Category Archives: falcons

Florence lays an egg!…Monday in Bird World

20 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Happy First Day of Spring! Bird World is already buzzing with Ospreys rushing from their winter homes to their spring and summer breeding grounds. Arrival reports come from the US, the UK, Sweden, and Norway. This is such an exciting time! We hope that each couple arrives home safely.

Of course, it is not just Ospreys. All the other raptors that have migrated along with the shorebirds, the waders, and the songbirds are also on the move. Soon, my garden will be teaming up with new visitors.

For Lewis and Missy, the arrival of warmer weather has meant a return to the Conservatory. Today they got to help with some spring cleaning and furniture moving. Specifically, the tansu stepped chest moved from the living room to the conservatory. Aeons ago, someone in Kyoto told me that these portable units that hold everything from tea ware to kimono were also used to access other home areas without building a permanent staircase that would be taxed. It is not clear if this is a myth or fact. What I do know is that they are ingenious pieces of furniture meant to hold specific shapes of boxes in a very orderly manner. Missy and Lewis think they are another part of the jungle gym!

They especially liked playing around the tansu until the drawers went in.

Today, the kittens saw Dyson and her three little ones from last summer and Little Red came to visit, too. This is a very poor-quality image of Dyson having just dumped the Mt Fuji bowl with the peanuts in it. So nice to see they all survived the winter. She is not bothering to take the peanuts but is, instead, eating them right there making a big mess with the shells. LOL.

We are going to start the day with a surprise. Florence, the mate of Angus, at the Captiva Osprey platform of Lori Covert, has laid an egg. ‘H’ sent me the news this morning. The happy event happened last night, Sunday the 19th, at 23:23:18. Thanks, ‘H’.

It is quite true that little Victor starts some of the fights on the Moorings Park Osprey cam. For so long, he could spar with Abby at an equal pace. Now things have changed, and he might not even realise how dangerous it is for him to ‘wake up the lion’ in his older, dominant sibling. Abby was particularly brutal at 12:20 on Sunday, going after Victor’s head and twisting his neck and body. Victor went into submission and watched and waited. When Abby entered a food coma, he got up to the table at 13:15 and had a good feed until 13:29, when Abby decided to join him. Her ferocity of Abby is making me nervous.

Victor managed to eat on Saturday. He had lots of fish late in the day. The key is for Victor to get food, any amount of food, every day. Victor – be smart! Don’t antagonise your sister. You will not win!

0832 feeding. Sunday.

Abby’s attack on Victor at 12:51. It began around 12:20 and lasted for about half an hour, on and off.

Abby in food coma. Eat up, Victor!

At 13:29 Abby is up again at the table. Victor continues to be fed.

At 16:13, Victor was getting a crop. He has figured out how to eat and crop drop to hold more.

The rain is coming down in Naples late Sunday night. Sally is keeping the little ones warm and dry. Also – and this is great – there is a fish waiting on the nest to feed them to the left.

The Duke Farms eagle nest is simply a pleasure to watch. such little fluffy butterballs! Everyone eats. Dad has tonnes of fish in the nest, which should comfort everyone.

Both eaglets at the WRDC were up and being fed on Sunday so no significant problems. Rose appears to be getting better at feeding, and there is a fish feast on this nest in Miami. No food worries here – just getting that nice fish in the beaks of those babies.

Oops. I spoke too soon. Around 19:22, for no apparent reason it could, the eldest started beaking the youngest on the WRDC nest. Oh, goodness. There is a lot of food. I wish Rose would feed these eaglets more often!

Maya seems to have held off as long as she could and has ‘forgiven’ Blue 33 any indiscretions he might have had with Blue25. That is good news. Maya is such a fantastic osprey. She has been raising osplets since 2010 – 34 of them. That is an average of 2.6 chicks fledging in a year. Incredible. Her and Blue 33 have had two clutches of four eggs hatch and fledge – which is remarkable. As I have said several times in the past few days, some nests struggle with two osplets. Just imagine caring for and feeding four!!!!!!!!!! Last year they had three large female hatches. Blue 33 is a fantastic provider and they are an amazing team. Glad to see Blue25 off that nest and away from this family.

There was a successful mating!

Ever wondered how that played out between Maya and Blue25? How about aerial combat? It looks like Maya won…but check out what Blue 33 is doing all the while!!!!!!!!!

Maya and Blue 33 are not the only ones bonding and anticipating a nest of eggs. Shadow is working diligently on the nest at Big Bear and him and Jackie have been caught on camera trying for that replacement clutch.

There are Coots winding up on Eagle nests from Miami to California!

On Saturday night, Trey, the eaglet of Anna and Louis on the KNF-E1 nest was hit 16 times by the GHO in the area. We all wondered where Anna and Louis were. Tonya (chat moderator) offered some possible explanations for the adult’s behaviour.

M15 provided no less than four fish deliveries to the Es on Sunday. I stopped counting at the 4th fish delivery at 13:13. M15 made six deliveries on Saturday. These two are spoiled for food. Nice.

Both are up on the rim of the nest and each has been wingersizing.

This is one of the best videos of a fish delivery I have ever seen. M15 flies into the nest with a Tarpon. I want you to look at his muscular legs as he lowers the fish into the nest for the Es and then gets out. Wow. My son catches Tarpon. They live in the mangroves in the Caribbean. Look at the size of this fish and imagine M15 dragging it out of the water and flying!

‘H’ writes that the second hatch at Achieva Osprey has arrived safely. Time around 13:09 Sunday, 19 March.

Big Red and Arthur continue to mate and prepare their nest. Meanwhile, their feisty fourth hatch, L4, remains in the territory. It appears that she is carving out an area for herself despite the parents wishing she would move on to another spot!

L4 is gorgeous. She is not called a mini-Big Red for anything. Gorgeous redhead and belly band. She also has her red tail now!

And now for something light-hearted, thanks to SK Hideaways…Lou settling in on the four eggs!

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. So far, two Osprey couples are back in the UK at the time of writing this: Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at LOTL and Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland. Take care, everyone. Happy Spring! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Ospreys, Duke Farms, WRDC, LRWT, @Geemeff, @Jskdell, FOBBV, Tonya Irwin and KNF-E1, SW Florida Eagles and D Pritchett, Real Saunders Photography and SW Florida Eagles and D Pritchett, Achieva Credit Union, @CornellHawks, and Cal Falcons.

Maya’s home! hatch at Achieva, Egg at Centreport …Sunday in Bird World

19 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

If you live in the United Kingdom, Happy Mother’s Day! And what a fantastic day it is with Maya landing on the nest. Blue 25 is there, and our guilty male, Blue 33, comes in with a fish! Thanks, Geemeff, for the head’s up!

Look at Blue 33’s eyes – like, oh gosh, what do I do now? Too funny. Go home, Blue 25. You just wanted free fish anyway!!!!!!! This is such a relief!

Oh, you can almost ‘smell’ spring on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting, and we have reached the balmy temperature of -5 C. Incredible. the Pileated Woodpecker has decided the garden is a good breakfast stop, and I must remember to fill up the suet logs for him. The Sparrows are singing and one Blue Jay has returned. Meanwhile, the Chickadees are busy in a tree in the front where I cannot see them. Are they making a nest?

Lewis has loved watching the squirrels and birds out the garden door! So happy he enjoys looking outside and not getting into mischief 24/7. He has only been inside the fridge twice now, and I have discovered that the loose tea packets sound like cat treats. I could not imagine what was making him so crazy. Of course, then he just had to have some treats. LOL. Thankfully he runs it all off during the day and night. Meanwhile, Missy lets Lewis get into trouble. She waits til the middle of the night for her turn when no one is looking!

After all the running around watching the birds and squirrels from room to room, Lewis is exhausted! Guess who takes up the entire big dog bed? and who has to sleep in the little basket?

The first hatch of the 2023 season for Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Platform in St Petersburg, Florida came Saturday morning! 10:22:21 seems to be about the time. These are Tiny Tot Tumbles parents and there are two more eggs to hatch. Congratulations to everyone at Achieva.

Jack looks down at his new baby – proud dad.

M15 seemed to be entered into some speed fishing derby this morning. He brought four fish to the nest for the Es, nice size fish, from 0927-12:54. I stopped watching after that, knowing that the pair were good to go for another 48 hours if necessary! M15 didn’t stop with those four deliveries, he kept on going! Are you trying to impress the new lady, M15, like you have impressed us this year?

So many fish and birds were landing on the nest today that 22 was eating one and had a spare! And 21 was so full he didn’t want it. My last count of deliveries was six.

At 17:54, M15 came down from his branch and fed the eaglets the bird that he had brought. Talk about sweet.

Lady Hawk gives us some close ups of the female and in the background you can hear E22 squeeing very loudly – if he didn’t we would think something was wrong, right? Gosh, I am going to miss that sound!

M15 has already brought in food to the Es on Sunday morning as I prepare to publish this blog. Amazing Dad and Mum.

We all love Indigo. We also know that Diamond and Xavier do, too. Alas, they are trying hard to suggest to Indigo that he is now old enough to strike out and find his territory, and it isn’t their scrape box! Poor Indigo. Oh, this reminds me of life with Izzi!!!!

Cute little Xavier. He will let Diamond take care of Indigo!

If you have been watching the Moorings Park Osprey platform, the beaking is sometimes very difficult. Abby is quite the aggressive young lady when she wants to be, and she signals to Victor she is the boss. You need to watch the feedings because Victor is getting fed. That is what we want to see. Victor eating. And he is!

The key is for the one being beaked and being submissive to never look the dominant chick in the eye. It seems to set them off. The feedings below were at 11:26 and 14:21.

The dominant chick needs to be reassured that they will get food. The younger ones learn, if necessary, to give in to that and wait their turn. Abby now has a darker, blacker head.

Victor does not always get fed at every meal. The key is that he is eating and this phase should pass. There is plenty of food and both Harry and Sally are good parents. It is part of growing up on an osprey nest. At the 1654 feeding, Victor was in an awkward position. I presume he wanted to stay out of Abby’s way. He did get some fish.

That is Victor up at Sally’s beak. He is getting some bites of the fish before Abby attacks. She is being extremely aggressive despite there being enough fish for both. Let us hope that Abby goes into food coma and Victor gets some more.

Abby leaves the feed with a nice crop and Victor wants Sally to keep feeding. Where is the fish, Mum?

Victor is fish-calling. There is nothing left. What we need, is for Harry to fly to the nest with another great big fish for the last meal. Fill Abby up, and then Victor can have a good old feed. That is what he needs.

The one thing I like about eagles is that they leave prey on the nest for the Mum to feed the babies. Ospreys do not do that. They do not leave anything that will attract predators or insects. So Sally and the chicks are heavily reliant on Harry for prompt deliveries. Any break in the pattern will set the dominant chick off into survival mode where they worry that food is in short supply.

These images are from an earlier feed in the afternoon.

If you were watching the Moorings, Harry came in right on time with a nice chunk of fish. It was 19:12. Abby was still full and Victor was right up at the table! Victor is the one that is lighter and with the more copper head.

Victor is still getting fed at 1937 – so a 25-minute dinner. Note that Abby is in a food coma and does not care what is happening. This is how you keep a nest from falling into siblicide. Good management of deliveries when things get ticklish. Over the years, I have seen the female remove fish from the nest and return with it to feed the little one once the dominant pass out. (A good example was Blue35 at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria 2 years ago).

Victor is still fed at 19:45. Abby is now at the table. No worries for our little one tonight. He just ate a huge amount of fish!!!!!!!!!!! Throughout, Victor continued to do crop drops to hold more food. Smart.

Even with Abby there, Victor has not backed down and continues to be fed. This is all good. It is 19:48. There is also a lot of fish left. Thanks, Harry!

R4 and R5 each had nice crops when I checked in on a late-feeding Saturday. Rose is getting there. Just have patience. There is plenty of food for these two, and she has Ron as a backup as she learns her new role.

Ron giving them an early morning feed.

Rose feeding in the afternoon.

Evening meal compliments of Dad, Ron. I did not see one of the eaglets eat. Full from an earlier meal? Issues? We would expect both to have their beaks up. It has been difficult to see how much prey the little ones get on the one camera as the adult’s back is to us, blocking the view.

Jackie and Shadow are still taunting us with the thoughts of a replacement clutch. Jackie was in the nest bowl yesterday and both were at Big Bear again today. We wait.

Jackie wasn’t the only one to check out the egg bowl. Shadow joined in the action, too. Now we need something to fill that ‘egg’ cup!

At the nest of Martin and Rosa at Dulles-Greenway, the third hatch was underway Saturday night as the sun was setting. Last year they raised a single super-eaglet. This year the pair are going to be triply busy!

Worried about the two eaglets at Duke Farms? Don’t. They are both doing fantastic.

Sometimes you get lucky, and today was one of those days. Tico and Pearl were up on their nest at Superbeaks, getting fed by Muhlady! They are doing precisely what eaglets are supposed to do. Remember this. When they fledge, they should return to the nest where the parents feed them while they, the eaglets, get their flying and hunting skills perfected. This can be a month or a little longer.

Connick is no longer ‘little Connick’. Clive and Connie continue to sit on the branches on the natal nest showing Connick where he will branch.

At the nest of Trey, KNF-E1, the GHO attacked all night! Poor little eaglet. Listen and watch how well Trey protects itself.

Oh, how I miss seeing the action at the nest of Thunder and Akecheta. What a blessing it is that they come to the old cliffs and nest so that we can see they are alright. Both eaglets were there on and off today, early morning and at dusk.

What an amazing eagle. I would love to see you with those little ones this year, Akecheta. You were incredible with the trio last year!

As we all know, it has been a turbulent season at the Centreport Bald Eagle nest on Long Island. Dad is no longer with us and there were a number of suitors vying for Mum and the nest. There was even a death spiral between two of then – D4 and D5. Neither died. The winner appears to be D3! Now, it looks like there is an egg.

Why is Mum not incubating the egg 24/7? It is called delayed incubation. This helps all eggs laid to hatch closer together and ultimately helps stop siblicide on nests!

A visitor was at the nest of Gabby and V3 in St Petersburg, Florida. An Osprey! According to Gracie Shepherd, this osprey is a regular visit to this nest. His name is Bogey, and he is waiting for his mate, Bacall. Someone liked the movies that named these two! Time 16:57.

Big Red and Arthur have been mating and continue to work on their nest on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. L4, the feisty little hatch from 2022, remains in or near the territory of her parents. They have tried to suggest she move but it looks like L4 is staying put.

The storks are back in Germany. These storks are in Chemnitz-Wittgensdorf and have their nest on an old industrial factory’s chimney. The nest is approximately 28 m off the ground. Here is the link to their camera which is part of a research project with the Saxon State Foundation for Nature and the Environment (LANU Sachsen).

https://www.youtube.com/live/pgtil9B_7qw?feature=share

BirdLife International does not want us to give up. Their scientists want us to understand that there are conservation efforts that are being rewarded. The following articles remind us of this, “For example, in 2005, the Azores Bullfinch was Europe’s most threatened bird, with a population of just 40 pairs. SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) helped to restore its native laurel forests, and it now numbers more than 1,000 individuals. On the other side of the globe, the Tahiti Monarch is recovering from just 19 birds through the hard work of SOP Manu (BirdLife in French Polynesia), who have managed to control not one, but nine invasive species.” We have to get out there and do what is necessary. What is good for our birds is also good for us! and our planet.

https://www.birdlife.org/projects/preventing-extinctions-bringing-the-worlds-most-threatened-birds-back-from-the-brink/

Migration is so dangerous. It is so hard to imagine the distance travelled in such a short time and the challenges that all the birds face. The other day the news carried a photograph of a kestrel that had flown from the southernmost part of Africa up to Northern Europe. Incredible. I am starting to use the other maps available to track the Black Storks of the Karula National Forest in Estonia as well as following the news on Looduskalender.

Still no news from Kaia or Bonus.

Remember to do what you can to protect their habitat, to save them from rodenticides, fly traps, song bird traps, shootings, monofilament line, lead ammunition and fishing gear, galvanised items, and the more than other 4o or more things that impede their lives.

We will be watching many places for a hatch, but Bella and Smitty at the NCTC nest – who have been fending off intruders – should have a pip on the 22nd of March. Getting ready for pip watch with Liberty and Guardian at Redding, too.

There continues to be no transmission from Zoe.

Thank you so much for being with me today and to those who wrote in hoping to help find out who banded Blue KW0. It is a considerable mystery with no records in Scotland, Canada or the US, but we hope to locate a bander in the Caribbean who did. Keep your fingers crossed. I will let you know if we are lucky! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, announcements, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, Geemeff and LRWT, Achieva Credit Union, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Moorings Park Ospreys, WRDC, FOBBV, Dulles-Greenway, Window to Wildlife, Tonya in NO, IWS and Explore.org, Lisa Schwartz and the Bald Eagles of Centreport, NY, NEFL-AEF, Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, LANU Sachsen, BirdLife International, Looduskalender Forum, and FORE.

16 fish for Trey, hatches and arrivals…Saturday in Bird World

18 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is the start of the weekend. What is going to happen today in Bird World? The Ospreys are arriving in the UK. It is like each one got a separate train car, so one or two arrive, we take a breath, and another is spotted on a nest! It is going to be a busy few days.

Before we get to what is happening at the Eagle and Osprey nests, I want to update you on Karl II and his Black Stork family. We have not heard from Karl II since he landed in Chad in September. His tracker is working and he has begun his journey back to the Karula National Forest Black Stork Nest in Estonia. We wait for the tracker to kick in for his mate, Kaia. Now, to get home through Ukraine. What a relief. There is also news of Waba, who remains in Sudan foraging.

The latest tracking has Karl II heading to Khartoum.

Waba remains in Sudan between Murshid and New Halfa.

Sometimes you wonder what is happening. Then you go back to information that you already know and apply it to see if it is a fact in the new instance. So, the Red-tail Hawk Big Red fills her eyases up with food if she doesn’t want them to fledge. It could be a sunny day, and you wonder what she is doing, and then a storm comes, and you go ‘right’ – eyases can’t fly with wet feathers. So, on Friday, Anna and Louis brought 16 fish to Trey on the Kisatchie National Forest E1 nest. Wowzers.

M15 has been busy. There were at least five prey deliveries to E21 and 22 on Friday—feast and then famine—just like life in the wild. M15 is teaching these two so much! Or are the females leaving him alone today so he can hunt?

Vija gives us the video of the fifth delivery of the day. Look at that mantling job of 22!!!!!!!!!! We are all so proud of you, little one.

Oh, and a fish. 22 is making up for 21 stealing all its fish.

This is what E21’s branching looked like from the ground. Thank you Lisa Russo, SW Florida and Saunders Photography!

Here is that branching in a video clip by Lady Hawk.

Today and a few days old…hard to imagine.

Good night M15, good night Es.

It is no secret that I worry about eaglets that have a difference – such as two days – in their hatch or if they have a first-time Mum, OR if both of these instances collide. I have fretted over Rose’s feeding techniques at the WRDC nest. She is getting there slowly. It reminds me of Anna at the KNF-E1 nest two years ago with her first eaglet, Kisatchie. She gave him huge bites, and he didn’t know how to hold his head. Of course, they figured it out, and he fledged, big and bold. Rose is figuring it out, and Ron is helping her!

It is 1700 at the Moorings Park Osprey platform. Sally is stuffing Abby and Victor. The pair behave themselves during the feedings (most of the time) and do their usual beaking about when Sally isn’t brooding. That is pretty normal and as long as both are eating well, everything should be fine. It is sometimes difficult to watch as they can get really rough with one another.

It is hot and Sally is shading the babies while they eat. (So difficult to get a good screen captures of them).

You can see the thermal down coming in. Look at those little bodies below. I always think it must make them ‘cranky’ – all that itching and hormone changes.

Notice the copper-red feathers coming in at the head on Victor, below.

Our cute fluffy chicks look more like their relatives, the dinosaurs today. Of course, they are actually dinosaurs.

If you squint, you can see those crops getting full. All is well at the Moorings. That is Victor closest to you.

Harry brought in a nice fish at 1915 and Sally immediately began ‘stuffing’ Abby and Victor. Their crops were so full they could hardly move after. Well done, Sally!

Victor has his beak wide open! Just look at how dark these two are now.

There are two hatches (3?) at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey Platform. The camera drives me crazy as it is so low a resolution that you can hardly see what is happening. That is why I do not report on this nest very often. You can tell there are two because of the stripes on their back if you look close enough – squint, hard!

At the Achieva Osprey nest, Diane is not allowing Jack to come and incubate, and she is acting as if there could be a hatch. The three eggs were laid on 08, 11, and 14 of February making the oldest 37 days today.

The two eaglets at Duke Farms are nothing short of being little darlings. So sweet. No trouble. Experienced parents, and the weather has turned warm enough for them to be out from underneath Mum and Dad for a bit.

Rosa and Martin are working hard to keep the two new Dulles-Greenway eaglets fed and warm – DG3 and DG4. Will there be a DG5? They are our little fluff balls today, just like the ones at the WRDC. I am always fascinated by the eaglets, some born with those dark goggles and some not.

Shadow and Jackie have been on and off the nest today at Big Bear. We are all waiting and watching you two!

Baiba gives a montage of the work that Jackie and Shadow did a couple of days ago! We are in suspense as to how this will work out but…hopeful.

Meanwhile, Liberty and Guardian are getting no rest at their nest in Redding, California this year. They can hardly incubate their only egg without an intruder popping up.

Blue 33 has been a busy boy since he returned from migration. Goodness gracious, the energy he has. Not only has he had to hang out with Blue 25, who seems to be wanting to hedge her bets in case her mate doesn’t return, but he has also been caught mating with 25 and even brought her a fish. Incredible.

Maya and Blue 33 are a ‘super’ couple having raised two sets of four osplets. Some nests have trouble keeping up with two chicks – not these two. Many of you have asked about the ospreys that kick other male’s eggs out of the nest. I often post a video of a couple but I did not realise that Blue 33 was one of them until today when Geemeff sent me the following note:

#Maya got her name in 2014, was known as #Mrs5R and was paired with #Blue28. She’d laid 3 eggs but then #Blue33 arrived, evicted Blue28, kicked out the eggs and spent the rest of the season bonding with Maya. The pair returned the following year and to date have 23 chicks!

Geemeff, 17 March 2023

Geemeff added that we do not know how old Maya is; she is unhinged. Blue 33 is a 2011 hatch. Blue 25 is the long-time mate of Blue 11. Both hatched in 2010, and the couple has been together since 2013.

Blue 25 is relaxing a little too much in the nest Blue 33 is building for his mate, Maya.

Osprey arrival at Theave! They are coming and they are coming in steady!

How many of you could write an article for The Guardian on how birds changed your life or inspired you to love birds? I bet every one of you! Here is an interesting read about someone who fell in love with an NZ parrot, the Kea.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/16/the-new-zealanders-have-finally-done-it-theyve-turned-me-into-a-bird-lover?CMP=share_btn_link

Anyone who knows me, understands that Mr Crow is a big part of my life. Last year, he blessed me by bringing his three fledglings to my garden many times daily until they came on their own. It was the same with Junior, the Blue Jay. Today, one of the Blue Jays came to the garden along with a Pileated Woodpecker. Spring is coming! The woodpecker has been here all winter but, the Blue Jays took off late in the year. So nice to have them back. But, back to the Crows. ‘R’ sent me a very interesting article that I would like to share with you. Its focus is on the repopulation or the saving of the Crows

This crow is ‘very intelligent’ — and it’s struggling to survive in the wild

Plans to repopulate Hawaii’s forests with its “very intelligent” crows have been upended in part by its natural predator, the Hawaiian hawk. Now scientists are tracking the hawk in order to save the corvids.

By Dino Grandoni

March 17, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

FERN ACRES, Hawaii — Amy Durham wound the straps under the wing, over the wing, under the other wing, over the other wing, making sure the backpack-like device stays comfortably strapped to the Hawaiian hawk for many months.

“This may be your best work yet,” said Diego Johnson, one of her colleagues holding the straps on the chocolate-colored hawk’s chest as Durham secured a lightweight GPS transmitter to its back.

These San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance researchers are trekking around the mountainous jungles of Hawaii’s Big Island not just to understand the ‘io, one of the state’s only birds of prey, which is considered at risk. It’s crucial, too, for restoring an even more endangered bird species — the ‘alalā, or Hawaiian crow.

Known for its problem-solving abilities, the Hawaiian crow is one of the most remarkable bird species in the world. The ‘alalā, whose name means to “yell” in the local language, is one of the only birds in the world known to naturally use — and even make — its own tools.

Yet this distinctive crow that many dub “very intelligent” has been extinct in the wild for two decades, with the only about 120 alive in human care today.

So far, plans to repopulate Hawaii’s forests with its native crows have been upended in part by the ‘io. The hawks are the crows’ natural predator, and have come after the corvids during prior reintroduction efforts.

The ʻio, the endemic and endangered native Hawaiian hawk species, is one of only two native raptors found in Hawaii. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

The wing feathers of an ʻio. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

The talons of an ʻio are tagged by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance scientists before its release for future identification. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

By tracking the hawks, scientists with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources are trying to figure out where it is safest to reintroduce the crows so they can again thrive in the wild. At the heart of their research is a riddle: How do you protect two rare birds when one keeps attacking the other?

“They’ve coexisted for many, many, many years,” said Bryce Masuda, conservation program manager for the zoo. Now his team is trying to get these two bird species found nowhere else on Earth to coexist again.

Bringing back a ‘family god’

Ever since people set foot in the Hawaiian archipelago, humans have been enthralled by the islands’ crows.

Its glossy black feathers adorned Native Hawaiian robes. Its imposing beak and piercing eyes led some families to regard the ‘alalā as a manifestation of an ‘aumakua, or “family god” that watches over them.

When Capt. James Cook arrived in Hawaii in 1778, many murders of crows stalked the islands’ volcanic hillsides.

The Mauna Loa eruption of 2022 is seen at dawn from the southeast area of Hawaii Island. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

A fence line along a gravel road separates invasive animals from the native forest in the Puʻu Makaʻala Natural Area Reserve. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

An ʻalalā, the endemic and endangered Hawaiian crow species, on an aviary window at the Maui Bird Conservation Center. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

Over the centuries, a variety of factors — disease, destruction of forests for farming and cattle ranching and predation by cats and other nonnative animals — conspired to drive the crow’s population down.

By 1992, there were only 13 ‘alalā in Hawaii’s forests. The last wild ones were spotted a decade later. The only ‘alalā known to exist today live in a pair of breeding centers run by the San Diego Zoo on the Big Island and Maui.

A picture of one of the survivors caught the attention of Christian Rutz, a behavioral ecologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

For more than a decade, he had studied a different corvid species called the New Caledonian crow. Without any training, chicks in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, pick up sticks to collect grubs from crevices. At the time, no other crow was known to naturally use tools.

But Rutz suspected there were others. When he saw the Hawaiian crow’s straight beak and forward-facing eyes — features perfect for holding and manipulating twigs — he phoned the San Diego Zoo’s bird conservation center.

A manager told him the Hawaiian crows were always flying around with sticks in their bills. Rutz was stunned. “I booked myself pretty much onto the next flight to Hawaii,” he said.

The Washington Post, 17 March 2023

There are osprey sightings at Chesapeake Conservancy and Patuxent today, too!

If you have been looking for the GROWLS streaming cam, it doesn’t exist. Possibly because of the attention last season, the land owners do not want a camera on the nest where Junior hatched, and Malala was adopted. Sharron Palmer-Hunt advises that they will put up the camera that they have when a suitable nest is located.

Since it is St Patrick’s Day when I am writing, let us all wish the luck of the Irish to Jak and Audacity at Sauces Canyon. Their seventh egg – lucky number 7 – is still holding!

There are many in the UK fighting for justice for the raptors. Trying to get those that are responsible for maintaining the laws to do their job. It is incredibly frustrating to find the evidence and then stand bewildered when no one does enough about it to cause real change. Hats off to those who diligently work for the raptors.

Isn’t it time that game shooting was stopped?

If you live in the UK, why not add your name to help stop the trawling of Sandeels so that birds like the Puffins can continue to have a food source?

Thank you so much for being with me today. I will try and include a look at a few other nests that have been neglected at the weekend. Take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘R’, ‘Geemeff’, Kisatchie National Forest E-1, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Vija and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Lisa Russo and SW Florida Eagles and Saunders Photography, Lady Hawk and Sw Florida Eagles, WRDC, Moorings Park Ospreys, VGCCO, Achieva Credit Union, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, FOBBV, Baiba and FOBBV, FORE, Theave Ospreys, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Chesapeake Conservancy and Explore.org, IWS and Explore.org, Raptor Persecution UK, and @MeganMcCubbin.

Soap opera at Rutland, Both home at LOTL, R5 is here…It’s crazy on Friday in Bird World

17 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish friends. Growing up, I was always told that the paternal part of my father’s family was from Scotland. No way. They were from Donegal and Cork!

There is so much happening in Bird World that I am having difficulty keeping up this morning. Eagle eggs pipping, hatching, eaglets branching (yeah, 21), and ospreys arriving in the UK as they all got on the Eurostar together! Even so, the kittens would feel entirely left out if I didn’t include some pictures. They enjoyed and were spoiled by the young ladies looking after them while I was away. It also seemed that they were as delighted to see me! Lewis decided to help put things in the fridge – yes, he did get in there – and also helped block the cashmere sweaters. That is a tip if you come to Canada during the winter – a cashmere turtle neck will be your best friend! Or other real wool clothing. Makes all the difference.

Lewis is the smallest, but he can take over the entire dog bed! Missy is too nice to him.

I have not watched the SW Florida nest much today – just on and off. I know the prey deliveries vary by day. Both eaglets continue to do fine as they approach their 11th week, and 21 branched on the spike. They had both been working on breakfast Dad had brought in, and 21 jumped up and down. Is this a real official branch up to the tree? Well, maybe not. If so, that won’t be long!

This is a compilation video from the 5th of March – so 12 days ago. It is lovely, and I thought it would inspire the rest of our Friday—beautiful images from one of the on-ground photographers in the area. It gives us an entirely different sense of what is happening. M15 is magnificent. Thank you to The Real Saunders Photography!

For awhile it was in doubt but R5 made it into the world when Dad, Ron, was on the nest. I cannot wait to see Rose’s face when she returns and finds two babies in the nest needing her attention instead of that pesky R4. Oh, R5 you are going to have to be strong little one.

Ron got up from brooding so that R5 could break free.

Well, R4. You are a spunky little character. Poor R5.

It seems that R5 is pretty strong, too. It was up hoping to get some fish after its feathers had dried off! My goodness. Ron and Rose make healthy robust eaglets!

Ron has been doing a fantastic job feeding R4, and he will undoubtedly be of great help with R5. Rose continues to give big pieces and, well, as ‘A’ notes, she loves her fish. Fingers crossed for this new Mum as she navigates two growing babies demanding food!

I do hope, as ‘A’ mentioned this morning, that Rose will stay on the nest more and let Ron out so that he can fish and hunt and protect the territory.

There are now two eaglets at the Dulles-Greenaway nest! Congratulations Martin and Rosa!

The beaking is still going strong on the Moorings Osprey nest. Harry continues to bring the food in, and I hold my breath every time I see the oldest one go after the youngest.

Will be happy when this period of their lives evaporates! There had been little beaking at meal times, but, it appears this has begun, and Abby is being very dominant. So far Sally has fed them both – so, go for it Sally. Give those 8 or 9 feedings with one an hour long. Fledge two!

So far, there have been five feedings on the 16th of March: 12:26; 02:34 (yes 2 in the night), 0803; 10:43, and an hour-long marathon at 13:14. I caught another feeding at 15:51 and another at 19:19, and I am presuming that there were others that I missed. The osplets, Abby and Victor, are getting plenty of food.

Oh, these two are changing so much. Nothing appears soft and cuddly anymore. The dark eye line has given away to almost spooky white goggles, and bald heads with black and copper coming through. Abby and Victor hatched on the 3rd of March. Today they are two weeks old!

Sally is a very relaxed and observant Mum. A piece of nesting material, a strip of bark, had covered Abby’s head. Sally casually went over and lifted it off with her beak and put it to the side. Well done, Sally!

Blue 33 was on the nest at Manton Bay working hard after eating his fish. Oh, he wants Maya to arrive! What a cute couple they are. Tradition has it that they will sleep together in the nest duckling style! It is beginning to rain and it is 1832. Blue is there hoping his gal will arrive.

Well, Geemeff writes this morning that there is a soap opera brewing at the Manton Bay nest. Remember the female that arrived first? Blue 25? Well, she is making a play for Blue 33 and he is falling for it (for the moment!). Geemeff warns us that Blue 33 has landed on Blue 25’s back a couple of times and there could have even been a successful mating at 13:21. Oh, and gosh, there is sky dancing heard off camera!!!!!!!!!! Maya will eat Blue 25 for breakfast if she catches her at that nest.

Oh, Blue! Did you happen to check that band number? Blue 25, go home!

Laddie and Blue NC0 have both arrived at LOTL on the same day! It looks like Blue NC0 arrived first.

Getting acquainted again.

The female has arrived at the Cromer Peregrine scrape!

My eyes have been on Jackie and Shadow on Thursday. They were at the nest early, working and they returned after 1900 to do some more nesting. Will there be a replacement clutch? Gosh, it is beginning to seem a little more of a possibility. We wait….birdwatching requires a lot of patience and a lot of waiting, no matter what species and what circumstance.

Look at that crop! Someone had a good breakfast!

During the evening restorations, Jackie even tested out the nest bowl. Are these two teasing us? I hope for a miracle – a replacement clutch and a single healthy hatch, just like Spirit last year!

At the Berry College Eagle Nest, B16 is 55 days old today. He is a little more than two weeks younger than the Es. As the apple of Pa and Missy Berry’s eye, B16 is – well, can I say it? A nice-sized young lady! Beautiful eaglet and doing so very well. LOL. The gender is just my guess based on the size of B16.

As the sun sets over Captiva, Connick is growing and flapping his wings. Just like 21, he is getting some air under there but, he still loves to be fed by Mum, Connie, or Dad, Clive.

Take a look at those great tail feathers. Such a gorgeous eaglet.

Today, Mum and D3 defended their nest at Centreport, New York. Six eagles! Six. Could you talk about intruders?

At the new National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus, BOGS have seen evidence that Lotus is feeding an eaglet!

Gosh, so many eaglets at so many stages of development. Ringo, at the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest, is getting some air under his wings.

Do you know the Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki?

For many decades there have been actions in our most western province, British Columbia, to protect the old growth forests. Today, I found a site on the Internet that has discussions/presentations with Suzuki and one of those is ‘The War of the Woods’. I thought you might enjoy it and some of the other topics listed. Last year, David Hancock reported that the British Columbia government approved the cutting down of 141 Bald Eagle nests in the area where the Site-C hydro dam is to be built. British Columbia is home to North America’s largest population of Bald Eagles. Any logging harms wildlife! And also helps to create the atmospheric rivers that have so devastated the region in the past couple of years. Christian Sasse and David Hancock had an on line discussion about these issues. I will check and see if I can find that for the weekend.

https://gem.cbc.ca/the-nature-of-things/s62e10

I will have to get my running shoes on today even to attempt to keep up with a few of these nests! Thank you so much for being with me today. Let us all send wishes for a tailwind for Maya, so she arrives safely home and boots 25 off to her nest! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, The Real Saunders Photography and SW Florida Eagle Cam FB, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, FOBBV, Berry College, Window to Wildlife, Centreport Bald Eagles, AEF-NADC, Paul White and Webster Texas Bald Eagle Cam, and the CBC.

Wow..the pace is picking up. Wednesday in Bird World

15 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is my last day in Toronto, and as the old saying goes, ‘There is no place like home.’ Toronto is a fantastic city with so many things for everyone. It has been particularly busy because of the Harry Potter show, and March break for the students. Exciting to see young people at all the museums, going to the theatre, and looking at dinosaurs! A short break can recharge the batteries. It has been a fun time. I am, however, looking forward to being home with Missy and Lewis and everything familiar!

A few hours after the little one of Ron and Rose hatched at the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in Miami, DG3 hatched at Dulles-Greenway in Virginia, but that wasn’t the only other. My goodness. It would take a tiny army to keep up with all the nests, the pips, the hatches, and now the returns of the UK Ospreys. It will be crazy when they fledge on the same day.

Rose and Ron’s first hatch and this morning R5 is wanting to get out and join its older sibling.

Oh, R4 has been ‘goggly’ eyes.

Ron and Rose’s baby a couple of hours later. This eaglet has ‘strong’ and ‘trouble’ written all over it.

Gosh, Rose loves her fish! The little one is getting some bites at a later feeding, but Mum is making sure she gets plenty. Too funny. Just wait til that eaglet is the size of the Es!!!!!!

This eaglet covered with fish juice reminds me of Connick when Connie was figuring out feeding, and Connick was trying to focus and grab the fish from the beak.

HeidiMc taped the action for us. If someone could please move that piece of nesting material!!!!!!!!!!! All kidding aside – the feedings are improving from one to another. Well done, first-time Mum, Rose.

Rose is going to be a very busy Mum. R5 is pipping. ‘H’ says it was called at 0705 on the 15th of March.

Rosa telling Martin their first eaglet has hatched at Dulles-Greenway.

At least two nests are experiencing bad winter weather. One of those is Duke Farms. The parents got busy once the snow and wind came and fed both of the eaglets quickly so they did not get wet and sick.

That miserable weather got itself sorted. The nest at Duke Farms was drying out, and the eaglets were having a meal at 1827.

Big Red and Arthur were not at the nest today. So glad she doesn’t have eggs yet. Even though we know Big Red can be encased in ice and snow and keep her eggs warm, it would be much nicer for those watching if the weather were better!

It was still snowing at midnight at Cornell.

Two raptors who were at their nest working yesterday and today were Jackie and Shadow. What do you think? a replacement clutch? It is certainly starting to feel like a possibility.

Thanks ‘A’ for the link!

As I write this, it is 1700 at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of E21 and E22. The pair have spent the day standing on the rails and wing flapping. One small fish was delivered at 10:39. They had a lot of fish yesterday and are fine with this. Dad needs a break and he could be off fighting an ever-growing number of intruders in the territory. M15 has managed what many believed would be impossible. 6 weeks he has cared for these two alone. They are now 10 weeks old and within fledge range. We will start watching for branching soon. The average age of fledge in Florida for Bald Eagles is 11 weeks. Can you believe it?

I cannot see her talons, but this appears to be the female that landed in the nest the other day. Most of us got attached to R23-3, who has not been seen for many days. Let’s see how long this one lasts! Poor M. I am sure he would appreciate a companion that kept everyone else away while he finishes up raising the Es as a single parent.

The Bald Eagles are still going strong with the late hatch of Ron and Rose at Miami, all the new hatches in Virginia at Dulles-Greenway, a new baby at Tobacco Creek and so on.

Chandler and Hope’s new little one at Tobacco Creek, Maryland. Chandler has a lot of fish in that nest for Hope and the baby.

At Bluff City, Tennessee, Eugene and Frances have a little one at the ETSU (Eastern Tennessee State University) Bald Eagle nest. Goodness! On top of having a new baby to care for, Chandler has had to fight off intruders while trying to feed the new hatch!

At Johnson City, Tennessee, Jolene and Boone had a hatch, too!

Now the first osprey has landed at a streaming cam in the UK. It isn’t Maya on her nest but B25 from another nest

Everyone has their eyes set on the trackers watching as the ospreys and other birds enter UK territory after their winter break. On Tuesday, 6250 Black Kites crossed Gibraltar along with three ospreys.

Loch of the Lowes is so beautiful. Looking forward to your arrival Laddie, LM12, and Blue NC0.

Loch Arkaig is waiting for Louis and Dorcha.

At Moorings Park, Sally waited at 0830 for a fish delivery to feed the two osplets. It hadn’t arrived, and she sat back down on the pair! Their heads are now pretty bald and getting dark.

I am behind on reporting on the Venice Golf and Country Club ospreys but, it appears there has been a hatch there (perhaps on the 13th). The remnants of the egg can be seen at the rim of the nest.

Lou came to Annie’s aid in warding off an intruder. Thanks for catching this SK Hideaways! All I can say is ‘wow’.

‘A’ sent me a note. Lots of bonding – four minutes of it – by Diamond and Xavier in the scrape at Orange. Indigo might have been heard but, for now, the parents are enjoying time together.

There is snow in the East and rain coming down on the Channel Islands eagle nests. Audacity looks completely miserable at Sauces Canyon. One precious egg to keep warm, dry, and whole!

Cholyn at Two Harbours is wet, too.

Making news is this huge mess that is heading to Florida. How will this impact our beloved birds?

A-Giant-Blob-of-Seaweed-is-Heading-to-Florida-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today! The Thursday blog will go out just a few hours later than usual. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, WRDC, HeidiMc and the WRDC, Sassa Bird, Dulles-Greenway, Duke Farms, Cornell RTH, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagles and D Pritchett, ETSU, Mary Kerr and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Osprey Sky Call, @Tommy Finlayson, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of LOTL, Woodland Trust, People’s Post Code Lottery and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Moorings Park, VGCCO, Cal Falcons, Cali Condor, Charles Sturt Flacon Cam, IWS and Explore.org, and The New York Times.

Hatch for Ron and Rose, more intruders for M15…Tuesday in Bird World

14 March 2022

Good Morning!

I hope that each of you had an excellent start to your week.

The temperature was around +2 C in Toronto, with light snow this morning. It was a marvellous day for a walk and a trek to try and locate some ducks. There was no need for anything exotic – any duck would do when I set out. One of the advantages of being in a large City is your transportation options. I love the Toronto subway system (any subway system for that matter) and often dream of living where there is no need to own a car! Toronto has an extensive subway system that took me right to High Park on West Bloor Street rather swiftly.

There are 400 acres of parkland, a small zoo and Grenadier Pond, several restaurants, and playgrounds. The terrain is mostly rugged as opposed to manicured and everywhere you can hear birds singing and see squirrels scampering about.

Every where you looked there were magnificent old trees. Stunning.

The view from the top trail down to the path along Grenadier Pond.

It was a jaunt – from High Park Station at the top to the bottom and back up again along a path by the pond. The dials on my iPhone for ‘activity’ were undoubtedly spinning. The terrain is undulating and incredibly beautiful. The cherry blossoms in the spring rival many other destinations.

One difference is in the species of squirrels. Toronto has these rather amazing Black Squirrels! (They also have the Red Squirrels, the Eastern Greys, and rare white squirrels in Bellwood’s Park).

The Black Squirrels are Eastern Grey Squirrels. They are black because of a genetic anomaly that will not allow their fur to turn grey!  Toronto is full of them! If you come to Toronto, the largest population of Black Squirrels seems to be in Queen’s Park.

Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, Red-wing Blackbirds, Starlings, and House Sparrows were in the park. Trying to get them to stay still long enough for a photo was another matter! The quest was, however, to find ducks! If you find yourself in High Park, the place to see the ducks is Grenadier Pond. It was quite iced over today, so there was not the normal variety paddling, but there was some!

There were American Black Ducks, Mallards, and two insistent Canada Geese. They wanted food – NOW!

Posted in clear sight was this sign. Every place where humans are allowed to fish should have signs like this.

It was a wonderful time despite the wintery weather. I highly recommend it if you visit Toronto and are looking for a beautiful park to relax. You can also rent bikes, enjoy a meal, see some animals in a small zoo, and check out the waterfowl.

Monday morning M15 landed on the SWFlorida eagle nest with a rabbit for the Es. It was a flurry of pulling and tearing and it appears that each eaglet got some food. The time was 10:05.

Our ‘Dad of the Year’ has had to contend with more intruders including a juvenile/immature and a rather aggressive female with injured talons (could be the one that has been at the pond and at the top of the tree). She jumped into the nest wanting the fish M15 was feeding E22 but, today, he got rid of her! Well done, Dad. There was another owl strike and even a car accident at the nest. What a guy!

[The eaglets shared a rabbit, 21 got a rat, and 22 is being fed this fish on Monday].

It is E22 that is getting fed.

The female wasn’t happy but she went up to the branch.

Oh, the Es are so wet.

M15 paid a late visit to the nest. At first, he found pieces of fish and ate without offering anything to the eaglets. E22 was, of course, squeeing. The Es got some bites, and the nest is cleaned up. I wonder if Dad had much to eat today.

Abby and Victor are doing great. They are eating well and giving each other grief! Lots of grief. Sally just lets them go at it.

Abby climbed out of the egg cup—well fed osplet with that fat little bottom.

Their little tails are starting to develop as they move from the light grey down nestlings to looking like dinosaurs with their oily heads.

Sweet little babies when they are asleep.

Please take a look at the osplets below. The soft grey down on their heads is giving way to the black of that dark charcoal thermal down. Abby is on the right and Victor is on the left.

Harry brought a nice fish to the nest and didn’t count on the osplets fish begging. He turned around and fed Abby several bites while Victor called for bites, too. Sally took over and fed both of her hungry osplets.

At the WRDC nest of Ron and Rose, Rose has stayed on the nest all day as her very first eaglet is hatching. Proud Papa-to-be, Ron, brought Rose a fish for breakfast and then another one. He is teaching her – stay in the nest; your first baby is coming. What an exciting time and a privilege to witness this first-time eagle mom as her little one pecks away at that shell.

At 17:26, Rose is off the eggs and eating some fish. You can see the eaglet spreading the shell apart. Hatch is coming along quite nicely. No longer a single hole with a beak but now a crack around the egg that is getting wider and wider. So happy for Ron, who lost his mate Rose and was won over by this very young female who did not give up courting him! Many wondered if there would be eaglets at this nest so late. Send them all your good wishes, everyone. That little one will be fully hatched before most of those in Florida turn in for the evening.

HeidiMc has a video for us…much more interesting to see that beak moving that shell!

23:10. That shell is all crushed around the eaglet but it sure looks like it is mostly out!

Looks like it was completely out of the crushed shell around 07:44 Tuesday 14 March at WRDC. (The shell crushed just like the shells in Louisiana where the humidity is also high. Wee one had to work a little harder).

Oh, sweetness. Now to see how our first time Mum’s instincts kick in.

Ron is really happy!!!!!!

Take your calendars and mark them for 11 April. Pip/hatch watch for Annie and Lou at Cal Falcons scrape on The Campanile.

Now that Annie has finished laying eggs, Cal Falcon is looking for memes.

Oh, have a giggle!!!!!!!! 3x speed – wiggling and giggling to get those eggs under!

Fledglings are still returning to the Superbeaks’ nest. Sometimes they are fed by an adult, and at other times, they find fish left on the nest to eat. Everything seems to be going well with both eaglets flying in and out of the nest.

On Monday, Arthur delivered a nice squirrel treat to Big Red as she worked on their nest on the grounds of the Cornell campus. Big Red is my hero, and this year this Red-tailed Hawk turns 20. Eggs can be expected anytime.

The osprey platform of Maya and Blue, 33 at Rutland Water, has been busy today! Geemeff sent news of a peregrine falcon bringing prey to the nest, visits by Egyptian Geese, and finally, a Cormorant. Maya could arrive as early as tomorrow, and she will clear them off!

When Shasta died, Sequoia left the San Jose City Hall scrape. A new couple is bonding now. Everyone will have to keep an eye out for Sequoia, Annie and Grinnell’s son, and where he lands next.

The three surviving GHO owlets at the nest in Corona, California, are really filling up that basket! Look at those eyes looking up at Mum.

Owlvira pauses on the branch above the nest. This is where she will want the owlets to go when they branch. Voting for the names of the eaglets (including little Peanut) ends on Monday evening. So, today, the winning four names should be announced. I thought it was really nice that in respect of Peanut, they kept the fourth name in the listings.

At the nest of GHOs Bonnie and Clyde in Kansas, Bonnie has been nibbling on prey while giving her only owlet some air on Monday. Gosh you forget that those little ones were once soft and white!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, ‘Geemeff’, Google Maps, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Moorings Park Ospreys, WRDC, Heidi Mc and the WRDC, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Superbeaks, Cornell RTH, LRWT, Sharon Pollock and Raptors of the World, Corona California Owl Cam, and Farmer Derek.

Valentine and Nugget back in the nest, Annie has 4 eggs, Peanut dies…Sunday in Bird World

12 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you for all your good wishes. I am having a delightful time. It is fun to be in a different city. Toronto is a beautiful place to visit. For someone from a small Canadian city, to be able to walk through neighbourhoods that are entirely Greek, Korean/Japanese, or Italian is fantastic. The little privately owned shops and cafes with no big box store in sight make for a lot of nice window shopping. I love beautiful fountain pen inks and cannot find them where I live. I have ordered them from a small shop near the University of Toronto for years. What a pleasure it was to visit the store! Bottles of the most amazing colours of ink, all made in Kyoto. The young lady who helped with my ink purchase made that visit more special, telling me of a nearby Japanese coffee shop with custard cream dorayaki. They are not precisely like North American pancakes but similar, filled with custard cream, strawberry cream (Lewis’s favourite), or red bean paste. Delicious. Blocks of Japanese restaurants – not just sushi – . Decades ago, fewer Japanese restaurants in Winnipeg served more than sushi and ramen. Those gave way to sushi shops and now to a few Japanese fast food-type restaurants. How extraordinary to sit down and have a full meal of seasonal plates! LOL. I did not get to the park with the ducks!!!!!!!!!! That will come either tomorrow or Monday. The snow is heavy and very damp, and is difficult to walk. Still, there were over 16 kilometres of walking. It was marvellous.

A mural of an owl staring dow at Bloor Street West.

That heavy snow is also in Ithaca, New York, the home of Big Red and Arthur. They visited the nest on Saturday afternoon.

Ferris Akel had his regular Saturday tour, and it was a magical landscape at Sapsucker Lake near Ithaca. That Cardinal on the snowy branch is gorgeous.

When I got back to my room, there was a great joy. Annie had laid her fourth egg. Is Lou going to be able to get four big red-speckled eggs under his little body? He will surely be busy if all four of those eggs hatch!!!! Remember Melbourne. Gosh, golly.

There was other good news. After its fludge, Valentine has made it back to the nest. Now we wait for Nugget to get itself up there! It sure helped having a hungry eaglet and a fish on the nest!

Oh, tears. ‘B’ just wrote. At 17:17:43 Nugget is back in the nest. Whew! All is well. Nugget flew on to the nest like a pro and mantled that prey! Valentine looked and knew he was coming!

Look at Valentine – a look of sheer surprise as Nugget hones in on that fish dinner! Nugget, you earned it. So happy to see you both back on the nest.

You may remember the Bald Eagle family that adopted the Red-tail Hawk, Mahlala. Remember Mahlala had to work herself back up to that big old nest, too. Nugget, you can do this!

The intruders are causing issues for M15 and delivering prey to the Es. By 1200 noon on Saturday, they had no deliveries, nothing. Poor M15. He has had to be a security guard and mum and dad lately. What happened to R23-3? She had kept these other female eagles away?

Glad to see that M15 got some food. He has to be strong to protect the Es and to take care of them. We are getting close to fledge for these two. On the 2nd of February did we believe we would see this miracle?

That new female is a big gal!

Besides the intruders preventing M15 from feeding the eaglets today (so far I have not seen any prey drops but I could easily have missed one today), other sad news is coming from the Corona Owl cam. ‘A’ writes that little Peanut, the fourth hatch, died at 25 days. 11 March at around 10:00. Cause unknown.

Warning: Deceased owlet in image 2 down. As is a practice amongst some raptors, the deceased was considered prey, not a living eaglet, and fed to the others.

‘A’ wonders if this nest is not problematic for smaller owlets due to its shape. It reminds me of some deep egg cups in eagle’s nests that have caused the tiny ones to be trampled and unable to get up high to eat.

The two osplets at the Moorings Osprey platform in Naples Florida are growing…notice they are starting to take on that ‘long and lean’ look to their necks as they approach the Reptilian Phase.

The Duke Farms eaglets are fine, too.

Pip watch at the Dulles-Greenway Nest of Martin and Rosa right now – as I keyboard these words in!

Ervie has been fishing!!!!!!!! Would love to see some recent photos but, isn’t it such a relief that his tracker is working?

The last of the 55 Kakapos that hatched in 2022 has been named.

And last, trying to track down information on an Osprey seen in Barbados on 09 March. Blue Darvic Ring on left leg KW0. Do you recognise this number? USFWS? Passing through? or local?

Thank you so much for being with me on the day that Nugget flew back to the nest. So much joy! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their questions, notes, postings, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘MSJ’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘B’, Cornell RTH, Ferris Akel Live Stream, Heidi Mc and Cal Falcons, KNF-E3, Rhonda A and KNF-E3, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Corona California Owls, Moorings Park Ospreys, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Kakapo Recovery.

Intruder takes leftovers at SW Florida, Nugget and Valentine on the ground?…Saturday in Bird World

11 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Greetings from Toronto – where, on my arrival yesterday, there was a winter storm! It is, of course, nice in Winnipeg. You can’t win them all. I am, however, looking forward to seeing ducks as the temperatures are relatively mild, and there is open water most everywhere. Let’s see if I can get some good images for all of us.

‘H’ sent me a note to tell me that the two osplets at Moorings Park in Naples, Florida, have been named. It is a bit of a giggle. So many nests try for gender-neutral names because no one knows if the chicks are males or females. It doesn’t matter. The eldest at Moorings Park is Abby, and the youngest is Victor. What matters most is that two beautiful little osplets – and these two are – with amazing parents and plenty of fish – fledge and live long and productive lives. That is ‘the’ most important thing. So far, this osprey platform has been calm this season.

I have mentioned how much I adore Harry. He is right in there – feeding, bringing in lovely fish, and watching his babies being fed by Sally. Harry is nothing short of amazing. Many Osprey males deliver the fish and get out of the nest! Of course, there are exceptions, several of whom are in the UK. I am thinking of Idris, Blue 33, and Louis, but there are others.

It is a damp day in Hillsborough, New Jersey. I believe they are getting part of the weather system that is hitting Toronto.

At the Southwest Florida Eagle nest, E21 is 65 days old on Saturday, and 22 is 63 days old. On Friday, there were at least two prey deliveries. I could not determine the nature of the first one, but the second was a very nice fish. Intense mantling by both eaglets. It appears that 22 got the first delivery at 10:56:24, with 21 getting the fish delivery at 10:02. As you are probably aware, M15 has had issues with prey deliveries due to ongoing disturbances by new female intruders.

22 was hungry and looking for ways to steal that first delivery from 21. Good for Dad getting another meal on the nest quickly.

The 10:56 delivery. Just look at 22 mantle that prey.

SW Florida Eagle Cam caught the 10:56 delivery and 22’s amazing mantling!

On the rails, 16:42. Time to really get the worry beads out!

Lady Hawk captured the two feedings for us on video.

One of the intruders flew into the nest and took all of the leftovers. Some of the folks at SW Florida believe that this is 23-1, the other female with the injured foot. She was sure fast taking that fish tail and the Es were not impressed!

It is wet at the SWFlorida nest Saturday morning. Let’s hope Dad can get some good fish for the kids without being antagonised by this female.

Valentine and Nugget are causing everyone to be anxious. Valentine is jumping to the branch above the cam, and Nugget has jumped to the branch below the cam. Some news is that Alex and Andria have been down to the ground. Is one eaglet there? Are they delivering prey? Is one of the eaglets grounded? We wait to find out.

Rhonda shows us the action.

Here is the latest news from Rhonda. Please send your most positive wishes to Nugget getting home to the nest.

Another posting for the KNF-E3 nest.

Big Red and Arthur are getting the same heavy wet snow falling in Greater Toronto.

There is pip watch for two nests this weekend that we have been watching – the WRDC nest of Ron and Rose in Miami and the nest of Martin and Rosa in Virginia, Dulles-Greenway.

Ron and his new mate, Rose, have two eggs. This is a very late clutch. We will have to wait and see how the eaglets do in the extreme heat of south Florida.

Word has come that the eggs at WRDC have been left for three hours. We wait and watch to see if they are viable.

Ron is back on the eggs.

There is some rain falling at Dulles-Greenway as we await pip!

If Annie is going to lay four eggs, which she could do, that last one will come around midnight scrape time, Friday night/Saturday morning.

Cal Falcons has designated the 11th of April as pip watch for her and Lou’s eggs. Also, check out their fundraiser. Sean Peterson’s partner, Lynn Scofield did the design for this year’s t-shirt.

Do you love California Condors? Do you want to learn more about this extremely endangered species and what is being done? I would like you to attend the live online chats every month. They are so informative. Often there are videos of the Condors and releases. They also do an archival posting on YouTube the following day for those unable to attend live.

‘H’ and ‘A’ sent me news. It is a map showing the cell coverage area of the Eyre Peninsula. It is believed that Zoe is in the white area on the bottom left where there is no coverage but excellent feeding for Ospreys. Fingers crossed everyone.

Do you watch David Attenborough’s programmes? If so, you might be outraged to discover that the BBC has cancelled one of the episodes of his last series. What we do not need are more lies about the state of our planet. We need the facts and the areas where we can make positive changes. We certainly don’t need a cover-up of information!!!!!!!

There is a lot going on. Please send your positive wishes to Nugget and Valentine! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos and streaming cams that help make up my news today: ‘H’, ‘A’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Duke Farms, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Rhonda A and KNF-E3, Cornell RTHs, WRDC, Terry Carman and Bald Eagle Live Nest and News, Cal Falcons, Ventana Wildlife Society, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and @MarkAvery.

Ervie, Jackie and Shadow at nest, Milda lays an egg…Friday in Bird World

10 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

The end of the week is here! It is rarely of little consequence to me unless something is happening. There are some wonderful things about retirement!

Two new to me ‘previously owned’ books arrived in the post this morning. I have been waiting some time, and what a joy to receive them. One is by Roy Dennis. It is The Loch. A Year in the Life of a Scottish Loch. It was an accompaniment to a television series in the 1990s. The images are beautiful and would have you booking a ticket to Scotland immediately. The other is a study of Peregrine Falcons in New York City by Saul Frank. It is titled City Peregrines. A Ten-Year Saga New York City Falcons. Will keep you posted!

Meanwhile, the kittens have taken over the house. They love nothing more than going in and out of a box and all the wrappings, large paper bags are fair game for an entire afternoon of jumping in and out, and anything that is light enough to be transported can and will be picked up and moved by Lewis.

Lewis decided to take over the large dog bed today with all of the blankets!

Missy fell asleep in the small basket while she was playing.

They bring joy! And they love watching the animals in the garden.

There is news of Ervie and he is still in Port Lincoln!

Lou did a marvellous job yesterday. There was a huge storm in San Francisco and Lou incubated for almost six hours was Annie was missing.

Wondering about Jackie and Shadow? They showed up together on cam 2 on Thursday. In fact, they were on the snag tree and in the nest and Shadow stayed around for some time! There is also a sub-adult hanging about.

Looking at the image above and the chart below, how old do you think this eagle is?

Jackie and Shadow were also in the nest doing some cleaning. The time was 13:38 on Thursday. Getting anxious to see if we will have a replacement clutch.

M15 was extremely busy flushing those female intruders from the territory on Wednesday, which might account for the few prey deliveries to the Es. Lady Hawk posted all the action! We might begin to imagine that M15 wishes he was less popular.

On Thursday morning, a prey drop came at 12:47. E22 got it and ate it but not before 21 had some and then 22. It went back and forth. Both ate.

I love these little chats that C F Marshburn creates for the eagles.

Wonder why there has not been a lot of prey deliveries? D Morningstar posted a very informative video of M15 and one of the female intruders. He cannot risk getting injured. Better the eaglets be a bit hungry than to have their only provider, Dad, disabled or killed.

You can hear 22 in the background calling for fish! I don’t think we will ever forget him!

Ron and Rose are approaching pip watch and now they are having to defend both their nest and those precious eggs!

I cannot think of an Osprey nest I have enjoyed more than Moorings Park. One of the reasons is Harry. Not only is he such a great provider, but he loves being in the nest with Sally and the two kids, and he is getting more involved in feeding the little ones every day.

Unlike eagles, ospreys will remove the fish from the nest to not attract insects and intruders wanting food.

The osplets eyes are open wide, as is their beak. That open beak will get the fish! The eyes of the osprey are large. Poole tells us that they can resolve the details of an object at 3-5 times the distance a human can (11).

The pair hatched on the 3rd of March. They are a week old today. These two have already tripled their body weight since hatch. This weight will double in the nest four days. Their fastest growth is between 15-30 days.

In North America, Western Ospreys, according to Cornell Bird Lab, remain in the nest for 50-55 days before their first flight (the fledge). They will return to the nest to be fed by their parents while they develop their flying skills. While the fledglings may accompany and observe the adult fishing, they are not taught to hunt/catch prey like Bald Eagles do with their fledglings. Ospreys have developed a clear instinct for knowing how to fish after 60 million years of existence.

Notice the white at the tip of the osprey looking at you in the image below. This is what remains of the egg tooth that this little one used to break up that egg shell. Also notice the black line that extends under the eye towards the nape. This helps them to ward off glare so they can see fish in the water when there is bright sun. Yes, football players picked up on this trick from the Ospreys!

These two are beginning to develop. See the cream stripe down the centre top of the back. Notice the little ‘prickles’ on either side. This pair will keep their light woolly down (feathers) for 10-12 days, and then dark charcoal thick down will replace it. This is called the ‘reptilian period’. Their heads will look like black oil has been poured on them. Some copper-red feathers will appear at the back of the head and nape. It is often during this period that osplets get ‘cranky’ and they may begin beaking one another.

There was some concern that Indigo had left the territory of his parents, Diamond and Xavier. That is not the case. He was MIA for about 24 hours, then showed up and spent an entire in the scrape. Wonder what he was up to that tired him out so much? In the Wizard of Oz we are reminded, ‘There is no place like home!’

In Latvia, Milda, the White-tailed Eagle, has laid her first egg of the 2023 season. Sending positive wishes to her and Voids. Milda deserves it. She lost her long-time mate, Ramis, two years ago. She has yet to raise chicks to fledge since then successfully. 2022 was particularly difficult. After almost starving, Milda, who had been incubating here eggs for 8 days with no food for herself, left to eat. The fear was the eggs would not hatch. But, they did. The wee things eventually froze/starved to death. So, yes, please, lots of positive wishes for this much loved WTE.

Milda will likely lay two eggs three days apart. They will be incubated for approximately 35 days.

Voldis and Milda were working on their nest and mating late in February. Arlene Beech shares some of this with us in her video.

Watching raptors incubate eggs is boring. We are almost to the stage where Ron and Rose will stop incubating and feed little eaglets! The same applies to the Venice Golf and Country Club, where osprey eggs await their pip date. There are lots of others. Meanwhile, the Kistatchie Forest eaglets are branching, and soon SW Florida will be branching also. So enjoy a few days of incubation with Annie and Lou and watching Sally and Harry feed their little ones and the two eaglets at Duke Farms. Soon you will be scrambling to find time to check in on everyone. Oh, and then Jackie and shadow could surprise us with more eggs!

It is pip watch for Martin and Rosa at Dullas-Greenaway on the 11th! – yes, tomorrow.

Watching Karl II’s Black Stork family for migration movement. Waba headed north to Eritrea, then turned around and returned to Sudan. Gosh, this little one surprises us all the time. No transmissions from Bonus, Kaia, or Karl II yet.

There has also been no transmission from Zoe from the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. We wait in hope that she will turn up somewhere and someone will see and photograph her.

I wonder how many raptors actually land on ships and travel around. We certainly saw this with Glen, the Osprey, who was on two ships. Now a Burrowing Owl has gone on a cruise.

Gosh, I hope that Zoe didn’t get on a cruise ship!

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am heading off for a wee bit of a break and to catch sight of some waterfowl, I hope. It is not clear if there will be a blog on Saturday morning. It could be an abbreviated one. I will, for sure, be back on Sunday. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, Port Lincoln Osprey, Cal Falcons, FOBBV, Avianreport.com, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagles, Carol F Marshburn and SWFlorida Eagles, D Morningstar and SW Florida Eagles, Patti Lawless Sirbola and Ron and Roses Eagle nest Watchers, Dulles-Greenaway Eagle Nest, Moorings Park Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Amanda lake and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Arlene Beech and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Looduskalender Forum, and ABC7 Southwest Florida.

Annie lays 3rd egg, KNF-E3 has ‘branches’, Valentine hit by an owl…Thursday in Bird World

9 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the Canadian Prairies. The wind was brisk, but bundled up like one was heading to outer space, it is possible to walk through the woods and by the lake without getting too much wind burn. There were few birds and squirrels out, oddly. Perhaps it was all the schoolchildren. Four buses of laughing and sledging young ones. Brilliant. We must start getting them to love nature when they are little!

In the distance but almost in the centre of the middleground, you can see the Bald Eagle nest.

The trees that make up the forest are mostly Aspens and Birch.

The Chickadees were the only birds at the feeders with a single Red Squirrel hoping they would spill some seed!

The Bison were closer today.