Category Archives: Florida wildlife

Has Manaaki fledged? Saturday in Bird World

16 September 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

This is our last blog until we return on Monday 25 September. We hope that you have a great week while we are away!

Today it was cold and rainy. Not a great day for the annual open house at Wildlife Haven, our wildlife rescue hospital, in Ile des Chenes, Manitoba. Normally the grounds outside would be filled with people listening to speakers and visiting with the raptor ambassadors. Today, most huddled inside.

It was good to see so many parents with children aged 5 and up asking questions and being ever so curious about the animals.

One of the highlights of the tour was seeing the new home for Majestic. Majestic is a Bald Eagle that came to Wildlife Haven from Rainy River, Ontario ten years ago. She arrived as a juvenile and is believed to be between 10 and 12 years old. She was starving, dehydrated, and was suffering from an old fracture in her left wing at intake. She cannot live in the wild as she does not have control over her flight feathers but – now – she can fly about landing on various perches within her new enclosure safely.

Meet Una, a Great Horned Owl. Una had problems in the nest, according to the presenter. She was born with a missing right eye and a beak that was not aligned – he is small for the species. As a nestling, Una was neglected by her parents. Today, she is living the good life as an ambassador.

It felt ‘very odd’ holding the tail of an Osprey that was once very much alive.

Or a Red-tail Hawk.

There were tours throughout the surgical wing, the food preparation area, the big flight chambers, and special areas for clients such as otters and fox cubs.

Every wildlife rehab centre relies on donations and volunteers. It is amazing what they do with so little. You can normally find a ‘wish list’ at your local centre of items that are urgently needed and, of course, I will continually remind you about clean used towels and sheets, bleach, washing up liquid, laundry detergent, stainless steel bowls, small hand tools that work, pet food, vegetables from your garden, and items of enrichment such as toys. Clean kennels are particularly helpful in transporting animals or isolating them while they await intake or treatment. So before you bin it, think again. There is some wildlife rehab centre near you that might find those things useful – and they would be very grateful. Thank you!

Meanwhile – the kittens. I am guilty of taking way too many images of Hope. She is growing so fast and every day I can see subtle changes in her appearance.

Calico is getting very restless to get out of the conservatory and back into the house’s main part. The vet says ten days. Meanwhile, Hope is nothing short of energy in a small packet. She wants to play and runs from chair to table to tent and couch and then scurries under the covered area over the dining table and out again. Mamma is tired and, I think, growing weary of this big kid of hers. LOL.

Hope gets excited when anyone enters the conservatory – she wants to play with her favourite feather-dangling toy. She was introduced to healthy cat treats full of flax, cranberries, chicken, and other goodies. Her treats look healthy, like homemade human granola bars with extra protein. I made a line, and sure enough, she followed it to my lap. She is still very nervous, and I try not to breathe or move when this happens. She remains reluctant for me to hold her, so we are going every so slowly.

Lewis wants everyone to know that he is cuddly, adorable and a goof.

Lewis and Missey found a way to look out the window in the old office where Calico first stayed. Little birds were flitting about the apple tree. I am so glad that their closeness has not been jeopardised by the arrival of the two new siblings.

Looks like one of the things that we will be doing next week is building some insulated cat shelters. Winter will arrive on the Canadian Prairies before we know it. The Dark-eyed Juncos showed up in the garden today looking for Millet and Robins are passing through. There are still some hummingbirds being photographed along with Pine Siskins. Geese are everywhere, filling up on grass and grain left on the farmers’ fields before going south.

There is still concern over Hurricane Lee. There are reports that one beloved male Osprey adult, Swoop, is still near the nest at Hog Island in Maine. As I write this, the defined eye of the hurricane appears to have broken up, but this could still bring high winds and heavy rains to NE USA and Atlantic Canada.

Keep all of the wildlife in your thoughts as this system moves. We still have many fledglings and adult Ospreys in Atlantic Canada that have not left for migration.

Annie and Lou are bonding! How sweet. These are rare occurrences this time of year, but what is so good about this behaviour is that we can confirm that both are healthy and doing well.

In South Australia, Ervie is back fishing at Delamere, where he used to join Dad when he was just a youngster. Ervie is now two years old. Happy Birthday, Ervie!

It is always good to see Osprey platforms being replaced or installed for new couples. There are not enough old dead trees in situ for them near good fishing spots. This is a good solution and far superior to them building nests on power poles where they could be electrocuted.

Remember the two Royal Albatross chicks that failed in their first flight? Here is the story of their rescue. Thanks, Holly!

‘H’ brings us up to date on Barnegat Light and Date County:

Barnegat Light – “Duke is enjoying a few days of well-earned rest and relaxation since Dorsett left the area on 9/11.  Duke can often be seen in one of his trees at the north tree line, and Thursday he was wading at the shoreline with some gulls.  Friday Duke enjoyed a nice breakfish on his perch.  Later in the afternoon, he was seen on his perch shaking his tail and drying out his wings.  We love ya’, Duke.”

Dade County – “The juvie, R5, was back at the nest again on 9/15, and this time he was looking for food scraps.  Ah, he is so mature looking!  R5 has been at the nest 5 out of the last 6 days.  There is still some time before nesting season begins for Ron and Rose, but as much as we love R5, some of us are hoping that he will be bitten by the wanderlust bug soon, lol.  R5 is six months old on 9/16.  Happy Birthday, R5 !!”

Flaco, the Eurasian Owl that escaped the Central Park Zoo is doing well despite initial worries some months ago! You can check out more of Flake’s adventures by going to Bruce Yolton’s website urban hawks.com

‘A’ reports: “At Collins Street, F22 had a large crop today when she left the nest at 10:36, and little M22 arrived by 10:41 to take over the incubating until the shadow covered the scrape. He was panting a lot, and both parents this morning were using the technique of standing over the eggs with wings outstretched to shade them, rather than settling down on the clutch. Little dad looks so cute when he does it! He works so hard at enfluffling the eggs. It’s hard work for him to cover them all. He’s going to have major problems when it’s four eyases aged, say, a week to 10 days, without thermal down and exposed to the rain and the direct sunlight.—Yes, I’m going to say it again. WHY OH WHY could they not have strategically placed two small squares of wood to shelter from above and to extend the shelter of the building on the far side!??? What will happen on the first wet day?”

‘A’ continues: “I am genuinely concerned that there is the real possibility of a tragedy at Collins Street this season. Last year was the third consecutive La Nina year. That is not a normal Australian summer. We are about to get back to our usual summers, which include days reaching as high as 43C and I shudder to imagine what that scrape will look like by the time the chicks are, say, 10 days old. There is going to be a period of up to a month when the chicks are very vulnerable to that heat and are unable to escape it along that gutter. Not only that, but dehydration is going to be a potential problem even if they are getting enough food.”

SE31 and 32 were very hot on Friday, too. They were panting to help cool their bodies.

‘A’ reports about breakfast: “Breakfast was something that had been feathered (it looked young, but its feathers may just have been wet – it lacked a head so identifying it was not easy), which Lady brought in at 06:40:35. SE31 was in the right place at the right time, so was already in perfect position for food when it arrived, and shortly after 06:41 tried to help herself to the prey. Lady waited a while for some reason, and SE32 joined SE31 waiting for food. Because he came up on his big sister’s inside, SE32 was in primary position when mum did begin feeding, so was fed first rather than his sister. But Lady is relatively even-handed and is feeding both. The blood appears to be nearly gone from her head. so it must have come from her talons,. perhaps while scratching herself, and there is no apparent sign of what yesterday looked like a wound on her left foot. This is really lovely juicy nutritious red meat, and a decent-sized piece of prey as well. Both eaglets are eagerly grabbing bites, some of them very large. Their manners are impeccable. Neither is being at all aggressive and each is happy to watch the other eat. When they lose a competition for a bite, they just wait for the next one. It is lovely to watch. Lady is doing her best to feed both, and it seems they will end up having roughly equal amounts of this meal.”

‘J’ brings news that there is a new camera at the Centrepoint Bald Eagle Nest.

Gabby and V3 have been very alert at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest on Friday.

The cameras will return to SWFlorida on the 30th of September.

At the Royal Albatross colony, ‘A’ reports: “Manaaki is hovering so high, he is out of camera shot. Twice, I have thought he has fledged, but he has landed far down the hill and walked back up. He may well go today, but he shouldn’t. He is still not in control of his flying and he still has too much fluff. Another three days is my guess, as he is still not tucking his feet and legs up confidently and is unable to surf the thermals with any real control. Still, he is getting great height on his hovers and staying airborne for increasing lengths of time. He is very serious about his practising, and cast another bolus at 01:40 this morning. So he is preparing to leave and it could be at any moment now. Literally.”

‘A’ returns later with what is ‘sad’ news: “Manaaki has not returned to his nest. UQ is waiting for him, in his new spot near Manaaki’s nest. The general consensus on the chat is that Manaaki has fledged, although we need to wait until the rangers do their walkaround and head count tomorrow to know whether he is elsewhere on the headland. Unless of course he returns to his nest during the night. It is agreed that he was last seen on camera at 16:39:45 and has not been seen since. Other sightings thought to be of Manaaki were in fact of UQ chick (whose hovering skills are way better than Manaaki’s). I am still sceptical because he really did not seem to be sufficiently balanced in the air and still looked very uncertain. Not to mention the fluff he still had. If he has fledged and landed on the water in the bay, he will be spotted and if necessary rescued.  If he has fledged successfully, he has done so at 238 days of age. We wish him godspeed and all the luck in the world out there. We pray we (and he) will live long enough to see him return to his birthplace (some return as early as age three, others not until they are five or even older). One or probably both of his parents will visit the nest over the next few days to make sure their baby has fledged and is not hanging around nearby, needing to be fed. It is so bittersweet watching them wait. If their chick does not return to the nest to be fed, then all their devotion and hard work has paid off. They have done their job for the season, successfully raising a chick to fledge. But somehow, there is a pang as they wait. Sometimes, they come back more than once, just to be sure.  

So now, a year after we watched QT fledge, we are waiting for her parents to return for the new season. Mum YRK and dad OGK. Of course, our hope that OKG will return is very slim indeed, but it does remain a possibility. They ring the bells at the colony when the first returnees arrive home, and then the bells ring out all over the area. They love the toroa.” 

There is good news. While I do not know the number of butterflies in Canada this year, we have noticed a considerable number in the garden and the local parks. Others have mentioned this as well. In the UK, the record of butterflies has grown this summer – excellent news. This does not mean that there has been an increase in the number of insects – so vital to the lives of our songbirds.

Indeed, a group of residents at one of the condominiums in Winnipeg has noticed that the songbirds have disappeared from their property after the management had the grass treated by a firm claiming to be ‘Eco’. If it kills weeds, it will kill insects that the birds eat and often kills the birds. If you know of any well-researched articles on the issue of lawn treatments and songbirds, please send them to me. I hope to help some of my former students prepare a united front and argue against this practice in the future.

UK-butterfly-numbers-bounce-back-after-last-years-all-time-low-Butterflies-The-GuardianDownload

Do you know the Island of Mull on the west coast of Scotland? It is notorious for its wildlife, and the White-tail Eagles are no exception. There are also dolphins and whales to be seen.

The-Sea-Eagles-That-Returned-to-Mull-Hakai-MagazineDownload

While the Ospreys are away, want to watch a different table feeder in Scotland? Check out the one at RSPB Loch Garten. Here is the link. You might see some of those adorable red squirrels.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you on the 25th of September when we return from a brief break.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: ‘A, H, J’, Geemeff’, Wildlife Haven, NOAA Hurricane Centre, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, PLO, Jeff Kear and UK Osprey Info, Holly Parsons and Albatross Lovers, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, WRDC, Bruce Yolton, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sydney sea Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, The Guardian, and Hakai Magazine.

Friday in Bird World

15 September 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Hope, Calico, Missey and Lewis – along with all the garden animals hope that you are well, that the weather is grand, and that you will get outside and enjoy the sound of birds and the smell of autumn which is upon us.

Calico’s incision looks really good. What a sweet cat she is. She sees the antibiotic cream tube and will go and lay down on the striped quilt and let me apply it. She is simply a marvel.

I have had animals all my life. When I was born my father had a three-legged dog that stood guard by my basket. She lived quite a long life – and it is because of her that I recognise that animals can adapt to many situations and live a full life. Trixie certainly did. In all those decades, I have marvelled at how smart these animals are, but I have never had a companion like Calico. She is quiet, affectionate, and sweet, and seems to simply understand that the cream is to help her. She has never – and this is apparently rare for a community cat – ever scratched or fought me. It has been the opposite. What a blessing she and that little bundle of energy, Hope, are.

Tonight, on my walk, I came across a woman who helped look for the kitten. She teared up at the sight of Calico and Hope together in the photos. We all need happy endings. At the same time, I was a wee bit saddened to see that the deck where Calico had her kittens had been enclosed with wire mesh. It was a good place for the community cats to be warm and dry in the winter. No one knew they were there – and while it is none of my business, it is an example of how quickly animals can lose a ‘home’. These cats have served an important role in our little neighbourhood. There are no mice that I am aware of. Numerous people feed birds, including myself. I attribute the lack of mice directly to these cats.

Calico and I have been reading an edited volume Not Too Late. Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility. One of the most moving and inspiring chapters is by Jacquelyn Gill, a Palaeontologist. The chapter is called “The Asteroid and the Fern”. Gill writes about her visit to a cave in Siberia and the Great Dying that took place 251.9 million years ago when “roughly 90 per cent of life on Earth was lost” (126). Gill adds that the “heat wave that triggered the Great Dying took around seven hundred thousand years to unfold”. She compares this to now where in a lifetime we have created disaster which “barely spanned the breadth of a human life” (127). Gill looks at what happens after adding that the stories of extinction in the past are as inspiring as they are sobering (126).

I look at the four animals in my direct care and those that live in the garden and realise that we must live in the present and not fall into depressing despair. We must work cooperatively to find solutions while living ‘in the moment’. If not, we will miss those beautiful lives standing right in front of us. Isn’t that what this is all about? The wonder of the seasons, the animals, the people we love. To ponder in despair what might come and to miss the now would be a heavy loss.

The beauty of the world does not have to be in an exotic location halfway around the world. Most often it is right before our eyes.

Bird World is going to take a wee vacation starting on 17. September. ‘A’ and ‘H’ and I will return on Monday the 25th. We urge you to keep your eye on Manaaki if he has not fledged by Sunday and to also watch for the start of the cams at Sw Florida.

First up – do you live in Maine? If so, please read the following notice carefully.

Geemeff gives us a year of highlights from nest 1 at Loch Arkaig – Louis and Vila’s old nest. Now it is ‘as the osprey soap opera turns’ – we wait to see who pairs up next year. Thanks, Geemeff. It is a beautiful nest that needs to be occupied with fish screaming osplets!

M15 and F1 at the SWFlorida Eagle Nest.

Thunder, the daughter of Chase & Cholyn from Two Harbours, visits the old nesting area she shares with her mate, Akecheta on Thursday.

Oh, we would give anything to see Mini on the Patchogue nest – have her just fly in like Thunder and recognise her. Mini was last on the nest on September 11. Locals noted that Dad was also seen that day but Mum has not been to the nest since Sunday the 10th. No one has seen them in the area since then and it is possible that they are elsewhere on the water or after left the area.

One of the Webster Texas eagles is back working on the nest!

Pepe was working on the Superbeaks Nest – gosh, Osprey season ended and the eagles are now starting work! How exciting is this?

The posting of the loss of Stormy and Simba touched so many. I have received numerous letters. Please don’t stop watching Jackie and Shadow – we won’t probably ever know what happened to those two gorgeous fledglings but, we can, each day, in our way, do something to hopefully make the lives of our wildlife better.

Sadly, a large number – the precise % each year is unknown – do not survive their first year. We must also celebrate those who do and cheer on those who live into their 20s. It has not been easy for them.

‘Down Under’-

Sharon Dunne updates us on the status of fledging at the Royal Albatross colony.

‘A’ was able to confirm: “Quarry is confirmed to have fledged so it is just UQ and Manaaki now. Both the girls have left. UQ is far better at hovering than Manaaki is, so I do hope our boy does not try to leave before he is ready (which he really isn’t yet).” ‘A’ also adds: “At 18:35 at Taiaroa Head, the last of the light is fading and we can just make out Manaaki on his nest and UQ on his new ‘ nest’. (We can’t see whether he has actually constructed a new nest or whether he has simply relocated to the grass area next to Manaaki and a long downhill from him.) He seemed to move there permanently after Quarry left the area several days ago but has always been friendly with Manaaki. The girls (Quarry and Miss NTF) were constantly visiting UQ, displaying to him and generally being precocious and a little aggressive, which disconcerted UQ, who in turn sought refuge around Manaaki. The girls also tried similar approaches with Manaaki, but being not nearly as shy as UQ, he was always prepared to stand up to the girls and clack his bill at them, driving them away from his nest. He took no nonsense from either! Although UQ is the fluffiest and least adventurous of the four, his flying skills (well, at least his hovering) are way ahead of Manaaki’s, and over the past two days, UQ has been hovering so high he has been out of sight of the camera. He has also flown a long way across the downhill grassy area, towards the water, and has sometimes had to walk back up, although on other occasions, he has been able to glide backwards (I finally understand what the chatters meant about backward flying, which these albie chicks do all the time). The chicks try to ride the wind currents by simply stretching out their winds and allowing the wind to lift and carry them. If they get high enough, and are sufficiently balanced, they can tuck up their trailing legs and feet and actually glide quite a distance. It looked on more than one occasion as though UQ was off and gone this afternoon. Manaaki, on the other hand, is still not getting the same lift as UQ yet and is not yet balanced enough to control his movements in the air or to tuck up his legs and feet. Both of the boys still have too much fluff to fledge, in my opinion, and I am hoping UQ will wait another few days to lose his fluff and that Manaaki will wait at least another five days to a week to perfect his skills in the air. But as I said the other day, the wind will usually decide for them. And hopefully, the ones who are not strong or skilled enough will ditch in the bay, allowing their rescue, as we saw today. So it is only after they leave the waters near Taiaroa Head that they begin the exhilarating beauty and deadly risk that is their life as wild birds.”

At Collins Street, ‘A’ writes: “Little dad at Collins Street is a trooper. He did several lengthy incubation spells today, and not just the nearly two hours in the centre of the day but another couple of hours in the middle of the afternoon. He is a very dedicated dad, and as I mentioned, I’m sure he is providing food for F22, though she may be hunting for herself as well. Certainly, she has left the nest several times and then, very shortly afterwards, we have seen feathers floating down from a higher level while M22 looks upwards with that sweet sidelong glance he has, so I’m sure she has had no time to catch her own food in that time. Who knows what she does in that late morning/lunchtime period (90 minutes to two hours), which she used to take as down time last season as well, until that day when the chicks nearly baked (honey, I fried the kids). From memory, I seem to recall her being more diligent following that incident, although of course it was only a week or two after the baking incident that last year’s eyases started to make their own decisions on which end they wanted to inhabit, heading along the gutter at will. She takes her final break of the day at 18:07, with M22 taking over at 18:10 and remaining until F22 returns to the ledge at 18:16. As always, she is screeching (is that her normal mode of communication?) on arrival and dad leaves the nest and dives off the ledge. Fast. Mum settles down for the night shift.”

The Sydney sea Eagles have eaten well. There is some concern about Lady’s foot. ‘A’ observed this closely and adds, “At 10:11:06, and again from 10:11:22 to 10:11:24, have a look at the surface of Lady’s left foot. It appears to be a very raw wound or nasty scrape, not blood from a piece of prey. See what you think. At 10:13:02, as she walks to the back of the nest, it looks as though there may be some inflammation or mark on the back of the left ‘ankle’ area. Lady also has some blood on her head, at the top/back on the left side of the crown. I thought little of it earlier in the morning, but now, noticing the apparent wound on her left foot, I am wondering about the blood on her head. It is possible she scratched her head with the foot when it was bleeding and I suppose it is also possible it is from a prey item, as she has a piece of fluff or a feather stuck to her forehead at the top of her beak, between her eyes. She does not appear hindered by any injury nor does she exhibit any signs of discomfort. So perhaps I am worrying about nothing. There’s another close up at 11:14:18. It doesn’t look quite as bad as in the earlier shots but perhaps that is the light.”  

On Thursday, Lady was bringing in new twigs for the railings to try and keep the sea eagles in. One of the cutest things is when these adorable eaglets start pitching in and helping being little Mini Mums.

At Orange, Diamond is impressed when Xavier arrives with a Rosella at 0908!

Eastern Rosellas are brightly coloured birds – blue and yellow along with some green, with a bright red head and white cheeks – that live in New South Wales and Queensland Australia. They live in flocks – usually of about 20 birds – and eat seeds, berries, fruits, nuts, and even leaves.

“Eastern Rosella” by zosterops is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

I saw no fish deliveries while watching or rewinding the Port Lincoln Osprey cam. Hopefully, since it appears to be a calm day, Dad2 will get on and haul in a big fish for Mum.

It is that time of year and the Osprey nests that ‘H’ has been observing are getting really quiet. She notes that the Osoyoos camera is once again down but she will continue to check for us to see if anything is happening. Audrey was not seen at Kent Island on Thursday and is believed to have migrated. “Duke at BL was seen a couple of times yesterday, and he has been documented to stay around as long as eight days after the last juvie left the area.” ‘H’ is also checking to see if the IR light will be turned on at Collins Street. Thank you ‘H’.

Birdlife International brings us a short but gripping story about birdwatching, yacht racing, the Southern Ocean and the decline in wildlife.

Birdwatching-goes-both-ways-BirdLife-InternationalDownload

Before we go, another great image of Ervie finishing up the innards of his fish dinner. Always lovely to see you Ervie!

And more Ervie!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H’, Kshanti Green and Maine Birds, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, SW Florida Eagle Cam, IWS/Explore, SL Security Pros, Paul Williams and Webster Texas Eagles, Superbeaks, Terri Ashmore and FOBBV, Sharon Dunne and Royal Cam Albatross Group of NZ, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Julie Lovegrove and Friends of Sth Aus, Bazz Hockaday and Friends of Sth Aus, and BirdLife International.

Guess who’s still home…Thursday in Bird World

14 September 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The happenings in Bird World – in terms of our beloved Ospreys – are getting thin. Most have left their nests and are returning to their winter destinations. It has been a privilege to watch these amazing families struggle in some very challenging conditions to survive. The joy that even a single survivor on a nest brought to us – seeing Dorsett catch a fish and hang out by the beach after fears that the entire clutch would be lost. Witnessing the loss of the Lake Murray osplets to a GHO or others die for mysterious reasons like those at Marder’s. And then seeing a survivor like Mini – . It was like being on a roller coaster – the 2023 Osprey breeding season.

Thank you for your really good wishes for Calico. She is healing nicely. We have not resorted to the Victorian Collar – well, I tried it when I saw her licking but she was not having that and in the end the stress and her trying to tear it off might have caused more damage. I learned from Geemeff that Olive Oil will keep skin around the incision from drying out which is the root cause of the licking -when that skin dries it pulls. I also picked up some antibiotic cream. Calico is such a lovely girl – she rolled on her back and let me apply those as if she completely understood that I was trying to help her. I cannot tell you how much I adore this cat.

Hope is a live wire and wants only to play. Missey wants to play with her but Calico is not so happy to share so we are going to wait. Hope is also beginning to lose that ‘fat’ little face of a kitten. She is 74 days old – nearly 11 weeks. She has such big legs! She is cute, quick, and fun and is less and less afraid of people every day.

Hope loves this feathery teaser that her Auntie in Scotland got for her. It brings her out of her hiding spots in an instant!

Hope is a whirlwind. She must just make Calico tired. You might be able to tell that the conservatory has been turned into a cat play room complete with the table being turned into a hiding spot with thick comforters on the floor and heavy quilts and Rajasthani block prints as cover. It is hopefully a happy safe plade for these two as they acquaint themselves to life indoors. I got a giggle this morning. Geemeff sent me a saying, “Dogs have owners, cats have staff.” Isn’t that the truth? I am getting ready to go and do ‘maid duty’ after having already done ‘room service’. I would not change anything.

Calico has discovered that from the little house on the cat tree she can control Hope having access to that tummy tum.

This old cattier has been fun for more than a dozen cats since a couple of local men – a carpenter and an upholsterer – made a few of these around 2006. They are heavy duty – 3/4″ plywood construction and the carpeting can easily be replaced in the bits that get the. most use.

Missey and Lewis grew too big to run and play in the lime green tunnel. Hope loves it and the crinkle sound the fabric makes.

‘H’ has a surprise in her three reports this morning…a wonderful surprise.

Osoyoos – What a surprise … After the livestream was down for 14 days, it went live on 9/13 … for 4.5 hours, then the feed went down again. So, what did we learn?  The fledgling is still there.  She was on and off the nest several times.  And, she looks fabulous!  She is quite plump and healthy looking.  That is just wonderful.  We did not see either of her parents. 

Kent Island – Audrey made an appearance early in the morning when she landed on a pole at a nearby dock.  She stayed perched there for some time, but we are not sure how long, as the camera panned back to the nest.  We did not see her the rest of the day, which was somewhat unusual of late.  The past several days, Audrey had been seen a few times in Joe’s tree or on the dock.  We will monitor, but it is possible that we may have seen Audrey for the last time this season.  

Barnegat Light – Duke was seen in a couple of different trees throughout the day.  Dorsett was not seen or heard.  There were no significant live streaming issues on 9/13, so technical difficulties cannot be blamed for the lack of Dorsett sightings.  The last time we saw Dorsett was the morning of 9/11.  There was a beautiful sunset over Barnegat Bay … a poignant moment in time … missing Dorsett.  “You be safe out there, girl.”

Visitor at Loch Arkaig! Not an Osprey. Beautiful.

More visitors to Louis and Dorcha’s nest at the midnight hour.

A fledgling having a wonderful fish meal on the Kallavesi Osprey nest in Finland! These sightings are getting rare as the urge to leave the natal nest and breeding grounds grows stronger.

Keo brought Coco three fish today at Sandpoint. T here was no sign of Keke and she might have begun her migration.

Mum was eating a nice fish on the perch at Boulder County Fair Grands Osprey nest. No sign of the fledglings while I was checking.

The Patchogue Nest is empty. Locals have seen ospreys but they have not come to the nest and there is no confirmation that they are Mini or members of her family as there are other nests in the area. I did find this short video clip showing Mini having dinner with her siblings. A nice memory.

The Osprey platform at Seaside is quiet.

Caught Swoop on the nest at Dunrovin.

Now that Pat has been released from being in rehab, is it possible that all three fledglings from the Dulles-Greenway Nest were home?

Is there anyone that isn’t excited about what is going to happen on the Sw Florida or the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest this year?

M15 has his new beautiful lady.

Gabby and V3 are going to try and raise a family together this season. It is exciting – new beginnings for two of our favourite eaglets who lost their mates last year.

The most beautiful sunsets come from the Superbeaks Bald Eagle nest in Central Florida.

Checking in NZ and Australia:

Royal Albatross Colony, Taiaroa Head, NZ: ‘A’ notes: “In New Zealand, there are strong onshore winds currently and the chicks are taking this perfect opportunity to practise their flying. UQ is doing wonderfully well but Manaaki really does have some way to go when it comes to technique. He is currently down the hill, out of sight, having hovered out over the edge and down a bit. He really has little control over his skills yet, unlike UQ who looks very close to departure. And as I said, Quarry has not been seen on the hilltop for several days. We will get another report tomorrow on who has left the colony. There are currently two fledged chicks who have landed on the water in the bay. The rangers are keeping a close eye on these two, as if they become waterlogged they will be unable to take off again and will eventually drown. The rangers will rescue them for a second take-off attempt if this becomes necessary.” She continues, “Manaaki is still there, as is UQ, though it appears Quarry has left. We are not sure whether she was at the chick count yesterday so she may be elsewhere on the headland but we suspect she has fledged. Heart in my mouth every time I turn that tab on. It won’t be long now for Manaaki. He is 236 days old today (average age at fledge 240 days). I presume you are aware that this is the only mainland northern royal albatross breeding colony in the world, so it is a very special privilege to be able to watch them and to know the rangers are doing everything possible to protect this magnificent species. I will be interested to see the contents of the boluses this season, especially Manaaki’s of course. I suspect they will be largely the same, though it could vary based on where the parents have been foraging.” 

‘A’ brings another update: “They have rescued the two fledged chicks who landed in the bay. They picked them up from a boat and took them back to their nest areas, from which they can make another attempt at fledging.’ 

Alison

367 Collins Street: ‘A’ knows someone who works near the Falcon’s scrape and she writes: “They can hear the Collins Street falcons all day at work, and the screeching noise is becoming very familiar. Any city dwellers would have been woken early this morning, as F22 was up and calling loudly for food before 05:55, leaving the ledge and presumably heading for the food stash. She has a large feather stuck to her face, on the right side of her beak, which looks so funny. The falcon version of bed head I think. The eggs were left unattended for just over 62 minutes before M22 arrives to incubate. He hardly has time to settle before mum is back, still with the facial feather and still shrieking. Dad does a classic GCW dive off the ledge and mum settles down. It’s 08:40 and M22 is back on the eggs at the moment. He has been for nearly an hour now, and he is breathing through his mouth already in the morning sun. Remember that in a couple of weeks’ time, it will be only 07:40, with daylight saving starting on 1 October (clocks will go forward one hour at 2am on the Sunday morning). It is currently 17 degrees and I can hear F22 arriving back on the ledge. She is noisy. Dad dives off the ledge, probably to get away from the ear-splitting screeching.” 

“After leaving M22 to look after the eggs from around 10:30, F22 did not return until nearly 12.20. During that nearly two-hour period, little dad took a very short break of perhaps two or three minutes but that was well after the shade had completely covered the scrape. There were times when he was panting so fast, his little body looked like it was vibrating. If the parents are suffering like this at this time, what will it be like in six weeks, when the temperatures will be up to 8C higher and the shade won’t cover that scrape until well after midday. (Remember daylight savings puts the clocks forward an hour, so what is now 11am will become 12 noon, which is the last thing that scrape needs.) And of course the sun is moving further south, meaning the shade will take longer and longer each day to reach that scrape. It is worrying me a month before the eggs hatch….”

Like ‘A’, so many wish that a sun shade was placed over the end of the ledge where the eggs are like the other side because of the escalating heat in Melbourne at this time of year.

Orange Peregrine Falcons: Cilla Kinross has published the prey deliveries and a comparison to earlier times so that we can see that the drop off in deliveries this time of year is natural.

In New Zealand, the mainland colony of Kakapo is growing. These are historic moments -. Let us hope that the Kakapo will once again thrive – as in both numbers and quality of life – on the main island of New Zealand where they once lived. For those who do not know the history of the Kakapo and their extinction, here is a brief article to acquaint you with that sadness.

History-Kakapo-RecoveryDownload

I have included this before but, let’s all remember! Don’t let those pumpkins go to waste. Tell your family and friends. All those pumpkins turned into Jack-O-Lanterns are great food sources for wildlife. It can make a difference in their lives – food. Life saving food.

You can do something to help lots of wildlife with your pumpkins, old apples, etc -.

I checked on Karl II’s family – all are still travelling, but there is no transmission yet from Karl II, and there is also no transmission from Tweed Valley’s Poul. Keep them in your most positive thoughts.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, postings, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, Osoyoos, Kent Island, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Sandpoint Ospreys, Boulder County Fair Grounds, D Lambertson and PSEG, Seaside Ospreys, Dunrovin Ranch, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles I the USA, Ana Boone and SWFL Eagle Ca, NEFL-AEF, Superbeaks, NZ DOC, Holly Parsons and Albatross Lovers, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Cilla Kinross and Orange Peregrine Falcons, and Kakapo Recovery.

Migration…Wednesday in Bird World

13 September 2023

Good Morning,

Tuesday was a very ‘difficult’ and, at the same time, rewarding and joyous day. Two beautiful Calico cats are off the streets and out of the cycle of producing feral kittens. Needless to say I did not sleep well Monday night. It is the ‘alarm clock syndrome’. Difficulty sleeping for fear of sleeping through the alarm.

Calico’s surgery went well. The vet phoned to say that Calico was ‘very strong’ and a gentle, sweet ‘kitten’. The staff spent much time with her when she was recovering – her story and that of Hope finding us -touched each and every one of them. It still makes me weep at all the things that had to ‘work’ for this to happen. I am indebted to those individuals that reached out to help me find ways to track Calico, who helped by providing the kitten trap for Hope, and to each and everyone whose experience with community cats helped us to have a successful ending to their story.

The biggest issue at the vet’s was the advice to keep Calico and Hope separated overnight. Of course, if Calico insisted, the stress being separated from Hope would be worse than Hope trying to suckle. The distance between the little office door and the one for the conservatory is approximately 65 feet. Calico made it very clear that she was not staying in that room. Lewis and Missey were contained in another room with the door to the conservatory open. Calico bolted the instance the office door opened. Hope came running! For a few seconds, there was a lovely little conversation between Mamma and baby. Thankfully, the only kitten that Calico will ever have is healthy and safe and with her Mamma tonight.

Calico is still in a bit of a haze, but Hope is so happy! Mamma is home. Just look at that round little belly on Hope. Poor Calico. She is just so wee…she weighs 2.3 kg or 5.03 lbs. Hope may weigh that much. Calico will start to put on weight and become healthy.

It is a secret. Hope spent the entire day playing with Missey!!!!!!!!!! They are super friends but don’t tell Mamma.

What fun it was to sit and watch these two with the new scratch post. They took turns with Hope watching every move that Missey made carefully and then imitating it.

Hope really loves this new scratch post with the feathered ball.

Before lights out, Hope got in some playtime while Calico rested. She forgot about where she was and wound up on my lap with the feather teaser. It was too funny – the startled look on her face when she realised that I had reached over and started petting her. Things are coming together. She is no longer 100% afraid of me scurrying off to hide in a corner. Humans mean food, cuddles, treats, and playtime!!!!!!!

What is happening in Bird World? One word: migration. Cornell Bird Lab and BirdCast are predicting that 348 million birds will be on the move as I am writing this Tuesday evening 12 September.

What needs to be done to protect migrating birds?

For-Migrating-Birds-Its-the-Flight-of-Their-Lives-The-New-York-TimesDownload

The National Wildlife Federation gives these ten tips for helping migrating birds – these are things we can initiate that can give instant success.

1.  Keep your cat indoors—this is best for your cat as well as the birds, as indoor cats live an average of three to seven times longer. Even well fed cats kill birds, and bells on cats don’t effectively warn birds of cat strikes.  For more information, go to http://www.abcbirds.org/cats.

2.  Prevent birds from hitting your windows by using a variety of treatments to the glass on your home—check out ABC’s tips at http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/glass.html

3.  Eliminate pesticides from your yard—even those pesticides that are not directly toxic to birds can pollute waterways and reduce insects that birds rely on for food.

4.  Create backyard habitat—if you have a larger yard, create a diverse landscape by planting native grasses, flowers, and shrubs that attract native birds. You will be rewarded by their beauty and song, and will have fewer insect pests as a result.

5.  Donate old birdwatching equipment such as binoculars or spotting scopes to local birdwatching groups—they can get them to schools or biologists in other countries who may not have the resources they need.

6.  Reduce your carbon footprint—use a hand-pushed or electric lawnmower, carpool, use low energy bulbs and Energy Star appliances. Contact your energy supplier and ask them about purchasing your energy from renewable sources.

7.  Buy organic food and drink shade-grown coffee—increasing the market for produce grown without the use of pesticides, which can be toxic to birds and other animals, will reduce the use of these hazardous chemicals in the U.S. and overseas. Shade coffee plantations maintain large trees that provide essential habitat for wintering songbirds.

8.  Keep feeders and bird baths clean to avoid disease and prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

9.  Support bird friendly legislation both locally and in the U.S. Congress.

10.  Join a bird conservation group—learn more about birds and support important conservation work.

According to ABC, birds need our help now more than ever.  In addition to the ongoing threat of loss of habitat that is becoming magnified by global warming, millions of birds are directly killed due to a number of different human-related causes.

Scientists estimate that 300 million to 1 billion birds die each year from collisions with buildings. Up to 50 million die from encounters with communication towers.  At least 11 million die from car strikes.  Another 1 million may die each day from attacks by cats left outdoors.

Some of these deaths occur year-round but many occur during the peak spring and fall migrations. Some studies suggest that perhaps as many as half of all migrating birds do not make it back to spring and summer grounds, succumbing to various threats on either end of the journey.

14 April 2010, NWF newsletter

There is great news coming out of Cal Falcons. Zephyr (2022) has been sighted more than once! Thanks, ‘B’ for the head’s up!

‘H’ brings us her report on Kent Island and Barnegat Light:


Kent Island –  “Audrey was seen a few times throughout the day.  In the morning, she was seen in ‘Joe’s tree’, and she was obviously scoping out the water below for fish.  Both Audrey and Tom have previously been seen diving from that tree.  The video went to ‘highlights’, and when the livestream returned, Audrey was seen on a dock eating her catch.  Later, Audrey was seen in the same tree in the afternoon.  There are times when the camera is focused on the nest, and an osprey can be heard nearby, but the cam does not pan in that direction.  Many bird nest cams online do not have PTZ capabilities or a dedicated camera operator.  No matter what nest we are watching online, we are always grateful for what we are able to observe.  We only know what we can see, and we learn what we can.”

Barnegat Light – “There were significant livestreaming issues once again on 9/12, especially during the afternoon and evening.  In the morning, Duke was seen in his tree at the north tree line for a while.  There were a few hours in the morning without livestream glitches, and during that time we did not see or hear Dorsett.  Because of that, it is thought that Dorsett may have left the area.  We will continue to follow today, and hopefully the livestream will behave.  Dorsett is the only chick to have survived the storm in late June.  I am sharing a photo from 6/8/23.”

Gabby and V3 were at the nest early on Tuesday. Later Gabby had to deal with the female intruder that has been showing up – she ushered her out of the territory (or so it seems). Wouldn’t it be nice if this nest could just be quiet and boring this year?

These two were chortling back and forth. A chortle is a form of communication between Bald Eagles. It is a series of short rapid chirps which might mean several things. You have to look at the context. In the image below it is a greeting between Gabby and V3. It could, at other times, signal that eagles are going to engage in a dispute.

At the nest of Anna and Louis in the Kistachie National Forest, Louis has brought Anna the first fish gift on camera of the season. This is the couple’s fourth year together. The nest that they use was vacated in 2013. They did not have any chicks for the 2019-20 season. In 2020-21, they fledged Kisatchie in 2021-22, a female, Kincaid. What a great moment it was when Kisatchie hatched – the first eaglet in the forest for 8 years.

M15 and his new mate are working hard on the Fort Myers nest on the Pritchett Property that M15 shared with Harriet for 8 years.

Checking on Australia:

367 Collins Street: It is hard to get those four big falcon eggs tucked. Gosh, this ledge in the CBD of Melbourne is going to be busy in about a month. The nice thing about incubation is it gives Mum time to rest up before caring for the four – and Dad will be able, nearing the time of hatch, to stock up the pantry.

Sydney Sea Eagles: Breakfast was served early – followed by some nice wingersizing. The eaglets are getting stronger and stronger, standing for longer, and walking with much more confidence.

‘A’ was watching adding, “The sea eaglets had a good early breakfast (around 06:07 I think). It was feathered, minus its head, and a really good size. It looked afterwards as though SE31 had the larger crop but both ate enough breakfast. It was a large piece of prey. SE32 was like a toddler teething this morning. He nibbled at mum’s face and beak when she was aerating the nest in front of where he was lying. He nibbled at her wings. He nibbled at her breast. He nibbled at her underfluffies. Then, he turned around and began nibbling SE31. I have no idea what he was doing, but it was too cute. No-one else objected – it was exploratory and perhaps some level of allopreening was involved, but certainly it was not aggressive. The parents continue to be obsessed by the need to bring in more big sticks (kiddie rails, not just sticks) and lots and lots of greenery, as well as dry leaf material to lay on top of the greenery. They are very diligent in their nest work……Oh those eaglets are GORGEOUS. They are starting to get that beautiful russett colouring on their breasts, shoulders and wings. Lunch came in at 14:21, and both eaglets were interested in the food, which looked like another of the large eels (Dad brought it in and Lady quickly came to manage it). SE32 was first at the table, and got the early part of the feeding, but there was plenty of meat on that eel and both eaglets ate well. They were, as is always the case these days, perfectly behaved at the table, patiently waiting when the other was eating, with no beaking or intimidation or acts of submission or fear. It was a lovely thing. These two are doing so well and they are rapidly beginning to look like juvenile sea eagles. Their colouring is just exquisite. The perfection of their camouflage is amazing. They are truly beautiful at this age are they not?” 

Port Lincoln: Dad2 brought in at least three fish before 1400. He took turns incubating so that Mum could eat. Ask me how much I am liking this new male.

‘A’ adds: “At Port Lincoln, dad brought three or four fish today and mum had some or all of two of them. She is doing the vast majority of the incubation time. Interestingly, the eggs were left unattended for just 1% of the 24 hours on Tuesday (and incubated for 99%) but on Wednesday were left alone for 19% of the time (incubated 89%). This may relate to the weather, but I found it interesting. “

Orange Peregrine Falcons: Xavier brought in a nice chunk of prepared prey for Diamond at 06:27. At the time I am writing (14:14 Australia time) no other prey items had been delivered that I could confirm.

What a little sweetie Xavier is…I love this gleeful way he rushes over to incubate those eggs in the morning.

Like so many, ‘A’ has been missing Manaaki, the Royal Cam chick since he began to get his juvenile feathers. Now..he is ready to fly she adds, “Here is the evidence that we are about to lose Manaaki to his destiny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghTGyX8-ADg. I know it is what he is born for and I know it represents a fabulously successful season for everyone at Royal Cam and for parents L and GLY. But oh how I am going to miss this gorgeous creature, with his adventurous mischievous personality and his obsession with gardening and excavating and exploring. 

Now he has cast his bolus (or boluses), he is pretty much ready to leave. There is little fluff left now, and the next windy spell should see him on his way. Treasure these last hours. We may never see him again. I am so sad, but happy too.”

One of those lovely happy endings – a successful rescue of an Osprey caught in fishing line posted on The Joy of Ospreys by D Lambertson.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: ‘A, B, H’, BirdCast, NYTimes, Cal Falcons, Kent Island, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, NEFL-AEF, Tonya Irwin and KNF E-1, Real Saunders Photography, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac Sydney Sea Eagles, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, NZ DOC, and D Lambertson and the Joy of Ospreys.

Mini is home…Tuesday in Bird World

12 September 2023

Good Morning,

First up. My e-mail and FB Messenger ‘lit up’. The messages were mostly ‘Mini is Alive’…’We knew Mini was a survivor’..’Mini wanted to show us that she is alive and doing well’. Gosh, she is a survivor and it is fitting that our dear fourth hatch came to the nest to show everyone who loves her that she is well and living her life and eating fish!

After being MIA for two days, Mini flew to the nest in Patchogue and spent a couple of hours showing us how good she had done since we last saw her. She stood well on her left leg, she played with her cardboard, and before she flew off, she did what all raptors do – a ‘ps’. This was a grand one – at 1929. She has been eating well. Mini is living the life of an osprey off the nest. Is this our last sighting? or will she come again? Whichever it is, treasure those images. She is well! She is beautiful! And she is eating.

Saying goodbye to ‘cardboard’?

That is a great ‘ps’ – one of the best I have seen. This girl has eaten fish!

Mini went from perch to perch but, at the time I am writing, has not settled on the nest to rest her leg.

Thank you for all your good wishes for Calico. We so appreciate them! She is, indeed, a very special presence and I am so happy she is part of my life.

Calico has her surgery today. She will be home around 1830 or 1900. Everyone is hoping that the lump that appeared on her side, which turned out to be mastitis, is gone (seems like it) and if that is the case, the surgery will be simpler with a much smaller incision. Tattooed, microchipped – hopefully never to be lost outside again – ever. While Calico is away having her luxury spa day (the vet gives them heated blankets), Hope will go through an intensive get-to-know-me routine that will ‘hopefully’ include more petting. She is soooooo fast and alert. The slightest movement in the wrong direction, and she bolts. A good nickname might be ‘Usain’ after Usain Bolt, the Jamaican 8-time Olympic Gold Medalist! She might challenge him for some of those 100 m times!!!!!!!!!! Hope has no idea how determined I am that she will not be ‘wild’. In fact, ‘wild’ is not an option. Do you hear that Hope?

Hope and Calico are so much alike. The tiny little black tears on their left eye, the liners of dark fur on their left sides, kohl-like eyeliner around their eyes. Hope does have a couple of differences. She is white in the front, her legs, chest, and throat. She has a tiny, white, almost graph-like line right between her eyes. She has a single white dot of fur on her back, and her head is a slightly different shape. Calico is ‘fine boned’ as my grandmother would say. Hope isn’t.

Hope often waits for Mamma to finish eating before she begins even though there are always two dishes.

The laundry has been going over time and the conservatory is going to have to be ‘aired’. It smells like sardines. Did I ever tell you that I dislike fish so much? Hope loves sardines. T hey got her into the little kitten trap and they are good for her. (There is little chance that she is a he – from all appearances – but when I get close enough to fully confirm will let you know).

Lewis continues to be slightly insecure and in his own Lewis way gets himself in trouble. Calico protects the space that Hope is in and she is not going to let anyone harm her kitten. While Calico is away, Lewis and Missey will get time in Hope’s company to ease the transition. They are all lovely kittens and each has their own story of being found under a deck with 5 siblings and a feral mother (Lewis) or Missey being found alone under a truck. They have much in common!

But look at Missey. Missey decided that she was going to try and open the door to the Conservatory! She seriously almost made it. I am going to have to lock that door. Cats are super intelligent.

Hope and Calico will be glad when the integration process is complete. Calico looks sad to me – wanting out but not wanting anyone to harm her baby she chooses to stay in the conservatory with Hope – their ‘safe’ place together.

Two days ago Hope was afraid to look through the glass of the Conservatory into the kitchen. Now she copies her Mamma only she gets closer! Soon, little sweetie. Not sure what it is about her but Hope just melts my heart like the first time I got to stroke her Mamma.

Photographs of our favourite Port Lincoln fledgling, Ervie, fishing. Remember when he lost a talon? When we thought he would have to survive on Puffers? Just look – great technique. Ervie, we adore you! This is why I support banding and satellite trackers. It is the joy when they survive. Like Mini, Ervie was a survivor.

It is bachelor days for Richmond – of Richmond and Rosie – at the Richmond Shipping Yards in California. Rosie appears to have departed for warmer climates on the 4th of September. Richmond prefers to spend the winters in the Bay Area.

‘H’ brings us up to date on Kent Island and Barnegat Light:


Kent Island – “Audrey had spent the night at the nest on 9/11 and she flew off the nest at 0625.  It was thought to be Audrey preening on a pole at a nearby dock at 0905.  There were no more sightings of ospreys until 1820, when an osprey landed in a tree. Some thought it was an adult osprey, but others thought they saw juvenile plumage.  It was difficult to say.  Unlike the previous four nights, Audrey did not spend the night at the nest on 9/12.  Molly was last seen on 9/5, and Tom last seen on 9/9.”

Barnegat Light – “As with the previous couple of days, the camera feed omitted several hours of time throughout the day due to buffering issues.  The technical issues are making it very difficult to chronicle Dorsett’s last few days before she leaves her natal area to begin her first long journey.  Dorsett was seen on the 24th Street pole with a fish tail at 0614.  At 0750 it was thought to be Dorsett on a boat mast.  That was the last time we were able to observe her on 9/11.  Dorsett is 104 days old, and she fledged six weeks ago.”

Pa Berry is home and starting to work on that nest at Berry College in Georgia.

KNF-E3: Alex and Andria working away.

Superbeaks: Pepe and Muhlady remind me so much of Jackie and Shadow. Big sticks come to the nest and the two have a lovely disagreement over placement!

Someone is supposed to be on holidays! It is incredible how these peregrine falcon families can draw you in…and don’t you love those Dads that try to feed their eggies?!

It looks like there are three eggs at Port Lincoln. Hiding in the midst of some moss, Mum laid another egg. The last. Hard incubation will begin now in earnest. Oh, please pinch me and tell me that this really is Dad2. No offence Dad1 but we worried about your health and we only want the chicks to thrive!

The Sea Eaglets are particularly beautiful…notice the ‘in style’ brick brown-rust colour and peach that is beginning to colour their plumage. Lady slept on the nest and at 0524 she found a piece of leftover fish (?). After the two got up for their morning stretch – hopefully more prey will arrive shortly.

‘A’ brings us up to date: “The day began at WBSE with an early (pre-6am) breakfast from the leftovers of the eel brought in late yesterday afternoon. SE32 had the better of the first breakfast, so when the next food was brought in around lunchtime, SE31 claimed the small-medium headless fish and ate most of it by herself. SE32 watched those last few mouthfuls carefully, and made a grab for the last bit of flesh and the tail. He had to grab four times to pull it out from under SE31 and the eaglets then had a tug-of-fish. SE32 eventually won the battle and horked down that tail piece in short order, flesh attached. Brave and determined. 

The next food item was another fish, and this one was fed to the eaglets and shared out fairly evenly between the two. It wasn’t long before another food item came in, this one feathered. SE32 got the majority of this rather large prey item and by the time he was finished, his crop was enormous. So when another chunk of prey (it looked like a part of the previous piece) arrived shortly afterwards, SE32 could not even be bothered getting out of the nest and allowed SE31 to sit and be fed 

Both eaglets went to bed with full crops, and the parents both ate well too. It was a good day at WBSE. “

At the Royal Albatross colony, Manaaki gives us a beautiful skycall while a beautiful Albie comes to visit.

‘A’ adds: “In New Zealand, nine of the 33 chicks are confirmed to have fledged. More may have left this afternoon and are yet to be confirmed. Manaaki is still on his nest. He was weighed around 11:30 this morning and weighed 9.2 kgs. He is readying for departure and has probably cast his pre-fledge bolus. UQ is still there, as we think is Quarry.”

At the WRDC nest in Miami, recent fledgling R5 returned for a quick visit around 0659 Monday. Wonder what he thought of the reinforced nest and its paint?

Quess what? There are eagles back on Farmer Derek’s land in Kansas!!!!!!!! You might recall that there was a young Bald Eagle pair on Farmer Derek’s property. Their nest got taken over by a pair of GHOs who raised a couple of clothes of cute little owls. This might be interesting.

Migration makes me nervous especially when it involves crossing through countries or resting. We anxiously await news of Karl II, the Super Dad from the Karula National Forest Black Stork Nest in Estonia.

I feel sick. At the same time I am hoping that this is only the same issue with cell coverage in some areas of Ukraine where Karl II likes to rest. Last year we held our breath also. I forget how many days it was.

Kaia:

Kalvi:

Bonus:

Waba:

Another reason to get rid of leaf blowers (besides the noise and the pollution) and allow the leaves to stay overwinter (until after May):

I am so happy to receive my Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys 2024 calendar! Thank you to Mary Cheadle for all the fundraising she does for the Woodland Trust so the streaming cam continues to operate at Loch Arkaig!

If you live in Winnipeg or Southern Manitoba, why not take in Wildlife Haven’s Annual Open House? Tickets are $10 for adults. You get to tour the facilities and meet the ambassadors and learn why they would love to have you grow some vegetables in your garden for their patients or what else is needed in terms of care such as clean old towels, sheets, hand tools, bleach, pet food. — So many of you live elsewhere – we are an international family – but, please check out your local wildlife rehabilitation centre and find out when they have their open house. It is always a day for learning and admiring the work these dedicated individuals undertake.

I will being you highlights of the tour on Sunday!

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

Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes to Calico and to all who wrote to tell me Mini was on the nest! Thanks also to the following for their comments, notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today” ‘A, H’, PSEG, Julie Lovegrove and Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Bay Ospreys by Golden Gate Audubon, Wildlife Conservation F of NJ, Kent Island, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, Superbeaks, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, PLO, Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, WRDC, Trudi Kron and KNF-E3, Trudi Kron and Farmer Derek, Looduskalender, and Wildlife Haven.

Three for Melbourne…Saturday in Bird World

9 September 2023

Good Morning All,

Friday was a busy day for me and most of the time I was away from home. However, the moments that I did get to spend with my four four-legged furry friends was brilliant. Hope is now peeking around the corner at me and even came near to my foot when I placed a dish of organic roast chicken down for her! This kitten has so much energy. I cannot wait to get it with Lewis. He is going to enjoy having a playmate.

We are about a metre apart. Hope is curious and getting less afraid by the story!

If Mamma Calico moves her tail, Hope is right on it!

Everyone watches one another. The four of them enjoyed a nice roast chicken dinner – a treat to encourage Missey and Lewis to link ‘treats’ and goodies with their two new siblings.

Each of us hopes that you are well and looking forward to a nice weekend wherever you are. Let’s all try and get outside if the weather is nice! And speaking of outside…every time I go to the park there is litter. There are bins everywhere for litter so why don’t we use them? This post on FB seemed really appropriate.

‘H’ sent me the good news. PLO has its second egg of the season! Oh, I hope this young Dad is an excellent fisher and brings those fish into the nest one after another. Can I ‘hope’ that this couple might fledge all of them just like 2021 with Bazza, Falkey, and Ervie?

There is other good news coming out of Port Lincoln!

‘A’ is musing about the Royal Albatross chicks: “the rangers have confirmed that Miss NTF fledged on 7 September. She had been off exploring (or perhaps finding an ideal place from which to fledge), as the chicks often do for a few days before fledge, but they have confirmed her gone. She was last seen on the morning of 7 September so we think she fledged some time after 11am on Thursday. Godspeed sweet girl. Quarry, who has been out and about for the past couple of days, returned to her nest this morning and seemed to miss Miss NTF. The two girls had been hanging out a lot. UQ on the other hand is less pleased to see Quarry, who needs a restraining order whenever she is in his vicinity. Manaaki is less tolerant of her and clacks his bill at her if she gets too close. Poor little UQ is much more timid. The winds are not super strong today, though Quarry and Manaaki have been doing a lot of wingercising in the wind there is. It could be any time now for either of them. It looks as if Quarry will be next to go, then Manaaki and finally UQ. But we will see. I again emphasise that these are precious hours we are spending with Manaaki now. And once he launches, there is no guarantee we will ever see him again. Will we live that long? Will Manaaki? Will the climate permit a return? They fly into an uncertain future, but don’t we all?” Those worries of the state of the ocean, of long line fishing, of climate haunt all of us as well look at these long-lived seabirds.

Manaaki looking out to an uncertain future.

Lady Hawk caught Gabby and her new mate V3 in the pouring rain and has some super close ups for us.

I was contacted by several individuals today about Mini and was told that there was much anxiety about her condition. My day allowed me no time to go and observe Mini until she was at the nest after dark. At the bottom of everyone’s desires is for Mini to thrive – we care, we worry. We want her to be whole and live a long, prosperous life. The fact that Mini somehow injured her leg causes great anxiety to everyone. We will never know what caused that injury. No one saw what happened. Unless she goes into care, we may not even know what that injury is. There are many, many theories, but that is all they are – theories. Until a vet/a vet technician/or a rehabber has a bird in hand, a diagnosis cannot be made, and sometimes sophisticated tests and scans are needed to determine the problem and the possible treatment. The DEC does not normally give permits for a bird that is flying. There is a reason for this — it is extremely dangerous for the bird. No one wants to endanger Mini’s life further. Her injury is now old. She has been adapting. Life is not perfect but she is living it.

Life in the wild is extremely challenging for all raptors – for all wildlife. Each day is about survival. Some days there is a lot of fish and other days there are none. Whether or not Dad is delivering or Mini is fishing is not known. It could be both. On Thursday Mini had several nice poop shots. I am not clear about what happened on Friday and, of course, she is often not on the nest.

I urge everyone to enjoy the time we have left with Mini at the nest. To treasure her, to wait for her to come in at night to rest her leg – she is very smart to do that. In a couple of year’s time, I would very much like to see a two-year-old osprey land on this nest with a wonky leg. That would be marvellous so…with that in mind, I really hope that Mini is a male and not a female. Send her positive wishes. Treasure all that she taught us, for she did teach us much about endurance and determination.

Mini did seem to put her weight on both legs when she landed on the nest from the perch at 20:26.

Mom has been spotted landing on the nest so she has been here at least until today. That is good news because under normal conditions the males will not leave until the females do. With the climate changing we do not expect these fledgling ospreys to travel all the way to South America and they might well spend the winter in the Carolinas or Florida.

At the Minnesota National Arboretum nest, Dad brought in 7 fish – yes, you read that correctly – 7 fish on Friday!!!!!!! That is one well fed fledgling. One of those beauties was lost overboard. Hopefully some other hungry creature will discover that tasty meal.

‘H’ reports on Molly and Dorsett:

Kent Island –  Molly was last seen (so far) on 9/5.  Her dad, Tom, was seen almost every day up to 9/7, but we did not see him on 9/8.  That does not mean that Molly or Tom have formally begun their migration, they may simply not be on camera.  We shall see.  Audrey was seen in “Joe’s” tree, and for the second consecutive night, Audrey spent the night at her nest on 9/9.  It is surprising to see Audrey this late in the season, but we are thrilled to see her.

Barnegat Light – Dorsett and her dad, Duke, seemed to have a good day.  The camera operator managed to catch Duke taking a bath, and the highlight of Dorsett’s day was a live bunker that her dad delivered to her for supper.  Dorsett decided to eat the whole fish atop the 24th street pole.  Yum!

‘A’ reports on the breakfast for the Sea Eaglets: “a nice large fish was brought in at WBSE early this morning (around 06:40) and both eaglets had a good breakfast. SE31 got the early bites, then SE32 moved up beside his sister and ate without fear or intimidation. The two were perfectly behaved throughout the meal.”

So many love the Collins Street falcons and my inbox was bursting with news of the third egg! Do you think they will go for four?

Xavier just melts my heart. He is the cutest little male falcon and his mate Diamond often gives this poor guy such a rough time. So happy he got some egg time…it must actually feel nice to be able to do duckling style and rest for a bit…just thinking about Mini and how it helps her leg.

‘A’ reports: “Manaaki was fed by one of his parents at about 6pm this evening (9 September) – we don’t know which one because it was not within camera view but our little man gets so excited, wheeing away. I do love that sound. And we will miss it until this time next year. But I cannot wait to see whether YRK (and maybe even OGK) return over the next two or three months. He is the footage of Manaaki’s feeding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj35d68kQ6g&t=2s“.

News has come to me Friday night from ‘B’. We have wondered about the fishing at Cowlitz PUD. This is a new discovery. “The river where they fish has been full of silt and mud from a landslide up north awhile back which we never heard about…” ‘B’ continues by saying that a drive by a couple of weeks ago revealed sandbars in the river that were never there previously. This is so sad but let us hope the eagles and the ospreys have another source of food. Thanks so much ‘B’.

There is often a lot of confusion about feeding birds. Audubon has a short article to help us.

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Speaking of feeding birds. Chiang Mai is north of Bangkok in the beautiful mountains. It is one of my most favourite places in the world. There is an historic walled city full of Buddhist temples. Just outside the walls is a small French area with some of the best coffee and lemon tarts to be found anywhere. Check out a feeding table in this northern Thai city!

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

Thank you to the following for their comments, alerts, posts, videos, and streaming cams: ‘A, B, H, L’, PLO, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk and NEFL-AEF, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Kent Island, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, Sea Eagle Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Karen Leng and Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons, and Audubon.

Fish deliveries…Tuesday in Bird World

5 September 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, I could not possibly have anticipated what was going to happen but look who showed up at the feeding station today? Just like her Mama Calico.

Yes, the kitten that we could not find. Someone is going to help me trap her! I am not sure that Calico will be pleased. LOL. The kitten is about 62 days old.

This lovely young woman came over with the trap, smelling Sardines, everything to try and get this young lady into the kitten cage and feel safe. Wish us luck!

Calico watching out the garden doors as the trap is being set for her baby. Ironically, Calico’s baby is almost the same size as she is!

Today, Missey and Calico spent the entire day together in the main part of the house with Lewis in the conservatory. They all had poached chicken. We live in hope that soon all three will be integrated along with the kitten, perhaps.

It is 2130. The woman who loaned me the trap is on her way to help me transition the kitten to a kennel. Yes! We have the kitten. It took about three and a half hours. Overjoyed. Overwhelmed.

Osprey World just gets more quiet as the remainder begin their journeys with the last few Dads on the nest feeding chicks.

Harry has been feeding Chirpie again at Alyth today.

Aran was still at Glaslyn.

Blue 022 was seen around Poole Harbour. He left for migration last year on 10 September. No sign of CJ7 or the trio.

Dad brought at least three fish before 1400 to the Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum fledgling on Monday.

Swoop is still at Dunrovin!

Dad is still delivering to Coco at Sandpoint. At least two fish arrived on Monday early in the day.

Bruce is still delivering at Seaside. Oh, they get so excited. I am not sure the kittens are more afraid of the falcons than the ospreys when the latter are screaming for fish arrivals!

One adult on the perch at Boulder. I have not see the juveniles getting fish for several days at the nest.

Fish is still being delivered to an Oyster Bay fledgling.

Fish is being delivered to the Collins Marsh nest in Wisconsin. The juveniles are flying off with their meal!

Di Bennett and Tweed Valley report on the locations of both Poul and Glen. Will Poul stay in Morocco or continue heading south?

Want to know more about migration and how climate and changes in land use in West Africa are impacting UK birds? Have a read.

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Mini was at the Osprey platform in Patchogue this morning. She is still favouring that left leg. This time she looked hungry and flew off early to try and get some fish from Dad.

At 1900 Mini flew to the perch. She was coming from the left side of the brewery. She has both feet extended and appears to be drying off her feathers.

The left leg appears to be giving Mini some issues as she holds it up. Hopefully our gal will slow down and rest that leg on the nest.

Good night, Mini.

‘H’ brings us up to date on Molly and Dorsett:


Kent Island – Molly flew to the nest early in the morning, but she didn’t stay long.  She was then not seen on cam for almost twelve hours.  At 1830 Molly flew to the nest, and it was nice to see that she had a huge crop. She seemed to have a lot to say, but she didn’t stay long at that visit either.  SOD’s, Molly.

Barnegat Light – Duke brought four fish to the nest for Dorsett.  What a good Dad!  Around 1830 Dorsett landed on the nest, and she was holding her right foot up a bit.  When she placed the right foot on the nest we could see a small bloody wound on one of her toes.  It seemed to be a minor injury though, as it did not affect her ability to handle the fish Duke delivered at 1901.  She held the fish with her right foot and eventually flew across the cove with the fish.

Gabby and V3 were at the nest in The Hamlet near Jacksonville working for the new season. Gosh, it is so nice to see them! Some worry that V3 might not be up to the job this year but, let’s wait and see. He is a year older and these two look to be bonded. We have no idea what they have been up to off camera.

Thunder and Akecheta were at their old West End nest in the Channel Islands on Monday.

On the Cornell Campus, Big Red and Arthur are up on the ledges of Bradley. So good to see them!

The Sea Eaglets had an early fish breakfast Tuesday morning! Yippeee. ‘A’ reports: “

At WBSE breakfast was early for a change, with Dad bringing in a medium-sized whole fresh fish shortly before 06:39. Lady was straight in. SE32 was slow to get up. Lady started eating herself while SE31 dealt with a PS (medium sized, a little thin but way healthier than yesterday’s) and then headed for the table, where she got the first bites just before 06:41. By 06:42, SE32 is on his feet. He too deals with a (healthy) PS before heading closer to the table. Lady is still feeding SE31. Through most of the feeding, Lady fed first one, then the other. SE31 ate more than SE32 but that was largely because SE32 could not be bothered making a huge effort. When he decided he did want to eat, he quickly shuffled further forward to get himself into prime position and then proceeded to eat a dozen or two bites consecutively. He had another similar bout of eating at the end of the feeding, eating most of the last dozen bites or so. Both eaglets had smallish crops after breakfast, though SE31 had a larger one than SE32. 

Dad brings in another fish soon afterwards, at around 10:52. It looks like a big one. Lady takes a moment or two to arrive at the table, as does SE31. And although SE32 has been sleeping on the table, he is not eager to jump up and rush to start eating. He takes his time. The fish is on the large side of medium and Dad has already eaten the head (and a little more). :Lady takes a couple of minutes to start feeding the eaglets, and by the time she does, at 10:55:20, both are ready and waiting, up at the table, and 0SE32 gets the first bites. This pair are very civilised at meal times over the past week. I have not seen any intimidation of any kind, let alone beaking. They have been absolute angels at the dinner table. SE31 waits patiently until it is her turn for a bite or two, at 10:57. Lady then feeds SE32 almost exclusively. He eats fast and with confidence. He is getting a lot of food in a short period of time. It is after 11:00 when SE31 gets her next proper bite. Lady then feeds the two alternately for a few bites, then returns to feeding SE32. 

Throughout this, SE31 is extremely patient. At no point does she try to steal a bite, push in front of SE32 or in any way intimidate or bonk him. She just waits beside him while he eats. When she is offered a bite, she takes it, but that is all. SE32 has had by far the best of the first half of the feeding, but as the feeding wears on and his crop enlarges yet further, he is less enthusiastic about taking every bite and leaves many of those he is offered for his sister. Over the second half of the feeding, SE31 gets more of the food. By the time the feeding is over, both eaglets have very healthy crops indeed. Both have eaten well, Lady has had a good share of that fish herself, and there was no dispute at all between the eaglets. This nest is just lovely to watch. Even on the days when a single large meal is brought in, no-one really seems to go hungry and there is never any type of unpleasantness between the eaglets. They just play and sleep and snuggle. And wait patiently. SE31 is getting really good up on her feet now and is really enjoying practising her walking and wingercising. SE32 is quite a few days behind, as he spent a while cowering while SE31 was growing into her changing body, as it were. He will catch up soon, but for now, he is still very ungainly and often needs his wings for balance.”

Mum and Dad incubate their egg at 367 Collins Street for a few minutes. Looking for egg 2!

Xavier and Diamond are incubating their three eggs at Orange.

At Port Lincoln, mating continues – not always successful.

‘A’ reports that there is action in NZ. Four of the Royal Albatross chicks have now fledged. She also adds, “Poor UQ chick has come down from his hilltop nest to sleep next to Manaaki (who was asleep when he arrived, so may be surprised to see him there when he wakes up). I am pretty sure UQ is seeking either safety in numbers or simply a safer distance between himself and Miss NTF higher up the hill. She is a very pushy and precocious female and has made UQ’s life more than a little difficult, given he is a somewhat shy and reticent albie. He gets on well with Manaaki, though, so obviously feels better down there than up on his hill. So cute, the two of them. As I said, there are two male and two female chicks whose nests we can see (or almost see) around Manaaki. Miss NTF has taken a fancy to the camera, which Manaaki regards as his, so there have been several altercations over the camera, with much clacking of beaks. She thinks she rules the hilltop but Manaaki has other ideas. These four have been an absolute joy to watch these past seven months, each with a very distinctive personality (and, as I mentioned the other day, each currently has a very different ‘hairstyle’ in regard to where each chick wears their remaining fluff – one of the chatters did a cartoon of all the chicks with all their hairstyles about a week ago – very accurate and just TOO funny).”

The third osplet at Osprey House in Australia has died of siblicide.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H’, Alyth, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Jeff Kear, Mary Kerr and Glaslyn Osprey Group, Poole Harbour Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, Dunrovin Ranch, Sandpoint, Seaside, Boulder County, PSEG, Collins Marsh, Tweed Valley, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Kent Island, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, NEFL-AEF, IWS/Explore, Suzanne Arnold Horning and Cornell Hawk Chatters Club, Sydney Sea Eagles, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and PLO.

SE30 and Poul…Great News…Sunday in Bird World

3 September 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

There is so much good news and, of course, some worrisome – worrisome that appears to be unsolvable at the moment.

First, the kittens are fully integrated into the house. It was initially believed that Missey would be the dominant and could cause issues but, it turned out that Lewis was insecure. After spending time on the streets and being so little, Calico has some ‘smarts’, which include always being up higher and never responding to Lewis. It was brilliant! One more night separated and then we will see how they do together unsupervised during the ‘wild time’. I am just dizzily gleeful.

Calico has spent her day looking out the windows to the world where she used to live. Everyone has eaten together, separated by about 1.75 metres. Hopefully, like osplets and eaglets, there is enough space, love, attention, and food that they will each feel secure and thrive.

The stand off.

Calico’s fur is getting much better.

Watching.

Of course, it was too good to be true. Lewis decided to attack Calico at the end of the day. One hiccup – it was stopped before it started. Hoping Lewis has this anxiousness out of his system by Monday. Wish us luck~!

I had not seen it yet and ‘H’ sent me the good news first thing this morning from the Australian Raptor Care and Conservation!

It is gorgeous. These are a couple of images from VisitNSW.

Our hearts all sank. Mini arrived at the nest to everyone’s great delight at 17:44. But immediately thoughts went to her leg which she is really having trouble with – again, at the end of the day. It made us ache for her. At 18:42 she was seen to be hobbling. At the same time, she was actively fish calling. We have observed a good PS every day and her crop is still not appearing concave so we can deduce that she is either being fed or she is fishing and being lucky.

There appeared to be some green algae/plant material ?under her right wing and on her leg when she landed.

The bottom line is you are loved and everyone is worried about your quality of life, Mini.

I wish we could see who she is calling…hopefully, Mini will rest her leg at the nest tonight. She has more difficulty at the end of the day than at the beginning. She also has a somewhat rounded crop – it is not concave – she is being fed (said twice, but we need to remember that just because we do not see fish delivered to the nest does not mean any of the ospreys are not getting food).

Everyone wants Mini to be whole and perfect and live an extraordinary life. If we could have had that leg mended when the injury first occurred it would have been grand. We wish her the very best…she is showered with positive hope and love. Now we need some luck and ingenuity.

Let’s skip to ‘H’s reports for this morning:

Kent Island –  There was only one fish delivered to the nest.  Tom brought a whole menhaden to Molly for her supper.  And, while we haven’t seen Audrey at the nest since 8/29, it was reported that Audrey was seen on a neighbor’s dock on 9/2. 

Barnegat Light – Duke brought at least three fish to the nest for Dorsett.  Whether she is perched on her favorite utility pole, on top of a flag pole, or on her dad’s perch, Dorsett doesn’t miss a thing.  In the afternoon, Dorsett had been standing on Duke’s perch for a while, when she suddenly took off, flew in a big circle, and landed on the nest one second before Duke landed with a fish.  Nice timing!

Osoyoos – The Osoyoos osprey cam has been offline for four days.  The fledgling is 69 days old, and fledged on 8/21.

Thanks so much ‘H’.

The big news in migration comes from the sat-packed Tweed Valley youngster Poul who is now in Morocco! Congratulations Di Bennet and gang. It looks like he was fitted with a jet pack at the same time. What a good time to get to Africa.

Seiont hit the century and is still home-fed by Dad, Idris, or Daddy Longlegs. What a handsome osplet Seiont is. Will we see him in 2 years coming by the Dyfi nest to say hello? I sure hope so.

Meanwhile, Aran was finally getting to enjoy one of those lovely trout that he has been bringing in to the nest – alone, in quiet, on a branch. Elen is gone…both juveniles were still around – OH1 and OH2. One got to enjoy a Garfish on Saturday.

Maya was still at Rutland. I have not seen Blue 33 for a couple of days. it would be highly unusual for him to depart before Maya. I wonder if he is feeding kids off the nest and allowing Maya to have time to eat her big catches in peace?

Fledgling still at Alyth with Dad.

CJ7 and Blue 022 have both been seen at Poole on Saturday.

Sharon Leigh posted some super information on the migration patterns and the timing of migration for the US Ospreys from Montana.

At the Richmond Ship Yards, Rosie is still home. Richmond will remain for the winter near the nest while Rosie will go and have some fun in the sun.

Iris is still with us in Missoula!

The Bald Eagle couples are returning and working on their nests. Gosh, that just makes me get so excited. It is the worry of who will return and who won’t but right now we have —

M15 and his new lady holding the fort at Southwest Florida.

Louis and Anna at Kistachie Nest 1:

V3 and Gabby at NEFlorida. The AEF stated on FB “We believe that Gabby is about 9 years old based on her feather coloration and behavior when she first arrived at the nest in 2018/2019. V3 we believe is a mature eagle but probably young – maybe between 5 – 7 years old.”

Pepe and Muhlady are on and off the nest at Superbeaks. Look at that beautiful majestic eagle:

Shadow and Jackie are at Big Bear. Will be checking on the others as the end of osprey season progresses.

‘A’s reports from ‘down under’ – where spring is arriving!

“In Orange, both Xavier and Diamond appear to have eaten, and the two are spending a lot of time together. Xavier is once again sitting on the ledge, keeping her company, which he has been doing sometimes for hours at a time. It is so sweet. Sometimes, they chat quietly but usually they just sit together in silence.”

 At Sydney, “Still no breakfast at WBSE. It is after midday and the eaglets are waiting patiently and behaving nicely. SE32 has done a very healthy PS (haven’t seen SE31 do so yet but I’ve been busy this morning. Cats. The kitchen. You know the sort of thing. Lady has been on the nest a bit with the eaglets. She has been aerating the nest and generally spending time with her babies. Keeping them reassured. Both eaglets are now sleeping up at the table, ready for food to arrive.” 

It was nice to be watching and catch the arrival of a nice fish!

September 1.

A remarkable bird surviving on the Isle of Man away from the persecution of the driven grouse estates.

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Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send positive energy to dear Mini. See you soon – and stay safe out there.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, G, H’, Australian Raptor Care and Conservation, VisitNWS.com,PSEG, Kent Island, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Tweed Valley, Dyfi, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, LRWT, Alyth, Jeff Kear and UK Osprey Info, Sharon Leigh and Montana Osprey Cams, Pam Krute and SF Osprey Cam with Rosie and Richmond, Montana Osprey Project, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Linda Russo and NEFL and SWFL Eagle Watchers Club, Tonya Irwin and KNF Eagle Cam Fans, the AEF, Superbeaks, J & R Aquatic Animal Rescue.

Gabby is home…Saturday in Bird World

2 September 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is the ‘long weekend’ in Canada. It is the last weekend before the schools reopen, and the children return from their summer holidays. Despite being almost three weeks until the official beginning of fall, it is the marker for the end of summer. The weather stations tell us it will now be 35 degrees DC today. Even so, it will not be long until everyone thinks about tidying their lawn and garden for winter. This year, please constrain yourselves. Leave the Leaves!

The insects need the leaves, and the following article that ‘R’ sent tells what we should be doing to increase the number of insects in our environment. Want fewer bugs biting you? Then you need more insects!

Many years ago, my tutor, Dr Klaus Klostermaier, and I had a long conversation. I had been to Germany, where he grew up, and returned amazed at the lack of insects. No screens on the windows. Meanwhile, on the Canadian Prairies we were being eaten up by mosquitoes. Dr Klostermaier (one of the most brilliant individuals I have ever met with a surprising biography) told me how said my statement was. Industry in Germany had killed off the insects. Yes, of course, I had been to the area around Duisburg and Dusseldorf…and that area worked hard to clean up its rivers since that time and stop some of the pollution from industry. That conversation always stuck with me.

The author says in summing up the following article, “In other words, the problem isn’t that we have too many bugs in cities and suburbs; the problem is that we don’t have nearly enough. We’ve been so successful at vanquishing the little critters that the entire insect world is in big trouble — and so are we if we don’t help them to recover.” Thanks, ‘R’.

Please talk to your friends, your family, your neighbours. That pristine chemically kept perfect law should not exist! Don’t bag the leaves. Please leave them til May. It will help the entire food chain and our songbirds will thank you in the spring!

Opinion-Removing-bugs-from-our-habitats-is-coming-back-to-bite-us-The-Washington-PostDownload

Cornell Bird Lab explains how the Royal Albatross chicks are getting ready to take their maiden voyage which will last 5-6 years before they set foot on land again. I wish we could guarantee them a sea full of fish and no bycatch.

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The RSPB explains what can be done to prevent bycatch. It is a good read and if you adore Manaaki and all the other little Royal Albatross chicks then you should read this and educate yourself. You might boycott fish!

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Getting over to the nests, I can hardly contain myself. V3 flew in to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest yesterday and Gabby is home Friday evening. They even gave one another beaky kisses. Relief. Elation. I cannot wait to see these two raise some eaglets in this nest after the sadness of last year when Samson went missing.

The pair went right to work assessing the needs of the nest signalling their determination to have a family together this year. Get the tissues out! Joyful tears.

Mini flew to the nest much to the delight of everyone. What a relief it was to see her flying and landing with both legs extended. She is strong. Mini has shown us since the day she hatched that she adjusts, thinks, solves problems well. No, we do not like seeing her look at her leg as if she is in pain – is she? is she not? I do not know. She has won all of her hearts because she was so tiny and persevered on a nest when it seemed impossible that she would. We must remember that going forward.

The DEC is hanging up on anyone that phones them. They are the ones that issue permits under the Migratory Bird Act. It is clear no permits are going to be given. Locally, Mini’s situation is know and one of the locals on the chat checks for her. Boots on the ground is essential. That said, she is flying strong and eating. Dad is still feeding her but maybe someone will also see her fishing. She is dearly loved.

I also want to add something here, in case you are wondering. I strongly believe in intervention if the bird or animal can be helped. The Mini is not grounded. She is flying. She is not 100%. But this is what worries me. While we do not know her injury, she is injured in a way, unlike WBSE26. When WBSE flew to the balcony of the condo and was ‘rescued’, it was determined that 26 would not have a quality of life and was euthanised. It broke the hearts of thousands of people. I do not want that to happen to Mini. For however long or short her life is, I hope she lives it free. She has proven she can adapt to anything thrown at her – at least from what we see on cam – and I think she can then adjust to almost anything, including picking up and eating fish off a beach.

Mini flies in both feet extended from her legs.

While she still favours that left leg, she landed fine.

Gosh, she is gorgeous. Her eyes are bright.

Off she goes eleven minutes later.

In Australia, the main cam for Sydney Sea Eagles came back to life and the joy that came with that could not be measured. It seemed that the little sea eaglets had grown twice as big in a single day. It wasn’t true, of course, but there they were, SE32 with a huge crop! They are both thriving and it will be interesting to see which is the largest as they develop between now and fledge.

Gracie Shepherd caught one of the sea eaglets peeking over the nest when the camera was down. T hey are so big.

‘A’ has been watching the sea eaglets closely and she is a tad concerned stating, “Breakfast never arrived at WBSE this morning. Smart little SE32 has taken to spending much of his waiting time sleeping on the table, right there in prime position for any food that arrives on the nest. The eaglets were not at all pleased when Dad arrived shortly after 12:11 with a large spray of gum leaves! As I type, it is nearly 12.40 and they are now waiting for lunch! I have been worried this morning because while SE32 got up this morning and did a small, thinnish PS, when SE31 got up a few minutes later, she appeared to make three definite attempts over about two minutes to have a PS and produced nothing. On each occasion, she wiggled her little tail as if she had just done her PS but nothing had emerged. I have not watched their every minute this morning, but I have been over the footage relatively closely, and I have not seen her do a PS (one of them did stand up a while ago – it may or may not have been for a PS – but I am keeping a close eye on things in that regard right at the moment, especially since your vision of the eel feeding just as the storm began. I am starting to get concerned that SE32’s newfound confidence is resulting in SE31 not getting enough food. SE32 has had a larger crop than his sister for the best part of a week now. Is this causing a problem? Or did SE31 have a problem to begin with that allowed SE32 to become dominant..So it is possible that there is some reason she is not pushing for food…I could be worrying about nothing, but until I see a healthy PS from SE31, I will continue to be concerned. I don’t like to see a chick trying and failing to manage a PS, especially first thing in the morning.” 

Food finally did arrive and A has the report: “The food took until around 15:30 to arrive. We saw Dad on a branch in the nest tree spot something and fly off with a purposeful look, and I thought he had finally decided it was time to feed the kids (I’m sure these occasions are deliberate lessons for the eaglets – sometimes, food doesn’t arrive like clockwork). Sure enough, it wasn’t long before he was back with a fish, panting slightly. 

He waited a couple of minutes for Lady to appear, but when she didn’t, he rather reluctantly set about doing the feeding duties himself. First to the table was SE31, who ate for the first two minutes before SE32 approached the table beside her. He was soon given a bite (around 15:37:30) but then Dad resumed feeling SE31. So not being in the favourable position (side by side but with SE31 between him and Dad), SE32 moved himself several inches forward. Dad then proceeded to feed SE32 while SE31 watched patiently and waited for her next bite. 

Soon, Dad started feeding them even-handedly, a bite for one, a bite or two for the other. Both ate well, with the feeding lasting for well over half an hour. If anything, SE31 may have done slightly better than SE32 but it was a close-run thing. The prey itself was hard to identify but appeared to be red meat rather than fish, though I could not see feet. (You know how bad I am at prey IDs but I am trying to learn). 

The main news, though, is that they have both been well fed. It was a VERY late brunch, however. “

Xavier and Diamond are taking turns with the incubation and Diamond is, sometimes unhappily, accepting the Starling meal – prepared or not.

They are adorable. Xavier never wants to give up his ‘egg’ time. We all wonder how he fits those three big eggs under him. Will there be one hatch? Two? possibly three? Personally, I do not want the third one to hatch. For the past years, in my humble opinion, Diamond has struggled at times if the chicks vary too much in size. One healthy fledgling with all its feathers fully developed is a priority for this writer.

“Oh, please, Diamond, just a few more minutes.”

‘A’ loves them, too – like we all do, adding, “At Orange, Diamond had pigeon for breakfast and rejected a starling just before noon. There has been a half-hour sleepy early morning bonding session and several changeovers, giving Xavier some egg time (not enough in his opinion, but of course it’s not his decision (although the other day, when he protested “just another five minutes dear”, Diamond stood on the ledge for 47 minutes – a very rare occurrence indeed). We thought Xavier was going to try and feed the eggs again! (It’s not the first time.) I just adore the way he talks to them every time he settles down to brood. Just how incredibly adorable are these tiny falcon dads?” I totally agree – Peregrine Falcon dads are the best! 

They are an adorable couple at Port Lincoln.

Ervie was photographed at Delamere where he used to fish with Dad. So wonderful to see you!

Calypso, Ervie’s full sister, might have found herself a platform. Will Mum become a grandmother this year? or next?

‘A’ reports that the Royal Albatross had a busy day. “All four of our headland albie chicks were fed today. The boys (UQ and Manaaki) had their mums come in, while the girls (NTF chick and Quarry chick) were fed by their dads. At one stage, there were three parents coming and going around noon. It was chaos. At this moment, Manaaki is on his nest practising his cute sky calls. He has a full tummy after mum’s visit and he is a happy albie today. The wind has been very light the past couple of days and it seems all the parents have chosen today to come in and feed their offspring.”

Lady Hawk has it all in a 49-minute video! Oh, I love the wheeing when the chicks smell and see their parent arriving to feed them.

Flipping through a few of the other nests:

Dad is still delivering to at least one juvenile at the Alyth Osprey platform. Just look at that crop. I think this is three.

It is entirely possible that Maya and Blue 33 are still at Rutland and Blue 022 is still at Poole Harbour. I did not catch the Poole Harbour male on the streaming cam but others have or he was sighted locally.

These are the dates for Poole Harbour as posted under their streaming cam:

5H3 fledged – 19th July ———–5H4 fledged – 21st July ——–5H5 fledged – 22nd July CJ7 migrated —— 27th August 5H4 migrated —– 27th August 5H5 migrated —– 27th August 5H3 migrated – 29th August

OH1 had a fish on the nest and it or OH2 was eating a fish on a nearby tree branch on Friday at Glaslyn.

Idris is taking catching fish at Dyfi, too. Lots of activity there on Friday, including the clean-up crew finding all those wonderful morsels of fish left behind.

Seiont you are truly handsome.