Watch the video and you'll see a claw dangling from DN18's mouth very clearly at five seconds in. We think it is probably a raccoon claw given that DN18 ate an entire paw on April 28. When I eat meat, I remove the indigestible parts: something eagles might or might not bother to do.

We've had a lot of questions and comments about potential fishhooks. We don't know that DN18 ever swallowed one, but as we've said elsewhere, eagles eat a lot of indigestible stuff. Instead of processing it through their GI tracts, they usually spit it up: sometimes as part of a pellet and sometimes as individual bits. The claw is not a fish hook, but could easily look like one, especially in the slightly lower resolution that can be streamed online.

What else has DN18 eaten over the last five days that could present as fishhooklike on video? We've got five hooked raccoon claws on one paw, all of the remaining teeth on one side of an opossum's lower mandible, shards of bone, and all of the remaining teeth on one side of of a muskrat's mandible. Like hooks, claws and teeth might be rounded, sharp, and indigestible: shards of bone might be sharp and splintery. It doesn't help that DN18 seems disposed to gobble everything in its path: watchers might remember that Mr. North helped DN18 clear one of its first gigantic messy pellets (   • Decorah North Nest 41624 DN18 casts...  . I have to think that DN18's gizzard and stomach almost always contain a large indigestible matt of stuff based on the pellets it casts up.

Note also the remaining down and damp grass straggling across the eaglets' backs and legs. This is getting pointed out as fishing line, but it isn't. We've been looking for line and haven't found it yet, although there is some footage of DNF removing what could be line from DN18 on April 26 (   • DN. It looks like mom may have pulled...  . But if it was line, we have no idea where it went.

If we aren't going to go up to the nest now, why were ew planning to late last week? We were monitoring DN18 because it had fishing line sticking out of its mouth. That could have presented a real problem if the eaglet didn't clear it, so we got the necessary permissions and put together a plan for getting to the nest. But accessing the nest also puts the eaglets at risk, especially now that they can run. Since the line is no longer hanging from DN18's mouth and the eaglet is acting normally, we're backing off. We'll reconsider if the situation changes and either eaglet appears to be in danger.