My report today is very short. I was out and about on Monday and came home not feeling well. The late morning wind was blowing at a rather brisk rate, and the dust, sand, and salt blasted through the air on the street where I was. It has caused me to have some difficulty with my breathing. It wasn’t like the sand storms in Harbin, PRC, in the spring, but for those of us with even minor breathing problems, these days – until the rain comes – can be debilitating. But today is officially the first day of spring and that is a wonderful thing. The Canada Geese that arrived earlier have sure had a mix of weather from warm to a blizzard, to a thaw and then a freeze. Hopefully today will be nice for them so they can find something to eat other than dead grass and dirt. It is -5 C and will dip to -13 C tonight. Doesn’t sound like spring!
‘H’ did a great cartoon of Hugo Yugo. She still fits in a small shoe box with room left over. She will have her surgery on Wednesday and I will keep you posted. I am more than hopeful that everything will go well.
She is certainly feeling feisty today! Hope might be quite happy if Hugo Yugo is out of commission for a couple of days.
Calico is like Missey. She tries to stay out of the way and watches. I often wonder what she thinks.
Just something that got overlooked yesterday. Dahlgren’s Harriet is missing, she has not been seen since 3/13, and Jack is with a new female.
I have decided to start off with the traumatic news that happened or began to happen on Monday and then move to the joyous.
It was a very sad day for those cheering for Port Tobacco. The little eaglet died during a low-humidity hatch. We have seen a few of those during the last twelve months. A few survive. This poor little one didn’t. Condolences to all.
Here is a good article on why Bald Eagle eggs do not hatch by Elfruler.
Yesterday I mentioned that there continues to be a move to build housing near Jackie and Shadow’s nest. This could have a serious impact on our beloved eagles.
As you know, Jak and Audacity’s only egg of the season broke and appeared to not be viable. I was so grateful that someone posted us a happy time at their nest.
As of Monday afternoon we are waiting to see about any pips at PA Country Farms. It appears that the first egg might not be viable.
Ospreys continue to visit the Achieva Credit Union nest after eggs and chick go missing.
It is not clear what is happening at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest. The last news – the camera was not operating after 1200 on Monday – was that two eagles were locked in a fight on the nest. This was posted by the Dulles-Greenway FB.
Oh, this has been such a sad year in the world of the Bald Eagles. Let us hope that they all recover next year.
In the good news, Archie got to see his second egg! Archie was delighted to help Annie incubate the eggs. What a great mate! Hoping he is around for many years to come.
Mother Goose now has six eggs in the Decorah Goose nest.
Waiting for pip/hatch at Two Harbours in about ten days. The egg was laid on 22 February making it 26 days old today. Cholyn is 25 years old this year. She is the mother of Thunder at the West End nest if you did not know.
Fingers Crossed.
There is a lot of fish piled up in the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. All eaglets have eaten well.
Fraser Point looks good. Hopeful for Andor and Cruz to have a full clutch hatch.
The two eaglets on the Duke Farms nest appear to be doing fine. There is a lot of fish. There is, however, a large precarious stick that has come onto the nest, and Mum was feeding, leaning over it and at least for a while, one eaglet slept with its head under it. Hopefully, it will not cause any injury.
Big Red and Arthur taking turns incubating that first egg that was laid on St Patrick’s Day at Cornell. We will be expecting a second tomorrow.
The three osplets at Fisherman’s Creek seem to be doing alright. The camera is not clear all the time but they are growing and the little one seems to be holding its own.
At Loch Arkaig, that Buzzard is intent on taking over the nest before the ospreys arrive. There has not been an osprey hatch on the nest associated with Cam 1 since Louis and Aila fledged JJ 5, JJ6, and JJ7. We were hopeful last year and continue to wish that an osprey pair will return. But what to make of this situation?
Blue NCO continues to catch some whoppers. Poor thing. She keeps calling for her mate, Laddie LM12. I do hope he makes it back this year.
Blue 33 and Maya are determined to get eggs on their nest first!
For those checking on the Loch Garten Osprey cam, it should be on shortly. The Llyn Clywedog cameras are now live as we await the arrival of Dylan and Seren!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, cartoons, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, L’, Elfruler, Mississippi State University Extension, Pix Cams, Forbes, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Lolita Ozolina, Achieva Credit Union, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, IWS/Explore.org, Duke Farms, Cornell RTH Cam, Fisherman’s Creek Ospreys, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), LRWT, and Llyn Clywedog.
Sunday was quiet. After Saturday that was a good thing. As far as I can tell all of the eagle nests are doing well and there have been no new arrivals at Osprey nests at the time I am writing this, Sunday evening.
It was a good day to spend time with the girls. Calico did not enjoy the dip in temperatures and spent a lot of time in front of the small portable heater in the conservatory. She likes her creature comforts and that little heater is one of them. I figure she deserves it having had to live outside in the winter last year.
Hugo Yugo spent her time in the basket spinning before settling down to sleep behind Calico. She is either on or off – there is no in-between. I wonder what Dr Green will think about her on Wednesday. She is very tiny but getting ‘long’ lime a limousine.
Baby Hope took advantage of everyone’s absence to play the game of finding treats in little green tubes. She is very good at it!
Missey decided to stay out of everyone’s way most of the day!
Oh, I am so glad to have these four! And it was so nice to just stop everything and pay some really good attention to them before osprey season kicks in.
At Cal Falcons, Annie laid her second egg this morning.
Can you please help? Write, research, contact others to help. Once again the developers want to build near Jackie and Shadow’s nest in Big Bear. Please read the following and – because we all love Jackie and Shadow so much and owe them so much (the DDT problems), then we need to fight to protect their pristine home. It is the least that we can do!
The following appeal is from Sandy Steer: “…Update on Moon Camp…this nearby parcel, proposed for development is so close to Jackie and Shadow, it can be seen from the nest camera. Any development in that area would greatly impact their nesting site and could make them leave the area. FOBBV won an environmental lawsuit in 2022 against the County’s approval of this project. That put the project on hold, but now the County has released a new partial environmental impact report to move toward another approval. We will, of course, be submitting public comments (due 3/18) on this new, but still inadequate study. And when it comes before the County for another approval, we will be asking all of you for letters or calls to assist in stopping it. In the meantime, we are also pursuing getting this 62-acre parcel purchased for conservation, by the Forest Service, or by anyone else willing to conserve it as open space. If you happen to know any superheroes who might like to step up and buy this parcel to save Jackie and Shadow’s habitat plus more than 17 acres of endangered plants on the property, please contact us at fobbvinfo@gmail.com. We’d love to talk with you!”
Everyone continues speculating on what made Diane and Jack’s two eggs and chick disappear. One FB group noted that this happened in 2022 also and there was a second clutch. It was assumed they went down the hole made by the squirrel in the nest. Many would like to see work done on the nest so the couple does not lose more eggs and chicks in the future. Some note how restless Diane was that evening, and it is hoped that security camera footage shed some light on what happened. We know that the nest shook quite a bit at one point. I had one individual contact me, thinking it was possible that a person or persons shook that nest and caused the damage. If that were to be the case – and I am not saying it is – hopefully, their faces will be seen on the security cameras. Regardless of the cause – and I will suggest we will never fully know unless someone excavates that nest – there needs to be substantial work done on the nest itself to fix the hole that everyone knows about and a baffle for any future predators trying to climb up. An IR light would be great.
The big news in Bird World on Sunday was, for me anyway, the first egg of the season for Big Red and Arthur.
Arthur seemed quite delighted as Big Red flew off and let him take over incubation duties.
SK Hideaways has it on video.
Angel and Tom have an impressive nest. Wonder if we will have their first egg this week? Many think that will be the case!
E23 recovered from the GHO hit, but it was quite scary. I hope that this will be the end of it, but probably not. It is, as so many of you have pointed out, ‘that time of year’ – the annual occurrence when we hold our breath and wish that GHOs and eagles got along.
We are still 7-8 days away from pip watch at Berry College for Pa and Missey’s second clutch.
Swampy and Meadow. Gorgeous. Aren’t they wonderful? They look like they are wearing Morning Suits.
Dixie and Mason have their thermal down. Before we know it, they will look like Swampy and Meadow.
No worries about food at the Johnson City nest. Boone certainly had a great day fishing on Sunday! The kids have eaten so much and their crops are so big – old coma.
The snow is melting at Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow have not give up on the eggs yet.
The kids at Bluff City had squirrel for Sunday’s meals. They both seem to be hanging in there.
The Dukies are fine. Mum just keeps feeding them and feeding them. That is one good way to stop the worry about food.
The camera is back up and running at Redding for Liberty and Guardian.
A beautiful day at Captiva’s Osprey platform. Edie and Jack are incubating three eggs.
At the Captiva Eagle nest, Connie and Clive continue to feed Cal well after his fledge. A nice Sheepskin came in during the afternoon.
They are flying into Winnipeg and they are laying eggs at Decorah – Canada Geese. There are five eggs so far. Dad is up there helping keep guard as one of the Decorah eagles has been landing in the branches of the tree near the top.
The two hatches at Venice Golf and Country Club appear to be doing quite well. Waiting to see if third egg will hatch.
We are waiting for Dylan and Seren 5F to arrive at Llyn Clywedog Reservoir in Wales.
Blue 33 and Maya continue to work on their nest at Rutland. As far as I am aware, at the time of this writing, they are the only couple to have reunited at the UK streaming cam nests.
Next news from ‘H’:
I first saw the female from previous seasons on 3/7, but now have not seen her since 3/13. I first saw the male from previous seasons on 3/9, and I have seen him at the nest every day except 3/14. A new female first showed up at the nest on 3/17. She and Dad were in the nest together quite a bit on 3/17, but each time Dad seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder.
Carthage Mum is now back on the nest after having been MIA for a few days.
I am a great fan of Isabella Tree who is the author of several books on rewinding including Rewinding. Knepp Farm took a leap of faith and decided to change from traditional agricultural practices and begin rewinding and reintroducing species to their property in Sussex. White Storks were one of the goals – to being them back. You can read about the history of the White Stork in the region and how Knepp worked to establish the breeding pairs on their property.
In Belgium, at the nature park there are six occupied stork nests. Can you find them?
Storks have arrived at some of the Germany nests including Lindheim.
Waiting for Bette and Bukacek to arrive in Mlady Buky.
Milda. One year she laid her first egg on my birthday…I am hoping she is early this year. Mr H is adorable. Hoping he is a good father. Their nest in Durbe County is looking fantastic.
For those that have life lists, you will be very impressed by this gentleman who has recorded 10,000 birds.
That is just a hop, skip, and jump checking on some of the nests. We are now on pip watch for Port Tobacco Bald Eagles. Eggs are 38 and 35 days old as of Sunday the 17th so it looks like egg 1 might not be viable. Meanwhile egg two is hatching Monday morning fast!
Thank you for being with me today. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, discussions, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, L, SP’, Cal Falcons, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH Cam, SK Hideaways, Window to Wildlife, Lady Hawk, Berry College Eagle Cam, Eagle Country, Superbeaks, Johnson City-ETSU, FOBBV, Bluff City-ETSU, Duke Farms, FORE, Raptor Research Project/Explore, VGCC, Llyn Clywedog Osprey Cam, LRWT, Dahlgren Ospreys, Carthage Ospreys, Knepp, ZWIN, Lindheim Stork Nest, Mlady Buky, Biruta Lupa, The New York Times, and Port Tobacco Eagle Cam.
It is so nice to have you with us today. Thank you for all of your notes and comments. I am catching up on my replies – and apologies for taking a few days.
We woke to beautiful white snow blanketing the garden Monday morning and again on Tuesday. What a sight! It was -4 C, but today, Tuesday, it is -18 C. The gusts have blown the snow in covering the Boyfriend’s feeder and the Starlings are back in the lilacs. They seem to arrive on snow days. Interesting. There were 17 of them along with 60 or so House Sparrows and one of the Blue Jays.
The table feeders had to be cleared yesterday and will need it again today. I did say I wished for snow, right?
One of the Memorial Trees. This one is for Melvin named after the Jack Nicholson character in As Good As it Gets (1998). Melvin didn’t like patterns either! Every cat and family member has a tree.
This Weeping Caragana is gorgeous in the summer. Planted in memory of my adorable Red Abyssinian, Honey.
Mamma Calico and Baby Hope cuddling. They are quite inseparable. I love how Calico is still so gentle with her only ever kitten. Baby Hope will be eight months old on 2 March.
Missey is showing off her new ‘registration tag’.
Missey continues to serve as Mamma Missey for Hugo Yugo. They still love that quiet place in the store room with all the blankets.
Someone wrote asking – does Hugo Yugo really just fit in a shoe box? The answer is yes. She is that tiny! It is so hard to tell scale in images but Dr Green continues to say that she will probably remain the size of an 8 or 10 week old kitten the rest of her life. It is tragic how her mother nearly starved to death carrying seven babies. We feel blessed to have Hugo Yugo – she really is a ray of sunshine.
Calico watches ‘The Boyfriend’ from the conservatory. He is just leaving after having his lunch.
Have to get out and clean his feeding area!
I have included many articles and posts about Flaco. One of the best I have read is an Opinion piece in The New York Times by Carl Safina. A number of his books sit on my shelf and have been read by me, and ‘The Girls’, including his book about the rehabilitation and release of Alfie, the Owl, he mentions in this article. I hope you enjoy it.
Cal officially branched – the whole meaning of branching – Monday at 0643. Remember – both feet on the branch. Should fly to branch rather than shuffling those talons. Cal did a good job. Congratulations!
R6 turned six weeks old! These are captures from Heidi Mc’s video diary. Did I mention that R6 is trying out for the role of Hulk in a new movie? (And I thought Calico was pleasantly plump – look at this eaglet!)
Lots of good feedings going on at Eagle Country. No one is left out! Swampy and Meadow looked like they were ready to burst a few times on Monday.
Abby loves to feed her babies!
JBS20 had a huge crop Monday at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands eagle nest.
The eggs at Duke Farms late Monday morning. We are on hatch watch. It is day 36.
That little eaglet at Johnson City is strong. My goodness. It was eating right after hatching and it can hold that neck up high and straight. Oh, goodness, I feel for that second hatch!
9667 people were checking on Jackie incubating the three eggs Monday morning. We are now TWO days away from pip/hatch watch on the 29th.
It has started raining at the nest Monday afternoon. Oh, please, don’t let those talons slip!
Milda and her new mate continue to provide nesting materials for their nest in Latvia.
Milda on the left and her new mate, H492, right.
When I think of Milda it draws me to the beautiful Black Storks in both Latvia and Estonia. What will it be like without Karl II this year? Will Kaia return? Will there be storklets in the nest in Karula National Forest? or has the drought decimated the population – along with that horrible bird flu? We must wait with hope tempering our saddened hearts.
If you missed it, Ervie is back on line. His tracker began to work again on the 23rd. Much relief if you didn’t know. Thank you, PLO!
Annie says ‘meet me on the ledge’. Archie obliges.
I love it – Eat, Pray, Love! Monty and Hartley style.
Newmann is a ‘hot’ commodity. Which female will he choose? It looks like there are at least three candidates, but are there more?
Around the world, Peregrine falcons are feeling ‘springlike’. The Norwich scrape streaming cam will go live shortly.
There are ‘definitely two’ ‘R’ says in the screen capture at the UFlorida-Gainesville osprey platform of Sheila and Talon. This is a new nest. The original one was on the light stand and those lights were replaced last year. ‘R’ has monitored the ospreys around the Campus and there were 9 couples, if I remember correctly, last year.
Dixie and Mason appear to be doing just fine under the watchful eyes of Pepe and Muhlady.
Gorgeous Mom at Centreport. She laid her second egg on the 25th of February.
Chase & Cholyn and their egg at Two Harbours. All the guys love to incubate…must be nice to have a soft spot to rest! It looks like it will be only one egg this year for this pair – this is day 4. Let’s hope for them it is viable. They have been together for what? 25? 26? years.
The first egg was laid at Standley Park in Colorado.
Bette shocked everyone when she laid her third egg at the Little Miami Conservancy on the 25th of February!
At Decorah, it seems that there is some competition amongst the Canada Geese for the abandoned eagle nest. Goodness.
Richmond is expecting Rosie to arrive any day and he is getting their home ready!
Many are saying that Flaco was thin and malnourished, suffering from being in the wild. It is always good to read official sources if you can to sift the truth out of a lot of disinformation. So if you missed it, the necroscopy on Falco indicated he was in good health when he collided with a building and subsequently died of trauma. “Flaco had been in good physical shape, the necropsy found, succeeding in catching prey even though he had no experience hunting because he came to the zoo as a fledgling 13 years ago. According to the necropsy report released on Saturday, the owl weighed 1.89kg (4.1lb), just 2% less than when he was last measured at the zoo.”
A new book by Isabell Tree will be released in North America on the 7th of May. Its title is Wilding. How to Bring Wildlife Back.An Illustrated Guide. The Guardian has a review. Tree is one of my heroes. She dared to take part of the estate of Knepp Farm and create an ideal location for wildlife to return. As a result, the first White Stork hatched in the UK in 600 years on the property in Sussex.
One of my favourite rehab clinics is asking us to please, please fight against the use of rodenticides. Tell your neighbours, your friends, your family, and speak to those in power where you live. There are alternatives. Imagine…Cal, E23, Meadow, Swampy — all those dear bobbleheads dying because their blood will not coagulate from a designer poison.
We need to get rid of rodenticide and come up with some solution for fishing line and all that lead in fishing and hunting equipment. This is a good news story. We always need them.
There have been sightings of Bradley and Ervie as well as others in South Australia.
In other news, Lewis and Rosa have left the Dulles-Greenway nest. It is not clear what has happened to them. A new couple have taken over the nest. The Bald Eagle pair in Bartlesville, Oklahoma at the Sutton Centre have two eggs. Indeed, it is raining eagle eggs as my friend SP said and it is hard to keep track.
‘J’ has a list of hatch dates for us to watch for -. Some have already hatched!
Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Chat will be held on the 29th, Leap Year Day. Here are the details. Go to the Ventana Wildlife Society to sign up!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, photographs, charts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, R’, The New York Times, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Eagle Country, JB Sands Wetlands, Duke Farms, Johnson City Eagles, FOBBV, LDF, PLO, SK Hideaways, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, Norwich Cathedral, Florida-Gainesville and RM, Superbeaks, Centerport Eagles and Liz Schwartz, Jeni McDaniel, IWS/Explore.org, SF Bay Ospreys FB, The Guardian, A Place Called Hope, BirdGuides, Brooke Copp, and The Ventana Wildlife Society.
It was +4 C. The nature centre was full of people. There were two bus loads of young students and at least three groups having meetings. Oh, but they missed being outside – those at the meetings. It is February. It smells like spring and this should not be happening. The open water in Devonian Lake is bigger; I swear there was a duck there when I drove in. Not a migrant duck, but one that stays here all winter. I wonder when the time will come when the eagles and all the songbirds, the shorebirds, and the ducks never leave us to go south. Will this happen in my lifetime?
Turns out it was the Bald Eagle. you can barely see the white head on the edge off the open water to the lower right of the blue area, top image (under the word area).
This is highly cropped and so it is pixellated but now you can see the eagle with its white head.
The birds were not out so much. Squirrels were running around and I did not see any deer. It appears that they don’t humans. LOL. I don’t blame them.
The Girls are doing great. The light is different – the days are longer and they spend so much time in the conservatory. It is nice and warm in there. Hugo Yugo is over whatever ailed her to the point that Calico might wish she was sick again! Hugo Yugo loves to jump on Calico. The newest thing is that Calico will actually play with her. Calico is losing weight – but she is embarrassed because I showed everyone her curvy physique. So today, she would not get up!
Hugo Yugo can be an angel – when she is sleeping. Her battery is otherwise always charged, and she is in sixth gear. There is no low speed on Hugo Yugo. It is a manufacturer’s defect! She is the most curious cat and is fearless. Can you imagine? A kitten 1/6 the size of Calico – well, maybe 1/8, running straight at her? That’s HY.
She fits in a shoe box…and the girls have fun playing with the paper.
They enjoy boxes and paper more than any toy ever purchased! If you have cats that love paper bags with handles, Hugo Yugo says to remember to cut the handles so they don’t slip over the necks of your pets and choke them!
I wrote about the impact that tree cutting has had on my neighbourhood and the concern for the canopy loss. It has, until now, allowed the squirrels to cross the road – above the road – jumping from branch to branch. I fear that many of the garden friends who, for whatever reason, feel it necessary to cross the road will be killed by the fast drivers that come down the lane trying to find a shortcut to avoid the traffic jams on the main road. Sometimes, it helps not to feel alone. I am a great fan of Dani Connor Wild and her photographs, and I care for the squirrels in Sweden, where she lives. One of those was a little one whose mother was killed crossing the road near her house. She rescued, cared for, and released Roo. This is the story’s last episode (so far), with a dramatic turn about the trees and the road near her. Get some tissues for the end -.
I was away for most of the day. I am so grateful for your notes and those posting information on the various FB groups. It helps when I can’t keep my eyes on those nests! Much appreciated. There are many nests missing today, but I will get caught up in the next couple of days.
Hartley and Monty certainly feel spring-like! Does anyone recall when the first egg was laid last year?
Ah, and spring at Anacapa….
Best check in on what is happening with Newmann at Great Spirit Bluff. He is in need of mate!
Newman in the early morning.
Lisa was at the nest this morning also.
There is no doubt that Julie has her eyes and talons set on Newmann. I wonder what will happen…we wait.
At The Campanile, Archie shows up with a prey gift for Annie. She comes out of the scrape, flys off, returns and grabs. Archie sure looks like a ‘keeper’.
Arthur checked out the nest bowl and Big Red flew in for a quick glance Thursday morning. Big Red flies off and Arthur continues to check on what is needed.
It was a good day at Eagle Country. Meadow had a private feeding by Blaze right at bedtime. (They are behind Abby on the other side of the nest). Meadow is stuffed! (A few other images during the day – kids out of the egg bowl).
Jak and Audacity’s egg is still holding! Let’s hope it is viable.
R6 is walking! He crossed the entire near 2 m of the nest!
Ron and Rose with their gorgeous son.
‘H’ has identified that ‘gold’ fish that was brought to the WRDC nest the other day as a Midas cichlid. Thank you! I could not find it on the normal Florida ID listings. Apparently it is an evasive species prevalent in SE Florida.
Pepe and Muhlady have both of the two eggs of their second clutch hatched. Dixie and Mason. They appear to be healthy and robust. So happy.
We are six days away – six – from pip/hatch watch at Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow have been ever so careful around the three eggs this year. It is incredible to watch them as they strive to have one – at least one – of those eggs hatch this season. Will we have another Spirit? or will there be siblings?
They should catch some sleep now…they are going to be super busy if more than one hatches. Can you imagine? Three?? I hope Shadow has a special fishing spot!
Jackie was ever so happy when Shadow delivered her a nice fish meal. They say turn the sound down, but turn it up and listen to this amazing couple talk to one another.
‘J’ captured the eggs.
Too cute not to post. The way to Jackie’s heart? or to get her off the eggs? Shadow knows the answer: fish!
Wings of Whimsy has the video of Baker and Bette’s second egg at the Little Miami Conservancy Bald Eagle nest in Ohio. This happened on Thursday after 1600.
Want to know who is currently incubating? Wings of Whimsy has that too -.
They also did a tribute to Lusa.
Wings of Whimsy – do you know this YouTube site? If not, check it out. You might find it works well for you. Here is the link to the channel:
There are a couple of great folks in South Bend that keep us informed of what is going on at the ND-LEEF nest. Thanks SB for your images today.
There have been no fish deliveries on the Port Lincoln Osprey nest since the 17th when Mum brought one fish in that Bradley got. Later that day Bradley brought his own Puffer to the ropes. Giliath made a quick fly to the nest and then the cleaners arrived. It seems that nest deliveries are now stopped and I am going to assume that Mum and Dad are in ‘retirement’ from this season with Gil and Brad providing their own meals.
Thanks to the Fish Fairies ‘ foresight, it was a great season. Thanks again, Janet, Fran, and Bazz, for your persistence and care.
It is nearing migration. As spring comes, birds wintering in warmer climates will return to their breeding grounds in the north. Migration does connect and should concern all of us – and we need to do everything we can to help them. From feeding, to making sure that our windows are bird strike free, to slowing down when geese are crossing the road. If you missed this article, here is a little reminder of how we are connected.
The devastation caused by H5N1 has been huge and continues to decimate our Bird community.
Please keep your eyes on the JB Sands Wetlands Bald Eagle nest. It appears that one of the adults might be missing. I have just been alerted to this situation by ‘M’. Normally you will see both adults at the nest several times during the day. This is quite worrisome as there has been no sign of both of them together for at least 1.5 days. We know form experience that a single adult can raise a chick if it is a month old. M15 is a good example of this. We now need the adult at the nest to realise that something is happening and go hunting for JBS20.
At SW Florida, E23 is getting a little nippy!
Love and devotion…
Many of you would have provided the same answers and we watched the devastation last year. Will it change this year or be worse?
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. We look forward to seeing you soon! Oh, apologies. There is a pop-up that asks you to subscribe. I have no idea how it got there, but I am trying to remove it. I hate these things!
Thank you to the following for your notes, posts, screen captures, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, M, SP’, Dani Connor Wild, SK Hideaways, Ashley Wilson, Cal Falcons, Cornell RTH, Gracie Shepherd, WRDC, Superbeaks, FOBBV, Lady Hawk, Eagle Country, Michelle Hillman, Wings of Whimsy, Stephen Basly, PLO, BirdLife International, Ben Wurst, and JBS Wetlands.
I hope that you have had a grand weekend so far. Some of you will be celebrating the Lunar New Year while others are preparing for the Super Bowl – or maybe both! Whatever you are doing today, enjoy. Savour every moment. Life is way too precious to miss – the tiniest things are often the most joyful. And remember to laugh. Surprise someone by being kind, by saying ‘hello’ to a stranger – who knows, it could lift them up from the deepest depths. Send a note to someone you have been meaning to – just to say ‘hi’.
The ‘girls’ were very needy on Saturday. I am not sure why. Was it a change in the weather? Are they impacted as much as we are? It is curious. Calico woke me as usual – she really is better than the alarm. Today, she wanted to stay for cuddles instead of rushing to get me up to feed the gang. We spent nearly half an hour alone without Hugo Yugo screaming for breakfast. It was fantastic. Calic is a truly a gentle soul – like Missey. Except when it comes to Missey.
After breakfast, Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope only wanted to eat and play. Their minds were made up – today was the day they would leap through the air to catch the unicorn on the end of the fishing pole. As so many of you have reminded me, It is a very good thing Hugo Yugo is so tiny and lightweight. Otherwise, the house would be destroyed.
Missey decided to stay way out of the way. I have noticed that it has been mostly Hope and Hugo Yugo playing rough now. Missey and Calico tend to just go somewhere ‘quiet’.
Missey seems to get woolier by the day. Her back fur is now more than 7.5 cm or 4 inches long. She is brushed no less than five times a day to keep that beautiful coat from turning into a mat.
It is still amazing how much Calico and Hope look alike. Their evening ritual is to get into the ‘Swan’ chair and cuddle around 1800. Calico will give Hope a very good wash, and then Hope, feeling invigorated, will want to play a little rough. Calico gets irritated and boots her out after a few minutes!
Hugo Yugo is so tiny. I still walk around shaking my head. She is now 5 and a half months old. In another month she will have ‘her surgery’. Dr Green has suggested that I get a tiny, tiny onsie for her to wear instead of a cone. Now to find one small enough – or make one ? My sewing talents are not that great, but I am determined to learn how to darn! Maybe there is a Chihuahua onsie????
The kitten adoption has their own vet to do the surgery. Hugo Yugo is also set for a follow-up checkup with Dr Green three days later to ensure everything is in order. It is going to be impossible to stop her from jumping. I was told there are three layers of stitches and I should not fret too much. That is like telling a cow it shouldn’t moo.
After, it was off to the nature centre. With the new snow, the trails promised not to be icy – it was a super morning. Squirrels were running everywhere, invigorated by the colder temperatures and snow. Children were again using the tower to slide their sledges onto Devonian Lake. The Chickadees flitted about the forest – there has to be at least 50 of them – while the Sparrows and Woodpeckers looked for seed. It could not have been a more perfect day.
When I got home, there was a note from ‘B’ alerting me that Annie and the new male were in the scrape. He was calling and Annie obliged. He bowed, keeping his head low and his tail high. This courtship ritual lasted for a good three minutes! Lots of ee-chups. Peregrine Falcons are so civilised.
This new male seems tiny.
Before I go any further, two Osprey brothers fishing in the same area in South Australia. How wonderful. I bet Dad was there, too! Delamere is near the Marina and you might recall that Ervie fished there with Dad when he fledged.
There is so much food on the Eagle Country nest that it is rotting and attracting so many flies. The Eagles probably don’t care, but it does seem that the buzzing around of the insets does disturb them. Meadow and Swampy are deep in the nest bowl. You cannot see them much of the time…I do hope that nest has a good, thick bottom!
It looked like there was a double feeding going on at one time. Look closely in the top image and you can see the little eagles, Swampy and Meadow.
There is continuing drama at the Captiva Osprey nest. Having just named the new female ‘Jill’, that bird has now disappeared and there is a new female. Jack has duly delivered a fish and mated with her at least four times on the nest. I don’t think he cares anymore – he just wants eggs and osplets! The first female to oblige will hopefully be safe from other female intruders and stay the course at least til after fledgling. This nest makes me nervous. Too many intruders. — An update. It is now 1900 on the nest and the new couple have mated 10 times on camera. That must be some kind of record. How many viewers were blushing?
E23 continues to do well. So curious about what is happening outside the nest now. These nests with one eaglet have been so wonderful to watch this year. Big healthy chicks.
Jackie and Shadow continue to take turns doing incubation. Jackie takes control at night – as she always does. I have not seen a lot of prey eaten on the nest since the eggs were laid. Is that because of the snow, OR is it because Jackie and Shadow might deem it a safety measure not to in order to not step on the eggs? I am curious. Let’s see what they do if the snow melts before hatch.
It sure started out window but, overall, the day looks nicer.
Shadow did have to take things into his own talons in order to get more egg time, though! Watch it until the end…Jackie gets Shadow out and then Shadow returns.
Did R6 double in size overnight? S/he will be four weeks old today! the 11th. This eaglet is one cutie. Look at that soft, downy mohawk. It will soon disappear. And those big clown feet. They are turning yellow…and that nice charcoal thermal down—one healthy baby.
Heidi Mc continues the story and provides us with a good ending for R6 and the pigeon band.
Look hard and you can see the little one at JB Sands Wetlands.
Many watching the Redding nest of Liberty and Guardian are thinking Liberty is getting ready to lay the first egg.
SK Hideaways reminds us that Liberty is 24 years young.
A good look at Chandler and Hope’s first egg at Tobacco Creek!
We are now a week away from hatch watch for Pepe and Muhlady at Superbeaks! They are going for gold with a second clutch. Let us all wish them well…they should be able to hear their eaglets cheeping and wanting out of those shells.
They are still incubating the egg. Beau has turned out to be quite good – sad that it is too late to save it, but maybe next year. These close-ups of Gabby need to be seen. Great screen captures.
For the past two years the geese have hatched little ones from this abandoned eagle nest at Decorah. I do hope they do it again this year! It really was marvellous watching all of them leap down to get to the stream with Mum and Dad.
Pittsburgh-Hays is now live again.
Clyde brought Bonnie a big rat for her meal after 2200. Bonnie quickly horked it down and had a wee break before going back to incubation duties.
You can barely see the rat before she downs it. I hope the businesses and people around this nest do not use rodenticides. This is now the ongoing concern for Flaco, the Eurasian Owl in NYC. Rodenticides. Secondary poisoning. It is tragic.
It is pretty quiet at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Two fish came in on Saturday around mid-day. The nest is empty on Sunday. I wonder how much longer Gil and Brad will come to the barge.
We know Bradley is doing well. Those pink and red rings sure stand out! Great news.
Rutland gets visits from Egyptian Geese and Colin the Cormorant, but we are all waiting for Blue 33 and Maya to return from their winter migration and the countdown is on. We are seriously less than 42 days now.
Last year Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 laid the first egg, but it is unclear what happened to Blue NC0 last year. She left the area quite early – in mid-July and she may no longer be with us. I actually have her in the 2023 Memorial Listing. Laddie is not a youngster. So we will have to cross our fingers and toes and wait to see.
If you are in Wales, the Dyfi Nature Centre opens on the 1st of March…getting ready for the arrival of Idris and Seren!
Join with Audubon or Cornell – who cares which one – and do the Great Backyard Bird Count. We are only a few days away. It takes only 15 minutes a day and runs from Friday, February 16, through Monday, February 19, 2024. Here is the info from Audubon.
Want to protect those adorable Albatross? and other seabirds? Well this is how your government policy makers can make a difference. This focuses is from Malta, but it applies everywhere.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Look forward to having you with us again soon.
Thank you to the following for your notes, posts, videos, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’B, H, J, SP’, Cal Falcons, Eagle Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam, FOBBV, FORE, SK Hideaways, WRDC, Heidi Mc, JB Sands Wetlands, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, Carol Shores Rifkin, Laura Rose, PIX Cams, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, PLO, LRWT, Dfyi Nature Centre, Audubon, Give a Shift about Nature, Emergence Magazine, and Birdlife Malta.
Another grey miserable day that chilled you to the bone regardless of the warm temperatures! It is time for rain jackets and puddle boots. Hard to believe. Wishing for snow.
It was another day of ‘Who is going to be the Queen of the Cat Tree’. It is all hard play and goes on from morning to night with the ‘top cat’ changing regularly. On Monday morning, Baby Hope was enjoying having a relaxing time on the top rung of the cat tree after breakfast. Then…she looks down, and who does she see? You guessed it! Hugo Yugo has arrived to disturb the peace.
Ouch! Hugo Yugo is fearless and is fortunate that Baby Hope has a very sweet disposition.
Baby Hope decides all she wants to do is get away or is she going to try to take over from another position on the cat tree?
The winner – for now,
While I was out, ‘L’ sent news that Meadow was being fed well today. Yahoo! Sometimes it is just those first few days for the oldest to set dominance and the beaking stops. This is fantastic. I was almost afraid to look.
Poor Jackie and Shadow. They cannot get a break from the horrific weather that is in California that is causing major flooding and mudslides. Pouring rain and now rain and snow mixed on Monday.
The deadly storm is slowly moving out of the area.
It started off west at the nest of M15 and F23 in Fort Myers before the weather changed and little E23 could sun itself and dry out.
You can see the dramatic change in the plumage in the image below. Notice the quills holding the blood feathers for the tail and the few white dandelions left on the top of the head. The beak is becoming a shiny ebony, and the yellow legs, feet, and the mandible indicate this is a healthy little eaglet.
E23 has attempted to do some self-feeding after finding some prey hidden in the nesting material.
M15 flew in with a big fish. ’J’ caught some screen captures of F23 feeding little E23 his lunch.
D Morningstar caught some good close ups of E23 – she was 36 days old on 5 February and is 37 today. Time passes so quickly. Look at the plumage and then look at those fuzzy babies at Eagle Country. What a difference a month makes.
The same weather system went through Captiva before hitting Fort Myers. Cal and Lusa are trying to stay warm and dry under Connie, but to no avail. They are way too big. What sweeties. After drying off, look at them both standing so tall and strong on those beautiful chrome yellow legs.
It was wet at the WRDC nest of Ron, Rose, and R6. Heidi Mc caught Ron being a ‘Dadbrella’. Way to go! Looks like there is still some coot left on the nest too, but catch R6’s crop! What a cutie.
At the Captiva Nest of Jack (and formerly of his mate Ruby who is MIA), it seems the male might have a new partner - just in time for breeding season we hope. She accepts his fish gift – that is a good start.
It looks like it could be just two eggs for Jack and Diane this season at Achieva. Fantastic!!!!
At JB Sands Wetlands it was sunny. I could not tell what was in the pantry but the little eaglet is being well taken care of.
Did Ervie meet his brother Giliath when they were both out looking for fish?
More tracking for Ervie. Have to say it – Ervie is the ‘Rock Star’ of the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Sorry, Gil and Brad.
I am getting so excited for Osprey season to begin that I can hardly think of anything else. Tiger Mozone posted an older video of Henry and EJ. It shows Henry returning from migration to discover EJ on eggs – not his! So what does Henry do? Watch.
Oh, don’t you just love Osprey behaviour!
Angel, the Leucistic Red-tail Hawk, is back at her nest! Window to Wildlife gives us the good news: “Angel is back! In late January Angel was seen on her nest while our team was out doing some routine maintenance and upgrades to the cameras for the upcoming season. The new upgrades will include better low-light viewing with infrared floodlights for a better viewing experience of Angel’s amazing nest!There is still some work to be done before the streams can go live, so stay tuned for more updates and an announcement of when that will be! We’re looking forward to another fantastic season and hope you’ll stop by the streams!”
Eagles at the ND-LEEF nest on Monday.
At the NE Florida nest of Gabby and Beau, Gabby had an unexpected visitor on Monday – A1. He even went into the nest bowl. Some worried that Beau had been injured in a fight with A1, but Beau did return later all talons in tact.
Bonnie has spent much of the day on the nest on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas. We are expecting her to begin laying eggs in 2 or 3 days. Normally, Bonnie lays two eggs with successful hatches in past years, and both are fledging. They grow fast!
It sounded like thunder. The rain began in a gentle way and then really began coming down. I hope Monty and Hartley are safe and dry – and, I am wondering why they just don’t sit out the storm inside the scrape where it is dry. Any thoughts?
In Port Lincoln, Gil and Brad each had a fish on the 5th. Today they are both waiting, taking turns, to see who will be the lucky one on the nest when din-dins arrive.
Canada Geese are loud and the one who landed on the Decorah nest is no exception.
What does your City do during migration? Is it switching off the lights like a number of growing urban centres?
Why is switching lights off important? Let’s check.
Birdcast says: ”Light attracts and disorients migrating birds, confusing and exhausting them as well as making them vulnerable to collisions with buildings, not to mention other urban threats like cats and toxins.”
Audubon has their own article on their Lights Out Programme – and there are hundreds more on the Internet. Educate yourself and your City! Save the birds.
When I adopted a Kakapo in 2022, I adopted Rangi. He is a very special Kakapo – at least 51 years old. His story is really worth a read – it unfolds in the posts below. Rangi is very special.
Here is the full text. It is very interesting. ”The known population at the time was just 90 ahead of another breeding season on Whenua Hou. Ranger Chris Birmingham was out checking the location of females when he heard booming from an unidentified male. As soon as he noticed the old metal leg tag, he knew this was an extra special find. Excitement passed through the team on the island and the bird was soon undergoing a full health check, sampling, and having a transmitted fitted. That night the team matched records to the tag number confirming it was Rangi, one of four males missing since their first release. Ranger Chris wrote a new database entry adding, “words cannot express the joy I feel at finding this guy!”
Genetic data shows Rangi fathered Wendy, Zephyr, Sarah, Adler, Merty and Ralph; making him a grandfather to 17 (including @Sirocco), and great-grandfather to nine.
He hasn’t bred since 1981, but Rangi still booms in season and has been maintaining his bowl site recently. His exact age is unknown but he would be at least 51 now. He lives amongst dense supplejack vines making it tricky for rangers when it’s time for his annual health checks. Elusive yet crafty, he has been known to sneak quietly through the undergrowth to circle back behind rangers that are following him. Rangi is known as the artful dodger after all!”
Last but never least – we often hear the names of men who made a difference in the world of birds. But what about the women? This is a previously published article that is always good to visit again to remind ourselves that everyone can contribute! What a wonderful list of amazing women.
Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’A, H, J, L’, Eagle Country, FOBBV, The Mercury News, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Visa, D Morningstar, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Heidi Mc, Achieva Credit Union, JB Sands Wetlands, PLO, Tiger Mozone, BBC Report, ND-LEEF, Gracie Shepherd, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, All About Birds, San Jose City Hall, Bart M, Rosieanne B, National Audubon Society, BirdCast, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, USFWS, Audubon, and the Kakapo Recovery.
It was a marvellous Friday. The temperature rose to +5 C in some areas while at others it stayed around +3. The two degrees didn’t matter. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. People were happy!
Missey and Baby Hope looking out the window.
Missey and Hope had finished their lunch. If you are wondering ‘why’ Hugo Yugo grew so much in a month, well, ….She finished her dish and then decided to go around and eat anything left in her sisters’ bowls while they are busy watching birds!
It was not clear what would happen when Baby Hope discovered Hugo Yugo eating her food….Nothing. The older ones seem to tolerate anything that Hugo Yugo does. It is astonishing.
Then Hugo Yugo showed that she is capable of problem solving. There was one piece of food on the opposite side of the dish. She could not get at it very well. She tried her paw. That didn’t work.
So, what did she do? She went around to the other side of the dish. Ate every last nibble. Well done, Hugo Yugo!
2 February was not just Ground Hog Day or the day that Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo, but it was also the day we said goodbye to Harriet, the matriarch of the SW Florida Bald Eagle Nest on the Pritchett property in Fort Myers. Today, marks the beginning of M15 doing the amazing – he raised two one-month old eaglets to fledge all by himself while fending off numerous unsuitable female eagles!
It was a scary time for everyone and no one knew how this story would end, but M15 showed himself to be worth of the top spot of Top Dad for 2023 easily. E21 and E22 thrived.
M15 had multiple options, and he chose well. F23 has turned out to be a wonderful mate, and E23 is a healthy, happy eaglet. Look closely and see the colour around the mandible changing to yellow.
Too cute.
I am in tears. The other eagle family that we are so desperate to have chicks this year is at Sauces, and Audacity laid her first egg on Friday. That nest is lined with soft materials (compared to Big Bear). Oh, please, let them have a chick this year! Parachute one in if you have to, Dr Sharpe! Surely there is an orphan eaglet somewhere.
The snow at Big Bear appears to have stopped, but it isn’t melting. Shadow took a turn incubating and then flew around the nest getting a nice stick for the railing. He must be calculating how many new sticks he has to bring in if there could be three eaglets!
It took a bit to get Shadow to get up off the nest!
Both eagles of Abby and Blaze look fantastic – soft dandelion heads and that deep nest bowl keeps us wanting to see more of them!
Swampy hatched on the 31st of January and Meadow hatched today. There was some bonking and Swampy is getting the majority of the food. Fingers crossed that Meadow will be resilient!
The surviving eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands appears to be doing fine. Being fed well, but goodness, I wish that support was transparent!
At the Captiva nest, Lusa is now self-feeding!
11:42:08 AM
Lusa
ANOTHER MILESTONE!
Can now SELF FEED.
The clean up crew is working hard on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. The lads were off early in search of fish.
‘A’ reports on the Royal Albatross: ”At Taiaroa Head, the wee one at BOK and WYL’s nest needed to eat this morning, and so far, new mum BOK has not managed to do this. So the rangers swapped little TFT (Top Flat Track) chick with TF chick, putting TF under BOK and bringing TFT chick to mum LGL. Immediately, foster mum LGL fed the chick, which will presumably now be switched back to its own nest. A close eye will be kept on the weights of both chicks, with twice-daily weighing for TFT chick and daily checks for rapidly growing TF chick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKbM5HBesZ0. “
And she also brings us the news from yesterday at the Parramatta River: “February 2: Last evening (1 February) at 7:39pm an eagle flew from the island area and across the wetlands. With poor light, it was impossible to identify. Shortly after, an osprey was seen with a fish, heading back to Concord. Early this morning, our team reported SE31 at the river, first at Juvie Roost then closer to River Roost. She was seen later attempting a catch from the river, but it seemed nothing edible. The juvenile was confirmed as SE31, as she was using her favourite roosts and flight paths. During the day, the adults were seen at Goat Island, then flying west together at 4:30pm. Ospreys were active on the river in the late afternoon. Then, the adults were seen back at Goat Island again.”
They are watching for the first egg at Dulles-Greenway with Rosa and her new mate.
Everyone at the WRDC nest is alright. They survived the drought of prey items and the nappy and R6 looks to be in fine health.
Enjoying some shade!
We are about 3 weeks from the first egg at Denton Homes with Mum and Beau. (Yes, another Beau).
Some activity over at Decorah North, too – and a fish gift!
The Hatchery Eagles were at the nest, too.
Your eyes are not fooling you if you look at the amount of water around the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California. ”Sacramento River’s water flow triples…” – this is due to the latest heavy rainfall in the area.
Everyone should be serious about plastic and demand alternatives just like the lead in fishing, hunting, and military use. This is for the UK, but maybe it should be international.
I want to give a big shout-out to Mary Cheadle. Mary handles all the fundraising projects for The Friends of Loch Arkaig. When Jean-marie Dupart was asked what he needed, he answered he needed a new pair of binoculars to count the UK and European Ospreys in West Africa. We are so grateful for Dupart’s sightings and photographs. Mary undertook the challenge of raising funds, and today, she announced that she had “raised £1085 for Jean-marie’s binos.” That is amazing. Thank you, Mary! And thank you, Jean-Marie, for always informing us of the Osprey counts and the sightings of ringed birds.
Cranes were made extinct in the UK in the 16th century. This past year they bred in record numbers.
You know Flaco, the escapee Eurasian Owl in Central Park. He is celebrating a year of freedom. It is highly unlikely Flaco will ever have a mate. Today I found this – a bonded pair of Eurasian Owls in Estonia. Have a peek.
They are Hugo and Hanna. She is on the nest platform and he is on the tree branch.
The Peregrine Fund reminds us of some facts about Eurasian Owls:
Eurasian Eagle-owls combine fast and powerful flights with shallow wing beats and long, fast glides. They also soar on updrafts, displaying a type of flight similar to that of soaring hawks like the Red-tailed Hawk.
Eurasian Eagle-owls are among the world’s largest owls.
Their pumpkin orange eyes and feathery ear tufts make them one of the most striking owls in the world.
They also state, “Eurasian Eagle-owls are found throughout much of Europe and Asia and in parts of northern Africa. They live in a variety of wooded habitats. They are more commonly found in areas with rocky outcrops and cliffs, but they also live in open habitats that have some trees and rocky areas like taiga, farmlands, steppes, semi-arid areas, and grasslands.
Eurasian Eagle-owls seem to do well in most types of habitat if there are available nesting spots and adequate prey. These large, beautiful owls have even been documented living in city parks. One owl showed up at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland. This potential fan spent time hanging out on the goal post, causing the game to be delayed for several minutes!”
Eurasian Owls are under threat. ”During the first half of the 1900s, Eurasian Eagle-owl populations declined drastically. Humans hunted and poisoned them and they had a hard time surviving. Happily, local governments have begun to increase their protection of these owls, and some reintroduction programs have taken place. Thanks to these efforts, the Eurasian Eagle-owl is recovering in Europe although their numbers still haven’t returned to what they were before the mid-1900s. Electrocution and collisions with cars continue to be a problem for this extraordinary raptor.”
The latest announcement about the West End camera in the Channel Islands:
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, videos, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J, MC’, Nancy Babineau, SW Florida Eagle Cam, info visual.info, Lady Hawk, IWS/Explore, FOBBV, Eagle Country, JBS Wetlands, Window to Wildlife, PLO, Dulles-Greenway, WRDC, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, FORE, The Guardian, Bozena Isia, The Mercury News, Sea Eagle Cam, @ChrisPackham, Audubon, The Government of Canada, The Peregrine Fund, Open Verse, and the IWS.
It continues to warm up a bit on the Canadian Prairies. Right now – it is 1617 Wednesday afternoon – it is -17 C. But hang on. In one week it is forecast to be +4 C. Yes, you don’t your eyes checked, PLUS 4. Wow. That is going to be a great day to spend out at the nature centre. Soggy but wonderful. The animals will be delighted.
‘The Boyfriend’ survived the cold nicely and was staring at the garden door, waiting for his delivery of wet food this afternoon. If I do not respond, he now knocks. He is so bold and is so curious about the house but runs the minute I open the door or come near.
Missey was watching from her perch on the cat tree.
Calico is a regular alarm clock. 0837 on the dot for several days now. Then she just wants cuddles, not food. The others are still asleep! It is our special time together before the day begins.
Baby Hope at a weird angle. She still has her very bushy tail. That ‘look’ is almost hypnotic.
For some ‘trouble’ is their middle name, but for Hugo Yugo it is their FIRST name! I have tried to post videos of the play fights between Hugo Yugo and all the other three girls, but this system does not seem to want to accept them so, imagine, if you will, the little kitten pulling off the blankets and jumping on Hope this evening in a wild frenzy.
Hope gets away and Hugo Yugo looks up and is ready to pounce on the sofa.
Baby Hope resting by the twinkle tree. They will all get a second, third, and fourth wind…chasing, running, pulling ornaments off the tree. The blankets will be everywhere along with the toys! My goodness, the energy and the fun these little ones have.
And then there was this…Hugo Yugo! Hugo Yugo kneading Missey hoping to make milk. Goodness. And Missey just took it all in stride.
It is just wonderful to see the garden animals and know that they did not succumb to the cold. Both Blue Jays are here getting peanuts along with Mr Crow.
The Black Capped Chickadees were eating the Black Oil Seed as well as the suet cylinders today.
Dyson ran too fast but I did get to photograph one of the kits at the feeder.
Oh, what a morning Wednesday was – Clive and Connie brought in five fish in three hours to the relief of everyone that had worried about their darling eaglets. What a power couple! So very happy that lots of fish got on that nest. Hopefully they can pile them up like Louis did at the E1 nest for a few years as there is a forecast of another bad weather system heading their way. Both C10 and C11 went to bed with big crops!
Jack is at the Captiva Osprey nest, but Ruby has been missing since her last visit on the 11th of January. That was only six days ago but Jack continues to call for her. I hope she is just having a spa time. Keep your fingers crossed.
There is no pip at the time of this writing for the second egg for Ron and Rita at the WRDC. It is 39 days old today and is, of course, clearly in the hatch window. No need to get too worried but if it were to go to 41, well…and I would feel sorry for that little eaglet because R6 will be ‘much bigger’. R6 might get to join the ‘only eaglet’ club of E23!
What a difference from this fuzzy little chick to C10 and C11, who have almost lost their Mohawks completely.
Snug and warm under Mamma Rose.
As far as I know, there is no pip at Berry College.
Looking at the eggs, is that nesting material? or the beginning of a pip?
Beau has new injuries to his feet. He has been busy all day trying to keep intruders away from Gabby, their egg, and the nest. One intruder landed on the nest tree and Gabby got rid of him. The time was 1552.
Unidentified intruder on branch while Gabby is calling out from the nest – it jumped in the nest and Gabby was calling and calling. It was a frightening moment for sure.
Beau is back on guard at the nest but has injured feet.
Didn’t see any eagles at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana – just their prints from earlier in the snow.
There is some fresh nesting material at Duke Farms, but no egg yet.
At Decorah North, DNF was in the trees while a beautiful red squirrel visited the nest tree and Canada Geese frolicked in the open water of the creek.
All is well at SW Florida. E23 continues to thrive and F23 has proven herself to be a great first time Mum.
E23 is never going to go hungry. M15 flew in with ‘something’ – did he get it at the Publix dumpster? (the butcher puts out food for M15). A dual feeding takes place around 1744 – E23 already had a big crop.
M15 reminds me of many of the male ospreys in the UK who love to feed their chicks and are great providers.
Here is the video of that dual feeding.
Jackie and Shadow were both at Big Bear today – gosh that nest has a gorgeous view.
At Port Lincoln, it seems that Giliath has found a place for fish – free fish? Smart little fledgling. Brad will be happy to eat all the fish brought to the nest. LOL.
So far, three fish deliveries. The 0637 was grabbed by Gil while the 0720 and the 0854 went to Brad. Dad came in with deliveries 1 and 3 and Mum brought in a partial fish in slot 2.
Everyone seems to enjoy spending time on the old barge.
It’s the first Royal Albatross hatch of the year (not the Royal Cam chick). Congratulations, first-time parents GBL and BYW!
There are so many wildlife cameras. This one is the BBC Winterwatch one. How many birds can you ID?
Big Red and Arthur will begin work on their nest with regular visits starting in February. There is major construction going on within a close proximity – we will have to wait and see how this impacts the breeding season.
Do you adore fuzzy little raptor or bird babies? Check out the winners of the Audubon photo awards!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to having you with us again!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, ND-LEEF Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, FOBBV, PLO, BBC, Cornell RTH Cam, Audubon, Sharon Dunne, and BirdGuides.
Hearts were breaking. The worry beads were out. E23 had something stuck in its mouth. Was it a fishbone? Both M15 and F23 tried to get it out. Finally, around 0910, M15 got it out and that little eaglet was fed the RK Rabbit. (Thanks, ‘H’ for the great captures). Thousands of people breathed a little quieter. M15, you are amazing. Let us all send good wishes to this little one with the hope that there was no injury.
It is a cold -25 C as I write this – with the wind chill it is -45 or -50 C in areas with cold weather warnings not to go out. Postings are up for people to please keep their pets inside. Winter has come. We will have several more days of -25 C and then it is going to warm up to -8 C. The weather has done this before and those little reprieves were great help – just to get outside and get some fresh air and go for a walk.
Extremely cold temperatures. How could I not worry about this adorable Tuxedo? He won’t come inside but will tell me when his dry kibble bowl is empty by banging on the garden door. ’The Boyfriend’ now has a heated bed in his insulated home. It all worked out. Calico gifted hers to him, and I crawled under the deck and got it all hooked up. Yes, he is in there! He should be very toasty. His insulated house has straw bales surrounding it on the top, the back and the sides. Only the front is open. There is straw inside and now a heated cat bed. He might never leave! I wonder if he will be wanting room service.
Calico is gorgeous. I love how the sun gives her a soft, golden look. On Monday, I will have ‘known’ Calico for a year. On 26 January, we will start the 7th month of Calico living inside. So far, she has not wanted to go out, but she has looked on occasion.
Missey washed Hugo Yugo for over 30 minutes. I wonder if she is going to clean that eye! Notice how she is really holding that little one down. Hugo Yugo’s fur is getting very frizzy.
Baby Hope is watching Missey clean up Hugo Yugo – she is also hoping she is not going to be next. Calico still holds her down and cleans her, too, despite the fact that she is almost as big as Mamma.
‘H’ is overjoyed and has sent me a close up of the pip at the WRDC nest of Rose and Ron. This egg is 38 days old today, I believe. The chatters have been wringing their hands in anxious anticipation. Now the wait for hatch!
Another view of that pip.
Rose on Sunday morning. Hatch in progress.
Over at Superbeaks, Muhlady has laid the first egg of her and Pepe’s second clutch. Congratulations! The time I was given was 1437.
No confirmed pip at Berry College at 1510 but chatters note some ‘suspicious’ spots.
We can clearly see the pin feathers coming in on the wings of E23 at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of M15 and F23.
You can see the ear. See the ‘hole – like a black dot’ in line with the corner of the beak. It will be covered with feathers as the eaglet develops.
C10 and C11 have not quite lost all the dandelions that make up their Mohawks, but the time is coming. There is lots of dark thermal down covering their bodies now and C10 was doing some standing today. Clive is keeping the nest full of prey.
Lori Covert is looking for names for C10 and C11. Here is that announcement so you can take part.
*NAMING* Time to name CE10 & CE11! The landowner is taking name suggestions. Around 1/19/2024 the land owner and her family will pick 2 names from the suggestions. If you’d like to submit names you can direct message Lori on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/C2A0dTTpZr8/) or you can email her at lcovert@covertmarketing.com
Beau continues to help out with incubating the egg at NE Florida. Gabby and him have a short conversation at the last turn over of the day Saturday night.
Snow continues in Iowa. It looks wet and heavy. You can really hear the wind. Compare the top image with the bottom captured later in the evening.
Raining in Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest.
Chat moderators are reminding us that the first mating of the 2024 eagle season for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear was 31 December. Some are thinking we could have eggs soon. I wonder. It is really windy Saturday night at the nest. I did not see the eagles there today, but I might have missed them.
At Port Lincoln, the day has started off good for both Brad and Gil have had a fish breakfast.
Report from WBSE, thanks, ‘A’: ”January 13: The first observation for the day was of one adult at River Roost at 11am, shortly joined by the other. Then, at 11:45am, what appeared to be a subadult was seen circling overhead, though neither adult seemed to take any notice. At 12:25pm, our juvenile was seen circling higher and higher, out of sight. Shortly afterwards, at 12:50pm, she was seen at Juvie Roost. More tomorrow if there’s any action.”
And here is that report: ”
January 14: Our juvenile was spotted on Mangrove Island at around 8:20am, though no parents were seen by our river watcher. Shortly before, one eagle was seen to fly to the Goat Island area and catch a huge fish, which it sadly dropped. SE31 was spotted flying high over the river, over the Homebush Bay area, for a good 30 minutes, returning to Mangrove Island at 10:20am with a raven escort. At around the same time, an adult was reported at Goat Island. Heavy rain began at around 4pm, steaming up our cameras. SE31 was seen at around 5pm taking a short flight around the island, watching the water intently. “
Nice to see Sally at the nest at Moorings Park on Saturday.
The Sauces Cam in the Channel Islands of Jak and Audacity is now live.
Hartley and Monty are flirting…. I wonder when we will have eggs. Any thoughts?
Ever since the discussions of Beau’s ‘missed opportunities’ at the NEFL nest with Gabby, there have been more and more postings of young males ‘missing their mark’. D3 at Centreport is one, and in ‘Red-tails in Love’, it was pointed out that Pale Male, the resident RTH in Central Park, was amorous with a head as well. They learn. But then you have the shock of the egg to the first time Mum (and/or Dad) and then that chick screaming for food. It has to be as overwhelming for them as it is for us.
Parrots. I recently posted a short blurb about the parrots in the UK. There are also parrots all over Stuttgart, Germany. I am including this because these are our feathered friends, but it also demonstrates how a small action can make a big difference to the lives of the birds we love so much. It does not take thousands of people just a few informed, dedicated, and persuasive individuals to get to the right government departments. They need to be organised and convince these people that helping the birds is also helping humans!
So where did the parrots in Stuttgart come from? Bianca Han writes in the Stuttgart Amazonian: ”It all began in 1984, when a yellow-headed amazon (Amazona oratrix), presumably escaped from a private enclosure, was repeatedly spotted on the grounds of Wilhelma in Stuttgart. Apparently there were several unsuccessful attempts to catch the amazon and it is rumored that animal rights activists took pity on the lonely amazon and bought another one and set it free. The two parrots found each other as a pair and raised three young in 1986. The population has grown steadily ever since. In 1995, 16 were counted and a further 10 years later as many as 38 parrots. At the end of the 1990s, two ringed blue-fronted amazons joined the population. It is not known where they came from. One disappeared after a short time, the other became a long-term partner for the yellow-headed amazon “Thea”. The population is growing very slowly. It stagnated for many years and even declined in some cases. Some years it fluctuated between 50 and 60 Amazons. In the winter of 2017 to 2018 and the following year, the population grew to 65 amazons each year (including one amazon that was in care to recover from injuries). In January 2021 I was able to count 62 parrots.” An organisation was formed to save the parrots. ”Regularly from February, the wild parrots begin to eat tree hazelnuts on the ground. Unfortunately, in recent years many places frequented by parrots have been thoroughly cleaned by the Stuttgart City Cleanup. On a smal strip of green just under two meters wide, the parrots have found their way. On one side runs the tram and on the other side runs a busy road. At the beginning of 2023, we were able to register many accidents. We were able to see some collisions with vehicles, which luckily turned out glimpse. Two Amazons had to be treated by veterinary surgeons. One remains permanently incapacitated another could return to the flock after 5 weeks. We miss some Amazons, who regularly visited the place for food intake. We have become aware of the urgent need to create alternative safe feeding grounds for them and to maintain existing ones. For this reason we have now established the association “Freundeskreis Stuttgarter Amazonen”. Hahn adds, “You can support the unique wild population of the Yellowhead Amazon by becoming a member of our association, by making a donation or by purchasing our annual calendar. More information at www. stuttgarter-amazonen. de
The first success of the Association Freundeskreis Stuttgarter Amazonen e.V. was the planting of two Hazelnut Trees by Netze BW Wasser GmbH. They also agreed to protect the Stuttgart Amazons. “On Thursday, November 23, 2023, the replanting of two tree hazel trees took place on a Netze BW site. Especially in the fall, the Amazons spend some days in this protected and inaccessible area, as there are already fruit and walnut trees here. It is to be hoped that the newly planted hazel trees will become a focal point for the Amazons in the winter months in the medium term.”
Parrots have been in the Hesse region of Germany for millions of years. ”Fossil finds have shown that around 50 million years ago, in the Eocene period, parrots lived in Hesse. Their remains can be found today in the sediments of the Messel Pit near Darmstadt. Parrot bones from the so-called Miocene (around 29 million years ago) have also been found in France and Germany. After that, Europe was long considered the only continent on which no free-living parrot species could be found. The colorful birds could only be admired in private holdings, bird parks or zoos.”
It is fascinating. I hope to learn more. Thank you to ‘J’ for bringing this to my attention after the UK posting and for translating the information from German to English using the free version of DeepL.com
Saturday is Ferris Akel’s tour around the area of Ithaca, New York. Of particular interest today were a lovely Red-headed Woodpecker and a pair of Mute Swans that are not local. Mute Swans are identified by their orange bill, and the know between their eyes at the top of the bill.
This would be true for all our wildlife.
Thank you so very much for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!
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Thank you to the following for their notes, information, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, WRDC, Lloyd Brown, Superbeaks, Berry College Eagle Cam, Lisa Kitchens Simms, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, PIX Cams, FOBBV, PLO, Bart M, Eagle Cam, Moorings Park, Gracie Shepherd, SK Hideaways, Teresa Rose, Ferris Akel Tours, and Animal Welfare Watch.
We had an ‘Alberta Clipper’ hit southern Manitoba overnight on Wednesday, and when we woke up Thursday morning, all of the main roads surrounding the city were closed. They reopened at 0845, but many city streets were blocked. There is not a vehicle moving where I live. It is wonderfully quiet. What was different, also, was the traffic at the bird feeders. The Crows arrived – two of them – for peanuts. They were joined by five woodpeckers, 4 Chickadees, and 2 Blue Jays, the usual cohort of squirrels and sparrows.
I have been talking about the Crows and how I noticed that they have not been around the neighbourhood. It was worrisome. The other day, I saw one at the corner waiting for a neighbour to put out food. They were not coming to the garden. Today they are here. Oh, tears. Joyful tears.
Our City has marked diseased trees and sadly, their nesting trees are due for cutting. We are all hoping that they will find another tree. These trees were planted in 1902. They are huge and made a beautiful canopy once the leaves were fully out in the spring. It is so sad to see them needing to be taken down. There are others being planted in their place but it will be a decade or more before they are even a decent height, never mind 60 for 70 feet in height.
The Blue Jay in profile is the baby that slept with the ornamental birds in the garden last summer. It is here with its dad, Junior. These seem to be the only two Blue Jays still in the neighbourhood that did not migrate (or die).
The male Downy. Notice the red patch at the back of the head near the nape.
This is the male Hairy Woodpecker.
One of Dyson’s kits was enjoying peanuts, too!
It is one of the female Downy Woodpeckers eating the suet on the big table feeder.
As a result of the activity in the garden, I spent much time in the conservatory watching rather than on the computer – something that I ask all of you to do! It was so nice. There is no hatch news so it is simply the status quo so far.
Iowa got some snow, too, and the eagles at Decorah North were doing a bit of cleaning up.
The Hatchery Eagles stayed in the trees.
Sunny Florida on Thursday. At the nest of Gabby and Beau, Beau is really coming into adulthood. He is helping Gabby and has incubated twice on Thursday. As the hatch approaches, let us all send positive messages that this egg is viable and that Beau begins to bring prey to Gabby and their chick.
We do not ever have to worry about E23 not getting enough prey!
E23 tried to yank that rabbit out of the nesting material to eat it today. Our little eaglet is getting pin feathers and will soon have some dandelions as the thermal down comes in. You can also now see the ear.
Rose is not giving any hints at the WRDC nest on Thursday.
At Captiva, C10 and C11 are sleeping with the fishes.
Shadow brought in the first fish of this season on Wednesday!
Heavy rains caused flooding at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest on Wednesday.
SE31 continues to put smiles on our faces.
Changeover at the Royal Albatross Colony. Everything is OK.
Marri’s return to the nest and – some memories thanks to SK Hideaways.
In California, Monty and Hartley want one another’s breakfast!
The Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey in Maitland – one of our favourite wildlife rehabilitation centres – released its 700th eagle into the wild! This is where Bailey, the Osprey, is an ambassador and where Connick was cared for before going off to the Smithsonian as an Ambassador.
You are looking at the only breeding pair of Short-tailed Albatross at the Midway Atoll and they are feeding a chick. They also breed on Mukojima, Ogasawara Islands, Japan.
Pesky intelligent Kakapo do not like staying in their enclosure.
New comes about one of the Hancock Eagles from British Columbia.
Thank you so much for being with me today. We are anxiously awaiting a pip or hatch at both the WRDC and Berry College. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Raptor Research Project, NEFL-AEF, Jan Lester, SW Florida Eagle Cam, WRDC, FOBBV, Duke Farms, Window to Wildlife, Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, The Guardian, Audubon, Friends of Midway Atoll, Robyne Hocking, and Hancock Wildlife Foundation.
