15 February 2024
Good Morning Everyone,
I hope that each of you had a very good Wednesday. That you found time to marvel at nature or read a book or connect with a friend, a family member, or even a stranger. ’The Girls’ and I thank you for your Valentine’s wishes and also for sharing your beloved pet friends with us and their stories. I marvel at how much love there is for wildlife and our fur families. I do not own a television and only get streaming channels I rarely watch. The news in the world is dire, so – it is time to just focus on the life around us, treasure the moments, find joy, and marvel at our feathered friends.
Gosh, there is a lot of good news in Bird World today. It just makes you feel the joy and love. So before even going anywhere near eggs, let’s talk about Ron’s former mate, Rita, at the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest. ’H’ wrote to tell me that she is now in her new enclosure at the Marathon Wild Bird Centre, Crane Point Hammock Museum, in Marathon, Florida. That is in the Keys.
This is a stunning enclosure for Rita. Well thought out in terms of size and height. She can no longer fly wild and free, but she can move about easily and there is even a pond for her to have a refreshing splash on a hot day in Florida.
Here she is – isn’t this beautiful?
Wednesday was lovely. It was the perfect day to go to the provincial park for a nice walk amidst the Chickadees. The roads were snow-covered, and big flakes were dancing down. A few cross-country skiers were heading to the trails, but no one was feeding the birds. As a result, there were hundreds and hundreds of chickadees ready to hit your hand and take a seed! We went through four pounds of Black-oil Seed! Seriously.
I will bore you with photographs of these amazing little songbirds that flit their way through a Canadian winter, just like some do with grandchildren and vacation pics.
Look closely; you can see some in the bare branches, too. I only had my iPhone with me. For some reason, I have been leaving the big lens at home – cumbersome in the winter – so I do not have any good shots of the hundreds in the trees. Well, I have images, but you can’t see the birds…so that is why I am explaining the phone camera.
It was just a beautiful day. Several miles away, in a protected area, deer were feeding.
‘The Girls’ had a few more little treats and got to hear their Valentine Story again. I know they don’t like it nearly as much as the book we are currently reading, 12 Birds to Save Your Life. Nature’s lessons in happiness by Charlie Corbett. More about that later. They do, however, love treats. Those are very limited because of Calico’s need for a diet and you won’t see Missey there – she doesn’t like treats at all. Go figure.
Calico’s nose was a tad out of joint – she gets overrun when Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope are together. They dive in after those little calorie-laden morsels.
Not a great image, but you can see that Hugo Yugo’s face is still that of a kitten and you can see her tiny paw. What you aren’t seeing is a lot of whiskers. Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope play so rough that the whiskers get broken off!
And, gosh, it is time to get into the news from Valentine’s Day. There is so much, and I might miss something! Rita is just such good news. It took a long time to build that enclosure for this very special eagle, but thankfully they made our home safe and large so she could move about.
In California, Thunder and Akecheta are going for triplets.
Trudi Kron has it on video…the first sighting when Akecheta was rolling those eggs. We know this pair can do it – still remember that remarkable year with the trio. Akecheta was amazing.
Congratulations to Rosa and Lewis at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle Nest on the Potomac River. Their first egg arrived in the late afternoon on Valentine’s Day.
Sally and Harry at Moorings Park have their second egg – right on time on Valentine’s Day, too. Will they go for three?
I you missed the ABC news broadcast on Jackie and Shadow, here it is:
It is nice to see the weather has dramatically improved for our much-loved Bald Eagle Couple. Today is the 15th of February. We are a fortnight from the hatch. I am holding my breath like tens of thousands of others. I think I told you. There is the tiniest bottle of champagne waiting for their hatch. I bought it last year, and sadly, there are no hatches here. My fingers and toes are crossed, but mostly, I am holding my breath and not breathing for fear that one of those sharp talons could nip one of those eggs or all of them. Can you imagine how careful these two must be with those wet twigs and the snow melting?
Everything you wanted to know about hatching and more from Elfruler. There are good reminders here as we twirl the worry beads for the next two weeks hoping that one or more of these eggs are viable and make it to hatch.
I love Pat Burke’s comparison captures of R6 and just how quickly those little eaglets grow once they hatch.
They put a lid on the Egyptian Geese at Rutland, starting a nest on Maya and Blue 33’s Osprey platform! We are seriously on a countdown for these two superstars of the UK Osprey World, and there will be no goose eggs there instead!
The latest publication on Ospreys will be released in precisely two weeks. Tim Mackrill is no stranger to the Osprey World in the UK. This will be his third major publication. I love the volume he wrote for the RSPB both for its thorough and excellent content and the price point. Will compare that one to this one when it arrives in Canada.
Annie is into the ‘new guy’. Wonder what his name will be? After not seeing them bonding in the scrape, it seems like that is all they do. So happy for Annie…but, missing Grinnell, Alden, and Lou.
There has been some concern for Lusa in the Captiva Bald Eagle Nest. There are some cuts and blood on the Right Digit IV talon. It is unclear what has caused this but the eaglet has appeared lethargic on Tuesday and better on Wednesday. Rodenticide causes blood not to coagulate. This doesn’t look like that. If you look closely it appears to be an injury to the talon. Cause unknown. I hope that is what is happening. Window to Wildlife staff are monitoring the situation and ready to move into action if required.
In Canada, at the Surrey Reserve in British Columbia, a young intruder was looking for a free meal.
This is now going to be a quick run through a few of the nests before I call it lights out for today.
Meadow and Swampy continue to do well at Eagle Country. I am not seeing any bonking. There is always big chunks of food and I suspect some of the old prey is hidden underneath the nest materials. It was nice to see Blaze on the nest checking on his chicks. He is a fantastic provider.
The eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands is growing and so much easier to see.
Despite all the hope, not seeing an egg at Redding for Liberty and Guardian yet.
Kansas City eagle pair, Ellie and Harvey, have their first egg of the season.
Put your suggestions in for a name for Annie’s new mate in the FB thread for Cal Falcons. Who knows – you could just suggest a winner!
At Port Lincoln, ‘A’ sends us news of Bradley’s fishing efforts. ”
The boys at Port Lincoln were off doing their own thing today, with Giliath MIA. At 13:47, Bradley flew in with a monster live fish, which he then spent 67 minutes eating on the ropes. Did he catch it himself? It definitely appeared so as I watched him fly in over the water and land on the ropes with his fish. He did have some initial problems controlling it on the ropes, as it was pointed backwards, but once he got it the right way around, he had no difficulties in eating it.
Are we not SO very proud of our wee lad? By the size of that fish, and the way he managed it, I suspect this was not Brad’s first catch, but it’s the first one we can definitely confirm. We can be very sure, I think, that Giliath is also doing some fishing, on his travels around the local fishing spots with Dad and Ervie. What a triumph for PLO this season after last year’s tragic outcome. We could make the observation that this nest definitely needs the help of the fish fairies.”
‘A’ also brings us news from Orange: ”We finally have a live stream nest camera back on line at Orange, which allows us to see that the beautiful Madame Diamond is sleeping in her scrape, on her Cilla Stones (she moved to the Cilla Stones around 10pm local time, when it started raining). Ah, Diamond is in her house and all is well with the world. She had a bonding session with Xavier at 16:43 – he is such a darling. Diamond spent last night sleeping on the Cilla Stones too.
Report from Cilla:
Both Xavier and Diamond have been seen hunting at night this week. Here is a clip: https://youtu.be/pLynezfGb6A. Marri has not been heard or seen now since early this month, so it looks as if she may have dispersed. It’s about the right time. I cleaned the nest box last month, retrieved and ‘candled’ the egg (held a torch underneath to see contents), and it appeared to be unfertilised.”
Birdwatch looks at the not-so-shy Albatross—a short, ‘nice’ article to give you a smile.
Bird Flu has caused havoc amongst seabirds in the UK and the real numbers might never be known.
Some more news about the stolen Peregrine Falcons coming in from the RSPCA via Raptor Persecution UK.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We look forward to having you with us again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, screen captures, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, WRDC Chat, Lloyd Brown, Jann Gallivan, Trudi Kron, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Moorings Park Ospreys, ABC News, FOBBV, Elfruler, Pat Burke, LRWT, Tim Mackrill, SK Hideaway’s, Window to Wildlife, Sandy Williams, Jerinelle Wray, FORE, Eagle Country, JBS Wetlands, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Raptor Persecution UK, and The Guardian.
