Category Archives: Fortis Exshaw Ospreys

First egg for Diamond and Xavier…Saturday in Bird World

26 August 2023

Good Morning!

Friday was a particularly cloudy day on the Canadian Prairies with some drizzle. The birds, all of them, have been more than frantic today. The ground quivers with the hundreds of sparrows looking for seeds that fell from the feeders. They are great clean-up crews. The Blue Jay siblings – the four that survived (there were originally six) – have been here all day eating and bathing or just squeaking in the lilacs.

“Splish splash, I was taking a bath, Long about a Saturday night, yeah
A rub dub, just relaxing in the tub” – that is precisely what the youngest of the Blue Jays did most of the day. This is that little ‘rather round’ one that has grow up but it still retains that sweetness when I first laid eyes on it sleeping on the two clay birds.

If there is a peanut on the property, Mr and Mrs Little Red will have their claws on it. My wood box is going to be so full of peanuts by the end of September these two should be able to sleep in the home I built in there (and insulated) two summers ago near their food source.

Everyone is accounted for…including Calico, who was here Friday morning for food and who was brushed til my arm got numb because she had gotten into burrs.

I wish I could tell you that I have a kitten in hand. The food left under the deck was not eaten Thursday evening or Friday. The kitten is alive. I could tell by the slightly dry fur around the one teat, and Calico was sunken in like the old mules and donkeys that used to be on some classic television Westerns. Calico ate well Friday evening – 4 small tins of food. I sat on the step and fed her in front of me instead of placing the food under the deck for her to eat alone), pushing the food up with a fork now and then removing some more burrs. She did not want me to leave and kept rubbing my legs and pulling me back to the step so I could hold her. Calico loves having her cheeks and head scratched. Then, a van stopped suddenly on the street, and she became fearful. It is a quandary on what to do. There are pros and cons to every approach. The kitten is now 57 days old. It should be eating kitten milk and gruel and some solid food. Perhaps it is out hunting with Calico at night. The trail cam was removed, and I will put it in a different place – aimed at the area in front of the deck where Calico comes and goes on Sunday or Monday. At the moment I dream of a ccrow bar and dismantling that deck!!!!!!!!

You might recall that I stopped going to the ‘bird seed’ shop and began purchasing Black Oil Seed, Chicken Feed, and Mixed Birdseed at a farm supply. Mixing them in a ratio of one to one was ideal. Then I found a farmer who sells seed directly to customers. The farm is 60 km north of Winnipeg. They deliver – this is seriously wonderful. The driver carried those 50 lb bags of seeds into the house for me. The only thing they did not do was open the bags and put the seeds in their metal storage bins. What a joy. The birds are enjoying the first of the new seeds.

I love this – farm-to-feeder -without all the middle businesses. I desperately try to live as ‘local (within 100 km)’ as possible and forego plastic when possible. The birds have taken to the seed, and the total cost of their food will be 30% less per month. It is a win-win as farmers try to monetise their land and crops differently than previous generations. Many are setting up their farm shops, and one is advertising pet food. Must check that out! If you use a lot of bird food, you can check it out. You could also have a farmer-to-feeder situation where you live.

Oh, jump up and down for joy. We have lift off in Orange. Diamond laid her first egg while Xavier was on the ledge Saturday morning in Australia. Oh, how brilliant. She had been looking a little ‘eggy’. Congratulations!

Xavier was there cheering Diamond on – time was around 0435.

Xavier got some eggy time at 0636.

We always welcome news of Ervie, and is it possible that he is looking for a forever home and mate? Will Ervie get a platform? And a camera? I cannot imagine a more worthy osprey – and for the life of me, I cannot imagine that it won’t happen once he settles down. Everyone loves Ervie, the third hatch from Port Lincoln in 2021.

‘A’ has a snapping report on the Sydney Sea Eagle nest: “This morning was very strange at WBSE. Somehow, they have demolished that gigantic fish/eel (what did you think it was?) overnight, although the table is scattered with some sort of leftovers and there are fish flakes galore. The first breakfast arrived soon after 06:28 and it was a small fish. SE31 ate it all, with SE32 not even bothering to get out of bed for it. The pair lay about on the rails, stretched a bit and were generally convivial. The second small fish (almost identical to the first) arrived at 09:56. This one was for SE32, who confidently headed up to the table, sat up happily, and ate the lot without a single grab or cringe. He didn’t turn away as he took the bites. He just ate. Normally. At 10am SE31 got up, turned around and stretched, and started watching the feeding. She then moved towards the table, but stopped when she got level with the back of SE32, who continued eating. At 10:00:25 Lady reaches forwards to give SE31 a bite. She then returns to feeding SE32, who keeps eating. SE31 stays where she is, looking around her, not at all interested in intimidating SE32. At 10:00:50, SE31 shuffles up to the table, next to SE32, and Lady leans forward to give her half a dozen more bites. SE32, though not in submission, is no longer sitting up. His head is up though and he is watching mum. SE31 seems hungry. SE32 had already eaten about two-thirds of the fish before SE31 arrived so is not as hungry (it has been three and a half hours since SE31 ate the first small breakfish). But he is now not as confident as he was, very aware of SE31’s proximity. Will be be brave enough to accept the next bite he is offered?That bite comes almost immediately, with a very large piece of skin and flesh from near the end of the fish. SE32 grabs it, turning his head away as he does so. This could well be to stop Lady trying to retrieve it, as she often does with such large pieces, and SE32 is well aware of this and does his best to thwart her – he is not scared of SE31 or he would not have risked taking the bite with her right next to him in perfect position to beak him for eating it. The fact that he took it without hesitation was very exciting. Yesterday was not an alternate reality. It seems to have persisted! The fish is now gone and Lady is looking for leftovers and table flakes, which she is either eating herself or feeding to SE32, who grabs them without hesitation. At 10:02:10, SE31 shuffles closer to the table. SE32 shuffles his position slightly, turning towards Lady a little, letting her know that he is still up there in the foodline. Lady surveys the scene and decides now would be a good time to leave. The two sit there for a minute or so, looking around, looking at the table. Around 10:03:30, SE32 stands up for a good PS and then considers the leftovers. He stands up on his feet, stretches his little wings out and flaps them, falling flat on his face onto the table at 10:03:44!! He is quickly up and tries it again, with slightly more success. He sits down, looking pleased with himself. Both chicks are looking very interested in the leftover scraps on the table. They are sitting side by side in front of it, wondering whether and how to approach eating it. When SE31 reaches out to nibble at it, SE32 (gently) pecks her, then again, on the top of the head!! He then stands up and does it again. Twice. SE31 rears up and goes to beak him back but SE32 remains standing and just leans back to avoid her. She withdraws and both stand their side by side. SE32 was definitely the dominant chick in that interaction. I think you see what is going on here from my description. SE32 is still a little cautious if he is eating with SE31 touching him. but it is not stopping him from eating and he has not been beaked or intimidated for a day and a half now. He is getting his share of the food, as is SE31, and he is doing so without having to pay for it with beakings from SE31. This is wonderful to watch. I do hope the food supplies remain as good as they have been recently (yesterday, I think, SE32’s crop was bigger than I’ve ever seen it) so SE32 can consolidate his newfound confidence and SE31 can get out of the habit of automatically intimidating her little brother, hungry or not.”

Thanks, ‘A’. This is certainly a terrific change of behaviour.

 

The season is kicking off at SouthWest Florida as M15 and his Lady begin pair bonding! OK. How excited are you that this amazing male is with us again this year with a new female? Oh, is she one lucky Bald Eagle!

https://youtu.be/15jN8EuzleY?si=YGgEfg6C_D6GWwKm

Eagle on the nest at Superbeaks Friday morning in Central Florida.

At Glacier Gardens, Hope loves to sit on her favourite branch just out of view of the cam. (to the left). An adult flies in with prey and she is there in a hop and a jump. Oh, a beautiful eaglet.

Mini snags a fish at 0904 that was on the nest and squawks at Sneezy (Three) when it lands on the perch. No one is taking that fish – or her nest! Oh, she is a spunky gal. Mini returns later to the nest to get the tail that was left. Lucky girl – no one spotted it. Not the Crows and not Sneezy. Mini returns for the tail that she left on the nest along with all manner of little scraps, which she cleans up like Dyson! She appears to be putting more weight on that left leg – not completely but looking better. Mini had at least three fish on Friday. She ate them in fine spirits not wanting to share with anyone and not wanting to lose any overboard.

Mini has scratched her head a few times with her left talon. For all the talk about capturing her, this will not happen unless she is desperately dehydrated or ill. She is doing better, and like it or not, she adapts to whatever situation that injury throws her. Was it ever a fracture? We will never know. Was it only a serious infection? We will never know. We are only armchair observers of her life – and each of us wants her to succeed. Would we have liked her to have help immediately? Of course, No question about it.

Maya was still at the Rutland Manton nest on Friday morning. Her mate, Blue 33, continues to not only protect the nest but is working to get it in ship shape for next spring. Just look at that beautiful abode. Many are falling apart with fledglings going in and out. Incredible Blue.

At the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn, Idris was busy bringing fish to Cennen and Seiont. Telyn was last seen on Saturday the 19th of August.

At Glaslyn, Aran and both osplets OH1 and OH2 are still home. It also looks like Elen is also here. She is believed to have been seen perched on the lone pine. I do not have a screen capture of Elen and cannot confirm that she is still in the Glaslyn Valley. We wait to see if she shows up on the nest or the perch.

At Poole Harbour, 5H3, 5H4, and 5H5 are still home as are Blue 022 who is busy delivering fish and CJ7.

The Alyth Male still delivers fish to at least one fledglings. Mum Flora, HKO, was last seen on the 10th of July.

Loch of the Lowes is so desperately silent. Here is the latest season summary for the nest!

Earliest-arrival-and-departure-of-webcam-ospreys-Scottish-Wildlife-TrustDownload

Geemeff gives us our last glimpse of Ludo at Loch Arkaig. Mum Dorcha was last seen on 17 August with Louis last seen delivering a fish on the 24th. Safe travels!

At Sandpoint, Coco is 67 days old. Three fish were delivered on Friday up to and including 1530.

Despite some rain – I mean seriously: does an Osprey have a problem with water? – things are fine at Boulder County Fair Grounds Osprey platform.

Mum and the male at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge in South Australia are a striking couple. Many people think today might be the day for the egg, while others believe there will be no egg for this newly paired couple this season. We will see.

Things continue to be upsetting at the platform of Louise and her mate, feared dead, Jasper, and their only surviving fledgling, Banff. ‘H brings us the news, “The intruders must have been off fishing in the morning, and Banff decided to try her luck at her nest.  She flew to the nest at 0649.  She called for fish.  There was peace . . for a while.  At 0816 there was a close intruder flyby, and several seconds later the intruder landed directly on Banff and attacked her a couple of times, and then Banff was dragged off the nest.  From 0836 to 0856 the male and female intruders spent time at the nest together.  At 1226 we could hear Banff calling, and she flew over the nest being chased.  A few seconds later Banff landed on the nest.  She was immediately buzzed by one of the intruders and then dive bombed.  Banff flew off the nest.  At 1228 the female intruder landed on the nest.  Another adult landed on the nest at 1252.  There was a controversy as to the identity of that bird.  We had a side view of a slight necklace, and the bird seemed to be about the same size as the female intruder.  The female intruder jumped on the 2nd adult’s back, and then began to push it off the nest.  The 2nd bird resisted, but did not fight back.  After several tries, the intruder was successful in pushing bird #2 off the nest.  We did not get a look at the top of the head, but the necklace seemed to rule out the male intruder (and why would the female intruder have treated her mate that way?)  O’Hara was ruled out.  Could it have been a new rogue intruder?  Or, could the 2nd adult at that time have been Louise?  The back of the head was similar to Louise.  Over the next hour, the female intruder was on and off the nest.  After that, for a couple of hours we would occasionally hear Banff’s calls, and we would also see a few osprey chases in the distance.  Banff came back to the nest at 1526, and after a few minutes she began intruder-alerting.  At 1533 Banff was buzzed twice, and she flew off.  At 1637 Banff was chased over the nest, then the intruder pair both landed on the nest. Within seconds the male flew off to chase Banff, followed by the female.  Banff landed on the nest at 1639, and was immediately dive bombed twice, so she flew off.  From 1701 to 1724 the female was at the nest.  At 1757 Banff flew to the nest.  Then at 1807 an intruder approached from the south and landed directly on Banff, and grabbed Banff’s head with its talons.  Banff managed to break free and she literally staggered over to the side of the nest.  The intruder jumped on Banff’s back.  Banff tried to fly away, but she was attacked again.  Then Banff managed to fly from the nest, but the intruder was right on her tail.  The female intruder was back in the nest from 1844 to 1857.  We noticed that the intruder had a very hollow crop, and before she flew from the nest she did a very small PS on the nest that only projected a few inches.  Why hasn’t intruder-F eaten?  A chatter that lives near the nest informed us how the intruders keep the nest in their cross hairs.  One of the intruder pair hangs out in a tree near one side of the nest, and  the other one perches on a utility pole across from the other side of the nest.  So, that way they can keep a constant eye on the nest and the surrounding air space.  We did not see Banff with much of a crop today, but it wasn’t exactly hollow like the intruder’s had been.  Banff is doing a great deal of flying, so she obviously has hydration and calories to burn from ingesting fish.  She is most likely being supplied fish from Louise, but we don’t know how much.  Most of the time when we saw Banff today, she seemed to be hungry, and tired.  And, she would stand on the nest with a hunched posture, looking forlorn and defeated.  The primary key to Banff’s survival at this point is for her to stay completely away from the nest.  She is going to be seriously injured or killed from a violent attack by the intruders.  “But, it is the only home she has ever known, and it is her instinct to go the the nest,” is heard repeatedly on the chat.  I’m sure there is a learning curve for Banff.  But hopefully, she will come to associate her nest with DANGER.  Banff must come to that realization, or she may not survive to migration.  “Please do not come to the nest any more, Banff.  We are worried that you will be hurt.  We are very sorry sweetie, but the nest is no longer your home.  Go hang out with Mommy, and eat lots of fish.  You don’t know it yet, but you will have a very long journey coming up soon.  And, Mommy does too.” 

‘H’ so has reports for us on Kent Island and Forsythe.

Kent Island – Audrey did not spend the night at her nest for the first time, and she was not seen throughout the day.  Molly spent a lot of time fish calling, but she was off the nest a good bit as well.  Tom brough Molly a nice fish in the afternoon, which she took off the nest to eat.  Tom may have also taken a fish to Molly at the nearby dock or a tree as well.

Forsythe – I only saw Oscar bring one fish to the nest for Ollie, at 1613, but perhaps I missed one.  It seems as though activity at the nest is tapering off for Dad and his girl.

Thanks ‘H’ – we all hope that the situation at Fortis Exshaw calms down so that Banff and Louise can spend their remaining time in the area getting prepared for migration.

Things could not be better for the Royal Cam chick! Manaaki has had feedings for 5 days in a row! Thankfully this means that L is not have to venture so far to find food for both of them.

The Condor Chat with Ventana Wildlife Society. One good news item is that none of the California Condors that have received the HPAI vaccine have shown any adverse effects. There are currently 93 California Condors and there are 5 active nests.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘ A, H’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, PLO, Sydney Sea Eagles, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, Glacier Gardens, PSEG, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, SSEN Alyth, LOTL, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Sandpoint, Boulder County, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Fortis Exshaw, and the Ventana Wildlife Society.

Banff flipped overboard…Friday in Bird World

25 August 2023

Good Morning,

Well, if you are following the saga – it will become an odyssey soon – with me and Calico, it is now Calico 13 and Mary Ann 2. Yesterday the food dishes were licked clean in under 45 minutes. Calico does not eat that quickly or much in that amount of time. Today, the first breakfast was the same. But the afternoon feed was hardly touched. The trail cam was set up underneath the deck at 1300. The space is so limited that it appears the motion detection system did not operate properly when I returned with food and to check the footage. Can you hear me growling like a cat? Calico is laughing her head off with a smile like a Cheshire Cat. So the camera is somewhat repositioned, and if that doesn’t work overnight, I will put it outside so that it covers the entrance to the area where Calico comes and goes. I believe that the kitten or kittens are old enough that it/they might follow Mama. I will continue to provide food in the hope that the wee one will associate food with my voice and come trotting out one day – before it is too late to socialise the kitten/s. I continue to praise this kitten that had kittens herself for finding the right place – it is so safe, and secluded. No one would know she was under there if they were not searching like me. Still, I will need to get her in hand – Calico that is – on 4 September for her surgery.

Morning Update: Calico was waiting for me at my garden door with brambles in her fur. While she ate she allowed me to brush her for over an hour and a half removing more than 3/4 of them. What patience with me! She also ate well. We then went together to retrieve the camera – they are meant to work in open spaces not in confined spots so it is now up on a pole!

Our thoughts continue to be with the wildlife (and the people) impacted by the wildfires burning in my country. These were the most recent stats that I could find on The Narwhal.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, there are currently 1,035 active fires burning across the country, 368 in B.C. alone. A staggering 15 million hectares (a jump of nearly 2 million hectares since last week) have burned this year so far — and there’s no end in sight to the inferno. The heavy blanket of smoke from fires in the Pacific Northwest stretches from San Diego to Great Slave Lake.

I have had several questions and letters about migration. Many of you might not be completely familiar with the reasons that the Ospreys migrate or how far they travel.

This first article is by the RSPB and focuses on the UK Ospreys but there is much good information that applies to all ospreys that migrate.

Osprey-Migration-Patterns-The-RSPBDownload

This second article is full of gorgeous images and maps that will help you understand more not only about migration but about where those birds along the NE coast of the US travel. It is an excellent read.

Ospreys-Have-A-Shocking-Spring-Migration-—-Save-Coastal-WildlifeDownload

If you are looking for a comprehensive book on bird migration (it includes many species), I highly recommend The Atlas of Bird Migration. Tracing the Great Journeys of the World’s Birds. It is by the Smithsonian (there is another by a similar title so I am providing the cover image). This book is everything that you wanted to know and much that you didn’t even know you wanted to know! The cost at my local nature centre was $24.95 CDN.

The tracker for Bonus, the foster storklet of Jan and Jannika, who grew up on the nest of Karl II and Kaia in 2022 has problems with the transmitter not charging. Bonus was somewhere in Belarus. Stay safe, Bonus!

Urmas’s fish basket that has helped to keep the family of Karl II alive this season is still operational. Urmas and his team refill as necessary and on Thursday, Karl II went there to fill up the trio.

Imagine how some of the fortunes of the US and Canadian Osprey nests might have changed had fish been compassionately provided during their time of need – during drought, storms, and fires. I praise Urmas and the Estonia team who try, in whatever way they can, to protect their precious Black Storks. Bonus is an example of that, and we will never forget the dummy female and the robot-feeding male stork. Enlightened is the word I often use for Urmas and Dr. Madis. Bravo! The world could use 100s of people like you who are willing to step up, take a chance, do the right thing. We made a mess of their planet – isn’t it time we fix that?

There is ‘mixed news’ in the most recent Tweed Valley report.

23rd-Aug-news.docx-Google-DriveDownload

We must check on Fortis – ‘H’ has given us a grand report on what happened to poor Banff on Thursday. “Banff spent the night away from the nest.  The morning started with the female intruder arriving at 0607, and her mate arrived a little later.  We heard Banff’s voice, and for some reason the intruders simultaneously flew off the nest at 0626.  After a few minutes we saw Banff being chased by at least one of them.  The female intruder returned to the nest at 0635.  At 0649 Louise hovered with a fish in her talons, and the female intruder kept her away.  At the same time, the male intruder landed on the nest, and Louise flew to the T-perch.  Louise did not eat the fish.  She flew off the T-perch with the fish at 0653, perhaps to find Banff.  The intruder pair mated on the nest at 0733.  The male left the nest at 0826 and would not be seen for the next 9.5 hours.  Banff flew toward the nest at 0845, but she was intercepted in the air by the female and was then chased.  The female intruder brought a fish to the nest at 0905, left with it after a couple of minutes, and returned without the fish at 0916.  Over the next couple of hours, the female intruder was on and off the nest a few times.  Banff flew toward the nest at 1104, and once again the female intercepted her and chased her away.  After that, the female intruder stood on the ‘lookout post’ for about three minutes, and then she was not seen at the nest for the next 5.5 hours.  At 1336 Louise arrived with a fish.  She waited for Banff to arrive for eight minutes, but then she flew off with the fish.  Banff landed on the nest at 1453, but she hurriedly flew off as she saw an intruder approaching.  We only got a brief glimpse, but it did appear that Banff had a small crop.  Osprey chases were noted a few times throughout the day, and we assumed they may have involved Louise and/or Banff.  Louise landed on the nest with a small partial fish at 1746.  The male intruder landed and Louise immediately chased him off.  Louise waited a few minutes for Banff to arrive, but she ate the fish herself, and flew off at 1804.  Banff arrived at the nest at 1815.  She looked tired.  She called.  But, Mom did not come back.  At 1929 Banff began alerting, and she assumed a defensive posture.  She knew an intruder was approaching.  The intruder buzzed Banff at 1930, and Banff pancaked.   A few seconds later the intruder dive bombed and hit Banff really hard.  Banff was flipped over onto her back, but she seemed to be okay.  She righted herself and flew off.  Go roost near Mom, Banff.  And, Mom will bring you a nice fish for breakfast.”

On Thursday morning, our dear Mini was on the nest and got the first nice fish of the day from Dad. She did well eating it except when it got to the small tail piece which was lodged in the side of the nest. She got it out and finished off that fish. The time is 0751.

Mini got another nice fish later in the day from Dad.

Mini ate well Thursday! Let us all hope that Dad is looking after himself. Mum is still around and the other three siblings might well be. Three is off the opposite perch this evening from Mini.

Sammy McLoughlin copied the article about Mini into the chat for Patchogue. This is what it said and it had a photo of Dad in March – sadly, not of Mini!

Every year, PSEG Long Island celebrates the return of the local osprey population in Patchogue Village by preparing for the breeding season and performing maintenance on the osprey. The monitored Patchogue nest is located on West Main Street, just south of the Blue Point Brewery. This year, watchers of the live cam noticed of the four chicks (which is rare in itself), one of them seems to have injured its leg. The youngest chick, according to New York City viewer Judith Camacho, who noticed the injury and alerted the local paper, suffered some sort of leg injury last week and she believed it was in need of help. After noticing the injury, the “chatters,” as they call themselves, contacted PSEGLI, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,  and wild care rehabbers in the area. The injury can be seen at 7:34 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 14, during a feeding session. “She has difficulty holding the food and you can see the injury on her left leg. She is such a fighter,” Camacho said. “Survived with three older siblings, which is extremely rare. It will be a pity if she is not helped.” PSEGLI referred to Jim Jones, one of the bird experts  they work with in these situations. After being alerted to the situation, he said he has been watching the nest, on and off, for 24 hours. He confirmed that the chick does have an injury to the left foot, but he said that there are a few things to consider: The fledgling has been perching fairly easily, and the foot can grip, but a bit clumsily; it was able to finish the fish meal without incident. It can also stand on that leg without any apparent leaning. It can fly, and has been leaving the nest to forage, and possibly hunt. The parents are still there and are feeding the “All of these things are good,” he said. “The injury does not—at this time—appear life threatening. We (PSEG, myself, and a wildlife rehabber) are all monitoring the situation. At this time, we are letting things progress naturally. These kinds of injuries are not uncommon, and osprey that I have worked with have recovered. We will keep watching!”

Unfortunately, they did not include images of Mini at various stages of her life or ask locals to keep their eyes out for any ospreys on the ground. That said, Mini is progressing nicely, and there is no way that she could be easily captured currently. Nature is working its magic – and we hope for Mini that she is fit and ready to fly south soon. She is determined – a survivor, and we can only hope she has many more lives – like a cat!

At the Loch Arkaig nest of Louis and Dorcha, Louis is making up for his time away defending. I believe we are now on fish 5 but Ludo is being stalked by the Hoodies – Dyson, Hoover, and Henry – who are getting as much or more of that fish that Ludo.

Fish 5 for Ludo!

That official announcement from Ulster! Ospreys have been seen flying to and from Ireland but there were no reports of a breeding pair – and a successful one at that – until now.

Pam Breci reports that all is well at the osprey platform of Steelscape, Inc.

Our 21 year old Osprey Dad is doing a great job delivering fish to his recent fledgling at the Minnesota Arboretum nest.

‘H’s reports on Osoyoos and Barneghat Light:

Barnegat Light – Duke delivered a whole fluke to Dorsett for lunch. “Wow, thanks a lot, Dad!”  Mom, Daisy, has not been seen since 8/21.

Osoyoos – Life is going well for this family of three.  Soo brought a beautiful large fish to the nest at 1310, and she waited a long time for her fledgling to return for lunch.  Lunch lasted three hours! 

Oh, gosh it is good to hear that Osoyoos is alright. Thanks so much H’ for all three reports this morning. Always appreciated!

Blue 33 was delivering fish to Maya at the Rutland Manton Bay platform. He is helping her prepare for her migration in the hope that they both return, as usual, safely next March.

At Orange, Xavier slept on the ledge while Diamond was in the scrape.

Later, Diamond with a huge crop! Thanks, Xavier. You are keeping Mama healthy – she might not have liked the two Starlings but from the second image she devoured the pigeon. Eggs by the end of the month!

At Port Lincoln, the new couple – old Mum and new Dad – are still trying for eggs. It is definitely not too late in Australia!

Gosh, golly. I know that ‘A’ is watching the Sea Eagles much more carefully but it was sure nice for me to go through a few minutes of rewinds and see 32 up there eating and then both up at the beak and with nice crops.

‘A’ wrote us a story about SE32 and its feedings! “Lady comes in around 09:45 to deal with the fish that is left over from breakfast and again SE32 is straight up to the table and starts eating confidently. SE31 is slow to get up and stretch and she then does not move more than a step or two towards the table. Lady feeds SE32 and eats a fair bit herself while SE31 watches. She then moves towards the table, but heads around the far side of SE32, so that SE32 is between her and Lady. SE31 arranges some sticks on the left rails while SE32 keeps eating. I think you get the gist. Something is going on today. SE31 looks healthy, though the PS she just did was very small for her, but she is not attempting to head up to eat. It is after 09:53 when SE31 leans over SE32 (slowly and carefully) to take a bite from Lady. SE32 can feel his sister leaning across him but does not go into submission. SE31 is having to work to swallow the bite (there are a lot of bones in the pieces being fed by now, although there is still a lot of flesh attached), so SE32 accepts the next large mouthful, despite the very close proximity of his sister! Normally, he would get beaked for doing this but not today. Mum offers him a piecde that’s too big and SE31 thinks Lady is going to give it to her but Lady eats it herself and SE32 takes the next couple of mouthfuls. SE31 retreats slightly and just watches! What is going on? He refuses another bite because it is just too big and he is too full, and SE31 leans forward on SE32’s far side, thinking she will get this piece. But no, again Lady eats it herself and SE31 pulls back a bit, disappointed. SE32 has not dropped his head or appeared intimidated in any way so far today, and not now either. Finally, at 09:54:54 Lady starts feeding SE31, who leans forward eagerly on the far side of SE32 to eat the mouthfuls. She is hungry. SE32 stays where he is, his head up, just too full to eat. Mum offers him the occasional bite, but he is too full and only takes one small piece, so SE31 gets most of the remaining fish. It is good to see her eat. (I never thought I would have to say that!!) The meal is over just after 10am. There is still a little fish and flesh left over. Mum returns shortly after 11:04 to finish it off and again SE32 is first up to the table. Mum starts feeding him and eating some of it herself. Most of the fish is gone shortly before 11:11. Mum has worked really hard to get each morsel of flesh from it. SE32 has the most gigantic crop I have seen on a chick in a very long time. SE31 never leaves her spot on the front rails to eat. The eaglets spend a couple of hours snuggling on the rails, stretching occasionally or playing with a stick. At 13:00, SE31 turns her head to look at. SE32 eyeballs her and raises himself up slightly, leaning towards SE31 in an intimidating manner. She retreats and he settles back down. They are doing so much preening as those feathers come through. They must be really itchy. Look at the difference between the size of those crops!!! SE31 looks hungry. SE32’s is beyond description, it is so large. Dad brings in an extra large, long whole fish at 14:44 (or a very fat eel) and SE32 is straight up to the table. Dad waits for Lady, while SE31 has not even woken up yet. She is still sleeping on the front rails. Dad starts nibbling at the fish himself, looking around for Lady, while SE32 moves closer. This gives SE31 time to wake up, stretch, and move up to the table. This causes SE31 to move further forward, keeping his head down. This is not the confident SE32 from the previous feedings today. Dad feeds SE31 and continues eating himself. SE32 keeps moving forward until he is level with the fish and with dad’s beak, to one side of the table. SE31 is in the usual position in the centre of the nest, leaning forward for bites, so she is not making any contact with SE32, who is submissive but not with his head down – he is watching Dad carefully, and when he is offered a bite at 14:51 he accepts it. SE32 turns his head away as he does so Dad gives a bite to SE31 but then turns to feeding bite after bite after bite to SE32, who eats them all. SE31 crawls closer to the table and waits her turn. Dad offers her a bite at 14:54, then returns to feeding SE32. SE31 is still waiting at 14:57 and starts nibbling on the end of the fish (or very fat eel). She is up at the table but with the food between herself and SE32, with Dad in the normal parental feeding position at the back of the nest. At 14:57:27 SE31 grabs the end of this enormous piece of prey and pulls it towards herself. Good job SE31. Dad takes it back. He is still looking around periodically for Lady. He continues feeding SE32. At 15:00 she is still waiting patiently, playing with sticks, watching while SE32 eats very fast and very confidently. SE31 sits down and continues to wait patiently. Finally, at 15:02, Dad leans her way and she eagerly grabs the bite. He then starts feeding them alternate bites until soon afterwards, SE32 is full and not interested in more, so Dad feeds SE31, who is hungry. Every couple of mouthfuls, he glances at SE32 to see whether he wants a bite, then continues feeding SE31. This is a lengthy feeding – SE32 decided he could fit more food in after all – and both chicks ate a large amount. There was another feeding around , and there is also still so much leftover food that there’s enough for the whole family to eat all day tomorrow as well. This was such an interesting day because of SE32’s apparent confidence. which was diminished somewhat at that mid-afternoon feeding but was regained during it. The combination of plentiful food, SE32 getting lots of feeding from the parents and SE31 for some reason being incredibly patient and effectively taking SE32’s role for the day. She ended up getting plenty to eat with that massive fish/eel but at the time of that feeding, she had eaten very little for the day and had not seemed interested enough to press the issue.”

Thanks so much, ‘A’. We can always use a good news story on 32!

SE32 watches as 32 self-feeds. Gosh, they are just over a month old and growing so fast.

No one will say it is for certain but another beautiful image of our star single-dad M15 with a potential mate from the SW Florida Eagles nest on the Pritchett Property in Fort Myers.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care! Looking forward to having you with us again soon.

My deepest gratitude to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, Amazon and Firefly Press, RSPB, Save Coastal Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Maria Marika, Liznm, Tweed Valley Ospreys, PSEG, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Ulster Wildlife, Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, LRWT, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, PLO, Sydney Sea Eagles, Gracie Shepher and Raptors of the World.

The curious happenings at Fortis Exshaw…Wednesday in Bird World

23 August 2022

Good Morning to each of you!

It was a drizzly sort of day in the garden. The sun never came out and everything felt cold and damp. Everyone was here, at one time or another, including one of the Crows. Calico had her tracker on during the day. In the early afternoon, she was here, and when I went outside to freshen up the table feeder, she lept to the deck. It startled me as I am so used to her meandering in from the back of the lilacs. She ate her food, chased a moth, and then had a siesta under the lilacs. It was different behaviour, but in a bit, she went back to the place where she has her kitts. She returned at her usual time in the evening, and while she ate, I removed her tracker for charging. Once in a while, I will check to ensure she has not moved the Kitts.

Dyson was here chasing peanuts and trying to get as many or more than Little Red.

Dyson was smart. She had dumped the covered feeder and then when the drizzle began she decided to go inside the feeder!

This is one way to get a drink!

In the frenzy between Little Red and Dyson, the Black-capped Chickadee swooped in and occasionally grabbed a seed!

There is some celebrating going on!

Jane Dell posted (on a couple if FB websites) a really good document on Western Osprey identification. This will be a very helpful resource – maybe put it in a file with useful articles, etc. for when the time comes.

Western-Osprey-–-Raptor-Identification-–-The-complete-raptors-guideDownload

‘H’ has one report for us today and that is about the intrusions that continue at the Fortis Exshaw nest in Alberta, Canada.

8/21 had been an unusually tranquil day for the fledgling Banff.  The first half of the day was also very peaceful on 8/22.  Banff took a couple of early morning flights, and she was out when Louise delivered the first fish.  Banff flew in quickly at 0715 to claim the large whole fish.  At 0729 Louise delivered a tiny whole fish to Banff.  Banff managed to swallow the last half of the fish in one big gulp!  For the next three hours Banff enjoyed numerous out-and-back flights and spent some time on the big T-perch and the nest perches.  At 1032 Louise brought the third fish of the day, a medium sized whole fish.  After she ate that one, Banff resumed her brief fly-abouts.  Fish #4 from Louise at 1155 was a huge live fish.  Louise wanted to keep the fish, and there was a brief tug-o-fish, but Louise gave in.  Banff was eating intermittently, and had eaten about 1/3 of the large fish, when, at 1313 a female intruder landed on the nest.  At 1316 the intruder made a move for the fish, but Banff fended her off.  Then there was a long standoff.  At 1334, the intruder moved aggressively to take the fish.  There was a struggle as Banff tried to hold on to her fish.  Both birds ended up going overboard, and it looked like the intruder had the fish in her left talon.  At 1335 Banff flew back to the nest, and was almost immediately dive bombed three times by the intruder (apparently the intruder had dropped the fish).  Banff flew off the nest.  An aerial chase between ospreys could be seen at 1409, but we don’t know who was involved.  At 1438 Louise landed with a partial fish, but Banff was still off the nest.  Within seconds, a different intruder landed on the nest.  Some thought it was O’Hara, but the markings didn’t seem quite right.  Louise was not happy at all, and at one point she flapped at the intruder, but that had no effect.  Louse flew off with the fish at 1447.  The intruder starting moving some sticks around, and that really confused us!  At 1458, as Banff flew toward the nest, the intruder flew off, but it immediately circled back and dive bombed Banff a couple of times.  Louise immediately returned with the partial fish and Banff grabbed it.  The intruder dive bombed Banff three more times while Louise was on the nest.  That was a first.  No intruder had ever attacked while Louise was on the nest.  We were dismayed that the intruder had become more brazen and had elevated its aggressiveness to a higher level.  Banff flew off the nest at 1459, leaving the fish behind.  Louise waited for Banff to return, but she flew off with the fish at 1545.  At 1553, the intruder brought a stick to the nest, and left.  That was so bizarre, and so confusing for the viewers, who were trying to make some sense out of everything.  Louise landed on the nest with a different headless fish at 1655 (fish #6).  Banff quickly flew to the nest to claim it and Louise departed.  Banff was nervous, and mantled the fish, scanning the sky.  At 1702 the intruder buzzed and dive bombed Banff at least six times, and at 1703 Banff hurriedly flew off, leaving the fish on the nest.  The intruder departed.  Banff flew back to the nest at 1734, and grabbed her fish.  This time, she got down to business and ate without hesitating.  The latter part of the evening was intruder-free.  Banff took a couple of short flights, and she landed on the T-perch at 2026.  Dear, sweet Banff elected to roost on the T-perch overnight.  It had been a very complex, and stressful day for Banff, but she was well fed.  Onward, Banff.

Thanks so much ‘H’.

As of Tuesday, Elen was still at Glaslyn and Aran had delivered a double-header at 1735 – there were more fish during the day despite some windy periods. Aran you are amazing. Everyone is home and safe, eating well thanks to this amazing dad – and well, what a great year with new Mum, Elen. So happy for Glaslyn!

Elen eating a flounder Aran brought for her. She will be gone very soon. are travels, return to us!

Maya and Blue 33 were still on the nest on Tuesday 22 August. You can always tell Blue from that look in his eyes before you see the Blue Darvic band.

That is one brave Hoodie going after Ludo! Good thing Ludo is an osprey and not an eagle.

What is happening with Bird Flu? It was big news and then something else takes over and the impact of this deadly disease is put aside. What is going on and what is happening in Africa where our beloved European and UK birds will spend their winter. Mark Avery brings us some of the latest data to his blog on Monday, 21 August. “In 2023, up until 14 August, 45 species have tested positive. The last month has seen a bunch of colonial seabirds adding their names to this year’s casualties. Here’s the list (with additions in bold): Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Fulmar, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Teal, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Roseate Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Curlew, Ringed Plover, unspecified heron (!), Grey Heron, dove/pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Red Grouse, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Reed Warbler and Carrion Crow.  Last year will be remembered as the first year when impacts on seabirds in the breeding season were noticed. This year the disease spread to many colonial gulls, in particular Black-headed Gulls, all over the UK.”

Mini has been eating well, resting her leg, and using the right foot more.

Early morning.

0815. Beautiful. I think this one will deserve a spot on the bulletin board. She is so lovely.

1605. Looking up and expecting a delivery?

She was slightly wonky on that leg with that 1609 fish.

1908

Mini flew into the nest with a huge drop around 1957! Gracious. It looks like our girl had a nice fish meal off-camera.

At Dunrovin, Harriet is still home and there was at least one chick at the nest today – possibly all, I did not watch or rewind. This nest of Swoop and Harriet has done well this season! So happy for them.

Boulder County: Throughout the day I only saw two fledglings at the nest at any one time. It is impossible to know if they are the same two each time.

At Orange, Xavier came in with a Starling for Diamond. What a guy. She doesn’t always want them! Eggs should be coming before the end of the month. But then later Xavier comes in with a Red-Rumped Parrot (thanks ‘A’) to the delight of Diamond who is looking a little eggy these days.  

In California, Annie and Lou continue to come to the scrape in The Campanile. They also bond in the scrape but we won’t be seeing any eggs until spring of 2024. Stay safe you two!

It is sometimes painful to watch the early feedings at the Sydney Sea Eagles. Even after 31 was full and 32 had finally gotten itself up to Lady’s beak, Lady had to try and try to get this very intimidated little man to eat. ‘A’ provides a complete narrative for us: “The little one gets up to the table by about 06:45 but he cowers away from Lady’s beak when she tries to feed him. She keeps feeding SE31, even though SE32 is right up to the table – she tries periodically to coax SE32 to eat but he just won’t accept the food, no matter how patient mum is. He finally takes a bite at around 06:50:45, just before dad arrives at 06:50:50 with yet more food. Surely there wasn’t another nestling in that nest. It is a fourth! At 06:54 mum finally manages to get him to start eating, albeit very gingerly. He is so nervous that even though SE31 is full and nowhere near him, he is still not confident about taking a bite from Lady, who is only inches from him. He is facing her, watching the food, but still cringes each time she tries to feed him. It is SO frustrating to watch. But there are still at least two nestlings on that nest and SE31 is full, so surely SE32 will get a decent breakfast. Lady is doing everything she can but she cannot force-feed SE32! She is certainly being as patient as she can. By 06:56 he is eating with a bit more confidence but SE31 is moving back towards the table, considering a second helping. She stays back for now. SE32 continues to eat, very nervously. Lady is now feeding them alternate bites. SE32 grabs at each mouthful, turning away as he does so. He is SO scared, even though he has not been bonked at all during this feeding and SE31 is sitting back, not leaning over him or making any contact with him. He should be gaining confidence and eating faster but he is still cringing with each bite. Lady returns to feeding SE31, offering SE32 a single bite for every four or five she gives his big sister, whose crop is now huge. Around 07:05, she returns to feeding SE32 bite after bite. This is fresh juicy red meat and should be very nutritious for SE32, who is slowly developing a crop. And surely, out of four nestlings, there is enough food for both to eat plenty. Lady is also eating. Dad is the only one who seems to have missed out on breakfast, so I would suggest he is currently out fishing. Mum was certainly not letting him take any of the four chicks he brought in for his own chicks to eat! She made that very clear, physically and verbally, when he delivered the fourth. At 07:08 she is still feeding SE32 bite after bite, some of them extremely large. He is eating everything he is offered, no longer turning away from Lady but confidently staying at her beak at last. He has a good crop and has eaten a lot of food quite quickly (he is grabbing huge chunks and swallowing them all). At 07:10 she gives SE31 a few bites, then returns to feeding SE32, whose crop is still only half the size of his sister’s. At 07:20, she is still feeding SE32 the last remnants of the nestlings. He now has a very large crop, though nowhere near the size of his sister’s, which is so huge that she actually refused a mouthful a few seconds ago.”

 

Another prey delivery and ‘A’ notes: “Dad brought in a small whole fish just before 08:38 but by the time the little one got up to the table, the fish was all gone. He is still SO nervous, he cannot eat, even with a full crop and SE31 not being aggressive. He did take one small mouthful and was beaked in the head (just once) for doing so, which of course sent him straight into submission for the remainder of the feeding. This attitude is so worrying, but then occasionally, when he is hungry enough, he suddenly finds some courage and stands up for himself and his food.”

Port Lincoln: Mating but no eggs yet.

Taiaroa Head: ‘A’ reports: “In New Zealand, there was no weighing of Manaaki yesterday, but he has had six or seven parental feedings since last week’s 9.8 kg so is no doubt at a healthy weight! Mum arrived around 09:54 this morning to feed her little man yet again, leaving again at 10:01. It’s great to see you, mama. We missed you so much. We adore Manaaki. He is such a special little person, very laid back but also very confident, having spent his childhood living on a crowded street corner. He has been the most entertaining chick to watch, excavating and gardening as he engages in his endless nest-building, as well as exploring his surrounds and visiting his many neighbours. We will miss you, Manaaki. We have another fortnight or so with him, but that fluff is fast disappearing, and he will fledge in the not-too-distant future.”

He found the camera!

 

Karl II’s mate, Kaia, who had not been at the nest since 23 July but had been out foraging to regain her strength for her long travels, came to the nest to say goodbye on 15 August and began her migration on the 22nd. Thanks, ‘PB’ for the confirmation. Here is the information from Looduskalender.

Maria Marika reports that Timmy has also begun its migration. Soon they will all be on their way and we will be fingering our worry beads until we know that they are safe and sound in their winter homes.

Karl II continues to feed the three fledglings at the nest. All three were present on the night of 22 August. They, too, will begin their migration shortly.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: ‘A, H, PB’, Megan McCubbin, Jane Dell, Fortis Exshaw, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Mark Avery, PSEG, Dunrovin Ranch, Boulder County, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cal Falcons, Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Looduskalender, Maria Marika, LizM and the Eagle Club of Estonia.

Banff has a great day…Tuesday in Bird World

22 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you are all well.

It was a grey drizzly day on the Canadian Prairies. All of the garden animals are present and accounted for. None of the Blue Jays appear to be thinking about leaving on migration. The Chickadees have been out in force and as I am writing, Little Red is busy stocking away all the peanuts he can get his little hands on and the duvet is out – signalling that it is beginning to feel a little hippy in the evenings now. There is a tinge to the top of the trees, just a hint of chartreuse with a soft yellow in places that signals a change of season is on us..

For all those wondering…I found Calico’s hiding spot with her kitten or kittens. Ironically it was the first spot where I believed she was- it was ideal – lots of piled up things and a huge deck that was difficult for anyone to get under – including any dogs or foxes (yes, there is a fox that lives in a garden of Tiger Lilies in the summer near to where Calico is hiding). A neighbour had informed me that a raccoon was living under that deck, but that was untrue. It was Calico! The young man who owns the house has given me full permission to come and go in his garden. Sadly, I cannot get under the low part of the deck to get to her, and there is no access to the higher part without cutting into the structure. So we wait to try and lure this kitten out. It will not be for lack of trying, but one day that kitten will play with the laser pointer, see the fluffy feather toy, smell the sardines and come walking out. It is certainly in a safe place – and I am no longer worried except for car traffic. Calico comes to eat and scurries back – quick as a wink she is away. Patience and more cunning than her mother will be required…and I am not sure the latter is possible. Calico is one smart Mama. The score is now Calico 10- Mary Ann 2.

The storm in California has passed. Checked on four nests. Just because I did not see the eagles on the streaming cam does not mean there is a problem. I have not seen eagles often at the West End or recently at Fraser Point. The amount of rain and flooding has been considerable, but the nests and the trees appear to have survived fine. I hope that is the case and that they have not been weakened.

Jackie and Shadow are safe.

Chase & Cholyn are alright.

Did not see Andor or Cruz.

The West End Cam at the ‘old’ nest is now up and running. Did not see Akecheta or Thunder.

Did not see anyone at Sauces.

Beautiful Mini. She was not bothered when Three (Sneezy) joined her on the nest except when Sneezy was trying to rearrange ‘Mini’s nest and move her cardboard. Mini did give her sibling ‘the look’ a few times. Mum even stopped in. We have not seen her for a bit. Did she come to check on Mini and say goodbye as she leaves on migration?

Mini had at least three fish on Monday and when my friend ‘R’ writes that he is now ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Mini, the smile goes across my face from one ear to another. Like many of us, he has noted that Mini is using her right foot to hold down the fish and eat them quickly, a tool she will need to survive in the wild. No more fiddling around the nest. I love the term ‘R’ used – ‘she was able to rip through them’. ‘R’ also noticed that the swelling in the left knee is “diminishing, and at times she even bears weight on it” adding that the rest on the nest has meant that she has been caring for her leg very well. We hope that this young lady is one of the luckiest osplets in the world. She is certainly one of the most strong-willed ones I have met. ‘R’ says it is too early for any prognosis but she appears to be healing. — What a wonderful note to wake up to. Thanks ‘R’ for keeping an eye on our gal.

Mini had a bit of a crop and one good ‘ps’ was observed.

Mini had a good breakfast and was flexing that left talon this morning. Keep sending your good wishes. As I finish writing this, two fish have been delivered by Dad!

The fledgling at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is doing very well. Flying around, returning to the nest to rest and eat.

Dyfi Osprey Project: Telyn has not been seen since Saturday. She ‘might’ have started her migration. Sometimes she takes some time and returns to the nest before departure. We wait to see. Lots of nice fish coming for the fledglings -Seiont & Cennen. Idris is doing a fine job fishing.

Glaslyn: OH1 and OH2 have been on the perch and in the nest eating fish from Dad Aran. The weather is raining and it is thought that Elen might have started her migration Monday morning. We wait to see.

Poole Harbour: CJ7 and Blue 022 are still home and providing for all three fledglings who also remain – coming and going off the nest for fish. What a great year it has been at Poole!

Rutland: Blue 33 found himself defending the nest against intruders and Maya was on the nest too – at times – helping. .

Time for ‘H’s reports –

Fortis Exshaw: “Oh, what a splendid day!  Banff woke up hungry, having only eaten a small part of a fish the previous day.  So, she did not take any long flights away from the nest in the morning, instead opting for a few quick out and back flights.  Banff did not want to take a chance on missing breakfast!  But, starting at 1021, it seemed as though Banff was on to something.  She was calling, she resumed taking several short flights from the nest, and she always flew off in the same direction.  At 1027 Louise landed with a large headless fish and Banff flew to the nest right on her tail!  Aha, Banff had known that her Mom was eating a fish, and Banff had been telling Mom to save some for her.  A very hungry Banff ate ravenously.  Throughout the afternoon Banff was quite vocal, calling for more fish, and she also seemed to be warning unseen intruders not to mess with her!  The ‘I’ word (intruder) was conspicuously absent from the chat . . no one wanted to jinx Banff.  At 1407 Louise delivered a medium-sized whole fish to the nest, and Banff grabbed Louise’s left foot with her beak, and would not let go.  So, Louise attempted to fly off, and in the process they were both dragged overboard, lol.  Within seconds, Banff circled around to the nest to claim what she had originally intended . . the fish.  After eating her second fish, and having an intruder-free day (thus far), Banff was feeling pretty good.  She seemed relaxed, bright, and ‘happy’ for a change (and the chatters were too!).  Liberated by an intruder-free day, Banff took several more short flights around her neighborhood.  And, again we learned that she had been keeping an eye on her Mom.  At 16:33 Banff flew to the nest just five seconds ahead of Louise who had a partial fish in her talons, “Thanks a lot, Mommy!”  Banff had a lovely evening, she took a couple more quick flights, and all was right with the world!!!  SOD’s, Banff.”

Osoyoos – “The Osoyoos chick fledged at 0624 on 8/21, at 56 days of age.  Congratulations to Junior, Soo and Olsen!  Junior returned to the nest at 1124, and she was hungry.  It would be a while before her first meal of the day however, so s/he took another short flight at 1344.  At 1439 Soo brought a very large fish to the nest, and Junior feasted!  A juvenile visitor landed on the nest at 1530, and Junior found it quite interesting.  Soo however, was less intrigued, and she gently persuaded the young fledgling to go home, lol.  It was a fine day, indeed.”

Barnegat Light – “Duke and Daisy both delivered fish for Dorsett.  Dorsett seems to always take her meals to her favorite utility pole to dine.”

Severna Park – “Oscar delivered a nice fish to the only fledgling that has been coming to the nest for several days.”

Gosh, those are good reports, ‘H’. Thank you so much!!!! It is nice to see these fledglings doing so well and no bad news.

Lou and Annie are bonding in the scrape. They are staying close to their home, The Campanile, on the grounds of U-California-Berkeley. It has been lovely to see them along with Monty and Hartley when they are not raising chicks.

Diamond and Xavier are also bonding at Orange and they fell asleep during an extremely long bonding session!

Karl II continues to bring fish and frogs for his three fledgling Black Storklets. What a devoted Dad. When he begins his migration, Karl II will eventually arrive at his destination near Chad where Kaia spends the winter.

Did you know there is a stork rehabilitation centre in Lublin in northeastern Poland? Look at the beautifully woven baskets for these sweet babies on top of the barn roof. Oh, these precious ones are treasured by so many people in Europe.

In many ancient traditions, when someone died their soul would go into a bird – most often a stork. The soul of the dead would travel for 40 days before it reached the underworld or paradise inside the stork. The birds would return in the spring when life was reborn. In other traditions, any home that had a stork nest on top of the house would have harmony and peace. Every type of calamity would beset someone who would deliberately harm the storms in any way.

“The stork rehabilitation center is run by the “Chance for Stork” Association in Kozubszczyzna near Lublin. Storks injured in various types of accidents find help here. They are treated, rehabilitated and released here. However, some storks, due to their injuries, are not able to get up in the air, so they stay in the Asylum until the end of their days. There are 14 such individuals here.”

Kate was at the nest of her parents, White-tailed Eagles Milda and Voldis, in Durbe County. Isn’t she beautiful? The couple fledged two this year – so over the moon happy for Milda!

There is good news about the Kakapo that were reintroduced on the mainland of New Zealand after being made extinct there. Before we arrived, Kakapo, these adorable green flightless parrots, were abundant across New Zealand. There are now only 248 birds living on four tiny NZ islands. The cause of their demise was hunting, predation, and loss of habitat. Today there are 248 Kakapo. The reintroduction project is the first to try and bring them back to the mainland. It took place in 2023. They are critically endangered.

At Port Lincoln, everyone has been watching the nest and wondering what is going. n. ‘A’ often comments to me that the mating has been sporadic and often not successful. Odd for an experienced male such as Dad. So is there a problem? or has the male been misidentified and this is a new one this year? PLO says it won’t be for lack of trying that there are no eggs! PLO has a fantastic obs board and chat under the streaming cam. ‘H’ sent me the following note from the chat last evening. Question: Has anyone seriously compared the head plumage of this male with the Dad from previous years? I have to admit that we were quite worried about him last year when he had what appeared to be seizures.

Checking on the Sydney Sea Eagles, ‘A’ reports: “Dad brought in a small whole fish (bream perhaps) at 15:46:09. Both eaglets sat up, but it was little SE32 who headed up to the table first. Dad had a couple of bites and then offered one to SE32, who took it. Instead of offering him another, Dad had the next bite himself, and before he could finish it and give a second bite to SE32, SE31 beaks her little brother in the back of the head and twists and pulls at the beakful of fluff. She puts him down but he is still between her and the fish so she repeats the dose. She then proceeds to eat the entire fish, with SE32 remaining in submission throughout (and for a while after Dad left). At one point, SE31 circled around SE32 and went right up to Dad, leaving separation between herself and SE32, but that didn’t help his confidence at all. He remained submissive and motionless. He is hungry, hence his dash for the table, which was a brave move from him and not one we would have seen two days ago. Yesterday was such a good day for the little one that he did actually gain some confidence from it but all it takes is one of SE31’s attacks (as opposed to the single beak to the back of the head, which he usually quickly brushes off) to restore his victim mentality. It is most discouraging. For his self-feeding abilities to help him, there need to be some leftovers on this nest. Apparently, there were some overnight but of course SE32 was not at all hungry and was not ferreting around on the nest looking for food overnight. Mum and Dad found all the nestovers on the WBSE nest while the IR lights were still on this morning and SE31 got them all. But SE32 did get the breakfish – nearly all of it – and has had a good crop all day. Hoping another fish (this time, a big one) comes onto the nest before nightfall.”

Sightings of M15 at the nest site are being reported in Fort Myers!

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. Look up and listen for the birds!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: “A, H, R’, FOBBV, IWS/Explore, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Eagle Club of Estonia, LizM, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Severna Park, Sydney Sea Eagles, PLO, Sydney Sea Eagles, SK Hideaways and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and the Kakapo Recovery.

SE 32 eats and eats…Monday in Bird World

21 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Calico’s new world is waiting for her and any kitten/s that have survived. She has been so good to let me fiddle around with ‘training’ collars. Her GPS tracker arrived on Sunday and we spent considerable time together trying to get the kitten size to fit. Nope. Too big. She is the tiniest thing. So now I have a much smaller kitten collar for her. The debate is whether or not to fit her late this evening or wait til in the morning. I am thinking in the morning is better for me…wider awake to go digging around in hiding spots for the little one. We are almost there.

The Canadian Government is evacuating people from Yellowknife NWT. Fires are burning around BC, and I have friends now that I cannot get in touch with. I hope they are safe. The rain is pounding down in Big Bear Valley as an unprecedented hurricane hits the western coast of the US. In Bird World, our focus remains on three nests: Fortis Exshaw, Patchogue, and Sydney Sea Eagles – and our thoughts with all of the birds and wildlife being impacted by Hurricane Hillary.

We know that our feathered friends – M15 and Harriet – survived Hurricane Ian as did many of those on Captiva. Still, our thoughts are with those in the line of the storm including, as I was reminded, all those hummingbirds.

Heavy rain was hitting the Big Bear Valley when I last checked. At the time the wind seemed to have calmed.

We always start with Mini at Patchogue. Mini had two nice fish by the time 1630 rolled around on the clock. She managed to eat all of the first one in good time and worked hard on the second, flying away with the tail in her beak. Her fans cheered her on nothing how her eating is so improved now that she is holding down the fish with that right talon! Just see below our wonderful girl. She is a survivor!

Mini was back on the nest cleaning her beak with ‘someone’ on the perch.

Mini did a lot of talking to the bird on the perch. Mini loves her piece of cardboard that the Crows pulled out of the nest Sunday morning. She was using it as a pillow one time. Some of you might recall that a flip-flop or a sandal arrived on the nest, and she slept on it too. So precious.

Mini was also seen on camera scratching her head with her left foot.

I have just checked and Mini is eating a fish. Dad is taking good care of his girl. She is adapting to a situation that was beyond her control. An old falconer told me decades ago that the raptors live in the moment. At this moment, Mini is doing the best she can without help for her leg.

I know that there are individuals upset that Mini is not getting help. The rehabbers can’t help her unless she is down on the ground or low enough for them to get her without injuring her further.

This was the situation early Monday morning at Sydney Sea Eagles. WBSE 32 finally got some much-needed nourishment. ‘A’ reports: “SE32 has had a small fish for breakfast, without any interference from an already stuffed SE31 (who had just eaten someone else’s baby chick – perhaps half her age). The good news about this (as well as the eating, obviously) is that once he had eaten a couple of bites, SE32 began to eat with confidence and by the end he was eating greedily and without hesitation. That is excellent, though it will take more than one bonk-free feeding I fear to rebuild his carefree little spirit. The second and possibly more important thing was that SE31 was not interested in preventing SE32 from eating. On a couple of occasions, she got up, but only to change position and flop back down, duckling style, to rest her giant crop!”  Later, ‘A’ writes: “SO good that the little one got to eat as much as he needed without paying for it by being bonked and beaten. That is just wonderful, and it’s happened twice today. He is still fearful and cringing, from mum as well as from SE31, though his confidence builds as he eats more and doesn’t get bonked. But even during that eat-a-thon, he was nervy between bites. But he has eaten and he has eaten very, very well. Lady did a great job of managing that fish so that SE32 ate more than half of it. She has been working hard at dealing with this situation over the past couple of days. It may not look like it at times, but she really has been thinking about him and how to get enough food to him. That feed was a particularly good example of it, but what happened late yesterday was also something I’ve rarely seen – all those deliveries in such a short time and in an obvious effort to feed SE32. That gives me heart.”

Fortis Exshaw: ‘H’ has been my helper all season and we have both taken to the antacids on more than one occasion. She has lived with Fortis Exshaw and its tragedies. She writes a very moving report on Banff and Louis this morning: “

It can be very frustrating watching raptor nests.  Quite often, things simply do not follow our desired script.  On 8/19 Louise had treated Banff to a ‘whale’ fish that she worked on for most of the day, and later Mom brought Banff a smaller fish.  But by late afternoon, with parts of two fish still in the nest, the intruder had driven Banff from her nest, and she spent the night roosting elsewhere.  On 8/20 Banff flew to the nest at 0621, and we were very glad to see her.  She immediately picked up one of the leftover fish.  But, it was almost as if the intruder had been lying in wait.  Less than a minute after her arrival to the nest, the intruder began dive-bombing her, and at 0622 Banff was dragged off the nest (for the third time).  We were able to see that Banff had been released from the intruder’s grip.  Banff had a piece of fish in her talon as she went over the side.  Poor Banff simply cannot get a break.  We waited, and we worried.  At 0918 Banff flew back to the nest.  We do not know if Banff had been able to hold on to the fish she had in her grasp when she was dragged off the nest.  When she returned to the nest, her crop was rather flat, but three hours had passed.  Over the next few hours, Banff did not retrieve the other piece of fish from the nest, so it must have been dragged overboard during the earlier melee.  Poor Banff was almost constantly fish-calling to her Mom.  At 1323 Banff was twice buzzed by the intruder, and as the intruder approached for the third time, Banff flew off the nest and was then chased by the intruder.  At 1424 Louise landed with a whole medium-sized fish.  She waited for Banff to show, but Louise was hungry too, so she began to eat.  Banff finally flew to the nest at 1444 and grabbed the partial fish from her Mom.  Louise immediately flew off and we were sure that she would bring in another fish.  For most of the rest of the day Banff was alternately calling her Mom for more fish, or she was alerting when she would see a perceived ‘unfriendly’ bird in the sky.  No more fish came for Banff today.  Eventually Banff laid down in the nest and resigned herself to going to sleep hungry.  Banff is learning many lessons that will prepare her for her challenging life ahead.  Banff is a survivor.  NOTE: We don’t know what role the ‘stepdad’ O’Hara has at this point (if any).  O’Hara was instrumental in helping Louise flush out the intruder on 8/14, after the intruder dragged Banff off the nest for the first time.  O’Hara was last seen on camera on 8/17 when he stood on the nest for a while.  He has not delivered a fish to the nest for at least ten days.  While the intruder problem continues, we do not know how many intruders there are, and O’Hara may still be playing a role in keeping most of the intruders at bay.  Louise is likely dealing with intruders in the area as well, and we feel certain that she is doing the best she can for her only surviving ‘child’.  Banff fledged on 8/13, and Louise would normally be tapering off her ‘Mom’ duties to prepare herself for her long migration.  But, without a male to take over the support of Banff until she disperses, there has been a role-reversal for Louise.  While O’Hara was instrumental in ensuring the success of the family early on (and we will be forever grateful to him for that), Louise has essentially had to be both Mom and Dad ever since Jasper disappeared on 7/7.  We are observing a unique situation.  Will Louise continue to support Banff until Banff is ready to leave?  Will hunger encourage Banff to learn how to fish sooner rather than later?  Would the intruders even allow Banff to keep her hard-fought prey once in her talons?  We are filled with such love and empathy for this young osprey.”

‘H’ also checked on two other nests for us today.

Kent Island – We have not seen Molly fly to the nest carrying a fish, but we have seen her diving from the nest, possibly fishing.  Meanwhile she continues to be well fed by Mom and Dad. 


Osoyoos – There were only two small whole fish brought to the nest (that I saw), and both were delivered by Mom.  ‘Junior’ continued to practice wingercising, and at 56 days of age s/he is definitely on fledge watch.

Reports of a fledge at Osoyoos. Need confirmation from ‘H’.

Thank you ‘H’ as always.

Waiting for eggs at Port Lincoln and at Orange.

At Sandpoint, by 1626, there had been six fish delivered. I am not even certain that Coco is hungry!

At Minnesota, Mum is happily feeding her fledgling. It was a great fledge but coming back to an empty nest, Mum looked a little shocked by it all. Everything is fine.

Mum sure likes to feed on this same corner. 1245 and later, after 1700.

Hello Iris! You are gorgeous. No wonder you are getting so much attention. Wonder if it will be Bachelor Number 1, 2, or 3? I guess we will have to wait til spring to find out.

Two beautiful fledglings at Collins Marsh continue to return to the nest for fish. This has been a good season for this nest and what appears to be two new parents.

Boulder: Everything is just fine. Fledglings continue to come to the nest for fish like at most of the others. They all appear to be present in the last shot. Life is good in Colorado.

The eagles continue to be at Superbeaks!

Waiting for Gabby…

It’s a crazy busy morning. Calico has her tracker on – just – and the collar is still too big. As Geemeff says, ‘Kittens having kittens’. The tracker is stationary. I hope it has not fallen off. Wish us luck. I understand that there has also been a feeding at the Royal Cam Albatross colony of the little Manaaki. Yeah! Looks like both parents have been in recently. More news tomorrow.

I want to thank ‘H and A’ for their continuing reports and Geemeff along with all of the streaming cams and individuals who posted information that helped me write my blog today: Fortis Exshaw, Kent Island, Osoyoos, PSEG, Boulder County, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, IWS/Explore, AEF-NEFL, Collins Marsh, Superbeaks, Montana Osprey Project, MN Landscape Arboretum, and Sandpoint.

Mini and More…Sunday in Bird World

20 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

My goodness. At 2000 the garden just lit up with visitors -two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds came to feed on the Vermillion plants. They are on their migration, coming down from northern Manitoba, feeding in Winnipeg, and continuing southward. Then the Cooper’s Hawk that was on the Conservatory roof a couple of days ago flew in and landed in the lilacs, being ever so quiet -hoping to get a snack before light’s out. The Blue Jays and Sparrows are quiet ten minutes later, as are Dyson and Gang, who were scurrying around when the hawk arrived. I was watching to see if Calico would return for a snack.

Heavily cropped and poor lighting.

11:36:58 Saturday. Minnesota Arboretum chick takes to the skies. Mum is still waiting – late Saturday afternoon – for her baby’s return. Get a fish Dad!

The osplet returned to his waiting Mum at 18:11! Well done. Congratulations!

The youngest osplet at Charlo Montana C15 also fledged on Saturday and it flew when the Highlights were on.C15 has returned to the nest.

‘A’ alerted me to an incident Saturday morning with Mini. Mini had flown to the perch from the brewery side of the road and was chased by one of her siblings, who forced her off the perch and onto the nest—very aggressive behaviour by 3 who spent the night on the north perch chattering. Mini will later get a fish and eat it without incident- 0658.

Mini went on to enjoy her morning fish. She ate every bite.

1417:

By 1600 that left leg is causing Mini considerable discomfort.

1711: Dad brings Mini a nice live whole goldfish! Thanks for the notification ‘L’. Hang on, Mini! Dad has a really nice crop…good for you, Dad. You have been so incredible this season feeding a family of six!!!!!!!!!

Look at our girl hold that fish down with that right talon. Way to go, Mini!

At 1735, twenty-four minutes later, our gal is ready to hork that fish tail. Down it goes at 1736.

Holding the fish down tight with the right foot has allowed Mini to eat much faster and she did not lose the fish over the nest. So proud of you, Mini.

Mini finished that up and flew off only to return to the nest a few minutes later. We can see her nice crop. She wants another goldfish – fish calling to Dad!

Good night, Mini!

After Three had left the nest, Dad delivered a big fish to Mini. S he was jumping all over the nest in excitement as he arrived. She ate every bit flying off with the tail. Mini is doing so much better with her feeding now that she is holding the fish down with that right talon.

Clean up crew arrives.

Wow. There were so many fish deliveries on the Sandpoint Osprey nest and my goodness, the Mum fed the osplet rather well in comparison to other days. No one was hungry. At 1533, the 7th fish arrived on the nest. Unbelievable.

Coco has a big wingspan and is flexing those wings getting them strong. There was a good ‘ps’ around 11:11 as well.

Looking good at the Dunrovin nest with fledglings continuing to return and screaming for fish from Swoop and Harriet. What a beautiful day they had in the mountains.

‘H’ has some good reports for us! As always, thank you for keeping such a good eye on these nests.

Fortis Exshaw – “After missing the only fish delivery to the nest from Louise on 8/18, a very hungry Banff wisely decided to forgo an early morning flight.  She was waiting on the nest when Louise delivered a ‘whale’ fish at 1001.  That fish was equal to 2.5 to 3 fish.  Oh my goodness, the temperament of teenage ospreys . . after taking possession of the fish, Banff lunged and flapped at her mom to get her off of ‘Banff’s nest’!  Lol, Louise understands . . this is not her first rodeo with teenagers.  Banff feasted on the huge fish on-and-off for several hours, and never let go of it.  There was at least 1/4 of the fish remaining when Louise delivered another fish at 1509.  A very excited Banff celebrated with a couple of high hovers while holding the fish!  Banff ate some of the new fish, but she was not very hungry.  Then at 1728 an intruder decided to harass Banff.  Banff was buzzed with close fly-bys four times, then Banff quickly flew off the nest to avoid potential harm.  Good girl.  She left a partial fish and a nearly-whole fish on the nest.  Banff did not return to the nest for the rest of the day, and the intruder did not take the fish.  Banff will have breakfast already waiting for her in the morning.  Stay safe Banff, wherever you are.”

[News has come in that Banff was taken off the nest and dropped at the side by the intruding Osprey at 0622 this morning. Thanks PB].

Osoyoos – “Olsen brought two fish to the nest,  The first fish at 0837 was a huge headless fish that lasted nearly two hours.  And the second fish at 1400 was also a good-sized fish.  At 54 days of age, ‘Junior’ was doing some high hovers, and at 1833, s/he was completely out of view of the cam for a few seconds.  Keep an eye out . . Junior just might fledge today!”

Forsythe – After having not been seen for 20 straight days, mom Opal made a surprise appearance on the nest at 0909.  And guess what? . . Oscar brought her a fish!  How cool is that?  Oscar to his gal: “See ya’ next year, honey. Stay safe.”  It was wonderful to see Opal again before she starts on her long journey.

Barnegat Light – “Here’s a photo of the multi-talented fledgling, Dorsett, as “captain of the ship.”  And, after she was not seen on camera for two days, Daisy was on the nest in the morning.  Later in the afternoon, Daisy delivered a fish to Dorsett on the nest.  Nice to see you, Daisy.”

Severna Park – “There has only been one fledgling seen on the nest for the past five days.  We cherish every chance that we get to see her and her dad, Oscar.”

Thank you again, ‘H’. It is that time of year when, as you said, it is always a pleasure to get a glimpse of the youngsters and their parents.

It looks like Diamond was hungry when, after turning down the European Starling, she finally accepted it!

It was not typical behaviour for Louis to be away from the nest and not delivering fish to his youngster/s. Ludo was certainly getting anxious. The weather was terrible and the water choppy. What relief when lewis shows up after a two day absence…

The weather has been terrible in Wales, evens Aran is out there fishing!

Louis has been delivering to Ludo today. I wonder if the water is as choppy at Loch Arkaig as it has been. Fish 2.

We are still waiting – and so is Dad – for the first egg at Port Lincoln. The good news is that Ervie is back in Port Lincoln!

As of 2330 Saturday in Canada, this is the situation at the Sydney Sea Eagles as reported by ‘A’: “

Breakfast was very late this morning – around 11.25 – and the fish took 15 minutes for Lady to feed to SE31. There were no bites for SE32, not even a little one, though to make up for it, he got beaked and lifted off the ground by its back and its neck several times. SE31’s viciousness is increasing. Today, when both were hungry, SE31 was a little stinker, really hurting little SE32 when she lifted him up by the loose skin between his shoulder blades. SE31 had literally mouthfuls of feathers to spit out on several occasions. Little SE32 crept forward and around and did everything possible to get near mum but to no avail. SE31 beaked him wherever he tried to go. Just as Lady left the nest, all food gone, SE32 makes it up to the empty table. Poor little mite looks so sad. We need a large lunch fish fairly quickly, as that was not a large fish and we need SE31 to be too full to eat before SE32 is going to get anything at all. He had a bad day yesterday food-wise and we really need him to eat this afternoon.”

Later news: “So there were three small whole fish brought in between 11:25 and 13:06 and SE32 got one small piece. This situation is worsening, and although SE32 is getting up to the table, he is too scared to raise his head once he gets there. He rushes up to the table to try and find leftovers he can self-feed but there have been no leftovers for him to find over the past 24 hours, so this is not helping him right now. SE31 keeps a close eye on him, so if he found food to self-feed, SE31 would probably be up there joining in without moments! And he makes sure SE32 stays in submission during feedings by simply leaning over him (and sometimes grabbing a beakful of feathers and shaking him violently, even picking him up off the ground, his little feet flailing to gain traction).” Thanks, ‘A’. I h ope the situation changes quickly

Let us all hope that little 32 gets some courage and a lot of fish!

At Taiaroa Head – home of the Royal Albatross Colony, Manaaki gets wonderful feedings two days in a row!

One of my heroes that fights for wildlife and whose early love of Kestrels keeps him going in the face of death threats is Chris Packham. There is a really good article in The Guardian today about this man who is one of the founders of Wild Justice.

Chris-Packham-‘I-would-lose-my-voice-immediately-if-I-went-to-prison-for-protesting-Wildlife-TDownload

Thank you to everyone for being with me today. As the wild fires grow in Canada, please keep all of our feathered friends (and the humans and other wildlife) in your thoughts. Take care! See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, L’, Mn Landscape Arboretum, Charlo Montana, PSEG, Sandpoint, Dunrovin, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Severna Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Cilla Kinross, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, E Lewis and Glaslyn Osprey Group, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Lady Hawk and the NZ DOC, and The Guardian.

Second attack on Banff…Thursday in Bird World

17 August 2023

Hi there,

As I sit and write this, six Blue Jays are getting peanuts in the garden and drinking from the fountain. The sky is black and we have both air quality warnings and wind warnings of 80 kph. The birds are frantic. One even hid in a red plant when the gusts got high. (Fast speed so nothing looks like it is moving but it was!)

The cutest thing was when the ‘baby’ slept in the bird bath. Oh, this little one delights me many times a day. Such a cutie pie.

Bliss. Soaking your feet on a hot day in water with the sun pouring down warming your feathers.

A sibling decided they liked the cleaner water in the taller bird bath for his bath! These Blue Jays are the cutest things this year. They spend the entire day in the garden. So grateful that they do not like little grape tomatoes! They seem to eat everything else in sight.

Missey watched it all from her perch inside the sitting room.

The only nest that I checked on throughout the day was Patchogue. I knew others were watching Fortis closely and Mini is quite dear to my heart.

At 0951 Mini is on the nest screaming. She sees Dad!

I know that I call her Mini and at one time it was Little Mini. Some call her Tiny Dancer. But I want you to look at the span of the wings right now…not little anymore.

Her left leg is not straight. My friend ‘R’, who is qualified (I am not) to discuss physical issues more than anyone I know, believes the trouble is at the knee. The problem with getting Mini help is that she is flying, her parents are still feeding her, she is not grounded. There is just no way to do that at this point. She is wild.

Indeed, it is appropriate to bring in today’s experience with Calico -the stray that I hope to get vaccinated and fixed. She is in heat. The vet told me that she would not be around for two days, but, like clockwork, she arrived at 1901 (instead of 1900) for her dinner. I fed her a bit on the deck, picked her up, and took her into the conservatory. Well, now. She bolted and climbed the glass walls to the roof, sliding down. I felt horrible. The terror that she was experiencing sent me back to the drawing board on how best to care for her and any kittens. So the goal is still to find the kitten/s – to get them adopted or keep the only surviving one if possible and get Calico fixed and all vaccinated. If she chooses to live outside she will have a heated house if she wants to live in it. There will always be food. Tomorrow when she is not traumatised by being inside a house, I will fit the collar on if I can find one that closes with Velcro. There was no way I could hold her and buckle the collar I had prepared with the tracker. I must remember that she is a wild soul and be patient.

Mini is also wild and she will not fit into the story that I (or anyone else) has written for her – either.

The last fish was a rather large goldfish. She ate some on the nest and flew off with the rest in her beak. Everyone watching held their breath when she was feeding near the rim, fearful she would drop her dinner over the edge. Hopefully, Mini has found a flat room in her time of adaptation where she can eat in peace without the fear of losing the fish.

The best-case scenario for Mini is a miraculous healing. Second, she is grounded and rescued. We must realise that she would have to stay in care until spring when the ospreys return from migration. She could not be released before then (it would be winter). That is why the local publicity and her story are important and, perhaps, a GoFundMe to help with her expenses should she go into rehab. I have a feeling our gal would eat a lot of fish if she got the chance!

This afternoon Banff flew on to the nest at Fortis Exshaw and was once again repeatedly attacked and taken off the nest by another Osprey – an adult. I have asked ‘H’ for clarification because it looked like it might have been an adult this time. A local resident, Tina Moore, noted (on the chat) there was an aerial fight between four ospreys. It is a very unstable situation. Will Banff figure out to stay in the trees and hope she gets fish fed there? How many fish does Louise lose trying to feed herself and Banff? Where is Mr O? I presume he is also fighting intruders. Someone told me once that the raptors protect their territory first, themselves second, and the chicks third.

‘H’ gives us the most remarkable account of these events – with an ending that defies logic as we still see JJ’s body – a result of starvation.

“Fortis Exshaw – Ya’ just can’t make this stuff up.  We don’t believe Banff had any food on 8/14 after she was dragged off the nest by an intruder, but we cannot rule out that she may have been fed while in hiding.  Banff only had one fish to eat on 8/15 at 0639.  8/16 started out to be a peaceful day.  Banff went on a few short flights, but starting at 0855 she was dive bombed 8 times while on the nest by an intruder.  Banff eventually flew off the nest while being chased.  At 1111, Banff flew to the nest perch and was buzzed by the intruder, so she took off.  She was chased back to the nest and was dive bombed two more times, so Banff flew away.  A local live stream viewer, TM, went to the nest and reported that she saw a couple of adult ospreys helping to chase the intruder away from Banff (she thought them to be Louise and O’Hara).  We next saw Banff at 1304 when she landed on the nest, and she was dive bombed three more times.  At 1305, the intruder approached from behind, grabbed Banff on her back with its talons and dragged her off the nest!  Starting at 1545 Louise hovered over the nest dangling a fish and flew off.  Then she came back and landed with the fish, but took off with the fish again after a minute.  She came back with the fish and hovered and flew away.  Then she landed with the fish and flew off.  Louise was looking for Banff, and trying to attract Banff.  At 1548 Louise again landed with the fish . .and we thought we heard Banff calling, and Louise heard the calls too . . Louise immediately looked north and seemed to be laser-focused on a specific spot, and she flew off with the fish.  We think she may have taken the fish to Banff.  If so, it would have been Banff’s first meal in 33 hours.  Banff landed on the nest at 1922.  She appeared to have a slight crop.  Louise knew where her girl was, and she was on the case!  Louise proceeded to deliver seven whole fish to Banff from 2020 to 2123!  Now, that is the kind of fishing success Louise was having just a few weeks ago.  The first fish was at 2020.  Banff had not quite finished fish-1 when Louise arrived with fish-2 at 2035, and Banff started eating fish-2.  At 2041 Banff dropped fish-2 and started eating fish-3.  Banff finished fish-3 and resumed eating fish-2.  At 2105 Louise brought live fish-4, Banff drops fish-2 and starts to eat fish-4.  At 2110 Louise arrived with fish-5, an even larger live fish.  Banff had not eaten much of fish-4 when she grabbed fish-5.  By then, Banff had a huge crop, and she really wasn’t hungry.  She stood holding fish-4 in her left talon, and a still flopping fish-5 in her right talon.  Louise arrived with whole fish-6 at 2115.  Banff let go of fish-4, and started eating fish-6 (fish-5 was still alive).  Banff periodically took bites from fish-5.  She soon switched her main focus to the frisky fish-5, and periodically took bites from fish-6.  Finally . . at 2123 Louise delivered fish-7.  Through all of this time Louise’s crop had been flat each time we saw her.  Satisfied that she had provided enough fish for her kid, Louise picked up a nearly-whole fish-4 and ate it.  You go girl!  You deserve it, Louise.  The entire time Louise was eating, Banff was simply standing there with a fish in each talon, but not eating.  She was talking up a storm, telling Mom all about the terrible time she had been chased, dive bombed, and dragged off the nest by that awful mean bird.  Only fish-1,3,and4 were eaten in their entirety.  Pieces of fish-2,5,and 6 remain in the nest.  Fish-7 remained a whole fish. Banff will have the strength to fight another day.  Banff slept on the nest, and Mom spent the night on the T-perch.   (It is such a shame that fishing became so difficult for several days, and JJ could not get enough to eat.  Now JJ’s body is surrounded by fish)”

I want to thank the folks at Cowlitz because of their progressive thinking on stopping the predation of their osplets. Many nests could benefit from the grids that Cowlitz PUD put up to protect their ospreys. Maybe Fortis Exshaw should be first in line – along with Lake Murray -to get those plans.

At 2245, I got a note that Banff was on the nest and had a huge crop thanks to a fish Louise delivered. Thanks ‘PB’. One thing is certain: Louise appreciates what has happened to her daughter – and Banff is getting real-world experience that will give her an edge out in the world off the nest! She is one tough cookie.

Tears.

How many raptors were displaced because of the fires throughout Canada will never be known. You can see the fires still burning behind the nest in the mountains beyond. They would have lost some or all of their nests, mates, and chicks. A few nests, like one in Nova Scotia, made the news because two chicks were rescued from the wildfire, and a new nest was put up after they had been in rehab for a fortnight. The parents returned to care for them. Many, many more were not so fortunate.

Dyfi: A beautiful capture of Cennen.

Glaslyn: Aran’s fish dinner. Where is everyone?

Manton Bay: My favourite Osprey Dad in the World (sorry Louis). Blue 33 has made quite the nest and is doing repairs so that when him and Maya return in March it will be ready! What a wonderful provider!

Osprey season is over at Dahlgren and the cam will be shut off until next spring. Good luck. Safe travels everyone!

‘H’ reports on Osoyoos: “Osoyoos – The heat wave continues in the region, and the air remains smoky.  But despite the heat and smoke, Olsen delivered a large headless, and Soo brought two nice-sized fish to the nest.  There was a long tug-o-fish between Soo and Junior for the second fish, but Soo kept the fish and fed Junior.  At 1941 ‘Junior’ grabbed fish #3 from Soo and ate the whole thing! “

Alyth: The camera has been down for several days. Last time we saw the youngsters there were fish squabbles but all were well.

Ever wonder why ospreys might benefit from being banded? Here is the latest report From Diane Bennett at Tweed Valley about an osprey caught in netting. Have a read – it is very informative.

15th-August.docx-Google-DriveDownload

The latest report on the Border Ospreys – both adults were still at the nest.

YET-MORE-HUMBLE-PIE-–-Border-OspreysDownload

Jeff Kear gives us the round-up of who is where in UK Osprey Land.

Darling Xavier. Sometimes Diamond is so picky. I hope he had a nice breakfast. How dould you not love this tiny male…oh, Xavier, you are a doll.

Port Lincoln: Dad dutifully takes a fish to Mum, which she flies over to the ropes to eat. Mum is still spending time on the nest, and the couple are still mating. We wait for eggs.

Sydney Sea Eagles: Little 32 is shy even when 31 is not doing anything and often goes into a submissive mode. Some worry about why this little one is not more spunky. ‘A’ writes, “Around 10.22 dad brought in what looks like an eel. Little SE32 has a nice crop from his breakfast and is looking perky. He has front position for this feeding, at least as mum takes control of the food, but we will see what happens once the eating begins. There should be plenty of meat on this eel to feed both eaglets, so all SE32 has to do is wait until SE31 is full and all should be well. Fingers crossed.”

And that is precisely what happened!

Just a correction. KL5 has been at the Loch Garten nest causing havoc. All of the information that I saw posted on FB stated that he fledged from the Loch Garten Nest in 2020. ‘D’ says that it was actually at Loch Ness. Thanks, ‘D’.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, D, H, PB, R’, PSEG, Fortis Exshaw, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Jane Dell and LRWT, Bridgette Schwurack and Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Osoyoos, Alyth, Diane Bennett, Border Ospreys, Jeff Kear and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Cilia Kinross and Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons, PLO, and Sydney Sea Eagles.

There are no words – Banff is home, Mini has 3 fish…Bird World for Tuesday

15 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a great morning! There are just two incredible things. First up, Banff is home! I will leave the rest of the blog as is for those that do not know what happened at Fortis Exshaw yesterday, but, Banff is home! She survived. I thought ‘H’ and I were going to have to pack it in for a few days to deal with the stress but, relief. Second, Mini has had three fish delivered this morning to the nest and has eaten well. Her leg looks a little better. Should I pass the tissue box all around? It is the overwhelming joy that we experience when they survive that makes all of this worthwhile. The intruder is still at Fortis. Maybe Louise will move Banff off of the nest and begin to feed her elsewhere. it would be a good idea as they prepare for migration.

‘H’ writes: “Louise was in the nest, and we could hear Banff calling.  At 06:29:14 Banff flew to the nest !!!  Of course there was an immediate intruder issue, and Louise took off after it.  Louise returned 10 minutes later with a fish for her youngster !!”

I thought that I had seen it all but until ‘H’ sent me the video late Monday afternoon of an intruder at the Fortis-Exshaw nest carry Banff off in its talons, my heart sank. Banff, just barely fledged, put up a gallant fight against a bird much larger and street-smart than her. In the end, this Osprey grabbed her with its talons and carried her off – some said across the pond. A kind soul who lives locally went to check and saw Louise in the trees by the pond and thought they heard a faint cry from Banff. Banff has not returned to the nest at the time of this writing. She is terrified and hiding, injured to varying degrees, or worse. Our hearts have been ‘taken to the cleaners’ this year at Fortis. Antacid companies, as are the manufacturers of tissues, are making money off this Osprey season.

‘H’ caught this attack on video and added a narrative to go with mine – “The morning of 8/14 had been so much fun for Banff . . she enjoyed several short flights around the area and had landed on many of the different perches. She had taken her maiden flight less than 24 hours earlier. At 10:35:34 an intruder began an attack on Banff, and she valiantly fought him off. Banff flew off after the intruder, and then she did not return to the nest for three hours. At 13:25:59 Banff returned to the nest, but she had been followed in by the intruder, who resumed the attack on her. Finally, the intruder employed a sneak attack from behind, grabbed Banff with its talons and dragged her off the nest. Twice over the next several hours Louise brought fish to the nest to lure Banff back. She and the stepdad, O’Hara, both stood guard on the nest, waiting for Banff to return. By nightfall, there had been no sign of Banff, but we thought we may have heard her calling in the evening from somewhere close to the nest. TM, a viewer who lives nearby, twice went to the nest area and did a thorough search for Banff. TM thought she saw Louise in a tree, and Louise chasing an intruder, but she did not see Banff during her search. Thanks for your efforts, TM.”.

Louise waiting and worrying on the nest for Banff. Some believe they have heard Banff’s ‘voice’ on the streaming cam. Let us hope that she is not desperately injured, just frightened.

We are used to predators – GHOs and Eagles – taking the Osprey chicks off the nest. We don’t like it but it happens. But seeing what appears to be an attempted nest take over on the heels of JJ starving to death really rattles everyone. This is not the end of Osprey season that we had anticipated – and it surely wasn’t the year we thought we would have. Did I say the birds bring us joy? Of course they do but they also create great anxiety when their lives do not go smoothly. The real question is why all the aggression this year? Thoughts? Let me know.

Now word is coming in that Daisy has been attacking Dorsett at Barneghat-Light.

Meanwhile, at Patchogue, Mini had part of a large fish this morning before flying off the nest. That fish was later dropped to the ground by the Crows. Mini has returned. She actually looks better. Still issues with her leg. She has gone down duckling and is resting that leg – good girl! Let’s hope Dad remembers to bring a fish!

Mini was not impressed when Mum flew in later with one of her sticks. She had a fit – she is hungry. Dad – help us out here.

Mini sleeping on the perch Monday night.

Three fish so far and it is only morning at Patchogue. Our girl is eating well. It helped that they were headless. Her leg appears a wee bit better. Thank goodness.

Someone is not hungry at Boulder County!

It looked like the fledgling at Cowlitz PUD did some nest defense today too. The osplet is safe! All is well. Every nest needs these guards. Imagine just how much it would have helped at FortisExshaw! The predators rely on being able to swoop down and clear and they cannot do it with the wire protective grids.

‘H’ reports on Osoyoos: “The fish count was down at the Osoyoos osprey nest on 8/14.  Olsen managed to deliver four fish.  The Osoyoos area is still suffering from extreme heat, and the high temperature for Tuesday could go as high as 41C/106F.”

Osprey season will -eventually – be winding down and all the heartbreak will evaporate into the history of the nests. One event I am looking forward to is coming up and it is not an Osprey – it is Gabby returning to the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest. Who will join her? V3?

Thunder and Akecheta were both at their historic nest on Monday. What a joy it was to see them!

Quiet at Fraser Point and Sauces.

Can you find Hope at Glacier Gardens?

That wonderful Dad to Ludo and mate to Dorcha, Louis, has been busy supplying fish for everyone. Luco is so loud! You could hear him in Glasgow.

Lou and Annie are still at The Campanile keeping one another company. It is lovely to see their off-season bonding – it gives us something wonderful to look forward to nest spring.

At the Sydney Sea Eagles, ‘A’ reports: “Breakfish was late this morning, and when it came, poor little SE32, despite having front position at the feeding, was completely ignored by mum and got literally two small bites from the entire fish. Lady leaned over him and stepped past him in order to offer every bite to SE31, whose crop is immense. SE32 will be self-feeding soon – he was picking flakes from around the table after SE31’s feeding.  Dad flew onto the nest shortly after mum left and poor little SE32 was so hungry he grabbed at Dad’s beak! Dad obliged by searching the nest for leftover fish and managed to find some great material for SE32’s next pellet. At one point, Dad went to offer a piece of skin to SE31 and SE32 dived in front to grab it from Dad. His crop is deflated and flat and he didn’t go straight off to sleep like SE31. He just lay there looking around and hoping for a parent, His little tummy is rumbling. Poor baby. I do hope an early lunch is on today’s schedule. At least the weather is good for fishing.”

Well, have no fear, the food came on the nest and both eaglets were full to the top of their heads!

At the home of the Royal Cam chick, GLY – Dad – showed up to feed Manaaki. Oh, what a relief to see this parent. They had to go a great distance to find food…but they are alive! Our boy was so happy…he will really be gardening tomorrow. Now for Mum – L – to return. We would cry a bucket full of tears. Such good news.

Our lad has so much energy with that feeding!

At Port Lincoln, Mum is playing with everyone. No first egg yet. I am thinking next week but, some are already disappointed with the date they choose. We wait! The camera is up and running fine. It was a small technical glitch.

Diamond willingly took a couple of Starlings that Xavier brought as food offerings today – what a change. Of course she would love a big juicy pigeon or a parrot – a nice Supreme – but, today, she was obliging. S o many times I feel sorry for Xavier when he comes in with prey and gets totally rejected.

I did not believe that Banff could survive that attack. Oh, what a wonderful thing that she returned. Such a relief for everyone. This gives me great hope. The talons of the Osprey cannot injure like an eagle’s could.

One last giggle for all of you. Yesterday I played Hide and Seek with Calico (Geemeff caught that). So..it is now Calico 4 – Mary Ann 0. On Thursday I am going to employ a cat collar with an Air Tag! If I can get it on her – she is very calm around me now. The goal is to find what I believe is a single surviving kitten and get it and Calico in the house for the vet appointment on Saturday morning. Calico may outwit Apple Air Tags, too.

Thank you for being with me this morning. Send your best wishes to every nest and every bird. What seems calm and wonderful can change into something horrific quickly. We want them fat, safe, and ready for their migrations. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to ‘A, Geemeff, H, L, PB, SW’ for their notes and to the following for their streaming cams and videos that helped me to write my blog this morning: Fortis Exshaw, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, PSEG, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos, NEFL-AEF, IWSExplore, Glacier Gardens, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, PLO, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.