Dorset Hobby Falcons – Mary Ann Steggles

TE3 added beauty to our year…Bird World on Monday August 18

18 August 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, my goodness. The weather has turned. We have had some nice rain, much needed. Not enough to quell the fires raging in the north of our province, sadly. As we look out to the garden with the golden rays of dusk settling on the tops of the lilac bushes, we can see the leaves beginning to change colour in the large trees about a block away. While I welcome the cooler temperatures which are much nicer for walking and sleeping – and much easier on the wildlife – it only reminds me that in a few months winter will be setting in. I have already said that I am dreading this season this year.

The rhythmn in our lives has changed for the good. I told my husband’s doctor that ‘knock on wood’, life is boring. Boring is good. It is calm, routine, life is anticipated. We had a big hiccup around a trip that turned out to be rather hilarious. We went to Pelican Lake. It was gorgeous. Don associated ‘pelican’ with the pelicans we see at Hecla Island and things began to unravel. Ever since those revelations came ‘out’, something changed. This coming week, in an effort to check on the pelicans and see some amazing Golden Eagles migrating through, this coming week we will be at Hecla Island. That was where Don thought we were going when we went to Pelican Lake – so again, something familiar is best! We will stick with Hecla Island for now!

The Guardian reports that the UK is set to reintroduce Golden Eagles into the landscape:

Golden eagles poised for reintroduction in Englandhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/17/golden-eagles-poised-reintroduction-england?CMP=share_btn_url

I want to start off with something that is beyond sad and if you live near Virginia, I want you to reach and help if you can. There are wildlife rehabbers who have rescued starving osplets but cannot get any fish to feed them! Debbie Campbell posted the link in the FB group Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal: https://www.facebook.com/groups/765772041406313/permalink/1484585112858332/?mibextid=W9rl1R

I have corresponded with the rehabber, who is not the only one in Virginia struggling to feed these babies. In the comments of several posts, Ben Wurtz, who you will know from the Wildlife Conserve of New Jersey, has said that they are also having difficulty. Maybe Omega Protein – who is taking all of the Menhaden they can find in the region should step up and provide some fish!!!!!!!!

Or maybe someone to organize a ‘fish train’ to Virginia to feed the ospreys in care that might draw national attention to their plight that would embarrass those individuals who could help but aren’t. Oh, how I wish I lived closer and could take this on. Anyone reading this want to help?

Ospreys are being photographed taking needlefish – not a great substitute but when you are starving, you have no choice.

In other areas, the ospreys that are surviving are dying due to human garbage. Unbelievable. In each instance, the deaths of these amazing fish hawks is at the hands of humans.

Are we truly the only animal that destroys its own home? APCA reminds us about the tragedies associated with fishing.

That one didn’t make it but, there is one at Christine’s Critters that will survive fishing line! Thanks, ‘J’. I really need some good news. Please check out the video in the link below.

Christine’s has a young osprey at the moment that was hurt by fishing line.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/763677599586928

S/he is beautiful.

When the cam went off at the Tremealeau Eagles Live Stream and highlights came back on, I am certain that more than half of you shed a tear. What a year it has been – the most bittersweet I remember. TE3 was certainly one of the highlights. A single mum, Mrs T, raising such a beautiful eaglet to fledge. How many doubted this miracle would happen? I sure did at times!

We will never know the fate of this much-loved fledgling. There is no Darvic Ring. If several things could change on these streaming cams, it would be the will to try and band every raptor – eagles, ospreys, falcons, etc., so that the thousands of watchers (and those studying the birds) could track their migration and their longevity and breeding. We are only lucky that Iris is so distinctive, or we might never know that she is getting close to being 30 years old and still much in love with her new man.

SK Hideaways sends us some great videos!

Southern UK Hobby Falcons ~ banded female, unbanded male

In their short, 30-day life, CT and CV captured our attention and our hearts. The adorable hobby falcons were vibrant, energetic, adorable chicks, whose fans cheered them on to thrive. Tragically, their lives were cut short when a goshawk took them both from their nest.

This tribute attempts to help us remember the good times with CT and CV with scenes from each week of their lives. Fly high and rest in peace (16 July – 15 August 2025).

With gratitude to and courtesy of Dorset Raptor Study Group (https://drsg.co.uk/),

SK Hideaway’s second video showing our beloved Eagle family from the Big Bear Valley:

Big Bear Valley, CA, home of Jackie & Shadow

A juvenile eagle roosted on Twin Pine until a Great Horned Owl struck in the wee hours. It’s possible that it could be Sunny or Gizmo, but a positive ID cannot be made. Jackie and Shadow settled on their roost tree overnight. They gifted us with long and loud chortles and snortles before traversing separately to the lookout snag at dawn. After they departed, cam ops found a beautiful red-tailed hawk first on the cactus snag and then on the headless tree. It was a busy morning in the habitat.

Sunny is 165 days old, Gizmo is 161 days old.

WBSE 35 and 36 have had fish and bird prey in their feedings. We also have a video installment from SK Hideaways about these two adorable fluffly little snow people…seriously, watching these two, even with the expected bonking, makes you smile. So far prey deliveries have been good.

E35 & SE36 Feedings and Fluff ~ Parents Deflect Marauding Magpies

Sydney White-Bellied Sea Eagles, Lady & Dad (17 Aug 2025)

In this video, SE35 is 3 days old, SE36 is 2 days old. Their jobs are to eat, sleep, and try to stay upright at this point. They’re both doing a brilliant job, as are Lady and Dad. In addition to caring for their chicks, the parents are dealing with swooping magpies ~ a common nuisance at this nest.

Courtesy Sea-EagleCAM@BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park (https://www.sea-eaglecam.org/video.html)

Nest cam also at https://www.youtube.com/@SeaEagleCAM4/streams

Beautiful family portrait at the Olympic Park nest.

‘A’ catches up with the Australian nesting season: “These two are just so cute. They are eating strongly and the bonking has begun. Fortunately, they are very close together in size and ability – both can hold their heads up and both are keen to get to the table. Lady is such an experienced parent – she is so skilled at putting small pieces of fish into tiny swaying beaks, although these two are better than most hatchlings at keeping their heads still. Once they can see properly, they will be all over this feeding business.

Dad is a wonderful provider, although his diligence has not really bought him much in the way of chick time or even glimpses of his offspring. Lady is very protective indeed, and so very gentle with those sharp talons around the littles when she is positioning herself and enfluffeling. (I did love your blog mentioning that this is a real word. It’s long been a personal favourite of mine.)

So far, so good. I do worry that there is bonking on day three for SE35, but there is no real size discrepancy and SE36 does not appear intimidated, plus Lady leans across SE35 to feed SE36, who is in the safer position when it’s behind its sibling! They have no strength to hurt each other yet nor the eyesight to aim with any precision, so hopefully, they will be sweet with each other. Neither will go hungry if Lady is brought enough fish to feed them with. She really is so good at feeding newly hatched chicks. Such a vital but difficult task.

We are nearing egg time for the ospreys at Port Lincoln AND the falcons at Orange – it is just 10 days until 27 August, which is the date Diamond laid egg number one last year, and nine days until 26 August, when the first egg was laid at Port Lincoln Ospreys last season.

It’s still about six weeks until we can expect to see the breeding birds beginning to return to Taiaroa Head. Eggs are laid from about mid-November, with a 77-day incubation period and hatches around Australia Day (26 January), which means that courting should be getting underway by early October.

So within a fortnight, we should be watching eggs at two Australian nests as well as the adorable pair of sea eaglets, and waiting for a New Zealand fledge (our precious princess at Taiaroa Head, SSTrig chick). Of course any progress in the 2025 breeding season of the Collins Street falcons will not be revealed to us until a second egg is laid, assuming the falcons return to their scrape on an upper ledge of the Mirvac building in Melbourne’s CBD. “

Rutland is looking at their connection with Poole Harbour.

Knowing who is returning and breeding is so important! Cannot be done without those Darvic Rings.

While the owner of this camera had great luck seeing CJ7 with her fish, our dynamic Mum, who has now raised several clutches of four, including another this season, lost her fish en route to feeding those babes. It will not be long til she has departed for her migration, but, being the great female she is, it might mean she remains til September to help Blue 022 get their four on their way in good health.

It isn’t wildlife stealing from wildlife in Canada but the wild fires that rage from one end of my country to the other that are causing serious issues.

A Dyfi Osprey Project fledgling who appears to be drying off after trying his luck at fishing.

Poole Harbour: 5R3 had three fish on Sunday!

Harry was sky dancing and delivering flounder to the nest at Alyth SS hoping that Flora might show up. She has not been seen and it is believed she has left for migration.

All of the Danish ospreys have left for migration.

J Castnyer catches Zeus working on the nest at Goitzsche Wildnis, but it appears that Fjona has started her migration.

At Escherbach, J Castnyer catches Hermine. She writes, “Hermine is still in the nest territory, although she doesn’t show much. Today she came perhaps because she saw that there was no one there and that Herbert had just taken a fish out of the water. She gave us a few minutes, but she left as soon as one of the young ones arrived. The teak for the boys, she must think. She can fish by herself, although it’s beautiful when your partner does it for you.”

Runi, 13L, continues to get some nice fish at the Fru Rauer nest in Norway.

Beau continues to wait for Gabby at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest (in fact he is more than a week early on his arrival). It wasn’t Gabby but there was a visitor – a Black Vulture!

There are two Turkey Vultures! Wonder what Beau thinks.

Charlo, Montana: Lola and Charlie are still at the nest with C19 and C20 getting fish at the nest.

Dunrovin: The 4th hatch, commonly known as Little Buckaroo, is getting some height and should be fledging soon.

Hellgate Canyon: Iris and the NM continue to visit the nest.

Boulder County: Osprey fledglings continue to get fed well at the nest.

Golden Gate Audubon Ospreys with Richmond and Rosie: Fledglings fly about! https://youtu.be/z0HKZsf1bbA?

Dyfi Osprey Project:

Not Ospreys. These are Black Eagles at the Selati Wilderness Nest: https://www.youtube.com/live/AW4oNVgjYb4?

Black Eagles or (Verreaux’s eagles) practice siblicide. This behaviour, where one sibling kills another, is particularly prevalent in nests with multiple chicks and is often driven by competition for limited food resources. This gorgeous youngster is already jumping about the nest and will hover like we see in the osprey nests as there is no place on the side of this cliff for it to branch.

An article on siblicide in Black Eagles:

Siblicide in Black Eagles | SpringerLink Download

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 17th August 2025

Louis only brought one fish to the nest today, taking the nest tally to four hundred and thirty, and Darach 7P0 was there to get it. No sign of Breac 7P7, last seen 15th, nor any of the other Arkaig Ospreys, and no visitors to Nest One other than a Great Tit. Darach entertained us with a barrel roll as he left the nest, but his manoeuvre, lovely as it was, was nothing compared to the heroics of Morag Hughes who completed her epic swim down the eleven miles of Loch Arkaig in 10 hours, 6 minutes and 37 seconds. Congratulations Morag! She even got to see an Osprey during her swim, and was seen by the nest cam watchers as she swam through the nest view, albeit as a tiny white dot, you can see it in today’s videos. Link to photos on Woodland Trust’s blue sky social media (you don’t need an account to view them) in the bonus section along with the fundraiser link. So far she’s raised nearly £5,000 for Woodland Trust, and her just giving fundraiser is still open for contributions. The weather cooperated – it was sunny and the loch was calm, and after some overnight mist, tomorrow’s forecast is for more of the same.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.07.34 (04.36.51); Nest Two 22.22.38 (04.57.06)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/z3xqSXc15mY N2 Aerial antics: Darach does a barrel roll 06.05.33 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/jGdaIym_CQM N2 Darach gets a mackerel from Louis 14.02.49

https://youtu.be/82sO7EuH77Q N2 Morag Hughes seen on Osprey Cam during her Big Swim 17.07-17.17 (zoom)

Bonus read and / or action – photos of Morag on her epic swim, and donation link:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/mary-cheadle-3

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/u6uN8ZibHro N1 Aila gives her fish to Lachlan (2017)

https://youtu.be/-_FoOMH8mkc N1 Finally! Vociferous Vera gets a fish (2020)

https://youtu.be/3_bmzl48f7I N1 Go away, this is mine: Vera pushes Captain off the nest (2020)

https://youtu.be/jlBKU00ODG8 N2 Sarafina crash lands and makes Willow depart (2022 slo-mo)

https://youtu.be/lmkgO09bCrg N2 Willow’s turn to crash land! (2022)

https://youtu.be/x73ZF4gTIHo N2 Would-be thief Willow gets what for (2022)

https://youtu.be/6Vlp-KsbJLo N2 Dorcha waits in vain for fish 2023

https://youtu.be/RPwIVtERtIk N1 Little birds and a Tree Creeper visit 2023 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/bVpNB4iHLPY N2 Handsome pair – father and son 2023 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/K86m0Q234Sc N1 Something scares Garry and Affric off the nest 2024

https://youtu.be/_qwTc6b2sdY N1 Affric wants to see Garry’s fishing skills, not nest-building ones 2024

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 16th August 2025
It was a three fish day and all for Darach 7P0 as there was no sign of younger brother Breac 7P7, last seen leaving the nest at

09.11.28 yesterday. Has he headed south, or is he still in the area, either attempting to fish for himself, or being fed off-nest, or both? As always, the answer is wait and see. Darach didn’t appear very grateful for the fish, he launched a sustained attack on poor old Louis, grabbing him firmly by the leg and then lunging at him with open beak when Louis didn’t leave the nest after delivering the fish. Darach probably didn’t realise that Louis was unable to leave due to being firmly held in his talons. It made for uncomfortable viewing, but experienced adult that he is, Louis just tried to duck away from the worst of the attack and didn’t retaliate. He returned later with two more fish, taking the nest tally to four hundred and twenty nine. Darach was harassed by marauding Hoodies and stood up to one persistent individual, forcing the crow off the nest and away from his fish which he’d left unattended, luckily it was too big for the crow to carry off and Darach was able to rescue it. Garry LV0 brought a stick to Nest One and did a bit of tidying during his brief visit but there was no sign of Affric 152 today. The weather was sunny and the loch was mirror calm today and forecast to remain the same tomorrow, which will aid Morag Hughes in her epic fundraising swim. Link to the details and her just giving page in the bonus section. With luck, we might be able to make out her escort of kayaks as she passes through the nest view.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.14.47 (04.48.40); Nest Two 22.28.33 (04.52.56)

Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/Sd4KB7rZLmU N1 Spring Sonata sunrise 04.50.39 (Classic Ospreys – Beethoven time lapse)https://youtu.be/uLFmU8IPOag N2 Poor Louis suffers a sustained attack by Darach 07.18.51 (zoom)https://youtu.be/HLhGx6GKPyk N2 Darach gets rid of a Hooded Crow who’s after his fish 08.05.11

https://youtu.be/45pZ-bgAsDE N2 Louis brings a second fish and gets away unscathed this time 10.07.35https://youtu.be/UQAvIJ9oiAE N1 Garry LV0 flies in with a long thin stick and does a bit of tidying 10.40.39 https://youtu.be/mzaHv6MUFtY N2 Darach rescues his fish from a marauding Hoodie 17.59.51

https://youtu.be/IrYYqCnBBDc N2 Louis brings a third fish and waits patiently for Darach 19.27.46
Bonus action – you can still support Morag who’ll be swimming Loch Arkaig tomorrow to raise funds for Woodland Trust:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=27390542

https://www.justgiving.com/page/mary-cheadle-3

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/plpQ3BYG-Rc N1 All grown up: Rannoch defends her fish 2019

https://youtu.be/K4Kbj7NQ0q8 N1 Aila brings fish but looks like she needs it most 2020

https://youtu.be/qcBatA6qgTY N1 Size matters! Split screen 2020

https://youtu.be/hiFrQx0H8TQ N1 Captain steals Vera’s fish 2020

https://youtu.be/XaxM2NwNUCg N2 Dorcha stays on the nest until Sarafina gives her a nip! 2022

https://youtu.be/5hvJRi33SFM N2 Sarafina practises flying with fish but isn’t quite there yet 2022

https://youtu.be/F0ys6FiFeeM N2 Cleaning crew arrive too early 2022

https://youtu.be/7XYT94gy-Ig N2 Louis and Dorcha do a rapid fish handover 2023

https://youtu.be/bLzUfkvwasE N1 & N2 USAF flypast 2023 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/rW3CJVJqZLU N2 Ludo waits ready to grab the fish 2023

https://youtu.be/RnY54XNtci8 Spain: more photos and tweets of 1JW and the other ten translocatees

https://youtu.be/rQYUcsjAKB0 N1 Affric joins Garry but he brings sticks not fish 10.51.20

https://youtu.be/lD-oLI2NjpA N1 Garry and Affric return later but there’s still no fish 16.20.59

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 15th August 2025

Fish deliveries were the main event today – Affric 152 turned up on Nest One and received a nice sized trout from Garry LV0, whose tally, after stagnating since 4th August, finally moves up a notch to one hundred and forty one. Louis delivered three fish today, all mackerel, and the nest tally now stands at four hundred and twenty six including two deliveries by Dorcha, who was last seen a full week ago on 7th August. The three fish were all taken by Darach 7P0 as apart from a brief visit lasting 26 seconds this morning, Breac 7P7 hasn’t been seen on nest cam today. In his eagerness to get the second fish, Darach locked talons with Louis and got pulled off the nest! But returned unharmed a few moments later and claimed the fish before the Hoodies showed up. The weather was settled and sunny today, the overnight forecast is for mist and light winds with a low of 12°C changing to sunny with a high of 24°C tomorrow.Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.13.44 (05.04.19); Nest Two 22.34.20 (05.13.40)
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/LTj4hQvEr7Q N2 Both Breac 7P7 and Darach 7P0 visit the nest, fish calling 09.11.02

https://youtu.be/KBRLr1auvUQ N2 Darach gets the first fish, a whole mackerel 15.07.58

https://youtu.be/xPi3XmjMIZ0 N1 Fish for Affric! Garry brings a whole trout 15.22.35

https://youtu.be/SXP2ua3CrHA N1 Affric & Garry spend time together, leave in opposite directions 15.40.14

https://youtu.be/S2U6mrELCwg N2 Darach locks talons with Louis and gets pulled off the nest! 16.45.28 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/AOvludmDLRM N2 A third mackerel arrives and again it’s Darach who’s there to get it 18.18.10
Bonus action – support Morag Hughes who’ll be swimming Loch Arkaig this weekend to raise funds for Woodland Trust:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=27390542

https://www.justgiving.com/page/mary-cheadle-3

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/2EqB8ZLlLNQ N1 Get a grip, Mallie! (2019)

https://youtu.be/q4v0VblhLDE N1 Confirmed: final sighting of Doddie on the nest (2020)

https://youtu.be/JNjzfsGJMd0 N1 Stramash over the first fish (2020)

https://youtu.be/Btn2GxS_waQ N1 Fish delivery from Aila (2020)

https://youtu.be/41z2mZ9rRNI N2 Dorcha chases crows but they return to plague Willow (2022)

https://youtu.be/N-Z7Z-WV_1U N2 The Mystery Fish makes its appearance! (2022)

https://youtu.be/GOsbIENNolA N2 Spotted Flycatchers visit (2022)

https://youtu.be/_KZr32ZVd74 N2 Dorcha’s fish calls get no response 2023

https://youtu.be/3ReQ1_Bhj0I N2 Ludo does a faceplant 2023

https://youtu.be/mwUhXluhRss N2 Great Tit catches Ludo’s attention 2023

https://youtu.be/pL-09gIw4A8 N1 Garry LV0 brings moss, tidies, and has a preen 2024

https://youtu.be/1mt2ZZZhteM N1 Affric 152 arrives followed shortly after by Garry LV0 2024

https://youtu.be/U9CxLSmhoTM N1 Noisy RAF flypast doesn’t faze Affric & Garry 2024

https://youtu.be/-c3lZKY7Blc N1 Garry brings Affric a teeny tiny fish 2024

J’ sends us a good news story about a Black Vulture release from the World Bird Sanctury:

https://www.facebook.com/WorldBirdSanctuary

“Released after over a year in care!

Turkey Vulture 24-380 originally came to our hospital on July 7th, 2024 as a fledgling that had either been orphaned or abandoned due to his numerous health issues. Even with the July heat, 380 was hypothermic. His feather condition was poor, with several flight feathers having broken and the rest covered in heavy stress bars that made them weak and prone to breakage. Despite being nearly full grown, 380 was severely emaciated and weighed less than half of what he should.

He had recently gotten into some feed corn and bird seed and stuffed himself full with it despite these items not being something that he could digest and get nutrition from. We used tongs to manually remove as much of the corn and seed from his crop as possible and got to work rehydrating 380 and giving him some easily digestible liquid diet. Emaciated juveniles are usually able to process solid food relatively quickly compared to adults, but when we tried to introduce some, it just sat in 380’s crop and ended up having to be manually removed.

It took 3 weeks of tube feeding liquid diet before we were finally able to transition 380 to solid food. In that time, 380 battled other illnesses including an infection with a protozoan parasite called trichomoniasis (which causes thick lesions in the mouth), intestinal parasites, mild lead toxicity, and a West Nile Virus infection that started causing his feathers to pinch off and fall out.

Between the West Nile Virus and 380’s initially poor quality feathers, he ended up with no intact flight feathers and had to remain with us until it was time to molt. He’s spent the last year with our foster dad, Volo, whose presence has been essential in keeping 380 from imprinting or becoming too comfortable around humans. 380 started his molt in April, but it took 3 months for him to grow a full new set of flight feathers. Thanks to a year of quality nutrition, this round of feathers came in healthy and structurally sound.

380 was released in late July. He wasted no time before spreading his wings to soak up the sun from a high tree branch. When he realized that he was partially shaded, he moved to a higher branch above the canopy to maximize his sun exposure. Turkey Vultures are known for their love of sunning and can be regularly seen exhibiting this pose.”

How many times do you happen to be heading to an appointment early in the morning and you see cars – so many cars – with only one person in them? or homes that could benefit from grants to help insulate them to save energy costs? Our use of fossily fuels and the growing decisions internationally to open coal mines are putting wildlife in further jeopardy.

Plan to extend Queensland coalmine would bulldoze ‘critical’ koala habitat https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/15/plan-to-extend-queensland-coalmine-would-bulldoze-critical-koala-habitat?CMP=share_btn_url

Spilve and Grislis’s Golden Eaglet, Melders, has fledged but returns to the nest for prey. What a beautiful season it has been.

Speaking of Golden Eagles, they are arriving in the area of Hecla Island. We will be there this week and hope to see some of the migrants! That would be unbelievable.

Hurricanes and tropical storms are beginning to form for the Atlantic season which will run until the end of November. This is Erin.

The eye Saturday afternoon by Storm Chaser. Thankfully, our raptors and other migrating birds can sense the weather and will be able to take shelter. Erin went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in a mere 24 hours. The storm has now settled down and as of the time of writing, Sunday afternoon, it has been downgraded to a cat 3.

Wind Turbines. There are a number west of where I live in the hills that provide the thermals for the migrating birds coming in the spring and departing in the late summer. They do not have to die. There is a simple solution. If you live in an area considering wind farms, please enter the conversation about how to make them safe for our raptors.

Lots of waterfowl rescues. Wildlife Haven, near to where I live, have just cleaned some Canada Geese that got into a ‘substance’ in the northern part of our City. They will be released just like these mallard ducks at another Canadian rescue.

Please put out water and/or food for the migrating birds, volunteer if you can, donate if you can, but please leave out water!

Thank you for being with us today. The osprey season is winding down. The Bald Eagles will begin to arrive slowly, with eggs expected in the US in November-ish. Focus will switch to the raptors in Australia, and we wish every raptor on their way to their winter home good winds and a bursting crop.

I will not be posting on Friday as we will be on our break at Hecla Island but I will be back on Monday the 25th of August. Please take care. We look forward to having you with us in a week.

Toby hopes that everyone has a great week and something wonderful to chew on like his Blueberry-Yak Milk Bully stick!

I want to thank our notable contributors, ‘A, Geemeff, J, SK Hideaways, PB’, the owners of the streaming cams listed in bold, the individuals who take the time to create videos and the authors of posts such as Jeff Kear at UK Osprey Information, Debbie Campbell at Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal and all others, often too many to name. I am very grateful to you and to the newspapers that still cover environmental issues as they relate to our precious feathered friends including The Guardian. My blog would not be what it is without your input into the world of birding.

Friday in Bird World

25 July 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

I can tell you that Pelican Lake is beautiful and that it is actually home to so many American White Pelicans. I can also tell you that Lewy Body Dementia is a challenging disease for both the person who bears the burden of it and for those trying to enrich their lives. We were at Pelican Lake precisely two hours before Don ‘lost me’. I will not bore you with the details of someone spiralling downwards, but suffice it to say I was happy to be able to administer his medication, repack the car (thank goodness we hadn’t really unpacked), and get him and Toby in the car and back home. No more holidays. I was beginning to wonder if the days of travelling were over several months ago. We will take our trips within the confines of the city, so that if something goes sideways, home is close at hand. I already have a list of parks that we haven’t yet visited – just imagine all the things we might have been missing!

Toby and I spent Thursday doing some projects. He now has a fully enclosed back garden where he can roam freely. We also played with a new camera. ‘AK’ knew that I was fed up with carrying heavy, long lenses and big medium-format cameras. That is the reason you have seen so few images of birds this year. The weight is phenomenal. The total weight of what I used was more than 12 lbs. So ‘AK’ recommended that I check out the P1000 with its fixed 3000mm zoom lens. I was only able to get the P1100, and at three pounds with a 3000 mm zoom and a ‘bird’ setting, Toby and I had a lot of fun testing it out on the birds at the feeder. The images are not great. This is my first hour using this camera, but I can tell you it feels like a winner in terms of what I need for my life at this moment. It sure was fun, even with squiggly Toby on my lap.

Notice the texture. This camera is not supposed to do well in low light – well, that squirrel is deep in the lilacs and it was dark with light just filtering in from the West!

And for anyone wondering, this is not just any squirrel. This is Dyson. Look at her large arms and long fingers. She is our matriarch.

Junior is moulting, so no crest. Those feathers, the layers and layers, are quite amazing. (I am roughly 16 metres from the bird feeder).`

Tiny little female house sparrow.`

Three baby crows with their velvet heads.

My sidekick, Toby. He is enjoying the freedom of the garden but also likes to lounge in the chair and always comes when I call. Kitties aren’t allowed outside in Winnipeg.

My first hydrangea bush! I have a friend who mailed me dried hydrangea blooms one year. They made it all the way from British Columbia! Now I have my own.

Please do not believe everything you read on a chat. In fact, it is almost the last place to find accurate information sometimes. The PSEG Oyster Bay osplet with the injured leg did NOT fledge, it was rescued and taken into rehab.

Here is Heidi’s Osprey report for the US:

Raptor Persecution UK confirms that there are some 143 Hen Harriers illegally killed or missing since 2018.

143 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close Download

Other Hen Harrier chicks fledge but with the help of the RSPB after their parents go missing.

Hen Harrier chicks fledge with RSPB support after suspicious loss of parent birds – Raptor Persecuti Download

Balgavies Loch: Partial Nest collapse this week. 4L1 and 4L2 were both in the nest together on Thursday! How wonderful. Flying strong.

Lyn Brenig: Older sister, 7M4 fledged at 52 days. We are waiting for little brother, 7M5, who is 50 days old today.

Wensley: No camera, but three magnificent chicks in the nest.

Kielder Forest: Blue 3B5 Irthing took her first flight on Thursday the 24th. More news from Kielder here:

3B5_Irthing leaves her nest _ Kielder Ospreys Download

Birds of Poole Harbour news:

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 24th July 2025
Today was all about fish – arriving, departing, returning, reappearing and causing confusion among the nest cam watchers until sharp eyes sorted out the details. Dorcha did not supply any new fish, all six deliveries to Nest Two were made by Louis, and his tally now rises to three hundred and forty four.

Dorcha found and ate the fish lost last night in the nest furnishings and today’s fresh fish were shared out between her and the two chicks, with Breac 7P7 getting the lion’s share. Darach 7P0 made sure he hung onto his share causing Breac to fall over the edge and hang upside down in an OMG moment. However Breac managed to untangle himself and fly away, returning unharmed to a chorus of relief on the forum, and later he achieved the milestone of flying with fish for the first time, another event noted by sharp eyed watchers. Steve Q crunched the numbers and posted last week’s fish stats, link in the bonus section, and although the fish counters noted Garry LV0’s one delivery to Aurora 536 today, taking his tally to one hundred and thirty five, it’s hoped that we will need Steve to include Nest One fish stats in future reports if Garry and Aurora produce the longed for chicks on that nest next year. The weather was settled but is expected to turn damp overnight and through tomorrow with light rain and light winds, a low of 13°C tonight and a high of 18°C tomorrow.Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.15.40 (03.51.48); Nest Two 23.00.46 (04.15.30)
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/qry_vU46fGw N2 Breac fights and gets the first fish: Dorcha & Darach lose out 05.53.51

https://youtu.be/08tLoYhbP7c N2 Oh no! Breac hangs upside down off the nest! 07.33.20

https://youtu.be/C4fGv8x0HUE N2 Dorcha spots the fish lost by Breac last night and grabs it 09.33.59

https://youtu.be/JkPf_AOvnmU N2 Louis brings a third fish: it’s Dorcha turn and she grabs it fast 12.40.55

https://youtu.be/SBNbIl0Tp-I N2 Another milestone achieved – Breac flies with fish 13.23.55

https://youtu.be/3R4FM0hTYYg N1 Garry brings a flatfish for Aurora 13.47.06https://youtu.be/yDZ8oYDskiA N2 Dorcha’s waiting when fish four arrives: she lets Darach have it 14.14.28

https://youtu.be/psTRt9-NuAQ N2 Good mum Dorcha allows Breac to take fish number five 16.51.36

https://youtu.be/Jeo0-VlMQGg N2 Dorcha holds onto fish number six but feeds Breac 22.06.48
Bonus shopping opportunity – Woodland Trust shop summer sale now on:

https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/sale

Bonus nutrition info – the fish stats for Week 16, expertly compiled as always by Steve Quinn:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=26854776

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/5B4tYF5XWeI N1 FLEDGE Vera finds her wings 2020

https://youtu.be/IEpTHTQ83MU N1 FLEDGE Captain takes off <three hours after Vera 2020

https://youtu.be/CsH62EjSANk N1 Vera returns from her maiden flight 2020

https://youtu.be/_x8G4wApzFY N1 Captain returns safely but not very gracefully 2020

https://youtu.be/SEOkidLKvJc N1 Fledge compilation video: The Four Ospreys (Classic Ospreys – Vivaldi 2020)

https://youtu.be/nV0kAGoM-y0 N2 Dorcha and Sarafina just watch as Willow grabs the first fish 2022

https://youtu.be/iGA54OTD6BQ N2 Hop and a skip but no jump – Willow decides to wait 2022

https://youtu.be/wsjKHvZAXpo N2 Chicks bemused by a flapping flatfish 2022

https://youtu.be/lOKNG5FLCv0 N1 RAF jet causes Affric & Garry to flee 2023

https://youtu.be/WNOA0O4wA6Q N2 Another milestone for Ludo, dealing with a live fish 2023

https://youtu.be/5z5M0SPFXu4 N1 Garry arrives with a stick 2024

https://youtu.be/mZHjWrUX0kQ N1 Various little birds flit around 2024

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Wednesday 23rd July 2025
Another slow day with not much action apart from the chicks Darach 7P0 and Breac 7P7 trying to get as much fish as possible when Louis made deliveries to the nest, and fighting anyone who got in their way. Louis brought four fish to the nest today, one of which Breac managed to lose in the muddle of sticks on the right hand side, with luck it will be found and consumed tomorrow. Louis’ tally now stands at three hundred and thirty eight, while Garry LV0’s rises to one hundred and thirty four following his single delivery to Aurora 536. The weather was settled today and set to continue with a forecast of light clouds and light winds overnight and tomorrow, with a temperature spread of 13 – 21°C, and the prospect of sunny intervals tomorrow afternoon.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.49.56 (04.09.34); Nest Two 23.04.31 (04.20.45)
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/wPUO11fOGlA N2 Breac can only watch as Darach consumes fish number one 05.59.16https://youtu.be/s_fU3fE5EsE N2 Darach gets fish number two and attacks Dorcha to keep it 11.05.01

https://youtu.be/tIuWuRFD4zk N1 Aurora seizes the fish from Garry LV0 and flies off with it 14.15.40https://youtu.be/jAj48B05YfU N2 Louis brings a third fish but Breac manages to lose it 21.08.08https://youtu.be/tgnHuJFSmpg N2 Breac gets the fourth fish and doesn’t lose it this time! 21.59.21
Bonus read – Painting of Scotland’s oldest wild Scots pine puts the plight of unique pinewoods in the spotlight:https://pressat.co.uk/releases/painting-of-scotlands-oldest-wild-scots-pine-puts-plight-of-unique-pinewoods-in-spotlight-2436dbdb42c832c92f5ae3f248615373/Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/ZqWuqafl36c N1 Captain helicopters! 2020
https://youtu.be/cSDip8llxAY N1 Doddie has a tug of fish with Vera 2020
https://youtu.be/a3UUPQUtnkg N1 Low flying RAF plane causes Aila to flee 2020 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/9K11f2xd0Ww N1 Vera does a helicopter completely off the screen 2020
https://youtu.be/zFcnK8aIKqk N1 Aila brings a nuisance stick and stands on Captain! 2020
https://youtu.be/9_avX1YHofU N2 All three females want fish number four 2022
https://youtu.be/olWHydNGMV4 N2 Results are in: meet Willow and Sarafina! 2022https://youtu.be/5B_o4EM_oyE N2 Dorcha is harassed by invading Hoodies 2023
https://youtu.be/mtWqo9g5K6A N2 Ludo helicopters with moss 2023 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/CEDLQcHPA1Y N1 Garry arrives with a fish for Affric 2023
https://youtu.be/WcKyGvhpqI4 N2 Hangry Ludo grabs Louis’ leg wanting fish 2023
https://youtu.be/yw2IAFZ5Iro N1 Dorcha pays another visit to Nest One 2024
https://youtu.be/Z8amhCfcwhQ N2 Dorcha returns to her own nest 2024

Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 22nd July 2025
It was a slow fish day today, Aurora 536 was disappointed when Garry arrived bearing nesting materials but no fish, so his tally remains at one hundred and thirty three, and Louis delivered three fish, raising his tally to three hundred and thirty four. Breac 7P7 is extremely dominant and got the first two fish, his older brother Darach 7P0 had to wait until he’d had enough before getting his own chance to eat. Louis brought the final fish after dark, giving Dorcha the opportunity to eat in peace before she returned the fish to the nest and handed it over to one of the chicks – Breac, of course. Nest cam watchers would like Darach to become more competitive. It rained through the night but the weather was reasonably settled during the day, however it’ll be damp again tonight as the overnight forecast is for drizzle and light winds with a low of 13

°C, improving tomorrow with light cloud, light winds and a few sunny spells with a high of 19°C.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.08.25 (04.09.55); Nest Two 22.59.28 (04.24.20)
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/zOdvFUukCXE N2 Dorcha gets the first fish from Louis then lets Breac have it 08.53.55https://youtu.be/LrxqVtV3uPY N2 Darach wants fish two but Breac’s not letting go 11.31.32

https://youtu.be/b7dWNaTq2gk N2

Dorcha arrives on the nest and gets fish three from Louis 22.15.40
Bonus watch –

N2 Long lens video of Aspen LW3 & Alder LW4 seen near the nest 2021 (thanks LizB)

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/C9r2h07HYeM N1 Carnival of the Ospreys 2020 (Classic Ospreys: Saint-Saëns)

https://youtu.be/u-2jWDOe8dg N1 Vera is fascinated as Captain feathers his nest 2020

https://youtu.be/j6YDTQA5stk N1 Aila decides what’s needed is another stick 2020

https://youtu.be/B-JGsEAwA4I N2 Midnight callisthenics 2022

https://youtu.be/CoLyqB6O_iI N2 Nearly but not quite! LW5 prepares for lift-off 2022

https://youtu.be/h87JPZiw5no N2 Louis chases a Hoodie away, watched intently by the chicks 2022

https://youtu.be/4N64tTO4iJE N2 Ludo returns after his first night away 2023

https://youtu.be/nWjM3BF9wxw N1 & N2 Two beautiful pairs of Ospreys posing for the camera 2023

https://youtu.be/Rqz_dXEyC8w N2 Louis arrives to help Dorcha get rid of Hoodies 2023

https://youtu.be/NOUuCyUUt2M N1 Garry brings a second fish for Affric 2023

https://youtu.be/bDbqDZ8sN64 N2 Dorcha spends some time on her nest, no sign of Louis 2024

https://youtu.be/g0q-Tf1BJIc N2 Louis arrives with a stick and does some nest work 2024

https://youtu.be/SgnwBnDdY-g N1 Garry LV0 brings a fish but no one’s there 2024

https://youtu.be/z52q-f7fFmg N2 Spectacular sunset 21.30 to 22.30 (2.3 minute time lapse) 2024

Tweed Valley Ospreys/UK Osprey Information:

Rosie Shields brings us up to date on everything about the Border Ospreys season.

WHERE DID THE TIME GO Download

Dunrovin Ranch: Those four beautiful osplets are looking really good!

Charlo: Two surviving osplets are doing fantastic. They are getting some gorgeous juvenile feathers and growing as fast as Toby!

Boulder County: One chick would really like some fish! They both seem to have survived one of the worst nests for human debris I have ever seen!

Hellgate Canyon: Iris still has one of the most beautiful well maintained osprey nests I have ever seen.

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: Three surviving osplets are looking good.

More news from the UK: David Wick writes:

sSdoroptenh3aag7i9586l4m6139190i1lh87i0u9mlhaa044uglill9f4f7 ·

“Morning all, both chick’s have fledged at NWT Ranworth .That makes it first to breed and hatch and fledged in about 250 years”

Threave Garden:

Osprey House Environment Centre in Australia where the older sibling is not only being fed but helping feed!

UK Hobbys: https://youtu.be/V4xohmzR0Mo?

Ferris Akel found the Os today and the other evening, and Cornell released a video of Big Red feeding her babies a week ago. https://youtu.be/k-dHLxtlrOI?

Arthur.

One of the Os.

Robert Fuller gives us insight into Red Kite chicks. https://youtu.be/3FtIHHfp2i4?

Is it possible to resurrect a 600 year old extinct bird?

It’s 12ft tall, covered in feathers and has been extinct for 600 years – can the giant moa bird really be resurrected?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/11/de-extinction-extinct-giant-moa-bird-colossal-bioscience-aoe?CMP=share_btn_url

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We will see you again on Monday!

I want to thank our notable contributors, ‘AK, Geemeff, Heidi’, the owners of the streaming cams listed in bold, the individuals who take the time to create videos, including SK Hideaways, and the authors of posts such as Jeff Kear at UK Osprey Information, and all others, often too many to name. I am very grateful to you and to the newspapers that still cover environmental issues as they relate to our precious feathered friends. My blog would not be what it is without your input into the world of birding.

Monday in Bird World

12 August 2024

Hello Everyone!

We are about 95% ready to leave tomorrow for our mini-break in Nova Scotia. Cat sitters, garden helpers, outside garden birds and animal helpers – well, it is all under control. Mr Crow & Gang have 12 kg of cheesy dogs, there are large pails with wild bird seed, black oil seed, and peanuts prepared for each day we are away to be distributed, cat food and anything a cat sitter could need is piled high on the island including some new treats and toys. ‘The Girls’ are smart and they have caught on to what is happening. They don’t know it but I am already missing them, too. It is the only thing I dislike about even being away one night – is missing them and not having Hugo Yugo snuggling under my chin at night.

I melt every time I look at Baby Hope. It is those celadon eyes.

Calico and I have been working on items to clean cat hair off of the chairs. We have discovered that those natural coconut scrubbers for dishes are fantastic. They look like a donut and are made from the fibres of the coconut shell.

Everyone shares the one little basket that is fixed so they can look down very low and watch Mr Crow eating his dinner.

Hugo Yugo Day 1 with us and now. She is not afraid of anything and is really pretty much the boss of the gang. Yes, she still looks like a kitten but she will be a year old on 2 September. She is a little ‘toughie’.

I have just received word from the Green Ledge Light Preservation Society that the two osplets in the storm along the coast of Connecticut created by Debby are both fine. Only a couple of sticks at the nest needed to be arranged! Amazing. I cannot tell you how relieved and happy I am for those two. knew you would want to know, too – and I want to give a shout-out to the staff at Green Ledge for letting me know so swiftly.

My goodness. Getting organized for a longer trip takes the cake. I am hope that the neighbour will follow the few instructions and feed the garden animals and water the plants. The cat sitter is fantastic so no worries there. ‘The Girls’ have gotten used to Gary. It looks like the weather will be good in Nova Scotia and I cannot wait to walk across a reasonably deserted country lane and sit and watch eagles soaring in the sky for feeding on the fish at the shore.

There will be no post Tuesday morning. I don’t get into the Halifax airport til late Monday evening despite having to leave the house at noon! I was a little shocked to see all the regulations for just flying within Canada. Goodness.

The news in Bird World is dwindling and that is a good thing. We want everyone out there to be safe and building their strength for migration. On my radar are only a handful of chicks to fledge including Antali and C16 and ours in Canada.

That cute little Hobby fledged. Just quick as a wink. They change from bobblehead to Hobby so quickly. I can’t get used to it. It is like the California Falcons – one minute they are hatching and the next they are flapping all the baby down off their wings preparing to fly.

SK Hideaways always does the best videos and here is hers of the little Hobby fledging! Check out her other posts too – especially if you are missing the Cal or San Jose Falcons!!!!!

We will be watching with great anticipation and much enthusiasm as Diamond and Xavier prepare for those eggies that Xavier loves so much.

Beautiful, beautiful little sea eaglets at the Olympic Park nest. Dad couldn’t be prouder. He even fed Lady some bits of bird today – romantic and sweet. The little ones are having some bonking fests. Do not worry. It will end.

‘A’ comments (paraphrased) – The bonking is well underway at WBSE (so far, SE34 is giving as good as s/he gets), it is reassuring because some claim that the WBSE is an obligate siblicide species. Obviously, that is not universally the case, and we therefore have to ask ourselves what is it about this nest that makes it one of the exceptions. I think Lady is the difference. The parents who show a conscious interest in ensuring the younger hatch is fed are the ones who can _ and regularly do – fledge two (or even three or four – look at West End, for example, and some of this season’s osprey nests that fledged four). Lady is careful to feed both her chicks (and Dad keeps the nest well supplied with fish – at least, he has done thus far). Surely this has to make a major difference. But of course we worry when we see sibling rivalry become aggression. I’m sure it will quickly settle down, especially given how very close these two are in size. It’s hard to tell them apart except by the remains of their tiny egg teeth.

There is a live Osprey chat tomorrow sponsored by Explore.org. Thanks to everyone who sent this notice to me. Sadly, I will be on the plane, but I hope they will archive the talk so those who miss it can check it out later. This is the link to join and set an alarm to alert you when the talk is starting:

Do you ever have to pinch yourself when you look at Iris and Finnegan and their two osplets? I still can hardly believe it. What an amazing year it has been, and what a challenging one for these two parents. The heat was enough to kill all the osplets off so many nests, and these two survived without a hiccup. Finn was an amazing fisher, and Iris didn’t allow any shenanigans between those chicks. Each was treated equally. Iris often fed little Antali when she might have wanted a little fish. But thanks to Finn, so many came to the nest that no one was ever hungry.

Antali watches Sum-eh fly all around the area and is often caught watching the train with Mum Iris. She is so protective of her babies. Soon Antali will be flying up and down the river chasing Dad for fish, too.

I am so in love with this family.

Iris made sure that Antali had some fish. She is really incredible. I am so glad that I got to witness her being a Mum to these two.

At Charlo, C16 continues their quest to take to the skies. C16 is really a gorgeous osplet. I am so happy that Lola and Charlie will have one to fledge. Maybe someone can work on some permanent cot rails for that platform during the off-season.

The Dunrovin Ranch chick is dreaming of flying, too – but still loves to be fed by Winnie. It has been doing some wingers but not to the extent of C16.

In Port Lincoln, Dad has been busy decorating the nest. He sure loves Turquoise. Later, he came in with a white piece of rope. I wonder if Mum would rather he was delivering fish? Port Lincoln will remove the ropes so they don’t harm the osplets! We will have eggs at Port Lincoln by the end of the month. I bet Bart is already a guessing pool on the date of the first one.

In New Zealand, the Kakapo are getting their health checks and new batteries for their transmitters. What a great job the Kakapo Recovery does in making these birds safe and keeping them well.

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

Daily summary Sunday 11th August 2024

The little songbirds were back on both Nest One and Nest two, but they were a supporting act to the main event – Ospreys turned up in the shape of Affric 152 and Garry LV0. They spent a fair bit of time together on Nest One, Garry brought a fish which was seized by Affric who proceeded to leave with it, return, munch a bit on the nest and leave with it again. After finishing it she returned and demanded more fish from Garry but only got a half-hearted mating attempt from him. The forecasted thundery showers didn’t materialise today but there’s a weather warning for the Highlands for thunderstorms starting at 2am tomorrow, and more rain throughout the night.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.14.16 (04.49.55); Nest Two 22.11.11 (05.04.26)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/zbmAOdpvwjg N2 A pair of Crossbills visit 08.31.06

https://youtu.be/MLLmjh7dMH8 N1 A Robin pays a visit 09.52.04

https://youtu.be/lzSl5Wepv8U N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 onto the nest 10.58.12

https://youtu.be/WceshcwWjH8 N1 Garry LV0 brings a fish to Affric waiting on the nest 16.44.20

https://youtu.be/hotAz4uBAdI N1 Affric returns to Garry on the nest, wants more fish 16.58.26

https://youtu.be/6trrzqNVgnQ N1 Garry returns with sticks, does a little tidying 18.31.33

Bonus watch – how it all began! Woodland Trust Season One highlights (2017):

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

What would we do without Suzanne Arnold Horning? She chases Big Red and Arthur and the kiddos (when they are on the Cornell campus) and so generously posts her photographs on FB. This way we always know that our Red-tail Hawk Queen is safe and sound and living a good hawk life – or King if it is Arthur.

Another nest that has had me gobsmacked this season is the Newfoundland Power Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope. I even went so far as to ask if ‘C’ had some historical images of Hope’s necklace and head markings. I could not believe she had gained such maternal instincts. It is her or her identical twin and this huge change in behaviour has meant that the two osplets did not starve, but look amazing in their juvenile plumage and will certainly (knock on wood) fledge!

Oh, that Boulder County nest is sure trying to get the award for the most bin bags in one season to land on an osprey nest. Caught the entire family at home on Sunday. All are safe.

Lots of very loud fish calling from the Poole Harbour nest. Blue 022 and CJ7 have been brilliant – being one of only a few nests to successfully fledge four osplets in the 2024 season. But, I bet they are tired. CJ7 will need to build her strength for migration. Blue 022 will stay behind being Daddy Door Dash til the kids depart. Hopefully he will have some time to eat some good fish alone to get himself ready. We will look forward to another grand year in 2025.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum fledgling is safe and getting those wings strong. Comes back for nice fish meals from Mum – fed on the rails like she always wants to do it.

Concerns raised that H5N1, the highly pathogenic bird flu, could break out in Australia in the spring.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/12/bird-flu-outbreak-australia-h5n1-risk?CMP=share_btn_url

Let’s get a ban on the commercial fishing for Menhaden and see if we cannot have a resurgence of healthy osprey families with two or three chicks fledging instead of one or none! Come on politicians. Stand up for wildlife.

Specieswatch: Sand eel fishing ban offers hope of stock resurgencehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/07/specieswatch-sand-eel-fishing-ban-offers-hope-of-stock-resurgence?CMP=share_btn_url

Besides window strike, fishing line, hooks, baling twine – and how many more items that cause our feathered friends injury or death – did we ever think of soccer nets?

Always feel free to send me news. Always grateful! One person cannot keep up.

Polish White Storks continue their journeys after arriving in Africa.

A step in the right direction but an all out ban on fishing is needed. Thanks, ‘PB’.

Atlantic menhaden board votes to study more restrictions on controversial Chesapeake Bay fishery

https://www.whro.org/environment/2024-08-06/atlantic-menhaden-board-votes-to-study-more-restrictions-on-controversial-chesapeake-bay-fishery

The measure passed this week is meant to help protect birds and fish that rely on menhaden as a key food source. But researchers say more data is needed to understand the dynamics in the bay.

‘H’ reports:

8/11 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: The intruder was still around, and she spent some time on the nest. She was not aggressive today, but Harvie did jump on her a couple of times to indicate his displeasure. At 0932, an osprey chased the intruder off of the nest-pole, but we couldn’t tell who flushed her off.

Harvie delivered at least 7 fish to the nest, and the intruder took the first one in the morning. All the rest of the fish went to the siblings. Our view is particularly bad in the evening due to the sun shining on the film coating the camera, and we could not tell who made the fish drop at 1855, but it was most likely Harvie. Also, a chick was seen eating a fish at 2116, but I couldn’t find a delivery for that fish through the glare. Besides Harvie’s deliveries, there were two other fish delivered today… and I still can’t wrap my head around this one: At 1242, the intruder landed in the nest with a partial fish, and one of the siblings took it. After about 3 minutes, the intruder left. I know…bizarre, right? Well, many of us scrutinized that osprey for identification, and we agreed that it was the intruder. Go figure. After the intruder flew off at 1245, she was not seen for the rest of the day. At 1630 an adult osprey landed on the t-perch beside one of the juvies, and provided a feeding for about 18 minutes. The t-perch is too far away for identification, but only Louise would have done that. Louise did the same thing once yesterday as well.

Nakoda, the only chick that hasn’t fledged, was on the nest-perch twice today. At 1352 Nakoda actually flew from a high hover and landed on the nest-perch. Nakoda did not fledge today, but s/he is ready.

8/11 Osoyoos osprey nest: Olsen delivered a large fish at 0735, and both chicks were able to do some self-feeding. Then the live stream froze for more that six hours. I did not see another fish delivered for the rest of the day. Chick 2 was seen doing some very nice hovering in the evening…Yay! Chick 1 fledged on 8/3 at 57 days of age. Chick 2 is 65 days old on 8/12.

8/11 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): The first part of this season was quite rocky as new parents Johnny and June struggled to get their act together. They had one chick to raise, and it has all worked out wonderfully. ‘Fen’ fledged today at 58 days of age. Fen took off from the perch, and made a nice landing back in the nest about 5 minutes later. Congratulations to Fen and his Mom and Dad!

Thank you so much for being with us today. I will report from the estuary with the eagles on Tuesday morning – it could be a little later than normal. Not sure. So please take care. We look forward to having you with us.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, C, Geemeff, H, J, L, PB’, Green Ledge Light Preservation Society, SK Hideaways, Cilla Kinross, Olympic Park Eagles, Explore, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, PLO, Kakapo Recovery, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Newfoundland Power, Boulder County Ospreys, BoPH, MN-LA Ospreys, The Guardian, Fairhaven Animal Control and Shelter, SOS Tesla, WHRO.org, Fortis-Exshaw, Fenwick Island, and Osoyoos Osprey Cam.

Saturday in Bird World

10 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Be sure to read all the way down. There is some terrific news waiting for you today.

Oh, Friday started out with a trip to the wildlife rehabilitation centre for this little fellow. The baby is one of the Blue Jays with a nest in a tree across the lane. He was in the garden trying to eat a cheesy dog. He appears to have a problem with one eye, and his tail seems to have some issues as it was turned to the side, not straight. He could not fly. The rehabilitation centre said they would happily take him into care as they agreed on both issues after seeing a photograph. Send him good wishes!

It is not clear what caused the issues/injuries or how he will do but it was unsafe for him to be hopping around on the ground with the feral cats and the hawk about.

Next was a visit to check on the American White Pelicans at Lockport. There were a few there along with about forty Double-crested Cormorants on the other side of the dam. (Taken with iPhone at a great distance so not the best!)

Since it is now the 10th of August, the Pelicans will be making their move to go south in about a month or five weeks.

Bird World is fairly quiet. It is a good thing. As the weeks went by ‘H’ and I got wearier and wearier and at times just couldn’t wait for osprey season to end.

I was very grateful for a comment by ‘DV’ on my blog post on FB. They write: “Discussing the rescue of the chick of Saaksilive #4 nest on the chat of #1 nest, I thanked them for responding so quickly, and was told, “It’s in the law in Finland, you need to help an animal who can’t keep up or is struggling”. In view of the procrastination of the ‘permission authority’ in the Colonial Beach rescue, maybe we should do something about such a law, here. No wonder Finland is rated the ‘happiest’ country in the world….they seem to be the most sensible, as well.”

What do you think about trying to get the laws changed for immediate intervention like they do in Finland in Cobey’s name? I am certainly willing to lend a hand to try and get the archaic Bird Migration laws changed in North America – and attitudes around the world. Thank you ‘DV’.

The person who might be able to help is:

Mr. Jerome Ford, Assistant Director, Migratory Birds Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. Via Email: jerome_ford@fws.gov

Paraphrased from a letter regarding the Dale Hollow Nest to Ford in 2023: Citing article 50.CFR.22.76-22.80 of the Migratory Bird Act, a “take” anticipates a rehabilitation permit will authorize the rescue, or take, and further expects the temporary possession of and/or transportation of an eagle and/or eaglet to an authorized and permitted rehabilitation facility. The guidance from USFWS advises take permits will not be issued to address “interference with the natural course of events at the eagle nest”, however, a take would be authorized if such a take “is necessary to protect an interest in a particular locality. The Dale Hollow situation had to do with harm done to the eaglet through manmade materials – fishing line. In the instance of Colonial Bay and other nests in the region, I believe it can be argued that the lack of restrictions on the taking of Menhaden hgas caused the ospreys to starve to death. That coupled with an extreme heat situation – also caused by human activity – should be grounds for an emergency ‘take’ in the instance of starvation, etc. Something can be argued. Evidence can be gathered.

That adorable Dorsett Hobby is about to fledge. What a darling.

Nox (Annie and Archie’s 4th hatch that got himself into a bit of mischief has some company).

Tuesday was a special day for our Heidi (aka ‘H’) as she got to Mispillion Harbour. She runs the Mispillion Harbour Osprey Nest FB group and reports on Warren and Della whose platform is at the DuPont Centre.

Richmond and Rosie’s two chicks have now fledged. Pax on July 24th and Tulley on 7 August.

The late Toni Costello and I used to banter back and forth about which were the most beautiful juveniles of the raptors. Her pick was always the White-bellied Sea Eagles. They sure are cute as little bobbleheads, too.

Antali isn’t a little fuzz ball any longer and is getting those wings working towards fledging. Iris is such a proud Mamma.

Antali is one handsome boy with that pure white chest just like Finnegans’.

Iris just looks so proud.

The Dyfi Osprey Project posted a video of Idris delivering a fish and all of the chaos ensuing when the fledglings each want it! It was on the Dyfi Osprey Project FB page. Here are a few screen captures. There is no love lost when it comes to a much wanted fish and fledgling siblings. Reminds me of Ervie, Bazza, and Falkey.

In New Zealand, the Royal Cam chicks were ringed.

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

Daily summary Friday 9th August 2024

Same as yesterday – except it was some Great Tits and Coal Tits taking advantage of the absence of Ospreys and spending time on Nest One. Nest Two had zero activity again. However, we did get some news and a photo of 1JW in Valencia – he’s doing well and enjoying exploring the Pego Oliva marshland, link below. The rain and wind continued as forecast today, with thundery showers expected overnight changing to light rain showers tomorrow. Both nest cams went down shortly before 21.00 and are still down now (23.45).

Link to 1JW update: https://walkingwithdaddy.com/osprey/?ht-comment-id=15689792

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One ? (04.46.23); Nest Two ? (04.57.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/2PUZSP_N918 N1 A trio of songbirds visit in the absence of any Ospreys 15.57.40

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

Season highlights for the Lodze Bociany Black Storks in Poland.

The trio at Blackbush at Old Tracadie wishing and hoping for fish.

At Charlo, Montana, C16 is really working its wings. Fledge is near. The chick ate all the fish Charlie brought in but lost the tail over the edge – and didn’t share a morsel with Mum Lola.

Two beautiful well-fed osplets at the Newfoundland Power platform in Snow Lane. Mum Hope and Beaumont have done a commendable job this season!

If your pet is treated for fleas and then gets to have a swim in a pond, a river, a stream, or a lake, the toxins in the treatment are killing wildlife.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/09/household-products-killing-insects-wildlife?CMP=share_btn_url

The Storks are on the move, both Black and White -. This Polish stork is already in Egypt.

I promised to include some of the memories that were forgotten with the first listing. Have some more smiles!

‘B’: “hi Mary Ann — Thanks for compiling the wonderful list of birds and nests and events that made us all smile. There are so many things that have touched the followers of your blog and these nests, and we all clearly share many of the same happy experiences. If there is one that I kick myself for not remembering it is the SW Florida nest of M15 and his new mate F23 and their eaglet E23. It was so nice to see life go on for M15 with a wonderful new mate and the lively and joy-inspiring E23. I apologize to M15 for totally forgetting them when my eagle attention moved on to the midwest and western eagles — it’s inexcusable!

SE31 also definitely makes my list, and I even thought of him, but it was so long ago that I thought the fledge and remaining in the area must have all been before the first of this year.. It brought so much joy to see one of Lady and Dad’s sea eagles be able to stay in the area and remain with parents for a very reasonable amount of time. I still am sad (and mad) about the chick of several years ago who was euthanized after she had worked so hard to fledge in spite of their injured leg. I forget the number — SE26 or 25?

And I agree with “L” that pictures and stories of your “girls” — Missey, Hope, Calico, and Hugo Yugo — and your garden visitors always bring a smile.”

‘R’: “Thank you for all the memories today. Sorry I did not get my email to you sooner, my fav was Flaco 🦉🥲❤️ and of course, Iris’s prayers being answered by Finn 💕💞”

‘J’ : “Just read the newsletter and it made me smile, laugh out loud and cry. What a wonderful (can’t think of the correct word, “habit”) to do an “what made you smile” to end the season.

I thought of two more moments that really made me laugh.

M15, F23 and E23 all down by the pond. E23 flew away, both parents followed him with their heads, then, at the same time, lowered their heads and looked at each other. Precious!

Made me think of when Harriet and M15 were perched next to each other, Harriet looking at E15 from behind M15, and someone captioned it “honey, what are we going to do about our kid?” (that didn’t want to leave).

The other moment was Archie feeding his chick, trying to be all stealthy and then scampering out of there before Annie could have a go at him.

I have more great moments to share:

On the way back from the pond I watched a beautiful (as opposed to mangy and thin, which often is the case in the city) fox.

Unfortunately when I had no camera with me, all four swallow chicks were on the nest, next to each other and all four looking out. So my view were 4 little faces in a row. MELT!

Yesterday just before I left the cemetery, on the bench were I usually take off/pull on my shoes, was a squirrel eating a eh, what’s the word, pine cone? He made rapid work of it. Beautiful bushy tail, he was very small, so I think it was a baby.

I went to a hardware store that also sells garden stuff, and it always makes me smile that birds are flying about inside. But this time I laughed out loud, to see a pigeon stand in front of a sack with bird feed. I have no doubt that he’d managed to open it.”

‘V’: “OMG. I forgot M15 and his new lady! How could that happen?”

A miracle? Is it possible that these are the two osplets from Cowlitz PUD? Thanks, ‘PB’.

No words from ‘H’ this morning. We all remember last year and the intruders at Fortis-Exshaw with Jasper and Banff.

The intruder is now on the perch.

And at Osoyoos!

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

Thank you to everyone who sent a comment, a note, to others for their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘AM, AMW, B, Geemeff, J, H, PR, RP, V’, SK Hideaways, California Raptor Centre, Heidi McGrue, SF Osprey Golden Gate Audubon, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Dyfi Osprey Project, Sharon Dunne, Lady Hawk, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Polish Osprey Cam Highlights, Blackbush at Old Tracerie, Charlo Montana, Newfoundland Power, The Guardian, SOS Tesla-Save the White Storks, Raindancer Wild Bird Rescue, Fortis Exshaw, and Osoyoos Ospreys.

Cobey is rescued…Thursday in Bird World

8 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is grey and very windy today. The only animals in the garden are Dyson and her kits waiting for me to put out new peanuts. Some of the larger container pots of tomatoes were blown over during the night and I have a thick jumper on with wool socks this morning. It feels like fall!

We hope you enjoyed a little trip down memory lane with the events at the nests and the birds that gave us hope and smiles so far during the 2023-24 breeding season. I enjoyed reading every list that you sent! Thank you again. Some of you have sent in more memories than reading the lists triggered. I will include a mini-listing tomorrow or the next day. I am so happy that you enjoyed that post. If you forgot someone, feel free to tell me.

‘H’ sent me a note saying little Cobey at Colonial Beach was rescued. Tears. Thank you to the owner of the cam who persisted in requesting help, to the DWR who came to the rescue, and to Dominion Energy, which brought in the bucket truck to help get little Cobey down. Cobey’s condition was described as ’emaciated’.

And her report: “8/7 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This morning David delivered a partial fish to Cobey at 1131, and he also chased away an intruder. Cobey worked on the fish on and off for a couple of hours before David removed it, thinking that Cobey was done with the fish. Mom Betty had been missing for over four days. And, David was not providing enough fish, nor was he feeding his 44-day-old youngster, Cobey. Cobey had to take a crash course on self-feeding the past few days. But, Cobey wasn’t getting enough to eat, and he was declining. Everyone knew it. The weather forecast was predicting a few stormy days, and Cobey would not have had any protection from the weather. The nest owner continued to consult with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and the earlier decision to not intervene was reversed. We were notified on the chat at around 1430, and within a half hour, we saw the bucket being raised and someone with gloved hands reaching across the nest for Cobey. Many of us were crying. It was a miracle. We owe a debt of gratitude to Colonial Beach Osprey Nest Cam, and VA DWR, that Cobey now has a chance to live. Cobey was taken to Alton’s Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, and will be under the care of Mr. Harley Thomas White. “Now, you listen to Mr. White, Cobey, and do what you’re told… and he will make you better… And one day you will fly.”

Screen captures from a video Heidi posted on FB of the rescue:

Harley Thomas White is caring for Cobey. He made a fish gravy and fed Cobey some fish pieces, emphasising Cobey’s critical condition. Cobey is thin and weak. There will be daily updates. These images came from a video on the website of Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc. Check out Harley Thomas White’s FB page for the videos and updates for Cobey as well as the website of the centre. (Want to show your support for this rescue from the nest? Have a spare tenner? I bet they would appreciate it).

WordPress Media Storage. Once again, I have hit 99.95% of my storage capacity. Tuesday afternoon, I spent some time deleting educational and information files, videos, and images from posts in 2022 and 2023 to make room for Wednesday’s post. I will gradually go back through the Memorial Walls and try to leave the single best image for the deceased bird instead of including several. Moving forward, you will see that I am putting in links to articles and videos instead of inserting the video or the PDF file. It all goes to saving space. I pay the top subscription fee for WordPress, and they will not sell me any more storage, so this is the only alternative I have discovered. There will be images, but fewer of them, sadly. If you know any secrets to getting around this issue, please let me know!

I am getting extremely excited about the upcoming trip to Nova Scotia. There are three reasons for this. You might recall that we were in Toronto a few weeks ago. It was a trial run for a longer vacation. Two years ago my husband (at the age of 63) began having memory issues. This was followed by hallucinations beginning in March 2023. All the while, I could not get a doctor! With the help of an old friend, we were able to see a specialist in December of 2023. That visit, MRIs and trips to a neurologist confirmed a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. Some of you might remember that the American comedian Robin Williams had LBD. It is a terrible illness – not the memory issues. They come and go and never disappear like those who have Alzheimers, but it is the hallucinations that are tormenting. Thankfully, the pharmaceutical cocktail Don is taking is helping, and after Toronto, we got the green light to travel a little further and stay a little longer. (Please do not worry or fret. Believe it or not, we are doing great. Being outside on long walks fits me perfectly and it is also good for those with dementia. Nature heals and changes everything! We are living a good life – and enjoying every moment that we can). We are excited to return to a place we called home for so long but haven’t seen for 26 years. The second thing is that Nova Scotia is a birder’s paradise. While we will miss seeing the osprey chicks in the nest with the adults because they have now fledged, we hope to see them fishing and getting strong before they leave on their migration. We also hope to look out our windows in the morning and see Bald Eagles flying and get to add some shorebirds and waterfowl to our life lists. Meeting the Dennis family, who organised people throughout the province to observe and record the osprey nests, will be an honour. Last, luck found us the perfect place to stay. It is an Animal Sanctuary for rescued farm animals – pigs, goats, cows, etc. The entire property is Vegan, and we will be staying in a new apartment above a gallery. Across a quiet country road is the estuary where the eagles fly and the shorebirds scurry. What a wonderful change from living in the middle of a growing Prairie city! We are even hoping to ride bicycles!

‘CG’ reports on the search for Blue at HWF-BBCentral nest in Boundary Bay, British Columbia: “No reports yesterday of hearing Blue or the parents after Blue left the nest. Also, the parents were not seen later in the day. Normally, Mere would come back to the nest and be perched above from around dinner time until Blue was tucked in for the night. At 1251 hours today a parent was seen on a post near the water. Departed.”

In the United Kingdom, the fledging of two White-tail eaglets is causing a stir.

Beaver kits in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland are also putting smiles on the faces of those who worked so hard on their reintroduction. You may be aware that beaver activity is essential to establishing thriving wetlands and biodiversity.

https://cairngorms.co.uk/first-beaver-kits-in-400-years-born-in-the-wild-in-the-cairngorms-national-park

In Finland, all chicks at Saaksilvie #1 have flown.

USU is on the nest with Mum at nest #4 in Finland. The status of its wing is unclear or what might happen to the chick.

Beautiful osplets in Latvia waiting to fly.

Hollywood movie crew members watch Iris as she feeds her chicks. They should be considering making a movie of her life! Sum-eh fledged and returned to the nest after practising flying. She is flying around the parking lot and Dr Green reported she had also gone up and down the river. Antali is yet to fledge. S/he is five days younger than Sum-eh.

‘A’ comments: “When a lovely big fish is brought in at around 16:55, the only one home is Antali, who does not try to claim the fish or self-feed. Iris, in response to the constant begging for fish, soon begins feeding Antali. who already has a healthy crop. He can see Finn and/or Sumeh flying above – watching from below but not at all alarmed as he would be were the osprey above an intruder. Sumeh flies in at about 16:59, eager for fish. Iris obliges. She feeds both osplets, but Sumeh is hungrier and more demanding, so she is given more food. This is a very big fish – there is plenty for the whole family. By 17:39 Iris is feeding primarily herself, although occasionally, one of the osplets (usually Antali at this stage of the feeding) decides one more bite could just fit. Dad arrives just before 18:04. Sumeh is closely studying the leftover fish mum is standing on. Iris is not pleased at the arrival of Finn, although he has BYO fish. It looks like a chunk of fish but may be something of the smaller variety. Finn takes it to the perch – the remainder of the earlier fish is still on the nest (about half of the fish) so there is still another meal for Iris and the kids.”

Beautiful osplet at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on a cloudy day. Waiting to fly. The chick has officially ‘perched’.

It really is not a coincidence that so many ospreys are dying in the Chesapeake Bay area. The extreme heat arrived, and there was no fish to hydrate the ospreys. Adults and chicks are being found dead. It is interesting to note that the Pacific Northwest had the extreme heat – even hotter in places – as did Iris – and the deaths were much less. So think about the lack of fish! The overfishing of the Menhaden needs to stop, and so does the rescue of starving osplets. We need a healthy population of fish hawks.

Mark Avery reminds us: “The Inglorious 12th – the start of the grouse shooting season is approaching. It’s one of the few issues that brings animal welfare, climate change, nature conservation and law enforcement together so clearly.” So what is the Inglorious 12th those that do not live in the UK ask? (12 August)

“Red Grouse chick” by cazalegg is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

PETA UK says: “Traditionally, the Glorious Twelfth – or the “Inglorious Twelfth”, as it should rightly be named – marks the start of the red grouse shooting season. But this year, many estates have been forced to delay or even cancel it after human-induced climate change saw unseasonably hard sleet and cold rain, resulting in fewer birds for hunters to blast out of the sky…About 700,000 red grouse will be killed between now and December. According to a report by the League Against Cruel Sports, 40% of birds shot are wounded rather than being killed outright, causing intense and prolonged suffering. Grouse are low-flying and difficult to shoot cleanly, and hunters need no formal training or competence with a gun to go on a shoot – it’s a free-for-all. These are just a couple of reasons why this barbaric “sport” should be banned.

Grouse are charming, sensitive birds who are devoted parents to their chicks. They deserve better than being killed in cold blood for someone’s twisted idea of entertainment. And it’s not just the grouse who suffer at the hands of the hunters. To preserve the interests of their own sick pleasure, hunters remove the grouse’s natural predators, meaning foxes, stoats, weasels, squirrels, and birds like hawks, falcons, owls, hen harriers, and eagles are trapped, poisoned, or shot or their nests are destroyed.

All this cruelty and destruction so that a tiny minority of bloodthirsty people can wander through the British countryside gunning down sentient animals – it’s a senseless massacre, not a hobby.”

When you sibling wants your other slipper!

In a comment to a post about migration and if the males ever leave a chick on the nest (the question was in regard to nest #4 in Finland where the sole surviving osplet appears to have a wing injury), the author of Belle’s Journey and many papers on Osprey behaviour and, in particular, migration, Rob Bierregaard says: “Adult females almost always leave first, usually a week or two before the males. In the northeastern US, it’s usually mid-August for females and the first 2 weeks of September for the males and young. This information is based on 107 satellite-tagged birds, so I know when birds start migrating, as opposed to leaving the nest and hanging around somewhere, which they’ll do, especially after a nest fails. When young leave the nest, they are not necessarily starting their migration. Some wander all over the place and and delay the start of their migration until, exceptionally, November. I had one young from Martha’s Vineyard, an Island off the east coast of Massachusetts, wander 1,200 miles all the way to the Great Lakes! I had one male linger into late September when a young couldn’t get its act together and was constantly on the nest begging. The male finally gave up and left before the young did.”

The Eurasian Hobby in Dorsett is becoming a Hobby instead of a ‘baby chick’. Don’t you just love those strong legs of the falcons?!

Geemeff sends both a happy and sad story of Ospreys at the Cape which has grown from a few pairs to now over 500 they estimate.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/08/06/as-ospreys-make-a-strong-comeback-on-the-cape-many-have-run-afoul-of-human-infrastructure

Geemeff also sends the daily summary from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Wednesday 7th August 2024

No action whatsoever today, not even a visit from a little bird. It’s not yet the middle of August, but with night cam switching on ever closer to 10pm and staying on until almost 5am, and no chicks flying around demanding fish from Louis, the season feels suspiciously like it’s over for this year. Affric152 and Prince should still be around as they have a young fledgling to look after, and with luck we might even see their chick testing his wings on or near one of the cam nests. Garry LV0 was the last one to leave last year so perhaps he’ll do that this year too but it does seem as if the star pair, Louis & Dorcha, have already headed south. With the weather being wet and windy today, and more of the same forecast for the next ten days, moving south seems the sensible thing to do.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.21.45 (04.41.53); Nest Two 22.14.31 (04.49.20)

Today’s videos: none – not even a visit from a little bird!

Bonus read – a free ebook by W. H. Majoros Season with the Osprey:

Click to access ASeasonWithTheOsprey.pdf

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

‘J’ sends news that the couple at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest had their nest collapse during heavy rains and storms. Thankfully no eggs or chicks!

Welcome WBSE34 who joins that sibling at the Olympic Park Eagle nest in Sydney.

‘R’ sends a good read on why we should be putting bird friendly tape on our windows. How many birds do you think die each year from window strike?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billion-bird-deaths-glass-window-building-crashes

The wind appeared to be strong at the Port Lincoln barge. Both Mum and Dad were tucked in and then Dad flew off and left Mum hoping he was going to bring her a nice big fish for brekkie.

Jackie and Shadow were at the nest for morning chortles on Wednesday.

Ceramic nests save the life of little seabirds and they are coming to Alcatraz to save birds. Thanks, ‘EJ’ – a very engaging story of people figuring out solutions.

https://sfstandard.com/2024/07/30/as-atmospheric-heat-kills-seabirds-a-bay-area-ceramicist-fires-up-a-solution/?utm_source=copy_sitebutton&utm_medium=site_buttons&utm_campaign=site_buttons

Sadly, we will be hearing more about bird flu.

Bird flu is here. We have no plan.Download

But this is good news. It is time for some serious consideration about taking all the Menhaden that keep our ospreys alive (and other birds and mammals).

Atlantic menhaden board votes to study more restrictions on controversial Chesapeake Bay fishery

https://www.whro.org/environment/2024-08-06/atlantic-menhaden-board-votes-to-study-more-restrictions-on-controversial-chesapeake-bay-fishery

The measure passed this week is meant to help protect birds and fish that rely on menhaden as a key food source. But researchers say more data is needed to understand the dynamics in the bay.

I really hope that my readers living in this area and loving the Osprey will speak up – and anyone else that feels it is important for Osprey to have fish to eat! The commercial fishing of Menhaden has to stop – inside and outside of the Chesapeake Bay.

‘H’ reports:

8/7 Osoyoos osprey nest: Unless I missed one, it seems that there were only 4 fish brought to the nest, all delivered by Olsen. There were two good size fish from which Soo provided nice feedings. And, the two very small fish were acquired by Chick 1. Chick 2 was doing much better with his wingercizing today. At 1749, Chick 2 was so high that s/he was almost completely out of view for a second. Keep exercising those wings #2! Weather forecast for 8/8: Partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 92F/33C, light winds.

8/7 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Everything is going well for Johnny, June and 54-day-old ‘Fen’. Today was the first day in a few weeks that June did not catch a large striped bass, but the wind and rain may have had something to do with that. Fen was wingercizing with some nice hops today.

8/7 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: There was another fledge today. Due to the dirty camera, it is still difficult to see details of the birds. But, at 1200, we believe that chick 2, named Peyto, fledged at 54 days of age. Peyto landed on the nest perch at 1240, and dropped to the nest when a fish arrived. Congratulations Peyto!

A wee peak at WBSE 33 and 34. They always look like fluffy little snow people to me.

Hugo Yugo wishes everyone the best Thursday (or Friday) depending on where you live. She is a sleepy girl waiting to get her eyes cleaned, poor thing.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, CG, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB, RP’, Heidi McGrue and the Joy of Ospreys, Henry Thomas White and Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc., Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, Sea Eagle England, Cairngorms National Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Cams, LDF, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey Cam, Chesapeake Mermaid, OpenVerse, PETA UK, Dyfi Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, CBS News, SFStandard, The New York Times, Mark Avery, Brian Collins and Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Osoyoos Ospreys, Fenwick Island, and Fortis Exshaw.

Sum-eh flies Monday in Bird World

5 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Morning update:

It is getting to the time when you need to be getting your ‘miracles’ of the year in! Deadline: Wednesday, the 7th of August, so Tuesday evening CDT is the deadline—about 2000. Even a single sentence! Let me know what made you happy this year. I won’t spoil it, but there is already a clear winner for the top miracle of the year. Can you guess what that was?

It is cooler on the Canadian Prairies. Imagine extreme heat (32 for us) and then waking up and thinking you need a jumper! That was what it was like Sunday morning. The garden animals are loving it!

I did have a bit of a scare this evening. All the Crows were about and two of them were ragged and had white on their breasts. Took a deep breath. It is Junior and his mate and they are molting. Poor things. Junior stays but she heads south in the fall. I hope one or two of the youngsters will be around with us for fall and winter. They have been busy tonight protecting their territory. Urban crows live in family groups taking over a specific area and making sure that other groups of crows don’t enter! That said, when the GHO arrives, everyone comes to help usher it out of the space.

The blog is a little all over the place today. Osprey nests are winding down with fledglings returning for fish and awaiting the time to depart for migration. People are starting to stop and look at the state of the eagle nests and – we are on pip watch for the Olympic Park White-Bellied Sea Eagles in Sydney!

Update: Confirmed pip for SE33!

The three osprey chicks at the Osprey House Environment Centre are doing very well. Three weeks old!

In Port Lincoln, Mum is resting on the barge nest. Yes, yes, it is all beginning to happen ‘down under’.

Xavier is delivering prey to Diamond in the scrape at Orange, Australia. Now all we need is the Melbourne CBD Falcon cam to come on line. Typically that is after the eggs are laid.

If this is your first time to watch ospreys, you might want to find out about their migration – as most (save for Florida and some Gulf areas, the Caribbean, and Austral-Asia) fly to winter homes.

Osprey Migration Explained – Avian Report Download

More about migration from the UK.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/62/2023/03/Do-ospreys-migrate-6e4d8a7.jpg

Where do they go? Well, it depends on where they started!

Where Do Ospreys Go in the Winter? | Audubon Download

Many of you will remember the Red-tail Hawk raised by the Eagles on Gabriola Island in British Columbia. You will also recall that the eaglet that shared the nest, Junior, was electrocuted. We all cried. It is too common an occurence. We lost one of two gorgeous osplets raised by Oscar and Ethel at the Russell Lake Osprey nest in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was discovered that it was Heidi. She had fledged the day prior. These events are so very sad.

If you recall the discussion with Dr Christian Sasse and Dave Hancock on how to mitigate against electrocution using simple methods and know that YouTube video, let me know. I am looking forward to sharing it with our friends in Nova Scotia. I have written to the HWF but have not heard back from them.

‘H’ reports:

8/4 Osoyoos osprey nest: There were nine fish delivered to the nest, including one from Soo. Olsen had tapped into a good location to catch those small green-colored fish, so his offerings consisted of those fish. Soo brought a large headless fish at 1251 that actually resulted in two separate long feedings. It was interesting to note, with 5 of the 8 fish delivered by Olsen, chick 1 rather easily took the fish from chick 2, after chick 2 had initial possession of it. Chick 2 still displays some residual effects of the psychological conditioning that took place during all those weeks when chick 1 had been very aggressive toward him, and he learned to submit. Chick 2 needs to get over that, and try to hold on to his food! Chick 1 did not eat all of those fish he acquired, and he left a couple of good sized chunks on the nest for chick 2. Everyone had plenty to eat today. Chick 1 took a few flights off the nest throughout the day. And, chick 2 managed to get several inches of lift off the nest during his evening wingercizing! Weather forecast for 8/5: Sunny, high temp 94 F, light winds. There is a chance of strong thunderstorms in the afternoon.

8/4-8/5 Colonial Beach: Betty has not been seen since 0935 on 8/3. Last night, 42-day-old Cobey spent his second night alone on the nest. Cobey did not have anything to eat on Friday. On Saturday, David dropped off a headless fish, Cobey self-fed for the first time, and was able to eat most of that fish. On Sunday, David provided Cobey with a headless fish at 0724. Once again, Cobey did a great job with his self-feeding. His technique is not perfect, but he does amazingly well. He ate the fish off and on for several hours, and picked it clean. At 1828 David brought a live fish to the nest. The fish was not very lively, but it took Cobey a while to figure out how to unzip the fish. Cobey managed to do it, and ate the head! Then he reached in and pulled out a lot of the center of the fish, avoiding the tough skin. This morning 8/5, Cobey has already tackled the leftover piece of fish, and managed to pull off a few bites, but it is dry and tough. Hopefully David will bring Cobey a fresh fish this morning. And, we are praying for Betty to come home. Weather forecast for 8/5: Sunny, high 90, light winds. The forecast for the rest of the week may include periods of very heavy rain and some wind, as the remnants of ‘Debby’ moves up the coast. Cobey will need some protection from all that bad weather, and David doesn’t seem to like that kind of Dad. Please come home, Mom.

I am so looking forward to seeing these beautiful Nova Scotian ospreys in real life. Take off in a week! Will be announcing a wee break in normal posting – I will be sending out special Nova Scotia episodes while I am away so you can learn about one of our beautiful Atlantic provinces. It is famous for birdwatching – I am so excited.

Flipping over to Wales. Dylan has been busy delivering his famous Brown Trout to the Llyn Clywedog nest in Wales that he shares with his mate, Seren. The kids are there wanting fish! And if one is eating the other is fish calling very loudly!

Aran is busy at Glaslyn fishing for his and Elen’s kids, too. Everyone wants and needs to eat before migration.

In the south of England, the kiddos are waiting at Poole Harbour, too – and Blue 022 has four to feed!!!!!!!

At the nest of Iris and Finnegan, Sum-eh is getting restless to fly.

She is getting more height by the hover. Could today be the day she flies?

Our friend ‘A’ comments: “I’m hoping that her bond with Finnegan will bring her home. Certainly, she has something to come home to, which has not been the case before now. I know they’re territorial, and she returns to her nest, but now that nest has someone waiting on the perch, she may have an even stronger urge to be back. If indeed the older chick is female, then it is an incredible testament to the mothering skills of Iris, who has raised these two to be as close as any siblings I’ve seen on a nest. Never a hint of aggression or intimidation. They love to snuggle. Little Bob is usually fed first, but regardless of feeding order, they wait their turn. Sometimes, they compete for bites or even eat from each other’s overflowing beaks but never with violence attached. And if indeed Iris has achieved that outcome with a huge female hatched a week before her younger brother, we are definitely in the presence of a super mum. I love the way she has abandoned the nest to the kids, watching from the perch. She does always look to have a good crop, so at least Finn is keeping the family well fed. Perhaps too well fed. Why would these kids bother to leave home? This generation doesn’t, apparently. I do need to remember their names!!

This morning, big sister did a big and healthy PS, which pleased her so much that she had a hover. She is getting very good at her hovering. Oh Mary Ann she is magnificent. Such a beautiful osplet. She is gorgeous. (Little Bro is not yet interested in leaving his version of terra firma.) Iris immediately rises as if in an invisible lift, and she is out of there. Let hovering practice take place without her!! She can supervise from the perch. There is much fish calling (it’s 06:53). Little Bro is fascinated by his sister’s hovering (or perhaps he is just worried she’s about to land on his head)! But certainly, he is keeping his eyes on her. She is really getting some strength as she flaps. She is holding herself aloft for longer and longer, sometimes landing on an outer kiddie rail (is that technically branching or does she have to reach the perch?) and she is really enjoying the sense of wind beneath her wings. Those talons already look pretty deadly to me! “

At nest #3 in Finland, Tuulos and Taika have a fish and mate in the nest.

They are rebuilding at Decorah North!

Only one left to fledge at Blackbush – the other two that are flying continue to return to the nest for fish. Everyone is so well fed that on Sunday even Mum had some time to have a nice fish meal to herself.

In Newfoundland, Canada, Hope and Beaumont’s oldest is starting to work its wings. The chicks are 42 and 37 days old. We could have fledge in a little over a week for the oldest. Fledge dates average around 55 days. (some say 50-55)

Little Eurasian Hobby doing well eating dragonflies brought to the nest. As a fledgling, it will glide over the water catching dragonflies and other bugs for its meals along with small birds.

Everything you wanted to know about the Eurasian Hobby and more:

Eurasian Hobby | The Peregrine Fund Download

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

Daily summary Sunday 4th August 2024

A dreich day with no sign of Louis or Dorcha, it’s starting to feel like they’ve headed south to warmer climes as Dorcha was last seen eight days ago on the 27th, and Louis last seen five days ago on the 30th. Of course, those are the dates they were last seen on nest cam so there’s the possibility they are still in the area. Affric 152 and Garry LV0 are definitely still around and both came to Nest One today. Affric looked hollow-cropped and asked Garry for fish but he didn’t have any for her. It’s her mate Prince who should be providing fish for her back on the Bunarkaig nest where their newly fledged chick is probably still returning to, but like last season, there’s a complex relationship with that pair and Garry LV0 which seems to be ongoing. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is heavy rain with a gentle breeze, and light rain for the rest of the week too.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.29.01 (04.37.17); Nest Two 22.21.56 (04.44.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/mqRrJB__R5o N2 A Hoodie arrives and perches on Dorcha’s perch 07.10.05

https://youtu.be/O28igrtvFXE N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 to the nest 12.13.01

Bonus webinar – Osprey migration with Dr Tim Mackrill:

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

‘CG’ reports that the streaming cam at Boundary Bay, the nest of Blue, is still down and expected to be so until some time today.

Debby is hitting the nests in Florida and is ramping it up in Fort Myers as I write. Send good thoughts.

Gardening for the animals.

The frogs may be gone, but life goes on: how I regained my faith in gardening for wildlife | Wildlif Download

Worries continue for USU’s wing at nest #1 in Finland against growing concerns that Nuppu (Mum) will depart the area. At the moment fish continues to be brought to the nest for the youngsters.

Geemeff sent us some more stories. Enjoy.

1) Article says nest was inspected and no eggs or chicks found. But it sounds like this was an active nest if it suddenly became a problem. Would be good to hear a new platform is being built nearby:https://www.whec.com/top-news/osprey-nest-removed-from-cell-tower-in-town-of-ontario-was-disrupting-cell-service/

2) A good news rescue story:

https://www.obawebsite.com/local-tree-climber-saves-osprey-in-night-rescue

3) And this one made me smile:

https://www.diesachsen.de/en/environment/swan-family-causes-traffic-chaos-in-limbach-oberfrohna-2944816

And back in California, Hartley and Monty are bonding after a great season!

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

Thank you to the following who sent in notes, posts, comments, videos, articles, and the streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, Connie and Don Dennis, CG, Geemeff, H, J, RP’, Hellgate Osprey X, Becky R, Olympic Park Eagle Cam, Osprey House Environment Centre, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Avian Report, Purpleshrub.com, Audubon, Ospreys of Nova Scotia FB, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Llyn Clywedog, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, BoPH, Montana Osprey Project, Saaksilvie, Raptor Research Project, Blackbush, Newfoundland Power, Wildlife Window, The Peregrine Fund, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, CNN Weather, The Guardian, whec.com, obawebsite.com, diesachen.de, Heidi McGrue, John Williams, and SK Hideaways.

Friday in Bird World

2 August 2024

Hello Everyone!

Don’t forget to send me a note or a long list with your favourite moments of the 2023-24 season (every bird counts, no matter the species). I will publish these on Wednesday, August 8th. We need to have some smiles and I just know that there are some surprises lurking out there that have not been mentioned! You can put the list in the comments or send me an email: maryannsteggles@icloud.com Make sure I get this before midnight CDT on Tuesday August 7. Thank you so much!

Another hot day. 32 C. The bird baths needed filling continually. The Crows and Jays kept quiet during the high heat of the afternoon and are just coming into the garden. Dyson should be joining them soon!

We are nearing the time when every osplet should be fledgling. They will then have time to gain their muscle strength and get lots of practice. Some very precious osplets might even catch their fish before they leave on migration, but most will depend on their parents and, in particular, Dad as Mum will be departing well before anyone else. The females lose from 10-15% (some even have been found to lose up to 30%) of their body weight, and it takes them extra time to build up for their long journeys.

The University of Toronto reminds us of the simple facts, “There are two distinct populations of osprey with respect to lifestyle, the Residents and the Migrants. Residents are the ones, which breed in the subtropical latitudes in winter; they either stay in the same area all year round or move only locally during the non-breeding season. The other ones are the Migrants, which nest in the temperate latitudes and fly off each autumn to spend the winter in the tropical regions. North American ospreys start migrating south to their wintering grounds in Central America and in the northern parts of South America, around mid-August. By early September, most nesting colonies in the northern latitudes are empty. The numbers of migrating ospreys observed at selected watch points along their southward route are at their greatest during mid-September and early October. They reach their wintering grounds by late November. During winter, the only thing an osprey does is to eat, rest, recover from the stress of the previous breeding season and prepare for the next breeding season. It has been observed that during winter, they become more tolerant of each other as they congregate in loose flocks and are even known to hunt together in small groups, a few birds hovering over water, looking for fish might also stimulate others to join in the frenzy. Adult ospreys start leaving their wintering grounds in early March, by late March, more than half of the wintering ospreys have left the wintering areas, for their natal nesting grounds. Yearling ospreys stay on their wintering grounds for another eighteen months, returning to their natal nesting grounds at the age of about two years. Two-year-old ospreys however, leave the wintering grounds much later than the adults, and may reach their natal nesting grounds as late as June, by then; they are already too late to breed. However, pre-adult ospreys may become a nuisance to the breeders, because they try to take over nest sites and may interfere with the breeding pairs, as they explore and search for nesting sites of their own. They are also sometimes known to replace a partner in a breeding pair if it dies or is incapable of performing its duties. Ospreys arrive back at their natal nesting grounds by early May.”

If you are looking for interesting books on Osprey migration, here are my top two.

Soaring with Fidel by David Gessner is not your typical academic book and that is why it is my favourite choice for anyone wanting to understand the migration of ospreys and, in particular, those on the NE coast of the US. Gessner follows Fidel down the coast, to Cuba, and into South America. I promise you that you will want to travel to the mountains near Manzanillo, Cuba to see the hundreds if not thousands of ospreys that fly over heading south. It is the top of my bucket list. And I will get there!

The second choice is more for older chidren but Heidi expressly told me that it is not just for children, adults can enjoy it, too, and I agree. Belle’s Journey. An Osprey Takes Flight will touch your heart. It is the true story of a GPS tracked osprey. Rob Bierregaard takes us from Belle’s fledge, to her first successful fish catch, through a tumultous trip down the coast of the US to South America.

Which leads us into these amazing birds that are hopping, jumping, and hovering and will soon spread those wings with confidence and fly for the first time.

Oldest chick fledges from Saaksilvie nest #1 while the remaining chick gets some high hovers!

I haven’t reminded anyone about the benefits to birds of shade grown coffee for awhile. It is time to do that as we examine, on occasion, agricultural practices that can benefit not only humans but wildlife. The Snithsonian certifies ‘bird friendly’ coffee. They even sell it. In Canada, it is Birds and Beans. Yes, it is more expensive than brands where the tree canopy has been clear cut but, compared to other high quality small roasters in Canada, it is only about $3 more per 454 grams (one pound). It is discounted if you get a subscription. And no, I don’t get a commission! But I do support every effort to rewild and to make our planet more inhabitable for all living creatures so I cut back on the amount of coffee that I drink so I can purchase the bird friendly brand.

Shade-grown coffee demonstrates the benefits of combining agriculture and conservation – Oxford Broo Download

Ventana Wildlife is not all about Condors. They are a Species Recovery Programme. This is a recent video about the success of the restoration of the Bald Eagles in Central California. It is beautiful and short, 1:27 minutes.

Some news about Blue and a lot of flapping at Boundary Bay.

Food deliveries for Blue:

‘CG’ sends her report on Blue’s Day:
Mere. Ha, ha. I’ll bet she was the twitterer I kept hearing yesterday. Blue knew she was there and was squeeing at her. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen before.

Blue greeting the day from her favorite spot. Wonder what she thinks of the fog.

I thought she had a pretty good day. She was very active all day long and did quite a bit of squeeing. I wondered if a parent was around but didn’t hear any adult twittering until later in the day. She spent the morning wingercising, hopping, and dancing across the nest. It was so cute that they put together a video.

Great Flapping From Blue on YouTube with a message from Hancock Wildlife regarding concern about Blue.

There was a food delivery of fish around 1000 hours. Blue pounced on it, and there was a struggle to release it from Mere’s talons. I’d called it a medium sized piece, and it was all gone by 1018 hours.

,During the afternoon, she spent time moving around the nest, looking out, preening, wing stretching, and more dancing, skipping, and flapping across the nest. She lay down a few times today but not for long except when she lay down in her favorite spot in the late afternoon. I think she was dozing.

There was another food delivery at around 1830 hours, and she accomplished a good clean snatch. It was a large piece. It looked like moist fresh meat, a little more work than fish, but she did a good job of holding it down and pulling pieces off and all the time was squeeing while eating. After dinner, she stood for a while, and after squeeing, she was answered by a lot of twittering. Someone asked about Pere. He is still around. In fact, it looked like he delivered the last meal. When chicks become “exuberant” trying to grab food when delivered, dads tend to retreat. All chicks are bigger than dad, especially the females. Poor Akecheta delivering food to his 3 eaglets at the West End Territory ended up on his back in the melee.

At 2200 hours, Blue was up and started doing a lot of preening. I had seen a lot of moths on previous nights, but tonight, as well as the moths, there were lots of tiny flying insects. Had to be annoying.

I checked in at 2244 hours, and she was asleep lying down with her head to one side. She looked so adorable. Funny, the flying insects and moths were gone.

WEATHER: Thursday, 8/1, at 1715 hours, it is 82F, mostly sunny, wind 8 mph, humidity 63%, feels like 90F, low tonight 61F.

Friday, 8/2 through Monday, 8/5: Highs ranging from 79F to 82F with lows ranging from 50F to 62F.”

If you missed it, Finnegan and Iris’s chicks were named. This article includes the overwhelming numbers of people who voted and how many chose the winning names.

Hellgate Osprey Chicks’ Names Revealed After Community Vote | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird Download

Iris, Sum-eh and Antali see Finnegan coming in with a fish!

This nest just makes me smile. Thank you and good night Iris, Finnegan (wherever you are), Sum-eh, and Antali.

‘RP’ found this on X. So cute.

When fish deliveries come, everyone wants in on the action and some of that nice dinner! Fledglings who have been civil to one another on the nest take on a new energized stance as they prepare to live independently in the world.

Dyfi Osprey Nest.

It is precisely the same at every nest.

Glaslyn.

The baby, 5H6, claims the fish at Poole Harbour!

Later, other siblings want some fish, too.

At McEuen Park, the fledgling is enjoying a fish dinner all by itself.

It feels like things are finally settling down in the nests. The last of the osplets will be fledging and then they will need to eat and fatten up a bit – so will Mum and Dad – before they begin their migrations (if they migrate, some don’t). What a year it has been.

Annie and Archie are finally getting some quiet time after successfully fledging four! Dear Nox, the fourth hatch that landed in the water at the marina is improving. Great news. If I had a list for cutie pies this year I bet Nox and Smallie would tie. Interesting that they are both Peregrine Falcons!!!!!

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

Daily summary Thursday 1st August 2024
Not much action today but after a quick pop in on Nest One from a pair of Warblers, we did have the pleasure of seeing an Osprey – Garry LV0 arrived and spent a few quiet minutes looking around and preening before flying off again. Chaddie 14 gave us the exciting news that the chick at Bunarkaig has fledged, this chick is thought to be the offspring of Affric 152 & Prince. Link to his update: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15536809. WTS George says we would really appreciate people signing our Living Legends petition to protect our ancient trees: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15532685. The weather was settled today, but tonight’s light cloud and light winds will change into heavy rain tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.32.55 (04.30.46); Nest Two 22.32.34 (04.38.42)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/9LKihnfJAjo N1 A pair of Warblers visit 10.31.12https://youtu.be/QTRqeePpg8I N1 Garry LV0 arrives, stays a while, and preens 13.07.21

Bonus watch – Soar with a Golden Eagle as it flies over Scotland wearing a go-pro eagle cam:https://youtu.be/JDmgtkaKx6c

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

Royal Cam Chick is loosing all his baby down and transforming into a beautiful albatross that will be fledging in another 5-6 weeks. Isn’t he lovely?

Everyone is still home at Blackbush.

Morning rained stopped. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum chick is certainly ready to begin some great hovering and flapping. My goodness, I hope some fairies bring some soft material to this nest next year to help the ospreys get a head start.

Fledgling at McEuen Park waiting for Mum to bring some fish! This is actually a bit of a miracle, too. It is hard enough for a single parent to take care of chicks in a perfect world. Then imagine a single parent with four chicks, intense heat, and babies not able to thermoregulate. I think we are lucky that we had one survive on this nest in Idaho this year.

My goodness. The two chicks at the Latvian osprey nest in Kurzeme seem to have grown even more overnight! Look at the wing spread and look at that healthy ‘ps’. Another miracle nest and congratulations to Singa and Svings. The chicks were ringed on the 30th of July. The oldest is Red 59T, a female weighing a whopping 1750 grams. The second is Red 59V, a male weighing 1400 grams. The third egg DNH.

It’s very windy there.

Dorsett Hobby scares everyone by climbing to the rim of the nest. Is chick hungry?

Chatters have expressed some concern over what appears to be a wing problem with the chick on nest #1 in Finland.

Many of you will know that the largest wildfire in California history is burning and could be a threat to many nests. Here is an update on Liberty and Guardian.

Russian Imperial Eagle fledglings waiting at the nest for prey deliveries.

‘A’ sends the latest posts from Australia if you have not seen them:

At the Olympic Park, we are very close to hatch:

August 1: The 35th day since the first egg was laid. Early duets, and then Dad came in and took the fish tail off himself. He returned and sat for a short while. Lady returned after only 31 minutes. Another shortish shift each, then Lady came in at 9:20 with leaves and incubated again. During the morning, both were in for short shifts, with calling and duets. Later, both took their turn at incubating during some light rain. Late afternoon, Dad relieved Lady briefly, until she returned for the evening at 5:20. Lady spent some 7 hours on the eggs today, and they were uncovered only briefly during changeovers. No prey was brought to the nest.

August 2: A cold wet night for Lady. After a few calls, Dad came in at 6:30, and Lady was off for a break but heard close by. She returned after only 33 minutes – a quick break for her. There was some rain in the morning, and several changes. Lots of calling off the nest. Some rain on and off. Dad had a long (two-hour) shift from just before 9am, and again in the afternoon. Is Lady out getting prey for herself? Both brought some greenery in today, though again, no prey was brought to the nest. Lady was home from 15:35, and other than a few short stretches and rolls, she sat on the eggs until evening- though there was quite some muttering from the nest. A few late ups and downs, then settled. Both parents spent a similar time on the eggs today, with the eggs only uncovered for brief periods.

‘H’ sends her reports:

8/1 Osoyoos osprey nest: Breakfast consisted of the large leftover fish from yesterday. Soo fed her youngsters for about 18 minutes. The first new fish of the day did not arrive until 1221, when Olsen dropped off a very large partial fish. That fish provided for a 46-minute feeding for the osplets. I did not see any more fish brought to the nest the rest of the day, but I noted that the chicks both still had large crops late in the afternoon. It was a very warm day, with the temperature reaching 101F/38C. Soo was acting as Mombrella to help shield her big kids from the sun most of the afternoon. Weather forecast for 8/2: mostly sunny, high temp 102F/39C, light winds.

8/1 Colonial Beach osprey nest: It was a better day for this nest. Four fish were brought to the nest, three of from Betty. And, David delivered a fish after he had not been seen on cam for three days. So, little Cobey ate pretty well today. Betty was even seen acting as Mombrella for a while to shade Cobey from the hot sun…that’s progress! Forecast for 8/2: mostly sunny, high 95, winds 16 mph.

8/2 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: There is a patch on the ground at the very top of our nest-cam-view where the marsh grass is thinned-out a bit, and I have seen both fledglings fly to that spot on occasion. There’s something they like about being on the ground, and they think they are hidden by tall grass. It was getting dark, and at 2030 in the evening on 8/1, I saw both of the fledglings fly from the nest to that spot. I could make out one of their heads, while the other one was just out of view. I have not seen a fox this season, but I have in the past. They roam the marsh at dusk. I didn’t like the fledglings being on the ground at that time of day. How would they learn to stay up high out of harm’s way from ground predators, especially as darkness approaches? Shouldn’t it be instinctual? Or, is it something that they would somehow learn from their parents? Certainly learning from experience doesn’t sound like a very good idea. Well, I worried all night, and I was very grateful to see those silly juvies fly to the nest early this morning. I wonder where they actually spent the night.

If you happen to be near St Louis, Missouri, there are celebrating Murphy at the World Bird Sanctuary (Thanks, J)

And they continue…Omega will be there til they get the very last Menhaden. Perhaps it is time for a world wide boycott of Omega!

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

Thank you to the following for their wonderful reports, posts, pictures, videos, articles, books, and streaming cams that helped me write my post today: ‘A, CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, RP’, Amazon (book covers), David Gessner, Rob Bierregaard, Nesting Bird Life & More, Oxford Brookes University, Ventana Wildlife Society, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, All About Birds, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, BoPH, Pam Breci, SK Hideaways, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Blackbush Beach Ospreys, MN-LA, McEuen Park, LDF, Finnish Osprey Foundation, FORE, Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Olympic Park Eagles, Sharon Dunne, Montana Osprey Project, DancinLionHeart, and Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal.

Surviving chick at McEuen fledges…Thursday in Bird World

1 August 2024

Good Morning,

Happy August. To all those in the area of the big storms last night, I hope that you and our feathered friends in the area are safe. It is another hot day on the Canadian Prairies. 32 C. The garden is thriving, and the birds cannot stay out of the birdbath. I don’t blame them. The heat and the humidity have been challenging. I wish the nature centre stayed open past 1700. The nicest time to walk is in the early evening. Tonight, it was around the neighbourhood. One thing I missed was the sound of birds until I got closer and closer to my little haven, and there they were – hundreds singing their hearts out. My garden is their paradise. Everything is for them so nothing is tidy. The sunflowers the birds planted are growing wild, the deck is set up so that there is room for feeding in the lilacs, on the deck and the little feeder, and behind the conservatory is an area for the Crows which is being infiltrated by the Blue Jays and Squirrels. The Starlings seem to have moved now that their chicks have fledged.

As I continue to suggest that humans need to work together with wildlife, I have, at the same time, been researching birding in Nova Scotia and I came across a wonderful entry about Bald Eagles that is truly heart warming from ‘Keeping an Eagle Eye on Sheffield Mills’ in Saltscapes Magazine:

In what has become a true phenomenon, Bald eagles have been making their way to the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia to ride out the winter and to feast on handouts. Hundreds of the birds come, filling the skies like flocks of seagulls. It’s a sight to stir the soul of even the most travelled nature aficionado. Like many solitary creatures, including grizzly and polar bears, these eagles congregate in large groups near a food supply as a winter survival strategy. But in the Annapolis Valley, the plentiful food source is anything but natural. In an ironic twist, the poultry farmers of Kings County, who once regarded the eagles as deadly predators, are helping the birds claw their way back from the endangered species roster. With the encouragement of Acadia University biologists, poultry farmers began the practice in the 1970s of letting the eagles clean up the plentiful supply of dead chickens that large poultry farms are saddled with every winter. The birds relished the free chicken dinners and have come back every year for more.

The return of eagles across the Annapolis Valley marks a heartening trend across the province. No longer poisoned by DDT or shot by misinformed farmers, eagles have become a common sight in many regions in Cape Breton and northern Nova Scotia. “We’re even starting to see them more and more in southern Nova Scotia and even on Brier Island,” says Mr. Maybank. “That’s very encouraging.”

With 85 to 90 per cent of Nova Scotia’s poultry producers located in eastern Kings County, the supply of chickens shows no sign of running out. But Mr. Hennigar says that everyone is working to make sure eagles don’t become dependent on these handouts. Farmers are careful not to overdo it, giving the birds a chance to forage for themselves on warm winter days.

I am hoping that a few of those eagles will be around along with all the sea birds, the ospreys, and the shore birds when I am visiting!

This is what can happen when we join together. The chickens would have been destroyed, why not feed the eagles? Restaurant meals are dumped. Why not feed the Crows or the feral cats? Pet food is put in dumpsters when the expiration day arrives and yet it is still good. It just can’t be sold. So why not get the pet stores to donate the food to feed the feral cats? or help those who cannot afford to purchase food for their pets and are considering surrendering them? Have an hour, talk to you local pet store and see if you can help.

‘H’ reports: (Thank you!)

7/31 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was down all day until 1520. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were two large partial fish on the nest, and no one was eating. When was the last time we’ve seen two leftover fish on the nest at Osoyoos? I’ve only been watching this nest for three years, but I cannot recall it ever. We could not initially see the second leftover fish because Soo was standing on it. But, at 1539 Olsen dropped by with another partial fish. No one was interested, and he took a look at the other fish, so he left with his latest offering. It was at that point that I saw the large fish that was under Soo. They must have had a fish-filled day! Who knows why fishing had been so good. It was 94 degrees, and none of these fish were small. At 1611 Soo fed Big from the fish she was standing on until 1632, and there was still a lot of that fish remaining. At 1726 Olsen arrived with another large partial fish, and this time Middle took it from him, and ate until 1738. Meanwhile, at 1730 Soo had resumed feeding Big from her fish, but Big walked away at 1738. At 1832 Middle self-fed for 10 more minutes. Soo provided a feeding for both chicks starting at 1911. Middle quit the feeding at 1930 and Big ate until 1944. Then Soo fed Middle until 1954. Soo finished that fish herself, eating the tail at 2003. There were still two large pieces of fish on the nest. At 2007 Soo provided one last feeding for both siblings from the fish that Middle had taken from Olsen. That meal lasted until 2018, and I think they ate all of that fish. There was still a large piece of fish remaining for their breakfast. Oh my goodness! I hope the cam can stay online. The chicks are 54 and 55 days old. We will be watching for lots of wingers, with the chicks achieving higher lifts off the nest. Weather forecast for 8/1: sunny, high temp 99F/37C, winds gusting to 9 mph.

7/31 Colonial Beach: This nest can be summarized as: ‘Inconsistent’. New dad, David, is MIA from the nest again. He was last seen on cam on 7/28. He’s not really missing, because the cam owner sees him occasionally in the tree across the street eating a fish. Cobey can see him too, and calls to him. Betty has been providing all the fish the past few days. The temp today was 91 with light winds. At one point today, Betty was gone from the nest for five hours straight. Cobey had no shade from the hot sun. But, Betty is a new mom, and even when she is at the nest, she apparently doesn’t know to provide shade for her youngster. Betty finally brought a partial fish at 1700, for a feeding that lasted 18-20 minutes. 37-day-old Cobey had only one meal today, and only two meals yesterday. Weather forecast for 8/1: sunny, high temp 93, winds 9 mph.

The ospreys that have not fledged yet are getting good height and soon all of them will be airborne as the month of August is here and many will leave in early September to take to their winter homes where they will remain for two years before returning to the north.

In Finland, the oldest is getting some good height and should be fledging any day at the Janakkalan nest.

Two chicks getting fed. Parents seem to be staying around the nest. This nest has had problems with predators in the past.

The chick at Saaksilive #4 where the two other siblings were taken by the White-tailed eagle is still on the nest and doing well. It was very frightened the day of the last incident. Fingers crossed for this little sweetie to survive. It is a huge concern as the eagle lives in the forest near to the platform.

The only surviving osplet is now eating, enjoying being fed by an adult.

The heat continues in Montana.

Finn had a fish on the nest mid-morning.

Finn delivers 8 fish on Wednesday the 31st of July. He is not slacking. Everyone in his family is going to be nice and bulked up for migration! Way to go, Finn.

The Only Bob at Charlo Montana is starting to hop and flap. Will we see hovering soon?

Dunrovin Ranch, early morning.

Field Farm Dad is busy bringing in the fish with four fledglings to feed! This has been such an amazing nest to watch this year, just like Poole Harbour with its four. Can you imagine raising a nest of four osplets this year? Well, a few did and Field Farm was one of them.

All is well at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Electra and her only surviving chick that has fledged waiting for a fish delivery at Cowlitz PUD.

Mum and fledgling at the Boulder County meal got a ringside seat when staff of the county came to rescue the twelve domesticated ducks that had been left in the Cattail pond.

In another story, “Crews responding to the Stone Canyon Fire on Tuesday inadvertently dropped fire-retardant slurry into the St. Vrain Supply Canal, and the slurry has made its way into Boulder Reservoir.” While this might not pose a problem to humans other than eye irritants, the “Police added that aquatic life and wildlife may also be adversely impacted due to the concentration of the slurry.” (Daily Camera, 31 July 2024).

McEuen Park Only Surviving osplet out of four flew today for the first time and landed on the old South nest with Mum. (Thanks PB for the photo with Mum and the alert!)

Mispillion Harbour kiddos flying around as well.

Giving an osprey a wonderful second chance at life!

The hurricane force winds that hit the Missoula Montana area are now in Omaha, Nebraska as of Wednesday early evening. ‘PB’ advises that the cam at Fort Calhoun is down. We hope the ospreys are safe.(Thank you!)

Wings of Whimsy posted an annual round up of events at Decorah North and their 2023-24 season. I know that you will be more than interested if you haven’t seen this already. This amazing family had their nest and part of their tree break during bad weather and the four of them stayed together at their home. It was beautiful.

And there’s a live chat you can join about this incredible family and their year with the Raptor Resource Project coming up!

The Eastern Cattle Egret is breeding in the Middle East for the first time.

Eastern Cattle Egret breeds in Middle East for first time – BirdGuides Download

And Penguins are swimming in the Black Sea. The Penguin escaped from a private zoo. ‘TU’ writes: “Professor and Doctor of Biological Sciences Anatoly Kudakhtin, chief researcher of the Caucasian Nature Reserve and academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, noted that the Black Sea is a suitable habitat for this bird due to the abundance of fish.”

World Heritage site designation will help save migratory birds in PRC.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has designated 5 additional World Heritage sites along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Gulf of Bohai, helping migratory waterbirds across the continent.-https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/07/30/new-world-heritage-sites-in-china-help-migratory-birds/

The Centreport Eagles are having some fun.

That Dorsett Hobby is such a sweetheart.

Some footage of Richmond and Rosie together with their two osplets. It is the first time that the entire family has been caught on camera – at least to my memory so that we can see them clearly. What beautiful chicks and this light stand did turn out to be a good nesting spot. I am so happy for these two. There have been deaths and accidents at the old nest (no not always!) – it is good to have a glorious year.

‘CG’s report on HWF-BBCentral and Blue: (Thank you!)

July 31, 2024

Lots of moths flying around after dark. They’re the white blobs. Every so often Blue flinches as the fly into her. Early in the morning, they had disappeared.

There was a small food delivery around 0715 hours. Someone thought it was a bird with not much meat on it.

It turned out to be a glorious afternoon for Blue and her fans. There was a humungous food delivery in the early afternoon. It was in large pieces that looked like fish. It looked fresh and moist. She must have been so hungry and that fish so delicious that she tucked into it and kept going. I was watching on the live cam and lost count of the pieces. Someone said 12.

She spent most of the afternoon in the one back corner looking out over the countryside. Seems to be a favorite spot for contemplating. She could have been napping on and off; I couldn’t see her eyes. She also has some shade with that screen and can move to another spot on the nest if she wants some sun. She did move into the sun at one point and at around 1630 hours, she found some fish she had missed, and had a leisurely snack. Then back to contemplating.

Is that a crop I see?

She did not seem to do much wingercising today. She did do a lot of calling. I left the live cam running, and all day, every so often, I would hear her and loud adult bald eagle twittering. I never saw the adults, but they could have been perched out of cam view.

My weather forecast image in the last blog turned out as a sad miniscule square. It looked fine in the email. Maybe WordPress doesn’t like .png files. I used a different method here so it’s a .jpeg file. So, we’ll see.

That is wonderful to see that crop on Blue and it is really nice to see some cooler temperatures. Thanks, CG.

In the following posting from Geemeff there is an excellent article on why ospreys intrude on other osprey nests. Have a good read!

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust: (Thank you!)

Daily summary Wednesday 31st July 2024

The big news for today is that there is no news! No Ospreys were seen on either nest today, and the only activity was visits from some little birds. Pleasant weather today, but light rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.55.17 (03.53.23); Nest Two 22.56.40 (04.13.37)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/0pQQIotNUsM N1 Various little birds visit the nest 09.50.27

https://youtu.be/dJAmVH178r8 N1 A juvenile Robin fiddles with the nest furnishings 10.59.11

https://youtu.be/irAW6knurFY N2 A pair of juvenile Bullfinches investigate the empty nest 19.17.24

Bonus read – why do Ospreys intrude on established nests?

https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2022/05/intruder-series-ospreys/

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

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care and remember to get those notes in telling me – and all of us – what it was that put a smile on your face this year. It can be eagle season, hawk, falcon, stork, osprey – whatever. Just in the midst of saddness I know that there were some of the happinest moments. We don’t want to forget them. I will be publishing the list in a week, Wednesday, the 7th of August.

Thank you to the following for their observation reports, comments, notes, videos, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, Saltscapes Magazine, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Field Farm, MN-LA ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County, Daily Camera, McKuen Park, Heidi McGrue, Medina Raptor Centre, Pam Breci, Wings of Whimsy, Trudi Kron, BirdGuides, Birdlife International, Bald Eagles of Centreport, Dorsett Hobby, SF Bay Ospreys by Golden Gate Audubon, HWF-BBCentral, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust.

Tuesday in Bird World

30 July 2024

Hell Everyone!

Oh, it was a beautiful day in Manitoba. Not too hot and there was a bit of a breeze. Even better to celebrate my daughter’s birthday albeit some days late. She is getting ready to head to Carnival in Grenada and a nice beach holiday for a month. Fantastic.

It was also a beautiful day in the garden. It is filling out all over. It was lovely to hear someone describe it was ‘paradise’. I hope it is for all the animals that live there.

I seem to be suffering from the summer ‘tireds’. Do you ever get that?

The Girls have been having a whale of a time watching the birds and other garden animals, and today, we caught The Boyfriend coming in for a meal. He has really been a concern as I have not seen him during the day. So I checked the front door security camera, and there he is—’pet’—coming in the night and wee hours of the early morning while I am still snuggled up with Hugo Yugo.

Calico is just so beautiful. This time last year, she was running to our house to eat and was quickly back caring for her kitten/s two blocks away under the deck of a house. I thank my lucky stars every day that she chose us. It will be a year since she moved into the house on August 28. Five days later, her only surviving kitten, Hope (aka Kitty Kitty), came to our deck to eat, and we were able to trap her and get her inside. Last night I took the walk that we made trying to find her just to remind myself again – and again – how grateful I am to have these wonderful animals gracing my life. They sure give me more than I can ever give to them!

Oh, and Calico has a tip for everyone who has cats. Those bowls that are elevated and tilt a little bit really work. Even the pickiest of the four, Hope, finishes up all her food.

Missey and Calico are getting along better.

Hugo Yugo is a force to herself and Baby Hope wouldn’t let me take her photo today.

Oh, Hope did stay still long enough! She is staring at Calico who is on top of the cat tree. Calico is swishing her tail – she wants to have a good play fight. Hope doesn’t seem interested.

Calico teasing with the tail.

Out in Bird World. There are intruders everywhere. Some of them are former fledglings returning to their natal nest. Some are ospreys beginning to move south and stopping over.

In many instances, everything goes well. ‘Hey Mum, I just stopped in to say hello!’ might be what Teifi would say to Idris and Telyn. Others are chasing this year’s fledglings off the nest. Some are vicious in their attacks, such as those at Patuxent. Sadly, it is what happens this time of year along with predation – those pesky eagles and goshawks wait til the chicks are nice and plump before they go to the nest, especially in Finland. We must breathe and continue to be thankful for those who have survived this year – for all the miracles that have put a smile on our faces.

Thank you to those that have already sent in wonderful lists of the events with the eagles, the hawks, the falcons, and the ospreys (and others) that put a smile on their face. Please send me your list. I will publish these next week!

What are you grateful for today in BirdWorld? I am grateful to wake up and see the fledgling Yellow USU is alive. (See video later in blog)

I am also wondering if this is our dear Louis who has landed on the Loch Arkaig 2 nest at 1156? If it is, it has been five full days since he has been seen and this would make me cry bucks of happy tears. I have written to Geemeff for confirmation as their are floaters out there at almost every nest.

Before I go on I want to thank those that keep an eye on nests. Heidi can call herself a real osprey expert these days but she is humble enough and will say, like Ferris Akel, that she ‘isn’t’. I am grateful to those community members who are keen watchers of nests and keep an eye on everything that happens that send in reports to me to share with you – A, CG, MM, PB, AM, MP, SP, Geemeff. So many of you. Thank you. It is impossible to have eyes on all the nests!

I missed CG’s report on Blue at the HWF-BBC nest for Monday so I am including it today. Thanks, CG!

“It’s 2210 hours here on the West Coast, Sunday, 7/28.

A parent showed up early this morning, around 0630 hours, with a food delivery. Blue also nibbled on leftovers. The leftovers seem to be tough. Blue spent the day periodically nibbling on leftovers, wingercising, hopping, napping, and looking out over the countryside. At 1900 hours, Blue was calling and a parent appeared with food. This seemed a larger piece than others that I have seen. I have a hard time seeing the food on the nest—maybe because it’s so small and blends into the nest material?

I’m no expert, but even though food is coming in, I’m used to seeing way larger pieces. I watched eagle nests with lone eaglets earlier this year and when a parent brought in a fish, you could tell it was a fish, or if it was a rodent, it had legs and a tail. The little Dorset Hobby in England currently on YouTube is receiving larger meals than Blue (and more often too!).

Happy Birthday Blue❣ Blue is 3 months old today. 🐟🐡”

July 29:

Blue and I woke up to rain. I am just learning about eagles like the rest of us, I am not an expert but someone who is watching and concerned for Blue. She woke up to rain; I woke up and it had already rained. She was a little wet, but maybe it feels good after all that heat. I don’t know if the shade is waterproof. Later in the day, Mere was looking quite bedraggled. She seems to perch often on the south perch.

Parent in with a fish around 0700 hours. I can actually see it and recognize it as a fish!

She horked most of the fish down in one go.

Blue needs way more food; I have learned that eagles need at least 350 grams of food per day up to 550 grams depending on their age. I was also reminded that this food needs to be nourishing, not skin and bones! Like us, blue needs enough food to grow strong bones and muscles, healthy feather growth, and energy. So where is the food? Why aren’t the parents delivering food like we have seen on other nests? I wish that the there was a forum that would discuss this.

Food delivery 7/27, if you can see it! Where’s the rest of whatever it is?

7/28: Largest piece of food that I’ve seen the past few days. Thought to be fish. My question is “Where’s the rest of it?” I’ve seen other eagle parents bring in whole fish to feed one eaglet. I’ve seen chicklets fed more food than this!

Also, if/when she fledges, she will need parental support providing her with food while she practices hunting. I do not even want to go there at this point.

Around 1130 hours, picked at yesterday’s leftover chunk of food/fish but didn’t really eat any. That continued throughout the day.

At 1900 hours, an adult brought food. Have no idea what it was. To me, it looks like scraps left from an adult’s meal. The only thing I have recognized so far was the fish this morning. I’m used to seeing food with legs and tails or a whole fish.

I have to give Blue credit for her continual wingercising. She was been doing a lot of wingercising throughout the day. Don’t know what anyone thinks about the condition of her feathers. When I initially saw Blue, my first thought was “what raggy feathers.” I know I’m not alone. To me, she always looks like she went through a hedge backwards. I have a medium-length-hair cat like that. His sister never has a hair out of place. I don’t know if part of this has to do with camera resolution. I’m used to looking at Jackie and Shadow with state of the art cameras, It’s like looking at their feathers under a microscope. And no, I’m not knocking Hancock’s cameras. I know these cameras are expensive so you buy what you can afford, and it also depends upon your purpose. I think I read that these cameras are good for about 5 years. On top of that there is continual maintenance. All in all, we are lucky we are able to view these nests.

I’m thinking Blue is one of those that Mary Ann talks about—they want to survive, and they fight against all odds for their survival.

We’re here cheering you on Blue. Take it a day at a time, keep up with that wingercising, and fledge when YOU feel you are ready.”

‘H’ reports:

7/29 Osoyoos osprey nest: I only saw three fish brought to the nest. It was not a very hot day, but winds were gusting to 18 mph in the afternoon. At 0534 Olsen dropped off a large partial fish, and Big took it to self-feed. Soo allowed Big to work on it for about 24 minutes before she took the fish to provide a feeding. At that point Middle ate for 6 minutes before Big joined in, and the sibs ate peacefully for the next 7 minutes. Then, Olsen delivered a whole fish at 0622. Soo fed, and once again it was a peaceful and seemingly equitable meal lasting 9 minutes. At 1043 Olsen brought a very large partial fish. Soo started her feeding, but was distracted and flew off with the fish at 1046. There may have been an intruder about. She did not return to the nest with the fish until 1057, but then she resumed feeding. Both osplets had a nice meal, and the total feeding time was around 31 minutes. Of note today was the wingercising. The osplets are 51 and 52 days old, and both of them were doing some impressive wingers with hops. At 1634 Big achieved several inches of lift off the nest! Weather forecast for 7/30: Partly cloudy, high temp 84F/29C, light winds.

7/29 Colonial Beach Osprey nest: Young 35-day-old Cobey is looking really good. Yesterday David delivered all four fish to the nest, but apparently today it was Betty’s turn, and she brought all four of the fish to the nest. That arrangement works fine, as long as David doesn’t go MIA again. The weather is warming up again in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a high of 88 on 7/30, and gradually becoming warmer throughout the week. Winds will gust to 17 mph on 7/30.

7/29 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: We only had one sighting of an osprey today. At 0816 Dad brought a partial fish to the nest. Since no one arrived to take it, Dad flew off with the fish. Stay safe, osprey family. We miss you, and we are thinking of you.

7/29 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): This will sound like a broken record, but this is the most amazing daily story at this nest… There were no fish at all brought to the nest on 7/29, and we didn’t see Johnny. The weather was not too hot, but it was a windy day. Poor ‘Fen’ had nothing to eat. And then, there it was… At 1745 June arrived with her daily huge live striped bass! I smiled and laughed, why had I even been worried? Those big bass are quite strong when they are flopping about, and it seems that Fen has learned to tuck and stay away until Mom gets the fish under control. Fen is 45 days old. (I think these fish are striped bass, but if anyone knows otherwise, please kindly let Mary Ann know)

7/29 Forsythe osprey nest: Larry is 69 days old, and fledged two weeks ago. The past few days there have been fewer fish brought to the nest for Larry. In fact there was only one partial fish today, and it was brought by Opal. Perhaps Larry has had some meals away from the nest. Well, the most interesting thing happened this afternoon… At 1708 Larry brought a large turtle to the nest. This is the first time we have seem him carrying anything in his talons. He toyed with the turtle a bit, but did not spend much time with it, and Larry soon flew away. The turtle had its head and legs all tucked away, so we didn’t know if it was alive. Well, at 2032 Mr. Turtle suddenly ‘came alive’, walked around in circles a bit, then promptly walked right off the nest! The nest is a typical man-made marsh platform, so not being very high, Mr. Turtle was probably okay.

At Sandpoint, we have a family portrait – Keke, Keo, and River. River is enjoying a nice fish meal fromm Mum. Look at the size of River to Keke. Could River be a girl? Gosh, I wish they would ring these osplets at the streaming cam nests!

At Oyster Bay, all three fledglings are home for the night with Mum perched keeping an eye.

Both fledglings hanging out at the nest in Patchogue during a thunderstorm on Monday.

Blue 022 is still busy making sure those four fledglings at Poole Harbour have enough fish! CJ7 will be trying to fatten up for her long migration. Blue 022 will stay on and take care of the kids. Normally, the female leaves first and the male leaves last.

At Saaksilvie Muonion, the family of four is doing well – Aile & Juhu, along with Kajo and Lumi. Nice fish have come to the nest, and interesting twigs offer great camouflage, and the osplets are keeping down. Does this nest also have intruders about?

Surviving osplet at Saaksilvie #4- Yellow USU – is getting fish deliveries from Mum.

Chicks at Blackbush Beach Resort are itching to fly. They are beauties.

I just caught the morning fish at McEuen Park. Baby has a full crop and Mum is getting to enjoy some nice fish. They have survived. She lost three but she has one that is on track to fledge.

Cowlitz PUD fledgling returns to the nest for fish dinners. All is well.

Intruders at the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland. There are intruders everywhere and our adults and fledglings are getting injured. This is the best year for Hope and Beaumont. Send them your good wishes so that the entire family is safe and well fed.

I have been checking on Hope and the chicks at Snow Lane and everything seems good. These are two beautiful osplets and how could we not be over the moon for this couple? They should ring the bells in Newfoundland. Miracles happen.

Crows are being pesky and not so nice to Australian ospreys.

This is how lucky Iris, Finn, and the two osplets were doing that storm. Have a read.

The only surviving chick at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest looks like it is going to fledge any day. It is getting bigger and bigger but not as big as Mum. A little boy?

Winnie and her baby at Dunrovin Ranch look out to the world below with all the horses.

Geemeff’s summary of Loch Arkaig for the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 29th July 2024

Another day with no sign of Louis or Dorcha, but once again Garry LV0 and Affric 152 visited Nest One, two visits from Garry LV0 and one from Affric 152, no fish were brought today. A Wood Pigeon was the only other visitor. LizB gave us another update on Affric’s nest at Bunarkaig:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15508869.

The forecasted rain materialised, tonight’s forecast is light clouds and light winds with a chance of rain, but tomorrow’s looks more promising with sunny intervals and a gentle breeze.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.45.51 (04.24.09); Nest Two 22.38.14 (04.30.25)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/ZozTNcuC3a0 N1 Garry LV0 arrives alarm-chipping 15.00.53

https://youtu.be/7vYMN9QOr90 N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 when he returns to the nest 15.35.54

https://youtu.be/VDKpq9TtiJk N1 A Wood Pigeon perches for a little while 18.43.18

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

We hope that Louis and Dorcha are off at another loch filling up on fish, getting strong and gaining some fat for their migration south. Without chicks, they can leave any time. And isn’t it great that the surviving osplet in Spain fledged? Just wonderful.

At the Dorest Hobby nest, ‘SP’ reports that the little Hobby had the following meals and is doing well: “…a decent breakfast at 7:57, then dragonflies at 14:58, 15:53, 16:07, 16:15, 16:36, and 4 more before a wee bird was brought for tea at 19:35. Followed by yet another dragonfly!”

Captive breeding is helping the Condor population and it is bringing the Guam Kingfisher back from near extinction.

Extinct-in-the-wild Guam Kingfisher hatches in captivity – BirdGuides Download

If you missed the dawn duet from the Olympic Park Eagles, here you go! My favourite time is when the eaglets are old enough to join in with their parents. So cute.

The Canadian company, Omega, is still trying to take every last Menhaden out of the Bay so that the whales, dolphins, and ospreys (amongst others) starve.

Osprey doing well at A Place Called Hope (one of the absolute best rehabbers in the US).

Iris, Finn, and the kids are looking good. Soon we will know their names. Did you vote?

Iris’s older chick is now self-feeding. It won’t be long til the Little one is trying it out.

Still warm at Charlo.

The Charlo chick is sure working those wings. No hovering but certainly some good wingers.

‘PB’ reports that there is still tension from intruders at the Steelscape osprey platform in Washington. The intruder took the beak of the fledgling that has an injury and was also thought to be pulling out feathers. The chick did get away.

All is well at the McEuen Park Osprey platform.

Skylarks. You might only know them because they were once a model of an American car company but they are, indeed, a wonderful songbird.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/25/country-diary-watching-a-skylark-watching-me?CMP=share_btn_url

But Skylarks have made The Red List! According to the RSBP, “The Skylark is a small brown bird, larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest – which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed – and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge which is visible in flight. It’s known for its display flight, vertically up in the air. Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red List species.”

“Skylark (Explored)” by tsbl2000 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In her entry for the Skylark in Red Sixty-Seven, Ann Cleeves describes the flight of the male Skylark. ” It rises almost vertically from the ground, then hovers effortlessly, sometimes for an hour or more, before plunging back to earth. It’s a tragedy that this iconic bird is under threat. It’s endangered because its habitat ranges beyond the moors and into the cultivated farmland. The spread of intensive agriculture has limited the species’ opportunities for breeding.” (86)

Two of Nova Scotia’s fledglings, Skylor and Heidi. Posts show that other osplets are fledging in Nova Scotia as I write! They had a good year. Everyone should be celebrating the great success of their nests.

I sure hope these two are around in a little over a fortnight. I would love to see them when I am in Nova Scotia.

Another good news story to make us smile.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/the-flow-country-recognised-as-world-heritage-site-in-a-first-for-unesco

Richmond and Rosie’s kids, Pax and Tully, are flying around the light pole. Gosh I miss them being on camera at the Whirly Crane.

Remember – vote for the name selections for Iris and Finn’s kids!

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon! Remember to send in those lists of the wonders and the miracles of the 2023-24 eagle/osprey/falcon/hawk, etc breeding season! What put a smile on your face instead of a tear in your eye?

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, observations, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, PB, SP’, Jeff Kear, Finnish Osprey Foundation, The Woodland Trust, HWF-BBC, Sandpoint Ospreys, PSEG, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, McEuen Park, Blackbush Beach Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Ian L Winter, Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Raptor View Research Institute, MN-LA, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Dorsett Hobby, BirdGuides, Menhaden-Little Fish-Big Deal, Olympic Park Eagles, A Place Called Hope, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Steelscape Ospreys, The Guardian, OpenVerse, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Forsythe, Colonial Beach Ospreys, the RSPB, Golden Gate Audubon, Mary Anne Miller.

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.

Category Archives: Dorset Hobby Falcons

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A Day of Fledges…Sunday in Bird World

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