Category Archives: Estonian wildlife

Monday in Bird World

5 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for all of your weekend wishes. I did have a lovely weekend, celebrating my granddaughter’s birthday and her upcoming graduation with her Masters of Social Work. She has worked with the level four homeless addicts in the core area of our City – . I am so very proud of her. My daughter has always been the ‘baker’ of the family and she passes along this tip to everyone. The original chocolate cake was delicous but it is equally delicious Vegan.

No balloons here…just as much fun without them. Teach your children early. They can educate their friends on the harm they can do to birds and other wildlife!

I promised you some pictures of the kittens. Lewis wants you to know that if you notice scratches on each side of his face – Missey did it! He says she looks ‘sweet’ but she is ‘deadly’! He adds, “Just like big sisters if you are a little osprey male!!!!!”

There is the evidence!

Big and fluffy and can convince you she is the sweetest thing on the planet…but, she has this ‘wildness’ about her. Lewis just gets himself into trouble all the time.

Missey is too big for the top of the cat tree, too! Look at that tail! Hours of brushing required.

Starting off with a pair of Black Storks that fledged in 2022, Waba and Bonus. They fledged from Karl II and Kaia’s nest. Bonus is the only surviving storklet of Jan and Janikka. He was MIA for a long time after flying over the Eastern Desert of Egypt and then, to the delight of all, his transmitter came back on and he wasn’t dead but, very much alive. Here are their current locations. Thanks so much ‘T’.

Bonus has flown 7216 km since he fledged.

Karl II feeding his three little ones. The youngest downs a whole fish!

Black Storks in Italy defending their nestlings against an intruder! TY Maria Marika FB.

Flora has fledged at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle Nest! Her siblings Pi and Pat are in rehab after falling out of the collapsing nest of her parents, Martin and Rosa. We know that Martin and Rosa have been providing prey to Flora and they will continue to do so as she improves her flying – as long as she stays in the area. Just like E22. Sadly the nest is getting worse but it is still a good platform for a delivery. Send your good wishes.

The IWS is doing everything it can to help with the fishing line and hook that was swallowed by one of the Bald Canyon eaglets, 45D. Here is the latest update:

The 11:04 fish at the Achieva Credit Union was claimed by Middle to the delight of all watching. Middle has had to become quite scrappy to survive. Keep it up! Because we know that Big is a fish eating machine…

At around 1712 a fish was delivered. Middle got it but then the adult went, pulled the fish out from under the fledgling, and flew off with it. Another fish appears at 1839 or thereabouts and Big gets it. Middle had a small fish in the morning and then Big gets this later one. Are the canals dried up? are there too many intruders and parents are defending the nest to the detriment of the fledglings?

1713. Adult pulls the fish out from the hungry fledgling and flies away with it. This was disturbing to both me and ‘R’ who is keeping an eye on this nest. Everyone is hungry, adults and fledglings alike.

1732

The battle for the fish at 1839.

I watch Big Red and her Ms all the time but often do not report. They are fantastic. At this stage, like RTH5, they are interested in what is happening beyond the nest.

We may not see Arthur much since he is Daddy Door Dash but he is playing an important role – providing lots of prey for Big Red and the Ms and he will teach the Ms flight training and hunting once they fledge. In the meantime, he will also put on aerial displays, along with Big Red, to show the Ms that they are birds and they, too, can fly!

Sunnie Day reports that all three of the osplets at the Crooked Lake osprey platform are doing well – each is fed to the brim and all are healthy.

At the Severna Park Osprey platform, Middle missed out for the most part on Saturday. A nice fish came in at 0922 and Middle is getting some food.

Middle is being smart and staying on the opposite of Mum but making himself known! It is 1248 and Mum is feeding him but, the majority of the fish went to Big.

The late evening fish came into Severna. Both were lined up but Big took exception and Middle backed off. He tried to come up the side and finally was fed when Big was full. Why doesn’t the female just shift a big when these little ones come up to the side? They know they are there. Time 1903. ‘H’ confirms that there were four feedings at Severna and it seems Middle came out alright for the day. Relief.

Mini at the Patchogue nest has done well on Sunday and that really goes down to Mum paying attention to her little baby and watching out that it gets fed.

Mini is right up there at 1559.

Monday Morning. 0538. Mini is right up there at the table. What a wonderful way to start the week. Tears. This is just such an amazing nest. One day at a time but Hopeful.

Mini has a fat little bottom.

By 0854, Mini had dropped its crop. Another fish was in and at 0902 Mini was up eating again.

Four little angels lined up at the Forsythe Osprey platform. Opal seems to have good control with no beaking during meals although ‘H’ reports that some of the chatters have seen some angst in between feedings. We live in hope.

Outerbanks 24/7 is doing great, too.

Cowlitz PUD has one osplet (thank goodness). Is it just me, or are the fish deliveries really thin again this year?

R5 at the WRDC nest of Ron and Rose has fludged again…He is having a difficult time of it. To the delight of all, ‘H’ reports that R5 was seen perched in a tree near the nest and flying freely. Well done!

Maybe it is just me but the deliveries at the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland – the home of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 – just do not seem to be that plentiful still. Am I wrong?

The reason appears to be linked to intruders. Dad can’t fish if he has to protect Mum, the kids, and the territory continually.

The two surviving osplets at Llyn Brenig were having their fish breakfast when I checked in early Monday in the UK. Gosh the storms did so much damage to those trees…just look at it.

It was 04:49 and CJ7 was feeding the three osplets at the Poole Harbour nest. This is what I would have liked to have seen at Loch of the Lowes!

There was a bit of a fright late Sunday when CJ7 caught her leg in human debris on the nest – a black bin liner. Thanks, ‘M’ for letting me know. I will always alert those associated with the camera. That does not, however, mean that help will be given. The bin liner got loose, thankfully!

Despite the rain, the three osplets at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform in Longmont, Colorado, appear to be doing alright. They are 11, 10 and 8 days old today. The fish look nice. The oldest is losing its soft natal down and entering the Reptile phase. All three need to be kept warm and dry, still. They cannot thermoregulate their temperatures and they could get hypothermia.

This is my first year observing this nest. I began because of the baling twine, but the county will not do anything about it. Hoping that all is well with full fledges. The fish look good! Here is the link to their camera:

Daisy and Duke’s three little ones look alright, too. It is so hard to tell how things will work out at this stage. The winds appear to be howling – hoping the weather does not hinder Dad’s ability to fish.

There is beaking at Patuxent II – so caution. ‘H’ reports that at the end of a meal she observed, all did wind up with a crop despite the aggression.

Flora, the last of the Dulles-Greenway eaglets, fledged from the collapsing nest on Sunday. They have it on video.

‘H’ sent me a note that moon_rabbit_rising (Instagram) has tonnes of images of the Cal Falcons and a possible reason for Annie’s superficial injury. Be sure to check out her amazing photographs of Annie, Lou, and the fledglings!

Angel and Tom’s little RTH5 is not so ‘little’ anymore. That nest, all of a sudden, seems to be quite small.

Are you a fan of Mrs G? Believed to be the oldest UK Osprey. she did not return from migration in 2023 and Aran now is mated with Elen. A memory board is up at the Glaslyn Visitor’s Centre and it will soon become a poster you can purchase.

E22 is still with us at Fort Myers. Check out the beautiful juvenile face!

The only chick at the San Jose City Hall Peregrine Falcon scrape of Hartley and Monty will be banded on Tuesday!

There appears to be a shortage of food in so many places, including at Karl II’s nest in Estonia. Send your best wishes to all the birds. When tasked with being good stewards of our planet, humans have received a failing grade and, sadly, our wildlife is paying for it.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. I am off to make sure that what little grass there is in my garden (lots of trees and shrubs) does not turn into hay! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog this morning: ‘ H’, ‘J’, ‘M’, ‘R’, ‘T’, Eagle Club of Estonia, Maria Marika FB, Celia Aliengirl and IWS, Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH, Sunnie Day and Crooked Lake Ospreys, Severna Park Ospreys, PSEG, Forsythe Ospreys, Outerbanks 24/7, Cowlitz PUD, Heidi McGru and the WRDC, LOTL, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Llyn Brenig, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Barnegat Light and Conservancy of NJ, moon_rabbit_rising, Window to Wildlife, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, SW Florida Eagle Cam, and San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam.

Sunday in Bird World

4 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I want to thank everyone who has sent in names of nests with three or more osplets and to those who have helped to get each bird’s name on the Memorial Wall that we have lost this year. We are at #50. If you know of a nest or see I am missing a nest on a streaming cam that had a loss, including a parent, please let me know. You can e-mail me at maryannsteggles@icloud.com OR add a comment. Thank you! And thank you to ‘T’, who helped me with some of the Golden and Imperial eagle nests today.

It was hot and humid on the Canadian prairies and the storms that were brewing showed up in the late afternoon. The lilacs and the garden are the richest British Racing Green. Stunning. I did not do a comprehensive check of all the nests today. Sometimes we all need a break and it has been a tough week. Spending time with little ducklings sure helps the spirit! These little ones were running all over the place. Hard to count!

Someone at the park must have tossed birdseed (millet?) into the gravel by the pond’s edge. The ducklings are keen on finding it.

Andy N Condor always puts a smile on my face. Some great news – an adoption!

Please send all your positive wishes to Cal Falcons. We know what intruders can do and Annie appears to have had a fight with someone.

The IWS (Dr Sharpe and colleagues) have a dedicated page to the Bald Canyon eaglet that swallowed the fishing hook. Yes, if you do not know about this, it is terrible. Here is the story and the link for future updates. Thanks, ‘B’.

Please contribute to the rehabilitation of Eagle 45/D from the Bald Canyon eagle nest on San Clemente Island. He swallowed a fishing hook attached to a fish on 6/1/23. We rescued and transported him to a rehab facility near San Diego on 6/2/23. Donations made to IWS for 45/D’s care using the Donate button below will be forwarded directly to the rehab facility. We will provide updates below as we receive them.

Status Updates:

6/3/23: The fish hook is in the lower GI tract and “free-floating”. The veterinarian was unable to remove it endoscopically. A specialist will be examining 45/D on 6/4 and a plan will be developed for the hook removal.

https://www.iws.org/45d

There has been lots of wishful thinking that E22 might just stay at the Fort Myers nest. S/he certainly feels comfortable and has enjoyed the pond. Well, on Saturday, E22 catches its first fish on camera. Heidi McC shows it in real time and then in slow-mo. My goodness. Happiness.

The Pritchett Family website for the SW Florida cam has confirmed this…and I have seen the image blown up. It is not pond debris – it is a fish!

I sure would like to see Big and Middle over at the Achieva Osprey nest catching their own fish. Some chatters believe that Diane is back bringing in some fish after injuring a foot. That would be fantastic as the dust-ups are getting pretty rough. They remind me of Ervie and his sibling, Bazza, at Port Lincoln.

At 1625 both are eating fish but Big always seems to get the largest. Another fish comes in later and Big gets it as well. That time is 1937. It could be the last delivery from Jack of the day.

1627:

The 1937 delivery:

Send some good wishes for these two. They need some fish to get strong and then go on their own way. There will be no love lost between the two of them!

As I look at all of the struggling osprey nests, I often see the term ‘survival of the fittest’ in the chat comments. In his book, Reconnection. Fixing our Broken Relationship with Nature, Miles Richardson says that Charles Darwin in his Descent of Man regularly used the term ‘love’ instead of the survival of the fittest. He argues that Darwin moved away from the term stating that he was not referring to the “victory of one over the other”. Einstein suggests that we are all part of something larger, just a piece of nature where we all belong together and survive by cooperation – as many Eastern religions have stressed since their origins. Watching Big and Middle at Achieva it is hard to think about love and cooperation. Once animals became objects – for example, in modern farming – our connectedness to them ceased to exist. Richardson believes we need to get this back – to realise that it is not a competition but that we must cooperate for our planet’s survival. I wish to travel and return to a place pre-human, pre-industrial, to see our ospreys. They have been here for more than 60 million years.

At Patchogue, Mini has been eating but Big has also been beaking at times. Very unpleasant because that older sibling is just so much bigger. Mum is very much aware of her tiny baby though and makes sure it gets under her and I also believe that she makes certain it gets fed. We can only hope that the huge fish that are coming on this nest continue so that the three big ones are full and Mini gets fed and none of the others notices! or cares.

Where’s Mini? Big sibs are full. Three is eating. Is Mini on the other side?

Mum tucking in Mini carefully.

The last feeding of the day and Mini is up there having some good fish. After being fed for a bit, one of the bigger sibs seems to take exception but Mini went to bed after doing a full crop drop. No major aggression – the Big ones just have to stand tall and ‘look’.

1906: Really nice crop. Everyone else sleeping except for big whose head you can see above Mum’s. She wants some more fish but Mini has a nice crop.

We take this nest and be joyful – one day at a time. If Mini survives, I have a tiny bottle of champagne sitting and waiting.

Early Sunday morning, Mini waits and gets a private feeding. Do you get the distinct impression that this wonderful Mum keeps some food back form the Big ones for Mini? It sure seems like it!

Three preening after breakfast. Big goes up for more. So far so good. A day at a time.

The trio at the other PSEG nest at Oyster Bay seem to be doing alright as well. Gosh, they are so much closer in size.

At Severna Park, Middle waits and watches rather than engaging with Big. If there is fish left or Big is full, Middle eats. Middle has gone without on Saturday for all feedings. This is the 0807 feeding.

13:59. You will notice that the fish deliveries are down. Big got all of this fish, too.

1558 Feeding.  “Middle started out in submission, but worked his way around the other side of Olivia, and managed to get bites for 6 minutes, then Olivia moved!  So, big attacked.  Olivia pulled the fish to the other side of the nest and fed Big.  Middle snuck around and got a few more bites.  Ended up with a small crop.” Thanks, ‘H’.

‘H’ reports that the feeding at the Patuxent I Osprey platform was super. No aggression at the feeding observed and both ate well.

At the Patuxent II nest. “A slightly different story, there is aggression by Big.  At 1317 they all ate harmoniously for the first 10 minutes, then Big decided s/he wanted to dine alone, and beaked Middle and Little, so they were out.  After several minutes, Middle worked its way back to the table, but it took quite a while longer for Little to get back.  Big decided it was OK, and dropped out shortly thereafter anyway.  The net result is that all were well fed.  It was 40 minute feeding.”

As far as I am aware, the other nests are doing alright. We have no other deaths on Saturday.

Iris’s nest, full of leaves, tells it all but Iris is a survivor and amidst the floods and droughts, she knows where to find the fish. Here she is on Saturday with one of her ‘whopper’s on the Owl Pole. It is unfortunate that she did not have a reliable mate after Stanley. She certainly has good DNA on her side of the genetic markers – she knows how to build the best osprey nest I have seen and wow, can she fish…she is as good as it gets.

Just look at that fish!

At the UK nests, everything is going well for Idris and Telyn and their two Bobs at the Dyfi nest. Those kids have grown fast and as you can see, we are in the Reptile phase. They are 10 and 12 days old today.

Aran and his new mate Elen are keeping the two Bobs at Glaslyn well fed.

CJ7 and her mate Blue 022 have three beautiful and healthy osplets at Poole Harbour. No issues!

Condensation on the Manton Bay nest and the way that Maya stands to feed the Bobs tends to obscure what is happening. That said, there is nothing to worry about on this nest. The wee Bobs of a few weeks ago are now getting their juvenile plumage!

Loch Arkaig – the home of Louis and Dorcha – is doing just fine with its Onoy Bob. Louis is right there for a deliver for his mate and wee one.

Except for Llyn Brenig where the third hatch died, all of the other UK nests appear to be doing well.

The two Dulles-Greenway eaglets that fell from the collapsing nest of their parents, Martin and Rosa, are together again in rehab – . That is wonderful news. They can work those wings and get to be strong fliers.

Poor Flora. Earlier she was up on a high branch with one of the adults but tonight a strong wind is blowing and she is all alone and the branch is very thin. You can see that this eaglet is frightened in the storm.

I do not know if it is the same storm system or not but Daisy is holding on for dear life at the Barnegat Light osprey platform in New Jersey. She has two osplets under there that hatched on the 31 May and 1 June that can’t be fed due to the high winds. I do not know if Duke can even fish. there is a coastal flood advisory for Barnegat Light and the winds are blowing at 31 kph. ‘H’ reports that the third egg hatched at 05:13 for Daisy and Duke. Let us wish them good weather and calm winds.

All the nests along this coast will be impacted.

There is something to smile about. Look at this beautiful White-tailed eaglet that was banded on Saturday in Tatarstan region of Russia near the Volga River. Isn’t it adorable! Just look at that big beak! It is a boy! Thanks ‘T’ and thank you for letting me know that this area is rich in prey for the eagles. Let us hope that Sarpike moves her nest to this region!

As I say often, every nest can change on a ‘dime’. They need habitat, strong old trees, birds and mammals to eat, fish to catch, and clean water without toxins. Begin at home. Help when and where you can. Educate others. Build a web of caring people. Everything helps. If you see an animal in need, stop and observe. Have the number of the wildlife rehabber in your phone. Call them! You will feel better for every life you save.

And one more thought. Do you grow a garden? do you have extra produce? do you know someone who does? Our wildlife rehabber has just asked for donations of fresh veggies or for people to grow a row in their garden for the animals – kale, carrots, lettuces, beans….I suspect that every rehab centre needs fresh veggies. Check it out.

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

A special thanks to those who sent notes, created videos, wrote FB posts, articles, or run streaming cams that helped to create my blog this morning: ‘B’, ‘H’, ‘R’, ‘T’, Andy N Condor, Cal Falcons, IWS, Heidi MC and SWFlorida Eagle Cam, Achieva Credit Union, PSEG, Severna Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, Montana Osprey Project, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Geemeff and Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Loudontimes.com, Dulles-Greenway, Barnegat Light and NJ Conservancy, Tartasan WTE.

Saturday in Bird World

3 June 2023

It is 32 degrees, with the promise of thunderstorms later today. The garden grew like RTH5 into a wild wilderness overnight with the humidity and the rain we had a couple of days ago. The heat is making it a jungle! I owe you pictures of kittens and the garden animals! This weekend. Lewis and Missey are doing well. Dyson and the gang continue to entertain them when they run onto the deck to get their morning and evening peanuts but it is getting harder and harder to see the birds in the foliage. Yesterday I decided to clear some branches and, to my dismay, felt quite ill after being out in the heat for just about 30-45 minutes. So learn from my mistake – stay inside when it is hot outside! Stay cool. Stay hydrated. At the same time, we hope that each of you has a lovely weekend.

Your morning smile comes from the Patchogue nest where Mini is up there having breakfast! Mini is turning into a Reptile..and growing. Indeed, the older ones will begin to slow while Mini will be at its peak growth period. We get a good comparison in the image below of just how different the older siblings are in size from Mini.

Let’s get the bad over with first. The youngest chick from the Patuxent I nest that was removed and fostered has died. One of the chicks at the Llyn Brenig platform in Wales has also died.

One brave eaglet, Flora, on the Dulles-Greenway Nest that is collapsing; the other two are in care. Flora has had two feedings and is doing well despite their small space! The other two are doing well in care – neither had any injuries from their fall.

The three falcons in Topeka’s Evergy scrape were ringed today. The little one was deemed to be fit BUT has anyone ever seen feathers stay in the quill/shaft like this?

Congratulations to Rosie and Richmond of the Whirley Crane nest in SF Bay by the Richmond Shipping Yards. Their first hatch of the season on Friday 2 June.

What a Friday morning it was. ‘R’ reported that Big was attacking Middle at the Achieva nest, and Big certainly was, but, it did not stop Middle from snagging the 10:50 fish delivery.

These two are not siblings but rivals for food and survival now.

Middle got it! Thank goodness.

Middle intent on eating as much of that fish as it can before Big gets it.

Middle ate lots and left a bit for Big.

The later fish went to Big after another battle. ‘R’ reports that Middle almost fell off the nest again. Ironically, so did R5…almost, again. Is it the heat? dehydration?

Patchogue Osprey nest had four fish deliveries before 11:08. Mini got some fish at the 0802 feeding but had nothing from the catfish at 0927. That is alright because a nice fish arrived at 1108, and the three big siblings were full and uninterested. Mini got a private feeding, and then, in the end, Mum fed Dad some fish. It was very touching.

Too far back to get up to the beak at 0927.

Private feeding for Mini at 11:08. All is well with the world.

Mum feeding Dad at Patchogue at 11:25. This is an amazing male…this family is so lucky!

There was more fish at Patchogue. This dad is amazing. I watched the two late feedings – one around 15:30 and then the 17:28 one. Mini was right up front but Big ‘looked at’ Mini and he went into submission. Mini ate last but he wound up with a huge crop before bed. Mini is now losing his baby down and going into the reptilian phase while the three older chicks are getting their juvenile feathers. This could help Mini. We continue to live in hope for this amazing little osplet.

Smart Mini. Keep your head down. Watch but don’t leave the table. Your turn will come – so much fish is coming to the nest. Look at those crops on the big ones. Just sit them out, Mini.

The male at Severna hauled in four fish before noon. Times were 05:41:46, 07:49, 08:26:00, and 11:35:45. Everyone ate well!

Mum fed Big and then she turned around and fed Middle!

At 0838.

Another delivery at 11:35.

So many more fish deliveries. The one at 18:21 was very civil.

Middle goes to bed with a bulging crop.

The female at Carthage TN is not interested in the egg or in incubation any longer. This is a good thing. something has gone terribly wrong at this nest in 2023. Some believe it is the same female from previous years with a new male. This female does not ‘act’ experienced…Sadly, we will not have the answers to so many questions about her behaviour. Both osplets dead.

‘H’ reports on the Forsythe Nest: “1255 to 1316, Third feeding of the day, the nestlings were sitting in a diamond shape, Mini at the point, Big and Middle at the sides, Little at the rear.  Little waited the longest to get fed, just couldn’t reach.  By 1304 Mini was in her first food coma, and that’s when Little started getting bites, reaching over Mini. Everyone except Little eventually was in a food coma, and by then Little got a short private feeding.  So they all did pretty good.  No aggression during the meal.  In between feedings, I did see some bonking between the oldest two at 0910, but Middle started it, lol.”

Dalgren gets a good report as well: ” 1156, Third feeding of the day.  Very smooth.  Both had good crops, no aggression.  I am pleasantly surprised by this nest.  I feared the worst when they hatched 4 days apart.  Fingers crossed that the harmony continues.”

Kathryn has been observing the Outer Banks 24/7 nest at Carova Beach and those three are doing well. So happy that she has a lovely family to watch after Carthage and Lake Murray…I always tell people to have a box of tissues if they watch osprey nests – for the bad times and for the good.

In the UK, Louis delivers a huge fish to Dorcha and the wee and only babe late Friday and that fish gives the chick a whacking…Thanks, Geemeff and thank goodness, all is well.

Oh, this baby is such a cutie.

There are cute babies everywhere! Aran looks on as Elen prepares to feed their duo from his fish delivery at Glaslyn.

Polly Turner caught White YW bringing a fish to Blue 035 to their nest at Foulshaw Moss.

You would not need an alarm clock if you had Blue 33 as a mate. 0500 fish…

Not to be outdone by Rutland, Idris was out fishing early, too.

Louis delivered early at Loch Arkaig as well. Gosh, they are all fishing at 0500!

Dylan was at the nest with fish at Llyn Clywedog, too! I am impressed with all of these UK males. Notice the reservoir in the image above the nest. It is the one that is annually stocked with 40,000 fish. Just think. 40,000 fish.

It appears that River now has a suitor at the Dale Hollow nest who is delivering fish to DH17! Now isn’t this wonderful! Thank you Celia Aliengirl for the FB posting. I had missed it. Three days in a row….beautiful.

At the Golden Eagle nest of Sarpike and Hevel, the second eaglet has died. ‘T’ reports that a shortage of small mammals caused by a lack of farming in the area might have caused the eldest to be aggressive to the second hatch. The baby wound up on the rim of the nest and died of hypothermia. This was on Wednesday the 31st of May. One chick remains. Let us hope that there is enough food for it. People moving from the rural areas or the change in farming methods are causing havoc to the lives of some of our beautiful raptors.

This is the link to Sarpike’s camera:

The Bucovina Golden Eagle nest appears to have food for the eagle. There are at least two roe deer or parts of on the nest of adults Lucina and Caliman.

Here is a link to that camera in Romania:

The chick of Ella and Elmar at the Estonian White-tail Eagle nest in the Matsalu National Park appears to be doing well. You might recall that in 2021, the couple on this nest were Eve and Eerik. Their two adorable eaglets died of H5N1, the first two eaglets known to have died of Bird Flu in the spring breeding season. That event had profound implications for the virologists who predicted Avian Flu would not die during the next winter. They were correct. This nest fledged 30 WTE from 1996-202. No breeding in 2022, and now we have a new couple.

The beautiful adults, Ella and Elmar.

They had one egg and one beautiful chick hatch.

Estonian Black Storks Karl II and Kaia welcomed hatch 1 and 2 on the 1st of June!

The four White Storklets of Bety and Bukacek in Mlady Buky The Czech Republic are doing fantastic.

An update on the little storklet rescued by Dmitri in Russia. It is doing fantastic. Have a look! It has really grown. My goodness and this baby looks ‘happy’. What a nice safe enclosure and lots of frogs and little fish and worms to eat without a sibling or parent pecking it to death.

To warm your heart:

There is a problem with the storklets in Spain this season; they are dying. The water that runs off of the huge garbage dumps forming little areas with frogs and little fish is full of toxins that people have placed in their bins. It goes to the dump, the rain falls and the poisons accumulate in the pools of water. The storks feed they’re going to the nest and regurgitating to feed their storklets. The storklets die. There are reasons that specific items to not go to landfills…please be aware. This can happen anywhere because more and more of our beautiful raptors and storks are losing their habitat and having to eat garbage. If you want to see a Bald Eagle in Winnipeg, go to the Brady Land Fill. How sad is this?

The Cromer Peregrine Falcons are doing fantastic…you might want to turn your volume down!

The Cal Falcons are doing fantastic! What a joy to be able to continue to see them this year. Adorable.

RTH5 waiting for breakfast. This little one is fed constantly by Tom and Angel. ‘A’ is thinking RTH5 is a female ‘eating machine’. What do you think?

And, last, but always at the top of my list – Big Red and her Ms and Arthur.It is all good!

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Please take care. See you soon! — Continue to send your most positive wishes to all the nests. They need it.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘R’, ‘SP’, ‘T’, Dulles-Greenway, Evergy Topeka, Lucille Powell and Raptors of the World, Achieva Credit Union, PSEG, Severna Ospreys, Carthage TN, Forsythe Ospreys, Dahlgren, Outer Banks 24/7, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and Loch Arkaig, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Polly Turner and the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, LRWT, CarnyXWild, Celia Aliengirl and DHEC, Sarpike WTE, Bucovina, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlady Buky White Storks, Dmitri Stork Cam, SK Hideaways and Cromer Peregrine Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Window to Wildlife, and Cornell RTH.

DH River missing, hatches, branching, fledging, WBSE 30…Sunday in Bird World

21 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It was a lovely hazy Saturday on the Canadian Prairies. The garden continues to be full of species returning from their migration, stopping over for a few days or a week, before flying further north. There have been so many Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks this morning that I had to open the window. It as the ‘first’ time that Lewis and Missy had a chance to whiff the outside air and hear the birds. They were mesmerised.

The Baltimore Orioles were eating oranges and grape jelly safely in front of the kittens.

It is the first year that Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have been in the garden and today there were more than 30 that visited.

The males have the red bib. Both are equally beautiful.

As Dad and Lady prepare for the 2023 season in the Sydney Olympic Park, there is more news coming in about WBSE30 and it is all good! Thanks, ‘H’.

This is nothing short of heartbreaking. DH17 fledged to the cam tree on Saturday. S/he was 79 days old and extremely hungry. River has been absent for three days. DH17 was last seen eating on the 19th. On top of this, the nest is crumbling underneath DH17, just like last year at the Notre Dame nest in St Joseph’s Park in South Bend, Indiana. Send your most positive wishes.

Here is the branching and the flight for DH17 on Saturday. This means that no one would be able to get to DH17 unless it is grounded.

The other big news of the day is that R4 has branched at the WRDC nest of Rita and Ron in Miami.

There is concern that there is monofilament line on the Patchogue NY Osprey platform. Thanks, ‘M’ for reaching out to me. In order to get help, we have to be rather loud! Here is the number for one of the USFWS in the area of Patchogue: (631) 286-0485 and there is the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Centre and their hot line number is  Hotline: (631) 728-WILD (9453).

At the SW Florida nest of M15, E22 landed on the nest with a squirrel on Saturday caught by Vija.

There is an amazing series of photographs by Liz of SE22 around the Fort Myers nest. Check out her FB page for them!

https://www.facebook.com/lizgandphotos

Little RTH5 had a really nice feed and a big crop before the rain started. He is three weeks old Angel is trying the best she can to keep this baby dry.

Angel and Tom meet for a prey exchange. You can see them in the video by Arlene Beech – and then the feeding of RTH5.

‘A’ sent in all of the time stamps for Angel’s nest: “RTH5 Is 20 Days Old.06 47 44 Angel off the nest, onto a branch, and back with breakfast. A transfer from Tom. A young robin. 06 48 11 Tom arrives for a short visit. 06 52 35 first feed starts. 09 10 28 Angel up for her yoga exercise. 09 34 12 Angel leaves. 09 47 18 Tom and Angel land in a tree right of screen A prey transfer. 09 48 45 Tom leaves and returns a few seconds later and then enters the nest, RTH5 pecking at his talons again. 09 50 25 Angel leaves the tree. 09 51 10 Angel in with a rabbit Tom moves onto a branch and leaves 09 52 35 Second feed begins. Both feeds brought by Tom.1 20 28 Feed 3 starts the remains of the rabbit. 5 24 15 RTH5 up and wing flapping. 5 28 59 Angel leaves, spraying the camera with water off her wings. 5 40 14 A crop drop by RTH5. 5 53 45 A lot more crop dropping.5 20 36 Angel returns. chick pecking at her talons. 6 24 24 RTH5 stands up while mum preens it 7 31 10 RTH5 out from under mum. Very very close to the edge for a PS. Does a wing balance. 8:38 PM.///Twilight 9:07 PM.”

Oh, the three at the nest of Big Red and Arthur are certainly growing like wild weeds.

No more pink…they have eaten enough wild food to start getting their ‘yellow’ bits.

Iris was at her nest today watching the train. Oh, how comforting. At a time when we are losing some of our older raptors, it is such a privilege to be able to see what is believed to be the oldest Osprey in the world. Iris has been at this nest since 2012. She had earlier raised chicks with Stanley on a power pole.

The first hatch has had some fish at Dahlgren today. One delivery was larger than the twiddler that came in during the afternoon. I hope Harriet is getting some food, too – along with Jack.

Big has already fledged at the Achieva Osprey nest and has been doing regular fly in and outs returning to the nest for fish. All good with her. We are waiting for Middle. Both osplets seem thin to me as does Diane – but that is just me. Two nice sized fish came to the nest on Saturday. Hopefully more and hopefully Mum is eating off camera.

Later in the day at Achieva, Diane brings in a fish at 17:49 and Jack brings on in at 18:57. Everyone is eating! Thank goodness.

All continues to be going well for C2 and for Lucy at Lake Murray. Continued wishes that all of the things put into place to keep the GHO will work. Lucy is doing well at providing fish for her and her only surviving osplet for 2023.

Lucy is a great fisher. She flew out of the nest and into the water and plucked a big fish out for her and C2 and was back at the nest in less than a minute!

There she goes…on the right-hand side. To catch the fishing use cam 2.

At Moorings Park, Abby is still not letting Victor get any of that fish – at least not the mid-afternoon arrival! Victor has been hovering all day and that is good. It will help build up those wing muscles.

‘R’ asked me why I was calling Victor a female. Two reasons – the very late fledge because it takes females so much longer to get their body mass and feathers complete and also because of the short stocky legs. Many also add a note about ‘the necklace’ but there are some males that have far more prominent necklaces than many of the females that I have seen. I do not normally go by that but I sure look at the legs! We will never know for sure.

There is always a lot of fish at Manton Bay just like there has been at Moorings Park. Blue 33 is a great provider. Fingers crossed for Little Bob!

Hi, Dad!

Loch of the Lowes is looking good. Laddie brought in a really nice fish late on Saturday.

The first hatch at Llyn Clywedog was on Saturday and by 2100 it had already been fed four times!

There are several other nests in the UK that we are waiting on..including Glaslyn, Dyfi, Loch Arkaig, and Llyn Brenig. Elen still has the big board in her nest at Glaslyn – yes, she flew in with it!

At the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn, Telyn seems particularly uneasy – can she hear the chick? Isn’t she beautiful? Maya’s daughter!

All is well at Llyn Brenig.

‘H’ has reported that all is going well for Severna Park Ospreys: “I just watched another long feeding this afternoon.  It was entirely peaceful, not one single bonk.  Reminded me of Dory feeding Schooner, Skipjack, and Sloop when they were little.  And, although Peanut is small, I felt s/he received a decent amount of food for its size, and of course the other two ate more.  Peanut was in a food coma after 20 minutes.  To me, Peanut looks good.  S/he is a little bit pudgy, not skinny.  So, I certainly do not detect anything that makes me worry about Peanut at this point.  (hatch dates: 5/8, 5/9, 5/12)”.

They remind me of Bazza, Falky, and Ervie. Such civilised little osplets.

I am counting four little heads at Mlady Buky! This is the nest of Bety and Bukacek.

I am so waiting for Karl II and Kaia’s four eggs to hatch in Estonia!

I have suggested to Lake Murray that they get in contact with Cowlitz PUD. They installed two metal panels on either side of the nest to try and deter predation from the Bald Eagles. You might recall that all three osplets were taken within a two day period last year by an eagle at Cowlitz. It might be of benefit to Lucy at her nest but, we will need to see if it protects the chicks in Washington this year.

There is news that Steve and Callie are using the the alternative nest on Hog Island. They used the same nest and ‘H’ sent a photo from the Audubon Ranger of their alternate nest on Long Cove, Hog Island. It is unclear why the couple changed their nesting site. As we have seen with other ospreys and eagles they move nests for many reasons including chicks falling out of nests, a new mate, predation by larger raptors, and even human activity can sometimes cause them to move.

Great news is coming from the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida. Go, Connick, go!

Netting – in this case construction site material – but, it could have been netting to keep birds off plants (do not get me started), netting from produce, soccer ball nets, tennis court nets, fishing nets —- or it could have been monofilament line or baling twine. Thankfully a number of folks came together to save this fledgling osprey! Please read this story below…

‘SP’ says that she imagines my garden as beautiful. I am not sure that is what you would call it…I will post pictures during the lush of the summer! No, a landscape designer would say it has gone ‘to the birds’. Everything has been done to attract wildlife – the bunnies, the squirrels, Mr Crow, and, of course, all of the birds except for a small Japanese garden in its first year that is ‘mine’. That said I plan to put some Bee and butterfly-friendly plants in along the side!

As I was reading this short article about a couple in Sheffield trying to attract birds, I was reminded of the garden in the UK. It was beautiful – full of fruit trees – pears, plums, apples…and little hedgehogs everywhere! You had to be there – in the garden – to ‘see’ what was happening, which meant not much was happening. Sitting in the conservatory, I look out to the table feeder, about 4 metres away. The oranges and the grape jelly for the Orioles are about one metre. They are unaware of my presence…it is the best thing I ever did – for me. But for them, vines are growing in layers for years on top of the wood boxes. They can build nests like the birds in Iris’s Osprey nest, and no one is the wiser. They can build them inside the woodboxes…Trees and shrubs are constantly planted to create a tiny forest in the city. My point is that anyone can create a space for birds, and right now, water is one of the essential things for them. You need a bowl – shallow is best. I use stainless steel, and all the bird ‘things’ get run through the dishwasher separately at super hot temperatures.

See the hedge in the image below…they provide an excellent place to escape the heat and rain as well as a place for nests that are concealed from predators.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/20/young-country-diary-holding-out-for-the-blackbirds-steve-and-stevetta?CMP=share_btn_link

Oh, thank you so much for being with me today! Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to everyone who sent notes, made videos, posted announcements and news, and to all those that provide streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘M’, ‘SP’, Australian Raptor Care and Conservation Inc, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Deb Stecyk and Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, WRDC, Vija and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Arlene Beech and Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Montana Osprey Project, Dahlgren Ospreys, LMO, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, LOTL, CarnyXWild, Llyn Brenig, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Severna Park Ospreys, Mlady Buky Storks, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cowlitz PUD, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Audubon, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, and The Guardian.

Hatch at LOTL…Saturday in Bird World

13 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a busy day today for all the people that love birds. It is World Migratory Day and it is the Big Bird Count in North America.

Today is World Migratory Bird Day for the Americas. Isn’t this a gorgeous poster linking the birds with that most crucial element, Water?

The organisers of this year’s event state:

World Migratory Bird Day 2023 will focus on the topic of water and its importance for migratory birds. 

Water is fundamental to life on our planet. The vast majority of migratory birds rely on aquatic ecosystems during their life cycles. Inland and coastal wetlands, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, and ponds are all vital for feeding, drinking, or nesting, and also as places to rest and refuel during their long journeys.

Unfortunately, aquatic ecosystems are becoming increasingly threatened around the world and so are the migratory birds that depend on them. The increasing human demand for water, as well as pollution and climate change, are having a direct impact on the availability of clean water and the conservation status of many migratory birds.

World Migratory Bird Day is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

UN Environmental Programmes

The Big Bird Count around the world has already begun in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, with counts already coming in through Cornell’s eBird and iNaturalist sites. I urge all of you to participate – even if you have seen only one bird today! These counts are so important to understanding which species are growing and which are diminishing. eBird is free and there are lots of informative articles and activities there on the Cornell site.

Shout out to PG&E for helping this Osprey family instead of ruining their breeding season! Thank you.

Well, I am just smiling. For the second day in a row, Middle Bob at the Achieva Osprey nest has stolen a fish from Big and had a nice meal for a change. Look at Diane’s eyes. She does not miss a thing and she knows that her second hatch is getting its Mojo.

Middle got it on the second try! Way to go, Middle! This kid is really getting its confidence – something reinforced with a nice fish meal. But this nest needs fish. As ‘H’ says, these osplets are ‘so skinny’.

Tom and Angel continue to bring in prey items. A squirrel was on the menu Friday morning. Little baby is eating well and Tom was there with a nice vole for Saturday breakfast! Oh, he has this figured out and is doing such a good job taking care of Angel and their baby.

Those Blue Jays sure are bothersome.

Tom brought in another squirrel and at least one lizard. I will have to check and see what the total count was for Friday.

Thanks ‘A’ for that time stamp. Looking at the nest from the other camera really show those pesky Blue Jays flitting about.

I have always talked about how calm Big Red and Arthur’s nest is..well, this year, M1 is a cracker and she has decided that everyone will know she is the ‘boss’. It is too funny.

Big Red used to sit on them if they got too cantankerous. I have no worries. Big Red is an exceptional Mum, and Arthur has a nest of dead animals.

Gerome is in feeding his storklets in Hochstadt, Germany. Ever since ‘T’ introduced me to storks I have a fondness for these amazing creatures and their dancing when food is brought to the nest. The fact that they are all over Europe and people love and care for them as harbingers of good luck warms my heart.

Lucy has fed the two osplets at Lake Murray. Ricky is now missing for 3 days and I have entered his name on the Memorial Wall. If he returns, which I seriously doubt, I will retract that entry. Kathryn sent the commentators report as well as a link to the video below. Let us all send positive wishes that Lucy can get enough fish to feed them all now that Ricky is not here.

Kathryn writes : “No sign of Ricky today. 💔 and only one fish. This has gone from bad to worse. Here is the Facebook’s page top commenter summary (there is no other summary, she also posts on the website) of the day: 5-12-2023 No sign of Ricky today even though throughout the day Lucy seemed to be fish begging. At 8:06pm Lucy is seen diving catching a fish bringing it to nest. When she landed the fish landed right on top of C2. C1 started dominating C2 but the fish sort of blocked it until Lucy moved it. C1 made sure to eat first as C2 smartly waited. Slowly after C1 had been eating C2 worked his way to the fish and got some good bites. Both C’s as well as Lucy ended up with a good meal finishing off the fish at 9:15pm This was the only fish of the day for the C’s and considering that the domination by C1 was light as C2 again played it smartly waiting his turn.”

Polo7422 posted a video of the feed. That is a really nice fish that Lucy caught. Let us hope that she is able to get two of those a day. That would make all the difference in the world to this nest.

This was the posting and summary for Thursday at Lake Murray. Let us all hope that Lucy can keep this up!

E22 almost poses for photos on the camera at SW Florida in Fort Myers. What a beautiful fledgling.

B16 continues to be fed by her parents, Pa and Missy Berry, at the eagle nest at Berry College in Georgia. B16 is 113 days old today.

I want to call her Red Rosa..she is such a big girl and such a delight. This is little Lou feeding his first hatch with Annie.

SK Hideaways caught Red Rosa doing all kinds of things…including being a Mum to the little ones.

People, so often, do not understand the importance of banding the chicks. there is so much information that we can glean from those bands. For me, it is when the fledglings return after their two year absence. I am looking for one particular osprey, Blue 464. There are other two year olds appearing and one of those today was ‘Only Bob’ at Llyn Clywedog two years ago – he was incredible. Everyone believed this osplet to be a female he was so large! Well, today, Blue 496 returned to his natal nest at Llyn Clywedog and his band was photographed…his mother, Seren, was on the nest incubating her eggs for this year. I hope he finds a female and a nest. Congratulations Blue 496, you survived your migration to Africa in your first year and your return as a two year old!

Abby went off for another flight today. Victor is not yet interested. Nice to be on the nest having some more fish – as if either one could hold another bite.

Abby returns. She has got her landing just right.

An attentive Osprey Dad – yes, that is Blue 33 and he has been on and off the nest at Manton Bay at Rutland checking on Maya and the chick.

The baby and its Mum had a couple of feeds. We need to tell Maya to stand on the other side so we can see!

Maya feeds the chick for the first time – and we can see it! Thanks, Rutland.

It is still awhile to go at Dahlgren for the Osprey eggs to pip and Jack continues to bring in the stuffies. Poor Harriet. She’s got them over at the side making baby rails.

There was a pip, however, at Loch of the Lowes, when Maya’s baby was hatching. We should have a little one for Laddie LM12 and Blue NCO at LOTL on Saturday and we did – that hatch came at 12:30. Oh, Laddie. I hope that you are not injured and that is why you are having trouble with fish.

Geemeff caught the sounds of the chick at LOTL!

It will be a while longer for Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig. You might recall that we were all worried that Dorcha might not return. So glad she did and happy to wait for the bairns (Scottish and Northern English for children).

I love how the UK males are almost always punctual with their evening fish for the Mums who have been incubating. It gives them a meal and a chance to stretch their legs and wings before the long night incubation. Idris is very good to take over so Telyn can enjoy her dinner at Dyfi in Wales.

The eyases have hatched at the Spartan Stadium scrape box maintained by the students at the University of Michigan!

The official report on the amount of restorations that Lady and Dad are doing at their nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest has been posted. You might recall that the possums had dug a hole in the centre of the nest and there was much concern over those precious eggs falling into it.

There are now three baby osplets at the Severn Park, Maryland Osprey Platform…they are hatching everywhere!!!!!!

For all the goshawk lovers out there, Arlene Beech caught a delivery of a squirrel to Mum and the chick. Just look at that little one…it knows what prey is! I love Goshawks…just not around Osprey nests.

Karl II tending to the four eggs of his and Kaia’s at the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest in Estonia.

Bety and Bukacheck have five eggs at Mlady Buky, The Czech Republic, that are being incubated.

This is the view of the nest of White-tail Eagle, Milda, in Durbe County, Latvia. Urmas is unsure whether to go and clear the camera as there has been no rain. He might normally do this at banding but he is concerned that the adults might be frightened. It is also unclear the fate of the youngest eaglet. We wait to hear and hope for the best as the eldest was getting aggressive by 5 May. That was a week ago.

Oh, it is duckling and gosling season and this is a reminder to please not feed the wildlife anything that would harm them. Bread is a real ‘no no’ as it can cause Angel Wing. They love it – it is full of sugar and salt – like cookies for humans. Other things to avoid include the following:

Please have the number of your local wildlife rehabber in your phone contacts. If you see a bird or mammal in distress, please do not hesitate to call them!

When I wake up, there could be another bobblehead or two! It is exciting. Please send your positive wishes to Lucy at Lake Murray so that she can catch enough fish so that she will not lose another osplet. There are so many nests to cover…today’s blog just touched on a few. Any not mentioned are doing well.

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

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘S’, UN Environment, Cornell eBird, Ed Oswald Ospreys Only, Achieva Credit Union, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Hochstadt Storks, Lake Murray ospreys, Laurie Spencer and Osprey Friends, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Berry College Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, John Williams and Llyn Clywedog, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Dahlgren Ospreys, Geemeff and LOTL, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Sonja Ann and Orange Australia PF, Eagle Cam, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Arlene Beech and Taiwanese Research Group for goshawks, Estonian Eagle Club, and Lady Buky.

DH18s rescue continued, Bonus is alive, Horror at Angel’s nest…Saturday in Bird World

29 April 2023

Good Morning All,

It is Saturday. The weekend started for many yesterday afternoon…and for some of us, it is always the weekend! I hope whichever is the case for you, it is all good.

It is almost the end of April. The calendar might say spring began 5 weeks ago, but here on the Canadian Prairies, it does not always feel that way. Today it did, even with some grey skies until late. In the garden, a younger crow has just flown down to check out the cat kibble at my neighbour’s because ‘Calico Cat’ is outside eating the kibble on my deck. It is always a busy time in the garden from 1800-1900. Everyone wants to eat something before they go to roost for the night. Mr Younger Crow must be hungry. He is now below the feeders picking up some of the Butter Bark that the Starlings tossed out of the feeder when they were picking out the Meal Worms. It is not easy for urban birds. As he settles to eat, another fat (literally) cat with a collar darts out…it is pretty sad. The time that the birds need to be eating is also the time that humans get home from work and let their cats out. It is against the law. But no one will enforce the bylaw. There are not enough workers to do that, and it has never seemed there was a will. The goal when the bylaw was passed was to reduce the feral cat populations in the City.

But, never mind. Everyone got something tonight to eat, and that is what matters. Soon I will not be able to see them so quickly as the buds are getting ready to pop open. Green. Seriously, it is time for the green in the garden.

Read to the end of the blog today for some info on a new video of DH18’s rescue.

Your first smile of the morning comes from the Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn…poor baby has such a big crop it can hardly move!

Our giggle of the morning is a short 3-minute video from the Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam. Have a smile to start your day!

And then there is the sheer joy of the morning. Bonus is a Black Stork. He was one of the Estonian nestlings of Jan and Jannika that were removed to be raised by Urmas and Dr Madis when Jan went missing. Bonus was fostered by Karl II and Kaia. In his migration, Bonus’s transmitter stopped working in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Yesterday, that transmitter started sending signals again. Bonus is alive! Bonus is flying north and is at the Israeli-Jordanian border. He must have spent the winter in Sudan with Waba! Now. Jump up and down. And realise that transmitters can go ‘off’ – I am thinking of some UK Ospreys, including Glen. If the administrators turn the transmitter completely off, you will never know if they are alive in seven months. Just a thought. Thank you, ‘T’ for letting me know. Over the moon!

The latest news on DH18- I am so glad to hear he is eating well and is bright and alert. Hopeful. Continue to imagine a new buffet for him full of succulent morsels carefully prepared.

Many of you will not have seen this quick action by Bella at the NCTC nest in 2021. I am so glad that Deb Stecyk posted it again. Fishing line as we are well aware is a huge hazard to the well-being and lives of our raptors. As humans we need to do better in cleaning up the messes we leave and also those that others make. Good bi-annual clean-ups of shorelines – rivers, lakes, streams, small ponds, all help. Sadly, one of the biggest dangers is the fish that break the line, hook in their mouth, and go on to be caught by the eagles and ospreys. These are brought to the nest to feed the chicks only to have the line bet in the chick’s mouths and tangled amidst nesting material, legs, wings, and necks. This is what happened to DH17 and 18.

There is something else that should be done. A blanket permit to the licensed wildlife rehabilitation centres allows them to approach a nest that has a monofilament line on it that is or could endanger the life of the eaglets. It is a no-brainer. Not randomly, but to the centres that can organise the rescue. This would save many lives and a lot of injury or death to the raptors. This should be our next effort – in honour of Dale Hollow 18 whose life could be seriously compromised because of the delay. Letters would go out to the USFWS as well as the licensing agent in each State.

Flo comes to the platform to mourn the loss of her babies.

‘A’ sends news of a hatch underway Friday morning at the nest of RTHawks Angel and Tom!

Angel and Tom have a hatch! Thanks, Gracie Shepherd. Notice how Angel preens the little one. so sweet.

It should have been wonderful…it wasn’t. *DISTRESSING* ‘A’ writes, “I cannot believe what has just happened at Angel’s nest. Tom arrived for morning duty at around 07:42 and saw his chick for the first time. It is an absolute darling – fluffy white little sweetheart, yawning and looking up at dad. He looks startled and spreads his wings as if he is mantling. He has his back to us, but we hear the chick’s distress sounds. Angel lands on a branch behind the nest at 07:44:48, at which point she can see what is happening in the nest. Tom leaves a few seconds later, at which point we see that the chick is dead. Tom has killed it. Angel is very distressed. She has already vocalised her displeasure at him as he left the nest and she is now very uncertain. She tries to allopreen her baby. She is vocalising constantly. She broods the second egg, her dead baby in front of her on the nest. She leaves the nest around 08:07:14. Tom returns at 08:07:47 and looks down at the nest. Angel can be heard in the background, still angrily vocalising at Tom, who looks up, then back down at the dead baby. He may be realising what he has done. He is obviously confused. He is touching the baby with his beak. I cannot keep typing right now. This is the saddest and most unexpected thing I have seen.”

‘H’ sends news of the third egg at the Osprey platform of Duke and Daisy at Barneyghat Light in New Jersey.

Both Es on the branches of the nest tree at Fort Myers on a grey Friday morning.

There are lots of osprey intruders flying about in the UK at the moment. They do not have nests or mates yet. Some of these turn out to be very interesting ospreys. In this case, it was a grand chick of Mrs G at Glaslyn.

You can see the moss in the nest above at Aran and Elen’s nest at Glaslyn. You will also see it in other nests. Here is a statement on what the Ospreys are doing as they incubate eggs and prepare for hatch.

The little eyases at Cal Falcons are two weeks old. They will be banded on 5 May. Mark that in your calendars. Thanks Cal Falcons for showing us how much they have grown in two weeks with all those prey deliveries! Great job Annie and Lou.

The first venture out of the scrape was to be about a week away but one of those pesky little ones decided to tumble out. SK Hideaways caught it for us.

A question came in the e-mail from ‘N’ who wonders how the little falcons in Rome who lost their mother, Vergine, are doing. Here is a link to the camera. The chicks appear to be fine. Alex is feeding them and doing the best he can.

https://www.youtube.com/live/wIin45_sXz4?feature=share

Sunnie Day reminds us that in some areas, the twine used to hold hay or straw bales together is as dangerous to the raptors as is the fishing line. They have sure pulled a lot out of Montana nests with some chicks dead in unmonitored nests. So sad.

I am so glad that Murphy and his eaglet are still making news. It is a good feeling story. Murphy may never feel the urge to incubate a rock again but, he was noticed and thoughtful individuals gave him and the eaglet needing a parent a chance. It worked. Joy all around.

We have a first egg today for Karl II and Kaia at the Black Stork Nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia.

Condor chat by the Ventana Wildlife Society for April! Avian Flu Update. Rebuild. Population Status. Nesting. Reducing lead poisoning in Condors.

Everything is alright with the little eaglet at Decorah Hatchery.

There is more news coming out of the Raptor Resource Project and the six goslings that jumped. They have reviewed the footage and discovered what happened to the sixth baby.

Wow! ‘R’ sent me some exciting time lines for the Achieva Osprey platform. Middle Bob is doing really great thwarting Big Bob from both attacking it and getting to the fish. Fantastic. What a change in behaviour!

Speaking of Achieva. I do not know why that chat attracts people who not only supply disinformation but also like to be extremely hostile and have no knowledge of Osprey’s behaviour. Call them out if you know they are wrong! Block them. Whatever it takes.

As you are aware, the Kakapo are one of the world’s most endangered Species. The New Zealand Government and the Kakapo Recovery have done everything they can to increase the numbers and protect and assist the Kakapo if sick or injured. A single stoat made its way on to one of the uninhabited islands where the Kakapo live. It could have killed every non-flying parrot. Luckily that Stoat was found!

What is a stoat? The stoat is a small predator with a long, low-slung body that makes it particularly well-suited to hunting small rodents and rabbits. I think they look like weasels. Stoats can quickly kill an adult rabbit, which is much larger than itself, with a bite to the base of the skull. 

It is that time of year. Everyone is finding bunnies and baby birds and worrying what to do about them. Sassa Bird posted a reminder for us from Audubon. You might not find yourself in this situation but, guess what? A friend or family member might so have a read so you can help if required.

It is also time for a few other information sheets. Spread the word. People want to do the right thing. Do not feed the ducks and geese bread. They love the stuff. It is sugary and salty and it will stop them from eating the plants that are good for them. In addition, it could also cause deformities such as Angel Wing – we saw this at my local park pond last year – and the ducks had to be euthanised.

Many of you are wanting to help the birds with materials for their nests. It is important not to put out anything that could harm them. This includes dryer lint if you have used detergents with fragrance or any softener or dryer sheets. Dryer lint also contains microfibres. Do not put out pet hair if your pet has had any treatment for fleas and ticks like Revolution. It kills birds! Do not put out human hair as it can cut the legs of the birds just like monofilament line. String and yarn if the pieces are too long can be deadly.

So what can you offer to the birds? Here is the information from the David Suzuki Foundation. Please pass it along to others!

How-to-offer-birds-nesting-material-David-Suzuki-FoundationDownload

Get the tissues out. On the AEF Twitter page, there is a new video of the rescue of DH18 – from an entirely different view. The boat to go to the site, the climb, and our dear DH18 getting care at the bottom of the tree. Go over and have a look. Grab the tissue..and then look at how big DH18 was.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Continue to send your best wishes to DH18 who is healing from its surgery and who will have more surgery in the coming days. We continue to be grateful to everyone who rescued this eaglet in need. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘R’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘S’, IWS and Explore.org, Dulles-Greenway, Birdmap.it and Looduskalender, AEF, Deb Stecyk and NCTC, HeidiMc and Window to Wildlife, Cornell Angel Hawk Cam, Conserve Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Birdcam.It, Sunnie Day, CBS Sunday Morning, Eagle Club of Estonia, Ventana Wildlife, Raptor Resource Project, Achieva Credit Union, Kakapo /recovery, Audubon, David Suzuki, and the AEF.

Permit for Dale Hollow? Goslings hatching, Rescue at Bald Canyon…Tuesday in Bird World

25 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a gorgeous sunny day in the garden on Monday, but there was a problem. It was quiet. the garden is never quiet; it is always humming with at least the sound of several dozen House Sparrows that can be heard from a distance. Something was ‘off’. I did not see a hawk, but I do wonder if one was about or an owl. Now the little birds are returning as the day begins to end. Mr Crow has come to check on the cheesy dogs. Mr Blue Jay has been for peanuts along with Dyson and her gang. The Dark-eyed Juncos are searching for Black oil seed, and the sparrows and Starlings are eating the solid suet. There are now two Common Grackles visiting and from the look of Mr Crow, it could have been the Grackles that were the disturbance. Regardless, they bring so much joy. I cannot imagine my garden without them.

What a joy and right now we need joy.

On Monday, it came in the form of Nicole and her teammate, Ben, from the IWS rescuing the oldest eaglet from Bald Canyon, BC1.

There would be many videos online if you missed the live rescue. But what you would have seen was the arrival of the rescue team. Dad was on the nest, and he began alarming when they were under the nest with the eaglet. Then he flew off the nest, circling the area while Nicole worked with the eaglet. We did not see it, but we should assume that she hydrated the baby and gave it food. Then the ladder was placed, and she climbed and put BC1 back up on the nest with its two siblings. Afterwards, she placed some more twigs for rails. There are not a lot of twigs for the eagles to use for railings. The adults returned, and the eaglets were all later fed. It was beautiful. There was not a single hiccup. This is what a rescue looks like. Flawless professionals doing their job caring for wildlife.

I am encouraging everyone to send Dr Sharpe a note of gratitude. His e-mail is: psharpe@iws.org

Not far away, Chase and Cholyn’s little one is also growing by leaps and bounds. Just look at the love in that parent’s eye.

‘H’ reports that the big news at the WRDC on Monday was that R5 was self-feeding! For real.

We continue to hope for that miracle at Dale Hollow. I cannot personally verify but a posting was made on Bald Eagles 101 that a permit has been issued for a rescue at Dale Hollow and if that it is true you must give yourself a pat on the back. It was through the huge effort in lobbying for these eaglets that this will happen.

The fact that DH Eagle Cam folks was not going to the podcast to discuss the issue is good news. There is no reason for her to join in. The appropriate authorities – state and federal – should be there and this should be a decision for the health of the eaglets. USFWS regulations state – as we all know – that human-caused issues can be mitigated.

I want to be hopeful and I don’t want to spread false hope or rumours. I would love to see something official about that permit.

The two eaglets are tethered together, right leg to the left. Everyone who is anyone knows what is going on, but the issue is doing something. Instead of just saying it can’t be done, why not be like the little train that could: “I think I can, I think I can!” Do not give up hope, and do not give up signing petitions or sending letters. I hope they get 10,000!

River fed the eaglets and DH18 ate. She is sleeping with her babies tonight. We have witnessed what M15 did for the Es. River and Obey had been mates for a long time. We saw her cry out for him after he went missing, grieving. She has gotten the two eaglets this far. Just look at them. Now to have them tangled together with line and she cannot do anything to help them. She has tried. Someone might wonder why we are so upset…”They are just birds.” Personally I believe it is a sign of our humanity that we care for them and want to get them help.

As of Monday evening, the streaming cam is still working. According to the sites, the FB page of Dale Hollow and the chat are closed for a week. There has been a lot of criticism, and there should be. Other nests state that there are non-intervention policies, and, of course, there are unless an eaglet falls out of a nest OR is endangered by something human-caused. There are other reasons a nest can be approached and an intervention undertaken. Not trying is cowardly. Where are all those people that want to put rockets into space and make more money than all of us in a few minutes? Doesn’t one have a bright idea of how to get to this nest?

The saying below needs another line: That help wildlife!

This tethered eaglet was rescued by the AEF, the same people who have offered to go to Dale Hollow.

‘H’ has been keeping her eagle eye on the Fortis Exshaw Osprey Platform in Canmore, Alberta and one of the adults has arrived today. There is a new box and the couple will need to find nesting materials.

Elen is the name of the new Queen of Glaslyn. No sooner did she receive her name and she gave Aran his first egg of the 2023 season. It is difficult to move on from Mrs G. She was such a formidable character but this gal seems to have it all. Well done, Aran!

Many are keeping a close eye on Mother Goose in Decorah. The first eaglet has hatched and there were several ready to follow. I understand the leap will be either tomorrow or Wednesday depending on the last egg to hatch. There are six eggs in total.

Mother Goose is really hissing and is a highly protective mode as the eggs hatch! Father Goose has been around to check on the progress.

Father Goose down by the water ready to help when the leap is made. He has been up on the branch of the nest tree a couple of times also.

Mother Goose is going to have fun keeping them under her while they pop out from under her tail!

Oh, there is more. Mother Goose will not be able to go and forage until they take the leap. Dad is waiting down by the creek wondering what is happening. When she does not show up for her evening meal, he will know that hatch is underway. Looks like several more goslings.

As night falls, one little head is peaking out. Other shells seem to be cracking. Looks like all six little goslings could be with us by morning. It is 22:47 and ‘A’ sent me a note saying that 3 of the 6 have not hatched.

There are five hatched at 1000 Tuesday morning and Mr Gander is pacing and honking anxious for the Mrs and the kids to get down to the stream!

Good Night, Mother Goose!

Sharon Pollock gives us the hatching in a video.

In Webster, Texas, Ringo is still being fed on the nest. Dad flies in with a small fish for Ringo. Ringo flies around the nest and then lands for its meal.

I am very grateful to ‘A’ who sent me a note about the Achieva Osprey nest. Jack went missing and was away from the nest for a similar period that Flo was at Captiva. He had to have been dealing with intruders and this then would have caused prey delivery issues. In the image below the eldest is being fed and the middle is eating nestovers or trying to. We still have prey delivery issues and the aggression from the eldest. Send this nest your positive wishes, please.

The eldest ate two fish on Monday while the Middle Bob got nothing…so far. We need a big fish on the nest now so Middle can get fed. Sad, but hopeful.

We have the second egg for Poole Harbour. In celebration Blue 022 brings in more colourful plastic! Geez.

Moorings Park Ospreys are doing well. No problems here!

I still want to cuddle DH2 and even bring it home. What a little sweetheart.

Remember. Banding Day for the eyases at Cal Falcons is 5 May! At that time their legs will have stopped growing and they can be ringed safely. The gender reveal will be interesting and hey, what about the names?!

Their pin feathers are coming and Lou and Annie helped to shade but not brood all the time now.

Incubation continues at San Jose City Hall scrape.

Dulles-Greenway seems to be doing fine. A Turkey Vulture came to visit the nest tree late on Monday and the adults kept a close eye on it.

We are approximately one week away from hatch at the Cornell Red tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur.

It is pip watch at Angel, the leucistic Red Tail Hawk’s nest! Tom is as anxious as we are!

Geemeff is hopeful that the dissolution of the initiative might actually lead to meaningful change in the area of raptor persecution in the Peak District. Gosh, I hope so! The criminal charges and fines have done nothing to stop the wanton killing of the Hen Harriers, for one.

The blog states: “Incidents of shooting, poisoning, trapping, nest destruction or the disappearance of satellite-tracked birds active within the Peak District have featured in every year of the initiative’s monitoring.

The National Park Authority believes that until these illegal activities are tackled, meaningful progress towards population increases in key species will not be possible.

Phil Mulligan, chief executive of the Peak District National Park Authority said: “It is with regret that we are closing the initiative after more than a decade of endeavours to safeguard our charismatic birds of prey that have a rightful place here in the National Park.”

You can read it in its entirety here:

Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative finally folds as persecution continues

Karl II and Kaia sleeping on the Black Stork nest in Estonia Monday night.

Good night, Telyn!

I am going to sign off and have a quiet dinner. The Dale Hollow situation is quite stressful especially with regard to DH18’s leg. I want so desperately to be hopeful and that someone will step forward and come up with a helicopter plan or a rehabber with experience that is also a good rock climber to get up the hill to the nest. We just can’t give up until we have tried everything. And I do mean actually tried to help the eaglets not sat in a room talking about it theoretically. We need action like we saw at Bald Canyon. Thank you for your continuing support for these efforts.

Take care everyone. I have not posted lots of incubating birds – it is like watching paint dry. There should be more eggs tomorrow and all of the goslings will have hatched. The moderator at the Goose cam, Buddy’s Mum, thinks the leap will be Wednesday. But might it be Tuesday afternoon? It depends on the timing of that last hatch. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their tweets, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘A from Tokyo’, ‘SP’, IWS and Explore.org, Jackie Brown and Bald Eagles Live Nest and Cams, DHEC, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest and Cams, Fortis Exshaw, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Decorah Goose Cam, Sharon Pollock and Decorah Goose Cam, Paul White and Webster, Texas Bald Eagles, Achieva Credit Union, Poole Harbour ospreys, Moorings Park Ospreys, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Cal Falcons, San Jose City Hall Peregrine Falcons, Dulles-Greenway, Cornell RTH, Cornell Leucistic Hawk, Raptor Persecution UK, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Dyfi Osprey Project.

Goslings hatching, She is Elen…Monday in Bird World

24 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you so much for being here with us today. We hope that the week is starting out well for each and every one of you!

Mr Crow and a friend have returned. He has been yelling at me all day. It is unclear whether he wants his cheesy dogs or his cat kibble but he is making quite a ruckus right above my head as I write this. The first Common Grackle of the year has appeared in the garden along with the normal array of Dark-eyed Juncos, Sparrows, European Starlings and woodpeckers. I can see Little Red running through the lilacs to get to the suet while Dyson and the gang are hovering around on the ground. They much prefer the Black Oil seed when they have finished all the peanuts.

Hatchery Mum and Dad and DH2 give us another cute moment with their family portrait from Sunday. Isn’t it beautiful? That adorable little eaglet. So precious after the tragedies of last year with HPAI.

The award for the most diligent mother of the week has to go to Sally at Moorings Park who is always feeding her osplets, Abby and Victor, even at 11pm!!!!!!!

On Monday morning, the new unringed female, nicknamed ‘Dot’ at the Glaslyn Osprey platform, will be given an official name! She has now been with Aran for more than a week. It has been a joy watching the two get acquainted and bond; this is terrific news. Wonder what the name will be?

New nesting material is in and Aran has perfected handing over the fish to his new mate. All we need are some lovely eggs in that nest now!

The new female is named Elen. “Our new Glaslyn female now has a name! She will be called Elen, named after Yr Elen a mountain in the Carneddau range in Eryri (Snowdonia). As you will be aware, Aran is named after Yr Aran another mountain in Eryri.”

Their story unfolded quickly as Elen laid her first egg this morning at 10:37! What a brilliant start with a new name, too.

Dorcha has laid her second egg at Loch Arkaig with her mate Louis.

Sasha Dench is in Guinea. She has discovered why water and climate change are important to the Ospreys that migrate between the UK and West Africa. Have a listen. You will learn a lot about how our changing world impacts everything! We are all interconnected.

Flo left the Captiva Osprey nest around noon on Sunday. She looked down at the only egg that – well, it would take a miracle if it was viable – and flew off. Angus has returned to the nest. He is on the perch in the last image. The couple was seen together in the nearby trees. Their bond is essential. They can begin again next year. It was a rough season for everyone at Captiva this year.

The situation at Dale Hollow continues to weigh heavily on people’s minds and our hearts. The American Eagle Foundation and the Tampa Raptor Centre offered expert climbers to go to the site and remediate the issue. The nest is on public land, US Army land, accessed by a road through private property.

There is more news coverage of what is happening to the eaglets and letters are now going out to everyone who wrote advocating for the eaglets. I want to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart to the tip of my tiny toe for taking the time – for your love and your caring for our wildlife. You could just as easily close your eyes and ignore everything. You didn’t. We may not win this one, but we cannot give up. In an ideal situation, that monofilament line comes off. River breaks it and removes the mess from the nest. That is the perfect solution. If that does not happen, and it hasn’t yet, we must seek help for those who cannot ask for it themselves. I am so proud to be in such excellent company as all of you.

I have just opened my evening’s e-mail to find a host of similar letters and notices of television news coverage in Tennessee. We owe it to the eaglets not to give up. I have said that twice. It is crucial. Everything takes longer than we want. Bureaucracy takes time – and nothing happens on the weekend. Not even for Dr Sharpe!

Here is the letter going out to those who contacted Tennessee Wildlife Resources. Thank you to everyone who sent me their copy. It takes an army! Last year when I posted letters on my blog, DH labelled them as ‘fake news’. The letter below is not fake – many of you will have received the same one from the official.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) was notified of an eaglet tangled in fishing line by viewers of a Dale Hollow live eagle camera on Friday, April 22. TWRA staff who received the notification immediately contacted Agency staff responsible for wildlife conservation. The Agency also notified our partners at the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Eagle Foundation about the eaglet.

TWRA is actively monitoring the situation and is in communication with federal wildlife authorities. Although no longer listed on the federal list of endangered or threatened species, both bald eagles and golden eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Due to their federally regulated status, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is the agency with oversite and authority in cases of eagles in distress.

Federal laws prohibit the disturbance of eagles and their nests, which includes any substantial interference with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior. Any rescue attempt would be considered a disturbance of natural behavior, and therefore requires federal permitting to take place. Additionally, only individuals who have been properly certified are allowed to climb to eagle nests for the safety of the individual and the eagles. 

Disturbing the nest, even for a rescue attempt, comes with significant risks. Nestlings may be startled by human activity near the nest and prematurely jump from the nest before they are able to fly or care for themselves. This could result in the death of both nestlings. Adult eagles can also become territorial or defensive of the nest, and attack humans who attempt to approach the nest.

Live wildlife cameras serve as an important education tool for members of the public to safely view nature. However, from time to time, the public may see the disturbing footage of sick, injured, orphaned, or otherwise distressed wildlife as part of the natural course of events. Unfortunately, the eaglet in this situation was tangled in a piece of litter. TWRA always encourages individuals enjoying the outdoors to properly dispose of any trash to prevent injury to wildlife. Littering on public property carries varied offenses ranging from misdemeanor to felony charges.

This is a developing situation, requests for additional information should be directed to the agency with jurisdiction, the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal officials are aware of the situation and any additional decisions or action on the issue will be made by the US Fish and Wildlife Service with the full cooperation of TWRA.

Respectfully, 

Emily Buck
Director of Communications and Outreach
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency 5107 Edmondson Pike, Nashville, TN 37211

Because of you more news agencies are picking up the story. Why not be the heroes and help the eaglets?

More news this morning:

As of this morning, DH18 is still in the same position on the nest it has been for days with the entanglement materials underneath it – in other words, DH18 continues to be tethered to the nest. River dropped the fish and was dealing with intruders.

I would love to be posting all those amazing images of the Es but they belong to the photographers that took them. Please head over to the SW Florida Eagle Cam FB page to see what the Es and M15 are doing off camera. They are amazing!

Vijay caught the breakfast delivery on Sunday! Listen to those eaglets as they know M15 is on his way!

It is Sunday afternoon in Iowa and all eyes are on every twitch that Mother Goose is making.

Mother Goose was up for her evening break but was not gone very long at all.

It is 0715 and there is a big pip and a crack in one of the Goose eggs at Decorah! Yippeeee. Thanks ‘A’ for the head’s up.

‘H’ reports that R4 had a good feed yesterday. Continuing good news for this eaglet at Miami.

Nesting is also beginning at the Osoyoos Osprey Platform in British Columbia.

You have to love the Cal Falcon feedings. Two for you and then two for you and wait, yes, two for you. As ‘H’ reminds me I have always said if you want a peaceful nest watch the falcons and the hawks! And just imagine – it is not long until we have pip watch for Big Red and Arthur!

Great video by SK Hideaways of this little number three – feisty!

Wondering which egg is which of Big Red and Arthur’s? Cornell tweeted their ID.

Sunday was happy hatch day for two California Condors. One is one of my all-time favourites, Phoenix 477. He is the mate of Redwood Queen, the mother of Iniko (with Kingpin, who died in the Dolan Fire). Phoenix got his name because he also survived a tragic wildfire. He and Redwood Queen raised #1174 in Pinnacles (a new nest for them) in 2022.

Karl II and Kaia continue their bonding and getting their strength back after their long migration from their winter homes in central Africa.

The Pitkin County Osprey Platform had its second egg today. The nest is located on a platform in Roaring Park Valley, Colorado. Last year both osplets were pulled off the nest when nesting material attached to them was attached also to the female. One died and the other survived to be released this spring.

One of those heart warming stories that we would like to see happen everywhere! The leg of the eaglet was lodged in the nest material. The AEF came to the rescue.

There is lots of wing flapping going on at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest. Not branching yet. Soon.

The plumage is not nearly that of Duke Farms but the Dulles-Greenway Eaglets are standing very well on that nest. Just look at those healthy eaglets. Three of them!

Haven’t checked on Cassidy and Sundance at Farmer Derek’s GHO nest for awhile. Gosh, they are looking out to the world beyond that nest today.

A visitor came to the Achieva Osprey nest Sunday. The distinctive heart-shaped head looks like the head of Tiny Tot Tumbles hatched in 2021. She was the third hatch many believed had died of starvation on the nest at least three times. She did not and became not only the dominant chick but also the defender of this nest against adult birds during the summer of 2021. It sure looks like her head with the narrow white stripes and the dark heart!

The osplets at Achieva had one fish on Saturday, and Jack delivered a fish at 2009 on Sunday. The eldest continues its aggression due to a shortage of fish in the nest. We must remember that Mum, who feeds the chicks, is also hungry. This nest remains very precarious.

There is good news coming out of the KNF E1 nest of Anna and Louis. Trey has been on the nest jumping about. Way to go, Trey!

Kathryn has reported that Lake Murray had its third osplet hatch Sunday afternoon!

Jackie and Shadow continue to visit their nest in Big Bear Valley. We will all look forward to the late fall and the next breeding season for them. Regardless of eggs, chicks or not, it is always good to see Jackie and Shadow!

Congratulations to Llyn Brenig on the second egg of the 2023 season laid Sunday afternoon.

Continue sending your best wishes to the nests with issues – Achieva and Dale Hollow. Tomorrow keep Bald Canyon in your thoughts as an attempt will be made to rescue the eaglet that fell from the nest. We hope that it is still alive.

Thank you so very much for being with me today as we flitted about the nests that we have been watching. There are positively some many things happening internationally in Bird World that it is hard to keep up. I hope at the beginning of the week to check on all those UK Osprey nests closer and also the ones in Finland. Take care all. See you soon!

I want to thank everyone for their notes, their tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Kathryn, A, H, B, L, S, T, J, W, WRDC, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Moorings Park Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Mary Kerr and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Conservation without Borders, Windows to Wildlife, Sylvia Jarzomkowske and Bale Eagles Live Nests and Cams, Nicole Norment Whittemore and Bald Eagles Live Nests and Cams, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Vijay and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Decorah Goose Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, @CornellHawks, Ventana Wildlife Society, Eagle Club of Estonia, Sydney Wells and Bald Eagles Live Nests and Cams, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Albert Li and Big Bear, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, Achieva Credit Union, KNF-Ei, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, and FOBBV.

47 year old albatross spotted, Hatch for Lake Murray, egg for Glacier Gardens…Thursday in Bird World

20 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, it is nearing 2300 Wednesday night and there is still no snow. It is +2 C with the wind blowing at 23 kph. There is a winter snow warning until 0745 tomorrow morning. It says that we will get between 10-20 cm of snow. I really hope they are wrong. There are some areas south of Winnipeg that are flooding and places the birders cannot get to for checking on new arrivals. Some birds are moving north to catch the spring mammals waking up for prey. We get a little ‘cranky’ when spring does this to us on the Canadian Prairies. Our ‘nice’ weather outside is limited and all are anxious to ditch the winter coats and boots, get in the canoes and kayaks, have a picnic or eat their lunch on a park bench.

Our local Peregrine Falcon couple at the Radisson, have their second egg for the 2023 season. Ella and Pip are quite a joy and the camera will be running once it is closer to hatch. I will alert you so you can share the joy of a pair of my local birds!

Our first feel-good moment of the day comes from a 47-year-old ringed Albatross that has survived living in the Southern Ocean all this time! Tears. What would be nice would be if this bird were 77 years old, and that was the norm!!!!!!! But we celebrate the victories that we can.

Our second feel-good moment comes from E21 and E22, who are inseparable. E22 has decided to share his precious pond with his older sibling. What an adventure these two have had! So glad that cam was operating this year! M15 continues to be our hero. As we also say repeatedly, Harriet would be proud.

Our giggle moment comes from Lou at Cal Falcons who delivered six prey items to the pantry on Monday in six hours! Wow. Uber Dad. Thanks for the video SK Hideaways.

Cuteness overload is from Cal Falcons.

Tracy mentioned in her talk on our Manitoba Peregrine Falcon Recovery that falcons will not take ‘slow’ prey. There is much concern because the falcons eat birds, but Tracy reassured us that if a bird is sick from HPAI and is moving slowly, the falcons will not eat it. They want healthy fast-moving prey, not an easy target! Isn’t that a relief?

Sleepy heads.

Murphy continues to warm our hearts by caring for the little eaglet. All is well at Wild Bird Sanctuary with these two.

A bit of a compilation video along with news of Murphy.

The first osplet at Lake Murray hatched on Wednesday. What a little cutie it is already wanting some fish! Thanks so much, Kathryn Russell, for monitoring this nest for us! Congratulations to Lake Murray!

‘H’ reports that Audrey of Audrey and Tom at Kent Island is beginning to accept that Tom3 will not return from his migration. Speaking of potential suitors and mates, ‘H’ says that Audrey “wanted nothing to do with them.  And, there had been no nest building . .  until today.” It looks like we could have Tom4. Thanks, ‘H’!

In Wales, Aran continues to court the beautiful unringed female and she seems to appear to be settling in to be the new Queen of Glaslyn replacing the formidable and long-lived Mrs G.

Seren has laid the second egg of the 2023 season at Llyn Clywedog in Wales on Tuesday.

A few hours later, Telyn laid her second egg at Dyfi!

The first egg of the 2023 season was laid at the Glacier Gardens nest of Liberty and Honour in Juneau Alaska on the 18th of April!

Gosh, it is so busy.

Our concerning moment on Wednesday comes from the Dale Hollow Nest where River delivered a fish that had a line in it.

It is not clear if DH18 is still attached to the line or not but, it appears so.

To the relief of everyone, River successfully removed the fishing line from DH18’s beak. That said, there is now concern because the line is wrapped around the carcass of the old racoon and appears to be attached to DH18’s leg. Thank you to ‘C’ for the image below. Using the IR light last evening, the mods did identify a fishing hook on the nest. Despite the nest being on US Army land and this being a perfect reason to get a permit to remove the line from the nest (human-caused), no help will come. Help was ready for DH15 when it was tangled last year (you might remember). I will only say that threats were made to anyone who would come to help. This attitude is the single biggest reason I do not recommend this nest. This is a lake where fishing takes place. People must be prepared to help the eagles when we have caused the issue. Empathy. Animals have rights, too. I hope that somehow this line will work its way free like the line did last season and cause no harm to DH18.

The eaglets were full to the brim at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest today.

Oh, yes, you are a real cutie pie, Decorah Hatchery eaglet!

Yesterday, Big Red alerted and flew off the three eggs she is incubating. It is the first time I remember seeing this happen.

‘H’ has sent news that R4 is now fully recovered from what was stopping it from eating the other day. Excellent! That crops sure shows he is eating quite well, indeed. Oh, such a relief.

Mother Goose carefully covers up her precious six eggs so that she can go and forage.

Good Night, Mother Goose.

I am still trying to determine when the hatch watch is for Mother Goose. If you know, send me a note! In general, the goslings will begin to hatch about thirty-three days after the first of the six eggs is laid. Once they are all hatched, in 24-48 hours, they will leap from the nest, which is about 70 feet off the ground. The goslings are all feathered, can self-feed, and are capable of walking and following their parents. They look to the parents for security. The stream is below the nest. You can see it on the live cam. Last year 10 of the 11 goslings that took that leap of faith survived. One was believed to have gotten injured when it hit a branch on the way down. It is an amazing sight and I don’t want any of you to miss this magic.

I cannot tell you how much fish the oldest osplet at Achieva had compared to the youngest on Wednesday but, both appear to be doing well today and growing, getting their juvenile feathers. They are so camouflaged on that nest.

Abby and Victor are doing excellent! Just look at those strong legs!

It is blowing snow on the Pitkin County Trails Osprey nest in Colorado. It came in fast and robust. BTW. Those Colorado ‘lows’ cause our snow problems here on the Canadian Prairies, just like they are for this nest today. Thankfully, there are no eggs (or I don’t think there are).

Pip watch begins for Angel and Tom on Friday – I was two days early! Mark your calendars.

‘L’ has sent a note that Kaia, the mate of Karl II, is now on the Estonian border. I sure hope she gets a good tail wind and she gets home quickly to her nest to join Karl II. Great news.

This is an excellent article on bird migration – our amazing feathered friends and their long journey to their spring and summer breeding grounds.

Trying-to-Find-Your-Place-in-the-World-Try-Birding-From-a-Different-Angle.-The-New-York-TimesDownload

What will millions of tonnes of seaweed do when it hits the shores of islands and Florida as it moves to the west from the Atlantic?

Those-Seaweed-Blobs-Headed-for-Florida-See-How-Big-They-Are.-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me. Please send your most positive thoughts to all our nests and especially to DH18 in the hope that line will work itself loose. Take care everyone. See you soon!

I want to thank everyone who sent me notes and thank those public sites for their posts, announcements, videos, and the streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘CDP’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘L’, Kathryn, The Peregrine Chick, Julie Sharpe and the Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideawys and Cal Falcons, World Bird Sanctuary, Lake Murray Ospreys, Chesapeake Conservancy and Explore.org, Brewed Gwyllt Glaslyn, CarnyXWild, Dyfi Osprey Project, Glacier Gardens Eagle Nest Cam, Keisha Howell and DHECD, DHEC, PIX Cams, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Cornell RTH, WRDC, Decorah Goose Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, Pitkin County Trails, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, Looduskalender, and The New York Times.

Lou and Annie’s fluff balls, hatch for Milda and Voldis, Osprey soap opera…Saturday in Bird World

15 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Some excellent news has come to me via Karel and Bogette’s Livestream from Cornell this morning. Last year, Big Red’s beautiful girl, L1, was killed when she struck the breezeway that connects the old Stocking Building and the new Stocking Hall on the Cornell Campus. It is also the building where L3 was injured. Two years ago, a Bird Strike Committee was established at Cornell to remediate issues related to glass structures. The Acopians are now installed on the breezeway at Stocking so that Big Red and Arthur’s Ms and all other raptors on campus are protected.

This is Stocking Hall. The breezeway is in the middle.

The Acopians being installed.

The article about Bird Strike. Thank you, Cornell, for rising to the challenge since you are – Cornell Bird Lab! Now every building everywhere with glass should have these simple devices installed to protect our birds.

Red-tailed-Hawk-Fledglings-Face-Invisible-Challenges-Cornell-Lab-Bird-Cams-Cornell-Lab-Bird-CamsDownload

Oh, it was cold to the bone on Friday in the Canadian Prairies. The skies were heavy with clouds and only reached 4 degrees C. There was rain but that did not stop the Dark-eyed Juncos from seeking out the millet or the Starlings and Woodpeckers coming for the suet, thankfully. We will have some cloud and sun and then, believe it or not, snow is forecast for next week. Poor migrants!

The mate was waiting for its term on the Crabapple Tree.

The squirrels were out enjoying the peanuts! This is one of Dyson’s sweet babies from last year. Watching them chase one another through the lilacs, sending the birds fluttering away for a few minutes is such a pleasure. They all survived the winter.

Meanwhile, in the house, Lewis and Missy decided that rainy days were good for napping in the ‘Big Dog Bed’. They certainly fill it up! Despite their antics, the two of them are inseparable. Constantly having to touch one another, doing the same thing, grooming one another. It is pretty precious.

The early morning grin for the day continues to come from World Bird Sanctuary!

An intriguing interview and the ‘excellent news of the day’ comes from Conservation without Borders. This is one of the best – can wildlife thrive at a garbage dump? Listen to what Sasha Dench found out in Dakar, Senegal.

Annie and Grinnell’s Laurencium (Larry) has been breeding on Alcatraz and her and her her mate have four little eyases. Wow! That amazing pairing of Annie and Grinnell live on in their grandchicks.

Meanwhile, Annie and her new mate, Lou, have three eyases with constantly open beaks ready for prey!

‘A’ observes, “We’ve been wondering what sort of dad little Lou would be – I think this video answers the question. Isn’t he just the cutest little falcon? He looks so guilty when Annie catches him too, quickly offering her the food he had just carefully prepared for the little ones (he seemed more careful too about removing the feathers Annie is so fond of feeding the chicks). Love the little conversation between them.And those dear little eyases – all they know how to do at this point is open their tiny pink beaks as wide as possible. Unbelievably cute. I agree that it is now unlikely the fourth egg will hatch, which is probably a good thing, although I am quite sure this pair could manage to raise four. Lou is proving to be a very good provider, and like most males, he really wants some chick time.” 

The very young male falcon at San Jose City Hall is figuring it all out!

Iris was back at her nest Friday morning much to the relief of everyone after she was not seen for a couple of days. We all know that Iris is older than Mrs G and when we cannot see her, we do worry that she is no longer with us. Thank you for coming back to the nest, Iris. I have not seen any news of Louis visiting Iris since she returned from her migration. I find that rather interesting…or maybe he has been there and I have missed it.

In Wales, it appears that the quick visit by Monty’s 2016 hatch Z1 Tegid scared off one of the females vying for Aran’s attention to replacing Mrs G. Everyone loved that sweet female. Turns out she was Z1’s mate and he was wanting her to go home!!!!!! Tegid certainly has a beautiful mate and they have raised many chicks together. Let us hope that all is well.

The female on the nest on Friday was very assertive – a quality that many thinks bodes well for the nest sighting that ‘Aran likes to be bossed around’. Aran has been providing fish and the female is sleeping on the perch Friday night.

The new more aggressive female is still on the nest at Glaslyn with Aran on Saturday. He has brought her two fish and they have mated. Oh, I do hope she stays. She is a beauty! But also, Aran is an incredible male that deserves a super female. She has that look in her eye like Mrs G!

Then there is Kielder Forest and no one can figure out who is on what nest this year!

Mrs G has made the BBC news. No doubt numerous other news outlets will carry the story of this amazing osprey.

Gwynedd-osprey-charity-gives-up-hope-bird-will-ever-return-BBC-NewsDownload

It was a summery day – 28.86 or 84 degrees F – for Big Red incubating her three eggs on the Cornell campus. This appears to be a heat record for this time of year in the area.

The two eaglets at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest were hot -. were it was also 28 degrees C.

Those same blistering temperatures were also at the Dulles-Greenway nest of Martin and Rosa. But human debris is on the nest. Let us hope the winds get up and carry it away!

‘A’ found a video of one of the feedings at Dulles-Greenaway. On Friday, all the kids did was eat. They are growing so fast with those incredible clown feet!

The challenging and magnificent year at the SW Florida Eagle Cam is quickly coming to an end. E21 and E22 fly and soar, play and peck, and have entertained us. It will be so sad to see them go. The family made the news again. It is a beautiful story. M15 did it and in grand style – raised two month-old eaglets alone.

https://www.capecoralbreeze.com/news/community-news/2023/04/12/harriets-last-brood-its-been-a-wild-wild-ride/

More GHO strikes on the Es last night. Those owls are relentless.

Achieva and Dale Hollow: The early meals at Achieva on Friday appear to have mostly gone to the oldest chick on the nest; the same was also happening at Dale Hollow, although 18 did some of the early morning fish compared to the 3 bites that Middle got at Achieva. Food is a continuing problem at these nests, along with dominance issues.

It’s hot and the family is wishing for fish.

DH18 will move around to the side to get some fish away from the older sibling.

It is difficult to watch with the youngest prey calling to River. Heart breaking.

Trey had not been seen in Louisiana at the E1 nest (neither had Anna or Louis, as I understand it) for 11 days. Trey returned today and was limping. She is at the nest being cared for by her parents, who, most likely, was helping her away from the nest when she was injured. Everyone is hoping for a good rest for Trey and a great outcome to the limping leg.

The Bartlesville Oklahoma Bald Eagle nest lost a chick. It disappeared in the night several days ago. The third egg hatched and the couple are now raising two. Hopefully all goes well.

All of the other raptor nests that we have been following seem to be doing well. See note at the end about Achieva and Dale Hollow.

Trey has been moving around on the branches of the nest tree and was last seen on the fledge tree. Everyone is hoping that she might spend the night in the nest and let her injured leg rest and heal.

Rosie and Richmond have a new nest on the whirly crane this year. No eggs yet but soon. Are there specific reasons that raptors will build new nests? Akecheta and Thunder moved their nest. Was it because of the eaglet falling off? Andor and Cruz moved their nest. Was it because of Victor’s illness? Did Richmond and Rosie change the site of their nest on the crane because of Molate’s death last year? I wonder.

You can see the old nest further back.

I received news about the ill Bald Eagles in Cowlitz, WA. Thanks so much, ‘B’, for following up on this. The ill Bald Eagles had eaten the flesh of two horses that had been euthanised. As it happened, the backhoe broke before they could be buried, and quickly the eagles came in for the warrior, not knowing there was pentobarbital in their systems. The owner of the horses is working diligently with the local wildlife clinic to help those eagles. They had no idea that their actions would harm wildlife. Education is the key here for everyone. Please spread the world as it is appropriate.

Another hitchhiker! This time a Kestrel.

A map of Georgian Bay by Park Canada. Lots of islands.

Research into the diets of Kakapo found in ancient caves might help scientists help with new habitat locations.

There are a lot of open houses at the wildlife clinics coming up around the world. Check out what is happening in your local area and if you live anywhere near Ithaca (oh, don’t I wish), head for the Cornell Vet Lab. You will get to meet the ambassadors and one is a Big Red fledgling!

Congratulations to Milda and Voldis on the hatch of their first eaglet of the 2023 season. Voldis fed his little one some fish. Send all the most positive wishes to this family. Milda deserves it!

Last, Karl II is working on the nest for Kaia’s arrival. She is now in Ukraine. Soon! Karl II looks pretty comfy in that nest…he will have it perfect for his mate’s arrival.

Thank you so much for being with me today. It is always a pleasure to have you with us. Take care. See you soon!

Oh, and I forgot to say. Please feel free to share my blog on FB and Twitter if you wish. Just click on the buttons below. If you like what you have read, click the ‘Like’ button. Thanks!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘B’, Karel and Boggette’s Livestream, Ellie VanHoulen and All About Birds, Corviforms and World Bird Sanctuary, Geemeff and Conservation without Borders, Cal Falcon Cam, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, Montana osprey Project, Welsh Osprey and Loch Garten and Other Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, BBC, Cornell RTH, PIX Cams, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, S & M Turkatar and Dulles Greenway, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Capecoralbreeze.com, Achieva Credit Union, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Tonya Irwin and Kisatchie National Forest Eagle Cam Fans, Sutton Centre, Golden Gate Audubon, Canadian Raptor Conservancy, Parks Canada, Department of Conservation (NZ), Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Looduskalender Forum.