29 May 2023
Good Morning Everyone,
First, thank you so much to everyone who sent me notes on Osprey nests that had 3 or 4 osplets in them this season. It is so appreciated!
It is the end of May – well almost – and we are really into the lazy days of summer. It remains hot on the Canadian prairies with the temperature climbing to 36 C this week. I am so grateful to the very tall and deep lilac bushes, the woodboxes now heavily covered with overgrown vines, the trees in the garden that all provide shade for the birds and animals. It is at least 10 degrees cooler in that ‘forest’ than it is on the sunny deck. The Crows are visiting the deck and the bird bath. there are eggs in the nests and the males are feeding the Mums. They are getting trays of kibble, little dog protein treats, eggs, and lots of bread that they can soak in water.
Did you know that female Crows incubate the eggs and do not leave the nest. The male finds food and brings it to the nest. Because the females need hydration, the male will dip bread into a water source and take it to her. This is also true for nestlings. We all know about feeding ducks bread and it is not a good thing but during incubation and nesting season, please consider cutting up old bread and leaving a water source for the Crows. Thank you!
The heat did not break but being a summer Sunday, the area around our Zoo – Assiniboine Park – was full of people relaxing, having picnics, drinking lemonade, and watching goslings. Three goose couples were caring for sixteen little goslings and one lady told me that the goslings seem to have doubled in size since yesterday.
I cannot tell you how relaxing it was to sit there and watch those little ones happily eat the grass! Quite a change from some of the Osprey nests we are monitoring.
The big news comes out of the WRDC nest this morning – R5 falls out of the nest again but R4 flies….thanks, ‘H’. Congratulations Ron and Rita!
R5 is OK.
Little Bob from Severna Osprey platform is #37 on the Memorial Page. It was shocking to see Big Bob at Severna trying to kill Little Bob again after he had been deceased for at least 12 hours. The amount of aggression in that osplet reminds me of Zoe from Port Lincoln – she is my picture postcard for an aggressive first hatch. Middle Bob is being cautious sometimes, coming in behind Mum and on the opposite side of Big – after Big has had a significant fill.
Kathryn brings me news that the third egg at Carthage, TN will be a DNH and this is a bit of a blessing since she noticed that the older osplets have started beaking one another on occasion! Let us hope these are just little dust-ups instead of serious domination like Severna.
Several nests are being watched closely. They are Evergy Topeka Falcon Cam, San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, and the Osprey Nest at Patchogue, NY. It is unusual to be ‘worrying’ about peregrine falcons. They generally do very well, but there is a problem with the feather development on Little Bob at Every Topeka. The issue at San Jose appears to be the inexperienced adults! There is some aggressive behaviour towards the chick from Hartley, and Monty and Hartley seem to be playing tug-o-war with valuable prey. It is still being determined how much prey Monty brings – he was doing quite well. We will have to wait and see. I am hoping that Mini-Bob at Patchogue makes it. It reminds me of Blue 464 at Foulshaw Moss – about 1/8th the size of the older ospreys, and she became the nest leader. So we wait…it is difficult.
My favourite image from an osprey platform on Sunday the 28th of May. it comes to us from Mini Bob and Mum at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island. No words needed!
Well, the harmony did not last. Mini picked a fight with Big. I hope that it has learned a big lesson! Never look an older sibling in the eye, do not draw attention to yourself, and definitely do not start fights with someone six times your size!
Big was passed out in a food coma and Mini-bob was up front getting a little crop. One day at a time..I sure hope this Mini makes it. This chick is adorable and these parents are excellent!
The eyas at San Jose City Hall had a nice crop this morning.
Precious.
The third hatch at Evergy Topeka Falcons appears to have a delay in its feather development- it looks pretty unwell. Still, Mum is feeding it, and, like everything else, we will have to wait. It is entirely unclear why this is the case, but you can see the difference between it and one of the older siblings. The chick appeared to be eating, and the female left the two older chicks to go over and feed it as it had isolated itself in a far corner. The feathers do not appear to be breaking out of the sheaths…and there are precise places where there is no feathering. Is it a parasite? A bacterial infection? When the chicks are banded, the banners can take swabs and determine the issue.
There are clearly no issues with Rosa, Zephyr, and Luna – the 2023 fledglings of Lou and Annie’s from The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley. Thanks to moon-rabbit-rising we get lots of images of the trio even of their parents dropping prey or feeding them! It is nothing short of fantastic.
The first hatch of four eggs for the University of Montreal Falcon Scrape happened on Sunday! The first egg was laid on 16 April with subsequent eggs on 18, 20, and 23. Let us hope the others push themselves out of those eggs quickly.
The two eyases at the Cromer Peregrine Falcons in the UK look fantastic! Here is a great video of them today. Thanks SK Hideaways for capturing these adorable – and super healthy – eyases!
Middle Bob at Achieva is 70 days old today. Jack brought in a fish, and Middle tore into it quickly before Big could arrive on the scene! Sunday morning.
The first of three eggs has hatched at Cowlitz PUD in WA. Congratulations. Let us hope that the grid panels that the power company put in place to stop predation by Bald Eagles or other raptors works! Because of the past history at this nest, let us all send positive energy for two healthy chicks that fledge..that one egg can be a dud! Sorry Electra. Thank you, ‘V’ for the head’s up. What a cutie pie!
A nice fish came on the nest and the little one appears to be doing fine. The problem in the past has been the fish – either few delivered or too small to feed all the chicks. Let us hope for a better outcome this year — maybe a single hatch protected well by the metal grids will fledge! It is a tough nest to watch so be warned. A Bald Eagle took all the chicks last year, siblicide has happened, death due to heat dome…
Life is good for the three at Manton Bay Ospreys. Blue 33 and Maya continue to amaze me year after year with their diligent parenting.
The two Bobs at Loch of the Lowes continue to do well. They seem to love watching the swans in the distance.
You can see the plumage of the LOTL chicks nicely in this image as well as that beautiful Dudley (the non-viable egg). Eventually, it will get broken or make its way to the edge of the nest or be buried.
The to osprey chicks at the Dahlgren Osprey nest of Jack and Harriet are also doing well.
It’s a first for me – Abby and Victor waiting for a fish delivery at the Moorings Park Osprey platform of parents, Sally and Harry.
The four osplets at the Forsythe Preserve Osprey nest all ate – very civil Monday morning! Thanks for the head’s up, ‘H’.
Has anyone been monitoring The Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails Osprey cam?
It is a deep nest bowl, and my data forms indicate we should be on hatch watch here. ‘Listening’ behaviours are happening.
They had a terrible time with eggs and snow and they dropped off my radar. Last year you might recall that Mum flew off the nest with two almost fully plumaged nearly ready to fledge osplets. Both fell to the ground. One died and the other went into rehab where it remained until this spring when it was to be released. Another example of succession juvenile osprey rehabilitation! There is an erroneous belief that osprey chicks and juveniles do not do well in care. Smedley lived more than two decades at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey along with his pal, Bailey. There are others and other stories that will come out to show that given the drive to help the birds and the right care they can do well. Pitkin County is a good example of this. Thank you Birds of Prey Foundation!
I have also been watching Ozzie and Harriet at the Dunrovin Ranch Osprey Cam. We are on hatch watch!
Three little angels on the Outer Banks 24/7 Osprey Platform at Carova Beach , North Carolina. This is the kind of three hatch Osprey nest you want to watch! Everyone left the table with a bulging crop including Little Bob.
Here are the dates for hatching.
Notes: Egg 1 Hatched May 9 at 2:46pm ), Egg Hatched May 10 between 3:15am – 4:00am), and Egg 3 Hatched May 12 at 11:50pm). So only three days between the first and last. Well done Betsy and Frederick!
Always a sigh of relief to see River delivering a fish to DH17 on the nest! She did that precise thing on Sunday!
Many are reposting the video about Dr Sharpe’s efforts to restore Bald Eagles to the Channel Islands in honour of his lifetime dedication and retirement. If you have not seen this video, please watch. It covers the deadly effect of DDT on Bald Eagles…and their recovery.
The little storklet that Dmitry removed from the nest that the female was beating is now a week old. Here is a view of the baby sleeping in a low-dish nest with its worms on Sunday.
Dmitri was kind. Another act of kindness is providing water for wildlife.
Tom and Angel are emptying various nests around theirs to feed RTH5. Meadowlarks were on the menu today along with various other song birds. The little one wants to self-feed and even does some tug-o-wars with the parents – Angel on Sunday – with the prey. This baby is adorable.
So many, many things happening everywhere! E22 is still at SW Florida. Little SP chick at the Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross colony had a feeding today from GLY. The once little and adorable chick at Decorah is self-feeding and grew so fast…we ware waiting for fledges at nests while eggs hatch…it is a bit crazy and fun at the moment. Hopefully a few of the problem nests will settle.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to those who sent me notes, and links to videos, created videos, posted announcements, and have streaming cams that helped with the content of my blog today. I appreciate your help in spreading the news about our feathered friends. Shout out to the following: ‘A’, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘L’, ‘M’, ‘SK’, ‘V’, Heidi McGru and WRDC, Knox News, Severna Ospreys, Carthage TN Ospreys, PSEG, SJCH, Energy Topeka Falcon Cam, Sharon Pollock and Raptors of the World, University de Montreal Falcon Cam, SK Hideaways and Cromer Peregrine Falcon Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Cowlitz PUD, LRWT, LOTL, Dahlgren Ospreys, Moorings Park Opsreys, Forsythe Preserve, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, Dunrovin Ranch, Outerbanks 24/7 Ospreys, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, IWS, Kaluga Stork Cam, and Window to Wildlife.
Thanks Mary Ann for all these updates and photos! The walk in the park looks like it would be really nice. I’m so glad you got to sit and watch the geese and goslings!
So glad little R5 is ok and R 4 made a fledge! Angels little one is growing up and is so cute! Congratulations to Cowlitz on their hatches! 🐣🐣🐣I hope the grid helps too this time.🙏
Still looking at the Dunrovin nest and I think they are still on pip watch there.
Thsnks for the cute photo of little tiny at Pathogue New York. So glad the baby was up front and getting fed. Love it’s will to live!❤️🙏
So glad the little storklet is doing well. Thank you Dimitry!!
Good wishes to all the others today mentioned in rehab and new hatchlings and egg incubating too!
Have a good Monday evening Mary Ann. See you here soon again!
Linda
You are positively welcome..little Mini is still hanging in at Patchogue and no aggression. Fish left after a feeding this morning and it got some. Right up there with the others. Mum had fish, too. I want to be optimistic!