Sunday in Bird World

4 May 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

Morning Update: Glacier Gardens streaming cam is now live and Liberty appears to have a new mate!

NEFlorida: Gabby brought Bodie two fish on Saturday! Yippee.

Ciril Nest, Threave: Mary Cheadle has posted that PF4, the unringed female that came to the nest, is none other than Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0’s fledgling from 2023! Oh, how wonderful that one of their chicks, who had one of the harshest starts in terms of weather and lack of food, is alive.

Saturday was a long day. It took nearly three hours over rolling hills, past farmer’s planting their fields, and ponds full of ducks and geese. The trip to pick up Toby was magical and so good for our souls.

Toby is tired. He slept all the way from his home in the country with his brothers and sisters to the City. He played for a bit with a tiny rope chew toy and he is now asleep again. The Girls have been curious, but not aggressive in any way. I don’t think they know ‘what’ Toby is! The key is going to be making certain that each and everyone of them does not feel left out but gets lots and lots of love and cuddles.

Calico looking at me wanting to know what ‘that thing’ is!

I don’t think Hugo Yugo had seen anything so tiny – and Toby is VERY tiny.

Toby likes to be held or be in his very soft bed. Nothing else.

Toby is going to fit into the family just fine. All I had to do was look over at Don’s face as he held Toby on the trip home and well, I melted. A gentle puppy for a very gentle man.

I am going to check on a few nests but before that Geemeff sends us the daily summary for Loch Arkaig – and oh, goodness, poor Dorcha. The owls are at it again!

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 3rd May 2025

Another day of low activity and nothing out of the ordinary. Dorcha and Louis continue to take turns incubating the three eggs, Dorcha gets a break to eat, bathe, and stretch her wings when Louis brings fish and takes over egg-sitting, and Louis does whatever male Ospreys do when they’re not fishing, egg-sitting, or patrolling their territory. Louis brought one fish today, taking his tally to sixty six, while over on Nest One, Garry brought two fish to take his tally to thirty five. Blue 536 continues to come to the nest and Garry continues making mating attempts, not always successful. However, he seems to have developed a teasing strategy whereby he brings a whole fish to the nest, shows it to her then takes off with it, returning it headless a little later and only on the second go round letting her take it. Interesting times on Nest One. The dry weather’s set to continue with an overnight forecast of partly cloudy with a gentle breeze, and sunny intervals tomorrow.

EDIT: So much for nothing out of the ordinary – after this report was filed, a Tawny Owl struck Dorcha. Neither she nor the eggs were harmed. We’ve been hearing owls for some time and anticipating a strike and it’s come tonight – when will the next one happen?

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.25.48 (04.30.05); Nest Two 22.24.58 (04.39.52)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/-UydAzTc7fw N1 Garry LV0 brings and takes away a whole fish, returns it headless to Blue 536 13.17.07

https://youtu.be/hmAqX1qE0FM N1 Yet again Garry LV0 makes Blue 536 wait for the fish 16.20.24

https://youtu.be/QtzXJFp8qDc N2 Louis does a flyby before landing and giving Dorcha this late first fish 16.37.49

https://youtu.be/vQ2GdD48Pqw N2 Tawny Owl strikes Dorcha! 22.58.41 (slo-mo repeat with zoom)

Bonus watch – stunning drone footage of the two nests, filmed last year before the birds returned of course:

https://youtu.be/HKIxtz_ICXU N1

https://youtu.be/wiSNcrl7_mM N2

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/_ldayacEJVk  N1 Domestic abuse? Aila makes Louis move 2020

https://youtu.be/O66MzVbKdEk  N1 Louis chases a Hoodie wanting his fish 2020

https://youtu.be/EXKZvJIsSnU  N1 Poor old Louis! First a kick then a bit of fish stuck in his beak 2020

https://youtu.be/U-5w06vRVgc  N2 Dorcha wears a fake moustache 2022

https://youtu.be/475Qa4mMr_M  N2 Louis gets a bashing with a big stick 2022

https://youtu.be/aGybeh25I3I  N2 Size matters! Coal Tit is startled by Dorcha 2022

https://youtu.be/hr9oHiTH2EA  N2 Mute button needed as Dorcha sees Louis bringing dinner 2023

https://youtu.be/9NftDmPybXk  N1 Garry brings fish number one for hollow-cropped Aida 2024 

https://youtu.be/mmOwq1QEOTQ  N2 Louis misjudges landing with a big stick 2024

https://youtu.be/zp36YlZE3yA  N2 Two Lesser Redpolls arrive and one perches near Dorcha 2024

https://youtu.be/eAqcolh9_VQ  N1 Woodland visitors: Tree Pipit, Coal Tit, Wren 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

Usk Valley Ospreys: No birds breeding in the valley for at least 250 years. This pair is much loved and they made The Guardian! Will they turn out to be super media stars like Jackie and Shadow?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/03/nesting-ospreys-villagers-excited-wales-usk-valley?CMP=share_btn_url

Cornell Red Tail Hawk Cam: Arthur has brought in a bird and some other type of prey for Big Red, their first hatch of the season. It is a rainy, wet day. I am beaming like a godmother!

This little one is O1. Sometimes I think Big Red will make it til the end of the alphabet! What an amazing hawk.

Sunday is rainy in Ithaca.

White Rock Eagles: ‘PB’ reports that Mum fed the two eaglets the leftover duck, and instead of fighting, they ate and had crops. Mum later brought in a fish for the two of them. If the males leave this nest alone, we might see a female not only incubate but also raise eaglets without help. I hope she makes it! Send such good energy.

The eaglets are the 25th and 26th of this great Mum and they are named Yankee and Zulu.

Hellgate Canyon: Iris took a break – a very short one – and the Ravens came and took the second egg.

Trempealeau Bald Eagles: Mum and Baby are holding their own. Just smiling.

Duke Farms: It feels like fledge is coming soon. Eagles fledge from 10-14 weeks and can spend from a month to three or four months in the area of the nest being trained and fed by parents.

FOBBV: Beautiful Gizmo and Sunny at Big Bear are getting as anxious as the Duke Farms eaglets to fly.

Charlo Montana: The second egg has arrived for Charlie and Lola.

Much news coming out of the UK:

Police are seeking information on the killing of two Red Kites.

Two men charged in relation to the killing of the Red Kites in Cairngorms.

Gamekeeper in court accused of killing Hen Harriers.

Gamekeeper appears in court and pleads not guilty to offenses against Hen Harriers.

You are invited to a free webinar (you do need to register) with the Cornell Bird Labs: Here is the information:

Red-tailed Hawk by Cynthia Sedlacek

Dear Friend, More than 1 billion birds are killed from collisions with windows every year. Fortunately, affordable and effective solutions are available for residents just like you! Join the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for a free, virtual webinar to learn how YOU can make the windows at your home safer for birds. Everyone who attends will be entered to win up to $500 in bird-window collision deterrents.* Register today, spots are limited!

When?WednesdayMay 14, 20257:00 p.m. EDT

Where?Zoom Platform

How?RegistrationRequired

To register, click the button below or copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Lh-fQfXFQsWWBPiibRqjUQ

Register to Reserve Your Spot!

*The prize-drawing winner will receive a gift card for $500 to apply toward products to deter bird-glass collisions. The winner will be randomly selected and notified on May 15, 2025, at the email address they provide during registration. We hope to see you there, Dr. Tina PhillipsOn behalf of the Bird-Friendly Action TeamCornell Lab of Ornithology

This webinar is part of a research initiative conducted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology about our outreach to reduce window strikes. You must be 18 years of age or older to register. By registering, you consent to sharing your name and email address as part of the study, but we will code and remove any personal information so the data are anonymous and not personally identifiable.

That is it for me today. It is time to pay some attention to a very late dinner and some four legged friends. Take care everyone! See you soon.

Thank you to everyone for their notes and to those who especially sent me the sometimes vulgar ads that appeared on my blog. I have sent these to WP trying to determine what has happened. Thank you to those that sent notes, posts, images, videos, ideas, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, PB’, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Cornell Bird Lab Red-tail Hawks, Montana Osprey Project/Cornell Bird Lab, White Rock Eagles and Hancock Wildlife Foundation, Trempeauleau Bald Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, FOBBV, Charlo Montana/Raptor Resource Project, Raptor Persecution UK, Cornell Bird Labs, Glacier Gardens, NEFL-AEF