Category Archives: ducks

Monday in Bird World

23 October 2023

Hello Everyone!

Sunday continued as a grey day with some drizzle. It did warm up a bit but we are now definitely into layers and toques (knitted hats). No gloves or mitts required – yet.

The fall colours are sensational.

There are still Mallards paddling in the ponds and there were approximately a hundred geese at mid-afternoon on the big lake. More will fly in at dusk.

At home, something wonderful happened on Sunday. All the girls were in the conservatory. Hope climbed up the big cat tree to play with Missey’s bushy tail while Mamma Calico was below on the floor. No problems. Everyone got along! Hope and Missey played for almost an hour. I was in tears. Missey has missed having someone to play with. I know the Feliway doesn’t work for all cats, but it has brought peace of mind to our house.

Hope is growing. Sometimes I have to look twice to see if it is her or Calico.

Hope also decides that she wants to share the same chair with Mamma.

About 1730, the garden came to life. The Blue Jays had been pecking at the seed on the big tray feeder. Then, the Dark-eyed Juncos arrived along with the little woodpecker. Dyson showed up with her three kits, and then Little Red had to come and push its weight around. He is a bully to all the grey squirrels. I think this is the opposite of what happens in the UK, but Little Red is decidedly ‘the boss’ and lets everyone know it. I find it unsettling when there is always plenty of food for everyone, and territory is not an issue.

The Dark-eyed Juncos are one of my favourite migrating visitors to the garden.

A female Hairy Woodpecker enjoying the new suet.

Dear Dyson. The Matriarch of the Clan still going strong. Dyson and her three kits appear to be in very good health. Their coats are lovely and their fur is getting nice and thick for winter. No one is missing a tail either!

Storm Babet hit the UK, leaving many without power, streets flooded, and damage to one or more of the Osprey nests and cameras. There are continuing worries in many areas. We wait for people to be able to get out and check – and they need to be careful – as the water is still high in many places, such as Alyth.

Stay safe everyone!

It looks lovely near the Loch Arkaig nest where there is another surprise visitor.

Lady is taking care of both of her fledglings on the nest. So far, so good. I am almost in shock – in a good way – that these two, SE31 and 32, are flying about and returning to the nest. This is priceless after years of the Currawong chasing them out of the forest the minute they fledge. So hopeful.

Fledge day for 32, if you missed it.

Both safely on the nest.

This was the summary from the WBSE. Thanks, ‘A’: October 23: a quiet night, with 32 sleeping on PB and 31 nearby – neither on the nest. However it was good to see them both find their way “home” in the early morning when swooped by currawongs. Dad brought a fish at 7:10 – as usual 32 quick, but Lady flew in and claimed it. She ate some then fed the eaglets, with 32 eating more. When Lady left 31 came back and self-fed a little. During the day, both were nearby, and swooped by currawongs at times. When I checked in the forest during the day, I could hear them clearly yelling at currawongs, though out of sight. In the late afternoon at 17:42, Lady brought in a gull, which she took off the nest to PB to de-feather. She fed 32, and then both, with them picking at scraps when she flew off. Shortly after Dad brought in part of a fish, which was claimed by 31. Both then preparing for the night, but not on the nest.”

Port Lincoln. Dad brought in a nice fish and both chicks got a reasonable feed at breakfast.

Dad came in with a nice big stick later but Mum was not impressed and despite the winds told him to go fishing!

He returned a few hours later. Fish!

‘A’ reports on the last fish delivery: “The day was very windy and no more fish were brought in for the day until 19:43. Again, the younger chick had the front position and mum gave it lots of bites. It did very well indeed at that feeding. It did become increasingly unsteady on its feet at one stage, even toppling over sideways, I think because it is totally unused to moving with such a gigantic crop. It has never had one before that I’ve seen. But both chicks ate well and will go to sleep with full tummies. That’s what we like to see. Leftovers on the nest for an early breakfast would make things ideal but this dad does like to help himself to them (though he does often eat, then bring back the last of the fish for mum and the kids). In this case, mum finished off most of the leftovers herself. There is a tiny bit of fish still on the nest. The family snuggled down for the night at 20:00.” 

Breakfast came early at Orange.

More prey later. Xavier is an incredible provider. Indeed, look at the summary provided by Orange: “Here is the day’s summary from Orange: PREY 06.02.38, 08:04:14, 09.10.54, 14:56:04, 19:03:58 FEEDING 06.03(X), 08:04, 09.15, 14:57, 19:04 XAVIER BROOD 13:07:24. PREY today: small grebe, eastern rosella, red wattlebird, starling, and pigeon for supper.”

Contentment.

Osprey counting in The Gambia with Jean-marie Dupart.

Thunder and Akecheta were at the old West End nest on Sunday. Oh, how nice it was to see them up close. Akecheta brought in prey and was eating it when Thunder arrived. There was not much left for her. (Akecheta still has his wing tag #61. Thunder lost hers).

Chase and Cholyn were home at Two Harbours as well!!!!!!!!

Gabby and V3 were very busy at the nest on Sunday.

At SW Florida, M15 is delivering food gifts to F23.

Nancy and Beau are creating a new nest. Sadly, there might not be a camera but after the unhappy season earlier in 2023, we all wish them well.

Rosa and Martin were working hard at Dulles-Greenway. Wonder how they will take to this new nest after their old one collapsed right at fledging.

There was at least one adult and one sub-adult at the Decorah Eagle nest in Iowa. Those fall colours are gorgeous.

Not much longer til the Redding Eagle Cam is back on line.

I know that we are all glad that Anna is greatly improved. She was back at the nest on Sunday with Louis, preparing for the upcoming breeding season in Louisiana.

The only Black Stork from the Karula National Forest in Estonia that is sending location transmissions is Kalvi who remains in Bulgaria.

On 12 October Waba was at the Taga Sea of Galilee in Israel. On 30 September Karl II was at Gold Lake, Turkey. On October 5, Kaia was at the fish ponds at Neve Eitan Israel. No transmissions for the three of them since those dates. Bonus’s tracker ran out of battery when he was in Ukraine.

Birds flying in areas of conflict hoping to find food makes me nervous.

More sad news as more birds and wildlife go extinct.

21-species-removed-from-US-Endangered-Species-Act-after-going-extinct-US-news-The-GuardianDownload

I know that many of you are fans of the owl nest in Corona and they are getting it all ready for season 4.

There are concerns over Avian Flu in Canada with cases expected to rise as migration occurs.

Avian-flu-cases-expected-to-increase-in-Canada-CTV-NewsDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We hope to have you back with us again soon in Bird World.

Thank you to the following for their posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A’, Livia Armstrong, Geemeff, Gracie Shepherd, Sandra Davies, Sydney Eagle Cam, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Jean-marie Dupart, IWS/Explore, NEFL-AEF, Lady Hawk, Sassa Bird, Dulles-Greenway, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, FORE, Tonya Irwin, Looduskalender, The Guardian, Live Owl Camera, and CTV News.

Marri self-feeds…Friday in Bird World

20 October 2023

Hello Everyone!

Friday was beautiful. 16 degrees C. No wind. It was the perfect day to go birding. Indeed, it was so perfect it was hard to remember that this is the third week in October. If you looked in one direction, the geese fed on green grass in the fields and on the other the farmers were harvesting the flax, everything brown, the Poplar trees in the distance a sunny yellow edged by a lovely bronze-brown. It was delightful to be outside. Calming to the mind – tranquil would be the correct word. Sitting and listening to the geese honking as they flew in at a distance, it took me back decades to when I first moved to Canada and discovered the geese. Then it was April and they were the harbinger of spring. They always arrived around the time of my first son’s birthday. We knew winter was on its way out. Their departure in the fall signals the opposite…I hate for the last ones to leave when the sky goes silent.

The first images are from one of our lovely City parks – Kildonan – on the way to Oak Hammock Marsh for me. The Marsh is closing the first week of November for extensive renovations to their Interpretative Centre. We will still be able to walk the trails. It will not reopen until the summer of 2024, and I will miss snooping around amongst the displays. The area around Oak Hammock is a haven for migrating geese and ducks. They are still flying in by the thousands. I had a giggle. The lady at reception said, “As long as geese are flying in, we know winter is not near.” She is right. When we see them high-tailing it out of the City, we know something ‘bad’ is coming. Sometimes, a few are still around when the first snow falls, but they quickly get in the mood for a winter holiday!

At Kildonan Park there is a little pond that is fed by a creek that runs through the park. There were at least 75 Mallards and another 35 Wood Ducks along with about 400 Canada Geese this morning.

The pond is by the Witches House and people come throughout the day and feed the geese and ducks. They are overly friendly if they think you have a bag of seeds.

Oak Hammock Marsh is a joint venture between the Province of Manitoba and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC). It is one of those partnerships that has created vast wetlands that benefit both the ducks and geese and sadly, those that like to hunt them. ‘R’ and I chatted about this and it appears that the way forward to saving our wildlife is to partner with groups that might have seemed unthinkable in the past. I do not like shooting ducks but if it is the duck hunters that are creating all of the wetlands throughout North America that benefit all manner of waterfowl – some hunted and some not – then I am going to sit down and be relatively quiet in the hope that someday there will be huge wetlands and people might be dissuaded against killing animals.

Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, and Canada Geese in the fields feeding near to Oak Hammock Marsh.

These are rosehips. Many collect them and make rosehip jelly or syrup. It is delicious. Rosehips are the fruit of the rose plant.

A Northern Shrike. They are a large songbird. These birds unusually feed on small birds, all manner of rodents including mice and voles, as well as insects. They are also known to eat frogs. They live in my area during the winter.

The range for the Northern Shrike.

At Port Lincoln, ‘A’ was watching and left me this note, “Watch the feeding at Port Lincoln from around 18:13 to see how very carefully mum is working to ensure that the younger osplet gets fed. Her awareness of it and her efforts to ensure it gets fed really are very encouraging indeed. The eldest has been in the front position and getting all of the food to this point of the feeding, and has a large crop by now. So mum turns to the younger chick to ensure that it gets fed. She moves the fish over to the younger osplet, who is behind the older, but the older one turns around so the two chicks are facing each other. Mum moves again, so she can make sure she is directing each mouthful to the second hatch. She gives it some fairly decent-sized chunks, which it manages to swallow. It is a determined small person and is getting steadier by the hour. And dad did bring in another fish, albeit a late one. Both chicks will go to sleep with full tummies and mum has eaten well during the day. I suspect that mum’s dedication is going to be extremely important to the survival of this second chick. If the fish supply is low, then it will probably be the factor that determines whether or not two osplets survive.”

Heidi caught a good feeding, too.

The second chick is definitely getting stronger. The third egg is not hatching or cracking. It is nesting material stuck to the shell. You can really see the egg tooth clearly in the image below.

‘A’ gives us the run down on the feedings at PLO: “There were three fish brought in today, all large and all by dad. The first one was huge at 06:34, the second was large at 15:50 and the last at 19:50. There were at least nine feedings between 06:38 and about 20:00 and perhaps more after dark (I haven’t checked). The younger chick ate at all but two of those feedings, though it only had a small amount on each occasion (sometimes just a bite or two). But it is getting better at the whole eating thing (facing the right way, seeing well enough to correctly time the grab, managing to deal with larger pieces) and will be much better at all of those skills tomorrow. So far it is getting enough to eat, though not nearly as much as its sibling. At least mum is looking for it once the older chick is fed and is being relatively patient with it, offering the food two or three times if it misses on the initial grab. She is still giving pieces that are too large but the little one is struggling manfully with them and managing most. Such a sweetie. So far, dad has stepped up his game with the fishing to make sure mum and the kids are getting properly fed (today’s fish were all a good size and one was super-large) and mum is well aware that she has two osplets that both need to be fed. So that’s an excellent start. Talons crossed that these two actually decide to skip the bonking phase altogether. Is that even possible? I’m also interested in dad’s response to the offspring – he seems extremely interested and perhaps wants to get involved. Does this suggest/confirm that he is as we believe a new dad at this nest and learning the ropes as it were?”

Marri and Barry are ‘scooting’ around the scrape. They are adorable, interested in their surrounds, the feathers all over the floor of their home, and one another.

The soft fluffy down is going away. Look at how different Marri is – as she is changing. Notice the pink beak has given way to a soft dove grey. Pin feathers are appearing. The beak is much more raptor-like. They are still adorable and their individual personalities are beginning to show along with – the clown feet!

“Have some delicious feathers”.

Marri passed a major milestone – she is self-feeding. Thanks Heidi!

‘A’s observations: “Meanwhile, at Orange, that pair are little eating machines. (Why is it that falcon chicks are the most voracious eaters of all? Even hawklets and eaglets and osplets don’t attack the feeding process – as opposed to their siblings – with such incredible gusto and energy. Falcon eyases take it to a whole new level. As with their screeching to demand sustenance.) At today’s mid-afternoon feeding, Marri downed an entire grebe leg, complete with attached foot. Seriously grown-up now. They are climbing onto the Cilla Stones, exploring their expanding world as they start to get up off their tarsi and onto their feet. They compete for every bite, usually getting alternate mouthfuls most of the time so that the food ends up being relatively equally shared between them. They are beyond adorable, sleeping together in a pile and today getting into some allopreening (little Barru allopreened his older sister Marri). Both chicks PS’d on mum this afternoon (Marri at 12:03:39 and Barru at 13:24:36, so poor Diamond had a difficult lunch hour today). All in all, Xavier is keeping the prey coming as this little pair eat increasingly voraciously with every passing day. The feeds are getting bigger (they are consuming a lot of food in a relatively short time at each meal now) but less frequent (they are getting about four or five feeds a day compared to the six or seven they were getting for the week or two before that). They are also starting to attempt some self-feeding, with limited success, but they will learn quickly. “

As I write this, SE32 has still to fledge. Both have been bombarded by the little Boobook Owl at one time or another and parents are bringing in food. It feels like a good year. Still hoping.

The summary from WBSE: ” October 20: a quieter night, and both eaglets slept in the nest. Early morning at 5:33 a smaller owl swooped Lady, starting their early chorus. 31 was not disturbed though sitting beside Lady. Dad brought in a fish part at 7:35, snatched and eaten by 32. When Lady brought a fish later at 11:27, 31 was there first with 32 hanging about trying – nothing left for 32 though other than a few scraps. Then both stayed around the nest area, on a hot windy day, 31 below the nest camera and 32 in the nest. Both magpie and currawong were swooping Dad up high above the nest mid-afternoon. The eaglets finally moved after 4 and were jumping about and flapping – 31 slipped and nearly fell at 16:22, but recovered well. 32 was very quick to get to the nest to grab the juvenile gull that Lady brought at 17:36 – then was de-feathering it alone, with 31 watching on. Then 31 took over, Lady came closer, both ate a bit, Dad came in with a fish, a great scrabble on the nest, Dad left, Lady still there, 32 still defending the bird – where is the fish? Confusion. Then 32 was eating the fish on the edge – all ate in the end, except Dad. Both eaglets were on PB at dusk, back and forth a little close by.”

The Real Saunders Photography gives us some dynamic images of M15 and F23 flying!

These two are bonded and building a home for their babies. I cannot wait to see them as a couple together!

Last year was a very sad season for Ospreys breeding in some areas of NE United States. It is heart warming to read that the breeding season in Italy was so successful.

There is news on how well the re-location of the Kakapo back to mainland New Zealand is doing.

New-insights-gained-from-kakapo-translocation-Media-release-17-October-2023Download

Hope would like everyone to leave the chipmunks and squirrels alone. They are her friends in the garden and she has been watching them for more than a month storing up their seeds and nuts. Her Mamma watched them before that and Lewis and Missey have enjoyed their garden buddies for a year. Don’t trap them and move them far away just because you don’t like them around. Hope will tell you why after she shows off her beautiful busy tail. Perhaps – with the exception of Missey – who has the most gorgeous and expected fan tail – I have never seen a cat with such an exaggerated tail as Hope. It looks like something pinned to her body that might have adorned an old children’s hat. When she decides to ‘puff’ it up, the crazy thing could dust all the furniture its diameter is so large, we could hang it on a pole and it could tell us which way the wind is blowing like a wind sock. Seriously this tail is enormous.

More rare sightings in Norway.

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

Thank you so much to the following for their notes, posts, articles, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: ‘A, H’, Vail Gail, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Heidi Mc, Sydney Sea Eagles, Real Saunders Photography, Gracie Shepherd, Gregorious Joris Toonen, Progetto Falco Pescatore, Sirocco Kakapo, NZ DOC, For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue, and Bird Guides.

Tuesday in Bird World

10 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Monday was such a gorgeous day. So many people were out at the park having a picnic. The sun was glorious, as was the blue sky. Canada Geese started flying onto the pond around 1530. Some had been eating on the cricket fields earlier. Several Mallards and some Wood Ducks were still in the park. It is to get cold tonight, down to 0 C. Will everyone leave soon?

A male wood duck in transition. He will not normally begin migration until he has all of his new feathers.

I went to the park to clear my head. Lewis, as you will know, has some health issues – specifically, his immune system appears to be attacking his gums, causing them to swell up with intense inflammation. He was given painkillers but, ironically, taking them coincided with his inability to keep food down. I stopped the painkillers on Monday around noon. Lewis ate mushy tinned food this evening, and so far, he has kept it down – and then he didn’t. He was ‘starving’ at midnight, and I gave him soft, mushy food with broth. He couldn’t keep it down.

But, for a few moments, he managed to be his silly self. I brought in the herb pots from the garden for fear that frost would get them tonight. Lewis immediately curled up with the chives after I watered them.

When he and Missey were little, they had this habit of wanting to lay on the wet soil of the plant pots. One of their little idiosyncrasies. I never knew what was so attractive, and now, look, he is so big he can’t wrap around the pot anymore!

Missey spent the day watching the Dark-eyed Juncos out of the window. They were all over the garden.

We wait to see about Lewis and to see if he is HPI positive or negative. I will also have an ultrasound done to make sure there is no blockage that is causing his regurgitation. Thank you for your continued good wishes for our darling boy.

I am attaching the latest news from Birdlife Malta. It will show you the challenges that people face trying to protect the raptors that migrate over that country.

BirdLife-Malta-October-2023-NewsletterDownload

I did not spend a lot of time checking on the nests. The Bald Eagles are coming and going to their nests in the United States preparing for the upcoming breeding season.

V3 was guarding the nest while Gabby was trying it out!

Clive and Connie were on the Captiva Bald Eagle Nest. Their 2022 chick, Connick, remains in the care of the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey at Maitland, Florida. He will be released as soon as all of his feathers are grown in. I will let you know as soon as Audubon has provided release details.

Beautiful night at Superbeaks. Pepe and Muhlady have been diligent in getting their nest ready.

In Australia, we now have only one Peregrine Falcon family: Diamond and Xavier on the streaming cam. The two chicks are doing fantastic. Both are well fed – and always are ready for more prey. Xavier has had time feeding them but they are too big for him to brood. They are even getting too big for Diamond!

The feeding after 1430. Adorable…just adorable.

‘A’ adds: “At Orange, Xavier is doing his usual sterling job of keeping the scrape well provided with food. Diamond is doing a much better job now that the little one can fight with his sibling on a relatively equal basis for the food. Oh, but that little one is demanding. It NEVER stops begging for food unless its beak is full. I’m not even convinced he doesn’t squeak in his sleep as he dreams of food! I adore this chick. (Yes, I know I adore all of them, but this one is SUCH a personality. Xavier and Diamond certainly do produce some feisty eyases, do they not? Here is a feeding from this morning (Tuesday 10 October): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLXfdZT5C64&list=TLPQMTAxMDIwMjOq7dYrqDV9Tw&index=4. See how well our little one is doing. And doesn’t Xavier look even more dashing and handsome than usual?”

Only a miracle could save an egg in Melbourne. F22 was on the eggs for a bit and was at the north end of the scrape. She looks ‘rugged and ragged’ according to ‘A’ – her feathers dishevelled. She also appears to have some pain but is looking a wee better.

The Sydney Sea Eagles will be branching soon. Branching is specifically flying from the nest to land on a branch. It is not walking up a branch. They are gorgeous eaglets. Lady and Dad have done a superb job. I hope – for once – that they get to train these two to hunt prey and help them with their flying! I know the odds are against this but – I would like to hope.

31 has been on that branch for some time.

We are awaiting the pip watch at Port Lincoln. Some think this will happen on the 12th so we are only a couple of days away. I want to see if this new Dad can pick up the pace with the fish and get at least 7 or 8 on that nest daily until those chicks are a month old. We might see another three fledge again like the year of Bazza, Falky, and Ervie. Wouldn’t that be something?

There are eggs at Turnby Island that will hatch in the next few days. Eggciting news for South Australia.

Lady Hawk has highlights for the Royal Cam family at Taiaroa Head. We will never forget you, beautiful Prince Manaaki. We wish you safe travels, prevailing winds and a tummy full of squid. And we wait for the day we will see you again. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pwa0U4O0X8&list=TLPQMTAxMDIwMjOq7dYrqDV9Tw&index=3.

Another California Condor has fledged! The champagne bottles must be popping in Big Sur!

In the UK, the battle for licensing or revoking gaming licenses and the persecution of raptors continues.

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It looks like the GHOs might want to claim that beautiful nest at Skidaway Island this year.

On the way to the park Monday afternoon, my mind was boggled at the sight of leaf blowers, lawnmowers, and bags and bags of leaves so everyone could have a pristine lawn. There needs to be a blitz in every community, in schools, in the local paper to get people to stop – stop with the toxins to make the lawn green, stop with cleaning up. It is the least we can do! It costs nothing to leave everything alone. Stop trying to be ‘House Beautiful’. Please spread the word and be an advocate for our birds.

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Keep your eyes on Port Lincoln! I can’t wait – it has been too many months since there were little osplets to watch.

Thank you so much for being with me today. My report is short – I am exhausted worrying about Lewis and hopeful that calm will settle over us shortly.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A’, Birdlife Malta, NEFL-AEFR, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sydney Sea Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Fran Solly, Lady Hawk, Ventana Wildlife Society, Wild Justice, Darlene Hawkins, and Healthy Yards.

Monday in Bird World

9 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

To those in Canada celebrating Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to you! And to everyone else reading this, I am thankful to all of you – what a beautiful community of empathetic, intelligent, bird-loving people you are! I feel truly blessed to be in your company. Thank you for all your good wishes for today.

Sunday was coolish – an incredibly gorgeous fall day full of yellows, reds, and oranges. The nature centre was full of people enjoying the fall foliage and the Canada Geese that were landing on the lakes and fields. There were a few Mallards about and some House Sparrows and a feisty squirrel at one of the feeders.

All of the garden animals were out. A few Dark-eyed Juncos visit the deck. I did remember, after a comment from ‘J’ to get out there and carve that pumpkin up a bit to see if the squirrels would get interested. Will keep you posted. Mr Crow was on the hydro line and I wonder if he saw the pumpkin and thought it might be tasty.

Little Red has been digging around in the old planting boxes. I haven’t seen him going in and out of the wood box and this worried me a bit so it was great to see him today.

Remember the chubby little baby Blue Jay, just fledged, that slept with the two clay bird ornaments? Well, look now! Beautiful.

The ‘girls’ are doing well. I am sad to report that Lewis took a turn for the worse. He has been unable to keep any food down – and believe me, I have tried everything. Broth, Baby food, tinned food with broth, pulverised chicken. We wait and hope that this situation will change. It is hard to deal with any suffering.

Hope is growing fast and continues to want to play more than she wants to eat.

Calico and I have almost finished our WWII spy novel by Cara Black. Wonder what she will want to read next? I am imagining putting my comfy chair by the wood stove in the dead of winter with Calico on my lap reading away.

These cats have taught me so much about the need for a safe space that is ‘their own’ and how stabilising a routine is – even for cats!

Lewis always feels better after he throws up. Sleeping on one of his favourite chairs. Poor little guy. The Gaviscon bottle is being emptied as my stomach churns repeatedly for him.

Missey was caught in Lewis’s carrier. Oh, if something happens to dear Lewis, Missey will be lost. They have been glued at the hip since they were both adopted as rescues on 2 November 2022. This evening she has been very motherly – washing and washing Lewis – over and over – and comforting him.

It is all about Peregrine Falcons – we have had falcons on our minds since the news at Melbourne. The clutch at Melbourne is believed lost for this year. We hope the female will recover from any injuries she has sustained. Our new dad, M22 – remember he was not the father of the chicks last year but came in and helped like Xavier did with Diamond years ago, is refusing to give up on those eggs. He flew in and incubated them on Monday.

There was a video posted by the Bondi Vet, Chris, in Sydney, Australia. Do you know this character? A Peregrine Falcon couple at the Westfield Mall came into his care. Oh, this is good – ten minutes long. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, Diamond and Xavier and the two little ones – who will have names on the 15th of October – are doing fantastic. Gosh, golly, they are so cute. I fear those pink beaks and toes and that fluffy white are giving way, and little feathers are popping in underneath. The first hatch is visibly larger than the second now…a female? Probably.

So cute!

In this video by Elain, Xavier feeds the babies and Diamond, too! Very special moments of our incredible family.

‘A’ writes, “Dear little Xavier had a brief period brooding the chicks late this afternoon (about 15 or 20 minutes), during which he made valiant but futile efforts to cover the chicks by sitting up and leaning over them. He was obviously concerned about being unable to fit the egg underneath him too, and tried several times (eventually successfully) to cover it. So sweet but not a chance of brooding the two chicks. He really is tiny. Check him out when he delivers prey to Diamond. She is gigantic, especially with all her broody underfluffies, whereas Xavier is very sleek, which accentuates how much smaller he is.”

 

At The Campanile, Lou is sunbathing. Nice to see these two are safe and sound. I worry about them because of the poisoning of pigeons, too. Stay safe you two!

‘N’ sent me a note asking what books I recommend on Peregrine Falcons. Here is my list – not in order of preference.

Richard Sals and Steve Watson. Everything you ever wanted to know about falcons and more. A monumental book – great reference.

J. A. Baker. The Peregrine.

Christie Gove-Berg. (especially for children)

Madeline Dunphy. The Peregrine’s Journey. Similar to Belle’s Journey that documents the migration of an Osprey.

Alan Tennant. On the Wing.

There are, of course, many, many books that mention falcons.

On Sunday, Thunder and Akecheta sunned themselves at the West End Bald Eagle nest. What a gorgeous couple. Wonder if they might reconsider their nest location this year. Nudge, nudge.

Gracie Shepherd caught more of Thunder and Akecheta.

Everyone is hopeful that there will be a clutch of eggs in that nice soft nest Gabby and V3 are working on.

The adults are on the nest in Webster, Texas on Sunday.

Connie and Clive have been working on their nest at Captiva on Monday.

Gosh, 1800. Start checking on Jackie and Shadow. These two love to come to the nest in the early evening. They are certainly doing a close inspection!

In Central Park, Bruce Yolton gives us the latest on Flaco and his adventures living in the ‘wild’ of the Big Apple. (Lots of videos in the blog below)

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Monday was the first time I heard Pied Currawongs in the forest while watching the Sea Eaglets SE31 and 32. Someone will tell me that I am a bit daffy, but there doesn’t seem to be an over abundance of prey being delivered to the nest.

At Port Lincoln, Dad brought three fish to the nest on Sunday. Both are doing incubation duty. Egg 1 was laid on the 6th of September. Depending on how you count, that would be 24 days in September plus 10 in October, making that egg 34 days old. Hang on, we will be on pip watch shortly!

Checking on the progress of Karl II and his family from both BirdMap and Looduskalendar Forum. The Birdmap check on all of the storks – not just Karl II’s family – is from the 6th. Please note the concern for Karl II who has not sent data from the 30th of September.

Kaia is making good progress towards her winter home in Chad.

Kaia continues and she I snow in the Eastern Desert.

Kalvi is still in Bulgaria.

Turkey is where Waba is currently foraging.

The second Condor chick in 2023 has fledged! Fantastic.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care – and please continue to send your best warm wishes to all the nests and to our dear Lewis.

Thank you to the following for their notes, questions, articles, posts, videos, photos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, J, N’, Bondi Vet, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Holly Parsons, Elain, SK Hideaways, IWS/Explore, Gracie Shepherd, Carol Shores Rifkin, Webster TX Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, FOBBV, Bruce Yolton, Sydney Sea Eagles, PLO, Looduskalendar Forum, and Ventana Wildlife Society.

Cheeping can be heard at Orange…Sunday in Bird World

1 October 2023

Good Morning,

Gosh, we watched that big beautiful Harvest Moon as it welcomed us into the month of October. What a view through the roof of the Conservatory!

As I write, it is 25 degrees C, a gorgeous fall day with blue skies and vibrant yellow leaves poking their way through the window frame. The Blue Jays are visiting the table feeder, and Dyson has been scurrying about.

Hope reminded me that Uncle Claudio said to use the ‘Marigolds’ on the upholstery, and the cat hair would come right off. Marigolds are rubber gloves used for washing up. They have little prickles on the underneath that work wonders lifting cat hair. Rub the gloves in circles. Incredible. Thanks, Uncle Claudio!

Hope also likes to help sweep up, but I’m not sure she would care for hoovering. She had such fun with the little broom this afternoon. She will not allow me to stroke her unless she is distracted. Hope will also come up close if Calico is sleeping on my lap. If I pretend to be asleep on the couch, she will come and sleep on my leg. It is slow going, but we will get there! I wish she had been found as a wee kitten, not a 9-week-old, very independent lass.

Things with Covid – the sore throat is gone. The wobblies have passed, and I no longer have a temperature. The Covid test is still showing positive, but things are beginning to look up, and this will pass in a couple of days. You need to take care. There are now reports of Covid cases almost everywhere (did they ever really cease? No). Make sure you are prepared. Did I mention throat lozenges? Aspirin or related products to reduce fever? Nothing tastes good, but you must eat to maintain your strength. So, have things that are easy to make and might make you want to have a bite. Who cares if you eat soup, biscuits (cookies), Ice cream, and frozen dinners for a week? Whatever motivates you. I did find oranges were one of the real treats once my throat quit hurting.

The kittens and I listened to Ferris Akel’s tour today while cleaning. There were some nice waterfowl and wading birds on Saturday.

There were Cormorants.

The first thing I will do when I am negative is to go and see the geese landing on their way south! Can’t wait. Maybe there will be a Cormorant or two with them.

The latest announcement from the SW Florida Eagle nest:

The view Saturday night at Fort Myers.

The weather was not good at The Hamlet. Gabby was alone on the Walleda Branch all night. Where is V3? My heart aches for our girl.

Fish continue to be delivered to Lil’Arb at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Nest – three came in by 1200 on Saturday! The fishing is good, the weather is fine – no reason to take off. This Dad is amazing – what a change from an inexperienced Mum. This fledgling is getting a right good start to his migration.

Cheeping can be heard on the microphone at Orange! Turn your volume up in the ledge cam (not the side like this image), and – well, we are almost there! Xavier and Diamond must be so excited.

Xavier really wanted some egg time and he tried to convince Diamond to leave and let him but, no way. The couple appeared to chat and listen to the eggs. They know their baby/babies are almost here. In fact, Diamond is acting a wee bit suspicious as I finish up the blog this morning. Fingers crossed.

Birdie Cam got these adorable falcons and their egg time competition on video!

‘A’ writes: “”This is the cutest event of the day at Orange, given the hatch probably won’t occur until after midnight so will be tomorrow’s cutest event. At 11:42:45 this morning (Sunday 1 October), Xavier put up a phenomenal three-minute battle for the right to brood the eggs. (He must know that his egg time is fast running out and his precious eggs will soon become open screeching little beaks, though he adores them as well of course.) At any rate, I have NEVER seen him put up such an effort to win the right to brood eggs. And he very nearly won! Well, technically he did win, but then Diamond had a stern word to him and shortly before 11:46, he decided that perhaps he had better get up and retreat. But the effort he made to actually get onto those eggs in the first place truly has to be seen to be believed. I am certain there will be internet video posted of it – I am looking for it now. But it really was fantastic, and illustrates perfectly why we all adore this sweet little falcon so very very much. He is a one-off.”

It is possible that something is happening with the egg on the left after 1500. Or. perhaps we are all just seeing things because we want to!

At Sydney, the Sea Eagles are jumping and flapping all over the nest.

‘A’ notes, “At WBSE Dad brought in a headless medium-sized fish soon after 11:44 and although SE31 tried to steal it from him, he retained control of it and fed the entire thing to SE32. Right at the end, when SE31 pushed right up to Dad’s beak, SE32, who ate lying duckling style throughout the meal, had his eye on a line below SE31 – he was ready to grab for that fish tail the moment it became accessible. He was like lightning, grabbing and turning away with his prize in a single movement, then horking down the tail with any remaining flesh attached. Dad picked up a small leftover piece and fed that to SE32 as well, finished any remaining flakes himself, and left SE32 with a nice crop and SE31, for once, disappointed. The new self-feeding regime has left SE32 with a bit of a dilemma, as he is not large enough or aggressive enough to beat his sister in a battle for the prey, whereas he was fine with sitting and sharing at the table. So until he improves his ability to win the prey, retain it and self-feed effectively from it, he will be losing out on his share of the food. So that fish was a nice bonus for his day.” 

32 waiting!

Gosh, it is a beautiful view at Superbeaks. That saturated colour is gorgeous. I’m looking forward to this year. Thank you to everyone who introduced me to this nest last year!

Sticks are being moved at Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow have been working diligently. What a relief to see these two together, no intruders, bonding and working for their future – oh, please let them have one nice healthy eaglet this year.

Thunder visited the West End nest on Saturday gazing out over the water. She is lovely.

Connie and Clive have been working on their nest at Captiva.

Trudi Kron reports that Nancy and Beau have been working on their new nest, across the road from the one that collapsed last year, killing their surviving eaglet. It is not known if the Minnesota DNR will be able to install a cam so that we can watch their activities for the coming year.

Martin and Rosa weren’t seen on the Dulles-Greenway Nest when I was checking but the camera crew caught the squirrel who is nesting in the lower part of the nest with its little one!

The heat started at Melbourne after 0900 when Mum began to pant heavily to try and regulate her temperature. It is a cooler day, only 19 C – on Sunday in Melbourne. Rain is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday after the heat rises again on Monday to 28 C.

Keeping an eye on Mum and Dad2 at Port Lincoln. Still a ways until we will have pip watch here on the barge.

The latest map of our Black Storks from Karula and their migration. Thanks Maria Marika!

Too many species are facing extinction. What can we do? Lots. We will talk about that when I am feeling better, but each day, you can help the birds and the wildlife where you live, those birds out your back door that bring you joy with their song. Could you put out water? For drinking. For baths. If you can afford it, put out food for them. It took me a while, but I finally found farmers in my province who deliver Black Oil seed right to my door. They even have a fantastic seed mixture. By cutting out all of the people in the middle, the savings I have made means that I can continue supporting the hundreds of birds that come during the day to the garden. More and more farmers are diversifying. Many discovered the farm-to-table movement during Covid 19. They can get more money for their products and offer their customers savings. Could you check it out? It could change your birding life. [If you live in Manitoba and would like to know the contact information for local delivery by farmers providing bird seed, send me an e-mail: maryannsteggles@icloud.com].

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Ducks are being rescued in Australia.

Thank you for being with me this morning. So excited for what is happening at Orange. Xavier just be sooooooo excited. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my newsletter this morning: ‘A’, Ferris Akel, Nancy Babineau and SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, MN Landscape Arboretum, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Birdie Cam and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sydney Sea Eagles, Superbeaks, FOBBV, IWS/Explore, Window to Wildlife, Trudi Kron, Dulles-Greenway, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Maria Marika, The Guardian, and Western Australian SeaBird Rescue.

Collins Street is live, cute little sea eagles…Saturday in Bird World

29 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is 22:20 Friday, the 28th of July. Things should be getting quiet in Osprey World. The chicks should be fledging or fledged, working those wings and getting them strong. The fledglings and those about to fledge should be adapting well to self-feeding. Dads should be delivering more fish to the nests while the Mums also are fattening up like the osplets – preparing for migration. There should be a magical lull where everything is alright, but – it isn’t. ‘MP’ has just written to tell me that Mum could be missing from the Steelscape, Inc nest. There is still one osplet on the nest nearing fledge, and one has flown. ‘H’ just sent me a note that Louise is missing from the FortisExshaw nest and that Mr O has protected the nest and osplets from an intruder. The Scottish Wildlife Trust has now acknowledged that Blue NC0 is probably dead. I listed her on the Memorial Wall 13 days ago. Things are volatile in the nests of our Ospreys, so please, join me in sending them all your very best and most positive energy.

Update: ‘MP’ has written to say the female at Steelscape has returned. Good news. Maybe she is sunning herself and eating fish preparing the chicks for her departure while Dad is upping the deliveries to help the chicks get ready.

Lewis still does not care and he certainly doesn’t mind having the cat tree house all to himself even if he no longer fits. It is hard to imagine that they will be a year old now – Missey already is and Louis was born about the middle of August.

We are all anxious for more of the news from Australia now that the cutest little sea eaglets have hatched. Well, Collins CBD is now live! ‘H’ sent me the links…

South facing:

https://www.youtube.com/live/y3b2rKUPMsA?feature=share

North facing:

https://www.youtube.com/live/xUUK5c-Gsz0?feature=share

And yes…there is a falcon on the north facing camera Saturday morning in Canada….yippeeeeeee.

This wonderful rescue spread around the world like wildfire. Thank you to the dozens of people who sent me the link to the stories! Osprey -water logged and exhausted – hitches a ride on a boat.

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Oh, I respect Isabella Tree. In this short article, ‘Don’t Be Afraid to Rewild’ for The Guardian, she explains what rewilding is to gardening and it isn’t about letting it all ‘just go’. “Our gardens, now, must help us in the battle against the climate crisis. The planet is on fire. Water is catastrophically scarce. The sprinklers, mowers, leaf-blowers, high-carbon gismos, peat compost and chemical inputs pushed on us by garden centres – the billion-pound horticultural industry that Titchmarsh has been defending to the House of Lords – is as bad for the planet as industrial farming.”

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California Condors. The Ventana Wildlife Society is doing amazing things and there is a lot of good information on tagging, on a 20+ year old Condor with lead toxitocisis. The effort to move this Condor from the Oakland Zoo to the LA Zoo for quick surgery is incredible and again shows us that there are people out there who will do anything for the wildlife. Ventana WS has a Condor chat every month. Check it out. They also post the Zoom chat on YT later if you cannot make it.

Update on the Dulles-Greenway eaglet that remains in care:

It just feels good that so many incredible and ordinary people are trying to make a difference…I hope it spreads like a bad cold. Imagine if we woke up to find everyone feeding the animals, insisting on ponds being stocked, signing up for shore clean-ups, refusing to buy plastic, finding ways to limit their use of fossil fuels, putting away the leaf blowers and planting Milkweed and other native plants for the birds, bees, and butterflies. Wow.

A Swing around the Nests!

Let’s start with ‘H’ because she has some concerns on her nests….

Osoyoos: Fishing remains very difficult.  There were three small fish brought to the nest on 7/28.Feeding from 1509 to 1512, a very small fish.  Chick #2 was beaked and intimidated by #1, and was prevented from eating.  Feeding from 0517 to 0526, a slightly larger fish, and once again chick #1 prevented chick #2 from joining in the feeding.  At 1719 Olsen brought a fish to the nest, and Soo flew away with the fish.  There was no feeding.  She must have been absolutely starving.Chick #2 last ate a decent meal at 0647 on 7/26.  On 7/27 chick #2 ate a total of 24 bites of fish at four feedings.  On 7/28, chick #2 had nothing to eat.  And, even though chick #1 has eaten some small meals, it is not enough, especially considering the heat.  The high temperature in Osoyoos is predicted to be 34 Celsius on 7/29.  The osplets are 32 and 33 days old.”

Fortis Exshaw:

It was not a good day at the Exshaw osprey platform.  There were only two fish brought to the nest, including one by  Mr.O.  The last fish was delivered at 1040.  Intruders seemed to be the problem.  Mr.O flew to the nest at least six times to help provide defense against intruders.  And, Louise was not seen after 1456.At 1642, there was a terrible altercation at the nest between Mr.O and an intruder, ending with their talons becoming locked together, and both of them tumbling overboard.  Mr.O was not seen after that.  As darkness fell, an osprey flew to the T-perch, and we are hoping that it was Louise assuming her usual roosting spot.”

Kent Island –  All is well for this family on the Chesapeake.  This lovely 47 day old girl of Audrey and Tom will soon have a name!

Barnegat Light – Oh goodness, Dorsett was so very close to fledging on 7/28.  Many times we were on the edge of our seats.  Just look at the height of that hover.  Dorsett is 59 days old, and today will be the day for her first flight!  (I’m positive, lol)

Forsythe – The fishing has been poor for a few days, most likely due to the extreme heat which is expected to last at least another day.  Oscar only managed to deliver three fish to the nest for the two fledglings.  Opal was last seen on 7/25, and she may be taking some time for herself at this point in the season.

Thanks so much, ‘H’. We are not sure if Louise is missing so please continue, as always to send positive wishes to all the nests especially those in trouble or that could be facing difficulties.

Patchogue: Mini got a nice fish and took it up to the perch to eat…milestone after milestone this chick has shown us that she can survive and do well, not just ordinary but, very well.

There has been some concern on the chat and by ‘L’ about Mini’s voice. I s it hoarse? is there a case? Unfortunately there could be many causes including food stuck in the wind pipe or bacterial or fungal infections. It could be the dirt in the area and we don’t know where Mini is now most of the day. That said it would be extremely stressful to have people chasing Mini to try and get her to a rehabber now that she is flying. Let us all hope that this is ‘nothing’ but if she should appear ill on the nest, then PSEG should be notified as well as Brookhaven Wildlife 631 451 8696. They are the closest. Do not call them unless Mini is sick on the nest. If she is eating and flying about sit back and observe.

Mini wants a fish!

Good Night, Mini.

Allin’s Cove East, RI: Both osplets fledged on Friday!

Steelscape: Three gets on the other side of Mum and gets some fish. During the afternoon Dad delivered 3 fish while Mum was away.

Carova Beach: Fledglings/Juveniles continue to come to the nest sometimes with pieces of fish.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Many nests are struggling in this area with only a single parent (lots of missing males) and intruders. We are fortunate that this little one is doing well after a terrible beginning to the season. Dad is doing his very best to get fish on the table despite the ravaging heat that has come and gone over the summer.

A nice fish before bed.

Bridges Golf Osprey: The fish just keep coming. These two are so ready to fly. They are looking particularly well.

Sandpoint: Waiting for fish.

Loch Arkaig: Has Louis been injured or is this blood from his latest fish delivery?

Dyfi: Lots of big fish coming on the nest for the fledglings of Idris and Telyn. Some of the nests in the Pacific NW of Canada and the US would like just one of those a day! Maybe Forsythe, too….the size of the fish is incredible.

Alyth: Lots of hungry fledgling squawking for fish!

Cowlitz: Nice fish for the fledgling.

Oyster Bay: The fledglings are really doing well and there appears to be enough fish being delivered for all. This has been a good nest all year.

Wolf Bay: There seems to be – like the other nests – one fledgling with a fish and another one wishing it was theirs.

Boulder County: Three gorgeous osplets – Big Sibling has fledged (on the 26th and returned to the nest after a minute and 17 seconds) but all still like Mum to shade them and feed them…despite the fact that they are getting good at self-feeding.

The Dorset Hobby Falcons: Fantastic. No hunger at this nest! Stop and notice that all that white fluffy is giving away to some beautiful silky deep charcoal coloured feathers.

San Jose City Hall: Hartley and Monty are happy to see one together. Wonder what Soledad is doing? I sure wish these fledglings would check in on camera!

Sydney Sea Eagles: Both of the little fluff balls are doing so well…you can almost see Lady ‘glow’.

West End, Channel Islands: Thunder and Akecheta’s 2023 fledglings – Scout and Starlight -can often be seen at the old nest that was used in 2022 and before. Gorgeous fledglings and so happy to see them together. We missed seeing them grow up on the new nest this year so this is a real treat.

One last smile…little ducks! You gotta’ love them.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/28/country-diary-little-grebes-swim-around-me-like-bath-toy-ducks?CMP=share_btn_link

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

Thank you to the following for all their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, G, H, K, L, M, MP, S, R’, Sunnie Day, NJ.com, The Guardian, Ventana Wildlife Society, Mirvac, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Forsythe Ospreys, PSEG, Allins Cove East, Steelscape, Inc, Carova Beach, MN Landscape Arboretum, Bridges Golf Club, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Dyfi Ospreys, Alyth, Cowlitz PUD, Wolf Bay, Sharon Pollock and the Dorset Hobby Falcons, Boulder County Fair Grounds, SK Hideaways and SJ CH Falcons, Sydney Sea Eagles, IWS/Explore.

Little Skipper predated by GHO…Monday in Bird World

24 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Every day I am so grateful for the joy that the garden animals bring to my life and for the gifts, like these beautiful sunflowers, that they grew.

I hope that each of you checked in on Mini on Sunday. Oh, goodness. That bird has no idea what a fan base it has nor how loved it is but, Mini proved that with great parents, an area with enough fish (many do not), and the ‘will to live’, a tiny fourth hatch can survive. Sunday was, therefore, a day of celebration!

There are still issues at other nests with lack of fish – or lack of fish deliveries due to a single parent and intruders: Steelscape, Loch of the Lowes, Forsythe to name three. Keep sending them your best wishes. If you had asked me if we would lose so many fully feathered osplets this year so close to fledge or that we had the potential to lose some more I would have said ‘no’. It has been a challenging year everywhere but, particularly, on the US coasts (Washington and the Columbia River), Chesapeake Bay Area, and Florida.

But, for now, I just want to relish Mini’s day…

And that is just about all I did!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes it is good to just stop and rejoice. This was no small feat this tiny fourth hatch pulled off. Some of you might even think it was a miracle.

Mini took a couple of flights after that remarkable fledge. There is that empty nest at 1116. Mini is going to come flying over the brewery across the street and put her landing gear down. She has a little hiccup with the rim but otherwise, perfect.

Here comes Mini trying to line up with the runway!

Beautiful Mini around 1725. The lovely brown dots of her necklace look like little hearts. She has a solid dark eye line and her head is a little muddy. That head is the only thing that will not change so get lots of images of it. Too bad there is no distinctive type of image but memorize it and keep a file. You will be able to recognise her easily by her necklace now but, if she were to return to this nest in the future, you need to know that head because, sadly, banding is not common in the US. She will look different with her adult plumage. It is not often that females return to their natal nest – the males do but it does happen and wouldn’t we love to see her again in a couple of years?

At 1906, the four siblings are on the nest. A huge round of applause for these parents fledgling four this year, please. Many nests could hardly manage two. Many lost all their chicks. For whatever reason, the two PSEG nests did very well indeed.

At 2008, Mini does a really nice ‘ps’. It is all that fish she got today!

Thankfully we did not need a rescue at Patchogue. But I know from all of you that wrote or commented that the plight of Mini caused you to move into action to try and save her should something go amiss. It is those traits in all of you – generosity, compassion, caring – that take away the despair. When you see a chick on a nest that might be lost, you do not hesitate to move into action to try and get help. We cannot save them all and, indeed, the system is set up so that they fail. But today, we witnessed a chick that defied the odds because it wanted to live and a family that made sure that happened – including the siblings on this nest who were nothing short of amazing.

Good Night Mini!

My time today was otherwise occupied with that adorable little Blue Jay that once slept on the little birds and who often watches me from one of the perches. Today, it let me get too close and then….I noticed. Can you see what is missing?

It is called ‘fright moult’. One of the feral cats might have caught this little one, or was it a squirrel? Difficult to know, but my bet is on the cat. To survive, it moulted all its tail feathers. That means this sweet baby can fly with some difficulty but not for long distances. This means that migration is out of the question. In the past, we have had Blue Jays during the winter, so…I am trying to find where the incident occurred so that the feathers might be glued back. Wish us luck. Right now, this baby is in a safe place.

‘H’ has just sent me word that Little Skipper was predated by a GHO on 24 July at 00:20 (12:20 am). This much loved and only osplet of Dory and Skiff was 44 days old. Audubon Boathouse. A real little gem up on the coast that survived til now. You will note that Little Skipper was not so little. The GHOs wait til right before or right after fledge (mostly, it seems) when the chicks are nice and fat. We need protective guards placed on these osprey nests like Cowlitz PUD provided its couple.

What do you think of when you think of a duck pond? I bet it isn’t this! This just literally makes me ill.

Grim-reality-of-duck-shooting-for-‘sport-on-UK-shooting-estates-deserves-greater-scrutiny-–-Raptor-Download

The look of the ducks coming up to get their food so that they can be shot in cold blood in that dire forbidden muddy mess is beyond my imagination. Sorry, folks. But there needs to be an outright ban on this practice. There is no skill involved – it is like baiting the area for the fish around the boat or using ‘fish finders’. Or putting out tonnes of apples for bears…Of course, what I would like to see is an outright ban on killing all wild animals and all fishing. Put a moratorium in place for 8-10 years and see how well the oceans have recovered. (Fish can be farmed if humans insist on eating them).

What would happen if we stopped fishing?

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There is another osplet caught up in fishing line. I do not know the nest but the information was posted on Nor-Cal Birding. In all instances do not give up if someone doesn’t respond or help. If you see an osplet tangled in fishing line (or any other wildlife) get pictures for proof, get the exact location, and find the nearest wildlife rehabber and the nearest USFWS office. Go to ahnow.org to search for the nearest help to the site. If you are not satisfied with that, then Google “nearest wildlife rehab to _________”. Do not wait. Remember how long it took to get help at Dale Hollow? Take action quickly once you see that something is clearly wrong.

A good example. We might not always win but we always need to go the distance for our feathered friends. They cannot advocate for themselves – and sometimes we win. It is those wins – and the fledges that seem impossible – like Little Mini – that really do brighten our day and give us the strength to carry on for others.

Another Osprey nest caught on fire and another set of babies were rescued. This was in Lavigne, Ontario.

West-Nipissing-firefighters-rescue-osprey-her-chicks-from-burning-nest-atop-hydro-poleDownload

We now know of at least 3 nests that have caught on fire in the past week. Two, in Canada, had the osplets saved. Recommendation: Every utility company undertakes to erect a new pole and platform for all nests on old hydro poles. Be caring, be generous, be compassionate power companies. Need funds? CrowdFunder can be started!

I am so proud to be part of the efforts to raise nesting platforms for the Ospreys in South Australia. Without these artificial nests on poles, the Ospreys have to lay their eggs on the rocks were the eggs and chicks are prone to predation.

Now for a spin around the nests:

Roundhouse Loch Noon: Both of the osplets have now fledged! Congratulations.

Loch of the Lowes: Laddie tries his best to fend off intruders and feed both fledglings. The first hatch, the female, PF4, got this one! She has gotten the last two. The lad, PF5, got a considerable fish earlier on Sunday.

Glaslyn: OH2 fledged on Sunday. Congratulations Aran and Elen – both chicks are now flying.

Here it is on video:

MN Landscape Arboretum: Everything is good.

Steelscape: Things are not good. ‘PB’ has monitored the nest and reports that the third hatch is getting weaker and weaker. It is kept from eating by the first hatch. It had no fish until 7:35pm today when the little one got a private feeding from Mum. There is a drought in the area dn the water is low. As a result there are problems getting enough fish to the nest for Mum and the trio. Please send warm wishes.

Mum reaches out to the little one and this time it eats! The others are quite full. Let us hope that there is a good portion of fish left. You can see where the big one has yanked the feathers from the back. It would be a shame to lose another chick so close to fledge. Thank goodness that fourth egg did not hatch!

I bet that fish never tasted so good as it did to this wee one today. It was quite weak earlier.

At Dunrovin, we are on fledge watch.

For those of you watching the Sydney Sea Eagles, it is pip watch. Can you believe it? There is a fish in the nest already waiting for Lady and any hatchlings.

The remainder of ‘H’s report. Little Skipper was one of her favourites and my heart goes out to my friend who helps me monitor a number of nests. It is so difficult – what a challenging year it has been. Our hearts are broken.

Kent Island –  “There were at least eight fish brought to the nest on 7/23, including one by Audrey.  At 42 days of age, ‘Junior’ has been learning how to perform nestorations under the tutelage of his Mom.”

Fortis Exshaw – “Breakfast consisted of a fish that Louise had brought to the nest very late the previous evening.  Throughout the day, Louise delivered three large fish to the nest, and Mr. O delivered one.  However, Louise was already feeding the kids at the time of Mr. O’s fish offering, so he flew away with his fish.  At 36 days of age, the youngsters are doing very well.”

Forsythe – “Between Opal and Oscar, six large fish were delivered to the nest.  Both Owen and Ollie had plenty to eat.  Ollie managed to grab the 10:10 fish from Opal but was pushed off the nest by Owen.  Ollie was seen flying off the nest with the fish in his beak, and a short while later she flew to the cam pole holding the fish in her talons!  At one point in the afternoon Owen and Ollie were each just standing on their fish, because they were too full to eat.  The temperatures were lower on 7/23, so perhaps fish were easier to catch.  Let’s hope the improved fishing conditions will continue.”

Thank you ‘H’.

I have a little Blue Jay to attend to and was hoping that today would be quiet. Already human debris is causing a disturbance. ‘L’ writes that one of the osplets at Patchogue has a mask attached to its leg this morning. Let us all hope that this mask comes off.

Remember that all manner of things require cutting before disposal. Loops in bags, rubber bands, those plastic tabs that come with bread need to be cut in half…and we need to be diligent and clean up – after ourselves and others. If you do go on a clean-up of parks and places where there are birds, you should wear gloves, clean your hands thoroughly, and use sanitiser afterwards.

Good Morning Mini!

There is an article about the SWFlorida nest – home to Harriet and M15 and the darling Es that you might enjoy.

Cycle-of-Life-Southwest-Florida-Eagle-Cam-legacy-lives-on-News-Sports-Jobs-Cape-Coral-BreezeDownload

Please keep all of the wildlife and our dear nests that are struggling without the help of the heat that is penetrating everything. ‘PB’ just sent me the forecast map for the US which has been hit so very hard this breeding season.

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

Thank you to everyone who sent notes about Little Mini. Our entire Bird World family has been uplifted by her success. Relish this Sunday and her achievements. It does not often end with such success! Yeah, Mini!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H, L, L, M, PB, SW’, PSEG, Raptor Persecution UK, BBC, BBC Radio Leicester, Municipality of West Nipissing, Newstalk 1010, Port Lincoln Osprey, Friends of Loch Arkaig, The Woodland Trust, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, MN Landscape Arboretum, Steelscape, Inc, Days at Dunrovin, Sydney Sea Eagles, Audubon/Explore, Kent Island, Fortis Exshaw, NOAA, and Forsythe Ospreys.

Thankfully -A quiet Sunday in Bird World

16 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The weather was coolish on Saturday morning. I am sitting here with a heavy jumper on, deciding whether or not to go and find the wool socks. It would be a nice day if it were not for the ‘air quality advisories’. So we no longer have the heat but the smoke from the wildfires northwest of us. Not nice. So far, all of the animals have been to the garden today. I did not get a photo of Dyson, but that girl can suck in’ the peanuts. The Blue Jays decided it wasn’t safe to land to disturb her, so she sat in the middle of the feeder, eating a huge pile. She had to be hungry as she did not move to store any of the nuts. Then, while painting the front door, the Blue Jays decided to come and tell me all about Dyson eating the peanuts. It looks like the tray feeders may need to be really separated!

Dyson two days ago on the 13th of July. I am trying to figure out how old she is – she is not a youngster, for sure.

Oh, I finally caught her. Dyson on the 15th. Not a great image..she knew I was there.

I did not go out until the evening and oh, what a surprise there was in store. A week and a bit ago I saw hundreds of Canada Geese doing a ‘day care’. That day the little ones were on the grass and heading back down to the Red River. Today, they were in a ‘train’ – a Goose Day Care outing – to the pond! It was unbelievable. I had my long lens on and could not get a single view so here you go…what you are looking at are the older goslings getting their feathers. There is still baby down in places and the adult are in charge of this long line of youngsters.

‘A’ wonders if they fought – no they did not. All just kept following the lead adults!

They kept going. It was brilliant! The goslings are now so big that it is hard to tell them from the adults unless you look closely at their heads which still have some baby fuzz.

There were others about also. These five little tiny ones were separated from Mum and Dad. A gentle walk around got them back to the other side of the road where they should have been.

This remarkable time at the pond was marred by a small group of young people and a teenager who had some bread and were luring the goslings up on the bank and then kicking pebbles at them. I turned and spoke to them. Their parents did nothing…when I was across the pond, they started up their behaviour again. — We must educate the pre-schoolers on wildlife rights and how stressful their lives can be and their parents. This was completely unacceptable – it was ‘mean-spirited’. Perhaps, like the geese, ducks, and raptors, the children only copy the behaviour they see in the adults who are part of their lives. If so, what a sad world.

Now for some good news!

I mentioned this the other day. Everyone is still celebrating Nova Scotia Power’s rescue of the two osplets. Their parents built a nest on a power pole and then one day they brought in a stick that made the wrong connection causing the nest at Musquodoboit to catch on fire. The adults were frantic. The fire crew got there in time. The chicks were a little smokey but not injured. They were kept in rehab for a fortnight and then returned to a new nest on a new pole dedicated to them and their parents. The icing on the cake? the parents returned to care for their babies! Two weeks! Yes. Can you see my smile?

The nest is on fire.

Osplets in Rehab.

New nest.

New nest on a new pole close to the one on the power line but this one is safe! The parents return. Thanks CBC for the coverage!

Mini is still at home. The parents are still bring fish and Mini is getting much better at self-feeding as s/he grows and grows. Oh, I hope our little one is patient and enjoying life alone – or semi-alone.

Mini is really enjoying the fish that Dad brought.

Fire Island News has an article about the PSEG sponsored nests – at Patchogue (our little Mini) and Oyster Bay.

The-Ospreys-of-Long-Island-—-Fire-Island-NewsDownload

The heavy rains in parts of the UK on Saturday continued from Friday. Aran came in with fish for the two at Glaslyn – he is the king of fishing in the rain and appears to have broken some kind of record Sunday.

It was really blowing at Dyfi, the home of Idris and Telyn, on Saturday. That wind was a help to Cannon who fledged Sunday!

Those high winds and heavy rains were over in the Lake District impacting Foulshaw Moss.

Sunday morning and it is still wet in Alyth but let us hope that as the sun rises over the UK the Osprey nests will dry out.

Things are so much better in Poole Harbour Sunday morning. Blue 022 arrives with breakfast for CJ7 and the trio.

At Loch Arkaig, Only Bob is flapping those wings and looking around to see if Dorcha or Louis are bringing a breakfast fish.

Geemeff catches Louis bringing in a super fish for lunch at Loch Arkaig on Sunday.

Everyone is still home at Boulder County but for how long?

All is well at Collins Marsh.

Only Bob at Cowlitz PUD is self-feeding! If this osplet fledges, it will be the first time in many years this nest has had a fledge. All others died due to the heat domes and lack of food or predation by Bald Eagle. Keep your fingers crossed. Cowlitz PUD is counting on those wire grids protecting this family! If they do, let us put this design into use elsewhere. Lake Murray would be a good start!s

Lots of nice fish for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum chick on Saturday.

This post showed up regarding some of the nests around Minneapolis. Please read. I commented that we have a lovely situation at the Fortis Exshaw nest with a wonderful step-dad osprey!

I wonder how common it is for Osprey males to step up and help with the fishing when a male goes missing? are there so many looking for mates and nests? It is all very interesting.

Louise and her two beautiful surviving ‘well fed’ and cared for osplets – the last of the line for her and Jasper.

‘H’ reports on FortisExshaw: “What a splendid day they had!  There were a total of 11 fish brought to the nest, including two by ‘Mr.O’.  Fish were delivered by Louise at: 0548, 0638, 0735, 0757, 0903, 1423, 1807, 2050, 2117.  Fish delivered by ‘Mr. O’: 0731 (but Louise was off nest, so he waited for 2 1/2 minutes then left with the fish), and 1244.  ‘Mr. O’ also brought sticks to the nest three times.  After his last stick delivery there was a brief period where Louise was helping ‘Mr. O’ move some sticks.  You know you have really made it to the big time when you and your potential new mate have engaged in mutual nestorations.  Nicely done, ‘Mr. O’!”

Audubon Boathouse:  Skipper claimed his first fish!  He took a couple of little nibbles, but then of course Mom, Dory, reclaimed the fish and fed her youngster.  Skipper is 36 days old.

Barnegat Light:  At 46 days old, Duke and Daisy’s youngster is doing great, S/he has been doing some impressive wingers.  Check out ’09’s impressive wing span.

Kent Island:  At 34 days of age, little ‘Junior’ has passed a couple of mini-milestones.  He stood up, took a couple of tiny steps, and did a mini-winger.  He also tried to move a stick.  But, the stick he chose to move was too big . . and he just happened to be standing on the end of the stick, lol.

Forsythe:  There were 3 fish delivered, two from Oscar, one from Opal.  The high temperatures are predicted to be slightly lower this week, with heavy rains and storms in the forecast for Sunday.  The 55 and 54 day old opletes are doing well.

Severna Park:  Both of the fledglings continue to come to the nest to eat, and occasionally to simply hang out.

‘A’ has been observing Diamond and Xavier nothing that Diamond spent much time in the scrape with a sunken crop: “Her crop appears unusually sunken. She nearly always sports a huge crop, so I am most unused to seeing her like that. She arrived at the nest box at 17:24:45, e-chupping. For some reason, she appeared fascinated by the ceiling – or something above and spends some time gazing up. She waits. At 17:45:23 we hear an e-chup from outside the box and she answers immediately. She then moves into the centre of the box, e-chupping and obviously expecting a bonding visit. After a minute or so, it becomes obvious he is not coming, but she stands expectantly in the centre of the nest box for several minutes, occasionally letting out an e-chup. At 18:05:28, she suddenly looks up and to her right again. I am sure Xavier is up there somewhere. She bobs her head, looks around, prepares for departure, and flies out of the scrape at 18:05:40.”

Diamond will be glad of the scrape and the rest. She fought off an intruder earlier in the day.

In Dorset, the Hobby Falcons are serving up ‘bat breakfast’. Oh, goodness, those chicks are the cutest.

In California, Annie is enjoying her Saturday! Lovely to see you Annie and hear all that e-chupping.

Studies are beginning to reveal that human disturbance can cause nest failure.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-scotland-66200130?fbclid=IwAR2uxf2RW5St_IVvaQRcKf9w5njexQSFJessCHVHyzNV-PC_0RgwEJl-lvE

I do not have a bird feeder with a camera but many of you have written to me to know if I did or if I know anything about them. I do not know anything about them but Wired – part of The New Yorks Times – has an article devoted to the three best in their opinion bird feeders with built in cameras in case you are interested.

The-3-Best-Smart-Bird-Feeders-of-2023-Reviews-by-WirecutterDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. it is a cool and damp morning again on the Canadian Prairies and it is time for me to fill the feeders! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H’, CBC, PSEG, Fire Island News, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey News, Polly Turner and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Alyth, Poole Hrbour Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, MN Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities metro Osprey Watch, Fortis Exshaw, Audubon Boathouse, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Kent Island/Explore, Forstythe ospreys, Severna Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Dorset Hobby Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, BBC, and The New York Times Wired.

Fledge is the word of the day and Louis and Dorcha’s chick is a boy…Sunday in Bird World

9 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

All of the Corvid babies are coming to the feeders. This includes the six Blue Jays – easy to recognise from the adults because they have their crest – the adults are now moulting having fledged this large nest. then there are the baby Crows. They do not look so much like babies but the adults feed them on the top of my fence and it is so cute. Then now, this morning, we have the Grackles. Of course, in the mix, are the dozens and dozens of baby House Sparrows, and Dyson’s kids. The images are not great…it is very difficult with the iridescent black and the black eyes and beak to capture the Crows when they are in the south of the conservatory.

Of course, the peanut stock is being depleted regularly with all of these Corvids. The St Boniface. is near the shop to get the birdIndustrial Park . It has two larger ponds and a smaller one. I have not been there this year, and it was high time to check to see what was happening. First, there were no Canada Geese. Not one. Not even a feather from moulting. There were four Ring adult Ring-necked ducks, a pair of Mallards, a few Red-winged Blackbirds, Song and Savannah Sparrows, and a lone Robin pulling worms out of the moist soil. All this rain is helping the birds!

That said- the running around for seed (the shop is quite a distance from where I live) means that my blog today is not nearly as long as normal.

‘H’ sent me great news on Saturday, and if you did not see the posting, you will be thrilled to know that Rita, the former mate of Ron, from the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, is splendid. While we would all want her living in the will with Ron, raising eaglets, it was not meant to be. She had to have part of a wing amputated and she was in guarded condition for some time. Here is the latest news from the Miami Zoo and it is good. Thanks, ‘H’,

Gosh, it’s nice to start off with good news and there is more.

Check out the growth of Dmitri’s storklet! This is from May to July, 2 months. I will put the link to today’s feeding below. Dmitri has been overwhelmed by the international response to his health condition. Enough funds have arrived for him to have the private surgery and not wait a long time in the queue at public hospitals. He has said that the storklet ‘saved his life’… The belief that storks bring individuals good luck if we care for them is shown clearly in this instance. This is a feel-good story, and so happy and grateful for this kind and generous ordinary person. If you wanted to donate, however small, to Dmitri, send me a note, and I will give you the address for the fund. He will need help and funds to feed the storklet and himself after the surgery. Donating was very easy.

The link to this feeding. There does not appear to be a streaming cam live but a camera has been provided to Dmitri so that he can make short clips of the storklet’s progress and post them.

Soledad is still yelling and screaming and the parents are furnishing her with breakfast and keeping track of their only eyas this year. Monty and Hartley you did well! It is sure nice to know that these babies that have fledged are safe.

The third hatch at Outerbanks 24/7 has fledged and like its two older siblings has already returned to the nest! Well done. Put this Osprey nest on your list to watch next season. They are all gone and then they are all on the nest. You can hear them fish calling on the cam!

There is a fledge at Llyn Clywedog. Dylan and Seren’s eldest boy, Blue 8B1, took to the skies, did a fantastic flight around and returned landing on the perch right next to Mum.

Dylan brought his young lad a nice Brown Trout as a reward.

Female chick PF4 has fledged at Loch of the Lowes! Oh, goodness they are all taking to the skies or thinking about it.

At the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn, the chicks are hovering.

The Finnish Osprey #4 nest was a concern. ‘A’ was correct to be concerned. The lack of fish and rain has prompted the first hatch to attack both Middle and Little. The female appears reluctant to feed the Little one and despite two large fish being brought to the nest one after another, the Big osplet has now killed the little one.” It was an outright attack according to my friend ‘T’.

Finnish #1 nest. Eine really loves to eat her fish and those chicks have to work hard to get fed. There could be a potential for problems. The Big one eats, then the second, and we hope there is enough for the third!

The Patchogue Osprey nest is doing fine. There is a lot of wing flapping. The two older osplets have fledged and returned to the nest. On Saturday, Three got up to the perch so it is only time til it flies officially. That left Mini on the nest and our deal little one looked so lonely. Little Mini had a couple of good crops on Saturday. Fully confident that this fantastic chick will fledge. Please continue to watch as we celebrate these amazing parents who raised four energetic and healthy osplets.

Mini keeping an eye on that fish that one of the older is eating. Mini is very smart and has proven itself a survivor. The only issue could be a nest accident but I didn’t say that! This is also a good nest to put on your list for viewing next year.

Mini alone -.

‘M’ got this nice screen capture of Mini alone today, too. The flying is going to cause the older ones to be hungry so no doubt the nest is going to be frantic when there are deliveries. Gos, this chick is gorgeous. Notice her nice necklace and those amazing eyes. You can always tell Mini by her head and neck form the others. And look at those thick ankles. Little tears of joy…I know many of us worried so much that we would lose Mini.

After some initial hiccups, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys are doing fantastic.

Everything appears to be alright at Cowlitz PUD. This nest was fortunate – only one egg hatched and there is enough fish for three. If you have forgotten, the theory is that the Bald Eagles – which are plentiful in the area – steal the fish from the Ospreys.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest is very interesting. It is thought that this is the first breeding season for the female. The male is 21 years old. He often stays in the nest and observes the female feeding the chick. Today is the first day I can say that this baby has ‘a fat little bottom’. Things have improved since the beginning of the season on this nest.

Clark PUD is alright. I keep thinking this nest could use some more fish as the osplets are growing rapidly and feathering.

The female at Collins Marsh is just a sweetie. The two chicks of this new couple are doing very well, indeed.

The three chicks at the Lipka Forest Osprey nest in Poland are doing super.

The ringing of osplets (or any raptor or bird) can cause upsets at the nest. After the initial delay of the parents returning to the nest on Saturday, Louis comes in with fish number two. On Sunday, it is confirmed that this big chick is a boy! The naming contest has begun. Geemeff sent the link, please scroll through the comments when you get to this site: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/

‘H’ continues to be concerned about the FortisExshaw nest. This is her report for the morning: “Their only feeding yesterday was from a large fish brought by Louise at 0934.  Since then, Louise has left the nest numerous times, and the longest she was away was 52 minutes.  She returned a few times with nesting material.  She was never seen with a large crop.  I have seen beaking of Little a few times.  I assume this beaking is probably taking place more often than I am finding it on rewind.  Jasper will have been missing 48 hours on 7/9 at 0930.  I hope Jasper returns.  This is really tough on Little.”

Louise alone wondering what happened to Jasper with three very young chicks to feed and protect – and brood.

Ferris Akel has been checking in on Big Red, Arthur and the Ms and on Saturday he found all of them. Those fledglings are doing great.

Suzanne Arnold Horning found the Ms as well. Gosh these are precious little ones.

A beautiful story coming to us from the Kakapo Recovery about Nora – and, yes, she is still alive. I have attached the article below so you can read about this remarkable female, the matriarch to the now 209 Kakapo in the world.

Celebrating-40-years-with-Nora-the-kakapo-Conservation-blogDownload

All of Heidi’s other Osprey nests are doing well so no individual reports on them.

Thank you for being with me today. Send your positive energy to those struggling nests, including Fortis Exshaw. Take care, everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, M, T’, Miami Zoo, Dmitri’s stork, SK Hideaways and the SJCH Falcon Cam, Outerbanks 24/7, CarnyXWild, George Green and the Clywedog Osprey Group, Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve, Dyfi Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Foundation, PSEG, Boulder County Fair Grounds, MN Landscape Arboretum, Clark PUD, Collins Marsh, Lipka Forest, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Ferris Akel Live Stream, Suzanne Arnold Horning, and kakapo Recovery.

A Goose Convention…Bird World for Wednesday

5 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Tuesday required a walk in the park, and I am so glad I picked St Vital. The adult Canada Geese had brought all the goslings up from the Red River to the park to feed on new grass and rest. I have never seen so many goslings in one spot in my life!

There were more goslings and ducklings around the pond, but, it was only when I was in the car leaving, that I saw this group that excited me so much. There were literally hundreds of them. I slowed right down in sheer wonder at what I was seeing but, I did not stop to take a photograph. For fear of disturbing them and sending stress through the entire group, I continued on. Some were in the flower garden eating plants! There were also Wood Duck babies – I only saw the Mums – and Pintail babies along with Mallards and goslings. It was a grand morning.

Just to let you know, early counting at the park indicated a lower number than in previous years. The hundreds of goslings came from nests along and around the river and not the park but to my sheer joy, there were lots of babies hatched from nests on the island in the pond. Some are only a few days old; others are nearing six weeks. It certainly raised my level of joie.

At the beginning of the season, there were so many male Wood ducks and only a couple of females at this pond that it was curious. Now there is not a male Wood duck in sight. Are they on the island in the shade while the females are out on the pond with the wee ones foraging?

More ducklings, Mallards.

This gosling has its beautiful juvenile feathers coming in on its back as that soft natal down just seems to be peeling away and falling off. I was shocked at the size of this one who came right to 3 metres of me and my camera without any fear. Look at those huge muscular legs.

The ones in the image below are all starting to get their wing and tail feathers. Like the other one above you can see the back juvenile plumage already in place.

Weeding the flower beds?

Adults trying to herd the youngsters across the road so that they can all go back to the river.

The newly hatched. It is hard to believe but all of these will be ready for their migration flight which will take place from September to the end of October.

As is typical, I want to bring the sad news first so that we can end on a ‘high’ note. The Newfoundland Power nest brings me to tears. Things are much better at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest, but I will remain cautious. While ‘MP’ finds joy in the sparrows living in the nest under the Patchogue osplets, my joy is walking in the trees and listening to the birds. I am so grateful that I was out today, for when I returned, ‘T’ sent me news of the death in Finland – another siblicide at the Janakkalan nest and then the death of the last surviving falcon at the University of Montreal. Tomorrow, I expect to add #105, the other osplet from the Newfoundland nest unless Hope continues to feed it and it somehow frees itself from that mud. 105. We are only beginning July. ——- Still, we must rejoice in all the ones that survive and, of course, one of those is our own Little Mini from Patchogue.

Dad brings in a fish to Mum and the two surviving osplets at Janakkalan.

Hope continues to brood and feed the chick that is alive and stuck in the mud of the nest. This is beyond sad. Will the chick get strong to free itself? is it injured? Why doesn’t someone climb the ladder and help? Bring some grasses, assess the chick and then decide what to do. Even bring a fish or two! It could help and it sure wouldn’t hurt. A great big show of human empathy is what is needed here!!!!

The second chick at Newfoundland is free from the mud but, is dying. Two very healthy babies. Sad beyond belief. There has been no shortage of fish. I wonder what this male thinks when his chicks die year after year after year.

Dad looking down at his dying chick. Poor thing is crying and raising its head.

‘H’ reports that with even five fish delivered yesterday the first hatch or in this case also the Alpha chick on the Fortis Exshaw nest is continually beaking the little one – not just at meals, all the time. We are now watching this nest for siblicide.

At the Minnesota Arboretum nest, the Mum has tried to create a little nest…if the wind would cooperate and leave the grasses alone. She is also continuing to feed the chick who is right at the table when fish is brought in when it is hungry. Things are looking good here. But like the Newfoundland nest there is a lot of sticky gumbo and these couples need nesting materials.

Will this osplet chick grow up not knowing that a nest needs lots of bedding? Instinct? Observed and learned?

The single surviving osplet is entering the Reptile phase. Send positive wishes…we are not out of the woods until this one has a successful fledge and returns to the nest.

Just look at the Clark PUD nest in comparison. The two chicks are doing well. (I worry if there are rains that the Minnesota chick will also get stuck in mud.)

I no longer count the bites of fish Mini gets (if I can see to do this). Mum is feeding her and she is also self-feeding. This chick is strong and resilient. She is also a beauty! Some images from the Patchogue nest today where hovering is reaching new heights! We are into fledge season for many!

Please look at these four beautiful osplets. Did you ever think that Mini would catch up with Third Hatch? I suspect but, will never know, that Big, Two, and Mini are females and Three is a male. Why? Little Mini’s growth continues while Three has stopped. Three’s legs are long and skinny. We can now see the size of Mini’s wings in comparison to Three which is right beside her.

Can you see the tail of Big? Hovering is off the scale on Tuesday. Fledge is near.

Look at Little Mini’s expression to the sibling hovering.

Gorgeous Little Mini.

Mini self-feeding.

The Patchogue nest was on high alert with Mum mantling at 10:11. No fledges yet but more wing flapping including our Little Mini! Yes, that is Mini with its wings spread. Smile everyone.

One of the chicks, perhaps, Big is dangling just like Big at Patchogue. Getting lots of air. ‘H’ reports, “The community held its July 4th parade, and the parade route traveled right in front of the nest.  So, there was a slight bit of a disturbance.  Otherwise, there may very well have been a fledge on 7/4.  ‘Big’ (I assume) did some decent hovering.  See the feet dangling in one of the attached pics.”

‘H’ reports that the Forsythe nest continues to do well. “There has been a heat wave along the coast, with temps in the low to mid 90’s for a few days.  The heat may be responsible for a reduced amount of fish being delivered to the Forsythe nest.  There were only four fish brought to the nest on 7/4, although two of them were pretty big.  Opal delivered the two large fish herself.  Big took the first small fish to self feed, then Middle stole the tail!  Cool Osprey stuff.  Even with the reduced amount of fish, ‘Big’ maintained his ‘composure’ (lol) . . no aggressive behavior.  (ages 44, 43 days on 7/5)”

The osplets at the Boulder County Fair Grounds wished they were a little smaller so they could fit underneath Mum during the rain.

The two surviving osplets at Collins Marsh appear to be thriving. Just look at that beautiful nest their parents have made for them.

The foster chick at the Patuxent River Park 1 nest fledged yesterday — and to the relief of all, returned to the nest 27.5 hours later! Look at the smile on that chick’s face. Great flying. I bet she is glad to be home. Thanks ‘H’ for the great news.

‘H’ adds “At 1319 Dad delivered a large fish to the nest, and in contrast to her usual demeanor, ‘Foster’ grabbed the fish from Dad.  Mom wanted the fish and a brief tug of war ensued, but Mom got the message, and ‘Foster’ won.  Foster’s crop was hollow, and she ate ravenously.  When she was full, there was still plenty of that fish left for Mom to feed to her foster siblings.  Dad delivered large fish two more times, and ‘Foster’ was back to being her normal reserved self, standing by until Mom had fed her offspring, and ‘Foster’ was then fed by her foster Mom.  (the siblings are 50 and 49 days old)”.

Blue 33 always makes me smile…On Tuesday, he delivered three fish to the nest in less than an hour! He’s got fledglings to feed. Blue 3H3 took off today and 3H5 is really doing fantastic at hovering.

As was mentioned in my blog yesterday, many of the females are out fishing to supplement the fish from the males. This has been a year of injuries and intruders that have caused all the Daddy Door Dashes to wish they had a cell phone and a credit card to the nearest live fish market.

Laddie was back delivering fish to the nest of Blue NC0 and the two kids today, thankfully.

I promised an update on the Australian nests and I keep forgetting. ‘A’ sent this to me after I hit ‘send’ on my Tuesday morning blog.

Sydney Sea Eagles: :A wet day, with Lady spending much longer on the eggs – 8.5 hours – and as usual only leaving them uncovered for short times. Dad brought in bird prey at 9:16am – a coot again – the cameras were down for some time. Lady took it off to eat, but Dad had a full crop too. I am wondering where he is catching the coots – I would expect people to see him hunting in the wetlands the coots are found in. Coots have very distinctive lobed feet. After a damp day, both eagles settled again as usual at dusk.”

Orange Falcons: “Xavier spent some time hanging out in the nest box today, doing some scraping. There were a couple of bonding sessions, with a two-minute chat and bonding at 17:48:40. Diamond then went to the Cilla Stones. She is sleeping on the Stones again tonight. Both appear well.”

Speaking of falcons, Annie and Lou are enjoying some peace and quiet after the 2023 season. I wonder if the fireworks bothered them? Or maybe SF didn’t have any loud light displays. — There were fireworks in the Channel Islands on the night of the 3rd and ‘B’ tells me that Thomas slept through them. Oh, that is wonderful. We worried about the impact on all the eaglets.

CBD Falcons: “At Collins Street, they will not turn on the cameras until about 10 or 12 days before the first hatch is due. Maybe a few days earlier than that but not much. So I will keep an eye on the local news for any sign of the first egg being laid. Of course, it is still several weeks away. August is usual, I believe.”

Royal Albatross: “In New Zealand, Manaaki had a very rare night-time feeding when a parent (identify impossible to discern in the darkness) arrived to feed him at 2.40am!!!”

‘A’ comments on what is happening at the Bald Eagle nest that adopted the little Red-tailed Hawk named Tuffy, “Meanwhile, I was disturbed to hear that the eagles who are fostering a red-tailed hawklet are starting to attack the chick and dropped it off the nest the other day. Poor little thing must be awfully confused by the schizoid behaviour of its foster parents, but I hope it wakes up to the danger in time to depart before it becomes a snack. What interests me is the number of these cases that are now becoming apparent. It suggests, of course, that this situation is way more common than we realised before the era of streaming cams – we are now seeing something we previously did not have an opportunity to observe for ourselves, and in the process we are finding that these ‘strange’ things are not as rare as we perhaps thought. The fact that the hawklets are faster-maturing than the bald eaglets and are confident little chicks who are not used to bonking on their natal nest and therefore confidently beg for food. I believe it is at that moment that the eagle parents recognise the hawklet as a baby chick rather than as prey. If the hawklet does not beg, it becomes lunch. If it does, it turns into a chick in the eyes of the eagles. The situation is obviously unstable, and if there are food shortages, the hawklet may be in serious danger. But many of these hawklets do seem to fledge and survive, albeit with a weird taste for fish!” 

In the UK, raptors are continuing to be openly shot on the wealthy estates. This one is Westerdale in North Yorkshire. When will the shooting and gaming community come together, buy some extra grouse – I understand there are often many left after the shooting parties, and let the wild birds live their lives.

2nd-red-kite-found-shot-nr-Westerdale-in-North-York-Moors-National-Park-in-recent-weeks-with-suspicDownload

There are young osprey chicks in Canada and ones getting ready to fledge. There is banding going on in the UK and other parts of Europe. Some of the Mums will begin to feed themselves to regain their lost weight, raising their chicks and preparing for their migration to Africa. It is hard to imagine, but in 3 weeks, females like Blue NC0 could leave their nests for their long journey. It is typical for the females to leave the nest first. The male stays and brings fish to the fledglings until they leave. He may remain and eat up before flying off – generally in September. I hope to have some news for us on the status of HPAI in West Africa as that is the winter home to many of the UK Ospreys. We also need to check and see what is happening with Avian Flu in South America, as it is the winter home to most of the North American ospreys.

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

I am grateful to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, H’, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Newfoundland Power, MN-Landscape Arboretum, Clark PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Collins Marsh, PSEG, Patuxent River Park, LRWT, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Severna Park, Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, Raptor Persecution UK, and the NZ DOC.