Category Archives: fireworks

Saturday in Bird World

17 February 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is never a good morning after we lose a raptor, and waking up on Friday and finding that Lusa had died during the night was incredibly sad. Indeed, all went to bed after seeing her/him eat feeling much more optimistic about the situation at Captiva.

At the same time I was reading a note about Lusa, Hugo Yugo was vomiting, had diarrhoea, and was lethargic. She was fine when she went to bed but, by morning, he was not playing and didn’t want any treats – sure signs that something was not right. We spent the afternoon at the vet. It is a long weekend in Canada, the vet clinics are packed, and we have to go to a different vet than we usually use. After tests for any poisons (they came back negative), she had an IV for hydration and an injection to calm her stomach and had the Flora-Flora powder to sprinkle on her food. If she does not improve, then we move to X-rays, etc. The diagnostic end of it all. For Hugo Yugo to not eat is unsettling, just like with Lusa. For her not to play is just not right. Again, the same goes for the eaglet. Our condolences go out to Lori Covert, the folks at Window to Wildlife, but most of all Clive, Connie, and Cal.

When Connie and Joe lost Hope and Peace to rodenticide poisoning in 2020-21, it was a real tragedy. The parents knew what had happened. They stood over the dead body of their second eaglet in quiet disbelief. The eaglets had consumed less than a whole rat, but it was a designer poison, and Lori has spent years trying to get people to stop using rodenticides on the island. Joe never returned to the nest after the mourning period. And I will say it clearly and loud – he felt guilty for bringing that rat to the nest that killed their kids. Ask Marc Bekoff, Professor of Avian Behaviour at the University of Colorado at Boulder – animals have feelings. They care. They are sentient like we are.

So far, Cal looks good. They cannot, for safety and legal reasons, remove the body of Lusa. The adults might try to shove the body off the nest, even carry it and drop it in the ocean, or Lusa might wind up as part of the nest. There is no fear of Cal eating its sibling (yes, I have had multiple questions about that). I would have concerns if Lusa had highly pathogenic avian influenza. But that seems highly unlikely because Cal is doing so well. We saw siblings die close together on other nests if it was HPAI.

Connor stated that getting on a nest after four weeks is hard because the other eaglet might get spooked and jump off. That is the last thing we want to happen to Cal. So keep sending positive energy to this nest – it would be grand if Connie and Clive fledged an eaglet this year. With Connick having issues and falling off the nest last year and now going to the Smithsonian, it has been a while since Mum Connie saw a baby fly free.

Angel and Tom are both at their nest. The Blue Jays are apparently not bothering Tom but are aggravating Angel. If they continue to come to the nest, the camera will go live.

I have not done a lot of nest checking today so this post could be ‘slim’. I did head to Eagle Country to check on Swampy and Meadow. Indeed, all of the eaglets that have survived on the nests this year are a miracle. There were so many incidents of DNH…

Blaze was on the nest feeding his eaglets and did a splendid job of it. Both got lots and lots to eat! Gosh, Dad was very even-handed in that feeding. Those two are getting their thermal down. See how dark they are getting, and the soft, fluffy baby down is coming off., Darlings. Just little darlings.

A little bit of a mohawk coming.

E23 is looking good at SW Florida. Just keep all good wishes coming to every nest with babes – we never know what can happen. I am not saying this to worry you, but rather to appreciate those who are healthy and to stay vigilant should something be amiss.

It is very hard to see the eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands, but there are many watching and fingers crossed for this one to fledge. JBS20 certainly does take up more nest space than it did a few weeks ago! Only eaglets have the advantage of having all the food to themselves.

The only eaglet at WRDC continues to grow and thrive, but only after we had to hold our breath a few times. What a year it has been! We will not forget it soon, for all the wrong reasons. That said, the streaming cam is down, and, of course, right before that happened, R6 was fed another pigeon with bands on its legs. ‘H’ tells us, “The cams went down about 4.5 hours ago.  R6 ate another pigeon band this afternoon, and we are supposed to be on pellet-and-band watch!  Not only that, but the pigeon had a band on each leg, and we were also waiting to see which eagle would eat the other band!  Rose ate a pigeon band on 2/11.’

I don’t know about anyone else but seeing these healthy eaglets eat leg bands and nappies and possibly poisoned rats is getting to me. We have so few eaglets this year…ah. Each is precious.

We are a day away from hatch watch at Superbeaks. Pepe and Muhlady should be hearing their chicks inside the shell. Oh, let us hope these eggs are viable. They are such good parents and just got on with life and had a second clutch. Fingers crossed along with toes.

Jackie and Shadow are looking pretty confident. We are now 12 days away from the hatch at Big Bear. You best get the worry beads, the stomach upset medicine, or whatever works for you. This will either be the day we leap out of our roofs in happiness or sit and fill a bucket full of tears. I am thinking of eaglets this year…the champagne is ready.

A look at how Friday went for Jackie and Shadow.

You need to get your votes in! This is the news from Cal Falcons about naming The New Guy.

“After over 200 suggestions and hundreds of votes, we have our four finalists:

Archie, after Archie Williams
Galen, after John Galen Howard
Morgan, after Julia Morgan
and
Mulford, after Walter Mulford

Vote for the winner here before Monday at 5pm:

https://bit.ly/NewGuy2024

Here’s a little more about each of our candidates:

Archie Williams was a successful Cal athlete and engineer. He won gold in the 400m race at the 1936 Olympics, became a highly decorated pilot and instructor, and was an influential teacher in California High Schools. Archie Williams High School is named in his honor.

John Galen Howard was one of the most influential architects at UC Berkeley. He designed many of the most iconic buildings on campus, including the Campanile, where Annie and New Guy live! He also designed Sather Gate, California Memorial Stadium, and many other buildings.

Julia Morgan was the first woman to earn a degree in Civil Engineering at UC Berkeley. She became a prolific and celebrated architect. You can see her work on campus in the form of the Greek Theatre. However, her most well-known design is Hearst Castle.

Walter Mulford was a long-time forestry professor at UC Berkeley, serving as the first Dean of the School of Forestry (now a part of the College of Natural Resources). He encouraged students to gain hands on experience outdoors and founded the Forestry Field Camp in Plumas National Forest.”

Please go and vote. Thanks SP for all that great information!

Wow. Talk about a miracle. Have a look at what happened to this crushed falcon egg! We see these when there is high humidity…and we hold our breath. This gives hope.

When I get sad, I always head to the Royal Albatross Colony. Why? Because I know that the NZ DOC Rangers do everything in their power to ensure that these chicks fledge!

Look at this cutie.

The two osplets at Pelican Bay appear to be doing rather well.

Thunder and Akecheta taking turns incubating their three eggs. Oh, I so hope that this nest is full of little eaglets just like at Big Bear.

One egg at Sauces. Dr Sharpe will be conducting a survey of the nests on the Channel Islands on the 24th according to the moderator of chat. We should be able to find out more about the other nests that we cannot see on cam after that visit.

No egg at Two Harbours for Chase and Cholyn, yet.

Andor and Cruz were both working on the Fraser Point nest – between the camera going on and coming off.

I missed this great video shot with the Centreport Bald Eagle Mum a few days ago. Stunning footage!

At Redding, Liberty proudly stands above her egg delaying incubation and awaiting the arrival of the second egg.

Fireworks. Anyone reading my blog knows that fireworks are dangerous for wildlife as well as for domestic pets. Why we as a society continue to allow millions of dollars to literally go up in smoke is beyond me when there is so much to be done for the environment, wildlife, human health, education, and housing. So, the fact that there are plans for a firework display in a nature reserve in Spain is incomprehensible.

‘Incomprehensible-Madrid-plans-huge-firework-display-on-nature-reserve-Spain-The-GuardianDownload

For a smile, a close up of that Puffer Fish that Bradley was eating on the ropes on the 16th at Port Lincoln.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send your good wishes to all the nests and, also, to little Hugo Yugo. She is just not herself yet. She ate a few bites of food and then wanted in her carrier to be alone and sleep. I do worry about her so much. After losing Lewis, I am perhaps a bit sensitive, but Hugo Yugo has had such a rough start in life and she is so tiny – well…I am concerned.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J, SP’, Window to Wildlife, Heidi McGrue, Jenna Lynn Dorsey, Eagle Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam, JBS Wetlands, WRDC, Superbeaks, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, Cal Falcons, Elite Falconry, Royal Cam Albatross/NZ DOC, Sharon Dunne, Ildiko A Polk, FORE, the IWS/Explore.org, PLO, and The Guardian.

Ervie has a female friend, M2 dies…Wednesday in Bird World

2 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Before we get on with the news…I really want to put a smile on everyone’s face this morning. Ervie. Dear Ervie. A female was hanging out in Ervie’s territory. Now Ervie is visiting hers. Jumping up and down for joy and little tears…Can we even begin to imagine? Just remembering that tenacious little third hatch taking on big Bazza continues to bring joy…and of course, all the scraps with Falky. The puffers. The worry and now this!

Gosh, I thought I would not be adding to the Memorial Page at this time of year, but here we are at # 127. Three new additions in the last 24 hours. One of them is the second hatch of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus, who was discovered in bushes under a roof, indicating a building or window collision. M1 and M3 had been spotted on Campus. Condolences…everything was just going so well, and it would not be long until they would be leaving the territory and finding their way.

Red-tailed-Hawk-Fledgling—Likely-22M222—Found-Deceased-On-Campus-Cornell-Lab-Bird-Cams-Cornell-Lab-B-1Download

The other two deaths were the Black Stork fledglings, Jola and Derek.

Just breathe. That seems to be the mantra this season. Just breathe because balancing out all the deaths are some very good things that are happening.

You might recall that the Friends of Big Bear Valley were petitioning to have Labour Day fireworks cancelled in the Valley because of the stress put on Jackie and Shadow. This year it was several days before they returned to their nest. FOBBV asked for and received many articles on the damage fireworks cause to wildlife and domestic pets. ‘B’ wrote me this afternoon to inform me that there will be no more fireworks in the Big Bear Valley. Isn’t this wonderful? It should give us the understanding that what we do can matter – that our actions can drive meaningful change. We cannot give up in despair.

Sandy wrote in her FB post on 31 July: “Thank you for keeping up with Jackie and Shadow even as they are enjoying their summer break. They would like to announce that all of us can now relax—they heard that the Labor Day fireworks show planned for September in Big Bear Lake has been cancelled. Hooray!! Sandy”

This is the latest news from Loch of the Lowes. Blue NC0 has not been seen since 15 July and PF5 has not been seen since 28 July.

More good people helping an Osprey!

Oh, these Osprey fledglings are getting themselves into some mischief. Another rescue.

Checking in on a few nests:

At Patchogue, Mini continues to fare rather well. On Tuesday a fish arrived at 0826. I believe it was Mini that took the fish and flew off the nest with it. If it wasn’t she was definitely on the nest at 1028 and received a smaller fish. At 12:53 she was on the nest watching for Dad to fly through with a fish.

At 1700, Mini was ready and waiting when Dad delivered a magnificent fish! Look at the size of that fish. Mini will not need a late night top up. Way to go Dad!

Mini flies off with that big fish!

It is difficult to measure just how well each of the three osplets is being fed at Steelscape in comparison one to the other but the third hatch is still with us.

Pont Cresor: Home to Aeron Z2 and Blue 014. Three chicks fledged – 11, 16, and 19 July. Congratulations!

Collins Marsh: This nest continues to do amazingly well. Nice fish and the two chicks growing – one already fledged.

Pitkin County Open Space and Trails: It is good to remind ourselves that the battles for fish on the nest are helping our fledglings learn how to survive in the wild when there are many more vying for that fish they have in their talons. We have to breathe. In order to live, the ospreys must eat and that often means being ruthless.

Imperial Eagles, Tatarstan RU:

Port Lincoln Osprey: Dad brings Mum a fish on the nest!

Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Orange: Loving Xavier and Diamond. Wishing for a good season.

Sydney Sea Eagles: So delicate how Lady gives the tiniest of fish flakes to SE31 and SE32. Dad is keeping the pantry nice and full. He even fed Lady while she was brooding.

“Dad brought in the customary fresh fish at 06:52:25 this morning. It was intact and relatively large for this area. A lovely breakfast for the family. Mum had already fed them a first breakfast about an hour earlier, but SE32 was not really over-interested in eating at that time of day (exactly as it did yesterday morning). By the end of the morning, both had eaten plenty of lovely fresh fish. Always a happy sight.” – ‘A’ reports.

‘PB’ has been keeping an eye with ‘H’ on Fortis Exshaw. In fact, I am pretty certain that many of you are checking in and sending your wishes to this nest that is struggling with intruders. ‘PB’ writes: “Small fish 18:16 that #1 gets (from Mr O?), then Louise with bigger fish 18:26 and she feeds 2 and herself, mom is on extreme alert.”

Fortunately that chick 1 was busy with the earlier fish so Louise and 2 could eat.

I noted another fish that came in at 19:55. Chick 1 got that one and is getting really good at self-feeding! It is a good thing that Louise and chick 2 had the fish that Louise brought in – they must have been very hungry! In fact, we often forget that the parents have to eat as well…not just the chicks on the nest.

Oh, another fish at 2128! Did 2 get this one? It was mantling the delivery.

And ‘PB’ writes that Louise brought another fish in right after this one. Well, that is one way to make sure the very hungry second chick gets fed – one fish right after another and then another and another til the big one is so full it doesn’t care.

Louise flew off the nest. Has she engaged with an intruder? Two cannot self-feed and is picking at the fish – chick on the left.

One eventually goes into a food coma, while Two really tries to figure out what to do with his fish. And bravo…self-feeding for the very first time. This is a good thing.

‘H’ was keeping track and she put it very well…I love how she says Louse went into high gear! “It was touch-and-go for a while at the Exshaw nest.  On 7/31, Chick #2 only had one meal, around noon.  Chick #1 has begun to rush Mom or Mr.O to grab the fish upon delivery.  #1 is quite capable of self-feeding an entire fish.  Chick #2 is not at that level as yet, in fact #2 is downright polite about it, and won’t even try to steal a piece from #1.  By 1800, there had only been two fish delivered, and #1 had claimed and eaten both of them.  We were very worried about #2.  Well, then Louise kicked it into high gear and delivered five fish between 1813 and 2137.  Oh, bless her!  Chick #1 grabbed the fish at 1813.  And for the first time, #2 grabbed the fish at 1825, and tried to self feed.  After a few minutes, Louise took the fish and fed #2.  Yeah!  Chick #1 claimed the fish delivered at 1955.  Then at the 2128 delivery, chick #2 grabbed the fish from Louise and mantled it!  Yeah!  Chick #1 had designs on that fish too, and she seemed quite taken aback at #2’s new confident behavior, lol.  There was one more fish brought by Louise at 2137, which was claimed by #1.  Chick #2 did a nice job self-feeding from his fish, and was still eating it well after dark.  I believe that Louise delivered all of the fish to the nest on 8/1.  There was a delivery at 1103 where we had a very limited view of the adult, but there was a brief view of Louise’s distinctive back-of-head markings (quite different from Mr.O).  Another questionable identification of the adult was at 2128, however both top and back head markings proved it to be Louise.  In my opinion, Mr.O did not make an appearance on camera on 8/1.  But, don’t worry, Mr.O was probably guarding the area so that Louise was free to do her thing.”

367 Collins Street: Not live yet. They were just testing the system! That said, it could be up and running right now.

Boulder County: ‘PB’ notes that the storm that swept through the area has taken out the camera on the Osprey nest. At the time all three osplets were on the nest. Let us hope that everyone is fine.

Cowlitz PUD: Everything appears to be just fine and the metal guards have protected the nest and not impeded any movement of the adults or the fledgling.

Hellgate Canyon, Montana: Everyone has a picture of Iris with her huge fish today on the Owl Pole. It is always good to see her here or on the nest! Looking’ good, Iris.

Osoyoos: There has been a question about removing the Middle chick’s body from the body. All of you have watched Osprey nests and chicks dying at various ages. Sometimes the adults remove the body of their dead chick while, at other times, it is left on the nest and becomes part of that historical object.

‘H’ reports: “Olsen brought 9 fish to the nest on 8/1, and a few of them were large.  Soo, and her remaining chick were well fed.  I have seen a few nests where a chick died from siblicide from aggression that was fueled by a lack of fish on the nest, and then the next day there were lots of fish.  Chatters would ask, “where were all those fish when they needed them?”  The weather conditions have not improved at Osoyoos . . it is still quite hot, and the air is smokey from the nearby wildfire.  One difference seems to be that Soo was missing the last 52 hours of chick #2’s life.  The Osoyoos osprey family of three carries on . . and we support them.  The youngster is 37 days old.”

‘H’s other reports:

Kent Island – The livestream returned after having been down for nearly four days.  It seems that Audrey and Tom’s 51-day-old chick may have grown a bit in those four days.

Severna Park – It was so nice to find both juvies on the nest in the afternoon.  Earlier, one of the fledglings landed on the nest carrying a partial fish.

Barnegat Light – News Flash: Dorsett went diving and swimming!  Dorsett spent a fair amount of time on a piling at the Bay beach, when at 1002 she decided to take the plunge into the Bay.  Later in the afternoon she waded in the water and took a bath at the shoreline of Barnegat Bay.

Dahlgren –  Members of this lovely osprey family are often seen at the nest.  It is always good to see them.

Forsythe – In a flurry of fishing, Oscar delivered six fish to the nest for his two fledglings between 0724 and 0920.  Owen and Ollie each received three fish.  There were no fish delivered to the nest later in the day.  The older sibling, Owen, seems to be spending the most time away from the nest.  

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care. L ooking forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B. H, PB’, Fran Solly and Friends of Sth Australia, Cornell Bird Lab, Maria Marika, FOBBV, Loch of the Lowes Visitor’s Centre and Wildlife Reserve, Laura Asbell Stansfield, Barbara Walker and Osprey Friends, PSEG, Steelscape, Inc., Nyth Pont Cresor, Collins Marsh, Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces, Imperial Eagles RU, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sydney Sea Eagles, Fortis Exshaw, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Osoyoos, Kent Island, Forsythe Ospreys, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, and Dahlgren Ospreys.

Falcons return to scrape, E22 gets some food and flaps wing at sib…Wednesday in Bird World

15 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Valentine’s Day (as I begin writing Wednesday’s blog) and it would feel a lot more warm and fuzzy if fish started falling from the sky on the SWFlorida Eagle nest. The FFV has been protecting the area (photographs by local photographers confirm this). Her right foot has lots of injuries as if she has been in a recent fight during the last 2 or 3 days. She might need some time to heal before she is able to help bring in prey. I wonder how she is eating? M15 helped Harriet in 2015! The eaglet was E6. There are other examples of male or female eagles stepping in to help raise eaglets that are not theirs, also. There is a snow storm with high winds hitting Jackie and Shadow after three days of their on again-off again relationship with the two eggs they guarded so closely for over a month. It seems things are back to normal in Big Bear. If the earthquakes have significantly decreased, I am going to really think they might have had something to do with their behaviour for 3 days.

So, some good news was needed to mend my aching head and heart and it wasn’t, however, the third egg laid at the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida on Valentine’s Day at 03:30. No, it came in the form of three pieces of news. The first one was a tweet from Geemeff Wednesday morning:

It is a huge beginning. Come on North America!!!!!!!!!!!

The second is form ‘H’ saying that all three of the falcons at Orange have been seen on the tower. Excellent.

The third is news about a small owl named Flaco that had been living at the Zoo at Central Park. Someone cut the wire to its cage and the owl escaped. Flaco has been seen eating and living nicely in the wild around New York City’s Central Park by a circus of curiosity seekers and residents. Zoo officials thought that Flaco could not live in the wild but he is proving them wrong. We learn something new every day from our raptors!

The New York Times reports for Valentine’s Day on Flaco…In the image below there is a bait tap but Flaco is not hungry!

“A major concern for everyone at the beginning was whether Flaco would be able to hunt and eat,” the society said in a statement, noting that zoo employees had observed him catching and consuming prey. “That is no longer a concern.” The officials from the Zoo also said, “In addition to proving himself as a hunter, the society said in its statement, Flaco had shown “a rapid improvement in his flight skills and ability to confidently maneuver around the park.”

The image above is a baited trap. Right now Flaco is full form his good hunting and is ‘not taking the bait’. The goal, according to the article, is to retrieve Falco and bring him back into the safety of the Zoo where he would not fall prey to rodenticide, GHO attack or killing, and collisions. Those are the risks of any urban raptor (or songbird for that matter). I find myself torn – while I believe in intervention, Flaco appears to be doing quite well living the ‘wild’ life.

Good news is also coming out of Orange. Xavier and Indigo have been back to the scrape. We wait and hope that Diamond was not too traumatised…Cilla says that Xavier will check and make sure it is safe and inform Diamond. Well done, Orange falcons.

Xavier made sure Indigo had a good breakfast. Look at that nice prey item that is in the scrape! (or am I wrong and this is Indigo’s great hunting?). The image was taken around 0849, the 15th of February in Orange.

Elain captured yesterday’s highlights.

I was so used to the Landings Nest near Savannah being an Osprey nest…then it was taken over by a GHO couple. Yes, those owlets are adorable. :)). I just wish they would leave the eagles alone!

An Osprey flew by this morning. Getting hopes up!

Heading to the SWFlorida nest..I am taking a bit of a breather today. E21 is 41 days old today and E22 is 39 days old. I am still concerned for E22 but, I want to be hopeful. Observers at the SWFlorida nest have posted this explanation as to what they think is going on at the nest. M15’s duty right now is to finish raising these eaglets. The female wants M15 and the territory ——she should be interviewed. There would be 100s of 5 year old female eagles wanting to match up with this super guy. I just wish she would prove her devotion by not just doing security but also becoming Mommy Door Dash.

This was also posted on the SWFL FB group this morning:

E22 is hungry. Dad jumped down first thing and fed the old fish tail to 21. Wishing for several big ones.

Bird with long legs and tail feathers came on the nest – it was a carcass. If the whole bird had made it, maybe 22 would have had some good food. I wonder what is going on. M15 ate, 21 ate, and 22 got some bites. Not many. Some by his quick snatch and grab out of 21 and Dad’s beak. Some up at the table when there was not much left.

On top of everything else, now there are drones. When will M15 cut a break?

At 1828, E22 got bold. Tired of having 21 get all the food for the day – and I do want to use the word ‘starving’, 22 went for it. M15 backed up a bit to help 22 and there was some quick snatch and grabs. It is unclear to me how much fish 22 got after 21 ate – 21 has a crop in the image below. The snatch and grab netted him a number of bites. And 22 was bold – he has to be. His life depends on it. I have seen statements that he got lots to eat. I would not characterise it as that but…he ate. And he had a ps that looked reasonable during the day. Someone got a screen capture of it.

It was frenzied for 22 who worked to get between Dad and 21 and grab every bite he could. Some were a nice size. We wait til morning. Again, the fish was not huge, 22 got some at the end.

After the feeding, M15 joined the FFV in the tree.

Wednesday morning M15 and the FFV were close on the tree.

M15 came in with a fish which 21 seems to have gotten the best of. 21 bonked 22 to keep it away. At 09:38 21 is self feeding on a leftover fish piece and 22 grabs it and takes it and wolfs it down. He is hungry.

To be clear, this is a small piece of fish and 21 will retake it, then 22 will get it back, and then M15 will fly down again. Someone said that in all of this 21 ate half a fish – if I had seen 21 eat half a fish I would be jumping on top of my roof for joy.

At 10:49, 21 is still eating and 22 is trying to find a scrap.

There is no shortage of food at many of the other nests. Still it helps to be ‘the one and only apple or Valentine of your parent’s heart’. Connick has an enormous crop! Looks like he is trying out for the role in some super hero movie with those amazing wings and big strong legs! Granted it is hard to take your eyes off that enormous crop to look at those wings and legs. He is one healthy eaglet…and I for one, wondered if he would make it early on. Well, no worries here. His smile is yellow and the black of his beak is shiny and healthy. Of course, nice clown feet, too, Connick…they go well with the mini-mohawk.

B16 is adorable. Notice the difference between B16 below and Connick above. Ask me if I would like to see 22 look like this? Of course.

There is something terribly ‘sweet’ about this little eaglet..I don’t know quite what it is but, something. Now look at B16’s wings. Consider for a moment how large they are.

The cameras have been on and off in the Kisatchie National Forest. The eaglets are fine and all of them are growing and developing those gorgeous juvenile feathers that we are going to see on Connick all too soon.

Gorgeous Trey. The IR camera really shows the thermal down and where the juvenile feathers are coming. Trey is incubating Dudley! She takes good care of that old unviable egg. Practice for the future. You can just see a little triangle of white almost directly under her beak. That is Dudley.

Anna and Trey with Dudley hiding underneath Trey.

Valentine and Nugget are simply developing into beautiful feathered eaglets. Valentine seems to have had a huge growth spurt…or is it the camera angle?

Jackie and Shadow have had at least one shift change today and they are both staying close to the nest and those two precious eggs. The storm system with snow and winds moving through is due to pass later today (Tuesday as I am writing).

The couple look much more settled.

At 11:06 Jackie called Shadow and he was there in a second to relieve her and incubate. Not leaving those eggs for a second longer than necessary. Am I thinking that we are back to normal and that pip watch is tomorrow? Hope.

Gabby and V3 were at the natal tree perched on the branches and in the nest bowl doing some work today. Gabby is in really good condition. Look at the colour of her beak and her feathers. Her eyes are clear. She is not tired and she is really healthy.

There are now three eggs at the Achieva Osprey nest. I mentioned it in yesterdays blog. So right now we have three osprey nests that have eggs being incubated in Florida: Moorings Park, Venice Golf and Country Club, and now Achieva in St Petersburg. We wait to see if there will be any eggs at Captiva this year for new couple Mabel and Angus.

Beautiful Diane will be doing hard incubation for between 38-43 days. Mark your calendars. Looks like 24-29 March. Later than 2021. (No eggs survived in 2022).

Most of you know that I am very fond of Diane and often get rather irked at Jack. Some of us even thought he had 2 nests in 2021 – the fish delivery was erratic and poor little Tiny Tot Tumbles, the third hatch, well…was deemed to be on death’s doorstep, literally, several times but, thanks to her Mum who saw her daughter want to live, fed her catfish after the two older siblings were sound asleep. In the dark, the little one ate and ate. TTT become the dominant bird on the nest staying long after the older two had fledged. She even helped her dad defend the nest and I want to add, as a juvenile having hatched in early March, she defended the nest many times by herself beginning in June. So….a warm soft spot for this Osprey Mum. I wish that third hatch had a band. Several times it looked like she visited the nest late in 2021 and in 2022.

Other Bird News:

Several months ago I added a note about two individuals that care for Cockatoos – sanctuaries for unwanted birds. One was April whose Victoria Cockatoo was believed to be dying and required urgent medical care. Individuals came to the rescue with their donations and now Victoria Cockatoo has gained weight and is doing extremely well.

The other was Dan Scott with Chloe’s Sanctuary. Funds are now in place for Dan and his flock of 11 ‘highly needy’ Cockatoos to take up residence in a new home in Nevada. Their old home in California was flooded. Thank you to all who answered their call.

Most people think Cockatoos are beautiful. So do I. We know that they are highly intelligent. Not Sulphur-Crested but Guffins have demonstrated that they can use tools!

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/10/goffins-cockatoos-use-toolset-complete-tasks?CMP=share_btn_link

People want one as a pet – that is what some of the YouTube videos do…make us want a pet bird.

Around the world, people go to pet stores and buy birds instead of going to sanctuaries. This means that the rescued or sanctuary animals could be euthanised if no home is found. I was sent a list of parrots, cockatoos and budgies requiring homes in one European city. It was huge. There is a growing call – by individuals that have ‘rescued’ parrots and budgies as well as animal right’s persons – to stop the breeding and sale of birds.

Two pet stores in North America that are getting a lot of attention because of their relationship to puppy mills, and other factory breeding programmes for animals, birds, and amphibians are PetSmart and PetCo. You may know these companies. Organisations that want the rights and lives of animals to be respected are asking customers to boycott those stores. Wallets do speak loud when profits are the only concern! There are a number of videos on YouTube that you can access showing dumpster divers finding fish and amphibians literally being tossed in to die. But there are just as many concerns for the dogs, cats, and birds as well. Our beloved feather friends often come from pet mills that are anything but caring and will do what they can to cut costs and maximise profits. So before you buy a bird from a pet store, think twice. Before you buy pet and bird food at a pet store, think about which store and what their policies are that you are supporting. Call your local organisations to see if your local humane society or rescue centre has any birds. Check out the reputation of the company selling the animal. A certificate saying an animal is a purebred does not mean that it came from a caring lovely small family breeder. Believe me I can tell you horror stories about cat breeders! Ask about surrenders and rescues. Give them a second chance at life. Parrots and Cockatoos live for a long time and many outlive their owners. Planning should be in place for all feathered friends just as you might do a dog or cat. Research the species. Every one of my contacts with Cockatoos warns that they are like tyrannical toddlers. I am also told that getting a beak trimmed can cost anywhere from $100-140 and the beaks must be trimmed.

‘J’ reminded me this morning that you can also adopt a ‘Cockatoo or a Parrot’ from a sanctuary which will help with their care. Many allow you to visit your adoptee. What an idea…a win-win for all. Some provide photographs.

Birds can be fantastic friends. My maternal grandfather had a Blue Budgie. My grandmother knew he adored that bird more than her! Think first! Thank you for listening…we need to be mindful, always, of the welfare of the animals and birds, both in our care and in the wild.

Thank you so much for being with me today. If you haven’t done so, do suggest a name for the new guy in Annie’s life. Go to Cal Falcons FB Page. I am not certain how long they will take potential names. Take care everyone. See you soon….please continue to send your good wishes to M15 and E21 and 22, our dear Diamond so traumatised by the fireworks, as well as Zoe who has yet to send in a transmission.

Thank you to the following for their notes, essays, articles, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures that form this blog: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘Geemeff’, and ‘J’, The New York Times, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Elain and the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Cornell Bird Lab, SWFlorida Eagles FB and Lisa Marie, Iris Schneider and the SWFL Eagles FB, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Paul Kolnik and Bald Eagles 101 FB, Window to Wildlife, Berry College Eagle Cam, KNF-E1, KNF-E3, FOBBY, NEFL-AEF, Achieva Credit Union, Victoria’s Playhouse, and The Guardian.

View at Medium.com
View at Medium.com

Pip for Anna and Louis, hatching at SWFlorida…Wednesday in Bird World

4 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

The excitement has been growing with more than 2528 persons watching Harriet and M15 at the SWFlorida Nest as their first hatch of the 2022-23 season is trying to make its way into the world. It is now 1000 Wednesday morning. The little one has been working away for 26 hours and there could be much time to go. It is hard trying to get through those hard shells and often the wee babes are exhausted when they have finished hammering away with their egg tooth. It can take from 24-72 hours. Jackie is not giving away any peeks. There is a pip for Anna and Louis in Louisiana also. Things are beginning to happen….and they will begin to happen fast it seems.

On Everyone’s Mind:

At just after 0800 on Tuesday 3 January, SWFlorida announced that the pip on one of Harriet and M15’s eggs was official.

From pip to hatch can be 24-72 hours.

By mid-afternoon, the little beak could be seen moving inside the small hole. There are now cracks appearing that will radiate out from the pip hole.

Gracie Shepherd caught that little beak working on that shell.

No announcement of a hatch yet this morning.

Making News:

There is a pip for Anna and Louis at the Kistanchie National Forest E-1 nest this morning.

What does politics, friendships, old school ties, and hush ups have to do with the persecution of raptors and the use of illegal poisons in the UK to kill Corvids and other birds and wildlife? It would appear a lot! Despicable.

Check out the latest blog at raptor persecution.uk.org

To counter these horrific deaths in the UK, there is good news coming out of Minnesota. Remember the 10 eagles that survived (3 died) that had eaten euthanised pets at a landfill? Well, they are well enough to be released back into the wild. Well done Raptor Centre! What a great story for the new year.

Another good news story of a sub-adult eagle being rescued and then found to be suffering from some rodenticide poisoning. Thank goodness for the wildlife rehabbers that spotted the thinness and took blood tests and treated this beautiful boy.

No news on any charges being laid for those that dumped the dead euthanised pets.

The raptors have such a difficult time because of humans. Two of the leading causes of their misery can be eliminated easily: ban the use and use of rodenticides with heavy prosecution for any found using these designer poisons and ban the sale and use of lead ammunition and fishing equipment. Every wildlife rehabber in the world will be grateful.

Loving the Kakapo? and thrilled that there more living than ever before they were almost made extinct? The new ones are going to get names! Congratulations everyone. It has been a good year – a real indication of the efforts being made to keep the islands disease and pest free.

Let’s educate ourselves. The Audubon Society has put out a really informative article about feeding birds. It is not just about the food but how our actions can actually harm our feathered friends. Many of you wrote to tell me that you had Scrub Jays in your area but, have never seen a Blue Jay like Junior and Mr Blue Jay. Scrub Jays are a species under threat; they are on the IUCN Red List for endangered birds. How do you help?

Bird lovers quickly realized that Florida Scrub-Jays will come readily to the hand for peanuts. Unfortunately, studies have shown that jays fed by humans reproduce earlier in the year than those that are not. As a result, their fledglings hatch before the caterpillars they rely on for nutrition are available, leading to malnourishment and starvation. People also feed jays near roads, and collision with vehicles is a major cause of their death. Thus, it’s now illegal to feed Florida Scrub-Jays unless you have a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

The Audubon Society, ‘When It’s Okay (or Not) to Feed Birds

Here is the entire article. It isn’t long but it is packed with good information.

https://www.audubon.org/news/when-its-okay-or-not-feed-birds

Nest News:

It was soggy in Louisiana as that weather system moved through the area. Andria was wet. The winds are quiet but there is a 95% chance of continued rain the area. It is 77 degrees F.

Andria took advantage of a dry moment to feed the two eaglets.

The eagles at Kincaid Lake are so lucky – a huge stocked area for them to get their prey. The eagles at Decorah, Iowa are lucky, too. A trout farm right across the road!

Images of Gabby at NEFlorida’s Bald Eagle nest at The Hamlet on 3 January. She is beautiful. Where is V3? At 1745 V3 is on the branch, he jumps into the nest alerting and flies off to the right alerting.

V3 is a very good defender of the realm. Some think he has new battle scars on his talons. Probably. He is wet but has a big crop. Been fishing?

V3 does have some cuts on his talons but the blood could also be from the prey that he ate. It does not have to be a battle wound with blood.

Before he takes off, we get a really good look at his crop. This eagle is a good hunter. He is quick to protect the territory keeping all intruders away. Just what Gabby needs.

Those darn mosquitoes and other bugs are not bothering Gabby and V3 as much tonight and both are on the nest. Probably guarding it, too.

Rose and Ron were working on their nest today. Gee, I wonder if we will have eggs there this year?? Apparently Ron and Rose had a visitor to the nest – V1, the first female to try and win Ron’s affections. And who says Eagles do not hold grudges and do silly things in revenge??? Apparently V1 did a ‘ps’ right in the nest bowl where Ron rests today!

Ron and Rose are a beautiful couple. They posed for the camera after the restorations.

Things are still going well at the Superbeaks Eagle nest in Central Florida. It is frustrating trying to get to see the eagles. Without a time stamp I cannot tell you when to rewind but, if you do rewind, you can catch glimpses as the sunlight on the camera lens changes throughout the day. A worrisome hole or a nest collapse where the rim meets the branch on the left has appeared. I hope PePe or Muhlady will bring in sticks to close it up!

It is wet in Louisiana and snow fell on the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and her new mate but, it is unclear how the weather forecasts for ice and snow played out (or will) in the US.

It is snowing and the wind is blowing hard at the nest of Jackie and Samson in Big Bear.

Guess who shows up even with the snow? Time 0644 for Jackie!

Baiba did a winter wonderland video of the visit of the Big Bear eagles today.

The camera operator found Thunder looking out over the water from her perch near her West End nest in the Channel Islands. Time 1518.

It’s raining in Pittsburg. At the US Steel nest, one of the eagles is perched watching the traffic below.

One of the hardest nests to watch in 2020 was the Achieva Osprey nest. The third hatch, called Tumbles by the chatters, was much loved and so very, very tiny. That little one had a will to live like no other osplet I have ever seen – before or after. Everyone counted the bites it got, sat up thinking tonight was the night Tumbles would die (at least 3 times). Adding up all the time in 6 weeks that Tumbles did not get any food equalled 12 days. 72 hours in one stretch was the most.

Well, Mum started catching her famous catfish and she realised that that this third hatch wanted to live and she fed it – sometimes in the dark after the others were full. Tiny Tot Tumbles began to thrive. Tiny Tot became dominant and stayed on the nest after fledge defending it against even adult ospreys. Sadly, today, Tiny Tot’s Mum is injured. It is possible that her leg is fractured. She still comes to the nest. Dad tried to mate but she cannot carry his weight. What will happen to her? Can she be retrieved (the nest is in St Petersburgh, Florida)? and taken into rehab? In the image below, she is calling when she sees Dad arriving with fish for her. He is taking care of her. Anyone reading this know a wildlife rehab in the area that can be asked what might be done? or should be?

The average for Bald Eagles is 35 days. Harriet and M15 are right on the dot. Is the first egg at Metro Aviation not viable? 39 days today. We know that eggs in the southern states where it is warmer generally hatch earlier than those laid in the north.

Everything you wanted to know about Bald Eagles and their eggs is in this simple one page read by AvianReport:

bald-eagle-eggs-appearance-egg-laying-incubation-and-egg-hatching-avian-reportDownload

Elain provides a great video of Indigo bringing his prey into the scrape. Always turn the sound up to get the full effect of this darling falcon!

This image came up on a feed. It is such an incredible photograph that it caught my eye. I want to send it out to all our friends in Japan who know there are osprey there but, might not have seen any. Isn’t this a gorgeous image? To get a shot like this you would be in a hide level with the water. There are actually sites that will sell you time to try and get your perfect image!

We are going to close today with an article in The Guardian on the dangers of fireworks to animals. Those reading my blog know this – but, now you have information that you can use to try and get others to cancel any loud fireworks displays.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/30/do-fireworks-harm-animals-we-ask-an-expert?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so much for being with me today. We could have a couple of hatchings the next time we meet! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Gracie Shepard and SWFLorida Eagle Cam, SWFL and the D Pritchett Family, KNF-E1, Raptor Persecution UK, Lolo Williams Twitter Feed, The Raptor Centre, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles live Nest and Cams, Kakapo Recovery, KNF-E3, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Superbeaks, MN-DNR, FOBBV, IWS and Explore.org, US Steel Eagle Cam, Achieva ospreys, Metro Aviation, Avian Report, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Birds of Prey, and The Guardian.

Sunday Morning in Bird World

6 November 2022

Good Morning All!

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. It is lovely to have you here. I want to say, right off the top, how inspiring each of you are to me. Osprey season, for me, begins in Australia and it has been a particularly devastating start after the great breeding year of 2021 that produced Bazza, Falky, and Ervie. Fortunately, I did not share that sadness alone and I thank you again for being such an empathetic and caring community.

As migratory season winds up in Manitoba, the wetlands and estuaries that were teeming with ducks, geese, swans are silent. There are no skeins of geese flying over my conservatory and already, I am missing their loud honks. Soon our time will ‘fall back’ and it will be dark by 1615. It appears, however, that the Blue Jays and Crows are staying on. Today, one of the Crows was able to tap hard enough on the bird bath to get some water. I must now find the water heater for them. It is very important to have water when you are giving seeds. Here, during the winter, the birds and squirrels will eat the snow but, they do not get the quantity needed so a heated source is very helpful.

It is 5 degrees. There are European Starlings in the trees in the back. Last year they came and ate and filled up before moving South. This year I wonder if they are intimidated by the Blue Jays. The weather report is for snow to arrive in three hours. It has been falling north of the City for hours.

Lewis and Missy are never apart. You would think they were litter mates. I just looked down and each was eating out of their hard food dish with Lewis straddling the water bowl so they could be parallel with one another. I have not seen kittens behave like this. It is literally like they are joined at the hip.

In the Mailbox:

‘C’ sent me a very long discussion with lots of good links from the Looduskalender English Forum about siblicide or cainism. I have skimmed some of the contents and have several parts thoroughly. The information provides good definitions and also alerts you to species that practice ‘obligatory’ siblicide. It is extremely stressful to watch a nest with two healthy chicks that have hatched knowing that the eldest will kill the youngest. If this troubles you, then please avoid those species or wait to start watching.

It is, perhaps, too early to read about this particular type of avian behaviour having lost Middle but, put the link aside and educate yourself.

cainismDownload

Making News:

This late summer, we were blessed with a Great White Egret in our City – indeed, eight or nine of them on a single tree at dusk. Here is a lovely story coming from the UK about walking in the marshes and discovering this amazing bird.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/02/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-explore-the-avalon-marshes-somerset

It is unclear if was fireworks that frightened F22 at the 367 Collins Street scrape last week but, something loud that sounded like fireworks echoing between the tall buildings of the CBD in Melbourne, scared this first time Mum off her perch.

Today, The Guardian is carrying an article demonstrating how fireworks causes geese to become stressed.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/03/bonfire-night-fireworks-cause-major-distress-to-wild-geese-study-finds

Many are choosing to use drones to light up the sky but, has anyone looked into the direct damage hundreds and hundreds of drones might have on birds? If you see anything, please let me know.

Sharon Dunne has posted some information about the new season at Taiaroa Head. It is getting off to a great start!

Pentobarbital Poisoning. There is at least one Bald Eagle in the US struggling for its life because it found a euthanized prey. It laid unresponsive but not dead and was taken to a rehabber who is posting information and working hard. How did this eagle get in contact with the euthanized animal?

https://www.knowledgefun.com/pdf/secondary_pentobarbital_poisoning_of_wildlife.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3xBTkh1FlmePDXANfrSQAljI8f08LCDAwxsq-_qj83gPgjq0px38JXzVA

Here is an article about Bald Eagles surviving eating euthanized cats. Are the vets not responsible for properly disposing of the animals?

https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/bald-eagles-recover-from-eating-euthanized-cats-ns5ah7v-150542725.html/?fbclid=IwAR1vtNBYxADyL7PhOOTOGELhRLvPIISvcthjOSQnpbqmCqA2myfsk9137PY

Australian Nest News:

So far, it has been a relative quiet day in Bird World. Every nest had prey deliveries in Australia and the last time I checked there were still four eyases on the Collins Street ledge.

At the Orange scrape of Xavier and Diamond, it appears that Cilla Kinross has changed her mind and believes Indigo to be a male. Is this size? legs? lack of aggression? I have not seen her statement and only noticed this latest information when one of the chat moderators included it today.

An unplucked Starling was dropped off inside the scrape box. Indigo began plucking it. It appears that Indigo’s very active plucking frightened little Rubus for a few seconds. Rubus ran and stood on the Cilla stones and then, watching and well, Rubus is always hungry, s/he begins to think about helping.

Rubus decides s/he will go and help.

The chicks made a good effort. Indigo was very good at plucking and little Rubus helped her by holding down a part of the Starling with the talons. But they did eventually give up despite their early morning hunger.

Rubus was really working on that Starling’s head.

Rubus twisted and turned and pulled getting some bites.

Looks like Diamond came and saved the day! Both chicks reasonably aggressive but, squealing Rubus slightly more so.

When I finished watching 367 Collins Street today, there were still four eyases on the ledge.

Oh, this one wants to fly so much!

They have been watching the adults fly. It is to lure them off that ledge. ‘Hey, look, you are a bird. Flap those wings and fly’ – Mum and Dad are telling them. ‘You can do it!’

It is 12:21 and all of the Melbourne Four are accounted for – there is one that is blending in well with the scrape box and one in the gutter looking like a piece of prey!

Sometimes Mum – who is now slim and trim – can look like one of the eyases. To tell the difference between an adult and a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, look at the bars on the chest. If they are vertical, the bird is a juvenile. If they are horizontal, they are an adult.

All present and accounted for at 1417. Just look at how much the youngest one has changed. You can easily see which one or ones are hungry. See the sunken crop of the one on the ledge and the full crop of the one in the gutter. Falcons do not need to eat every day and…of course, all of us want them to have banquets but, a day will not harm them. These four have learned how to pluck and are preparing for what they are meant to do – fly! So proud of these first time parents. They overcame so much to be able to fledge these four healthy eyases – and that fledging will be soon. I hope they all wait and fly off together.

Here is a very short video of a pigeon delivery to the Melbourne Four. They are sooooo loud. Once you know that sound you will never mistake it for anything else! Poor parent. Besieged.

Mum and Big have been eating. All of the nests have had food – at least one prey drop or more.

Big is big.

Big had a monster sized crop.

Big is very aware of her surroundings and around 1322 pancaked in the nest. A few minutes later she was looking around as if there was ‘something’ or ‘someone’ about.

Mum got a chance to eat some fish on her own — in the middle of the night while Big slept. Thank goodness. Big will eat everything unless the fish is huge. We are now within 5-7 days of banding.

Brief Eagle News:

If you are a Decorah North fan, Mr North and DNF were working on their nest this morning! There is hardly a Bald Eagle nest in the US that is not now going through nestorations.

Muhlady laid her second egg. Pepe was there at the Superbeaks nest in Central Florida giving support. Muhlady was the first Bald Eagle to lay an egg this breeding season. She will have the clutch finished before most even consider an egg!

Migration News:

Waba is still in the Sudan feeding at the Nile River while Bonus remains in Turkey. There will most likely not be any transmissions from Kaia or Karl II as they were already at their wintering grounds. This is typical. In past years there has been no transmission from Karl II until he began his return journey to Estonia. This is the first year that Kaia has a transmitter.

Thank you for joining us today. I hope that your weekend has been good. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures today: Raptor Education, Royal Albatross Cam and Sharon Dunne, The Guardian, Looduskalender Forum, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Decorah North, and Superbeaks.

Godwits, owls, fireworks, and Aussie raptors…early Saturday in Bird World

29 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It was so nice to hear from so many of you. I am glad you enjoyed seeing some of the feathered friends at my local zoo. I have not been there for years and it was simply a delight to see how zoo management has changed. One of the big features is our Polar Bear Conservation Project. Children love them. The place was packed – that made me happy but, I wish more people would sit and watch the birds and not be so attracted to what they are told is exotic – aka, ‘the tiger’.

Making News:

Alaska to Tasmania in one 13,000 km epic journey?! It seems a Godwit has set a new record!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/godwit-migration-alaska-tasmania-record-1.6632658?fbclid=IwAR2Sq0cOfXqg3aJDFCdwk02a4ZkWRKpMZ9_tHLeMxImoeezDPpPXmrKjc5s

A wee owl being attacked by seagulls 100 miles out to see in Scotland was saved! This is a make you feel good read.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-63425826?fbclid=IwAR0vCiStXvVZWRNQl8sHjNA4faCQIeJ2Uob9VjW7gXlChlEWS95wSej_ZZU

Please don’t put all your leaves into bags. If you must, rake them and put them in a pile, Lovely Greens made this great poster to remind us that it is better for the birds if you just leave the leaves! Look at all the wonderous creates that will thank you.

The Kakapo Recovery Group – those great people that monitor, care for, assess, and generally make sure that as many of these critically endangered non-flying parrots live – have opened up adoptions for the next year. I can say as someone who waited too long – if you are intending to make a donation to the Kakapo by adopting one of the birds, do it now! Don’t wait. My Kakapo lives in one of my huge plants, often hiding, just like the real ones.

If you are looking to help out other wildlife groups or nature centres, many are busy making money selling their annual calendars now. Check out the individual websites.

Checking on the Australian Nests:

The takings at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest would not win any awards today. It is now 2100 on the Canadian Prairies on Friday night and it is 12:17 in Port Lincoln. There have been two deliveries: 061847 and 093829. Both were small! And I do mean small. The first appeared to be a chunk of fish and the second was simply a teaser. Let us hope something bigger comes on the nest soon. Still, it has been pleasant and that is fantastic.

Another fish, a little larger, came in at 131223. Big got the lion’s share of this fish. Middle is hungry and was doing a bit of snatch and grab but at 1315, Middle pulled away as if he was afraid Big would attack. Big continued to eat and at 1324, Big took the tail and ate it. This nest needs 2 big fish to come on it. Middle will be fine but both Middle and Mum need to eat, too.

Middle pulls away. He has had some bites but Big had domineered the feeding.

Middle watches Big eat the fish tail.

I don’t know if anything could get cuter than the antics of Rubus and Indigo. Particularly when prey is delivered. The pair of them seem to go after Xavier much more than Diamond – jumping, and pulling, and trying to take the prey out of Dad’s beak. I wonder if Xavier and Diamond have noticed that it is double the work taking care of these two than it was when they had only Yurruga last year or Izzi in 2020? Mind you those two were a little like energetic Rubus!

This scrape is the real winner in terms of prey deliveries. They had six deliveries yesterday of which 5 were Starlings. Today, there have been three deliveries already – a Starling at 060733, a parrot at 063831, and a Noisy Friar at 091333.

Here is a video of the earlier feeding:

It is getting much more difficult to tell when the Melbourne Four have been fed. They had a whole pigeon early and if you rewind you will not see any feedings. Still it is 1300 and, based on past performance, we know that the adults would have been in with prey. The sun is shining and so far there is no rain falling.

There is some serious concern over the Mum at 367 Collins Street. She was abruptly woken last evening and flew off the perch at 213426 and has not returned. It sounded to me like it was people partying in the CBD. Were there fireworks set off? Was it the Spring Carnival Fireworks? If that is truly the case, this is a very good reason not to have fireworks! It definitely disturbs the wildlife! I hope that Mum is perched somewhere safe. If you live in Melbourne and know what was happening around this time in the CBD, please send me a comment. Thank you!

‘H’ caught it all on video. Thank you ‘H’ for alerting me to this happening and creating this video for us. It is much appreciated. There are falcon sounds coming from the ledge above a few minutes later.

Continuing with the loud noises that happen when there are big gatherings, dozens of people were treated for cardiac arrest in Halloween celebrations last night. Perhaps it is time for civic leaders to recognize the harm to all by loud surprising noises bouncing off of tall buildings in urban spaces.

All of the Bald Eagles in the US are building their nests or renovating their old nests. Sometimes hearing that Xavier brought in another Starling can be like fingernails on a chalkboard. So ‘A’ and I have come up with something that we hope is fun and helps oil everyone’s brain! ‘A’ began making a list of the names of streaming cam birds that correspond to the alphabet. Then she sent it to me. Oh, it was fun trying to remember all the names and clear up the few missing bits. So, we both thought you might enjoy it, too. So, get a sheet of digital or real paper, get out your pen or your keyboard and put down all the letters of the alphabet. Then start adding the names of the birds next to them. Let’s give ourselves until Midnight Wednesday 2 November -CDT. I will give you a count down so you remember. I will post the results as soon as I can collate all of them. You can send them to me via e-mail: maryasteggles@outlook.com

To get you started. Can you think of a female Peregrine Falcon living at The Campanile whose name starts with an A. It is ____________________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!

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

Thank you to the following for their posts and/or their streaming cams where my screen captures came from: ‘H’ for her alert and video of 367 Collins, ‘A’ for her fun game idea, Lovely Gardens, CBC Canada, BBC, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Kakapo Recovery, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.