It continues to warm up a bit on the Canadian Prairies. Right now – it is 1617 Wednesday afternoon – it is -17 C. But hang on. In one week it is forecast to be +4 C. Yes, you don’t your eyes checked, PLUS 4. Wow. That is going to be a great day to spend out at the nature centre. Soggy but wonderful. The animals will be delighted.
‘The Boyfriend’ survived the cold nicely and was staring at the garden door, waiting for his delivery of wet food this afternoon. If I do not respond, he now knocks. He is so bold and is so curious about the house but runs the minute I open the door or come near.
Missey was watching from her perch on the cat tree.
Calico is a regular alarm clock. 0837 on the dot for several days now. Then she just wants cuddles, not food. The others are still asleep! It is our special time together before the day begins.
Baby Hope at a weird angle. She still has her very bushy tail. That ‘look’ is almost hypnotic.
For some ‘trouble’ is their middle name, but for Hugo Yugo it is their FIRST name! I have tried to post videos of the play fights between Hugo Yugo and all the other three girls, but this system does not seem to want to accept them so, imagine, if you will, the little kitten pulling off the blankets and jumping on Hope this evening in a wild frenzy.
Hope gets away and Hugo Yugo looks up and is ready to pounce on the sofa.
Baby Hope resting by the twinkle tree. They will all get a second, third, and fourth wind…chasing, running, pulling ornaments off the tree. The blankets will be everywhere along with the toys! My goodness, the energy and the fun these little ones have.
And then there was this…Hugo Yugo! Hugo Yugo kneading Missey hoping to make milk. Goodness. And Missey just took it all in stride.
It is just wonderful to see the garden animals and know that they did not succumb to the cold. Both Blue Jays are here getting peanuts along with Mr Crow.
The Black Capped Chickadees were eating the Black Oil Seed as well as the suet cylinders today.
Dyson ran too fast but I did get to photograph one of the kits at the feeder.
Oh, what a morning Wednesday was – Clive and Connie brought in five fish in three hours to the relief of everyone that had worried about their darling eaglets. What a power couple! So very happy that lots of fish got on that nest. Hopefully they can pile them up like Louis did at the E1 nest for a few years as there is a forecast of another bad weather system heading their way. Both C10 and C11 went to bed with big crops!
Jack is at the Captiva Osprey nest, but Ruby has been missing since her last visit on the 11th of January. That was only six days ago but Jack continues to call for her. I hope she is just having a spa time. Keep your fingers crossed.
There is no pip at the time of this writing for the second egg for Ron and Rita at the WRDC. It is 39 days old today and is, of course, clearly in the hatch window. No need to get too worried but if it were to go to 41, well…and I would feel sorry for that little eaglet because R6 will be ‘much bigger’. R6 might get to join the ‘only eaglet’ club of E23!
What a difference from this fuzzy little chick to C10 and C11, who have almost lost their Mohawks completely.
Snug and warm under Mamma Rose.
As far as I know, there is no pip at Berry College.
Looking at the eggs, is that nesting material? or the beginning of a pip?
Beau has new injuries to his feet. He has been busy all day trying to keep intruders away from Gabby, their egg, and the nest. One intruder landed on the nest tree and Gabby got rid of him. The time was 1552.
Unidentified intruder on branch while Gabby is calling out from the nest – it jumped in the nest and Gabby was calling and calling. It was a frightening moment for sure.
Beau is back on guard at the nest but has injured feet.
Didn’t see any eagles at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana – just their prints from earlier in the snow.
There is some fresh nesting material at Duke Farms, but no egg yet.
At Decorah North, DNF was in the trees while a beautiful red squirrel visited the nest tree and Canada Geese frolicked in the open water of the creek.
All is well at SW Florida. E23 continues to thrive and F23 has proven herself to be a great first time Mum.
E23 is never going to go hungry. M15 flew in with ‘something’ – did he get it at the Publix dumpster? (the butcher puts out food for M15). A dual feeding takes place around 1744 – E23 already had a big crop.
M15 reminds me of many of the male ospreys in the UK who love to feed their chicks and are great providers.
Here is the video of that dual feeding.
Jackie and Shadow were both at Big Bear today – gosh that nest has a gorgeous view.
At Port Lincoln, it seems that Giliath has found a place for fish – free fish? Smart little fledgling. Brad will be happy to eat all the fish brought to the nest. LOL.
So far, three fish deliveries. The 0637 was grabbed by Gil while the 0720 and the 0854 went to Brad. Dad came in with deliveries 1 and 3 and Mum brought in a partial fish in slot 2.
Everyone seems to enjoy spending time on the old barge.
It’s the first Royal Albatross hatch of the year (not the Royal Cam chick). Congratulations, first-time parents GBL and BYW!
There are so many wildlife cameras. This one is the BBC Winterwatch one. How many birds can you ID?
Big Red and Arthur will begin work on their nest with regular visits starting in February. There is major construction going on within a close proximity – we will have to wait and see how this impacts the breeding season.
Do you adore fuzzy little raptor or bird babies? Check out the winners of the Audubon photo awards!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to having you with us again!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, ND-LEEF Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, FOBBV, PLO, BBC, Cornell RTH Cam, Audubon, Sharon Dunne, and BirdGuides.
Gosh, it warmed up here in Manitoba to a balmy -17 during the day. Everyone was smiling. Seriously, it feels so much warmer than yesterday (I am writing this on Tuesday so Monday). It is now -21 C just after midnight.
‘B’ sent me a note wondering about the falcon investigations and trials. I have mentioned the theft of Peregrine Falcon chicks and eggs sold as if they were bred from captive birds in the UK. There are actually several ongoing cases involving different individuals. And, yes, the time incarcerated is so little it is almost a joke, certainly not a deterrent when these birds are fetching such high prices in the Middle East. Maybe some of the other raptor numbers in decline are due to theft? I wonder how many other countries have nests that are targeted? And why aren’t they breeding their birds in the Middle East? That might help put an end to this despicable behaviour.
The girls are fine and so is The Boyfriend. He came up to the deck to eat Tuesday afternoon instead of having ‘delivery’. There were 13 European Starlings in the garden along with the usual group of garden animals. Everyone seems to have survived the very cold temperatures. I am smiling.
Calico continues to do well on her weight loss programme. She would love to have lots of treats, but she is getting used to have 3 or 4 little nibblers. She finally let me clean her right eye today. Now, will she let me cut her nails tomorrow? Oh, I love this cat. OK. I love them all. Surprise.
Missey enjoyed having a nap by herself while Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope tore up the house playing ‘kitty cat hockey’ with a ball of paper.
Hugo Yugo watching me as I put up paint swatches for the wall behind the cat tree. It is finally time to paint and bring some life to the walls! I just wonder if she will have some other stripes? (I did finally get the little bits off of that eye!). Hugo Yugo still has her round kitten face and she is getting so fuzzy…love the eye line that resembles that of a little osprey.
The top of the cat tree is a 14 x 14 inch square. You can see how tiny this 4.5-month-old kitten is – half the square! Seven inches. Ever so little, but dynamite comes in small packages, and this is one huge character. Hugo Yugo runs her battery down to empty. If there is something to get into, she will find it. The twinkle tree has all its ornaments put on daily so that Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope can tear them off at night. Hugo Yugo seems to have two speeds – zero and 100 kph! Did I say I adore her? She is also the sweetest snuggle bug when her battery is completely flat.
On the other hand, Baby Hope is monster-size for a six-month-old. She has gorgeous almond-shaped, celadon-coloured eyes. She looks so much like Mamma Calico with that teardrop. Baby Hope is the first to come when you call her specific name and the one who always cleans up her food dish. She is a very gentle soul.
There are certain ways that Baby Hope turns her head, and I think, at a glance, that it is Calico. This is one of those.
Congratulations to Pepe and Muhlady on their second egg of the season laid Tuesday afternoon. Hard incubation and good positive wishes for this couple that lost their first clutch.
Ron made sure the nest was stocked for Rita and R6. That little one is a cutie—no word on a pip in the second egg.
With the bad weather, I am very concerned for little C11 at the Captiva Eagle Nest.
‘A’ comments “The only food that was brought in today was the head of a catfish that Connie caught and obviously ate most of herself. She has to eat. The little ones got a few mouthfuls only – perhaps three or four at most for CE11, who did clean up the leftovers and even tried to swallow the bone. (CE10 did finish the ibis bone later in the day.) There has now been virtually no food at all for CE11 for over two days. If he doesn’t eat well tomorrow, he won’t make it. Luckily, the weather is forecast to clear, but it has been a very hard couple of days for the eaglets. CE10 has been no more aggressive than usual, which is a bonus, but if they have a third day like this tomorrow, there will definitely be at least one casualty on this nest, which is horrifying to contemplate. Clive brought nothing in all day, and only one speckled trout the day before (from which CE11 effectively got nothing). So this is a very unexpected situation for Captiva to find itself in… The good news is that both of the PSs I have seen from CE11 today have been healthy. That is something.”
“I’m praying for a large, early fish. Problem is that both parents are hungry too, so like early yesterday morning, when Connie headed off and quickly caught that catfish, only the remnants of its head were brought back to the nest at 08:17. CE11 did get three or four smallish mouthfuls off it – he got himself quickly to the table and it appeared that Connie wants both her babies to live because she was very careful to ensure that he got a little bit of that catfish head. Not much, but she coaxed him to start eating fast, not wait for CE10 to allow it! He also cleaned up a piece that had been left on the nest and even tried to eat a long thin bony bit (he picked any flakes off it first). So a couple of mouthfuls, though as I said, during the day he did do a couple of PSs that looked healthy. He had only two mouthfuls of the partial fish Connie brought in about 4.07pm and apparently spat one of those out. And he got nothing at all from the little piece of fish Clive brought in about 4:13pm. So CE11 has had just enough to survive a little longer. But he must eat and eat properly as early as possible today (17 January). At least both parents ate today and CE10 had enough to eat – just. She is, however, becoming much more aggressive towards CE11, who is in turn becoming increasingly submissive. At the last feeding of the day, around 4.17pm, CE10 got a small but adequate meal, while CE11 was too frightened to even lift his head until the food was pretty much gone. His hunger did drive him to take a few risks today, none of which really paid off for him. I’m very worried, though at least he’s still trying. He is looking a little unsteady though, perhaps suggesting he is getting a little weak and disoriented. Tonight, it is not raining and it is not too cold, so hopefully the little ones will dry out, which should help a bit with energy conservation.”
Ron is at the nest as of Wednesday night. Let us hope that C11 has had enough food and will get more fish tomorrow – oh, please.
Great news. C11 has a huge crop! Life is good.
“Both eaglets have eaten now – you should watch that feeding (from about 08:08). CE11 was so smart. His crop is now actually larger than CE10’s! He has had a big morning – self-feeding, learning to shelter on the far side of Connie, and demonstrating sheer courage in the face of CE10’s aggression. And to cap everything off, he did a PS at around 08:03 that proved he still had something in the reserve tank – he would have made it another day, even had there been nothing to eat today IMHO. I could be wrong, but that’s what his behaviour and his PS suggested to me this morning.”
Small fish delivery by Clive. Every bite keeps C11 going until more food can come on the nest.
More fish came after 0900 and C11 is filling its tank again. C10 has already a huge crop.
There is concern for Ruby and Jack, the Ospreys at Captiva. ’H’ reports, “Ruby was last seen on cam on 1/11. Jack was seen every day until yesterday, and was even bringing fish to the nest, waiting for Ruby. Jack was a no show yesterday. The area has been inundated with really lousy weather for several days. Lori has been at her Captiva home since 12/30. She said that Ospreys in general seem to have vacated the immediate area. Yesterday, the only O seen on cam was an unidentified flyby.”
The weather tapered off at Fort Myers. Little E23 is doing well – has had many full crops. No worries at this nest after the fright over the fish bone the other day.
A dual feeding, something that M15 loves to do! Precious.
R6 is doing fantastic. ’H’ reminds us: ”At Dade: No pip on R7 egg yet…will be 38 days today at 1355.”
At the NEFL nest, both get a fright. Pip watch should not be for another ten days, around the 27th, perhaps – if that egg is viable.ls
The annual review of the year from Centreport, New York has been posted on FB. I cannot post those links on my blog but if you are interested, you can go to the FB page of the Centreport Eagles and find it.
No word of a pip coming from Berry College yet.
‘H’ sends news and a video of the storm and damage at Hog Island.
Good news coming out of Port Lincoln. The chick that was at Whaler’s Way fledged and has returned to the nest. Excellent news. This is that very precious nest on the cliffs.
At the Port Lincoln Barge, there were three fish deliveries by 1315. Gil got the breakfast fish at 0641 while Brad took the 1235 delivery by Dad and the large fish at 1315 delivered by Mum!
Condor in care doing well.
I am loving seeing all the birds from where I grew up. There were so many hawks then. Look at this beautiful image below. You might think it is a Red-tailed Hawk if you did not look at ‘the tail’. Look. It is a ‘Red shouldered’ Hawk and isn’t she a beauty? Wow.
The weather in Oklahoma dipped to 0 degrees F but felt like -17 F with the wind chill on Tuesday.
Big Red and Arthur were out with another hawk on the Cornell Campus on Tuesday. When it is cold the little critters hunker down. Big Red in all her glory. I am putting the photograph Suzanne took of the ‘visitor’ below. It has light eyes and could well be one of the Ms visiting the nest area. Big Red and Arthur did not seem to be concerned.
It’s cold everywhere and people are looking to feed the birds to help them make it through the freezing weather. Here is another recipe, a Vegan one, for bird suet.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. Stay warm and safe during these periods of extreme cold weather wherever you are. We hope to have you back with us soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J’, Raptor Persecution UK, Gracie Shepherd, WRDC, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, WRDC, NEFL-AEF, Berry College Eagle Cam, Friends of Hog Island, PLO, Ventana Wildlife Society, Oklahoma Ornithological Society, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Real Gardens, Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds, USFWS, Audubon Florida, and Bird Guides.
We are still experiencing life threatening extreme temperatures with the wind chill. Without the wind, it is -25 C now as I am writing – fifty degrees difference between Winnipeg and Melbourne!
Hugo Yugo has been watching television ‘again’. Isn’t she adorable?
The others are fine, and so is ‘The Boyfriend’, who is snug as a bug in his super-insulated home.
The Starlings had been in the garden, nearly 30 of them in November and December. Today, there were eleven that returned. They were eating snow and the solid suet cylinder on the big table feeder (it had fallen off its holden and broken).
I have a heater for the bird bath, but there was a problem with the closest plug, and the instructions say not to attach the cord to an extension cord. So I wait…I feel bad because studies repeatedly show that the birds need water more than seed, and if you feed seed in the winter, water should be provided.
The Pritchetts reported that it was a fish hook in E23’s mouth that M15 worked and got out. Was it that or a fishbone? Whatever it was, it was a miracle that M15 got it out. CROW was monitoring the situation. Thankfully, it was resolved by the hard work of M15 and F23.
Here is the video of that removal!
E23 is OK. What a relief. E23 is eating well later. As so many of you must be thinking – the best parents, lots of food, still do not protect these babies 100%. This precious little one, the only child to the new bonded pairing of M15 and F23, must thrive! That is all there is to it. I am so grateful that the Pritchetts and CROW monitor these events and will respond immediately if help is required.
It is 13:29 Sunday and the pip has turned into a pea size hole at the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita. Everyone is waiting for R6 to arrive safely.
Missing fish. Ron took it. Rita not impressed. Hopefully he will bring some back!
Pat Burke aka gr8lakes and all those staring at the screen waiting for the hatch are celebrating Sunday night. R6 is here!
HeidiMc made the best hatch video of the bunch and my system is not letting me post it directly. Please click on the link below and have a look at a nicely edited concise video from pip to hatch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSgwj-F6AwY
Rose talking to R6 as she appears to remove the last part of the shell.
So where is the food, Dad?
Good Morning Gabby.
Beau came and gave Gabby a much needed break in the afternoon.
Bella and Scout keeping a close watch over their nest and territory.
We so want Sauces Canyon to have an eaglet this year…8 eggs last year Audacity laid with no luck due to the lingering impact of the DDT sprayed and remaining in the area after fifty plus years. Send this couple positive wishes.
Both eagles were at the Dulles-Greenway nest today…Rosa and her new mate.
C10 and C11 are changing from little eaglets to getting their full thermal down and losing all those dandelions. Before we know it, they will have their juvenile feathers.
How many of you are checking out the Bald Eagle nest at Seagoville, Texas? You might just want to put this one on your watch list. It is in the John Bunker Sands Wetland Centre which is 25 SE of Dallas, Texas. The nest is 26 metres (85 feet) off the ground on the tower shown in the image below. The Eagles returned on the 10th of September. They are called Mum and Dad and both are believed to be approximately 19 years old.
The female is believed to be the one that was here in 2014 but there is a divided opinion on whether the male is the original or not.
Here is the link:
It is so nice to get some news of dear Ervie!
Meanwhile, it was very rough at Port Lincoln today. Mum, Dad, and Gil were spotted on the old barge while Brad stayed at the nest.
Brad got the first two fish deliveries with Gil getting the mid-afternoon one at 1529.
The two oldest eggs at the Royal Albatross colony in NZ are hatching!
News coming from The Gambia of Rutland fledglings. 2H2 from 2022 seen!
Also caught on camera was Arthur, mate to Big Red, on the Cornell Campus. You could be fooled into thinking this is Big Red until you see the apron across the breast. Not Big Red but our darling Dad.
Some interesting nest building happening on Kauai this year. Will there be torrential rains to impact the eggs? Let’s wait and see if these Laysan Albatross are better predictors of the weather than the meteorologists!
The climate crisis is killing some of Scotland’s wildlife including the smallest raptors, the kestrels.
Remember, the news at the bottom is not the least important. Often it is what comes to me right before I hit ‘publish’. A gamekeeper and his son pleaded guilty to selling wild peregrine falcons on the market in the UK. What is going on with their sentencing?
She is a special person and that is why I am including this today. You should remember Sacha Dench for her efforts in finding the answers to conserving the Ospreys and the flyway from the UK and Western Europe to West Africa. Some of her interviews with local people were linked to my blog – the goal was to get the people of West Africa on board with conservation efforts, and to do that, they needed education about the ospreys. 4K was the bird being followed at the time – the subject of Simon Curtis’s new book. That journey was undertaken after a horrific accident in the Scottish highlands. She is known as ‘The Human Swan’ because of her earlier 7000 km trip tracking the Bewick Swan and their migration from Russia’s Arctic region to the UK in 2016. A crowd funder to get prosthetic legs for Sacha Dench has been opened. Here is the information.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. Stay safe. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J, M’, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, WRDC, Heidi Mc, Pat Burke, Gracie Shepherd, NEFL-AEF, NCTC, Deb Stecyk, Dulles-Greenway, John Bunker Sands Wetland Centre, PLO, @TimMacKrill, @CornellHawks, Sharon Dunne, Holly Parsons, Raptor Persecution UK, and Conservation without Borders.
It has been a ‘rough’ couple of days. It is going to take me a bit of time to get my head ‘cleared’. Thank you for your patience…we might expect ‘something’ to be coming, but it isn’t always easy to accept it, anyway. Darn difficult this one is!
Let us start on a positive note. I encourage everyone – and Culley would, too – to live. Just get out there in nature and find the joy that you might miss. My granddaughter always listens and today she was in one of our parks known for its chickadees. They come right up to you – was happy to supply the seed for her and her partner!
Our weather is to turn cold next week so this looks like a good thing to do before then!
Hope and Hugo have been into a lot of mischief lately. Hugo has just noticed the bird video. Hope would rather ‘pose’ – she is the only one that cooperates!
Remember. Hugo is not afraid to romp and leap on cats 10 x her size!
Calico wants a comfy duvet. And quiet. These two will eventually find her and leap on her.
Laura Culley. Falconer. Flew High on New Year’s Day 2024. She inspired me more than anyone else to follow my dream of researching avian behaviour and also studying falconry. I was not the only one, of course. Culley touched the lives of all who met her. She visited people in hospital with Mariah, she attended raptor exhibitions, and she was always willing to encourage young people to think about falconry. She was a remarkable woman whose beautiful hawk Mariah was with her for 30 years (I believe that is correct). She was a great ambassador and she always said that we are the servants to the birds. Not them to us. The birds always come first and they are of superior minds.
One of her favourite tunes. She shared it with many who came to understand falconry and her love for it and the hawks. She challenged anyone who would listen to watch the hawks and learn from them – to understand that there is so much disinformation. In fact, Culley loved the Cornell streaming cam of Big Red and Arthur for all the new aspects of the hawks life that were learned by all the citizen scientists watching. I recall one day her mentioning all of the facts that Sibley got wrong in his big book…it was easy to find them! She was brilliant.
The conversations that I had with Culley had to do with what do the raptors know. The first thing she taught me was that the raptors have been around for EONS. An EON is a billion years. They have evolved to a much more sophisticated level than humans. People asked if Big Red knew that one of her fledglings had been killed by striking the glass at Cornell and dying. Culley would say, ‘And why wouldn’t she?!’ Would Big Red know her eyases if they were in the territory. Back at you with ‘And why wouldn’t she?!’ Humans know their children – then why wouldn’t Big Red and Arthur. She delighted in how well the hawks communicated – something she observed through decades of raising her eight birds and working with others. She pulled back the curtain and helped so many to understand the minds of these amazing birds. Culley will not be forgotten! Not in EONS.
Laura took Mariah duck hunting in Wyoming. If you ever read that RTHs do not hunt ducks, that is rubbish. Laura bunked a lot of the myths associated with hawks and opened our eyes to their extraordinary powers. Mariah was a great duck hunter!
One of the chatters wrote, “And when we worried: why did Big Red leave the babies for so long; aren’t those little ones too close to the edge; isn’t that bite of food too big…….she calmed our fears. EONS, after all, taught Big Red so much we don’t know.”
Laura Culley cut through it all. She could spot ‘bs’ just like Mariah could see a rabbit a mile away. My only regret is that I did not get to help her with her manuscript – her 28 years with Mariah – due to the pandemic and then her illness. I hope – and believe – that someone else is doing this.
A reminder from Laura about life:
Rest in peace. Your work will be carried on by all those who loved you, Laura.
Did you know that there were relief carvings in the Babylonian era of hawks on fists more than 3000 years ago? If you carry your hawk on your fist while riding a horse, it is ‘falconry’ but if when walking it is called ‘hawking’. Falconry is believed to be one of the oldest sports in the world. It has endured throughout history because hawks were used to catch food for their owners. The males were originally called tiercels while the female hawks were ‘hawks’. We now think of tiercel as the third hatch which is often a male.
Seriously. E23 has been doing little wingersizers. This one is going to melt your heart into a pile of mush.
M15 is always the great provider – reminds me of some of those UK Osprey males such as Blue 33, Idris, Aran, Dylan, and Louis. Of course, Clive is, too.
The eggs is moved to the rim. Fish and Rabbit on the menu.
A fur fest. Wonder what E23 thought about all the plucking?
E23 covered in fur.
Love.
It is hard now to imagine what C10 and C11 looked like E23 a week ago! Look at their thermal down and clown feet and – wait – is one curious and pecking at that fish?!
‘J’ calls these ‘fish pillows’.
The nest is loaded with fish thanks to Clive – and C10 and C11 are now too big to fit under Connie. Good night, Captiva.
We are now about 85 days away from the first Osprey landing in the UK. hat should, if they safely return, Laddie LM12 at Loch of the Lowes (we believe his mate Blue NC0 died but we will wait and see) and Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland.
Hoping to see eggs at the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout soon.
Rosa and her new mate were at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle Nest. (Is he a Beau, too?)
Beau takes good care of intruders around the territory while Gabby incubates and finds her own prey (or so it seems).
Beau injured protecting nest.
And to the shock of all, Beau is incubating Wednesday morning in The Hamlet. It is not known if the egg is viable, but let us hope that he is coming into a new mode of helping Gabby that it is!
Gil and Brad woke up to some damp weather. Waiting for breakfast. It must be grand when they are able to catch their own meals and are not dependent on Mum and Dad.
Dad came in with a fish at 1119 and Gil was all over it! Yesterday Fran and Bazz took their yacht out, and went around the barge for photos. They try to do this once a year according to the FB post. At the end of the screen captures are some of their images plus, an image of an osprey taking a dead fish from the floor of the barge that had fallen over. Another myth bunked.
Wisdom is dancing and well..an update from the Midway Atoll.
They are keeping an eye on one of the Royal cam couples and have put in a dummy egg in case the partner does not return. Fingers crossed.
Thank you everyone. Take care of yourselves. We hope to see you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, music, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’E, H, J’. Laura Culley, Heather Dale, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Laura Davis Nelson, D Morningstar, Window to Wildlife, Deb Stecyk, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, Jan Lester, PLO, SK Hideaways, Friends of Midway Atoll, and Sharon Dunne.
To those celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – and Boxing Day – have a wonderful holiday. Have lots of laughs, good food, make memories!
As we near the end of the year, I also want to thank everyone for your empathy, interest, and dedication to the planet’s wildlife (and domesticated pets). Pictures of your fur babies or birds visiting your feeders are always welcome, and I am so grateful for your letters and comments. It is heartwarming to know that a huge community of caring souls exists. Together, we have wept, and we have celebrated. Most of all, we have marvelled at this wonderful world we are a part of. So, here is to 2024 – may it be a blessed year for our birds and our families- no matter how many legs they have!
My year has been full of joy and utter sadness. I am so grateful to the girls that have enriched my life well beyond anything that I could have even dreamed about. There will, however, always be a tear shed and a little hole in the heart because of Lewis. What a great guy he was. Each one of them is their own person – their own character with their story. I feel lucky to be a part of that journey with them.
Dear little Hugo decided to confront Calico head on. Seriously. Confronting Calico?! Calico normally takes off to get out of Hugo’s path. It is simply too funny. Notice how her eyes are so much better. And her face is getting a little round. It looks like we will make it!
In the garden, the squirrels are thriving in the warm weather. They have some treats, too – in the form of a big bag of in-the-shell peanuts. Dyson could not be happier! The Blue Jays have not returned and so it must be assumed that they have made their way to warmer climates south of here. I cannot fathom all of them having an untimely demise. Today, there were five Black-capped Chickadees in the apple tree in the front garden. Tomorrow they will get a special ball of seeds just for them. Oh, it would be grand if they made their nest in their in the spring! It is away from where the community cats normally visit so should be safe.
In Osprey World, it is about 83 days until the first birds begin returning to the UK from West Africa or the Iberian Peninsula. Keep them in your thoughts as they make this perilous journey.
‘H’ sent me to a posting by Elfruler that is truly a good read and a great way to sit down and contemplate what is happening over at the nest of Gabby and V3. Thanks, ‘H’.
I am not an eagle expert. But, if Ospreys know who the eggs belong to and if the male even twitches that they arrived a little too early since the pair’s mating, you will see that Osprey kick those eggs over to the next lach! So if Ospreys know, then why wouldn’t Bald Eagles?
Around 17:13 Gabby went into labour and laid the second egg. She was sooooo tired after. Beau was on a branch looking down. He could hear her. Now. Let us see how this plays out.
Quick reveal – white spot under feathers near centre.
Tired Mamma. 525 people watching and excited for Beau and Gabby.
I have missed several of the Ferris Akel tours on Saturday and today was a reminder that we really need to slow down and enjoy life. I miss those tours! Ferris found both Big Red and Arthur, Mourning Doves, and some geese and ducks today along with Bald Eagles!
Beautiful Big Red hunting.
Arthur on the throne.
So many Doves and they kept flying in!
Sandhill Cranes flying in and landing.
And then after gathering at their stop, they left.
Kids still being fed well by Connie and Clive. The pantry is absolutely full thanks to Clive’s amazing hunting skills. No need for C10 to be intimidating C11 but it is – dominance.
I love in when Clive comes in to check on the eaglets and when he feeds them while Connie is away like now.
Connie returns.
‘A’ comments on the activities at Connie and Clive’s nest: ”Meanwhile, at Captiva, yesterday’s feeding record was broken today, with 13 feedings. Yes, you read that right. Thirteen. Here are the time stamps: 6:57:55 Feed1, 8:19:14 Feed2[CE10], 8:52:45 Feed3, 9:47:42 Feed4, 10:57:05 Feed5, 11:37:15 Feed6, 12:33:50 Feed7.1:51:25 Feed8,3:33:15 Feed9 [Clive]. 3:59:34Feed10[CE10] 4:29:25 Feed11, 5:11:15 Feed12, 5:55;20 Feed13.
These two are so adorable, though the bonking has definitely begun. You will note that at feed 2, for example, little CE11 puts its head up to participate, gets bonked once, and is down for the count. That happens at another feeding later in the day too (feed 10). But both are getting more than enough to eat, with Clive keeping fish scattered about the nest and around a dozen feedings a day. I would so love it if there was no bonking, but then I remember that’s why we watch peregrines and RTHs.”
SE31 and family at the river.
A look at Gil and Brad from the egg to the fledge. Thank you Fish Fairies for ensuring that these two were well fed and fledged!
Can the Black-footed Albatross be saved? And is this island free of cats? and rats? A good read from Audubon. Please cut and paste the link to Audubon for the article below the photo credit.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
I am so grateful to the following for their notes, articles, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, NEFL-AEF, Elfruler, Paul K, Ferris Akel Tours, Window to Wildlife, Chang-Le Dong, PLO, Bart M. Openverse, and Audubon.
Good Morning to all of you. We are just two weeks and a day away from a brand new year – and sometime, between now and then, I hope that we have two healthy hatches at the SW Florida Eagle nest of M15 and F23. They could be the first successful nest of the year with two eaglets.
Before we move on to the other birds and the scant news, I have some more information about Hugo. When you adopt a kitten in Winnipeg, you should be given a file folder of information. That was missing when Hugo was picked up. It came in the post today. So, here are some things that were gleaned.
Hugo was born at the beginning of September. The folder says 5 September, but other information on line said 2 September, and my vet thought that because of her size and teeth development that this had to be the beginning of October. From what I understand, the original family wrote down 5 September as the date the stray cat they took in had her kittens. This original foster family took in a very malnourished stray cat, a Tortie, on the Peguis Reserve north of Winnipeg so that the cat would have a safe place to have her kittens. The family named the cat Grace and she had seven kittens. It is unknown if this was her first litter, but she was very tiny. Hugo had trouble eating. The kittens were surrendered to the adoption agency on the 11th of November. All were very tiny for their age.
It is not clear what health issues the original situation with the Mum will have on Hugo’s development, overall health, or life expectancy. Right now Hugo is enjoying eating her kitten food, the kitten kibble, and loves the thick kitten milk. She loves to play and is sleeping on one of her favourite teaser toys. She likes being wrapped tight in a blanket and held close. Like all the others, I would not give her up for anything. Today she weighed 1384 grams before her evening meal. On Thursday, she weighed 860 grams so that is a gain of 524 grams or more than a pound. She looks like she might be long. Her eyes are still a little drippy so more Polysporin for Pink Eye. She will have her second round of vaccinations on 28 December and be spayed on the 15th of March -. The vet might be in for a surprise since all the paperwork still indicates that Hugo is a ‘he’ and that ‘he’ will be neutered.
Hope watching Hugo play with the red pom-pom on the tunnel.
It was Hope that first took over Missey’s basket with the little granny square blanket she was given when she was adopted. Now it is Hugo that is moving in on Hope’s territory! I did say that little Hugo is fearless, right?
Missey sits on the back of the sofa or on the wicker and watches them all. More than half the time she is now playing with Hope and Hugo. So nice to see her back to her normal self.
Hugo looking outside to ‘The Boyfriend’ who came for breakfast.
Beautiful Calico. I tear up every time I think about what she went through and how healthy little Hope was. What a miracle.
It was +4 today and what a nice day for a short brisk walk at the nature centre. The squirrels were running everywhere and watching them made me think that they thought spring had arrived. The chickadees were out at the feeders along with a male and female Downy Woodpecker and a White-breasted Nuthatch. The entire place feels empty without the ducks and the geese, though.
There is good news coming from the Sydney Olympic Forest area for our WBSE family – Mum, Dad, and one fledgling presumed to be SE31.
“December 13: Early morning, both adults were seen at River Roost and SE31 was seen going into the mangroves and heard calling. Then again, at 07:45, SE31 was heard but not seen. Then at last, just after 9am, an adult was seen catching a large fish – grabbing it with one foot – in front of River Roost. SE31 flew out to claim it with loud squeeing, then all three were out of sight in the mangroves. No further observations during the day.
December 14: Early morning, SE31 was spotted at Mangrove Island – then moving to River roost. This seems to be her home patch now, moving back and forth and sheltering in the mangroves lining the river. It has been a really hot day again. We have no more observations for today – hopefully, our eagles were keeping as cool as they can by the river.”
And the last report from Sydney: ”December 15: Early morning report at 07:30 of SE31 and one adult at the water’s edge at River Roost, then joined by the other adult. Then, at around 09:20, SE31 was seen flying over the wetlands, venturing further and flying right up high, before returning to River Roost – feeling her wings for sure. At around 4pm in the afternoon, SE31 was seen at River Roost, a parent arrived, then shortly after she flew to Mangrove Island. Later, she was seen flying high again, before returning to the River Roost mudflats.”
At Orange, Diamond still is not too pleased that the scrape box was cleaned. Wonder what the rush was? Does anyone know if Marri has returned to the scrape since the cleaning?
At Port Lincoln, it is Gil and Brad on the nest. Both now have names. It has been such a good year at Port Lincoln thanks in full to the foresight and tenacity of Janet, Bazz, and Fran who insisted on an intervention. We can all agree that the research coming off this nest opens up new avenues for thinking when it comes to Ospreys. Give them an international round of applause. For my friend ‘A’, she is overjoyed at the success of this nest. In the past she was hesitant to even go on line to check on the osprey family. Today she wrote, “I just adore this pair SO much. Goliath in particular is wingercising with great concentration. He has been getting air, with some impressive hovering yesterday. I know it’s a wonderful achievement and I should be pleased, and it is and I am, but I will miss these two. I do hope that they do an Ervie and hang around Port Lincoln at least sometimes. I still wonder what on earth caused Zoe to head inland into the desert. It made no sense. But then, much of her behaviour made no sense.”
At the time I am writing, Dad has delivered a partial fish to Mum and the boys. That is fantastic.
They are gorgeous – Gil and Brad.
These are the comparison weights provided by the observation board, Bart M for the PLO chicks:
Giliath (male) – 1445 grams
Bradley (male – 1390 grams
In comparison:
Zoe (female – 1700 g
Ervie (male) – 1380 g
Bazza (male) – 1280 g
Falky (male) – 1230 g
At Osprey House, George has delivered two fish – one for each fledgling!
‘H’ reports: ”Broken shell overnight first noticed around 0310 (very poor visibility). Muhlady appeared to move the shell. When cam view improved, it was evident. No eaglet seen. Maybe they will reclutch. They have been mating.”
The question is this: why are these shells breaking? Is it humidity? were they viable to begin with?
We should watch for Connie and Clive at Captiva Bald Eagle nest. The wind is picking up. Storms with heavy rain are expected over the weekend on the Barrier Islands in Florida. Let us hope that there is no hatch during this time. Renee posted this information on chat: “PIP WATCH: Starts Saturday Dec. 16, 2023. Due to some delayed incubation, we may not see a PIP until Sunday 17th or Monday 18th.” I would like for this to wait until nice weather not during a thunderstorm.
There are many nests without any eggs yet. Duke Farms is one of those. Dad went missing in the spring, and there is a new male.
The other is NE Florida, ‘The Hamlet’ home to Gabby and V3. These two were busy working on the nest and alerting against intruders.
Indeed, of the streaming cams, there are so many without eggs yet. We might enjoy the spacing this year and get to see those little bobbleheads developing at all stages.
Anna and Louis laid their first egg on the 9th of December. There has not been a second egg. It would have been laid on the 12th. Fingers crossed that this egg is good – especially because of Andria’s death and the loss of the two eggs at KNF-E-1.
Alex continues to incubate his and Andria’s eggs. The female continues to bury them, and he digs them up. My heart aches for him. At the same time, please do not let these eggs hatch. The only way these eaglets could survive would be if the female visitor fully embraced motherhood. Remember, Harriet and M15’s chicks were at month old when Harriet disappeared last February at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest.
Suzanne Arnold Horning is always looking out for Big Red and Arthur. This spring, Big Red will be 21 years young.
Plans to genetically engineer the Dodo back to life! Location: Mauritius.
Bird Guides announces, “An audacious plan between geneticists and conservationists to bring back the extinct Dodo has been announced.
Attempts to bring the species back to its former habitat in Mauritius are set to be led by US-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company, Colossal Biosciences, which is pursuing the ‘de-extinction’ of various other species.”
If you missed the latest Condor Chat with Ventana Wildlife, here you go!
Could you fish in these conditions? Albatross do it every day in the roaring Southern Ocean.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care. See you on Saturday!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J, L’, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Karen Long, PLO, Bart M, Heidi Mc, Osprey House, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Ann Penury, Duke, NE Florida-AEF, KNF E-1, KNF E-3, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Bird Guides, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Holly Parsons.
There was some excitement in the garden mid-afternoon on Thursday. A small Sharp-shinned Hawk showed up on the post that Sharpie used to use when he hoped to grab a sparrow at the feeders. It is not a great image – taken with my phone. The branches are so bare. There is no place for a songbird to hide from the hawks so they fly away in a group as fast as they can when they know s/he is in the territory. This one has been coming for a few days, but this is the first time I have seen it. This is an Immature Northern.
Calico watching the hawk!
Hope is feeling better. She is looking out the glass door wanting out…how do you really stop them from running, and jumping and just being cats? One of their aunties asked about putting a cone on Hope…thankfully she has not been licking, but, like her mother, she fought that cone to the point that it was safer for her not to have her wearing it. She did lick the places on her legs where they were shaved for the IV. She is a sweet little thing…but ever so terrified. She played with me for quite some time this afternoon, but she is still quite nervous.
Hope wants to give you a ‘High Five’.
Missey has been a very bad influence on Hope. Last year the little twinkle tree had to be taken down because Lewis and Missey were eating the flocking off the branches. This year Missey has been doing that with reminders to stop. Still Hope saw and copied! Human children do this, too. As adults we have to be ever so careful.
Calico and Hope are so happy to be reunited after her absence. These two can never be separated. They share a traumatic bond – a young kitten having a single surviving kitten in a very dark place. The kitten lost for a week and then by a miracle, Hope finding where Calico was.
Wanting out to join the rest of the world!
Hope has been reminding everyone that there is a Green Friday. She is watching to ensure that I do not purchase anything on Friday, telling me we need nothing. The approach of Canada’s Green Friday reminded me of a woman I met in Beijing after the 2008 Olympics. She had owned a cafe, a cooking school, and a catering business in NYC. She was now enjoying her retired life. Over breakfast at a Hutong near the Drum and Bell Tower, I asked her what she was buying as a souvenir of her time. She smiled and said, “I spent the first 50 years of my life buying stuff, and I will spend the last 50 getting rid of it!” That single statement had a profound impact on me. Instead, because cooking was her passion, she would go to a 15-course Palace-style meal, Ming Style. How appropriate. An experience. A memory.
Ferris Akel was on the Cornell Campus on Thursday and he spotted Big Red and Arthur. I cannot imagine anything more wonderful than seeing the two of them safe and sound on a November day.
Again, there is a lot of activity. The Port Lincoln osplets are getting such beautiful juvenile plumage and they continue to wait patiently for their breakfast to arrive.
Still waiting for fish. The cam operator gives us some gorgeous images of beautiful Mum.
13:11. I wonder when the fish fairy will arrive. Dad is on the ropes.
The fish fairy arrived at 14:16. It was one of those nicely prepared Trevallys with a secret Red Mullet tucked underneath – Mum’s favourite. Thank you FF and to all those who have caught and/or donated fish to keep these babies alive so they can fledge.
‘A’ reflects on Port Lincoln, “At Port Lincoln, the two osplets are just so gorgeous. I love how well they get on with one another and have come to the conclusion that they are both males – Giliath was just first-born and as greedy as most chicks. Barru is fast catching up to Giliath in terms of size. Both are very laid-back and have been pretty much the whole way through, even in the reptilian and itchy phases. Mum works so hard to feed her babies. She is such a good mum and really does seem to do her best to ensure she looks after both osplets. Don’t we just love a peaceful nest? The fish fairy has been such a boon, and doesn’t seem to have stopped either parent from fishing – she just brings in larger fish (those pre-sliced trevally are GIGANTIC but you’re right – mum’s favourite does seem to be red mullet). Here are time stamps for the day so far (it is nearly 18:15 local time). “
Observation board for Port Lincoln for yesterday:
Annie and Lou at The Campanile have a brisk discussion. We are not expecting eggs for a few more months.
At Orange, gorgeous Diamond was in the scrape.
Early morning with Diamond and Xavier and..
They grew so fast…hoping that Marri is still flying. She was such a strong girl.
There is a rumour that Samson has returned to the NEFlorida Eagle nest…not sure who started this, but it looks like Gabby and V3 to me. (Samson would have been gone a year…).
I was reminded that this is the first anniversary of Samson’s disappearance. Oh, what a lovely mate he was for Gabby. Still missed.
Gabby and V3 this morning.
Jackie and Shadow came to check the nest and move a few sticks on Thursday.
There were two eagles in the nest at SW Florida protecting it from the GHOs Thursday night. M15 and F23 are getting serious. We are on egg watch.
We are a fortnight away from hatch at Superbeaks!!!!!!!!!!
There is action at the Webster Texas Bald Eagle nest, too. Look at that nice fish! Wow.
Why are these birds dying along the Scottish coast?
How many have watched the last season of The Crown? In one of the episodes, King George V is out grouse hunting while his cousins, The Romanovs, are being killed in Russia. For those that are not familiar, it is the beaten grouse hunting that has caused the number of raptors deaths in various localities of the UK to rise significantly. The gamekeepers of the land where the hunts take place kill the hawks – sometimes stomping on their chicks in the nests on the ground – so that they will not eat the grouse. Hopefully there will be a growing call and those in power will listen to stop this practice. More on this later…
Thank you for being with me today. There isn’t a lot of news. Sometimes it is nice to slow down before we have eaglets in nests all over the place! Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, pictures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A’, Ferris Akel Tours, PLO, SK Hideaway, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, Karen Lang, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, Paul White, The Guardian, and Raptor Persecution UK.
Saturday was a fantastic day on the Canadian Prairies. 6 degrees C. Snow melting. Blue sky. Bright sunshine. Happy people. I dropped off the pet food donations, picked up some Salmon Oil for Calico (and, of course, all the girls will get it along with the Cod Liver Oil and Lysine), and headed straight to the nature centre for a walk. My neighbour stopped me as I was leaving, wondering if we would get punished in January for all this nice weather…it made me think that we cannot wait to go outside on a nice day; it is a nice day. Go for it!
The girls and I are almost finished reading Margaret Renkl’s book, The Comfort of Crows. Every chapter reminds us to ‘live’. Renkl is just turning 60, and she understands that she has lived most of her life and ponders the shortness of time she has left. Renkl reminds us to slow down – to stop with the meaningless tasks we set before ourselves. To live a meaningful life not one full of just business.
Here is a quote from one of the chapters the girls and I read today: “During the funeral, when my friend spoke about her parents’ long marriage….In her eulogy, my friend reminded us of how much her father had loved to sail: “He always said that he felt at peace when sailing, where it was serene and quiet”, she said. “I now appreciate that he enjoyed those days on the boat because the family was together without being in a hurry.” Instantly, I thought about those Post-it notes stuck all over my house. How had I allowed myself to become so busy? How long had it been since I’d spent a day in the sun, eating sandwiches from a cooler and watching water ripple across the surface of a lake? Why do I so often behave as though there will be unlimited days to sit quietly with my own beloveds, listening to birdsong and wind in the pines? (129).
That is why I continued on to the nature centre today. To see the squirrels running around, to watch the one hanging on the bird feeder trying to pry out a peanut, to stop and listen to the chickadees. There is so much beauty that surrounds us. You just have to stop and listen. You can do this by simply standing outside your door or walking to the nearest green space. Sometimes, opening a window and letting the fresh air in brings contentment. Today, when I closed my eyes in the forest and took a deep breath, the smell of the damp leaves, some beginning to decompose, was so very lovely. For you see, it is impossible to smell those leaves beneath the snow!!!!!!
I am sure you do not think this looks like winter! One of the things about living on the prairies is the huge sky – the landscape is horizontal. Many modernist Canadian artists focused entirely on the tiny strip of land and the huge sky that is the hallmark of where we live.
There were three Canada Geese. The lake has only a thin sheet of ice in a couple of places. The smaller ponds are melting and there is plenty of food for geese and ducks available. There was the usual banditry of Black-capped chickadees so named as a group because they look like they have black bandanas or are wearing a mask, a single White-breasted Nuthatch, and numerous squirrels, both Red and Grey.
The chart below shows that we are above normal temperatures for this time of year.
Today I hope to get to another park where I am told the ducks are still paddling!
Thank you for your good wishes for Calico. She seems much improved and has been running around the house – something she has not done in a week!
The girls had their lunch and then it was time to ready for a nap. Calico and Missey were in the conservatory and Hope was in Missey’s basket in the sitting room. They love to curl up and stay warm – even with the temperatures outside, the oven has been on and the central heating hasn’t (the thermostat is right by the oven – bad design). Their heated beds arrive on Monday! Just in time for any dip in temperatures.
It is so peaceful. The Feliway continues to work, and there are no hissing or stalking behaviours that I have seen. Calico and Missey can sleep within a few feet of one another, and Calico is no longer concerned when Hope is playing with Missey. Smiling.
There are several videos of Diamond and Xavier feeding a fledgling on top of the tower. As at Sydney, it is not confirmed if both fledglings are being seen or if there is only one. Send positive wishes for both Marri and Barru as well as 31 and 32 – we hope that we are seeing both at each area.
The latest one, from SK Hideaways, is second..
‘A’s report for Orange: “The parents had a lengthy bonding session, which I believe was at about 16:11:05. (These two have had bonding sessions lasting up to four hours, though I think Xavier fell asleep during some of the longer ones!) But they are taking advantage of some adult time. Meanwhile, at least one of the juveniles has been spotted sitting on the roof of the water tower, where we saw at least one yesterday. I am unsure whether both juveniles have been positively ID’d or not. At least one of the fledglings is strong enough to fly to the top of the tower. Now, some landing control practice and we will see at least one of them in the scrape again. Talons crossed for them both.”
At Port Lincoln, Mum, Giliath, and #2 wait to see who will be first in with the fish. They are hoping for Dad!
It is 10:38 and Mum is telling Dad that it is about that time he leaves the barge and goes out to fish…
It looks like Dad has not gone out fishing yet…it is nearing 0930. Mum and osplets are waiting patiently.
It is 12:30 and so far no fish from Dad. PLO says the fish fairy will be there in half an hour.
A 1.424 kg Trevally was delivered to the nest. It was taken to the ropes. PLO says that two fish were delivered. Mum is eating one on the ropes. Could you look at the size of it? It would feed everyone. I hope she doesn’t lose it overboard. Watchers think something smaller was under the larger fish the chicks nibbled on. It is a bit confusing. There is nothing on the observation board yet to clarify.
OK. Mum took the supplementary fish to the ropes and right after Dad landed on the nest with his own fish.\.
Hopefully Dad will have enough to eat and Mum will not lose the big one and feed herself and the kids for the rest of the day – with maybe some for Dad, too.
Note: Dad’s fish is nice, but that single fish would not be enough to feed 4 for the day. Again, I am thankful to the Fish Fairies.
Confusing. Is Dad feeding part of his fish to the osplets?
Dad is finished with the osplets and is on one of the perches. Mum is still prepping that huge fish. It has to be tough working through that head. She has been at this for more than an hour.
OK. Some clarification. It was a Trevally and a large cleaned squid. Dad fed some of the squid to one of the chicks (#2, I think) while Mum arrives on the nest with the huge lunch. Both will join her.
Mum is going to be exhausted when she finishes feeding this fish.
The chicks are getting quite full. Mum continues to feed them and herself. She has been working on this fish for two and a half hours.
Thank you to the crew of the Calypso Star and the young lad who donated the squid to the osplets. Kindness. Sometimes when the news gets too much, it is these small gestures that make us realise that there is goodness out there.
Today (Monday in Australia), the osplets are 34 and 32 days old. Unless they are females, they will normally peak in growth at 35 days Western Ospreys. Must check and see if this is the case with the Eastern.
The observation board for Port Lincoln. It is unfortunate that Dad lost the fish down on the barge.
The cam ops are not sure who is at the nest with Gabby. I just want Gabby to be able to raise a clutch in peace this season since she lost her fabulous mate, Samson.
I am going with V3 in the nest. Gabby was flirting and V3 was interested.
Handsome couple.
I think I missed this video of Jackie and Shadow!
Ferris Akel found Big Red on the Cornell Campus on his tour on Saturday. Oh, goodness, isn’t she beautiful. Look at that deep auburn Red plumage. She will be 21 years old in March. My goodness it is so good to see you Big Red.
There are two adults on the Achieva Credit Union nest. Jack and Diane?
Been missing Monty and Hartley? A pair of love birds. Don’t you wish you could talk falconsese?
18 Days until Hatch at Superbeaks!
This is the most recent report on sightings of Lady, Dad, and at least one juvie in Sydney:
‘A’ set this report for the 17th at Sydney and I missed it so I am including it here today: “November 17: an early report of a juvenile in the usual spot in the mangroves, then seen flying to River Roost, near both parents. In the afternoon there was a large drone flying over the wetlands –a new method of mosquito spraying, rather than by helicopter. Parents were away during the day – maybe even at Goat Island, closer to the City. Both returned to River Roost before 5pm, and then to the juvenile’s usual area. Shortly after, both parents were at River Roost, with a vocal greeting. Juvenile was seen at the water edge around 6pm, then went deeper into the mangroves. At 6:45pm, an adult was seen flying from the wetlands with a fish, taken to Mangrove Island. It is unclear if a juvenile ate today. Picture shows juvenile flying yesterday.” — Any report, regardless of the day, is good news when it is about the sea eaglets flying about and being fed!
This is the most recent report from ‘A’ for Sydney: “November 19: At 7.50am, 2 adults and a juvie were near each other. Juvie moved a couple of times like yesterday, before settling on another branch nearby, in the heraldic pose at one point. Heard a couple of duets, and sounded like juvie joined in. At 10am, the parents were in much the same spot, both facing more west. The juvie must have been there somewhere. At 11am, one parent flew to River Roost. Later in the afternoon, both parents were on River Roost, near the juvenile, in the usual spot, and then one circling over Ermington Bay. Numerous people using River Walk stopped to ask about the eagles, but the juvenile is still so hard to spot. I don’t believe a feeding was observed.”
M15 and F23 were at the nest on Saturday. I do not see them there currently but they might return later in the night.
Lady Hawk posted this video.
This was earlier.
There has been some concern about the new female ‘F’ at ND-LEEF. ‘H’ reports that she was on the nest with Dad this morning. Fantastic news! ‘H reminds us: “‘F’ was last seen at the nest on 11/12. This morning ‘F’ was back in the nest with Dad, starting about 073341, Dad in first. They left around 0800.”
I love books and I get so excited when I hear that youngsters are learning about our feathered friends and the challenges that they face. Thank you to one of our readers, ‘R’ who introduced Chile Bird to her second graders! We must start with the youngsters so that their respect and empathy for wildlife will grow. Hakai Magazine always has a good list of children’s books this time of year – for all of the holidays celebrated by the various people around the world – and the gifts that they give BUT also because we should all be reading! This offering is called Ten Coastal Kid’s Books. Their summaries are excellent and very useful in helping to make choices for purchase.
I recently included an article on how intelligent vultures are. BirdLife International explores the efforts to stop the poisoning of these captivating creatures in Kenya.
I read an article that you mind find interesting – it isn’t directly about raptors or wildlife but it certainly is about the quality of life of our neighbours. As many of you know, wealthier countries export their trash – whether it is plastic waste or donated clothes – to poorer countries, often in Africa. This creates untold harm to the people living there at many levels. I recall my granddaughter – who did her practicum for Social Work in Senegal – telling me never to donate clothes. They are sold cheaply and exported and then sold in the markets where they cause the local textile industry to die. We have all seen the piles of plastic garbage. Now the EU is passing legislation to ban the exporting of plastic. Thank goodness someone is tacking responsibility for their own mess. Now which other countries will follow suit?
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care – keep sending your good wishes to our three Australian families on streaming cams. Their challenges are certainly not over, and we want all those fledglings to be safe and well fed. We hope to have you with us again soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, articles, tours, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, R, SP’, SK Hideaways, PLO, NEFL-AEF, Ferris Akel Tours, Achieva Credit Union, Superbeaks, Anna Laios, Lady Hawk, Hakai Magazine, BirdLife International, and The Guardian.
Skies with clouds ranging from the softest grey down of the newborn osplet to the charcoal-espresso band under its eye graced the skies of southern Manitoba on Saturday. The sun poked itself out to cheer us up on several occasions. It was nippy, and a glance at the neighbourhood had people scurrying to get their plants inside for the winter and last-minute clean-ups on the gardens. Did they not hear? Leave the Leaves!
The songbirds continue to flood the feeders as they migrate through our province. Crossbills today, along with Pine Siskins and Dark-eyed Juncos. The Blue Jays might stay all winter along with the House Sparrows. The Crows were flying around, but the greatest number of birds overhead were Ring-billed Gulls late this afternoon.
It is 6 degrees C at 1800. Damp. Cold. Grey. Dreary. I do not know where Hope and Missey are but Calico is cuddled up in a pile of blankets.
The girls have been so tranquil that you do not know they are even about unless one or the other -or all -decide they are ‘starving’. Pleasant isn’t quite the word. Bliss. Is it possible that the pheromone diffuser works this well? There has not been a growl or a hiss or anything uncivilised. Unbelievable. I had so worried about Missey. She was just getting herself sorted after losing her best friend, Lewis, and Calico began being aggressive. It is all over. So happy. Hoping that they might become ‘window buddies’ sometime in the future.
Hope loves cuddling with Mamma. Mamma loves her blank. Apologies for the low quality of the image, but I raced to grab the phone, afraid they would move. Hope has learned how to pose when she sees the camera!!!!!!!!!!!
Sleepy time.
Hope decided she wanted to help write the blog.
The reintroduction of the White-tailed Eagle into Scotland was no small feat. One of the primary movers and shakers was John Love, who recently passed away. Here is a guest blog written for Mark Avery by Love in August of 2023 about the project.
What a remarkable man. I met and chat with him many years ago when I was a visiting artist at Hospitalfield near Dundee. Hospitalfield (yes, it is a strange name) was the first art school in the UK. Beautiful Manor House and gardens. It was a joy to be there working on projects related to the environment with other artists from around the world. It was also good to have some free time to meet people who were important to Scotland’s conservation efforts, like John Love.
Roy Dennis has some good podcasts. Check them out if you want to learn about some of the reintroductions in Scotland – including those that John Love worked on.
‘A’ reports about the 21st: “At Port Lincoln, there are 10 feedings recorded on the Obs Board, from two fish, starting with a good feeding from yesterday’s leftover fish at 06:34. Dad brought in a fresh fish (medium, headless) at 08:15 and the third (a zebra fish, medium) at 14:17. Giliath ate at all 10 feedings, the younger osplet at eight. I watched a couple of feedings (especially the one from 14:18) and was again impressed at how evenly mum distributed the fish between the two. Both are holding their heads up and eating well. The younger is able to see better and its grabs at the food are more successful. It is also dealing better with the size of the bites, although both osplets generally end up with faces covered in fish. At least they can snack off each other at the end of the feeding!”
Note-Dad brought in four fish! He is upping his game as the chicks need more food! Here are the feedings.
Heidi caught the breakfast. The chicks were ravenous. A great feeding.
Chicks are hungry!
The feeding times, etc for the first part of Sunday at the PLO barge. We need more fish!!!!!!!!!!! As noted above, Dad brought in 3 more fish. Excellent.
The two osplets at Orange are pondering their big feet and trying to use them to walk around the scrape. Pin feathers are definitely in!
Dr Cilla Kinross, the head researcher on peregrine falcons at Charles Sturt University and principal responsible for the scrape that is currently used by Diamond and Xavier, has a recent paper published on falcon breeding behaviour.
The sea eagles, SE 31 and 32 are flying back and forth from the nest tree to the tree that supports the camera. Adults continue to bring food to the nest for the hungry pair. I am holding my breath.
‘A’ remarks, “At WBSE, both eaglets had a good breakfast, then spent the morning exploring the outermost reaches of the nest tree. At this stage, we cannot see either, so they are either high and/or wide in the nest tree or exploring nearby. We may have to wait until food is delivered to the nest for them to show themselves. Otherwise, we wait for this evening to see who is sleeping in or near the nest. It is a really bad time for the second camera to give up the ghost, as it was extremely useful for seeing those parts of the nest tree we are currently most interested in – its outer reaches.”
What a beauty.
‘A’ puts it right – it is an egg race and who will win. “It is an egg race – the nests and the eagle couples seem ready to go at E-1, E-2 and SWFL. I haven’t watched Superbeaks, but they’re pretty much sorted there as well. I am unsure what the usual egg-laying calendar is like for those particular nests, and I wonder whether the eggs might be laid earlier if temperatures are expected to be high again this summer. I suspect the birds that don’t work that out fairly fast will not raise successful broods in future seasons. Anna and Louis were also working on their nest this morning, with no sign of Anna’s injury. She is landing without difficulty, putting normal weight on the leg and foot, and having no trouble manoeuvring large sticks into position. (Like all eagle females, she is very particular about stick placement). Louis/Anna and Alex/Andria look very healthy, as do their partnerships. These are experienced couples and appear to be progressing smoothly into their breeding season. The same is true at SWFL with M15 and F23. The only concern remains NEFL, where we are waiting with bated breath to see whether V3 will master mating this year. He and Gabby were on the nest today, mid-afternoon, and they are perched together at the lumber yard again tonight. Both look healthy, and their bond appears strong. There is just one more piece of the puzzle to fall into place. Talons crossed.”
M15 is determined to have the highest crib rails in any nest! He is also checking out the nest bowl. It is exciting to see him begin a new life with a new mate. Can’t wait to see these two as parents.
Smitty and Bella were working on the NCTC nest on Saturday. Smitty returns after being away for a day shy of a month. Tears.
Eagle Country is live. Abby and Blazer have returned after Hurricane Ian and they are working on their nest.
Gabby and V3 were up early working on their nest.
In his Saturday Tour at Montenzuma, Wildlife Drive, Sapsucker Woods and the Cornell Campus, Ferris Akel spotted Big Red! So nice to see you, Big Red!
These are the two surviving osplets at Osprey House Environment Centre in Australia. Total juvenile plumage!
The ospreys in Australia are Eastern Ospreys and they do not migrate.
In West Africa, Jean-marie Dupart is counting the UK and European Ospreys that spend their winter in Senegal and The Gambia.
A twenty-six-year-old Red Kite. Sadly the bird was found injured and due to its age, it was euthanised. Gosh, I hope someone doesn’t ‘put me down’ just because I am old and injured!!!!!!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourselves. Stay safe!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, blogs, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, Sassa Bird’, Mark Avery Blog, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, PLO, Heidi Mc, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Corella, Karen Leng, RNZ, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Se McGregor, Lady Hawk, NCTC, Eagle Country, Ferris Akel, Osprey House EC, Jean-Marie Dupart, and Bird Guides.
One need not look at the calendar to know that fall is completely with us on the Canadian Prairies. Leaves are turning on all of the trees, squirrels and Jays are rushing to store food. The air feels and smells different.
Every one of the garden animals has been accounted for but one and sadly the latest Hedwig (rabbit) was hit by a car on the lane in front of my house last evening. I found the darling thing this morning.
Dyson looks particularly good. Taken with my phone when I went to fill up the table feeder – she isn’t afraid. She waited and posed. Little Red was running around. He has officially moved into the wood box in the house built for him in the spring of 2022. Yippeeee. Better late than never. He only has to go a few feet in the winter to get more peanuts!
Dyson wishes all her friends in Japan and Asia a joyous Tsukimi (Moon Viewing Festival), lots of delicious rice dumplings and Moon Cakes.
The Blue Jays are still coming to the feeders. Many do not migrate remaining on the snowy prairies along with the Black-capped Chicadees and sparrows. We wait to see what these four will do.
Lewis wants nothing to do with the new cat tree. He prefers the box, and Missey prefers the blanket that wrapped some furniture at one time or another on the top of the bins and the wicker basket.
Calico looks stronger every day. She is filling out a bit but a sweet gentle soul she is. Did I tell you we dropped all of our other projects for a few weeks to write a book for children about Calico and Hope? It will be a fundraiser for the mobile Vet clinic that works in my City to provide affordable spay and neutering, vaccinations, deworming, etc. for those persons wishing to trap and release or adopt the community cats.
It is also hoped that the book will offer a lesson for not ‘dumping’ pets.
Are you missing Mini? I sure am. You never ever forget these amazing survivors.
Patchogue tops my list for the most incredible osprey nest this past season. The adults raised four – four to fledge – at a time when a substantial number of clutches from Long Island up through the NE were entirely lost due to weather events (especially that storm in June) and overfishing. Thank you, Isac, for reminding us what a spunky fourth-hatch Mini was!
Well, shock of shocks. Mini visited the nest for about a minute at 1258 Monday. Oh, my goodness. How wonderful it is to see you!
Violence. Disregard for life of any kind.
What kind of person would deliberately shoot any raptor never mind, one of the most endangered species on our planet – the California Condor. I had been out playing with Hope and Calico and had not looked at my e-mail (one of the benefits of taking a few days off is you realise it can wait!). Then I did. A note from Geemeff, and below it is my copy from Kelly Sorenson. I am beyond understanding this.
Gabby was at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest Monday morning.
V3 returned to the nest with what could be new wounds at 1745.
The eagles are working on the Pittsburg-Hayes nest. Look at those rails! This is a nest to envy!
There’s at least one juvie at the Dulles-Greenway nest of Martin and Rosa.
Looks like C15 and Dad might have finally left for their migration fro the Charlo Montana Osprey platform.
Ospreys are gone and the Canada Geese are enjoying the Boulder County Fair Grounds nest.
Trudi Kron gives us a good look at the injuries that Anna, the mate of Louis, at the KNF-E1 nest near Alexandria, Louisiana has sustained. It looks like they are healing. Send good wishes for all those floaters wanting a nest to scat!
Lightning fills the sky around the Superbeaks’ nest of Pepe and Muhlady.
Everyone hopes the new male at Port Lincoln will be a great provider and that the long-running heartache at the PLO barge nest will end. That said, this morning, Mum got impatient waiting for a fish and caught on camera is a female incubating eggs catching a fish.
‘A’ brings us up to date: “At Port Lincoln, the fishing is going well. Three yesterday (one caught by mum) and dad has caught at least two so far today. As always, mum is allowing him far less egg time than he would like. Guesses regarding timing of the first hatch are between 15 October and 18 October, so we have at least three weeks to wait there. So all attention is now on Orange and of course on our adorable sea eaglets in Sydney. They are gorgeous.”
There are still juvenile ospreys near their nests in the UK that have not left for migration.
Dad is still bringing fish to Coco at the Sandpoint nest.
Dad delivered at least four fishing starting at 0705 and going until 1500 on Monday at the MN Landscape Arboretum Nest.
Suzanne Arnold Horning spotted Big Red on the Cornell Campus on Monday! Looking good, Mamma.
The eaglets at Sydney Sea Eagle nest in the Olympic Forest are ever more steady on their feet.
The date that is predicted for the first egg to hatch at the scrape of Diamond and Xavier is 1 October. That is less than a week away!
‘A’ reminds us: “The countdown is on at Orange. Only four days until pip watch. There is a very pesky scout bee (or bees) that has been bothering the falcons for the past two days, buzzing constantly into, around and out of the box. I think it is really starting to annoy Diamond. Xavier made a lunge at it yesterday as if to eat it but missed (as he was on the eggs so had limited reach!) and today, it continues to irritate all. Apart from that, all proceeds smoothly at this scrape. The couple had another of their early morning bonding sessions today (05:20) but this time there was a changeover and no-one fell asleep mid-bonding. It’s so sweet the way he arrives so early and sits on the ledge to keep her company. For some reason, she allowed him an hour of early-morning egg time, so he’s happy. He’s had a couple of lengthy stints this morning.”
To prepare for what is coming – and the falcon chicks grow rapidly compared to eagles and ospreys – here is a guide to their weekly development with pictures.
Annie and Lou visiting the scrape at The Campanile of UC-Berkeley on Monday.
Almost all of the Royal Albatross chicks have fledged. We now await the arrival of this year’s adults who will be breeding.
Remember – if you have to just tie your wrists with a ribbon! Don’t start up the mower, the weed whacker, the leaf blower. Use that time to go birding and let the insects living in the leaves have a home.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care! See you soon!
I want to add that I tested positive for Covid on Sunday. I am feeling a bit rough. Thankfully there is not a lot going on in Bird World. I will continue with the newsletter but the content might be smaller for the next week while I recover.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, Geemeff’, PSEG, Isac and PSEG, Ventana Wildlife Society, Open Verse, NEFL-AEF, NEFL-chat, PixCams, Dulles-Greenway, Charlo Montana, Boulder County, Trudi Kron and Bald Eagles 101 Superbeaks, Bart Molenaar and Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Jeff Kear and UK Osprey Info, Sandpoint, MN Landscape Arboretum, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt FalconCam, Outside My Window, Killarney Today, Holly Parsons and Albatross Lovers, and Cal Falcons.
