Wednesday in Bird World

21 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Gosh, golly. The big story continues to be the weather here in Canada. There was a huge storm that blasted through this region in the late afternoon, and then it stopped. The skies were absolutely black. The winds calmed a bit and then the sun tried its best to glimmer through the thick clouds. It is difficult to describe how serene it was sitting on the rocks by the water below – the waves pounding against the shore. Compared to the human ‘noise’ in the city this was idyllic.

There was no chance to count Bald Eagle nests along the Black Wolf Trail where the nests are constructed along the shore. The trail was once again ‘closed’.

This looks like a good place for waterfowl but, it was quiet.

Ah, caught one of the gazillions of Dragonflies working hard and eating well this summer along the Grassy Narrows boardwalk.

There are also lots of large Spruce trees and dense forest everywhere.

Today was the day for Pelicans!

In the City, the heat warning is for a humidex rating of 51 C and they are also expecting a big thunderstorm. In Alberta, not far from the Fortix Exshaw nest is snow. I went and checked on that Mum with her three little ones. I fear for the damp wet so we all hold our breath and send them good wishes. The three chicks and Mum were eating fine.

Thanks for everyone who kept an eye on Little Mini for me. ‘R’ gives a great synopsis of Monday: “I checked on mini several times yesterday.  She had a large crop most of the day and has figured out how to have a large meal by herself.  She is almost as big as 3! It is amazing how, in a nest of 4 osplets, she gets to be fed by Mum at almost every feeding, especially in the morning and the last fish at night.  Dad was really good yesterday.  Everyone was well behaved except one minor tussle between 1 and mini. Mini is fun to watch as she outsmarts the rest of her siblings!” ‘R’ and I have watched many nests with siblicide so it is so refreshing to see Mini doing well.

‘L’ reports on Tuesday: “Our little Mini went to bed hungry and crying tonight. I read that she /he got breakfast but only a few bites here and there today. The dad brought in a lot of little orange fish. Maybe from someone’s pond. Each one of the bigs got their own and I think three had to share some with them and Mom ate in between too.   I feel really sad for Mini but they seem to be trying to train the three bigs to eat on their own but at the same time Mom feeds the bigs plus they get a fish too all day. Then they bigs won’t let Mini eat and attack.”

Sundays are write-offs because Dad can never bring in enough fish. Then the Bigs eat everything on Monday. It is a good thing that Little Mini likes to get up early. On Tuesday, that saved Little Mini – a good feed in the morning! 

0817 – has a huge crop! Good thing. Mini didn’t seem to get fish before bed and ‘L’ reports the wee one went to bed fish crying to Mum!

‘L’ reports that Little Mini had breakfast today. Yippee and ‘rats’. Those big ones were awake, too.

‘H’ reports on Barnegat Light which has been a problem nest in the past and is turning into it this year. I hope things calm down but this is the rundown of the feedings on Tuesday.

“Feeding 0629 to 0647 -Lined up [2,1,3], Big beaked Little at 0630 (pretty severely).  At 0634 Little tried to approach and was given ‘the look’, and then Big beaked Middle.  At 0635 Little got one bite, and was beaked by Big.  At 0636 Big again beaked Little.  0638 Little got another bite.  At 0639 Little started to get consecutive bites, apparently with Big’s blessing.  Total bites for Little = 39.  Feeding 0859 to 0906 -Positioned [1,2,3].  They actually ate well together, until 0905 at which time Big beaked Middle and then Little.  Total bites for Little = 16.Feeding 1051 to 1059 -Little stayed away from the feeding for quite awhile, but I had not seen any bonking of Little.  The view was blocked by Daisy.  My impression was that Little had been bonked, though.  At 1055 Little approached the feeding line, but was intimidated by Big.  At 1056, Little scooted up beside Middle [1,2,3].  Daisy continued to feed Big and Middle.  It appeared as though she may have reached over to Little three times.  Bites for Little = 3.Feeding 1226 to 1234 -Little rushed to Mom as soon as she took possession of the fish, and immediately started to receive bites of fish. When the others got there they were widely spaced apart at [3,1,2] positioning.  For some reason, there was no aggression.  For part of the feeding, Little had a piece of fish hanging from its beak and Big tried to get that piece off Little’s beak.  Little beaked Big, but Big did not beak Little.  Total bites for Little = 66. Feeding 1339 to 1351 – Little hesitated at first, but eventually moved to the feeding line beside Big [3,1,2].  Daisy moved to block our view of Little.  It did not appear that Little was beaked during the feeding, and Daisy’s head did appear to go in Little’s direction at times.  It was impossible to quantify how much Little ate.  Little had a small crop before the meal, and a larger crop after the meal.Feeding 1610 to 1621 -Little went to Mom first and got the first few bites.  They lined up [1,2,3].  There was no bonking during the meal!  Little ate at least 65 bites.  Then Little bonked Middle.  Middle did not retaliate.Feeding 1850 to 1901 -Lined up [1,2,3].  1852 After Little had eaten 5 bites, Middle beaked Little very aggressively, and repeated this at 1853 and 1854.  At 1855, Little dropped back, and to my surprise, did an end-around all the way to the other end of the feeding line (next to Big).  Little managed to get some more bites.  At 1859, after Big dropped out, Little beaked Middle, and Middle beaked back.  Big beaked Middle at the end of the feeding.  Total bites for Little = 19.”

‘H’ reports that there is no aggression on Tuesday at Forsythe and all are well fed.

At Kent Island, there were a couple of feedings for the wee babe.

Cowlitz PUD: Two fish on the nest at one..chick eating well! Relief.

Oyster Bay: Everything is great.

Boulder County Fair Grounds: Enough fish for Mum and Dad to feed one another. Lots of submission.

Marders: The only surviving osplet appears to be doing well. Now…someone is missing a slider.

Outerbanks 24/7: Everything is great! Just look at those three gorgeous chicks. One self-feeding and the other being fed. Beautiful.

South Cape May: ‘H’ reports that Hera is a good feeder with some good bites but sometimes blocks the screen so you can’t always see how much Little gets. Fingers crossed.

First District Utility: Cannot see much but, you can hear those large osplets cheeping away, fish calling. And once in awhile you can see the juvenile feathers coming through the fog of a dirty lens.

Poole Harbour: Three very healthy osplets.

Llyn Brenig: All is well.

Loch Arkaig: A family portrait.

Glaslyn: Two feisty Bobs.

Loch of the Lowes: Big Bob often sending Middle into submission…

Deyani had rain and nice weather but no Mum – Angel did not appear on Tuesday.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Nest: Looks like there could be problems.

In comparison, check out the great feeding at nest 3 in Finland!

At Cal Falcons, Lou was just hanging around!

An update from Nick Beres on the eaglets that were in the nest when someone chopped down their tree. Unbelievable.

It is impossible to understand the mind of anyone who would due such cruel acts.

‘R’ sent me a very informative and frightening article on the impact that human activity over the past 70 years has had on our ‘nest’.

The whole weather situation – with systems turning life upside down for many – ties in nicely with the article from the Washington Post. It all impacts our beloved feathered friends. Thank you to everyone who wants to take on the no-plastic challenge! It was so lovely to hear from you. As a good example, I went to buy a new broom to take care of all that cat hair – instead of always taking out the Dyson. It is difficult to find a broom that is not plastic! Wooden handle and hay bristles. I just wanted to let you know that it can be done. Pat yourself on the back. We can do this.

Thank you for being with me today. Take care of yourself. See you soon.

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog this morning: ‘A, H, L, R’, PSEG, Conservancy Foundation of NJ, Forsythe Ospreys, Chesapeake Conservancy, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder City Fair Grounds, Marden’s, Outerbanks 24/7, First District Utility, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LOTL, Window to Wildlife, Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SK Hideaways and al Falcons, Nick Beres NC5, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.