Category Archives: Bald Eagles

It’s raining Ospreys…Achieva chick demise…Saturday in Bird World

16 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Before I begin, the little chick at Achieva is no longer with us. It remains unclear as to what happened. No eggs, no chick. Some predator during the night. So sad. jack was so excited about this baby.

Friday was quite the day. Every time I turned around, something new happened with the Ospreys. It was wonderful but, at times, a little overwhelming. Ospreys will populate the news as they arrive and lay eggs, and things will go quiet for a month before everyone begins to hatch. Thank goodness for incubation.

So, we are fully into migration for all the species. As so many have noted, the ‘spring up’ in terms of Daylight Savings Time seems to have caused spring – which was not expected in some places for a few weeks now – to jumpstart. Things to remember about migration: Get your city to turn its lights off. Turn your lights off. Gives the birds a chance. BirdCast says there are 5.5 million birds on the move Friday night. Put up the Feather Friendly stickers on your window. Fill the feeders. Get the water bowls and baths clean. Stock up on seed. Welcome them home! or boost their energy as they fly through. Here are 10 ways in which you can help:

10-Ways-to-Help-Migratory-BirdsDownload
How-turning-off-lights-can-save-billions-of-migrating-birdsDownload
Heres-how-you-can-go-Lights-Out-BirdCastDownload

If you don’t know BirdCast, check it out. You can input your location if you live in the US and see what species are arriving and in what numbers. It is a lot of fun and you will learn something.

‘The Girls’ and ‘The Boyfriend’ are all fine, as are the garden animals. Everyone has been seen, which is such a relief this time of year. The squirrels think another winter blizzard is coming as they haul away peanut after peanut. There are now four Blue Jays, which means two have arrived to join the two who stayed during the winter.

Hugo Yugo will go for her ‘operation’ on Wednesday. Dr Green, the vet who has cared for her all along, will have the honours. The primary issue with all voluntary kitten adoption organisations is that they are overwhelmed and have to rely on the vets having space for their kittens. They never know what is available. Dear darling Hugo Yugo, the tiniest 6-month-old kitten I have ever seen, went into heat last Tuesday. It is unimaginable to me that something so tiny would be ready to breed. Her very loud meow turned into a horrifically loud mating call that brought endless feral males to the deck! Poor thing. So glad she was in the house! So, we decided to try to see if there was any possibility of getting her into our vet before the end of May or September. Luckily, they had a cancellation today. I couldn’t believe our luck. So send her good wishes – she will be sleeping on warm blankets and having good pain meds on the 20th.

I learn something valuable every day. Dr Peter Bloom, who banded Black 61, is also responsible for something extraordinary. Steve Schubert of Morro Audubon says, “Pete Bloom captured and brought in the last remaining wild California Condor on Easter Sunday in 1987, contributing to the captive breeding program . The species was absent from the wild until reintroduction began several years later, in 1992.”

Friday was a bit of a day – . Ospreys were landing in their nests, Ospreys were laying eggs, and a chick was hatching at Venice Golf and Country Club. Thank you so much to ‘H, J, and M’ who helped me stay on top of it all! Very seriously, there is no way that a single individual can monitor 150+ osprey nests, so I appreciate all your sightings! You are amazing.

Lucy laid her first egg at Lake Murray. I so hope the GHOs leave this nest alone this year. She has a new mate having lost Ricky and all three of her chicks in 2023.

It looks like both Mum and Dad have arrived at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island. These two did what most only dreamed of last year—they raised four osplets to fledge!

The first egg has hatched at Venice Golf and Country Club! Congratulations. In 2023, their first egg hatched on the 13th of March – so very close this year.

‘H’ also reminds us, “Olivia arrived at Severna Park on 3/8, Oscar on 3/10. Edie at Captiva laid her second egg on 3/13, expect a possible 3rd egg tomorrow. Opal at Forsythe arrived this morning.”

At Dahlgren, Jack brought in his first ‘stuffie’ of the season on Friday. There might be some difficulty deciphering which female is which, but we will never mistake Jack.

Looks like that stuffed animal is gone.

Ospreys arriving in Europe and getting right to the action.

The first arrival at River Gwash, and the fishing looks good.

At Port Lincoln, Ervie and Giliath are fishing buddies.

In the UK, it looks like Blue 33 and Maya will be the first to lay eggs. Laddie has yet to return to Loch of the Lowes. Blue NCO waits.

That is definitely not an Osprey on Loch Arkaig’s nest 1 that used to belong to Louis and Aila. (Louis and Dorcha are on nest 2).

‘A’ has been watching the West End nest and notes, “I watched a late afternoon feeding from Akecheta where the two older chicks were very well behaved (probably stuffed) and dad concentrated on the youngest for several minutes. It was bonked just once throughout the event. It’s a strong, feisty wee one and it gets itself to the table when it can. I have my fingers crossed for it, but if the food supply remains as good as it usually is with these parents, I am cautiously optimistic. In fact, a lot of our two-eaglet nests with young chicks are doing well, with relatively little bonking, although there is the worry you noted with possible intruders at one nest. Of course, we all know that losing a parent is the worst thing that can befall a nest with young chicks, followed by a food shortage or prolonged rain. So, while we cannot control any of those things, I am still hoping this season has turned a corner.” 

Proud Dad Akecheta with fantastic Mum, Thunder.

Cali Condor caught Thunder giving a private feeding to eaglet 3 at the West End.

‘A’ was watching when Akecheta fed the wee one and says, “Watch Akecheta feeding the baby some lunch from 13:12. The wee one is eating well and getting enough food. It waits its turn – but these parents are diligent enough to ensure that the older two are sufficiently stuffed to let the youngest have its turn at the table. And the size of some of the fish Akecheta in particular is bringing in is awesome! With each day that passes, as the baby of the bunch gets stronger and more agile, I am more hopeful about this nest. The older two have calmed down slightly – Nessie has a long neck!!!!!”

The two eaglets at Bluff City are eating squirrel. Is it just me or is that first hatch twice as big as the second?

Just look at the eaglets at Johnson City. Jolene and Boone have chicks with the ‘fattest little bottoms’ and their thermal down is really coming in….big clown feet. I blinked. Must have.

Dixie and Mason continue to do great at Superbeaks.

Leaper and Jersey had a fabulous feeding. The new male is keeping nice sized fish in the pantry for Mum and the kids. Their crops were popping several times today. No worries at this nest!

Jack arrived at 0921 on Friday with a fish for Diane and the new baby at Achieva.

The last feeding that I saw on Friday was late afternoon. Jack came to the nest empty-taloned but wet later.

The Crows are the only ones at Oyster Bay so far.

Oh, empty platform at Chesapeake Bay. There is confirmation that the ospreys are flooding the area as they arrive from their winter migration.

Let us all hope that it is a much better year for the Osprey couple that find this nest in Cape May Meadows.

There was an osprey on the MNSA platform on Friday.

The Estonian Golden Eagle Helju has laid the first egg of the season!

In Florida, R6 is now learning about having to defend a nest against intruders!

E23 continues his flapping and flying…we are so near fledge.

Sharon Lee captured Gabby and Beau and isn’t it a gorgeous image of the pair at NE Florida?

Jackie and Shadow are so hopeful. More snow. We need to be more like them. I still wish for a fairy to delivery them a baby eaglet.

Big Red and Arthur were working away on their nest at Cornell. I am expecting eggs to be laid here and at the nest of Angel and Tom any day.

Annie almost had me thinking she was laying her first egg on Friday. Archie was in the scrape calling her when she wasn’t there. Gosh, isn’t he cute? And look at those deep chrome-yellow legs. This guy is healthy!

Annie.

Archie.

Monty and Hartley were both at the San Jose City Hall scrape on Friday.

It’s not siblicide in Ospreys. Geemeff sends us an article out of Science that discusses the Eurasian Hoopoe and siblicide.

Watch-out-This-colorful-bird-raises-a-nest-of-cannibals-Science-AAASDownload

YOU can make a difference. Do not give up…the Nightingales won because people stood up for their habitat!

Nightingale-habitat-saved-after-public-outcry-BirdGuidesDownload

That’s a crazy round-up of some of the nests that everyone is following. Don’t be shy! Send me any osprey news that you see – landing on a nest, laying an egg, hatching. Everything is appreciated and welcome. Take care all. Thank you for being with me today. Send good energy to the Achieva nest – there is lots of food competition there for Jack!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, M, SS’, National Wildlife Federation, Spectrum News, BirdCast, Lake Murray Ospreys, PSEG, Isak, Forsythe Osprey Cam, Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Jane Dell, River Gwash Ospreys, PLO, Mary Kerr, Geemeff, IWS/Explore.org, Cali Condor, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, Superbeaks. Duke Farms, Achieva Credit Union, Chesapeake Conservancy/Explore.org, SCMM, MNSA, Eagle Club of Estonia, WRDC, SK Hideaways, Sharon Lee, FOBBV, Cornell RTH Cam, Cal Falcons, San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, Science, and BirdGuides.

Friday in Bird World

15 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Spring is coming and with it the arrival of Canada Geese, songbirds, and Ospreys amongst other raptors.

Today, more than a thousand Canada Geese turned the sky black at Fort Whyte Alive in Winnipeg. Most landed on the Bison fields while a few went to the open water on Devonian Lake and others decided to peck at the ice inside the nature centre.

As the Ospreys arrive at their nests around the world, laying eggs, and hatching osplets, I begin to be a ‘little more scattered’ than I might normally be. Last year, the total number of eggs that ‘H’ and I observed was 338. This year we hope to bring that total to 500. It is an enormous task. I am extremely grateful to those who have reached out to me, offering to send me information on the nests that they are watching. So, as a reminder, if you watch a particular osprey nest, please feel free to send me the date the eggs were laid and the dates of the hatch, and please do tell me if you are observing the chicks bashing the daylights out of one another. This could be ‘dominance play’, or it could be serious and result in siblicide. Even if you miss all of the major events but tune in to a nest and notice aggressive behaviour or something worrisome, do let me know. I appreciate any and all messages!

Let us go back to Dr Alan Poole’s talk. In my last blog, I talked about his first main topic—issues related to fish and the problems that the Ospreys face with the Chinese fishing trawlers taking huge nets of surface fish such as Manhadan and Mullet along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US and West Africa. The other three topics were Problem Nests, Restoring Osprey Populations, and Streaming cams.

Problem Nests: Dr Poole pointed out that not having enough nests for ospreys is a ‘positive’ problem when you have too many ospreys. He notes that Greece has not a single osprey. Poland is shooting all of theirs, the Balkans have none, etc. There are 8-10,000 Osprey pairs in the Chesapeake Bay Area of the US alone. Imagine. There are 5000 nesting pairs in Florida. So, what do they use? Ospreys have adapted to use human-made structures because there are not enough good trees. In fact, this is becoming a serious problem for Bald Eagles. One human-made structure that Ospreys use are the hydro or power poles. The power companies don’t like this. They try to kick them off. It is, in fact, easy for the power companies to add an auxiliary appendage or put up an additional pole for the birds. But it takes time, employees, and money – something the companies either don’t have or don’t want to use. So when you see a power company that actually helps the ospreys, thank them! Poole is trying to find ways to get the power companies on board. In Florida, a lot of ospreys are using cell towers. So far, there has not been a problem. Of those 8-10,000 pairs in the Chesapeake Bay region, 20-30% use channel markers. The Coast Guard needs an award, according to Poole, because they allow the birds to have their nests there as long as they do not interfere with the markers. Some people put up very short poles with predator guards in salt marshes. It was pointed out that salt marshes might be a good place to try and locate some of the birds. In Finland, there are very few suitable trees for the ospreys, so the Finns cut off the top of the conifer trees and put up human-made platforms for them. It is brilliant. This could be done for the eagles and ospreys in various parts of North America, too. In the UK, we know that artificial platforms are being built, which is also happening in France.

Restoring Osprey Populations: Poole calls Ospreys “the stay-at-home birds”. Most of the time they stay within a region around the nest where they fledged. We know that this is especially true for the males. But this behaviour causes issues with overpopulation, especially where there is a lack of fish, bad storms, etc. So what do you do? You try to relocate some of the population to places without food and birds. The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation is well known in England for translocating ospreys to places like Italy, Spain, and the UK. Poole mentioned that Massachusetts ospreys are now being flown to Illinois to try and get them to populate along the Mississippi Flyway. If you move ospreys where you want them, you must provide them with nesting platforms. This is imperative. Switzerland is currently trying to reintroduce the raptors. They have released 50 young in the last five years. Starting a breeding population in a new area takes at least a decade.

There was a slight move off topic before looking at streaming cams but it was an important one – one of the most important in my mind. That is getting people knowledgeable about the history, the persecution of ospreys, their behaviour, what makes me different from other birds, etc. Poole noted that various places have set up visitor centres where people can watch the ospreys on a monitor or at hides. One is Loch Garten in Scotland, which had 2 million visitors look at their birds. These visitors paid to see the raptors. In Finland, the visitor centre, which is quite small compared to Loch Garten, had enough visitors that it paid for all of the Osprey research. One way to create awareness is through education. Tim Mackrill was not mentioned, but he has set up the Osprey Leadership Foundation and, like Sacha Dench and The Flight of the Osprey, they have forged links between individuals in the UK and West Africa. It is fundamental to have the youngsters in both countries (their parents and teachers) appreciate the birds they share. Poole also noted that some places have fairs and events and there are osprey mascots to encourage interest.

The last topic was streaming cams, and I felt that while quite knowledgeable, Poole knew less about the current number of streaming cams and the amount of research that is going on using them. Perhaps I am wrong. He suggested that one way to understand the ‘fish problem’ was to monitor the fish species brought to a nest, the number, how those fish were divided up in terms of feeding the little ospreys, etc. ——– I sighed because I knew that so many of you have counted the fish, the bites, have cried, pulled your hair out, etc at many of the nests including Achieva and Patchogue – just two examples from 2023. Citizen scientists are doing it every day. Your work – meaning each of you -needs to find a way to channel itself to the researchers who need more time, the funds, or the staff to monitor enough nests. I know this from personal experience. Various other species have individuals watching, and we now have observation boards set up at several Osprey cam sites thanks to Bart Molenaar. I can think of three he has established – Rutland Manton Bay, Seaside, and Port Lincoln. Every aspect of the life of the nest was recorded through observations and the chat. It’s a really valuable archive.

At Loch of the Lowes, Blue NC0 is eating well and working on her nest. She awaits the arrival of Laddie, her mate (LM12).

At Achieva Credit Union’s osprey platform in St Petersburg, Florida, Jack brought in a nice fish and Diane gently fed the wee babe often. Jack was also kept busy being security guard for the nest.

Dad was so excited. ‘MP’ observed Dad listening and walking around Diane. Part of the shell was out from under Mum, but the little one was still partially in the shell, with Mum being very secretive. You could tell Dad was quite happy to have a wee babe in that nest.

Mary Kerr put in some interesting notes about Maya and Blue 33 on FB today. As you know, Maya arrived a couple of days ago with Blue 33 returning Wednesday on Rutland’s Manton Bay platform. On Thursday, Blue 25 came to the nest and Maya sent her packing.

Blue 25 does cause some mischief. However, Geemeff reminds me that she is the mother of Blue 4K, the subject of Simon Curtis’s book, If you build it, he will come, the story of waiting 200 years to have ospreys at Belvoir.

First Osprey sighting at Forsythe! Thanks, ‘H’,

Was there an Osprey at Patchogue? There was!!!!!!!! They have a lot of work to do but thankfully much of the harmful debris is ‘under’ the nest.

It is extremely difficult to watch the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta today because he wind was really whipping it about. The majority of the time I could only see two heads getting fed. That said right after 1106 you can see the blur of the third and it appears to have eaten.

That 1106 feeding.

Others.

There is plenty of food and Thunder and Akecheta are experienced adults.

Dixie and Mason are scooting all over the Superbeaks nest. It won’t be long til they are walking on those big clown feet.

The kids at Johnson City are both eating well. Boone has lots of fish in the nest and Jolene is a great Mum to these two.

Leaper and Jersey both had crops at Duke Farms today. At one point, Leaper was so full she looked like she would burst!

Swampy and Blaze are huge compared to these bobbleheads.

At Captiva, Cal flew off the nest on Wednesday. He flew around the area constantly observed by Clive and Connie. Today, he flew back to his natal nest. Well done, Cal!

Nothing like a lot of flying to make you want to go home to your bed and sleep duckling style.

Ron brought R6 a fish in the early afternoon. So cute. R6 had been working his wings Thursday morning. Not ready for fledge yet and still working on the self-feeding. No hurry, R6.

A lot of people thought E23 had fledged but he was up above the camera on Thursday. He could fly anytime!

Caught Gabby at the NE Florida nest today. She’s a beauty. We adore her and I am so glad that her and Beau are so bonded. Next year!

Chase and Cholyn’s only egg at Two Harbours was laid on February 22nd, making itay. In a fortnight, we should be expecting a pip/hatch on March 28th. 22 days old todMark your calendars.

Liberty and Guardian had three eggs. One was broken in the nest and it is unknown which of the three was lost. Those eggs were laid on Feb 15, 18, and 21. That would make them: Egg #1, 29 days, #2 26 days, and #3 would be 23 days old. We have at least a week to find out if egg #1 is alright.

It is now officially confirmed that Frederick and Betsy are back at the Carova Beach, North Carolina Outerbanks Osprey platform. — Don’t get me started. Look at those plastic carrier bags on the nest and around the foot of one of the adults!

I thought Annie might be ready to lay her first egg today. She was napping in the scrape when Archie, Daddy Door-Dash, came in with dinner.

There are currently three Peregrine Falcon eggs at the scrape in Eden, Netherlands. The third was laid on the 13th of March.

Waiting for Duke and Daisy to return to Barnegat Light in New Jersey. The couple lost 2 out of 3 chicks to starvation/siblicide during the Nor’easter of June 2023 and it was feared, for some time, that Duke might have died also. His return some weeks later was such a great relief for everyone.

Lucy was on the Lake Murray platform on Thursday.

Did Spirit visit her natal nest at Big Bear on Thursday? Cali Condor thinks it could have been her.

I am so looking forward to the Cornell RTH season. Big Red and Arthur were both checking and tweaking the nest and spending time on the light stand. Eggs could come any time.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Remember to go outside and smell spring! It will lift your spirits more than you ever will know. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, presentations, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, MP’, Alan Poole, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Achieva Credit Union, Mary Kerr, LRWT, Forsythe Osprey Cam, PSEG, IWS/Explore.org, Superbeaks, Johnson City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Eagle Country, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, FORE, Carova Beach Osprey Cam, SK Hideaways, EDE Peregrine Falcon Cam, Lake Murray Ospreys, and Cali Condor.

Hatch at Achieva…Blue 33 is home…Thursday in Bird World

14 March 2024

Good Morning,

It’s damp and grey but warming up on the Canadian Prairies. I hear that Melbourne got some much-needed rain and cooled off as well. After wishing for winter I am now hoping spring is on its way. There are certainly more and more Canada Geese flying overhead, thinking their timing is right, and the garden centres are encouraging people to get their orders in for late May planting. I am already dreaming about the trees that will arrive and considering getting another one or two very large older trees to add to the mix to benefit the birds and squirrels now.

Latest news: Bravo to those who believed that the third egg at Achieva was laid the morning of the 8th – ‘MP and H’ you were so observant! That third egg hatched today so there will be one little one for Jack and Dianne this year. That is a good thing as far as I am concerned! Jack seemed delighted when he found out.

There is also a second egg at White Rock and one of the Port Tobacco eggs has broken. No embryo seen in that egg.

Missey wishes everyone a wonderful day!

I listened to Dr Alan Poole’s talk on Wednesday. There were four areas that he concentrated on. I will only mention one today and go on to the others tomorrow as I want to find some images. One big problem for Ospreys is food, and their only food is fish. They are the only raptor that exists solely on fish. Poole went directly to the Manhaden ‘problem’. The overfishing of Manhaden in the Chesapeake Bay Area resulted in only three young being produced out of 100 nests last year. Indeed, many ospreys have stopped reproducing. Poole noted that the ‘bottom fell out of Osprey population growth’ in the mid-1990s in the Chesapeake Bay Area due to overfishing. According to Dr Poole, one large net taken by a boat could feed 10,000 ospreys. The Chinese are raising havoc in West Africa, where the UK and European osprey winter. They are given commercial fishing licenses because they provide funds to the various governments of West Africa. The wintering ospreys depend on these fish.


The locals also fish, but that was never an issue for the ospreys. It is the large commercial vessels that use huge nets. They pick up the surface schooling fish that the ospreys like, such as Mullet. Guess where that fish goes? TO FEED CHICKENS AND FARMED SALMON FOR GROCERY STORES. Did you know that most Ospreys die due to being shot by people running fish farms? This is happening at all fish farms, but ospreys are being wiped out in Poland because of the shooting and in various areas of Central and South America. Poole maintains that more ospreys die at fish farms than by any other cause. I have campaigned against the eating of tuna, and now, please avoid farmed salmon. Put the large trawlers out of business. Just stop. We don’t need to eat salmon!

The other three topics were Problem Nests, Restoring Osprey Populations, and using Streaming Cameras for research. I will cover those tomorrow with some comments of my own. Most of us are aware of the overfishing problem and the storms that hit the Northeast US in 2023. Indeed, I am certain that many of you were overwhelmed with the loss of both adults and nestlings, just as I was.

There was a lot of news in Bird World on Wednesday. First, Cal fledged from the Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Connie and Clive in Florida, if you missed it. Lori Covert has said, “​I have spotted Cal flying around several times this afternoon. He seems to be doing well! Connie and Clive are both staying nearby as well! Clive is just a few trees away, and Connie is on top of the watch tower of the beach home across the street, keeping a very close eye on Cal!” Well, that is good news.

The other great news is that Blue 33, Maya’s mate at Rutland Manton Bay, returned home to find his gal fixing up their nest on Wednesday afternoon. Edie lays her second egg at the Captiva Osprey nest as I write this. Thanks, ‘H’!

I suspect that the bobbleheads at the West End are bonking away. Thunder will put an end to it by sitting on them. I am having some big worries Some about the third hatch there. We will wait and see. The nest is certainly different in configuration than when they raised the Three Amigos. This nest cup is small – a real estate agent would call it ‘cosy’.

Tears for Maya and Blue 33. After the Bald Eagle season in the US, there needed to be some gold glimmering down. Blue 33 lands and looks around for his lady.

Maya touches down with a fish at 1536, less than a minute later. She opts not to share.

Oh, he is handsome with those devilish eyes! What a grand provider. These two make a great super osprey team. In 2023, Blue 33 arrived home on the 16th of March and had a bit of friendliness with Blue25 before Maya sent her packing. He is three days earlier in 2024.

Blue NCO works on the nest and scans the skies for the arrival of her mate, Laddie LM12 at Loch of the Lowes.

A pair of gulls decided to rest on the Llyn Brenig Osprey platform in Wales during the rain on Wednesday. In 2023, LJ2 arrived on 31 March with LM6 arriving on 4 April.

It was a beautiful day at Loch Arkaig. Not looking for Louis or Dorcha to arrive yet. In 2023, they set down on 2 April (Louis) and a week later on the 9th Dorcha flew in.

At Poole Harbour, Blue 022 arrived on 26 March with CJ7 returning on 31 March in 2023. Let’s see if this couple arrive early!

The area around Glaslyn is still partially flooded from all the rain they have been having. The cam operator gives almost a 360 view. You can hear the rain hitting the camera! Aran and Elen arrived at the nest on the 3rd of April in 2023.

At the Dyfi nest in Wales, Idris came home on 30 March with Blue 3J Telyn arriving three days earlier on the 27th. We know that Blue 5F Seren has left West Africa. She is always on her same post and has not been seen for about a week. Seren arrived home on 25 March in 2023 with Dylan arriving at Llyn Clywedog on the 27th of March.

There has been some commotion at the Dahlgren nest in the US. Some believed that the bird that had landed on Tuesday was Harriet. Some of us did not think that was the case based on a very close inspection of the head and breast feathers. Today there are three on the nest and what a bit of a fight it was! I guess we wait to see who the resident female will be.

Checking on Eagle Country, Blaze came in with a nice fish for Meadow and Swampy. Meadow did a lot of snatch and grab moving over to protect its head from Swampy. It was interesting to watch. These two have almost completed getting their juvenile feathers.

At SW Florida, E23 is ready to fly. Mum has been filling her baby up today. It felt like every time, he got high in the tree, a prey item was brought to the nest.

It is mostly cloudy in Fort Myers and hot at 28 degrees C. I cannot see any rai he got higher in forecast. That first flight—the fledge—could come this evening.

At the JB Sands Wetlands Eagle nest, JBS20 got a lesson in plucking today. What a magnificent eaglet – huge! Are you thinking a female, too? Look at those legs. My goodness.

I am not even going to speculate as to who ate what and when at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. There is plenty of fish thanks to Dad. That nest cup is small. I am going to give it a few days to make sure I am seeing three beaks open and being filled.

Trudi Kron got this great montage for us of the triplets at the West End.

At Duke Farms, Jersey did stretch its neck to get some nice fish. Both Jersey and Leaper were fed. Both look fine to me, but when the parents were both off the nest, the oldest decided for no reason to tear into the younger sibling.

At Bluff City, both eaglets, Willow and Oliver, had a rabbit breakfast. There was at least one other feeding before 1300 and it looks like Oliver was the only one that ate.

Many are wondering if Jackie and Shadow will have a second clutch. Eagles are only fertile three times a year and for Jackie, the latest this would be is probably April. In order to lay that second clutch, she would have to stop incubating the three eggs in the nest currently.

A trusted observer believes the third egg at Achieva was laid late on the 7th or early on the 8th. If this is the case, the egg is 35 days old today. We should be looking for a pip starting Friday. The egg will be 40 days old on Tuesday and that would mean it is unviable like eggs 1 and 2.

‘M’ tells me that the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey platform now has three eggs. Thank you and congratulations. I missed it! This is why I need everyone’s eyes!!!!!!

Here is the link to the VGCCO Cam:

Big Red and Arthur were at the Cornell RTH nest today. Arthur bringing in materials and Big Red also bringing in bark. Arthur also brought a prey gift and Big Red put down her nesting materials and took off for a late breakfast. Gosh that egg cup is deep this year!

Lots of mating and nest preparation going on with Angel and Tom, too.

A rare Black-beaked Spoonbill shows up in Hong Kong! There are believed to be fewer than 6000 in existence.

Birdwatch-rare-black-faced-spoonbill-turns-up-in-Hong-Kong-wetland-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Ever seen the sky dancing of the Buzzard when mating? Enjoy this quick read.

Country-diary-Breeding-buzzards-in-a-stylish-choreographed-dance-Environment-The-GuardianDownload

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, M’, Achieva Credit Union, Alan Poole, Window to Wildlife, Erica Crowley, Lori Covert, LRTWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Llyn Brenig, The Woodland Trust (Loch Arkaig), Poole Harbour Osprey Project, Brywd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Eagle Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam, JB Sands Wetlands, IWS/Explore (West End), Trudi Kron, Duke Farms, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH Cam, and Lady Hawk.

Cal fledges…Maya is home…Wednesday in Bird World

13 March 2024

Good Morning,

‘The Girls’ hope that your week has really started off nicely. They are enjoying all the warm weather because it means there is more squirrel and bird activity in the garden. They have a panoramic view and seem to stay out there most daylight hours.

Hugo Yugo was supposed to have her surgery on Friday at noon. It’s been on the calendar for months, but it was a ‘maybe if the vet surgeon has room’ date. So, I am waiting to hear tomorrow to see if there is space on Saturday. We wait. It is a universal problem: too few vets. Clinics are booked months in advance. Those who do reduced-cost work for the rescues take the rescue kittens when they have an open slot only.

Of course, Hugo Yugo needs her eye wipes. We use them several times a day and she still gets those little crusties. She is the loudest. Her meow could be heard in Toronto if they had their windows open! The smallest with the voice that lets you know she wants ‘something’ (normally kitten milk) and the biggest one that never makes a peep. What a group – love them to bits.

Calico does try to get away from Calico Kitty Kitty. Doesn’t she look exasperated and tired?

More Canada Geese are arriving! We can hear them honking over the conservatory as they fly into the city heading for the open water in parts of the river. People have spotted crocus coming up and they are saying that spring is really here. Having seen far too many blizzards around the beginning of May, I remain a little sceptical.

Somehow there always seems to be several small bags of bird seed in my pockets or in the car. These two have flown a long way to find the Duck Pond frozen solid at the zoo. I felt very sorry for them.

I am terribly grateful for the eaglets that we have this year. There have been many failed nests, many new dads, and many missing from major nests. Like so many others, I am grateful for Jackie and Shadow and their comic love in Big Bear. For Gabby and Beau who have had two years without eaglets but continue working on the nest. I hope Scout continues to work out for Bella….and that all the bobbleheads in the nests now fledge and thrive.

Top news of the morning. Cal, the only surviving eaglet of Clive and Connie at Captiva, fledged this morning, Wednesday the 13th of March at 0912. Thanks, ‘H’ for that great incoming news. Congratulations! Please return to the nest!

There is great news coming out of the UK. Blue NCO arrived and went fishing and caught a super Brown Trout on Monday. Another ‘queen of the nests’ arrived today in very good physical shape.

Maya, the favoured osprey to arrive first, arrived second. She appeared on the nest she shares with Blue 33 at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay on Tuesday.

Unringed Maya and Blue 33 are considered to be a super osprey couple. They have successfully raised two clutches of four to fledge and no less than 20 chicks. She had 11 chicks with her previous partner, and at least 5 of them are known to have returned from their migration. Great DNA and luck.

Here is her bio from Rutland Water. Please note that recent hatches and fledges and returns do not seem to appear.

About-the-Rutland-Ospreys-Leicestershire-and-Rutland-Wildlife-TrustDownload

On Monday, the two eaglets at Bluff City, tiny little bundles, were alone. it caused worry amongst watchers. They also did not get dinner until late. Was it intruders? Certainly, the eagles are alerting.

Oliver and Willow continued to enjoy the rabbit that Franklin brought to the nest. Oliver did bonk Willow some, but the little one did manage to get a good feed.

At Johnson City, Jolene has had good control and both of the eaglets have eaten well without a lot of anxiety. ‘J’ wonders when they got so big!

Thunder and Akecheta have high-spirited and healthy eaglets. This year Thunder is 15 years old. She hatched at the Two Harbours nest in 2009. Akecheta is 8 years old and comes from Los Pinos Nest.

I don’t know who said it first but name suggestions for the trio at the West End include: Rock’em, Sock’em, and Good Luck. I laughed til I cried.

The first two hatches are the strong-spirited chicks these two raise. They would rather bonk one another than eat. Do you remember the wonderful job Akecheta did when they had three before? Those triplets grew and thrived under his watchful care, along with Mum, Thunder. They were the 2022 hatches Sky, Ahote, and the group’s female, Kana’kini. I love how Thunder sits on them and stops feeding when they continue to act up. She will have then quiet and lined up to eat before you know it.

Gracie Shepherd caught it – all three at the West End lined up eating nice.

Lady Hawk has a montage of all the bonking battles.

Jak and Audacity continue to hope for a hatch from their single egg at Sauces.

As does Chase and Cholyn, Thunder’s parents, at Two Harbours.

At the Captiva Eagle nest, Cal really wants to spread those wings and fly. Remember that most fledges take place in the early morning or evening. Not on rainy days normally and not when the chick is overly full with a huge crop. There are always exceptions, however.

E23 is a kindred spirit of Cal. He spends more time on the branches, looking out to the wide world, and wants to fly soon. Mamma F23 might want to keep filling her first baby up to the brim to try and get him so heavy he can’t take off! Hopefully, E23 will spend much time at the nest after fledging like M15’s other fledglings with Harriet, so we can enjoy watching him grow into the eagle he will be. (No one has said he is a he…I am going by the length of the mouth in relation to the eye).

Dreaming of flying.

I have not consistently watched the Duke Farms nest. The eaglets are Leaper, the oldest, and Jersey. It looked like they were both fed today. Fingers crossed this continues. Each is using its little wing tips to balance and you will see the two spread the wings as if they want to flap them.

R6 had a nice fish meal around 1100. He is certainly spending a lot of time sitting on the rim of the nest. Branching will come soon enough.

Oh, just look at Swampy and Meadow. They are the richest 90% pure chocolate brown. Beautiful babies…well, not babies anymore. Note that deep chrome yellow colour to their feet. These two are very healthy eaglets! Very healthy.

Latvian White Tail Eagles. Mr H is bringing Milda fish gifts. I get the feeling that eggs will be here soon.

The ladies are fighting over Newman at Spirit Bluff. Lisa and intruder fought in nest box. It was not a pretty sight. Imagine those sweet eyases who do not bonk and then see the fight to the death (sometimes) for a mate and territory.

On Wednesday morning, Big Red and Arthur were actively checking out the nest bowl and the construction going on across Tower Road. We could have eggs anytime!

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. We look forward to having you with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, photographs and screen captures along with the streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, SP’, Geemeff, LRWT, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, IWS/Explore, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Gracie Shepherd, Lady Hawk, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, WRDC, Eagle Country, Biruta Lapa, Helen Matcham, MLizGrindstaff, and Cornell RTH Cam.

Three for Thunder and Akecheta…Tuesday in Bird World

12 March 2024

Hello Everyone,

Oh, my goodness. Monday was one glorious day. Blue skies. +10 temperatures. Happy people everywhere. What more could you ask for? Well, feeding deer and Black-capped Chickadees by hand while, overhead, a skein of 17 Canada Geese were arriving.

Several decades ago, I would be waiting for this arrival in mid-April. Saw one goose in a puddle by a major highway and more deer. Today’s outing certainly boosted the spirits – or as some say here – ‘it sure got the sap running’.

I had to back up as this one kept coming right towards me…I did have a deer once eat part of a wool jacket. It was one of the deer in the park at Nara, Japan, that loved cookies. Many vendors in front of the Todaiji Temple sell the deer’s favourite snacks. They are entirely protected and can even go inside the shops!

Before we go further into Bird World, there is a pip on Monday afternoon in Thunder and Akecheta’s third egg. This little bobble will join two very feisty siblings who know the ropes in that small nest. Wow. Things could get very interesting.

At 0410, Thunder gets rid of the shell from the third hatch! The first two continue to ‘play fight’ while they are trying to be fed. Oh, bless this new one.

As far as I know, there is no pip or hatch at either Two Harbours, Big Bear, or Sauces. I am having, what most people call, a bit of hope-frustration. Not for me, but for these lovely eagle families.

A pile, literally a stack, of new bird books arrived today. One of them is Tim Mackrill’s The Osprey. I will keep you posted as I compare this book with the one he wrote for the RSPB and his PhD thesis at the University of Leicester. Tim is one of the world’s experts on Ospreys. His name is associated with so many reintroductions and it seems that despite having a life, he is always there to help when someone needs it if it involves our beloved fish hawks.

The book that I am most looking forward to reading is one on its way. It is My Summer with Ospreys. A Therapists Journey into Hope, Community, and Healing our Planet.

The one that I am reading is Simon Curtain’s, If you build it, he will come. I lived in the market town of Grantham in Lincolnshire. My two haunts were Belvoir Castle and closer to home, Belton House. The book is the story of the reintroduction of Osprey into the UK after their demise. It specifically tells the tale of 4K, the male Osprey that settled on one of two platforms built at Belvoir raising two chicks in 2022. It is a love story to that singular bird that was the focus of Sacha Dench’s Flight of the Osprey. 4K did not return to breed in 2023. He sadly died on his way home in February 2023 somewhere near Dobire, Guinea.

It is a page-turner when you get to the part where Curtin wonders, after so many years, if 4K will have a mate, lay eggs, and have chicks! His excitement was infectious and Calico and I were up way past our bedtime reading his diary.

Ospreys-make-triumphant-return-as-breeding-pairs-spread-across-UK-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Most everyone who reads my blog knows that I believe nature has the power of healing. I spent at least four days a week outside for numerous hours. I do not wear headphones as I smell the fresh air and walk through familiar paths in the forest. Even though I do this repeatedly, each day is different. There are times that I long to live the life I did when I was twenty, on a small treed average, miles from anyone. Chickens, sheep, Roosevelt the Pig, horses, cows, cats, rabbits, and Guinea Fowl. Sometimes urban spaces ‘get to me’. But living sustainably was a lot of hard work – rewarding but hard, from morning to night. So now the forested areas around the City are my refuge.

Which brings me back to this book. I will keep you posted when it arrives.

Things are really starting to pick up with the Ospreys with reports coming in from near and far.

We discovered that the osprey photographed in San Diego did not originate in Montana. There is a mystery about this bird: the band and the lack of a federal band. The band reads Blue 61. But there is another white line. I am contacting everyone I know who bands Ospreys and has records of them. The news from the federal banding programme takes time. If you know anyone that bands ospreys, ask them if they recognise this band. Notice the line that goes all the way around. It is unique:

That egg at Captiva. It made its way back to the centre of the nest. Jack has delivered a nice fish to Edie and takes a breath. Everything seems fine for now. Lesson learned. Too much bark and objects in a nest can be dangerous for eggs! I am sure glad these two do not like stuffed toys.

‘H’ reports that Jack injured his foot early this morning but he has delivered a fish and seems to be much improved.

At Dahlgren, Jack and Harriet have been reunited.

No matter what happens…we love them.

A lovely video of Jackie and Shadow with those diamonds raining down on Jackie – oh, the bond these two have. I so wished this year had been theirs.

At Berry College, Missey and Pa Berry’s second clutch of eggs was laid on February 17th and 20th. Today, the oldest egg is 24 days. We have 12 days til pip/hatch watch.

My goodness. Francis must be a fast feeder. I blink and she is finished. It looked like the little one did get some nice bites on Monday, regardless, at Bluff City.

There were issues with prey deliveries at both nests – Bluff City and Johnson City on Monday. Franklin brought a garter snake to the nest in Bluff and it was nearly 1700 when Boone brought in a fish.

Kids at Johnson City were a little antsy. They are little to be waiting so long for food to arrive. It was after 1700. They did get a fish dinner.

Check out E23. Goes from the nest to the branch to hovering high in the wind.

Cal is doing some serious hovering, too!

It is hard to see Dixie and Mason the Superbeaks nest. They blend right in with the Spanish Moss. Three weeks old today – Dixie is.

Ron and Rose’s R6 celebrates his 8 week birthday. Check out Heidi Mc’s video for the celebration at this title on YouTube: 3/10/24 Dade County Eagles: Happy 8-Week Birthday, R6 !!

R6 is standing strong on the rails. Wonder when he will get interested in the branches?

Both eaglets at Duke Farms are doing well. Each fed nicely on Monday and the pantry was full.

Swampy and Meadow got a delivery of a huge fish. Both eating well and getting those juvenile feathers with no problems at this time.

Meadow is self-feeding!

I sure miss Diamond and Xavier. Here is the latest news:

Here is that video:

Kielder is preparing for the upcoming season as their ospreys fly home from West Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.

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Are we getting ready for eggs for Rasene and Akacis at their nest in the Kemeri National Park in Latvia? Lots of time spent in that nest on Monday!

The latest from Janet Shaw at Chichester Peregrine Falcons.

Tom and Angel continue to work on their beautiful nest. Pine boughs and pine cones are adding a special touch – and we know that the pine helps to keep insects away!

Black Storks are arriving back in Poland!

No sign of any hatch action at the Achieva Osprey cam. The precise date that the third egg was laid is not known. It is seen on the morning of the 8th of February. If that is the correct date of it being laid, then it is only 34 days old today. Give it a few more days to hatch.

Could Rutland be home to more than Ospreys – like bears and wolves? They are hoping for this type of transformation!

Extravagant-plans-for-Rutland-nature-reserve-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We look forward to having you with us again soon!

Thank you to the following for their comments, posts, photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J’, IWS/Explore, The Guardian, Pamela Lowell, F Borja, Window to Wildlife, Dahlgren Osprey Platform, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, Berry College Eagle Cam, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, WsperWings, Sylvia, Superbeaks, WRDC, Duke Farms, Eagle Country, Holly Parsons, Kielder Ospreys, LDF, Janet Shaw, Arlene Beech, Achieva Credit Union, and BirdGuides.

Jack tries to save the egg at Captiva…Monday in Bird World

11 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Sunday was just the most gorgeous day. Blue sky and a warm +5. Great to get outside as much of that ice is now gone.

It was a great day to go for a walk, weather-wise. When we got to our destination, there were approximately nine deer, several of them quite young, in front of us. Then, an individual with a Golden Doodle let their dog off the lead, instructing them to chase the deer. The dog began barking loudly and running at the wildlife, at which time I stood and spread my arms, and told it to go back. This was not before the deer were quite frightened and began to run across a road in the park that was rather busy today. Now, why on earth would someone do this?

The feeders were busy. There were a couple of Pine Siskins and a Dark-eyed Junco, along with the normal group of sparrows, the two Blue Jays, and a female Downy Woodpecker. The Crows could be heard but not seen. Little Red and more Little Reds were eating peanuts along with Dyson. It is always so good too see her.

Dyson looks good!

Sunday’s news is that Jack and Edie have their first Osprey egg together at Captiva. That egg and all that bark have caused a bit of an issue.

‘H’ reports: “Well, at 14.49.39 both Jack and Edie left urgently due to an intruder, and Edie accidentally kicked the egg out of the bowl when she flew off (that’s exactly what Flo did to egg #1 last season).  Jack had been trying to roll the egg back to the center for a while, and finally had to move some bark, then rolled the egg toward the center by 17.08.38, but the egg was still on top of palm fiber.  Jack sat on the egg to incubate at 17.10.  Then a short while later Jack stood to move a bothersome stick, and since the egg was on the fiber, it rolled outward again.”

The egg rolled out again and ‘H’ reports that Edie is incubating palm fibre with the egg being covered by the material to her right. If they could get that egg under Edie by the time she gets to hard incubation of her other eggs, I wonder if it would be viable.

The saga of the egg continued during the night as Edie and Jack tried desperately to get it back to the middle of the nest. ‘H’ reports that the wind finally took the covering off. Now the egg is free! Wonder what will happen now.

We have a first egg at the Decorah Goose Cam!

Thunder and Akecheta welcomed their second hatch. This makes my heart beat a little lighter. Of all the Channel Islands eagles, these two have the best luck with eggs and raising chicks. They will need it this year. These two are already bonking furiously. Thunder appeared to get fed up with this and went back to brooding the pair.

Thunder makes sure they both get fed. Gosh, these two produce feisty chicks. It is a bonk fest.

Everyone continues to root for Jak and Audacity and Jackie and Shadow. The positive energy and love going their way is tremendous. If only it could produce eaglets.

Audacity.

Jackie.

‘A’ reports on Tom and Angel: “That nest of Angel and Tom’s looks very much ready to receive a brace of eggs (not three yet Angel – Tom is a bit inexperienced still to feed a family of five, I fear).”

The battle for the nest at Dulles-Greenway continues. Rosa’s mate, Martin, disappeared in December. They had raised three eaglets – Pi, Pat, and Flora in 2023 to fledge and the nest collapsed. It was rebuilt. Rosa’s new mate, Lewis, did not help and she quit incubating the two eggs she had laid on the 23rd of February, 9 days after she laid the first egg. Did she just leave? was she killed by another female wanting the nest? Currently, Lewis is on the nest with a new female according to the latest reports. I have now placed Rosa on the Memorial Page for 2024.

Lewis and new female in nest.

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It looks like Swampy and Meadow have a possum to practice their self-feeding. Later, a parent helps them. They are now in training! These two just about gave me a heart attack today when they were both leaning way over the edge of the nest!

E23 wants to fly and is doing really high hover moves.

More fish stacked at the Duke Farms nest. This new dad is fantastic! There has been some concern about Jersey, the smaller eaglet. Leaper is the oldest. Comments on the chat seem to indicate that Jersey has had some good feedings on Sunday.

Very windy at the nest of Jolene and Boone in Johnson City, TN on Sunday. Eaglets are Little John and JC. I have had some concerns here, but that little one came back to eat after some pretty good bonks.

It is not clear how much food the second hatch is getting at Bluff City yet. Yesterday, Franklin made sure that BC 25 was fed. The chicks are Oliver, the oldest, and Willow, the youngest. Their parents are Franklin and Frances.

Isn’t this Osprey beautiful? Frank Borja took it while watching a Saturday track and field meet in San Diego. We are looking for more information. Osprey has a blue colour band on the left leg, with a numeric, either 61 or 19, depending on which way it is to be read. Do you know this osprey number? We are searching and have sent a query to USFWS and reported the band sighting. The osprey looks to be in very good condition with a nice fish dinner.

‘J’ sent news that Ojai is banning glue traps! This is great news if the stops and on line retailers will stop selling them! Despite a ban in my city, I continued to find these for sale in big retail chains.

Sharon Dunne reporting on the TF chick and its visit with Mum.

Love TF chick? His parents? All the other albatross and seabirds? PLEASE stop using plastic. It is bad for humans (you can find endless articles about forever toxins used in plastic), and it is deadly for Royal Albatross chicks whose parents forage in the sea and fill their babies with plastic! What a garbage dump we have created on our planet. It is time to do something about this. Refrain from purchasing plastic items. Do not use plastic in your microwave. Tell your shops to stop buying cheap imported plastic items that are thrown away. Start investing in buying less but better. The world will thank you.

Toroaalbatross-chick-dies-from-swallowing-plastic-Media-release-11-March-2024Download

A National Geographic article on the forever chemicals hiding in your kitchen.

‘Forever-chemicals-are-hiding-in-your-kitchen.-Heres-where—and-what-you-can-doDownload

What Kills An Albatross?

“What kills albatross” by Tatters ✾ is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Milda and Mr H are working fast and hard to get that nest ready for eggs! I am thinking around the 25th.

I honestly cannot get enough of the Port Lincoln Lads hanging out together. This is pretty awesome.

Arthur was working on the Cornell nest for a few minutes before the snow started Sunday evening.

Off he goes over Tower Road.

We love seeing our falcons out and about the urban areas staying safe.

Olivia and Oscar are now both back at Severna Park’s Osprey Platform.

Dr Sharpe has cancelled his retirement. Please note his comment about the build-up of DDT in the older eagles in the Channel Islands – and this would apply to other areas such as Big Bear Lake where DDT was sprayed extensively.

As many as half a million barrels of DDT were discovered leaking in the Channel Islands in 2020. Leaking. Hidden at a depth of 3000 feet so that no one could discover them – the ocean and inlets are garbage dumps used by humans. Out of sight but not out of mind and certainly harming the wildlife.

Imagine. 500,000 barrels. Leaking.

How-the-waters-off-Catalina-became-a-DDT-dumping-ground-Los-Angeles-TimesDownload

We love Jackie and Shadow. Everyone sat and hoped that with three eggs one of them would be viable. As we close in on the final days that egg #3 might be, let us all applaud this couple who have laid 14 eggs together with 5 of those eggs hatching. It is known that 2 or 3 of that 5 have survived into adulthood. One of those most of you will remember as Spirit from two years ago. I hope that Jackie and Shadow will have another opportunity to raise an eaglet, but if they don’t, they can sure teach us much about getting on with life in the face of adversity. Send them your love!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, FB, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, Decorah Goose Cam, IWS/Explore.org, FOBBV, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Loudoun Times-Mirror, Eagle Country, Lady Hawk, Duke Farms, Sylvia, Johnson City-ETSU, Bluff City-ETSU, Rollin’ Rog, Frank Borja, Ojai Raptor Center, Sharon Dunne, NZ DOC, National Geographic, Open Verse, Biruta Lapa, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cornell RTH, Linda McIlroy, Lucille Powell, Dr Sharpe, and The Los Angeles Times.

Sunday in Bird World

10 March 2024

Hi Everyone,

The girls were really enjoying the sunshine and the warmer temperatures on Saturday. Today it is supposed to get up to +5 C – this is going to melt a lot of this beautiful white snow and turn it into muck. Yuck!

You can’t tell it by the two images below, but Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope (now answering to Calico Kitty Kitty) practically tore the surface off of the hardwood today. When they stopped running and climbing over everything, they slept. Calico Kitty Kitty aka Baby Hope was so exhausted she did not mind being Hugo Yugo’s pillow.

Missey continues to find the highest spots in the house to get away from those two. Calico hides.

We are now five days away from Hugo Yugo’s operation. It happens on Friday at noon. Nothing has happened before, but I am always nervous – just like I am about all those baby eaglets on the nests, especially when it rains. There aren’t as many feedings and sometimes the nest stays damp and sometimes the oldest gets to be naughty and worrisome.

Today was the day we were supposed to ‘spring’ up our clocks. If you forgot, go and fix that right now. Some of mine change automatically, and others don’t—mind you, the only clock in the house is on the microwave, the cell phone, and the computer.

It was beautiful on Saturday. The intent had been to go on a sleigh ride—all spaces were booked! The sky was blue, and the snow was white and still fluffy in places. The main roads were clear, butke mine were still full of snow. Spring feels like it is coming again. I felt sorry for those ea side streets lirly-arriving geese. So it was just a long walk. Tomorrow, will be an exploration of a new park if it isn’t too soggy.

In the UK, it is Mother’s Day today. I want to send a big shout-out to anyone who has ever cared for a living, breathing being. Feathery hugs to all those Osprey mothers on their way home to raise a new batch of bonkers and to Blue NCO anxiously awaiting her Laddie.

Proud parents Thunder and Akecheta and their first hatch of the 2024 season.

Both so happy….Thunder loves being a dad.

Jak and Audacity’s egg is intact and we are in hatch range.

20, 504 people were watching Jackie and Shadow around 16:32 Saturday afternoon. You could hear the Ravens. Shadow got off the nest at 13:21:07 and Jackie got on at 13:23:49. Again, Ravens could be heard in the distance. The couple are still hopeful and there is still time. A lot of positive energy is being poured into this nest from around the world.

At Achieva, there appears to be no movement with the eggs yet. The big excitement on Saturday was a visit from a squirrel and a great Egret flying by the nest in the early morning.

The Achieva Osprey platform has always made me anxious. Tiny Tumbles just about did many of us in, and she survived to become big and strong. ‘H’ has been keeping track of the age of the three eggs: Egg # will be 42 days tomorrow. Egg #2 will be 39, Egg #3 will be 36.” It is possible that the first two eggs are not viable. Will three hatch? I wonder. Maybe it is a good year not to have osplets in Florida.

Speaking of early arrivals, Blue NCO is 9 days early. She left early…I wonder if there is a correlation. Blue NCO has been working on the nest and looking for her partner, Laddie LM12. I do worry about him. He was not in great shape at the end of the season last year. I fear that he did not survive migration….but, then again, I thought Blue NCO was dead. So what do I know?

They have removed the bin lid from the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya in anticipation of their arrival on Saturday.

Nest at Llyn Brenig is waiting.

Waiting for Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.

This year, the Alyth SSEN Transmission Substation will be closely watched because of plans to increase its capacity. How will this impact the ospreys?

‘H’ reports that ‘The Boathouse’ is being significantly repaired and renovated since the storms. This is where the ‘Hog Island’ Ospreys have their nest. It should be finished by the time the birds return home from migration.

More…

Bazz Hockaday has been busy photographing the Port Lincoln Osprey family. What a delight it must be for everyone involved in this nest over the years, but especially this year, to see these fledglings hanging out with Mum and Dad and their elder brother, Ervie. There is something to say about having male chicks – they want to stay home!

Swampy and Meadow are fantastic.

Getting those skills for self-feeding.

E23 just wants to get to the top of the nest tree and fly.

Look where Cal is! Oh, he wants to fly just like E23! Some believe that today will be the day.

Johnson City-ETSU looks alright. Yes, the oldest gives some bonks but, for the most part, these two get along. Boone comes in on Saturday and makes sure that the little one gets a good feed.

It’s been raining at Bluff City and there were not a lot of meals today. I wonder how that little one is doing?

It also started raining at Duke Farms, too. I didn’t get a chance to watch this nest much today. Hoping that both got fed well because, despite all the fish on the nest, I didn’t see a lot of feedings.

Archie might like to hunt before dawn but Annie doesn’t seem to like to have her breakfast that early!

We are 8 days away from pip watch for Ellie and Harvey whose nest is on the property of Farmer Derek.

Bonnie and Clyde, the GHOs, are nesting on Farmer Derek’s land. The first egg is 33 days old, and the second egg is 30 days old.The average hatch time is 33-34 days, although the range can be 30-37 days. So guess what? This couple’s aWe are on pip watch!

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia, Canada is celebrating the first egg of the season at the White Rock nest. Congratulations.

What bird is half female and half male?

A green honeycreeper spotted on a farm in Colombia exhibits a rare biological phenomenon known as bilateral gynandromorphism.

This-Bird-Is-Half-Male-Half-Female-and-Completely-Stunning-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Everyone should know that I love condors, vultures, and carrion eaters that help clean up our planet. We should all embrace them, but instead, their numbers are rapidly declining in places where they are considered icons of their country.

These-Birds-Are-National-Symbols-but-Getting-Harder-to-See-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Oh, there is so much happening. This was just a quick look today. We hope you are all well. Please take care. We look forward to having you with us again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today; ‘H, J’, IWS/Explore.org, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), LRWT, Llyn Brenig, Woodland Trust (Loch Arkaig), Alyth SS, Friends of Hog Island, Bazz Hockaday, Eagle Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Johnson City – ETSU, BluffLadey Deeagle55, City-ETSU, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, Farmer Derek Eagle Cam, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and The New York Times.

Blue NCO returns, Hatch at West End…Saturday in Bird World

9 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Goodness me. Things are starting to heat up. By next week, our heads will be spinning. The voting for which streaming cam osprey in the UK would arrive first is now over. The leader was Maya. She was beaten out by the arrival of Blue NCO at Loch of the Lowes. Blue NCO is the mate of Laddie LM12, and I, amongst others, feared that her early departure on July 15th last year meant she was no longer with us. There had been a lot of intruders around the loch. Well, here she is! Not dead but looking really good, back home and ready to begin another season. (Note: Last year she arrived on the 17th of March.)

Laddie cared for the remaining fledgling while having untold issues with intruders last year after NCO’s departure. He seemed exhausted at the end of the season. I hope he makes it back safely.

The video of this happy arrival captured by Geemeff. She looks around to see if Laddie has arrived.

Blue 5F, or Seren, is not on her usual perch in West Africa. She has not been seen for a few days. It is assumed that she is on her way home to Llyn Clywedog to be reunited with Dylan when he arrives.

Mid-afternoon Friday. A hatch is in progress at the West End nest of Akecheta and Thunder! Oh, my gosh. Do you think they will have three eaglets again this year? Something to look forward to after what looks like sadness at BB.

Thunder and Akecheta are hilarious.

They were feeding a chick Saturday morning. Congratulations.

More than 32,000 people were watching Jackie right after 0900 on Friday, hoping, like the rest of us, that one of those last two eggs is viable.

Jak and Audacity’s egg has held. It is 36 days today. Can we start dreaming of a pip?

Just look at how deep that egg cup is at Sauces. I wonder if this is why the egg has stayed intact this year.

New bark at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey platform. No sign of a chick, but Diane isn’t showing us much either!

No sign of a pip later on Friday at Achieva.

As Bella incubates, Scout has proven himself to be a fantastic new mate. He not only incubates and provides food, but he also had to protect Bella from a GHO attack.

Lewis is actively courting the new female at the Dulles-Greenway nest.

Dr Andrew Digby is an expert on Kakapo. He has done several podcasts and this one is really interesting. Have a listen!

https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-t8xag-15a03c1

If you missed it, both of the Royal Cam chicks are males.

If you miss see Brad and Gil on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, rest assured that they are both fine. They are hanging out with Mum and Dad and enjoying learning to fish!

Look are out swimming together – Ervie and Giliath. Just think. All boys. Ervie, Brad, and Gil. They could all hang around Port Lincoln. Wouldn’t that be awesome. Best be finding places for platforms!

I mentioned several days ago that the GHOs had taken over the Wolf Bay Osprey Platform in Alabama. Today, they have two eggs in the nest.

Rosie Shields posted the story from Bird Life South Africa of a phenomenal migration by an Osprey.

I am wondering how extensive and detailed these daily cam updates will be.

Daily-Cam-Updates-Now-Available-On-Mastodon-Cornell-Lab-Bird-Cams-Cornell-Lab-Bird-CamsDownload

The US Ospreys are arriving faster than I can enter all of the data into my research forms. Lucy arrived at Lake Murray on the 25th of February, Frederick arrived at Carova Beach on 1 March with his mate Betsie arriving on Friday the 8th. Jack appears to gotten to his Dahlgren Nest on Friday the 8th while the couple at Danville arrived on the 7th.

Jack at Dahlgren. Just wonder what toys he will bring to Harriet this year. I really hope none. Those poor eggs that have gotten lost in that nest and the potential for chicks to get entangled in those ‘stuffies’ drives me daffy.

I expect more flurries of arrivals in the US, UK, and Europe this coming week. If you are watching an Osprey nest and see birds arriving, please write to me and let me know so I can put in the correct data in the ongoing International Osprey Data Bank Project. Feel free to add this as a comment (I am behind in answering and apologise) or send me an e-mail at maryannsteggles@icloud.com. I appreciate all of the information sent to me. Anyone who watches a specific nest – one of your favourites – consistently, please alert me to hatches, fledges, and any possible siblicide. Again, I am very thankful for all of your ‘Osprey eyes’. ‘H’ and I could not complete this ongoing and extensive research project on siblicide and, now, more generally, causes of death on Osprey nests without your help. Thank you.

Have you ever heard a million cranes gathered during migration?

Turning back to the eagles for a minute. Swampy has that Buddha-like stance today. Few dandelions left on the top of his/her head. Gosh, these eaglets of Abby and Blaze are big.

Quite the expressions.

The Dukies seem to be doing fine. Nice big chunks of fish on that nest at Duke Farms.

Things seem to be alright at Johnson City with Jolene and Boone and their two eaglets.

There are two at Bluff City, and they are cute and tiny. Congratulations, Franklin and Frances, on your second successful hatch for 2024.

At Captiva, Cal wasn’t going to let Clive (I think it’s Clive) steal his fish. Oh, no! Any pretence of aerating the nest to get closer to that fish caused Cal to grab it and take it to the rails for a meal. — It is hard to train a single eaglet to protect their food. As we all know, it is very different when two eaglets are on the nest the age of Cal and a fish arrives. They fight for it like they will have to do in the wild. So we have all these single eaglets this year needing parents to get ‘tough’.

Look how Dad creeps up on Cal…

‘H’ reports that Ron and Rose are working on R6’s self feeding. “R6 had a very good experience self-feeding on 3/8.  He had nothing to eat all day except a few bites of a leftover squirrel, then at 1805 Ron delivered a headless bluegill.  R6 grabbed the fish and mantled, so Ron left him to it.  R6 was doing a much better job of pulling and tearing off pieces of fish.  Then, as a test, Ron returned at 1817 and tried to steal R6’s fish.  Ron briefly had the fish but R6 put up a good fight.  He bit his Dad on the talon, took the fish back and dragged it over to the other side of the nest where he continued to eat.  He couldn’t finish it all, so he still had some fish saved for breakfast.   R6 woke up in the middle of the night (0230ish) and began to eat from the fish piece again!”

JBS20 has been pecking at the nest as if looking for leftover fish. Mum was on the nest with her eaglet and Dad was seen there, too. I am unclear who did the feeding at 1700.

Gabby and Beau are protecting their nest. They were caught mating on another tree today. How nice it is to see them together after their clutch failed this year. We have something to look forward to for next year.

Tula, the White-tailed Polish Eagle, has laid her first egg for the 2024 season.

White Tailed Eagle Nest Cam

Roof Sealant. Another potential bird killer.

Gorgeous sunset over the Sandpoint Osprey platform.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Tomorrow, Saturday the 9th, promises to be another day for Osprey arrivals! We will also have some new eaglets in the US. We might even have an osplet at Achieva. Time will tell. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post: ‘EJ, Geemeff, H, J’, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Mary Kerr, Geemeff, John Williams, IWS/Explore.org, Tonya in N.O., FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Deb Stecyk, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Sharon Dunne, Bazz Hockaday, PLO, Wolf Bay, Rosie Shields, All About Birds, Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Explore, Eagle Country, Duke Farms, Rollin’ Rog, Johnson City-ETSU, Bluff City-ETSU, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, JB Sands Wetlands, NEFL-AEF, Wildcat Creek Wildlife Centre, SPO, and Sandpoint Ospreys.

Hatch at Bluff City…Thursday in Bird World

7 March 2024

Good Morning,

It is 1747 on the Canadian Prairies and we have been in the midst of a blizzard for five hours now. We got all of the donations to the kitten charity and rushed home. Thank you so much for your wishes on bountiful donations. People are generous and it is a good time since many are doing some spring cleaning. I feel so sorry for those people who cannot keep their pets because they cannot afford to feed them.

The wind was really gusting. The snow had piled in where ‘The Boyfriend’ and other feral find their food. There were no birds in the garden and the squirrels had completely disappeared to their dreys or tree homes.

The girls were all asleep. As for me, I was glad to get off the City streets as they got slicker and the wind picked up to the point that in places you could not see. As Dorothy says, ‘There is no place like home!’ When I did look at the kitties, I was drawn to Calico who, this time last year, would have endured several big storms. I am so glad this gentle soul (she is except for the ongoing snit with Missey) is inside this year, safe and warm.

There is no news coming out of Big Bear Valley about a pip that I have seen. Indeed, despite the good response to the auction, I have been rather muted and sad today. It is unrealistic, but I wish an ‘Eagle Egg Fairy’ existed. Or someone who had an orphan eagle that needed two great parents. If they could drop that little one into the Big Bear nest, Jackie and Shadow would be elated. That eaglet, like Calico, would have won the ‘so-called lottery’ – a home with loving parents and food. On the other hand, I would love it if that third egg would hatch for Jackie and Shadow. I feel like I am losing hope. The impact of DDT has been horrific on wildlife decades later.

The camera isn’t even going in close. Feeling gutted for them. Egg 1 is 42 days old and I presume it to be non-viable. Egg 2 is 39 days old. Has it begun pipping? No visible pips seen. Egg 3 is 36 days old. Please send positive wishes for that egg to be viable for these two so hopeful eagles.

Jak and Audacity’s single egg clutch looks good. But will that egg be fertile? Oh, please.

Still waiting at Achieva, also.

No eggs, but Milda and her new mate are working on their nest in Latvia. I am expecting eggs right before the end of March.

Red Wing captures all the drama at the Spirit Bluff Peregrine Falcon scrape – who will Newman choose?

It is always a relief when a mate returns from migration. It is always a heart ache when they do not.

Rosie has been home for a few days and Richmond is bringing in the fish gifts.

Annie and Archie are fine. Starling is on the menu.

We are on a countdown for the UK returnees as well as those in Europe – all of the migrating birds, including the storks and ospreys.

Observers of the JB Sands Wetlands Bald Eagle nest report that Mum’s leg appears to be slowly healing. She is not missing. She was on top of the tower and flew down and took a fish from Dad and even fed the eaglet. Dad fed the eaglet as well. It was quite the scene with the live fish. thank you ‘MP’ for this encouraging report! That eaglet is big and is really feeling its wings, too!

Rainy at Duke Farms. Mum fed the eaglets, but less close in feedings than you might have seen at some of the other eagle nests with little ones. It seems to have gotten wetter throughout the day.

The Duckies seem fine.

My dear friend, the late Phyllis Robbins, who loved the Sea Eagles in Sydney also loved Eagle Country. I have to say that at the beginning of this season I really worried for Meadow. Well, just look at Swampy and Meadow today. Abby and Blaze are incredible parents. Despite their age and size, those two eaglets are being constantly fed. They are so well provided for that this eagle nest has quickly become one of my favourites, too.

As the rain came, Swampy and Meadow got a little wet. No problem. They have their thick thermal down and their juvenile feathers are coming in. The little ones like those at Duke Farms must stay dry.

The little ones of Jolene and Boone at Johnson City-ETSU did get wet on Wednesday. I really hope that they do not get a chill. They have to eat and it is difficult for the adults to feed them without them getting some rain.

Close by at the other ETSU Bald Eagle nest at Bluff City, Franklin and Frances have a pip, and it is raining.

And they have a hatch! It is BC24.

At Ron and Rose’s WRDC nest, R6 attempted to eat some fish that Rose had left on the nest. He did manage to get some of it. Unlike Cal, R6 seems to be behind in his self-feeding.

At the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana, Dad’s new mate has been named Gigi.

While all the attention was the on the death of Flaco, another owl, this time an Eastern Screech Owl, died. The little one had been an ambassador for 15 years at the Raptor Centre in St. Paul, Minnesota. Unlike Flaco, who could fly and hunt, Warner suffered from lack of vision caused by an early head trauma. She spent 15 years educating people about owls.

This is news from the 5th of March. Sorry for the delay in birthday greetings to two very special Kakapo.

Nothing needs to be said anymore about the trauma and death caused by fishing line. We need to clean up our act if we fish.

I never saw one when I was growing up in Oklahoma, but these lucky birders were so fortunate to see this leucitic Red-tail Hawk there! She is even whiter than Angel.

A-white-Red-tailed-Hawk-from-Oklahoma-–-Red-tailed-Hawk-ProjectDownload

Over 400,000 songbirds were trapped in Cyprus so people could eat a delicacy. This really makes me ill. Can it be stopped? And in what other countries is this happening?

More-than-400000-songbirds-killed-by-organised-crime-in-Cyprus-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

There are many birds that actually winter in the UK. They are now preparing to migrate back to their spring and summer breeding grounds in the far north. Let us all hope that they are not trapped somewhere, but make it home safely.

Country-diary-The-sound-of-water-up-in-the-trees-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Your feel good moment. An osprey in care for 10 days for a soft tissue injury is freed! Remember – some people said ospreys do not do well in care. Others said not to supplement their feeding and look what happened positively at Port Lincoln! So smile…they do well in care most of the time like any animal.

Thank you so much for being with me today as we sit on our hands waiting for several pips or hatches. It’s not easy, especially when they are Jackie, Shadow, Jak, and Audacity.

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, screen captures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘J, MP’, FOBBV, IWS/Explore.org, Achieva Credit Union, Heidi McGrue, Latvian Fund for Nature, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, SK Hideaways, Lucille Powell, JB Sands Wetlands, Duke Farms, Eagle Country, Johnson City-ETSU, Bluff City-ETSU, WRDC, ND-LEEF, The Raptor Centre, Kakapo Recovery, Lin Lawson, The Red-tailed Hawk Project, The Guardian, and Wild Florida Rescue.

Waiting for pips…Wednesday in Bird World

6 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, it is a beautiful blue sky sunny afternoon on the Canadian Prairies. The white snow from the other day is glistening. It looks like diamonds have been scattered everywhere. It is a little chilly today at -8 C but is warming up to +5 tomorrow or the next day. This means we come back to the icky beige puddles from the salt and sand they use on the roads.

It feels like spring, though. You might recall that we had one little red squirrel living in the garden shed, and he found a friend. Today, a brief count indicated that there are now four red squirrels. Unfortunately, they live in the tree across the lane on the property of a not-so-gentleman who doesn’t like squirrels because they chatter. How many there will be at the beginning of the summer? Somehow, I doubt that they are either all male or all female!

Hugo Yugo is ‘wild’ this morning. She had her ‘jet pack’ on and wanted to play fight with everyone!

Missey tried to stay out of the way.

Baby Hope and Hugo Yugo ran from one end of the house to the other play fighting in every room.

Calico was so happy she was out of their path! These two did not stop for over an hour!

Baiba caught what appears to be at least one pip. I am ever so hopeful. The one egg with the arrow pointing at the crack that came also seemed to have other cracks on the opposite side. As far as I know, at the time of writing this, FOBBV has not called a pip.

These are the ages of the eggs, and from this, it appears that egg 1 is not viable unless it is the one that is pipping. Egg 1 day 41, egg 2 is 38 days, and egg 3 is 35 days.

The view of the eggs Wednesday morning.

Waiting at Achieva. There are three eggs – one really blends in with the nesting material and is hard to see.

It is a beautiful day at Sauces Canyon. One precious egg set to be ready for pip watch on Saturday the 9th of March. It was laid on 2 February.

The West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta also has an egg laid on the 2nd of February. Could we have a hatch at both nests on the same day?

Swampy and Meadow are fantastic. Getting those beautiful dark, dark espresso feathers on top of that soft charcoal grey thermal down. Just look at that grey fluff being hidden by the incoming feathers. Of course, these two are itchy!

At the Johnson City ETSU nest there is bunny and fish on the menu. Maybe some other surprises hidden in that nesting by Jolene. These two little bobbleheads are not going hungry!

There was rain at Duke Farms. Mum kept the kiddos warm and dry feeding them quickly when there was a break. Lots of nice fish on the nest. These two bobbleheads seem to be doing just fine.

At the Captiva nest, Cal is quite a bit larger than those little bobbleheads above. Ready to fledge, but loving having the adults feed him and I am certain they enjoy it too. He should be around for a month after fledge to get those wings strong and learn how to hunt from Mum and Dad.

Window to Wildlife is hosting a fundraiser to replace the current camera at the Captiva eagle nest and to create a memorial at the base of the tree for Joe, Hope and Peace, and Lusa. Information on the merch that is up for the fundraising is below in a link on the streaming cam. There are various mugs and a mousepad available. Here is an example:

We know that Pepe and Muhlady are feeding eaglets, but we sure can’t see them! And we have no idea if there is one or two! There should be two. I really dislike not having that overhead camera for this nest!

The eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands is huge! Look carefully. The adult has been feeding the eaglet periodically throughout the day. I presume this is Dad. If a parent is injured or dies – which is always so sad – it is better that the eaglet/s is/are older so that a single parent can care for them.

E23 is dreaming about flying.

US Steel eagle nest of Clair and Irwin now has 4 cameras!

Video of that third egg for Claire and Irwin that was laid on the 5th of March.

Three eggs for Scout and Bella.

Rosie is always beautiful. Looks so rested from her winter vacation.

Big Red was testing out the egg cup on Tuesday! We could be within a week of the first eggs for her and Arthur to kick off the Red-tail Hawk season.

Tom and Angel were both seen working on their nest today in Tennessee.

Peregrine Falcons hatching in Japan. Spring and the cherry blossoms are arriving along with these little ones.

Field notes on Florida’s Bald Eagle season from Audubon Birds of Prey:

2023-24-Bald-Eagle-Nesting-Season-Notes-from-the-Field-Audubon-Center-for-Birds-of-PreyDownload

Oh, this is precisely the type of action that we have been calling for. As my friend ‘R’ says who gifted me this article, ‘For years, officials asked people to crush invasive spotted lantern flies. But as the pest continues to spread, some researchers say it’s time to send in the birds.’ Let’s add to that – send in the raptors to get rid of the mice! No toxic poisons required.

How-birds-can-help-in-the-fight-to-kill-invasive-spotted-lantern-flies-The-Washington-PostDownload

Water is essential for life, and it is imperative for migratory birds, especially shorebirds and waterfowl. Lake Abert in Oregon USA is only one area that is drying up and will have major consequences for several species. Lakes, rivers, and wetlands are important to every living thing.

‘On-a-razors-edge-migratory-birds-rely-on-this-salt-lake-–-but-its-dying-Conservation-The-GuDownload
Environment-and-Climate-Change-Province-of-ManitobaDownload

Droughts in other areas such as China in 2022 have caused populations to significantly decrease.

How-the-Poyang-Lake-drought-is-affecting-migratory-birdsDownload

Audubon was discussing the fate of waterfowl and humans in 2019 with the following article.

Diminishing-Lakes-Pose-Serious-Consequences-for-Communities-Livelihoods-and-Wildlife-AudubonDownload

I often get upset at the thought of duck hunting. As my friend ‘R’ has pointed out, sometimes we must partner up with others on the opposite side to protect our beloved feathered friends. In Canada, Ducks Unlimited is increasing the area of wetlands. They do a wonderful job regarding environmental education at Oak Hammock Marsh, near where I live. They also hunt ducks. The important thing is that they want duck numbers to increase, and by protecting and enlarging the wetland areas, it is also good for other waterfowl such as Canada Geese, Plovers, Great and Lesser Yellow Legs, Swans, etc. Perhaps, one day, we will only shoot ducks with our cameras.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘B, J, R’, Baiba, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, IWS/Explore.org, Eagle Country, Johnson City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, JB Sands Wetlands, SW Florida, PIX Cams, Deb Stecyk, SF Bay Ospreys, Cornell RTH, JPN PF, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, The Washington Post, The Guardian, MB Government, China Dialogue, and Audubon.