Category Archives: albatross

Sunday in Bird World

4 February 2023

Hello Everyone,

It was a real workday around the house – the girls helped. Of course, they helped! Hugo Yugo, Missey, and Hope were climbing all over everything. Meanwhile, Calico found a toy and decided it was much more fun. In the process, we found a couple of hand-felted ‘cat rocks’ that had belonged to previous cats. Baby Hope was very interested in this one.

Oh, I do adore this beautiful girl, the only surviving baby of Calico. She loves to relax on the wicker and she will pose. It is her eyes that always ‘get me’.

The Black Oil Seed shells have gotten out of hand. They were too frozen to be shovelled today. If the forecast holds, it will be +5 next week and they can be cleared up. It is the worst part of feeding the birds in winter. Today, Little Red and Dyson called a truce with Little Red on the feeder and Dyson eating peanuts below.

We listened to Ferris Akel and his tour and were delighted that he saw Arthur while hunting for probably his last meal of the day. I remember everyone being shocked when Big Red picked Arthur – he didn’t have his red tail yet – to be her mate and replace Ezra. Well, Big Red picked a good one! 

Big Red was spotted on Saturday, too! 

There have been a lot of tributes to various feathered personalities this week, and the New York Times even covered Flaco.

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In California, Jackie continues to carefully incubate the three eggs. Just watch Shadow and Jackie change turns and you will see how very careful these two are. Even when rolling the eggs, they are so delicate. They are determined to have an eaglet this year…let’s send them all the love and positive wishes we can.

I was concerned about Jackie and not seeing her eat. She had a big meal! Thank goodness.

Jackie and Shadow make the CBS news.

The bowl is deep at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. There should be two eggs in there now. Dr Sharpe and his team at the IWS got that camera back up and working!

There is plenty of food at Eagle Country. The oldest is doing fantastic and can stretch its neck out and get food from Abby. So why am I so worried about the second chick?

I wish that nest bowl was not so deep! Is Meadow getting fed?

Frustration has set in. There are a lot of feedings at this nest and Abby is experienced, but is Meadow getting any of that prey?

Lucky R6 doesn’t have any worries. S/he is growing and getting their thermal down – changing before our eyes. The top picture with its leg stuck out just reminds me of the legs of the prey they have been munching on all day. 

R6 is going to be able to use that crop for a pillow Saturday night.

Across the state, E23 likes his Lapin for dinner.

Cal and Lusa are both self-feeding at Captiva. Lusa is doing better than Cal so far. Will Connie come in and save the day?

Yes!

No egg yet at Dulles-Greenway.

Food gifts coming into Pittsburgh-Hayes.

They may be thinking about eggs but not one is on the nest at Moorings Park – yet.

Diane has been incubating two eggs. Will she lay a third Saturday night? We wait – and I hope not~. The third chick does not fare well here. Best no egg.

The only surviving Eaglet at J B Sands Wetlands is doing fine.

Gosh, the water looks high at the Redding Eagle nest. Is it an illusion? or is the area really flooding that much due to the Atmospheric River that hit the area?

‘A’ sends us the report for WBSE 31 at the Parramatta River in Sydney: 

“February 3: Early in the morning, no eagles were seen by the river or at Goat Island. Then around 9am, SE31 was seen hidden in the mangroves near River Roost. Later, just after midday, she was seen in flight checking the river west of River Roost and on the western side of the wetlands. Then she was lost to sight, up very high over the prison. She flushed waterbirds from the wetlands as she flew over. No further reports at the end of the day – maybe update in the morning.”

At Farmer Derek’s, Bonnie was in the nest bowl most of the day. Rain came late and it looks like there is no egg. Owl up on branch. Nest empty. Look hard. She is there!

The owlets at SW Florida are cute. I just wish their parents weren’t so protective and would leave M15 and F23 and their chicks alone…Knock on wood.

At The Campanile, Annie was in the scrape calling the new male. Is he shy?

Someone was home at Monty and Hartley’s new scrape at the San Jose City Hall.

It is always a pleasure to see either Diamond and Xavier and a real gem to see both together after fledging. Diamond looks out over the landscape in the early morning light. I understand that Marri is still seen in the area chasing the parents for food. Fabulous.

At Taiaroa Head, the TF Royal Cam chick is adorable. The parents come and go and have not gone far to forage. The chick’s weight is good.

These gentle giants of the Southern Ocean need us to protect the fish that they depend on for their lives and to muster the world to make the long line fishing factories responsible – by using safe measures to bait their hooks so that no albatross is beheaded!

Do you eat canned tuna? Here is an article to make certain that you are selecting sustainably caught fish. Please note that ‘Dolphin Safe’ does not mean that the fish were sustainable caught!!!!!!!

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It is not just albatross that get caught in these long lines – in fact, maybe long line fishing should just be banned. This article is a few years old, but it is well-written and really can open your eyes to the threat those huge boats have on the mammals and birds that depend on the sea for their lives.

It is a topic that really rubs me the wrong way. To save the albatross is an easy fix (which many refuse to do!) but what about the other animals?

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Did you know that parrots use their beaks to swing like monkeys?

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Urgent conservation is needed if Hen Harriers are not to go extinct in Ireland.

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One of our favourite eagle dads, Murphy! He sure looks happy in that bath.

Apparently New York and Verizon do not want Ospreys nesting on their cell towers. 

Still watching Diane at Achieva and hoping that she will only have two eggs, but is she laying another?

Thank you so much for being with me today. I do hope that you find something worthwhile in my blog! Take care. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tours, videos, photographs, tweets, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, J, R’, Ferris Akel Tours, @Cornell Hawks, The New York Times, FOBBV, Cali Condor, @CBS, IWS/Explore, Eagle Country, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Dulles-Greenway, PIX Cams, Moorings Park, Achieva Credit Union, JB Sands Wetlands, FORE, Eagle Cam, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, Cal Falcons, San Jose City Hall, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, NZ DOC, Sharon Dunne, Seafood Watch, The Guardian, Raptor Persecution UK, WIVBTV, Trudi Kron, and Achieva Credit Union.

Sunday in Bird World

28 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that your Saturday was a good one. In Winnipeg, it was the day to pick up cupcakes. They are a fundraiser for the Winnipeg Kitten Adoption and were made and donated by Bee’s Cakes. Missey gives them a thumb’s up! The owner loved our thank you so much that she is going to put Missey’s image on her website. How sweet. Missey is as sweet as that vanilla buttercream icing with sprinkles – so sweet that she let me trim her nails without a single flinch today. Now, let us see how Calico does tomorrow!

There were some worries at the John Bunker Wetlands Eagle nest that Mum was not feeding the newly hatched eaglet. (Remember that they can live for 24 hours on the food from the egg when they hatch.) The wind has really been blowing at the nest site and it sounded like hail, but I am told that is the rain hitting certain parts of the metal. Mum did feed that baby. A nice fish came in.

Feedings on Sunday morning. Hard to see because of the girders and the deep nest cup but a feeding is taking place!

Diane and Jack are making that Achieva Credit Union nest in St Petersburg pretty comfy. Eggs expected within the next fortnight. The way Diane is acting, we could have the first egg today or Monday.

At the nest with a Starling Sunday morning in St Petersburg.

No egg as of Saturday might at Moorings Park.

It can be argued that we always need more osprey platforms. Yes, sometimes they do not get used. Sometimes old ones are abandoned for new for various reasons including intruders and lack of fish. In Bellingham, Washington, USA, an Osprey couple wants to make a nest on an operational crane. The Port is hoping they will decide to use the new platform they are erecting. 

This happened in Manitoba and under the agreement with the five tribal councils involved in the Kesay Dam Project in our far north, the raptors got to keep their nest on the big forklift! It was deemed illegal to disturb the nest. Sometimes that part of the Migratory Bird Act is good.

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Eaglet or not. Gabby and Beau are a beautiful bonded couple and if a miracle could be found, I would hope that egg would hatch! I get the feeling that if it doesn’t, there will not be a second clutch, but, hey, surprise me Gabby.

What a relief to see that R6 is OK. Well, I say OK. R6 did consume enough of that nappy to worry onlookers. The PSs have been plentiful and have looked good, and let us hope that all that marvellous engineering of the crop and acid stomach switches on and relieves this 14-day-old eaglet of any ills that might have come its way because of human garbage.

R6 went to sleep with a really nice crop and with more fish on the nest for the morning breakfast! Relief. Relief.

E23 is really growing at the SW Florida nest. I love watching her grab the food from the parents when they are feeding. As you will have noted, the number of feedings has been greatly reduced, but the amount of intake is probably more now. This is one healthy eaglet losing its mohawk slowly, gaining clown feet and getting its juvenile feathers. Don’t you love the constant squeeing…

Every wonder about the GHOs that share the property with M15, F23, and E23?

And here is that video:

Cal and Lusa are doing just fine. Cal is standing and Clive might want to reinforce those rails! Meanwhile, Lusa likes to sit like a Buddha.

Liberty and Guardian look beautiful. They were at their nest in Redding, California Saturday.

Dr Sharpe has the West End streaming cam up and working. Thunder was at the nest this morning! They are still playing highlights at Two Harbours and Fraser Point.

I sure wish Jackie and Shadow had that nice soft nest of Jak and Audacity. Their camera is working fine.

It has rained at Cornell. Arthur was in earlier making a dash with a stick. Otherwise, life at the nest was quiet on Saturday.

No one was to be seen by the time Ferris Akel’s tour got to the Cornell Campus at Ithaca. Earlier in the tour, there were geese- some Canada Geese, some Tundra Swans, and some Snow Geese. There were also hundreds and hundreds of Redheads, a few male Scaup, and some Mallards at the south end of Cayuga Lake.

The male Scaup have the white along their wing. You can see five in the image below.

Ducks everywhere..my goodness. 

Snow Geese. You can identify them immediately by their black wing tips.

There were hundreds and hundreds of them – if not a thousand, flying in or already feeding.

Eagles, Red-headed Woodpeckers…it was a good day except for the heat shimmer.

And some Common Mergansers.

Precious egg at Big Bear. Every ounce of positivity you have – please send it to Jackie and Shadow so that their precious, precious egg/s will survive to hatch. These two deserve this and so do Jak and Audacity. It would be a great year – a year where we all jump up and down and scream – if either or both nests have a chick. 

Both eagles came to the ND-LEEF nest at South Bend – crisp temperatures of 36 F.

At Port Lincoln, Mum brought in the first fish of the day at 1337. Bradley took it.

It appears that both Marri and SE31 have left their nesting territories. I have seen no recent news of their presence. Please tell me if you have seen otherwise – thank you!

The Osprey Leadership Foundation is funding and teaching young people in West Africa about Ospreys. This is the first step in conservation. Thank you, OLF! 

Let’s get everyone to participate and overwhelm them with art bringing attention and supporting Albatrosses! I know that you can do it – seriously, you can or someone you know might. 

The joy – the sheer wonder – of looking close at your own garden or the nearest green space to where you live, the place you are most familiar.

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Thank you so much for being with me today and for your lovely ‘get to feeling better’ wishes. I am still under the weather but it is a head cold and a runny nose. Is it an allergy? I will find out on the 8th. Take care of yourself. Stay safe, stay warm or cool, depending on where you are. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, MP’, NEFL-AEF, Bee’s Cakes, JB Wetlands, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park, The Bellingham Herald, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Saunders Photography, Window to Wildlife, FORE, IWS/Explore, Cornell RTH Cam, @CornellHawks, Ferris Akel Tours, FOBBV, ND-LEEF, PLO, Gunjur Project, Holly Parsons, and The Guardian.

John Bunker Sands Eagles have first hatch, hunger at the WRDC…Saturday in Bird World

27 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday, the 26th, I ate a very special cake for my late Dad. It is his birthday. He had two favourite cakes – a fresh Coconut and, the other, a fresh Orange Cake. Some who live in the Southern US might be familiar with these – a nice white layer cake (sturdy and only handmade) filled with either freshly grated coconut with a buttercream frosting or freshly grated oranges mixed with some sugar, spread liberally between 5 or 6 layers, and let to sit.  If anyone is responsible for my feelings for abandoned animals, it is certainly him. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Hugo Yugo would have loved to have some of that cake. My goodness that little cat can get into the most trouble without even trying. She is sooooo curious. This coming week, she goes back to Dr Greene for her check-up. I think the vet will be pleased. 

Watching bird videos with Hope.

Hope is very patient with her little sister.

‘The Boyfriend’ enjoyed the Friday evening feast of organic roast chicken. The neighbourhood rallied around and showed their love for him – and the others – when it appeared that one individual would call the pound. I am joyful and grateful to live in an area with such compassion for animals.

Congratulations to the John Bunker Sands Wetland eagles on their first hatch of the season!

‘M’ sent me the video of Mum joyously calling Dad to tell him about the egg.

Jackie has been taking good care of the first egg at Big Bear laid on Thursday the 25th. Shadow brings his gal a nice fish lunch at 11:01. Mark your calendars for a Leap Year pip/hatch. Shadow actually brought in three fish on Friday for Jackie. Way to go….the reason nearly 10,000 people love this couple and wish them success this season. They are adorable.

If Gabby’s egg is to be the miracle of the breeding season, it should show signs of a pip Friday and hatch on Saturday or Sunday.

There seems to be a prey problem at the WRDC nest. For unknown reasons hunting seems to be difficult. Ron has not brought prey for a week, and Rose seems to be having a prey drought the past couple of days herself.  Both parents seem healthy, but I’m sure they are hungry.  We have not seen Rose with a crop, and Ron ate some of the fish on the nest yesterday.  They have run out of scraps for Rose to feed R6. The eaglet ate well Thursday, and had a small crop after a morning scrap feeding early Friday. PS are still okay.

Late afternoon on Friday. There is still no food delivery and everyone is getting worried, even if they are not saying it. Something is very much amiss here. 

Rose flew in after dumpster hunting with a child’s pull-up nappy and what appeared to be a piece of red meat (an organ) attached. R6 was fed. We must remember that eagles are carrion eaters. Their stomachs are made to digest the most horrible dead, maggot-eaten prey. Hopefully, this will keep R6 from starving, but imagine that the eagles have to eat garbage in one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Florida. Rose was plucking the plastic off the nappy. Then Ron flew in with a partial fish at 1730. What a relief. It was left on the nest and rightfully so – Rose doesn’t know when the next meal will come and R6 did eat – whatever it was.

We all need to learn something from Port Lincoln. They dared to provide fish for the family during the crucial period when one or both of the osplets might have perished. Their plan worked. It did not stop the adults from bringing fish to the nest. Five fish have been arriving daily, on average, for the fledglings, Gil and Brad. Three individuals with big hearts realised that it was time to help – so I say to those who are the administrators of the WRDC nest: the feral cats in my neighbourhood have more empathy and food than these beautiful eagles at the WRDC. Tonight ‘The Boyfriend’ had his normal organic chicken dinner. So, please, Help the eagles! Get them over the hump.

When we know there is a crisis, it is our duty, if we can in any way, to help the animals through the rough patch. Weather, overfishing, loss of habitat and thus loss of prey can now be linked to humans. There is your cause for intervention.

Rose appears to be feeding R6 some of the fish. Remember – these parents are hungry, too. They will protect the territory, feed themselves, and then feed the eaglets. Let us hope that tomorrow is a much better day and that the wind, or someone, gets this nappy and its plastic off this nest.

Here is the incident in question in video.

It appeared that R6 ate some of the plastic from the nappy…those stomach acids should do the trick. At the same time, the darling almost choked. 

We know that our beautiful birds around the world hunt in landfills. The storks of Western Europe, the General Adjutants in Assam, etc. What a testament to our mismanagement of the land that the animals and fish they need to survive are not abundant. One of the big threats to all of our birds, eagles included, is the growing abundance of plastic – as trash, as microplastics, fishing lines, etc. and now nappies.

The live stream went down at 2050 Friday night and returned at 0915 Saturday morning. The plastic has been removed from the nest with permission from USFWS. I hope that some fish were delivered as well. 

It appears that Ron has been able to deliver a fish Saturday morning. Let us hope that the dry spelling in prey at this nest is over. And then Rose brought in a big fish. Lovely!

Royal cam chick is being fed and weighed. 

Unfortunately, the amount of food the Royal Cam chick is getting is not sufficient and the Rangers – doing great diligence – have switched chicks with another family. They do amazing work, the NZ DOC rangers – everything they do is to ensure that these chicks survive to fledge. Swooping chicks, supplemental feeding, misting, you name it, they do it. Let us hope this attention to the care of these endangered seabirds spreads to other nests throughout the world.

The Royal cam chick was returned to the nest!

No shortage, so far, of prey items at SW Florida. E23 does get impatient and wishes Mum would get those bites a bit quicker to its beak!

Clive keeps the fish coming in at Captiva. These two are adorable, Cal and Lusa. Some think the plumage patterns on their backs look like turtle shells while others see them as bulls eyes.

Do you know what Doris Mager’s contributions to Bald Eagles was? If you do not know the name, have a read – and even if you do, refresh your memory!

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Here is Condor Chat in case you missed it on Thursday. The missing birds will be added to the Memorial Page for 2023 in the new few days.

Dr Sharpe is out fixing cameras at the Channel Islands nests! Retired? Doesn’t seem so.

Please join various wildlife groups – such as Cornell and Audubon – for the great Bird Count on the 16th of February. The more that count, the more we know about the declines and gains in bird populations.

Bird Count is on this weekend in the UK and will there be winners such as the Waxwing? We wait to see.

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Concern for the population of seabirds in the United Kingdom is growing.

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Want to know more about the winter bird visitors to Scotland and their migration? Have a read!

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We are 7 weeks and counting til the Ospreys return to the UK.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send positive wishes for a good prey day at the WRDC and if you can produce a miracle for Gabby and Beau, please do so! Take care everyone. See you soon.

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Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, zoom chats, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, M’, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, FOBBV, Marylu Pitcher, WRDC, Eagle Goddess, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk, Sharon Dunne, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Saturday Evening Post, Audubon Magazine, Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Chat, Gracie Shepherd, National Audubon Society, and The Guardian.

Friday in Bird World

26 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thursday was simply a gorgeous day. By the time I had treated all over King’s Park and through the entire space of IKEA – well, I had accomplished more than my goal of 5km. Whew! The snow is melting quickly and soon, we will be getting stuck in the muck. But, for today, it was marvellous. The puppies were off to the dog park and everyone had a smile on their face and a big hello. Tomorrow, I hope to find some Short-eared Owls and some Snowy Owls in an adventure north of the City.

It is not Calico, it is Baby Hope. She looks more and more like Mamma every week.

Calico wanted to give Baby Hope a good wash, but unlike Hugo Yugo, Hope wasn’t having any of it!

Missey sat close and watched Calico trying to be a good Mamma.

Hugo Yugo is always a bit of a blur…

When the first thing you read in the morning is the shooting of a Peregrine Falcon, it is hard to put on a happy face.

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At Big Bear, Shadow was attacked by an unidentified eagle at 1443 on Wednesday! The worry beads were out, and tears were falling – Shadow has now returned safely to the nest at 1135 Thursday.

Then, the unexpected happened. Jackie laid her first egg of the 2024 season. Tears of joy are flowing around the world for this most beloved couple who fight against the impact of the DDT spraying from decades ago on their breeding success.

Here’s the video!

At Sauces, there are fish gifts form Jak to Audacity. Love this couple whose name should be Tenacious and Persistent.

Gabby and Beau protecting the nest and incubating an egg that is going to need a super miracle if it is to hatch for these two.

Beau had a lesson in incubation today! It looks like he might have gotten it! Thanks, Gabby!!!!!! He is a keeper. Maybe not eaglets this year, but next.

E23 is really noticing what is beyond the nest. And what a change – like the eaglet doubled in size!

There is a surprise and some joy in the Kisatchie National Forest today after the loss of Anna and Andria, their eggs, nests, and mates. The time stamp of 2014 must be an error.

All is going well for Duke Farms. There is a second egg – that should be it!

Here’s the video.

Royal Cam chick enjoys breakfast with Mum.

A tour of the landscape around the Pittsburgh Hays nest occurred on Thursday. You can see the river where the eagles go fishing…gorgeous.

Gracious. Your giggle of the day comes from V2 and DG. Practice. There are no eggs at the Dulles-Greenway nest of Rosa and V2 but practice for incubation is underway and guess what V2 is using? A hambone! Maybe we needed one of these for Beau.

Successful mating at Moorings Park on Thursday with the first egg expected any time.

Cal and Lusa are getting their cute little tail feathers! 

No eggs yet for Liberty and Guardian at Redding in California.

Both the new female and Dad were on the ND-LEEF nest today after the snow melted. New female (top) and Dad (below).

‘A’ sends the reports for the past days at the Parramatta River. It appears that SE31 has now dispersed from the nest area.

“Here are the WBSE reports for the past three days (24, 25 and 26 January):

January 24: Early in the morning, one eagle was at River Roost. It appeared to be Dad. On the incoming tide, there was lots of floating rubbish, man-made and natural – leaves, branches, plants. Stormwater carries lots of debris. Only Dad was seen by the river during the day. A drone was seen over the wetlands, delivering routine mosquito-management spraying. Later in the afternoon, again only one eagle was seen. SE31 seems to be out of sight or has moved away from this area. She was last seen flying towards Homebush Bay. The photo below is from the other day, a good catch though our youngster was not there to claim it. Thanks to Jan and all our other eagle watchers and photographers.

RangerJudy1d

January 25: An eagle-free day, it seems, as none was seen by the river all day. Watchers checked nearby bays and the ospreys were sighted.

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January 26: A very quiet day today, with no sea eagle sightings recorded. A picture from the past for a memory. We wonder where they all are.

Meanwhile, it was another fish frenzy day with five coming in to the nest for Brad and Gil who are still at home!

So it seems our girl has moved on – apparently, with peregrines, the females disperse much greater distances from the natal area than do the male juveniles. I’m unsure if the same applies with sea eagles. SE29 headed north, up along the coast, a particularly lovely part of the country.” 

What a wonderful day! Thank you so much for being with me. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’A’, Raptor Persecution UK, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, Gracie Shepherd, NEFL-AEF, Lisa Yen, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cody Wayne, Duke Farms, Ondabebe, Bill Kitchen, NZ DOC, Pix Cams, Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam, Mooring Park, Window to Wildlife, FORE, ND-LEEF, Eagle Cam, PLO, and Bart M.

Big Red and Arthur check out the nest…Thursday in Bird World

25 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, there was no peace in the house on Wednesday morning. Hugo Yugo wanted kitten milk (lactose-free milk), and there wasn’t any. Gosh, golly. You would have thought there had been some big international incident! It was all settled mid-afternoon, but goodness gracious. How can such a little thing be so loud!

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people waiting for the first chance to see Big Red and Arthur at their nest. That moment they arrived on Wednesday, the 24th of January! The time was 0938.

Big Red flies in while Arthur is checking the egg cup. He must be calculating how many stick deliveries they will need to keep the Ns safe.

At one point, I thought Big Red had a limp in her right leg. There are no injuries or blood as also confirmed by Suzanne Arnold Horning. It has to be trying to walk through those sticks that made her leg look wonky.

Our Queen of the Red Tail Hawks will be twenty-one this spring. Goodness. She is decidedly my first love of all the birds.

A Red-tail Hawk visited the Decorah North nest. Immediately you can understand ‘why’ they use the RT hawks’ vocals to replace eagles! Watch the sound!

Helen Matcham caught Marri, the Peregrine Falcon fledgling of Xavier and Diamond’s at Orange on the tower. She has not dispersed. How wonderful.

Royal Cam chick’s first feeding on video:

Latest update:

The first egg at Moorings Park Osprey nest is expected anytime. Sally returned the end of December with Harry arriving back at the nest in Florida in early January.

Harry has been bringing in some nice fish gifts for Sally. Also notice – the construction is finished and these two will have a nicer season as the golfing gets underway below.

Jack and Diane are working on their nest in St Petersburg on Wednesday, too. Expecting eggs within a fortnight I all goes to plan.

They left and Diane returned. Will we have an egg Thursday morning? 

Missing Mini. 

Jackie and Shadow spent a lot of time Wednesday morning arranging sticks at the nest and trying out the egg cup.

E23 is growing – this eaglets eats and sleeps on the rails -. Proud parents check in to see how their little one is doing.

What goes in, must come out. Thank you for this great screen capture.

These two parents have been working to see that not only are they fed but E23 has lots of variety and the nest always has food.

Cal and Lusa are doing fantastic. Lusa has learned to grab bites from Connie’s mouth quickly before Lusa knows what is happening! Waiting til big sibling is full is also a good thing. Connie always seems to make sure Lusa is fed and Clive keeps the pantry stocked. Cal has been standing and doing attempts at walking and really working its wings.

R6 scampered out of the nest bowl today and was up by the rails.

Working on the nest at Dulles-Greenway.

Despite the heavy rain at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest, Irvin and Claire were there working to get things ready.

The eagles have been visiting the ND-LEEF nest since the snow…there are the prints to prove it.

The moli are hatching on Kauai.

For your reading pleasure, the story of migration from the POV of the Osprey. Tiger Mozone reposted this series today in our FB group and I thought you would enjoy reading it. In the coming weeks, I will be gathering up the new books for adults and children on ospreys and falcons as their season opens. The countdown is on for their safe arrival home in Western Europe. Tiger says, “This is an osprey thriller from ten years ago. The author was Paul Wildlifewriter and it is a gripping story. It was published in weekly parts and each edition was eagerly awaited.”

The-Well-of-IshrahanDownload

The US may list the Bumblebee as endangered, but globally, can we stop the use of pesticides to halt these tragedies? We need the pollinators!

Bumblebee-among-species-US-wildlife-officials-consider-listing-as-endangered-Endangered-species-Download

Thank you so much for being with me today. If anyone is watching the Venice Golf and Country Club and there are eggs, let me know! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J, SAH’, Cornell RTH Cam, Explore, Helen Matcham, SK Hideaways, Holly Parsons, Sharon Dunne, Moorings Park, Achieva Credit Union, PSG Electric, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Carol Shores Rifkin, Lady Hawk, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Pix Cams, ND-LEEF, Sharon Pollock, The Guardian, and Wildlife Kate.

Royal Cam chick returned to Mum…Wednesday in Bird World

24 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Your smile for the day comes from Auntie ‘H’ who modified a Scott Metzger cartoon:

Perfect! I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face all day. 

The weather is warming up and tomorrow it is forecast to be either 1 or 4 degrees C. That is ‘plus’. My plan is to go out for a long walk at one of our provincial parks before things get too soupy. Today it was a jaunt around a local forest and a walk through The English Garden at our zoo. The air was so clean and fresh. Everyone was friendly and smiling and saying ‘hello’.

In the house, the girls had a ball watching their bird video. Baby Hope was extremely animated and determined to catch one!

Cornell and NZ DOC made a short video of the return of the Royal Cam chick to the nest! What a cute little fluff ball! Look at the loving eyes of the parent as they see their chick for the first time. Precious.

Royal Cam chick (like all the albatross chicks) has been checked and re-checked and has been fed at least twice.

Gabby is still incubating that egg! And V3 is there on the branch, cuts healing on his feet, from protecting her and the nest. These two have had a real time of it this year and, sadly, we know what Gabby probably does, too – there is no little eaglet. I feel so sorry for her. Two years without a chick – 2023 and now 2024. 

At SW Florida, E23 is being left alone more and more, even at night. This morning the eaglet was spreading its large wings. I held my breath thinking about the GHOs…maybe they are too busy with their own nest to worry about the eaglet! Let’s hope.

E23 is growing so fast! All that good food – and what a variety this wee one has had. The mohawk is there, clown feed, and there were some nice close ups of the ‘blood’ feathers today. 

Blood Feather Information: 

“When a feather is pulled out or falls out during a normal moult (a normal loss of feathers), a new feather is stimulated to start growing right away. As the new feather, also called a pin or blood feather, emerges from the skin’s feather follicle, it looks like a spike, quill or much like the feather shaft itself. This new feather has a blood supply flowing through it and is encased by a keratin (type of protein) coating or feather sheath. The base, where the feather is developing and being nourished by blood, is a dark blue color. On smaller feathers such as those around the head, the base may be a red or pink color. Some pin feathers may be sensitive, and birds may not enjoy being handled while moulting. As the feather continues to grow, the tip will mature first as the blood recedes back down into the follicle. The bird will gradually preen off the keratin feather sheath from the maturing feather tip and the newly formed feather will emerge.” (VCA Animal Hospital)

At Captiva, C10, Cal, had a crop that looked like it could pop any time. Connie was busy ensuring C11 had a good fish meal, too. Isn’t she lovely? Both eaglets have thrived, although I must say I did worry about C11, Lusa, during the storm.

Connie sleeps on the rim of the nest while her babies dream about fish breakfast.

The only true fluffy little eaglet right now is R6. Rose stays right on top of her keeping her warm and dry in case a storm hits Dade County. Little R6 is growing and stretching. It is much easier to see it being fed from that nest cup than it was even yesterday.

There is the first egg, laid on Monday the 22nd, at Duke Farms for Mum and her new mate.

At Port Lincoln, Bradley and Giliath were caught on video following Mum and Dad fish begging.

Good News coming from Senegal: Blue 497, the oldest chick from Mrs G’s last brood in 2022, has been seen and photographed. Congratulations, Glaslyn. This is the first time it was seen. Blue 2H2 from Rutland was seen the other day and Blue 5F our grand Mamma from Clywedog was photographed in her usual spot. We are getting close to really dreaming about their return – is it really less than 60 days now?

It looks like Wisdom wasn’t just dancing, but is breeding again on the Midway Atoll. Fingers crossed for our oldest albatross ringed in 1956 – she is at least 73 years old!

Worlds-oldest-known-bird-breeding-again-at-73-BirdGuidesDownload

Tim Mackrill has written a new book on Ospreys. I wonder if it will beat my favourite, most reasonably priced, packed full of great information and photographs he wrote for the RSPB? You can pre-order now. Published by Bloomsbury, there are 150 photographs, and it will be out on Leap Year Day. I have an order and will tell you how it compares to the earlier RSPB version! (Thanks, Geemeff).

Here is the publisher’s description: 

If you do not live in the land of peat burning, you might not fully understand why it is important not to burn it – these are huge carbon sinks. Here is a document in simple language that all of us can understand – who is burning the peat and why they should stop.

Extent-of-burning-on-Scottish-peatlands-including-many-grouse-moors-is-why-regulation-is-needed-urDownload

‘J’ sent me the summary of the Raptor Resource’s Project tracking Golden Eagles. What a treat.

Raptor-Resource-Project-Bald-Eagle-and-Bird-of-Prey-CamsDownload

I have a wee bit of a winter cold and am going to tuck it in early tonight. The newsletter is, thus, shorter than expected. I know you will understand.

Thank you so much for being with us. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’A, Geemeff, H, J’, Cornell and the NZ DOC, Holly Parsons, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, VCA Animal Hospital, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Duke Farms, PLO, Raptor Resource Project, Raptor Persecution UK, and Bloomsbury Publishing.

1st egg for Duke Farms, Tuesday in Bird World

23 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The girls have been helping me nurse a cold today. That means no crazy antics. In fact, they are still resting up from all the fun they had on Sunday!

Trouble with a capital T slept most of the day:

Calico woke up as usual – if she did not appear with a single meow around 0835 I would think she was the one feeling under the weather. Oh, what a gentle soul she is.

Time for Hugo Yugo to get those eyes and ears washed! Missey is an exceptional Mamma. Then they always spend a good hour snuggled together. It is beautiful.

The second round of eagle eggs are beginning to be laid. Congratulations Duke Farms – we welcome a new male there this season. Estimated time was 1548. Thanks, Trudi Kron, for the great screen capture!

Congratulations to Jolene and Boone at the ETSU nest in Johnson City on their second egg. Hard incubation has begun.

Will we have a clutch at the KNF-E1 nest with the new couple? We wait.

What a relief to have Gabby back at the nest tree. That egg is not viable, but, gosh, if a miracle happened and it hatched, I would not complain. Gabby had a huge crop and another fish. That was reassuring…but, mostly, it was one of those moments when the world feels like it is lifted off your shoulders. 

Poor Gabby. Does she believe that Beau incubated the egg, like Samson would have, in her absence? She is there on her egg Monday night. I feel bad for her.

As I continue to remind myself, I will say again – we are lucky. There are four well fed, much loved, fat bottomed eaglets to coo over. Perhaps there will be less competition for them when they are looking to raise their families.

F23 has turned out to be a fine mate for M15 and a grand Mum for E23.

F23 wants to make certain that E23 has its blankie.

Clive makes sure that Cal and Lusa are not going to go hungry! Their names, combined, stand for the local indigenous tribe that settled the area of Captiva eons ago.

Many believe that Ron and Rose should get the award this season for the deepest egg cup. This little one hasn’t a hope of getting out to those rails – or does it?

Missey and Dad were working on renovations to their nest after the two eggs they had been incubating broke – and appeared to not have any contents at the weekend.

I love how the eagles have shown their ability to mourn over the years (still remember vividly Joe at Captiva standing over the body of his dead daughter after she had secondary rodenticide poisoning) and then get on with life when something like this happens at Berry. 

Meet the new Royal cam chick!

And she’s home with Mamma!

A sub-adult landed on Gabby’s tree and we all jumped and hoped it was Legacy! Gosh, do you remember when she got ‘lost’ from the nest tree and flew by finally landed and stayed home for a month after fledging? I wonder if it is her. She was an incredibly beautiful fledgling and this sub-adult is a show-stopper! I would like to think that since Samson returned to his natal nest that it is entirely possible that this is Legacy. The plumage development might indicate that, too. (Of course, there are many eagles in this area, but…I can wish!)

EagleGoddess caught the sub-adult at NEFL covering the egg ever so gently. 

Other sub-adults are showing up elsewhere. There was one at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest, too.

A note from the Eagle Cam and some of the latest images from Chang-Le Dong of WBSE 31. Let us hope SE31 breaks the norm and stays at the river much longer than anticipated. Watching her develop from an egg to such a gorgeous fledgling has been a joy.

You might recall that the osprey on Louis and Alia’s old nest – nest 1 at Loch Arkaig – is named Affric. Look what they have discovered in Scotland. Thanks, Geemeff. It is stunning – love those bright colours.

Rob Schwartz continues to fight on behalf of the eagles of Centreport to stop construction that would be harmful to the eagles habitat. It is a bit long but I have included Rob’s entire post in case you want the details and wish to send a letter on behalf of the ‘eagles’.

Schwartz: ”For those of you who could not attend the Jan. 18th ZBA Meeting, I am attaching a partial video (which I cut to remove the legal mumbo jumbo). Per the testimony from a SEQRA expert , when the ZBA granted a business depth extension following their Aug. 3rd meeting, they violated SEQRA, with little or no regard for our eagles whose nest is adjacent to the Centerport Mill Pond. We feel that if this is done with the way most of the building has been done in the past – the area in which our eagles live will be destroyed, the environment is not taken into the proper consideration. The owners of the land are not doing their due diligence to make sure the land surrounding the Mill Pond is environmentally ready. As per the owners previous “pre application”, the proposed building is going to be 4 stories tall, (3 are only allowed in Huntington). Not surprisingly, there are rumors that the next door restaurant could also be demolished and turned into more apartments. The slimy nature of how the TOH ZBA is acting in the best interest of the builder should scare us all. The ZBA had a chance to end this on Thursday. However, they refused to hear from residents, even from the resident who initialized the complaint. The plan to put a boardwalk in over the mudflat alone should have been a signal to all, they intend to add as many apartments as they can get away with. The bottom line to this is: They are not willing to follow proper law in the Town of Huntington when it comes to the environment. Those laws were created to protect the environment. No one is telling anyone they cannot build on their land, but the town law needs to be followed. No one is above the law, no matter how much money they have. We all want responsible building in Centerport, but not a build and burn scenario. If this is allowed to go unchecked, you can say goodbye to our eagles and all the wonderful life Mother Nature has brought to Centerport. By the way, the ZBA Board Members are appointed, not elected – what do they have to lose? However, we should be sure to let the Town Board know how we feel about the ZBA that they appointed. If you email any of the below – be sure to CC Andrew Raia TOH Clerk, this way you email goes “On The Record”.Please consider sending emails to all of the following, protesting the ZBA’s reckless disregard for the environment. Here are the people you can email to tell them how you feel about ignoring the Environment. Keith Brown, NY State Assemblyman 12th Assembly District 
631 261-4151 (Commack Office) brownk@nyassembly.gov Edmund J. Smyth, Supervisor 631 351-3030 esmyth@huntingtonny.gov, Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman 631 351-3172 dbennardo@huntingtonny.gov, Salvatore Ferro, Councilman 631 351-3175 sferro@huntingtonny.gov, Gerard Asher, Chair 
John Bennett, Special Counsel 631 351-3196, ZBA@huntingtonny.gov

Hartley and Monty are bonding in San Jose!

The first fish comes after 1300 at Port Lincoln. Gil got it. Adult stretching their wings in heraldic pose to dry off.

Sadly, Australia has added 144 species to its list of threatened wildlife, an increase of five fold! For the first time, the Pink Cockatoo was listed. 

More-Australian-wildlife-added-to-threatened-species-list-in-2023-than-ever-before-conservationistsDownload

The Ventana Wildlife Society will have its regular chat. You can sign up on their website. They also archive the conversations – they are always informative.

In other news, Jean-marie Dupart has photographed Blue LV0 ‘Garry’ from Loch Arkaig in Senegal. Wonderful news.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’J’, Trudi Iron, Duke Farms, ETSU, Tonya Irwin, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College, Sharon Dunne, Holly Parsons, EagleGoddess, PIX Cams, Eagle Cam, Geemeff, Rob Schwartz, SK Hideaways, PLO, The Guardian, Jean-marie Dupart, and The Ventana Wildlife Society.

Welcome Lusa and Cal, Gabby abandons incubation, where is she?…Monday in Bird World

22 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Calico was her regular alarm clock self – my goodness. 0835. After their breakfast, the kittens – Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope – tore through the house. Then, there was a very loud crash. I wonder what happened?

Oh, dear. Who do you see?

Are these two the only culprits?

Calico was cautiously coming to see what happened from the other side of the house.

Baby Hope was relaxing on the top of a chair – she says she had ‘nothing to do with knocking the twinkle tree off the table’. Do you believe her?

No one is telling what happened…Baby Hugo decided to have a nap and poor Calico is just worn out from it all, too. I am left to wonder.

It is hard to believe, but they didn’t even wake up for lunch. Instead, all four crowded into the kitchen around 1800. Very strange, indeed.

The news from Bird World is really rather thin. We might think that the entire Bald Eagle season has mostly collapsed. There will be no chicks at Berry College or at NE Florida to look forward to – we have, on the streaming cams, two at Captiva, one at SW Florida, and one at Miami-Dade. We lost Anna and Andria at the KNF nests before the eggs hatched (thankfully). Superbeaks first clutch failed. Will we have any second clutches?  Will any new couples lay a clutch in Louisiana? We wait and wonder why this is happening.

So, instead of falling into that deep dark hole, we need to rejoice in the four healthy eaglets that are currently on the nests in Florida at Captiva, WRDC, and at Fort Myers. 

At Captiva, Lori Covert has named Connie and Clive’s eaglets – C10 is Lusa and C11 is Cal.

Look at how plump and healthy these two are with their full crops, fat little legs, and bottoms. Let us all wish them uneventful days until they fledge – and good feathers! 

E23 is also plump and very healthy, spoiled only eaglet by M15 and F23. Pin feathers clearly seen on the wing tips.

R6 is a fuzzy little darling – the pride and joy of Ron and Rita at the WRDC nest. So, on streaming cams, we have 4 – only FOUR – eaglets to watch.

Gabby flew off the nest to join Beau at 12:13 and has not returned to the egg as I write – it is now 15:57. It is ONLY 6 degrees C or 42 degrees F at 16:01 on Sunday. This egg is looking less and less viable.

No one returned. So, there are two scenarios. Gabby and Beau figured that the egg was not viable and abandoned it. The second one I do not even wish to contemplate is that something happened to Gabby. I simply do not wish to think about that, but there were intruders about. Let’s think positive -Wherever they are Sunday night, I hope they are both safe—way too many intruders about. Gabby was last seen at noon and Beau around 1700 after he incubated the egg for a short time after 1630.

Beau was at the nest tree Monday morning, vocalising. There has been no sighting of Gabby, and I am beginning to really become concerned. Please let me be wrong – this is highly unusual behaviour for Gabby. Is she injured? or worse?

A drone, flying over the NCTC nest, almost hits Scout! It is illegal to fly drones over an active Bald Eagle nest – so will they catch the culprit? and what will happen to them?

Lisa and Oliver were in the nest in PA County. Oh, this is one that I know many of you are looking forward to watching.

Jackie and Shadow were at Big Bear. Shadow delivered a fish gift and then they flew of only with Shadow to return to move some sticks he noticed were out of place earlier. Bless his heart. Shadow cannot leave those sticks alone.

Pittsburgh-Hayes female comes to the nest on Sunday.

Gary has ceased covering the Redding Eagles – Liberty and her three mates, Patriot, Spirit, and Guardian, after fifteen years. he says he is going to work on features and examine current research on eagles. This is a thank you video with lots of historical images of Liberty and her mates and chicks. I cannot embed it – have no idea why but this is happening more often. Here is the title for you to search in YT.

Major Announcement Regarding Coverage of the Eagles

The weekly video summary of the happenings at Port Lincoln.

At the time of this writing, only one fish has come to the PLO barge. It is extremely windy and the water is choppy. Mum flew in at 1247 with the first meal and Bradley got it.

Beautiful Capture of the Golden Gate Audubon Osprey male, Richmond. It is the 21st of January. His mate, Rosie, returns around Valentine’s Day. Richmond will be checking in for her return as he does not migrate.

Ruby has been missing for more than a fortnight. There are now intruders buzzing and a female wanting Jack’s attention at Captiva. Let us hope things settle down so we can have an Osprey family here this year.

The cold weather has also hit Europe where the ground is frozen and people are calling for food for the storks that are trying to feed in the fields. Here 80 storks are being taken care of in Russia – incredible. What kindness.

A Peregrine Falcon has been shot in Essex….this follows the dumping of the Woodcocks in Cheshire. And, of course, other heinous deeds to wildlife. Unfortunately, we don’t have a watchdog like Raptor Persecution UK in the US and Canada. 

Peregrine-suspected-shot-in-Essex-–-Police-appeal-for-information-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

Loving hummingbirds. Geemeff sent the link to Aryana’s tiny nest. She has eggs!

Aryana has her own FB page. Thanks, Geemeff. Quite the celebrity.

https://www.facebook.com/LivestreamHummingbirdCam/

The Royal Cam chick is making progress in its hatching! Thanks ‘A’.

The latest news on the attempts to re-introduce Kakapo to the New Zealand mainland and the trials and tribulations over these smart birds outwitting humans and a fence!

So much to be grateful for and SE31 is one of those things. The latest report from Chang-Le Dong and the WBSE:

Oh, I love Plovers and these nearly threatened shore birds had a fantastic year in New England in 2023.

Piping Plovers are one of the smallest of the species. Their colouring offers good camouflage against the beach sand where they nest and forage. These are unique to North America, although they do winter in Mexico. Their biggest threats are human disturbances, which are endangered or threatened in many areas.

Nesting-Piping-Plovers-on-the-rise-BirdGuidesDownload

Information is being compiled about Laura Culley with the goal of having a really good bio of her – pre-falconry and her falconry days -by an individual at Cornell. I will keep you posted as I am very hopeful that her manuscript about her life with Mariah will appear on those pages. In looking for information, I came across the following: ”Let me warn you–falconry is FAR more addictive than any drug. The sheer wonder that the bird CHOOSES to work with you it beyond my comprehension. It’s really not about food. That’s where you start to earn their trust, but after that, you’re always in the reality that they can fly. You can’t. There’s a wonderment when your bird (who is no more YOURS than the air you breathe) chooses to fly to your fist!!! Another reality is that you’re nothing more than their servant, and that’s a good thing. For me, it reconnected me to the natural world in ways that I can only describe a little bit. And you get to see who these birds are, sharing what they do and how they do it, and if that doesn’t regularly take your breath away, you need to check your pulse.”

Laura always said the hawk is the boss – we only serve them. She wondered at their abilities that we have lost, but most of all she was astonished, every day, by Mariah.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We hope you can be back with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, articles, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, J’, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, WRDC, NEFL, Deb Stecyk, Dana Anderson, FOBBV, PIX Cams, Gary and FORE, PLO, Pam Kruse, Diana Lambertson, Natalia Voss, Raptor Persecution UK, Aryana YT/FB, NZ DOC, Kakapo Recovery, Chang-Le Dong, BirdGuides, and Laura Culley.

Royal Cam egg has pipped…Saturday in Bird World

20 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

There is some good news about pips and eggs in Bird World today. Sadly, there will be no further hatches at WRDC and none at Berry College. 

There are lots of visitors in the garden this morning. To my huge delight, three Crows were flying down to get peanuts when Dyson wasn’t in the way! Dyson’s kits were all here, along with Little Red and the two Blue Jays. I did not see a single European Starling. I wonder where they are.

Hugo Yugo seems to have grown overnight. Seriously. She is busy watching everyone in the garden from the table in the conservatory. She hasn’t moved for more than an hour.

Baby Hope wanted some quiet time. It didn’t last long.

Hugo Yugo is tired after all that play fighting. But, look, she fills up part o the top of the cat tree. She is growing!

A new all Black cat showed up at the feeder today. Its image has been posted in all the local missing cat FB pages in case it is lost. 

Earlier, ‘The Boyfriend’ had had his traditional Friday roast chicken dinner. Maybe the visitor got some leftovers.

Congratulations to Jolene and Boone at the ETSU nest in Tennessee on their first egg of the season on 18 Jan. This new Mum raised two eaglets to fledge last year.

The biggest news is that we have a pip in the egg of the Royal Albatross couple in NZ. 

Jackie spent some time at the nest she has with Shadow at Big Bear Lake on Friday. Gosh, she’s gorgeous.

C11 has a huge crop, stands, and does some wing exercises, while C10 stretches underneath the dry palm frond blanket. Everything is going well at Captiva.

New bedding material and more fish brought to the nest as the winds pick up in the area.

E23 has eaten, slept, and grown. This eaglet is changing so quickly. E23 has a Mohawk now. Pin feathers are coming in. Clown feet and today, many thought that E23 was going to start chewing on that possum tail. Just look at that fat little bottom. Privileged only eaglet. 

This little one really likes to sleep with its head propped on the rails! Thank goodness M15 and F23 are filling in the holes.

E23 is too big to fit under Mamma F23 anymore.

Ron and Rose certainly have that nest cup deep. You can just get a glimpse of R6 if it stretches its head way up high. What a little cutie. Looks like R6 is going to be an only eaglet – nothing wrong with that!

R6 is five days old today.

At the NE Florida Eagle nest, Gabby and Beau took turns incubating the egg.

Event Log for Gabby and Beau for Friday:

All that snow that fell across the US and Canada has meant the Eagles are working hard to get their nests in order. This is Beau and Bella at the NCTC nest on Friday doing just that.

Wow. There were five fish brought to Gil and Brad on the 20th – 3 from Mum and 2 from Dad. How lucky these two are! And we now see clearly that the help the fish fairies brought to ensure both survived was a huge success without any harm done to the actual fishing of the adults. Keep it up Port Lincoln!!!!!! 

Age (chicks): Giliath : 95 days, Bradley : 93 days
Fish count: Mum: 3, Dad: 2
Fish times: 09:00, 09:31, 15:19, 16:34, 16:49

Bradley was doing some hovering and flying in the late afternoon.

Video of SE31 at the Parramatta River. Just look at the size of SE31 whose is playing with garbage down at the River Roost.

‘A’ brings us the latest for January 20 at Sydney: Early, at 6am, both parents were at River Roost, with SE31 whining for food. At 6:40am, one of the parents caught a fish for her, in front of River Roost. She is so hard to see at times in the mangroves. Later, in the early afternoon, SE31 was out of sight, but Dad was seen taking off, circling over the wetlands, returning, then heading off again towards Wentworth Point. He returned at 2:23pm with a small fish – Lady was still there. By 2:40, our juvenile was eating on a low branch, Dad was in the air and Lady was still in the same place. The picture below is of Dad – with some feather gaps in his wings.

‘A’ sent in today’s antics with Marri at Orange! Oh, she’s loud. Xavier and Diamond must be delighted their daughter is alright and still home. (Parent at end of video is Diamond, not Xavier as amended by SKHideaways).

In St Petersburg, Jack is bringing Diane fish gifts as we begin to dream of eggs in a couple of weeks at the Achieva Osprey platform.

Red Listed Birds found shot and dumped in Cheshire. Despicable.

Woodcock-shot-and-dumped-in-Cheshire-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

The BTO brings us a paper tracking the behaviour of 47 Short-eared Owls. t is a totally interesting study that found that one female raised two broods of chicks to fledge in two different countries in a single year!

Tracking-Short-eared-Owls-Notes-from-the-field-BTO-British-Trust-for-OrnithologyDownload

Have you read it, The Raven? 

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J’, Trudi Kron, NZ DOC, Sharon Dunne, Lady Hawk, SK Hideaways, FOBBV, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, WRDC, NEFL-AEF, Deb Stecyk, PLO, WBSE 2024, Diana Lambertson, Raptor Persecution UK, BTO, and The Woodland Trust Scotland.

Dual feeding at SW Florida, intruder lands on Gabby’s nest…Thursday in Bird World

18 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It continues to warm up a bit on the Canadian Prairies. Right now – it is 1617 Wednesday afternoon – it is -17 C. But hang on. In one week it is forecast to be +4 C. Yes, you don’t your eyes checked, PLUS 4. Wow. That is going to be a great day to spend out at the nature centre. Soggy but wonderful. The animals will be delighted.

‘The Boyfriend’ survived the cold nicely and was staring at the garden door, waiting for his delivery of wet food this afternoon. If I do not respond, he now knocks. He is so bold and is so curious about the house but runs the minute I open the door or come near. 

Missey was watching from her perch on the cat tree. 

Calico is a regular alarm clock. 0837 on the dot for several days now. Then she just wants cuddles, not food. The others are still asleep! It is our special time together before the day begins.

Baby Hope at a weird angle. She still has her very bushy tail. That ‘look’ is almost hypnotic.

For some ‘trouble’ is their middle name, but for Hugo Yugo it is their FIRST name! I have tried to post videos of the play fights between Hugo Yugo and all the other three girls, but this system does not seem to want to accept them so, imagine, if you will, the little kitten pulling off the blankets and jumping on Hope this evening in a wild frenzy.

Hope gets away and Hugo Yugo looks up and is ready to pounce on the sofa.

Baby Hope resting by the twinkle tree. They will all get a second, third, and fourth wind…chasing, running, pulling ornaments off the tree. The blankets will be everywhere along with the toys! My goodness, the energy and the fun these little ones have.

And then there was this…Hugo Yugo! Hugo Yugo kneading Missey hoping to make milk. Goodness. And Missey just took it all in stride. 

It is just wonderful to see the garden animals and know that they did not succumb to the cold. Both Blue Jays are here getting peanuts along with Mr Crow.

The Black Capped Chickadees were eating the Black Oil Seed as well as the suet cylinders today.

Dyson ran too fast but I did get to photograph one of the kits at the feeder.

Oh, what a morning Wednesday was – Clive and Connie brought in five fish in three hours to the relief of everyone that had worried about their darling eaglets. What a power couple! So very happy that lots of fish got on that nest. Hopefully they can pile them up like Louis did at the E1 nest for a few years as there is a forecast of another bad weather system heading their way. Both C10 and C11 went to bed with big crops!

Jack is at the Captiva Osprey nest, but Ruby has been missing since her last visit on the 11th of January. That was only six days ago but Jack continues to call for her. I hope she is just having a spa time. Keep your fingers crossed.

There is no pip at the time of this writing for the second egg for Ron and Rita at the WRDC. It is 39 days old today and is, of course, clearly in the hatch window. No need to get too worried but if it were to go to 41, well…and I would feel sorry for that little eaglet because R6 will be ‘much bigger’. R6 might get to join the ‘only eaglet’ club of E23! 

What a difference from this fuzzy little chick to C10 and C11, who have almost lost their Mohawks completely.

Snug and warm under Mamma Rose.

As far as I know, there is no pip at Berry College. 

Looking at the eggs, is that nesting material? or the beginning of a pip?

Beau has new injuries to his feet. He has been busy all day trying to keep intruders away from Gabby, their egg, and the nest. One intruder landed on the nest tree and Gabby got rid of him. The time was 1552.

Unidentified intruder on branch while Gabby is calling out from the nest – it jumped in the nest and Gabby was calling and calling. It was a frightening moment for sure.

Beau is back on guard at the nest but has injured feet.

Didn’t see any eagles at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana – just their prints from earlier in the snow.

There is some fresh nesting material at Duke Farms, but no egg yet.

At Decorah North, DNF was in the trees while a beautiful red squirrel visited the nest tree and Canada Geese frolicked in the open water of the creek.

All is well at SW Florida. E23 continues to thrive and F23 has proven herself to be a great first time Mum.

E23 is never going to go hungry. M15 flew in with ‘something’ – did he get it at the Publix dumpster? (the butcher puts out food for M15). A dual feeding takes place around 1744 – E23 already had a big crop.

M15 reminds me of many of the male ospreys in the UK who love to feed their chicks and are great providers.

Here is the video of that dual feeding.

Jackie and Shadow were both at Big Bear today – gosh that nest has a gorgeous view.

At Port Lincoln, it seems that Giliath has found a place for fish – free fish? Smart little fledgling. Brad will be happy to eat all the fish brought to the nest. LOL.

So far, three fish deliveries. The 0637 was grabbed by Gil while the 0720 and the 0854 went to Brad. Dad came in with deliveries 1 and 3 and Mum brought in a partial fish in slot 2.

Everyone seems to enjoy spending time on the old barge.

It’s the first Royal Albatross hatch of the year (not the Royal Cam chick). Congratulations, first-time parents GBL and BYW!

There are so many wildlife cameras. This one is the BBC Winterwatch one. How many birds can you ID? 

Big Red and Arthur will begin work on their nest with regular visits starting in February. There is major construction going on within a close proximity – we will have to wait and see how this impacts the breeding season.

Do you adore fuzzy little raptor or bird babies? Check out the winners of the Audubon photo awards!

https://www.audubon.org/news/cuddle-these-ridiculously-cute-baby-bird-photos?ms=digital-eng-email-ea-newsletter-engagement_20240117_wingspan_&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20240117_wingspan&utm_content=

Millions of Bramblings gather in Switzerland. Can you imagine what a sight that was?!

Brambling-mega-flock-wows-crowds-in-Switzerland-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to having you with us again!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, ND-LEEF Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, FOBBV, PLO, BBC, Cornell RTH Cam, Audubon, Sharon Dunne, and BirdGuides.