Thursday in Bird World

5 December 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

First – just look at SE33 ready to take on the world! Just about.

SE33 is just gorgeous. Look at the amazing plumage pattern on those underwings! I wish this incredible eagle a long, long life, full of prey items, a wonderful mate, and lots of little eaglets. Do it for SE34, too – SE33, you have to live life to the fullest for both of you.

There will be some small squeeze treats for The Girls today to celebrate the anniversary of Hugo Yugo’s arrival. Was it as cold last year as it is this morning, -15 C. The sky is the most transparent, brightest blue we have seen for some time. There are sun dogs on either side, iridescent like someone sprayed gold and bronze paint on them. Sundogs are atmospheric optical phenomena that appear as bright light spots on either side of the sun at about 22 degrees. They are red on the inside and white on the outside. The sundog varies in shape and size of the ice crystals that create them. They appear when the sun or moon shines through a thin cirrus cloud of hexagonal ice crystals. The ice crystals then refract the light causing the sundogs to appear. Living in Winnipeg, you know it is very cold if you see them.

The snow that has fallen the past couple of days makes the outdoors seem even brighter. There are no girls in the conservatory. They had their breakfast and opted for the sitting room where it is warmer to their paws. I close off the conservatory at night, something that I did not do last year. I want to see if there is any savings. It might just equal out by having to heat it right up every morning.

In the garden, there are a few Sparrows, a single Red Squirrel and a dozen Starlings wanting breakfast. Someone ate all the cat kibble so that has been replaced in case Brock shows up. He seems to not like snow or cold weather. I do not blame him!

Oh, Dyson’s kits have shown up!

The wind is picking up. Both Crows have now arrived for peanuts so all we are missing in the garden count are the two Blue Jays.

I forgot to leave the kibble for the Starlings so out I go!

With the arrival of the egg for Ron and Rita at the WRDC, it is only a matter of days before we start seeing eggs in the other nests, I hope. Will Gabby and Beau be next?

Beau has been checking out the nest bowl all morning at NE Florida. He also brought Gabby a fish gift – an improvement on last year! Will Gabby get to be a Mum again? It has been some time. Beau has protected the nest and kept off any attempts at a takeover. He is a great protector. Last year, he didn’t know what to do. Let’s see what happens this year. I am just grateful that those eggs did not hatch last year.

AEF captures food gift for Gabby: https://youtu.be/S_On1yAzTFA?

All is well at SW Florida and Captiva. Incubation continues at both nests. We are now less than a fortnight away from hatch for M15 and F23 in Fort Myers, Florida.

The nest bowl at Captiva is soooo deep.

Liberty and Guardian have been at the nest and goodness. Let’s get these eaglets hatched and up and flying before the real heat arrives.

Skye and Blaze were both hit hard by a GHO during the night at Eagle Country. Both eagles returned to the nest in the morning. The presence of GHOs is becoming even more alarming this year as storms and fires have destroyed good nesting spots.

36 million years of discord between owls and eagles. https://youtu.be/wUgwRkXxTDA?

61 and 57 days old, Wilko and Kasse are waiting for breakfast at Port Lincoln.

Black winged Kite has 7 chicks to feed. Gorgeous. https://youtu.be/S_On1yAzTFA?

Adult Black-winged kites are about the size of small falcons. They are the softest light grey underneath with a steel blue grey plumage above, black shoulders and wing coverts that give them their name. They have bright yellow legs and distinctive red eyes. They live near farming lands with woods, semi-desert areas, and open savannahs. They are versatile in their hunting styles – hovering like kestrels or gliding low over the fields like a harrier. Their geographical location is Western Europe, SE Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and the coast of Africa.

“Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus) Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar” by Shantanu Kuveskar is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The New York Times published an article about Bird Flu. We cannot dismiss it and West Nile Virus as contributing factors to raptor mortality this year, along with lead and rodenticide poisoning, loss of habitat, and direct human interaction such as shooting.

Following the Molis. Today it is Kalama.

Tagging of Royal Cam parents to take place.

Do you know about the blue socks helping the Blue Booty? And the two brothers that are helping? Will and Matty? Socks are $16 US and shipping is free in the US. $5 internationally. —— Young people doing something wonderful for the world and especially if it involves feathers really warms my heart!

All About Birds Cool Facts about Blue-footed Booby:

• Cool Facts
  • To stay cool in very hot environments, Blue-footed Boobies sometimes defecate on their feet (a behavior called urohydrosis). They also flutter the skin of their throats (the gular pouch) by rapidly vibrating bones in their throat, which creates evaporative cooling through the open mouth.
  • The blue color of Blue-footed Booby’s feet varies in its intensity. Boobies with bluer feet appear to have more success in finding a mate than birds with duller blue feet. One study looked at foot color in relation to the health of young chicks and found that healthiest chicks tended to have fathers with intensely blue feet—possibly an indication of the father’s ability to keep himself well fed. Although the famous mating display might seem comical to humans, the display of foot color provides critical information on a bird’s health and ability to provide for young.
  • The Blue-footed Booby makes no nest, but lays its eggs on bare ground. The incubating birds defecate while on the nest, and the eggs become surrounded by a circular wall of excrement.

Dead birds causing concern in South Australia.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/05/native-birds-flying-foxes-lead-port-pirie-south-australia-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url

Calico’s Tip for the Day for those that have feral cat shelters and live in snowy areas:

It is hard to imagine, but an osprey was photographed in Cork, Ireland yesterday. It has not migrated. I wonder how many are still in England?

In 2024, the death rate for osprey chicks internationally was super high. It was 26.6%. These are clearly documented instances. We know of many other deaths related to starvation along the Chesapeake Bay, but we do not have enough detailed information on the nests to post the information on the data forms. The mortality figures would have been considerably higher.

As it stands, this is 6% higher than in 2023.

‘J’ sends the Rita the Eagle Update:

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘J, RP’, Judy Harrington, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, AEF, Window to Wildlife, FORE, Eagle Country, WATOP. Port Lincoln Ospreys, Review Bird Nest, The New York Times, Hob Osterlund, Sharon Dunne, Will and Matty, Cornell All About Birds, The Guardian, Winnipeg Missing and Found Cat Watch, International Osprey Data Project, Rita the Eagle and Marathon