14 October 2023
Good Morning Everyone,
Thank you so much for your outpourings of love for Lewis and for sharing the stories of your beloved pets. It all meant so very much to me and was very comforting.
The house was so quiet without Lewis tearing around, jumping over all the furniture with one toy or another. Oh, that big, beautiful boy brought such love and laughter to our lives. He is really missed and I treasure every moment we had together from the time I first laid eyes on him when it was ‘love at first sight’.
Lewis’s short life teaches us to take full advantage of the present. There is absolutely nothing promised. Lewis went in for his annual jabs, and in less than a week, he had crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Treasure all those around you. Tell them how much you love them. Settle any conflicts. Make the most of every moment that you have. You never know if it is the last.
The girls have done better than I expected. Missey called for Lewis and searched for him, and then in the early evening hours of Friday, she began to play. She ran from one end of the house to the other, with Hope and then with Calico joining in sometimes. It was ‘music’ to my ears to hear them skidding and sliding with things falling or rattling.
Calico and Hope moved into the main part of the house, and Missey could then be back in her much-loved conservatory watching the birds and squirrels. Hope has had the biggest adjustment. Feeding stations have been moved, and her little world got much bigger. She is doing much better than I anticipated. Calico is no longer nursing Hope and Hope has figured out who brings the food!!!!!!!!
These photos are not so good. The light was bright and they were taken with the phone camera.
Calico loves her baby blankie.
Odd that. This showed up on FB as an ad for a tea towel.
Today is the fall migration count. Please go out and check your garden or your park. Participate. Help and be a community scientist. Go to Cornell’s bird.org/octoberbigday for information if you have not already take part in bird counts.
Despite Mirvac turning off the cameras at 367 Collins Street, F22 and M22 returned to their eggs and were incubating them at the time the switch was pulled. Our hearts go out to them. An injury changed their entire breeding season. Was it a good thing because of El Niño this year? Would those chicks have baked in the sun? We will never know.
SK Hideaways put their last day on view for us in a video. Let us all wish them a safe year until we see these two again and let us, at the same time, see if we can figure out a way to get a screen over that scrape box. If Dave Hancock can build eagle nests with sun shades in Canada surely that same empathy can apply to falcons in Melbourne!
The names of the two fast growing and ever so sweet chicks of Diamond and Xavier will be revealed on Sunday. They are growing so fast and there seems no discrepancy on who gets fed – both are pretty equal with the second hatch stretching to get that prey!
Xavier keeps the family well fed.
Xavier and the chicks.
The chicks are way too big to fit under Xavier — and Diamond now! They are both thriving!
It is late Thursday night but it is Friday in South Australia and everyone is waiting to see if there will be a pip in the first egg at Port Lincoln.
Don’t know about anyone else but at 1354 it sure looked like there was a pip in one of those eggs. It could have just been the light or the marks…but, gosh, we are close if it isn’t.
The Sea Eaglets have had a bit of a tug o war with a piece of prey.
It won’t be long til these two beauties fledge.
In the land of Bald Eagles, nestorations continue.
Gabby and V3 are testing out the nest and egg cup constantly.
Thunder was at the old East End nest.
Baiba caught Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear.
Lady Hawk gives us some gorgeous images of M15’s new mate F23. She is a fierce beauty. Look at those eyes! Formidable.
Some articles I have been reading -.
Merlins. The small falcons are thriving in Northumberland at a wind farm!
My son looks out his office window and sees the coral bleaching because of the hot sea in the Caribbean. What is happening in Florida? Don’t be fooled – this is happening in many, many other places not just Florida and the Caribbean.
Coins with nature.
For Karl II’s family, there is no new data from either Kaia or Karl II. I am trying not to be concerned telling myself that they could be in an area where there is no coverage.
Waba is in Israel.
Kalvi is in Bulgaria.
Migration continues to be on everyone’s mind and Mary Cheadle posted this talk by Tim Mackrill on FB and I know that there I much you know and much you can learn. Have a listen.
Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Please take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog today: The Radical Tea Towel Company, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Elain, PLO, Sea Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, IWS/Explore, Baiba, Lady Hawk BirdGuides, Hakai Magazine, The Guardian, Looduskalender Forum, Mary Cheadle and ShareScreen Africa.
🥲🥲Welcome back my friend. I came to tears several times in the past couple of days; I felt as sad as when I lost my first cat. I never thought I could feel that way about another cat again, but I did.
It is so wonderful to hear the girls have taken on the “play like no one is watching” fury; Lewis’s presence and legacy lives on in them. ❤️ I guess all the diversion has you well from COVID and the entire household is healthy again.
Thanks for the nest updates; always have Hawk Mountain in the back of my brain; maybe next year.
Take good care; many blessing to all. 🤗😚❤️
Thank you, Rita. Yes, Covid, thankfully, came and went and wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We mourn Lewis and miss him terribly, but the girls are settling. They are trying to figure out who is the boss! Cats are so different and bring us such joy – the sadness we feel when they are no longer with us is worth every joyful moment with them.
Dear Maryann, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a beloved animal is terrible. I am thinking of you and I have been through this more than once. You are brave that you have the strength to still write your blog. Blessings to you.
Thank you so much, Rita. He brought such joy and we miss him – . Thankfully the girls are settling and they are healthy.
Hello Mary Ann! So good to see you again and glad your feeling better too 🙏. Lewis is really missed and after loosing so many animals in my life I understand completely how it feels. I’m glad Missy is doing ok and getting use to Lewis not being there. Maybe one day she can have another playmate too 💖. I like the tea towel. ❤️ Caico and Hope are so pretty too. Love all your pictures of them. 💖💕
The little falcons are really growing up! So cute! 💕💕The sea eagles are so pretty too! 🩷🩷
Looking forward to watching all the eagles. ❤️🦅
Enjoy your weekend and take care.🤗🥰 See you soon here Mary Ann.
Linda
Hello Mary Ann, I’m sorry for your loss. I’ve not written sooner because the news upset me. I sometimes wonder if Lewis would have been better off if he had not gone to the vet. Look forward to your continued coverage of the life of birds and I wish you and your cats many happy long years together.
Hi Mario. Thank you so much. Sadly I saw his mouth when he went in for his jabs and I was taken so aback…and I also saw them again the final day. Nothing had helped. There was/is some experimental non-approved treatment for HPI – and I asked when I found out about it yesterday but I was told it was too late. Lewis’s systems was attacking him from every angle. BUT I have to admit that I also wondered…The girls are settling in and the poor things get their gums checked every day – twice a day! It has all made me a little on edge about their health.
Dear Mary Ann! I’m so glad to read your posts again. I hope writing helps you get over that deep feeling of loss. And I’m really happy to read that Missey seems to come to terms with it too. I’m sure the presence of Hope and Calico helps you both tremendously. Lewis is lost, but will never be forgotten. I’m so glad that Melbourne peregrine mom seemed slowly bouncing back from her injuries. The adults’ health is the most important. Although cam watchers seemed to take the unsuccessful outcome of the season quite hard, I kind of feel relieved to know that mom’s getting healthier and she doesn’t have the added stress of caring for little ones. There’s no way to know what would’ve come of it. Still we have that adorable family of Diamond and Xavier to watch. The chicks seem really strong and growing well. Thank you for posting the info on the beautiful British coins. It made me remember how beautiful our coins were before the euro came into our lives. Our currency “lati” also featured beautiful images of nature – trees, animals, etc. Of course, there was also a coin with a stork. Thankfully, I have some of these limited edition coins saved in a special album. Interesting to read all the other news too. I truly hope you’re feeling a bit better day by day ♥️
Ditto re F22 at Melbourne. Best her health and better during incubation if things were to go sideways. Not with chicks in the nest…Dad could not have managed alone, sadly, unless they were near fledge. The girls are doing great, thank you and I am looking forward to a little osplet at PLO soon!