Finnish Osprey Foundation – Page 2

Cobey is rescued…Thursday in Bird World

8 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beautiful osplets in Latvia waiting to fly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When you sibling wants your other slipper!

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

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

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

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

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

Daily summary Wednesday 7th August 2024

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

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

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

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

Click to access ASeasonWithTheOsprey.pdf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sadly, we will be hearing more about bird flu.

Bird flu is here. We have no plan.Download

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

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

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

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

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

‘H’ reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sum-eh flies Monday in Bird World

5 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Morning update:

It is getting to the time when you need to be getting your ‘miracles’ of the year in! Deadline: Wednesday, the 7th of August, so Tuesday evening CDT is the deadline—about 2000. Even a single sentence! Let me know what made you happy this year. I won’t spoil it, but there is already a clear winner for the top miracle of the year. Can you guess what that was?

It is cooler on the Canadian Prairies. Imagine extreme heat (32 for us) and then waking up and thinking you need a jumper! That was what it was like Sunday morning. The garden animals are loving it!

I did have a bit of a scare this evening. All the Crows were about and two of them were ragged and had white on their breasts. Took a deep breath. It is Junior and his mate and they are molting. Poor things. Junior stays but she heads south in the fall. I hope one or two of the youngsters will be around with us for fall and winter. They have been busy tonight protecting their territory. Urban crows live in family groups taking over a specific area and making sure that other groups of crows don’t enter! That said, when the GHO arrives, everyone comes to help usher it out of the space.

The blog is a little all over the place today. Osprey nests are winding down with fledglings returning for fish and awaiting the time to depart for migration. People are starting to stop and look at the state of the eagle nests and – we are on pip watch for the Olympic Park White-Bellied Sea Eagles in Sydney!

Update: Confirmed pip for SE33!

The three osprey chicks at the Osprey House Environment Centre are doing very well. Three weeks old!

In Port Lincoln, Mum is resting on the barge nest. Yes, yes, it is all beginning to happen ‘down under’.

Xavier is delivering prey to Diamond in the scrape at Orange, Australia. Now all we need is the Melbourne CBD Falcon cam to come on line. Typically that is after the eggs are laid.

If this is your first time to watch ospreys, you might want to find out about their migration – as most (save for Florida and some Gulf areas, the Caribbean, and Austral-Asia) fly to winter homes.

Osprey Migration Explained – Avian Report Download

More about migration from the UK.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/62/2023/03/Do-ospreys-migrate-6e4d8a7.jpg

Where do they go? Well, it depends on where they started!

Where Do Ospreys Go in the Winter? | Audubon Download

Many of you will remember the Red-tail Hawk raised by the Eagles on Gabriola Island in British Columbia. You will also recall that the eaglet that shared the nest, Junior, was electrocuted. We all cried. It is too common an occurence. We lost one of two gorgeous osplets raised by Oscar and Ethel at the Russell Lake Osprey nest in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was discovered that it was Heidi. She had fledged the day prior. These events are so very sad.

If you recall the discussion with Dr Christian Sasse and Dave Hancock on how to mitigate against electrocution using simple methods and know that YouTube video, let me know. I am looking forward to sharing it with our friends in Nova Scotia. I have written to the HWF but have not heard back from them.

‘H’ reports:

8/4 Osoyoos osprey nest: There were nine fish delivered to the nest, including one from Soo. Olsen had tapped into a good location to catch those small green-colored fish, so his offerings consisted of those fish. Soo brought a large headless fish at 1251 that actually resulted in two separate long feedings. It was interesting to note, with 5 of the 8 fish delivered by Olsen, chick 1 rather easily took the fish from chick 2, after chick 2 had initial possession of it. Chick 2 still displays some residual effects of the psychological conditioning that took place during all those weeks when chick 1 had been very aggressive toward him, and he learned to submit. Chick 2 needs to get over that, and try to hold on to his food! Chick 1 did not eat all of those fish he acquired, and he left a couple of good sized chunks on the nest for chick 2. Everyone had plenty to eat today. Chick 1 took a few flights off the nest throughout the day. And, chick 2 managed to get several inches of lift off the nest during his evening wingercizing! Weather forecast for 8/5: Sunny, high temp 94 F, light winds. There is a chance of strong thunderstorms in the afternoon.

8/4-8/5 Colonial Beach: Betty has not been seen since 0935 on 8/3. Last night, 42-day-old Cobey spent his second night alone on the nest. Cobey did not have anything to eat on Friday. On Saturday, David dropped off a headless fish, Cobey self-fed for the first time, and was able to eat most of that fish. On Sunday, David provided Cobey with a headless fish at 0724. Once again, Cobey did a great job with his self-feeding. His technique is not perfect, but he does amazingly well. He ate the fish off and on for several hours, and picked it clean. At 1828 David brought a live fish to the nest. The fish was not very lively, but it took Cobey a while to figure out how to unzip the fish. Cobey managed to do it, and ate the head! Then he reached in and pulled out a lot of the center of the fish, avoiding the tough skin. This morning 8/5, Cobey has already tackled the leftover piece of fish, and managed to pull off a few bites, but it is dry and tough. Hopefully David will bring Cobey a fresh fish this morning. And, we are praying for Betty to come home. Weather forecast for 8/5: Sunny, high 90, light winds. The forecast for the rest of the week may include periods of very heavy rain and some wind, as the remnants of ‘Debby’ moves up the coast. Cobey will need some protection from all that bad weather, and David doesn’t seem to like that kind of Dad. Please come home, Mom.

I am so looking forward to seeing these beautiful Nova Scotian ospreys in real life. Take off in a week! Will be announcing a wee break in normal posting – I will be sending out special Nova Scotia episodes while I am away so you can learn about one of our beautiful Atlantic provinces. It is famous for birdwatching – I am so excited.

Flipping over to Wales. Dylan has been busy delivering his famous Brown Trout to the Llyn Clywedog nest in Wales that he shares with his mate, Seren. The kids are there wanting fish! And if one is eating the other is fish calling very loudly!

Aran is busy at Glaslyn fishing for his and Elen’s kids, too. Everyone wants and needs to eat before migration.

In the south of England, the kiddos are waiting at Poole Harbour, too – and Blue 022 has four to feed!!!!!!!

At the nest of Iris and Finnegan, Sum-eh is getting restless to fly.

She is getting more height by the hover. Could today be the day she flies?

Our friend ‘A’ comments: “I’m hoping that her bond with Finnegan will bring her home. Certainly, she has something to come home to, which has not been the case before now. I know they’re territorial, and she returns to her nest, but now that nest has someone waiting on the perch, she may have an even stronger urge to be back. If indeed the older chick is female, then it is an incredible testament to the mothering skills of Iris, who has raised these two to be as close as any siblings I’ve seen on a nest. Never a hint of aggression or intimidation. They love to snuggle. Little Bob is usually fed first, but regardless of feeding order, they wait their turn. Sometimes, they compete for bites or even eat from each other’s overflowing beaks but never with violence attached. And if indeed Iris has achieved that outcome with a huge female hatched a week before her younger brother, we are definitely in the presence of a super mum. I love the way she has abandoned the nest to the kids, watching from the perch. She does always look to have a good crop, so at least Finn is keeping the family well fed. Perhaps too well fed. Why would these kids bother to leave home? This generation doesn’t, apparently. I do need to remember their names!!

This morning, big sister did a big and healthy PS, which pleased her so much that she had a hover. She is getting very good at her hovering. Oh Mary Ann she is magnificent. Such a beautiful osplet. She is gorgeous. (Little Bro is not yet interested in leaving his version of terra firma.) Iris immediately rises as if in an invisible lift, and she is out of there. Let hovering practice take place without her!! She can supervise from the perch. There is much fish calling (it’s 06:53). Little Bro is fascinated by his sister’s hovering (or perhaps he is just worried she’s about to land on his head)! But certainly, he is keeping his eyes on her. She is really getting some strength as she flaps. She is holding herself aloft for longer and longer, sometimes landing on an outer kiddie rail (is that technically branching or does she have to reach the perch?) and she is really enjoying the sense of wind beneath her wings. Those talons already look pretty deadly to me! “

At nest #3 in Finland, Tuulos and Taika have a fish and mate in the nest.

They are rebuilding at Decorah North!

Only one left to fledge at Blackbush – the other two that are flying continue to return to the nest for fish. Everyone is so well fed that on Sunday even Mum had some time to have a nice fish meal to herself.

In Newfoundland, Canada, Hope and Beaumont’s oldest is starting to work its wings. The chicks are 42 and 37 days old. We could have fledge in a little over a week for the oldest. Fledge dates average around 55 days. (some say 50-55)

Little Eurasian Hobby doing well eating dragonflies brought to the nest. As a fledgling, it will glide over the water catching dragonflies and other bugs for its meals along with small birds.

Everything you wanted to know about the Eurasian Hobby and more:

Eurasian Hobby | The Peregrine Fund Download

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 4th August 2024

A dreich day with no sign of Louis or Dorcha, it’s starting to feel like they’ve headed south to warmer climes as Dorcha was last seen eight days ago on the 27th, and Louis last seen five days ago on the 30th. Of course, those are the dates they were last seen on nest cam so there’s the possibility they are still in the area. Affric 152 and Garry LV0 are definitely still around and both came to Nest One today. Affric looked hollow-cropped and asked Garry for fish but he didn’t have any for her. It’s her mate Prince who should be providing fish for her back on the Bunarkaig nest where their newly fledged chick is probably still returning to, but like last season, there’s a complex relationship with that pair and Garry LV0 which seems to be ongoing. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is heavy rain with a gentle breeze, and light rain for the rest of the week too.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.29.01 (04.37.17); Nest Two 22.21.56 (04.44.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/mqRrJB__R5o N2 A Hoodie arrives and perches on Dorcha’s perch 07.10.05

https://youtu.be/O28igrtvFXE N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 to the nest 12.13.01

Bonus webinar – Osprey migration with Dr Tim Mackrill:

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

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

‘CG’ reports that the streaming cam at Boundary Bay, the nest of Blue, is still down and expected to be so until some time today.

Debby is hitting the nests in Florida and is ramping it up in Fort Myers as I write. Send good thoughts.

Gardening for the animals.

The frogs may be gone, but life goes on: how I regained my faith in gardening for wildlife | Wildlif Download

Worries continue for USU’s wing at nest #1 in Finland against growing concerns that Nuppu (Mum) will depart the area. At the moment fish continues to be brought to the nest for the youngsters.

Geemeff sent us some more stories. Enjoy.

1) Article says nest was inspected and no eggs or chicks found. But it sounds like this was an active nest if it suddenly became a problem. Would be good to hear a new platform is being built nearby:https://www.whec.com/top-news/osprey-nest-removed-from-cell-tower-in-town-of-ontario-was-disrupting-cell-service/

2) A good news rescue story:

https://www.obawebsite.com/local-tree-climber-saves-osprey-in-night-rescue

3) And this one made me smile:

https://www.diesachsen.de/en/environment/swan-family-causes-traffic-chaos-in-limbach-oberfrohna-2944816

And back in California, Hartley and Monty are bonding after a great season!

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following who sent in notes, posts, comments, videos, articles, and the streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, Connie and Don Dennis, CG, Geemeff, H, J, RP’, Hellgate Osprey X, Becky R, Olympic Park Eagle Cam, Osprey House Environment Centre, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Avian Report, Purpleshrub.com, Audubon, Ospreys of Nova Scotia FB, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Llyn Clywedog, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, BoPH, Montana Osprey Project, Saaksilvie, Raptor Research Project, Blackbush, Newfoundland Power, Wildlife Window, The Peregrine Fund, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, CNN Weather, The Guardian, whec.com, obawebsite.com, diesachen.de, Heidi McGrue, John Williams, and SK Hideaways.

And then…along came Finnegan. Sunday in Bird World

4 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

A year ago we were running a couple of blocks to feed Calico and any living kittens that we couldn’t see. We had ordered a GPS tracker then, and when we take our walks now, we are reminded of the worry and anxiety of those days. This is Calico and her only surviving kitten, Baby Hope, on 6 September 2023, two days after Baby Hope came to join us. Calico had come inside a week earlier. Hope came to the feral feeder…it was such a joyful day.

The woman who helped me told me to leave Baby Hope in the kennel, alone, for six days. I couldn’t. She needed to be with Mamma. They continue to be inseparable. The joy that kitten had when she saw her mother and dear Calico, too, – well, who says animals do not have emotions?

Double Calicos = Double Happiness.

November 2023.

March 2024.

And then there are the Crows. Such beautiful intelligent birds. The fledglings are getting braver. They are coming to the bird baths more often and they are eating at the big table feeder.

We cannot forget the baby Blue Jays. They are sooooooo adorable. This one reminds me of the littlest one last summer. The babies have their crests. The adults are molting and look ragged – an easy way to tell them apart. Every day I wake up and feel blessed by having these wonderful garden animals and ‘The Girls’ in my life.

Today is Owl Awareness Day! Many of you know how I feel about owls when they decide to have an osplet for lunch. Poisons should not be used – ever. Spread the word -DO NOT USE RODENTICIDES!

With the destruction of habitat and the dwindling number of small mammals, rats and mice become food. If they are poisoned, they move slowly and the raptors catch them. It can kill them or their chicks. So sad. We have seen this happen. I know you remember the nests! Of course they also kill domestic pets such as cats who also catch mice and rats.

Dr Green is in the hide on the lift taking photos of Iris and her family. He hasn’t done this since 2018.

There were concerns when Antali was trying to pass a pellet early Saturday, but all is OK. The chicks are eating well and getting huge crops. Thanks for the close-ups, cam op!

I cannot imagine waking up and not seeing Iris and her babies – and Finn, too, and that day is coming in 5 weeks or less.

Fledges Saturday at Island Beach State Park and Blackbush Old Tracerie.

There was also a fledge at nest 10 in Kielder Forest. It was the young male. He took off and did a quick return. Kielder cannot confirm this was his maiden flight but it probably is.

Oh, goodness, there’s a fledge at Osoyoos, too. I’m shedding tears over this one. Heidi will report it in full, but we have lifted off in a year when many feared we would lose all three chicks to extreme heat and not enough fish. In the end, it appears the nest will only lose one chick, Little. Congratulations, Soo and Olsen—you did it!

‘H’ reports:

8/3 Osoyoos osprey nest: Great news: At 57 days of age, Chick #1 fledged at 0533, and made a nice landing back on the nest less than two minutes later. Chick 2’s head was on a swivel going round and round, as he stood in the nest and watched his sibling flying. Chick 1 had performed some very high hovers yesterday, so the fledge was not unexpected. Olsen delivered a small whole fish at 0620 and Chick 1 grabbed it and gobbled it down. After his breakfast, Chick 1 took a few more short flights. At 0753 Olsen dropped off a large partial fish, and Soo fed both osplets for 45 minutes. There was still some fish left, but the chicks both walked away, so Soo was able to finish the fish herself. Olsen also brought some nice-sized fish at 0927 and 1024, and Soo fed both siblings. Then the cam went offline for 4.5 hours. After the live stream resumed, we saw Olsen deliver a small fish, and Soo fed Chick 2. Chick 1 didn’t even approach the chow line. I did not see any more fish delivered today. The high temp today was 101 F, and Olsen had done a great job fishing despite the heat. Unless I have missed it at some point, I don’t believe Chick 2 has performed any hovering as yet. Weather forecast for 8/4: partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 95F/35C, winds gusting to 17 mph.

8/3-8/4 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This is a sad story. The last time 41-day-old Cobey ate well was on Thursday. There were no fish brought to the nest on Friday. On Saturday, Betty left the nest at 0935, and she did not return. David dropped off a medium-sized headless fish at 0957, and he left. Cobey had not previously done any significant self-feeding, but he was ravenous and he tore into the fish. He was doing a pretty good job of pulling off fish bits. Cobey ate the fish off and on over the next several hours. His efforts were tiring, and he would have to take breaks to rest. It appeared as though Cobey managed to eat all but the tail of that fish. There were no other fish brought to the nest for the rest of the day. At 1915 David stopped at the nest for just a minute, and he did have a crop. Poor lil Cobey was fish-begging, and David left. We hoped that David would return with a fish…but he didn’t. Cobey had been left alone for 9.5 hours on Friday, but Betty eventually did return. The weather was warm on 8/3 (90 F), and there was a moderate breeze, but we had known Betty to have success fishing in much more adverse weather. On 8/4, David arrived at the nest at 0724 with a headless fish. After Cobey briefly chatted with his Dad, he started to eat. The fish seems to be tough, and Cobey is expending a lot of energy. We are praying that Betty is safe, and we are praying for her to return to the nest. Cobey needs a proper Mom-feeding at this point. Weather forecast for 8/4: partly cloudy, high temp 88, winds gusting to 14 mph.

The only surviving osplet out of four at McEuen Park is gaining wing strength flying from platform to platform.

Female osprey Goldie seems to be able to care for the three osplets despite her mate Kurt’s MIA and the heat in the area.

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/499647/West-Kelowna-woman-worried-for-osprey-couple-nicknamed-

Goldie-and-Kurt-

I wonder how many birds are electocuted each day because of hydro poles that have not been mitigated to protect them? This poor darling caught on fire and then, hitting dry grass, started a fire.

https://www.wavy.com/news/national/electrocuted-bird-falls-to-ground-sparks-brush-fire-in-colorado

The situation really needs to change if the Ospreys in the region of the Omega Menhaden trawling are to survive.

Please urge people to watch their speed. Their are so many fledglings and many get hit by cars. So sad.

Thunder and Akecheta were spending some time at home on Saturday – the West End nest of Catalina Island.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Saturday 3rd August 2024

No Ospreys seen on either Nest One or Nest Two today, but LizB pulled off a coup by getting clear footage of the resident female at Bunarkaig and yes, her video confirms what’s been suspected for some time – it’s Affric 152. Link to her video in the bonus section. Nest One had some little songbird visitors and Nest Two had bigger and less melodious visitors when some Hoodies arrived for a fruitless check for fish scraps. It was a dreich day with rain on and off throughout the day, and more rain expected tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.26.50 (04.24.39); Nest Two 22.25.18 (04.34.28)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/6hztczD-J2o N2 A Hoodie lands on Dorcha’s perch, a second on the cam pole 07.11.53

https://youtu.be/bx54tIwLja4 N2 A Hoodie returns to the empty nest 10.39.41

https://youtu.be/tjBR3H8XuYg N2 A Coal Tit and a juvenile Great Tit flit around 19.22.06

Bonus video – Confirmation of Affric 152 as the Bunarkaig resident female (2 Aug 2024 – thanks LizB):

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

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

Top Flatt chick required a supplementary feeding today and the NZ DOC rangers were there to help.

Clark PUD fledgling back on the nest resting and waiting for fish.

Fledgling waiting at Cowlitz PUD, too. These images are important because our flying babies lived for another day!

The Only Bob at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has the most beautiful wings. Flying soon.

Still showing up at Poole Harbour. Six fish arrived at the nest on Saturday. Mum helped deliver some, too.

Blue NC0 looks out over the Loch of the Lowes. Her life changed completely this year. Her dear Laddie LM12 was killed and her precious eggs were kicked out of the nest. The good thing – no chicks hatched, no chicks starved. Blue NC0 seems to have kept her nest and maybe she has a new mate. We will see next spring.

One chick left to fledge at Collins Marsh. The other two continue to return – as they should – for fish and rest.

The only surviving chick at Charlo Montana is getting antsy with those wings. I wonder which will fly first – Sut-eh or the chick at Charlo?

River with a full crop at Sandpoint!

Family portrait at the LDF Osprey nest in Kurzeme.

Hen Harriers are one of the most gorgeous raptors. Two more have been killed, and investigations are underway. Sadly, one of those is Susie. You might remember that I reported on her nest of chicks – five of them. An individual stomped on them til they died. It is worth reading about these amazing raptors that make their nests on the ground. I have mentioned Bowland Beth and A Hen Harrier’s Year. Both are excellent.

Criminal investigations into deaths of two Hen Harriers – Raptor Persecution UK Download

Little Taquito is getting feathers. Thanks, ‘J’ for the video capture.

The camera at Boundary Bay is frozen at 0901. On Saturday Blue had a remarkable ‘ps’.

At the Captiva Osprey nest, Jack was seen at least twice. Poor Dad. Easy to recognize. He still has the spike in his leg but he appears to be doing well.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, questions, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, MP, PB’, RATS, Hellgate Osprey, Montana Osprey Project, Kielder Forest, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Pam Breci, castanet.net, wavy.com, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Red-tail Hawk Tales, IWS/Explore, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Lady Hawk, Clark PUD, Cowlitz PUD, MN-LA, BoPH, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Collins Marsh, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint Ospreys, LDF, Raptor Persecution UK, BirdWatch Ireland, Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, and HWF BBCentral Forum.

Saturday in Bird World

3 August 2024

Good Morning!

Well I am in tears this morning. One good and one bad. One of the beautiful fledglings at Russell Lake in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia has been electrocuted. We have talked about these poles and the responisiblity of the power companies on my posting many times. It is an easy fix and if the power company knows the poles that the birds use – they do tend to go to the same ones – then they should be required to do the necessary modifications.

The good tears is for a Black Stork. BONUS is alive!!!!!! Jan and Janikka’s beautiful Black Storkling, adopted by Karl II and Kaia when Jan died – hence the name Bonus – has been transmitting. This might tie with Iris being a mother again for the number of tissues used. Thank you ‘PB’ and ‘TU’ for catching this great news and sending it to me. I don’t know if I will stop crying all day.

We have the second fledge at Niagara Bee.

We hope that you are enjoying your weekend. For Canadians, it is a ‘long’ weekend. Is it a Bank Holiday in the UK? Another holiday somewhere else? If so, enjoy! It is still hot here, but it is going to begin to slowly cool off. It feels like a good day to check on ducks and geese this evening.

In fact, it was so warm in the garden that the Crows are starting to come to the bird bath. They have been drinking water but not splashing. I can’t wait to see which one of them will be the first to take the plunge.

Because of the heat I have been going through all the forms for the 438 eggs out ogf 151 nests. In fact, I am still adding nests from Nova Scotia with 16 more to go! But it has also given me a chance to take a peek at what is happening and to check on some nests to try and find out about fledges.

The pie chart shows that nearly half of all osprey eggs laid this year did not hatch. Siblicide was the next highest cause of mortality at 17% and weather events at 14%

For some nests there is little information. Some have videos on YouTube but no real data elsewhere. So it is a bit of a mystery hunt. I hope to cover a few of those nests that are not regularly reported.

Two growing chicks of Blue 330 and PYO from Nest 10 at Kielder Forest are a welcome sight after all the heart break and loss at other nests.

Seriously. This puts a smile on my face. A Loon that is 38 years old? (Thanks, J)

On Finland nest #1 Utu fledges on August 2. Returns to the nest! Congratulations.

Both chicks on nest #1.

Parent is on the nest feeding only surviving osplet on nest #4 in Finland. Parent also comes and goes as if monitoring the forest situation. We know that the eagle lives in that area.

Three gorgeous osplets at Janneniemi, Juurusvesi, Finland.

At the Kuopio nest, we have had a fledge with another one pending. Chicks are Eero (1), Victoria (2), and Amanda (3).

Cowlitz fledgling is still coming to the nest for fish! It is a good day.

Amazing Iris is getting some nice fish after her chicks are fed to they are full and then more full.

It is almost that time. Iris and Finnegan’s chicks will take to the sky. They will hone their flying skills and be fed by Finnegan – and maybe Mum – til it is time to migrate south. I hope that Finnegan continues with the great deliveries so that Iris can get herself fit after a grueling summer so that the migration is not too hard on her this year.

I cannot get enough of Iris and her chicks Sum-eh and Antali.

‘RP’ sent us an X but the age of Antali that Hellgate Osprey posted is incorrect. It is 46 days.

All three chicks survived at Bar Harbour despite some early worries for the small third hatch. We are expecting fledgling shortly.

The two ospreys at Balgravies Loch fledged in mid-July.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary of Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 2nd August 2024

Another day with no sign of any Ospreys on either nest. Dorcha was last seen on nest cam – Nest One! – on 27th July, has she headed south already? Perhaps she’ll appear soon, but as always it’s a case of wait and see. Louis was last seen more recently, on 30th July, on his own nest, and the only thing that’s certain is that many pairs of eyes are on the lookout for any sightings of any Ospreys. HelenG’s keen eyes spotted bats swooping around Nest Two in the early hours, that and a juvenile Robin on Nest One was the extent of the action today. The forecasted rain materialised and continued until about 7pm. Tonight’s forecast is dry conditions with light clouds and light winds but back to wet tomorrow with thundery showers throughout the day until late evening.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.55.33 (04.33.24); Nest Two 23.03.47 (04.38.24)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/kTYhjh-Rrxg N2 Bats fly around the nest 02.22.40(super slo-mo)

https://youtu.be/vgs5NO-r20w N1 One of the under-nest residents pops up for a quick visit 08.34.07

Bonus video – from Scotland to Africa as the Osprey flies:

Blast from the past, this day in 2020

https://youtu.be/LEq2B4U9j-k N1 The Fishtail Waltz: Loch Arkaig Osplets in quickstep (Classic Ospreys – Strauss)

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

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

We are never too young or too old to watch the birds. Read the latest from Audubon.

https://cbop.audubon.org/news/eaglewatch-volunteer-shares-joy-nest-monitoring-assisted-living-residents

More Ospreys going into care. The Juveniles are fledging and having their own difficulties flying nevermind finding food and coping with the intense heat.

Bolton Castle has the only known Ospreys in Yorkshire at Wenslydale. The couple raised three chicks to fledge in 2024! There are 2 males and 1 female. I have yet to get the proper Darvic ring numbers and weights but I am trying!

The only chick at Clark PUD has fledged and returned to the nest.

A whopper of fish for the kiddo.

Two of the three chicks at Collins Marsh in Wisconsin have fledged. Congratulations!

The first of the Eschenbach trio of ospreys fledged on the 11th of July. Now all three are flying and returning to the nest for fish.

Friday was a windy day for Hope and Beaumont and the two chicks. I never thought I would live to see another osplet fledge from this nest and it looks like we will have two this year. Everyone in Newfoundland must be over joyed.

At the Lipka Forest nest in Poland, the osplets have fledged and are doing great flying. One of them is eating a huge fish on the nest with the other waiting its turn when a goshawk comes out of the forest to attack. Because the osplets can fly strong, they get away!!!!!!!!

At Field Farm, the Fab four have all fledged and everyone returns to the nest rushing as fast as they can to try and get some fish dinner!

At the SF Bay nest of Richmond and Rosie, Tully continues to hover. She now holds the record for being the longest osplet to fledge!

It will not be long until our chick at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum flies. What a gorgeous osplet.

‘H’ reports:

8/2 Colonial Beach: It’s a good thing that 39-day-old Cobey ate well yesterday, as there were no fish brought to the nest today. It was quite warm (96 F), and it was a bit windy… not a good day for fishing. It was also very concerning that Cobey was left alone in the hot sun for 9.5 hours straight. Poor lil Cobey. We assume that Betty had been trying to catch fish, and she would have had to eat if she did catch one. It should also be noted that the area is known to have many osprey nests, and the possibility of fish thievery exists. Betty did not have much of a crop when we saw her at 1850, and we noticed that she was wet. David has been inconsistent with fish deliveries even in nice weather, and we did not see him today. Weather forecast for 8/3: Partly cloudy, chance of thunderstorms, high temp 90 F, winds gusting to 22 mph.

8/2 Osoyoos osprey nest: At 0556 Olsen delivered a large headless fish. Soo fed her osplets for about 3 minutes before she decided to take the fish off nest. She returned with the slightly smaller fish about 9 minutes later and fed for an additional 19 minutes. Olsen dropped off a small headless fish at 0942, that provided for a 4-minute meal for the siblings. He brought another small partial fish at 1512, and Soo fed for 6 minutes. It was a hot day, with a temperature of 102F/39C at 1700. The last fish of the day was brought by Olsen at 1906, and it was a very small whole fish. There was a tug-o-fish between the siblings, and Chick 1 gained possession. When Chick 2 tried to take the fish from Chick 1, Chick 1 bit him on the nape of the neck. Chick 1 ate the fish in 6 minutes. The osplets are 56 and 55 days old, and they were both doing some nice wingers in the evening. News Flash: Chick 1 was hovering high out of our view a few times! Weather forecast for 8/3: Partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 100F/38C, winds 13 mph. The Facebook group Admin reminded us that it is a long holiday weekend, and there may be increased watercraft activity on the lake, potentially hindering ospreys attempting to fish.

8/2 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Everything is going well for this family. Johnny is contributing at least one fish per day. And, June was catching those huge striped bass every evening for the last two weeks. Well, that seems to have ended. For the past few days, June has been catching the large striped bass in the morning, haha! ‘Fen’ is 49 days old and has been wingercising a bit.

8/2 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: We haven’t been able to see the nest for a couple of weeks due to the camera being soiled with PS. News from the Facebook group: A local viewer, ‘YH’ was at the nest on 8/2, and was able to make a short video recording showing the presence of three osplets! Yay! So, we know that Harvie and Louise have been able to provide enough fish for their family. Thank you ‘YH’. Sorry, no images to share, the video is private. The ‘kids’ are 52, 50, and 48 days old on 8/3. There is a chance for an afternoon shower, which may help clean the camera.

Choughs breed in Kent England for the first time in 200 years! Smile.

“A young pair among eight birds released last year defied expectations to successfully breed this summer, making a nest on Dover Castle and rearing one chick, which fledged in June.”

Choughs look like a very trendy Mr Crow. They have glossy ebony plumage but it is the legs and bill that are a bright orange-red that mark them as different! Prior to this they were only known to breed along the West coast of England according to the RSPB. Aren’t they gorgeous?

“File:Red-billed Chough Sikkim India.jpg” by Dibyendu Ashis licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/02/choughs-breed-in-kent-for-first-time-in-200-years?CMP=share_btn_url

At Steelscape, the osplet that was injured has returned to the nest and appears to be healing. Send good wishes.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB, RP, TU’, Maria Marika, Pam Breci, Kielder Forest, New Hampshire Loons, Nesting Bird Life and More, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Hellgate Osprey X, Bird Cams, Doreen Mann, Balgravies Loch Ospreys, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, Bolton Castle, Clark PUD, Collins Marsh, Eschenbach Osprey Cam, Newfoundland Power, Lipka Forest Ospreys, Field Farm, SF Bay Ospreys Golden Gate Audubon, MN-LA, OpenVerse, The Guardian, RSPB, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, and Colonial Beach.

Friday in Bird World

2 August 2024

Hello Everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Food deliveries for Blue:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘RP’ found this on X. So cute.

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

Dyfi Osprey Nest.

It is precisely the same at every nest.

Glaslyn.

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

Later, other siblings want some fish, too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone is still home at Blackbush.

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

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

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

It’s very windy there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘H’ sends her reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Surviving chick at McEuen fledges…Thursday in Bird World

1 August 2024

Good Morning,

Happy August. To all those in the area of the big storms last night, I hope that you and our feathered friends in the area are safe. It is another hot day on the Canadian Prairies. 32 C. The garden is thriving, and the birds cannot stay out of the birdbath. I don’t blame them. The heat and the humidity have been challenging. I wish the nature centre stayed open past 1700. The nicest time to walk is in the early evening. Tonight, it was around the neighbourhood. One thing I missed was the sound of birds until I got closer and closer to my little haven, and there they were – hundreds singing their hearts out. My garden is their paradise. Everything is for them so nothing is tidy. The sunflowers the birds planted are growing wild, the deck is set up so that there is room for feeding in the lilacs, on the deck and the little feeder, and behind the conservatory is an area for the Crows which is being infiltrated by the Blue Jays and Squirrels. The Starlings seem to have moved now that their chicks have fledged.

As I continue to suggest that humans need to work together with wildlife, I have, at the same time, been researching birding in Nova Scotia and I came across a wonderful entry about Bald Eagles that is truly heart warming from ‘Keeping an Eagle Eye on Sheffield Mills’ in Saltscapes Magazine:

In what has become a true phenomenon, Bald eagles have been making their way to the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia to ride out the winter and to feast on handouts. Hundreds of the birds come, filling the skies like flocks of seagulls. It’s a sight to stir the soul of even the most travelled nature aficionado. Like many solitary creatures, including grizzly and polar bears, these eagles congregate in large groups near a food supply as a winter survival strategy. But in the Annapolis Valley, the plentiful food source is anything but natural. In an ironic twist, the poultry farmers of Kings County, who once regarded the eagles as deadly predators, are helping the birds claw their way back from the endangered species roster. With the encouragement of Acadia University biologists, poultry farmers began the practice in the 1970s of letting the eagles clean up the plentiful supply of dead chickens that large poultry farms are saddled with every winter. The birds relished the free chicken dinners and have come back every year for more.

The return of eagles across the Annapolis Valley marks a heartening trend across the province. No longer poisoned by DDT or shot by misinformed farmers, eagles have become a common sight in many regions in Cape Breton and northern Nova Scotia. “We’re even starting to see them more and more in southern Nova Scotia and even on Brier Island,” says Mr. Maybank. “That’s very encouraging.”

With 85 to 90 per cent of Nova Scotia’s poultry producers located in eastern Kings County, the supply of chickens shows no sign of running out. But Mr. Hennigar says that everyone is working to make sure eagles don’t become dependent on these handouts. Farmers are careful not to overdo it, giving the birds a chance to forage for themselves on warm winter days.

I am hoping that a few of those eagles will be around along with all the sea birds, the ospreys, and the shore birds when I am visiting!

This is what can happen when we join together. The chickens would have been destroyed, why not feed the eagles? Restaurant meals are dumped. Why not feed the Crows or the feral cats? Pet food is put in dumpsters when the expiration day arrives and yet it is still good. It just can’t be sold. So why not get the pet stores to donate the food to feed the feral cats? or help those who cannot afford to purchase food for their pets and are considering surrendering them? Have an hour, talk to you local pet store and see if you can help.

‘H’ reports: (Thank you!)

7/31 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was down all day until 1520. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were two large partial fish on the nest, and no one was eating. When was the last time we’ve seen two leftover fish on the nest at Osoyoos? I’ve only been watching this nest for three years, but I cannot recall it ever. We could not initially see the second leftover fish because Soo was standing on it. But, at 1539 Olsen dropped by with another partial fish. No one was interested, and he took a look at the other fish, so he left with his latest offering. It was at that point that I saw the large fish that was under Soo. They must have had a fish-filled day! Who knows why fishing had been so good. It was 94 degrees, and none of these fish were small. At 1611 Soo fed Big from the fish she was standing on until 1632, and there was still a lot of that fish remaining. At 1726 Olsen arrived with another large partial fish, and this time Middle took it from him, and ate until 1738. Meanwhile, at 1730 Soo had resumed feeding Big from her fish, but Big walked away at 1738. At 1832 Middle self-fed for 10 more minutes. Soo provided a feeding for both chicks starting at 1911. Middle quit the feeding at 1930 and Big ate until 1944. Then Soo fed Middle until 1954. Soo finished that fish herself, eating the tail at 2003. There were still two large pieces of fish on the nest. At 2007 Soo provided one last feeding for both siblings from the fish that Middle had taken from Olsen. That meal lasted until 2018, and I think they ate all of that fish. There was still a large piece of fish remaining for their breakfast. Oh my goodness! I hope the cam can stay online. The chicks are 54 and 55 days old. We will be watching for lots of wingers, with the chicks achieving higher lifts off the nest. Weather forecast for 8/1: sunny, high temp 99F/37C, winds gusting to 9 mph.

7/31 Colonial Beach: This nest can be summarized as: ‘Inconsistent’. New dad, David, is MIA from the nest again. He was last seen on cam on 7/28. He’s not really missing, because the cam owner sees him occasionally in the tree across the street eating a fish. Cobey can see him too, and calls to him. Betty has been providing all the fish the past few days. The temp today was 91 with light winds. At one point today, Betty was gone from the nest for five hours straight. Cobey had no shade from the hot sun. But, Betty is a new mom, and even when she is at the nest, she apparently doesn’t know to provide shade for her youngster. Betty finally brought a partial fish at 1700, for a feeding that lasted 18-20 minutes. 37-day-old Cobey had only one meal today, and only two meals yesterday. Weather forecast for 8/1: sunny, high temp 93, winds 9 mph.

The ospreys that have not fledged yet are getting good height and soon all of them will be airborne as the month of August is here and many will leave in early September to take to their winter homes where they will remain for two years before returning to the north.

In Finland, the oldest is getting some good height and should be fledging any day at the Janakkalan nest.

Two chicks getting fed. Parents seem to be staying around the nest. This nest has had problems with predators in the past.

The chick at Saaksilive #4 where the two other siblings were taken by the White-tailed eagle is still on the nest and doing well. It was very frightened the day of the last incident. Fingers crossed for this little sweetie to survive. It is a huge concern as the eagle lives in the forest near to the platform.

The only surviving osplet is now eating, enjoying being fed by an adult.

The heat continues in Montana.

Finn had a fish on the nest mid-morning.

Finn delivers 8 fish on Wednesday the 31st of July. He is not slacking. Everyone in his family is going to be nice and bulked up for migration! Way to go, Finn.

The Only Bob at Charlo Montana is starting to hop and flap. Will we see hovering soon?

Dunrovin Ranch, early morning.

Field Farm Dad is busy bringing in the fish with four fledglings to feed! This has been such an amazing nest to watch this year, just like Poole Harbour with its four. Can you imagine raising a nest of four osplets this year? Well, a few did and Field Farm was one of them.

All is well at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Electra and her only surviving chick that has fledged waiting for a fish delivery at Cowlitz PUD.

Mum and fledgling at the Boulder County meal got a ringside seat when staff of the county came to rescue the twelve domesticated ducks that had been left in the Cattail pond.

In another story, “Crews responding to the Stone Canyon Fire on Tuesday inadvertently dropped fire-retardant slurry into the St. Vrain Supply Canal, and the slurry has made its way into Boulder Reservoir.” While this might not pose a problem to humans other than eye irritants, the “Police added that aquatic life and wildlife may also be adversely impacted due to the concentration of the slurry.” (Daily Camera, 31 July 2024).

McEuen Park Only Surviving osplet out of four flew today for the first time and landed on the old South nest with Mum. (Thanks PB for the photo with Mum and the alert!)

Mispillion Harbour kiddos flying around as well.

Giving an osprey a wonderful second chance at life!

The hurricane force winds that hit the Missoula Montana area are now in Omaha, Nebraska as of Wednesday early evening. ‘PB’ advises that the cam at Fort Calhoun is down. We hope the ospreys are safe.(Thank you!)

Wings of Whimsy posted an annual round up of events at Decorah North and their 2023-24 season. I know that you will be more than interested if you haven’t seen this already. This amazing family had their nest and part of their tree break during bad weather and the four of them stayed together at their home. It was beautiful.

And there’s a live chat you can join about this incredible family and their year with the Raptor Resource Project coming up!

The Eastern Cattle Egret is breeding in the Middle East for the first time.

Eastern Cattle Egret breeds in Middle East for first time – BirdGuides Download

And Penguins are swimming in the Black Sea. The Penguin escaped from a private zoo. ‘TU’ writes: “Professor and Doctor of Biological Sciences Anatoly Kudakhtin, chief researcher of the Caucasian Nature Reserve and academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, noted that the Black Sea is a suitable habitat for this bird due to the abundance of fish.”

World Heritage site designation will help save migratory birds in PRC.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has designated 5 additional World Heritage sites along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Gulf of Bohai, helping migratory waterbirds across the continent.-https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/07/30/new-world-heritage-sites-in-china-help-migratory-birds/

The Centreport Eagles are having some fun.

That Dorsett Hobby is such a sweetheart.

Some footage of Richmond and Rosie together with their two osplets. It is the first time that the entire family has been caught on camera – at least to my memory so that we can see them clearly. What beautiful chicks and this light stand did turn out to be a good nesting spot. I am so happy for these two. There have been deaths and accidents at the old nest (no not always!) – it is good to have a glorious year.

‘CG’s report on HWF-BBCentral and Blue: (Thank you!)

July 31, 2024

Lots of moths flying around after dark. They’re the white blobs. Every so often Blue flinches as the fly into her. Early in the morning, they had disappeared.

There was a small food delivery around 0715 hours. Someone thought it was a bird with not much meat on it.

It turned out to be a glorious afternoon for Blue and her fans. There was a humungous food delivery in the early afternoon. It was in large pieces that looked like fish. It looked fresh and moist. She must have been so hungry and that fish so delicious that she tucked into it and kept going. I was watching on the live cam and lost count of the pieces. Someone said 12.

She spent most of the afternoon in the one back corner looking out over the countryside. Seems to be a favorite spot for contemplating. She could have been napping on and off; I couldn’t see her eyes. She also has some shade with that screen and can move to another spot on the nest if she wants some sun. She did move into the sun at one point and at around 1630 hours, she found some fish she had missed, and had a leisurely snack. Then back to contemplating.

Is that a crop I see?

She did not seem to do much wingercising today. She did do a lot of calling. I left the live cam running, and all day, every so often, I would hear her and loud adult bald eagle twittering. I never saw the adults, but they could have been perched out of cam view.

My weather forecast image in the last blog turned out as a sad miniscule square. It looked fine in the email. Maybe WordPress doesn’t like .png files. I used a different method here so it’s a .jpeg file. So, we’ll see.

That is wonderful to see that crop on Blue and it is really nice to see some cooler temperatures. Thanks, CG.

In the following posting from Geemeff there is an excellent article on why ospreys intrude on other osprey nests. Have a good read!

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust: (Thank you!)

Daily summary Wednesday 31st July 2024

The big news for today is that there is no news! No Ospreys were seen on either nest today, and the only activity was visits from some little birds. Pleasant weather today, but light rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.55.17 (03.53.23); Nest Two 22.56.40 (04.13.37)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/0pQQIotNUsM N1 Various little birds visit the nest 09.50.27

https://youtu.be/dJAmVH178r8 N1 A juvenile Robin fiddles with the nest furnishings 10.59.11

https://youtu.be/irAW6knurFY N2 A pair of juvenile Bullfinches investigate the empty nest 19.17.24

Bonus read – why do Ospreys intrude on established nests?

https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2022/05/intruder-series-ospreys/

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

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

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care and remember to get those notes in telling me – and all of us – what it was that put a smile on your face this year. It can be eagle season, hawk, falcon, stork, osprey – whatever. Just in the midst of saddness I know that there were some of the happinest moments. We don’t want to forget them. I will be publishing the list in a week, Wednesday, the 7th of August.

Thank you to the following for their observation reports, comments, notes, videos, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, Saltscapes Magazine, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Field Farm, MN-LA ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County, Daily Camera, McKuen Park, Heidi McGrue, Medina Raptor Centre, Pam Breci, Wings of Whimsy, Trudi Kron, BirdGuides, Birdlife International, Bald Eagles of Centreport, Dorsett Hobby, SF Bay Ospreys by Golden Gate Audubon, HWF-BBCentral, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust.

Wednesday in Bird World

31 July 2024

Good Morning,

Tomorrow is the first of August! The summer is absolutely flying by. Today’s report from my end – not those great folks that send me news on specific nests they are monitoring – is a bit brief. I spent a lovely afternoon in the park yesterday despite the 31 C heat. There was a lovely breeze and it was simply wonderful to hear the sounds of children’s voices splashing in a pool. A grandfather and his two grandchildren asked to share my picnic table. The children were so cute. One asked if I would like one of their ‘Bear Paws’ – a soft chocolate cookie. Yummy.

The correct cable arrived and now we can have some images of the garden friends from the better camera.

Is this just the most gorgeous Crow? I am finally beginning to be able to tell the new babies – not baby size – by their shape and personalities.

Its sibling was down on the top of the Weeping Caragana.

One of the siblings is very ‘tall and thin’ compared to the others.

They seem to have very different personalities, too. Gosh, they are wonderful. As are the Blue Jays!

There are six baby Blue Jays. Three were on the big tray feeder.

One wasn’t sure it would like beets and rice as much as the Crows!

The other two were on the deck amidst the seeds and sparrows.

There are hundreds of lively sparrows everywhere.

The squirrels habe been busy both Dyson kits and the Reds.

‘J’ wrote to ask me if the Tortilla Bird counts for happy moments. Yes, every bird counts! Every one of them. Put them on your happiness list. They don’t need to be on streaming cams.

Yesterday, a question from another reader : “So where is the food? Why aren’t the parents delivering food like we have seen on other nests? I wish that the there was a forum that would discuss this.” should have appeared at the top of CG’s report on Blue at HWF-BBCentral as a lead into their story. It remains unclear to me how this worked its way into that report! ‘CG’ certainly knows there is a forum. Apologies all around for any confusion or angst.

Here is CG’s report for Blue for 30 July (Thanks, CG):

Blue started the day by being a wet bird. Rain had been forecast for today.

She started out by working on some old food and came back to it about 4 hours later. She spent her day doing eaglet things like wingercising a number of times, stretching, preening, standing around, and poking around.

Blue looking pretty sleek here. It was around 1200 hours and she was surveying the scene and preening on and off.

Screenshot 2024-07-30 at 12.53.24 PM.jpg

Looks like getting some height here with her wingercising.

Food delivery by parent around 1630 hours. Blue, by the way, is good at mantling.

Half an hour later, another food delivery. One of the larger deliveries. She left only a small piece.

At about 2000 hours, she was lying on the nest. I left her looking out over the countryside at 2117 hours.

Weather forecast for Delta for the rest of the week. I have come to appreciate cams that show the weather in a corner.

Geemeff brings us some really good news from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust (Thanks, Geemeff):

Daily summary Tuesday 30th July 2024

The highlight of today was the welcome return of Louis, last seen on the 25th. He spent over two hours on Nest Two, perching on Dorcha’s perch then flying down to do some nest cupping, before departing. Nest Two had another visitor – Affric 152 made a surprise visit, just a brief touchdown really before flying off again. No sign of Dorcha, last seen on the 27th, or Garry LV0, last seen yesterday. No visitors to Nest One although a Wood Pigeon did a fast flypast caught on nest cam. Itziar Colodro from Fundación Migres gave us an update on 1JW and safety measures in the translocation area, see bonus section. The weather was settled, tonight’s forecast is a pleasant partly cloudy with a gentle breeze and a low of 9°c, and tomorrow promises to be dry and sunny with a high of 19°c.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.54.55 (04.12.32); Nest Two 22.52.04 (04.27.02)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/04rKdVyEFzc N1 Which grey bird does a fast flypast? 07.40.03 (slo-mo repeat with zoom)

https://youtu.be/CzIH1toDNCU N2 Affric pays a quick visit 10.56.22 (slo-mo repeat with zoom)

https://youtu.be/PWlcQcKRdf8 N2 Louis arrives! Great to see him after a few days absence 11.06.50

https://youtu.be/QprHdPaZKDw N2 Louis returns for a second, much longer visit 11.31.18 (zoom)

Bonus info on safety measures for Ospreys in the Spanish translocation area, and update on 1JW (thanks Itzy):

Update on 1JW:

I have received lovely updates from Itziar Colodro about our surviving chick 1JW. She works for the Fundación Migres but has a much earlier connection to Loch Arkaig – a chick from a nest on private land, ringed JH3 in 2017 and named Pean (‘cousin’ if you like to our first Arkaig chick from new pair Aila & Louis, ringed JH4 and named Lachlan), didn’t migrate very far and took up residence in her area in Spain. There were a lot of photographers in that area and he became quite famous until sadly he was electrocuted on a faulty power line in 2018. Itzy was instrumental in getting the utility companies to act to ensure the safety of the birds.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-46952452

After Itzy posted on Adam’s site Walking With Daddy / Osprey, I mentioned her work with the utility companies after the loss of JH3, and got this response:

Your words have really moved me🥹, because I have not forgotten JH3 either, that wonderful animal did not deserve that ending. Thanks to him, hundreds of electrical towers were corrected and are now safe for all birds of prey. In fact, we have built a nest for Ospreys since the entire power line was gone. Now it’s a very good and safe place for Ospreys.

Updating: 1JW is adapting great to the environment. It is an honor to be able to take care of him (and his brother 1JR). Loch Arkaig has meant a lot to me for many years you know. I hope I will soon visit that area, where I feel united with all my heart since many year ago. Thanks to you and your support and effort for the conservation of this wonderful species🦅🫂

https://walkingwithdaddy.com/osprey/?ht-comment-id=15511015 (click on ‘see parent comment’ and you can read the whole thread)

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

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

‘H’ brings us up to date on a few of the nests she is monitoring (Thanks, H):

7/31 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: The camera view became partially obscured about two weeks ago from PS (forceful elimination) from the chicks, and our view has been almost totally obscured for the last week. The camera is positioned low, and it has a history of being hit with PS. Last year we got lucky, and Banff’s and JJ’s aim was off, and they couldn’t manage to hit the camera! The chicks are 49, 47, and 45 days old. Occasionally a chatter will remark that they think they see some wingers being performed, or we can listen for screaming and watch for moving shadows indicating that a fish may have arrived at the nest. Prior to the camera becoming soiled, we knew that family life was going very well. There were plenty of fish being brought to the nest, mainly from Harvie, but some from Louise as well. There had not been a lot of sibling rivalry and aggression, and the chicks all looked very healthy. A chatter that lives nearby has visited the nest a couple of times, and reports seeing the heads of two chicks each time she has visited. Should we be worried that only two have been seen? Or is it just the limited view when our BOG has been there? The BOG spotter has not been able to get a good elevated view of the nest due to restricted areas nearby. There have been reports that river and lake levels are low in Alberta, due to a significantly reduced snowpack last winter, and because of the heat and drought this summer. Is it possible that Harvie and Louise have not been able to catch enough fish to support three growing chicks? We simply do not know. The chicks are approaching an age where they will be ready to fledge soon. Pray for rain to help relieve the drought and clean the camera !!!

7/30 Captiva osprey nest: Even though live streaming from the camera has ended for the season, the Mods and others continue to have viewing access. Yesterday Ann P. reported seeing Jack at the nest. He still has the ‘spike’ going through the skin of his left leg, but he is alive and looks well. Jack was a phenomenal mate and dad this season. We are thrilled to see him. Photo courtesy Ann P. NOTE – FOR SOME REASON THE IMAGE WILL NOT ‘STAY’ ON THIS PROGRAMME. IT KEEPS DISAPPEARING.

7/30 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: Mom stopped at the nest for just a few seconds. We had not seen her since 7/18, the day before the cam went down for 5 days.

7/30 Osoyoos osprey nest: We had a short viewing day, as the cam went offline at 1215. Olsen brought the first fish at 0536, and he just so happened to drop it right at Middle’s feet. Middle strongly mantled over his/her prize and probably could not believe his good fortune. Big did not make a strong bid to take the fish from Middle. Middle ate for 20 minutes before s/he relinquished the fish to Big. Dad dropped off another fish at 0557. Big abandoned the fish she was eating to join in on the feeding from Soo. Both siblings were fed during that 10-minute meal, and then Big resumed eating her earlier fish.

‘PB’ brings us up to date on what is going on at The Port of Ridgefield (Thanks, PB).

‘PB’ also caught two of the fledglings on the Steelscape nest that has been so harassed. Hoping to see the fledgling with the injuries.

‘PB’s other report is that the McEuen female was feeding her hick with a male at the nest. The male has been missing for over a month and during that time three of the four chicks died from starvation. Is this the mate of the female or another male? It is unclear.

Good news coming out of Steelscape.

I remain so excited for the two osplets growing up in Latvia. They are not quite ready to fledge, but the two osplets on the Latvian nest in the Kurzema Forest are doing splendidly. It is believed there are approximately 200 osprey couples breeding in the forests of this beautiful country.

Gorgeous fledgling at the Mlade Buky nest of Bety and Bukacek.

Snow Lane, Newfoundland. Hope and Beaumont. Incredible season with this family. I never thought it would happen – checking on Hope and finding her often feed her chicks. Amazing, in fact.

It is raining at Hellgate Canyon. Iris and her two osplets look beautiful even soaking wet. Iris and her family are not out of the woods from the heat. It is going to return but they have ‘made it’ through several weeks of scorching weather and a huge storm and they have survived. It is at the top of my happiness list for sure. The image below is, to me, simply a miracle. I never thought I would live to see Iris raise a family again. But it happened. Miracles do happen.

Finnegan is working hard for his family!

That is a gorgeous osplet at Charlo, too. What is their weather going to be like? Ah, the same as Iris! A bit cooler and then gradually getting hotter.

It has been raining on the only chick at Dunrovin Ranch, too.

At Collins Marsh in Wisconsin, there are three well-fed, healthy, fully feathered osplets wanting to fly and they are going to do it any day now!

Family portrait at Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum. That chick is like the ones at Collins Marsh – ready and wanting to fly.

A fledgling with a fish meal and a Hooded Crow hoping for some leftovers at the German nest, BUND Goitzsche-Wildnis.

Marder’s Osprey Platform on Long Island has a chick that wants to fledge, too. It likes to still be fed, too.

At Manton Bay, Blue 33 has been bringing fish to the nest and sometimes Maya is there or flies in to grab them. Sometimes the fledgling is there. Nice to know that all three are still in the area.

It was a sad year for the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland. To be sure, though, we were blessed and so was Blue NCO, that the eggs did not hatch before Laddlie LM12 was killed. She has been at the nest with the dark osprey male. We will have to wait and see what transpires next March – but it looks like Blue NCO has, for now, held on to her beautiful nest.

Waiting for fish at Llyn Brenig!

Idris has been working over time at the Dyfi Osprey Platform feeding his chicks. He brought four fish to the nest in less than an hour.

You might be used to the Bald Eagles cutting back on prey but the osprey parents will keep this food coming so that the chicks can bulk up for migration. They are not yet fishing. Indeed, many will only catch their first fish while they are travelling south to their winter grounds. The parents, mostly the male, will work hard to get them in top shape for this journey. Then the male will remain for a few days to get strong, too (sometimes not – they leave right about the time of the kids) while Mum left earlier.

Well, if this doesn’t make your heart race!!!!!!!! We should never count the ospreys ‘out’. We might not ‘see’ them but this doesn’t mean they have met their demise. This is a great story.

‘J’ sent me the following image of the Centreport Eagles. It comes from the Bald Eagles 101 FB page she notes (Thanks, J).

It looks like theya re trying to take every last fish that an osprey could eat in Chesapeake Bay. This makes me so angry. If you take Omega supplements, or eat farmed/battery chickens or farmed salmon – that is where these fish so vital to our ospreys – are going!

It is your last day to vote on the names for Iris and Finnegan’s kids. Go to the Montana Osprey Cams FB and click on the image. Please vote.

And ‘J’ sends us the latest update on NOX:

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

Thank you to the following for their observations, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, CG and HWF-BBCentral cam and Forum, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, H and Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, and Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Pam Breci and Port of Ridgefield, Steelscape, and McEuen Park, LDF, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, Newfoundland Power, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cams, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Collins Marsh, MA-LN, Goitzsche-Wildnis, Marder’s, LRWTm The Scottish Wildlife Trust and LOTL, Llyn Brenig, Dyfi Osprey Project, Faye Hill, and J and Centrepoint Eagles,Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, and The California Raptor Centre.

Tuesday in Bird World

30 July 2024

Hell Everyone!

Oh, it was a beautiful day in Manitoba. Not too hot and there was a bit of a breeze. Even better to celebrate my daughter’s birthday albeit some days late. She is getting ready to head to Carnival in Grenada and a nice beach holiday for a month. Fantastic.

It was also a beautiful day in the garden. It is filling out all over. It was lovely to hear someone describe it was ‘paradise’. I hope it is for all the animals that live there.

I seem to be suffering from the summer ‘tireds’. Do you ever get that?

The Girls have been having a whale of a time watching the birds and other garden animals, and today, we caught The Boyfriend coming in for a meal. He has really been a concern as I have not seen him during the day. So I checked the front door security camera, and there he is—’pet’—coming in the night and wee hours of the early morning while I am still snuggled up with Hugo Yugo.

Calico is just so beautiful. This time last year, she was running to our house to eat and was quickly back caring for her kitten/s two blocks away under the deck of a house. I thank my lucky stars every day that she chose us. It will be a year since she moved into the house on August 28. Five days later, her only surviving kitten, Hope (aka Kitty Kitty), came to our deck to eat, and we were able to trap her and get her inside. Last night I took the walk that we made trying to find her just to remind myself again – and again – how grateful I am to have these wonderful animals gracing my life. They sure give me more than I can ever give to them!

Oh, and Calico has a tip for everyone who has cats. Those bowls that are elevated and tilt a little bit really work. Even the pickiest of the four, Hope, finishes up all her food.

Missey and Calico are getting along better.

Hugo Yugo is a force to herself and Baby Hope wouldn’t let me take her photo today.

Oh, Hope did stay still long enough! She is staring at Calico who is on top of the cat tree. Calico is swishing her tail – she wants to have a good play fight. Hope doesn’t seem interested.

Calico teasing with the tail.

Out in Bird World. There are intruders everywhere. Some of them are former fledglings returning to their natal nest. Some are ospreys beginning to move south and stopping over.

In many instances, everything goes well. ‘Hey Mum, I just stopped in to say hello!’ might be what Teifi would say to Idris and Telyn. Others are chasing this year’s fledglings off the nest. Some are vicious in their attacks, such as those at Patuxent. Sadly, it is what happens this time of year along with predation – those pesky eagles and goshawks wait til the chicks are nice and plump before they go to the nest, especially in Finland. We must breathe and continue to be thankful for those who have survived this year – for all the miracles that have put a smile on our faces.

Thank you to those that have already sent in wonderful lists of the events with the eagles, the hawks, the falcons, and the ospreys (and others) that put a smile on their face. Please send me your list. I will publish these next week!

What are you grateful for today in BirdWorld? I am grateful to wake up and see the fledgling Yellow USU is alive. (See video later in blog)

I am also wondering if this is our dear Louis who has landed on the Loch Arkaig 2 nest at 1156? If it is, it has been five full days since he has been seen and this would make me cry bucks of happy tears. I have written to Geemeff for confirmation as their are floaters out there at almost every nest.

Before I go on I want to thank those that keep an eye on nests. Heidi can call herself a real osprey expert these days but she is humble enough and will say, like Ferris Akel, that she ‘isn’t’. I am grateful to those community members who are keen watchers of nests and keep an eye on everything that happens that send in reports to me to share with you – A, CG, MM, PB, AM, MP, SP, Geemeff. So many of you. Thank you. It is impossible to have eyes on all the nests!

I missed CG’s report on Blue at the HWF-BBC nest for Monday so I am including it today. Thanks, CG!

“It’s 2210 hours here on the West Coast, Sunday, 7/28.

A parent showed up early this morning, around 0630 hours, with a food delivery. Blue also nibbled on leftovers. The leftovers seem to be tough. Blue spent the day periodically nibbling on leftovers, wingercising, hopping, napping, and looking out over the countryside. At 1900 hours, Blue was calling and a parent appeared with food. This seemed a larger piece than others that I have seen. I have a hard time seeing the food on the nest—maybe because it’s so small and blends into the nest material?

I’m no expert, but even though food is coming in, I’m used to seeing way larger pieces. I watched eagle nests with lone eaglets earlier this year and when a parent brought in a fish, you could tell it was a fish, or if it was a rodent, it had legs and a tail. The little Dorset Hobby in England currently on YouTube is receiving larger meals than Blue (and more often too!).

Happy Birthday Blue❣ Blue is 3 months old today. 🐟🐡”

July 29:

Blue and I woke up to rain. I am just learning about eagles like the rest of us, I am not an expert but someone who is watching and concerned for Blue. She woke up to rain; I woke up and it had already rained. She was a little wet, but maybe it feels good after all that heat. I don’t know if the shade is waterproof. Later in the day, Mere was looking quite bedraggled. She seems to perch often on the south perch.

Parent in with a fish around 0700 hours. I can actually see it and recognize it as a fish!

She horked most of the fish down in one go.

Blue needs way more food; I have learned that eagles need at least 350 grams of food per day up to 550 grams depending on their age. I was also reminded that this food needs to be nourishing, not skin and bones! Like us, blue needs enough food to grow strong bones and muscles, healthy feather growth, and energy. So where is the food? Why aren’t the parents delivering food like we have seen on other nests? I wish that the there was a forum that would discuss this.

Food delivery 7/27, if you can see it! Where’s the rest of whatever it is?

7/28: Largest piece of food that I’ve seen the past few days. Thought to be fish. My question is “Where’s the rest of it?” I’ve seen other eagle parents bring in whole fish to feed one eaglet. I’ve seen chicklets fed more food than this!

Also, if/when she fledges, she will need parental support providing her with food while she practices hunting. I do not even want to go there at this point.

Around 1130 hours, picked at yesterday’s leftover chunk of food/fish but didn’t really eat any. That continued throughout the day.

At 1900 hours, an adult brought food. Have no idea what it was. To me, it looks like scraps left from an adult’s meal. The only thing I have recognized so far was the fish this morning. I’m used to seeing food with legs and tails or a whole fish.

I have to give Blue credit for her continual wingercising. She was been doing a lot of wingercising throughout the day. Don’t know what anyone thinks about the condition of her feathers. When I initially saw Blue, my first thought was “what raggy feathers.” I know I’m not alone. To me, she always looks like she went through a hedge backwards. I have a medium-length-hair cat like that. His sister never has a hair out of place. I don’t know if part of this has to do with camera resolution. I’m used to looking at Jackie and Shadow with state of the art cameras, It’s like looking at their feathers under a microscope. And no, I’m not knocking Hancock’s cameras. I know these cameras are expensive so you buy what you can afford, and it also depends upon your purpose. I think I read that these cameras are good for about 5 years. On top of that there is continual maintenance. All in all, we are lucky we are able to view these nests.

I’m thinking Blue is one of those that Mary Ann talks about—they want to survive, and they fight against all odds for their survival.

We’re here cheering you on Blue. Take it a day at a time, keep up with that wingercising, and fledge when YOU feel you are ready.”

‘H’ reports:

7/29 Osoyoos osprey nest: I only saw three fish brought to the nest. It was not a very hot day, but winds were gusting to 18 mph in the afternoon. At 0534 Olsen dropped off a large partial fish, and Big took it to self-feed. Soo allowed Big to work on it for about 24 minutes before she took the fish to provide a feeding. At that point Middle ate for 6 minutes before Big joined in, and the sibs ate peacefully for the next 7 minutes. Then, Olsen delivered a whole fish at 0622. Soo fed, and once again it was a peaceful and seemingly equitable meal lasting 9 minutes. At 1043 Olsen brought a very large partial fish. Soo started her feeding, but was distracted and flew off with the fish at 1046. There may have been an intruder about. She did not return to the nest with the fish until 1057, but then she resumed feeding. Both osplets had a nice meal, and the total feeding time was around 31 minutes. Of note today was the wingercising. The osplets are 51 and 52 days old, and both of them were doing some impressive wingers with hops. At 1634 Big achieved several inches of lift off the nest! Weather forecast for 7/30: Partly cloudy, high temp 84F/29C, light winds.

7/29 Colonial Beach Osprey nest: Young 35-day-old Cobey is looking really good. Yesterday David delivered all four fish to the nest, but apparently today it was Betty’s turn, and she brought all four of the fish to the nest. That arrangement works fine, as long as David doesn’t go MIA again. The weather is warming up again in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a high of 88 on 7/30, and gradually becoming warmer throughout the week. Winds will gust to 17 mph on 7/30.

7/29 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: We only had one sighting of an osprey today. At 0816 Dad brought a partial fish to the nest. Since no one arrived to take it, Dad flew off with the fish. Stay safe, osprey family. We miss you, and we are thinking of you.

7/29 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): This will sound like a broken record, but this is the most amazing daily story at this nest… There were no fish at all brought to the nest on 7/29, and we didn’t see Johnny. The weather was not too hot, but it was a windy day. Poor ‘Fen’ had nothing to eat. And then, there it was… At 1745 June arrived with her daily huge live striped bass! I smiled and laughed, why had I even been worried? Those big bass are quite strong when they are flopping about, and it seems that Fen has learned to tuck and stay away until Mom gets the fish under control. Fen is 45 days old. (I think these fish are striped bass, but if anyone knows otherwise, please kindly let Mary Ann know)

7/29 Forsythe osprey nest: Larry is 69 days old, and fledged two weeks ago. The past few days there have been fewer fish brought to the nest for Larry. In fact there was only one partial fish today, and it was brought by Opal. Perhaps Larry has had some meals away from the nest. Well, the most interesting thing happened this afternoon… At 1708 Larry brought a large turtle to the nest. This is the first time we have seem him carrying anything in his talons. He toyed with the turtle a bit, but did not spend much time with it, and Larry soon flew away. The turtle had its head and legs all tucked away, so we didn’t know if it was alive. Well, at 2032 Mr. Turtle suddenly ‘came alive’, walked around in circles a bit, then promptly walked right off the nest! The nest is a typical man-made marsh platform, so not being very high, Mr. Turtle was probably okay.

At Sandpoint, we have a family portrait – Keke, Keo, and River. River is enjoying a nice fish meal fromm Mum. Look at the size of River to Keke. Could River be a girl? Gosh, I wish they would ring these osplets at the streaming cam nests!

At Oyster Bay, all three fledglings are home for the night with Mum perched keeping an eye.

Both fledglings hanging out at the nest in Patchogue during a thunderstorm on Monday.

Blue 022 is still busy making sure those four fledglings at Poole Harbour have enough fish! CJ7 will be trying to fatten up for her long migration. Blue 022 will stay on and take care of the kids. Normally, the female leaves first and the male leaves last.

At Saaksilvie Muonion, the family of four is doing well – Aile & Juhu, along with Kajo and Lumi. Nice fish have come to the nest, and interesting twigs offer great camouflage, and the osplets are keeping down. Does this nest also have intruders about?

Surviving osplet at Saaksilvie #4- Yellow USU – is getting fish deliveries from Mum.

Chicks at Blackbush Beach Resort are itching to fly. They are beauties.

I just caught the morning fish at McEuen Park. Baby has a full crop and Mum is getting to enjoy some nice fish. They have survived. She lost three but she has one that is on track to fledge.

Cowlitz PUD fledgling returns to the nest for fish dinners. All is well.

Intruders at the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland. There are intruders everywhere and our adults and fledglings are getting injured. This is the best year for Hope and Beaumont. Send them your good wishes so that the entire family is safe and well fed.

I have been checking on Hope and the chicks at Snow Lane and everything seems good. These are two beautiful osplets and how could we not be over the moon for this couple? They should ring the bells in Newfoundland. Miracles happen.

Crows are being pesky and not so nice to Australian ospreys.

This is how lucky Iris, Finn, and the two osplets were doing that storm. Have a read.

The only surviving chick at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest looks like it is going to fledge any day. It is getting bigger and bigger but not as big as Mum. A little boy?

Winnie and her baby at Dunrovin Ranch look out to the world below with all the horses.

Geemeff’s summary of Loch Arkaig for the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 29th July 2024

Another day with no sign of Louis or Dorcha, but once again Garry LV0 and Affric 152 visited Nest One, two visits from Garry LV0 and one from Affric 152, no fish were brought today. A Wood Pigeon was the only other visitor. LizB gave us another update on Affric’s nest at Bunarkaig:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15508869.

The forecasted rain materialised, tonight’s forecast is light clouds and light winds with a chance of rain, but tomorrow’s looks more promising with sunny intervals and a gentle breeze.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.45.51 (04.24.09); Nest Two 22.38.14 (04.30.25)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/ZozTNcuC3a0 N1 Garry LV0 arrives alarm-chipping 15.00.53

https://youtu.be/7vYMN9QOr90 N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 when he returns to the nest 15.35.54

https://youtu.be/VDKpq9TtiJk N1 A Wood Pigeon perches for a little while 18.43.18

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

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

We hope that Louis and Dorcha are off at another loch filling up on fish, getting strong and gaining some fat for their migration south. Without chicks, they can leave any time. And isn’t it great that the surviving osplet in Spain fledged? Just wonderful.

At the Dorest Hobby nest, ‘SP’ reports that the little Hobby had the following meals and is doing well: “…a decent breakfast at 7:57, then dragonflies at 14:58, 15:53, 16:07, 16:15, 16:36, and 4 more before a wee bird was brought for tea at 19:35. Followed by yet another dragonfly!”

Captive breeding is helping the Condor population and it is bringing the Guam Kingfisher back from near extinction.

Extinct-in-the-wild Guam Kingfisher hatches in captivity – BirdGuides Download

If you missed the dawn duet from the Olympic Park Eagles, here you go! My favourite time is when the eaglets are old enough to join in with their parents. So cute.

The Canadian company, Omega, is still trying to take every last Menhaden out of the Bay so that the whales, dolphins, and ospreys (amongst others) starve.

Osprey doing well at A Place Called Hope (one of the absolute best rehabbers in the US).

Iris, Finn, and the kids are looking good. Soon we will know their names. Did you vote?

Iris’s older chick is now self-feeding. It won’t be long til the Little one is trying it out.

Still warm at Charlo.

The Charlo chick is sure working those wings. No hovering but certainly some good wingers.

‘PB’ reports that there is still tension from intruders at the Steelscape osprey platform in Washington. The intruder took the beak of the fledgling that has an injury and was also thought to be pulling out feathers. The chick did get away.

All is well at the McEuen Park Osprey platform.

Skylarks. You might only know them because they were once a model of an American car company but they are, indeed, a wonderful songbird.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/25/country-diary-watching-a-skylark-watching-me?CMP=share_btn_url

But Skylarks have made The Red List! According to the RSBP, “The Skylark is a small brown bird, larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest – which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed – and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge which is visible in flight. It’s known for its display flight, vertically up in the air. Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red List species.”

“Skylark (Explored)” by tsbl2000 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In her entry for the Skylark in Red Sixty-Seven, Ann Cleeves describes the flight of the male Skylark. ” It rises almost vertically from the ground, then hovers effortlessly, sometimes for an hour or more, before plunging back to earth. It’s a tragedy that this iconic bird is under threat. It’s endangered because its habitat ranges beyond the moors and into the cultivated farmland. The spread of intensive agriculture has limited the species’ opportunities for breeding.” (86)

Two of Nova Scotia’s fledglings, Skylor and Heidi. Posts show that other osplets are fledging in Nova Scotia as I write! They had a good year. Everyone should be celebrating the great success of their nests.

I sure hope these two are around in a little over a fortnight. I would love to see them when I am in Nova Scotia.

Another good news story to make us smile.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/the-flow-country-recognised-as-world-heritage-site-in-a-first-for-unesco

Richmond and Rosie’s kids, Pax and Tully, are flying around the light pole. Gosh I miss them being on camera at the Whirly Crane.

Remember – vote for the name selections for Iris and Finn’s kids!

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon! Remember to send in those lists of the wonders and the miracles of the 2023-24 eagle/osprey/falcon/hawk, etc breeding season! What put a smile on your face instead of a tear in your eye?

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, observations, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, PB, SP’, Jeff Kear, Finnish Osprey Foundation, The Woodland Trust, HWF-BBC, Sandpoint Ospreys, PSEG, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, McEuen Park, Blackbush Beach Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Ian L Winter, Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Raptor View Research Institute, MN-LA, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Dorsett Hobby, BirdGuides, Menhaden-Little Fish-Big Deal, Olympic Park Eagles, A Place Called Hope, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Steelscape Ospreys, The Guardian, OpenVerse, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Forsythe, Colonial Beach Ospreys, the RSPB, Golden Gate Audubon, Mary Anne Miller.

Monday in Bird World

29 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

We hope that you had a really lovely weekend. I have been busy taking photographs of the six Blue Jays in the garden along with Dyson and family and all the baby sparrows. And today, there will be time to go and get a new cable to connect the camera to the computer so I can show you this week. All of the garden animals are fine. The Girls are actually enjoying a new furniture arrangement in the conservatory and today they are waiting for a family birthday party where they will get some treats!

I want to start with some really good news from the Los Angeles Zoo, which was reported in The Guardian. A record number of condors have hatched in captivity. This is just the best!

‘Nature’s clean–up crew’: record-setting 17 condor chicks hatch at LA Zoo | California | The Guardia Download

Question from ‘RP and VS’ – Crows and Cheesy Dogs. What are they? Where do I get them? As I answer this, a Blue Jay is jumping around near a huge plate of cheesy dogs and chicken weiners and Mr Crow is flying in to get his share as well.

Well, Crows like meat. It is a bad thing if you are Vegan or a Vegetarian which seems to run in my family. So we giggle when we are in the check out line at the shops – hoping no one sees us. We have a very discounted grocery near us. They sell chicken hotdogs in 3 kg packages. These are just plain ones, and the Crows love them. We slice them into thin disks and pile them on a big plate. The Crows devour them. They have a very strong smell – . The Blue Jays love them, too, and so do the Starlings. Now for the cheesy dogs – they are a smoked sausage like weiner with cheese injected in them. Sometimes, they even have Jalapeno pepper flakes. They love these. Again, sliced thin. Some places call these Smokies. They remind me of European hot dogs or sausages. The Crows also love hard-boiled eggs, Chinese chicken balls, etc. BUT they won’t touch chicken strips from certain companies. It is like they are too processed. How could that be different from the chicken hot dogs? We also put out small pieces of fruit for them. I know that your specific question was about the cheesy dogs, but we keep leftovers and I have places that keep their food at the end of the day that can’t be given to humans. That is how I know they love Chinese chicken balls with sauce! They will also eat pizza (the local shop is good to save the food) and we cut it into small pieces. I don’t like giving them bread. It reminds me of the ducks and geese that get Angel Wing. Perhaps it is alright for the songbirds and Crows – I should do some research!

Oh, I do love these garden visitors. We have also discovered that the songbirds like different types of seed and suet. Sometimes you have to experiment. Brands may lok the same but the birds in my garden will not touch a certain brand of suet and they prefer, above everything else, Black Oil Seed. Some won’t eat millet while the Dark-eyed Juncos devour the stuff. Just get a little bit at first and test it on who is coming to your garden.

Be sure to clean your feeders and bird baths regularly. I have been using a vegetable brush on the bird baths because of the hot and the algae issues.

Today was a particularly quiet day. I did not spend much of it watching the nests. The last couple of weeks took the wind out of my sails. Instead, I continued to enter data into the forms for the nests in Nova Scotia, some in Norway, and a handful from my own province. I had hoped to get us up to 500 eggs that were monitored during the 2024 osprey season and it looks like we are going to make it! Tragedies in one region are off-set by successes elsewhere. I wonder how 2024 will compare to 2023? We wait to see.

A quick run through of some nests:

Dorsett Hobby: The only surviving eyas is just rather wet today! There is some concern for the little Hobby. ‘SP’ follows this nest closely and says that it has little attention form Mum in the last 36 hours. She has made Dorsett Hobby aware of the concerns – let us hope Mum brings in more food and stays with the little one although she could be perched on a nearby tree and we are not seeing her.

#1 Finland. Everything is OK.

#2 Nova Scotia. Both of Ethel and Oscar’s chicks, Skylor and Heidi, have now fledged. Heidi flew on Sunday with Skylor taking his wings on Saturday. (Photo by Don Dennis)

Right now the temperature in Nova Scotia is 30 degrees C. They have just finalised their listing of ospreys and they have sixty (60) this year. That is a fantastic survival rate per nest – in fact, most nests I am told, did not lose a single chick! Well done, Canada.

Hellgate Canyon: Just look at how big that oldest chick is? Almost as big as Mama Iris! The question is – where is Finnegan? where are the fish? Did I miss deliveries in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon? It looks like Iris has gone out on her own. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Check out the snake eyes on these two kids of Iris and Finn! These are just the most gorgeous osplets. Finn and Iris have made two beautiful babies.

Finn apparently chased Louis off the Owl Pole and it appears he told him in no uncertain terms to ‘get out of Dodge’. And then Iris and Finn defended the nest against an intruder which was possibly Louis checking out what was going on. Since his chicks fledged, it seems he has some time on his hands. Let’s hope he stays away.

Finn eating a much wanted fish by Iris and the kids.

Iris and her train.

Finn got that whopper, minus its head, to Iris and the kids. She waited rather impatiently.

They are having a feast!

It took some time to get fish on the nest today and the oldest has decided to be a bit of a ….. No worries. There is enough fish for three or four nests. That was a whopper. Iris will make sure both are fed.

And she did!

Llyn Brenig: Emrys fledged on Sunday!

Poland Black Stork Nests: Maria Marika has posted saying that none of the four Black Storks fitted with a transmitter in 2023 and ringed are alive. Sad day for their community. Details on individual storks will be provided on the Memorial Wall in coming days.

‘H’ reports on Patuxent River Park happenings:

Patuxent River Park:

Rewind: On 7/25, two significant events happened less than 20 minutes apart. At 1444 there was an adult intruder on the nest when one of the resident juveniles flew in and attempted to land. The intruder jumped up to intercept the juvie and struck her just as her talons hit the nest. The younger osprey was knocked backwards and fell down below the nest. The nest is only ten feet higher than the level of the marsh. We soon knew that the juvenile osprey had been Big. The intruder flew away after that assault. Nineteen minutes later, Middle was in the nest when Dad flew in with a large goldfish. The intruder landed almost immediately behind Dad and tried to grab the fish. Dad attempted to defend, but to no avail. The intruder had possession of the goldfish with Middle still attached and the intruder fell/flew off the nest. Middle returned to the nest. Soon after that, we started to intermittently hear rustling and flapping coming from below the nest. There was obviously an injured osprey below the nest. Hours passed, and as high tide approached, the flapping sounded like it was in water rather than just the vegetation. Who was down there? Was it Big? Was it the intruder? We have never seen Big again after she was knocked off the nest that afternoon. By late evening, we no longer heard the flapping. At 1100 am the following morning, the park staff searched, but did not find an osprey below the nest.

Fast forward to 7/28: Middle was the only fledgling that we were still seeing at the nest. Oh boy, did Dad ever take care of his girl today! Dad brought six fish to Middle. There were five fish delivered to the nest between 0641 and 0846! We didn’t think she could do it, but Middle ate all of those fish. Have you ever seen an osprey grinning from ear to ear?

Middle was in and out a bit, enjoying her day. An adult intruder landed in the nest at 1220, and Middle soon arrived to shoo the visitor away. At 1338 a visiting juvenile osprey arrived at the nest. After several minutes, Middle flew in, there was a fight, and they both went overboard. The wayward juvie returned to the nest. Middle soon arrived and literally gave the juvie the boot, with a karate kick! After that, the visiting juvie decided not to return.

Dad delivered a huge whole fish to Middle at 1650. Middle ate and ate, but she had to take breaks to rest and digest, so her fish meal was lasting a long time. At 1851 Middle was still in possession of a large piece of fish when she was dive-bombed by an adult osprey. A couple minutes later the intruder landed in the nest, but was repelled by Middle. We could tell that the intruder kept landing on the camera, and at 1856 it dive bombed Middle again. But then, things seemed to calm down, and by 1914 Middle resumed eating her fish. At 1922 and 1923 the intruder returned and landed in the nest, but was forced off both times by Middle. At 1924 the intruder flew in very fast, grabbed Middle on her upper back and dragged her backwards off the nest. We heard her hit the marsh 10 feet below. We did not see middle for the rest of the evening. We did not hear any rustling or flapping coming from below the nest. Please come home Middle, so that we know you are okay.

I have video recordings of all of the attacks on 7/25 and 7/28, and I have reviewed them carefully. Based on head and chest markings, I believe that this is the same adult intruder that attacked Big, and shortly thereafter dragged Middle off the nest on 7/25. It was the very same adult that attacked Middle today. So, now there is no question who the osprey was below the nest on 7/25. It was Big, and she was likely carried away by the tide, and may have drowned. I would love to be wrong about Big’s demise. We loved you Big. Fly high.”

Steelscape: ‘PB’ watched the intruders trying to take over this nest earlier on Sunday. One of the fledglings appears to have sustained an injury.

It has been a rough day.

Decorah North: Eagle eyed Deb Stecyk has noticed something a miss with one of the adults on the Decorah North nest. Deb wonders if it is an old injury? scar? It is the first time I have seen this dark line. Please note that all Decorah cameras will be shut down for annual maintenance on 2 August.

Other images make it look like a nasty cut to both sides of the mandible with dried blood on the left side of the neck. But is this insect bites and could Dad have scratched them? Just wondering. PB’ says they are terrible in the MidWest right now.

Gosh, I feel like I am the writer of doom and gloom today. There is just so much going on, and there are a lot of nest takeovers and intruders this time of year wrecking havoc with stable avian homes.

HWF-BBCentral: Blue is looking better today. More alert. He was seen doing some wingers and had a crop. Let us hope this eaglet gets its mojo and fledges off that nest to the shock of everyone.

Charlo Montana: Still hot. Nest still doing alright. Those funny balls that Charlie brought in have been used as a pillow by the rapidly growing chick.

Sandpoint: River is looking in excellent form!

The Bridge Golf Club: Fledgling returns to the nest for fish and is sleeping there Sunday night. All is good.

Port Lincoln Barge: Mum is on the nest waiting for Dad!

Olympic Park Eagles: Incubation continues. Cathy Cook writes that we will be on pip watch starting on Monday.

I want to add a note -. This nest has not had failures every year. Things happened once the eaglets fledged. The Currawongs chased WBSE 25 out of the area, and sadly, WBSE 26 had to be euthanised. 26, the much loved little eaglet, had injured its leg within its first 48 hours. 25 was good for supporting, caring, and encouraging its younger sibling. 26 did fledge and did return to the nest after several days, where it spent considerable time before. Sadly, it was chased out of the forest, winding up – during a storm – on a high-rise balcony. The wildlife rehab team decided that 26 could not be successfully put back together and was euthanised. In fact, the Currawongs are the biggest problem! Eaglets have been rescued, and two of them, if I remember correctly, were fitted with transmitters after rehab and released in another area. They had been tracked for some time. Last year was amazing. It was the first year we could fully appreciate how Lady and Dad cared for their young as they fed and trained WBSE 31. It was incredible, and the images provided by the community photographers that were posted warmed our hearts. Cathy confirmed that 31 stayed in the area till February. Let us hope that these two hatch, all goes well, and we will see them flying over the Parmatta River and eating fish at the River Roost.

Cathy also informed me that there are ospreys fishing in the area, too. How wonderful.

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

Daily summary Sunday 28th July 2024

No sign today of Louis, last seen on 25th July, or Dorcha, last seen yesterday, and no activity of any sort on Nest Two. Over on Nest One, Garry did some early morning sky-dancing with a fish, which may have been why Affric 152 arrived on the nest and stayed long enough to take the fish from him when he landed. The fish was an unusual one, a Perch, first time seen on the nest and possibly a cause for concern as they shouldn’t be found in this area. Link below to WTS George’s comment about this. Affric flew off with the perch – perhaps she was taking it back to her chick on the Bunarkaig nest. A bellowing of Bullfinches visited the nest before Affric returned at lunchtime but was disappointed when Garry joined her without bringing her another fish. The weather was settled and sunny today, but drizzle is forecast for tonight, with more rain tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.56.03 (04.13.18); Nest Two 22.45.47 (04.23.40)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/0IsE6V9aoyo N1 Sky dancing heard then Garry lands with fish for Affric 05.42.30

https://youtu.be/njpggXeqWMs N1 A bellowing of Bullfinches visit 07.34.31

https://youtu.be/Iyy_ZwZ_cM8 Garry LV0 joins Affric 152 on the nest 12.24.16

Bonus info on Garry LV0’s unusual fish – European perch (Perca fluviatilis):

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15497584

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_perch

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

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

‘H’ reports:

7/28 Osoyoos osprey nest: This family had a good day. There were nine fish brought to the nest, including one from Soo. Four of the fish were tiny, but the others provided meals that lasted 13-19 minutes. There was very little aggression from Big toward Middle today. There were a few meals where Big ate more, but there were also feedings where it was obvious that Middle had more to eat than Big. Weather forecast for 7/29: Cloudy with chance of showers, high 77, light winds. Warmer temperatures will gradually return by the end of the week.

The BBC covered the Alyth Ospreys and the construction of their nest. Lovely interview with Roy Dennis about the move of the nest.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CC, Geemeff, H, MM, PB, RP, SP, TU, VS’, The Guardian, Dorsett Hobby, Llyn Brenig Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Project, Connie and Don Dennis, Montana Osprey Project, The Weather Network, Maria Marika, Patuxent River Park, Heidi McGrue, Steelscape, Raptor Research Project, Deb Stecyk, HWF-BBC, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Bridge Golf Course, PLO, Olympic Park Eagles, BBC, and Osoyoos.

N1 dead, White-tail Eagle takes Finnish osplets…Saturday in Bird World

27 July 2024

Hello,

Thank you to everyone for your lovely notes. We must continue to find the happiness, the miracles, and as ‘B’ says, ‘the treasures’ in this breeding season. And there certainly are miracles and the most amazing events happening. Iris and Finnegan continue to get top billing with managing to keep themselves alive during the heat and not having been blown off to Las Vegas during the winds! And we still have two chicks at Osoyoos despite the odds being so against Soo and Olsen. Fledges are happening. Take the smiles when they come and as one reader ‘J’ said, ‘I hope Blue falls off the nest’. (There is a rescue in place if he does)

It is hot and humid. 31 degrees. It rained just enough to make it more humid. The birds in the garden frantically ate their breakfast and it i snow after 1600 and they are starting on the last feeding of the day. Their behaviour makes me think a storm is coming despite the weather network saying ‘no’. One day they said ‘no rain’ and it was raining when I checked! They are not always very accurate, but the animals are. Frantic eating means a storm….And it did rain and a thunderstorm was predicted for today and tomorrow. Not bad for a ‘Murder’. They should hire Mr Crow!

What will he choose? Enchiladas? Cheesy Dogs? Peanuts?

I am so very, very sad. Both of the fledglings of Big Red and Arthur of 2024 are dead. N2 died from a window collision, and N1 died from an illness after being seen by BOGs behaving oddly.

Sad News, Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling %22N1%22 Found Deceased After Suspected Illness | Cornell Lab Bird C Download

A White-tail eagle has taken the smallest osplet, Yellow UPU, off the Finnish #4 nest, to the dismay of all of us that loved that osplet family. The time was 18:11:56. Thank you, ‘AM’ for alerting me. The Ilomansti chick was 55 days old.

The following morning, at 0510, the oldest osplet, Yellow, URA, a male, flew off the #4 nest and was chased by the Eagle as it flew. You could hear it calls. The Middle osplet, a female, is in the nest, scared to death.

There has been an incident at the Patuxent River Park. An osplet/osprey fell off the nest at 1445 and it was not until after 1100 that anyone went to check. Earlier flapping could be heard but high tide came in and all went quiet.

Feeling so grateful. Iris is the poster child of osprey miracles this year and if something had happened to her or her family, I think we would have crawled into a hole and stayed there. Thankfully, Iris and Finnegan and their kids survived category 2 hurricane force winds.

Please help name Iris and Finnegan’s chicks. The site where you vote gives the meaning of the two pairs of names to select from -.

Cornell gives us a fantastic video of Iris’s kids and their amazing juvenile eyes!

Welcome back, ‘A’ who is so happy to be checking on Iris’s nest and the WBSE for us: “I checked our gorgeous boys at Hellgate today – they are looking wonderful and Iris is so proud of them. They had a naming competition underway – I believe it ends on 31 July – so the time has come to name this pair. Fledging is on the calendar and we will soon lose our Hellgate ospreys until next season. I do hope that the bond between Iris and Finn will persist next season and that they will return to each other. This has been a love story for the ages, and I have adored watching his devotion to her.

Gorgeous boy brought in a large headless fish around 06:39 and there was something of a melee. Iris grabbed and took control of the fish. Finn did some arrangement of the baby rails, which are huge (as are the babies) and then flew to the perch while Iris arranged the feeding of breakfast. As usual, Baby Bob is given the first bites, with both osplets sitting up nicely at the table, side by side, without any aggression. I have adored watching the fraternal behaviour on this nest. Not once has there been any bonking or even any intimidation. Even direct eye contact has failed to prompt dominant behaviour from the larger sibling. The situation remains peaceful, although I sense we are about to enter the ‘fight for food’ period as the osplets begin to claim and mantle delivered prey from their parents. So far, though, Iris is maintaining control of the food distribution.

Baby Bob is fed for some time before Big Bob is offered a bite, but the older sibling is perfectly prepared to wait its turn. Based on size, I am again thinking that Big Bob is female, with a younger brother, but if that is the case, then the behaviour from both has been exemplary and civil at all times. If we do have a big sister and a little brother, then I can only put the excellent nest dynamics down to Iris’s control on the nest and Finn’s regular deliveries of huge fish to the nest. As far as I can see, the only logical explanation is that these two have not been hungry.

I do wish they were banding these two osplets, given how incredibly special they are – It is a long time since Iris raised a chick, let alone two. They are healthy and they have inherited some pretty special genes from both parents, it would seem. I would love to know their genders, for obvious reasons, and we would all love to know how they fare as juvenile fledglings and hopefully, later, as adult ospreys. I suppose we will never know for certain if and until they find a mate. But I have wavered backwards and forwards on the gender question, with the size indicator contradicting the behavioural one much of the time. “

July 26: After some rain overnight, it was fine for early morning duets. Lady was off at 6:36. Dad was in shortly after, then incubated for an hour and 25 minutes, giving Lady a good early break. Dad then left the nest, as Lady was close and returned to take over incubating. After a couple more changes, Lady appeared around midday with a good crop – she had caught her own prey it seems. Then she spent the afternoon on the nest, incubating for nearly three hours until Dad bought in a late fish. She grabbed it and took it to the branch to eat. The eggs were uncovered for some time as Lady ate, then dad incubated for a short while until she finished eating. She then settled for the night. Today she spent a total of 6h27m on the eggs, while Dad incubated for 5h7m.

I love to see how this pair shares the workload so evenly – check the daily division of incubation duties between them, giving each plenty of exercise and the chance to hunt, although Dad does sometimes bring prey to Lady on the nest. But they are a tightly bonded team and I am looking forward to seeing two small fluffy heads appear on this nest. Perhaps THIS year, we will get two successful fledges, with fledglings safely returning to the natal nest despite the attempts of the smaller birds to drive them from their nest and their forest.

They have not yet hatched and yet already, we are worried about their chances of successfully fledging at this location. I have no idea how we can protect them from this fate, but it is hard to watch season after season after season. Two cute, happy, healthy little sea eaglets are effectively sacrificed every year. It is a tragic waste, of the babies and of the devotion and time the parents put into raising their eaglets. “

Three healthy chicks at the Castle Bolton Estate in Yorkshire – two females and a male!

Kristel fledged, as predicted, at 81 days old on the 26th of July from the Golden Eagle nest in Estonia. You might know that this nest is in a military zone in Estonia where active military exercises take place daily. Many can hear the gunfire in the background. Despite this, the area is large and normal humans cannot enter it. It actually makes this forest area safer for the wild animals and raptors like Kristel and her family who are used to the military exercise sounds.

Richmond and Rosie’s PAX caught on video!

Everyone is home at Field Farm and hungry. Flying uses up a lot of calories!!!!!!!!

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

Daily summary Friday 26th July 2024

The Lochenders saga continued today with a game of musical nests – after an absence of two days, Dorcha turned up paying a visit to Nest One while Garry LV0 was there, and then Affric 152 and Garry LV0 visited Nest Two, flying off very quickly when Dorcha appeared. Where were Louis and Prince while this was going on? Was Prince back at Bunarkaig looking after his and Affric’s chick? Was Louis having a leisurely fishing session? Is he still around? As usual, the only answer is ‘wait and see’. RAF jets did a flypast but both nests were empty at the time. More good news from Spain with a tweeted photo of our chick 1JW out and about exploring the neighbourhood, and the message “We are told all the birds are continuing to feed well after taking to the skies for the first time yesterday.” 1JW is certainly better off in sunny Spain – it rained throughout the day here, there’s a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow with a high of only 17°C.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.01.49 (04.04.45); Nest Two 22.58.14 (04.15.15)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/IQMVxtoxhek N1 Garry LV0 visits bringing moss 08.25.36

https://youtu.be/TkmVmX5YaVA N1 Dorcha spends time with Garry LV0 already there 09.18.24

https://youtu.be/MRew3k_UKwA N2 Dorcha isn’t amused when Affric 152 & Garry LV0 invade her nest 10.38.11

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

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

Bonus tweet – photo of Loch Arkaig Osprey chick 1JW in Spain exploring his new neighbourhood:

It is so great to see #1JW looking strong and thriving in Spain, having fledged yesterday. it's been a strange sad season for the #ArkaigOspreys and many other nests here and in other countries too. Stay strong 1JW, all your fans are cheering you on. @RoyDennisWF @FundacionMigres https://t.co/SuCmVBVmW1
— Geemeff (@geemeff) July 26, 2024

‘CG’ has been monitoring the Hancock Wildlife Nest at Boundary Bay. She sends us the following from the forum:

On 7/25, Blue received food and ended the day with a nice crop. She also received food Friday morning which she was eating. She has also been doing wingercises and reached a good height yesterday. PSs that were seen were good. There are pictures with the comments.

It is painstaking reading all the comments; you need lots of time on your hands. People are questioning the lack of food being brought by the parents (Pere and Mere). Apparently, there was plenty of food at the beginning. They are wondering if there is something in the surroundings that has changed. So, . . .

Link to site (press ctrl + click to follow link). This will take you right to afternoon of 7/25, and from there you can go backwards and forwards. Page numbers are at the top and bottom of the pages.

Boundary Bay Central 2023-2024 Observation and Discussion – Page 482 – Hancock Wildlife Foundation

The site has wonderful nest history with different views of the nest.

Take care, let’s keep Blue in our thoughts,

More about Blue:

Post by JudyB » Fri Jul 26, 2024 6:51 pm

blue-kit wrote: ↑More

Fri Jul 26, 2024 4:25 pm

I haven’t herd from anyone one rescue of Blue. When, where, and how?

Judy B writes: At the moment, it does not appear that Blue needs to be rescued. The parents delivered two fish today – and Blue waited almost an hour before beginning to eat the first one, which suggests to me that Blue was not very hungry (which makes sense because Blue had quite a lot of food yesterday).

Blue is old enough that she or he would likely try to fly if anyone approached the nest with a lift to try to remove Blue from the nest – and so far I haven’t seen enough sustained flapping to think that Blue is ready to fly safely.

We do have plans in place if Blue ends up on the ground, and the local rescue/rehab organization is aware that there are concerns about Blue – but personally, after seeing two fish delivered today, I’m less worried than I was yesterday.”

‘H’ reports:

7/26 Osoyoos osprey nest: The high temperature was only about 84 degrees, and Olsen delivered 10 fish to the nest today! Soo started out very early in the morning trying to feed some of that leftover fish jerky skin. No one was able to eat very much of that. At 0617 Olsen delivered a nice sized fish that provided a 14-minute meal. The siblings ate from opposite sides of Soo, and Middle ate 71 bites of fish. Olsen came right back at 0635 with a similarly sized fish that Soo fed for 13 minutes. Middle did not have good positioning, with Big hovering over him the entire time, and was only able to eat 4 bites of fish. At 0944 Olsen arrived with a tiny fish. Middle had been fed 5 bites of that fish, then s/he grabbed it from Soo and spent the next five minutes eating the rest of it (and was not harassed by Big). The next fish at 1117 was another ‘Tiny’. Big bit Middle on the wing, ouch! Soo fed Middle for 3 minutes. Fish #5 at 1153 was also a ‘Tiny’. Middle was fed 20 bites before Big grabbed the fish and finished it. Fish #6 at 1205 was a bit larger, and Soo fed Big for 7 minutes. Middle did not make much of an effort to join in. At 1319 Olsen dropped off a medium sized whole fish. Big was not hungry, and Soo fed Middle for 11 minutes! Fish #8 at 1435 was a ‘Tiny’… Big gave Middle ‘The Look’, and Middle didn’t even bother to approach Soo, so that was just a small meal for Big. Fish #9 at 1448 was a large whole fish that provided a 26-minute meal. The problem was that neither osplet was very hungry. They ate peacefully on opposite sides of Soo’s beak, but after a few minutes, Soo was having difficulty finding an open beak. Both sibs would repeatedly back away, and then later they would somewhat reluctantly accept another bite or two from Soo. It reminded me of being at Grandma’s for Sunday dinner, and she just kept coaxing us kids to eat more! Middle ate 55 bites of fish at that meal, and Soo had a nice meal for herself as well. The last fish of the day was a small fish delivered by Olsen at 1531. Big was not interested in eating. Middle almost reluctantly ate 20 bites of fish, and refused many of Soo’s offerings. Everyone looked quite ‘croppy’. It was a good day. Weather forecast for 7/27: Mostly sunny, high temp 90F/32C, winds 9 mph.

7/26 Colonial Beach osprey nest: It has been a rough couple of days at this nest. David was last seen the morning of 7/23. Betty seemed to be on her own to care for 32-day-old Cobey. There was not any fish brought to the nest on 7/24, and only one medium-sized fish on 7/25. We did not think that fishing was difficult because of the weather, so we were perplexed. Well…today was a better day, and we witnessed the return of David. Four fish were brought to the nest, two each from Betty and David. Poor Lil’ Cobey was so hungry. At one point, he even tried to pick up a fish and eat it, but of course he was not able to. Forecast for 7/27: Mostly sunny, low 80’s, light winds.

7/26 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s fish House): This nest continues to do well. Johnny usually drops off a couple of fish each day. And…well then there’s Momma June…June has continued to bring in at least one massive striped bass (I think) every day, and they are usually alive and quite active. Watch out for those big flopping fish Lil’ Fen!

7/26 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: As mentioned yesterday… late in the afternoon on 7/25, we heard what we thought was an osprey in distress flapping its wings underneath the nest in the marsh. Obviously the bird was not able to fly. Many folks reached out for help to rescue the osprey. As high tide was approaching in the evening, the wing flapping was obviously in water. By late evening, we no longer heard any flapping. At 11 am this morning, we heard some men below the nest. Patuxent River Park later put out a statement that they had done a thorough search below the nest and did not find an osprey. You can read their entire lengthy statement in the description under the live video feed on Youtube. We believe the osprey may have been ‘Big’, the eldest fledgling from this nest. Yesterday afternoon, Big was knocked off the nest by an adult intruder. It could have been Big or Middle, but Middle has been back at the nest, and we have not seen Big since the attack. If Big was okay, we believe that we would surely have seen her back at the nest at some point. The other option is that it could have been the adult intruder that may have ended up in the marsh, after it went off the nest awkwardly after stealing a fish from Middle a little later that afternoon. Since a rescue was unable to be done in an urgent and timely manner, in all likelihood whatever injured osprey it was under the nest, was carried away with the tide.

Middle had a good day at the nest. Dad is supplying ample fish for the fledgling, and fortunately there were no intruder issues today.

We saw Little fledge and return to the nest on 7/18. Then the cam was offline for five days. We have not seen Little since the live stream resumed on 7/24. It’s too bad that we missed so much activity at the nest. There are some 70 osprey nests in the entire Patuxent River Park, and I believe at least 12 in the immediate Jug Bay area. I hope that Little has found a welcoming nearby osprey nest to care for him. We also have not seen Mom since the live stream resumed. She is most likely taking a well deserved break to restore herself to optimum health before heading south in a couple of weeks. At other osprey nests in the past, we’ve seen some of the Moms stop by the nest and even bring a fish before they depart. We may see Mom again.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust gives us the annual wrap up for the Foulshaw Moss Nest of White YW and Blue 35.

The birds have flown… | Cumbria Wildlife Trust Download

The naming contest for the Royal Cam chick has started. Please go and vote.

If you missed the July condor chat, here it is:

Hope and Beaumont have two beautiful feathered osplets.

Everything is good at Sandpoint.

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

Thank you to the following for their letters, posts, pictures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AM, CG, Geemeff, H, PB’, Saaksilvie 4 Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, Sea Eagle Cam, Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group, Eagle Club of Estonia, Golden Gate Audubon, Field Farm, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Lady Hawk, Ventana Wildlife Society, Sandpoint Osprey Cam, Newfoundland Power, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Patuxent River Park, and Colonial Beach.

Category Archives: Finnish Osprey Foundation

Cobey is rescued…Thursday in Bird World

Like this:

Sum-eh flies Monday in Bird World

Like this:

And then…along came Finnegan. Sunday in Bird World

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/499647/West-Kelowna-woman-worried-for-osprey-couple-nicknamed-

Like this:

Saturday in Bird World

Like this:

Friday in Bird World

Like this:

Surviving chick at McEuen fledges…Thursday in Bird World

Like this:

Wednesday in Bird World

Like this:

Tuesday in Bird World

Like this:

Monday in Bird World

Like this:

N1 dead, White-tail Eagle takes Finnish osplets…Saturday in Bird World

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: