14 April 2024
Good Morning Everyone,
And now for some really good news before we even begin. Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig have their first egg of the season! Thanks, Geemeff. This is a good nest to watch. Louis is an excellent provider although they have had their tragedies and triumphs in the past couple of years.
JBS20 fledged this morning without an issue at 08:09:10. The wind was blowing and the eaglet was antsy. Perfect form. Mum waits for the return.
It is nearing 1700 on Saturday on the Canadian Prairies when I start writing this post. I am sitting on my deck basking in the blue sky, the sounds of the songbirds in the garden, and not knowing what to think of the 20 C temperature. It is, by and large, summer.
Baby Hope is looking more and more like Mamma Calico every day. Hope just chills on the back of the sofa in the Conservatory (or glass room as we seem to be calling it) while the others try for the best spot at the open window to smell the fresh air and listen to the birds.
Mamma got to be Queen for a Day.
Of course, Hugo Yugo has the best seat in the house. I would like to give some of Hugo Yugo’s attitude to our little second and third hatches. She has never taken any ‘gruff’ from the bigger and older cats. She just pushes her way in there and gets what she wants — and she never looks them in the eye. First rule to being a little eaglet or an osplet- do not look the older one in the eye when they are in a mood.
The arrivals in the garden today include House Finches, Song Sparrows, Northern Flickers, and Cedar Waxwings to add to the Crows, European Starlings, Grackles, House Sparrows, Blue Jays, and Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers.
I walked along the river, and I was unsure whether to believe my eyes. I did not have my camera with the long lens with me. Still, it looked like a family of Hooded Mergansers. This seriously cannot be possible. The Wood Ducks just arrived at the park. In fact, today I managed to go for a long, long walk at the nature centre and a stroll around St Vital Park to welcome the Wood Ducks while scowling at the water quality and the fact that with no rain, the pond is drying up. Is there a way and a will for our City to fill it? Then, it was a walk down the path by the river with a lovely ice cream cone.
Nothing is green except for a few patches of grass, here and there. I watched five Robins pulling worms from an area where it had rained. What a beautiful sight. Seeing Robins – for me, anyway – is a rare occurrence. They hardly ever come to the garden and – wow, there were five!
Some of the geese have discovered they like bird seed.
These geese were trying to find some plants to eat under the dry grasses.
The geese were particularly aggressive to one another at the park.
The waterfowl in the river. They turned out to be Common Goldeneyes. The ones with the white patch are the males. These are divers not dabblers. They arrive in Manitoba in late March and will migrate in November.
As you can see, I took my own advice and stayed outside most of the day. Going for a walk and stopping to just notice our environment is a good way to relieve any kind of stress. I hope you will get outside soon, too! — As a result, my post is rather short today. There is no news on Meadow and I am going to assume that the old saying applies – “no news is good news”.
It has been a hard week at the nests – well, it has been a difficult season, and it isn’t over. We often think that if there is only one chick on a nest that it will have an easy life, but that is not always the case. Little B17 showed us that. The nests get damp, there is mould, there are diseases, intruders, lack of prey and loss of habitat -. A very good nest can change over night and become a tragedy. Likewise, a nest that is in trouble, can turn around. A good example of that is Duke Farms this year. We can only hope that all goes well especially for those little third hatches. One nest that still hangs in the balance is Moorings Park – if you are concerned about beaking, do not watch this nest at this time. Give it a week – let us hope that the aggression will end with the transition out of the Reptilian Phase.
But all is not negative. There are so many good nests out there to watch but, for now, ‘H’ and I are keeping track of Moorings Park and any potential Osprey nests with conflict because that is what we do. For those new to watching Ospreys, I would caution against Moorings Park for the time being – give it another week and let’s see what happens.
At Moorings Park poor little Tuffy got really beaten by Ruffy on Saturday. Ruffy reminds me of Zoe. I cannot shake her from my head but the brutal attacks on Tuffy that ‘H’ documents below when there is plenty of fish and Ruffy is full to the tip of its beak reminds me too much of that first hatch Osprey at Port Lincoln that killed her two siblings. I hope Ruffy grows out of this attitude. — Please read ‘H’s’ narrative of the day. We must find that golden lining and it does come to Tuffy on Saturday. And just a note. The research that I have done alone and over the past two years with ‘H’ has demonstrated that on average an osplet can live (stay alive but not thrive) on about 100 good bites of fish a day when a nest is stressed. As today’s title suggests, Tuffy got much more than that today.
So, thank you again, ‘H’ for your great eye and constant vigilance: “At 0929 Harry delivered the first fish of the day, a huge whole tilapia, and Ruffie intimidated Tuffy to the side rails, but also followed him and beaked him. The size of the fish almost ensured that Tuffy would get fed eventually. Sally started to work on the fish, and at 0932 Ruffie started to eat. At 0947 Ruffie took a little break just to go over and beak Tuffy. Ruffie also periodically went half way over to Tuffy just to intimidate and warn him. At 1019 Ruffie went all the way to the rail to beak Tuffy. At 1023 Ruffie moved away from the table. Tuffy began to make his way to Sally, but had to get past Ruffie first…Tuffy didn’t make it, Ruffie beaked him and then she ate some more. At 1025 Ruffie moved away from Sally again, and Tuffy shuffled toward Sally, and got his first fish bite, but was intimidated by Ruffie and Ruffie ate some more. By 1029 Ruffie had moved further away from Sally creating a wider swath for Tuffy to traverse without having to come too close to Ruffie. Once at the table, Tuffy ate two more bites, but Ruffie beaked him and then she ate some more. At 1031 Ruffie backed away, and there was still a lot of the fish remaining. Tuffy got another bite to eat, and Ruffie attacked him brutally, beaking and biting him on his head, neck and wing. Ruffie ate some more until 1035, and then moved away. Tuffy stayed tucked in submission and Sally was the only one eating. Finally, at 1037 Tuffy tried to get closer to Sally, but Ruffie intimidated him, and Ruffie ate some more. The same scenario repeated at 1038. I noticed at that time, when Tuffy was tucked that his head had a small bloody spot, the back of his neck was red, and there was a pink area on his wing. Harry landed on the nest at 1039 due to an intruder issue. At 1041, Tuffy raised up and finally got another bite of fish, and he received several fish bits before Ruffie intimidated him, and Ruffie ate some more. At that point Tuffy had only eaten 9 bites of fish since the fish was delivered over an hour ago. At 1044 Ruffie moved away, and it just so happened that Sally turned slightly so that Tuffy was on the other side of her from Ruffie. Tuffy ate and ate! He had eaten a total of 74 bites by 1050, when Sally shifted, and Tuffy was once again exposed to Ruffie. When Ruffie saw Tuffy eating, she charged and intimidated him. There was still a lot of fish left, and Ruffie ate some more. Sounding like a broken record… At 1058 Ruffie moved away, Tuffy ate a few bites, then was intimidated by Ruffie, and Ruffie ate some more. When Ruffie moved away, Tuffy got a few more bites until 1102, when he was intimidated by Ruffie. This time Ruffie did not eat, but simply went away. Go now Tuffy… Tuffy was getting fed, but slowly because Sally was spending a lot of time pulling on fish skin… “feed faster please Sally!” By 1104 Tuffy had eaten 94 bites before being intimidated by Ruffie. Ruffie ate, and moved away at 1106. Then Tuffy ate again. At 1109 Ruffie intimidated Tuffy into a tuck, and Ruffie ate a few bites. When Tuffy resumed eating Sally was feeding faster. Tuffy had eaten 150 bites by 1114; 190 bites by 1119. Then Sally labored pulling on fish skin again… “please hurry up Sally, stuff the kid as fast as you can before Ruffie comes back!” Tuffy had eaten 217 bites by 1122, but then Sally began intruder-alarming, and she jumped up and accidentally landed on Tuffy. Harry arrived. 1123: “get up Tuffy, the intruder is gone”… but he stayed down. Was he hurt? Whew, 1124 Tuffy got up and resumed eating. Ruffie was still laying down across the nest. Tuffy had eaten 230 bites by 1126. At that time, Harry quickly flew off the nest after an intruder, and so did Sally, and she took the fish with her! Ah, but she immediately returned to the nest and still had the fish. Tuffy resumes eating at 1127. Ruffie was still too full to move, and had not been a problem since 1109. At 1129 this was now a two-hour feeding and Tuffy had eaten 250 bites of fish. 1129 there was another intruder issue, Harry was back, Tuffy pancaked. Feeding of Tuffy resumed at 1130, and by 1133 Tuffy had eaten a total of 265 bites of fish… at which time the live stream went down. There was still a little bit of fish remaining at that time.
…The live stream returned 40 minutes later at 1211, and Sally was feeding Ruffie from part of a fish. In my opinion, there had not been ’40 minutes of fish’ remaining on the earlier fish. I would estimate the previous fish would have only lasted about another 10 minutes or so. I wonder if Harry had delivered a small headless fish while the live stream was offline. At any rate, we returned live to find Tuffy on the furthest rail sticks, about as far as he could go without falling off the nest. It was obvious that he had been forced into into that precarious position. And, he was boxed in by the positions of Sally and Ruffie feeding right behind him. At 1219 Sally moved the fish and Ruffie followed, allowing Tuffy a space to climb back into the nest. This kid sure has a difficult life! Tuffy circumnavigated the perimeter of the nest attempting to come around the other side of Sally, but as he got near, he was cut off by Ruffie. By 1226 Tuffy was beside Mom and got two bites, then was intimidated by Ruffie. Another bite of fish, then Ruffie was on him, and a couple more bites and was intimidated by Ruffie who was no longer eating but was stationed right at Tuffy’s tail. At 1231 Ruffie ate some more. At 1237 Ruffie finally moved away, and Tuffy was fed. Tuffy had eaten 32 bites by 1241, and then Ruffie charged in front of Sally to beak Tuffy. Sally and Ruffie finished the fish, and Sally fed Tuffy a couple scraps later. Total for Tuffy at this meal (that we observed) was 34 bites of fish. Because of Tuffy’s position on the nest when the live stream returned, he was most likely forced to the nest edge by Ruffie, and I doubt that Tuffy had anything to eat from this fish while the live stream was down.
…At 1605 Harry dropped off a headless, medium sized fish. Ruffie began to be fed and Tuffy stayed away, waiting his turn. At 1610 Ruffie intimidated Tuffy just for the heck of it, Tuffy tucked. And she again intimidated Tuffy at 1611, so Tuffy moved further away. At 1625 Ruffie moved away from Sally, but Tuffy did not approach, and stayed on the far rim. He knew he had no clear path to get to Sally where Ruffy would not be able to attack him. At 1627 Ruffie ate some more. Ruffie seemed to be finished eating at 1629, and at 1630 Tuffy started to make his move, but about halfway to the feeding line, Ruffie cut him off, and Tuffy ended up tucked at the rail on the other side of the nest. By 1631 the fish was gone. It takes a really big, long-lasting fish for Tuffy to have a chance to eat.
‘H’ continues, “Harry delivered a large headless fish at 1658. It wasn’t just the size of the fish that meant Tuffy was likely to be fed, but also because it was delivered so close to Ruffie’s last meal, and Ruffie would still be full. To start, it just so happened that Sally was positioned in a way that Tuffy could be on the opposite side of her from Ruffie. Sally was preferentially feeding Tuffy to her left. Several times Ruffie tried to get at Tuffy by going under Sally’s chin, but was not able to do so. Eventually, Ruffie’s actions disrupted Sally and she had to move, which exposed Tuffy, and sure enough Ruffie inflicted a brutal and prolonged attack on Tuffy. Sally ate, and Ruffie was not very hungry. At 1705 Ruffie moved away, but Tuffy was hesitant and stayed tucked for a bit. By 1706 Tuffy was at Mom’s beak and being fed. Tuffy had eaten a total of 34 bites by 1707 when Ruffie returned, and Tuffy tucked. Ruffie moved away again at 1713, and Tuffy had a long private feeding. At 1723 Sally moved the fish a little closer to Ruffie and offered her some, but she wasn’t interested. Tuffy moved closer to Mom and started to eat again. To say Ruffie was more relaxed than earlier in the day would be an understatement. By 1725 Tuffy was still eating and Ruffie was standing close by, just watching him eat. At 1742 Tuffy was so crop-heavy he had to go lay down. Sally finished the fish. Total bites of fish for Tuffy at this meal = 249. So far today, Tuffy has eaten approximately 548 bites of fish.”
..At 1900 Harry brought in the fifth fish of the day, a large headless fish. Tuffy moved aside a little bit, and Ruffie started to eat. Tuffy was able to get 6 bites before he was intimidated by Ruffie, then he got a couple more bites at 1904, and by 1906 they were both being fed. From what he has been put through, Tuffy was understandably a little skittish of Ruffie, and Tuffy moved away a few times, even though Ruffie was not acting in a threatening way. Ruffie laid down at 1916, and Tuffy kept on eating. At 1917 Tuffy took a little break and laid down, but went back for more at 1919. By 1924 Tuffy was refusing most of Sally’s offerings, and Sally finished the fish at 1928. Tuffy ate at least 84 bites of fish at this meal. Total for the day = 632 bites of fish for Tuffy !
Remember – it is not the number of fish but the size that matters. Five large headless fish are much better than 8 small ones!
My inbox was flooded most of yesterday with concern for Tuffy. Those that stayed throughout the day even thought Ruffy might kill Tuffy. It was then such a relief to see the little one with that full crop. ‘H’ caught it as did many others including ‘PB’.
‘H’ is also monitoring a few other nests. She reports that Opal laid egg 2 at the Forsythe Nest and egg 3 arrived at Carthage today, too.
Each one of these nests brought some bitter sadness to viewers last year.
Forsythe (Caution watching this nest):
Carthage (Caution watching this nest):
There are now three chicks at Fort St Vrain in Colorado. Like many of you, I hoped that the third egg would not hatch. The two older siblings are just so much bigger than the little one. We will wait and see how this will all work out. Last year one of the two eaglets was dragged off the nest by a raccoon and killed. This appeared to be in retaliation for the eagles taking one of the baby raccoons to feed to the chicks. A predator baffle has been installed at the nest for this year.
Sunnie Day posted a note on FB about the female at Fort St Vrain: “Mom was banded in Colorado in May 15, 2002. she is 22 years old! She has hatched 36 eaglets. “
I cannot say how this nest will behave in terms of beaking yet.
In contrast, the three osplets at the Venice Golf and Country Club appear to be fine. There is plenty of fish in the area and this nest is recommended. The osplets are out of the Reptilian phase, also. They are all getting their juvenile feathers. Perhaps I have missed it, but life seems pretty civil compared to Moorings Park. Please feel free to correct me!
The first egg of the season was laid at the Osprey nest of Dylan and Blue 5F Seren at Llyn Clywedog on Saturday. This couple have successfully fledged a number of eaglets, many of them returning in their second year. Sadly, last year, one of the osplets was taken by a goshawk when Seren was feeding.
There is a difference between the nests of the UK and the US. First, there are far fewer Ospreys in the UK. Many of them have their nests in living trees. They are rural as opposed to living in cities near people. The nests are located near reservoirs or lochs full of fish. In the seven years that I have been researching siblicide, the incidence of this in the UK has been minimal. Loch of the Lowes is one exception that comes to mind. These are good osprey nests to watch. If I were to recommend just one, it would be the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi in Wales for those just learning about UK Ospreys.
Iris worked on her nest at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana to everyone’s surprise and delight on Saturday. Maybe she just had a tour of the area after she arrived and now she is ready to work on her always amazing nest. (This nest is good to watch because it is Iris, but there will be no chicks. Since 2018, there have been no chicks because the male she has bonded with, Louis, has another nest with Star at the baseball field). Most of us hope that Iris lays her eggs, the Crows eat them, and she has a lovely summer to herself eating trout!
Intruders have been bothering Hera and Zeus and there was some concern for Hera earlier.
Harriet did not return from her migration to Dunrovin. Swoop might have a new female partner. This is the latest.
Now nests that I certainly recommend include the falcons and the hawks. There is little to no sibling aggression. We will be looking for a hatch in about ten days with Annie and Archie. Archie is a first-time Dad – or is he? He can certainly incubate eggs. Maybe he lost his mate, too. In fact, poor Annie has had four mates in four years. That gives you some idea of the dangers that the males face in this urban environment.
Archie loves incubating the eggs!
The little eyases are hatching in Osaka!
And you have to watch Big Red and Arthur, the Cornell Red-tail Hawks! Big Red is twenty-one years old. When her long term mate, Ezra was killed, Big Red chose a very young Arthur – he didn’t even have his red tail which is a marker when the birds turn a year old. Watchers thought she was ‘nuts’. Well, she wasn’t. She trained Arthur and he is an amazing Dad and an incredible hunter. The year was 2017. They had their first chicks in 2018. In all the years, possibly eighteen, that Big Red has raised hawklets, only one has failed to fledge and that was K2 who had to be removed from the nest due to a jaw issue. She was later euthanised.
There are several really good eagle nests. The West End nest of Akecheta and Thunder is top notch.
But what about the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California? Their two eaglets are younger and they are doing well. (One egg broke).
The Duke Farms nest has turned around. At one point, the bites of fish that Jersey got were counted. Ringing is expected on Monday morning with measurements. Recommend to watch or fledge.
‘L’ found a recent image of Wisdom, the oldest banded Albatross in the world, taken by the USFWS on Midway Atoll. Wisdom is on the right. She is in her 70s.
‘L’ sends us images from the birds at the Fairhope Pier on the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama. An Osprey couple make their home on the lighthouse while a Blue Heron suns itself among the gulls. Thank you for sharing your day – this is where everyone should be, if they can – outside!
Osprey are on the light platform.
Birds never want to pose for a good picture – right when ‘L’ got close enough for the Heron to be in focus! Gosh, isn’t this the problem trying to photograph wildlife?!!!!!!! Or cats.
Just look at those legs.
They are beautiful. There are parakeets in London and in San Francisco and I bet some of you can tell me more places. Here is a beautifully photographed article in a French magazine about the “Parakeets of Paris.”
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, L, PB’, Geemeff, JBS Wetlands, Moorings Park Ospreys, Forsythe Ospreys, Carthage Ospreys, Fort St Vrain, SDNP, VGCCO, CarnyXWild and Llyn Clywedog, Montana Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Osaka Peregrine Falcons, Heidi Mc and Joy of Ospreys, Pam Breci and Joy of Ospreys, Cornell RTH, IWS/Explore, FORE, Duke Farms, USFWS, and MFCH.
*Disclaimer: I make every effort to acknowledge those that send me photographs, videos, articles, etc. If I fail to recognise someone, please let me know and I will rectify the situation. Thank you.*
