16 December 2022
Good Morning Everyone,
I hope that today’s blog finds all of you well and slowing down…as the days get shorter and winter sets in, it is a time for good books and comfy blankets and a big mug of tea.
We continue to have lots of snow. It is incredibly beautiful. We remain under a ‘Special Weather Alert’ with more snow coming overnight. I took the photo and climbed over to relieve that wee Scot’s Pine of the weight…
Often the most excitement is right in your back garden. As the snow blows and whips through the lilacs, it is certainly a nice place to enjoy the birds and animals. Indeed, we often forget the beauty that is around us.
A new book asks us to slow down, stop racing to fill in the valued ‘life list’ and enjoy what is in front of us! I have not read it but it is ordered! Will keep you posted.
I love Cormorants. They grace the waters near to where I live in the summer and it is always a treat to find one even closer to home in one of the city’s ponds. One of our provinces proposed to ‘cull’ them because they eat too many fish! I won’t get started. So, it was a joyful moment when The Guardian features this story today.
There is tracking information on Ervie who still remains in his natal nest territory. Fran Solly mentioned that Ervie likes to fish where the wind is off shore.
This is Zoe’s tracking. Everyone is wondering if she will bring home a puffer for her first fish. What do you think?
The Raptor Centre in Minnesota is reporting that the 10 surviving Bald Eagles out of 13 poisoned because they ate euthanised pets at a landfill are showing signs of improvement.
Remember Cilla Kinross cleaning Xavier and Diamond’s scrape and removing Dudley? Here is Holly Parson’s post on Cilla’s findings:
Off in the distance, storms hit the Bald Eagle nests in the southern US on Thursday. The soap opera continues at the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest. Gabby and V3 kept the nest safe ushering intruders out of the territory and hanging on as the rain and strong winds hit. Let us hope that the tornadoes stay away!
Gabby had an enormous crop later in the day!!!!! Good grief. I haven’t seen a crop like this on an eagle for a long time.
There are more than a dozen tornadoes being reported in Central Florida. That warranted a check on the Superbeaks Nest of Pepe and Muhlady.
The day started out quite nice. What a beautiful sunrise over the water.
Squint. You can now see a little bobblehead getting its breakfast.
And then the rains came. Muhlady is hunkered down on Pearl and Tico keeping them warm and dry.
The weather cleared but, because there is no time stamp on the streaming cam, I cannot tell you when. Muhlady is up feeding the two eaglets and you can see another little bobblehead if you look closely.
It is just overcast in Miami as Ron waits for his Rita to return. I find this just heart breaking. Last night I looked at some old images of Arnold and Amelia, the Canada Geese. A snapping turtle bit Arnold’s foot and he needed surgery. The wildlife rehabbers took great care to allow Amelia, once she came calling at their door, to eat with Arnold and be a part of his life until he was released. Poor Ron has no idea what has happened to Rita. I wish that there was some way to communicate with Ron.
It is much calmer in Big Bear Valley at Jackie and Shadow’s nest. The snow is even melting rather nicely.
Look carefully and you can see Thunder and Akecheta on the rock face to the right. So wonderful to see them again.
No one around Two Harbours or Fraser Point nests that I could tell.
It was particularly fitting that the National Eagle Centre posted this reminder about eagles and storms. Do they really fly above the storms as the urban myth tells us? No! Have a read:
And another reminder. Terry Carmen posted a video about how Bald Eagles get lead poisoning. Remember it is entirely preventable! You can help by spreading the word.
Dad continues to take good care of Zoe. It seems now that those flyovers by Mum are just to get Zoe to defend her prey since there are no siblings in the nest to fight her for it like Ervie, Bazza, and Falky did last year.
In Orange, Xavier and Diamond were able to pair bond without any interruption by Indigo yesterday!
There are currently only 252 kākāpō left on the planet. Apparently all 252 of them are thinking about Christmas. Who would have thought? Three ways to enjoy the holidays the Kakapo Way!
Thank you so very much for being with me today. It is always a pleasure to have you with us. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their messages, their videos, posts, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Terry Carmen, National Eagle Centre, IWS and Explore.org, FOBBV, WRDC, Superbeaks, NEFL-AEF, Holly Parsons and Orange, Australia Peregrine Falcons, The Raptor Centre, Friends of Osprey, The Guardian, The New York Times, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Scirocco @ Kakapo Recovery.
Featured Image: Muhlady feeding the eaglets. 15 December 2022.
Just as we thought Gabby and V3 were getting to know each other nicely, V3 disappears, after two failed mating situations with Gabby, and V1 has reappeared. He looks much healthier and has gained weight since we last saw him, and when he arrived at around 17:09 Friday afternoon, he immediately began working on the nest. Gabby watched from a branch in the nest tree and vocalised her displeasure. He is staying in the nest tree tonight (Friday night), on a different branch to Gabby. I have no idea what is going through poor Gabby’s mind. The emotional turmoil and the revolving door of male visitors must be exhausting and confusing for her. At least she has not yet reached the time when she usually lays, so she still has time to settle on a suitor.
The news on Rita is not good – apparently the necrosis they expected at the end of that wing bone did indeed necessitate the removal of necrotic bone, with the loss of three or four flight feathers. This means Rita may be able to glide but she will not be able to fly and certainly will be unable to hunt. This is a tragedy for Ron, especially, who has no idea what is going on and continues to wait patiently for Rita.
It is sad to hear that Dudley was indeed fertile and that a chick either died before hatch or was not strong enough to break through the shell. We saw no sign of a pip (and I presume there was none visible on Dudley when the egg was examined) so it is more likely that the chick died before hatch (the cause of that death would be interesting). I am not entirely sure how Diamond would have reacted to three eyases – she seemed to find two a bit much for the first few days – so perhaps everything turned out for the best in that regard. The loss of Rubus, however, was one of the hardest in a very hard year. We all adored that little food monster.
I am glad Zoe is doing so well, but to me, sadly, she remains the murderer of Little Bob (and Middle Bob). Little Bob was a personal favourite, and that was another particularly painful loss that I am still a long way from getting over. I tell myself that Zoe was only following her instincts, not being evil, but it is hard to like a bird that attacked and deliberately starved its two siblings. I know you love ospreys, but give me a falcon or an albatross family any day of the week!
Gabby certainly has a lot of suitors but right now, I ache for Ron who has no bloody idea what has happened to Rita and continues to work on the nest. I hope that a lovely female glides into his life as, you so rightly notice – Rita will live our her days as an ambassador, we hope. Eating quail and getting some stimulation. Of course, not the same as living in the wild. Dudley. I honestly felt that Diamond does well with one and has a difficulty with two, never mind three which makes Melbourne with its four 2x in a row so interesting. I was just going over our feathered friends that we lost and well, it is a hard rub at Port Lincoln. The nest can really only support one female osplet. But it can support three males. That in itself is interesting to me. Middle Bob did not need to perish. Big could have been removed and fish provided. I will believe til the end of my days that Zoe would have done well being fed in care and Middle would have thrived. Ah, but…so many do not believe in intervention and yet they put up platforms!
Gabby seems to be a popular lady with the male eagles — they must think as highly of her as we, do. Be choosy, Gabby!
Absolutely! She can have her pick!!!!!!!!!! I think it would be awfully difficult to measure up to Samson. Glad she has a choice.