5 August 2023
Good Morning, again!
I missed one of ‘H’s reports this morning and it brings up some interesting questions about wildfires and wildlife. Is Mr O and Fortis Exshaw a victim of the Alberta wildfires? Did he lose his family?
‘H’ reports: “
There were a lot of intruders, and there was a lot of ‘bonding’, but there were few fish. At this time in the season one would think there would be fewer intruders, but that is not the case at the Exshaw nest. All the recent wildfires have surely destroyed many osprey nests. We have always believed that O’Hara was an experienced male, and that perhaps he had lost his family. Is it possible that O’Hara was a victim of the wildfires, and he lost his home and family? After all, O’Hara was an ‘intruder’ before Louise accepted him. So, while all these intruders are a real nuisance for this Osprey family, I have a little empathy for them too.Louise and O’Hara were on the nest many times warding off intruders, and the intruder issues most likely prevented them from bringing more fish to the nest. There were two fish delivered, but it was not possible to tell which adult delivered due to the video pixelation. Banff acquired the first fish at 1149, and unfortunately with such a long time span between fish deliveries, Banff also grabbed the second fish at 1901. Banff is bigger, stronger, and more dominant. Fish need to be delivered to the nest more frequently and closer together for JJ to get a fish, or Louise could keep a fish and feed JJ. Let’s hope JJ will have lots of fish to eat today. And then there was the bonding. I lost count, but O’Hara landed on and stood on Louise’s back at least a dozen times. He did not attempt to mate, but Louise was submissive and bowed a couple of times. JJ asked Banff, “Hey Banff, what is he doing to Mom?” Banff replied, “Beats me JJ, I’ve never seen anything like it!”
In Canada, as these fires still burn, we will never truly know the full extent of the devastation to wildlife. There are so many remote areas of my country that have been turned to ash.
“Unfortunately, some animals do die in wildfires. Typically, the fallen are slower moving species, like porcupines, or young animals, like nestling or fledgling birds, who are unable to escape. Often the animals who don’t survive wildfires die as a result of smoke inhalation, oxygen deprivation, or serious injuries. Animals, including birds, might also suffer from heat exhaustion and dehydration.” (BC SPCA)
There are some good articles…and one of the saddest things about some of the fires has been that they were started by humans.
One of the provinces to be the hardest hit is Quebec and it is predicted that it will take decades (or more) for their biodiversity to return. It has been one of the saddest wildfire season in Canada.
“As of its most recent update, the interagency fire center has recorded 4,241 wildfires since the beginning of 2023. The fires have scorched at least 11 million hectares — or over 27.1 million acres — of land across Canada this year.” (CBS News, 19 July 2023)
There are currently 885 fires burning in Canada.
Thank you to ‘H’ for her great observations about Mr O at FortisExshaw. If he is a wildfire survivor and lost his family, he became a saviour to Louise and her two chicks. Our heart goes out to all the other wildlife families who lost members and who continue to struggle.
Thank you to ‘H’, Fortis Exshaw, the CBS, BC SPCA, Kare 11, the Toronto Star, USFWS for their reporting on these tragic events.
