13 January 2024
Good Morning Everyone,
Hugo Yugo and I are in the conservatory. She is tearing up a napkin – no one told her she isn’t a budgie! The male Downy is at the suet cylinder, Dyson is getting peanuts out of the small table feeder, and about 50 sparrows of various types are going after Black oil seed. It is -21 C. The sky is a light baby blue – some haze – and the sun is beginning to shine. I am so grateful that the booster on the furnace vent and the little space heater are doing their jobs today so that we can stay out in this wonderful place. Mr Crow has been here and returned just now to get some peanuts. Life is good.
As of this morning, egg #1 at WRDC is 38 days old. We are on pip/hatch watch at both WRDC and Berry College.
Missey is watching a Crow getting ready to fly down for peanuts. Hugo Yugo wants to get up and catch a glimpse!
Hugo Yugo is like a miniature tiger. She is fearless and loves to play fight with Hope. Typically, Hugo Yugo will attack by running about 3 metres and leaping on Hope’s back. Hope really enjoyed the play and is ‘gentle’ with Hugo Yugo.
I am reminded that we have the power over how our day will go simply by waking up and finding the beauty in the ‘world’ around us. For me, it is the girls and the garden animals. I continually say that I cannot image life without them. Do you have a place to put out a water bowl for the birds? Or a feeder? I promise you that the single act of providing for the animals will bring you much happiness. (LOL. For me, the wildlife is so much better than playing pickleball).
Blue Jays carefully select their peanuts trying them out to make sure they get the heaviest one. This is the Baby from the summer and he will fly over to a branch where he will use the branch to break the shell of the nut.
Now s/he is going to try their luck with the pile of peanuts on the big tray feeder.
They used the side of the feeder to break open the shell this time.
The rain did come to The Hamlet. Gabby and Beau taking turns incubating their only surviving egg (the first was buried by Beau and could not be retrieved by either eagle from the nest).
Beau came in to give Gabby a break. Oh, I am so hoping this egg is viable. That is a 180 degree turn for me. They are working together now. Let’s hope.
Nothing seems to be happening with the eggs at the WRDC as of noon Friday.
Neither Ron nor Rose are giving anything away.
We are on pip and hatch watch for Berry College, too. Gosh, the waiting for Berry and the WRDC nest are getting folks weary….
No rain for Abby and Blazer at Eagle Country.
Rabbit for breakfast for E23 at the SW Florida nest of M15 and F23.
SK Hideaways caught it -. Oh, poor F23.
As Saturday night’s storm approached the nest of M15 and F23, both were on the nest. Later, F23 really showed that she can be a huge mombrella.
C11 really chowed down on that fish that came to the nest around 10:36 on Friday. It was wonderful seeing that little eaglet eating well. Both had hilariously big crops!
Gracie Shepherd caught Chase at the Two Harbours Outlook on Friday.
Lady was doing some ‘teaching’ for SE31 on Saturday in Australia.
At Port Lincoln, Dad brought in a small fish and Mum took it. Brad and Gil have not had any fish and it is early afternoon. The water is a little choppy – look at the white caps behind the nest. I wonder, too, when Mum and Dad will be hoping these two try their luck at fishing.
Today I received a special edition of BirdLife International, the Jan-March 2024 issue, that examines the changes in the Red List of Birds. One of the species that has been ‘downlisted’ to Near Threatened from Threatened status.
Animalia describes the Lesser Adjutant: ”A large stork with an upright stance, a bare head and neck without a pendant pouch, it has a length of 87–93 cm (34–37 in) (outstretched from bill-to-tail measurement), weighs from 4 to 5.71 kg (8.8 to 12.6 lb) and stands about 110–120 cm (43–47 in) tall. The only confusable species is the greater adjutant, but this species is generally smaller and has a straight upper bill edge (culmen), measuring 25.8–30.8 cm (10.2–12.1 in) in length, with a paler base and appears slightly trimmer and less hunch-backed. The skullcap is paler and the upper plumage is uniformly dark, appearing almost all black. The nearly naked head and neck have a few scattered hair-like feathers. The upper shank or tibia is grey rather than pink, the tarsus measures 22.5–26.8 cm (8.9–10.6 in). The belly and undertail are white. Juveniles are a duller version of the adult but have more feathers on the nape. During the breeding season, the face is reddish and the neck is orange. The larger median wing coverts are tipped with copper spots and the inner secondary coverts and tertials have narrow white edging. The wing chord measures 57.5–66 cm (22.6–26.0 in) in length. Like others in the genus, they retract their necks in flight. In flight, the folded neck can appear like the pouch of the greater adjutant. Males and females appear similar in plumage but males tend to be larger and heavier billed.”
The success in protecting the Lesser Adjutant and its habitat and its downgrading is due to “Community efforts have been key to raising awareness and conserving these attractive birds, their nesting sites and habitats. While numbers are still declining in several locations, the rate of the population’s decrease on a global scale is estimated to be slowing” according to Birdlife (29).
“Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus)” by Koshyk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
One species that has sadly been uplifted is the Palm Cockatoo. Cockatoos make their nests in the holes of old trees – just like my local squirrels and woodpeckers. Those trees are being cut down at a tremendous rate for logging. At the same time fires are also destroying habitat while trapping illegally for the international pet trade is another threat.
Animalia describes our bird, “The Palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large parrot of the cockatoo family native to New Guinea, Aru Islands, and Cape York Peninsula. “Palm cockatoo” has been designated the official name by the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). The species was named the “Goliath Aratoo” in Wood’s Natural History (1862). It is also sometimes given the misnomer “black macaw” in aviculture although the macaws are unrelated New World parrots.” ”The Palm cockatoo is a black or smoky-gray parrot from the cockatoo family. It has a distinctive appearance, having a large crest and one of the biggest beaks of any parrot, a beak unusual in itself, as the upper and lower mandibles do not meet along much of the length, which allows the bird’s tongue to hold a nut in place against its top mandible while its lower mandible does the work to open it. Between the eyes and the beak, there is a patch of bare skin, red in color. There is also a distinctive red patch on the cheek that changes color if the bird is excited or alarmed. In young birds, their underfeathers are lined with pale yellow, and in birds under the age of 18 months, the tip of the beak and the ring around the eye are white.”
“Palm Cockatoo Nimbokrang” by Garima Bhatia is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
You know about the parakeets in London, right?
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!
Subscribing is free. You can unsubscribe anytime!
Thank you to the following for their notes, articles, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: NEFL-AEF, Carol Shores Rifkin, Window to Wildlife, Eagle Country, Berry College Eagle Cam, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Gracie Shepherd, Chang-le Dong, PLO, Bart M, BirdLife International, Animalia, Openverse, and The Guardian.