Category Archives: lead poisoning in wildlife

Bird Flu…and more…Tuesday in Bird World

30 January 2024

Hello Everyone,

Oh, goodness. It might as well be summer in Winnipeg – it sure feels like it at +3 C. Snow is melting, the sand and salt mixed with it for driving are really gross when this happens, and we have no idea what boots or coat to wear anymore. The children were squeeing like E23 as they rode their toboggans/sleds down the big ramp onto Devonian Lake at Ft Whyte this afternoon. It was marvellous. The smell of spring in the air (it is just teasing us – have no fear, winter is still here) was invigorating.

It was a lovely walk at the nature centre. I am reminding myself that the geese will be returning the middle of April and all of these shades of grey will be green. Beautiful green.

On the way home I was tempted to pick up a small bundle of tulips, but, thankfully checked and tulips are highly poisonous to cats. That would not do at all. I think flowers would not be safe anyway – not with Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope tearing about.

Baby Hope is loving to be stroked on her back and always flops in the kitchen – first – even before Hugo Yugo – when it is time for breakfast. She is one of the most darling cats I have ever had the pleasure to share my life with.

Thanks to Auntie ‘R’s suggestion, Hugo Yugo will have no more stained eyes. Her wipes arrived this evening (after these photos).

Hugo Yugo is getting ready to pounce on Hope. Look at those claws – and for such a little thing!

These two play ‘Who is the Queen of the Cat Tree’ all day long.

Size does not seem to matter. You will notice Baby Hope’s big strong legs and feet -just like that Dadpa of hers. Hugo Yugo wins about half the time – she does it through speed and persistence.

Missey took a clue from Calico and decided to sleep in a pile of blankets instead of entering the battle of the tree with those two.

There has been a wonderful sighting in The Gambia of two Rutland fledglings from 2022. 

If you have been confused about whether there is 1 egg or 2, 1 hatch or 2 at the JB Sands Wetlands area, you are not alone. We know there is at least one hatch and it appears that there are two! The dates are inconsistent but what matters is this – two healthy eaglets being fed. Watch for that!

Definitely feeds and Dad on the nest quite a bit. I have only been able to see one head, but there is that metal support in the way. There could be a second behind it! 

There are two of them! Observers had written that they had observed bonking, but I got my first sight of the pair this evening.

If you go to the web page, you can hear a recording of the eaglet – very clearly – from the nest. I should point out that some of the information on that site is frustrating. How do they know how old the eagles are? Are they sure? They are not banded? The dates of the hatch and the number of eaglets have been confusing. Thanks ‘AE’ and ‘MP’.

https://www.eagles.ntree.org/

Finally, here’s a great news story where the Ospreys won. Thanks, Geemeff. A festival has lost its site due to breeding Ospreys and this time, I am told that there are too many watchers so that any fears of their nesting site being disturbed should dissipate. The watchers are on it!

Green-Man-festival-loses-Gilestone-Farm-site-due-to-nesting-Ospreys-Wales-OnlineDownload

Marri is still flying around the scrape on the campus of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia. This is fabulous news. Gosh, Marri looks like a super strong flyer. 

Shadow needed to see if there was a second egg! They are certainly having a discussion!

If you missed it, the tandem feeding by M15 and F23 for E23 resulted in one HUGE crop!

This is why Barb Henry wants a slower speed on the roads in front of the nest of M15 and F23. Can you sign her petition? The name is in bold below. Do a search on change.org

The two eggs of Olive the Hummingbird have hatched. They are named Dusk and Dawn. When will they fledge? Here is the link to their camera! 

Olive is the most famous Allen’s Hummingbird in the world because of the streaming cam. ”Allen’s Hummingbirds coppery orange and green overall. Adult males have a coppery tail, eye patch, and belly that contrasts with their bronze-green back and deep reddish orange gorget. Females and immatures are bronze-green above with paler coppery sides. They both have bits of bronze spotting on their throats, though females have more spots and a small patch of reddish orange in the center of the throat.” (All About Birds)

“Allen’s Hummingbirds sip nectar from flowers such as bush monkeyflower, Indian paintbrush, columbine, currant, gooseberry, twinflower, penstemon, ceanothus, sage, eucalyptus, and manzanita. They get their protein by capturing small insects in midair or picking them off plants.” (All About Birds)

We should be concerned about these beautiful hummers. ”Conservation. The biggest threat to the Allen’s Hummingbird is habitat loss within its limited range. Partners in Flight considers it a species of concern, as its population decreased by 83 percent between 1970 and 2014.” (American Bird Conservancy)

Missey and Pa Berry have been making restorations to their nest on the grounds of Berry College in Georgia. Their two eggs for 2024 failed. Will they lay a second clutch? There is not much hope, but the eagles can fool us.

HeidiMc gives us a glimpse at the first fortnight at the WRDC nest for R6. You can find it by searching on YT for Dade County Eagles: ‘R6’ – The First Two Weeks. Sorry, I cannot post it here. Here are three screen snaps from her video:

Poor Gabby. She is still incubating. I wonder if she knows that Beau did not stay on the nest when she was gone for 25 hours? Samson certainly stayed for much longer and the eggs hatched. Just wondering.

E23 continues to be well-fed and thrives. The nest is a marvel, and the eaglet is well camouflaged. Tucked tight under Mamma F23 Monday night.

We get a glimpse of the two eggs at Big Bear when Shadow delivers fish – and on Monday, he delivered two for Jackie! I am watching. They are set to get rain and snow, but will they get as much as some parts of NE California that are expecting atmospheric rivers?

Precious diamonds on our beloved Jackie as she tends those two delicate eggs.

At Port Lincoln, Gil got the first fish of the day. It was a large whole one from Dad that came in at 0644. Brad was on the nest, but did not attempt to interfere. Gil ate every last flake – it took him 49 minutes!

More fish came in for both lads…and yes, Bradley did get some decent fish!

It is something no one was talking about. Lou. Lou has been missing from The Campanile since the 5th of January. Everyone at Cal Falcons hoped this marvellous male would return to Annie, but it now appears that is not going to happen. She is bonding with a new male. Poor thing – she has been through so many mates over the last four years. Lou. Alden the wonder who came and saved the eggs. And, of course, beloved Grinnell. We must assume that the life of a male in this territory can be quite short – whether it is through hunting accidents, territorial disputes with other males, or the current spate of HPAI. Dear Annie. We hope you get a good one that is here for years to come. 

This is the current statement by Cal Falcons:

“Alright, after a long, very quiet period on the tower, we have some happenings to report:

– Lou was last seen at the tower in early January.

– Annie has been less frequent on camera for the past few weeks as well

– In the past couple of days, we’ve noticed that Annie has been “chatting” with someone offscreen.

– This other falcon showed up on cam for the first time today. It is definitely not Lou.

– The new male today spent time in the nest box and hanging out near Annie leading up to…

– Copulation for the first time this year!

Looks like the next breeding season is abruptly kicking into high gear. We expect that we will see more courtship behaviors over the next few weeks before eggs being laid in early March.

As for Lou: there’s still a chance he may show back up. We don’t know he’s gone, but it certainly was not a typical time for a male falcon to leave the territory willingly. There are a number of reasons to see territory turnover, including being displaced through competition.”

Raptor populations are still experiencing relatively high mortality from Avian Influenza. It is certainly possible that Lou, like several other Peregrine Falcons in the Bay Area, contracted that disease. For more info check out this Q&A from last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg_WbObYi7g”. Thanks SKHideaways.

HPAI has had devastating effects on chicken farmers in California- these are just the newest figures. 

New-Sonoma-County-bird-flu-cases-affect-more-than-500000-birds-in-biggest-outbreak-yetDownload

HPAI has now hit the Penguins in Antaractic. This could be horrible as it is so contagious.

“Researchers have previously raised alarm about “one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times” if bird flu reached remote Antarctic penguin populations. The birds are currently clustering together for breeding season, meaning the disease could rip through entire colonies if it continues to spread through the region.

King penguins are the world’s second-largest penguin, at about 3ft tall, and can live for more than 20 years in the wild. The suspected case was recorded on South Georgia island in the Antarctic region, according to the latest update from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (Scar). A gentoo penguin was also suspected to have died from H5N1 at the same location.”

First-penguins-die-in-Antarctic-of-deadly-H5N1-bird-flu-strain-Antarctica-The-GuardianDownload

As I was writing about the more recent reports of HPAI, I was simultaneously recalling my reporting of the two White-tail Eaglets dying in the nest in Estonia. Dr Thijs Kuiken, Professor Virology, from the University of Erasmus in Rotterdam got in touch – he wanted the findings from the necroscopy and wondered if I had the contact information for the vet doing the necroscopy. I did and sadly, yes, it was HPAI. HPAI normally occurs in the fall, not in new hatchlings in the spring. This was terrible news. Then we have the cases in Eastern Canada and the rest is history. As one friend says, ‘What a mess we have made.’

Bird Flu explained in simple language by Dr Kuiken:

Professor-of-virology-Thijs-Kuiken-about-the-Bird-flu-ConvergenceDownload

Eagles have been at the US Steel nest. The camera panned around to the river. It looks high to me.

Cal and Lusa were again well-fed at the Captiva Eagle nest. For a bit, I worried..and then the fish came on the nest. Cal ate more form the first bit but the second feeding came from a really large fish and all is well for Lusa, too.

Notice how dark C10 and C11’s plumage is today. Then look at E23 who is just starting to get the juvenile feathers on its back.

Still waiting for that egg at Moorings Park.

Cornell wants to remind you to please take part in the great bird count that is coming up in a fortnight.

World Bird Sanctuary is asking everyone to support the ban on lead ammunition and any other lead in sporting equipment. There have been far too many patients suffering – and they are only one wildlife rehabilitation centre. Please support petitions banning lead and take the time to write to your state and federal or Provincial and federal representatives in both the US and Canada.

Want to know what the effects of lead poisoning are? Have a read.

Effects-of-lead-from-ammunition-on-birds-and-other-wildlife-A-review-and-update-PMCDownload

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, screen captures, videos, articles, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MP’, Tom Fleming, JB Sands Wetlands Eagle Cam, Wales Online, Helen Matcham, Cali Condor, Lady Hawk, Olive’s Streaming Cam, Berry College Eagle Cam, Heidi Mc, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, PLO, Bart M, SK Hideaways, Cal Falcons, The Guardian, Thijs Kuiken, PIX Cams, Window to Wildlife, World Bird Sanctuary, Moorings Park, Cornell Bird Lab, and the National Library of Medicine.

Hatch at Duke Farms, GHO owlet with family, E22 is the fastest prey grabber…Tuesday in Bird World

28 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Lewis and Missy hope you have had a wonderful start to the week. They are enjoying a new ‘dog bed’. It is so soft, and with their own blankets, they both decided that it was ‘OK’. They are way too big to share the small basket, and neither one will be alone!

They had to do everything together from the moment they came to their forever home. It is like synchronised living. Sleep, eat, drink water, poop, look out the window, play – it is always in tandem.

My goodness. Most of the time we think of a pip and then a wait to see how long it will be until hatch. Well, the first eaglet of the year has blasted out of the egg at Duke Farms. This is one strong eaglet. Want to bet she is a fierce formidable female?

Dad was on the nest checking on the progress.

The reveal came around 14:06.

Well, hello! Aren’t you amazing? Such a strong eaglet! Dad sees his chick for the very first time.

One strong eaglet! A nice fresh fish on the nest for Tuesday morning breakfast!

The first breakfast for Monday came in at 10:28:45 at the SW Florida nest of M15 and the Es. It was very difficult to see what that prey item was, actually. E22 mantled it and got a huge chunk. M15 found some small bits and kept 21 busy feeding him.

Another delivery came at 13:47:05. This time it was a small fish, not tiny but not huge. E21 was up at Dad’s beak first but 22 did his usual work around and got up to the beak to get some of that fish. E22 exhibited no fear as he touched beaks with 21 trying to get some fish. Meanwhile, the female is down in one of the trees not bothering what is going on at the nest. It appears that 21 and 22 play around trying to eat the skin and some bits and bobs.

E22 is the fastest eaglet on this nest and the best at self-feeding. He learned those traits early on when we all thought he might not survive. What a great eagle you will be 22.

M15 came in with another prey item at 14:54:14. It was difficult to tell which eaglet was which, but both got something to eat. I think it was 22 at the end who also had the bone and was chewing on it. Perhaps you held your breath seeing the adult above the nest, but thankfully, it was M15 just getting off the nest at 15:01:36.

I believe it is 21 on the left and 22 on the right by the tail feathers but, I could be so wrong.

M15 came in with another fish for the eaglets at 16:23:21. E21 got some first bites but E22 was quick to get itself into a position to snatch and grab from the right to the left!

E21 is on the left and E22 is on the right.

He just grabbed a big piece of fish!

22 pushes 21 back while keeping his beak up to get the fish.

The fish went back and forth, but E22 got it and finished it off quickly. Dad was back up to the branch at 16:28:38.

That might be the last feeding of the day. It has gone well. Thank you, M15.

They both look a little tattered. Harriet was M15’s first mate. She was a fierce eagle as we know and no one would mess with her chicks, her nest, or her territory. We wait to see how this goes.

I am warming up to her. Injuries, stress, hunger. They all trigger behaviours that might not otherwise take place. Yes, she has pecked and winged but, she has not injured E21 or E22. As we know she did, voluntarily or feeling forced, feed 21. She has protected the territory. M15 will need a ferocious mate to take on this popular territory together.

M15 brought a squirrel into the nest at 093215 for 21 and 22. He did some feeding but, in the end, it seems that 21 took some of it to self-feed. That is 22 getting fed by Dad below.

There appears to be, sadly, a territorial dispute going on at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian. Guardian returned to the nest where Liberty is incubating their single egg for the season injured on Sunday. Injuries appear to be the left eye, the top of the head, and some frayed tail feathers.

A short time in Ron and Rose’s nest, a shift change. I love the chortling.

Everyone is counting down the time to eggs and I am thinking that it is two weeks. Around 13 March for Big Red and Arthur. So happy they are back at the nest on the Fernow Light Stand so that we can watch them raise their eyases.

Meanwhile, L4 is still with the young hawk and still on Mum and Dad’s territory as far as I am aware.

The heavy snowfall promised to hit the northeastern US is now falling on Big Red and Arthur’s nest in Ithaca, New York.

Indigo is still home! And he is loud. Missy and Lewis always want the volume off. For some reason, Indigos’ screeching scares them.

If you want to glimpse the four owlets at the Corona Owl Nest, you need to watch during the night or do a good rewind. There are four of them, and voting will begin on naming the four on March 6. Check out the chat with the live stream: Corona Owls on YouTube.

At Taiaroa Head, home to the Royal Albatross Colony, Sweet Pea does her very first sky call. Lady Hawk caught it for us!

Jackie and Shadow made the news in Greece. I keep saying if love could fill that nest with little eaglets, that nest would be spilling over. Fingers crossed for a successful second clutch and hatch in the future. If you are wondering, yes, it is possible. When Harriet and M15 lost Sassy Pants, M15 wanted another clutch of eggs. Those two eaglets hatched and were named Miracle and Grace.

Making News:

I brought you the news from CROW about a GHO owlet that had fallen out of a tree and was placed in a laundry basket hoping the parents would feet it. The story gets quite amazing. A wellness check was done, the original nest located, a sibling and lots of food in the nest – and even more special, the adults welcomed the ‘lost’ baby back into the family! Thank you, CROW.

They stopped the fireworks in the UK not to disturb this amazing walrus named Thor. Today, he was discovered in Iceland!

Please don’t tell any gamekeepers on those moors!

‘EJ’ sent an article to me explaining it isn’t the type they usually send. It is hard to believe that some individuals take shotguns and are called ‘removers’. They are culling one owl species for another. Honestly, I think humans should leave nature to nature. Do we actually understand what we are doing to wildlife and the planet? — Sorry, I am ‘getting started’. Nothing has convinced me that we are proper conservators of our home and theirs or that we have insights that make us superior. I wish it were different.

https://www.salon.com/2023/02/26/professional-owl-terrorists-scare-off-barred-owls-with-shotguns-in-the-name-of-conservation/

The author says: “Remover” was an accurate term for what Hunt did. But it was a euphemism. Hunt is one of the best in the business at shooting barred owls out of trees with a shotgun. The twenty-eight-year-old, slightly-built wildlife management specialist from Belmont, New York, had spent five winters tracking barred owls and systematically blasting them from the canopy with a twelve-gauge. The goal was to reduce the barred owl population enough to relieve the pressure on spotted owls. It was a divisive study generating high emotions on all sides. But Hunt loved the work. “I’m kinda sad the removal part is over,” she said.”

This is wonderful news. I am certain that when Rita was injured, we wished this might have been the outcome. It was not to be but, for this couple, it was the perfect ending. Congratulations to all!

Here is the whole story:

Incredible-Reunion-Of-Rescued-Bald-Eagle-With-Lifelong-PartnerDownload

Some bird humour compliments of the Webster Texas Eagles FB page.

The season’s first egg is at one of the Peregrine Falcon’s nests in Japan. Congratulations! For those who would like to watch this scrape, I have messaged the site to get a link. The scrape fledged four little eyases in 2022.

A former student ‘CD’, now teaching her university-level science classes, posted this today. Do you know about these women who saved the birds?

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

Thank you to the following for their tweets, notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog: ‘CD’, ‘EJ’, Duke Farms, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Gary and FORE, @Cornell Hawks, Valerie Valicento and Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Corona Owls, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Maria Grigoriadou and FOBBV, Heidi Mc and WRDC, CROW, BBC, Google Maps, Yorkshire Post, Salon.com, Sydney Wells and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cam and Nests, Webster Texas Eagle Watchers, Ashai Falcon Kirara, Women Who Saved Birds.

Name the Eagle, Connick’s Crop Popping, and the Es eat…Friday in Bird World

3 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Remember to head over to the streaming cam of Kistachie National Forest Bald Eagle Nest E3 to vote on 02’s name! Here are the choices…let’s make sure little one gets a great name!

I saw this and simply had to share it with everyone. Or maybe it isn’t that funny. I do love Condor humour!

Making News:

Little Boots is 20 days old today. He looks so young. With good care and good food, he will catch up we hope.

Just look at that sweet face. Little Boots is in care. As everyone noticed, he was extremely weak in the nest. Let us hope that he can be stabilised and that apparent feet and leg deformities can be repaired by the loving folks down in Houston at the Wildlife Center of Texas.

Here is the posting. I would like to draw your attention to “nest cam footage showed him to be struggling to sit up and move around in the nest, impairing his chances for survival.” There is the perfect wording to get help for an eagle on a nest that is not thriving. I am impressed. Nothing caused by a human just good old compassion and perhaps some monofilament line in that egg cup.

If you are interesting in donating for little Boots care, please do so. Here is the information. I went on line and went to their website: Wildlife Centre of Texas. It was quick and easy. Go Boots!

A British Columbia juvenile Bald Eagle got itself into some mischief and is being flown to OWL.

Continuing with the issues raised in the movie The Albatross, young people are doing amazing drawings. Will this make them better environmental citizens? How many of us can take a pledge to stop using plastic? Let’s try it. Maybe it will catch on like a bad cold.

‘A’ wondered what it would take to get rid of those plastic gyros in the oceans. Certainly people have tried various methods. And we know from The Flight of the Osprey that countries are having a hard time dealing with plastic…so, let’s just not buy anything with plastic. Do it a day at a time. It is frightening what we have done with our oceans. I remember when I first moved to Southern Manitoba eons ago and I wanted to purchase a cream separator. People laughed. They were hard to clean and they just shoved them down the river bank. I kid you not. Out of sight, out of mind — like the oceans.

In my province, groups are joining forces around Brandon to build nesting boxes for Bluebirds! Wow. What a great idea.

Groups join forces to build nesting boxes

Some of you will remember that the adult Ospreys were chased off their platform at the Cape Henlopen State Park last year. The male was killed. The female appears, from the announcement, to be alive. The three osplets starved to death on the nest in front of viewers and were carried off by the intruders. It was a tragedy that tore our hearts out. Well, there is a new platform going up!

And yet another story about lead poisoning. Seriously lead is something that could happen rather quickly if there was a will. Continue to lobby everyone you can. Take 15 minutes or 30 minutes one day and send an e-mail to your elected officials. Get others to join in. Tell them no more lead. And how about adding plastic to that, too?

Now something to give us hope. A good news story about a Bald Eagle in rehab for 6 months being released. YES!

Zoe continues to explore the area around Mt Hope. She has also started heading south…will she return to the barge? That would be a bit crazy. Let us all hope she is finding her wings and some fish!

Checking on the nests:

I do not see any Osprey eggs at either Achieva or Captiva on Thursday.

At the Captiva Eagle nest, little Connick is such a darling.

Oh, just look at these later images. Connick really likes to spread out and sleep….and two proud parents!

What a great image of the three – Clive, Connie, and Connick.

At 16:55 Connick had a huge crop!

It looks like the parents are smiling at Connick with his almost ready to pop crop. Their baby has grown and thrived.

There must be a fishing contest at the lake near Superbeaks. It is only mid-afternoon and PePe has brought in 8 fish! Yes, you read that correctly. 8 fish to the nest for Pearl and Tico (and of course, the rest of the family, Mum Muhlady). PePe you better eat some of these fish if you aren’t eating the heads!

It’s a gorgeous day out in California at Jackie and Shadow’s nest. The question of the day was: What was the name of Jackie’s former mate? Do you know? It was Mr B. Shadow landed on the nest and wanted the nest and Jackie and wouldn’t leave — Shadow got them both! That was 2018 after Jackie and Mr B’s fledgling, Stormy, had flown. The three of them could not persuade Shadow to leave…oh, you gotta love this guy.

Do you realise that pip watch will begin on 15 February? That is only 12 days away!!!!!!!!!!!

Are Harriet and M15 moving E21 and 22 into another phase of training to be an independent eagle? No good food left on the nest just what looks to be pieces of a dried up catfish. 22 was pecking on that. Then sadly, 22 got up to the table first with 21 moving up and 22 went into submission. Things seem terribly wrong on this nest but, it is Harriet and M15. They are pros and they want their eaglets to thrive. So are we to think of this lack of food and little pieces as a teaching moment? Not every day will see a full crop. But, let’s do keep an eye. It is worrying a lot of people.

You can see the primary feathers coming in on that outstretched wing. Note the milky transparent tube – the quill – that holds the blood feather. One of the reasons that eaglets preen so much is to release the feather from that transparent quill.

Now we all know that 22 is a bit of a stinker…let’s watch and see what Harriet and M15 do tomorrow. Certainly no peace today and 22 was crying for food and hoping to get some that M15 brought in. In fact, every time that 22 even tried to eat that old dried fish, 21 started beaking its younger sibling. 22 is quick to go into submission. So what has set 21 off? Is it the lack of food on the nest? Again, let us see what tomorrow brings. Harriet has never lost an eaglet. Never. In fact, there could be a windfall of food on the nest tomorrow – just like there is in the wild – some days there is too much food and for many others, nothing.

Ah, there is food this morning, Friday. Both Es have a crop. 21 ate first with 22 in submission and then 22 was fed and had a nice crop. Let us all take a big sigh of relief.

Lady Hawk caught 22 walking Thursday – hey, a giant step!

Gabby and V3 are a gorgeous couple. 18:24 Thursday evening on the nest together.

And last another Canadian story but not about Bluebirds this time…it is from David Hancock and the Surrey Bald Eagle Nest. Two new bonded eagles working with a meal and a stick. Have another laugh as we wait to hear how Boots is doing.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘A’ Sherri van Syckel and California Condor Recovery Group, KNF, Wildlife Centre of Texas, Heather Simms and the Webster Texas Eagle Watchers, Terry Carman and the Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News, Joyce Hartmann and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels, Brandon Sun, Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park, MLive.com, JET/FOX/YourErie, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Achieva Credit Union, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, FOBBV, SWFL Eagles and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SWFL Eagles and D Pritchett, NEFL Bald Eagles and the AEF, and the Dave Hancock Wildlife Foundation.

Remembering Sue and Otto intruders everywhere…Thursday in Bird World

26 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the ‘almost’ end of the week is looking good for all of you.

Thank you for your notes about the kittens. They are doing great. There are times I wonder if I will survive! My entire house looks like a kitten day care!!!!!! They prefer boxes and paper shopping bags to any kind of toy from the pet store. They want to sleep in baskets with soft blankets, on top of tables with soft blankets, and in drawers. I am trying to remember to cut all those handles – and you should, too. They can get their necks through them. They have been playing with this bag for a couple of weeks now. Taking turns being inside and out. It is just about torn to shreds! Lewis always appears to be chewing on something and Missey is always a darling – oh, no, she never causes any mischief! Never! LOL.

In the News:

Sue and Otto are remembered. It is a lovely article about this adored pair of Red-tail Hawks. In it, I also note that they are giving different days for the birds death. I will try and confirm which is correct.

https://news.syr.edu/blog/2023/01/25/remembering-su-sue-and-otto-syracuse-universitys-resident-hawk-pair/.

A Place called Hope – one of my all-time favourite wildlife rehabilitation centres – is asking for help. Unusual donations. They want more specimens of raptors killed by rodenticide and lead. They are gathering evidence so that a bill can be passed in Connecticut to stop the sale of both rodenticides and lead. Do you work at a centre that can help? And even if you don’t, read the request. It is shocking how many deaths there are so quickly….we need to stop this, we need to help our raptors.

The faces of some of those affected and some who have died due to rat poison and lead.

The joy I felt at seeing Cattle Egrets, in the pastures and small allotments in Grenada following the goats and cows, is hard to describe. Imagine being a farmer in the UK, changing your way of doings things to bring health to your land, and now you have cattle egrets! Just imagine how thrilling – a sign of a healthy space.

The article below gives a good history of the cattle egret. It is a really good read while demonstrating that biodiversity can work if we make the effort to change our practice. “Numbers of cattle egrets are booming in Britain, boosted by wildlife-friendly farming where cows are grazed on gentle rotations designed to improve soil quality and boost invertebrate populations.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/25/cattle-egrets-uk-wildlife-friendly-farms-have-had-a-few?CMP=share_btn_link

In Melbourne, scientists are wondering if a change in climate is the cause for the rise of the ‘devil bird’ in Melbourne’s suburbs. If you live in Melbourne, have you seen one of these?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/26/unusual-sightings-of-devil-bird-across-melbourne-raise-migration-mysteries-for-researchers?CMP=share_btn_link

We don’t get to see the Layman Albatross nesting on Kauai, Hawaii on streaming cams, only through the postings of Hob Osterlund. Thank you, Holly Parsons, for this re-post on the hatch of the little Moli.

A Sanibel eaglet that fell out of its nest now has been adopted and has its forever home. Congratulations!

In the Nests:

Louis and Anna’s little chick is doing fantastic. Oh, they had a soggy start to Wednesday after the storms pushed through the area but, everyone is fine.

Cody got the camera up and running at the E3 nest. Thank you Cody! You can really tell the difference between E01 and E03 now. E01 being the one with the most juvenile feathers. It feels like it happened overnight!

Just look at how well those eaglets are camouflaged in that nest. Both have serious crops from being well fed.

Coot is still on the menu. There must be an absolute abundance of Coots on Kincaid Lake this time of year.

02 is stretching its wings much to the curiosity of big sibling. They both have fuzzy Mohawks and you can see the feathers coming in along with those huge feet!

There is information on the chat roll for both KNF-E1 and KNF-E3 about naming 01 which I am presuming can only be Alex and Andria’s 01 chick from the E3 nest. “We will have a 24hour poll to name O1 on Friday the 27th starting at noon and ending on Saturday the 28th at noon. 3 names will be selected by local Forest Service employees then voted on in the chat.” Send in a name…give that little eaglet something to wear proudly all its life. Mark your calendars..this Friday til noon Saturday to come up with a great name. Then the 3 finalists.

It really was a scary time. On the 24th of January the Ravens came to the nest of Jackie and Shadow. Shadow came to the rescue. How terrifying for Jackie! The Eagles have to be constantly vigilant against Ravens and like Harriet and M15, the GHOs. Those Ravens know that Jackie has two precious eggs and they want them!

Here is another view of the threat by the Ravens.

Ranger Sharyn comes by and does a weight check on Sweet Pea. That is one of the nicknames that the South Plateau chick has at the moment. There will be a naming contest after the middle of February when all of the eggs have hatched. I wonder what the name will be? Names become important – they often help us to remember the birds easier than if they have a number. Scientific studies have also shown that our attachment to the wildlife/raptors/sea birds is more intense if they have a name. I am all for whatever it takes to help people care – and to help others to understand how important it is to care for these beautiful birds – all of them – before it is too late.

I am reposting one of Sharon Dunne’s screen captures of L and GLY together during the changeover. Just a gorgeous couple. Thank you, Sharon.

‘A’ sent me the link to this video capturing the moment that GLY sees his chick for the first time. Thanks, A!

The feedings for CE9 continue to go well. The little eaglet has responded in kind by growing and growing! CE9 is sweetness in a tiny bundle. So glad this little one is thriving.

Oh, sweetness in a food coma.

At 12:47:21 Clive feeds Connie and Connie feeds CE9. Precious. CE9 just wants lunch not fooling around parents!!!!!! This little eaglet will have its name today!!!!!! Wonder what it will be?

The last meal of the day at Captiva as the sun sets.

You may have also noticed that Connie continues to bury the unviable egg in the nest now.

The weather forecasts do not look good. The winds are really starting to pick up at Pa Berry and Missy’s nest in Georgia. B16 remains a beautiful little energetic fluff ball. There is some speculation that B16 is actually the second egg hatching at 36 days. Second eggs tend to hatch earlier than first due to delayed incubation. Chatters note that this would be in line with hatching last year also. One wonderful eaglet is fine.

Missy is making sure that the hatches are tight so little B16 is warm and dry. I would love to see these eagle nests catch a break one year from the snow and ice…we will see what happens later today and tomorrow as that system sweeps through the US.

The ospreys at Achieva have been mating and alerting from the nest. Are we going to see eggs in the next week?

The cam operator gave us some very good close ups at the Superbeaks nest this morning. Pearl is 49 days old and Tico is 48 days old today.

Texas already had the storms and the tornadoes and thankfully, the Webster Bald Eagles are just fine! Ringo and Boots up and eating well. Thankful for small miracles as there were no less than 14 confirmed tornadoes in Texas on the 24th.

Nancy and her mate were at the MN-DNR nest working on getting things ready for eggs.

They were working on the rails today.

The predicted snow is starting to fall on the Mum at Duke Farms and her egg. Oh, this poor dear. I remember a couple of years ago her being buried under snow. They survive of course but, it is so hard to watch. We just want to help them and ease any misery and pain they might have.

The snow and winds have hit Iowa and the precipitation is accumulating on both the nests at Decorah.

So far, the snow has not reached Pittsburgh and the US Steel Bald Eagle nest.

There are a lot of intruders. Harriet has had to defend the nest and now Bella is having to defend the NCTC nest. Stay safe, Bella. We do not want a repeat of last year where you were injured and gone for nearly 3 weeks.

Heading to Australia to check to see if Zoe is on the barge nest and yes, there she is. Zoe is 131 days old on Thursday in Australia. Yesterday Mum brought her one fish. I wonder if there will be any deliveries today. It is 1500 and I see no deliveries yet – unless I missed something. Zoe looks remarkably well fed and in good health.

Diamond was in the scrape box on the waterpower of the Charles Sturt University in Orange. It is now 15:21 and Indigo has not been seen or heard so far today.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, announcements, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘A’, A Place Called Hope, The Guardian, Holly Parsons Albatross Lovers FB and Hob Osterlund, Terry carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and New and WAVY.COM KNF-E1 and E3, FOBBV, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Sharon Dunne and Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ and NZ DOC, Window to Wildlife, Berry College, Achieva Credit Union, Superbeaks, Paul White and the Webster TX Eagle Group, MN-DNR, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Pix Cams, Deb Stecyk and the NCTC, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

If you would like to be a member of our bird loving family, we would love to have you join us. There is normally one posting per day unless there is some big excitement. I try hard not to load up your inbox. No ads, no fees. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Both Red-tail Hawks found dead at Syracuse, another fish on E22’s head?…Tuesday in Bird World

24 January 2022

Good Morning to all of you,

Thank you so much for your letters and your comments. I really do enjoy hearing from you. I cannot always answer immediately but, I try not to be too long!

I am having to have a big laugh because I don’t want a big cry! No, no, nothing to do with birds. It is auto-correct! I have gone over this blog twice and keep finding the auto correct correcting things after I have moved on…it seems I have to check the words 3x before it stops. (I do like it to catch my spelling as I go so it is a bit of a double-edged sword for me). So I hope when you read this that the word ‘allopreening’ will be there and not ‘alley preening’!

It snowed a bit and the winds were blowing at times in the gardens. The European Starlings came early to feed off the suet cylinders. There were 43 of them! That is the highest count I have had all year.

The House Sparrows were absolutely everywhere. At the feeders. On the ground foraging and in the lilacs. Everywhere I looked there was a sparrow. Squint. They are in layers blending in to the lilacs and feeding with the Starlings at the suet.

The kittens loved watching them flit about. No Dove today. I hope it has found a wonderful and safe place for food!

Making News:

I am shaking my head in complete disbelief. Just the other day I posted the passing of Sue, the beautiful RTH and mate of Otto, at Syracuse University. She died of what appears to be head trauma on the 18th. The photo of Sue in the announcement was taken in the Oakwood Cemetery on that same day. Otto was found dead on the 19th in the cemetery. Did he also die on the 18th? or the 19th? I find this simply too much of a coincidence and it makes me highly suspicious that something caused these two beautiful birds to meet their demise that is not immediately evident. We will find out from the necroscopy, thank goodness. But that does not make this less a tragedy. If these deaths are not an accident or a natural cause, then the sadness is deepened. Condolences to everyone at Syracuse University and all those that loved Sue and Otto.

Did you know that the Ventana Wildlife Society provides lead free ammunition to hunters in specific counties in California to help halt the Condors (and other wildlife) from getting ill or dying from lead poisoning?

The VWS website gives all the information on what they offer and who is eligible. If you know of someone who hunts or is a rancher in these areas and they continue to use lead ammunition, please have them get in touch with the VWS immediately. The Condors will thank you!

The VWS produced a really short video about Cedric and his recovery from lead poisoning.

Do you want to know more about Condors? Do you love them as much as I do? Why not check out the monthly Zoom chats with the folks at the Ventana Wildlife Society? Go to ventananews.org and click on the link that you see below, to the left.

Skycalls, fluffy white chicks with cute pink bills and feet, allopreening adults, what isn’t there to love about an albatross?

Lady Hawk gives us some real cutie pie images of the Royal Cam chick in this video.

No Osprey egg yet at the Achieva Credit Union nest in St Petersburg, Florida but, we should be looking towards the end of January if our gal, Diane, sticks to her previous pattern of egg-laying.

They have mated on the pole, on the nest and probably around the neighbourhood…when do you think there will be an egg?

CE9 can really handle those big bites that Connie gives it. If Mum would only stop putting her beak under CE9’s, I think they would get a success rating of 100%. The wee one continues to benefit from numerous feedings per day and is growing stronger and stronger.

CE9 and Dudley.

Connie decides it is time for a feeding.

Clive arrives to check on his baby and the pantry and then is off doing territorial protection.

A bit of a stringy mess.

From an empty crop to a full one.

CE9 is getting very, very full.

Nap time. How many whole and partial fish can you find on this nest?

As the sun sets over the Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Connie, Clive, and CE9, the little one gets its last fish meal of the day.

In 2014, the Bald Eagles at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ laid their first egg on the 17th of February. In 2022, the first egg was laid on the 17th of January – precisely a month earlier. This year that first egg was laid on 20 January so the eagles are sticking with this earlier nesting time. It only makes me wonder – as we wish for eggs from Gabby and Rose – if it might just be too hot in Florida for such a late hatch?

And just like clockwork, there is a second egg at Duke Farms!

It looks like Alex on the KNF-E3 nest trying to coax the two eaglets, 01 and 02 over to have some nice fresh fish.

Can you see the Mohawks?

Mum flies to the nest and both adults look over to the lake. Is there an intruder?

Are the parents testing the youngsters? Alex took off and Mum flew back to the branch. That whole fish is still there. Wonder if anyone will move to the table and try to eat it?

E01 is trying to balance itself to stand and walk. 02 looks on with interest.

Walking on a stick nest is not as easy as it looks.

The parent watches when its chick pecks at the fish. The babies are growing up with those big heavy wings and feathers coming in.

Would you like some fish?

Confidence is back in 02. The meal went well.

Do you like the Pittsburgh-Hayes Eagle nest? Mum and Dad were there today – and mating ——in the snow!

There are winter storm warnings for various parts of the US including Oklahoma, my old home State, and a system tracking up through Iowa, Ohio, and into New York. I went to check on Big Red’s nest to see if she was getting the snow that was hitting Pittsburg and the camera was down. Then the computer did a funny thing and there was Superbeaks. I was not expecting this image. It is smaller here but filled up my entire screen almost – and I held my breath. Do not, listen you two, look so far down that you go flipsy.

What is of such interest below? is it a parent on a lower branch?

There are not a lot of ‘dandelions’ left on these two as those almost black juvenile feathers continue to grow longer and longer.

Oh, it is windy on the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. The storm system is east of the Colorado River and is not expected to hit them. Yippeeee. They get a break. Shadow brought in prey and is incubating while Jackie has a break.

The wind is gusty. You can see it blowing the feathers on the back of Shadow’s head above and then it is calm below.

Do you know why raptors roll their eggs? FOBBV reminds us: “Eggs are rolled regularly to prevent the embryo & egg membranes from sticking to the shell & to distribute albumen & heat evenly.”

Thank you, Sharon Pollock. I wish my eyes were a little better but, what a beautiful sight that was of Jackie and Shadow soaring together around and over the nest tree. Just amazing.

Mabel and Angus are sure a handsome couple at the Captiva Osprey nest.

What a difference! The warm sunshine of Florida to the hoar frost in Iowa at the Decorah Eagle nest. It sure is beautiful.

Fans of the Redding Eagles…there was an adult on the nest today!

The cuteness of Ron and Rose caught by HeidiMc.

It is not clear what is happening with the second egg at Berry College. Are those marks or is that chick trying to get out of that shell?

This is little Boots at Webster, Texas raising its head for a bite of fish. It ‘appears’ from the posts today that things are going well and Ringo is behaving her/his self.

Worry spread through the SWFlorida Eagle fans as blood appeared on the top of E22’s head – it was another fish landing there!

Someone will be watching to see if this is just blood from the fish or a possible scratch caused by the fish on the nape of 22.

22 ate well and there was little if any beaking that I could see today.

Zoe is 129 days old. Mum delivered a single fish to her girl yesterday and, she might well have had a fish off camera. Today Zoe left the nest and it appears she might have returned wet from an excursion or she might have tried fishing off the barge (the camera was stuck on zoom). It is really hard to tell. What we do know is that Zoe is still home. From my perspective she looks ‘well fed’ and healthy.

One last tidbit about the falcons…but not Annie and the New Guy or Indigo but Sequoia and her mate at the San Jose City Hall scrape. Seems you have to be careful where you stash away your prey in San Jose, too.

Who is Sequoia’s mate? HeidiMc found out! Shasta is a very interesting falcon.

What the poster below doesn’t say is when you set out and kill any insect or animal, it has a severe impact on the food chain. Think mice and rats. Secondary poisoning in domestic pets and raptors is real. We need those insects, we need the pigeons (yes people put poison on their roofs to kill the pigeons – those pigeons could kill our beautiful peregrine falcons), etc. So take care and talk about this with your friends and loved ones.

Thank you so very much for being with us today. Tomorrow I will have a review of Florence A Merriam’s Birds Through An Opera Glass. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their announcements, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: HeidiMc, Red-tailed Hawk Tails, Ventana Wildlife Society, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Achieva Credit Union, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, KNF-E3, Pix Cams, Superbeaks, FOBBV, Sharon Pollock and FOBBV, Raptor Research Project and Explore.org, Redding Eagles, HeidiMc and the WRDC, Duke Farms, Bel-A-Donna and Berry College, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Pollinator Friendly Yards.

If you would like to join our wonderful birding community and receive a copy of my blog in your inbox daily, please feel free to subscribe. I desperately try not to load up your inbox and there is generally only one blog per day unless something really crazy happens and I think you will want to know asap. You can unsubscribe at any time!

Captiva adults named Angus and Mabel…Monday in Bird World

23 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

For those celebrating the Chinese New Year or Tet, I hope that you had a wonderful time with friends and/or family and that your upcoming year will be all you wish it to be.

I am always on about the weather but, this week will be reasonable on the Canadian Prairies. The meteorologists are forecasting that we will be thrown into the -25 degree C range beginning in a week and that those extreme temperatures will last for at least a week. I am not looking forward to this because it causes me to worry about the few birds that visit the garden that really should have gone South sooner or the tundra swan north of me. Without our technologically advanced clothing, humans actually cannot endure those blustery temperatures like the birds. Still, I worry about them when I see their little legs. So there will be lots of high protein, high-energy suet cylinders all around the lilacs for everyone in a week.

Today there were the sparrows and dear Dyson who has managed to consume almost an entire hard seed cylinder in 36 hours. Can you see her? She blends in well. She also scares all the other little songbirds away when she runs through the lilac bushes making sure her summer children do not bother her while she is eating.

The European Starlings arrive around 12:30. They are as good as some of the European and Japanese trains that are on the ‘minute’. The Starlings only eat (as far as I can see) this cornmeal-peanut butter mixture formed into cylinders. It is high energy and helps keep them fit and warm.

The lighting was not good and I had the camera set to automatic but, this image of the Dove came out not so bad. The kittens really love seeing ‘their’ friend.

Making News:

We are going to start with the horrible reality of Avian Flu because other than the news items, the state of Bird World is really pretty good late on Sunday evening, the 22nd of January, the Year of the Water Rabbit.

Avian Flu has been found in bears! While everyone really hoped that this killer would ‘go away’, it isn’t. Every week new outbreaks are documented in birds that require euthanasia. It is sad and what scares me most is that it could become much worse in the spring.

Three-Montana-Grizzly-Bears-Euthanized-Last-Fall-Tested-Positive-for-Avian-Flu-The-New-York-TimesDownload

We have read about the killings of raptors in the UK. We know that storks are shot when they migrate over certain countries. We also know that beautiful eagles and hawks are shot in the US and elsewhere. I cannot even imagine, for a second, aiming a gun at a bird to try and injure or kill it. Not even if I were starving. Today, APCH has a new patient – a Red Tail Hawk that was shot! This makes me angry.

Another victim of lead poisoning. Rainy has been receiving medical attention since she was admitted to the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital. What I want you to notice is how tiny that piece of lead is that was causing her to be deathly ill. Now imagine a hunter leaving the innards of a deer full of lead shot and the carrion eaters consuming that lead so that they have a meal and can survive another day with food.

Here is the update. So happy for the good news.

Nest News:

The new pair of Ospreys at Lori Covert’s Captiva Osprey platform have been named Mabel and Angus after Lori Covert’s maternal grandparents.

Love is in the air at The Campanile on the University of California-Berkeley campus. Annie and the ‘new guy’. Thanks Sassa Bird for the re-post and to moon-rabbit-rising for those amazing images.

SK Hideaways caught The New Guy and his amazing scraping..a world record?

Oh, it is a windy day for Jackie at the Big Bear Valley nest. You can hear icy-snow pelting the camera lens. Jackie takes it all in stride.

Jackie is so peaceful. On Sunday, Shadow delivered a fish and tried to incubate. Jackie told him ‘no’. I guess he will have to resort to the ‘stick persuasion method’ tomorrow. :))

It has been a busy Sunday at the Achieva Credit Union nest. Jack and Diane are mating, making nestorations, and Jack continues to provide fish gifts for Diane during the day. Well done, Jack! I might even think there was a new invigorated ‘you’ this year! You are being very attentive. Keep it up!

Indigo is still chasing his parents at Orange! He is so adorable…who would ever mind all that screaming? Elain’s highlights from the 22nd.

CE9 is still being fed well.

Lots of crops and a moment, over by the fish, when it seemed that CE9 would be self-feeding well before expected. So how long do you think it will take before CE9 is nibbling these fish?

Sweet little CE9. It will have a name next week. Did you vote? Go to the Window for Wildlife FB or Lori Covert Instagram and send them your name. Needs to be gender-neutral.

Oh, it is soaking at the Captiva Eagle Nest of Connie and Clive Monday morning. That did not stop Connie feeding little CE9. Oh, this baby is a sweetie. Moving around when it hears Mum so it can have some more of that fish Clive has stacked on the nest.

The wee babe is growing. Look at it compared to the egg today. And CE9 is able to handle those big bites of Mum! Such a relief that things are going well here.

The kids at Superbeaks just seem to be getting bigger by the day. That nest is going to be crazy when they both start to vigorously flap those wings. What a wonderful nest this has been to watch — it was like watching the Albatross. We could not see any of the early behaviour and we were not stressed.

You can get a really good look at the thermal down underneath the feathers in the image below.

Ron brought Rita a really nice fish to the WRDC nest in Miami-Dade.

HeidiMc’s latest video of Ron and Rose. Such characters!

B16, Missy and Pa Berry’s nestling, has been enjoying lots of rabbit.

Missy wanted to feed the wee babe the minute it hatched. She had to wait til morning and she filled it with rabbit…there must be lots of rabbits around Berry College in Georgia.

B16 is a cute little butterball of a baby. Pa Berry has several rabbits and a squirrel on the nest. Good thing as the snow is starting to come down on Missy and B16.

For those who have not been able to check on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Zoe is still on the barge. She flew in this morning and the minute she put a talon on the nest she started screaming for fish. That’s our Zoe!

Zoe has her landing gear down as she approaches the barge.

Zoe got caught in some cross winds. Rudder full open. Raised the wings to correct and slow.

For a moment I thought she had something in her talon. That would have been so special.

Landing at 09:18:10. Zoe immediately starts screaming for fish!

Zoe is 127 days old. Yesterday Mum and Dad each brought a fish to their big girl. On the 17th of January Zoe brought a fish to the nest but, she did not catch it herself. It was a delivery off the barge.

Nancy and her new mate at the MN-DNR nest have been working on the railings at the nest early Sunday morning. It is quiet now. Snow is starting to fall.

It is very difficult to see but it would appear that the redness on Boots’ neck and back from Ringo plucking, has dissipated. In the video clips that were posted by Paul White on Sunday, there appeared to be civil behaviour. There is a huge difference in the size of the eaglets. Let us hope that all of the beaking is over.

The nest in Webster, Texas home to Ringo and Boots.

Ringo.

Little Boots. See how the area that had been plucked appears to not be red. White fluffy down on the head. A real change and a nice one. The nest has been beak free for a couple of days.

Everything seems fine at the Webster TX nest Monday morning. Little Boots is having what appears to be a good breakfast.

All is well with Gabby and V3. You can hear the wind blowing hard on the nest tree in The Hamlet Sunday evening. The nest is ready and in good shape with a nice soft egg cup – if we have eggs this year from this new couple.

It is a beautiful nest. I know that we are all hoping to see little eaglets. Fingers crossed.

Dr Peter Sharpe is one of our heroes. The care and attention he gives to the Channel Islands eagles is unparalleled. He also helps other groups in the area including Cal Falcons. Just look at this landscape and imagine taking a boat and climbing a cliff to save an eaglet that has gotten out of the nest and that is clinging for life literally to the rock.

Akecheta was looking out from the rocks on Sunday at 17:57 and Thunder flew across the frame below.

Iowa has snow. The camera at Decorah North caught a beautiful deer sleeping in the snow today.

I wonder if the eagle was watching the deer below the tree.

At the southern end of New Zealand is the Taiaroa Head near Dunedin. That is where the Royal Albatross colony lays their eggs. The Royal Cam chick hatched a few days ago. It is already growing – doubling its weight, etc. Incredible. The NZ DOC rangers do wellness checks which include a quick examination and a weigh in to make certain that every chick is healthy and progressing well. Here are some images from the Royal Cam nest for today.

Flystrike (and the larvae that the flies leave) is a real threat to the health and life of the wee albatross chicks. Notice that big fly trying to get under the adult! Flystrike is a threat to the nestlings for a fortnight (2 weeks) after the chick is returned to its parent and placed in the nest. You will continue to see checking for fly strike and spraying around the nest and in it until then.

This is L, the Mum, brooding the chick.

The rangers are so very gentle when they remove the chick from the nest.

L stimulating the beak of her chick to feed. So sweet.

Harriet gave E21 and 22 their final feeding of the day around 18:20. By 18:30 both eaglets had very large crops. That is the little one, E22, closest to Mum’s beak.

It is a soaking Monday morning. Harriet kept the babies dry and then needed to feed the chirping wiggle worms.

It turned out to be a nice day rather than a wet one at the Kisatchie National Forest nests Monday. That is KNF-E3 02 sitting up with its clown feet. Feeding of Coot appears to have gone well.

Baby of Anna and Louis was enjoying a non-rainy day feed as well.

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

Thank you to the following for their tweets, posts, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: The New York Times, A Place Called Hope, Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital, Window to Wildlife, Sassa Bird and Cal Falcons plus moon_rabbit_rising, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, FOBBV, Achieva Credit Union, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Superbeaks, WRDC, Heidi MC and WRDC, Berry College, Port Lincoln Ospreys, MN-DNR, Paul White and Webster Eagle Watchers FB, NEFL-AEF, IWS and Explore.org, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, NZ DOC, SWFL Eagles and D Pritchett, KNF-E3, and KNF-E1.

We would love to have you as part of our bird loving family. There is normally only one post per day unless something special happens. You can unsubscribe at any time.

It’s 2 eggs for Jackie and Shadow, 2016 Royal Cam chick returns…Sunday in Bird World

15 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, what a lovely weekend we are having on the Canadian Prairies. It is currently -5 C with a 4 km/h wind. It is lovely. Just lovely except that it is ‘grey’. No blue sky. No sun. Looking forward to a walk in the forest today! Will keep you posted on what I see. I hope the weekend has been kind.

Making News:

Eagle Nest Removal. One of our blog family did some additional research on the removal of the nest on that cell tower that I mentioned a day or two ago. ‘B’ located a news article from South Carolina with information including the e-mail address to write if you are concerned by these actions. As we are all too aware, nests are being cut down and blown down by weather and it is breeding season. You should read the article carefully. The eagles were present and around – this was NOT a disused nest! Indeed, it is outrageous that it was removed.

I will include a link to the article. ‘B’ draws our attention to a final paragraph. If you wish to voice your concerns about this incident – please use the e-mail below. The link to the article is below the quote and above the albatross image. Thank you for taking the time to speak up for our raptors who cannot speak for themselves!

“The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources responded to reports of the removal of a large raptor nest in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has initiated an investigation regarding the removal, and inquiries concerning this incident should be directed to Office of Communications, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regional Office at fw4_comms@fws.gov .”

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2890157123613/fed-investigating-removal-of-mt-pleasant-eagle-s-nest

The 2016 Royal Cam chick, Moana, has been confirmed to have arrived at Taiaroa Head after 7 years at sea. Talk about incredible. Just think about that. She is very steady on her feet and Ranger Sharyn wonders if she didn’t arrive earlier and wasn’t spotted. She settled down by her half-brother GLY for a bit. Oh, my goodness. This is fantastic news.

“American Golden-Plover with Yellowlegs” by Dendroica cerulea is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Have you ever seen a Golden Plover? We do not, as far as I know, attract them to Manitoba but, oh, they are so gorgeous. I can only imagine them at sunset!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/14/country-diary-a-golden-glint-in-the-gwynt?CMP=share_btn_link

More lead poisoning. I was going to try and put together a form letter for everyone to send to their various agencies but, the laws regarding lead vary from State to State and Country to Country. If this is an issue where you live – and it certainly is in the US and Canada – find out what the laws are. We know that some states have partial led bans. Get informed. Then use some of the information from posts such as the one below to write to your state and federal agencies asking them to ban lead from fishing and hunting equipment. Your letter should not be longer than a page and it should get to the point with facts.

Lincolnshire detectives warn that the poisoning of raptors could lead to human death. “The RSPB has described Lincolnshire as “a national hotspot” for the persecution of birds of prey”. How sad. Why do people believe they have a right to kill or severely injure animals or birds?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-64225792

The AEF has made a memorial video of Samson. It shows some beautiful close ups of him, images of him and Gabby, and their kids. Get a tissue. I assume that they have now determined that something fatal has happened. So very sorry and sad. He was a magnificent partner and dad and I will just never forget the tender care he gave to Legacy and Jasper and Rocket. I did not watch this nest the year of Jules and Romeo).

There has been some discussion about physically challenged raptors. Here is another example of an eagle with one leg that landed on the Fort St Vrain nest in Colorado. Wonder when it lost its leg? and how it hunts its prey? There are places where challenged raptors can live out their lives; ‘L’ send me some information on them but, what about in the wild? Is it a case for not euthanising raptors if they have a single leg injury? I am, of course, thinking of our beloved WBSE26 right off the top but, there are others. I don’t know the answer. I am thinking out loud. Is it inhumane to even think that eagles could be freed with one leg? It is curious.

Checking on the nests:

Jackie laid her first egg on 11 January at 15:58. It is a horrible day in Big Bear Valley. It started out rather nice and quickly changed into high winds with pelting hail/rain/snow. Jackie will be laying egg 2 on this miserable day. Shadow has taken turns incubating and the pair have been on and off and always one of them around the nest at Big Bear.

At 12:28, there was still only one egg. The weather has changed the hour prior and is starting to get quite nasty for our darling Jackie.

Gabby at 13:54 Saturday. The cameras went out shortly after.

The second egg was laid before 17:11 on Saturday the 14th. In miserable weather. Poor Jackie. She must be hungry, too. Let us all hope tomorrow is a better day.

It looks like it is a much nicer day in central Florida for Superbeaks.

The first image is an unusual one. I am posting it here so you will see the blood feathers coming in on Pearl’s wing.

Connie and Clive’s little eaglet has fish juice on its feathers. It cannot be helped. Poor thing. Connie definitely likes to eat and I have yelled at her a few times to feed the baby! There is fish on the nest. Once Connie gets started and is not distracted, the eaglet normally winds up with a crop. Poor little one is also learning how to handle those huge bites…hence all the fish juice everywhere.

Anna is a bit like Connie. She sure likes her fish! Anna is making KNF E1-03 really stretch its neck to get any food. I must admit to getting irritated at both Anna and Connie. I want to see them feeding that wee babe til it can’t move and then having a big lunch themselves! Oh, well…they are never going to listen to me.

At the KNF E3 nest of Alex and Andria, E01 and 02 are doing fantastic. They look like two old wooly grey carpets. There is always an adult around but both can regulate their temperature now and it is a lovely day near Kincaid Lake in Louisiana.

Lots of good feedings and M15 and Harriet together in the later afternoon. These two are such sweethearts. I wonder if they are both male?

Ron and Rose were working on their nest on Saturday. That Rose is certainly a sweetheart. She is so smitten with her man.

MO and FO have both been at the Captiva Osprey platform nest on Saturday. (This is the same osprey).

Jack and Diane have been at the nest on the parking lot of the Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg. They seem to be vigilantly watching for intruders instead of actually working on any aspect of the nest. Diane’s leg looks like it is almost entirely healed. Wonderful news.

Jack went fishing and came in with a nice fish breakfast for Diane at 07:52.

In Australia, Zoe had no fish deliveries on the 14th and nothing so far (noon) on the 15th none. The waters are very choppy. She is 119 days old. Mum and Dad could have trouble getting their own fish. Mum delivered one fish on the 13th. It looks as if Zoe is hunting around in the nest for leftovers, even dried fish. Is she catching her own? I don’t know but Mum and Dad fish at Delamere where Ervie does and Zoe might have followed them. Surely the parents are encouraging our girl to become independent and move out of the nest. She isn’t fish screaming either but that could be because Mum and Dad are not visible.

Nearly 1600 on Sunday for Zoe and no fish deliveries for more than 48 hours. She is either extremely hungry or she is fishing and eating off cam.

We will end in Australia with Elain’s nest highlights from Orange and the family of Diamond, Xavier, and Indigo.

Beautiful Diamond.

Save for poor Moana and Jackie, it has been a very quiet day. Pip watch soon for Berry College!

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

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sharon Dunne and Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ, Openverse, The Guardian, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, BBC, AEF, FOBBV, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, KNF-E1, KNF-E3, SWFL and D Pritchett, WRDC, Achieva Credit Union, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Eggs, Coots, and more…it is Thursday in Bird World

12 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the week has been good to you. I think of everyone in the paths of the storms that I am reading about and I hope that all of you are safe.

I am repeating the story of Jackie laying her first egg. 3884 people were watching the nest at the time. It went up to over 4000. Incredible. Jackie and Shadow are much loved. It just made me giddy and all of us wish this couple the very best of luck this year. Let us hope for good weather, no predators and nothing untoward.

From the Bookshelf:

I continue to sing the praises of Slow Birding. It is my pick of all the books I have read so far as being one of the most informative and easy to understand. If you like picture books, it is not for you!!!!! Last night I tackled the chapter on American Coots. They visit us and last summer I had the privilege of seeing several at the ponds around our city on a daily basis. I want to share with you what I learned – it is fascinating.

Coots are not ducks. They are rails but they spend their time in the water – like a duck. Their bodies are a deep espresso brown black, the head a darker shade than the body. Their bill is white with a shield that ranges in colour from a deep red-brown to brick red. You can see this below. They have red eyes. Stunning. Their secondary feathers have a white trim and there is a tiny white line going down the middle of the tail to its tip. Their feet have toes and those toes have evolved over time to have phalanges that help them to swim.

“American Coot (Fulica americana)” by Jacob McGinnis is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

In the image below notice the red on the head of the chick.

“Mud Hen or American Coot (Fulica americana) feeding her baby” by Peggy2012CREATIVELENZ is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Some interesting facts about Coot behaviour:

  • Baby Coots have red heads. When predators are about they will stick their heads deep into leaves or into the nest so the predator cannot see them. As they age they can dive and camouflage their head by being under water. There is, on average, a five day spread between the first hatch and the last.
  • Adult Coots can tell the parasitic eggs (eggs laid by another Coot in their nest) from their own eggs due to patterns on the shell.
  • Adult Coot parents divide up the brood – older chicks with fading red heads and younger ones with red feathers. Chicks who kept their red feathers were the favourites of the adults to be fed. Unlike ducklings who can forage themselves, baby Coots are fed by the parents.

Making News:

Did you know that the Kakapo Recovery group check out the Rimu fruit, essential for Kakapo survival, to determine when breeding will begin? I didn’t.

More raptors are arriving in wildlife rehabilitation centres now that they are having to scavenge for food. Often this means that they are eating the innards left from hunters in the fields and woods – those are loaded with lead and it sends them right into care if they don’t die first. Sadly, this Golden Eagle got help but it was too late. This is entirely preventable. Write your representatives and urge them to ban all levels of lead in fishing and hunting equipment! Now. Thank you.

I would give just about anything to see a pile of ducks quacking away in my local park’s pond. They will return in the late spring. For now I have to rely on stories of others. I hate no idea, however, that Wigeons whistled, did you?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/11/birdwatch-whistling-wigeons-winter-highlight?CMP=share_btn_link

Nest News:

How many of you worried and fretted that Connie had not fed the little eaglet? I sure did! Connie has now fed the eaglet – about 24.5 hours after it hatched! Yippeee. Oh, I bet that first bite of fish tasted good! Little one holding its head up nicely. There is no sign that the second egg is pipping but it could be. Perhaps the egg that hatched was actually the second one laid. We wait. The raptors will teach us patience whether we like it or not!

Connie fed the little one again at 13:39 and at 14:20. I am making an assumption that the feedings will be nearly hourly from this point onwards for a few days during daylight hours. Clive has brought in Mullet and Trout. Good job, Dad.

Thursday>. No obvious pip in the second egg at Captiva.

Oh, that little one at the KNF E1 nest of Anna and Louis is just a cute little butterball. Will that second egg hatch? I cannot see a pip there either. Oh, those little wings. Adorable. Just adorable. No signs of a pip in the other egg.

I do not see a pip on the second egg at KNF-E1 Thursday morning either but it could be there.

One big difference that you might notice is that Andria feeds her eaglets more often than Anna. That is a really good thing for those two eaglets especially the second hatch as it remains much smaller than the first. Both are being civilised and both are well fed and cared for – no worries here.

Jack and Diane were bringing in bark to the nest in St Petersburg Florida. I am sure hoping that they leave it as a liner to cover up that hole. Last year their eggs rolled in there and with the help of Crows, the couple had no osplets. The year prior they fledged three. Diane’s leg appears to be improving daily.

Both PePe and Muhlady have brought in fish to the nest. These eaglets, Pearl and Tico, are so lucky. What a great source for fish their nest has.

Pearl is really getting her juvenile feathers.

Just look at this beautiful eaglet.

Gabby and V3 were both at the nest this morning. V3’s talons have really taken a beating but they appear healing or healed. Then off to secure the territory while Gabby stays home! What a guy.

Gabby lets out a big cry at 09:46.

Both V3 and Gabby are at the nest tonight on their respective perches watching for intruders and probably hoping to get some rest.

We have all noticed the large number of intruders at Gabby’s nest – and, of course, no Samson is what started all of this. The Centre for Conservation Biology has noticed that Bald Eagles spend more time guarding than they did 20 years ago due to the growing number of eagles in the area. Here is an article that arrived in my inbox today. It really sheds some light on what could be happening in The Hamlet.

chesapeake-eagles-shift-behavior-the-center-for-conservation-biologyDownload

They continue to work on the nest at Big Bear. With body temperatures of 105 degrees, Jackie and Shadow can melt the snow on the nest very quickly. Keep an eye out for any fluff being brought to the nest bowl. That will signal egg laying.

Well, goodness. I said watch for the eagles to bring in soft nesting material and look what happened late Wednesday afternoon!

That nest bole has been occupied for longer than an hour. I am not ready for this! But it just might be that Jackie is!!!!!!!!!!! She certainly wouldn’t listen to me.

Oh, tears. Jackie just laid her first egg. Beautiful. Between 1557 and 1600. Jackie made it look easy.

There is a fully history of the Big Bear nest under the streaming cam. It is very possible that Jackie is the 2012 hatch of Ricky and Lucy. In 2019, Shadow arrives at the nest and refuses to leave. Eventually, Jackie’s mate Mr BB leaves the area. Jackie and Shadow fledged Cookie and samba in 2019. Tragedy strikes for the pair in 2020 and 2021. Last year Jackie laid eggs on 22 January and 25th. One of those hatched. It was Spirit who stole our hearts and who fledged on 31 May.

Jackie was still keeping that precious egg safe at 1800.

E21 and 22 are really enjoying the fish that was brought in on Wednesday. they are cuties. Both M15 and Harriet fed the little ones fish and both were nicely behaved. Yes.

Indigo loves bringing beetles into the scrape that he has caught. Today there were four that Elain caught in her video! Indigo is so proud of his catch.

Ron and Rose are still working on the nest in Miami-Dade. Today, Ron brought Rose a fish in the nest. How sweet.

I am waiting for the pip watch at Berry College for Pa Berry and Missey. Last year they raised a strong eaglet B15 that stayed in the area and entertained people well into the fall with his flying skills. They are not on YouTube. You must Google Berry College Eagle Cam.

The eagles are working on the nest at Duke Farms.

And the new couple at the Captiva Osprey nest, MO and FO, are working on eating a catfish (or is it a shark?) and mating at the same time. Good luck with that.

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

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that make up my blog: Openverse, Kakapo Recover, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, The Guardian, Window to Wildlife, NF-E1 and E3, Achieva Credit Union, Superbeaks, NEFL-AEF, Centre for Conservation Biology, FOBBV, SWFL Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, WRDC, Berry College Bald Eagles, and Duke Farms Bald Eagles.

A hatch for Connie and Clive…Tuesday in Bird World

10 January 2022

Good Morning,

Lots of eagle parents busy feeding eaglets – from those a month old at Superbeaks to newly hatched. It is ‘egg citing’.

Making News: Hopefully all manner of organisations and individuals will keep a very focused light on the gaming estates in the UK. Will the judiciary finally give sentences to gamekeepers that are appropriate for all the laws that they have broken? Will they give sentences and fines long and large enough to deter this horrific behaviour. Sue Belcher wrote a poem about snares. Read it. If you don’t live in the UK but love our raptors and other wildlife, it will help you to understand what the fight is about. I am happy to spread the word on the plight of wildlife caught in these medieval devices. Thank you Sue!

Checking on some of the nests we are watching:

At 11;22, Connie and Clive have their first hatch at the Captiva Bald Eagle cam. It is to be really celebrated. Connie and Joe lost their two beautiful hatches, Peace and Love, to rodenticide secondary poisoning in 2020. No eggs in 2021. Then Hurricane Ian came and tore down Connie and her new mate’s nest, Joe. Congratulations Captiva!

Jackie often lays her eggs in March. Generally egg laying is timed to the availability of prey items. Despite that historic fact, Shadow and Jackie have been mating on the nest today and Jackie continues to check out the nest bowl. Will we have eggs early at Big Bear Valley?

It started off as another f/soggy day at the Kisatchie Forest nest of Alex and Andria. ‘A’ was the first to alert me to the fact that the weather is often very different on one side of the lake from the other. Andria dig a really good job keeping those feisty little eaglets with their clown feet underneath her so they would stay warm and dry. No thermal down yet so this is important. It is coming!

More chair rails, Alex!!!

E3-02 was so full that he could hardly get himself up and over to the dining table for the next meal.

As the sun set Monday night in Alexandria, Louisiana, two very full eaglets tucked in tight under Mum sleeping. Beautiful.

Eaglet E1-03 is a cutie pie! Louis is filling the nest with Coot and fish already. Anna has changed so much since her first hatch, Kisatchie. He didn’t know what to do and Anna didn’t know how to feed an eaglet. Of course, they got it together but, we sat at the edge of our seats. Now Anna is experienced and this little one is simply a cutie who loves its fish and Coot. Look at those precious wings.

Oh, such a chubby little baby. Cute. So cute.

If you have not watched the nest of Louis and Anna, it is a good one to have on your list. Here is the link:

This is the status of the pip for Connie and Clive at 17:41 Monday evening.

Both Gabby and V3 were in the nest at 06:51 Monday morning.

V3 was last seen at the tree at 1531. There had been an adult eagle land on the nest tree with an injured eye and talons but it would not have been V3.

At 18:05, Gabby waits on Wallenda. She is still tucked on Wallenda and waiting for V3at midnight.

At Superbeaks, Pearl appears to be doing some self-feeding.

And, oh, goodness. Every eaglet or osplet should know that you NEVER look your sibling directly in the eye. It is definitely not a good idea.

Big PS before bed.

At the nest of Harriet and M15, the two eaglets, E21 and E22, are doing grand. E21 is 6 days old today and E22 is 3.5 days old. That is actually a big difference. Both are eating well and Harriet is feeding them as much as each needs. E22 does not need as much food as E21 – so don’t panic and count the bites and worry if they are not equal! It is all good in Fort Myers on the Pritchett property.

Harriet gave E22 a private feeding while 21 slept – Harriet is experienced and smart! Lady Hawk put it on video for us.

Martin and Rosa have been doing restorations at the Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam in W Virginia on Monday. Oh, those talons make me ache. Send some very soothing hand cream to the nest, please!

Indigo had a very interesting day. Check out Elain’s video:

So what is up with Annie and the ‘new guy’? I am not sure. He was till working on his prey deliveries the other day.

Book Review: Loon Lessons. Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver by James D Paruk (2021, University of Minnesota Press).

Loons. Who doesn’t love a loon? Anyone spending time in the forest and lake areas of Canada or Minnesota – or other places – has memories of their calls -the tremolo, yodel, or wail. I have tried hard to ‘see’ them because I have listened to those calls for years but, did not get sight of the diving waterfowl. I finally did. I will not tell you that I love loons more than big bad raptors – I don’t. But they are iconic for the province that I live in and I want to know more about them so I can appreciate their life, its blessings, and challenges more. This book really helped me on all accounts. The book is full of 30 years of experience by today’s leading expert on loons.

As a former academic, ‘scholarly’ articles can be a bit dry and daunting especially if they are in any of the fields of science (sorry). What I noticed immediately was that Paruk’s friendly and accessible writing style immediately drew me in. What a wonderful way to open a preface by saying, “To appreciate any organism, I am convinced we do not need years of training – all we need to do is watch our children marvel at a deer or a squirrel from a window. A sense of wonder and our innate curiosity can lay the foundation for developing and maintaining an appreciation for the natural world.” Excellent. The volume is divided into 12 chapters moving from biology, courtship and nesting behaviour, migration, conservation threats, and how loons are adapting to a changing world. The book is printed in black and white and at first you might ask, “where are the photographs of this magnificent bird with its black and white plumage”? You will find those images in the middle of the book – and I learned, looking through those images – that some loons have other coloured plumage such as the Red necked Loon!

Besides behaviour, one of the things that I was most interested in reading first were the challenges that loons face and what is being done to help them. You may have seen the artificial floating nests with avian guards (a bit of a camouflage cover over the top) on some loon streaming cams. These help the loons protect their nests and keep them safe from predators. The floating nests also keep the eggs out of harms way in times of flooding. It was very clear to me that the Bald Eagles who nest on the shore near Hecla Island and whose nests were destroyed by the 2022 flood might benefit from some floating platforms of some sort. There are other ways that we can help.

The threats to the loon sound like a broken record for all birds including raptors – mercury affects the central nervous system and it is present at very high levels in many of the ponds and lakes in the northern part of my province. As a natural occurring material, it was released into the water when the land was dredged for the many hydro-electric dams. Lead. Oh, what a culprit lead is – and please tell me why, knowing what it does to all birds and wildlife – has it not been banned? I clearly believe that humans that have the power to stop painful deaths or long term rehabilitation must wear bloody blinders. It is making me angry and I wonder how they would feel dying of lead poisoning? On page 173, Paruk states, “In recent decades, the EPA and USFWS failed to pass further measures to reduce the use of lead in hunting and fishing gear despite mounting evidence of its toxicity in the environment”. He continues by adding that six states took it upon themselves to pass legislation curtailing the use of certain levels of lead in fishing equipment. Those states are New Hampshire (sinkers 1 ounce or less), Massachusetts (lead sinkers on two reservoirs loons use for breeding), Maine, New York, Vermont banned “the sale of lead sinkers of one-half ounce or less and restarted their use as well.” Washington State banned the use of lead tackle on 12 of the 13 lakes used for breeding by loons. Since 2010, no additional state has done anything to ban lead ——–that was 13 years ago. It is time our American friends reading this blog get busy lobbying for the end of lead – the end of it period. Not just certain amounts. All lead. Paruk states, “I am left wondering how many more eagles, loons, condors, cranes, and swans have to die before a change in policy is warranted. The EPA was designed to protect the health of humans and the environment…acknowledges that lead is toxic to wildlife but not enough to warrant a national ban of lead tackle. Despite the mounting evidence that ingested fishing tackle leads to numerous wildlife deaths, the EPA refuses to recognise that there is a serious problem nationally. Because the federal government has failed to act on banning lead tackle, the responsibility shifts to state governments to take action” (174-75). If you want to do something to help the wildlife in the US, then US citizens reading my blog should carefully craft a letter to their state environmental officials copying them to the EPS and the USFWS demanding action now. Mercury and lead but there are also serious environmental threats to loons and other wildlife – including oil and its spillage such as The Deep Water Horizon in the Gulf. The other day I posted a copy of a Tweet indicating that licenses to drill for oil and natural gas off the coast of Alaska – pristine waters – were being accepted and had one application. Are they serious? Of course, monofilament fishing line is a source of painful injury or death. Other polluted waters, habitat loss, etc. The list is endless.

It is a really good read. You can learn so much just about loons, their behaviour and their migration but you can also get in deep with the challenges they face and how these might be rectified. Price in Canadian dollars: $34.95.

(Disclosure: I do not receive free books to review. If I see a new book that interests me, I buy it and am very happy to spread the word on those that will educate us, cause us to be curious, raise our awareness.)

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, posts, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: @Belcherspoems, Window to Wildlife, FOBBV, KNF-1, KNF-3, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, Superbeaks, Lady Hawk and SWFL Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle Cam, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Cal Falcons, and Amazon.

Bobbleheads, pips…Sunday Morning in Bird World

Good Morning Everyone!

Oh, Saturday looked promising for a nice walk in the forest. No! It was only -12 C but the winds were gusting more than 16 kph which means wind burn. I ‘decided’ reluctantly that it would be a good morning to clean house while listening to Ferris Akel’s tour. At the same time, I was very much aware of the European Starlings – all 40 of them – that had descended on the garden. Out went two new cylinders -a plain butter bark one and a seed cylinder. The images are poor because of the light. The Starlings came not just to eat but to ‘sun’ themselves on the tips of the lilac branches rotating their bodies to get warm. Brilliant.

These Starlings are nothing short of gorgeous. They live in harmony with the many sparrows that show up at the feeders. It is the squirrels that cause most of the havoc claiming the entire 10 metres of lilac bushes as their own.

All four of the squirrels were out and about – Dyson and two summer babies and Little Red. The images of them could not be lightened any more. It is unfortunate as this little summer offspring of Dyson is so cute. My offering is one meagre image. This little male was finding peanuts in the snow and eating them. So sweet.

My top story is a shout out to the wildlife rehabbers and the vets in Prince Edward Island for undertaking only the second spinal cord compression injury and the eagle surviving! When I was a professor, one of the things I valued was curiosity above almost everything else. ‘What if I did this?’ ‘How can we improve that?’ ‘Could something like this work?’ Questions that often result in our wildlife having a second chance at life. I wish more vets and rehabbers were as curious as some who make milestones in our understanding of raptor injuries and the potential with groundbreaking surgeries. Congratulations to everyone.

prince-edward-island-bald-eagle-receives-rare-surgery-heads-to-new-home-in-halifax-victoria-newsDownload

More good news. Another six of the Bald Eagles who suffered in Minnesota from phenobarbital poisoning (and some with high lead levels) were recently released. The staff at the wildlife rehab centre had to physically remove the poisoned/euthanized pets from the stomach of these beautiful birds before they could be treated. There were thirteen in total. One had Avian Flu along with the poisoning and died. Another two died leaving ten that were nursed back to health.

3dc655-20230106-eaglerelease2-webp2000Download

‘A’ has reminded me that pip watch will begin in one week at the Royal Albatross Colony on Taiaroa Head. The Royal Cam parents are GLY and L. What is so fascinating to me is how the NZ DOC recognises the impacts on Climate change and is trying to do something about it! ‘A’ included this quote from Ranger Sharyn Broni when she wrote, “

Virtually all the eggs will be hatched in the incubators as the increasingly hot summers make the risk of fly strike too great. We see the effects of climate change on these large birds quite markedly. During the 1950s for example, this type of work would have been unnecessary. By the 1990s conditions were more frequently hot enough to cause fly strike at some nests some of the time. It was during the 1990s that methods to repel flies and also to keep toroa cooler on the nest began. By 2018 fly strike is almost a certainty if the egg is left at the nest to hatch.

The dummy egg holds the parents on the nest while the egg hatches in the incubator over several days. The nest will be sprayed with AIL (Avian Insect Liquidator) to clear out any flies that may be living in the nest. The newly hatched chick has AIL applied to it prior to it being returned to the nest.“

It is a whole lot better cleaning out kitchen cupboards and little ‘kitten’ things all over the house while listening to Ferris Akel’s Saturday Morning Bird tour of the Montezeuma/Ithaca area of the Finger Lakes area of upstate NY. I can stop and look if I hear something of interest or just listen. Ferris is a great advocate for being outside and for birdwatching as a way to let the stress of the world go! I will keep reminding all of us this winter as it is far too easy to stay inside on bad weather days. And sometimes advisable to do so!

There were Snowy Owls, swans of various species, gulls of various types including a Black-backed gull, Canada geese, Red-tail Hawks (a young adult with a red tail and light eyes), Northern Mockingbird, and Bald Eagles on the morning’s tour.

The images were chosen for very specific reasons.

Snowy Owls like ‘snowy, northern climates’. There are always a few around a small airport that Ferris frequents. They are commonly seen in the fields of the province where I live, and one, as you know, is in Southern California this winter!!!!!

A juvenile Tundra Swan with the grey head. Strangely, we have one still living in Winnipeg in an area that has some open water. It should not be here. Will it survive? So far our temperatures have not been constant -32 to -38 C. So, I am hopeful. Our climate is changing so it will be interesting if more stay in the future.

It is Bald Eagle hatch season in the US and while we all get giddy over little pink tootsies, it is good to know how the little eaglets change in their appearance until they become the iconic bird with it sure white head. The image below – look closely, has the yellow smile I spoke about yesterday in the eaglets on the Superbeaks nest. Its eyes are still dark but not as dark as the month olds at Superbeaks. They will continue to lighten. The cere, mandible, and beak are all espresso brown. The head is brown and the body has scattered white and brown striations on the chest. The eagle at the top fits nicely into being a year and a half old according to Avian Reports picture chart on eagle development (below this image). If it were a year old it would have prominent white streaks in its head.

The two eagles below are an adult pair. The beak and the head are definitive means of attributing age. Look at the chart often. It will not take you long to single out the age. But, always remember, eagles can get ‘stains’ on their feathers, especially the tail feathers and sometimes the head. So then look at the beak!

This is a gorgeous Red-tail Hawk. We know that it is at least a year old because it has its red tail. But the eyes remain light so it is not a full adult yet. What a beautiful hawk. My goodness you would think that it was a copy of a young Big Red with its extraordinary apron.

Those eyes are part way between a juvenile (blue/green) and an adult (dark chocolate).

Ferris spotted Big Red when he entered the Cornell Campus. For some reason, the sighting was very emotional. Big Red will be 20 years old this year. What she has gone through to survive that long is beyond imagination. As far as we know, she has only ever had one chick not fledge and that was K2 who had to be taken into care because of a beak/jaw infection/deformity and who had to be euthanised. She is the most famous Red-tail Hawk in the world and rightly so. She will be laying eggs in mid-March.

Ferris caught up with Big Red on one of the light stands as the light was really going late in the day. You can see the wind is really blowing. She is holding on tight to the bars of the stand. Every sighting of her is a joy. It is 1 degree C and the wind is blowing at 14 kph on the ground so it is really windy on the top of the tower. Evan the tower is moving a lot.

Ferris also found L4, the 2022 fledgling of Big Red and Arthur. It was the first year that Big Red had four eggs and had four fledglings. No one believed a 19 year old hawk could do that – Big Red is changing everything we know about Red-tail Hawks in the wild.

In this side view, you can clearly see that the eyes are still light. Not yet a year old.

L4 looking up as some Canada Geese fly overhead.

Little E22 is already such a cutie. Harriet and M15 are a dynamic duo. The DNA running through those two eagles gives us very strong eaglets right out of the broken egg shell. E22 is standing up pretty good…only a few hours after hatching.

Want some fish, E22?

By late afternoon, it was apparent that 21 and 22 had several feedings. There was fish juice all over them. Any bearing came accidentally from 22 whose eyes are not yet focusing. Harriet and M15 must be the most patient feeders!

At 1757, they both had juice and matted feathers everywhere especially 22. The following image gives you a terrific look at that egg tooth and how it extends so much below the mandible. Imagine the eagle on its back hammering away.

Harriet and M15 are great partners. It was only a matter of time before 21 bonked 22. So Harriet, who had been feeding the pair alone, called in M15 to help. Lady Hawk caught the tandem feeding in the following video.

At Anna and Louis’s KNF E-1 nest there have been plenty of opportunities Saturday morning to see the eggs but, no obvious pip. Eggs are 39 days old and 34 days. Average hatch time in Louisiana is 35-39 days so folks are sitting on the edge of their seats to see if this young couple will have a hatch (or two) this year.

Both Anna and Louis have been incubating and rolling the eggs. Louis is a great provider and Anna has proven to be a really good eagle Mum. I was so hopeful they would have two chicks this year as the food resources are there but, it might well be that they, again, have only one. One is fine!

Oh goodness. There is a pip seen after 1300 Saturday. Jumping up and down! Tomorrow there will be a wee one for Anna and Louis. (could be later in the day on Sunday depending on its progress)

At 1652, you can really see the progress that little eaglet is making. Well done!

It is raining in Louisiana this morning. Louis covered the eggs with nesting material not giving us any hint as to how the hatching is going!

At the E3, nest of Alex and Andria, the two eaglets are growing like bad weeds in the garden plot.

Look at the bottom of E3-01!!!!!!! Well fed eaglets, both of them.

Eggs are being rolled at Metro Aviation. It is unclear if there is a pip. I saw a black spot but I think it is nesting material. Will these eggs hatch? The first egg is 42 days old today. The second egg is 39 days. Remember the average is 35-39 for Louisiana Bald Eagle eggs. It is possible that neither egg is viable. But we wait and hope for this couple.

At Berry College, Pa Berry was on the nest. We have some time before pip watch for these two Georgia Bald Eagles. Egg 1 is 26 days old today and egg 2 is 23 days old.

All is well at Superbeaks! Both are on the nest and I haven’t had to scream yet today about the lack of chair rails…but, oh, I wish these eagles would strengthen the sides of this nest.

Rolling eggs at Captiva. Next week is pip watch for Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. That is a very clear camera image!!

At the Captiva Osprey nest, Andy and Lena are now replaced by FO and MO. They need to bring more nesting material and everyone would love to see some fish gifts. There is still time! Rumours have it that the pair mated on the nest for the first time on Saturday. I did not see it and I screamed at the rewind on the camera! I can neither confirm nor deny.

Elain continues to keep us up to date with her daily video summaries from Orange. Indigo made only one appearance on the 7th of January! Much more quiet, yes.

Geemeff posted an article on Twitter that is really informative about tracking devices and how they are so useful to our understanding of the movements, behaviour, and challenges our wildlife face. It is a really good read!

how-tracking-technology-is-transforming-our-understanding-of-animal-behaviourDownload

So where does a disappearing elusive Australian Painted-Snipe go if no one has hardly ever seen one? Just look at how lovely it is in the image above. I love that white eye line.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/08/vanishing-bird-the-mystery-of-the-near-mythical-australian-painted-snipe?CMP=share_btn_link

Keeping closer to home and keeping in mind that lovely book, Slow Birding (I think it is the favourite of 2022), I want to remind all of us that we can do things at home now or next year to enrich the lives of the visitors to our own gardens.

  • Provide shelter. No, it doesn’t need to be some elaborate structure. It could mean leaving some of those tall perennials in place to provide a place away from the wind or rain. If like me you have had to cut trees down (yes, sadly), place the limbs and branches around the garden preferably stacking them. Great shelter. In addition, the rotting wood will provide great feasts for birds that feed on insect life. I have several different 60 cm tree trunks that are now about 20 years old. The birds peck away at them in the spring and summer as they are slowing breaking down into a kind of mulch.
  • Looking at the seed and garden catalogues and wishing. Consider – and you must consider your own planting zone – climbers for shelter in the fall and winter but also plants that are bird, bee, and butterfly friendly in your area. I am looking for quick growing berry bushes and a couple of trees with berries right now to plant in the spring. The birds will all thank you.
  • If you have the space, the finances, and the physical ability, why not set up a couple of bird feeders? Feeding the birds really gives them a boost and a better chance at winter survival. Also consider seeds with shells and no shells. All of my garden birds love the Black Oil Sunflower Seeds but the empty shells make a huge mess. You can purchase already hulled seeds. (I rake mind and push them to the back of the mini-forest where they break down and help the soil). If you do put up feeders or bird feeding tables, you have to be able to clean them. Feeding birds is also about responsibility to them so they do not get disease. “The National Wildlife Health Center recommends cleaning bird baths and feeders with a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach. (If there is visible debris, scrub it off before soaking in the bleach solution.) Dry out the feeder before hanging it back up”.
  • Want to give the birds some treats? These ideas I originally found on the RSPB website. You can blend birdseed with unsalted nuts, raisins, and lard and press it into moulds or over pinecones and hang outside. Do you have some old hard cheese that could be grated? (no Blue apparently). Birds love it. My Starlings are loving pieces of apple and pear as well as raisins, sultanas, and currants. It is a good way to use up some bruised fruit. I put chunks into a tray feeder.

It is always my pleasure to bring you some of the recent news about our feathered friends. I did not cover Zoe today but rest assured, the girl is eating! Dad brought her a fish yesterday and it is believed Mum added one to that as well. Most days she has 3 fish delivered by Daddy and Mummy Door Dash. Oh, they must be wishing she would move out of the house?? But, they will dutifully continue to feed their girl. No fear. They are dedicated. It is nearing noon in Australia as I write this and Zoe is 112 days old and she is yelling at Mum who is on the ropes for a fish. Time to become independent dear girl. Or are we set to break other records? She is exploring the area but is she exploring places where she could catch fish? And Ervie! Oh, I wish someone would submit some images of Ervie. Missing that beautiful boy.

Oh, thank you so much for being with me today. It is wonderful to know that there is such a supportive community ‘out there’ for our feathered friends. Please take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their tweets, announcements, articles, posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘A’ and NZ DOC, Ferris Akel Tours, Avian Reports, SWFL Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Haw, and SWEagle Cam and D Pritchett, KNF 1, KNF 3, Metro Aviation, Berry College Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Geemeff, The Guardian, and Port Lincoln Ospreys and Friends of Osprey.