I went to the UK as a Commonwealth Scholar in 1990 and received my PhD from the University of Leicester in 1993. After three decades of university teaching, I retired to devote my time to the study of raptor behaviour. I am particularly interested in Ospreys and am working on a long term project on third hatch survival and siblicide in these raptors. My blog is a result of a fascination with my local wildlife and the desire to encourage others to love and care for birds! I live on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the pandemic travelled a lot. I am questioning the use of aviation fuel at the moment as we all strive to help our planet. My early research was in politics and art including British public statues exported to Southeast Asia and Vietnam Resistors that contributed much to Canadian ceramics. Books and articles were published on those subjects over a period of 3 decades. Now I am working on books for children so they can learn about the challenges our raptors face.
Daisy flew off the nest – very early – at 02:56:25 for her early morning foraging trip. She did not return until 07:05:08. It was an anxious time waiting for her to fly back to the nest. Sunrise was at 05:38. As always, I worry about the Ravens. They are such intelligent birds. They know there are big delicious eggs in that nest and they want them. So far they have flown by or landed on the upper branches of the Ironbark Tree in the Sydney Olympic Forest checking to see if Daisy is there. The Ravens do have a routine – arriving between 08:30 and 10:00 – but, that is not to say they would not come early!
To my mind, Daisy has had an unusually quiet day after returning to the nest. She has moved leaves, shifted back and forth turning the precious eggs over, and she has slept.
The cam operator has checked a couple of times and the Sea Eagles are not at the River Roost – but, we should all remember that anything can change in an instant.
The camera operator has also given us some really nice close ups of our adorable duck!
It is now almost 16:00. All is well. It has been such a quiet day. Sometimes all you could hear was the hum of the camera and the traffic. It almost seemed like all the birds had left the forest! We will take it. Hopefully the remainder of Day 20 will be completely uneventful! She has one more foraging trip. I will report on that tomorrow.
Before I close, Judy Harrington has given an update just minutes ago on WBSE 27: December 22 latest report on SE27 – a Seasonal message. “SE27 is doing as well as can be inspected for the short time she has been in care. She is building up her confidence and her weight and when the weather clears will be moved into the larger flight aviary.” I think she meant ‘expected’ not inspected. It is wonderful to hear 27 is improving. I hope that when 27 leaves it has the confidence that Iniko has!
Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so nice to have so many people sending their love and positive energy to this darling little duck. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Forest.
As all of you know, Daisy the Duck has occupied my mind for some 20 days now without much of a break. She has just arrived home to the nest – it is the Summer Solstice 22 December in Australia – and I am going to take some time to check in on the other nests that are normally watched.
It has been a horrible day for Gabby who is incubating two eggs on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest called The Hamlet. It is just outside Jacksonville.
Bald Eagles generally have 35 days of incubation. Gabby and Samson were really wise. They did not start hard incubation until the second egg was laid meaning that the two eaglets will be born close together with no older sibling advantage. They will just bop each other taking turns! This means that the hatch date is 19 January. Mark your calendars.
For me, this is great timing. Harriet and M15s eaglets are set to hatch in 3-4 days. We won’t be watching two bobble head nests at once. Oh, those high winds are really hitting Fort Myers. You can see Harriet’s feathers blowing.
It is a beautiful day over in Decorah, Iowa with the Decorah Bald Eagles. No eggs – it is winter! But the Eagles are around. The nest is at a trout hatchery – lucky raptors. Smiling. Everyone should have a source of fish for their Ospreys and their Raptors. Takes about 350-400 a season. Not bad for giving life to these beautiful birds and their family.
The Bald Eagles in Iowa generally lay their eggs in mid-February.
The Decorah Eagles are not to be confused with the Decorah North Eagles!!!!! It is home to Mr and Mrs North.
The camera is live at Duke Farms in New Jersey. No eggs yet. In fact, it should be about a month until we see eggs on this nest. I hope this Mum has better weather this year! She was encased in ice and snow most of incubation in early 2021.
Diamond is starting the day in the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange. Both her and Xavier have been examining the new gravel that Cilla Kinross provided awhile ago. They have also had bad weather with torrential rains but it looks like they will have a nice day today. Fingers crossed.
Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear, California are doing nestorations. It looks like they are going to have a white Christmas.
Last year Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls, took over a young Bald Eagles couple’s nest on Farmer Derek’s property. They raised two owlets. The nest is currently unoccupied but one of the Bald Eagles did a fly by at 07:19 this morning. Will there be a battle over this nest?
The eagle is right at the horizon line with the blue sky. You should be able to see it.
Anna has taken over incubation duties of the two eggs on the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest. This is her and Louis’s second breeding attempt. They fledged Kisatchie last season.
Clive is on incubation duty at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. Another storm is really starting to churn in that area. It will effect the eagles as well as the ospreys – and, of course, it is the same storm that is hitting Harriet and M15 in Fort Myers.
It is a beautiful winter’s day – perfect for the Winter Solstice – at Glacier Gardens. I wonder what Kindness is doing? She was such a special juvie.
Alaska is a perfect place for Bald Eagles, too. When Dave Hancock put the satellite trackers on the 7 or 8 fledglings in British Columbia that survived that horrific heat wave, all of them flew north to Alaska.
Lena is waiting for Andy to bring her some fish at the Captiva Osprey Nest. This couple was really hit hard – along with Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest – from the storms the other day. It is good to see that all had no problems. There is another storm brewing today.
Ervie got the morning fish and Bazza is not happy. Apparently, Ervie woke up in the middle of the night and kicked Bazza off the nest. I can understand why he is grumpy.
Ervie is doing a great mantling job. Third hatch turned out to be the ‘King Pin’. Wonder if Bazza remembers how he tried to treat Ervie? Do raptors have a memory like elephants?
Daisy is fine. Wishing for a quiet day for her.
This is a wee bit of a catch up with some of our other favourite nests. Cal Falcons raised $3500 through the sale of t-shirts to support Lindsay Wildlife for treating Grinnell. That is fantastic! There is no news of who Annie will pair with for the 2022 breeding season. Watching birds is all about patience. Sometimes I don’t have any!!!!!!
Thank you so much for stopping in to check on the nests. The birds will weather the current storms in Florida. They are used to them but, still, we worry. Wishing all of you a very happy Winter solstice. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, SWFlorida and the Pritchett Family, Captiva Osprey, Captiva Bald Eagle, KNF Bald Eagles, Glacier Gardens, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Farmer Derek, Friends of Big Bear Eagles, Duke Farms, the Raptor Research Project at Explore.org, and the Port Lincoln Ospreys.
It is after lunch in Sydney, Australia and Daisy is fast asleep incubating her eggs. The morning has been quiet.
Daisy has 8 eggs in her clutch that she has been hard incubating. Daisy laid egg 1 on 3 December nest time. The 8th egg was laid on 10 December. She began hard incubation on 10 December if not December 9. Today is 22 December – the summer solstice – for Daisy. Daisy has been incubating her eggs for 13 days. Hatch will be 3-6 of January in Australia should the eggs survive.
Daisy really had a quiet afternoon. I could see nothing happening. The cam operator checked several times to see if the WBSE were at the River Roost but they were not.
As I remind everyone, there is no reason to believe they would do anything to Daisy from their behaviour last year which was curiosity about the down and Dad going into territorial protection wanting to catch who was using his nest. He was mesmerized by the eggs and at one time everyone thought he might incubate them. It was like he went into some kind of a ‘trance’ — seeing eggs in that place immediately reminded him of Lady’s eggs. It was quite interesting behaviour. He finally broke one but he did not like the taste. I am hoping that he remembers that if he scares Daisy off the eggs again this year.
Throughout the afternoon, Daisy kept gathering up leaves that she could see. She would stretch her long neck and pick them out from under the twigs. You could hardly see her on the nest when the shadows crossed over where the egg cup is located.
Every once in awhile she would see a piece of a leaf and pull it towards her using her bill as a kind of shovel.
Daisy began to cover the eggs around 18:03.
Daisy flies off the nest at 18:03:18 for her evening meal content that her eggs are covered enough to keep predator’s eyes away from them.
It is almost precisely two hours before sunset. Daisy is taking a chance that the Ravens will not come this time of the evening! On the other hand, the Sea Eagles might and that would be a good thing if she were not on the nest. Remember Lady was chased by the Currawong and was so busy watching them so they would not hit her head that she landed on the nest, honked a few times and flew off – she didn’t even look at the nest bowl and see the down. Oh, Daisy is lucky.
Daisy returned at 20:25:39.
It was – what appears to be – a relatively quiet day and evening for Daisy.
I was surprised, however, when Daisy prepared to leave the nest at 02:56:25. I say surprised because of the visit by the Bushtail Possum in the wee hours of the morning before.
I was even more surprised when Daisy walked straight forward, instead of taking the right turn she normally takes, to fly off. It then occurred to me that Daisy might begin to check places to leave the nest for the ducklings to follow. Could this be why?
She flew off the parent branch. Maybe it is a cleaner drop? If you look at the side she normally flies from there is a large piece of the nest with all its bits and pieces of twigs and branches extending out that the little ones might get caught in.
Sunrise is at 05:41.
Daisy returns from her foraging at 07:05:08.
The solstice is upon us. It is ‘winter’ in the Northern Hemisphere and ‘summer’ for Daisy in the Southern. It is the longest ‘dark’ day for us or the longest ‘light’ day for Daisy. In Canada, we look for the light that each day stays with us a little longer. The word Solstice comes from the Latin meaning the time when the ‘sun stood still’. Today, the sun is at its most southern position from Earth. It seems to stop and stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn only to then reverse its direction. It is a turning point in the seasons. It is a symbol of the Earth’s rebirth.
Wishing the rebirth of the sun to fill your lives, your home, your garden, and your heart with warmth and happiness…. Happy Winter Solstice to each of you. And to Daisy, our most favourite adorable duck, Happy Summer Solstice. We wish you an uneventful, boring day.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I will continue to monitor Daisy throughout the day with a brief posting later today on the day’s events. Take care. See you soon!
Note: Congratulations to Samson and Gabby on their second egg which was laid yesterday at the NE Florida Bald Eagle Nest.
Thank you to the Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.
Daisy flew off the nest at 05:07:04. Then the camera went offline. Thankfully Dasha moved the Twitch streaming cam so that we could see Daisy instead of a wide view of the nest tree. It is unclear when Daisy returned precisely but she was on the nest and dry at 07:29.
The cam operator (I think it was Dasha – thank you) gave us some beautiful close ups of our favourite duck. Daisy is just so beautiful.
This first image with the wee bit of sunlight falling really shows off Daisy’s plumage and that amazing down.
That blue bill really differentiates the Pacific Black Ducks from the ones in North America.
There is that beautiful distinctive creamy tan line from the bill above the eye and then the wider one below.
Oh those bits look like twinkle stars. I never knew Duck down was so beautiful — just warm!
Sometimes you can hardly see Daisy on the nest.
It has been a very quiet morning for Daisy as it nears noon. I can hear the Noisy Miners in the forest but, there appear to be no Sea Eagles over on the River Roost.
What a blessing! I do not believe the Sea Eagles will harm Daisy and I don’t even think that they will mess with the down because Lady doesn’t like it. But Daisy would leave quickly and she would not be able to cover her eggs leaving them in view of predators.
Of course, Daisy being a very intelligent duck would wait in a nearby tree for the WBSE to leave and then she would fly over quickly, right?
Daisy doesn’t often stay in the same position for a long time. She is twisting and moving about, turning the eggs, tucking in down.
You can see the shadows moving over the nest at noon. It will be a hot day for our girl and those eggs. Hopefully she will not leave the nest too early this evening.
Daisy has moved a little. It is noon and all is well.
It is a little after noon. Daisy is rolling eggs and reaching out to find leaves underneath the branches and twigs. I really hope she is not thinking of a break. Oh, please, Daisy. Just stay put for six and a half more hours, please.
I will continue to monitor Daisy til she leaves for her evening foraging and then will check on her periodically. I am hopeful that nothing untoward will happen. Fingers crossed.
In other nest news, OGK has flown in and replaced YRK on the Royal Albatross Cam in New Zealand. Also a 2017 hatch, Royal cam chick, Tumanko, landed on Taiaroa Head. This is amazing. He is four years old and has survived. As a chick he was not always well so this gives us all hope for all the birds. Over at the Port Lincoln Osprey Nest, Falky has been trying his hand at fishing. He made two dives off the barge this morning. The first was at 07:04:41 and the second at 07:20:07. In the image below, you can see the nice form Falky has. It will not be long until he catches his own fish. Mum looks on proudly while Bazza is on the nest waiting for his fish. Is it really Bazza Baby??? Ervie is off flying!
Here are a couple of lovely morning views of Diamond, the Peregrine Falcon female at Orange. She is adorable.
It has been a good day in Bird World. M15’s injury from the GHOW is improving and we wait for Gabby’s second egg — oh, and it is getting close to hatch watch at SWFlorida with M15 and Harriet. Oh, I am in dire need of some bobble head action! And if you are missing the Ospreys, her is a great image of Aran, the male at the Glaslyn Nest who was injured during the storm that hit Wales at the end of May. The community was so generous. They brought out a fish table for him and Mrs G – allowing them to grieve the loss of their three osplets and heal. Oh, Aran is a handsome one – and he is also a good fisher. Three and a half more months – Osprey action in the UK!
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Sea Eagles @ Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.
Daisy only took an hour break last evening (Day 18).
It was extremely hot on the nest reaching to more than 98 degrees F on the forest floor or 37 degrees C. Did you know that extreme heat can kill the embryos? just like extreme cold? My friend told me that the layers of down that Daisy folds over can protect the eggs from either. Daisy was awfully not yesterday. She was often seen panting.
Daisy had a few hours reprieve from any intruders after she returned from her foraging. After midnight they arrived. Then at 00:41 she had to defend her nest and eggs from a Bushtail Possum! Daisy lunged at the Possum just like she did the Ravens. Gosh, our little duck mother is very protective and brave. Someone caught the action of the Bushtail Possum, the Ringtail Possum and a Lizard! My goodness.
There appears to be no consensus as to whether or not the Bushtail Possums will harm the eggs. Many say they ‘hiss and look scary’ (my friend) but won’t be interested in the eggs while many individuals in Australia believe that the Bushtail have taken their eggs from the hen house.
The main streaming cam, cam4, that I watch continues to go offline. The cam operator for Twitch has moved it to focus on Daisy. Thank you. The Ringtail Possum continues to climb around the tree. Daisy may not take her break before sunrise because of them but after sunrise she runs a risk of the Ravens. That also applies to the afternoon if she leaves too early.
Here is a video – the image is grainy – of the Ringtail Possum coming up the tree to pester Daisy. I believe Daisy will wait to leave for her morning break until this possum goes into its nest and quiets down.
Daisy first started thinking about leaving for her morning foraging at 05:03 when she began tucking the down around her body. Then she stopped. Then she started again.
Wee get a wee peek at the eggs in the first image.
Daisy is very thorough.
She will move around the nest several times scooping up and pulling down and leaves over those 8 eggs.
She is almost done. This is her third swing around the nest.
Satisfied that the eggs are covered as best she can, our lovely little Duck – this brave duck – heads off for a quick breakfast.
She’s gone.
Sunrise is at 05:41 today. The temperature in the forest will range from 21 degrees C which it is presently to 31 degrees C mid afternoon. The wind is only 2 km/h so no creaks on the old Ironbark Tree today for Daisy! It could be a perfect day for the Sea Eagles to come and check on their nest. That is a horrible thought but they are due and the weather is good. Hopefully they will come when Daisy is away from the nest. Otherwise, she will flee leaving the eggs exposed.
While we wait for Daisy to return, there is some good news. When the camera maintenance is undertaken on the WBSE nest, there will be an attempt to remove the monofilament fishing line. They can’t go up while Daisy is incubating so it will not help the legs of her tiny goslings should they hatch and make their way to get off the nest. It could frighten Daisy and she might not return to the nest. It will, however, help the Sea Eagles – all of them. It must have come in one of the fish deliveries. This fishing line is so dangerous – along with the lead and the hooks.
It is cold on the Canadian Prairies which means the sun is shining! It is -17 C today. A good day for reading and hot tea. The summer solstice will occur at 02:58 on Wednesday the 22nd of December for Daisy. For North America the winter solstice is at 09:58 tomorrow, 21 December.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I will continue to monitor Daisy on the nest throughout the day and evening. Let us all hope it is boring and uneventful! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures and also for their videos. Thank you to Pat for the alert about the possums and Dasha for turning the Twitch cam on Daisy instead of the wide view of the tree while the main cam is down. Much appreciated.
Daisy had a relatively quiet day on Monday, the 20th, in Australia.
The wind broke a small branch loose that had some leaves on it and it fell right by Daisy’s nest! Seriously, this is one lucky duck.
By mid-morning the sun was making Daisy hot. In the image below she is panting to thermoregulate her temperature.
The camera operator checked to see if the Sea Eagles were at the River Roost. They were not.
Daisy spends some of her time removing more down and tucking it in.
Everything was pretty quiet until 15:55 when Daisy froze. I could hear the Ravens but they went quiet. They had to be sitting on the tree branches out of view of the camera. Daisy stayed in the same position until 16:03:30 when she relaxed.
Daisy kept her head down but she was looking and listening.
Every once in awhile the Ravens would make intimidating sounds.
Daisy relaxed and then she froze again at 16:13:10.
She has relaxed.
Daisy worked on the down, twigs, and leaves and bits and bobs to cover the nest for more than three minutes before she felt certain her precious eggs were covered well enough to leave.
Daisy did not leave as early as she did yesterday. She flew off at 17:34:21. It is still light and you can still hear some birds in the forest. She is counting on the Ravens not returning. It is two and a half hours until sunset at 20:04.
It is nearing 01:00 on the Canadian Prairies and I am going to take a leap of faith that Daisy will get home and her eggs will be in tact and toasty warm under the down, the heat of the nest, and the rays of the sun.
Thank you for joining me. It is wonderful that so many people care for this wee duck who has laid her eggs in this enormous nest in the forest. Take care everyone. See you soon. — Look for my next posting mid-afternoon on the Canadian Prairies tomorrow.
Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park streaming cam where I took my screen shots.
At 03:43 in the morning I was waiting for Daisy to return home, like a parent waiting for their teenager to the first time they borrow the family car. My math wasn’t good at all. So, let’s go back and get this right. Daisy laid 8 eggs. She began hard incubation (perhaps on Day 7) but for sure on Day 8. That is 11 days. The duck eggs require 26-30 days of incubation. So, as of today, we have 15-19 days left.
Daisy is, of course, starting to drive me a little bonkers. She was so careful with the timing of her foraging trips until a couple of days ago. During that time, Daisy left the nest after sunset and took her morning break before sunrise. That guaranteed that she would miss the Ravens and the Sea Eagles. They are diurnal – daytime hunting birds. Now, she is gambling. She left for her break last evening at 15:30 – two and a half hours before sunset. She was simply lucky that those Ravens did not fly by and see her gone.
Daisy returned at 19:11:56. The beautiful glow of the setting sun makes Daisy and the nest look ‘rose gold’.
Isn’t she gorgeous?
This morning, sunrise was at 05:40. Daisy did not leave to go foraging until 05:43:21.
Daisy put considerable effort into concealing her eggs underneath that thick layer of down.
She walked around the nest several times tucking and poking.
Certain that everything was to her liking, Daisy flew off for breakfast.
You can just see her flying out of the right hand side, middle ground.
Seconds after Daisy left, the camera went offline. The wind is blowing at only 10 km/h and the current temperature is 21 degrees C. It will go up to 29 C today in the Sydney Olympic Forest. The time is 07:23. I hope our darling Daisy has returned or will return soon. The Ravens do tend to come in the morning.
Daisy is home! Whew!
The Rainbow Lorikeets have flown in to say good morning. They are so colourful and what a nice voice they have.
It looked like there were 7 or 8 visitors. Several seem to be curious about the Ringtail Possums hole on the right side of the nest below the top of it. There is a Lorikeet close to the entrance.
They come in a ‘migraine’ (that is what a group of Rainbow Lorikeets is called) and leave together just as quickly moving on to other areas in the forest.
Daisy looks really comfortable in that fluffy down nest.
Daisy removes some down.
It is 09:10 on the nest and for the moment, everything is fine! That is a good thing.
But at 09:31:11, Daisy raised her head from a sound sleep. Her head shot up! She is alert. Is there a predator around?
Whatever it is, is now gone and Daisy is back in her relaxed mode.
So, as of now, everything in Daisy’s world is calm. It is often very tense watching Daisy – that is because we know that anything could happen at any moment. Right now thought – everything is fine. Daisy is safe and so are her eggs. Can hour at a time.
Other Bird World News: Ferris Akel’s Tour located a large group of Sandhill Cranes and Red-breasted Mergansers. The images are quite ‘soft’ but I think you can see the beauty in the birds. The cranes flew and went to an area of water after feeding on the fields.
There were also Red-Breasted Mergansers. I have never seen them. I checked my Waterfowl book and they say that the Red-headed Mergansers will often completely jump out of the water when they are diving. At other times they slip straight under the water without even making a splash. They are known as the ‘wolves of the water’ – they ‘cruise the water’ in packs in an effort to catch fish. There are two males below and a female. The males have the dark head, red bill, and the lovely white collar. The females have warm brown heads and grey bodies with a red bill. They are found in various locations in North American and Asia but they really like the coastal waters and lakes. Known for their elaborate courtship rituals, unlike other ducks, they do not mature until they are two years old.
It has warmed up. It is only -5 C on the Canadian Prairies but it is a wet cold that goes all the way to your bones. Daisy is now 24 degrees C going up to 29 C this afternoon for our little duck. She will be happy for that evening swim. No storms and no rain forecast. Yippeeee.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I will continue to monitor Daisy throughout the day and report any issues if they happen. If it is quiet you can expect to hear from me tomorrow. Take care. Stay safe!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Ferris Akel Tour and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Forest.
So far Daisy’s day has been incredible – beautifully boring. The wind and its gusts in the forest have rocked the big nest in the Ironbark Tree as she sleeps. Without sound it is impossible to know who is in the forest unless they come down low enough to see. Funny the Ravens stay up high. I wonder if Daisy did frighten them those two days? Still they wait hoping they will arrive when she is gone because they know what Daisy has hidden. Personally, I wish they would go on a holiday to Melbourne or Canberra for the next two and a half weeks.
The wind has picked up in the last few minutes. You cannot tell from the image below but that nest is really swirling around and the tops of the trees below are twisting and turning. Daisy is not phased. The clock on the streaming cam indicates that it is getting close to the time when the storms might begin. The forecast is for a 70% chance of a thunderstorm starting at 15:00 dropping to 50% at 16:00 and to 40% at 17:00. There is no more rain forecast after that. I hope we are lucky and Daisy just gets rocked a bit faster than usual but no rain.
It is so strange to see the trees whipping about and the nest almost twirling but there is no creaking. It must be loud in the forest.
With trees below the large nest twisting and turning, I was surprised when I looked down to see Daisy tucking the down in around her. Is she leaving her eggs in the middle of the afternoon? Do the dark skies make it appear later in the day? So many questions were going through my head. Daisy removed some more down and pressed it around the eggs.
At 15:28 Daisy prepares to leave to take a break and forage. You can just see one of the white eggs to the right, under her tail.
Bless her heart. She worked hard tucking and turning, making sure that not a single egg was exposed.
Wonder if the winds will drop some more leaves down on the nest? or will they blow some of the down off the eggs?
The tree was swaying and it was extremely gusty as Daisy headed to the rim of the nest to fly off.
I have to admit that I am a bit confused. Daisy has been so careful except for the past two mornings when she has returned after sunrise. Why leave now? If Daisy can leave and fly to go foraging then the Ravens can be flitting around the forest also. I hope they aren’t. Of course, my other concern is the rain – if it comes. Feeling helpless. We wait.
So far the wind has not blown the down off but it is whipping about the ends a bit.
It has been almost an hour between these two images and Daisy’s nest doesn’t look any different – and that is a good thing!
The sound surprised me. It came on around 17:27. The gusts are now are between 30 and 45 km/h but the prediction for rain has been removed. You can sometimes hear small bird vocalizations. Daisy has been away from the nest for two hours. Can you feel how tense this is making me? I really hope she knows more about those Ravens than I think I do!
At 17:46 I could hear the Pied Currawong. Then there were some Noisy Miners in the distance. The wind gusts are still strong.
The cam operator checked to see if the Sea Eagles, Lady and Dad, were still at the River Roost. They were not.
That said, it is still light in the forest, the birds seem to be waking up after the nastiness of the afternoon’s weather, and Daisy, our dear little duck, has been away for 3 hours. I hate to say it but it feels like she is pushing her luck. Sunset is at 20:04.
Like clockwork, the camera went off line in a huge gust. Daisy, I hope you get home safe to your nest.
Daisy returned to the nest at 19:11:56. She spent some time drying off before going over to incubate her eggs.
The wind had actually fluffed up the down.
Gosh, it felt good to see Daisy back on her eggs!
At 19:26:37 the cam operator zoomed in on something worrisome – both for Daisy and the Sea Eagles. It is a piece of monofilament fishing line on the nest. That should be removed. It is a direct human caused issue.
It is nearly 03:00 on the Canadian Prairie as the sun begins to set on Daisy and her 8 eggs in the great big sea eagle nest. The winds have quieted and there is no reason to believe that Daisy will leave the nest before midnight or that predators will come. Good night, Daisy! You are one lucky duck.
Thank you for joining me and for sending all your love and positive energy to Daisy. Tomorrow is Day 18. Day 18 out of 26-30. Take care everyone!
Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
Just a note: My report on Daisy will be sent out about 18:00 CDT tomorrow.
Despite the presence of the Sea Eagles, Lady and Dad, at the River Roost on the Parramatta River, Daisy has been blissful since she returned from her morning foraging trip at 07:11:00
The Sea Eagles have not come to the nest. The wind is beginning to really pick up. I have not seen any predators on the nest. That said, the sound is off on the main camera and the Ravens could have been in the branches above like they have been lately or simply flying by. The strong winds might keep them at home!
It is currently 30 degrees in the forest and the winds are blowing at 19 km/h with gusts up to 39 km/h. It is hot and humid for Daisy with the confirmation of thunderstorms (90% chance) from 15:00-18:00. Hopefully Daisy will wait til the rain and winds have calmed before going out for her evening foraging. I am not concerned about her. She has been through many storms but, rather, for the priceless down covering those eggs.
It is nearing 11:30 on the old Ironbark Nest. The wind is rocking the tree but Daisy does not seem bothered. I have no noted any predators around and it is unclear if the Sea Eagles are still at the River Roost. The sound is still off line.
Other Nest News. A video has been posted of the thunderstorm that hit Orange last evening. Lightning, hail, thunder, and high winds. Diamond is in the scrape. You can see she is frightened. This morning Xavier arrived on the ledge of the scrape box and there was much relief he was alright. You can imagine that was this type of storm that also hit Daisy in Sydney.
Need an Osprey fix? Lena can see Andy in the distance and she is fish crying. Here is that video:
Samson is so happy that him and Gabby have their first egg as of yesterday. Just look at those two!
Over at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, Ervie picked up the first delivery of the morning -despite the choppy water and winds – from dad at 06:30:41.
Falky got the 07:39:44 fish.
Last time I checked Bazza was alone on the nest wishing for a fish.
Thank you so much for joining me. There is not much to report about Daisy which is, after all, a good thing. Hopefully the weather will not be as bad for her as it was for the Peregrine falcons, Xavier and Diamond, at Orange. I will monitor her throughout the rest of the day. Take care everyone. Stay safe! Look to the birds for joy!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: the Port Lincoln Osprey, the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, and the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
The main camera was off line til right before Daisy returned from her early morning foraging at 07:11:50. Daisy did not spend as much time drying off as usual. Her esophagus is enlarged so it looks like her foraging went well.
After sliding down on the nest, she has spent some time arranging the down and the leaves.
Daisy is tucked and sleeping. She has no idea that the Sea Eagles are near by.
Both of the WBSE are at the River Roost this morning. They were caught on camera just now.
The cam operator has kept the camera on the Sea Eagles. I wonder if she is waiting to see if they will leave and come to the nest in the forest.
You can follow Daisy on the Livestream at
I wanted to let you know that the streaming cam is up and running and that Daisy returned to the nest and is alright. The concern is the Sea Eagles. What will they do?
Well, no more than I wrote that the streaming cam was working and it has gone down again! Here is the link to the Twitch cam – remember it has no sound and it has no rewind function.
This is concerning because of the Sea Eagles. Fingers crossed that they fly off to Goat Island!
Ah, Cam 4 just resumed streaming. Daisy is fine! The wind and the weather must be having an impact but it ‘looks’ fine at the nest. The early morning sun is filtering its way through the leaves. My calendar says there are possibly 16 days to hatch (the most 20).
The Noisy Miners are about and now the sound has gone off the main camera. Daisy is sleeping.
I will continue to monitor the situation as best I can. Thank you for joining me and for sending all your love and positive wishes to Daisy. Please take care of yourselves. Stay safe.
Thank you to both the Twitch Sea Eagles cam and the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discover Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
