Sunday morning in Bird World

2 April 2022

Good Morning everyone. It is a ‘grey’ day on the Canadian Prairies. It is -1 Cband should get up to +2 C. Yesterday it was positively summery at +5 C and at that temperature we begin to don our lighter coats and start to believe that spring will be coming. There is something going on in the garden with the birds and the surrounding area. Yesterday two large groups of Crows gathered along with the neighbourhood three. There were approximately 30 in total. They do this when the Great Horned Owl from the nearby golf course descends into their territory. The only garden friend that I can see scurrying about is Little Red. He has just come out of his penthouse and is heading for the seed cylinders. Is everyone else sleeping in?

The researchers at Cal Falcons say that it is very rare for a male to bond with a female who has eggs and help her. I have mentioned Xavier in Orange who has now been Diamond’s mate for eons. There is now wonderful footage of the new male in Annie’s life bringing her what looks to be a nice healthy pigeon. This is very promising and I start off with this event because it is simply so unexpected and joyful. I hope that it continues.

There continue to be two eggs. Annie is in the scrape this morning incubating them.

I have been to watch the goings on at Dale Hollow in an attempt to see how that monofilament line is behaving or not on Little Middle’s leg. I could not see the top of the feet well enough but there appears to still be line on the talons but not pulled tight.

At the first feeding of the morning, Big violently attacked Little Middle. That was at 08:31. I know that many of us had hoped that Big would eventually stop this behaviour as Little Middle grew or literally be unable physically to mount a full on attack. This appears to not have happened. Big is capable of completely covering Little Middle. (Please read because this turns out brilliant).

The arrival of the fish prompts Big to tell Little Middle that it is all his!

It is hard to believe that these eaglets are precisely the same age – 34 days old if you count hatch date, 28 February.

Needless to say Little Middle did not get any of that fish. Little Middle stays in submission at the end of nest.

And then something interesting happens once the adult has left. We have been seeing this for several days – self feeding. Despite the fishing line, Little Middle is understanding to hold down the prey item with a foot.

Big is full to the brim. Little Middle is eyeing the fish. He doesn’t need a parent to feed him- Little Middle is so clever. It is 09:04.

Little Middle is ahead of Big in terms of self feeding. Again, it is not clear precisely where the fishing line is in its entirety but Little Middle is eating and feeding itself.

River returns to the nest and feeds Little Middle the rest of the fish. This time Little Middle got to the side where it is safe from Big to eat!

At 09:37 you can see Little Middle’s crop and you can also see the fishing line on the right talons. It is not taut like it was yesterday.

At 11:09 River brings in a large headless fish to the nest. The fish deliveries are looking good today in terms of their size. That is a good thing.

I was waiting for Big to do something and then River moved up and fed Little Middle – who, from the image, has a nice crop already. Little Middle is eating well. This is good.

River or is it Obey turned the other direction and kept the two apart.

River did not feed a lot of fish. Big was full and so was Little Middle. But look, Little Middle is nibbling on the fish! This is such a sweet eaglet.

At 11:28 you can clearly see Little Middle’s crop – and it is wonderfully big!!!!!

At 11:30 Middle Little is across the nest showing off its crop alongside Big. This prompts me to say that Little Middle is mobile, moving around. Yesterday the fishing line was causing some issues. I continue to be hopeful that this issue will take care of itself. My last check is at 11:37 and Little Middle is once again eyeing the leftover fish in the nest.

This was posted on the Berry College Eagles FB this morning. As you will recall, the only eaglet B15 fledged the other day. Missy and Pa Berry have done everything to lure him back to the nest.

Maya and Blue 33 (11) did not waste anytime. Maya laid her first egg at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay Osprey nest yesterday!

Maya was covered in frost when she woke up this morning.

Speaking of laying eggs, Mother Goose at the old Decorah, Iowa Bald Eagle nest laid her 6th egg yesterday. Will we have 7 today? She fooled everyone!

In the UK, two of Monty’s boys have returned Z1 Tegid and Z2 Aeron whose nest is at Pont Cresor near Glaslyn. The note was in my message box from my friend ‘T’. We joked before if we were Ospreys which male would we want for a mate. ‘T’ always wants Monty. I am a Blue 33 (11) girl.

Aeron Z2 appeared on Mrs G and Aran’s nest. Despite having his own partner at the PC nest, both of Monty’s lads were interested in Mrs G and her nest last year.

There are three Osprey males on monitored nests that have not returned yet. They are Aran at Glaslyn, Dylan at Llyn Clywedog, and Idris at the Dyfi Nest.

It has been a tough week for all of us watching Little Middle and the fishing line. It would seem that everyone from Florida to Tennessee and beyond knows about the eaglet’s issue with the monofilament line. Today, I am going out into the forest. The Japanese have this wonderful word, Shinrinyoku. It is going out into nature, into the quiet of the woods and letting the outdoors soak into me through my pores. While it was originally meant to get individuals to increase their contact with nature, I have found walking in the woods a good way to get all of the negativity of the week out of my head. As important is another ‘S’ word – Shoganai. That word reminds me that often we have to accept things as they are especially a situation that is beyond our control. We can let go of that huge feeling of frustration and disappointment. We have done the best we can. The founder of The American Eagle Foundation is aware as is Scott Somershoe of the TN Audubon Society. Thank you for those links to these individuals or for contacting them yourself. This morning Little Middle ate well, fed itself, and was mobile. That is good.

Thank you for joining me this morning. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Eagles, LRWT, Explore.org, and Bywyd Gwyllt Glasyn.