Category Archives: Cornell Red Tail Hawks

E23 fledges…Sunday in Bird World

17 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It was a cloudy, damp -5C day in Winnipeg on Saturday. The sun tried really hard to break open those dark clouds around 1700. The Starlings were pecking at the suet while the squirrels tried to remove all of the peanuts before the Blue Jays showed up for breakfast. Walking was a bit treacherous. The warm weather yesterday melted the snow and the cold overnight temperatures froze the water. It was several loops around the sculpture garden as most of the trails were solid ice.

Both ‘Boyfriends’ came to the feeder today. The spring will see something better than a drawer and a divider but this worked in a pinch to keep the snow of the kibble and their feet a little drier. A new bright red and white carpet is on its way and the deck should be quite cheerful after a good scrub to get rid of the drab winter we have had.

Hugo Yugo has been relaxing on the cat tree. She wishes everyone a very happy and peaceful Sunday. Saturday evening Calico and Baby Hope disappeared to have a good sleep on my bed. Missey and Hugo Yugo took advantage of their absence to have the most marvellous play fight time. It reminded me of Lewis and Missey running and play fighting and diving through the tunnels. Hugo Yugo was worn out at the end of it.

The news in Bird World has been mixed. It feels like a year when we have to celebrate those who make it out of the shell into the world and fledge. The list of failures is long. I remind myself that the raptors would pull up their talons and get on with their lives after dismay, grieving, and, I imagine, reflection. I want to be more like them.

‘The Girls’ and I have several books stacked up to read. We are going to start Wonderland. A Year of Britain’s Wildlife Day by Day by Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss tomorrow. I will keep you informed. We keep peeking at Tim Mackrill’s The Osprey. It looks fantastic. There is some really good scientific information, but there is also some good solid discussion of ospreys from the years of Tim’s experience working with ospreys. For a starter, though, you cannot beat Tim’s book on Ospreys for the RSPB. It is everything you need to know when you start learning about this magnificent species. It appears that Tim has combined his thesis on migration with his years of field work and added to that RSPB volume.

Moving along. I am finding it difficult to check on all my osprey nests and keep up with what is actually happening so please forgive me if I miss something important – and if I did, tell me. My head feels like it is one of those wobbly dogs that people used to sit on the dash of their cars.

E23 flew. S/he has been wanting to. It really was a fludge but E23 recovered so quickly and flew off returning to the nest that we can forgive that moniker. ‘J’ gives the run down: “We have a fledge! 10:51:27 E23 accidentally fledged, went to West pasture, perched in a pine out front, 11:20:19 landed on W pasture front snag, 11:28:48 flew from front W pasture snag to attic. Landed on attic at 11:29. Congratulations E23!”

S/he loses their footing from the branch near the top right and then flies, goes down low, and over to pasture landing on a wire.

Tired.

In the night an owl knocked E23 off the nest tree!

Annie has a long conversation with Archie about his new duties since their first egg arrived!

Looks like Archie listened!

Jack and Diane looking over their nest wondering where their two eggs and their chick are. Everyone else is wondering, too.

Reviews of the footage (the camera has no IR which would have been very helpful) on very slow motion and with only the light from the street, show Diane disturbed a few times after 1000. Those include 23:39:47, 23:46:48, and 00:55:33 -00:56:50. No raccoon could be seen climbing over the edge. I don’t think there are GHOs in the area – nonetheless, no owl could be seen. There are three possibilities: 1. The eggs and chick fell down that hole in the centre of the nest; 2. A predator such as a rat, a squirrel, or a snake made their way to the nest through the drain holes in the bottom; and 3. The squirrel that originally made the hole dug its way through not intending to eat the eggs (as in scenario 2) and the chick and eggs dropped. The pole is rough and could be climbed easily enough. A mouse appeared on the nest of Jak and Audacity today. Any of the large rats in the area could have gotten up that pole. Could they go horizontal and up the drain holes? Well, that is the 64 million dollar question. We might never know.

I suggest that Achieva Credit Union, working with the local wildlife group, put up a predator baffle and cover the drain holes with a stainless or other metal that rats, etc., cannot chew plates with smaller holes—one that would allow water to pass through but not rats or squirrels to enter the nest area. You probably have other better ideas. Perhaps these could be passed on for next year. There is plenty of time to rectify the situation, unfortunately.

Images courtesy of ‘H’.

Daisy arrived home to the Barnegat Light nest in NJ Saturday afternoon. Here is this fantastic Mum landing. You will remember that she went fishing during the storm that took two of her osplets while Duke was missing. She was able to keep herself and the little osprey alive.

Duke arrived on the 28th of March last year.

Edie and Jack have their third egg at the Captiva Osprey platform. Sweet.

The second hatch at the Venice Golf and Country Club came on Saturday morning. As many know, this area has several lakes and ponds (26 of them), and there should be a lot of fish for the family. This has historically been a successful nest.

Lucy and Kenny, the new male mate, have their first egg of the season at Lake Murray on Saturday morning. Time: 1108.

One egg is being incubated at Sarasota Bay. Gosh, it’s noisy there—it sounds like an early St Patrick’s Day party! Ospreys are not bothered.

Ospreys on and off the nest at Patchogue, Long Island. It will be interesting to see what they do to renovate this nest or will they leave some of PSEG’s masterpiece?

Both at Carova Beach on Saturday.

Beautiful day at Old Town Home Ospreys in Maryland.

An Osprey has landed on the Foulshaw Moss nest in Cumbria. Unknown if it is White YW or Blue 35 as the cameras are not running.

Blue NCO still awaits the arrival of Laddie LM12 and today had to protect her fish from a Crow.

Maya and Blue 33 were quite vigilant as they watched for intruders at their Manton Bay nest at Rutland on Saturday.

There are three cute little osplets on the Frenchman’s Creek Osprey nest in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Here is the link to their livestream. Thanks, Ildiko Pokk for posting this nest on FB!

Raining at Collins Marsh Osprey nest. No sight of the adults yet. Last year there was a new couple and they laid three eggs and had two fledge.

No one home – yet – at Salem Electric Ospreys.

Waiting for Whitney and Noble at the Timothy Dygert Osprey Platform on Crooked Lake.

Ospreys at Moraine State Park in Pennsylvania. Last year their three chicks were predated by a GHO. The owl had a vicious attack on the nest and oddly, ate only one of the three osplets. It was quite a traumatic event. I wonder why these platforms don’t learn from Cowlitz and put up guards. It was a simple solution with a metal grid that already exists in many places or that could be welded together easily and put in place.

At the University of Florida-Gainesville, Stella and Talon are incubating three eggs. They were laid on Feb 21, 23, and 27. This means we are looking for a pip watch in 12 days. Just think… so many nests will have a pip watch in twelve days. We are going to be busy!

The cam operator gave us some great close-ups of Big Red at her nest on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, New York. She looks good.

‘A’ has been watching Angel and Tom. “

Angel and Tom were on the nest early (shortly after 7am) and spent over two hours bringing sticks to the nest. At 09:52, Angel flies in clutching a huge branch in her right talons. It’s gigantic and she spends quite some time wrestling with it. The pair continued to come and go until nearly noon – they were both on the nest again at about 11:42 – and there are lots of RTH vocals off camera during the process. 

These two both look so strong and healthy this season. I cannot get over how much Tom has grown. He looks solid and his plumage is gorgeous and sleek. Angel is just magnificent. She looks wonderful, and she and Tom seem very bonded and very confident and relaxed around each other. Let’s hope that continues once we get a hatch. I think Angel will trust Tom this year. He has matured a great deal it seems, but time will tell. They apparently spent the afternoon elsewhere, probably together, and we saw Angel arrive back on the nest around 8.05pm. It was dark and the IR lights had been on for a while when she flew in, so it was a surprise. Both Tom and Angel are doing a lot of cupping, with Angel also lying in the nest bowl for prolonged periods as I mentioned recently. It is SO exciting. I am convinced we will have an egg here any day now – if we don’t have one by the end of the week, I will be very surprised. “

Akecheta is keeping that nest full of fish at the West End and both him and Thunder are providing lots of feedings. All three eaglets look good despite lots of fish juice all over their little heads.

Akecheta makes sure that everyone is fed. Like so many of you, I wonder if he remembers being the third hatch and having two older siblings?

You can see the change in the Dukies. That white down over the thermal that is now coming in.

Chase and Cholyn’s only egg is 24 days old today. Twelve days to go!

Everyone mourned when Jak and Audacity’s only egg broke. There appeared to be nothing inside.

Pip watch beings for Cruz and Andor at Two Harbours on 29 March, 12 days from now. So you can check on both nests that still have eggs on the same day!

Jackie and Shadow are protecting their eggs in another blizzard. What are all the words you could say to define these two? If we could get the energy and materialise an eaglet this might be the nest to receive it.

The John Bunker Sands eaglet is 7 weeks and 2 days old today (forgive my math if I am wrong). What a beauty. Mum has been in the nest. Her limp appears to be improving. So happy. Look like all those juvenile feathers are in!

Swampy and Meadow are terrific. I love the close-ups of Swampy. Finally buddies.

Willow is really having to really stretch that neck to get some prey. Oliver seems to always be in front at Bluff City.

Johnson City kids are now being left alone at night. They are losing that baby down fast and their thermal is coming in. I always feel like this happened overnight. Nice to see them doing so well.

Cam was frozen at Duke Farms. Jersey was getting some nice bites the last time I checked.

This is more than disturbing. Where are the CCTV cameras we so often hear about? Well, they were there, and the shop provided the footage to the police. So, let’s see what happens. ?

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Thank you so much for being with me today. All of the bald eagle nests are doing well – eaglets are growing and parents are very attentive. Next fledge should be R6. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and the streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B. H. J’, SK Hideaways, Lady Hawk, Achieva Credit Union, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Window to Wildlife, VGCCO, Lake Murray Ospreys, The Bay Sarasota, PSEG, Carova Beach, Old Town Home Maryland Western Shore, Livia Armstrong, LRWT, Frenchmen’s Creek, Collins Marsh, Salem Electric, Crooked Lake Ospreys, Moraine State Park, UFlorida-Gainsville, Cornell RTH, IWS/Explore, Duke Farms, FOBBV, JB Sands Wetlands, Eagle Country, Bluff City-ETSU, and Johnson City-ETSU, and The Guardian.

It’s raining Ospreys…Achieva chick demise…Saturday in Bird World

16 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Before I begin, the little chick at Achieva is no longer with us. It remains unclear as to what happened. No eggs, no chick. Some predator during the night. So sad. jack was so excited about this baby.

Friday was quite the day. Every time I turned around, something new happened with the Ospreys. It was wonderful but, at times, a little overwhelming. Ospreys will populate the news as they arrive and lay eggs, and things will go quiet for a month before everyone begins to hatch. Thank goodness for incubation.

So, we are fully into migration for all the species. As so many have noted, the ‘spring up’ in terms of Daylight Savings Time seems to have caused spring – which was not expected in some places for a few weeks now – to jumpstart. Things to remember about migration: Get your city to turn its lights off. Turn your lights off. Gives the birds a chance. BirdCast says there are 5.5 million birds on the move Friday night. Put up the Feather Friendly stickers on your window. Fill the feeders. Get the water bowls and baths clean. Stock up on seed. Welcome them home! or boost their energy as they fly through. Here are 10 ways in which you can help:

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How-turning-off-lights-can-save-billions-of-migrating-birdsDownload
Heres-how-you-can-go-Lights-Out-BirdCastDownload

If you don’t know BirdCast, check it out. You can input your location if you live in the US and see what species are arriving and in what numbers. It is a lot of fun and you will learn something.

‘The Girls’ and ‘The Boyfriend’ are all fine, as are the garden animals. Everyone has been seen, which is such a relief this time of year. The squirrels think another winter blizzard is coming as they haul away peanut after peanut. There are now four Blue Jays, which means two have arrived to join the two who stayed during the winter.

Hugo Yugo will go for her ‘operation’ on Wednesday. Dr Green, the vet who has cared for her all along, will have the honours. The primary issue with all voluntary kitten adoption organisations is that they are overwhelmed and have to rely on the vets having space for their kittens. They never know what is available. Dear darling Hugo Yugo, the tiniest 6-month-old kitten I have ever seen, went into heat last Tuesday. It is unimaginable to me that something so tiny would be ready to breed. Her very loud meow turned into a horrifically loud mating call that brought endless feral males to the deck! Poor thing. So glad she was in the house! So, we decided to try to see if there was any possibility of getting her into our vet before the end of May or September. Luckily, they had a cancellation today. I couldn’t believe our luck. So send her good wishes – she will be sleeping on warm blankets and having good pain meds on the 20th.

I learn something valuable every day. Dr Peter Bloom, who banded Black 61, is also responsible for something extraordinary. Steve Schubert of Morro Audubon says, “Pete Bloom captured and brought in the last remaining wild California Condor on Easter Sunday in 1987, contributing to the captive breeding program . The species was absent from the wild until reintroduction began several years later, in 1992.”

Friday was a bit of a day – . Ospreys were landing in their nests, Ospreys were laying eggs, and a chick was hatching at Venice Golf and Country Club. Thank you so much to ‘H, J, and M’ who helped me stay on top of it all! Very seriously, there is no way that a single individual can monitor 150+ osprey nests, so I appreciate all your sightings! You are amazing.

Lucy laid her first egg at Lake Murray. I so hope the GHOs leave this nest alone this year. She has a new mate having lost Ricky and all three of her chicks in 2023.

It looks like both Mum and Dad have arrived at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island. These two did what most only dreamed of last year—they raised four osplets to fledge!

The first egg has hatched at Venice Golf and Country Club! Congratulations. In 2023, their first egg hatched on the 13th of March – so very close this year.

‘H’ also reminds us, “Olivia arrived at Severna Park on 3/8, Oscar on 3/10. Edie at Captiva laid her second egg on 3/13, expect a possible 3rd egg tomorrow. Opal at Forsythe arrived this morning.”

At Dahlgren, Jack brought in his first ‘stuffie’ of the season on Friday. There might be some difficulty deciphering which female is which, but we will never mistake Jack.

Looks like that stuffed animal is gone.

Ospreys arriving in Europe and getting right to the action.

The first arrival at River Gwash, and the fishing looks good.

At Port Lincoln, Ervie and Giliath are fishing buddies.

In the UK, it looks like Blue 33 and Maya will be the first to lay eggs. Laddie has yet to return to Loch of the Lowes. Blue NCO waits.

That is definitely not an Osprey on Loch Arkaig’s nest 1 that used to belong to Louis and Aila. (Louis and Dorcha are on nest 2).

‘A’ has been watching the West End nest and notes, “I watched a late afternoon feeding from Akecheta where the two older chicks were very well behaved (probably stuffed) and dad concentrated on the youngest for several minutes. It was bonked just once throughout the event. It’s a strong, feisty wee one and it gets itself to the table when it can. I have my fingers crossed for it, but if the food supply remains as good as it usually is with these parents, I am cautiously optimistic. In fact, a lot of our two-eaglet nests with young chicks are doing well, with relatively little bonking, although there is the worry you noted with possible intruders at one nest. Of course, we all know that losing a parent is the worst thing that can befall a nest with young chicks, followed by a food shortage or prolonged rain. So, while we cannot control any of those things, I am still hoping this season has turned a corner.” 

Proud Dad Akecheta with fantastic Mum, Thunder.

Cali Condor caught Thunder giving a private feeding to eaglet 3 at the West End.

‘A’ was watching when Akecheta fed the wee one and says, “Watch Akecheta feeding the baby some lunch from 13:12. The wee one is eating well and getting enough food. It waits its turn – but these parents are diligent enough to ensure that the older two are sufficiently stuffed to let the youngest have its turn at the table. And the size of some of the fish Akecheta in particular is bringing in is awesome! With each day that passes, as the baby of the bunch gets stronger and more agile, I am more hopeful about this nest. The older two have calmed down slightly – Nessie has a long neck!!!!!”

The two eaglets at Bluff City are eating squirrel. Is it just me or is that first hatch twice as big as the second?

Just look at the eaglets at Johnson City. Jolene and Boone have chicks with the ‘fattest little bottoms’ and their thermal down is really coming in….big clown feet. I blinked. Must have.

Dixie and Mason continue to do great at Superbeaks.

Leaper and Jersey had a fabulous feeding. The new male is keeping nice sized fish in the pantry for Mum and the kids. Their crops were popping several times today. No worries at this nest!

Jack arrived at 0921 on Friday with a fish for Diane and the new baby at Achieva.

The last feeding that I saw on Friday was late afternoon. Jack came to the nest empty-taloned but wet later.

The Crows are the only ones at Oyster Bay so far.

Oh, empty platform at Chesapeake Bay. There is confirmation that the ospreys are flooding the area as they arrive from their winter migration.

Let us all hope that it is a much better year for the Osprey couple that find this nest in Cape May Meadows.

There was an osprey on the MNSA platform on Friday.

The Estonian Golden Eagle Helju has laid the first egg of the season!

In Florida, R6 is now learning about having to defend a nest against intruders!

E23 continues his flapping and flying…we are so near fledge.

Sharon Lee captured Gabby and Beau and isn’t it a gorgeous image of the pair at NE Florida?

Jackie and Shadow are so hopeful. More snow. We need to be more like them. I still wish for a fairy to delivery them a baby eaglet.

Big Red and Arthur were working away on their nest at Cornell. I am expecting eggs to be laid here and at the nest of Angel and Tom any day.

Annie almost had me thinking she was laying her first egg on Friday. Archie was in the scrape calling her when she wasn’t there. Gosh, isn’t he cute? And look at those deep chrome-yellow legs. This guy is healthy!

Annie.

Archie.

Monty and Hartley were both at the San Jose City Hall scrape on Friday.

It’s not siblicide in Ospreys. Geemeff sends us an article out of Science that discusses the Eurasian Hoopoe and siblicide.

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YOU can make a difference. Do not give up…the Nightingales won because people stood up for their habitat!

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That’s a crazy round-up of some of the nests that everyone is following. Don’t be shy! Send me any osprey news that you see – landing on a nest, laying an egg, hatching. Everything is appreciated and welcome. Take care all. Thank you for being with me today. Send good energy to the Achieva nest – there is lots of food competition there for Jack!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, M, SS’, National Wildlife Federation, Spectrum News, BirdCast, Lake Murray Ospreys, PSEG, Isak, Forsythe Osprey Cam, Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Jane Dell, River Gwash Ospreys, PLO, Mary Kerr, Geemeff, IWS/Explore.org, Cali Condor, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, Superbeaks. Duke Farms, Achieva Credit Union, Chesapeake Conservancy/Explore.org, SCMM, MNSA, Eagle Club of Estonia, WRDC, SK Hideaways, Sharon Lee, FOBBV, Cornell RTH Cam, Cal Falcons, San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, Science, and BirdGuides.

Friday in Bird World

15 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Spring is coming and with it the arrival of Canada Geese, songbirds, and Ospreys amongst other raptors.

Today, more than a thousand Canada Geese turned the sky black at Fort Whyte Alive in Winnipeg. Most landed on the Bison fields while a few went to the open water on Devonian Lake and others decided to peck at the ice inside the nature centre.

As the Ospreys arrive at their nests around the world, laying eggs, and hatching osplets, I begin to be a ‘little more scattered’ than I might normally be. Last year, the total number of eggs that ‘H’ and I observed was 338. This year we hope to bring that total to 500. It is an enormous task. I am extremely grateful to those who have reached out to me, offering to send me information on the nests that they are watching. So, as a reminder, if you watch a particular osprey nest, please feel free to send me the date the eggs were laid and the dates of the hatch, and please do tell me if you are observing the chicks bashing the daylights out of one another. This could be ‘dominance play’, or it could be serious and result in siblicide. Even if you miss all of the major events but tune in to a nest and notice aggressive behaviour or something worrisome, do let me know. I appreciate any and all messages!

Let us go back to Dr Alan Poole’s talk. In my last blog, I talked about his first main topic—issues related to fish and the problems that the Ospreys face with the Chinese fishing trawlers taking huge nets of surface fish such as Manhadan and Mullet along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US and West Africa. The other three topics were Problem Nests, Restoring Osprey Populations, and Streaming cams.

Problem Nests: Dr Poole pointed out that not having enough nests for ospreys is a ‘positive’ problem when you have too many ospreys. He notes that Greece has not a single osprey. Poland is shooting all of theirs, the Balkans have none, etc. There are 8-10,000 Osprey pairs in the Chesapeake Bay Area of the US alone. Imagine. There are 5000 nesting pairs in Florida. So, what do they use? Ospreys have adapted to use human-made structures because there are not enough good trees. In fact, this is becoming a serious problem for Bald Eagles. One human-made structure that Ospreys use are the hydro or power poles. The power companies don’t like this. They try to kick them off. It is, in fact, easy for the power companies to add an auxiliary appendage or put up an additional pole for the birds. But it takes time, employees, and money – something the companies either don’t have or don’t want to use. So when you see a power company that actually helps the ospreys, thank them! Poole is trying to find ways to get the power companies on board. In Florida, a lot of ospreys are using cell towers. So far, there has not been a problem. Of those 8-10,000 pairs in the Chesapeake Bay region, 20-30% use channel markers. The Coast Guard needs an award, according to Poole, because they allow the birds to have their nests there as long as they do not interfere with the markers. Some people put up very short poles with predator guards in salt marshes. It was pointed out that salt marshes might be a good place to try and locate some of the birds. In Finland, there are very few suitable trees for the ospreys, so the Finns cut off the top of the conifer trees and put up human-made platforms for them. It is brilliant. This could be done for the eagles and ospreys in various parts of North America, too. In the UK, we know that artificial platforms are being built, which is also happening in France.

Restoring Osprey Populations: Poole calls Ospreys “the stay-at-home birds”. Most of the time they stay within a region around the nest where they fledged. We know that this is especially true for the males. But this behaviour causes issues with overpopulation, especially where there is a lack of fish, bad storms, etc. So what do you do? You try to relocate some of the population to places without food and birds. The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation is well known in England for translocating ospreys to places like Italy, Spain, and the UK. Poole mentioned that Massachusetts ospreys are now being flown to Illinois to try and get them to populate along the Mississippi Flyway. If you move ospreys where you want them, you must provide them with nesting platforms. This is imperative. Switzerland is currently trying to reintroduce the raptors. They have released 50 young in the last five years. Starting a breeding population in a new area takes at least a decade.

There was a slight move off topic before looking at streaming cams but it was an important one – one of the most important in my mind. That is getting people knowledgeable about the history, the persecution of ospreys, their behaviour, what makes me different from other birds, etc. Poole noted that various places have set up visitor centres where people can watch the ospreys on a monitor or at hides. One is Loch Garten in Scotland, which had 2 million visitors look at their birds. These visitors paid to see the raptors. In Finland, the visitor centre, which is quite small compared to Loch Garten, had enough visitors that it paid for all of the Osprey research. One way to create awareness is through education. Tim Mackrill was not mentioned, but he has set up the Osprey Leadership Foundation and, like Sacha Dench and The Flight of the Osprey, they have forged links between individuals in the UK and West Africa. It is fundamental to have the youngsters in both countries (their parents and teachers) appreciate the birds they share. Poole also noted that some places have fairs and events and there are osprey mascots to encourage interest.

The last topic was streaming cams, and I felt that while quite knowledgeable, Poole knew less about the current number of streaming cams and the amount of research that is going on using them. Perhaps I am wrong. He suggested that one way to understand the ‘fish problem’ was to monitor the fish species brought to a nest, the number, how those fish were divided up in terms of feeding the little ospreys, etc. ——– I sighed because I knew that so many of you have counted the fish, the bites, have cried, pulled your hair out, etc at many of the nests including Achieva and Patchogue – just two examples from 2023. Citizen scientists are doing it every day. Your work – meaning each of you -needs to find a way to channel itself to the researchers who need more time, the funds, or the staff to monitor enough nests. I know this from personal experience. Various other species have individuals watching, and we now have observation boards set up at several Osprey cam sites thanks to Bart Molenaar. I can think of three he has established – Rutland Manton Bay, Seaside, and Port Lincoln. Every aspect of the life of the nest was recorded through observations and the chat. It’s a really valuable archive.

At Loch of the Lowes, Blue NC0 is eating well and working on her nest. She awaits the arrival of Laddie, her mate (LM12).

At Achieva Credit Union’s osprey platform in St Petersburg, Florida, Jack brought in a nice fish and Diane gently fed the wee babe often. Jack was also kept busy being security guard for the nest.

Dad was so excited. ‘MP’ observed Dad listening and walking around Diane. Part of the shell was out from under Mum, but the little one was still partially in the shell, with Mum being very secretive. You could tell Dad was quite happy to have a wee babe in that nest.

Mary Kerr put in some interesting notes about Maya and Blue 33 on FB today. As you know, Maya arrived a couple of days ago with Blue 33 returning Wednesday on Rutland’s Manton Bay platform. On Thursday, Blue 25 came to the nest and Maya sent her packing.

Blue 25 does cause some mischief. However, Geemeff reminds me that she is the mother of Blue 4K, the subject of Simon Curtis’s book, If you build it, he will come, the story of waiting 200 years to have ospreys at Belvoir.

First Osprey sighting at Forsythe! Thanks, ‘H’,

Was there an Osprey at Patchogue? There was!!!!!!!! They have a lot of work to do but thankfully much of the harmful debris is ‘under’ the nest.

It is extremely difficult to watch the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta today because he wind was really whipping it about. The majority of the time I could only see two heads getting fed. That said right after 1106 you can see the blur of the third and it appears to have eaten.

That 1106 feeding.

Others.

There is plenty of food and Thunder and Akecheta are experienced adults.

Dixie and Mason are scooting all over the Superbeaks nest. It won’t be long til they are walking on those big clown feet.

The kids at Johnson City are both eating well. Boone has lots of fish in the nest and Jolene is a great Mum to these two.

Leaper and Jersey both had crops at Duke Farms today. At one point, Leaper was so full she looked like she would burst!

Swampy and Blaze are huge compared to these bobbleheads.

At Captiva, Cal flew off the nest on Wednesday. He flew around the area constantly observed by Clive and Connie. Today, he flew back to his natal nest. Well done, Cal!

Nothing like a lot of flying to make you want to go home to your bed and sleep duckling style.

Ron brought R6 a fish in the early afternoon. So cute. R6 had been working his wings Thursday morning. Not ready for fledge yet and still working on the self-feeding. No hurry, R6.

A lot of people thought E23 had fledged but he was up above the camera on Thursday. He could fly anytime!

Caught Gabby at the NE Florida nest today. She’s a beauty. We adore her and I am so glad that her and Beau are so bonded. Next year!

Chase and Cholyn’s only egg at Two Harbours was laid on February 22nd, making itay. In a fortnight, we should be expecting a pip/hatch on March 28th. 22 days old todMark your calendars.

Liberty and Guardian had three eggs. One was broken in the nest and it is unknown which of the three was lost. Those eggs were laid on Feb 15, 18, and 21. That would make them: Egg #1, 29 days, #2 26 days, and #3 would be 23 days old. We have at least a week to find out if egg #1 is alright.

It is now officially confirmed that Frederick and Betsy are back at the Carova Beach, North Carolina Outerbanks Osprey platform. — Don’t get me started. Look at those plastic carrier bags on the nest and around the foot of one of the adults!

I thought Annie might be ready to lay her first egg today. She was napping in the scrape when Archie, Daddy Door-Dash, came in with dinner.

There are currently three Peregrine Falcon eggs at the scrape in Eden, Netherlands. The third was laid on the 13th of March.

Waiting for Duke and Daisy to return to Barnegat Light in New Jersey. The couple lost 2 out of 3 chicks to starvation/siblicide during the Nor’easter of June 2023 and it was feared, for some time, that Duke might have died also. His return some weeks later was such a great relief for everyone.

Lucy was on the Lake Murray platform on Thursday.

Did Spirit visit her natal nest at Big Bear on Thursday? Cali Condor thinks it could have been her.

I am so looking forward to the Cornell RTH season. Big Red and Arthur were both checking and tweaking the nest and spending time on the light stand. Eggs could come any time.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Remember to go outside and smell spring! It will lift your spirits more than you ever will know. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, presentations, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, MP’, Alan Poole, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Achieva Credit Union, Mary Kerr, LRWT, Forsythe Osprey Cam, PSEG, IWS/Explore.org, Superbeaks, Johnson City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Eagle Country, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, FORE, Carova Beach Osprey Cam, SK Hideaways, EDE Peregrine Falcon Cam, Lake Murray Ospreys, and Cali Condor.

Hatch at Achieva…Blue 33 is home…Thursday in Bird World

14 March 2024

Good Morning,

It’s damp and grey but warming up on the Canadian Prairies. I hear that Melbourne got some much-needed rain and cooled off as well. After wishing for winter I am now hoping spring is on its way. There are certainly more and more Canada Geese flying overhead, thinking their timing is right, and the garden centres are encouraging people to get their orders in for late May planting. I am already dreaming about the trees that will arrive and considering getting another one or two very large older trees to add to the mix to benefit the birds and squirrels now.

Latest news: Bravo to those who believed that the third egg at Achieva was laid the morning of the 8th – ‘MP and H’ you were so observant! That third egg hatched today so there will be one little one for Jack and Dianne this year. That is a good thing as far as I am concerned! Jack seemed delighted when he found out.

There is also a second egg at White Rock and one of the Port Tobacco eggs has broken. No embryo seen in that egg.

Missey wishes everyone a wonderful day!

I listened to Dr Alan Poole’s talk on Wednesday. There were four areas that he concentrated on. I will only mention one today and go on to the others tomorrow as I want to find some images. One big problem for Ospreys is food, and their only food is fish. They are the only raptor that exists solely on fish. Poole went directly to the Manhaden ‘problem’. The overfishing of Manhaden in the Chesapeake Bay Area resulted in only three young being produced out of 100 nests last year. Indeed, many ospreys have stopped reproducing. Poole noted that the ‘bottom fell out of Osprey population growth’ in the mid-1990s in the Chesapeake Bay Area due to overfishing. According to Dr Poole, one large net taken by a boat could feed 10,000 ospreys. The Chinese are raising havoc in West Africa, where the UK and European osprey winter. They are given commercial fishing licenses because they provide funds to the various governments of West Africa. The wintering ospreys depend on these fish.


The locals also fish, but that was never an issue for the ospreys. It is the large commercial vessels that use huge nets. They pick up the surface schooling fish that the ospreys like, such as Mullet. Guess where that fish goes? TO FEED CHICKENS AND FARMED SALMON FOR GROCERY STORES. Did you know that most Ospreys die due to being shot by people running fish farms? This is happening at all fish farms, but ospreys are being wiped out in Poland because of the shooting and in various areas of Central and South America. Poole maintains that more ospreys die at fish farms than by any other cause. I have campaigned against the eating of tuna, and now, please avoid farmed salmon. Put the large trawlers out of business. Just stop. We don’t need to eat salmon!

The other three topics were Problem Nests, Restoring Osprey Populations, and using Streaming Cameras for research. I will cover those tomorrow with some comments of my own. Most of us are aware of the overfishing problem and the storms that hit the Northeast US in 2023. Indeed, I am certain that many of you were overwhelmed with the loss of both adults and nestlings, just as I was.

There was a lot of news in Bird World on Wednesday. First, Cal fledged from the Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Connie and Clive in Florida, if you missed it. Lori Covert has said, “​I have spotted Cal flying around several times this afternoon. He seems to be doing well! Connie and Clive are both staying nearby as well! Clive is just a few trees away, and Connie is on top of the watch tower of the beach home across the street, keeping a very close eye on Cal!” Well, that is good news.

The other great news is that Blue 33, Maya’s mate at Rutland Manton Bay, returned home to find his gal fixing up their nest on Wednesday afternoon. Edie lays her second egg at the Captiva Osprey nest as I write this. Thanks, ‘H’!

I suspect that the bobbleheads at the West End are bonking away. Thunder will put an end to it by sitting on them. I am having some big worries Some about the third hatch there. We will wait and see. The nest is certainly different in configuration than when they raised the Three Amigos. This nest cup is small – a real estate agent would call it ‘cosy’.

Tears for Maya and Blue 33. After the Bald Eagle season in the US, there needed to be some gold glimmering down. Blue 33 lands and looks around for his lady.

Maya touches down with a fish at 1536, less than a minute later. She opts not to share.

Oh, he is handsome with those devilish eyes! What a grand provider. These two make a great super osprey team. In 2023, Blue 33 arrived home on the 16th of March and had a bit of friendliness with Blue25 before Maya sent her packing. He is three days earlier in 2024.

Blue NCO works on the nest and scans the skies for the arrival of her mate, Laddie LM12 at Loch of the Lowes.

A pair of gulls decided to rest on the Llyn Brenig Osprey platform in Wales during the rain on Wednesday. In 2023, LJ2 arrived on 31 March with LM6 arriving on 4 April.

It was a beautiful day at Loch Arkaig. Not looking for Louis or Dorcha to arrive yet. In 2023, they set down on 2 April (Louis) and a week later on the 9th Dorcha flew in.

At Poole Harbour, Blue 022 arrived on 26 March with CJ7 returning on 31 March in 2023. Let’s see if this couple arrive early!

The area around Glaslyn is still partially flooded from all the rain they have been having. The cam operator gives almost a 360 view. You can hear the rain hitting the camera! Aran and Elen arrived at the nest on the 3rd of April in 2023.

At the Dyfi nest in Wales, Idris came home on 30 March with Blue 3J Telyn arriving three days earlier on the 27th. We know that Blue 5F Seren has left West Africa. She is always on her same post and has not been seen for about a week. Seren arrived home on 25 March in 2023 with Dylan arriving at Llyn Clywedog on the 27th of March.

There has been some commotion at the Dahlgren nest in the US. Some believed that the bird that had landed on Tuesday was Harriet. Some of us did not think that was the case based on a very close inspection of the head and breast feathers. Today there are three on the nest and what a bit of a fight it was! I guess we wait to see who the resident female will be.

Checking on Eagle Country, Blaze came in with a nice fish for Meadow and Swampy. Meadow did a lot of snatch and grab moving over to protect its head from Swampy. It was interesting to watch. These two have almost completed getting their juvenile feathers.

At SW Florida, E23 is ready to fly. Mum has been filling her baby up today. It felt like every time, he got high in the tree, a prey item was brought to the nest.

It is mostly cloudy in Fort Myers and hot at 28 degrees C. I cannot see any rai he got higher in forecast. That first flight—the fledge—could come this evening.

At the JB Sands Wetlands Eagle nest, JBS20 got a lesson in plucking today. What a magnificent eaglet – huge! Are you thinking a female, too? Look at those legs. My goodness.

I am not even going to speculate as to who ate what and when at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. There is plenty of fish thanks to Dad. That nest cup is small. I am going to give it a few days to make sure I am seeing three beaks open and being filled.

Trudi Kron got this great montage for us of the triplets at the West End.

At Duke Farms, Jersey did stretch its neck to get some nice fish. Both Jersey and Leaper were fed. Both look fine to me, but when the parents were both off the nest, the oldest decided for no reason to tear into the younger sibling.

At Bluff City, both eaglets, Willow and Oliver, had a rabbit breakfast. There was at least one other feeding before 1300 and it looks like Oliver was the only one that ate.

Many are wondering if Jackie and Shadow will have a second clutch. Eagles are only fertile three times a year and for Jackie, the latest this would be is probably April. In order to lay that second clutch, she would have to stop incubating the three eggs in the nest currently.

A trusted observer believes the third egg at Achieva was laid late on the 7th or early on the 8th. If this is the case, the egg is 35 days old today. We should be looking for a pip starting Friday. The egg will be 40 days old on Tuesday and that would mean it is unviable like eggs 1 and 2.

‘M’ tells me that the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey platform now has three eggs. Thank you and congratulations. I missed it! This is why I need everyone’s eyes!!!!!!

Here is the link to the VGCCO Cam:

Big Red and Arthur were at the Cornell RTH nest today. Arthur bringing in materials and Big Red also bringing in bark. Arthur also brought a prey gift and Big Red put down her nesting materials and took off for a late breakfast. Gosh that egg cup is deep this year!

Lots of mating and nest preparation going on with Angel and Tom, too.

A rare Black-beaked Spoonbill shows up in Hong Kong! There are believed to be fewer than 6000 in existence.

Birdwatch-rare-black-faced-spoonbill-turns-up-in-Hong-Kong-wetland-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Ever seen the sky dancing of the Buzzard when mating? Enjoy this quick read.

Country-diary-Breeding-buzzards-in-a-stylish-choreographed-dance-Environment-The-GuardianDownload

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, M’, Achieva Credit Union, Alan Poole, Window to Wildlife, Erica Crowley, Lori Covert, LRTWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Llyn Brenig, The Woodland Trust (Loch Arkaig), Poole Harbour Osprey Project, Brywd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Eagle Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam, JB Sands Wetlands, IWS/Explore (West End), Trudi Kron, Duke Farms, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH Cam, and Lady Hawk.

Waiting for pips…Wednesday in Bird World

6 March 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

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

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

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

Missey tried to stay out of the way.

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

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

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

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

The view of the eggs Wednesday morning.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

E23 is dreaming about flying.

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

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

Three eggs for Scout and Bella.

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

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

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

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

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

2023-24-Bald-Eagle-Nesting-Season-Notes-from-the-Field-Audubon-Center-for-Birds-of-PreyDownload

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

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

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

‘On-a-razors-edge-migratory-birds-rely-on-this-salt-lake-–-but-its-dying-Conservation-The-GuDownload
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Droughts in other areas such as China in 2022 have caused populations to significantly decrease.

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

Diminishing-Lakes-Pose-Serious-Consequences-for-Communities-Livelihoods-and-Wildlife-AudubonDownload

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

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

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

Thursday in Bird World

29 February 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, I haven’t been able to concentrate. Despite the freezing temperatures, a walk seemed like a good idea. It was so cold and slippery that the trails did not give much joy on Wednesday, so today, I am heading to a pool to go for a good long swim while we wait to see if any of the eggs at Big Bear are viable.

Will this mini bottle of champagne get opened this year? We wait to see. I bought it last year to celebrate the hatch at Big Bear, and it has sat in the cupboard waiting just like Jackie and Shadow have to try again for a family.

10,731 were watching the nest at 1534 on Wednesday. I just wonder what the numbers will be when the Pip starts. So many people love this couple. They are the epitome, like Jak and Audacity, of resilience and hope.

Rolling the precious eggs.

Singing together.

11, 784 and growing at 0700 watching for a pip as Jackie rolls the eggs leaving us to wonder.

JC23 and JC24 are quite the characters – and strong. My goodness the necks these two have!

Boone feeding these babies. Gosh that one is so strong. It appears the bonking has waned for awhile. Hoping it stays that way.

Abby and Blaze have fed Swampy and Meadow all day on Wednesday – full-to-bursting crops were the order of the day. It is a wonder either of these eaglets can move.

Starting to look like the new fleece jackets!

Proud Mamma Abby with her two beautiful eaglets.

Have a look at Swampy’s fat bottom and a huge PS!

Two eggs for Andor and Cruz at Fraser Point.

News coming in of the South Australian ospreys.

Beau and Gabby have been mating and working on the nest. Could I seriously hope that these two might have another clutch of eggs? at this date?

Mum is still incubating the eggs at Duke Farm and it appears that there will be at least one little one as hatch is underway. Congratulations.

The Bald Eagles on the Hanover, PA nest now have two eggs. It was a breezy rainy day there on Wednesday. HDonTap says, “With the recent arrival of the second egg, the plot thickens as two male eagles fiercely vie for the coveted space. As observers eagerly await the hatching, speculation mounts, adding an extra layer of suspense to this captivating avian tale.”

There are two eggs at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend.

Everyone wants to incubate (except Beau and Lewis)…

Arthur and Big Red worked on their nest with Arthur in and out with sticks several times. At 17:45 he arrives with a vole (or mouse) for Big Red and calls her but she did not fly in. He took the prey and left!

Notice how many sticks Arthur has accumulated. Those rails look pretty good. Is he expecting 3 or 4 eggs this year?

The eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands is really changing its plumage. Just squint and you can see the dark feathers starting to come in with the charcoal thermal down.

Food delivery at the Hilton Head GHO nest that I missed! Aren’t they cute?

More bonding at Anacapa with Lena and HJ.

Is Archie inviting Annie to come down to the scrape with him? Does she join him? Watch and see!

Not sure I this is before or after Annie discusses Pocket Gophers and Rodenticide with Archie!

I am imagining the most famous raptors all over giving lectures on dangers to their existence.

Only one Kakapo was born on Leap Year Day – Tau Kuhurangi. Happy Birthday!

Frustrated by the camera at FORE and wanting to watch Liberty and Guardian, here is some news.

And now…for some really good news. With population numbers declining rapidly for some species, the Eastern Imperial Eagle is having a comeback in Austria!

“Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca)” by Bernd Thaller is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Conservation efforts to stabilize populations elsewhere while the clearing of pine forests and lost of habitat continues to threaten.

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In 2020, there were only three recorded nesting pairs of Imperial Eagles in Serbia. The reasons for the total decimation of the population were:

“Loss of habitat, poisoning, and poaching are the problems that brought the eastern imperial eagle to the edge of extinction. The european ground squirrel [Spermophilus citellus, native to Eastern Europe and Asia Minor], a favourite food of the eagle, lives in open grassy fields, most often pastures that have been plowed over due to the dying off of traditional animal husbandry. There are no cows grazing, no pastures, no ground squirrel, no old trees that can withstand the nests of these large birds, so there are no imperial eagles. When you add in pesticides and poaching, the state of the population is not surprising,” he says.

Reckless pesticide use is very bad for the birds, but Serbia also faces the issue of intentional poisoning of wildlife.”

In the last article, more discussions of how humans have made the Imperial Eagle decline so rapidly. I hope by reading the article on the growing numbers in Austria that you will appreciate how difficult it was – because almost everywhere these gorgeous raptors are in great decline.

A-mighty-predator-made-helpless-at-the-hands-of-humansDownload

Eastern Imperial Eagle having a bath.

More tributes continue to pour in to Flaco.

Death-of-Flaco-NYCs-Celebrity-Owl-Calls-Attention-to-Bird-Strikes-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Do you live in NYC?

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care and remember – all eyes on Big Bear starting tomorrow.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘H, J, SP’, FOBBV, Johnson City Eagles ETSU, Rollin’ Dog, Eagle Country, Lisa Yen, Brooke Copp, NEFL-AEF, Duke Farms, HDonTap, ND-LEEF, PIX Cams, Cornell RTH, JB Sands Wetlands, Hilton Head, SK Hideaways, Cal Falcon, Kakapo Recovery, FORE, BirdGuides International Openverse, NABU, Emerging Europe, Birdlife International my-mriya, Kathy Robles, and The New York Times.

Flaco dies from building collision, Third egg at Florida-Gainesville Ospreys…Saturday in Bird World

24 February 2024

I am not sure it is a ‘Good Morning’ but Hello to everyone,

My focus has been entirely on the JBS Wetlands Eagle family. I have not seen both eagles on the nest since Wednesday and this has been concerning. However…any concerns have now dissipated.

JBS Wetlands has also written to MP: “

“Thank you for reaching out! The other adult eagle has been spotted several times this week activity hunting and spending time on the top of the tower on the lookout. We spotted the adult yesterday several times as well, twice on top of the tower while the other parent was on the nest with the eaglet!”

Finally, I caught a feeding at 16:03 and JBS Wetlands contacted me to tell me that both eagles were on the nest at 1832 with a feeding in progress. Relief.

Sadly, this morning, the world woke to the news that Flaco, the Eurasian Owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo just a year ago, has died from injuries after colliding with a building. Oh, I loved this little guy – like all of you.

Flaco-the-Eurasian-Eagle-Owl-Has-Died-NewsroomDownload
Flaco-Escaped-Central-Park-Zoo-Owl-and-Defier-of-Doubts-Is-Dead-The-New-York-TimesDownload

We are now five days away from pip/hatch watch at Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow are too funny. Shadow persisted, going in and out all day Friday, wanting turns to incubate! At one point, I looked at the eggs, which were intact. I returned for a screen capture and couldn’t find that split second. Jackie is being ever so careful. Extremely careful.

Five days. That is next Thursday. Mark your calendars. I have my tiny tiny bottle of champagne ready. At 1600 nest time on Friday there were 8595 people watching. I believe we will hit 10,000 when there is a hatch. Incredible. Bells should be ringing around the world in celebration.

This is a recap of Friday’s nest activity at Big Bear.

Chase and Cholyn have their first egg at Two Harbours!

Isn’t she the most beautiful 25 year old Bald Eagle? If you do not know, she is Thunder’s mother (Thunder the partner of Akecheta at the West End nest). And if this is Cholyn, my apologies!

The Canada Geese are back! Will we have a nest and be delighted when there is a hatch, and they all jump down to go to the stream?

Two eggs for Mr North and DNF laid on the 15th and 18th of February. Pip/hatch watch 35-36 days from then. Both taking good care to do incubation duty!

M15 feeds E23 as F23 looks on. They will relish these last weeks before their first eaglet takes flight.

I wasn’t expecting to see them, but Beau and Gabby did spend the night at the nest tree on Thursday. Gabby stayed longer in the morning and even went down to the nest. I wonder what she is thinking?

Lewis needed to help with the incubation at the Dulles-Greenway Nest. He did not. Rosa knew this and was half-hearted in doing her share. On Friday, the Crows did what was necessary – they pecked holes in them when left alone. It is best this happened now, not when there are eaglets.

Everyone is being fed at Eagle Country. There is some unidentifiable prey o that nest and piles of bits and bobs of fish and mammals. No one could go hungry. I do keep saying this, but some nests are prey richer than others. This is a good one!

Much smaller feedings, but more of them at Superbeaks. Mason and Dixie are so tiny compared to Swampy and Meadow!

At Captiva, Cal continues to be fed and is standing on the rim of the nest looking around. It appears that Connie and Clive will leave Lusa to become part of their nest. So sad to know how big that beautiful bird was and not to know what caused its demise.

Look how big E23 is. Anyone think this eaglet is a female besides me?

Everything continues to look good for Jak and Audacity at Sauces. Could this be the year that both Sauces and Big Bear have eaglets?

A big milestone. R6 caught self-feeding! He got some really good bites, too!!!!!

The deer and bunnies are keeping the eagles at Decorah North company while they incubate their eggs.

At the University of Florida-Gainesville, Stella and Talon have their third egg of the 2024 season. Thanks, ‘R’.

Big Red and Arthur were at the nest on Friday. Big Red stayed and spent a lot of time in that nest bowl making people think that today could be the day. It seems it wasn’t but we are moving into a window where we can begin to anticipate…think 13 or so of March.

So far, everything has stayed the same at the Patchogue Osprey platform. When the crew came to clean the nest of harmful objects, they flipped it over after more fishing line was noticed. It has created a mound that would cause – potentially – the eggs to roll. The Ospreys will have to create a nest cup in the mound and build off the sides, which we know that they can do watching Richmond and Rosie do this many times. Still, it would be helpful if the crew got the bucket, flipped it over and fixed the sticks along the edges to help Mum and Dad!

PSEG has posted that the ospreys will fix the nest the way they want. In other words, nothing will be done.

I received an update from Australia. Those adorable Lorikeets that used to check on Daisy the Duck at the WBSE nest have had paralysis issues. Here is the latest news on their treatment. I thought you would be interested. It is long. I could not post a PDF, but we all learn something every day. These rehabbers at WIRES are so dedicated!

Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome

Further to our update a fortnight ago, we are now thankfully seeing a reduction in the number of Rainbow Lorikeets impacted by Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome.We were able to provide prompt medical treatment for several hundred affected Lorikeets, and well over 400 survivors are now in recovery with their WIRES carers. We’ve included a little clip below. 

Why did this happen? 

Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome has occurred more frequently over the past four years, with this season being the most serious. Thousands of Lorikeets were impacted and had more serious and immediate symptoms. It appears to be a toxicity that affects a Lorikeet’s kidneys, liver and muscles. We believe it could be caused by a fungus or bacteria following heavy rain events. 

Dr Bishop treating an affected Lorikeet

Our Wildlife Veterinarian Dr Tania Bishop, treating a Rainbow Lorikeet affected with Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome.    

Can it be treated?  

When a Lorikeet is rescued early enough, a vet can flush out the kidneys with fluids and provide glucose for energy to support getting the toxin out of their system. They can also provide medication for any complications like aspiration and pneumonia, and lubrication to make sure their eyes aren’t permanently damaged. 

Whilst affected birds are extremely hungry and thirsty, it is impossible for them to swallow whilst the toxicity is in their system as it affects their muscles.

When the Lorikeet can start swallowing again, a wildlife carer needs to support-feed them until they can feed themselves, and then provide up to eight weeks of dedicated care before they are fit enough to survive in the wild.  

Two Lorikeets after receiving fluids with glucose

The photo above shows two Rainbow Lorikeets who had started to revive after receiving fluids with glucose. The towel is supporting their necks.

The photo below shows Lorikeets after receiving treatment. They’re no longer using their neck supports and whilst they’re still very wobbly and weak, they’re starting to get up, hop and chirp. 

Recovering Lorikeets after treatment

What was WIRES’ response?    

Since the first build-up of cases many weeks ago in south east Queensland and northern NSW; local groups, WIRES volunteers, and veterinarians have been managing this crisis, including rescuing, evaluating, and providing immediate care. 

When the event escalated, we deployed four Emergency Responders with Wildlife Ambulances to assist vets and carers with the rescue, transport, and immediate care of thousands of birds. 

We opened a temporary Community drop-off centre in Grafton, the worst affected area, and deployed our Wildlife Veterinarian Dr Tania Bishop to personally treat large numbers of Lorikeets on site and provide treatment advice for local vets.  

Hundreds of recovering Lorikeets are now in WIRES’ care. They will require many weeks of rehabilitation before they are strong enough for release. Below is a clip from just one of the pre-release aviaries erected at our carer Robyn’s property. Robyn has hundreds of recovering Lorikeets currently in care. 

Rehabilitating Lorikeets in WIRES care

And continuing on with learning. Do you know the 8 birds that mate for life? Make your list and then read this article by Audubon. How well did you do?

Till-Death-Do-Them-Part-8-Birds-that-Mate-for-Life-AudubonDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon! (And please ignore that Pop Up Subscribe – it irritates me, too! I am trying to get it removed).

If you want to subscribe, you can do so here.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AE, B, Geemeff, H, J, MP, R’, WC# News, The New York Times, FOBBV, IWS/Explore, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, Dulles-Greenway, JB Sands Wetlands, Eagle Country, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Gracie Shepherd, Heidi Mc, UFlorida-Gainesville, Cornell RTH Cam, PSEG, WIRES, and Audubon.

Friday in Bird World

23 February 2024

Hello Everyone,

It was +4 C. The nature centre was full of people. There were two bus loads of young students and at least three groups having meetings. Oh, but they missed being outside – those at the meetings. It is February. It smells like spring and this should not be happening. The open water in Devonian Lake is bigger; I swear there was a duck there when I drove in. Not a migrant duck, but one that stays here all winter. I wonder when the time will come when the eagles and all the songbirds, the shorebirds, and the ducks never leave us to go south. Will this happen in my lifetime?

Turns out it was the Bald Eagle. you can barely see the white head on the edge off the open water to the lower right of the blue area, top image (under the word area).

This is highly cropped and so it is pixellated but now you can see the eagle with its white head.

The birds were not out so much. Squirrels were running around and I did not see any deer. It appears that they don’t humans. LOL. I don’t blame them.

The Girls are doing great. The light is different – the days are longer and they spend so much time in the conservatory. It is nice and warm in there. Hugo Yugo is over whatever ailed her to the point that Calico might wish she was sick again! Hugo Yugo loves to jump on Calico. The newest thing is that Calico will actually play with her. Calico is losing weight – but she is embarrassed because I showed everyone her curvy physique. So today, she would not get up!

Hugo Yugo can be an angel – when she is sleeping. Her battery is otherwise always charged, and she is in sixth gear. There is no low speed on Hugo Yugo. It is a manufacturer’s defect! She is the most curious cat and is fearless. Can you imagine? A kitten 1/6 the size of Calico – well, maybe 1/8, running straight at her? That’s HY.

She fits in a shoe box…and the girls have fun playing with the paper.

They enjoy boxes and paper more than any toy ever purchased! If you have cats that love paper bags with handles, Hugo Yugo says to remember to cut the handles so they don’t slip over the necks of your pets and choke them!

I wrote about the impact that tree cutting has had on my neighbourhood and the concern for the canopy loss. It has, until now, allowed the squirrels to cross the road – above the road – jumping from branch to branch. I fear that many of the garden friends who, for whatever reason, feel it necessary to cross the road will be killed by the fast drivers that come down the lane trying to find a shortcut to avoid the traffic jams on the main road. Sometimes, it helps not to feel alone. I am a great fan of Dani Connor Wild and her photographs, and I care for the squirrels in Sweden, where she lives. One of those was a little one whose mother was killed crossing the road near her house. She rescued, cared for, and released Roo. This is the story’s last episode (so far), with a dramatic turn about the trees and the road near her. Get some tissues for the end -.

I was away for most of the day. I am so grateful for your notes and those posting information on the various FB groups. It helps when I can’t keep my eyes on those nests! Much appreciated. There are many nests missing today, but I will get caught up in the next couple of days.

Hartley and Monty certainly feel spring-like! Does anyone recall when the first egg was laid last year?

Ah, and spring at Anacapa….

Best check in on what is happening with Newmann at Great Spirit Bluff. He is in need of mate!

Newman in the early morning.

Lisa was at the nest this morning also.

There is no doubt that Julie has her eyes and talons set on Newmann. I wonder what will happen…we wait.

At The Campanile, Archie shows up with a prey gift for Annie. She comes out of the scrape, flys off, returns and grabs. Archie sure looks like a ‘keeper’.

Arthur checked out the nest bowl and Big Red flew in for a quick glance Thursday morning. Big Red flies off and Arthur continues to check on what is needed.

It was a good day at Eagle Country. Meadow had a private feeding by Blaze right at bedtime. (They are behind Abby on the other side of the nest). Meadow is stuffed! (A few other images during the day – kids out of the egg bowl).

Jak and Audacity’s egg is still holding! Let’s hope it is viable.

R6 is walking! He crossed the entire near 2 m of the nest!

Ron and Rose with their gorgeous son.

‘H’ has identified that ‘gold’ fish that was brought to the WRDC nest the other day as a Midas cichlid. Thank you! I could not find it on the normal Florida ID listings. Apparently it is an evasive species prevalent in SE Florida.

Pepe and Muhlady have both of the two eggs of their second clutch hatched. Dixie and Mason. They appear to be healthy and robust. So happy.

We are six days away – six – from pip/hatch watch at Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow have been ever so careful around the three eggs this year. It is incredible to watch them as they strive to have one – at least one – of those eggs hatch this season. Will we have another Spirit? or will there be siblings?

They should catch some sleep now…they are going to be super busy if more than one hatches. Can you imagine? Three?? I hope Shadow has a special fishing spot!

Jackie was ever so happy when Shadow delivered her a nice fish meal. They say turn the sound down, but turn it up and listen to this amazing couple talk to one another.

‘J’ captured the eggs.

Too cute not to post. The way to Jackie’s heart? or to get her off the eggs? Shadow knows the answer: fish!

Wings of Whimsy has the video of Baker and Bette’s second egg at the Little Miami Conservancy Bald Eagle nest in Ohio. This happened on Thursday after 1600.

Want to know who is currently incubating? Wings of Whimsy has that too -.

They also did a tribute to Lusa.

Wings of Whimsy – do you know this YouTube site? If not, check it out. You might find it works well for you. Here is the link to the channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@WingsOfWhimsy/videos

There are a couple of great folks in South Bend that keep us informed of what is going on at the ND-LEEF nest. Thanks SB for your images today.

There have been no fish deliveries on the Port Lincoln Osprey nest since the 17th when Mum brought one fish in that Bradley got. Later that day Bradley brought his own Puffer to the ropes. Giliath made a quick fly to the nest and then the cleaners arrived. It seems that nest deliveries are now stopped and I am going to assume that Mum and Dad are in ‘retirement’ from this season with Gil and Brad providing their own meals.

Thanks to the Fish Fairies ‘ foresight, it was a great season. Thanks again, Janet, Fran, and Bazz, for your persistence and care.

The Government of India appears to working towards conservation for migratory birds. BirdLife International reports, “Today at the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS COP14), governments along the Central Asian Flyway have committed to secure the passage of migratory birds in 30 countries from Siberia all the way to the Maldives. https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/02/17/the-government-of-india-leads-a-new-era-for-bird-conservation-in-central-asia/

https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/02/17/the-government-of-india-leads-a-new-era-for-bird-conservation-in-central-asia

It is nearing migration. As spring comes, birds wintering in warmer climates will return to their breeding grounds in the north. Migration does connect and should concern all of us – and we need to do everything we can to help them. From feeding, to making sure that our windows are bird strike free, to slowing down when geese are crossing the road. If you missed this article, here is a little reminder of how we are connected.

Bird-Migration-Connects-Us-All-BirdLife-International-1Download

The devastation caused by H5N1 has been huge and continues to decimate our Bird community.

Please keep your eyes on the JB Sands Wetlands Bald Eagle nest. It appears that one of the adults might be missing. I have just been alerted to this situation by ‘M’. Normally you will see both adults at the nest several times during the day. This is quite worrisome as there has been no sign of both of them together for at least 1.5 days. We know form experience that a single adult can raise a chick if it is a month old. M15 is a good example of this. We now need the adult at the nest to realise that something is happening and go hunting for JBS20.

At SW Florida, E23 is getting a little nippy!

Love and devotion…

Many of you would have provided the same answers and we watched the devastation last year. Will it change this year or be worse?

Noreaster-and-Prey-Shortage-Impacts-Nesting-Ospreys-in-2023-Conserve-Wildlife-Foundation-of-New-JDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. We look forward to seeing you soon! Oh, apologies. There is a pop-up that asks you to subscribe. I have no idea how it got there, but I am trying to remove it. I hate these things!

Thank you to the following for your notes, posts, screen captures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, M, SP’, Dani Connor Wild, SK Hideaways, Ashley Wilson, Cal Falcons, Cornell RTH, Gracie Shepherd, WRDC, Superbeaks, FOBBV, Lady Hawk, Eagle Country, Michelle Hillman, Wings of Whimsy, Stephen Basly, PLO, BirdLife International, Ben Wurst, and JBS Wetlands.

Liberty lays another egg, Thursday in Bird World

22 February 2024

Hello Everyone! Hugo Yugo hopes that everyone is going to have a super day today. She wants you to look closely. Despite missing a whisker or three, her eyes are clear. She now has the face of a cat on a kitten’s body, and all she wants to do is sleep, play, and cuddle – not necessarily in that order. I love waking up at night and finding her sleeping under my chin or on top of my head…seriously, it just makes me so happy. Then there is her constant ‘purr’. She does this when she gets her needles, too. The happiest little kitten, nearing six months old.

The eggs in Eagle World are really starting to come. I will not be able to keep up with them so if you see something, let me know! Thanks, so much.

The Centerport Eagles have their first egg of the season.

Mum and the new male at Pittsburgh-Hayes have their first egg. She turned so quickly there was just a quick glimpse of the egg at 2016 Tuesday night, the 20th.

The video:

Denton Homes has its first egg.

And then, there were two. He is named Mason. Is this a nod to the Mason-Dixon Line?

At Big Bear, Jackie has the most determined look. Those eggs are going to hatch! Well, at least one of them we hope. We are now one week away from pip watch for Jackie and Shadow. Hold your breath. Send good energy their way and to Jak and Audacity who still have one egg they are incubating.

I clearly would not want to break Jackie’s focus..look at those eyes.

SK Hideaways did an amazing job capturing Jackie and Shadow and the weather – protecting those eggs!

Twenty-five year old Liberty just laid the third off for her and mate, Guardian, at the Redding Eagle nest in California. The local time was 1642.

After having quite a beating by Swampy, Meadow still managed to get a nice crop at a feeding. Dear Swampy, don’t you think you could just let it up now…geez. We know you are the boss and so does Meadow.

This video will put a smile on your face – Meadow full to the top!

Their intentions were good. PSEG responded to a reader, alerting them to the fishing line in the Patchogue nest of Mini. They cleaned it, but to everyone’s dismay, they turned the nest upside down. This has created a huge mound. The eagles will not be able to build up the sides sufficiently enough – those rails would have to be super high – to avoid the eggs or the chicks rolling out. If you feel so included, let PSEG know that you are grateful they cleaned the nest, but if they could get back and turn it right side up, that would be fantastic. This is the e-mail to contact (please be polite – we will need them all season, but this needs to be fixed!): pseg-li-customerservice@pseg.com

All appears well at the WRDC nest. A ‘gold’ fish was brought into the nest. Could anyone possibly identify the fish? I tried Florida Fish ID and came up with too many options!

Big Red and Arthur were both working on their nest on the Cornell Campus on Wednesday.

Water, water everywhere. This is the map showing the 41 affected areas of the vast flooding in Wales. Let us hope that all is back to normal, not only for the people of Wales but also for the wildlife and the raptors that will be returning.

Around the Ospreys nest at Glaslyn in Wales.

I have not been able to log on to all the nests.

Rain and wind at Llyn Brenig.

The Egyptian Geese have been checking what they hoped would be their nest at Rutland, but the use of a simple bin lid and bricks seems to have encouraged them to seek another site. I don’t think Maya and Blue 33 would take too kindly to their home being occupied when they return fro migration.

It is going to be one fantastic view at Dyfi. They are testing the camera, and it will be online soon.

One of the words on people’s minds today is ‘branching’. I was taught – of course, eons ago, that ‘branching’ was when the eagle (various species) flew from the nest bowl to the branch. That definition appears to have changed according to some American source.

Audubon: A pre-fledge milestone is an activity called branching when the eaglet takes short hops/flights to branches within the nest tree. The young eagles normally branch for up to 7-10 days before fledge, exercising theirs wings and legs, taking short flights to branches in the nest tree.

National Eagle Centre: Branching: When eaglets move from the nest to a branch and flap their wings before jumping off. This common behaviour serves to strengthen flight muscles and acclimate the eaglet to life outside the nest.

Loudon:  Branching means both feet are off the nest bed onto a nearby branch or trunk.Branching is a critical developmental step on the path to independent flight. Prior to branching, an eaglet spends time jumping, flapping, and actually “hovering” off the nest, learning to get wind under its wings.  When branching, an eaglet will perch on a branch in their home tree. From there, they can flap their wings, jump off and land on a lower branch or back at the nest. This behavior strengthens their flight muscles and improves their agility and landing skills. The adults may encourage this behavior by withholding food. Eaglets may be observed exercising their wings, but they may also be perched on a branch out of camera range.Branching typically lasts seven to 10 days, when it is especially vital to keep the nest free from any human disturbance that could cause premature fledging. An eaglet that leaves the nest too soon may need to be cared for by the parents on the ground, where they are at greater risk of predation. But if all goes well, branching will help the eaglet take its first successful flight and spend the next few weeks honing its flying and landing skills and learning to forage for food.

Of course, the focus of all this ‘branching’ discussion is Cal at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest who apparently walked up the branch but left a talon on the nest and did not branch.

Cal has certainly found his way to sitting on the rim of the nest, but he has done this before. Lusa’s body is deteriorating and soon the feathers will be blown off the nest and what remains will become part of the history of this nest.

Mum at Duke Farms is out of the snow!

No eggs yet at Three Bridges.

I am not convinced that this will be a successful year at Dulles-Greenway. Lewis doesn’t seem to fully understand what his role is…yet. Just like Beau at NE Florida.

Just like Cal, E23 is looking out to the wider world beyond the nest. Standing on the rim and flapping wings. What a great year for F23 as a first time Mum and M15. E23 is doing fantastic.

It was windy and the structure was shaking at times at JBS Wetlands. It did not seem to bother the Bald Eagles one bit.

It is Pip Watch at Johnson City!

Some of the non-breeders are causing mischief at the Royal Albatross Colony.

This note arrived for members of the VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY today from Kelly Sorenson. I did mention some of the issues with images, but in case you missed it. These California Condors are precious. There were 21 condors lost in Arizona last year to HPAI. Ventana has worked diligently, including getting pens for vaccinations to stop harm to the California group

I have received a few notes from individuals that did not know anything about the California Condors and some that knew a little. I will provide some good information on their history and current numbers and the challenges in the days ahead just as part of my desire to educate us on their importance and the horrific hurdles in trying to build up the colony numbers.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, M, SP’, Rob Schwartz, PIX Cams, Trudi Kron, Superbeaks, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, FORE, Eagle Country, Lady Deeagle, PSEG, WRDC, Cornell RTH Cam, Wales Flood Alert, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Audubon, National Eagle Centre, Loudon Wildlife, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, Three Bridges Eagle Cam, Dulles-Greenway, SW Florida Eagle Cam, JBS Wetlands, Rollin’ Rag, Sharon Dunne, and VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY.

And his name is Archie and her name is Dixie…Wednesday in Bird World

21 February 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The City put up the signs and cleared all the diseased Elm trees on my block. It is so sad to see these 122-year-old trees cut down, but…I understand they had to go. I wish there had been some foresight, and smaller trees were planted some time ago in anticipation that these might have to be cut down. The beautiful canopy that covered the streets in my neighbourhood once the leaves come in the spring is now gone for the most part. I feel like I live on a barren moonscape. Thankfully, my little plot has trees and shrubs that shelter the animals. There will be more planted this spring. I wonder what options the City will give us for species.

Congratulations to the New Guy who has a name – Archie Williams. Apparently it was a no brainer. We hope that you and Annie have a great season and a long life together.

He isn’t ‘Whatshisname’ anymore! And yes, he was lucky to be picked by Annie…his entire life changed. The ‘King’ of the Campanile.

So many books were written during the pandemic as people worldwide were required to stay ‘put’. So many of those books talk about nature’s glory right before us or the healing power of birds and trees. The book that I am just finishing, 12 Birds to Save Your Life by Charlie Corbett, is one of those. (Priced between $10-21.99 CDN.). No beautiful coloured images but a good solid read to make you look again at the life around you.

Corbett’s mother dies of cancer. He falls apart. The 12 birds in the book bring him back to life. One of those is the House Sparrow.

Long-time readers of my blog will know that I love House Sparrows. they will also know that I disdain people who set up bird feeders only to resort to everything possible so that they do not have to provide seeds for these little songbirds. How reckless. Why they are gone, and their numbers are declining significantly, we will not get them back. In my garden, it is the songs of the sparrows that can be heard halfway down the lane not those of the Blue Jays or the European Starling, the Woodpeckers, or the Pine Siskins. Sometimes it is the Crows, but it is always the sparrows. Here are some quotes from Corbett about his relationship with Sparrows.

“Male House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus)” by foxypar4 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Not that long ago, the house sparrow- that most important, nay saucy, of characters, – provided the background music to the life of town and country dweller alike; the cheerful chirruping never ceased. But no more. They have vanished form our streets, and even from large tracts of the countryside, too. The silence is deafening….I wander the silent sparrow-free streets and lanes. Some people blame loss of habitat, while others blame overpredation from sparrow hawks and cats. Some people even blame unleaded petrol. Personally I think it is a mixture of the first two theories. Sparrows used to thrive in town and country because in the old days our houses were more tumbledown affairs, with gardens full of grass, flowers, and seed. Sparrows like to nest in cracks in the wall, under broken tiles or tucked into a loose brick, and they eat grasses, grains, and seeds. We no longer tolerate this sort of idiosyncrasy in our houses. Our gardens, more often than not, are lifeless low-maintenance lawns. Green deserts….We have left no room for nature. Put simply, there is nothing for them to eat. We’ve evicted them from our lifestyles without even realising that we’ve done it.”

He continues, “From these sparrows, I learned an incredibly important lesson: just to live. To take solace in the everyday. Even in the grey skies of an empty Tuesday afternoon – a prime time for endless thinking and creeping melancholy. But a sparrow doesn’t know it is Tuesday afternoon. They get on with what needs getting on with, oblivious to my inner struggles. As the philosopher Alan Watts once said: ‘The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.’ ” (173-75).

In North America, the population numbers of House Sparrows has, according to Cornell Bird Lab, declined by 84% since 1966. In Europe and the UK, the numbers are also declining dramatically. These declines are significant enough for me to beg you to feed them at your feeders. Don’t try fancy trips of aluminium foil or whatever, but embrace them for their lovely song and let’s see if we can help get their numbers up.

House-sparrow-population-in-Europe-drops-by-247m-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

The House Sparrow is on the Red List of Birds in the UK. They are cited as being ‘Globally Threatened’. As my Great Bird Count suggests, the number of House Sparrows in my garden has dropped dramatically since last winter. Instead of counts in the hundreds, there were maybe 45 tops.

Egg collectors still threaten endangered species. Convicted for the third time what will they do with this man?

Serial-egg-thief-Daniel-Lingham-convicted-for-third-time-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

We had the first hatch at Superbeaks and the next egg is showing signs of an eaglet being here by the time I hit ‘publish’ tomorrow morning, the 21st. Superbeaks confused me. They kept saying they could hear the chick in egg #3. Well, egg three when you also 1 and 2? That was my thinking, but Superbeaks counts differently – thanks, ‘H’, for that. The third egg is the first egg of the second clutch. Egg one and egg two from the first clutch did not hatch. OK. I get it now.

Cheeping heard from egg 4 so it won’t be long. First chick of second clutch at Superbeaks has been named Dixie.

Meadow did alright on Tuesday after the rain at the weekend and Swampy having her nose out of joint. Thank goodness. So much food and super parents – it just didn’t seem possible we could lose an eaglet. Things seem to be on the mend.

Oh, the weather was quite nasty in Big Bear Valley when I checked on Jackie and Shadow earlier. I worry about them slipping on wet sticks and puncturing the eggs that are now 8 days away from pip.

And then the snow came. I really am on tender hooks as to what is going to happen at this nest. Note: “Tenters and tenterhooks were commonly used from the fourteenth century, both as an important part of the process of weaving woolen fabric. Starting sometime in the eighteenth century, the phrase “on tenterhooks” came to mean “in suspense,” the way a piece of cloth is suspended from tenterhooks on a tenter.” That suspense is going to turn into a full blown anxiety attack in a week if we don’t get some decent weather on this nest.

Still snowing.

Horrible wind and little pelts this morning on Jackie.

Jak and Audacity still have their one precious egg at Sauces Canyon. Fingers and toes crossed for them as well.

Is there a second egg for Pa and Missey at Berry College? Sure looked like Missey was in labour when I checked, but she wasn’t giving us any peeks so I cannot say for sure.

Yes, that egg did arrive, but not until later! Congratulations Pa and Missey on the 2nd egg of your second clutch!

The Royal Albatross chick was weighed on the 20th. It didn’t look like it was going to fit in that sack, but it did!

Royal Cam chick slept partially alone.

Two nice fish came to the Captiva nest. Adults appeared to eat one of them while Connie fed the other to Cal. Perhaps Clive or Connie will move Lusa’s remains off the nest soon.

Is there going to be a bonded couple on the Captiva Osprey platform, finally? Jack and LO7??

So grateful to Ildiko Pokk for getting those screen captures of two little osplets at Pelican Bay.

At SW Florida, it looks like M15 and F23 are keeping E23 well fed. That eaglet is huge! And yes, some mysterious meat appeared on the nest on Tuesday.

The American Eagle Foundation is reminding people that we may see Gabby and Beau only occasionally. They have now abandoned the egg and since they do not need “the nursery tree”, we will likely not see them much. They are still in the area and will not migrate til later. Gabby normally returns in September.

Ron and Rita seem to be enjoying every minute they can with R6. What a big eaglet! Goodness, when HE stands up, you can see those beautiful strong legs and that fat little bottom…love the colour combo of light greys and espresso brown/black with that pop of white on the top of the head! This is a guy with good taste! — And yes, R6 is a ‘guy’.

The JB Sands Wetlands eaglet is getting bigger too…It is so nice to be able to ‘see’ this little one as it develops. Thermal down now.

They are on egg watch at Pittsburgh-Hays. Nothing so far on Tuesday the 20th.

News from Ventana Wildlife Society after the big storm that hit – they got all that rain and wind, too.

Iris’s cam is lie at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. We are not expecting her back for 5 weeks, but she could fool us.

For those that have concerned themselves with Flacon and his living in the wild to the point of being ill that something might happen to him in the Central Park/Manhattan area, this post should help you get some peace. Flaco is in less danger than many of the raptors in the area for some of the reasons listed – and is at the same level of danger as the hawks and others that eat mice/rats due to rodenticide.

There is a new study on these designer rodenticides that has come out. Each of us should create a web of individuals and businesses that will spread to other individuals and businesses to stop the use of these dangerous toxins.

New-Study-is-First-to-Find-Exposure-to-Neurotoxic-Rodenticide-Bromethalin-in-Birds-of-Prey-Tufts-NDownload

Milda and H492 have been visiting their nest in Durbe County, Latvia. I am so looking forward to little White-tail eaglets this year.

Arthur visited the nest at Cornell – Big Red was there on Monday. We are not expecting eggs for at least another three and a half weeks.

The earliest that an Osprey on a streaming cam has arrived in the UK was Maya on the 12th of March at Rutland. That was early. Using that as a marker, we are 21 days from a possible arrival. Wow. I am getting Osprey fever! Thank goodness those eggs of Jackie and Shadow will have hatched by then!!!!!!

Thank you for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: The City of Winnipeg, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, 12 Birds to Save Your Life, Openverse, The Guardian, Raptor Persecution UK, Superbeaks, Eagle Country, FOBBV, Gracie Shepherd, Cornell Bird Lab, Sharon Dunne, Window to Wildlife, Iloilo A Pork, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Lloyd Brown, JB Sands Wetlands, PIX Cams, Ventana Wildlife Society, Lucille Powell, @urbanhawks, David Lei, Tufts Now, LDF, and Cornell RTH Cam.