iris – Page 4 – Mary Ann Steggles

Sadness at Audubon Boathouse…Tuesday in Bird World

16 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

We have a predation at the Audubon Boathouse. For those of you that knew Steve and his mate and are familiar with Bailey, ambassador Osprey at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, you will be familiar with the predation at this nest. I realise that there is no guaranteed way to keep owls from attacking osprey nests and killing the chicks – it didn’t even eat them, just killed them, but you would think that they would be trying out something even a huge bright light (won’t hurt the ospreys) but might keep the owl away like they did at Lake Murray) to stop the slaughter.

It was nice and cool Monday morning and a good day to go and check the geese at the nature centre. The paths were somewhat wet after the big thunderstorm that went through Sunday evening, but the geese didn’t disappoint. Two little clips of a few of them.

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

Everywhere I turned there were geese.

https://videopress.com/v/E3hr0afJ?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Need a smile? There was a hatch at the Loon Cam! It’s slow going at first. About 12 minutes in there are some cute shots of the hatchling.

I haven’t forgotten about all those grouse moors in Scotland with their hunts and all the raptors that are killed in the process. Ruth Tingay says in her most recent posting, ” call them ‘The Untouchables’. Those within the grouse-shooting industry who have been getting away with illegally killing golden eagles, and other raptor species such as hen harriers, buzzards and red kites, for decades.

They don’t fear prosecution because there are few people around those remote, privately owned glens to witness the ruthless and systematic poisoning, trapping and shooting of these iconic birds. If the police do come looking, more often than not they’re met with an Omertá-esque wall of silence from those who, with an archaic Victorian mindset, still perceive birds of prey to be a threat to their lucrative red grouse shooting interests.

For a successful prosecution, Police Scotland and the Crown Office must be able to demonstrate “beyond reasonable doubt” that a named individual committed the crime.” ——– You might see the problem if you think about the vast landscape that is Scotland and when these men own thousands and thousands of acres of land, who will see them? Have a read:

Why-Scottish-grouse-moors-will-have-to-stop-slaughtering-golden-eagles-opinion-piece-in-The-Scotsman Download

You might recall that I mentioned that Waba’s battery was at only 1%. ‘J’ went on the snoop to find out about these GPS trackers on the storks. This is what she found:

Some information taken from the Ornitela website:

What factors affect number of GPS positions that can be collected?
GPS positions logged by OrniTrack transmitters represent the parameter that is most relevant for the majority of users. GPS logging primarily depends on sky view and available battery power.
Sky view is needed for GPS antenna to detect satellites. Connection with satellites can be obscured in places with limited sky view, such as under the forest canopy, in mountainous terrain or urban areas among buildings. GPS position logging in such environments often takes longer, which results in higher battery drain than in open areas.
Logging GPS positions is a relatively expensive process in terms of energy use. When developing OrniTrack transmitters we paid particular attention to achieving the highest possible energetic efficiency of this task. Extensive testing of OrniTrack transmitters in an open terrain revealed that fully charged battery of smaller OrniTrack-30 is sufficient for logging at least 1500 GPS positions and larger OrniTrack-50 can log at least 5000 GPS positions without additional recharge. But please note that data transfer via GPRS, which is more energetically demanding process, was set to infrequent intervals of one data upload per day during the testing.
Further, please be aware that GPS position logging stops when available battery power drops below 3675 mV. The remaining power down to 3600 mV is conserved for data transmission and the transmitter stops completely if battery voltage drops below 3600 mV. Once solar panel recharges the transmitter battery, GPS logging and data transmissions resume.
Therefore, it is paramount that a user monitors the available battery power and adjusts transmitter settings accordingly.

Battery charge by solar panel
OrniTrack transmitters are equipped with efficient solar panels which recharge internal batteries. We experienced that under favourable light conditions solar recharge can be fully sufficient to continuously log GPS positions at 1 minute intervals during daytime hours. But for solar panels to do their job, they need to be exposed to direct sunlight.
Overcast days offer little to no direct sunlight. Low sun angle above the horizon, like it is at high latitudes in winter, also delivers inefficient charge. Species living under the forest canopy may also receive limited charge due to scattered light.
Finally, perhaps the most frequent factor restricting battery charge is due to bird feathers covering the solar panel. This highly depends on species tracked and transmitter placement. From manufacturing perspective it is not difficult to increase transmitter height so it sticks through the feathers. However, empirical studies and experimental testing in wind tunnels revealed that externals transmitters may increase bird flight costs due to air resistance and turbulence. We therefore chose the transmitter design that minimizes possible impacts on birds.
While we supply transmitters capable of efficient recharging under good light conditions, it is user’s responsibility to consider all relevant factors influencing recharge and monitor battery status when choosing transmitter settings.

Alma and Lucia still come home.

‘PB’ reports that Mum is feeding the oldest and only surviving osplet out of four at McEuen Park. Oh, I hope this one makes it. It is just going to get hotter. Send all your best wishes to our poor ospreys.

Meanwhile at Hellgate Canyon, Iris knows Finn is around and coming with a fish. Turn the volume up for the full effect. I would like to put a fish that size at the Osoyoos nest. Soo would pass out. She probably thinks the only fish there are are those little twiddlers. Their lake in that town needs to be stocked. Did you hear me Osoyoos?

A tired and proud Mamma Iris.

The moderator at the Charlo Montana osprey nest says they have not had a fall off the nest for the last nine years. Poor baby. For those who don’t know, little backed up to do a ps and fell off the nest Friday evening. It is still hot. Charlie is delivering good fish. But these nests in the Pacific Northwest need a break.

And they are not going to get it. Temperatures are expected to rise.

Minnesota still looks good.

Some of the Field Farm babies are spreading those wings and wanting to fly.

There is still one osplet at the Cowlitz PUD osprey nest in Washington State. Let us just hope that the eagle decides not to return tomorrow. Electra and her mate worked hard in very hot conditions – surely to goodness, they deserve to have one baby fledge.

Three big osplets at Oyster Bay. What a difference it makes to have your nest in protected waters away from the Menhaden trawlers and also not to be having heat in the high 90s.

Two out of four have fledged at Poole Harbour.

It is much cooler at Seaside and Bruce and Naha’s two osplets are flapping and jumping and thinking about flying.

Moraine: ‘PB’ sent a great image of the chick with a huge crop after Dad delivered dinner. Now that is what I would like to see at Osoyoos and McEuan.

I am so grateful for the turn around at Snow Lane, Newfoundland.

‘H’ reports:

7/15 Forsythe osprey nest: ‘Larry’, the only surviving osplet out of four, fledged this morning, at 55 days of age. We were joyful, and grateful that there was at least one fledge this season. We are happy for Opal and Oscar…that their efforts this season have not been completely in vain. Larry made a beautiful landing back in the nest four hours later, and Oscar brought him a large fish to celebrate!

7/16 Colonial Beach: The ‘kids’ are 20 and 21-days-old. Today was the first time I have seen any significant dominance and aggression from Big during meals. This nest averages three fish per day, but I wish David would deliver more. The osplets need more frequent meals. Due to the aggression from Big, Little did not eat at the first meal. Little eventually ate very well at the second meal, and had a very long private feeding. When the younger chicks first start to be denied food by a sibling, they don’t know what to do, so they just keep trying and can be further brutalized. They need to learn to employ certain tactics to get fish bites from Mom. Well, it seemed that Little was ahead of the curve. After the third meal commenced, and Little was attacked by Big, Little scooted over to the other side of Betty and was receiving some fish bites at her left side. But, Little soon decided that he wanted to eat beside his ‘bestie’ and went back beside Big. I was saying, “No no, what are you doing, Little…go back to the other side!” Little was beaked again, and after a brief period of being tucked, Little returned to Mom’s left side and was able to eat a nice meal. Thus endeth the lesson, kiddo.

7/15 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): This is another nest where I wish there were more fish being delivered. Johnny used to drop off 5-6 fish per day, but now only 2-3 per day. 31-day-old ‘Fen’ is hungry. And for the past few days, Fen has started aggressively attacking both June and Johnny. This nest has not been subjected to extreme heat or high winds. However, it is located in a summertime tourist area, with thousands of vacationers this time of year. I wonder if there are too many boaters out on the local waterways, and that may be hindering Johnny’s efforts to catch fish.

7/15 Osoyoos osprey nest: The extreme heat has lasted for several days and will continue for several more days. As a result, there simply have not been enough fish brought to the nest to support three growing oplets suffering in the heat. Little had not eaten very much for over three days. Little passed away this afternoon, at approximately 1430. I saw four fish delivered to the nest, and the last one was at 1731. Big and Middle were both fed at this meal. There have been meals over the past few days where Middle was denied the opportunity to eat by Big, including at the second meal this morning. Middle’s survival is not a given at this point. I’m not sure when the live stream went offline. There could have been another fish delivered in the evening, but I was not able to rewind to check.

7/16 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: Last season, the only chick ‘Skipper’, was predated by a Great Horned Owl just days away from fledging. Most of us have been on pins and needles watching this nest this year. The GHO had already been at the nest twice earlier this spring, and we feared that it would be back. This year Dory and Skiff had two beautiful osplets, named Harbor and Gray. The GHO did come back, and it attacked both chicks early this morning at approximately 0340, and killed them both. After all the predations that have occurred at the Hog Island nest, Steve no longer uses that nest. He and his new mate come around in early Spring to tend to the old Hog Island nest, but they do not use it to raise a family. Dory and Skiff will need to find another nest. The owl will never forget.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 15th July 2024

Today brought more news of the chicks – some footage of them preening, looking healthy and nicely rounded, and some tweets and facebook posts with photos and more details of the translocation programme. No action on Nest One but a little flurry on Nest Two, with Louis bringing two fish today. He gave the first one quite readily to Dorcha, but teased her by mantling over the second one and flying away with it. He did return with it later on and let her take it, and both adults ended the day with full crops. Weather was settled, tonight’s forecast is misty with light winds, and the prospect of sunshine, well, sunny intervals, and a gentle breeze tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.46.29 (03.24.36); Nest Two 00.01.35 (03.36.46)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/5Y9kwM70tXI N2 Two fish in two days! Louis brings an early breakfast 04.51.00

https://youtu.be/qJEOIijj5Hc Valencia: the chicks are preening, plus tweets & FB posts 13-15th July

https://youtu.be/2pzx2f_0dm4 N2 Fish number two arrives but Louis won’t give it to Dorcha 16.58.40

https://youtu.be/h9oCsNTe8zE N2 Louis returns and this time gives Dorcha the fish 18.16.47

https://youtu.be/rlP1X8w_HrI N2 Dorcha’s not happy when Louis brings sticks not fish 21.41.48

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

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

The three chicks at Finnish Osprey Nest #1 were ringed on the 15th. There is one male, Vaino, and two females, Valma and Vieno. Well done!

Mum caring for the chicks at Janakkalan.

Muonion is alright! Two little chicks. Three weeks old.

Latvian Ospreys. The oldest is eating really well. The second appears, at times, to be a bit shy. Both seem alright.

Kristel eating a Northern Raven – has a huge crop!

Kakapo in care after discovery of a beak injury. Thank yo so much for your annual checks. I hope this was caught in time.

Things are getting better at the Dorsett Hobby nest.

The Northhumberland Trust has an art contest and it is about Osrpeys.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, messages, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, LPC Loon Cam, Raptor Persecution UK, Looduskalender, SK Hideaways, McEuen Park, Weather Network, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana Ospreys, MN-LA, Field Farms, Cowlitz PUD, PSEG, BoPH, Seaside Ospreys, Moraine Park, Cathy Cohen, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Kakapo Recovery, osp, Northumberland Trust, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach Ospreys, Audubon Boathouse, and Forsythe Ospreys.

Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

15 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All appears alright at Pitkin County in Colorado.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nest #4 in Finland is doing well.

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

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

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

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

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

Ospreys-Too-soon-for-a-victory-dance-New-Jersey-Conservation-Foundation Download

A rescue and return to the nest!

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

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

Daily summary Sunday 14th July 2024

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

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

Today’s videos:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People have been wondering about Giliath. Here he is!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heat hitting US Osprey Nests…Tuesday in Bird World

9 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

‘The Girls’ bring me so much comfort when the days are sad and long. I cannot imagine a world without them or Mr Crow screaming at me or the little squirrels running around the deck and the feeders. They help to bring a sense of calm when things just seem chaotic and well, bloody terrible.

Mr Crow knows precisely where to position himself above the conservatory to see if I am home! Then he begins cawing like I am pulling his tail feathers out for cheesy dogs. I know know that he also knows my car and starts calling the minute I get home if his dish is empty.

Look at Calico’s ears and expression. She is on the foot stool. She knows that Baby Hope is going to pounce any moment! Can anyone find Hugo Yugo?

A year ago, Calico’s kittens were one week old. She was scurrying back and forth from eating at our house to caring from them about a block away under a person’s deck. Only one survived, Baby Hope. I have no idea how many were born as it was impossible to get under the deck. We had to wait til they were older. It was a challenge to socialise Baby Hope but she is now the sweetest thing.

Calico watching the baby birds outside.

The Girls want to send each of you a flower. Our Hibiscus plant is bursting with gorgeous pink.

I am going to start with something to put a smile on our faces – a gregarious third hatch that survived with two brothers, Bazza and Falkey, on the Port Lincoln Nest – because, as chicks, they cooperated. As fledglings, never when it came to fish, but while they were on the nest they were sweet and considerate. It is Ervie. Dear Ervie.

There has been no sighting of Bazza since he left the nest (red band), and Falky was seen some 350 miles north (yellow) which always made me think Falky might have been a female. Other than the one sighting there has never been another word about Falky. We have, however, gotten great joy out of Ervie fishing with Dad at Delamere, sitting on top of the pine tree, and flying back and forth to various other areas around the Port Lincoln barge including his own nest. Thank you for staying so we could see you, Ervie – or being within sight of a photographer! You are adored.

And another happy moment. It is so wonderful to hear that Nox is doing well. Isn’t he cute?

There has been tremendous sadness within the Osprey populations this season, in the same way, that the Eagles had a very bad year. On Monday, I received word of Darling dying, and then one of my researchers, ‘VV’, who monitors 17 nests in Maryland, reported that the season was over. Every chick had died, or the nest had failed. The losses are attributed to a lack of essential fish and very hot weather. And predation or intrusion in one. We are also wondering about other underlying causes. Of those nests, the geese broke the eggs in one; in another, the eggs rolled out. Neither couple laid a second clutch. Only five nests had chicks this year, within those, nine known osplets have perished. The other nests failed completely.

Many of us are just worn out and wish the end of Osprey season would come so that we could control our emotions. I thought last year was bad in the NE United States but I fear that this year will be far worse along with other nests in the NW.

One has to imagine that so many nests are unmonitored and the losses are there, we just do not see them. The area that suffered the Nor’easter last June is set to have as many deaths this year from the extreme heat and lack of food for the Ospreys. I will include all reports from the area as they come in – probably nearer to the end of August.

Hearing this news just makes it more important that the Menhaden that the Ospreys (amongst others) depend on for the primary food source is protected not depleted by the Canadian company, Omega! Or any other company from any other country. The fishing of Menhaden must stop. How we gather ourselves together to start a movement like Rachel Carson did for DDT I am not sure – it is all politics – but we need a united voice, every little group and each person – to try and provoke change.

They have basically cleared out the lower Chesapeake where so many nests are. So when I report on these little fish and the movement of the ships we need to realise that our ospreys need only approximately 500 fish for a family of three chicks and two adults (figured out by John Williams at the llyn Clywedog nest doing counts of Dylan’s deliveries). These ships take 112M tonnes.

The deaths that you will read about below are attributed to a lack of fish which is hydration for the chicks and then the heat kills the babies off. Think about it. Write to all your representatives…it is an election year in the US.

William Dunn posted the net set. Here it is enlarged – near Tangier Island.

The states that have coastal waters where the Menhaden are being decimated and the wildlife, not just ospreys, dying because of it should get together. New Jersey you should be joining Virginia and so should you Delaware, it seems. And Maryland! Make some noise. Get a different angle on this and embarrass these companies and those people funding and supporting them.

Beaumont brought in a huge fish. Hope ate. I watched. She did not feed the little ones lined up wanting some breakfast.

Sweet little babies with a piece of fish in the nest needing shade and food.

The kids were fed at around 1220.

The chicks at Llyn Brenig in Wales have been ringed, one male and one female.

Chicks ringed at Foulshaw Moss, too, if you missed it.

More great news. As you know, I am a great fan of Isabella Tree and the Rewilding Project at Knepp Farm. She has been the inspiration behind our ‘wild’ urban garden that is full of hundreds of birds, some rabbits, Red and Grey squirrels, along with a few feral cats and a raccoon. Knepp Farm had tremendous success reintroducing White Storks to the south of England after a 600 year absence.

I am going to literally run through some of the nests that we are primarily concerned about because of the heat today or past performance. Heidi will report on Osoyoos.

Port Ridgefield: ‘BHA’ reports that the Only Bob and adults were alright Monday morning. The cam has been off for the most part so there is no record of fish deliveries or images.

Cowlitz: ‘PB’ has reported to me for the entire day and Dad is keeping up with the fishing despite the extreme heat. Little has had some good feeds and a big crop. Despite the 98 degree temperatures, Dad has been bringing fish to the nest and Little has had a nice crop.

‘PB’ reports that a nice fish came on the nest early Tuesday morning and Little had about 60 bites. Thanks so much ‘PB’. This is a nest that is of real concern in this heat.

Clark PUD: Dad has brought in at least 3 fish during the day. Could not determine size. Only Bob was fed and also did some self-feeding and wingersizing.

Steelscape: Dad was busy bringing in fish while the temperatures were in the high 60s. Those times were 0622, 0843, and 1022. The 0843 was a nice sized fish. The Osplets appear to be alright. Mum was rather frantic looking for dad in the hot winds to deliver fish. After it hit 90, no fish came to the nest. ‘PB’ reports a fish at 1711. All three fighting for bites and Mum, too.

McEuan Park: We have lost another of the original four osplets due to heat and lack of food. Only two oldest left now. Please send positive energy to all of these nests.

Seaside: Bruce has been bringing in nice fish. The kids had a trout and another big flat fish, both in the afternoon. I didn’t check the morning. The nest looks good. It is 93 F at Seaside and Sand Point.

Sand Point: Offline.

Minnesota Landscape Arobretum: Dad is such a good provider. Mum loves her fish but she also fed her only Bob and they did fine on Monday. It was 79 F with 6 mph winds. Oh, many nests would love that! Rains came in the afternoon.

Charlo Montana: Lola is an excellent mother and Charlie has done well to get fish on the nest. Big Bob has been intimidating Little Bob at times but the baby managed to get a crop a couple of times. It is 93 degrees with a heat advisory that extends to Friday. Lola has worked hard to keep her babies shaded.

Loveland:

Colonial Beach: Betty and David doing a good job keeping those two osplets hydrated and full!

Hellgate Canyon: Iris worked overtime to keep her two babies cool on a hot day. Finn brought in fish – not as many during the high temperatures, but nice big fish. The nest is under a heat advisory with temperatures rising to 101 F. Send Iris all your love.

‘H’ report:

7/8 Osoyoos osprey nest: There were six fish brought to the nest. The first fish at 0441 was tiny and it was only a 3-minute meal, Little was fed, but I could not see how much. At 0502 Olsen delivered another whole tiny fish that allowed for a 4-minute feeding, and Little ate 11 bites of fish. 0717 was another 4-minute fish meal, and while Little was not beaked, there was simply no room at the table. The fourth fish at 0750 was larger, and Soo fed Big and Middle for 10 minutes. Little was beaked by both siblings a few times, and did not eat. More than 11 hours passed before Olsen delivered the fifth fish at 1922. It had been a very hot and sunny day with the osplets just trying to stay in Mom’s shade. The temperature at 1500 was 101F/38C. The fish at 1922 was a small headless fish that Soo fed for 7 minutes. Little was prevented from eating.

What happened next still boggles my mind, and I am still shaking my head. Olsen delivered the sixth fish at 2015. It was headless, but it was the largest fish of the day. Soo started feeding, and Little was beaked. At 2020 there may have been an intruder issue and Soo left. She returned at 2021, but did not resume the feeding. At 2023 Soo left the nest again. She returned at 2026 and resumed the feeding. At 2027 Little appeared to be getting some bites of fish on the opposite side of Soo, but I could not tell how much. Soo stopped feeding at 2028 and flew off again. Little and a sibling were trying to nibble on the fish. Soo returned to the nest at 2037 with a lovely bunch of green and orange leaves. How nice. Little had a pretty good PS at 2038. There was still quite a large piece of fish remaining at the 12-o’clock position on the sticks. Soo resumed feeding at 2040, Little was beaked. Soo stopped feeding Big and Middle at 2043, and she left the nest at 2047. As darkness started to fall, there was still lots of fish remaining. Little again tried to self-feed on the fish, but was incapable of doing so. Soo and Olsen both arrived at the nest at 2131, and Olsen had something in his talons, but I could not really see what it was. No one acted like Dad had just delivered a meal, so he must have brought some nesting material. A big piece of fish is exactly what was needed for Little to have a chance to eat. But, it just didn’t work out. Still shaking my head. High temperature predicted on 7/9 for Osoyoos is 104F/40C. It will be sunny with light winds.

7/8 Patuxent River nest: The big news of the day… Chick #2 ‘Middle’, became the first osplet at this nest to fledge, at 0824. She made a nice landing back on the nest at 1043. Congratulations Middle.

7/8 Captiva: Ding ate her two small needlefish on 7/7, and she made several additional attempts to catch a fish that day. This morning, at 0957, Ding dove into the water below the nest, and she did not return all day. Perhaps she is exploring, and seeking a better spot to fish. Ding knows that she is on her own now. You can do this, Ding. You are a strong and capable young osprey. You will find your fish.

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

Daily summary Monday 8th July 2024

Another day with no fish, and no sighting of Louis on the nest, although he was heard nearby, and seen occasionally by LizB. Dorcha spent a great deal of the day on the nest, fish-calling loudly and getting no response. An intruder was seen circling around in the foreground while Dorcha mantled and alarm-called on the nest – Louis was heard alarm-chipping but wasn’t seen flying after the intruder. Something is still not right with him. Dorcha paid a visit at sunset looking very damp as if she’d been fishing, but stayed on her perch and it was difficult to see if she’d been successful. She returned unexpectedly even later, and this time she was fish calling but got no response and soon quietened down. She flew off after 11.30pm. No activity on Nest One other than a quick visit by some songbirds. Weather was mostly dry today with a few light rain showers, tonight’s forecast is a clear sky and light winds, with light rain and a gentle breeze tomorrow day time changing to a weather warning for heavy rain in the evening.

00.45 Neither cam has switched over yet. (day cam): Nest One (02.52.46); Nest Two (03.20.53)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/dabgX9wS5JE N1 Three little birds singing sweetly 07.37.40

https://youtu.be/d_21ncEqyMU N2 Dorcha on the nest and Louis nearby deal with an intruder 11.13.20

https://youtu.be/FcIBmfScUJ8 N2 Still no fish from Louis: Dorcha gives up calling and departs 13.49.28

https://youtu.be/VfO3nAk5XNQ N2 Dorcha pays a sunset visit looking wet – been fishing? 22.13.28 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/Z37mRFWwIW0 N2 Dorcha unexpectedly returns and she’s fish calling 23.08.43

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

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

Betsy and Frederick’s osplets are looking really, really good at the Outerbanks Nest.

Missing Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets. Oh, they look good. What a wonderful place to be an eagle – even with the DDT. You can get a glimpse here in Lady Hawk’s video:

Archie is getting some rest! Way to go Archie. You were amazing.

Second hatch at Dorset Hobby Nest!

Thank you so much for being with us. Please stay cool, please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their reports, notes, announcements, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘BHA, Geemeff, H, J, PB, VV’, Port Lincoln, California Raptor Centre, William Dunn, Newfoundland Power, Brenig Osprey Project, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, White Stork Project, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Steelscape, McEuan Park, Seaside Osprey Cam, MN Landscape Arboretum, Charlo Montana, Pam Breci, Colonial Beach, Hellgate Canyon, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, OBX Osprey Cam, Lady Hawk, SK Hideaways, and Dorset Hobby Cam.

Too many deaths…Monday in Bird World

8 July 2024

Good Morning!

Oh, Sunday was a joyful and a tearful day. My superb neighbours have moved. To their little daughter, I was the ‘Tomato Fairie’. She loved the little grape tomatoes and paper baskets of them appearing regularly on her front porch. I shall miss them terribly. Friends visited, and later, we took the grandson, who works too hard and who we don’t see so often, for dinner and then picked up his sister to go for ice cream. We found a new little ice cream shop – they are popping up everywhere. It was delicious. Then we went for a walk to check out the river, which has flooded the walks and bike paths down to The Forks. We spotted a family of ducks who seemed fine.

It was a good day to be outside and to be with friends and family. The killing of the second Golden Eaglet by the first, followed by the little Dunrovin chick falling off the nest to its death, and the discovery that all three Redding osplets were dead in the nest —–well, it was a difficult day. These deaths should always remind us to hold those alive close and to celebrate those who survived this year. So many didn’t. As one of my friends told me today, please don’t wait for the politicians and policymakers to do anything to improve the lives of our wildlife and environment. If we each do something good positive, however small, our planet will be a better place.

My posting may meander a little today. Several people are monitoring nests, especially for fish drops in this heat so there might be some later inclusions.

Was it true or is it just a rumour? I am still trying to figure this out. It was reported that the second hatch, Raider, at the Patchogue nest on Long Island fledged at 0511 with a successful return to the nest. Patches was flapping and Raider joined in hopping and flapping and away it went!

Not true.

Raider fludged later. See post below by Heidi.

Check out the look on Raidier’s face as he slides down the perch. Patches is paying no mind. That fish is good!

Also from Patchogue, ‘MP’ says “Chickie takes dad’s toe almost off thinking it’s a fish. Fish under green line.”

We have been worried about Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay Nest. Deb Stecyk gives us an uplifting video showing Blue’s crop and a good ps. Relief.

At the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland, Beaumont often brings fish to the nest and then flies to the camera pole to have a wee bit of a dinner for his efforts and returns the fish to the nest for Hope to feed their two chicks. She is doing much better than in previous years. Feeling hopeful.

Plenty of food continues to arrive on the Golden Eagle nest #2 after the eldest killed the youngest on the 7th of July. At one time, I hoped there was a shortage of prey. I even rationalised this to myself but, then, when the prey came on the nest, item after item, after the eldest had killed the youngest, it just confirmed that it was a strategy to get the one to kill the other. That second hatch survived the first attempt at killing it. Why not feed them both so close to fledge and see which one survives in the wild? Well, we will never know.

Great Bay nest is doing well. Osplets are really perfecting their self-feeding. I cannot confirm how much fish came on this nest on Sunday.

The males in areas where the extreme is going to be a factor appear to be going out fishing early and later in the day with success. Today’s high at Charlo, Montana will be 97 with 4 mph winds. It is forecast to be 99 on Wednesday. Let’s hope that the fishing continues to be good despite the heat.

This is Charlo Montana very early Sunday morning.

Finnegan also brought in an early fish at 0556.

In past summers, Iris would be in the shade catching her own fish. She is now trying to keep her two chicks cool while they wait for Finnegan to bring in another fish.

If Finnegan thought he was going to have some fish, Iris might have had another thought for him. She stuffed those two osplets to their little tiny talons and then back to the top of their heads. She knows it is hot. She knows they need hydration. Finnegan is making sure his family does not go without.

Just look at that crop!!!!!

The little one raises its neck and stands up and looks at the older sibling. It was hilarious.

Date Night on the Perch with Iris and Finnegan! (Thanks PB for alerting me to where they were!)

I did not see an early fish on the nest at Dunrovin but I might have missed it. The pair are enjoying a late breakfast or early lunch around 1130 on Sunday. This nest might miss much of the heat that other areas are getting. And then…the most horrific sadness hits the nest. The young one fell off the nest over the railing. Such a loss. A beautiful healthy osplet on a nest with food. Soar high, little one.

Note to self: I love how some nests are annual inspected and repaired by the owners of the property and the streaming cam. Glaslyn (if I remember correctly) checks the woven railing and rewires it if required when they do their annual renovations. Many nests could use nesting material, too. Thinking of MN LA. What if we helped the Ospreys this way? Could save a life or two.

Melbourne police rescue an osprey! Thanks, Geemeff. We need a good news story.

Melbourne Police Officer Helps Rescue Injured Osprey Friday Night

Steelscape is one of the nests in the high heat area.

‘PB’ watches Cowlitz PUD and despite the heat it was a good day.

There is no end to sad news and I thought June was the worst month. The Osprey family whose chicks survived the fireworks in Redding have died.

Fireworks are not the only stressors. Humans around nests trying to take photographs, dogs, motorised vehicles, etc. have been known to cause great stress. I am sure there is a list as long as my arm.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 7th July 2024
There was an intruder but no fish today – Louis teased Dorcha again by appearing several times without fish and staying nearby within sight so she kept calling to no avail. The nest was overflown by an intruder who returned and landed on the nest next to Louis and was seen to be a dark female with striking markings, possibly the same one who intruded in 2021, see bonus video. Dorcha arrived and chased her off, all the way past Nest One where Dorcha dropped in briefly for her first ever visit to that nest. Weather was settled today, tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy and light winds, but rain is due again tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.51.05 (03.18.25); Nest Two 23.54.50 (03.27.43)Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/FrXbbUeLP1k N2 Louis arrives without fish – Dorcha yells at him 13.01.45
https://youtu.be/2OI2t67rNhU N2 Intruder overflies Dorcha on the nest 13.35.35
https://youtu.be/rzFuxemIvPE N2 Unringed intruder female lands next to Louis 13.55.40
https://youtu.be/LwP5OtDRWKY N1 Dorcha’s first ever visit to Nest One! 15.06.42
https://youtu.be/AX4rxHJaSWoN2 Louis arrives and coy mantles but no fish for Dorcha 15:21:08

Bonus video – compare and contrast today’s dark intruder with the very dark one seen once only on 27 May 2021, is it the same bird?:

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

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

Tuffy landed on the nest with a nice-sized fish he had caught. What a joy to see him. The camera will be turned off today. It could be already by the time you read this. At one point, we did not think Tuffy would survive Ruffie. Well, he did. Please notice the distinctive head marking. You will always know that it is Tuffy. There is a dark patch at the back of the head, too. Their heads and underwing markings never change in an osprey. So even without rings on their legs, if you know these, you can tell which osprey is which.

Tuffy is one of the good survival stories of the 2024 breeding season and we will always remember him (or her). What a great nest. Camera will be turned back on when Sally and Harry return to the nest.

See Heidi’s report below.

For the Decorah North eagle family, there is no place like home even if it is a dead tree without a nest. They are all fine. What a joy it is to see them, too.

Fish are coming in at Boulder. It is 46 F and 1 mph winds. The high this week will be 80 at the nest.

It is a lot hotter at the Seaside nest of Bruce and Naha. Bruce flew in with a really big Red-tail for Naha and the kids at 1649. This will keep them nicely. Temperature is expected to be 90 degrees F with 14 mph winds on Monday.

‘PB’ reports that a nice late fish came into Steelscape. They are in the hot zone, too.

Cowlitz has fish, too. The Dads on that Columbia River are really working hard to get fish to their nests in this heat.

‘H’ reports:

7/7 Osoyoos osprey nest: It was a sunny day, and the temperature reached 100 F/38 C yesterday afternoon. Olsen brought eight fish to the nest, but most of them were quite small. When the ‘kids’ were little, that would have been ample, but now it may be only half (or less) of what they need. Five of the fish were delivered before 0900, while the sixth fish was delivered at 1657. Meal duration times were: 5, 7, 4, 3, 18, 5, 8, 5 minutes. Our views of the feedings were partially blocked at times, making it difficult to determine how much Little was eating. There was no aggression at the first three meals, and Little seemed to eat some fish at each of those meals. Big beaked Little at the third meal, which consisted of a tiny fish, and Little ate one bite of fish. The fifth fish, at 0849, was the largest. Little was beaked, but managed to start receiving some bites on the other side of Soo at 0855 for a couple of minutes. I could not tell how much Little was able to eat. When we say the osplets are ‘at the table’ or ‘at the chow line’, we are referring to them being in a position to receive bites of fish offered by the parent. When the ‘kids’ were little, the ‘table’ was small. They could all fit side-by-side compactly in a small area, easily within reach of Soo’s beak. But, at the current size of the chicks, the ‘table’ is wide. There was no aggression at the sixth feeding, at 1657. Little was skittish, and waited a couple of minutes before approaching. When Little was ‘at the table’, s/he was positioned closer to Soo’s tail. It was only a 5-minute feeding, and I did not see Soo reach back and offer a bite to Little. There was an 8-minute feeding at 2058, and once again, Little hesitated to approach. But when s/he did get to the table at 2103, he ate two bites, then was beaked. The last meal of the day was at 2122, and lasted five minutes. Little was beaked, and was not able to eat. Little’s crop was noticeably hollow. Unfortunately, Little did not eat much today, which is all the more serious due to the extreme heat which can hasten dehydration. Little’s last good meal was around 11:00 on 7/6. Middle was not prevented from eating today. It’s going to be another hot sunny day on 7/8, with the high temperature predicted to hit at least 102F/39C. Winds will be 14-22 mph. Wouldn’t it be nice if Olsen could find a big whopper of a fish? Surely, Little would then get a good meal. Good luck out there Olsen…we know that you are doing your best.

7/7 Patuxent River Park: The osplets are 57, 60, and 61 days old. A few days ago, Big and Middle were making some progress with wingersizing and managing some brief hovers. But, over the last couple of days, their activity has been reduced, possibly due to the extreme heat and calm winds. The temperatures have been in the upper 90’s.

7/7 Captiva osprey nest: Ding is 75 days old, and fledged 15 days ago. On 7/6, Ding caught her first fish, and it was a needlefish. This morning, on just her third fishing attempt of the day, Ding caught another needlefish! After she finished her breakfast, she resumed diving for fish. On her sixth fishing attempt of the day, Ding caught another needlefish, just 32 minutes after her last successful catch. You go girl! Ding may be known by some viewers as the ‘Needlefish Kid’. Ding made numerous attempts at fishing over the next six hours. Edie was not seen on 7/7. Ding is expending a lot of energy with her fishing. It would be wonderful if Edie would drop off a fish for Ding in the morning.

7/7 Moorings Park osprey nest: Monday morning at 0900 the camera will be turned off for the season. Tuffy treated viewers to some extended appearances today. At 11:29 we witnessed Tuffy dive into the water to try to catch a fish. He didn’t appear to come away with a fish on that attempt. About an hour later, Tuffy flew to the nest carrying a tilapia. Tuffy was wet, and shaking off water. He took a long time to eat that tilapia. How wonderful that we got to witness those events on the last day of the live stream. We have been blessed to witness your life thus far, Tuffy… through all your struggles and your victories. You are a survivor. We wish you a long and prosperous life.

Studies identifying the extent of the bycatch problem and our beloved birds like those cute little Royal Cam chicks. We do not want them, their parents, or any of the colony ending up like the ones below. Those trawlers gather the fish to provide feed for salmon and chickens. Want to save our seabirds? Stop eating farmed fish and industrially grown chickens.

New study shows the real scale of seabird bycatch in European waters.-https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/07/03/bycatch-tragedy-we-are-losing-200000-seabirds-annually/

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, MP, PB, TU’, PSEG, Heidi McGrue, Deb Stecyk, Newfoundland Power, Eagle Club of Estonia, Great Bay Ospreys, Charlo Montana Osprey Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Space Coast Daily, Pam Breci, FORE, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Moorings Park, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, Boulder County, Seaside Ospreys, Steelscape, Cowlitz PUD, Birdlife International, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, and Window to Wildlife.

Thursday in Bird World

4 July 2024

Good Morning,

Happy 4th of July to all of those that are celebrating. I hope that you have a lovely non-fireworks non-balloon day full of fun and laughter with friends and family.

I want to start with a wonderful article about the work that Port Lincoln is doing to save the Osprey. Thanks so much from our friends in Tasmania, BLP, for sending this in. Today we need a good news story to brighten a little saddness.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-02/osprey-endangered-birds-artificial-platforms-installed-nests-sa/104042676?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

There are several nests in trouble and we need to watch them closely. One does not have rewind and that is McEuan Park in Idaho. If this is a nest that you regularly watch, we would very much appreciate receiving information on the behaviour of the chicks towards Little Mini, the fourth hatch, who appears to have injuries on its neck today. If you could let us know what you see, we would appreciate it. Date, time, and description of what happened would be helpful along with a screen capture if you are able. Thank you so much.

Regarding McEuan: There is a good amount of food coming to the nest and one of the older siblings did a tremendous ‘ps’ while I was watching. I was lucky to catch this. The Big one picks on Little Mini as does Little. This nest feels very unstable.

Gosh, I wish I could send some of our cool weather and rain to so many of you! Another day. Another hot chocolate instead of an iced tea or lemonade. Birds are ravenous – to stay warm. We are feeding them now in the morning and again around 1630. The garden is full of birds from morning to night. They are Grackles, Starlings, Crows, Blue Jays, and about six different species of Sparrow along with some Finches. It is brilliant. You can hear them singing more than half a block away.

Late news on Wednesday comes from Cal Falcons where Nox has been rescued and taken to rehab. This is one of Annie and Archie’s chicks.

This is Nox loafing on the ledge of The Campanile a few days ago. What a cutie. We wish you a quick recovery, Nox.

The news coming from the rehabbers and rescue workers in the US is that the ospreys and eaglets they are helping are not getting enough food – they come into care emaciated! You will continue to hear me call for interventions to provide fish or other prey during distressing times such as what The Woodland Trust did at Loch Arkaig or Port Lincoln at the barge nest of Mum and Dad. It is time to come to terms with the overfishing of Menhaden in the NE US, warming waters and a heating planet that means the fish go deep. It is also time to stop the pesticides and harmful farming methods that cause us not to have the small mammals that so many raptors depend on for food. Ospreys fish off the surface, not lower than a metre. If the weather is too warm, the fish dive. The ospreys are hungry (so are the eagles). They need us to advocate for them.

Right now there are a number of nests that are struggling. ‘MP’ has just alerted me to another eagle nest with two chicks that have had little food for several days. They join others we are monitoring including the Golden Eaglets in Estonia, Cowlitz, Osoyoos, Steelscape – places where some or all are not getting enough calories in a day to survive and, of course, Ding and Darling at Captiva, where Jack and Edie have simply vanished. Kids are starving and fighting. Heidi will comment later. McEuan Park has now joined this list. ‘H’ noticed Mini with a red neck and submissive and because there is no rewind on the camera and it is difficult to sit and wait for a feeding with so many other nests, we are unclear but it appears that Big and Little are both pecking and bonking Mini. It might not be alive in a couple of days. Like all the other nests, we feel helpless because there is no secure route to provide food and assistance.

Everybody is wondering what will happen to the two chicks of Louis and Dorcha who are in the Spanish translocation project run by the Roy Dennis Foundation. Here are two videos (there is an ad in the middle so keep going) that show you what happened in Scotland and then what happens in Spain. This will be very similar to what the Loch Arkaig chicks will undergo for the 2024 translocation. Very educational!

Another TV interview about the removal of Louis and Dorcha’s chicks.

On Wednesday a rainbow appeared over the Loch Arkaig nest and it wasn’t long til Louis appeared working on the nest. What a wonderful feeling. I hope he is doing much better.

The Loch Arkaig lads made The Telegraph.

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

Daily summary Wednesday 3rd July 2024

Today was much calmer than yesterday in terms of bird behaviour – Garry LV0 paid an early morning visit to Nest One, chattering away to himself, but didn’t come over to Nest Two, so Dorcha and Louis didn’t have to do much alarm calling. The Hoodies were in evidence again, but not when the big birds were on the nest. Dorcha arrived on the nest in time to meet Louis bringing a good sized headless fish – she left with it and he stayed to do some housekeeping including moving quite a big branch – hopes rise cautiously that he is on the mend. With WTS George taking a well-earned break, WTS Jill stepped in and gave a great interview on Sky TV about the translocation of the chicks. The weather was very unsettled, even the excellent camera lens coating couldn’t keep up and there were ‘camera diamonds’ on screen fairly often. However, the weather also gave us a beautiful rainbow over Nest Two, tonight’s forecast is for light rain showers and a gentle breeze, with a slight chance of sun and perhaps a little rain tomorrow, so we might see more rainbows.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.56.32 (03.31.18); Nest Two 23.47.16 (03.41.23)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/vpUK8HVFXCo N1 Garry LV0 chatters away to himself during an early morning visit 05.56.22

https://youtu.be/LLCSoyakFkU N2 Dyson and Henry Hoodie visit the empty nest 06.03.55

https://youtu.be/mj01V9rxF-w N2 Osprey flies from left to right under the nest 07:33:45 (slo-mo zoom)

https://youtu.be/5Pd8r2nronw N1 A little songbird visits for a few seconds 07.46.40

https://youtu.be/2V3SGgPo6Sw N2 Rainbow over the nest 10.48.14 (time lapse)

https://youtu.be/nkSCLuDYS2A N2 Louis brings a fish for Dorcha then does housework 12.49.01

https://youtu.be/uD0cwQ6ddHs N2 Louis arrives and stands quietly for a moment before departing 17.24.23

https://youtu.be/8SVETWUeZOQ Sky TV interview with WTS Jill Donnachie about the translocation 20.40

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

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

I could show you still captures but its the kid’s first flight. 1R0 from Rutland took off on the 2nd of July. Brilliant. Congratulations Maya and Blue 33.

Flying is hard work and Blue 1R0 returned to the nest for rest and to have a good fish feed with Mum Maya.

Another good news story from Geemeff. I doubt you have ever heard of this happening – an island taking out a runway to help birds. Oh, I wish that empathetic and generous spirited nature would spread to our next story. about two little starving eaglets.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/island-airport-tears-runway-help-113721922.html

Beaumont continues to bring in really nice fish to the Newfoundland Power nest at Snow Lane. The two chicks appear well.

The second baby at Hellgate Canyon still has an eye problem. Even so, Iris and Finnegan are taking great care of both of their babies and we hope that the little one’s eye becomes as clear as its big sibling. The little one has been able to open its eye for a bit and then close it and open again. This feels like good news.

‘A’ reports: “Today, I think Little’s left eye may be a bit better – it is still not normal, but it does appear to be open a little more than it was yesterday, when it was either closed entirely or open like a slit. His right eye is normal – large and piercing like it should be – but that left eye is a significant worry. I am not certain how long this situation has existed – I have been worried about his eyesight for a while, based primarily on his efforts to grab at food unsuccessfully, grabbing to the right of the bite being offered and often face-planting instead. I am so pleased to see what appears to be some improvement in the eye today – I will continue to monitor it, as it is literally a potentially life-threatening injury if it prevents Little from being able to triangulate and fish. Such a dear little osplet. He has been so feisty and confident and not once has he cringed or flinched at his sibling. He is brave, and heads straight to mum’s beak, with no qualms whatsoever about pushing in front of Big Bob, while Big Bob is quite happy to wait his turn, even if it takes five minutes for Iris to stop stuffing Little Bob and start feeding Big.

I cannot stress enough how happy this nest makes me. To see two osplets with such a huge size difference and five days between the hatches get along so brilliantly well from first day to now is a very rare thing. I don’t believe I have ever seen it on an osprey nest, though presumably the year there were three boys at Port Lincoln was a relatively peaceful one on that nest. I am not sure though that even that nest got away with having no bonking at all. The fraternal spirit on this nest is as just as magical as Iris’s romance with Finnegan. This nest is quite obviously blessed. “

Can you pick out the Little Mini at Field Farm in the following image?

All is well at MN Landscape Arboretum.

The three osplets at Collins Marsh are doing very well. They are beginning to self-feed.

‘H’ reports:

7/3 Osoyoos osprey nest: There were seven fish brought to the nest that I saw. A couple of the fish were tiny, a few were large, and there was one whopper. I did not see any aggression during the meals. Little ate well today, but at the 12:29 meal, s/he was kind of crowded out due to Soo’s positioning, and Little didn’t really make much effort to get up to the chow line. The feeding duration times (in minutes) were: 4, 4, 8, 10, 7, 60, 11. I’ll bet you can guess which meal was the whopper, lol. There were no fish that I saw between 1229 and 1741. Sometime after that, the video feed went offline. A high temperature of 31C/88F is predicted for 7/4. And, temps will be gradually increasing each day, peaking at a predicted 41C/106F by the middle of next week. Fingers crossed that Olsen will be able to find fish to catch.

7/4 Captiva Ospreys: I try to avoid hyperbole. But, there is a tragedy in the making at Captiva. Ding and Darling are 72 and 71 days old. Ding fledged on 6/22, Darling fledged on 6/26. They rely on their parents to bring them fish. Jack was last seen on 6/29, and Edie has not been seen since mid-day on 7/2. Fishing conditions for ospreys should not have been particularly difficult, so Jack and Edie are simply missing. The last time Ding had a meal that we know of was 7/1 at 1800. The last meal for Darling was 7/1 at 1600. Because Darling won’t allow Ding to be on the nest, Ding has been out of sight quite a bit. But, when we have seen Ding, she does not look well fed. Overall in recent days, Ding was been better fed than Darling. The official word is that there are rescue plans in place if any of the ospreys are found grounded. Please send positive wishes to this much loved osprey family.

‘PB’ confirms that Little Three had a good feed at Cowlitz:

She notes that Steelscape also had a good feeding for its little one. Excellent news.

‘PB’ also sent this note form a rescue. Oh, our poor osprey babies.

Did Diamond deliver Xavier a very special bonding gift? A racing pigeon?

The two golden eaglets on the Estonian nest have not had food for two days on Wednesday. I hope that we are not witnessing an event like we saw several years ago with Klints. I am very concerned about these eaglets whose nest is in an area of Estonia where there is a military base. Because of their location, it might be impossible to get them the help they require.

The situation is being monitored. I hope that the Eagle Club of Estonia is getting permission to enter the military zone and take the eaglets into care.

‘MP reports issues at one of the Dave Hancock nests in British Columbia today. That is the HWW-BBC nest where two rather emaciated eaglets are not being fed, although everyone insists there is food and the parents are not feeding the eaglets. No one wants to help because they are too near fledgling. Is it better to starve on the nest? All of this reminds me of Meadow. It is often too late when they fall out of the nest.

The decline of the Blackbird is due to another virus.

Blackbird-numbers-plummet-in-south-of-England-amid-potential-spread-of-virus-Birds-The-Guardian Download

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, posts, articles, videos, summaries, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, BL-P, Geemeff, H, PB’, McEuan Park, Cal Falcons, William Dunn – Menhaden, Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, SKY News, Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Michelle Gowland, LRWT, Rutland Osprey Project, yahoo News, Newfoundland Power, Montana Osprey Project, Field Farm, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Osoyoos, Window to Wildlife, Tampa Bay Rescue, Collins Marsh, Pam Breci, Cilla Kinross, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, The Guardian

Ringing, lots of ringing…Wednesday in Bird World

3 July 2024

Good Morning,

It’s the middle of the week. I thought we would have a wonderful Tuesday. It looked like a great day for a long walk at the nature centre and then the rains came – pouring rain you could hardly see 3 metres in front of you. And then finally the grey skies left and the blue skies and fluffy clouds arrived. The birds are singing for joy. The squirrels are running around looking for peanuts and Mr Crow is yelling that his cheesy-dogs are gone. The Starlings ate them! Life is back to normal. ‘The Girls’ survived the July birthday part and the horrific thunder and lighting of Monday night. We are all hoping that the rain will stop and we can have a few days of sunshine and warmth.

It is now July and I am hoping, beyond hope, that fledgling and osplet deaths are over. Many of the osprey chicks are now past the 3 week mark – a few aren’t. I am hopeful that without any major storms all will survive but, we continue to watch a few nests closely such as Captiva, Cowlitz, Forsythe, and Steelscape.

The latest for Steelscape comes in late Tuesday from Pam Breci:

I have still been feeling a bit low after the removal of the chicks at Loch Arkaig, even though I support interventions in such cases of great need. It just makes me sad seeing Louis and Dorcha without their babies. So, I want to start with a story that will amaze you. I added some quotes, but please read the entire article. You will be amazed.

Geemeff sent me the link:

“A pair of White-tailed Eagles on the Isle of Mull have amazed experts by continuing to care for their injured offspring into its second year of life, going so far as to skip breeding this year to focus on tending to the youngster.

The chick injured its left wing in July last year after its nest fell to the ground during unseasonably wild weather. Despite its sibling surviving unscathed and fledging not long afterwards, the injured youngster’s story has been a little less smooth.

As the parents continued to support the chick its wing continued to heal and it finally took to the skies in the autumn, in rather wobbly fashion, with little hope from locals that it would survive the long, harsh winter ahead.

Here is the full story!

White-tailed Eagles on Isle of Mull continue to care for injured offspring into its second year of life

Ringing took place at Glaslyn late on 2 July 2024. Heather Corfield reports “We have two females and one male. 6M8, 6M7 and 6M9 in age order. The youngest is the male. No surprises there.”

I continue to call for a boycott on eating tuna and salmon and this is one reason not to eat farmed salmon! They have destroyed the stocks of fish in the Chesapeake Bay and are now moving to the coasts. Multitudes are concerned and the regulating authorities are not listening. This is one of the main reasons that osprey chicks are starving – the fish they need is being taken to feed fish! Please tell your friends and find a viable alternative if you eat salmon or tuna.

Bad storms in Croatia are having an impact on our feathered friends. Many storks are being found dead.

‘H’ wondered if I had been checking the ND-LEEF nest lately. I haven’t and I am sorry that I have been occupied by the ospreys. Dad went missing on the 8th of May. The two eaglets were just a month old (like Harriet’s at SWFlorida in 2023). Gigi raised them alone. They fledged on June 26 and June 30. Isn’t that wonderful? Dad would be proud of Gigi and his babies. Phillipe Josse posted this photo of Gigi and her fledglings. Aren’t they lovely?

Iris’s youngest chick has a closed left eye. We are hoping for improvements. The chick is eating and moving well and the eye apperared to open a little Tuesday afternoon. Send good energy.

Meanwhile, Finn is being security guard!

‘A’ comments: “Darling Finn was in early with a nice fresh fish for the osplets’ breakfast. He arrived at 05:49 and Iris got straight into feeding the kids. He stays less than a minute before moving to the perch to dry off. As always, Little Bob is at the front for the feeding and the chicks are perfectly behaved. There is not a hint of aggression between them. This has to be the most laid-back osprey nest I think I’ve ever seen. It’s like watching a pair of RTH chicks or a couple of peregrine eyases. Just lovely.

By 6am, Finn is getting a little impatient. He returned to the nest about 05:58 and picked at some dropped bites and random pieces, but Iris has not finished stuffing her osplets, with Big Bob still managing to find some space in that massive crop. By 06:02 Finn is stalking the fish but Iris moves away from him, not yet ready to give it up. Big Bob has eaten very well but Iris hasn’t and Little Bob could definitely eat some more. So she continues feeding Little Bob, with Big Bob having finally left the table, full as a tick. Finn already has a very respectable crop.

At 06:03, with Little Bob turning away, Iris lets Finn take the half fish from her. He begins eating on the nest. Or is he preparing to feed the chicks? Within ten seconds, Iris has retrieved her fish and returns to feeding Little Bob and eating herself. Finn gives up and returns to the perch at 06:03:50. Iris keeps eating. She needs to have her own breakfast. But she still keeps trying to give bites to both osplets, but especially Big Bob, who has come back for seconds (or is it thirds?). Eventually she eats, and eventually, Finn gets his share. “

“When our darling Finn brought the lunchtime fish in at around 11:50, it was another humongous whole very floppy (well, more thrashy) fish, so Iris waited for Finn to disable it before she took it from him. Probably teaching him that large floppy fish and small osplets should not mix. She is a thinking woman’s mum, is Iris.

Both chicks are hungry but they behave perfectly while they wait for mum to get the fish bites ready. Finn is arranging sticks, periodically bonking Little Bob on the head with his tail. Little Bob gets confused about which direction he should be facing.

At this point, I’m going to raise something I’ve been worried about from the beginning really. But yesterday I watched something that again worried me a great deal – could you keep a close eye on Little Bob and see whether you think his sight is compromised in some way. Yesterday, he was grabbing at the bites and missing them to the right-hand side each time, as if one of his eyes was not focusing properly. I have noticed this before, but not to that extent. Mind you, it was 10pm and he may not see well in the dark. (We of course have the IR lights.) But I would like your considered opinion on it over the next few days or so, if you have a chance.

Obviously, he is still managing to stuff his face but it would not be a great way to live as a fledgling, so I am a bit worried, which is why I am finally asking your opinion. (The fact that nobody else has questioned it reassured me until that feeding last night around 10pm when it really was very noticeable. And how does he still end up facing the wrong way at his age? I wonder and I worry. Let’s hope I’m just totally mistaken.

Anyway, spoiler alert: although it was a wet morning, the chicks dried out in the afternoon and ate well all day. The midday fish was almost the size of Big Bob and, obviously, significantly larger than Little. Iris had some trouble (and had to use her wings) to even move it around the nest, and I cannot imagine her being able to rip it out of the water. That would take a very strong bird, which says something about our hero, Finn. He surely is a diamond and Iris SO deserves him. And wow, is he a looker. Such a handsome osprey. He is glorious.

At the noon feeding, Little was closest to mum and was fed first. His older sibling simply watched and patiently waited for his turn. Finn obscures our view as the feeding proceeds, but it appears that at noon, ten minutes after the arrival of the fish, Big Bob is still waiting. When Finn finally moves, at 12:04, we can see that Little Bob is still at mum’s beak but Big Bob does have a small crop so may have had some bites.

Finn decides he will start feeding himself from the tail end of this monstrous fish while Iris continues feeding Little Bob from the head end. I’m hoping Finn will feed Big Bob, who has turned to face dad and is obviously hopeful. Just before 12:07 Finn, who has come around to the head end of the fish, attempts to pull the fish from Iris’s grasp. She pulls back. She continues feeding Little. Big Bob is still hungry, and Iris turns her head to reach him, deciding Little Bob has had enough for now and her other chick needs his turn. So she feeds Big Bob bite after bite. Little turns away from the table. Finn plots his next attack on the fish.

Around 12:09 Finn gives up and heads for the perch. Mum keeps feeding BIg Bob. Just before 12:10 he begins alerting, looking upwards. That chirp of his is incredibly melodic for an osprey. Quite beautiful. Little, who has face-planted, sat up for a short while, then face-planted again, is not turning back to the table yet – I’m sure he will manage some seconds shortly. Just before 12:12 Iris joins Finn in alerting at something above. Finn is tracking it across the sky. He is concerned. At 12:12 the chicks both pancake.

At 12:12:28, another osprey attempts to land on the nest! Iris immediately rears up, flapping her wings with menace, and the bird flies off, with Finn in pursuit. Iris soon returns to the fish, but the chicks stay pancaked. Iris returns to eating herself, then feeds Big Bob again when he lifts his head. Little stands up but then decides his eyes are bigger than his stomach (well, not literally, obviously) and lies back down.

At 12:20 Iris is again looking upwards, and soon resumes alerting. Twenty seconds later, Finn lands back on the nest, much to our relief. This boy is strong and young and determined to protect his family. He is doing a wonderful job at it. Here is a big statement: this is a male with what it takes to become an M15. He is not quite there yet – I cannot see him raising two month-old osplets single-taloned as M15 did with his eaglets. But with another season or two of paternal experience, I can certainly see him becoming a dad of that calibre. I adore Finnegan. I cannot say enough good things about him. “

The nest is a mess but the chicks are fantastic at Niagara Bee.

Things continue to go well at Blackbush for the trio.

Concerns for the two osplets at Newfoundland Snow Lane nest of Beaumonth and Hope as bad weather continues. Prior to the rain a large fish was on the nest and Hope was feeding the chicks.

Big fish and four big osplets at Field Farm.

There are so many big osplets just eating, growing, and waiting for their day to fly. That is Great Bay, too.

The trio at Charlo Montana are changing from cute little bobbleheads and into Reptiles!!!!!!

So, it is too close to call for three of the Poole Harbour four. The little one is believed to be a male but the three older ones are either small females or large well fed males. Can’t sex. I am going to go with four males because of their behaviour – too sweet and nice.

Louis has been consistent in bringing in a morning and evening fish. Dorcha was on the nest around 2000 and Louis came in with her dinner. You could hear him returning her calls.

The video of that fish delivery:

The two chicks of Louis and Dorcha are believed to be two males! Here is Geemeff’s report:

Daily summary Tuesday 2nd July 2024

Today was the first day waking up to the reality of an empty nest. However, Woodland Trust Scotland spokesman George tells us the chicks are reported to be doing well after a warm, dry, peaceful night with plenty of fish. They have been initially assessed as two males, although a more thorough assessment will take place in due course when they are ringed and satellite tagged. Questions were raised on the forum as to the feasibility of continuing to feed the chicks on the nest rather than placing them in the translocation programme – WTS gives the reasons why that’s not possible, details here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15244841. It might have been thought that activity on the nest would tail off now but Garry LV0 stepped up to provide plenty of interest by intruding not once but several times on Nest Two. He even brought nest furnishings. If he does fancy Dorcha as a potential mate, both Dorcha and Louis have other ideas, and there was much flying on and off, alarm-chipping and hasty exits. Once Garry had left for the night, Louis turned up with a good size late night supper which was eagerly seized by Dorcha. No improvement in the weather, it’s deteriorating if anything, with a forecast of heavy rain and light winds tonight, and rain all day tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.44.17 (02.50.32); Nest Two 23.34.00 (03.23.23)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/xLYMFTjW5IQ N1 Incy Wincy spider’s midnight visit 00.42.41 (quicktime)

https://youtu.be/PcbM4KE7w-I N2 Hooded Crow intrudes on Dorcha 11.13.28

https://youtu.be/W32p5HJcb5A N2 Garry LV0 intrudes 13.07.20 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/Q9R-mWtaQiw N2 Action N2 involving Dorcha, Louis & Garry LV0 13.37.03

https://youtu.be/lgNojG-NglE N1 & N2 Garry LV0 brings a stick to N2 then takes it to N1 14.59.25

https://youtu.be/qghrnyyuS00 N2 Louis brings Dorcha a late fish supper 20.11.11

Bonus read – visiting Loch Arkaig and the Dark mile that gave Dorcha her name:

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/speanbridge/locharkaig/index.html
Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

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

This is a video showing where the chicks of Dorcha and Louis will be translocated. Thanks, Mary Cheadle for posting this. We are all curious.

We have had more osplet deaths and the Memorial Page is now up to 90. The only surviving chick on nest 4 at Kielder Forest in the UK became lethargic and was not growing properly and died at 39 days right before ringing. It is believed to have been a lung infection due to all the cold rainy weather.

Nest 7 at Kielder had three healthy chicks that were ringed on Tuesday. Two females and a male. Very interesing names. Have a read:

Nest-7-ringing-Kielder-Ospreys Download

All is well at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Please be careful if you are looking for this nest. There is a lot of archived footage on YT that might cause you to not be seeing the current time/day.

Lots of feedings. Mum is very attentive. Chick is doing well. The colouring is off – everything appears darker than it is. The chick is normal osplet plummage. On my screen, it looks very dark.

Here is the link:

The lens is all fogged up at the nest of Dylan and Seren in Llyn Clywedog. The chicks are feathered and doing great. Fledging shortly.

The little one at Cowlitz does wait for the other two and then, if there is fish, it gets a few bites before it is moved away. There was not a lot of fish coming in on Tuesday. It was 69 F with 10 mph winds.

Here are Heidi’s reports for the day!

7/2 Osoyoos osprey nest: After the live stream was offline for 2.5 days, it went live at 0938 this morning. The chicks looked good. The first delivery we saw was a tiny fish at 1006. What struck me was that Little immediately shuffled away and tucked as Soo prepared to feed. That was a new behavior that Little had acquired since the last time we watched. This indicated that there had been some dominance and aggression at meals. It was only a four minute feeding, and Little got 3 bites. The next fish at 1146 was also tiny, for a 5 minute feeding, and after some initial intimidation, Little ate. At 1212, Olsen delivered a Whopper! As Soo was dragging the large fish into position, Middle beaked Little into submission, but then Big beaked Middle! So there it was…yes there has been aggression at meals. By 1218 Middle was able to start eating beside Big. By 1222 Little had worked his way around to the other side of Soo and was getting a few bites…but, don’t ya’ know Soo moved the fish, so Little had no protection. After several more minutes passed, Little was eating right up beside the other two osplets, and all were having a good meal. At 1242 the cam went down for more than an hour, so we don’t know how long the meal was, or if Olsen removed some leftover fish. The next (and last) fish of the day was at 1553, a large whole fish, for a meal that lasted 13 minutes. Everyone ate peacefully.

7/2 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Things are going well for Johnny, June, and their 18-day-old youngster.

7/2 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: The oldest osplet, Harbor, seems to be calming down a bit, and is less aggressive toward Gray. I was able to observe a few meals and they were peaceful. Good news. The nestlings are 18 and 14-days-old.

7/2 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: Della, Warren and their two 35 and 36-day-old osplets are doing great. There is never a shortage of fish from Warren.

7/2 Forsythe osprey nest: This has been a very sad season for this nest. Only the oldest osplet (named Larry) remains out of the original four chicks. It seems that there’s not enough fish in this area. There were six fish delivered to the nest, including two from Opal. Larry is 42 days old, and should be able to make it to fledge.

7/2 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: Everything is going well for this bunch. There may be a fledge in a day or two…and I am predicting that Middle will be first to take flight. Middle is a bit smaller than Big, so has less body mass to get into the air. Middle has been getting some nice lift while flapping/leaping across the nest. (Ages of the osplets: 56, 55, 52)

7/2 Captiva osprey nest: Darling dominated the nest all day. Ding was prevented from landing on the nest many times. Edie delivered the only fish of the day at 1114. Ding flew in, there was a scramble with Darling over the fish, and it appeared as though Ding left in possession of the fish, or she may have dropped it. It was obviously not a good day for fishing. You may recall that Edie took a 6-day break, and returned on 6/29. In Edie’s absence, Jack worked his tail feathers off fishing for his kids during that period of time. It seems as though Jack may now be resting and taking a well deserved break. He was last seen on cam on 6/29.

Oh, those San Jose siblings!!!!!!!!

And more from this adorable family who continue to visit their scrape for us!

Ventana Wildlife continues to vaccinate the California Condor population against HPAI.

Plastics are everywhere. They are not good for our birds – not good in the sea, in nets, in human garbage, mesh bags, etc. As humans we need to try and minimise the number of plastic items that we purchase. I know that it is difficult. I made a vow several years ago to sever ties with plastic – they are everywhere. If you are heading to the lake or the beach, The Guardian ran a good article on how to avoid plastic. Even if you live elsewhere, there are good ideas here for everyone everywhere. We can help our wildlife.

From-swimwear-to-toys-how-to-go-plastic-free-for-a-day-at-the-beach-Plastics-The-Guardian Download

Want to adopt a very important Kakapo?

I have a number of nests to report in Canada during the coming week. At least one of them has four healthy chicks! Stay tuned.

Thank you for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, questions, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Pam Breci, Scottish Field, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Menhaden Defenders, Phillipe Josee and the ND-LEEF Eagle Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Niagara Bee, Blackbush, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Great Bay, Charlo Montana, BoPH, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Mary Cheadle, Kielders ospreys, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Llyn Clywedog Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Forsythe, Mispillion Harbour, Audubon Boathouse, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, SK Hideaways, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Kakapo Recovery.

Darling Fledges…Thursday in Bird World

27 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, the solar-powered fountain for the bird bath has arrived. It is not as hot today, only 20 C. I will see if anyone enjoys it. – Well, not so far. I think they are afraid of the shower.

It is nice to wake up and converse with people thousands of miles away about Ospreys and their lack of food. I am specifically speaking of Menhaden in the Northeast US but, of course, warming water and pollution plus overfishing in other areas cause huge problems as well for our beloved fish eating raptors. What the folks at Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal and I hope to do is bring enough attention to bear on the issue of Osprey population decimation due to lack of fish that we can cause a ban on commercial fishing and get all of the authorities involved in cleaning up areas and restoring them as clean natural habitats. I am certain that those in the 1970s calling for a DDT ban faced similar challenges and the Osprey, at the time, was the canary in the mine. They certainly are again. It would be fantastic if each of us could add a voice and make a huge difference. We would all sleep better at night.

Our Ospreys in the NE USA depend on the Menhaden. Educate yourself with what is happening. This is one FB group that will. I will also post articles in the coming days.

So today I am reaching out to those watching osprey nests anywhere along the eastern coast of the US or on the Mississippi. If you have seen a nest fail, a nest where there has been a lack of food and chicks die, please send me the name of the nest and the link to the camera or web page, if possible, and anything you can remember. If you know what kind of fish they were primarily eating, even more better. Dale Neal writes to me, “Thank you, if we can show there are issues in other places along the coast, that could be large. I know herring forage fish populations are also an issue in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, not sure how many of the osprey problems further north may be related to that.” Any information will help, no matter how small and even how insignificant you might think it is. Every piece adds up to the big picture of depleted fishing stocks. Thank you so much – from the tip of my tiny little toe.

My first thought is that inland osprey nests are doing better than those along the East Coast and up in Washington and BC. This has to be proven – or disproven. If it is true (except for severe weather issues) then why? Is it a lack of fish? warm waters? over commercial fishing? or all of the above?

Let’s go with the bad news first and that comes from ‘PB’ who has been watching the Cowlitz PUD nest and Steelscape. The third hatch at Cowlitz PUD is starving to death. It has had little food for the past 2 days. It sounds cold. It is no longer trying to eat, even if a big fish is there. Poor thing. Their organs begin to go and something like cancer patients, the desire to eat leaves them. It is terrible. And it is happening repeatedly at nests we cannot see due to a sheer lack of food. I have yet to learn precisely what is happening in this area this year. Still, historically, it has been difficult because of competition with eagles who take the fish from the Osprey, according to Cowlitz PUD staff.

Electra is off the nest and may have gone fishing. Send this nest your positive energy.

In the UK, attention is coming to the plight of the Golden Eagles and the Peregrine Falcons with some good news coverage of the people who protect and help find evidence to convict.

South-Scotland-golden-eagles-peregrines-feature-on-BBCs-Countryfile-and-Landward-programmes-–-Rap Download

On Tuesday Finn had a tough day fishing. Only two came to the nest – very early morning and late evening. Iris was very anxious when he came in with a whole fish on Wednesday morning and she wanted to feed her babies and not let him take that fish. Finn was hungry, too and you can bet Iris was as well.

Everyone on the nest and kids still eating after 10.

Iris and Finn had a good meal with the kids.

Finn brought in another whopper! Is anyone going to be hungry?

Finnegan’s fish is huge. Iris called and he brought it to the nest. Oldest chick eating first, but we know that this fish is so big that both chicks will be filled to the brim with even some crop drops and Iris will have some nice fish, too. Finn ate the head.

Iris makes certain her smallest chick eats.

‘R’ sent us a great little clip from a local radio show about Iris and Finnegan. Thanks, ‘R’. I was so impressed with Dr Greene’s excitement. By now, Iris must be like his own daughter and he is cheering Finnegan on!!!!

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/26/nx-s1-5009211/followers-of-iris-the-osprey-celebrate-her-chicks-hatching

‘A’ comments on Finnegan and his fish: “No-one is going to go hungry on this nest. They ate last night from a fish Finn brought in around 6pm and they ate until they couldn’t eat any more and then Little Bob took a break and Big Bob kept eating, until Little Bob finally snapped out of his food coma and came back for seconds. There were still leftovers, which Finn claimed later.

This morning, that fish came early and it was huge! Absolutely massive. Finn had removed the head, having gone fishing very early this morning. He’s being a really good dad. These chicks are going to make very little dent in this monstrous fish. It really is the biggest of the season so far I think. Again last night, he spent the whole night on the perch, protecting his family. He has been doing this for several consecutive nights now – perhaps a week.

You could be right that he HAS done this before, but I still think he was very clumsy around the nest early on and has been learning quite a lot during the season. He is a quick learner, and his fathering is continuing to improve. So if he has, he is still very young. I cannot get over how handsome he is. Just a magnificent osprey. “

Oh, you have been waiting and they are back! The Dorset Eurasian Hobbies!!!!!!! They are incubating three eggs. There is a new basket for the birds and a new camera with IR. There is also a chatHere’s the link:

Precious osprey chicks in Latvia. It is estimated that the osprey population in Latvia has doubled since the 1990s with there being approximately 200 nesting couples in the forests. They make their nests on the tops of the tallest trees.

That second hatch at the Golden Eagle nest #2 in Estonia is truly brilliant. It is not having any difficulty self-feeding as compared to the #1 hatch who occasionally has problems. Both are doing well and this nest will really help inform studies on Golden Eagle behaviour. Plenty of food, good parenting – there does not have to be siblicide.

Great Bay Trio look fantastic.

At Field Farm, even Mini Little is getting some nice juvenile feathers.

Four beautiful civilised Bobs at the Poole Harbour nest of CJ7 and Blue 022. If you ever get to Poole Harbour, go for the Osprey cruise. You might get to see one of these amazing ospreys.

‘MM’ writes: ” found a new nest today but I’m sure it’s already on your radar but If not there are two more of the cutest chicks to add to your list. They are so little and absolutely adorable 😍 I only had a chance to watch one feeding today but will keep an eye on them as much as time allows me. From what I learned through a quick Google search the nest is on a horse ranch in Montana. Attacking a pic of the two cuties. Have a great day.” I haven’t had a chance to check on Swoop and Winnie. I am so glad that ‘MM’ did. Aren’t they adorable!?

Loveland Colorado osplets doing really well, too. Gosh they are lovely in those juvenile feathers.

Gorgeous babies at the Mashpee NWR MA osplet platform. There are three of them- oh, they are feathered and appear to be really healthy.

Did anyone follow the Pleasant Hill Osprey Platform in Perrysville, Ohio?

Two beauties at the Blackwater Refuge in Cambridge, MA.

We are sadly up to 86 on the Memorial Wall. The second osplet at Terrapin Cove in New Jersey died from lack of fish on Wednesday. Fell off nest.

The surviving chick at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum looks pretty good.

At the Allin’s Cove East nest, the adults continue to make adjustments to the rails. Will there be a hatch soon? Let’s hope!

LGL returns to feed the Royal Cam chick a squid smoothie.

Columbia science create an artificial tropical rain forest to try and save the Harpy Eagle.

In-Colombia-a-long-perilous-romance-to-save-the-harpy-eagle Download

USS Steel Fledgling Lucky is believed to have been spotted after many worried about whether or not he had survived. Such good news.

The trio all lined up at Charlo Montana!

Once in awhile, Hope feeds her first hatch at the Newfoundland Power nest in Snow Lane.

‘H’ reports:

6/26 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: The chicks are 12 and 8-days-old, and have been named “Harbor” and “Gray.” From AudubonGloria (Mod): “These names come from the two year-round seal species that are found in Maine, which can be frequently spotted right in Muscongus Bay off the Hog Island docks and Boat House.” Young ‘Harbor’ has started to express its dominance over ‘Gray’, with some serious beaking and biting (aww, poor lil’ Gray!). So far, this aggression has not seemed to prevent Gray from eating.

6/26 Forsythe osprey nest: Sometimes one can try to piece together some missing nest history after a live stream has been down for a couple of days. It seems as though fishing in the area has become difficult for Oscar and Opal. There were only four fish delivered to the nest by Oscar today… two were small, one was tiny, and one was a good size fish. I noticed that the dominance by the older sibling has returned after the nest had been peaceful for at least a week. Big was aggressive and was trying to prevent Middle from eating. Middle ate for five minutes at the longest meal, and only had five bites of fish at another meal. Opal left the nest for a couple of extended periods, so she may have tried to fish as well. The osplets are 36 and 35-days-old.

6/26 Osoyoos osprey nest: They had a very good day. There were only six fish brought to the nest before the live stream went down in the evening. But, one fish was large and another fish was officially considered an Osoyoos Whopper! The kids were all bug-eyed…they had never seen such a large fish. Nicely done, Olsen! Since there were no fish with tough skin, you can judge the mass of the fish by the duration of the meal times. The first five meals took Soo 8, 10, 12, 8, and 22 minutes to feed (there were no minnows today). And, at 1715 Soo fed 1/2 of the whopper for 28 minutes! That’s fantastic for this nest.

6/26 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: It was banding day for the osplets…they all got their silver Federal bands. They were banded in the morning, and there were no complimentary fish left on the nest by the banding crew. So, their feedings got off to a late start, and perhaps due to the stress of banding, Big resumed her aggressive ways toward Little. Nevertheless, they all ate very well today.

6/26 Captiva Osprey nest: Some viewers are a little disappointed at this stage in the osplets life, because the oldest, Ding, acquires (sometimes after fierce battles) most of the fish brought to the nest. This is fairly typical however, and Darling is not starving. Darling did eat 1/2 catfish in the morning, and a small part of a catfish later in the day. Jack is doing a fantastic job, and brought five fish for his youngsters today. We also witnessed what appeared to be Ding making her first dive today!

But, the really BIG NEWS: DARLING FLEDGED at 63 days of age! Well, it wasn’t exactly planned…the siblings had been in a prolonged epic battle for the last fish of the day. Then, trying a different tactic, Darling was playing it cool, trying to act all nonchalant, and sort of casually walked around Ding (but Ding was on to him, lol). When Darling went for the grab, Ding made a big wing slap at Darling, and in order to avoid the strike, Darling propelled himself off the nest. It was actually a nice take off, and he immediately flew! Darling flew two circuits around the nest area. Darling did not return to the nest in the evening.

Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady laid her first egg. ‘J’ adds: “27th June, 2024 – 17:28 Lady finally laid her first egg of 2024! Dad joined Lady in the nest bowl, till he realised he wasn’t going to be able to help. Lady then got down to business and a few minutes later, one big push and SE33 arrived.”

https://www.facebook.com/Sea.EagleCAM

Thank you, Heidi. My goodness that is good news at Osoyoos! Congratulations Darling and well, the season has begun down under!

Geemeff brings us her report for all the activities at Loch Arkaig:

Daily summary Wednesday 26th June 2024

Well, there’s not a lot to say – Louis seems to be having a rest as he only delivered one fish to the nest, and that was merely the remains of his large meal, and then spent the rest of the day perched nearby. Dorcha fed it to the chicks and got very little herself. She kept calling over to Louis without response – will he spring into action and go catch a fish before the day ends? His all-time late delivery record, set just a few days ago on the 23rd, is 23.45.37 so there was still time but no fish appeared. That one fish takes his tally to two hundred and fifty. No action on Nest One today, there was a bit of light rain overnight, and more expected tonight with a forecast of light rain showers and a gentle breeze.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.09.10 (02.06.06); Nest Two 23.34.54 (03.49.01)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/AITavG2FXxw Fish number one, small trout remnant, Dorcha gets very little 11.51.50

Bonus read – BTO history of ringing (you might be surprised at how long it’s been carried out):

https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/bird-ringing-scheme/about-ringing/history-ringing

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

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

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, MM, PB, R’, Dale Neal, Raptor Persecution UK, MontanaOsprey Project, npr.org, Dorset Hobby Camera, LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Great Bay, Field Farm, BoPH, Dunrovin Ranch, Pam Breci, HDonTap, Ildiko A Pork, MN Landscape Arboretum, Allin’s Cove East, Cornell Bird Lab, pays.org, Gracie Shepherd, Charlo Montana, Newfoundland Power (Snow Lane), Audubon Boat House, Forsythe Ospreys, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, Sea Eagle Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust.

Tragedy at Minnesota…Tuesday in Bird World

18 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I had a wonderful Monday with my son. The rain did not come until 1600 and now the sun is trying hard to peek out from the grey clouds. ‘The Girls’ have all come out of hiding now that he has returned to his sister’s house. They really do not like company!

Early morning news from ‘IB’. MN Landscape nest back up and yes, two babies have died. Soar high little ones.

‘PB’ wrote early that Smallie had gotten himself into some mischief by landing in the city’s moat. He was rescued by the Animal Ambulance – the staff seem to know Smallie rather well by now – dried off and sent on his way. They note that his flying is not that good yet. But he is safe and back with the big sisters fighting for food or getting a private feeding. It is likely we won’t see much more of the falcons on the ledge but maybe Smallie will spend the night inside the scrape.

‘PB’ reports that Smallie has not been seen since he was rescued in the canal. Sisters have. Send him good positive wishes this little fellow.

The fledglings are still around the Campanile! Good news for us to grab a view. Maybe not for a tired Annie.

Iris and Finnegan welcomed their second hatch Monday morning.

Both are getting a nice fish dinner as a drenched Dad, Finnegan, looks on as Mum Iris feeds. The water in the Clark Forke River has cleared up and Finnegan is really doing some marvellous fishing. He is just the best thing that could have come into our beloved Iris’s life.

‘A’ comments: “At the 16:43 feeding (medium-sized whole fresh fish courtesy of Finn) our rapidly growing osplet (who looks like a mini dinosaur already) it is easy to see the tiny second hatch, its beak open, initially with its back to mum and the food, but it turns around, albeit behind its sibling so without much chance of getting fed in this position. I have no idea what time this little one hatched (I’ve been so busy today, this is my first chance to check the nests and it’s nearly 8.30pm here in Melbourne).

Iris is doing a great job of feeding Big Bob, who eats well and holds his head up perfectly, as s/he has done since it hatched. The little one is facing the wrong way. Its little beak is open but it cannot see mum. Mum is going to have to move if she is to feed the baby. It is probably not particularly hungry yet, but that depends on what time it actually hatched. That was a large hole I saw, so it could have produced a hatch by dawn, which would definitely make it time for a feeding. I am unsure whether it has been fed earlier in the day.

By 16:46 the baby is facing the right way, Iris considers offering it a bite but changes her mind and continues feeding Big Bob. Little Bob is right beside its sibling but further from mum, who is already reaching to feed Big Bob. At 16:46:53 she gives it the first tiny flake of fish. At 16:47 she feeds it a larger piece, which it seems to manage. And another at 16:47:15. She is now feeding one bite to Big Bob and one to Little Bob but quickly reverts to feeding the larger chick. Periodically, she carefully gives Little Bob a mouthful of fish. It is begging for food, keen to eat, and it seems to be doing pretty well with the bites it is being given by Iris. She is a good mum – filling up the larger osplet and then starting to offer bites to the little one. There is no bonking at this early stage from the larger chick.

At 16:49:30 Iris has a bit of fish for herself, returning to feeding at 16:50:16. Mum has moved the fish, and Big Bob has turned to his right to accommodate the change in position, but Little Bob turned to his left, so now his back to the feeding again. Iris continues feeding Big Bob, who has eaten a LOT of fish in the past ten minutes.

Iris takes a bite of fish and carefully moves all the way around the nest to Little Bob’s side, where she appears to be preparing to offer him the fish, but then eats it herself and begins cleaning up the dropped pieces from around the chicks (suggesting that Little Bob failed to swallow much of the fish he was given). Finn immediately flies onto the nest as if to take the remaining fish Iris has temporarily deserted, but then he seems to be considering feeding the chicks. Instead, he waits for Iris to finish eating the leftovers so that he can offer her the bite. Eventually, having waited some time, he swallows it himself. Iris retrieves the fish and at 16:53 resumes feeding Big Bob.

Little Bob is again facing the wrong way. Big Bob is eating and eating. Iris moves the fish around the nest, as if intending to feed Little Bob, but instead decides to try and hork the tail down. It is still attached to quite a bit of flesh and Iris has to work to try and get it down. She tries twice, failing both times, and eventually returns to feeding Big Bob with it! Finn watches on. Little Bob is right beside Big Bob now, facing mum and begging for food, but mum has not offered him any. Big Bob refuses a bite and at 16:54:45, Iris leaves the last piece of fish and decides to brood. I would like to think that Little Bob had at least a couple of bites of fish that he didn’t drop. Finn flies to the perch, waits until Iris is settled and flies in to retrieve the tail piece of fish. “

Fab Four at Field Farm are doing fantastic. Looks like they are going to beat the odds.

The Quartet at Poole Harbour are equally as fabulous. They are managing with four mouths to feed splendidly. Such calm. I still think the majority are little boys if not all of them!

‘J’ sent me something that I think you will enjoy. The Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS) with Dr Sharpe and the people who care for the Channel Islands eagles released the reasons for the names given to the eaglets in the Adoption Challenge. I don’t think they would mind if I share it with you. ‘J’ compiled the information from their individual posts on FB. Images of the eaglets are on the IWS FB page.

The second Pinnacle Rock eaglet has been named Sean ‘Olol ‘Koy after the Institute for Wildlife Studies San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike Project lead! These siblings celebrate Sean and Nicole’s effort to rescue the Bald Canyon eaglet earlier this spring. From the donor, ” ‘Olol ‘Koy is Chumash for dolphin. The Chumash Creation story is that Hutash, Earth Mother goddess created the first Chumash people on Limuw Island (now Santa Cruz Is.) When the island became too crowded she created a rainbow bridge to send half the people over to the mainland. Some looked down and fell into the ocean to drown. Hutash saved them by transforming them into dolphins. Chumash consider dolphins their brothers and sisters.”

One of the two chicks from the Pinnacle Rock nest has been named Nicole Tauri! From the donor, Tauri is a Native American name for Young Eagle, and “We all know our New Hero, Nicole! Thank you for your service Nicole!”. The photo is of a pair of chicks from 2014.

The Los Pinos chick has been dubbed Kāwika (Kaa-vee-ka), Hawaiian for Dave. From the donor: “For appreciation of all the awesome views, experience and knowledge of the Channel Islands Nest. His dedication speaks for itself. Our friend goes back all the way to 2006! He was a IWS Chat Mod back in the early 2000 and then the CamOp after Dr Sharpe. The first and Head IWS CamOp for Explore and Mod for IWS YouTube. “

The second chick at Twin Rocks has been named! No ‘Nah Me is named after the donor’s grandparents, and a street in Quartzite Arizona. “In 1965 [my Gramma and Grampa] bought property in Quartzsite, AZ along with 5 other couples. The other people argued about what to name the street. All wanted their last name used! My Grampa quietly left and went to the recording office and submitted No-Name Street. It was granted. I went to Quartzsite in 2020 to visit their resting place. I talked to the lady at City Hall and told her that story. The lady said ‘Really, we’ve been pronouncing it No ‘Nah Me!’”

The two eaglets from the Seal Rocks nest on Santa Catalina Island have been named! They are “Milo” and “Merida Jane” in honor of two beloved pets who have recently passed.

The second Fraser Point eaglet has a name- Reign! This bird was adopted and named by a group of seven friends who call themselves the Cruzors gave this name because “Cruz is royalty herself being the first natural hatch on the islands since the bald eagle restoration project. Therefore, it is only fitting that her offspring embody her legacy.”

One of the two eaglets at Empire nest on Santa Catalina Island has been named Charley!

The story behind this name, in the words of the IWS supporter adopting this nest:

“The first name of my beloved ex-husband. We had a relationship that spanned nearly 20 years & after our divorce we eventually became nearest & dearest friends. At the end of his life he battled 2 different cancers over 3 years & I was his caregiver through both. When he was diagnosed with the 2nd cancer (Stage IV pancreatic) he asked me, “Will you help me get ready to go to Heaven?” I, of course, said yes. His last wish was to travel with a friend to their cabin in the woods to see the wildlife. On the trip we came across a Bald Eagle perched where it could be clearly seen in an unusual area near a well-traveled highway. We stopped & our friend got a great picture. The eagle was one of the last of earth’s creatures Charley saw–he died at the cabin less than 24 hours later. That was coming up on 13 years ago this November & to this day I keep a framed picture of that eagle nearby.”

We have a drawing winner who named the eaglet from the Middle Ranch nest on Santa Catalina Island. This eaglet will be named Avalon, in honor of the city where they were married in 1990. Congratulations on getting to name an eagle, and on 34 years of marriage!

The first Fraser Point eaglet has been named Manini, the adopter’s family name, and an homage to the advisor and doctor to King Kamahamaha I who brought plants, including pineapples to the Hawaiian Islands.

I am reposting the announcement for our first Fraser Point eaglet because I misplaced the title “King.” The first Fraser Point eaglet has been named Manini, the adopter’s family name, and an homage to the advisor and doctor to King Kamahamaha I and who brought many plants, including pineapples to the Hawaiian Islands.

We have names for the Bald Canyon eaglets! Hatched on the day the moon covered the sun, the older sibling is named Eclipse, and the younger Selene after the Goddess of the Moon in Greek Mythology.

The proverbial West End middle eaglet has been named Treasure. From the adopter: “Well, each of these eaglets is a treasure, and, with full respect to his/her siblings, I would like this one to carry that name: Treasure.”

The eldest eaglet from the West End has been named Koa. From the Level 1 Nest Adopter who gave this eaglet its name “WE1 is the offspring of Akecheta and Thunder. Akecheta means “fighter” in Native American language. As the eldest triplet, WE1 will carry on its father’s legacy as the protector. Koa is the Hawaiian word for warrior. Koa warriors served to protect lands, natural resources, and the ruling chiefs. They were seen as brave, bold, fearless, valiant & courageous.”

We have a new name! The youngest of the West End chicks has been named Sterling in honor of the adopter’s late father.

We have our first named chick! Pimu, from the Twin Rocks nest on Catalina Island, named “to recognize and honor the Tongva People who were the indigenous custodians of the Southern Channel Islands, including Catalina Island, over 7000 years ago. The Tongva called Catalina Island ‘Pimu.’”

The weather is bad at Charlo Montana. Not good for newly hatched chicks.

There is bonking starting at Osoyoos and the fish that I have seen have been small. This nest really needs a good supply of food to feed five. Not Olsen’s fault. He is doing the best that he can in a tough situation. ‘H’ might have a further report.

The Loch Arkaig is difficult to watch. C1 now goes after C2. I did not see a lot of fish deliveries. This is really sad. C3 reminds us how fabulous nests can change. It takes one ferocious, normally female, oldest sibling and a day or two without a lot of food deliveries and mayhem can occur – the result, the loss of one or more babies.

Geemeff’s Daily summary Monday 17th June 2024

After yesterday’s sadness at the loss of little Chick3, today was calmer all round, both for the family and for the watchers. Louis brought three fish to the nest, taking his tally to two hundred and ten. He put on a sprint between leaving the nest after delivering the first fish and returning with the second fish, and achieved a remarkable Nest to Nest time of 9 minutes 37 seconds. However, this doesn’t beat his all-time N2N record of 5 minutes 23 seconds on 31st May 2020. The third fish was basically just a tail end, and as with the earlier fish, dominant C2 got most and wouldn’t let submissive C1 have any. C1 is looking very hollow-cropped while C2 has the usual golfball – so it was heartening to see C1 suddenly decide to stand up to C2. Several attempts were made in quick succession, none lasted long and inevitably C2 soon subdued C1, but this bodes well for the future. There was discussion around the fate of the sad bundle of feathers that was C3, it’s possible Dorcha will dispose of it in the forest as she’s done before, or bury it within the nest vegetation, or it might even get eaten. C1 had the odd peck at it today, right before Dorcha had to deal with an intruder Osprey overflying the nest. No activity on Nest One, the weather was much more settled, and tonight’s forecast is a dry night with light cloud and light winds.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.03.50 (02.54.38); Nest Two 23.19.46 (03.48.07)

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

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

Today’s videos, all Nest Two:

https://youtu.be/rcFGjw9ggH8 Fish number one, very small whole BT, C1 gets none 04:27:10

https://youtu.be/IVqA6qiQegI Fish number two, small whole trout, arrives <10 mins Nest-to-Nest time! 04.37.12

https://youtu.be/vxpIhe93244 Chick1 pecks at Chick3’s body, Dorcha deals with intruders 14:29:47

https://youtu.be/sAFaD-IV1No Fish number three, just a tail-end but C2 stops C1 getting any 17.48.52

https://youtu.be/UVmvmdGrrgo Chick1 finally makes an attempt at standing up to C2 18.10.01

Bonus watch (not for the faint-hearted) – LizB talks about Ospreys eating their dead chicks. Warning: graphic content.

Rosie and Richmond continue to construct their new nest on the light stand now that two chicks have hatched.

Challenger, the Eagle that soared to fame during the Super Bowl and has served as an ambassador for decades is to undergo cataract surgery today at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Send this amazing eagle good wishes for a full recovery.

Even-Eagles-Get-Cataracts-Discover-Magazine Download

Siblicide is horrible to watch. ‘H’ and I can predict some nests where it will occur because we are aware of the weather and food availability. Others we can’t. Loch Arkaig threw us a curve ball. A perfect nest where there is fish and good parenting. Weather sets in. Things go sideways. We are watching several nests at the moment and hoping they might turn around.

There is some concern over Little Bob at Cowlitz. It ate at breakfast but had only a handful of bites of fish from the second feeding due to the eldest keeping it away. Smart little one went on the other side of Electra to eat. We wait to see how this unfolds. There is plenty of competition in the area for fish and the eagles there do steal from the ospreys when they fly to their nests with fish.

I have concerns about the osprey nest at the Bridge Golf Club. We lost Little Mini and we could lose Little. Big is hampering it eating.

One of the things that touches my heart is seeing the fledglings return to the nest to eat their fish. We see this at University of Florida-Gainesville and I am sure it is happening there while the camera is down. We see it at Moorings Park with Ruffie and Tuffy and also at Venice Golf Club. I would, however, dance around the room if all three fledglings showed up at the nest at once – just to know all are safe and sound.

Split screen shows both at Moorings on Monday having fish like the two above.

Change in date for the ringing of Rutland’s Only Bob.

In Scotland, the Golden Eagle Recover Programme is working hard.

Golden-Eagle-recovery-continues-in-southern-Scotland-BirdGuides Download

Good night Lake Murray. I hear predator grates like the ones at Cowlitz PUD will be installed if the Cowlitz chicks are once again saved from any predation this year like they were in 2023.

‘H’ reports:

6/17 Forsythe osprey nest: It was another good fishing day for Oscar. There were only five fish, but three of them were quite large. The first meal of the day lasted for 75 minutes, and both of the osplets ate three times. As you might expect, sibling rivalry was quelled today.

6/18 Kent Island (Chesapeake) osprey nest: It looks as though egg 1 of Audrey and Tom’s second clutch is not going to hatch. It is at 41 days, and had been pecked by a crow over a month ago. Egg 2 broke at laying. Egg 3 remains, and will be 33 days old later this evening.

6/18 The Boathouse osprey nest: Dory and Skiff’s lil’ babe is four-days-old already, and is cute as a button! Egg #2 is at 37 days today, with no pip seen at the time of this note.

6/17 Patuxent osprey nest: The three osplets are 37, 40, and 41 days old. There were seven fish brought to the nest. Little ate nothing of the first small fish. Meals two and three were sort of combined, as there ended up being two fish in the nest at the same time. Little ate very well at those feedings, and both of the older siblings tried a little bit of self feeding. Little did not eat again until the last meal of the day, and ate 32 bites of fish plus the fish tail. My impression over the past two days is that Little needs to have more to eat. The temperatures will be very warm in the upcoming days, and I hope Dad will bring in some whoppers so that Little will have enough to eat.

6/17 Captiva osprey nest: They had another splendid day. There were five fish brought to the nest, two from Edie and three from Jack. There were feedings and self-feedings. Darling has become quite adept at self-feeding, and s/he was able to maintain possession of a fish or two when Ding attempted to steal it. Progress! Ding was doing some major helicoptering, including a few times completely out of sight for several seconds.

And how wonderful. A Black Stork nest and the chicks getting ringed in Latvia!

Thank you so much for being with me. Please do take care. We hope to see you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, IB, J, PB’, MN Landscape Arboretum, Amersfoort Falcons, SK Hideaways, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Field Farm, BoPH, IWS/Explore, Charlo Montana, Osoyoos Ospreys, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, SF Bay Ospreys, Discover Magazine, Cowlitz PUD, Bridge Golf Course, VGCCO, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Forsythe, Patuxent River Park, Lent Island, Audubon Boat House, Window to Wildlife, BirdGuides, Lake Murray Ospreys, and LDF.

Thursday in Bird World

13 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I had been saving that tiny bottle of champagne for Jackie and Shadow’s hatch, but Iris having a chick after so long, well, it really is a time for celebration! So here’s to Iris and Finnegan and to their new baby! May they all live long and strong lives with lots of fish and no intruders.

So many nests got ignored today because of the happiness for Iris and Finnegan and the hope that we might get a glimpse of this little miracle chick. I will continue to provide the posts by Dr Greene who must be simply over the moon today with excitement.

Finnegan and Iris are very devoted. He has been so protective. I hope he doesn’t forget his other role is Daddy Door Dash with all those fish dinners. Look how proud he is on that perch protecting his new ‘family’.

This baby is strong and hungry and Iris and Finnegan are ready with the fish!

What a gorgeous family. Finnegan feeds Iris and Iris feeds their chick. Gosh, does this remind you of Stanley? Iris must feel like the Queen that she is. Isn’t this wonderful?

The tiniest bites of fish go into the baby’s mouth.

Waking up on their second day of parenthood – Iris and Finnegan and little Miracle baby.

The pair at Charlo Montana are not giving much away but there was a nice pip in an egg on Tuesday.

Welcome, little one!

And now there are two at Charlo!

There are two cute little osplets at the Blackbush Beach Osprey Platform!

All is well for our Little Mini at Field Farm.

At Loch Arkaig, C2 finally allows C1 and C3 to have some food! This female reminds me of Zoe. What do I mean by that? Well, she is full to the top of her crop and more and doesn’t want to share the fish with her two siblings. Someone asked if it is too late for siblicide. No, it is not. The worst behaviour begins during the Reptile phase and should end as the chicks get their feathering. We will wait and see. Louis is an excellent provider and there is has never been any concern that all three would not fledge. C2 just needs to ‘cool her jets’.

C2 reminds me too much of Zoe from Port Lincoln in 2022.

Slow motion video of the owl attack directly on Dorcha last night.

Only Surving Bob, Middle, at Lake Murry is a beautifully plumaged osplet. So big. Thank you Lake Murray for all the efforts to save this one.

CJ7 makes sure her precious Little Mini is being fed. Things are going very well on this nest. No concerns. The osplets are all passing through the Reptile stage and getting their beautiful juvenile feathers.

Growing concerns for Jack, the male at the Captiva Osprey Nest, mate of Edie, who disappeared for several days and returned with an injured leg. Window to Wildlife says if he can be captured they would take him to rehab.

At the Golden Eagle nest 2 in Estonia, the food was not as plentiful on the 12th of June as it was when the fox cub came in. Portions of a crane leg and a small bird. Both eaglets were fed but the second hatch is hungry and calling for food. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better hunting day for the family.

It is a miserable day for the Golden Eagle nest in Bucovina, Romania. We must remember that weather plays a significant role in the lives of our raptors (as well as the songbirds that visit our gardens). Small mammals get shelter and cannot be caught for food. If the weather persists, chicks can die. The nests get damp and the babies can get lung issues and also die. Life can be extremely challenging. Heavy rains are not just going to impact Florida. They have already accounted for the deaths of hundreds of storks in Europe and for some of our wee ospreys. Send good wishes to all nests – and thankfully there is some food on this nest!

Sometimes I fail to mention this nest. It is one that is wonderful to watch – Llyn Clywedog. Dylan is a master fisher and the reservoir is stocked with fish. He loves to bring trout to the nest! Seren Blue 5F is an amazing female. She winters in The Gambia and can be found on the same post year after year.

Three osplets transitioning into the Reptile phase at Cowlitz PUD.

The Great Bay trio are getting their tail feathers and juvenile plumage.

It is remarkable how fast these little ones grow. The surviving two osplets at Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home are doing fantastic. Just look at that plumage.

Triplets at Eschenbach nest have their plumage and are doing fantastic.

The newly hatched chick at Finnish Osprey nest #3 died right after hatch. This was the first hatch for Nuppu and Ahti. Condolences to all.

The trio at the Goitzsche-Wildnis platform in Germany are also doing well, just like Eschenbach.

Big Red heads to the nest to feed the two fledglings at Cornell.

The San Jose chicks still have to fledge and they are getting antsy.

It is mayhem at San Jose!

The three chicks on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest are still alive. It rained Wednesday morning and then it was a humid heat. The babies need food to get hydration. They are often left uncovered in the blazing heat of the MidWest.

Dad was in with a small fish after 1500.

Keo and Keke are taking good care of their surviving hatch, River, at the Sandpoint osprey platform. Roan passed away on Tuesday the 11th due to a nest accident. Condolences to this family for this tragic loss due to wind and then just bloody bad luck. Fingers crossed for this baby. It appears that the remaining egg will not hatch.

Lots of fish deliveries to the Bridge Golf Course osprey platform on Wednesday. Everyone ate well!

The rains that are hitting Florida are at Moorings Park. Both of our fledglings, Tuffy and Ruffie are on the nest, hoping to get a fish dinner. It would appear that one had an early fish and the other found a fish on the nest. Do not ask me which one is which! They are both strong osplets.

Sunnie Day captures the changes in the growth of the trio at Crooked Lake, Iowa.

The weather is now having a huge impact on the Florida nests. ‘PB’ says that Captiva is in for 7″ of rain in two days. This is going to have a very negative impact on that Captiva nest coupled with Jack’s injury. Send them your good wishes!

‘PB’ sent a late video made by Toni Hoover – I took screen captures to show you this amazing little falcon. It took prey from one of the sisters on the grate and jumped and pulled it into the box to eat. This kid is a survivor.

‘H’ reports:

6/12 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: Congratulations to Louise and her new mate Harvie, on the hatch of their first baby. There are two more eggs to go.

6/12 Captiva osprey nest: The stormy weather continued for the second day. Fishing for Edie and Jack has been difficult, and Jack has an injured left leg as well. The last time the 50 and 48-day-old osplets had eaten was the evening of 6/10. Edie was out fishing most of the day when weather permitted. Jack was not seen all day, until 1634 when he landed in the nest, dropped off a small live pinfish, and he quickly left. His leg still looked swollen, and the foreign object was still protruding from it. Edie was out, and the youngsters did not act quickly enough to secure the fish. The small fish wiggled in between some sticks and disappeared. It’s too bad they were not able to get a meal from Jack’s efforts. We had not seen Edie for hours, but finally at 2033 Edie arrived with a partial catfish. Darling grabbed and mantled the fish, but Darling is not adept at self-feeding. Ding soon managed to take the fish from Darling, and s/he ate all but the tail. The rain and wind is expected to persist intermittently for the next several days. Everyone is hoping that Edie will be able to deliver a fish this morning, and that she will feed Darling.

6/12, Forsythe osprey nest: Oscar delivered 10 fish to the nest, Including 9 fish in the morning, but most of the fish were on the small side. The first meal was peaceful between the three remaining siblings, and they all ate. After that, the eldest osplet ‘Big’ ruled the meals, although ‘Middle’ prevented ‘Little’ from eating at times as well. Little only managed to eat 80 bites of fish at meals two through six. The seventh fish, brought at 0922 was a large whole fish, and Little managed to eat 96 bites of fish at that meal. Little did not eat at meal #8. The ninth fish was delivered at 1032, and Little ate 55 bites of fish. Ten hours went by without a fish delivery. Then, Oscar dropped off a headless fish at 2022, and Little was shut out of that meal. Overall, Little did well today, thanks to the efforts of his dad.

6/12 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: The first fish of the day at 1009 was a medium sized whole fish. Twenty minutes into the feeding, Little managed to work his way over to the other side of Mom to be fed, and managed to eat a total of 32 bites at that meal. The next fish was delivered by Dad at 1214, and was a small whole fish. Little was not able to make it to the table. More than five hours passed, and we were worried that Little may not get any more to eat. Then at 1753, Dad showed up with one of his huge goldfish that provided for a 90 minute feeding. Little’s first bite of fish was not until 1847. Little was fed for 30 minutes and he ate 158 bites of fish. Go Dad!

McEuen Park osprey nest: All four eggs have hatched, and there are now four little osplets!

We do not have them where I live but there are some breeding pairs of Porchards in the UK that stay.

Birdwatch-pochards-are-one-of-Britains-rarest-breeders-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Just another horrible way that humankind is destroying habitat for wildlife and especially our feathered friends.

Rare-birds-at-risk-as-narco-gangs-move-into-forests-to-evade-capture-–-report-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Thank you to those who offered to watch the Osoyoos Osprey cam! The stream went offline Wednesday morning around 10am. It is now 1623 nest time and it is still down. Keep checking on YouTube!

Thank you for being with me today. What a grand celebration. We wait to see when Iris and Finnegan’s second egg hatches. I hope soon. This first one is strong! Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, PB’, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff, Montana Osprey Cams, Charlo Montana, Blackish Beach Ospreys, Field Farm, Lake Murray, BoPH, Sunnie Day, Heidi McGrue, Eagle Club of Estonia, Bucovina Wild, Llyn Clywedog, Cowlitz PUD, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Eschenbach, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Goitzsche-Wildnis, Cornell Bird Lab, SK Hideaways, MN Landscape Arboretum, Sandpoint Ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, Moorings Park, The Weather Authority, Toni Hoover and Amersfoort Falcon Cam, Fortis Exshaw, Window to Wildlife, Forsythe Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, McEuen Park, and The Guardian.

Hats off to Iris and Finnegan!

12 June 2024

I kept the computer on determined to stay awake to see the first hatch of Iris and Finnegan. About an hour before that historic moment I fell asleep! Isn’t it typical? Many of you will know that I have kept a tiny bottle of champagne to celebrate the hatch of Jackie and Shadow’s eaglet for the past two years. It has been sitting. I think today is the day to toast Iris and Finnegan and their first hatch!

It will remain a mystery to me why Louis chose to not challenge Finnegan’s take over of both Iris and her nest but also part of his territory. I am told that Louis and Star moved their nest to a further distance. I would like to think that Louis recognised that Finnegan was serious and would care for Iris and any chicks but I suspect it was Finnegan’s youth and determination that prompted Louis not to want to ‘mix’ with this new guy. There is enough space and fish for all! Whatever the reason, we are now joyously celebrating an event that Dr Green and his team have been waiting to happen since 2018. No one ever expected to see Iris be a mum again and yet, here we are with the oldest known osprey in the world having a strong healthy chick that one can hear cheeping on the microphone.

Dr Green is expecting the second little dinosaur in the next couple of days.

Look at how proud Finnegan is protecting Iris, the baby, and their nest.

The first feeding.

Here is a link to Iris and Finnegan’s streaming cam:

And, two last notes on other nests that got missed in the morning posting: Smallie has been fed by one of the adults (thanks ‘PB’) and there is an issue brewing at Loch Arkaig that we hope will be resolved. Louis always delivers 5 to 7 fish a day and had a bad day. C2, who seems to be the aggressive female, with C1 a male, is being rather brutal to her siblings. We wait for the nest to calm down.

Thank you to the Montana Osprey Project for their streaming cam.

Celebrate Iris and Finnegan’s historic moment. Many of us have tears of joy!

Category Archives: iris

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