Category Archives: Hancock Wildlife Foundation

N2 dies at Cornell while others fledge…Monday in Bird World

22 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you had a lovely weekend. The summer is slipping away quickly! It was 30 or 31 degrees C today with a lot of haze in Winnipeg. All I could do was think of Iris and the Osoyoos nest. And the news that I posted on Sunday from Ann-Marie. Iris is getting some good fish – we can be so thankful because of Finn’s great fishing skills. He eats the head bit and tonight he gave Iris the gift of such a big fish that she had a wonderful dinner, too. She always feeds those kids first! I am greatly saddened by the death of N2. Cornell needs to do better in terms of bird proofing its windows. We need to do better in our cities and turn our lights off during migration. Make your cities turn off those lights in those tall buildings. You can do it -.

It is always lovely to be home. The trip to Toronto was so good, and I am having trouble adjusting to not being pampered. LOL. The cats did well with the cat sitter this time and came out immediately when we got home. Mr Crow saw the car and came to tell me to get his dish filled, and the Blue Jays arrived in groups. It has been lovely. This year is an excellent one for the garden, and all the herbs have done exceptionally well, along with the tomatoes, those lovely little grape ones.

The fledges have started to happen, all in a bundle. I might miss some, so please send me your news. Always feel free to send me news. I might not be able to respond right away but send it to me. I am grateful and I promise you are not bothering me. Never.

On Sunday, the only surviving osplet of the Bald Eagle attacks fledges at the Cowlitz PUD. The chick returned to the nest. Well, let’s hope this one gets fed, gets stronger, and is never attacked by a Bald Eagle in their life. I am hoping that the engineers at Cowlitz PUD are putting their heads together on how to make the grates work – maybe a third one?

‘H’ reports:

7/21 Osoyoos osprey nest:  (To correct a significant typo in yesterday’s notes: Soo had not been seen from the afternoon of 7/19 to just before noon on 7/20.)  Despite the extreme heat, there were 7 fish brought to the nest on 7/21.  Olsen started out with a headless tiny fish.  It provided for a 1-1/2 minute meal and Middle ate one bite.  At 0517 Olsen arrived with a small whole fish, but when Soo didn’t show up, he left with it.  He brought the fish back at 0521, and Big took it to self-feed.  Soo later took the tail portion and fed for 2-minutes.  Middle ate three bites.  Soo brought a small fish at 0743.  Soo and Middle engaged in a tug-o-fish, but Soo kept the fish and fed for 4-minutes.  Middle had one bite of that fish.  In general, Big usually beaked or intimidated Middle at the beginning of each meal.  Soo brought a slightly larger fish at 1020.  Both chicks ate, one to each side of Soo, but Big seemed to be offered more bites.  At 1027 Middle grabbed the large tail piece.  S/he kept trying to swallow it whole, but the piece was too big, and Middle was constantly being harassed by Big.  Finally at 1034, Big took the tail after Middle dropped it, and after much effort, managed to hork it down.  Middle ate about 25 bites of fish at that meal.  Fish #5 was a medium-sized partial delivered by Olsen at 1128.  Middle arrived at the table first, but was soon intimidated by Big.  It was a 7-minute feeding, and Middle ate 5 bites of fish.  The fish-bite tally for Middle so far = 35 bites of fish. 

Big’s crop had been getting filled all morning, so when Olsen dropped off a headless fish at 1156, Big was not very eager to eat.  Yay!  Soo fed for 4-minutes, and Middle was able to eat at least 39 bites at that meal.  Soo provided some shade from the hot sun throughout the afternoon for the chicks.  The temperature at 1645 was 40-41 C, depending on the weather app used.  At 1740 Middle was seen to have a good PS.  Finally, at 1741 Soo brought a large headless fish to the nest.  Both chicks ate, one to each side of Soo, and surprisingly there was no aggression from Big.  It was a 36 minute meal, and both osplets seemed to be fed somewhat equally.  Middle ended up with a nice crop, Woohoo!    Weather forecast for 7/22:  Sunny, but with smoky air from BC wildfires, high temp 102F/39C, winds gusting to 22 mph.

7/21 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  The 27-day-old youngster has been given a name:  “Cobey”, as a play on Colonial Beach…Isn’t that cool?  Fish were practically falling out of the sky today.  The high temperature was unchanged… it has been in the mid-80’s for several days.  There were 8 fish delivered to the nest, four each from David and Betty.  In recent days, David has been pretty low on everyone’s list for ‘Dad of the Year’.  Who knows…perhaps David is finally getting the hang of this ‘Dad thing’, lol.

7/21 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  The fish have not been numerous the past few days, but they have been massive in size.  June and 37-day-old ‘Fen’ started out the day  with a couple of meals from a large leftover fish.  Then June brought a huge bass to the nest, which they feasted on for the rest of the day. 

7/21 Forsythe osprey nest:  Larry is 61 days old, and fledged 6 days ago.  Opal and Oscar are supplying Larry with plenty of fish to fuel his adventures.

7/21 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest:  The siblings are 53 and 54 days old, and they have both been practicing their ‘wingers’.  Chick #1 is a little more advanced, and is achieving some decent height above the nest, but no hovers as yet that I’ve seen.  Exciting times !

In the UK, an individual has been charged with shooting a Tawny Owl and a Wood Pigeon. These might seem like small acts, but they aren’t. Every bird counts and we don’t have the right to kill them in the way that many thought it was fine to go and shoot all the tigers in the jungle in the Victorian era.

Man charged with shooting Tawny Owl & Woodpigeon & dumping them in wheelie bin – Raptor PersecutionDownload

The French have issued you some of their own fines, too.

The last of the four osplets so gallantly raised by Blue 022 and CJ7 at Poole Harbour fledged at 1717 on Sunday. They did it! Success when so many have failed.

The two chicks fledged at Fort Calhoun today as well.

They have eyes on Mum, Dad, and Baby at Port of Ridgefield where the baby is now off the nest and flying.

‘BHA’ reports that Baby is on the nest at The Port of Ridgefield. Tears. This was one of the best news items that I could hear today. Celebrate this victory – the chick survived….it flew…and it looks really healthy and strong.

Tweed Valley had a fledge as well.

Harbottle was the last to fledge at Kielder 7. She flew today! Hallington flew on the 18th while Hawkhope flew on the 20th. Congratulations for a great season amidst the overall sadness.

Fledge at Iowa DNR.

Collins Marsh raised three and we could have a fledge or two soon.

I smile every time I see those two big chicks of Beaumont and Hope’s in Newfoundland. Let the goodness continue for this couple and these babies.

Richmond and Rosie’s two osplets for the 2024 season at Golden Gate Audubon have been named! Gorgeous names.

The province of Nova Scotia has had a good year for its ospreys. Connie Dennis reports on the family near to where she lives. They are preparing for fledge.

Baby Ospreys. Three of them at Osprey House in Griffin, Queensland, Australia! Wishing Australia luck this season.

The ongoing heatwave that is raging through our planet is of particular concern for our avian friends.

What ongoing heatwaves could mean for bird populations around the globe – BirdLife InternationalDownload

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 21st July 2024

Today was all about musical nests – Dorcha visited Nest One while Garry LV0 was there, and got scared off by Affric 152, who ought to be on the Bunarkaig nest looking after her newly ringed but still unfledged chick, while over on Nest Two, Louis was visited by the strikingly marked Really Dark Female. He didn’t appear to object to the presence of the RDF, and was happy to go off and leave her in sole occupation of his nest. No fish were brought to either nest, a little visitor trilled away merrily, possibly resident in all those sticks underneath Nest One, and although it was another damp day, tonight’s forecast of partly cloudy with light winds suggests a dry night.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.01.48 (03.49.44); Nest Two  23.26.44 (04.01.12)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/nQ2pO2kcevM N2 Dorcha and Louis together on the nest but he brings no fish 10.48.58

https://youtu.be/xjqv-5EWRFA N1 Three Ospreys on the nest: Affric 152, Garry LV0 and Dorcha! 11.27.59

https://youtu.be/J4Y2emy_rkM N2 RDF visits Louis on the nest 11.28.36

https://youtu.be/umi0spLP–4   N1 Affric follows Garry to the nest 12.36.07

https://youtu.be/1gNzX5yamuU N1 Garry LV0 returns alone, bringing a tiny clump of moss.13.20.19

https://youtu.be/_csOnS_xA10  N1 A little visitor – or perhaps lower nest resident – trills merrily 17.56.37 

Bonus read – moosical cows! Woodland Trust protect an iron-age fort with musically trained cows (yes, really!):

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/press-centre/2023/07/little-doward-cows

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/9NT23F7pAQo Woodland Trust’s George on STV Evening News discussing the effect of climate change on the Ospreys 2022

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

I am beyond broken hearted. N2 hit a window on the Cornell Campus and has died. Every building on that campus and every city with skyscrapers, every public building must have bird proof windows. Especially Cornell.

Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling %22N2%22 Found Deceased On Campus | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird CamDownload

The kids bother Annie and Archie’s bonding…oh, wait. It was just Eclipse!

Iris picked a good one! Finn delivers a whopper late in the day to make up for the smaller deliveries earlier on Sunday. So much fish – it just came when needed. The heat remains in Montana.

So much fish that Iris is getting a nice feed.

Charlo Montana needs some big fish. Lola has a sunken crop. She needs to be in good health in order to take care of her babies -.

The Baby at McEuan is looking around for Mum to return to the nest with their late dinner.

Wingers at the Janakkala nest in Finland, too.

Younger babies at the Muonio nest in Finland.

One successful prey delivery to Golden Eaglet in Kurzeme Forest. One might have failed. The eaglet is ravenous.

Boundary Bay Blue has had some food shot up to the nest, but this eaglet is so hungry. Food has not been plentiful. The adults brought a large flat fish to the nest on Sunday – this should help.

The video of the delivery and an intruder:

Thank you so much for being with us today. Continue to send your best wishes to all the nests struggling to get enough prey and high temperatures. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘BHA, Geemeff, H, PR’, Cowlitz PUD, Raptor Persecution UK, Celia Aliengirl, BoPH, Pam Breci, Port of Ridgefield, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Mary Cheadle, Collins Marsh, Newfoundland Power, SF Bay Ospreys, Connie Dennis, Osprey House Environment Centre, BirdLife International, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, All about Birds, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, McEuen Park Ospreys, Looduskalender, Bird Parenting, HWF-BBC, FIN Osprey Foundation, Trudi Kron, Osoyoos Ospreys, Colonial Beach, Fenwick Island, Forsythe Ospreys, Iowa DNR, and Mispillion Harbour.

Moraine chick knocked off nest, fledge at Glaslyn…Sunday in Bird World

21 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Update from Glaslyn: “Our eldest chick Blue 6M8 took her first flight at 08:50 this morning at 54 days old. She made a short flight around the field supervised by Elen before returning to the nest.” Congratulations Aran and Elen.

The beautiful osplet at Moraine that might have fledged today was not predated by the owl so many worried about, but became she became the victim of a tragic accident with Mum defending the nest against a raccoon. They will put up a raccoon baffle for next year…but maybe, every nest should be looking at raccoon and pine marten baffles and those that have owl predation a very bright solar (or hydro) powered bright light with red strobes. They will not bother the ospreys but could help with owl predation. Oh, goodness. It is hard enough for the wee babes to make it to be two or three weeks old but to die right before or at fledge, this is so sad.

I am sitting at the airport gate. It is always good to have a break, but it is even nicer thinking of home! I cannot wait to see Hugo Yugo, Calico, Baby Hope, Missey, Mr Crow, Dyson, and all the other animals, including ‘The Boyfriend’, who was caught on the security camera arriving at 0400 this morning. I hope he had food left! That camera identified him as a ‘pet’. It made me smile. It has been hot in Winnipeg – of course, unlike what it is for Iris and all the ospreys who continue to deal with tragically hot temperatures.

I am home, exhausted. More than exhausted. My head is reeling with news of tragedies….’The Girls’ were all wanting attention. What a joy it was to see them.

Her name can be seen by the public so I will include it here. I most often use initials. Ann-Marie Watson has watched over the Osoyoos nest and others in that area of British Columbia for years. When Little died and went over the edge several years ago, she travelled an hour and ventured into town during celebrations to give the little one a rite of passage. She sends this report about what is happening in the area. To me, it rings of the events of a couple of years ago when Cooper’s hawklets were jumping off their nests to save themselves from being roasted alive. I think her words bring home the tragedy that is hitting the area ——and I hope that it will emphasize how preious those nests are that have chicks that are alive. I wish that there were enough spaces for these babies so that the nests could make it through this dire time. Ann-Marie writes:

I put this up on our FB page and copy to you. I think Soo may have abandoned the nest and Dad is not feeding the chicks. I didn’t see Soo in the vicinity of the nest yesterday and the chicks are at risk right now. The sweltering heat is affecting so many nests in the south Okanagan. 

As upsetting as it is the heat has been a major factor on a lot of nests. I went and checked on quite a few other nests I know of yesterday and it seems a few the parents have abandoned the nests for their own survival.
I called SORCO and OWL rescue for any advice I could get to save our nest in Osoyoos, basically the info I received there are many nests that have been abandoned due sweltering temperatures. Basically too many nests for them to intervene..SORCO is dealing with the owls and Burnaby rescue is at capacity.
This may not be good news for our nest as Mum hasn’t been seen and Dad is not feeding the chicks.
Thinking of you all and as Ann-Mo said take care of your own mental health.
I am taking a break after yesterday’s heartbreaking visits to the nests I went too. So much wildlife is suffering.

20 July 2024

More from Ann-Marie:

Apparently Soo and Olsen returned to the nest today maybe before noon. Both had a partial fish, I’m thinking Soo went off to hunt and cool down, I honestly don’t think she would not be the mombrella for the two chicks yesterday. I have not watched the camera today as needed a break. Things are not looking good for the chicks but if enough fish comes in middle might have a chance. The older chick seems to be getting fed more. The heat is intense and will be for days to come.
I did a little ceremony for the littlest chick yesterday near the nest, I was quite heartbroken it passed away.

I wonder if the local fire department would place some fish on that nest for Soo, Olsen, and their chicks until the heat passes. I do understand from Heidi that Soo has been on the nest. Thank goodness.

There is good news coming out of Raptor Persecution UK. Finally, a fine that is meaningful. I would have liked to have seen another ‘zero’ added to it, but this is a beginning! That got hit hard in the wallet and that is all these grouse moor estates understand.

Poisoned buzzard leads to discovery of multiple pesticide offences – Ashley Game Farm & Director Christopher Hodgson fined £40,000+

“£40k fine despite not knowing who actually carried out the poisonings, plus £1.5k fine for the director. ” (Geemeff)

In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, Robin Wall Kimmerer talks of a revitalisation of our planet, of Mother Earth. She insists that we must make a choice of the path we will take – to heal our planet and bring balance back to the world of living beings, human and non- or turn our head backwards in the blinding dust and continue to live a life of materialism. She says that how we have lived has not brought us contentment, and now it is bringing extinction to plants and animals. We need to bring harmony and balance back to our lives. We must choose ‘the Green path’ of wisdom, respect, and reciprocity’ (280). It is a good book that broaches capitalism and materialism, and market forces creating affluence for some and great poverty for others. Grain sits in elevators rotting because people cannot purchase it. Kimmerer understands that there is enough food for everyone if we view the world differently.

I would suggest that there is enough fish for every seabird, every eagle, every osprey. That the taking of millions of Menhaden is ruining the balance of the Chesapeake Bay with the profits going into the accounts of Omega while our beautiful birds, whales, and dolphins starve. Omega is leaving nothing! I hope that we can shift this and see plentiful loads of fish for our feathered friends and a return to a bay full of wildlife!

The 2024 Osprey Field Season – The Center for Conservation BiologyDownload

Waiting for fledge at Glaslyn. It was a bit of a wet day. Everyone including Bobby Bach are doing fantastic – that little one had a nice bit of fish.

Fish after fish coming in to the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi. No one is going to go hungry.

Only Little Mini (4th hatch) at Poole Harbour left to fledge now. CJ7 and Blue 022 are both being Daddy and Mummy Door Dash for these four healthy osplets.

The heat in the US and Canada continues.

Iris is the most amazing mumbrella. Finn is having a difficult time getting as much fish on the nest as he did. The best times are early morning and evening.

Iris moves with the sun to keep those precious babies of hers shaded. Look at those beauties in the top image with their Mum behind them. Did we ever think we would see such a sight? I sure didn’t.

Charlo Montana is hanging in there, too.

‘H’ reports on the Osoyoos nest we are so concerned about:

7/20 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Today was a better day for Middle.  Middle had not had a significant meal since 7/17.  Olsen arrived early, at 0539 with a medium sized whole fish, and when Soo didn’t arrive to feed, Olsen left with the fish.  He returned 16 minutes later with a headless version of the same fish.  Middle grabbed the fish and mantled, and Olsen left.  Middle was being harassed by Big, so it seemed that Middle spent more time protecting his food than eating it.  Big took the fish at 0609.  Big did a much better job of self feeding than s/he demonstrated yesterday.  At 0636 Big walked away from a very large tail portion.  Middle took the fish, but was not very successful at self feeding.  It seemed as though Middle may have lacked the energy to enthusiastically pull and tear off fish bits.  After 5 minutes, Middle quit eating and Big took over.  This scenario of the siblings alternating, each trying to self feed from the fish, continued to play out on and off over the next few hours.  By 1100, there was still a piece of that fish remaining, but it was getting dried up and stiff.  

Soo, had not been seen since the afternoon of 7/18.  At 1123 Soo arrived at the nest with a whole fish.  And, at 1124 Olsen brought a large partial fish to the nest, but when he saw that Soo already had a fish, he left with his.  Soo did not start to feed until 1128, and she fed Big.  Big had beaked Middle, so Middle was in submission.  Big was finished eating at 1155 and walked away from Soo.  There was still some of Soo’s fish left over.  But, at 1155 Olsen returned with a smaller version of his earlier fish.  Soo opted to take that fish, Big beaked Middle, then Soo fed Big until 1201.  In the meantime, Middle was trying to eat some bites of the leftover morning fish, which was now the consistency of fish jerky.  Soo ate some fish while waiting for Middle to arrive at the table.  At 1202 Middle started to be fed by Soo, and had eaten 9 bites of fish before s/he was beaked by Big.  Middle retaliated this time, and there was a big fight.  Soo continued to eat.  For some reason, Middle returned to the old piece of fish jerky, while Mom ate.  At 1209 Soo picked up her leftover piece of fish that she had brought in at 1123.  Finally, Soo fed Middle a private meal that lasted for 13 minutes.  That was more than Middle had eaten in nearly three days.  Soo provided shade from the hot sun for her chicks throughout the afternoon, and the temperature reached 102F/39C by 1600.  Soo delivered a medium sized whole fish at 2058.  The siblings ate simultaneously, one on each side of Mom, and the 10-minute meal was peaceful.  It seemed that Middle was fed more than Big, and Middle ate at least 64 bites of fish.  Soo finished off the old fish-tail-jerky and fed a few more bites to Middle.   Weather forecast for 7/21:  Sunny, high temperature could reach 106F/41C, winds gusting to 13 mph.  

There has been growing concern for the fate of Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay eagle nest. The parents have been on the perch but not feeding the eaglet while a fairy has tossed up some fish bites. I have just received word that one of the adults has delivered a good sized fish to Blue. That would be incredible news. Time 1458.

Blue had a good sized crop early in the morning.

Deb Stecyk caught that fish delivery to Blue on video:

Mum at McEuen Park holding in there, too, with her only chick.

Everything seems alright at Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum.

Fledge at Field Farm.

Mum feeding her beautiful osplet at Cowlitz PUD.

So far so good at SandPoint.

There are issues with the Marder’s streaming cam. It looks like there is a single osplet being fed at the nest.

One with a full crop, one self-feeding, and the other with a sunken crop at PSEG’s Oyster Bay Osprey nest.

One of the fledglings on the nest at Patchogue calling for a fish.

At the Newfoundland Power nest of Hope and Beaumont, the chicks are getting their feathers. Hope is shading her kids and feeding them – and, I will knock on wood and not say that word that beings with an ‘f’ and ends with an ‘e’. I don’t want to jinx anything.

And then you can’t see anything.

‘PB’ reports that something knocked “CO18 Moraine baby off the nest. It looked like it tried to snatch her but didn’t, and she went off the nest.” ‘PB’ rewound and discovered what happened: “I rewound back and saw the racoon on left side of nest and moving branches and can see it’s eyes…mom was alerting and baby was looking at it…then the racoon moved over to the baby’s side of nest…baby alerted and then mom flew to chase off racoon but knocked baby off balance and baby fell. You can hear branches being hit. Now I’m worried if CO18 is safe with the racoon around. Wish someone could check but probably won’t be until morning.”

Sadly, this beautiful osplet did not survive the predators on the ground during the night. Oh, my goodness.

Beautiful babies at the Kurzeme Forest nest in Latvia.

Heidi reports on Carthage:

West End Eaglets enjoying themselves!

Geemeff’s Daily Report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.

Daily summary Saturday 20th July 2024

A very slow day indeed, with no sighting of either Louis or Dorcha –  the first time no Osprey was seen on Nest Two since Louis returned on 28th March. The weather was very wet today, and not very inviting, so have they left on migration, are they still around, will we see them tomorrow?  Nest One saw some activity today, with visits from little songbirds and a visit from Garry LV0 who arrived with a stick and proceeded to do some nest prep before flying off. Tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy with light winds, but rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.05.33 (04.14.02); Nest Two 23.24.21 (04.24.56)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Vkh1bYP9V_U  N1 Sweet little singer visits 05.42.57

https://youtu.be/U2bBn4PpMoM  N1 Garry LV0 brings a stick and does nest prep 18.35.28

https://youtu.be/jN1-tY56wnA  N1 A pair of little birds pay an early evening visit 18.42.42

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Owl lands on Saaksilive nest #3. This is probably the same owl that a week earlier killed beloved osplet Taiko.

Monty and Hartley sure make beautiful and mischevious babies!!!!!!!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Ann-Marie Watson, Geemeff, H, L, MP, PB’, Raptor Persecution UK, Robin Wall Kimmerer, William Dunn, The Center for Conservation Biology, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, BoPH, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, HWF-BBC, Deb Stecyk, Trudi Kron, McEuen Park, MN-LA, Field Farm, Sandpoint Ospreys, Marder’s, PSEG, Newfoundland Power, Moraine Park, LDF, Heidi McGrue, Newstflix Memories, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SK Hideaways, Osoyoos Ospreys.

Saturday in Bird World

20 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Update: I have gotten my Littles mixed up. Thanks, Heidi. “Little from Colonial Beach passed away overnight on the 18th. Little at Osoyoos passed away on the 15th, Monday afternoon.”

Toronto. 25 C. Sunny skies. It was a great day, and my faith in humans increased. Walking down Wellington Street West, there was a small area with trees amid the financial district skyscrapers. I looked, and someone had put up a suet feeder and spread seed on the ground for the birds. My heart grew!!!! A shout out to whoever is doing this for their kindness and generosity of spirit.

It might feel a little bit like ‘cat world’ this morning. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) had an exhibition of wild felines and also cats in art. It was fantastic. If you are ever in Toronto, go on line and check out the museum’s programming. In the late winter and early spring, the wildlife photography is on exhibition. The museum has two places to grab food – the lower level makes the best sandwiches and they are huge, quite sharable! They also have another place for coffee and dessert on the main level. The cake is delicious. Both are VERY affordable.

Isn’t this just the cutest stuffed animal you have ever seen? A Bay cat? from Borneo?

Cat Naps.

Maneki-neko.

What is the story of the Japanese lucky or welcoming cat? Do you know?

What is the story of maneki-neko, the Japanese beckoning cat?Download

Many wild cats were killed for their claws or their fur. Tiger claw necklace.

British shot tigers in India. Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, was no exception.

Shooting Tigers in Early 20th-Century India – Imperial & Global ForumDownload

Royal Stool.

Prestigious cat with claws. I could not find out if the owner had killed the animals and the cap was a display of their hunting skill.

There was also an excellent video display about human destruction of wild cats by hunting, collecting skins, and now the destruction of their habitat. They suggest that one way to save the habitat is to stop using products that contain Palm Oil.

It was a fun day!

Just how rare do you think Ospreys are in Poland?

Osprey – a huge bird, rarer than lynx in Polish forests

When I read the article above that Geemeff sent to me, the first thing I thought of was stock the lacks with fish. Or as Geemeff states, why not pull a Gwash? So what is Gwash, you ask.

“As far as fish goes, we need more people to follow the example of Gwash Trout farm – after losing significant numbers of trout to Ospreys, they un-netted their biggest pond, built a hide, and charged photographers a fee. Now they make more money from those fees than the value of the fish taken by the Ospreys. What a result! Surely others could do the same?”

https://www.rivergwashtroutfarm.co.uk/horn-mill-osprey-hide/

There are many other osprey platforms that could bank on osprey tourism to help the birds. The first one that comes to mind is Osoyoos where a former student of mine used to watch Olsen fish in the local lake when she lived there. Why not stock that lake area? Put up a hide? The family needs 525 fish a year according to John Williams who has monitored the Llyn Clywedog osprey platform for years. That is nothing! We could raise $5000 to purchase commercial fish for the ospreys on line with a GoFundMe. Spread the word, get these platform owners on line, change the laws now before the heat get to the point that all of them die before the nests even get started. Yes, I am serious.

At HWF-BBCentral, Blue’s crop looks pretty flat to me and it appears to be hot on that nest. Need some fish tossing! Blue had fish meals on the 18th according to the Hancock Wildlife Forum.

One of the worksheets on this nest includes this information:

Finnegan continues to take as good a care of Iris and their two osplets as he can in the raging heat that continues to hit parts of Canada and the US.

Charlie got an early fish on the nest for Lola and the two remaining chicks at Charlo Montana on Friday. Every nest in this area needs as much fish as the males can muster. I would really hate to lose them all after they have endured this high heat for more than a week now. Temperatures should break in a full week – seriously – but it will get hotter for Iris before it even begins to cool down. My concern for these ospreys grows and grows.

Keeping an eye on McEuan Park. Weather is set to improve. Mum is off the nest a lot. Is she fishing? No rewind. Hoping she is safe and delivering fish and I am just missing seeing her. Only Bob had a feeding thanks to the hawk eyes of ‘PB’ – the cam is terrible.

Worst breeding year for Kielder Ospreys ever.

‘Worst year’ for Kielder’s breeding ospreys – BirdGuidesDownload

Fledge watch is on for the chicks of Aran and Elen at Glaslyn.

I am thinking the last two at Poole Harbour might be taking to the skies soon, too.

‘H’ reports:

7/19 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The heat wave continues, and Olsen and Soo are having difficulty finding fish.  There were five fish brought to the nest today, compared to only one small fish yesterday.  That was certainly an improvement, but the fish were small, and unfortunately only one chick benefited.  At 0800 Olsen delivered a partial fish, and Soo fed for 7 minutes.  Big prevented Middle from eating.  Soo brought a tiny fish at 0926, for a 3-minute meal, and once again, Middle did not eat.  At 1223 Soo arrived with another tiny fish for a 3-minute feeding.  Middle was only able to eat the small fish tail.  Soo brought fish #4 at 1236, and I couldn’t see the fish, but Soo fed for 5 minutes.  Big prevented Middle from eating at that meal.  By 1600 the temperature had reached 100F.  Olsen arrived with a nice-sized partial fish at 1701.  He waited for Soo to arrive, but when she didn’t show, Olsen removed the fish.  Olsen returned with the fish at 1710, and again waited for Soo.  But after a couple of minutes, he once again left with the fish.  Olsen returned with the same partial fish at 1723, and this time he let Big take it.  Olsen stayed on the nest and waited.  Big was not able to do much with it, and after a few minutes, Middle tried some self-feeding.  Middle was actually able to pull off a few pieces of flesh, and I crossed my fingers that Middle would be able to continue eating.  Middle became frustrated though, and soon quit.  The siblings took turns trying to eat some of the fish, but by 1810, they had both abandoned the fish.  At that point, Olsen removed the fish from the nest, and it looked about the same as when it first arrived.  Each chick had only eaten a few bites of that fish.  By nightfall, Soo had not been seen since the afternoon.  The situation for Middle is dire.  Middle has not had much to eat since 7/17, and with the scorching heat, that is especially worrisome.  Weather forecast for 7/20:  Sunny, high 101F/38C, winds 12 mph.

7/19 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  For several days it has seemed as though little ‘Fen’ has been ‘hangry’ most of the time, due to too few fish brought to the nest.  And, today there was still only three fish delivered to the nest, but two of them were massive… one at 0930 from June, and another large fish from Johnny at 1405.  June and Fen were literally eating all day from those two fish.  At 1955, June and Fen were still eating part of June’s morning fish.  Fen seemed satisfied!

7/19 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  This nest has one surviving osplet out of three.  Chick #3 died at just a little over one-day-old from unknown causes.  Chick #2 passed away on 7/18 at 22 days of age, from siblicide/starvation.  At the time, the area had been suffering from a heat wave, and David was not providing enough fish.  David and Betty are believed to be first-time parents.  And while Betty has been a stellar Mom, David seems to not fully understand his responsibilities as a provider.  The heat wave has subsided, but, David’s fish deliveries are still way down.  Betty has had no trouble catching fish the past few days.  Some of the fish that Betty has caught are huge…that gal can fish!  There were five fish brought to the nest today, and four of them were delivered by Betty.

The Patuxent River Park osprey nest live stream was offline on 7/19.  We certainly want to continue to observe the family to see how the fledglings are making out…and in particular our hero, Little #3.

The Fortis Exshaw osprey nest camera has been covered with PS for several days.  Way to go kids!  We are hoping for some rain to clean the cam.

Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 19th July 2024

The day started with a temperature inversion and a spider in the mist gave a ghostly feel to Nest One, which was visited a bit later by a Wood Pigeon. Louis and Dorcha spent time on Nest Two, she was fish-calling and he was coy-mantling, there were a couple of half-hearted mating attempts and a comedy moment when Dorcha landed on Louis’ wing. After they departed, a pair of Hoodies checked out the nest but they were out of luck as there weren’t any scraps to be had, it’s been several days since Louis brought fish to the nest, the last time was on the 15th. The weather improved somewhat after the damp start but more rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.11.08 (03.33.21); Nest Two 22.57.26 (04.00.34)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/OD_RwDg4LUA N1 Spider adds to the eerie misty morning scene 03.59.18

https://youtu.be/6SBcqw1oX38 N1 A Wood Pigeon visits 07.24.06

https://youtu.be/wp5mZUIOlQU N2 No fish and a failed mating attempt 13.23.38

https://youtu.be/1GsH538qZJs N2 A pair of Hoodies check out the nest 15.07.55

Bonus action – Woodland Trust guide to helping wildlife in summer:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2023/06/10-ways-to-help-wildlife-in-summer

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Spoonbills have returned to Cambridgeshire after centuries.

Spoonbills return to Cambridgeshire for first time since 17th century | Birds | The GuardianDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Stay cool. Take care. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams: ‘Geemeff, H, PB’, ROM, The Conversation, Imperial & Global Forum, Wodny Spawy, River Gwash Trout Farm, HWF-BBC, Montana Osprey Project, The Weather Network, Charlo Montana Ospreys, McEuen Park, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, BoPH, BirdGuides, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Guardian, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, and Fortis Exshaw.

Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

15 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Latest updates: Eagle took the oldest osplet at Cowlitz Sunday evening while Mum was feeding. Third osplet at Dyfi in Wales has fledged! Eight Omega ships out catching Menhaden in the Bay this morning – fish our ospreys, whales, dolphins and other fish could eat. Talk about sad. This has to stop.

It was another hot day in Winnipeg. It’s not as hot as it has been. Just 26 C. The boulevard needed mowing, and that is now done. More mulch around the path. I finished but need more. Birds fed and watered many times. They still feel the heat but are more active later in the afternoon and evening when the shade covers the entire garden area. Thank you to everyone who wrote a note and said they enjoyed the baby Blue Jay having its bath. Every season, there is one that loves that bird bath. They are a delight. I made another video. It is 5 minutes long. The birds disappeared while I was sitting on the deck. Still, Dyson comes to the tray feeder along with two Blue Jays and a host of sparrows, old and young. Dyson makes two appearances. You can see the tree branch behind the feeder move. The second time, she goes to another feeder to the left inside the lilacs). I love the Blue Jay pounding away at the seed cylinder at the end. Enjoy. (I will figure out how to edit this!

https://videopress.com/v/p7WSRsNv?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

It is 2033, and the thunderstorm has arrived. The wind is causing the trees to blow around like a tornado. The rain is so heavy I cannot see my neighbour’s roof. It is pounding on top of the conservatory, and all ‘The Girls’ are here for security. I can see a clear sky to the west, so this will be short-lived but furious. I hope we do not lose a tree at the back. Hydro and cable, along with wifi, have just gone out. There is a vast black churning cloud moving south of me. Someone is going to have worse conditions. It’s also reminiscent of my younger years living in Oklahoma, which has all its storms and tornadoes. Did I say we have no power or wifi?

On Wednesday, I will review Connie Dennis’s book about Pickles. So please catch the blog on that day. I will also add a listing of adult Osprey books at the end. This year, the chats on some of the streaming cams were ripe with so much disinformation that many of you wrote and said you would never participate in them again. Take the ‘off-season’ once the ospreys that survive migrate and before the eagles have their eggs hatching to educate yourself. We can have a question section and a fact a day about Ospreys to prepare us. Mind you, we will have the ospreys at Port Lincoln, the falcons at Orange and the CBD, and the WBSE to keep our eyes on. So get your questions ready! I know you have a list of really intriguing ones.

Late news: You know I love Karl II and his kids. Waba, the son of the late Karl II and Kaia from the Black Stork Nest in Karula Forest, Estonia has left RU and is now in northern Estonia! Great news. Thanks ‘TU’. I want Waba to establish a nest in Estonia – maybe even his old natal nest – but only if the fish baskets will be replenished so the storklets don’t starve. We know the food supply is low at times. Speaking of low. Waba’s battery is at 1%. I am hoping he will get some sun and it will charge. This is the area where he is foraging.

The heat wave that hit the Pacific NW and caused such grief at our osprey nests is now moving East. ‘PB’ tells me that the Central area of the US where they live will hit 100 F tomorrow. It will continue to be hot at the osprey nests, and Heidi has just advised that Little at Osoyoos had a one-drop ‘ps’. Dehydrated and weak. Poor thing. Wishing for cool weather, a big fish, or a quick death- since no one is prepared to intervene in the lives of these beautiful feathered osplets (not just at Osoyoos). As you know, my position is that humans have ruined their habitat, destroyed the small quantities of fish the birds require (485-525 per nest of 3 chicks and 2 adults per season), and warmed our planet so quickly that the birds that have been here for 61.5 million years cannot adapt fast enough. We owe it to them to care. Where are the folks as brave as the fish fairies at Port Lincoln? Where are they!

Record-breaking-heatwave-shifts-east-as-millions-of-Americans-under-heat-alert-Extreme-heat-The-Download

In Macedonia, people save the storks by taking out their watering hoses and giving them this great gift of life.

This is the translation: “Humanitarian actions in Macedonia.
The situation with the storks in Gevgelisk is alarming at 50+ degrees. They fall to the ground and dehydrate. The human savior is Miki Stanojkovic from Bogorodica Gevgelisk. An appeal to everyone to leave buckets of water everywhere where there is no river, spring or tap.”

At the nest of the Golden Eagle in Estonia (nest 2), Kristel had prey deliveries from Dad late on Saturday! The eagle also finished the remains of the Raccoon Dog and also fed on leg of sibling. The eaglet is doing some great hovering and working their wings. Appears to be strong.

Note: To this eaglet and to the one at Boundary Bay, their dead sibling is no longer alive and a sibling but potential food. These eaglets are hungry. Eagles are carrion eaters (dead animals). Eagles eat practically anything.

On Sunday, Gwenlais and Senni, took to the skies at the Dyfi Osprey Project. Both returned safely to the nest. Now we are wondering if the third chick will fly on the same day!

Iris at Hellgate Canyon tells us it is still hot there just by her posture! Her and Finn are hanging in there. Iris is amazing. She might not have had a chick since 2018 but she hasn’t forgotten all the tricks on feeding them and keeping them cool and alive. She is my heroine.

Those babies of Iris are so cute. Wonder when we are going to get some names for them.

I feel for the Mum at McEuan Park. Her mate disappeared at the end of June and she had four babies to care for and a heat dome. She has one chick left. She cannot shade it all day because she has to try and catch fish to keep them alive. Where are the fish fairies?

There are two osplets at Allins Cove East. They look good. They are approximately 21 days old.

One gorgeous chick on the Allins Cove West nest the middle of June. It has fledged.

Mum at Bridge Golf Course trying to keep her only surviving Bob cool.

All appears alright at Pitkin County in Colorado.

It will be getting even hotter in Charlo Montana. Charlie is delivering huge fish to Lola and the two survivors (the little one sadly fell off the nest doing a ps). Let’s hope they all make it.

Four big ole babies at Field Farm. That nest is really crowded. Really crowded. Jumping and flapping are going to be a challenge and the crib rails are – well, gone on one side. Stay in the nest kiddos!

Only Bob at Dunrovin appears to be doing well. Enjoying a nice fish dinner compliments of Dad Swoop and mum Winnie. (One egg DNH and the other osplet fell off the nest and died).

‘PB’ noticed that some osprey mums do not shade their chicks like Iris. She is absolutely right. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

At the Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope, the oldest has been doing a wee bit of bonking on the second. We hope it is short-lived. There have been intruders. Hope has done some fishing in past days. Both chicks appear to be doing well. I use that word a lot: ‘appear’. It is challenging to tell from streaming cam images how emaciated the birds can be. I got back to the eaglets Meadow, Sol, and Luna, who appeared to be doing fine but weren’t.

The pair of White Storklets on the Loburg nest were saved and taken to the local stork rescue and rehabilitation centre after their parents, Frieda and Emil, were missing. The storklets were nearing fledge and were ‘very’ hungry and would have perished if help had not arrived. Thank you, Storchenhof Loburg in Mockhem, Germany.

The only storklet of Bety and Bukacek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic has fledged.

Storks. Migration. Routes. A study shows that older storks get to their migration destinations faster than youngsters. Migratory behavior of storks changes over the course of their lives.

“Over a period of seven years, the scientists collected and analyzed the flight data of storks on their journeys to North Africa. This allowed them to analyze how migratory behavior changes over the course of an animal’s life. According to the scientists, they found that young storks take their time to explore new places during migration. With increasing age, however, their flights become faster and more efficient. Young storks therefore take routes that take longer, but also cost less energy. Older storks, on the other hand, optimize their migration routes in order to reach their destination more directly. According to the scientists, they consume more energy. However, the total time of their flight is shorter. Storks’ routes are also based on a wealth of experience. The results suggest that the birds use their spatial memory to find shortcuts. The researchers from Lake Constance therefore assume that individual experience is also a key factor in animal migration.”

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/friedrichshafen/studie-vom-bodensee-stoerche-im-alter-schneller-am-ziel-100.html

The osplets in the Tweed Valley nests in the UK were ringed.

Another Osprey Rescue and some gifts for the rehab centre. Do you have some extra gravel sitting around? Call your local wildlife centre and see if they could use it!

Want another good story? I have posted this one previously, but it is a good reminder to us – again – that our feathered friends care about their families, will help them, and have feelings.

Eagle Parents Spend Year Nursing Chick Who Fell Out of a Tree, Forsaking the New Nesting Season

Inside the aviary where the chicks of Louis and Dorcha are waiting to take their first flight into the Spanish skies.

At the time of this writing, two of CJ7 and Blue 022’s chicks have fledged – Blue 5R0 and Blue 5R1. Both returned to the nest safely and hungry.

Nest #4 in Finland is doing well.

Issues surrounding food and rivalry are surfacing at the Latvian Osprey nest. This will pass as there are giant fish coming to this nest – we hope that continues and we have two fledges. Look at the size of those babies. Bells will toll across Latvia – surely – when these two take to the skies.

‘A’ reports on what is happening at the WBSE nest:

At WBSE, all is going well. Here is yesterday’s ranger report: 

July 13: Another lovely day and the 16th day since the first egg was laid. An early duet and then Lady had a short break when Dad came in at 6:42. Later, a couple of short breaks with Lady calling from Ironbark Roost. Dad brought in a spray of casuarina at 8:02. Around 9am, he came in for a change-over, Lady very reluctant to get up, even as he circled her. She was even a little slow rising when he brought a mullet at 11:11 – but then she got up and fed as Dad sat. There were the usual changes during the day. Late afternoon, with Lady incubating, Dad was not seen at the river – fishing maybe? He returned at 17:17 – empty-taloned. He moved nearby, and both then settled for the night.

What is going on with the New Jersey Osprey? Don’t tell the Omega ships that there is a lot of Menhaden! They might find a way to fish those shores.

Ospreys-Too-soon-for-a-victory-dance-New-Jersey-Conservation-FoundationDownload

A rescue and return to the nest!

Eagle Owls in old castle ruins. Do you know this streaming cam?

Geemeff’s daily report on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 14th July 2024

A very interesting day today! We were given photos taken by LizB of the Bunarkaig chick during ringing yesterday, footage of the translocated chicks in Valencia, including ours, wingercising getting ready for lift off, and Louis brought Dorcha a fish on Nest Two. The first fish he’s brought since 5th July, and only the fifth fish delivery since the official fish count* stopped at 10am on the day the chicks were removed to join the translocation programme on 1st July. Are things getting back to normal? Difficult to say, but he and Dorcha have been spending time together and carrying out courtship rituals including coy-mantling and attempted mating, and today they had what looked like a proper tail-up mating attempt. No action on Nest One except for the busy little spider with its web visible in today’s sunshine. The forecast for tonight is misty with light winds, and dry with sunny intervals tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.14.09 (03.45.20); Nest Two 00.17.11 (03.54.45) 

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/F2O6Qu9bv2E N2 Dorcha arrives early, Louis arrives a little later but without fish 04.30.14

https://youtu.be/-w9xcZQB1ZA N2 Was that a successful mating attempt by Louis? 05.26.51 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/map5PyIWzDs  Wingercising ready for lift-off: Arkaig chicks in Spain 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/f3L7h59FXrQ  Bunarkaig chick photos from LizB 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/D2j9GKFPeTs  N2 Finally! Louis brings a headless trout 15.31.07

https://youtu.be/dH2QtdR1ffY  N2 Louis & Dorcha spend time together as the sun sets 21.21.29

https://youtu.be/w_VHNBuj340  N2 Louis returns unexpectedly with a stick 22.09.00)

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

People have been wondering about Giliath. Here he is!

‘H’ reports: 7/14 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The osplets are 34, 36, and 37 days old.  Olsen knows where to find fish early in the morning, and they are usually small ones.  At 0602 he dropped off a tiny fish.  Middle got a few bites, but Big was the primary recipient of fish during the 3-minute meal.  At 0651 Olsen brought a slightly larger fish.  Middle beaked Little.  Big and Middle were eating, and each time Little reached for a bite, s/he was beaked by Middle, and at one point was nearly pushed off the nest.  Little did not eat at this 9-minute feeding.  

Middle was once again beaked Little at 1035.  Little was so close to the edge, I thought Little was going to get pushed off the nest.  As Little struggled to grab a hold of sticks and climb back up to regain solid footing, he got a stick caught under his left wing, and could not get free of it.  Little had that stick stuck under his wing for quite some time, and Middle took further advantage of Little in that compromised state by beaking him even more.  Soo eventually seemed to help remove the stick from under Little’s wing.  That whole episode was so heartbreaking to watch.  

Another tiny fish was brought to the nest at 1106.  It was a 3-minute meal, and Little did not eat.  At 1332 Olsen delivered a large whole fish.  I thought for sure that Little would be able to eat at some point during this feeding.  Little was beaked several times by Middle, and was nearly pushed off the nest again.  At one point, Big beaked both Middle and Little.  They are all hungry.  This was a 27-minute feeding…and Little did not eat a single bite of fish.  Olsen double-backed with another large fish at 1422.  Great!  Back-to-back large fish…just what was needed so Little could eat.  Middle beaked Little again.  Big and Middle were set up on opposite sides of Soo, and Little ended up next to Big.  We only had a partial view of Little near the top of the screen.  But, it was apparent that Little was occasionally reaching in front of Big and getting bites from Soo.  Little received at least 14 bites of fish that I was sure of, but possibly ate a few more.  Big soon tired of that arrangement with Little, and started beaking Little intermittently.  This meal lasted 28-minutes, and Little only ate about 14 bites of fish.  The last fish of the day arrived at 1917, and it was a medium sized whole fish.  Little was the first one at the table, and got some bites right away.  Little had eaten 20 bites by 1919, but was then pushed from behind by Big.  Little was able to eat another 4 bites by 1920, but then Soo moved the fish, and fed Big and Middle.  It was a 6-minute feeding, Little ate 24 bites of fish, and he did seem to have a small crop.  Little ate a total of approximately 38 fish bites today.  Weather for Monday: Sunny, light winds, high temp 99F/37C.

7/14 Patuxent osprey nest:  Little slept standing up last night for the first time…Oh, Little is a Big Man!  Little was not able to eat on Saturday because his aggressive older sisters grabbed all the fish.  This morning from 0520 to 0523 Mom fed Little from a leftover goldfish.  That fish was then taken from Mom by one of the sibs.  At 0651 Dad delivered a large headless fish and distracted the sibs, so Mom resumed eating the leftover goldfish.  Little took the goldfish from Mom at 0655, and self-fed until 0731, at which time he abandoned the goldfish, and went over to Mom who now had possession of the new fish.  Mom fed Little until 0802.  Little had a large crop!   There were other fish brought in throughout the day, but Little was not able to eat anything from those fish.  There were some good wingers with leaps by Little today.

7/14 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  We are so happy for Louise after the sad season last year.  Harvie is such a wonderful mate and provider for their three offspring, ages 28, 30, and 32 days.  The kids are getting so big!

Thank you, ‘H’. Sadly unless there is a miracle, we are not expecting the third hatch at Osoyoos to make it because of the extreme heat. Send them good wishes. Soo and Olsen are trying — and no one is helping.

‘V’ sent in some images of the Cowlitz baby that was taken. She says, “Look at its wingspan. I wish there was someway to save the other baby”. I know that we all feel the same and wish those grates had held. They are so near fledge.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. Send out nests all your good energy. The heat continues, the predators remain, too. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU, V,’ Loodusklender, Cowlitz PUD, The Guardian Humanitarian Macedonia, Eagle Club of Estonia, Dyfi Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, Allin’s Cove East and West, Bridge Golf, Pitkin County, Charlo Montana, Field Farm, Dunrovin Ranch, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Lindsay Wildlife, Eagle Owl Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, PLO, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Storchenneste, Mlade Buky, swr.de, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, Good News Network, Woodland Trust Scotland, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, BSE, and New Jersey Conservation.

Dorsett Hobby dies, Smallie is stuffed…Sunday in Bird World

14 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Post Update: The second hatch at McEuan Park has died. The second hatch at Dorsett Hobby has died.

The heat produced some thunderstorms Friday night and some heavy rain. We are in another thunderstorm alert for the next few hours with loonie-size hail and 100 kph winds. The birds have been eating frantically all day. Their behaviour should have told me. Thankfully, it missed us.

It was a lovely evening at the park. Despite the signs around the pond, someone or many people were feeding the ducks. What they were feeding them was good bird seed—that is alright. And the duck population is good!

At home the little Blue Jay is having a wonderful time in the bird bath!

Little Blue Jay spent many hours playing in the bird bath. This is a very short clip.

One of the baby Cowbirds played in the water, too. It really helped to keep the birds cool on a hot day.

The shade tunnel at one side of the back garden for the birds and animals.

Being in the garden and spending time at the duck pond was a good way to step back for a few hours. It has been a tough week.

Seeing Jackie and Shadow together melts away anxiety. Ever hopeful, always loyal, these two never give up. When I get really low, they are the one raptor couple I turn to to make it all better.

Falcons help, especially soaring fledglings. Check out Alma and Lucia.

Bailey. She donates blood to help other raptors.

If you live in the United States, please read Audubon’s appeal for your help in getting the The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024 passed. Everything helps.

Seabirds-Will-Benefit-from-New-Bill-to-Update-Federal-Fisheries-Law-_-AudubonDownload

One of the representatives in Virginia has a son who works for Omega. Flood him with letters. The House of Representatives name is Rob Wittman. I am sure you can see the problems that the State of Virginia is having and why. Let’s try and help Virginia be as successful as New York!

The following short presentation (below) has an 8 minute film on the history of Menhaden and why it is so important. It is a keystone fish. For those in the film, they mention whales and other fish species such as tuna and bass, but we need these fish for our osprey. Menhaden is what osprey eat in this area and the Chesapeake Bay is depleted. The ospreys are starving.

This is the Director’s message:

The Montana Ospreys eat other fish. Some of those fish are trout. When the rivers get too warm the trout die. The Osprey also cannot eat. The osplets get tangled in baling twine. They have their own issues including the heat.

The message seems to have been sent from Dunrovin and Charlo Montana. Finn worked on the rails at his nest with Iris and their two chicks Saturday morning. Now we know that Iris always has one of the best nests in ‘the West’ if anywhere. It has gotten a little ruffled with all the activity this season, but the couple continues to work on it to keep their babies safe. Look at their babies with all those gorgeous juvenile feathers. Dear Iris has taken the brunt of the heat, and Finn has fished his heart out.

Everyone is concerned about how the heat is impacting Iris who so loves being a Mum and who is so lucky to have Finn. She is going to have high temperatres for another week.

At the Patchogue nest, Dad brought in fish for both Patches and Rainer! We get to see them both eating on the nest. How wonderful.

The Middle chick Blue 8B4 has fledged at Llyn Clywedog on Saturday! There he is on the right looking at us. Gosh, what a gorgeous place to take a first flight.

Fledglings in Germany at the Goitzsche-Wildnis nest continue to return to be fed by Mum or self-feed.

No fledges yet at Poole Harbour.

The heat continues to hit the Pacific Northwest. This heat is persisting and the longer it continues our Osprey prospects become more and more dire unless there is plenty of fish coming to the nest. Otherwise, in these extreme conditions the ospreys have to use the energy from the fish they do get to try and stay cool.

McEuan Park on Saturday:

Charlo Montana:

Blackbush: All three are doing well.

Great Bay: All three osplets have fledged and have returned to the nest for some of those fish dinners while they get their wings stronger.

Field Farm is doing good. Osplets getting a little antsy. Wonder how small that nest is going to feel when they all start flapping and hovering?

Sandpoint: Looks good.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Things look great. Look at the wing span of that Only Bob.

Look at the big feet on the Arboretum chick’s feet.

Cowlitz PUD: Second could get some more fish. Both osplets are alive and the eagle has not been back. Holding our breath.

Clark PUD: Only Bob is doing very well despite the heat.

Port of Ridgefield. Cam is often down but ‘PB’ caught this. Chick and Mum look good.

An osprey rescue! Thanks ‘SD’ for posting this.

The Imperial Eaglets were ringed!

At the Estonian Golden Eagle nest 2, Kristel has not had any food since Mm delivered a wood pigeon on 11 July. Dad has not been seen since 7 July.

The oldest eaglet at the Boundary Bay nest in British Columbia is still alive!

Two beautiful osplets getting those gorgeous juvenile feathers in Latvia.

‘H’ reports:

7/13 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The early morning was interesting.  Soo was off the nest and Olsen had been fishing.  At 0501 he dropped off a tiny fish, Little took it but was beaked, then Middle took the fish. At 0503 Olsen was back with another ‘tiny’, and Big grabbed it.  (I don’t think any of the kids have experience in self feeding).  Middle abandoned its fish, and took Big’s fish.  Soo landed in the nest with a slightly larger fish at 0507.  She quickly took charge of the rather comical scene.  Soo picked up fish #1 and her own fish #3.  Big had fish #2 at that point but dropped it.  Soo started to feed Big and Middle.  Meanwhile, Little picked up fish #2, took it over to the far northeast rails, and appeared to lose it overboard.  Then Olsen returned at 0515 with another tiny fish.  Soo finished feeding from fish #1 and #3, and Little had managed to eat a few bites, before s/he was beaked by Middle.  Then Soo fed Big and Middle from fish #4.

Olsen brought a small fish at 1252.  Big beaked both Middle and Little, and Big was the only chick to eat during the 5-minute meal.  There were no other fish brought to the nest that I saw.  I triple checked in rewind, so I hope I didn’t miss a meal.  The high temperature was 100F/38C at 1700.  Olsen came to the nest several times in the late afternoon and evening, and just stayed and hung out with the family for a while each time.  I don’t know if they were concerned about nearby activities.  There were a lot of cars parked below the nest.

When a particular osplet is in danger of not having enough to eat to survive, I try to quantify how much they are eating, by either counting bites or estimating feeding durations.  It is particularly difficult at the Osoyoos nest to quantify how much Little is eating.  Quite often, the view of Little eating is blocked.  Also, the live stream has been offline a couple of early mornings when Olsen usually makes many of his fish deliveries.  That being said… My impression over the past three days is that Little is definitely not getting enough to eat.  I’m not even sure that Middle is getting enough to eat, but Middle does usually fare better than Little.  Weather forecast for Sunday: High temperature 99F/37C, sunny with winds gusting to 17 mph.

7/13 Patuxent osprey nest:  At 63 days of age Little still has not fledged, but has been getting more lift during his wingercising.  Little cannot compete with the two fledglings for food.  They are bigger, stronger and more aggressive.  There were 6 fish brought to the nest.  Big managed to acquire one of them.  But, Middle got all the rest, and even flew off the nest with a small fish!  There were no feedings from Mom.  Little did not eat today, but fortunately he ate well the day before.  Need more fish, Dad!

7/13 Fenwick Island (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  Today was a better day.  The previous two days, Johnny’s fish deliveries had dropped to just two per day instead of his normal 5-6 per day.  Today, Johnny brought 4 fish to the nest for June and 29-day-old ‘Fen’.

7/13 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  There were only two fish brought to the nest.  They had some morning rain showers and another shower in the afternoon.  David delivered the first fish at 1120.  Over 8.5 hours later Betty brought a large whole fish.  Both kids ate their fill, slept off their food comas, and then they ate some more!  The osplets are 18 and 19 days old.

7/13 Audubon Boathouse:  Everything is splendid for this family.  29-day-old Harbor, and 25-day-old Gray seem to be getting along well.

Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Saturday 13th July 2024

Another day with little action, nothing on Nest One, and just a few early morning visits on Nest Two from Louis and Dorcha, neither seen on the nest after approximately 09.30. However, Louis spent some time sky-dancing before landing on the nest and making a couple of mating attempts with Dorcha along with coy-mantling. Of course, this is not to try for a second brood, it’s much too late in the season for that, but the mating attempts and the coy-mantling all reaffirm their pair-bond and is a healthy sign of the strength of their relationship, their fourth year together. In other news, Chaddie14 provides this update on the Bunarkaig nest: Lewis, our local raptor man, was up in the Bunarkaig nest today and found one dead chick and one healthy, possibly male, chick which he ringed. All just as was expected, so all good so far for the one chick. So success for the probable resident pair Affric 152 and Prince this year following the failure of that nest last year – we wish the surviving chick and his parents all the best. The weather was settled, and tonight’s forecast for the Inver Mallie area which covers the nests is light clouds and light winds, and sunshine tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.34.51 (03.31.49); Nest Two 23.22.11 (03.41.31)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/f4cyHgyr1-c  N2 Louis is heard skydancing before landing 03.56.53

https://youtu.be/39BScubJvE0  N2 Louis affirms his bond with Dorcha with a mating attempt 04.00.17

https://youtu.be/kAKf8Ur1RrI  N2 Another mating attempt by Louis 09.06.21

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

We need our insects. We need pollinators. We need butterflies. Is it the same where you live as it is in the UK?

Where-are-all-the-butterflies-this-summer-Their-absence-is-telling-us-something-important-Tony-JuDownload

There is sad news coming in this morning. The second hatch at Dorsett Hobby has died. Those who monitor falcon nests question the shape of the human made nest this year as it appears it was difficult for the Mum to feed or she was an inexperienced female. So sad. I wonder if there could have been an intervention early to save the chick that was obviously struggling.

‘J’ has put together the Memorial to Smallie for us. Please read through. Smallie was taken to a taxidermist and stuffed.

https://hetgroenehuisamersfoort.nl/slechtvalk/smallie

VIDEO’S
Ode aan Smallie 1             https://youtu.be/H4sF74mRJeg       met dank aan Jan Noorman
Ode aan Smallie 2            https://youtu.be/uvDYBUMwOlA       met dank aan Henk Hazenhoek

deepl translation:

Summary of Seven Weeks Smallie =============================================

Hatched from the fifth egg, five days younger than his sisters, fifty days old.

Week 1

Smallie hatched on April 28, 2024, five days after the first three hatchlings. Since there are five eggs this year, it is most likely that the fourth egg did not hatch, and Smallie thus hatched from the fifth laid egg.

As an offspring, he is then much smaller than the three other hatchlings that are already five days older. This has a big disadvantage at feeding time, because Moe naturally fills the biggest mouths first. Only when there is something left will little Smallie get some bites. Miraculously, he manages to survive the first week anyway – the most crucial period. He gets just enough food not to die, but too little to grow normally.

Week 2 

The first foreigners report to the chat at the webcams. Smallie immediately attracts attention because of his small size in relation to the three other hatchlings. Consequently, many think he is not going to make it, counting the number of bites he has received each day. But he turns out to be a smart and energetic little rascal who actively tries his best to get food – although it is not nearly enough to grow properly. In his attempts to get enough food he often stands close to Moe to (while she tears the prey to pieces) secretly try to pick some of the prey in her claws. But then one day when Moe shifts the prey (a pigeon) a little, Smallie ends up underneath. It remains unclear for some time whether Moe is not also tearing Smallie apart with the pigeon. Only after half an hour does he fortunately manage to get out of it in time and the viewers can breathe normally again.

Week 3 

When the three oldest youngsters are ringed and turn out to be three sisters, Smallie is also measured. According to the chart, he would be 10 days old but in reality he is already 17 days – so he is 40% behind in growth development. He is too small to get a ring, and even his sex cannot be determined (due to his small size, it is only later assumed to be a male). He looks skinny and thin, but is otherwise healthy, so he is put back in the closet with the sisters to be given a chance. 

Fortunately, the following days show that Moe now pays special attention to Smallie – she sometimes comes to feed him separately and at night she sits with him to keep him warm.

Week 4

The clever Smallie discovers a way to be the first to get food when Moe feeds from the grid : he crawls into the space between the grid and the nest box in the wide stone balustrade. He then sits in front and gets fed first. But unfortunately he does not manage to clamber back into the nest box after that. Suddenly he has mysteriously disappeared and everyone is extremely worried where he is and that he will not survive the night alone. It is only the next morning when he is checked that he is found safe and sound under the nest box and immediately put back in the box. The joy of his return lasted only a short time, because a few hours later he disappears in the same way.  Fortunately, he returns by himself and now manages to clamber back into the hive. 

He also provides some hilarious moments when he tries, for example, to pull food out of the mouth of a sister or Moe. When they raise their heads he holds on and is lifted up by his light weight. 

Week 5 

Moe no longer feeds individually, but on the roost gives the prey to the first one who wants it. The latter then takes it into the nest box and secretly (against the wall, with wings wide) feeds on it. The other two sisters often don’t notice this at first, but clever Smallie does. Because he is small, he will crawl under a wing and just join in. 

Sometimes he is the first and only one to see that a prey is brought to the roost and then sees a chance to grab it. Hilarious is that he then tries to drag it into the nest box on his own – sometimes a pigeon almost as big as himself.

It is striking that the falcons always treat each other lovingly. The “fights” are purely about the food, not with each other. They prefer to sleep next to, on top of and against each other. When the other sisters are elsewhere, one sister often keeps Smallie company and she sleeps with him. Their greetings are very gentle and loving, with paws and beaks touching each other briefly. 

Week 6

In the course of this week all three sisters fly out successfully, and Smallie ventures more and more on the grate, the walkway and to the shock of the viewers even already on the narrow edge : at 50m height and at an angle. 

At the end of the week Smallie stumbles out of the railing at the grating and lands 50m down the street. Fortunately, an expert happened to be nearby, checking him : he had no broken legs or wings and was therefore brought back up immediately. It is a miracle that he survived that fall, because the small wings will have had little stopping power. It takes a day for him to get over the fright and show himself again.

Week 7

The sisters have been at the high offices near the station learning to hunt often this week, and few are seen on the tower. Only his favorite sister visits occasionally. So Smallie is alone a lot but apparently in no hurry to follow them. He often sits out of view of the cameras on the walkway. He has less and less down and is getting a beautiful plumage – though he seems on the small side even for a male. 

At the end of the week he appears to be off the tower, because a little falcon is seen in the evening near St. George’s Church – sitting on a bicycle parked there. Someone took a picture of it and it does indeed turn out to be Smallie. But after the photo was taken, he disappeared again. A search the next day in the city center turns up nothing.  Only in the evening is he discovered again, halfway up the tower. He manages to get to the nest box while fluttering up and is even visible again on the webcams. As a finale and last image of him on the webcams, he flies away from the roost. Against all odds, he has succeeded in achieving his first life goal : he too can leave the nest – he can fly.

Ode to Smallie

(page under construction)

This page is intended as an ode to the youngest and smallest peregrine falcon that managed to glue a huge number of viewers to the webcams daily for seven weeks in 2024 with his adventures. He stood out because of his small size, his constant fighting and his clever methods to get enough food, but also because of his mysterious disappearances, his loving scenes with his sisters, his fall from 50m high, and finally his last image on the webcams : flying away from the grid as an almost adult falcon.   

He became “world famous”, because 2024 was the year that for the first time the webcams also managed to attract many viewers from abroad, with on the chats comments not only from Europe, but also from Canada, USA, Australia, India and even many from Japan, China, Korea and Russia with comments in their own language and script.  The Japanese call him “Chibi-chan,” the Chinese “Xiaobao,” but most others have chosen “Smallie” (little one).

Part of the reason foreigners suddenly visited the webcams was a report on the international website “Bird Parenting.”  If then only the usual four hatchlings would have been seen, most viewers would not return after a few visits. But the presence of the very small hatchling drew attention : how long would it stay alive ?  

Smallie became for them the little brave hero of the daily story. Viewers sometimes forgot that it was not an expensive Disney movie, written by clever film writers, but simply conceived and performed on the spot by a family of peregrine falcons, with themselves as unpaid actors. Pure nature.

Yet the story contained many elements that appealed to people emotionally : possible death (which played a major role from the beginning), admiration (that despite his poor prospects, he continued to fight fiercely for his existence), frustration and pity (when Smallie had had another day of little food), great joy (when Moe stuffed him with a pigeon and he fell asleep while eating), excitement and uncertainty (when he was lost for hours), humor and amusement (when he once again outwitted a sister), sadness (when he was not to be seen for a long time), action (when he tries to conquer food in a clever but fierce way), fear (when he flutters on the narrow sloping edge), friendship (when his favorite sister comes to keep him company), tenderness (when he cuddles with his sisters), pride (when he finally comes to show that he can fly).

Local and national newspapers wrote extensively about the famous little falcon who had so many compassionate followers worldwide.

Unfortunately, just when he was ready to really fly out (he had already been flitting around town for a day), a fall into the canal near the OLV Tower proved fatal to him. Monday morning, June 17, he was fished out of the water there by bystanders, after which he was brought back to the second circulation with the help of the animal ambulance. Probably already shortly after this placement, he died there, as he was found dead Wednesday morning during a check on the spot where he had been put back on Monday.

Because he lay dead on the tower for a few days, the parents saw him and realized he was dead : he no longer responded to their presence, as hatchlings always do. If he had died somewhere else (at the bird sanctuary, for example, or on the way there) they would not have seen it, and would have spent days in town looking for him. 

Smallie’s death was announced on the Amersfoort peregrine falcons’ own website at HetGroeneHuis, and on the chats at the webcams. Viewers could not believe it at first, but then loving and emotional messages poured in from all sides on the chats to comfort each other. He appears to have formed a tremendous emotional bond with many viewers during those seven weeks.

They also lamented the sight of the now empty nest box and the loss of seeing Smallie – although that would have been the case anyway if he had not fallen into the moat after his farewell, but had joined his sisters at the station : once flown away, the hatchlings rarely appear on the webcams. 

The local and even some national media were shocked and paid attention to his death. He turned out to be a “world-famous little falcon” for good reason.

To give him a dignified end (and not just to be dumped or buried somewhere), it was decided to have Smallie stuffed and then added to the collection of stuffed animals of Bezoekerscentrum “HetGroeneHuis” in Park Schothorst in Amersfoort, so he will be permanently visible to the public. “

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB, SP‘, FOBBV Cam, SK Hideaways, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Debbie Campbell, Menhaden Defenders, Montana Osprey Project, PSEG, Llyn Clywedog, Goitzsche-Wildnis, BoPH, McEuan Park, Charlo Montana, Blackbush, Great Bay, Field Farm, MN LA, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Pam Breci, CBS News NY, Lady Hawk, Eagle Club of Estonia, HWF-BBC, LDF, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Audubon Boathouse, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Guardian, Amersfoort Falcons.

Friday in Bird World

12 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Today, I got a notice that another new tree is going in front of my property. What joy! I hope they grow fast. With all the new baby crows and squirrels, we need all the big trees fast.

I want to be overjoyed by this notice – and believe me, I am. But a quick walk down the street shows me that four more of the 1902 trees are set to be cut down due to disease. Each has a bright orange circle. I know they must go, but Dyson and her family need trees. There will be some left. Thank goodness.

Does anyone have any good plans for squirrel houses that work? So far, they have balked at the beautiful house I had sent from Sweden!!!!!!! Little Red finally took to the crates in the wood pile but the Greys need a tree. Maybe a fake tree??

The baby Crows have been visiting. I could not grab my camera quick enough to take a photo of them dancing on the glass roof of the conservatory. One was in the birdbath later while three tried to balance themselves on the hydro line coming into the house. The other two were walking around the fence. There are six of them with soft downy heads calling their parents to come and feed them. They are as big as Mr Crow!!!!!!!! The only way that you can tell the difference is that they are thinner and their heads are soft down, not feathery.

Look at the baby Crow’s soft downy head. The water feels good on their hot feet. These are just the cutest crows…

I think it is time for more cheesy dogs!

Let’s start with some good news. Nox. Thanks, ‘B’ for sending me the latest update on Annie and Archie’s fourth hatch. Look at those eyes and tell me this isn’t the cutest little falcon you have ever seen!

At San Jose, Alma has been hunting.

There are nests that I check on but don’t often report on especially when it is osprey season. Here are a couple that I know many of you are interested in!

If you have been wondering about the Centreport Eaglets, they did fledge and they are soaring and locking talons together! Amazing footage by Rob Schwartz.

LGL comes in to feed the Royal Cam chick!

Two little Hobbys. Dad has been hunting and had four bird meals for Mum to feed the little ones before mid-day.

Jackie and Shadow have been visiting the nest. Their chortling is music to my ears. No matter what is thrown at them, they always manage to over come it and bring us smiles.

Seren and Dylan were amongst the lucky nests this year. Indeed, Wales did good in the scheme of things. The weather around Kielder and Border was horrific – we saw it, too, at Loch Arkaig. These three are just beautiful osplets. Don’t you just love the look of the kid staring at the camera?!

Aran and Elen started out with three beautiful chicks and it looks like they will fledge three from Glaslyn in Wales.

Idris and Telyn started out with three and they will fledge three as well at the Dyfi nest in Wales!

Llyn Brenig in Wales started out with three eggs. One DNH and now there are two nice big Bobs ready to fledge.

Alyth SSEN started out with three chicks. One died from a nest accident and the other from weather induced causes. This only surviving Bob looks great. Alyth is in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Sadly, Laddie was possibly shot and Blue NC0 waited for her mate. The nest failed this year at Loch of the Lowes. Only time will tell who the nest belongs to next year. Blue NC0 has been with the dark-coloured osprey but there has also been another around. It was very sad as Laddie LM 12 was much loved. Much loved. The dark one has a fish for Blue NC0. Where is she?

Time to bid Tuffy goodbye! Remember his head pattern for years to come.

H wrote: “This was Tuffy’s last day on camera, before the camera was shut down for the season. Tuffy treated viewers to some extended appearances today. We witnessed Tuffy dive into the water to try to catch a fish (3:00). He didn’t appear to come away with a fish on that attempt. But, about an hour later, Tuffy flew to the nest carrying a tilapia (4:35). He was wet, and shaking off water. Tuffy took a long time to eat that tilapia, and we enjoyed watching him eat it. As we watched, memories surfaced of when Tuffy was so little, and he barely had enough to eat due to the dominance of his older sister, Ruffie. “We have been blessed to witness your life thus far, Tuffy… through all your struggles and your victories. You are a survivor. We wish you a long and productive life. We will never forget you.”

At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Mum is trying to keep her chick cool. It will go up to 90 and then 92 F on Saturday before the heat breaks a bit in Minneapolis.

Dad continues to bring in the fish and Mum continues to feed. The chick looks good.

At 0555, Finnegan arrived on the nest with a very large headless fish. He was still wet. I hope that Iris got a lot of that fish to eat. It is going to be hot today in Missoula. The temperature is 97 F. Remember that is not the heat index which will be higher.

‘PB’ alerted me to a late fish delivery by Finn for Iris and the kids. – a headless whooper!

‘A’ loves Finn – welcome back! We are so glad you are feeling better. “Finn is doing his usual superb job. There was a whole fish (small by his standards but a good medium at any other nest) delivered late in the afternoon, and Iris fed it all to the osplets within 10 minutes or so, creating respectable crops for both osplets (of course, Baby Bob’s was the largest, as always bigger than his head – seriously) but that wasn’t enough for Iris, who immediately began nagging Finn for more fish, although he was still preening and drying himself on the perch from his previous fishing expedition. 

But off he went, dutifully obeying Iris’s instructions, and at he returned with one of his patented baby sharks (Pacific whitefish, I understand), minus head (a whole one was not only too large to get to the nest easily but also nearly brained an osplet last week, so Finn has learnt from that episode) around 20:34. 

It is wonderful to see that Little’s left eye appears to have healed almost totally. I do hope he is not left with any residual corneal damage. I know I’ve been banging on about it but we both know if Baby Bob cannot triangulate, he cannot fish, and if he cannot fish, he cannot survive. So obviously, it has been my number one concern for some time now. There were four or five days there when I was truly distraught with worry for my little man. 

These two are males. They must be. Not a single bonk or beaking. Nothing to suggest any aggression, at meal times or otherwise. They simply have to be brothers. Iris is looking good – she is eating better I think. And Finn is my favourite osprey dad of 2024. I know he has some competition out there, with some of the successful four-osplet clutches this season, but we all know that watching Iris being loved and cared for by a worthy mate who is helping her raise two exquisite osplets is the highlight of the season for many of us. She is blissfully happy and SUCH a good mum. (What a mumbrella she makes, shading them from the heat, sheltering them from the rain and cold – just totally devoted to her babies.) 

I ADORE this family. Could you tell? “

I agree and so does everyone else. Finn is amazing. Here is his big whole fish for the family first thing Friday morning!

It is so hot at Charlo Montana. Lola is doing an amazing job. Charlie is getting fish in – every nest in the heat dome area could use much more fish. The adults as well as the osplets are all suffering. Today is Friday. Let us hope this heat dissipates soon.

I thought we might lose Middle at McEuan Park on Thursday but Mum went out and got a big fish and everyone ate. What a relief. Unless someone tells me otherwise, it appears that the male is now MIA.

The youngest of the two siblings at McEuan Park crop dropped quickly. It is difficult to know how much fish it got. Probably not nearly what it should have as Big is extremely aggessive and hungry. Hoping Mum goes out again and catches a huge one so that all can get their fill before bed time. No rewind, no time stamp, cam freezes. Hard to tell what is really happening.

Another fish came to the nest and the camera froze. I have no idea if number 2 got any fish or not. How frustrating is this.

The fledglings, both Patches and Rainer, do return to the nest at Patchogue. Fingers crossed for both of them. This is Patches with a fish from Dad.

Steelscape had a good delivery! Keep it up, Dad.

Looking good at Black Bush:

Continued concern for Little at Cowlitz PUD:

Geemeff sends us her summary for the day’s activities at Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 11th July 2024

The big news of the day is the safe arrival of our chicks at their new home in Valencia and they are now sporting their new yellow Darvic rings. The submissive chick is 1JR and the dominant one is 1JW, and they looked cosy together in their nest in the photo posted by Woodland Trust Scotland on their social media channels, link in the bonus section. Their parents spent time together today on the nest before an unseen intruder caused them to flee, Louis did a little nest-scraping and a fair bit of coy-mantling but still didn’t bring any fish for Dorcha, although we don’t know what fish exchanges might be taking place off-nest. Garry LV0 visited Nest One bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of housekeeping, but there was no sign of the Dark Female. it would be good to see him with a mate, perhaps they are connecting off-nest. The weather was settled today, the sun broke through a few times, and the forecast for tonight is partly cloudy with light winds.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.32.11 (03.36.07); Nest Two 23.26.04 (03.40.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/CscB0UbvO3c N2 News update – chicks safe in Spain and have been ringed 09.00

https://youtu.be/hT20jh6SGBU N2 Dorcha & Louis together on the nest but no fish 09.56.50

https://youtu.be/RQNxDQEbg5s N1 Garry LV0 visits but no sign of the Dark Female 13.08.50

https://youtu.be/VS4q1tY2vks  N2  Dorcha & Louis spend time together until scared off by an intruder 18.08.40

Bonus photo – our chicks in their new Spanish nest:

Bonus song – The Osprey Song – performed by the Juniors at Hurst Lodge School:

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

‘H’ reports for the day:

7/11 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The live stream was offline until just before noon.  Olsen has a habit of fishing early in the day, so hopefully he had delivered a few fish for the family earlier.  The first fish we saw delivered was at 1736.  I never got a good look at the fish, but Soo fed the osplets for 7 minutes.  Little quickly found a spot on the other side of Mom and seemed to be eating.  At 1739 Little was beaked by Big, but being on the rim, Little had nowhere to go.  I could not tell at that point if Little was getting bites of fish, or was in submission.  Big beaked Little again at 1740, then Middle beaked Big, and Big beaked Middle!  A short time after the meal ended, we saw that Little had a small crop.  The next (and last) fish of the day arrived at 2004, and was a large partial fish.  Nice going, Olsen!  Once again, Little set up on the other side of Mom from Big and Middle.  We could not see how much Little was eating, but everyone ate, and there was no aggression.  It was a 16-minute feeding.  After the meal, Little had a small crop, and also had a good PS at 2119.  The high temperature on 7/12 is predicted to be 96F/36C, and it will be sunny, with winds gusting to 13 mph.

7/11 Colonial Beach:  David brought fish to the nest for Betty and the kids six times, and a couple of those were huge!  The osplets are 16 and 17-days-old.  There is some occasional beaking between meals, but the meals are peaceful.  Yay!

7/11 Fenwick Island:  I only saw two fish brought to the nest today for June and young ‘Fen’.  Johnny usually averages 5-6 fish per day.  The temp was in the low 80’s, and the wind was gusting to 17 mph.  Fishing should not have been very difficult, but I’m not an osprey, so what do I know, lol. 

7/11 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  It was a rather uneventful day for this osprey family…other than the youngest osplet, Gray, falling over and being stuck on his/her back for several long minutes!  Finally, Dory arrived at the nest and pulled on some nesting, and then Gray was able to right itself.  What a good Mom.  Whew!

7/11 Kent Island (Chesapeake):  Dear Audrey is still incubating her two non-viable eggs.  

7/11 Captiva osprey nest.  The chat has been shut off for the season, but the livestream will continue for a while.  Jack had an injury to his leg, and we have not seen him for a while.  Edie may have an issue with her health, and she stopped bringing fish regularly to Darling and Ding.  Ding has dispersed. She had learned to catch her own fish, and has likely moved to find a better fishing spot.  Darling died at CROW on 7/5.  I have a huge hole in my heart.  And it hurts.

When you see all those gulls rushing for the chips at the beach? Well, they would rather have fish new study finds.

Herring-gull-chicks-would-rather-have-fish-than-your-chips-finds-study-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

Ventana Wildlife continues to vaccinate the California Condors for HPAI.

‘PB’ reports that Steelscape has had a fish this morning. Cowlitz PUD had no late night fish and nothing has arrived Friday morning so far. Send them good wishes.

Connie Dennis reports that the osprey nests in Nova Scotia are doing very well compared to others in the US and the UK. She is the founder of a group working to get Nova Scotia Power to put up poles, and she organises the monitoring of the province’s nests with information on their FB page, Ospreys of Nova Scotia. She has written a book for children on Ospreys with photographs by her husband, Don, that I will review in the coming days.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, messages, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, PB’, California Raptor Centre, SK Hideaways, Rob Schwartz, Lady Hawk, Dorsett Hobbys, Llyn Clywedog, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Alyth, LOTL, Heidi McGrue, MN LA, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, PSEG, Pam Breci, Cowlitz PUD, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Charlo Montana, The Guardian, Ventana Wildlife Society, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Window to Wildlife, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse, and Connie Dennis Ospreys of Nova Scotia.

Wednesday in Bird World

10 July 2024

Good Morning,

Morning Update from Geemeff regarding Louis and Dorcha’s chicks:

“The two Arkaig osprey chicks have arrived in Spain as part of a translocation organised by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. They were on board a flight which departed London Heathrow this morning, after testing negative for various infections and passing a vet inspection. The two males weighed 1.1kg each when handed over to the translocation team last Monday. They have been eating well since and are now both 1.5kg.”

Those poor things were so hungry. Thankfully they will survive and hopefully thrive. Thanks, Geemeff.

We also have a morning fledge at Outerbanks (Carova Beach). Chick 1 took its first flight and was seen on top of a roof later. Thanks, Heidi.

First, I know that we are missing ‘A’s’ wonderful narratives. She is ‘under the weather’. Please send her good wishes for a speedy recovery!

My goodness. It is almost the middle of July! The summer – typically for Canada, is half over. Today was hot. 29 C. I have a good friend who lives in British Columbia in the area of the Osoyoos nest. They will hit 36 C – temperature, but not the actual heat index, as our friend, Reets, pointed out – for an entire week. Several years ago, the little Cooper’s Hawks in that area jumped off the nests to their death to avoid being cooked on the top of the nest. Empathetic People and rehabbers then began to climb the nests to rescue them and take them into care. Many of us cried. So many were lost, but so many were saved. I wish beyond any hope that I might imagine a time when everyone would do that for the nests that are in trouble, even if it is feeding fish to get them through a storm or rough patch. I often think of Daisy and Duke at Barnegat Light and wonder if they might ahve considered having chicks this year if that level of kindness had been show to them last year during the June Nor’easter.

My blog might be short today. I took the afternoon off and spent it sitting on a bench in the shade of a small park near my home. After all the deaths and all the big ships out catching all the fish our ospreys need to live on, I just needed some quiet. It was a blessing. There was a little red squirrel scurrying about and an interesting woman who stopped to chat with me for a few minutes.

At home, Mr Crow continues to bring the babies, all six of them, for food. He will walk around the top of the fence railing to check and see if the dishes are full. Then he will caw to all the others. Then there is a ‘murder’ of Crows at the buffet. We have new neighbours. Our old ones loved the birds along with their little girl. I am hopeful that the new couple will be just as delighted with all the animals scurrying around the birds flying in and out.

They stand with their beaks open wanting Mum and Dad to feed them. I can hear the conversation now, ‘See that lady inside that room, she feeds you now!’ I don’t mind. I love our little paradise in the middle of a city.

The infant Cowbird bring raised by the sparrows has been at the bird bath much of today.

There is the difference in size between the baby Cowbird and the adult sparrows.

Dyson’s mate was out eating peanuts today and not too happy to have me working on the little path in the garden. They certainly let it be known that it is their territory!

It is a work in progress. Much more wedding has to be done behind the perennial flowers and I have had to order more top soil to be delivered. I had hoped to have it all finished by the end of the weekend but that top soil delivery has held me back.

News from Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey for Connick, Clive and Connie’s eaglet of 2023 who fell from the nest due to a feather issue. Connick has also donated blood to a Red-tail Hawk at the Center. Way to go Connick!

We are still watching those nests in the Pacific Northwest. I am just going to keep listing them until we get a break in the weather.

Cowlitz: ‘PB’ reports that Cowlitz has had fish and that little got some good bites. She follows up, “Cowlitz dad brought fish around 5pm nest time! Little impressed me by getting up front by mom, getting attacked by #1 but this time he didn’t stay down.He kept getting back up to grab more bites!”

‘PB’ continues to report: “Cowlitz dad fish 7:08pm…little was just attacked hard so not sure if he will get any. Little still down and #1 attacked it again when down after the feeding. Poor little is ok up and near mom. If only he would have moved on right of mom he would have safe and had food. 2 older ones have full crops.”

Steelscape: ‘PB’ also reports that Dad is getting fish on the nest.

Sandpoint: Cam is back on line. According to the chat, plenty of fish have come on the nest and I saw three. Keo is doing well. Keke and River was so full that he got a good piece of fish. We have to remember that the adults have to eat in order to be healthy to provide for their chicks. I am hoping that Iris and Finnegan will begin to eat more.

Clark PUD: It is hot on top of that nest. Dad brought in at least 2 fish, perhaps more. The camera angle makes it impossible to tell. Mum and Only Bob look alright.

Port Ridgefield: 99 F. Cam is still down. People in the area have seen Dad fishing. We will be looking for a fledge and just might miss it.

McEuan Park: Still two chicks alive out of a four chick clutch. Will try and catch a fish delivery. No rewind so this is problematic. Chicks are hot. One on the far rim of the nest. Worrisome. Have not seen a fish delivery yet but it doesn’t mean there hasn’t been one. Mum off the nest. Maybe she went fishing?

Their weather forecast. It was 99 F today.

Charlo Montana: One fish early and another mid-afternoon. It is hot, hot and Like Iris, Lola, is trying to keep her three chicks shaded while she gets super hot protecting them.

Hellgate Canyon: It wasn’t a whopper but the first fish came in early at 0817. I am sure that Iris was thrilled.

Montana temperatures. Remember this is not a heat index and it is not the more hotter temperature on the nests.

By 0930, Iris is being a Mumbrella to keep the chicks cool. It is 88 F.

The little one still has a very slight issue with its left eye.

Finnegan is back with another fish at 1109.

Iris is an amazing Mumbrella.

Third fish at 1550. Impossible to tell the size.

Late evening and ‘PB’ writes: “Finn just brought huge fish and everyone is hungry! He is amazing! Hellgate babies crops are flat so needed this. Finn tried to steal fish and Iris said NO. Finn is stealing pieces dropped by his kids. Finn brought this huge fish in whole, he could have easily took it to the owl pole to ear first, but he took it to his family. He is hungry trying to self feed off fish.”

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Fish at 0611, 0947, 1252, 1555 nice headless large fish, rains arrived in late afternoon. 74 F with 5 mph winds.

Marder’s: Only Bob is looking good.

Snow Lane, Newfoundland: Beaumont has been delivering some exceptionally nice fish and Hope has been feeding the two chicks and as one long time observor noted, she is even being a Mumbrella this year. Hope has never, that I am aware of, shaded her chicks. I find this behaviour interesting along with the feedings. Is this the original Hope?

Blackbush: ‘PB’ reports that Little had a really great breakfast. Good news.

Pitkin County: Dad has been busy hauling in some large fish for the family!

Sunnie Day reports that the chicks on the Iowa-DNR are getting those all important primaries and just doing so well. Four gorgeous osplets strengthening their bodies for flight.

CJ7 and Blue 022 continue to shine. These two raised four beautiful really healthy osplets! Now for the goshawk to just keep its bloody distance. Blue 022 deliveried many nice fish today at the following times: 0743, 1156, 1239, 1519, 1824, 1947.

Geemeff’s report from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Tuesday 9th July 2024

There was much confusing action today, at times difficult to unpick. The day started at midnight as so much light was provided by noctilucent clouds that the nest cams didn’t switch over and remained on day mode. Dorcha arrived early on Nest Two, Louis was seen much later but only flew over her to land in the Scots Pine instead of joining her on the nest. Then Affric 152 paid two quick visits to Nest One after not being seen there since May. Later LizB checked the Bunarkaig nest, thought to be the home of Affric & Prince, and confirmed one adult had a blue Darvic and the other was unringed – which matches with Affric & Prince. Sadly only one small head was seen bobbing around, so it looks as if the second chick hasn’t survived, with luck raptor expert Lewis Pate will be able to give more information when he does his ringing rounds. Back at Nest Two, Louis joined Dorcha on the nest to deal with a persistent intruder Osprey, the dark female who had intruded on the 7th. There was much alarm chipping, mantling and flying about, until the intruder left the area, only to turn up on Nest One, fish-calling, and who responded? Garry LV0! First he brought her a fish, which was eagerly accepted, and then he tried a clumsy mating attempt, which was less eagerly received, before both of them flew off the nest together. An intriguing situation – will Garry be successful this time? Fingers crossed for him. Weather was reasonably settled with some rain, and a colourful sunset ended the day, more rain expected overnight and tomorrow. No further updates yet on our chicks who are warm, dry, well fed and well looked after by the translocation project team.

Night cam switches on (no night / day cam switchover last night): Nest One 23.27.16; Nest Two 23.27.59

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/H3_8HTR1TVA  Noctilucent clouds around Nest Two (Classic Ospreys: Pachelbel ) 01.30 – 02.45 (quicktime)

https://youtu.be/8iBSJlP9nDAN2 Louis flies over Dorcha but lands on the Scots Pine 08.00.00 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/eXXkd-62nmk  N1 Affric 152 pays two quick visits 09.07.24 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/VS2Xh41rUSw N2 Louis arrives to help Dorcha defend the nest against an intruder 14.34.07

https://youtu.be/_a3tynzyyS0  N2 Louis and Dorcha defend as an intruder Osprey flies directly overhead 14:53:49 

https://youtu.be/EUNTzJWJ-EU N1 Dark female intruder lands on N1 and Garry LV0 brings fish! 15.40.52

https://youtu.be/W9aTTJjklwU N2 Dorcha pays a final visit to the nest today 15.19.30

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Ah, look at the little Dorset Hobbys! The oldest horked the leg!!!!

And the breakfast feeding on the 9th for both of the little eyases.

So many deaths and traumatised animals, domestic pets included, over fireworks that I was dismayed to see a huge display over the Green Ledge Lighthouse on Long Island where there is a nest of three osplets.

Fledglings on the nest at VIMS.

The three at Collins Marsh appear, through this hazy camera, to be doing well. Some bright coloured fish coming on the nest!

Great Bay chicks are flying.

Richmond and Rosie’s babies can be seen flapping.

‘H’ reports:

7/9 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Late yesterday Olsen arrived at the nest holding something in his talons, but we couldn’t see what he had.  The family did not act like he had food.  But this morning, there it was right in the middle of the nest… a nice sized partial fish.  At 0442 Soo arrived at the nest and immediately picked up the fish and fed her youngsters.  Little found a spot on the other side of Soo from the siblings, and soon Big beaked Middle.  Little and Big were fed, and Middle stayed back.  Middle could have beaked Little to claim that spot at Soo’s beak, but for some reason s/he didn’t.  Little ate at least 67 bites of fish.  Middle only ate a few bites.  Also yesterday, Soo had made a couple of brief attempts to feed from a large partial fish that Olsen had delivered at 2015.  This morning at 0457 she picked up that fish (still lying on the rails) and once again started to feed.  But, after a minute or so, she stopped.  At 0706, Soo grasped that fish in her talons and flew off the nest with it to get rid of it.  Even though Olsen had eaten half of that fish, Soo had simply found it objectionable.  

Olsen’s first delivery today was at 0951.. a large partial fish.  Little moved away from the fish, Big beaked Middle, and eventually Big beaked Little.  Big was fed, and periodically Big turned to beak or intimidate her siblings just to make sure they understood her opinion on the matter.  Little and Middle bravely reached in and grabbed fish bites now and then, and were punished by Big for doing it.  By 1022 Middle was eating consistently, and at 1028 Big retired from the meal.  Up to that point, Little had eaten about 20 bites, and s/he now moved up to Mom for a good feeding.  Little ate until 1036, at which time s/he was beaked by Big, but the meal was over anyway.  That was a 45-minute feeding, and Little ate approximately 87 bites of fish.

At 1205 Olsen dropped off a medium sized whole fish.  There was no beaking!  The siblings all ate side by side, but our view was partially blocked, and it wasn’t possible to see how much Little ate.  The feeding lasted for 15 minutes.

My weather source indicated the Osoyoos temperature at 1450 was 104F/40C.  Despite the heat, Olsen delivered a small whole fish at 1441.  Again, our view of the feeding was mostly blocked, but it appeared as though the chicks were all lined up near Soo, and there was no apparent aggression.  The meal lasted for 7-minutes.

My goodness, Dear Olsen was working so hard in the extreme heat… he brought another fish at 1453.  It was a medium sized headless fish, so at least Olsen was eating to take care of himself.  This was a 14-minute meal, and there was some aggression.  Big intermittently beaked Little, but Little still managed to eat 36 bites of fish at this meal, and had a nice crop after the back-to-back meals.  I did not see any further fish deliveries today.  The predicted high temperature for 7/10 is 104F/40C, and it will be sunny with light winds.

7/9 Patuxent River Park:  Middle had fledged on 7/8, and today at 1115 Big fledged at 63 days of age.  Congratulations, Big!  She had been ready to fly for a few days, and had been seriously thinking about it all morning.  We had thought that she was going to take off a few times.  So, why did Big fly at 1115?  Well, let me think about that… It was because someone had approached the nest in a boat.  We could hear them, and Mom, Little and Big could also see them.  The human that was at the nest caused Big to take off at that moment!  You see… for a couple of days there had been a small smudge on the camera, and the Park staff thought they would just paddle on over and clean it for the viewers.  How nice of them.  They apparently had no clue as to the status of the pre-fledgling birds in the nest.  At 59 days of age, Little is behind his big sisters in his flight readiness, and he needs a few more days of feather growth and practice before he will be ready to fly.  It is very fortunate that Little did not jump from the nest when the human reached up and wiped off the camera lens!  Big has not returned to the nest as yet, but perhaps she’ll fly in for ‘breakfish’.

7/9 Colonial Beach osprey nest:  This area has been extremely warm, with temps in the mid 90’s.  It may be even hotter up on the nest.  The 14 and 15-day-old chicks are often seen ‘panting’ and in some slight distress.  Betty tries to shield them from the hot sun.  David is doing his best to provide some nice hydrating fish, and I saw six fish brought to the nest.  Chick #1 didn’t want to eat at the 1045 meal, and that was very worrisome.  But s/he seemed to recover, and ate well at the next three meals.

7/10 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  Things are going very well for Dory, Skiff, 26-day-old Harbor, and 22-day-old Gray. 

7/10 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  This nest is doing well.  For the most part, they have benefited from the Atlantic Ocean breezes, and have been spared some of the extreme heat lately.  Johnny and June are doing a nice job caring for their 26-day-old osplet.  For my own use, I have named the little kiddo ‘Fen’.  ‘Fen’ is a gender neutral name of English origin, and it means ‘marshland’.  

Be grateful for every chick that lives. It was a record loss in 2024 for Kielder. – 12 chicks died. ‘PB’ is reporting this morning that fish are coming into Cowlitz, but Little has not had anything to eat. Everyone is hot and hungry. Please send good wishes to these nests.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/twelve-osprey-chicks-die-worst-29499843

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Go out for a walk, sit in the sunshine for a couple of minutes (don’t get too hot), listen to the birds, and breathe. It has been a rough week. Celebrate the survivors! And be back with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Carova Beach, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Cowlitz PUD, Steelscape, Sandpoint Ospreys, Clark PUD, Port of Ridgefield, McEuan Park, The Weather Network, Charlo Montana, Montana Osprey Project, MN LA, Marder’s Ospreys, Newfoundland Power, Pam Breci, Pitkin County, Snnie Day, BoPH, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Dorsett Hobbys, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, VIMS, Collins Marsh, Great Bay, SF Golden Gate Audubon, The Chronicle, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Audubon Boat House, and Colonial Beach.

Golden Eaglet kills Sibling, Darling catches a fish, Blue survives another day…Sunday in Bird World

7 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, goodness. The operative word in parts of North America is ‘hot’. It is not as hot as it has been in Winnipeg – say last summer when we reached 38 degrees C and that might still happen – but, it is ‘hot’ and humid. The garden feels like you are inside a greenhouse. ‘The Boyfriend’, Calico’s tuxedo cat friend with whom she used to visit the garden last summer, slept in the shade of the lilacs while we were planting. We voted, and he got a big tin of sardines for his supper—poor thing. I wish he would stay in the garden. There is a fantastic place for him to sleep, lots of water, and lots of food. Much to my dismay, he can catch a sparrow if he wants. Oddly, he never bothers the birds at the feeders. It was Calico that did!!!!!!!!

Saturday morning, Baby Hope and Calico rested on the tiles in the conservatory, watching a host of baby birds trying to eat seed and Virginia Creepers. One of those babies was a Brown-headed Cowbird. You might recall I mentioned that the Cowbirds had visited the garden 4-6 weeks ago. Well, they snuck at least one of their eggs into the nest of either a sparrow or a European Starling. Those parents fed that baby Cowbird while its parents were off having a holiday! It is approximately three times the size of the baby sparrows. I do hope to get some good photographs of them.

Playing with the phone!

Everyone is vying for a chance to get some cheesy dogs on Saturday evening. There are 9 Blue Jays and 6 European Starlings, a handful of Grackles and 7 Crows at the buffet. The squirrels are over in the lilacs going after peanuts, and a little woodpecker was here eating suet. Oh, they are all so happy. Their songs are beautiful and loud.

We went for a walk at the nature centre and sat on a bench overlooking one of the ponds in the shade. It was idyllic. The slight breeze was cool.

After, I did something I shouldn’t have. We returned to the greenhouse to search for Allium, more tomatoes, and another Hosta. We came home with those, along with a tray of Persian Peppers (they are super sweet) and eggplants, celery, some colourful Milkweed and daisies, and some Jalapeno pepper plants. Almost the makings for salsa! Does anyone have a favourite homemade salsa recipe they would like to share? The greenhouse is closing tomorrow and they were practically giving the plants away today. As I drove away, I wondered what they do with the plants that are left. I hope they give them to people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy some fresh flowers or veggies.

We are always looking for real-life examples to demonstrate that human behaviour has a significant impact on our raptor families. Here is Terri from FORE, who tells us how she helped protect one Osprey family that has had problems in the past with fireworks. Please read! And thanks, ‘J’, for sending this to us! Thank you, Terri, for making sure this family was safe. You are our hero.

Friends of the Redding Eagles-FORE

Every year on the 4th of July, I am always deeply concerned for the Osprey family who just happen to nest directly across the river from the Redding Freedom Festival where the fireworks display occurs. Last year, 2 of the 3 chicks bailed out of the nest sometime on the 4th of July & were never seen again. 🙁 Somehow, 1 osprey chick did survive the “night of terror” and my friend followed that one for quite a while.

My dear friend and our old mutual friend, “Ospreyman Jim”, R.I.P. have spent many hours watching this beautiful raptor family. Ospreyman Jim named this pair “Ozzie & Harriet” and over the years “Eaglewoman” & “Ospreyman” had a lot of fun joking about who was the better raptor, eagles or ospreys? Sorry Jim, but you know where I stand on that one!🤣

But, honestly I love all raptors including ospreys & all wildlife & I have deep concerns going forward for all of them. I am committed to do whatever I can do to help them & give them a voice, as are all of my Wildlife Warrior friends out there!

So, on this 4th of July, my friend & I worked with our Raptor Rescue Angel Marily Woodhouse from Defiance Canyon Raptor Rescue to come up with a plan to do what we could do to help this beloved Osprey Family.

My friend & I met down at the Osprey Nest Area at 9:30pm, which was a complete Zoo on the 4th of July! This is a very popular spot to watch the Redding firework display since it is literally right across the river from it! We had scoped out a spot ahead of time where, using my binoculars, I could keep an eye on the nest & watch to see if any of the chicks bailed out during the fireworks. Then, we found a trail that we could easily go down to the area under the nest if any of the chicks bailed. We brought all of the supplies we needed to capture them, if we could reach them, and then we planned to meet Marily so she could take them to her Raptor Rehab Center up in Manton. (My only fear was they might end up in the river where I believe last year’s 2 chicks ended up & then we wouldn’t be able to reach them.) But, we figured we needed to take a shot because there was also a chance they could land down below the nest in the blackberry bushes or in a spot where we could reach them.

Thankfully, my friend advised me ahead of time to bring ear plugs & I honestly don’t think I would’ve made it without those! I have extremely sensitive hearing along with being a very sensitive person, so this was not somewhere I really wanted to be! It was truly one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! And I’ve had to do some really difficult things lately as you all know. 😢Those 20 minutes of horror felt like it went on forever! Watching those poor ospreys up there in the nest trying to comprehend what in the world was happening to them & to their peaceful, quiet habitat was absolutely torturous for me. 🙁 It sounded like they were being shot at with a shotgun repeatedly for 20 minutes! 

Mama Harriet stayed in the nest with the 3 chicks the whole time, but at one point when the fireworks first started, she began flapping her wings & hovered above the nest for a second before she landed back in there with her babes. I was so glad she did!

I thought for sure they were going to all bail out, because if I had been up in that nest I know I would have! There were so many extremely loud concussive blasts this year, and the last few minutes were filled with them! And it is so close to the Osprey Nest which is right across from the Redding Rodeo Grounds. 

We were so relieved when it finally ended at 10:20pm and none of the chicks had bailed out!!! I was so glad it was over & I know Harriet & her chicks were, too! 

My friend went down the next morning at 6:30am to check on the Osprey family & all 3 chicks were in the nest with their sweet Mama Harriet. He said Harriet stayed in there the whole time he was there & I’m sure it was going to take her a while before she felt safe enough to leave her babies alone after what had happened there the night before! Good ‘ole Ozzie brought in 2 fish for the kiddos while my friend was there, so that was a great sign & they need all of the hydration they can get right now with these ridiculously high temperatures we’ve had! It reached 117 degrees yesterday & expecting 119 degrees today! What wildlife can survive these temperatures?!? These 3 chicks are due to fledge around July 12th so they still have a ways to go so I’d ask that you please keep them in your thoughts this next week & hopefully they will make it!

I know part of why this is so upsetting to me is partly because I’m older & wiser now. I still remember when I was younger I really enjoyed watching firework displays with my family & friends & never even considered how it affected wildlife! But, it’s also because now I am so lucky to spend so much time observing our Redding Eagles & many other Eagles & wildlife on a daily basis. I’ve grown to love them & care for them so deeply as if they are members of my own family. So, watching this osprey family having to endure 20 minutes of pure terror felt so wrong to me? It almost made me physically sick to my stomach. 😢I’m sure It didn’t help that I’m still traumatized from what happened or our Luna & Sol 😢

Aren’t there any protections for these nesting Ospreys? I know they are protected by The Migratory Bird Act & several Federal Laws just like Bald Eagles are? According to those laws, you are not allowed to disturb an active raptor nest? So, I’m not sure how this has been allowed to happen each year? Because I can tell you, it was definitely disturbing to this Osprey Family!

So, I’m not trying to be controversial, but I simply would like to start a conversation about what can be done? Is there anything Fish & Wildlife can do? (I will be speaking to them about this & I will let you know what they say.) Would the City ever consider changing the location? I know this has been happening at this location for many years & I’m sure there are good reasons for it being there. Would the City consider using an alternative to fireworks? As many of you know, we live in a high fire danger area & this really seems to be a potential recipe for disaster? Anything we can do as a City to prevent future wildfires is a positive step in my book! I don’t see things getting better as far as our fire danger goes…

Several other Cities are beginning to use drones instead of fireworks, is that something the City of Redding & the McConnell Foundation who pays for the event would consider doing? Raptors don’t like drones, but as long as they are not flying immediately above the Osprey Nest I think they would tolerate drones since it would be happening at 10pm when it is dark & they are not active or flying around. So, that might be a good alternative to consider?

I honestly don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone! But, if we could put our heads together & try to find something that is still awesome & enjoyable for us humans to watch, but at the same time doesn’t disturb wildlife, that would be a win-win for all of us! Not to mention our own dogs & cats!

Here’s an article with more information about other Cities who are now using Drones instead of Fireworks & it looks really cool! I know change is hard for all of us humans, but maybe it is time for us to start thinking outside the box & try something new?!? We are the ones who are supposed to be taking care of the wildlife on our Planet so this would be a great start!

~Terri

If you are concerned about Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay nest, things looked alright on Saturday. Blue had an early breakfast. Mum was in the nest during the night. It was a nice chunk of ‘something’, and I bet it is enough to keep Blue alive for another day.

Look at Blue. He looks good – I can’t tell if that is a wing or a huge crop. That shade that David Hancock designed for the eagles is really important. It is nice that someone is thinking about their welfare in times of extreme heat.

The Estonian Golden Eagle nest has lost its second chick. The oldest killed it during the past day. This has been expected since the eldest was not successful when the second chick was quite small. The parents withhold food, waiting and watching. Once the second is killed they bring in food.

The Dorset Hobbys welcomed their first hatch on Saturday! No doubt there could be more by the time you read this post.

At Cal Falcons, Sol wants back in the nest.

Mary Cheadle posted a compilation video from 2018. It was the only other year the Loch Arkaig nest did not fledge chicks. The Pine Martens took the eggs of Louis and Aila.

It was windy in Newfoundland on Saturday. Even so, Beaumont continued to provide nice fish for the family. Hope is doing better than she has in previous years feeding their babies—I just wish she would focus more on making sure that they get lots. That little one is feisty and figured out how to get around the big sib for some nice bites at one meal.

Field Farm is still doing great. The four are magnificent. What a nest! It should put a smile on all our faces when others fail.

Clark PUD is in the centre of the heat in the Pacific NW. Dad brought in a small fish for Mum and Only Bob mid-morning on Saturday. Both ate! ‘PB’ reports a large fish coming in later for the family. Way to go Dad!

The Port of Ridgefield cam keeps going offline. Let me know if you happen to catch in on and see how Only Bob is doing. Thanks!

Need a Jackie and Shadow ‘stick fix’? I sure did!

It sounds like Eclipse is wanting some prey, Annie and Archie. No one is reponding..ah.

Little Bob at Blackbush has been brow beaten during a dreary day on the nest. Sometimes it was difficult to see if it got any fish, but it was clear in this feeding that once Big was satisfied, then Middle, Little could eat. Relief.

Things look alright for Only Bob at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest.

Geemeff sends us her Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Saturday 6th July 2024

Dorcha visited the nest several times today and spent long periods fish-calling, but to no avail. Louis didn’t appear on nest cam although the off-nest reports from LizB showed he was in the area for long periods of time but chose not to respond to Dorcha. He has brought four fish to the nest for her since the chicks were removed on 1st July, perhaps he’ll arrive on the nest with one tomorrow, or possibly give it to her on her favourite perch tree. No activity at Nest One today, no sign of Garry LV0 and the only other nest visitors were a pair of Hoodies pecking around Nest Two without finding any scraps. The weather was much more settled, none of the thunder showers materialised, and tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy with light winds, and some sunshine with a few showers tomorrow. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.39.42 (03.29.32); Nest Two 23.27.44 (03.33.56)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/3dWj2hvSzvE N2 Dorcha arrives early, fish-calling, but gets no response 06.03.41

https://youtu.be/jE9WeBXZE4g N2 Dorcha returns at midday but still no Louis 13.22.34

https://youtu.be/fKAlAJUJQ0Y N2 Dyson & Henry Hoodie arrive but there aren’t any scraps for them 20.31.31

https://youtu.be/yCVDmwY87Ic N2 Dorcha pays a late evening visit and calls to no avail 22.14.25

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

The trio at Mashpee NWR in Massachusetts are doing so very, very well. Fledges coming!

The heat that is hitting the Pacific Northwest nests will be moving through and ‘PB’ sent me information that shows that the Missoula nest of Iris and Finnegan will have 101 F temperatures in the coming week. This will hit other nests in Montana. Send them good wishes

.The third hatch at the Ferguson Museum Osprey nest has died of starvation. Sadly, we may see quite a few more before next weekend. This season began with great saddness at many of the eagle nests and continues with the ospreys and even the hawks as Angel and Tom did not, as far as we know, have a clutch this season.

Sandpoint had an early fish and a late one. Both small but Mum and Only Bob had some fish. Thanks, Dad.

The nest is in Sandpoint, Idaho. The weather for the coming week at Sandpoint:

This Osprey breeding season the weather is having a huge impact on nest success worldwide. The chart below is from the eggs that we are monitoring. Those numbers will change by the time that all have migrated but weather is significant.

Two beautiful fledglings at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on their nest wishing for a fish.

Marilyn feeding her two beautiful osplets at Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home. The third hatch died of siblicide/starvation on 31 May.

At the BUNDstiftung Goitzsche-Wildnis, the nest is really full of osplets with flapping wings! They were ringed on the 25th of June and fledgling is expected any moment!

At the Great Bay nest in Greenland, those osplets are big, appear to be healthy and well, they are just beautiful. Mum feeds, some want to feed themselves.

The Only Bob at Marder’s Osprey nest on Long Island is doing nicely. The other two eggs did not hatch. This sweet baby is 28 days old today.

‘H’ sends in her wonderful reports:

7/6 Osoyoos osprey nest:  It is quite warm in Osoyoos, and predicted to be even hotter in the next few days.  Osoyoos reached 35C/95F at 17:00.  There were only three fish brought to the nest today.  The first fish at 0841 was tiny and only provided for a 4-minute meal.  Little only ate a couple of bites.  The next fish at 1017 was large.  There was some initial beaking of Little and intimidation of Middle by Big.  Middle started to eat at 1023, and by 1028 Big moved away from Soo.  At 1030 Little had a 6-minute private feeding.  Soon, the siblings were all eating side-by-side.  Little also ate solo for another eight minutes at 1049.  The meal lasted for 50 minutes, until 1108.  The next fish was delivered 9.5 hours later.  The kids had spent all day trying to stay in the shade of ‘Mombrella’.  At 2041 Olsen delivered a medium sized headless fish.  Middle beaked Little, and Big beaked both Middle and Little, so Soo fed Big.  Middle was allowed to join in the meal at 2052.  Little grabbed a quick bite at 2056, so Big tried to beak Little, but missed and beaked Middle instead.  So, both Middle and Little were out of the feeding, and Middle beaked Little.  At 2059 Middle was back at the table and Big moved away.  Little arrived, but there was hardly any fish left.  Little ate a total of 8 bites of fish and the tail at this feeding.  The meal lasted 20 minutes.  None of this was unexpected.  We knew that Olsen was going to have a difficult time finding fish to catch in this heat.  And, we knew that the previously peaceful nest might become unsettled.  On 7/7, the temperature is predicted to reach 100 F/ 38C, sunny with light winds.

7/6 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: Things are going well for these ospreys that live on top of a boat house.  Harbor is 22 days old, and Gray is 18 days.  Despite being four days apart in age, the siblings seem to be getting along well.  

7/6 Forsythe osprey nest:  46-day-old Larry is doing well.  Despite the heat, Oscar and Opal have been able to provide fish for their only remaining osplet out of four.  Larry was achieving some lift while wingersizing today.  All hopes are for Larry to successfully fledge, in order to salvage some joy for this nest that has been incredibly sad this season.

7/6 Captiva osprey nest:  Ding did not eat on 7/5, and had made several unsuccessful attempts to catch a fish by diving from the nest platform.  This morning, Ding started out her day by resuming her fishing attempts.  At 10:26, we saw her dive from the right perch into the water below.  She quickly exited the water, circled around and landed back on the nest with a fish!  Ding had caught a needlefish.  Congratulations, Ding!  How wonderful it was that we got to see Ding catch her first fish.  We savored every bite of that needlefish right along with Ding.  After her meal, Ding resumed her fishing, making multiple attempts.  Later in the afternoon, Edie delivered a meaty partial tilapia for Ding.  Even though her catch-to-attempts ratio will be very low at first, we are all so relieved to know that Ding may be able to provide for herself, so that she doesn’t have to rely on her parents.  We have been told not to expect a report on Darling from CROW until Monday at the earliest.

7/6 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  Louise, Harvie, and their 21, 23, and 25-day-old youngsters continue to do well.  Harvie is a great provider, and there has been no significant aggression among the siblings.

‘A’ reports:

The weather in southeastern Australia is due to start warming up but only to be replaced by a lot of rain. Poor Lady and Dad are incubating in this weather, and obviously, the need to keep the eggs dry is paramount. It is now 9pm and here is today’s ranger report from WBSE:

July 7: Lady incubated all night, and was then relieved by Dad shortly after 7am. All day, she was reluctant to get off the eggs when he returned to the nest, whereas he backs straight off. Both have brought in green leaves several times, though no food. Late in the afternoon, Lady was whining for food when Dad turned up, but no delivery. She spent longer today on the eggs than he did – over 7 hours. As usual, the eggs were uncovered only very briefly. At dark, Dad settled early, as did Lady – though she was hungry. The picture shows Lady, reluctant to move off the eggs.

At Orange, it is also 9pm, Xavier is currently perched on the ledge of the scrape (Diamond is perched on the microwave), which is unusual – They are each using the other’s normal sleeping place tonight for some reason. Dear Xavier. Such an adorable little falcon. He has been mating with Diamond, bringing her food gifts and generally bonding. These two still have a way to go until egg-laying time (as I mentioned, she laid her first egg on 26 August both last year and also the year before). 

Finally, at Taiaroa Head, the chicks are becoming friends again after the altercation that resulted from TFT’s attempt to take over TF chick’s nest, an advance that was not well-received. TF has reorganised his garden and resumed his throne after the small disagreement. Both chicks are well, growing fast, and starting to look like albatrosses instead of giant cotton balls. Those wingspans are looking impressive, reminding us that we are approaching the age where they will start to try feeling the sensation of wind beneath their wings. Bittersweet, like all fledges, but in this case, even more so, because it will be so very long (if at all) until we see them land back near their natal nest. It astounds me that after all those tens of thousands of kms and all that time at sea, each of them has somehow imprinted the place from which they fledge, returning there for their first forays into socialising and the task of finding a mate. It is astounding. 

Finn brought one of his huge whitefish in about 18:57 but took it away again (luckily everyone already had smallish to medium crops) and didn’t return it until after 19:43, by which stage Finn had a very large crop. Only after he had eaten for nearly an hour did the chicks get fed. This is not a habit I like. Surely, he can wait for the chicks to eat before he has to spend an hour stuffing his face. It is the one thing that really annoys me about him. Why bring it in, give it to Iris, and then wrestle it back from her almost immediately? If there was sibling aggression on this nest, that is exactly the sort of behaviour likely to trigger it. 

But fortunately, that is not happening on this nest and the chicks are well fed and well behaved enough for it not to be creating a problem. Hopefully, Finn will learn not to do this, especially when the osplets are young. He is still spending all night, every night, on the perch, guarding his family, and if the intruder landing on the nest the other day is anything to go by, he has a reason to be wary. He is doing a wonderful job, despite my nit-picking at his delivery routine. He is bringing a lot of fish to this nest and he is looking after both Iris and their chicks. You know how impressed I am by him. 

‘PB’ reports that fish have come in to Cowlitz and Steelscape ahead of today’s high heat and that all ate including Little at Cowlitz who had about 100 bites. This is wonderful.

And last, a run away yacht crashed into the Port Lincoln Osprey nest barge! Thanks to Bart M and Port Lincoln was notified immediately. So glad no eggs or chicks on that nest.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Remember to drink lots and lots of water and to eat some watermelon – low in calories and it is 91% water! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, questions, videos, announcements, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, FORE, Eagle Club of Estonia, HWF-BBC Central, SK Hideaways, Mary Cheadle, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Clark PUD, Blackbush Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Mashpee NWR, The Weather Network, Ferguson Museum, Sandpoint Ospreys, International Osprey Data Project, VIMS, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Goitzsche-Wildnis, Great Bay Ospreys, Marder’s, Osoyoos, Audubon Boat House, Forsythe, Window to Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Sea Eagle Cam, Orange Falcons, Royal Albatross Colony, Lady Hawk, Montana Osprey Project, and Port Lincoln.

Who murdered Laddie?…Sunday in Bird World

5 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I am using the word murder because this is an isolated area, restricted during breeding season, and someone would have deliberately taken out a firearm of some sort to kill this precious bird. This is not an accident.

There is heartbreaking news coming out of Scotland. I am putting it in order as I receive it but it sounds as if someone has killed our dear Laddie and that his disappearance was not due to old age/natural causes. This is extremely disturbing if that is the case.

I want you to imagine a beautiful loch restricted for fishing and human activities from the time the Ospreys arrive to the end of the breeding season. I want you to imagine quiet. We hear of other raptors being killed near grouse moors, but when was the last time you heard of a fish eating raptor being killed in the UK? True, there have been some very ‘sick’ stories coming out of regions of the US where ospreys were targeted. The last incident I heard was the deliberate cutting down of the Llyn Brenig platform in Wales. One egg was on the nest. It disturbed the entire breeding season. At Loch of the Lowes, we have Laddie. He was the resident male beginning in 2012. He is unringed so we do not know his history. He probably did not get a mate and a nest until he was four. Let’s use four as a reasonable beginning point. That means that Laddie is approximately sixteen or seventeen years old when he was killed. In that time, he flew to his wintering grounds. Let’s hypothesise that he went to West Africa. That is a distance of 2951 miles from Perthshire to Senegal. If Laddie hatched in 2007, he made his first trip to Africa then and flew 2951 miles. He remained there until he was a two-year old returning to the area around his natal nest which would be Scotland. So another 2951 miles in the spring of 2009 (making it a total of 5902 miles per year for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and another 2951 on his return in the spring of 2024. That is a total flight distance just or a probably migration of 94,432 miles in total without incident. It is staggering and that is why I have listed the years individually.

Laddie left his nest and Blue NCO after delivering a fish at lunchtime on the 28th of April. He did not return.

He travelled more than most people and probably much more than the individual who lifted a gun and shot him out of the sky. It is unbelievable. He lived through the truly trying juvenile years when we lose almost 2 out o every 3 ospreys, he made at least 17 round trip migrations to be blown out of the sky doing what he did this time every year – delivering fish to his mate on the nest incubating their eggs, Blue NCO (the latest of his mates).

Laddie did not kill grouse. He did not swoop down and take chickens out of a coop. He fished quietly on a Scottish loch. It terrifies me for all the others who have eggs in the nest because someone out there thinks their lives do not matter. This is no different than someone sitting on a chimney pot and shooting Hugo Yugo or one of the other girls through the conservatory’s windows. They do it because they have the power to kill. It is time for the people to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. Let Laddie be a symbol of the love and respect that we have for our raptors. Show these people that they are wrong. We do care. Force the Scottish Government to persecute this individual and make it meaningful, not a laughing stock.

“Police Scotland Tayside have posted on Facebook:

“We are appealing for information after the remains of an osprey were found near Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, on Friday, 3 May, 2024.

The protected species is believed to have been nesting at Loch of the Lowes, close to where it was found.

Enquiries are at an early stage to establish the full circumstances.

Inspector James Longden said: “It is illegal to kill any protected species and we are working closely alongside partner agencies to confirm what has happened here and whether there is any criminality involved.

“Information from the local community could prove vital and it is important we speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area, or who may know something which could assist our investigation.

“Any information can be passed to Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number 3266 of Friday, 3 May, 2024. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Scots-cops-appeal-for-information-after-bird-of-prey-found-dead-close-to-nest-Daily-RecordDownload

This news will send ripples of concern throughout the UK Osprey platforms. The platform at Llyn Brenig was cut down a couple of years ago and we know that Hen Harriers, eagles, and even Red Kites have been killed around the grouse moors intentionally. Why would anyone want to kill an osprey?

The remaining issue is Blue NCO and the eggs. This is a human caused tragedy. The police would not be investigating if Laddie had died from natural causes or a battle for territory. Since this is the case, do we not have an obligation to provide fish for Blue NCO and the eggs, if they hatch, until such time as Mum is able to care for them entirely by herself? The terrain and the location might make this difficult if not impossible but they do ring the chicks. Of course, the best situation would be that the eggs would be abandoned and Blue NCO would move on with no chicks to worry about starving.

And now news arrives of a Peregrine Falcon being shot. This is becoming more than troubling.

Peregrine-found-shot-on-RSPB-nature-reserve-in-Peak-District-National-Park-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

This morning it was discovered that Maya and Blue 33 are only incubating two eggs. Here is the news from Rutland. We know they can count now we know that they can also spot viable and non-viable eggs. Brilliant birds.

Tuffy and Ruffie compare wingers. Hilarious. As funny as this video is there is something rather disturbing too and that is the state of the nest at Moorings Park. The rails appear to be sliding off and well, I don’t even want to think about either of these beautiful osplets prematurely sliding off or being blown off the sides. Is it too much to appeal to Moorings Park to do major reconstruction during the off-season like they do at some nests in the UK? Where the rails are secured? Nesting material enhanced?

The Captiva osplets are in the reptile stage! Thanks, ‘H’ for that FB video clip.

The oldest osplet at Florida-Gainesville and Mum are faring alright.

Samson’s new mate, Blue 500, has been named Augusta after she laid their first egg on 3 May 2024 at the Border Osprey nest. Samson’s former mate, Juno, did not return from migration.

AT-LASTDownload

Annie is trying to keep her babies cool.

Through rain and snow….Annie and Archie deliver.

Monty and Hartley are doing the same.

Dorcha and Louis are being silly.

‘H’ reports that at Severna Park, Olivia and Oscar have their third egg.

‘H’ also checks in on Lake Murray and the triplets appear to be doing fine.

The two osplets at Frenchman’s Creek seem to be working their way through the fish that Dad brought.

A hatch at Surrey. I am posting this because of the unusual nature in the way that the shell cracked during hatch. The little one made it out safely!

Gorgeous Big Red and N1 and N2.

The female has been fish calling at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The male appeared later on Saturday but I have not seen any fish deliveries. Intruders? Anyone watching this nest closely?

Three beauties at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey Platform.

Lessons in plucking for those two big Decorah North eaglets.

Fraser Point eaglets doing fantastic.

The trio at the West End are real ‘treasures’.

Rescued chick back home at Bald Canyon and both have full crops.

The oldest and the youngest at Little Miami:

Checking on the Finnish nests:

Janakkala: Incubation

Paltamo: No eggs yet

Muonio: Unsure.

Ylläslompolo: No eggs

Beautiful female on her German nest.

For those looking forward to the Glacier Gardens Eagle Cam, there could be issues this year.

For those wondering about Richmond and Rosie, it is unclear whether there are two or three eggs. They sure didn’t make it easy for us this year!

The third egg at the Green Ledge Light Preservation Society on Long Island was laid on 2 May.

During the time that I conducted research in Mumbai for my PhD and later when I was writing all of that up, I met many Zoroastrians. They are often called Parsees (Parsi) and they immigrated to India from Iran after being persecuted by Muslims. They have unique traditions and, one in particular, the non-burial of their dead. They leave the bodies of their deceased for vultures to clean. The bodies do not contaminate the air, the soil, or the water. Today, this community is facing a particular challenge and it concerns a lack of vultures.

‘Our-culture-is-dying-vulture-shortage-threatens-Zoroastrian-burial-rites-Pakistan-The-GuardiaDownload

Let Jackie and Shadow be our inspiration.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care – there is a flu bug or something going around and it isn’t nice! See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Scottish Wildlife Foundation (LOTL), Police Scotland Tayside, LOTL Visitor’s Centre, Val Gail, Daily Record, Geemeff, Raptor Persecution UK, Rutland Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Moorings Park Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, Border Ospreys, SK Hideaways, Cal Falcons, Severna Park, Lake Murray Ospreys, Frenchman’s Creek Ospreys, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, Cornell RTH Cam, Miami Landscape Arboretum, VGCCO, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, IWS/Explore, Gracie Shepherd, Little Miami Conservancy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Green Ledge Light Preservation Society, and The Guardian.

*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to credit the correct individuals for their contributions. If an error has been made, please let me know! I wish to fix it.*

Sunday in Bird World

10 March 2024

Hi Everyone,

The girls were really enjoying the sunshine and the warmer temperatures on Saturday. Today it is supposed to get up to +5 C – this is going to melt a lot of this beautiful white snow and turn it into muck. Yuck!

You can’t tell it by the two images below, but Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope (now answering to Calico Kitty Kitty) practically tore the surface off of the hardwood today. When they stopped running and climbing over everything, they slept. Calico Kitty Kitty aka Baby Hope was so exhausted she did not mind being Hugo Yugo’s pillow.

Missey continues to find the highest spots in the house to get away from those two. Calico hides.

We are now five days away from Hugo Yugo’s operation. It happens on Friday at noon. Nothing has happened before, but I am always nervous – just like I am about all those baby eaglets on the nests, especially when it rains. There aren’t as many feedings and sometimes the nest stays damp and sometimes the oldest gets to be naughty and worrisome.

Today was the day we were supposed to ‘spring’ up our clocks. If you forgot, go and fix that right now. Some of mine change automatically, and others don’t—mind you, the only clock in the house is on the microwave, the cell phone, and the computer.

It was beautiful on Saturday. The intent had been to go on a sleigh ride—all spaces were booked! The sky was blue, and the snow was white and still fluffy in places. The main roads were clear, butke mine were still full of snow. Spring feels like it is coming again. I felt sorry for those ea side streets lirly-arriving geese. So it was just a long walk. Tomorrow, will be an exploration of a new park if it isn’t too soggy.

In the UK, it is Mother’s Day today. I want to send a big shout-out to anyone who has ever cared for a living, breathing being. Feathery hugs to all those Osprey mothers on their way home to raise a new batch of bonkers and to Blue NCO anxiously awaiting her Laddie.

Proud parents Thunder and Akecheta and their first hatch of the 2024 season.

Both so happy….Thunder loves being a dad.

Jak and Audacity’s egg is intact and we are in hatch range.

20, 504 people were watching Jackie and Shadow around 16:32 Saturday afternoon. You could hear the Ravens. Shadow got off the nest at 13:21:07 and Jackie got on at 13:23:49. Again, Ravens could be heard in the distance. The couple are still hopeful and there is still time. A lot of positive energy is being poured into this nest from around the world.

At Achieva, there appears to be no movement with the eggs yet. The big excitement on Saturday was a visit from a squirrel and a great Egret flying by the nest in the early morning.

The Achieva Osprey platform has always made me anxious. Tiny Tumbles just about did many of us in, and she survived to become big and strong. ‘H’ has been keeping track of the age of the three eggs: Egg # will be 42 days tomorrow. Egg #2 will be 39, Egg #3 will be 36.” It is possible that the first two eggs are not viable. Will three hatch? I wonder. Maybe it is a good year not to have osplets in Florida.

Speaking of early arrivals, Blue NCO is 9 days early. She left early…I wonder if there is a correlation. Blue NCO has been working on the nest and looking for her partner, Laddie LM12. I do worry about him. He was not in great shape at the end of the season last year. I fear that he did not survive migration….but, then again, I thought Blue NCO was dead. So what do I know?

They have removed the bin lid from the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya in anticipation of their arrival on Saturday.

Nest at Llyn Brenig is waiting.

Waiting for Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.

This year, the Alyth SSEN Transmission Substation will be closely watched because of plans to increase its capacity. How will this impact the ospreys?

‘H’ reports that ‘The Boathouse’ is being significantly repaired and renovated since the storms. This is where the ‘Hog Island’ Ospreys have their nest. It should be finished by the time the birds return home from migration.

More…

Bazz Hockaday has been busy photographing the Port Lincoln Osprey family. What a delight it must be for everyone involved in this nest over the years, but especially this year, to see these fledglings hanging out with Mum and Dad and their elder brother, Ervie. There is something to say about having male chicks – they want to stay home!

Swampy and Meadow are fantastic.

Getting those skills for self-feeding.

E23 just wants to get to the top of the nest tree and fly.

Look where Cal is! Oh, he wants to fly just like E23! Some believe that today will be the day.

Johnson City-ETSU looks alright. Yes, the oldest gives some bonks but, for the most part, these two get along. Boone comes in on Saturday and makes sure that the little one gets a good feed.

It’s been raining at Bluff City and there were not a lot of meals today. I wonder how that little one is doing?

It also started raining at Duke Farms, too. I didn’t get a chance to watch this nest much today. Hoping that both got fed well because, despite all the fish on the nest, I didn’t see a lot of feedings.

Archie might like to hunt before dawn but Annie doesn’t seem to like to have her breakfast that early!

We are 8 days away from pip watch for Ellie and Harvey whose nest is on the property of Farmer Derek.

Bonnie and Clyde, the GHOs, are nesting on Farmer Derek’s land. The first egg is 33 days old, and the second egg is 30 days old.The average hatch time is 33-34 days, although the range can be 30-37 days. So guess what? This couple’s aWe are on pip watch!

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia, Canada is celebrating the first egg of the season at the White Rock nest. Congratulations.

What bird is half female and half male?

A green honeycreeper spotted on a farm in Colombia exhibits a rare biological phenomenon known as bilateral gynandromorphism.

This-Bird-Is-Half-Male-Half-Female-and-Completely-Stunning-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Everyone should know that I love condors, vultures, and carrion eaters that help clean up our planet. We should all embrace them, but instead, their numbers are rapidly declining in places where they are considered icons of their country.

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Oh, there is so much happening. This was just a quick look today. We hope you are all well. Please take care. We look forward to having you with us again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today; ‘H, J’, IWS/Explore.org, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), LRWT, Llyn Brenig, Woodland Trust (Loch Arkaig), Alyth SS, Friends of Hog Island, Bazz Hockaday, Eagle Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Johnson City – ETSU, BluffLadey Deeagle55, City-ETSU, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, Farmer Derek Eagle Cam, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and The New York Times.