Diamond and Gimbir’s eggs are not viable…Monday in Bird World

19 October 2026

Hello Everyone,

I hope this finds you well and that you had a few minutes or longer to get out at the weekend and enjoy the outdoors! It was simply glorious fall weather here. Our temperature was around 16 C. Occasionally, brisk winds tossed the golden and rust leaves about. Toby loved it and wanted to chase each one! He spent Sunday afternoon with Ann so that I could visit Don at the hospital on my own. I got to push him in his wheelchair, and along with several other patients, we had a parade around the ward. It was brilliant. His legs were not stiff, and his mind was alert and often clear. Ann’s birthday is on the 28th, and we decided on a chocolate cake and ice cream in his room that day.

Toby stops at every house on the street with dogs and cats. He often just ‘sniff’ the air, but at one house he goes right up because he knows it is where Brock used to go to eat and sleep. Today, another cat visits, and two cats live there.

Speaking of not-so-good days, it appears that none of Gimbir and Diamond’s eggs is viable this season. This is hugely disappointing. Dr Cilla Kinross posted an explanation noting that she will candle the eggs to see if they were fertile, if they survive the season.

Holly Parsons is posting videos of the 2019 season if you are interested.

Sweet little Gimbir incubating the eggs this morning. So sad – he has turned out to be a good provider. They will eventually give up on the eggs, and hopefully Cilla Kinross can collect them to determine what happened. Life will go on, with or without chicks to raise for the pair.

There has been an intruder, and I wonder if it is a female checking out the territory. Wonder how that might play out?

There is good news coming out of Berry College in Georgia. There is a Bald Eagle couple interested in the nest with the streaming cam that was abandoned by Dad Berry and Missey.

Bel a-Donna has the video: https://youtu.be/IOX4d0Fp3Dk?

There are some good news stories from ‘J’ in Berlin:

This is wonderful news, but alternatives have to be on the shelf, and hunters and the military have to buy them for this scheme to work. The Ventana Wildlife Society has tried for years – despite California’s ban on lead ammo – to stop the practice. They even provide free ammunition, and still the number one killer of Condors is lead poisoning.

“One of the stories was about a woman creating a sanctuary for monarch butterflies, so I looked up more stories. This is the official website:

https://www.womenforgreenspaces.org/about-us

More proof that anyone can make a difference!”

There is also fantastic news coming out of Tairoa Head in New Zealand, the home of the Royal Albatross colony:

We have lots of cranes migrating to the south this year – in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. There are Whooping Cranes (info below posted today on B) and amazing Sandhill Cranes that will be passing through Nebraska (or already have). Have a read about Whooping Cranes – I certainly learned something.

Diane Crookham-Johnson

·Good Morning from Saskatchewan and the Whooping Cranes!

Each Thursday I volunteer in a kindergarten room. This week, since I’m gone, I sent a video and a list of facts about Whooping Cranes to the class. I’m sharing both with this post.

Long live cranes!

• Whooping Cranes are the tallest birds in North America. They stand almost five feet tall. They have a wingspan of 7-8 feet.

• Whooping Cranes nest in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada.

• Whooping Crane babies are called colts.

• Whooping Crane colts are a cinnamon color when they are born. They are dependent on their parents for food and safety.

• Whooping Cranes turn mostly white as they grow older.

• Whooping Crane parents teach their colt how to find food. They eat insects, small water creatures, crabs, vegetation, and when really hungry fish and snakes.

• Whooping Cranes stand on one leg when they are cold. They fold up one leg to keep it warm and then switch legs.

• Whooping Cranes tend to stay in family groups or small adult groups during the day. In the evening they will gather in fields and eat a final meal. Sometimes they are joined by Sandhill Cranes, a smaller, gray crane.

• Whooping Cranes sleep in marshes and wetlands. They stand in the water while they sleep. The water provides safety for the cranes.

• Whooping Cranes winter around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in the United States.

• Whooping Cranes migrate from Canada to the US in the Fall. They fly about 2,500 miles! Have you ever ridden in a car from Oskaloosa to Des Moines?

That can feel like a long ride, and it is only 60 miles.

• Whooping Cranes are an endangered species. That means there are not very many of them left. Many people work hard to protect the Whooping Crane.

Once there were only 19 Whooping Cranes left in the world. Today there are at least 550 Whooping Cranes in the wild flock!

• At one time Whooping Cranes had nests in lowa! Perhaps one day we will see Whooping Cranes nesting in lowa again.”

It continues to be hot on the ledge at 367 Collins Street, and the chicks are fed up and on the move! SK Hideaways has it on video – and boy, is that male a good hunter. There are too many feedings to keep track. Here’s the video: https://youtu.be/f80C00l1vG8?si

The Sydney SeaEaglets are approaching fledge.

Valkyria has a crazy video of the sea eagle nest complete with those horrid Currawongs swooping down and a possum meal with fur flying everywhere! https://youtu.be/rF1OYsa1vH0?

Check out the beautiful wildlife at Mud Lake in Ottawa, Ontario. https://youtu.be/aObAO8ORePQ?

Thank you so much for being with us today. Toby and I are having fun being outside – sweeping leaves and listening to the birds, reading and sipping tea. I am so grateful for his company. Take care of yourselves. Be careful out there. We hope to be back with you in a couple of days.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who posted videos for us to watch, contributed screen captures and information on FB, and own the streaming cams that let us share the joy and sorrow of the nests. We are so very grateful to each and every one of you.