17 January 2024
Hello Everyone,
Update: Egg #3 laid 1/16 at 2112.
The GHO was at the nest on 1/17 at 0304. This time F1 flew off the nest to avoid a strike, and the owl followed her. The GHO later spent some time on the perch. F1 is okay, and has returned. Thanks, Heidi.
We are expecting a blizzard tomorrow, with winds predicted to reach 90-100 kph in some areas. Following the blizzard, a Polar Vortex will bring frigid temperatures, making the end of the week and part of the weekend look gloomy. Fortunately, we are cozy in our warm house with plenty of food. The girls have nothing to worry about. Even if the heating were to stop working, we always have the wood stove, which makes the house feel even nicer than the furnace! Our main concern is for the animals outside.
A deer came to the garden last night to eat. It was a young buck. The image is grainy – from the front video camera cropped extensively. He is familiar as he came up the back lane and knew precisely which house to go to – we now leave the gate open for them.
Just put a big smile on my face. They have quite the buffet tonight if they come in the wee hours. There is supposed to be a big winter storm coming our way. Not sure if that will keep them home or not.
The Girls and everyone are fine. Thank you for always asking.
Calico
Missey
Baby Hope- she has the most amazing eyes.
Dyson was in the garden today and she was working hard to get some peanuts. Isn’t she amazing? For a squirrel she is ‘very’ elderly. She is adored and appears to be in good physical shape. She has plenty of food at her disposal.
C13 is picking on his bigger sibling! Not a good idea. https://youtu.be/Bw3aikaCUhw?
Oh, my heart is sinking.
Egg 1 is 40 days today while Egg 2 is 37 days.
I want so much for these to have at least one eaglet.
Good night Gabby and Beau.
Connie and Clive want you to help name their babies! Check out Thursday’s blog for the details on submissions.
Some chatters are concerned that R8 is not getting enough fish compared to R7 at the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita. There was some rough and tumble bits on Thursday.
Good gracious. The Es changed overnight it seems! They are big kids. Look at the feathers coming on those wings and they still have their baby down mohawk haircuts.
M15 delivered a nice fish dinner. https://youtu.be/dH4AlCZzIAs?
Commotion at the Surrey Reserve Bald Eagle nest when a juvie lands on the nest. https://youtu.be/RwdlAYIR070?
Eagles are at the Dulles-Greenway Nest!!!!!!!!!
Geemeff has sent us some good rewilding news. I welcome any good news as we wait to see if either of the eggs at NEFlorida are viable and well, we just breathe as the GHO attacks continue at Pine Island on the osprey nest. I will be blunt. We have ween GHO attacks at osprey nests for decades. The ending is never good. Think Lake Murray. I want to prepare you for what could be a tragic ending if those eggs hatch – not to be negative, but, rather, realistic.
Gary is back with one of his great videos about Liberty and Guardian at the Redding nest. Liberty is 26 years old. I believe Chase and Cholyn are also 26. https://youtu.be/NdZVKWgaw70? Images from this informative video include the starter nest and the nest as it is today after Liberty and Guardian have been working for one month. Egg watch begins 6 February (earliest on record for this couple).
There is a fish on that Redding nest. Fish gifts for eggs?
Gracie and George are amongst other Bald Eagle couples incubating eggs and hoping for healthy chicks and plenty of prey to feed them. https://youtu.be/ZdRR1CStx2k?
Scout and Bella have been working hard on their nest, too, at the NCTC. https://youtu.be/e4_ZrlUmYaA?
Smile. It is Harry and Sally. The camera is now working fine.
The weather has shifted some and we are hearing that the firefighters are getting some breaks in California. There is much discussion over the fate of wildlife.
This is not good.
Here is the full article and another to help you understand how catastrophic this is to wildlife including our precious birds. It is the toxins that accumulate in the food chain that make the Bald Eagles at risk.
The frustration over the factory fishing of Menhaden to the point of extinction and the death of osprey chicks in 2024 and – well, it will happen again in 2025 due to lack of food – is felt by many. Please read and write to the individual mentioned in the posting if you are concerned over the health of the Bay and the future of osprey around the Chesapeake.
A wonderful rescue. https://www.redding.com/story/news/2025/01/13/california-wastewater-worker-saves-owl-stuck-in-sewage/77679498007/
Smile.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘EJ, Geemeff, J, Heidi’, SK Hideaways, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Window to Wildlife, Sandy Williams, Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle Cam, scotsman.com, Gary’s Eagle Videos, FORE, Hilton Head Land Trust, Deb Stecyk, Moorings Park Osprey Cam, The Guardian, Sunnie Day and the SCCF, SCCF, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal and Thomas Lilly, redding.com, Animal Lovers
Dear Mary Ann,
Thank you for your wonderful website and blog. I am in Western Australia and only “discovered” you about a year ago. I am writing because there seems to be a problem in the last 2 days with the photos you post. They don’t match the text and are completely unrelated. Also some photos are not coming through at all. I am only mentioning this in case someone else does too and it may be of some help. However, I’m also wondering if it might be a problem with my iPad.
Kind regards,
Tracy.
Hi Tracy, Thank you for letting me know. I heard from 2 other people, and they discovered that their browser was the issue. I will post a general request to see if there are others and try to see what is wrong if it is at my end. ——–I appreciate that you reached out.