21 December 2024
Good Morning Everyone,
Thank you so much for being with us and your holiday wishes. We appreciate them more than you will ever know.
Winter Solstice wishes for all. Of course, it is the Summer Solstice for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. So, happy solstice wishes to everyone. And the best for all the holiday celebrations you will share with friends and family.
It is cold here. We cleared up the snow, and it was so nice to be back inside. It-25. We gave the birds Meal Worms as a high-protein treat. We also decided to set up Brock’s Solstice gift a day early because the food was cold and hard.
We are in true bliss that the heated water and food dish for Brock worked so well. He probably couldn’t believe his eyes at a bowl of water! He was so very, very thirsty. He almost finished the entire bowl! And the food stayed fresh and not frozen. Tearful and then smiling.
It looks like a mess on the deck! In our winter weather, the dish required an extension cord, so a tarpaulin covers the connection, which is being held down by all manner of things. The neighbours will be wondering what in the world.
‘The Girls’ had to inspect every aspect of the basket for the outdoor animals. Various suets, cracked corn, sunflower pieces, and other seeds fill up the basket. Some more mealworms are ready, and this morning, we added tiny pieces of pear and apple along with cheesy dogs. Thank goodness they were not there when The Girls were nosing around!
The basket was meant for the top of the big table feeder. But, alas, nature had other ideas and had the spike so frozen, I could not remove it. We will see which of the animals ventures to the ground for those goodies.
A most startling image was posted on the Achieva FB group. Squirrels up through the drainage holes on the osprey nest platform. Dorothy Auld posted the image and made a video. https://youtu.be/rmavB1Iz-1I?
It is not the first time that this squirrel has made itself known on this platform. ‘MP’ said it has been coming up since last March, was there in October, and is now back in December. Squirrels might well eat osprey eggs if they were hungry and the opportunity arose. The fact that this squirrel is up on this platform means that it could clearly harm the eggs and maybe even the osplets – they are not known to do this because of the normal height and lack of access but this squirrel is right there.
Many have written about the state of this osprey platform. What does it take? The squirrel found a way up the pole and through the drain holes that need stainless steel mesh (or copper) so that small mammals could not get through to the eggs and osplets. It has been long enough since the last hurricanes hit the area that a bucket truck must be available to do this test, remove that horrid nesting material, and replace it with something new to give the ospreys a good start. The Clearwater Audubon Society put up the platform and the Tampa Bay Raptor Centre might help – but is also The International Osprey Foundation, but each needs to be encouraged to want to help, to do something good for this nest. It is close to breeding season.
Jack was at the nest all afternoon. Is he waiting for Diane? Many of us are and if she doesn’t arrive by the end of the month, then I, too, will be extremely worried.
At the SW Florida nest, M15 is bringing in straw and making a small blanket and there is also a tandem feeding! https://youtu.be/M9YZRg66BgM?
They always look like snow persons. They are so cute and doing so well.
Eating all the time…https://youtu.be/uxuIEj3rkY8?
Mr and Mrs North were at the nest in Iowa today.
All is well at NE Florida as incubation continues.
‘A’ continues to think about the NE Florida nest: “Hoping that Beau and Gabby get to raise a pair of healthy eaglets this season. I am glad Gabby is trusting Beau – I particularly love the way he appears so quickly when she calls him. And the way he perches close to the nest to protect his little family. He did an amazing job on those eggs last night. Gabby of course supervised closely but she is really giving Beau a chance to be the dad she hopes he will be. We are all rooting for Beau. Beau is such a sweetie. I just fear new fathers after the Tom and Angel incident, As I said, I only realised how common it was when I read your memorial wall with more care. It is in fact very common, not the rare occurrence I thought it to be. Again, we see that the birding communities created by all the streaming cams that sprang up during the pandemic have clarified so many of the things we thought we knew about birds. These so-called citizen scientists have not only advanced their own knowledge of the world we inhabit together but, hopefully, also care more themselves about the environment we create (and destroy) for the birds (and for our children.”
It is undoubtedly true that the streaming cams have changed what we know about birds and, for many, raptors in particular. If it were not for the close observations of citizen scientists, then this knowledge would be lost. So, thank you!
When you search your favourite streaming cams, please be careful what you click on. There are those that own streaming cams only to make money off the birds. We will talk more about that later, but every time you click on, subscribe, and like a site, someone might be making money.
Bird Flu is sadly killing animals in zoos as it spreads rapidly.
Bird flu is sweeping through zoos with ‘grave implications’ for endangered animals. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/19/bird-flu-zoos-endangered-animals-captive-species-lions-tigers-cheetahs-virus?CMP=share_btn_url
At Port Lincoln, the supplementary fish really helped on Friday. Dad and Mum each brought in a fish but Bazz brought in 4 supplementary fish early. Wilko is very good at getting his meals, too good. The nest is empty I write. It is early Saturday morning.
In Orange, Xavier was shocked to find another female in the scrape. He chased it and then…well, check out the video to see the ending. https://youtu.be/v6KcsDb4pVk?
Have you ever seen so many Sandhill Cranes?
Did you miss the monthly Condor Chat? If so, here is your chance to discover what is happening at Pinnacles and Big Sur. There is some good news. The number of fledges is nearly twice the all-time record. https://youtu.be/hrapATzVdPo?
Just when you thought there could not be a cutie peregrine falcon….https://youtu.be/DUA03lFpXuU?
Calico’s Tip for the Day: Please, please be careful if you purchase a heated bird bath or any device to keep the water in a bird bath frozen. if you have a chain link fence or any metal anywhere near the water in that bird bath, the birds will have wet feet and if they land on the metal they will injure themselves. The skin of their little feet will freeze quickly to the metal and be pulled off when they want to leave.
It is a short one today. Please take care. We hope to have you with us again soon.
Thank you to the following for your notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J, MP’, Dorothy Auld, Achieva Credit Union Osprey Nest, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, NEFL-AEF, The Guardian, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SK Hideaways, National Wildlife Federation, Ventana Wildlife Society
