2 October 2026
Hello!
It is a gorgeous autumn day on the Canadian Prairies. Toby and I have been for several walks and we spent time outside moving bits and bobs around the garden. Then I sat, had a cup of tea, and soaked in the warm sunshine. It is 12 degrees C. In the garden, some Dark-eyed Juncos have arrived. Migration is late, and why not? No lakes are frozen, so fish are still plentiful. In fact, some geese, swans, eagles, and hawks overwinter here. It is week 7 for Don in the hospital. He has been sleeping so deeply that no one could wake him. The hospital is now lowering an anti-anxiety medication that appears to be causing this. Fingers crossed. The Girls, Toby and I are settling into a strange new normal.
I have been negligent in telling you about The Girls. They do get special attention, but I used to write about them all the time. My apologies to the – and you! Calico and Hope continue to stay close. Where one is, the other is. Calico demands pets – if you don’t, forget it. She will sit on your chest until you pet and brush. How many of you have a Calico cat? The shedding is unbelievable! It isn’t a great photo, but there they are in their favourite spot.
Hugo Yugo is the troublemaker. When she isn’t sleeping, she is either playing with Toby or bothering Hope. HY will also be the one to run in the basement when workmen are here. No one else is even interested. Missey is the darling sweet one of the four and the one that is visually missing Don the most. Sadly, she is even getting used to his absence.
Mr and Mrs Crow waiting for one of the Red squirrels to leave the table feeder so they can have a peanut.
My darling boy, Toby. Never complains, hardly ever barks (except when the dog across the lane begins), is always there to comfort.
The beautiful fall sky when Toby and I went for our walk last evening.
The other one (making the normal three) on top of the little house feeder. There are peanuts inside!
The animals in the garden and those who share my home are certainly a gift.
The big news in Bird World is that there were two of the cutest fluffiest little eyases at 367 Collins Street today. I suspect by the time you read this, there could be more. The third was almost out of its shell before night settled.
This is big. Let us hope that it is not too late.
The Menhaden discussion is growing!!!!
Russ Bassdozer Comeau on FB:
MENHADEN INDUSTRY DELAY TACTICS: More Study is Required Before Acting
A large pool of federal, state, local and NGO steward scientific studies and dozens of scientist-led citizen-science surveys in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic states indicate the osprey is suffering catastrophic reproductive losses in recent years not seen since the era of DDT. Strong empirical evidence in each instance points to low menhaden availability as the primary driver behind poor nesting success in the saltier sections of the Bay and along sections of the total coast.
Dr. Bryan Watts, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary, who has led decades of empirical research on Chesapeake Bay osprey populations, has unified a number of such organizations’ nest monitoring data across 65 distinct study areas spanning the Atlantic Coast. This milestone effort compiled multiple independent scientist and citizen-science monitoring programs into a single, comprehensive systematic meta-analysis—to aggregate results into a definitive coastwide assessment at the highest tier of scientific evidence that fisheries managers cannot ignore in making informed decisions.
Based on these findings, a menhaden scarcity in the saltier nesting sites in the Bay and Atlantic states up the coast is apparent as food stress. Osprey nesting in freshwater upper reaches of coastal waters that are not as reliant on menhaden tend not to suffer from food stress or failing reproductive rates.
This large data set points to a need for a 50% reduction, resulting in a protective cap of 25,500 metric tons as the appropriate precautionary management measure to take now in the Bay. It also points to a total allowable catch (TAC) reduction as a proactive management measure to protect and rebuild the menhaden fishery in the Atlantic and to sustain saltwater-centric fish, birds and wildlife of all kinds that rely on menhaden.
INDUSTRY CLAIM #1: The industry argues that, because menhaden and the predator/prey relationships have not been substantially studied in the Chesapeake Bay to date, regulators should not impose catch limitations or local harvest caps to protect and rebuild sustainable balances in the Bay unless there is absolute, peer-reviewed scientific certainty proving a direct link between reduction fishing and predator decline. They claim regulators must wait for years of additional localized research and peer-reviewed forage consumption data models before changing any existing harvest caps.
THE REALITY: This is a stall tactic used to delay accountability while harvest limits are kept at status quo volumes desirable to the industry. Fisheries management policies explicitly allow for a precautionary approach when wildlife populations show clear signs of distress.
This fishery requires immediate protection while three upcoming research projects ramp up to have the exact “scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful” localized metrics that the industry desires and the management board requires to adjust the Cap.
The upcoming state-funded research [1] fits with the opportunity to lower the Chesapeake Bay Cap now, reducing pressure on menhaden stocks and saving ospreys while data is being gathered, which will allow managers to adjust the cap as new scientific findings become available.
In this scenario, precautionary management would already be taking place to sustain stocks while industry-backed academic reviews [2] and the broader federally funded tracking project [3] come online to deliver their short and long-term assessments.
Waiting years like the industry wants for absolute scientific certainty while field biologists actively document ongoing widespread chick starvation can lead to an imminent, irreversible ecological failure.
These major menhaden research initiatives should be planned to initially come online and produce preliminary data within the timeframe of a suggested mandatory three-year review provision so the Board will have the exact “scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful” localized metrics needed to adjust the Cap at that time and going forward, using targeted bay science rather than permanently locking the Cap into an unscientific fixed ocean-linked quota.
INDUSTRY CLAIM #2: The industry argument that a precautionary management approach for tighter, localized catch limits lacks scientific justification is yet another stall tactic used to maintain the regulatory status quo.
THE REALITY: The evidence on the nesting platforms, dwindling menhaden catch rates in Bay poundnet fisheries, and depletion of striped bass (rockfish) makes it abundantly clear that immediate precautionary management action is the proper response to tighten precautionary limits to protect the resource before menhaden and stripers crash, and local breeding colonies collapse entirely. Waiting for absolute mathematical proof of a “benefit” while forage fish, sportfish and raptors exhibit clear signs of localized distress would be a failure of basic resource conservation.
CONCLUSION: The Future of Localized Menhaden Management should start now.
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RESEARCH FOOTNOTES & CITATIONS:
[1] Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) & Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Population and Ecological Interactions Study. State-funded, independent research framework under the Virginia General Assembly budget directive. | $2.0 million state funding granted to the VIMS by the state of Virginia to study menhaden population and ecological interactions inside the Chesapeake Bay.
[2] National Science Foundation’s Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS). Development of a Research Roadmap for Atlantic Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. Academic literature and data review project funded directly by commercial industry partners (Omega Protein / Ocean Harvesters). | Private corporate funding is channeled directly into SCEMFIS who distributes the funding directly to academic teams from VIMS and the University of Maryland to carry out the project. | The industry uses this private research allocation to build their preferred scientific guidelines for the 51,000 metric ton Bay Cap. They use it to argue that regulators should take no action until their private academic roadmap is fully finalized.
[3] Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Federal Appropriations Research Framework. Nationally funded regional study evaluating forage baseline data and Ecological Reference Point (ERP) modeling parameters. | $2.5 Million federal funding awarded to NOAA Fisheries by the federal government to analyze menhaden abundance, distribution, and forage roles within the Bay ecosystem.
If you live where there are hearings, please attend and speak up or the Osprey and other wildlife that call the area around The Chesapeake home.
Ron and Rose had a visitor to their Dade County Bald Eagle nest. Heidi caught them on video: https://youtu.be/Oo3lBz5DYzo?
Eagles are returning to the Kisatchie National Forest! Check out the live cams. Andria III chortling this morning at E-3.
The sea eaglets are beautiful and Lady and Dad stay close, even during the night, to protect them.
Diamond and Gimbir are still on incubation duties at Orange.
Beau and Gabby continue nestorations at NE Florida.
The camera is now on at SW Florida with M15 and a new female?
Check out the other eagle cams – nestorations are underway.
Thank you for being with us today. Take care everyone. We will see you in a couple of days.
Thank you to everyone posting support for the ospreys, the owners of the streaming cams that let us watch our incredible raptors, and those who write newsletters and post images and information on FB.
