Tuesday in Bird World

6 January 2025

Hello Everyone,

It is late Tuesday night. It was a warm day. Ann was here, and she took Toby and Don for a nice walk. Ellen had been here earlier, so Toby had two good walks! I did not get to making SK Hideaway’s Cranberry Orange scones, but that is on the list for this week. I have moved on from my disappointment with the health services and have pulled up the ‘boot straps’ and gotten on with life. Ann will be here more afternoons and Ellen will help with some dog walking. I spent a lovely afternoon with my bestie. It is Irish Women’s Christmas. Do you know this tradition?

January 6 was known as Nollaig na mBan – “women’s Christmas” when womenfolk across the country took a day off from their traditional domestic chores as a reward for all their efforts, and visited friends and family. The temperature rose dramatically by mid-afternoon before rain started around 3pm.”

We had lovely tea and conversation, and I forgot about the woes of the past weeks – like the eagles.

Speaking of eagles. Could we have ordered a more cute group of babies this year?

E26 seems to have a constant huge crop and is getting its mohawk along with that woolly deep charcoal—a prize for M15 and F23 whose love for this baby oozes out of that nest.

Beau continues to win the hearts and minds of everyone who watches the NE Florida nest. Could you think back to when Beau was V3? How did you feel when Gabby seemed to favour this young one who didn’t, at the time, seem to know which end was which?

Clown feet, mohawk, thermal down, and pin feathers at Captiva. All of the eaglets are growing quickly!

R9 and R10 have the same pin feathers, the same clown feet, the little Mohawks, and they are doing the cutest wingers. Ron and Rose are fantastic parents.

All appears to be well at the Superbeaks nest, too.

Huge winter storms are barrelling through North America raising havoc with our eagle nests – and their trees, many old, many with dead branches. Another suffered damage.

Good news coming from Redding and those following Liberty and Guardian.

An unbanded male eagle has been seen with Haku at the West End—no sighting of Akecheta.

Those caring for the Laysan Albatross on the Midway Atoll report that Wisdom, the oldest banded Laysan Albatross in the world at 74 years, returns frequently to the atoll. She did not, however, lay an egg this year.

Raptor Persecution UK continues to follow the illegal killings, charges, and court hearings in the UK for us.

Do you live in the UK? Might you be interested in working for the Birds of Poole Harbour?

I was delighted to hear from my friend whose son has been working too hard. He sat down by a lake, and there were ducks, and all the woes of the world slipped off his shoulders. I highly recommend that we all do this in the days and weeks ahead. The holidays are challenging for almost everyone for many varied reasons, but winter can be especially daunting. Try to get outside!

Now I imagine that in about 50 days we might see Iris land on her nest in Missoula. Just imagine. And then, sit back and consider that a fortnight earlier, the UK ospreys will start arriving home as well for their breeding seasons. I cannot wait.

Thank you so much for being with us tonight. I might not post again til the end of the week. No worries. All is good.

Thank you to Raptor Persecution UK, to the owners of the streaming cams where I took my screen captures and the authors of the FB posts. Without your keen eyes and sharing information, my blog would not be the same!

Dear Dyson.

Mr Crow waiting for Dyson to finish with the peanuts so he can have some!