Saturday in Bird World

14 December 2024

Good Morning,

Waiting to pop the cork….will have hatch today at SW Florida we anticipate.

First, I want to shout out to Bird World friend and reader Lisa Ferguson, who received the Volunteer of the Year award at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida. The following PDF provides an overview of Lisa’s work and highlights Audubon’s year in Raptors. On a personal note, Lisa designs educational and enrichment materials for many celebrity birds at Audubon. She is devoted to the birds at Maitland, and you can find her there daily, helping to improve their lives and educating us about the challenges they face.

In the UK, Osprey expert, Tim Mackrill is being honoured for the volunteer work he continues to conduct alongside Rutland Water despite his work as the Director of the Roy Dennis Foundation. Tim’s thesis focused on migration and that information is in his latest book, The Osprey, along with everything you might want to know about Ospreys. I am particularly fond of his edition for the RSPB- it is perfect if you don’t want the detailed science in The Osprey, but you do want to know much about ospreys for a ‘kind’ price at the till.

Hatch continues for E24 at SW Florida for M15 and F23. This is their second breeding season together. Last year they had one chick (E23) hatch and what a remarkable eaglet it was. Fledge went well!

Eagle Goddess caught a shift change and a peek at the eggs. https://youtu.be/D_HBsL37-Xw?

Dave Wetherall has been taking some remarkable images of the osprey fledglings at the other South Australia nests. I hope he doesn’t mind my posting these – they show these amazing fledglings soaking their feet in the water at the shore.

I am re-posting the images of Mum, Dad, Kasse, and Wilko from yesterday in case you missed them. These fledglings are sure giving everyone a great time as they venture out from the nest so close to fledge!

If there are images from Saturday I will include them below these.

I have been worried about Diane at the Achieva Osprey Nest. I know that she leaves the nest area after June . In past years, we have had hatch in early March (or thereabouts). Which means we need to be seeing her in January at the latest. ‘MP’ noted Diane was last seen on the nest the third week in June, the 21st. Today, Jack was at the nest with Crows digging in the old nesting material. Jack flapped at them, one noticed and flew off but the others remained.

This was the report from Port Lincoln with a rare second Fish Fairy delivery. Thank you fairies. You are trying to make certain that both fledglings have food and survive!

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Fri 13 Dec 2024 video archive

Age (chicks): Wilko : 68 days, Kasse : 65 days
Fish count: Mum: 0, Dad: 0, Sup. Fish: 6
Fish times: 11:52, 15:05Feed times:

	00:21	wilko tucks in her beak in her feathers..
	05:57	Wilko lands on Mum… she leaves
	06:27:19	osprey flying by
	06:28	Wilko back on the nest
	07:14	Kasse behind the old barge on the ropes(?)
	07:17	She is now out on top the barge
	07:18:21	More flying / hopping on the deck
	07:28	Wilko joins Mum and Kasse on the old barge
	07:36	Dad is on the old barge too, now all four are there
	08:06:01	Mum leaves the old barge
	08:12	Mum and Wilko back on the barge
	08:49:50	wilko back on the old barge
	11:04:50	Checking the Old Barge for the Osprey. Two are there.
	11:13:54	Looks like Mum on the right ropes. Dad then would be on the Old Barge set off to the right.
	11:19:35	Close-up of Mum on the rope.
	11:52	Unannounced Fish Fairy deliveries! 3 fish. 2 small, 1 medium. Kasse on top of the camera on the home barge. Wilko small fish, Dad snatches 1 small fish for himself and Mum with the medium. Kasse isn’t moving.	Sup. Fish (S,Whole)
	11:52 1	Mum’s on the nest with a fish! Wilko snatches it. Mum’s off the nest quickly. Wilko mantles it. Wilko finishes it.
	11:57 2	Mum’s on the ropes between the 2 branches with the 2nd supplemental fish! A medium one. 12:05 Mum’s to the nest with her fish. 12:11 Wilko snatches Mum’s fish. Mum leaves. No more eating with Wilko for Mum any more. This one’s for him too.
	13:08	Finally Kasse makes an appearance on the barge! She’s on the right, far branch briefly. Then she’s in the nest with Wilko. No fighting.
	15:05	Rare 2nd Fish Fairy delivery! Unknown number of fish.	Sup. Fish (M,Whole)
	15:05 3	Mum’s on the right ropes with a fish. She goes into the nest. Camera pans to Kasse having it. Mum leaves the nest. 15:07 Wilko tried for a steal! Kasse walks away! Wilko tries again! Kasse defends it! Wilko backs off.
	15:19 4	Mum’s into the nest with a 2nd supplemental fish. She had it since 15:14. Wilko snatches it.
	15:22 5	Mum’s into the nest to eat a 3rd supplemental fish! 15:23 Kasse joins Mum. 15:27 Now Wilko joins Kasse and Mum. Wilko snatches the fish tail.

Feeding Times

Start	Finish	Duration	Fed Chick
			Wilko	Kasse
1: 11:52	12:11	19 min	M	X
2: 11:57	12:22	25 min	M	X
3: 15:05	15:23	18 min	X	M
4: 15:19	15:26	7 min	S	X
5: 15:22	15:30	8 min	S	M

There have been no deliveries for Saturday the 14th yet and there are reports that Wilko had a bath. Planned or not.

The final tally was 5 fish from Mum and 1 from Dad.

Kasse and Wilko on the nest with Mum.

Dad has brought in some fish – Mum is there to try and control things so everyone gets to eat. It is the first fish of the day. I hope it is a big one!

Gabby and Beau continue to incubate. Beau is bringing in more Spanish Moss and he seems to be doing quite a remarkable job this year. Fantastic.

Beau has been so attentive this season. He is always on alert ready to protect the nest, and comes constantly when she calls. I am amazed at the change in Beau since last year. Let us all hope he is a good provider when the eaglets hatch!

The Black-winged kite female has growing chicks to feed. Just look at them enjoying a nice juicy rat! Remember, Raptors are the solution to Rats – not Rodenticide!!!!!!!!! https://youtu.be/Cce4-yQKUHA?

Do you know someone who is boating in this area? Please ask them to heed the warnings about the presence of Right Whales.

Calico’s Tip for the Day: If you are concerned about Avian Flu and the songbirds (and others) that come to your feeders or bird baths, here is an excellent, easy to understand article on feeder and bird bath hygiene with ratios for three different cleaning products (bleach, borax, vinegar):

I never like to close on a sad note but as I always believe, we must educate ourselves. ‘SP’ sent me the following article about the perils of the warming oceans – we have seen this in Montana when the streams were so warm that the trout died. The impact is real on the birds that depend on fish to survive – and it is a domino effect. I also believe we cannot give up – we must fight for our precious resources and the wildlife that we so love.

There are people going to great lengths and taking financial chances to rewild, to create a landscape full of biodiversity, and to reverse species extinction. One of those is Isabella Tree and Charlie B at Knepp Farm in the south of England. I am including two or possibly three of their latest blog reports. One is on the arrival of large numbers of Hawkfinches this year.

Hawkfinches are approximately 18 cm or 9 inches in length. They live in both woodlands and urban areas. The image above is the male hawfinch whereas the one on the Knepp blog is a female. Look at the two so that you can see the subtle differences that differentiate the genders. Notice the pink legs. What colour is the male’s beak? and the female? Which one has more rust colour?

These beautiful songbirds are on British Ornithological Trust’s Red List of Birds. They are Internationally Threatened.

The hawkfinch has a very strong jaw and the BTO book on the Red List birds says it can exert the pressure of 50 kg. This allows them to eat cherry stones in the winter while they favour insects and caterpillars in the summer. Habitat loss, the use of pesticides, nest predation, lack of food are part of the drivers to the rapid decline of the Hawkfinch.

Here is a good article on understanding why this bird is in decline.

The controversial introduction of beavers to the property is having a huge success.

Thank you so much for being with us as we wait for the hatch of E24. Incubation is long and tedious and the first pip brings anxiety and hope. Hopefully on Saturday there will be a little eaglet for this wonderful family. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘J, MP, SP’, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Eagle Goddess, Achieva Credit Union, Dave Wetherall and Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Bart M and the PLO, UK Osprey Information and Jeff Kear, Tim Mackrill, NEFL-AEF, Review Bird Nest, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries, Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Center, The New York Times, Knepp Farm, OpenVerse, RSPB