Category Archives: illegal trade in songbirds

Friday in Bird World

10 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thursday was 23 C, clear blue skies, no wind. Today will go up to 27 degrees C. Thankfully we have had some rain. Where my son lives in the Caribbean, the rains did not come and the water supply for the entire island is drying up. The reservoir at Etang is beyond low and cannot be used and other areas are bone dry. My heart breaks for people struggling with a lack of basic resources like water.

Thank you again for all your good wishes. I am feeling better. Not 100%, but good enough to run more errands in the heat. When I left, Mr Crow had a full dish of cheesy dogs. When I got home – and he knew I was home – he returned cawing his head off for more! Their tree was cut down, and they have made their nest this year on top of a three-story apartment building about 100 metres from the food dish! He can hear me when I arrive home – and see me. Of course, Hugo Yugo thinks she should have some cheesy dog, too, which started all of the others prowling around the kitchen except for Baby Hope, who is a real angel.

At the Border Osprey platform, Augusta (Blue 500) laid her third egg at 1100. Congratulations!

Mark the date on your calendar. Cal Falcons will be banding Annie and Archie’s chicks on the 15th of May. Yes, you spotted that right – five days from now. That is hard to believe.

The Fab Four think they are starving!

The GH owlet at Wolf Bay has branched and will soon be flying.

The nest at Loch of the Lowes is now empty and abandoned for this year.

Still no hatch at Manton Bay. If the egg that was removed was the first one to be laid, then the next one is currently 33 days old today. Three more days and we should be ready for pip.

Just look at those legs on Ruffie! If I were taking bets I would say Ruffy – despite their aggression – is a male. Daddy Long Legs like Idris – or maybe it is just the camera angle.

Ruffie is really working its wings.

Gorgeous Tuffy. Look at that sweet face.

Did we have fledges and returns at Frenchman’s Creek? Looks like it. Bravo. And look at the nest. Not so many fish there.

Iris and the New Guy are not messing around. They protect that nest and their eggs. I wonder if Louis even knows what is happening? Surely he does. Maybe he has just given up and will take care of Starr and leave that area alone. He might not win a fight with this younger male.

The House Sparrows are busy nesting under the osprey nest at Dunrovin. No eggs yet for Swoop and Winnie.

I think I worry too much about the little one at Captiva. It is hot and the big one always monopolises the feedings. Hopefully ‘H’ will have a better report.

Will CO8 get some fish?

‘H’ has the answer: “CO7 continues to dominate CO8 at meal times.  But as we have seen at other nests, as long as there are regular fish deliveries, the non-dominant sibling usually fares better later in the day, after the dominant osplet has already had his/her crop stuffed a few times.

At 1636 the meal consisted of a whole sheepshead, and CO8 ate first, but only for a minute until he was intimidated by CO7.  CO8 thought about trying to eat at 1639 and 1655 but was beaked by CO7.  At 1657 CO7 moved away and CO8 was able to eat.  Then he made a very unwise move… after CO8 had been eating for 4 minutes, he suddenly and inexplicably turned around and beaked CO7!  Oh no, silly osplet, lol.  Well, of course CO7 retaliated, and CO8 moved away.  CO7 ate some more until 1704, at which time CO8 ate for the next 14 minutes.  CO8 had eaten for a total of about 19 minutes at this meal.

The next meal, at 1831, consisted of a prepared sheepshead.  The sibs were both little angels.  For the most part they ate side by side until 1853, and by that time they were both refusing Edie’s offerings.  Then Edie was able to feast on the large tail portion herself.”

Big Red was so smart when she picked Arthur. What a hunter. Thursday morning nets three chipmunks and a squirrel plus what has been eaten already. Their family will never go hungry!

Please ask me how much I wish they would band these two chicks so we could see if they return to the area or stay?

What a difference seeing the little hawklets in a tree nest at Syracuse instead of the light stand at Cornell.

Will there be any osplets at Llyn Brenig this year?

There is a full clutch at Fortis Exshaw.

The Decorah North eaglets are a little wet from the rain. Those little cutie pies are growing and grown and ready to fly soon.

It is all good at Little Miami. That baby made it! Unless something happens this nest will fledge three. Fantastic.

Port Tobacco is fantastic. That single chick had all the love and all the food.

At Duke Farms, Leaper is 10 weeks and 1 day old which means that we could be within fledge range in a week.

At Superbeaks, Mason and Dixie have both branched. That was a week ago. Stay tuned for fledging.

Concern for Little at Lake Murray continues as he gets shut out of many/most/all feedings. ‘H’ reports, “5/9, Kenney delivered a late partial fish at 1950.  Big and Middle still both had huge crops and were not very interested in eating.  Little ate for three minutes before he was beaked by Big.  Big ate for 3 minutes, then walked away.  Little was then fed by Lucy for 7 minutes, when she suddenly halted the feeding, but there was still a large piece of fish remaining.  At any rate, Little had a large crop to start the night.” Huge shout out to ‘H’ for monitoring this difficult nest.

I highly recommended Isabella Tree’s new book on the success of the rewinding at Knepp Farm. Birdlife International has just published its study on the positive impacts of conservation and biodiversity. We can make a difference is the mantra in both! Never give up. Do what you can.

Science-proves-conservation-works-BirdLife-InternationalDownload

Another senseless murder in Scotland. This time of a satellite tagged Golden Eagle.

Police-confirm-satellite-tagged-Golden-Eagle-was-persecuted-BirdGuidesDownload

There is a new condor baby in California. Congratulations Ventana Wildlife.

White Storks Beta and Bukacek incubating their two eggs. Soon!

The two White-tail eaglets at the Tucholskie National Forest in Poland are thriving.

Two beautiful osprey eggs at the Seilli nest in Finland for Onni and Stefu.

News from Kakapo Recovery on their pesky flightless parrots.

I saw my first Moorhen in Grenada in 2022. It is great to see that others love them, too! Their appearance is so distinctive. The adult body is all black – the beak is a deep rich orange -red with at the tip dipped in a pot of bright almost neon-yellow. Their legs are green! The day these birds got their first plumage someone was having fun with the colours. They are very distinctive and when you have seen one, you will always recognise them. There will never be any confusion with any other waterfowl.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/08/country-diary-these-plucky-moorhens-have-become-local-celebrities?CMP=share_btn_url

All About Birds says this, “The Common Gallinule swims like a duck and walks atop floating vegetation like a rail with its long and slender toes. This boldly marked rail has a brilliant red shield over the bill and a white racing stripe down its side. It squawks and whinnies from thick cover in marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, peeking in and out of vegetation. This species was formerly called the Common Moorhen and is closely related to moorhen species in the Old World…Common Gallinules eat vegetation, seeds, snails, and insects. They pick sedge, grass, pondweed, duckweed, and flower seeds from the water surface or just below the surface. Gallinules flip over leaves with their feet to grab snails and insects hidden .” They will lay anywhere from 3-15 eggs (what a range!) in nests made near the water’s edge. The incubation period is, on average, three weeks and they have two broods per breeding season.

“madres e hijos, polla de agua alimentando a su polluelo – mom moorhen feeding their chick” by ferran pestaña is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

We can be thankful that the hunting season in Malta is now over, but it should never exist, and, of course, as this says will the police do anything now? Wildlife certainly deserves the protection accorded to it by law. And that surely isn’t happening.

I feel like I am reading the news from Scotland.

Man-accused-of-shooting-protected-western-marsh-harrierDownload

Oh, those ads for the perfect lawn make me so mad. Dead bees. Dead pollinators. Even dead birds. Tell them ‘No, thanks’.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Wolf Bay, Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Moorings Park, Frenchman’s Creek, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, SU-RTH Cam, Stephanie Scofield, Heidi McGrue, Raptor Resource Project, Little Miami Conservancy, Port Tobacco, Duke Farms, Superbeaks, Lake Murray, Birdlife International, BirdGuides, Ventana Wildlife Society, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, Bielk OnLine Bory Tucholskie, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Kakapo Recovery, The Guardian, BirdLife Malta, Malta Today, All About Birds, and Openverse.

*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to credit the individuals who provided the information in today’s posting. If there is something incorrect or there is an omission, please let me know.*

Hatch for Moorings Park, 22’s crop, sadness for Sauces…Friday in Bird World

3 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Let’s all just take a deep breath! There is energy in the air this Friday morning. There are reports of two ospreys seen flying into Finland on BirdGuides (yes, this is early) and another heading over Devon. We have the first osprey hatch in Florida of the four nests I follow there, and the recent hatch of both eaglets at Duke Farms. Life is picking up. Oh, and all of the osprey streaming cams are coming on line! Let’s all get our running shoes on!!!!!!!!

Today was a very special day in 2022. It was the day that Spirit hatched at Big Bear! Happy first hatch day Spirit. Oh, what an eaglet she was – and the name selected by local third graders fit her perfectly!

Most of you will have noticed that E22 can surely squee, all the time, eating or not. Well, SK Hideaways caught it today on video for us. E22 is squeeing all the time he is being fed that big fish by Dad. It is just too funny. Have you ever seen an eaglet so vocal? E22 got lots of nice fish – lots!

E22 on the rails Thursday. Notice the crop. 22 had some very nice fish and what looked like a squirrel.

E21 had the squirrel first but after a bit, as is usual now, 22 came along and snatched it and had a good feed.

21 with the squirrel when it was delivered whole by Dad.

22 with the squirrel after he waited and then did the old snatch and grab and run routine he is famous for now.

There was a fish delivery at 13:52:01 – M15 did a gallant job feeding both ofg the Es.

M15 flew in with a late headless fish for the eaglets at 18:43:27. The fish is big enough for both of them! E21 mantles but also reaches over with its beak to remind 22 that it is claiming the fish. I wonder how long 22 will let 21 play about with that fish?

Yes, E21 left a very nice piece of fish. Will 22 go and feed off it?

So who has the fish? It was still on the nest fully visible at 23:05:04 when 22 went over to check on it.

Saving it for later? E22 appears to go to sleep on the leftover piece of fish! Sneaky.

22 did not eat that fish. It was on the nest early and 21 went over and finished it off at 06:26:42.

M15 brought in a fish at 07:18:41 and fed both of the eaglets. At 07:36:16, 22 finished off the tail!

Another fish came in at 10:06. This time it was a drop. As I write this, the two eaglets are still trying to finish out to eat it.

Following my review of Marti Lord’s book on the 2020 season for Harriet and M15, here is a recent video of the happenings of the Owls and the Es on the Pritchett Property from that all important, local perspective.

It was a month on 2 March, Thursday, that Harriet went missing.

Oh, they are the cutest little butterballs at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest. Both adults doing a superb job. Lots of fish on the nest for these little ones.

Angus continues to bring the nicest fish to Florence. Still no eggs at Captiva, though.

Speaking of eggs, Audacity had laid her seventh egg and now, hold on, yes, there is an eighth. Honestly, what is the level of calcium in her body now?! This is 8 eggs in 27 days. I received word first thing this morning that one of the two eggs at Sauces has now broken at 22:53 2nd of March. Our hearts break with this wonderful couple. Thanks, ‘B’.

Do you know who this eagle is? and the names of the eaglets? Look closely.

That is Shadow with Cookie and Simba! Yes, he chased off Mr BB and wooed Jackie and he didn’t even have his white head!!!!!!!!!!! The year is 2019.

So sad for Jackie and Shadow this year. They worked so hard and then something went terribly wrong. It was today, last year, that Spirit hatched!

Despite having chosen the Fernow Light Stand for their 2023 nest, Big Red and Arthur seemed to be concerned today about the work going on across Tower Road on the Cornell Campus. Check out how deep the egg cup is! Big Red is making sure it is perfect.

This is the deepest egg cup I have seen at this nest. Will there be another four egg clutch like in 2022?

Gabby and V3 at the nest today. Looks like no eggs for this season – and that is just fine. Let us hope that this lovely couple are still together in November!

A pip was seen on the large end of the egg at Moorings Park at 18:51 Thursday night.

The first hatch at Moorings came at 01:29 on the 3rd of March. Thanks, ‘H’! ‘H’ says the second egg appears to have a pip. Oh, that would be wonderful. Two osplets hatched closely like the eaglets at Duke Farms.

Sunnie Day caught the hatch on video.

The little one at Moorings Park has already had its first fish breakfast. Time 09:48. Did I say that I melt when I see a newly hatched osplet? I love them all but those little eye lines and that stripe and their light grey wooly down…so sweet. Congratulations to Sally and Harry!

Guess who showed up at the West End nest in the Channel Islands today? It was Thunder! We will sure miss seeing what her and Akecheta are up to this season. Maybe Dr Sharpe will have some ideas for a camera if the couple stay at their new nest site.

This screen capture was taken at 13:15 on Thursday 2 March.

Chase and Cholyn take turns incubating at the Two Harbours nest on the Channel Islands.

Nancy and Beau have one intact egg at the MN-DNR nest.

Eggs, eggs everywhere. The first one was laid at Fort St Vrain in Colorado on Thursday! You might recall this nest as the one where the raccoon took one of the eaglets in 2022. So sad.

Two days ago, Valentine was hovering so high on the KNF-E3 nest in the Kisatchie Forest. Today, at 66 days old, Valentine branched. Rhonda A has caught it for us.

Anyone reading my blog loves wildlife, being in nature when they can, and the joy that these amazing birds bring to our lives. If the whole world were like you, this would be a better place for all living beings. Sadly, recent research shows that the climate crisis is causing more conflict between humans and wildlife.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/27/research-reveals-climate-crisis-is-driving-a-rise-in-human-wildlife-conflicts-aoe?CMP=share_btn_link

I personally have huge concerns for our raptors that live in areas where prey might become a big issue. Will the increasing cost to living cause people to hunt what the raptors eat? Stay tuned.

Of course, there are humans that continue to snare song birds. Seriously? Precisely why are the Sardinians doing this to these birds? Well, here is the answer from an anti-poaching website:

Unlike in many other parts of Italy, bird-trapping in Sardinia is mainly a organised business of poacher gangs and not a simple pastime. Caught birds are sold on the black market to private buyers or to butchers and restaurants.

I didn’t think it could get much worse until I read this. Horrible. I wonder how they would feel if the tables were turned?

Birds should be free. Look at these gorgeous Stellar Eagles.

You might recall that I mentioned the loss of one of the Peregrine Falcons at Lincoln Cathedral. This was a place I visited often in the UK and so, it is with some delight that I find a tweet by Wakefield Peregrines that one of their birds is at Lincoln today!

Cal Falcons are looking for memes. Check out the posting below! Annie, I am looking for eggs. Can you and Lou help all of us? We are trying to be patient.

So anxiously awaiting those eggs in that scrape of Annie and Lou’s!

Thank you so much for joining me today. Remember to get outside if you possibly can. Even if it is for ten minutes. While we love our birds on the streaming cams, our eyes need a break. But sitting too long is a problem too. Walk around, stand up every 30 minutes, put your feet up! In other words, please take care of yourself. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, ‘B’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, SK Hideaways and D Pritchett, wskrsnwings, SW Florida Cam, Duke Farms, Window to Wildlife, Heidi Mc and Window to Wildlife, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles in the USA, Jannet Hubbart and FOBBV, Cornell RTH, NEFL-AEF, Moorings Park Ospreys, Sunnie Day and Moorings Park, IWS, MN-DNR, Lisa Yen and Fort St. Vrain Eagle Cam, Rhonda A and KNF-E3, The Guardian, @CABS, Susan Hillman and B3 Branch Buddies, @NeillDonaghy, @wfldPeregrines, and Cal Falcons Cam.

Middle is peckish, a look at stunning L4, and other tales in Bird World

30 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

The weather on the Canadian Prairies continues to be balmy. It is 10 degrees C as I write to you and it is just past 2030 Saturday evening. The one thing I enjoy so much about living in Canada is that we will never let a good weather day at the end of October pass us by. Visitors at the wetlands today were in their shirt sleeves — short ones! Everyone had come to try and spot the Tundra Swans. There were 13 of them on the water yesterday including the family that I had seen in September.

It promised to be a good day as the sound of Canada geese honking filled the sky. On the way to Oak Hammock, I passed more than one field of corn being harvested. This is a huge bonus for the geese and ducks landing here now on their way south. Lots of food and the weather is supposed to be warm and dry for several more days. The geese will have those fields cleaned up in short order.

I have mentioned Oak Hammock Marsh before but, for those that are new, here is a short description. It is a huge area of wetlands northwest of Winnipeg measuring 36 sq kilometres or 13.89 square miles. The area is owned jointly by Ducks Unlimited and the Province of Manitoba. The landscape changes from season to season and month to month. There are many educational programmes, tours, canoes, and an interpretative centre. It is one of two large nature centres near the city where I live. The other is Fort Whyte Alive. The main difference between the two is the fact that Ducks Unlimited – while restoring wetlands to protect and grow the number of waterfowl – are also proud promoters of duck hunting. That is difficult for me. At the same time, I am grateful that there are expanses of land for waterfowl instead of housing divisions or paved parking lots.

The main building has a little shop, a display of miniature ducks that have won the annual contests, lots of computers set to eBird, and walls of displays – historical finds on the land when they were building, a class room, and cases full of beautifully carved ducks. I forgot my phone or I would have images of these for you – the lens on my camera simply cannot focus that close.

We had so much water in the spring. It rained and rained and rained every day. Torrential rains. This area of the flat prairie flooded in many parts. It made for soggy earth where bull rushes grew. They grew so tall. The Red-winged Blackbirds were eating the seeds the last time I was here. Today, there was no a single one. They are on their way south!

This female Downy Woodpecker was looking for bugs and insects and flitted around the path going in and out of the shrubs. She seemed to care less if I was there with her so focused was she on finding food.

Such a gorgeous Greater Yellowlegs.

There were two American Coots towards the end of one of the trails in ‘Coot Pond’. It was also there that I found the Snowy Owl I had gone to see – one seen flying over the marsh this morning. Sadly, it was dead.

Overhead two raptors were enjoying soaring in the thermals. There are Northern Harriers that I have seen at the wetlands but, there was always only one. These two look as if they were having fun and their silhouette looks like the immature Bald Eagles in both of my books with raptor silhouettes. I just wonder if one of these might be responsible for the demise of the Snowy Owl.

I saw six Great Yellowlegs today. They were all very busy poking around at the edge of the pond looking for food.

The Tundra Swans alluded me today. That is perfectly fine. It was a joy to see them in September!

On my way home I stopped at a park that I frequent occasionally checking for Wood Ducks. I was not disappointed today. A cute little girl, about three or four years old, was feeding the ducks cracked corn – a perfect food for them! This had brought the 20 or so ducks up to a single area. Many looked as if they had already eaten lots of corn and were back in the water swimming. And the light was so strange – the water looked metallic. Everything had a reflection and this cute little female Wood Duck seems to be looking at hers. I wonder if she knows how gorgeous she is.

This Mallard couple sat so still and their plumage was so vibrant and perfect that they appeared to be decoys. And then they moved!

The golden glow of the sun as it was getting lower in the sky caught this precious female Mallard. She looks like she has been eating very well and it is time for the last of the sun’s rays to warm her.

The forecast is for it to be 18 degrees C on Wednesday. I am going to check e-Bird and see if there are any hotspots with shorebirds and ducks still in southern Manitoba!

I know that many of you have pets, perhaps more than one. One of the wonderful things about them is how happy they are to see you when you get home. Well, when I pulled up and parked the car, I could hear a sound. I didn’t recognize it at first but, then, I saw her. There was Dyson running down the branch of the tree to greet me. She said all of her hellos and beat me – she was already waiting on the deck for peanuts – by the time I sat my camera down. Now how did she know that there was an enormous sack of fresh nuts just purchased for her???

And does she know how happy I am to see her?

___________________________________________________________________

Making News:

Suzanne Arnold Horning was out and about today and she has photos of Big Red, Arthur, and L4 on the campus today. Oh, L4 looks so grown up. Remember that little one clamoring over its siblings to be right up and front at feeding time? and L4 being the first one to catch their own prey? Beautiful juvenile. I am so glad that L4 is staying in the territory. Wish this juvie had a band!

Look at those beautiful Juvenile eyes. Looks like L4 is over around the field by Highway 366.

Beautiful Big Red. Our fabulous Mama who will be 20 years old in the spring of 2023. Incredible.

This is another image of Big Red today from Ferris Akel’s tour. Isn’t she a stunner? And she has her dinner!

L4 will get her ‘red tail’ when she turns one. It is really a mark of honour for so few survive. Gradually, L4’s eyes will get darker and darker and one day she will look like her gorgeous Mum.

The Illegal trade in Song birds coming out of Indonesia. Oh, however so disgustingly sad. There are moves around the world to stop the illegal trade in birds and many places are banning the sale of parrots and other exotics to try and stop this practice. What is happening where you live?

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2022/oct/28/caged-indonesias-songbird-trade-in-pictures

We all know about Taiaroa Head where the NZ DOC take such good care of the Royal Albatross colony. Nearby is Dunedin’s Eco Sanctuary. Check out this birdwatching trip in New Zealand.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/oct/31/a-birdwatching-trip-back-in-time-what-pre-mammal-new-zealand-wouldve-been-like

There was a big fire across from the nest of Harriet and M15!

Nest News:

The weather is truly miserable at Port Lincoln. It was pitching down rain and there was concern that Dad would not be able to bring any fish to the nest but, Dad is extremely dependable. If there are fish – even small ones – he will bring them to Mum, Big, and Middle. It was between small and small medium size. Middle got the first good bites and that is a good thing because at 085754 Middle got up to walk away and then turned as if he might want another bite. At 085757, Big takes exception and gives Middle a brief reminder that she is eating – and eat she did – all the rest of it! It is certainly true that things appear to be civil but, when Middle eats his fair share before Big or Big thinks Middle is going to eat all the fish, she doesn’t put up with it. There was a ‘look’ from Big at Middle at 091225 that said it all.

Oh, the family was soaked.

Breakfast arrived at 08:49. Middle will get the greatest share of the fish for the first six minutes of the feeding. Indeed, Middle will have a small crop. Middle is on the left and Big is on the right. You can see that the fish is not huge but it is not tiny either. Dad is extremely reliable.

All is forgiven as the pair try to get some warmth as the rain continues.

The rain stopped by the winds are blowing at 31 mph. It could be very difficult for Dad or Mum to bring any fish to the nest in these winds. Send this nest your best wishes, as always.

Middle is hungry. Big has gotten the lion’s share of the fish for yesterday and that was not much, just the two deliveries due to the stormy weather. So Middle was peckish and pecked – yes, he pecked Big – twice. Here are some images of the last encounter. BTW Big does retaliate but, it is not as viscious as previous times.

What precipitated the event was the sighting of a parent and the hope of some fish. The two followed and did a wee bit of fish calling. Middle puffed up real big before pecking Big —-oh, please let there be lots of fish on Monday in Australia!

At 367 Collins Street, the falcons did survive the fireworks but, at the same time, it was so apparent that Mum was frightened out of her wits. She returned to her perch above the scrape before dusk. Very grateful all is well.

It is impossible to know when the Melbourne Four are being fed unless you see them being fed at the end of the ledge above or hear them squeeeeeeing which they are doing now at 1400! I am not worried about them. These parents have done a smashing job feeding these four and learning how to care for them. ‘A’ tells me it is blistering hot in Melbourne today and the eyases know to stay in the shade. So they are eating and they are sleeping in the shade and isn’t that wonderful — all is well.

Oh, goodness they are loud! Rewind to 1404 to hear them. It is a wonderful sound. You can just picture them jumping a bit with their beaks wide open snatching that precious prey.

At 1411 one of the eyases is heard running down the gutter. Then they mantle once they get to the scrape box. They have a piece of prey and they are going to self-feed. How exciting! This wee one keeps looking back to see if anyone is coming to try and take its treasure.

All finished and the fluffy eyas is running down the gutter back to the feeding wanting more!

The Melbourne Four had their usual four feedings yesterday despite the fact that we cannot always see them. Great parenting! Glad things are now quiet.

‘A’ reports that she saw that dreadful synthetic spider web decorating a property in Melbourne for the first time yesterday. This needs to be banned before it becomes ‘the thing’ to do. It is dreadful for all the small birds and other animals including pets that can get tangled up in it.

No more had Alison said this and there is an article in The Guardian urging Australians not to adopt the spiderwebs as they continue to follow the Americans trend of Halloween.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/30/is-australias-growing-love-of-halloween-endangering-our-wildlife

All is well at the scrape in Orange of Diamond and Xavier. We are so lucky that there are several cameras covering all the angles including the outside of the water tower at Orange. It gives the viewer real insight as to what is happening everywhere.

There were two feedings in the morning. At 0648 Diamond arrives with a pigeon and feeds Rubus and Indigo. Then at 1027, Xavier arrives with an Eastern Rosella Xavier will begin the feeding and Diamond will take over. She loves her Rosella, too. Just look at Indigo and Rubus. Look at their size. Gone are the days when Rubus was so tiny he could not get to the beak for food. Now it is watch out or Rubus will get it all. I do wonder if Rubus – who is four days younger and that is a huge amount of time in a falcon’s early life – is not a female.

Rubus is really getting all of the first part of the feeding. What an aggressive youngster. Reminds me of Izzi.

Rubus also gets full and goes over to the Cilla Stones making it easy for Indigo to finally get some breakfast.

But then…Rubus decides he would like some more prey. Poor Indigo. Just look at that adorable face. How could anyone ever get mad at that?

Rubus is still like a fluffy cotton ball with sparkling decoration around the edges.

Just close your eyes for a second and remember little Rubus trying to jump up and get prey and now look. Snatching it right out of the parent’s beak!

Diamond slept on the edge of the scrape box for part of the night departing sometime after 0100 to go up to the top of the tower.

The nest with prey delivery problems is Port Lincoln and that is because of the weather. The forecast is for rain and wind on Monday and Tuesday.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Take care everyone…and remember to work on your Bird Names Alphabet. I cannot wait to see all of the names you come up with! See you soon.

Thank you to The Guardian, Suzanne Arnold Horning for her photographs of Big Red’s family including the phenomenal beauty, L4, Ferris Akel’s Tours, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.