Category Archives: endangered species

Eagle Country welcomes second chick…Saturday in Bird World

3 February 2024

Good Morning and Good Gracious.

It was a marvellous Friday. The temperature rose to +5 C in some areas while at others it stayed around +3. The two degrees didn’t matter. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. People were happy!

Missey and Baby Hope looking out the window.

Missey and Hope had finished their lunch. If you are wondering ‘why’ Hugo Yugo grew so much in a month, well, ….She finished her dish and then decided to go around and eat anything left in her sisters’ bowls while they are busy watching birds!

It was not clear what would happen when Baby Hope discovered Hugo Yugo eating her food….Nothing. The older ones seem to tolerate anything that Hugo Yugo does. It is astonishing.

Then Hugo Yugo showed that she is capable of problem solving. There was one piece of food on the opposite side of the dish. She could not get at it very well. She tried her paw. That didn’t work.

So, what did she do? She went around to the other side of the dish. Ate every last nibble. Well done, Hugo Yugo!

2 February was not just Ground Hog Day or the day that Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo, but it was also the day we said goodbye to Harriet, the matriarch of the SW Florida Bald Eagle Nest on the Pritchett property in Fort Myers. Today, marks the beginning of M15 doing the amazing – he raised two one-month old eaglets to fledge all by himself while fending off numerous unsuitable female eagles! 

It was a scary time for everyone and no one knew how this story would end, but M15 showed himself to be worth of the top spot of Top Dad for 2023 easily. E21 and E22 thrived. 

M15 had multiple options, and he chose well. F23 has turned out to be a wonderful mate, and E23 is a healthy, happy eaglet. Look closely and see the colour around the mandible changing to yellow.

Too cute.

I am in tears. The other eagle family that we are so desperate to have chicks this year is at Sauces, and Audacity laid her first egg on Friday. That nest is lined with soft materials (compared to Big Bear). Oh, please, let them have a chick this year! Parachute one in if you have to, Dr Sharpe! Surely there is an orphan eaglet somewhere.

The snow at Big Bear appears to have stopped, but it isn’t melting. Shadow took a turn incubating and then flew around the nest getting a nice stick for the railing. He must be calculating how many new sticks he has to bring in if there could be three eaglets!

It took a bit to get Shadow to get up off the nest!

Both eagles of Abby and Blaze look fantastic – soft dandelion heads and that deep nest bowl keeps us wanting to see more of them!

Swampy hatched on the 31st of January and Meadow hatched today. There was some bonking and Swampy is getting the majority of the food. Fingers crossed that Meadow will be resilient!

The surviving eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands appears to be doing fine. Being fed well, but goodness, I wish that support was transparent!

At the Captiva nest, Lusa is now self-feeding!

11:42:08 AMLusaANOTHER MILESTONE!Can now SELF FEED.

The clean up crew is working hard on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. The lads were off early in search of fish.

‘A’ reports on the Royal Albatross: ”At Taiaroa Head, the wee one at BOK and WYL’s nest needed to eat this morning, and so far, new mum BOK has not managed to do this. So the rangers swapped little TFT (Top Flat Track) chick with TF chick, putting TF under BOK and bringing TFT chick to mum LGL. Immediately, foster mum LGL fed the chick, which will presumably now be switched back to its own nest. A close eye will be kept on the weights of both chicks, with twice-daily weighing for TFT chick and daily checks for rapidly growing TF chick.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKbM5HBesZ0. “

And she also brings us the news from yesterday at the Parramatta River: “February 2: Last evening (1 February) at 7:39pm an eagle flew from the island area and across the wetlands. With poor light, it was impossible to identify. Shortly after, an osprey was seen with a fish, heading back to Concord. Early this morning, our team reported SE31 at the river, first at Juvie Roost then closer to River Roost. She was seen later attempting a catch from the river, but it seemed nothing edible. The juvenile was confirmed as SE31, as she was using her favourite roosts and flight paths. During the day, the adults were seen at Goat Island, then flying west together at 4:30pm. Ospreys were active on the river in the late afternoon. Then, the adults were seen back at Goat Island again.”

They are watching for the first egg at Dulles-Greenway with Rosa and her new mate.

Everyone at the WRDC nest is alright. They survived the drought of prey items and the nappy and R6 looks to be in fine health.

Enjoying some shade!

We are about 3 weeks from the first egg at Denton Homes with Mum and Beau. (Yes, another Beau).

Some activity over at Decorah North, too – and a fish gift!

The Hatchery Eagles were at the nest, too.

Your eyes are not fooling you if you look at the amount of water around the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California. ”Sacramento River’s water flow triples…” – this is due to the latest heavy rainfall in the area.

More bad weather is expected with mudslides…

Atmospheric-river-storm-to-soak-Bay-Area-this-weekend-with-major-flood-danger-in-Southern-CaliforniDownload

SE 31 has not gone anywhere!

Everyone should be serious about plastic and demand alternatives just like the lead in fishing, hunting, and military use. This is for the UK, but maybe it should be international.

I want to give a big shout-out to Mary Cheadle. Mary handles all the fundraising projects for The Friends of Loch Arkaig. When Jean-marie Dupart was asked what he needed, he answered he needed a new pair of binoculars to count the UK and European Ospreys in West Africa. We are so grateful for Dupart’s sightings and photographs. Mary undertook the challenge of raising funds, and today, she announced that she had “raised £1085 for Jean-marie’s binos.” That is amazing. Thank you, Mary! And thank you, Jean-Marie, for always informing us of the Osprey counts and the sightings of ringed birds.

Cranes were made extinct in the UK in the 16th century. This past year they bred in record numbers.

Cranes-UKs-tallest-bird-bred-in-higher-numbers-last-summer-than-for-centuries-Birds-The-GuardDownload

Wetlands are positively essential to our feathered friends. Did you know that 1/4 of North America’s wetlands are in Canada? 

The-Wonder-of-Boreal-Wetlands-AudubonDownload

The following article has a map showing the Boreal Forest and more information about its importance to our planet, not just our feathered friends.

Boreal-forestDownload

You know Flaco, the escapee Eurasian Owl in Central Park. He is celebrating a year of freedom. It is highly unlikely Flaco will ever have a mate. Today I found this – a bonded pair of Eurasian Owls in Estonia. Have a peek.

They are Hugo and Hanna. She is on the nest platform and he is on the tree branch.

The Peregrine Fund reminds us of some facts about Eurasian Owls:

  • Eurasian Eagle-owls combine fast and powerful flights with shallow wing beats and long, fast glides. They also soar on updrafts, displaying a type of flight similar to that of soaring hawks like the Red-tailed Hawk.
  • Eurasian Eagle-owls are among the world’s largest owls.
  • Their pumpkin orange eyes and feathery ear tufts make them one of the most striking owls in the world.

“Eurasian Eagle-owl, Bubo bubo, Uhu” by Sonja & Roland is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

They also state, “Eurasian Eagle-owls are found throughout much of Europe and Asia and in parts of northern Africa. They live in a variety of wooded habitats. They are more commonly found in areas with rocky outcrops and cliffs, but they also live in open habitats that have some trees and rocky areas like taiga, farmlands, steppes, semi-arid areas, and grasslands.

Eurasian Eagle-owls seem to do well in most types of habitat if there are available nesting spots and adequate prey. These large, beautiful owls have even been documented living in city parks. One owl showed up at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland. This potential fan spent time hanging out on the goal post, causing the game to be delayed for several minutes!” 

Eurasian Owls are under threat. ”During the first half of the 1900s, Eurasian Eagle-owl populations declined drastically. Humans hunted and poisoned them and they had a hard time surviving. Happily, local governments have begun to increase their protection of these owls, and some reintroduction programs have taken place. Thanks to these efforts, the Eurasian Eagle-owl is recovering in Europe although their numbers still haven’t returned to what they were before the mid-1900s. Electrocution and collisions with cars continue to be a problem for this extraordinary raptor.”

The latest announcement about the West End camera in the Channel Islands:

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, videos, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J, MC’, Nancy Babineau, SW Florida Eagle Cam, info visual.info, Lady Hawk, IWS/Explore, FOBBV, Eagle Country, JBS Wetlands, Window to Wildlife, PLO, Dulles-Greenway, WRDC, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, FORE, The Guardian, Bozena Isia, The Mercury News, Sea Eagle Cam, @ChrisPackham, Audubon, The Government of Canada, The Peregrine Fund, Open Verse, and the IWS. 

Friday Morning in Bird World

2 February 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Ground Hog Day. It is Falco’s ‘Freedom Day’ in New York City. I wonder how much more winter we will all have.

Many debate whether Falco is free or if he is really in danger. All of the wildlife in New York City are in danger from rodenticides, not just Falco. He will never have an Eurasian Owl for a mate and he has now been ‘free’ for precisely a year. He will probably never be caught and returned to a sanctuary. I think Mark Avery would agree with me that he will live his life just like the other birds in the Central Park area and, I hope it is long like Pale Male.

Hugo Yugo had her appointment with Dr Green. The vet staff could not believe she was the same kitten from a month ago! She has gained another pound, and everything is A-OK. She is now about the size of a small tissue box.

I would like to get the 2024 Memorial Wall up and running. For some reason, it is now showing up – even though my system says it is. Lou is number 2. ’J’ sent some lovely images of Lou to be included.

The Atmospheric River that is bringing 2 inches of rain to the San Francisco area has brought heavy snow to the Big Bear Valley which is east of Los Angeles.

What Jackie woke up to on Friday. Hoping that Shadow can find some food for them in this heavy snow.

The nests with eaglets are doing fine. Let us all hope that the surviving one at John Bunker Sands thrives. There was some concern that an owl might have come on top of the girders last evening – please go away!

‘MP’ sent me these great shots of Dad bringing in this enormous fish. Incredible and great screen captures! Thank you.

Eagle County has the award, so far, of the deepest egg cup. It is impossible to see that eaglet.

R6 appears to be fine. Let us hope that the huge pellet included all the materials from the nappy and that not lasting damage is done to this precious little eaglet.

From the looks of Rose’s beak, the family quite enjoyed that water fowl.

Congratulations! Another second egg…more eaglets the end of the first week in March! This time for Frances and Franklin in Tennessee.

E23 is quickly coming into its own and losing those dandelions on the top of its head. 

Nice big fish are coming on the nest for Cal and Lusa. Cal has lost almost ever hint of the baby down she hatched with…Today, Cal potentially saved Lusa’s life when a piece of fish got stuck in his throat.

Lusa begins to choke about half way through the video at 2:53ish.

A little later the worry beads were out again as the pair of them climbed up on the rails!

Scout is bringing in food gifts to Bella – this time it was a squirrel.

In Australia, Gil and Brad are doing fine…so civilised with those fish.

‘A’ confirms that the 0647 fish was the only one: ”There has been only one fish brought in so far today at Port Lincoln, by Dad at 06:47, which Giliath ate (it is now 5.45portpm local time). Bradley ate in the middle of the night, finishing off Giliath’s fish from last night. But so far, that has been it for the day, unless either lad has caught something for themselves (if so, they have been smart enough to eat it away from the nest). Giliath tried catching a fish, unsuccessfully, at 14:12:59, and both boys spent a lot of time off the barge today, so one or both of them may have got a fish. “

WBSE 31 fooled everyone. She is back down on the Parramatta River by the adult’s River Roost.

The new male is trying hard to woo Annie!

Gorgeous Molis are hatching on the island of Kauai!

Do you watch the Manchester NH Peregrine Falcon scrape? Here is some news that might interest you.

Always something exciting happening at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. This is where those very intelligent but pesky Kakapo sometimes wind up – and get excellent care. Here is a rare penguin.

I am reading another book on avian behaviour. It is my area of interest. This one focuses on the science of the behaviours and some good examples and images, but it is heavy on the science. There is a reason for that! People still believe that birds are not intelligent and do not have feelings. They believe they are not sentient beings like humans. Why might that be the case? Well, it would change everything, wouldn’t it? The welfare of animals would come to the forefront!

Full-article-Belief-in-Animal-Sentience-and-Affective-Owner-Attitudes-are-linked-to-Positive-WorkinDownload

Here is the book…I did not find it as engaging as some of the others I have read (I happen to like Bekoff’s books but there are no illustrations and this one is choked full of beautiful ones), but I totally understand the need to ‘prove’ with evidence the points being made. It is very good at that – and I did enjoy it very much.

If the man who sold the falcons in Scotland thought they were sentiment beings, would he have engaged in that practice? We will never know. He did get a find that might stop him in the future, but I would have liked to have seen it much higher with a custodial sentence alongside.

Man-fined-for-illegally-selling-peregrine-chicks-in-Scotland-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

No egg at Moorings Park, yet.

Remember – the last is never the least. I am always grateful to my friend, Sassa Bird in Latvia, for ‘fixing’ any issues related to reporting about their wildlife. Certainly, the articles that I read about Golden Eagles would lead one to believe they were more than there are…so, here we go. Thanks, Sassa. ”In 1955, the white-tailed eagle disappeared as a nester in Latvia,[3] but since the beginning of the 1970s, when the first inhabited nest was found, their number has grown significantly thanks to protection measures. The number of nesting birds has reached 100-150 pairs. In the last ten years, their number has increased by more than 30%.” They continue, “In Latvia, according to modern systematics, there are 3 species of the eagle genus: the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the royal eagle (Aquila heliaca) and the steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis).[3] The last two species have been observed only a few times: the golden eagle twice,[4] and the steppe eagle only once.” Much appreciated. We need to fix some of the sights on the Web and their information. 

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. We hope to have you with us again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, screen captures, videos, articles, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, B, J, MP, SP’, Bruce Yolton, FOBBV, Neil Laferty, JB Sands Wetlands, Eagle Country, WRDC, Trudi Kron, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Ondabebe, Deb Stecyk, PLO, Bart M, SK Hideaways, Pacific Rim Conservation, Anne Pardo, Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, Taylor & Francis Online, Nathan Emery and Amazon, Raptor Persecution UK, Moorings Park, and Sassa Bird.

1st egg for Thunder and Akecheta!…Wednesday in Bird World

31 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is summer – just joking – but Tuesday was an amazing day to stand outside and sniff the fresh air. The snow is melting in areas where the sun shines, and the streets are full of puddles. Sadly, some people are not aware that if they drive like Ayrton Senna, they will splash everyone in sight! One of our local nature centres is having a contest to guess the arrival of the first Canada Goose, and we are getting ready for one of the major festivals in our city, Festival du Voyageur. I wonder if there will be any snow or if it will be too warm for the international ice sculpture contest? I love the Maple Candy – pouring hot Maple Syrup over clean snow. It is delicious and stiffens up like the best taffy.

I had tea with my best mate today and outside her window was a doe and fawn. Got the doe right before she was going to crunch a munch one of the plants. There are 8 deer that live in the park. In the spring, my friend has a pond and there is at least one pair of ducks that make it their home. It is lovely to visit and get to see them.

I am glad that this deer is not being hunted. For several years we have been taking about the disastrous effects of lead poisoning in our raptors. Hunting, fishing, military weapons all contribute to the high death rates. Hunters kill the deer and clean out their innards, leaving those in the field full of lead shot. The raptors or carrion eaters feast on this and they can die. 

The wildlife rehab that took care of our little sweetie ND17, Humane Indiana Wildlife, has a sad story for us – with lots of information. Please spread the word to anyone you know that hunts and fishes that they should not be using lead in any form. Educate them nicely as to why. Be your best persuasive self.

Oh, gosh, golly. We have the first egg of the 2024 season in the Channel Islands. Thunder laid it today and that precious egg was seen at 1539. Congratulations!

And a big shout out to Dr Peter Sharpe, who retired, took the transportation – the car, the boat, climbed up the cliffs – and installed a fanatic camera! 

I wonder how long it will be until Thunder’s parents, Chase and Cholyn, lay their first egg at Two Harbours.

At Sauces, Jak and Audacity are hopeful and working away. They should be an inspiration to all of us to never give up!

There is chirping at Eagle Country for Abby and Blazer. We will have a hatch soon! You can clearly hear that gentle cheeping…how exciting. This one may have hatched by Wednesday morning. 

There is not a lot of bird news. A huge male eagle, quite a handsome fellow, landed on Gabby and Beau’s tree today. Thanks ‘J’ for the image captures.

Gabby just kept on incubating that egg. Today is day 39. 

E23 is working on standing steady, using its wings for balance. There were several hiccups on Tuesday, but the little one is determined. E23 is also working its wings and looking over the rails to what lies beyond the nest and the Pritchett property. A huge fish came into the nest, but E23 was not hungry, having a large crop that had lasted most of the day.

Cal and Lusa had big crops, too! It isn’t easy to see them in the shade of the nest tree now. Those gorgeous and shiny espresso juvenile feathers blend in well with the dark shade. But check out those feet – look at that deep, bright chrome yellow. Clive and Connie’s eaglets are extremely healthy. This is the colour you want to see on the feet of all your raptors. Look and remember. 

My goodness. After the ‘fish drought’ at the WRDC nest, you would think fish were falling from the sky. The nest had no less than two large whole fish today along with a bird. R6 appears to be doing just fine. Hopefully he got rid of any human garbage (aka the nappy) when he cast that very large pellet.

The WRDC issued the following statement on Tuesday, the 30th. A very thorough and reassuring post on the happenings at the nest.

You can now see both eaglets at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest. The first hatch is doing quite well and is much larger than the second one. I sat and yelled at Mum to feed it mid-afternoon after it woke up and wanted food. She kept feeding the big one and herself. If you are watching this nest really close, please let me know how the wee one is faring. BTW. The sound at this nest is first-rate. You can hear the little squees quite clearly. They are so cute.

If you haven’t marked your calendars, pip watch for Jackie and Shadow begins on the 29th of February. That is 35 days. In the past, Jackie’s eggs have hatched between 38-39 days. Hold your breath. Let’s all send the most positive wishes we can to our Big Bear couple.

I missed posting the news so thanks, Geemeff. Bluff City had its first egg on the 28th. 

If you are looking for Owlvira, it appears that she has made her nest this year in a nearby hawk nest and not the nest she used in 2022-23.

If you are having ‘Owl Withdrawal’, I suggest you keep an eye on Bonnie and Clyde at Farmer Derek’s nest. These two kicked out a young pair of Bald Eagles several years ago to raise their first two owlets – Tiger and Lily. Today, they have been heard hooting and mating and Clyde brought Bonnie a food gift at 18:28 on the nest.

Clyde is in the nest cup. Look at that great camouflage!

In Latvia, the White-tail Eagles are returning. What a joyous occasion. The YouTube video for the 30th of January is from the Kemeri National Park. It is the third largest park in the country with numerous water features and lakes. 57% of the area is covered by forests – these are two perfect considerations for the White-tail Eagles when looking for food or nesting sites.

Did you know that there are five different types of eagles that live in Latvia? They are the Golden Eagle which is the most common. Then there. is the Short-toed that breed in Latvia. Sadly, many are shot when migrating to Africa over Malta. The Lesser-Spotted, and the Greater Spotted along with the White-tailed. The White-tailed Eagles are the largest and are easily identified by their entirely white tail. They eat fish and water fowl – the latter of which – caused the HPAI outbreak in 2022. Some charts also identify the Osprey as an eagle in Latvia so you will see titles like ‘Six types of eagles live in Latvia’. I do not include Ospreys with eagles but some do!

My favourite Latvia White-tailed Eagle is Milda. I watched her nest when she was with her late mate, Ramis. She is now bonded with Voldis and they fledged two eaglets in 2023. Milda arrived at her nest in Durbe County on the 30th of January, too!

Sally is beginning to look a little ‘eggy’ at Moorings Park but, as of 1900 Tuesday the 30th there was no egg. Sally and Harry spent time at the nest on Tuesday.

The Royal Cam chick is really growing! We can clearly see it during feedings. 

Checking on Annie at The Campanile. She was calling from the scrape. You could see her on the ledge cam and then from inside the scrape. I am waiting to see if this new mate shows up. No. Annie left the scrape at 1701.

More Hen Harriers were illegally killed in 2023 than at any other time. Outrageous.

2023-confirmed-as-worst-year-for-persecution-of-Hen-Harriers-on-UK-grouse-moors-since-brood-meddlingDownload

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’Geemeff, J’, Humane Indiana Wildlife, IWS/Explore, Eagle Country, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, John Bunker Sands Wetlands Eagle Cam, FOBBV, ETSU Eagles, Owl Cam, Farmer Derek, Cal Falcons, LDF, Trine, Moorings Park, Lady Hawk, Cal Falcons, and Raptor Persecution UK.

Sunday in Bird World

28 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that your Saturday was a good one. In Winnipeg, it was the day to pick up cupcakes. They are a fundraiser for the Winnipeg Kitten Adoption and were made and donated by Bee’s Cakes. Missey gives them a thumb’s up! The owner loved our thank you so much that she is going to put Missey’s image on her website. How sweet. Missey is as sweet as that vanilla buttercream icing with sprinkles – so sweet that she let me trim her nails without a single flinch today. Now, let us see how Calico does tomorrow!

There were some worries at the John Bunker Wetlands Eagle nest that Mum was not feeding the newly hatched eaglet. (Remember that they can live for 24 hours on the food from the egg when they hatch.) The wind has really been blowing at the nest site and it sounded like hail, but I am told that is the rain hitting certain parts of the metal. Mum did feed that baby. A nice fish came in.

Feedings on Sunday morning. Hard to see because of the girders and the deep nest cup but a feeding is taking place!

Diane and Jack are making that Achieva Credit Union nest in St Petersburg pretty comfy. Eggs expected within the next fortnight. The way Diane is acting, we could have the first egg today or Monday.

At the nest with a Starling Sunday morning in St Petersburg.

No egg as of Saturday might at Moorings Park.

It can be argued that we always need more osprey platforms. Yes, sometimes they do not get used. Sometimes old ones are abandoned for new for various reasons including intruders and lack of fish. In Bellingham, Washington, USA, an Osprey couple wants to make a nest on an operational crane. The Port is hoping they will decide to use the new platform they are erecting. 

This happened in Manitoba and under the agreement with the five tribal councils involved in the Kesay Dam Project in our far north, the raptors got to keep their nest on the big forklift! It was deemed illegal to disturb the nest. Sometimes that part of the Migratory Bird Act is good.

Port-to-install-Osprey-nesting-platform-in-Bellingham-Bellingham-HeraldDownload

Eaglet or not. Gabby and Beau are a beautiful bonded couple and if a miracle could be found, I would hope that egg would hatch! I get the feeling that if it doesn’t, there will not be a second clutch, but, hey, surprise me Gabby.

What a relief to see that R6 is OK. Well, I say OK. R6 did consume enough of that nappy to worry onlookers. The PSs have been plentiful and have looked good, and let us hope that all that marvellous engineering of the crop and acid stomach switches on and relieves this 14-day-old eaglet of any ills that might have come its way because of human garbage.

R6 went to sleep with a really nice crop and with more fish on the nest for the morning breakfast! Relief. Relief.

E23 is really growing at the SW Florida nest. I love watching her grab the food from the parents when they are feeding. As you will have noted, the number of feedings has been greatly reduced, but the amount of intake is probably more now. This is one healthy eaglet losing its mohawk slowly, gaining clown feet and getting its juvenile feathers. Don’t you love the constant squeeing…

Every wonder about the GHOs that share the property with M15, F23, and E23?

And here is that video:

Cal and Lusa are doing just fine. Cal is standing and Clive might want to reinforce those rails! Meanwhile, Lusa likes to sit like a Buddha.

Liberty and Guardian look beautiful. They were at their nest in Redding, California Saturday.

Dr Sharpe has the West End streaming cam up and working. Thunder was at the nest this morning! They are still playing highlights at Two Harbours and Fraser Point.

I sure wish Jackie and Shadow had that nice soft nest of Jak and Audacity. Their camera is working fine.

It has rained at Cornell. Arthur was in earlier making a dash with a stick. Otherwise, life at the nest was quiet on Saturday.

No one was to be seen by the time Ferris Akel’s tour got to the Cornell Campus at Ithaca. Earlier in the tour, there were geese- some Canada Geese, some Tundra Swans, and some Snow Geese. There were also hundreds and hundreds of Redheads, a few male Scaup, and some Mallards at the south end of Cayuga Lake.

The male Scaup have the white along their wing. You can see five in the image below.

Ducks everywhere..my goodness. 

Snow Geese. You can identify them immediately by their black wing tips.

There were hundreds and hundreds of them – if not a thousand, flying in or already feeding.

Eagles, Red-headed Woodpeckers…it was a good day except for the heat shimmer.

And some Common Mergansers.

Precious egg at Big Bear. Every ounce of positivity you have – please send it to Jackie and Shadow so that their precious, precious egg/s will survive to hatch. These two deserve this and so do Jak and Audacity. It would be a great year – a year where we all jump up and down and scream – if either or both nests have a chick. 

Both eagles came to the ND-LEEF nest at South Bend – crisp temperatures of 36 F.

At Port Lincoln, Mum brought in the first fish of the day at 1337. Bradley took it.

It appears that both Marri and SE31 have left their nesting territories. I have seen no recent news of their presence. Please tell me if you have seen otherwise – thank you!

The Osprey Leadership Foundation is funding and teaching young people in West Africa about Ospreys. This is the first step in conservation. Thank you, OLF! 

Let’s get everyone to participate and overwhelm them with art bringing attention and supporting Albatrosses! I know that you can do it – seriously, you can or someone you know might. 

The joy – the sheer wonder – of looking close at your own garden or the nearest green space to where you live, the place you are most familiar.

Country-diary-A-rare-sighting-glimpsed-through-the-steam-of-my-coffee-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today and for your lovely ‘get to feeling better’ wishes. I am still under the weather but it is a head cold and a runny nose. Is it an allergy? I will find out on the 8th. Take care of yourself. Stay safe, stay warm or cool, depending on where you are. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, MP’, NEFL-AEF, Bee’s Cakes, JB Wetlands, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park, The Bellingham Herald, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Saunders Photography, Window to Wildlife, FORE, IWS/Explore, Cornell RTH Cam, @CornellHawks, Ferris Akel Tours, FOBBV, ND-LEEF, PLO, Gunjur Project, Holly Parsons, and The Guardian.

John Bunker Sands Eagles have first hatch, hunger at the WRDC…Saturday in Bird World

27 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday, the 26th, I ate a very special cake for my late Dad. It is his birthday. He had two favourite cakes – a fresh Coconut and, the other, a fresh Orange Cake. Some who live in the Southern US might be familiar with these – a nice white layer cake (sturdy and only handmade) filled with either freshly grated coconut with a buttercream frosting or freshly grated oranges mixed with some sugar, spread liberally between 5 or 6 layers, and let to sit.  If anyone is responsible for my feelings for abandoned animals, it is certainly him. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Hugo Yugo would have loved to have some of that cake. My goodness that little cat can get into the most trouble without even trying. She is sooooo curious. This coming week, she goes back to Dr Greene for her check-up. I think the vet will be pleased. 

Watching bird videos with Hope.

Hope is very patient with her little sister.

‘The Boyfriend’ enjoyed the Friday evening feast of organic roast chicken. The neighbourhood rallied around and showed their love for him – and the others – when it appeared that one individual would call the pound. I am joyful and grateful to live in an area with such compassion for animals.

Congratulations to the John Bunker Sands Wetland eagles on their first hatch of the season!

‘M’ sent me the video of Mum joyously calling Dad to tell him about the egg.

Jackie has been taking good care of the first egg at Big Bear laid on Thursday the 25th. Shadow brings his gal a nice fish lunch at 11:01. Mark your calendars for a Leap Year pip/hatch. Shadow actually brought in three fish on Friday for Jackie. Way to go….the reason nearly 10,000 people love this couple and wish them success this season. They are adorable.

If Gabby’s egg is to be the miracle of the breeding season, it should show signs of a pip Friday and hatch on Saturday or Sunday.

There seems to be a prey problem at the WRDC nest. For unknown reasons hunting seems to be difficult. Ron has not brought prey for a week, and Rose seems to be having a prey drought the past couple of days herself.  Both parents seem healthy, but I’m sure they are hungry.  We have not seen Rose with a crop, and Ron ate some of the fish on the nest yesterday.  They have run out of scraps for Rose to feed R6. The eaglet ate well Thursday, and had a small crop after a morning scrap feeding early Friday. PS are still okay.

Late afternoon on Friday. There is still no food delivery and everyone is getting worried, even if they are not saying it. Something is very much amiss here. 

Rose flew in after dumpster hunting with a child’s pull-up nappy and what appeared to be a piece of red meat (an organ) attached. R6 was fed. We must remember that eagles are carrion eaters. Their stomachs are made to digest the most horrible dead, maggot-eaten prey. Hopefully, this will keep R6 from starving, but imagine that the eagles have to eat garbage in one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Florida. Rose was plucking the plastic off the nappy. Then Ron flew in with a partial fish at 1730. What a relief. It was left on the nest and rightfully so – Rose doesn’t know when the next meal will come and R6 did eat – whatever it was.

We all need to learn something from Port Lincoln. They dared to provide fish for the family during the crucial period when one or both of the osplets might have perished. Their plan worked. It did not stop the adults from bringing fish to the nest. Five fish have been arriving daily, on average, for the fledglings, Gil and Brad. Three individuals with big hearts realised that it was time to help – so I say to those who are the administrators of the WRDC nest: the feral cats in my neighbourhood have more empathy and food than these beautiful eagles at the WRDC. Tonight ‘The Boyfriend’ had his normal organic chicken dinner. So, please, Help the eagles! Get them over the hump.

When we know there is a crisis, it is our duty, if we can in any way, to help the animals through the rough patch. Weather, overfishing, loss of habitat and thus loss of prey can now be linked to humans. There is your cause for intervention.

Rose appears to be feeding R6 some of the fish. Remember – these parents are hungry, too. They will protect the territory, feed themselves, and then feed the eaglets. Let us hope that tomorrow is a much better day and that the wind, or someone, gets this nappy and its plastic off this nest.

Here is the incident in question in video.

It appeared that R6 ate some of the plastic from the nappy…those stomach acids should do the trick. At the same time, the darling almost choked. 

We know that our beautiful birds around the world hunt in landfills. The storks of Western Europe, the General Adjutants in Assam, etc. What a testament to our mismanagement of the land that the animals and fish they need to survive are not abundant. One of the big threats to all of our birds, eagles included, is the growing abundance of plastic – as trash, as microplastics, fishing lines, etc. and now nappies.

The live stream went down at 2050 Friday night and returned at 0915 Saturday morning. The plastic has been removed from the nest with permission from USFWS. I hope that some fish were delivered as well. 

It appears that Ron has been able to deliver a fish Saturday morning. Let us hope that the dry spelling in prey at this nest is over. And then Rose brought in a big fish. Lovely!

Royal cam chick is being fed and weighed. 

Unfortunately, the amount of food the Royal Cam chick is getting is not sufficient and the Rangers – doing great diligence – have switched chicks with another family. They do amazing work, the NZ DOC rangers – everything they do is to ensure that these chicks survive to fledge. Swooping chicks, supplemental feeding, misting, you name it, they do it. Let us hope this attention to the care of these endangered seabirds spreads to other nests throughout the world.

The Royal cam chick was returned to the nest!

No shortage, so far, of prey items at SW Florida. E23 does get impatient and wishes Mum would get those bites a bit quicker to its beak!

Clive keeps the fish coming in at Captiva. These two are adorable, Cal and Lusa. Some think the plumage patterns on their backs look like turtle shells while others see them as bulls eyes.

Do you know what Doris Mager’s contributions to Bald Eagles was? If you do not know the name, have a read – and even if you do, refresh your memory!

The-Lady-Who-Lived-in-an-Eagles-Nest-The-Saturday-Evening-PostDownload

Here is Condor Chat in case you missed it on Thursday. The missing birds will be added to the Memorial Page for 2023 in the new few days.

Dr Sharpe is out fixing cameras at the Channel Islands nests! Retired? Doesn’t seem so.

Please join various wildlife groups – such as Cornell and Audubon – for the great Bird Count on the 16th of February. The more that count, the more we know about the declines and gains in bird populations.

Bird Count is on this weekend in the UK and will there be winners such as the Waxwing? We wait to see.

Spot-the-punk-rockers-hope-for-waxwing-boost-in-annual-UK-bird-count-RSPB-Big-Garden-Birdwatch-Download

Concern for the population of seabirds in the United Kingdom is growing.

Inter-Research-MEPS-v725-p121-140Download

Want to know more about the winter bird visitors to Scotland and their migration? Have a read!

Scotlands-winter-visitors-why-and-how-do-they-migrate-BTO-British-Trust-for-OrnithologyDownload

We are 7 weeks and counting til the Ospreys return to the UK.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send positive wishes for a good prey day at the WRDC and if you can produce a miracle for Gabby and Beau, please do so! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Always free. You can unsubscribe anytime. Normally one post a day. No ads, no spam.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, zoom chats, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, M’, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, FOBBV, Marylu Pitcher, WRDC, Eagle Goddess, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk, Sharon Dunne, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Saturday Evening Post, Audubon Magazine, Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Chat, Gracie Shepherd, National Audubon Society, and The Guardian.

Friday in Bird World

26 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thursday was simply a gorgeous day. By the time I had treated all over King’s Park and through the entire space of IKEA – well, I had accomplished more than my goal of 5km. Whew! The snow is melting quickly and soon, we will be getting stuck in the muck. But, for today, it was marvellous. The puppies were off to the dog park and everyone had a smile on their face and a big hello. Tomorrow, I hope to find some Short-eared Owls and some Snowy Owls in an adventure north of the City.

It is not Calico, it is Baby Hope. She looks more and more like Mamma every week.

Calico wanted to give Baby Hope a good wash, but unlike Hugo Yugo, Hope wasn’t having any of it!

Missey sat close and watched Calico trying to be a good Mamma.

Hugo Yugo is always a bit of a blur…

When the first thing you read in the morning is the shooting of a Peregrine Falcon, it is hard to put on a happy face.

Peregrine-found-shot-in-Doncaster-–-Police-appeal-for-information-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

At Big Bear, Shadow was attacked by an unidentified eagle at 1443 on Wednesday! The worry beads were out, and tears were falling – Shadow has now returned safely to the nest at 1135 Thursday.

Then, the unexpected happened. Jackie laid her first egg of the 2024 season. Tears of joy are flowing around the world for this most beloved couple who fight against the impact of the DDT spraying from decades ago on their breeding success.

Here’s the video!

At Sauces, there are fish gifts form Jak to Audacity. Love this couple whose name should be Tenacious and Persistent.

Gabby and Beau protecting the nest and incubating an egg that is going to need a super miracle if it is to hatch for these two.

Beau had a lesson in incubation today! It looks like he might have gotten it! Thanks, Gabby!!!!!! He is a keeper. Maybe not eaglets this year, but next.

E23 is really noticing what is beyond the nest. And what a change – like the eaglet doubled in size!

There is a surprise and some joy in the Kisatchie National Forest today after the loss of Anna and Andria, their eggs, nests, and mates. The time stamp of 2014 must be an error.

All is going well for Duke Farms. There is a second egg – that should be it!

Here’s the video.

Royal Cam chick enjoys breakfast with Mum.

A tour of the landscape around the Pittsburgh Hays nest occurred on Thursday. You can see the river where the eagles go fishing…gorgeous.

Gracious. Your giggle of the day comes from V2 and DG. Practice. There are no eggs at the Dulles-Greenway nest of Rosa and V2 but practice for incubation is underway and guess what V2 is using? A hambone! Maybe we needed one of these for Beau.

Successful mating at Moorings Park on Thursday with the first egg expected any time.

Cal and Lusa are getting their cute little tail feathers! 

No eggs yet for Liberty and Guardian at Redding in California.

Both the new female and Dad were on the ND-LEEF nest today after the snow melted. New female (top) and Dad (below).

‘A’ sends the reports for the past days at the Parramatta River. It appears that SE31 has now dispersed from the nest area.

“Here are the WBSE reports for the past three days (24, 25 and 26 January):

January 24: Early in the morning, one eagle was at River Roost. It appeared to be Dad. On the incoming tide, there was lots of floating rubbish, man-made and natural – leaves, branches, plants. Stormwater carries lots of debris. Only Dad was seen by the river during the day. A drone was seen over the wetlands, delivering routine mosquito-management spraying. Later in the afternoon, again only one eagle was seen. SE31 seems to be out of sight or has moved away from this area. She was last seen flying towards Homebush Bay. The photo below is from the other day, a good catch though our youngster was not there to claim it. Thanks to Jan and all our other eagle watchers and photographers.

RangerJudy1d

January 25: An eagle-free day, it seems, as none was seen by the river all day. Watchers checked nearby bays and the ospreys were sighted.

RangerJudy29m

January 26: A very quiet day today, with no sea eagle sightings recorded. A picture from the past for a memory. We wonder where they all are.

Meanwhile, it was another fish frenzy day with five coming in to the nest for Brad and Gil who are still at home!

So it seems our girl has moved on – apparently, with peregrines, the females disperse much greater distances from the natal area than do the male juveniles. I’m unsure if the same applies with sea eagles. SE29 headed north, up along the coast, a particularly lovely part of the country.” 

What a wonderful day! Thank you so much for being with me. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’A’, Raptor Persecution UK, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, Gracie Shepherd, NEFL-AEF, Lisa Yen, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cody Wayne, Duke Farms, Ondabebe, Bill Kitchen, NZ DOC, Pix Cams, Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam, Mooring Park, Window to Wildlife, FORE, ND-LEEF, Eagle Cam, PLO, and Bart M.

Big Red and Arthur check out the nest…Thursday in Bird World

25 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, there was no peace in the house on Wednesday morning. Hugo Yugo wanted kitten milk (lactose-free milk), and there wasn’t any. Gosh, golly. You would have thought there had been some big international incident! It was all settled mid-afternoon, but goodness gracious. How can such a little thing be so loud!

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people waiting for the first chance to see Big Red and Arthur at their nest. That moment they arrived on Wednesday, the 24th of January! The time was 0938.

Big Red flies in while Arthur is checking the egg cup. He must be calculating how many stick deliveries they will need to keep the Ns safe.

At one point, I thought Big Red had a limp in her right leg. There are no injuries or blood as also confirmed by Suzanne Arnold Horning. It has to be trying to walk through those sticks that made her leg look wonky.

Our Queen of the Red Tail Hawks will be twenty-one this spring. Goodness. She is decidedly my first love of all the birds.

A Red-tail Hawk visited the Decorah North nest. Immediately you can understand ‘why’ they use the RT hawks’ vocals to replace eagles! Watch the sound!

Helen Matcham caught Marri, the Peregrine Falcon fledgling of Xavier and Diamond’s at Orange on the tower. She has not dispersed. How wonderful.

Royal Cam chick’s first feeding on video:

Latest update:

The first egg at Moorings Park Osprey nest is expected anytime. Sally returned the end of December with Harry arriving back at the nest in Florida in early January.

Harry has been bringing in some nice fish gifts for Sally. Also notice – the construction is finished and these two will have a nicer season as the golfing gets underway below.

Jack and Diane are working on their nest in St Petersburg on Wednesday, too. Expecting eggs within a fortnight I all goes to plan.

They left and Diane returned. Will we have an egg Thursday morning? 

Missing Mini. 

Jackie and Shadow spent a lot of time Wednesday morning arranging sticks at the nest and trying out the egg cup.

E23 is growing – this eaglets eats and sleeps on the rails -. Proud parents check in to see how their little one is doing.

What goes in, must come out. Thank you for this great screen capture.

These two parents have been working to see that not only are they fed but E23 has lots of variety and the nest always has food.

Cal and Lusa are doing fantastic. Lusa has learned to grab bites from Connie’s mouth quickly before Lusa knows what is happening! Waiting til big sibling is full is also a good thing. Connie always seems to make sure Lusa is fed and Clive keeps the pantry stocked. Cal has been standing and doing attempts at walking and really working its wings.

R6 scampered out of the nest bowl today and was up by the rails.

Working on the nest at Dulles-Greenway.

Despite the heavy rain at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest, Irvin and Claire were there working to get things ready.

The eagles have been visiting the ND-LEEF nest since the snow…there are the prints to prove it.

The moli are hatching on Kauai.

For your reading pleasure, the story of migration from the POV of the Osprey. Tiger Mozone reposted this series today in our FB group and I thought you would enjoy reading it. In the coming weeks, I will be gathering up the new books for adults and children on ospreys and falcons as their season opens. The countdown is on for their safe arrival home in Western Europe. Tiger says, “This is an osprey thriller from ten years ago. The author was Paul Wildlifewriter and it is a gripping story. It was published in weekly parts and each edition was eagerly awaited.”

The-Well-of-IshrahanDownload

The US may list the Bumblebee as endangered, but globally, can we stop the use of pesticides to halt these tragedies? We need the pollinators!

Bumblebee-among-species-US-wildlife-officials-consider-listing-as-endangered-Endangered-species-Download

Thank you so much for being with me today. If anyone is watching the Venice Golf and Country Club and there are eggs, let me know! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J, SAH’, Cornell RTH Cam, Explore, Helen Matcham, SK Hideaways, Holly Parsons, Sharon Dunne, Moorings Park, Achieva Credit Union, PSG Electric, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Carol Shores Rifkin, Lady Hawk, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Pix Cams, ND-LEEF, Sharon Pollock, The Guardian, and Wildlife Kate.

1st egg for Duke Farms, Tuesday in Bird World

23 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The girls have been helping me nurse a cold today. That means no crazy antics. In fact, they are still resting up from all the fun they had on Sunday!

Trouble with a capital T slept most of the day:

Calico woke up as usual – if she did not appear with a single meow around 0835 I would think she was the one feeling under the weather. Oh, what a gentle soul she is.

Time for Hugo Yugo to get those eyes and ears washed! Missey is an exceptional Mamma. Then they always spend a good hour snuggled together. It is beautiful.

The second round of eagle eggs are beginning to be laid. Congratulations Duke Farms – we welcome a new male there this season. Estimated time was 1548. Thanks, Trudi Kron, for the great screen capture!

Congratulations to Jolene and Boone at the ETSU nest in Johnson City on their second egg. Hard incubation has begun.

Will we have a clutch at the KNF-E1 nest with the new couple? We wait.

What a relief to have Gabby back at the nest tree. That egg is not viable, but, gosh, if a miracle happened and it hatched, I would not complain. Gabby had a huge crop and another fish. That was reassuring…but, mostly, it was one of those moments when the world feels like it is lifted off your shoulders. 

Poor Gabby. Does she believe that Beau incubated the egg, like Samson would have, in her absence? She is there on her egg Monday night. I feel bad for her.

As I continue to remind myself, I will say again – we are lucky. There are four well fed, much loved, fat bottomed eaglets to coo over. Perhaps there will be less competition for them when they are looking to raise their families.

F23 has turned out to be a fine mate for M15 and a grand Mum for E23.

F23 wants to make certain that E23 has its blankie.

Clive makes sure that Cal and Lusa are not going to go hungry! Their names, combined, stand for the local indigenous tribe that settled the area of Captiva eons ago.

Many believe that Ron and Rose should get the award this season for the deepest egg cup. This little one hasn’t a hope of getting out to those rails – or does it?

Missey and Dad were working on renovations to their nest after the two eggs they had been incubating broke – and appeared to not have any contents at the weekend.

I love how the eagles have shown their ability to mourn over the years (still remember vividly Joe at Captiva standing over the body of his dead daughter after she had secondary rodenticide poisoning) and then get on with life when something like this happens at Berry. 

Meet the new Royal cam chick!

And she’s home with Mamma!

A sub-adult landed on Gabby’s tree and we all jumped and hoped it was Legacy! Gosh, do you remember when she got ‘lost’ from the nest tree and flew by finally landed and stayed home for a month after fledging? I wonder if it is her. She was an incredibly beautiful fledgling and this sub-adult is a show-stopper! I would like to think that since Samson returned to his natal nest that it is entirely possible that this is Legacy. The plumage development might indicate that, too. (Of course, there are many eagles in this area, but…I can wish!)

EagleGoddess caught the sub-adult at NEFL covering the egg ever so gently. 

Other sub-adults are showing up elsewhere. There was one at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest, too.

A note from the Eagle Cam and some of the latest images from Chang-Le Dong of WBSE 31. Let us hope SE31 breaks the norm and stays at the river much longer than anticipated. Watching her develop from an egg to such a gorgeous fledgling has been a joy.

You might recall that the osprey on Louis and Alia’s old nest – nest 1 at Loch Arkaig – is named Affric. Look what they have discovered in Scotland. Thanks, Geemeff. It is stunning – love those bright colours.

Rob Schwartz continues to fight on behalf of the eagles of Centreport to stop construction that would be harmful to the eagles habitat. It is a bit long but I have included Rob’s entire post in case you want the details and wish to send a letter on behalf of the ‘eagles’.

Schwartz: ”For those of you who could not attend the Jan. 18th ZBA Meeting, I am attaching a partial video (which I cut to remove the legal mumbo jumbo). Per the testimony from a SEQRA expert , when the ZBA granted a business depth extension following their Aug. 3rd meeting, they violated SEQRA, with little or no regard for our eagles whose nest is adjacent to the Centerport Mill Pond. We feel that if this is done with the way most of the building has been done in the past – the area in which our eagles live will be destroyed, the environment is not taken into the proper consideration. The owners of the land are not doing their due diligence to make sure the land surrounding the Mill Pond is environmentally ready. As per the owners previous “pre application”, the proposed building is going to be 4 stories tall, (3 are only allowed in Huntington). Not surprisingly, there are rumors that the next door restaurant could also be demolished and turned into more apartments. The slimy nature of how the TOH ZBA is acting in the best interest of the builder should scare us all. The ZBA had a chance to end this on Thursday. However, they refused to hear from residents, even from the resident who initialized the complaint. The plan to put a boardwalk in over the mudflat alone should have been a signal to all, they intend to add as many apartments as they can get away with. The bottom line to this is: They are not willing to follow proper law in the Town of Huntington when it comes to the environment. Those laws were created to protect the environment. No one is telling anyone they cannot build on their land, but the town law needs to be followed. No one is above the law, no matter how much money they have. We all want responsible building in Centerport, but not a build and burn scenario. If this is allowed to go unchecked, you can say goodbye to our eagles and all the wonderful life Mother Nature has brought to Centerport. By the way, the ZBA Board Members are appointed, not elected – what do they have to lose? However, we should be sure to let the Town Board know how we feel about the ZBA that they appointed. If you email any of the below – be sure to CC Andrew Raia TOH Clerk, this way you email goes “On The Record”.Please consider sending emails to all of the following, protesting the ZBA’s reckless disregard for the environment. Here are the people you can email to tell them how you feel about ignoring the Environment. Keith Brown, NY State Assemblyman 12th Assembly District 
631 261-4151 (Commack Office) brownk@nyassembly.gov Edmund J. Smyth, Supervisor 631 351-3030 esmyth@huntingtonny.gov, Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman 631 351-3172 dbennardo@huntingtonny.gov, Salvatore Ferro, Councilman 631 351-3175 sferro@huntingtonny.gov, Gerard Asher, Chair 
John Bennett, Special Counsel 631 351-3196, ZBA@huntingtonny.gov

Hartley and Monty are bonding in San Jose!

The first fish comes after 1300 at Port Lincoln. Gil got it. Adult stretching their wings in heraldic pose to dry off.

Sadly, Australia has added 144 species to its list of threatened wildlife, an increase of five fold! For the first time, the Pink Cockatoo was listed. 

More-Australian-wildlife-added-to-threatened-species-list-in-2023-than-ever-before-conservationistsDownload

The Ventana Wildlife Society will have its regular chat. You can sign up on their website. They also archive the conversations – they are always informative.

In other news, Jean-marie Dupart has photographed Blue LV0 ‘Garry’ from Loch Arkaig in Senegal. Wonderful news.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’J’, Trudi Iron, Duke Farms, ETSU, Tonya Irwin, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College, Sharon Dunne, Holly Parsons, EagleGoddess, PIX Cams, Eagle Cam, Geemeff, Rob Schwartz, SK Hideaways, PLO, The Guardian, Jean-marie Dupart, and The Ventana Wildlife Society.

Welcome Lusa and Cal, Gabby abandons incubation, where is she?…Monday in Bird World

22 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Calico was her regular alarm clock self – my goodness. 0835. After their breakfast, the kittens – Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope – tore through the house. Then, there was a very loud crash. I wonder what happened?

Oh, dear. Who do you see?

Are these two the only culprits?

Calico was cautiously coming to see what happened from the other side of the house.

Baby Hope was relaxing on the top of a chair – she says she had ‘nothing to do with knocking the twinkle tree off the table’. Do you believe her?

No one is telling what happened…Baby Hugo decided to have a nap and poor Calico is just worn out from it all, too. I am left to wonder.

It is hard to believe, but they didn’t even wake up for lunch. Instead, all four crowded into the kitchen around 1800. Very strange, indeed.

The news from Bird World is really rather thin. We might think that the entire Bald Eagle season has mostly collapsed. There will be no chicks at Berry College or at NE Florida to look forward to – we have, on the streaming cams, two at Captiva, one at SW Florida, and one at Miami-Dade. We lost Anna and Andria at the KNF nests before the eggs hatched (thankfully). Superbeaks first clutch failed. Will we have any second clutches?  Will any new couples lay a clutch in Louisiana? We wait and wonder why this is happening.

So, instead of falling into that deep dark hole, we need to rejoice in the four healthy eaglets that are currently on the nests in Florida at Captiva, WRDC, and at Fort Myers. 

At Captiva, Lori Covert has named Connie and Clive’s eaglets – C10 is Lusa and C11 is Cal.

Look at how plump and healthy these two are with their full crops, fat little legs, and bottoms. Let us all wish them uneventful days until they fledge – and good feathers! 

E23 is also plump and very healthy, spoiled only eaglet by M15 and F23. Pin feathers clearly seen on the wing tips.

R6 is a fuzzy little darling – the pride and joy of Ron and Rita at the WRDC nest. So, on streaming cams, we have 4 – only FOUR – eaglets to watch.

Gabby flew off the nest to join Beau at 12:13 and has not returned to the egg as I write – it is now 15:57. It is ONLY 6 degrees C or 42 degrees F at 16:01 on Sunday. This egg is looking less and less viable.

No one returned. So, there are two scenarios. Gabby and Beau figured that the egg was not viable and abandoned it. The second one I do not even wish to contemplate is that something happened to Gabby. I simply do not wish to think about that, but there were intruders about. Let’s think positive -Wherever they are Sunday night, I hope they are both safe—way too many intruders about. Gabby was last seen at noon and Beau around 1700 after he incubated the egg for a short time after 1630.

Beau was at the nest tree Monday morning, vocalising. There has been no sighting of Gabby, and I am beginning to really become concerned. Please let me be wrong – this is highly unusual behaviour for Gabby. Is she injured? or worse?

A drone, flying over the NCTC nest, almost hits Scout! It is illegal to fly drones over an active Bald Eagle nest – so will they catch the culprit? and what will happen to them?

Lisa and Oliver were in the nest in PA County. Oh, this is one that I know many of you are looking forward to watching.

Jackie and Shadow were at Big Bear. Shadow delivered a fish gift and then they flew of only with Shadow to return to move some sticks he noticed were out of place earlier. Bless his heart. Shadow cannot leave those sticks alone.

Pittsburgh-Hayes female comes to the nest on Sunday.

Gary has ceased covering the Redding Eagles – Liberty and her three mates, Patriot, Spirit, and Guardian, after fifteen years. he says he is going to work on features and examine current research on eagles. This is a thank you video with lots of historical images of Liberty and her mates and chicks. I cannot embed it – have no idea why but this is happening more often. Here is the title for you to search in YT.

Major Announcement Regarding Coverage of the Eagles

The weekly video summary of the happenings at Port Lincoln.

At the time of this writing, only one fish has come to the PLO barge. It is extremely windy and the water is choppy. Mum flew in at 1247 with the first meal and Bradley got it.

Beautiful Capture of the Golden Gate Audubon Osprey male, Richmond. It is the 21st of January. His mate, Rosie, returns around Valentine’s Day. Richmond will be checking in for her return as he does not migrate.

Ruby has been missing for more than a fortnight. There are now intruders buzzing and a female wanting Jack’s attention at Captiva. Let us hope things settle down so we can have an Osprey family here this year.

The cold weather has also hit Europe where the ground is frozen and people are calling for food for the storks that are trying to feed in the fields. Here 80 storks are being taken care of in Russia – incredible. What kindness.

A Peregrine Falcon has been shot in Essex….this follows the dumping of the Woodcocks in Cheshire. And, of course, other heinous deeds to wildlife. Unfortunately, we don’t have a watchdog like Raptor Persecution UK in the US and Canada. 

Peregrine-suspected-shot-in-Essex-–-Police-appeal-for-information-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

Loving hummingbirds. Geemeff sent the link to Aryana’s tiny nest. She has eggs!

Aryana has her own FB page. Thanks, Geemeff. Quite the celebrity.

https://www.facebook.com/LivestreamHummingbirdCam/

The Royal Cam chick is making progress in its hatching! Thanks ‘A’.

The latest news on the attempts to re-introduce Kakapo to the New Zealand mainland and the trials and tribulations over these smart birds outwitting humans and a fence!

So much to be grateful for and SE31 is one of those things. The latest report from Chang-Le Dong and the WBSE:

Oh, I love Plovers and these nearly threatened shore birds had a fantastic year in New England in 2023.

Piping Plovers are one of the smallest of the species. Their colouring offers good camouflage against the beach sand where they nest and forage. These are unique to North America, although they do winter in Mexico. Their biggest threats are human disturbances, which are endangered or threatened in many areas.

Nesting-Piping-Plovers-on-the-rise-BirdGuidesDownload

Information is being compiled about Laura Culley with the goal of having a really good bio of her – pre-falconry and her falconry days -by an individual at Cornell. I will keep you posted as I am very hopeful that her manuscript about her life with Mariah will appear on those pages. In looking for information, I came across the following: ”Let me warn you–falconry is FAR more addictive than any drug. The sheer wonder that the bird CHOOSES to work with you it beyond my comprehension. It’s really not about food. That’s where you start to earn their trust, but after that, you’re always in the reality that they can fly. You can’t. There’s a wonderment when your bird (who is no more YOURS than the air you breathe) chooses to fly to your fist!!! Another reality is that you’re nothing more than their servant, and that’s a good thing. For me, it reconnected me to the natural world in ways that I can only describe a little bit. And you get to see who these birds are, sharing what they do and how they do it, and if that doesn’t regularly take your breath away, you need to check your pulse.”

Laura always said the hawk is the boss – we only serve them. She wondered at their abilities that we have lost, but most of all she was astonished, every day, by Mariah.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We hope you can be back with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, articles, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, J’, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, WRDC, NEFL, Deb Stecyk, Dana Anderson, FOBBV, PIX Cams, Gary and FORE, PLO, Pam Kruse, Diana Lambertson, Natalia Voss, Raptor Persecution UK, Aryana YT/FB, NZ DOC, Kakapo Recovery, Chang-Le Dong, BirdGuides, and Laura Culley.

Sunday in Bird World

21 January 2024

Hello Everyone,

Saturday was a lovely day. The temperatures had warmed up to -15 but there was a brisk wind off Devonian Lake at the nature centre that made it feel much colder. Tomorrow the high will be -7 C. We will be out in our summer jackets!!!!!!! LOL. 

It is often difficult to get motivated to get the boots, toque, gloves, scarf, and winter coat on -. In the end, though, it is worth it. The air is so fresh. There has been a special crunch with the snow because it has been so cold. Mostly, in the forest, it is serene and the clean white snow is more than beautiful. It looks, in places, like a down duvet covering the earth.

Several Downy Woodpeckers were fighting for the last food in the feeders while the Red Squirrels ran all over the snow. A bunch of children were screaming with delight as they went down the tower on their sledges – what fun!

Calico and Missey were just worn out watching Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope run from one end of the conservatory to the sitting room and back, all the while leaping over sofas and chairs, clamouring over the island, up on the cat tree, down and away. Sometimes they scrambled over the coffee table pulling blankets off the sofa and tearing through the tunnels. 

You can see that Missey and Calico look a little dazed or grumpy. It did get to be a little much after an hour! It is no wonder that Baby Hope is nicely fit and slender. Don’t say anything, but Calico and Missey could also use some of that exercise daily. The vet smiles and says they are a little ‘pleasantly plump’. 

This one just attracts trouble like a magnet! Oh, we have ordered some eye wipes that Auntie ‘R’ recommends. Hopefully they will be here this week.

I am certain that the sentiments of ‘A’ might well reflect many of those reading my blog. ”I’ve just checked in on a few of my favourite bald eagle nests. And what do I see? Massive crops all over Florida. At SWFL, E23 is so full it’s eating duckling style (btw, when did that giant eaglet suddenly appear – I remember a cute little fluffy thing like R6?). And speaking of R6, it too is currently being stuffed, while the wee CEs both have HUGE crops (although CE10’s is absolutely ridiculous and, seriously, may well be the biggest I have ever seen on a nestling) after yet another feeding from Connie. Meanwhile, I’m not entirely sure that there isn’t a fish buried under a bit of nesting, because CE11 appeared to be self-feeding from something that it was able to pull pieces off because it was being held down fairly firmly by the nesting (he’s still not heavy enough to properly hold prey down for effective self-feeding, though he gets some food if he’s persistent). Either way, those are two very happy, well-fed eaglets. Lovely. It’s nice to watch only chicks, getting plenty of food and no bonking, but there’s nothing quite like the sibling experience.”

E23 was full to the brim, too. Mum and Dad took some time to enjoy the sunshine after all the rain from the recent storm.

R6 is one of those well-fed only eaglets. Rita sometimes likes to try out super large bites for this little one. R6 tries…and Mum gets a bite. Surprise.

Some bonding activity on the Hanover nest even with the snow.

It’s cold in South Bend, Indiana. There is snow on the ND-LEEF nest tree in St Patrick’s Park, and I could see no sign of any eagle visits on Saturday.

At NE Florida, Beau did get a turn to incubate while Gabby was off eating, we hope. There have been some intruders in the vicinity. 

Beau on the nest after noon.

Gabby did the majority of incubation on Saturday.

Some stretching and rolling of the egg along with aerating the nest.

Details of the day’s events with Gabby and Beau.

I do not believe that the remaining egg at Berry College will hatch. It might be a miracle for Missey and Dad if it does tomorrow. One of the eggs was crushed today and appeared to have nothing inside. It was covered up with nesting material later (It is directly to the right under the straw of Missey’s head). Will they go for a second clutch like Pepe and Muhlady? We will have to wait and see.

Lady has been providing for SE31. How lovely. Doesn’t your heart just want to skip a beat in happiness for Lady and Dad this season – finally getting to raise a little one down at the River Roost after fledging.

‘A’ sends another report for the WBSE for January 21: “An early visit to the nest by Lady – the first for a long time – arrived just after 6am, moved a stick about. A Grey Butcherbird and native Noisy Mynahs nearby, then moved off to the river area at 6:50am. Then, SE31 was seen pestering Lady for food, before finally having a couple of “attempts” herself, her only catch being a ball, taken into mangroves at River Roost! Kept her amused for a good 20 minutes. While we were there (until about 9am), she flew about a bit and kept flying close to Lady, seeking food and causing Lady to move. Again, her protective colouring makes her hard to see. There were no more observations recorded later in this very hot day – the eagles were no doubt sheltering from the heat.” 

‘A’ notes: ”

At Orange, it is being noted that there have been no bonding sessions between Diamond and Xavier for three days. Without tower cam operating, these are the only real chances we get to see Xavier a lot of the time, so people are a little worried that he has not been spotted during their usual early-morning bondings. Diamond is currently on her ledge, as always, and Marri has been heard in good voice. Cilla posted this yesterday (20 January): NEWS 20th January 2024 Cilla KinrossMarri is still with us and still chasing adults for food. This action takes place before dawn, so is a bit gloomy even with enhancement.  https://youtu.be/SDUNhwNDKns TOWER CAM. The technician came this week to investigate the ongoing problems with the youtube streaming. The part supplied did not function, so will need to be replaced…”

At Port Lincoln, there were 6 fish brought in on the 21st – 4 from Mum and 2 from Dad. 

Two Golden Eagles come in for lunch. It is a beautiful winter wonderland. 

Diane normally lays her first egg the first week of February. Barbara Snyder has been capturing her on the nest on Saturday.

Recently there has been attention drawn to the killing of the Red List Woodcocks. In some regions, they are of least concern, but overall, their population is declining. If you are not aware of these remarkable birds that are threatened, here is some information to help you appreciate them more.

All About Birds describes them thus, “American Woodcocks are plump, short-legged shorebirds with very long, straight bills. Their large heads, short necks, and short tails give them a bulbous look on the ground and in flight. The wings are broad and rounded compared to most other shorebirds.”

Audubon says, “Related to the sandpipers, but strikingly different in habits. This rotund, short-legged bird hides in forest thickets by day, where it uses its long bill to probe in damp soil for earthworms. Its eyes are set far back on its head, allowing it to watch for danger even with its bill buried in the dirt. Males perform a remarkable ‘sky dance’ on spring and summer nights, in a high, twisting flight, with chippering, twittering, bubbling sounds.”

They are about the size of the Crows that visit my garden, 30 cm or 12 inches in length.

“Photo of the Week – Woodcock at Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, RI” by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The Woodcocks make their nests, a feathered scrape (not unlike the peregrine falcon grave scrape, but feathered, on the ground. The female normally lays four eggs. Five would be very rare but sometimes there are only 1-3 pink-beige, blotchy with grey and brown marked eggs. Incubation takes approximately three weeks. The newly hatched chicks leave the nest within a few hours of hatching. The hen will care for them and feed them, but after a couple of days the young are finding their own worms in the moist soil. They will make short flights when they are a fortnight old and will be completely independent of their parents by five weeks.

“File:American Woodcock Scolopax minor.jpg” by guizmo_68 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The female is thought to carry the chicks away from danger in her feet or pressed between her legs and body. Woodcocks feed at night probing the wet earth with their very long bill making exploratory holes. They can even take the temperature of the soil as they look for worms and beetle snags sucking them up like young children do with spaghetti! Scientists continue to marvel at the flight patterns over vast expanses of open water between the UK and Northern Europe. Myth states that they return to the UK on the first full moon in November. 

Here is a document that gives a good understanding of 50 years of research into the decline and the reasons for this decline. 

Insights-from-five-decades-of-monitoring-habitat-and-breeding-populations-of-American-woodcock-GutDownload

Woodpeckers enjoying a feast on the cones of the Sitka Pines.

Country-diary-High-in-the-treetops-a-winter-feast-Trees-and-forests-The-GuardianDownload

Today is National Squirrel Appreciation Day, but around here, Dyson knows that she is loved every day! Today there will be some extra peanuts for her and the kits. Remember your garden squirrels today, if you can.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. We hope to see you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: ’A, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida, WRDC, HeidiMc, Trudi Iron, ND-LEEF, NEFL-AEF, Berry College, Donna Nickerson, Chang-Le Dong, PLO, Bart M, Trine, Barbara Snyder, Open Verse, BTO Red Sixty Seven, BTO Into the Red, British Ecological Society, The Guardian, and Squirrels Galore.