30 April 2025
Good Morning Everyone,
It is a special day for Aran at Glaslyn today! They write, “Roll back to April 30 2015. On this day ten years ago Aran landed on the Glaslyn nest for the very first time, when the original male 11(98) failed to return. He arrived just in time and raised two chicks with Mrs G that year. Ten years on and the situation at the nest is no less dramatic!” Well, done Aran.
It feels like winter hit us again! The sky is blue and the sun is shining but it is cold. The central heating is back on and my friend, who was going to put the pump in her pond, has decided to wait til the end of May!
Still, we have wildfires, and this one does not please me. It is about 20 km north of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. I go to Delta Research to see the birds, and there is an eagle family that has their nest there, which would be close to where the fires are burning.
Some Ospreys continue to arrive in Canada. It feels late, but I am not certain that it is. Will have to check the forms one day.
Snow Lane, Newfoundland: Beaumont is home. We wait for Hope.
FOBBV: Beautiful video of Sunny and Gizmo. Please savour every second we have with them. Soon they will fly and while that is their destiny, what little miracles and what amazing joy they have brought to us, to their parents Jackie and Shadow, and to one another. https://youtu.be/I4WMS9H3HrQ?
‘TU’ sends us some news: “WTE couple from Tatarstan in Russia got their chick and we hope it will be a good season. Couple of booted eagles in the same region have 2 eggs, second appeared yesterday. But as we remember for booted eagles in Spain it was always bad story for the small eaglet.”
Sad news coming out of Hancock Wildlife White Rock Bald Eagle nest:
Why can’t these chicks be moved to another nest for fostering? Or can we have intervention in the form of supplementary fish until the eaglets are old enough for Mum to leave them to go hunting? Or, pray tell, why, knowing the situation, were the eggs not moved to another nest to be hatched and raised? If you haven’t guessed by now, I believe firmly in intervention when it can occur and when there is a chance of a better outcome than watching two little eaglets starve to death.
Hellgate Canyon. Don’t pass out. Iris needed a break and probably some fish and look who came to take care of the egg. Am I dreaming?
The egg was rained on and rolled by Louis and then the Raven took it.
Beautiful Iris and her whopper of a fish.
Charlo Montana: Charlie and Lola have their first egg of the season.
Salisbury Cathedral Falcons:
Cornell Red-tail Haw cam of Big Red and Arthur: We are on pip watch.
Most of us are aware that Murphy the Eagle died some time ago. I received today and I thought I would put all of the information that was sent to me with the question by the reader: “Tragedy struck on a stormy weekend. Violent weather swept through Missouri, and Murphy was found dead in his aviary. Authorities reported that the severe storms and tornadoes that passed near the area played a role in his untimely demise. As First Alert 4 reports, a full necropsy later revealed that he sustained significant head trauma. The sanctuary stated they could not determine if the trauma resulted from a fall or from the fierce winds and heavy precipitation. This uncertainty adds to the sorrow felt by wildlife lovers and local residents alike. Additional reports highlighted the unpredictability of nature. Officials explained that Murphy had weathered many storms during his long life. Yet this particular outbreak proved too much for him. KTVI reports that his death came as a shock not only to the staff at the sanctuary but also to a community that had followed his journey closely. The sanctuary confirmed that no other birds were injured during the incident. They stressed that their safety plans had prevented further harm, though Murphy’s case remained an unfortunate exception.”
So the question is: with the reasonable accurate weather forecasting, why are not raptors and other animals/birds moved inside until the storms have passed? Sadly, I do not know the answer to this question but with climate change the increasing frequency of severe weather, one would think, if funds and staff are available, that all animals would be removed to a safe place until the storm had passed. I think here of the evacuations that occur throughout Florida.
Achieva Credit Union: According to MP, Jack and Jill are being harassed by some very persistent Blue Jays. There it is up on the perch. That Blue Jay is lucky that ospreys only like fish!
Sydney Sea Eagles: Lady and Dad have been photographed.
Heidi’s Nest Notes (please note that she does not cover every nest in the US nor every nest daily, just highlights):
South Cape May Meadows osprey nest: The camera was down for the better part of a few days. It was live streaming again late afternoon of 4/27 for just a couple of hours, and there were no eggs seen. When the cam resumed again on the morning of 4/29 at 07:30, Hera was incubating one egg. So, the egg could have been laid as early as the evening of 4/27, or on 4/28, or overnight on 4/29. Just in case, we should be on egg watch for egg #2 by the afternoon or evening of 4/30.
While the live stream was down, a motion-sensing infrared night light was installed for the purpose of helping us see when there is activity in the dark. The GHO has had a significant presence at the nest all season so far. Please see the following chat posts from the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, to explain what has been done to try to deter the owl:
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Lake Murray ospreys: It looks as though Lucy will not have any chicks from this clutch of eggs. Lucy laid 3 eggs and one of them broke on 3/29 (not known which egg). Her mate, Kenny, was usurped by the current male on 3/27-3/28. The new male (named Newman) has been bringing Lucy fish, and he has also been doing some incubating. Even if we go out on a limb and say that the two remaining eggs are egg #2 and egg #3, they are ages 44 and 41 days on 4/30, and no sign of a pip.
4/30 – The Frenchman’s Creek chick fledged this morning at 57 days of age! That first flight happened at 09:50, and s/he returned to the nest in just over a minute.
At Syracuse University, two of the Red-tail Hawk eggs hatched on Monday.
Geemeff writes: “Every time I hear anything at all on the subject of hen harrier persecution, my teeth start to ache from being ground very hard. What is it about this amazing bird that causes the idiots with guns who like to kill for ‘fun’ to persecute it so relentlessly? Surely the bird can’t be taking more than one grouse per day in breeding season? Given that the sport shooting industry raise and release around fifty million game birds annually simply to be shot, the very low numbers of hen harriers in the UK can’t begin to make a dent in those numbers. Even if each hen harrier took two or even ten a day, it still wouldn’t affect the vast numbers of game birds reared merely to be killed and most often not even eaten as they’re riddled with toxic lead shot.
It makes me ashamed to have a government that protects the so called ‘sport’ shooting industry.”
Geemeff continues, “And another four satellite-tagged Hen Harriers have gone missing since the beginning of this year”:
Thank you, Geemeff. You are absolutely right. Anyone who wants to begin to understand just needs to read any of the many books on the topic, but I particularly like Bowland Beth.
And, sadly, it is not just your government. The cutting of funding to rangers, changes to the migratory bird act in the US, etc, make life for all wildlife very precarious. I am embarrassed and infuriated. We all should be.
Falcons and other birds need them to survive. Can we not figure out a way to get along with pigeons?
Ruffling feathers on the allotment | Brief letters https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/27/ruffling-feathers-on-the-allotment?CMP=share_btn_url
Calico’s Tip for Everyone: It’s Migration. Turn out the Lights. Ask your cities and towns to turn them off!
Trempeauleau: Mrs T at Trempeauleau Bald Eagle nest in Wisconsin is incredible. She is going to raise this little eaglet of hers to fledge. I can feel it. The baby is getting its thermal down, and there must be fish ready. Just about as soon as she catches one, or in this case, brings what appears to be a road kill possum and a fish, Mr T comes to get it to take it to the other nest. Regardless, things are going well for now. Let us all send positive wishes that they continue to do so. Is he lazy? Opportunistic? This is his eaglet, too!
Video of Mr T stealing a possum Mum brought in and then a fish. https://youtu.be/KaGPMBaL-dg?
Great Bay Ospreys: Egg #2, 4/29 at 20:05.
Xcel Fort St Vrain: Two surviving babies are doing well.
Geemeff’s daily summary for The Woodland Trust and Loch Arkaig:
Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 29th Apr 2025An exciting day today on Nest One where it looks like Garry LV0 and Blue 536 have mated successfully, not once but at least three times today. Furthermore, as if to fully claim possession of the nest (and Garry!), Blue 536 brought a stick to add to the furnishings. He brought her two fish taking his tally to twenty six. We wait to see how things progress, but it’s looking very good for finally having a resident pair on Nest One
since she arrived on Friday 18th April. Over on Nest Two, Louis and Dorcha went about their usual business of giving and receiving fish and taking turns incubating the eggs, and Louis’ two fish deliveries take his tally to fifty seven. Tonight’s forecast is for clear skies and light winds, and a sunny day with gentle breezes tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.10.49 (04.47.08); Nest Two 22.25.41 (04.52.28)
Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/IVnRt58Tuws N1 At last! Successful mating between Blue 536 and Garry LV0 05.13.00https://youtu.be/rOUzWiOpTpI N2 Dorcha’s keen to tear into fish number one 05.47.04https://youtu.be/Rqv12H8GHP0 N1 Handover of fish one is interrupted by an unseen intruder 10.44.31
https://youtu.be/NA39q-kBs_0 N1 Blue 536 accepts the tiny tail end of fish number two 16.50.59
https://youtu.be/il6HhuVaY2s N2 Dorcha’s happy to see Louis with fish number two 18.38.15
Bonus action – a significant, lasting way you can support Woodland Trust and stand up for trees:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/give/gift-in-will
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/rxYqoHxXPMY N1 Louis coy-mantles for Aila 2017
https://youtu.be/wO972vIFy8U N1 First mating for Louis & Aila 2017
https://youtu.be/shhxI4hywlY N1 Tawny Owl attacks Aila 2020 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/rYQg6ow0Krg N1 Aila helps Louis log on 2020
https://youtu.be/TCoPSKsYP4w N1 Aila chases an intruder leaving the eggs unattended 2020
https://youtu.be/5zVFnXl94p8 N1 Affric & Prince return 2022
https://youtu.be/h0lIyo4MYQw N1 The Art of Weave 2023 (Classic Ospreys: Bach in quicktime)
https://youtu.be/FoF0b5rBZ4s N2 Dorcha’s glad to see Louis bringing breakfast 2024
https://youtu.be/_ptnXEqz0JI N1 Fish number one for Garry’s potential girlfriend 2024
https://youtu.be/en2jZLwlbtg N1 Garry LV0 tries and fails mating with his new female friend 2024
https://youtu.be/KgbhdQWyOZE N2 Dorcha’s not interested when a third fish arrives 2024
Why not come and join the lively community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s friendly, free and everyone’s welcome:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam
Dyfi: Mark the 17th of May for pip watch for Idris and Telyn.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘BHA, Geemeff, Heidi, PB, SB, TU’, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, SK Hideaways, Newfoundland Power, Terry Anita and Bald Eagles Live Nest News and Cams, Montana Osprey Project/Cornell Bird Lab, Raptor Resource Project, Salisbury Cathedral Falcons, Eagle Cam, Cornell Red Tail Hawk Cam, The Guardian, Raptor Persecution UK, Achieva Credit Union, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Trempealeau Bald Eagles, Peace, Xcel Fort St Vrain, SCMM, Lake Murray Ospreys, Frenchman’s Creek, Dyfi Osprey Project
Louis —you’re FIRED!🤦♀️
Yes. Definitely.