Congratulations to M15 and F23 on beating everyone to the start line for the 2024-25 Bald Eagle breeding season. Wow. 8 November. These two are early!
M15 was above the nest during the labour and immediately went down to share the moment with his mate. And then, of course, the gift of fish. Congratulations!
SK Hideaways captures this historic moment and the delivery of the fish gift for his mate by M15 on video: https://youtu.be/EAsqF1jMMWg?
I wonder which eagle nest will be next.
There were two major breakthroughs on Friday morning with ‘The Boyfriend’. He did not go under the step when I took ‘his’ food out. He stayed about a metre away. Then he sunned himself looking in the window at Calico and Baby Hope. About an hour later, one of the ‘pets’ that get let outside arrived. ‘The Boyfriend’ did not attack the cat, but that cat hissed and howled like someone was pulling its ears off. He just sat still and stared and then went back to getting some sun. I have put a call in for a trap to catch the tiny black kitten so that it can go to a shelter, be socialized, and have a home. And now for the fun part. How long have we been calling this tuxedo cat ‘The Boyfriend’? Don’t you think it is time for him to have a name? Please send me suggestions either in the comments or by sending me an e-mail. I will put all of them in a jar and pull one out on the 15th of December. So, please help us name this kitty we have grown to love so much! He has now started his de-worming treatments.
Please, also, send your best wishes to little Hugo Yugo who is quite under the weather. We are hoping that she is only having difficulty with a hairball. She now has medicine which should send that mat of hair out the other end like the Atlas rocket!
She has been drinking lots of water and resting. Even Hope knows she is unwell and is letting her sleep in the basket without bothering her. Thanks, Baby Hope! (Of course, Baby Hope is no longer a ‘baby’ as she is now as big as Calico!)
Gosh, I am glad the fish fairy came to Port Lincoln. What a relief. Wilko and Kasse are growing and they need more and more fish. I wonder if there is any parallel between the weeks each year when Dad’s fishing seems to slow?
Mum, Wilko, and Kasse are waiting for fish.
Kasse is one month and one day old today. There she is nearest the screen in the image above – she still has a bit of the white stripe down her back. it will be gone shortly. It was a quick and easy way to tell her apart form Wilko. Is Kasse the largest? Kasse is three days younger than Wilko. I think Kasse is a female third hatch. They are both antsy and we need more fish on this nest – for Mum, too. Come on Fish Fairies!
At this feeding, Kasse got the fish tail.
Great view of Kasse with her white stripe.
Yeah. Three Tommy Ruffs delivered to Mum, Wilko, and Kasse at 1147. Thank you, Fish Fairies.
News from Sydney–:
Both chicks ate early at Orange amidst a lot of wingersizing!
“Please feed me the Starling!”
The Collins Street eyases are looking more and more like their adult parents on Saturday.
Karen Leng caught the triplets in a FB video on Friday when F23 flew in with prey. Oh, they are hungry and it got a wee bit chaotic as would be expected as we near fledge. The baby is last up to the beak. Notice the difference in the amount of down still clinging to the wing feathers.
Bubba continues to thrive at Growing Home nest near Sydney, Australia.
It was an amazing year at Poole Harbour. CJ7 and Blue 022 raised four osplets to fledge without even missing a beat in the music. CJ7 contributed much fish to the nest to help her mate. I don’t recall any animosity and of course we all fell in love with the fourth feisty hatch Blue 5H6 which just has to be a female. There is a five part series celebrating the triumphs of the season, please take the time to watch. What a year it was!
Just look at that beautiful family.
The first segment is ‘The Arrival’. Here are Blue 022 and CJ7 meeting one another after their migration, an early scene in the segment.
The latest news from Knepp Farm on the White Stork’s reintroduction and the huge success of 2024. It is a remarkable story of Polish storks that were injured and could not fly being brought to the UK to re-establish the population there.
Geese make me smile. I love my Canada Geese, Ross’s Geese, White-fronted Geese and dream of seeing seas of Barnacle Geese and Pink-footed Geese. Maybe!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their posts, notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J’, SWFlorida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Judy Harrington and Olympic Park Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Karen Leng, SK Hideaways, Heidi McGrue, Growing Home Osprey Cam, Birds of Poole Harbour, Kakapo Recover, Knepp Farm, Window to Wildlife, Cali Condor, Kistachie National Forest, Denton Homes, Zero Hour Climate, Wild Sligo.
It was sunny and windy on Thursday morning. There were about 500-600 Canada Geese on a nearby golf course when I drove past. The water in the ponds providing swimming for some and no doubt safety for others later.
All of the feral cats have been to the feeders this morning: Squishy, a grey tabby with a flipped over ear, the Orange Ginger family pet that is let loose during the day, the grey tabby, and The Boyfriend. The need is growing. Of course, everyone thinks that prices of things will drop, but in my lifetime I have never seen this happen. Pet food appears to be soaring. My heart breaks for the families who have to surrender their pets, but not for those that dump them. They need care and surely there is someone to take them home and love them rather than leaving them to the freezing cold of a Winnipeg winter. On Saturday we will take all the wood out of the wood boxes, load them with straw and put a light bulb in there and close in three and a half sides. It will help some.
There is still concern about Avian Flu and bird feeders. ‘R’ sent us an article from The Washington Post that might answer some of your questions. The author says, “While avian flu is widespread among wild bird species, less than 2 percent of cases have been in songbirds and other typical visitors to bird feeders. Health officials have not recommended taking down bird feeders except for people who keep domestic poultry as part of a backyard flock. (In such cases, the USDA says poultry owners should take down feeders for wild birds or keep them well away from their captive flock, and to make the captive flock’s food and water inaccessible to wild birds.)
People should clean bird feeders and bird baths regularly. Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands after touching the feeders. Avoid direct contact with birds, and do not handle sick or dead birds.”
M15 and F23 working diligently every day on their nest in Fort Myers, Florida.
M15 checks out the nest for suitability for F23 and their eggs.
Chandler flew in to the Port Tobacco Eagle Nest for a few seconds!
Haven’t seen anyone so far on Thursday at Big Bear.
Ron and Rose were at the WRDC nest despite the very windy conditions on Thursday.
Connie and Clive visit the Captiva Eagle nest on the Barrier Islands in Florida on a breezy day. Nice crops! Good to see these two after Milton tore through the island.
Eagles working on the Denton Home nest and sleeping together at the nest. What a wonderful sight.
Wednesday they worked on the West End cam of Thunder and Akecheta, Thursday it was Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn, Thunder’s parents.
They were flapping and waiting for breakfast at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne.
Prey delivery at Collins Street.
‘A’ remarks: “Suddenly, the trio at Collins Street are rapidly approaching fledge. Two of them are now running along the ledge, flapping their wings vigorously, which is nerve-wracking in the extreme. There is almost no fluff left on the older two, except a few dandelions on their heads. The youngest still sports some fluff on its wings, but suddenly, these three are looking very much like juvenile falcons. We will not have them for much longer. I cannot believe how quickly that triple-headed fluffball of an eating machine has become three juveniles who are potentially within days of fledging. Omigod, I am going to miss them SO much. It seems like only yesterday that we saw our first gutter stomp. “
Yira and Gammata share morning prey. Diamond feeds, too.
‘A’ comments: “At Orange, the pair still have quite a bit of down on their heads and wings. They are about a week behind the Collins Street trio, are they not? At least the Orange fledglings do often/usually return to the scrape after fledging (we remember those occasions when the parents literally had to bar the door from their adult offspring, with a not so gentle hint relating to the concept of dispersal). But we do generally get to see a bit more of them once they fledge. At Collins Street, we essentially wait until someone finds one of them injured, dead or starving on the streets of Melbourne’s CBD. We get little or no information on them post-fledge (although the Facebook group may have some BOTG – I’ll be relying on you for info from that source). But watching the Collins Street kids today has left me flabbergasted at how time has flown and the fact these chicks are already about to do the same. I’m sad now. “
Dad is off his perch and Mum is calling for food. There was not much on Thursday and Kasse got nothing. There was some beaking. This provoked the fish fairies into action.
‘A’ reports: “The most important news of the day is that there was a four-fish delivery from our beloved Fish Fairy at Port Lincoln this morning (09:38). A day too late unfortunately to prevent the two incidents of bonking yesterday that for the first time occurred during a feeding and was definitely done in order to prevent Kasse from eating. Not a good thing, and I’m glad the FF stepped in straight away. I would have preferred it to happen two days ago, when I was worrying about the lack of food deliveries and the potential for aggression this presented, but I suppose they were trying to avoid it altogether. And dad had been stepping up his fishing efforts – successfully, up until the last three or four days. So it was probably weather-related. But whatever the reason, the nature and timing of yesterday’s aggression made it essential that the Fish Fairy step in asap. I’m glad they didn’t delay. “
Thank you, Fish Fairies! I will sleep better Thursday night in Canada knowing you are there.
Heidi’s video of the Fish Fairy!!!!!!!! They included this information below the video: “Wilko is 33 days old, and Kasse is 30 days old. There were only two fish delivered to the nest yesterday, and as a result there was significant sibling aggression due to food competition. This morning, the ‘Fish Fairy’ placed four fish on the nest. It was the first time the supplemental fish were necessary this season. Ospreys are endangered in South Australia, and last season they instituted an officially authorized program of supplemental feeding for this nest. The supplemental feeding program is intended to help increase the survival rate of the osprey nestlings. Last year’s Fish Fairy program was a success, and both osplets fledged! For more information on the supplemental feeding program, please see this statement dated 10/27/23: https://portlincoln-osprey.com/portli…
Elizabeth Grey, National Audubon said on Thursday that Audubon vows to: “Strengthening Local and State Initiatives: While federal policy may shift, our commitment to local and state conservation efforts remains steadfast. We will work with communities to build resilience, ensuring that conservation continues regardless of changes at the federal level.” Just as I see my City taking every piece of land and building 3-4 story apartment buildings instead of 35 stories, each of us needs to lend a hand to help wildlife. You can do that in your own garden.
I needed a smile today and seeing Seren 5F at her winter home in The Gambia does it. She is a great mate to Dylan at Llyn Clywedog and a fantastic mother. She wasted a lot of years being courted by Aran but, in the end, he stayed with Mrs G. Great choice! But glad 5F found a great mate, too. Dylan is amazing. This is her biography from Glaslyn Wildlife.
Seren Blue 5F will be thirteen years old during the 2025 breeding season.
“Hatched at the Rutland Site K nest in 2012. Her mother is the satellite tagged female Yellow 30 (hatched at the Rutland Site B nest in 2005) and her father was the translocated Rutland male Red 08 (2001).
In December 2013, Blue 5F was photographed by Chris Wood at Tanji Marsh in Gambia, she was 18 months old at the time and would not yet have made a return journey to the UK. In December 2014 Chris returned to Tanji Marsh and he again found 5F settled for the winter there. She had not been spotted back in the UK during the summer, although it is likely she would have travelled north as a two-year old. On 9th April 2015 Blue 5F was captured on camera again, as she landed on the perch of the Glaslyn nest, this was the first sighting of her in the UK as an adult. She remained in the Glaslyn area during the summer and intruded at the Glaslyn nest on several occasions. By the middle of October we heard the news via Fansu Bojang and Chris Wood that 5F was back in her wintering quarters in Tanji Marsh.
On 29th March 2016 Blue 5F landed on the perch at Glaslyn once again. Two days later she was in a skirmish with her cousin Blue 24 at the Dyfi nest. Glesni, another cousin, who was the resident female at Dyfi, had not yet returned. Before long, 5F was back on a favourite nesting platform in the Glaslyn area. Aran was spotted mating with her on several occasions and for a while she appeared to be incubating eggs. The nest failed however and 5F soon resumed her regular intrusions at the Glaslyn nest.
During the winters of 2016 to 2019, 5F was once again settled in her wintering quarters in Gambia, where Chris Wood photographed her for the fourth and fifth consecutive years. During the winter of 2018 she spent the majority of her time in the Tujereng Beach area of Gambia, although she was spotted at Tanji again in autumn 2019.
On 1st April 2020, 5F appeared on the camera that had been installed by NRW at the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest in mid-Wales. On 3rd April she also appeared on the Glaslyn nest, before being seen off by Mrs G. The following day she returned to Clywedog and was soon joined by the resident male, Dylan. The original female, Delyth, failed to return and 5F became Dylan’s new mate. Together they raised three male chicks and all three successfully fledged. A very happy outcome – Congratulations 5F!”
There are still Ospreys in the Netherlands that have not migrated – along with several in the UK. Maybe they know something we do not? Is it possible not to migrate in an age of climate change? Last year was the hottest on record for our planet.
A 25 year old German Osprey has been seen in Sardinia. Blue Ring OD. Amazing. Its experience, after surviving those first years after fledgling, have kept this bird alive. Incredible.
The last information I could find on the migration of the Black Storks from Estonia. Apologies for the small size. I cannot enlarge but perhaps you can.
Calico wonders if you would like to make someone feel warm and fuzzy? Lucille Powell has provided the address for the residents of the Riverview Care home next to Iris and Finnegan’s nest. Have a card and a stamp? Want to include a note about yourself and how much you love the ospreys? Or anything else. Here is the information. Think about spreading the love!
I do not know if they are taking any further orders but here is the information about the Iris and Finnegan pins. These are made out of sticks brought to the nest by the ospreys and collected by Dr Greene. They are carefully lathed and assembled by Sharon Leigh and her husband. I have enjoyed mine for years and you can get find new ink cartridges almost anywhere.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. We hope to see you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, R’, The Washington Post, Androcat, chickiedee64, NEFL-AEF, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, FOBBV, WRDC Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Denton Homes Eagle Cam, Trudi Kron and Bald Eagles 101, Deb Stecyk and NCTC Eagle Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Nesting Birdlife and More, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Olympic Park Eagle Cam, Heidi McGrue, Judy Harrington, SK Hideaways, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Valerie Webber and The Clywedog Osprey Group, Yale Climate Connections, Ecology and Evolution and PMC, Jeff Kear and Friends of Loch Arkaig FB, H Lorm and Looduskalender Forum, Montana Ospreys at Hellgate and Lucille Powell, Montana Osprey Cams.
Wednesday was a cold to the bone, grey, damp day on the Canadian Prairies. The birds, once again, were feeding frantically. It felt like we could have a snow storm any moment. The skies were the colour of new down on an osprey chick.
It was also release day for the Ventana Wildlife Society. They had six 18-month-old condors that had hatched and been raised at the Los Angeles Zoo to send out into the wild. The timing of the release is parallel to that of chicks born in the wild. They are about a metre tall (36 inches) and weigh 9 kg or 20 lbs. Their wing span is 3 meters or 9.5 – 10 feet. They are giant birds. Before their release, they were tagged, had radio and satellite transmitters put on them, and were vaccinated against HPAI and West Nile Virus.
There was a Zoom presentation with questions, a visit with a group of second graders who asked questions and showed their pictures of condors, and the count down to the release. Interestingly, it was female 1233 that went out first to feed on the carcass left for them (they had not been fed for six days), then males 1232 and 1226 known as Pongo. The three most dominant birds while the flock was in the cage were the last to leave.
Condors are social animals and they survive as a group. There is a hierarchy and the least dominant learn how to cope and get food after the ‘King Pins (a nod to the dominant male released in 1997, now deceased, the mate of Redwood Queen who was the father of Iniko) have fed.
These are some of the screen shots I took during the Zoom presentation. The entire discussion with release will be available on YouTube.
Older birds feeding on the carcasses of lead-free carrion.
Current statistics. Once all chicks fledge and the Rookies are released, there will be 119 California Condors in the wild in Central California. This is amazing. There were none in 1997. Ad notice that in 2024 they had no deaths. Knock on wood this continues til the end of the year.
They did pay tribute to Condor 171 Traveler, the matriarch of the Central California Clan, who was declared dead in October after being missing for an entire year. She was released in 1997 in the first cohort of Condors to be sent out into the wild after DDT and Lead decimated their populations.
She had reproductive issues all her life and finally raised a chick in 2022. Male 1182 is that chick and heir and is doing fine.
In the release pen waiting for the gates to open.
As I said earlier, female 1233 was the first out and she did get a nice little feeding before males 1232 and 1226 flew out to feed.
If you are unaware of the challenges and hard work that the Ventana Wildlife Society undertakes, I encourage you to visit their website and explore the information available. That address is ventanaws.org
There are two organizations that I fully support for their dedication that knows no bounds. That is the Ventana Wildlife Society and the IWS where our dear Dr Sharpe continues to work beyond his desired retirement. Yesterday he was out with a volunteer team doing camera maintenance at the Nest of Thunder and Aketcheta at the West End.
The Bald Eagle numbers in the Channel Islands can be attributed to this amazing man. How many chicks have gone over the edge that you have seen rescued there?
So a big shout out to VWS and the IWS! Thank you for all you do.
For those interested in Ferringuous Hawks, their migration patterns that are determined by prey availability, and the challenges especially climate change, please take the time to view this extremely interesting presentation by HMANA: https://youtu.be/gdYRmoBitNo?
The latest on the Sea Eagles:
‘A’ sends the latest ranger report: “November 7: A flock of Rainbow Lorikeets visited the nest this morning, with a couple of Scaly-Breasted lorikeets as well. Shortly after 7am, both parents were seen on Mangrove Island – neither juvenile was spotted. At 8:15am, the adults were seen on the island, one with a fish. A juvenile flew closer – the adult was eating and the juvie seemed to be eating a little as well. The other adult moved to River Roost. There was some light rain, then a hot day. At 12:14pm, one adult was at River Roost, with the other on the island. There with no juveniles in view. Later, at 3:40pm, one juvenile was seen on Mangrove Island with an adult – the other adult was still at River Roost, though it flew to the island soon after. There were no further reports of sightings at the end of the day.”
Sounds windy at Port Lincoln. Mum, Wilko, and Kasse are waiting for breakfast.
Wilko and Kasse are a month old and Heidi has them on video. Hasn’t Dad done a marvelous job this season with his fishing? https://youtu.be/0VYcHkyu2Y8?s
A reports: “At Port Lincoln, it was nearly 5pm before any food arrived at the nest, and even then, it was only a small partial fish that provided little sustenance for the osplets. The two shared a feed of just under 20 minutes. The only other fish of the day arrived at 20:09. Again, it was a small partial fish only, and the resulting feeding lasted just over half an hour, during which period Wilko did better than Kasse. It is noteworthy that twice during the feeding, Wilko bonked Kasse. This has not happened during a feeding, until now, so I suspect that unless the Fish Fairy steps in to ensure a good couple of days for both osplets, we could create a problem for Kasse here, now that Wilko has experienced proper hunger and has realised that Kasse is limiting the food available for Wilko.”
At Orange, Diamond looks on as her two chicks try to tackle a Starling breakfast — unpacked!
Diamond will make sure that the youngest gets food to eat.
‘A’ gives us a long commentary on the eating and feeding at Orange today: “Xavier brought in a quail just before 6am and Yira grabbed it from him. He wasn’t arguing. Diamond soon arrived and Garrama rushed to complain to mum. Garrama tried self-feeding from the prey Yira was able to hold down, and soon, Yira ripped a piece off and took it into the far corner. Diamond at this stage arrived to help Garrama, who was left with the prey but couldn’t handle it alone. Diamond fed him – he’s a sweetie and SO much smaller than his gigantic sister.
By 06:02 Yira had finished her piece of prey and returned to steal the remainder from Diamond, who looked a little startled. Garrama was far from pleased. She tried to grab it back but Yira took it back into her corner! Diamond leaves the kids to sort it out, watching from in front of the camera, near the Cilla Stones.She obscures our view of the chicks, who are both self-feeding, Yira holding the food down and both pulling pieces from it. There are many cute noises accompanying this activity.
Around 06:04 Yira gets sick of sharing and brings the food over near the Cilla Stones, which Diamond has rapidly vacated. Garrama follows his sister and again tries self-feeding from the prey as Yira holds it down. It’s a technique that seems to be working well for both of them. Yira could weigh nearly twice what Garrama does. It’s hard to tell with their remaining fluff.
Yira is doing better, though, than Garrama, who gives up his efforts by 06:05. He heads over to see whether there are any dropped pieces where the chicks were eating earlier, but no joy, so he approaches Yira and the prey from the other side. Garrama gets a couple of bites but is largely disappointed, and by 06607 he has again given up.
He watches his sister, stares wistfully at Diamond, who stays on the ledge, watching the kids but makes no move to assist Garrama. He is frustrated and pecks a little at Yira’s wing feathers. By 06:06:30 he is again having a go at pulling some pieces off Yira’s quail (it’s a big piece of prey and Yira is eating A LOT of food). She obscures our view of her little brother, but it seems he too is managing to get some pieces.
At 06:07:48 Garrama picks up a large meaty morsel Yira has dropped. He turns away with it Diamond comes over to him to see whether he needs help eating it but then seems to change her mind, deciding that he should be able to manage it. Good mum. Shortly after 06:10, he is finished and turns back towards Yira, wanting more to eat.
Diamond moves to pick up Garrama’s leftovers and he literally begins screaming in her face. Is he annoyed with her for touching his piece of prey or is he simply demanding that she offer him some food? I suspect the latter, as Garrama starts nipping at Diamond’s toes, hoping to find food there. Diamond has to use her beak more than once to free her talons from Garrama’s grip and beak. He is certain there is food between those toes. There isn’t, and Diamond is very patient with him, all things considered.
Diamond moves towards the ledge and Garrama follows her. His breast feathers are exquisite. Mum has no food and dives out of the box. For a second, I feared he would follow her but he didn’t – just stayed where he was, looking out after her. Yira continues to eat. She has eaten a very large breakfast indeed and at 06:13 shows no sign of slowing down.
There was another food delivery (a juvenile starling) just before 06:56 – I didn’t watch that feeding – and another, grabbed immediately from Xavier by Yira, shortly after 11:01. Xavier briefly considered trying to retrieve it from her but quickly decided against this and left the scrape. Poor little Garrama watched his gluttonous sister, who has already devoured nearly a whole quail this morning but is still the epitome of greed. Around 11:03, Yira pauses in her eating to do some vigorous wingercising, making contact with Garrama, who objects. Yira returns to eating her starling.
Garrama sits and looks out of the scrape while his sister feasts on. He flaps across the scrape, does a PS out of the scrape, and returns to looking outside while Yira eats. Poor little Garrama hasn’t had that much food today – neither of the parents seem prepared to face down Yira once she has taken control of a piece of prey! Even Diamond was happy to leave her to it, though she did try to help (Garrama was managing that piece on his own anyway). She is aware that he is not getting enough to eat – she’s just not willing or able (could be either or both) to challenge her massive daughter to take back control of prey. Xavier has zero chance – she is twice his size – and although he did valiantly consider a quick snatch and grab on one occasion, he thought better of the move. So I am a bit worried about whether Garrama is getting enough.
At 11:08:30 he moves in and again tries self-feeding from the food his sister is holding down. He gets perhaps a small bite or two, then gives up. He tries again about a minute later, but only managed to nibble a toe. Soon after 11:10, he again approaches and tries to eat. Still, he is only able to get hold of a foot, and there is not much meat on it. He gives up again. Yira eats on like a machine. She has eaten SO much this morning, while Garrama has managed perhaps a snack at best.
These two are rapidly losing fluff and their juvenile plumage is really starting to show through. They are exquisite, especially Garrama, who is an absolute darling. He is not getting enough to eat under the present arrangements, with the parents having effectively ceased to feed the chicks, leaving them to self-feed. They can both do that, both of course Garrama has no chance of beating his sister in a battle over a piece of prey, and given how greedy she is, there is rarely anything much but feathers left over once she has finished eating. So unless something changes here, I am officially worried about our little male hatch at Orange. He is simply not getting nearly enough to eat. “
The 367 Collins Street triplets were digging through the gutter looking for prey. I had seen no breakfast delivery prior to 0823.
At least once of the chicks has made it to the ledge above the scrape today. A milestone to fledging.
Just look at the wings on this eagle in South Australia! Lukin is 82 days old today. Growing and getting ready to fledge. My goodness. Congratulations to everyone.
Well, what an amazing event. I wish I were in South Australia. What an opportunity! Spread the word.
Eric Kotz produced a history of Tumby Island to demonstrate how really tough it is for the ospreys in South Australia.
When we go out to feed the Chickadees and then have lunch outside the City, we drive past the many sites where industry is digging and digging for the things that make concrete – sand is one of those. But, at the sites now disused, there is water and wildlife. It makes me smile that something nice can come out of something so ugly and dusty. Here is an article about how the largest landfill site is now a home to wildlife. I hope it makes you smile, too.
And, of course, Calico hates these noisy things for more than one reason:
Seren 5F, Dylan’s mate from Llyn Clywedog, was photographed again today in The Gambia on her favourite pole. So happy she is alright. All of these sightings are priceless.
‘J’ sent the latest report from Redding for Liberty and Guardian but the text was too small and I could not enlarge it. Please check the FORE FB page – and watch Liberty and Guardian on camera building their new nest!
Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. Bird World is quiet. It is time to rest up. We are expecting Bald Eagle eggs within a fortnight. Then, the prolonged incubation til the end of December. We will continue to monitor the sea eagles as long as there is news. We will watch the falcons in Melbourne and Orange for Fledge, Buddy to Fledge at Growing Home, and then Wilko and Kasse. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, presentations, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A’, The Ventana Wildlife Society, IWS, HMANA, Sydney Sea Eagles, Rohan Geddes, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, NEFL-AEF, Gardenista, Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Eric Kotz, Montana Osprey Cams, The Guardian, Tamarack Wildlife Centre, Leaf of Life.
On Tuesday we woke to a hard frost all over the plants in the garden and the deck making it very slippery when delivering bird seed and cat food. There is now a new addition to the feral feeding line. The tiniest Jet Black kitten. I cannot get close enough to tell if it is a male or a female, but it is decidedly frightened. Thinking of trying sardines in a kitten trap so that it can get to a shelter before our cold winter sets in. Things did not thaw out until nearly noon. Oh, I dislike the deep cold and hibernation of winter!
All of the garden animals were present including Mr Woodpecker and the Chickadees. It is dark by 1700, or nearly dark and it is very cold. Jumper and Jacket weather along with wool socks. It will go down to -1 C tonight.
Let’s take a quick look at what is going on in Bird World.
The latest news on the Olympic Park Eaglets, Lady, and Dad:
‘A’ sends us the latest from Ranger Judy: “November 6: For the first time in a while, Dad was seen by the nest last night – with two ringtail possums passing, a flying fox visiting and a swooping owl. Lady was nearby early as well. Then a Black Duck and a flock of lorikeets. At 7:30am, both adults were down on the island. Then one juvenile was spotted, moving to get closer to the parents. Shortly after, it circled behind the island and out of sight. The parents were still there together. Later, both parents were seen, one on the island and one at River Roost around 2pm – on a hot day. A juvenile was seen again at 4:15pm on the island. Dad brought in a fish and tried to draw the juvenile out –it finally came to the branch to get the fish, but appeared to fall and was on the ground. Then Lady flew in with a fish as well and the juvie was seen eating the fish on the mudflats. It had finished feeding at 5:20pm.”
Breakfast at Port Lincoln filled Wilko and Kasse crops.
Don’t you love how all the chicks in a falcon scrape get fed? It is remarkable. Yira and Garrama are no exception even when one takes the prey initially.
At The Hamlet, Beau and Gabby both worked on the nest. Beau flew in with a really nice fish and waited, but Gabby didn’t show up. She missed her fish gift! Beau ate it.
M15: We really do not want you trying to impress F23 with your flying and hunting abilities over the main road! Stay safe young man. https://youtu.be/olnW6dI_HOA?
Every Monday on Rita the Eagle’s FB page, you can find out some history. Thanks to ‘J’, we have the latest!
There is still an Osprey in the UK on November 5. What do they know?
It doesn’t matter what happens to them, people still kill raptors on the hunting estates! It is time for the UK Government to instigate very strict laws like the one handed down to the man who killed all the Bald Eagles and hawks in Montana.
The battle for the Chesapeake Bay and commercial fishing will not go silent. I hope to have a document ready by the end of this week or the beginning of next that might help the folks in Virginia. For now, Omega continues to scoop up the fish that is the ‘lifeblood’ for our Ospreys. Without those little fish, we will have another breeding season 2025 in where almost all the chicks starved to death. And, of course, they use spotter planes to find the schools. What if this was disallowed? What if all technology were disallowed? That would be interesting. Maybe these commercial fishing companies should have to fish just like the Ospreys! Oh, I would love to see that.
Calico’s Tip for the Day: We are still talking about bird collisions. Calico wants you to read the information below carefully. Do not put your decals on the inside of the window. Everything must be on the outside. But did you know the other issues like distance that your bird collision decals can be seen?
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J’, Judy Harrington and the Olympic Park Eagles, SK Hideaways and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, NEFL-AEF, The Real Saunders Photography, Rita the Bald Eagle, Jeff Kerr, Dixie Rottler, Deb Stecyk, Raptor Persecution UK, William Dunn and Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB, On the Red Carpet, Wildlife Adventures North East Vancouver Island, World Bird Sanctuary.
Monday was a rainy grey day on the Canadian Prairies, but the weather wasn’t what weighed on my mind. While driving past what was once a vibrant golf course, I reflected on how the University of Manitoba is transforming it into a site for student and faculty housing, along with a grocery store. Although this project aimed to enhance campus life, it comes at a significant cost to our local wildlife. Once again, we are witnessing a concerning loss of habitat. Our city is rapidly becoming a place devoid of the natural spaces that our feathered friends depend on. Without grass for the Canada Geese to forage, trees for nesting, and adequate food sources, we risk the disappearance of these beautiful creatures. While there are a few ponds near housing developments, they lack the connectivity necessary to foster a thriving ecosystem. We must reconsider our development priorities to ensure that we do not sacrifice our local wildlife in pursuit of urban expansion.
Nearer to home, ‘The Boyfriend’ finally relaxed and ate his food out of a dish right outside the garden door! Yahoo.
Calico looked on and wasn’t so happy. “How come he gets more cat food than we do?” was what all the squawking was about.
Baby Hope was not bothered about our visitor this morning. Odd. I hope she isn’t feeling unwell. She is normally standing at the window watching ‘The Boyfriend.’
At the feeders, the European Starlings were eating suet as fast as they could before the rain came.
In my mailbox was a sad note from ‘J’. The beautiful female Golden Eagle from the Bucovino nest in Romania has died. Her name was Lucina and many of you will have watched her raise her annual eaglet for the past four years. Her mate was Calliman. Here is the announcement. On the Memorial Page, Lucina is #183 and 2024 is not yet over.
This is Lady Hawk’s video about the death and a warning – it shows the body of Lucina. https://youtu.be/J0eH1vIyKto?
Lucina and Calliman in February of 2024 working on their nest.
Condolences to all who loved this beautiful female who took such amazing care of her babies raising four to fledge in four years. Fly high, Lucina!
At Port Lincoln, a nice whole fish arrived on the nest. Was it Dad? or a fairy? The camera turned away right at the time of delivery. It doesn’t matter. What does is that Wilko and Kasse get the calories they need to develop properly.
Mum is such a treasure. Both are going to be full. Just look at how their tails and the beautiful juvenile plumage are growing.
Mum managed some bites of fish for herself and then the rains began. Both Wilko and Kasse tried so hard to get under Mum!
Mum wiggled and squiggled and got both her babies under her as the drops became heavier and heavier.
Dad flies in with a big crop and a partial fish for Mum and the kids.
The partial fish is completely gone in ten minutes.
With the heat heating the ledge at 367 Collins Street, F23 and the triplets take refuge in the cool shade of the North end scrape. They are quickly losing those baby feathers. My goodness. Soon these three will look like Mum and Dad.
The latest news from Sydney on the Sea Eaglets, SE33 and SE34.
‘A’ has the latest ranger report: “November 5: Both parents were seen down on the river early in the morning, and several more times. One juvenile was seen on the island at around 7:30am and it was quiet later, so may have been fed. There have still been no eagle visits back to the nest. I was watching from just before 1pm – both parents and one juvenile on the island. I saw the juvenile fly and change position and both parents took off. One returned with a fish at 13:10. It flew past the juvenile, ate some and spent some time, it seemed, trying to encourage the young one to take the fish or come closer. Finally, at 13:46, the juvenile stood beside the parent and was fed. It did not seem to try to grab the fish or feed itself. Just after 2pm, the adults flew off and the young one may have been self-feeding for a while. I did not see it perch anywhere else on the river, though it did fly about at one stage. When I left, before 3pm, both adults were out of sight. Swoopers have not bothered them much on the island today. Later in the afternoon, one adult and juvenile could still be seen on the island.”
It is precisely the same at 367 Collins Street where the chicks are similar ages. They are meeting milestones at both scrapes just as they should. Despite their determination, each Mum eventually takes the prey so that all chicks are fed. Beautiful. https://youtu.be/mNsKgks91lA?
‘A’ comments: “At Collins Street, the littles are very mobile, and currently we have two at the sheltered end, very much awake and looking mischievous, while the third sleeps in the unsheltered scrape at the other end. The three tend to sleep at the northern end but seem to like to move about between the two scrapes during the day. It is a great relief to mum and dad, who no longer have to worry about brooding or sheltering the trio. Feeding, on the other hand, is a loud and vigorous affair, the remnants of which are really starting to pile up in the gutter. I remember reading somewhere that a messy scrapeI r (full of feathers and streaked with PSs) was evidence of a healthy brood. Collins Street appears to support this view! The trio are SO adorable. Very active and exploratory. I wonder who will be first to fly onto the window ledges – the Collins Street equivalent of ‘branching’. I do so love the sound of gutter stomping in the springtime. “
At Growing Home near Sydney, Bubba is waiting for breakfast. S/he will not have to wait long.
The wind is helping move the mess of nesting material at the Achieva Osprey nest in St. Petersburg, Florida. I wish a colossal gust would just come and rip it off. We can see the large drainage holes where the chick from 2024 might have fallen to its death. (No one seems sure of the exact cause of its demise – was it a predator?). A predator baffle has been installed, but I do not believe the tree has been trimmed so raccoons can climb and jump to the nest. No organization has yet taken the holes seriously enough to want to help put stainless mesh to protect the chicks and eggs.
Ron and Rose were at the WRDC working to get their nest ready for this years breeding season that is set to begin with the first eggs begin laid in three weeks or less.
Poor E1 F3 picked a mate, E1 M2, that loves catching turtles. Tonya Irwin caught the moment that the ‘gift of turtle’ that the male had brought to Kistachie National Forest Nest E1 F3 bite and hung on to the female’s talon!!!!!!! Ouch.
‘J’ sends us news about the Kakapo and in particular, Kumi, who will be 20 years old next year. Isn’t he gorgeous? He is up for adoption as part of the fundraising efforts of the Kakapo Recovery. For details, see their website.
In Canada, many organizations are joining together to purchase land to create or expand wetland areas. One of the most active is Ducks Unlimited. Similar projects are helping internationally and this is one reason that waterfowl numbers are climbing while so many others, like Prairie Songbirds, are declining in population numbers rapidly.
We must educate our youth about the privilege of living alongside wildlife. At the same time, we need to guide them to understand the importance of protecting their habitat rather than destroying it!
Join the Ventana Wildlife Society on Wednesday for the release of the Rookies into the wild of Big Sur and Pinnacle. (Go to the website of the Ventana Wildlife Society to sign up).
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, information, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, J’, Lady Hawk, Bucovina Golden Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Judy Harrington and the Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Liznm, Charles Sturt Falcon Project and Cilla Kinross, Growing Home Osprey Cam, Achieva Credit Union, WRDC Eagle Cam, Tonya Irwin, Kistachie National Forest Eagle Cam E1, Kakapo Recover, Suffolk Wilderness Trust, Friends of the SIBC, Ventana Wildlife Society.
Sunday was a very rainy day. Despite that we did the Chickadee Trail at Bird’s Hill Provincial Park – the long trail. It is fast becoming my favourite place to walk because of the silence. Yes, on occasion, you can hear traffic from the main highway but mostly it is the song of the chickadees that fills the air. They were hungry today as not so many people visited the park in the recurring periods of heavy rain. Every where we stopped, wee little songbirds, the sweetest things, flew down to our hands to grab a seed! It is magical. They weigh nothing. They are so beautiful. And like all other songbirds, we need to protect them.
The paths were a bit muddy but there was a rich earthy scent to our walk that we didn’t have yesterday. What a privilege to be able to visit a place during every season.
So cute.
Calico finally had her party. It wasn’t as glitzy as it might have been, but they all enjoyed those squeezy chicken treats and dear Hugo Yugo was into everything before Calico could get there. She got a new reclining scratch post, much needed as they have used up the other two. They still like to sleep on them like a chaise. She has a new book and lots of dental chewy sticks that she loves plus some other dental treats.
Calico is licking her lips! She loved her new scratch post and devoured her treats and got right into chewing on her dental toys.
Missey decided it was safer elsewhere. Missey loves those squishy squeezy chicken treats. (They smell terrible).
The big news in Bird World is what we knew, but what we wanted to see – a juvenile sea eaglet being fed by Lady or Dad down by the river roost. If it wasn’t for the energy and dedication of BOGS like Rohan Geddes we might not feel the relief that we are seeing this baby being fed by its parent. Now..if we could only see both sea eaglets being fed at the same time – well, that would feel like winning the Super Jackpot Lottery.
Here is all the latest news I could find trolling the Internet.
Are you in Devon? There is a fundraiser to put up some platforms for the Ospreys!
Some Ospreys are doing so well they have decided not to migrate yet. Remember it is all about food availability, not weather.
News of a Kielder Fledgling at its winter home in Senegal!
‘BA’ reminded me to mention Bubba at Growing Home. That nest is near Sydney, Australia. So grate to have another osprey cam in Australia. Bubba is doing fantastic. Looks fully feathered to me!
Gabby and Beau at the nest on Sunday.
It was windy in Big Bear Valley. Jackie and Shadow did some quick nestorations on Sunday.
Nest collapse at Iroquois Wildlife Refuge. Will the eagles rebuild so they can be seen on the cam? We wait.
There is good news for the Black Grouse population in Europe.
Calico’s birthday book, Sky Dancer, by Gill Lewis, looks very promising as a book that you might want to add to the list of children in your lives, ages 8-12. (I am enjoying it, too). I will keep you posted as we work through a book where children wonder what ‘the wild’ really is. Gill Lewis is a vet who has travelled from the Arctic to Africa, examining different species and their habitats. She lives in the UK and has a series of books I am keenly interested in. We need to educate our children to know about the history of raptors, such as the hen harriers who were virtually killed out of existence in the UK. In 2016, only three pairs – think about that – successfully raised young in the UK. Lewis says, “I hope that the dream of rewilding our landscape and rewilding our own lives becomes a reality.”
Ongoing results for the International Osprey Data Project: I am behind in entering nests. I still have 8 from Nova Scotia, 2 from Manitoba, and about 20 miscellaneous ones for 2024. This is, however, the results of our mortality study for 2024 so far, without those nests.
Out of 493 eggs, 80 DNH, 103 died, and 309 lived. Of those that died, 1 was from an illness, 10 were nest accidents, 1 was electrocuted, 2 were deemed to be natural deaths, 8 deaths were from unknown causes, 37 were predated with owls being the largest killer, 1 died in rehab, 1 died after translocation cause unknown so far, 19 died from siblicide, 10 starved to death (there will be many more in this category once I finish entering data), and 13 died from weather-related events.
Sharon Dunne brings us up to date with what is happening with the Royal Albatross.
Calico’s Tip for the Day: Bird Feeders should be at least 15 feet or 4 metres from any windows. All windows should be bird friendly. Decals and stickers need to be spaced close together and placed on the OUTSIDE of the window or they are not effective. Calico does not recommend them as it is expensive to purchase enough for them to repel the birds. Instead for those with short budget strings, get window markers made by Crayola. The white and yellow work well. For those with more funds, Calico recommends Feather Friendly strips.
Thank you so much for being with us today. 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 post today: Rohan Geddes, Judy Harrington, Dixie Rottler, Devon Osprey Partnership, John Thorpe, Joanna Dailey, Falcon Cam Project, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, Growing Home, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, Baiba, Trudi Kronenberg, Rewilding Europe, International Osprey Data Project, Sharon Dunne, USFWS Alaska.
Calico thanks everyone for all the lovely birthday wishes! They made her day. She feels so special. The online retailer did not, however, come through. Her prezzies were due to arrive on Saturday so we could have her party on her ‘real’ birthday, but the party has been delayed until arrival – hopefully Sunday by 10pm. Everyone was ready today – even The Boyfriend!
I keep picture books hard copies, of the kitties. Calico tried posing for her birthday photo. Here were the possibilities. Which one do you like best?
Calico said she thought she looked like a Corgi and not a cat in the first one.
Calico decided to try for the movie star pose! She thinks this is the best look for the family album.
Happy Birthday, Calico! We will have your party tomorrow. You have brought so much joy! Thank you for agreeing to come and live with us. I cannot imagine my world without you.
Saturday was a beautiful day. Inside the City, we spotted no less than 300 Canada Geese. In the country, returning home from a long walk at Bird’s Hill, we saw a skein of about twenty-five geese heading towards Winnipeg to spend a safe evening in the water. We will check Oak Hammock Marsh tomorrow to see how many geese are feeding in the adjacent fields.
This path is the quietest place. (We do the 2 or 4 km walk through this forest.) You will recall that I ‘used’ to spend much time at the nature centre. Because it is inside the City, many school groups visit, as well as the dozens who rent bikes or others who bring theirs to ride on the trails. It is often not the tranquil spot my mind seeks when I go to the forest for a walk.
There was a wet, earthy smell to the oak leaves lining many of the paths.
Today, there were four deer and a fox in my neighbourhood. The fox comes to our garden regularly to eat. It was heart-warming that people fed the deer pumpkins and didn’t want to harm the fox.
The report on the state of Canadian birds came out today. It is really pretty dismal for some species. Success is being seen in waterfowl and raptors while the long-distance migrants (Arctic Birds), shorebirds, and grassland birds are disappearing at an alarming rate. Have a read!
The destruction of habitat is one of the reasons we dutifully purchase coffee grown in the shade, so that the land is not cleared, and the trees are not destroyed. Think about it.
‘A’ sends us the latest report from the ranger for the WBSE: “November 3: Again, no eagles spent the night at the nest last night, though ringtail possums passed by just before 8pm – including two young ones. Eagles were seen down on River Roost early – with lots of Sunday morning river traffic- water skiier, boats, ferries. Adults were then seen on Mangrove Island – and we felt that a juvenile was hidden there as well. Later, we saw one juvenile perched on a mangrove on the island – so hard to spot with its brown colouring. One of the adults then flew into the mangroves west of River Roost – out of sight and an unusual place for it to fly. Was the other juvenile in there? By early afternoon, it was a hot day, and only one adult was seen on the island. Later in the afternoon, both parents and a juvenile were on Mangrove Island. One spent a long time preparing bird prey, then a juvie was seen eating on the ground. No eagles still at the nest, though there were rainbow lorikeet visitors in the late afternoon.
I remain hopeful.- at least one of the eaglets was seen to be eating today. It is hard to be patient but as I said the other day, the BOTG at this nest are some of the best, so we just have to trust in their reports and hope for the best. The littles are strong and healthy – or were when they fledged – and hopefully their parents will get food to them.”
At Port Lincoln, there is an early fish. Everyone is delighted. Wilko was 4 weeks old on Sunday in Australia.
In Orange, Xavier comes in with an envy of a prey item – looks like some kind of parrot to me, certainly not a Starling. Yira grabs it before everyone’s eyes. Diamond comes into the scrape and takes charge. Earlier (late Saturday night in Orange), in what could have been a terrible accident with Garramatta going off the ledge – we had a save, but Dudley flew out during the ordeal.
Aren’t these two just the cutest little eyases you have ever seen (OK, tied with Annie and Archie!)?
The New York Times report includes the following: “A Washington man who killed hundreds of eagles and hawks in Montana that he later helped traffic and sell on the black market was sentenced to nearly four years in prison on Thursday, prosecutors said.
From 2015 to 2021, the man, Travis John Branson, 49, of Cusick, Wash., traveled to the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana to help kill hundreds of birds in a “killing spree,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana said. In addition to his sentence of three years and 10 months in federal prison, Mr. Branson was ordered to pay $777,250 in restitution, prosecutors said.
“Branson went on self-described ‘killing sprees’ for thousands of eagles and hawks,” Jesse Laslovich, the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, said in a statement. Mr. Laslovich added that Mr. Branson “butchered” the birds “and sold the parts and feathers for profit on the black market.”
Mr. Branson, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and trafficking charges in March, killed at least 118 eagles and 107 hawks himself, according to investigators who traced the killings to Mr. Branson through text messages. In total, Mr. Branson worked with others to kill about 3,600 birds, prosecutors said.”
Dyson is on the fence feeling a bit guilty. She has just chewed through the wire connecting my twinkly fairy lights and the solar panel that would bring those little twinkly globes to life. We love her regardless. Dyson is about the same age as Peanut. She has lived in the wild and come for peanuts and brought her kits to the garden. She is family.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Remember to turn your clocks back if you haven’t already. 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 post today: ‘A, Geemeff, L’, Birds and Beans Coffee, SK Hideaways, Marilylu Pitcher, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Birdie Cam, NEFL-AEF, The Guardian, NBC Montana, KREM News 2
It is 1 C with ‘grey wintery skies, not unlike the colour of baby Osprey down. We are now at the beginning of the brown and greys of late fall. Today is Halloween, and the plan is to do the 4k walk at Bird’s Hill Park while feeding chickadees. Today is also a discount day at the Pet Stores, so we will stock up on the month’s food and get the prezzies for Calico’s party. After taking stock of what Calico likes, I must order dental ropes from the online retailer and get some nice treats. The cats have all the perches in the world they need, more tunnels than they should have, and I refuse to buy any small plastic toys because they don’t play with them anymore, and it just adds to the heap of junk our planet needs to get rid of. So special food and treats for The Girls and The Boyfriend and dental toys! Sounds good to me. We need another low basket for the floor. Tonight, Baby Hope waited patiently for Missey to ‘get out of her basket!’ It was rather sweet. Real estate on the floor is in high demand, so no. They can share.
There will also be another storybook, as Calico truly loves our time reading in the evening. For those who do not know, Calico lived on the streets. She was fed and talked to and finally came into the house five days later to be accompanied by her only surviving kitten, Baby Hope. My old office was cleared, and a place was made for her to integrate quietly into the family. Whenever she was fed or I went in, I read to her. Gradually, she came and listened from my lap. Calico has her likes and dislikes when it comes to books. I cannot read her mind, but she will walk away if she doesn’t like the sound of the words. Let’s see what I can find. Yes, Sky Dancer! by Gill Lewis. Calico will have a good birthday on Saturday.
Goodness me. Hugo Yugo could have posed for these pictures!
This is what those dental rope sticks look like after The Girls are finished. I rewind and tie the cord again and again sneaking some catnip in there so they last a long time.
The furnace was on all night, and it went down to -4 C. It is now time for gloves, toques, winter coats, warm socks, and jumpers. There is no question about it. My Birkenstocks can go in the drawer until next spring.
Happily by 1100, the temperature was climbing and reached 6 C. There was not a lick of wind. We did the 2k (not the 4k) walk at Bird’s Hill Park feeding chickadees along the way. It was so beautiful neither of us wanted to return home!
The view from the lookout tower was not as grand as when we were in Nova Scotia with all the gorgeous rust, yellow, and red-coloured leaves, but it was nice nonetheless.
This view was created 11,000 years ago when the glaciers that covered our province began to melt. The hill we are standing on is about 30 metres higher than the surrounding area and is one of the highest points within a 30 km radius. In other words, it is quite flat in this area of Manitoba!
There are still lots of Canada Geese in Winnipeg. Hundreds were on the golf course near the zoo yesterday, and another 200 or so at the soccer pitch. Today, we saw them flying overhead into the City, and there were flocks of them scattered about as we drove out to the park. ‘PB’ tells me that Canada Geese are just now arriving in Omaha. All of this could be a clue to the low numbers of migrants at Hawk Mountain. We will have to wait and see. Food is certainly still available, and that is, as you know, the driving force for migration, not weather.
At 1743, approximately 200 Canada Geese flew over the conservatory! I stood in awe. They were flying in the direction of our two rivers that converge for the night. To me, they are majestic. It is such a privilege to watch them raise their young during the summer. Fly safe!
‘A’ sent me a report that did not get into yesterdays blog. I will include it today and any others that come after regarding the sea eaglets. “Meanwhile, here is tonight’s WBSE report, posted a couple of hours later than usual. October 31: Last evening, both eaglets were seen together in the wetlands. Early this morning, both parents were seen down on River Roost. Around 7:30am, ravens and currawongs were heard in the wetlands – maybe fledglings were still there? Then squonking was heard as well. Shortly after, both eaglets were spotted in a tree, hunched down to avoid the swoopers. Early afternoon, at 2:20pm, Dad was circling overhead, and shortly after, one youngster was airborne from the wetlands, circling, then headed towards the river. One eagle was at River Roost at 3pm, and a fledgling was possibly behind, in the mangroves. Later, an eaglet was seen opposite River Roost. No eagles have returned to the nest. At around 5pm, an adult was circling over Mangrove Island with a fish and a juvenile was heard from behind the island. Finally, the adult began eating the fish itself. The watcher was unable to see if any juvenile was there. One of the juveniles was seen in the river, though fortunately, it managed to lift off again – attempting to catch a fish maybe? Late in the afternoon, rain started – hopefully, all sheltered somewhere for the night, and watchers thought both fledglings were over the river.
The sight of the two eaglets flying together does make me smile.” The latest from A and the ranger report: “Finally, at WBSE, I have been waiting for today’s report, literally with bated breath. And finally here it is, posted literally two minutes ago (spoiler alert: a good report):
November 1: The adults were down on the river early, seen on Mangrove Island. One was seen with a fish – apparently a catfish –then one of the juveniles was seen eating there – a first definite sighting for us. At around 1pm, a juvenile was on Mangrove Island and the parents were aware. When Lady brought in a bird just after 1pm, the juvenile was ready and squeeing – and eventually got to eat it, after some time spent de-feathering it, first by the juvie and then by Lady. Then at 4:30, Lady brought in another bird. Again, the juvie finally ate. Just one juvenile appears to be there on the island, but we believe both are doing well.”
We wonder if both eaglets have been seen eating. I mean they must be, but…
At Port Lincoln, ‘A’ and I have both noticed that Dad has upped his game. Yesterday he brought in five fish. FIVE. Dad brought in them, not fairies. Gosh, goodness, is he taking health supplements this year? The osplets need that fish as they grow bigger and bigger. A really nice fish came in for breakfast on Friday. Yeah, Dad. Delivery time: 0749
Everyone is being nice. What a pleasure it has been this year to watch this nest. Just wonderful.
Both kiddos were stuffed. I sure hope Mum got some nice fish, too. She has done an incredible job this year.
‘A’ remarks on Port Lincoln: “The osplets ate and ate and ate today at Port Lincoln, as did mum. After five fish deliveries yesterday (31 October), another five fish were brought in today, one by mum and four by dad. The littles ate until they were bursting and then they ate some more. Mum seemed to be on a mission to stuff both of them to the brim, and they were literally moving to the other side of the nest to avoid food at one stage! Perhaps fishing conditions are excellent at the moment or perhaps dad is just aware that he needs to work progressively harder on fish deliveries as the osplets grow.
Whichever is it, there has been no need for the Fish Fairy apart from that one day several weeks ago. These two are very active and look healthy and alert. The bonking is rare and short-lived, with Kasse running away from Wilco rather than tucking and ducking or retaliation. The important thing is that he does not appear to be intimidated at all when it comes to eating, although he does defer to Wilco, allowing his older sibling to eat first. Mum tends to make sure Wilco gets the first half dozen bites or so, just to ensure that pecking order is respected and there are no bad manners at the table.”
It is all about eating and sleeping at Orange. Yira and Garramatta are being fed well! And those white soft little feathers are soon going to be filling the scrape box as if someone had a pillow fight.
More prey.
The Collins Street triplets are nothing short of chaos. Up and down the gutter they go! And then they fall asleep as quickly once their batteries have run down. It is 0950 and I have not seen a prey delivery but I surely could have missed a very early one.
So full. No rushing the parent when a partial pigeon is brought in.
Heidi brings us up to date with Bubba at Growing Home in Australia.
M15 and F23 spent Wednesday checking their nest, testing it to see if it was just right. Today is the first day of November. Looking for eggs here and at NE Florida by the end of the month.
‘J’ remarks: “It strikes me again and again, doesn’t matter how oft I’ve seen it, I just go slackjawed when I realise anew how BIG F23 is.” Yes, she is a big girl, ‘J’.
Gosh, golly. What a time to have cam problems. On the NEFL chat there was a thought that they might be able to switch to IR during important moments such as hatch, fledge, etc. They said: “RaptorLvr_AEFAgain – emphasizing this is something we MIGHT try – not a definite. I have been misquoted before so want to be sure this is clear!!!”
As we all watch the migratory bird counts, the number of shorebirds is plummeting. We need to be concerned about what is happening along all of the major flyways. It is essential that protections are put in place.
“‘The perilous declines of migratory birds are a sign that the integrity of flyways is deteriorating. Losing the network of habitats that migratory birds depend on to rest and feed during their long journeys could have severe consequences for the millions of people that rely on these sites, as well as the birds.’’
‘J’ sends us the latest on Rita (Ron’s former partner at WRDC) who had an injury and was found and taken into care.
Thank you so much for being with us this first day of November. Just two months until the end of the year. Just two months until there will be baby eaglets on the nests. How exciting is that?
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Heidi, J’, Sea Eagle Cam Daily Report, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Heidi McGrue and The Joy of Ospreys, Growing Home, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, SK Hideaways, BirdLife International, Raptor Persecution UK, The John Muir Trust, Marathon Wild Bird Centre.
It is Halloween. It is also Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Will you be celebrating either of these holidays? In years past, we used to get at least 75 children at the door wanting treats, and that all changed. I am thrilled that some of the streets in our neighbourhood are being blocked off so that the children can run from house to house and cross the street without worry of being hit by a car. On Saturday, there was the walk at Bird’s Hill, and CPAWS put on all the games and treats. There have been events at many of the community centres. Everyone is trying to make it safe for the little ones to be outside. The biggest Diwali party took place at our convention centre a couple of weeks ago.
I remember several years spent celebrating this holiday on the Indian Subcontinent eons ago. The food was delicious! It was the same later in Singapore. We have put up extra lights in the garden this year and will be thinking of our friends in India and Singapore as they celebrate good over evil and light over darkness.
National Geographic Kids gives this information on Divali: “Diwali, or Dipawali, is India‘s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians.
Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that’s also enjoyed by non-Hindu communities. For instance, in Jainism, Diwali marks the nirvana, or spiritual awakening, of Lord Mahavira on October 15, 527 B.C.; in Sikhism, it honors the day that Guru Hargobind Ji, the Sixth Sikh Guru, was freed from imprisonment. Buddhists in India celebrate Diwali as well.”
Now, ‘The Girls’ are wondering how much you know about Halloween. They consulted Good Housekeeping and it says, “If you think Halloween is a uniquely American tradition, grab a mini Snickers and settle in, because you’ve got some learning to do. Dressing up in a creative costume, traipsing around in the gathering dusk to collect the best candy or throwing a monster bash with friends are all time-honored holiday traditions. But Halloween didn’t start stateside at all.
In fact, the origins of Halloween go back thousands of years to the Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”), a festival that marked the end of the harvest season and ushered in a new year. During Samhain, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thought to be especially thin, so people could communicate with loved ones who had passed on.
Whether or not you buy into the supernatural, it’s still fun to learn a little something about the meaning behind your favorite Halloween traditions before you head out trick-or-treating. Turns out, the holiday has a much more interesting (and sometimes even spookier!) backstory than many people realize. Travel back in time with us to learn what some of the very first celebrations of Halloween looked like, including throwback ghoulies and ghosties, what people used to carve in place of pumpkins and even the elements that Valentine’s Day and Halloween have in common. We can guarantee there wasn’t a glitter pumpkin or superhero costume in sight.”
Calico urges you to keep your kitties inside during Halloween. (She thinks they should be inside all the time and Calico should know – she lived on the street!)
The best news in the world is that Lady and Dad are feeding SE33 and SE34 over away from the river from the moment and while they might be getting harranged by Currawongs and other small birds, they appear to be flying strong and eating well as of the time I am writing. Seeing the eaglets and their parents together just made me shed tears of joy. I hope you did, too!
I will continue to post all of the news that I can find. Some might overlap with earlier reports.
It is really, really hot on that ledge in Melbourne. The temperature ready for lower down is 16 C. I wonder what it is on that ledge. Just look at Mum.
News from New Jersey says that Ospreys are staying later this year. In Manitoba, there are still lots and lots of geese and ducks. Perhaps this is the reason for the low migration numbers of raptors below. I sure hope so. The Red-tail Hawk count makes me cry. Let’s hope this is just a late season or these raptors are in trouble.
It seems that we take one step forward and one or two backwards when it comes to protecting wildlife and habitat. More news from Geemeff:
This is a damning report on the state of the environment and rewilding just after we read about huge swaths of land being put into trust and not into grouse shooting.
Osprey accepted the platform that had to be removed and rebuilt in South Australia. Wonderful news. Now if we can get Ervie a mate and a platform with a camera all of our dreams will come true. Little Envies!!!!!!! Think about it.
Breakfast at Port Lincoln. Gosh, Dad is doing a good job this season. Would love to give him a pat on his feathered back. Keep up the good work!
Beau and Gabby continue to work in their amazing nest. As we enter November, we can hope that fertilized eggs will appear by the end of the month with a hatch on Samson’s hatch day (24 December).
‘H’ sent me some sad news this morning regarding the cameras at NE Florida: “We’ll be lucky if we get to see any of Gabby and Beau and their family this season. As you know, cam 2 is down all season due to a broken cable. Well, now the cam 1 issues have been diagnosed: a partially broken cable. Not all the strands within the cable at the nest are being used to transmit to the server… meaning that some of the cam 1 cable fibers are broken. Cam 4 is still okay so far.”
I cannot imagine know knowing if Gabby and Beau have babies this year. Was it the hurricane that damaged the cables (Milton)? Do the cameras get an annual check up here? I wonder.
It was raining at the West End, too. Thunder was looking out over the territory.
This is a very good use of funds. They will get to the bottom of all the questions about Menhaden and quotas and surely to goodness will help save the Osprey in the same way that the warnings from Rachel Carson issued about DDT did in the 1970s. There are many species at risk because of the commercial fishing of Menhaden being allowed by the State of Virginia. It needs to stop before they are wiped out entirely and there are no more ospreys, not even starving ones.
Scotland is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. It is home to so many raptors. So why not rewild 33% of Scotland. This film asks that question. Our narrator is a 26 year old who has eco- anxiety. Take some time to watch. It isn’t just Scotland. There are some gorgeous images and thought provoking questions. Even a good comparison between Scotland and Norway, the Oder Delta between Germany and Poland, and other sites that have rewilded. Happy ecosysystems and biodiversity link to the nature and climate crisis. https://youtu.be/FFypWj1bjPk?
Missing story time with Calico and the other three girls is not a good thing. I apologized this evening profusely and we settled down with treats and a good book. It got Calico’s Ten Golden Paw Award and she thinks you might want to put it on your holiday list for those special children in your life. It is not about raptors, but about seals and comes to us from Wales. The main characters are the seals that come to the island to have their pups and to rest. The other central character is Tina, a little girl who lives on the island where her Mum is the local vet. It is summer holiday season and Tina is determined to make the holiday goers that come to the island understand how to respect the seals. The book is: Rescue at Seal Bay by Gill Lewis. The only colour illustrations are on the front and back covers. All others are black and white drawings, just in case you wanted to know. The story is really good and Calico didn’t mind not seeing images in colour! It is listed at $14.99 CDN at the online retailers.
Calico found a lot of books written by Gill Lewis. We just ordered another one for her birthday – Sky Hawk. It is about Hen Harriers! I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J’, OpenVerse, National Geographic for Children, Eagle Cam, Judy Harrington, Rohan Geddes, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, Hawk Mountain Migration Chart, pressreader.com, Fran Solly Coffin Bay Community Notice Board, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Nesting Bird Life and More, Elain, NEFL-AEF, Androcat, Raptor Research Project/Explore.org, PIX Cams, FOBBV, IWS/Explore.org, Joanie Millward, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, The Scottish Rewilding Alliance, Gill Lewis, Harley Thomas White.
Thank you so much for being with us. It is nearly the end of October! Tomorrow is Halloween. The following day is All Souls Day, and when I lived in England, we were preparing to celebrate Guy Fawke’s Day on the 5th of November. I have lots of beautiful memories of ‘Guys’ in wagons, bonfires, and jacket potatoes in the back garden with friends. It marked fall. The back garden of our house on Gorse Road in Grantham had fruit trees, mostly apples and plums. They were delicious and by the beginning of November all had been picked and eaten or given to friends and neighbours. The ones that had fallen were left for the hedgehogs to eat. Shallow bowls of water were always left on the back step for them, too. When we first moved to the UK, hedgehogs were the stuff of children’s stories. Our son decided to bring one inside the house. Yes, those of you who are British will know what happened next! Fleas flew everywhere. It was a solid cloud. Our dear little friend quickly found its way back to the orchard – and if memory holds, not a single other hedgehog made its way into the house.
The past several years have been really challenging. I never know if I am waking up to a toddler or a teenager. It is difficult navigating through life with a partner whose Lewy Body Dementia is getting worse. I have learned more about dementia in the last couple of years than I ever imagined. Well, to begin with, I never imagined caring for a person with dementia a decade younger than I am, but it happens more often than you might think. There are beautiful moments, and then, in a blink, his world and mine change. I have learned to grasp onto those times and hold them tight. Thank you for bearing with me through these transitions. My reports are not as long and do not include as much academic information – Bird World is relatively quiet right now (thank goodness) and my real focus is always the ospreys. Thankfully, the Northern Hemisphere’s breeding season is not here yet and will not be in full swing until the new year. In the meantime, I am so grateful for the garden animals and The Girls and for the fact that I can go for long extended walks in the parks and forests near to where I live. It all helps keep my mind in balance!
I did have a laugh. One long time reader and friend thought that Missey had done Calico in. No, Calico was not eaten by Missey! Yes, I know Missey looks huge in the images. She is large; she is a Maine Coon, but she is also mostly fur. Missey does look formidable, something out of a medieval forest lurking with magical creatures. Calico is, however, very much alive and well. Both Calico and Missey like to think that they are the boss, but the real boss of the house is Hugo Yugo. She is the tiniest, bossiest little ginger female I have ever met. She will rush to finish her food dish and then leap off the counter and run to push Calico away from her dish so she can eat it. That single fact has helped Calico lose all that weight. Just look at how trim she is. The vet will be pleased when she sees her in November for her annual check up. When we brought Calico in from the cold outdoors, we did not know when she was born. The vet guessed how old she was and based on that we picked November 2 for her birthday. This, of course, means that we will be having another one of those wild parties on Saturday.
Sadly, as The Girls have now all passed the year mark, they do not run and play at night like they used to. I surely miss that!
The real boss of the house! And if you are wondering, Hugo Yugo did run and jump on Calico to get that spot in the purple chair.
I have said it once and I will say it a million times, Baby Hope is nothing short of the sweetest thing around. Look at her staring at Hugo Yugo as HY is getting ready to leap to the top of the cat tree.
Calico and Baby Hope never cause an instant of trouble. It is always Hugo Yugo and Missey. If things are falling down in the middle of the night, you can count on it being those two.
Two Crows were at the big tray feeder. I counted. This one carefully took six peanuts including this one, the seventh, in his beak. Incredible. The Crows are ‘off’ the cheesy dogs. I also find that very interesting. They started wanting only peanuts in early September. We start out with huge piles on the tray feeders – big and small – and scattered on the deck for the squirrels. They will be gone within an hour! I am not kidding you.
Junior and the Mrs were also after those peanuts. Just look at that pile of peanuts on both those feeders. These Corvids are busy! They are in competition with three grey squirrels and two red ones.
Just a quick note. Yesterday I included the day’s sightings at some of the Bald Eagle nests. I did not mean to imply that eagles had not visited ETSU-Johnson City. I had just not seen them yesterday. Boone and Jolene have been regularly visiting the nest and refurbishing it!
Wildlife groups and rehabilitation clinics continue to plead with people not to use the fake spider webs. Here is another one:
What is going on in Bird World? Well, the focus is on the Sea Eaglets at the Olympic Park in Sydney. And the questions that are on everyone’s mind are these: Are the eaglets eating (either being fed or getting their own prey? OR Will they wind up grounded near the Discovery Centre and wind up in care – which if they are not so emaciated, would not be so bad. As far as I can tell the only bad scenario is that these fledglings are not seen fed and are not grounded by the Discovery Centre so they can be rescued. So fingers crossed. I will post all the news that I can find.
“October 29: Eagles were seen on the river around 7:30 –then shortly after on the mangroves – one with a fish. While doing surveys in the wetlands nearby between 7am and 8:30, there was no sign of either eaglet. Around 8:15, an eaglet was seen flying across the Armory grassland, being chased by the usual swoopers. It was seen on top of one of the old Navy-era mounds, then flew off again. One eaglet was reported by a member of the public along one of the pathways, but was gone when we investigated. We think this is SE34 and it is flying strongly and moving about. There were more sightings during the day, and one of the eaglets was seen from the ferry, flying along the river. Early evening, Dad was seen with a bird, taking it to River Roost. Neither eagle returned to the nest today. At dusk, the adults were at River Roost. The picture is from a sighting yesterday.”
‘A’ remarks: “I can hear those damned currawongs from the open WBSE tab, which I check regularly in the hope that one time, I will see an eaglet back on the nest, eating some fish. But all I hear are currawongs. It’s worrying, and oh so sad. I really thought this year might be different, due to the lengthier time the youngsters spent dealing with the swoopers while still having the nest as their ‘safe spot’. But it seems not. And what is really worrying to me is that it seems to be the parents who are letting the eaglets down. I was hoping that, like last season, the parents would help the eaglets by feeding them and showing them where the fish were. Watching their parents hunt would surely have helped immensely. But apparently this is not happening. “
In the Central Business District of Melbourne, there is a peregrine falcon scrape. Everyone held their breath as one of the chicks got a little too close to the ledge. https://youtu.be/0nKnS5II4rU?
They are getting their juvenile feathers as you can see clearly in the images below. They will be walking soon, tall and strong. They are learning to pluck by watching the parents who are bringing the prey to the nest and plucking it before them.
‘A’ remarks: “At Collins Street, the littles are self-feeding, and at least from dad’s point of view, it may well have reached the dump and depart phase. He brought some prey early, about 06:12, but one of the humongous fluffballs grabbed it from him and dad considered, then thought better of trying to retrieve it. The triumphant chick took its prize down into the gutter to eat it in peace, so dad retrieved what looked like a very long leg (or perhaps a piece of wing) from the scrape and began feeding it to one of the others.
The third chick sat motionless, intently watching the scene unfold, from the back corner of the scrape. Eventually, it moved forward and into the feeding line. When dad responded by offering it food, it stole the entire piece and took it back into its corner of the scrape, where it proceeded to self-feed. Dad continued feeding what was left of his leftovers to the remaining chick.
So in the end, everyone ate breakfast, but it was hardly the most organised or coordinated of feedings. Everyone ate in their own place and in their own time. Dad just went with the flow, handling the situation with aplomb. These three are already a massive handful for their parents, especially poor little dad, who is dwarfed by his offspring. This family is just TOO funny. “
These kids at Collins Street are so precocious. They are developing right where they should and one decided to take the prey from Dad and high tail it to the other end of the ledge!
Oops. Dad arrived Wednesday morning on the ledge and those triplets let him know that he can only come with his talons full! https://youtu.be/ej47XnKN9JE?
At Port Lincoln, Wilko eats first but Kasse wants some fish and gets some! He scoots up and Mum notices. ‘A’ comments: “At Port Lincoln, there was a bit of bonking at 06:32, but dad brought in a small whole fish at 06:41 and everyone was happy. Kasse is up off hisd tarsi and onto his feet today. He seems to have a fascination with feet that reminds me of a sweet girl called Lindsay. She too had to be reminded that other people’s toes were not toys. But Kasse is playing with Wilco’s toes and with mum’s. Just adorable. “
Diamond feeds Yira and Garramma their second breakfast. Xavier had a good go for a few minutes!
Black Stork Migration. Here is the Bird Map chart for the 30th of October. Waba still appears to be in the very south of Egypt at his last transmission.
Despite the fact that ospreys are what make me wake up in the morning, I love all birds and there are some that pull at my heart strings more than others. Jackie and Shadow are one of those couples. Jackie was at the nest looking at it and out over the territory while Shadow was finding the best sticks for cot rails. This couple lives in hope – the eternal hope that maybe this year they will be able to raise another eaglet together.
Polar Bears. The Canadian province where I live is often called the world’s Polar Bear capital. At our local zoo, three live in a large open space with pools and dens built a few years ago. In the north, in Churchill, the bears are hungry. If they come into the town three times, they are shot. Not tranquilized, but killed. They are hungry. The sea ice has retreated, and there are fewer seals they rely on for food. It is hot in Churchill and parts of the Arctic. It is unclear when the entire ecosystem that supports them will collapse, but there is evidence to show that it is beginning to happen sooner than expected. So what about captivity, like our zoo? What are the pros? And cons?
This is a good read. It asks a lot of important questions.
What a great post from Connie Dennis in Nova Scotia. How often do we hear people say or read that our dear feathered friends, mammals, and fish do not have feelings? They are sentient beings; their behaviour towards these beautiful creatures will surely change once people recognize this. For a good read on animals and birds as sentient beings look no further than Marc Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals.
The trailer for the documentary on California Condors from the Ventana Wildlife Society: https://youtu.be/dgCVAA-NNig?
Geemeff sends us some really good news. Don’t we wish we could get together and buy the Chesapeake Bay and stop the fishing? They say, “One more parcel of land for nature, one less for the #IdiotsWithGuns who like to kill in the name of so-called ‘sport’.
While that is a good thought-provoking read about polar bears, we are going to close today with a good news story about a juvenile rescue. We need these good stories!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care everyone. Stay safe out there.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J, SA’ Valerie Wright , Judy Harrington, Kerry Allen, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Deborah Victoriana, SK Hideaways, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Falcon Cam Project, NEFL-AEF, Androcat, Charter Group Birdcams, The Guardian, Connie Dennis, Ventana Wildlife Society, Tamarack Wildlife Centre.
