The squirrels were busy this morning loading up with nuts. Little Red has made his home in the wood bin and can scurry back and forth very quickly from the feeder to his cache.
There are still a few European Starlings that come for suet or to eat off the seed cylinder but only three or four compared to the original twenty-eight.
If I told you I put on my lightweight winter jacket and toque for my walk on Monday, would you believe me? The temperature dropped! The nice thing was that the ducks and geese were in the water or eating grass instead of trying to stay cool on the little islands in the pond.
It was so nice to see so many wood ducks back at the pond. Many of the females were incubating eggs while the males were out foraging. Someone had brought seed for them, too.
Things are really starting to pick up at the osprey nests. Our heads are going to start spinning like an old LP shortly! I am checking on a few of the nests to see what is happening and how close we are to pip or hatch watch. Today I am just running through some of the nests.
Hellgate Canyon: Dr Greene and his team have a list of four names for Iris’s new mate! Please vote on your favourite.
Dunrovin: Swoop and Winnie have their first egg on Monday 13 May at 0654. Swoop was right there giving support to his new mate.
Captiva: The fishing line was removed and they commented that there was a really large hook on the end!
Here is the video WingsofWhimsy made. It is 27 minutes long but you get to see how anxious the adults were for their chicks and what was happening on the nest.
Rutland Manton Bay: Blue 33 and Maya will have one healthy Bob this year. The time has passed for the other remaining egg in the nest to hatch. Some of you will recall that Maya was ill shortly after her return from migration, and many worried we would lose her. I am happy for one healthy chick and one healthy Mum!
Dyfi Osprey Project: Telyn having a nice nap before those eggs hatch and she is a very busy Mum. 12, 15, and 18 of April. Four to five days away from Pip.
Glaslyn: Elen incubating in the rain. Eggs 22, 25, and 28 of April – two weeks away for Aran and Elen.
Loch of the Lowes: The latest news:
Loch Arkaig: Dorcha reminds me so much of Mrs G. Eggs 14, 17, and 20 of April. Six days away til pip watch.
Alyth SS substation: Harry and Flo are doing fantastic. Eggs 15, 18, 21 April. So we are 29 days for the first egg today. Still a week to go.
Poole Harbour: CJ7 and Blue 022. Eggs were 15, 18, 21, and 24 – yes, there are four of them – of April. A week away. You can see we are really going to be busy next week with all these hatches! Really raining here.
There is another very tearful moment when Blue 22 sees his daughter 5H1 land after two years from when she fledged! How amazing and wonderful news for Poole Harbour.
Clark PUD: Eggs were 7, 10, and 13 of April. We are on hatch watch!
Cowlitz PUD: 18, 21, and 24 of April. More than a week to go.
Bundstiftung Goitzsche-Wildnis: Eggs laid on 9, 12, and 15 of April. We are on hatch watch!
Moorings Park: Ruffie and Tuffy are doing fabulous.
Patchogue: MP found some funny moments with these adults and the two new chicks. “08:42AM. The chick wasn’t getting fed so when the other chick turned away and mom was handing the food to them the second chick grabbed hold of the food and mom’s beak and was lifted up into the air. Feisty little one.”
The slope that PSEG created when they tipped that nest upside down is causing difficulties for Mum to stand stable and feed the chicks.
Lake Murray: The third hatch had a crop a couple of times on Monday, but was shut out of some feedings. The two older osplets need more food than the little one, but this little one continues to worry me. I want to be wrong. ‘H’ also reports: “I was only able to watch the last two meals. 12 bites at the 1840 meal, and 0 at the 1916 meal. What a shame.”
‘H’ reports first thing this morning: “5/14, 0619 Kenny delivered a very small partial fish to the nest for breakfast. It was only a five minute feeding, and the typically cantankerous older siblings were both in a good mood! Little ate 24 bites of fish, and there were no attacks on Little. It seems as though Big and Middle don’t have the energy to be uncooperative first thing in the morning.”
Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home: The trio seem to be doing alright!
Barnegat Light: ‘H’ reports: “It looks like Daisy and Duke at Barnegat Light will not have chicks this year. Just in the past several days, they are not mating (that we see) or improving the nest. They mostly hang out on the beach together.”
Jackie and Shadow make me smile.
Fledging is in the offing at Johnson City-ETSU. Sara A caught it on video!
Big Red and Arthur are doing fantastic. I am so glad that with her leg injury there were only two babies this year.
The Cal Falcons continue to provide our daily dose of cute and happiness.
Just look at how fast those San Jose falcons are doing. Monty and Hartley can handle one – or four! Yeah to these second year parents.
Bowling Green has four flacon babies, too.
Jeff Kear posted this wonderful article that goes back to the beginning of the 20th century with the UK Ospreys. Good read regardless of where you live. Where the birds chose to build their nests was quite interesting: “There were nests to be seen placed in every available situation, some on the top of withered maples, some in the thick vines and creepers that clung round their stems, while others (so favourably have the birds been protected) were placed flat upon the ground, more especially on the beach, where the piles of sticks rose, in one instance at least, to some five feet in height. The favourite situation for ground-nests was a narrow strip of beach separated from the rest of the island by a stretch of marsh (vide Fig. 1). Here we counted no less than four nests in half a mile or so. One nest, presumably inhabited the year before, was built upon the top of a shed.”
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘AE, A, Geemeff, H, MP’, Dunrovin Ranch, Window to Wildlife, Wings of Whimsey, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), The Woodland Trust, Alyth SS, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Birds of Poole Harbour, Clark PUD, Cowlitz PUD, BUND Goitsche-Wildnis, Moorings Park Ospreys, PSEG, Lake Murray Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home, Wildlife Conservancy of NJ, SK Hideaways, Sara A, Cornell RTH, BirdGuides, and Bocian Czarny Online.
Lots of things happening on Sunday. If you missed it – I sure did – Mum and Dad had their first hatch of the season at the PSEG Osprey platform in Patchogue on Long Island early Sunday morning. Thanks, ‘MP’.
Oh, that baby is so tiny!
And now it is Monday morning and we have hatch two at Patchogue – I didn’t miss this one! Dad was right there with a big fish for Mum and both of the babies.
Farther north, Dory and Skiff laid their second egg at the Audubon Boathouse.
Iris laid her third egg (the first one got kicked out of the nest) on Sunday. Iris and New Guy are incubating two eggs now.
Iris is happy. She is getting 2 or 3 nice fish a day! Glad to see this guy is keeping up with his end of the bargain and you-know-who seems to be staying home.
After the loss of Laddie and her eggs, Blue NCO returns to her nest at Loch of the Lowes on Sunday. Geemeff adds, “Approx 18.30 Calls are heard off camera, then NC0 appears. She’s been absent for a few days, staying away more frequently since dear Laddie’s untimely death and the destruction of their eggs by the Pale Male on 7th May. She flies onto the nest and perches, moves onto the nest, calling. Then a male appears, not the Pale Male but the new Dark Male who’s also been hanging around. He doesn’t have any fish so she quickly gets rid of him, and departs herself around 7pm.”
On Sunday, the first fish came early and good thing. It was hot and I have not seen another for a number of hours. ‘H’ and I both watched that 0607 feeding. ‘H’s notes: “I counted bites, but as it turned out, I did not need to. Little ate first, and one of the older ones joined in several minutes later. There was no beaking. The third sibling joined in later, and again no beaking. Little was sort of crowded out, but not pushed out. Later, Little pushed his way back to the feeding line and the three osplets ate peacefully side by side. Unbelievable! There was still a little bit of fish remaining at 0641, but Lucy had no takers, as everyone was full. (if you’re counting…Little ate 114 bites of fish).” That is a good start to what looks like a hot, hot Sunday.
I just feel very unsettled about Lake Murray and the third hatch. I want to be proven wrong.
Ah, it is the end of the day at Lake Murray. Kenny brought in a big fish. Just look at three’s crop. A good start to the day, a not so good at all middle, and a good ending for our little one.
‘H’ agrees! “Lake Murray ended on a high note, 183 bites for Little at the last meal.” And this is her full report for the day: “
5/12 Lake Murray osprey nest: Little (C3) has a very difficult life. His/her two older siblings (C1, C2) are so much bigger, stronger, and dominant. They are 21, 19, and 16 days old on 5/12. Big and Middle both pick on Little, but I think Big is responsible for most of the attacks on Little.
The first meal of the day, at 0607, was a complete surprise… in that it was peaceful! Go figure. Little ate first and had a long private feeding before the other two sleepyheads even got ‘out of bed’. After a long while, Big and Middle joined in the feeding and there was harmony! I was in shock… I couldn’t believe Little’s good fortune. Thank goodness for small miracles. Little ate 114 bites of fish at this meal. After that, the day went downhill quickly for Little. Kenny would bring 5 more fish to the nest that day. At the first four of those meals, Big and Middle were merciless… attacking Little multiple times to keep him from eating. Some of the attacks were quite brutal. At meals two through five, Little ate 0, 2, 6, and 1 bite of fish. Then, at 1800, the last fish of the day… Kenny delivered a large whole fish. I knew that the size of the fish, especially late in the day after Big and Middle had been stuffed all day… would significantly improve Little’s chances for a good meal. Little did not get to eat right away. He was beaked and kept from participating in the meal. At one point both of the larger siblings went after Little simultaneously. At 1816 Lucy did something very cool… she moved the fish all the way across the nest to where Little was, and Little was fed 14 bites before he was attacked. It was not until 1832 that Little ate his next bite of fish, in fact he managed to eat 12 more bites before he was savagely attacked by Big. Slowly but surely, the two older chicks were getting full. Little would sneak up to Lucy and get a few bites of fish here and there whenever he could. By 1850 Little was receiving a mostly private feeding. Lucy was feeding as quickly as she could, and Little was often seen crop-dropping. Little ate until 1906, and had eaten approximately 183 bites of fish at this meal.
I really like this ‘kid’. Little has a determined nature about him, and it seemed that he was always scheming to find a way to get back to Lucy to be fed. Little reminds me of Tuffy at Moorings Park. One big difference is, Tuffy only had one older dominant sibling to contend with, while Little has two.”
Sure nice to see that top on Three. Thank goodness for those late day big catches.
I keep saying that Harry and Sally have the most beautiful osplets. It is the richness of those deep espresso-black feathers set against that gorgeous landscape. Tuffy survived Ruffie. Sometimes you have to look several times to tell which one is which now.
‘H’ reports on Captiva: “5/12, Captiva osprey nest: The siblings are 19 and 17 days old on 5/12. There is no question that CO7 is dominant, and behaves aggressively toward its younger sibling, generally making life quite difficult at times for CO8. Many times CO7 gets quite a bit more to eat at a meal than CO8. But, by the end of the day CO8 will usually have his/her crop filled a few times. CO7 seems to calm down a bit by the afternoon, and that improves CO8’s chances for a good meal. Yesterday evening however, CO8 took advantage of CO7’s improved demeanor and CO8 started a fight! Those fights never turn out well for CO8…s/he will learn, lol!
First-time parents, Edie and Jack, have proven to be wonderful parents. Jack is a good provider, supplying the nest with ample fish. And, Jack often participates in the feeding of his offspring. On 5/11 there was a long dual feeding, where Edie fed CO7, and Jack fed CO8. On 5/12 Jack fed CO8 a long private feeding from 17:03 to 17:21, until CO7 (displaying his Dr. Jekyll persona) sidled-on-up beside CO8, and the two temporary besties ate side by side, fed by Papa Jack. Both osplets ended up with good crops.
This nest is doing well, although there are times when I’m sure CO8 would beg to differ!”
We now have a full clutch for the Seili Osprey nest in Finland. Way to go Hildur.
There is at least one egg at the Juurusvesi nest also with Ania and Bartek.
The third egg hatched at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home Ospreys on Sunday.
The first hatch happened at the Outerbanks nest some time over night.
Hatch at Carthage!
There is still no sign of a pip in the second egg at Rutland’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya.
Dorcha shows off her gorgeous plumage and wings while she waits for the eggs to hatch at Loch Arkaig.
At Frenchman’s Creek, an adult was on the nest feeding one of the fledglings. Later a fledgling was on the nest alone. It is impossible to know if it is the same fledgling or if both juveniles were at the nest on Sunday.
The Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey cam was offline on Sunday every time I checked. The same was true for the University of Florida-Gainesville Osprey cam. Very disappointing. They got a new camera this year and it is terrible.
Big Red is always a pick of one of my favourite raptor mothers. She is just in her glory when there are chicks in the nest.
The nest of Ruth and Oren looks so tiny to me compared to the sq footage of Big Red’s penthouse. You can see the ‘ear’ of the hawks. Look below the eye in the top image at the little black circle. It will be covered with feathers.
Did you know about this Red-tail Hawk nest at Wake Forest? Look at the different ages of the three in terms of their feather development.
The only word is ‘adorable’.
Oh, goodness. They are self-feeding!
‘A’ loves these little ones: “The 11:31am feeding at Cal Falcons this morning (12 May) was yet another of Annie’s perfectly shared efforts. As always, the chicks got to the table in their own time and order, with the youngest taking a while to wake up (at which point it immediately grabbed centre front position and began eating voraciously, as always) and one of the older chicks didn’t join in until last of the four. But despite this, Annie managed, as always, to share the food with such perfection that the four ended up with crops of almost identical size after the feeding. All were bulging in that rather ugly manner, where there are not enough feathers to cover the large bulge, and Annie’s job was done for another few hours. They are eating less often, as I mentioned, but are polishing off entire birds at a meal now instead of having leftovers. There is rarely anything remaining. This time, though, when the meal ends just before 11:43, there are a couple of bones left on the scrape, a little bit of juicy-looking flesh attached, presumably for the chicks to begin nibbling on themselves. Chick number three has a go, and the youngest, behind it, is fascinated by the sight, peering over to watch closely what its sibling is doing.It’s easy to see who is the smartest eyas in this scrape. (To be honest, it’s been obvious from the beginning – this little one has been a dynamo since day one.) These four are doing superbly well. They spend most of their day growing with all their might, but they are starting to get more curious about the world beyond the scrape. Those feathers are coming in nicely, and they are starting to stand up and attempt to walk a few steps on their feet before reverting to their tarsi. I just cannot believe they will be banded in only three days.”
Larry’s chicks benefit from Larry having learned how to be a great Mum from Annie.
If you need to understand the words ‘hope’ and ‘resilience’, look no further than Jak and Audacity at the Sauces Canyon Bald Eagle nest.
The adults at Decorah North are showing the eaglets where to go to branch. It will not be long!
Reign and Manini are looking really good at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Cruz.
The baby at Little Miami Conservancy ended the day with a really nice crop.
The trio at the West End nest of Thunder and Akeheta are eating well. Check out this ‘ps’.
I ‘think’ this darling is little Treasure.
Look who is on the JB Sands Wetlands eagle nest on Mother’s Day! So nice to see you JBS20. Aren’t you lucky? Someone brought you lunch!
Precious storklet of Bety and Bukacek.
There are four storklets on the streaming cam at Knepp Farm in the UK. In 2020 the first white storklets from the rewinding programme hatched at Knepp Farm. They were the first wild chicks hatched in Britain in 600 years! The last nesting pair were seen in Edinburgh in 1416. No one knows for certain why they completely disappeared but they were on medieval menus, they were killed for food, and what about their feathers? Maybe egg collectors, too.
The adults, Anna and Bartek, stay in the nest at night together with their storklets.
Things are getting busy at Sydney. ‘A’ reports:
“May 12: The eagles appeared to have been at Goat Island last night, and were heard duetting early, at 7:15am. They were seen leaving at 10:30am and were seen shortly after at Burns Bay and then heard duetting. Mid-afternoon, at 2pm, Dad showed up at the nest, followed shortly after by Lady. They flew off and then returned just after 5pm. Both were then at home for the night.”
Last year our hearts broke for Little Mini at Patchogue. She had survived being the tiniest little fourth hatch and then she injured her leg. Many knew the story of Ma Berry and we have seen other raptors that have survived with disabilities. ‘Geemeff’ sent me the following article. We really need to think inclusion not euthanasia. This is the story of a shorebird, a wading bird, with only one leg that is doing just fine, thank you.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MP’, Birdy Isac NY, Audubon/Explore, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff, Lake Murray Ospreys, Moorings Park Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home Ospreys, LRWT, Frenchman’s Creek, Cornell RTH, Syracuse U-RTH Cam, Amy Bonis, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Parks Conservancy, IWS/Explore, Raptor Research Project/Explore, Little Miami Conservancy, JB Sands Wetlands, The Guardian, Chronicle Live, Knepp Farm, Window to Wildlife, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Outerbanks Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, and NEF-AEF.
*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to thank those who supplied information, images, etc, for my post this morning. If there is an error or omission, please let me know!*
I wish all mothers—that is, anyone in the world who has ever cared for another living, breathing soul (feathered, furred, gilled, scaled, or human)—a very happy day today.
Ah, it was hot on Saturday, but the skies were clear, and it was a good day to head to Delta Beach – or so I thought – when I left the City. The wind began to pick up as I neared the wetlands at the south end of Lake Manitoba. By the time I was on top of the lookout tower, they were so gusty that it felt like one could be blown to Oz. The wind and the heat did not do much for bird watching. The Black-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds and the Robin and Song Sparrows were out. A few geese and ducks and a pod of American Pelicans were flying overhead. The Bald Eagle in the nest was hunkered down tight and the frogs were so loud you could not hear a thing. It was a long drive there and back with onerous black clouds overhead and heavy rain on and off on the return.
Pelicans flew overhead.
A Common Tern has a small fish.
A female Yellow Warbler liked to play hide and seek with me in the thick of the tree.
The Killdeer ran up and down the beach in front of the Bald Eagle’s nest.
If you squint you can just barely make out the head of the adult on the nest. This nest makes me really nervous. It is not supported on one side.
Before I left, I checked on the third hatch at Lake Murray. It had some of the first two fish and on my return I did a quick recent check and the little one had a crop.
Felt relatively satisfied that the little one had done alright.
I did a few nest checks in the early evening, but the girls feel a tad neglected, and Calico has stretched out on top of the book we are reading. She is sending a loud message – as loud as Mr Crow, who quickly tells me that the hot dog dish is empty and needs replenishment. What a character they both are! I have noticed that I am later in sending out my post in the summer so, a warning that the post will go out by noon – Winnipeg time from now until the fall. (So you don’t worry that something has happened…you are all so sweet).
‘H’ sends us an exciting report that Mason fledged and then recovered and flew back to the nest. Way to go, Mason!
Two other updates from ‘H’: “
“5/11, Chesapeake, Kent Island osprey nest of Audrey and Tom: Audrey laid the second egg of her second clutch at approximately 18:30. Unfortunately, the egg was broken either during laying or shortly thereafter.”
“5/11, Fortis Exshaw osprey nest of Louise and Harvie: Louise laid their third egg at 22:24, but we have yet to see the egg”
The first hatch at Manton Bay is a cute pie. That baby hatched at 23:19 on Friday the 10th of May.
I know that Redwood Queen is a favourite of many of you for her heroic attempt to save her chick Iniko during the Dolan Fire. Iniko was saved but Redwood Queen lost her mate King Pin. Now she has a new baby with Zenith and it warms my heart.
At Cornell, N1 and N2 are sleeping with their dinner. All that prey and two chicks – these two are growing fast!
I love seeing the comparison of the tree nest and the urban nest on a human light stand. I wonder how many trees Big Red has to choose from and why she choose the light stand? There is certainly much more room for the chicks to run and flap.
‘A’ loves this nest and writes, “Oren has brought in even more green oak leaf sprigs to their RTH nest, and it is full of greenery. I do hope it helps control the insects on the nest (I presume that’s the idea). It does look very festive and cosy. Ruth is preening her sleeping hawklets, and breakfast has not yet been served (it is 12 May and still very very early). The three are doing exceptionally well, with devoted parents and lots of food. They are such cuties. It has been raining a lot at the nest for the past two or three days and poor Ruth has looked absolutely miserable, but her hawklets have remained warm and dry in her underfluffies throughout. They really are very well cared for, these three. “
I have every confidence that if this precious egg of Iris and the New Guy hatches, the NG will supply plenty of fish for Mamma Iris and baby. We could be witnessing something wonderful and remember, I always wanted Iris to have a holiday from Louis. She seems contented and it is so nice to see someone bring her fish and care for her.
Another great mate is Louis at Loch Arkaig! So far they have kept the intruders away.
Remember that banding for the Cal falcons who are getting their tail feathers is on the 15th.
‘A’ writes: “I do so love a falcon scrape. That youngest at Cal Falcons is significantly smaller than its three siblings, who hatched within about 24 hours of each other, with the fourth chick coming nearly three days later (because of course Annie started hard incubation after laying egg three). So it has always been much smaller, but right from the beginning, it has been a little jumping bean just like Rubus, competing vigorously for bites.
The four are being given far fewer feedings per day than was the case a week or ten days ago. They lay about the scrape for more than five hours between feedings today, until the 16:07 feeding, which began with the youngest and one of its older siblings grabbing big juicy bites until they were joined by another of the older chicks, and then finally, the fourth one joined in. By the time chick four arrived, the older of the initial two feeders had given up, the younger one never gives up, and the second two to line up were getting the most of the food. By the time the meal was over, all four had large crops that, if measured, would have been extremely close to being exactly equal in size. Seriously. That’s how good a parent Annie is when feeding her chicks. And if necessary, she would have moved the food, or her own position, or both, to ensure that all four were fed an adequate meal. No-one goes hungry at Annie’s table.
The eyases compete for bites, and sometimes have a tug of prey over a bite, but not once is there any hint of aggression towards a sibling. Never. Not once. It is a beautiful thing to watch, and I do keep wondering how it is that good falcon parents can dole out food fairly to a clutch double the size of most eagle clutches, fledging four chicks instead of one or two. So I still cannot work out how sibling rivalry helps.”
Feathered kids also copy their parent’s behaviour.
‘H’ has been tracking several nests. One is at the Patuxent River Park and she reports that there are now three little bobbleheads.
There are concerns for Swampy from Eagle Country. Swampy was last seen on 9 May at 1006.
Sharon Lee also shows us where Dixie and Mason have gotten to on the natal tree.
Cute little White-tail eaglet peeking out from the adult at the Kemeri nest in Latvia. The other White-tail Eagle nest of Milda in Durbe County in Latvia failed this year.
One beautiful Golden Eaglet in Estonia.
Altyn and Nova, Eastern Imperial Eagles, have two eggs in their nest that they are waiting to hatch. Egg dates were 17 and 20 of April. In about ten days we should have a hatch!
The first of the two eggs of Bety and Bukacek in Mlade Buky has hatched on the 12th of May.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Keep an eye out on Mlade Buky and Manton Bay. Those last eggs should be hatching!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, H’, Lake Murray ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Chesapeake Conservancy, Fortis Exshaw, LRWT, Lady Hawk, Cornell RTH, Syracuse University RTH Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Patuxent River Park, Eagle Country, LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Alton and Nova RU Imperial Eagle Cam, and Mlade Buky Stork Cam.
Thursday was 23 C, clear blue skies, no wind. Today will go up to 27 degrees C. Thankfully we have had some rain. Where my son lives in the Caribbean, the rains did not come and the water supply for the entire island is drying up. The reservoir at Etang is beyond low and cannot be used and other areas are bone dry. My heart breaks for people struggling with a lack of basic resources like water.
Thank you again for all your good wishes. I am feeling better. Not 100%, but good enough to run more errands in the heat. When I left, Mr Crow had a full dish of cheesy dogs. When I got home – and he knew I was home – he returned cawing his head off for more! Their tree was cut down, and they have made their nest this year on top of a three-story apartment building about 100 metres from the food dish! He can hear me when I arrive home – and see me. Of course, Hugo Yugo thinks she should have some cheesy dog, too, which started all of the others prowling around the kitchen except for Baby Hope, who is a real angel.
At the Border Osprey platform, Augusta (Blue 500) laid her third egg at 1100. Congratulations!
Mark the date on your calendar. Cal Falcons will be banding Annie and Archie’s chicks on the 15th of May. Yes, you spotted that right – five days from now. That is hard to believe.
The Fab Four think they are starving!
The GH owlet at Wolf Bay has branched and will soon be flying.
The nest at Loch of the Lowes is now empty and abandoned for this year.
Still no hatch at Manton Bay. If the egg that was removed was the first one to be laid, then the next one is currently 33 days old today. Three more days and we should be ready for pip.
Just look at those legs on Ruffie! If I were taking bets I would say Ruffy – despite their aggression – is a male. Daddy Long Legs like Idris – or maybe it is just the camera angle.
Ruffie is really working its wings.
Gorgeous Tuffy. Look at that sweet face.
Did we have fledges and returns at Frenchman’s Creek? Looks like it. Bravo. And look at the nest. Not so many fish there.
Iris and the New Guy are not messing around. They protect that nest and their eggs. I wonder if Louis even knows what is happening? Surely he does. Maybe he has just given up and will take care of Starr and leave that area alone. He might not win a fight with this younger male.
The House Sparrows are busy nesting under the osprey nest at Dunrovin. No eggs yet for Swoop and Winnie.
I think I worry too much about the little one at Captiva. It is hot and the big one always monopolises the feedings. Hopefully ‘H’ will have a better report.
Will CO8 get some fish?
‘H’ has the answer: “CO7 continues to dominate CO8 at meal times. But as we have seen at other nests, as long as there are regular fish deliveries, the non-dominant sibling usually fares better later in the day, after the dominant osplet has already had his/her crop stuffed a few times.
At 1636 the meal consisted of a whole sheepshead, and CO8 ate first, but only for a minute until he was intimidated by CO7. CO8 thought about trying to eat at 1639 and 1655 but was beaked by CO7. At 1657 CO7 moved away and CO8 was able to eat. Then he made a very unwise move… after CO8 had been eating for 4 minutes, he suddenly and inexplicably turned around and beaked CO7! Oh no, silly osplet, lol. Well, of course CO7 retaliated, and CO8 moved away. CO7 ate some more until 1704, at which time CO8 ate for the next 14 minutes. CO8 had eaten for a total of about 19 minutes at this meal.
The next meal, at 1831, consisted of a prepared sheepshead. The sibs were both little angels. For the most part they ate side by side until 1853, and by that time they were both refusing Edie’s offerings. Then Edie was able to feast on the large tail portion herself.”
Big Red was so smart when she picked Arthur. What a hunter. Thursday morning nets three chipmunks and a squirrel plus what has been eaten already. Their family will never go hungry!
Please ask me how much I wish they would band these two chicks so we could see if they return to the area or stay?
What a difference seeing the little hawklets in a tree nest at Syracuse instead of the light stand at Cornell.
Will there be any osplets at Llyn Brenig this year?
There is a full clutch at Fortis Exshaw.
The Decorah North eaglets are a little wet from the rain. Those little cutie pies are growing and grown and ready to fly soon.
It is all good at Little Miami. That baby made it! Unless something happens this nest will fledge three. Fantastic.
Port Tobacco is fantastic. That single chick had all the love and all the food.
At Duke Farms, Leaper is 10 weeks and 1 day old which means that we could be within fledge range in a week.
At Superbeaks, Mason and Dixie have both branched. That was a week ago. Stay tuned for fledging.
Concern for Little at Lake Murray continues as he gets shut out of many/most/all feedings. ‘H’ reports, “5/9, Kenney delivered a late partial fish at 1950. Big and Middle still both had huge crops and were not very interested in eating. Little ate for three minutes before he was beaked by Big. Big ate for 3 minutes, then walked away. Little was then fed by Lucy for 7 minutes, when she suddenly halted the feeding, but there was still a large piece of fish remaining. At any rate, Little had a large crop to start the night.” Huge shout out to ‘H’ for monitoring this difficult nest.
I highly recommended Isabella Tree’s new book on the success of the rewinding at Knepp Farm. Birdlife International has just published its study on the positive impacts of conservation and biodiversity. We can make a difference is the mantra in both! Never give up. Do what you can.
There is a new condor baby in California. Congratulations Ventana Wildlife.
White Storks Beta and Bukacek incubating their two eggs. Soon!
The two White-tail eaglets at the Tucholskie National Forest in Poland are thriving.
Two beautiful osprey eggs at the Seilli nest in Finland for Onni and Stefu.
News from Kakapo Recovery on their pesky flightless parrots.
I saw my first Moorhen in Grenada in 2022. It is great to see that others love them, too! Their appearance is so distinctive. The adult body is all black – the beak is a deep rich orange -red with at the tip dipped in a pot of bright almost neon-yellow. Their legs are green! The day these birds got their first plumage someone was having fun with the colours. They are very distinctive and when you have seen one, you will always recognise them. There will never be any confusion with any other waterfowl.
All About Birds says this, “The Common Gallinule swims like a duck and walks atop floating vegetation like a rail with its long and slender toes. This boldly marked rail has a brilliant red shield over the bill and a white racing stripe down its side. It squawks and whinnies from thick cover in marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, peeking in and out of vegetation. This species was formerly called the Common Moorhen and is closely related to moorhen species in the Old World…Common Gallinules eat vegetation, seeds, snails, and insects. They pick sedge, grass, pondweed, duckweed, and flower seeds from the water surface or just below the surface. Gallinules flip over leaves with their feet to grab snails and insects hidden .” They will lay anywhere from 3-15 eggs (what a range!) in nests made near the water’s edge. The incubation period is, on average, three weeks and they have two broods per breeding season.
We can be thankful that the hunting season in Malta is now over, but it should never exist, and, of course, as this says will the police do anything now? Wildlife certainly deserves the protection accorded to it by law. And that surely isn’t happening.
Oh, those ads for the perfect lawn make me so mad. Dead bees. Dead pollinators. Even dead birds. Tell them ‘No, thanks’.
Thank you so much for being with me 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 today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Wolf Bay, Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Moorings Park, Frenchman’s Creek, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, SU-RTH Cam, Stephanie Scofield, Heidi McGrue, Raptor Resource Project, Little Miami Conservancy, Port Tobacco, Duke Farms, Superbeaks, Lake Murray, Birdlife International, BirdGuides, Ventana Wildlife Society, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, Bielk OnLine Bory Tucholskie, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Kakapo Recovery, The Guardian, BirdLife Malta, Malta Today, All About Birds, and Openverse.
*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to credit the individuals who provided the information in today’s posting. If there is something incorrect or there is an omission, please let me know.*
Ah, WordPress has finally written to tell me that I have used up all the storage they will allow me to have. This means that videos and documents are being removed from older posts beginning in 2017. I will not have to disturb the posts from 2023-24. Just wanted to let you know what was happening if you went back through old posts.
‘The Girls’ have been super today. Hugo Yugo has managed not to get into too much trouble. Mostly they have been overly busy watching the squirrels coming and going along with Mr and Mrs Crow.
Baby Hope will be a year old on 2 July. Gosh, the time has passed. This time last year I was trying to befriend Calico.
Hugo Yugo is determined to try every morsel of ‘human food’ that she can, and now, she has decided that the cheesy dogs that Mr and Mrs Crow get should also be included in her dish. No way! So, she is the sweetest when she is sleeping and not finding trouble to get into. Her tail is bigger than she is.
Calico is ‘cranky’. She is looking at Missey! Arch rivals these two are.
Missey is staring down Calico from the other side of the wicker. It is always a stand off.
As I write this, the four of them are lined up watching the ‘Boyfriend’ eat Mr and Mrs Crow’s food! It is 2100. Still light. Oh, I love this time of year.
Rocking news has come from Geemeff that three gunshots were heard on the Loch of the Lowes streaming cam on Wednesday. The Scottish Wildlife Trust that owns the land has been notified. Will they catch the culprits before they kill them all? This is beyond worrisome.
The Redding Eagles are: Sol and Luna! Lovely.
Lots of Peregrine Falcons this year – four at San Jose and four with Annie and Alden and four with Larry. Those are the ones we know about in California on streaming cams.
Annie and Archie’s kids are seriously cute.
Archie is the cutest.
But he definitely cannot brood the chicks anymore! Just look – the scrape is full.
Big Red and her two Red-tail Hawks. Always good.
In Montana, Iris and New Guy are not letting anything happen to the egg in the nest on a rainy day in Missoula. I love how these birds can count. New Guy is totally with the programme, but there was no way he was going to hunt and feed Louis’s DNA. Ospreys are so funny about that – kicking out the eggs – and then we have those wonderful falcons who help raise the chicks of another (Orange and Cal Falcons for two nests).
My heart skips two beats when the young fledglings return as 2 and 3 year olds. Another one today at Kielder Forest! It’s Elsin!!!!!!!!!
Did you miss this magical flyover Louis and Dorcha’s nest (in off season)? Here is your chance to see this magnificent nest from a different point of view. With so few osprey nests in real trees in North America, this is wonderful to witness.
Here is dear Dorcha on that nest right now incubating.
The camera feed is so grainy at Collins Marsh. There are eggs, but it is not clear if there are two or three.
Bradley is often spotted on the barge at Port Lincoln eating his precious puffers, but we haven’t seen Giliath lately. Fran Solly found him! So nice to see you! Now let’s get Ervie, Bradley, Mum, and Dad up on that tree top with you for a family photo.
The first egg of the second clutch for Audrey and Tom was laid on Wednesday.
‘H’ stayed up because she knew that Dory (Dory and Skiff o the Audubon Boathouse) was ready to lay her first egg. Dory did. We are not sure if the mark on the egg is nesting material or if it cracked.
Tributes are beginning to appear as the finality and the horror of someone deliberately going to a quiet spot and shooting a beloved bird set in.
Poor NCO wants her and Laddie’s remaining egg, but the male at the loch doesn’t think so.
“Geemeff writes: “Resident female NC0 returns after the pale male had destroyed two of the eggs and pushed the third out of the nest bowl (https://youtu.be/YrHpV_j4PLs) earlier on the 7th. She moved it back into the nest bowl again, and overnight she guarded her egg and brooded it at times. In the morning, 8th May, she must have sensed the pale male was near as she started fish calling but those calls turned into alarm calls and she flew off. Moments later the pale male appeared and immediately set about throwing out the egg again. The sooner that egg gets crushed or thrown overboard the better, then NC0 can concentrate on finding a new mate – looks like pale male is putting himself forward as a candidate. He could seal the deal by bringing a fish, but will he?” Geemeff writes: “Resident female NC0 returns after the pale male had destroyed two of the eggs and pushed the third out of the nest bowl (https://youtu.be/YrHpV_j4PLs) earlier on the 7th. She moved it back into the nest bowl again, and overnight she guarded her egg and brooded it at times. In the morning, 8th May, she must have sensed the pale male was near as she started fish calling but those calls turned into alarm calls and she flew off. Moments later the pale male appeared and immediately set about throwing out the egg again. The sooner that egg gets crushed or thrown overboard the better, then NC0 can concentrate on finding a new mate – looks like pale male is putting himself forward as a candidate. He could seal the deal by bringing a fish, but will he?”
Later news from Geemeff:
Blue NCO is forced to move on now.
At Loch Arkaig, Louis sure enjoys some incubation time. Dorcha isn’t so sure.
Are you a fan of White YW and Blue 35 at Foulshaw Moss? If so, their eggs are due to hatch the 22nd of May. This is one of my favourite osprey nests although I am not a fan of the streaming cam. The nest area at Foulshaw Moss is one of the rarest and most threatened habitats in all of the United Kingdom and Europe. It is a raised bog. What is a bog? why is it so rare? and why do Ospreys and other wetland birds love this area in Cumbria so much?
Raised bogs are rare in lowland Britain because 94% of them have been drained so that trees could be planted. By planting the trees, which require water to grow, these former wetlands are anything but wet! The Foulshaw Moss raised bog is unique because of its peat. A Google search tells me that peat is “a brown deposit resembling soil, formed by the partial decomposition of vegetable matter in the wet acidic conditions of bogs and fens, and often cut out and dried for use as fuel and in gardening.” Peat was cut at the Cumbria site but the area still has a ‘dome’ of peat that is higher than the surrounding area. In 1998, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust purchased the property. Their goal was to reverse the damage caused by drainage and afforestation. It is now designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is highly protected.
This couple fledged one of my all time favourite third hatches, Tiny Little Bob, in 2021. When the chick was ringed, we finally find out that this determined third hatch is a male but maybe a female. The ringing data says male. S/he became a dominant bird and because they could not really tell at the ringing because of ‘her’ will to live, I am going with female. Here s/he is at various times in June. They will wear Darvic Ring Blue 463. I hope someday to hear this one survived.
Blue 35 was very crafty in making sure that Tiny Little got fed. She would sometimes remove fish from the nest and then return to feed her baby when the big ones were in food coma.
We have the names of the White Rock eaglets.
Thank you so much for being with me today. The gunshots and the killing of Laddie should alert each and every one of us to the dangers that our dear birds face alongside the loss of habitat and finding good quality food. I find this very disturbing.
‘The Girls’ and I have a new book to read and it is a stunner. Calico already has given it the thumbs up. You could buy it for the illustrations alone, but Calico is only interested in the story and the words and the hope that jumps off the pages. It is the twenty year history of the rewinding of Knepp Farm and it is more than magical. Isabella Tree should inspire all of us to continue to make our gardens count for wildlife – from the smallest insects to the largest mammals. Calico voted today that we plant a shade tree in honour of Tree’s efforts. In years to come, we hope that it along with the new Spruce tree that will have cones for the squirrels will provide shelter for the birds.
I hope they don’t mind! So you can see the quality of the inside. It is a great book to hold and read – Calico says everyone should read to their cats!
The message in Tree’s book is about hope and how we, as individuals, can help nature recover. The message from Jackie and Shadow is that nothing in life is too big to overcome. They do it with love.
Two reports from ‘H’ coming in this morning:
5/9: Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: Louise laid egg #2 at 03:04. And, her new mate has been named ‘Harvie’.
5/9: South Cape May Meadows osprey nest of Hera and Zeus: Hera laid egg #3 at 08:18.
‘L’ reports that we have a third egg at Charlo Montana with Charlie and his new mate, Lola.
‘A’ has been checking on on the Syracuse Red-tail Hawks: “
I just adore this pair. This morning, Oren arrived with a large sprig of greenery – it looked like oak leaves. He considered their placement quite carefully and eventually decided on using them as a quilt, gently placing the large sprig of leaves over the sleeping pile of hawklets. TOO adorable. Meanwhile, Ruth decides to feed the bird that has been thoughtfully left on the side of the nest for an early breakfast to the hawklets. One is late to the table, and largely misses out, getting only a few mouthfuls, because at the point Ruth decided it was the middle one’s turn (and it managed to wake itself up), things were getting a bit messy and feathery and in the end, Ruth just downed the entire thing herself. Impressive.
These are two exquisite RTHs. Both are gorgeously marked, and appear very healthy. Ruth, like all RTH mums it seems, loves to allopreen her hawklets, and if her own underfluffies are anything to go by, this is a very good habit for these chicks to learn to get into. Those feathers could become quite a problem if left unpreened for too long, I would say. On the other hand, they do give Ruth impressive coverage. Yesterday, when it was raining for a lot of the day, she managed to keep her rapidly growing trio dry and warm in those underfluffies of hers. It really does look like the inside of a quilt. “
‘A’ also reports that the GH owlet at Wolf Bay has branched!
Thank you for being with us this morning! Take care. Lots of exciting things happening in Bird World. Check in to your favourite nest today and if the sky is blue and the sun is out – listen for the birds where you are!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, books, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, L, PB, SP’, FORE, SK Hideaways, Cal Falcons, Cornell RTH, Pam Breci, Montana Ospreys, Kielder Ospreys, The Woodland Trust, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, Collins Marsh, Fran Solly, Chesapeake Conservancy, Audubon Boathouse, Mammy Bee Walk With Me, Syracuse RTH, SCMM, Fortis Exshaw, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Trudi Kron, Isabella Tree and Amazon, and Geemeff.
*Disclaimer: Every effort is made to thank those that supply information for my post. If you see an error or omission, please let me know so it can be corrected.*
UPDATE: FALCON CHICKS IN OMAHA ARE DECEASED NOT OSPLETS! THEY HAVEN’T HATCHED YET.
Gosh. I wish I could tell you that we have blue skies here on the Prairies, but no, it is heavily overcast and windy and I suspect some more rain is coming. The rain we had last week while I was so very sick made the grass green and the heat has really popped the leaves.
On Monday Mr or is it Mrs? I think Mr Crow was in and out all day long getting pieces of cheesy dogs. I didn’t clock his comings and goings but it was consistent throughout the day to see him on the railing of the fence flying down to get a piece of food. There have to be babies in the nest for him to be coming and going so often. So, imagine, in a month, there could be baby crows pecking at the ceiling of the conservatory for more food! We become foster parents to them and the little Blue Jays that will hatch about the same time. Oh, I can’t wait.
There was no one at the duck pond when I walked around. To my great surprise, it appears the first two goslings have hatched.
There were Wood Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, and Canada Geese. Phone photos from a distance are not great. Below is the female Common Goldeneye. She is knockout gorgeous with her ruffled light-espresso head tinged with a bit of auburn or henna, that piercing yellow eye, and a body of shades of brown-black, white, and grey—like practising hues and shades from design class only using brown touched with black instead of pure black. They are diving ducks that feed of pond plants, tubers, leeches, frogs, and small fish.
I was surprised at the lack of ducks. I wonder if there just isn’t enough plant food or them. There were only two male Wood Ducks. This was just sitting quietly by one of the incubating geese.
I left the park and headed to the nature centre. My body needed to walk out in the fresh air! There were bus loads of students doing things far away from the trails. The American Goldfinches have arrived along with the Harris Sparrows. I did not see any goslings but a few geese incubating. What struck me at both sites was the lack of geese incubating eggs. I hope they are just hiding.
The daffodils are just beginning to open and if you look closely you can see the canopy turning green.
It just felt so very good to be outside – walking. I am feeling a bit better every day, little by little. It isn’t COVID and keeps reminding me that this is probably a really bad case of food poisoning that is lingering. Thank you over and over for your good wishes.
At home, Hugo Yugo has been playing ‘cheese hockey’. This cat loves cheese. She also likes one big piece to bat all over the floor like a small soft toy. Oh, goodness, she has fun.
‘H’ is over the moon excited. It was a very sad year for Louise and her mate, Jasper, in 2023. Then we had to endure the intruders harming Banff, the only surviving chick, knocking her off the platform, etc. We think Banff survived all of that and it is good to have Louise. Oh, let this nest be peaceful in 2024. Louise deserves it.
The other excitement comes from the Osprey nest at Captiva where Jack got to get involved in a dual feeding with Edie. Way to go, Jack.
‘H’ comments:
Things can get pretty rambunctious between the siblings at meal times. CO7 is older, bigger, and more dominant, but CO8 starts a few of the skirmishes as well. CO7 will beak CO8 occasionally during a feeding, and cause him to be submissive, but there are also times when the chicks eat peacefully side by side. The fish have been plentiful and large, and at most meals, CO8 will receive at least one private feeding. At this point in time, the dominance by CO7 is not so severe that it prevents CO8 from getting plenty to eat.
Thanks, ‘H’.
There are always those nests that just make you happy. Annie’s has always been that way. Even through the loss of the mates – each one a darling – those chicks just make us smile even when they are covered in pin feathers.
One of the chicks is already wanting to climb out of the scrape. Gracious me.
Little hawklets with pinfeathers are also adorable. Like Annie, Big Red would never let one of her babies go to sleep hungry. At the Cornell, they not only get a fur lined egg cup but they can sleep on their own squirrel dreaming about having it for breakfast the next morning.
We have a name for the new female at Dunrovin.
The new gal at Charlo Montana has two eggs and her name is Lola.
Dorcha isn’t new and we do love you with your deep dark plumage, but there is a very soft spot in our hearts for Aila. Many of you started watching streaming cams during the pandemic. I imagine most of you found the nest of Louis and Aila at Loch Arkaig. 400,000 people did. We fell in love with that trio. At least one of them Doddie was spotted in 2023 up in the Shetland Islands as a returnee. I hope Little Captain and Vera are out there, too. You were much loved, Aila.
Iris gets a whole fish dinner while New Guy incubates the second egg.
Nesting material has been arriving at Sandpoint where there are already three beautiful Osprey eggs. Now imagine. Look to the left to that little pond. Think fish. Wouldn’t you like to stock it with about 400 fish (yes, we would have to feed them) for the ospreys? Keke and Leo would like that. Fish at the ready.
Ah, thank you ‘MP’. I am so glad to hear that the male at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is bringing fish even if they are sunfish!
All three at Little Miami are looking good but, just look at how big the baby is!
Kansas City Eaglets are fine.
Working through the fish at Frenchman’s Creek. If you had told me a fortnight ago that these two osplets would be healthy, being fed on a bed of rotting fish, I might not have believed you.
Maya sleeping. Best do it now. Those eggs could hatch any time.
Rolling the eggs at Dyfi with Idris and Telyn.
Look at that nice railing on the Glaslyn nest. Imagine there are people who fix this every year! I would love to have the rail fairies help out Superbeaks and Moorings Park.
Beautiful Poole Harbour.
Like everyone else, incubation continues at Llyn Brenig.
Hope has arrived home at the Snow Lane osprey platform in Newfoundland. She might have to fight for the nest.
Pigeons are more than falcon food. But, they deserve not to be poisoned. In both World Wars they helped. Here is a new story that ‘EJ’ found and sent to us -. Enjoy.
‘PB’ reports that all peregrine falcon chicks at the OPPD nest are deceased. She reports that they were not fed after hatching and it appeared the parents had no interest in feeding them. Could this be HPAI?
I loved it when ‘R’ recognised that I was a little ‘heated up’ when I wrote about the murder of Laddie. People get by with murdering birds because the legal system will not do a thing. Why does the judicial system not take things like stealing birds eggs – that wiped out entire populations -seriously? This is outrageous.
Heart broken for Blue NCO who listens and waits for her Laddie.
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, reminders, streaming cams and images that helped me to write my post today: ‘PB, EJ, Geemeff, H, MP’, Heidi McGrue, Window to Wildlife, SK Hideaways, Cornell RTH Cam, Celia Osprey, Charlo Montana, Geemeff, Montana Osprey Project, Steelscape Ospreys, Little Miami Conservancy, Kansas City Bald Eagles, Frenchman’s Creek, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Gerard Hickey, GOOD, Raptor Persecution UK, The New York Times, and Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL).
*Disclaimer. Every effort is made to give credit to those that contributed to the post. If I have made an error or omission, please let me know so it can be corrected. Thank you.*
I am using the word murder because this is an isolated area, restricted during breeding season, and someone would have deliberately taken out a firearm of some sort to kill this precious bird. This is not an accident.
There is heartbreaking news coming out of Scotland. I am putting it in order as I receive it but it sounds as if someone has killed our dear Laddie and that his disappearance was not due to old age/natural causes. This is extremely disturbing if that is the case.
I want you to imagine a beautiful loch restricted for fishing and human activities from the time the Ospreys arrive to the end of the breeding season. I want you to imagine quiet. We hear of other raptors being killed near grouse moors, but when was the last time you heard of a fish eating raptor being killed in the UK? True, there have been some very ‘sick’ stories coming out of regions of the US where ospreys were targeted. The last incident I heard was the deliberate cutting down of the Llyn Brenig platform in Wales. One egg was on the nest. It disturbed the entire breeding season. At Loch of the Lowes, we have Laddie. He was the resident male beginning in 2012. He is unringed so we do not know his history. He probably did not get a mate and a nest until he was four. Let’s use four as a reasonable beginning point. That means that Laddie is approximately sixteen or seventeen years old when he was killed. In that time, he flew to his wintering grounds. Let’s hypothesise that he went to West Africa. That is a distance of 2951 miles from Perthshire to Senegal. If Laddie hatched in 2007, he made his first trip to Africa then and flew 2951 miles. He remained there until he was a two-year old returning to the area around his natal nest which would be Scotland. So another 2951 miles in the spring of 2009 (making it a total of 5902 miles per year for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and another 2951 on his return in the spring of 2024. That is a total flight distance just or a probably migration of 94,432 miles in total without incident. It is staggering and that is why I have listed the years individually.
Laddie left his nest and Blue NCO after delivering a fish at lunchtime on the 28th of April. He did not return.
He travelled more than most people and probably much more than the individual who lifted a gun and shot him out of the sky. It is unbelievable. He lived through the truly trying juvenile years when we lose almost 2 out o every 3 ospreys, he made at least 17 round trip migrations to be blown out of the sky doing what he did this time every year – delivering fish to his mate on the nest incubating their eggs, Blue NCO (the latest of his mates).
Laddie did not kill grouse. He did not swoop down and take chickens out of a coop. He fished quietly on a Scottish loch. It terrifies me for all the others who have eggs in the nest because someone out there thinks their lives do not matter. This is no different than someone sitting on a chimney pot and shooting Hugo Yugo or one of the other girls through the conservatory’s windows. They do it because they have the power to kill. It is time for the people to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. Let Laddie be a symbol of the love and respect that we have for our raptors. Show these people that they are wrong. We do care. Force the Scottish Government to persecute this individual and make it meaningful, not a laughing stock.
“Police Scotland Tayside have posted on Facebook:
“We are appealing for information after the remains of an osprey were found near Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, on Friday, 3 May, 2024.
The protected species is believed to have been nesting at Loch of the Lowes, close to where it was found.
Enquiries are at an early stage to establish the full circumstances.
Inspector James Longden said: “It is illegal to kill any protected species and we are working closely alongside partner agencies to confirm what has happened here and whether there is any criminality involved.
“Information from the local community could prove vital and it is important we speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area, or who may know something which could assist our investigation.
“Any information can be passed to Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number 3266 of Friday, 3 May, 2024. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
This news will send ripples of concern throughout the UK Osprey platforms. The platform at Llyn Brenig was cut down a couple of years ago and we know that Hen Harriers, eagles, and even Red Kites have been killed around the grouse moors intentionally. Why would anyone want to kill an osprey?
The remaining issue is Blue NCO and the eggs. This is a human caused tragedy. The police would not be investigating if Laddie had died from natural causes or a battle for territory. Since this is the case, do we not have an obligation to provide fish for Blue NCO and the eggs, if they hatch, until such time as Mum is able to care for them entirely by herself? The terrain and the location might make this difficult if not impossible but they do ring the chicks. Of course, the best situation would be that the eggs would be abandoned and Blue NCO would move on with no chicks to worry about starving.
And now news arrives of a Peregrine Falcon being shot. This is becoming more than troubling.
This morning it was discovered that Maya and Blue 33 are only incubating two eggs. Here is the news from Rutland. We know they can count now we know that they can also spot viable and non-viable eggs. Brilliant birds.
Tuffy and Ruffie compare wingers. Hilarious. As funny as this video is there is something rather disturbing too and that is the state of the nest at Moorings Park. The rails appear to be sliding off and well, I don’t even want to think about either of these beautiful osplets prematurely sliding off or being blown off the sides. Is it too much to appeal to Moorings Park to do major reconstruction during the off-season like they do at some nests in the UK? Where the rails are secured? Nesting material enhanced?
The Captiva osplets are in the reptile stage! Thanks, ‘H’ for that FB video clip.
The oldest osplet at Florida-Gainesville and Mum are faring alright.
Samson’s new mate, Blue 500, has been named Augusta after she laid their first egg on 3 May 2024 at the Border Osprey nest. Samson’s former mate, Juno, did not return from migration.
‘H’ reports that at Severna Park, Olivia and Oscar have their third egg.
‘H’ also checks in on Lake Murray and the triplets appear to be doing fine.
The two osplets at Frenchman’s Creek seem to be working their way through the fish that Dad brought.
A hatch at Surrey. I am posting this because of the unusual nature in the way that the shell cracked during hatch. The little one made it out safely!
Gorgeous Big Red and N1 and N2.
The female has been fish calling at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The male appeared later on Saturday but I have not seen any fish deliveries. Intruders? Anyone watching this nest closely?
Three beauties at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey Platform.
Lessons in plucking for those two big Decorah North eaglets.
Fraser Point eaglets doing fantastic.
The trio at the West End are real ‘treasures’.
Rescued chick back home at Bald Canyon and both have full crops.
The oldest and the youngest at Little Miami:
Checking on the Finnish nests:
Janakkala: Incubation
Paltamo: No eggs yet
Muonio: Unsure.
Ylläslompolo: No eggs
Beautiful female on her German nest.
For those looking forward to the Glacier Gardens Eagle Cam, there could be issues this year.
For those wondering about Richmond and Rosie, it is unclear whether there are two or three eggs. They sure didn’t make it easy for us this year!
The third egg at the Green Ledge Light Preservation Society on Long Island was laid on 2 May.
During the time that I conducted research in Mumbai for my PhD and later when I was writing all of that up, I met many Zoroastrians. They are often called Parsees (Parsi) and they immigrated to India from Iran after being persecuted by Muslims. They have unique traditions and, one in particular, the non-burial of their dead. They leave the bodies of their deceased for vultures to clean. The bodies do not contaminate the air, the soil, or the water. Today, this community is facing a particular challenge and it concerns a lack of vultures.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care – there is a flu bug or something going around and it isn’t nice! See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Scottish Wildlife Foundation (LOTL), Police Scotland Tayside, LOTL Visitor’s Centre, Val Gail, Daily Record, Geemeff, Raptor Persecution UK, Rutland Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Moorings Park Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, Border Ospreys, SK Hideaways, Cal Falcons, Severna Park, Lake Murray Ospreys, Frenchman’s Creek Ospreys, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, Cornell RTH Cam, Miami Landscape Arboretum, VGCCO, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, IWS/Explore, Gracie Shepherd, Little Miami Conservancy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Green Ledge Light Preservation Society, and The Guardian.
*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to credit the correct individuals for their contributions. If an error has been made, please let me know! I wish to fix it.*
I have an early appointment tomorrow, so I apologise for this post going out late on Monday evening.
I so hope that your week started well. It was cold in Winnipeg. 5 C. We live on a weather roller coaster. One day, we put up the winter coats, and then we had to go and drag them back out again along with the toques. The leaves continue to break open on the lilacs; a few Dark-eyed Juncos are still here, along with the White-throated Sparrows and European Starlings. The normal garden birds are here all year, but this spring is different. There are so many Black-capped Chickadees that we have a chorus! It is incredibly beautiful. I will try to make a recording one day for all of you.
Gosh, it is a mixed bag. Eaglets are still growing, with many getting ready to branch and fledge. Falcons, along with the hawklets, are jumping and munching around the world. Osprey eggs are still being laid, and Europe will hatch some in the UK next week. I continue to be busy entering data – egg and hatches in our data forms, changes of partners. It seems a little more hectic than last year and yet, there are not nearly as many eggs in comparison. We are waiting for all of those in the NE to come on board! ‘H’ and I will not be able to catch our breath or have a cup of tea. Severna Park has one and the others are going to quickly follow suit.
If you are monitoring a nest that is not on a streaming cam, I would love to hear from you. In Manitoba, I watch three nests—one is at the University of Manitoba, and the couple has now returned for another year on top of a light stand. The other two are at different sites on Lake Winnipeg. No would would ever know about them and perhaps not about the nest you watch, so please, write to me. There is a comments section and you can always e-mail (maryannsteggles@icloud.com). My interest is in Osprey behaviour and, in particular, siblicide. If you see something, also let me know. I appreciate all the news I receive and try to answer within 24 hours. Sometimes it takes me longer to respond to the comments section, but I do read them daily. Thank you so much.
I will also try to get some good images of ‘The Girls’ this week. They are all fine, including Hugo Yugo, who is chasing Calico through the house. I’m not sure the attention is appreciated! I always wonder about Hugo Yugo. Today, I had a small Brioche roll, and she attacked it – so she loves cheese and bread. Did they give her grilled cheese sandwiches at her foster home? Or is it just her crazy character? She is so different from any cat I have ever owned. Some of you have told me about your lovely ginger cats, and it seems they are a force on their own.
At the nests –
At Superbeaks, ‘H’ caught Mason branching! Congratulations. What an exciting milestone.
My ‘inbox’ lit up like fireworks were going off – I kept hearing pings while I was at my appointment, and then there it was. The culprit was Connie, the resident female bald eagle at the Captiva nest, taking the opportunity to steal part of a fish off the Captiva Osprey nest of Jack and Edie. The problem: two little osplets were in that nest. Lady Luck was sure on hand as those two little ones were not pulled out of the nest along with the moss. My heart sank.
Many of you will have noticed that ospreys do not often leave fish on the nest. I often see comments in the chat asking why they don’t. Well, this is the reason for that. The male will remove the fish, and then he will return it if there is fish left after he eats. Some males have stashes. Leaving the fish on the nest invites predators or the nest cleaning Crows, Ravens, and Gulls to stop by for lunch. Food draws attention to a place we don’t want others to be. Today, Jack and Edie were lucky. Connie won’t forget. She lives right by them – she will swing by that nest to see if there is a fish. Why catch one when Jack and Edie will leave you a nice big piece? Oh…this could have been so tragic.
Heidi has it on video:
What would Connie do if she saw the fish at Frenchman’s Creek? The two kiddos are eating, sometimes being fed, and growing. It is hard to believe, but these two will probably fledge, and we should be ever so glad. The Dad has been feeding, and they are self-feeding, and the nest is still full. The Crows and Gulls and any other carrion eaters in the area will have a feast when these two leave the nest.
In the UK, Blue 372 laid her third egg at the Llyn Brenig nest on Monday the 29th of April.
The Fans of Redding Eagles (FORE) is looking for names for Liberty and Guardian’s two eaglets. Here is the information. The deadline is Wednesday.
At Leighton Moss, Yellow-legged Gulls have taken over the Osprey Platform.
At Moorings Park, dear not-so-little-anymore Tuffy is doing just fine. What a lovely little osplet he is. You just have to watch his behaviour and facial expressions and you will have a smile from ear to ear. He is growing, doing well, and unless some bloody tragedy happens, he should fledge. Meanwhile, Sally and Harry are busy with intruders just like most of the other nests. That is so sad because the exchanges sometimes become violent and one or the other, or both, could get injured or die.
Blue 33 taking an opportunity to cuddle with Maya. He loves doing that! In about six days, he is going to be busy fishing for a new set of osplets. First to lay their eggs, first to hatch. Can’t wait. Mark your calendars for pip watch 5-6 May at Rutland Water.
It was a soggy day for Blue NCO at Loch of the Lowes. Someone at the loch saw Laddie sitting near the nest yesterday, I believe it was. There have been worries that something had happened because of a lack of fish deliveries—and even I get nervous watching this nest. Siblicide is entirely possible. It has happened for the past two years.
I am starting to wonder if the other two eggs on the nest of Big Red and Arthur will hatch. If they don’t, it is fine. Big Red had a leg injury that appears to have healed. Feeding four and caring for them might delight her and make her glow like the sun on a bright day, but caring for two is much easier. It might be nice to have a more relaxed year. N1 and N2 are rather feisty!
The camera operators really want to see those eggs clearly and it is hard. N1 loves to go after N2’s neck and twist it about. But, remember, this is really play fighting like Hugo Yugo does with her sisters. It is not the harm that we see on nests with either siblicide or Cainism.
Dear Archie must have had a chat with Annie and convinced her that he is perfectly capable of helping to feed the chicks. Tandem feeding. Monday 29 April. This should put a smile on your face.
It is frightening how fast these chicks of Annie and Archie are growing.
At Syracuse, there are two chicks and the other egg is pipping. Update: That chick has hatched!
‘J’ sent me a super reminder that the PA-DNR falcons have hatched! Here is the link to their cam with an image of the scrape with Mamma and eyases below.
The news coming out of the UFlorida-Gainesville osprey platform of Stella and Talon is not good. The first chick died from siblicide. Talon is rarely seen – a Dad that was known for bringing a good amount of fish to the nest. Only one fish on Monday and the weather is to be quite hot according to ‘R’ who is monitoring the nest. So we have to think of dehydration. We could lose another chick, so sad.
‘R’ gives us an update: “1700 – Stella brings in big fish. #2 learning how to hide behind her and getting some good bits, even a small crop. #1 is brutal, but speed seems to be working. Talon is gone!” Sadly, another one to add to the Memorial Pages. Another Mum has to be everything to her chicks – security, hunter, and feeder. Thankfully they are well feathered and will be able to thermoregulate when she is out fishing.
The lives of males are often filled with danger that is not visible on camera.
All three are well at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey nest. Growing and growing. Sometimes it is hard to tell the third hatch now from the second.
The female at the Wells Fargo Osprey Cam in Des Moines, Iowa has laid a fourth egg on the 29th of April. Last year the couple fledged two chicks.
Two eggs visible at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest on Monday. These would be the first egg that got soaked and then buried as the third egg is not due to hatch yet.
Two cute little White-tail Eaglets in the Tucholskie Forest in Poland.
There is at least one egg at Pitkin County! The egg bowl is so deep.
A brief glimpse of some eggs at Clark PUD.
Male brings a really nice fish and relieves the female at the Kalakotkas 2 nest in Estonia.
‘H’ reports: “The Osoyoos osprey nest of Soo and Olsen: Soo laid their first egg of the season on 4/29, at 12:55:56. This was approximately three weeks earlier than last season.”
ZE brought a fish to the Goitzche-Wildnis nest in Germany and the female was really telling him not to eat it all! Cute.
The eaglet at Fraser Point has a name – ‘Reign’.
An Osprey nest in a tree in the US. How many of you can say you have seen this? (There are many, many in the UK and Europe using beautiful big trees).
The GH owlet at Wolf Bay in Alabama looks better. Heavy rain came late on Monday. The drops were so big that on the streaming cam they looked like snow. I have not seen a feeding, but those generally happen at dusk and dawn. If you have, please let me know.
Thank you so very much for being with us today. It is always a pleasure to hear from you and we look forward to having you with us again soon. Remember to look up!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J, MM, PB, R’, Superbeaks, Heidi McGrue, Frenchman’s Creek, Llyn BGrenig, Julie LaLima, RSPB Leighton Moss, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Cornell RTH, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, SU RTH-Cam, PA-DNR, University of Florida-Gainesville, VGCCO, Iowa DNR, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Bieliki Online Bory Tucholskie, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, Clark PUD, Eagle Club of Estonia, Osoyoos Ospreys, Goitzche-Wildnis, Gracie Shepherd and IWS/Explore.com, Connecticut Osprey Group, and Wolf Bay Ospreys.
*Disclaimer. Every effort is made to identify the individuals, groups, and institutions that supplied information for my post today. Please let me know if I missed anyone!*
I am finishing this posting late Sunday evening as I must leave the house early Monday morning. So, whatever happens between midnight CDT and Monday morning will be covered on Tuesday. It is also going to be cooler tomorrow. 2 C. We were 24 C last week. I do not know about the birds and animals in the garden, but it has been quite the past few months with the weather fluctuating daily.
Hugo Yugo and Missey want to wish everyone a great start to their week. These two are inseparable, just like Calico and Baby Hope. It is not just Missey that washes Hugo Yugo – that little ginger gives Missey a good going over. It is so precious.
Beautiful chortling from Jackie and Shadow to start your day.
I spent Sunday with my daughter and her three children to celebrate the granddaughter’s birthday. You will recall that this young woman is quite an inspiration to me and others. She has the most empathy and is a social worker helping those who struggle to live independently due to long-term abuse and addiction. She is also Vegan and has been for seven years. Her commitment to the welfare of animals and people warms my heart.
There are some sad and horrifying things happening in Bird World and I would like to dispense with them right away and get on to some of the more positive events that happened in our nests on Sunday.
I have great concerns for the second hatch at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. ‘R’ did a great job monitoring the nest and confirmed my fears. He writes, “At 0647 a fish was brought in. It looks like Stella as only one Osprey came into the nest. At 1247 Stella again brought in a fish. She is gone most of the time so I suspect she is doing the fishing. After this feeding both osplets had decent crops. At 1247 Stella fed part of a fish that was laying in the nest (catfish). At 1447 Talon brings in a fish. This is the only time he is in the nest for 12H. This is also the last feeding for the 12H period. Stella spends most of her time off the nest and occasionally brings in nesting material.
The birds must be getting very hungry as #1 (my numbering for the biggest and aggressive osplet) occasionally attacks #2 even when there is no feeding going on. #2 is getting very little food. Very strange and hard to follow with such a poor arrangement of the camera.”
The image below is well after ‘R’s’ reporting. Sibling 1 has been eating all the fish and has a huge crop and is attacking the middle sibling. The third hatch died of a very vicious siblicide.
Tragedy was brewing Sunday afternoon when both Claire and USS7 got caught in fishing line on the US Steel Bald Eagle nest. In an incredible effort, Claire got that line off herself and her chick. She then gathered it up and flew off the nest! Well done – an experienced Mum working to save her little one.
‘H’ reports that the two eggs laid at the Fenwicke Island Osprey nest in Delaware have been eaten by Crows. Both adults were off the nest!
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ospreys are being rained on. The first egg which had been left in the pouring rain is now well hidden under nesting material. The second egg was laid on Sunday and it has been walked on and rained on…It could well be a blessing if it does not hatch.
Good news coming from Decorah North. NC18 no longer has fishing line hanging from its beak. It appears it has been cleared as per Raptor Resource Project.
‘B’ writes: “I couldn’t believe it! Archie snuck in there at 8:38:45 while Annie was away and began feeding the chicks. He must have had that TINY bit of prey stashed somewhere, just waiting for his opportunity. It only lasted a minute, because Annie returned at 8:39:45 and snatched it from him, also having a couple of words with him. Way to go, Archie!”
Cal Falcons caught this magical moment.
Sometimes it is hard to tell how much fish Tuffy gets, but he is being fed well and his feathers are continuing to grow and the nest appears peaceful.
Keo and Keke surprised everyone with their first egg laid late on the 27th or the wee hours of the 28th (?) at the Sandpoint Nest.
On Sunday that egg at Sandpoint had some drizzle on it.
‘PB’ found a nest in Canada in the Niagara on the Lake area. It is the Niagara Bee Group Ospreys and they already have two eggs!
Some rain got on the two eggs Sunday afternoon. It is not clear if they will be viable or not.
This is the link to their streaming cam:
Ollie and his mate have returned to the Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society on Long Island. There is a new camera and the nest has been secured from a storm last year that wiped it out. Ollie returned on the 30th of March and his mate arrived a few days later. They now have one egg according to the wonderful moderator of their FB messaging who answered me promptly.
More and more fish deliveries at Frenchman’s Creek. Reflecting on this nest and the Mum who is obviously ill/injured makes me wonder how these two surviving osplets will behave as adults with their own chicks. For example, at the Hopeless Nest in Newfoundland, the female does not feed the chicks. Both died last year and I believe in all the time only one chick has survived and that was in 2019 (please feel free to correct me). Will these two not feed their chicks? if they are female? Or will their instincts or memories drive them to be good parents?
Dad continues to bring fish – thankfully he eats the head so the chicks can eat the fish easier. He is also still spending time feeding his two big babies. I think they are going to be alright. People should not worry about the fish piling up unless it compromises the nest structure. The carrion eaters will arrive and have it cleaned up in no time!
The weather is improving in Finland and the ospreys are busy mating, fixing nests, or laying eggs. There are two eggs at Satakunnan.
There is a new female this year at Juurusvesi. She is Yellow M76822 and was ringed in 2020 at a nest precisely 100 km away at Viitasaaki.
Did not see an osprey on the nest at Paltamon where there is still snow on the ground, but there was a Peregrine Falcon!
Both have returned to Janakkala – obviously eating well. No egg yet.
The male in Germany is feeding the female who is incubating their eggs a fish meal. How cute.
Louis must have been dealing with intruders. She finally got a fish and it was after 1500 – that is decidedly not the Louis we know.
There is a new couple with three eggs on the Estonian Osprey nest in Tartu County. (It is not believed that this is either the former male Ivo or his mate). This is wonderful news for a country where the osprey population is low. In 2018, 210 pairs.
No one will ever go hungry if Arthur is around. The nest of Big Red and N1 and N2 is now lined with squirrel. Do not despair of you see these two beaking away at one another. It will stop. Their eyes cannot focus properly – just like the falcons. Give them 4 or 5 days. Their heads are not steady and any beak is a potential meal! They will get rough – in this instance, it is play fighting unlike what is happening at University of Florida-Gainesville.
Buky and Bette still have two eggs at their nest in Mlady Buky.
Geemeff brings us up to date on the comings and goings of nest 1 at Loch Arkaig. “An unringed female came to Nest One and got two fish from Garry LV0! She spent a lot of time there, fingers crossed she returns tomorrow. Affric 152 hasn’t been seen since the 24th, and the unidentified pair at Bunarkaig are definitely now incubating eggs so it does look like that is her on that nest. So with luck she’ll stay away and Garry will have the time and space to woo this female and they form a bond. There is still time – just – for eggs this year but just seeing him with a mate would make me very happy.”
Geemeff has it all on video.
And then a second fish. This looks promising. There has not been a family of osplets on this nest since Louis moved to nest 2 with Dorcha after Aila did not return.
Swampy had a meal and slept like an adult perched with a parent on the natal tree.
‘H’ reports that Severna Park finally has its first egg – a fortnight later than last year. 17:26:55.
Deb Stecyk did a really nice tribute to Bella. Poor eagle…what a terrible year she had with her new mate, Scout.
When the young woman posted her linocut of Flaco on FB, I could not resist. It arrived and went off to the framers. I forgot to request non-reflective glass. Said with a loud sigh, as it was difficult to get a half-decent image without reflections for her to use on her Instagram page. I thought it came out rather well – the print with the matting and framing. It’s hard to tell the colours, but the largest matt is a deep grey-blue-black, with the little interior section the colour of a deep rust brick.
Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We will look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, MP, PB, R’, SK Hideaways, Baiba, Fenwicke Island, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Cal Falcons, Moorings Park ospreys, Sandpoint Ospreys, Niagara Bee Group, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, Frenchman’s Creek, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fischadlercam, Geemeff, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell RTH, Mlady Buky Stork Cam, Eagle Country, Severna Park, Deb Stecyk, and DirtGirl Designs.
*Disclaimer: I make every effort to identify and thank those who have provided information. If I have made an error or omission, please let me know so I can rectify it. Thank you.*
The rain I wished for arrived Friday morning, along with a chill to the bone feeling. It was much needed, and the smell of the wet earth was intoxicating, especially after all the dust. The grass around the City is turning green, and the leaves on the lilac bushes in the garden are starting to emerge. I cannot wait to see the garden completely ‘green’ again. This morning, the first White-throated Sparrows arrived in the garden. They returned, again, in even larger numbers – 35 or 40 – in the pouring rain around 1930. They are easy to see with their three white stripes on the crown, but I realised that soon the leaves would be out, and I will be scrambling to tell who is where.
The White-throated Sparrow might look like a House Sparrow except for that amazing head and throat. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a plastic head stuck on a house sparrow. Silly me. There are three white stripes alternating with black to make up its crown. On each side, at the top of the black beak, is a yellow dot – someone got into their paint pot! The proper term is lores. Below the beak is a white triangle like a bib, hence the name – ‘White-throated’. [The White Crowned Sparrow lacks the white bib!]
All about Birds says, “White-throated Sparrows eat mainly the seeds of grasses and weeds, including ragweed and buckwheat, as well as fruits of sumac, grape, cranberry, mountain ash, rose, blueberry, blackberry, and dogwood. In summer they eat large numbers of insects that they catch on the forest floor or, occasionally on quick flights out from low vegetation. These include dragonflies, wasps, stinkbugs, beetles, flies, and caterpillars, as well as spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and snails. Parents feed their nestlings almost exclusively animal matter. During winter, White-throated Sparrows readily visit bird feeders for millet and black oil sunflower seeds. In spring they eat the tender buds, blossoms, and young seeds of oak, apple, maple, beech, and elm.” They were certainly busy kicking and foraging in the grass beneath the feeders in my garden. I noticed that they not only consumed the Black-oil seed but the Millet and the Corn.
The white eyebrows are normally sider than the single stripe running down the middle of the crown. You can see the yellow lores clearly in the image below.
“Female White-throated Sparrows put their nests on or just above the ground, typically in level areas in clearings with dense ground vegetation. The nest is usually built under shrubs, grasses, or ferns, sometimes even beneath dead vegetation from the previous year. Birds sometimes put their nests off the ground, particularly if they lost a previous nest to a predator. These nests may be in roots of an upturned tree, brush piles, in shrubs or ferns, or as high as 10 feet up in a coniferous tree.”
‘The Girls’ are just like our little raptors. After every meal they go into a food coma! Hugo Yugo is no exception.
I am afraid to say but it appears that Hugo Yugo is starting to grow – long. Her face still looks like a kitten. I am hoping that my eyes are just fooling me. She still fits in the shoe box.
Meanwhile, Missey still likes it when the plants are watered and will curl up in them like she did as a kitten with Lewis.
It isn’t an end table…it is a two-tier hard sofa for cats. I wish the individual had not felt the need to refinish the tops – the wicker is marvellous and it would certainly be more fitting for it to be in its original condition, however grotty.
The Fig Tree needs a nice new pot.
Richmond and Rosie are going to be grandparents! I get goosebumps when I hear of survivals like this. I am sure many of you watched ZD with me four years ago!
There is a second egg hatching at the nest of Big Red and Arthur Friday afternoon. There will be another beak to fill Saturday. Arthur is already bringing in the squirrels. I hope it is a huge population of them and chippies this spring – he will have six mouths to feed in total.
N1 is a darling. Our friend ‘A’ thinks so, too: “N1 is SUCH a strong little hawklet. It is eating like a small fluffy piglet. Mum is feeding it often and it is eating like a pro, even picking up dropped mouthfuls for itself! This is one precocious little chick. But of course that is hawklets isn’t it? Their nest time is so short compared to eaglets and osplets. They grow so fast and fledge so soon, we have to appreciate every day we have them in the nest. A bit like falcons, really, which returns me to the happy little band at Cal Falcons. A darling, hard-working little dad and a devoted, very experienced mum. This may be the first time all four of Annie’s eggs have hatched (although we have no idea what would have happened last season had that third egg not almost certainly been laid away from the nest on the day Grinnell died) but I have a lot of confidence in this pair to successfully raise all four to fledge, as long as they are not bothered by intruders.”
Too cute!
Big Red positively glows when her eggs begin to hatch and there are chicks to care for. She even looks younger and younger.
UPDATE: From ‘A’: “
The second hawklet is nearly dry when Big Red gives us our first good daylight look at the expanded family from about 06:28:20 when she gets up for a stretch. There is a stick that falls across the nest as she moves and the new hatchling has to struggle out from under it (mum moves it). The second little one appears strong and healthy. I’m sure there will be a meal soon, but at this stage, this is the first really good look we have had at the second hawlet.
Two eggs hatched and two eggs to come. I wonder whether the gaps between hatches will be similar or whether there will be different time differences. There looks as though there MAY be a pip in the third egg (left hand side at the front as we are looking at the pic), right down at the bottom on the left hand end but of course I may be wrong and it may not even be at the correct end of the egg. So I wouldn’t be relying on my ability to spot pips on hawk eggs or (especially) on osprey eggs. Just too many blotches for me to see anything definitive. “
Cutie pie falcons in Osaka being fed – look how big they are! The pin gathers are coming in and they have lost that sweet baby down but gosh, they are still adorable.
H’ reports that Angel and Tom visited their nest Saturday morning. Yippeeee.
The first egg at McEuan Park in Idaho was laid on the 26th. Thanks, ‘H’.
*Caution. Not recommended. Potential neglect from female/starvation despite male delivering fish*. The first egg of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest was laid on the 25th. This is a very problematic nest. Little to none nesting materials. Experienced Dad. Female appears to have many issues. She has failed to cover egg and it has rained heavily on the egg. ‘MP’ reports that the Dad tried to cover it with the few cornstalks available. The female later returns to incubate. Quite honestly, the kind thing would be for this egg to be unviable.
In comparison, Annie is a superb Mum. ‘A’ writes, “Annie was so careful this morning to make sure that little number 4 chick was fed after its older siblings had eaten their fill. She had to go around to the back of the pile to reach the little one, which is way too small to reach over the others and not yet strong enough to push its way to the front. So Annie is making sure that she gets the food to the little one herself. She is very deliberate about it. It has to wait its turn, but Annie keeps feeding and feeding until all the little mouths are closed, and then she e-chups some encouragement to try just a couple more bites and the little beaks open one more time. And when they have all eaten their fill, only then does Annie finish the feeding and remove the leftovers. .(Or on this occasion, she simply ate the leftovers herself, having fed the entire prey item to the chicks.)
She is a very very good mother, and Archie is doing a sterling job. He would love to do more, and is always there if he feels the chicks might get chilly waiting for mum’s return, but knows his place and is quick to depart when mum arrives back. I think brooding the four is going to be quite a challenge for him within a day or two. “
Annie wants to be in charge of the feedings!
Squirming falcons.
Audacity laid a fourth egg that was crushed. It makes me so very sad to think how much she wants a family – or for that matter all the others like Jackie and Shadow, Chase and Cholyn, and of course, dear Gabby and Beau. When I get down in the dumps about it all, I just go over to Cal Falcons or Big Red’s…you cannot help but smile and have all the gloom washed away.
Falcons are hatching everywhere including in the Netherlands near the city of Duurstede.
Raptor Resource Project staff keeping a close eye on the eaglet at Decorah North.
Later images at Decorah North.
The first osprey in all of Italy hatched on Friday.
Fish arrived at 1326 at Moorings Park and what you can’t see is Tuffy on the other side being fed first.
Look at Tuffy working those wings. Our darling little one has grown up – and is surviving.
Idris incubates the eggs while Telyn enjoys a nice fish supper at the Dyfi Osprey platform in Wales.
Contentment at Glaslyn with Elen and Aran.
I wish that Affric and either Prince or Gary would find the same kind of contentment at Loch Arkaig nest 1. How could osplets be raised with all the kerfuffle going on?
Louis found out about the other male courting Iris and might well have sent him packing. Iris is alone in the rain. Louis has an injury on his chest.
Swampy is beautiful and appears to be doing well! Prey being provided at the nest.
Two osplets at Frenchman’s Creek are self-feeding, getting fed by Mum once in awhile, and you know what? They just might fledge – they might make it!
The eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy are walking on the nest and growing like crazy. Look at that formidable female! I would not want to get her upset.
West End trio doing quite well.
Eaglets at Duke nearing branching and fledge.
The two eaglets on Farmer Derek’s property, Wichita and Cheyenne, are both doing fantastic.
Notice the difference in plumage. Port Tobacco eaglet is getting its feathers but is only beginning compared to the Duke Farms eaglets, Jersey and Leaper.
Fort St Vrain eaglets, FSV49 and 50, are so tiny. They are losing their natal down and finishing up getting their thermal. One has even been pecking at prey.
While it might look boring, the ospreys and eagles have to stay vigilant during the incubation period least their eggs get pecked by Crows (Tom and Audrey’s most recent egg at Kent Island) or they get attacked by intruders. The pair at Boulder are always on the look out for trouble.
Denton Homes eaglet trio now have their thermal down.
Andor and Cruz’s pair are doing well – and are simply lovely.
Jackie and Shadow give me the warm fuzzies – it is like ‘everything is going to be OK’ when I see them together.
The new male at Anna and Louis’s nest, E1, at Lake Kincaid seems to have a fetish for turtles. Tonya Irvin worries that they could become endangered at the lake!
Hoping that the first hatch at Captiva is kind to the second and letting it eat enough.
There are three eggs at Cowlitz PUD.
Nothing is happening, yet, at Oregon Law’s osprey nest.
Liberty and Guardian’s eaglets at Redding are well looked after.
An unexpected snow in Finland has hit areas where the ospreys are nesting.
Others were not affected. The female at Janakallan, Yellow XKT, was on the nest today. Has her partner, Red CCL, lost his Darvic ring?
I have been following the plight of Milda and her two eggs since Hugo went missing. On Friday, Milda left the nest at 1759 and had not returned by 0700 Saturday morning. She cannot do this alone and new males have proven to her to be unreliable. Better unhatched eggs than starving chicks – precisely how I feel about other nests, too.
Researchers in Australia have found that noise from urban pollution (traffic) stunts the growth of baby birds.
An Osprey rescue in Belgium that could have a very happy ending.
If you missed it, here is April’s Ventana Wildlife Condor Chat.
Our birds and wildlife need habitat, clean water, and food. Humans need to examine the land we use and begin to see a different vision than houses – larger and larger ones – taking over land. In my City, they should be building up, not out.
Did you read Watershed Down? The local community has lost their battle for the iconic and inspiring landscape for that story to housing.
Thank you so much for being with me today. I am always so happy to hear form you! Take care. We hope to have you with us again soon.
Thank you, as always, to those who sent me notes, provided posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MP’, SF Bay Ospreys, Cornell RTH Cam, Osaka Peregrine Falcons, McEuan Park, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Cal Falcons, Wijk bij Duurstede, Raptor Research Project, Parco Natural Regional di Porto Conte, Moorings Park Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Geemeff, Montana Osprey Project, Eagle Country, Frenchman’s Creek, Little Miami Conservancy, IWS/Explore, Duke Farms, Kansas City Bald Eagles, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, Fort St Vrain Eagles, Boulder County, Denton Homes, SK Hideaways, Tonya Irvin, Window to Wildlife, Cowlitz PUD, Osprey Law, FORE, Finnish Osprey Foundation, The Guardian, Gregarious Joris Toonen, Ventana Wildlife, and the Daily Mail.
*Disclaimer: I have made effort to thank everyone who has contributed to today’s post. If there has been an error or an omission, my apologies. Please let me know so that I can correct my omission.*
