climate change and birds – Page 11

WBSE30 is alive…Saturday in Bird World

22 July 2023

Good Morning All!

It was an exciting time in the garden today. The usual suspects were all here but there was a new addition! The European Starlings brought at least one of the juveniles to the garden. It ate in the square feeder, drank in the bird bath, and went into the lilacs to be fed by a parent. Warmed my heart because so many of the Avian families in my neighbourhood bring their babies to the garden to eat and to be safe.

It is very difficult to tell European Starling adults apart – the males and females – just like it is with Blue Jays. This juvenile Starling is gorgeous. The bird book says it is a ‘dull grey-brown’. Well, I don’t think there is anything ‘dull’ about this little beauty.

Just look at the plumage. Under the neck is a soft dark grey collar with a light dove grey trim. Think about the reticula lace ruffs of European royalty in the late 16th century! Not precisely, but think along those lines when you look at the plumage of birds.

So now look at that lovely collar.

Then skip over to the wings and the rump and you begin to get the darkest charcoal, nearly ebony in parts with thicker and more defined outlines on the feathers. This time they almost appear bronze. This is seriously a handsome juvenile.

You can see more of that golden bronze that breaks into a rust when the juvie leans over and the light hits those feathers.

My goodness – what an excellent combination for a fall wardrobe. I worked with a man once that collected all manner of natural objects – well, he collected lots, but he often told me that we have to look to nature for the colours and the patterns. He was right.

The adult trying to find the juvenile in all the thick lilac branches to feed it. This is why I fill those feeders up day in and day out…I could not be more happier to see the adults bringing their babies to the garden. It is a tough world in an urban environment for wildlife. I continue to say that and I hope you don’t get tone-deaf to hearing it. We have taken over their habitat and it is up to us to help them. On the hottest of days that means water – water is hopefully something everyone can spare. But the next time you are tossing food into the bin look and see what you are throwing away. Would a bird eat it?

How did you spend your Friday? I know that many were watching Little Mini to see if she would fledge. Let us hope that she is with us a few more days before flying but, she wants to. Remember. Mini was so tiny we could hardly find her in the nest amidst the big siblings. She appears to be a female which means she has 50% more growth to do than say Three who appears to be a male. Her wings are the span of the nest, she has her tail feathers, now for all of them just to be ‘perfect’ and then, her body will know when to fly. Unless someone knocks her out of the nest or she gets crazy listening to Three ‘fish cry’.

Mini had at least two nice fish and a glorious PS on Friday. The adults do not forget about the chicks on the nest.

Look out below!

As a result of Mini and doing a lot of clearing out, I did not watch the nests on Friday hardly at all. And that is sometimes a good thing. It was not a beautiful day – it was hot and very humid. I still need to get to the nature centre for my daily walk. Instead, I watched Little Red harass Dyson over peanuts. Red squirrels can be very aggressive. I was just screaming at that squirrel who was obviously stashing the peanuts in the wood pile while the others wanted to eat.

Many of you have written in to see what has happened with WBSE30 presumed to have died. Well, she is alive!

There is some nest news and let’s go and see what happened on Friday and early Saturday morning.

Glaslyn: OH2 has not yet fledged – at least not at the time I am writing but it is going to be soon. 0H1 has fledged – both are males.

It was a nasty day at Glaslyn and Saturday morning is even wetter. Happy that 0H2 decided to stay on the nest.

Dyfi: Home to Idris and Telyn. Everyone is soaking wet Saturday morning.

Llyn Clywedog: Every time I think of this nest, I tear up. Dylan and Seren had two beautiful healthy osplets. When I first saw the fish on the nest just there, no one about, my heart sank a bit. thankfully, our fledgling arrived to claim it.

Alyth: The weather is much better and there are three fledglings waiting for fish deliveries!

The last chick did not leave this nest until mid-September and It is confirmed that Dad remained there feeding it all the time. What a fantastic nest.

Loch of the Lowes: Blue NC0 has not been seen for a week. She has not started migration – it is just too early. There have been intruders all season at this nest. I do not believe she would leave two fledglings for this long. Something has sadly happened to her although I hope that she lands on the nest and makes a fool out of me. That would be brilliant and it would be welcoming. Laddie is trying to keep intruders away and be both Mum and Dad. The fledglings are both hungry——and I do mean hungry. Just like they were at Achieva or at Forsythe, currently. He is doing the best he can in circumstances he cannot control.

Blue NC0 and Laddie LM12.

Laddie delivering a fish and the male PF5 got it – he is so hungry having been pushed about by the sister PF4…Two fish so far today – I cannot completely confirm who got the second but I hope that each fledgling got a meal.

Poole Harbour: Food security is paramount for a civil nest. Just look at Poole Harbour!

It is now confirmed that Blue 5H4 did a two-part fledge at 17:13:13 on 21 July. Returned safely. All waiting for their breakfast fish with CJ7 looking on from the perch.

Fortis Exshaw had such a huge fish that I had to post it earlier than H’s report. This nest should simply put a smile on our faces – it and Little Mini and even the Third hatch at Boulder. They are survivors.

‘H’ writes: “Things seemed to have settled for this nest since Mr. O came along eight days ago to help Louise after the disappearance of her long-time mate, Jasper. Mr. O landed on the nest at 1205 to provide deterrence against an intruder, while Louise was out fishing. Louise brought four large fish to the nest, and Mr. O brought a few sticks throughout the day. At 1818 Louise assisted Mr. O with his stick placement. At least one of the chicks seems to be learning from his stepdad, and has been practicing moving sticks around.”

Forsythe: “Fishing must still be difficult for Oscar and Opal. There were only three fish delivered to the nest on 7/21, one by Opal, two by Oscar, and the fish were not very large. Owen, the oldest of the two fledglings, managed to acquire all three of the fish, with nothing left over for Ollie. Ollie last ate a small piece of fish at 0935 on 7/20. There has been an increase in aggression on the nest.”

Kent Island – “All is well for Audrey, Tom, and their 40 day old offspring. Some have been referring to the little one as ‘Junior’. Junior is simply cute as a button!”

Boathouse – “Life is good on Muscongus Bay for 42 day old Skipper. Skipper has been learning from his dad, and he is becoming quite adept at rearranging sticks.”

Dahlgren – “The fledglings D11 and D12 seem to be enjoying exploring their new world. They both return to the nest for meals, and to sleep. I am still amazed how peaceful this nest was all season, despite the siblings hatching four days apart.”

Thanks so much, ‘H’.

Tatarstan RU: Eastern Imperial Eagle nest of Altyn and Altnay. G osh those two little eaglets are growing and they are sporting some green bling!

Lesser Spotted Eagle nest of Anna and Andris in Zemgale, Latvia: What a gorgeous baby!

Karl II and Kaia Black Stork Nest, Karula National Forest, Estonia: Three gorgeous storklets waiting for fish in the morning sunlight. Thank you Urmas for ensuring this family has food in a year of drought and few fish or frogs.

News for Waba and Bonus, the two surviving fledglings from Karl and Kaia’s nest of 2022 (Bonus was a foster from the nest of Jan and Jannika):

Dorset Hobby Falcons: One is Self-feeding! That nest is getting smaller as these two fluff balls grow bigger and bigger.

There is growing concern over the kills by goshawks of ospreys. I am reposting a FB post so that you can see this fantastic image of an Osprey’s talons. Notice the curve and the reason for this – it is not for fighting. Ospreys cannot defend themselves with their talons like eagles and hawks can.

Puts a smile on your face. There are many kind people willing to drop everything and help our ospreys.

Sadly the osplets were lost. But like so many of you who saw this earlier and wrote to me – if it was such an iconic nest, why were these chicks not saved like the ones in Nova Scotia? Did the fire burn so quickly? Did no one not see the smoke and get help? Can you imagine those adult ospreys flying above the nest seeing their chicks burned alive? Will the power company put up a new safe platform on a pole nearby like in Nova Scotia?

I have been asked to spread the word about a beautiful white parrot that needs to be located. It belonged to an elderly woman who was ill and could no longer care for her beloved pet. She entrusted the bird to A Tropical Concept Exotic Bird Rescue, who then found an adoptive home. The individual who took the parrot was a ‘flipper’ – get the bird and resell. A Tropical Concept Exotic Bird Rescue wants to find Bella, the white Parrot. She is unusual in that the parrot will say, ‘Bella, Bella, Bella’. If you or someone you know might have seen or had contact with this parrot, there is a $3000 USD reward. It is believed the bird could be in Arizona but, as I know, birds are flown daily so she could be anywhere. They just want to know that she is well cared for. No questions asked. Here is the contact: https://www.facebook.com/atcbirdrescue

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J’, Wikipedia, the Spruce, PSEG, Linda McElroy and Raptors of the World, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, CarnyXWild, Alyth, LOTL, Jannet King and Love for the Pool Harbour Ospreys, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Lisa Lavargna and Ospreys Only, Cherly Scott Trueblood and Birds of Prey, Forsythe, Kent Island, Dahlgren, Boathouse Ospreys, Tatarstan RU Eagle Cam, LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender Forum, Dorset Hobby Falcons, and Sunnie Day.

Crash landings, itchy wings…Friday in Bird World

21 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is the end of the week. It is almost the end of July. We are less than a month away from some of the females in Europe and the UK preparing for and possibly leaving for their migration. Indeed, migration is on my mind and I have a book recommendation (below) for those that want to learn more of the history of how scientists discovered where our feathered friends go in the winter or spring/summer for breeding. I am also including a study on the impact of Avian Flu and some suggestions on what must be done to curtail it before populations are decimated. There will be continuing news about fledges and, of course, our Little Mini – not so little anymore – who is hoping to take those beautiful wings of hers and hit the skies.

In the meantime, there was a Crow funeral this morning. At first, I did not know what was happening as a dozen or more Crows gathered and flew in circles over the back lane and in front of the house behind me. I thought the GHO had come into the neighbourhood, and I knew the adults would not have that with their fledglings being out of the nest for less than a fortnight. So I investigated, and sadly, one of the fledglings was dead on the side of the street. They had all come to mourn and say goodbye. Usually, I would pick up the carcass and place it on the boulevard, but a wise and knowledgeable Corvid person once told me that the Crows do not like humans to touch their dead. So, I left the lovely one there. How sad.

One of the fledglings on my fence – along with four of its siblings – waiting for its scrambled eggs and cheesy dogs. Sadly taken through a screen of the conservatory so the image is soft and this is as light as I could push it. They are so beautiful. Their beaks are like highly polished ebony and those dark piercing eyes. They know precisely when I am cooking those eggs and arrive and wait so they can get to them before the Blue Jays. I adore them.

That one little Blue Jay is so funny. He likes to take his naps here and he loves to be in the bird bath. He went to sleep eating and kept his lids closed for over fifteen minutes. He was only woken when another sibling flew in to gnab a peanut. Looking over my photographs, there are more than 600 digital images of this one fledgling. Don’t tell my children!

Did you know it is impossible to tell a male blue Jay from a female one unless you see them during courtship or laying eggs? Blue Jays bond for life just like our raptors.

This little one does not mind sharing the table feeder with the Sparrows.

Take the time to observe the birds around you. They are precious. Listen to their songs. Focus on their behaviour and their markings. Soon you will get to know them and they will become ‘family’.

Speaking of family. Mini will never know all the people who have sent positive energy to the nest so that it might survive but, today, this wee fourth hatch has survived and is ready to leave the nest and become a bird.

Three is on the Patchogue fish calling, and Mini just dreams of flying. She has had two good fish from Dad today – perhaps even more I missed. One was at 0920 and the other at 1523. Nice fish, so Mini is not hungry. Gosh, I am going to miss her when she fledges. What a survivor…I hope all she learned on the nest and her fortitude carry her well through life.

Oh, Mini wants to fly. She is getting some height. 1918 Thursday night. Stay home Mini until Friday.

Good night, Mini.

‘L writes that Mini got a fish at 0740 on Friday and that Three had a fish shortly after, too. That is fantastic news!

Mini got the fish and that darn black bin liner. It continues to stick to Mini’s talons. I hope when she fledges she does not take it with her!

There are lots of fledges and some hard to keep up with. All of the three osplets at Alyth have fledged with the last one flying on the 18th of July, 9 days after the first. They are being fed on the nest by the parents although, like all nests, there is a bit of a scramble.

At the Loch of the Lowes, the scramble between the two siblings for fish is intense. It reminds me of Achieva when Big knocked Middle off – these chicks are hungry! Here is the latest posting about conditions on the nest and why they are what they are from The Loch of the Lowes:

What we want to see is all the fledglings return to the nest for a good month to get fed well, fattened up for migration, and get their flying skills in order and those wings strong for that 5000 km journey most will make starting in August – in a month.

Everyone is home at Rutland! These three are keeping the adults busy catching fish…soon Blue 33 will be the sole provider of fish and I can’t think of a better Dad to fatten up these three for their migration.

Another of the Kielder nest 7 chicks has fledged. This time Blue 2B0 Gilsland.

At the Borders nest, Blue 733 Jed flew on the 20th, Thursday. Time 1600. He was airborne for 3 minutes! Well done. Thanks Rosie Shields for that great blog…congratulations, Jed!

Landing back at the nest.

There are still three chicks on the Boulder County nest but not for long.

Pitkin Open Spaces and Trails: One of the osplets is getting a lot of height and is really working its wings today. Fledge is going to be soon – just like Mini, this one wants to go!

Three beauties at Poole Harbour. I want everyone to send positive energy to the nest of CJ7 and Blue 22 that the goshawk does not return to the nest this year and snatch one or more of these beautiful babies.

At Loch Arkaig, there was a bit of an issue with one of Ludo’s flights. Geemeff says, “Ludo LY7 had a bit of a day today – made his second flight with no problems, but got divebombed by his mum Dorcha on his third flight, and missed his landing, tumbling over the edge of the nest and landing in the branches. Fortunately not hurt, took a few minutes in the tree with a few squeaks, then flew off, did a circuit, and landed properly. Relief!” Here it is on video – thanks, Geemeff.

The chick at Cowlitz has really grown and is hopping and flapping. The metal protective grids are not a bother.

Some information on the translocation project for Ireland that involves removing osplets from Norway and transporting them to their new home. Ireland has no breeding pairs of ospreys at this time.

Time for the reports form ‘H’:

Fortis Exshaw: “It was a peaceful day for this osprey family. There were four fish brought to the nest, including one by stepdad, Mr. O. A couple of the fish were very large, including a monster fish delivered by Louise at 0604, and there were at least 6 feedings. No one went hungry.”

Patuxent Nest 1 – The fledglings were both seen partaking of fish at the nest.

Osoyoos – Dad delivered at least 7 fish on 7/20. The kiddos are 24 and 25 days old, and are doing very well.

Barnegat Light – Thanks to the efforts of Duke and Daisy, there is no shortage of fish at this nest. Little Dorsett is 51 days old, and is not so little any more.

Patuxent Nest 2 – One of the fledglings was seen on the nest enjoying a meal.

Suzanne Arnold Horning is diligent in finding the Ms after they have fledged their nest on the Cornell Campus – she spots Big Red and Arthur too. SAH has ‘hawk eyes’ – for sure! All of the family are safe and sound today.

I wanted to check in on the nest of Bald Eagles in Juneau. Look at beautiful Hope who is now self-feeding rather well.

‘A’ gives us a report on the Royal Cam Albatross: “

Later on 19 July, after GLY came in for that short breakfast feed, have a look at the late afternoon feeding on the same day. Those chunks of octopus or squid of some variety are MASSIVE. Well done dad! And then we had a feeding from mum L around 08.23 yesterday morning (20 July): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXxHaJngJXs (Notice L’s standing feeding position, different from GLY, who tends to get down really low, as he did when Manaaki was still a tiny chick. These little differences are what we rely on when it is impossible to discern leg bands, which is often the case in the half light or the long grass.) It’s a short feed and Manaaki continues to whee away as she leaves (‘Don’t go, mum!’), but then he did have two meals the previous day, including the giant chunks of squid the evening before this feed. He’s certainly not starving, our giant fluff ball. Manaaki was not weighed on Tuesday but we will see how his weight is going next Tuesday. With half the local cephalopod population being swallowed by Manaaki this week, there should be no problems in that department! What a gorgeous albie he really is. No wonder we all call him Prince Manaaki. He is just the most beautiful bird. So healthy and active and with such a curious personality. He loves to explore. We will all miss him a great deal when he does finally fledge. Day 240. It suddenly seems all too close – day 200 is looming.”

Worried about an animal in need that is not in a nest – phone the fire department! A feel-good moment.

Do you know about migration? There are several books on the subject, but Rebecca Heisman’s Flight Paths has been on my reading list. Migration is a topic that is coming up for almost all of our feathered friends. What I liked about the book is that it is full of science and what we have learned about migration through new methods using satellites, satellite tracking as well as boots on the ground, It is a page-turner—primarily black and white text with images in the middle. I didn’t miss seeing the images of birds. The writing is so good it draws you in. I was fascinated with the study of where birds go —so where precisely will the baby Blue Jays in my garden travel for winter? or the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks? What about the birds in the Himalayas that fly through really thin air to those tiny warblers that weigh no more than a ballpoint pin and travel three days over the ocean to get to their winter homes? This is exciting reading – well, to me it is – the history of migration, how humans discovered the amazing journeys our feathered friends take. This book will add much to your knowledge, deep appreciation, and respect for our feathered friends. It was $37 CDN for a hardback copy. Why not ask your local library to order a copy? Surely this is a subject that will interest many!

It isn’t about raptors but, it is about a natural solution to a problem – instead of using herbicides and pesticides. Just like raptors are the solution for rodents!

Canada is working to save the endangered Piping Plover- it is a good news story in amongst the bad – the BC Government allowed shooting and logging in the area of the endangered Spotted Owl – in fact, there is only one of them and there is shooting. Am I angry? You bet’cha. When will nature be a priority and not the economy? Without nature, there is no economy.

Record-number-of-piping-plovers-pair-up-across-Great-Lakes-The-Narwhal Download

B.C.-sanctions-shooting-logging-in-endangered-spotted-owl-habitat-The-Narwhal Download

Lots to read today but Birdlife International has published a report on Avian Flu and some possible solutions that must be taken if our feathered friends are to survive this global catastrophe. The report states, “Bird Flu has evolved to spread more rapidly and easily in wild bird populations. Previously, this disease spread significantly in farmed bird populations and it was quite rare for wild birds to catch it – when outbreaks did occur, they usually impacted a limited number of species and only lasted a few months. This is no longer the case. With birds under greater threat than ever before, this virulent strain of Bird Flu cannot be categorised as a natural process and left to wreak havoc.”

CMS-FAO-TF_avian_influenza_statement_July2023 Download

Lots more nests with fledges to come today. Little Mini is just itching to fly – so keep an eye! But if you feel low, think of Fortis Exshaw and how wonderful this season has been with Mr O. He is our Osprey Super Hero! Thank you for being with me. Take care all.

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, L’, PSEG, Alyth, LOTL, LRWT, Rosie Shields, Boulder County FG, Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces, Anne Ryc and Poole Harbour, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Cowlitz Pud, Gregarious Joris Toonen and Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Patient River Park, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Glacier Gardens, NZ DOC, KRCR News 7, Amazon, 27east, The Narwhal, and Birdlife International.

OH1 at Glaslyn just took off…Thursday in Bird World

20 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It has rained every day for ever so many days. The garden is emerald green. Without even looking at the forecast – the storm clouds roll in quickly – you can tell that something is going to happen by the frantic activity of everyone trying to eat!

One of Dyson’s kits got so excited and then lost its peanut over the edge of the feeder. Ahhhh….

The little sparrows lined up on the branch of Abigale’s tree hoping to get fed or get a turn at the feeder after the squirrel.

It was delightful to see Little Red at the feeders! He knew I was watching and thwarted my gaze.

Baby Blue Jay having a nap.

The little one only woke up when a sibling came to pester. There are five of the babies alive out of the original six…they were all in the garden on the feeders, having baths, and eating today. That is pretty good…they bring me such joy I cannot even describe it properly sometimes.

The baby on the left (above) is the one that slept with the little garden ornamental birds. Its crest finally has blue on it! But I can still tell which one this wee baby is from its behaviour. Adorable. Always loves a good long bath.

Lewis, of course, could care less. These days he is either sleeping or eating!

Oh, my goodness, the ospreys were fledging on Wednesday! I am going to lose count of all of them quickly! It took great effort to get all of the data in my forms along with the continued quest to find more French and German osprey nests.

And they were fledging on Thursday. OH1 just took off not long ago at the Glaslyn Nest! Congratulations! Time was 14:33.

‘D’ wrote and told me that it looks like it is possible all three on the Crooked Lake, Iowa osprey platform of parents Nobel and Whitley fledged on the 19th. Sunnie Day was going over to the footage to make sure that the first hatch CL16 also flew – and the verdict is ‘yes’ – all three flew today.

Take off and return for the first chick’s flight.

Siblings watching.

A great return.

‘H’ wrote and the second chick at Dahlgren flew!

Geemeff wrote that Ludo, the newly named osplet of Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig, fledged before he got his official name. It was apparently the shortest trip ever from the nest take-off to the return landing.

Here is the video of that short flight:

Blue 5H3 took off at Poole Harbour at 1719 on the 19th.

These are exciting times for these young birds but, we have to remember that their journey is just beginning. Like many others less fortunate, these birds got to fly and we hope they will be safe.

The news coming out of the Chesapeake Bay Area that has been hit with storms and whose ospreys are starving to death underscores the coming challenges for the osprey population in the area.

“Williamsburg, VA – In 2023, The Center for Conservation Biology has documented the highest rate of osprey nest failure ever recorded within the lower Chesapeake Bay. Only 17 of 167 nests monitored during the season produced any young. The nesting population produced only 21 young resulting in a reproductive rate of 0.13 young per pair. This rate is below that recorded during the height of the DDT era. In order for the population to sustain itself, pairs should produce 1.15 young per pair.”

Here is the full report:

The-Center-for-Conservation-Biology-documents-unprecedented-osprey-nest-failures-within-the-lower-Ch Download

When a goshawk attacks a fledgling osplet on the nest while it is eating along with its sibling and Mum, my heart stops. Those are dangerous raptors and all of you know that predation by goshawks occurs throughout Europe and the UK. The loss of these chicks is personal to those who live and work around the nests – to whom the birds really are family. Have a read of John William’s poignant blog regarding the loss of the Llyn Clywedog fledgling on the 18th of July.

Tragedy-The-Clywedog-Ospreys Download

Translocation projects continue.

Instead of chopping down the Osprey platform for the demolition, it will be left standing long after the osplets fledge! We needed a good news story like this one. Thanks, Geemeff – it is “one for the good guys” as you say.

Rare bird spotted in the UK. Accident? Intentional? Black winged Kites are a “Small and distinctive falconlike kite. Light underneath, blue-gray above with conspicuous black shoulders formed by black wing coverts. Juveniles have a scaly back and brownish-washed breast. Found in open savannah, semi-desert, and agricultural lands with scattered woods; frequently seen on exposed perches. Varied flight style, hovering like a kestrel or gliding like a harrier with deep wingbeats and raised wings.. ” (eBird).

Rare-black-winged-kite-spotted-in-Norfolk-Broads-BBC-News Download

Time for a spin around some of the nests not covered above:

Boulder County Fair Grounds: A Fantastic news with diligent devoted adults and three very healthy nearly ready to fledge osplets.

MN Landscape Arboretum: It is all good. Lots of nice fish meals beginning very early. Our 21 year old Dad is doing fantastic.

Patchogue: Little Mini had a nice fish first thing as the sun was coming up.

The time was 0525 and Mini scrambled with that fish stuck on its foot!

Cowlitz PUD: All is well. Chick is eating, sleeping, and growing. And the metal grids are still holding out against the Bald Eagle predation. At the suggestion of ‘MB’, I wrote to Tweed Valley and Llyn Clywedog about the metal grids erected on the nest at Cowlitz to try and stop predation. It is something that the UK nests might have to consider if the goshawk threat to ospreys continues.

Oyster Bay: All present and accounted for.

Wolf Bay: Fledglings come to the nest hoping for a fish dinner.

Dunrovin: Everything is fantastic.

Poole Harbour: Getting lift and then gone. Blue 5H3 fledged at 1719 while its siblings watched.

Glaslyn: I thought it was the best screen capture I had seen of Aran’s new mate Elen and their two lads. Everything is fine. No fledges as yet. Soon.

‘H’ reports on the nests she is monitoring:

Fortis Exshaw: “Thankfully it was a mostly intruder-free day for this blended Osprey family. There were a couple of minor intruder issues, with Mr. O quickly flying to the nest at 0624 and 0651 to assist with defense. There were a total of 5 fish brought to the nest, one by Mr. O. At 1249 Mr. O landed on the nest and got an earful from Louise. She may have been telling him to go fishing, and even the two kids got involved and had a ‘talk’ with their stepdad, lol. This went on for about three minutes, with poor Mr. O just standing there and responding with soft chirps. It was comical. He showed up later with a headless fish. After Louise had brought the last fish of the day at 1951, Mr. O came to the nest and simply stood by for 27 minutes, while Louise fed the kids and enjoyed a meal for herself. Very cool, Mr. O.”

Dahlgren – At 1246 D12 became a fledgling at 58 days of age, although it was unclear if that was her intention at the time. She flew across the nest and may have intended to land on the other side, but miscalculated and tumbled over the edge. There was the sound of sticks hitting the water, but no splash or ripples were seen. Several seconds later, D12 was seen flying low past the nest toward a nearby dock. D12 landed safely back on the nest 4 1/2 hours later. Enjoy your new life as a flighted bird, D12!

Kent Island – All is well on the Chesapeake for Audrey, Tom, and their 38 day old youngster.

Severna Park – Olivia and Oscar continue to provide for their two fledglings at the nest.

Forsythe – At 57 days of age, Ollie jumped up, flapped three times and landed on the camera pole. Then 52 minutes later she jumped back down to the nest. Perhaps she will fly away from the nest and take a spin around the marsh today.

Boathouse – At 40 days of age, Skipper has been taking wingercising very seriously.

Thanks so very much, ‘H’!

Dorset Hobby: Oh, my goodness gracious. These little Hobbies are adorable.

Port Lincoln: Mum and Dad seem to be staying more and more on the barge nest as egg-laying approaches in August. ‘A’ reports some failed mating attempts, and you might recall that there was some concern for Dad last season.

Sydney Sea Eagles: ‘A’ reports that the 19th was “another quiet night, possums passing a few times. Lady left for a short break just before 7am and back straight away. Dad brought part of a fish shortly after, which she took away to eat. Both were then in and out during the day though Lady spend more than 2 hours longer than Dad on the eggs today. In the whole incubation period to date both have spent an almost equal time on the eggs. At dusk, Lady was settled as usual for the night.”

Durbe County, Latvia: Milda and Voldis’s male eaglet returns to the nest looking for a meal. Isn’t he gorgeous?

The female fledgling also visited the nest! both are safe and flying well.

Lesser Spotted Eaglet Nest in Zemgale Latvia of Anna and Andris. the eaglet enjoyed having a vole and a frog for a meal. I wonder how scarce food is in the forest?

Three beautiful storklets at the nest of Karl II and Kai in Estonia.

Four beautiful storklets of Bety and Bukacek are superb.

Lady Hawk captures a feeding at the Selati Verreaux Black Eagle Nest in South Africa.

Black Eagles are large raptors that live in various parts of Africa. The pair will lay two eggs four days apart. Incubation is 40-45 days. If two eggs and both hatch, the oldest chick will kill the second one. There will be only one chick to raise and fledge. They eat mammals such as monkeys, small antelope, squirrels, and rabbits.

Thank you so much for being with me today. P lease take care. Have a good end of the week. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their alerts, notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, D, Geemeff, H, MB’, Timothy Dygert Live Street, Pool Harbour Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Centre for Conservation Biology, John Williams Blog, Gregorious Joris Toonjen and Ospreys, CBS2, ITV News, BBC News, Boulder County Fair Grounds, MN Landscape Arboretum, Wolf Bay, Dunrovin Ranch, PSEG, Annie Roc and The Glaslyn Osprey Group, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Fortis Exshaw, Dahlgren Ospreys, Kent Island Ospreys, Severna Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Boathouse/Audubon, Dorset Hobby Nest, Pool Harbour Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagles, LizNM and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Latvian Fund for Nature, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky Storks,Lady Hawk and Selati Verreaux Black Eagles.

The storm that just keeps giving…Monday in Bird World

17 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is 11 degrees C or 51.8 F. Chilly. The temperatures on the Canadian Prairies are like a roller-coaster these days. My tea is not cold this evening; it is hot!

Sunday was meant to be a quiet day, and, for the most part, it was. I do not know if I mentioned a young and very beautiful Calico cat that has been coming to my house since last fall. I feed her and call her ‘Calico’ (nothing creative in that). Now she will come and sit about 1.5 metres from me. If she is ‘starving’, she comes to the garden door and looks in. Thankfully I see her most often and take out food. She had kittens about two weeks ago (the problem with feral cats). This is her first litter. I have tried to find where she goes until this evening. She is very tricky. She had me going in the opposite direction. I now have it narrowed down to an old garage or a garden shed. The goal is to locate the kittens, see if the Humane Society can find homes for them, and see the status of Calico. The goal is to get the kittens into good homes ultimately. Calico is probably too old to be socialised but I am hoping to have her a heated home by fall.

Then ‘H’ warned me about an issue with a nest in Ocean City (later). Definitely did not end quietly!

What should you do when you believe a nest has a crisis? You’ll need to take notes and screen captures. Dates and times. What happened? Make sure it is a crisis. While doing that, find out the precise location of the nest. Google search for the wildlife rescue and rehab clinics for that specific location. Get their contact details. Once you are confident there is a problem, contact them! Don’t sit and discuss the sadness on chat – do something! This is especially important if there is no chat moderator. There are rules and guidelines to get permits. The nest in question at Ocean City has adults missing, one chick dead, and one alive. The question is: Can they intervene and foster the surviving chick before it dies? What is that old Nike saying? Just do It. It takes time to get permission; the sooner people know there is a problem, the quicker help can arrive. It could save a life. (It isn’t easy to know who is the precise authority over the particular nesting area so write to several agencies).

There was a surprise for me. An Osprey landed on the Seilli Osprey nest in the far north of Finland. The nest did not have a mated pair or chicks this year but maybe next year?

The two chicks at nest #5 in Finland were ringed on 13 July.

The chicks at the two German nests that we have been observing – Goitzsche-Wildnis and Eschenbach – have now fledged. All three on the Goitsche-Wildnis cam flew on the 13th of July.

The three flew and returned at Eschenbach safely.

At the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Centre, the first two hatches flew on the 12th of July while the third took off on the 13th. A fish came in but only one claimed it as the reward…more fish arriving later.

The osplets at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home nest have fledged as well and I am searching for dates. If you know when those beauties flew, please let me know. (I have asked chat with no response).

All is well for the fledglings at Wolf Bay in Alabama.

Just returned.

Waiting for fish!

At Crooked Lake there is a whole lot of flapping going on. Fledge is so close it could happen this week. The chicks are 51, 50, and 48 days old. Average fledge range is 50-55 days.

Watching the Ferris State University nest for fledges, too.

‘H’ is also reporting a fledge today. It is the first fledge for the Forsythe nest and she says, “Forsythe fledgling has been identified as chick #1 (Owen). I hope she was able to find a safe perch. The storm started 20 minutes after she took off.” Send your best wishes. It is terrible for these birds when they have just flown and the heavy rains begin. I am haunted by the image of Yurruga on the little building at Orange to do this day.

At Llyn Brenig, it is reported that “LM6 and LJ2 both brought in a good size trout each to the girls. Both have a huge meal tonight”.

In other news,

The MN Arboretum Landscape osplet appears to be eating really well and amassed a huge crop on Sunday. ‘L’ caught a screen shot of its outstretched left wing for me and all looks alright. Hoping that is the case!

It was raining on Little Mini – as it was on many of the nests in the area. Some had huge storms hit Saturday night. In fact, Mini seemed to have a miserable Sunday with the big ones flying in and grabbing the fish.

One soaked Little Mini. Hopefully, Mum and Dad will come and feed their fourth hatch so she gets some good fish before night falls.

Mini eating a nice fish Monday morning. Thanks Mum and Dad!

Everything is fine at Dunrovin and the weather appears to be markedly nicer than that for the nests on the NE coast.

Everything is fine at the Boulder County Fair Grounds and, in fact, it is looking good for most of the nests despite the storms and torrential rains in the NE, so far.

That egg on the Loch Arkaig nest is finally smushed…..Just watch this chick flap and hop!

Congratulations to Victor at Moorings Park who was seen catching a fish on Saturday 15 July. It might well not be Victor’s first but we certainly know he has the skill set to get his own food. A tribute video was made in celebration of the event.

Just when you think it is a quiet Sunday, it isn’t. Both adults at the Ocean City OC nest in New Jersey are missing. Two chicks – one has died. The other is living. Folks are hoping for an intervention and a fostering situation.

UPDATE: The second chick fell off the nest into the marsh and died. The issue appears to be a die-off of fish from the storms that have hit this coast over the past month as well as the heat domes and the current issues with fewer fish in areas of salt water. What makes this so sad is that entire nests have died off this season and without trying to be too negative this could be a glimpse into the future for many of the nests. I wonder if any of the surviving parents will leave the area for elsewhere? There are other ospreys, adults, landing on this nest. It is really unclear if these are the parents of the two dead chicks but, personally, I do not believe so. Ospreys do not just abandon dying chicks (even this did not happen at either Carthage or Snow Lane).

‘H’s report on the other nests she is monitoring:

Osoyoos: It is hot is Osoyoos and temperatures are predicted to be even warmer later in the week. Dad has been delivering 7-8 fish per day. Soo and Olsen’s 20 and 21 day old osplets are doing very well.

Forsythe: Things are off to a pretty good start this morning. Oscar delivered a partial fish at 0836, and Opal delivered a huge fish at 0853. The beneficiary is chick #2 who had been shorted on fish the past few days when chick #1 was in the nest. Opal will get a nice meal from that large fish as well. I hope that chick #1 is safe and will return to the nest soon.

Dahlgren: D12, the younger sibling at 55 days of age, seemed so eager to fledge on 7/16. There was a storm that went through, but after the weather cleared and his wings dried out, D12 stood at the edge of the nest for the longest time. At one point he leaned into the wind, bobbed his head, spread his wings a little, and bobbed some more . . and all the viewers held their breath . . Ah, but he did not fly, and we eventually had to exhale, lol. Fly when you are ready, little one.

‘Sibling B’ fledged at 1504 and made a nice return landing on the nest about 7 1/2 minutes later. Foster, Sib B’s older foster sister, was waiting in the nest to congratulate him. Nicely done, Sib B !

Louise delivered 8 fish to the nest at: 0604, 0640, 0807, 1234, 1400, 1804, 1945, 2058. Her chicks were once again well fed. Louise’s new friend, Mr. O, did not bring in a fish. But he did land on the nest at 1214 and seemed to be fending off an intruder. Louise landed on the nest right behind him, then Mr. O flew off after the intruder. Mr. O also brought a nice stick to Louise at 1921, and surprisingly, she was satisfied with his initial placement of the stick, lol.

Thanks so much, ‘H’.

A real survivor! Lived to tell the tale of its nest collapsing and is now seen in Senegal by Jean-marie Depart. What a beautiful story.

If you are concerned about the amount of plastic in the oceans – and we should be because in several years, there will be more plastic than fish – here is an article titled, ‘Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds’. Please read and try as hard as possible to find alternatives to plastic in everything you use and purchase. The article was part of a package of materials from the British Trust for Ornithology and appeared in Nature.

Whenever you look at those cute little Albatross chicks (or Petrels), you need to realise that they are the most at risk. Let us all join together to do what we can to help them.

Global-assessment-of-the-impact-of-marine-plastics Download

Artist interpretations of our feathered friends opens at the Photographer’s Gallery. Have a look at some of the images.

Feather-report-artists-images-of-birds-–-in-pictures-Art-and-design-The-Guardian Download

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

Thank you so much to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H’, Seilli Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Eschenbach Ospreys, MNSA Osprey Cam, Maryland Western Shore Old Home town, Wolf Bay, Timothy Dygert Live Stream, Ferris State University, Llyn Brenig, MN Arboretum, PSEG, Dunrovin Ranch, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Ej Ej and Moorings Park, OC Osprey Cam, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Dahlgren, Patuxent River Park, FortisExshaw, The Guardian, BTO and Nature, and Mary GK.

New Male at Fortis Exshaw delivers 2 fish…Saturday in Bird World

15 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Before I forget…there are two Dmitri’s with storks that live on their roof. One is in Belarus, and the other in RU. I mentioned Dmitri in my Friday blog, thinking it was the one who had surgery in the RU. No, that was the one in Belarus. Sorry – my confusion. I have not heard how Dmitri has done from his surgery.

It was another nice day for a walk and I went to check on the goslings and ducklings at Fort Whyte. It is impossible to describe how the landscape changes there on a weekly basis never mind the size of those little ones. At Fort Whyte there are two large lakes. They are now pumping the water from the lake to a human built wetlands area that is elevated at the beginning and then that elevation goes down. The water is kept free of algae by the fountain type aerator and then flows down and through several water falls. It was crystal clear in spots today having been so clogged with algae the waterfowl wouldn’t even go in the separate water areas. Today, they were everywhere. Whoever designed this put so much thought into how it would work – for the wildlife. So happy.

There are tiny ducklings and goslings of every age. What joy! All of these had just come out of a nice swim in the ponds.

A handsome male American Goldfinch.

A female Shoveler.

So, as a result of this beautiful day – and things going well in the nests for a change, my report is rather slim this morning. But we are going to start with Fortis Exshaw because that is the nest that I was watching along with Mn Landscape yesterday more than some.

Fortis Exshaw is the dream story of the Osprey season. How often does a male come to the rescue of a female and help her raise another male’s chicks? Who might be the first bird that you think of to do this? Alden? How many others? Can you think of an Osprey male?

‘H’ reports: “July 14 turned out to be a wonderful day for these Ospreys. By 1038, 4 fish had been delivered to the nest, including 2 from Louise’s new male friend, ‘Mr. O’. But, as the day wore on, it seemed as though Louise was thinking that ‘Mr. O’ would continue to provide fish. He did come to the nest a few times to defend against intruders. When 6 1/2 hours passed since the last fish, I was hoping that Louise would just go fishing herself. And, boy did she ever . . Over the next two hours Louise brought 4 fish to the nest, and ‘Mr. O’ delivered another. There were a total of 9 fish for the day! ‘Mr. O’ defended the nest, brought in nesting material, and delivered 3 fish. Louise and her two 27 day old Osplets are very lucky that ‘Mr. O’ came along. Notice in one of the photos, ‘Mr. O’ is standing on the nest perch while Louise feeds”.

There is an uproar brewing over the death of Hope and Beau’s chicks at the Newfoundland Power Company platform in St. John’s. It appears – although I cannot independently confirm this – that some structural changes might have caused those two chicks to get ‘caught’. Feel free to Google Newfoundland Power and let them know what you think. This young wildlife rehabber hopes to change their policy! You can also write a comment on the FB page of Newfoundland Power.

We have fledges happening in the UK and, at the rate, that all the osplets are developing, it looks like this could be a daily event til all have had their first flight.

The male of Idris and Telyn flew Friday morning.

Always some nice fish at Dyfi! Rewards for the chicks and their fantastic Mum form Dad, Idris.

Blue 8C3 took off at Foulshaw Moss this morning. That is the nest’s second fledge of the season.

The two chicks are doing fine at Collins Marsh. In fact, it is hard to believe that I am writing this blog on a Friday and that all of the nests are relatively stable. It is about time!

Did I say that I love the Boulder County Fair Grounds nest? The three osplets are dreaming of the big world while Mum feeds Dad some fish behind them. What a loving family. They pulled together and made certain that the tiny third hatch survived. Remarkable.

All is well at Cowlitz PUD. I caught Dad delivering several fish today.

The only chick I am currently worried about is the one on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. The left-wing seems to be turned the opposite way from the right. You have to look closely. It almost reminds me of ‘Angel Wing’ in ducklings. We need to keep a collective eye on this little one keeping in mind that as long as it is on the nest, no permits are generally given to intervene.

If you happen to get some good screen captures of that left wing, please send them to me. I intend to write the local wildlife rehab clinic and the USFWS next week. Thank you.

The chicks are wanting to take the fish that Dad delivered at Seaside. Dad is wondering – where is Mum?

Victor. Harry dropped a fish at 1323 which Victor enjoyed so Dad is still bringing in fish. Victor is waiting at dusk to see if Dad will bring a late night meal.

All is well at Oyster Bay!

And now to go and check on PSEG’s other nest, Patchogue and Mini.

Mini has had a good day. She had a really good PS, she has been flapping, and also self-feeding. I counted the dark bands on her tail and thought she had only 4 and then when Mini was sleeping on her black bin liner pillow, it was easy to see that there are 6 dark lines. This means that her/his tail is long enough to fly. Still, Mini, you need to stay on the nest longer. We need you to be super strong for that first flight. And really, we aren’t ready to let you go yet. Understood? Mini has awfully long skinny legs…is our girl a boy?

I hope no one was walking underneath that nest when Mini let that loose!

The other reports from ‘H’ – she notes this morning that all the news are doing well! Isn’t this a wonderful change everyone? Maybe the tide has turned the corner, that is what I hope. OK. Let us get into the nests ‘H’ is monitoring:

Patuxent Nest 1 – I was sure that ‘Sibling B’ was going to fledge a couple of days ago. ‘Sib B’s’ hovers were so high yesterday afternoon, s/he was out of sight for several seconds, and I was watching Foster’s gaze to know that ‘Sib B’ was still above the nest. Ah, today is the day for sure. You can do it, ‘Sib B’!

Osoyoos – The two little Osplets are 18 and 19 days old, and they are doing fantastic.

Forsythe – The fish count has been way down for the last three days. There were 3 fish brought to the nest on 7/14, two by Opal and one by Oscar. I believe finding fish may be more difficult because of the heat. The nest is located in a marsh on Reeds Bay at the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. It is situated roughly 8 miles further inland than the Barnegat Light Osprey nest located 35 miles to the north The Barnegat Light Ospreys are not experiencing fishing difficulties, but the waters surrounding the Forsythe nest may be comparatively more shallow and warmer. The 53 and 54 day old siblings were taking it easy and conserving energy in this heat. Smart.

Dahlgren – D11 fledged on 7/12. At age 54 days, and four days younger than its sibling, D12 has has yet to fledge. But, D12 has really been exercising those wings.

The story in the UK on Friday at the Osprey nests was rain! Despite this those males did deliver some amazing fish! The nests are doing well. Just soaking.

Dorcha is a great Mumbrella.

It was heavy rain for Poole Harbour but Saturday morning they are missing what is hitting the other areas of southern England – more heavy down pours. It gives CJ7 and Blue 22 a break along with the triplets.

Brodie got a really nice fish to Loch Garten.

The winds are really strong at the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi.

Looks like more rain and storms for Alyth brewing in the distance.

It is a great topic — ending the ‘war on birds’. I did not realise that there was a ‘war’ going on – to me, the word ‘war’ implies killing – but, that is precisely what is going on. The on line journals and blogs are full of tales of poisons, arrows, shootings, and terrible traps all because birds are a little inconvenient. To me, it is the humans – us – that are inconvenient, who have robbed the planet of its life, who have taken the habitat of the raptors, the geese, the ducks, the deer. Every time I hear a person complain about walking in Canada Goose poop, I become outraged.

Those spikes we know are being removed by some birds and being used to strengthen their nests in the wild (from the article in my blog a few days ago). But…we must, in every instance that we can, help our feathered friends. Today, I saw one of those ‘green lawn’ signs. We need to educate people to stop using pesticides and herbicides. The songbirds need the insets. The larger birds need the songbirds. We are all in this dynamic circle of life or death, together.

Time-to-end-war-on-birds-and-find-a-way-to-coexist-say-experts-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Thankfully there is also kindness in the world – as it should be. Check out this home in Poland with two stork nests! May their kindness be repaid over and over again.

‘MB’ sent me this and I wanted to pass it along…please keep reading. Are there really solar wipers?

Lots of good information is coming out in the latest journals from the various birding associations, conservation groups, etc. I will try not to bombard you but will add one or two every blog so you can stay up with what is happening to our birds and what some of the solutions might be. In my garden the solution is lots of shade and lots of water! Be sure to put out a bowl of water as an act of kindness for the wildlife.

As-the-Planet-Warms-Will-Birds-Escape-the-Heat-Audubon Download

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Enjoy your weekend and please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘H, MB’, Fortis Exshaw, Sunnie Day, Dyfi Osprey Project, Polly Turner, Collins Marsh, Boulder County Fair Grounds, MN Landscape Arboretum, Seaside Ospreys, Moorings Park, PSEG, Osoyoos, Forstythe, Dahlgren, Margaret Mackintosh and Loch Garten and Other Ospreys, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Alyth, Karla Pilz and Klapper-Treff, The Guardian and Audubon.

Good news at Fortis Exshaw…Friday in Bird World

14 July 2023

UPDATE: THE STORK NEST IS DIMITRI IN BELARUS NOT DMITRI IN RU. MY ERROR!

Good Morning Everyone,

It has been crazy weather with downpours and then suddenly the sun comes out. Great for the garden. The Blue Jays and Sparrows are good barometers of what is happening. They feed frantically before the black clouds and thunder roll in. Today, however, the Blue Jays frightened me – the new fledglings. They would simply not stop getting peanuts and flying despite the pouring rain. One sat on the neighbour’s roof and then flew – it was drenched and reminded me of Yurruga before it perished a year ago at Orange. I do wish they would just perch in the lilac bushes – and today, they could have waited with a Northern Cardinal! It was the first time I have seen a Cardinal in the garden – or, rather, the first time that I witnessed a Cardinal. The bushes are so thick it is impossible to see through them this time of year. My father used to call them ‘Red Birds’ and they would eat out of his hand – fascinated a young child.

In his new book, Reflections. What Wildlife Needs and How to Provide it, author Mark Avery, chooses to start with his back garden. Many of the most recent publications sitting on my desk or pre-ordered are written by well-known individuals who have specifically chosen to ponder the world’s fate through the lens of their own space and the birds they observe daily. Avery bemoans the loss of the Nightingale and its beautiful song at dusk or the Hedgehog while applauding the Red Kite reintroduction. It is a beautifully written book and every time I read someone else’s words about their own garden friends, I return to the view out of my conservatory that gives me so much joy. I hope that you do, too.

This image could be a better quality – apologies. It was starting to rain, and I had to try and miss those pink squares, but there is proof of the Cardinal in the lilacs – taking refuge there from the downpour. Cardinals are familiar birds in eastern and southeastern Canada, but they seem to visit central Canada more often, as the images posted on FB noted. I hope it is the new birdseed I am purchasing from a local farmer – it is all part of a plan to try and exist 90% local and without plastic.

You can see the big drops of water hanging from the branches. it really was a torrential downpour.

The Blue Jays are so fantastic. The little one that sat on the two garden ornaments and made a nest is distinctive and he loves to eat grain, not peanuts – and he loves to splash about in the bird bath. I adore him. Notice that his crest is black with a few light blue steel grey feathers in the front. I can spot him from the others instantly.

One of the adults moulting.

This one loves the peanuts and he is wet from the rain. They must have a spotting scope because the minute I put out fresh peanuts they are there!

This one was not happy with one of Dyson’s kits who wanted a peanut, too.

Recently fledged sparrows are everywhere. If ever there was an explosion of a species in the garden, it is them!

Besides spending much time just observing the behaviour of everyone in the garden and ticking off the list to make sure everyone was accounted for, I went off to the English Garden at our local zoo. The plan was to check on the local Cooper’s Hawk nest but there were so many people in the area that the hawks were silent.

That was not the case with the goslings that I had seen a couple of weeks ago. Someone had given them ‘bread’ despite the signs all over the area and they were fighting for it. Silly waterfowl.

The gosling day care still exists even though the goslings might think they are very independent.

Drying off after coming out of the water.

Then someone began to throw bread and the young ones immediately grabbed it and fled to the water chased by others.

It was quite the afternoon watching everyone.

I did not spend a lot of time watching the nests today. So my report is rather short but I want to start with one nest that both ‘H’ and I have been watching. The news is good this morning coming for Fortis Exshaw. ‘H’ writes, “

Louise brought fish to the nest at 0630, 0750, 0849, 1249, 1545, 1603, 1818, and 1958. Wow! In addition to that, a male Osprey gifted a partial fish at 0856, which Louise accepted. Wow! There was some minor intimidation from Big toward Middle at the early feeding, otherwise the feedings were tranquil, and both chicks’ crops were stuffed all day. I noticed something interesting regarding the issue of osplets having a feeling of ‘food security’ when adequate fish are brought to a nest, vs the awful aggression that is a manifestation of ‘food insecurity’ felt by the dominant osplet when food is scarce. When there is plenty of food for a couple of days, the dominant chick starts to relax. S/he no longer tries to eliminate a food competitor by prevent the sibling from eating, because it no longer feels that it may starve to death. But, what struck me watching the Exshaw nest yesterday was that the establishment of harmony at mealtimes may be a two-way street. The non-dominant chick also starts to relax, knowing that it will survive because of the ample availability of food. The non-dominant chick at Exshaw, ‘Middle’, simply started to hang back and wait at feedings, and let ‘Big’ eat first. Not only was Big more relaxed because of the amount of food available, but Middle was more relaxed as well. This enabled Middle to become more accepting of his hatch-assigned place in the pecking-order, and by not so much as even trying to get a bite of fish and potentially annoying ‘Big’ early in a feeding, Middle aided his own cause. It’s all about the food. But, we already knew that.It seems that Louise may have some help. A male osprey (that I believe was the same one she chased off the nest twice on 7/12), landed on the nest four times. At his first visit he gifted Louise a partial fish, and she accepted it. She fed some to the kids and ate some of it herself. Also at that first visit, the male moved a couple of sticks, and defended the nest. The male osprey also vocally defended the nest at a couple of his other brief visits to the nest. At his last visit he was even more vocal toward an unseen intruder, and he flew off chasing said intruder.”—————-

It sure seems like there could be a pot of gold at the end of Louis’s rainbow and for this nest. This is fantastic. I will suggest that Louise accepting the new male indicates that she was well aware – from the beginning – that Jasper is no longer with us.

For those wondering, the new male is not Jasper. The head markings are entirely different.

Both osplets fledged from the nest of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes Thursday morning. The little male flew first – gosh, what a joy that was – and the sister a little later.

I adore Mini. Mini gives me hope and every day that s/he self-feeds a little better gives joy. These days with her on the nest and adults making sure she is fed just is glorious. Today there was a goldfish just for Mini!

Trying to work those wings in a crowd.

Minnesota Landscape: I did not see a whole lot of fish being delivered but the little one is being fed. The rain came to the nest about the same time it began in Winnipeg!

Cowlitz PUD: My continued worry about this nest are the eagles in the area. I hope the protective guards work and that fish continue to come in. If you check on this nest, use the overhead cam view.

Boulder County: Doing Great.

The Bridge Golf Club: Both parents are now fishing and supplying the nest. There were 7 fish deliveries on Thursday. Both chicks doing well.

Charlo Montana: Continues to be offline.

First District Utility: Camera is frozen.

Collins Marsh: Everything is excellent.

Moorings Park: Victor went to bed without the usual fish form Harry. Several times today Victor was caught on camera diving trying to get a fish. Please send this wonderful fledgling all your good luck so that he can get his own fish! He needs to get this well in hand, and now is the time to be practising. Victor, you can do this! (I do wish someone would dump about 20,000 fish in that pond so he had some chance of success!)

Janakkalan: Both osplets doing well.

Dyfi: Both are flapping and hopping.

Glaslyn: Things look fine.

Alyth: Lots of good fish deliveries.

Now let’s get to those other reports by ‘H’:

Kent Island – “The big story is a new arrival to the nest. Audrey gifted her little chick a stuffed pink octopus! The nest owner has named the stuffie ‘Molly’.”

Barnegat Light – Daisy delivered one of her specialty bluefish, as hubby Duke was chillin’ out lying next to his kiddo. At 44 days of age, 09/N is growing up fast.

Severna Park – After #2 fledged in the morning, she skidded to a landing on the nest 5 1/2 hours later. Well done fledgling!

Forsythe – There were only two fish brought to the nest on 7/13, both by Opal. Oscar did not come to the nest. Opal came to the nest several other times throughout the day, but arrived empty taloned. There were also only two fish delivered on 7/12, one each by Opal and Oscar, but the first fish was so large that Opal made three feedings out of it. The mid-Atlantic area has been suffering from a heat wave for a few days, which may be making fishing more difficult as the fish seek cooler, deeper waters. The siblings are 52 and 53 days old.

Audubon Boathouse – Life is splendid at the Boathouse platform. Little Skipper is 34 days old.

‘H’ also checked in on McEuen Park in Idaho. Look at how big those three osplets are! Fantastic. Thanks so much, ‘H’.

Waiting word on Dmitri’s surgery. Before he went into hospital, he built a new place for the storklet that he rescued. Incredible man.

For our education – an article on the importance of water and agriculture to our planet and to our birds from the British Ornithological Trust. Indeed, one of the biggest detriments to the stability of our wildlife is the changing methods in agriculture over the past two centuries including deforestation and the use of pesticides and herbicides.

Agriculture-and-nature-inevitably-intertwined-BirdLife-International Download

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

Thank you so much to ‘H’ for her continued monitoring and to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: Fortis Exshaw, Mary Cheadle and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds, The Bridge Golf Club, Collins Marsh, Moorings Park, Janakkalan and Finnish Osprey Foundation, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Alyth, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife of New Jersey, Severna Park, Forsythe ospreys, Audubon Boathouse, McEuen Park, BTO, and Dmitri Storks.

Nest Round up. Late Thursday in Bird World

6 July 2023

Hello Everyone,

As promised, a quick round-up of what is happening at our nests today. I hope this finds you all well. It is nearly the end of the week and now it also is beginning to feel like July will fly by.

Cowlitz PUD: The fish are coming. I wish a few great big ones would land on this nest. The chick is growing like a bad weed and if you look carefully you can tell that this little one is nearly the size of Mum.

Collins Marsh: Everything is fine at Collins Marsh. Two nice growing osplets.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: The chick has lost its fluff and that head is pure Reptilian. A nice early fish came in and Mum fed the wee one after it scrambled to get up to the rim of the nest. At first I thought, oh, no, she is going to eat it all and not feed the chick. Wrong.

Boulder County Fair Grounds: These two parents continue to work together to feed and shade their three growing chicks. What a great nest this has become after the initial sidelining of the third hatch.

Patchogue: Big was on the perch and it looks like everyone is doing alright. Mini has been eating and eating and doing some wing flapping along with the others. ‘M’ mentioned some concerns in chat that Mini was sneezing between 0757 and 0800 and was concerned if this was true. As it turns out Mini was being fed by Mum the entire time (and at least 15 minutes prior). Mini seemed to just eat and eat today. She is growing but needs that tail longer to fly and from the look in her eyes, she really wants to fly when she sees Big hover to the perch!

The Fabulous Four from Patchogue!

Sandpoint: The second egg did not hatch and the first is a right little reptile! Seems to be doing quite well.

Outerbanks: Doing great. Fledglings return to the nest. Just perfect! I was, however, horrified, when ‘A’ sent me an image from the 4th of July where fireworks went off near to the nest…on the water under??? I do not know anything about fireworks regulations but this should not be allowed. The area should be restricted so as not to disturb the nest.

On behalf of all of us, I will write to the individuals that run the camera and see what they know and if this behaviour can be stopped. I understand from ‘L’ that it is possible in the tourist areas along the coast to have fireworks once a week, not just on holidays. Can you see me shaking my head?

‘L’ asked me if there was a way to send donations from outside RU to Dmitri who rescued the little fifth stork and cared for it so that it is big and strong. As you might recall, Dmitri has prostrate cancer and is looking for assistance to get the surgery quickly. It is scheduled for 12 July. This is the link that I was given for donations to be sent: https://www.donationalerts.com/r/storks40

There is some more sadness. The last of the three osplets of the Great Bay nest has died. That storm just keeps on giving and it isn’t good.

But there is also good news elsewhere…after the third hatch died of siblicide at The Bridge Golf Club, the camera went offline. It was feared that the storms that caused such deaths at other nests such as Great Bay also impacted the two older chicks here. Well, guess what? Just look at those two older ones! Isn’t that wonderful? I can hardly believe my eyes.

Here are the nests that ‘H’ has been monitoring – thanks so much, H.

Dahlgren – Jack and Harriet’s kids are doing great. There were at least 5 fish delivered by Jack on 7/5, and both chicks are doing some self feeding (49 and 45 days old)

Osoyoos – There is a good supply of fish coming to the nest, and the little ones are being well cared for by Mom and Dad (Soo and Olsen ?). Ages 10 and 9 days old.

Forsythe – They had 11 fish delivered to the nest on 7/5, and Opal delivered 4 whoppers. A little joke is that Oscar fishes from the ‘kiddie pool’, lol, but Oscar did deliver a pretty big fish at 1344. The chicks are 45 and 44 days old.

Barnegat Light – Life is good for Duke, Daisy and 09/N. Daisy brought a smooth dogfish shark to the nest, yummy! We are still awaiting a name for their 36 day old youngster.

Kent Island – There were at least 6 fish delivered by Tom that I saw. Audrey and Tom’s little kiddo is 24 days old, and would like to have a name!

Audubon Boathouse – The sun finally shone brightly at the nest of Skiff and Dory after several gloomy days. At 26 days old, little Skipper is growing like a weed.

Severna Park – Olivia and Oscar sure did haul in some large fish on 7/5 Big did not fledge on 7/5, perhaps today is the day. Ages of the sibs: 59 and 58 days old.

The UK nests are fine and I will look closer at them tomorrow. We will close with a video by Gracie Shepherd of Thunder, Akechets, Scout, and 39D soaring. Enjoy.

Thank you so much for being with me this evening for this quick check on some of the nests. Take care. See you soon!

I want to thank the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this evening: ‘A, H, L, M, T’, Cowlitz PUD, Collins Marsh, MN Landscape Arboretum, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, PSEG, Sandpoint Ospreys, Outerbanks 24/7, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Bridge Golf Club, Dahlgren Ospreys, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse.

Tiny Little works its wings…Thursday in Bird World

6 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I went out in nature again today to clear my head about the Newfoundland Nest. The second chick has died, and Hope is brooding it tonight the DNH egg ton. Hope became the resident female in 2019, for those who do not know. Before this time, this nest had fledged many osplets. In 2019, Hope demonstrated that she rarely fed her chicks, forcing them to crawl to the edge to get fed. Two died of starvation; one fledged that year. None of the chicks survived in 2020, 2021, 2022, and now again in 2023. This year Hope showed a little more instinct to care for the chicks than in previous years. It is just extremely sad and now this season is over for the ‘Last Hope’ nest and we must move forward because many things are happening.

I do want to start with a positive note from the FortisExShaw nest as I know it has been difficult lately with all the tragedy. ‘H’ notes that Louise, the female at the FortisExshaw nest, did a really clever thing yesterday. She fed the two big ones til they passed out but had fish remaining. Then she stopped the feeding and did some nest work. Once the big ones were sound asleep, she fed Little. Brilliant! Now this has been seen at other nests where the third hatch was having problems – Tiny Tot Tumbles at Achieva in 2021 and Foulshaw Moss in 2021. Great strategies and both of those tow chicks survived to become the dominant bird on the nest.

My blog is short this morning. Instead, I will also have an update on some of the nests I monitor and those of ‘H’ in the early evening on the 6th. Then things will be back to normal!

These are a few of the birds from the Oak Hammock Marsh from the morning of 5 July. The Red-tailed hawk soared in the thermals above me for about 20 minutes. I left and it was still up in the clouds. What an incredible sight – so peaceful.

A Killdeer.

There was an explosion of Barn Swallows around the pavilion. Are they curious about humans? They are such cuties and look, it is banded.

A Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk who was loving flying.

The oldest sibling at the Outerbanks 24/7 fledged on the 4th of July. It returned to the nest, so all is well, but there were fireworks near the nest on the 4th. Everyone reading my blog knows that fireworks are dangerous to our domesticated pets. Imagine the raptors – all the birds and wildlife- living in the urban centres. Why should they be subjected to this trauma? It is a lot of money just for a little bit of satisfaction when so many other causes could use those funds for the long-term benefit of many. While we work on our less use and purchasing of plastic, we can write to those individuals in our communities that plan events and ask them not to use fireworks or balloons or anything that could harm our precious animals. People do have power and we can guide positive change but we have to let the right people know that these events are no longer acceptable.

Here is an informative article for the CBC in Calgary, Alberta, that addresses the issue of harm to humans and animals froj fireworks. This will help you get started on the logical argument and the science of why we should now stop these loud displays, including the debris left for animals to get entangled, birds abandoning their nests, anxiety, and loss of hearing..There are many similar articles on the Internet also.

How-fireworks-can-affect-your-health-and-the-ecosystem-CBC-News Download

At Patchogue today, one of the two oldest siblings hovered magnificently and flew to the perch at 12:26. It flew to the opposite side of the nest at 16:53. For Eagles, we would call this branching so I am not officially saying this osplet fledged but we are ever so close.

One, Two, and Little Mini were all at the rim flapping like crazy today! Maybe they are all males and the Three that pecked at Mini is a female. We will never know! The females tend to fledge after the males but there are always exceptions. Mini has eaten well today even snapping fish bites away from Big at the 18:10 feeding.

You know those lumps in your throat you get…well, Mini is just too curious about this flying business and I thought goodness, this osplet is going to fledge soon. I am not ready for Little Mini to fly! And it looks like she is missing a vital feathery her right wing tip, one of the primaries (it looks like with this image).

Here is an image illustrating the feathers of an osprey that was supplied by Dr Erick Greene of the University of Montana at Missoula several years ago.

Can you pick Tiny Little out of the chicks below? She appears to have surpassed Three in size…Three with is great necklace! So in order from left to right – Big, Third, Tiny Little, Second. Incredible.

This nest is amazing.

There are only 7 breeding pairs of ospreys in Denmark. Today marks a very historic event – the ringing of the first osplets in Danish history. The trio were from the Grim Skive nest wish is the 4th largest forest in Denmark in Northern Zealand. The nest is in a beautiful live tree. The link to the camera is below. Go and check this out!

https://naturstyrelsen.webstream.dk/?fbclid=IwAR3qzWDwCtYshOd5UtY-QLdy9rkzPntbUNDQFw8C-f2jWGuvVtpkxzkLxDg

You might be aware that there are growing concerns with the food supply for the Bald Eagles, which is normally Chum Salmon (the Salmon who have spawned and then die). Here is a good article and it shows us how the Eagles and farmers are adapting in Washington State – something that could be a solution elsewhere if the trend continues with the salmon.

The article comes from the last Living Bird Magazine from Cornell Bird Lab.

In-A-Climate-Change-Shift-Dairy-Farmers-In-Washington-State-Welcome-Eagles-All-About-Birds-All-Ab Download

Oh, Ervie, it is so nice to see you! Our 2021 third hatch from the Port Lincoln Osprey barge is looking good. I wonder if he is still fishing with Dad at Delamere sometimes? It will not be long til we will be checking on that Port Lincoln nest for eggs as the Australian season begins!

I love the fact that they mention Ernie’s necklace — do not ever judge a bird to be a male or female by its necklace alone!!!!!!!

Checking on another Australian male that we love – Xavier – he brought a grebe as a gift to Diamond on the morning of July 6 and she accepted it! For those of you who do not know this darling falcon couple in Orange, Australia, Diamond is very particular about her prey and she does not like Starlings! A Grebe or parrots are tasty treats.

These lovely images of the Ms out and about on the Cornell campus were taken by Suzanne Arnold Horning on 5 July. They all seem to be doing very well as they navigate trees, buildings, birds, and squirrels. Thank you Suzanne for allowing me to share your wonderful images.

A new nest recommendation for all my falcon and hawk lovers – The Dorest Hobby Falcons is highly recommended by my colleague SP! Their first hatch with two more, hopefully, soon. Have a look at this incredible manmade nest – modelled after that of a crow – and these parents feeding this just-hatched chick.

They are correctly called Eurasian Hobby. They are a small raptor, like a kestrel. You might look at them first and think of a Peregrine Falcon. They eat insects and small birds often caught in flight by the talons and then transferred to the beak. They are capable of very sophisticated “high-speed aerial manoeuvres”, according to the RSPB.

We try to do what we can for our beloved feathered friends. That help takes many forms, from donations to bird feeding stations, bowls or bird baths holding water, volunteering for bird counts, and lobbying our politicians to improve their lives. Sometimes there are also simple fixes that we can make in our homes and gardens. Many are urging that all new buildings be bird-friendly. This includes collision-proof glass or Swift bricks in the UK.

Brick-by-brick-the-British-manufacturers-building-a-better-future-for-birds-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Thank you so much for being with me. Take care, everyone! Check back later for the nest round-up with me and ‘H’.

Thank you so much to the following for their notes, videos, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me write my blog for this morning: ‘SP, T’, CBC Calgary, PSEG, Erick Greene, Naturstyrelsen DK, Cornell Bird Lab, Buxx Hockaday The Guardian, Wildlife Windows, and Friends of Osprey Sth Aus.

Soledad Fledges, Mini hides a fish, Ervie, and more…Sunday in Bird World

2 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, Saturday was a hot and humid day on the Canadian prairies. Got up early to get to the nature centre before the Canada Day crowds converged and frightened all the goslings into the forest and into the shade of the reeds. What a morning it was. There are nine new baby Bison and I found Canada Geese with goslings that I had not seen this season. It was fantastic…hopefully this good omen will carry through all our nests for the month of July!

A gosling daycare..or fostering. Every age!

A lucky family of seven.

‘B’ kindly let me know that Monty and Hartley’s Soledad fledged at 11:07 on Saturday 1 July. Stay safe, Soledad. You gave us heartache when we feared you were not going to be fed and then wonder as your parents figured it out and you become one feisty Only chick. Thank you for a great season!

Wings out, head in position, ready for take off!

SK Hideaways has it on video! You can see the parent flying with Soledad!!!!!!

We have some news of Ervie, the 2021 third hatch at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge!

Yesterday, ‘R’ caught Big hiding a fish on the Patchogue nest. Well, today Mini did the same thing. Little Mini is a fast learner. So this is the running commentary on Little Mini for Saturday up to 1059 nest time. At 0731 Mini does a big stretch and tells Mum to get Dad to get the fish on the nest! The fish arrived at 0804 and by 0816 Mini is being fed and has a little crop by 0829. We must remember that Mum has to eat, too so feeding Mini gives her that opportunity. Thank goodness. More fish arrives and Mini is eying one that Big is self feeding. Mini is going to get some of that fish and is self-feeding. The time is 0916-0924. Mini hides the remainder. No one notices. Mum is feeding Mini again and Mini has a bulging crop at 1008 which can still be seen at 1059 so Mini is not crop dropping – Mini is full.

0527: We want fish!

0731: Mini stretching. Mini’s feathers are looking good.

0816: Mini being fed by Mum.

0905: Mini staring at the fish its Big sibling is eating.

0915. Mini self-feeding.

0921. Mini hiding fish.

0958: Mum feeds Mini again!

1059: Mini and the big crop!

11:32. Mini in the yoga pose.

Little Mini was self-feeding again at 1844.

Mum let Little Mini work on that fish and then flew down to feed her. What an amazing mother.

One of the Bigs got the first fish at Patchogue on Sunday morning. Mini was working on the tail it appeared and then another fish landed and last check Mum was feeding Mini and having breakfast herself. That was 0807.

One of the things you might be noticing about Little Mini is that she no longer isolates herself but is often within the group of other siblings. She is pretty good at self-feeding and eating the tail of the fish while the other sibling eats off the touch head. Smart Mini! At 1632 there was a fish delivery. Mini should have been on the perfect side to feed but wasn’t. She did find an old fish tail which she horked and must have been fed something. At 1738 Mini is eating scraps and is eating the tail of the fish of the Big Sib at 1745. She has one heck of a big crop.

Baby at the MN Landscape Arboretum having some fish at 0859 and 1059. This is an improvement!

In fact, the little one at Minnesota ate from every fish that I am aware and was shaded by Mum today. Mum even fought with some grasses in the early morning trying to create a nest. What an improvement…mothering instincts are kicking in. Fantastic.

A big storm went over the Loch Arkaig nest! Dorcha tries to protect her chick.

Two healthy osplets, a male and a female, were ringed at Roundhouse Loch Doon in Dalmellington, Scotland today.

The UK Osprey Mums are really getting into the fishing and not waiting for the males to get the lunch to the nest. Juno yesterday and today it was Asha!

Some good news coming from Dulles-Greenway. Pi has been spotted in the area!

Black Storks Waba and Bonus continue to live and are on the move..a bit.

The three storks on the Kirchzarten nest in Germany are doing well.

A fire in the area of a nest of a very special eagle, a Short-toed Eagle – an Accipiter who eats snakes-, in Israel turned into one of those good news stories. According to ‘T’, this is the story of one little eaglet’s safe rescue, “At the beginning of the week, a strong fire broke out in his territory, and the flames almost reached the very nest. Apparently, the chick jumped out of the nest to escape and somehow survived the fall from a height of 11~ meters! Even more amazing is that the קק״ל – קרן קימת לישראל staff who put out the fire found it on the ground and handed it over to labour manager Mandy Turkin. Mandy immediately took him to Itamar Dror, who was responsible for the firefighting. Itamar immediately understood what he had in his hand and called @Or Milshtein – the regional head of RTG. Or coordinated his collection with the help of volunteers from the Wildlife Hospital of Israel, who sent him for treatment and evaluation. With the help of the hospital staff, the chick recovered and did not suffer significant injuries. We started a race against time to return him to his nest or else he would spend his life in a cage. So, almost 40 hours after he jumped out of the nest, on 28.6.23, we met Aharon Shachar, an ambulance volunteer, who handed us the chick. We went to the territory with Dr. Yotam Orchan (who volunteered to climb into the nest) and Eyal Shaani. The area was beaten and burned, and no animals were in the territory, so the fear was great. However, we hoped for the best and returned the chick to the nest 40~ hours after he jumped! We moved out of the territory, left nature to do its job and remained in suspense. Will the animals return? Will they be able to see that we have returned their chick to the nest? And if so, will they even return to care for him? Until last night, we were in suspense. We received good news from Eyal that Ani, watching from afar, immediately saw the female in the nest with the chick.” We need a lot of good news stories, and this is one of those.

Things seem to be reasonable at the Cowlitz PUD osprey platform. That sure is a nice Only Bob. The protective grids are now covered with PS but let us hope that they are doing their job – keeping those eagles from predating this baby! I would love to see a chick fledge from this nest for a change!

It is possible we are losing one of the chicks at the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland. My friend, ‘T’ is very animated when it comes to this nest and this female. “…Hope is so miserable in such a degree… Her baby spent all day upside down on his back and she is standing on the edge of the nest all the time and eats. If babies or one baby manage to move to her – lucky him! She will share food.” I am feeling like this is going to be another sad year. The little one upside down for so long is struggling and neither are eating what they should. I did not see the one eat at all – please correct me if I am wrong.

Sick baby not being brooded.

Dad having to step around the sick and or injured one.

Hope is feeding the other chick but the one that was on its back for so long appears to be losing a grip on life. I wonder if it injured itself.

The chick at Newfoundland died and Hope was eating and eating fish and not feeding the other one this morning…it is known as “the last hope nest”. Hope came in 2019. 3 chicks that year one fledged, none of the others have survived since. Thanks ‘T’.

On the other hand, the two chicks at Collins Marsh are really doing well. There were no residents on this nest last year and this must be a different pair from the one here in 2021. They are taking good care of their chicks.

Oyster Bay is good while Island Beach cam is down.

It looks like at least one of the osplets at Seaside is self-feeding now. This nest is doing really well.

Every osplet is hot today including those at Clark PUD.

‘H’s report on the nests she is monitoring.

Fortis Exshaw – is doing great. Jasper brought so many sticks yesterday, and I was yelling at him not to position any more sticks blocking our view, please place them on the other side! They seem to have no clue that we are trying to observe them, lol. Even Little is able to climb up and out of the nest cup now. Jasper delivered at least 6 fish. Pics are of the fish and feeding at 1746.

Forsythe – They had a splendid day. There were a total of 9 fish, but Opal and the kids rejected the one delivered by Oscar at 1637, because they were simply too full! Opal brought in a giant fish at 1502, and they ate for about an hour and a half.

Osoyoos – Egg number 3 is at 38 days on 7/2. The kids are already 6 and 5 days old. I hope the egg does not hatch. See attached pic that shows the top of the pole that the nest is built on. That nest is in sad shape. I do recall before eggs were laid, the nest was looking much better. . but, then there was some very stormy weather for a few days that blew all of their new nesting material off.

Kent Island – I was worried for a while, when there was a six hour period of time with no fish. But, they ended up having a good day. There were 5 fish brought by Tom, and Audrey provided at least one feeding for the little one from a leftover.

Brodie has returned to the nest of his mate Asha at Loch Garten and is delivering fish! He brought in another one so the family had three yesterday. Fingers crossed.

The Dad at Sydney Sea Eagles is doing much better but everyone is keeping an eye on him since he fell a few times off the branch and was missing for 20 hours. We are now in day 16 of incubation.

We will soon be watching for those Australian nests – Port Lincoln Ospreys, the CBD Falcons, and of course Diamond and Xavier!

What a glorious eaglet Hope is at the Glacier Gardens nest in Juneau, Alaska.

Sweet babies of Karl II and Kaia at the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest in Estonia.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘B, Geemeff, R, T’, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcon Cam, Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey Sth Bus, PSEG, MN Landscape, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Roundhouse Loch Doon, Sue Wallbanks and Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles in the USA, Maria Marika, Kirchzarten Storks, Israeli Eagles, Cowlitz PUD, Newfoundland Power Corporation, Collins Marsh, Seaside ospreys, Clark PUD, Fortis Exshaw, Fostythe, Osoyoos, Audubon/Explore, Mary Cheadle and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Glacier Gardens, and the Eagle Club of Estonia.

Saturday in Bird World

1 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Canada Day.

Friday was tough. A GHO wiped out a nest of 37-34 day old osplets at Moraine Park, PA, beginning around 0135. What a tragedy. These three were doing fantastic. When the totals come in for the season, how high will the percentage be for predation by raptors? It hit me hard…because I enter those deaths three times: here in the blog, on the Memorial Wall, and in the data forms. I am ‘sick and tired’ of entering ‘Died’. To top it off, a feral cat took one of the baby Blue Jays that got too low…Not a good morning so I cannot promise you that this blog will be even intelligent today! Apologies beforehand.

Other good news…The Tom and Angel mugs arrived today and they are cute and super. Coffee in them tonight! Thanks Windows to Wildlife for the fundraiser to upgrade your camera for this beautiful RTH family in Tennessee. Tom brought Deyani a lovely meal today. She must perch and watch for the adults to fly in with prey. Deyani was hot on Dad’s heels.

The other good news is that two other things arrived in the post. One were some new window markers. With the fledgling Blue Jays it is not too soon- and all the fledgling sparrows and now little Crows – to redo all the squiggles. Remember to always put the decals and do the window painting on the OUTSIDE – not the inside of the windows. The other was David Gessner’s new book, A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World. Gessner inspired me by his early books on Ospreys along the Cape and to travel to Cuba to see the Osprey migration over the mountains in September which I hope to do soon.

The really good news is that Mini did eat – and she is not being so aggressive today. Hunger can change a chick’s behaviour. If they think they are dying they have nothing to lose if they attack to test their chances. Mini even wound up with a crop today. That was a fantastic lift to the spirits!

‘R’ sent me a running list of events at Patchogue for which I am terribly grateful. It was a busy day today and I could not keep up. Please read this carefully there are a couple of surprises in there.

“Here is what has happened so far today. 0556 – Mini working on scrapes. 0627- 0638- Mum pulls out a large chunk of fish and feeds Mini over 100 bites! Nothing left for the Bigs. 0853-0857 – Mini and 3 are fed by Mum. Both get equal portions. 1201 – large fish delivered but Mum sits on perch while Bigs eat the whole fish. Nothing for Mini. Despite this she has a nice crop in the afternoon. 1549 – Big stands up and has been laying on a large fish! Can’t find when it was delivered, but Mini gets nothing, nor do 2 or 3.1606 – Bigs eating away. Mini watches. 1728 – Dad delivers another fish. Mini and 3 watching as 1 and 2 gorge themselves!” Now follow the images below and see what happens at 1741. Thanks so much, ‘R’ – so grateful for your eyes on this nest.

Mini has a crop at 0950.

1015. Mini eating. Mini is on the right side of Mum and had a good 14 minute feed.

1137: Nice crop.

1233. Big got the next fish. Mini did not get any.

‘3’ got the 1738ish fish. Mini would like some fish.

‘R’ reports: “1741. Mini eating from tail of large fish while 2 eats from head. Still going strong at 1756! Sneaky!” That is so brilliant of our Little Mini.

The other good news is that with the sibling rivalry happening in the Borders nest, Juno, the female, took matters into her own hands and went. fishing. Read this blog post. It will give you a smile because now there is hope that the third hatch will survive. Way to go Juno!

FAMINE-AND-FEAST-–-Border-Ospreys Download

Then Jackie and Shadow were up in Big Bear and that couple lives on hope..the failed seasons and then the beautiful eaglet, like Spirit. They make me happy and help the sad go away!!! This couple loses brood after brood to crows and DNH and yet they continue to love one another and are now at the nest waiting for the next season. Let us all hope it is a good one for them!

‘MP’ wrote to me about the MN Landscape Arboretum nest and the band on the male. We could tell a certain alphanumeric. ‘MP’ went on to find this information. “Black MS – was banded in 2002 at the nest off of Kings Point Road just north of HWY 7 and Carver Park Reserve in Hennepin County.” The only other possibilities were bands with combinations of green and black so it appears that the male at this nest is 21 years old. Is this a new female? I wish we knew more. As a male he would certainly know what to do after surviving for more than two decades —- that just makes me happy and washes some of the sadness of the day away. Thank you ‘MP’.

Mum has fed and shaded the little one better today. The grassy materials brought in are not flying away either but hardly any sticks are staying on the nest. This couple needs a pile of nesting material! But, just seeing this chick alive today is good. Very good.

Twin Cities Metro was really happy with the National Arboretum nest today too, so she went to check on another nest. Please read it all..you will recognise yourself in that post.

Our ‘not so little’ Cowlitz chick is doing well. Please, please let those metal grids hold so that this nest is not attacked by the eagles and this baby taken. If this works, every nest should put up similar grids. We would then not lose 3 precious babies to a GHO at Moraine, or at Lake Murray…well, I could go on and on.

Geemeff wonders if ospreys can have a brain freeze? Do birds go crazy? or have fogs? What is up with Elen when she repeatedly attacks Aran at Glaslyn? I am bewildered by it all. Aran was just sitting on the perch minding his own business.

I am so upset with Patuxent River Park that has the osprey nests. These are the reasons that I will not promote this nest at all in any of my blogs next year and I urge people to boycott their streaming cam.

First, Patuxent nest 2 was the site of tourist boat encroaching in the area of the nest that left the adult birds stressed and away from the chicks for several hours. Then the third hatch on Patuxent 1 was ill (lack of food?) and placed in another nest where it died the following day. Now why was this chick not taken to rehab and then returned to a nest – either its own or another? That was 1 June. The chick died on June 2.

But this is really getting to me. Yesterday, nest 1 received a foster chick from a nearby tower with its Darvic ring and metal band. Today, they ringed the two chicks from nest 1 – Big and Middle. The individuals retrieving the chicks out of the nest did not cover them with anything. Instead – well, you can see the images but because the chicks were stressed, their bodies were ‘yanked’. If the chicks had been covered with a cloth, they could have been removed easily. We have seen this many times – at Barnegat Light recently and at Dale Hollow when DH18 was rescued. Oh, but that wasn’t all – the bangers caused the forced fledge of the foster chick.

Removing second chick for ringing. Why not a towel to cover them so they are not frightened? And ouch! Geez. I don’t want anyone grabbing me like that.

At the end of the ringing, as is customary, no fish were placed on the nest. Seriously they can probably hear me screaming in Maryland.

Foster chick returned wet. I am sure that you can come to your own conclusions but I prefer slow, kind, and compassionate when dealing with our raptors.

The female at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform is a sweetie.

The Outer Banks is doing great….I wonder how many of these amazing nests have GHOs around?

Oyster Bay continues to thrive.

The WDNU Tower camin South Bend, Indiana, is back on line. This is the nest where two chicks died on the 14th of June for unknown reasons. Then the camera was taken offline so viewers did not see the dead bodies…they are now more incorporated into the nest and the third chick is thriving. It is the oldest and has been named Huey. This is wonderful news.

The two chicks at Island Beach, NJ have been banded by Ben Wurst. They are Red 24N and Red 25N. They are part of the RedBand Project which is “A citizen-science based banding and re-sighting project on Barnegat Bay that is menat to engage locals and visitors to the New Jersey coast in osprey management and conservation.”

It is worth posting what NJ is doing and why this project is so important. Here is the information from the website so that you can see how funding cuts can lead to citizen science.

Ospreys have made a remarkable recovery in New Jersey. Over the past 40 years we have seen the population grow from only 53 pairs in 1973 to over 700 in 2022! Over that same time funding needed for their management has declined. Today their population is not in jeopardy of being extirpated as it was in the early 1970s. As funding is being directed towards species that are in decline, we move to utilize our citizen scientists and volunteers to help monitor and manage the population.

To help engage citizen scientists and for the first time in over 20 years, young ospreyshave been marked with an auxiliary band in New Jersey. The new band, which is a red anodized aluminum rivet band bears an alpha-numeric code. This allows birders, osprey watchers and wildlife photographers the ability to identify these individual birds by their bands — when they are alive!

This new project is being focused on ospreys that nest in the Barnegat Bay watershed from Point Pleasant south to Little Egg Harbor. The main goals of the project are to engage the public in osprey management and conservation along the Jersey Shore. At the same time, while collecting data from re-sightings, we will learn about their dispersal, foraging habits, site fidelity, migration routes, and their life span.
Project Redband

#4 Finland: All three accounted for – and doing well.

#3 Empty. Let us hope that there is a couple and chicks here in 2024.

#5 LS: Two chicks only. Doing fine.

Nest #3 in Finland appears so lonely after the Mum was killed and one chick died with the other two taken into care. Likewise South Cape May Meadows, lost the male and all three osplets during the extreme weather system that hung over the area. The camera is back on. No one home. No, I was wrong. ‘H’ tells me that Hera visited yesterday. It must be so sad for her – no mate, no chicks. Zeus has been missing since the storm and did not return like Duke at Barnegat Light.

‘H’ reports that all is well at FortisExshaw near Canmore, Alberta: “Another good day. The older two chicks, (both aged 12 days on 6/30) have been climbing up to the edge of the nest cup and checking out the local landscape. I observed two feedings. Louise always makes sure that ‘Little’ gets fed (age 10 days). There was a little bonking squabble between the three nestlings in the morning that appeared to have been started by Little. There was no parent on the nest at the time. When Louise landed, Little scooted right up to her and appeared to be explaining his innocence, lol.”

The following reports also come from ‘H’-

“Osoyoos: The little chicks are doing well, ages 4 and 3 days on 6/30. Egg #3 will be 37 days on 7/1.”

“Severna Park: Lots of flapping going on, with a little lift!. Ages 53 and 52 days on 6/30.”

“Dahlgren: Those two Osplets are doing great, and they are practicing their wingers (especially ‘Big’). Ages 43 and 39 days on 6/30”.

‘Forsythe: Things have really settled down at this nest. The fish are usually small, but they are plentiful. There were 11 fish delivered to the nest. The siblings are 39 and 38 days old on 6/30.”

“Barnegat Light: Duke, Daisy, and their surviving chick are doing quite well. I just can’t quite get some of the recent sadness out of my mind, and am still grateful that Duke was able to make it back after the storm. We tend to take the adults for granted . . until one day they don’t return. Oh, and Duke loves the new perch installed by Ben! ‘Big’ is 30 days old on 6/30, and no name has been given to Big as yet.”

“Kent Island: Tom continues to provide for his family and delivered five fish that I saw. Tom and Audrey’s only chick is 18 days old, and lovin’ life on the Bay.”

“Audubon Boathouse: Dory and Skiff’s 20 day old nestling is also lovin’ life on the Bay!”

Thanks, ‘H’. So grateful for your monitoring these nest and your daily reports!

Now what is happening in the world of storks?

The three storklets in the nest in Tukums, Latvia are growing so much they could become confused with the adults soon.

Karl II and Kaia are keeping close watch on their three storklets in Estonia.

The four storklets of Bety and Bukacek will definitely be ready for fledging and migration. They are big and strong.

Dmitri’s fostered storklet is doing wonderfully.

Checking on that nest of Imperial Eagles in Tartan Russia…both have survived, and they are getting so big.

There is so much prey on the nest of Golden eagles Lucina and Caliman in Romania. This chick is very lucky.

Ventana Wildlife has released the recording of the June 2023 Zoom chat on the state of California Condors. Have a listen.

Suzanne Arnold Horning found the Ms around the Cornell Campus Friday night. Gosh, she must have a ‘hawk eye’. They are doing fine and so very grateful for that protective curtain on that glass building and walkway that a few have hit and injured themselves or died. It is important that humans be pro-active in caring for our wildlife.

This is the latest update on the Sydney Sea Eagles from them but ‘A’ tells me that while Dad is flying he still seems to be unsteady on those legs:

There is also a worrisome update about Tuffy, the RTH in the Eagle’s nest. It sounds like the eagles are starting to think that Tuffy is prey.

The latest edition of the Journal of Raptor Research – volume 57, no 2, June 2023- is all about kestrels. I love them but know little about them. The stated fact is that there is a “widespread, long-term decline of American Kestrels that persists across North America” (152). The studies were attempting to discover the causes. They include an increase in Cooper’s Hawks, habitat loss, habit loss while nesting, the emergence of anthropods and grasshoppers, rodenticides, the use of neonicotinoids, and climate change. For my purposes, the study that Claudio and I and ‘H’ are conducting studies just Ospreys. The predation by other raptors is of real concern – more than twice the number of chicks killed by predators than siblicide. We will know after all the chicks have migrated, but it is becoming worrisome.

Want to see some nest repairs? Check out what is happening in the Kistachie Forest, home to the nest of Anna and Louis, Alex and Alexandria.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Today is Canada Day and the Fourth of July is coming up along with Bank Holidays and all other celebrations as summer begins so take care. I hope that you live in an enlightened community and are not having fireworks as they do so much damage and stress out the urban wildlife…See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, reports, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H, Geemeff, MP, R’, Sunnie Day, Window to Wildlife, PSEG, Border Ospreys, FOBBV, MN Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities Metro Osprey News, Cowlitz, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Patuxent River Part, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Outerbanks 24/7, WDNU, Island Beach, Project Redband, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Severna Park, Dahlgren, Forsythe, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Audubon/Explore, Latvian Fund for Nature, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlady Buky, Dmitri Storks, Imperial Eagle Cam, Bocina Wildlife, Ventana Wildlife, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Sydney Eagle Cam, Nor Cal Birding, Tonya Irving and the US Forest Services, and JRR.

Category Archives: climate change and birds

WBSE30 is alive…Saturday in Bird World

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Crash landings, itchy wings…Friday in Bird World

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OH1 at Glaslyn just took off…Thursday in Bird World

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The storm that just keeps giving…Monday in Bird World

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New Male at Fortis Exshaw delivers 2 fish…Saturday in Bird World

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Good news at Fortis Exshaw…Friday in Bird World

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Nest Round up. Late Thursday in Bird World

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Tiny Little works its wings…Thursday in Bird World

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Soledad Fledges, Mini hides a fish, Ervie, and more…Sunday in Bird World

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Saturday in Bird World

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