18 November 2023
Good Morning Everyone,
Before we blink, it will be 2024 and I think I have just gotten comfortable typing ‘2023’ without having to think about it! Where does the time go? And why does it seem to fly by so quickly?
Thank you for all your good wishes for Calico. As you know, I have a really warm spot for this cat that was probably dumped and had to live in the wild for last winter until she moved into the house in late August. I am so glad she became trustful. The good news is that Calico has an infection and will be 100% back to normal in a few days. It is the same as she had before when Hope was lost and the milk built up. She has a slight case of mastitis. But the bad news is she does have some arthritis in her legs or perhaps her health was compromised by having kittens and taking such good care of Hope when she was so young. You might recall that Calico was so very thin despite eating a lot of good cat food daily. For any of you who have arthritis (my gran did, and so do I), there are treatments but no real cure. Poor thing. That warming cat bed will be nice for her this winter and she has some vitamins now to help get her bones stronger. Geemeff has suggested adding Lysine and Cod Liver Oil and we will certainly do that. I suspect she will want to sleep in that warm bed year-round. There are anti-inflammatory medications she can be on, as well as feline acupuncture. Because she is very young (just a year and a fortnight), the vet is weighing the options and will get back to me on Monday with a plan for Calico. In the meantime, we will fight this infection! She is looking better already after 24 hours of antibiotics.
Hope and Calico on my grandmother’s quarter-cut oak round table. Hope quickly got on a plant stand that I had put a table mat on and has now claimed it as her own.
Mamma.
Hope stood up as if she were a model and then she did the contrapposto pose of the Ancient Greeks, almost. (It is when a person stands with their weight on one leg, allowing the other to be more relaxed and bent at the knee. It gives a rather relaxed pose). Oh, she is so cute I can’t stop taking photos of her…soon she will be a big girl.
Little Hope is being trained to go into the carrier so she can go for her operation this coming week. She is so easy. She loves treats! Thank goodness. Missey supervised!
The camera at Port Lincoln was able to get some beautiful close ups of Giliath early Saturday morning while the pair wait with Mum for a fish delivery. Gorgeous. Simply beautiful. Look at those lovely juvenile feathers growing in!
And #2.
They are exercising those wings!
Dad came through at 0903. Way to go, Dad!
The chat moderator and camera operator (and observation board), Bart, says that the Fish Fairies delivered close to 9 kg of fish on Friday to the nest. Way to go Fish Fairy!
The Fish Fairy arrived and left four really lovely fish at 1330 (the observation board says four, but I see three…where is the other one? under a chick?). What a nice feast they will have. Mum quickly got the fish and started feeding Giliath and #2.
So is it Giliath or #2 that went over to try and do some self-feeding? I am having difficulties telling them apart.
Mum finished feeding the first fish and started on the second – a red mullet. Despite the crops being full, the chicks are still eating. Surely, they will fill up, crop drop, and top up their holding tank again. This could be the last fish til Sunday, when the fish fairy visits again. That red Mullet must have been hiding.
Three down and one left. Mum is eating and is extremely hungry. They have stopped. The last fish is under one of the osplets. Will Dad come and have a meal? Surely he is easily as hungry – if not more – than Mum and the chicks.
Mum started on the last fish. She is eating most of it herself. She is obviously very hungry – she did a fantastic job feeding her youngsters now it is her turn for a really good meal.
Wow! Thank you to everyone supplying fish to this much-loved osprey family. This family and these chicks would not be what they are today without your empathy and generosity.
Note: Dad took one of the Whiting! So everyone had the best fish.
If you have considered donating, it could be an excellent time to show appreciation and help feed these osplets. If you are an international donor, you will do the stripe transfer. You will see a page with merchandise and amounts for donation. Once you begin the process, there is a place at check out to add ‘barge feeding’.
Fran Solly confirms (on FB comment reply) that ringing will occur the first week in December, and one of the osplets will get a satellite tracker. The dates that I have seen suggested are the 5-7th of December. I wonder who will get the tracker.
At Orange, the fledglings are being fed on the top of the tower!
Cathy Cook has been busy taking photographs and videos of the sea eaglets. You should check out the Sydney Sea Eagles FB page for the complete images. Lovely to see the youngsters flying strong and being heckled by the little birds but doing well. It has been a glorious year. Thanks, Cathy!
‘A’ sent the Ranger’s report:
“November18: Early the juvenile was down in the usual mangrove area, with Lady keeping watch above. Saturday morning the river is noisy with rowers training, much shouting and noise until 9am. Pleasing to see the juvenile fly a short way. At 12:30 the juvenile was on a mangrove branch in the shade and both adults on River Roost, no swooping or calls. 1:10 both adults took flight from River Roost and were away for some time. 1:20 juvie flew back again, then moved again a few metres and again, so hard to see. Later we were thrilled to see her make a couple of passes over the water, with talons reaching out- practising hunting? (see picture – ).The wind was very strong, hard for a young eagle. Then she was back again to the favourite patch. Not sure if a late feed was delivered.”
Let’s check that other Osprey nest at Osprey House with Atlantis and Kailani.
Gosh, Dad looks little delivering these fish. Gotta watch those talons.
An Osprey visitor at the Captiva nest in the Barrier Islands, Florida.
It was windy, stormy, and wet at the nest of Gabby and V3. Still V3 was on the branch being ever vigilant over their territory.
There is a lot of misinformation, and sometimes I get caught in it…this is the information from the AEF on who was at the NE Florida nest Friday night. Many still believe that V1 visited.
At the SW Florida Eagle Nest, Mr Hootie flew into the nest hooting for his mate with prey. He stayed in the nest, went up to a branch, and then returned to the nest calling. He left but he might come back. No sign of M15 while this was happening.
Then the eagles came! It was after midnight.
Lady Hawk shows us M15 giving a fish gift to F23.
It was a nice day on the other side of Florida at Captiva in the Barrier Islands. Clive and Connie have alternated incubation of their two eggs.
There is activity at Dulles-Greenway.
We are 19 days away from hatch at Superbeaks!
Late visit at Big Bear. It is sure windy there!
Looks like River is still at Dale Hollow. I wonder if she is still with the male that was there after Obey disappeared?
Some great images of Liberty at the Redding California nest. Wow. She is a beauty.
The Three Bridges Eagle Cam will go live shortly.
Did not die of lead poisoning. Someone shot this beautiful Bald Eagle, and it died. I have a hard time getting my head around the reasons that anyone would do such a thing.
Cody is still having some issues at the Kisatchie National Forest E-3 nest with the solar power…this time it is ants.
Osprey count from Gambia. 5F is Seren, Dylan’s mate, at Llyn Clywedog.
What species of birds live the longest in the UK?
A win-win.
Join me in reading about Canada’s National Bird – the Canada Jay. Nicely written…a joy.
Ever wonder how far Peregrine Falcons fly from Europe to their winter homes? Check this Finnish bird out! Incredible.
Be kind to your friends with pets this holiday season. Do NOT give them any of these plants!
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care. We hope to see you again soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A’, PLO, Fran Solly, Holly Parsons, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Cathy Cook, Osprey House Environment Centre, Val Gall, NEFL-AEF, Linda Russo, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Lady Hawk, Window to Wildlife, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, FOBBV, Sassa Bird, FORE, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Carol Mandis-beadle, Cody Wayne, Jean-marie Dupart, Bird Guides, Brian Horne, and Atlas Obscurer.
So glad to read mostly good news from the bird world! Feeling overwhelming joy for the Australian nests. So far so good. What a turnaround for Port Lincoln nest! Absolutely amazing…The largest thanks to Fish Fairies and people who donate to provide the osprey family with fish! I’m sure, you and your vet can come up with the most suitable plan for Calico. So she can live to the fullest…My late dog had arthritis starting from 8 years of age, and he managed to almost reach his 16th birthday. We tried many things, also bought an orthopedic matress for him which was a waste because interestingly he preferred wooden floor. We had good success with Hyaloral supplements, they seemed to really help him. I continue to give them also to my large dog lady for prevention. And, of course, massages are very welcome in such situations. Of course, it got hard towards the end with our late dog. For the last year I carried him out and then back inside because any stairs got hard, but there were never any accidental urination or defecation or anything like that. He still managed to move as much as he could, but inevitably the old age took over. So I would say arthritis is very manageable, especially taking into account Calico’s young age. I’m sure she can still have a very full life, especially under your great care. Best wishes!🤗♥️
Your lovely dog was so lucky. I am so sorry to hear of its distress, but how grand to have you help them being able to live. Thank you for the recommendation about the medication. I certainly plan to try it. I appreciate your concern and help. Yes, the PLO is doing marvellous BUT only because of those supplementary fish. I really hate to think what this nest would be like – if either of the chicks would be alive – if the extra fish were not being provided. Something is wrong there…
Loved the Canada jay article. I became acquainted with them while skiing for many years at Blackcomb/Whistler. The locals called them whisky jacks or camp robbers. They can rob my camp any time!
My heart melts every time I see your kitties. Missey reminds me of CJ, and Lewis reminds me of Bootsey, my partner’s cats. They were the first cats I ever got to know really well. I hate the thought that someone might have dumped Calico and at such a young age. Another thought is she might have been an indoor/outdoor kitty and curiosity got the better of her. I was on my way to work at Sea-Tac Airport and had to stop at a l-o-n-g red light at an off ramp off I-5. A guy in a car next to me was mouthing something and gesticulating. I can never figure out what they are saying or what the gestures mean. He got out of his car, and I rolled the window down. He said, “Do you know you have a cat in the bed of your truck?” It is busy everywhere around the airport, and I didn’t want to pull over and try and get the cat out because he might run off, and worse still, into traffic. I figured my best bet was to park in the allotted employee parking in the parking garage. Sure enough, the cat jumped out after I parked and shut the engine off. It was CJ! I chased him, caught him, put him in the cab, and cracked the window. I returned later with some water and shared a hamburger with him for lunch. All the time I was thinking, “Please don’t pee or poop in my beautiful truck!” He didn’t. I don’t know if he knew it was my truck, but if that guy hadn’t said something, I wouldn’t have known, and we would have been left wondering what had happened to him. He wasn’t chipped either, but I think that might have been before chipping became a common thing. But there is a warning to truck drivers with open beds and also to people who leave their cars unattended with the windows open. That’s another story!
Thank you for putting me onto the Port Lincoln osprey nest. After avoiding osprey nests because of YouTube titles of death and destruction, this nest is a delight. Many thanks to the Fish Fairies. I’m planning on making a donation. I doubt it’s tax deductible here in the US, but that’s OK because this is truly a donation from the heart. I recently read of an osprey in care in California. It costs US$40 a day to feed this little guy. He is doing very well BTW.
Thank you for your beautiful story and I am so glad you loved the Blue Jays. I adore them. I could never move because of the garden birds and animals. Now I wait along with Junior for them to return next spring. What a wonderful person that was to tell you CJ was in the back of your truck. They can find their way home but I often wonder if it is only if they walked the distance. Not sure about getting a free ride. So glad your baby is back. Sadly we have lots of people dumping cats. The other day a woman went to clean an empty apartment and found 3 adult cats and 5 kittens starving. She got food and litter and put out a call for more food and she began to find homes. The poor things were so traumatised. And, yes, Calico, could have been curious and got lost but no one ever posted anything about her so we will never know. Little Hope – I cam calling her Bush Tail – is right by my feet. I am forever grateful to the whatever happened to have them in my life. In our province Quebec, July 1 is moving day and my vet tells me that everyone dumps their cats and dogs that day because so many places will not accept pets. That is a shame. I will put a reminder note in the blog about truck beds and open windows!!!!!! No, PLO is not tax deductible for Canada and I doubt the US. I was donating heavily to some US places and discovered not tax deductible but all were very worthy so I gave up thinking about what is and isn’t…it is so nice to know that PLO is feeding those beautiful babies this year. I honestly think one or both would have died by now. So thank you!