspan is an average of 6-9 feet!
• Eagles have 3 eyelids, one of them is clear so they can continue to see when they blink, they can spot a fish in the water about 2 miles away!  That is about 35 football fields!
• Once eagle's find a mate they stay together until one of them passes away.  They will continue to return to the same nest year after year.  On average their nest is 6-8 feet in diameter but can be as large as 10 feet.  They weigh about 2,000 pounds-that is as much as an elephant!!

 While we learned each fact about our eagles we got to take pictures by life size drawings and built our very own eagle nest inside our classroom!  Here are some pictures....

Take a look at the eagle's nest in Decorah, Iowa!

Decorah Eagles

We have had a chance to watch the Eagle's, it is very exciting!  The first egg was laid on Sunday, February 23rd.  The second egg was laid on Wednesday, February 26th and the third egg was laid on Sunday, March 2nd.  Incubation length averages 34-37 days!  Here are our predictions!