23 March 2025
Good Morning Everyone,
We hope that your weekend is going well for you. It is officially spring as of a few days ago, but it still doesn’t quite feel like it. It was -5 C today. The weather will improve for us next week, warming up. The Girls will love it. It isn’t cold enough for the central heating to come on often and it has been cloudy enough to not warm the conservatory up to their liking. They love being in that glass room to see all the birds and squirrels so next week they should be more than happy little kitties. Last night they enjoyed a nice warm fire in the wood stove and today they rolled around in small piles of catnip. Gosh, I love these four legged creatures!
Hugo Yugo made herself right at home in front of the fire!
We love this peregrine falcon and we continue to hope that she is safe wherever she is – dear Annie of The Campanile. A study was published and I am including the notice and the text in its entirety.
There is another study about Annie. You can weigh in on this one – how much did Annie mean to you? Please write to them and explain how a bird on a high tower on the campus of UC-Berkeley melted your heart. Please.
Dasher and Dancer have returned to the Captiva Bald Eagle nest! Were they together off-camera getting food from Clive and Connie? They were always ‘together’ in the nest. Darlings to watch. They fledged on the very same day (16 March), and they returned to the nest on the same day – six days later on the 22nd). All bets are that they have always been near one another.
It is wonderful to see them in such good shape! Clive and Connie surely kept their crops full.
You can see it better here: https://tinyurl.com/wtwbirdlog
Other Bald Eagle happenings –
Sauces: Dr Sharpe weighs in on what almost harmed little SC1:
NCTC Nest: Bella and Scout have their second eaglet! Aren’t they cute?! E10 and E11 are doing well. E10 had 7 feedings yesterday. Scout has not fed the eaglets yet. Bella is doing an incredible job.
Decorah North: Hatch is coming along although these eagles really do not like to share glimpses of those eggs.
NEFlorida Nest: Bodie briefly branched Saturday.
There is a video of Bodie branching on FB here. Thanks, ‘J’. https://www.facebook.com/100011735408124/videos/627478876742184/
There has been an incident at Big Bear that caused many to become quite alarmed. Terry Anita and Cali Condor have posted great news on FB as the incident appears to have been resolved.
I cannot imagine, for a second, anything happening to this family. Please send good wishes.
It is time to name Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets! Here is what to do according to FOBBV:
Chick Naming Contest is On!
“Everyone is invited to help name Jackie and Shadow’s two eaglets! The contest to name them is online and waiting for you. Since we provide the livestreams of Jackie and Shadow’s nest cameras always free to the public (and free from advertisements), we have traditionally asked for a small donation along with chick name suggestions. To participate, you can go to our website homepage www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org or directly to this link: http://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/fobbv-chick-naming….
The contest will be open for one week, so you have until 11:59 pm on Friday, March 28 to enter name suggestions. After entries close, a computer will randomly draw a finalist list of names.
We will deliver ballots with that list to the Big Bear Valley elementary schools for a final vote on April 1. Historically the final name selection has belonged to Big Bear’s 3rd grade students, since they study bald eagles during that school year. But this year the 4th and 5th graders will be invited to vote, as well.
Since Jackie and Shadow did not have chicks the past two seasons, we thought it would be nice for the students who were in 3rd grade those two years to participate in the naming process this time. Jackie and Shadow and their family are very important and special to the local community.
We will announce the new chick names on our official Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam, www.instagram.com/fobbv.official, www.youtube.com/@FOBBVCAM and website and other social media channels on the evening of April 1st.
We are soliciting names for only the two surviving chicks, since the oldest eaglet, known as Chick 1, passed away during the recent snowstorm. We will be naming that chick ‘Misty,’ in honor of a very dedicated FOBBV volunteer Kathi Misterly who was lost to cancer and is still very missed.
Thank you all for your beautiful dedication to Jackie and Shadow and their family. Best of luck in having your favorite name selected!”
Cali Condor gives us a good look at their clown feet – these two are growing and growing! https://youtu.be/k7ncxKgxUoM?
FOLFAN:
Cardinal Land Conservancy: They have a hatch on the 19th! https://youtu.be/WY4txfh8gjg?
Ospreys continue to arrive at their nests in the UK and in the US.
Glaslyn: Elen has returned to the Glaslyn nest. She arrived at 1150 Saturday morning.
River Gwash:
PSEG Oyster Bay: The female has returned on Saturday.
Eschenbach: Hemine is late and the new female is still there waiting to see if Herbert will be her mate and accept her. https://youtu.be/WY4txfh8gjg?
Herbert shares part of his fish with the new female.
What would you do if pigeons nested on your balcony? The author of this article begins, “Two years ago, when I moved into the apartment where I’m still living, a pair of doves moved in too. They started nesting on top of the air conditioning unit on my balcony. It’s up high, so it was often hard to confirm who was home at different times of the day, but I could hear the cooing, the flapping of their wings and the splat of their poo as it hit the concrete below. Some nights they flew in and out for hours, teasing my cat who watched them steadily, dreaming perhaps of how she could climb.”
Here is the whole story: A pair of doves moved on to my balcony. I wanted them gone – then they started nesting | Nova Weetmanhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/23/a-pair-of-doves-moved-on-to-my-balcony-i-wanted-them-gone-then-they-started-nesting?CMP=share_btn_url
Happy Birthday Sirocco!
Thank you for being with us today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Heidi, J’, Cal Falcons, Frontiers, Window to Wildlife, NCTC Bald Eagle Nest, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, Terri Anita, Cali Condor, Sandi, FOLFAN, Cali Condor, Trudi Kron, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, River Gwash Ospreys, PSEG Oyster Bay, Joan Castanyer, The Guardian, Kakapo Recovery , Gracie Shepherd and CIEL, IWS/Explore
It’s so upsetting to lose Annie and Archie, especially after all the drama Annie went through with different mates since Grinnell was hit by a car. Alden stepped right in and was terrific, despite his limp and then he disappeared. Now speculation that Annie and Archie succumbed to bird flu. It’s heartbreaking.
Thunder and Akecheta were an iconic pair and banded. So if they are alive it wouldn’t be hard to identify them. But since the camera went down after Akecheta’s territorial fight, he’s disappeared. Did he perish from his wounds? Then Thunder disappears after an apparent challenge from an intruder. Is she alive? I hope Dr. Sharpe makes a statement about them, just to acknowledge how special they were. I’m actually surprised there’s been no statement.
Thank you, Lily. What a heart wrenching year it has been. Sadly we will never know what happened to Akecheta unless he is seen – photographed – with his wing tag. We also know that those can come off (Thunder’s did). He could be alive, both of them could be. They could have just left the area.