crows – Mary Ann Steggles

Saturday in Bird World

22 March 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

There was quite the scare at Sauces Canyon Friday when a huge placenta was brought in that covered most of SC1. The wee one was shivering. The camera operator stayed and caught Audacity doing everything she could to save her little one. She was moving and shuffling and removing matter to free SC1. It took two hours. Everyone was holding their breath.

Meanwhile the nest is simply full of food including a dead seal pup and a lot of Mackerel.

SC1 standing up for a meal after its arduous ordeal. Another miracle. Poor little thing could use a bit of a wipe. But who cares – SC1 looks fine.

In other Eagle news, Bodie and the visitor at NE Florida are quite settled in with one another. Gabby even fed the other juvenile – and, of course, Bodie got fed as well. Many are hoping that the American Eagle Foundation will give the adopted eaglet a name.

Bodie did not go hungry! Look at this crop. It is a wonder she can stand upright.

The two at Big Bear Valley are doing so well. Look closely, the pin feathers are coming in. The little one is scampering around that egg cup wanting ‘out’. They are flapping their little wings and growing fast.

The eaglets at John Bunker Sands Wetlands are gorgeous.

The triplets at Duke Farms are doing well. Their mum was heroic in keeping them as dry as she could during the recent storm. They have their dark thermal down coming in which allows them to regulate their temperatures but, oh, what a lovely sight she was tucking them in as best she could. Just look today.

At the NCTC nest, Bella and Scout’s little one had its first feeding. It is fine. Scout was there to see it hatch and has brooded the wee one. This is good news. https://youtu.be/0aPqI9_OW5c?

Mr North and Mrs DNF have a hatch in progress or two at the Decorah North nest in Iowa.

Hancock Wildlife Foundation announced today that their Surrey nest of Brit and Rey has their second egg of the season.

We are keeping eyes on several other nests for pips that include Harvey and Ellie at the Kansas Eagle Cam on Farmer Derek’s land, the other egg for Bella and Scout at the NCTC nest, and US Steel.

Osprey News:

Dyfi Osprey Project: Idris has arrived home. They just turned the camera on and as if by magic, there he was. So happy to see him home. It is nine days earlier than his usual arrival date of March 30th. Now let’s get his mate Telyn home soon – and safe.

Known as ‘Daddy Longlegs’, Idris is an excellent fisher. He must have been hungry. Look at those whoppers at the nest.

Kielder Nest 7: Female KX7 arrives! This is the earliest arrival ever of an osprey back at Kielder Forest. Her mate is KM18, yet to arrive.

NE30 has arrived…late Sunday in Bird World

8 December 2024

Hello Everyone!

Update: Tears. Tears. And more tears. Gabby laid her first egg at 5:56 as called by the American Eagle Foundation. Thank you, Heidi!

There it is!

Welcome to the start of the week. Snow is gently falling in the garden. Once it gets deep enough to be beautiful, there will be some photos!

Waiting for Brock to come for his meal as the gentle flakes get deeper. Perhaps he will stay curled up in his home?? (I gauge the depth by the snow that falls on top of the little table). The forecast says that we will have snow until 0200. It is now 1620.

Do you happen to know what ‘anting’ is? I didn’t.

I wonder if the Crows visiting the garden ever do this?

At the Eagle Country nest of Blaze and Skye, a stunning sub-adult visited on Sunday. What a gorgeous eagle.

Combativeness in the woods over prey. Golden Eagle and Eurasian Eagle Owl. https://youtu.be/_6R6TURUeaY?

At the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, Mum, Wilko, and Kasse are hungry and they are fish calling very loudly Monday morning!

Still waiting.

This was the final tally for Sunday. What in the world happens to Dad at this nest?

Wilko is going to really jump at this fish as he missed out on some meals on Sunday.

Dad came in with a very small fish and as predicted, Wilko who was very hungry, grabbed it. Please check the Port Lincoln Obs board for the rest of Monday’s activities.

Gabby is nothing short of gorgeous. Beau is in and out of the nest. No eggs yet at NE Florida.

Eagles are home at Decorah.

Someone is at the NCTC nest.

Jackie and Shadow were at the Big Bear nest on Sunday. Gosh they are looking good! I keep wondering if this could be their year again.

FOBBV have a new book on the history of the nest from 2015 to the present. They are still accepting holiday orders.

Liberty and Guardian have been working hard. They were at the nest in Redding, California on Sunday.

Fran Solly posted some information on the Gleesons nest that has Marie, a foster, there. Friends of Osprey Sth Australia have been busy putting on trackers this season. Thank you everyone!

They have also put up a platform at Sleaford and this couple seems to be considering a lease. That would be grand.

GHOs Bonnie and Clyde have been visiting their nest on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas after 1700. I hope to catch them today!

Has anyone seen Jack at the Achieva Credit Union nest recently?

Beautiful nest with a great camera at Captiva waiting for an Osprey family.

Calico is putting together her favourite bird books for the year. We hope to have her list finished and polished by next weekend! This girl should get some gold stars. She loves story time! We are working our way through several books at the moment.

With the great news about Gabby, I am once again posting early and I will see you on Tuesday morning unless we have another major event such as Kasse fledgling or more eagle eggs. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Heidi, J’, NE Florida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, Sandra Turner and National Geographic, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Bart M and the PLO, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, NCTC, FOBBV, FORE, Fran Solly, Farmer Derek GHO Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Window to Wildlife

Bubba is ready to fledge…Monday in Bird World

11 November 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for your good wishes for Hugo Yugo. As I write this, she is pretty sick. She ate a little food on Saturday night and drank water on Sunday morning. She was able to keep it down. I am preparing to feed her with a syringe with ground-up kibble mixed with kitten milk to keep her going until she can see the vet on Wednesday. I will feed her every 1.5 hours. It is now late Sunday evening. Hugo Yugo had another feeding and instead of going straight to hide in my room on my pillow, she plunked herself down on the foot stool to watch her sisters. It feels like an improvement. And yes, we fed her with a syringe until nearly midnight when she ate on her own. Tears.

She is now cuddled with her Missey. This is fantastic.

I am really, really tired of hearing about our wildlife being killed unnecessarily. It has been a week that just keeps on giving!

New research shows that skyscrapers are killing millions of birds annually during migration. It doesn’t have to happen. What is wrong with people?

Fears New York buildings’ deadly toll on migratory birds could be on the rise. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/10/birds-building-collisions-new-york-city?CMP=share_btn_url

It just seems there have been so many deaths associated with humans where I live lately. There were the eight bald eagles in the field (COD pending), then the two local foxes whose den was destroyed at the site of new condos – the one being hit by a car on a busy street last night and the other on a busy bridge. My fear is that they were targeted – the driver of the vehicle either baiting them or driving around til they saw them out and speeding up. I am worried about Dyson and her kids who now run across a street that has nothing to slow down the would be Formula 3 drivers since their trees were cut down. We went to get Hugo Yugo more kitten milk and noticed the large tree at the intersection where the Blue Jays nest has a vast orange circle on it this morning, indicating it is now destined to be cut down. When they are finished, we will not have a tree anywhere in sight higher than a meter. Our street was fully canopied two years ago after the leaves came out. It was gorgeous. Looks like the barren moonscape now. The trees the City planted will take 25 years even to become a size for animals to use. The ones being cut down were planted in 1902. If I could scoop up all the garden animals and The Boyfriend and move them, I would leave.

Oh, enough of my rant. The animals are so used to me that I can now sit on the upper deck and photograph them while they forage.

Just look at Dyson. She is not young. She is a real Senior citizen in the squirrel community, but, more important, she is the matriarch.

It is not a great image, but look at that strong back leg of Dyson’s as she gets ready to jump down with her precious peanut.

One of Dyson’s three kits. Isn’t it cute?

And another kit. The three of them were running around the garden with their Mum. They don’t mind me at all. I feel so privileged – and, of course, these are the reasons that I could never leave here – just vacation elsewhere. There is no natural food or not much for them anymore. The Squirrels used to eat the ‘helicopters’ (the seeds) of the Maple Trees but there are no more Maples and no one had the foresight to plant Oak trees!!!!!!!!!!! So no acorns. I did catch Little Red at the very top of the crab apple tree getting the little apples, though. That is not enough to sustain even him, however.

This is how it starts out in the morning. Today, I discovered that the Blue Jays get busy pecking the peanuts and shooting the ones they don’t like off the feeding tray! Dyson & Co thank them for sure. Junior is also stuffing peanuts down its throat like Mr Crow – like a pouch as in pelican. :))

Both Crows visited today.

Oh, the joy they bring! Just look at that face on the Crow above. I cannot imagine anyone harming them.

Isn’t this a gorgeous image? Don Dennis photographed this Bald Eagle couple on Russell Lake, Nova Scotia on Saturday, 9 November 2024. Many more will be coming to our prey-rich Atlantic province for the winter! Don is an excellent photographer. It looks like these two were deep in conversation. I love the evergreens and then that touch of autumn foliage.

Time to check on the birds on streaming cams.

Bubba is ready to fly! 56 days old. Heidi got all the hovering action on video! https://youtu.be/Hbi_1T2zyfc?

At Port Lincoln, breakfast came early. Kasse ate last, but the milestone reached was by Wilko who stood up to eat! He is becoming a ‘big boy’.

Wilko stands up tall part way through the feeding to eat! Way to go, Wilko.

Now it is Kasse’s turn for some fish!

At Collins Street, the parents want the triplets to fledge. They deliver prey and take it away flying by to tease them to use those wings and chase them! It is all coming far too soon for Melbourne and Orange. https://youtu.be/l-xDYFIszYQ?

Diamond and Xavier are not withholding prey!

No news really for the fledgling WBSE. It kind of worries me. The one was in the bushes the other day. Will someone check? I wonder. One had their wing caught eons ago in branches down low and couldn’t get away.

At Hilton Head Bald Eagle nest, we have a takeover (or potential take over bid) by the GHOs. The nest was battered by Hurricane Milton. Wonder where the eagles will nest? https://youtu.be/5WqBTRFWqZ4?

Meanwhile at NE Florida, Gabby and Beau worked tirelessly on Sunday getting that nest ready for those precious eggs (fingers crossed).

It rained in Iowa. I did not see any eagles working on the nest at Decorah North. Rain started later in the afternoon.

Eagles were present at Denton Homes.

Beautiful sunset over the Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Connie and Clive.

Where are the Ospreys at Captiva?

Jackie and Shadow make us all smile! They were at Big Bear on Sunday! https://youtu.be/QqiawH1-NpA?

Franklin was near the ETSU-Bluff City nest on Sunday.

And look who later joined him on the branch – Frances!

At the WRDC, Ron and Rose are getting cosy. https://youtu.be/g-bRObhrWfQ?

Incubation changes at SW Florida are smooth and routine.

Lots of work to do by Jolene and Boone at the ETSU-Johnson City nest destroyed by Milton. They got a kind helping hand on that rebuild.

Incorrigible. The Grouse Moor Licensing Scheme to protect raptors is already attacked by the estate owners! Unbelievable.

Scotland’s grouse moor licensing scheme has already been sabotaged – Raptor Persecution UK Download

I hope they don’t mind. Karl II was the most amazing Black Stork father and he deserves to always be remembered on ‘Father’s Day in Estonia’ and every where around the world where he was loved.

Here is that video: https://youtu.be/ECHO4uUJrFQ?

The latest from Sharon Dunne on the Royal Albatross chicks and their flight to the waters off Chile.

Rita the Eagle Monday Facts.

Live in Vancouver? There is a fundraiser for The Nest Companion Bird Car & Rehabilitation Society.

There are still hundreds if not thousands of Canada Geese in Winnipeg who have not migrated. In SW Manitoba, the Sandhill Cranes are still flying south. It is the middle of November!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, images, posts, videos, and streaming cams: ‘A, Connie and Don Dennis,H, J’, Heidi McGrue, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, Judy Harrington, Hilton Head Land Trust, NEFL-AEF, Raptor Resource Project/explore.org, Denton Homes, Window to Wildlife, Heidi McGrue, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cali Condor, ETSU-Bluff City, ETSU-Johnson City, Raptor Persecution UK, Madli Allsoo, Sharon Dunne, Rita the Eagle, The Nest Companion Bird Care & Rehabilitation Society

Thursday in Bird World

19 September 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

First, landmark EU ruling protecting songbirds migrating through Malta! Thanks, Geemeff.

“n a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today declared the trapping of seven finch species in Malta, to be illegal – a practice which has been criticised by Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) for years. According to the judges in Luxembourg, the practice clearly violates Article 9 of the EU Birds Directive and may no longer be authorised. The proceedings before the ECJ are the premature conclusion of a long-running dispute between bird conservationists and the Maltese Labour Government, which has repeatedly tried to circumvent the Birds Directive in recent years in order to secure the votes of bird trappers. Because finches are strictly protected under EU law, bird-trapping was officially relabelled as a “scientific research project” in 2020 and licenses were issued for more than 2,600 trapping sites. In recent years, official complaints by CABS have resulted in the confiscation of thousands of birds that were caught illegally under the guise of the alleged research project. It is still unclear whether the Maltese government will accept the verdict or appeal and allow the trappers to continue. CABS have already confirmed that we will be in Malta in October with several teams to monitor compliance with a possible ban on trapping.”

Full article here:

In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today declared the trapping of seven finch species in Malta, to be illegal – a practice which has been criticised by Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) for years. According to the judges in Luxembourg, the practice clearly violates Article 9 of the EU Birds Directive and may no longer be authorised. The proceedings before the ECJ are the premature conclusion of a long-running dispute between bird conservationists and the Maltese Labour Government, which has repeatedly tried to circumvent the Birds Directive in recent years in order to secure the votes of bird trappers. Because finches are strictly protected under EU law, bird-trapping was officially relabelled as a “scientific research project” in 2020 and licenses were issued for more than 2,600 trapping sites. In recent years, official complaints by CABS have resulted in the confiscation of thousands of birds that were caught illegally under the guise of the alleged research project. It is still unclear whether the Maltese government will accept the verdict or appeal and allow the trappers to continue. CABS have already confirmed that we will be in Malta in October with several teams to monitor compliance with a possible ban on trapping.

The ruling shows that international law and cross border agreements can achieve huge benefits for protecting nature. The mills of the EU Commission and the ECJ may grind slowly, but in the end the directives – as in this case the EU Birds Directive adopted in 1979 – are enforced even in the unwilling member states!

Best regards,

Alexander Heyd and Lloyd Scott

Second up today before we even get to the garden animals…it isn’t the photographs (they are great) it is a statement in there about fish fairies!

We hope that your week has been going well for you! With all of the rain the past few days, we have taken to finishing up some of those odd little things around the house that are like monkeys on your back. The space behind my desk has now received its colour block to go with the feather images. The area around the tub has been painted a deep navy black. The storage room has been cleaned and decluttered, with much donated or put out for the free weekend. The kitchen drawers and utility room are now cleaned, cleared, and washed. The Girls were not that keen on all the mopping. They sure hate getting their feet wet! It feels so good to get things off lists, open a drawer, and find precisely what you need quickly. My life needs serenity and a deep, quiet calm now. My patient nature becomes overwhelmed unnecessarily over trivial things like a messy drawer where I cannot find a bottle opener when I want nothing more than one of the Mexican watermelon sodas whose lids require them.

We woke to a garden that was bursting with green – the deepest blue emerald – after the rain we had over the past three days. Today’s was a downpour. Speaking of green, another ‘Greene’ indicated that he saw an osprey that might be Sum-eh. Is the family fishing downriver? Is Iris still here? We are waiting for confirmation and an updated posting from Dr. Greene.

The Blue Jays are sweeping down to get peanuts. There are two of them this morning. It is Mr and Mrs Junior. I suspect that their fledglings have departed or, sadly, have been killed. You might recall that I counted eighteen Blue Jays in the garden after all of the close nests had fledged their young. Eighteen. It was wondrous. The neighbour saw the hawk take one. Survival rates in urban areas are low for all of our feathered friends. No one reported any other Blue Jays found dead. I hope they found other places to feed. The competition in the garden was keen at times. That said, food is scarce as habitat turns into concrete parking lots or new condos around me.

It is now 1200, and I have returned from a quick run to the shops so that Mr Crow and Mrs Crow and at least five fledglings can have their dogs along with some fruit today in the rain. Tomorrow is hard-boiled egg day. Question: How do you keep Crows healthy through food? I am confident they need a variety and must seek out this answer. Some days, they prefer pecking at the nut cylinder. Some days, they look at the fruit and veg, declaring that l am a monster: cheesy dogs? Where are our dogs!!!!!!!! Hopefully, the Crows amuse the neighbours with all their cawing and swooping about! Right now, one is cawing loudly. He alerts us that there is a cat in the garden. It is a poor grey tabby with a bent ear. His family lets it wander. This lovely lad really likes my neighbour, who also feeds the feral cats of the neighbour. He can feel her love.

Baby Hope did not appreciate the monsoon style rain.

You can hear the rain starting and getting heavier at the end of the video below. Baby Hope moves off the post and goes into her quiet spot out of the conservatory. It is where she feels safe.

Click on the image below to get the arrow to start the video.

Baby Hope listens as the rain begins and leaves when it is heavy! It was like a monsoon.

Geemeff sent us news from the Woodland Trust and Spain about the surviving osplet of Louis and Dorcha:

“We have had an update from Spain. 1JW has not been seen since last Tuesday and may be now on migration. Sometimes the birds disappear for a few days and come back so the team are going to wait until tomorrow to confirm. If he hasn’t reappeared in the district by then we will regard him as on migration.”

I wanted to check the nest of Hope and Beaumont in Newfoundland right away. Beaumont is still home delivering fish to one of the most beautiful ‘dark’ fledglings I have ever seen. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to see Hope and Beaumont’s chicks survive and fledge. To see what they look like. My goodness. I never knew I loved dark osprey females until I set eyes on Louis’s Dorcha in 2022. Now they are fascinating. The two fledglings on the Snow Lane nest take after their Mum, Hope, who is exquisitely dark. There is no competition for this fish as expected if both juveniles were still home. We wait to see for sure. The other juvenile was seen on Tuesday the 17th.

Others in Canada are leaving. The Osoyoos’ nest appears to be empty. There continue to be reports of a few ospreys still in Nova Scotia. Those in Manitoba have headed south, and the Russell Lake group feels like empty nesters!

Fortis Exshaw at Canmore looks quiet.

I have seen no activity at the nest despite my desire for Iris and her mate to come and work on that nest for next season! That touch and go might have been her goodbye to all of us! If, however, Dr Greene has seen one osprey – if it happens to be Sum-eh – might indicate that the family is still in the area.

There is still one osprey at Charlo Montana.

At the Kurzeme nest in Latvia, the male is still home and at least one juvenile, Janice. Liznm has them on video. https://youtu.be/GK8gwFZGi18?

There are lots of nest round-ups or memory logs starting to take shape across Osprey Land. Dunrovin Ranch published theirs this morning. It is a beautiful read about Swoop and his new mate and little Junebug while, at the same time, remembering Harriet.

This ones all about the ospreys Download

Jeff Kear gathered information on all the UK Osprey nests and has added some more with a good view of all the nests. It is a reliable historical document. Please have a read.

https://ukospreyinformationcoukdatablogdomainonly.wordpre…

Geemeff – how do they do it? – also does summaries for some of the other nests including, of course, Loch Arkaig. These can prove useful and interesting to you.

https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/lochgartenospreys/f/loch-garten-ospreys/287633/loch-arkaig—the-woodland-trust—june-2024—february-2025

https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/lochgartenospreys/f/loch-garten-ospreys

It is a disappointment that the nests on streaming cams in the US and Canada do not have, for the most part (Bart is sure helping with information at some of those! Thank you, Bart), do not have detailed information on arrivals/departures, egg dates, hatch dates, and fledge dates and then the migration dates. As a researcher this is useful information. On the other hand, many of you now have good log books that would benefit from these summaries.

I need to catch up in entering data for the International Osprey Data Project. I know that I am because the starvation rate in the overall summary is not high enough. The Colonial Beach nests and 31 others from Virginia will change that dramatically, sadly, and for the worst.

More studies are linking the starvation of Ospreys to the lack of Menhaden. Now we know what is causing a lack of Menhaden —-Omega, a Canadian company that I am not proud of!!!!! I will continue to ask you to write your Senator and Congressional Representative – write anyone who has a vested interest in the upcoming election – and if you have the energy left, write to the culprits in Virginia politics including the two Senators and tell them they are starving ospreys out of existence in the Chesapeake Bay. All we need is one person with the will power like Rosalie Edge in the US to make a difference.

Study Links Menhaden Depletion to Osprey Chicks Starving in Nests | Chesapeake Bay Magazine Download

In New South Wales, Australia, the Avalon nest has a chick. I am waiting for permission to post the photo! Congratulations.

Judy Harrington brings us the latest news from her FB posting of the Olympic Park eaglets.

At the NE Florida nest, there is some confusion and it will not be settled until Gabby picks a mate. Beau was at the nest on Tuesday. Gabby was not there with him. She flew in with another male before midnight and was still there with the male in the morning. It is not time for eggs or working on the nest. I am hopeful that this will be sorted and Gabby will have baby eaglets this year with whatever male she picks.

The visitor flew off and Gabby remained. The visitor returned at 1331.

At SW Florida, M15 and F23 were on the nest on the 17th of September. https://youtu.be/2uuMhoiUky4?

Royal Cam chick gets a feeding with parent flying effortlessly off into the skies showing the chick precisely what to do!

https://youtu.be/DTbGZTu-JBQ?

Rolling the eggs at 367 Collins Street. Oh, it feels like agony waiting for eggs to hatch.

Darling Xavier only wants to incubate his eggs. This sweet little falcon tries and tries. Diamond is one formidable mate!!!!!!!!!!

Gorgeous Mum at Port Lincoln.

Estonian Black Stork Karl II’s son, Waba, has been in Ukraine for nine days in a restricted area. Feeding well, we hope. His father, Karl II, had his favourite spots to stop despite the war raging. Ironically, after spending so many weeks getting his strength up, it was to be a Turkish hydro pole that would kill this much-loved Black stork father. We continue to weep for him.

I am looking forward to taking you through the latest exhibition at The Leaf. I hope that happens next week. Here is the description: Yasuragi: Gardens of Japan. Yasuragi: Gardens of Japan, a serene journey into the heart of traditional Japanese garden design. The word Yasuragi translates to the deep, calming breath of relaxation, an invitation to slow down and immerse yourself in peaceful reflection. As you wander through this tranquil space, notice the subtle shifts in the atmosphere—vibrant pathways give way to serene, minimalist landscapes, guiding you into deeper mindfulness with each step. This display is a harmonious blend of nature, history, and artistry, featuring signature elements of Japanese garden design. Each detail, from the vibrant chrysanthemums to the contrasting green and red shades around the Torii gate, reflect a deep cultural heritage. You’ll also come across a bamboo gazebo, perfect for a moment of quiet reflection. At the center of the journey lies the Zen Garden, with its carefully placed boulders, sand, gravel, and rocks that mimic the patterns of nature. A tranquil dry river through the display is home to brass cranes that mirror the delicate 1,000 origami cranes suspended along the windows of Grande Allée.”

If you live in Winnipeg, take a look!

Calico’s Tips for the Day: This tip could save you, a friend, or a family member much money and a heck of a lot of anxiety. I am so surprised that Calico is so informed!!!

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed? Is cleaning your house getting to be too much? Have you decided to look into hiring a cleaning company? Calico wants you to be super smart and not be taken to the cleaners!!!!!! First, when things are quiet, make a list of what it is that is important to be clean? Is it your floors? Walls? Is it your windows? Your Bathroom? Kitchen? Fridge? Calico says make that list, set it aside, and then examine it again. Rank what is important. Then Calico wants you to interview the cleaning company before telling them what your priorities are. Ask them what they have trained their staff to clean first. Find out if they clean the floors last? Is fridge cleaning included if it is important to you? or is it extra? What is extra? What kind of cleaning products do they use? Are those products good for the environment? Now, did you watch the TV series House? Where he is constantly saying ‘everyone lies’? Keep that in mind? They will need to know the sq footage of your house or the number of rooms they are cleaning and what they are. You must get a quote in writing. If you don’t, well…..Calico will come back and give you a hefty tutorial!!!!!!

Let me give you an example of precisely why you need to do this. It is a true story and has happened to several people by the same company which is ‘highly rated’. The company does not do windows or fridges. Those are extra and the cost is specified. The company quoted for two girls for two hours to clean approximately 900 sq. feet for $259. The quote was in writing and it said that any time over had to be pre-approved. They gave everyone ‘a discount’ of $63 up front for being first time users of their service. After the two hours had passed and the two girls were into the third hour, each client mentioned this to the girls. They did not appear to speak good English. The clients contacted the service – now it is 3 hours. Now remember that they said that the additional hours had to be pre-approved. The clients felt their hands were tied. Each and every one of them allowed the service to continue cleaning because the essential things had not been done. Do you know what has been cleaned? Trophies in the back of a closet. All the bottles in the bathroom. All canisters, etc, on the kitchen counter. The track around the shower. The top of picture frames. No walls, not the front of the appliances, not the floors! I think you are getting the picture of what Calico is warning you about. Each client wound up with a bill of approximately $635. Floors were cleaned last as the girls crawled out the front door. Because they hurried, the floors were not that clean in some instances.

If that has happened to you, don’t feel guilty and not complain because it took so long for your house to be cleaned and you feel guilty that it was so dirty. That is what they would like you to feel. Complain vigorously on social media, BBB, to anyone who will listen.

You will notice that I mentioned hiring a cleaning service company. Hiring an individual is another species of fish. Calico will discuss that another day!

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H’, Geemeff, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Newfoundland Power, Connie Dennis and Ospreys of Nova Scotia FB, Fortis Exshaw, Montana Osprey Project, Owl Research Project, Days at Dunrovin, Jeff Kear and UK Osprey Information, Geemeff, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Judy Harrington and the Sydney Sea Eagles FB, NEFL-AEF, Androcat, NZ DOC and Cornell Bird Labs, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Looduskalender.

Iris and Finnegan still home…Wednesday in Bird World

18 September 2024

Hello Everyone,

Ah, the ads continue to appear for some – my sincerest apologies. What a headache. I have done all I can, and WordPress is trying to block the third party. Today, I wanted to forget about them!

The garden has been a flurry of activity today after the heavy rains yesterday and overnight. Six Crows have been at the nut cylinder along with the squirrels, including Dyson shown below, and a pair of Blue Jays (Mr and Mrs Junior). Numerous species of Sparrows and Wrens are filling up with seed as the days get shorter.

Junior watches Mr Crow cautiously.

Another Crow decides fighting for the nut cylinder is too much bother and goes for the Cheesy Dogs.

Most of the birds in the garden will not migrate. As their habitat in our area of the City dwindles, more and more come to the feeders. I wonder what it will be like in the winter? I am contemplating building a very large covered feeding area so their seed does not get wet from the snow.

I normally call the Fifteenth of September the end of Osprey season. In the US and Canada, there are, however, still a few Dads hard at work feeding their hungry Juveniles! One of those is not Finnegan. Dr Greene has seen two ospreys in the area that he believes are Iris and Finnegan while he believes that Sum-eh and Antali have departed.

One Dad still feeding osplets is the one at Niagara Bee. There are two survivors. And goodness, gosh, there was some ‘confusion of a sorts’ over the death of the one on the nest. If an eagle had been the predator, it would have swooped down and taken the osplet off the nest and away. Think Cowlitz PUD for a good example. If it had been a GHO, well, they might have flown down and did a grab and go which is what they did at Lake Murray, but then that owl turned around and sat on the nest eating the poor chicks leaving one. So? One keen viewer caught the raccoon attaching the fledgling on the Niagara Bee nest so, it wasn’t an eagle as Niagara Bee had pronounced earlier.

Beaumont is still at Snow Lane with the fledgling? It looks like just one to me. There is no fight over the fish so I am making a presumption that Hope and one juvenile have left the area. Please correct me if I am in error!

Sandpoint is quiet.

Charlo is quiet. Junebug has not been seen since the 15 September.

Hawk Mountains migration count to date:

Of course, there are some lovely chicks and some eggs to hatch ‘down under’. Just look at how much that little White-tail Eaglet has grown in 30 days! It has such a nice crop.

Marrum and Partney at Tumby Island now have two more eggs. The first was predated by a Raven. Let us hope that they can change shifts quickly and never leave the nest alone or those Ravens, who are watching, will be quick to come to the nest. Thanks, PLO, for the image!

In Australia, surprise. Diamond welcomes Xavier’s prey gift! Look carefully. It is not a Starling! https://youtu.be/MbWuvrz2iOo?

Changeover at Melbourne, too. Don’t you love how these urban falcons have a stash of prey. Mum flies off, Dad comes to the eggs after she has accepted breakie off camera!

Every time you see a raptor. Be kind. As ‘H’ notes, we are losing them at an astonishing rate. This is truly sad.

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/why-are-peregrine-falcon-numbers-falling-united-states-again#:~:text=In%20a%20decline%20not%20seen,avian%20flu%20is%20to%20blame.&text=Building%20collisions%20kill%20300%20million,needless%20deaths%20can%20be%20prevented.

Looks like it is eel for breakfast for the White-Bellied Sea Eagles at the Olympic Park in Sydney. Thanks cam operator for those great close ups. How many of us would love to have that plumage?!

Fat little bottom on SE34.

It is time to name the chick at Taiaroa Head.

So a question in the mailbox from ‘BHA’ and I just bet that some of you are asking the same question. How do Ospreys Navigate? This is a great question and the Scottish Wildlife Trust supplies us with a great answer that is not lost in scientific jargon.

Numerous theories have been suggested, including the presence of a protein within osprey’s eyes which enables them to visualise the Earth’s magnetic field. This would be followed to warmer climates in the south, whilst hugging the coastline to stay within reach of feeding areas.

A process of ‘vector summation’ is also suggested, as a means of segmenting the journey into achievable distances. These segments are genetically inherent, meaning the knowledge of which direction to travel in during each flight step (and the number of steps) will be present since infanthood. This process is much more greatly relied on by juveniles taking their first migration, as they will not yet have the topographical memory needed to readjust their trajectory towards recognisable landmarks.

External factors such as wind drift can impact the orientation of ospreys, which can be detrimental to their success. Once off course it is not so simple to re-calibrate an internal GPS. Often osprey do not recover well from being blown off course. Depending on the direction of the wind they could end up over deserts – with no opportunities to find food and exposed to unexpected predators – or in vast expanses of ocean where the next land is nearer to South America than the fish abundant deltas of Senegal or The Gambia.

Even staying on course has its perils. For example crossing the Bay of Biscay, the massive gulf between France and Spain represents a great challenge. With favourable winds, this path can be taken in one long stint with the aim to continue down the Spanish coastline. But continuous flight across the Bay also runs the risk of draining energy levels, and being mobbed by seagulls along the way. This increases the risk of drowning before reaching the next resting place, and is an option better left to experienced birds.

We know that youngsters taking their first flight do not have the benefit of an experienced osprey like Iris who is now using landmarks to help her get to her winter home. I like to think that they have 62 million years of DNA and a built in GPS system. We have to use computer systems to help us navigate.

It is Eagle Time (except for the Southern Hemisphere), and I will bring you news on books to give you some insight into these magnificent birds.

At Dulles-Greenway a new couple have been checking out the nest. https://youtu.be/oib7NvIEnmk?s

Beau is resting in the NE Florida nest. I had not seen Gabby by 1700. Does Beau have an issue with his left foot? and is he resting on the nest because of it? I wonder.

As the eagles begin returning to their nests, I will post information on some books you might like. There are many books that describe the birds as well as websites, but I am looking for something more for you. The books I mention will be substantially different from those. Jack F Davis’ The Bald Eagle. The Improbably Journey of America’s Bird is full of information about the cultural history of this majestic bird. What strikes me is how many prejudices that have existed for centuries continue. For example, eagles steal children! At the time of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, “Raptors were excluded…Furthermore, a few out-of-touch ornithologists insisted that H. leucocephalus, the new scientific name given to the Bald Eagle, was a nonmigratory species. This erroneous claim influenced the thinking in government agencies and Congress.” Davis continues, “It was not a marketable good traded across the Canadian border, although it was killed on both sides of it. And it was not a game bird to be protected for the sporting crowd. It was a predator, an animalis non grata, an enemy of civilisation (226).” Davis documents how the eagle became a particularly precarious bird once the US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 and commercial fishing industries arrived there. Alaska set up a bounty on the birds! It had been 20 cents in 1806 and was increased to $1 for every pair of talons. People delivered them by the bucket load. It was not until Rosalie Edge bought up the area around Hawk Mountain and began to lobby for changes to the Migratory Bird Act that the eagles received protection. Her task was not easy.
Appearing before a meeting with Audubon, Edge was told that the public loathed the bald eagle and that the Alaska bounty should remain (237)! Edge argued that the symbol that had helped ‘win World War II’ would go extinct if something was not done (238). The argument to protect the Bald Eagle would continue well into the 1940s. Davis continues his book with the restoration of the Bald Eagle into the various states, beginning with an experimental plan at Patuxent. The book was published in 2022 and includes the challenges DDT raised about Bald Eagles, the cultural symbolism with Indigenous people, and the controversies surrounding the eagle. It is a good read, particularly if you love Bald Eagles. Indeed, it would be best if you educated yourself on their history so that you appreciate them even more today.

Why are 90% of Norways seabirds disappearing?

Stark before and after photographs reveal sharp decline of Norway’s seabirds | Birds | The Guardian Download

Jeff Kear has published the 2024 UK Season Data if you are interested. Please check it out:

2024 SEASON.

Want a feel good moment? What about a 52 year old parrot? It has been taken into care – palliative care. The caregiver spends their time on the floor with this lovely one! Thanks, ‘J’. Senior animals, whatever their species, need our devotion and love. They have certainly given it to us over the years.

There is a lesson in here. Don’t buy a parrot unless you have excellent DNA and intend to be around for about 80 years to care for them.

Calico’s Tip for the Day: Protect Yourself. Do you have a smoke alarm? a carbon monoxide detector? Then you should be going out and getting yourself one! She wants you to be safe. There are many different kinds from the standard one that uses batteries to ones connected to wifi that can alert you to hazards when you are away from home. In the end, you need one and Calico says you might get a discount on your home owner’s insurance. Best of all, they could save your life!

Calico found some information on hos those carbon monoxide detectors can be useful. Have a read. Calico suggests you read to your kitty!

carbon_mono Download

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘BHA, Geemeff, H, J, Jeff Kear, PB’, Montana Osprey Project, Newfoundland Power, Sandpoint, Charlo Montana Ospreys, Hawk Mountain, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Nesting Bird Life & More, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, ‘H’ and Audubon, Olympic Park Eagles, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sharon Dunne and the Royal Cam Albatross Group New Zealand, NEFL-AEF, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Jack F Davis’ The Bald Eagle. The Improbably Journey of America’s Bird, The Guardian, Follow the Feathers, CPSC Documents,

Friday in Bird World

30 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

What a day it was in the garden. A former student -now great friend- is moving and came to spend the afternoon with us. The Crows certainly put on a show, but, at first, we didn’t know what was happening! Then we saw him swoop through and land on the large bird feeder after having spent time on the fence – a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk. He had everyone being cautious including ‘The Boyfriend’. Crows and Jays were alerting loudly. Dyson was flat as a pancake!

According to my neighbour, this hawk comes every day around 1800. Isn’t it lovely?

I hope you enjoyed Geemeff’s story of their adventures at Poole Harbour and the Birds of Poole Harbour tour. How exciting! It is on my bucket list for next year.

On Thursday, the New York Times published an article on changes at the Grand Teton National Park (and other parts of the US). All of this will impact our raptors from dying forests to no water, meaning no fish and fewer and fewer small mammals for the birds to eat. I am becoming more and more concerned as weather-related events are driving the starvation of our ospreys and eaglets.

Climate Signs of change in the Grand Tetons Download

At Hellgate Canyon, Finnegan feeds his second chick, Antali, at the nest. What a whopper it was, even with the amount that Finnegan took for himself on the owl pole. What a glorious year this has been. Finnegan really gave us a different outcome than we had come to expect when Iris returned from migration. I bet she was blown off her talons, too!!!!!!!

Antali knew Dad had a whopper and really wanted him to hurry up!

Late evening fish delivery to Antali who flies off the perch to get his meal.

Two fish at the Charlo nest at the same time -. Nice.

Will Gwenlais break the record for a fledgling staying on the nest before migration?

Some news about Giliath (Bradley’s brother from the 2023 Port Lincoln nest)!

There is also good news about the sea eaglet! It is still with us and appears healthy. Fantastic news.

And there are the markings for the second egg at the Port Lincoln osprey barge. Lovely.

Congratulations to those who work so hard and care so deeply for the ospreys in South Australia!

Last year, donations helped with platforms and the purchase of fish for the fish fairies—just look at Bradley and Giliath and smile. Those fairies saved their lives. Membership is only $20, which has big dividends for the ospreys. It doesn’t go to administration fees!!!!!!

The new couple at 367 Collins Street are adorable.

https://youtu.be/BKv6RJSPd_Y?

The Northern Ibis has been brought back from extinction, but it needs help figuring out migration.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/28/northern-bald-ibis-bird-back-from-extinction-now-scientists-in-a-glider-are-teaching-it-to-migrate-aoe?CMP=share_btn_url

Some videos of the birding tour at Poole Harbour from Geemeff:

Peregrine chases Black-Tailed Godwits seen from Birds of Poole Harbour Osprey cruise 28 Aug 2024:
https://youtu.be/fa-q7SiBiys

Osprey in 40x super slo-mo seen from Birds of Poole Harbour Osprey cruise 28 Aug 2024:

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 29th August 2024

Tonight’s summary is fast becoming the norm – nothing to report except rain, wind, and no avian activity. Forum friends are drifting off and promising to return in spring, and season highlights videos are nearing completion. It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, but one chick did fledge successfully in Spain, and we hope for another update on his progress soon.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.21.06 (05.34.42); Nest Two 21.10.24 (05.35.23)

Today’s videos: none!

Bonus update on the Irish Osprey translocation programme:

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/0eefa-minister-noonan-releases-osprey-chicks-back-into-the-wild

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/gYLmi9ILHEo N2 Cocky Corvid tweaks Sarafina’s tail and steal her fish 2022

https://youtu.be/Ni3VtPGi4Pw N2 Harassing Hoodies eventually cause Sarafina to flee the nest 2022

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Monty and Hartley are bonding in San Jose. https://youtu.be/PJC3V_5kyoQ?si=j2v8HZaqBYsoHNZ2

Fledglings fighting for fish in Omaha. Still at home.

Both juveniles at the Osoyoos Osprey platform. Nice crop on one. It looked like a couple of small fish delivered on Thursday.

At Minnesota Landscape, an adult visitor has been coming on and off to the nest on Thursday and was also seen there on Wednesday. No sign of the juvenile or Dad. The visitor has no federal band (Dad does).

Ospreys coming and going at Field Farm. Decidedly hard to identify.

Androcat caught M15 and F23 at the SW Florida Eagle nest doing some work. https://youtu.be/Uf1_4gVEByY?

It is almost time to say goodbye to the Royal Cam chick who will spend from 5-6 years on the water looking for food before ever setting their webbed feet on land again! Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

https://youtu.be/FbHi83z8k_A?

Some information on the life of the Northern Royal Albatross from the NZ DOC.

Life Of The Northern Royal | Royal Albatross Centre Download

Beautiful sea eaglets. Both had a crop after the morning breakfast.

‘A’ remarks: “Little SE34 had to wait until nearly 01:28 for breakfast, although SE33 ate a little a lot earlier. At the second feeding, SE33 ate first, then turned away, full. SE34 got fed from about 13:28 until SE33 rejoined the feeding about 13:38. There was am incident of bonking before SE33 turned away but SE34 didn’t stay down for long. He was shuffling closer and closer to mum during her feeding of SE33 and for the first time, he was brave and determined about getting himself fed. I was overjoyed to see this, because it has, as you know, been seriously worrying me that his drive to live does not seem strong enough. But today, it was. He was hungry and he was brave. When his sister rejoined the feeding and Lady turned back to feed SE33, SE34 leaned in and stole the bite from in front of his sister’s nose. It was very reassuring to watch.

I am hoping that this will represent something of a turning point for this nest. Once the attitude changes, the behaviour normally follows. So perhaps SE34 is going to be a bit more proactive about his own existence, which would be a huge relief.

The two are looking adorable. Their head shape and faces are so different from one another. Little SE34 is the prettier of the two, with more delicate features and cranial bone structure. “

This week’s migration statistics from Hawk Mountain, PA, USA:

Handsome Beau waits for Gabby to return. Her return dates have been 1 September, 8 September, and several times on the 12th. I am hoping for the 1st!

One of our Big Bear eagles with a large crop!

‘J’ notes the following eagles present in the last few days at their nest: At Duke Farms both of the adults were seen on the nest. Boone and Jolene were at Johnson City while Scott and Bella were at the NCTC nest. Beau returned to NEFL and we await the arrival of Gabby. Both adults at Trempealeau with two adults at Kistachie nest E-1.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, summaries, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J’, The New York Times, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Jeff Kear and the Dyfi Osprey Project, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Fran Solly and Friends of Ospreys Sth Aus, 367 Collins Street Falcons, The Guardian, Geemeff, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways, Pam Breci, Field Farm, Androcat, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, NZ DOC, Olympic Park Eagles, Hawk Mountain, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV,

Diamond lays first egg…Tuesday in Bird World

27 August 2024

Hello Everyone,

There was no report of a storm coming to our area, but the garden animals behaved differently all day. The temperature was cooler, 22 C. Tomorrow it will be 28 C. There are storms to the south of us near Minneapolis. Still, the animals are exerting a rivalry for peanuts that I have not seen in quite some time. The Red Squirrels are harassing the Greys, the Greys are bothering the Blue Jays, and all are disturbing the Crows!

Dyson has been here and I finally was able to get a photo of her. She is so healthy! And so quick. Less than a blink and she is off the feeder with peanuts.

It is not a great shot – the iPhone and the Feather Friedly dots on the double glazing of the conservatory do not make for a good combination when trying to photography moving animals.

Dyson can sometimes get three peanuts in at once and away she goes. Just look at that beautiful tail.

Three of the juvenile crows keeping watch as two eat cheesy dogs. Oh, they are a noisy bunch. Our former neighbours stopped by for a visit today and it was so nice to hear that they missed the birds. There are some geese in the river near where they live, but no birds!

Meanwhile one Crow insists on walking all across the conservatory’s roof and then flying off to get a drink in the bird bath. It drives Calico crazy!

The images are a little too dark of Calico with the Crow on the ceiling but you can get the idea. My goodness Calico wanted that Crow.

They have the most gorgeous iridescent plumage. This one has a tattered tail. I am sure they have been in many skirmishes since they fledged the nest this summer.

Little Red ‘looks sweet’. The operative word is ‘looks’. I have discovered that animals with ginger fur cause the most chaos. Hugo Yugo is included! Have you noticed that, too?

Junior still looks ratty but that crest is coming in and soon he will look like his handsome self. Someone said this takes a week. I would say a good fortnight.

Even with the cooler temperatures, all the birds enjoy the birdbath, which is filled five times a day. The Blue Jay on the right was ill and had a twisted tail. The tail is still not straight, but s/he is flying and doing well.

One of the new babies waiting for its parents to tell it that it can fly back to the nest.

Sad. An Osprey, not a type of bird of prey that kills grouse, was shot to death at Angus Glens on the opening of the ‘Inglorious 12th’ of August. Oh, please find a way to end this medieval practice of shooting grouse!

Osprey found shot in Angus Glens on opening day of grouse shooting season – Raptor Persecution UK Download

‘PB’ caught Dad and the juvenile home at Cowlitz PUD! Yeah. Electra might have left on migration. We wait to see.

SK Hideaways has a video clip of our Collins Street falcons and their first egg of the season. Many are upset that the female laid the egg on the south end without the shade protection. Some of you will recall the small little falcons practically roasting one year on the ledge.

https://youtu.be/5hxRew6wVuc?si=t8CMU-UTUzoOpmaJ

Deliveries at Hellgate Canyon! Iris is still home…

Finnegan brought Antali a whopper!!!!!! He was still eating two hours later.

C16 enjoys an early morning breakfast fish at Charlo.

Heidi McGrue caught Fen at Fenwick Island diving for his first fish. He might have even caught it.

The necroscopy from Elyse the falcon at the University of Montreal has been turned in.

‘A’ writes about Monday afternoon and the little sea eaglets. “Monday afternoon at 3.45pm and those sea eaglets have the most massive crops. They are sleeping in the warm spring sunshine, snuggled up in a giant fluffball. Dad was in with breakfast (a live medium-sized fish) at around 06:34, which Lady immediately commandeered. SE33 still had a crop! SE34 was closer to the table and facing the right way, so got the first of the food. He did not hesitate to take the bites he was offered and SE33, facing the other way, did not object. 06:37 and SE34 is spooked by SE33 moving behind him, making him nervous to eat. He does take a bite from mum but then turns his head away, obviously worried about SE33. Mum leans right over to offer him the next bite but he pulls away from her, his head still turned. Lady, watching SE34 and aware he is too scared to eat, does not feed SE33 but instead eats herself while she waits for SE34 to gain confidence.

Early Tuesday morning and both sea eaglets have crops.”

The sea eaglets appeared to be living a bit more harmoniously. They should grow out of this stage soon as their pin feathers are beginning to come through.

Speaking of large crops, Diamond and Xavier are both looking exceptionally well fed this afternoon. We just had the privilege (4.09pm) of watching one of their famous bonding sessions. Xavier likes to visit Diamond very early in the morning, while it’s still dark (she usually sleeps on the ledge of her scrape), and it’s not uncommon for one or both of them to fall asleep during a prolonged early morning bonding session. Just TOO funny. These two are adorable. Xavier is the cutest little peregrine. I just love him. He is the best mate and father, and we all know the story of how he came into Diamond’s life. What a guy. Eggs are less than a week away, judging by the bonding behaviours (though that rejected starling propped up in the front corner is really starting to get pretty rancid, I suspect – it’s been there for two and a half days, maybe more) and the frequency of matings (this pair generally get it right too – they know what they’re doing). I think Cilla said yesterday or the day before that there would be eggs within the week and she’s usually pretty accurate in her predictions here. So we wait. I would be surprised if there were more than two eggs. Diamond is not a young bird, though she does look healthy (Xavier looks after her well). “

They have been mating and mating at Orange. Xavier wants eggies. He loves being a day. Well, is he trying out to be Murphy?! Well, all of Xavier’s wishful thinking has paid off – Diamond laid the first egg of the season after he incubated the stone.

https://youtu.be/YeXmTmweF0w?

Mum is giving Dad ‘dad’ lessons at Collins Street in Melbourne. https://youtu.be/hSJzFvVen14?

Do you ever look for stamps that are specific to our bird family?

Those two juveniles of Hope and Beaumont are gorgeous. They are stunners of the ‘dark’ side. Just look how wide those eye bands are, just like Mum. Beautiful thick necklaces. These two are lovely.

‘J’ did a tour of the eagle information and confirms the following sightings for us:

“18 august Harvey & Ellie visit nest Farmer Derek; 20 august Ron & Rose on nest Dade County; Aug Mr & Mrs Trempealeau on nest Trempealeau; August 1 adult on nest, fledglings still in the area Avon Lake ; Baker pops in Little Miami; 24 august Beau is back NEFL; 24 august M15 & F23 at the nest SWFL; 26 august Clive is back according to MAS Captiva; 26 august DNF has been seen by RRP, not visited new nest yet Decorah North / Raptor Resource Project; HD & HM seen around N1 Decorah / Raptor Resource Project”.

An update from Raptor Resource Project that runs the Decorah North, Spirit Bluff, and Mississippi Flyway cams:

These would make perfect bird baths!

Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 26th August 2024

No activity at all again today on either nest, but from Police Scotland comes the disturbing account of an Osprey having been shot on the Inglorious Twelfth ie the traditional start date on 12th August of the grouse-shooting industry. The unfortunate Osprey had to be euthanised. All the big news outlets have taken up the story, and the link to the police appeal is in the bonus section. Weatherwise today had more dry patches than forecast, but heavy rain is expected tonight.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.21.13 (05.28.48); Nest Two 21.13.27 (05.37.43)

Today’s videos: none!

Bonus read – police appeal for info after the tragic death of an Osprey, shot on the Inglorious Twelfth:

https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2024/august/appeal-for-information-following-death-of-osprey-in-perthshire

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

At the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of M15 and F23, their only chick from 2023, E23, gets mobbed! https://youtu.be/gPp8oApmZoI?

Even a small plot of land rewilded can have huge benefits.

Young country diary: A little rewilding goes a long way | Tesshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/24/young-country-diary-a-little-rewilding-goes-a-long-way?CMP=share_btn_url

Thank you so very much for being with us today. Please take care. Have a wonderful week. We hope to see you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, comments, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Raptor Persecution UK, Pam Breci, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Heidi McGrue, UdeMFalcons FB, Olympic Park Eagles, Falcon Project at Charles Sturt University, Holly Parsons, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, BirdGuides, Newfoundland Power, Raptor Resource Project, The Waterfowl Sanctuary, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, The Real Saunders Photography, and The Guardian.

Monday in Bird World

29 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

We hope that you had a really lovely weekend. I have been busy taking photographs of the six Blue Jays in the garden along with Dyson and family and all the baby sparrows. And today, there will be time to go and get a new cable to connect the camera to the computer so I can show you this week. All of the garden animals are fine. The Girls are actually enjoying a new furniture arrangement in the conservatory and today they are waiting for a family birthday party where they will get some treats!

I want to start with some really good news from the Los Angeles Zoo, which was reported in The Guardian. A record number of condors have hatched in captivity. This is just the best!

‘Nature’s clean–up crew’: record-setting 17 condor chicks hatch at LA Zoo | California | The Guardia Download

Question from ‘RP and VS’ – Crows and Cheesy Dogs. What are they? Where do I get them? As I answer this, a Blue Jay is jumping around near a huge plate of cheesy dogs and chicken weiners and Mr Crow is flying in to get his share as well.

Well, Crows like meat. It is a bad thing if you are Vegan or a Vegetarian which seems to run in my family. So we giggle when we are in the check out line at the shops – hoping no one sees us. We have a very discounted grocery near us. They sell chicken hotdogs in 3 kg packages. These are just plain ones, and the Crows love them. We slice them into thin disks and pile them on a big plate. The Crows devour them. They have a very strong smell – . The Blue Jays love them, too, and so do the Starlings. Now for the cheesy dogs – they are a smoked sausage like weiner with cheese injected in them. Sometimes, they even have Jalapeno pepper flakes. They love these. Again, sliced thin. Some places call these Smokies. They remind me of European hot dogs or sausages. The Crows also love hard-boiled eggs, Chinese chicken balls, etc. BUT they won’t touch chicken strips from certain companies. It is like they are too processed. How could that be different from the chicken hot dogs? We also put out small pieces of fruit for them. I know that your specific question was about the cheesy dogs, but we keep leftovers and I have places that keep their food at the end of the day that can’t be given to humans. That is how I know they love Chinese chicken balls with sauce! They will also eat pizza (the local shop is good to save the food) and we cut it into small pieces. I don’t like giving them bread. It reminds me of the ducks and geese that get Angel Wing. Perhaps it is alright for the songbirds and Crows – I should do some research!

Oh, I do love these garden visitors. We have also discovered that the songbirds like different types of seed and suet. Sometimes you have to experiment. Brands may lok the same but the birds in my garden will not touch a certain brand of suet and they prefer, above everything else, Black Oil Seed. Some won’t eat millet while the Dark-eyed Juncos devour the stuff. Just get a little bit at first and test it on who is coming to your garden.

Be sure to clean your feeders and bird baths regularly. I have been using a vegetable brush on the bird baths because of the hot and the algae issues.

Today was a particularly quiet day. I did not spend much of it watching the nests. The last couple of weeks took the wind out of my sails. Instead, I continued to enter data into the forms for the nests in Nova Scotia, some in Norway, and a handful from my own province. I had hoped to get us up to 500 eggs that were monitored during the 2024 osprey season and it looks like we are going to make it! Tragedies in one region are off-set by successes elsewhere. I wonder how 2024 will compare to 2023? We wait to see.

A quick run through of some nests:

Dorsett Hobby: The only surviving eyas is just rather wet today! There is some concern for the little Hobby. ‘SP’ follows this nest closely and says that it has little attention form Mum in the last 36 hours. She has made Dorsett Hobby aware of the concerns – let us hope Mum brings in more food and stays with the little one although she could be perched on a nearby tree and we are not seeing her.

#1 Finland. Everything is OK.

#2 Nova Scotia. Both of Ethel and Oscar’s chicks, Skylor and Heidi, have now fledged. Heidi flew on Sunday with Skylor taking his wings on Saturday. (Photo by Don Dennis)

Right now the temperature in Nova Scotia is 30 degrees C. They have just finalised their listing of ospreys and they have sixty (60) this year. That is a fantastic survival rate per nest – in fact, most nests I am told, did not lose a single chick! Well done, Canada.

Hellgate Canyon: Just look at how big that oldest chick is? Almost as big as Mama Iris! The question is – where is Finnegan? where are the fish? Did I miss deliveries in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon? It looks like Iris has gone out on her own. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Check out the snake eyes on these two kids of Iris and Finn! These are just the most gorgeous osplets. Finn and Iris have made two beautiful babies.

Finn apparently chased Louis off the Owl Pole and it appears he told him in no uncertain terms to ‘get out of Dodge’. And then Iris and Finn defended the nest against an intruder which was possibly Louis checking out what was going on. Since his chicks fledged, it seems he has some time on his hands. Let’s hope he stays away.

Finn eating a much wanted fish by Iris and the kids.

Iris and her train.

Finn got that whopper, minus its head, to Iris and the kids. She waited rather impatiently.

They are having a feast!

It took some time to get fish on the nest today and the oldest has decided to be a bit of a ….. No worries. There is enough fish for three or four nests. That was a whopper. Iris will make sure both are fed.

And she did!

Llyn Brenig: Emrys fledged on Sunday!

Poland Black Stork Nests: Maria Marika has posted saying that none of the four Black Storks fitted with a transmitter in 2023 and ringed are alive. Sad day for their community. Details on individual storks will be provided on the Memorial Wall in coming days.

‘H’ reports on Patuxent River Park happenings:

Patuxent River Park:

Rewind: On 7/25, two significant events happened less than 20 minutes apart. At 1444 there was an adult intruder on the nest when one of the resident juveniles flew in and attempted to land. The intruder jumped up to intercept the juvie and struck her just as her talons hit the nest. The younger osprey was knocked backwards and fell down below the nest. The nest is only ten feet higher than the level of the marsh. We soon knew that the juvenile osprey had been Big. The intruder flew away after that assault. Nineteen minutes later, Middle was in the nest when Dad flew in with a large goldfish. The intruder landed almost immediately behind Dad and tried to grab the fish. Dad attempted to defend, but to no avail. The intruder had possession of the goldfish with Middle still attached and the intruder fell/flew off the nest. Middle returned to the nest. Soon after that, we started to intermittently hear rustling and flapping coming from below the nest. There was obviously an injured osprey below the nest. Hours passed, and as high tide approached, the flapping sounded like it was in water rather than just the vegetation. Who was down there? Was it Big? Was it the intruder? We have never seen Big again after she was knocked off the nest that afternoon. By late evening, we no longer heard the flapping. At 1100 am the following morning, the park staff searched, but did not find an osprey below the nest.

Fast forward to 7/28: Middle was the only fledgling that we were still seeing at the nest. Oh boy, did Dad ever take care of his girl today! Dad brought six fish to Middle. There were five fish delivered to the nest between 0641 and 0846! We didn’t think she could do it, but Middle ate all of those fish. Have you ever seen an osprey grinning from ear to ear?

Middle was in and out a bit, enjoying her day. An adult intruder landed in the nest at 1220, and Middle soon arrived to shoo the visitor away. At 1338 a visiting juvenile osprey arrived at the nest. After several minutes, Middle flew in, there was a fight, and they both went overboard. The wayward juvie returned to the nest. Middle soon arrived and literally gave the juvie the boot, with a karate kick! After that, the visiting juvie decided not to return.

Dad delivered a huge whole fish to Middle at 1650. Middle ate and ate, but she had to take breaks to rest and digest, so her fish meal was lasting a long time. At 1851 Middle was still in possession of a large piece of fish when she was dive-bombed by an adult osprey. A couple minutes later the intruder landed in the nest, but was repelled by Middle. We could tell that the intruder kept landing on the camera, and at 1856 it dive bombed Middle again. But then, things seemed to calm down, and by 1914 Middle resumed eating her fish. At 1922 and 1923 the intruder returned and landed in the nest, but was forced off both times by Middle. At 1924 the intruder flew in very fast, grabbed Middle on her upper back and dragged her backwards off the nest. We heard her hit the marsh 10 feet below. We did not see middle for the rest of the evening. We did not hear any rustling or flapping coming from below the nest. Please come home Middle, so that we know you are okay.

I have video recordings of all of the attacks on 7/25 and 7/28, and I have reviewed them carefully. Based on head and chest markings, I believe that this is the same adult intruder that attacked Big, and shortly thereafter dragged Middle off the nest on 7/25. It was the very same adult that attacked Middle today. So, now there is no question who the osprey was below the nest on 7/25. It was Big, and she was likely carried away by the tide, and may have drowned. I would love to be wrong about Big’s demise. We loved you Big. Fly high.”

Steelscape: ‘PB’ watched the intruders trying to take over this nest earlier on Sunday. One of the fledglings appears to have sustained an injury.

It has been a rough day.

Decorah North: Eagle eyed Deb Stecyk has noticed something a miss with one of the adults on the Decorah North nest. Deb wonders if it is an old injury? scar? It is the first time I have seen this dark line. Please note that all Decorah cameras will be shut down for annual maintenance on 2 August.

Other images make it look like a nasty cut to both sides of the mandible with dried blood on the left side of the neck. But is this insect bites and could Dad have scratched them? Just wondering. PB’ says they are terrible in the MidWest right now.

Gosh, I feel like I am the writer of doom and gloom today. There is just so much going on, and there are a lot of nest takeovers and intruders this time of year wrecking havoc with stable avian homes.

HWF-BBCentral: Blue is looking better today. More alert. He was seen doing some wingers and had a crop. Let us hope this eaglet gets its mojo and fledges off that nest to the shock of everyone.

Charlo Montana: Still hot. Nest still doing alright. Those funny balls that Charlie brought in have been used as a pillow by the rapidly growing chick.

Sandpoint: River is looking in excellent form!

The Bridge Golf Club: Fledgling returns to the nest for fish and is sleeping there Sunday night. All is good.

Port Lincoln Barge: Mum is on the nest waiting for Dad!

Olympic Park Eagles: Incubation continues. Cathy Cook writes that we will be on pip watch starting on Monday.

I want to add a note -. This nest has not had failures every year. Things happened once the eaglets fledged. The Currawongs chased WBSE 25 out of the area, and sadly, WBSE 26 had to be euthanised. 26, the much loved little eaglet, had injured its leg within its first 48 hours. 25 was good for supporting, caring, and encouraging its younger sibling. 26 did fledge and did return to the nest after several days, where it spent considerable time before. Sadly, it was chased out of the forest, winding up – during a storm – on a high-rise balcony. The wildlife rehab team decided that 26 could not be successfully put back together and was euthanised. In fact, the Currawongs are the biggest problem! Eaglets have been rescued, and two of them, if I remember correctly, were fitted with transmitters after rehab and released in another area. They had been tracked for some time. Last year was amazing. It was the first year we could fully appreciate how Lady and Dad cared for their young as they fed and trained WBSE 31. It was incredible, and the images provided by the community photographers that were posted warmed our hearts. Cathy confirmed that 31 stayed in the area till February. Let us hope that these two hatch, all goes well, and we will see them flying over the Parmatta River and eating fish at the River Roost.

Cathy also informed me that there are ospreys fishing in the area, too. How wonderful.

Geemeff sends her daily report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 28th July 2024

No sign today of Louis, last seen on 25th July, or Dorcha, last seen yesterday, and no activity of any sort on Nest Two. Over on Nest One, Garry did some early morning sky-dancing with a fish, which may have been why Affric 152 arrived on the nest and stayed long enough to take the fish from him when he landed. The fish was an unusual one, a Perch, first time seen on the nest and possibly a cause for concern as they shouldn’t be found in this area. Link below to WTS George’s comment about this. Affric flew off with the perch – perhaps she was taking it back to her chick on the Bunarkaig nest. A bellowing of Bullfinches visited the nest before Affric returned at lunchtime but was disappointed when Garry joined her without bringing her another fish. The weather was settled and sunny today, but drizzle is forecast for tonight, with more rain tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.56.03 (04.13.18); Nest Two 22.45.47 (04.23.40)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/0IsE6V9aoyo N1 Sky dancing heard then Garry lands with fish for Affric 05.42.30

https://youtu.be/njpggXeqWMs N1 A bellowing of Bullfinches visit 07.34.31

https://youtu.be/Iyy_ZwZ_cM8 Garry LV0 joins Affric 152 on the nest 12.24.16

Bonus info on Garry LV0’s unusual fish – European perch (Perca fluviatilis):

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15497584

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_perch

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

‘H’ reports:

7/28 Osoyoos osprey nest: This family had a good day. There were nine fish brought to the nest, including one from Soo. Four of the fish were tiny, but the others provided meals that lasted 13-19 minutes. There was very little aggression from Big toward Middle today. There were a few meals where Big ate more, but there were also feedings where it was obvious that Middle had more to eat than Big. Weather forecast for 7/29: Cloudy with chance of showers, high 77, light winds. Warmer temperatures will gradually return by the end of the week.

The BBC covered the Alyth Ospreys and the construction of their nest. Lovely interview with Roy Dennis about the move of the nest.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CC, Geemeff, H, MM, PB, RP, SP, TU, VS’, The Guardian, Dorsett Hobby, Llyn Brenig Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Project, Connie and Don Dennis, Montana Osprey Project, The Weather Network, Maria Marika, Patuxent River Park, Heidi McGrue, Steelscape, Raptor Research Project, Deb Stecyk, HWF-BBC, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Bridge Golf Course, PLO, Olympic Park Eagles, BBC, and Osoyoos.

A Day of Fledges…Sunday in Bird World

27 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Morning Update: ‘PB’ report that two adult ospreys attacked the two fledglings this morning at Steelscape.

It looks like one fledgling is back at the nest now. Let us hope that both are alright.

Saturday was a 30-degree C – humid – day on the Canadian Prairies. The garden animals were active early and arrived again once the sun moved further to the West. The heat is meeting up with a cold front and we are in for another evening of severe thunderstorms. Hugo Yugo gets so scared and wants to cuddle in tight while Calico runs and hides under the sofa. It makes me only imagine what a fifteen or half-hour of fireworks does to them.

The Girls and I started reading a new book tonight. They might not understand what is going on but Calico knows she likes to sleep on the foot stool in front of the Dyson fan. The book is, The Heat Will Kill You First. Life and Death on a Scorched Planet’. I am hoping to understand more about what is happening and how it is impacting our raptors. Some of it we are witnessing before our eyes – in Montana and British Columbia.

Geemeff just sent me an article on the changing weather in the UK.

Temperature extremes and records most affected by UK’s changing climate | Met Office | Official Pres Download

The weather, for now, is giving the Montana nests a break, but it will get hotter again. Fishing was good in Montana once the heat dissipated, with whoppers coming on all three nests – Hellgate, Charlo, and Dunrovin. It is all good.

Elsewhere, the chicks are fledgling. The ospreys will begin to make their move to migration, with many of the females leaving early and the males staying behind, as is tradition, feeding the chicks til they fledge. Everyone should be gone in less than six weeks. That time is going to pass quickly. It will not be long until we have a hatch at the nest of Lady and Dad in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Then there will be eggs and hatches at Orange and the CBD in Melbourne, and, of course, all the fun at the Port Lincoln barge.

As we enter the end of the breeding season for our raptors, storks, and sea birds, I would love to hear from you. We know that it has been a ‘tough’ year but there is that old saying about there always being a silver lining. Send me a note and tell me what were the golden moments, the miracles, that brought a smile to you this year. I hope to do part of a posting on these- so don’t be shy!!!!!!!! You can write in the comments or send me an e-mail: maryannsteggles@icloud.com Thank you.

Llyn Brenig has its first fledge. Bethan (Blue 8B9) fledged on Saturday, the 27th of July. The male, Emrys, will be following his sister soon! Bethan returned to the nest after a two-minute foray. There she is, feeding on a nice fish while Emrys waits for his turn.

Della and Warren’s two chicks fledged on Saturday. Both returned to the nest safely.

Everyone has fledged at Glaslyn and the chicks are enjoying the valley and chasing Aran and Elen around after a fish dinner. Or waiting on the nest fish calling and hoping for a delivery.

Meanwhile the trio at Blackbush are waiting to fly.

At the Russell Lake nest of Oscar and Ethel, the eldest, Skylor, fledged on Saturday. It won’t be long til Heidi takes to the skies, too. (Video capture from footage by Don Dennis)

Skylor is the first known fledgling out of the Nova Scotia nests. Did I tell you they have done really well this season.

There is always something to be happy about. We lost Karl II and Kaia and our hearts broke for these beautiful Black Storks from Estonia. But now, our dear Urmas, has located a female feeding at the fish baskets and he has tagged her and put a transmitter on her and everyone hopes that she will return to the area to be the mate of Kergu. Her name is Kerli and her ring number is : 719R.

Urmas set up fish baskets to save the lives of the storklets. He has been doing this for years when the streams had few frogs or little fish. He loves these beautiful birds. He also helped with the removal and adoption of Jan and Jannika’s storklets. You will remember Bonus who was given to Karl II and Kaia to be raised after being in the medical centre. Urmas is an individual with a heart that grows bigger and bigger.

Boulder Colorado’s Only Bob fledged around 1338 Saturday the 27th.

The fledgling returned to the nest just as it should. Great take off and landing.

At Hellgate Canyon, Iris and Finn’s oldest is really beginning to flap its wings dreaming of flying like Mum and Dad.

Finn brought in a really nice headless fish at 1837.

There was a nice fish on the Charlo Montana nest as well.

‘PB’ caught Mum feeding the Only Bob at McEuen Park! Excellent luck with a camera with no rewind.

Winnie was trying to keep Only Bob at Dunrovin cool. Hard to fit under Mum now!

All three of the chicks at Mrs O’s nest in Tweed Valley have fledged.

Fledglings at Fort Calhoun are doing fantastic.

Even the Dorsett Hobby is getting into the act with its wingers!

Geemeff’s Daily Summary of Loch Arkaig activites and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Saturday 27th July 2024
All the action took place on Nest One today, apart from a sweetly singing Wren and some juvenile Tree Pipits exploring Nest Two. Garry LV0 paid three visits, the first time bringing a stick and doing a bit of nest work, the second time Dorcha arrived soon after he did and then both took off in a hurry when a third Osprey, possibly Affric 152, flew overhead with a brief flash of blue Darvic ring. A little later Dorcha returned for a very brief visit, and Garry returned mid afternoon for his third visit which lasted all of ten seconds. No sign of Louis today. LizB provided another update on the Bunarkaig nest, link below, the chick was on the nest so either hasn’t fledged yet or had returned for food. The weather was a little unsettled, and at one time it was raining on Nest Two but not on Nest One, showing the difference made by the few kilometres separating the two nests. Tonight’s forecast is light clouds and light winds, with the prospect of a dry sunny day tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.20.14 (03.33.35); Nest Two 23.23.32 (04.01.46)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/5cs0x94tC-A N2 A sweet little singer and a variety of little birds visit 07.34.53
https://youtu.be/OuuyJzYB3ZM N1 Garry LV0 brings a stick and does some nest prep 10.09.53
https://youtu.be/K3oYtZEf5MA N1 Dorcha visits Garry LV0 but another Osprey makes them flee 10.42.47
https://youtu.be/6FoEZpmrZks N1 Dorcha pays another visit 11.19.25 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/iXEdt1LR4_s N1 Garry LV0 returns for a very brief visit 15.59.11

Bonus update on the Bunarkaig nest (thanks LizB):https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15491480

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam
Blast from the past, this day in 2023:https://youtu.be/z1_voshU-z8 N2 Flight of the Bumbling Hoodies (Classic Ospreys Rimsky-Korsakov, quicktime)

Trudi Kron is keeping an eye on Blue at Boundary Bay.

‘CG’ also sends us some historic information on the Boundary Bay nest and updates on Blue:

Photos by AP Horvasse

The nest was installed in September 2022. AP Hovasse made a brief video of the installation with David Hancock explaining a bit about the process and about why the area is important for eagles. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShGYxfOBd08

Now I ask you, what osprey would not like this nest? I wonder with the sunshade and supports how well they would work to deter flying predators. Nests are never going to be 100 percent predator proof; just try to make it more difficult and more work to take the chicks.

7/27: Blue was awake early calling to no avail. She spent the day wingercising, hopping, laying down, and vocalizing. Mere showed up around 1100 hours with empty talons. Finally, a small meal was brought by a parent at around 1700 hours. Another showed up around 1800 hours. Then another at around 1830 hours! A fourth delivery showed up around 1900 hours. Blue started eating No. 4 then decided to leave it. Thinking ahead to breakfast? I believe it was Mere who brought all the food. Blue finished off the night standing, head tucked in, sleeping.

All we can do is take one day at a time and send positive thoughts Blue’s way.”

News coming from the West End nest!

Fledge at Alyth SSEN on the 27th! Congratulations Harry and Flora.

‘H’ sends her report:

7/27 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: Hooray! Both juveniles fledged this morning at 61 and 60 days of age. They were both looking like they were going to take off at any moment, and we didn’t know which one would be first. Chick 2 seemed to have a leg-up in experience, because s/he had made it up to the nest perch yesterday. Chick #1 fledged first at 0639, about four minutes before chick 2 decided to fly. How exciting! Chick 2 made a quick loop around the area and returned to the nest in less than a minute. Chick 1 followed Mom in, and landed back in the nest after three hours. Both of the fledglings made perfect first-time landings. Congratulations to Della and Warren for the fantastic job they did this season raising these two delightful young ospreys.

7/27 Forsythe osprey nest: The live stream had been down for 48 hours, but we were pleased to see Opal deliver a large whole fish to Larry for supper.

7/27 Osoyoos osprey nest: It was a pretty good day for this family. Olsen delivered 5 fish to the nest. The first meal commenced at 0924 and there was no aggression from Big. Soo seemed to preferentially feed Big. Moms know…get the aggressive one filled up early! Middle has also learned not to push Big’s buttons, so s/he was not very assertive during the feeding. Middle only ate approximately 20 bites of fish during the entire 17-minute meal. The next fish at 1034 provided for a 14-minute meal, and Middle had an 11-minute private feeding. There ya’ go! The 1441 fish was small, and Middle was intimidated a bit by Big. Middle ate 5 bites of fish during the 5-minute meal. The fish at 1524 was another small fish, and Middle ate 20 bites. The last fish of the day was delivered by Olsen at 1758. It was large, and Soo fed for 21 minutes…the longest meal of the day. Middle was at the chow line first, and had a private feed lasting 6 minutes before Big arrived. After that, the siblings ate side-by-side, and seemed to be fed rather equally. The osplets are 49 and 50 days old, and they have both been doing a little ‘wingercising’. Weather forecast for 7/28: Sunny, high temp 91F/33C, winds 13 mph.

Thanks so much, ‘Heidi’.

The best news is coming out of the Dyfi Osprey Project this morning with the sighting of Teifi. Teifi is a 2020 hatch – the first year that Idris and Telyn were bonded mates after the death of Monty. I am just jumping up and down with joy. We look for these returnees and hope they make it. Teifi is now four and is obviously returning to find his own nest. Wonder where he has been?

How does the composition of farmland and its diversity or not impact birds?

Diverse agricultural landscapes are better for birds and farmers, study finds – BirdGuides Download

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, PB, TU’, Steelscape, The Golden Thread, The Weather Network, Llyn Brenig Osprey Cam, Brenig Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Blackbush, Connie and Don Dennis, Looduskalender, Boulder County, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Pam Breci, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Trudi Kron, HWF-Boundary Bay, Scyllabub, Lady Hawk, BirdGuides, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Mispillion Harbour.

Iris the Swamp Cooler…Thursday in Bird World

11 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The heat is still around. It was 29 degrees, which is cool compared to many places. I saw an idea that popped up on one of the FB pages. It was to freeze water in containers, then remove the solid ice and put it in your bird bath to keep the water cool. I am going to do this tonight!

Today was busy despite the heat. First was a walk at the zoo. The Polar Bears were ‘hot’. They were off in a corner where there was a bit of a breeze and shade, then a swim.

At home, we are making certain that there is always water and food. The birds and animals are coming out mostly in the early morning and later in the afternoon and evening until about 2100.

Mr Crow and all the family have been busy eating apple pieces along with his cheesy dogs and peanuts.

Washing peanuts in the water.

The baby squirrels, three of them, are in and out of the garden with their parents. They love those nut cylinders.

On Wednesdays, we have our local farmer’s market. It is now well-attended. Lots of local honey, veggies, ice cream, some great food, flowers, music, and neighbours. We have several ice cream companies. Fete is one of them. Delicious on a 29 C day.

The Girls have been busy chasing a fly that managed, sadly, to get itself in the house. They stalked, ran, jumped, and nearly broke their necks trying to catch it.

Hope thought she could stare it down.

Missey did, too!

Hugo Yugo (poor thing needs her eye cleaned) flew everywhere. She just about knocked everything off of anything it could be on. But the fly got away!

Calico thought they were all idiots running all over the place for a fly!

This morning the baby Cowbird landed on the sill of the conservatory and they all went nuts – including Calico. Good thing this lot will never be outside by the feeders.

Thank you to everyone that sent me a joke or a photograph to make me smile in the midst of all the tragedy lately. I really do appreciate it. I don’t know what I would have done this year withot these beautiful girls and all your friendship. So far there has not been a death on Wednesday that I am aware. Sadly there could be some today. We will see.

A smile before we move on. The magic of watching birds fledge!

Country-diary-A-young-kestrel-wings-its-way-into-the-world-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Heat is on everyone’s mind and how it is impacting people of the world – as well as our dear wildlife

I wonder why more of the females do not do this? Swamp Cooling.

Finn delivers.

Cornell Lab posted a video showing Iris keeping her chicks cool.

‘H’ sends us reports: 7/10 Osoyoos osprey nest: It was predicted to be a very hot and sunny day. Olsen was at work bright and early, and delivered his first fish at 0448. Little was beaked, but still managed to eat 32 bites of fish during this 13-minute meal. Olsen brought a medium sized fish at 0522. There was not a lot of aggression, but Little never found a good spot to be able to access Mom’s beak, so s/he did not eat at this 15-minute meal. The next fish at 0940 was very small, and it only took Soo about 4 minutes to feed. Little and Middle ate on opposite sides of Mom, until Big beaked Little. Little ate 13 bites of fish. More than 8 hours passed before the next fish arrived at the nest, and up to this point, Little had only eaten about 45 bites of fish. My weather source indicated the Osoyoos temperature at 1500 was 104F/40C. At 1800 Olsen delivered a very large whole fish. I watched for nine minutes, and our view of the feeding was partially blocked, but there did not appear to be any beaking. Little was behind the pack however, as the real estate near Soo’s beak was very limited. Due to the size of the fish, I wasn’t too worried, knowing that Little would eventually get its chance to eat after Big was sated. My time zone is three hours later, and I was tired, so I went to bed knowing that I could resume viewing the feeding early in the morning. Well, I was wrong. When I went to watch that meal, I found that the live stream had gone offline again. Ahh…but fortunately, ‘A-M’ had posted in the Facebook group: “Sleep well tonight little ones, all have full crops after nearly an hour long feeding. Mum got lots too, kudos to Dad for being a great provider in the sweltering heat.” Appreciate the update, ‘A-M’. Weather for 7/11: Sunny with slightly cooler temperatures, high 98F/37C, winds 15-22.

7/10 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: We were thrilled to see the newest fledgling, when Chick #1 returned to the nest at 0759 after fledging yesterday morning. Dad brought a few massive fish to the nest and everyone ate very well. It was a good day!

7/10 Forsythe osprey nest: At 50 days of age, Larry performed his highest hovers to date. Larry is looking good to fledge in a day or so.

7/10 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: The 24, 26, and 28-day-old osplets are doing quite well, and they are getting big!

Thanks, ‘H’.

I will be running through the Osprey nests again to check how our families are doing in the heat:

Clark PUD: At least several fish have come to the nest but the position of the camera doesn’t always catch their size. Hoping that enough food and hydration are coming in the hot days.

Charlo Montana: Another really hot day for Lola and the trio. Charlie has been bringing in fish. Thank you, Charlie!

McEuan Park: Hot and hotter. There are two chicks surviving. This nest really needs a lot of fish and a lot of positive wishes.

Mum left the nest and came in with a fish. Big ate. Middle is very submissive and needs to eat. Almost falling off the nest to get away from Big despite being ravenous.

Is the male at this nest missing? Are you watching this nest and can you let us know. Thank you.

Two moved up. Is there any fish left? Fish taken off nest by parent.

No fish for Two. Crop totally shrunken, head drooping. So sad. This was an original nest of four chicks. I just wonder if the deaths have been mitigated by no male, the heat and then, of course, no fish???

No sign of the male again. Mum off nest probably trying to fish. Poor babies.

Seaside: Bruce is delivering some big headless fish to Naha and the two osplets.

Pitkin County: The nest looks good. Weather is much different than in the Pacific NW.

More fish. Such beautiful babies on this nest at Pitkin County.

Boulder: Hot. Mum trying to keep Only Bob cool. Notice the difference in heat in Boulder than in Pitkin County.

Sandpoint: Keke doing a great job keeping River cool while Keo continues to bring in the fish. Mum and baby have a nice crop.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Dad is bringing in the fish and everything seems to be alright.

Bridge Golf Course: Cooler there and very windy. Mum and Only Surviving Osplet appear to be fine.

Snow Lane, Newfoundland. I have tears in my eyes for this nest. Beaumont has been hauling in the fish, and Hope has fed her chicks this year. The oldest is getting into the Reptilian phase, and if you look carefully, so is the youngest. I want the weather and fishing to stay good for Dad. If Hope continues, we could have two chicks fledge from this nest. I am afraid to get hopeful.

Steelscape: Oldest is self feeding. Hope Mum steps in so all get some fish. The heat is much less later in the day!

Cowlitz: ‘PB’ reports that Little is continually attacked on the nest by the older sibling. So far it has had about 66 bites of fish on Wednesday. This nest is in a very hot area and this baby needs more fish to survive during this long heat dome.

Cowlitz PUD posted a video of one of the feedings on Wednesday. They really care about their ospreys. They put up the metal fish grates to protect them and they know that there is competition to steal their fish from the local eagles.

‘PB’ reports that Little had no fish this morning.

Geemeff reports for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Wednesday 10th July 2024

Today was quite a contrast to yesterday with all its action going between the two nests. Instead we had Louis making just the one early appearance on Nest Two, and no sighting of Dorcha, Garry LV0, Affric or the dark female, just a banditry of Coal Tits making a couple of brief visits to Nest One. We did however get the news that our two chicks travelled safely over to Spain today, precious cargo entrusted to Heathrow Animal Control and then on to their new home. It’s very reassuring to hear that in just nine days, they’ve gained half their body weight again, going from 1.1kg on the 1st to 1.5 kg today, 10th. We wish them good luck and look forward to hearing more news in due course. Weather was reasonably settled, and the forecast is a dry night tonight with light cloud and light winds, and more of the same tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.35.23 (03.49.41); Nest Two 23.39.33 (03.55.36)

Today’s videos plus a late one from last night:

https://youtu.be/SRSKU62lfrE N2 Colourful sunset seen from Nest Two last night 22.00 (time lapse)

https://youtu.be/HOdzu0e6hQc N2 Skydancing is heard nearby then Louis lands on the nest 05.50.00

https://youtu.be/X7KHs2yg6EI N1 A banditry of Coal Tits flitting around, no sign of any big birds 15.33.30

Bonus watch – bird stopped play at Wimbledon:

Bonus read – a good summation of the soap opera that is the Ospreys of Loch Arkaig:

https://12ft.io/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13612473/hapless-husband-nest-Scottish-osprey-soap-opera-Louis-dorcha-chicks-bird-camera.html

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

It is a nest full of four apparently healthy osplets at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 and CJ7 will be one of only a couple of nests on streaming cams to successfully fledge four this year. What a feat!

The information on the Foulshaw Moss ringing of the chicks for 2024.

Ringing-2024-Cumbria-Wildlife-Trust Download

In readying for the 2024-25 Osprey season in South Australia, Port Lincoln has set up a camera at Tumby Island for Marrum and Partner. Fingers crossed!

It is so wonderful when all of us, no matter what we do, consider the wildlife. Well done Hungarian farmers? Living in a farming province of Canada, this would be very helpful.

Mum delivered a Raccoon Dog pup to the surviving Golden Eaglet at the Estonian nest #2.

‘TU’ reports that the two Eastern Imperial Eaglets in RU were ringed today.

Two healthy osplets on the osprey nest in Latvia.

It looks like there are still only two little Dorsett Hobbys. I could be wrong.

Congratulations to the Roy Dennis Foundation and the Poole Harbour Ospreys. It is the 7th anniversary of the translocation project and just look – a nest of four osplets doing very well. Everyone has to be delighted.

Here are Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets in their new nest in Scotland. I am glad they were taken for the project. As you will undoubtedly know by reading all of Geemeff’s reports and seeing their videos, Louis continues to ‘not be himself’. No one is certain what is wrong but please send him good wishes along with all of our raptors under the heat dome and these two precious little ones.

More information: “The two young ospreys are settling in well to their new surroundings in Spain. They have been given Spanish rings which are yellow in colour. The dominant bird is 1JW. The submissive one is 1JR. The aviary contains nests made from woven sticks and foliage which the birds sit in together just as they did at Loch Arkaig. They can see the surrounding area and when the time comes to fledge the sides of the aviary will be opened up to let them come and go as they please. Food will continue to be provided in the aviary nest until they migrate which will likely be in August or early September. We hope to have some images to share today at some point. These will be posted on Woodland Trust Scotland’s twitter and facebook accounts. We will alert you here once they are up.”

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB, TU’, The Guardian, Montana Osprey Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, Clark PUD, Charlo Montana, Weather Network, McEuan Park, Seaside Ospreys, Pitkin County, Boulder County, Sandpoint, MN Landscape Arboretum, Bridge Golf Course, Newfoundland Power, Steelscape, Cowlitz PUD, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, BoPH, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, David Attenborough Fans, Eagle Club of Estonia, Imperial Eagles RU Cam, LDF, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Dorsett Hobby Cam, and The Woodland Trust.

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