Friday in Bird and Cat World

27 October 2023

Hi Everyone,

More snow!

That is not a permanent change – ‘cat’ – World but, I think that the cat I kept seeing and thinking was Hope’s father is, indeed, just that – the father.

Now, look carefully. This cat has short, stocky legs and a square jaw like Hope, but he also has that teardrop that Hope has. Remember, Calico has that teardrop, too. Even his paws look like Hope and Calico’s, and that single patch of a few white hairs is also on Calico and Hope. It has to be him. The shape of the eyes gives it away, too…So is this big lad both Hope’s father and grandfather? Or could he be a brother to Calico? One way of finding out is if I can get a blood sample and compare it to both Calico and Hope, aka Bushy Tail.

I can tell you his days of fathering kittens all over the neighbourhood are ending quickly. There is a chicken dinner waiting for him and the vet will perform the magic tomorrow. There is a nice heated garage, too! And if we are lucky, two others will join him. Fingers crossed. It gets dark so early and sometimes it is difficult to coordinate things. Calico watched him eat out the garden door. She didn’t hiss or anything. Just sat on the island looking out. I hope she was glad to be inside as it was wet and cold out there!

Whenever I see a house with these fake cobwebs that kill the birds and insects, I go ballistic. It is time to stop using these fake cobwebs. There are other things that can be used to decorate without injuring or killing wildlife.

It isn’t about birds but it is about saving our precious wildlife. Amazing what a simple change can do! Spread the word if you live where boats, motors, and Manatees try to coexist.

There were protests, and many decided not to donate to Cornell Bird Lab when they did not directly fund the collision blinds for Big Red’s fledglings. Now, they will build a building where Big Red has her nest! Seriously? Other places need donations, and I can live without Living Bird Magazine.

Want to help our feathered friends during a Tropical Storm or a Hurricane? Here are some tips! Thanks, Sunnie Day.

Osprey doing very well in rehab! Another one to add to the list. Please do not let anyone tell you that ospreys cannot handle being in care. The Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, the Raptor Centre, and here is another will tell you differently – CROW. They handle many Ospreys. Thank goodness for wildlife rehabilitation clinics and the kind people who operate them and the volunteers who assist. What would our wildlife do without them?

Just look at this beautiful buzzard that flew to the Loch Arkaig nest. Gorgeous creature.

Port Lincoln has posted the information about the research project and the feeding of the Ospreys at the Barge. Let us all wish them luck! I have been flooded by letters from viewers telling me they will now return to watch this nest, one that they quit watching years ago due to the siblicide. Please remember to send Fran Solly a note of support! (Thanks ‘H’ for getting this to me. I had not gone to check this morning!)

Heading to Australia, Dad had a really nice size fish on the nest for Mum and the chicks at 0629.

The kids had a little feed, Mum had some good bites and Dad took the fish. He returns it later for a second feeding!

0733: #2’s crop is really not that large.

0741:

More fish for the kids left from that one. Giliath eats and then # 2 gets fed. Mum is very good to check on #2 as long as his beak is up. She is doing so well with these two.

‘

I continue to be relieved that fish will be provided if necessary. And I hope that the compassion and interest shown at Port Lincoln will spread to other nests that could be in trouble of losing all their chicks during a storm – supplementary feeding for a couple of days can be a good thing. It would have made all the difference at a nest such as Barnegat Light that got hit hard by Duke missing for days, the stormy weather, and the decline in Menhaden due to humans overfishing.

Mum was not home and Galiath took the opportunity to give #2 a right going over -. Notice that Galiath has started going into the Reptilian Phase, the time when the beaking begins most often. What we want is for this to stop and not to continue. The little one was noticeably not as aggressive wanting food and Galiath had her body over it later in the day. Sad to see this beginning.

Standing over the little one displaying sheer dominance – with a full crop.

At ten days old, you can see Galiath’s plumage changing.

By noon, both chicks are hungry again. Only one fish in from Dad and that was early. More fish needed! Please, Fish Fairy. Galiath is ‘itchy’ from the pin feathers coming. in. Little one is hopeful for some fish. He has not had a lot this morning despite the large fish brought in early.

Waiting for fish.

A’ gives us a later rundown on nest happenings, “By 13:49 we see that dad has flown onto the side of the nest to babysit. Around 13:52 a shadow passes over the nest, the chicks immediately pancake, and dad starts alerting. Mum is back at 14:06:40 with a nice whole fish. The osplets immediately line up. Giliath has front position so Little, to Giliath’s left, scrambles a bit closer to mum. As mum feeds Giliath, Little tries pecking at the fish in mum’s talons!! Go, Little! Now, under the current evolving circumstances, that is a great skill to practise at any opportunity. Mum has to work hard at trying to get bites to Little, due to its feeding position, which is not ideal (at the wrong angle to make it easy for mum) and also because Giliath is leaning across in front of Little and grabbing many of the bites intended for her younger sibling. Little is not at all intimidated by its sibling, and is sitting up at the table as normal, competing for bites and sometimes stealing morsels from its sibling’s face or beak. Mum is really trying to get bites to Little, but Giliath is getting two or three bites to every one of Little’s. Note that during most of this feeding, Giliath is in perfect position to beak her brother in the back of the head but this does not disconcert Little, who is behaving completely normally. There is no bonking. This interests me – Giliath was not hungry at 09:11 and now that she is, and there is competition for the available food, she displays zero aggression. I presume this indicates that the attack had nothing to do with food insecurity and everything to do with establishing an agreed pecking order. We will see. At 14:19, Little turns away. Mum finishes feeding Giliath at 14:33 and dad removes the remainder of mum’s fish. At 14:50 dad is back with what’s left of the fish. This feeding quickly turns into a private feeding for Little. It gets fed well, as Giliath is largely in a food coma, and Little finishes with a big crop by the time the feed ends with mum horking down the tail at 15:01. Mum broods Little. Giliath remains out, sunbaking and preening. She does a PS on mum, then takes a nap. Little wakes up and at 16:01 does a PS on Giliath, which wakes her up. It’s all getting a bit messy. Giliath perhaps didn’t appreciate being pooped on and bonks Little. She soon settles down though and the pair return to being friendly.” 

HeidiMc catches that fish going overboard at Port Lincoln -.

At Orange, the chicks are starting to look like sheep that can walk on two legs!

More from ‘A’: “Here are the time stamps for the day for our favourite falcon chicks, who are now running across the scrape. How quickly these hawklets and falcon chicks grow up. PREY 06:30:48, 07:20:06, 09.05.42, 14.24.49, 16:42:56, 18:19:54 FEED 06:31 (self-feed & D), 09.07 (X), 14.25, 16:43, 18:21. RECAP 6.25.53 Barru wingers, 6.30.31 ledge cam X aborts landing w/prey, 6.30.53 ledge cam D aborts landing, 06.32.24 Barru kekking, 08:23:34 ledge cam X glides out, 14.31.55 Marri struggles with a wing. Diamond and Xavier really do make this look easy, although we know it is anything but that. Xavier did one of the feedings, and at that feeding, the younger one, Barru, was particularly well fed. (Not that it was exactly fading away before that!) These two are adorable to watch. Just gorgeous. And those naughty little sidelong glances – those eyes just melt your heart. “

At the Sydney Olympic Park, Lady and Dad are looking for their babies.

Yesterday was the same. My heart aches for the two of them. According to the postings no one has seen the eaglets being fed since they did not return for prey on the nest. I hope that they are eating elsewhere but the history of the nest would leave me to think otherwise. Hoping for an update from the BOGs!

At Taiaroa Head, the mate of OGK, the gorgeous YRK has flown in and is socialising with those coming in for breeding. ‘A’ wonders if she knows that OGK is no longer with us?

At the nest of M15 and F23, the new female occupant is bringing in air plants to decorate the nest! Gorgeous.

There is wonderful news coming from the Fraser Point nest!

Pepe has been making some fish deliveries to Muhlady as they both continue to monitor the territory and work on their nest.

An eagle on Tor at the West End Bald Eagle Nest and a gorgeous sunset over the Channel Islands.

‘H’ loved those skinny jeans of Liberty!

Hoping to change some minds about the driven grouse moor hunting in Scotland.

Malta is not the only country that turns an eye to poaching. Lebanon. Poland. Today, The Guardian published an article on trapping wild birds in France. The malicious killing of birds (and all wildlife) is a global issue. It needs to stop – politicians need to know that ordinary people demand protections for our natural world. Vote. And watch those purchases you make and the trips of a lifetime – try to support those who are trying to make a difference. Stay at a cottage on a farm that is working towards biodiversity through rewilding. Buy your tuna from pole and line fishers (see below).

I asked ‘H’ about the type of tuna she is finding and she gave me the following information. It is certified to be pole and line – not long line trawler that beheads our precious albatross as bycatch.

‘H’ sent me to the Wild Planet page where you can find all manner of sustainable products.

The same sustainable brands are available in Canada. You can check on Amazon’s site and then compare it with other retailers. I just might go back to having a tuna sandwich once in awhile BUT now I must begin to research the food the girls eat. Right now it is organic chicken from a local farmer, some dry food, and some tinned. But where does this tinned food originate?

Thanks so much for being with us. Two of the male cats will be ‘fixed’ in about fifteen minutes and hopefully live a healthier and safer life in the future. Take care all!

Thank you to the following for their notes, graphics, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, Ruth Thomas, Birds in Helping Hands, Ellen Miller, Sunnie Day, Audubon, Jane Dell, Geemeff, PLO, HeidiMc, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk, Laura Davis Nelson, IWS, Superbeaks, Raptor Persecution UK, The Guardian, and Amazon.