Ron and Rose have an egg, a Juvie seen at Orange…Thursday in Bird World

7 December 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Everyone has their spot! Gosh, golly. I am taking some time while Hugo is snuggled up in the hammock of the new cat tree, sound asleep. He is doing better this morning. He has eaten and has slept cuddled nest to me both nights he has been here. Poor Hugo. You need to grow!

I must admit that he is so tiny I am terrified of ‘breaking’ him. Getting Hugo to eat is a bit of a challenge – I don’t think I have ever had a cat that didn’t want to eat! So – is it his recent vaccinations? The move from the foster family to here? Is he ill? The latter concerns me. Hugo now has an appointment with the vet today at 12:20. He does not appear to have thrived, so, we are going to see if we can change all that! And get advice on how to do it.

The girls have not fully embraced Hugo. Hopefully, they will once he really finds his legs in the family.

Because of Hugo’s need for attention – and, of course, Calico, Hope, and Missey still need to know they are loved – I am going to take a week off from everything, including writing the blog, to give them full and undivided attention. The banding at PLO has been moved to the 11th or the 12th. We should have more eagle eggs and bobble heads at Superbeaks by the 15th when I return and maybe fledges at Port Lincoln! Thank you for your understanding.

Several events in Bird World have us smiling. The first is that Ron and Rita have their first egg of the 2023 breeding season.

‘H’ wrote: “18:18:04  egg #1.  No one really expected this.  She was hanging out at the nest most of the day however.  We never even saw them mate!”

Wonder who will be next?

Rose is much loved. It did not look like an easy labour.

Also in Florida, it looks like V3 is getting the hang of things up at The Hamlet.

We are at pip/hatch watch at Superbeaks!

Eagles were at Redding on Wednesday.

Urban myths about eagles debunked. Do they really fly above storms?

A juvenile has been seen on the tower in Orange!!!!!!!! Incredible after no sighting for a few days. I feel excited about going to change the Memorial Page. Tears.

And more good news from Orange: “

At Orange, Diamond is sleeping off what looks like a large dinner (she has her usual huge crop), on her ledge and facing into the scrape. News of Barru (or is it Marri?) is good, and comes complete with footage from 6 December and 7 December: 

NEWS 7th December 2023 Cilla Kinross Our fledgling is nothing if not an early riser. In this morning’s video, it is chasing Xavier around just after dawn.  https://youtu.be/0FNHaf2m5rs 6th December Sightings of our one remaining juvenile (still unidentified, sorry) brought some relief to the channel followers as he or she had not been seen for a few days (even in the roost trees). This video covers most of the early morning antics, including a clumsy climb up the tower by the fledgeling and Xavier chasing a magpie.  https://youtu.be/Rw4y0YVRTmo“

At Port Lincoln… Dad arrives with a small partial fish for breakfast around 0810.

There was news on 6 December from Sydney. Thanks, ‘A’:

December 6: Early morning and both adults were reported at River Roost around 7am, with SE31 joining them from deeper in the mangroves as the adults greeted the day with a duet. River activity disturbed the youngster and she took flight, circling over the bay, before returning to land near the adults. She then flew back a little to the west, through the mangroves. She continued to fly about strongly until our team saw a parent deliver a fish at 10:10, which SE31 then ate in the mangroves. Later in the afternoon, around 3pm, both adults were seen at Goat Island.

And more good news on the 7th: “

At WBSE, the ranger report is another good one, with our juvenile being spotted with her parents. Also great to see a juvenile osprey, born and raised nearby, flying so well and looking so good. 

December 7: At 07:30 both adults and our juvenile were at River Roost, with SE31 between the parents, whining at times. I missed the report of a visit by two ospreys to the area yesterday afternoon, just before 5pm. Eagle calling and a brief flight and interacting in front of River Roost. No further action was reported today. A very hot day and more hot weather is expected tomorrow. One eagle was seen at Goat Island later in the afternoon. The picture below shows the juvenile osprey, a neighbour from another bay nearby.”

Horrible.

It is hard to imagine. 3 billion birds gone in 50 years.

The short..

The long version.

A beautiful article on the unexpected behaviour of an egret in Birdlife International.

Do you know someone who qualifies and is interested?

Thank you so much for being with me. See you on the 15th! Until then, please take care.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, announcements, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H, J’, Debra Keely, WRDC, HeidiMc, Carol S Rifkin, Superbeaks, FORE, Dulles-Greenway, Holly Parsons, Cilla Kinross, PLO, Sydney Sea Eagles, Raptor Rescue Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Science, and Cris Martin.