Right now it is 16:20 Tuesday afternoon in the NEFlorida Eagle Cam and V3 is in the nest on full alert! I have heard such speculation about him ‘not being up to the job’ (maybe he isn’t), but Gabby and him sure make a good tea and he risks his life to protect their territory like any bonded mate would. Welcome home. Tears flowing.
V3 and Gabby were at the nest tree and on high alert Wednesday morning.
Now for other news. Tuesday was the glorious day that was promised. The wind was a little nippy, but to be outside in the fresh air, to turn the heating off, and to clear the deck by pushing and not lifting the shovel is a blessing.
I went to the zoo. The purpose was to see the Snowy Owls and the Stellar’s Eagle. I will not tell you what I said quietly in my head after I paid the entrance fee. All I will say is I wonder how families can afford to go to the zoo! But never mind…the Snowy Owls were ‘somewhere’ not to be seen. The road to the Stellar’s Eagle enclosure was blocked for tree trimming. I won’t give it 5 stars for a great day, but I sure did get that long walk in.
The birds in the Toucan Building were lovely. The Roseate Spoonbills were high on the ledges preening. The Toucan had posed for a group of school children and was ready for a break…some of the ducks were bothering one another.
Eurasian Reindeer – the kind that are found in Lapland.
There were several Emu. Australian Birds. They are the second largest bird after the Ostrich. They cannot fly. They have two sets of eyelids – one for blinking and the other for keeping dust and other particles out of their eyes.
A beautiful Reeve Pheasant.
This is an Inukshuk. “The word “inukshuk” means “in the likeness of a human.” For generations, Inuit have been creating these impressive stone markers on the vast Arctic landscape. Inukshuks serve several functions, including guiding travellers, warning of danger, assisting hunters and marking places of reverence.”
At home, Hope and Missey have been playing on the large cat tree.
I am a little worried about Calico. She is on the waiting list to get in to see the vet. She is just not herself.
At Port Lincoln, Mum was doing the toe dance in anticipation of the arrival of Dad with a fish and he did not disappoint. There was a nice headless fish brought in around 08:40.
Giliath is 29 days old and #2 is 27. They are doing so well.
Everyone ate. Notice how quick that fish disappears!!!!!!! We have two hungry youngsters in a big growth spurt.
Huge crops. Thanks so much, Dad!
Fish fairy arrives at 13:15.
Mum removes the fish from the nest to eat the head on the ropes, ensuring that Mum gets some fish. She ate for more than half an hour.
The ops report at Port Lincoln:
Diamond showed up at the scrape at Orange. No word on either Marri or Barru yet but I will keep checking.
Later Diamond and Xavier were bonding in the scrape. Hope should give them a ‘High Five’ for the great job they did raising Marri and Barru.
Cilla Kinross stated that she saw Marri flying about on her way into work and that the fledgling was doing well. She did not have time to grab her camera.
‘H’ sent a note that Cilla had more recent news on the Orange Australia FB page:
Here is Cilla’s video:
M15 defending the nest against the GHO Monday night – if you missed it.
M15 has had to defend the nest again on Tuesday night. Please send all your positive energy. This is a very tense situation and bald eagles and GHOs fighting for territory can result in a tragic end. Stay safe M15!
M15 stayed in the nest last night.
A lot of disinformation is coming out about the SWFlorida and NEFlorida Bald Eagle nests. We wait for things to settle down at both. V3 is still defending the territory near The Hamlet nest against other eagles, and M15 has his hands full with the GHOs.
Looks a little stormy at Captiva. Connie is keeping that precious egg nice and dry.
The second egg was laid Tuesday evening early. Clive was nearby.
I love Martin and Rosa at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest. They can raise more eaglets easier than you can blink your eyes. If you do not have them on your watch list, I highly recommend you put them there.
Looks like someone is interested in the Captiva Osprey cam!
A lesson raptor ID.
The New York Times has a great story on how intelligent Vultures are! Thank you to my good friend, ‘N’, for spotting this and sending the link to me so I could share it with you.
Want to know more about hummingbirds? I love seeing them in the garden but the speed with which they move is so incredible making it nearly impossible for an amateur like me to catch their likeness with my camera. Those beautiful little bullet shapes with the most amazing wings and iridescent colours to rival any eye shadow pallet this season – read on.
Love Albatross? Looking for an excellent children’s book? Chile Bird. The true story of a Royal Albatross is a wonderful choice, beautifully illustrated – touches the hardships that our Royal Albatross face in their daily lives and the heroic efforts of people to save them. I ordered my copy from the Royal Albatross Visitor’s Centre on Taiaroa Head. (Apologies for the glare).
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, N’, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, Gracie Shepherd, Androcat, Window to Wildlife, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Phil Hayne, The New York Times, Hawk Mountain, Bird Guides, The Guardian, and Diane Miller.
Monday was another gorgeous day on the Canadian Prairies. We have a light blue sky, little wind, and melting snow. Tomorrow, we are looking at 9 C. Everyone will think summer has returned! There was a brisk wind at the nature centre, but still many people on the trails for a Monday, hoping to spot some wildlife.
On display at our nature centre is a Red River Cart. They were used to carry goods and are symbolic of the Metis people of our region in Canada. In fact, Manitoba is the home of the Metis Nation. “The term Métis refers to a collective of cultures and ethnic identities that resulted from unions between Aboriginal and European people in what is now Canada.”
Today, in the garden, a Blue Jay was at the feeders. It is Junior, the Dad. I have not seen any of the other Blue Jays for some time.
They might have migrated or found their territory away from Dad, but that is generally not true. They tend to stay together as a family just like the Crows. Strange. I have not seen or heard the crows for several days. All of this is a bit concerning. Hoping nothing has happened to them. The Starlings are here pounding away at the hard suet cylinders, and the Sparrows and Juncos are all over the place. Little Red is here, too, along with the Chickadee. No sign of Dyson but two of her kits were at the feeder. The Boyfriend has been here many times today cleaning out the food bowls. He is looking good.
One of Dyson’s kits (two came today) getting ready to climb into the little covered feeder on the deck.
The other one was on one of the solid seed cylinders having a good old lunch.
That high-quality/high protein dry cat food has undoubtedly improved the sheen on his fur. He is a beautiful tuxedo cat.
Hope and Missey have been playing in the house, but Calico seems unwell. She is not her usual self, and I am watching her closely. She did not eat her food at breakfast. This is highly unusual. Calico loves to eat. I hope she has filled up on some really good, high-quality dry food instead. Oh, good news. She ate her lunch, and I caught her refuelling at the hard food dispenser. She is fine! Relief. Little Hope goes for her surgery next week. Thanks to Fixing Feral Felines for all the good work that they do.
The news for Monday/Tuesday was that Marri fledged from the scrape of her parents Diamond and Xavier at 09:38:42. Barru is watching closely.
Here is the video of that amazing first flight – it was a beauty! Looked like she had been flying for over a week. Amazing. So happy.
Heidi Mc caught the fledge as well.
Barru is still in the scrape.
Well, Barru did fledge! A few hours after his sister. 15:36:34. It was brilliant. Like Marri, Barru flew like a pro. I love how he went to the ledge, hopped around the scrape, flapped those wings like crazy and out he went. Tears. Congratulations to Xavier and Diamond – two beautiful fledges for 2023.
Aren’t these two just the cutest little osplets? We blinked. Overnight they left the Reptilian Stage and started their way to juvenile plumage. And now there are those Clown Feet! Adorable. Sweet. Civil. We only had the rare little incident. Lovely.
Mum went fishing. She flew in with a really nice one at 09:05:13.
She is feeding herself and her kids. A bite for you and a bite for you. That is a huge fish Mum brought in. Remember. The supplementary fish is simply that – supplementary. The three are hungry and this is wonderful.
Mum was hungry. The osplets are stuffed. I am feeling glorious right now. So, when anyone asks: Do the female ospreys go fishing to feed their family? You know the answer. Mum can leave her chicks because they can regulate their temperatures. They are bigger and not easy prey as they would have been a couple of weeks ago. Bravo, Mum!
The feeding lasted 88 minutes. Mum finished the fish off. She was very hungry.
Dad brought in a whole fish at 13:56:20. I bet he is hoping there is some fish left for him!
They are still eating!
Dad looks like he has a nice crop. I wonder if he ate a fish and caught another one to bring to the nest?
Dad is sure looking close to see if there is anything left. Just look at the crops on those babies.
PLO did not supply any supplementary fish – they did not need to. Mum brought in that whopper and Dad brought in three fish. Thanks ‘H’. The fishing conditions must have been so much better yesterday. Fantastic.
The big excitement is the streaming cam at Captiva, and there are already ospreys visiting the new platform that was put up by Window to Wildlife after Hurricane Ian. Sadly, they had just installed a new platform and camera then. Let us hope that this is a safer year.
Beautiful images coming out of Centreport Bald Eagles.
No rest for Bella. Smitty has been missing for too long and there are many intruders.
Hoping there is nothing amiss with Abby at Eagle Country.
The GHOs are back at the Bald Eagle nest on the Pritchett Property.
‘H’ reports that one of the eagles has been in the SW Florida nest for some time. Is today egg laying day? or are they protecting the nest from the GHOs?
I am not sure what is happening at the nest of Gabby in The Hamlet. That is the reason that I have made no comment. Waiting to see what will happen there in the next couple of days. She nipped at the feathers of a visitor male today in the nest bowl.
Shadow and Jackie were both at Big Bear on Monday.
Waiting or her mate with hope for a better year.
More information coming in about the camera at the West End.
Did you know that Shrikes keep a larder just like Peregrine Falcons and some other birds so that there is food for their chicks?
I love Corvids and this beautiful Raven came to Loch Arkaig. The now familiar Buzzard had been there a few hours earlier.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourselves. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Heidi Mc, PLO, Liz Schwartz, Deb Stecyk, Sassa Bird, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, Holly Parsons, Gracie Shepherd, Bird Guides, and Geemeff.
Oh, oh….Sunday was so warm. It went up to +6 C. The sky was blue. There was a little bit of wind, and it was a perfect day for a long walk at the nature centre. There were 2 Bald Eagles, a Northern Shrike, 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, many Black-capped Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos, about 26 Hooded Mergansers, a single Cormorant, a host of gulls, a pair of ducks and squirrels running everywhere. Everyone was happy and smiling and greeting their fellow birders. Such a wonderful reprieve!
Here are a few images to share with you. The sun was about 3/4 of the way towards setting, and the light was so bright. I worked on some of the images, but still, they continue to look as if they were in silhouette. Apologies.
One of the nicest parts of my walk was sitting on a bench, closing my eyes, and listening to the sound of the geese honking as they flew in. Oh, how I miss that sound when they are all gone. The silence is simply too much.
A lone Cormorant.
Part of the Hooded-Merganser families that have been at the centre since the babies hatched in the early summer.
Nearer to the feeders, the squirrels were busy trying to pull the peanuts and other seeds out from the wire mesh.
S/he got one!
Hairy or Downy? I think it is a female Downy. Remember if you purchase these type of suet feeders to get the ones with the wooden triangle at the bottom. It helps the woodpecker to keep their tail straight and they can feed much more efficiently. They are a little pricer but I promise you they enjoy them that much more.
A Junco hoping to get some seed that one of the birds or squirrels knocks out of the feeders.
It was simply stunning. The light made everything so beautiful. The benches, the empty nests, the lake…even the ice!
The hide is where one of the feeding stations is located. It is perfect for watching the squirrels and little songbirds without scaring them. The wire mesh is to protect the newly planted trees from the deer, while the plastic sleeve around the trunk is to keep the rabbits from destroying the trees.
Before I went for my walk, the girls helped me clean the house. They are too funny. Hope has now managed to take over two of Missey’s favourite spots – the top of the wicker basket looking out to the garden and, of course, the sacred basket with Missey’s baby blanket.
Missey is waiting to see how long it will take Hope to find this other basket in the conservatory! Of course, the good thing is – Hope cannot be in three places at once so there will be a place for Missey (there are many others but Missey is particularly fond of wicker and baskets).
Calico has been getting many brushes during the day and I am rubbing her legs and back. Poor thing. I remember how thin she was when Hope (and any siblings) were newly born. Calico ate and ate…she would rush to finish to get back to her kittens. I worry that her young body paid for that…
They certainly keep me sane.
I missed the photo op, but little Hope was very curious today when ‘the boyfriend’ was eating. His missing fur on the tail and back are coming back in, and he sleeps regularly in the shelter. Geemeff suggested that he might be a good candidate for the male cat in the house…we will see. He was looking in the garden door today!!!!!!!!!!!! You might recall that Calico did that as well when she began to fully trust me.
I want to imagine that all of you are checking on three different nests – you are watching while holding your breath for Marri and Barru to fledge, worried to death about M15 and F23 and the GHOs, and watching those darling babies at PLO and praying for fish deliveries. Certainly that is where my focus has been while also waiting for news of the sea eaglets.
First, thank you to ‘M’, who wrote to remind me that M15 and Harriet had another nest on the Pritchett Property. I had forgotten. This is marvellous news. The GHOs concern me. We have witnessed them taking over eagles’ nests on the streaming cams. The first one that comes to mind is the young eagle couple on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas.
The GHOs hit F23 three times Saturday evening. M15 came to protect her, and they were on the branch together in the morning. M15 delivered a nice fish in the nest for his new lady, and fingers and talons crossed, things go smoothly.
Lady Hawk put the attacks together in a single short video.
At Port Lincoln, Dad came through with a morning fish for Mum and the kids—those precious babies. Yesterday, one of them fed the other a morsel. It melted my heart. My bet is on these two being males. Gentle little males that will go wild once they fledge fighting for fish! Just like Ervie did with his siblings but, until then, perfect little gentlemen.
One large supplementary fish came on the nest, and my goodness, I am not good at identifying fish, but it sure looks like a shark.
Mom’s eyes look like they will pop out.
The look on Giliath’s face tells it all!!!!!!!!!!
#2 likes the shade of Mamma…this fish will last a long time. Maybe #2 will begin pecking at the tail, too. How wonderful. Thank you, Fish Fairies.
They cleaned up the fish. Giliath might have been in a perfect position, but #2 got lots of fish. Both left the feeding with bulging crops – and happily, Mum could also get a good meal. Let us hope Dad brings another nice fish to the nest for his family later in the day. Otherwise, it will be a long time until the fish arrive tomorrow. Dad came and took the fishtail at 13:53, but Mum seemed to have quite a few scraps in the nest, and the chicks were already thinking it might be good to eat them.
You can see #2’s crop in the image below. Giliath’s head is behind Mum’s right wing.
Food comas.
Ah, and I bet you have noticed…we don’t have reptiles anymore. Look at the beautiful feathers and that deep thermal down that will help our ospreys regulate their temperature. Look at the size of the wings and those cute tails. Growing up!
‘A’ comments on those feedings at PLO: “Every year, there comes a moment when I genuinely wonder whether a crop has ever literally burst. Surely a crop the size of Giliath’s or Little Bob’s must be extremely uncomfortable. I wonder whether they need to leave the food there for a period of time for primary digestion before crop dropping it into their stomachs and whether it is uncomfortable or painful to swallow too much too soon. They don’t seem to do it all that often, though we do see smaller hatches doing it if they’ve waited a long time and suddenly get some fish or occasionally when they are trying to fit more in during a particularly lengthy feeding to which they return several times. (Little Bob has done it once or twice when mum has been particularly insistent during one of her hour-plus feedings. Some of these fairy fish are gigantic, thank goodness.) But this evening (it is 18:20 in Port Lincoln) everyone is full. Mum has eaten heaps. Dad has taken the fish away, eaten, and brought back leftovers. He’s a good dad. He tries. Sometimes, it’s very gusty and the waves are extremely choppy. I imagine it could be very difficult fishing there at those times, which occur most days – some days are just particularly bad. “
Several other news items from Port Lincoln. It was Calypso’s mate (he is the 2019 hatch at Port Lincoln) that was found hanging upside down on a pole. The female flew off but has not been seen. People are watching out for her. Calypso was at the nest looking and calling for her.
Did Ervie go to help search for his brother’s mate? –Sadly, Fran Solly has now posted that Calypso’s mate has been found dead. This is so sad. So many Osprey’s lost, so few because they are so endangered in South Australia. Now for Calypso to find another female. Condolences to all.
Love the Port Lincoln Ospreys? Friends of Osprey Sth Australia have calendars and I understand that it is full of Fran Solly’s amazing photographs – even Ervie!
The money from all of the fundraising projects goes directly to put up the platforms, the trackers, etc. Here is a copy of the August 2023 newsletter telling you what was accomplished up to that date.
I am over the moon that Fran, Bazz, and Janet fought to intervene at the nest this year with supplementary feedings, just like in NZ with the Royal Albatross Chicks. I look forward to their research findings and want to help in any way I can so that they know their compassion for this family is appreciated…that is why I am posting the information about the calendar.
Partney and Marrum lost their only osplet to predation by a raptor (presumed) on Tumby Island. The Crows then took over the nest and the nest is now reclaimed by a pair of ospreys. It is not confirmed if it is Partner and Marrum.
More problems with Crows could have been the cause of the death of the osplet on the Sunshine Coast. So sad.
We have all been biting our fingernails watching Marri and Barru. Barru had a close call slipping out of the scrape, but thankfully, he recovered! It is 2130 on the Canadian Prairies Sunday evening, and neither has fledged, but they sure could while I am sleeping. These two are ready. Their interest is in the outside world. Diamond and Xavier are doing a good job keeping them focused on their flying – doing aerial displays and carrying prey. Everything the adults do is a lesson imprinted on the minds of Marri and Barru to take with them into their futures.
Whew!
Still there…it is past midnight in Canada…
The Osprey Cam on Captiva will go live today!
The cameras at the West End are now live, too, and you can see both the old and new nests of Thunder and Akecheta! Amazing, Dr Sharpe. Thank you.
The cameras are back at Lock Arkaig and there are more visitors to Louis and Dorcha’s nest!
Was it Smitty?
‘H’ reports that “‘F’ eagle is back at Notre Dame Eagles, per post by Phillipe Josse 11/12, both she and Dad were in the nest briefly on 11/12.” Wonderful news for Little Bit ND17’s Dad!
Deb Stecyk gives us an update of some of the Bald Eagle nests in Canada and the impact of the wildfires this past summer.
Good news coming out of the Kakapo Recovery on one of the Kakapo that had to go for treatment to Dunedin.
‘A’ sent this to me and I missed it so did not include it with the Sunday newsletter. Hopefully there will be some sightings of the eaglets.”Finally, the report for 11 November from WBSE: November 11: Prey delivery last evening at 6:30 to Mangrove Island, not sure if juvenile was about. This morning at 7:45, an adult, I think Dad, was on mangroves where seen yesterday. Hard to see if a juvenile is there in the shadows. Lots of river traffic, with scullers going close and loud microphones yelling training orders. Rivercats passing, dozens of watercraft – Dad ignores them it seems. At 8:01, I heard a juvenile squawk and a currawong – close to an adult. Lots of rubbish under the mangroves, and I heard another threat. Hearing a Koel – is it yelling at the juvenile as well? Pied Oystercatcher flying past. Striated Heron. Great Egret with breeding plumage. Mangrove Gerygone behind me. Later, around midday, the ground team reported adults on Mangrove Island and circling over the area, but no juvenile or feeding was seen.”
And then the report for yesterday from WBSE, thanks ‘A’: “November 13: Early in the morning, I saw one of the adults down in the mangroves, then the other as well. One soared so high overhead, I could no longer see it. The adults were hard to spot on the river, not always in their familiar roosts, and seemed to be moving further into the mangroves. Later, at last, we saw one of the juveniles on a branch in the mangroves – so hard to spot in the shadows, with its brown colouring (see the picture). It stayed still there for over 2 hours while we were watching, with not a sound. One of the adults was moving in and out, but we saw no prey delivered. Again the mullet are jumping. We saw the male Osprey over the Nature Reserve wetlands, flushing out about a dozen lapwings. No more news during the afternoon. As there is an “empty nest” now, or mostly, we rely on ground observers to report any action on the river.”
Oh, I wished I lived closer to Vancouver! If you do, then here is a real opportunity.
HPAI or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza or Bird Flu is claiming so many of the sea and shore birds.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. We hope to have you with us again really soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, photographs, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, M’, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Lady Hawk, PLO, Friends of Ospreys Sth Australia, Anita Corran, Eric Kotz, Wildlife at Osprey House, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Window to Wildlife, Jan Gallivan, Geemeff, Deb Stecyk, Kakapo Recovery, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and Bird Guides.
Damp, coldish, grey day on the Canadian Prairies. The temperature has warmed up and will be a balmy +7 C on Tuesday, they tell us. It felt like the chill went down to the bone today, however.
The Starlings were particularly beautiful today. Look at their chest. It looks like a lovely handmade sweater with white stitching. The emerald green feathers with that lovely straw-coloured tip looks like an upside down candle in places (notice it is yellow and then a touch of white at the very end)…and then on the wings it tapers into a teal blue. The yellow beaks during breeding season have now turned to black while the head and nape sport silver and gold plumage over black. I would think the designers in Paris should take inspiration from this bird’s plumage in their new couture designs.
In an effort to keep up with the walking – despite the snow, ice, and a brisk little wind – I headed off to the English gardens. There were White-breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jays calling in the pines, and Black-capped Chickadees flitting about. It wasn’t the most pleasant of days, but I did take an image of one of the sculptures in the Leo Mol Sculpture Park that I wanted to share with you.
The information provided by our City on the sculptor is as follows: “Leo Mol (Leonid Molodoshanin) was born in 1915 in Polonne, Ukraine. He studied in the Leningrad Academy of Arts, Kunst Academy in Berlin, Germany, and the Academy of Arts in The Hague, Netherlands. In 1948, he made his home in Canada. He passed away in 2009, after receiving multiple honorary degrees and being inducted into the Order of Canada.Mol created his sculptures using the Lost Wax method. In this process, clay is modeled on a rebar and wood structure then covered in liquid rubber to form a mold. Plaster is layered over the mold, creating a cast. The cast and mold are separated from the model and melted beeswax is pressed into the rubber mold. A cement mixture is then poured inside the wax layer. After the cement hardens the molds are removed, leaving a wax model with a solid cement core.”
The plaque below commemorates the 50th anniversary of the repeal of the Act in May 1947. Mol created it in 1997. It features images related to the Chinese who worked to open up the Canadian West while working for CP Rail.
Parks Canada states, “In the early 1880’s contractor Andrew Onderdonk brought thousands of labourers from China to help build the Pacific Railway through the mountains of British Columbia. About three-quarters of the men who worked on the section between the Pacific and Craigellachie were Chinese. Although considered excellent workers, they received only a dollar a day, half the pay of a white worker. Hundreds of Chinese died from accidents or illness, for the work was dangerous and living conditions poor. Those who remained in Canada when the railway was completed securely established the basis of British Columbia’s Chinese community.”
The Asian Heritage Society provides more information on the history of the Chinese workers and the discrimination that they faced.
The kittens are so smart. They curl up in their own little spots and sleep the cold afternoon away. It does so seem that they have their ‘spot’. Hope has completely taken over Missey’s basket. Calico prefers to sleep on the hard seat of a Danish chair, and Missey prefers to the highest spot on a wicker. If I am looking for them and the house is quiet – that is where they will be.
My beautiful, sleepy heads.
Then there was bird video time.
Finding pinecones.
Hope has already figured out that she is too cute for words. She has me totally wrapped around her paw. She is 4 months and 9 days old.
Saturday night Missey and Hope ran from one end of the house to the other and back again…what incredible energy they have!
The big news is – Connie has laid the first egg of the 2023 season in the nest she shares with partner, Clive, at Captiva. Congratulations!
Well, that was a surprise. The time was around 13:43ish. Wasn’t expecting this! Wonder who will be next? Many are hoping it will be M15 and F23 to stop any thoughts by the GHOs.
You asked about Valor II. This is the latest news that I have seen. His eye looks worse to me. Send your best wishes out to Valor II and the team trying to get him so that he can go into care.
Skipping now to the two main nests we are watching – Orange and Port Lincoln…
Diamond and Xavier have been busy bringing in prey to the scrape as well as trying to feed the babies and Diamond slept on the ledge night before last. She knows that her two beautiful babies will fly soon. Why bring the prey to the nest? To get them to remember to fly to the scrape for food! It is a no brainer…let us see if they do. Izzi certainly did!
In Richard Sale’s book, Falcons, there is not much information about fledging but he does say, “Even when they have begun to fly the young Peregrines stay close to the nest site at first, often roosting with siblings (and occasionally with adults if roosting spots are few), but eventually choosing their own roosts. The fledglings are also fed close to the nest site by the adults, though the latter begin to teach the rudiments of prey capture by making food transfers I mid-air, the youngsters catching dropped prey or taking it from the adult’s talons. Prey dropping seems to occur too frequently to be a chance event… (170-71).
On Sunday, the adults spent much more time in the scrape with their chicks than they have done in recent memory.
Here is the day in video.
These are two of the most patient – sweet – osplets I have ever seen. They deserve a gold medal for waiting for the fish to arrive without tearing into one another.
No fish yet.
Heidi Mc got that feeding on video.
There is news of Sydney Sea Eagles. Thanks, ‘A’. “November 12: Both parents and a juvenile were sighted 9.45 this morning in the same area roughly opposite the weir. Ground crew assumed food was brought in to the ground, with lots of squeeing. The juvenile flew down to the ground where the parent went, then all was quiet. Observer was unable to see where they landed or what the prey was. Later during the day, there were no more sightings reported. The picture shows an adult in the mangroves across the river, which is quite wide there. The shadows under the mangroves make it very hard to see a juvenile or confirm which it is. Then around 5:30pm, a parent and juvenile were seen there again, before the young one flew back into the mangroves.” ‘A’ continues, “Doesn’t that just make your heart sing? Oh it must be a wonderful experience for Lady, who dotes on her eaglets. This must be thrilling for them. Every day that passes is another day of flying experience and the chance to learn how to fish for those monster eels mum always seems able to find (Dad rarely brings one in, but Lady must have a secret eel pond somewhere in those mangroves). And every day, they get more adept and confident at dealing with those bloody currawongs. It will be the hottest summer in 100,000 years, they are saying, and a deadly bushfire season. We can only hope the areas along the coastal rivers are spared. South Australia will see temperatures of up to 50C (no, not a typo) up in those central areas, which are largely just miles of desert in all directions, with the occasional stream or river, though they are drying up.”
Superbeaks. Today we are 25 days from hatch watch.
Gabby and V3 seemed to miss one another on Saturday. V3 came with a turtle…was it a gift and Gabby missed it?
Anna visits the E1 nest in the Kistachie National Forest.
Alex and Andria were together on the E-3 nest.
An eagle around the Decorah North nest on Saturday.
An adult in the trees near the Dulles-Greenway nest on Saturday.
Jackie and Shadow were at their nest on Saturday, too. Everyone who writes to me wants this couple and Jak and Audacity to have chicks this year. So send out all the positive energy. Both of the areas are plagued by the residue of the DDT that was sprayed in the 1940s.
Beautiful eagle at Centreport!
As you are aware, the GHOs have been exchanging food gifts in the same nest as M15 and F23. The GHO has come in and knocked F23 off the branch Saturday evening. It appears that F23 might be favouring her right leg. Let us hope not. This situation could get quite tense. There have been many territorial and nest disputes between Eagles and GHOs over the years.
Is there an alternative eagle nest on the Pritchett Property? Does anyone know?
M15 on the branch above the nest protecting his lady.
They have now discovered what we know – that the GHOs have been coming to the nest they have been preparing for their eaglets. Send positive wishes. Please.
F23 in the nest. Hoping she is alright.
Were you aware that there are this many species of Crow?
I wonder if Murphy will start incubating a rock this year or if one year as a parent was enough? Parenting is stressful. We wait.
It is not about our feathered friends but the quality of the water ways and the amount of fish or lack thereof will certainly impact their lives.
‘R’ sent me a wonderful podcast on raking leaves. I will post the link. I always learn something and if you have a big lawn with a heavy cover of leaves, you do not want to leave them on the lawn. Rake them to the side. If you have large Oak or Magnolia leaves that do not decompose, move them to the side. Leaves are wonderful for covering up flower beds for the winter. They decompose over the winter and will provide you with lovely mulch. When to rake and not…
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H, R’, Parks Canada, Asian Heritage Society, Window to Wildlife, Dennis Becht, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways, PLO, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Heidi Mc, Superbeaks, NEFL-AEF, KNF E1, KNF E3, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, FOBBV, Mike J Dakar, World Bird Sanctuary, SW Florida Eagle Cam, and The Guardian.
The kittens hope that you will have a wonderful weekend.
All Hope thinks about are bird videos! She now cuddles up to my ankles when I fill the food dishes in the morning. She doesn’t always let Mamma take over. Hope also loves dental treats just like Mamma. What a glorious gift this bushy tail gal is!
Cuddled up with Mamma.
Sweet Calico. I so fear she has arthritis in her back legs. Sometimes Calico looks so old and frail. I continue to say that life outside in Winnipeg for the stray cats is very hard with our winters no matter how kind people are with shelters and food.
Missey has pretty much given Hope her basket and blankets. They each have their favourite perch and several places to sleep. Life is pretty much one of general civility and contentment with the odd ‘hiss’.
Missey says she adores Hope…not so keen on Calico when Calico is hissey.
Hope also says not to believe that nonsense about the new name for the Cooper’s Hawk. She does wonder if it will be that complicated, the new names. How do you change a name?
‘L’ asked if I had heard anything further about Valor 2. No, sadly, I haven’t. Because he was flying strongly no one could safely catch him to take him in to the wildlife centre to help with the eye and anything else that ails this wonderful eagle. He was the ‘root’ that kept the Trio Lovers together.
At Orange, Marri (the oldest) and Barru are getting ready to fledge. I just wonder if Barru won’t fly first. They are spending so much time looking out and extending their necks…Xavier and Diamond continue to provide prey items but it is pretty dangerous inside that scrape with these two ready to fledge eyases.
I missed this…Xavier feeding his nearly fledgling chicks. How special is that!
While the two at Orange are more interested in the outside world and already have full crops – ignoring the prey item, that Starling on the scrape floor – Mum and Giliath and #2 are waiting for fish at Port Lincoln. Dad came in with a small fish and then a huge Trevally came in before noon.
Mum and the chicks were delighted with the delivery from Dad. Is this really a small fish??
Then the fish fairy arrived. Everyone was full!
The water was really choppy. I wonder if Dad will go out fishing again…meanwhile he had a meal from the Trivially and brought the tail back to Mum for her and Giliath and #2.
These really are the sweetest not so little anymore osplets. Do we have two little boys this year?
Food comas.
The complete report from Port Lincoln:
I have no new news from Sydney. The last was 8 November when Cathy Cook posted the footage of one of the juvies in the mangroves with the Currawongs.
Missey and Pa Berry working hard on that nest. Will they be our next Bald Eagle couple to have an egg in their nest?
Both Ma and Pa were at the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest on Friday.
The AEF reminds us that Gabby will not normally lay her eggs until December. So lot of time for these two.
V3.
Gorgeous Gabby and V3.
Visit at Big Bear. That pinecone is sure getting moved about. Hope it stays in the nest. Love seeing the eaglets practice holding ‘prey’ with these cones.
Playing whose nest is this. The Hooties exchange prey gifts in the night while M15 and F23 do during the day.
Meanwhile, M15 and F23 continue to work on this nest. I really hope that there is not a confrontation between the eagles and the GHOs.
Annie would like a food gift from Lou!
SK Hideaways has it in video!
There are some lovely Pelicans flying around Mobil Bay. Thanks ‘L’ for letting us share. The Brown Pelicans is the smallest of the eight different pelican species. Still, it has a wing span of 2 metres or over 6.5 feet. It will only be found near salt water.
The Brown Pelican was almost made extinct. “Unregulated shooting and pesticides were once the bane of many North American birds, including Brown Pelicans, Bald Eagles, and Peregrine Falcons. Declared Endangered in the 1970s, all three of these charismatic birds are now off the list of imperiled species, thanks to conservation legislation, public education, and decades of cooperation by a wide range of partners.” The pesticide that was most responsible for the decline in pelican populations was DDT.
The Moli (Laysan Albatross) have landed in Kauai’.
People do care. They want an end to the use of snares, and they wanting the hunting culture of the rich and sometimes famous to stop. It is reassuring – no, it is darn comforting – to read that more people want an end to these traditional practices that kill off so many of the raptors that just want a lunch. I hope that they end all of the hunting, including the poor ‘sitting ducks’ that get slaughtered every year, bred and fed to sit by a pond and be shot. How sick is that? At least go out in the wild and try your luck as they fly by…but standing in the mud like people lined up for a firing squad. Doesn’t sound so sporty to me.
Hamza Yassin is an excellent presenter and inspirational writer. Please enjoy this article by him…seeing any bird puts a smile on our face, listening to them sing is better, and to see a raptor is elating.
Karl II’s 2023 fledgling Kalvi (the only one with a tracker) is in Israel. Send positive wishes for his safety!
Thank you so much for being with me. We wait while rubbing those worry beads for the fledges at Orange, for fish arrivals at PLO, and to have some word about SE 31 and 32. Meanwhile, we have Pepe and Muhlady incubating two eggs and we wait to see who will have the next batch of eggs. There is not a lot of news but what there is 97% good. A nice change. Take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their questions, pictures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘L, L’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaway, PLO, Marlene Louise Ripley, Paul White, NEFl-AEF, FOBBV, Gracie Shepherd, Lady Hawk, Sassa Bird, Pacific Rim Conservation, Raptor Persecution UK, PNAS, The Guardian, and Maria Marika.
Hope ‘hopes’ that everyone has a wonderful day! This morning she decided to be contrary and not pose!!!!!!! Go figure.
Oh, the temperatures climbed to a balmy +2 C on Wednesday and all the snow melted. Sunset happens at 1630. It is dark. Did I say that I hate winter? And now as 2300 approaches, it is snowing rain. The feral feeder is filled and I have attempted to make it a little weather proof. Those poor cats that live outside. Let’s see if we have a resident in the shelter tonight.
The girls had a lazy day. Hope and Missey continue to watch their favourite cat/bird video. And, yes. It is true. Miss Hope, the Queen of the ‘High Five’ taps on the screen until I come and turn her video on. I am well trained. Missey went to sleep on the wicker only to look up and see a male Northern Cardinal, and she immediately bolted right back with Hope. In other news, Hope got caught in ‘the act’ when I went to find Calico. She is certainly a robust young kitten! I do not know how Calico managed to keep this kitten so safe and well-fed out in the wild.
Hope is a perfect example of why you try to socialise the kittens of community cats. She is simply lovely. Thankful every day that Calico trusted me and wanted to come inside and that Hope has joined us.
Missey’s eyes look like they will pop out when the Cardinal is on the screen…she is getting ready to leap!
Hope’s ‘guilty’ look. Calico still produces so much milk…she waddles around the house!
Will these three have a little brother after all? Wait and see! We certainly could use a male influence here in Cat World. :))).
At Port Lincoln, Dad is in the shed and Mum and the kids are wishing he would go fishing.
Waiting.
Mum and chicks are still waiting for breakfast and Dad is still perched in the shed.
Dad left and Mum took a break…still no fish. It is nearing 1300.
Dad came through with a fish, and a man and his three-year-old son provided four supplementary fish for the family! Thank you. You are helping to keep this family alive.
Meanwhile….Xavier has delivered two breakfasts to Marri and Barru.
Check out this video of the storm a few days ago!
Remember. We are getting so close to fledge that you might as well go and purchase the tissues and have them ready. What a great year it has been at Orange. How delighted for Xavier and Diamond. Now…there are bushfires in some areas of Australia along with a drought. I just do not want it to pour down rain in Orange for the entire fortnight following their fledge. Cross your fingers and toes with me, please.
So what is happening at the Parramatta River in Sydney? I am not seeing any updates for two days now. All was well then. Let us hope it stays that way.
Now to the US and the Bald Eagles readying for the 2023 season.
At NE Florida, Gabby and V3 continue to be hopeful and work on their nest near Jacksonville, Florida.
Lady Hawk catches two mating attempts.
Near Fulton, Illinois on the Mississippi River, there is concern for Valor 2 – once part of the infamous Lover’s Trio Bald Eagle family. Dennis Becht has gone out to try and find Valor 2 and get him help.
Here is the latest update on Valor 2 from Dennis Becht.
Connie and Clive are working diligently on their Captiva nest – parents of Connick. No word on Connick’s release from the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey at Maitland. He could not have better care. They were waiting til all of his feathers grew in to release him. What a great facility!
Eagles at Decorah.
New nest building at Decorah Hatchery?
Alex flew in to the KNF-E3 nest to do some nestorations.
Checking out the nest bowl at the E-1 nest of Louis and Anna in the Kisatchie National Forest.
Eagles were working at Dulles-Greenway.
It is always a beautiful view at Big Bear Valley – but it is always better when Jackie and/or Shadow are there!
Franklin and Frances have been busy at Bluff City.
D3 was at Centreport today.
29 Days to hatch watch at Superbeaks!
Black Vultures checking and cleaning the NCTC nest of Bella and ________.
Audubon’s report on the 2023 Eagle breeding season in Florida is here.
Check out the size difference between genders in these raptors.
It is that time of year when all that lead that went into the animals that were hunted and killed gets eaten when the eagles and other carrion eaters find the innards left in the field. That lead is toxic just like all of the fishing equipment that continues to be used that is lead. Time to switch!
For those of you that still have fall, remind everyone –
Please tell everyone you know not to celebrate with balloons. There are beautiful alternatives. Use safe biodegradable paper. OR let’s ditch the decorations altogether and celebrate by donating to shelters for animals or humans! Just imagine.
All of our wildlife have emotions.
John Love is responsible for reintroducing the White-tail Eagle in the UK. He dedicated his entire life to these magnificent feathered creatures. Go to roydennis.org to see the video tribute.
The Ventana Society announces that the quarantine pens for HPAI – to save the California Condors – are now on their way!
Because things are at the end does not mean they are any less important than those at the beginning. Indeed, it is often the reverse. Humans cannot survive without insects. So every time someone puts chemicals on their lawn to make it look beautiful, the insects get poisoned and then the birds that eat them. Let us all begin to re-think our attitudes before it is too late. This is a grim report.
From ‘H’ for all of us – thank you! We do what we can with what we have.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, articles, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H, Sassa Bird’, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sharon Pollock, NEFL-AEF, Lady Hawk, Dennis Becht, Window to Wildlife, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, FOBBV, Baiba, Sara A, Centreport Live Cam, Superbeaks, NCTC, Audubon Eaglewatch, Elite Falconry, Science of the Total Environment, Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew, Sassa Bird, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, Ventana Wildlife, The Guardian, and Emily Dickinson.
Oh, I love hearing from you. I am glad that some of the last blogs have touched your hearts. I have met so many people helping in every way they can, struggling to get by from one day to another. Still, they find simple ways to help that make such a difference. It warms my heart to see such compassion. Some put out water, some collect donations for shelters, some help clean cages…there are, as my friend Sassa Bird says, “more good people in the world than bad”. She is right!
It is raining ice right now as I am writing. Not quite hail, but the girls came out of the conservatory and into the living room, alerting me to the fact that ‘something’ was happening.
The ‘cat’ news is that Hope will be ‘fixed’ by a great organisation called Fixing Feral Felines. They encourage people to take in and provide homes for the feral cats in their neighbourhoods providing spay and neuter services at a fraction of the costs of regular clinics. They are a mobile clinic. Hope needs to wait til she is 6 months old.
I picked up Lucky #13 cat shelter and am now accepting donations of bins and insulation for the individual who makes these. He says they do not look so beautiful, but there is a lot of love in them – and they are lined with styrofoam and have straw bedding. I expect the feral cats will consider them penthouses!!!!!! Especially in our weather. It is really nasty out there. There is a little flap to try and keep the rain and snow from blowing in.
Morning Update: The Boyfriend slept in the shelter last night!!!!! I caught him going inside late last night…pieces of straw coming out this morning. Yes!!!!!! We have lift off. It got warm over night and the snow has now melted.
On the way home from picking up the cat shelter, I saw Canada Geese feeding at a local golf course and others flying in to rest and eat. There was lots of grass and with the temperatures climbing a bit, the water hazards on the course are open.
It has now snowed. A right blizzard was coming down for a bit.
Meanwhile, Hope is living a very privileged life. She will go and tap on the screen when she wants her bird video to play. It sure did not take her long to train me!!!!!!
But seriously, how could you not? Look at that sweet face. She has me wrapped around her little paw. Soon she will know how to operate the remote. She is very smart.
Missey and Hope are getting along famously.
Calico prefers to watch Hope and Missey, sleep on the couch, and snack on kibble. Bird videos are not her thing! She knows about the ‘real’ birds unlike these two. I do remember seeing her leap on the big table feeder once trying to catch a bird when she was living rough despite the fact that she had plenty of food (even when she was living outside). Now she has no interest…loves creature comforts.
Now about that potential little brother. I do go and look and had the cat carrier with me. The kittens had ‘crusty’ eyes. Now that sounds like I am being very picky but I do not want the girls to get any kind of infection so…I have decided to wait and to see if a little kitten will show up at the feral feeding station now or in the spring. When it does, it will join us! Or as Geemeff assures me – the right kitten will come along at the right time.
The Starlings were in the garden today- before the new snow arrived. Look closely at their beautiful colours. It is as if someone has embroidered velvet strips on velvet with little jewels added. The soft grey-brown wings are edged with gold. Nature is truly beautiful. The white specks indicate that they are in their non-breeding plumage.
I bought a different ‘premium bird seed’ from the farmer, which got the Starlings to the table feeder. Excellent. Many do not like feeding them or the Sparrows…I adore them all. There is a huge decline in the number of House Sparrows and Starlings. In certain regions, they are both endangered and on the brink of extinction. I am so lucky to have them here with me.
Mum, Giliath, and #2 are hopeful that Dad got a breakfast order and will return with it.
Sweet babies and Mamma waiting for some fish.
Dad brought in a small partial fish at 10:25 which Mum, Giliath, and #2 finished. They had a good breakfast.
First Light: 05:51, Sun Up: 06:18, Sun Down: 20:02, Last Light : 20:29 Age (chicks): Giliath : 22 days, #2 : 20 days Fish count: Mum: 0, Dad: 2 Fish times: 10:25, 14:27Feed times:
10:25
Dad in with a small, partial fish!
Dad (XS,Part)
10:25 1
Both chicks get a little breakfast. Mum finishes it.
14:27
Dad delivers a whole fish!
Dad (L,Whole)
14:27 2
Mum partially blocks the view. Giliath’s on the left and chick #2’s on the right/behind Mum. Both chicks get their fill. Mum finished that fish up!
It is anyone’s guess who is going to fledge first at Orange. Barru is certainly keen and is flapping just as much as Marri and there are a lot more downy bits missing today. Remember we are within a week of fledge.
At the Bald Eagle nests:
Pepe brings Muhlady a fish tail for breakfast.
Mum at Duke Farms is working on the nest with the new male. Dad has been missing since spring. Wishing this new couple the very best!
It is not clear what is happening at the NCTC nest of Bella and Smitty but Bella is now warming up to the new male. Her fertile period is approaching.
At the NE Florida nest of Gabby and V3, work continues on the nest.
Cam is back up at Pittsburgh-Hayes where there will be a new male this season. Isn’t that fall colour beautiful? I am so missing that!
Fish gift at Pittsburgh-Hayes.
706 people are watching Jackie and Shadow at their nest early Wednesday morning. Let us all send this much-loved couple the warmest and most positive wishes. They so want another baby! Let’s hope we have one this year.
In the middle of the night, we have an eagle at Redding!
There is a lot of mismatched news coming out of Bird World and it is all good. There is something for everyone!
All eyes on Taiaroa Head to see which of the Royal Albatross will return safely! So happy to see OGK’s brother!
More of the eagle nests with owl issues.
You will remember that Bobby Horvath was with Pale Male when he passed and he was willing to go and help Mini at Patchogue if needed. He is always saving a raptor somewhere – very devoted.
Fantastic news coming out of Scotland!
This place looks magically wild -. Thank goodness they continue to exist down in the what? Roaring 40s? Places sea birds love.
Oh, they are so beautiful. Will be posting regular updates for the Moli throughout the breeding season.
The Captiva Osprey Cam is live! Wonder who our resident pair will be this year? Will they ward off intruders, lay eggs, and raise chicks?
Sunnie Day posted the link to this report on FB. It gives us a grim account of the decline in Osprey populations following Hurricane Ian.
It is Kakapo Adoption Time!!!!!! Everything goes to help care for these flightless parrots.
‘H’ gave me a wonderful smile this morning. I want to share it with you! We both really like Gessner’s Soaring with Fidel and ‘H’ reminds me that a seasoned birding is expelling GISS to Gessner: “GISS is an acronym for ‘general impression shape and size.’ That’s how you identify stuff after you get good. It’s not any one thing. You just kind of get a feel…maybe the tail is a little shorter, but all kinds of other things are coming into play too. It’s just your general impression initially. From far away, you don’t have time to look for small details.”
Just love it…I find much of the time I have to get the images home and enlarge them to find out precisely what I was seeing.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, pictures, videos, articles, announcements, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, Sassa Bird’, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Superbeaks, Duke Farms, NEFL-AEF, PIX Cams, FOBBV, Cathy Cohen, Sharon Dunne, Jann Gallivan, Bobby Horvath, Erica Gaize, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels, Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Window to Wildlife, Sunnie Day, the Osprey Observer, and Kakapo Recovery.
It drizzled again today. There were so many birds at the garden feeders that sometimes it seemed like a solid wall of wings fluttering about. The Starlings ate at the suet cylinders and the table feeder, but I also noticed that they were cleaning out the bowls of kibble for the stray cats my neighbour leaves near her garage. Everyone was hungry! Everyone ‘is’ hungry. The cat’s outdoor feeder has now been positioned so that it is covered, and the dishes stay dry from the rain and snow. Tomorrow will be another shelter for another stray – a huge demand. Every shelter in our city is full and cannot take any more cats, yet there is a constant list of new finds. People struggle to feed themselves and their children to pay rent or mortgage. I have said this before, but it is so worrisome – that which gives us joy and comfort is thrown out to the street, hoping that someone else will take it in or that our ‘best friend’ will find food somewhere and stay alive. It is the beginning of winter. This breaks my heart.
A lovely chat over tea and cardamon buns this afternoon with my granddaughter revealed that the homeless in my city with mental health problems are also struggling. There is no affordable housing. A young man who cannot live alone and whose father died recently was lucky to find a placement, but many do not. She says that they are put on the street and have to try and find a place to sleep in the homeless shelters – people are no different than the cats and dogs, the family pets, that are abandoned. My goodness, what a world we live in. We can delight in discovering that a thirty-something singer now has over a billion dollars in net worth while families struggle to feed themselves on a few hundred dollars a month. Sorry. There is a point to all of this.
Donations to help wildlife are way down. Ordinary families that used to donate to their local wildlife centre – either in the form of cash, volunteering, or wish list items can no longer afford to do so. If they cannot afford to keep their family pet, we know they cannot afford to feed the birds and other animals in their garden. It is a vicious circle, and I have no answer. There is so much waste, and with some ingenuity, a couple of individuals can arrange to collect the food waste and find a suitable place to deposit it for the birds that would happily devour it. Of course, I am thinking about the Crows. (I did find a spot to feed the local ones, but it is a secret to protect their safety because of local health regulations).
Many of you reading my blog will find that the increase in food prices – what? 30% plus – has impacted your way of living. Remember, one thing you can do is to put out water. Water is life. Every animal and every bird needs water to survive. If you are up to it, you can remind your friends and neighbours that the wildlife rehab clinics much need those clean, used towels and sheets. If someone dies and their friends and family do not know what to do with their things and are simply going to ‘get rid of them’, ask if you can check if there is anything that might be useful to the local rehab clinic near you or the animal shelters. You have yet to learn how valuable your actions can be for the shelters and clinics that are now struggling. So, thank you in advance!
My girls are spoiled. Today, Hope spent much time sleeping in Missey’s basket. I think Missey has decided to ‘give it’ to Hope. Hope is a little sleepy head in the image below. Hope and Missey spent much time watching their bird video while Calico tried to find a place to sleep ‘without Hope’. I can promise you that will never happen!
Things are a little out of order because I am so excited about what is happening on the Parramatta River that I have brought it up between the day’s events with the kittens.
I am still so excited about seeing the sea eagles flying around the mangroves near the River Roost of Lady and Dad that I can barely sit still. I can only imagine the joy the adults have in raising their eaglets from egg to fledge to freedom, knowing that they have taught them everything to survive – something that they have not been able to do in past years.
These images were taken by the BOGs and posted on the Sydney Sea Eagle cam, and shared all over FB. They are marvellous and show how strong the fledglings are! It is very reassuring.
‘A’ has some more news this morning: “Tuesday 7: early morning, during the last of this season’s annual Bird surveys, several of us saw both adults and we assume SE32 over on the mangroves across the river. After 10am, we also saw one adult fly across the Nature Reserve Wetlands and then back to the river. Later at around 3:15, the juvenile was seen eating on the ground under the mangroves, after one of the parents brought prey in. Wonderful to see it eating. We have not spotted the second juvenile today. The juvenile osprey from a few bays away is returning to eat near the nest high on a light tower in a playing field. It is interesting to compare the post-fledge behaviour of the 2 species.”
This news, along with the extremely robust eyases at Orange and the Fish Fairies at Port Lincoln, means that the Australia streaming cams have had a good year – not 100% – but an amazing year nonetheless. I would love to have seen the CBD raise their falcons, but that is something to look forward to next year and let us all continue to hope that the Collins Street Mum is well.
It rained on Sunday and it rained a little today. The snow is melting revealing bright green grass. It is a nice surprise – welcome when everything else is grey or brown. The girls have been hanging out in the conservatory enjoying the warmer weather and several chapters from Margaret Renkl’s new book. Tomorrow we pick up another feral winter home for the outdoor kitties.
Hope is a big beautiful girl – almost as big as Mamma. She loves to pose.
Calico’s favourite perch. Missey likes the top and Hope loves the house and bothering Missey’s tail so they all can share and get along – which they are doing, thankfully.
Missey is getting quite ‘woolly’ for the winter. She gets brushed five or six times a day, which is still insufficient for her liking.
The December birdseed order has been delivered from the local farmers. One only handles Black Oil Seed, and the other does a mixture of millet, corn, safflower, and sunflower seeds. It seemed as if the Blue Jays were not so happy with just the Black Oil Seed, so now they have a choice along with the Dark-eyed Juncos, who are still here. If you feed birds, check out local farmers who bypass all the middle handlers and sell directly to those who feed the birds.
Moving on to check our active nests…
At Port Lincoln, Mum cleaned the nest and found some fish.
Meanwhile, Mum is waiting for Dad to get off the ropes and go fishing.
So grateful for the fish fairies. These chicks might not have made it to this age. They are 23 and 21 days old today. Mum waiting with Giliath and #2 for a fish delivery. Mum leaves. Dad remains on the ropes. Thank goodness for those scraps in the nest, too!
At 11:50, the chat says “Fish Fairies on their way”. Relief. Giliath and #2 are so precious. So is Mum.
A large Trevally lands on the nest. Oh, goodness. This will make some nice meals!
Dad will take the fish after the first feeding. He will have a good feed and return it to Mum, who will feed the osplets again and hopefully finish off the tail herself. I hope Dad will get out and bring another fish to the nest before evening.
‘A’s report is always welcome. She tells me that today is the Melbourne Cup and everyone stops everything for the horse race! “The osplets are hungry today, with nothing brought to the nest by either parent, although mum did discover some nestovers very early this morning (about 05:48) and fed a fish tail to the two chicks. We are told by the mods that the fish fairy is on her way as I type, so a large feeding is about to occur. The current joke is that mum and the osplets will be meeting the boat! Certainly, mum is gone for no more than two minutes when fish are delivered. She knows Janet by now and I think she is well aware no harm is meant by the fishmonger. Looking forward to watching this pair eat. I love them both but Little Bob is such a feisty lad, his sister being far more laid-back. Perhaps Giliath is also male. I have thought the size discrepancy made that unlikely, but even when both eat their fill, Giliath is definitely eating at least twice as much as its younger sibling at a lot of the feedings. So it’s hard to tell, but I would still have my money on Giliath being the big sister to younger brother Little Bob. The temperaments seem to be the reverse of what gender would suggest. “
‘A’ and I spend a lot of time discussing the Port Lincoln Osplets and we both wonder – as I have in this post earlier – what would have been the fate of this nest this year without the fish fairies: “Today was a day to wonder what may have happened in the absence of the fish fairy, whose single giant trevally (13:07) was the only fish of the day. There were two monster feedings from the fish, and of course mum ate a lot of fish herself (as always), plus dad took it away for a bit and then brought it back for the second feeding. What interested me the most was how confident Little Bob was – lining up first, getting the prime position, and then reaching for bites in front of his huge sister, who did not object in any way or at any stage. These two are the best of friends, and I would suspect two males were it not for the massive size discrepancy between them. There are times when Giliath does get fed a lot more than her brother because mum for some reason concentrates on her, but mostly Little Bob is eating as much as Giliath, and at all meals, he seems to eat as much as he is able to. (He turns away from feedings, too full to continue, then returns to rejoin the feeding or gets pursued by mum attempting to smother him in fish.) So I have to believe their difference in size represents a gender difference, though we won’t know until banding of course. I do love to watch this pair though. They are so amicable and it is just a wonderful nest to watch as a result. I wonder whether dad feels the pressure has been lifted by the fish fairy or whether fishing conditions were simply bad today. “
At Orange, Marri is beginning to look like a falcon, bigger than Diamond. Both share in the prey and continue to look out to the wide world. The parents will soon turn to doing flying demonstrations with prey in their talons in front of the scrape as fledge approaches.
Diamond appears to be smiling all over. Look at those eyes as she stares at her daughter, Marri.
Barru is a cutie-pie but not match for Marri in a tug-o-war. Thank goodness they get along brilliantly.
The Bald Eagles are either laying eggs, thinking about eggs, or working on nests in preparation for eggs in the US.
Martin and Rosa have made great progress on their brand new nest!
We are expecting at an egg with Missey and Pa Berry at Berry College any time.
Smitty is still missing.
The most recent visit of the male with Bella at the NCTC nest is caught by Deb Stecyk.
Poor Bella. She continues to work on her nest with no news of Smitty.
Gabby and V3 are checking out the nest bowl at NEFlorida.
An owl goes after V3 (for the second time in as many days).
The rails are high and the one camera is set low but Muhlady is in the nest at Superbeaks incubating those two eggs.
More GHOs looking for nests and thinking of those that belong to Bald Eagles! This time at the nest of Abby and Blazer.
Fingers crossed for this pair of Black Storks.
Had to check on the only storklet fledgling of Karl II’s to have a transmitter this year – Kalvi. He is now in southern Turkey. Stay safe, Kalvi!
Wonderful news coming out of Kielder from Joanne Dailey and from Jean-marie Dupart in Senegal:
As we know from the Black Storks flying together (Karl II and Kaia) as well as others, Audubon’s recent report supports the notion of flock migration.
As you might be aware, the names of American birds are about to be changed. Here is a good read on why this huge task of removing names related to individuals is taking place.
Thank you so very much for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you with us again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog for today: ‘A’, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam and the BOGS, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Gracie Shepherd, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Berry College Eagle Cam, Deb Stecyk, Paul Kolnik, NEFL-AEF, Lady Hawk, Superbeaks, Eagle Country, Maria Marika, Looduskalender, Joanne Dailey and Jean-marie Dupart, Audubon, and The Guardian.
I hope that the weekend was good and that the beginning of the week is even better for each and everyone.
It was a damp Sunday in southern Manitoba. It rained. Not enough to melt all the snow but enough to make you worry if you went out if the temperature drops quickly and turns that rain into ice. Still, I wanted to get to the nature centre for some suet and walk around checking on the geese and ducks.
But, before we even start on that…Pepe and Muhlady have their second egg of the Bald Eagle season at Superbeaks!!!!!!!! 32 days til hatch watch. Write that in your calendars. 7 December 2023.
Now back to the nature centre. I spotted 27 Hooded Mergansers. Others have seen more. There were Ring-billed gulls, Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, a Rusty Blackbird, two American Coots and 8 Mallards. I did not see a single Canada Goose.
You might remember that earlier in the summer, there were lots of young Hooded Mergansers being cared for by two pairs of adults. I believe that these might be those same waterfowl all grown up!
These are female Hooded Mergansers.
I saw two Males. You can tell them immediately by the white on their hoods and neck.
A małe Downy Woodpecker was really enjoying the suet. Remember when it gets cold suet provides wonderful energy for the birds with all the added fat.
It is the same little Red Squirrel hoping that one of the birds would cause some seeds to drop from the feeders.
Every time I go for a walk in the nature centre, I rub the Buffalo Stone.
In the winter, kids of all ages – seniors, too – will take their sleds to the top of the run and go down the ramp on to the ice of Devonian Lake below. Of course, the lake is frozen solid by then.
Devonian Lake. The only leaves left on the trees are brown. The branches are so bare. The sky is a light dove grey while the lake is a little darker. Everything here in the winter turns into blacks, espressos, deep browns and beaver brown, and a range of greys. I miss the colour of spring! And fall.
At Pork Lincoln, the waters are not as calm as Devonian Lake, but they are calmer than yesterday. Dad will bring in a fish at 08:08 and another one around 13:00 at the time of writing this blog. There could be more and there will also be the fish fairy delivery. There has been no real beaking of any consequence.
Look at the feathers and the down feet. #2 often stars Giliath right in the eyes. It is never the thing to do. One beak by #2. Giliath says not doing that to me. Returns the beak and all is over.
The osplets are getting stronger on their ‘feet’. Just look at Giliath.
Looking out to the world beyond. Those beautiful feathers coming in on the hand and at the tail.
Mum is telling Dad to get on with the fishing. The chicks are going to be hungry.
Mum has flown off the nest. It is nearly 1300. Babies are panting and are hungry. Dad will arrive with a fish shortly. Everyone will get their fill.
‘A’ gives us the remaining report of the day at Port Lincoln: “The fish fairy arrived late this afternoon and delivered five medium-sized fish, mainly red mullet. This was greatly appreciated by mum, Giliath and Little Bob, who ate and ate and ate. For over an hour. Even dad benefitted, because when he caught a fish at 17:39, he was able to eat most of it himself on the ropes. When he brought the remainder to the nest, mum deigned to eat a little before returning to the red mullet. Mum does love her fish, but she tries so hard to fill up those osplets. She feeds fast, and she is always conscious of both chicks, feeding them alternately most of the time (one bite for Little Bob, two or three bites for mum, two bites for Giliath, more bites for mum, three bites for Little Bob, and so on). Oh they are sweet. An osprey nest without undue aggression is a beautiful thing. Rare and wonderful. I have never truly enjoyed an osprey nest until now. “
This is the weekly summary report from Port Lincoln:
They have discovered another nest in South Australia with a wee Osprey babe and an egg.
At Orange, the eyases were looking out of the scrape in the golden glow of morning, waiting for Xavier to bring in the breakfast. Look at how much of the down is now gone. They are developing so fast. Yes, we could have a fledge in a week. That is hard to believe.
These are a series of images from the scrape. Marri and Barru spend a lot of time looking out of the window at the great big world beyond the scrape. The feathers on the bottom of the scrape box not only belong to prey but also have been shed from their back, wings, and head. You can clearly see the falcon head and shape appearing. At times, the pair look like they are on a haute couture runway in Paris with the latest layered satin capes with fine feathering designs. They are simply beautiful although a big bedraggled. In a few days we will not remember what they looked like with their baby down.
There is nothing earth-shattering about these images. They are not fabulous for any reason. I love the state that their plumage is in at the moment. The feathers appear to have a quilted pattern in the first image, with the fine little pieces of down being the ties. The down on their heads is confined to a mini-mohawk. Look at the drape of the cape at the back and imagine a winter wonderland.
‘A’ remarks: “At Orange, little Barru is ADORABLE. Okay, they both are. With their tufts of fluff rapidly disappearing and their feathers coming through, and most importantly those gorgeous eyes. Oh they are so beautiful. Mum and dad are almost reluctant to enter the scrape at this point, as they are immediately mobbed by the eyases, and Xavier needs to count his talons after delivering prey. Mum still feeds the chicks when they let her, but usually, they grab and self-feed, The tugs of prey are risky, as Marri’s near-tumble the other day demonstrated. She really did fall out of the scrape – it was very lucky she got a talon-hold on that tiny ledge beneath the ledge, as it were, and then that she had the strength to flap her own weight back up and into the scrape. It was very dramatic for a few seconds there. But as I said, she learned absolutely nothing from the experience and returned immediately to exactly the same activity in precisely the same spot. Food, food, food!! “
SK Hideaways gives us the video of Diamond not wanting to be in the scrape with the two eyases anymore! Watch those little dandelion feathers go flying…my goodness. This scrape got so small with these two! https://youtu.be/aOZRU7A-Epw?si=Zccfxse3FC1Jh9on
News from Sydney. Images of Rohan Geddes in my blog of for Sunday the 5th of November.
And from Jen for the 6th November, 2023 – As promised, news on SE32 from yesterday. SE32 is with Dad and Lady at river roost! Another thanks to ground obs team – Jen, for the awesome video of SE32 flying with parents. More from the team later on what they saw today. How do we know, which one? SE32 has a high pitched squeal, easily heard over the river and evident when parents were feeding (in mangroves).
And even better news from ‘A’: “November 6: Again all was quiet overnight. Ground crew was down by the river early – and reported both adults and what we think is SE32 in mangroves near River Roost. During the morning I actually spotted SE32 hidden away in the mangroves -superb camouflage and heard it calling. After I left, at around 13:20 SE32 was seen eating under the mangroves, with prey delivered by one of the parents, standing guard nearby. So one of the juveniles at least is with the parents and has been delivered prey, which is wonderful news. Later in the afternoon I again saw both adults in the mangroves in a similar spot, Lady eating a fish and then a juvie possibly eating as well, out of sight. We have possibly heard 2 juveniles calling from that area during the day as well. I went for a walk through the forest, though saw no eagles this time, nor currawongs warning of the presence of a juvenile.”
We are so delighted with SE31 and 32 and knowing they are with Lady and Dad, being fed, getting their flying skills even stronger and learning to hunt. But could you stop for a moment? In recent memory, Lady and Dad have not been able to enjoy these moments either. The eaglets were either lost or taken into care. This must be the most glorious year for these sea eagle parents. Smile. Shed tears. How many years have we waited to see these wonderful fledglings living their lives and being fed without the onslaught of the Currawongs…it is beautiful.
Connie has spent an inordinate amount of time in the nest she shares with Clive on Captiva. Will this be the second eagle couple to lay an egg this season?
Moving sticks and beaky kisses with Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear!
At NE Florida, Gabby is determined to get her nest just right. Now we need eggs!
On Sunday, Smitty had been gone from the NCTC nest for four days. We wait to see what will happen. The young male intruder was seen at the nest on Sunday.
‘A’ gives us a report from the Royal Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand: “At the albatross colony, OGK’s brother has been confirmed as an arrival this season. And as we know, YRK has returned, seemingly aware that OGK will not be coming home. Discussion on this led to someone posting this: https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-55416365. What an amazing photo. There is so much we assume about birds and their emotions (or lack of them) and we actually KNOW so very little. So far, there has not been an egg laid at the colony, but as eggs begin to hatch in the second half of January after an average incubation period of about 11 weeks (77 days), that means we should be expecting eggs to start being laid within the next two or three weeks. They will candle all of the eggs to ascertain which are fertile before deciding on this year’s Royal Cam family. It is a very long period of dedication from the parents – nearly three months of incubation, then eight months of feeding their chick before it fledges. That’s the best part of a year! Now that’s parental devotion.”
The GPS tracking systems on the migrating birds are so good that you can locate the precise pole that the bird was killed on. Indeed, some of them will change the image on the transmission to a skull and crossbones when the bird dies. This is where Karl II took his last breath.
This was sent to me this morning by my friend, Sassa Bird. We had been talking about the great loss that Karl II’s death has done to the people who work so hard for this endangered species to grow in Estonia (and Latvia). We remembered Urmas. He has to be more gutted than any of us will ever know. He has worked tirelessly for the Black Stork families in Estonia.
“NFO BIRDMAP: An adult Black Stork, tracked with support of BAltCF project. Breeding in webcam nest of Karula National Park since 2019. Karl II owned the nest after the previous male stork Karl died during the spring migration in Syria. In the spring of 2020, the former female stork Kati did not return from her migration, and a young female, whom observers began to call Kaia, appeared belatedly in May. Kaia laid two eggs, but left the hatching unfinished. After the breedind appeared unsuccessful we got a chance to capture Karl II and install a transmitter on him. So we know that in the previous two autumns, Karl II made a long migration stop on the Black Sea coast between Kherson and the Crimea, and from there flew west around the Black Sea to Africa. During the 2022 migration, this area was a war zone, and Karl II’s data was cut off on September 4 before reaching the occupied area. The next data transfer took place only on September 22, when Karl II reached the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, in the Dniester River delta. Then we saw that Karl II had flown to his usual stop over area on the Black Sea coast at Perekop Bay by evening September 5th, but the next day he flew away from there, 80 km north to the Dnipro river flood plaines, while checking the feeding places of previous years. In 6-19 September, Karl II stopped at the floodplains of the Dnipro river, in a militarily sense rather hot place between Kherson and Kahovka. On September 19th, Karl II went to see if the conditions on the Black Sea coast had calmed down, but turned back to the Dnipro river and from there in morning of September 20th, he flew further to the northwest, looking for suitable feeding places. In two days, without finding a good place to forage, Karl II reached the border of Moldova, in the delta of the Dniester River (by the evening of September 22). We will see if that will be a longer stop over or only for a single night. When he arrived in Africa, the connection with Karl II disappeared, as it does every autumn. But at the beginning of March 2023, Karl II started flying towards Estonia from his wintering place (from the border of the Central African Republic and DRC). Karl II made a migration stop over on April 1 due to rainy weather, but the rain turned to snow on April 4, and according to the forecast, the snow will not melt until a week later. The north is free of snow, but Karl II probably doesn’t know that. Nevertheless, Karl II breeds successfully in season 2023. There grow up three chicks of four eggs. Last is Karl II to leave for autumn migration. He doesn’t know that it will be his last one. Between 1st and 2nd October Karl II lands on electric pylon for night, but got electrocuted. Turkish colleagues searched and found dead body, took away the transmitter.”
If you are in Malta, please read this and help.
North Ronaldsay is in the Orkneys. It has broken its own record with more than 226 species observed on the island.
We have Wild Turkeys in Manitoba. I remember with some disgruntlement when eBird told me that I was incorrect in spotting and hearing a Wild Turkey at Fort Whyte Alive in the spring. Well, turns out I was right and several others saw the turkeys, too. Want to know more about their behaviour? Have a read.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care everyone. We hope to have you with us again soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: “A, H, Sassa Bird”, PLO, Fran Solly, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, SK Hideaways, Rohan Geddes, Jen, Cathy Cook, Inatra Veidemane, FOBBV, NEFL-AEF, AEF, Sassa Bird, Maria Marika, Birdlife Malta, Bird Guides, and Cool Green Science.
Saturday was a day that fluctuated between blue skies and grey. It was also the day I learned all there is to know about making insulated homes for the feral cats that come to my feeder. Our winters are cold and can be wet with heavy snow. I often long for the dry snow that used to blow across the country roads, creating ‘whiteouts’ on the highway. Most often, I was told when I first arrived on the Canadian Prairies, people would go off the road and into the ditch but on the other side. Whiteouts are precisely that – solid white – opaque milk glass. You quickly get disoriented when you are driving, and the snow is blowing across the highway.
The insulated boxes mean ‘The Boyfriend’ and another friend (wonder who that will be?) will have warm and dry places to stay if they choose – under the deck. That horrid old carpet that needs to be replaced will remain til spring. It will keep the snow from falling between the decking onto the ground below. Hopefully, they will have a nicer winter.
Calico can watch them from inside, snug and warm. Gosh, I love how that cat finally came to trust me. The three girls are such wonderful gifts. They are creatures of ritual and the story reading one is very precious. It reminds me of the time when my children were small and cuddled in for their bedtime stories. Now they nestle on the scrap quilt my grandmother made beside me – Calico and Hope – with Missey either on the table or the cat tree. I am so lucky. If petting a cat removes stress, my life should be completely stress free!
Today I did put a little post in FB seeking out a very young male kitten, a little brother for them. I am looking for a little boy younger than Hope, perhaps 6-8 weeks. Fingers crossed.
Calico trying to catch a ‘cat nap’. Hope does sleep but rather than eat or sleep, she would much rather play!
In keeping to my promise to try and get out to the park for a walk at least 5 days out of 7, I headed off to check on the Wood Ducks, the Mallards, and the Canada Geese that were at Kildonan Park a week ago. There is an area by the ‘Witches Hut’ where people come to feed them seed.
There were no ducks in sight, but there were twenty-five Canada Geese.
Squirrels who are getting their thick winter coats were chasing one another all around the park, up and down the trees, and across the snow. Isn’t this one adorable with his paw across his chest? I bet he thought I might have a peanut. Sadly, I did not – which reminds me that I must get some peanuts for the feeders. They must be rationed because of Little Red, who will take them all and not share. Dyson and Gang, along with the Blue Jays generally eat the nuts this time of year.
‘H’ knows how much I love ducks and geese, and she checks on the Barnegat Light streaming cam regularly. Today, she sent me such a treat – a short video clip of the Brandt Geese. You should check out that streaming cam! Oh, I would love to be sitting in those dunes listening to them.
Wikipedia gives us the following information: “The brant is a small goose with a short, stubby bill. It measures 55–66 cm (22–26 in) long, 106–121 cm (42–48 in) across the wings and weighs 0.88–2.2 kg (1.9–4.9 lb).[4][5][6][7] The under-tail is pure white, and the tail black and very short (the shortest of any goose).The species is divided into three subspecies:[8]
Dark-bellied brant gooseB. b. bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pale-bellied brant gooseB. b. hrota (Müller, 1776) (also known as light-bellied brent goose in Europe, and Atlantic brant in North America)
Black brant gooseB. b. nigricans (Lawrence, 1846) (sometimes also known as the Pacific brant in North America)”.
Audubon describes their migration. It is possible that ‘L’ spotted one in Mobile Bay today!
“Long-distance migrant, travelling in flocks. Birds from central Canadian Arctic move down east side of Hudson Bay, then may make nonstop flight overland from southern James Bay to central Atlantic Coast of USA. In Alaska, large numbers gather at Izembek Lagoon and then depart almost simultaneously for long overwater flight to wintering areas on Pacific Coast. Migrating flocks may fly very high. Wintering birds may linger later in spring than most geese, as coastal breeding areas in high Arctic remain unsuitable for nesting until summer.”
In her book, The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl says, “The world will always be beautiful to those who look for beauty.”
In the garden, it was damp and grey today. The snow is melting and everything looks ugly. I’m not too fond of this time of year. When you leave your garden to be messy to help the birds and insects, there are some weeks when everything looks so dishevelled, so rotten, in such a mess. I must remind myself that all of this is for the greater good and hope that a large dump of snow will come and cover it with a winter blanket until spring!
The European Starlings flew in and out, and a Blue Jay has been searching through the Black oil Seed to see if the Sparrows left him anything. It is time to go and get some food just for the Blue Jay, but, of course, that will not work as the others will want to share in the goodies, too.
This is Junior, the Dad. He was at the feeder with the youngest of the fledglings the other day. Several appear to have moved on. Often Junior will stay for most of the winter.
It has been especially difficult to get a good image of the Starlings when they come in during the day. They are fond of the solid suet and have consumed many large cylinders this past week in their attempt to keep warm.
Now if I misspell names, tell me! Bazz not Bazza, Giliath. I put an ‘a’ in there. It is Barru and Marri. Apologies all around. My fingers sometimes go faster than my brain!!!!!!!
At the beginning of the season at Orange, my wish was for one healthy eyas. Instead, we have two. Double happiness for Diamond and Xavier this year. And that second hatch is quite the character. Barru and Marri have their ongoing tug-o-wars for prey and then, in a wink, sit there and pull off pieces, sharing their lunch. What great siblings!
It has been a glorious year at Orange.
Just look at how much soft white down is coming off the backs and wings of these two. Imagine if you will that it might well be all gone, flying about the scrape along with the feathers from the prey being plucked. Marri and Barru are turning into ‘falcons’.
‘A’ reports: “There was much wingercising, eating and screeching, along with zoomies around the scrape. THOSE EYES! Oh how gorgeous are those sidelong glances? So very cute. And we’re only a week from fledge watch!! Surely not. Already? Here are today’s time stamps: PREY 07.02 04, 08.16.37, 09.50.37, 17:10:18, 19.09.00, 19.18.35 FEED 07.02(M,D,B), 09.52(M,D,B), 11:57(X scrap from floor), 17:10 (M&B), 19.09(M&B), 19.19 (M,D). HIGHLIGHTS: 17:18 Barru takes the prey! 18:05:46 Marri shows off her giant wings but 18:07:18 Barru wins the winger competition. 18:08:23 they discuss it with beakies. 19:18:38 tug-o-war between Barru and Marri. Barru wins the tug-o-war at 19:18:49. We will miss this pair. What huge personalities they both are. As always, Diamond and Xavier do raise one male chick each year who is a very memorable eyas indeed. Izzi. Yurruga. Rubus. And this year, Barru. I do think this is their first female chick in many many years – Marri is definitely female IMO, as she is as big as her mum (bigger with all that fluff) and towers over poor little Xavier.”
The water at Port Lincoln is choppy. Will Dad get a fish in? How will the boat ride be for Fran and Bazz as they head out to get fish for the nest on the barge?
Giliath and #2 are getting almost too big to fit under Mum comfortably. You will be able to notice the pin feathers coming in if you look carefully.
The kids are preening. Feathers are itchy!
It is 1244 and no fish has arrived at Port Lincoln yet – not from Dad or the fish fairy. Thinking they need a tank!
It is mid-afternoon. Dad appears on the ropes. Mum and kids in the nest waiting for fish. I hope the fish fairies are not having difficulty finding the catch of the day.
‘A’ reports: “At Port Lincoln, dad brought in only one small fish for the entire day (at 10:07:20), which fed both osplets a small snack. So it was indeed fortunate that the fish fairy delivered an extra large whole trevally (709 grams) at 14:51. This fed both kids to their gills (the feeding lasted 69 minutes), and there was another feeding from the same fish at 16:27 which was listed on the Obs Board as small but apparently lasted for 29 minutes. Either way, both osplets had full crops at bedtime.”
It is raining in the Sydney Olympic Forest home to the Sea Eagles and the two fledglings SE31 and 32.
Several years ago, a dear ‘late’ friend, Phyllis Robbins, introduced me to Cathy Cook. Cathy lives near the Discovery Centre, and you might remember that she has helped spot the sea eagle fledglings when they are grounded. She has helped on more than one occasion to get help for them, even riding with them in the van to the rehab clinic. I so admire her dedication to these beautiful raptors. Today, Cathy has some news for us that will make you smile.
Then there is more great news!!!!!!!!!!!! Just tape that smile on your face. Look at this sea eaglet.
‘A’ sends the report from Sydney: “November 5: Rain and wind this morning. No action on the nest during the day, but great observations from our ground team again. One juvenile, we think SE32, was seen with the parents across the river in the mangroves, possibly eating as well. Both appear to be still in the area. The watching and listening continues.”
Gracie Shepherd caught Irv and Claire at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest in Pennsylvania. Bravo! I keep missing them. So glad they are both home safe and planning for a new season.
Gabby and V3 continue to work on their nest near Jacksonville. Have these two ever mated? ‘A’ has been sceptical for some time. Now, I am starting to wonder. Why would V3 be camera-shy?
And at Duke Farms…
There are beautiful eagles in the trees with their fall leaves at Decorah.
It was a stunning morning at Big Bear, but I did not see Jackie and/or Shadow at the nest (yet). Don’t you love the way the sun rising creates those beautiful diamonds?
Pepe and Muhlady are taking such good care of that precious egg. Look for another soon!
The situation at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of M15 and F23 – or is it the nest of the GHOs – is worrisome. Whose nest is it? M15 and F23 have not been sleeping at the nest. Do they know that the owls are staking it out as their own?
Some news from around the world:
A growing colony of terns! Oh, I do love terns. My friend ‘S’ has some terns living in her garden on the Hawaiian islands, and they are so pretty. We also have terns in Manitoba during the spring and summer breeding seasons.
The Black Stork migration continues. Maria Marika reports that many are flying over Egypt. They are almost to their winter homes. I hope Kaia is with them and she is safe. It would be grand if Karl II was by her side – hard to imagine we lost him.
The Royal Albatross continue to return to Taiaroa Peninsula to find their mates and start the process of nest building and egg laying!
Do you know this nest cam with squirrels and songbirds in Nagano?
Please share. Once, when we were trying to protect some Cooper’s Hawk nests in my city, I was told repeatedly, that the hawks had been carrying away the local dogs! The gentleman who told me this was busy trying to locate all the nests in the area so he could destroy them. It took great effort and one of the local wildlife officers to deter his actions.
Thank you so much for being with us today in Bird World. Please stay safe. I hope to see you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, photographs, videos, graphics, articles, and streaming cams that helped me write my blog today: ‘A, B, H, L’, Wikipedia, Audubon, Openverse, Margaret Renkl, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, PLO, Cathy Cook, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Gracie Shepherd, Rohan Geddes, NEFL-AEF, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, FOBBV, Superbeaks, Androcat, Bird Guides, The Petrel Station and Seabird Tours and Research, Holly Parsons, Maria Marika, Lady Hawk, Nagano Songbird Cam, and The Medina Raptor Centre.
