Thursday in Bird World

4 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Today’s posting may be short. I was away most of Wednesday and visitors will be here most of Thursday! It is time for homemade soup, Focaccia, and apple crisp. I also need a slight break from staring and counting the bites that Tuffie isn’t getting at Moorings Park.

When everything seems rather bleak, it is good to turn to a couple that can raise three eaglets, where the female has the nest under control, and where the Dad steps in and helps feed and keep the peace. That nest is the West End with Thunder and Akecheta. It is also Manton Bay at Rutland where Blue 33 has helped dear Maya when they had four!

There is a big difference in size between hatch 1 and 3 at the West End, but no matter. Both are thriving.

Our thoughts are with Meadow and his sibling, Swampy, and Abby and Blaze at the Eagle Country nest after Meadow was blown off the nest during high winds on Wednesday. Meadow was on the branch safe at the time of writing. Meadow is 64 days old today. The average age of an eaglet to fledge in Florida is 11 weeks or 77 days.

Perched for the night. (more images below)

It is so difficult to watch a nest that is struggling and that is certainly what is happening at Moorings Park. It began with the transition to the Reptilian Phase and a perceived drop and lateness in fish deliveries by the eldest chick, Ruffy. The question is: will Tuffie get enough fish to survive this period?

Osprey chicks typically double their weight by day 7 or day 8. Between days 8-10, the soft grey down they hatched with is replaced by a wooly charcoal coloured down. They become more mobile in the nest. The data records that ‘H’ and I have kept indicate that it is during this period of time when the Reptilian phase begins that the chicks are most ferocious if fish is not plentiful. Darker feathers on their heads begin to appear – a kind of black oily spot and some gorgeous copper red ones down at the nape of the neck. When they are about three weeks old, the primaries, secondaries, and the rectories begin to appear.

          The chicks are kept warm by their buff-colored plumage of down feathers called the first down. The crop develops within the first week of its life, which stores food so that the chicks don’t need to be fed very frequently. They usually double their weight in the first week of their lives. Under normal conditions, a nest will settle, and the fear of siblicide will pass as the osplets leave the Reptilian phase. That is, of course, not always the case. There are exceptions, and Port Lincoln certainly showed us in its past history that chicks are not safe, even at 42 or 65 days of age, if the eldest is determined to kill them.

Tuffie keeps his beak open and is begging for food and there is none on the nest when Ruffy is asleep. I have seen females hide food or keep food back to feed these little ones. Sally is not doing this.

Tuffie got only a few bites. Nothing more. Ruffy had a crop. I am in the seventh year of my twenty-year siblicide study. It is never easy. In fact, it seems to get more difficult to observe every year, every nest.

In contrast, Duke Farm’s Mum found scraps in the nest and made sure both Leaper and Jersey had some bites.

The rain is coming down and is expected to continue for several days. The eaglets, Leaper and Jersey, will be banded at the end of this week. What an enlightened nest! Wish each nest on streaming cams would band their chicks. Thank you Duke Farms!

There are now three osplets on the University of Florida-Gainesville nest of Talon and Stella.

The three at Little Miami Conservancy are doing well. Mum even changes the side of the nest from where she is feeding to make sure all three get prey.

The first egg for the Patchogue Ospreys on Long Island was laid on Wednesday.

Maureen posted these images of Meadow on Naturechat. Meadow is still on the branch, can flap its wings, and is safe. Not back in the nest but the parents can feed it there.

Parents know where Meadow is and are caring for their second hatch.

We can see Richmond and Rosie – barely. They are quite a distance from the Whirley Crane and its camera.

Louis is keeping Dorcha supplied with fish!

As we sit and ache for dear Meadow on the branch and longing for Tuffie to have a real good meal, imagine why a person would kill over 3000 eagles? Have a read. This is horrible…

There was a confirmed pip in egg two at Fraser Point for Andor and Cruz Wednesday evening.

No eaglets. No matter. Their bond is strong. Our beloved Jackie and Shadow will forge ahead. — I am starting to wonder if they laid their eggs later if they might have more success or is it only the altitude and not the altitude and the weather.

I am not sure what is being served up, but the two Decorah eaglets are warm and DNF is making sure they are both fed in cold damp conditions.

There are two at Centreport. It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.

Still no sign of Elen after some days at Glaslyn. Aran is now ‘considering’ Blue 372.

Mice. Introduced by humans to Marion Island continue to injury or kill both the Albatross adults and the chicks.

The New Forest in the UK has received funds to help with the restoration of wetlands, bogs, meadows, and heaths. Congratulations.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, J, L, R’, IWS/Explore, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Duke Farms, U of Florida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Little Miami Conservancy, PSEG, Maureen and Naturechat, SF Bay Ospreys, Erica Crowley, Geemeff, BirdGuides, Gracie Shepherd, SK Hideaways, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Centreport Eagle Cam, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, and Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels.