Category Archives: climate change and birds

Grateful for those that are thriving…Saturday in Bird World

13 April 2024

Hello Everyone,

Thursday and Friday were difficult days. Jackie and Shadow said goodbye to their eggs after one cracked, with Jackie covering them later. The miracle babies hatched at the NTCT nest of Bella and were killed and eaten by the male, Scout. Audacity surprised everyone with another egg, but it broke Friday morning. Little B17 died and Meadow is ill. It felt a little bit like a roller coaster of emotions. Others call it ‘hope fatigue’. These events take their toll and sometimes we need to go outside and listen to the birds or sit and stroke a beloved pet. Then we need to stop and be very thankful for those that survive – they are very precious.

Bella feeds her second little eaglet before flying off to find food. She returns, looks around the nest, cannot find the baby while Scout is on the perch, then Bella flies off saying goodbye. It would have been difficult, if not impossible or Bella with the attitude that Scout was exhibiting. Many wondered if this was not a blessing in disguise.

The empty nest says it all.

The Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey is expressing concern over Meadow’s condition on Friday. Send your positive energy to this eaglet.

So what is giving us hope?

Iris returned to her nest at 20:51:22 Friday night. She looked like she had a full crop. So the Matriarch is fine! She stayed til after 0633 Saturday morning. Perhaps she didn’t want Louis to see her!

Annie and Archie. We are 11 days away from hatch watch. ‘A’ is getting excited. “Annie is looking particularly lovely this evening – she really is an exquisite specimen of a bird. Just beautiful. I cannot wait to see four little fluffy eyases lined up with their beaks open in that scrape. Poor little Archie is going to be run off his talons. And if he thinks it’s difficult to incubate four eggs, wait until he tries brooding four chicks. That should take some serious enfluffling.”

Tuffy is getting smarter and is sometimes braver. This nest gives me hope because of “H’s great observations.

‘H’ reports on how Friday morning began well for Tuffy: “At 0728 Harry arrived with a large live tilapia.  Sally started to eat, and for once Sally was positioned near the rail facing outward.  Her positioning would afford Tuffy an opportunity to position himself on the other side of her from Ruffie.  Tuffy was on Sally’s right, and Ruffie hung back a bit.  Tuffy received 5-6 bites of fish before Ruffie reached over and beaked him.  So much for Sally’s new positioning.  Tuffy scooted away and tucked.  At 0728 Tuffy was trying to move around to the other side of Sally, but Ruffie saw him and cut him off at the pass.  At 0750 Tuffy was getting a little too close to Sally for Ruffie’s liking, so she beaked him.  By 0753 Ruffie moved away from the feeding, but still kept an eye on Tuffy and was giving him a warning look.  Soon, Ruffie started to eat some more.  At 0803, brave lil’ Tuffy decided to go for it, and shuffled right up to Sally in front of Ruffie, and started to get some bites.  Ruffie turned away for a PS, and she then stayed away.  Good.  By 0813, Tuffy had eaten approximately 100 bites of fish.  The view was partially blocked and I was not able to see if bites were dropped.  I just had to count when Sally leaned toward Tuffy, and he leaned toward her.  At that point Ruffie returned to the table to eat some more, and she beaked Tuffy.  Ruffie was finished, this time for good, at 0816…Tuffy untucked and resumed eating his breakfast.  Tuffy took a break for about a minute at 0822, then resumed eating.  At 0831 Tuffy simply couldn’t eat any more and shuffled away from Sally sporting a very large crop.  Sally finished the fish.  Tuffy ate an estimated 180 bites of fish.  Great way to start the day!”

Look at Tuffy’s crop!

“… At 1128 Harry brought a nearly whole tilapia.  Ruffie was fed, and Tuffy remained on the sidelines.  Harry stayed in the nest for a while, so Tuffy gradually moved to get into Dad’s shade.  Even after Harry left, Tuffy stayed away from the feeding line.  At 1207 Tuffy moved to be closer to Sally, and was beaked by Ruffie.  By 1214, Ruffie had moved aside slightly, Tuffy moved in, and it appeared that Sally was feeding Tuffy (view was blocked).  Sally did move a little bit and we were able to see that Tuffy was eating.  By 1218 Tuffy had eaten 40 bites of fish before being intimidated by Ruffie, and he shuffled away.  Ruffie continued to eat, and around 1222, Sally reached over to Tuffy to give him some bites, before Ruffie again banished Tuffy to the sidelines at 1224.  At 1227 Tuffy was again reaching to Sally to receive fish bits.  Ruffie simply did not want little brother to eat, so at 1228 she made a big physical display of dominance and Lil’ Tuffy scurried away.  At 1234 Ruffie seemed to be finished eating, and our view was partially blocked, but it was obvious that Sally was feeding Tuffy.  The meal was over by 1248 save for a few scraps.  Tuffy ate at least 78 bites of fish.”


.”..Harry delivered the third fish of the day at 1705, a headless tilapia.  It was a smaller piece of fish, which did not bode well for Tuffy’s chances for a nice meal.  Ruffie approached Sally, Tuffy moved further away from Sally.  I noted that Tuffy’s crop was flat at that time.  Ruffie was giving warning glances to Tuffy as Ruffie was fed.  However, Sally managed to periodically sneak a bite to her little one who was standing off to the side.  Many of those quick bites to Tuffy went under Ruffie’s radar, but some did not.  When Ruffie would notice Tuffy getting a bite she leaned toward Tuffy to intimidate him.  So, Tuffy would move a little further away, but would then slowly inch closer to Mom as he dared.  By 1731 Tuffy had eaten 14 bites of fish by Sally quickly sneaking bits to him.  Then he received 5 bites in quick succession while Ruffie was trying to eat a big piece of skin.  Ruffie was not able to eat the skin, so she dropped it, but seemed irritated that Tuffy had eaten those bites…so she charged Tuffy who went to the rails.  Ruffie then wedged herself in between Sally and Tuffy.  Finally, at 1743, Ruffie was full and moved across the nest and laid down.  Tuffy made a beeline to Sally, but unfortunately there wasn’t much fish left.  Tuffy ate, and some bites were a pretty good size.  Sally did her best to pull every last bit of meat from that fish tail, then she offered the tail several times to Tuffy, who simply could not do anything with it.  Total bites for Tuffy at this meal = 46, and he had a small crop.  Total for Tuffy so far today = 304 bites of fish.”

Sally was calling for fish at 1957.

The three osplets of Talon and Stella at the Florida-Gainesville campus continue to do well. This is excellent news. They are all lined up like the three lads at Port Lincoln in 2022. You can see the size difference now between the first hatch in the centre and the baby on the right. At one time, they were almost all the same having hatched within a 36 hour window.

‘H’ reports that the Canada Geese and the Ospreys have switched nests at McEuen Park in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. Grateful for Geese and not owls!

In the UK, Idris and Telyn have their first egg of the Osprey season on Friday at the Dyfi Nest in Wales.

Waiting for Seren and Dylan at Llyn Clywedog to have their first egg of the season. Seren was not impressed with the food gift o a frog that Dylan brought to her and when he wasn’t looking, she dropped it overboard.

Intruders have been bothering Aran and Elen at Glaslyn. It was sent packing over to the Pont Cresor Nest of Aeron Z2 and Blue 014.

Louis fishes in the worst weather and delivers beautiful fish to Dorcha.

I am grateful that Laddie LM12 made it home safe this year to Blue NCO. No eggs at Loch of the Lowes yet.

Blue 33 guards Maya. He has been bringing in gold fish – beautiful bright orange-gold Koi. Someone’s pond is getting raided. He must like the colour!

Bradley makes me smile and it is fantastic that Port Lincoln continues to post videos of him bringing his fish to the barge. It is heartwarming when these fledglings thrive. A still form that video. Check out what is happening at Port Lincoln by going to their FB group.

And there are these various stages of some of the bobbleheads that are doing well:

US Steel 7: It is pitching down rain but Irvin has the nest full of fish and Claire is trying to keep the wee one dry while keeping it fed.

Little Miami:

Johnson City-ETSU:

Superbeaks, Dixie and Mason:

Kansas City, Cheyenne and Wichita:

Duke Farms, Jasper and Leaper who will be ringed on Monday:

ND-LEEF – Dad’s new mate Gigi appears to be doing well:

Eagle Country – Swampy in the nest and Meadow in care. Hoping dear Swampy is not sick, too:

Denton Homes – three Majestic babies:

Decorah North:

Redding with Liberty and Guardia:

Port Tobacco:

Bluff City and Viper:

Fort St Vrain. Two little bobbles doing well.

West End. Aklecheta and Thunder showed us how to deal with three healthy energetic eaglets this year:

Fraser Point, two adorable eaglets for Andor and Cruz:

PA Country Farm – a family who can consistently raise three:

Dade County, R6 has fledged and returns to the nest:

SW Florida, E23- so grateful that M15 had a new family this year after the sorrow of losing Harriet and the joy of raising E21 and 22 to fledge by himself:

Poor E23 has had to defend its nest!

JB Sands Wetlands, JBS20. We lost JBS21. Please keep Mum in your thoughts because of her injury:

Trudi Kron captures JBS20 getting ready to fly.

It isn’t all of them, but count these as blessings. In a year when many nests did not have a single hatch, we can be grateful. There is no news on Meadow Saturday morning form the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey.

Jackie and Shadow start over. What an amazing pair of eagles these are! ‘A’ writes: “Meanwhile, the sadness at Big Bear is felt by thousands of BB viewers. Jackie and Shadow are much loved by so many. This video really broke my heart. They take it in their stride and carry on, together. While they have each other, there is always next year. Spirit was such a miracle. It was a joy watching that couple caring for their precious eaglet. They were so devoted. That little one sure was spoiled for love. And fish, obviously.” 

The Royal Albatross are always bittersweet. Little fluff ball TopFlat Chick, the Royal Cam chick, waits for food deliveries. LGK Lew in on Friday to feed the little one who can be heard squeeing. At the end, you see TF flap its little wings copying the adults.

The top bird sightings in the UK. Please note the huge decline in House Sparrows since 1979 and the growth of some others. House Sparrows live amongst humans that is why they are seen so often and we are destroying their habitat which is why the huge decline. Feed them. Be joyful when you hear their song. Just imagine if they were not there.

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Thank you for being with me. Step outside. Celebrate spring, listen to the birds that live around you. Smile. There are things in the world that we have no control over. We change what we can, when we can doing the best we can. We mourn the little ones that are lost, but remain joyful and hopeful for those thriving on the nests.

*Disclaimer: Every effort is made to credit individuals who send me information, those who take screen captures, create videos or posts, those who write articles, and those who operate streaming cams. If I miss acknowledging someone’s contribution, please let me know so I can rectify that omission. Thank you.*

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, streaming cams, videos, and articles that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, J, H, PB, SK, TK’, NCTC Eagle Cam, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Cal Alcons, Moorings Park ospreys, Florida-Gainesville, McEuen Park, Dyfi Osprey Project, Llyn Clywedog and CarnyXWild, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, The Woodland Trust (Loch Arkaig), Geemef, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), LRWT, Port Lincoln Ospreys, US Steel Eagle Cam, Little Miami Conservancy, Johnson City-ETSU, Superbeaks, FARMER DEREK, Duke Farms, ND-LEEF, Eagle Country, Denton Homes, Raptor Research Project, FORE, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, Bluff City-ETSU, Fort St Vrain, IWS/Explore, PA Country Farms, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, JB Sands Wetlands, Trudi Kron, Lady Hawk and The Guardian.

Jersey eats more, hatches, arrivals…Thursday in Bird World

28 March 2024

Good Morning!

Hugo Yugo seems to be doing fantastic. She is extremely lovable and continues to sleep on my head or chest at night. All you have to do is whisper her name and she is there.

I just remembered that I needed to add ‘enchanted’ before Missey. ‘J’ thinks Missey belongs in the ‘Magical Kingdom of Landover’ and ‘she should be able to talk’. Now don’t tell anyone, but I think she does! Missey has now taken Baby Hope under her arm and is proving to be a good second Mum to her if I could only train Missey to clean Hugo Yugo’s eyes.

Good news is coming in from the nests, but we must start with a magical image of a rainbow coming over Telyn at the Dyfi Osprey nest she shares with her mate, Idris, in Wales. Totally enchanting! Now come on Idris, come home.

Irish poet WB Years reminds us: “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

Seren Blue 5F arrived home from The Gambia this morning. Now we wait for Dylan to get to Llyn Clywedog in Wales! She might be wishing for that West African sun.

Isn’t this one a cutie? Liberty and Guardian’s first hatch at Redding.

I am always happy to have egg on my face. It appears that darling Laddie did survive and has now returned to his nest with Blue NCO to start another season. Let us all send good wishes and hope that he is up to the task at hand and this lovely pair at the Loch of the Lowes do not have any intruders to harm them or cause harm to their babies this year. I can hardly believe it. Fantastic.

Thanks, Geemeff.

Laddie wastes no time getting reacquainted. Is there a competition between him and Blue 33 for first eggs laid?

I have spent a greater proportion of my post for the last couple of days on the situation at Duke Farms. There is a clear reason for this – the detailed study of the eagles’ behaviour when food becomes in short supply and the reaction of the eaglets to one another. We are only seeing the second hatch, Jersey, gain more confidence today. Jersey is self-feeding, and Mum seems to have figured out how to manage the situation in the nest. The situation here is no different than it would be on an osprey nest when the eldest has perceived insufficient food for all and begins attacking its sibling/s. It could wind up being siblicide, but, I am hopeful that unless there is another dramatic reduction in prey, we will have two fledges at the Duke Farms nest in 2024.

On Wednesday at 11:26, Mum finds an old fish tail in the rim of the nest. She feeds Leaper. Jersey is obviously interested but afraid. The little one moves around the rim of the nest to get closer to the feeding area. At the point where Leaper has a full crop, Jersey moves up and begins to self-feed on the fish tail. Leaper goes to sleep. At this point Mum begins to feed Jersey who has a nice crop by 12:03. Mum literally stuffs Jersey with all the remaining fish taking advantage of Leaper being in a food coma. The feeding ends at 1212 when there is no longer any food on the nest.

We now wait to see if more food will come to the nest. The good news is that food did arrive.

‘A’ notes, “Jersey lined up mum and did a large and very healthy-looking PS straight at Mum from a distance of only inches (17:54:33). He hit her squarely on the top of her head (she was working on getting bites off the remaining prey – that giant fish has now become a very long spine. It looks amazing. Jersey has eaten today. This is one extremely good mother. She has worked very hard to keep these two alive. When it rained this afternoon, she was the perfect mumbrella, keeping both her growing eaglets warm and dry, She is devoted and smart. I am starting to become very attached to her. But both chicks will go to bed with full tummies and good crops tonight.”

Dad came in with a headless fish and little Jersey ate and ate….that sweetie pie was so full it turned away from the fresh fish at 17:54. Reports are that the the Raritan River is low and not as muddy as it was. In addition, the State of New Jersey is putting the trout back into the rivers so let us hope that fish will be plentiful on the nest.

Getting a late night snack. Jersey has an enormous crop.

How cute is little Jersey?

Jersey had a good morning on Friday so far.

Friday morning at Duke Farms with ‘A’: “

Mum was absolutely saturated after sheltering her eaglets overnight, and had the biggest flap of her wings to try and get the water off – then repeated the exercise three more times. Poor mum. It was a long, wet night, but Jersey got the best of it in terms of shelter, staying pretty dry for most of the night. 

Jersey has had a lovely morning. He missed out on the first feeding, which mum gave him from the leftover torso (or whatever that was), but there was no bonking whatsoever before or after the first breakfast, just a lot of snuggling and preening, including a little allopreening from Leaper to her little brother. She is very sweet to him when she’s not thrashing him. 

When mum returned to feed a smallish whole fish lying on the side of the nest, Jersey went into submission and Leaper began eating, but was full fairly quickly and turned away. Jersey got to the table relatively quickly and began his snatch and grab style of eating. Mum was so patient, even ensuring that when he dropped a piece and she went to pick it up, she moved slowly and carefully near Jersey so that he didn’t get startled or cringe away from the food. She waited for him to take each bite, offering it as many times as necessary. Jersey downed some large pieces, but one was too big for him, even on the second or third attempt, and turned away, so mum ate that bit herself. Jersey had managed the tail, with attached flesh!! He actually ate so much that he had had enough and ended the feeding as a result. He had a large crop. 

After breakfast number two, mum broods her eaglets again. So cute. They are probably a bit damp still, and it has been raining lightly on and off through the morning. She is such a devoted mum and she is having a terrible hair day. 

Just before 08:46 dad flies in with a large whole fish. Is this the first food delivery from dad in five days? I think it may well be. It’s a lovely big fish and he leaves it on the edge of the nest for mum to manage. The babies are too full to bother, so she gets up and flies off the nest. At 08:53:31 dad is back with a talonful of damp grasses, which he spreads about the place. He then takes hold of the fish, drags it closer to the cuddle puddle of eaglets, and offers a bite to Jersey. Despite being literally entwined in Leaper, Jersey is not too scared to accept the bite!!!

This is massive. Normally, he would not have had the courage and would have cringed away from dad’s beak, probably going into a submissive tuck. But now, he takes the bite without hesitation. He is not interested in the second bite offered so dad starts hoeing into the head of the fish himself. Leaper at this stage decides to stand up and stretch. Jersey stays where he is, not cringing or tucking. Leaper lines up for her second PS of the morning (Jersey too has done a very large and healthy PS earlier this morning). 

Leaper now moves up to the table beside Jersey, who is a little nervous and pulls away just slightly but still remains up at the table, his head up. Leaper does nothing to intimidate or hurt him. Dad continues to eat. Leaper watches. So does Jersey. Eventually dad gives Leaper a bite. Jersey stays where he is. He considers leaning towards dad but thinks better of it. Still he is up at the table, wary but not in submission. Dad continues to feed Leaper. There is NO bonking. There has been none all morning. 

Suddenly, at 08:59:30, Jersey reaches across in front of Leaper to take a bite from dad. Leaper is fine with this and does nothing to stop Jersey eating. Dad is doing pretty well out of this fish head himself, feeding the occasional mouthful to Leaper. Jersey remains beside and slightly in front of Leaper, watching carefully. It is 09:03. Just after 09:04, dad offers a bite to Jersey, who accepts it, without any reaction from Leaper. This is SO good to watch. 

Jersey takes another bite. And another. Dad doles out the tiniest pieces. A very different feeding technique to mum’s (I haven’t watched dad feed these chicks at all in the past week). Both chicks are still full from their earlier breakfast, and turn away from the table to snuggle up together again. 

We will see what the rest of the day brings, but so far, this has been the best morning on this nest in about a week. Little Jersey has eaten very well already, with a very large crop, as has Leaper, and there has been not one incident of aggression from Leaper at all. Nothing. Perhaps the food insecurity has gradually abated and Leaper has calmed down. We will see. CertaInly, it was wonderful to see dad bring in a nice big fish this morning.”

There is word of a possible pip at the Centreport Bald Eagle nest on Long Island, New York.

R6 does not want us to forget how handsome he is! Ron and Rose at the WRDC nest agree along with all his fans.

It will not be long til these beautiful eaglets leave their natal nest area. Clearly M15 and F23 have E23 in training. I had to laugh. I thought Hugo Yugo was very loud when she protests that she is ‘starving to death’ on the kitchen counter. Well, E23 sure is loud! it was a good year for M15. This amazing dad deserved it.

Not only are the Osprey having great challenges due to the overfishing of shallow swimming fish like the Menhaden, but now there are different issues with the salmon industry – and they are, as Geemeff, describes, sounding ominous.

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At the same time, I would draw your attention to these two articles that outline the severe impact that the fish shortage because of commercial fishing is going to have on the Atlantic and Gulf Ospreys in the US.

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I will continue to call for individuals that have the access and authority to set aside a pond for the birds of prey so that they can eat. For all of us to call for a moratorium on commercial fishing of Menhaden and for the curtailing of fishing by long line trawler regardless of where they are fishing in the world. There are not too many Ospreys in the US. What is happening is a steep decline right before our very eyes. The population is anything but stable. ‘H’ and I found this in comparing the data from the US and the UK in the 2023 nests that we observed.

Somewhere there is a Bald Eagle nest struggling, just like we saw when an adult is injured, dead, or missing for a few days. This time it is due to the frolicking killing by a human.

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Checking in on Monty and Hartley and their incubation.

Hartley lays her third egg!

Archie is so cute. These males are so tiny and trying to get four big eggs under them is sometimes a bit of a challenge.

The Black Storks are beginning to arrive in Latvia! Oh, how I wish Karl II was going to be flying into Estonia. What a loss he will be.

Is Mrs O back at Tweed Valley?

Warren and Della are back at Mispillion Harbour working on their nest. Della is notorious for loving ‘yellow’ things – she brings them to make the nest more beautiful! Kinda’ like dear Jack did with his stuffies at Dahlgren.

The trio at Frenchman’s Creek are doing well. The third hatch does have to wait in line, but sometimes manages to get a private feeding.

The triplets at the West End are doing exceptionally well. As I have said, Thunder sat on them when they acted up and they didn’t get to eat then. Food is a great motivator!

Harry came in with a couple of big fish for Sally and the two osplets. Looks like the other egg is not going to hatch – no problem! Two healthy osplets are just fine.

Mark your calendars. We are 3 days and 11 hours from ‘Iris Watch’. For those who do not know who Iris is, she is believed to be the oldest osprey in the world. Her nest is in a parking lot at the Riverview Health Centre at Hellcat Canyon, Missoula, Montana. Her first mate, Stanley, and her were very happy. Her second mate, Louis, has another nest and life has been rough. There have been no chicks for at least five years and many would like to see Iris have another mate. Louis would have to give up the territory and his domination of Iris despite having Star on the nest at the Baseball Park. For me, I hope she has another wonderful summer fishing and catching those big whoppers she is known for. Iris gets her name from the flecks in her right eye.

In San Francisco, Richmond and Rosie will have more rain which is delaying their nest building – and it looks like they have a lot of materials required. Do you remember the year the Crows kept taking all of their sticks when they would bring them in? Oh, goodness. Maybe they will leave the ospreys alone this year!

Many of you have asked about Mr President and Lotus. The AEF has posted the following information today. Unfortunately, it appears that we will not even get updates on their breeding season.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, Michael Academia, SP’, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, FORE, Geemeff, Duke Farms, Centrepoint Eagles, WRDC, Misqually Valley News, frontiers, AOL, SK Hideaways, Maria Marika, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Frenchman’s Creek, IWS/Explore, Moorings Park, Montana Osprey Project, SF Ospreys, and the AEF.

Hatches and Intruders…Friday in Bird World

22 Mark 2024

Hi Everyone,

It was a gorgeous sunny day on the Canadian Prairies. There was blue sky, little wind, and it wasn’t a bad temperature.

There was a wonderful surprise in the garden – Hedwig appeared! I tried to be ever so careful as to not scare her away. Hoping for bunnies under the peony plant again.

The Little Reds continued to store peanuts while the Chickadees flitted from branch to feeder eating seed. Dyson has been at the table feeder several times a day. She is looking food. I cannot think of anything more relaxing. Calico was on my lap sleeping, Missey was on the wicker having a nap, Hugo Yugo was on top of the cat tree, and Baby Hope was on my bed. The world seems just right with itself.

As I write this there is a hatch happening at Moorings Park! How fantastic. Harry has been checking in on Sally and the progress anxious to see the first baby of 2024.

The hatch at Kansas City is with us! It feels like a really good day – full of joyful news. The little one at the Kansas City Bald Eagle nest is strong! Congratulations to Ellie, Harvey, Farmer Derek and his family.

We were concerned about the talon of the Bald Eagle female at the J Bunker Sands nest in Texas. I mentioned how raptors adapt to the events that cause them injury. One of the first that comes to mind is Ma Berry of the Berry College Eagle Nest. Today, ‘ MC reminded me of an informative article by Roy Dennis on White-tail Eagle 646, who lost a leg. It is a good read and one that provides much hope to us who worry when we see injured raptors.

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Make a note that pip/hatch watch for the second clutch at Berry Eagles is this weekend.

The third egg arrived Thursday morning for Lucy and her new mate at Lake Murray. Time: 08:24.

There have been several attacks on Osprey females. Edie at the Captiva Nest – she is incubating four eggs – was attacked by another Osprey. (more images later in the blog)

Blue NCO was attacked by a Tawny Owl. She returned to the nest seemingly unharmed. Sorry Laddie. I don’t think you are going to come home…can someone please send Blue NCO a nice great fishing young male?

Here she is later working on her nest and looking beyond the horizon for her mate.

For the fans of Glacier Gardens Bald Eagles, Liberty and Freedom, they are home!

At Rutland, Maya and Blue 33 both have the old snake eye on Friday. Is Maya getting a little eggy?

No one at Glaslyn yet.

Llyn Brenig. They will make quick work out of those sticks. No one home as yet.

I would like to have some of the rain that is falling at Llyn Brenig and at Llyn Clywedog. No sign of Dylan or Seren 5F yet.

No one has checked in at Alyth.

Windy up at Loch Arkaig with precipitation during the night. Waiting for Dorcha and Louis.

The Osprey nests in the UK have the most beautiful natural settings. Poole Harbour is no exception. Waiting for CJ7 and Blue 022 to return.

One of the big differences—besides the sheer number of Ospreys—is how many in the UK get to enjoy the landscape and the rivers away from urban settings. So many of the ospreys on the streaming cams in the US live in towns, villages, and cities with pavement under them instead of rolling hills and trees.

Pip watch starts for Chase and Cholyn on the 29th at Two Harbours.

The Thunder babies are doing very well, indeed. Akecheta is an incredible Dad that takes part in the feedings more often than not. Some varied prey and well, Mama Thunder is one of the best.

The little one crawls out of the nest bowl hoping to get some of that nice fish before its siblings!

‘A’ adores this nest like I do. “

At West End, I really didn’t need the long shot of the nest on the face of a cliff that we were given at 16:21 yesterday – I am now absolutely terrified of what might happen when those three become mobile because it’s a long, long fall down that sheer cliff face. Very scary indeed. Now, when they go near the edge, I’ll know exactly what they’re looking down at!!! I do hope it scares them as much as it did me. 

Hopefully, Akecheta and Thunder will keep that nest as full of fish and those chicks as stuffed to the gills as they have been thus far. These three are just gorgeous fluffy little bundles. The older two have their moments, but wee WE tends to steer clear of them and manages not to antagonise its older siblings. Somehow, it always seems to end up in the middle of the line at feedings, waiting back until the others have eaten a bit and then pushing forward and stretching for some bites. All three are getting fed. 

At about 16:20, with the older pair in food comas, Akecheta takes the opportunity to give the youngest a private feeding. The little one is bold, and even when one of the others wakes up and dad tries feeding it too, baby stands up and grabs for the bites (and gets them). By the time its siblings fully wake up around 16:28, wee WE has a good crop (though continues to eat, maintaining front position and reaching for bites without any fear whatsoever of its older siblings behind. It never looks either in the eye, and this largely seems to keep the wee one out of any trouble. 

These two parents are able to fledge three chicks because they are dedicated in the extreme. They don’t get bored with feeding. They feed until there are no beaks left open (or the fish is gone). They feed frequently to ensure that if one misses out a bit at a feeding, it makes up for it at the next. And Akecheta definitely keeps an eye out for wee WE. I know we keep saying it, but in general, a lot of these males definitely DO take special care to look after the youngest eaglet more than the mums do, though of course there are some exceptions). “

E23 was high in the nest tree overlooking the Pritchett Property in a beautiful heraldic pose. Mum and Dad continue to provide lots of different prey and still enjoy feeding their only eaglet of 2024. What a precious one s/he is to them.

Sadly, the food deliveries at Bluff City have been few and far between. On Thursday late there had been nothing but a small fish and that arrived on Wednesday morning. Oliver continually attacks Willow. Hunger is a terrible thing. I am concerned that Willow will not survive.

The situation at Johnson City looks alright.

Things appear to be fine and the chicks are doing well and practising flapping their wings at Duke Farms.

Pepe and Mahludy’s eaglets, Dixie and Mason, are over a month old. Both are doing exceptionally well.

Swampy and Meadow survived their early ‘play fights’. They are now good buddies, and we are all going to miss them when they fledge. What a joy it has been to watch the nest of Blaze and Abby.

Cal may look out over Captiva Island, but he still enjoys being fed by one of his parents, Connie or Clive. I can only imagine that as time nears, when Cal will go his own way for a while, they also want to spend much time with him.

At the Captiva Osprey nest, Edie and Jack have had to protect their nest repeatedly by other Ospreys attacking. They are incubating four precious eggs.

Caught an Osprey for a second on the South Cape May Meadows nest. Last year Mum lost her mate and all three osplets due to the storm and starvation. It was a sad event to watch. We hope that the situation is better for 2024.

PA Farm Country Eagles have their second hatch! Seems like they just had the first. This is good news.

Bonnie and Clyde of Cardinal Land Conservancy have their first hatch! Gosh, there will be a lot of little eaglets in the nests by the end of the month. They are hatching fast and furious now. Let us hope for nest success.

A lovely image by Lloyd Brown of Rita in her new home. Grateful she will have a life of fish and clean baths, but wish she was flying free.

Darling Shadow continues to bring Jackie her breakfast in bed at Big Bear.

Big Red and Arthur continued to do a lot of incubation shift changes on Thursday.

There will now be legal safeguards for the birds of prey in Scotland – an attempt to protect them from the killing and shooting of the grouse moors. But will it be enough? I tend to think that the archaic practice of beaten grouse hunting should be obliterated altogether.

Scottish-grouse-moors-to-be-licensed-in-attempt-to-protect-birds-of-prey-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

The weather will play a significant factor in the lives of our beloved feathered friends this year. It is dry in Winnipeg. We had little snow compared to some years and we desperately need rain. There could be many more wildfires across my country this summer and record-breaking temperatures that will test even the best raptor families.

Weatherwatch-record-winter-warmth-may-not-be-good-news-for-birds-Climate-crisis-The-GuardianDownload

Our raptors would be in the funeral line, too. Not enough trees, not enough platforms, not enough fish in some regions. They need our help. The Earth needs our help.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We hope to see you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, MC’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Farmer Derek Bald Eagles (Kansas City Bald Eagles), Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, SPO, Lake Murray Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Geemeff, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Glacier Gardens, LRWT, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig, Llyn Clywedog, Alyth SS, Woodland Trust, Poole Harbour, IWS/Explore.org, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Superbeaks, Eagle Country, Window to Wildlife, SCMM, PA Farm Country Eagles, HDonTap, Lloyd Brown, SK Hideaways, Cornell RTH Cam, and The Guardian.

Waiting for pips…Wednesday in Bird World

6 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, it is a beautiful blue sky sunny afternoon on the Canadian Prairies. The white snow from the other day is glistening. It looks like diamonds have been scattered everywhere. It is a little chilly today at -8 C but is warming up to +5 tomorrow or the next day. This means we come back to the icky beige puddles from the salt and sand they use on the roads.

It feels like spring, though. You might recall that we had one little red squirrel living in the garden shed, and he found a friend. Today, a brief count indicated that there are now four red squirrels. Unfortunately, they live in the tree across the lane on the property of a not-so-gentleman who doesn’t like squirrels because they chatter. How many there will be at the beginning of the summer? Somehow, I doubt that they are either all male or all female!

Hugo Yugo is ‘wild’ this morning. She had her ‘jet pack’ on and wanted to play fight with everyone!

Missey tried to stay out of the way.

Baby Hope and Hugo Yugo ran from one end of the house to the other play fighting in every room.

Calico was so happy she was out of their path! These two did not stop for over an hour!

Baiba caught what appears to be at least one pip. I am ever so hopeful. The one egg with the arrow pointing at the crack that came also seemed to have other cracks on the opposite side. As far as I know, at the time of writing this, FOBBV has not called a pip.

These are the ages of the eggs, and from this, it appears that egg 1 is not viable unless it is the one that is pipping. Egg 1 day 41, egg 2 is 38 days, and egg 3 is 35 days.

The view of the eggs Wednesday morning.

Waiting at Achieva. There are three eggs – one really blends in with the nesting material and is hard to see.

It is a beautiful day at Sauces Canyon. One precious egg set to be ready for pip watch on Saturday the 9th of March. It was laid on 2 February.

The West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta also has an egg laid on the 2nd of February. Could we have a hatch at both nests on the same day?

Swampy and Meadow are fantastic. Getting those beautiful dark, dark espresso feathers on top of that soft charcoal grey thermal down. Just look at that grey fluff being hidden by the incoming feathers. Of course, these two are itchy!

At the Johnson City ETSU nest there is bunny and fish on the menu. Maybe some other surprises hidden in that nesting by Jolene. These two little bobbleheads are not going hungry!

There was rain at Duke Farms. Mum kept the kiddos warm and dry feeding them quickly when there was a break. Lots of nice fish on the nest. These two bobbleheads seem to be doing just fine.

At the Captiva nest, Cal is quite a bit larger than those little bobbleheads above. Ready to fledge, but loving having the adults feed him and I am certain they enjoy it too. He should be around for a month after fledge to get those wings strong and learn how to hunt from Mum and Dad.

Window to Wildlife is hosting a fundraiser to replace the current camera at the Captiva eagle nest and to create a memorial at the base of the tree for Joe, Hope and Peace, and Lusa. Information on the merch that is up for the fundraising is below in a link on the streaming cam. There are various mugs and a mousepad available. Here is an example:

We know that Pepe and Muhlady are feeding eaglets, but we sure can’t see them! And we have no idea if there is one or two! There should be two. I really dislike not having that overhead camera for this nest!

The eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands is huge! Look carefully. The adult has been feeding the eaglet periodically throughout the day. I presume this is Dad. If a parent is injured or dies – which is always so sad – it is better that the eaglet/s is/are older so that a single parent can care for them.

E23 is dreaming about flying.

US Steel eagle nest of Clair and Irwin now has 4 cameras!

Video of that third egg for Claire and Irwin that was laid on the 5th of March.

Three eggs for Scout and Bella.

Rosie is always beautiful. Looks so rested from her winter vacation.

Big Red was testing out the egg cup on Tuesday! We could be within a week of the first eggs for her and Arthur to kick off the Red-tail Hawk season.

Tom and Angel were both seen working on their nest today in Tennessee.

Peregrine Falcons hatching in Japan. Spring and the cherry blossoms are arriving along with these little ones.

Field notes on Florida’s Bald Eagle season from Audubon Birds of Prey:

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Oh, this is precisely the type of action that we have been calling for. As my friend ‘R’ says who gifted me this article, ‘For years, officials asked people to crush invasive spotted lantern flies. But as the pest continues to spread, some researchers say it’s time to send in the birds.’ Let’s add to that – send in the raptors to get rid of the mice! No toxic poisons required.

How-birds-can-help-in-the-fight-to-kill-invasive-spotted-lantern-flies-The-Washington-PostDownload

Water is essential for life, and it is imperative for migratory birds, especially shorebirds and waterfowl. Lake Abert in Oregon USA is only one area that is drying up and will have major consequences for several species. Lakes, rivers, and wetlands are important to every living thing.

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Droughts in other areas such as China in 2022 have caused populations to significantly decrease.

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Audubon was discussing the fate of waterfowl and humans in 2019 with the following article.

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I often get upset at the thought of duck hunting. As my friend ‘R’ has pointed out, sometimes we must partner up with others on the opposite side to protect our beloved feathered friends. In Canada, Ducks Unlimited is increasing the area of wetlands. They do a wonderful job regarding environmental education at Oak Hammock Marsh, near where I live. They also hunt ducks. The important thing is that they want duck numbers to increase, and by protecting and enlarging the wetland areas, it is also good for other waterfowl such as Canada Geese, Plovers, Great and Lesser Yellow Legs, Swans, etc. Perhaps, one day, we will only shoot ducks with our cameras.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘B, J, R’, Baiba, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, IWS/Explore.org, Eagle Country, Johnson City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, JB Sands Wetlands, SW Florida, PIX Cams, Deb Stecyk, SF Bay Ospreys, Cornell RTH, JPN PF, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, The Washington Post, The Guardian, MB Government, China Dialogue, and Audubon.

Eagle Country welcomes second chick…Saturday in Bird World

3 February 2024

Good Morning and Good Gracious.

It was a marvellous Friday. The temperature rose to +5 C in some areas while at others it stayed around +3. The two degrees didn’t matter. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. People were happy!

Missey and Baby Hope looking out the window.

Missey and Hope had finished their lunch. If you are wondering ‘why’ Hugo Yugo grew so much in a month, well, ….She finished her dish and then decided to go around and eat anything left in her sisters’ bowls while they are busy watching birds!

It was not clear what would happen when Baby Hope discovered Hugo Yugo eating her food….Nothing. The older ones seem to tolerate anything that Hugo Yugo does. It is astonishing.

Then Hugo Yugo showed that she is capable of problem solving. There was one piece of food on the opposite side of the dish. She could not get at it very well. She tried her paw. That didn’t work.

So, what did she do? She went around to the other side of the dish. Ate every last nibble. Well done, Hugo Yugo!

2 February was not just Ground Hog Day or the day that Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo, but it was also the day we said goodbye to Harriet, the matriarch of the SW Florida Bald Eagle Nest on the Pritchett property in Fort Myers. Today, marks the beginning of M15 doing the amazing – he raised two one-month old eaglets to fledge all by himself while fending off numerous unsuitable female eagles! 

It was a scary time for everyone and no one knew how this story would end, but M15 showed himself to be worth of the top spot of Top Dad for 2023 easily. E21 and E22 thrived. 

M15 had multiple options, and he chose well. F23 has turned out to be a wonderful mate, and E23 is a healthy, happy eaglet. Look closely and see the colour around the mandible changing to yellow.

Too cute.

I am in tears. The other eagle family that we are so desperate to have chicks this year is at Sauces, and Audacity laid her first egg on Friday. That nest is lined with soft materials (compared to Big Bear). Oh, please, let them have a chick this year! Parachute one in if you have to, Dr Sharpe! Surely there is an orphan eaglet somewhere.

The snow at Big Bear appears to have stopped, but it isn’t melting. Shadow took a turn incubating and then flew around the nest getting a nice stick for the railing. He must be calculating how many new sticks he has to bring in if there could be three eaglets!

It took a bit to get Shadow to get up off the nest!

Both eagles of Abby and Blaze look fantastic – soft dandelion heads and that deep nest bowl keeps us wanting to see more of them!

Swampy hatched on the 31st of January and Meadow hatched today. There was some bonking and Swampy is getting the majority of the food. Fingers crossed that Meadow will be resilient!

The surviving eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands appears to be doing fine. Being fed well, but goodness, I wish that support was transparent!

At the Captiva nest, Lusa is now self-feeding!

11:42:08 AMLusaANOTHER MILESTONE!Can now SELF FEED.

The clean up crew is working hard on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. The lads were off early in search of fish.

‘A’ reports on the Royal Albatross: ”At Taiaroa Head, the wee one at BOK and WYL’s nest needed to eat this morning, and so far, new mum BOK has not managed to do this. So the rangers swapped little TFT (Top Flat Track) chick with TF chick, putting TF under BOK and bringing TFT chick to mum LGL. Immediately, foster mum LGL fed the chick, which will presumably now be switched back to its own nest. A close eye will be kept on the weights of both chicks, with twice-daily weighing for TFT chick and daily checks for rapidly growing TF chick.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKbM5HBesZ0. “

And she also brings us the news from yesterday at the Parramatta River: “February 2: Last evening (1 February) at 7:39pm an eagle flew from the island area and across the wetlands. With poor light, it was impossible to identify. Shortly after, an osprey was seen with a fish, heading back to Concord. Early this morning, our team reported SE31 at the river, first at Juvie Roost then closer to River Roost. She was seen later attempting a catch from the river, but it seemed nothing edible. The juvenile was confirmed as SE31, as she was using her favourite roosts and flight paths. During the day, the adults were seen at Goat Island, then flying west together at 4:30pm. Ospreys were active on the river in the late afternoon. Then, the adults were seen back at Goat Island again.”

They are watching for the first egg at Dulles-Greenway with Rosa and her new mate.

Everyone at the WRDC nest is alright. They survived the drought of prey items and the nappy and R6 looks to be in fine health.

Enjoying some shade!

We are about 3 weeks from the first egg at Denton Homes with Mum and Beau. (Yes, another Beau).

Some activity over at Decorah North, too – and a fish gift!

The Hatchery Eagles were at the nest, too.

Your eyes are not fooling you if you look at the amount of water around the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California. ”Sacramento River’s water flow triples…” – this is due to the latest heavy rainfall in the area.

More bad weather is expected with mudslides…

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SE 31 has not gone anywhere!

Everyone should be serious about plastic and demand alternatives just like the lead in fishing, hunting, and military use. This is for the UK, but maybe it should be international.

I want to give a big shout-out to Mary Cheadle. Mary handles all the fundraising projects for The Friends of Loch Arkaig. When Jean-marie Dupart was asked what he needed, he answered he needed a new pair of binoculars to count the UK and European Ospreys in West Africa. We are so grateful for Dupart’s sightings and photographs. Mary undertook the challenge of raising funds, and today, she announced that she had “raised £1085 for Jean-marie’s binos.” That is amazing. Thank you, Mary! And thank you, Jean-Marie, for always informing us of the Osprey counts and the sightings of ringed birds.

Cranes were made extinct in the UK in the 16th century. This past year they bred in record numbers.

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Wetlands are positively essential to our feathered friends. Did you know that 1/4 of North America’s wetlands are in Canada? 

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The following article has a map showing the Boreal Forest and more information about its importance to our planet, not just our feathered friends.

Boreal-forestDownload

You know Flaco, the escapee Eurasian Owl in Central Park. He is celebrating a year of freedom. It is highly unlikely Flaco will ever have a mate. Today I found this – a bonded pair of Eurasian Owls in Estonia. Have a peek.

They are Hugo and Hanna. She is on the nest platform and he is on the tree branch.

The Peregrine Fund reminds us of some facts about Eurasian Owls:

  • Eurasian Eagle-owls combine fast and powerful flights with shallow wing beats and long, fast glides. They also soar on updrafts, displaying a type of flight similar to that of soaring hawks like the Red-tailed Hawk.
  • Eurasian Eagle-owls are among the world’s largest owls.
  • Their pumpkin orange eyes and feathery ear tufts make them one of the most striking owls in the world.

“Eurasian Eagle-owl, Bubo bubo, Uhu” by Sonja & Roland is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

They also state, “Eurasian Eagle-owls are found throughout much of Europe and Asia and in parts of northern Africa. They live in a variety of wooded habitats. They are more commonly found in areas with rocky outcrops and cliffs, but they also live in open habitats that have some trees and rocky areas like taiga, farmlands, steppes, semi-arid areas, and grasslands.

Eurasian Eagle-owls seem to do well in most types of habitat if there are available nesting spots and adequate prey. These large, beautiful owls have even been documented living in city parks. One owl showed up at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland. This potential fan spent time hanging out on the goal post, causing the game to be delayed for several minutes!” 

Eurasian Owls are under threat. ”During the first half of the 1900s, Eurasian Eagle-owl populations declined drastically. Humans hunted and poisoned them and they had a hard time surviving. Happily, local governments have begun to increase their protection of these owls, and some reintroduction programs have taken place. Thanks to these efforts, the Eurasian Eagle-owl is recovering in Europe although their numbers still haven’t returned to what they were before the mid-1900s. Electrocution and collisions with cars continue to be a problem for this extraordinary raptor.”

The latest announcement about the West End camera in the Channel Islands:

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, videos, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J, MC’, Nancy Babineau, SW Florida Eagle Cam, info visual.info, Lady Hawk, IWS/Explore, FOBBV, Eagle Country, JBS Wetlands, Window to Wildlife, PLO, Dulles-Greenway, WRDC, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, FORE, The Guardian, Bozena Isia, The Mercury News, Sea Eagle Cam, @ChrisPackham, Audubon, The Government of Canada, The Peregrine Fund, Open Verse, and the IWS. 

John Bunker Sands Eagles have first hatch, hunger at the WRDC…Saturday in Bird World

27 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday, the 26th, I ate a very special cake for my late Dad. It is his birthday. He had two favourite cakes – a fresh Coconut and, the other, a fresh Orange Cake. Some who live in the Southern US might be familiar with these – a nice white layer cake (sturdy and only handmade) filled with either freshly grated coconut with a buttercream frosting or freshly grated oranges mixed with some sugar, spread liberally between 5 or 6 layers, and let to sit.  If anyone is responsible for my feelings for abandoned animals, it is certainly him. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Hugo Yugo would have loved to have some of that cake. My goodness that little cat can get into the most trouble without even trying. She is sooooo curious. This coming week, she goes back to Dr Greene for her check-up. I think the vet will be pleased. 

Watching bird videos with Hope.

Hope is very patient with her little sister.

‘The Boyfriend’ enjoyed the Friday evening feast of organic roast chicken. The neighbourhood rallied around and showed their love for him – and the others – when it appeared that one individual would call the pound. I am joyful and grateful to live in an area with such compassion for animals.

Congratulations to the John Bunker Sands Wetland eagles on their first hatch of the season!

‘M’ sent me the video of Mum joyously calling Dad to tell him about the egg.

Jackie has been taking good care of the first egg at Big Bear laid on Thursday the 25th. Shadow brings his gal a nice fish lunch at 11:01. Mark your calendars for a Leap Year pip/hatch. Shadow actually brought in three fish on Friday for Jackie. Way to go….the reason nearly 10,000 people love this couple and wish them success this season. They are adorable.

If Gabby’s egg is to be the miracle of the breeding season, it should show signs of a pip Friday and hatch on Saturday or Sunday.

There seems to be a prey problem at the WRDC nest. For unknown reasons hunting seems to be difficult. Ron has not brought prey for a week, and Rose seems to be having a prey drought the past couple of days herself.  Both parents seem healthy, but I’m sure they are hungry.  We have not seen Rose with a crop, and Ron ate some of the fish on the nest yesterday.  They have run out of scraps for Rose to feed R6. The eaglet ate well Thursday, and had a small crop after a morning scrap feeding early Friday. PS are still okay.

Late afternoon on Friday. There is still no food delivery and everyone is getting worried, even if they are not saying it. Something is very much amiss here. 

Rose flew in after dumpster hunting with a child’s pull-up nappy and what appeared to be a piece of red meat (an organ) attached. R6 was fed. We must remember that eagles are carrion eaters. Their stomachs are made to digest the most horrible dead, maggot-eaten prey. Hopefully, this will keep R6 from starving, but imagine that the eagles have to eat garbage in one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Florida. Rose was plucking the plastic off the nappy. Then Ron flew in with a partial fish at 1730. What a relief. It was left on the nest and rightfully so – Rose doesn’t know when the next meal will come and R6 did eat – whatever it was.

We all need to learn something from Port Lincoln. They dared to provide fish for the family during the crucial period when one or both of the osplets might have perished. Their plan worked. It did not stop the adults from bringing fish to the nest. Five fish have been arriving daily, on average, for the fledglings, Gil and Brad. Three individuals with big hearts realised that it was time to help – so I say to those who are the administrators of the WRDC nest: the feral cats in my neighbourhood have more empathy and food than these beautiful eagles at the WRDC. Tonight ‘The Boyfriend’ had his normal organic chicken dinner. So, please, Help the eagles! Get them over the hump.

When we know there is a crisis, it is our duty, if we can in any way, to help the animals through the rough patch. Weather, overfishing, loss of habitat and thus loss of prey can now be linked to humans. There is your cause for intervention.

Rose appears to be feeding R6 some of the fish. Remember – these parents are hungry, too. They will protect the territory, feed themselves, and then feed the eaglets. Let us hope that tomorrow is a much better day and that the wind, or someone, gets this nappy and its plastic off this nest.

Here is the incident in question in video.

It appeared that R6 ate some of the plastic from the nappy…those stomach acids should do the trick. At the same time, the darling almost choked. 

We know that our beautiful birds around the world hunt in landfills. The storks of Western Europe, the General Adjutants in Assam, etc. What a testament to our mismanagement of the land that the animals and fish they need to survive are not abundant. One of the big threats to all of our birds, eagles included, is the growing abundance of plastic – as trash, as microplastics, fishing lines, etc. and now nappies.

The live stream went down at 2050 Friday night and returned at 0915 Saturday morning. The plastic has been removed from the nest with permission from USFWS. I hope that some fish were delivered as well. 

It appears that Ron has been able to deliver a fish Saturday morning. Let us hope that the dry spelling in prey at this nest is over. And then Rose brought in a big fish. Lovely!

Royal cam chick is being fed and weighed. 

Unfortunately, the amount of food the Royal Cam chick is getting is not sufficient and the Rangers – doing great diligence – have switched chicks with another family. They do amazing work, the NZ DOC rangers – everything they do is to ensure that these chicks survive to fledge. Swooping chicks, supplemental feeding, misting, you name it, they do it. Let us hope this attention to the care of these endangered seabirds spreads to other nests throughout the world.

The Royal cam chick was returned to the nest!

No shortage, so far, of prey items at SW Florida. E23 does get impatient and wishes Mum would get those bites a bit quicker to its beak!

Clive keeps the fish coming in at Captiva. These two are adorable, Cal and Lusa. Some think the plumage patterns on their backs look like turtle shells while others see them as bulls eyes.

Do you know what Doris Mager’s contributions to Bald Eagles was? If you do not know the name, have a read – and even if you do, refresh your memory!

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Here is Condor Chat in case you missed it on Thursday. The missing birds will be added to the Memorial Page for 2023 in the new few days.

Dr Sharpe is out fixing cameras at the Channel Islands nests! Retired? Doesn’t seem so.

Please join various wildlife groups – such as Cornell and Audubon – for the great Bird Count on the 16th of February. The more that count, the more we know about the declines and gains in bird populations.

Bird Count is on this weekend in the UK and will there be winners such as the Waxwing? We wait to see.

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Concern for the population of seabirds in the United Kingdom is growing.

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Want to know more about the winter bird visitors to Scotland and their migration? Have a read!

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We are 7 weeks and counting til the Ospreys return to the UK.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send positive wishes for a good prey day at the WRDC and if you can produce a miracle for Gabby and Beau, please do so! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Always free. You can unsubscribe anytime. Normally one post a day. No ads, no spam.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, zoom chats, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, M’, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, FOBBV, Marylu Pitcher, WRDC, Eagle Goddess, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk, Sharon Dunne, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Saturday Evening Post, Audubon Magazine, Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Chat, Gracie Shepherd, National Audubon Society, and The Guardian.

1st egg for Duke Farms, Tuesday in Bird World

23 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The girls have been helping me nurse a cold today. That means no crazy antics. In fact, they are still resting up from all the fun they had on Sunday!

Trouble with a capital T slept most of the day:

Calico woke up as usual – if she did not appear with a single meow around 0835 I would think she was the one feeling under the weather. Oh, what a gentle soul she is.

Time for Hugo Yugo to get those eyes and ears washed! Missey is an exceptional Mamma. Then they always spend a good hour snuggled together. It is beautiful.

The second round of eagle eggs are beginning to be laid. Congratulations Duke Farms – we welcome a new male there this season. Estimated time was 1548. Thanks, Trudi Kron, for the great screen capture!

Congratulations to Jolene and Boone at the ETSU nest in Johnson City on their second egg. Hard incubation has begun.

Will we have a clutch at the KNF-E1 nest with the new couple? We wait.

What a relief to have Gabby back at the nest tree. That egg is not viable, but, gosh, if a miracle happened and it hatched, I would not complain. Gabby had a huge crop and another fish. That was reassuring…but, mostly, it was one of those moments when the world feels like it is lifted off your shoulders. 

Poor Gabby. Does she believe that Beau incubated the egg, like Samson would have, in her absence? She is there on her egg Monday night. I feel bad for her.

As I continue to remind myself, I will say again – we are lucky. There are four well fed, much loved, fat bottomed eaglets to coo over. Perhaps there will be less competition for them when they are looking to raise their families.

F23 has turned out to be a fine mate for M15 and a grand Mum for E23.

F23 wants to make certain that E23 has its blankie.

Clive makes sure that Cal and Lusa are not going to go hungry! Their names, combined, stand for the local indigenous tribe that settled the area of Captiva eons ago.

Many believe that Ron and Rose should get the award this season for the deepest egg cup. This little one hasn’t a hope of getting out to those rails – or does it?

Missey and Dad were working on renovations to their nest after the two eggs they had been incubating broke – and appeared to not have any contents at the weekend.

I love how the eagles have shown their ability to mourn over the years (still remember vividly Joe at Captiva standing over the body of his dead daughter after she had secondary rodenticide poisoning) and then get on with life when something like this happens at Berry. 

Meet the new Royal cam chick!

And she’s home with Mamma!

A sub-adult landed on Gabby’s tree and we all jumped and hoped it was Legacy! Gosh, do you remember when she got ‘lost’ from the nest tree and flew by finally landed and stayed home for a month after fledging? I wonder if it is her. She was an incredibly beautiful fledgling and this sub-adult is a show-stopper! I would like to think that since Samson returned to his natal nest that it is entirely possible that this is Legacy. The plumage development might indicate that, too. (Of course, there are many eagles in this area, but…I can wish!)

EagleGoddess caught the sub-adult at NEFL covering the egg ever so gently. 

Other sub-adults are showing up elsewhere. There was one at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest, too.

A note from the Eagle Cam and some of the latest images from Chang-Le Dong of WBSE 31. Let us hope SE31 breaks the norm and stays at the river much longer than anticipated. Watching her develop from an egg to such a gorgeous fledgling has been a joy.

You might recall that the osprey on Louis and Alia’s old nest – nest 1 at Loch Arkaig – is named Affric. Look what they have discovered in Scotland. Thanks, Geemeff. It is stunning – love those bright colours.

Rob Schwartz continues to fight on behalf of the eagles of Centreport to stop construction that would be harmful to the eagles habitat. It is a bit long but I have included Rob’s entire post in case you want the details and wish to send a letter on behalf of the ‘eagles’.

Schwartz: ”For those of you who could not attend the Jan. 18th ZBA Meeting, I am attaching a partial video (which I cut to remove the legal mumbo jumbo). Per the testimony from a SEQRA expert , when the ZBA granted a business depth extension following their Aug. 3rd meeting, they violated SEQRA, with little or no regard for our eagles whose nest is adjacent to the Centerport Mill Pond. We feel that if this is done with the way most of the building has been done in the past – the area in which our eagles live will be destroyed, the environment is not taken into the proper consideration. The owners of the land are not doing their due diligence to make sure the land surrounding the Mill Pond is environmentally ready. As per the owners previous “pre application”, the proposed building is going to be 4 stories tall, (3 are only allowed in Huntington). Not surprisingly, there are rumors that the next door restaurant could also be demolished and turned into more apartments. The slimy nature of how the TOH ZBA is acting in the best interest of the builder should scare us all. The ZBA had a chance to end this on Thursday. However, they refused to hear from residents, even from the resident who initialized the complaint. The plan to put a boardwalk in over the mudflat alone should have been a signal to all, they intend to add as many apartments as they can get away with. The bottom line to this is: They are not willing to follow proper law in the Town of Huntington when it comes to the environment. Those laws were created to protect the environment. No one is telling anyone they cannot build on their land, but the town law needs to be followed. No one is above the law, no matter how much money they have. We all want responsible building in Centerport, but not a build and burn scenario. If this is allowed to go unchecked, you can say goodbye to our eagles and all the wonderful life Mother Nature has brought to Centerport. By the way, the ZBA Board Members are appointed, not elected – what do they have to lose? However, we should be sure to let the Town Board know how we feel about the ZBA that they appointed. If you email any of the below – be sure to CC Andrew Raia TOH Clerk, this way you email goes “On The Record”.Please consider sending emails to all of the following, protesting the ZBA’s reckless disregard for the environment. Here are the people you can email to tell them how you feel about ignoring the Environment. Keith Brown, NY State Assemblyman 12th Assembly District 
631 261-4151 (Commack Office) brownk@nyassembly.gov Edmund J. Smyth, Supervisor 631 351-3030 esmyth@huntingtonny.gov, Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman 631 351-3172 dbennardo@huntingtonny.gov, Salvatore Ferro, Councilman 631 351-3175 sferro@huntingtonny.gov, Gerard Asher, Chair 
John Bennett, Special Counsel 631 351-3196, ZBA@huntingtonny.gov

Hartley and Monty are bonding in San Jose!

The first fish comes after 1300 at Port Lincoln. Gil got it. Adult stretching their wings in heraldic pose to dry off.

Sadly, Australia has added 144 species to its list of threatened wildlife, an increase of five fold! For the first time, the Pink Cockatoo was listed. 

More-Australian-wildlife-added-to-threatened-species-list-in-2023-than-ever-before-conservationistsDownload

The Ventana Wildlife Society will have its regular chat. You can sign up on their website. They also archive the conversations – they are always informative.

In other news, Jean-marie Dupart has photographed Blue LV0 ‘Garry’ from Loch Arkaig in Senegal. Wonderful news.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’J’, Trudi Iron, Duke Farms, ETSU, Tonya Irwin, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College, Sharon Dunne, Holly Parsons, EagleGoddess, PIX Cams, Eagle Cam, Geemeff, Rob Schwartz, SK Hideaways, PLO, The Guardian, Jean-marie Dupart, and The Ventana Wildlife Society.

Blue KWO makes Birders Bird of the Year list!

19 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Mamma Calico and Baby Hope wish each of you a very wonderful Friday.

They had fun playing with the Chinese chair – Hugo Yugo and Missey – while Baby Hope looked on, wanting to enjoy her bird video.

Oh, it was an odd morning. It felt like the air was full of water. All of the seeds were frozen together although there was nothing more than the humidity. No new snow. The squirrels were all out – Dyson and her kits and the two Reds. The Blue Jays were here along with the various sparrows. I did not happen to see the Crow or the Starlings. Of course, ‘The Boyfriend’ arrived at 0900, 1200, and 1658. He is, like Calico, a creature that is attune to time, but does not wear a watch.

The girls ‘helped’ me put together a new desk. After 25 years, it was time to get a longer one to spread all of my books and papers about it. I broke my desire to not buy anything in January. Fortunately, I did not fall into the right after Christmas sales and the discount on this desk was too deep to ignore. I had a gorgeous one with a glass top in my office when I was teaching and helping direct the School of Art, but my one at home was much smaller. Of course, it had to be put together! The base is heavy metal, and they did not drill any pilot screws, not one. What a job to keep everything straight and then try to drill a pilot screw and not go through the top. Ridiculous! Now I know why it had such a discounted price! Can’t imagine what the folks who paid full price felt when they had to fight trying to get those screws into holes under a piece of 1 inch metal tubing. It is now together, and I love it, but I am glad you could not hear me when I was trying to get those screws tight. Hugo Yugo was in there like a rocket, supervising every second. 

Geemeff sent me the news and I am jumping up and down for both Blue KWO and my friend, Michael St John in Barbados, that spotted this Scottish bird – and wasn’t sure what he was looking at. How in the world did this osprey get to the Caribbean from the UK last fall? We might never know that secret but Blue KWO continues to thrive on the island and has been seen with another osprey! Might we have a bonded couple?

I’ve shared below the announcement two recent images that Michael took. One with Blue KWO and her ‘friend’ (potential mate) and another of her with a nice catch. Michael has gotten to see her catch fish twice. How lucky! And how lucky he spotted that blue band. 

This is so exciting. I remember the day I got Michael’s note and posts went out everywhere trying to find out all the information that we could about the bird. Many did not believe that an osprey could get from the UK to the Caribbean – but, well, there is the proof. There are also other birds on the island that should be in the south of England but are basking in the beautiful blue skies of the Caribbean. I wonder how grateful they are?

Well, I couldn’t be more happy. Well done, Michael St John! May Blue KWO’s crop always be full and may it be a long and productive life on your island.

At the NE Florida nest, Gabby was on and off the egg. She missed Beau bringing her a fish present, which he ate on the nest himself. She must have been hungry to have left the egg unincubated….maybe she knew Beau would be there and take over? We have about a week or nine days to go (I think by my bad math) to see if this egg is viable.

It is day 27 (if my math is correct) – so 9 days. 27 January we should be watching for a pip. With Beau’s delivery of a fish to the nest, I really would like to see these two get a chance to raise a little one this year. A change of heart for me…they have worked so hard and Beau has come such a long ways in his journey to adulthood.

Beau did not incubate the egg.

Gabby has been gone almost two hours. Beau is waiting and watching for her.

Gabby is back at 1537.

Rose has turned out to be a great Mum over at the WRDC nest. R6 has had Coot and an Ibis to eat today! What a little cutie pie.

Meanwhile, in Fort Myers, M15 and F23 decide to blanket little E23 with its huge crop (so big the eaglet can hardly move) with nesting material! SK Hideaways caught it on video.

Clive had the nest full of fish today! C10 and C11 had the biggest crops. They could not have felt any hunger! Notice that almost all the white down dandelions on their heads are gone. You can see the pin feathers coming in – everywhere -and they are now completely covered by dark thermal down. Both ate well today. No worries at all. 

Please send your positive wishes to Lori Covert who owns the land that the Captiva eagle and osprey nests are on. Her house has flooded from all the rain and there is ongoing issues with the wiring. 

‘A’ sends us the past reports for two days at Sydney—SE31 is sure a beauty:

January 18: It was a fine early morning and our juvenile was seen on the island at 7:30am, flying around a bit and then on the exposed mudflats nearby. Then after a short fly about, she disappeared into the mangroves behind River Roost. No adults were seen before this. Then later, at 9:30am, she was seen picking at bits of rubbish on the mudflats. Sometimes there may be dead fish for scavengers. However, human rubbish may cause injuries. There were no more reports until just after 4pm, when one adult was seen on River Roost, but SE31 was out of sight.

January 19: At 7:30am, no eagles were seen at the river. Shortly after, we spotted SE31 hidden in branches on the island. At 8:15am, she was seen flying low over the mudflats in Ermington Bay, behind the island. She was possibly hunting and flushed out other water birds – ibis, herons, ducks. As the tide was going out, more of the mudflats were exposed and we saw her picking at scraps on the mudflats. She spent some time flying about the island, swooped several times on one circuit by an angry magpie. We feel she was eating at one stage, though prey was not identified. At 9:30am, neither adult had been seen. I returned at 12:10pm, and finally saw her fly from low at River Roost to a higher branch. Finally, just after 6pm, one adult was seen down on the river, but SE31 out of sight.

At Port Lincoln, Dad comes in with a fish at 0946. Brad decides to chase Dad off the nest and Gil grabs the fish. Go figure!

I love Jackie and Shadow in the morning…thank you, SK Hideaways for these diamonds!

There is concern that neither egg at Berry College is viable. The average for hatch of Bald Eagles is approximately 36.5 days. Egg one is 42 days old today and egg two is 39 days.

On the 17th, the Decorah North Female (DNF) caught a pheasant and had a fantastic lunch on her snowy nest.

The smallest penguin visits the Royal cam nest in New Zealand.

A flock of over 100 Cedar Waxwings photographed in Oklahoma. This is a double ‘wow’.

Mark Smith caught an Osprey catching a very poisonous Manowar Jellyfish. 

The Cattle Egret is a common sight in the Caribbean. They are often around the cattle in Grenada and I have photographed them for many years. They are characters like Hugo Yugo. Today, the numbers in the UK have grown since 2008. Here is why.

Cattle-egrets-how-changing-climate-brought-a-bird-of-the-tropics-to-UK-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

A new approach in Mongolia is protecting the last Dalmatian Pelicans. BirdLife International tells how what is happening.

Saving-East-Asias-Last-Dalmatian-PelicansDownload

In case you missed it, ‘R’ has reminded me of the video at the end of the article on the Billion Dollar mouse. It is roughly 20 minutes long and is full of personal recollections that we think you will enjoy. 

This is the link: Vimeo.com/285024252

Please cut and paste.

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, articles, videos, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, J, MSJ, R’, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Window to Wildlife, PLO, Chickiedee64, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, NZ DOC, Janice Blanton, Mark Smith, The Guardian, BirdLife International, Vimeo and Birdlife International.

Tuesday in Bird World

26 December 2023

Good Morning!

Thank you for all your holiday wishes. They are so appreciated. 

We had a very simple Christmas Eve and morning, which was blissful. Christmas Eve saw the party with the girls, our meal, and the socks. Christmas morning welcomed two presents for the girls along with the opening of the annual wicker. Slowing Down, not trying to have everything perfect, and not falling into the deep hole of consumerism rushing around to buy ‘stuff’ added a layer of joy and restfulness that was magical.  The girls certainly brought abundant laughter – the energy they have including Calico was infectious. 

After a breakfast of French toast with Wild Plum and Berry jam, it was off to the English Gardens to leave nuts and seeds for the birds and squirrels. Others do this as well. A long stroll amongst the paths was invigorating in the crisp, -6 C air. The sky was a bright blue! The Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, and squirrels were enjoying their feast to the delight of all. I feel blessed to be able to be outside often – . It changes everything.

Seeds and nuts were placed along the barrier and on the pedestals of the statues and the sundial.

In my garden, there were many visitors, including Junior and the Baby Blue Jay (now grown). Oh, how wonderful it was to see both of them flying in and out getting peanuts and eating off the suet cylinder. They are safe, and that is all that matters. What a wonderful present they gave me by their visit. It really is this type of simple pleasure that means so much.

The squirrels – I suspect Little Red – kept knocking this big hunk of suet off its holder so I laid it on top of the large table feeder in the hope that someone would enjoy it. As it happened, the Downy Woodpeckers were chipping away as were the Chickadees and the Blue Jays!

‘The Boyfriend’ was here for more chicken dinner! He is looking pretty good.

Inside the girls were exploring another toy.

Hugo is growing. Just look at how long she is. When she arrived three weeks ago, she was the length of her tail. Now we are more than double in weight with clear eyes and nostrils. She is precious. And what an attitude.

Missey pulled the pompom off the toy and took it under the Chinese dresser much to the dismay of Hugo and Hope.

In this game, the orange and yellow pompom goes in and out of the hole for the cat to try to fetch or guess where it will be. They love it.

Calico is there in the background. She is not yet as playful as the other three, but she is getting more so each week. She is much more a longer than the other three – maybe it is because she had to survive outside by herself for 8 or 10 months before coming to live inside with others. Calico does love her chew toy.

Thank you so much for enjoying the kitties and garden animals that share my life. As the Osprey season picks up in a few months, there will be less cat and more bird.

Bird World continues with some nest drama, wet weather, and waiting…waiting for those two eggs at SW Florida to hatch. Gabby’s second egg might have problems…we wait to see. I hope she gives up on it and moves on. Here is a quick check…as eggs hatch and Ospreys return (yes, my calendar is on countdown, and I am looking at the middle of March for Big Red to lay eggs and my heart to start beating fast as Rutland Manton Bay and Blue 33 and Maya return and also Laddie at Loch of the Lowes. We lost Blue NC0 last year, so will there be a new mate there?

Now, moving on to Bird World….

Monty is legendary in Osprey World. The male from Dyfi in Wales, the foundation stone that gave us legendary fledges. Why am I posting this? First, Ospreys are on my mind. Second, Margaret Blakely posted her wonderful poem to Monty and has allowed me to share it with you. Margaret says it is best sung to the tune of While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night. Thanks, Margaret!

Why do I like the UK ospreys? Records are kept so that we can understand and appreciate these dynastic families! Colour-coded. There is Monty and now we have Idris who is fantastic, too. Apologies for that ‘share’ tab on the side. I could not get rid of it. Those are the official sightings of offspring that returned after 2 years. One of my favourites is Z1, Tegid, who is breeding in Wales. Tepid the White Egg as he was known at the time.

Boxing Day Report on the WBSE: ”One adult was seen early down on River Roost and one was reported at Goat Island. Our juvenile was seen on the island at 9am. Later, one adult and the juvenile were at River Roost; it is not known if SE31 had eaten. River traffic was busy on this public holiday. Later in the day, both parents were seen at Burns Bay. In the evening? No late reports. “

The first Christmas egg was laid by Abby at Eagle Country in Florida at 16:59:44. Congratulations Abby and Blazer.

LadyDeeagle55 caught the moment:

We are four days away from pip watch at SW Florida and M15 and F23’s first clutch together! How excited are you getting?

M15 brings his new mate a great prey item for Christmas.

Things are getting a little tense at the KNF-E3 nest of Alex.

Really hoping that Alex is moving along.

Connie and Clive kept C10 and C11 dry when both stayed on the nest during the recent torrential downpour. It was a miserable soaking day throughout most of Florida.

Ondabebe caught some touching moments on the Captiva nest.

At Port Lincoln, the lads are looking good. There is going to be an early fish and Gil is gonna get it! Mum brought in a large one at 07:20:47. There is enough for all if Gil will share.

Aren’t they handsome?

But Bradley wants it.

Bradley is still staring down that fish at 0824! There isn’t going to be much left Bradley…

At 0839, Mum wants some fish, and Bradley wants some, but it looks like Gil might finish the lot. Brad, you gotta learn to steal to survive.

At 0848 a scuffle but Gil hangs on to the fish.

Then Mum decides if she is going to get a single bite, and if Brad is going to get anything, she needs to move in. Mum and Brad will get a little – not much.

Here is the weekly summary from Port Lincoln:

Three nice fish on the 26th at Port Lincoln.

There is cheering amongst South Australian Osprey fans as Calypso brings a potential new mate to the Tulsa platform nest! You might remember, with sadness, that Calypso’s former mate died from dangling upside down on a hydro pole.

Rain in the afternoon at NE Florida. Gabby on incubation duty with V3 on guard.

Marri on the Tower and ‘A’ reports on Boxing Day at Orange: ”And at Orange, we had a bonding incident.  today (26 December): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1p4R5_eCew, and here is a clip from Christmas Day, with Marri chasing Xavier around the tower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHIGGIJdLJ0. “

Solutions for the major waterways in the Western US required and growing to help the birds.

Momentum-Gaining-on-Important-Water-Work-to-Benefit-Birds-and-People-in-the-West-AudubonDownload

The final count at Hawk Mountain for the 2023 migration. Ospreys down.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Remember – send me the events in Bird World in 2023 that really brought some joy to your life! I will list them on 1 January. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Margaret Blakely, Dyfi Osprey Project, Eagle Country, Lady Deeagle55, Lady Hawk, KNF-E3, Window to Wildlife, Ondabebe, PLO, Bart M, NEFL-AEF, Helen Match, and Hawk Mountain.

Gabby lays her first egg and Captiva has two!…Wednesday in Bird World

20 December 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

My inbox lit up like the Christmas tree in New York City right after 18:16 Florida time. Gabby laid her first egg of the 2023-24 Bald Eagle season! (It looks like the official time of egg laying was around 1806 with the first sighting at 1816). The world cheered just like the champagne glasses clinked the other day when V3 and Gabby successfully mated on the nest. We will all hope that egg is fertilised and that there is another – with two precious eaglets on this nest, NE28 and NE29, in mid-January.

Gabby started the soft chirping that she does when she begins labour around 1800. Congratulations Gabby and V3.

V3 sees his egg for the first time.

The Winter Solstice is one day away. For those who celebrate Christmas, Christmas Eve is 4 days away, with the big day only being 5 days off. Hanukkah is over and 2024 is less than a fortnight off. Kwanzaa is from 26 December, ending on New Year’s Day. My goodness, the year has flown by! May all your celebrations be full of love, joy, laughter, and companionship.

Last night, Calico brought me to tears. She entered the bedroom when I was reading before lights out and climbed onto my chest, nuzzling my chin. She stayed for over an hour being petted while I read some chapters out of of Spark Birds. Calico always loves a good story, and this reminded me so much of those early days when she came to live in the house. What a gentle soul she is. Every day, I remind myself how lucky I am that she found me.

Baby Hugo continues to sneeze, which bothers me immensely. She eats well, her eyes are pretty clear and she is playing like a wild little tiger. She continues to be the tiniest little kitten I have seen for such a long, long time. Will she grow? Her and Baby Hope just ran through the house so fast it was like their tails were on fire. 

Missey is determined to pull all the white fluff off the twinkly tree. Thank goodness she is not eating it, but rather, putting it on the tablecloth once she pulls it off.

Beautiful Baby Hope loves to be in the basket on a chilly December afternoon.

As I write this they are all playing with the interactive robot toy that flashes a laser light on the ground in various directions. Hope and Hugo get a lot of exercise chasing it!

The second big news item coming out of Bird World Tuesday night is the pending hatch at Captiva of C11, Connie and Clive’s second eaglet of this breeding season.

Clive is a great provider! C11 arrives around 0524 Wednesday morning.

Close to Connie and Clive’s nest, there appears to be an Osprey couple claiming the platform at Lori Covert’s house. They have names – Ruby and Jack. (My first thought was Jack Ruby having been a youngster when President Kennedy was assassinated).

Incubation continues at SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of M15 and F23. Bobbleheads before the end of the month!

Incubation continues for Rose and Ron.

Can you help? There is a movement to turn the area around the Centreport Bald Eagle’s nest into a nature reserve that would protect the raptors. Here is the information and the opportunity to add your voice for change.et’s help Bob Schwartz get twice as many signatures as he wants!

Save-The-Bald-Eagles-of-Centerports-Territory-Turn-the-nesting-area-into-a-preserve-MoveOnDownload

At Port Lincoln, Dad brought in the first fish of the day at 0945. Mum made sure she had complete control of it!

Mum feeding her two lads. How much longer will she get to do this? It must be bittersweet for her, too, when they fly away from the natal nest to find their independence.

Giliath continues to show off his flying skills. It is not going to be long before Brad joins in.

It might be dry in Port Lincoln, but it is raining in Orange.

It was a foggy day at Big Bear Valley, too. I did not see Jackie or Shadow on the nest on Tuesday.

At the Kisatachie National Forest nest of Alex and his deceased mate, Andria, Alex continues to incubate the eggs Tuesday night. This breaks my heart.

Alex was up and gone in the morning.

White-tail eaglet in Latvia.

‘A’ found us some current news coming out of Sydney at the Parramatta River: “December 20: An early observer reported an adult and SE31 flying up and down between their usual roosts, with SE31 squeeing. Then, at 7:55am, Lady was reported eating on Mangrove Island. She then flew to River Roost, where SE31 appeared, still squeeing– however, the juvenile then watched the adult eating but made no attempt to take any of the prey herself. A rainy day today – a cool relief from previous hot days. No more observations at this stage.”

This is a sombre read. The impact of humans is twice as high as believed on species extinction.

Human-driven-extinction-of-bird-species-twice-as-high-as-thought-study-says-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Because it is a time of various holidays with many celebrations, including gift giving and eating, it is also a time to reflect on how we might cut down waste now and throughout the year. Do we need all this stuff? All that food?

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Baby Hugo reminds me that clean sheets and towels are needed by all the vet clinics and wildlife rehab centres along with cleaning supplies, working used tools, pet food, and toys, yes, toys, for enrichment. Think about our feathered friends this season!

Thank you so much for being with us this morning. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’A, H, J, L, SP’, Denise W Starr, NEFL-AEF, Eagle Goddess, Window to Wildlife, Lady Hawk, Lucille Powell, Navy Babineau, Move On, PLO, Bart M, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, FOBBV, KNF-E3, WRDC, LDF, The Guardian, and The New York Times.