As is typical, I am writing my post on Saturday. I had hoped for some sun and wind to dry up all the rain, but, the rain is now coming down harder and harder. Three Crows were frantically pecking at the nut cylinder. I noticed that they gave each other space so that they could eat. All was going well until Dyson arrived! The Crows flew off. They returned later for a big bowl of cheesy dogs. I can see Junior at the feeder sorting through the peanuts. Where is Mrs Junior? It is always worrisome when one or the other does not show up at the morning feeder.
Dyson is moulting. She isn’t sick! She is so strong and healthy. It makes us happy to be a part of her life. I wish we could get the trees to grow faster or convince her to please just stay in our garden. No roads!
It has really started pouring. And yeah, Mrs Junior just flew in to get some peanuts!!!!!! Relief.
In Canada, Beaumont continues to deliver large fish to the nest where his two fledglings might like to scrap for the dinner! Both are eating well and Beaumont is making sure each is fed.
Dad and at least one chick are still at the LDF nest in Kuzeme Latvia.
Right now there is harmony and peace at the NE Florida nest of Gabby. She doesn’t seem to care if the male has necrotic feet in places. They are on the branches together, side by side at times, and in the nest making nestorations. If Gabby gets to raise little eaglets in peace this year, we should all jump up and down with joyful tears.
They have been on and off the nest on Saturday. The AEF has ‘temporarily’ designated the male as 24E1 (year, eagle, first visitor).
The eyes of the male visitor remind me so much of those of Samson. I know it isn’t, but for a split second.
The SW Florida streaming cams are up and ready for action starting today or tomorrow.
It was a beautiful day at the nest of Bella at the NCTC. Didn’t see any eagles.
You can help support conservation by buying stamps! Aren’t these beautiful?
These will be available in the new year. There are currently others for sale – some designed by adults and other junior winners. They are lovely.
The little eaglet in Australia is doing so well and this little fluffy bundle of joy has a name – Lukin.
Bradley and Shultzie. Yes! Good thing there are two perches. It’s always good, just like the Blue Jays, to get a total head count before sunset.
Judy Harrington brings us up to date with the Olympic Park Eagles.
The new pair in the USK Valley in Wales left late. They didn’t breed but hopes are high for 2025.
Bird Flu is possibly the reason for the decline in Peregrine Falcon populations in the US. Like everything else, it is still with us – it just isn’t making the news like it did. That is a shame.
Xavier flew out for the morning breakfast hunt. Diamond waits patiently to see what he will return with for her meal.
We blinked and the Olympic Park Eaglets grew and grew. When did this happen? They are more steady on their feet. Their wing feathers are growing in. They look like eagles, not nestlings. SE 34 is learning to self-feed.
Will we see the Royal Cam chick back on cam before fledge? Possibly not.
Pippa’s Mum is the first to return: Royal Cam chick Atawhai (Miss Pippa) and Lillibet’s Mum YRK is the first to return to Taiaroa this year. You will remember her amazing mate, OGK – some of us still tear up at the thought of him. OGK has not been seen since he went missing in 2022.
The Only Bob at Growing Home is so fortunate. It will never ever have to share a fish with a ravenous sibling. Look carefully. Tiny white bobblehead.
The fight for the survival of the osprey (and other wildlife) in the Chesapeake Bay is on and hinges on the curtailing of the industrial fishing of Menhaden.
There is always something to learn about migration: “For migrating birds, fall brings difficulty and danger. To reach warm winter climes, many birds must fly hundreds or thousands of miles, expend immense amounts of energy and successfully dodge storms, skyscrapers and other potential threats.
Still, scientists have long assumed that a basic trade-off made migration worth the gamble: Once birds arrived at their wintering grounds, they wouldn’t need to work so hard to stay warm, saving substantial amounts of energy. “But nobody ever tested this,” said Nils Linek, a behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.
Now, Dr. Linek and his colleagues have done so. Their findings, based on a partially migratory population of German blackbirds, challenge the conventional wisdom. Even in the depths of winter, blackbirds basking in balmy southern Europe or northern Africa did not spend any less energy than those riding out the cold in Germany, the scientists found.”
Calico’s Tip for the Day. You have heard us mention numerous times the need to halt bird collisions. Residences indeed account for more deaths than skyscrapers. Hard to believe? I know, but it is true if you take all the deaths due to our windows collectively. So what is the problem? People do not know how to stop the birds from hitting their windows. Calico says that you must space the decals on the OUTSIDE of the window at least 5 cm or two inches apart. That’s right. You cannot just put one decal on the outside of your window and hope it will work; you never put it on the inside. The most economical method is window paint. Again, on the outside of the windows. I liked using the white or the yellow. Squiggle everywhere. Let your children or grandchildren help. The window paints come off easily.
Nova Scotia’s official bird (I know that everyone knew that, right?) on an iconic boat, the Bluenose II.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for the notes, posts, videos, articles, images, tweets, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘PB for today and for Saturday’s Tweet from Dr Greene’, Newfoundland Power, LDF, NEFL-AEF, NCTC, USFWS, Port Lincoln Osprey, Judy Harrington and Olympic Park Eagles, Jeff Kear and USK Valley Ospreys, Audubon, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Olympic Park Eagles, The Royal Albatross Centre, Growing Home, Bryan Watts and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Sharon Dunne, Bluenose II, USFWS, Birdlife International, and The New York Times.
Ah, the ads continue to appear for some – my sincerest apologies. What a headache. I have done all I can, and WordPress is trying to block the third party. Today, I wanted to forget about them!
The garden has been a flurry of activity today after the heavy rains yesterday and overnight. Six Crows have been at the nut cylinder along with the squirrels, including Dyson shown below, and a pair of Blue Jays (Mr and Mrs Junior). Numerous species of Sparrows and Wrens are filling up with seed as the days get shorter.
Junior watches Mr Crow cautiously.
Another Crow decides fighting for the nut cylinder is too much bother and goes for the Cheesy Dogs.
Most of the birds in the garden will not migrate. As their habitat in our area of the City dwindles, more and more come to the feeders. I wonder what it will be like in the winter? I am contemplating building a very large covered feeding area so their seed does not get wet from the snow.
I normally call the Fifteenth of September the end of Osprey season. In the US and Canada, there are, however, still a few Dads hard at work feeding their hungry Juveniles! One of those is not Finnegan. Dr Greene has seen two ospreys in the area that he believes are Iris and Finnegan while he believes that Sum-eh and Antali have departed.
One Dad still feeding osplets is the one at Niagara Bee. There are two survivors. And goodness, gosh, there was some ‘confusion of a sorts’ over the death of the one on the nest. If an eagle had been the predator, it would have swooped down and taken the osplet off the nest and away. Think Cowlitz PUD for a good example. If it had been a GHO, well, they might have flown down and did a grab and go which is what they did at Lake Murray, but then that owl turned around and sat on the nest eating the poor chicks leaving one. So? One keen viewer caught the raccoon attaching the fledgling on the Niagara Bee nest so, it wasn’t an eagle as Niagara Bee had pronounced earlier.
Beaumont is still at Snow Lane with the fledgling? It looks like just one to me. There is no fight over the fish so I am making a presumption that Hope and one juvenile have left the area. Please correct me if I am in error!
Sandpoint is quiet.
Charlo is quiet. Junebug has not been seen since the 15 September.
Hawk Mountains migration count to date:
Of course, there are some lovely chicks and some eggs to hatch ‘down under’. Just look at how much that little White-tail Eaglet has grown in 30 days! It has such a nice crop.
Marrum and Partney at Tumby Island now have two more eggs. The first was predated by a Raven. Let us hope that they can change shifts quickly and never leave the nest alone or those Ravens, who are watching, will be quick to come to the nest. Thanks, PLO, for the image!
In Australia, surprise. Diamond welcomes Xavier’s prey gift! Look carefully. It is not a Starling! https://youtu.be/MbWuvrz2iOo?
Changeover at Melbourne, too. Don’t you love how these urban falcons have a stash of prey. Mum flies off, Dad comes to the eggs after she has accepted breakie off camera!
Every time you see a raptor. Be kind. As ‘H’ notes, we are losing them at an astonishing rate. This is truly sad.
Looks like it is eel for breakfast for the White-Bellied Sea Eagles at the Olympic Park in Sydney. Thanks cam operator for those great close ups. How many of us would love to have that plumage?!
Fat little bottom on SE34.
It is time to name the chick at Taiaroa Head.
So a question in the mailbox from ‘BHA’ and I just bet that some of you are asking the same question. How do Ospreys Navigate? This is a great question and the Scottish Wildlife Trust supplies us with a great answer that is not lost in scientific jargon.
Numerous theories have been suggested, including the presence of a protein within osprey’s eyes which enables them to visualise the Earth’s magnetic field. This would be followed to warmer climates in the south, whilst hugging the coastline to stay within reach of feeding areas.
A process of ‘vector summation’ is also suggested, as a means of segmenting the journey into achievable distances. These segments are genetically inherent, meaning the knowledge of which direction to travel in during each flight step (and the number of steps) will be present since infanthood. This process is much more greatly relied on by juveniles taking their first migration, as they will not yet have the topographical memory needed to readjust their trajectory towards recognisable landmarks.
External factors such as wind drift can impact the orientation of ospreys, which can be detrimental to their success. Once off course it is not so simple to re-calibrate an internal GPS. Often osprey do not recover well from being blown off course. Depending on the direction of the wind they could end up over deserts – with no opportunities to find food and exposed to unexpected predators – or in vast expanses of ocean where the next land is nearer to South America than the fish abundant deltas of Senegal or The Gambia.
Even staying on course has its perils. For example crossing the Bay of Biscay, the massive gulf between France and Spain represents a great challenge. With favourable winds, this path can be taken in one long stint with the aim to continue down the Spanish coastline. But continuous flight across the Bay also runs the risk of draining energy levels, and being mobbed by seagulls along the way. This increases the risk of drowning before reaching the next resting place, and is an option better left to experienced birds.
We know that youngsters taking their first flight do not have the benefit of an experienced osprey like Iris who is now using landmarks to help her get to her winter home. I like to think that they have 62 million years of DNA and a built in GPS system. We have to use computer systems to help us navigate.
It is Eagle Time (except for the Southern Hemisphere), and I will bring you news on books to give you some insight into these magnificent birds.
Beau is resting in the NE Florida nest. I had not seen Gabby by 1700. Does Beau have an issue with his left foot? and is he resting on the nest because of it? I wonder.
As the eagles begin returning to their nests, I will post information on some books you might like. There are many books that describe the birds as well as websites, but I am looking for something more for you. The books I mention will be substantially different from those. Jack F Davis’ The Bald Eagle. The Improbably Journey of America’s Bird is full of information about the cultural history of this majestic bird. What strikes me is how many prejudices that have existed for centuries continue. For example, eagles steal children! At the time of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, “Raptors were excluded…Furthermore, a few out-of-touch ornithologists insisted that H. leucocephalus, the new scientific name given to the Bald Eagle, was a nonmigratory species. This erroneous claim influenced the thinking in government agencies and Congress.” Davis continues, “It was not a marketable good traded across the Canadian border, although it was killed on both sides of it. And it was not a game bird to be protected for the sporting crowd. It was a predator, an animalis non grata, an enemy of civilisation (226).” Davis documents how the eagle became a particularly precarious bird once the US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 and commercial fishing industries arrived there. Alaska set up a bounty on the birds! It had been 20 cents in 1806 and was increased to $1 for every pair of talons. People delivered them by the bucket load. It was not until Rosalie Edge bought up the area around Hawk Mountain and began to lobby for changes to the Migratory Bird Act that the eagles received protection. Her task was not easy. Appearing before a meeting with Audubon, Edge was told that the public loathed the bald eagle and that the Alaska bounty should remain (237)! Edge argued that the symbol that had helped ‘win World War II’ would go extinct if something was not done (238). The argument to protect the Bald Eagle would continue well into the 1940s. Davis continues his book with the restoration of the Bald Eagle into the various states, beginning with an experimental plan at Patuxent. The book was published in 2022 and includes the challenges DDT raised about Bald Eagles, the cultural symbolism with Indigenous people, and the controversies surrounding the eagle. It is a good read, particularly if you love Bald Eagles. Indeed, it would be best if you educated yourself on their history so that you appreciate them even more today.
Want a feel good moment? What about a 52 year old parrot? It has been taken into care – palliative care. The caregiver spends their time on the floor with this lovely one! Thanks, ‘J’. Senior animals, whatever their species, need our devotion and love. They have certainly given it to us over the years.
There is a lesson in here. Don’t buy a parrot unless you have excellent DNA and intend to be around for about 80 years to care for them.
Calico’s Tip for the Day: Protect Yourself. Do you have a smoke alarm? a carbon monoxide detector? Then you should be going out and getting yourself one! She wants you to be safe. There are many different kinds from the standard one that uses batteries to ones connected to wifi that can alert you to hazards when you are away from home. In the end, you need one and Calico says you might get a discount on your home owner’s insurance. Best of all, they could save your life!
Calico found some information on hos those carbon monoxide detectors can be useful. Have a read. Calico suggests you read to your kitty!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘BHA, Geemeff, H, J, Jeff Kear, PB’, Montana Osprey Project, Newfoundland Power, Sandpoint, Charlo Montana Ospreys, Hawk Mountain, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Nesting Bird Life & More, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, ‘H’ and Audubon, Olympic Park Eagles, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sharon Dunne and the Royal Cam Albatross Group New Zealand, NEFL-AEF, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Jack F Davis’ The Bald Eagle. The Improbably Journey of America’s Bird, The Guardian, Follow the Feathers, CPSC Documents,
There was no report of a storm coming to our area, but the garden animals behaved differently all day. The temperature was cooler, 22 C. Tomorrow it will be 28 C. There are storms to the south of us near Minneapolis. Still, the animals are exerting a rivalry for peanuts that I have not seen in quite some time. The Red Squirrels are harassing the Greys, the Greys are bothering the Blue Jays, and all are disturbing the Crows!
Dyson has been here and I finally was able to get a photo of her. She is so healthy! And so quick. Less than a blink and she is off the feeder with peanuts.
It is not a great shot – the iPhone and the Feather Friedly dots on the double glazing of the conservatory do not make for a good combination when trying to photography moving animals.
Dyson can sometimes get three peanuts in at once and away she goes. Just look at that beautiful tail.
Three of the juvenile crows keeping watch as two eat cheesy dogs. Oh, they are a noisy bunch. Our former neighbours stopped by for a visit today and it was so nice to hear that they missed the birds. There are some geese in the river near where they live, but no birds!
Meanwhile one Crow insists on walking all across the conservatory’s roof and then flying off to get a drink in the bird bath. It drives Calico crazy!
The images are a little too dark of Calico with the Crow on the ceiling but you can get the idea. My goodness Calico wanted that Crow.
They have the most gorgeous iridescent plumage. This one has a tattered tail. I am sure they have been in many skirmishes since they fledged the nest this summer.
Little Red ‘looks sweet’. The operative word is ‘looks’. I have discovered that animals with ginger fur cause the most chaos. Hugo Yugo is included! Have you noticed that, too?
Junior still looks ratty but that crest is coming in and soon he will look like his handsome self. Someone said this takes a week. I would say a good fortnight.
Even with the cooler temperatures, all the birds enjoy the birdbath, which is filled five times a day. The Blue Jay on the right was ill and had a twisted tail. The tail is still not straight, but s/he is flying and doing well.
One of the new babies waiting for its parents to tell it that it can fly back to the nest.
Sad. An Osprey, not a type of bird of prey that kills grouse, was shot to death at Angus Glens on the opening of the ‘Inglorious 12th’ of August. Oh, please find a way to end this medieval practice of shooting grouse!
‘PB’ caught Dad and the juvenile home at Cowlitz PUD! Yeah. Electra might have left on migration. We wait to see.
SK Hideaways has a video clip of our Collins Street falcons and their first egg of the season. Many are upset that the female laid the egg on the south end without the shade protection. Some of you will recall the small little falcons practically roasting one year on the ledge.
Deliveries at Hellgate Canyon! Iris is still home…
Finnegan brought Antali a whopper!!!!!! He was still eating two hours later.
C16 enjoys an early morning breakfast fish at Charlo.
Heidi McGrue caught Fen at Fenwick Island diving for his first fish. He might have even caught it.
The necroscopy from Elyse the falcon at the University of Montreal has been turned in.
‘A’ writes about Monday afternoon and the little sea eaglets. “Monday afternoon at 3.45pm and those sea eaglets have the most massive crops. They are sleeping in the warm spring sunshine, snuggled up in a giant fluffball. Dad was in with breakfast (a live medium-sized fish) at around 06:34, which Lady immediately commandeered. SE33 still had a crop! SE34 was closer to the table and facing the right way, so got the first of the food. He did not hesitate to take the bites he was offered and SE33, facing the other way, did not object. 06:37 and SE34 is spooked by SE33 moving behind him, making him nervous to eat. He does take a bite from mum but then turns his head away, obviously worried about SE33. Mum leans right over to offer him the next bite but he pulls away from her, his head still turned. Lady, watching SE34 and aware he is too scared to eat, does not feed SE33 but instead eats herself while she waits for SE34 to gain confidence.
Early Tuesday morning and both sea eaglets have crops.”
The sea eaglets appeared to be living a bit more harmoniously. They should grow out of this stage soon as their pin feathers are beginning to come through.
Speaking of large crops, Diamond and Xavier are both looking exceptionally well fed this afternoon. We just had the privilege (4.09pm) of watching one of their famous bonding sessions. Xavier likes to visit Diamond very early in the morning, while it’s still dark (she usually sleeps on the ledge of her scrape), and it’s not uncommon for one or both of them to fall asleep during a prolonged early morning bonding session. Just TOO funny. These two are adorable. Xavier is the cutest little peregrine. I just love him. He is the best mate and father, and we all know the story of how he came into Diamond’s life. What a guy. Eggs are less than a week away, judging by the bonding behaviours (though that rejected starling propped up in the front corner is really starting to get pretty rancid, I suspect – it’s been there for two and a half days, maybe more) and the frequency of matings (this pair generally get it right too – they know what they’re doing). I think Cilla said yesterday or the day before that there would be eggs within the week and she’s usually pretty accurate in her predictions here. So we wait. I would be surprised if there were more than two eggs. Diamond is not a young bird, though she does look healthy (Xavier looks after her well). “
They have been mating and mating at Orange. Xavier wants eggies. He loves being a day. Well, is he trying out to be Murphy?! Well, all of Xavier’s wishful thinking has paid off – Diamond laid the first egg of the season after he incubated the stone.
Do you ever look for stamps that are specific to our bird family?
Those two juveniles of Hope and Beaumont are gorgeous. They are stunners of the ‘dark’ side. Just look how wide those eye bands are, just like Mum. Beautiful thick necklaces. These two are lovely.
‘J’ did a tour of the eagle information and confirms the following sightings for us:
“18 august Harvey & Ellie visit nest Farmer Derek; 20 august Ron & Rose on nest Dade County; Aug Mr & Mrs Trempealeau on nest Trempealeau; August 1 adult on nest, fledglings still in the area Avon Lake ; Baker pops in Little Miami; 24 august Beau is back NEFL; 24 august M15 & F23 at the nest SWFL; 26 august Clive is back according to MAS Captiva; 26 august DNF has been seen by RRP, not visited new nest yet Decorah North / Raptor Resource Project; HD & HM seen around N1 Decorah / Raptor Resource Project”.
An update from Raptor Resource Project that runs the Decorah North, Spirit Bluff, and Mississippi Flyway cams:
These would make perfect bird baths!
Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Monday 26th August 2024
No activity at all again today on either nest, but from Police Scotland comes the disturbing account of an Osprey having been shot on the Inglorious Twelfth ie the traditional start date on 12th August of the grouse-shooting industry. The unfortunate Osprey had to be euthanised. All the big news outlets have taken up the story, and the link to the police appeal is in the bonus section. Weatherwise today had more dry patches than forecast, but heavy rain is expected tonight.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.21.13 (05.28.48); Nest Two 21.13.27 (05.37.43)
Today’s videos: none!
Bonus read – police appeal for info after the tragic death of an Osprey, shot on the Inglorious Twelfth:
Thank you so very much for being with us today. Please take care. Have a wonderful week. We hope to see you again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, comments, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Raptor Persecution UK, Pam Breci, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Heidi McGrue, UdeMFalcons FB, Olympic Park Eagles, Falcon Project at Charles Sturt University, Holly Parsons, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, BirdGuides, Newfoundland Power, Raptor Resource Project, The Waterfowl Sanctuary, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, The Real Saunders Photography, and The Guardian.
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.
Looks like getting some height here with her wingercising.
Food delivery by parent around 1630 hours. Blue, by the way, is good at mantling.
Half an hour later, another food delivery. One of the larger deliveries. She left only a small piece.
At about 2000 hours, she was lying on the nest. I left her looking out over the countryside at 2117 hours.
Weather forecast for Delta for the rest of the week. I have come to appreciate cams that show the weather in a corner.
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)
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.
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🦅🫂
‘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.
We are having another severe weather alert with intense rain, potential hail, and high winds. The ground is absolutely water logged. When I went for my walk today at the nature centre, the trails were partially flooded. Mind you the trees will grow, the grass is green, and potential for fires is low.
Baby Hope – she melts my heart. Her first birthday is coming up on 2 July and this time last year I was so busy trying to coax her Mamma, Calico, to being friendly. It all worked out. Baby Hope is the sweetest thing.
Hugo Yugo is a character. She loves nothing more than to snuggle under my chin and sleep there all night and sometimes during the day if a nap is in store. She is curious to the extreme and her and Missey will be the ones getting into mischief – not Hope or Calico. They are angels.
Hugo Yugo is still very tiny. She is nine months old! She must be finished growing – so nice. I will have a large kitten for years to come!
A wonderful and informative message and a reminder to vote on the New Guy’s name from Dr Erick Greene.
I think Dr Greene is really excited about ‘The New Guy’. Now – tell the truth – we all are, right? Whoever dreamed Iris would have a loving, dutiful, caring mate again? It is exciting! I never wanted Iris to have chicks again because they would starve to death or be predated. This summer just feels so hopeful.
The lovely couple.
It is all about falcons. Cilla Kinross gives us the first look at the feeding at the Montreal scrape.
Waiting for names at Cal Falcons.
One of Annie and Archie’s chicks is very intelligent and lively.
Copy cat. Another decided to venture out, too! Tomorrow all four will be wandering around – just wait and see!
‘A’ loves the Cal Falcons and Annie: “
These nests are such a joy to watch. At Cal Falcons this afternoon (17 May), the mid-afternoon feeding began with the older pair, but finally, our wee lad joined in, and immediately Annie began feeding him. Number three was last to the table, and Annie began feeding him too (I believe the boys to be the two younger chicks, though I could be wrong about number three). She tries to feed three and four exclusively, but four is very close to number one and number two, who sometimes grab bites Annie intends for the youngest. But to the best of her ability, she feeds the younger two, knowing the older pair have already had a fair amount.
She does this at every meal. As a result, the chicks are not in a rush to get to the table and all compete for bites at the same time. Rather, their confidence in mum to feed them is so great that they feel they’ll be okay as long as they get there while food remains. She is giving them the chance at a little self-feeding now, leaving a few scraps on the scrape occasionally for them to pick at, which they do. But effectively, these skills are secondary for falcons, who are not going to be scavengers as juveniles like the eaglets do. They will have to master a particularly difficult and dangerous hunting technique if they are to survive as juveniles, and there’s not really overly much they can learn about that in the nest, is there. “
Monty and Hartley raise some impressive chicks – often quite aggressive. Do you remember Soledad?
At Amersfoort, Smallie was right up at Mum’s beak or a nice feeding. Smallie is getting its feathers and will catch up! Can you see that full crop on that wee little one? Please take heart. Unless something terribly untoward happens, this little baby is going to fledge!
‘H’ reports on Lake Murray: “At 1048 Lucy arrived at the nest with a very small whole fish. Little did not get any.
Kenny brought a large whole fish at 1053. Little tried to position himself to Lucy’s left side away from the sibs, but was beaked. He was intimidated or beaked several times to keep him away from Lucy. At 1130, the fish was gone, the others had moved away, and Little was fed one bite before Lucy ate the tail.
At 1337 Kenny delivered a large whole fish, Little rushed to Lucy and the other chicks stayed back for a while. Little ate 12 bites, before Lucy moved to a new position, which left Little at the back of the pack. The older chicks ate, and they prevented Little from getting up to the line. Little finally worked his way to the other side of Lucy, and he ate the last 3 bites of fish before Lucy ate the tail. Total for Little = 15 bites.
At 1447 Kenny brought in another large whole fish, which looked like the same species as the last fish. Little was positioned on Lucy’s right and the other two chicks to her left, but those two did not seem very hungry. Little was fed almost exclusively during this meal, with a few more bites going to Middle the latter third of of the feeding. And, Big did not try to eat until near the very end, when he/she was behind Lucy, and was fed between Lucy’s legs. Little ate for 28 minutes straight.
Kenny delivered a medium sized whole fish at 1538. All three osplets still had big crops, and none were very hungry. Little had eaten 12 bites of fish by 1542 then he moved away. At 1547 Little returned to the table and had eaten a total of 28 bits of fish, when he was beaked by Big. Then, Middle and Big ate, and Little seemed content to lay down and take a nap. Meal over at 1601.
1719, Kenny brought a half a fish to the nest. None of the osplets rushed to be fed, but they eventually gathered around Lucy. The bossy twins were to Lucy’s left, and Little was to Lucy’s right, and out of our view. Everyone got bites, including Little, as we observed Lucy reaching over to that side with fish bits many times.”
I love the look on Little’s face when he has Mum and the fish all to himself at Lake Murray.
‘H’ reports for Saturday at Lake Murray: “First feeding 0704 to 0714, small whole fish, one bite for Little. Second feeding 0737 to 0740, very small whole fish, one bite for Little. Third feeding 0844 to 0906, medium sized whole fish – Little was positioned to the right rear of Lucy and was fed both from her right side and through her legs. Total of 53 bites for Little.
Returning two year old Ospreys. 5H1 from the very first clutch of CJ7 and Blue 022, the translocated programme at Poole Harbour, was seen in Pool Harbour and now at the Usk Valley in South Wales.
‘H’ spent a lot of time monitoring the nests that are in trouble today and Captiva was one of them. CO8 needed fish! Here is her report: “5/17 – Captiva Osprey Nest: 0726, Jack delivered a very small whole sheepshead, CO7 ate, and prevented CO8 from eating. 1137, Jack brought a small whole pinfish, CO7 ate, and prevented CO8 from eating. 1520, Jack delivered a small whole pinfish, CO7 ate, and prevented CO8 from eating. 1554, Jack brought a small whole pinfish, CO7 ate, and prevented CO8 from eating.
And, then it happened… 1607 Edie went fishing and brought back a whole gafftopsail catfish…enough to feed everyone. CO8 made a beeline to Mom and had a private feeding for 39 minutes! Eat-a-lot, eat-a-lot, crop-drop-crop-drop, eat-a-lot, eat-a-lot, crop-drop-crop-drop, eat-a-lot. At 1647 CO7 decided it was time for CO8 to stop eating, and beaked him (a lot). CO7 was more interested in harassing CO8 at that point than eating. Edie was hungry, and she ate. At 1709 CO7 ate some more, then walked away from Edie at 1718. CO8 then had another 8 minute private feeding, and probably had the biggest crop of his young life. At 1750 Edie found some catfish scraps, and fed them to CO8.”
Thank goodness for a big catfish. CO8 got a nice feeding – which it desperately needed. Just look at that crop on CO7!
There are three and you can finally see them reasonably well at the Patuxent River Part I nest.
Louis is continuing to work on those cot rails at Loch Arkaig. Wonder where he found this? We are two days away from hatch watch at Loch Arkaig.
I wonder if the RAF jets disturb the ospreys? Geemeff says that there were five yesterday instead of the usual two.
We are a day away from hatch watch at the Dyfi Osprey nest of Idris and Telyn.
Four days from hatch at Poole Harbour!
More than a week until we can expect a hatch from Aran and Elen’s eggs at Glaslyn.
Dad brought a really nice fish to Mum and the chicks at Patchogue and proceeded to block the feeding! Gosh, golly. These two are just amazing parents and Dad is still fishing crazy even though he doesn’t have four chicks to feed this year.
Sadly, there are problems at Severna Park. I did not see a male bring fish all day on Friday. The female left the eggs unattended – she has to eat! Where are you Oscar? Are you pulling a Louis? For this nest to be successful – like all of them – the female relies on the male to bring her fish and later to her and the chicks she cares for. Without that, her health would diminish, and she would have to leave the nest. It would be impossible for Olivia to carry on. I hope that she abandons the eggs and has a lovely summer.
I saw a post that said that a car might have hit Oscar. Seriously. How many ospreys have you seen on the pavement? Carrion eaters like eagles, crows, hawks, etc., get killed because they get on the roads, as do geese and ducks crossing the highways, lanes, and boulevards, but Ospreys! Really.
Should we be concerned about the US Osprey population this year? Last year, in the NE United States, only a handful of nests had chicks fledged. The cause was the June storm and the overfishing of the Menhaden. Individuals monitoring nests in Maryland and New Jersey that are not on YouTube inform me that they hope 40% have a single chick fledge. At least 60% of the monitored nests are without eggs or bonded pairs. This is a considerable change. We have seen Barnegat Light fail, and now it looks like Severna will follow suit. Do you know of others?
The ‘Only Bob’ at Carthage is being fed well by its attentive parents.
Little Bob at Venice Golf and Country Club is the only one who has yet to fledge. He is getting good air on Friday and the hovers are improving. Look for a flight soon!
Colonial Beach has its first egg as of Friday 17 May.
At Carova Beach, Betsy and Frederick have two chicks. One is twice as large as the other. The third egg has not hatched. Betsy does stretch to get that little one some fish. Makes me slightly nervous.
The couple at Hammonasset have their third egg on the 17th.
It was a beautiful day at the Bridge Golf Club Osprey platform.
Keke and Leo continue to exchange incubation duties at Sandpoint.
Everything is looking good at Cowlitz PUD including those fine and simple metal fish grates to protect the nest from predation from the local Bald Eagles. I am always grateful for the concern that Cowlitz PUD expressed for their birds and the efforts they made to protect them. Why aren’t we seeing this at other platforms? It was proven to work last year. Simple. Drill a hole in the platform. Insert a metal pole attached to the fish grid. It is that simple.
Port of Ridgefield still looking good.
We are on hatch watch for Green Bay, NH ospreys!
The nest at Oceanside MNSA Osprey nest is so full of human garbage and there are three little ones. One of them is quite tiny. Is anyone watching this nest? And if so, could you please send me news. (Thanks)
The first egg hatched at BUND-Goitzshe on the 16th while the second hatched on the 17th. We wait to see about the third egg.
When tragedy strikes an Osprey nest, does the news spread and there are no takers and it stays abandoned? Certainly I have seen that in a certain area of my province. Then there is the Cape Henlopen State Park platform where tragedy struck two years ago when the Dad was killed, the Mum fought intruding ospreys trying to protect her three feathered babies, to no avail. The chicks starved on the live stream. The couple left and didn’t return. It was all for nothing.
Beaumont and Hope are at the Snow Lane, Newfoundland Osprey platform. No eggs yet. The female that had been at the nest earlier has dispersed.
I wonder how big the Red-tail Hawk nest is at Syracuse? It looks small – what an advantage big Red’s kids have to work their legs on that grid of the light stand. It is like having a private runway!
There is likely to be a shortage of squirrels on the Cornell Campus. Arthur seems intent on covering the nest with them for N1 and N2. The feathers are coming in nicely and the ears are now covered. The eyases are looking out to the larger world. In June they will fly. Hard to believe.
Please, please prevent window strike. For a couple of dollars you can get Crayon Window Markers and reveal the artist you need knew you were. If you are handy you can take a thin strip of wood the width of your window. Drill holes every 5 cm or 2 inches. Run a nylon cord – I have only seen grey and black used – and tie it tight making sure it is the length of your window. Do this for every hole and attach to the outside of your window. This is what they use at our nature centre along with the Feather Friendly window dots. Or you can apply the Feather Friendly window dots. They say they last ten years. Mine are a year old and still fine. Everything goes on the OUTSIDE of the window not the inside. You need a lot of butterfly or hawk decals as the spacing needs to be every 5 cm or 2 inches to prevent strikes.
Do it so this doesn’t happen!
One of the things that we might possibly forget are the food chains that support our bird populations. Without insects, many birds are seeing swift population declines, particularly smaller birds. Without those smaller birds, some of our raptors do not have prey. Their numbers drop. I think you get the picture. Modern agricultural practices are certainly to blame but looking closer to home it is those perfect green gardens, the sprays used on your roses to keep the ‘bugs’ off that kill the small birds. We need to begin to think of our gardens as meadows instead of golf courses. Imagine walking out and picking your own wildflower bouquet for your table. It could happen. For now, encourage people to be pesticide free, please.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, observations, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Montana Osprey Cams, Montana Osprey Project, Cilla Kinross, Cal Falcons, Amersfoort Falcons, Lake Murray Ospreys, Birds of Poole Harbour, Window to Wildlife, Patuxent River Park, Geemeff, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, PSEG, Severna Park, DTC- Carthage Ospreys, VGCCO, Colonial Beach Ospreys, OBX Osprey Cam, Bridge Golf Club Ospreys, Sandpoint Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Port of Ridgefield, Cape Henlopen State Park, Syracuse RTH, Cornell RTH, Acadia Wildlife, and The Guardian.
We woke up to a little more snow Friday morning after the rain and snow mixed on Thursday. It is quite cool at 0 degrees C today compared to other days, and it is quite windy. That snow continued on and off during the day and has now accumulated late Friday night. I feel for the birds who do not know if it is winter or spring. They do better in the snow than in the rain as some of the food does not get sloppy and wet. There were hundreds and hundreds today and south of where I live, people had hundreds of Robins on their lawns pulling up worms!
I should introduce new readers to some of the garden animals so they know who I am constantly mentioning.
Dyson is the matriarch of the Grey Squirrel family. She is named after the inventor of the famous vacuum cleaner because of her skill in ‘sucking up peanuts’ faster than anyone! She is at least five years old; my diary tells me seven. Last year, she had three kits. They still come to the garden. She is much adored and has her own fan club! She is extremely healthy this spring. I love how her little fingers cup the small Black-oil seed and peanuts.
Little Red lived in our garden shed until it had to be torn down for the conservatory two years ago. I tried to build him a new house. Then we purchased a special squirrel house from Finland – Little Red didn’t like it and then Dyson ate the wood around the hole so she could get in and eat the peanuts I had placed in there to lure Little Red. Little Red was always alone. Then Miss Little Red arrived and well, now we have at least four Reds living in and about the garden.
A baby?
There are also Mr and Mrs Blue Jay, who are the parents of Junior, who had his little jays starting two years ago. He does not migrate, and last summer, we had two Blue Jay families living within 10 metres of the garden. The fledglings arrived and ate at the feeders. There are currently six Blue Jays around. I cannot wait for this summer. The garden could be filled with Blue Jays!!!!! Their colours are so magnificent, and the white pattern on the tip of their tails is different for each one – that is how I identify them. Junior’s feathers are a bit of a mess right now. It looks like he has been in a fight, as it seems a bit early for moulting. Indeed some of the feathers appear broken.
Then there is Mr and Mrs Downy, Mr and Mrs Hairy, and Mr Pileated that come throughout the day. I caught Mrs Downy on the suet this afternoon.
The European Starlings are having a feast in the large table feeder. Today they seem to be attracted to the suet while the squirrels – both Dyson and the three kits from last summer – and the two little Reds – forage for peanuts. I have not seen the Blue Jays so far and it is 1322 Friday afternoon.
Four cats bring me more joy than anyone could ever imagine. Missey arrived with Lewis on 2 November 2022; they were adopted from the Humane Society, which takes in stray cats and kittens. Sadly, we lost Lewis in September 2023. Calico lived in the garden and was dumped as a kitten (or so it seems). I lured her into being friends in the winter of 2023 and then once she had her kittens – only one survived (Baby Hope) – they moved into the house. It was quite the ordeal tracking her and then hoping the kitten would find us (it had left their nest and was eight weeks old). The most recent addition is Hugo Yugo, who is a rescue. Her mother was starved when she was carrying her seven kittens. As a consequence, Hugo Yugo continues to be the size of an 8-10 week old kitten despite the fact that she is now eight and a half months old. She was supposed to be a male but turned out to be a Ginger Female (only 20% of Gingers are female). She is a character. I would not part with any of them. They create a life around me that is like a symphony.
Missey has been talking to the Dark-eyed Juncos through the window and Hugo Yugo along with Calico and Baby Hope went into a food coma and have yet to surface.
Mamma Calico and Baby Hope. They posed. I could not believe it. My heart just stops every time I see them together – and they are like this most of the day unless eating or playing. Inseparable. Calico raised Hope. She would come and eat and run back to take care of her quickly. Hope was the healthiest feral kitten I had ever seen. Calico did a superb job. Cannot imagine them living on the streets.
And for those wondering who I am, well, I am a Retired Professor who has undertaken a long-term study of siblicide on Osprey nests. Last year, I increased the number of eggs observed to 341 with ‘H’. This year, we are aiming for 500. The results will be published when we have good annual comparisons – starting with 2 years and then moving next to 5 years. In 2023, many chicks were lost due to a Nor-eastern in the Chesapeake Bay Area and overfishing of the Menhaden. Perhaps that will not happen this year. I am not desensitised to the tragic events on the nests that have deaths – I take each one pretty hard. It is the joy of seeing the chick we might believed would perish thrive – to wonder at their perseverance, determination, and cleverness. Ultimately, I would like to see if these beaten chicks that do survive the nest to fledge have a higher return rate in the second year. Sadly, due to the fact that so few nests band their osplets, it is impossible to determine.
I want everyone to enjoy nature. To marvel at how beautiful the world is right outside our own windows and to realise how important it is to get out and breathe the air and listen to the birdsong. Life is stressful and it is one proven way to calm ourselves down!
Friday was a day for egg laying…I continue to tell everyone to mark their calendars. That third week in May is going to be a very busy one.
On Friday afternoon, 19 April, Dorcha was injured in an encounter with a large raptor—a golden eagle or a Sea Eagle—at Loch Arkaig. According to Geemeff, Ravens were escorting the large raptor out of the area when Dorcha got involved. Dorcha returned to the nest at 1501 with scratches, blood, and an injured leg.
The injuries to the right leg – it looks like a large puncture to me – can clearly be seen when Dorcha gets up from incubating her egg when Louis brings her a fish.
Poor Dorcha. She was due to lay her third egg and she did at 02:26 Saturday morning, the 20th of April. Hard incubation should begin.
I am expecting the third egg if there is to be one at Loch of the Lowes today, the 20th.
All eyes are on the eggs of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus anxiously awaiting the sign of the first pip.
Positively nothing at the nest of Angel and Tom. Is Tom missing? ‘A’ seems to think he is.
At Eagle Country, Swampy is going higher on the natal nest tree. S/he will fledge shortly. What a seemingly strong and healthy eaglet.
Tuffy had a Good Friday. Harry delivered a huge Tilapia at 0941 at the Moorings Park nest on Friday. Tuffy was in and out of the feeding, but by 1055 was finished and had a nice crop!
Tuffy has had big crops all Friday. This little one is eating well.
Later than the image above, after another fish. Harry must have an excellent spot to land these whoppers…
A fish arrived at 1423. Tuffy had a nice crop at the end of that meal, too!
Tuffy had a crop when the 1602 fish arrived. He looked but didn’t bother to go over and eat. He was full already.
A little bit of a fish came at 1831..Tuffy even got some!
It ‘feels’ like Tuffy and Ruffie have done nothing but eat all day. Each time I go and check Tuffy is up at the beak. If this little one continues to eat this much fish per day, we will have to change the middle letters of its name from ‘F’ to ‘B’. Sssshhhh. Don’t say it out loud. We don’t want to give the second hatch a complex. All kidding aside, Tuffy did really well on Friday. In fact, both were so full that Sally got to finish off a nice fish as the sun was setting on the nest.
First egg for Cowlitz PUD is 18 April! Love these folks. They put up metal fish grates to protect the osplets from being taken by the Bald Eagles!
Egg #1 or Bruce and Naha at Seaside on the 18th of April, too!
We have an egg at Oyster Bay on Long Island.
‘H’ reports: “Opal did it again…she laid the 4th egg at 17.46.” I caution new observers that this is a tough nest to watch if all eggs hatch and fish deliveries are few. Siblicide warning.
All three chicks at the Venice Golf and Country club platform look fine.
The camera has gone black again at Frenchman’s Creek. Now it is only listed as Private so I presume residents only that wish to sign up. We will sadly never know the fate of the two older osplets. I hope that they continue to self feed and that someone from Frenchman’s Creek will let us know if they fledge.
All three eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy have nice crops on Friday.
Snow on Finland’s Osprey nests.
Egg three at Llyn Clywedog nest of Seren and Dylan arrives on the 19th as well.
‘L’ reports: “New female at Charlo is OJ (Wakati) from 2018 Dunrovin nest. She’s got her leg banded.” This might get interesting. Happy for you Charlie if Charlotte does not show up!
Lucy and Kenny’s three eggs at Lake Murray Ospreys. For new viewers, a GHO took all three chicks off this nest in 2023. Former mate, Ricky died and difficult for Mum to feed, hunt, and offer security.
Iris was at her nest in Missoula, Montana on Friday.
It is hard to believe that these two are Liberty and Guardian’s little eaglets.
Lots of soft bedding for the two tiny eaglets at Fort St Vrain – and a good thing, too, as the snow began to fall Friday evening.
Port Tobacco’s only eaglet appears to be doing just dandy!
Do you have a dream to see the geese that winter in the UK? Before the climate changes so much that they stay in Greenland and Siberia? Here is a file to help you identify them. It is on my bucket list!
To my knowledge, all nests are doing well. The snow has again started, and I am behind in my data entry. I will check on some of the eagle nests tomorrow, along with what is happening at our hawk and osprey nests. Take care everyone. Thank you for being with us today.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, L, PB’, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Cornell RTH Cam, Window to Wildlife, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, PSEG, Forsythe Osprey Cam, VGCCO, Little Miami Conservancy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Llyn Clywedog and CarnyXWild, Charlo Montana, Lake Murray Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, FORE, XCel Energy, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, BBC Countryfile, and Audubon.
*Disclaimer: Every effort is made to acknowledge those that provide information and material for my posting. If I have failed to credit someone, please do let me know so that I can correct this. Thank you,’
My plans for Friday and Saturday have altered. There will be blog posts but they will be briefer than normal for those two days.
It is Wednesday evening. The second egg at the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout is hatching. The chick can be heard on the microphone. Thanks ‘T’ or your keen eye! Send the most positive energy to this nest so that Scout does not kill this second miracle chick! Perhaps Bella will feed the little one when he is there so he can understand that it is not a prey item.
For dear Bella, I hope, like each of you, that this little one fledges and thrives.
Scout has been acting ‘odd’ again. We will just have to wait and see what happens.
It was another gorgeous day on the Canadian Prairies. 14 degrees C. There was a cool breeze blowing off the lake at the nature centre that made it feel much chillier. The geese and the ducks arriving did not mind! Everyone walking on the trails was happy and one of the rangers remarked that the muskrat had been seen in the swamp. There were Saw-whet Owls, a Blue Heron heard but not seen, woodpeckers, geese, ducks, Red-wing Blackbirds and the Song and Fox Sparrows have returned from their migration.
I heard the Saw-whet Owl but did not see it and this is not unusual for these nocturnal birds.
Cornell Bird Lab gives us some cool facts about these smallest of owls.
The Northern Saw-whet Owl may have been named for giving a call that sounds like a saw being sharpened on a whetting stone, but there is no consensus as to which of its several calls gave rise to the name.
The main prey items of the Northern Saw-whet Owl are mice, and especially deer mice of the genus Peromyscus. Saw-whets usually eat adult mice in pieces, over the course of two meals.
The female Northern Saw-whet Owl does all of the incubation and brooding, while the male does the hunting. When the youngest nestling is about 18 days old, the female leaves the nest to roost elsewhere. The male continues bringing food, which the older nestlings may help feed to their younger siblings.
The female saw-whet keeps the nest very clean, but a mess starts to accumulate when she leaves. By the time the young owls leave the nest, 10 days to 2 weeks later, the nest cavity has a thick layer of feces, pellets, and rotting prey parts.
Migration in saw-whets has historically been poorly understood, because of their nocturnal, reclusive behavior. In the 1990s researchers began Project Owlnet, a collaboration that now consists of more than 100 owl migration banding sites. Researchers use the too-too-too call to lure owls in to mist nets, and band thousands of saw-whets every fall.
Migrating Northern Saw-whet Owls can cross the Great Lakes or other large bodies of water. In October of 1999, one landed on a fishing vessel 70 miles from shore in the Atlantic Ocean near Montauk, New York.
The oldest Northern Saw-whet Owl on record was at least 9 years, 5 months old when it was captured and released by a Minnesota bird bander in 2007. It was originally banded in Ontario in 1999.
In the urban area where I live, habitat loss is one of the primary reasons for wildlife decline. My goal over the past decade has been to create a corridor or the birds – an area populated by bird feeders, bird houses, bee houses, and, ironically, safe places for the feral cats to feed, drink, and sleep. (I have discovered that the feral cats do not bother the birds at the feeders. It is the domestic pets that do!) Cornell Bird Lab is reaching out and asking that each of us do something to provide habitat for the birds.
Make a Difference for Birds Facing Habitat Loss “As I was setting up the nest boxes, I saw my first Tree Swallow of the season and had a pair of bluebirds checking out the boxes right after I put them up—looks like the boxes are bluebird approved!”—Kim Savides, Ithaca, NY Experiences like this are more common than you might think! Creating a nesting space for birds helps replace missing habitat elements and alleviate competition for good nest sites. Cavity-nesting birds like bluebirds, chickadees, swallows, and titmice will appreciate the additional space, while you get to enjoy the magic of witnessing nature close to home. You can get personalized guidance on which nest boxes to install for your region and habitat—along with free construction plans—on the NestWatch website. Don’t have space for a nest box? Create other nesting opportunities by hanging flower boxes or adding potted plants to your outdoor space. Just don’t wait too long; birds are looking for the ideal nesting spot right now!
I promised you some images of ‘The Girls’. Missey and Hugo Yugo have been getting into far too much mischief. They have their own ‘feather’ collection, which consists of a vase full of Canada goose feathers, which they can play with at any time. Ah, but since one feather looks like the other, they have also been into my Pheasant and Peacock feathers vase. The Peacock feathers are quite old. My grandmother’s younger sister raised peacocks on her farm in Oklahoma. I remember their tails fanned out in the front garden as a child.
I there is trouble or anything ‘going on’ you can count on Hugo Yugo being involved. Dear Hope was sitting minding her own business when Hugo Yugo decided it was time to play!
Remember. Hugo Yugo is very, very tiny for her age. She easily fits into that shoe box with room left over. She plays like a kitten and continues to be the size of one even though she is seven months old.
Hope loves to watch the squirrels out of the window and is very curious about the ‘outdoor’ cats. Here she is sitting minding her own business.
Hugo Yugo has spotted Hope and is ready to play!
Hope has so much patience – like the others because of Hugo Yugo’s size.
Hugo Yugo never seems to get tired of play fighting.
She easily pushes Baby Hope over on her back.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, Baby Hope gets some peace. Hugo Yugo’s battery is out of juice.
The sweetest cat…Calico.
‘J’ sends us the latest update on Meadow:
Mid-week Meadow update: We sent the DNA sample to the lab on Monday, so we expect results back sometime in the next couple of weeks. Meadow is eating well from tongs in the kennel — and all that food gets pretty expensive! Meadow is fed four times a day, as eagles grow incredibly fast in order to leave the nest at 12-14 weeks. The average Bald Eagle rehabilitation costs our Center more than $5,000 including medical care, housing, and food. To support Meadow’s care, please contribute at https://act.audubon.org/onlineact…/ar8crC6bIUGX9UsdFBWdnw2
‘H’ brings us the fully daily report from Moorings Park:
“Harry brought a small whole fish at 0711. Tuffy received one bite and was beaked by Ruffie. Tuffy moved away and Ruffie ate. At 0716 Tuffy was beaked again even though he was not in a position to eat. The fish was gone by 0722. One bite for Tuffy.
At 0920 Harry delivered a large live fish. There was no initial aggression toward Tuffy other than ‘the look’, which was enough to keep Tuffy from the table. At 0928 Tuffy got one bite and was beaked and driven away. One more bite for Tuffy at 0934, and he was beaked. Tuffy ate another bite of fish at 0937 and was severely beaked by Ruffie. By 0940, Ruffie quit the feeding, but she blocked Tuffy from Sally. There was still a fair amount of fish remaining. Sally ate some, and at 0945 Ruffie ate some more. At 0946 Tuffie started to make his move to get around to the other side of Sally, but by the time he got there, Ruffie was finished eating and moved away. At that point Tuffy was fed a nice breakfast. Tuffy was seen crop dropping a few times to make more room. The fish was gone by 0959, and Sally found a few scraps off the nest to offer Tuffy as well. Tuffy ate at least 63 bites of fish.”
… At 1131 Harry brought a headless fish. Tuffy moved away as he has been conditioned to do. Ruffie was fed. Ruffie wasn’t very hungry and moved across the nest at 1135. Tuffy could not believe his luck! Tuffy had Sally and the fish all to himself, and he ate at least 98 bites of fish by 1147, at which time he walked away from Sally. Then, Ruffie ate again for a few minutes, and Sally finished the fish tail.
…At 1519 Harry delivered a fairly large headless fish, four hours after the last fish. Tuffy stayed near the front, but turned away from Ruffie, and Ruffie was fed. At 1521 Tuffy received one bite, then was intimidated by Ruffie with ‘the look’. The video live stream froze at 1524, and resumed at 1536. So, while we have no idea what transpired in those 12 minutes, we found the siblings eating side by side. The meal was over by 1539. Tuffy had a huge crop…enough said!
‘H’ caught Harry coming in with two fish! A double-header.
“Master-fisher, Harry, delivered two whole fish at 1655, a medium-sized one and a large one. Harry flew off with the larger fish. Ruffie ate while Tuffy stayed back. Tuffy still had a decent sized crop from the 1519 meal, and he did not seem hungry. Sally and Ruffie ate all of the fish by 1703.
… At 1703 Harry returned with the headless one.”
Everyone loves Tuffy and MM caught this great image! It sure looks like Tuffy is giving Ruffy an earful. ‘MM’ says that Ruffy did not retaliate. Yeah for Tuffy.
This image of Tuffy telling Ruffy the what for touched so many hearts. After I saw MM’s image and H’s little video for me, The Tuffy Fan Club lit up my inbox. If only this little osprey knew what a cheering section it has – my goodness. This is a memorable moment. This is what it is all about—watching the very difficult times and seeing some of these little ones come out fighting and surviving. You never forget them.
‘H’ captured the moment in the video, making my day. I love it when these little beaten ones turn around to their perpetrator. You know that this nest is turning around.
And then, there was a late delivery. ‘H’ writes: “Harry dropped off a small partial fish at 2150. Sally ate, and she had a difficult time connecting with little beaks due to the darkness. It was peaceful, but Ruffie got the most simply because she could reach out further to Tuffy. Tuffy ate 5-6 bites.”
Thursday morning report at Moorings Park from ‘H’: ‘At 0759 Harry arrived with a very large headless fish (possibly catfish). Ruffie beaked Tuffy immediately, setting the tone. Tuffy tucked. At 0808 and 0810 Tuffy tried to approach Sally, but he was intimidated by Ruffie, so he moved further to the sidelines. Tuffy remained tucked at the sidelines for a very long time. Ruffie was not being fed that entire time, but she kept an eye on Tuffy. The fish was very tough, and it was slow-going for Sally. At 0825, Tuffy started to slowly inch closer to Sally, and by 0826 he was at her right side letting her know that he was ready to eat…but, Ruffy was obviously ready to pounce. Sure enough, at 0826 Sally offered Tuffy a bite, and he was immediately beaked by Ruffie. At 0832 Tuffy scooted even further away from the feeding line, but Ruffy followed him. At 0835 Ruffie saw that Tuffy was trying to sneak around to the other side of Sally and she moved across the nest and beaked him. By 0849 Tuffy was still tucked at the far rail, and Ruffie was getting bites of fish whenever she could as Saly continued to struggle with the tough fish. It’s Interesting to note, that since Ruffie has grown so much, she can reach Sally’s beak from almost across the nest, so at 0850, Ruffie was still getting a few bites from Sally all the way across the nest. This increased range of Ruffie seemed to greatly reduce Tuffy’s ability to sneak around to get into a better position. Slowly, Ruffie seemed to be relaxing as she got full, and Tuffy was once again near Sally at 0852. Tuffy ate 6 bites of fish and was beaked. Ruffie soon moved away from Sally, and by 0855 Tuffy was finally being fed. Ruffie laid down across the nest and Tuffy had a private feeding. Tuffy ate at least 102 bites of that tough catfish! This feeding of Tuffy was made possible because of the large size of the fish Harry brought. For survival of the non-dominant osplet.. size matters.”
‘H’ said that right! You can count fish, but you need regular deliveries of large fish to prevent siblicide. The delivery of 8 small fish does not help! Catfish also seem to help. The head is tough going and slows down the feeding. The oldest gets full and goes away leaving fish for the little one. Diane’s catfish at Achieva certainly pulled that nest through tough times.
‘H’ also caught the second egg at Carthage – four days after the first and Mum has been doing hard incubation since the first one was laid. Can I say, oh, dear before they have even hatched? All chicks were lost on this nest last year.
‘H’ reports that “First egg at Forsythe today, 20.10.02.” Opal is the same Mum from last year but this is a new Oscar.
Like so many others in the area, this nest was hit hard by the Nor’easter in June and then the overfishing of the Menhaden.
The weather is horrible at Loch Arkaig’s nest 2 with Louis and Dorcha. Dorcha is there in the middle of the wind and snow and it appears she could be laying her first egg.
‘J’ sends us Karen Mott’s photo of the three eaglets at Centreport on Long Island. What a surprise when their heads all pop up!
Unless you are an expert on California Condors, I really suggest you grab a cuppa’ and watch this 24 minute film. It’s new. It is by Tim Huntington and the cinematography is gorgeous.
It feels like video day! Dani Connor Wild gives us her last instalment of her trip to Antarctica with leopard Seals, more Penguins, and story after story.
JBS20 continues to make his fan club nervous as he continues to explore the tower that would be a tree. Fledging within the week probably.
Despite the miserable wet weather, Bonnie and Clyde keep their eaglets fed and warm.
The weather is wet and miserable for the Little Miami Conservancy eagle family, too. Bette is doing a great job as Umbrella while Baker is keeping food on the nest.
The ND-LEEF babies of Dad and Gigi appear to be doing fine.
USS7 – Claire and Irvin’s little one – is super! We can certainly be thankful for these little ones with their soft downy heads and little wings and feet.
Ellie and Harvey filled up Cheyenne and Wichita on Wednesday.
I know that the prey deliveries get fewer as the eaglets get older, but after hearing about Meadow being emaciated, it would be so nice if the parents could keep up the deliveries like they did when the eaglets are in their growth period. The Dukies would have liked some more today I am certain.
Hearts continue to break for Jackie and Shadow and their dream of a family.
Port Tobacco’s ‘Only Eaglet’ is certainly benefitting from all that food brought to the nest and not having to share but Chandler, the Dad, is missing.
Update: B17 has died. Please send your good wishes to Ma and Missey at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest in Georgia. Their only eaglet B17 appears to be unwell. Did it get sick from the damp weather? This photo is from Tuesday.
This is the today’s state of affairs at the eagle nests from ‘J’:
New eaglets: Bald Canyon 2 Folfan 3 Avon Lake 2
Eaglet died: Berry College
MIA: Chandler, the male, at Port Tobacco. Not seen at the nest since 9 April. Intruders about.
‘J’
The eaglets at Decorah North must bring us some happiness. They are lovely.
We have a Finnish Osprey at home. Cara arrives at the Janakkala Nest on Tuesday the 9th!
Then, almost simultaneously, Stefu arrives at the Seili Nest! They are coming home.
Falcons hatching in Eindhoven and in Japan!
At Port Lincoln, Bradley loves to show off his fish!
‘A’ brings us news of the Mums at Taiaroa Head Albatross Colony: “The mums are obviously foraging closer to home than the males in the Royal Cam families, with both BOK (arrived 12:46) and LGL (13:04) coming in to feed their boys some lunch today (11 April). I thought you might be interested in this footage, not for general consumption because it is a bit long (18 minutes) but it is the beginning that was fascinating to me. The story here is that BOK returned when she was ready to find a mate (so probably aged about four) and this bird, at the time known as Red, was her preferred suitor. This was the footage of the day Red was banded and became WYL, father of TFT chick with his mate, BOK. The thing that interested me the most was that this is a mature bird, ready to court and find a mate. They don’t return to Taiaroa Head until then. So Red must have been at least three and probably four or even five years old. And he allowed the rangers to approach him, extend an arm (for self-protection) and pick him up while holding his bill closed. There is no attempt to flee, struggle or engage in self-defence. He just quietly submits to the rangers’ tender care, while they equip him with the White, Yellow and Lime banding that identifies him as WYL. Imagine doing that to an eagle at the same age! You’d lose a limb. And an eye or three. The stately gentle beauty of these amazing birds never ceases to take my breath away. Looking at those adorable little snowmen with their tiny little fluffy wings that will soon become like the wings of a glider plane, steering their direction as they ride the thermals. These are wings designed not to flap, which would be pretty much impossible given their enormous spread, but to surf the wind currents. Truly amazing birds. So very precious. A haven such as Taiaroa Head shows human beings at our best. Those rangers (and the NZ government that finances their work) dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of the toroa, which are particularly special to the Indigenous people of NZ (the Maoris). How wonderful is it to know that these chicks are hatched in an incubator to protect them from fly strike, and are then weighed weekly, supplementary fed if necessary, and generally given optimal care throughout their prefledge period? Or knowing that the adults, too, will receive supplementary feeding and/or hydration as required, such as if one parent does not return to relieve its mate for an over-long period of time? Or that the sprinkler system will be turned on to keep the chicks and adults on the nests cool on days where heat stress might otherwise impact them? What a joy.
Small colony of Dorset Puffins on the brink of extinction.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care and feel free to send me any bird news that you see!
Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, screen captures, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, J, H, MM, T’, Deb Stecyk, NTCT Eagle Cam, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Moorings Park Ospreys, Carthage – DTC, Forsythe Osprey Cam, The Woodland Trust, Karen Mott-Centreport Eagles, Ventana Wildlife Society, DaniConnorWild, JB Sands Wetlands, Cardinal Land, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Port Tobacco, Little Miami Conservancy, Kansas City Eagles, ND-LEEF, Pix Cams, Berry College Eagle Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Yvonne M, Japanese Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Lady Hawk, and BirdGuides.
Spring is here and the geese continue to fly in. The songbirds are quickly following! The Prairies are waking up from a not-so-bad winter.
This pair of Geese kept their eyes on me while I read my book and sipped some mint tea at the nature centre. It was a perfect afternoon to fall asleep in the warm sunshine.
The Blue Jays – now six – are coming to the garden and have difficulty deciding which peanut to take when there is a big pile! It is incredible how long they ponder the selection if Dyson is not rushing them. The squirrels and the Blue Jays have arranged to take turns at the feeder.
This is the one!
After the other birds and squirrels are gone, the Black-capped Chickadees arrive for seeds. They are making a nest in a Blue Spruce tree in the front garden to my sheer delight.
Dyson and the kits are now moulting. Everyone survived the winter. It feels so good to see all of them.
‘The Girls’ are fantastic and I will get some new images tomorrow for you.
Did Tuffy figure it out? Did Mum Sally position herself so that her little one could get on one side away from Ruffy? We won’t know, but both happened and Tuffie got most of the breakfast on Tuesday!
‘H’ reports: “At 0820 Harry brought a whole fish to the nest. The usual feeding scenario took place between the siblings. Tuffy got a couple of quick bites, then was beaked by Ruffie. Over the next 20 minutes or so, Ruffie made sure that Tuffie could not eat. Tuffie had been slowly moving around to the other side of Sally, and at 0845 Tuffie started to receive more bites from Sally. Ruffie appeared to be thinking about acting tough, but ultimately decided to let Tuffy eat. Tuffy had a private feeding for the rest of the meal. There was a break for a minute as Sally was alarming due to an intruder, and both osplets pancaked, but then the feeding of Tuffy resumed. Tuffy had eaten at least 110 bites of fish by 0901, and then he moved away from Sally. Sally finished the fish.”
Harry brought in a second headless large fish at 11:24. Tuffy was in a bad position and did not move up to eat at the beginning. Sally was hungry and fed herself and Ruffy. At 11:28 after scooting around, Tuffy got in position and Sally gave him a bite of fish. Tuffy moved a bit and returned, had some more bites before Ruffy approached and Tuffy backed away afraid of being beaked.
‘H’ reports: “Harry brought a headless fish at 1122. Tuffy automatically moved away instinctively to avoid being attacked by Ruffie.. Ruffie was fed. Tuffy did try to approach the feeding a few times, but shrank away after getting the ‘stink eye’ from Ruffie. At 1130 Ruffie backed up to PS, and Tuffie got one bite. Ruffie returned to eat. At 1132 Ruffie went out of her way to move across the nest and beak Tuffy even though Tuffy was nowhere near Sally. Tuffy got a bite of fish at 1135. At 1136 Ruffie was full and moved away from the table. Then Tuffy ate until 1142, when he started refusing Sally’s offerings. Tuffy was crop dropping at 1145, then he ate some more. More crop dropping by Tuffy at 1147, and by 1148 Tuffy was just too full to eat any more and turned away. At 1150 Ruffy returned for a few more bites, but quit at 1153. Sally finished the fish. Tuffy ate at least 53 bites of fish at this meal.
At 1514 Harry delivered a small-ish whole fish. Tuffy did not initially make a great effort to get to the table, nevertheless, Ruffie beaked and harassed him. And, while Ruffie was eating she took the time to pivot and harass Tuffy a few times. By 1532 the fish was gone. Zero bites for Tuffy.”
Tuffy is aware of Ruffy’s every move and chooses not to be beaked. Instead, Tuffy will move away. He will return and get a nice private feeding.
‘H’ catches us up at Moorings Park: “At 1602, less than an hour after Harry delivered the last fish, he dropped off a headless fish. Ruffie should have been full from her last recent meal, which would have favored Tuffy’s chances of eating…but, it didn’t work out that way. Ruffy blocked every attempt made by Tuffy to get up closer to Sally’s beak. The fish was gone by 1624. Tuffy did not eat.Wow, good for Harry, he brought the third fish in two hours time… a nearly whole fish at 1715. Tuffy started to get bites at 1718, and ate a total of 14 bites before Ruffie beaked him. By 1724, Tuffy was back at the table, and was eating freely beside Ruffie. Tuffy ate 59 bites by the end of the meal and then Sally found 5 scraps to give to him. Total for Tuffy = 64 bites.
Total bites for Tuffy so far today: at least 227 bites of fish.
That was not the end of Harry’s fishing. ‘H’ has a last report for us unless Harry brings in another fish!
“At 1822 Harry delivered a large headless fish (6th fish of the day). The osplets ate side by side for the entire meal. I did not count bites for Ruffie, but it really seemed that Tuffy had more to eat than Ruffie. Total bites of fish for Tuffie at this meal = at least 121.
Total fish bites to Tuffie so far today = 348.”
Tuffy having bites of fish this morning:
‘A’ brings us news of Angel and Tom: “After a no-show day on 8 April (related to the eclipse?), we were graced with a brief afternoon visit from Angel and Tom today. She arrived at 4.41.39pm, with Tom flying in soon afterwards (4.42:22pm). Interestingly, neither brought any nesting material with them. Angel just stood in the middle of the nest, surveying her surroundings. Tom stood on the side of the nest, watching her intently. She clears any fallen debris out of her nest bowl. Tom seems fascinated by that nest bowl. She then moves a couple of sticks. Again, Tom watches her every move, giving her actions his absolutely total attention. After Tom flies off at 4.43:39. Angel remains until shortly after 4.45pm, flying off at 4.45.1The behaviour was interesting today. There was no nest-building material brought in, and the only nest arrangement that was done (by Angel) involved moving a couple of items that had fallen into or over the nest bowl since their last visit on 7 April. Before she left, Angel did a big rouse, which began with her feathers slowly standing up a bit, until she look like she was wearing a puffer jacket. Then the rouse. Then the gradual lowering of the feathers back to their usual ‘flat to the skin’ positioning. It was fascinating to watch. Searching as we are for any sign that Angel is going to give us an egg at any moment, I am wondering whether this puffed-up eggy’ look she has is just my imagination, and whether the fact that they have finished the building phase and are only lining the nest bowl with bark etc (6 April and 7 April) or moving things that have blown or fallen down over the nest bowl. So that should mean that eggs MUST be nigh. Surely. We wait, talons crossed. Speaking of which, how absolutely exquisite are Angel’s ‘nails’? She must be at the nail salon every week to have them looking like that. So perfect. She is such a miracle of nature. I give thanks every time I get to see her on cam. And what a handsome, healthy falcon Tom looks this season. I cannot wait to see him being a mature dad this time around. “
How many would have liked to have transported either or both of the NCTC or Hanover eaglets to the nest of Shadow and Jackie?
Morning diamonds pouring down on the dreams of these two Big Bear Eagles.
Jackie partially buries the eggs Tuesday morning.
The time passes so quickly and Lady and Dad are working on that nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest!
Meanwhile, in the UK, Threave is wishing for their first egg.
At Dunrovin, Swoop arrived and Harriet was not there. She is late. Will she return this year?
Swoop waits…
Geemeff writes excitedly: Now all three, Prince, Garry LV0 and Affric 152, are back – the Lochenders soap opera continues! —– This is the old nest of Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.
We need to be ever so thankful for those little eaglets that did survive this year. So many nests failed alongside the many tragic moments. ‘J’ has been keep track of the Bald Eagles and this is the tally this morning:
Overview Chicks: 111 eggs 67 chicks 2 died 1 got killed by sibling 2 got killed by dad 1 rescued 3 fledged
No chicks this season: Big Bear still incubating 3 non-viable eggs Chippewa Falls both eggs did not hatch Dulles Greenway abandoned Hanover died within hour, killed by it’s dad KNF E1 abandoned due to Anna’s death KNF E3 abandoned due to Andria’s death NEFL one lost in nest, one abandoned Pittsburgh Hayes crushed egg Sauces crushed egg Two Harbors nonviable egg
Deb Stecyk and what happened on Monday.
Thankfully everything is positively fine with Claire and Irvin’s new arrival at US Steel.
So far all is well at Fort St Vrain and their new arrival in Colorado, too.
The pair at Decorah North have thermal down and don’t look anything like those little cutie pies in the golden sun last week – and thank goodness for that. They are growing and doing well.
The trio at Little Miami Conservancy are – so far – doing fantastic. Quietly think of the effort these parents have to make to feed a family of five!
Viper at Bluff City is huge! Mum Frances protects the only surviving chick (siblicide) in the rain and is well-fed as it gets its juvenile plumage.
Franklin flew in with a big fish dinner around 1831 for Frances and Viper.
Leaper and Jersey are doing well. How long ago was it when we worried that little Jersey would survive? Well, a change of fortune at Duke Farms certainly changed that – juvenile feathers coming in nicely now.
A comments: “Watch the 10.45am (9 April) feeding from Duke Farms today. Mum brings in a nice fresh whole fish and Jersey is at the table when she arrives. He stays there without any sign of submission. He just sits up at the table, waiting for mum to prepare a bite. Leaper lumbers up beside him and he does not move. He does not duck his head or even lean away. He just waits for his food. Leaper sits nicely beside him. When the first bite is ready, mum offers it to Jersey (she has moved the fish slightly to one side so that Jersey is favoured) and he takes it without any hesitation. Not even a glance to check on Leaper’s mood or position. It was MAGNIFICENT. This nest is a triumph for our wonderful mum. It made me SO happy. “
Just look at those crops!
In Scotland, Louis is making certain that Dorcha is well fed and strong for the new breeding season.
Good thing for all that fish – watch this stick display in fast motion.
News coming from Paula in the Forum at San Jose City Hall Falcons from ‘AE’:
Incubation time has been going smoothly most days with an occasional floater coming thru but nothing of a concern so far. :-). Monty has really matured into a really great mate for Hartley. He comes in fairly early to give Hartley a break from all those overnight hours of incubation duty. Hartley takes full advantage of her breaks and at times is very hard to find taking her breaks. This morning I was lucky enough to capture her as she flew up to the cam 2 bar that attaches it to the roof of the City Hall building. Sometimes we will find a bit of her tail feathers to let us know she is up there OR finding the shadow of the full bar may give us a clue.
Have a wonderful day! — Paula A. Forum Moderator
Archie’s has a nap while waiting for his turn to incubate the eggs at The Campanile.
At the Achieva Osprey nest, it has been noticed that one of the eggs has collapsed and is now bean-shaped. We will have to wait and see if any of the eggs are viable and what will happen to this one. My understanding is there is no obvious pip – the shell just began collapsing over the course of the day.
That egg is clearly crushed this morning.
Everything and more you wanted to know about Osprey eggs. I had hoped to find more information on these collapsing eggs. Is it humidity or is it something else?
There is a new streaming cam at the Port of Ridgefield Osprey platform. It is run by Clark Public Utilities in Washington State.
Good news at Abernathy.
The water is beginning to thaw in Finland. Ospreys returning soon.
Bradley and Mum were seen eating fish together at Delamere. I continue to marvel at this wonderful year at Port Lincoln and the fact that brother Ervie is often seen with Bradley, Gil, Mum, and Dad, too.
Congratulations E23. You have now passed the 100 day mark and are 101 days old! What a fabulous season you, your Dad M15 and your new mum, F23 gave us.
Fraser Point kiddos have so many bugs in their nest but they are doing fine.
Maya continues to be monitored at Rutland Water. Please send her positive wishes.
We are in agony when any of our little raptors die. Imagine the beautiful Hen Harrier chicks stomped to death in their nest or shot from the sky after fledging. This happens consistently near the grouse moor hunting estates in the UK. When will society have enough of this killing simply to protect the sport of grouse hunting?
New laws are coming into place, but will they be enough? And will the law provide the kinds of sentences and fines to finally deter this medieval practice?
I want to close with a rescue. You might have seen it, but it makes our hearts warm and glad when a human reaches out and gives a second chance to one of raptors and that is precisely what happened to a Bald Eagle.
The news comes from World Bird Sanctuary: On 3/23/24, a fisherman noticed 2 Bald Eagles floating in the Mississippi River. One was making its way to shore and flew off once it reached land. The other appeared to be drowning, struggling to keep her head above water. The fisherman was able to haul the bird up onto a bank and called Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) for help. MDC picked up the exhausted eagle and transported her to our hospital for care. Upon arrival, the eagle, now patient number 24-120, appeared near death. She was limp when picked up from the transport box, unable to even hold her head up. She was suffering from hypothermia and was soaked down to the skin from her swim in the river. Her breathing was wet and heavy. In this condition, the stress of being handled for an exam could be enough to kill her so our only treatment option was to provide her with heat and oxygen support and hope she survived the night.
24-120 was placed into our eagle oxygen therapy unit and propped up in a support of dry towels to both absorb some of the moisture and put her in a more comfortable breathing position. In the morning, we were delighted to find her standing and alert. An exam showed bruising to her left wrist as well as to the top of her head and her face around both eyes. The pattern of bruising makes us suspect that it was from impact with the water and that head trauma from the impact likely contributed to her inability to swim to shore.
24-120 recovered quickly and was ready for release after 2 weeks in care! It was windy at release time but 24-120 was up for catching the breeze to gain altitude. The MDC officer who picked her up was able to be there to open the door and send her on her way back to the skies! We are so grateful to fellow organizations and individuals who care about our bird species and help make our mission possible. This bird would not have survived without the fisherman who pulled her ashore and the MDC officer who rapidly responded and transported her to our hospital.
Thank you to everyone for being with us today. It was certainly a good day for Tuffy. I hope that you, like me and ‘H’, are beginning to feel that this nest is turning around and that the little one who longs to live so much will thrive!
As always, a first big thank you to ‘H’ for her diligence in keeping up with Tuffy. Thank you also to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MP’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, FOBBV, Gaye Kelly, Threave Ospreys NTS, Kitty Carlyle, Red Wing, Deb Stecyk, Gracie Shepherd, Jenna Dorsey, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Little Miami Conservancy, Bluff City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Geemef, Paul-San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, JB Sands Wetlands, SK Hideaways, Osprey Camera Blog, Clark PUD, Jeff Kerr-Abernathy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SW Florida Eagle Cam, IWS/Explore, Oakhum Nub News, World Bird Sanctuary, and The Guardian.
There is an update to Tuesday’s posting. Correction: Liberty and Guardian’s first clutch. One egg broken. I inadvertently said second clutch! Regrets for any confusion.
I wished for rain and got a mix of rain and snow on Tuesday. It was a grey, cold, miserable day. This did not stop the birds and squirrels from working away in the garden. Indeed, their frantic eating and collection of nuts made me think that the forecast was wrong and that a big storm was coming.
Baby Hope and Hugo Yugo have asked that you do the birds and squirrels a favour. Either do not purchase suet in those mesh bags that get the little legs tangled up, OR if you do, remove the mesh bag – and cut it up completely – for safe disposal. Don’t think throwing it in the bin will make it secure. These bags wind up in landfills, blow around, and birds and raptors go there to find food. So please, help us keep everyone safe.
The female Downy Woodpecker is eating from a suet cylinder removed from a mesh bag.
Checking for the pick of the peanuts! They find the heaviest peanut, knowing that if it is light, there is either nothing in there, or it is dried up.
There were four Little Reds running around today with the three Grey Squirrels. Everyone wanted peanuts!
If you wish to thank or donate to help with the maintenance and repairs and predator baffle for the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest of Jack and Diane, please go to the Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue, Moccasin Lake Raptor Sanctuary) and thank Barbara Walker. Donations are always appreciated, although they did not ask for help- showing them people care for this Osprey couple would be good. Any amount, however small, is always appreciated, but a big thank you would be appreciated as well.
Duke Farms is a beautiful nest to behold even in the rain on Tuesday. The pictures tell the entire story.
The peace on the Duke Farms nest is fantastic. Now the unsettled nest is Moorings Park.
At Moorings Park Osprey platform, it is another story. They are just starting the Reptilian Phase. Ruffy is terrorising Tuffie. It is a repeat of what we saw at Duke Farms. Now what is the problem with Harry getting fish to the nest early in the day? We praised him last year for his fishing skills. So what is up? We know from Mark Smith’s videos that ospreys have many species that would like to take a free fish – eagles, gulls, and other ospreys!
A nice-sized fish finally came on the nest around 1000. This was the first meal of the day for these two. Ospreys (like eaglets) need consistent fish deliveries. Regular deliveries mean food security – ospreys are very sensitive to any change in delivery patterns. Harry used to be good at having a fish on the nest first thing in the morning. The delay can cause the eldest to believe there is a food shortage even if there is not. This results in the younger sibling getting battered.
Ruffy will continually keep Tuffie away from the feeding despite the size of the fish being ample to feed Mum and both osplets. She will even stop eating and go and throttle Tuffie to make sure it doesn’t get up and want food.
The key is going to be Tuffie’s response. Tired, hot, and hungry – getting dehydrated from not having food for some time. That might keep Tuffie away from Ruffy and Mum’s beak. The beaking is meant as intimidation. Whether you call it bonking, beaking, clouting, or bullying – the action is the same and the intention is the same – to frighten the wits out of the younger sibling so they do not eat.
Mum feeds the tail of the fish at 11:51 – this is the third feeding of the day – and Tuffie will not get a single flake. Tuffie is hot and is panting through its mouth. The little osplet needs the hydration that it gets from the fish.
Dad brought a big headless fish at 1523 and Ruffy began attacking Tuffie immediately. Remember. Ruffy has already had three meals! Tuffie has had nothing.
Another partial fish comes at 1754.
Ruffy gets fed. Around 1800 Tuffie gets some fish! The little osplet has gone all day without food in the hot Florida sun. What a relief that third egg did not hatch! Harry needs to pile the fish on this nest and he needs to get one up there right as the sun rises.
Tuffie did not fill its crop. The little one needed to as it had a difficult Monday as well. Ruffy began attacking after the meal. This nest is unstable right now. Two other fish before sunset would be great as Mum Sally has to eat as well.
If serious fighting occurs due to perceived food shortages, we often see it at this milestone – the change from the soft down to the Reptile stage. It can cease in a few days or, as we have seen in other cases, one of the ospreys can die.
In 2023, out of the 173 osprey eggs and chicks followed in the US, ten of those died directly from siblicide. Siblicide is not ‘play fighting’. It is a well documented strategy to reduce the osplets on the nest by the eldest (normally).
To quote Dr Tim Mackrill, Director of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, “The dominance of older siblings in food-deprived nests invariably means that the youngest chick does not survive. In their New Jersey study, Steidl and Griffin (1991) found that brood reduction (the loss of at least one nestling) was recorded in 36 percent o broods of three and in 23 percent of broods of two, and these losses typically occurred as the chicks began to grow at the fastest rate, two to three weeks after hatching.” (112)
Our 2023 study at the International Osprey Data Project, the loss was 17.3% from siblicide.
Sally could take a lesson from Thunder at the West End Bald Eagle nest. If you recall, when the two older eaglets starting bonking one another when it was feeding time, Thunder just sat on them. Every time they beaked, she sat. And then, surprise. They stopped because they were hungry. Three very civilised eaglets – for the second time for Thunder and Akecheta.
Cruz and Andor’s first hatch at Fraser Point.
The egg bowl is really deep!
At Big Bear, Jackie has taken a break. The question now is when will Jackie and Shadow realise that their dream of three eaglets is not to be for this year? And move on looking forward to another try in 2025.
The third hatch at Little Miami Conservancy is already trying out some big kid bites.
Rain has started at the Little Miami nest.
A miserable day for a hatch at ND-LEEF. It looked like we were going to have another eaglet die due to a crushed egg but ND18 has hatched. The time was around 1008.
At the WRDC nest of Ron and Rose, fledgling R6 returns to the nest for the first time on Tuesday morning since he set off on his adventure on Saturday afternoon.
Swampy and Meadow are growing too fast. We yelled at Swampy for beaking Meadow and now we just want these two buddies to stay on the nest at Eagle Country.
What a beautiful image. Mum and Dad having a beaky kiss while JBS20 has a bedtime snack.
At Carova Beach, Frederick and Betsy are really working on their nest!
Decorah, Iowa, has the same miserable weather that we have in Winnipeg. Poor Mother Goose. There are six eggs, but there is also a mystery. There are three scenarios possible. The original six eggs of Mother Goose are on the nest, and not one of them went overboard when the Intruder came. The second case is that the intruder laid her own egg in the nest, replacing the one lost! The third is that one of Mother Goose’s eggs went overboard but she laid another while the intruder was there. Who knows. What we do know is that there are six eggs.
One of the individuals helping me with my osprey nest observations has several nests near her house. She tells me that in 2021, one of the ospreys “laid two eggs, three days apart, in nests of two other pairs.” Sort of like the Cuckoos.
Oh, gosh. Mrs Decorah North is keeping those two little eaglets warm and dry in incredible conditions. Let us hope that warm weather dries that nest out!
The snow has melted at Denton Homes Eagle nest, home of the Majestics.
Port Tobacco’s only eaglet is nicely spoiled.
White-tail Eagle Milda’s new mate is Hugo! You can imagine how thrilled Hugo Yugo is that this male eagle was named after her. (Just kidding)
Were you worried about Monty and Hartley’s egg the other day? ‘AE’ has sent us the following response from one of the nest moderators:
“As you may know by now hard incubation began on March 29 and things have progressed rather smoothly since then. There have been times some kakking occurred to warn a potential unwelcome visitor away but there was a little incident earlier this morning. Monty had given Hartley a break for awhile early on but they had done a nest exchange again with Monty in hunting mode. One picture is of him on the roof watching for a potential meal. While he was on the hunt he landed on the nest ledge corner a couple of times and on the last one he was followed in by another bird. This was at 8:57am. For those that like to do a review of the events Hartley was taking a snooze with head tucked when Monty arrives on the west ledge corner. (all with the nest box view). In the background you can see the other bird come flying from the west and seems to have followed Monty close to the ledge area. Of course he takes off after it as does Hartley. Monty would come back to the eggs but was drawn off again so I assume it was taking both of them to deter the interloper. Being uncovered as they were during this time is not a concern. Eggs are very resilient and withstand much more than some moments alone. By the time noon came around I did find Hartley again preening in the shade over the Mayors office roof. At 12:20pm there was a nest exchange when Hartley showed up the ledge & hops down to the box to take over. Monty seems to take his incubation duty very seriously as he seemed reluctant to let her take over.Spring semester is beginning for our student camops so they will soon begin again to cover cam duty per their scheduled time. I welcome their dedication to these birds as they incubate and look forward to hatch at the end of April. — Paula A. Forum Moderator“
I want to draw your attention to the new website for Osprey Watch. Some may believe that there are too many osprey researchers already and far too many ospreys. Do not believe this for a second. The almost entire population of the US Atlantic chicks was wiped out in June of 2023. There is no end in sight regarding the overfishing of the Menhaden. What storms will come this year? Elsewhere in the world, people are trying desperately to build up the osprey population. A big applause has to go to Janet, Fran, and Bazz in South Australia for their work. Please go over and check out the new OspreyWatch website and see if you can help! Scientists, researchers, and citizen scientists are all much needed!
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care…lots more arrivals and ospreys working at their nests. I am having a ‘fun-filled’ time trying to keep up with my data entry forms. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, photographs, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, J, MA, VV’, Achieva Credit Union, Duke Farms, Moorings Park Ospreys, IWS/Explore.org, Little Miami Conservancy, JB Sands Wetlands, Beverly Davis, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, ND-LEEF, Lloyd Brown and the WRDC, Eagle Country, HDonTap, Denton Homes, Port Tobacco, OBX Osprey Cam, Latvian Fund for Nature, Osprey Watch, Paula at San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, and The Guardian.
For those celebrating Easter, may you have a lovely peaceful day full of family and friends.
Calico made me promise – since I embarrassed her so much several weeks ago – that I would show you her new ‘slender’ figure. She has lost more than two pounds on her new cat food and is really beginning to run and play with the other girls.
Calico is actually sitting under a chair staying out of Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope’s way. They have been jostling for the ‘Queen of the Cat’ Tree crown all morning.
Baby Hope held the throne, the orb, and the sceptre for a few minutes. She basked in the happiness of being able to have a front row seat in order to see the little squirrels running back and forth with their peanuts.
It was only a short time until Hugo Yugo ousted Hope. And then it began all over again!
They make me tired.
There were four Blue Jays in the garden today! It looks like both bonded pairs have returned. I watched carefully. The pair whose tree was cut down has found a new home and Junior and his partner are in the Maple across the back lane.
I did not come up with the title today. Jeff Kear wrote it in a comment, but it is so true. Now, I can’t get the tune out of my mind. The Boys are truly back in town. Idris and Aran returned to Telyn and Elen and their nests in Wales on Saturday, March 30th.
All is well in Glaslyn. Aran and his new mate, Elen, will have their second breeding year together. They had two lovely fledglings in 2023, and Elen proved to be an incredible first-time mother.
Aran marked his arrival with a huge fish! I bet that tasted good after such a long migration.
Idris brought a huge fish for Telyn and then worked on their nest. Talk about egg-cited. Joan Brady got the screen capture!
Dorcha also arrived on Saturday, arriving at the nest and soaking wet. Louis was quick to get a fish to her and pick up on their bonding! She always reminds me of Mrs G with that gorgeous dark plumage.
Louis and Dorcha’s reunion.
If you missed it, Blue 33 and Maya have the first egg of the UK Osprey season for 2024. Her gentle little chirps called out to Blue 33 to come and see.
Each of us has a warm spot for a bird – maybe several. Tegid, Z1 of the “White Egg”, was one of Monty’s lads. He has a mate – an Unringed Female -and they have been raising osplets at a private nest in Wales for several years. Tegid is the brother of Aeron Z2 at the Port Cresor nest near Glaslyn’s Aran and Elen.
Dylan and Seren’s lad, Blue 496 from 2021, landed at Lock Arkaig, and then, guess what? He flew home to be near Mum and Dad, landing on nest two at Llyn Clywedog on Saturday. Oh, and might we hope for a beautiful female to arrive, too?
No ospreys at Llyn Brenig yet.
BirdGuides celebrates the arrival of CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour.
Everything is calm at the Duke Farms nest, and Jersey had at least one massive crop on Saturday. Jersey and Leaper even ate side by side. Can you believe it?
The time stamps and big crops tell the story of the morning.
At 1640 there were lots of fish tails on the Duke Farms nest. Looks like no one is going to go hungry today.
‘A’ gives us another terrific narrative of what part of the day at Duke Farms nest was like for little Jersey! “Jersey gets fed a very good breakfast. He did start off snatching at the bites but gained confidence as the feeding progressed and he suffered no attacks from his sister. It was wonderful to watch. Such a happy wee eaglet. Just after 9am, he takes a huge piece and turns away to eat it. Leaper has decided she could do with seconds so has headed back to the table. Mum has a bite to offer Jersey, but is waiting for him to finish dealing with the immense piece he had just grabbed. As Leaper approaches Jersey, she decides it would be a good idea to pacify her by giving her that bite. She gets another, and considers giving it to Leaper, but changes her mind and turns towards Jersey, again waiting for him to have an empty beak! As Leaper moves closer to him, Jersey gets nervous and turns away, so mum gives a couple of bites to Leaper. But Jersey regains his confidence and moves back towards mum, so that he is actually pushing in front of Leaper. Mum is working hard on the last piece of the fish. The second she has it ready, Jersey snatches it, even before she has raised her head to offer him the bite. The fish is finished. Mum moves around the nest looking for stray pieces, which she feeds Leaper, who happens to be closest when she finds a scrap or two. Jersey has a very nice crop. At 09:02:35, mum finds the other half of the fish dad brought in at 08:55 – it appears he bit it in half and mum has only fed the chicks one of the two halves. She gives two bites to Leaper and then drags the partial fish over to where Jersey is on the rails and begins feeding him again. She drags the fish even closer to Jersey and further away from Leaper. This is definitely the larger half of the fish. Jersey is now less nervous, with Leaper quite a distance from him. He eats and eats. When mum offers him the tail, sideways, he politely refuses it so mum downs it herself. She cleans the table, feeding Jersey any leftovers she can find and he takes them, even though his crop is now noticeably larger than his head. Just as the final flake is gone, at 09:09:45, dad is in with another fish. He has unzipped it a little on one side but it is otherwise whole. Mum immediately takes charge of the fish. Both eaglets have absolutely gigantic crops and surely could not fit another single bite. Jersey staggers over to Leaper and flops down beside her, forming a fuzzy ball of happy eaglet in the centre of the nest. Dad comes over to check on their bedding, spreading a little grass behind the pair. TOO cute. He is still on the nest and has turned back to survey his fish. Mum begins her warning vocals (the ‘do not even think about taking this fish’ ones). The look on her face is absolutely clear. This is a mum protecting her babies’ food. She means business. Dad is suitably chagrined and leaves at 09:10:20. Obviously aware the eaglets need no more food at this moment, she heads into the centre of the nest to check on her eaglets. She does a little aerating and tidying, feeds a tiny food scrap or two to Leaper. Jersey turns around to face the table. The two are now both facing the same way but still snuggled up close. Just look at those cute little tail buds and round bottoms. Both are looking a bit woolly and oh so cute. Little Jersey only has half his white head feathers, Leaper having spat out the others after ripping them from Jersey’s head last week. Jersey has quite the individual hair style as a result. Mum returns to the fish and looks around and upwards. She vocalises threateningly at something above from 09:18:25-34 (probably warning dad not to take the fish if she leaves it). She continues to look around in all directions for another minute or two. More threatening vocals from 09:19 to 09:19:15. She is sitting over the fish and has her very stern look on. At 09:22:30 dad lands on the opposite side of the nest with YET ANOTHER whole fish. This one is medium-sized and very much still alive. Mum stays where she is but immediately begins with her warning vocals. He stays where he is, surveying his fish. Mum is not looking his way, so he is perhaps assessing his options. What does a man have to do to get a decent sushi breakfast around here after all? This is his third fish of the morning. When is it his turn to eat? But mum continues with her unambiguous warnings. Dad is looking down at the fish, then up at mum, then back to his fish. It is just TOO funny. I wonder who will win this battle of wills? Any bets? Of course, mum. Dad admits defeat, and shortly after 09:24, he flies off the nest. I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for dad. Eat the next catch away from the nest, I suggest. He deserves one. Mum goes and stands over the floppy fish perhaps to protect the chicks from it. There is some shuffling in the cuddle puddle as Jersey makes his way to the table and moves confidently up to mum’s beak, with Leaper literally against his back. Just after 09:31, mum begins feeding Jersey, and despite the massive crop he has, he takes the bites. Leaper is in a food coma. Jersey should be too, but having learnt the hard way that you eat whatever is in front of you, he is stuffing himself further. By 09:32, after a dozen or so bites, he is having trouble, so tries a couple of small crop drops. Mum waits for him. He continues to eat. Mum downs the tail. At about 09:33:30, another small crop drop. He is really struggling now. That crop looks uncomfortable but he soldiers on. Another small crop drop just after 09:34. He takes four or five tries at the next bite and eventually swallows it. Another small crop drop. This crop is getting ridiculous. His crop drops are small – I am not sure whether he has much room for them either!! Perhaps he has not yet fully mastered the technique. By 09:35:30 mum is having to literally force food into Jersey, who is leaning back, away from the food, as if to say ‘please mum, no more!’ but she is slow on the uptake and keeps offering the piece. Sometimes after four or five attempts, usually involving the spitting out of the food, Jersey usually manages to get the bite down. But at this point, he really has had significantly more than enough. Around 09:37 Jersey seems to get a second wind (or a second stomach), as he leans forward to grab a couple of big bites. But it is short-lived and by 09:37:30, he cannot eat another flake.”
Thank you, ‘A’ – we love your narratives. You should write a book!
Leaper and Jersey shared breakfast Sunday morning. Jersey is doing the snatch and grab but still nervous if their beaks touch. Meanwhile, both are learning how to scale a fish! Fingers crossed for another good day with lots of fish in the nest. Notice that both have their thermal down and that their pin feathers are coming in.
In San Jose, Hartley laid her fourth egg of the 2024 Peregrine Falcon season keeping up with Annie and Archie. Monty, you are going to be busy!
Monty managed all those eggs for incubation!
The camera is back up and running and sometimes off again at Two Harbours. The egg is rolled. No visible pip yet.
Chase and Cholyn are 26 years old and have been together for 21 years. This only egg was laid on the 22nd of February. Today it is 39 days old. I am hoping for a pip under there!
Pair of eaglets at Decorah North are sooooo cute.
The pair at Little Miami Conservancy are pretty sweet, too.
The view isn’t as good as some, but the pair at Kansas City are also doing very well.
There is a big of a mystery going on at Berry College. Missey continues to cover up newly hatched B17 and the egg is now completely covered – B17 is sitting on the grasses covering the egg. That egg is 40 days old today and Missey knew it was unviable.
Port Tobacco’s only eaglet is doing just fine.
Second eaglet Sunday morning at Denton Homes.
At Bluff City, Oliver is growing nicely.
At Johnson City, JC23 and JC24 are getting their juvenile feathers.
Ruffie and Tuffy had an early breakfast fish from Harry at Moorings Park and several fish throughout the day. Food is plentiful.
Tom is home with Audrey at the Chesapeake Conservancy Osprey nest.
The ospreys at Moraine have a beautiful nest! Thanks, ‘L’!
Big Red and Arthur continue incubating their four eggs. Meanwhile there is no sign of an egg with Angel and Tom.
R6 fledged today from the WRDC nest!
Dedication and love. Plus hope. Sadly, there will not be a hatch at Big Bear this year for Jackie and Shadow. If only someone had airlifted an eaglet in for them.
Across the US, in NE Florida, Gabby and Beau continue to work on their nest with dreams of 2025, too.
In Eagle Country, Swampy and Meadow dream about flying – while they wait for the right time to arrive.
Toni Hoover reports that Rosa is back with Lewis in the nest at Dulles-Greenway.
Both Ospreys are home at the very popular German nest, Goitzsche Wildnis.
There is an osprey back at Great Bay. Sadly, the couple lost all their chicks in 2023 due to weather and starvation (one had to be euthanised). The nest is in Greenland, New Hampshire.
There are two little Great Horned owlets at the Wolf Bay Osprey Nest in Alabama this year.
The third hatch at the Venice Golf and Country Club is so tiny compared to its two older siblings who are entering the reptilian phase. For some reason, this nest is making me a little bit nervous this year.
Nest renovations are well underway for the pair at the Bridge Golf Club osprey platform.
In the UK, Black-necked Grebes had a remarkable breeding year. Bravo!
A lovely opinion piece sent to me by my friend Wicky Woo for all of us to enjoy! Birding is one of the best ways to avoid the therapists’s couch!!!!!!!! That is what Calico tells me.
Thank you so much for being with us today. It was busy. There are nests not included, but as far as I know, JB Sands and Frenchman’s Creek. I have not heard of a hatch at Gainesville, but we are monitoring Two Harbours. There is a rumour of a hatch at Centreport on the 29th of March but no confirmation of feeding, and there is a pip watch underway Saturday night at ND-LEEF. Take care everyone. See you soon! For those celebrating Easter, the very best wishes for the day.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, L, SP, WW’, Jeff Kear, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Geemeff, LRWT, Welsh Osprey, The Woodland Trust, Llyn Brenig, Bridge Golf Club Osprey Cam, BirdGuides, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, IWS/Explore.org, Raptor Resource Project, Little Miami Conservancy, Farmer Derek, Sharon Lee, Port Tobacco, Yale Sharon, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, Moorings Park, Heidi McGrue, PIX Cams, Cornell RTH cam, Wolf Bay, FOBBV, NEFL-AEF, Toni Hoover, Goitzsche Wildness, Eagle Country, The New York Times, and David Suzuki.
