Tuesday in Bird World

7 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

UPDATE: FALCON CHICKS IN OMAHA ARE DECEASED NOT OSPLETS! THEY HAVEN’T HATCHED YET.

Gosh. I wish I could tell you that we have blue skies here on the Prairies, but no, it is heavily overcast and windy and I suspect some more rain is coming. The rain we had last week while I was so very sick made the grass green and the heat has really popped the leaves.

On Monday Mr or is it Mrs? I think Mr Crow was in and out all day long getting pieces of cheesy dogs. I didn’t clock his comings and goings but it was consistent throughout the day to see him on the railing of the fence flying down to get a piece of food. There have to be babies in the nest for him to be coming and going so often. So, imagine, in a month, there could be baby crows pecking at the ceiling of the conservatory for more food! We become foster parents to them and the little Blue Jays that will hatch about the same time. Oh, I can’t wait.

There was no one at the duck pond when I walked around. To my great surprise, it appears the first two goslings have hatched.

There were Wood Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, and Canada Geese. Phone photos from a distance are not great. Below is the female Common Goldeneye. She is knockout gorgeous with her ruffled light-espresso head tinged with a bit of auburn or henna, that piercing yellow eye, and a body of shades of brown-black, white, and grey—like practising hues and shades from design class only using brown touched with black instead of pure black. They are diving ducks that feed of pond plants, tubers, leeches, frogs, and small fish.

I was surprised at the lack of ducks. I wonder if there just isn’t enough plant food or them. There were only two male Wood Ducks. This was just sitting quietly by one of the incubating geese.

I left the park and headed to the nature centre. My body needed to walk out in the fresh air! There were bus loads of students doing things far away from the trails. The American Goldfinches have arrived along with the Harris Sparrows. I did not see any goslings but a few geese incubating. What struck me at both sites was the lack of geese incubating eggs. I hope they are just hiding.

The daffodils are just beginning to open and if you look closely you can see the canopy turning green.

It just felt so very good to be outside – walking. I am feeling a bit better every day, little by little. It isn’t COVID and keeps reminding me that this is probably a really bad case of food poisoning that is lingering. Thank you over and over for your good wishes.

At home, Hugo Yugo has been playing ‘cheese hockey’. This cat loves cheese. She also likes one big piece to bat all over the floor like a small soft toy. Oh, goodness, she has fun.

‘H’ is over the moon excited. It was a very sad year for Louise and her mate, Jasper, in 2023. Then we had to endure the intruders harming Banff, the only surviving chick, knocking her off the platform, etc. We think Banff survived all of that and it is good to have Louise. Oh, let this nest be peaceful in 2024. Louise deserves it.

The other excitement comes from the Osprey nest at Captiva where Jack got to get involved in a dual feeding with Edie. Way to go, Jack.

‘H’ comments:

Things can get pretty rambunctious between the siblings at meal times.  CO7 is older, bigger, and more dominant, but CO8 starts a few of the skirmishes as well.  CO7 will beak CO8 occasionally during a feeding, and cause him to be submissive, but there are also times when the chicks eat peacefully side by side. The fish have been plentiful and large, and at most meals, CO8 will receive at least one private feeding.  At this point in time, the dominance by CO7 is not so severe that it prevents CO8 from getting plenty to eat. 

Thanks, ‘H’.

There are always those nests that just make you happy. Annie’s has always been that way. Even through the loss of the mates – each one a darling – those chicks just make us smile even when they are covered in pin feathers.

One of the chicks is already wanting to climb out of the scrape. Gracious me.

Little hawklets with pinfeathers are also adorable. Like Annie, Big Red would never let one of her babies go to sleep hungry. At the Cornell, they not only get a fur lined egg cup but they can sleep on their own squirrel dreaming about having it for breakfast the next morning.

We have a name for the new female at Dunrovin.

The new gal at Charlo Montana has two eggs and her name is Lola.

Dorcha isn’t new and we do love you with your deep dark plumage, but there is a very soft spot in our hearts for Aila. Many of you started watching streaming cams during the pandemic. I imagine most of you found the nest of Louis and Aila at Loch Arkaig. 400,000 people did. We fell in love with that trio. At least one of them Doddie was spotted in 2023 up in the Shetland Islands as a returnee. I hope Little Captain and Vera are out there, too. You were much loved, Aila.

Iris gets a whole fish dinner while New Guy incubates the second egg.

Nesting material has been arriving at Sandpoint where there are already three beautiful Osprey eggs. Now imagine. Look to the left to that little pond. Think fish. Wouldn’t you like to stock it with about 400 fish (yes, we would have to feed them) for the ospreys? Keke and Leo would like that. Fish at the ready.

Ah, thank you ‘MP’. I am so glad to hear that the male at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is bringing fish even if they are sunfish!

All three at Little Miami are looking good but, just look at how big the baby is!

Kansas City Eaglets are fine.

Working through the fish at Frenchman’s Creek. If you had told me a fortnight ago that these two osplets would be healthy, being fed on a bed of rotting fish, I might not have believed you.

Maya sleeping. Best do it now. Those eggs could hatch any time.

Rolling the eggs at Dyfi with Idris and Telyn.

Look at that nice railing on the Glaslyn nest. Imagine there are people who fix this every year! I would love to have the rail fairies help out Superbeaks and Moorings Park.

Beautiful Poole Harbour.

Like everyone else, incubation continues at Llyn Brenig.

Hope has arrived home at the Snow Lane osprey platform in Newfoundland. She might have to fight for the nest.

Pigeons are more than falcon food. But, they deserve not to be poisoned. In both World Wars they helped. Here is a new story that ‘EJ’ found and sent to us -. Enjoy.

‘PB’ reports that all peregrine falcon chicks at the OPPD nest are deceased. She reports that they were not fed after hatching and it appeared the parents had no interest in feeding them. Could this be HPAI?

I loved it when ‘R’ recognised that I was a little ‘heated up’ when I wrote about the murder of Laddie. People get by with murdering birds because the legal system will not do a thing. Why does the judicial system not take things like stealing birds eggs – that wiped out entire populations -seriously? This is outrageous.

Shooting One to Save another? Thanks, ‘SP’.

Heart broken for Blue NCO who listens and waits for her Laddie.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, reminders, streaming cams and images that helped me to write my post today: ‘PB, EJ, Geemeff, H, MP’, Heidi McGrue, Window to Wildlife, SK Hideaways, Cornell RTH Cam, Celia Osprey, Charlo Montana, Geemeff, Montana Osprey Project, Steelscape Ospreys, Little Miami Conservancy, Kansas City Bald Eagles, Frenchman’s Creek, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Gerard Hickey, GOOD, Raptor Persecution UK, The New York Times, and Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL).

*Disclaimer. Every effort is made to give credit to those that contributed to the post. If I have made an error or omission, please let me know so it can be corrected. Thank you.*