There is some news coming in after I was away for all the day so I am sending out what would be my Saturday newsletter Friday evening.
Yira fledged at 0734. Prior to this, the female 2024 hatch of Xavier and Diamond had been ‘losing’ it in the scrape box. She was running, pulling at fluff, flapping her wings, and attacking the parents. She watched them fly and lure her. And she appeared to fly well. Here are some images from before that first flight:
The moment before she flew. She is strong and determined. It looked like the best fledge. Go girl!
There was a parent in pursuit as Yira flew down over the trees and circled back.
A magnificent flight!
It is Friday, and it is time for the second instalment of the Poole Harbour 2024 year for CJ7 and Blue 022 and their four chicks!!!!!!! https://youtu.be/HTsguUDXPPs?
It was historic. Never in the last 600 years did they have four chicks in an osprey nest in Poole and it is rare in other parts of the UK as well. It is also a challenge for all four to survive. CJ7 and Blue 022 worked together from the start to provide fish for this fast growing family. In the middle of the screen with its soft down – ever so tiny 5H6 – aside its big siblings already into the Reptilian phase. No one believed 5H6 would survive, but survive she did. What a scrapper.
I get lots of news. Many are from wildlife rehabilitation clinics that have patients that have survived or died. They send reminders for us and the first one is from World Bird Sanctuary in St Louis. It is still migration – we still have birds here to leave – and they have had so many window collisions. Please spread the word:
Window strikes are one of the most common causes of injury we see in our patients and are responsible for the deaths of millions of birds each year. Depending on the current lighting and angle, windows can look like more sky or a reflection of the surrounding woods rather than the hazard they are. You can help prevent window strikes by putting anti-collision decals on your windows. These decals are minimally visible to humans but reflect UV light making them more visible to birds. They are now available in a huge range of designs so you can choose a pattern that suits your style. Click the button below to see the various types of decals.
If you witness a bird colliding with a window, swiftly containing it is crucial for its survival. Many birds seem to recover and fly away shortly after the impact, only to succumb to their injuries days later. Gently place the bird in a box or pet carrier and keep it in a quiet, dark area while reaching out to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Even if the bird appears uninjured, a licensed rehabber can treat hidden injuries and monitor its recovery to ensure it’s safe for release.
California Condors are always on my mind. So few people are making such a huge difference to increase the numbers of these very endangered carrion eaters. The Ventana Wildlife Society has a fundraiser where every dollar you send is matched with some more on top of that. Here is the letter from the Director with the information in case you are interested.
Oh, dear. Mum brought in a tiny little part of a fish early on Saturday and by noon Dad had brought nothing. Fish Fairies please come! Kasse had none.
A reminder from Toronto.
One of my favourite wildlife rehabbers in the world – A Place Called Hope. It reminded me that we must have hope and believe in the birds. I wish someone had believed that Garrama had something to give to the world. Why isn’t there a service that addresses the right of physically challenged raptors like we have for people? (A reminder to put Garrama on the Memorial Wall – oh, geese. That is hard!)
Beau and Gabby continue to discuss the comfort of their nest in Northeast Florida.
Thank you so much for being with us today. ‘The Girls’ are all fine. Hugo Yugo recovered completely and is now trying to find the next string, cord, or cable that she could chew and swallow so she would get all the attention again! The Boyfriend has much competition. We watch for him to get his bowl outside but there are now 8 cats at the feeder, an increase in a week of three. The Starlings are still here along with the Crows and Blue Jays, but not as many Sparrows. They still keep me busy – and of course, smiling. We walked today in the forest with the chickadees and took my good friend with us. It is always a treat. At the end of doing that ‘forest bathing’ there is nothing in our minds but happiness and hope.
Take care everyone. I will be back Sunday morning.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post: ‘A, J’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, SK Hideaways, Birds of Poole Harbour, World Bird Sanctuary, Kelly Sorenson and Ventana Wildlife Society, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Osprey Cam, Bart M for the Obs Board at PLO, Toronto Wildlife Centre, A Place Called Hope, NEFL-AEF.
Wednesday was a cold to the bone, grey, damp day on the Canadian Prairies. The birds, once again, were feeding frantically. It felt like we could have a snow storm any moment. The skies were the colour of new down on an osprey chick.
It was also release day for the Ventana Wildlife Society. They had six 18-month-old condors that had hatched and been raised at the Los Angeles Zoo to send out into the wild. The timing of the release is parallel to that of chicks born in the wild. They are about a metre tall (36 inches) and weigh 9 kg or 20 lbs. Their wing span is 3 meters or 9.5 – 10 feet. They are giant birds. Before their release, they were tagged, had radio and satellite transmitters put on them, and were vaccinated against HPAI and West Nile Virus.
There was a Zoom presentation with questions, a visit with a group of second graders who asked questions and showed their pictures of condors, and the count down to the release. Interestingly, it was female 1233 that went out first to feed on the carcass left for them (they had not been fed for six days), then males 1232 and 1226 known as Pongo. The three most dominant birds while the flock was in the cage were the last to leave.
Condors are social animals and they survive as a group. There is a hierarchy and the least dominant learn how to cope and get food after the ‘King Pins (a nod to the dominant male released in 1997, now deceased, the mate of Redwood Queen who was the father of Iniko) have fed.
These are some of the screen shots I took during the Zoom presentation. The entire discussion with release will be available on YouTube.
Older birds feeding on the carcasses of lead-free carrion.
Current statistics. Once all chicks fledge and the Rookies are released, there will be 119 California Condors in the wild in Central California. This is amazing. There were none in 1997. Ad notice that in 2024 they had no deaths. Knock on wood this continues til the end of the year.
They did pay tribute to Condor 171 Traveler, the matriarch of the Central California Clan, who was declared dead in October after being missing for an entire year. She was released in 1997 in the first cohort of Condors to be sent out into the wild after DDT and Lead decimated their populations.
She had reproductive issues all her life and finally raised a chick in 2022. Male 1182 is that chick and heir and is doing fine.
In the release pen waiting for the gates to open.
As I said earlier, female 1233 was the first out and she did get a nice little feeding before males 1232 and 1226 flew out to feed.
If you are unaware of the challenges and hard work that the Ventana Wildlife Society undertakes, I encourage you to visit their website and explore the information available. That address is ventanaws.org
There are two organizations that I fully support for their dedication that knows no bounds. That is the Ventana Wildlife Society and the IWS where our dear Dr Sharpe continues to work beyond his desired retirement. Yesterday he was out with a volunteer team doing camera maintenance at the Nest of Thunder and Aketcheta at the West End.
The Bald Eagle numbers in the Channel Islands can be attributed to this amazing man. How many chicks have gone over the edge that you have seen rescued there?
So a big shout out to VWS and the IWS! Thank you for all you do.
For those interested in Ferringuous Hawks, their migration patterns that are determined by prey availability, and the challenges especially climate change, please take the time to view this extremely interesting presentation by HMANA: https://youtu.be/gdYRmoBitNo?
The latest on the Sea Eagles:
‘A’ sends the latest ranger report: “November 7: A flock of Rainbow Lorikeets visited the nest this morning, with a couple of Scaly-Breasted lorikeets as well. Shortly after 7am, both parents were seen on Mangrove Island – neither juvenile was spotted. At 8:15am, the adults were seen on the island, one with a fish. A juvenile flew closer – the adult was eating and the juvie seemed to be eating a little as well. The other adult moved to River Roost. There was some light rain, then a hot day. At 12:14pm, one adult was at River Roost, with the other on the island. There with no juveniles in view. Later, at 3:40pm, one juvenile was seen on Mangrove Island with an adult – the other adult was still at River Roost, though it flew to the island soon after. There were no further reports of sightings at the end of the day.”
Sounds windy at Port Lincoln. Mum, Wilko, and Kasse are waiting for breakfast.
Wilko and Kasse are a month old and Heidi has them on video. Hasn’t Dad done a marvelous job this season with his fishing? https://youtu.be/0VYcHkyu2Y8?s
A reports: “At Port Lincoln, it was nearly 5pm before any food arrived at the nest, and even then, it was only a small partial fish that provided little sustenance for the osplets. The two shared a feed of just under 20 minutes. The only other fish of the day arrived at 20:09. Again, it was a small partial fish only, and the resulting feeding lasted just over half an hour, during which period Wilko did better than Kasse. It is noteworthy that twice during the feeding, Wilko bonked Kasse. This has not happened during a feeding, until now, so I suspect that unless the Fish Fairy steps in to ensure a good couple of days for both osplets, we could create a problem for Kasse here, now that Wilko has experienced proper hunger and has realised that Kasse is limiting the food available for Wilko.”
At Orange, Diamond looks on as her two chicks try to tackle a Starling breakfast — unpacked!
Diamond will make sure that the youngest gets food to eat.
‘A’ gives us a long commentary on the eating and feeding at Orange today: “Xavier brought in a quail just before 6am and Yira grabbed it from him. He wasn’t arguing. Diamond soon arrived and Garrama rushed to complain to mum. Garrama tried self-feeding from the prey Yira was able to hold down, and soon, Yira ripped a piece off and took it into the far corner. Diamond at this stage arrived to help Garrama, who was left with the prey but couldn’t handle it alone. Diamond fed him – he’s a sweetie and SO much smaller than his gigantic sister.
By 06:02 Yira had finished her piece of prey and returned to steal the remainder from Diamond, who looked a little startled. Garrama was far from pleased. She tried to grab it back but Yira took it back into her corner! Diamond leaves the kids to sort it out, watching from in front of the camera, near the Cilla Stones.She obscures our view of the chicks, who are both self-feeding, Yira holding the food down and both pulling pieces from it. There are many cute noises accompanying this activity.
Around 06:04 Yira gets sick of sharing and brings the food over near the Cilla Stones, which Diamond has rapidly vacated. Garrama follows his sister and again tries self-feeding from the prey as Yira holds it down. It’s a technique that seems to be working well for both of them. Yira could weigh nearly twice what Garrama does. It’s hard to tell with their remaining fluff.
Yira is doing better, though, than Garrama, who gives up his efforts by 06:05. He heads over to see whether there are any dropped pieces where the chicks were eating earlier, but no joy, so he approaches Yira and the prey from the other side. Garrama gets a couple of bites but is largely disappointed, and by 06607 he has again given up.
He watches his sister, stares wistfully at Diamond, who stays on the ledge, watching the kids but makes no move to assist Garrama. He is frustrated and pecks a little at Yira’s wing feathers. By 06:06:30 he is again having a go at pulling some pieces off Yira’s quail (it’s a big piece of prey and Yira is eating A LOT of food). She obscures our view of her little brother, but it seems he too is managing to get some pieces.
At 06:07:48 Garrama picks up a large meaty morsel Yira has dropped. He turns away with it Diamond comes over to him to see whether he needs help eating it but then seems to change her mind, deciding that he should be able to manage it. Good mum. Shortly after 06:10, he is finished and turns back towards Yira, wanting more to eat.
Diamond moves to pick up Garrama’s leftovers and he literally begins screaming in her face. Is he annoyed with her for touching his piece of prey or is he simply demanding that she offer him some food? I suspect the latter, as Garrama starts nipping at Diamond’s toes, hoping to find food there. Diamond has to use her beak more than once to free her talons from Garrama’s grip and beak. He is certain there is food between those toes. There isn’t, and Diamond is very patient with him, all things considered.
Diamond moves towards the ledge and Garrama follows her. His breast feathers are exquisite. Mum has no food and dives out of the box. For a second, I feared he would follow her but he didn’t – just stayed where he was, looking out after her. Yira continues to eat. She has eaten a very large breakfast indeed and at 06:13 shows no sign of slowing down.
There was another food delivery (a juvenile starling) just before 06:56 – I didn’t watch that feeding – and another, grabbed immediately from Xavier by Yira, shortly after 11:01. Xavier briefly considered trying to retrieve it from her but quickly decided against this and left the scrape. Poor little Garrama watched his gluttonous sister, who has already devoured nearly a whole quail this morning but is still the epitome of greed. Around 11:03, Yira pauses in her eating to do some vigorous wingercising, making contact with Garrama, who objects. Yira returns to eating her starling.
Garrama sits and looks out of the scrape while his sister feasts on. He flaps across the scrape, does a PS out of the scrape, and returns to looking outside while Yira eats. Poor little Garrama hasn’t had that much food today – neither of the parents seem prepared to face down Yira once she has taken control of a piece of prey! Even Diamond was happy to leave her to it, though she did try to help (Garrama was managing that piece on his own anyway). She is aware that he is not getting enough to eat – she’s just not willing or able (could be either or both) to challenge her massive daughter to take back control of prey. Xavier has zero chance – she is twice his size – and although he did valiantly consider a quick snatch and grab on one occasion, he thought better of the move. So I am a bit worried about whether Garrama is getting enough.
At 11:08:30 he moves in and again tries self-feeding from the food his sister is holding down. He gets perhaps a small bite or two, then gives up. He tries again about a minute later, but only managed to nibble a toe. Soon after 11:10, he again approaches and tries to eat. Still, he is only able to get hold of a foot, and there is not much meat on it. He gives up again. Yira eats on like a machine. She has eaten SO much this morning, while Garrama has managed perhaps a snack at best.
These two are rapidly losing fluff and their juvenile plumage is really starting to show through. They are exquisite, especially Garrama, who is an absolute darling. He is not getting enough to eat under the present arrangements, with the parents having effectively ceased to feed the chicks, leaving them to self-feed. They can both do that, both of course Garrama has no chance of beating his sister in a battle over a piece of prey, and given how greedy she is, there is rarely anything much but feathers left over once she has finished eating. So unless something changes here, I am officially worried about our little male hatch at Orange. He is simply not getting nearly enough to eat. “
The 367 Collins Street triplets were digging through the gutter looking for prey. I had seen no breakfast delivery prior to 0823.
At least once of the chicks has made it to the ledge above the scrape today. A milestone to fledging.
Just look at the wings on this eagle in South Australia! Lukin is 82 days old today. Growing and getting ready to fledge. My goodness. Congratulations to everyone.
Well, what an amazing event. I wish I were in South Australia. What an opportunity! Spread the word.
Eric Kotz produced a history of Tumby Island to demonstrate how really tough it is for the ospreys in South Australia.
When we go out to feed the Chickadees and then have lunch outside the City, we drive past the many sites where industry is digging and digging for the things that make concrete – sand is one of those. But, at the sites now disused, there is water and wildlife. It makes me smile that something nice can come out of something so ugly and dusty. Here is an article about how the largest landfill site is now a home to wildlife. I hope it makes you smile, too.
And, of course, Calico hates these noisy things for more than one reason:
Seren 5F, Dylan’s mate from Llyn Clywedog, was photographed again today in The Gambia on her favourite pole. So happy she is alright. All of these sightings are priceless.
‘J’ sent the latest report from Redding for Liberty and Guardian but the text was too small and I could not enlarge it. Please check the FORE FB page – and watch Liberty and Guardian on camera building their new nest!
Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. Bird World is quiet. It is time to rest up. We are expecting Bald Eagle eggs within a fortnight. Then, the prolonged incubation til the end of December. We will continue to monitor the sea eagles as long as there is news. We will watch the falcons in Melbourne and Orange for Fledge, Buddy to Fledge at Growing Home, and then Wilko and Kasse. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, presentations, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A’, The Ventana Wildlife Society, IWS, HMANA, Sydney Sea Eagles, Rohan Geddes, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, NEFL-AEF, Gardenista, Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Eric Kotz, Montana Osprey Cams, The Guardian, Tamarack Wildlife Centre, Leaf of Life.
Monday was a rainy grey day on the Canadian Prairies, but the weather wasn’t what weighed on my mind. While driving past what was once a vibrant golf course, I reflected on how the University of Manitoba is transforming it into a site for student and faculty housing, along with a grocery store. Although this project aimed to enhance campus life, it comes at a significant cost to our local wildlife. Once again, we are witnessing a concerning loss of habitat. Our city is rapidly becoming a place devoid of the natural spaces that our feathered friends depend on. Without grass for the Canada Geese to forage, trees for nesting, and adequate food sources, we risk the disappearance of these beautiful creatures. While there are a few ponds near housing developments, they lack the connectivity necessary to foster a thriving ecosystem. We must reconsider our development priorities to ensure that we do not sacrifice our local wildlife in pursuit of urban expansion.
Nearer to home, ‘The Boyfriend’ finally relaxed and ate his food out of a dish right outside the garden door! Yahoo.
Calico looked on and wasn’t so happy. “How come he gets more cat food than we do?” was what all the squawking was about.
Baby Hope was not bothered about our visitor this morning. Odd. I hope she isn’t feeling unwell. She is normally standing at the window watching ‘The Boyfriend.’
At the feeders, the European Starlings were eating suet as fast as they could before the rain came.
In my mailbox was a sad note from ‘J’. The beautiful female Golden Eagle from the Bucovino nest in Romania has died. Her name was Lucina and many of you will have watched her raise her annual eaglet for the past four years. Her mate was Calliman. Here is the announcement. On the Memorial Page, Lucina is #183 and 2024 is not yet over.
This is Lady Hawk’s video about the death and a warning – it shows the body of Lucina. https://youtu.be/J0eH1vIyKto?
Lucina and Calliman in February of 2024 working on their nest.
Condolences to all who loved this beautiful female who took such amazing care of her babies raising four to fledge in four years. Fly high, Lucina!
At Port Lincoln, a nice whole fish arrived on the nest. Was it Dad? or a fairy? The camera turned away right at the time of delivery. It doesn’t matter. What does is that Wilko and Kasse get the calories they need to develop properly.
Mum is such a treasure. Both are going to be full. Just look at how their tails and the beautiful juvenile plumage are growing.
Mum managed some bites of fish for herself and then the rains began. Both Wilko and Kasse tried so hard to get under Mum!
Mum wiggled and squiggled and got both her babies under her as the drops became heavier and heavier.
Dad flies in with a big crop and a partial fish for Mum and the kids.
The partial fish is completely gone in ten minutes.
With the heat heating the ledge at 367 Collins Street, F23 and the triplets take refuge in the cool shade of the North end scrape. They are quickly losing those baby feathers. My goodness. Soon these three will look like Mum and Dad.
The latest news from Sydney on the Sea Eaglets, SE33 and SE34.
‘A’ has the latest ranger report: “November 5: Both parents were seen down on the river early in the morning, and several more times. One juvenile was seen on the island at around 7:30am and it was quiet later, so may have been fed. There have still been no eagle visits back to the nest. I was watching from just before 1pm – both parents and one juvenile on the island. I saw the juvenile fly and change position and both parents took off. One returned with a fish at 13:10. It flew past the juvenile, ate some and spent some time, it seemed, trying to encourage the young one to take the fish or come closer. Finally, at 13:46, the juvenile stood beside the parent and was fed. It did not seem to try to grab the fish or feed itself. Just after 2pm, the adults flew off and the young one may have been self-feeding for a while. I did not see it perch anywhere else on the river, though it did fly about at one stage. When I left, before 3pm, both adults were out of sight. Swoopers have not bothered them much on the island today. Later in the afternoon, one adult and juvenile could still be seen on the island.”
It is precisely the same at 367 Collins Street where the chicks are similar ages. They are meeting milestones at both scrapes just as they should. Despite their determination, each Mum eventually takes the prey so that all chicks are fed. Beautiful. https://youtu.be/mNsKgks91lA?
‘A’ comments: “At Collins Street, the littles are very mobile, and currently we have two at the sheltered end, very much awake and looking mischievous, while the third sleeps in the unsheltered scrape at the other end. The three tend to sleep at the northern end but seem to like to move about between the two scrapes during the day. It is a great relief to mum and dad, who no longer have to worry about brooding or sheltering the trio. Feeding, on the other hand, is a loud and vigorous affair, the remnants of which are really starting to pile up in the gutter. I remember reading somewhere that a messy scrapeI r (full of feathers and streaked with PSs) was evidence of a healthy brood. Collins Street appears to support this view! The trio are SO adorable. Very active and exploratory. I wonder who will be first to fly onto the window ledges – the Collins Street equivalent of ‘branching’. I do so love the sound of gutter stomping in the springtime. “
At Growing Home near Sydney, Bubba is waiting for breakfast. S/he will not have to wait long.
The wind is helping move the mess of nesting material at the Achieva Osprey nest in St. Petersburg, Florida. I wish a colossal gust would just come and rip it off. We can see the large drainage holes where the chick from 2024 might have fallen to its death. (No one seems sure of the exact cause of its demise – was it a predator?). A predator baffle has been installed, but I do not believe the tree has been trimmed so raccoons can climb and jump to the nest. No organization has yet taken the holes seriously enough to want to help put stainless mesh to protect the chicks and eggs.
Ron and Rose were at the WRDC working to get their nest ready for this years breeding season that is set to begin with the first eggs begin laid in three weeks or less.
Poor E1 F3 picked a mate, E1 M2, that loves catching turtles. Tonya Irwin caught the moment that the ‘gift of turtle’ that the male had brought to Kistachie National Forest Nest E1 F3 bite and hung on to the female’s talon!!!!!!! Ouch.
‘J’ sends us news about the Kakapo and in particular, Kumi, who will be 20 years old next year. Isn’t he gorgeous? He is up for adoption as part of the fundraising efforts of the Kakapo Recovery. For details, see their website.
In Canada, many organizations are joining together to purchase land to create or expand wetland areas. One of the most active is Ducks Unlimited. Similar projects are helping internationally and this is one reason that waterfowl numbers are climbing while so many others, like Prairie Songbirds, are declining in population numbers rapidly.
We must educate our youth about the privilege of living alongside wildlife. At the same time, we need to guide them to understand the importance of protecting their habitat rather than destroying it!
Join the Ventana Wildlife Society on Wednesday for the release of the Rookies into the wild of Big Sur and Pinnacle. (Go to the website of the Ventana Wildlife Society to sign up).
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, information, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, J’, Lady Hawk, Bucovina Golden Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Judy Harrington and the Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Liznm, Charles Sturt Falcon Project and Cilla Kinross, Growing Home Osprey Cam, Achieva Credit Union, WRDC Eagle Cam, Tonya Irwin, Kistachie National Forest Eagle Cam E1, Kakapo Recover, Suffolk Wilderness Trust, Friends of the SIBC, Ventana Wildlife Society.
Thank you so much for being with us. It is nearly the end of October! Tomorrow is Halloween. The following day is All Souls Day, and when I lived in England, we were preparing to celebrate Guy Fawke’s Day on the 5th of November. I have lots of beautiful memories of ‘Guys’ in wagons, bonfires, and jacket potatoes in the back garden with friends. It marked fall. The back garden of our house on Gorse Road in Grantham had fruit trees, mostly apples and plums. They were delicious and by the beginning of November all had been picked and eaten or given to friends and neighbours. The ones that had fallen were left for the hedgehogs to eat. Shallow bowls of water were always left on the back step for them, too. When we first moved to the UK, hedgehogs were the stuff of children’s stories. Our son decided to bring one inside the house. Yes, those of you who are British will know what happened next! Fleas flew everywhere. It was a solid cloud. Our dear little friend quickly found its way back to the orchard – and if memory holds, not a single other hedgehog made its way into the house.
The past several years have been really challenging. I never know if I am waking up to a toddler or a teenager. It is difficult navigating through life with a partner whose Lewy Body Dementia is getting worse. I have learned more about dementia in the last couple of years than I ever imagined. Well, to begin with, I never imagined caring for a person with dementia a decade younger than I am, but it happens more often than you might think. There are beautiful moments, and then, in a blink, his world and mine change. I have learned to grasp onto those times and hold them tight. Thank you for bearing with me through these transitions. My reports are not as long and do not include as much academic information – Bird World is relatively quiet right now (thank goodness) and my real focus is always the ospreys. Thankfully, the Northern Hemisphere’s breeding season is not here yet and will not be in full swing until the new year. In the meantime, I am so grateful for the garden animals and The Girls and for the fact that I can go for long extended walks in the parks and forests near to where I live. It all helps keep my mind in balance!
I did have a laugh. One long time reader and friend thought that Missey had done Calico in. No, Calico was not eaten by Missey! Yes, I know Missey looks huge in the images. She is large; she is a Maine Coon, but she is also mostly fur. Missey does look formidable, something out of a medieval forest lurking with magical creatures. Calico is, however, very much alive and well. Both Calico and Missey like to think that they are the boss, but the real boss of the house is Hugo Yugo. She is the tiniest, bossiest little ginger female I have ever met. She will rush to finish her food dish and then leap off the counter and run to push Calico away from her dish so she can eat it. That single fact has helped Calico lose all that weight. Just look at how trim she is. The vet will be pleased when she sees her in November for her annual check up. When we brought Calico in from the cold outdoors, we did not know when she was born. The vet guessed how old she was and based on that we picked November 2 for her birthday. This, of course, means that we will be having another one of those wild parties on Saturday.
Sadly, as The Girls have now all passed the year mark, they do not run and play at night like they used to. I surely miss that!
The real boss of the house! And if you are wondering, Hugo Yugo did run and jump on Calico to get that spot in the purple chair.
I have said it once and I will say it a million times, Baby Hope is nothing short of the sweetest thing around. Look at her staring at Hugo Yugo as HY is getting ready to leap to the top of the cat tree.
Calico and Baby Hope never cause an instant of trouble. It is always Hugo Yugo and Missey. If things are falling down in the middle of the night, you can count on it being those two.
Two Crows were at the big tray feeder. I counted. This one carefully took six peanuts including this one, the seventh, in his beak. Incredible. The Crows are ‘off’ the cheesy dogs. I also find that very interesting. They started wanting only peanuts in early September. We start out with huge piles on the tray feeders – big and small – and scattered on the deck for the squirrels. They will be gone within an hour! I am not kidding you.
Junior and the Mrs were also after those peanuts. Just look at that pile of peanuts on both those feeders. These Corvids are busy! They are in competition with three grey squirrels and two red ones.
Just a quick note. Yesterday I included the day’s sightings at some of the Bald Eagle nests. I did not mean to imply that eagles had not visited ETSU-Johnson City. I had just not seen them yesterday. Boone and Jolene have been regularly visiting the nest and refurbishing it!
Wildlife groups and rehabilitation clinics continue to plead with people not to use the fake spider webs. Here is another one:
What is going on in Bird World? Well, the focus is on the Sea Eaglets at the Olympic Park in Sydney. And the questions that are on everyone’s mind are these: Are the eaglets eating (either being fed or getting their own prey? OR Will they wind up grounded near the Discovery Centre and wind up in care – which if they are not so emaciated, would not be so bad. As far as I can tell the only bad scenario is that these fledglings are not seen fed and are not grounded by the Discovery Centre so they can be rescued. So fingers crossed. I will post all the news that I can find.
“October 29: Eagles were seen on the river around 7:30 –then shortly after on the mangroves – one with a fish. While doing surveys in the wetlands nearby between 7am and 8:30, there was no sign of either eaglet. Around 8:15, an eaglet was seen flying across the Armory grassland, being chased by the usual swoopers. It was seen on top of one of the old Navy-era mounds, then flew off again. One eaglet was reported by a member of the public along one of the pathways, but was gone when we investigated. We think this is SE34 and it is flying strongly and moving about. There were more sightings during the day, and one of the eaglets was seen from the ferry, flying along the river. Early evening, Dad was seen with a bird, taking it to River Roost. Neither eagle returned to the nest today. At dusk, the adults were at River Roost. The picture is from a sighting yesterday.”
‘A’ remarks: “I can hear those damned currawongs from the open WBSE tab, which I check regularly in the hope that one time, I will see an eaglet back on the nest, eating some fish. But all I hear are currawongs. It’s worrying, and oh so sad. I really thought this year might be different, due to the lengthier time the youngsters spent dealing with the swoopers while still having the nest as their ‘safe spot’. But it seems not. And what is really worrying to me is that it seems to be the parents who are letting the eaglets down. I was hoping that, like last season, the parents would help the eaglets by feeding them and showing them where the fish were. Watching their parents hunt would surely have helped immensely. But apparently this is not happening. “
In the Central Business District of Melbourne, there is a peregrine falcon scrape. Everyone held their breath as one of the chicks got a little too close to the ledge. https://youtu.be/0nKnS5II4rU?
They are getting their juvenile feathers as you can see clearly in the images below. They will be walking soon, tall and strong. They are learning to pluck by watching the parents who are bringing the prey to the nest and plucking it before them.
‘A’ remarks: “At Collins Street, the littles are self-feeding, and at least from dad’s point of view, it may well have reached the dump and depart phase. He brought some prey early, about 06:12, but one of the humongous fluffballs grabbed it from him and dad considered, then thought better of trying to retrieve it. The triumphant chick took its prize down into the gutter to eat it in peace, so dad retrieved what looked like a very long leg (or perhaps a piece of wing) from the scrape and began feeding it to one of the others.
The third chick sat motionless, intently watching the scene unfold, from the back corner of the scrape. Eventually, it moved forward and into the feeding line. When dad responded by offering it food, it stole the entire piece and took it back into its corner of the scrape, where it proceeded to self-feed. Dad continued feeding what was left of his leftovers to the remaining chick.
So in the end, everyone ate breakfast, but it was hardly the most organised or coordinated of feedings. Everyone ate in their own place and in their own time. Dad just went with the flow, handling the situation with aplomb. These three are already a massive handful for their parents, especially poor little dad, who is dwarfed by his offspring. This family is just TOO funny. “
These kids at Collins Street are so precocious. They are developing right where they should and one decided to take the prey from Dad and high tail it to the other end of the ledge!
Oops. Dad arrived Wednesday morning on the ledge and those triplets let him know that he can only come with his talons full! https://youtu.be/ej47XnKN9JE?
At Port Lincoln, Wilko eats first but Kasse wants some fish and gets some! He scoots up and Mum notices. ‘A’ comments: “At Port Lincoln, there was a bit of bonking at 06:32, but dad brought in a small whole fish at 06:41 and everyone was happy. Kasse is up off hisd tarsi and onto his feet today. He seems to have a fascination with feet that reminds me of a sweet girl called Lindsay. She too had to be reminded that other people’s toes were not toys. But Kasse is playing with Wilco’s toes and with mum’s. Just adorable. “
Diamond feeds Yira and Garramma their second breakfast. Xavier had a good go for a few minutes!
Black Stork Migration. Here is the Bird Map chart for the 30th of October. Waba still appears to be in the very south of Egypt at his last transmission.
Despite the fact that ospreys are what make me wake up in the morning, I love all birds and there are some that pull at my heart strings more than others. Jackie and Shadow are one of those couples. Jackie was at the nest looking at it and out over the territory while Shadow was finding the best sticks for cot rails. This couple lives in hope – the eternal hope that maybe this year they will be able to raise another eaglet together.
Polar Bears. The Canadian province where I live is often called the world’s Polar Bear capital. At our local zoo, three live in a large open space with pools and dens built a few years ago. In the north, in Churchill, the bears are hungry. If they come into the town three times, they are shot. Not tranquilized, but killed. They are hungry. The sea ice has retreated, and there are fewer seals they rely on for food. It is hot in Churchill and parts of the Arctic. It is unclear when the entire ecosystem that supports them will collapse, but there is evidence to show that it is beginning to happen sooner than expected. So what about captivity, like our zoo? What are the pros? And cons?
This is a good read. It asks a lot of important questions.
What a great post from Connie Dennis in Nova Scotia. How often do we hear people say or read that our dear feathered friends, mammals, and fish do not have feelings? They are sentient beings; their behaviour towards these beautiful creatures will surely change once people recognize this. For a good read on animals and birds as sentient beings look no further than Marc Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals.
The trailer for the documentary on California Condors from the Ventana Wildlife Society: https://youtu.be/dgCVAA-NNig?
Geemeff sends us some really good news. Don’t we wish we could get together and buy the Chesapeake Bay and stop the fishing? They say, “One more parcel of land for nature, one less for the #IdiotsWithGuns who like to kill in the name of so-called ‘sport’.
While that is a good thought-provoking read about polar bears, we are going to close today with a good news story about a juvenile rescue. We need these good stories!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care everyone. Stay safe out there.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J, SA’ Valerie Wright , Judy Harrington, Kerry Allen, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Deborah Victoriana, SK Hideaways, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Falcon Cam Project, NEFL-AEF, Androcat, Charter Group Birdcams, The Guardian, Connie Dennis, Ventana Wildlife Society, Tamarack Wildlife Centre.
I am starting to put all of the things that excite me or late updates here at the top. On Friday evening 24E1 brought Gabby her first fish gift of the season. She devoured that fish. I know that many have been cheering for Beau. Beau is not at the nest. 24E1 is and Gabby appears to be more than happy with him. His toes are ‘not that bad’ and actually appear to be healing. He is perfectly capable of protecting the nest, taking care of Gabby, and we hope providing for her and their eaglets, if that happens.
Gabby was working on the nest. She knows he is coming. Look at the delight on 24E1’s face when Gabby accepts the fish!
Friday was the most glorious day. There was a clear blue sky. Not a hint of a cloud! There was a nice breeze and the temperature was 22 C. As I write, the European Starlings have come in to try and get as many meal worms out of the nut cylinder as they can. Little do they know that I ordered them 22 lbs of meal worms. They will be here on Sunday.
Mr Crow got into the action, too!
It was Open House at Wildlife Haven. The Director said they wondered if they were taking a huge risk having the event so late in the month, but, no. It was fabulous. Last year it was 15 September and wet and cold. The vet who is doing her internship for a year as part of a project through the University of Guelph was amazing. I learned so much! And I asked a lot of questions for all of us!!!!!!!!!
First up a little bragging. I never win anything. And today, by putting the feather to the raptor (12 different ones), I won the book prize. It is a marvelous volume that I will enjoy.
We got to visit with one of the GHO ambassadors. It was found at the bottom of the nest. The parents would not feed it and then it was discovered why. It was born with only one eye and its beak was crooked so it could not hunt or survive in the wild.
Isn’t this owl a sweetie?
The volunteer with the GHO sent me over to Rick who was hosting a display on Kestrels. He does videography as well as taxidermy. I learned so much about how long it will take to get my Cooper’s Hawk approved for ‘stuffing’.
That is the female Kestrel on the top. She is larger than the male. Rick has a blind and monitors a small population of these raptors. He says the females are ‘fierce’. The males not so much. Want the territory protected? Call the female!!!!!!
Patients are brought to Wildlife Haven by Conservation Officers, Volunteers, and the general public. At intake, they try to get as much information as possible so that the patient can be returned to its territory on release. The goal is always to get them back to the wild. Next is the examination room where there is a host of machines such as an x-ray to try and determine what is needed.
Tess said that the centre is lucky. It has all of the facilities needed including a surgical centre so that raptors with broken wings can be put on the mend and not euthanised.
There are oxygen rich incubators if needed.
Cages for animals awaiting diagnosis. They are using stuffies so that the real animals do not get stressed.
A stuffie stands in for the Bald Eagle who did have wing surgery and is in one of the larger areas awaiting transfer to the flight pens.
The sub-adult Bald Eagle that had the surgery.
You have all heard about imping. Replacing a missing feather with another which is glued in place. According to Tess, you can only imp 2-3 feathers if you want success. Most of the raptors have many more feathers missing either their primaries, tail feathers, or both. She did say that in Manitoba, most of the hydro poles are insulated so that the birds are not electrocuted. She has not seen an electrocution from a power pole.
As I walked around I took notice of all the things that are needed in case you are feeling like making a donation. Those clean old towels are needed all the time! Dawn detergent. Bleach. All manner of stainless steel or plastic container that could be used for feeding animals. Look on the shelves below! If you clean out a house for someone moving (or otherwise), please consider donating items to your local wildlife rehabilitation clinic. They go through gallons of bleach and Dawn!!!!!!
Those old clean towels and sheets are always needed. If you are feeling ‘flush’, a good laundry set is always wanted.
One thing we haven’t thought of – bees wax paper. They use it for bandages for turtles! You can put the beeswax paper on the incision or wound and it actually keeps it from getting infected. They can use these for a fortnight without changing them and they are removed easily with a tongue depressor.
There is a turtle in there with a beeswax bandage under that leaf.
Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle.
It was a great event. The new vet tech is fantastic. I said that at least twice. Her goal is for every animal to live in the wild. She said that the area of wildlife rehabilitation veterinary science is relatively new compared to large animals or domestic pets. One aspect that she is keenly interested in is the resilience of the animals. Can a turtle live in the wild with only three legs? Why not try it? Monitor them. The answer is, ‘Yes, they can’. What about a raptor with one leg? It was not that long ago that the wildlife would be euthanised. Now, some wildlife vets are ‘sticking their necks out’ to see precisely who can live with what injuries and thrive. I highly recommend that you seek out your local clinic and find out when they have Open House!
‘MP’ suggests that it is the right time to get that platform at Achieva fixed before the new breeding season starts. I sent a note to the Tampa Bay Raptor Centre to see if they could help. It is possible that there are so many animals in need that this could still be low on the priority list. The platform needs a new perch if not two of them. The dish needs proper drainage but with the ability to not allow eggs or nestlings to fall down and die or break. Was the tree trimmed to stop raccoons? What about other predators?
Oh, goodness. Falcons are the cutest! Don’t you love how they talk to their eggs?!!!!!!! https://youtu.be/qjh2vn1-vh4?
The Royal Cam chick’s name is Kiwa. Just lovely and the meaning is perfect.
Gabby was in the nest on Friday.
No one at the Newfoundland Power nest…it seems they have all headed south.
‘J’ reports that both eagles have been seen at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands eagle nest.
The Bluff City Bald Eagle streaming cam is up and running. The nest appears alright.
The wind is still blowing reasonably strong at Pa and Missey Berry’s nest in NE Georgia.
If you missed the live Ventana Wildlife Chat live, here is the recording. https://youtu.be/yLBrKSws3Zg? This month focuses on “…the Condor Crew highlight the arrival of our condor “rookies” in San Simeon, while our new interns, Rachel and Griffin, offer a glimpse into the developing personalities of these young birds. We also share some exciting nesting and flock updates, including a video of wild-hatched condor chick 1315 being fed by his dad, and Bucky (1087)’s release date from Oakland Zoo.“
What an adorable family. The Olympic Park Eagles in Sydney.
You still have time to guess the day and time the first egg will hatch at Port Lincoln. Put it under the streaming cam in chat! A big thanks to Brad M for keeping us great historical records and organising all the information including the daily log of nest happenings. It is invaluable. The link is at the top of the chat.
‘PB’ reports that the Seaside Bird Sanctuary in Indian Shores, Florida, suffered substantial damage due to flooding.
Time for Fun Fact Friday! Enrichment for good health! It is very important for any facility that takes care of birds and other animals to provide an environment with lots of enrichment to help them thrive. For a raptor, like Rita, having various perches of different heights with different materials covering them helps to keep her feet healthy, and the wood provides a good surface for her to “feak” her beak to keep it clean and sharp. Being able to bath in her bath tub and having a water mister helps with feather conditioning. A variety of prey items, some of which can be placed in containers that require her to use her foraging skills, is very stimulating. A few examples that simulate foraging in the wild are to place prey items in a floating bowl in the bath tub to be “fished out” or to freeze the prey in ice blocks, or put it in egg cartons or cardboard boxes with holes cut out so the prey is still visible are all great ideas. This allows the eagle to “hunt” and tear at the container to get to the prey. Another idea was to provide a sisal rope toy that the eagle could flip around and stomp on like it would do with sticks or prey in the wild. There are lots of ideas for enrichment online. When researching ideas, I came across a YT video of an eagle that was given a carved out pumpkin! That’s a great idea since Halloween is coming up and the stores will have pumpkins! Those caregivers carved holes in it and stuffed it with prey items sticking out so the eagle could forage for its food. With that idea in mind, I brought a ball for Rita, and Kelly and Laura put fish in for her to pick out! She had such a funny expression when she first saw the ball. Kelly and her team are always striving to provide the best of care for Rita with enrichment in her environment and diet that can help her thrive. They are the bestn and your support can help provide some stimulating enrichment for Rita! Thank you! JK #ritathebaldeagle
The Hawk & Owl Trust withdraws from the Hen Harrier brooding scheme!
Friday evening we took a quick spin over to The Mint. On our way to Wildlife Haven, we noticed hundreds of geese feeding on the grass at The Mint. I wondered if they would return to the pond at night for its security.
That did not happen. There were a few geese in the pond along with some ducks, but not many.
Is it because of this?
Calico’s Tip for the Day comes from ‘Everything Gardening’. Get yourself a nice cuppa and sit back and leave the leaves alone.
Missey and Hugo Yugo wish you a fantastic weekend. They want you to take care of yourself. Get outside if you can. Listen for the birds. Pet a cat! And be back with us as soon as you can.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘J, MP, PB’, Wildlife Haven, SK Hideaways, NZ-DOC, NEFL-AEF, Newfoundland Power, Achieva Credit Union, Berry College Eagle Cam, ETSU Bluff City, Olympic Park Eagles, Raptor Persecution UK, The Canadian Mint, Winnipeg, and Everything Gardening.
Monday was a whirlwind day for us. There were many joys, including seeing Canada Geese feeding on field after field of grain that had just been harvested! They were flying in and landing around 10:00. I did not stop and get any images, but just the beauty of fall and the geese feeding on those golden fields made my day!
Then we went and picked out a cemetery plot! I am going to make a point here – really, I am. It isn’t as morbid as it seems although the emotion of death can creep in. It was nice to have my daughter with us. We got reacquainted with a place that was always ‘home’ in my heart – the tiny hamlet of Graysville. New people purchased my fifteen acres, painted the horse barn recently, and I saw two beautiful Quarter Horses in the fields. They had lined the long lane with willowy Poplar trees from the road to the house on both sides. The property looked loved – and that made me very happy.
You might recall that my friend’s husband died quickly. Thankfully they had time to discuss matters, but they did not have the time to get all of the paperwork in order. That is why we were at the cemetery along the river just south of Graysville. My attitudes toward cemeteries and golf courses has changed immensely as the City I live in concretes every square inch of grass that it can. Our birds need safe, quiet places, and no better place than a cemetery or a golf course. Of course, the geese don’t bother the cemetery residents, but I wonder if golfers love them! Still, keeping that in mind, instead of flying my children around the world to deposit some of those ashes in various beautiful places, they will seep into the soil near the edges of the Boyne River. A Gull flew over while we were there. Everything felt good. As my former neighbour said, ‘Pick your neighbours!’ and I did – those who lived near me in life will keep me company in death. So SW1/4 of plot 187 Riverside Cemetery is it. Now, to get on to a proper marker – something creative in the form of an osprey? Surely, with a big fish!
So boxes ticked off. The point is not to put off what you can do today whether that is telling someone how special they are to you, going for a quiet walk to help get over some of modern life’s anxieties, or phoning a friend. One never knows what tomorrow will bring, so do it now. Thinking of a birding holiday, go for it! Register if you want to take up that painting class you always wanted to. Live life.
A new book arrived while I was away. Bird Migration. A New Understanding by John H. Rappole. Calico and I will keep you posted!
‘J’ sent news that two of the small Kakapo population have died.
Two other deaths involve White Storks that were fitted with trackers. They have both died as they made their way to Africa for their migration. One in Egypt and the other died in Turkey. I hope to have more news later. Thanks, ‘T’.
There are still fledglings at Newfoundland Power’s Snow Lane osprey platform. Beaumont is really rejoicing in having chicks to feed this season. What an amazing father he has been. The second chick got one at the nest and the first chick ate a fish on a building. It appears that Beaumont is now delivering fish elsewhere.
The Royal Cam chick fledged and Cornell Bird Labs caught it on video. Watch this gracious seabird take its first flight. Wonder what the wind under the wings feels like? https://youtu.be/JEPh2WFtij0?
At the NE Florida Eagle Cam, Gabby woke up to a bright morning with 24E1.
Please note that not all of the cameras will be operational at the NE Florida nest as per this post:
Omega is destroying Chesapeake Bay. The Bunk are gone. The whales and dolphins need the Menhaden as do our beloved Osprey. Many of us hope that with the attention that the issue is getting, Omega will be ordered to halt its operations! Yesterday they had 8 boats out!!!!!!!! Stay tuned.
Want to get the latest updates on the condor fledglings? the status of the flock? Thursday is the monthly Condor Chat with Ventana Wildlife.
Oh, oh, I love it when those little beaks join in with Lady and Dad. Have a listen as the sea eaglets join in the morning duet! https://youtu.be/48EjAMoLuCA?
Thank you so much for being with us today. In a few days I am going to take a wee break before we have hatches at Port Lincoln, Melbourne, and Orange. It will be some time before our eagles have eggs! I will keep you posted when my mini-break is taking place! Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘J, T’, Kakapo Recovery, Newfoundland Power, Cornell Bird Lab, NEFL-AEF, Lisa Russo, William Dunn and Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal, USFWS, Ventana Wildlife Society, NestFlix Memories, Nesting Bird Life and More, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Canadian Wildlife Society, and Osprey House Environment Centre, and WingsofWhimsy.
We went to the zoo today. The weather was a little cooler. What we did differently was we took the tram and had a great chat with the driver about how much the zoo has changed over the decades – from a zoo focused on the people visiting the animals to a focus solely on the welfare of the animals. Everyone used to love the petting zoo, but probably not the animals petted and pulled. Today, there are lots of goats doing silly goat things, a couple of llamas, and a pair of pigs. Our feathered friends are really no longer visible. Years ago the zoo was full of owls and peacocks – everywhere. Bird flu put an end to that. The geese and other waterfowl that had Avian Flu kept the birds inside and some could not be…I didn’t ask what happened to the, but I will. The birds were my favourite and I do miss them. Now, we rely on the polar bears and their antics. Most of the animals were outside today including the Tiger because of the cooler weather. More pictures next time!
Some of you will recall the Norwegian osplets that were translocated to Ireland. Well, guess what? A couple built a nest and fledged a chick this year! Bravo.
The oldest chick, a female, Glenwais, is still having Idris bring fish to the nest at Dyfi. She has not departed! Idris has been in Wales for 5 full months now. His talons must be itching to get to Africa!
Then she was seen soaring in the thermals at 11:16 Friday. It is believed it will be the last sighting and she is on her way South at the age of 102 days. Idris shows up with a fish waiting for a taker and no one is there.
Idris will feed up and leave. He will rejoin his mate Telyn at the nest late March or early April of 2025 if all goes well. What a wonderful year they had.
Blue 022 is still delivering to the nest at Poole Harbour. I checked late (so little rewind before dark) and caught him and one of the fledglings.
If you missed the August Condor chat of the Ventana Wildlife Society in California, which highlighted filmmaking and storytelling to get people interested in and concerned about the Condors, they have hired a staff member for videography, storytelling, and media. The full chat is in the link below. Meredith Evans is the new team member. Digital Communicator is the official title. Listen and see what they are doing! VWS Condors if their film channel on YouTube and they have a long range of videos including those about Red Wood Queen and at least two award winning films for you to watch. So check that out, too. This group is incredible and we need those condors!
Geemeff sends her daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust. Looking forward to her year summary which will be coming up!
Daily summary Friday 30th August 2024
Same as yesterday – wet and windy, no birds of any size or species. However, from Ian at the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation comes an update on our chick 1JW who’s in the care of Fundación Migres in Valencia: “The birds are all doing well. JW is still on the marsh with all the other chicks. They’ve settled into a routine now where they are feeding by taking fish from the feeding stations and flying off with it to eat on perches. They are starting to make longer flights and it won’t be too long before one of them leaves, but at the moment they all seem happy enough. Migration starts later in southern Europe so we would expect them to be around for a couple of weeks more.” Surprisingly, tonight’s weather forecast is clear skies and light winds, and sunny tomorrow with a high of
20°C. Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.31.39 (05.39.07); Nest Two 21.30.23 (05.44.50) Today’s videos: none Bonus watch – Woodland Trust’s vital work to provide habitat our wildlife needs to survive and thrive, and support some of our most vulnerable species, including bats:https://youtu.be/VKkrnBYRcQA (watch to the end for the delightful bat soundscape) Compare and contrast our two resident females past and current: https://youtu.be/_23wRVnATc4 Golden goddess: Aila 2017 – 2020 (Classic Ospreys – Chopin) https://youtu.be/1syQj_jjjxw Golden variation: Dorcha 2021 – (Classic Ospreys – Bach)
Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:
At the Olympic Park Sea Eagle nest, the camera operator gave us a good look at SE33. Notice the down away from the front top of the head and the pin feathers coming through. This eaglet is changing before our eyes! They are both growing. We need SE34 to just get a little braver.
SE34 got a good feeding right before bedtime! Yippee.
‘A’ comments on the action at the Olympic Sea Eagle nest: “This morning, it was a super early breakfast at WbSE, too early for SE33, which meant SE34, although initially nervous because he could feel SE33 moving against him (stretching and changing position and so forth), ended up being fed a personal breakfast. He was starting to feel more comfortable by the time Dad flew off the nest tree shortly before 6am. He is still eating at 06:07, his sibling lying beside him but facing in the opposite direction and looking around, alert and very interested in its surroundings. By 06:09 Lady is really having to coax SE34, with SE33 repeatedly moving beside him, standing up and stretching its wings. By 06:10, SE33’s preening is spooking SE34 somewhat but he is nevertheless continuing to eat. By 06:11, SE33 has flopped back down again, appearing to still have a crop from last night. Lady is being very patient indeed with SE34, who keeps eating. At 06:12, SE34 is having difficulty swallowing a previous bite, but eventually does so and accepts another.
Lady is having a hard time getting bites off this carcass and at 06:13 gives a bite to SE33. And another. SE33 has clown feet and her head looks sleek without its fluff. Lady offers another bite to SE34, who accepts it. But that’s it. Breakfast is over, and by 06:14 Lady has flown off. Both eaglets have visible crops but SE34 did by far the best out of that feeding. He has a healthy crop and is looking very healthy. SE33 is sporting growing feathers along her wing.
As I type, Lady and Dad are again dueting, although we all wish they wouldn’t. Another egg is expected at Orange tomorrow lunchtime, apparently (Sunday Australian time, so in about 22 hours). I do NOT want a third egg for Diamond. That would not be at all good. I don’t have to elaborate to you on my reasons for that opinion but I would be surprised if you did not agree.
At 06:14:35, SE34 is sitting up, as is SE33, and the younger chick looks the older one in the eye. Oh dear. The resulting beak to the head is predictable, but SE34 quickly pops back up again.This annoys SE33, who repeats the beak to the back of his head, and gives him a third for good measure, leaving SE34 with his head tucked under. Lady flies down to check on the kids and ensure they are playing nice, but with nest hierarchy restored, things quickly return to normal, with both eaglets’ heads up and the pair interacting peacefully. She leaves them to it.
At 06:20, Lady flies down to the nest with a tiny morsel of leftover something. This causes SE33 to beak SE34, who ducks down but is still beaked a second time, so stays there. Lady feeds the older eaglet the few bites she can get off this piece, with SE34 remaining cautiously tucked throughout. By 06:27 mum is gone and the mini-feeding is done.
After this, the two eaglets were left alone for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon (although with parental supervision from above for much of the time). At 14:57 Dad flew in with more nest material. The eaglets immediately line up at the table but there is nothing to eat. When Lady and Dad start dueting shortly after 13:00, SE34 appears to be attempting some sort of vocalisation to mimic his parents. Aw, too cute.
I have no idea what they are discussing but it could be the need for a late lunch, as the littles have not been fed since before dawn and it is now after 3pm. It will be starting to get dark in about two hours, and will be completely dark by 6pm. So unless the eaglets are to go without a second meal today, one of the parents needs to go fishing. So I would suspect this is what their conversation is about. We shall see. The key thing here is that Lady is looking after SE34, coaxing him to eat and being very patient in ensuring that he does. This morning’s breakfast was a real demonstration of that. Further, SE34 himself is taking more responsibility for getting himself fed. He was braver today and made efforts to ensure he was close to mum’s beak. He even grabbed a bite from in front of his sister at one stage, which was encouraging. Also, I notice that the size gap between these two, which shrank after they hatched and then blew out again over the past fortnight, again appears to have got a lot less noticeable. I am now starting to wonder once again whether we may in fact have two males on this nest. Certainly, SE33 does not have the full-on aggression we often see with females, though there has been some bonking in the interests of maintaining nest hierarchy, that has been all it is, with no unnecessary or prolonged acts of violence and no determination to prevent SE34 from eating. So It may well be that their similar sizes may indicate brothers, which could be a hopeful sign for the post-fledge period when we hope both will return to the nest to be fed. “
Gorgeous Mum at Port Lincoln incubating the two osprey eggs. Will there be a third?
Gorgeous Diamond doing the same. We have a few weeks to go – watching incubation is worse than watching paint dry. LOL.
Peregrine Falcon eggs are gorgeous. It is one of the problems. They were collected and that along with DDT drove the birds to the brink of extinction.
Diamond rejected the first Starling on Saturday morning but took the second then mated with Xavier on the roof of the tower.
At Hellgate Canyon, Antali was waiting on the perch when he sighted Finnegan flying to the nest with a lovely fish.
Antali and Sum-eh both at Hellgate Canyon Friday.
And again after lunch! Finnegan is quite amazing. He is making sure that his kids are fed and fed well so they are fit for migration. Most people wonder why the osplets don’t catch their own fish. In fact, it is very rare for fledglings to catch their own fish before they leave for migration. 61 million years of DNA teaches them – their instincts – they know how to fish.
A wide shot of C16 eating at the platform with the adult on the perch.
Junebug sleeping on the perch at Dunrovin.
Both osplets on the Newfoundland Power platform at Snow Lane.
The Omega ships ran out of Menhaden to catch.
On Thursday, August 29, Maya was still in the nest at Manton Bay. I didn’t get an image, but one is on the Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys FB group.
Fishing line showing up again and again this year as one of the worst thing impacting the lives of our birds (besides domestic cats). You can help by spreading the word to people to clean up after themselves when they go out for the day. Recepticals can be found at many fishing places now, use them and why not set up a clean up the shore day?
If you live near Winnipeg, it is the fun and frolicking Open House at Wildlife Haven coming up! Great time to see all of the facilities and meet all the ambassadors including Majestic, the Bald Eagle.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams: ‘A, Geemeff’, O Tuathall, Dyfi Osprey Project, Birds of Poole Harbour, Ventana Wildlife Society, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Olympic Park Eagles, Nesting Bird Life and More, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Access Fund, 367 Collins Street Falcon Cam by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, The Guardian, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Newfoundland Power, Wm Dunn- Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal FB, and Wildlife Haven.
Update: Diamond laid her second egg at 23:57 on the 29th. Thanks, ‘H’ for the news!
Oh, it started off much cooler Wednesday, but by 1500 was 25 C. Hugo Yugo was busy looking out the window at all the birds while all the others were having siestas.
This is Hugo Yugo’s favourite pose. She is often caught watching the telly leaning over the arm of the sofa.
She can be an angel.
The look of Calico when she is enjoying a good scratch!
Baby Hope (aka Calico Kitty Kitty) is just about as big as her mother. She is going to be 14 months old on 2 September.
My day is very hectic and it is possible that this could be the shortest posting ever! Things remain quiet with nothing untoward happening at any of the nests other than fledglings frantically fighting for fish and getting their talons caught or eagles returning to nests that require improvements. We have the second egg at Collins Street. These two are both apparently new falcon parents to this ledge. It goes to show you just how difficult life is within the world of tall buildings compared to Diamond and Xavier. The history of that couple at Orange is as follows and comes from the information below the streaming cam: “Diamond took over from the older Swift in 2015 and Xavier replaced Bula in 2016 (who in turn replaced our first male, Beau, in 2015). Xavier arrived just as the eggs were hatching and saved the season by providing for Diamond and her three chicks. Assuming that they were at least two years old when they arrived, Diamond is at least eleven years old and Xavier nine (in 2024).”
Most cite the average age of a peregrine falcon being between 12-15 years with the average maximum life span being 16-20 years. Research has shown that older female falcons lay fewer eggs and they are less fertile. According to Birds of North America‘s peregrine falcon article: “Female age has a significant effect on all measures of reproductive success: clutch size, fertility, hatchability, brood size, nestling survivability, and number of fledglings. In all but nestling survival, the data best fit a quadradic model, reflecting an initial increase in performance followed by decrease with age.”
The Raptor Resource Project has a good article on life expectancy of falcons:
Charles Sturt University and Dr Cilla Kinross have a page of questions and answers and they include this information: “Sadly, the mortality rate for juveniles in their first year is as high as 60% with accidents while learning flying skills a major contributor. Survival improves with each year of life thereafter, with a general six-year life expectancy for peregrines in the wild. There are exceptions of course, with Diamond and Xavier being prime examples, and wild falcons can live up to 19 years. Fertility in a female peregrine will decline with age. In effect, fewer eggs will be laid with some being infertile and others not hatching resulting in fewer fledglings.”
So we wait to see. Diamond might be considered a senior citizen in the falcon world. Will this couple have more eggs? will any of them hatch? We will have to wait and see.
Geemeff has taken a break to see ospreys and she says that the ospreys are catching fish and the white-tail eagles are coming out of the sky to steal then and then they are getting mobbed. Everyone wants free food. Don’t think for a second that life is easy for our feathered friends. it is anything but.
The Crows are clamouring for the cheesy dogs while the squirrels, Little Red and Dyson, work hard for their peanuts. It is a grey overcast day. The temperature was cool this morning, and they might feel, as I do, that fall is in the air. There is a notable change, just in a couple of days, with the colours of the leaves in the trees. A chartreuse, an ochre, and a russet weren’t there at the weekend.
Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn released a video showing Aran delivering a whopper of a fish to the nest. Two fledglings, 6M8 and 6M9, there anxious. One grabs the fish and the other gets towed away by Dad! The comment was on how strong Aran was to lift that chick and carry it. No osprey was injured. I wanted you to see where the nest on the top of the tree is and imagine that the camera is refreshed annually along with the cot rails, if needed.
It looks to me like it was Antali and Iris on the Hellgate Canyon nest and then a rare appearance from Sum-eh (I could be wrong). If so, all four family members are still in the area and have not begun migration.
Feel free to correct me – looks like Sum-eh’s head markings.
At Port Lincoln, Mum is right on time and has laid egg #2 early Thursday morning. She holds her position and doesn’t give anything away letting the egg cool and harden before beginning incubation again.
Our new Mum at Collins Street. Gosh, let’s hope this family has good luck on this ledge. Life is difficult enough. They have a good spot save for the scalding heat that will come down on them. Hopefully Mum will move the chicks to the north end where it has shade.
There has been bonding and mating at Orange. Xavier would like another egg hedging his bets on not all eggs hatching.
SE33 asleep and SE34 watching for an adult to arrive with food at the Sydney Olympic Forest. SE34 did not have a lot of food yesterday so it was a great relief that it began the 29th with a nice big crop! The little one is still very skitterish around 33.
‘A’ gives us her narrative of events for the Olympic Park Eagles: “Although Lady and Dad were up and awake, dueting, at 6am, the littles were still waiting for breakfast at WBSE at 8am, and by 08:11 they were starting to bicker. SE33 stood up and leaned forward to stretch her wings. This impinged on SE34’s personal space so he bonked his older sister who immediately retaliated. Both then get stuck into some preening, as it is obvious they are itchy (just look at those feathers growing along the bottom edge of SE33’s wings, and a second line appearing higher up her wings, near her shoulders. Even SE34 is starting to preen relentlessly. Of course being this itchy always seems to make the eaglets a little antsy.
Yes, the bonk from SE34 was foolish behaviour and got what it deserved, but the key thing here for me was that SE34 had the confidence to attack his older sister in the first place. He was not scared for long, though, going straight back to his preening without ducking and tucking. He just pulled away and then went about his business. That was a plus for me, as I have been wanting to see signs of a bit more of a feisty attitude from SE34. Perhaps this is the start of it.
Both parents arrive around 08:42, one with a fish, pestered by a couple of smaller birds, who appeared to be dive bombing and otherwise harassing Lady and Dad. But Both parents are distracted and alerting, sometimes lunging towards the intruder birds. Eventually, with Dad on the perch branch fending off the smaller birds, Lady began feeding breakfast to the littles at 08:46. There is a black band around Lady’s round leg that I have not noticed before. What is it? Where did it come from and when? SE34 is offered the first four bites of the feeding and takes them without any signs of intimidation. He is slightly closer to mum than is SE33. But the fifth bite is a bridge too far, and at 08:47:24 SE33 stands up. SE34 cringes away from his sibling and ducks his head/. Lady decides this would be a strategic moment to offer fish to SE33. Good call, mum. SE34 refuses the next bite, so mum feeds it to SE33. The same thing happens with the next bite. As Lady continues to feed SE33, SE34 is shuffling closer to mum, peeking at her as he does so. Lady keeps feeding SE33. At 08:49 SE34 lifts his head a little but is still too scared to eat. There is plenty of fish, so hopefully SE34 will get his turn to eat.
Around 08:50 he dares to lift his head a little. He is watching mum closely but not asking for food. Lady is leaning across SE34 to feed SE33. This continued contact of SE33 from behind keeps SE34 on edge and very nervous to eat. At 08:50:50, he raises his head just a little too far, causing SE34 to beak him in the back of the head. He turns away and puts his head down on the nest again. Lady continues feeding SE33. He is not down for long though, and soon, SE34 is again watching Lady. Soon after 08:53, head still tucked, SE34 turns his back on the table. He has not had any breakfast so far. As Lady feeds SE33, SE34 is very carefully and slowly turning back around, until he is again facing the table.
Lady pauses the feeding, with the fish rapidly disappearing, and SE34 continues to creep closer to her. 9am and SE33 eats and eats and eats. SE34 waits. By 08:46 SE34 is eatihng, his confidence growing with each bite he takes for which he is not punished by SE33; Lady returned about 40 minutes later and again fed SE34, so that eventually, both eaglets had good crops and had eaten well. “
Keep the Menhaden on your radar and the Canadian corporation Omega right beside them. If you live in the States, write to your Senator and the Senators from Virginia and get them to end the industrial fishing of Menhaden and create a clear three-mile distance from the mouth of the Bay! By doing so, you will help save the lives of the Ospreys who call Chesapeake Bay their home.
Suzanne Arnold Horning (and Woody) continue to find Big Red and Arthur at the Cornell Campus even though students are arriving back for classes.
LGK shows up to feed the Royal cam chick! It will not be long until their little one takes to the seas, returning in five or six years. It is so amazing. https://youtu.be/c8DPhmweuQI?si=ZYARzkZ6ipw4MyzX
Hope and her two beautiful fledglings on the Snow Lane nest.
Charlie and Lola at the nest and C16 holding on. There is snow in parts of Montana. Hopefully it will not land on any of the osprey nests!
At Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest, Dad is home and so is the juvenile. I have not see the female. Perhaps she is on migration?
At Boulder, it appears that Dad and the fledgling are still coming to the nest. No sign of the female.
A news alert from the Ventana Wildlife Society.
Geemeff sends us the daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Wednesday 28th August 2024 Wet but not too windy, a few dry spells allowing the nests to show off their beautiful scenery. No activity other than Penelope spider on Nest One. WTS George reminds us that Woodland Trust receives wonderful support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, including at Loch Arkaig and it will be much appreciated if social media users like, share and comment on a little film showing ‘some of the ways we are working together to create a better future’: https://x.com/WTScotsocial/status/1828704104136249416https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=493071810106235&ref=sharing Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One ( 05.31.07); Nest Two (05.43.01) Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/9raQZmSsDdE N1 By day and by night: Penelope the magic weaver
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, The Raptor Resource Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Montana Osprey Project, Nesting Bird Life and More, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Collins Street Falcons, 367 Collins Street Falcon Watchers, Olympic Park Eagles, Brian Collins – Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Cornell Bird Lab, Newfoundland Power, Charlo Montana, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Ospreys, Boulder County, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Geemeff and the Woodland Trust.
It is with a heavy heart that I write that little Cobey has died. He had convulsions, like we have seen in other chicks, who had restricted access to food. Unfortunately, he was not rescued several days earlier as he arrived at the rehab in critical condition. I wish I knew the argument that the woman made because it was effective in getting some action, just so late for this sweet baby. (Many are upset as Cobey was left in the cold rian overnight and fear that this might have accelerated his demise).
Thursday turned out to be a day for a pot of soup, a sweater, and warm socks. Damp and cool compared to the 32 degrees we had a few days prior. Hugo Yugo was right there helping with the soup – every ingredient except for the carrots came from the garden. It has been a bumper year for herbs, peppers of all varieties, and tomatoes. Even Celery. There is nothing nicer than fresh celery just cut. It could make a celery lover out of anyone! Calico says ‘the secret’ to the soup was the inclusion of finely chopped Jalapeno peppers along with the Persian and Hungarian ones. What a nice broth! But the nicest part was the dessert – Passionfruit Ice Cream. Calico has kindly offered to share her ‘secret’ recipe: 1. Get a nice tub of vanilla ice cream. 2. Use about 4 ripe Passion Fruits for a litre – although we love Passion Fruit and often use more! Slide the fruits in half and scoop out everything from inside. Put in a bowl. 3. Let the ice cream get soft. We put it in a large bowl. 4. Taking a whisk gradually pour in the passion fruit and mix thoroughly. 5. Re-freeze. Calico says you can thank her later. She also says to not worry about those seeds. Leave them in there!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because of the rain, today’s walk was ‘inside’. Some people go to the local malls, a practice that gets into full swing in the winter months. I do not like the bright lights, and the crowds and loud noise cause havoc with those struggling with mental health issues. It’s not the place for someone with dementia, so off it was to The Leaf. I have written about this space before – a huge, wonderfully designed conservatory with a rainforest area, a Meditteranean area, a special exhibit space, and a butterfly garden.
In the beginning I wondered if, after several visits, the gardens would become ‘boring’. Not so. Today many of the plants in the tropical zone had fruit for the first time and some beautiful flowers.
A third visit to the Healing Garden, the special exhibit, did not disappoint either. One of the plants, Sage (often associated with cooking and in particular Sage Browned Butter of Thanksgiving day stuffing) is a plant believed to have the capability to cleanse and purify the mind. It is often used in smudging ceremonies by the Indigenous people of our province to clear out negative energy.
Torch Ginger.
Star Fruit.
Silver Sparkle.
The Koi in the pond were particularly active today. (Apologies for the voices of individuals watching – turn volume down).
Koi Pond, The Leaf, Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 8 August 2024.
Things are not moving forward for non-lead ammunition, but backwards. Can you lend a hand and help all of the raptors that eat carrior – not just Condors but also Eagles, Vultures, and some Corvids?
At 07:34:04, the only surviving osplet on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest fledged!
The fledgling has been on and off the nest and is perfecting that return landing.
In Finland, ‘AM’ brings me what could be sad news of little USU at nest #4. During the night, the osplet toppled off the nest. There is a slight chance it could have gotten to the branches of some trees in the forest. This was the osplet believed to have had the wing injury. Its two older siblings, UPU and URA, taken by the White-tail Eagle. USU had just had a nice meal from Mum and was looking rather well. The time was approximately 20:46. And in joyful tears – USU is alive and the ringers will be there!!!!!!!!!!
Geemeff sends the daily summary from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Thursday 8th August 2024
A pair of Coal Tits and a Robin, or possibly two, took advantage of the absence of any Ospreys and spent a little time on Nest One. Nest Two had zero activity again. The rain and wind continued as forecasted, and no change expected overnight or tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.18.36 (04.49.42); Nest Two 22.09.31 (04.57.00)
Geemeff sent me this posting giving us an update on Louis and Dorcha’s surviving chick (amongst others). They are all flying. Isn’t this grand!
‘H’ reports:
8/8 – Osoyoos osprey nest: Well… it seems as though the Osoyoos osprey nest has a ‘Fish Fairy’. The live stream was down for most of the day. When it resumed, we were pleasantly surprised to see two good sized partial fish just laying on the nest, and being ignored. It had apparently been a good fishing day. At 1423 Olsen arrived with a small partial fish, and since no one was interested, he ate it. It was unusual for Dad to stay in the nest and eat. It was even more unusual in that he actually offered Chick 2 a couple of bites. Chick 2 did eat the morsels Dad offered, but then walked away because s/he was already too full. Soo had been standing on a large leftover fish, and at 1426 she took that fish off the nest. I assumed that she would eventually return with a smaller version of it, but at 1529 Soo arrived empty taloned. At around 1553 Soo fed Chick 2 from the other leftover fish that was in the nest. Later, at 1742 Soo brought a large partial fish to the nest. It looked to be the same size and species of fish that she had removed from the nest 3 hours ago. Chick 1 flew to the nest for supper. Soo fed a very long meal to her two big juveniles. So what about that fish fairy? This story was related to us on the Facebook group: One of the local viewers, ‘AMW’, visited the nest in the afternoon. She found a fish lying in the grass below the nest, and had the idea to move the fish onto part of the road that was not accessible to traffic (and, it is not a heavily traveled road, anyway). ‘AMW’ said she sat very still in her car for a long time. After the coast was clear, Soo swooped down and picked up that fish and took it to the nest! It was indeed the fish that Soo flew off with at 1426, and that Soo subsequently fed to her youngsters at 1742. So, ‘AMW’ is a Fish Fairy (sort of), lol. Chick 2 spent the night on the nest all alone for the first time.
Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: As you may know, all three of Dory and Skiff’s chicks were killed by a great horned owl the last two seasons. The past several weeks, our beloved pair have been busy building another nest… just a little north of the boathouse nest, and over in the pines. Good for them. It has given them something to do this summer, and has strengthened their bond. We don’t know which nest they may use next season. But, neither nest will provide refuge from the owls. So sad.”
Lavc58.134.100
The movie trailers are gone form the parking lot and Iris, Finn, Sum-eh and Antali will enjoy a much nicer view.
Waiting for fledge at Charlo. The nest lost two chicks, but if all goes well this one will fledge.
What is there not to love? Two little cutie pies so white and fluffy with those huge black beaks! WBSE 33 and 34 – the ‘apples’ of Lady and Dad’s eyes. Dad is keeping fish on the nest and Lady is busy providing tiny bites every hour.
Full house at Field Farm waiting for a fish delivery.
It appears River fledged from the Sandpoint nest on 8 August around 14:56. Had a short flight, returned, and did a few others.
The oldest Black Stork at 21 years! That gives you a moment to have a huge smile. Thank you ‘TU’ for the notification and the translation! I am simply over joyed.
Hortobágy National Park Directorate 9 h. · Methuselah is still alive! Although it has been quite stormy… We finally got the world’s oldest black stork! It’s hard to believe, but the bird is already years old, which means that it is the leader of the species, we are not aware of such an old, ringed black stork. The bird was tagged by Béla Kalocsa in Hercegszántó in 2003, while it was still a chick, and the plastic tag that can be read from afar has provided a lot of information about the stork since then. The number 5082 has already been read 11 times – once in Israel. The fact that it has been going back for so long is also the success of practical nature conservation. If it returns next year, we will give the bird a name, which is unusual in nature conservation. Let’s hope that we can do it and then we can not only refer to the iconic black stork as 5082! ️ ️ What difficulties do you have to face year after year? Why is it important to protect its habitat and breeding habitat? More information can be found on our website: https://www.hnp.hu/…/termeszet…/1946/meg-el-a-matuzsalem Gábor Nagy Gábor Nagy and Ákos Monoki Nature Protection Guard Service
I want to give a shout out to an individual in Osoyoos, British Columbia. Soo dropped a fish from the nest. ‘AMW’ picked it up and placed it in a safe place for Soo to grab not knowing if Soo would try to get the fish or not. Soo did grab that fish and flew away with it returning to the nest to two screaming chicks. I wish more people would stop and see a fish at a bottom of a nest and place it so the adults could get it. And if anyone says that ospreys only eat freshly caught fish, they are ‘dead’ wrong. Thanks ‘AMW’ for this wonderful gesture and also for taking Little to your own garden and burying the wee one that was loved so much. I am in tears.
No sightings and no news of Blue who fledged two days ago from the HWF-BBCentral nest in Boundary Bay. As CG says, “We’re all blue—no Blue today. No mention of parents seen on the cams either.”
Mum might have been hoping for a fish but it looks like Dad found her a dead bird. Perhaps he wants to make a feather bed? If you want to guess on the day of the first egg at Port Lincoln, be sure to put it in a comment on chat.
At Orange, Diamond has been sleeping on the Cilla stones. Wonder how long til we have eggs here? Two and a half, three weeks?
Bonding with Xavier before dawn.
A sad story with a golden lining about Mother Goose:
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, summaries, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AM, AMW, CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, Colonial Beach, Destination Winnipeg, Ventana Wildlife Society, MN-LA Ospreys, Saaksilvie 4, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, David Warrington, Osoyoos, Audubon Boathouse, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Olympic Park Eagles, Field Farm, Sandpoint Ospreys, PLO, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.
We hope that you had a really lovely weekend. I have been busy taking photographs of the six Blue Jays in the garden along with Dyson and family and all the baby sparrows. And today, there will be time to go and get a new cable to connect the camera to the computer so I can show you this week. All of the garden animals are fine. The Girls are actually enjoying a new furniture arrangement in the conservatory and today they are waiting for a family birthday party where they will get some treats!
I want to start with some really good news from the Los Angeles Zoo, which was reported in The Guardian. A record number of condors have hatched in captivity. This is just the best!
Question from ‘RP and VS’ – Crows and Cheesy Dogs. What are they? Where do I get them? As I answer this, a Blue Jay is jumping around near a huge plate of cheesy dogs and chicken weiners and Mr Crow is flying in to get his share as well.
Well, Crows like meat. It is a bad thing if you are Vegan or a Vegetarian which seems to run in my family. So we giggle when we are in the check out line at the shops – hoping no one sees us. We have a very discounted grocery near us. They sell chicken hotdogs in 3 kg packages. These are just plain ones, and the Crows love them. We slice them into thin disks and pile them on a big plate. The Crows devour them. They have a very strong smell – . The Blue Jays love them, too, and so do the Starlings. Now for the cheesy dogs – they are a smoked sausage like weiner with cheese injected in them. Sometimes, they even have Jalapeno pepper flakes. They love these. Again, sliced thin. Some places call these Smokies. They remind me of European hot dogs or sausages. The Crows also love hard-boiled eggs, Chinese chicken balls, etc. BUT they won’t touch chicken strips from certain companies. It is like they are too processed. How could that be different from the chicken hot dogs? We also put out small pieces of fruit for them. I know that your specific question was about the cheesy dogs, but we keep leftovers and I have places that keep their food at the end of the day that can’t be given to humans. That is how I know they love Chinese chicken balls with sauce! They will also eat pizza (the local shop is good to save the food) and we cut it into small pieces. I don’t like giving them bread. It reminds me of the ducks and geese that get Angel Wing. Perhaps it is alright for the songbirds and Crows – I should do some research!
Oh, I do love these garden visitors. We have also discovered that the songbirds like different types of seed and suet. Sometimes you have to experiment. Brands may lok the same but the birds in my garden will not touch a certain brand of suet and they prefer, above everything else, Black Oil Seed. Some won’t eat millet while the Dark-eyed Juncos devour the stuff. Just get a little bit at first and test it on who is coming to your garden.
Be sure to clean your feeders and bird baths regularly. I have been using a vegetable brush on the bird baths because of the hot and the algae issues.
Today was a particularly quiet day. I did not spend much of it watching the nests. The last couple of weeks took the wind out of my sails. Instead, I continued to enter data into the forms for the nests in Nova Scotia, some in Norway, and a handful from my own province. I had hoped to get us up to 500 eggs that were monitored during the 2024 osprey season and it looks like we are going to make it! Tragedies in one region are off-set by successes elsewhere. I wonder how 2024 will compare to 2023? We wait to see.
A quick run through of some nests:
Dorsett Hobby: The only surviving eyas is just rather wet today! There is some concern for the little Hobby. ‘SP’ follows this nest closely and says that it has little attention form Mum in the last 36 hours. She has made Dorsett Hobby aware of the concerns – let us hope Mum brings in more food and stays with the little one although she could be perched on a nearby tree and we are not seeing her.
#1 Finland. Everything is OK.
#2 Nova Scotia. Both of Ethel and Oscar’s chicks, Skylor and Heidi, have now fledged. Heidi flew on Sunday with Skylor taking his wings on Saturday. (Photo by Don Dennis)
Right now the temperature in Nova Scotia is 30 degrees C. They have just finalised their listing of ospreys and they have sixty (60) this year. That is a fantastic survival rate per nest – in fact, most nests I am told, did not lose a single chick! Well done, Canada.
Hellgate Canyon: Just look at how big that oldest chick is? Almost as big as Mama Iris! The question is – where is Finnegan? where are the fish? Did I miss deliveries in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon? It looks like Iris has gone out on her own. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Check out the snake eyes on these two kids of Iris and Finn! These are just the most gorgeous osplets. Finn and Iris have made two beautiful babies.
Finn apparently chased Louis off the Owl Pole and it appears he told him in no uncertain terms to ‘get out of Dodge’. And then Iris and Finn defended the nest against an intruder which was possibly Louis checking out what was going on. Since his chicks fledged, it seems he has some time on his hands. Let’s hope he stays away.
Finn eating a much wanted fish by Iris and the kids.
Iris and her train.
Finn got that whopper, minus its head, to Iris and the kids. She waited rather impatiently.
They are having a feast!
It took some time to get fish on the nest today and the oldest has decided to be a bit of a ….. No worries. There is enough fish for three or four nests. That was a whopper. Iris will make sure both are fed.
And she did!
Llyn Brenig: Emrys fledged on Sunday!
Poland Black Stork Nests: Maria Marika has posted saying that none of the four Black Storks fitted with a transmitter in 2023 and ringed are alive. Sad day for their community. Details on individual storks will be provided on the Memorial Wall in coming days.
‘H’ reports on Patuxent River Park happenings:
Patuxent River Park:
Rewind: On 7/25, two significant events happened less than 20 minutes apart. At 1444 there was an adult intruder on the nest when one of the resident juveniles flew in and attempted to land. The intruder jumped up to intercept the juvie and struck her just as her talons hit the nest. The younger osprey was knocked backwards and fell down below the nest. The nest is only ten feet higher than the level of the marsh. We soon knew that the juvenile osprey had been Big. The intruder flew away after that assault. Nineteen minutes later, Middle was in the nest when Dad flew in with a large goldfish. The intruder landed almost immediately behind Dad and tried to grab the fish. Dad attempted to defend, but to no avail. The intruder had possession of the goldfish with Middle still attached and the intruder fell/flew off the nest. Middle returned to the nest. Soon after that, we started to intermittently hear rustling and flapping coming from below the nest. There was obviously an injured osprey below the nest. Hours passed, and as high tide approached, the flapping sounded like it was in water rather than just the vegetation. Who was down there? Was it Big? Was it the intruder? We have never seen Big again after she was knocked off the nest that afternoon. By late evening, we no longer heard the flapping. At 1100 am the following morning, the park staff searched, but did not find an osprey below the nest.
Fast forward to 7/28: Middle was the only fledgling that we were still seeing at the nest. Oh boy, did Dad ever take care of his girl today! Dad brought six fish to Middle. There were five fish delivered to the nest between 0641 and 0846! We didn’t think she could do it, but Middle ate all of those fish. Have you ever seen an osprey grinning from ear to ear?
Middle was in and out a bit, enjoying her day. An adult intruder landed in the nest at 1220, and Middle soon arrived to shoo the visitor away. At 1338 a visiting juvenile osprey arrived at the nest. After several minutes, Middle flew in, there was a fight, and they both went overboard. The wayward juvie returned to the nest. Middle soon arrived and literally gave the juvie the boot, with a karate kick! After that, the visiting juvie decided not to return.
Dad delivered a huge whole fish to Middle at 1650. Middle ate and ate, but she had to take breaks to rest and digest, so her fish meal was lasting a long time. At 1851 Middle was still in possession of a large piece of fish when she was dive-bombed by an adult osprey. A couple minutes later the intruder landed in the nest, but was repelled by Middle. We could tell that the intruder kept landing on the camera, and at 1856 it dive bombed Middle again. But then, things seemed to calm down, and by 1914 Middle resumed eating her fish. At 1922 and 1923 the intruder returned and landed in the nest, but was forced off both times by Middle. At 1924 the intruder flew in very fast, grabbed Middle on her upper back and dragged her backwards off the nest. We heard her hit the marsh 10 feet below. We did not see middle for the rest of the evening. We did not hear any rustling or flapping coming from below the nest. Please come home Middle, so that we know you are okay.
I have video recordings of all of the attacks on 7/25 and 7/28, and I have reviewed them carefully. Based on head and chest markings, I believe that this is the same adult intruder that attacked Big, and shortly thereafter dragged Middle off the nest on 7/25. It was the very same adult that attacked Middle today. So, now there is no question who the osprey was below the nest on 7/25. It was Big, and she was likely carried away by the tide, and may have drowned. I would love to be wrong about Big’s demise. We loved you Big. Fly high.”
Steelscape: ‘PB’ watched the intruders trying to take over this nest earlier on Sunday. One of the fledglings appears to have sustained an injury.
It has been a rough day.
Decorah North: Eagle eyed Deb Stecyk has noticed something a miss with one of the adults on the Decorah North nest. Deb wonders if it is an old injury? scar? It is the first time I have seen this dark line. Please note that all Decorah cameras will be shut down for annual maintenance on 2 August.
Other images make it look like a nasty cut to both sides of the mandible with dried blood on the left side of the neck. But is this insect bites and could Dad have scratched them? Just wondering. PB’ says they are terrible in the MidWest right now.
Gosh, I feel like I am the writer of doom and gloom today. There is just so much going on, and there are a lot of nest takeovers and intruders this time of year wrecking havoc with stable avian homes.
HWF-BBCentral: Blue is looking better today. More alert. He was seen doing some wingers and had a crop. Let us hope this eaglet gets its mojo and fledges off that nest to the shock of everyone.
Charlo Montana: Still hot. Nest still doing alright. Those funny balls that Charlie brought in have been used as a pillow by the rapidly growing chick.
Sandpoint: River is looking in excellent form!
The Bridge Golf Club: Fledgling returns to the nest for fish and is sleeping there Sunday night. All is good.
Port Lincoln Barge: Mum is on the nest waiting for Dad!
Olympic Park Eagles: Incubation continues. Cathy Cook writes that we will be on pip watch starting on Monday.
I want to add a note -. This nest has not had failures every year. Things happened once the eaglets fledged. The Currawongs chased WBSE 25 out of the area, and sadly, WBSE 26 had to be euthanised. 26, the much loved little eaglet, had injured its leg within its first 48 hours. 25 was good for supporting, caring, and encouraging its younger sibling. 26 did fledge and did return to the nest after several days, where it spent considerable time before. Sadly, it was chased out of the forest, winding up – during a storm – on a high-rise balcony. The wildlife rehab team decided that 26 could not be successfully put back together and was euthanised. In fact, the Currawongs are the biggest problem! Eaglets have been rescued, and two of them, if I remember correctly, were fitted with transmitters after rehab and released in another area. They had been tracked for some time. Last year was amazing. It was the first year we could fully appreciate how Lady and Dad cared for their young as they fed and trained WBSE 31. It was incredible, and the images provided by the community photographers that were posted warmed our hearts. Cathy confirmed that 31 stayed in the area till February. Let us hope that these two hatch, all goes well, and we will see them flying over the Parmatta River and eating fish at the River Roost.
Cathy also informed me that there are ospreys fishing in the area, too. How wonderful.
Geemeff sends her daily report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Sunday 28th July 2024
No sign today of Louis, last seen on 25th July, or Dorcha, last seen yesterday, and no activity of any sort on Nest Two. Over on Nest One, Garry did some early morning sky-dancing with a fish, which may have been why Affric 152 arrived on the nest and stayed long enough to take the fish from him when he landed. The fish was an unusual one, a Perch, first time seen on the nest and possibly a cause for concern as they shouldn’t be found in this area. Link below to WTS George’s comment about this. Affric flew off with the perch – perhaps she was taking it back to her chick on the Bunarkaig nest. A bellowing of Bullfinches visited the nest before Affric returned at lunchtime but was disappointed when Garry joined her without bringing her another fish. The weather was settled and sunny today, but drizzle is forecast for tonight, with more rain tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.56.03 (04.13.18); Nest Two 22.45.47 (04.23.40)
7/28 Osoyoos osprey nest: This family had a good day. There were nine fish brought to the nest, including one from Soo. Four of the fish were tiny, but the others provided meals that lasted 13-19 minutes. There was very little aggression from Big toward Middle today. There were a few meals where Big ate more, but there were also feedings where it was obvious that Middle had more to eat than Big. Weather forecast for 7/29: Cloudy with chance of showers, high 77, light winds. Warmer temperatures will gradually return by the end of the week.
The BBC covered the Alyth Ospreys and the construction of their nest. Lovely interview with Roy Dennis about the move of the nest.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CC, Geemeff, H, MM, PB, RP, SP, TU, VS’, The Guardian, Dorsett Hobby, Llyn Brenig Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Project, Connie and Don Dennis, Montana Osprey Project, The Weather Network, Maria Marika, Patuxent River Park, Heidi McGrue, Steelscape, Raptor Research Project, Deb Stecyk, HWF-BBC, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Bridge Golf Course, PLO, Olympic Park Eagles, BBC, and Osoyoos.
We finally got the world’s oldest black stork! It’s hard to believe, but the bird is already 
years old, which means that it is the leader of the species, we are not aware of such an old, ringed black stork. 
The bird was tagged by Béla Kalocsa in Hercegszántó in 2003, while it was still a chick, and the plastic tag that can be read from afar has provided a lot of information about the stork since then. The number 5082 has already been read 11 times – once in Israel. 
The fact that it has been going back for so long is also the success of practical nature conservation. 
If it returns next year, we will give the bird a name, which is unusual in nature conservation. Let’s hope that we can do it and then we can not only refer to the iconic black stork as 5082! ️ ️ What difficulties do you have to face year after year? Why is it important to protect its habitat and breeding habitat? More information can be found on our website: 
Gábor Nagy 
Gábor Nagy and Ákos Monoki Nature Protection Guard Service
