Late Saturday in Bird World

2 July 2022

How many of you have tried to watch the streaming bird cams or Ferris Akel’s Tour (or both at the same time) and tried to cook dinner and bake a cake? Well, that is what I am trying to do without much success with any of them! OK. I shouldn’t say that. ‘The Cake’ is going to be delicious but it has to sit for 24 hours.

For those of you from Japan or living in Japan, it is a Yokohama Orange Cake. I am trying to replicate the one made by Hamasuzu in that city. They make some brandy cakes and cookies that are quite famous but their orange cake makes you remember it years later and well, your mouth starts to water. I will take a photo when I cut it and let you know if it is good – it took 20 oranges for the rind and the juice. Yum….I wish I could send everyone a piece.

Ferris Akel has the Ls on his streaming cam tour at the moment. He has found Big Red and Arthur and all three of the Ls. They are so cute.

The Ls continue to fly low across Tower Road. There are signs about the Osprey fledglings but I wish – as do many others I am sure – that Cornell would close tower road from fledging to the end of July.

L4 is a real cutie pie. He has a full crop and is going to sleep well tonight!

There is some very good information on Ospreys in this short article. I was looking for something else and found it.

Click to access ML080280488.pdf

It is fledge watch for the two Osplets at Mispillion Harbour Osprey platform next week. ‘H’ was able to locate a list of the hatch dates, sort of. The information by the Du Pont Centre is not detailed enough. There were originally five eggs. We are going to assume that the two chicks on the nest hatched on 19 May. That makes them 44 days old. Pandion Carolinis Ospreys fledge from 50-55 days normally.

Mom really loves anything that is a kind of yellow colour. The Vodka bottle flew out of the nest but the yellow mat is still there somewhere. Now there is another bag!

In his studies of the four different species of Osprey, Alan Poole notes that the North American Ospreys, the Carolinensis often like to bring items to the nest! As opposed to the other three species.

I sure hope this blows off the nest. There have been way too many accidents of chicks – even large ones close to fledging – being throw off the nests and dying when all this ‘junk’ ‘garbage’ is brought onto the nest.

According to Ervie’s tracking, he has been swinging by the barge but he has not been stopping by. It didn’t take long for Mum to get the message out? 2 or 3 times??

Oh, wouldn’t you just love to see Ervie??

Aran has really been piling the fish on the nest for Mrs G and the kids. She spent 2 entire hours feeding them a huge flounder. Just when she was done, Aran landed with a very large Sewin. Those kids are going to pop.

There is the flounder.

The Osprey nests in the UK have consistently seen large prey except up at the Loch of the Lowes when Laddie was bringing in some twiddlers.

I don’t know why but I am still a little concerned about the third hatch at the Boathouse on Hog Island. I hope I am just being a worrisome auntie. Fingers crossed for this young family.

There are still two on the Osoyoos Osprey Platform and they still make me nervous! Why do they all love to hang over the edge?!

Not an Osprey but the female at the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Nest, Liberty, really does like to bring plastic bags to the nest!

Look closely. Little feathers are starting to poke through on the wing tips.

There is lots of activity at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. In the first image look carefully near the centre top. All three fledglings were chasing Akecheta for the fish.

Kana’kini might have it between her talons at 12:38 but…

KK sees one of her siblings coming.

She mantles.

Then she leaves the fish and goes behind the nest.

She goes back and really mantles the fish.

Here comes Sky entering from the left.

It was quite the dust up with Sky getting the prize fish at 12:41:11 – or so it appears. I cannot see the leg band to be sure and they were fighting around the end of the nest.

When the fledgling flies off the nest with the fish you still cannot see the leg band! Frustrating.

That is just a very quick look at the nests. I will continue to check on a few that could have problems although we seem to have had enough for a decade this season. I hope everyone had a really beautiful Saturday. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB postings where I took my screen captures: Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies, Ferris Akel Tours, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Glacier Gardens, Osoyoos Ospreys, Explore.org and Audubon, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.