It is impossible for me to hide those birds that melt my heart. The third hatch of Mum and Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge this year was one of those birds. Measured to be a male, given a sat-pak to track his adventures, and a real name – Ervie – he has amused us from the moment he hatched. Whether it was making certain that he got to the ‘sweet spot’ so Mum could feed him, standing up to Bazza, or having those dust ups with his older brothers, Ervie has been nothing short of a joy to watch.
For the past few days, Ervie has been down in the cave with Dad. One day Dad brought Ervie 3 fish meals but yesterday, he brought Ervie only one. Observers believe that Ervie had, at one time, been catching fish successfully off camera. While we so longed for Ervie to dive off the barge and come up with a fish like Falky, that has not happened. Ervie did bring in a puffer fish to the nest that he had obviously caught. There were loud cheers from Canada to Japan when that happened.
Today, Ervie was on the nest and Dad was sitting on the twigs in the cave. Ervie flew off the nest. When he flew in, he had caught a fish – a very nice fish – and Ervie was wet.
Tears of joy flowed and hands clapped. Our boy can fish!
You can see Dad down in his cave. Ervie has flown off the nest. I wanted to make certain that Dad did not hand the fish off to Ervie somewhere else. No, he is sitting tight. Did he have a chat with his boy?
Here comes Ervie with a nice fish in his talon. Dad looks up and sees his lad. He must have been thinking, ‘Well done’.
Ervie lands nicely and doesn’t lose the fish over the rim of the nest.
Fantastic, Ervie! You look so proud and confident.
You can tell that Ervie is wet – yes, Ervie, you did catch this fish all by yourself. Congratulations!
Ervie is really enjoying that fish. It must be all the more delicious because he caught it himself.
I wonder if we will see him fishing more and more and bringing his catch to the nest on the barge?
I am smiling! Wonder if Dad thinks Ervie should share with him?
Three other items in Bird World. A search party gathered to look for Bella, the female, at the NCTC. She had an altercation with another female several days ago. Bella returned briefly to the nest but she was bloodied and there was much concern over her left eye. Bella has not been seen since. There is no news on finding Bella, sadly. Perhaps they will continue looking tomorrow. The Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle couple have their second egg. It was laid today. And, sadly, Scarlett, the female adult Osprey on The Landings nest has returned to find her nest taken over by GHOWs. I wonder if her and Rhett will find a place for their eggs so they can raise little ones this season? They had two of the most gorgeous fledglings last year!
Thank you so much for joining me. I know that so many of you love Ervie just like I do and his successful fishing trip just reassures us that he can take care of himself – when he wants to! What a darling. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.
Mary Ann it’s so wonderful about Ervie! I was thinking all along that Dad may be talking to Ervie in the man cave about fishing! We are so happy to know that Ervie is fishing on his own again. I still hope he hangs around . ❤️
It’s so sad about Bella. I watched them for a few years. I hope she is ok wherever she may be.
🙏❤️🦅
Congratulations to the Dukes-Greenway pair on their 2 egg! 🐣🐣
It’s sad for Scarlett and I hope they can go to their other nest they used to have if it is still there or find a new nest since this owl family has taken over theirs. It was such a nice and big nest. Beautiful scenery there.
Thanks Mary Ann for all these updates and I look forward to the next newsletter as always!
Tske care and have a good Saturday,
Linda
Oh, it is so sad. Bella and the Ospreys at The Landings are collateral damage, if you could say it that way, of the growth in populations of Apex raptors. There are not enough good nests! I hope that Bella is alright but I understand there is some clear concern that she might have lost her left eye. Competition for nests and mates is fierce. I feel a little empty for Bella. I hope she is somewhere healing, too.
I’m praying for Bella. I have watched them a few years. It does certainly surprise me though about several of the males at a few nests since had been taught they are a pair for life.
Bella really fought the female for the nest and I worry that she was very injured. I suspect she went away ‘somewhere quiet’. It is a real fallacy that the birds bond for life. Grinnell and Annie are a good example. Once one of the birds is ‘out of sight of the nest’, you see what happens. I think it is why the males fight the male intruders and females, the female battles the females. We have been fortunate that Harriet and M15 have kept their nest as did Gabby and Samson but look what happened to Romeo and Juliet or Connie! This is a very serious problem — too many birds and too few nests or too few nests.