2 June 2025
Hello Everyone,
Just a few things of noteworthy interest for all of us.
First: Sunny fledged! What a glorious event filled with the bittersweetness of us wishing and hoping Jackie and Shadow would have at least one viable egg. Hanging on through bad weather and being astonished at how Jackie and Shadow are such amazing parents to Sunny and Gizmo. Gizmo will want to follow Sunny as quickly as she can!
SK Hideaways has the fledge: https://youtu.be/b9L5gRb3Q20?
ABC News has the fledge: https://youtu.be/NlT-Y8UW1ws?
KTLA 5 has the fledge: https://youtu.be/8tWhOVhCPPo?
Sunny has been spotted in Jackie and Shadow’s roost tree.
Then to top off the day the four little falcons at San Jose City Hall fledged – yes, all of them!!!!!!!!
The San Jose City Hall Falcons
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FYI – ALL FOUR FLEDGE TODAY – Monday June 2 !!!!!!! 3PM STATUS CHECK
Just a quick update but I’m sure via cam a lot of you have already figured out with an empty nest ledge that all four have fledged and are perched elsewhere.
First to fledge Octavia, Next to fledge was Emma. Third was Chico and last Willow.
Current status – Octavia is at the top of what we call Clara’s tree over at SJSU
Emma is on City Hall building around the 6th floor
Willow is on the southeast corner stairwell
Chico is still being searched for. He was seen heading north of the City Hall area. Animal control has been notified. They are always notified that we are on fledge watch detail and to call us if they ever rescue a juvenile falcon. The parents also give us clues where to find a wayward juvie as what Hartley did this morning in finding Octavia on the Miro.
We’re still here for some hours as our BOG trek the area looking and keeping eyes on the juveniles. Thank you for your patience and understanding! 
Last, and I am sorry to leave on a sad note. I posted the information I received from VV who monitors 15 Osprey nests right outside their porch in Maryland on the Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB. I received a lot of responses and I am copying several of those for you below. In addition, there are people monitoring the Menhaden population. Remember, Menhaden is the primary food for ospreys and the lack of it due to industrial fishing (or is there anything else?) has been causing nests to fail for the past three years Heidi and I have been recording the data on mortality. They note that the Menhaden have left the Chesapeake Bay. This is catastrophic for the ospreys!
Here were a few of the responses:
where are you located? I’ve seen the same thing you describe in Gloucester County VA at the lower end of the York River in Guinea. I started seeing it with the nest off my dock about 5 years ago and it has gradually spread throughout the creek and lower York River and around into Mobjack Bay. I might see one osprey check our stand out in the spring and then no activity. he nest across the creek had a pair and they nested for several weeks, and now have abandoned the nest. I think the fabled nest on top of the Coleman bridge crossing the York River is now abandoned after MANY years!
Tommy Leggett I’m in Northumberland county and am seeing this too. As of now all nests I’ve seen here have failed.
Kristofer Rowe Failure rate here Chesapeake Bay #1 Habitat for Ospreys, Data from CCB,USGS, about 90% worse the DDT era,data here shows overfishing Menhaden by foreign Canada Omega Protien.
I’ve been studying Osprey on the coast of CT for 8+years. Including replacing 35 platforms that were about 40 years old and doing some egg studies. I’m also a avid Osprey photographer. I have been preaching from a soap box for years that the population has been collapsing. This chart was from 2020 for what it’s worth. I expect the numbers to be more dismal now.
I am unbelievably sad this evening. We are witnessing the decimation of the osprey population in this region of the US that had, at one time, one of the highest, if not the highest, populations of ospreys.
Thank you to SK Hideaways, ABC News, KTLA 5, Pam Breci, San Jose City Hall Falcon Watchers, and the Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB group.
