Category Archives: Black Storks

Saturday in Bird World

24 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

You will now notice links to videos within the blog. Just click on them, and they will take you to YouTube. Geemeff helped me figure out how to save that precious space to include more images without using up all my media allowance! Thanks, Geemeff.

Friday was another scorcher in Winnipeg. It will be 31 C today but the heat index is reaching to 39 or 40 C. Even the English Gardens were so sultry that it was difficult to enjoy the beautiful foliage.

I continue to smile and tell The Girls how fortunate they are. What we are seeing is a growing number of cats, beautiful ones, coming to the feral feeder. People continue to dump their pets because they cannot afford to feed or care for them. It is so sad when these darling animals bring so much joy to one’s life. There was a steady stream yesterday – ‘The Boyfriend’, a Ginger Male, and a gorgeous long-haired ‘sort of’ Calico (photo below). ‘The Girls’ alert us to their presence. ‘The Boyfriend’ mostly comes during the night – between midnight and 0400. I catch him on the front video camera. But there is also ‘something’ coming and eating all the food and pushing the dishes about and upsetting the birdbaths. I do wonder if it is the fox or a raccoon or, perhaps, a big dog. They must come in through the back because they are not seen on the front camera.

Missey watching from inside where it is cool. They are telling everyone to please put out water because the heat index today was 38 C. The outdoor animals are having a very difficult time.

Remember those storms that hit Missoula with hurricane-force winds? We worried and teared up because of dear Iris and her family. Amy Moore tells us more about the devastation to other osprey families in her article in The Pulp. Thankfully, Iris, Finnegan, Sum-eh, and Antali were not injured.

Empty nested – The PulpDownload

‘J’ reminds us that Bobby Horvath keeps himself busy saving Ospreys and geese that get hit by golf balls on courses! He picks them up and puts them back together so they can live in the wild. Our fledgling ospreys can get into much mischief thanks to us and our fishing gear. Please tell people to take care of themselves and try to clean up after themselves, or stop fishing.

I have talked to you about the issues related to Osprey starvation and the industrial fishing of Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay. ‘H’ found this article that demonstrates clearly that the fish that our ospreys need to survive in the region can make a come back. New York put in regulations. Have a listen!

Hawk Mountain is located in Pennsylvania and is considered to be the world’s first sanctuary for raptors. It began during a time when people were paid to kill raptors – in 1929, $5 was a lot of money and if you turned in a goshawk that was what you received. A dead goshawk that is. Hawk Mountain was where the shooters lined up on top of the ridges when the birds migrated to kill them. Just think of that – thousands of bodies lying on the ground in the forest. A man by the name of Richard Pough began to take photographs of the autracities and eventually those images caught the attention of Rosalie Edge. Edge went to Hawk Mountain, and she came back in 1934, leasing 1400 acres. She created a safe place for the raptors. The killing ceased. In 1935, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary was opened to the public. Edge eventually purchased the property, creating a non-profit organisation to look after the sanctuary. You can visit there today – you can even go and help do a count!

They have just published its first migration count for this season.

Little Ringed Plovers nest successfully for the first time in Cornwall.

First successful nesting of Little Ringed Plover in Cornwall – BirdGuidesDownload

Annie and Archie are getting some together time as empty nesters. https://youtu.be/8SZz3qZEUws?

And more from our favourite Cal Falcons! https://youtu.be/8SZz3qZEUws?

CROW reminds everyone – baby Squirrel season is starting in some parts of North America. What should you do? Read below.

Migration season for Ospreys in the UK is underway (as it is in other parts of the world). I will keep track, once in awhile, of who is home and who is not.

Gorgeous Friday in Missoula and there are some ospreys on that hellgate Canyon nest.

Oh, goodness. ‘TU’ sends news that a storm came through and blew fledgling Antali off the nest. Let us all hope he is alright. https://www.facebook.com/100001195985354/videos/1565499424179303?idorvanity=241808466290553

Looks like everyone is still home at Charlo.

River is hanging on tight with the high winds at Sandpoint.

Looks like everyone is still home at Pitkin County.

For the most part the Finnish Osprey nests were relatively quiet. I caught an unringed on nest #1.

A nice little video of an osprey nest in Whistler, British Columbia. https://youtu.be/XgPX9SMm7N4?

FORE (Friends of Redding Eagles) has given us an update about the necroscopy of Luna and discussions on what to do about the nest tree of Liberty and Guardian. Thanks, ‘J’ for sending this in!

“Friends of the Redding Eagles-FORE

Sotprsodnem0a5cugugg44la299993c4hfi88m7cht3gu03la021u78a912a  · 

Update on Liberty & Guardian’s Nest & Nest Tree 8/22/24:

We just wanted to give you an update on our progress this Summer! We haven’t been posting much because It’s actually been a very busy Summer! We’ve been working non-stop on finding a way to help Liberty & Guardian any way we can next season. We’ve heard several of you suggest we simply “Cut down the Nest Tree” or “Remove the Nest”. After what happened to our Luna & Sol last season we completely understand how you feel! None of us want to experience something like that ever again! But, there are several Federal Laws protecting Bald & Golden Eagles so we have to abide by those laws at all times.

We’re still waiting on the Final Report on Luna’s Necropsy, but I have been in touch with Krysta Rogers frequently these last few months & she has been very helpful. She has answered several questions we asked her after the preliminary report was released & she reviewed a few videos I sent to her of Luna on the Grassy Island. Krysta said she will share the FINAL REPORT with us as soon as it is ready. We would all like to know what the cause of death was for our Luna & Sol & we really hope the final necropsy report will give us those answers. We have to let you know that there are times when the necropsy results are inconclusive, but we remain hopeful!

We’ve also been in touch with the California State Avian Conservation Coordinator Shannon Skalos regarding what we can & can’t do about Liberty & Guardian’s Nest & Nest Tree. Shannon was very helpful & understanding & she put us in touch with our local Fish & Wildlife Supervisor John Perrine who we’ve been working with to come up with a plan. Since we are not Biologists ourselves, we work under the guidance of our local Fish & Wildlife Biologists. We’ve been discussing what we can do within the constraints of the Federal Laws protecting Bald Eagles & their Nests & Nest Trees. 

Back in June, Shannon informed us that we cannot do anything to the Nest or Nest Tree without a Federal “Take Permit”. She said those permits can take quite a while to obtain & she didn’t think we had enough time to go that route(6-12 months). She said US Fish & Wildlife generally tries to “let nature take its course”, but they will always consider things on a case by case basis. 

Shannon let us know we would NOT need a permit to do something in any of the nearby trees as long as we don’t touch the Nest Tree. So, we immediately reached out to our dear friend & Eagle Biologist David Hancock from British Columbia who has a lot of experience & success in this area. David has been consulting with us & now we are in the process of making a plan which we will complete in September. We will share more details on our plan as we get closer! 

Our Project Manager Joe will be coming to Redding in September to replace parts & overhaul the entire Eaglecam System. So, we still have a lot of work ahead of us! But, we are determined to do whatever we can to help our beloved Redding Eagles Liberty & Guardian! And, we are also determined to do whatever we can to make it a great viewing experience for all of our wonderful followers & incredibly generous Donors who make this all possible!

We could not do this without YOU!

Stay tuned!

~Terri & the FORE Team

Here is some helpful information with us from the US Fish & Wildlife Eagle Management Plan:

“Eagle Nest Protections

Along with protecting eagles, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act also protects eagle nests. Eagle nests are protected at all times, not just when the nests are in use by eagles. This means eagle nests can never be removed, destroyed, moved, tampered with, or obstructed, no matter what time of year it is, without a permit.

An eagle nest is defined as “any assemblage of materials built, maintained, or used by bald eagles or golden eagles for the purpose of reproduction. An eagle nest remains an eagle nest until it becomes so diminished, or the nest substrate upon which it is built fails, that the nest is no longer usable and is not likely to become usable to eagles, as determined by a Federal, Tribal, or State eagle biologist” (50 CFR 22.6).

The following are all considered eagle nests and are protected (unless the nests are determined by a Federal, Tribal, or State eagle biologist to no longer be usable):

Any nest constructed by an eagle, even if the nest is never finished or used.

A nest built by another bird that is subsequently used by an eagle for reproduction.

A nest constructed by an eagle that is subsequently used by another species, such as owls or osprey. 

Note that if nest take removes all available nesting substrate from an eagle pair’s territory, this can lead to abandonment and loss of the eagle territory, which constitutes a form of disturbance take.laws”

Is Mum looking a little eggy at Port Lincoln?

Seabirds sang a tribute to the Penguin Icon, Sphen, as they mourn his death.

Magic moment: Sydney aquarium filled with song after sea birds mourn death of gay penguin Sphen | AnDownload

Our smile for the day comes from ‘SP’. Most of you know the Crawley Falcons that hatch their chicks on the balcony of a high rise in Australia. Apparently neighbours decided peregrine falcons were too noisy and asked that the plant pots where the falcons laid their eggs be removed. Well…Here is the story in pictures from their FB page. Oh, they now have at least two eggs.

And a shout-out ‘back’ to my kid teaching at St George’s Medical School – he’s been sending the love for over twenty years now! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/L9wxFqMKJH1qLkBg/

Turtles are starting to arrive at the Kistachie National Forest E-1 nest…oh, geez. If this eagle keeps this up, there won’t be a turtle within 5 miles of the park! This male loves his turtles.

Karl II’s son, Waba, is in the Ukraine where he continues to feed as he works his way back to Africa. Fingers crossed that Waba will return to Estonia and take over his natal nest next year! Yes! Waba can continue the great example of his father, Karl II, who sadly was electrocuted on an unprotected pole in Turkey last year.

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 23rd August 2024

More rain overnight last night with strong winds, and a misty morning today. No Ospreys appeared on either nest, just a pair of Great Tits on Nest One, but we were treated to footage from Spain of our one surviving chick, 1JW, looking magnificent and defending his fish with a short sharp warning nip to another Osprey who attempted to get some of it. This all bodes well for his upcoming migration journey, and explains his informal nickname of ‘Jaws’. Also sent through by Fundación Migres were photos of Pean JH3, the Loch Arkaig Osprey who fledged from a private nest in 2017 the same year that Aila & Louis fledged their first chick, Lachlan JH4. Pean’s untimely death on a faulty power line in 2018 inspired Itziar Colodro Sainz from the Fundación to campaign successfully for modernisation of the local grid at the translocation area of Marjal Pego-Oliva Nature Reserve, which has subsequently saved many birds. More here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15815194 and here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-46952452. The wet weather will continue all week, with the possibility of thundery showers tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.32.40 (05.19.49); Nest Two 21.24.56 (05.26.39)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/cuNHwXdx6jE Video footage of ‘Jaws’ 1JW defending his fish in Spain 

https://youtu.be/Cxnfg-UCmUk N1 Pair of Great Tits visit 07.22.56

Bonus new partnership initiative between WT and Sainsburys also means more food and homes for wildlife:

https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4349695/sainsburys-woodland-trust-launch-agroforestry-initiative

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’ posted on Fenwick Island….little Fen. Dad is smart. Just drop those fish in when flying by. Don’t risk those precious talons with a hungry juvenile.

SE33 was aggressive towards its little sibling today. Despite there being plenty of fish on the nest, it would not allow the baby to eat but a few bites before starting to bonk it. SE33 goes into a food coma and Dad comes along and saves the day giving little 34 a really nice feeding. That baby was full. Love you, Dad!

‘A’ writes more of these current issues with sibling rivalry: “This morning, Lady went out early and brought back a large fresh whole fish. She started feeding SE33 at around 06:49 and continued to do so until just before 06:58, when SE34, who had had his head down on the nest, finally accepted a bite. But even though it had been eating large chunks of fish for nearly ten minutes, SE33 was not happy about SE34’s inclusion in the feeding and immediately beaks him in the back of the head. SE33 grabbed a beakful of head feathers and shook SE34 for some time. A moment or so later, when SE34 dared to move, he was attacked again. Once again, the shaking lasted some time. SE33 has an enormous crop by this stage and has been eating large pieces of fish uninterrupted since 06:50. 

The fact that SE34 had stayed down for so long, cringing violently away when Lady leaned near him to pick up a dropped piece of fish (she had dropped it, not SE34), was worrying enough in itself, but when after eating so much fish and SE34 showing deference for so long, SE33 instantly retaliated for the one mouthful SE34 had been given, it really depressed me. I thought we had got beyond this on this nest, but obviously, we haven’t. In fact, over the past week or so, it seems SE33 is getting more aggressive rather than less. 

Lady is still looking out for him, and there is still plenty of fish (Dad added a second fish to the breakfast spread this morning – there always seems to be food ready for when Lady wants to feed the eaglets) but it is a worry that he is obviously intimidated by SE33 to the extent that he is sometimes scared to eat. The question is whether he is still getting enough once SE33 has eaten all it can. 

By 7am, SE33 is getting more and more reluctant to accept bites. (It had already been rejecting them when SE34 dared to accept his first mouthful but that didn’t stop SE33 from attacking.) But SE34 is still not brave enough to lift his head. At 07:02, SE33 is STILL eating. SE34 dares to move – he is monitoring proceedings. By 07:02:40, SE33 is refusing food and Lady eats the bite herself. At 07:03, SE34 lifts his head cautiously.

There are two fish on the nest – one whole and one that Lady is finishing off. SE33 gets a second wind but this is a good thing, as it stops an attack on SE34 for lifting his head. Lady pauses the feeding. She surveys the eaglets and takes stock of the situation. She waits. SE33 is full, so I think she is waiting for it to turn away or lose interest in attacking SE34. She is certainly planning what to do next. 

Just after 07:04, SE33 does in fact turn away. SE34 sits up a little further. His head is up. At 07:04:25, Lady offers a bite to SE34, who takes it without retaliation from SE33. Lady then steps closer to SE33 and persists in offering it a bite for nearly half a minute until eventually it is accepted shortly before 07:05. 

Although SE34 has his head up, Lady does not offer him food. She continues feeding SE33, although it is reluctant and slow to accept bites. 07:06:20 and Lady moves some nest material, which strikes SE34 and causes him to turn away, fearing he is being attacked. Lady ends the feeding at this point, returning to brooding the eaglets, even though SE34 has not had any breakfast while SE33 is stuffed to the brim. There is a whole fish still on the nest, plus some leftovers from the other fish, and yet she has abandoned the effort to feed SE34. He is obviously intimidated and scared to eat, but with SE33 so full, it is unusual that Lady did not persist in her efforts to feed SE34. She made very little effort to feed him, and did not offer him bites with the same patience and persistence she used to push more and more food onto SE33. So it was all in all a worrying and disappointing breakfast feed. 

I am assuming Lady is going to let SE33 fall into a food coma and then go back to the fish to feed SE34. I certainly hope so. Otherwise, we are going to have problems at this nest. I am encouraged by the fact that the size gap between the two appears to have narrowed over the past four or five days, so talons crossed. “

There is more news from Australia. ‘A’ sends us the news of a rare white Rhino calf born – no feathers, but we will celebrate with them!https://youtu.be/QaPgf26-WYE?

Thank you so much for being with us today. Have a wonderful weekend everybody! See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, videos, articles, images, summaries, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB, SP, TU’, The Pulp, Return of the Menhaden, Hawk Mountain, BirdGuides, SK Hideaways, CROW, RSPB Loch Garten, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Pitkin County, Saaksilvie, Whistler Osprey Cam, FORE, PLO, The Guardian Crawley Falcons Instagram, Tonya Irwin, Looduskalender, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Heidi McGrue, and Olympic Park Eagles.

Saturday in Bird World

10 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Be sure to read all the way down. There is some terrific news waiting for you today.

Oh, Friday started out with a trip to the wildlife rehabilitation centre for this little fellow. The baby is one of the Blue Jays with a nest in a tree across the lane. He was in the garden trying to eat a cheesy dog. He appears to have a problem with one eye, and his tail seems to have some issues as it was turned to the side, not straight. He could not fly. The rehabilitation centre said they would happily take him into care as they agreed on both issues after seeing a photograph. Send him good wishes!

It is not clear what caused the issues/injuries or how he will do but it was unsafe for him to be hopping around on the ground with the feral cats and the hawk about.

Next was a visit to check on the American White Pelicans at Lockport. There were a few there along with about forty Double-crested Cormorants on the other side of the dam. (Taken with iPhone at a great distance so not the best!)

Since it is now the 10th of August, the Pelicans will be making their move to go south in about a month or five weeks.

Bird World is fairly quiet. It is a good thing. As the weeks went by ‘H’ and I got wearier and wearier and at times just couldn’t wait for osprey season to end.

I was very grateful for a comment by ‘DV’ on my blog post on FB. They write: “Discussing the rescue of the chick of Saaksilive #4 nest on the chat of #1 nest, I thanked them for responding so quickly, and was told, “It’s in the law in Finland, you need to help an animal who can’t keep up or is struggling”. In view of the procrastination of the ‘permission authority’ in the Colonial Beach rescue, maybe we should do something about such a law, here. No wonder Finland is rated the ‘happiest’ country in the world….they seem to be the most sensible, as well.”

What do you think about trying to get the laws changed for immediate intervention like they do in Finland in Cobey’s name? I am certainly willing to lend a hand to try and get the archaic Bird Migration laws changed in North America – and attitudes around the world. Thank you ‘DV’.

The person who might be able to help is:

Mr. Jerome Ford, Assistant Director, Migratory Birds Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. Via Email: jerome_ford@fws.gov

Paraphrased from a letter regarding the Dale Hollow Nest to Ford in 2023: Citing article 50.CFR.22.76-22.80 of the Migratory Bird Act, a “take” anticipates a rehabilitation permit will authorize the rescue, or take, and further expects the temporary possession of and/or transportation of an eagle and/or eaglet to an authorized and permitted rehabilitation facility. The guidance from USFWS advises take permits will not be issued to address “interference with the natural course of events at the eagle nest”, however, a take would be authorized if such a take “is necessary to protect an interest in a particular locality. The Dale Hollow situation had to do with harm done to the eaglet through manmade materials – fishing line. In the instance of Colonial Bay and other nests in the region, I believe it can be argued that the lack of restrictions on the taking of Menhaden hgas caused the ospreys to starve to death. That coupled with an extreme heat situation – also caused by human activity – should be grounds for an emergency ‘take’ in the instance of starvation, etc. Something can be argued. Evidence can be gathered.

That adorable Dorsett Hobby is about to fledge. What a darling.

Nox (Annie and Archie’s 4th hatch that got himself into a bit of mischief has some company).

Tuesday was a special day for our Heidi (aka ‘H’) as she got to Mispillion Harbour. She runs the Mispillion Harbour Osprey Nest FB group and reports on Warren and Della whose platform is at the DuPont Centre.

Richmond and Rosie’s two chicks have now fledged. Pax on July 24th and Tulley on 7 August.

The late Toni Costello and I used to banter back and forth about which were the most beautiful juveniles of the raptors. Her pick was always the White-bellied Sea Eagles. They sure are cute as little bobbleheads, too.

Antali isn’t a little fuzz ball any longer and is getting those wings working towards fledging. Iris is such a proud Mamma.

Antali is one handsome boy with that pure white chest just like Finnegans’.

Iris just looks so proud.

The Dyfi Osprey Project posted a video of Idris delivering a fish and all of the chaos ensuing when the fledglings each want it! It was on the Dyfi Osprey Project FB page. Here are a few screen captures. There is no love lost when it comes to a much wanted fish and fledgling siblings. Reminds me of Ervie, Bazza, and Falkey.

In New Zealand, the Royal Cam chicks were ringed.

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.

Daily summary Friday 9th August 2024

Same as yesterday – except it was some Great Tits and Coal Tits taking advantage of the absence of Ospreys and spending time on Nest One. Nest Two had zero activity again. However, we did get some news and a photo of 1JW in Valencia – he’s doing well and enjoying exploring the Pego Oliva marshland, link below. The rain and wind continued as forecast today, with thundery showers expected overnight changing to light rain showers tomorrow. Both nest cams went down shortly before 21.00 and are still down now (23.45).

Link to 1JW update: https://walkingwithdaddy.com/osprey/?ht-comment-id=15689792

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One ? (04.46.23); Nest Two ? (04.57.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/2PUZSP_N918 N1 A trio of songbirds visit in the absence of any Ospreys 15.57.40

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

Season highlights for the Lodze Bociany Black Storks in Poland.

The trio at Blackbush at Old Tracadie wishing and hoping for fish.

At Charlo, Montana, C16 is really working its wings. Fledge is near. The chick ate all the fish Charlie brought in but lost the tail over the edge – and didn’t share a morsel with Mum Lola.

Two beautiful well-fed osplets at the Newfoundland Power platform in Snow Lane. Mum Hope and Beaumont have done a commendable job this season!

If your pet is treated for fleas and then gets to have a swim in a pond, a river, a stream, or a lake, the toxins in the treatment are killing wildlife.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/09/household-products-killing-insects-wildlife?CMP=share_btn_url

The Storks are on the move, both Black and White -. This Polish stork is already in Egypt.

I promised to include some of the memories that were forgotten with the first listing. Have some more smiles!

‘B’: “hi Mary Ann — Thanks for compiling the wonderful list of birds and nests and events that made us all smile.  There are so many things that have touched the followers of your blog and these nests, and we all clearly share many of the same happy experiences.  If there is one that I kick myself for not remembering it is the SW Florida nest of M15 and his new mate F23 and their eaglet E23.  It was so nice to see life go on for M15 with a wonderful new mate and the lively and joy-inspiring E23.  I apologize to M15 for totally forgetting them when my eagle attention moved on to the midwest and western eagles — it’s inexcusable!

SE31 also definitely makes my list, and I even thought of him, but it was so long ago that I thought the fledge and remaining in the area must have all been before the first of this year..  It brought so much joy to see one of Lady and Dad’s sea eagles be able to stay in the area and remain with parents for a very reasonable amount of time.  I still am sad (and mad) about the chick of several years ago who was euthanized after she had worked so hard to fledge in spite of their injured leg.  I forget the number — SE26 or 25?

And I agree with “L” that pictures and stories of your “girls” — Missey, Hope, Calico, and Hugo Yugo — and your garden visitors always bring a smile.”

‘R’: “Thank you for all the memories today. Sorry I did not get my email to you sooner, my fav was Flaco 🦉🥲❤️ and of course, Iris’s prayers being answered by Finn 💕💞”

‘J’ : “Just read the newsletter and it made me smile, laugh out loud and cry. What a wonderful (can’t think of the correct word, “habit”) to do an “what made you smile” to end the season. 

I thought of two more moments that really made me laugh.

M15, F23 and E23 all down by the pond. E23 flew away, both parents followed him with their heads, then, at the same time, lowered their heads and looked at each other. Precious!

Made me think of when Harriet and M15 were perched next to each other, Harriet looking at E15 from behind M15, and someone captioned it “honey, what are we going to do about our kid?” (that didn’t want to leave).

The other moment was Archie feeding his chick, trying to be all stealthy and then scampering out of there before Annie could have a go at him.

I have more great moments to share:

On the way back from the pond I watched a beautiful (as opposed to mangy and thin, which often is the case in the city) fox.

Unfortunately when I had no camera with me, all four swallow chicks were on the nest, next to each other and all four looking out. So my view were 4 little faces in a row. MELT!

Yesterday just before I left the cemetery, on the bench were I usually take off/pull on my shoes, was a squirrel eating a eh, what’s the word, pine cone? He made rapid work of it. Beautiful bushy tail, he was very small, so I think it was a baby.

I went to a hardware store that also sells garden stuff, and it always makes me smile that birds are flying about inside. But this time I laughed out loud, to see a pigeon stand in front of a sack with bird feed. I have no doubt that he’d managed to open it.”

‘V’: “OMG. I forgot M15 and his new lady! How could that happen?”

A miracle? Is it possible that these are the two osplets from Cowlitz PUD? Thanks, ‘PB’.

No words from ‘H’ this morning. We all remember last year and the intruders at Fortis-Exshaw with Jasper and Banff.

The intruder is now on the perch.

And at Osoyoos!

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

Thank you to everyone who sent a comment, a note, to others for their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘AM, AMW, B, Geemeff, J, H, PR, RP, V’, SK Hideaways, California Raptor Centre, Heidi McGrue, SF Osprey Golden Gate Audubon, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Dyfi Osprey Project, Sharon Dunne, Lady Hawk, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Polish Osprey Cam Highlights, Blackbush at Old Tracerie, Charlo Montana, Newfoundland Power, The Guardian, SOS Tesla-Save the White Storks, Raindancer Wild Bird Rescue, Fortis Exshaw, and Osoyoos Ospreys.

Cobey dies, USU lives!…Friday in Bird World

9 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is with a heavy heart that I write that little Cobey has died. He had convulsions, like we have seen in other chicks, who had restricted access to food. Unfortunately, he was not rescued several days earlier as he arrived at the rehab in critical condition. I wish I knew the argument that the woman made because it was effective in getting some action, just so late for this sweet baby. (Many are upset as Cobey was left in the cold rian overnight and fear that this might have accelerated his demise).

Thursday turned out to be a day for a pot of soup, a sweater, and warm socks. Damp and cool compared to the 32 degrees we had a few days prior. Hugo Yugo was right there helping with the soup – every ingredient except for the carrots came from the garden. It has been a bumper year for herbs, peppers of all varieties, and tomatoes. Even Celery. There is nothing nicer than fresh celery just cut. It could make a celery lover out of anyone! Calico says ‘the secret’ to the soup was the inclusion of finely chopped Jalapeno peppers along with the Persian and Hungarian ones. What a nice broth! But the nicest part was the dessert – Passionfruit Ice Cream. Calico has kindly offered to share her ‘secret’ recipe: 1. Get a nice tub of vanilla ice cream. 2. Use about 4 ripe Passion Fruits for a litre – although we love Passion Fruit and often use more! Slide the fruits in half and scoop out everything from inside. Put in a bowl. 3. Let the ice cream get soft. We put it in a large bowl. 4. Taking a whisk gradually pour in the passion fruit and mix thoroughly. 5. Re-freeze. Calico says you can thank her later. She also says to not worry about those seeds. Leave them in there!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because of the rain, today’s walk was ‘inside’. Some people go to the local malls, a practice that gets into full swing in the winter months. I do not like the bright lights, and the crowds and loud noise cause havoc with those struggling with mental health issues. It’s not the place for someone with dementia, so off it was to The Leaf. I have written about this space before – a huge, wonderfully designed conservatory with a rainforest area, a Meditteranean area, a special exhibit space, and a butterfly garden.

In the beginning I wondered if, after several visits, the gardens would become ‘boring’. Not so. Today many of the plants in the tropical zone had fruit for the first time and some beautiful flowers.

A third visit to the Healing Garden, the special exhibit, did not disappoint either. One of the plants, Sage (often associated with cooking and in particular Sage Browned Butter of Thanksgiving day stuffing) is a plant believed to have the capability to cleanse and purify the mind. It is often used in smudging ceremonies by the Indigenous people of our province to clear out negative energy.

Torch Ginger.

Star Fruit.

Silver Sparkle.

The Koi in the pond were particularly active today. (Apologies for the voices of individuals watching – turn volume down).

Koi Pond, The Leaf, Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 8 August 2024.

Things are not moving forward for non-lead ammunition, but backwards. Can you lend a hand and help all of the raptors that eat carrior – not just Condors but also Eagles, Vultures, and some Corvids?

At 07:34:04, the only surviving osplet on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest fledged!

The fledgling has been on and off the nest and is perfecting that return landing.

In Finland, ‘AM’ brings me what could be sad news of little USU at nest #4. During the night, the osplet toppled off the nest. There is a slight chance it could have gotten to the branches of some trees in the forest. This was the osplet believed to have had the wing injury. Its two older siblings, UPU and URA, taken by the White-tail Eagle. ​​USU had just had a nice meal from Mum and was looking rather well. The time was approximately 20:46. And in joyful tears – USU is alive and the ringers will be there!!!!!!!!!!

Geemeff sends the daily summary from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 8th August 2024

A pair of Coal Tits and a Robin, or possibly two, took advantage of the absence of any Ospreys and spent a little time on Nest One. Nest Two had zero activity again. The rain and wind continued as forecasted, and no change expected overnight or tomorrow. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.18.36 (04.49.42); Nest Two 22.09.31 (04.57.00)

Today’s videos:

 https://youtu.be/P5S76XoQiuE N1 Coal Tits and Robins visiting in the absence of any Ospreys 07.29.42

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

Geemeff sent me this posting giving us an update on Louis and Dorcha’s surviving chick (amongst others). They are all flying. Isn’t this grand!

‘H’ reports:

8/8 – Osoyoos osprey nest:  Well… it seems as though the Osoyoos osprey nest has a ‘Fish Fairy’.  The live stream was down for most of the day.  When it resumed, we were pleasantly surprised to see two good sized partial fish just laying on the nest, and being ignored.  It had apparently been a good fishing day.  At 1423 Olsen arrived with a small partial fish, and since no one was interested, he ate it.  It was unusual for Dad to stay in the nest and eat.  It was even more unusual in that he actually offered Chick 2 a couple of bites.  Chick 2 did eat the morsels Dad offered, but then walked away because s/he was already too full.  Soo had been standing on a large leftover fish, and at 1426 she took that fish off the nest.  I assumed that she would eventually return with a smaller version of it, but at 1529 Soo arrived empty taloned.  At around 1553 Soo fed Chick 2 from the other leftover fish that was in the nest.  Later, at 1742 Soo brought a large partial fish to the nest.  It looked to be the same size and species of fish that she had removed from the nest 3 hours ago.  Chick 1 flew to the nest for supper.  Soo fed a very long meal to her two big juveniles.  So what about that fish fairy?  This story was related to us on the Facebook group:  One of the local viewers, ‘AMW’, visited the nest in the afternoon.  She found a fish lying in the grass below the nest, and had the idea to move the fish onto part of the road that was not accessible to traffic (and, it is not a heavily traveled road, anyway).  ‘AMW’ said she sat very still in her car for a long time.  After the coast was clear, Soo swooped down and picked up that fish and took it to the nest!  It was indeed the fish that Soo flew off with at 1426, and that Soo subsequently fed to her youngsters at 1742.  So, ‘AMW’ is a Fish Fairy (sort of), lol.  Chick 2 spent the night on the nest all alone for the first time.  

Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  As you may know, all three of Dory and Skiff’s chicks were killed by a great horned owl the last two seasons.  The past several weeks, our beloved pair have been busy building another nest… just a little north of the boathouse nest, and over in the pines.  Good for them.  It has given them something to do this summer, and has strengthened their bond.  We don’t know which nest they may use next season.  But, neither nest will provide refuge from the owls.  So sad.”

Lavc58.134.100

The movie trailers are gone form the parking lot and Iris, Finn, Sum-eh and Antali will enjoy a much nicer view.

Waiting for fledge at Charlo. The nest lost two chicks, but if all goes well this one will fledge.

What is there not to love? Two little cutie pies so white and fluffy with those huge black beaks! WBSE 33 and 34 – the ‘apples’ of Lady and Dad’s eyes. Dad is keeping fish on the nest and Lady is busy providing tiny bites every hour.

Full house at Field Farm waiting for a fish delivery.

It appears River fledged from the Sandpoint nest on 8 August around 14:56. Had a short flight, returned, and did a few others.

The oldest Black Stork at 21 years! That gives you a moment to have a huge smile. Thank you ‘TU’ for the notification and the translation! I am simply over joyed.

Hortobágy National Park Directorate 9 h. · Methuselah is still alive! Although it has been quite stormy… 🕵️‍♂️ We finally got the world’s oldest black stork! It’s hard to believe, but the bird is already 2️⃣1️⃣ years old, which means that it is the leader of the species, we are not aware of such an old, ringed black stork. 🔖 The bird was tagged by Béla Kalocsa in Hercegszántó in 2003, while it was still a chick, and the plastic tag that can be read from afar has provided a lot of information about the stork since then. The number 5082 has already been read 11 times – once in Israel. ⚠️ The fact that it has been going back for so long is also the success of practical nature conservation. ☝️ If it returns next year, we will give the bird a name, which is unusual in nature conservation. Let’s hope that we can do it and then we can not only refer to the iconic black stork as 5082! ️ ️ What difficulties do you have to face year after year? Why is it important to protect its habitat and breeding habitat? More information can be found on our website: https://www.hnp.hu/…/termeszet…/1946/meg-el-a-matuzsalem🖋 Gábor Nagy 📸 Gábor Nagy and Ákos Monoki Nature Protection Guard Service

I want to give a shout out to an individual in Osoyoos, British Columbia. Soo dropped a fish from the nest. ‘AMW’ picked it up and placed it in a safe place for Soo to grab not knowing if Soo would try to get the fish or not. Soo did grab that fish and flew away with it returning to the nest to two screaming chicks. I wish more people would stop and see a fish at a bottom of a nest and place it so the adults could get it. And if anyone says that ospreys only eat freshly caught fish, they are ‘dead’ wrong. Thanks ‘AMW’ for this wonderful gesture and also for taking Little to your own garden and burying the wee one that was loved so much. I am in tears.

No sightings and no news of Blue who fledged two days ago from the HWF-BBCentral nest in Boundary Bay. As CG says, “We’re all blue—no Blue​ today.  No mention of parents seen on the cams either.”

Mum might have been hoping for a fish but it looks like Dad found her a dead bird. Perhaps he wants to make a feather bed? If you want to guess on the day of the first egg at Port Lincoln, be sure to put it in a comment on chat.

At Orange, Diamond has been sleeping on the Cilla stones. Wonder how long til we have eggs here? Two and a half, three weeks?

Bonding with Xavier before dawn.

A sad story with a golden lining about Mother Goose:


https://www.facebook.com/share/v/udgbWD4WNmRjEBa4/

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, summaries, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AM, AMW, CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, Colonial Beach, Destination Winnipeg, Ventana Wildlife Society, MN-LA Ospreys, Saaksilvie 4, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, David Warrington, Osoyoos, Audubon Boathouse, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Olympic Park Eagles, Field Farm, Sandpoint Ospreys, PLO, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

Miraculous moments that made us smile…2023-24 Season

Good Morning Everyone,

Some of our morning updates before we get to what is the real thrust of today’s news: SE33 has hatched at the Olympic Park Sea Eagle nest in Sydney. Congratulations Lady and Dad. What a beautiful strong little eaglet!

‘A’ remarks: “August 7 (Afternoon) After another shift for Lady, Dad was on incubation duties again for nearly an hour, though he left quickly when she returned. She then fed the chick again, with gentle, tiny bites offered, before settling again. She is restless, as you would expect with a chick and a pipping egg. Just before 2pm, Lady ate a little of the stored fish, and although she tried to feed the chick, she gave up because it was facing the wrong way. Shortly afterwards, she tried again and this time, SE33 ate a little. The pip on the second egg is more raised now. At 14:51, Dad brooded again, then went to the pantry but didn’t feed the chick. Lady was back after a 15-minute break. She was on the nest from just after 4pm, after a last short feed for SE33. Dad brought in a late fish at dark, and Lady ate a little before settling. She has spent longer on the nest today, though Dad has had a couple of shifts. He brought prey, and SE33 was fed four times. What will this night bring? Last season, the eggs hatched 32 hours and 46 minutes apart.”

‘H’ reports:

8/6 Osoyoos osprey nest:  I had a busy day, so when I got home, I primarily rewound the stream to check for a possible fledge for Chick 2.  S/he did not fledge today.  And, when Chick 2 did his wingercizing, he was still only achieving what seemed to be a few inches of lift off the nest (cam view can be deceiving).  A person very experienced with ospreys stated on a chat a few weeks ago, that ospreys typically need to do wingers and hovers for 10 days to build up their muscles for flight readiness.  I’m not an expert, just a nest cam watcher… but, I have seen ospreys suddenly have the ability to perform some nice hovers, and then fledge in a day or two.  Side note:  Little died from starvation on 7/15, and his body has remained in the nest.  This afternoon, a strong gust of wind lifted Little’s body and swept it off the nest.  ‘AMW’, a very kind and caring viewer that lives nearby, drove to the nest to recover Little’s remains.  She posted in the Facebook group:  “Little is now buried in my yard … and I will plant a flowering annual plant in Little’s memory.”  Thank you, ‘AMW’, from all of us.

8/6 – 8/7  Colonial Beach osprey nest: Cobey was awake early and at 0630 he picked up the old piece of fish and managed to pull off some pieces of fish-jerky.  He worked on it now and again, and by 0800 he was still trying.  David did not bring a fish for Cobey until 1348.  It was a large whole fish.  At the very young age of 43 days, Cobey has become quite the self-feeder by necessity.  Cobey had managed to eat the head of that fish before there was an intruder issue.  At 1415 David landed in the nest first, and it seemed that David may have been tangling with the intruder nearby.  The intruder landed in the nest immediately after David, and stole the fish, despite David being on the nest.  Oh no, no, no!  Poor lil Cobey’s only meal of the day was gone!  David did not bring another fish.  

The nest owner, host of the live stream, is a very caring and avid osprey conservationist.  She and others monitor many osprey nests in the Colonial Beach area.  She stated that they are finding many dead ospreys, on the ground or in nests.  It is thought that not only was fishing difficult when it was very hot, but that there may in fact be a shortage of fish for the ospreys to catch.  Some ospreys are having to resort to kleptoparasitism to survive, or to feed their young.  

Cobey’s mom, Betty, will have been missing for 4 days on the morning of 8/7.  The cam owner provided a statement regarding a possible rescue of Cobey.  “The VA DWR recommends that nothing be done at this time… we will continually monitor the nest, things may change.”  Please note that the cam owner’s hands are tied, and she must follow the advice of the regulating authorities.  Some comments on the chat were hurtful to her.  Go easy on the chat.  The cam owner is hurting as much, if not more, than you are.   Colonial Beach weather forecast for 8/7:  Cloudy with showers, risk of thunder storms, high temp 81.

8/6 Fortis Exshaw:  There was a fledge today.  It appeared to be the same chick that was doing the high hovering yesterday.  We missed seeing them for about 3 weeks when the cam was dirty, and we still do not have a completely clear view.  As a result, we were never able to learn how to differentiate the siblings.  We know that the oldest chick in a brood does not always fledge first, but I suppose we will simply assume that’s the one that flew.  The eldest chick was named BJ, and BJ initially seemed to only go as far as the camera at 0803, then returned to the nest at 0834.  But, BJ made a true fledge at 0927.  S/he made a nice landing on the T-perch at 1536, followed by a return to the nest at 1538.  Well done, new fledgling!

‘CG’: “Blue branched this morning, and between the time she branched and the time she fledged, she was doing  wingers, hopping, getting some good height, and went from the nest to the branch a number of times.  She went to the back of the nest and totally surprised everyone at 1557 hours by fledging from the back north corner of the nest by the screen.  One minute she was there then she was gone.  She is 100 days old today.

They have been looking for her but haven’t been able to locate her on the cams.  There is a ground crew out looking for her too.

Aug6-Fledge2.jpg

Congratulations Blue!  Way to go!!”

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

Daily summary Tuesday 6th August 2024

No activity at all on Nest Two, today’s action all came from Nest One, where Affric 152 turned up at dawn quickly followed by Garry LV0. However the pair fled the nest when a third Osprey appeared in the distance – Affric’s mate Prince, perhaps. Garry returned a little later with a stick but didn’t stay long. A few hours later birds were seen in the distance on nest cam and a Wood Pigeon overflew the nest. It rained pretty much throughout the day, and more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.23.05 (04.07.43); Nest Two 22.22.22 (04.27.15)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/jMtQ4kDsEIE N1 Garry LV0 follows Affric 152 before a third Osprey makes them flee 05.15.16

https://youtu.be/bzEL4MZcwk0 N1 Garry LV0 returns with a stick 05.52.29

https://youtu.be/FzFbWLsw1xI N1 Various little birds on, over or near the nest 08.33.40

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

Thank you so much for sending in the moments during the 2023-24 season that put a smile on your face. I really appreciate the time and thoughtful regard that you put into your choices and for sending them in. Most people will hesitate. Why do we think our voice doesn’t count? I hope that there are some surprises in here. I received 79 e-mails with the single word Iris along with what is posted below. So if you sent one of those in and I did not include your initials, my apologies. Just know that you counted in making Iris and her year with Finnegan, Sun-eh and Antali the top of the charts by a long mile. Also I didn’t ask for images but have included them if you sent them in!

‘MM’: “After a season filled with heartbreak after heartbreak it has made the happy moments even sweeter! One happy moment that happened early on in the season was when Beau finally figured out how to mate with Gabby and she was able to lay two eggs, unfortunately Beau got the mating mastered but that’s where the happiness ended, hopefully next season he’ll be ready. 

Another happy moment was the successful fledge of two healthy osprey chicks from Port Lincoln thanks to the fish fairy and the generosity of so many who donated. The two happiest moments of the season for me are tied for first place. I was beyond thrilled when the season started in SWFL and M15 had taken F23 as his new mate after the loss of our beloved Harriet last session. The season got even happier with the hatch of the incredible E23 💜 And of course the other happy moment at #1 is sweet Iris finally getting sweep off her talons by the handsome Finn and their two amazing chicks 💙 ❤️ Thank you for the opportunity to reflect on the good after dealing with so much bad. Praying next season will be filled with many happy moments .”

‘H’: “As I understand it, you are asking for happy stories.  Well, this makes me happy. This may sound strange.  But, I am happy for Darling at Captiva.  Darling fledged on 6/26 at 63 days of age.  His post-fledge life was not easy.  There was competition for the nest and food from his sibling, Ding.  In addition, both of his parents may possibly have had issues with their health, and they stopped bringing food to the nest.  Darling had not eaten for 3 days when he ended up in the water and was rescued and taken to CROW on 7/4.  He passed away at CROW that night.  We don’t know why things turned out the way they did, and we will never understand it.  I wish it had not turned out that way.  So, why does this make me happy?  It doesn’t.  The part that makes me happy is that Darling flew.  I think of all the ‘littles’ we have known that died from nest accidents, or weather events, or starvation, or illness, or predation, and they never got a chance to fly.  Darling was able to experience the sheer joy and exuberance of flying.  And, I am so happy for him.”

‘SP’: Amongst all the turmoil of this year, there were more golden moments and miracles to celebrate. (Photos below in order of the list)

  • Cal Falcons Annie & her new mate Archie fledged four beautiful falcon chicks in Berkeley. This was the first time since Annie’s been a YouTube star that all 4 of her eggs hatched. We were entertained, enamored and completely enthralled with Aurora, Solstice, Eclipse, and Equinox.
  • San Jose City Hall couple Hartley & second year dad Monty also fledged four beautiful falcon chicks – all girls. Though we lost one, we enjoyed weeks of the girl power brought by Luna (RIP), Zoe, Lucia, and Alma.
  • Southwest Florida M15 and his new mate F23 fledged the ever-endearing E23, further mending the holes in our hearts left by the disappearance of Harriet the previous year. F23 proved to be a most nurturing and loving mother, while M15 continued his legacy of being provider extraordinaire.  E23 was such a character and embraced being an only child with gusto. He proved to be an excellent flyer and at one point a protector of his natal nest. 

Oh, thank you for the opportunity to revisit these wonderful moments!”

Cal Falcons.

San Jose.

SW Florida:

‘B’ writes: Too many sad stories, but always some nice ones, too.  I liked how you said you think of all the miracles we have seen, to help offset the sadness of the sad stories.  I had meant to write you a couple of weeks ago how I followed a similar strategy to help offset the sadness.  I had a lower threshold than you, just thinking of the things that make me smile, rather than holding out for “miracles”.  But my number one was the same as yours: the arrival of Finnegan, so that Iris has a real and proper (and wonderful) mate for the first time in years.  Enough of that two-timing Louis!

In fact, two more of the top things that made me smile were also from Hellgate: the wonderful job Iris does as a mom when having chicks for the first time in years.  Especially protecting those chicks in that awful heat.  I swear, if “Mumbrella” were an Olympic event, Iris would be a medal winner.  And the other is how peaceful and calm those osplets are when there started with such a huge difference in size. Part has to be what a great provider Finn is, and also how diligent Iris is in making sure each chick is served well.  Gosh, the larger of the two would just stand and watch patiently if Little was served first, knowing his/her turn would come.

Also, Tuffy’s story always made me smile (even if hard to watch in earlier days), seeing him do what he needed to do to make it to being a beautiful and healthy fledgling in spite of the “Ruff” treatment from Ruffie.

And I couldn’t help but smile whenever I checked in on the Decorah eaglets after their nest (and branch) fell away, to see them happily perched on branches, as if to say, “we don’t need no stinkin’ nest, so long as we got our branch and our parents!”

In spite of all their hard luck getting a hatch, one can never help but smile to see Jackie and Shadow together.  I have to hope for another Spirit next year.

And wonderful to see both Annie and Archie at Cal and Hartley and Monty at San Jose have four healthy hatches make it to fledge, even with the sadness of losing Luna at San Jose and the injury to Nox in Berkeley.  I was so worried, especially for San Jose, what with the tough urban environment and seeing Lucia get rescued from the sidewalk and taking the elevator back to the roof twice before successfully fledging. 

There’s more, but these are some of the stories that make me smile.  (And, oh yes, of course there is Treasure and her siblings, also treasures.)”

CG: “My first thought was Tuffy.  I watched this nest with trepidation. Tuffy was the underdog.  How many times did we think he wouldn’t make it.  He was so endearing, and I loved his sneakiness to try to get food.  He never gave up.  You always talk about the will to survive, and boy, his little body was bursting with it.  The last time I saw him was just before they shut the cam down, and he was proudly standing on his nest.

Iris and Finnegan.  I knew nothing about her until you talked about her.  Finnegan came along and showed Louis the door.  He has been a wonderful mate and provider for Iris and their osplets, and Iris has been a wonderful mum feeding and protecting her little ones the way she does.  Just look at how they have turned out under their care.  They look so healthy, and Big has been a wonderful big sib being so patient with his little sibling except for the one time little sib got uppity and boldly attacked big sib.  That won’t be happening again!  This has been a wonderful osprey nest to watch.

I could not fail to mention my peregrines Annie and Archie and Hartley and Monty, each pair with four chicks this year.  Hartley and Monty went from newbies with one feisty Soledad last year to FOUR this year.  What a jump!  They handled it all with finesse.  No nonsense Annie always handles her chicks with finesse, and her new mate Archie was a great provider and dad.  Peregrines are a wonder and miracle every year.  I wish all nests could be as calming as theirs with equal feedings, no shortage of food, no predators, and lots of chick shenanigans. “

‘BHA’: My smile of the year has to be Iris, Finnegan and family. (Along with you and probably everyone else.)  What a miracle nest this year!!

Also, the San Jose falcons. The antics and shenanigans of the four girls were priceless! (Of course with a bit of sadness that we lost one of them…)

‘PB’: The bird that made me smile is Smallie. He was such a fighter especially how small he was up against 3 big sisters. I’m still sad about it. O18 became my favorite osprey, she was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Her personality matched her beauty. I miss her too! It’s making me cry thinking of them. But before them was a tie between Tuffy and Tiny D. They will all be in my memory forever.

‘J’ loves the Tortilla Bird. ” The photo of that tiny little babe in the tortilla just melts my heart (the feet! the feet!). That someone thought of wrapping it in a warm tortilla to keep it from getting cold is just brilliant – and hilarious at the same time. “

A Family Saved a Baby Bird With a Warm Tortilla. Its name? Taquito.Download

Geemeff: “But just want to say the names chosen for Iris & Finn’s miracle chicks are lovely and very suitable. In a season of sadness, they and the Poole Harbour Four have been some comfort. Iris’ success after so may years of being bullied by her ex, together with the unexpected success of saving one of Louis & Dorcha’s chicks to the point of successfully fledging, are my favourites of this season.”

‘TU’: My favourite article for a good mood is the one in The Guardian about the bird of New Caledonia. I loved it from the first sight.

Much cagou about something: New Caledonia’s favourite bird thriving after conservation push | New CaDownload

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/02/new-caledonia-cagou-bird-conservation

‘L’: Iris finding Finnegan or vice versa.  A wonderful memorable miracle. This nest brings pure joy! Iris is the best osprey mom I’ve ever had the privilege to watch and Finnegan is a precious gem. 

Blue is amazing at the Boundary Nest. I think he’s a miracle for surviving erratic food deliveries. 

The rescue of Rutland’s Little Bob. Golden moment. 

The Purple Martins in Erie PA. All 5 fledged. Enjoyable to watch.

McEuen Park. One, out of 4, that survived to fledge after losing father. 

Eagle Country-Tears for Meadow but Swampy lived and fledged. 

Thunder, Akecheta and their 3 beautiful eaglets! Koa, Treasure & Sterling. A delight to watch. A stress free nest. 

Cowlitz PUD- happiness, a survivor golden moment. 

Osoyoos, losing Little which was sad enough. Thankful two will fledge. Happiness and a miracle in my book. 

Little Miami Conservancy-All 3 eaglets fledged! Happiness. 

Southwest Florida Eagles-One hatch, smart and accelerated in growth. An amazing first eaglet for M15 & F23. 

BONUS!!!! Pure joy. 

Challenger surviving his health issues. 

Hugo Yugo, Calico, Hope & Missey and all the birds and squirrels that visit your garden. 

(I could go on and on. So many more miracles and golden moments….The 2 miracle eaglets that definitely would have made my list were unfortunately killed by father Scout at the NCTC nest.)”

‘BA’: “The first time Lucia accidentally fell from the nest area and had to be rescued. First lots of worry about her, and then the smile moment when she was released on the rooftop. And then the chuckle: later watching SKHideaway’s video of it all. Lucia was just out of the box, looking around wide-eyed at all the contraptions and weird stuff, and SKH’s caption said, “She thinks she’s in Disneyland!” That cracked me up. It was such a tense moment, worrying about how frightened Lucia might be,  and somehow we knew then she was going to be okay. (And then a couple of days later when she made it back down to the nest area and was reunited with her sisters – that was also a big smile moment.)”

LL: “Anything to do with Iris and Finn”.

JT: “The hatch of E23.”

PM: “Iris, Iris, Iris…West End nest. Those three eaglets were remarkable.”

‘A’: “Just before 09:32, there is a lot of thunder at Hellgate and Iris immediately flies to the nest. The rain really sets in, and Iris opens her roller doors and does her perfect mumbrella, managing to keep two fully grown osplets perfectly dry in the heavy downpour. What a mum she really is. Sumeh is the sweetest big sister ever, and little bro is adorable and such a feisty wee lad. This nest has been such a joy to watch. I could not have imagined enjoying watching a big sister/little brother osprey nest without a moment of stress or worry, but then along came Finnegan.” 

I am with you – Iris has put everything into this season, and it may be costly. But it may also give her a reason to return no matter what it takes, as she now has Finnegan waiting for her. These two have bonded strongly and I am really hopeful that the strength of their relationship will give Iris what she needs to make it home again. She truly has been the most wonderful mother. What a waste – Louis truly is a cad. 

BT: “Too numerous. 1. Fish Fairies at Port Lincoln. 2. Finnegan ousting Louis and winning Iris’s heart. 3. Annie and Archie raise four little falcons. Jackie and Shadow because they just make me smile all the time.”

RW: “The Fabulous Four at Poole Harbour ties with Iris and Finn.”

CB: “SE31 fledges and spends time with Lady and Dad on the Paramatta River learning to be an eagle. Iris and Finnegan because I never thought Iris would ever raise chicks again. The eagles at Decorah North because they survived so much and continued to be a family at their nest tree even when it had fallen over.”

CD: “I loved Smallie. The wee little falcon longed to live and it did get to fly.”

DDS:

  • Iris and Finnegan. Never thought this would happen.
  • Jackie and Shadow and their sticks and hopefulness.
  • M15 gets another chance to be a Dad.
  • They didn’t raise a family but seeing Gabby and Beau together made me smile.
  • The rehabbers that help.
  • The small Dutch falcon that died but got to fly.
  • The people who dared to provide fish to the osprey chicks at the barge in Australia.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to those who didn’t but sat and thought about what made them smile this year!

My list in a bit of a narrative and in no certain order:

The day I learned that Bonus was alive, I cried. Knowing that both Black Storks Waba and Bonus, raised by Karl II, are still flying gives me hope that there are others, too. I continue to be ever grateful for the work of Urmas in Estonia and his team in providing fish for the storks, ringing them, and checking on their well-being. It makes me smile to see the fish baskets that he sets up and fills to keep the storks alive. I wish that more people would engage with wildlife positively and constructively. I am grateful to the Roy Dennis Foundation and the Woodland Trust for removing the two chicks of Louis and Dorcha for translocation. Louis was not himself, and while I had an enormous smile when he reappeared after so many days, he needed to get his strength up, so it still felt like a good win-win. But knowing dear Louis is alive is a huge grin and a happy moment. The fish fairies at Port Lincoln took a stand and saved the osplets of Mum and Dad at the barge and I will forever think that this was a miracle that saved the chicks lives. Didn’t you just grin seeing the hand lay the fish on that nest? Whenever I checked on the nest at Poole Harbour, I smiled at the absolute dedication and great parenting of CJ7 and Blue 022. I remember the year they were courting, and it didn’t seem possible that CJ7 would get a mate, and now, to the astonishment of all, in their third year together, they successfully raised four to fledge. The California falcons will always make me smile: Larry at Alcatraz, Annie and Archie, and Monty and Hartley. Incredible families and, oh, our dear little ones that got themselves into some mischief, including Nox, who is recovering. That photo of him with his wing wrapped was lovely. I was happy when Smallie could come and go in and out of the scrape and got to fly and feel the wind under its wings despite its subsequent death. Big Red always puts a smile on my face as does Arthur when he lines the nest bowl with squirrel fur. They love being parents. And this year, because of the year that it was, I am grateful and smile whenever I see one of the nests have a fledge because they are just that much rarer. So many bird families lost so many of their offspring this year. To the delight and relief of many, Hope and Beaumont look like they will fledge two chicks this year from Snow Lane in Newfoundland – the first for many, many years. The Moorings Park nest just melted my heart when Tuffy overcame the abuse of the older sibling, Ruffie, and survive to become a gorgeous osplet that returned time and again to the nest so we could see that he was alright. What made me mad and also sick at times was the Frenchman’s Creek nest with fish after fish piled up and the poor osplets having to learn to feed themselves to survive – not from starvation but lack of parental attention. They triumphed, and somehow, the nasty fish disappeared. That made me smile big time. There were so many moments. Seeing SE31 flying over the Paramatta River with Lady and Dad, free of the harassment of the Pied Currawong, was simply one of the best moments ever, along with Flaco, the Eurasian Owl, who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and flew freely for a year. Perhaps I have said it more than once, but the resilience of Jackie and Shadow makes me smile every day.

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

The ultimate smile was Iris and Finnegan, though. I never thought I would see Iris raising chicks. Louis drove me nuts, and to see a young male osprey keep Louis on the other side of the territory made me grin every day, especially when Finn chased Louis off the owl pole. Iris is simply amazing. She is old (I have great empathy for her), raising chicks in that heat, and now Sum-eh has fledged. I also smile whenever I get a note or a letter from you. It makes my day, along with my garden animals, my family, and the girls, that much better. Thank you for being there.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their memories and for the images and videos thank you to ‘A, CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, NestFlix Memories, Osoyoos, Fortis-Exshaw, Colonial Beach, Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal, HWF-BBCentral, Heidi and Windows to Wildlife, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways for the images of the falcon families from San Jose, Cal Falcons, and SWFlorida Bald Eagles, Wildwest Rehabilitation Centre, Texas Monthly, SK Hideaways, and The Guardian.

Wednesday in Bird World

31 July 2024

Good Morning,

Tomorrow is the first of August! The summer is absolutely flying by. Today’s report from my end – not those great folks that send me news on specific nests they are monitoring – is a bit brief. I spent a lovely afternoon in the park yesterday despite the 31 C heat. There was a lovely breeze and it was simply wonderful to hear the sounds of children’s voices splashing in a pool. A grandfather and his two grandchildren asked to share my picnic table. The children were so cute. One asked if I would like one of their ‘Bear Paws’ – a soft chocolate cookie. Yummy.

The correct cable arrived and now we can have some images of the garden friends from the better camera.

Is this just the most gorgeous Crow? I am finally beginning to be able to tell the new babies – not baby size – by their shape and personalities.

Its sibling was down on the top of the Weeping Caragana.

One of the siblings is very ‘tall and thin’ compared to the others.

They seem to have very different personalities, too. Gosh, they are wonderful. As are the Blue Jays!

There are six baby Blue Jays. Three were on the big tray feeder.

One wasn’t sure it would like beets and rice as much as the Crows!

The other two were on the deck amidst the seeds and sparrows.

There are hundreds of lively sparrows everywhere.

The squirrels habe been busy both Dyson kits and the Reds.

‘J’ wrote to ask me if the Tortilla Bird counts for happy moments. Yes, every bird counts! Every one of them. Put them on your happiness list. They don’t need to be on streaming cams.

Yesterday, a question from another reader : “So where is the food? Why aren’t the parents delivering food like we have seen on other nests? I wish that the there was a forum that would discuss this.” should have appeared at the top of CG’s report on Blue at HWF-BBCentral as a lead into their story. It remains unclear to me how this worked its way into that report! ‘CG’ certainly knows there is a forum. Apologies all around for any confusion or angst.

Here is CG’s report for Blue for 30 July (Thanks, CG):

Blue started the day by being a wet bird.  Rain had been forecast for today.

She started out by working on some old food and came back to it about 4 hours later.  She spent her day doing eaglet things like wingercising a number of times, stretching, preening, standing around, and poking around.

Blue looking pretty sleek here.  It was around 1200 hours and she was surveying the scene and preening on and off.

Screenshot 2024-07-30 at 12.53.24 PM.jpg

Looks like getting some height here with her wingercising.

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Food delivery by parent around 1630 hours.  Blue, by the way, is good at mantling.  

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Half an hour later, another food delivery.  One of the larger deliveries.  She left only a small piece. 

July30-Adult5.jpg

At about 2000 hours, she was lying on the nest.  I left her looking out over the countryside at 2117 hours.

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Weather forecast for Delta for the rest of the week.  I have come to appreciate cams that show the weather in a corner.

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Geemeff brings us some really good news from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust (Thanks, Geemeff):

Daily summary Tuesday 30th July 2024

The highlight of today was the welcome return of Louis, last seen on the 25th. He spent over two hours on Nest Two, perching on Dorcha’s perch then flying down to do some nest cupping, before departing. Nest Two had another visitor – Affric 152 made a surprise visit, just a brief touchdown really before flying off again. No sign of Dorcha, last seen on the 27th, or Garry LV0, last seen yesterday. No visitors to Nest One although a Wood Pigeon did a fast flypast caught on nest cam. Itziar Colodro from Fundación Migres gave us an update on 1JW and safety measures in the translocation area, see bonus section. The weather was settled, tonight’s forecast is a pleasant partly cloudy with a gentle breeze and a low of 9°c, and tomorrow promises to be dry and sunny with a high of 19°c.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.54.55 (04.12.32); Nest Two 22.52.04 (04.27.02)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/04rKdVyEFzc  N1 Which grey bird does a fast flypast? 07.40.03 (slo-mo repeat with zoom)

https://youtu.be/CzIH1toDNCU  N2 Affric pays a quick visit 10.56.22 (slo-mo repeat with zoom)

https://youtu.be/PWlcQcKRdf8 N2 Louis arrives! Great to see him after a few days absence 11.06.50

https://youtu.be/QprHdPaZKDw N2 Louis returns for a second, much longer visit 11.31.18 (zoom)

Bonus info on safety measures for Ospreys in the Spanish translocation area, and update on 1JW (thanks Itzy):

Update on 1JW:

I have received lovely updates from Itziar Colodro about our surviving chick 1JW. She works for the Fundación Migres but has a much earlier connection to Loch Arkaig – a chick from a nest on private land, ringed JH3 in 2017 and named Pean (‘cousin’ if you like to our first Arkaig chick from new pair Aila & Louis, ringed JH4 and named Lachlan), didn’t migrate very far and took up residence in her area in Spain. There were a lot of photographers in that area and he became quite famous until sadly he was electrocuted on a faulty power line in 2018. Itzy was instrumental in getting the utility companies to act to ensure the safety of the birds.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-46952452

After Itzy posted on Adam’s site Walking With Daddy / Osprey, I mentioned her work with the utility companies after the loss of JH3, and got this response:

Your words have really moved me🥹, because I have not forgotten JH3 either, that wonderful animal did not deserve that ending. Thanks to him, hundreds of electrical towers were corrected and are now safe for all birds of prey. In fact, we have built a nest for Ospreys since the entire power line was gone. Now it’s a very good and safe place for Ospreys.

Updating: 1JW is adapting great to the environment. It is an honor to be able to take care of him (and his brother 1JR). Loch Arkaig has meant a lot to me for many years you know. I hope I will soon visit that area, where I feel united with all my heart since many year ago. Thanks to you and your support and effort for the conservation of this wonderful species🦅🫂

https://walkingwithdaddy.com/osprey/?ht-comment-id=15511015  (click on ‘see parent comment’ and you can read the whole thread)

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’ brings us up to date on a few of the nests she is monitoring (Thanks, H):

7/31 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  The camera view became partially obscured about two weeks ago from PS (forceful elimination) from the chicks, and our view has been almost totally obscured for the last week.  The camera is positioned low, and it has a history of being hit with PS.  Last year we got lucky, and Banff’s and JJ’s aim was off, and they couldn’t manage to hit the camera!  The chicks are 49, 47, and 45 days old.  Occasionally a chatter will remark that they think they see some wingers being performed, or we can listen for screaming and watch for moving shadows indicating that a fish may have arrived at the nest.  Prior to the camera becoming soiled, we knew that family life was going very well.  There were plenty of fish being brought to the nest, mainly from Harvie, but some from Louise as well.  There had not been a lot of sibling rivalry and aggression, and the chicks all looked very healthy.  A chatter that lives nearby has visited the nest a couple of times, and reports seeing the heads of two chicks each time she has visited.  Should we be worried that only two have been seen?  Or is it just the limited view when our BOG has been there?  The BOG spotter has not been able to get a good elevated view of the nest due to restricted areas nearby.  There have been reports that river and lake levels are low in Alberta, due to a significantly reduced snowpack last winter, and because of the heat and drought this summer.  Is it possible that Harvie and Louise have not been able to catch enough fish to support three growing chicks?  We simply do not know.  The chicks are approaching an age where they will be ready to fledge soon.  Pray for rain to help relieve the drought and clean the camera !!!

7/30 Captiva osprey nest:  Even though live streaming from the camera has ended for the season, the Mods and others continue to have viewing access.  Yesterday Ann P. reported seeing Jack at the nest.  He still has the ‘spike’ going through the skin of his left leg, but he is alive and looks well.  Jack was a phenomenal mate and dad this season.  We are thrilled to see him.  Photo courtesy Ann P.  NOTE – FOR SOME REASON THE IMAGE WILL NOT ‘STAY’ ON THIS PROGRAMME. IT KEEPS DISAPPEARING.

7/30  Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  Mom stopped at the nest for just a few seconds.  We had not seen her since 7/18, the day before the cam went down for 5 days. 

7/30 Osoyoos osprey nest:  We had a short viewing day, as the cam went offline at 1215.  Olsen brought the first fish at 0536, and he just so happened to drop it right at Middle’s feet.  Middle strongly mantled over his/her prize and probably could not believe his good fortune.  Big did not make a strong bid to take the fish from Middle.  Middle ate for 20 minutes before s/he relinquished the fish to Big.  Dad dropped off another fish at 0557.  Big abandoned the fish she was eating to join in on the feeding from Soo.  Both siblings were fed during that 10-minute meal, and then Big resumed eating her earlier fish. 

‘PB’ brings us up to date on what is going on at The Port of Ridgefield (Thanks, PB).

‘PB’ also caught two of the fledglings on the Steelscape nest that has been so harassed. Hoping to see the fledgling with the injuries.

‘PB’s other report is that the McEuen female was feeding her hick with a male at the nest. The male has been missing for over a month and during that time three of the four chicks died from starvation. Is this the mate of the female or another male? It is unclear.

Good news coming out of Steelscape.

I remain so excited for the two osplets growing up in Latvia. They are not quite ready to fledge, but the two osplets on the Latvian nest in the Kurzema Forest are doing splendidly. It is believed there are approximately 200 osprey couples breeding in the forests of this beautiful country.

Gorgeous fledgling at the Mlade Buky nest of Bety and Bukacek.

Snow Lane, Newfoundland. Hope and Beaumont. Incredible season with this family. I never thought it would happen – checking on Hope and finding her often feed her chicks. Amazing, in fact.

It is raining at Hellgate Canyon. Iris and her two osplets look beautiful even soaking wet. Iris and her family are not out of the woods from the heat. It is going to return but they have ‘made it’ through several weeks of scorching weather and a huge storm and they have survived. It is at the top of my happiness list for sure. The image below is, to me, simply a miracle. I never thought I would live to see Iris raise a family again. But it happened. Miracles do happen.

Finnegan is working hard for his family!

That is a gorgeous osplet at Charlo, too. What is their weather going to be like? Ah, the same as Iris! A bit cooler and then gradually getting hotter.

It has been raining on the only chick at Dunrovin Ranch, too.

At Collins Marsh in Wisconsin, there are three well-fed, healthy, fully feathered osplets wanting to fly and they are going to do it any day now!

Family portrait at Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum. That chick is like the ones at Collins Marsh – ready and wanting to fly.

A fledgling with a fish meal and a Hooded Crow hoping for some leftovers at the German nest, BUND Goitzsche-Wildnis.

Marder’s Osprey Platform on Long Island has a chick that wants to fledge, too. It likes to still be fed, too.

At Manton Bay, Blue 33 has been bringing fish to the nest and sometimes Maya is there or flies in to grab them. Sometimes the fledgling is there. Nice to know that all three are still in the area.

It was a sad year for the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland. To be sure, though, we were blessed and so was Blue NCO, that the eggs did not hatch before Laddlie LM12 was killed. She has been at the nest with the dark osprey male. We will have to wait and see what transpires next March – but it looks like Blue NCO has, for now, held on to her beautiful nest.

Waiting for fish at Llyn Brenig!

Idris has been working over time at the Dyfi Osprey Platform feeding his chicks. He brought four fish to the nest in less than an hour.

You might be used to the Bald Eagles cutting back on prey but the osprey parents will keep this food coming so that the chicks can bulk up for migration. They are not yet fishing. Indeed, many will only catch their first fish while they are travelling south to their winter grounds. The parents, mostly the male, will work hard to get them in top shape for this journey. Then the male will remain for a few days to get strong, too (sometimes not – they leave right about the time of the kids) while Mum left earlier.

Well, if this doesn’t make your heart race!!!!!!!! We should never count the ospreys ‘out’. We might not ‘see’ them but this doesn’t mean they have met their demise. This is a great story.

‘J’ sent me the following image of the Centreport Eagles. It comes from the Bald Eagles 101 FB page she notes (Thanks, J).

It looks like theya re trying to take every last fish that an osprey could eat in Chesapeake Bay. This makes me so angry. If you take Omega supplements, or eat farmed/battery chickens or farmed salmon – that is where these fish so vital to our ospreys – are going!

It is your last day to vote on the names for Iris and Finnegan’s kids. Go to the Montana Osprey Cams FB and click on the image. Please vote.

And ‘J’ sends us the latest update on NOX:

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

Thank you to the following for their observations, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, CG and HWF-BBCentral cam and Forum, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, H and Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, and Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Pam Breci and Port of Ridgefield, Steelscape, and McEuen Park, LDF, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, Newfoundland Power, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cams, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Collins Marsh, MA-LN, Goitzsche-Wildnis, Marder’s, LRWTm The Scottish Wildlife Trust and LOTL, Llyn Brenig, Dyfi Osprey Project, Faye Hill, and J and Centrepoint Eagles,Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, and The California Raptor Centre.

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.

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.

2 kg female osplet ringed in Wales…Tuesday in Bird World

25 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

‘The Girls’ and I are sitting in the conservatory despite the high temperature. It is 29 C. We have gotten hotter in the summers, but everything feels strange – like a big storm coming. The trees are twirling around and the clouds are moving quickly covering up the sun and yet, there is no prediction of anything happening. Cold water has been put out for the birds and more food for the Corvids as they are feeding babies and fledglings are coming to the garden now. I hope to get some good images of them one day.

I am not complaining. I understand from ‘MM’ that it is 96 F with a heat index of 101 in North Carolina. This is why all those osprey babies (and eagles) should hatch in the winter. So much better!

The garden is a shady paradise in the lilacs and the tunnel created with the vines and other trees. There is also shade on the deck in the late afternoon. The birds come out to feed again after having a siesta.

Junior wants a peanut but Dyson is there.

So he decides to have a bath.

It is hot everywhere. Please remember to leave out shallow bowls of water for the animals. You will save their lives. Water is more important than food when the heat is so high. Even pie pans with water – put try and put them in the shade. Thank you.

This just puts a smile on my face. Someone doing something to help birds. Enter mosquitoes to the Hawaiian Islands.

Millions-of-mosquitoes-released-in-Hawaii-to-save-rare-birds-from-extinction-Hawaii-The-GuardianDownload

Idris and Telyn have set a record at the Dyfi nest in Wales. One of the females broke the weight record for a chick ringed in Wales. She came in over 2 kg. Here is the announcement with the names of the osplets!

That is incredible. ‘Daddy Longlegs’ Idris has really been hauling in the fish. Even that male has a nice healthy weight.

‘MM’ sends news that we have the first hatch at Colonial Beach. It is hot there. 31.3 C or 88 F. Chick has already had its first feeding! Well done, Betty and David. See also ‘H’s report below on this nest.

Iris’s oldest chick is rather precocious. It is already nibbling on the fish!

‘A’ comments on something magical: “Finn brought in a leftover chunk of fish at about 18:44 and just stands with it on the nest for about 25 minutes. Finally, he starts nibbling at it and Iris stands up, but Finn just keeps eating himself. Baby Bob spots who has the fish and is promptly over to dad, although both chicks already have good crops. It takes dad a while to stop feeding his face (and giving the odd bite to Iris) and start feeding Little Bob, and then he looks the wrong way when dad offers him fish, but around 19:16 a feeding of sorts begins. Soon, Big Bob sees what is happening and lumbers up behind Little Bob but does not interfere. Dad leans over to feed the older chick and at this point, he gives up on eating and starts feeding the two osplets in turn. It is wonderful to watch. This guy really is a keeper. He has a bit to learn about leaving leftovers on the nest and if he is only going to catch two or three whoppers a day, to bring them back more than once so they represent more than one feeding, but none of that will matter shortly, when they are big enough to handle fewer, larger feeds. 

Finn has been an amazing first-time dad, guarding his family and the territory with great dedication and bringing in enough fish to feed the family (albeit his delivery schedule needs a little adjustment – see above). He has fed Iris on several occasions when she is tired or when it is wet, and now, he is feeding the osplets as well. This is one fantastic dad in the making. And Iris has chosen well. “

‘B’ writes that we have fledges! “Fledges at both Fraser Point and Bald Canyon this morning — the second FP chick (usually referred to as Reign) at 8:32:09 and Selene at BC at 10:07:54.  Reign was back on an adjacent branch at 10:38:06 and on the nest proper within a minute…So all the Channel Islands eaglets that are on nest cams have now fledged.” Congratulations everyone. A wonderful year!

‘B’ also sent us a link to an article in The Washington Post. Do you think the Bald Eagle is the official bird of the United States? Have a read!

Opinion | You probably think this is our national bird. Think again.

‘TU’ has sent us some news. A pair of Egyptian Geese took over a stork nest. Their chicks took the leap this morning. Video below.

In Montreal, Peregrine Falcon chick Polo fledges! Beautiful flight. Oh, how I hate those windows.

Let’s catch up with the news from ‘H’:

6/24 Colonial Beach Virginia osprey nest:  Congratulations to Betty and David on the hatch of their first baby!

6/24 Barnegat Light osprey nest:  Even though Daisy and Duke did not have any eggs this season, they continue to hang out together in the bay area.  We are delighted when they grace us with their presence on camera.  Theirs is a love story.

6/24 The Osoyoos osprey nest had another nice day. They had nine feedings, and all three of the osplets had good crops.  Meal times remained peaceful, but I did catch a pretty good beaking battle in between meals, and that kerfuffle was started by Little!

6/24  Fenwick Island osprey nest (Capt Mac’s fish House):  Okay now…I am starting to be impressed.  June is keeping her leftover fish, saving it for more feedings, and she is feeding longer.  Just look at the crop on that lil’ 10-day-old osplet.  Now, that’s what I’m talking about!

6/24 Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  It was a veritable fish-feast-day.  There were a total of six long meals throughout the day .  Something really cool happened in the afternoon… At 1410 Mom brought a large fish to the nest (first fish for her this season), and two minutes later Dad landed in the nest with a large fish.  A dual feeding took place, with Dad primarily feeding the two older siblings for 1/2 hour before he left with half his fish.  And, Mom primarily fed Little.  She continued to feed everyone from her fish after Dad left, and her fish lasted an hour.  

6/24 Captiva ospreys:  The day started off with a surprise for Ding and Darling when they had a visitor in the middle of the night…a young heron landed in the nest for a short period of time.  The kids maintained their cool, but we’ve never seen their eyes so big!  Jack brought three fish to the nest today, and Darling had his very own hardhead catfish.  He was able to unzip it, and ate the whole fish.  Edie was last seen on cam on 6/23, but there have been sightings of an adult osprey landing in a nearby tree, and some believe that they have heard Edie.  It is believed that Edie is taking a short break, and that her absence from the nest has nothing to do with the fishing line incident of 6/21.  After the fishing line incident, Edie delivered fish to the nest on 6/21, 6/22, and 6/23, and she seemed just fine.

Thanks so much, ‘H’. That Fenwick Island baby is too cute – and oh, so full! Love it.

That little osplet in Kurzeme Latvia is also so cute. OK. They are all cute little dinosaurs.

Four hot ospreys at Field Farm. Little Mini is getting its feathers.

Birds of Poole Harbour Fab Four are deliriously wonderful. CJ7 and Blue 022. I can’t tell you how much I adore them.

And then there is Louis at Loch Arkaig that brought in a fish at midnight to Dorcha. Yes, midnight. Do ospreys hunt in the dark? how light was it in Scotland at midnight? Oh, I just wish I could send one of those fish over to Osoyoos.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig: Monday 24th June 2024

The day started out a bit soggy but soon improved, and Louis had a bit of a lie-in after yesterday’s midnight fish, not turning up until lunchtime with today’s first fish. He followed it up with three more, taking his tally to two hundred and forty six. Dorcha had fun with a stick but was left hungry as the growing chicks devoured most of the fish, however the arrival of a large 11pm fish supper meant she didn’t end the day hungry. The nest seems to be getting a little crowded now that the chicks are mobile and stretching out their suddenly long wings, perhaps that’s why one chick took a pop at the other and a short sharp fight broke out. There was much discussion on the forum about which chick is which as it’s getting very difficult to tell them apart. Garry LV0 turned up on Nest One again today, bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of nest scraping. Is this a frustration eyrie? Whatever his motives, it’s good to see him. Tonight’s forecast is light rain and light winds, luckily although the chicks are too big to fit under Dorcha, their preen glands are coming through and they’re starting to get some waterproofing. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.15.51 (02.48.23); Nest Two (03.32.32)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Alfrd7novqE  N1 Garry LV0 arrives early and does some nest prep 06:15:01 

https://youtu.be/fs7pwvQ359g N2 Fish number one, small whole trout, chicks queue politely 12.45.07

https://youtu.be/iQA9jIPeDsE N2 Fight! Is the nest getting too crowed? Chicks have a pop 13.01

https://youtu.be/opTBHM-Q3jk N2 Dorcha brings a stick and hangs it round Chick1’s neck 14.28.44

https://youtu.be/ryxHF_M71io N2 Fish number two, big whole trout, Dorcha gets hardly any of it 15.30.25

https://youtu.be/45KVDHPY0x40 N2 Fish number three, headless small trout, soon finished, Dorcha’s still hungry 17.08.47 

https://youtu.be/Ijm7ts7aZGk N2 Fish number four, whole trout, Dorcha tucks in immediately 23.05.25

Bonus read – Flights, Camera, Action! Postcode Lottery discuss their sponsorship of the nest cam:

https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/postcode-hub/news/flights-camera-action

Blackbush. Sometimes dual feedings. Sometimes Dad feeding Mum who feeds babies. Send this nest hope. We have seen these little ones before survive. Tiny Dancer. Tiny Little. Blue 464. It depends on the amount of prey and the willingness of the parents to work hard to keep all of them alive – just like CJ7 and Blue 022 are doing.

Beautiful fledglings back on the VIMS nest.

Once in awhile you will catch a fledgling on the Frenchman’s Creek nest. These kids are gorgeous. Look at that clean nest!

Looks like Tuffy had a couple of nice fish today on the Moorings Park nest. These kids of Harry and Sally are gorgeous.

It was 26 C in Osoyoos today. Tomorrow will be 27 – and believe me, it is hotter on the top of an osprey nest than it is at ground level. Then there is to be rain. Oh, please give these babies some fish – some big fish because Soo and Olsen have to eat, too!

My goodness. The plumage on that baby at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is dark. Very pretty little osplet. The image shows Mum feeding the little one from the whole fish that Dad brought in around 1400. There had at least been one earlier fish. It is hot on that nest!

Oh, look at those fat little bottoms at Charlo Montana!

Winnie and Swoop have their second baby at Dunrovin on the 24th.

It is hot in Colorado. Pitkin County Mum is the perfect mumbrella keeping her babies cool. She fluffs her own feathers to keep herself cool as well.

I sure would like to see more fish in the heat at Cowlitz PUD but there are still three osplets that appear to be alright.

Beautiful baby at Clark PUD.

Boulder County Mum keeping their Only Bob cool and fed!

No love lost when it comes to food amounts San Jose fledglings!

Many of us are hoping to find out what happened to Redwood Queen and Zenith’s chick in the Big Sur Redwood Forest. We are joining the Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Chat which is on the last Thursday of the month. Very informative.

Got to the Ventana Wildlife Society website to sign up. The Condor chats are also archived and you can view them on YouTube.

Educate yourself about California Condors and the acute challenges they face. The Ventana Wildlife Society led the way in giving their flock vaccines for HPAI. Now they are helping others.

We have another Condor baby. Fingers crossed.

Decorah North continues to thrive despite the nest collapse.

Gorgeous Black Storks in Portugal.

Beautiful Mum at Port Lincoln Barge on the nest and eating a fish she caught and brought back quickly.

‘PB’ has been keeping an eye on Cowlitz PUD and Steelscape. She writes, “I just checked both Cowlitz and Steelcase since they are both in the same area. Fish seems to be coming in slow and far apart, keeping #1 grouchy and getting most of the food. Steelcase is worrisome to me for #3. It’s is constantly bullied by #1 when food arrives. Even bullies away #2. #3 Steelcase could use more fish. #3 managed to bravely grab a few big pieces of the tail section on ladt fish but is hungry. Cowlitz little baby ate a good breakfast but not much after that. Last fish there was 4 hours ago. Still light out so hoping for a late fish but both places need larger fish to feed 3 mouths.”

Smile. Canada Geese enjoying the grass by an airport in Alabama. Thanks, ‘L’. It seems so odd seeing them with palm trees! Oh, I love the Canada Geese – and guess what? They are not the national bird of Canada. The Gray Jay is. Go figure.

And another smile. Ospreys rescued and in care. Thanks, ‘J’.

Menhaden are the primary fish of the Ospreys in the NE USA. If you want to know how bad the commercial fishing industry is impacting these life-giving little fish, you only have to go to the FB page – Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal. here is a post from this morning. This is seriously concerning and the commercial fishing needs to stop before the Osprey are completely wiped out. Of course Dophins and Whales eat Menhaden, too, and they are practically disappeared from the area.

Our friend Hob in Kauai sends us news of the first moli fledge for 2024. how wonderful!

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. If it is super hot where you live, drink lots of fluids. Consider putting water out for the animals even if you can’t see them – we have visitors during the night that eat and drink. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, letters, comments, questions, videos, images, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J, L, MM, MP, PB, TU’, The Guardian, Dyfi Osprey Project, Colonial Beach Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cams, Pam Breci, The Washington Post, Fenwick Island, Patuxent River Park, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ (Barnegat Light), Window to Wildlife, HorstsHorst, Montreal Falcon Cam, LDF, BoPH, Geemeff, Blackbush, VIMS, Frenchman’s Creek, Moorings Park Ospreys, Osoyoos Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, Charlo Montana, Ashley Wilson, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, Clark PUD, Boulder County, SK Hideaways, Ventana Wildlife Society, Lady Hawk, Tajo International, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Polk County Animal Control, Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal FB, and Hob Osterlund.

A better day…Thursday in Bird World

20 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Wednesday was a tough day. Little Smallie was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. Bless his heart. I wonder what his chances would have been if he had been taken into rehab after being found in the moat? ‘J’ said this reminded her ‘of Rubus all over again’ and I consistently say if you can pick up a raptor and hold it, they are sick!!!!!!! Unless you are ringing them. So, that should be something known by everyone —- if you can pick up a falcon or an eaglet or an osplet and they don’t tear your arm off, they are unwell and should go to rehab. Period. No questions asked. Just do it.

‘B’ sent me a great quote and agreed I could share it with all of you. This came after hearing about the passing of Luna after Sol: “About the only halfway positive thing I can say is that it is a reminder to us all how fragile life is out there in the wild.  And to all wildlife, not just our bird friends.  It’s not a reminder that I enjoy hearing, but it is one we need to appreciate.  We humans live very sheltered lives.  All the more reason why it is so unfair that we humans add so many risks to the health and survival of wildlife.”

Thankfully we have some good news.

There is some really good news coming from our friend ‘R’ who has kept an eye on the University of Florida-Gainesville osprey nest of Stella and her former partner, Talon. We can certainly use some news to raise our spirits! ‘R’ went for a good look around the nest of Stella and her beautiful daughter and discovered that “Stella is bringing in some huge fish and immediately flies off. Big sits there and carries on for a while and then finally decides Stella isn’t going to feed her and she devours the fish.” ‘R’ wonders if Stella is fishing in a different lake than Talon or is questioning if the local water source has been stocked. He will check and find out for us.   Then he went to check the nest and discovered “There is another nest nearby and Big and “someone” in the other nest take turns vocalizing back and forth.  I doubt it is Stella.”   Then ‘R’ gives us some really good news! “I found another nest not far from the two I knew about.  It was fairly good size and sitting in it was a nice large osprey!  That makes 3 nests in the vicinity and probably a few others.  The new nest can’t be very old as it is in the new light poles!”  ‘R’ will take some photos for us on their next visit. An acquaintance also went for a drive near Bowling Green, Florida and in a two mile stretch all the poles had osprey nests! Wow. Can you imagine? The thinking is that the ospreys relocated after Hurricane Ian.

What a beautiful sight! Iris and Finnegan and their two osplets at Hellgate Canyon in Montana.

OK. I am obsessed with Iris and Finnegan. This nest gives me hope.

‘A’ writes: “Finn is doing such a good job. I’m not sure about breakfast this morning – Finn brought a nice fish in at 09:50, which is late for him but I don’t think there had been an earlier feeding because both chicks were hungry as Iris waited for Finn to arrive. She was very vocal about calling for breakfast too. 

He is such a darling. Both the chicks are super active and really good at holding up their heads. Little Bob is half the size of his sibling but is holding his own. Iris spends the first couple of minutes feeding Big Bob, although Little is hungry and pushes his way forward to a position beside and slightly in front. Mum is taking any aggression out of Big Bob, I think, and she slips Little a small bite but then returns to feeding Big Bob. Finn has left the nest, and the fish was a decent size and whole, so there is plenty for mum and the kids. 

Once Big Bob has a respectable crop, Iris turns to Little Bob and concentrates on getting food into his beak. He is eager and grabbing for the food, falling flat on his face a few times and failing to hold his head still in the excitement. But mum is patient with him and gets the food to his mouth. She is such a good mum. It seemed to me that she had three days of exhaustion following each hatch, after which she perked up and seems to show great effort and care in feeding both her chicks. Finn is making sure she gets fed, even if he has to do it himself, and he is looking after her wonderfully well. He spends a lot of time on the nest or on the perch, just staying close. I have not once heard him vocalise. Not once. He listens. He acts. He shuts up. What a man! “

This morning Alison notes, “At Hellgate, the kids were hungry, and Iris nagged Finn much of the afternoon for fish. Finally, he brought in a nice fish late in the day (about 20:45) and the chicks played nice, sitting up side by side at the table. As always, mum satiated Big Bob’s hunger and then turned to Little Bob. I saw no bonking at any point today, which was a huge relief, and Big Bob made no attempt to stop Little Bob from eating or from participating in the feeding line. These two are active and are doing well. They both seemed to be born very well developed, as if they had spent an extra day or two in the egg. They were large in size and seemed precocious in both physical development and behaviour. This is a huge bonus, as they began life with a bit of an advantage. Finn is doing a wonderful job. He is a devoted dad. He does need to learn to fish more often and/or leave leftovers on the nest while these two are still so young, but he is obedient to Iris’s demands, and eventually goes out to fish even in a downpour if she nags him enough. He’s going to become a great dad as the seasons progress – I can see him getting into feeding the chicks (he has already had a couple of goes at this, with varying success) and he just adores Iris. “

It is a hot day in Ithaca, New York. One of the Ns is resting in the shade of the natal nest.

Suzanne Arnold Horning caught up with Big Red and Arthur’s family.

Thankful for the two gorgeous osplets at Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home.

Wet osplets at the Goitzshe-Wildnis nest in Germany are waiting for a fish delivery.

The three at Charlo Montana look like they are doing well.

Mum and Dad feeding one another at Blackbush at Old Tracadie Harbour – then they feed the kids. This behaviour of the male feeding the female who, in turn, feeds the chicks, appears to be more common than once believed.

‘H’ will have a better report for us (at the end) but the trio at Osoyoos are getting their crops full with a nice sized fish. Relief.

Nox visits Mum! Oh, no. Eclipse comes!

San Jose Girls seem to be doing very, very well.

In Montreal, Polo and Hugo (yes, another Hugo) playing around.

Suffering from falcon withdrawal? Try the Weston Power Plant scrape in Wisconsin. One chick, one unviable egg it seems.

Wings of Whimsy tribute to Sol and Luna.

Three beautiful babies for Aran and Elen are growing strong and watching the cattle and the rest of the Welsh countryside near Glaslyn.

Three fat chicks at Dyfi waiting to be named. Idris and Telyn have done a superb job, as usual.

Geemeff gives us the Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust summary:

Daily summary Wednesday 19th June 2024

What a difference a day makes! Not only did fabulous fisherbird Louis swoop in with four fish in 26 minutes then follow it up with another three, breaking various records along the way, but there was absolutely no aggro from either of the two chicks today. The reptilian phase appears to be over, and while there will still be the odd fight, especially when they start accepting the fish deliveries themselves, the instinctive aggression of the rapid growth stage seems to have ended. The bundle of feathers that was tragic little chick3 is still visible but is melding with the nest floor and if not removed by Dorcha soon, is likely to just disappear and become part of the nest. Louis’ magnificent seven took his tally to two hundred and twenty three, a remarkable achievement although the wait to see if he breaks his nine-fish record goes on. Nest One had another visit from Garry LV0 who was seen flying to perch on Pole Tree before popping in for a brief visit. The weather was as settled as the chicks’ dispositions, but tonight’s forecast is a damp night with light rain and light winds, with the prospect of a drier day tomorrow. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.59.35 (03.07.48); 

Nest Two 23.23.40 (03.45.50)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/tysEIpOpLAY  N2 Fish number one, small whole trout – no fighting! 03.49.37 

https://youtu.be/Q0EGdJY0uLw  N2 Fish number two, another small whole trout – 7 minutes 12 seconds N2N between F1 & F2! 03.56.59 

https://youtu.be/rzoZoHCbQic  N2 Fish number three, another small whole trout – still no aggro 04.07.04

https://youtu.be/RruBa6SD1qs  N2 Fish number four, large whole trout, flapping – 8 minutes 19 seconds N2N between F3& F4! 04.15.39 

https://youtu.be/k3QtoOOPyGk  N2 Fish number five, large whole flapper trout looking surprised 04.51.25 

https://youtu.be/FRf9mHWRQ7Y  N2 Fish number six, headless trout – lovely calm feeding 06.10.10

https://youtu.be/RbzwLU7h1H8  N1 Garry LV0 flies in from Pole Tree for a quick visit 11.30.20

https://youtu.be/FTgfA522SzI N2 Fish number seven, but everyone’s too full 14.11.59

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

The legendary queen of the mountain gave us an unforgettable moment on this day in 2020: Aila has a brain fade and decides to move an awkwardly shaped stick from one side of the nest to the other, apparently oblivious to the presence of her chicks. They duck this way and that trying to keep out of her destructive path, and when Aila finally leaves the nest, one of them delivers a parting shot with perfect emphasis.

https://youtu.be/g-T2vcO-j0sIn the Hall of the Mountain Queen 2020 (Classic Ospreys – Grieg, quicktime)

The female at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum was much more attentive to her only surviving chick on Wednesday. The little one had several feedings, each with a resultant crop.

No hatch yet for Beau and Hope at Newfoundland Power’s Snow Lane nest. This is another problematic female who prefers to eat the fish and not feed her chicks. I do wonder if she is modelling her behaviour after the nest where she hatched?

A family portrait (of sorts) at Field Farm. You can still tell Little Mini as it has only a few feathers unlike the three older siblings. Nest is doing well. Bravo!

Blue 022 delivers a fish and CJ7 immediately begins feeding their quartet.

‘PB’ reports that Little Bob at Cowlitz had a good day! Fantastic. This nest had been concerning me.

There are two beautiful Golden Eaglets on Estonian nest 2 at Kaljukothkas. This nest is getting enough food that the obligate siblicide did not occur. This is a good thing. One of those beautiful miracles of a year filled with much sorrow.

Bety and Bukacek had one storklet this year. It is alive and healthy. Another life to be thankful for.

Let’s end on another smile. World Bird Sanctuary, home to Murphy the Bald Eagle who incubated a rock and got to raise an eaglet, has a great story for us. Thanks, ‘J’.

World Bird Sanctuary

Last year, one Bald Eagle couple’s nesting season ended in tragedy when a tornado destroyed their nest, killing one of their chicks and sending the other to our hospital. That chick was 23-126, and we all fell in love as we watched him grow and be fostered by Murphy. This year, we are delighted to report that 126’s parents have rebuilt! Their new nest is only about 100 yards away from their old one and they have 3 healthy eaglets! We’d like to thank 126’s finders for passing on the good news and Frank Melliere Photography for taking and allowing us to share this photo of the 3 eaglets.

Oh and one last smile – I feel like we need lots of them. Ruffie and Tuffy are still knock out gorgeous fledglings, coming to the nest for fish. This is Wednesday. Both look to have nice crops.

‘H’ reports:

6/19, Osoyoos osprey nest:  Oh my, they had a great day.  Ollie brought eleven fish to the nest, wow!  The meal times remain peaceful between the siblings, and everyone ate their fill, including Soo.  There were some ‘minnows’, some medium sized fish, and one ‘whale’.  At 2105, Ollie brought in a very large whole fish.  I overheard one of the kids ask: “Mommy is that a whale?”  Soo: “Yes Dear, Daddy caught a whale for you.”  Soo only fed the whale to her kids for a few minutes, then walked away from the fish, so Ollie removed it.  He returned the partial fish to the nest at 2137, but Soo did not feed at that time.

6/19 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  June and Johnny’s 5-day-old chick seems to be doing well, and June is providing shade from the sun.  There were seven meals provided to the lil’ one, which was an improvement.  Very warm temperatures are predicted in the upcoming days, so keep those fish coming in, Johnny!

6/19, Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  Louise and Harvie are great parents, and are taking good care of their three chicks.  Bonking has started…the eldest has been bonking both of its siblings.  Ages: 7, 5, 3 days.

6/19 Dahlgren osprey nest:  ‘Hope’, the 17-day-old only chick of Helen and Doug, is doing quite well.

6/19 Patuxent osprey nest:  There were only three meals for the osplets, but the first two fish were very large and provided for long meals.  Each chick ate multiple times.  It appears that Little’s feathers are finally starting to grow better, but s/he remains far behind the older sibs.  Big has been doing some impressive wingers!

6/19 Captiva osprey nest:  Edie and Jack delivered five fish to the nest.  Jack’s injury seems to be healing, and he is functioning normally, but the ‘spike’ is still embedded under his skin.  Darling performed a nice mini-hover for the first time, and Ding continued to perform hovers out of our view.  One of these times, Ding’s hover may just turn into a flight!

Geemeff sent us the ringing video of Blue 33 and Maya’s chick at Rutland:

I am getting word from ‘J’ that a Peregrine Falcon female with chicks in the scrape appears to have died from something poisonous in EDE. Will confirm with more news tomorrow.

There is more news from FORE today and I have abbreviated this. Please go to their FB page for the entire post.  🙁

“As we mentioned, we were able to retrieve Luna’s body since she passed away on the ground & not up in the Nest. But, we still don’t know yet if they can perform a necropsy or not? In this Redding heat decomposition sets in quickly. 🙁 And, if they can do a necropsy, we may not get the results of those tests for several months. So, this is going to take some time. Try to breathe & heal while we wait for those answers…Rest assured our Liberty & Guardian are doing fine, so please don’t worry yourself sick about them right now. We will continue following them & sharing their journey until they leave the area, as we always do. We don’t know when that will be this year since their work is now done… 🙁We will not know the cause of death without the necropsy results, but we are looking closely at several indicators pointing to severe dehydration brought on by a variety of mitigating factors. Some of the factors that we are looking into include; extreme sustained heat including several consecutive days of 100+ degree temperatures in a row in June, no canopy or shade above the Nest due to a completely dead nest tree, and numerous fluctuations in nearby river levels beginning in late Feb/early March which may have affected the eagle’s typically bountiful rainbow trout supply in April & May 2024. We did not see nearly the number of trout, which has a lot of hydration for the eaglets, coming into the nest during those crucial months as we typically have at this nest. 🙁“

Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care! We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for the comments, observations, notes, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J, PB, R’, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cam, Cornell RTH Cam, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Fischadlerwebcam, Charlo Montana, Blackish at Old Tracadie Harbour, Osoyoos Ospreys, SK Hideaways, de’Montreal Falcons, Weston Power Plant Peregrine Falcon Cam, Wings of Whimsy, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, BoPH, Pam Breci, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Dahlgren Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Window to Wildlife, World Bird Sanctuary, LRWT, and FORE.

Too many deaths…Wednesday in Bird World

19 June 2024

Hello Everyone,

As I wake up, sadness has just drifted over Bird World again. Dear Luna is gone and so are Zeus and Hera’s chicks. Bless his heart, our little sweet Smallie is gone, too.

It feels like a day for quiet reflection and to give thanks for those little ones that are surviving this year. They are VERY special!

I am writing this sitting at the nature centre eating a lunch-type breakfast and sipping Moroccan Tea. The Woodpeckers and the Red-wing Blackbirds are pecking away at the feeders. I find it interesting that the Blackbirds are not out foraging. Is it our horrific weather? It rains every day. I am surprised my house is not covered in mould and creepers! And then there is Steve, the resident Muskrat. Steve lives under the deck of the nature centre and loves eating bird seed~. The forecast is for yet another thunder storm this evening. This has been weeks with some breaks. The water in the river is very high making it difficult for the eagles and ospreys to fish. Our wildlife and raptors are suffering like they are elsewhere. We certainly needed the rain after our dry winter and it has stopped all of the wild fires but it is time to let somewhere else that needs the moisture have it. Famous last words. Our rain gauge can’t even keep up!

I am so glad that I have ‘The Girls’, the garden animals, and my walks. They help me to keep balanced in a Bird World that is decidedly unbalanced this year.

These two had been taking turns washing one another when they turned around and ‘sort of’ looked up.

Such an angel when she is sleeping.

Calico and Hope had been on the top snuggled together, too. Of course, I went to get the phone camera and look what happened.

Little Red was the first to find the new seed cylinder!

This is the season that just keeps on gifting – and the gifts are grief. Luna, the only surviving eaglet of Liberty and Guardian at the Redding nest in California on the Sacramento River, is dead. Her brother Sol died on the nest on 14 June.

Are these deaths related? or not? Is it possible that this is HPAI? Hopefully the necroscopy will tell those that need to know. Condolences to Liberty and Guardian who faced a challenging year with rising water and a nest tree that was very frail and to all the Friends of the Redding Eagles.

I will start with Heidi’s reports.

Last year, Hera lost her chicks to the weather We thought she had lost her mate, Zeus, too. This year dramatic sadness:
“6/19, South Cape May Meadows osprey nest of Hera and Zeus:  There is no night light at the nest, and it was very dark.  It sounded like a GHO knocked Hera off the nest at 0359.  The GHO then landed on the perch, and went to the nest for a short time.  The owl returned to the nest  at 0420.  There is no sign of the babies or Hera this morning.  The osprey nestlings were 8 and 5 days of age.”

Hera came to the nest at 0906, she was dirty and disheveled, but she otherwise seemed (physically sic) okay.

6/18 Osoyoos osprey nest:  There were six feedings that I saw from 5 fish.  A few of the fish were medium in size, some smaller.  All of the osplets ate well at each meal, except meal #5, during which Little decided he’d rather sleep!  I did not see any aggression during the feedings.  The osplets are looking good.  The osplets are 11, 10, and 8 days of age.

6/18 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  Johnny and June have one baby this year (the remaining egg will not hatch).  I’ve been concerned that the 4-day-old chick may not be getting enough to eat.  I tried to follow their activities more closely today.  There were five feedings that I saw, and the feedings seemed to go well between mom and baby.  Usually the young osprey babies require small, but more frequent feedings.  Johnny is not bringing fish to the nest very often, and he removes leftovers.  The baby looks okay, though.  I will continue to monitor.

6/18 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  Congratulations to Dory and Skiff on the hatch of their second baby!

6/18 Forsythe osprey nest:  Oscar brought six fish to the nest, all were at least medium sized, and a couple of them were quite large.  The osplets both ate well, and there was no aggression.  Very hot temperatures are predicted in the upcoming days, so keep plenty of fish coming in if you can Oscar.

6/18 Patuxent osprey nest:  We saw the ‘return of the whopper’, and Little had a much better day today.  The first meal was from a small whole fish, and Little didn’t get any of that.  At 0730, Dad delivered a medium sized partial fish, and Little started to eat first.  Dad turned right around and brought a medium whole fish at 0737, and  a dual feeding took place, with Dad primarily feeding Big and Middle.  Little had a mostly private meal and ate for 17 minutes. Little ate for a total of about 27 minutes at the following three meals.  At 1659 Dad delivered the whopper.. a huge whole fish, that would feed the family for the next two hours!  Each osplet had a few meals, and Little ate on and off for approximately 33 minutes.  Dad showed up with a huge goldfish at 1806, and his family was still eating from the whopper fish, so he left with it.  At 2020 Dad returned with the headless version of said goldfish, and he barely got a nod from anyone.  They were all zonked out with their huge crops, so he left with the fish again.


6/18 Captiva osprey nest:  Captiva had a wonderful day.  Edie brought three fish to the nest, and Jack contributed one.  Poor Jack was swarmed by Edie, Ding and Darling when he brought in his fish, and he could barely escape from the nest, lol.  So, there was plenty of food to go around.  The really big news of the day was the incredible hovering by Ding, as she took advantage of a brisk breeze.  On one of her hovers in the morning s/he found herself hovering over the right perch, and landed on it.  Ding enjoyed being on that perch so much that she landed on it a few more times throughout the day.  Ding was on the perch at the time of one of Edie’s fish deliveries, and it took a while for Ding to gingerly make it back to the nest by shuffling her feet along the perch brace.  The osplets are 56 and 55 days old.

Polo 7422 caught some wing action Hope was doing at Lake Murray. She is our fledgling, the Middle Chick, that survived the GHO attacks.

The female at MN Landscape drives me nuts. She now has only one chick to feed. The male is bringing in big fish. There is no excuse. She requires the chicks, little ones, to move to her wherever she decides to feed and she takes about 25 bites to their one. I hope this last one survives. It is damp and cold and it needs to be warm and well fed.

In comparison, you have several osprey families that are fantastic and can feed and care for four. Think Field Farm and Poole Harbour. I am holding my opinion of McEuan Park right now. I want to see how Little Mini does in a week.

So the question is this: Is it the female behaviour at Minnesota? The male is bringing big fish? or is it a lack of resources? weather?

Field Farm.

Poole Harbour.

McEuan Park also has four and the difference between Big and Little Mini is very noticeable. Let’s hope Little Mini can make it.

Janis Kruze rings the storklets. Liznm caught it.

At Loch Arkaig, C1 (I think he is a male) is starting to react to protect itself and eat.

Geemeff’s Daily summary from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Tuesday 18th June 2024 Today was all about fish and the situation between submissive older chick C1 and dominant younger chick C2. Louis brought six fish to the nest including a late night snack-sized one, taking his tally to two hundred and sixteen. C1 is learning some strategies to deal with C2 including the odd lunge at its sibling then beating a hasty retreat to tuck down and await the swift retaliation, but the most successful one is waiting when fish arrives then sidling round the side of Dorcha and getting some mouthfuls from her – in one case, getting a ten minute exclusive feed from her while C2 was resting its bloated crop. C1 even took a cheeky nibble which is very encouraging – the sooner C1 starts self-feeding confidently, the better. As today ends, both chicks have full crops. On the anniversary of Dorcha removing the sad remains of 2022’s Bob3, body disposal was a topic of discussion on the forum as it was observed that dominant C2 attacked the body of C3 several times with some vigour. Was it just attacking, or attempting to feed? Will the body gradually be subsumed into the nest or will Dorcha remove it? Meantime, it is still clearly visible. In other news, Garry LV0 visited Nest One and stayed for over an hour, bringing nesting materials and doing some nest-scraping. What this means in terms of gaining residents remains to be seen, his visits are infrequent enough to assume he’s nesting somewhere in the area with a mate, but with Garry, nothing is certain. The weather was settled and set to continue tonight with a clear sky and light winds, and sunshine tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.20.14 (03.16.26); Nest Two  23.34.57 (03.45.34)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/WZyXxYRAsfo N2 Fish number one, C1 self-feeds 04.47.10  

https://youtu.be/bB9Dwon2I3o N2 Fish number two, C2 attacks C1  09.30.47 

https://youtu.be/Wxu_Vl1wvlw  N2 Fish number three, C2 seems to have prevented C1 eating.. 10.50.06 

https://youtu.be/tZeYWxBU94U N2 ..But cunning C1 waits, and gets an exclusive feed  11.11.54

https://youtu.be/tGKhmichhqo N1 Garry LV0 visits with nesting materials and does housework 11.50.26  

https://youtu.be/U-tu9Y00WH0  N2 Fish number four, younger chick attacks older chick 13.47.43 

https://youtu.be/JeleU0HE-Iw  N2 Fish number five, headless trout, C1 sidles round and gets some  20.54.59

https://youtu.be/wYOfQq2c0dg  N2 Fish number six, snack-size trout, C1 gets nothing 22.41.54 

Bonus read – who knew you could put a backpack on a beetle? Woodland Trust, that’s who!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz55jm0m80ro

It will not be long til we have White-Bellied Sea Eagle eggs in the Sydney Olympic Forest!

The weather has been one of the leading causes of death of osplets. Today, it is pouring at the nest of Iris and Finnegan. Not good for newly hatched osplets or for feeding – they can’t thermoregulate yet – and for fishing.

‘A’ comments: “Iris has been trying to feed it but then clears up what look like the bites it was fed, so at yesterday’s feedings, I am not sure it actually ended up swallowing much at all. And the weather is not helping, with a very wet day. Iris is hunkered down on the kids, looking soaked. It is 17:31 and despite the rain, Finn has brought in a nice-sized fish. Iris is telling him that she wants the fish but it is too wet to feed the babies at this moment so he should leave the fish and she would grab the next break in the weather. (At least, that’s what I would be saying to Finn, and Iris is a girl of like mind.) She is VERY chatty. He as always just stands quietly, the strong silent type. She gets up though and dad hands over the fish.

Big Bob turns and watches dad, so Little Bob is the only one in the feeding line. Mum tries to feed him but dad’s tail keeps bonking him in the head! Nevertheless, he gets a bite and Iris tries with another. Another tail bonk! And again! But she finally manages to give him the second half of the bite. He takes it but it gets stuck on his beak! By now, Big Bob has worked out where mum and  the food are and has turned around. Feeding Big Bob is much easier for Iris, who may be a little stiff and resents having to lean over and down to a young chick (she was like that when Big Bob first hatched too), so she feeds him. Little Bob is not offered food, as he is still not entirely sure which direction to face and is also getting an occasional tail bonk from dad, knocking him down onto the nest. He pops straight back up though – he is a lively little chick and seems healthy and active. Iris has obviously got some food into him. (At this stage, I am assuming Big Bob is a feisty girl and Little Bob is a younger brother, because that is the usual nest order apparently, but of course it could be the other way around, which would be wonderful.) 

So far, things are going well in the sense that Finn is providing enough fish and the chicks are eating when they are given food. I am a little concerned that Iris seems tired, and perhaps even a little lazy. She is sometimes reluctant to feed for long enough and finds it hard to reach down to the little one. Only time will tell. At this stage, both are looking healthy and active and that is the best we can hope for. “

‘A’ continues, “Finn was in early as usual to say good morning to Iris. She packed him off to get breakfast around 7am, and was far from pleased when he arrived back nearly 45 minutes later with a giant stick but no fish! She has a great deal to say about it and she does NOT sound at all happy. She has two hungry osplets who are becoming slightly unruly beneath her, it’s nearly 8am and she has nothing to feed them. And Finn thinks it’s a good time to consider baby rails? 

Now, as Finn continues rearranging the nest structure, Iris keeps nagging at him constantly. He does not appear to have a crop, though his underfluffies do appear to be wet. They could merely be a little messy. Finally, shortly before 07:47 he flies off again. 

Iris is hunkered back down as if it was raining. She could simply be tired. She tends to lay her head down on the nest and literally pass out, rarely if ever sleeping tucked. She does seem to have been particularly tired for a couple of days following each hatch, which makes a lot of sense, as she got little or no sleep on those nights the chicks were hatching (two nights of disturbed sleep per chick, with a third night at the beginning when she was not so restless because she was not constantly moving but was aware of movement and peeping inside the egg, so was awake and listening to the chick the night before the outer pip was visible). 

She is an elderly osprey, and it is lovely to see Finn doing things like feeding her on the nest. She had to work very hard yesterday afternoon to get the fish off the remaining skin (Finn had returned a fish that by then had largely been eaten and was feeding the last remnants to the younger chick, Big Bob having passed out in a food coma some time earlier). It was a shame really because it meant she fed very slowly, so that Big Bob eventually woke up and got food that should have gone to the little one. 

So far, it seems to be growing well and eating enough. It had a dear little round crop yesterday afternoon – its first one (you know how when they’re really young, they don’t really eat enough at each feeding to get noticeable crops – they just don’t look sunken). Of course its older sibling had a very large one, as it usually does nowadays. 

My heart sank yesterday when the older one started bonking the baby. The good part about it was that the little one had no real clue what was going on. It is not quite able to see properly (it’s still a little vague about where things are and who is what) and can’t really tell the difference between being bonked by dad’s tail feathers and being beaked by Big Bob, who is not at all vicious in his pecks. They’re tokenistic at this stage but definitely intended to make the pecking order clear to Little Bob. 

So far, there has been no attempt to stop Little Bob from eating or from lining up for food. It was simply boredom, I think, and maybe a little frustration. There was no food involved. We will wait and see what happens today. I was pleased to see that Iris was making an obvious effort to feed Little Bob, both after she has filled up Big Bob and also when she gets the chance at a private feeding, such as when Finn returned the remnants of that fish when Big Bob was asleep. 

So I remain hopeful that dad will bring enough fish of a really good size to ensure there is enough for everyone, though his tendency not to leave leftovers on the nest is a bit of a worry. He doesn’t seem to realise that these chicks need half a dozen feedings off that big fish he brings in for breakfast (remembering of course that he has usually eaten the head off this gigantic fish, so has had a seriously large amount of food himself). Both Finn and Iris have voracious appetites, and although Iris is definitely prepared to sacrifice some of her own share to her osplets, Finn takes any remaining fish off the nest with some alacrity, sometimes despite loud protestations from Iris. 

At 08:03 she is still waiting for Finn and a fish.”

Not a bad day for Boulder County and its Only Bob.

The Decorah North eagle family is surviving without their beloved nest. They hang around the old nest and it is simply beautiful.

‘PB’ has been monitoring the Cowlitz PUD nest and shares concerns that Little Bob might not getting enough food and he is being bonked. Send positive wishes for them. This is a difficult area because of all the competition for food. The Eagles like to steal from the Ospreys.

Lucille Powell caught both of the osprey fledglings on their Sun Coast nest.

Look at Aurora!

Things are looking OK for the surviving fans at San Jose.

Beautiful Only Bob at Rutland is ringed. It is a boy!

We need a big smile and here it is – this is what happens when a community comes together and feeds the osplets on a nest so that they can grow and thrive. Thank you, Port Lincoln, you are a role model!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, photos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Toni Hoover and Amersfoort Falcons, FORE, SCMM, Forsythe Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, Osoyoos Ospreys, Audubon Boat House, Fenwick Island, Polo7422, MN Landscape Arboretum, Field Farm, BoPH, McEuan Park, Liznm, Geemeff, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Boulder County, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Pam Breci, Lucille Powell, SK Hideaways, Rutland Osprey Project, and Port Lincoln Osprey.