Ervie needs a girlfriend…Friday in Bird World

13 September 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Another 30 C day. The little songbirds were having lots of baths which meant the birdbaths had to be cleaned and refilled more often than not. It is so humid, too. I did not notice the wildfire smoke today like we have the previous two days. The Crows are cawing to tell their ‘their group’ that there is a big bowl of cheesy dogs ready for them. There were three Blue Jays in the garden, Mr and Mrs Junior and the small one that was injured. I am presuming that some have migrated. Junior stays year round and this little one with the wonky tail might just do the same. The squirrels use more energy running back and forth hiding nuts. Don’t they know they have trained two humans to keep them well-fed?! ‘The Boyfriend’ was here, too. Always nice to see him.

There was also something interesting going on in the garden. When the shed was torn down and Little Red evicted so in order for the conservatory could be built, we purchased a squirrel house from Norway. Bedding was installed along with a number of peanuts to lure Little Red into accepting the new digs. No way! But Dyson did come and chewed a large enough hole for her to get at those peanuts. Then the squirrel house sat and sat and sat. Until today when a pair of House Sparrows began taking little twigs in. Is it possible that we will have another brood of sparrow chicks?

We think we have finally discovered what caused Baby Hope to be so frightened. The wasps have come into the garden over the last 3-4 weeks. They sneak into the house when the door is held open, even for a few seconds. Today, Hugo Yugo, Missey, and Baby Hope were leaping. Hugo Yugo was up on top of the tall cabinets, clearing everything. That is where we keep the little urns full of kitty ashes that have passed. Thankfully, none broke! Then we noticed a bulge on Baby Hope’s mouth – and right away, we knew it was a wasp sting. We had seen this before on our Tuxedo boy, Melvin. One might think she had learned her lesson, but nope. At least it solves a mystery that has been causing some agony.

Poor Baby Hope.

It is the end of the week and for those of you still working, I know how relieved you can be when the work ends and you can have some leisure time. For so many of us retired, the joke is, as one special lady on a path at Oak Hammock told me last week, we only know the week passed when we need to refill the pill dispenser! And that time, those seven days, surely does go by quickly!

Are you superstitious? It is Friday the 13th. I had absolutely no idea how Friday the 13th became problematic for so many people. I actually knew persons, now deceased, who would not even go outside if it was ‘that day’ for fear that something unlucky would befall them. It is only in the US and Canada or that is what they say. If you live elsewhere and Friday the 13th is considered unlucky, please let me know. National Geographic Kids gives us the low down:

There is some good and some interesting news coming out of FB posts that will interest you if you are not a member.

First up has to be Ervie! Oh, that much loved fledgling, third hatch to brothers Bazza and Falkey. Port Lincoln declares it is time for him to find a girlfriend, but what to do when there are so many males!!!

First up is NOX. This is simply the best news I have seen on Nox’s healing! Smile. The beloved fourth hatch and fledgling of Annie and Archie from Cal Falcons in 2024 is getting so much better! My goodness, Nox is just the cutes little peregrine falcon.

A recent post by Ann Pendry on the Captiva island Eagles &Ospreys FB has confirmation on what the spike is in Jack’s leg.

You will notice that the leg does not appear to be bleeding or infected. My understanding from our local wildlife team is that this spike will eventually shrink and come out so that the wound can heal. This is excellent news for this loved male.

For another year, sad news from Tumby Island in South Australia for Partney and Marrum has come. The pair have been defending their nest valiantly. Will the following two eggs be safe from these tenacious predators?

So who is home?

News is coming out of Llyn Clywedog Reservoir Nest of male Blue KA7 and female Blue 469 that they have departed along with their two chicks, Blue 7M1 and Blue 8B0. We know that Dylan and Seren, Blue 5F have migrated along with their three osplets for some time now.

At Hellgate Canyon, Antali and Finnegan are still at the nest. Finnegan delivered a nice fish for his second chick. It was raining and that great breakfast slipped off the nest. https://youtu.be/AIvBJ8CKD1Y?

Finnegan returns in the rain at 1238 with a really nice fish for Antali who was waiting and screaming for lunch!

There has been no sign of Iris providing fish on the nest for several days. We know that Dr Greene has seen Sum-eh and Iris at other locations. I plan to await his posting declaring both of them on their way.

Antali has a huge crop! Finnegan has provided well for his fledgling.

Antali cleaned his beak of the last large fish delivery at 1704.

At Charlo Montana, Charlie has delivered at least two fish to C16 on Thursday. It was raining there as well.

Dumnrovin’s Junebug had a small live fish delivered on Thursday.

It is raining at the Sandpoint Osprey Platform. Keke delivered a really lovely headless fish to River at the Osprey platform. Let’s hope that River doesn’t lose it!

Beaumont and the fledgling, the darkest one, were at the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland.

At 1634 delivery by Beaumont to the Snow Lane nest confirms that both fledglings remain in the area receiving fish at the nest (or elsewhere).

It is believed that Jack visited the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg at 0718 on 12 September.

At Osyoos:

Giliath continues to stay around Port Lincoln investigating other areas.

As our darling birds take to the sky, their world is full of threats. The Dyfi Osprey Project in Wales has listed some of those and many are the same challenges around the world. I did find Fact 81 interesting.

Fact 81

In the middle ages ospreys suffered because of religion. Back then Britain was a Roman catholic country and no meat could be eaten on Fridays, it was illegal. So, people ate fish instead and fishponds and ‘stewponds’ became a commodity. Ospreys eat fish on a Friday too so they were hunted to protect the weekly catch.

Fact 82

In the past there were financial incentives for people to kill ospreys. Ospreys, along with other birds of prey, were classed as vermin during the middle ages in Britain and a bounty was placed upon their head. Fish eating birds fared worst and the osprey had the highest ‘cash-for-corpse’ reward of all – 4 pence.

Fact 83

Egg Collectors had a huge impact on the osprey population. Egg collecting was a favourite ‘pastime’ of British men from the 18th century onwards, sadly it still goes on today, illegally. In 2012 an attempt was made at the Threave Castle nest in Scotland where Black 80, the 2006 Glaslyn osprey was breeding. Thankfully, this attempt was thwarted by a canoeist and the first of the eggs hatched a few days later.

Fact 84

By 1916 the last osprey had been persecuted to extinction in the UK, the last pair lost their final battle at their nest site in Loch Loyne, Inverness. A naturalist of the day, Mr William Dunbar wrote in a letter to egg collector John Wolley in 1916, ‘I am afraid that Mr St John, yourself and your humble servant, have finally done for the Ospreys’.

Fact 85

Shooting is a serious threat to ospreys and it still goes on around the world including Britain. One of the most unfortunate osprey casualties was a juvenile nicknamed Ossie in 2004. He was found shot by a Wiltshire river keeper in early September and taken to the Hawk Conservancy Trust for rehabilitation. After a few weeks he was released, complete with satellite transmitter. In early October he was shot again in Spain, this time fatally, on the first day of the hunting season.

Fact 86

Ospreys, like all wildlife, are susceptible to any chemical that is released into the environment and finds its way into the food chain. Those animals at the top of the food chain suffer the most. In the 1960’s and 70’s in the USA, DDT – a pesticide widely used in agricultural and forest production, caused osprey eggshells to thin and eventually crush under the weight of an incubating female. DDT interferes with calcium production necessary for eggshell strength and is now banned, although not everywhere. Osprey populations in the US plummeted at the same time.

Fact 87

Habitat Loss played a significant role in the decline of osprey populations. Big birds of prey like the osprey like to inherit nests or displace other birds to acquire nests rather than build their own. Osprey nests are sometimes many decades old or even older. Due to their persecution and extinction in many parts of the world, the old ancestral nests have been destroyed or developed over. That’s why we built a nest platform on Cors Dyfi in 2007 – they replicate ancestral nests of ospreys that have now long gone.

Fact 88

Baler twine, the type of string used widely in agriculture, is a serious threat to ospreys as they will collect it as nesting material and become entangled in it. Ospreys die each year in the UK and around the world after getting caught up in baler twine. Roy Dennis had to cut one of his favourite ospreys free from it in 1982, Red Z. Thankfully, she survived and continued to breed until 1997.

Fact 89

Ospreys can die as a result of swallowing fishing line, fishing hooks and floats. Nylon line around a foot can cause blood flow to be cut off and the foot to become useless. The female at Loch Garten in 1993 was lost mid-season when she was last seen trailing a big ball of fishing line. Her mate Ollie was forced to raise their two young chicks alone, and he succeeded! Our own Ceulan died in fishing nets of course.

Fact 90

Complacency is arguably now the greatest of all threats to Ospreys in the UK; we must not take our eye off the ball.

That last point is very important and that it is why we must join with the people in Virginian (regardless of where you live) and demand a moratorium on the industrial fishing of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

A cute little fledgling in care in Nova Scotia. Send positive wishes, hoping that she recovers as well as NOX is doing.

We have completed the osprey breeding season in North America. There are ospreys laying eggs, and we will be awaiting the hatching of chicks in the Southern Hemisphere. We are now awaiting the beginning of Bald Eagle season. Before the next osprey season arrives, you might find the following Master’s thesis by Jennifer Anne Retted, “FACTORS INFLUENCING MORTALITY IN NESTLING OSPREYS (PANDION HALIAETUS): AN ANALYSIS OF BREEDING STRATEGIES” very informative.

At the Olympic Sea Eagle nest, SE34 cautiously made its way up to Lady’s beak for an early breakfast. At the second feeding, 34 was up there again. These are such gorgeous eaglets. You can easily tell them apart due to the plumage growth – the darkest is the oldest. Simple!

‘A’ remarks: “WBSE, there must have been nestovers this morning, because Lady found something to feed the littles very early (05:41). SE33 can’t be bothered getting up at this ungodly hour but SE34 is on his feet for an early snack. Dad arrives back on the perch branch shortly after 05:43 but without food. SE33 soon joined its sibling at the table and both ate a good breakfast. Just look at how adorable the two of them look, sitting side by side and behaving beautifully at the breakfast table, at 05:59.” 

“The second breakfast at WBSE this morning came via Dad, who arrived shortly after 8am with a really good-sized fish. The littles were in no hurry to get up to eat, having already had a good breakfast, but SE34 soon gets to his feet and walks up to the fish. Impressive, SE34. Dad, who had been waiting for Lady to arrive and take charge of the fish, now turns and leaves WITH the fish. The littles are a bit confused by this but fortunately have already eaten. With SE33 still lying on the nest, the pair crane their necks watching whatever is going on with their fish. At this angle, SE34 looks SO much larger than his older sibling, whose feather development is the only thing that indicates her seniority. This pair are looking gorgeous. They are obviously both getting enough to eat and they are getting along famously on the nest. The food supply has been consistent for the most part and Lady has been dedicated in keeping an eye on both her chicks. I have high hopes for them, but as always, the post-fledge gauntlet of smaller birds that they have to run simply terrifies me. I have been watching the ruthless determination of the bands of small native mynahs as they drive the crow out of the territory. He is, as I mentioned, a newcomer to the garden, visiting several times over the past couple of weeks and causing consternation among the smaller birds. They don’t want the crow here, and they will pester him until they get their way, it seems. Watching them has worried me greatly. The birds who are soon to be hassling the sea eaglets include these native mynahs. They are very brave little birds, defending their territory and their food, and they will work together to drive away this crow (and the sea eaglets). The problem, of course, is that fishing is a difficult skill to master, I suppose. Small birds may be easier prey. I always wonder how on earth peregrines teach their fledglings how to hunt. A stoop kill is life-threatening to the falcon, not just the prey bird. How do they learn to do that without injuring themselves? Even the adults occasionally suffer injuries, apparently, from hitting the prey bird at the wrong angle or speed. The mechanics of it are truly awe-inspiring, and I know instinct takes care of much of it, but even so, the level of skill that would seem to be required would be difficult for a juvenile to acquire. But back to sea eaglets. The juvenile bald eagles seem to learn to fish relatively well – it is usually a fish that is the first prey caught by the SWFL fledglings, though perhaps that lake is just an invitation for them. It would be much easier, presumably, than hunting at sea or in a river. “

At Orange, Xavier finally got himself some incubation time at 1107 Friday morning. Earlier, Xavier had brought in a bit of a tiny breakfast. I imagine Diamond was ravenous and decided it was a good time to try her own luck at hunting.

At 367 Collins Street, the female is ‘anxiously’ awaiting her morning break and prey. It is 11:18. The remains of earlier meals can be seen in the gutter of the ledge. I wonder how many pigeons are in that central business area around Lonsdale Street? Has anyone noticed? The territory of this family is approximately 1 square mile.

The little male is so cute. Here is another one of those incredible turnarounds early in Melbourne. https://youtu.be/movMVkHaMXQ?

At Port Lincoln, Dad is so reliable with those morning fish so Mum can eat and have a break after that long overnight incubation.

From Heidi:

Calico’s Tip of the Day: At the Farmer’s Market we purchased local honey. Oh, it is yummy! Calico wants everyone to not have sticky rims on their little jars. So she suggests that you hold the jar and slowly turn it making certain that you give it a wee jerk when you are finished and not a drop will dribble down so that you have to wash the rim before putting on the lid.

Calico has a second tip for the day for you. She is very passionate about this. It gets her Golden Paw Award for an easy pudding after dinner so that there are many, many more minutes left for story time, not just a few if the pudding is a cake or pie!!!!!!!

It is apple season in Canada. You can buy baskets of them for cakes, pies, breads, you name it. If you want a simple pudding (or dessert in North America), set your oven to 350 F. Get out a pan with a bit of an edge. You do not need to grease it or do anything, but you can use parchment paper if you like. Sure makes an easy clean up.

How many apples? Well, these are really good, but one apple per person should be enough. Cut a funnel shape to about the middle of the apple, but not going all the way to the bottom. Otherwise, you have leaks. Into this ‘hole’, you can add all manner of tasty things like raisins, currants, and pecans along with a bit of cinnamon – always a bit of cinnamon (I like a little cardamon for kick), a tiny bit of sugar or none at all, and a pat of butter. If the apples do not stand up straight, trim a wee bit off of the bottom so they will. Then place the apples in the oven and forget about them for about 20-odd minutes. The apples should be soft but not split and falling open. For Calico, this is perfection. However, Missey is not content with such plain baked apples; she likes whipped cream on hers!!!!!! Lots of it. Calico disagrees – it melts too quickly.

So whichever way you go, whipped cream or not, enjoy!

Thank you so much for being with us. Please take care. We hope to see you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, images, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, PB’, National Geographic Kids, California Raptor Centre, Ann Pendry and Captiva Island Ospreys & Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Sandpoint Ospreys, Newfoundland Power, Achieva Credit Union, Dyfi Osprey Project, Hope for Wildlife, Jennifer Anne Retted, Olympic Sea Eagle, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sweet Makers Honey, and SK Hideaways.