4 January 2022
Good Morning Everyone!
The excitement has been growing with more than 2528 persons watching Harriet and M15 at the SWFlorida Nest as their first hatch of the 2022-23 season is trying to make its way into the world. It is now 1000 Wednesday morning. The little one has been working away for 26 hours and there could be much time to go. It is hard trying to get through those hard shells and often the wee babes are exhausted when they have finished hammering away with their egg tooth. It can take from 24-72 hours. Jackie is not giving away any peeks. There is a pip for Anna and Louis in Louisiana also. Things are beginning to happen….and they will begin to happen fast it seems.
On Everyone’s Mind:
At just after 0800 on Tuesday 3 January, SWFlorida announced that the pip on one of Harriet and M15’s eggs was official.
From pip to hatch can be 24-72 hours.
By mid-afternoon, the little beak could be seen moving inside the small hole. There are now cracks appearing that will radiate out from the pip hole.
Gracie Shepherd caught that little beak working on that shell.
No announcement of a hatch yet this morning.
Making News:
There is a pip for Anna and Louis at the Kistanchie National Forest E-1 nest this morning.
What does politics, friendships, old school ties, and hush ups have to do with the persecution of raptors and the use of illegal poisons in the UK to kill Corvids and other birds and wildlife? It would appear a lot! Despicable.
Check out the latest blog at raptor persecution.uk.org
To counter these horrific deaths in the UK, there is good news coming out of Minnesota. Remember the 10 eagles that survived (3 died) that had eaten euthanised pets at a landfill? Well, they are well enough to be released back into the wild. Well done Raptor Centre! What a great story for the new year.
Another good news story of a sub-adult eagle being rescued and then found to be suffering from some rodenticide poisoning. Thank goodness for the wildlife rehabbers that spotted the thinness and took blood tests and treated this beautiful boy.
No news on any charges being laid for those that dumped the dead euthanised pets.
The raptors have such a difficult time because of humans. Two of the leading causes of their misery can be eliminated easily: ban the use and use of rodenticides with heavy prosecution for any found using these designer poisons and ban the sale and use of lead ammunition and fishing equipment. Every wildlife rehabber in the world will be grateful.
Loving the Kakapo? and thrilled that there more living than ever before they were almost made extinct? The new ones are going to get names! Congratulations everyone. It has been a good year – a real indication of the efforts being made to keep the islands disease and pest free.
Let’s educate ourselves. The Audubon Society has put out a really informative article about feeding birds. It is not just about the food but how our actions can actually harm our feathered friends. Many of you wrote to tell me that you had Scrub Jays in your area but, have never seen a Blue Jay like Junior and Mr Blue Jay. Scrub Jays are a species under threat; they are on the IUCN Red List for endangered birds. How do you help?
Bird lovers quickly realized that Florida Scrub-Jays will come readily to the hand for peanuts. Unfortunately, studies have shown that jays fed by humans reproduce earlier in the year than those that are not. As a result, their fledglings hatch before the caterpillars they rely on for nutrition are available, leading to malnourishment and starvation. People also feed jays near roads, and collision with vehicles is a major cause of their death. Thus, it’s now illegal to feed Florida Scrub-Jays unless you have a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Audubon Society, ‘When It’s Okay (or Not) to Feed Birds
Here is the entire article. It isn’t long but it is packed with good information.
https://www.audubon.org/news/when-its-okay-or-not-feed-birds
Nest News:
It was soggy in Louisiana as that weather system moved through the area. Andria was wet. The winds are quiet but there is a 95% chance of continued rain the area. It is 77 degrees F.
Andria took advantage of a dry moment to feed the two eaglets.
The eagles at Kincaid Lake are so lucky – a huge stocked area for them to get their prey. The eagles at Decorah, Iowa are lucky, too. A trout farm right across the road!
Images of Gabby at NEFlorida’s Bald Eagle nest at The Hamlet on 3 January. She is beautiful. Where is V3? At 1745 V3 is on the branch, he jumps into the nest alerting and flies off to the right alerting.
V3 is a very good defender of the realm. Some think he has new battle scars on his talons. Probably. He is wet but has a big crop. Been fishing?
V3 does have some cuts on his talons but the blood could also be from the prey that he ate. It does not have to be a battle wound with blood.
Before he takes off, we get a really good look at his crop. This eagle is a good hunter. He is quick to protect the territory keeping all intruders away. Just what Gabby needs.
Those darn mosquitoes and other bugs are not bothering Gabby and V3 as much tonight and both are on the nest. Probably guarding it, too.
Rose and Ron were working on their nest today. Gee, I wonder if we will have eggs there this year?? Apparently Ron and Rose had a visitor to the nest – V1, the first female to try and win Ron’s affections. And who says Eagles do not hold grudges and do silly things in revenge??? Apparently V1 did a ‘ps’ right in the nest bowl where Ron rests today!
Ron and Rose are a beautiful couple. They posed for the camera after the restorations.
Things are still going well at the Superbeaks Eagle nest in Central Florida. It is frustrating trying to get to see the eagles. Without a time stamp I cannot tell you when to rewind but, if you do rewind, you can catch glimpses as the sunlight on the camera lens changes throughout the day. A worrisome hole or a nest collapse where the rim meets the branch on the left has appeared. I hope PePe or Muhlady will bring in sticks to close it up!
It is wet in Louisiana and snow fell on the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and her new mate but, it is unclear how the weather forecasts for ice and snow played out (or will) in the US.
It is snowing and the wind is blowing hard at the nest of Jackie and Samson in Big Bear.
Guess who shows up even with the snow? Time 0644 for Jackie!
Baiba did a winter wonderland video of the visit of the Big Bear eagles today.
The camera operator found Thunder looking out over the water from her perch near her West End nest in the Channel Islands. Time 1518.
It’s raining in Pittsburg. At the US Steel nest, one of the eagles is perched watching the traffic below.
One of the hardest nests to watch in 2020 was the Achieva Osprey nest. The third hatch, called Tumbles by the chatters, was much loved and so very, very tiny. That little one had a will to live like no other osplet I have ever seen – before or after. Everyone counted the bites it got, sat up thinking tonight was the night Tumbles would die (at least 3 times). Adding up all the time in 6 weeks that Tumbles did not get any food equalled 12 days. 72 hours in one stretch was the most.
Well, Mum started catching her famous catfish and she realised that that this third hatch wanted to live and she fed it – sometimes in the dark after the others were full. Tiny Tot Tumbles began to thrive. Tiny Tot became dominant and stayed on the nest after fledge defending it against even adult ospreys. Sadly, today, Tiny Tot’s Mum is injured. It is possible that her leg is fractured. She still comes to the nest. Dad tried to mate but she cannot carry his weight. What will happen to her? Can she be retrieved (the nest is in St Petersburgh, Florida)? and taken into rehab? In the image below, she is calling when she sees Dad arriving with fish for her. He is taking care of her. Anyone reading this know a wildlife rehab in the area that can be asked what might be done? or should be?
The average for Bald Eagles is 35 days. Harriet and M15 are right on the dot. Is the first egg at Metro Aviation not viable? 39 days today. We know that eggs in the southern states where it is warmer generally hatch earlier than those laid in the north.
Everything you wanted to know about Bald Eagles and their eggs is in this simple one page read by AvianReport:
Elain provides a great video of Indigo bringing his prey into the scrape. Always turn the sound up to get the full effect of this darling falcon!
This image came up on a feed. It is such an incredible photograph that it caught my eye. I want to send it out to all our friends in Japan who know there are osprey there but, might not have seen any. Isn’t this a gorgeous image? To get a shot like this you would be in a hide level with the water. There are actually sites that will sell you time to try and get your perfect image!
We are going to close today with an article in The Guardian on the dangers of fireworks to animals. Those reading my blog know this – but, now you have information that you can use to try and get others to cancel any loud fireworks displays.
Thank you so much for being with me today. We could have a couple of hatchings the next time we meet! Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Gracie Shepard and SWFLorida Eagle Cam, SWFL and the D Pritchett Family, KNF-E1, Raptor Persecution UK, Lolo Williams Twitter Feed, The Raptor Centre, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles live Nest and Cams, Kakapo Recovery, KNF-E3, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Superbeaks, MN-DNR, FOBBV, IWS and Explore.org, US Steel Eagle Cam, Achieva ospreys, Metro Aviation, Avian Report, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Birds of Prey, and The Guardian.
