22 April 2025
Good Morning Everyone,
We hope that the start of your week was a good one!
Breaking news:
Birds of Poole Harbour: CJ7 and Blue 022 have their fourth egg! They are going to go for four again. Just think. In years to come they could beat Maya and Blue 33’s record!
It was a lovely day in the garden. Everyone visited and got some seed, kibble, peanuts, or cheesy dogs. It is so lovely to see the Crows. They lost their nest tree, as did the Blue Jays. It seems that they will still come to visit, regardless, which puts a smile on my face!
Geemeff sends us the daily summary from the Woodland Trust and Lock Arkaig with Louis and Dorcha:
Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Monday 21st April 2025
Today was much quieter after the excitement of yesterday. No intruders to either nest, and both females received one fish each. Dorcha got hers early for breakfast, taking Louis’ tally to forty three, and Blue 536 had hers for lunch, with Garry LV0’s tally rising to ten. Both the promised sunny spells and the rain materialised, and at the time of filing this report (22.00 GMT+1) Dorcha is pearled with raindrops while owl calls are heard above the noise of the wind. The rain and wind are due to continue through the night but the forecast for tomorrow is a much brighter sunny intervals and a gentle breeze.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.36.52 (05.04.00); Nest Two 21.28.42 (05.10.02)
Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/5BJ6Ow6l8f8 N2 Louis brings an early breakfast 05.49.34
https://youtu.be/YzkWDfUjGHk N1 Luncheon fish for Blue 536 from Garry LV0 13.14.15
Bonus activity – Woodland Trust guide to finding your nearest bluebell wood:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/woods-through-the-seasons/spring/best-bluebell-woods
Extra bonus – When you’ve found your bluebells, here’s how to tell the natives from the foreigners:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C57L84xJydm/
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/DTX8U2NE7Cg N1 That’s not fish! Aila attacks Louis 2020
https://youtu.be/zHAY_VCv_qE N1 RAF Typhoons disturb Aila 2020
https://youtu.be/iem0–gNv-M N1 Louis sees off a determined Hoodie 2021
https://youtu.be/_aOu-EIRKIE N2 First egg! Well done Dorcha! 2023
https://youtu.be/o0RwzsSpsvQ N2 Louis gets his first go at incubating 2023
https://youtu.be/kpUzCIo4Wpc N2 Hoodie disturbs Dorcha 2023https://youtu.be/S6oy9ymBRzM N2 Gunshots at midnight startle Dorcha 2024
https://youtu.be/DJxMmArqkFI N1 Garry LV0 brings fish 2024
https://youtu.be/JGy17RT7faA N1 A dapper ‘Lord Hood’ arrives and poses for the camera 2024 (zoom)
Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam
‘PB’ sent me the cutest captures of the Denton Homes Majestics trio:
Posted by the NCTC Monday afternoon:
Tweed Valley: Mrs O’s second egg. Think we will have a trio?
Trempealeau Bald Eagles: It appears that the male has another nest and Mum is having to take care of her eaglets. Only one survived being left in the cold while she went to get food.
This is the explanation for what has happened at this nest from the Raptor Resource Project:
“It was a rough weekend and start to this week for the Trempealeau eaglets. Yesterday, our camera operators documented Mr. T bringing fish to another nest. This morning, TE4 and TE5 died after Mrs. T left her nest to hunt in a cold, slashing rain. Bald Eagles usually take excellent care of their young and Mrs. T certainly did her best. What happened?
2024: First-Time Father?
We’ve had a lot of questions about Mr. T’s behavior. In 2024, he gave all the indicators of being a new eagle father: he seemed reluctant to feed his offspring and was less present for brooding, especially early in nest life. We were surprised and concerned when he disappeared on March 28, and relieved when he finally reappeared and began participating in nest life on April 6. In our April 8 NestFlix, we noted that: “A male eagle has returned to the Trempealeau nest. He’s (kind of) delivering food and taking a very occasional turn on the nest, although he hasn’t fed the eaglets as of this posting. Could he be a first-time father?”
We went on to talk about other nests with first-time fathers, including the 2024 Hanover nest, the 2021 Fort St. Vrain nest, the 2019 Decorah nest, the 2016 Decorah North nest, and the 2012 Fulton nest. The Hanover and Fulton nests failed when neither male helped care for eggs and young. First-time fathers Pa, Mr. North, and DM2 all brought in food and brooded, but it took a while for them to begin feeding and Pa regularly fed himself instead of his eaglets or Ma. So, case closed: Mr. T, a first-time father, would improve his parenting and relationship skills in 2025. Or so we thought.
2025: Two Nests?
At first, 2025 looked promising. Mr. T was attentive, Mrs. T laid three eggs, and both eagles took turns caring for their eggs and replenishing nest materials. But on March 19, Mr. T began spending noticeably less time on the nest. While it’s normal for female eagles to take on more incubation duties, the drop in his participation was significant enough that we took note. And on March 27, he stopped participating in nest life altogether, although our camera operators continued to see and hear him in the vicinity of the nest. He didn’t come back until April 5, when he flew in and began incubating the eggs: https://youtu.be/hYILGV8Hh-o?si=6XXpamCZSaAlAQOu
What happened? At first, we speculated that nearby construction might have spooked him. But we also couldn’t help wondering if he was involved with another nest, specifically one located on an island roughly 1700 feet west of the Trempealeau site. His nesting timeline and behavior only deepened the mystery, suggesting the possibility of yet another new male for the second year in a row. New male or another nest? We discussed our thoughts in a play-by-play with explore.org:https://www.youtube.com/live/Uv091DbCZcE?si=9fSTSzQa1HkbpaEZ and blogged on the possibility of yet another new male here: https://www.raptorresource.org/…/does-mrs-t-have-a-new…/
Meanwhile, Mr. T showed up sporadically, vacillated between bringing food to and stealing food from the Trempealeau nest, and brooded TE3, TE4, and TE5 only occasionally. Camera operators in particular began speculating about another nest because, as one noted, ‘he sure is an odd eagle’.
In the spring of 2024, we were restricted to one lower resolution camera, which made it hard to gather biometric data or follow the eagles when they left the nest. But we added a much better camera last fall. On Sunday morning, one of our camera operators captured Mr. T taking fish from the Trempealeau nest and flying over to what we’re calling the MN Island nest to join a female there. I was shocked, especially since the eagle thruples I’m familiar with involved multiple eagles in the same nest, not one male eagle provisioning two families.
In short, Mr. T had two nests and two eagle ‘wives’, or at least two female eagles he was interested in: https://youtu.be/8bp-_oilfqc?si=82m8rMKzDuJS-lCd
Here’s what we know
– There is a second female bald eagle on a nest located roughly 1700 feet west of the Trempealeau nest. Mr. T is visiting her with food gifts taken from the Trempealeau nest.
– The adult female eagle’s behavior suggests brooding. But distance and wind make it very hard to tell. We hope to get down there before the trees leaf out and make remote viewing impossible.
– Mrs. T nested here in 2024 and 2025.
– Mr. T helped Mrs. T respond to a threat after dark on April 19 and brought in nesting material and fish on April 18. But he took more fish than he brought in and didn’t share brooding duties. Mrs. T was left to handle the storm by herself. She did an excellent job, but it just wasn’t enough.
– Eaglets TE4 and TE5 died on the morning of April 21 following a day of soaking rain and cold wind. As of this blog, larger, older TE3 is still alive. The deaths happened very quickly: all three eaglets were alive and squirming at 5:25 AM and TE5 was dead by 8:00 AM.
Here’s what we don’t know
– Did Mr. T have another nest last year? We don’t have the detailed notes we took this year and were not able to see into the MN Island nest with the camera we had. However, the behavior recorded in our forum, blogs, and by video makers seems quite similar. We didn’t get a soaking multi-day rainstorm last year, which might be why both eaglets survived 2024 with very little help from Mr. T, other nest or no.
– Was Mr. T new last year? Is Mr. T new this year? I believed he was new last year and could have been replaced again this year. But the magic eight-ball has gotten very murky: his behavior was very similar both years and could be explained by a second nest, the nest chronology still points towards a new mate, and what biometrics we have are unhelpful. We don’t know whether or not he was new either year. We’ve included some captures for comparison. Feel welcome to give us your opinion.
We are not taking TE3 from the Trempealeau nest. Mrs. T is doing an excellent job caring for it, the eaglet turned ten days old today, and its thermal down is starting to grow in. It will have no competition for food and the area is rich in natural resources, including plenty of fish. The eaglet has a good chance and we don’t want to take that away from it, Mrs. T, or even Mr. T, should he return. We’ll cross our talons and add more to what we know about eagles as we watch.
Thank you so much for watching, sharing, learning, and especially for caring. Eagle life isn’t always easy, but we love them.”
Iris Hellgate Canyon: Some concern that Iris might lay the first of Louis’s eggs today. It is the 21st and it is very blustery. I the winds are going to bring Finnegan in, come on. I stopped hoping on the 20th. Maybe a miracle?
Worcester Cathedral Scrape: Two have hatched. They are darling. Looks like one more possible egg.
Baltimore Scrape: Gorgeous screen capture!
Llyn Brenig:
Pitkin County: Gorgeous Day for incubation!
Glaslyn: All eggs have now been destroyed. Aran buried one, and Teifi evicted all of them. Chatters said, “Teifi happened! He reorganised the nest, ejecting 1 egg to the l/h side and destroying Eggs 3 and 2. Egg 1 is probably not viable anyway, but it may be damaged.”
Aran continues to fight for his nest, and Elen has nothing to do. It appears that intruders will, this year, cause a lack of productivity in terms of osprey fledglings as opposed to the weather.
Loch of the Lowes: There will likely be no osplets at the nest this year. The commotion over ownership after Blue NC0 was evicted. An osprey was calling in the morning.
Birds of Poole Harbour: Thank goodness for some stability. The only issue appears to be the midges bothering CJ7 as she tries to incubate at night.
Cromer Peregrine Scrape: Three eggs. Pip watch in 3-4 days.
Andover Peregrines: At least one eyas has hatched, perhaps two.
Cal Falcons: This says it all. When pigeons nest on a structure, there are NO falcons around.
San Jose City Hall: Monty and Hartley’s trio is adorable.
Salinas Falcon Cam: Adorable.
I have seen no activity at the Alcatraz peregrine scrape so far. Has anyone else?
Heidi’s Osprey Report for the US nests:
4/21, Brevard County osprey cam: It has been a little bit touch-and-go for the youngest chick. Dad only averages three fish a day, and they are usually medium-sized partial fish. Three meals a day is not enough for these 18 and 19-day-old osplets. The shortage of food has caused the oldest chick to be very aggressive. Well, today at 17:45 Mom landed on the nest with a huge fish, and they had a couple of long feedings from that fish. Go Mom!
4/21, Oyster Bay: Mom laid their third egg this morning
4/21, Seaside: Naha and Bruce now have two eggs.
‘TU’ writes: “Estonian black storks Kerli and Kergu have their first egg.”
Latvian Lesser Spotted Eagles: ‘TU’ also sends news “Couple of lesser spotted eagles in Latvia are both back after winter migration. Their nest in Zemgale was first spotted in 2017. camera installed in 2018. But first 2 or 3 years were not very successful. And after that in 2022/23/24 they had one young eaglet raised every year. Uldis and Laila )”
We are on pip/hatch watch at Lake Murray’s Osprey Cam. I wonder if the owner will put up the strobe lights so the owl doesn’t take the chicks this year. (One survived last year)
Good night Everyone!
Thank you for being with us today. I wish I could say dear Finnegan arrived home safely, but alas, it feels like we had one glorious year with him and Iris. That may be enough. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, Heidi, PB, TU’, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Denton Homes Majestics, NCTC, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue and Seaside Ospreys, Trempealeau Bald Eagles, Montana Osprey Project/Cornell Bird Lab, Ashley Wilson/Hawks and Falcons FB, Worcester Cathdral, Brenig Osprey Project, Pitkin County Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, LOTL, Birds of Poole Harbour, Andover Peregrines, Salinas Falcon Cam, Brevard County, Birds of Poole Harbour
