Dyfi Osprey Project – Page 6 – Mary Ann Steggles

Wednesday in Bird World

21 August 2024

Good Morning,

It is actually Tuesday afternoon, late afternoon, that I am beginning to write the post for tomorrow. The sounds of the Blue Jays squawking at something are overlaid with the sound of a jet aeroplane flying overhead. It was a hot day today. 29 C. Sweltering at the nature centre. A few songbirds were out getting seed at the feeders, and some ducks were sitting under one eating dropped seed, but not much more. Only a few humans were venturing out at 1400 these days! We are all idiots likely to get heat stroke! Thank goodness for the small shade gardens scattered about with benches. These have been growing to accommodate the increasing summer heat and the need for people to stop and take a breath.

The ducks are having a wonderful time searching for seed under one of the feeders near the hide. They knew I was there and cared little. Humans are no threat to the wildlife in the centre. Thank goodness there is a safe place for them.

There is a group of volunteers that care for the garden areas. They have recently finished a couple of small ponds with koi and turtles. The sound of the water is so relaxing.

A second pond.

Looks like a grebe to me!

An American Goldfinch and a Black-capped Chickadee.

There is very little news in Bird World. The revelation that Laddie died a natural death while very sad, is a tremendous relief to everyone. The thought of an individual or individuals purposefully killing this beloved osprey at Loch of the Lowes was simply unthinkable.

A few sites continue to post some of the highlights from the season. Just look at the snow at Clywedog!

There are rumours that F23, the mate of M15 at Southwest Florida, has been seen at the nest on Tuesday.

He is one of my favourite dads in the UK, and his mate Blue 35 ranks right up there, too. She is the one who creatively fed Tiny Little several years ago – the tiniest third hatch I had seen in years compared to the big siblings already in reptile plumage. Tiny Little became the dominant bird in the nest and was called Blue 464. White YW stayed late and fed her. I have seen no sightings, but I hope she has survived.

Our friend Geemeff that supplies the summaries for Loch Arkaig loves polar bears. I hope to travel up to the Arctic with them to see these beautiful creatures but, in Manitoba, you are having to travel greater distances. The bears that come into the town because they are starving to death get little respect. It is the three strikes law. After three visits, they are shot. Of course, the ice and the seals they rely on are few these days. It isn’t about birds but I am including this article because Geemeff loves those beautiful bears so much.

“The fatal encounter and sightings in unusual locations foreshadow what experts say is a looming clash between polar bears and northern communities as climate change upends the habitat and food sources of the apex predator.” “Across the region, sea ice will play a critical role in polar bears’ future prospects, including where they are spotted and how well-fed they are. Some populations faced near-record-low ice cover this summer, while other bears like the western Hudson Bay population had “excellent” ice coverage. But even extensive ice cover isn’t enough: across swaths of the bay, the ice was thick but lacked ridges and snow cover, meaning it was a poor breeding site for ringed seals, a top polar bear prey. Shifts in seal populations will put immense pressure on bears to find enough food.”

They are starving. I wonder what humans do when they are starving and their children are starving?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/20/polar-bears-climate-change-human-encounters?CMP=share_btn_url

Royal Albatross Chick is spreading those big wings and it is only the 20th of August!

‘A’ remarks: “The Cornell footage of our TF testing his wings is impressive. What a wingspan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzeozQW_SM&list=TLPQMjEwODIwMjQgpA2JbubKqA&index=5 Isn’t that magnificent? I am unsure whether that is TF or TFT. If it is TF, he has far more fluff left on him than I thought from last week’s shots, when there appeared to be very little left on his wings and back. And he should have lost more since those pictures, so this chick appears to have quite a lot to still get rid of. “

‘MB” sent us a great article about the growing White Stork colony at Knepp Farm. It is on my bucket list!

Young Storks Begin New Life at Knepp – Knepp Download

There is still activity at the Hellgate Canyon nest of Iris and Finnegan.

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

Daily summary Tuesday 20th August 2024

Nothing to say, not one visitor big or small on the nests today. Affric and Prince are perhaps still around looking after their fledgling on the Bunarkaig nest as the male and chick were seen there as recently as Sunday 18th, but Bird Guides reports more and more sightings of Ospreys on the move and we wish all of them a safe migration journey and hope to see the adults back next year. The wet and windy weather certainly makes migrating now the best option, for Scottish Ospreys anyway.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.41.41 (05.08.00); Nest Two 21.36.44 (05.13.09)

Today’s videos: None!!

Bonus Highlands walk report including Loch Arkaig:

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=125825

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

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

The latest from Richmond and Rosie’s nest on top of the light stand in San Francisco:

‘H’ caught up with Fenwick Island:

Remember. Those Omega ships in the Bay are causing the ospreys to starve especially in the extreme heat periods. If you live in the US and feel strongly about this issue, please write your Senator!

There is growing concern that the area that Omega has been fishing has caused this – impacting jobs and tourism.

One of the things that keen observers of Canadian geese know is how loyal the mates are to one another. In one of the books at the farm animal sanctuary, there was a story of a couple. The female had a broken wing and could not fly. The male would walk, fly a short distance, and wait for his mate to catch up. The story of the swans in the post below reminded me of this kindness. How many of you remember the story of Arnold and Amelia? Two Canada Geese living at a pond on the grounds of a wildlife rehab centre in the NE US? Arnold had his foot attacked by a snapping turtle and required care. Amelia waited on the porch of the clinic, looking in. Eventually, they were allowed to eat together and then be together as Arnold improved. It was beautiful – sheer devotion.

Beaumont and Hope’s second hatch has been doing a lot of hovering. It will be flying with the rest of the family soon.

Four at home at Dyfi – still not seeing Senni.

Remembering SW Florida’s beautiful season.

Nine fish were delivered to the Muonion nest in Finland on the 20th of August! NINE. Everyone was seen.

Altyn and Nova’s fledglings at the Imperial Eagle nest in RU.

For those of you that remember the agonising death of Golden Eagle Spilve’s chick, Klints, I am happy to say that Spilvie and her new mate are at the nest in Latvia doing some restorations.

Thunder and Akecheta at the West End nest in the Channel Islands on Tuesday. Cholyn, Thunder’s Mum and mate to Chase, was seen at the Two Harbours nest a few days ago.

The USK Valley in Wales has a new streaming cam for ospreys! Congratulations.

View the birds — Usk Valley Ospreys Download

We have something a wee different from a reader. I want to add that every living creature is impacted when humans use poisons.

‘MP’ writes: “I thought I’d send a little something different. Like the rodenticide to Raptors, insecticides have done the same to the hog-nosed skunk. Skunks don’t ask for anything other than to just be left alone. Insecticides have done in many insects which is what the hog-nosed skunk feeds on and the insecticide that killed the insects too kills the skunk who eats the insect. This species of skunk is hard to find now in Texas where it was plentiful once.

Hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus mesoleucus) are about the same size as striped skunks but have some differences in appearance. They have a long, hairless nose pad and come equipped with long claws and powerful front legs that are good for digging. They typically have a single broad, white stripe that starts at the head and extends down the back to the end of the tail. Their diet consists mostly of insects. Hog-nosed skunks are found in the western parts of the state. A subspecies from the Big Thicket of East Texas is thought to be extinct. Alternate name: rooter skunk. Texas Parks and Wildlife.”

‘A’ writes about the little sea eaglets: “Early breakfast at WBSE was lovely. Both chicks ate side by side, with mum offering them both bites and no bonking was observed. SE34 is noticeably smaller than SE33 but not fearful to eat today at all. He leaned forwards and even shuffled forwards a couple of steps at one stage to get closer to mum’s beak. SE33 did do better from the feeding but this was due to Lady favouring the older eaglet.

Certainly, both had enough food at that meal, which ended when Dad turned up and shortly before 06:32 began that godawful cackling that the ranger’s report calls ‘duets’. There is nothing musical about them – they are a dreadful din, slightly reminiscent of a gaggle of backyard geese greeting a rain shower. Duet? I don’t think so. Anyway, participation in said duet distracted Lady from the job of feeding the eaglets. By 06:33 when it ended, the chicks had both dozed back off.

Around 06:35 the littles again wake up and the feeding resumes. But Lady now has to stretch too far to reach SE34 so she feeds SE33. SE34 is looking interested, head up, and even tries to get a little closer to mum, who ignores him. Finally, at 06:37:41 Lady reaches the extra distance to SE34 and gives him a bite. And a second. She then resumes the easier option of feeding SE33. When SE33 refuses a bite at )6:38:10, Lady offers it to SE34, who takes it gratefully. Lady is now down to leftover scraps and is working hard to get edible pieces for the littles.

She feeds the second half of a bite to SE34, but otherwise feeds SE33. SE34 gets a bite at 06:38:40. Again, Lady resumes feeding SE33. By 06:39:30, SE33 has decided it is still hungry and stands up to better reach the food. SE34 shuffles forward as well, but SE33 is now even closer to Lady and is now eagerly eating, so SE34 is not offered any food until 06:40:24, when Lady makes a real effort to reach SE34 with a bite. SE33 again shuffles forward. SE34 does the same but SE33 is much closer to mum, who resumes feeding SE33.

By 06:41:20, SE34 is obviously trying to eat and each time SE33 gets a bite, SE34 watches and tries to get closer to mum. Lady eventually stretches to give him a bite just before 06:42. She then gives him a second bite, before cleaning his face and feeding what she removed to SE33. SE33 again sits up eagerly, moving forward, so gets offered the food. At 06:42:46, SE34 sits up tall, hoping mum will notice him, and she does. He gets a bite. SE33 considers, then rejects the idea of turning away from the table.

Around 06:43 Lady is patiently feeding a bite to SE34 when SE33 leans in and steals the last piece from literally in front of SE34’s beak. Lady is only feeding SE33. The two are sitting up side by side looking cute as fluffy little buttons. At 06:45:28 Lady reaches to give SE34 a bite but then resumes feeding SE33. At 06:46 Lady makes a real effort to feed a bite to SE34. There has been no intimidation or bonking and no sign that SE34 is nervous or reluctant to eat. Both eaglets behave perfectly throughout the meal.

Lady then takes the remaining carcass (bones mainly) off the nest, and the littles were then left alone for a long time. SE34 is determined to use SE33 as a pillow, then they switch positions, and eventually the two settle down into a cuddle puddle. There is obviously still some close parental supervision, as evidenced by a periodic cackle. The littles are sleeping.

At 08:42 a parent visits the nest and checks the babies, scattering some dry leaves over them like a blanket. SE33 wakes up and what I believe to be Lady does some allopreening of her older hatch. SE33 sits up and turns around, revealing its large crop. Around 08:46 Lady heads up the perch branch. She flies off just before 09:23. The little pile of white fluff is already asleep again.

These two seem to be doing okay, but SE33 is certainly dominating most of the feedings, largely because of Lady. I am not sure whether this is happening at all the feedings, and certainly SE34 did not appear intimidated when offered food at this feeding. Whenever Lady bothered to reach far enough, SE34 readily accepted the mouthful. There was no hesitation. He did look at his sibling a few times, but never in the eye. Nest etiquette was observed and as a result, there was no aggression and both were very civilised. This is what we want to see. “

‘H’ posts about the Fortis Exshaw nest – doing good!

Please lobby to get the lights turned out in your town or City. It is migration season. Billions die from collisions each year because the lights in our city’s tallest buildings are full on.

Global Bird Rescue Download

Thank you so much for being with us today. Hugo Yugo wants you to have the most marvellous day ever!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, MB, MP, PB’, George Green and The Clywedog Osprey Group, @Foulshaw Ospreys, The Guardian, Knepp Farm, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SF Bay Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary, Newfoundland Power, The Real Saunders Photography, Saaksilvie, Liznm, IWS/Explore, USK Valley Ospreys, Wesley A. Brasheat, Global Bird Rescue, and Olympic Park Eagles.

Tuesday in Bird World

20 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

First up, if you would like the recipe for the Nova Scotia Brown Bread with oatmeal and molasses, send me an email (maryannsteggles@icloud.com), and I will happily send you the recipe that I used. It was delicious, especially after 24 hours! I did not use a bread machine (a few of you asked). Having spent a few decades as a potter, the kneading of bread is enjoyable. The bread slices nicely after it has a chance to sit for several hours (perhaps 6) and even better the next day. It was good with a curried chickpea filling as a sandwich today.

Oh, I thought the baby Cowbird had left the garden…Well, I should say that the House Sparrows raised three cowbirds in their nests in the lilacs and nearby trees. But, there, sitting on a lilac branch, big and bold, was a beautiful little Cowbird. It is making my day. I don’t like what they do to the other little birds – laying their eggs in their nests and having tiny birds feed those big hatchlings, but I like to know that all of them are safe. Despite knowing that the local hawk has to eat, I still have a big ache when I hear he had a Blue Jay for lunch or a little woodpecker.

It remains hot for Winnipeg – not in the 30s anymore, but a hot 27 C. The bird baths are busy and have to be filled constantly.

The peppers are ripening every day, and so are the tomatoes. I wish you were here so I could give you armfuls of herbs! Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope are playing Hungarian Sweet Pepper hockey tonight!

Mr Crow has left me some feathers from his moult. The squirrels are busy eating. In about a month, they will begin hoarding peanuts. Right now, they are eating them at their leisure. My neighbour finished my planter, and I put in three big gobs of grass. It is a little late. We will see if their roots take before winter. If this heat keeps up, we might not have winter until the new year. That said, a goose wedge (or skein) flew overhead around 1800, heading to the river. They will begin flying into the pond at the nature centre in a few weeks from the north (or that has been the historical practice). On the ground, they are called a gaggle.

It could be a better image – heavily cropped and taken with an iPhone through the conservatory windows – of either a Great Crested Flycatcher or an Eastern Kingbird – sitting on the lilac branches this morning. It is so tricky seeing the birds when the foliage is dense.

I wonder what else is lurking in those branches. When I set Merlin to listen, everyone becomes quiet. It is too funny!

I had hoped that we would not see any more osprey deaths this season, but such is not the case. The middle chick at the Osprey Environment Centre in Australia has died. The weather turned cold, rainy, and quite nasty and it was difficult for George to fish. The stronger sibling, the first hatch, did survive. Parents are George and Hope.

The fish deliveries and the anxiousness of Sum-eh and Antali are ramping up the action at Hellgate Canyon.

Just look at Antali’s crop!

There is good news about Yellow USU. Nothing wrong with the wing. It appears that the issue had to do with a bit of a lack of fish. USU is doing well in care and eating buckets of Bream. What a relief for this sole survivor of its nest in Finland.

There is a lot of fish coming to the nest of Eura and Eve (nest # 1). The fledglings have huge crops – there are three of them, two females and a male, but I cannot see the yellow Darvic rings in the images below.

Adult cleaning out the nest bowl at nest #4. He was sure working on that nest bowl – you would have thought there was another male’s eggs in there he wanted to get rid of but, it is just preparations for next year.

Two on the nest at Pitkin County fish calling!

Windy and one on the nest at Llyn Brenig. Three fledglings apparently at Clywedog, but I missed them.

All of the youngsters are still at Glaslyn.

Those fish that are coming in are a nice size to fatten these babies up for their long flight.

Kiddos of Idris and Telyn still wanting fish at Dyfi.

Xavier and Diamond are working on eggs for the 2024 season!

Do the Osprey (and other fish and mammals) a favour if you live in the US. Find your Senator on the list and write to them to push an end to the industrial fishing of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and at its mouth – we need more than a 3 mile ban.

Gabby is expected back at the nest in the NE of Florida within the next three weeks! It doesn’t stop many from checking in daily. When will Beau return? Will this be ‘their’ year?

Blue 5F Seren is still home at Llyn Clywedog and those fledglings are getting some whoppers for their dinners.

Mr North and Mrs DNF are getting a new nest after theirs collapsed during torrential weather this season.

Another Montana fledgling with a crop that is about to pop!

Juveniles eating fish at Allin’s Cove East on Long Island.

At Rutland, Maya, Blue 33, and 1R0 were all on the nest Monday morning. I caught 1R0 screaming for fish and Blue 33 obliged with a whopper for their Only Bob.

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

Daily summary Monday 19th August 2024

No activity on the nests today bar a fleeting visit by a little Robin. Has Garry LV0 headed south? He only made a brief appearance yesterday, and with the wet and windy weather which is set to continue for days, he may have decided to seek out warmer climes. As always, nothing is certain so it’s wait and watch to see if he turns up again. If you’ve enjoyed watching the Osprey cams this season, the bonus section has the different ways you can support Woodland Trust.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.48.46 (05.20.05); Nest Two 21.37.58 (05.21.11)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/2UwIdLfYcRc N1 A Robin is today’s only visitor to the nests 05.32.36

Bonus action – if you’ve enjoyed the Osprey cams, here are some ways to support Woodland Trust:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act

Geemeff sent us some more very interesting news items. I am including all the links as I am certain there are several that will be of interest to you if not all!

https://www.fws.gov/event/native-american-aviaries-partnership-between-coeur-dalene-tribe-and-birds-prey-northwest

Charles County Sheriff’s Office: Officer Ptack’s Act of Kindness Saves Distressed Osprey

You’ll never believe what this Grand Lake osprey chick is doing in its nest

Wolf reintroduction has made it a lot harder to be a Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/24521011.letter-turbines-will-ruin-powys-uplands-forever

The day old White-tail Eaglet is doing well according to PLO.

Jolene and Boone are visiting their nest in Johnson City, Tennessee. More and more eagles will be returning in the next month to get reacquainted and freshen up their nests.

Today’s special! A free copy of August Birdwatch Magazine!

a free digital copy of August Birdwatch Magazine:

https://pocketmags.com/free/265737

Sea Eaglets playing nice.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, messages, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, PB’, Osprey House Environment Centre, Cornell Bird Lab, Pam Breci, Pyhtaan lintuhoitola, Saaksilvie, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, Llyn Brenig Osprey Cam, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways, Save our Menhaden, NEFL-AEF, Llyn Clywedog Osprey Cam, Raptor Resource Project, Allin’s Cove East Osprey Cam, LRWT, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, fws.gov, Sky Hi News, Country Times, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sara A,

Cobey is rescued…Thursday in Bird World

8 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beautiful osplets in Latvia waiting to fly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When you sibling wants your other slipper!

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

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

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

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

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

Daily summary Wednesday 7th August 2024

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

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

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

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

Click to access ASeasonWithTheOsprey.pdf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sadly, we will be hearing more about bird flu.

Bird flu is here. We have no plan.Download

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

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

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

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

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

‘H’ reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday in Bird World

2 August 2024

Hello Everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Food deliveries for Blue:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘RP’ found this on X. So cute.

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

Dyfi Osprey Nest.

It is precisely the same at every nest.

Glaslyn.

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

Later, other siblings want some fish, too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone is still home at Blackbush.

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

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

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

It’s very windy there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘H’ sends her reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hurricane force winds go through Montana…Iris is alright…Thursday in Bird World

25 July 2024

Hello Everyone!

Update: You will now know that the cameras in Montana are down due to hurricane force winds. We are grateful that our friend EJ is there, right near Iris. ‘EJ’ reports that a massive storm went through Missoula, Montana Wednesday night. She went to check on Iris and the chicks Thursday morning and they are fine! This is such a great relief.

Kova has fledged at the Surrey Reserve. Only eaglet left is Blue at Boundary Bay for the Hancock Wildlife nests in British Columbia, Canada. Thanks, ‘J’.

Wednesday was a little hotter. 27 C. Today’s excursion was to Delta Beach to check on the Bald Eagles. The humidity and heat were overwhelming from the moment I got to the wetlands. The staff had cut narrow paths through the tall reeds – they didn’t allow any breeze to filter through. There were NO Red-wing Blackbirds doing murmurations. None. The Bald Eagle nest was vacant. I felt bad that I had not gone to check earlier. And then there was a juvenile sitting on a branch overlooking the southern tip of the lake. I bet it was waiting for a parent to return with a big fish! There were gulls and Killdeer along the shore. Stilt Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, and Semipalmated Plovers danced among the sand and the water. It was a delight. Frogs jumped around the pond while ducks flew off. I could hear Sora. Robins were pulling worms off the grass. Hot, humid – and positively invigorating.

I will post images, other than this frog taken with my phone, when I can find the cable to hook the big camera up to the computer. Oh, the joys of returning from a brief holiday and not being organised.

One of the routines when going to Delta Marsh is to stop for lunch at a small town Chinese restaurant. The owners are the happiest most delightful people. Their food is really good, too. She told me that ‘Canada is the best!’. They were in Las Vegas last week and it was 54 degrees C. She couldn’t wait to get home. This is the heat that is impacting our birds and all wildlife. In Phoenix, they are cooling the animals down with ice and snow surprises.

It’s snow miracle: zookeepers in Phoenix surprise animals with icy wonderland | Phoenix | The Guardi Download

From kindness to – what? This is the most disgusting article I have read in several months. I have a problem with influencers in the first place having watched young girls at university try to emulate the Kardashians. Now TikTok is getting people to shoot millions of birds over Lebanon!!!!!!!

‘Massacred for TikTok likes’: is social media feeding the slaughter of 2.6m birds in Lebanon? | Bird Download

If you missed the on line chat about Annie and Archie’s fledgling, Nox, here it is! Thank you, Sean and Lynne!

My inbox is full of good news stories. Thank you to everyone who sought the positive and sent it to share!

An Osprey Story:

GAULEY BRIDGE, W.Va. — Sometimes, it takes a village to save an osprey chick.

When Beckley nature photographer Kim Ayers stopped in Gauley Bridge on June 7 to photograph the occupants of a long-established osprey nest built atop a train trestle over the Gauley River, she quickly realized something was amiss.

“I could see an adult osprey in the nest that wasn’t moving, except for a wing, which was blowing in the wind, and I could hear the babies — they were so vocal. I knew right then something wasn’t right.”

Ayers had been visiting the nest for years to check on the progress of the ospreys who made it their home and photograph their activities. She visited the nest once every few weeks since March, when newly-hatched chicks had first been spotted at the site.

During Ayers’ June 7 visit, it was apparent that the adult female was dead, and her two offspring needed food and protection.

“I wanted to just stop and cry,” she said. Instead, Ayers called Three Rivers Avian Center at Brooks in Summers County and asked for help.

“If not for Wendy and Ron Perrone (who operate the avian center), what would we do when something like this happens?” Ayers said. “I’m so thankful they’re here.”

“When we got the call, we knew we couldn’t make it there by dark, so we started working the phones to find a volunteer who was closer,” Wendy Perrone said.

The Perrones soon made contact with Matt Carpenter of Fayetteville, a teacher and experienced climber, who offered to ascend the trestle’s rusty steel beams to reach the nest, secure the young birds in bags, and retrieve the remains of the mother osprey, which had apparently been dead for several days.

Carpenter was accompanied to the scene by his partner, wildlife biologist Lindsay Hermanns, and friend Amber Jaxson, who transported the two young osprey in the back of a Mazda to Beckley to meet the Perrones, who brought the birds back to the avian center.

“They heard the call and volunteered,” Wendy Perrone said of Carpenter, Hermanns and Jaxson.

In the weeks that followed, the two young birds feasted on hand-fed culled trout donated by the Division of Natural Resources’ Tate Lohr Fish Hatchery in Oakvale, Mercer County. After maturing enough to eat on their own, they were moved into the Leon Wilson Flyway in the avian center’s flight barn to learn aeronautical skills.

Unfortunately, one of the chicks turned out to be not as strong or resilient as its sibling, and died in early July. The remaining juvenile thrived in its new surroundings, and on Thursday, was ready to return to Gauley Bridge to be released in the wild.

As a carrier containing the bird was carried to the release site, a short distance from trestle and nest, an adult osprey, likely its father, could be seen winging over the scene, vocalizing as it soared.

“That’s icing on the cake,” Wendy Perrone said. “It means an adult is still around to show the young bird how to hunt.”

When the carrier containing the young osprey was opened, the bird at first seemed reluctant to venture outside. But after Wendy Perrone held the bird on her arm, it began tentatively flapping its wings, then slowly became airborne, flying immediately to the top of the nearby trestle, a few feet from its stick-built nest.

“This is such a relief,” Wendy Perrone sighed, as she watched the bird taking in the view of the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers, also the birthplace of the Kanawha, from its lofty vista. “It’s a good day.”

Ospreys, also known as fish hawks or sea hawks, live along rivers, lakes and coastlines, and can be found in every continent but Antarctica. The birds of prey are smaller than eagles but larger than red-tailed hawks.

When on the hunt, ospreys “are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons” to catch fish, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “All About Birds” website.

While nesting ospreys can now be found along the length of the Kanawha River, as well as West Virginia’s share of the Ohio River shoreline and large reservoirs like Stonewall Jackson Lake, such was not always the case.

No nesting pairs were known to exist in the state as recently as 1981, according to a survey by the Raptor Research Foundation, following decades of unchecked stream pollution and widespread use of the insecticide DDT.

Industrial and agricultural stream pollution caused steep declines in fish populations, creating a hardship for osprey whose primary source of food is fish. DDT entering the ospreys’ food chain and being absorbed in their tissue caused their egg shells to thin and break before incubation was complete.

A nationwide ban on DDT use and passage of the Clean Water Act both took place in 1972, which gradually helped restore habitat and improve reproduction odds for ospreys in the years that followed.

By the end of the 1980s, an osprey restoration effort got underway in West Virginia, starting at Tygart Lake, involving six-week-old chicks transported from sites in the Chesapeake Bay area and other locales where osprey were relatively abundant. The young ospreys were taken to sites near Tygart Lake’s shoreline where they were fed and sheltered in screened boxes and allowed to acclimate to their new surroundings, before being released when they had matured enough to be able to fly.

A similar project took place from 1989 to 1995, involving the release of 62 juvenile ospreys from a remote site on Blennerhassett Island in the Ohio River in Wood County, involving volunteers from DuPont’s Washington Works plant, in cooperation with the Division of Natural Resources.

By 1994, three nesting pairs of osprey — all products of the reintroduction effort — had been documented in the state. The population has steadily grown since then.

An investigation is underway by the state Division of Natural Resources Police to determine the cause of death of the newly-released osprey’s mother.

‘J’ sent us the update on Challenger, the celebrity Bald Eagle at the Amerian Eagle Foundation who had cataract surgery:

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

Daily summary Wednesday 24th July 2024

Today was a quiet day with time for reflection after the sad news received yesterday. The consensus among forum members is that Woodland Trust Scotland, Roy Dennis Foundation, Fundación Migres and the specialist veterinary team all did their utmost to give 1JR a fighting chance, but his health was just too compromised to survive. In domestic news, neither Louis nor Dorcha came into nest cam view today, only Garry LV0 turned up for a few minutes on Nest One which was visited later by a few little birds, some of whom are possibly living underneath the nest. The forecasted rain has turned up and a wet night is ahead, with a strong possibility of thundery showers tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.12.20 (03.53.19); Nest Two 22.49.19 (04.14.03)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/5z5M0SPFXu4 N1 Garry arrives with a stick 08.40.50

https://youtu.be/mZHjWrUX0kQ N1 Various little birds flit around 18.38.14

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

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

Bonus podcast marking the 70th anniversary of the return of breeding Ospreys to the UK at Loch Garten:

Scotland Outdoors – Operation Osprey – 70 Years of Breeding Osprey in Scotland – BBC Sounds

At McEuen Park, ‘PB’ caught the only surviving chick of the four self-feeding. Oh, send good wishes to Single Mum and Babe. We need them to make it through this dire time.

The Middle Chick, 6M7, at Glaslyn fledged on Wednesday the 24th at 0840! She picked a wet morning to to take that first flight. Then she was followed by 6M9 at 1027 – congratulations. Aran and Elen have all their babies flying.

These older osplets are really wanting to fly! Just wait – they will take off at the same time! Just wait.

CJ7 and Blue 022 are making doubly sure that their four fledglings continue to eat well! What an amazing year for Poole Harbour. Congratulations.

Wonder where Seren, Dylan, and the chicks are roosting? It is really windy and wee bit damp at Llyn Clywedog.

Gosh, golly. It sounds like gale force winds at Llyn Brenig in the night. The day wasn’t too bad. Waiting for fledge.

Looks a little lonely at the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi. The cam operator caught someone down by the river!

Only Bob was telling Dad, Blue 33, to get the fishing gear out and get that catch on the Manton Bay nest!

The day was gorgeous at Loch Arkaig nest 2 but then the winds and rain began later in the night.

We will have to wait and see what transpires at Loch of the Lowes now that our dear Laddie LM12 is no longer with us. Will Blue NC0 keep the nest with the new dark male?

Three fish delivered to Alyth on Wednesday. Way to go Harry!

Cowlitz PUD – The only surviving chick did fledge on Tuesday and has been returning to the nest regularly. This is fabulous news. If every one of the nests that have had troubles can fledge one chick – that really is a victory in such a challenging year.

I don’t know about anyone else, but if asked to name one outstanding, devoted, more than dedicated, self-sacrificing Osprey female for 2024 in the US, it would have to be our Queen, Iris. Believed to be the oldest osprey in the world, she took a new mate and is raising two chicks in the most extreme heat circumstances after having her summers off since the last chick of hers fledged in 2018, Le’le.

It is the same at the other Montana nests. Fish are not as plentiful as they were ten days ago and the males are working hard to get one or two into the females and chick/s before the heat sets in.

Swoop, Winnie, and chick at Dunrovin. Oh, yes, the chick’s name is Junebug. Cute!

Gosh, the fish look small at Charlo Montana compared to what is coming on the nest at Hellgate.

Keke and River waiting for Keo to get some fish on the nest at Sandpoint on Wednesday.

Only Bob at Bridge Golf Course returned to the nest ten hours after fledging. Thanks ‘H’ for catching that landing – looks like the kid needs some more practice!

‘H’ reports:

7/24 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: The live stream was down for five days, and resumed this morning. Fortunately before the cam had gone down, we had been able to witness Little fledge and return to the nest on 7/18. And, it was also awesome to watch him battle for a fish on the nest that day with his siblings, and come away victorious! We missed being able to observe all the post-fledge action while the cam was down. Big was in the nest when the live stream resumed. At around noon, Dad brought a fish to Big. Earlier, a visiting fledgling had been repelled by Big, but the juvenile returned while Big was eating her fish. The young visitor looked hungry, and seemed to be waiting for Big to leave some leftovers. Haha, boy were we wrong. At 1421 the juvie suddenly flew from the nest, and returned two minutes later with a very large headless fish. This young osprey was a lot more capable than we had thought, and had apparently taken a fish from another osprey eating close by. At 1534 an intruder adult osprey began to buzz and dive-bomb the visitor while he was eating his fish, twice striking him and knocking him over. As the intruder approached the visiting juvie for the fourth time, the juvie quickly left the nest and we did not see him again. The intruder landed in the nest, grabbed the fish, and after several minutes, it left with the fish. At 1557 Dad dropped off another partial fish and Big grabbed that one. Middle arrived at the nest at 1609, and took the large fish tail leftover from Big’s first fish. Over the next several hours, there was some good old fashioned sibling interactions, with Middle stealing the fish from Big and Big eventually stealing it back. Middle left the nest before nightfall, but Big stayed to protect her fish. Much to our dismay, we did not see Little today.

7/24 Colonial Beach osprey nest: There were no fish brought to the nest today to feed 30-day-old Cobey, but Cobey did eat pretty well yesterday. David was not seen on cam at all. Betty left the nest for some extended periods of time, and she returned with a crop and was feaking her beak. We are hoping for an early breakfish for Cobey in the morning.

7/24 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was offline all day until 1824. We immediately saw Middle mantling and eating, with Big hovering over Middle a bit. So, Middle had apparently won a battle for a fish. Very good. At 1832 Olsen dropped off a partial fish for Big, that she ate for 38 minutes, leaving the fish tail behind. Middle finished eating his fish by 1857, and at 1914 he ate Big’s leftover fish tail. There was a strong breeze in the evening, and Big was doing some wingercizing and managed to lift off the nest several inches.

Thanks, ‘H’!

Kristel had one large prey delivery today at the Estonian nest #2.

There has been another miracle besides Iris and Poole Harbour – and that has been the ‘Hopeless’ nest in Newfoundland. The Sow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope is one of Hope – not hopelessness this year. Hope is feeding her chicks, Beaumont is providing nice fish, and if we hold our breath and send the most positive energy that nothing untoward happens, this nest could have two fledges this year. That would be the best gift!!!!!! A miracle. These two osplets who are getting their soft juvenile feathers have no idea how speial they are.

Fledge for Richmond and Rosie. ‘Pax’ fledged from the new Golden Gate Audubon nest in San Francisco on Wednesday!

In Nova Scotia, the chicks are preparing to fledge. Skylor and Heidi from the Russell Lake nest are looking to the skies. Skylor looks to go first.

‘NP’ caught this great post of the osplet at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum spreading its wings! Isn’t this amazing? This baby wants to fly.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, The Guardian, Cal Falcons, J + unknown source, American Eagle Foundation, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, McEuen Park, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Pam Breci, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, BoPH, Llyn Clywedog, Llyn Brenig, Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT, The Woodland Trust, Scottish Wildlife Trust (Loch of the Lowes), Loch of the Lowes Visitors Centre, Alyth SSEN, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Bridge Golf Course, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Golden Gate Audubon, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Connie Dennis and Ospreys of Nova Scotia, and Colonial Beach.

Moraine chick knocked off nest, fledge at Glaslyn…Sunday in Bird World

21 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Update from Glaslyn: “Our eldest chick Blue 6M8 took her first flight at 08:50 this morning at 54 days old. She made a short flight around the field supervised by Elen before returning to the nest.” Congratulations Aran and Elen.

The beautiful osplet at Moraine that might have fledged today was not predated by the owl so many worried about, but became she became the victim of a tragic accident with Mum defending the nest against a raccoon. They will put up a raccoon baffle for next year…but maybe, every nest should be looking at raccoon and pine marten baffles and those that have owl predation a very bright solar (or hydro) powered bright light with red strobes. They will not bother the ospreys but could help with owl predation. Oh, goodness. It is hard enough for the wee babes to make it to be two or three weeks old but to die right before or at fledge, this is so sad.

I am sitting at the airport gate. It is always good to have a break, but it is even nicer thinking of home! I cannot wait to see Hugo Yugo, Calico, Baby Hope, Missey, Mr Crow, Dyson, and all the other animals, including ‘The Boyfriend’, who was caught on the security camera arriving at 0400 this morning. I hope he had food left! That camera identified him as a ‘pet’. It made me smile. It has been hot in Winnipeg – of course, unlike what it is for Iris and all the ospreys who continue to deal with tragically hot temperatures.

I am home, exhausted. More than exhausted. My head is reeling with news of tragedies….’The Girls’ were all wanting attention. What a joy it was to see them.

Her name can be seen by the public so I will include it here. I most often use initials. Ann-Marie Watson has watched over the Osoyoos nest and others in that area of British Columbia for years. When Little died and went over the edge several years ago, she travelled an hour and ventured into town during celebrations to give the little one a rite of passage. She sends this report about what is happening in the area. To me, it rings of the events of a couple of years ago when Cooper’s hawklets were jumping off their nests to save themselves from being roasted alive. I think her words bring home the tragedy that is hitting the area ——and I hope that it will emphasize how preious those nests are that have chicks that are alive. I wish that there were enough spaces for these babies so that the nests could make it through this dire time. Ann-Marie writes:

I put this up on our FB page and copy to you. I think Soo may have abandoned the nest and Dad is not feeding the chicks. I didn’t see Soo in the vicinity of the nest yesterday and the chicks are at risk right now. The sweltering heat is affecting so many nests in the south Okanagan.

As upsetting as it is the heat has been a major factor on a lot of nests. I went and checked on quite a few other nests I know of yesterday and it seems a few the parents have abandoned the nests for their own survival.
I called SORCO and OWL rescue for any advice I could get to save our nest in Osoyoos, basically the info I received there are many nests that have been abandoned due sweltering temperatures. Basically too many nests for them to intervene..SORCO is dealing with the owls and Burnaby rescue is at capacity.
This may not be good news for our nest as Mum hasn’t been seen and Dad is not feeding the chicks.
Thinking of you all and as Ann-Mo said take care of your own mental health.
I am taking a break after yesterday’s heartbreaking visits to the nests I went too. So much wildlife is suffering.

20 July 2024

Thursday in Bird World

18 July 2024

Hello from Toronto!

A note: If you wish to order a signed copy of Pickles, please write to Connie Dennis at: ospreysofnovascotia@gmail.com

I have to say that having Hugo Yugo snuggle with me all night before I left just broke my heart. She was all big-eyed and rolling around wanting attention, and I was trying to make certain that Mr Crow and the ‘Garden Gang’ were watered and fed. Thank goodness for the generous granddaughter who will be stepping into our shoes and caring for them and all the plants while I am away. ‘The Girls’ have Gary as their ‘cat sitter’. We will see how they do. Most of the time, they prefer not to have a sitter!!!!!!!

It is a mini-break to see different birds and walk around familiar parks that I last saw in March of 2023. I love High Park for its old trees, its abundant black squirrels, and the duck pond. There is a little zoo, and tomorrow, I will take you with me when I revisit it. It is nice and cool. 20 C and hopefully the sun will wake up sometime!

Have a great day everyone! So happy to have you with us.

Let’s start our day with Jackie and Shadow – always a pleasure. No matter what life throws at them they just keep on going, getting their nest ready, playing with those big sticks and doing some amazing chortling.

And then there are Finn and Iris. What an incredible couple. And those two babies of theirs. Seriously gorgeous with that juvenile feathering coming in. Finn had breakfast for Iris and the kids early before the heat set in.

Many tell me that with all the tragedies this year the only nest that they are watching is Iris and Finn’s. Finn is decidedly reliable and my goodness what a year when that is needed. Fish is the only hydration that the ospreys get save for when they head to the river for a good spa moment. Those little ones stay cool because Iris protects them – many Mums do not do suh a super job as her. She is giving these babies her ‘all’ including making certain that they are fed before she eats. I think Iris needs to write Osprey Mothering 101 for some of our females.

I wish that Charlie could get more fish on the nest at Charlo Montana. It is hotter than hot! Lola is a great Mumbrella. Just look at her protecting her two surviving babies.

The oldest at Charlo Montana is being a bit of a crank pot about the fish arrivals. Understandable. It is hot and – please correct me if I am wrong – but they don’t seem to be quite as plentiful during this heat spell.

Lola is looking a wee thin. The females lose approximately 30% of their body weight during nesting season. I wonder if it is more during an extended heat dome like they have in Montana?

Only Bob at McEuan Park has a nice crop. No rewind so very difficult to actually catch a feeding. Mum is doing all the heavy lifting at this nest. Dad has not been seen in weeks.

Only Bob at Dunrovin Ranch has a full crop thanks to Dad Swoop and Mum Winnie.

Four antsy to fly osplets at Field Farm. That nest gets smaller every day with these big kiddos. These adults really did a marvellous job in raising FOUR when some could not manage more one. Well done, Mum and Dad.

At Clark PUD, Mum will be hoping that her Only Bob will leave her some fish!

Dad is busy delivering fish to waiting fledglings at Patchogue.

Dad has been getting some nice fish to Mum and Only surviving Bob at the Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum nest.

Dyfi Osprey Project in Wales is proud of their three fledglings this year! Congrats, Idris and Telyn on another remarkable season.

All three are at the nest and hungry. Looks like two have fish dinner with one hoping.

Menhaden report. All I have to do is look at all those boats taking the fish that our osprey require and my blood begins to boil over.

w-0qjq–0www 0EWfvcgrt,`93“““2`4Hopes are high for another osprey couple in South Australia this coming season.

We love our Swallows in Manitoba. They eat so many mosquitoes!

Country diary: Feeding time for the swallows and martins | Birds | The Guardian Download

Geemeff’s Daily Report on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Wednesday 17th July 2024

Louis & Dorcha are both still around and came to the nest this morning, Louis left around 8am and Dorcha around 9am. No fish were brought and neither one returned to the nest. Nest One had some avian visitors but none of them Ospreys, making for a quiet day on both nests. The season has a bit of a school’s out feeling now and Cam2 switched to night mode before 11pm for the first time tonight, but fingers crossed we see Louis & Dorcha again tomorrow, and perhaps a bonus visit from Garry LV0 soon. The thundery showers didn’t materialise, there was only a light sprinkle of rain causing a few camera diamonds which soon disappeared, but heavy rain is forecast for tonight.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.09.23 (03.53.39); Nest Two 22.55.35 (04.00.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/4wpfSlXahCc Louis & Dorcha meet on the nest but there’s no fish 07.47.28

https://youtu.be/-M7049KwfMA Who does a distant flash flypast? 13.32.33

https://youtu.be/jDOUXZzLinI Coal Tits and a Great Tit visit 15.16.10

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

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

‘H’s report:

7/17 Osoyoos osprey nest: Once again, we found the live cam was down in the morning. When it resumed at 1137, both chicks were hiding out in Soo’s shade. The first delivery we saw was at 1415. Olsen dropped off a fish tail… No, not the kind of fish tail that still has a lot of meat attached, but actually just the ‘tail fin’, lol. I think Olsen may have forgotten how much of that fish he had already eaten. One of the sibs gladly ate it. “Thanks a lot, Dad!” At 1524 Olsen arrived with a medium sized whole fish. Both siblings ate peacefully during the 8-minute feeding. The harmony during the meal indicated that they had most likely had a few feedings while the cam was down. Good. The last fish of the day was a small fish provided by Soo at 1627. And once again, the chicks ate in peace. This evening, both chicks were doing some mini-wingers. Osoyoos reached 100F on 7/17. Weather forecast for 7/18: Sunny, high 100F/38C, light winds.

7/17 Colonial Beach: The fish count at this nest has dropped the past several days. The area has been warm, averaging mid 90’s. Today was 93-95F, sunny with 12-19 mph winds. So has the weather been hampering David’s fishing success? There were four fish brought to the nest, and three of them were from Betty. The osplets are 22 and 23 days old. Due to aggression from Big, Little has not had very much to eat for a couple of days. David delivered a large headless fish at 0710. Little was beaked right away, and then intermittently as Big was eating. Big moved away from Betty at 0737, and Little was able to eat 13 bites before being beaked. Big resumed eating. At the end of the meal. Little was able to eat an additional 8 bites and the fish tail. Little had no discernable crop. Eight hours passed before the next fish arrived. Betty had taken it upon herself to go fishing. Betty delivered large fish at 1410, 1535, and 1740. Even though the fish were large, Big prevented Little from eating. Big just ate and ate and ate, and intermittently beaked Little. At the 1740 feeding, Little made his way over to the other side of Betty, and she fed him 3 bites of fish before Big leaped across in front of Betty to beak Little. As the evening progressed, Little simply looked emaciated, and weak. Little may not survive the night. David and Betty are both thought to be first-time parents. Because Betty has demonstrated fishing success, ‘Dorothy A’., the Mod on the chat stated: “Well I think it is fair to say that fishing is not the problem here. It is a first time dad not knowing fully how it works!” …. What a shame.

7/17 Forsythe osprey nest: Larry fledged two days ago, and he seems to be having a blast. He’s flying around that marsh like he owns it, lol. Opal and Oscar are providing Larry with plenty of fish to fuel his adventures.

Thanks, Heidi.

‘PB’ sent us a morning look at Port of Ridgefield. They sure don’t want their one and only to fledge. Its crop is so full, it couldn’t get lift off if it tried. LOL.

Hartley and Monty finall get some quiet time!

I know you probably will not believe me, but it is time to begin thinking about ‘those birds down under’ that will soon be laying eggs and raising eyases – like dear Xavier and Diamond. I am always grateful that the Northern Hemisphere falcons have finished their season when the Aussies come into play.

Suzanne Arnold Horning continues to track down Big Red and Arthur’s Ns on the Cornell Campus. Word is they have avoided any and all disasters and are doing very well towards being totally independent of their parents.

Ever see a Laysan Albatross take its first flight? Probably not. Have a look at a video by our friend Hob Osterlund. This flight took place on Kauai, Hawaii.

Kristel had two prey deliveries on the 17th. One was part of a hare delivered by Mum, and the second was a Columbid – Kristel was so hungry. Columbid’s have red feet and are members of the pigeon and dove family. Kristel waseating bones before the prey deliveries. After she had a massive crop.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, PB’, Baiba, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, McEuen Park, Dunrovin Ranch, Field Farm, Clark PUD, PSEG, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Dyfi Osprey Project, Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Fran Solly, The Guardian, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways, Nesting Bird Life, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Hob Osterlund, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, and Forsythe Ospreys.

Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

15 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Latest updates: Eagle took the oldest osplet at Cowlitz Sunday evening while Mum was feeding. Third osplet at Dyfi in Wales has fledged! Eight Omega ships out catching Menhaden in the Bay this morning – fish our ospreys, whales, dolphins and other fish could eat. Talk about sad. This has to stop.

It was another hot day in Winnipeg. It’s not as hot as it has been. Just 26 C. The boulevard needed mowing, and that is now done. More mulch around the path. I finished but need more. Birds fed and watered many times. They still feel the heat but are more active later in the afternoon and evening when the shade covers the entire garden area. Thank you to everyone who wrote a note and said they enjoyed the baby Blue Jay having its bath. Every season, there is one that loves that bird bath. They are a delight. I made another video. It is 5 minutes long. The birds disappeared while I was sitting on the deck. Still, Dyson comes to the tray feeder along with two Blue Jays and a host of sparrows, old and young. Dyson makes two appearances. You can see the tree branch behind the feeder move. The second time, she goes to another feeder to the left inside the lilacs). I love the Blue Jay pounding away at the seed cylinder at the end. Enjoy. (I will figure out how to edit this!

https://videopress.com/v/p7WSRsNv?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

It is 2033, and the thunderstorm has arrived. The wind is causing the trees to blow around like a tornado. The rain is so heavy I cannot see my neighbour’s roof. It is pounding on top of the conservatory, and all ‘The Girls’ are here for security. I can see a clear sky to the west, so this will be short-lived but furious. I hope we do not lose a tree at the back. Hydro and cable, along with wifi, have just gone out. There is a vast black churning cloud moving south of me. Someone is going to have worse conditions. It’s also reminiscent of my younger years living in Oklahoma, which has all its storms and tornadoes. Did I say we have no power or wifi?

On Wednesday, I will review Connie Dennis’s book about Pickles. So please catch the blog on that day. I will also add a listing of adult Osprey books at the end. This year, the chats on some of the streaming cams were ripe with so much disinformation that many of you wrote and said you would never participate in them again. Take the ‘off-season’ once the ospreys that survive migrate and before the eagles have their eggs hatching to educate yourself. We can have a question section and a fact a day about Ospreys to prepare us. Mind you, we will have the ospreys at Port Lincoln, the falcons at Orange and the CBD, and the WBSE to keep our eyes on. So get your questions ready! I know you have a list of really intriguing ones.

Late news: You know I love Karl II and his kids. Waba, the son of the late Karl II and Kaia from the Black Stork Nest in Karula Forest, Estonia has left RU and is now in northern Estonia! Great news. Thanks ‘TU’. I want Waba to establish a nest in Estonia – maybe even his old natal nest – but only if the fish baskets will be replenished so the storklets don’t starve. We know the food supply is low at times. Speaking of low. Waba’s battery is at 1%. I am hoping he will get some sun and it will charge. This is the area where he is foraging.

The heat wave that hit the Pacific NW and caused such grief at our osprey nests is now moving East. ‘PB’ tells me that the Central area of the US where they live will hit 100 F tomorrow. It will continue to be hot at the osprey nests, and Heidi has just advised that Little at Osoyoos had a one-drop ‘ps’. Dehydrated and weak. Poor thing. Wishing for cool weather, a big fish, or a quick death- since no one is prepared to intervene in the lives of these beautiful feathered osplets (not just at Osoyoos). As you know, my position is that humans have ruined their habitat, destroyed the small quantities of fish the birds require (485-525 per nest of 3 chicks and 2 adults per season), and warmed our planet so quickly that the birds that have been here for 61.5 million years cannot adapt fast enough. We owe it to them to care. Where are the folks as brave as the fish fairies at Port Lincoln? Where are they!

Record-breaking-heatwave-shifts-east-as-millions-of-Americans-under-heat-alert-Extreme-heat-The-Download

In Macedonia, people save the storks by taking out their watering hoses and giving them this great gift of life.

This is the translation: “Humanitarian actions in Macedonia.
The situation with the storks in Gevgelisk is alarming at 50+ degrees. They fall to the ground and dehydrate. The human savior is Miki Stanojkovic from Bogorodica Gevgelisk. An appeal to everyone to leave buckets of water everywhere where there is no river, spring or tap.”

At the nest of the Golden Eagle in Estonia (nest 2), Kristel had prey deliveries from Dad late on Saturday! The eagle also finished the remains of the Raccoon Dog and also fed on leg of sibling. The eaglet is doing some great hovering and working their wings. Appears to be strong.

Note: To this eaglet and to the one at Boundary Bay, their dead sibling is no longer alive and a sibling but potential food. These eaglets are hungry. Eagles are carrion eaters (dead animals). Eagles eat practically anything.

On Sunday, Gwenlais and Senni, took to the skies at the Dyfi Osprey Project. Both returned safely to the nest. Now we are wondering if the third chick will fly on the same day!

Iris at Hellgate Canyon tells us it is still hot there just by her posture! Her and Finn are hanging in there. Iris is amazing. She might not have had a chick since 2018 but she hasn’t forgotten all the tricks on feeding them and keeping them cool and alive. She is my heroine.

Those babies of Iris are so cute. Wonder when we are going to get some names for them.

I feel for the Mum at McEuan Park. Her mate disappeared at the end of June and she had four babies to care for and a heat dome. She has one chick left. She cannot shade it all day because she has to try and catch fish to keep them alive. Where are the fish fairies?

There are two osplets at Allins Cove East. They look good. They are approximately 21 days old.

One gorgeous chick on the Allins Cove West nest the middle of June. It has fledged.

Mum at Bridge Golf Course trying to keep her only surviving Bob cool.

All appears alright at Pitkin County in Colorado.

It will be getting even hotter in Charlo Montana. Charlie is delivering huge fish to Lola and the two survivors (the little one sadly fell off the nest doing a ps). Let’s hope they all make it.

Four big ole babies at Field Farm. That nest is really crowded. Really crowded. Jumping and flapping are going to be a challenge and the crib rails are – well, gone on one side. Stay in the nest kiddos!

Only Bob at Dunrovin appears to be doing well. Enjoying a nice fish dinner compliments of Dad Swoop and mum Winnie. (One egg DNH and the other osplet fell off the nest and died).

‘PB’ noticed that some osprey mums do not shade their chicks like Iris. She is absolutely right. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

At the Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope, the oldest has been doing a wee bit of bonking on the second. We hope it is short-lived. There have been intruders. Hope has done some fishing in past days. Both chicks appear to be doing well. I use that word a lot: ‘appear’. It is challenging to tell from streaming cam images how emaciated the birds can be. I got back to the eaglets Meadow, Sol, and Luna, who appeared to be doing fine but weren’t.

The pair of White Storklets on the Loburg nest were saved and taken to the local stork rescue and rehabilitation centre after their parents, Frieda and Emil, were missing. The storklets were nearing fledge and were ‘very’ hungry and would have perished if help had not arrived. Thank you, Storchenhof Loburg in Mockhem, Germany.

The only storklet of Bety and Bukacek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic has fledged.

Storks. Migration. Routes. A study shows that older storks get to their migration destinations faster than youngsters. Migratory behavior of storks changes over the course of their lives.

“Over a period of seven years, the scientists collected and analyzed the flight data of storks on their journeys to North Africa. This allowed them to analyze how migratory behavior changes over the course of an animal’s life. According to the scientists, they found that young storks take their time to explore new places during migration. With increasing age, however, their flights become faster and more efficient. Young storks therefore take routes that take longer, but also cost less energy. Older storks, on the other hand, optimize their migration routes in order to reach their destination more directly. According to the scientists, they consume more energy. However, the total time of their flight is shorter. Storks’ routes are also based on a wealth of experience. The results suggest that the birds use their spatial memory to find shortcuts. The researchers from Lake Constance therefore assume that individual experience is also a key factor in animal migration.”

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/friedrichshafen/studie-vom-bodensee-stoerche-im-alter-schneller-am-ziel-100.html

The osplets in the Tweed Valley nests in the UK were ringed.

Another Osprey Rescue and some gifts for the rehab centre. Do you have some extra gravel sitting around? Call your local wildlife centre and see if they could use it!

Want another good story? I have posted this one previously, but it is a good reminder to us – again – that our feathered friends care about their families, will help them, and have feelings.

Eagle Parents Spend Year Nursing Chick Who Fell Out of a Tree, Forsaking the New Nesting Season

Inside the aviary where the chicks of Louis and Dorcha are waiting to take their first flight into the Spanish skies.

At the time of this writing, two of CJ7 and Blue 022’s chicks have fledged – Blue 5R0 and Blue 5R1. Both returned to the nest safely and hungry.

Nest #4 in Finland is doing well.

Issues surrounding food and rivalry are surfacing at the Latvian Osprey nest. This will pass as there are giant fish coming to this nest – we hope that continues and we have two fledges. Look at the size of those babies. Bells will toll across Latvia – surely – when these two take to the skies.

‘A’ reports on what is happening at the WBSE nest:

At WBSE, all is going well. Here is yesterday’s ranger report:

July 13: Another lovely day and the 16th day since the first egg was laid. An early duet and then Lady had a short break when Dad came in at 6:42. Later, a couple of short breaks with Lady calling from Ironbark Roost. Dad brought in a spray of casuarina at 8:02. Around 9am, he came in for a change-over, Lady very reluctant to get up, even as he circled her. She was even a little slow rising when he brought a mullet at 11:11 – but then she got up and fed as Dad sat. There were the usual changes during the day. Late afternoon, with Lady incubating, Dad was not seen at the river – fishing maybe? He returned at 17:17 – empty-taloned. He moved nearby, and both then settled for the night.

What is going on with the New Jersey Osprey? Don’t tell the Omega ships that there is a lot of Menhaden! They might find a way to fish those shores.

Ospreys-Too-soon-for-a-victory-dance-New-Jersey-Conservation-Foundation Download

A rescue and return to the nest!

Eagle Owls in old castle ruins. Do you know this streaming cam?

Geemeff’s daily report on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 14th July 2024

A very interesting day today! We were given photos taken by LizB of the Bunarkaig chick during ringing yesterday, footage of the translocated chicks in Valencia, including ours, wingercising getting ready for lift off, and Louis brought Dorcha a fish on Nest Two. The first fish he’s brought since 5th July, and only the fifth fish delivery since the official fish count* stopped at 10am on the day the chicks were removed to join the translocation programme on 1st July. Are things getting back to normal? Difficult to say, but he and Dorcha have been spending time together and carrying out courtship rituals including coy-mantling and attempted mating, and today they had what looked like a proper tail-up mating attempt. No action on Nest One except for the busy little spider with its web visible in today’s sunshine. The forecast for tonight is misty with light winds, and dry with sunny intervals tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.14.09 (03.45.20); Nest Two 00.17.11 (03.54.45)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/F2O6Qu9bv2E N2 Dorcha arrives early, Louis arrives a little later but without fish 04.30.14

https://youtu.be/-w9xcZQB1ZA N2 Was that a successful mating attempt by Louis? 05.26.51 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/map5PyIWzDs Wingercising ready for lift-off: Arkaig chicks in Spain 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/f3L7h59FXrQ Bunarkaig chick photos from LizB 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/D2j9GKFPeTs N2 Finally! Louis brings a headless trout 15.31.07

https://youtu.be/dH2QtdR1ffY N2 Louis & Dorcha spend time together as the sun sets 21.21.29

https://youtu.be/w_VHNBuj340 N2 Louis returns unexpectedly with a stick 22.09.00)

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

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

People have been wondering about Giliath. Here he is!

‘H’ reports: 7/14 Osoyoos osprey nest: The osplets are 34, 36, and 37 days old. Olsen knows where to find fish early in the morning, and they are usually small ones. At 0602 he dropped off a tiny fish. Middle got a few bites, but Big was the primary recipient of fish during the 3-minute meal. At 0651 Olsen brought a slightly larger fish. Middle beaked Little. Big and Middle were eating, and each time Little reached for a bite, s/he was beaked by Middle, and at one point was nearly pushed off the nest. Little did not eat at this 9-minute feeding.

Middle was once again beaked Little at 1035. Little was so close to the edge, I thought Little was going to get pushed off the nest. As Little struggled to grab a hold of sticks and climb back up to regain solid footing, he got a stick caught under his left wing, and could not get free of it. Little had that stick stuck under his wing for quite some time, and Middle took further advantage of Little in that compromised state by beaking him even more. Soo eventually seemed to help remove the stick from under Little’s wing. That whole episode was so heartbreaking to watch.

Another tiny fish was brought to the nest at 1106. It was a 3-minute meal, and Little did not eat. At 1332 Olsen delivered a large whole fish. I thought for sure that Little would be able to eat at some point during this feeding. Little was beaked several times by Middle, and was nearly pushed off the nest again. At one point, Big beaked both Middle and Little. They are all hungry. This was a 27-minute feeding…and Little did not eat a single bite of fish. Olsen double-backed with another large fish at 1422. Great! Back-to-back large fish…just what was needed so Little could eat. Middle beaked Little again. Big and Middle were set up on opposite sides of Soo, and Little ended up next to Big. We only had a partial view of Little near the top of the screen. But, it was apparent that Little was occasionally reaching in front of Big and getting bites from Soo. Little received at least 14 bites of fish that I was sure of, but possibly ate a few more. Big soon tired of that arrangement with Little, and started beaking Little intermittently. This meal lasted 28-minutes, and Little only ate about 14 bites of fish. The last fish of the day arrived at 1917, and it was a medium sized whole fish. Little was the first one at the table, and got some bites right away. Little had eaten 20 bites by 1919, but was then pushed from behind by Big. Little was able to eat another 4 bites by 1920, but then Soo moved the fish, and fed Big and Middle. It was a 6-minute feeding, Little ate 24 bites of fish, and he did seem to have a small crop. Little ate a total of approximately 38 fish bites today. Weather for Monday: Sunny, light winds, high temp 99F/37C.

7/14 Patuxent osprey nest: Little slept standing up last night for the first time…Oh, Little is a Big Man! Little was not able to eat on Saturday because his aggressive older sisters grabbed all the fish. This morning from 0520 to 0523 Mom fed Little from a leftover goldfish. That fish was then taken from Mom by one of the sibs. At 0651 Dad delivered a large headless fish and distracted the sibs, so Mom resumed eating the leftover goldfish. Little took the goldfish from Mom at 0655, and self-fed until 0731, at which time he abandoned the goldfish, and went over to Mom who now had possession of the new fish. Mom fed Little until 0802. Little had a large crop! There were other fish brought in throughout the day, but Little was not able to eat anything from those fish. There were some good wingers with leaps by Little today.

7/14 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: We are so happy for Louise after the sad season last year. Harvie is such a wonderful mate and provider for their three offspring, ages 28, 30, and 32 days. The kids are getting so big!

Thank you, ‘H’. Sadly unless there is a miracle, we are not expecting the third hatch at Osoyoos to make it because of the extreme heat. Send them good wishes. Soo and Olsen are trying — and no one is helping.

‘V’ sent in some images of the Cowlitz baby that was taken. She says, “Look at its wingspan. I wish there was someway to save the other baby”. I know that we all feel the same and wish those grates had held. They are so near fledge.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. Send out nests all your good energy. The heat continues, the predators remain, too. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU, V,’ Loodusklender, Cowlitz PUD, The Guardian Humanitarian Macedonia, Eagle Club of Estonia, Dyfi Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, Allin’s Cove East and West, Bridge Golf, Pitkin County, Charlo Montana, Field Farm, Dunrovin Ranch, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Lindsay Wildlife, Eagle Owl Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, PLO, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Storchenneste, Mlade Buky, swr.de, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, Good News Network, Woodland Trust Scotland, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, BSE, and New Jersey Conservation.

More deaths…Saturday in Bird World

13 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is 40 C in Winnipeg with the heat index. So humid! We did our morning walk at the nature centre regardless packing a big container of watermelon bites and an insulated jug of water. The rain has caused everything to grow tall and the forest is cool. The breeze off the lake and the shade from the trees actually made the walk very tolerable. The delight was turning the corner and seeing a little duck, listening to the songbirds, and having a parade of over 50 Canada Geese of varying ages. I thought, for a moment, they wanted some watermelon!!!! Apparently, the pigs at the nature centre’s farm love it.

The geese came in groups, some juveniles mixed in with the adults. Everyone moving through the paths to get to the stream behind where I was sitting.

Not babies anymore. They will be ready to migrate when October arrives.

At home, Hugo Yugo decided that the perfect toy was my sun hat. She wold get under it and move towards Calico like she was going to bulldoze her down while she was drinking?

Dyson knows when I come home from the nature centre with new seed cylinders. She must have them on speed dial! I no more than get the new cylinder on the spike and she appears. I am so glad that Dyson is in such good condition. She is elderly by squirrel standards. We adore her and her kits.

Everyone is hot and wanting in the bird bath. I ‘thought’ that the Brown-headed Cowbirds had managed to sneak only one egg into the sparrow nest, but I was mistaken. There were three cowbird babies in the bird bath at the same time this afternoon. Those poor House Sparrows feeding those big things. And they are probably still feeding them.

On the far left is a baby Sparrow. You can see the size difference between the Cowbird. Both are ‘babies’.

Reets asked me if I tried the ice in the bird baths. Yes, I did. It is fantastic. I am thinking about embedding peanuts in one of the forms. Meant to take some photographs and forgot and by the time I remembered everything had been chipped away or melted. The birds did love the ice.

I am just getting news from ‘AM’ that one of the osplets was taken by an owl at nest #3 Finland. Mum tried to fight it off but to no avail.

Menhaden. I want you to dream about that word. It is those little fish that the Ospreys need in the NE United States to stay alive. I am embarrassed that Omega, a Canadian company, is taking millions of tonnes of this fish out of the Chesapeake Bay. The Ospreys are only one part of this. Heidi sent me this post by the son of the owner of Captain Mac’s Fish House. That is Fenwick Island. We are watching their osprey. He is also the manager of the fish house. This was two years ago – even the fish could not survive without Menhaden. Neither can the whales. It is time to stop them. I wonder if anyone is brave enough to do it — or will it take us, demanding a stop because of the destruction of the entire bay? The impact on the ospreys is worse than DDT, and they were almost completely wiped out then.

Note to everyone: Omega sells fish oil for humans. They are taking the krill from the Arctic that the whales and seals need. Do humans need supplements? My doctor says ‘no’.

Today’s message from Brian Collins at the Little Fish-Big Deal FB page. If you live in the US, read the notice by the Audubon Society below and write to your representative to save our ospreys.

These were the Omega ships on Thursday.

The other huge risk this year has been dehydration. Gary that does the FORE videos has put together an hour long informative video about the impact of dehydration in light of the deaths of Luna and Sol. But it is not only eagles that are at risk due to dehydration – it is ospreys and all the other animals!

Blue 8B3, the first hatch at Llyn Clywedog, a male, fledged on Friday the 12th of July. It was a beautiful flight off the nest banking to the right over the forest. Blue 8B3 returned safely to the nest.

The third hatch at the Janakkalan Nest in Finland died on the 7th of July from siblicide/starvation (as far as I know). The surviving two were ringed on Friday the 12th.

Video of the ringing by the 85 year old bander.

Beautiful chicks being fed at Saaksilvie 1 in Finland:

Sunnie Day posted a very interesting rescue of an Osprey. Very interesting, indeed.

Community-Rallies-to-Rescue-Entangled-Osprey-in-Orange-Beach Download

Doing a bit of a roll call on some of the nests we have been watching:

Niagara Bee: All is well with the trio!

Hellgate Canyon, Iris and Finnegan: Might be a good name because of the heat! Iris is doing everything she can to protect her two precious babies in the searing heat wave.

Charlo Montana: Sad news this morning. Little fell over the edge of the nest and died. Please, please help the ospreys by secring their nests for them if you own a streaming cam! You need to do annual maintenance on the cameras so put up a secure railing, high, around the nest! Others in Wales do this for their birds. Their babies don’t fall overboard! Two babies this week lost because of a lack of a railing.

So sad. You were so healthy with such promise, little one.

Like Finnegan, Charlie is trying to get fish on the nest for Lola and the three osplets. Hot, hot.

McEuan Park, Idaho: Mom is off the nest fishing. Chicks not covered with shade. It is unclear what has happened to Dad, if anything. This nest really needs fish, several deliveries close together so #2 can get enough fish to survive. Two chicks already dead.

Later. Both chicks appear to have crops at McEuan Park.

‘PB’ caught a good ‘ps’ out of Two. It has to be eating. Relief.

Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum: 87-90 degrees F. Rain forecast for tomorrow.

Snow Lane, Newfoundland: Some fish are larger than others. The little one sometimes looks like it could use a little extra fuel. Tiny compared to Big sibling.

Field Farm: All is well with the Fab Four. This nest amazes me along with the few others that have four. Little Mini made it! Can you pick them out?

Outerbanks: ‘H’ reports that the names for the chicks are Bonker and Dodger. Quite fitting! Dodger fledged on Friday!

Sandpoint: Keo is getting some fish to the nest for Keke and River. Hot there as well – the general condition at most of the nests in the Pacific Northwest.

Clark PUD: Dad is getting fish on the nest and the Only Bob is good.

Dunrovin: It’s a cooker. Swoop is working hard for Winnie and remaining chicks.

Moraine Park: Heidi reports that the Only Bob is good.

Cowlitz PUD: Two Surviving chicks are still on the nest after the Bald Eagle took Little on Friday morning the 12th. Dad had delivered a fish and Electra was feeding the two larger siblings. Little was at the top of the nest. The eagle possibly followed Dad to try and get the fish. When it couldn’t, it took Little. An opportunistic moment on the eagle’s part. I was somewhat disheartened that the eagle came through the place where there is no fish grid. Let’s hope it doesn’t return.

Dyfi: Idris and Telyn have three beautiful osplets, Gwenlais, Coron, and Senni. They could fly any day. My money is on the only male, Senni, to go first to get away from his big sisters!

Poole Harbour: A beautiful family portrait – CJ7 and Blue 022 and the Fab Four.

News from Cal Falcons:

Geemeff reports on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 12th July 2024

Today’s main story is seeing footage of the Spanish aviary where our two 2024 Arkaig chicks are now living, and the big thrill of having 1JR walk right in front of the camera giving us a good look at him. He looks in great condition and holding his head up, not thin, weak and submissive as he was before removal, and ready to play his part in helping establish a thriving Osprey population in Valencia. Nest One had some little visitors before Garry LV0 arrived bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of housekeeping. Over on Nest Two, Louis did the same, bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of nest-scraping, although Dorcha let him know she would much rather have fish. The weather was settled and should remain so with tonight’s forecast of light cloud and light winds, continuing through tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.31.09 (03.36.57); Nest Two 23.17.57 (03.38.38)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/Nb4V8EKa_os WTS tweets and footage of our chick 1JR in the Spanish aviary
https://youtu.be/6qeyNmLWYWc N1 Little birds visit – Great Tits and juvenile Robins, possibly 06.34.00https://youtu.be/Zv55S0PD-T0 N2 Dorcha arrives fish-calling, Louis arrives but brings no fish 09.02.36

https://youtu.be/WnoPi5nkNGY N1 Garry LV0 brings nesting materials and keeps a lonely vigil 09.29.21

https://youtu.be/VpDVwAJsY_A N2 Dorcha does her exercises before leaving 12.16.37

https://youtu.be/2XLYBfvjFLo N2 Louis brings nesting materials and does some housekeeping 16.25.52

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

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

‘H’ gives us her reports: “7/12 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was once again offline from 0300 to 0915. We probably missed Olsen’s first couple of fish deliveries. At 0918 Olsen dropped off a small whole fish. Middle beaked Little, and Big beaked both of its sibs. It was a 6-minute feeding, and Big was the only one that ate. The next meal was a tiny fish at 0959 that lasted 3-minutes. Little managed 10 bites of fish before being beaked. Middle was not able to get to the table. Olsen brought another ‘tiny’ at 1022. There was more beaking by Big. Middle managed to grab 2 bites of fish before being beaked by Big…and Little had nothing to eat during the 3-minute meal. At 1037 another tiny fish was delivered by Olsen. Little had squeezed around the right side of Soo and ate approximately 16 bites of fish. Big was eating at Soo’s left, and Middle could not get into position. It was another 3-minute feeding. So far, of the four feedings we viewed this morning, Middle has had 2 bites of fish, and Little has eaten 26 bites.

It was a warm day with light winds. Temp at 1500 was 97F/36C. Olsen did not make another delivery until 1505, and it was a large whole fish. Middle was the primary aggressor toward Little. Big and Middle ate, one on each side of Soo. There was only room for two at the table, and each time Little tried to approach s/he was intimidated. It was a 12-minute meal and Little did not eat. The final fish arrived at 2002, and it was a large partial fish. Once again, Middle beaked Little. But, Middle stayed back, and Little managed to get a few bites on the other side of Soo, that is until Soo moved the fish. At 2006 Soo flew off with the fish, but returned 15 seconds later. At that point, Middle was right up at Soo’s beak and ate a few bites, until it decided it would rather beak Little. When Middle did that, Big took that spot at the table. By 2009 Little was eating at Soo’s right side for a couple of minutes, until s/he was beaked by Middle, and then Middle took that spot at Soo’s beak. It was a 23-minute meal, and Big ate well. Middle and Little both ate ‘some’, but I could not tell how much. Middle had a moderate sized crop, and Little’s crop was small. It will be another hot and sunny day on Saturday, with the high temp predicted to be 99F/37C, and 12 mph winds.

7/12 Colonial Beach osprey nest: It was a rainy day at the nest. We were worried about Little, because s/he seemed to be chilled and shivering a lot. Perhaps Betty could have kept her littles a bit drier. There were three meals today, and it was concerning that Little did not want to eat at the first two meals. Finally, at around 1930 David brought a large headless fish, 8 hours since the last fish. Little was eager to eat…good! Both kids ended up with good crops. Little was still shivering though, and it was quite a while before Betty provided them with some warmth from her body.”

A Woodpecker comes to check on the Dorsett Hobbies when Mum is away.

The White Stork Project at Knepp Farm has been deemed a huge success this season.

What is the Golden Eaglet doing with its dead sibling?

Humans and Wildlife. India’s Flamingoes are facing great challenges.

“This migration season has been particularly deadly for migrating flamingos in India, and these collisions are highlighting the ever-increasing tensions between human development and wildlife. “

-https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/06/21/flamingo-deaths-highlight-development-tensions/

Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care of yourselves. Stay cool! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, letters, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AM, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Nesting Bird Life and More, Matt McGuigal, Brian Collins, Audubon, William Dunn, FORE, Gary’s Videos, Llyn Clywedog, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Sunnie Day, OBA, Niagara Bee, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, McEuan Park Osprey Cam, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Outerbanks, Sandpoint, Dunrovin Ranch, Heidi McGrue, Cowlitz PUD, Dyfi Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, White Stork Project, Nesting Birdlife and More, Birdlife International, SK Hideaways, Osoyoos, and Colonial Beach.

Friday in Bird World

12 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Today, I got a notice that another new tree is going in front of my property. What joy! I hope they grow fast. With all the new baby crows and squirrels, we need all the big trees fast.

I want to be overjoyed by this notice – and believe me, I am. But a quick walk down the street shows me that four more of the 1902 trees are set to be cut down due to disease. Each has a bright orange circle. I know they must go, but Dyson and her family need trees. There will be some left. Thank goodness.

Does anyone have any good plans for squirrel houses that work? So far, they have balked at the beautiful house I had sent from Sweden!!!!!!! Little Red finally took to the crates in the wood pile but the Greys need a tree. Maybe a fake tree??

The baby Crows have been visiting. I could not grab my camera quick enough to take a photo of them dancing on the glass roof of the conservatory. One was in the birdbath later while three tried to balance themselves on the hydro line coming into the house. The other two were walking around the fence. There are six of them with soft downy heads calling their parents to come and feed them. They are as big as Mr Crow!!!!!!!! The only way that you can tell the difference is that they are thinner and their heads are soft down, not feathery.

Look at the baby Crow’s soft downy head. The water feels good on their hot feet. These are just the cutest crows…

I think it is time for more cheesy dogs!

Let’s start with some good news. Nox. Thanks, ‘B’ for sending me the latest update on Annie and Archie’s fourth hatch. Look at those eyes and tell me this isn’t the cutest little falcon you have ever seen!

At San Jose, Alma has been hunting.

There are nests that I check on but don’t often report on especially when it is osprey season. Here are a couple that I know many of you are interested in!

If you have been wondering about the Centreport Eaglets, they did fledge and they are soaring and locking talons together! Amazing footage by Rob Schwartz.

LGL comes in to feed the Royal Cam chick!

Two little Hobbys. Dad has been hunting and had four bird meals for Mum to feed the little ones before mid-day.

Jackie and Shadow have been visiting the nest. Their chortling is music to my ears. No matter what is thrown at them, they always manage to over come it and bring us smiles.

Seren and Dylan were amongst the lucky nests this year. Indeed, Wales did good in the scheme of things. The weather around Kielder and Border was horrific – we saw it, too, at Loch Arkaig. These three are just beautiful osplets. Don’t you just love the look of the kid staring at the camera?!

Aran and Elen started out with three beautiful chicks and it looks like they will fledge three from Glaslyn in Wales.

Idris and Telyn started out with three and they will fledge three as well at the Dyfi nest in Wales!

Llyn Brenig in Wales started out with three eggs. One DNH and now there are two nice big Bobs ready to fledge.

Alyth SSEN started out with three chicks. One died from a nest accident and the other from weather induced causes. This only surviving Bob looks great. Alyth is in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Sadly, Laddie was possibly shot and Blue NC0 waited for her mate. The nest failed this year at Loch of the Lowes. Only time will tell who the nest belongs to next year. Blue NC0 has been with the dark-coloured osprey but there has also been another around. It was very sad as Laddie LM 12 was much loved. Much loved. The dark one has a fish for Blue NC0. Where is she?

Time to bid Tuffy goodbye! Remember his head pattern for years to come.

H wrote: “This was Tuffy’s last day on camera, before the camera was shut down for the season. Tuffy treated viewers to some extended appearances today. We witnessed Tuffy dive into the water to try to catch a fish (3:00). He didn’t appear to come away with a fish on that attempt. But, about an hour later, Tuffy flew to the nest carrying a tilapia (4:35). He was wet, and shaking off water. Tuffy took a long time to eat that tilapia, and we enjoyed watching him eat it. As we watched, memories surfaced of when Tuffy was so little, and he barely had enough to eat due to the dominance of his older sister, Ruffie. “We have been blessed to witness your life thus far, Tuffy… through all your struggles and your victories. You are a survivor. We wish you a long and productive life. We will never forget you.”

At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Mum is trying to keep her chick cool. It will go up to 90 and then 92 F on Saturday before the heat breaks a bit in Minneapolis.

Dad continues to bring in the fish and Mum continues to feed. The chick looks good.

At 0555, Finnegan arrived on the nest with a very large headless fish. He was still wet. I hope that Iris got a lot of that fish to eat. It is going to be hot today in Missoula. The temperature is 97 F. Remember that is not the heat index which will be higher.

‘PB’ alerted me to a late fish delivery by Finn for Iris and the kids. – a headless whooper!

‘A’ loves Finn – welcome back! We are so glad you are feeling better. “Finn is doing his usual superb job. There was a whole fish (small by his standards but a good medium at any other nest) delivered late in the afternoon, and Iris fed it all to the osplets within 10 minutes or so, creating respectable crops for both osplets (of course, Baby Bob’s was the largest, as always bigger than his head – seriously) but that wasn’t enough for Iris, who immediately began nagging Finn for more fish, although he was still preening and drying himself on the perch from his previous fishing expedition.

But off he went, dutifully obeying Iris’s instructions, and at he returned with one of his patented baby sharks (Pacific whitefish, I understand), minus head (a whole one was not only too large to get to the nest easily but also nearly brained an osplet last week, so Finn has learnt from that episode) around 20:34.

It is wonderful to see that Little’s left eye appears to have healed almost totally. I do hope he is not left with any residual corneal damage. I know I’ve been banging on about it but we both know if Baby Bob cannot triangulate, he cannot fish, and if he cannot fish, he cannot survive. So obviously, it has been my number one concern for some time now. There were four or five days there when I was truly distraught with worry for my little man.

These two are males. They must be. Not a single bonk or beaking. Nothing to suggest any aggression, at meal times or otherwise. They simply have to be brothers. Iris is looking good – she is eating better I think. And Finn is my favourite osprey dad of 2024. I know he has some competition out there, with some of the successful four-osplet clutches this season, but we all know that watching Iris being loved and cared for by a worthy mate who is helping her raise two exquisite osplets is the highlight of the season for many of us. She is blissfully happy and SUCH a good mum. (What a mumbrella she makes, shading them from the heat, sheltering them from the rain and cold – just totally devoted to her babies.)

I ADORE this family. Could you tell? “

I agree and so does everyone else. Finn is amazing. Here is his big whole fish for the family first thing Friday morning!

It is so hot at Charlo Montana. Lola is doing an amazing job. Charlie is getting fish in – every nest in the heat dome area could use much more fish. The adults as well as the osplets are all suffering. Today is Friday. Let us hope this heat dissipates soon.

I thought we might lose Middle at McEuan Park on Thursday but Mum went out and got a big fish and everyone ate. What a relief. Unless someone tells me otherwise, it appears that the male is now MIA.

The youngest of the two siblings at McEuan Park crop dropped quickly. It is difficult to know how much fish it got. Probably not nearly what it should have as Big is extremely aggessive and hungry. Hoping Mum goes out again and catches a huge one so that all can get their fill before bed time. No rewind, no time stamp, cam freezes. Hard to tell what is really happening.

Another fish came to the nest and the camera froze. I have no idea if number 2 got any fish or not. How frustrating is this.

The fledglings, both Patches and Rainer, do return to the nest at Patchogue. Fingers crossed for both of them. This is Patches with a fish from Dad.

Steelscape had a good delivery! Keep it up, Dad.

Looking good at Black Bush:

Continued concern for Little at Cowlitz PUD:

Geemeff sends us her summary for the day’s activities at Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 11th July 2024

The big news of the day is the safe arrival of our chicks at their new home in Valencia and they are now sporting their new yellow Darvic rings. The submissive chick is 1JR and the dominant one is 1JW, and they looked cosy together in their nest in the photo posted by Woodland Trust Scotland on their social media channels, link in the bonus section. Their parents spent time together today on the nest before an unseen intruder caused them to flee, Louis did a little nest-scraping and a fair bit of coy-mantling but still didn’t bring any fish for Dorcha, although we don’t know what fish exchanges might be taking place off-nest. Garry LV0 visited Nest One bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of housekeeping, but there was no sign of the Dark Female. it would be good to see him with a mate, perhaps they are connecting off-nest. The weather was settled today, the sun broke through a few times, and the forecast for tonight is partly cloudy with light winds.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.32.11 (03.36.07); Nest Two 23.26.04 (03.40.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/CscB0UbvO3c N2 News update – chicks safe in Spain and have been ringed 09.00

https://youtu.be/hT20jh6SGBU N2 Dorcha & Louis together on the nest but no fish 09.56.50

https://youtu.be/RQNxDQEbg5s N1 Garry LV0 visits but no sign of the Dark Female 13.08.50

https://youtu.be/VS4q1tY2vks N2 Dorcha & Louis spend time together until scared off by an intruder 18.08.40

Bonus photo – our chicks in their new Spanish nest:

The young ospreys from #LochArkaig are settling into their new surroundings in Spain. Here they are on their new "nest" in a specialist aviary. More here on our decision to pass them over to @RoyDennisWF for this translocation project.👉 https://t.co/tOtarSx6cw pic.twitter.com/oVA4VpjShg
— Woodland Trust Scotland (@WTScotsocial) July 11, 2024

Bonus song – The Osprey Song – performed by the Juniors at Hurst Lodge School:

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

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

‘H’ reports for the day:

7/11 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was offline until just before noon. Olsen has a habit of fishing early in the day, so hopefully he had delivered a few fish for the family earlier. The first fish we saw delivered was at 1736. I never got a good look at the fish, but Soo fed the osplets for 7 minutes. Little quickly found a spot on the other side of Mom and seemed to be eating. At 1739 Little was beaked by Big, but being on the rim, Little had nowhere to go. I could not tell at that point if Little was getting bites of fish, or was in submission. Big beaked Little again at 1740, then Middle beaked Big, and Big beaked Middle! A short time after the meal ended, we saw that Little had a small crop. The next (and last) fish of the day arrived at 2004, and was a large partial fish. Nice going, Olsen! Once again, Little set up on the other side of Mom from Big and Middle. We could not see how much Little was eating, but everyone ate, and there was no aggression. It was a 16-minute feeding. After the meal, Little had a small crop, and also had a good PS at 2119. The high temperature on 7/12 is predicted to be 96F/36C, and it will be sunny, with winds gusting to 13 mph.

7/11 Colonial Beach: David brought fish to the nest for Betty and the kids six times, and a couple of those were huge! The osplets are 16 and 17-days-old. There is some occasional beaking between meals, but the meals are peaceful. Yay!

7/11 Fenwick Island: I only saw two fish brought to the nest today for June and young ‘Fen’. Johnny usually averages 5-6 fish per day. The temp was in the low 80’s, and the wind was gusting to 17 mph. Fishing should not have been very difficult, but I’m not an osprey, so what do I know, lol.

7/11 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: It was a rather uneventful day for this osprey family…other than the youngest osplet, Gray, falling over and being stuck on his/her back for several long minutes! Finally, Dory arrived at the nest and pulled on some nesting, and then Gray was able to right itself. What a good Mom. Whew!

7/11 Kent Island (Chesapeake): Dear Audrey is still incubating her two non-viable eggs.

7/11 Captiva osprey nest. The chat has been shut off for the season, but the livestream will continue for a while. Jack had an injury to his leg, and we have not seen him for a while. Edie may have an issue with her health, and she stopped bringing fish regularly to Darling and Ding. Ding has dispersed. She had learned to catch her own fish, and has likely moved to find a better fishing spot. Darling died at CROW on 7/5. I have a huge hole in my heart. And it hurts.

When you see all those gulls rushing for the chips at the beach? Well, they would rather have fish new study finds.

Herring-gull-chicks-would-rather-have-fish-than-your-chips-finds-study-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Ventana Wildlife continues to vaccinate the California Condors for HPAI.

‘PB’ reports that Steelscape has had a fish this morning. Cowlitz PUD had no late night fish and nothing has arrived Friday morning so far. Send them good wishes.

Connie Dennis reports that the osprey nests in Nova Scotia are doing very well compared to others in the US and the UK. She is the founder of a group working to get Nova Scotia Power to put up poles, and she organises the monitoring of the province’s nests with information on their FB page, Ospreys of Nova Scotia. She has written a book for children on Ospreys with photographs by her husband, Don, that I will review in the coming days.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, messages, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, PB’, California Raptor Centre, SK Hideaways, Rob Schwartz, Lady Hawk, Dorsett Hobbys, Llyn Clywedog, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Alyth, LOTL, Heidi McGrue, MN LA, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, PSEG, Pam Breci, Cowlitz PUD, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Charlo Montana, The Guardian, Ventana Wildlife Society, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Window to Wildlife, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse, and Connie Dennis Ospreys of Nova Scotia.

Category Archives: Dyfi Osprey Project

Wednesday in Bird World

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Tuesday in Bird World

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Cobey is rescued…Thursday in Bird World

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Friday in Bird World

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Hurricane force winds go through Montana…Iris is alright…Thursday in Bird World

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Moraine chick knocked off nest, fledge at Glaslyn…Sunday in Bird World

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Thursday in Bird World

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Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

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More deaths…Saturday in Bird World

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Friday in Bird World

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