27 January 2022
Good Morning Everyone,
It is late Thursday and snow is falling gently in the garden. Everyone on the Canadian Prairies is preparing themselves for the Polar Vortex that is set to arrive sometime Friday evening. It will keep us in very frigid temperatures for about a fortnight. So tonight it is -7 but it will be dipping down to -24 C tomorrow with strong winds, then into the -30s. I will be fine but this has to be a shock to the birds outside. There were more than 40 Starlings today at the feeders along with about 60 or more Sparrows. The squirrels were out as well eating as much as they could. It has to be so difficult for them.
The kittens are, of course, fine. Lewis likes to snuggle in with all the textiles in a drawer and Missy is drawn to sleeping in large plant pots. At times these are the strangest kittens I have ever had the privilege to share my life with. They are adorable characters!
In the Mailbox:
A request has come in to remind everyone that if they have Dark-Eyed Juncos visiting their gardens to please put seed, particularly Millet, on the ground for them. They are ground feeders! Thank you.
Making News:
There is news coming of Ervie from Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey. I haven’t seen a tracking for Ervie for awhile so this was such a treat. There is apparently a big festival with helicopter rides where he normally fishes so he went some where else to get his meals but, Fran notes that he also hung around to watch some of the people at the festivities. Relief.
Some people are just discovering how beneficial birdwatching is to human health!
Great news coming out of University of California at Berkeley. Drones are banned from the campus area where Annie raises her family. Thank you so much!
Denial, watering-down terms to make horrific acts like stomping five Goshawk chicks to death palatable. When will it stop? When will people come to their senses that the persecution of raptors is not OK.
Kakapo that went into care have responded positively and will soon be returning home. Great news.
The tiny eaglet that was found with some puncture wounds at the base of its nest tree has responded well to the treatment given by CROW. The sad news is that the nest where it was to be returned has been taken over by GHOs. (Did those owls attack other nestlings? the parents? Did I say I am not a fan of GHOs after Harriet and M15’s ongoing issues). Poor baby will be raised by loving hands. And will probably never be able to be released. So little. Just look at the egg tooth. This eaglet is going to take considerable resources. If you can, think of sending a small donation for its care – you can specify that it goes to this baby’s care. Someone will be feeding it non-stop during the day just like its parents would. Sweetness.
At the nests:
If you missed it, CE9 has been named Connick after Connor and Nick at Window to Wildlife. They did all the work getting the cams and platforms back up for the eagles enabling all of us to be able to watch the Captiva Eagles, Connie and Clive, and the Ospreys, Mabel and Angus. Great choice!
The feeding that started in the image above resulted in a huge crop for Connick.
The snow that was falling last evening at the MN-DNR (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) Bald Eagle nest has melted. When the camera was running this morning I could hear ducks and geese. Then the camera rotated and showed us a great place for the eagles to get their prey – absolutely close to the nest!
Both Nancy and her mate were at the nest doing some work.
The snow was also gone at the Berry College nest of Pa and Missy. That little B16 is such a cutie and it is working those wings to balance itself trying to get out of the nest cup already! This little one is strong and is going to be a handful. The other egg is not viable. There is rabbit, squirrel, and fish on the menu thanks to Pa’s great hunting.
The snow is also gone from Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ. Mum is rolling the two eggs.
Jack and Diane continue to visit the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg. No eggs yet. Soon.
All of those nests are great. I just about had a heart attack today when I saw Pearl at the Superbeaks nest back up to ‘ps’ and she just about slipped off the edge. It was a hold your breath moment. The railings are gone around that left branch – or so it seems. I cannot see. Pearl immediately got her grip and moved forward.
It is hard to imagine but little B16 will be this size in 35 days!
The wings are being exercised.
Pearl is gorgeous.
Alex delivered a fish and Andria went to help defend him and the nest against an intruder! There are so many intruders I am surprised that the males ever make it to the nests with prey for their families.
Things settled down. E01 and E02 are growing and growing like bad weeds. Remember to go on chat tomorrow at noon CT and put in a name suggestion for 01. It might make it to the finals.
Right now it is easy to tell the two eaglets apart. 01 has many more dark juvenile feathers.
02 has a nice crop that was revealed after that stretch. Looks like a real butterball sitting there.
The little one at the KNF E1 nest benefits from being an only eaglet. No one to share that fish with but Mum!!!!!! And Anna does love her fish dinners.
Anna loves to make sure that 03 has its crop full to the brim. Just one last bite, sweetie.
Gabby and V3 were in and out of the nest on Thursday. These screen captures were taken around noon.
SK Hideaways caught the new guy bringing Annie a gift! Oh, thank you, new guy!!!!!! It’s a Starling and Annie doesn’t flinch…she doesn’t mind Starlngs. Only a brief tug-o-war. Remember…Diamond hates them. So hopeful for about three eggs in Annie’s scrape and three very active eyases. That will keep the ‘new guy’ busy.
Remember to go on chat at the KNF E3 nest tomorrow, Friday until noon on Saturday to propose a name for 01. The rangers will take the entries down to 3 and have a public vote. I missed the Ventana Wildlife chat today about the condors because I could not sign on to their Zoom. The link will be posted sometime on Friday to the archived event and I will include it in Saturday’s blog. Those are always informative sessions. We wait for Osprey eggs.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, announcements, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey, The Guardian, Cal Falcons, Raptor Persecution UK, Kakapo Recover and the Wildlife Hospital – Dunedin, CROW, Window to Wildlife, MN-DNR, Berry College, Duke Farms, Achieva Credit Union, Superbeaks, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, NEFL-AEF, and SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons.
If you would like to receive a copy of my daily blog, please feel free to sign up. We would love to have you as one of our feathered family. I try to send one blog per day so as not to overload your inbox. Sometimes there are two if something is happening. There are no ads, no fees. You can unsubscribe at any time.
