Another siblicide at Loch of the Lowes and other news in Bird World

14 June 2022

I want to start this blog off today with one of the cutest videos called ‘My Turn’. It is from one of the first – if not the first – osprey cams on Dennis Puleston’s property on Long Island. I would like to quietly show this to every third hatch osprey!!!!!!!! It always lifts my spirits when it has been a rough day in Bird World.

Dennis Puleston was a remarkable man who spotted the decline of the Osprey populations in the US due to DDT.

Sadly, the Little Bob at the Loch of the Lowes fell victim to a brutal Big sibling that refused to let him eat and who finally killed him this morning shortly after 0530. Little Bob was alive in the image below, barely, from not having eaten in at least three days.

Laddie LM12 arrives on the nest but flies away. No fish.

Big Bob brutally attacks Little Bob and kills him.

Blue NC0 stares at the body of her Little one. It has not been a good year for this wee one who, like the others, just wanted some fish. It is unclear why there is so few fish coming to this nest. It has been a discussion about the other nests and people are conflicted. Is it intruders? has the loch not got the fish? is something going on with Laddie? All of the other nests are not having difficulties. Fly high Little one, fly high.

Sadly my list of siblicide victims this year is getting longer.

Blue NC0 looks worn out and hungry. She is hardwired, like all other Osprey Mums not to interfere. She looks down at her wee little babe. So sad. I do hope that whatever is troubling this nest that it goes away so that this family can heal.

There is another nest that remains worrisome.

To the relief of everyone cheering Little Bit 17 on at the ND-LEEF nest, that camera is back working. It is unclear if 17 got any food since the camera went down but he was seen doing wingersizing according to many of the chatters who watch the camera. He is not acting like the third hatch at Loch of the Lowes. 17 seems fine. I will not presume anything but let us all hope that if it is cooler tomorrow – which they say it will be – that the fish will be flying onto this nest. — I want to be optimistic. Many third hatches benefit from the older ones fledging. It seems both 15 and 16 are branching —- and not wanting to sound nasty but it would be nice if they would take a 2 day trip to see the beautiful area where their nest is! Little Bit could eat it all!

The eaglets on this nest are the following ages. ND 15 is 76 days old, ND16 75 days old, and ND17 is 71 days old. Little Bit is not ready to fledge. His tail needs to grow more. The feathers on his head are growing longer and covering up the bald spots caused by 16’s scalpings. This Little one has worked so hard to live. I want to believe I am seeing something of a crop under his beak and that he did get some nourishment today. Hang in there Little Buddy!

The streaming cam is also back up at the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey Platform. It was a very interesting Tuesday morning. The female intruder with the torn feathers was in the nest. Another osprey landed on the nest and she got rid of them quickly. A third bird or was it this one that landed ?? could be seen flying by the nest on several occasions to the left of the platform.

The bird that almost looks like I cute and pasted it on was quickly shooed away by the female intruder on the nest. From that behaviour we might assume that this was not a bird associated with her.

She removes the body of the oldest and largest of those beautiful chicks from the nest.

As the sun was setting on Lewes, Delaware, the female intruder has now cleared the nest of any remnants of its former occupants. It is just gut wrenching what has happened here. I do wonder if the Mum is alive and if it is her flying to the nest? No one was at the nest overnight.

I have been praising Betty on the Mlade Buky White Stork next in The Czech Republic for not eliminating the smallest, the fifth storklet. Well, she has now done so. Let us hope that all four remaining chicks thrive! (The storklet did not survive the 9 metre/30 ft drop but it was quick, not like starving to death on the nest).

There is wonderful news coming out of Cal Falcons. Laurentium is one of Annie and Grinnell’s fledglings. She has a nest on Alcatraz. She has successfully fledged chicks in years before but not it is confirmed that she has two healthy grand chicks for Annie and Grinnell again. How wonderful!

I have neglected the Foulshaw Moss nest this year despite the fact that it is one of my favourites. Last year White YW and Blue 35 successfully fledged 3 osplets including Tiny Little Bob, Blue 463. The chicks below are around the 3 week period. They are healthy and doing well! Excellent parents. I cannot say enough good things about them.

I do not like the cam. You cannot rewind so if you don’t see it, the event is gone. Or if you do see it and don’t get a screen shot it is gone, too. That style of camera is very annoying if you are trying to document events on a nest.

Congratulations to everyone at the Ithaca Peregrine Falcon scrape. They had their first fledge today. It was Percy! One more eyases to go. How exciting. Falcon Watch Utica posted this gorgeous picture of Percy taking off. Look – those legs are held tight against the body and the feathers are in perfect shape. What a wonderfully healthy fledgling!

Even before the three Bobs had their breakfast Wednesday morning, Telyn was chasing after an intruder with feather wear – perhaps a moulting bird. Emyr Evans wants him to come back so they can get a ring number and ID the bird. He is evading all of the cameras. Emyr believes it is Teifi and if so, it is Telyn and Idris’s 2020 hatch come home to the natal nest. After, Idris brings in a lovely sea bass for Telyn and the kids.

Emyr Evans posted this on the 23rd of May. I think he will be updating his number after the intruder this morning to 8. Tegid – of the white egg – is one of my favourite hatches. Lovely to see his son back!

There was an intruder at the Llyn Brenig osprey nest. LM6 just about tore the nest up when Blue 416 from the Lake District arrived. Gracious. I thought she was going to toss the two wee chicks out, too. Lots of two years old successfully returning this year (like this one) causing mischief.

Aran was up early fishing for Mrs G and the gang.

Everything seems fine on the Glaslyn nest.

Sentry returned to the Redding Bald Eagle nest on 14 June after fledging on the 11th. He was tired and spent the night with Star in the nest sleeping duckling style. Star has yet to fledge.

It is getting to be time to check in with some of the Australian nests. Dad brought Mum a very nice fish on the nest. Oh, she looks so good. Last year she took raised the Port Lincoln three – Bazza, Falky, and our dear Ervie.

Beautiful Diamond with a full crop after a prey gift from Xavier at the Charles Sturt University falcon cam in Orange, Australia.

Lady incubating the two eggs of hers and Dad’s on the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. If you look close, you will see Dad sleeping and protecting the nest on the parent branch.

The CBD 367 Collins Street Falcon cam will not be back on line until September. It is usually started once eggs are laid.

Fledge watch started yesterday for the Cal Falcons. Here is Grinnell Jr with his super crop last evening! Looks like he is going to fly anywhere! So cute.

Thank you for joining me. This is a very early Wednesday morning check in. I will have a later report Wednesday evening. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB announcements where I took my screen captures: Sea Eagles@BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Osprey, Friends of Redding Eagles, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dfyi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, ND-LEEF, Cape Henlopen State Park Ospreys, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Emyr Evans, Falcon Watch Utica, Mlade Buky, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, and Cal Falcons.