Category Archives: Big Red and Arthur

Monday in Bird World

29 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I am finishing this posting late Sunday evening as I must leave the house early Monday morning. So, whatever happens between midnight CDT and Monday morning will be covered on Tuesday. It is also going to be cooler tomorrow. 2 C. We were 24 C last week. I do not know about the birds and animals in the garden, but it has been quite the past few months with the weather fluctuating daily.

Hugo Yugo and Missey want to wish everyone a great start to their week. These two are inseparable, just like Calico and Baby Hope. It is not just Missey that washes Hugo Yugo – that little ginger gives Missey a good going over. It is so precious.

Beautiful chortling from Jackie and Shadow to start your day.

I spent Sunday with my daughter and her three children to celebrate the granddaughter’s birthday. You will recall that this young woman is quite an inspiration to me and others. She has the most empathy and is a social worker helping those who struggle to live independently due to long-term abuse and addiction. She is also Vegan and has been for seven years. Her commitment to the welfare of animals and people warms my heart.

There are some sad and horrifying things happening in Bird World and I would like to dispense with them right away and get on to some of the more positive events that happened in our nests on Sunday.

I have great concerns for the second hatch at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. ‘R’ did a great job monitoring the nest and confirmed my fears. He writes, “At 0647 a fish was brought in.  It looks like Stella as only one Osprey came into the nest. At 1247 Stella again brought in a fish.  She is gone most of the time so I suspect she is doing the fishing. After this feeding both osplets had decent crops. At 1247 Stella fed part of a fish that was laying in the nest (catfish). At 1447 Talon brings in a fish.  This is the only time he is in the nest for 12H.  This is also the last feeding for the 12H period. Stella spends most of her time off the nest and occasionally brings in nesting material.

The birds must be getting very hungry as #1 (my numbering for the biggest and aggressive osplet) occasionally attacks #2 even when there is no feeding going on.  #2 is getting very little food. Very strange and hard to follow with such a poor arrangement of the camera.”

The image below is well after ‘R’s’ reporting. Sibling 1 has been eating all the fish and has a huge crop and is attacking the middle sibling. The third hatch died of a very vicious siblicide.

Tragedy was brewing Sunday afternoon when both Claire and USS7 got caught in fishing line on the US Steel Bald Eagle nest. In an incredible effort, Claire got that line off herself and her chick. She then gathered it up and flew off the nest! Well done – an experienced Mum working to save her little one.

‘H’ reports that the two eggs laid at the Fenwicke Island Osprey nest in Delaware have been eaten by Crows. Both adults were off the nest!

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ospreys are being rained on. The first egg which had been left in the pouring rain is now well hidden under nesting material. The second egg was laid on Sunday and it has been walked on and rained on…It could well be a blessing if it does not hatch.

Good news coming from Decorah North. NC18 no longer has fishing line hanging from its beak. It appears it has been cleared as per Raptor Resource Project.

‘B’ writes: “I couldn’t believe it!  Archie snuck in there at 8:38:45 while Annie was away and began feeding the chicks.  He must have had that TINY bit of prey stashed somewhere, just waiting for his opportunity.  It only lasted a minute, because Annie returned at 8:39:45 and snatched it from him, also having a couple of words with him. Way to go, Archie!”

Cal Falcons caught this magical moment.

Sometimes it is hard to tell how much fish Tuffy gets, but he is being fed well and his feathers are continuing to grow and the nest appears peaceful.

Keo and Keke surprised everyone with their first egg laid late on the 27th or the wee hours of the 28th (?) at the Sandpoint Nest.

On Sunday that egg at Sandpoint had some drizzle on it.

‘PB’ found a nest in Canada in the Niagara on the Lake area. It is the Niagara Bee Group Ospreys and they already have two eggs!

Some rain got on the two eggs Sunday afternoon. It is not clear if they will be viable or not.

This is the link to their streaming cam:

Ollie and his mate have returned to the Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society on Long Island. There is a new camera and the nest has been secured from a storm last year that wiped it out. Ollie returned on the 30th of March and his mate arrived a few days later. They now have one egg according to the wonderful moderator of their FB messaging who answered me promptly.

More and more fish deliveries at Frenchman’s Creek. Reflecting on this nest and the Mum who is obviously ill/injured makes me wonder how these two surviving osplets will behave as adults with their own chicks. For example, at the Hopeless Nest in Newfoundland, the female does not feed the chicks. Both died last year and I believe in all the time only one chick has survived and that was in 2019 (please feel free to correct me). Will these two not feed their chicks? if they are female? Or will their instincts or memories drive them to be good parents?

Dad continues to bring fish – thankfully he eats the head so the chicks can eat the fish easier. He is also still spending time feeding his two big babies. I think they are going to be alright. People should not worry about the fish piling up unless it compromises the nest structure. The carrion eaters will arrive and have it cleaned up in no time!

The weather is improving in Finland and the ospreys are busy mating, fixing nests, or laying eggs. There are two eggs at Satakunnan.

There is a new female this year at Juurusvesi. She is Yellow M76822 and was ringed in 2020 at a nest precisely 100 km away at Viitasaaki.

Did not see an osprey on the nest at Paltamon where there is still snow on the ground, but there was a Peregrine Falcon!

Both have returned to Janakkala – obviously eating well. No egg yet.

The male in Germany is feeding the female who is incubating their eggs a fish meal. How cute.

Louis must have been dealing with intruders. She finally got a fish and it was after 1500 – that is decidedly not the Louis we know.

There is a new couple with three eggs on the Estonian Osprey nest in Tartu County. (It is not believed that this is either the former male Ivo or his mate). This is wonderful news for a country where the osprey population is low. In 2018, 210 pairs.

No one will ever go hungry if Arthur is around. The nest of Big Red and N1 and N2 is now lined with squirrel. Do not despair of you see these two beaking away at one another. It will stop. Their eyes cannot focus properly – just like the falcons. Give them 4 or 5 days. Their heads are not steady and any beak is a potential meal! They will get rough – in this instance, it is play fighting unlike what is happening at University of Florida-Gainesville.

Buky and Bette still have two eggs at their nest in Mlady Buky.

Geemeff brings us up to date on the comings and goings of nest 1 at Loch Arkaig. “An unringed female came to Nest One and got two fish from Garry LV0! She spent a lot of time there, fingers crossed she returns tomorrow. Affric 152 hasn’t been seen since the 24th, and the unidentified pair at Bunarkaig are definitely now incubating eggs so it does look like that is her on that nest. So with luck she’ll stay away and Garry will have the time and space to woo this female and they form a bond. There is still time – just – for eggs this year but just seeing him with a mate would make me very happy.”

Geemeff has it all on video.

And then a second fish. This looks promising. There has not been a family of osplets on this nest since Louis moved to nest 2 with Dorcha after Aila did not return.

Swampy had a meal and slept like an adult perched with a parent on the natal tree.

‘H’ reports that Severna Park finally has its first egg – a fortnight later than last year. 17:26:55.

Deb Stecyk did a really nice tribute to Bella. Poor eagle…what a terrible year she had with her new mate, Scout.

When the young woman posted her linocut of Flaco on FB, I could not resist. It arrived and went off to the framers. I forgot to request non-reflective glass. Said with a loud sigh, as it was difficult to get a half-decent image without reflections for her to use on her Instagram page. I thought it came out rather well – the print with the matting and framing. It’s hard to tell the colours, but the largest matt is a deep grey-blue-black, with the little interior section the colour of a deep rust brick.

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We will look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, MP, PB, R’, SK Hideaways, Baiba, Fenwicke Island, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Cal Falcons, Moorings Park ospreys, Sandpoint Ospreys, Niagara Bee Group, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, Frenchman’s Creek, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fischadlercam, Geemeff, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell RTH, Mlady Buky Stork Cam, Eagle Country, Severna Park, Deb Stecyk, and DirtGirl Designs.

*Disclaimer: I make every effort to identify and thank those who have provided information. If I have made an error or omission, please let me know so I can rectify it. Thank you.*

More Osprey eggs…Sunday in Bird World

28 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

When I set off to check on the Stellar’s Sea Eagle at our local zoo, it was windy, and the temperature in Winnipeg was 5 degrees C. The clouds parted, and the dreary day hinted at in the early hours soon gave way to bright blue skies and sun. It was glorious. I am so grateful to be able to get out and about exploring. It is never taken for granted. Each day is a unique treasure filled with discoveries.

At the far end of the zoo in the Asian area is one very handsome Stellar’s Sea Eagle. I love standing and watching him. Today they were cleaning out a part of his huge enclosure and he was just perched paying no mind. I wonder how long this beautiful creature has lived in a cage?

You might recall that a Stellar’s Sea Eagle landed on the eastern coast of Canada in November 2021. The huge eagle eventually travelled to Maine before returning to Canada. How it got from its regular home in Russia is unknown.

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Red-tail Hawk

The male Reeve’s Pheasant has the longest feather of any bird globally at 2.4 metres. The layers and layers of curved feathers are quite amazing. I was mesmerised by the limited colour pattern and how using only black, white, and a golden orange-yellow nature created such spectacular plumage to attract a female!

A lone Grey Wolf captured a lot of attention.

I spotted a pair of Eastern Phoebes in the trees. They are classified as ‘flycatchers’ and are one of the first birds to arrive in Manitoba in the spring, normally in March. They depart in September after making their mud nests and raising their young. They incubate four to eight pure white eggs for 16 days. They normally have two broods every breeding season. They are gorgeous little birds with a grey-green-slightly brown head (like a light olive khaki colour) and back with creamy white underparts tinged with a slight yellow-green-grey. Their bill is black and distinctive.

Hugo Yugo is having a bit of a rest before getting into more mischief. She loves to carry objects in her mouth, including the tub stopper, any earrings that get left out, keys, bags of cookies, necklaces, pens and pencils, cables for computers and cameras, and earbuds. Nothing appears to be safe these days. She also likes to hide them.

Gosh, I adore this little ginger. She is such a character – there is never a dull moment and I cannot imagine, for a single second, my life without her.

You will remember agonising over whether Tuffy at Moorings Park would live or die. Today, almost fully feathered (if not completely), Tuffy is a prime example of why you never give up hope for these little ones. I think that it is also a good example of why you do not turn away. We will never appreciate the struggles that the raptors have if we do not hang in there with them through the good, the bad, and the sheer ugly.

Look at Tuffy’s eyes light up when he sees a fish dinner. What a darling.

‘H’ captured that feeding on video for us. Please have a look. You can watch this on YouTube by clicking the YT link at the bottom left.

Many do not make it. In 2023, out of 339 eggs ‘H’ and I monitored, fourteen died from siblicide. In comparison, eighteen starved to death due to circumstances not related to siblicide and 36 did not hatch.

Asha and Brodie have their third egg at Loch Garten. Proud Mum shows off those eggs!

Aran and Elen have their third egg at 0807 on the 28th – this morning – at Glaslyn. Aran was on the perch giving support.

Mrs O at Tweed Valley laid her third egg on the 27th.

Johnny and June have their second egg at Fenwick Island in Delaware at 0810 on the 28th.

The Ravens took the eggs of Milda and Hugo ending another sad year for this gorgeous Latvian female White-tail eagle. She is now free to find food and not sit incubating and starving – and allowing her health to deteriorate.

There is an egg in the nest of the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Anna and Andres. I have included the link Sassa Bird provided.

This is one of the most interesting articles about the Lesser Spotted Eagle and should alert any potential viewers to the fact that under normal conditions, if there is a second hatch, it is killed by the first even if there is plenty of food present. (I have posted it previously). It is the definition difference between siblicide – the killing of siblings when there is only food for perhaps one – and enough food but the first hatch, the dominant bird, kills the second for no apparent reason.

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E23 is still home and still learning about those annoying small birds.

Edie feeding the two osplets at Captiva. It will be easier when they are not bobbling!

The male brought in a fresh fish at the Frenchman’s Creek osprey platform. He called the female several times while one of the osplets played tug-o-war with the fish. When the female did not come, he began to feed the chick/s. This is good news! These chicks will, despite everything, probably fledge. Thank goodness.

There are three eggs at the Radford University osprey nest in Bradford, Virginia. Thanks, ‘PB’ for mentioning this nest!

This is the link to their streaming cam:

Still snowing at some of the osprey nests in Finland.

Lots of shift changes at the nest of Big Red and Arthur – with two wiggling chicks underneath!

Meal before bedtime. Arthur has the pantry nicely stocked.

There is quite a wiggly nest full at Cal Falcons and everyone is hungry!

Gosh, we have fallen in love with Archie.

‘A’ writes, “

dinner at Cal Falcons was a lengthy affair, beginning at around 17:58 and still continuing more than 25 minutes later, with mum e-chupping to encourage the chicks to open their beaks just one more time. The two youngest chicks were at the front of the pack for this feeding, and were fed first, which was great, as the youngest is often stuck at the back and can miss out altogether at some feedings. Annie is very diligent about feeding all four, though, most of the time. At this feeding, she brought in a very large piece of prepared prey (she was gone about five minutes, unusually, and of course Archie came in to keep an eye on the eyases while she was gone – he is ADORABLE). 

By 18:23, the younger ones at the front appear to have got a second wind and are again accepting bites of food. Annie is amazing. She has been feeding for 25 minutes, and remember this lot is under a week old. I cannot imagine how much work poor mum is going to be doing feeding these four over the next four weeks or so, until they begin to learn to self-feed. And so far, dad has been fantastic in terms of ensuring a pantry full of delicious well-prepared meat for the family. But of course that load is going to increase dramatically week by week, as these four grow rapidly. So both parents are really going to have their work cut out for them. I do wish them both well in this huge endeavour. Annie is not used to raising four, and we have no idea of Archie’s parental experience, if any. It will be a big task for them both. Annie is still feeding at 18:25. By 18:27, there are finally no more takers and Annie eats a bit herself before taking the carcass (not much edible remains) back to the pantry. We can hearing Archie vocalising in the background – he sounds displeased though I have no idea why (and whether that vocal is indeed one of displeasure, but it is certainly very much like the one Annie uses when she is ‘warning’ that she is not happy with or about something or someone). But surely, after that thorough a feeding, all four eyases will sleep with happy tummies tonight. “

Two little hungry osplets at Captiva.

Nesting material is finally coming in to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. It even looked like Dad was telling Mum to incubate the egg that she kept wanting to cover up – it was the egg left out in the rain and uncovered on Friday.

‘AE’ shares news of Monty and Hartley. “From 6:05pm last night and until 6:38am today Monty was the one doing the overnight incubation duty. Hartley had visited the nest ledge. Monty never got up from the eggs so Hartley took herself over to the sunshade where she spent the entire night!”

Betsy and Frederick have three eggs. There was a wee break in the incubation to fix up some rails. Good idea!

Screen captures of Iris and Louis from Saturday. There was concern over an injury to Louis’s chest. You can see what could b e the injury on the chest close to the left wing. I realise that everyone in the world would like Iris to have a dedicated mate, but I don’t want Louis to be injured and possibly die due to an infection if that is a deep gouge with a piece of wood in it as some believe. Starr is at the baseball park, and if she doesn’t have eggs, she will soon. We know what will happen if Iris lays eggs, and that is fine – she will be free from the duties of raising chicks, which I clearly believe has lengthened her life. She eats well and cares for herself year-round. Most research indicates that female raptors lose at least 30% of their body weight, raising babies.

Swoop and the new female at Dunrovin are working on the nest. Look at that long strip of nesting material! An intruder was about and Swoop was in the nest quickly in protective mode.

There is some concern over the GH owlet at Wolf Bay. It has been slightly lethargic most of the day.

‘AE’ got a great screen capture of JBS20’s feet! She said, “Gotta love those feet! I never appreciated orange bird feet so much until I started watching bird cams. He’s waiting for breakfast to be delivered.”

Prey delivered, JBS20 eventually arrives to eat leftovers.

Swampy appears to be doing just fine since he fell from the nest to the branch and fledged and returned. Everyone keep sending him good wishes.

Have you been watching the FOLFAN eagles? Here is the latest.

All three eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy are doing fantastic. Look at the nice crop on the third hatch.

The two eaglets at the ND-LEEF nest both went to bed with full crops. I did not notice any aggression at the last feeding of the day. They both look like they are doing well.

I have written ‘R’ who is observing the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest of Talon and Stella. It looked to me that the two osplets had only one feeding on Saturday and that it was hot. Mum shaded them, but was on and off the nest. Is the Dad missing? One osplet, the third hatch, has already died of siblicide. At one time, Talon was bringing in plenty of fish. Something is amiss. Will another so-let’s life be in jeopardy? or both?

Bradley still loves eating his Puffer Fish on the natal nest!

The thawing of the permafrost is going to have a significant impact on birds and their migration. Many that travel to the UK for the winter from Scandinavia, Greenland, and Siberia, may stop migrating. What else is happening with the permafrost thaw?

Climate-change-is-impacting-bird-migration-patterns.-Heres-what-we-know-CBC-NewsDownload
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Another deliberate killing of a raptor – this time a Red Kite.

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Incubation continues at Great Bay Ospreys.

Your smile for the day comes from the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey platform where the nest is full. Aren’t those three gorgeous in their juvenile plumage? The oldest is almost as big as the female.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We want you back with us soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, videos, articles, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, MP, PB’, CBC News, Moorings Park Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, RSPB Loch Garten, LDF, Sassa Bird, Research Gate (B-U Meyburg), Frenchman’s Creek, Radford University Osprey Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Cornell RTH Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Window to Wildlife, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, OBX Osprey Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Wolf Bay, JB Sands Wetlands, Eagle Country, American Eagle Foundation, Little Miami Conservancy, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville, Port Lincoln Ospreys, American Bird Conservancy, BirdGuides, Raptor Persecution UK, and VGCCO.

Hatch at Cornell, Osprey eggs…Saturday in Bird World

27 April 2024

Good Morning,

The rain I wished for arrived Friday morning, along with a chill to the bone feeling. It was much needed, and the smell of the wet earth was intoxicating, especially after all the dust. The grass around the City is turning green, and the leaves on the lilac bushes in the garden are starting to emerge. I cannot wait to see the garden completely ‘green’ again. This morning, the first White-throated Sparrows arrived in the garden. They returned, again, in even larger numbers – 35 or 40 – in the pouring rain around 1930. They are easy to see with their three white stripes on the crown, but I realised that soon the leaves would be out, and I will be scrambling to tell who is where.

The White-throated Sparrow might look like a House Sparrow except for that amazing head and throat. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a plastic head stuck on a house sparrow. Silly me. There are three white stripes alternating with black to make up its crown. On each side, at the top of the black beak, is a yellow dot – someone got into their paint pot! The proper term is lores. Below the beak is a white triangle like a bib, hence the name – ‘White-throated’. [The White Crowned Sparrow lacks the white bib!]

All about Birds says, “White-throated Sparrows eat mainly the seeds of grasses and weeds, including ragweed and buckwheat, as well as fruits of sumac, grape, cranberry, mountain ash, rose, blueberry, blackberry, and dogwood. In summer they eat large numbers of insects that they catch on the forest floor or, occasionally on quick flights out from low vegetation. These include dragonflies, wasps, stinkbugs, beetles, flies, and caterpillars, as well as spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and snails. Parents feed their nestlings almost exclusively animal matter. During winter, White-throated Sparrows readily visit bird feeders for millet and black oil sunflower seeds. In spring they eat the tender buds, blossoms, and young seeds of oak, apple, maple, beech, and elm.” They were certainly busy kicking and foraging in the grass beneath the feeders in my garden. I noticed that they not only consumed the Black-oil seed but the Millet and the Corn.

The white eyebrows are normally sider than the single stripe running down the middle of the crown. You can see the yellow lores clearly in the image below.

“Female White-throated Sparrows put their nests on or just above the ground, typically in level areas in clearings with dense ground vegetation. The nest is usually built under shrubs, grasses, or ferns, sometimes even beneath dead vegetation from the previous year. Birds sometimes put their nests off the ground, particularly if they lost a previous nest to a predator. These nests may be in roots of an upturned tree, brush piles, in shrubs or ferns, or as high as 10 feet up in a coniferous tree.”

‘The Girls’ are just like our little raptors. After every meal they go into a food coma! Hugo Yugo is no exception.

I am afraid to say but it appears that Hugo Yugo is starting to grow – long. Her face still looks like a kitten. I am hoping that my eyes are just fooling me. She still fits in the shoe box.

Meanwhile, Missey still likes it when the plants are watered and will curl up in them like she did as a kitten with Lewis.

It isn’t an end table…it is a two-tier hard sofa for cats. I wish the individual had not felt the need to refinish the tops – the wicker is marvellous and it would certainly be more fitting for it to be in its original condition, however grotty.

The Fig Tree needs a nice new pot.

Richmond and Rosie are going to be grandparents! I get goosebumps when I hear of survivals like this. I am sure many of you watched ZD with me four years ago!

There is a second egg hatching at the nest of Big Red and Arthur Friday afternoon. There will be another beak to fill Saturday. Arthur is already bringing in the squirrels. I hope it is a huge population of them and chippies this spring – he will have six mouths to feed in total.

N1 is a darling. Our friend ‘A’ thinks so, too: “N1 is SUCH a strong little hawklet. It is eating like a small fluffy piglet. Mum is feeding it often and it is eating like a pro, even picking up dropped mouthfuls for itself! This is one precocious little chick. But of course that is hawklets isn’t it? Their nest time is so short compared to eaglets and osplets. They grow so fast and fledge so soon, we have to appreciate every day we have them in the nest. A bit like falcons, really, which returns me to the happy little band at Cal Falcons. A darling, hard-working little dad and a devoted, very experienced mum. This may be the first time all four of Annie’s eggs have hatched (although we have no idea what would have happened last season had that third egg not almost certainly been laid away from the nest on the day Grinnell died) but I have a lot of confidence in this pair to successfully raise all four to fledge, as long as they are not bothered by intruders.”

Too cute!

Big Red positively glows when her eggs begin to hatch and there are chicks to care for. She even looks younger and younger.

UPDATE: From ‘A’: “

The second hawklet is nearly dry when Big Red gives us our first good daylight look at the expanded family from about 06:28:20 when she gets up for a stretch. There is a stick that falls across the nest as she moves and the new hatchling has to struggle out from under it (mum moves it). The second little one appears strong and healthy. I’m sure there will be a meal soon, but at this stage, this is the first really good look we have had at the second hawlet. 

Two eggs hatched and two eggs to come. I wonder whether the gaps between hatches will be similar or whether there will be different time differences. There looks as though there MAY be a pip in the third egg (left hand side at the front as we are looking at the pic), right down at the bottom on the left hand end but of course I may be wrong and it may not even be at the correct end of the egg. So I wouldn’t be relying on my ability to spot pips on hawk eggs or (especially) on osprey eggs. Just too many blotches for me to see anything definitive. “

Cutie pie falcons in Osaka being fed – look how big they are! The pin gathers are coming in and they have lost that sweet baby down but gosh, they are still adorable.

H’ reports that Angel and Tom visited their nest Saturday morning. Yippeeee.

The first egg at McEuan Park in Idaho was laid on the 26th. Thanks, ‘H’.

*Caution. Not recommended. Potential neglect from female/starvation despite male delivering fish*. The first egg of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest was laid on the 25th. This is a very problematic nest. Little to none nesting materials. Experienced Dad. Female appears to have many issues. She has failed to cover egg and it has rained heavily on the egg. ‘MP’ reports that the Dad tried to cover it with the few cornstalks available. The female later returns to incubate. Quite honestly, the kind thing would be for this egg to be unviable.

In comparison, Annie is a superb Mum. ‘A’ writes, “Annie was so careful this morning to make sure that little number 4 chick was fed after its older siblings had eaten their fill. She had to go around to the back of the pile to reach the little one, which is way too small to reach over the others and not yet strong enough to push its way to the front. So Annie is making sure that she gets the food to the little one herself. She is very deliberate about it. It has to wait its turn, but Annie keeps feeding and feeding until all the little mouths are closed, and then she e-chups some encouragement to try just a couple more bites and the little beaks open one more time. And when they have all eaten their fill, only then does Annie finish the feeding and remove the leftovers. .(Or on this occasion, she simply ate the leftovers herself, having fed the entire prey item to the chicks.) 

She is a very very good mother, and Archie is doing a sterling job. He would love to do more, and is always there if he feels the chicks might get chilly waiting for mum’s return, but knows his place and is quick to depart when mum arrives back. I think brooding the four is going to be quite a challenge for him within a day or two. “

Annie wants to be in charge of the feedings!

Squirming falcons.

Audacity laid a fourth egg that was crushed. It makes me so very sad to think how much she wants a family – or for that matter all the others like Jackie and Shadow, Chase and Cholyn, and of course, dear Gabby and Beau. When I get down in the dumps about it all, I just go over to Cal Falcons or Big Red’s…you cannot help but smile and have all the gloom washed away.

Falcons are hatching everywhere including in the Netherlands near the city of Duurstede.

Raptor Resource Project staff keeping a close eye on the eaglet at Decorah North.

Later images at Decorah North.

The first osprey in all of Italy hatched on Friday.

Fish arrived at 1326 at Moorings Park and what you can’t see is Tuffy on the other side being fed first.

Look at Tuffy working those wings. Our darling little one has grown up – and is surviving.

Idris incubates the eggs while Telyn enjoys a nice fish supper at the Dyfi Osprey platform in Wales.

Contentment at Glaslyn with Elen and Aran.

I wish that Affric and either Prince or Gary would find the same kind of contentment at Loch Arkaig nest 1. How could osplets be raised with all the kerfuffle going on?

Louis found out about the other male courting Iris and might well have sent him packing. Iris is alone in the rain. Louis has an injury on his chest.

Swampy is beautiful and appears to be doing well! Prey being provided at the nest.

Two osplets at Frenchman’s Creek are self-feeding, getting fed by Mum once in awhile, and you know what? They just might fledge – they might make it!

The eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy are walking on the nest and growing like crazy. Look at that formidable female! I would not want to get her upset.

West End trio doing quite well.

Eaglets at Duke nearing branching and fledge.

The two eaglets on Farmer Derek’s property, Wichita and Cheyenne, are both doing fantastic.

Notice the difference in plumage. Port Tobacco eaglet is getting its feathers but is only beginning compared to the Duke Farms eaglets, Jersey and Leaper.

Fort St Vrain eaglets, FSV49 and 50, are so tiny. They are losing their natal down and finishing up getting their thermal. One has even been pecking at prey.

While it might look boring, the ospreys and eagles have to stay vigilant during the incubation period least their eggs get pecked by Crows (Tom and Audrey’s most recent egg at Kent Island) or they get attacked by intruders. The pair at Boulder are always on the look out for trouble.

Denton Homes eaglet trio now have their thermal down.

Andor and Cruz’s pair are doing well – and are simply lovely.

Jackie and Shadow give me the warm fuzzies – it is like ‘everything is going to be OK’ when I see them together.

The new male at Anna and Louis’s nest, E1, at Lake Kincaid seems to have a fetish for turtles. Tonya Irvin worries that they could become endangered at the lake!

Hoping that the first hatch at Captiva is kind to the second and letting it eat enough.

There are three eggs at Cowlitz PUD.

Nothing is happening, yet, at Oregon Law’s osprey nest.

Liberty and Guardian’s eaglets at Redding are well looked after.

An unexpected snow in Finland has hit areas where the ospreys are nesting.

Others were not affected. The female at Janakallan, Yellow XKT, was on the nest today. Has her partner, Red CCL, lost his Darvic ring?

I have been following the plight of Milda and her two eggs since Hugo went missing. On Friday, Milda left the nest at 1759 and had not returned by 0700 Saturday morning. She cannot do this alone and new males have proven to her to be unreliable. Better unhatched eggs than starving chicks – precisely how I feel about other nests, too.

Researchers in Australia have found that noise from urban pollution (traffic) stunts the growth of baby birds.

Noise-from-traffic-stunts-growth-of-baby-birds-study-finds-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

An Osprey rescue in Belgium that could have a very happy ending.

If you missed it, here is April’s Ventana Wildlife Condor Chat.

Our birds and wildlife need habitat, clean water, and food. Humans need to examine the land we use and begin to see a different vision than houses – larger and larger ones – taking over land. In my City, they should be building up, not out.

Did you read Watershed Down? The local community has lost their battle for the iconic and inspiring landscape for that story to housing.

Locals-lose-battle-to-stop-360-homes-being-built-on-picturesque-Watership-Down-farmland-Daily-MaDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. I am always so happy to hear form you! Take care. We hope to have you with us again soon.

Thank you, as always, to those who sent me notes, provided posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MP’, SF Bay Ospreys, Cornell RTH Cam, Osaka Peregrine Falcons, McEuan Park, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Cal Falcons, Wijk bij Duurstede, Raptor Research Project, Parco Natural Regional di Porto Conte, Moorings Park Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Geemeff, Montana Osprey Project, Eagle Country, Frenchman’s Creek, Little Miami Conservancy, IWS/Explore, Duke Farms, Kansas City Bald Eagles, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, Fort St Vrain Eagles, Boulder County, Denton Homes, SK Hideaways, Tonya Irvin, Window to Wildlife, Cowlitz PUD, Osprey Law, FORE, Finnish Osprey Foundation, The Guardian, Gregarious Joris Toonen, Ventana Wildlife, and the Daily Mail.

*Disclaimer: I have made effort to thank everyone who has contributed to today’s post. If there has been an error or an omission, my apologies. Please let me know so that I can correct my omission.*

Friday in Bird World

26 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

‘The Girls’ are just fine. We are enjoying Amy Tan’s new book and read an entry or two every evening. Oh, how I wish I had the time to learn to draw like Tan! This morning we are enjoying having no heat on in the house and listening to the Chickadees sing to us. The sky is heavy overcast and I am hoping for a lot of rain.

Hugo Yugo is quite the character and if anything happens one has to look no farther than a little ginger cat. She has ‘decided’ that the butcher block area is ‘hers’ especially when we are away. The key is not to leave anything there that could be knocked, eaten, or tossed off to the floor. This included a yummy packet of cookies today. It appeared she had knocked them off and then played hockey with the bits and bobs. Either ‘on’ or ‘off’ and nothing in between, looking for mischief at every turn. We picked up a small bag of tiny pinecones today in the hope that they would be of interest!

She is ready to run! This look just spells trouble.

Missey has decided that she likes the vintage wicker cat carrier.

‘The Boyfriend’ comes about 4 to 5 times a day. I am constantly checking his water bowl sine it has been so warm. Must find another place for his feeding location soon.

It was 24 degrees C in Winnipeg on Thursday, 25 April. Unbelievable for this time of year. The soil is so dry that when I was going down country roads it blew everywhere. We need moisture! After such a successful Wednesday at Delta Marsh and Delta Beach, it was time to go and check on the pelicans.

The American White Pelican lives on our main lakes and near the dam at Lockport, Manitoba. They arrive in April and set off for their southern winter grounds in September. They fish by diving into the surface of the water to get small fish. The ones with the barnacle-like disk on their bill are breeding pelicans. The others are not. They make scrape nests lined with pebbles or lay their 1-3 eggs on mounds of debris. Normally only one chick survives because of the high percentage of siblicide associated with this species.

There were hundreds and hundreds of them on the river.

The one below is a breeder. Notice the keel plate on the upper mandible – the barnacle-like protuberance – indicating a breeding bird.

The only other birds that I saw, other than a few ducks, were a small group of Ring-billed Gulls.

Have a giggle. Thanks, ‘MB’ for the link – Silly Idris wants incubation time!

Big Red and Arthur had their first hatch on Thursday morning. Oh, goodness, gracious.

‘A’ gives us her perspective: “Wasn’t it lovely to see a hawklet hatch yesterday? We could see the half shell shortly before 13:00 and we get our first really good look at the still-damp hatchling at around 14:33, at which point mum decides it is ready to be fed. It is able to sit up strongly and hold up its head (though the baby fox that’s on the menu today retains a little more fur than is ideal for the baby’s first feeding). I must say the sight of that crushed and mangled shell does worry me slightly. We have had several of these this season, most with happy endings but at least one (at SWFL) with a very sad outcome. Let’s hope the other eggs are not in this condition. Arthur is a very proud dad. Are there pips on egg 2 and/or egg 3? That was definitely egg one that hatched, based on the amount of speckling, which means the pip I thought I saw (which was on egg 2, I’m fairly certain) was likely not a pip, as the mark in question still appears to be on that second egg and has not enlarged at all. Thus, it is probably something stuck to the egg. Still, we are expecting pips in eggs 2 and 3 at any time, based on the timing of the delayed incubation principle followed at Cal Falcons. I believe Big Red did something similar here.”

Oren and Ruth have their first hatch, too!

It is sometimes hard to hit a moving beak especially if you are a new Mum and have two little osplet heads bobbling about. Aren’t they cute? The two at Captiva CO7 and CO8. Both have had fish.

That other egg in the Captiva nest. Well, if you read the chat, you might think that a 45-day-old osprey egg – the first to be laid – might hatch tomorrow. Think about that. The average for osprey eggs to hatch is 36.5-38 days, according to the data that ‘H’ and I have collected (as well as many others). At 40 days, we would give up hope -. There is no way that a 45 day old egg will hatch! So sit back and enjoy the two of them.

It looks like dear Tuffy is going to survive Ruffie. Tuffie is now 31 days old and has beautiful, beautiful juvenile feathers.

‘A’ gets pretty excited watching the Cal Falcons. This is from a day ago. “At Cal Falcons we get our first proper view of hatch four, fully out of the egg and still very damp, when mum heads off to the pantry at about 13:43. Of course the little one is not nearly ready to eat and its eyes are still closed. It looks tiny without its fluff. The other three are all fed – again, Annie is careful to make sure all those little beaks are filled several times each. I always worry that one of the three doesn’t get as much as the other two at a feeding, but it never the same eyas as at the feeding before, so she makes sure that with frequent feedings for these youngsters, no-one actually goes hungry. They are ADORABLE. When we first see them as a fluffy cuddle puddle, I wonder how quickly even Annie will become way too small to brood them. They are a largish pile already, and Archie’s valiant efforts at brooding will be entertaining! Oh he is a darling little mate. Don’t you just love the way he leaves beautifully prepared food within 10 or 15 seconds of the nest – Annie seems to be able to collect perfect prey from the pantry in an incredibly short time when she heads off for food – she’s always back within 20 seconds or so with nutritious-looking meat without inedible parts attached. He does a great job. Of course Annie cleans up any bits that are not suitable for feeding to the babies. 

By 14:53, Annie is up and heading for the pantry again. This time, the new hatch is dry and fluffy but not yet ready for a feeding. Still, it has been out of its egg for about 90 minutes or so and already, it seems strong. Archie is quick;ly onto the scrape in case anyone is chilly or a bit lonely, e-chupping to Annie as he checks the kids. But again, Annie is back within 20 seconds, the prey this time a little more feathered than usual, and Annie takes a couple of minutes to prepare the food herself. She then proceeds to feed the chicks yet again, and Archie stays a while to watch the meal. Chick number 3 has front position for this feeding and is doing particularly well. A couple of minutes in, the little fourth hatch pokes its head through the fluff and appears at the front of the line, beside chick 3. It opens its tiny beak, whether for a yawn or for food, I cannot be certain. Oh they are just TOO sweet. Mum has her work cut out for her! 

Archie is still there at 14:55, when chick 4 stands up (it has to pull its head out from between the others, which puts it into the back row at the table) and opens its beak!!! This chick is less than two hours old (it’s probably been officially out of its egg for about 90 minutes at this point), and it is already standing, holding its head up and opening its beak for food. Wow! At 14:56 Archie continues to watch closely, appearing absolutely fascinated. He is on the edge of the scrape, within inches of the little cohort of chicks standing in the middle of the scrape, little beaks open wide. Small squeaks for now – just imagine how noisy these cuties are going to become en masse!! 

Mum is ignoring the fourth hatch, which is at the back of the group and is much shorter than the others so hard for mum to reach. At one point, the baby is even jumping in an attempt to gain her attention! It reminds me of Rubus, and appears to have similar leaping abilities. At such a young age, its strength and balance is truly astonishing. It tries several tactics to try and get mum’s attention but to no avail. Shortly after 14:59 it stands up at the back of the group and appears in danger of falling over backwards. This concerns Archie, who moves around behind hatch 4 to make sure it is okay. He is such a sweetheart. He seems to want something to feed to those open beaks, and e-chups to Annie. I think he’s counting the bunch and realising he now has four children!!!! (No, that’s anthropomorphising, but he definitely appears to be worried by the fact that the youngest hatch, at the back, has not been fed despite all its efforts. Mum continues to try and coax the older three to eat, without success, but continues to ignore hatch 4. Watch at around 15:00 to see Archie’s reaction to this. He seems to very badly want to grab that bite of food from mum and distribute it himself. But of course he doesn’t.

Interesting. I’ve never seen a parental interaction quite like that. He actually seemed to make a half effort at grabbing the food from Annie’s beak to feed the chicks himself. Archie stays beside the chicks, watching with great intensity. Everything Annie does, every movement from the chicks, he absorbs. He is totally engrossed. Several times, he appears to consider taking the food from Annie’s beak, apparently wanting to feed the youngest hatch, at the back, which still has not been fed any food, despite its continual begging for something, its little beak wide open like its older siblings. Of course it does not yet need to eat, only two hours out /of its egg, but it wants to and is trying to, so I am surprised that Annie is ignoring it completely. She is usually really good at reaching the one at the back or the chick facing the wrong way. Perhaps she simply thinks this one is so young, she doesn’t need to include it in feedings yet. I do hope so. Otherwise, this one looks determined and strong, so I suspect it will rapidly learn how to get itself into the front row. It will jump like Rubus if it has to, I suspect, based on what it has been doing this afternoon. I will check for feedings later in the afternoon to see if chick 4 did get fed today.”

A story too good not to tell. A 17 year old male Peregrine Falcon has a mate and a clutch. His name is Dipper.

Frenchman’s Creek has received many letters from concerned viewers of their osprey cam. ‘MP’ wrote and got a response stating, “They were in contact with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Florida and several ornithologists who told them of the situation; and per expert opinion, human intervention is neither necessary nor permitted at this time.”

 The female was on the nest feeding one of the osplets today while the other was self-feeding.

‘MP’ reports that the first egg of the season has been laid at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest on Thursday the 25th.

There are two osplets at Lake Murray and there is a hint of the third egg perhaps pipping. We will see tomorrow.

The third osplet at Lake Murray arrived overnight. Thanks, ‘H’.

One of the Decorah North eaglets has a fishing hook issue. This would qualify for intervention because it is a human-caused problem. Can they get a permit? Is it possible to get a cherry picker up to help? We wait. Poor baby. Please send positive wishes.

Swampy is on the nest and is being fed well. He was eating a fish and there are now two more as I write on the nest for later! Thanks Abby and Blaze.

The two eaglets at Cardinal Land Conservancy have been named Arnie and Neil.

Murphy has a new eaglet to raise!

News from ND-LEEF:

‘H’ caught an Osprey landing on the Cape Henlopen State Park platform – a change from the Black Vultures. Ospreys have not used this nest since the tragedies of 2022 when the Dad was found dead, the Mum chased off nest by intruding and overtaking ospreys, and the chicks starved on the platform as a result.

Glaslyn: Elen and Aran have their second egg of the season at 12:44 on Thursday the 25th.

It actually appears that there is a new male at the nest of Iris at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula who has been bringing fish and there might have been a successful mating. Many believed it was Louis, but after much comparison it appears it is a new male to be named by Dr Greene. Well, this could be an interesting year. Iris certainly likes his fish and heaven only knows she deserves someone to care for her! This is certainly a twist that I did not anticipate.

The Fraser Point eaglet has been named – and we will be waiting to hear the name of the other one.

Both Bald Canyon Eaglets were named.

Dorcha cannot get a break this year! Poor gal just wants to incubate in peace and quiet.

Dorcha takes off with the ‘brunch or lunch’ fish. Louis was late – keeping intruders away?

Jackie and Shadow and the dawn.

New female replacing Charlotte at Charlo Montana is a 14 year old.

Six goslings taking the leap of faith seen from the US Steel Eagle cam. Fantastic. You might have watched the second leap of faith at Decorah. One gosling made it down to the adults. Volunteers looked and found a second at the bottom of the nest tree that night but parents were elsewhere. I do not think that they found the third. I will try to get more up to date news.

https://fb.watch/rGWOx8ZXEE

Thanks so much for being with me today! Take care everyone. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MB, MP’, Dyfi Osprey Project, Cornell RTH, Suzanne Arnold Horning, @CornellHawks, Red-tail Hawk Tales, Window to Wildlife, Heidi McGrue, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Linda McElroy, Frenchman’s Creek, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Lake Murray, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Laura Rose, Eagle Country, Cardinal Land Conservancy, World Bird Sanctuary, Carol Mandis-beadle, IWS/Explore, Geemeff, Pam Breci, and PIX Cams.

*Every effort has been made to credit individuals for their notes, videos, photographs, etc. If I have inadvertently missed someone, please let me know so I can rectify that oversight.*

Archie saves the Day…Swampy falls off nest…Wednesday in Bird World

24 April 2024

Hello Everyone,

Thank you to everyone who sent me a note about the little Tern’s rescue in Hawaii. Anyone can be a hero. You just have to stop and care enough to help. That is what ‘S’ did—empathy, patience, concern, and commitment. So stop the next time you see a goose crossing the road with goslings. Make others stop til they get across safely. Help the bird that has fallen out of the nest by calling the proper authorities to help. Do you have the local wildlife rescue in your phone contacts? Keep a shovel – one of those small folding ones is ideal – in your trunk. See a dead animal on the road. Pull over safely. Slow the traffic, and with your shovel, move it safely from the road so the carrion eaters can have a meal. — This also applies to urban streets. Put the dead animals away from the curb so the Crows can have a meal instead of relying on the junk food in the dumpsters. There is so much we can all do, and sometimes that means simply a shallow bowl of water – believe me, it can save the lives of so many birds. They need water! If you know of building supervisors who put poison out for the pigeons, find a way to persuade them to stop. The urban raptors rely on pigeons, and if they are poisoned, they will not only die, but their chicks could also get sick and die. Other ways include donating clean old towels, sheets, and items to your local wildlife rehabilitation clinic – and volunteering. It doesn’t have to be money.

Tuesday was a lovely day in the garden. The Blue Jays arrived before the squirrels and started helping themselves to the peanut pile. The peanut pile on the big table feeder started like this. The Jays shake the peanuts. They want to ensure they get a shell with two good nuts inside it, not an empty one! So shake, shake, shake. They spend a lot of time selecting just the right one.

A few hours later, Dyson was digging to find a peanut! Normally she is out with her kits well before the Jays arrive, but not today. But never fear, Dyson returned the minute she heard more peanuts being added and had quite the fill.

This little kit hit the jackpot a new seed cylinder!

Wild Birds Unlimited’s website has some interesting facts about Blue Jays. Here are a few about caching nuts that you might find interesting.

  • Research studies have recorded Blue Jays making over 1,000 trips per day when hiding food.
  • In one research study, 50 Blue Jays were observed selecting and caching 150,000 acorns over a period of 28 days. Each bird cached a total of 3,000 acorns by selecting and hiding an average of 107 acorns per day.
  • In another research study, Blue Jays were observed storing over 2,000 beach tree nuts in one month.
  • A Blue Jay was observed packing over 100 sunflower seeds into it’s gullet during just one visit to a feeder.

Amy Tan’s latest book arrived in the post on Tuesday.

I had been looking forward to its arrival since I watched the NYC Audubon interview with Tan and saw her lovely drawings and ‘felt’ over the virtual miles her passion for the ordinary – but always extraordinary – birds that live in her garden. The book did not disappoint – I am only 3 hours into reading it, steady, but excited. It is written like a journal with particular birds and entries for particular days out of a huge selection the author had to choose from.

I chose this illustration because it is beautiful and because the Juncos are in my garden now. Tan captured their remarkable plumage.

Of course, I love Mr. Crow and his family, and it is clear that Tan has closely observed the behaviour of her Corvids.

Moving on to Bird World…

UPDATE: Swampy officially flew and officially fledged off the branch of the tree Wednesday morning. To my knowledge, Swampy was never fed by the adults while on that branch nor the day prior. I hope this baby has some food soon – . I will however leave you with the story below and a great capture by ‘H’.

We begin with another sad, or potentially sad and lethal, story from Eagle Country. On the morning of Tuesday, April 23rd, Swampy was flapping his/her wings and slipping off the nest. This sent shock waves through viewers, who conjured in their minds Meadow, the younger sibling, being blown off the other side of the nest and eventually dying. I couldn’t believe my eyes – and the thought “This can’t be happening again” repeated itself over and over again during the day.

The time was 0811. Swampy was seen on a lower branch like Meadow. Is it possible that we will now lose Swampy?

Some Osprey nests in the UK get refurbished during the off-season. The rails are built up and wired together. Sticks are brought in to make the nests safe and help the tired migrating birds when they return from West Africa (or wherever they over wintered). Why don’t those individuals who own the streaming cams to these nests do the same? Get up there when permits are not required. Make sure that nests are solid and safe. Heaven only knows that it is difficult for the raptors to find nesting materials in some places because of habitat loss. In this instance, had that rim been secured, neither eaglet would have fallen off. (No, I am not blaming Eagle Country, but I am certainly suggesting they get a climber up there and repair this nest!)

Swampy is on the opposite side of the tree but we cannot assume s/he is uninjured just like we could not tell that Meadow was emaciated. Swampy could be also. And s/he could be injured. Swampy is ready to fledge, however, so this is a plus.

Swampy was perched on the branch. I don’t want to be cynical but we know that Meadow was emaciated and it looks like Swampy is going to suffer the same fate unless an adult gets some food to their eaglet.

The newly hatched osplet at Captiva is tired. The last time I checked on Tuesday, CO7 had not been fed. Oh, goodness gracious, Edie, get to feeding your baby. Yes, of course, it can wait but many are getting bites within a few hours of hatch! Forgive me, but this year’s first-time eagle parents have caused me to become overly worrisome around first-time Dads and/or Mums. Some are naturals; others are not.

Family portrait at Captiva. Proud parents. Will this be an only osplet?

Captiva chick eating well and Jack with the pantry packed.

First egg at Llyn Brenig at 1740 on the 23rd. Blue 372 finally has her own nest with LJ2. Everyone can rest easy now. She was out searching for a mate and now she is going to have a family. Well done 372!

‘A’ gets quite excited about those little fluff balls. “And we are still waiting on number four, who is making progress. The fluffy three that we have already are looking strong and healthy. The littlest one couldn’t seem to work out which way was front at the 6am feeding but Annie is such an experienced mum and by about 06:06, she is ensuring that the baby of the three gets some bites. It is strong too, and is really holding its own and keeping its little head up, occasionally using its tiny wings for balance. Oh Mary Ann, they are just the sweetest, most darling little creatures. Every time I see a falcon hatch, it’s just like the very first time. They warm my heart in exactly the same way as the first hatch I saw. The wonder of it never wanes. And watching these devoted, gentle, patient parents is so lovely. I do love the safety of this scrape for the chicks. It seems like a good place for a chick to grow up and find its feet, as it were. Much safer than a ledge on a high rise like Collins Street, or even that box in the sky at Orange, where the chicks always terrify us with their proximity to the edge before they have the ability to fly. Here, they have that rooftop to chase each other about and flap and play. It’s a lovely playroom for them. Four. Wow. This is going to be interesting. “

Archie meets the third chick.

Archie does wonders. How many times have we seen eaglets get hypothermia when not under Mum or Dad. Well, Archie saves the day at Cal Falcons!

If you need cheering up, head over to Cal Falcons. It will work wonders.

‘AE’ wrote and wondered about the Mum at Frenchman’s Creek. The female has been in and has fed at least one of the osplets. There has been some animosity between the osplets. They are undoubtedly frustrated and hungry despite a nest full of fish and self-feeding.

Tuffy is really growing and his beautiful feathers continue to come in. He had a reasonably good day on Tuesday, but it was not without Ruffie pushing her weight around, literally.

A large fish came in at 2008. Tuffy looks over as Ruffie is filling up. Notice that Tuffy does have a crop (thank goodness). It is during this meal that Ruffie decides to show her dominance.

It was impossible to tell if Tuffy got any fish because of the placement of Sally. He certainly was fish calling while Sally was eating – but, as mentioned before, he had a crop and he will go to bed feeling full. Sally horked the fish tail at 2105.

Once again, dear Milda is alone and trying to fend for herself and now an eaglet that has hatched. It has snowed in Latvia, a late spring snow, and Milda has to leave to find food. Will she have a chick survive this year? Milda was away for more than one and a half hours in the freezing temperature.

Many have been concerned about Tom. He is believed to have made an appearance, however short, Tuesday at the nest.

Blue NCO laid the third egg at Loch of the Lowes on Tuesday.

The first egg was laid at the Kent Island Chesapeake Conservancy nest of Tom and Audrey on Tuesday in the US.

The third egg appears to have been laid at Steelscape on Tuesday.

In the UK on Wednesday, there were more eggs:

Loch Garten: Asha and Brodie have their second egg at 1406.

Tweed Valley: Mrs O and FKO have their second egg at 1000.

Emyr Evans gives us a science lesson after Telyn lays her third egg on the 18th:

Telyn-Lays-Three-Eggs-in-2024-Without-Delay-Dyfi-Osprey-ProjectDownload

There are eggs at other nests as well and some sorting out who their mates will be. It has been a long week and I feel like my head has been crushed entering all the data for all the nests this season. Soon, we will be ‘bored’ waiting for hatch while they incubate! So if you are missing a little osplet and want to see one, try Captiva. In the meantime, I am anxiously awaiting hatch at Big Red and Arthur’s nest on the Cornell Campus.

‘A’ has been watching Big Red’s nest too and adds: “When Big Red actually stands up briefly to change position just after 17:36:30, is that a large pip I see on the top of the right-hand egg (as we look at it) nearest the camera? It looks like the second egg to me from the speckling (the egg at the front on the left appears to have more markings and was therefore probably the first egg laid) but the ‘pip’ is at the correct end of the egg and it sure looks to me like a chick is on the way out.”

I suppose we can look forward to tomorrow morning (24 April) to see whether I am right. Certainly, we have to be on pip watch at Cornell by now. 

Oh those three at Cal Falcons are adorable. I did expect number four to have joined us by now but there have been so few opportunities to see that egg today, and I am unsure whether or not it is hatching. We may end up with three eyases and a Dudley, which would be fine. But I will try and scroll back to get a good view of that egg. 

I am SO hoping I am right about the pip at Cornell, and it is so easy to misread anything from a shadow to some nest material stuck to an egg, especially when you are desperate to see a pip or even a hole. In this case, one minute I suspect we may be up to the small hole stage and the next I am thinking it is just something stuck to the egg. 

We watch, we wait, we cross everything for the little ones in the hope that they can safely make their way into the world in good shape – certainly, it will be to loving parents..”

Please do not use glue traps….EVER. Another reason why. Tell your friends and family and your retailers. They are outlawed where I live but they are still for sale on many retailer’s shelves.

The other campaign is rodenticides. This beautiful owl family lost its life – the Mum GHO and the three owlets because of rat poison. Remember ‘Rodents are the Answer’ – they eat more rats and mice than you could imagine getting in sticky tape or eating poison and you don’t have to worry about your domestic pets dying, too. (Images and original posting on Cornell Hawk Chatters by Harold Wilson as a call to stop this senseless tragedy).

White-tail Eagles breed for the very first time in centuries in Belgium. But why? Find out.

White-tailed-Eagle-breeds-in-Belgium-for-first-time-in-500-years-BirdGuidesDownload

In New Zealand, the songs of birds are returning to the urban environment. Maybe this could happen around the planet. What do you think?

Penguins-in-the-pond-kiwi-in-the-back-yard-how-a-city-brought-back-its-birds-Birds-The-GuardiaDownload

It never stops. How long will the public put up with a select view and their weekend shooting parties killing off beautiful raptors because they eat grouse? It never seems to end…Hen Harriers one day, Buzzards the next.

Buzzard-shot-killed-near-Ilkley-Moor-West-Yorkshire-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

Do you know someone who might like this position monitoring raptors in Wales

Job-opportunity-Welsh-Raptor-Monitoring-Coordinator-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Tomorrow I am going out to Delta Marsh to catch the shorebirds that are arriving. It is going to be a long day and I look forward to hopefully having some images for you. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following or their notes, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, G, H, PB’, Amy Tan, Wild Birds Unlimited, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Window to Wildlife, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Heidi McGrue, LDF, Chesapeake Conservancy, Dyfi Osprey Project, Cornell RTH Cam, Steelscape, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Frenchman’s Creek Osprey Cam, World Bird Sanctuary, H W and Cornell Hawk Chatters, BirdGuides, and Raptor Persecution UK.

*Disclaimer: I have made every effort to credit those individuals who send me notes and those who create the videos and other content. Please let me know if I have failed to recognise someone.*

Earth Day…Sunday in Bird World

21 April 2024

Good Morning,

Earth day is the 22nd of April but we have celebrations today across my City so that everyone can participate as Monday is not a holiday.

Today is Earth Day. It is a day for us to remember that conservation, sustainability, biodiversity, and working together to help create a healthier planet for our wildlife and us are paramount. There are many events and initiatives. “The 2024 theme for Earth Day, “Planet vs. Plastics”, calls to advocate for widespread awareness of the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single-use plastics, urgently push for a strong global agreement on plastic pollution, and demand an end to fast fashion.” (Canada Gov). “For over 50 years, Earth Day has been celebrated across the planet as a way to educate the masses about the environment, enact conservation efforts, and promote action towards the environmental movement. It’s a day of action to adjust human behavior and create policy changes for the good of Mother Earth. The annual event is marked with a wide range of events that are coordinated globally by earthday.org—reaching 1 billion people in more than 193 countries!” (Pioneer Woman)

‘The Girls’ and I are working hard to completely end our use of plastics and continue to ‘forest’ our urban garden. This year we will be planting 5 native shrubs along with four new native trees. It only makes a dent. The City’s Million Dollar Tree Project has only planted 44,000 trees, and the City has been cutting down diseased trees to the point that neighbourhoods have lost their gorgeous ambience with the birds and squirrels losing homes. We can all help by doing our part – and often it is close to home. What will you be doing to celebrate Earth Day? I suggest a short walk or a sit outside!

Correction: At the Lake Murray Osprey Platform in 2023, the third hatch was the victim of siblicide. The older two were taken from the nest by the GHO.

Morning Updates to eggs and hatches: The first egg has been laid at Tweed Valley by Mrs O and FKO at 11:35. Likewise, Asha at RSPB Loch Garten has laid her first egg at 10:47. Flo and Harry at Alyth have egg three at 06:53 and the first hatch has happened overnight at Lake Murray in the US.

Dorcha has not been able to catch a break so far this season.

We have been watching several nests getting ready for hatch watch. We should be having pip/hatch watch for Big Red and Arthur at Cornell in a week. On Saturday Arthur spent a lot of time incubating the eggs before Big Red took over later in the day. I wonder if her leg is bothering her and if it helps to have Arthur there during the day since she has to be there all night and if the position over the eggs doesn’t put strain on that leg.

But what is happening at Captiva? The first egg is 42 days old today. Too late to hatch. That would make the second egg 39 days and well, if it was the one that was crushed and went into a bean shape, then that leaves us with eggs 3 and 4. Will they be viable? Egg 3 is 36 days and should pip right away and hatch soon I it is going to. It is late and some believe that no osprey eggs ever hatch this late on the Barrier Islands.

Moorings Park. Harry Delivered a Fish at 0907 much to the delight of Sally who chirped when she saw him approaching the nest.

Harry comes in with a second small fish at 1044 and Tuffy will get some bites this time. Fish were small. Hoping for larger ones.

Tuffy with his/her feathers coming in.

Harry brought in a nice big chunk of fish at 1412 and Tuffy did get some of that fish. Ruffie is being a bit of an agro.

Fish at 1648.

Tuffy had some first bites – for about seven minutes -.

Tuffy had a good day and notice in the last image how ‘healthy’ and how beautiful he is.

It is Sunday morning and Tuffy is enjoying breakfast.

E23 still likes to be a ‘nestling’ and F23 and M15 like having her/him at home. This nest is a very good reminder of how post-fledge should work – fledgling returns to nest, adults bring food, fledgling learns to fly better and strengthen their wings, fledgling observes and learns to hunt all the while being fed by adults.

Thankfully M15 and F23’s nest is reasonably secure but those GHOs did visit. The GHOs and Canada Geese are taking over the eagle and osprey nests at other sites. This situation is not good at Cape May Meadows as ‘H’ is watching for Hera to lay her first egg. GHOs are formidable enemies and are top Apex raptors. They have taken many osplets off nests and injured and killed other raptors. They might be ‘wise’ – all of our feathered friends are – but they are also dangerous, not soft and cuddly!

GHOs took over the Wolf Bay Osprey platform this year in Alabama. I thought there were two owlets but only one is on the nest and waiting for adults to deliver food. Do you follow this nest? Do you know what happened to the other owlet?

Late spring snows have been hitting the nests in and around Montana and Colorado.

This is Boulder County Fairgrounds on Saturday.

The snow is gone at Dunrovin and Swoop is on the nest with his potential new mate.

Three eggs at Clark PUD.

It is nice in Scotland and Blue NCO was right on time with her second egg.

There are now three eggs at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in the Lake District.

The cam at UFlorida-Gainesville is frozen. There has been rain or so it appears. Do we still have three osplets? Can’t tell. They are under Mum.

At Tweed Valley, it seems to be a bit of a nest swap.

I have been very worried about the fate of Black-Stork Karl II’s family since he was electrocuted in Turkey last fall on his migration south. I have contacted Maria Marika on Saturday and there is no news. She is also concerned about Kaia. The younger storks she tells me return to the north the end of April. I hope we have some news of Bonus and Waba. Last word on Bonus was his battery did not charge on 28 August 2023.

The Royal Albatross Centre asks us to imagine what it would be like if there were no albatrosses. Today, they are protected (have a read how this happened), but what will happen with warming seas and overfishing and if the long haul trawlers do not change the way they load their lines.

I was able to confirm from ‘VV’ that Star and Louis did return before Iris. For a moment I fantasied about whether or not, if Star had not returned, would Louis turn out to be a good mate and provide for Iris and any osplets. — Well, squash that idea.

Loch Garten. Impossible to tell if there are any eggs. Look at that nest!

Great Bay has three eggs. The last one was laid on the 19th of April.

I don’t know why, but I still worry about that tiny third hatch at Little Miami Conservancy.

Bonnie and Clyde’s two eagles at Cardinal Land Conservancy are doing quite well.

Oh, just look at them all lined up being so civilised. They have their Mohawks and are getting their pin feathers – these are the Majestic eaglets from Denton Homes near Decorah, Iowa.

Almost at the precise stage of development, the Decorah North eaglets are quickly losing the downy soft white plumage of their heads and their pin feathers are clearly noticeable.

It was raining in Texas. JBS20 was lured to the nest for a meal.

ND-LEEF eaglets are getting their thermal down and are doing well – it is so good to see so many healthy and well cared or.

Swampy is still on the nest but continues to branch higher and higher. S/he will take to the skies shortly. Let us all hope that Swampy returns to the nest over and over again like JBS20, E23, Cal, and the others who have survived this year to fly.

I realise that camera angles make objects appear larger or smaller depending on the position and angle. That said, just look at how large the eldest chick of Thunder and Akecheta is compared to Akecheta!

Andor and Cruz with their two eaglets. What a beautiful image.

Well, I will say it. I wish more food were coming to the Duke Farms nest for the two eaglets.

Sassa Bird reports that White-tail Eagle Milda, whose partner Hugo has disappeared, finally had a full crop after leaving the nest on Saturday to eat. The eggs were not harmed in her absence.

Have you seen this very informative 25 minute film about the White-tail Eagles in Latvia? Please watch! These are such beautiful and rare birds. It follows the life of the couple from nest building, to an egg tragedy, to a fledge.

Close monitoring of the nests and the eagles in Latvia gives researchers much information on these large raptors.

Latvijas-valsts-mezi-Monitoring-Shows-White-tailed-Eagle-Nesting-Success-This-YearDownload

The Bearded Tit is a gorgeous little bird. Do you know it?

Country-diary-Holding-our-breath-as-we-watch-the-bearded-tits-Environment-The-GuardianDownload

Thank you so very much for being with me today. We look forward to having you with us again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, MM, SB, SP, VV’, Earthday.org, Geemeff, Cornell RTH Cam, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Ospreys, SK Hideaways, Heidi MC, Wolf Bay, Boulder County, Dunrovin Ranch, Clark PUD, Colin Douglas, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainsville Osprey Cam, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Royal Albatross Centre, Montana Osprey Project, RSPB Loch Garten, Great Bay Ospreys, Little Miami Conservancy, Cardinal Land Trust, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, JB Sands Wetlands, ND-LEEF, Eagle Country, IWS/Explore, Duke Farms, Sassa Bird, the LDF, and The Guardian.

Dorcha is injured…Saturday in Bird World

20 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

We woke up to a little more snow Friday morning after the rain and snow mixed on Thursday. It is quite cool at 0 degrees C today compared to other days, and it is quite windy. That snow continued on and off during the day and has now accumulated late Friday night. I feel for the birds who do not know if it is winter or spring. They do better in the snow than in the rain as some of the food does not get sloppy and wet. There were hundreds and hundreds today and south of where I live, people had hundreds of Robins on their lawns pulling up worms!

I should introduce new readers to some of the garden animals so they know who I am constantly mentioning.

Dyson is the matriarch of the Grey Squirrel family. She is named after the inventor of the famous vacuum cleaner because of her skill in ‘sucking up peanuts’ faster than anyone! She is at least five years old; my diary tells me seven. Last year, she had three kits. They still come to the garden. She is much adored and has her own fan club! She is extremely healthy this spring. I love how her little fingers cup the small Black-oil seed and peanuts.

Little Red lived in our garden shed until it had to be torn down for the conservatory two years ago. I tried to build him a new house. Then we purchased a special squirrel house from Finland – Little Red didn’t like it and then Dyson ate the wood around the hole so she could get in and eat the peanuts I had placed in there to lure Little Red. Little Red was always alone. Then Miss Little Red arrived and well, now we have at least four Reds living in and about the garden.

A baby?

There are also Mr and Mrs Blue Jay, who are the parents of Junior, who had his little jays starting two years ago. He does not migrate, and last summer, we had two Blue Jay families living within 10 metres of the garden. The fledglings arrived and ate at the feeders. There are currently six Blue Jays around. I cannot wait for this summer. The garden could be filled with Blue Jays!!!!! Their colours are so magnificent, and the white pattern on the tip of their tails is different for each one – that is how I identify them. Junior’s feathers are a bit of a mess right now. It looks like he has been in a fight, as it seems a bit early for moulting. Indeed some of the feathers appear broken.

Then there is Mr and Mrs Downy, Mr and Mrs Hairy, and Mr Pileated that come throughout the day. I caught Mrs Downy on the suet this afternoon.

The European Starlings are having a feast in the large table feeder. Today they seem to be attracted to the suet while the squirrels – both Dyson and the three kits from last summer – and the two little Reds – forage for peanuts. I have not seen the Blue Jays so far and it is 1322 Friday afternoon.

Four cats bring me more joy than anyone could ever imagine. Missey arrived with Lewis on 2 November 2022; they were adopted from the Humane Society, which takes in stray cats and kittens. Sadly, we lost Lewis in September 2023. Calico lived in the garden and was dumped as a kitten (or so it seems). I lured her into being friends in the winter of 2023 and then once she had her kittens – only one survived (Baby Hope) – they moved into the house. It was quite the ordeal tracking her and then hoping the kitten would find us (it had left their nest and was eight weeks old). The most recent addition is Hugo Yugo, who is a rescue. Her mother was starved when she was carrying her seven kittens. As a consequence, Hugo Yugo continues to be the size of an 8-10 week old kitten despite the fact that she is now eight and a half months old. She was supposed to be a male but turned out to be a Ginger Female (only 20% of Gingers are female). She is a character. I would not part with any of them. They create a life around me that is like a symphony.

Missey has been talking to the Dark-eyed Juncos through the window and Hugo Yugo along with Calico and Baby Hope went into a food coma and have yet to surface.

Mamma Calico and Baby Hope. They posed. I could not believe it. My heart just stops every time I see them together – and they are like this most of the day unless eating or playing. Inseparable. Calico raised Hope. She would come and eat and run back to take care of her quickly. Hope was the healthiest feral kitten I had ever seen. Calico did a superb job. Cannot imagine them living on the streets.

And for those wondering who I am, well, I am a Retired Professor who has undertaken a long-term study of siblicide on Osprey nests. Last year, I increased the number of eggs observed to 341 with ‘H’. This year, we are aiming for 500. The results will be published when we have good annual comparisons – starting with 2 years and then moving next to 5 years. In 2023, many chicks were lost due to a Nor-eastern in the Chesapeake Bay Area and overfishing of the Menhaden. Perhaps that will not happen this year. I am not desensitised to the tragic events on the nests that have deaths – I take each one pretty hard. It is the joy of seeing the chick we might believed would perish thrive – to wonder at their perseverance, determination, and cleverness. Ultimately, I would like to see if these beaten chicks that do survive the nest to fledge have a higher return rate in the second year. Sadly, due to the fact that so few nests band their osplets, it is impossible to determine.

I want everyone to enjoy nature. To marvel at how beautiful the world is right outside our own windows and to realise how important it is to get out and breathe the air and listen to the birdsong. Life is stressful and it is one proven way to calm ourselves down!

Friday was a day for egg laying…I continue to tell everyone to mark their calendars. That third week in May is going to be a very busy one.

On Friday afternoon, 19 April, Dorcha was injured in an encounter with a large raptor—a golden eagle or a Sea Eagle—at Loch Arkaig. According to Geemeff, Ravens were escorting the large raptor out of the area when Dorcha got involved. Dorcha returned to the nest at 1501 with scratches, blood, and an injured leg.

The injuries to the right leg – it looks like a large puncture to me – can clearly be seen when Dorcha gets up from incubating her egg when Louis brings her a fish.

Poor Dorcha. She was due to lay her third egg and she did at 02:26 Saturday morning, the 20th of April. Hard incubation should begin.

I am expecting the third egg if there is to be one at Loch of the Lowes today, the 20th.

All eyes are on the eggs of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus anxiously awaiting the sign of the first pip.

Positively nothing at the nest of Angel and Tom. Is Tom missing? ‘A’ seems to think he is.

At Eagle Country, Swampy is going higher on the natal nest tree. S/he will fledge shortly. What a seemingly strong and healthy eaglet.

Tuffy had a Good Friday. Harry delivered a huge Tilapia at 0941 at the Moorings Park nest on Friday. Tuffy was in and out of the feeding, but by 1055 was finished and had a nice crop!

Tuffy has had big crops all Friday. This little one is eating well.

Later than the image above, after another fish. Harry must have an excellent spot to land these whoppers…

A fish arrived at 1423. Tuffy had a nice crop at the end of that meal, too!

Tuffy had a crop when the 1602 fish arrived. He looked but didn’t bother to go over and eat. He was full already.

A little bit of a fish came at 1831..Tuffy even got some!

It ‘feels’ like Tuffy and Ruffie have done nothing but eat all day. Each time I go and check Tuffy is up at the beak. If this little one continues to eat this much fish per day, we will have to change the middle letters of its name from ‘F’ to ‘B’. Sssshhhh. Don’t say it out loud. We don’t want to give the second hatch a complex. All kidding aside, Tuffy did really well on Friday. In fact, both were so full that Sally got to finish off a nice fish as the sun was setting on the nest.

First egg for Cowlitz PUD is 18 April! Love these folks. They put up metal fish grates to protect the osplets from being taken by the Bald Eagles!

Egg #1 or Bruce and Naha at Seaside on the 18th of April, too!

We have an egg at Oyster Bay on Long Island.

‘H’ reports: “Opal did it again…she laid the 4th egg at 17.46.” I caution new observers that this is a tough nest to watch if all eggs hatch and fish deliveries are few. Siblicide warning.

All three chicks at the Venice Golf and Country club platform look fine.

The camera has gone black again at Frenchman’s Creek. Now it is only listed as Private so I presume residents only that wish to sign up. We will sadly never know the fate of the two older osplets. I hope that they continue to self feed and that someone from Frenchman’s Creek will let us know if they fledge.

All three eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy have nice crops on Friday.

Snow on Finland’s Osprey nests.

Egg three at Llyn Clywedog nest of Seren and Dylan arrives on the 19th as well.

‘L’ reports: “New female at Charlo is OJ (Wakati) from 2018 Dunrovin nest. She’s got her leg banded.” This might get interesting. Happy for you Charlie if Charlotte does not show up!

Lucy and Kenny’s three eggs at Lake Murray Ospreys. For new viewers, a GHO took all three chicks off this nest in 2023. Former mate, Ricky died and difficult for Mum to feed, hunt, and offer security.

Iris was at her nest in Missoula, Montana on Friday.

It is hard to believe that these two are Liberty and Guardian’s little eaglets.

Lots of soft bedding for the two tiny eaglets at Fort St Vrain – and a good thing, too, as the snow began to fall Friday evening.

Port Tobacco’s only eaglet appears to be doing just dandy!

Do you have a dream to see the geese that winter in the UK? Before the climate changes so much that they stay in Greenland and Siberia? Here is a file to help you identify them. It is on my bucket list!

Guide-to-Britains-geese-species-how-to-identify-and-where-to-see-Countryfile.com_Download

We know how Ospreys connect people! Here is an article on three special women whose lives are intertwined by these fish eating birds.

The-Osprey-Connection-AudubonDownload

To my knowledge, all nests are doing well. The snow has again started, and I am behind in my data entry. I will check on some of the eagle nests tomorrow, along with what is happening at our hawk and osprey nests. Take care everyone. Thank you for being with us today.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, L, PB’, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Cornell RTH Cam, Window to Wildlife, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, PSEG, Forsythe Osprey Cam, VGCCO, Little Miami Conservancy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Llyn Clywedog and CarnyXWild, Charlo Montana, Lake Murray Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, FORE, XCel Energy, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, BBC Countryfile, and Audubon.

*Disclaimer: Every effort is made to acknowledge those that provide information and material for my posting. If I have failed to credit someone, please do let me know so that I can correct this. Thank you,’

JBS20 returns to the nest…Whitetail eagle crosses the English Channel…Wednesday in Bird World

17 April 2024

Good Morning!

Oh, it has rained on and off all day. During the break some very beautiful birds came to the feeders.

Purple Finch, Adult Male, Eastern. He is a beauty. Look at that underbelly with that iridescent pink on white. Or that solid pink necklace and darker red head. He is pretty gorgeous. Tory Peterson described the Purple Finch as a “sparrow dipped in raspberry juice”. How fitting.

Male Hairy Woodpecker moulting.

Baby House Sparrow. They have been busy.

The Blue Jays were very busy getting peanuts while the rain stopped.

The Dark-eyed Juncos are everywhere searching for those tiny Millet seeds I toss on the deck for them.

This is a non-breeding European Starling.

The girls were busy. They spend a lot of time watching the garden now that so many birds are there – normally a couple of hundred at a time. There is something always moving! Today, the rain also fascinated them.

Hugo Yugo is fascinated by the outside.

Calico watching the Juncos hop around during the rain.

The rain pouring down.

Missey is the only one that enjoys her collar and tag. She is the sweetest most compliant cat never fussing for a second when her teeth are cleaned or her nails trimmed.

Baby Hope.

Hugo Yugo looking up at Baby Hope getting ready to pounce and knock her of the top of the cat tree.

Some really good things happened on Tuesday marked by the expected, but still sad, passing of osplet three at Frenchman’s Creek. Eggs were laid, ospreys returned to their nests, and a fledgling was lured by Dad back at JB Sands Wetlands. The eaglet is safe, strong, and hungry. JBS 20 is now tired, too. Flying is hard work!

Louis and Dorcha have their second egg at Loch Arkaig! Oh, so happy.

The first egg for Laddie LM12 and Blue NCO at 10:49 on the 17th of April at Loch of the Lowes.

There is the first egg at Poole Harbour, too for CJ7 and Blue 022 at 15:40 on the 16th. We are going to be really, really busy right after the middle of May!

I would like to go back to Meadow or a moment. Many of us were confused by the statement of Audubon on the 8th of April that Meadow had no fractures in the X-Rays and then to read that s/he did, indeed, have fracture that caused the eaglet to be euthanised along with his other condition. A very knowledgeable individual who worked in veterinary medicine wrote to me. Meadow was diagnosed with Aspergillosis. “Aspergillosis is a noncontagious, opportunistic fungal infection—is caused by Aspergillus species. It is also known as a mycotic infection, which may cause a fungal pneumonia. Certain species have been reported to be more at risk for Aspergillus infection…Aspergillosis is a difficult disease to treat and cure, and treatment can take months. At the beginning of treatment, hospitalization is often required. Diagnostic testing for aspergillosis includes: blood work, fungal culture, serology, imaging, and endoscopy. Treatment includes: stabilization, stress reduction, fluid therapy with crystalloids, and correction of fluid deficiencies. Typically, birds present with vague and nonspecific signs (depression, inappetence, difficulty breathing, reluctance to fly/perch, drooped wings). Initial physical examination findings typically include weight loss, respiratory abnormalities (dyspnea, tachypnea, cyanosis), lethargy, polyuria/polydipsia, vocalizing, open-beak breathing, tail bobbing, and/or enlarged nares. Some affected birds can have biliverdinuria (biliverdinuria is a condition in birds that causes urine to turn green or yellow). It is associated normally with liver disease which results in poor feather quality.”

I understand that the diagnostics required are a complete blood count, radiographs that might show subtle lesions and later pneumonia or a breakdown of sections of bones, the thickening of the air acts. Serology or antibody tests are required along with DNA testing. Of course, on top of this, Meadow needed to be fed various types of food to get its strength up. We know our eaglet gained weight and then refused to eat, further complicating its progress. I was told that the disease causes great trauma to the patient. Add to that the physical trauma of falling out of the tree and having to survive on the branch for a period of 24 hours plus, without food and in the heat, makes the chances of surviving somewhat tenuous. With everything going on with Meadow, they could have easily missed the fractures and, this individual said, …”I don’t believe s/he would have survived the procedures to determine everything that was wrong (sic); or at the very least it would have been inhumane to put her/him through it all.”  I am very grateful for these insights and thank ‘MP’ for taking the time to write to me so that we can all understand the great difficulties that Meadow was experiencing that ultimately led to euthanasia.

Wow. The second Isle of Wight White-tailed Eagle has crossed the English Channel. What an incredible distance!

‘H’ is so excited. Della laid the first egg of the Osprey season for 2024 at Mispillion Harbour Tuesday morning – and she got to see it when it happened on screen!

As you are aware, yesterday ‘H’ and I quit counting bites that Tuffy received at the meals in the afternoon. It was readily apparent that two events had happened. First, Harry is having great fishing and the fish that come to the nest are, by and large, very, very big. He delivered at least 5 a day, but often 7. The second event is the osplets have now exited the Reptilian Phase and have their feathers. The video that Heidi put together demonstrates precisely what Tuesday was like on the nest – best siblings, good buddies, sharing meals! It is wonderful! Smile and enjoy every minute.

BHA writes that the first egg was laid at the Port of Ridgefield Osprey nest in Washington State on April 16. This nest is new to the streaming cam community.

PB sent a message that the couple at the Omaha Public Power District nest at Fort Calhoun Station in Nebraska also have their first egg on the 16th of April. Gosh, we are going to be busy looking trying to keep up with all the hatches coming in May!

The two lads at the Duke Farms Eagle nest have been named by local school children. H44 is Cookie and H45 is Snickers! Cute.

There is a petition to change the speed limit and put up markers by the SW Florida nest of M15 and F23. This morning I was watching the Glacier Gardens new nest of Liberty and Freedom. You should see the fast traffic by that nest. In North America, many raptor nests are located near urban areas with high traffic. The first that comes to mind is Big Red and Arthur’s nest at Cornell. Thanks to a small group of dedicated locals, markers go up and the area is monitored when the hawklets fledge. I would like to see the traffic stopped at Cornell for those two months til the fledglings disperse from that area. All areas near raptor nests should be required to slow or stop, if at all possible, during fledging time including Glacier Gardens. Do you live near an active raptor nest near a busy highway or road? See what your Council says about traffic calming during this time! Smile and be persuasive.

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Thank you to so many for caring and for all the messages about the situation at Frenchman’s Creek. . The third osplet passed after having a couple of seizures on Tuesday 16 April 2024. The nest was full of fish and the oldest sibling continued to beak it. We might never know what caused this turn of events. We will hope that Mum is able to continue feeding the new older siblings to fledge, but there could be something wrong with her. The older are trying to self-feed. The nest remains full of fish, and well, we wait to see how this nest sorts itself out. It is always difficult to lose a chick but one with its juvenile feathers is even more disturbing.

There is a new female Blue 500 at Border Ospreys to replace Samson’s Juno who did not return.

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Blue 5F Seren has laid the second egg of the season on the nest she shares with Dylan at Llyn Clywedog. The time was 1318.

There are two beautiful White-tailed eaglets in a gorgeous tree in Poland!

We are on pip watch at the Captiva Osprey nest of Jack and Edie. Three out of four eggs remain.

There is no activity on the nest of Angel and Tom in Tennessee. ‘A’ brings us up to date as she impatiently waits for eggs: “I am SO impatient for Angel and Tom, but now that they have returned to their nest and are bringing bark to line the nest bowl daily, suddenly Tom disappears. It has been more than three days since he was last sighted at the nest, and the farmer says he has not spotted him anywhere around the property either (as I mentioned in my comment on your blog, he has not spotted a second nest either, or seen activity from Angel and Tom to suggest that there is one, which is one positive).I am seriously concerned at his non-appearance, as he had been a regular shadow for Angel, but I do try to reassure myself with two things.First, it is now up to Angel to lay. The nest is prepared – there is nothing further it needs or can fit really. And second, Tom’s plumage is the most perfect camouflage. These RTHs, as hawklets, as juveniles and as adults, are almost impossible to see amidst the dappled beams of sunlight and the various branches and leaves. So it would be quite possible for Tom to be perched quite near you and not see him at all. Okay, they’re not quite owl-like in that respect but they are good. Very good. Except of course for darling Angel, whose colouring probably makes her the preferred target she obviously is for those damned blue jays. In any event, there will be no eggs without Tom. So obviously, we are exceptionally worried and very much hoping these two have their own quiet private place where they have been canoodling and mating and generally doing their thing out of the way of prying human eyes. Talons crossed. “

Electra and her mate have returned to Cowlitz PUD in Washington State on Tuesday.

Ospreys are reported on the Exshaw platform near Canmore, Alberta. The streaming cam is not turned on as yet. ‘H’ reports that Soo and Olsen are at Osoyoos! The ospreys are coming north!

For those new to either Exshaw or Osoyoos, I would watch these with caution. There was a nest take over at Exshaw in 2023, the male was presumed killed, the intruders attacked the osplets. One osplet died on the nest and the other survived but no one knows how after she was repeatedly attacked and taken off the nest by the aggressive adult intruders. The Osoyoos nest suffers from the frequent heat domes that hit that area of British Columbia causing few fish to come to the nest and they are small. Chicks have been lost. One fledged last year.

*Caution*. Little Miami Conservancy. The little one LM7 did get some food but has been bonked by the older siblings that have kept it from eating at some meals.

Look where Swampy is! Having branched yesterday s/he is exploring higher.

The two eaglets at Redding are covered with thermal down. Aren’t they adorable?

They are fine at Kansas City also! Wichita and Cheyenne are growing nicely.

The two surviving eaglets at Fort St Vrain appear to be alright. One is an expert at getting out of the egg bowl!

Juvenile fledgling R6 of the WRDC nest visited home on Tuesday.

Decorah is getting rain! That thermal down is working like a great raincoat for the two eaglets of Mr and Mrs North.

We are anxiously awaiting for a pip at the Cornell Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur later this week.

*Caution*. The third osplet at VGCCO had a nice private feeding for about half an hour on Tuesday. Whew! It was intimidated by the older sibling most of the day.

Mamma Cruz takes good care of her two eaglets while Andor keeps that pantry filled.

Chandler was on and off the Port Tobacco nest multiple times on Tuesday. Some had been concerned that he was missing.

Dad and Gigi taking care of the two eaglets at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend. They are getting their thermal down.

At the White-tail Eagle nest of Milda in Latvia, her new mate Hugo has been missing for a number of days. She is incubating two eggs and had not eaten for four days. On Tuesday she left the eggs a couple of times – and I hope she had some food. It will be impossible for her to raise these two eaglets on her own, sadly. She tried before. My heart goes out to her.

We know that there are areas that need more platforms for Ospreys, but as Port Lincoln points out, there is also a need for perches for our fish hawks.

Remember. If you know of an Osprey nest that I have not mentioned, please let me know the details. Happy to spread the word!

One of my favourite books next to Soaring with Fidel by David Gessner is being republished by Cornell!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, streaming cams, and articles that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, BHA, Geemeff, H, J, KR, MM, MP, PB, SB, TK’, JB Sands Wetlands, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Trudi Kron, Roy Dennis Foundation, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Heidi Mc, Moorings Park Ospreys, Port of Ridgefield Osprey Canm, OPPD, Duke Farms, Glacier Gardens, The Guardian, Frenchman’s Creek Osprey Cam, Border Ospreys, Sassa Bird, Window to Wildlife, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Little Miami Conservancy, Eagle Country, FORE, FARMER DEREK, Fort St Vrain, WRDC, Raptor Resource Project, Cornell RTH, VGCCO, IWS/Explore, Port Tobacco, ND-LEEF, the LDF, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and David Gessner (Ospreys P).

Scout kills second eaglet, second clutch for Jak and Audacity…Friday in Bird World

Good Morning,

Thank you to everyone who sent me news. It is much appreciated and to ‘H’ who delivers a great narrative of the day at the Moorings Park Osprey nest.

We are going to start with two items that should put a big smile on your fast. First is a video o Tuffy being ‘ruffy’. The second is a screen capture of either Cheyenne or Wichita. The prey must be plentiful in Kansas!

I asked Heidi Mc to make a YouTube video of Tuffy showing its attitude to Ruffy. She did, and here it is! Gosh, that little one has some spunk, which has kept it alive. Thanks, ‘H’.

1 minute 38 seconds. Watch that little one and notice its fat little bottom.

What do you think this eaglet had for lunch? Look at the size of that crop – and then look at the overall health of this chick. Unbelievable. FARMER DEREK must have lost of prey on his property.

Isn’t this a beautiful bird?

Stop for a moment and just look at the colours as they blend together from the matte black beak to the deepest navy-black, blending into a dark iridescent purple-blue, a royal blue and then a turquoise before breaking off into a Khaki and brown. The tail is a wedge, and that is a big, strong beak for a large bird.

Do you recognise this bird? Do you have these where you live?

The Common Grackle, but there isn’t anything ‘common’ about it as far as I can see. This is an adult male. The first three are in the garden for 2024. They arrive in April and stay until October. Often they will make a nest in the garden and have successfully fledged ‘gracklets’. That was an event – all the aunties and uncles came from afar, landing on the overhead wires to see the little one leave the nest. It was a community event, and well, it should be because most are lost to Mr Crow and his family right after hatching.

UPDATE: Scout has killed the second eaglet. Friday 12 April.

On the morning of 11 April, the second egg of Bella and Scout hatched. Scout was confused. He poked but did not appear to harm the chick. Bella returned and dug the egg cup quite deep and then left later and returned. Bella protected the eaglet and also had a tug-o-war with Scout over a fish. She needed to eat and she wanted the fish left on the nest to feed the baby. It appeared that Bella was trying to tell this to Scout – he flew off with the fish! This nest feels ‘unsettled’ to me in that Scout doesn’t understand that he needs to provide security and food. Let’s see how he does with the little one, too.

Bella brooding newly hatched chick.

You can see the little head of the eaglet below.

Bella on the chick after eating telling Scout, who is mantling the fish, to leave it alone!

It is going to be a rough few days at the NCTC nest until such time as Scout figures out his role as father and mate.

Ruffy continues to attack Tuffy even if she is full. ‘H’ reports: .”..At 1220 Harry delivered a large headless tilapia.  Ruffie rushed to the table, but Tuffy stayed back.  At 1227 Tuffy got up and looked at Ruffie, who shot him a glance that said “don’t even try it kid.”  Ruffie walked away from the table at 1231, and there was still a lot of fish left.  It took Tuffy a couple of minutes to move from the rail, since he knew that Ruffie’s reach has been extended lately.  At 1233 Tuffy moved toward the center of the nest, and Sally picked up the fish and met him half way.  Tuffy ate 24 bites by 1236.  Then Ruffie approached and intimidated Tuffy into moving away, Ruffie ate a couple bites, then left.  Tuffy turned toward Sally, got one more bite, and Ruffie beaked and bit him severely on the back of his neck.  After that beating, Tuffy stayed tucked for 5 minutes, even though Ruffie was at the rail, not eating.  At 1241 Tuffy met Sally in the center of the nest and he ate 5 more bites before Ruffy again approached him and intimidated him into moving away.  This scenario played out a few more times, where Tuffy would get a bite or two, Ruffy would intimidate him and he’d move away.  Tuffy had eaten a total of 52 bites by 1251.  Ruffie started eating again at 1252, and the fish was gone at 1256.  Tuffy had managed to eat enough to have a moderate crop.”


…At 1430 Harry dropped off a very large headless tilapia.  Tuffy made no effort to get to the table.  He stayed away from Ruffie, and he was waiting his turn.  At 1441 Tuffy started to make his move…shuffling slowly around the perimeter of the nest, and by 1443 he was close to Sally’s right side.  Ruffy didn’t seem to mind.  At 1444 Ruffy was sated and moved away from the table.  Ruffie laid down on the other side of the nest, and was not worried about Tuffy eating.  So, Tuffy started to eat…and eat…and eat.  By 1453 Tuffy had eaten 90 bites of fish, took a PS break, and rested a minute before going back for more.  Tuffy had eaten 150 bites by 1506, and then laid down to take another break.  It really was a huge fish and Sally was still eating, and Ruffie was still sleeping.  So, at 1512 Tuffy went back for more!  By 1516 Tuffy had eaten 179 bites…and then took another break.  Sally kept pulling on all that fish skin.  Was Tuffy done?  Nope…at 1521 he went back for more.  At 1523 Tuffy was finally done when Sally ate the fish tail.  Tuffy had eaten at least 191 bites of fish!  


‘H’ gives us a late report: “…Despite the wind and rain, Harry brought the 4th fish of the day at 1818, another headless tilapia.  Ruffie intimidated Tuffy…Ruffie was fed…and Tuffy stayed back.  At 1823 Tuffy approached, and when he got up near Ruffies left shoulder, Ruffie promptly beaked him.  When Tuffie finally came out of his submission-tuck at 1831, he was immediately intimidated by Ruffie, and Tuffy waddled away.  At 1840 Tuffy again tried to approach the feeding line and was beaked as soon as Ruffie saw him.  A persistent Tuffy was near Ruffie’s right side at 1846, and Ruffy gave him ‘the look’.  At 1847 Ruffie finally walked away, but the fish was gone.  Sally was eating scraps off the nest.  Nothing for Tuffy at this meal.  Tuffy has eaten pretty well today, though.  He has eaten approximately 345 bites of fish at three earlier meals.”

Audacity has laid another egg!

At Big Bear one of the three unviable eggs has cracked.

Then Jackie and Shadow say goodbye to their dream.

The third egg arrived at the OuterBanks nest around 0848 on 11 April.

These three osplets at Frenchman’s Creek are rapidly getting their juvenile plumage. They are gorgeous.

I have a huge soft spot for the Decorah North Bald Eagle family. This fierce Mamma has the sweetest babies.

Two bobbleheads at Fort St Vrain. Cuties. Be thankful for all those that survive this year.

There are three eaglets at the Sutton Centre in Bartlesville Oklahoma.

Mason and Dixie are all grown up.

No egg yet at the Loch Arkaig nest of Dorcha and Louis but an interesting visitor. Have a look and see how big an osprey is compared to a Great Tit.

Bette and Bukachek have two eggs at their nest in Mlady Buky.

Waiting for eggs at the Black Stork nest in Latvia in Kurzeme.

Beautiful Big Red and cutie pie Arthur. It won’t be long til there are four little hawk lets in the nest at Cornell.

The four eggs were laid on March 17, March 20, March 23, and March 26. I am looking for pip watch on the 22-24 April.

Cute little falcon in Japan has hatched. Looking at that white fluff with that little pink beak and legs should get you all excited for the arrival of Annie and Archie’s chicks!!!!!!!

Send your warm thoughts to Iris at Hellgate Canyon. The Matriarch of Ospreys returned to Missoula from her migration and moved some sticks about on the 5th of April. Iris is normally seen working on her nest or eating one of her whoppers on the owl pole. She has not been seen. We can speculate on many things, but it would be pointless. Let us hope that she is thriving at a new nest with a new beau!

‘J’ reports that the banding at Duke Farms has changed: “Due to the forecast of rain and wind tomorrow, the DF banding is postponed for the safety of the chicks and climber.  The banding is rescheduled for Monday the 15th at 10am.”

I was asked for the links to donate to the folks at the Tampa Bay Raptor Centre (they rescued Meadow and are fixing the Achieva nest) and Audubon for Meadow. Thanks ‘J’ for these:

The full link for a donation to Audubon Florida is:
https://act.audubon.org/onlineactions/ar8crC6bIUGX9UsdFBWdnw2

To donate to the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay:
https://www.raptorcenteroftampabay.org/donate
Yesterday they took in another bald eagle, number 19 this year.

Did you know that the flame retardants used on furniture, clothing, etc. – that were banned a decade ago – continue to plague the small Apex predators such as falcons and hawks?

“As globally distributed apex predators, the peregrine falcon is the ideal canary in the coal mine for monitoring flame retardant pollution in the environment. Flame retardants phased out a decade ago are still accumulating in these birds and into their eggs, which indicates that the threats of these chemicals to wildlife and people can far outlast their production.”

Researchers measured concentrations of a suite of old and newer halogenated flame retardants in peregrine falcon eggs collected from multiple locations in the U.S. (New Jersey, California, Chesapeake Bay, and Pennsylvania) and Canada (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and New Brunswick) between 1984 and 2016. It is the largest investigation to date of flame retardants in peregrine falcons in terms of both time and space.”

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‘AE’ reminds us that some enhancements to the Migratory Bird Act are going to the US Senate.

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That is my ‘brief’ (LOL, it turned out longer than anticipated) report for today. Tomorrow’s will be short as well with things back to normal on Sunday! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to ‘AE, Geemeff, H, J, OB, SP’, Heidi MC, Kansas City Bald Eagles, NCTC Bald Eagle Nest, Sharon Pollock, Moorings Park Osprey, Gracie Shepherd, FOBBV, Outerbanks/Carova Osprey Nest, Baiba, SK Hideaways, Frenchman’s Creek Ospreys, Raptor Resource Project, Ft St Vrain Bald Eagles, Superbeaks, Geemeff, Mlady Buky Storks, LDF, Cornell RTH, Japanese Peregrine Falcon Cam, Physical Org, and Audubon.

Big Red has an injury…Tuesday in Bird World

2 April 2024

Hello Everyone,

UPDATED CORRECTION: IT IS LIBERTY AND GUARDIAN’S FIRST CLUTCH. ONE EGG BROKE. I APOLOGISE FOR ANY CONFUSION WHEN I SAID IT WAS THEIR SECOND. REMEMBERING WRONG! THANK YOU SP.

We are starting with Big Red. Many of us watched and wondered about Big Red. Several reported seeing a limp before eggs arrived including myself. It appears that our much beloved Red-tail Hawk at the Cornell Campus has sustained an injury to her foot. Please read the article below for all the information and send positive energy to Big Red, Arthur, and their four eggs.

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The warmth of the sun is pouring into the conservatory. Hugo Yugo is asleep in the blue chair while Missey eyes the top of the cat tree. A woodpecker is at the square suet feeder while the Blue Jays flit back and forth from their nest tree to the feeder loaded with peanuts. Dyson and the last year’s kits have already been to eat and Little Red is still scurrying about.

There is something comforting and stabilising about nature and the change of the seasons. No matter what happens in our lives, life outside of ‘us’ continues. That natural rhythm gives me hope every year as life returns to the garden. The soil warms, the first Crocus will appear, and then the tulips. The leaf buds will pop open on the lilac bushes, and the fragrance of the flowers will envelop the entire space around the third week in May. This year also brings new promise as the Black-capped Chickadees are making a nest in two trees in the garden. It is a first. Normally, they nest in the very large Blue Spruce across the road. If deemed safe, Junior and his mate will bring the new Blue Jay fledglings this summer, and we will also have a deck full of baby Crows. Seriously, I cannot wait. That reminds me – both ‘Boyfriends’ have been to the feeding station today. Are they brothers?

The top is the ‘original’ Boyfriend that came to the deck with Calico. He has 2/3 of a white bow tie.

This one has only a part of a bow tie. The one below is actually the friendlier of the pair.

The central heating is off, and nothing made me think I needed a jumper or socks this morning. Today will be a day for a trip to the country or time spent whipping the deck into shape. It is getting there. This year, I will put up privacy screens to become a trellis for climbing flowers for the hummers and bees. Everything is going to be red – hopefully, it will be inviting. There is a new outdoor carpet to replace the old soiled and faded one. I dislike them immensely, those carpets. Most are plastic. This one is made out of recycled fizzy drink bottles, but the energy consumed in manufacturing the original bottles and now this carpet is probably much. I should try and find out. I have the carpet for a single reason – the feral cats. It covers the spaces between the boards and keeps the snow and rain from going under the deck where the outdoor cats often sleep.

It all feels different today – like spring really is coming. It was something we would only dream of on 1 April several years ago.

Megan Boardman spent Easter weekend at Rutland Water, where she took some amazing images of the Ospreys. Megan has happily and generously allowed me to share these with you. She holds the copyright. Do not share them with anyone – just enjoy them here. Thank you, Megan!

Maya in the nest with Blue 33 on the perch.

Megan caught the moment that the intruder arrived at the nest as Maya was laying her first egg. Blue 33 went into action to chase them away!

The first chase.

The intruder comes for the second time. Megan says that it was ‘an action filled day’.

Megan writes, “After things calm down (and first egg laid during the chaos), 33 brings fluff to the nest and Maya flies to wash her talons.”

I am a sap for Blue 33. Here he is protecting Maya again today.

Maya laid their second egg at Rutland this morning.

Sadly, intruders can cause damage and on Monday one of those caused Mother Goose to lose one of her eggs at Decorah.

As you will note from Alison’s terrific commentary, Leaper and Little Jersey are doing quite well at Duke Farms. There has been a big turnaround in food deliveries and life has settled back to being civilised. It is the ‘cherry’ on top of the sundae when life returns to normal without an eaglet being lost in the process.

‘A’ stayed up til the middle of the night (she lives in Australia) to give you this morning round up at Duke. “

Another fish came in at Duke Farms, courtesy of dad, just before 08:05. It is whole and medium in size. There is still half of the breakfast fish left nearby on the nest. Mum is brooding the eaglets and doesn’t get up. Dad leaves again 30 seconds later, knowing better than to attempt to take any fish with him. It is raining this morning, and mum shelters the eaglets, doing her best mumbrella. Just before 08:11, dad is in with ANOTHER fish, a little smaller than the last one but whole. Dad stands there for a bit, periodically looking down at his fish, then flies off the nest at 08:11:50. At 11:04:35, dad is in with yet another whole fish. This is getting ridiculous. He surveys the fish buffet in front of him – three whole fish and a half fish left over from breakfast – actually looking from one to another, to another. I think even he is astonished. Dad leaves at 11:04:49. 

At around 11:20, mum finally gets up and shakes her wings to get rid of the water, while the chicks scramble to get up from beneath her. This leaves Jersey front and centre at the table, and as mum flaps her wings to remove the water, one of her wings strikes Leaper, who immediately grabs Jersey by the back of the nape, though she quickly lets go and herself goes into submission. She is quickly up again while Jersey remains tucked. Mum surveys the brunch selection and chooses the smallest of the three whole fish to begin feeding Leaper. Jersey remains tucked though facing the table. Leaper interrupts her eating to back up for a huge PS (11:21:26) then returns to the table. Jersey remains tucked until 11:23:25, when he lifts his head and turns away from the food. Mum is now eating herself. She is hungry. She downs the last third of the fish, including the tail, as a single mouthful. 

She then moves to a second whole fish. Leaper, who had left the feeding and sat down on the far side of Jersey, who had finally turned towards the table, suddenly changes her mind, turns around and heads back towards mum. This causes Jersey to turn away from the table again. Seeing that mum is offering bites to Leaper, who is refusing almost all of them, Jersey gains the courage to turn around and move up to the table beside his sister, though he is still nervous. Mum ignores both of them, continuing to eat herself. She appears very hungry. It’s a while since I’ve seen her eat fast and greedily like this. She sure deserves it. When Leaper shakes her head, Jersey leans away slightly. He remains nervous. 

Finally, mum reaches out towards Jersey with a bite. He shuffles a couple of paces closer to mum, half-turning away from Leaper as he does so, and grabs the bite. It is his first of the feeding. (Leaper has eaten about half a fish at this feeding so far.) Mum continues to feed Jersey big juicy fishy bites with no objection from Leaper, who is full, so sits watching her brother eat. He is still a bit slow to take bites, nervous of his sister, and is still grabbing at the food rather than eating in a leisurely and relaxed manner. At 11:27:20 Leaper moves towards mum, causing Jersey to turn away, but she is just changing position and has finished eating, so Jersey immediately looks over his shoulder and grabs the next bite. He then eats and eats, and some of the bites are very large. It is a lovely juicy fleshy fish. 

Around 11:29, he refuses a bite – he is too full (he started the feeding with a crop from breakfast), so does a crop drop and accepts the next bite offered. She is very patient with him, offering pieces several times, moving slowly and carefully around him so as not to startle him, turning her head to make a bite easier for him to access – she really is a special mum. I have grown to love and admire her so much over the past week. She has been amazing. Jersey is still eating at 11:30 but is looking as though he cannot fit much more. There is still one whole fish and two half fish (one large, one smaller) left on the nest. Both eaglets have gigantic crops. Again. He refuses a big bite at 11:30:30. Mum waits for a bit, and at 11:31:16 Jersey accepts the next bite she offers and then continues to eat. At 11:32, having refused a bite, Jersey crop drops but still cannot fit in the next bite mum offers either. 

After a short period where he was too full to take the proffered bites, Jersey resumes accepting food. Mum is stuffing him to the brim. A couple of crop drops shortly before 11:35 don’t make enough room for more food, so Jersey refuses some bites but then accepts a very large piece, and another bite, around 11:35:30. Mum is working on the last of this second fish now. The rain, which has never entirely stopped, is now getting steadily heavier and the eaglets are starting to look more than a little damp. By 11:36 mum is eating virtually all of the mouthfuls herself. She tries hard to persuade him to take just one more bite around 11:37 but he says no, eventually underlining his point by backing off and then turning away. The feed officially ends. 

Jersey is full and being soaked by the rain, so he heads for the centre of the nest and tries to dive headfirst under his sister, but is thwarted by her immense crop. He tries again, and there is some general shuffling of eaglets, after which he succeeds in tucking some of his head under Leaper’s crop He keeps trying to find a way to burrow under his sister, and eventually, at 11:40, mum comes over from where she has been standing on the rails, does a little aerating behind the two eaglets, and then settles down to shelter the pair from the continuing rain. What a wonderful mum. 

There is still one medium-large whole fish and one large part of another fish on the nest, along with a scattering of leftovers from the two fish that have already been almost completely demolished this morning (mum has left the second one as a skeleton with something that looks like a jawbone attached to one end and perhaps part of a tail at the other – slim pickings from that carcass I suspect). So there is lunch and dinner on this nest already, regardless of how busy an afternoon the parents have. Now that the rain appears to have set in, that may be a very good thing. 

At 12:26, mum stands up and flaps her wings, sending sprays of water in all directions. Another burst of flapping, and she leaves the nest soon after. The eaglets snuggle up together – it is still raining steadily, though not too heavily. As I type this, it is 13:10 and Jersey is sleeping with his head tucked as far under his sister’s right wing as possible. Both are in food comas, even as they are being soaked by the continuing rainfall. They have their thermal down now – this is the world of grown-up eaglets. (I think they’d prefer being brooded by mum over youthful independence just now.) I hope their mumbrella is back soon. I do hope she is not out fishing!!”

Monday morning and that beautiful peachy orange of the sun is waking up the land at Decorah North.

Those babies are kissed by its rays and Mum is ready with breakfast.

Guardian and Liberty laid a second clutch. They so wanted a family and here they are with two little bobbleheads at Redding. Doesn’t it feel nice?

The breakfast fish seems to be coming in around 0900 or 1000 at Moorings Park. Perhaps I am missing an earlier delivery. Little Tuffie did not seem interested in the first feeding but caught up during the second. The fish was nice and big and there was still much good flesh left for the third meal.

Both osplets are scooting out of the egg cup but Ruffy is the real expert so far.

Due to Ruffy’s long neck and bigger size, Tuffy has to work a bit harder to get food.

Look closely. They are changing. The back of their heads. The feathers are disappearing and that black oily tar colour is appearing as the two softly enter the Reptilian stage.

Notice the difference in plumage at Frenchman’s Creek Osprey nest. These three are getting their juvenile feathers. A really big fish is on the nest for breakfast Monday and the little third hatch is up at Mum’s beak getting first bites.

It looks like the third hatch got a bit of a private feeding later.

‘AE’ sent some images of the Patchogue Osprey platform. Mum and Dad have worked hard to repair the disturbance caused when the nest was flipped upside down. The egg area is quite small compared to last year but it appears that the eggs will not roll out. Might we hope for only two? And as ‘AE’ notes, the plastic bags continue to be brought to the nest.

She also sent us a screen capture of the eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands. Just look at how big s/he is! Dad did a fine job caring for the eaglet and Mum just like Arthur is doing for Big Red. Look at those gorgeous wings!

‘MP’ writes that Barbara Walker, the Manager of the Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue, has undertaken to put up the necessary deterrents out of ‘high quality’ materials at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest of Jack and Diane who lost their eggs and two-day old chick. The precise reason for the eggs to be found under the nest and the demise of the little osplet has never been determined. Thank you, Barbara! – from all of us.

Watching for Iris to return to Hellgate Canyon.

The Owl Pole where Iris loves to eat the whoppers she pulls out of the local river.

Iris’s nest. It will be the best nest on the continent – Iris does an amazing job of keeping it in tiptop condition. Her ‘train’ is also waiting. When she arrives you will hear my scream all the way to Rio! Or Melbourne.

LJ2 working on the nest at Llyn Brenig.

Libby and Branson have returned to their nest at the Lochter Activity Centre in Scotland.

Today there were four eagles at the Dulles-Greenway nest.

The couple at the Wetlands Institute Osprey nest (there are five and this is one of them) are back working on their nest this year in hopes of raising a family.

There is a pip on Monday afternoon at the ND-LEEF nest! Congratulations!

Is there a second hatch at Centreport?

At the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout, the rain is coming down. Bella is protecting her precious eggs in the hope of fledging eaglets off this nest this year.

Chicks doing well at Little Miami Conservancy. And another one hatched this morning, LM3. Now there are three.

A lovely radio interview on BBC Radio Scotland about Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.

Dorcha and Louis make the BBC news.

Louis pretending he is a penguin delivering Dorcha a fish!

The Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society has put up a new nest for Ollie and his mate at Norwalk. It is a beauty. His nest often got washed out to sea with the high tides. They hope this will help. Ollie has returned home and is waiting for his mate. There is also a new camera. I am trying to locate the link for you.

Note the lovely mesh below the frame.

This was a storm that hit Ollie’s nest in 2022. The nest is on Long Island Sound.

Many have asked about Dmitri. You will recall he rescued the little storklet – the one Mamma Stork was killing – and raised it to fledge. Then Dmitri required surgery. He is well and fixing the stork nest for this year! Thank you to all who helped. He says he is “so happy to be alive and for the birds arriving back from Africa”.

At Utica, Astrid has laid her fourth falcon egg of the season!

Which brings me to Angel and Tom. Our dear ‘A’ is very worried about them and the fact that there are no eggs. I wonder if it is possible that they have another nest this year? or are they just a little late?

The latest word on R6:

The White Storks in Goggling Germany now have 5 eggs!

I love gulls and I purchase chips for them whenever I am at the beach or at Lockport by the dam. Do you feed gulls chips?

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Did I ever tell you how marvellous it is to still have story time with the girls? At least once a day, and always at 1900, we gather in the conservatory and I read to the cats. It all began with Calico and her needing to recognise my voice and to trust me. She was in a little room, my old office, and I would go in with a book and her meal. She would eat, cuddle on my lap (yes I sat on the floor) and I would read to her. She has a preference for certain author’s voices. It has been a wonderful way for me to keep up with my reading and for all four of them to gather together. I now know that volunteers at the raptor centres read to the ambassador birds. They are no different than humans – all living things need stimulation and love. I ordered a number of books before the end of 2023 because part of my year was a promise to cut down on the book orders. I have ordered three books so far which has to be an all time low for me during the winter when there is time to read! So, ‘The Girls’ and I are working through that stack of books during story time. Next up is Chris Packham’s Birdwatching From Beginning to Birder. Will keep you posted as we finish up Tim Mackrill’s The Osprey. Review coming up later this week.

Missey looking at the bookshelf to see if she can find a book for story time.

It was a delight to see that animal skins and feathers are being banned from fashion week in Copenhagen. It could be the start of something special. No more animals bred and kept for the fashion industry!

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Thank you so much for being with me today. All of the nests appear to be doing fine with the exception of Big Bear and Two Harbours where disappointment at a lack of hatch touches all of our hearts. All of the eaglets in the nest and all eggs being incubated appear to be in good order this Tuesday morning. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MB, MP, SP, TU’, Cornell Bird Lab, Megan Boardman, LRWT, SK Hideaways, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, FORE, Moorings Park Ospreys, Frenchman’s Creek, AE-PSEG, MP-Achieva, Montana Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Lochter Activity Centre, Dulles Greenway, Wetlands Institute, ND-LEE, Centreport Eagles, Little Miami Conservancy, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC, Geemeff, LRWT, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, @Stork40, Utica Falcon Cam, Windows to Wildlife, Jeanne Kaufman, The Guardian, Goggling Germany White Storks and SPO, and Amazon.