Category Archives: birds that died

Monday in Bird World

29 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

We hope that you had a really lovely weekend. I have been busy taking photographs of the six Blue Jays in the garden along with Dyson and family and all the baby sparrows. And today, there will be time to go and get a new cable to connect the camera to the computer so I can show you this week. All of the garden animals are fine. The Girls are actually enjoying a new furniture arrangement in the conservatory and today they are waiting for a family birthday party where they will get some treats!

I want to start with some really good news from the Los Angeles Zoo, which was reported in The Guardian. A record number of condors have hatched in captivity. This is just the best!

‘Nature’s clean–up crew’: record-setting 17 condor chicks hatch at LA Zoo | California | The GuardiaDownload

Question from ‘RP and VS’ – Crows and Cheesy Dogs. What are they? Where do I get them? As I answer this, a Blue Jay is jumping around near a huge plate of cheesy dogs and chicken weiners and Mr Crow is flying in to get his share as well.

Well, Crows like meat. It is a bad thing if you are Vegan or a Vegetarian which seems to run in my family. So we giggle when we are in the check out line at the shops – hoping no one sees us. We have a very discounted grocery near us. They sell chicken hotdogs in 3 kg packages. These are just plain ones, and the Crows love them. We slice them into thin disks and pile them on a big plate. The Crows devour them. They have a very strong smell – . The Blue Jays love them, too, and so do the Starlings. Now for the cheesy dogs – they are a smoked sausage like weiner with cheese injected in them. Sometimes, they even have Jalapeno pepper flakes. They love these. Again, sliced thin. Some places call these Smokies. They remind me of European hot dogs or sausages. The Crows also love hard-boiled eggs, Chinese chicken balls, etc. BUT they won’t touch chicken strips from certain companies. It is like they are too processed. How could that be different from the chicken hot dogs? We also put out small pieces of fruit for them. I know that your specific question was about the cheesy dogs, but we keep leftovers and I have places that keep their food at the end of the day that can’t be given to humans. That is how I know they love Chinese chicken balls with sauce! They will also eat pizza (the local shop is good to save the food) and we cut it into small pieces. I don’t like giving them bread. It reminds me of the ducks and geese that get Angel Wing. Perhaps it is alright for the songbirds and Crows – I should do some research!

Oh, I do love these garden visitors. We have also discovered that the songbirds like different types of seed and suet. Sometimes you have to experiment. Brands may lok the same but the birds in my garden will not touch a certain brand of suet and they prefer, above everything else, Black Oil Seed. Some won’t eat millet while the Dark-eyed Juncos devour the stuff. Just get a little bit at first and test it on who is coming to your garden.

Be sure to clean your feeders and bird baths regularly. I have been using a vegetable brush on the bird baths because of the hot and the algae issues.

Today was a particularly quiet day. I did not spend much of it watching the nests. The last couple of weeks took the wind out of my sails. Instead, I continued to enter data into the forms for the nests in Nova Scotia, some in Norway, and a handful from my own province. I had hoped to get us up to 500 eggs that were monitored during the 2024 osprey season and it looks like we are going to make it! Tragedies in one region are off-set by successes elsewhere. I wonder how 2024 will compare to 2023? We wait to see.

A quick run through of some nests:

Dorsett Hobby: The only surviving eyas is just rather wet today! There is some concern for the little Hobby. ‘SP’ follows this nest closely and says that it has little attention form Mum in the last 36 hours. She has made Dorsett Hobby aware of the concerns – let us hope Mum brings in more food and stays with the little one although she could be perched on a nearby tree and we are not seeing her. 

#1 Finland. Everything is OK.

#2 Nova Scotia. Both of Ethel and Oscar’s chicks, Skylor and Heidi, have now fledged. Heidi flew on Sunday with Skylor taking his wings on Saturday. (Photo by Don Dennis)

Right now the temperature in Nova Scotia is 30 degrees C. They have just finalised their listing of ospreys and they have sixty (60) this year. That is a fantastic survival rate per nest – in fact, most nests I am told, did not lose a single chick! Well done, Canada.

Hellgate Canyon: Just look at how big that oldest chick is? Almost as big as Mama Iris! The question is – where is Finnegan? where are the fish? Did I miss deliveries in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon? It looks like Iris has gone out on her own. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Check out the snake eyes on these two kids of Iris and Finn! These are just the most gorgeous osplets. Finn and Iris have made two beautiful babies.

Finn apparently chased Louis off the Owl Pole and it appears he told him in no uncertain terms to ‘get out of Dodge’. And then Iris and Finn defended the nest against an intruder which was possibly Louis checking out what was going on. Since his chicks fledged, it seems he has some time on his hands. Let’s hope he stays away.

Finn eating a much wanted fish by Iris and the kids.

Iris and her train.

Finn got that whopper, minus its head, to Iris and the kids. She waited rather impatiently.

They are having a feast!

It took some time to get fish on the nest today and the oldest has decided to be a bit of a ….. No worries. There is enough fish for three or four nests. That was a whopper. Iris will make sure both are fed.

And she did!

Llyn Brenig: Emrys fledged on Sunday!

Poland Black Stork Nests: Maria Marika has posted saying that none of the four Black Storks fitted with a transmitter in 2023 and ringed are alive. Sad day for their community. Details on individual storks will be provided on the Memorial Wall in coming days.

‘H’ reports on Patuxent River Park happenings:

Patuxent River Park:  

Rewind:  On 7/25, two significant events happened less than 20 minutes apart.  At 1444 there was an adult intruder on the nest when one of the resident juveniles flew in and attempted to land.  The intruder jumped up to intercept the juvie and struck her just as her talons hit the nest.  The younger osprey was knocked backwards and fell down below the nest.  The nest is only ten feet higher than the level of the marsh.  We soon knew that the juvenile osprey had been Big.  The intruder flew away after that assault.  Nineteen minutes later, Middle was in the nest when Dad flew in with a large goldfish.  The intruder landed almost immediately behind Dad and tried to grab the fish.  Dad attempted to defend, but to no avail.  The intruder had possession of the goldfish with Middle still attached and the intruder fell/flew off the nest.  Middle returned to the nest.  Soon after that, we started to intermittently hear rustling and flapping coming from below the nest.  There was obviously an injured osprey below the nest.  Hours passed, and as high tide approached, the flapping sounded like it was in water rather than just the vegetation.  Who was down there?  Was it Big?  Was it the intruder?  We have never seen Big again after she was knocked off the nest that afternoon.  By late evening, we no longer heard the flapping.  At 1100 am the following morning, the park staff searched, but did not find an osprey below the nest.

Fast forward to 7/28:  Middle was the only fledgling that we were still seeing at the nest.  Oh boy, did Dad ever take care of his girl today!  Dad brought six fish to Middle.  There were five fish delivered to the nest between 0641 and 0846!  We didn’t think she could do it, but Middle ate all of those fish.  Have you ever seen an osprey grinning from ear to ear?  

Middle was in and out a bit, enjoying her day.  An adult intruder landed in the nest at 1220, and Middle soon arrived to shoo the visitor away.  At 1338 a visiting juvenile osprey arrived at the nest.  After several minutes, Middle flew in, there was a fight, and they both went overboard.  The wayward juvie returned to the nest.  Middle soon arrived and literally gave the juvie the boot, with a karate kick!  After that, the visiting juvie decided not to return.

Dad delivered a huge whole fish to Middle at 1650.  Middle ate and ate, but she had to take breaks to rest and digest, so her fish meal was lasting a long time.  At 1851 Middle was still in possession of a large piece of fish when she was dive-bombed by an adult osprey.  A couple minutes later the intruder landed in the nest, but was repelled by Middle.  We could tell that the intruder kept landing on the camera, and at 1856 it dive bombed Middle again.  But then, things seemed to calm down, and by 1914 Middle resumed eating her fish.  At 1922 and 1923 the intruder returned and landed in the nest, but was forced off both times by Middle.  At 1924 the intruder flew in very fast, grabbed Middle on her upper back and dragged her backwards off the nest.  We heard her hit the marsh 10 feet below.  We did not see middle for the rest of the evening.  We did not hear any rustling or flapping coming from below the nest.  Please come home Middle, so that we know you are okay.

I have video recordings of all of the attacks on 7/25 and 7/28, and I have reviewed them carefully.  Based on head and chest markings, I believe that this is the same adult intruder that attacked Big, and shortly thereafter dragged Middle off the nest on 7/25.  It was the very same adult that attacked Middle today.  So, now there is no question who the osprey was below the nest on 7/25.  It was Big, and she was likely carried away by the tide, and may have drowned.  I would love to be wrong about Big’s demise.  We loved you Big.  Fly high.”

Steelscape: ‘PB’ watched the intruders trying to take over this nest earlier on Sunday. One of the fledglings appears to have sustained an injury.

It has been a rough day.

Decorah North: Eagle eyed Deb Stecyk has noticed something a miss with one of the adults on the Decorah North nest. Deb wonders if it is an old injury? scar? It is the first time I have seen this dark line. Please note that all Decorah cameras will be shut down for annual maintenance on 2 August.

Other images make it look like a nasty cut to both sides of the mandible with dried blood on the left side of the neck. But is this insect bites and could Dad have scratched them? Just wondering. PB’ says they are terrible in the MidWest right now.

Gosh, I feel like I am the writer of doom and gloom today. There is just so much going on, and there are a lot of nest takeovers and intruders this time of year wrecking havoc with stable avian homes.

HWF-BBCentral: Blue is looking better today. More alert. He was seen doing some wingers and had a crop. Let us hope this eaglet gets its mojo and fledges off that nest to the shock of everyone.

Charlo Montana: Still hot. Nest still doing alright. Those funny balls that Charlie brought in have been used as a pillow by the rapidly growing chick.

Sandpoint: River is looking in excellent form!

The Bridge Golf Club: Fledgling returns to the nest for fish and is sleeping there Sunday night. All is good.

Port Lincoln Barge: Mum is on the nest waiting for Dad!

Olympic Park Eagles: Incubation continues. Cathy Cook writes that we will be on pip watch starting on Monday.

I want to add a note -. This nest has not had failures every year. Things happened once the eaglets fledged. The Currawongs chased WBSE 25 out of the area, and sadly, WBSE 26 had to be euthanised. 26, the much loved little eaglet, had injured its leg within its first 48 hours. 25 was good for supporting, caring, and encouraging its younger sibling. 26 did fledge and did return to the nest after several days, where it spent considerable time before. Sadly, it was chased out of the forest, winding up – during a storm – on a high-rise balcony. The wildlife rehab team decided that 26 could not be successfully put back together and was euthanised. In fact, the Currawongs are the biggest problem! Eaglets have been rescued, and two of them, if I remember correctly, were fitted with transmitters after rehab and released in another area. They had been tracked for some time. Last year was amazing. It was the first year we could fully appreciate how Lady and Dad cared for their young as they fed and trained WBSE 31. It was incredible, and the images provided by the community photographers that were posted warmed our hearts. Cathy confirmed that 31 stayed in the area till February. Let us hope that these two hatch, all goes well, and we will see them flying over the Parmatta River and eating fish at the River Roost.

Cathy also informed me that there are ospreys fishing in the area, too. How wonderful.

Geemeff sends her daily report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 28th July 2024

No sign today of Louis, last seen on 25th July, or Dorcha, last seen yesterday, and no activity of any sort on Nest Two. Over on Nest One, Garry did some early morning sky-dancing with a fish, which may have been why Affric 152 arrived on the nest and stayed long enough to take the fish from him when he landed. The fish was an unusual one, a Perch, first time seen on the nest and possibly a cause for concern as they shouldn’t be found in this area. Link below to WTS George’s comment about this. Affric flew off with the perch – perhaps she was taking it back to her chick on the Bunarkaig nest. A bellowing of Bullfinches visited the nest before Affric returned at lunchtime but was disappointed when Garry joined her without bringing her another fish. The weather was settled and sunny today, but drizzle is forecast for tonight, with more rain tomorrow. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.56.03 (04.13.18); Nest Two 22.45.47 (04.23.40)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/0IsE6V9aoyo N1 Sky dancing heard then Garry lands with fish for Affric 05.42.30

https://youtu.be/njpggXeqWMs N1 A bellowing of Bullfinches visit 07.34.31

https://youtu.be/Iyy_ZwZ_cM8 Garry LV0 joins Affric 152 on the nest 12.24.16  

Bonus info on Garry LV0’s unusual fish –  European perch (Perca fluviatilis):

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15497584

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_perch

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

‘H’ reports:

7/28 Osoyoos osprey nest:  This family had a good day.  There were nine fish brought to the nest, including one from Soo.  Four of the fish were tiny, but the others provided meals that lasted 13-19 minutes.  There was very little aggression from Big toward Middle today.  There were a few meals where Big ate more, but there were also feedings where it was obvious that Middle had more to eat than Big.  Weather forecast for 7/29:  Cloudy with chance of showers, high 77, light winds.  Warmer temperatures will gradually return by the end of the week.

The BBC covered the Alyth Ospreys and the construction of their nest. Lovely interview with Roy Dennis about the move of the nest.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CC, Geemeff, H, MM, PB, RP, SP, TU, VS’, The Guardian, Dorsett Hobby, Llyn Brenig Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Project, Connie and Don Dennis, Montana Osprey Project, The Weather Network, Maria Marika, Patuxent River Park, Heidi McGrue, Steelscape, Raptor Research Project, Deb Stecyk, HWF-BBC, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Bridge Golf Course, PLO, Olympic Park Eagles, BBC, and Osoyoos.

A Day of Fledges…Sunday in Bird World

27 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Morning Update: ‘PB’ report that two adult ospreys attacked the two fledglings this morning at Steelscape.

It looks like one fledgling is back at the nest now. Let us hope that both are alright.

Saturday was a 30-degree C – humid – day on the Canadian Prairies. The garden animals were active early and arrived again once the sun moved further to the West. The heat is meeting up with a cold front and we are in for another evening of severe thunderstorms. Hugo Yugo gets so scared and wants to cuddle in tight while Calico runs and hides under the sofa. It makes me only imagine what a fifteen or half-hour of fireworks does to them.

The Girls and I started reading a new book tonight. They might not understand what is going on but Calico knows she likes to sleep on the foot stool in front of the Dyson fan. The book is, The Heat Will Kill You First. Life and Death on a Scorched Planet’. I am hoping to understand more about what is happening and how it is impacting our raptors. Some of it we are witnessing before our eyes – in Montana and British Columbia.

Geemeff just sent me an article on the changing weather in the UK.

Temperature extremes and records most affected by UK’s changing climate | Met Office | Official PresDownload

The weather, for now, is giving the Montana nests a break, but it will get hotter again. Fishing was good in Montana once the heat dissipated, with whoppers coming on all three nests – Hellgate, Charlo, and Dunrovin. It is all good.

Elsewhere, the chicks are fledgling. The ospreys will begin to make their move to migration, with many of the females leaving early and the males staying behind, as is tradition, feeding the chicks til they fledge. Everyone should be gone in less than six weeks. That time is going to pass quickly. It will not be long until we have a hatch at the nest of Lady and Dad in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Then there will be eggs and hatches at Orange and the CBD in Melbourne, and, of course, all the fun at the Port Lincoln barge.

As we enter the end of the breeding season for our raptors, storks, and sea birds, I would love to hear from you. We know that it has been a ‘tough’ year but there is that old saying about there always being a silver lining. Send me a note and tell me what were the golden moments, the miracles, that brought a smile to you this year. I hope to do part of a posting on these- so don’t be shy!!!!!!!! You can write in the comments or send me an e-mail: maryannsteggles@icloud.com Thank you.

Llyn Brenig has its first fledge. Bethan (Blue 8B9) fledged on Saturday, the 27th of July. The male, Emrys, will be following his sister soon! Bethan returned to the nest after a two-minute foray. There she is, feeding on a nice fish while Emrys waits for his turn.

Della and Warren’s two chicks fledged on Saturday. Both returned to the nest safely.

Everyone has fledged at Glaslyn and the chicks are enjoying the valley and chasing Aran and Elen around after a fish dinner. Or waiting on the nest fish calling and hoping for a delivery.

Meanwhile the trio at Blackbush are waiting to fly.

At the Russell Lake nest of Oscar and Ethel, the eldest, Skylor, fledged on Saturday. It won’t be long til Heidi takes to the skies, too. (Video capture from footage by Don Dennis)

Skylor is the first known fledgling out of the Nova Scotia nests. Did I tell you they have done really well this season.

There is always something to be happy about. We lost Karl II and Kaia and our hearts broke for these beautiful Black Storks from Estonia. But now, our dear Urmas, has located a female feeding at the fish baskets and he has tagged her and put a transmitter on her and everyone hopes that she will return to the area to be the mate of Kergu. Her name is Kerli and her ring number is : 719R.

Urmas set up fish baskets to save the lives of the storklets. He has been doing this for years when the streams had few frogs or little fish. He loves these beautiful birds. He also helped with the removal and adoption of Jan and Jannika’s storklets. You will remember Bonus who was given to Karl II and Kaia to be raised after being in the medical centre. Urmas is an individual with a heart that grows bigger and bigger.

Boulder Colorado’s Only Bob fledged around 1338 Saturday the 27th.

The fledgling returned to the nest just as it should. Great take off and landing.

At Hellgate Canyon, Iris and Finn’s oldest is really beginning to flap its wings dreaming of flying like Mum and Dad.

Finn brought in a really nice headless fish at 1837.

There was a nice fish on the Charlo Montana nest as well.

‘PB’ caught Mum feeding the Only Bob at McEuen Park! Excellent luck with a camera with no rewind.

Winnie was trying to keep Only Bob at Dunrovin cool. Hard to fit under Mum now!

All three of the chicks at Mrs O’s nest in Tweed Valley have fledged.

Fledglings at Fort Calhoun are doing fantastic.

Even the Dorsett Hobby is getting into the act with its wingers!

Geemeff’s Daily Summary of Loch Arkaig activites and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Saturday 27th July 2024
All the action took place on Nest One today, apart from a sweetly singing Wren and some juvenile Tree Pipits exploring Nest Two. Garry LV0 paid three visits, the first time bringing a stick and doing a bit of nest work, the second time Dorcha arrived soon after he did and then both took off in a hurry when a third Osprey, possibly Affric 152, flew overhead with a brief flash of blue Darvic ring. A little later Dorcha returned for a very brief visit, and Garry returned mid afternoon for his third visit which lasted all of ten seconds. No sign of Louis today. LizB provided another update on the Bunarkaig nest, link below, the chick was on the nest so either hasn’t fledged yet or had returned for food. The weather was a little unsettled, and at one time it was raining on Nest Two but not on Nest One, showing the difference made by the few kilometres separating the two nests. Tonight’s forecast is light clouds and light winds, with the prospect of a dry sunny day tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.20.14 (03.33.35); Nest Two 23.23.32 (04.01.46)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/5cs0x94tC-A N2 A sweet little singer and a variety of little birds visit 07.34.53 
https://youtu.be/OuuyJzYB3ZM N1 Garry LV0 brings a stick and does some nest prep 10.09.53
https://youtu.be/K3oYtZEf5MA N1 Dorcha visits Garry LV0 but another Osprey makes them flee 10.42.47
https://youtu.be/6FoEZpmrZks  N1 Dorcha pays another visit 11.19.25 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/iXEdt1LR4_s N1 Garry LV0 returns for a very brief visit 15.59.11

Bonus update on the Bunarkaig nest (thanks LizB):https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15491480

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam
Blast from the past, this day in 2023:https://youtu.be/z1_voshU-z8  N2 Flight of the Bumbling Hoodies (Classic Ospreys Rimsky-Korsakov, quicktime)

Trudi Kron is keeping an eye on Blue at Boundary Bay.

‘CG’ also sends us some historic information on the Boundary Bay nest and updates on Blue:

20230930_001.jpg

Image

Photos by AP Horvasse

The nest was installed in September 2022.  AP Hovasse made a brief video of the installation with David Hancock explaining a bit about the process and about why the area is important for eagles.  The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShGYxfOBd08

Now I ask you, what osprey would not like this nest?  I wonder with the sunshade and supports how well they would work to deter flying predators.  Nests are never going to be 100 percent predator proof; just try to make it more difficult and more work to take the chicks.

7/27:  Blue was awake early calling to no avail.  She spent the day wingercising, hopping, laying down, and vocalizing.  Mere showed up around 1100 hours with empty talons.  Finally, a small meal was brought by a parent at around 1700 hours. Another showed up around 1800 hours. Then another at around 1830 hours!  A fourth delivery showed up around 1900 hours.  Blue started eating No. 4 then decided to leave it.  Thinking ahead to breakfast?   I believe it was Mere who brought all the food.  Blue finished off the night standing, head tucked in, sleeping.

All we can do is take one day at a time and send positive thoughts Blue’s way.”

News coming from the West End nest!

Fledge at Alyth SSEN on the 27th! Congratulations Harry and Flora.

‘H’ sends her report:

7/27 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest:  Hooray!  Both juveniles fledged this morning at 61 and 60 days of age.  They were both looking like they were going to take off at any moment, and we didn’t know which one would be first.  Chick 2 seemed to have a leg-up in experience, because s/he had made it up to the nest perch yesterday.  Chick #1 fledged first at 0639, about four minutes before chick 2 decided to fly.  How exciting!  Chick 2 made a quick loop around the area and returned to the nest in less than a minute.  Chick 1 followed Mom in, and landed back in the nest after three hours.  Both of the fledglings made perfect first-time landings.  Congratulations to Della and Warren for the fantastic job they did this season raising these two delightful young ospreys.

7/27 Forsythe osprey nest:  The live stream had been down for 48 hours, but we were pleased to see Opal deliver a large whole fish to Larry for supper.

7/27 Osoyoos osprey nest:  It was a pretty good day for this family.  Olsen delivered 5 fish to the nest.  The first meal commenced at 0924 and there was no aggression from Big.  Soo seemed to  preferentially feed Big.  Moms know…get the aggressive one filled up early!  Middle has also learned not to push Big’s buttons, so s/he was not very assertive during the feeding.  Middle only ate approximately 20 bites of fish during the entire 17-minute meal.  The next fish at 1034 provided for a 14-minute meal, and Middle had an 11-minute private feeding.  There ya’ go!  The 1441 fish was small, and Middle was intimidated a bit by Big.  Middle ate 5 bites of fish during the 5-minute meal.  The fish at 1524 was another small fish, and Middle ate 20 bites.  The last fish of the day was delivered by Olsen at 1758.  It was large, and Soo fed for 21 minutes…the longest meal of the day.  Middle was at the chow line first, and had a private feed lasting 6 minutes before Big arrived.  After that, the siblings ate side-by-side, and seemed to be fed rather equally.  The osplets are 49 and 50 days old, and they have both been doing a little ‘wingercising’.  Weather forecast for 7/28:  Sunny, high temp 91F/33C, winds 13 mph.

Thanks so much, ‘Heidi’.

The best news is coming out of the Dyfi Osprey Project this morning with the sighting of Teifi. Teifi is a 2020 hatch – the first year that Idris and Telyn were bonded mates after the death of Monty. I am just jumping up and down with joy. We look for these returnees and hope they make it. Teifi is now four and is obviously returning to find his own nest. Wonder where he has been?

How does the composition of farmland and its diversity or not impact birds?

Diverse agricultural landscapes are better for birds and farmers, study finds – BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, PB, TU’, Steelscape, The Golden Thread, The Weather Network, Llyn Brenig Osprey Cam, Brenig Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Blackbush, Connie and Don Dennis, Looduskalender, Boulder County, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Pam Breci, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Trudi Kron, HWF-Boundary Bay, Scyllabub, Lady Hawk, BirdGuides, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Mispillion Harbour.

N1 dead, White-tail Eagle takes Finnish osplets…Saturday in Bird World

27 July 2024

Hello,

Thank you to everyone for your lovely notes. We must continue to find the happiness, the miracles, and as ‘B’ says, ‘the treasures’ in this breeding season. And there certainly are miracles and the most amazing events happening. Iris and Finnegan continue to get top billing with managing to keep themselves alive during the heat and not having been blown off to Las Vegas during the winds! And we still have two chicks at Osoyoos despite the odds being so against Soo and Olsen. Fledges are happening. Take the smiles when they come and as one reader ‘J’ said, ‘I hope Blue falls off the nest’. (There is a rescue in place if he does)

It is hot and humid. 31 degrees. It rained just enough to make it more humid. The birds in the garden frantically ate their breakfast and it i snow after 1600 and they are starting on the last feeding of the day. Their behaviour makes me think a storm is coming despite the weather network saying ‘no’. One day they said ‘no rain’ and it was raining when I checked! They are not always very accurate, but the animals are. Frantic eating means a storm….And it did rain and a thunderstorm was predicted for today and tomorrow. Not bad for a ‘Murder’. They should hire Mr Crow!

What will he choose? Enchiladas? Cheesy Dogs? Peanuts?

I am so very, very sad. Both of the fledglings of Big Red and Arthur of 2024 are dead. N2 died from a window collision, and N1 died from an illness after being seen by BOGs behaving oddly.

Sad News, Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling %22N1%22 Found Deceased After Suspected Illness | Cornell Lab Bird CDownload

A White-tail eagle has taken the smallest osplet, Yellow UPU, off the Finnish #4 nest, to the dismay of all of us that loved that osplet family. The time was 18:11:56. Thank you, ‘AM’ for alerting me. The Ilomansti chick was 55 days old.

Screenshot

The following morning, at 0510, the oldest osplet, Yellow, URA, a male, flew off the #4 nest and was chased by the Eagle as it flew. You could hear it calls. The Middle osplet, a female, is in the nest, scared to death.

There has been an incident at the Patuxent River Park. An osplet/osprey fell off the nest at 1445 and it was not until after 1100 that anyone went to check. Earlier flapping could be heard but high tide came in and all went quiet.

Feeling so grateful. Iris is the poster child of osprey miracles this year and if something had happened to her or her family, I think we would have crawled into a hole and stayed there. Thankfully, Iris and Finnegan and their kids survived category 2 hurricane force winds.

Please help name Iris and Finnegan’s chicks. The site where you vote gives the meaning of the two pairs of names to select from -.

Cornell gives us a fantastic video of Iris’s kids and their amazing juvenile eyes!

Welcome back, ‘A’ who is so happy to be checking on Iris’s nest and the WBSE for us: “I checked our gorgeous boys at Hellgate today – they are looking wonderful and Iris is so proud of them. They had a naming competition underway – I believe it ends on 31 July – so the time has come to name this pair. Fledging is on the calendar and we will soon lose our Hellgate ospreys until next season. I do hope that the bond between Iris and Finn will persist next season and that they will return to each other. This has been a love story for the ages, and I have adored watching his devotion to her. 

Gorgeous boy brought in a large headless fish around 06:39 and there was something of a melee. Iris grabbed and took control of the fish. Finn did some arrangement of the baby rails, which are huge (as are the babies) and then flew to the perch while Iris arranged the feeding of breakfast. As usual, Baby Bob is given the first bites, with both osplets sitting up nicely at the table, side by side, without any aggression. I have adored watching the fraternal behaviour on this nest. Not once has there been any bonking or even any intimidation. Even direct eye contact has failed to prompt dominant behaviour from the larger sibling. The situation remains peaceful, although I sense we are about to enter the ‘fight for food’ period as the osplets begin to claim and mantle delivered prey from their parents. So far, though, Iris is maintaining control of the food distribution. 

Baby Bob is fed for some time before Big Bob is offered a bite, but the older sibling is perfectly prepared to wait its turn. Based on size, I am again thinking that Big Bob is female, with a younger brother, but if that is the case, then the behaviour from both has been exemplary and civil at all times. If we do have a big sister and a little brother, then I can only put the excellent nest dynamics down to Iris’s control on the nest and Finn’s regular deliveries of huge fish to the nest. As far as I can see, the only logical explanation is that these two have not been hungry. 

I do wish they were banding these two osplets, given how incredibly special they are – It is a long time since Iris raised a chick, let alone two. They are healthy and they have inherited some pretty special genes from both parents, it would seem. I would love to know their genders, for obvious reasons, and we would all love to know how they fare as juvenile fledglings and hopefully, later, as adult ospreys. I suppose we will never know for certain if and until they find a mate. But I have wavered backwards and forwards on the gender question, with the size indicator contradicting the behavioural one much of the time. “

July 26: After some rain overnight, it was fine for early morning duets. Lady was off at 6:36. Dad was in shortly after, then incubated for an hour and 25 minutes, giving Lady a good early break. Dad then left the nest, as Lady was close and returned to take over incubating. After a couple more changes, Lady appeared  around midday with a good crop – she had caught her own prey it seems. Then she spent the afternoon on the nest, incubating for nearly three hours until Dad bought in a late fish. She grabbed it and took it to the branch to eat. The eggs were uncovered for some time as Lady ate, then dad incubated for a short while until she finished eating. She then settled for the night. Today she spent a total of 6h27m on the eggs, while Dad incubated for 5h7m.

I love to see how this pair shares the workload so evenly – check the daily division of incubation duties between them, giving each plenty of exercise and the chance to hunt, although Dad does sometimes bring prey to Lady on the nest. But they are a tightly bonded team and I am looking forward to seeing two small fluffy heads appear on this nest. Perhaps THIS year, we will get two successful fledges, with fledglings safely returning to the natal nest despite the attempts of the smaller birds to drive them from their nest and their forest. 

They have not yet hatched and yet already, we are worried about their chances of successfully fledging at this location. I have no idea how we can protect them from this fate, but it is hard to watch season after season after season. Two cute, happy, healthy little sea eaglets are effectively sacrificed every year. It is a tragic waste, of the babies and of the devotion and time the parents put into raising their eaglets. “

Three healthy chicks at the Castle Bolton Estate in Yorkshire – two females and a male!

Kristel fledged, as predicted, at 81 days old on the 26th of July from the Golden Eagle nest in Estonia. You might know that this nest is in a military zone in Estonia where active military exercises take place daily. Many can hear the gunfire in the background. Despite this, the area is large and normal humans cannot enter it. It actually makes this forest area safer for the wild animals and raptors like Kristel and her family who are used to the military exercise sounds.

Richmond and Rosie’s PAX caught on video!

Everyone is home at Field Farm and hungry. Flying uses up a lot of calories!!!!!!!!

Geemeff sends us her daily report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 26th July 2024

The Lochenders saga continued today with a game of musical nests – after an absence of two days, Dorcha turned up paying a visit to Nest One while Garry LV0 was there, and then Affric 152 and Garry LV0 visited Nest Two, flying off very quickly when Dorcha appeared. Where were Louis and Prince while this was going on? Was Prince back at Bunarkaig looking after his and Affric’s chick? Was Louis having a leisurely fishing session? Is he still around? As usual, the only answer is ‘wait and see’. RAF jets did a flypast but both nests were empty at the time. More good news from Spain with a tweeted photo of our chick 1JW out and about exploring the neighbourhood, and the message “We are told all the birds are continuing to feed well after taking to the skies for the first time yesterday.” 1JW is certainly better off in sunny Spain – it rained throughout the day here, there’s a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow with a high of only 17°C.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.01.49 (04.04.45); Nest Two 22.58.14 (04.15.15)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/IQMVxtoxhek N1 Garry LV0 visits bringing moss 08.25.36

https://youtu.be/TkmVmX5YaVA  N1 Dorcha spends time with Garry LV0 already there 09.18.24

https://youtu.be/MRew3k_UKwA  N2 Dorcha isn’t amused when Affric 152 & Garry LV0 invade her nest 10.38.11

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Bonus tweet – photo of Loch Arkaig Osprey chick 1JW in Spain exploring his new neighbourhood:

‘CG’ has been monitoring the Hancock Wildlife Nest at Boundary Bay. She sends us the following from the forum:

On 7/25, Blue received food and ended the day with a nice crop.  She also received food Friday morning which she was eating.  She has also been doing wingercises and reached a good height yesterday.  PSs that were seen were good.  There are pictures with the comments.

It is painstaking reading all the comments; you need lots of time on your hands.  People are questioning the lack of food being brought by the parents (Pere and Mere).  Apparently, there was plenty of food at the beginning.  They are wondering if there is something in the surroundings that has changed.  So, . . .

Link to site (press ctrl + click to follow link).  This will take you right to afternoon of 7/25, and from there you can go backwards and forwards.  Page numbers are at the top and bottom of the pages.

Boundary Bay Central 2023-2024 Observation and Discussion – Page 482 – Hancock Wildlife Foundation

The site has wonderful nest history with different views of the nest.  

Take care, let’s keep Blue in our thoughts,

More about Blue:

Post by JudyB » Fri Jul 26, 2024 6:51 pm

blue-kit wrote: ↑More 

Fri Jul 26, 2024 4:25 pm

I haven’t herd from anyone one rescue of Blue. When, where, and how?

Judy B writes: At the moment, it does not appear that Blue needs to be rescued. The parents delivered two fish today – and Blue waited almost an hour before beginning to eat the first one, which suggests to me that Blue was not very hungry (which makes sense because Blue had quite a lot of food yesterday).

Blue is old enough that she or he would likely try to fly if anyone approached the nest with a lift to try to remove Blue from the nest – and so far I haven’t seen enough sustained flapping to think that Blue is ready to fly safely.

We do have plans in place if Blue ends up on the ground, and the local rescue/rehab organization is aware that there are concerns about Blue – but personally, after seeing two fish delivered today, I’m less worried than I was yesterday.”

‘H’ reports:

7/26 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The high temperature was only about 84 degrees, and Olsen delivered 10 fish to the nest today!  Soo started out very early in the morning trying to feed some of that leftover fish jerky skin.  No one was able to eat very much of that.  At 0617 Olsen delivered a nice sized fish that provided a 14-minute meal.  The siblings ate from opposite sides of Soo, and Middle ate 71 bites of fish.  Olsen came right back at 0635 with a similarly sized fish that Soo fed for 13 minutes.  Middle did not have good positioning, with Big hovering over him the entire time, and was only able to eat 4 bites of fish.  At 0944 Olsen arrived with a tiny fish.  Middle had been fed 5 bites of that fish, then s/he grabbed it from Soo and spent the next five minutes eating the rest of it (and was not harassed by Big).  The next fish at 1117 was another ‘Tiny’.  Big bit Middle on the wing, ouch!  Soo fed Middle for 3 minutes.  Fish #5 at 1153 was also a ‘Tiny’.  Middle was fed 20 bites before Big grabbed the fish and finished it.  Fish #6 at 1205 was a bit larger, and Soo fed Big for 7 minutes.  Middle did not make much of an effort to join in.  At 1319 Olsen dropped off a medium sized whole fish.  Big was not hungry, and Soo fed Middle for 11 minutes!  Fish #8 at 1435 was a ‘Tiny’… Big gave Middle ‘The Look’, and Middle didn’t even bother to approach Soo, so that was just a small meal for Big.  Fish #9 at 1448 was a large whole fish that provided a 26-minute meal.  The problem was that neither osplet was very hungry.  They ate peacefully on opposite sides of Soo’s beak, but after a few minutes, Soo was having difficulty finding an open beak.  Both sibs would repeatedly back away, and then later they would somewhat reluctantly accept another bite or two from Soo.  It reminded me of being at Grandma’s for Sunday dinner, and she just kept coaxing us kids to eat more!  Middle ate 55 bites of fish at that meal, and Soo had a nice meal for herself as well.  The last fish of the day was a small fish delivered by Olsen at 1531.  Big was not interested in eating.  Middle almost reluctantly ate 20 bites of fish, and refused many of Soo’s offerings.  Everyone looked quite ‘croppy’.  It was a good day.  Weather forecast for 7/27: Mostly sunny, high temp 90F/32C, winds 9 mph.

7/26 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  It has been a rough couple of days at this nest.  David was last seen the morning of 7/23.  Betty seemed to be on her own to care for 32-day-old Cobey.  There was not any fish brought to the nest on 7/24, and only one medium-sized fish on 7/25.  We did not think that fishing was difficult because of the weather, so we were perplexed.  Well…today was a better day, and we witnessed the return of David.  Four fish were brought to the nest, two each from Betty and David.  Poor Lil’ Cobey was so hungry.  At one point, he even tried to pick up a fish and eat it, but of course he was not able to.  Forecast for 7/27:  Mostly sunny, low 80’s, light winds.

7/26 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s fish House):  This nest continues to do well.  Johnny usually drops off a couple of fish each day.   And…well then there’s Momma June…June has continued to bring in at least one massive striped bass (I think) every day, and they are usually alive and quite active.  Watch out for those big flopping fish Lil’ Fen!

7/26  Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  As mentioned yesterday… late in the afternoon on 7/25, we heard what we thought was an osprey in distress flapping its wings underneath the nest in the marsh.  Obviously the bird was not able to fly.  Many folks reached out for help to rescue the osprey.  As high tide was approaching in the evening, the wing flapping was obviously in water.  By late evening, we no longer heard any flapping.   At 11 am this morning, we heard some men below the nest.  Patuxent River Park later put out a statement that they had done a thorough search below the nest and did not find an osprey.  You can read their entire lengthy statement in the description under the live video feed on Youtube.  We believe the osprey may have been ‘Big’, the eldest fledgling from this nest.  Yesterday afternoon, Big was knocked off the nest by an adult intruder.  It could have been Big or Middle, but Middle has been back at the nest, and we have not seen Big since the attack.  If Big was okay, we believe that we would surely have seen her back at the nest at some point.  The other option is that it could have been the adult intruder that may have ended up in the marsh, after it went off the nest awkwardly after stealing a fish from Middle a little later that afternoon.  Since a rescue was unable to be done in an urgent and timely manner, in all likelihood whatever injured osprey it was under the nest, was carried away with the tide.

Middle had a good day at the nest.  Dad is supplying ample fish for the fledgling, and fortunately there were no intruder issues today.

We saw Little fledge and return to the nest  on 7/18.  Then the cam was offline for five days.  We have not seen Little since the live stream resumed on 7/24.  It’s too bad that we missed so much activity at the nest.  There are some 70 osprey nests in the entire Patuxent River Park, and I believe at least 12 in the immediate Jug Bay area.  I hope that Little has found a welcoming nearby osprey nest to care for him.  We also have not seen Mom since the live stream resumed.  She is most likely taking a well deserved break to restore herself to optimum health before heading south in a couple of weeks.  At other osprey nests in the past, we’ve seen some of the Moms stop by the nest and even bring a fish before they depart.  We may see Mom again.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust gives us the annual wrap up for the Foulshaw Moss Nest of White YW and Blue 35.

The birds have flown… | Cumbria Wildlife TrustDownload

The naming contest for the Royal Cam chick has started. Please go and vote.

If you missed the July condor chat, here it is:

Hope and Beaumont have two beautiful feathered osplets.

Everything is good at Sandpoint.

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

Thank you to the following for their letters, posts, pictures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AM, CG, Geemeff, H, PB’, Saaksilvie 4 Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, Sea Eagle Cam, Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group, Eagle Club of Estonia, Golden Gate Audubon, Field Farm, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Lady Hawk, Ventana Wildlife Society, Sandpoint Osprey Cam, Newfoundland Power, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Patuxent River Park, and Colonial Beach.

Iris shows the kids she can fish, too!…Friday in Bird World

26 July 2024

Hello Everyone!

Thank you so much for all your notes and photographs and news! I really do appreciate it and I love hearing from you. I might not be able to answer back straight away, but I will!

It is that time of year when overlooked nests are being entered into our data forms and when fledges and deaths continue to have to be inserted. Today, after thinking we had anything and everything that could predate an Osprey, we discovered that Canada Geese ate the eggs of one nest in Maryland. Thankfully, ‘H’ is much better at working magic with this programme that Claudio designed and we now have a category of Predation – Other. We can fill in the odd happenings. I have 43 more nests – and at least 86 more eggs/chicks – to put in the forms. So far, 37% of all osprey eggs have either failed to hatch or the chicks have died. Siblicide still accounts for the seond highest causes after DNH, then predation by owls at 11% and weather events at 11%. I did note a section ‘indirectly by humans’ and it seems to be that these weather events might fall under that as well. If we can get the authorities to recognize human caused climate change, then we might convince them to help with our ospreys. I note that a list was growing under a posting of one FB group – a wish list that included: woven and wired rails like the good folks at Glaslyn do for Aran and Elen, netting below the nest to catch chicks that fall over the edge, predator baffles, stocked ponds, strobe lights and grates to try to ward off predators such as owls and eagles, intervention with fish when required, etc. These were thoughtful listings of ways that we can help without breaking the bank. Is it too much to ask?

Speaking of stocked ponds, Anne-Marie was able to establish that the lake where Olsen is fishing has lots of fish. With the heat those fish have gone deep and he is not able to catch them as Ospreys only go less than a metre deep in their dives.

Some images of the not so wetlands yesterday. Despite the rain, the reeds seem to have taken over lots of the area.

Can you find the eagle’s nest? It is difficult with all the foliage.

It is 1939 Thursday evening and the sun is beginning to get low in the West. The day was not as hot as it has been, but it was warm enough and quite humid still. The birds have been busy coming and going. I have noticed that there has been not so many Blue Jays and my neighbour came to tell me that the local hawk got 2 of them. I took a breath. Everyone has to eat.

I really did think that there was something wrong with Hugo Yugo when I saw her.

Why would a cat nudge herself between two pillows and a hot cover on a hot day in a glass room? I have no idea. It is possible that she was hiding from Baby Hope because a few minutes later she was tearing all over the house!

Thankfully, nothing has happened to the Crows. Can you tell I adore these characters? They rest on my backlane neighbour’s shed. He said that even their bellies are covered with soft down.

Everything is getting quiet. Most of the birds are going to their roosting spots for the night. Hugo Yugo is fixated on a fly that has gotten into the house and now Baby Hope is joining her. No doubt they will have quite the time tonight chasing it and knocking things over in the meantime.

‘PB’ clicked on the McEuen Osprey nest feed just in time to catch Mum delivering a monster fish for her and the baby! 25 C so a bit cooler for them on Thursday. The high heat will return on Wednesday.

The triplets at the Osprey Centre in Australia are doing well.

Iris and her chicks survived the storm that raged through Missoula Wednesday night, but many nests were not so lucky. ‘PB’ informs me that Louis and Starr’s chicks are alright. Their nest is at the Baseball Park or near to it. (They have moved house).

In fact, Louis and Starr’s three chicks have fledged and there are five ospreys flying around the ball park. This is fantastic. Maybe both of these nests by the Clarke-Fork River in Missoula will fledge all of their chicks. That would really be something this year!

Iris is going to have a lot to put in her 2024 diary. Finding Finn, having babies, sweltering heat and then hurricane-force winds. Regardless, Finn just keeps bringing in the fish.

Beautiful Iris.

Finn and Iris have obviously been talking about the need for some small fish to come on the nest so the kids can start to self-feed! Or did they? Finn: ‘Iris, where are you? I don’t feed chicks!!!!!!!!!!’

‘Is it OK for this one to have the whole fish?’ Check out the look on Finnegan’s face.

Tug-o-war with Mum who arrives just in time.

Of course, Iris took charge. She will make sure that both chicks get fish in the heat and storms.

I guess Iris got tired of waiting for Finn to bring in a big fish so she went out and got her own for her and the kids!!!!!!!

Rest assured now that Iris is fishing no one is going to go hungry on this nest. Her first two chicks in six years. She isn’t going to let them die of starvation or Finn slowing down.

Iris has been feeding the chicks and herself for several hours. Finn is on the perch. I wonder what he is thinking?

Three hours into the feeding. Isn’t Iris getting tired? No. She is making sure that there will be no bullying from older to younger and that her and the chicks are well fed. I wonder if there is anything left if she will share with Finn?

Don’t you love the way that Iris pulls back the skin revealing the soft fish flesh? It is much easier to feed the chicks this way!

Finnegan came in with a late fish. ‘PB says it wasn’t as big as Iris’s but big enough to keep these babies well fed for the night!

‘H’ is going to be reporting on Osoyoos, but right now there is a huge fish on that nest and I hope that everyone eats and gets full.

The breeding programme for Hen Harriers in Scotland is doing well. The question is – can we keep the gamekeepers from shooting them? If you do not know about these amazing raptors, I am including some great books below this blog by Raptor Persecution UK.

Hen Harrier breeding success continues on Tarras Valley Nature Reserve – Raptor Persecution UKDownload

I posted these audio stories of the plight of the hen harrier last year. I want to do that again for those of you that might not have found my blog then or who didn’t have time to listen. This will give you a really good idea of why the attempts to increase the population of these gorgeous raptors is ongoing and the challenges that everyone faces.

So please listen! You also get an explanation of the Inglorious 12th of August which is coming up in three weeks. I hope you understand why stomping on a nest of innocent Hen Harrier chicks makes me ill and causes my anxiety to rise. The wealthy pay 1000s of GBP per day to shoot grouse but they also stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and spend money in the villages. The fines and punishments mean nothing because killing birds is big business with the Driven Grouse Moors seen to be a ‘part of traditional Britain’ – which they are. We live in the 21st century and our attitudes towards killing have changed since medieval times.

There are three episodes. Educate yourself and listen to all of them. Imagine the vast expanse of Scotland because this is where this happens.

Part One. Susie’s Chicks

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/audio/2023/aug/15/killing-the-skydancer-episode-one-susies-chicks?CMP=share_btn_link

Part Two. The Perfect Crime.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2023/aug/16/killing-the-skydancer-episode-2-the-perfect-podcast?CMP=share_btn_link

Part Three. An Open Secret

https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2023/aug/17/killing-the-skydancer-episode-three-an-open-secret-podcast?CMP=share_btn_link

This is my favourite book. It gives us a ‘true’ insight of the live of a Hen Harrier – from hatch – to being shot and what their life was like. Before you read any of the others, I highly recommend this one. It is extremely well written and pulls at your heart. Not fancy coloured photographs, just the first hand account of this magnificent female harrier and her short life.

The other excellent book is A Hen Harrier’s Year. The gorgeous watercolours of the birds are a real winner!

We are all concerned about Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay nest. Check out the feathers. This eaglet really needs to be rescued and taken into care. I honestly do not understand why nothing is being done for Blue.

At the US Steel nest, we have video footage of Lucky living his life in the skies! Wish this was Blue.

The Janakkala pair are learning to self-feed as fledge dates approach in Finland.

Kristel is 81 days old today. It is the same age as Diana at the other Golden Eagle nest in Estonia fledged.

Kristel had breakfast on Thursday – a Eurasian Collared Dove.

The reintroduction of Ospreys into Ireland begins with the arrival of the chicks today. Here is the latest information:

Nox is making the news.

Hard knocks for Nox, UC Berkeley’s youngest peregrine falcon – Berkeley NewsDownload

Only one osplet remains at the Ferguson Museum osprey platform. The other two have died from lack of fish.

This was the whole family at the Middle Farm nest on Fisher’s Island, NY, on the 28th of June. Tragedies can begin to happen without our knowing and within less than a month a family of five is now a family of three.

Cowlitz PUD fledgling returns to nest for a fish meal!

The wind has hit Sandpoint Osprey nest and Keke and River are holding on tight.

Lola at Charlo Montana needs to pick up her talons and go out fishing like Iris. The chick is 43 days old today.

Royal Cam chick news:

Geemeff sends us her daily report about Loch Arkaig for The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 25th July 2024

Today we received the wonderful news that the surviving Arkaig Osprey chick 1JW has fledged! All eleven members of the Scottish cohort took to the skies over Valencia today, more info in WTS George’s comment, link below. A bright spot in an unusual season. His dad Louis was also around today, visiting his nest bringing a stick and doing a little nest work, good to see him after an absence of a few days. Nest One also had Osprey visitors – Affric 152 arrived moments after Garry LV0 did. Neither stayed long, and both flew off in the same direction. With an identical broken feather spotted by LizB on both the blue-ringed Bunarkaig female and on Affric when she landed on Nest One, it’s almost certain they are one and the same. With an unfledged chick still on the Bunarkaig nest, what’s Affric doing on Nest One with Garry? The forecasted rain was much in evidence today, and more expected tonight with thundery showers overnight easing off to light rain tomorrow.

WTS George’s comment https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15479208

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.59.55 (04.13.42); Nest Two 22.46.53 (04.15.09)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Dy4yQvefzA8  N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 to Nest One 11.57.40

https://youtu.be/ePTJwID4lmQ N2 Louis visits his nest bringing a stick 13.43.15

https://youtu.be/kroSVUdVBKU FLEDGE – the great news that 1JW has found his wings and flown 15.00 

Bonus photos – 1JW on a feeding platform near to the aviary:

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Special blast from the past: On July 25, 2020, the world came together to tell the story of a single day on Earth, hundreds of thousands of members of the public responded sending their typical day to Ridley Scott. This was my entry:

https://youtu.be/dvhu_pfem50 Life in a Day: distant cousins 2020

A simple solution that can be done right at the factory. Paint one blade black and save the lives of our birds.

Mum and Dad are having ‘some fun’ on the barge at Port Lincoln!

Just look at this!

News on Luna’s necroscopy at Redding:

There has been no word about N1 who appeared to have an accident Wednesday morning during a streaming cam event at Cornell. She was seen sitting peacefully but no one has seen her since.

There are concerns about Little who fledged on the 18th at Patuxent River Park and has not been seen on camera. People want to know why they support boat tourism and do not care for their chicks. Does anyone know what is happening here?

In Poland, the life of the Black Storklet was saved. When rescued the storklet weighed only 1500 grams when, at this age, it should have been at least 2500.

Maria Marika gives us the background information on why this little storklet fell into such poor conditions.

‘H’ reports:


7/25 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The osplets are 47 and 48 days old.  The temperature was lower today, and Olsen brought four fish to the nest.  The first three fish were small to medium in size, and Big was able to acquire all three of them to self feed.  Big had meals lasting 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and 9 minutes.  The last fish arrived at 1817, and it was very large.  Although it was big, it was obviously not a 3-hour fish, but it took Soo 3-hours to feed from it.  Big was in rare form and she was a complete tyrant on the war path for almost the entire three hours.  Big was intent on preventing Middle from eating, regardless of whether Big was hungry or not.  It would take too long to provide details, so I will try to summarize.  Over the course of the three hours, Big ate the equivalent of at least 4-5 meals.  Big was almost constantly beaking or otherwise harassing Middle, even when Middle was not anywhere near Soo.  There were numerous times in the process of beaking Middle, that Big nearly pushed Middle off the nest.  There were even several times that Soo was nearly forced off the nest by Big diving over her to try to get to Middle.  In fact, at 1929 Soo did have to leave the nest briefly when she had to jump to the extension bar.  The aggressiveness of Big caused many distractions and delays as Soo was attempting to feed.  To make matters worse, the fish was very tough, and the few times when Middle was in a good position to eat, it would take Soo too long to offer fish bites.  Instead of receiving multiple bites in rapid succession, Middle would only get a few bites before Big attacked again.  There was not a single period of time when Big actually retired from the meal to rest, so that Middle and Soo would have some ‘alone time’.  I counted fish bites for Middle, and there were a few times when I could only surmise bites based on the movements of Middle and Soo.  Middle ate at least 140 bites of fish during that 3-hour ordeal, and Middle did have a moderate crop after the meal.  Due to cam downtime issues, we don’t know how well Middle ate yesterday.  Weather forecast for 7/26:  Sunny, high 84F/29C, light winds.

7/25 Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  Big had spent the night on the nest so that she could guard her leftover fish, and she had a nice breakfast early in the morning.  She was joined in the nest a little later by Middle.  They both came and went from the nest throughout the day.  We did not see Little at the nest.  At 1443 an adult intruder landed in the nest, and a minute or so later, a juvenile osprey approached to land.  The intruder jumped up and intercepted the juvie, talons to the face, and flew away.  The young osprey fell below the nest out of our view.  Based on certain characteristics, we thought that the juvie was either Big or Middle.  At 1502 Middle was in the nest when Dad delivered a large partial goldfish.  Dad had been followed in by the adult intruder who immediately engaged in a battle for the fish with Middle.  Dad jumped on the intruder twice to try to help out, but his efforts were futile.  The intruder ended up with the fish in its talons and sort of fell/flew off the nest dragging Middle with him.  Middle landed back in the nest a few minutes later.

After a while we started to hear loud rustling noises and ‘wing flapping’ below the nest.  The flapping sounds were heard intermittently in spurts, as if the bird would need to rest at times.  As the tide came in, the flapping efforts started to sound more ‘watery’ like flapping in water.  We believed there was an injured osprey struggling below the nest out of our view.  The nest is 10 feet above the marsh.  If the incident at 1443 involved Big, and if Big had landed awkwardly in the marsh, she could have been injured.  Or another possible scenario, was that the adult intruder may have landed in the marsh and been injured when it went off the nest somewhat awkwardly holding a large goldfish, with a juvenile osprey attached.  A ten-foot height does not allow much time to recover and fly before landing in the marsh.

We were convinced that there was an osprey needing help…and soon!  We had a gut feeling that it was Big below the nest.  Some chatters called the park office, some called a local raptor rehabber who said she’d try to find someone with a boat.  And posts were also made on the chat to the attention of the park.  We needed help.  After many long hours, no help came.  As high tide hit, and as darkness fell, we no longer heard the flapping below the nest.  

Annie is moulting and loafing!

Yesterday, Koa was seen on the West End cam at the old nest of Thunder and Akecheta!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, questions, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, McEuen Park, Osprey House Environmental Centre, Hellgate Osprey, Wild Skies Raptor Centre, Montana Osprey Project, Osoyoos, Raptor Persecution UK, The Guardian, HWF-BBC, US Steel, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Eagle Club of Estonia, Gregorious Joris Toonen, Berkeley News, Ferguson Museum, Cowlitz PUD, Sandpoint Ospreys, Charlo Montana, Bird Cams, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Factsdailyy, PLO, Heidi McGrue, Celia Aliengirl, Bocianimy, Maria Marika, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, and SK Hideaways.

Deaths, fledges…Tuesday in Bird World

23 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Late News:
Coming from the Charlo nest: “The cam was shut off while ORI removed baling twine from the nest.  When the cam resumed, chick #2 seemed to have some sort of seizure and fell off the nest.  The men returned and recovered the chick’s body.”

Before we get on with today’s news, Dr Erick Greene listened and he will open a poll on Monday or Tuesday so that you can choose a name for Iris and Finnegan’s osplets. There will be a list of potential selections – we don’t make up our own. So please watch for the survey on Montana Osprey Cams FB page! Iris has chicks to be named for the first time in six years. The last was a Le’le in 2018. This is so wonderful.

There is an interesting statement embedded in the announcement below – Finnegan is bringing fish to the nest that weigh as much or more than he does. Amazing. He really is amazing. Iris did well in picking a mate. Louis did well to stay away – and it seems he knew it. Thank you, Louis.

Maybe one way to look at 2024 is not at the sadness but at the little miracles that happened. This is certainly one of them.

We continue to have storms in the evening with lots of lightning and thunder. Hugo Yugo was quite afraid last night around midnight when the entire conservatory lit up along with a loud clap. The garden is loving the heat and humidity. Tonight it looks like the first feast of green beans! And the celery is thriving. The squirrels have not done much damage to the veggies and herbs. Dyson has even managed to leave the tomatoes alone!!!!!!! But she has been relentlessly digging in the perennials that line the path to the feeder.

There are hundreds of baby sparrows. Six baby blue jays are also pecking away at the cylinders and drinking from the bird baths. I have not seen the baby cowbirds since returning from Toronto. Perhaps they flew out of the garden to learn about the big wide world. I hope they return. It is safe here, and there is always plenty of food and water. Even the hawk has no luck now, as the trees, shrubs, and vines are so loaded with leaves that the little birds can hide easily.

Not great images. I am just using the camera phone through the glass with the Feather Friendly strips on it. Heavily cropped to get the image bigger.

They are going through seed and peanuts. A three-gallon pail of each morning and evening – oh, and, of course, the cheesy dogs. Kilograms of them!!!!!!

Cowlitz Osplet. I checked and saw no osplet on the nest. Assumed fledge! That darn bird jumped up to the top of the grate. I think we should call it ‘branching’ despite the fact it is a term that we associate with eaglets. Sometimes osplets hop to the perch! So no official fledge at Cowlitz – meaning no flying and return to the nest at the time of this writing.

I received a request to find information about what appeared to be an osprey in a box at the bottom of the Cowlitz PUD nest from ‘AM’ in Asia. Cowlitz has posted about the incident at this link. I am including the images of the osprey and the box. We have no idea what condition the osplet was in when the individual found it or the depth of their knowledge of wildlife care. But it appears they were trying to do some good.

Wild animals need to be taken to a qualified rehabilitation clinic. Do not presume that another raptor will adopt them. Try and get help if you can. If you can pick up a raptor, remember ——-they are ill. Otherwise they would be taking your face or arm off. Seriously. I always call it ‘Remembering Rubus’.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/pQ8jiJfRNf6K9QmK

It was still hot in Winnipeg today – hot and humid but not nearly as much as it was for our ospreys in Montana!

Dr Erick Greene’s post says it all – almost:

The ash from the wild fires can get into the lakes and rivers and cause the fish that the ospreys depend on to die.

Wildfires aren’t just a land thing. Smoke and ash can choke the ocean too | OceanaDownload

Fish deliveries coming in to Charlo Montana for Lola and the two osplets.

Mum is out fishing at McEuen Park in Idaho.

Fish delivery to nest #4 in Finland.

At the Golden Eagle nest #2 in Estonia, Kristel had a great day on Monday. Nice prey deliveries. Look at her. The eyes are bright and clear and the feathers are shiny with no apparent issues. (As opposed to dull and falling out). She displayed amazing mantling behaviour and also nest protection.

A large Hare was delivered to the nest.

Mum flew in and out with a mouse. It is possible that she wishes her eaglet to imprint the prey so they know it is OK to hunt for this mammal after they are independent. Big Red and Arthur bring different prey items to the nest to teach their eyases what species to hunt.

I found this entry on Looduskalender interesting:

At the BBCentral nest in British Columbia, Blue had been eating the remains of any food that he could find on the nest. A prey delivery came from one of the adults mid-afternoon. Perhaps it is just me, but Blue seems to be developmentally ‘behind’ for the age that is given to him (86 days). I am talking about his ability to hold down prey and self-feed. We know eaglets are always hungry unless their crop is about to burst open. That said Blue demonstrates excitement when a parent arrives with prey and then is not interested. Is this because of his lack of self-feeding ability? or is it something else? I wonder. We only have to look at Kristel, the Golden Eaglet above, to understand this conundrum. Kristel often doesn’t get prey and the parents almost get their talons taken off when they arrive. Kristel tears into the food eating til her crop is full and leaving any extra for another meal. Her feathers almost glow and look silky. No tears at the ends…the overall condition of the two seems to be diametrically opposed. — If you disagree, please shout out to me. I am worried about Blue.

So far Blue has not eaten from the piece of prey.

Geemeff’s report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 22nd July 2024

Today didn’t have the excitement of five ospreys visiting various nests not necessarily their own, but did see Louis and Dorcha on Nest Two, although at different times, and Garry LV0 bringing a fish to Nest One. Alas for him there were no takers so he flew off with it to a nearby tree, to munch it on his own, spotted by LizB through her long-lens. The weather was reasonably settled, a spectacular sunset seen from nest cam two ended the day, and tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy and light winds, with sunshine tomorrow. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.20.44 (03.53.23); Nest Two  23.23.09 (03.57.04)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/bDbqDZ8sN64 N2 Dorcha spends some time on her nest, no sign of Louis 12.27.51

https://youtu.be/g0q-Tf1BJIc N2 Louis arrives with a stick and does some nest work 15.34.26

https://youtu.be/SgnwBnDdY-g N1 Garry LV0 brings a fish but no one’s there 19.58.57

https://youtu.be/z52q-f7fFmg N2 Spectacular sunset 21.30 to 22.30 (2.3 minute time lapse)

https://youtu.be/O3qE7yHRm_M N2 Spectacular sunset 21.30 to 22.30 (one hour full version)

Today’s blast from the past is one of my all time favourites. On this day in 2020, newly-fledged Doddie JJ6 was having fun testing his wings. He was watched by younger siblings Vera JJ8 and Captain JJ7 who reacted like spectators at a tennis match. It was a perfect moment which definitely needed to be preserved:

https://youtu.be/C9r2h07HYeM  Carnival of the Ospreys (Classic Ospreys – Saint-Saëns) 22 July 2020

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

We need the Menhaden saved if there is to be any hope for the Osprey population in the Chesapeake Bay Area! Please see the comment under the post.

The osprey nests in Nova Scotia have done very well this season. I know that Connie Dennis will correct me, but I believe they have tracked 31 nests and out of those only one chick has died! That is fantastic. These ospreys do not depend on the Menhaden. There are plenty of other species available, thankfully, and they are plentiful. Looking forward to seeing this lovely Osprey family soon.

Getting ready for a fledge at Bridge Golf.

Three osplets waiting to fly at Collins Marsh, too.

They are all self-feeding!

Bruce is delivering trout to Toketee and Tree at Seaside.

Beautiful osplet at Boulder.

Coming and going at BUND Goitzsche-Wildnis in Germany.

News from ‘H’: 7/22 Osoyoos osprey nest:  It was hot again today, and the air was smoky.  There were only three fish brought to the nest, but both osplets ate.  All things considered, they were lucky to have as much as they did, and they both were able to eat well yesterday.

Olsen started things off with a fish at 0619.  I couldn’t see the fish, but Soo fed the chicks for 6 minutes.  Both osplets were fed, and Middle ate at least 49 bites of fish plus the fish tail.  There was no aggression until Middle took the tail, and Big beaked Middle at that time.  After breakfast both chicks were doing some ‘wingers’, and there was a welcome rain shower in the morning.  Olsen dropped off the next fish at 1255.  It was a medium-sized partial fish, and Big took it to self feed.  Big only ate for 8 minutes, and there was still a good size piece of fish remaining.  Middle did not attempt to eat any of that fish, so I suppose s/he wasn’t very hungry.  Soo arrived at 1339, and she fed the chicks from that leftover fish for 10 minutes.  The osplets were positioned on opposite sides of Soo, and for some reason, Soo preferentially fed Middle.  It was interesting to watch, but Big did not seem to mind that s/he was not being offered many bites.  Big ate the fish tail.  That meal lasted for 10 minutes, and Middle ate 110 bites of fish.  The temperature reached 100F/38C in the afternoon, and it was several hours before the next fish arrived.  Olsen dropped off a medium-sized partial fish at 1948.  Big took that fish and ate the whole thing.  The area will be getting a slight break from the extreme heat for the next several days.  Weather forecast for 7/23:  Partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 92, winds gusting to 14 mph.

News from ‘A’:

A report from  WBSE: 

July 23: A quiet night and an early duet. Dad came to the nest early, at 6:30, but Lady was reluctant to leave. He circled her and hinted, but she sat tight, so he left at 6:35. She then sat for another 90 minutes, backing straight off when he returned at 8am. He gave her a good break, then, of over an hour, then both took a couple of short shifts on the nest. Both were heard calling off the nest at times, too. Lady had a good break in the middle of the day, away for 2.5 hours and returning with a full crop and some leaves. She was on the eggs from just after 3pm until dark, when she was heard calling –wanting a break? Dad was nearby but not coming to the nest. Lady backed off the eggs at 5:30, had a stretch, but then sat down to incubate again, settling for the night. That long late shift meant she spent seven hours on the eggs today. No food was brought to the nest, though both brought sticks or leaves.

And a really cute video from Taiaroa Head:

At the Tatarsan Eagle nest in RU, one of the recently ringed eaglets, Tanai, was believed to have died. It was jumping from branch to branch and fell off the tree. ‘TU’ reports that it returned to the nest five days later! This is wonderful news.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, queries, posts, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, AM, AMW, Geemeff, H, PB, TU’ Montana Osprey Cams, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Jacqueline Harris, Oceana, Charlo Montana, McEuen Park, Finland Osprey Foundation, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, HWF-BBC, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Save Our Menhaden FB, Connie Davis, Heidi McGrue, Collins Marsh, Seaside Osprey Cam, Boulder County, Fischadler Cam, Tatarsan Eagle Cam RU, WBSE Eagle Cam, NZ DOC, and Osoyoos.

N2 dies at Cornell while others fledge…Monday in Bird World

22 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you had a lovely weekend. The summer is slipping away quickly! It was 30 or 31 degrees C today with a lot of haze in Winnipeg. All I could do was think of Iris and the Osoyoos nest. And the news that I posted on Sunday from Ann-Marie. Iris is getting some good fish – we can be so thankful because of Finn’s great fishing skills. He eats the head bit and tonight he gave Iris the gift of such a big fish that she had a wonderful dinner, too. She always feeds those kids first! I am greatly saddened by the death of N2. Cornell needs to do better in terms of bird proofing its windows. We need to do better in our cities and turn our lights off during migration. Make your cities turn off those lights in those tall buildings. You can do it -.

It is always lovely to be home. The trip to Toronto was so good, and I am having trouble adjusting to not being pampered. LOL. The cats did well with the cat sitter this time and came out immediately when we got home. Mr Crow saw the car and came to tell me to get his dish filled, and the Blue Jays arrived in groups. It has been lovely. This year is an excellent one for the garden, and all the herbs have done exceptionally well, along with the tomatoes, those lovely little grape ones.

The fledges have started to happen, all in a bundle. I might miss some, so please send me your news. Always feel free to send me news. I might not be able to respond right away but send it to me. I am grateful and I promise you are not bothering me. Never.

On Sunday, the only surviving osplet of the Bald Eagle attacks fledges at the Cowlitz PUD. The chick returned to the nest. Well, let’s hope this one gets fed, gets stronger, and is never attacked by a Bald Eagle in their life. I am hoping that the engineers at Cowlitz PUD are putting their heads together on how to make the grates work – maybe a third one?

‘H’ reports:

7/21 Osoyoos osprey nest:  (To correct a significant typo in yesterday’s notes: Soo had not been seen from the afternoon of 7/19 to just before noon on 7/20.)  Despite the extreme heat, there were 7 fish brought to the nest on 7/21.  Olsen started out with a headless tiny fish.  It provided for a 1-1/2 minute meal and Middle ate one bite.  At 0517 Olsen arrived with a small whole fish, but when Soo didn’t show up, he left with it.  He brought the fish back at 0521, and Big took it to self-feed.  Soo later took the tail portion and fed for 2-minutes.  Middle ate three bites.  Soo brought a small fish at 0743.  Soo and Middle engaged in a tug-o-fish, but Soo kept the fish and fed for 4-minutes.  Middle had one bite of that fish.  In general, Big usually beaked or intimidated Middle at the beginning of each meal.  Soo brought a slightly larger fish at 1020.  Both chicks ate, one to each side of Soo, but Big seemed to be offered more bites.  At 1027 Middle grabbed the large tail piece.  S/he kept trying to swallow it whole, but the piece was too big, and Middle was constantly being harassed by Big.  Finally at 1034, Big took the tail after Middle dropped it, and after much effort, managed to hork it down.  Middle ate about 25 bites of fish at that meal.  Fish #5 was a medium-sized partial delivered by Olsen at 1128.  Middle arrived at the table first, but was soon intimidated by Big.  It was a 7-minute feeding, and Middle ate 5 bites of fish.  The fish-bite tally for Middle so far = 35 bites of fish. 

Big’s crop had been getting filled all morning, so when Olsen dropped off a headless fish at 1156, Big was not very eager to eat.  Yay!  Soo fed for 4-minutes, and Middle was able to eat at least 39 bites at that meal.  Soo provided some shade from the hot sun throughout the afternoon for the chicks.  The temperature at 1645 was 40-41 C, depending on the weather app used.  At 1740 Middle was seen to have a good PS.  Finally, at 1741 Soo brought a large headless fish to the nest.  Both chicks ate, one to each side of Soo, and surprisingly there was no aggression from Big.  It was a 36 minute meal, and both osplets seemed to be fed somewhat equally.  Middle ended up with a nice crop, Woohoo!    Weather forecast for 7/22:  Sunny, but with smoky air from BC wildfires, high temp 102F/39C, winds gusting to 22 mph.

7/21 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  The 27-day-old youngster has been given a name:  “Cobey”, as a play on Colonial Beach…Isn’t that cool?  Fish were practically falling out of the sky today.  The high temperature was unchanged… it has been in the mid-80’s for several days.  There were 8 fish delivered to the nest, four each from David and Betty.  In recent days, David has been pretty low on everyone’s list for ‘Dad of the Year’.  Who knows…perhaps David is finally getting the hang of this ‘Dad thing’, lol.

7/21 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  The fish have not been numerous the past few days, but they have been massive in size.  June and 37-day-old ‘Fen’ started out the day  with a couple of meals from a large leftover fish.  Then June brought a huge bass to the nest, which they feasted on for the rest of the day. 

7/21 Forsythe osprey nest:  Larry is 61 days old, and fledged 6 days ago.  Opal and Oscar are supplying Larry with plenty of fish to fuel his adventures.

7/21 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest:  The siblings are 53 and 54 days old, and they have both been practicing their ‘wingers’.  Chick #1 is a little more advanced, and is achieving some decent height above the nest, but no hovers as yet that I’ve seen.  Exciting times !

In the UK, an individual has been charged with shooting a Tawny Owl and a Wood Pigeon. These might seem like small acts, but they aren’t. Every bird counts and we don’t have the right to kill them in the way that many thought it was fine to go and shoot all the tigers in the jungle in the Victorian era.

Man charged with shooting Tawny Owl & Woodpigeon & dumping them in wheelie bin – Raptor PersecutionDownload

The French have issued you some of their own fines, too.

The last of the four osplets so gallantly raised by Blue 022 and CJ7 at Poole Harbour fledged at 1717 on Sunday. They did it! Success when so many have failed.

The two chicks fledged at Fort Calhoun today as well.

They have eyes on Mum, Dad, and Baby at Port of Ridgefield where the baby is now off the nest and flying.

‘BHA’ reports that Baby is on the nest at The Port of Ridgefield. Tears. This was one of the best news items that I could hear today. Celebrate this victory – the chick survived….it flew…and it looks really healthy and strong.

Tweed Valley had a fledge as well.

Harbottle was the last to fledge at Kielder 7. She flew today! Hallington flew on the 18th while Hawkhope flew on the 20th. Congratulations for a great season amidst the overall sadness.

Fledge at Iowa DNR.

Collins Marsh raised three and we could have a fledge or two soon.

I smile every time I see those two big chicks of Beaumont and Hope’s in Newfoundland. Let the goodness continue for this couple and these babies.

Richmond and Rosie’s two osplets for the 2024 season at Golden Gate Audubon have been named! Gorgeous names.

The province of Nova Scotia has had a good year for its ospreys. Connie Dennis reports on the family near to where she lives. They are preparing for fledge.

Baby Ospreys. Three of them at Osprey House in Griffin, Queensland, Australia! Wishing Australia luck this season.

The ongoing heatwave that is raging through our planet is of particular concern for our avian friends.

What ongoing heatwaves could mean for bird populations around the globe – BirdLife InternationalDownload

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 21st July 2024

Today was all about musical nests – Dorcha visited Nest One while Garry LV0 was there, and got scared off by Affric 152, who ought to be on the Bunarkaig nest looking after her newly ringed but still unfledged chick, while over on Nest Two, Louis was visited by the strikingly marked Really Dark Female. He didn’t appear to object to the presence of the RDF, and was happy to go off and leave her in sole occupation of his nest. No fish were brought to either nest, a little visitor trilled away merrily, possibly resident in all those sticks underneath Nest One, and although it was another damp day, tonight’s forecast of partly cloudy with light winds suggests a dry night.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.01.48 (03.49.44); Nest Two  23.26.44 (04.01.12)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/nQ2pO2kcevM N2 Dorcha and Louis together on the nest but he brings no fish 10.48.58

https://youtu.be/xjqv-5EWRFA N1 Three Ospreys on the nest: Affric 152, Garry LV0 and Dorcha! 11.27.59

https://youtu.be/J4Y2emy_rkM N2 RDF visits Louis on the nest 11.28.36

https://youtu.be/umi0spLP–4   N1 Affric follows Garry to the nest 12.36.07

https://youtu.be/1gNzX5yamuU N1 Garry LV0 returns alone, bringing a tiny clump of moss.13.20.19

https://youtu.be/_csOnS_xA10  N1 A little visitor – or perhaps lower nest resident – trills merrily 17.56.37 

Bonus read – moosical cows! Woodland Trust protect an iron-age fort with musically trained cows (yes, really!):

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/press-centre/2023/07/little-doward-cows

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/9NT23F7pAQo Woodland Trust’s George on STV Evening News discussing the effect of climate change on the Ospreys 2022

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

I am beyond broken hearted. N2 hit a window on the Cornell Campus and has died. Every building on that campus and every city with skyscrapers, every public building must have bird proof windows. Especially Cornell.

Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling %22N2%22 Found Deceased On Campus | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird CamDownload

The kids bother Annie and Archie’s bonding…oh, wait. It was just Eclipse!

Iris picked a good one! Finn delivers a whopper late in the day to make up for the smaller deliveries earlier on Sunday. So much fish – it just came when needed. The heat remains in Montana.

So much fish that Iris is getting a nice feed.

Charlo Montana needs some big fish. Lola has a sunken crop. She needs to be in good health in order to take care of her babies -.

The Baby at McEuan is looking around for Mum to return to the nest with their late dinner.

Wingers at the Janakkala nest in Finland, too.

Younger babies at the Muonio nest in Finland.

One successful prey delivery to Golden Eaglet in Kurzeme Forest. One might have failed. The eaglet is ravenous.

Boundary Bay Blue has had some food shot up to the nest, but this eaglet is so hungry. Food has not been plentiful. The adults brought a large flat fish to the nest on Sunday – this should help.

The video of the delivery and an intruder:

Thank you so much for being with us today. Continue to send your best wishes to all the nests struggling to get enough prey and high temperatures. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘BHA, Geemeff, H, PR’, Cowlitz PUD, Raptor Persecution UK, Celia Aliengirl, BoPH, Pam Breci, Port of Ridgefield, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Mary Cheadle, Collins Marsh, Newfoundland Power, SF Bay Ospreys, Connie Dennis, Osprey House Environment Centre, BirdLife International, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, All about Birds, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, McEuen Park Ospreys, Looduskalender, Bird Parenting, HWF-BBC, FIN Osprey Foundation, Trudi Kron, Osoyoos Ospreys, Colonial Beach, Fenwick Island, Forsythe Ospreys, Iowa DNR, and Mispillion Harbour.

Moraine chick knocked off nest, fledge at Glaslyn…Sunday in Bird World

21 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Update from Glaslyn: “Our eldest chick Blue 6M8 took her first flight at 08:50 this morning at 54 days old. She made a short flight around the field supervised by Elen before returning to the nest.” Congratulations Aran and Elen.

The beautiful osplet at Moraine that might have fledged today was not predated by the owl so many worried about, but became she became the victim of a tragic accident with Mum defending the nest against a raccoon. They will put up a raccoon baffle for next year…but maybe, every nest should be looking at raccoon and pine marten baffles and those that have owl predation a very bright solar (or hydro) powered bright light with red strobes. They will not bother the ospreys but could help with owl predation. Oh, goodness. It is hard enough for the wee babes to make it to be two or three weeks old but to die right before or at fledge, this is so sad.

I am sitting at the airport gate. It is always good to have a break, but it is even nicer thinking of home! I cannot wait to see Hugo Yugo, Calico, Baby Hope, Missey, Mr Crow, Dyson, and all the other animals, including ‘The Boyfriend’, who was caught on the security camera arriving at 0400 this morning. I hope he had food left! That camera identified him as a ‘pet’. It made me smile. It has been hot in Winnipeg – of course, unlike what it is for Iris and all the ospreys who continue to deal with tragically hot temperatures.

I am home, exhausted. More than exhausted. My head is reeling with news of tragedies….’The Girls’ were all wanting attention. What a joy it was to see them.

Her name can be seen by the public so I will include it here. I most often use initials. Ann-Marie Watson has watched over the Osoyoos nest and others in that area of British Columbia for years. When Little died and went over the edge several years ago, she travelled an hour and ventured into town during celebrations to give the little one a rite of passage. She sends this report about what is happening in the area. To me, it rings of the events of a couple of years ago when Cooper’s hawklets were jumping off their nests to save themselves from being roasted alive. I think her words bring home the tragedy that is hitting the area ——and I hope that it will emphasize how preious those nests are that have chicks that are alive. I wish that there were enough spaces for these babies so that the nests could make it through this dire time. Ann-Marie writes:

I put this up on our FB page and copy to you. I think Soo may have abandoned the nest and Dad is not feeding the chicks. I didn’t see Soo in the vicinity of the nest yesterday and the chicks are at risk right now. The sweltering heat is affecting so many nests in the south Okanagan. 

As upsetting as it is the heat has been a major factor on a lot of nests. I went and checked on quite a few other nests I know of yesterday and it seems a few the parents have abandoned the nests for their own survival.
I called SORCO and OWL rescue for any advice I could get to save our nest in Osoyoos, basically the info I received there are many nests that have been abandoned due sweltering temperatures. Basically too many nests for them to intervene..SORCO is dealing with the owls and Burnaby rescue is at capacity.
This may not be good news for our nest as Mum hasn’t been seen and Dad is not feeding the chicks.
Thinking of you all and as Ann-Mo said take care of your own mental health.
I am taking a break after yesterday’s heartbreaking visits to the nests I went too. So much wildlife is suffering.

20 July 2024

More from Ann-Marie:

Apparently Soo and Olsen returned to the nest today maybe before noon. Both had a partial fish, I’m thinking Soo went off to hunt and cool down, I honestly don’t think she would not be the mombrella for the two chicks yesterday. I have not watched the camera today as needed a break. Things are not looking good for the chicks but if enough fish comes in middle might have a chance. The older chick seems to be getting fed more. The heat is intense and will be for days to come.
I did a little ceremony for the littlest chick yesterday near the nest, I was quite heartbroken it passed away.

I wonder if the local fire department would place some fish on that nest for Soo, Olsen, and their chicks until the heat passes. I do understand from Heidi that Soo has been on the nest. Thank goodness.

There is good news coming out of Raptor Persecution UK. Finally, a fine that is meaningful. I would have liked to have seen another ‘zero’ added to it, but this is a beginning! That got hit hard in the wallet and that is all these grouse moor estates understand.

Poisoned buzzard leads to discovery of multiple pesticide offences – Ashley Game Farm & Director Christopher Hodgson fined £40,000+

“£40k fine despite not knowing who actually carried out the poisonings, plus £1.5k fine for the director. ” (Geemeff)

In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, Robin Wall Kimmerer talks of a revitalisation of our planet, of Mother Earth. She insists that we must make a choice of the path we will take – to heal our planet and bring balance back to the world of living beings, human and non- or turn our head backwards in the blinding dust and continue to live a life of materialism. She says that how we have lived has not brought us contentment, and now it is bringing extinction to plants and animals. We need to bring harmony and balance back to our lives. We must choose ‘the Green path’ of wisdom, respect, and reciprocity’ (280). It is a good book that broaches capitalism and materialism, and market forces creating affluence for some and great poverty for others. Grain sits in elevators rotting because people cannot purchase it. Kimmerer understands that there is enough food for everyone if we view the world differently.

I would suggest that there is enough fish for every seabird, every eagle, every osprey. That the taking of millions of Menhaden is ruining the balance of the Chesapeake Bay with the profits going into the accounts of Omega while our beautiful birds, whales, and dolphins starve. Omega is leaving nothing! I hope that we can shift this and see plentiful loads of fish for our feathered friends and a return to a bay full of wildlife!

The 2024 Osprey Field Season – The Center for Conservation BiologyDownload

Waiting for fledge at Glaslyn. It was a bit of a wet day. Everyone including Bobby Bach are doing fantastic – that little one had a nice bit of fish.

Fish after fish coming in to the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi. No one is going to go hungry.

Only Little Mini (4th hatch) at Poole Harbour left to fledge now. CJ7 and Blue 022 are both being Daddy and Mummy Door Dash for these four healthy osplets.

The heat in the US and Canada continues.

Iris is the most amazing mumbrella. Finn is having a difficult time getting as much fish on the nest as he did. The best times are early morning and evening.

Iris moves with the sun to keep those precious babies of hers shaded. Look at those beauties in the top image with their Mum behind them. Did we ever think we would see such a sight? I sure didn’t.

Charlo Montana is hanging in there, too.

‘H’ reports on the Osoyoos nest we are so concerned about:

7/20 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Today was a better day for Middle.  Middle had not had a significant meal since 7/17.  Olsen arrived early, at 0539 with a medium sized whole fish, and when Soo didn’t arrive to feed, Olsen left with the fish.  He returned 16 minutes later with a headless version of the same fish.  Middle grabbed the fish and mantled, and Olsen left.  Middle was being harassed by Big, so it seemed that Middle spent more time protecting his food than eating it.  Big took the fish at 0609.  Big did a much better job of self feeding than s/he demonstrated yesterday.  At 0636 Big walked away from a very large tail portion.  Middle took the fish, but was not very successful at self feeding.  It seemed as though Middle may have lacked the energy to enthusiastically pull and tear off fish bits.  After 5 minutes, Middle quit eating and Big took over.  This scenario of the siblings alternating, each trying to self feed from the fish, continued to play out on and off over the next few hours.  By 1100, there was still a piece of that fish remaining, but it was getting dried up and stiff.  

Soo, had not been seen since the afternoon of 7/18.  At 1123 Soo arrived at the nest with a whole fish.  And, at 1124 Olsen brought a large partial fish to the nest, but when he saw that Soo already had a fish, he left with his.  Soo did not start to feed until 1128, and she fed Big.  Big had beaked Middle, so Middle was in submission.  Big was finished eating at 1155 and walked away from Soo.  There was still some of Soo’s fish left over.  But, at 1155 Olsen returned with a smaller version of his earlier fish.  Soo opted to take that fish, Big beaked Middle, then Soo fed Big until 1201.  In the meantime, Middle was trying to eat some bites of the leftover morning fish, which was now the consistency of fish jerky.  Soo ate some fish while waiting for Middle to arrive at the table.  At 1202 Middle started to be fed by Soo, and had eaten 9 bites of fish before s/he was beaked by Big.  Middle retaliated this time, and there was a big fight.  Soo continued to eat.  For some reason, Middle returned to the old piece of fish jerky, while Mom ate.  At 1209 Soo picked up her leftover piece of fish that she had brought in at 1123.  Finally, Soo fed Middle a private meal that lasted for 13 minutes.  That was more than Middle had eaten in nearly three days.  Soo provided shade from the hot sun for her chicks throughout the afternoon, and the temperature reached 102F/39C by 1600.  Soo delivered a medium sized whole fish at 2058.  The siblings ate simultaneously, one on each side of Mom, and the 10-minute meal was peaceful.  It seemed that Middle was fed more than Big, and Middle ate at least 64 bites of fish.  Soo finished off the old fish-tail-jerky and fed a few more bites to Middle.   Weather forecast for 7/21:  Sunny, high temperature could reach 106F/41C, winds gusting to 13 mph.  

There has been growing concern for the fate of Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay eagle nest. The parents have been on the perch but not feeding the eaglet while a fairy has tossed up some fish bites. I have just received word that one of the adults has delivered a good sized fish to Blue. That would be incredible news. Time 1458.

Blue had a good sized crop early in the morning.

Deb Stecyk caught that fish delivery to Blue on video:

Mum at McEuen Park holding in there, too, with her only chick.

Everything seems alright at Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum.

Fledge at Field Farm.

Mum feeding her beautiful osplet at Cowlitz PUD.

So far so good at SandPoint.

There are issues with the Marder’s streaming cam. It looks like there is a single osplet being fed at the nest.

One with a full crop, one self-feeding, and the other with a sunken crop at PSEG’s Oyster Bay Osprey nest.

One of the fledglings on the nest at Patchogue calling for a fish.

At the Newfoundland Power nest of Hope and Beaumont, the chicks are getting their feathers. Hope is shading her kids and feeding them – and, I will knock on wood and not say that word that beings with an ‘f’ and ends with an ‘e’. I don’t want to jinx anything.

And then you can’t see anything.

‘PB’ reports that something knocked “CO18 Moraine baby off the nest. It looked like it tried to snatch her but didn’t, and she went off the nest.” ‘PB’ rewound and discovered what happened: “I rewound back and saw the racoon on left side of nest and moving branches and can see it’s eyes…mom was alerting and baby was looking at it…then the racoon moved over to the baby’s side of nest…baby alerted and then mom flew to chase off racoon but knocked baby off balance and baby fell. You can hear branches being hit. Now I’m worried if CO18 is safe with the racoon around. Wish someone could check but probably won’t be until morning.”

Sadly, this beautiful osplet did not survive the predators on the ground during the night. Oh, my goodness.

Beautiful babies at the Kurzeme Forest nest in Latvia.

Heidi reports on Carthage:

West End Eaglets enjoying themselves!

Geemeff’s Daily Report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.

Daily summary Saturday 20th July 2024

A very slow day indeed, with no sighting of either Louis or Dorcha –  the first time no Osprey was seen on Nest Two since Louis returned on 28th March. The weather was very wet today, and not very inviting, so have they left on migration, are they still around, will we see them tomorrow?  Nest One saw some activity today, with visits from little songbirds and a visit from Garry LV0 who arrived with a stick and proceeded to do some nest prep before flying off. Tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy with light winds, but rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.05.33 (04.14.02); Nest Two 23.24.21 (04.24.56)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Vkh1bYP9V_U  N1 Sweet little singer visits 05.42.57

https://youtu.be/U2bBn4PpMoM  N1 Garry LV0 brings a stick and does nest prep 18.35.28

https://youtu.be/jN1-tY56wnA  N1 A pair of little birds pay an early evening visit 18.42.42

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Owl lands on Saaksilive nest #3. This is probably the same owl that a week earlier killed beloved osplet Taiko.

Monty and Hartley sure make beautiful and mischevious babies!!!!!!!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Ann-Marie Watson, Geemeff, H, L, MP, PB’, Raptor Persecution UK, Robin Wall Kimmerer, William Dunn, The Center for Conservation Biology, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, BoPH, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, HWF-BBC, Deb Stecyk, Trudi Kron, McEuen Park, MN-LA, Field Farm, Sandpoint Ospreys, Marder’s, PSEG, Newfoundland Power, Moraine Park, LDF, Heidi McGrue, Newstflix Memories, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SK Hideaways, Osoyoos Ospreys.

Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

15 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Latest updates: Eagle took the oldest osplet at Cowlitz Sunday evening while Mum was feeding. Third osplet at Dyfi in Wales has fledged! Eight Omega ships out catching Menhaden in the Bay this morning – fish our ospreys, whales, dolphins and other fish could eat. Talk about sad. This has to stop.

It was another hot day in Winnipeg. It’s not as hot as it has been. Just 26 C. The boulevard needed mowing, and that is now done. More mulch around the path. I finished but need more. Birds fed and watered many times. They still feel the heat but are more active later in the afternoon and evening when the shade covers the entire garden area. Thank you to everyone who wrote a note and said they enjoyed the baby Blue Jay having its bath. Every season, there is one that loves that bird bath. They are a delight. I made another video. It is 5 minutes long. The birds disappeared while I was sitting on the deck. Still, Dyson comes to the tray feeder along with two Blue Jays and a host of sparrows, old and young. Dyson makes two appearances. You can see the tree branch behind the feeder move. The second time, she goes to another feeder to the left inside the lilacs). I love the Blue Jay pounding away at the seed cylinder at the end. Enjoy. (I will figure out how to edit this!

https://videopress.com/v/p7WSRsNv?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

It is 2033, and the thunderstorm has arrived. The wind is causing the trees to blow around like a tornado. The rain is so heavy I cannot see my neighbour’s roof. It is pounding on top of the conservatory, and all ‘The Girls’ are here for security. I can see a clear sky to the west, so this will be short-lived but furious. I hope we do not lose a tree at the back. Hydro and cable, along with wifi, have just gone out. There is a vast black churning cloud moving south of me. Someone is going to have worse conditions. It’s also reminiscent of my younger years living in Oklahoma, which has all its storms and tornadoes. Did I say we have no power or wifi?

On Wednesday, I will review Connie Dennis’s book about Pickles. So please catch the blog on that day. I will also add a listing of adult Osprey books at the end. This year, the chats on some of the streaming cams were ripe with so much disinformation that many of you wrote and said you would never participate in them again. Take the ‘off-season’ once the ospreys that survive migrate and before the eagles have their eggs hatching to educate yourself. We can have a question section and a fact a day about Ospreys to prepare us. Mind you, we will have the ospreys at Port Lincoln, the falcons at Orange and the CBD, and the WBSE to keep our eyes on. So get your questions ready! I know you have a list of really intriguing ones.

Late news: You know I love Karl II and his kids. Waba, the son of the late Karl II and Kaia from the Black Stork Nest in Karula Forest, Estonia has left RU and is now in northern Estonia! Great news. Thanks ‘TU’. I want Waba to establish a nest in Estonia – maybe even his old natal nest – but only if the fish baskets will be replenished so the storklets don’t starve. We know the food supply is low at times. Speaking of low. Waba’s battery is at 1%. I am hoping he will get some sun and it will charge. This is the area where he is foraging.

The heat wave that hit the Pacific NW and caused such grief at our osprey nests is now moving East. ‘PB’ tells me that the Central area of the US where they live will hit 100 F tomorrow. It will continue to be hot at the osprey nests, and Heidi has just advised that Little at Osoyoos had a one-drop ‘ps’. Dehydrated and weak. Poor thing. Wishing for cool weather, a big fish, or a quick death- since no one is prepared to intervene in the lives of these beautiful feathered osplets (not just at Osoyoos). As you know, my position is that humans have ruined their habitat, destroyed the small quantities of fish the birds require (485-525 per nest of 3 chicks and 2 adults per season), and warmed our planet so quickly that the birds that have been here for 61.5 million years cannot adapt fast enough. We owe it to them to care. Where are the folks as brave as the fish fairies at Port Lincoln? Where are they!

Record-breaking-heatwave-shifts-east-as-millions-of-Americans-under-heat-alert-Extreme-heat-The-Download

In Macedonia, people save the storks by taking out their watering hoses and giving them this great gift of life.

This is the translation: “Humanitarian actions in Macedonia.
The situation with the storks in Gevgelisk is alarming at 50+ degrees. They fall to the ground and dehydrate. The human savior is Miki Stanojkovic from Bogorodica Gevgelisk. An appeal to everyone to leave buckets of water everywhere where there is no river, spring or tap.”

At the nest of the Golden Eagle in Estonia (nest 2), Kristel had prey deliveries from Dad late on Saturday! The eagle also finished the remains of the Raccoon Dog and also fed on leg of sibling. The eaglet is doing some great hovering and working their wings. Appears to be strong.

Note: To this eaglet and to the one at Boundary Bay, their dead sibling is no longer alive and a sibling but potential food. These eaglets are hungry. Eagles are carrion eaters (dead animals). Eagles eat practically anything.

On Sunday, Gwenlais and Senni, took to the skies at the Dyfi Osprey Project. Both returned safely to the nest. Now we are wondering if the third chick will fly on the same day!

Iris at Hellgate Canyon tells us it is still hot there just by her posture! Her and Finn are hanging in there. Iris is amazing. She might not have had a chick since 2018 but she hasn’t forgotten all the tricks on feeding them and keeping them cool and alive. She is my heroine.

Those babies of Iris are so cute. Wonder when we are going to get some names for them.

I feel for the Mum at McEuan Park. Her mate disappeared at the end of June and she had four babies to care for and a heat dome. She has one chick left. She cannot shade it all day because she has to try and catch fish to keep them alive. Where are the fish fairies?

There are two osplets at Allins Cove East. They look good. They are approximately 21 days old.

One gorgeous chick on the Allins Cove West nest the middle of June. It has fledged.

Mum at Bridge Golf Course trying to keep her only surviving Bob cool.

All appears alright at Pitkin County in Colorado.

It will be getting even hotter in Charlo Montana. Charlie is delivering huge fish to Lola and the two survivors (the little one sadly fell off the nest doing a ps). Let’s hope they all make it.

Four big ole babies at Field Farm. That nest is really crowded. Really crowded. Jumping and flapping are going to be a challenge and the crib rails are – well, gone on one side. Stay in the nest kiddos!

Only Bob at Dunrovin appears to be doing well. Enjoying a nice fish dinner compliments of Dad Swoop and mum Winnie. (One egg DNH and the other osplet fell off the nest and died).

‘PB’ noticed that some osprey mums do not shade their chicks like Iris. She is absolutely right. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

At the Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope, the oldest has been doing a wee bit of bonking on the second. We hope it is short-lived. There have been intruders. Hope has done some fishing in past days. Both chicks appear to be doing well. I use that word a lot: ‘appear’. It is challenging to tell from streaming cam images how emaciated the birds can be. I got back to the eaglets Meadow, Sol, and Luna, who appeared to be doing fine but weren’t.

The pair of White Storklets on the Loburg nest were saved and taken to the local stork rescue and rehabilitation centre after their parents, Frieda and Emil, were missing. The storklets were nearing fledge and were ‘very’ hungry and would have perished if help had not arrived. Thank you, Storchenhof Loburg in Mockhem, Germany.

The only storklet of Bety and Bukacek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic has fledged.

Storks. Migration. Routes. A study shows that older storks get to their migration destinations faster than youngsters. Migratory behavior of storks changes over the course of their lives.

“Over a period of seven years, the scientists collected and analyzed the flight data of storks on their journeys to North Africa. This allowed them to analyze how migratory behavior changes over the course of an animal’s life. According to the scientists, they found that young storks take their time to explore new places during migration. With increasing age, however, their flights become faster and more efficient. Young storks therefore take routes that take longer, but also cost less energy. Older storks, on the other hand, optimize their migration routes in order to reach their destination more directly. According to the scientists, they consume more energy. However, the total time of their flight is shorter. Storks’ routes are also based on a wealth of experience. The results suggest that the birds use their spatial memory to find shortcuts. The researchers from Lake Constance therefore assume that individual experience is also a key factor in animal migration.”

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/friedrichshafen/studie-vom-bodensee-stoerche-im-alter-schneller-am-ziel-100.html

The osplets in the Tweed Valley nests in the UK were ringed.

Another Osprey Rescue and some gifts for the rehab centre. Do you have some extra gravel sitting around? Call your local wildlife centre and see if they could use it!

Want another good story? I have posted this one previously, but it is a good reminder to us – again – that our feathered friends care about their families, will help them, and have feelings.

Eagle Parents Spend Year Nursing Chick Who Fell Out of a Tree, Forsaking the New Nesting Season

Inside the aviary where the chicks of Louis and Dorcha are waiting to take their first flight into the Spanish skies.

At the time of this writing, two of CJ7 and Blue 022’s chicks have fledged – Blue 5R0 and Blue 5R1. Both returned to the nest safely and hungry.

Nest #4 in Finland is doing well.

Issues surrounding food and rivalry are surfacing at the Latvian Osprey nest. This will pass as there are giant fish coming to this nest – we hope that continues and we have two fledges. Look at the size of those babies. Bells will toll across Latvia – surely – when these two take to the skies.

‘A’ reports on what is happening at the WBSE nest:

At WBSE, all is going well. Here is yesterday’s ranger report: 

July 13: Another lovely day and the 16th day since the first egg was laid. An early duet and then Lady had a short break when Dad came in at 6:42. Later, a couple of short breaks with Lady calling from Ironbark Roost. Dad brought in a spray of casuarina at 8:02. Around 9am, he came in for a change-over, Lady very reluctant to get up, even as he circled her. She was even a little slow rising when he brought a mullet at 11:11 – but then she got up and fed as Dad sat. There were the usual changes during the day. Late afternoon, with Lady incubating, Dad was not seen at the river – fishing maybe? He returned at 17:17 – empty-taloned. He moved nearby, and both then settled for the night.

What is going on with the New Jersey Osprey? Don’t tell the Omega ships that there is a lot of Menhaden! They might find a way to fish those shores.

Ospreys-Too-soon-for-a-victory-dance-New-Jersey-Conservation-FoundationDownload

A rescue and return to the nest!

Eagle Owls in old castle ruins. Do you know this streaming cam?

Geemeff’s daily report on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 14th July 2024

A very interesting day today! We were given photos taken by LizB of the Bunarkaig chick during ringing yesterday, footage of the translocated chicks in Valencia, including ours, wingercising getting ready for lift off, and Louis brought Dorcha a fish on Nest Two. The first fish he’s brought since 5th July, and only the fifth fish delivery since the official fish count* stopped at 10am on the day the chicks were removed to join the translocation programme on 1st July. Are things getting back to normal? Difficult to say, but he and Dorcha have been spending time together and carrying out courtship rituals including coy-mantling and attempted mating, and today they had what looked like a proper tail-up mating attempt. No action on Nest One except for the busy little spider with its web visible in today’s sunshine. The forecast for tonight is misty with light winds, and dry with sunny intervals tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.14.09 (03.45.20); Nest Two 00.17.11 (03.54.45) 

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/F2O6Qu9bv2E N2 Dorcha arrives early, Louis arrives a little later but without fish 04.30.14

https://youtu.be/-w9xcZQB1ZA N2 Was that a successful mating attempt by Louis? 05.26.51 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/map5PyIWzDs  Wingercising ready for lift-off: Arkaig chicks in Spain 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/f3L7h59FXrQ  Bunarkaig chick photos from LizB 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/D2j9GKFPeTs  N2 Finally! Louis brings a headless trout 15.31.07

https://youtu.be/dH2QtdR1ffY  N2 Louis & Dorcha spend time together as the sun sets 21.21.29

https://youtu.be/w_VHNBuj340  N2 Louis returns unexpectedly with a stick 22.09.00)

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

People have been wondering about Giliath. Here he is!

‘H’ reports: 7/14 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The osplets are 34, 36, and 37 days old.  Olsen knows where to find fish early in the morning, and they are usually small ones.  At 0602 he dropped off a tiny fish.  Middle got a few bites, but Big was the primary recipient of fish during the 3-minute meal.  At 0651 Olsen brought a slightly larger fish.  Middle beaked Little.  Big and Middle were eating, and each time Little reached for a bite, s/he was beaked by Middle, and at one point was nearly pushed off the nest.  Little did not eat at this 9-minute feeding.  

Middle was once again beaked Little at 1035.  Little was so close to the edge, I thought Little was going to get pushed off the nest.  As Little struggled to grab a hold of sticks and climb back up to regain solid footing, he got a stick caught under his left wing, and could not get free of it.  Little had that stick stuck under his wing for quite some time, and Middle took further advantage of Little in that compromised state by beaking him even more.  Soo eventually seemed to help remove the stick from under Little’s wing.  That whole episode was so heartbreaking to watch.  

Another tiny fish was brought to the nest at 1106.  It was a 3-minute meal, and Little did not eat.  At 1332 Olsen delivered a large whole fish.  I thought for sure that Little would be able to eat at some point during this feeding.  Little was beaked several times by Middle, and was nearly pushed off the nest again.  At one point, Big beaked both Middle and Little.  They are all hungry.  This was a 27-minute feeding…and Little did not eat a single bite of fish.  Olsen double-backed with another large fish at 1422.  Great!  Back-to-back large fish…just what was needed so Little could eat.  Middle beaked Little again.  Big and Middle were set up on opposite sides of Soo, and Little ended up next to Big.  We only had a partial view of Little near the top of the screen.  But, it was apparent that Little was occasionally reaching in front of Big and getting bites from Soo.  Little received at least 14 bites of fish that I was sure of, but possibly ate a few more.  Big soon tired of that arrangement with Little, and started beaking Little intermittently.  This meal lasted 28-minutes, and Little only ate about 14 bites of fish.  The last fish of the day arrived at 1917, and it was a medium sized whole fish.  Little was the first one at the table, and got some bites right away.  Little had eaten 20 bites by 1919, but was then pushed from behind by Big.  Little was able to eat another 4 bites by 1920, but then Soo moved the fish, and fed Big and Middle.  It was a 6-minute feeding, Little ate 24 bites of fish, and he did seem to have a small crop.  Little ate a total of approximately 38 fish bites today.  Weather for Monday: Sunny, light winds, high temp 99F/37C.

7/14 Patuxent osprey nest:  Little slept standing up last night for the first time…Oh, Little is a Big Man!  Little was not able to eat on Saturday because his aggressive older sisters grabbed all the fish.  This morning from 0520 to 0523 Mom fed Little from a leftover goldfish.  That fish was then taken from Mom by one of the sibs.  At 0651 Dad delivered a large headless fish and distracted the sibs, so Mom resumed eating the leftover goldfish.  Little took the goldfish from Mom at 0655, and self-fed until 0731, at which time he abandoned the goldfish, and went over to Mom who now had possession of the new fish.  Mom fed Little until 0802.  Little had a large crop!   There were other fish brought in throughout the day, but Little was not able to eat anything from those fish.  There were some good wingers with leaps by Little today.

7/14 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  We are so happy for Louise after the sad season last year.  Harvie is such a wonderful mate and provider for their three offspring, ages 28, 30, and 32 days.  The kids are getting so big!

Thank you, ‘H’. Sadly unless there is a miracle, we are not expecting the third hatch at Osoyoos to make it because of the extreme heat. Send them good wishes. Soo and Olsen are trying — and no one is helping.

‘V’ sent in some images of the Cowlitz baby that was taken. She says, “Look at its wingspan. I wish there was someway to save the other baby”. I know that we all feel the same and wish those grates had held. They are so near fledge.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. Send out nests all your good energy. The heat continues, the predators remain, too. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU, V,’ Loodusklender, Cowlitz PUD, The Guardian Humanitarian Macedonia, Eagle Club of Estonia, Dyfi Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, Allin’s Cove East and West, Bridge Golf, Pitkin County, Charlo Montana, Field Farm, Dunrovin Ranch, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Lindsay Wildlife, Eagle Owl Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, PLO, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Storchenneste, Mlade Buky, swr.de, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, Good News Network, Woodland Trust Scotland, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, BSE, and New Jersey Conservation.

Wednesday in Bird World

10 July 2024

Good Morning,

Morning Update from Geemeff regarding Louis and Dorcha’s chicks:

“The two Arkaig osprey chicks have arrived in Spain as part of a translocation organised by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. They were on board a flight which departed London Heathrow this morning, after testing negative for various infections and passing a vet inspection. The two males weighed 1.1kg each when handed over to the translocation team last Monday. They have been eating well since and are now both 1.5kg.”

Those poor things were so hungry. Thankfully they will survive and hopefully thrive. Thanks, Geemeff.

We also have a morning fledge at Outerbanks (Carova Beach). Chick 1 took its first flight and was seen on top of a roof later. Thanks, Heidi.

First, I know that we are missing ‘A’s’ wonderful narratives. She is ‘under the weather’. Please send her good wishes for a speedy recovery!

My goodness. It is almost the middle of July! The summer – typically for Canada, is half over. Today was hot. 29 C. I have a good friend who lives in British Columbia in the area of the Osoyoos nest. They will hit 36 C – temperature, but not the actual heat index, as our friend, Reets, pointed out – for an entire week. Several years ago, the little Cooper’s Hawks in that area jumped off the nests to their death to avoid being cooked on the top of the nest. Empathetic People and rehabbers then began to climb the nests to rescue them and take them into care. Many of us cried. So many were lost, but so many were saved. I wish beyond any hope that I might imagine a time when everyone would do that for the nests that are in trouble, even if it is feeding fish to get them through a storm or rough patch. I often think of Daisy and Duke at Barnegat Light and wonder if they might ahve considered having chicks this year if that level of kindness had been show to them last year during the June Nor’easter.

My blog might be short today. I took the afternoon off and spent it sitting on a bench in the shade of a small park near my home. After all the deaths and all the big ships out catching all the fish our ospreys need to live on, I just needed some quiet. It was a blessing. There was a little red squirrel scurrying about and an interesting woman who stopped to chat with me for a few minutes.

At home, Mr Crow continues to bring the babies, all six of them, for food. He will walk around the top of the fence railing to check and see if the dishes are full. Then he will caw to all the others. Then there is a ‘murder’ of Crows at the buffet. We have new neighbours. Our old ones loved the birds along with their little girl. I am hopeful that the new couple will be just as delighted with all the animals scurrying around the birds flying in and out.

They stand with their beaks open wanting Mum and Dad to feed them. I can hear the conversation now, ‘See that lady inside that room, she feeds you now!’ I don’t mind. I love our little paradise in the middle of a city.

The infant Cowbird bring raised by the sparrows has been at the bird bath much of today.

There is the difference in size between the baby Cowbird and the adult sparrows.

Dyson’s mate was out eating peanuts today and not too happy to have me working on the little path in the garden. They certainly let it be known that it is their territory!

It is a work in progress. Much more wedding has to be done behind the perennial flowers and I have had to order more top soil to be delivered. I had hoped to have it all finished by the end of the weekend but that top soil delivery has held me back.

News from Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey for Connick, Clive and Connie’s eaglet of 2023 who fell from the nest due to a feather issue. Connick has also donated blood to a Red-tail Hawk at the Center. Way to go Connick!

We are still watching those nests in the Pacific Northwest. I am just going to keep listing them until we get a break in the weather.

Cowlitz: ‘PB’ reports that Cowlitz has had fish and that little got some good bites. She follows up, “Cowlitz dad brought fish around 5pm nest time! Little impressed me by getting up front by mom, getting attacked by #1 but this time he didn’t stay down.He kept getting back up to grab more bites!”

‘PB’ continues to report: “Cowlitz dad fish 7:08pm…little was just attacked hard so not sure if he will get any. Little still down and #1 attacked it again when down after the feeding. Poor little is ok up and near mom. If only he would have moved on right of mom he would have safe and had food. 2 older ones have full crops.”

Steelscape: ‘PB’ also reports that Dad is getting fish on the nest.

Sandpoint: Cam is back on line. According to the chat, plenty of fish have come on the nest and I saw three. Keo is doing well. Keke and River was so full that he got a good piece of fish. We have to remember that the adults have to eat in order to be healthy to provide for their chicks. I am hoping that Iris and Finnegan will begin to eat more.

Clark PUD: It is hot on top of that nest. Dad brought in at least 2 fish, perhaps more. The camera angle makes it impossible to tell. Mum and Only Bob look alright.

Port Ridgefield: 99 F. Cam is still down. People in the area have seen Dad fishing. We will be looking for a fledge and just might miss it.

McEuan Park: Still two chicks alive out of a four chick clutch. Will try and catch a fish delivery. No rewind so this is problematic. Chicks are hot. One on the far rim of the nest. Worrisome. Have not seen a fish delivery yet but it doesn’t mean there hasn’t been one. Mum off the nest. Maybe she went fishing?

Their weather forecast. It was 99 F today.

Charlo Montana: One fish early and another mid-afternoon. It is hot, hot and Like Iris, Lola, is trying to keep her three chicks shaded while she gets super hot protecting them.

Hellgate Canyon: It wasn’t a whopper but the first fish came in early at 0817. I am sure that Iris was thrilled.

Montana temperatures. Remember this is not a heat index and it is not the more hotter temperature on the nests.

By 0930, Iris is being a Mumbrella to keep the chicks cool. It is 88 F.

The little one still has a very slight issue with its left eye.

Finnegan is back with another fish at 1109.

Iris is an amazing Mumbrella.

Third fish at 1550. Impossible to tell the size.

Late evening and ‘PB’ writes: “Finn just brought huge fish and everyone is hungry! He is amazing! Hellgate babies crops are flat so needed this. Finn tried to steal fish and Iris said NO. Finn is stealing pieces dropped by his kids. Finn brought this huge fish in whole, he could have easily took it to the owl pole to ear first, but he took it to his family. He is hungry trying to self feed off fish.”

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Fish at 0611, 0947, 1252, 1555 nice headless large fish, rains arrived in late afternoon. 74 F with 5 mph winds.

Marder’s: Only Bob is looking good.

Snow Lane, Newfoundland: Beaumont has been delivering some exceptionally nice fish and Hope has been feeding the two chicks and as one long time observor noted, she is even being a Mumbrella this year. Hope has never, that I am aware of, shaded her chicks. I find this behaviour interesting along with the feedings. Is this the original Hope?

Blackbush: ‘PB’ reports that Little had a really great breakfast. Good news.

Pitkin County: Dad has been busy hauling in some large fish for the family!

Sunnie Day reports that the chicks on the Iowa-DNR are getting those all important primaries and just doing so well. Four gorgeous osplets strengthening their bodies for flight.

CJ7 and Blue 022 continue to shine. These two raised four beautiful really healthy osplets! Now for the goshawk to just keep its bloody distance. Blue 022 deliveried many nice fish today at the following times: 0743, 1156, 1239, 1519, 1824, 1947.

Geemeff’s report from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Tuesday 9th July 2024

There was much confusing action today, at times difficult to unpick. The day started at midnight as so much light was provided by noctilucent clouds that the nest cams didn’t switch over and remained on day mode. Dorcha arrived early on Nest Two, Louis was seen much later but only flew over her to land in the Scots Pine instead of joining her on the nest. Then Affric 152 paid two quick visits to Nest One after not being seen there since May. Later LizB checked the Bunarkaig nest, thought to be the home of Affric & Prince, and confirmed one adult had a blue Darvic and the other was unringed – which matches with Affric & Prince. Sadly only one small head was seen bobbing around, so it looks as if the second chick hasn’t survived, with luck raptor expert Lewis Pate will be able to give more information when he does his ringing rounds. Back at Nest Two, Louis joined Dorcha on the nest to deal with a persistent intruder Osprey, the dark female who had intruded on the 7th. There was much alarm chipping, mantling and flying about, until the intruder left the area, only to turn up on Nest One, fish-calling, and who responded? Garry LV0! First he brought her a fish, which was eagerly accepted, and then he tried a clumsy mating attempt, which was less eagerly received, before both of them flew off the nest together. An intriguing situation – will Garry be successful this time? Fingers crossed for him. Weather was reasonably settled with some rain, and a colourful sunset ended the day, more rain expected overnight and tomorrow. No further updates yet on our chicks who are warm, dry, well fed and well looked after by the translocation project team.

Night cam switches on (no night / day cam switchover last night): Nest One 23.27.16; Nest Two 23.27.59

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/H3_8HTR1TVA  Noctilucent clouds around Nest Two (Classic Ospreys: Pachelbel ) 01.30 – 02.45 (quicktime)

https://youtu.be/8iBSJlP9nDAN2 Louis flies over Dorcha but lands on the Scots Pine 08.00.00 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/eXXkd-62nmk  N1 Affric 152 pays two quick visits 09.07.24 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/VS2Xh41rUSw N2 Louis arrives to help Dorcha defend the nest against an intruder 14.34.07

https://youtu.be/_a3tynzyyS0  N2 Louis and Dorcha defend as an intruder Osprey flies directly overhead 14:53:49 

https://youtu.be/EUNTzJWJ-EU N1 Dark female intruder lands on N1 and Garry LV0 brings fish! 15.40.52

https://youtu.be/W9aTTJjklwU N2 Dorcha pays a final visit to the nest today 15.19.30

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Ah, look at the little Dorset Hobbys! The oldest horked the leg!!!!

And the breakfast feeding on the 9th for both of the little eyases.

So many deaths and traumatised animals, domestic pets included, over fireworks that I was dismayed to see a huge display over the Green Ledge Lighthouse on Long Island where there is a nest of three osplets.

Fledglings on the nest at VIMS.

The three at Collins Marsh appear, through this hazy camera, to be doing well. Some bright coloured fish coming on the nest!

Great Bay chicks are flying.

Richmond and Rosie’s babies can be seen flapping.

‘H’ reports:

7/9 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Late yesterday Olsen arrived at the nest holding something in his talons, but we couldn’t see what he had.  The family did not act like he had food.  But this morning, there it was right in the middle of the nest… a nice sized partial fish.  At 0442 Soo arrived at the nest and immediately picked up the fish and fed her youngsters.  Little found a spot on the other side of Soo from the siblings, and soon Big beaked Middle.  Little and Big were fed, and Middle stayed back.  Middle could have beaked Little to claim that spot at Soo’s beak, but for some reason s/he didn’t.  Little ate at least 67 bites of fish.  Middle only ate a few bites.  Also yesterday, Soo had made a couple of brief attempts to feed from a large partial fish that Olsen had delivered at 2015.  This morning at 0457 she picked up that fish (still lying on the rails) and once again started to feed.  But, after a minute or so, she stopped.  At 0706, Soo grasped that fish in her talons and flew off the nest with it to get rid of it.  Even though Olsen had eaten half of that fish, Soo had simply found it objectionable.  

Olsen’s first delivery today was at 0951.. a large partial fish.  Little moved away from the fish, Big beaked Middle, and eventually Big beaked Little.  Big was fed, and periodically Big turned to beak or intimidate her siblings just to make sure they understood her opinion on the matter.  Little and Middle bravely reached in and grabbed fish bites now and then, and were punished by Big for doing it.  By 1022 Middle was eating consistently, and at 1028 Big retired from the meal.  Up to that point, Little had eaten about 20 bites, and s/he now moved up to Mom for a good feeding.  Little ate until 1036, at which time s/he was beaked by Big, but the meal was over anyway.  That was a 45-minute feeding, and Little ate approximately 87 bites of fish.

At 1205 Olsen dropped off a medium sized whole fish.  There was no beaking!  The siblings all ate side by side, but our view was partially blocked, and it wasn’t possible to see how much Little ate.  The feeding lasted for 15 minutes.

My weather source indicated the Osoyoos temperature at 1450 was 104F/40C.  Despite the heat, Olsen delivered a small whole fish at 1441.  Again, our view of the feeding was mostly blocked, but it appeared as though the chicks were all lined up near Soo, and there was no apparent aggression.  The meal lasted for 7-minutes.

My goodness, Dear Olsen was working so hard in the extreme heat… he brought another fish at 1453.  It was a medium sized headless fish, so at least Olsen was eating to take care of himself.  This was a 14-minute meal, and there was some aggression.  Big intermittently beaked Little, but Little still managed to eat 36 bites of fish at this meal, and had a nice crop after the back-to-back meals.  I did not see any further fish deliveries today.  The predicted high temperature for 7/10 is 104F/40C, and it will be sunny with light winds.

7/9 Patuxent River Park:  Middle had fledged on 7/8, and today at 1115 Big fledged at 63 days of age.  Congratulations, Big!  She had been ready to fly for a few days, and had been seriously thinking about it all morning.  We had thought that she was going to take off a few times.  So, why did Big fly at 1115?  Well, let me think about that… It was because someone had approached the nest in a boat.  We could hear them, and Mom, Little and Big could also see them.  The human that was at the nest caused Big to take off at that moment!  You see… for a couple of days there had been a small smudge on the camera, and the Park staff thought they would just paddle on over and clean it for the viewers.  How nice of them.  They apparently had no clue as to the status of the pre-fledgling birds in the nest.  At 59 days of age, Little is behind his big sisters in his flight readiness, and he needs a few more days of feather growth and practice before he will be ready to fly.  It is very fortunate that Little did not jump from the nest when the human reached up and wiped off the camera lens!  Big has not returned to the nest as yet, but perhaps she’ll fly in for ‘breakfish’.

7/9 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  This area has been extremely warm, with temps in the mid 90’s.  It may be even hotter up on the nest.  The 14 and 15-day-old chicks are often seen ‘panting’ and in some slight distress.  Betty tries to shield them from the hot sun.  David is doing his best to provide some nice hydrating fish, and I saw six fish brought to the nest.  Chick #1 didn’t want to eat at the 1045 meal, and that was very worrisome.  But s/he seemed to recover, and ate well at the next three meals.

7/10 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  Things are going very well for Dory, Skiff, 26-day-old Harbor, and 22-day-old Gray. 

7/10 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  This nest is doing well.  For the most part, they have benefited from the Atlantic Ocean breezes, and have been spared some of the extreme heat lately.  Johnny and June are doing a nice job caring for their 26-day-old osplet.  For my own use, I have named the little kiddo ‘Fen’.  ‘Fen’ is a gender neutral name of English origin, and it means ‘marshland’.  

Be grateful for every chick that lives. It was a record loss in 2024 for Kielder. – 12 chicks died. ‘PB’ is reporting this morning that fish are coming into Cowlitz, but Little has not had anything to eat. Everyone is hot and hungry. Please send good wishes to these nests.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/twelve-osprey-chicks-die-worst-29499843

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Go out for a walk, sit in the sunshine for a couple of minutes (don’t get too hot), listen to the birds, and breathe. It has been a rough week. Celebrate the survivors! And be back with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Carova Beach, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Cowlitz PUD, Steelscape, Sandpoint Ospreys, Clark PUD, Port of Ridgefield, McEuan Park, The Weather Network, Charlo Montana, Montana Osprey Project, MN LA, Marder’s Ospreys, Newfoundland Power, Pam Breci, Pitkin County, Snnie Day, BoPH, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Dorsett Hobbys, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, VIMS, Collins Marsh, Great Bay, SF Golden Gate Audubon, The Chronicle, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Audubon Boat House, and Colonial Beach.

Heat hitting US Osprey Nests…Tuesday in Bird World

9 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

‘The Girls’ bring me so much comfort when the days are sad and long. I cannot imagine a world without them or Mr Crow screaming at me or the little squirrels running around the deck and the feeders. They help to bring a sense of calm when things just seem chaotic and well, bloody terrible.

Mr Crow knows precisely where to position himself above the conservatory to see if I am home! Then he begins cawing like I am pulling his tail feathers out for cheesy dogs. I know know that he also knows my car and starts calling the minute I get home if his dish is empty.

Look at Calico’s ears and expression. She is on the foot stool. She knows that Baby Hope is going to pounce any moment! Can anyone find Hugo Yugo?

A year ago, Calico’s kittens were one week old. She was scurrying back and forth from eating at our house to caring from them about a block away under a person’s deck. Only one survived, Baby Hope. I have no idea how many were born as it was impossible to get under the deck. We had to wait til they were older. It was a challenge to socialise Baby Hope but she is now the sweetest thing.

Calico watching the baby birds outside.

The Girls want to send each of you a flower. Our Hibiscus plant is bursting with gorgeous pink.

I am going to start with something to put a smile on our faces – a gregarious third hatch that survived with two brothers, Bazza and Falkey, on the Port Lincoln Nest – because, as chicks, they cooperated. As fledglings, never when it came to fish, but while they were on the nest they were sweet and considerate. It is Ervie. Dear Ervie.

There has been no sighting of Bazza since he left the nest (red band), and Falky was seen some 350 miles north (yellow) which always made me think Falky might have been a female. Other than the one sighting there has never been another word about Falky. We have, however, gotten great joy out of Ervie fishing with Dad at Delamere, sitting on top of the pine tree, and flying back and forth to various other areas around the Port Lincoln barge including his own nest. Thank you for staying so we could see you, Ervie – or being within sight of a photographer! You are adored.

And another happy moment. It is so wonderful to hear that Nox is doing well. Isn’t he cute?

There has been tremendous sadness within the Osprey populations this season, in the same way, that the Eagles had a very bad year. On Monday, I received word of Darling dying, and then one of my researchers, ‘VV’, who monitors 17 nests in Maryland, reported that the season was over. Every chick had died, or the nest had failed. The losses are attributed to a lack of essential fish and very hot weather. And predation or intrusion in one. We are also wondering about other underlying causes. Of those nests, the geese broke the eggs in one; in another, the eggs rolled out. Neither couple laid a second clutch. Only five nests had chicks this year, within those, nine known osplets have perished. The other nests failed completely. 

Many of us are just worn out and wish the end of Osprey season would come so that we could control our emotions. I thought last year was bad in the NE United States but I fear that this year will be far worse along with other nests in the NW.

One has to imagine that so many nests are unmonitored and the losses are there, we just do not see them. The area that suffered the Nor’easter last June is set to have as many deaths this year from the extreme heat and lack of food for the Ospreys. I will include all reports from the area as they come in – probably nearer to the end of August.

Hearing this news just makes it more important that the Menhaden that the Ospreys (amongst others) depend on for the primary food source is protected not depleted by the Canadian company, Omega! Or any other company from any other country. The fishing of Menhaden must stop. How we gather ourselves together to start a movement like Rachel Carson did for DDT I am not sure – it is all politics – but we need a united voice, every little group and each person – to try and provoke change.

They have basically cleared out the lower Chesapeake where so many nests are. So when I report on these little fish and the movement of the ships we need to realise that our ospreys need only approximately 500 fish for a family of three chicks and two adults (figured out by John Williams at the llyn Clywedog nest doing counts of Dylan’s deliveries). These ships take 112M tonnes.

The deaths that you will read about below are attributed to a lack of fish which is hydration for the chicks and then the heat kills the babies off. Think about it. Write to all your representatives…it is an election year in the US.

William Dunn posted the net set. Here it is enlarged – near Tangier Island.

The states that have coastal waters where the Menhaden are being decimated and the wildlife, not just ospreys, dying because of it should get together. New Jersey you should be joining Virginia and so should you Delaware, it seems. And Maryland! Make some noise. Get a different angle on this and embarrass these companies and those people funding and supporting them.

Beaumont brought in a huge fish. Hope ate. I watched. She did not feed the little ones lined up wanting some breakfast.

Sweet little babies with a piece of fish in the nest needing shade and food.

The kids were fed at around 1220.

The chicks at Llyn Brenig in Wales have been ringed, one male and one female.

Chicks ringed at Foulshaw Moss, too, if you missed it.

More great news. As you know, I am a great fan of Isabella Tree and the Rewilding Project at Knepp Farm. She has been the inspiration behind our ‘wild’ urban garden that is full of hundreds of birds, some rabbits, Red and Grey squirrels, along with a few feral cats and a raccoon. Knepp Farm had tremendous success reintroducing White Storks to the south of England after a 600 year absence.

There has been tremendous sadness within the Osprey populations this season, in the same way, that the Eagles had a very bad year. On Monday, I received word of Darling dying, and then one of my researchers, ‘VV’, who monitors 17 nests in Maryland, reported that the season was over. Every chick had died, or the nest had failed. The losses are attributed to a lack of essential fish and very hot weather. And predation or intrusion in one. We are also wondering about other underlying causes. Of those nests, the geese broke the eggs in one; in another, the eggs rolled out. Neither couple laid a second clutch. Only five nests had chicks this year, within those, nine known osplets have perished. The other nests failed completely. 

I am going to literally run through some of the nests that we are primarily concerned about because of the heat today or past performance. Heidi will report on Osoyoos.

Port Ridgefield: ‘BHA’ reports that the Only Bob and adults were alright Monday morning. The cam has been off for the most part so there is no record of fish deliveries or images.

Cowlitz: ‘PB’ has reported to me for the entire day and Dad is keeping up with the fishing despite the extreme heat. Little has had some good feeds and a big crop. Despite the 98 degree temperatures, Dad has been bringing fish to the nest and Little has had a nice crop.

‘PB’ reports that a nice fish came on the nest early Tuesday morning and Little had about 60 bites. Thanks so much ‘PB’. This is a nest that is of real concern in this heat.

Clark PUD: Dad has brought in at least 3 fish during the day. Could not determine size. Only Bob was fed and also did some self-feeding and wingersizing.

Steelscape: Dad was busy bringing in fish while the temperatures were in the high 60s. Those times were 0622, 0843, and 1022. The 0843 was a nice sized fish. The Osplets appear to be alright. Mum was rather frantic looking for dad in the hot winds to deliver fish. After it hit 90, no fish came to the nest. ‘PB’ reports a fish at 1711. All three fighting for bites and Mum, too.

McEuan Park: We have lost another of the original four osplets due to heat and lack of food. Only two oldest left now. Please send positive energy to all of these nests.

Seaside: Bruce has been bringing in nice fish. The kids had a trout and another big flat fish, both in the afternoon. I didn’t check the morning. The nest looks good. It is 93 F at Seaside and Sand Point.

Sand Point: Offline.

Minnesota Landscape Arobretum: Dad is such a good provider. Mum loves her fish but she also fed her only Bob and they did fine on Monday. It was 79 F with 6 mph winds. Oh, many nests would love that! Rains came in the afternoon.

Charlo Montana: Lola is an excellent mother and Charlie has done well to get fish on the nest. Big Bob has been intimidating Little Bob at times but the baby managed to get a crop a couple of times. It is 93 degrees with a heat advisory that extends to Friday. Lola has worked hard to keep her babies shaded.

Loveland:

Colonial Beach: Betty and David doing a good job keeping those two osplets hydrated and full!

Hellgate Canyon: Iris worked overtime to keep her two babies cool on a hot day. Finn brought in fish – not as many during the high temperatures, but nice big fish. The nest is under a heat advisory with temperatures rising to 101 F. Send Iris all your love.

‘H’ report:

7/8 Osoyoos osprey nest:  There were six fish brought to the nest.  The first fish at 0441 was tiny and it was only a 3-minute meal, Little was fed, but I could not see how much.  At 0502 Olsen delivered another whole tiny fish that allowed for a 4-minute feeding, and Little ate 11 bites of fish.  0717 was another 4-minute fish meal, and while Little was not beaked, there was simply no room at the table.  The fourth fish at 0750 was larger, and Soo fed Big and Middle for 10 minutes.  Little was beaked by both siblings a few times, and did not eat.  More than 11 hours passed before Olsen delivered the fifth fish at 1922.  It had been a very hot and sunny day with the osplets just trying to stay in Mom’s shade.  The temperature at 1500 was 101F/38C.  The fish at 1922 was a small headless fish that Soo fed for 7 minutes.  Little was prevented from eating.  

What happened next still boggles my mind, and I am still shaking my head.  Olsen delivered the sixth fish at 2015.  It was headless, but it was the largest fish of the day.  Soo started feeding, and Little was beaked.  At 2020 there may have been an intruder issue and Soo left.  She returned at 2021, but did not resume the feeding.  At 2023 Soo left the nest again.  She returned at 2026 and resumed the feeding.  At 2027 Little appeared to be getting some bites of fish on the opposite side of Soo, but I could not tell how much.  Soo stopped feeding at 2028 and flew off again.  Little and a sibling were trying to nibble on the fish.  Soo returned to the nest at 2037 with a lovely bunch of green and orange leaves.  How nice.  Little had a pretty good PS at 2038.  There was still quite a large piece of fish remaining at the 12-o’clock position on the sticks.  Soo resumed feeding at 2040, Little was beaked.  Soo stopped feeding Big and Middle at 2043, and she left the nest at 2047.  As darkness started to fall, there was still lots of fish remaining.  Little again tried to self-feed on the fish, but was incapable of doing so.  Soo and Olsen both arrived at the nest at 2131, and Olsen had something in his talons, but I could not really see what it was.  No one acted like Dad had just delivered a meal, so he must have brought some nesting material.  A big piece of fish is exactly what was needed for Little to have a chance to eat.  But, it just didn’t work out.  Still shaking my head.  High temperature predicted on 7/9 for Osoyoos is 104F/40C.  It will be sunny with light winds.

7/8 Patuxent River nest:  The big news of the day… Chick #2 ‘Middle’, became the first osplet at this nest to fledge, at 0824.  She made a nice landing back on the nest at 1043. Congratulations Middle.



7/8 Captiva:  Ding ate her two small needlefish on 7/7, and she made several additional attempts to catch a fish that day.  This morning, at 0957, Ding dove into the water below the nest, and she did not return all day.  Perhaps she is exploring, and seeking a better spot to fish.  Ding knows that she is on her own now.  You can do this, Ding.  You are a strong and capable young osprey.  You will find your fish.

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 8th July 2024

Another day with no fish, and no sighting of Louis on the nest, although he was heard nearby, and seen occasionally by LizB. Dorcha spent a great deal of the day on the nest, fish-calling loudly and getting no response. An intruder was seen circling around in the foreground while Dorcha mantled and alarm-called on the nest – Louis was heard alarm-chipping but wasn’t seen flying after the intruder. Something is still not right with him.  Dorcha paid a visit at sunset looking very damp as if she’d been fishing, but stayed on her perch and it was difficult to see if she’d been successful. She returned unexpectedly even later, and this time she was fish calling but got no response and soon quietened down. She flew off after 11.30pm. No activity on Nest One other than a quick visit by some songbirds. Weather was mostly dry today with a few light rain showers, tonight’s forecast is a clear sky and light winds, with light rain and a gentle breeze tomorrow day time changing to a weather warning for heavy rain in the evening.

00.45 Neither cam has switched over yet. (day cam): Nest One (02.52.46); Nest Two (03.20.53)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/dabgX9wS5JE  N1 Three little birds singing sweetly 07.37.40

https://youtu.be/d_21ncEqyMU N2 Dorcha on the nest and Louis nearby deal with an intruder 11.13.20

https://youtu.be/FcIBmfScUJ8  N2 Still no fish from Louis: Dorcha gives up calling and departs 13.49.28

https://youtu.be/VfO3nAk5XNQ  N2 Dorcha pays a sunset visit looking wet – been fishing? 22.13.28 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/Z37mRFWwIW0 N2 Dorcha unexpectedly returns and she’s fish calling 23.08.43

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Betsy and Frederick’s osplets are looking really, really good at the Outerbanks Nest.

Missing Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets. Oh, they look good. What a wonderful place to be an eagle – even with the DDT. You can get a glimpse here in Lady Hawk’s video:

Archie is getting some rest! Way to go Archie. You were amazing.

Second hatch at Dorset Hobby Nest!

Thank you so much for being with us. Please stay cool, please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their reports, notes, announcements, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘BHA, Geemeff, H, J, PB, VV’, Port Lincoln, California Raptor Centre, William Dunn, Newfoundland Power, Brenig Osprey Project, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, White Stork Project, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Steelscape, McEuan Park, Seaside Osprey Cam, MN Landscape Arboretum, Charlo Montana, Pam Breci, Colonial Beach, Hellgate Canyon, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, OBX Osprey Cam, Lady Hawk, SK Hideaways, and Dorset Hobby Cam.