Category Archives: Dotterel

Sunday in Bird World

13 October 2024

Hello Everyone,

We hope that the weekend has been good to all of you.

Many Canadians are celebrating Thanksgiving today with family and friends. The official day is Monday. Lots of good food to celebrate the harvest and to just look around and be thankful for all that we have. It has been a very challenging year for my family and I am so grateful to my children, my friends, to my husband and to his amazing doctor. Because of them, life has been good, full of laughter and ‘living’. I am also grateful to all of you. The wonderful letters, the photos you share with me – of you, your family, and your adorable pets. You are the best! Thank you for being there.

Just listen. ‘MI’ sent me this video taken in Niverville, Manitoba of geese, honking geese. Oh, I am going to miss them so much.

It is late Saturday afternoon and the promised rains have arrived on the Canadian Prairies. I treasure these rains. They clean off the roof of the conservatory from leaves and dust that have accumulated, but, most of all, they help the trees and shrubs prepare for winter. The birds and squirrels are still flitting about finding seed and much to the horror of our guest this afternoon, the Crows had a veritable buffet! I am clearing out the fridge and little odds and ends. Things like grapes wind up on their tray and they do love them.

Not all bird seed is alike and apparently the quality of peanuts from one retailer to the other is different – according to Junior and his Missus Saturday morning. They pecked all about those nuts searching for the heaviest!

Isn’t Junior handsome? Look at that beautiful profile. Junior will stay with us for the winter. Our job is to keep the peanuts coming!!!!!!

Selections finally made.

Inside, ‘The Girls’ are starting to notice that supplies are being left out. Suitcases will get filled tomorrow so that the girls’ anxiety level doesn’t peak too soon.

Hugo Yugo is now getting her teeth brushed twice daily to try and avoid any issues with gingivitis. She is an angel and loves the chicken flavoured toothpaste. I feel blessed. She is sooooooooo tiny. Her tail is bigger than she is. She did grow some, but goodness, she is so very little.

Missey is the ‘best’ behaved of the four. I can trim her nails every day, brush her, clean her teeth and then use dental wipes and she just lets me hold her without wiggling so I can get on with it. Calico is rather different! She is just darn difficult. She doesn’t want any part of it. Well, that is too bad, so sad. Calico will eventually settle, but, for now, it is going to happen regardless of whether she likes it or not. Hope is another story since she continues to be a little wild.

Now getting on with these words…

This is the way industry should work with wildlife! Take notice, Omega!!!!

Mum and Dad will be grandparents if Calypso and his mate’s eggs hatch! Isn’t this wonderful…oh, and Ervie and all his brothers will be uncles.

The new female at Collins Street is working so hard to shade and keep her brood cool! Let’s hope those wings can spread big and wide as it is going to get hot up there. https://youtu.be/SYliGHlf3a0?

Sunday breakfast in the CBD. ‘A’ comments: “Little Dad at Collins Street is just the sweetest. He has been working hard at his hunting and the prey he brings is sometimes a challenge for him. He’s so cute struggling down the ledge with a prey item that’s at least half his size. But he manages. I do wonder how on earth he manages to fly with it, and get it up so high too. He must be a very strong little falcon indeed. I am so impressed by what he and Xavier at Orange can carry. When Xavier brings in a monster pigeon as he did recently or a duckling, it dwarfs him, making me wonder the power to weight ratio of these small male falcons. They must be incredibly strong.”

Thanks to our Australian sleuth ‘A’, we have more news from Collins Street: “And yet more food at Collins Street. When mum brought in food at around 19:08, the chicks were all fast asleep, but they soon roused themselves at the prospect of food, and mum fed them all yet again. Those crops have been full for most of the day, and no-one is going to sleep hungry at this scrape. Mum also has a large crop and dad hasn’t missed out today either. So it seems the pigeon population of the Melbourne CBD has returned, at least in sufficient numbers to make things relatively easy for our falcon family when it comes to finding food. Certainly, this trio of eyases is being stuffed to the brim several times a day. They are adorable. Very very noisy and full of beans. So energetic in ensuring that they get fed. Mum works hard and she does a good job with the clamouring hordes. The youngest does very well indeed, both through its own efforts to get fed (it is very pushy and often grabs at food from its siblings’ beaks and is very good at positioning itself in the front row at feedings) and because mum makes the effort to feed all three beaks. Basically, as long as they are still there and still open, she will keep feeding. 

At this meal, the chicks have moved into their tripod feeding arrangements, with the youngest nearest to mum. As you know, I am very keen on this particular positioning, as it makes it easy for mum to reach all three beaks, which are grouped together in the centre of the tripod, and it also provides some support for the chciks, so that early on when they are not as steady, they tend not to face-plant. Thoise crops are bulging!!! Isn’t it lovely to see? And that was a nice parrot at Orange today. I am not prepared to hazard a guess as to what sort of parrot it was but there is discussion on the chat about the colours that were evident on the plumage. Diamond loves a nice parrot almost as much as she likes a plump pigeon, though perhaps a nice duckling might be her favourite. I wonder what the other watchers at Orange think on that subject. I’d love their opinions. 

Mum continues to coax the chicks at Collins Street, trying to get them to eat even more, as if they did not already have absolutely mammoth crops. She is e-chupping and continuing to offer bites and the chicks are trying hard to do what she asks. The youngest spends several minutes trying to deal with a bite that seemed to be ‘stuck’, but eventually it managed to swallow the food. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Just LOOK at those crops at 19:20!!!! Yes, I know they don’t burst, but I have to believe they are VERY uncomfortable. Surely. That is just outrageous. Crops the size of their heads, literally. I swear that is not an exaggeration. Again, as with the osplets, I predict a growth spurt in the morning. “

The cams at NE Florida nest of Gabby and Beau went live late Saturday afternoon. Neither eagle has been seen on cam at the time I am writing (4pm on Saturday) but the AEF says they have no reason to believe they are not safe and sound!

View of Redding nest of Liberty and Guardian on Saturday.

Achieva. Look at this nest and then remember what you read about the brand new super designed osprey nest that was built by the fishing company at the top to replace an old one they had to remove. I wish someone cared.

There is an eagle at the Trempealeau Eagle nest.

Ah, I was waiting. Someone asked me why I am not mentioning Pepe and Muhlady. First, they are wonderful eagle parents who have raised some impressive chicks. The owner of the property that has the nest and who runs the camera has indicated that he will prosecute anyone who uses images in any way from his site. I will not mention SuperBeaks again.

Nesting Bird Life and More caught a feeding at Port Lincoln. Yes, they are the cutest. Racing stripes and all! https://youtu.be/DSIq8tPB8fA?

I have a soft spot for Ospreys that knows no bounds. Just look at those two little fish eaters. Don’t you just want to pick them up, wrap them in a tiny blankie, and hold them?

It is now early Sunday morning. Dad has a fish he is eating on the ropes and Mum is anxiously anticipating that he will get some of it to her, Wilko and Kasse!

Dad did not disappoint. He left Mum a huge piece of fish for the family! They are just starting to dig in.

‘A’ remarks: “When I turned to the Port Lincoln tab to check the littles, I thought one of the osplets was dead, but when I rewound, it was just in a food coma from eating too much fish at breakfast (which was served in three sittings, the first when dad arrived with the large floppy fish at 07:23, the second at 08:32 and the third at around 08:53). Good heavens. By 09:30 they are eating yet again. It was a very large fish this morning. The sound is back up and the little chirps mum gives the osplets to encourage them to open their beaks are SO cute – different from those of an eagle or a falcon. The loveliest full-throated chirrups. No wonder I feared we had lost another osplet. It’s out for the count. Awwww. They are just adorable with their little bandit masks and racing stripes. (I had to explain to Jonathan how these chicks were different from all the other little fluffy bobbleheads I had insisted he see and that description interested him enough that he came and peered at my laptop to check them out. And yes, they are different, he said. I do love their livery. They really are cute as a button (unless they’re a Zoe, of course, at which point one becomes somewhat distracted by their behaviour. But these two are getting along fine, and even yesterday’s long wait for food did not provoke any dominating behaviour. What a relief. ” And more…”PLO has confirmed what we knew already – that the Fish Fairy (aka Janet) is ready for duty if she is needed. Thus far, dad has been doing an excellent job. But it is very nice to know that there won’t be any chicks starving on this nest this season. There is no aggression between Wilco and Kasse and I’m hopeful there won’t be. The long wait for food yesterday was a good indicator of how well they are getting along. “

Oh, my goodness. It is going to be a great year for ospreys in South Australia. More babies.

Poor Xavier. Diamond is away. He comes into the scrape with the morning’s Starling breakfast in the hope of feeding his chicks — and then, oops…here she comes and thwarts that idea!

There are times that I wish the Sea Eagles would have eaten every Pied Currawong in the Olympic Forest! SE33 and SE34 are branching and looking out to the wider world. Will they be able to get down to the river with Dad and Lady without being chased out of the area by those Curras?

Ranger Judy gives the summary of the day’s events at the Olympic Park Eagle nest:

Both Claire and Irv at the US Steel Plant Bald Eagle nest. https://youtu.be/RRAh2Ye5PiI?

Mamma Kestrel is totally busy with this lot!!!!!!! https://youtu.be/RRAh2Ye5PiI?

Bonnie and Clyde, the GHOs at Farmer Derek’s in Kansas, are ready to entertain all of us. https://youtu.be/JebgeGEm7iY?

When the love of birds and the understanding of their need comes first. A lovely little article.

Country diary: ‘Your need greater than mine,’ I murmur to the dotterels | Jim Perrinhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/12/country-diary-your-need-greater-than-mine-i-murmur?CMP=share_btn_url

“Banded dotterel” by Andrej Chudy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

What challenges do Dotterels face? In New Zealand they are fighting to save them! https://youtu.be/n6Et813R3Ug?

Good descriptions from the British Trust for Ornithology. Dotterels are on the Red List in the UK.

Dotterel | BTO – British Trust for OrnithologyDownload

Gracie Shepherd reported on FB that Jak and Audacity were working on their nest in the Channel Islands on Saturday. I went to have a look. They are forever hopeful like we are for them. Just look at them working so hard.

We can always use a smile and these Merlin chicks are providing it today.

Hugo Yugo wishes you the very best of days! Missey is giving her a good ole’ wash.

Thank you for being with us today! Take care everyone. 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, J’, Fran Solly and Friends of Sth Aus, SK Hideaways, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, NEFL-AEF, FORE, Achieva Credit Union, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Olympic Park Sea Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Trempealeau Bald Eagle Cam, Nesting Bird Life and More, PIX Cams, Charter Group of Wildlife Ecology, The Guardian, Androcat, OpenVerse, NZ DOC, BTO, IWS/Explore, Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary.

Prey fights between siblings and more…it’s Wednesday in Bird World

16 November 2022

Oh, good morning to everyone! I hope that you are all well. If you have not been watching the scrape of Diamond and Xavier you are really missing something. First, there is the adorable Indigo and Rubus. They are ‘not sweet’ when it comes to prey items as the following two videos will demonstrate! But, they will be ‘out there’ defending their own prey and these little dust ups help them prepare for that. In the first video Rubus really does a good job at snatching that small prey item. He doesn’t prevail in the end but watch closely what he does. Quite the character.

Rest assured that at the end of the day, both eyases had quite enough to eat and at times were even sharing prey items.

So this is the first prey delivery, a small piece.

The second is a much more substantial bird, a Galah (pink and grey). There was more than enough for both eyases.

The fish deliveries continue to be rather scarce at Port Lincoln. It is difficult to determine if there has been an actual drop in the prey delivered or a slow down due to the imminent fledgling of Zoe and not three rapidly growing osplets. There are too many factors – the weight of the fish delivery, the portions that each family member ate, etc. It appears that at the current delivery rate, Mum, Dad, and Zoe are each getting the equivalent to one small fish per day. Is this enough?

Hoping for another fish but nothing has arrived. Mum appears to be reluctant to get too far away from the nest. Did the intrusion of the humans to band and put the sat pak on Zoe cause her stress? Is she afraid to leave Zoe? Quite possibly. Perhaps she will go fishing tomorrow but, for now it seems that she is relying on Dad.

The ospreys are not moving about much, not exerting much energy. Today, however, Zoe is doing a lot of wingersizing. Her wings are gorgeous. Just look at how big they are! It will be those big wings that will pull Zoe up out of the water when she catches her fish.

This shows what those strong wings will be doing. Just imagine. Zoe will have to catch her own fish until such time as she has a mate and has eggs in the nest.

AND THEN…a whopper of a fish arrived. Mum ate her fill and then took the fish to Zoe. Everyone will go to bed with a full crop at Port Lincoln. Relief.

Mum did not part with the fish when Dad arrived more than an hour later to see if there was any left. This whopper should take care of the hunger that she was experiencing – and Zoe. (I do hope that Dad had a fish, too).

Making News:

Even in Manitoba we are experiencing some birds that are late to migrate or who have decided to check it out and see what it is like in the winter for food. Some of those are Cardinals. This is an osprey in Idaho though! They need water and fish as we all know. Why so late?

Project Eagle will be the new home of the American Eagle Foundation The facility is located in Kodak, Tennessee and is set on 57 acres. Challenger the Eagle will be in residence there.

https://www.wate.com/news/positively-tennessee/project-eagle-in-the-home-stretch-of-building-new-facility/?fbclid=IwAR2P8t-e9ZiNLkwKCky0dQZJZokdILCmXE1HOdfooe2hb1hYt2wlr4QuYzs

In the Mailbox:

‘M’ introduced me to an Australian photographer, Georgina Steeler. All of this relates again to how we perceive our wonderful feathered friends and other wildlife. We have been having this discussion about anthropomorphising birds. We need people to care, to help all of us, to add to the numbers so that we build a huge network. At the same time, we need to recognise and educate ourselves about the emotions that wildlife have so we can try and have an intelligent conversation with the non-believers.

I urge you to Goggle Georgina Steytler and go and see her website, read her blog, look at her photographs, and ponder all the ways that you can make a difference. Oh, I like this woman and the way she thinks!

Here is one of the quotes on her site today from one of my heroines, Jane Goodall who knows that wildlife have and show emotion, pain, anger, fear, grief, and joy.

‘D’ sent me the link to this story to share with all of you. After reading about Wolke, this is another story of how much our feathered friends enrich our lives as told through budgies:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-feathered-friends-are-the-best-friends-of-all/

When I wrote about the Red Listed Bird, The European Starling, I had no idea Starlings were so intelligent and could mimic anything including Mozart’s concerto. Birds and their intelligence fascinate me more and more. ‘F and M’ sent me a note telling me about an incident at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. They wrote, “A week or so ago Tooronga Zoo in Sydney Australia had a breakout from the lion’s enclosure causing an alarm and the instruction “EVACUATE NOW” to sound. The lyrebird is now mimicking this alarm and instruction. It is causing quite a problem at the zoo. !!” Enjoy!

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/victoria/a-lyrebird-mimicking-the-evacuate-now-alarm-at-taronga-zoo/video/47d9e5b56f9139880f0dfc5b302eaaed

No 7 The Red List: The Dotterel

The top image is of the male Dotterel. Notice that beautiful white eye line and belly with the grey brown and espresso feathers mingled with white on the head, wings and back.

“Northern NZ dotterel.” by Bernard Spragg is marked with CC0 1.0.

This is the female. In this instance the female Dotterel has the brighter plumage than the male. The female has the same grey-brown plumage on the back of the head, wings, and back but look at that magnificent chestnut apron! With the espresso necklace and line between the eyes forming a brown and the espresso line running from the beak under the eye. What a beauty.

“Banded dotterel” by Andrej Chudy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The Dotterel is a medium sized member of the Plover family measuring approximately 20-22 cm in length. The birds are unusual in that it is the female that has the brighter plumage rather than the male. They live on insects and worms. Their eggs take 28-32 days to incubate and during this entire time the female does not leave the nest to feed. She is fed by her mate.

Dotterel face a number of threats from predators that have been introduced into their environment particularly during the nesting and breeding season. These include dogs, hedgehogs, cats, rats, stoats as well as other larger birds, and humans.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Do stop in and watch Indigo and Rubus. You will not be disappointed! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their postings and streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Openverse, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, American Eagle Foundation, Montana Ospreys at Hellgate, Georgina Steytler. I would also like to thank those that sent in news items today: ‘M, D, F and M’. Much appreciated! It is always lovely to get mail to share with everyone.