27 April 2023
Good Morning Everyone,
Oh, it is so good to wake up on Thursday! The goslings lept and one had a temporarily paralysed leg which will not hamper its life or return to the family, hopefully. The monofilament line has been removed at Dale Hollow and there is rejoicing around the world. As several commented – if we had not been watching Dale Hollow we could not have facilitated the rescue. Maybe that is a reason to continue watching. What do you think? I definitely want to see DH17 fledge this year.
Based on a posting by Dave Hancock of Hancock Wildlife, there is some discussion that eagles often leave their nests after the human incursion. Of course, Dave also supported the intervention yesterday at Dale Hollow. It is an interesting observation that goes back to the time and notebooks of Charles Broley, the Eagle Man, in Florida, who was the manager of a bank in Winnipeg not far from where I live. There is another point of view on this and that is the eagles leave when something dire has happened on their nest to find a safer nest. For example, Thunder and Akecheta had their eaglets banded with no move of the nest until the eaglets tumbled. Which one is it? At this moment in time, we have two widowed Bald Eagles – M15, a male, and River, a female. M15 is young, and River is not so much young. Will they keep their nests? get new mates? All of this is to unfold.
Our giggle today is brought to you by Lewis. It seems that Lewis has outgrown his cat tree ‘house’. It is hard to tell in the picture. We have had large cats before weight nearly 20 lbs. Lewis has enormous feet and legs and is very muscular. Missey has stubby stout huge legs. They are going to be big kitties!
Loretta is reporting that the first hatch at First Utility Osprey Platform happened! Oh, it is so cute.
You can catch this osprey family here at this streaming cam:
The best thing is that the AEF rescue of the Dale Hollow Eaglets DH17 and DH18 was a success. It took an army of people to raise the concerns, to pull the strings, to do what it took to get action at this nest ——–and it worked. So what did we learn? Never give up. If you see entangled eaglets, you shout out to anyone and everyone to get help. And do not take ‘no’ for answer! They said no one could get to the nest on this tree – it was too high, the slope was too steep. Wrong. It was done. So never give up and never give up hope. Doing the right thing is the thing to do. We do it for those who cannot do it for themselves.
The babies tangled in the line prior to the rescue.
The latest on DH18:
Nick Beres NC5
· ***UPDATE: I’m told the eaglet is under the care of the American Eagle Foundation based out of Pigeon Forge, TN. They will take the eaglet to the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital for care. Then it will be determined if the eaglet can return to the nest — if it is physically capable.”
This is from Resee Collins:
Thank you for your concern about the Dale Hollow eaglet nest situation. Please see attached statement from the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) regarding the eaglet rescue effort conducted today in coordination with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Army Corps of Engineers, Eastport Marina, the Dale Hollow Lake Marina Operator’s Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A tree climber from the American Eagle Foundation accessed the nest, removing all fishing line and debris from the nest, examining the older eaglet who appeared fine and removing the younger eaglet for examination on the ground by AEF veterinarian Dr Mike Jones, an avian specialist. Dr Jones determined that the younger eaglet would need medical treatment due to the fishing line and is transporting the eaglet back to AEF for rehabilitation. The adult female eagle remained in the area during the rescue attempt and is expected to return to the nest to care for the remaining eaglet soon.
It is my understanding that a Video podcast with the responders is available and a montage of the eagle rescue will be posted on the TWRA website and Dale Hollow youtube channel.
Special thanks to all responders who coordinated to make this rescue happen, especially to the expert team from American Eagle Foundation. Best of luck to the younger eaglet for a successful rehabilitation and quick return to the nest, if medically possible.
Sincerely,
Resee Collins Eagle & Rehabilitation Permit CoordinatorMigratory Birds & Science Applications USFWS Southeast Region 4 Office-404/679-4163 Mobile-404/314-6526
This is all great news. I know that many, myself included, have written to thank Nick Dwyer for his great tree climbing and rescue skills. He has posted a note thanking all of us and suggesting that if we really want to thank him to give him a 5 star review on Google. I will figure out how to do that and any of you that want to join in, that would be great. He did what was said to be impossible – maybe he can become the national rescuer of eagles in the US! He says on his website that he not only cares about trees but also the animals that live in them. What a wonderful person!
I urge you to read the article below. ‘A’ says, “The tone of this article is wonderful – they basically make it really clear that the DH powers that be did everything possible to ignore the public pressure for intervention, including taking down the FB page to stop people commenting. Prior to that, they had been draconian in their response to any comments whatsoever suggesting that DH18 was in trouble, that the filament was tightly wrapped around his leg just above the foot and was cutting into the flesh. It was obvious to viewers and while they were insisting that there was no immediate danger to the eaglets, DH18 was losing circulation to his right foot.”
Another great video of those goslings leaping from SK Hideaways!
The latest I have seen on the sixth gosling.
It was also a delight to see that Middle Bob at Achieva continues to perfect its methods to keep Big Bob at bay so he can eat! This was at 13:45. It was a nice big fish and Diane even had some late lunch after Big and Middle.
As Murphy’s eaglet gets older, what is next for this pair?
Wild Bird Sanctuary gives us their timeline:
Murphy and his Eaglet made the CBS News. All of the news stories can only help raise awareness of our raptors and hopefully will educate and generate kindness and care within the broader human population.
The weather at the Pitkin County Trails Osprey Platform is very wintery. The eggs were uncovered overnight with the expectation that the third is due today. We wait in hope for this family.
Congratulations on their hatch day to three Condors but, especially the beloved Iniko 1031, daughter of KingPin (deceased in Dolan Fire) and Redwood Queen. Happy Hatch Day, Iniko! You have had a very eventful life.
At SW Florida, the Es continue to delight and also help M15 protect the nest. What warriors he has fledged! They are such gorgeous and strong fledglings.
The Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey cam is down. They will replace it but there are there osplets, growing nicely, on that nest. Yes!
Just listen to those chicks of Annie and Lou’s when Lou comes in to do a routine wellness check while Annie is away. Gracious. Missy and Lewis go running out of the room!
Geemeff reports that Louis and Dorcha have their third – and let’s hope – final egg of the season at Loch Arkaig. Congratulations Louis and Dorcha!
We have a second egg for Aran and Elen at the Glaslyn nest. Wonderful. Aran was ready with fish and present when the egg was laid. Mrs G trained him well and Elen will benefit. Oh, I love this male Osprey and he seems so delighted to have a new mate.
There are now three eggs at Dunrovin! Wow. Hang on to your hats. It is going to get crazy when all these eggs begin to hatch at the same time!
Oh, what an exciting few days it has been. What lessons did we learn? Do not hesitate to help! If you see endangered wildlife, get on the phone to the proper authorities but, then get on the phone to the media. Give them the human interest story. It could mean saving a life…we owe it to our feathered friends to protect and care for them.
Thank you for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, their graphics, videos, article links, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Loretta, Geemeff, Deb Stecyk, ‘H’, ‘A’, First Utility District ospreys, Dale Hollow, Nick Beers NC5, Angela Edwards and Bald Eagles Live Nests and News, Southern Living, Decorah Goose Cam, Decorah Eagle Chat, Achieva Credit Union, Wild Bird Sanctuary, CBSN.ws, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Ventana Wildlife Society, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, Geemeff and Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, Sheila Staley and Osprey Friends, and Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn.
Aran’s new mate really is a beauty, isn’t she? And I agree that she has that ‘look’ Mrs G had. Those piercing osprey eyes are gorgeous. And I love that the pattern on their head is unique like a fingerprint. I find that quite astonishing.
Thank you to everyone who applied pressure to force the DH rescue – now our thoughts are with DH18, hoping the extreme reluctance of certain people to allow help to get to the eaglets in a timely manner has not meant permanent nerve damage to his leg/s.
And I do hope duckling number six is able to join its family very soon. That was an impressively brave clutch of chicks – they emptied that nest within five minutes. Such courage from creatures so tiny. Their fear was strong but their instincts were stronger. Well done, mum and dad, getting them safely to the water!
First, sadly, number 6 passed away. The injuries were more than originally stated. Elen is magnificent. Hoping she lives a long and productive life with Aran. He is sure keen on his new mate. And send all your energy to DH18 who is struggling to survive after his surgery. Guarded condition. We should know in 2-3 days if he will make it…I have a difficult time containing my anger at those that hampered his rescue!