We are in the midst of an unexpected blizzard, while thousands of miles to our southeast, it is green, and geese are enjoying the grass on a golf course. Thank you, ‘L’, for letting me share this lovely image of spring! We love our geese, but there is no place for them here, and yet, many arrived several weeks ago! The ponds have frozen, but there remains some open water in the two rivers that wind their way through our City. It is supposed to warm up beginning tomorrow, but I will believe it when I see it. We were not expecting this much snow today!
It doesn’t look like much, but the snow is blowing and accumulating so quickly! The lad who shovels or us thought snow was finished – he is going to get a real surprise! It is more than 30 cm deep on the walkway he cleared a few days ago, and is within 45 cm of covering the large bird table feeder. Unbelievable.
Toby loves it. He bounces through the snow if there is even a whiff of a ‘cat’ in the garden. My plan is to have a tall wooden fence built to match the one constructed a few years ago. I had not planned to put a fence on that part of the property, but the theft of dogs in our City has become quite troubling. Of course, ‘the cats’ – distinguished from ‘The Girls’ – come in from that back corner, so it is important to close it in. Toby loves his sisters, ‘The Girls’. He plays with them, but those that make their way into his outdoor territory will be ousted unless they are Brock (who now still spends 99% of his time at the neighbour down the street)!!!!!!!!!
I hope, after all these years, that each of you knows that I love all animals, but there is a special place in my heart for Big Red and Arthur, the late Annie at The Campanile, and ospreys. I have posted this song before, but I want you to get in the mood. Osprey season is starting in the UK – and has already begun in the US. Here are those wonderful school children with the Osprey Song (2011): https://youtu.be/KoOQK6ejuXY?
At the Lake Murray Osprey platform, Lucy has laid her second egg with a new mate. Please, please put up the owl defences for this family Lake Murray!
Company for Brutus. Storms are tearing down eagle and osprey nests around the US including an osprey nest that Penny Albright monitored near Sanibel that lost two chicks when the nest collapsed. These eaglets made it through…
Blue 25 has made another visit to Blue 33 and Maya’s nest at Manton Bay – Blue 33 normally arrives a few days prior to Maya, and Blue 25 enjoys his company! Geemeff caught her time on the nest: https://youtu.be/HU_XGU3NTro?
We have an osprey at the MNSA Osprey nest in Oceanside’s Jay Cool platform.
“WYL greets his chick upon returning to the nest in New Zealand. The adult male arrives from a foraging trip over the Pacific to feed his growing chick at the Plateau nest site. As the chick gets bigger, the parents will take longer foraging trips to collect enough food for both themselves and their chick.” (Cornell Bird Lab)
Peanut defended the Winter Park Florida nest against a RTH! Nestflix Memories (Gracie Shepherd) caught it on video: https://youtu.be/cQksMDubVEc?
Tonight, Wink is taking now chances. She is right in the nest with Peanut if that GHO returns – and, of course, it will – they never give up! Wink is an incredible mother – I am truly amazed and thankful for her diligence.
Gabby with her babies, Kai and Eve, at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest in Florida. Best keep a close eye on these two – they could fledge before you blink.
At the Johnson City nest of Boone and Jolene in Tennessee, snow arrived. Jolene kept those two babies warm and tried to feed them at the same time. Like Wink, she is an experiened and an exceptional Mum.
Huge crop on JBS 24. Mum and Dad are delivering food and leaving it for self-feeding on occasion.
Harry and Sally are up there in my list of osprey parents. Three babies, three little fat bottoms. Large fish coming in and Harry on guard as it appeared there could have been an intruder around today during a fish delivery. If you haven’t been watching Moorings Park, then check out this osprey family. It is a success story – and believe me when I tell you that there will be few such stories in the NE USA this season unless a miracle happens.
Rutlands Lagoon 4 nest is trying to keep the Egyptian Geese from laying eggs while everyone waits for the ospreys to arrive. This is a second nest with a camera amongst several nests at Rutland Water. AI says: “Based on 2025/2026 sightings, the Lagoon 4 nest at Rutland Water is often occupied by male 359 (a 2021 Rutland-born osprey) and female 3H9 (a 2023 Rutland-born osprey). They have been observed investigating the nest and strengthening bonds. Note: 359 and 3H9 are a distinct pair from the main Manton Bay pair, Maya and 33(11).”
I am getting impatient – and it is a tad early – for Maya and Blue 33 to arrive at Manton Bay.
At the Whitley Crane nest known as the Golden Gate Audubon Osprey nest, Richmond has worked and worked. There is a new female at the nest with him. I do not believe Rosie will make an appearance. Why do I say this? Well, when Aila did not return, Louis moved his nest to another location when he bonded with Dorcha. We often think animals and birds are not intelligent. If I have said it once, I will say it again million times, my teacher about raptor behaviour, the late Laura Culley, taught me that they are smarter and use higher levels of intelligence and communication that humans have lost.
I noticed in one of the chats – it was the Winter Park Florida chat – that someone noted that ‘animals have feelings’. Dr Mark Beckoff and Dr Jane Goodall taught us this. There are several good books out there. I urge you or anyone who is interested in the behaviour of non-humans to read any or all of the following.
Saddness at the Two Harbours as Chase & Cholyn lose their last egg. SK Hideaways has it on video: https://youtu.be/8vmMpnkNsh4?
Big Red and Arthur have snow on their nest at Cornell University.
Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red relaxing on the lights!
Cameras are now live at the Poole Harbour nest of CJ7 and Blue 022.
We have an osprey at Threave. Is it Black 80?
At Achieva the third egg was laid on the 25th of January. Can someone who is watching this nest tell me if Jack is delivering enough fish to his mate? I did not see deliveries today, but I might have missed something.
In fact, start checking out all your favourite UK and European nests as the cameras are being turned on faster than I can keep a list.
The Pitkin County Osprey nest in Colorado is live.
I have such a soft spot for this White-tail eagle in Durbe County Latvia. Milda. Her current mate is Zorro. There was sorrow and now Zorro has proved to be a good mate and provider.
April 7. Hellgate Canyon. Iris’s favourite day to return to her nest in Missoula, Montana. Count the days – 20. Less than three weeks! The snow has melted.
There is evil in the world. I cannot imagine how anyone could harm an animal and yet, every day I find myself telling people not to give their kittens away to anyone. Russell Mason beat a Goshawk to death – how in the world can someone do this?
Large estates, with no eyes around in Scotland (and elsewhere), allow many horrific things to happen to our beautiful feathered friends. What can be done to stop this?
The Cornell Bird Lab gives us hope that people around the world are increasingly engaging with nature and birds. Yes, there are incredibly vicious people anywhere in the world that will harm birds and other animals, but there are more, I hope, that love and help them.
Thank you so much for being with me today and for your patience, as my posting is often irregular. I had hoped to keep to Fridays and Mondays til the UK osprey season began, but every day there is something new and exciting! I will continue to post at the oddest of times, sometimes two or three times a day as news comes in. As you can imagine, my life is anything but routine. We do have a schedule, but it all depends on my husband’s mood, which can vary. I am impatiently waiting for spring to arrive. What I miss most is reading. Yes, we have story time, but it isn’t the same as sitting quietly on a park bench with squirrels dashing around, the wind gently blowing, with a good book in my hand, reading in silence. So, no promises other than there will always be a Monday blog, often coming out late Sunday, until we have osprey chicks on the nests in the UK and Europe.
Thank you to everyone who created videos, wrote informative FB posts, to Raptor Persecution UK for keeping us informed, and to the Cornell Bird Lab for continuing to support education. I remain forever grateful to the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to venture into the challenging lives of our feathered friends. To all my readers who are now long-time friends, I appreciate your support. Your letters and comments mean the world to me.
Current Status as John Bunker Sands: The second eaglet is still alive.
With the sudden death of JBS25, we are all feeling great anxiety. We will never know for certain what killed the little eaglet without a necroscopy – those take time and resources. The parents have now begun covering the little one. I noticed that someone on the chat wondered if the parents knew of the little one’s passing. The late Laura Culley – a friend and a great falconer – would have said very loudly: “And why wouldn’t they know that their child had died!” Laura trained and flew many raptors for at least three decades. She believed that they had higher powers – powers that we have lost including the ability to communicate without what humans know as ‘talking’. I miss her wisdom and yes, the raptors know. I have even observed their mourning over the death of their children and others leaving the nest having felt what we might call guilt for bringing in the prey that killed their children. The most vivid memory of that was Joe at the Captiva nest when Peace and Love died after he brought a rat to the nest that had died from rodenticide poisoning. He not only visibly mourned but left – and did not return.
It is 2230 as I am writing this, and if JBS 24 is to perish from HPAI, we will see this within the next 36 hours. I hope not. JBS 24 ate well Monday afternoon, even playing for a moment with dad’s tailfeathers. The little eaglet even had a late feed – unfortunately it was from the Coot on the nest that could have been the cause of the other’s death if it had HPAI.
HPAI happens suddenly. Several years ago, I reported on two White-tailed eaglets in Estonia that had died on a nest after being fed a crane. The two tiny eaglets died on the screen within half an hour of one another. In this instance, it was a crane that had come to the nest as prey. It turned out that these deaths were the first known instance of HPAI deaths in ‘spring’, sending alarm bells throughout the field of avian virology. Normally, HPAI happens in the fall, but this meant that migratory birds were affected. Thijs Kuiken is a prominent Professor of Comparative Pathology at the Department of Viroscience at Erasmus University Medical Centre (Erasmus MC) in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His research focuses on emerging infectious diseases, zoonoses, and influenza, with a specialisation in the pathology and pathogenesis of viruses in wildlife. Dr Kuiken contacted me after I reported the deaths on my blog and followed up with veterinarians in the area. He has written extensively on HPAI and its links to factory farming. The birds are the victims of this deadly disease that continues to kill around the world.
Here are some more recent articles showing the impact of this terrible disease.
Thank you so much for stopping in with us today. Keep sending your good wishes to the John Bunker eaglet.
Thank you to Mark Avery and the authors of the articles on HPAI as well as to the John Bunker Sands Wetlands for their streaming cam that allows us to look into the lives of these eagles. Our condolenes on the loss of the first little fluff ball.
It is warming up. -15 C wasn’t bad today but it is still cold. Not having any wind really helped on our morning excursion. The last Thursday of the month is ‘old people’s day’ at pet food stores, with 10-20% discounts. Toby loves going to the pet store. He is spoiled. Well, is there a word that means ‘more than spoiled’. He is always on the ‘lookout’ for a new toy when we go shopping, and today it was a fishing wand with some Valentine feathery bobbles. He would not stop whining til it went in the cart!!!!!!! Now, pet stores often do things on purpose just like grocery stores – put the toys down low in line of the pet’s sight. Remember having a toddler at the checkout line with candy???
Well, the fishing wand toy was a big hit with everyone – including all The Girls. So, thank you, Toby!
We managed to get The Girls two extra-large bags of their kibble and six large 24-tin boxes of wet food, and then there was Brock. He got his huge bag of dry kibble and some wet, and I got a big box of wet food for my neighbour, who also feeds Brock. Toby got his dry food and a handful of Lamb Chop toys. On the way home we stopped to pick up a box that had been delivered earlier in the week when we weren’t home. It is an aviator jacket – faux leather with shearling. Toby is a WWII fly boy!!!!!!
Does he look tired of trying on coats? He isn’t actually. Apparently, the tri-colours look ‘grumpy’ because of their colour patterns. I think he is rather handsome and reminds me of the character Andrew in the Foley’s War series.
Toby now has more jackets than Don and me combined. I guess it is time for a doggie closet. It is a good thing that not one of the The Girls likes to be ‘dressed’.
We have finished one book and begun another for Calico’s story time at night. The book was an ‘accident’. Yesterday was the day you don’t want to wake up to. I woke up unwell, but did manage to get the last appointment with my doctor on Friday. Then, when I went to do errands while Ann was here, the front passenger tyre was cooked. The book was a purchase so I could relax and read while the chaps worked on getting a new tyre for my car. The Kamogawa Food Detectives Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai. If you have ever travelled or lived in Japan, I recommend this book. When I visited Japan, which I often did, starting in the 1980s, I always stayed several blocks from the JR Station on Gojo-dari. I could walk to the Kamo River. The book somehow brought back all the flavours and aromas of the streets that I loved so much, like a tsunami rushing over me. Calico approves. The other book, The Friendship Book, arrived in the post – I had not ordered it. Who blessed me with a book of daily readings??? Eventually, the mystery revealed itself, and we are very grateful to ‘MC’ for the volume that we read at the start of story time each evening.
There is a lot going on in Bird World.
‘N’ writes about the Kansas City Bald Eagles, “Ellie laid her first egg this evening! Woohoo so excited. I have included the Facebook post of the announcement. I felt like I was reading Elfuler’s section on behavior in oviposition (egg laying) as I am watching. Amazing. Never gets old does it…
The Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis) is a small, mottled brown-and-gray nightjar found in open, arid habitats throughout the Americas. Known for its buoyant, butterfly-like flight, it feeds on flying insects at dusk and dawn. It is often distinguished from the similar Common Nighthawk by its lower, more erratic flight and a white or buffy bar located closer to the wingtips.
Our Melbourne correspondent is in love with the Royal cam albatross: “Just look at that beautiful little creature. Isn’t it just exquisite beyond words? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeHJsX84JAI. And how wonderful is Mum BOK? They are so serene, gentle, and patient. Beautiful, stately birds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeHJsX84JAI“
‘A’ continues, “The partying juveniles are keeping our baby awake. (Probably, they’re providing some form of entertainment for BOK as she sits there for days on end.) Seriously, aren’t these ‘adolescents’ just too funny? Mind you, after this period of partying, they can spend literally decades as part of a bonded pair, devoting themselves to raising a chick every second season, so perhaps this is the only real chance they get in a very long lifetime to ‘live it up’.
Aren’t their sky calls just wonderful? One of those adolescents has the most startling screeching noise. They do seem to have highly individual voices at that age.
Plateau Chick is progressing well, although it is still fairly small (and lost weight the first two days after hatching, which is not unusual). Mum regurgitated a squid beak during yesterday morning’s feeding, which the chick spat out and the ranger later retrieved from the nest. The twice-daily weighings and health checks will become daily at one week of age I believe, but so far, there have been no concerns with the wee one. It is absolutely precious, is it not? That perfect little bill and those sweet little feet are totally adorable.”
SK Hideaways caught two of the cutest little eaglets at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest! https://youtu.be/GPwd5POXfuM?
At the Moorings Park Osprey platform, Harry and Sally now have three eggs. They are an incredible couple. Food is normally not scarce but, honestly, I hope one of these eggs does not hatch!
All those Hen Harrier killings in the UK??? Well, one man, Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty to the offences in some of the killings.
In part it reads, “MAN SENTENCED FOR BIRD OF PREY PERSECUTION OFFENCES ON GRASSINGTON MOOR
A man has been sentenced for trying to kill a legally-protected bird, following an investigation by North Yorkshire Police.
The case against Racster Dingwall for encouraging or assisting bird of prey persecution, using the Serious Crime Act 2007, is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
In October 2024, a covert camera placed by the RSPB captured footage of three men on Grassington Moor, using radios and speaking in code to discuss shooting towards and killing wild birds, including hen harriers.
The recording was passed to North Yorkshire Police, and an investigation was launched by the force’s Rural Taskforce.
The footage was processed by technicians at the Regional Scientific Support Services, and an expert from the National Wildlife Crime Unit was called in to interpret it.
This analysis showed that one of the men – later identified as gamekeeper Racster Dingwall – was in possession of a semi-automatic shotgun for the sole purpose of killing a hen harrier.
Dingwall, 35, from Ellingstring, was interviewed by Rural Taskforce officers, and subsequently charged with encouraging or assisting the killing of a Schedule 1 wild bird (contrary to Sections 45 and 58 of the Serious Crime Act 2007); and possessing a shotgun for the purpose of killing a Schedule 1 wild bird (contrary to Section 18 (2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981).
All wild birds are protected by law, and ‘Schedule 1’ birds, including hen harriers, have additional protection.
It is thought to be the first time a charge of encouraging or assisting an offence under the Serious Crime Act 2007 has been used in relation to bird of prey persecution. “
There are still more people to find, as a substantial number of satellite-tagged Hen Harriers have been shot over the past couple of years.
At the Fort Myers nest o M15 (who delivered three meals in record time on Thursday), E26 has not only been incubating the egg, covering it with moss, and is now working on building the rails. Quite the eaglet!
Gabby and Beau’s NE32 and 33 are growing like wild weeds in a picture-perfect garden. Both had huge crops on Thursday afternoons, and the adults even managed to get some nice fish.
There is a lot of prey on the Winter Park Bald Eagle nest. There was a tandem feeding. Both have been fed. The oldest is simply big in comparison, so you can probably guess that she is a fierce first-hatch female and a second-hatch little boy. Things have turned around. Fingers crossed that it continues.
Cuties at the E1 nest of Anna and Louis II in the Kisatchie National Park.
It will not be long til those little bobbleheads of Anna and Louis will be the gorgeous feathered juveniles like those on Ron and Rose’s nest at Dade County.
C14 or Quinn at the Captiva nest of Clive and Connie is catching up with those juvenile feathers quickly. So sweet this Only.
Thank you so very, very much for being with us today and for all your wonderful comments, e-mails, and snail mail letters. I do so appreciate them! Take care of yourself. We look forward to having you with us again at the end of the weekend!
Thank you so much to the individuals who have created some incredible video captures of our raptor families, to those who post information on the various social media sites, and to Raptor Persecution UK, OpenVerse, and to ‘N’ and ‘R’ for sending me great information along with ‘A’ and her commentary on the Australian birds. My life is so much better – as is my blog – with each of you in it!
Toby relaxing in the conservatory.
Calico tempted to eat Toby’s chicken for her lunch!
Oh, it was a grand day today. -15 at noon. Toby went for a walk with Ellen and I got to attend to some much needed recycling. The decluttering/downsizing continues at a rampant pace which makes me feel rather happy. Less really is more! It will get colder but by next Monday, we are going to be looking at -5. One of our favourite places, Pineridge Hollow, has been closed for renovations and I plan to make it a day for Ann, Don, Toby, and me. Monday is our wedding anniversary and an outing on Tuesday to feed the chickadees and be out in the country without freezing to death is in order. Oh, I can already smell the conifer trees and hear the chickadees sing!
A few quick announcements. I had not expected to be back with you til the end of the week but…
Gosh, those eagles just keeping laying eggs and hatching and doing well!
Good news, really, at the Winter Park, Florida Bald Eagle nest. E2 seems to be figuring out how to survive, and the parents are doing well. There have been some good feedings without any rivalry. If the food keeps coming – and there is a huge hunk of fish on the right side of the nest, all should be well. (I am being positive because siblicide is RARE on Bald Eagle nests compared to other species).
Jackie and Shadow now have their second egg. So egg 1 on the 23rd and egg 2 Monday, the 26th. Whoooooooo yeah! I am really hopeful as these eggs are ‘early’ like last year. Last year, the first egg of 2025 was laid on Jan. 22. The second and third eggs came a few days later on Jan. 25 and Jan. 28. Their first successful chick to hatch was Spirit in 2022.
CBS LA announces the moment! (As well as so many other news agencies – Jackie and Shadow are truly loved!). https://youtu.be/fMlh1KuSPvA?
News of Royal Albatross:
Life at the E1 nest of Anna and Louis II is going along nicely.
Sally and Harry have their second egg at Moorings Park on Monday the 26th. Thanks, Heidi!
The Abu Dhabi Cams on four nests:
The second chick has hatched at John Bunker Sands Wetlands Centre!
I want to remind you that there is now a streaming cam at the Kakapo nest. This is a first, and it is a real treat. Please check out these amazing flightless parrots that are nearly extinct. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/BfGL7A2YgUY?
Thank you so much for being with us. Please take care of yourself. So many people are in storm areas. Stay warm, stay safe. We hope to have you with us again soon.
Thank you to Heidi for sending me the note about Moorings Park, to the owners of the streaming cams where we watch our favourite raptor families and use screen captures to tell their stories, to SK Hideaways and others for their videos to bring those lives to life, and to those who post announcements on FB. I am very grateful to each of you. My blog would not have all the news it does without your input.
It was a great night. Our visiting canine, Nellie, settled in and slept through the night – and so did the rest of us! We woke up refreshed. Toby and Nellie headed out with Ellen at 0930 while ‘The Girls’ had their breakfast in peace. When the dogs got home, Don and I looked at the four sad bananas on the counter and set about to make banana bread. It was a great start to the morning.
Hugo Yugo and Toby were holding hands last evening. I can’t get enough of this puppy and sweet kitty. They have to either be touching or near to one another.
Oh, these animals just lift my spirits.
There are two eggs at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands Bald Eagle nest in Texas! That one flew right by me I was so intent on finding out about Girri. Congratulations.
Let’s hope we see more of Girri’s strong flying. It gives me hope that this fledgling of Diamond’s will survive!!!!!!!! She is one heck of a flyer.
Our friend ‘A’ is checking on Angel, the Leucistic Hawk, and her mate Tom and found an update from Connor at Window to Wildlife: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDDXUkIKio
Connie and Clive have a hatch at the Captiva Eagle cam. CE14 looks strong and alert.
E26 appears to be lucky (in some ways). No indication of a pip in E27’s egg. This is day 38 for that egg. Yes, it is still within the time frame for hatching. Would I want it to? Well, I wouldn’t. Many will. E26 is strong, healthy, and eating well. A lack of a sibling means no bonking – that has already started at Dade County in force with the Rs.
Gabby and Beau continue incubation at NE Florida. I am getting excited for their first pip next week.
Jackie and Shadow are visiting the Big Bear Valley Bald Eagle nest! They were there Tuesday!
Ron and Rose have a nest full of food for C10 and C11. There are still a few bites of Coot and a whole lot of fish ready and waiting.
If you missed Ventana Wildlife’s December chat, here is the link to find out what is going on with the California condors: https://www.youtube.com/live/_FO6WuxmL08?
The post today is quick and sweet. We hope you are not caught up in the rat race of the build-up to the final days of the holidays. Take care. We will see you tomorrow.
Thank you to the owners of the streaming cams where I took my screen captures, to SK Hideaways for their video, to ‘A’ for alerting me to Connor’s Window to Wildlife update! This blog would not be the same without you and without all those amazing members of Bird World!
It is -9 C with soft snowflakes falling on the Canadian Prairies. Toby has been out for his walk with Ellen. Because the snow is deep and wet, he wore his boots, hat, and his insulated play suit. He wasn’t so happy. Look at that grumpy face! He sure had fun, though, once he was outside.
Ellen gave him a good romp – 1.3 km in thirty minutes. That little puppy was quite zonked when he got home. My friends and lovely neighbours are making sure that Toby has an even bigger wardrobe. One is even knitting him a beautiful scarf with snowflakes!
Both Blue Jays were at the feeders again Thursday morning. This makes me so very, very happy. The Jays wanted peanuts, but one of Dyson’s kits just sat on the big table feeder, munching and munching. Nothing was going to budge that squirrel! The Jays were losing their patience. In this two-minute video, Junior, the male, spends the last half hoping to find a way to reach the feeder!
I want to thank ‘L’ for her note today. It touched my heart. She had a feral cat named Hobo. Worrying about him in the cold, she put a heating pad inside a gigantic dog carrier. Hobo liked it. Her letter gave me pause to reconsider what I might do for Brock.
As all of you know, I agonise over Brock every winter. He has indeed survived, but there is always a worry. I have a huge carrier that I got when we had Lewis, so I am going to order a heating pad and another outdoor extension cord. Then we will see if Brock goes for it!
Brock looks in the garden door after finishing his third meal of the day. If you look at the table to the rear and left of Brock, you will see the amount of snow that fell overnight. The young man was here shovelling the deck but it has filled up – again!
Jaine arrived and headed out onto snowy roads to take Don to the Y’s walking track for the afternoon. The Girls, Toby, and I are making cinnamon-cardamon rolls for her to take home when she gets back. I hope they are good.
We use the same dough recipe for everything from pizza to cinnamon buns and butter rolls. It is effortless, and like my grandmother, I don’t measure. If you want to try it along with us, here is what I did: Place a packet of active dry yeast in a bowl with 2 T sugar, 2 T oil (I used a fruity olive oil), and 2 t salt. Add 3/4 c of very warm (not hot but quite warm) water. Stir and let it froth. Once the yeast froths, add 1.5-2 cups of flour. Depending on the weather and the type of flour you are using, you might find you need a little more. Stir hard, knead, and let the dough rise twice. Punch down between rises. [I use a small Wolf counter oven instead of my big oven. It has a ‘Proof’ setting for 80 degrees F that is really helpful and makes the rising go even faster.]
When the dough has risen twice (which makes the rolls much lighter), flour your surface and roll the dough out into a big rectangle. (See below) Those are slices of butter (you can use either salted or non-salted) spread around. You can even melt the butter and brush it on. For this recipe, the more butter the better. (Don’t tell my doctor!). Then sprinkle a mixture of 1 cup of white sugar to which I have added 1 t of cinnamon and another t of cardamom. You can adjust to taste. You might not use all of this. If you want, you can omit the cardamom. During a visit to Copenhagen, I fell in love with the Danish cardamom rolls, and ever since, I have been adding cardamom to everything. Today, I also sprinkled some dried cranberries over the dough to try and make the rolls a little more festive.
Fold up the edges and roll into a jellyroll-like shape. Then cut into slices. Place these on a buttered OLD non-shiny pan. Do not use parchment, either, as it will make the bottoms soggy, just like a shiny pan. You can be neat and make the rolls all the same. I can’t be bothered! I do like them rustic. Allow the rolls to rise one more time before placing them in a 375°F oven. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and, when pressed, spring back.
My family likes a lemon or orange glaze – just mix some orange or lemon juice with icing sugar and smear all over. Yummy, yum.
We decorated the box and included an ornament for her tree. I hope she likes it. I am so terribly grateful for her help and support.
So, let’s check in on some of the nests.
There are still two eaglets at the Superbeaks nest of Pepe and Muhlady in Central Florida.
The clock is counting down to SW Florida when M15 and F23 will welcome chick number 1.
In Orange, Australia, Diamond decided to feed Gimbir instead of Girri. Of course, Girri’s crop was about to pop! What a beautiful gesture to a great first-time dad who has been Daddy Doordash all season. I bet he was hungry.
It is NOT unusual (nor is it frequently seen) for adult males or females to feed one another. Which nests can you think of where you have seen this? The FalconCam Project caught it on video: https://youtu.be/1FOmMdoS6tA?
Why does it always have to rain and why are there storms around fledge time? It always makes me so nervous. Girri will fledge soon. Enjoy her while you can! They do not normally return to the scrape very much, if at all.
Indeed, Girrir was flapping and almost went out the front. 12:34:52ish.
That was too close for comfort. She is not ready. She still has down and I want a week of sunny dry days not the storm clouds you can see in the distance.
The eagles at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest are working on that egg cup. This nest is looking really good. Just look at the size of it! The people who work at the centre say that visitors walking on the boardwalk often see the eagles flying overhead. Maybe you should visit JBSW if you live near Seagoville, Texas (east of Dallas).
The snow was really coming down at the US Steel nest. Evenso, nestorations continued. Those 7000 feathers kept those Irv and mate toasty warm and dry. https://youtu.be/1tK8d2JFE1Q?
Gigi and Pat were working at their nest, the ND-LEEF, in South Bend, Indiana, on Thursday despite the snow, too.
In Winnipeg, we are experiencing a very sad moment. Hundreds and hundreds of Canada Geese have been found dead due to HPAI.
This news just makes me feel very ill. I love our geese so much!
It is never good to go to bed angry and I don’t like closing my blog on a sad note. We watched T3, the only surviving eaglet of Mrs T, thrive under almost the sole care of its mother at the Trempeauleau nest in Wisconsin. There are bittersweet moments. Two other eaglets perished, but you will remember how much joy T3 gave us. Here is a lovely video about this determined young eaglet! Enjoy. https://youtu.be/OMa50gXbe18?
Mrs T was sleeping on the branch at the Trempeauleau nest on Thursday. They have snow, too.
Good night, Beau and Gabby.
Trudi Kron brings us up to date on the new couple at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest.
A note from our Bird World reader ‘J’ in Berlin also brings some good news about Kakapo. Enjoy:
Thank you so much for being with us today. Everyone wishes you a fantastic end of the week!
HY knows how to stay warm.
Thank you so much to ‘L’ for the great suggestion for Brock! I am also grateful to the authors of the FB posts, the creators of videos, the owners of the streaming cams, and the authors of the articles included in today’s blog.
I am sending this out Sunday evening as Monday morning is going to be a little hectic. Enjoy!
It is -17 C on the Canadian Prairies, and Brock is at the feeder for the fourth or fifth time today! It was much colder overnight, and he really needs a lot of food – like the birds – to survive.
Brock was the subject of our neighbourhood FB chat. It worried me because I am so afraid that someone is going to get him trapped and take him to our humane society. They would euthanise him as he is not ‘socialised’ with no hope for adoption, even though he has survived outdoors, alone for at least four years, and is much loved.
Several feed him, and we might have even found his bolt hole – a small house with an opening under the porch, either into a crawl space or the basement. No one lives in the house, and eventually it will be torn down, and one of the new ‘infill’ houses will go in. I hope this takes years.
Calico will not wear a parka, but she sure likes sleeping on something soft. She is looking out the window at Brock. Is she his mother? Or his friend, who was also dumped at the same time? I will always wonder.
There is news in Bird World – and that is what I am supposed to be writing about today!
Mum and Dad put in appearances at the barge in Port Lincoln, South Australia, on Sunday. Mum was in the nest, and Dad was in his cave. It is so lovely to see them after the nest failed this year, when Mum abandoned the eggs. There have been other visitors – Ervie has been at the barge nest along with Calypso and friends.
Mum and Dad are looking quite well. I wonder if they have returned to the nest to check and see what their kids have done while they were away?
Diamond and Gimbir’s daughter is getting huge. Girri has turned out to be quite the character.
The necroscopy on SE36 has been released.
Thank you to SK Hideaways for their great videos of the week:
SK Hideaways Videos, week of 30 November 2025
Channel Island Eagles Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies, explore.org Two Harbors: Supermoon 🌕Chase ❤️🔥Sunset 🌅 Life is Good explore.org 2025 Dec 5
Cam ops captured the last supermoon of 2025 as it set over the hills. Chase soon arrived with a nice, big stick to continue shoring up the nest rails. We got a nice close-up of the nose bling he’s sporting at the moment. Later, he was found on his and Cholyn’s sofa, while Cholyn remained incognito. Finally, a stunning sunset capped off a lovely Two Harbors Day. (2025 Dec 5, 6:17-16:40)
Girri Gets as Close to Diamond as Possible ~ Precious Mum-Daughter Time (2025 Dec 6)
Girri couldn’t get enough of Diamond during this long visit. She got as close as she possibly could, nibbled Di’s talons, her feathers, and took a little nap with her. A sweet scene between mother and daughter.
Girri Sleeps in Mock Yogi Pose ~ Then Gravity Takes Control (2025 Dec 5) There’s something incredibly addictive about watching birds sleep ~ especially big, fluffy falcon chicks. Girri took the captivating, adorable slumber fest to a new level. Bonus: dancing around the egg and huge wingers. Video: https://youtu.be/dC31StjFAxs
Girri Grabs Whole Prey from Diamond 🍗 Mantles, Tries to Self-Feed🍽️(2025 Dec 4) Diamond brought Girri a large breakfast, which Girri was eager to consume. The chick grabbed the prey, pulled it away from her mum, and attempted to self-feed. Her fluffy mantling of the prey was a little comical, but she persisted. Diamond patiently waited 12 minutes before taking over the feeding. Once Girri calmed down, she realized that this was a more efficient way to eat. In the end, Girri had another huge crop, stretched to show her magnificent height and wings, and ultimately gave us a selfie on the Cilla stones. Another milestone completed. Video: https://youtu.be/CbDNoL_XujU Courtesy FalconCam Project, Charles Sturt University NSW
Jackie & Shadow Begin & End Day in Song🎶➕Nest Bumps, Nibbles & Beakies🥰 (2025 Dec 1) As nesting season begins, there are more visits from Jackie and Shadow, and the most glorious serenades, filled with chortles and snortles galore. Today we got those gifts as well as body bumps, tail nipping, beaky kissing, and a sleepover in the Roost Tree. Welcome back, Jackie and Shadow! Video: https://youtu.be/Z9lSEHWL2yY
Jackie & Shadow Defend Nest 🪹 Juvenile Chooses Bad Time to Visit 😬 (2025 Nov 30) Jackie and Shadow were doing nestoration chores when a beautiful juvenile decided to stop by for an uninvited visit. Shadow karate kicked the young one away from the nest and Jackie delivered her one-two kick from a basement branch. She then appeared to follow the juvie, likely giving her one more piece of her mind before returning to perch on the Lookout Snag. Shadow remained in the nest a while longer. This defensive behavior is a good indication that nest restoration had begun in earnest. Video: https://youtu.be/0nMw_5DvSlk
At the Central Florida Bald Eagle nest of Pepe and Muhlady, there is a hatch. Congratulations! This nest has been the first to have hatches over the past few years. Next should be M15 and F23.
Raptor Persecution UK is following several stories including the shooting of a peregrine falcon in Derbyshire and a halt to international trade in falcons by downgrading their status.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Looking forward to having you with us again tomorrow!
Thank you to SK Hideaways for their videos, to the authors of the FB posts and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to witness the lives of these beautiful birds. Thank you also to ABC and their Bird of the Week highlights and The Guardian for their wildlife stories.
We are so happy that you could be with us today! Everyone in the family – from the tiniest red squirrel to energetic Toby and the ‘sleepy’ Girls – hopes that you had a terrific week. If you are struggling, we will send you a virtual hug. The holiday season can be terribly difficult, especially for those alone.
We want to remind you that if you are planning to donate to your local wildlife rehab clinic or another organisation that helps our raptors, consider donating on Giving Tuesday, 2 December. All of the wildlife groups are struggling with limited funds, with donations, in many cases, being down due to the rise in the cost of living. Their costs are up, too. Thankfully, some individuals pledge to match any donations on Giving Tuesday (up to specific amounts). So, if you are thinking of giving, why not donate when the organisation can have double?
Or you might consider adopting (symbolically) a condor!
Before we begin, the greatest news of the week is that Wisdom’s young mate has returned safely to the Midway Atoll.
Our week sped by. Thursday was haircut morning, and during that time, Ellen arrived to take Toby for one of his two weekly walks. It was a bit chaotic for about five minutes as Toby really loves Miyoung, who comes to cut our hair. Honestly, I do not know where the time goes. On Saturday, Toby went to the pet store to get his photo with Santa. When the digital images hit our inbox, I will be happy to share that adventure with you. Pet photographers must have iron-clad patience – and humour!!! We also took advantage of the Black Friday sales to stock up on pet and bird food. It felt good to save 30% as prices have steadily increased here since the spring, with dry cat food prices tripling. Everyone is now set for several months into the new year. The ‘third’ annual visit with Don’s doctor was mid-week. Every year, he checks to see how Don is doing, and while we have had a little cognitive and physical decline, it is not nearly what should be expected as we head into either the fourth or fifth year of Lewy Body Dementia. Dr Classen attributes this to Don exploring ‘new’ things, going on adventures, walking anywhere from 1.2 to 3.6 km a day, eating well, and, last but not least, Toby. I am grateful for every moment we have together. I cannot tell you how it breaks my heart for this kind and ever-so-gentle man to have this disease. We are doing everything we can to make his and our lives as rich and full as we can as we navigate the unknown.
Snow began to dance through the skies late Friday and by today we had about 12 cm on the deck which Toby and I quickly cleared. We have found a product that will melt the ice but not harm the animals. It is a bit pricey but I cannot imagine Toby or any other dog or outside animal licking it and getting ill.
Winter is, indeed, officially here—no more sandals or lightweight jackets.
There have been some worries in Bird World. I did not send them out because it is often the case that we need to just take a deep breath and settle down to wait and see how things evolve.
Akecheta was not seen for three days. My heart sank as each day went by, but he showed up!
Akecheta spent some time on the far tor on Sunday.
The other issue was Gimbir’s lack of prey deliveries to the scrape for three days!
‘A’ fills us in with what has been happening- I am very grateful and I do not edit their ‘voice’:
The first paragraph is from today and the other comments come from various days observing the Australian birds.
“Girri did not get fed all day today. After a couple of good breakfast feedings, there was no prey brought to the scrape until 19:00, when Gimbir arrived with a beautifully prepared piece of prey, very closely followed by Diamond.
But neither was counting on a starving Girri, who immediately grabbed the prey from Gimbir and ran off with it, Diamond in hot pursuit. Eventually, she retrieved the food and began feeding Girri.. You have NEVER heard a feeding like this one. It took all of Diamond’s experience to negotiate the feeding process without losing her beak. The entire prey item (it was hard to recognise because Gimbir had already removed its head, wings and most feathers so that it most resembled a small lean beef roast) was demolished within about three minutes, with Diamond getting perhaps one bite while Girri was busy dealing with a particularly large beakful.
At 19:03, when Diamond actually dared eat a bite herself, Girri was not impressed. Making absolutely sure of the subsequent bite, she (this is a female – I agree with Cilla) leaned in, grabbed the prey from mum and tried to wrestle it away! Diamond was stronger and retained control but karma’s a bitch, and coincidentally, the next bite for Girri was a leg bone! That challenged her for a moment. She even checked mum’s talons to ensure she had eaten every last morsel
I think the lesson to be learned from this story is Girri needs food. Lots. Often. She didn’t become the gigantic fluffball we see before us without lots and lots of food. She INHALED that bird. And did I mention how beautifully prepared the prey was? Well done, Gimbir!”
From earlier:
“The cable has been repaired and the cameras are back up at WBSE but there has been no sighting or even any audio indication that SE35 is around. It has not returned to the nest tree over the past two days, despite prey being brought to the nest by the parents. This is worrying me greatly.
November 27: Camera streaming has been restored and we have been able to look back at some of the recorded action. Last evening at 19:19, gull prey was brought in, though SE35 was not seen at the nest. One adult spent last night by the nest. Early, both adults were seen on River Roost and lovely flowers were seen that were left in memory of SE36. Then at 7:24, fish prey was brought to the nest, though SE35 was not seen to eat any. We feel SE35 is still in the area though.
November 28: Lady brought a gull chick prey in to the nest at 6:22. The eaglet did not return, so Lady ate it herself nearby. Shortly after, neither parent was seen at the river, until just after 9am, when one was seen on Mangrove Island. A ground search in the morning showed no sign of SE35 in the area. A quiet day, then at 16.30, one adult was seen at River Roost being swooped by a currawong. Then a currawong escorted Dad in with a catfish at 5:40pm, followed by Lady. SE35 was still not seen and Lady again ate the prey herself – the parents then joined in a duet. In the evening, both parents were nearby, but we haven’t seen our SE35 today. We wonder how long the parents will stay around now?
November 29: Both parents were near the nest last night and flew in to the nest early – checking things and moving a few sticks. During the morning, lorikeets visited, with the usual lorikeet fuss and noise. Cockatoos were close as well. The wind picked up and was quite strong during this hot day. At 11am, both parents were seen on Mangrove Island. Then a quiet afternoon with no sightings – keeping their heads down in the wind somewhere sheltered. By late evening, no eagles had returned to the nest. Then, just after dark, at 8pm, both parents came in. A duet and moving a few sticks, then settled close by.
At 10.30pm (29 November), both parents are perched side by side, tucked and sleeping. We can only hope for the best, but the fact that there has been no sign of SE35 for three days now is depressingly familiar news. When they came in, one parent (Lady, I think) checked the nest and moved a stick, but primarily, she appeared to be studying the look and smell of the nest, as if seeking signs that SE35 had been there at some point during the day. After a couple of moments, Dad joined her for five minutes or so, and he did much the same, before returning to the perch branch. Lady stayed on the nest another five minutes or so, seemingly unsure, before joining Dad. They are both settled for the night.
Yes, I’m anthropomorphising, but rewind the footage and watch for yourself (time stamp from 20:04:15) and then tell me what you think she’s doing. She is looking for her eaglet. She is trying to ascertain with whatever senses she can bring to bear on the question whether SE35 has been on the nest since she checked it last. I’m not just looking at the footage, I’m emotionally immersing myself in it. I think you might be a person who understands what I mean by that.
But in any case, I really don’t want to speculate at this point. I would actually be surprised to lose SE35. I honestly would. Independence really should be at least as good a possibility as disaster in explaining its absence, but somehow that sinking feeling overwhelms me. SE35 was such a confident and competent eaglet, with a strong will to survive, and was obviously smart enough to return to the nest to be fed. I felt it had the drive and the skills to learn quickly. It would be possible that it is being fed nearer to the river, but it would then surprise me that the BOTG are finding no sign of it. These birds DO have very recognisable (and often very loud) vocalisations. I am so disheartened.
I think it’s easy to forget how urban their immediate environment really is. Far more like what the Collins Street fledglings face than we realise. This area of parkland is in the centre of a large city – a bit like New York’s Central Park in some ways, though it does have more ‘wilderness’ features, with a walking trail of 1000 steps, which tells you something about its size.
At Orange, Gimbir has not brought prey to the box for three days, with Diamond doing all of the hunting. That is an interesting development. Girri is GIGANTIC with all that fluff, and appears much larger than Gimbir. She brought in a banded rail this afternoon. The scrape is filled with feathers, some of which are Girri. Girri loves all four corners of the scrape and is usually napping in one of them. When Gimbir arrived earlier, he saw the empty scrape and there was a momentary look of alarm before he scanned all the corners and spotted Girri in the front right corner. He went over to check his chick, touching it with his beak. Too cute.
Girri’s feathers are starting to come through. Our little one will look very different by next week. But please don’t be in too much of a hurry to fledge – we will miss you! I wonder where Gimbir came from. Where was his natal nest? Is there any possibility that he is the offspring of one of Diamond and Xavier’s surviving chicks or have no recent fledglings survived? I am curious about where he came from, though, given that the males tend not to disperse nearly as far from their natal nest as the females. That would suggest that he was born within a 50-km radius of this scrape, perhaps even closer. I would love to know.
On the 30th:
The sea eagles were awake early this morning, by 5am. By 5.05, it was starting to get light and they had both come down to the nest – first Dad and then, a moment or so later, Lady. They spent about 15 minutes nosing about the nest, doing some aerating and moving the odd stick. Then one parent (I think it was Lady) moved high up the perch branch, then flew off at 05:23. Around 05:30, the other also moved high up along the perch branch, where he waited a moment or two, before flying off at 05:37. Around 07:13 some rainbow lorikeets visited the tree, their raucous vocals seemingly a mismatch for their gorgeous brightly coloured plumage (bright red beak, orange and yellow chest, blue head and green wings and back and tail – look them up because they are absolutely gorgeous and we see them here in Melbourne all the time). See the close-ups around 07:20 and especially 07:34. By lunchtime, the wind was starting to get gusty, and intermittently, the branches of the nest tree were really rocking. That nest is VERY secure. But no signs of any sea eagles, juvenile or adult. Or any vocals. Around 2.29pm, the whole tree was tossing, and I thought I heard a sea eagle in the background. But no sign of SE35. The wind has continued to gust, and by 3pm, the rocking of the nest tree branches was really quite violent. (Melbourne’s day is very similar today, with gusty winds, but we have some decent rain as well.)
At Taiaroa Head, mum BOK (Blue, Orange, Black), currently on incubation duties) has been fitted with a new GPS tracking device on her back feathers. Dad WYL (White, Yellow, Lime) will get his tracker when he returns from foraging to take his next turn at incubating. Their offspring will be known as ‘Plateau Chick’ until given a proper name. Their egg, laid on 6 November, has been candled and is fertile. Incubation will take 77 to 79 days, so it is due to hatch between 22 and 24 January. The rangers report that 47 eggs have been laid this year, only one of which is non-viable. I think that refers to the one egg that was broken. They are ‘holding’ that couple (GO and WO) with a dummy egg in case they are needed as foster parents. Our 2025 Royal Cam chick Kaewa (meaning traveller or adventurer, and she is certainly that!) has travelled over 10,000 km since fledging on 17 September and is now fishing the Humboldt Current off the west coast of Chile. Wow. Safe travels Kaewa. Hope to see you in 2030.”
Thank you so much!
I found the latest posting by the Sea Eagle Cam FB group for you:
An early update November 30: Parents were by the nest last night and came to nest very early, fiddled with a few sticks – then away soon after. During the morning both eagles were seen on Mangrove Island. We searched in the forest and nest area though no sign of SE35, & no alarm calls from currawongs. We found a currawong nest – with 2 Channel-billed Cuckoo chicks – probably a currawong we have heard calling at the nest. Late afternoon, we have not seen or heard any reports of SE35.
SK Hideaways has sent us her week’s videos – thank you so much!
SK Hideaways video for week of 23 November 2025
Redding Bald Eagles: Liberty & Guardian Attend to Some Branch Management(2025 Nov 27)
With a few challenging and wonky branches to place, Liberty and Guardian worked together (mostly) to resolve all their construction challenges. A crisp autumn day in Redding cast a golden glow on this beautiful couple.
Cholyn Tries Egg Cup ~ Fans Try to Relax (2025 Nov 25) During their evening nest check, Cholyn and Chase aerated the nesting material ~ all part of preparing the nest for eggs. But then Cholyn laid down to test out the nest cup for comfort. While we know that she has never laid before 15 February, this action still gave fans pause. She was clearly teasing us. A collective deep breath was taken. Video: https://youtu.be/hNt_gEbzjKA
Cholyn & Chase Spend Day Together ~ 23rd Anniversary Approaches (2025 Nov 24)
Cholyn and Chase met at the overlook nest before settling in on their couch for most of the day. Next year marks their 23rd year together, which we think deserves a big party. Video: https://youtu.be/wRZeXKpPz8c
FalconCam Project
Courtesy FalconCam Project, Charles Sturt University
Girri Gives Gimbir Feeding Lesson (2025 Nov 30)
Girri was already in a food coma from the huge breakfast Diamond had fed her. But like a good child, she rushed up to Gimbir when he arrived with more food. It took Gimbir a few minutes to remember why he had brought food, as he munched on it himself. But then he remembered and Girri obliged by taking the bites her dad offered. It was a heartwarming scene between this young dad and his big girl.
It is Bald Eagle season. It will not be long til eggs will start hatching while others are still working on their nests.
That incredible female at the White Rock Bald Eagle nest that raised her chicks alone is back at the nest.
It is exciting times.
Just a last check in on some nests before signing off.
Diamond stuffed Girri, and then Gimbir came in with prey, and the poor chick is going into a long food coma at the Charles Sturt University falcon scrape!
Beau and Gabby exchange incubation duties at NE Florida.
Incubation at SW Florida with M15 and F23 continues.
Liberty and Guardian have been restoring their nest at Redding.
Clive and Connie are enjoying the sunshine while incubating their two eggs at Captiva.
Mr North and Mrs DNF are undaunted by the snow that hit the Midwest.
Busy at John Bunker Sands!
Jackie and Shadow have been discussing stick placement at their nest in Big Bear Valley.
One of the short, 350 word pieces, in The Guardian, does reveal that patience and determination can change things. It put a smile on my face. Maybe it will yours, too.
Lastly, one of our readers who ‘reads’ extensively has spotted a trend in books being published. The titles are misleading. There is one way to spot these volumes quickly and easily, our astute fellow bird lover has discovered. They say ‘Pet Owner’s Manual’ – there is one for Kakapo!!!!!!! Indeed, the kakapo was the book that set off our friend to searching through some other titles. Can you imagine a Kakapo as a pet?!!!!!!! They say purchase at your own peril.
I have not read or purchased any of these books but just from what I have been told and read I would certainly say, ‘beware’.
Version 1.0.0
Thank you again for being with us. We hope that you have a lovely week and we look forward to having you again with us next Monday!
Thank you so much to SK Hideaways and ‘A’ for their brilliant contributions. I am grateful to the owners of the streaming cams and the authors of the FB posts that add so much to my blog, as well as to The Guardian for continuing to follow critically essential topics on the environment and wildlife. Thanks, ‘J’, for the book report.
Maya and Blue 33 have their fourth egg at Rutland’s Manton Bay. Geemeff writes: “Maya has laid a fourth egg at Manton Bay – it’s visible around 08.47.28”. If any couple can raise our, these two can. They have done it several times before. They are an Osprey Super couple in terms of producing chicks.
Sadness and Madness. Achieva Baby gone. For everyone that wrote to get help after the Baby and eggs went down the drain holes last year, it appears something has happened again this year. (Footage is being checked to see what happened).
Iris has been a busy lady. The Hellgate nest was completely flattened over the winter. When we went up to upgrade the camera system I was amazed and how shallow and flat the nest was.
But Iris has been busy bringing in sticks, grass and moss, and the edges of the nest are already considerably higher.
Come on Finnegan!!
Best, Erick Greene and The Montana Osprey Team”
Come on Finnegan is right.
I thought I was losing my mind. Turns out it isn’t me! It is WordPress. Heidi first warned me two days ago that images in my blog were getting switched. WP is scrambling pictures and videos faster than I can check them for the third time, so apologies. I keep saying I am switching to another platform, but that would cause a lot of chaos for all of you – and that is something that I do not wish to do. I don’t need that chaos and neither do you. The birds are to give us some calm in our lives, albeit they often send us to the tissue box. Still, we are privileged to share their lives, and I would not have it any other way. So I might start using less images – I know that many of you see these beautiful feathered friends on the streaming cams and in FB posts. To be continued….
As of this writing, neither Finnegan nor Aran has returned to their nests. Finnegan was first spotted on Iris’s nest on April 19th, but we’re unsure if he was present earlier. Aran typically returns between March 30th and April 4th, and I am worried about him. In the meantime, Louis has visited Iris on the nest again. Please come home soon, Finnegan! And I should note that other ospreys on UK streaming cams such as LJ2 at Llyn Brenig have just returned. Come on Aran.
My post is a bit all over the place today. Please bear with me. The research is not clear, but I can tell you, from my detailed notes, that the two days leading to the full moon and four days after, can be very difficult for those suffering from Lewy Body Dementia, like my husband (and others with mental health challenges). My posts will be as confused for a few more days! The Pink Full Moon is on Saturday.
That juvenile eaglet on the John Bunker Sands Wetlands Bald Eagle tower fooled me. I was certain that one of them had fledged. It seems that it was hiding in those metal supports. JBS had their first fledge on the 9th. This has been a great nest to watch this year!
Fort St. Vrain: The 4th egg has hatched. That sweet little baby. I hope that the parents can manage the hatch difference and four beaks to fill. And I hope that this 4th hatch is a ferocious girl so she can survive!
I am hearing a lot of worry from around the world about this nest. The weather is not looking good (will include below) and ‘PB’ writes: “I don’t know how Ma is going to keep 4 babies under her. I just read the nest history and there were a few seasons when the chicks passed due to exposure to rain , snow and hail. Storms seem to come around this time of month. Hope it stays dry for them.”
‘J’ writes: “In Dutch we say „ik hou mijn hart vast“, literally I hold on to my heart. Holding his heart is a proverb often used in a difficult situation where someone is afraid that things will not end well. The proverb “holding his heart” is symbolic and refers to the fact that one is so tense that one reaches for the heart and holds it from tension. “Peter held his heart when the results of the theory exam were announced.” In this example, Peter is the one who is “holding his heart” because he is in suspense for the results of his exam. Often this proverb is used in uncertain situations, this can be from serious to minor situations. The following examples indicate this. “After the car accident, Dora had to be freed from her car and her family members held their hearts.” This is an example of a life-threatening situation, but it can also be less serious : “Chris promised to finish his essay on time, I am holding my heart.” In this case, the proverb is used as a kind of joke to indicate that Chris thus never finished his essays on time and the person actually sees the storm coming.
The older two have eaten well, the third got some bites, and the fourth pushed itself up and then the parent took the bite. If you are queasy this is not the nest to watch for awhile til we see how things shape up.
‘PB’ sent the weather that so many of you are concerned about. It was not that many years ago that the little one at PA Country Farm was left out from being under Mum and died. Many of you recalled that tragedy.
Geemeff sends us her daily summary of the activities for The Woodland Trust:
Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 10th April 2025
Today saw the return of the ringed male intruder Osprey to Nest Two and managed to perch for a brief moment before being chased off the nest by Louis, who escorted him away from Dorcha and down towards the loch. Frustratingly we still didn’t get a good look at his Darvic ring, perhaps he’ll return or perhaps we’ll get a positive ID from the Roy Dennis Foundation. Louis delivered four fish today, taking his season’s tally to twenty. One of those fish spent quite a bit of time being taken on and off the nest before finally being eaten, and after another delivery Louis did such energetic nest-scraping that he needed a little lie down, affording us a comical view. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 did a fair bit of nest prep too, bringing sticks and nest-scraping until Affric arrived to solicit fish. Unlike yesterday however, he didn’t oblige and she left fish-less, back to Bunarkaig to demand fish from her real mate Prince, perhaps. The wind picked up today but the forecast for tomorrow is sunny with a gentle breeze. Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.26.55 (05.19.23); Nest Two 21.39.38 (05.34.33) Today’s videos:
Please do look at some of these wonderful videos. We now have Louis and Dorcha on Loch Arkaig nest 2 and Prince and Affric on Louis’s old nest, nest 1. For those you loved Louis and Aila, there is one with them, too. Lots of people are hoping that we might see some of those JJs at a nest or two.
Big Bear Valley: It is no wonder that Sunny and Gizmo are growing and growing. They are eating fish 8 and 9. I can think of a lot of eagle (or osprey) nests that would envy that amount of food coming to the nest. https://youtu.be/aHdBLEpS7VE?
Sauces: Betty Lou is just as fortunate. Jak and Audacity keep her crop full and bursting. They are such happy and proud parents. One of this year’s miracles, like Bodie, Sunny, and Gizmo.
NEFlorida: Bodie is still home but she is spending a lot of time up high on the branches. You best stop in to that cam because she could fly off any moment. Beau and Gabby did well even adopting another eagle that undoubtedly helped Bodie to learn more survival skills. A blessing. Bodie is 81 days old today.
Port Tobacco: Two eaglets have their beautiful wooly thermal down and their juvenile feathers are appearing. Both doing well.
US Steel: Wet day for Irvin, Stella, and baby USS8 (hatched on 27 March) who had a big crop. Fish pieces on the nest and Stella keeping that little one warm and dry.
Nest 4 Finland: Snow.
Nest 5 Finland: Osprey briefly landed on the nest on Friday.
Achieva Credit Union Ospreys: Only Bob of Jack and Jill is doing well. With the above announcement, this is so sad. My heart breaks for new Mum Jill and Jack. For those not familiar this happened last year. It was difficult to determine if a predator came or if the eggs and chick went down those big drain holes. Heidi is trying to determine what happened.
Salem Electric Ospreys, Oregon: A couple are on the nest and they have a lot of work to do. The link to their streaming cam is: https://www.youtube.com/live/a-G2qGiZdT0?
Eastern Curlew: They migrate 10,000 km and they are in trouble.
Funding for all kinds of research and help for wildlife is in jeopardy. The Narwal comes out of British Columbia with journalists in several Canadian provinces. It is supported by readers and has won numerous awards for independent journalism.
Whether it is in Australia, Canada, the US, Europe, or the UK, wildlife needs our help now more than ever. Lawlessness means that more and more raptors are being shot. Two ospreys last week. We don’t hear about most of them. These are just the tip of the iceberg in wildlife violence and we need to find a way to end it. If individuals harm animals, then they might also easily harm people. Where did empathy and love for animals go in some people?
Calico’s Tip for the Day: Make a few tweaks in your life and get rid of some anxiety. Calico loves ‘The To Do List’. Not. It never gets finished, there is always something to do. Many people think that they are ‘useless’ or ‘less worthy’ because they cannot get on top of their ‘bloody lists’. Others miss the beauty of the day by spending all their time trying to get ‘the list’ finished. The author of a new book, reviewed by The New York Times, agrees – the list is never finished. Here are some tips to help us enjoy life a bit more and quite stressing ourselves out needlessly! ——– Think like a cat, Calico says. And don’t feel guilty if you need ‘a cat nap’ during the day.
I have put into place two changes to the blog to try and help with my anxiety: 1) I realise that I will never catch up with every nest as there are thousands of them on streaming cams and I will always miss some late news. It cannot be helped. 2) Instead of rushing to get the blog out to you before a certain time, I get up and feed Brock who is nearly always waiting, feed The Girls and the garden animals, feed us and give out pills and then while sipping my morning brew, finish up the blog.
Calico hopes that you will find some ways to alleviate some of the anxiety that comes into your life. She loves this article and hopes that it helps in some way. Let her know!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. 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, Heidi, J, PB’, Montana Osprey Project, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, Fort St Vrain, The Weather Channel, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, IWS/Explore, FOBBV, NEFL-AEF, Saaksilvie 4, The Guardian, OpenVerse, Australian Conservation Foundation, The Narwal, Owl Moon Raptor Centre, The New York Times, US Steel, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam
Well, I am over the moon with the arrival of Louis and Dorcha at the Loch Arkaig 2 nest on Wednesday. I mean, seriously, this is magical. I couldn’t believe it and then I couldn’t stop smile and quietly giggling to myself. Just like the miracle eagle babies in the US, it just doesn’t get much better than this in UK Osprey World!
‘The Girls’ divide themselves into couples.
Hugo Yugo and Missey are always together. Always.
Calico and her only surviving kitten, Baby Hope, are likewise always together. Hope waits for Mum to finish eating before she eats – just as she did when she was a kitten.
I am showing it again just for you to get the idea. Hope is very good friends and plays with Hugo Yugo and she doesn’t mind Missey. Calico and Missey are not pals. They do not like one another and so, today, I am off to get some more of that diffuser that should make them ‘love one another’. Wish me luck!
While they are curious about the feral cats and tolerate Brock, they do not like the new ones that are arriving. To keep the stress down for them, the plan is to move the feral feeder to the back of the garden area away from our garden door. I can still keep an eye to see if Brock is coming and if he needs our help.
This blog contains the mention of Louis’ arrival home at least three times. Here are the videos in case you missed them. This in response to the more than 400 e-mails of you with tears in your eyes and the following from one of our long time Bird World friends. ‘B’ writes: “Oh, thank goodness!! Thank you Mary Ann! It has been such a difficult year, with the loss of Annie and Archie, and Thunder and Akecheta, E24 and E25, and (so far) the loss of Chase and Cholyn’s eggs at Two Harbors. We have to be thankful for every blessing we get with Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear, Audacity and Jak at Sauces, Bodie at NE Florida, and now the return of Louis (Louis the Legend!!) and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.”
‘B’ is so right. There are miracles and blessings and each day with our feathered friends has to be treasured and never taken for granted. We love them dearly.
Welcome home Dorcha! Resident female Osprey returns to Loch Arkaig Nest Two 2nd April 2025 (zoomed):13.58.57 An Osprey call is heard off camera – is it Louis? Sounds like him. I boosted the audio the better to hear the call. 14.04.19 An Osprey lands with a chirp – but it’s Dorcha, not Louis! Welcome home!
14.06.20 She departs, flying lochwards and disappearing into the distance. Where is Louis?
Welcome home Louis! Resident male Osprey returns to Loch Arkaig Nest Two 2nd April 2025 (zoomed):19.43.55 An Osprey comes unseen from the cam side and lands on the cam post with a thunk and a soft cry. 19.47.30 The Osprey takes off, circles round, heads back to the nest
19.47.44 It lands – it’s Louis!! Welcome home, it’s so good to see you.
https://youtu.be/8WyDfBGdXgYTogether again! The reunion of the resident Loch Arkaig Ospreys Louis and Dorcha 2nd April 2025:
20.11.35 Louis is on the nest and starts displaying, flapping his wings 20.12.00 Dorcha arrives and is reunited with Louis Louis starts coy-mantling, she just stands there quietly 20.21.54 Dorcha leaves, Louis remains behind and starts nest prep, doing some nest scraping 20.46.57 Louis leaves for the night
Heidi’s US Osprey Report:
4/2 – Venice Golf Club: Congratulations to Mom and Dad on their first hatch. The baby hatched sometime overnight.
4/2 – Brevard County: Mom was very secretive, but the first baby hatched at approximately 13:30.
Updates to the hatches from Heidi!
4/3 – Brevard County: A pip was first seen 4/2 at 21:00, and the second baby was out of the shell 4/3 by around 00:30.
4/3 – Venice Golf Club: The second baby arrived sometime in the overnight hours.
4/3 – Havre de Grace osprey nest: The first egg of the season was laid this morning at 06:59.
Heidi asked me to make a correction: CORRECTION: PLEASE CHANGE DATE OF Maryland Western Shore egg #2 to 4/1.
And I missed this one from Heidi!
Kent Island: 3/30 – Kent Island, Maryland (Chesapeake Conservancy): ‘Tom’ arrived home on the same day that he returned last year. Nice to see you, Tom. Tom is waiting for Audrey, who is currently a week past the date that she arrived last season.
Mary Ann’s Osprey News:
Rutland Mantou Bay: Maya lays her first egg on 2 April.
Golden Gate Audubon: Richmond and Rosie welcomed their first egg of the 2025 season on Tuesday 1 April.
Loch Arkaig: If you missed it, Louis and Dorcha are home. More from Geemeff below but I had to mention it twice. My inbox flowed with over 400 e-mails about this fantastic couple. We all remember Louis and Aila and their triplets during the pandemic. We miss Aila, we embraced Dorcha, and then we worried ourselves to death that Louis might not return this year. Well, he fooled us and I hope that he has recovered from whatever ailed him last season.
Glaslyn: Elen is home waiting for Aran. Now we have a visitor, a male.
Cowlitz PUD: Electra arrived at the nest on 30 March.
Goitzsche Wildnis : J Castnyer writes: “If yesterday it was Herbert, from the Eschenbach nest, who brought a red fish to the new couple, today Zeus did the same to the one from Goitzsche Wildnis. Very attached to the claws, yes. There was a moment of tug-of-war between him and a Fjona who was very interested in the teak, not only because of the color, but because of the appetite it had.” From this it would appear that the original Fjona has not returned but I hope this is just my misunderstanding. Stay tuned for clarification.
Here is that ‘red fish’ that Herbert brought to the Eschenbach nest yesterday:
Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig!
Daily summary Wednesday 2nd April 2025
What an eventful day – apart from the Really Dark Female (RDF) turning up on Nest Two this morning, the main action took place in the afternoon and evening. Louis and Dorcha have returned! We heard Louis’ characteristic call off-camera then an Osprey arrived, but confusingly, it was Dorcha! Looking a little hollow cropped but otherwise in good shape. She left and the nest stayed empty as the light started to fade but then a chirrup was heard and a wingtip seen from someone up on the cam post, then the Osprey departed, flew off, circled round and landed on the nest – it was Louis! He is looking in magnificent shape with a nicely rounded crop. He stayed on the nest looking around then suddenly started displaying and the reason soon became obvious when Dorcha arrived. Their reunion was quiet, no noise, no mating attempts, just some coy-mantling from Louis, with Dorcha not calling for fish as judging by her crop, she’d eaten since first appearing on the nest. Had she caught her own fish, or had she met up with Louis earlier and he’d given her a fish off-nest? We’ll never know, but what is certain is the resident pair are both safely home, and the nest cam community is absolutely thrilled. And for a bonus, the weather cooperated too.
‘J’ sends news that we have a pip/hatch underway at Fort St Vrain in Colorado!
Big Bear: Sunny and Gizmo just cannot stop growing. Snow has started falling but let us all wish that this nest misses any big storms heading for the north of California. https://youtu.be/3rTqyFDnlXE?
NCTC: It might have been horrific year for Bella last year, but this year is an entirely different story. Bella and Scout’s triplets are doing very well.
Cornell Red Tail Hawks: I reported that Big Red laid her third egg Wednesday morning. Oh, I love this 22 year old incredible Mum and dear Arthur. Here he nudges her off the eggs so she can have a break and he can have some incubation time. I always wonder if Arthur senses that she is more tired than she was 8 years ago? And he is really stepping up to help. Love them. So glad to have the privilege to watch them raise another family. https://youtu.be/ih0pGF7rguQ?
Great Spirit Bluff: Newmann and Elaine have their third egg on 2 April.
‘T’ sends us a video of the Imperial Eagles in RU welcoming a new breeding season.
Calico’s Tip for the Day: Please read this and educate everyone you know.
I don’t want to end the blog on a negative note so I am putting this article here. I want you to pause and think about how many billions of animals we – humans – kill in the factory farms across the world and the inhumane conditions those animals live in. Now, the EU is allowing the shooting of doves. Seriously? I get an ‘acidic’ stomach just thinking about this. What is wrong with people?
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for giving me help with my blog today: ‘B, Geemeff, Heidi, J, T’, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, VGCCO, Brevard County, LRWT, Kent Island/Chesapeake Conservancy, Golden Gate Audubon, Jeff Kear and Byryd Gwylld Glaslyn, Cowlitz PUD, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, NCTC, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, Great Spirit Bluff Ospreys/Explore, Joan Castnyer, Eschenbach Osprey Platform, Goitzsche Wildnis Osprey Platform, SK Hideaways, The Guardian, CapeCod.com, Kaitlin Wright Meterologist, RU Imperial Eagle Cam
