Category Archives: Lesser Spotted Eagle

Monday in Bird World

30 June 2025

Hello Everyone!

First up. Port Lincoln Ospreys posted a lot of flight paths of the ospreys, but one will interest all of you – Ervie. I put in the details of what this most loved fledgling from the barge has been up to.

To give everyone a smile. This has been a generally good weekend in the garden. The European Starling parents are ready for their fledglings to leave the nest and garden area and go and find their way. This is perfect for Mr Crow and his two fledglings, who started coming to the garden Saturday evening. The baby Crows are as big as their parents. They are easy to spot as they will land on the craziest of things and they can’t quite balance themselves on the wires. They also walk all over the roof of the conservatory! The cats were absolutely fascinated with them.

Hugo Yugo almost popped her eyes out!

Baby Hope seemed a little frightened with the scratchy noise on the glass.

Calico was simply fascinated.

Missey was no where to be found.

I write this blog with a continuing heavy heart. Baby osplets are dying everywhere in the area that Omega, the Canadian corporation, is doing its industrial/commercial Menhaden fishing. We know only of those nests on the streaming cam unless you start to read Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal FB where many have answered my posts with information. No surviving osplets around the Virginia coast. None on St. George’s Island, Maryland. Ben Wurtz of Conserve Wildlife tells us that there is no use putting fish on the nests in NJ because when the chicks fledge, there is no fish to eat! Remarkably, even the adults are surviving, so I tell you, be happy if any of those nests fledge one chick. Please don’t be hard on the male who is working his little tail off to find fish that aren’t there.

The fault lies with politicians taking donations from Omega and a three-mile fishing limit. We need a ten-mile safe space. That might do it, although I would be much happier with a complete moratorium on the fishing of Menhaden. There are petitions to sign. I will put them at the end of the blog. Please sign them, write people, write the newspapers, the radio stations, The New York Times, 60 Minutes…whatever. There must be someone out there who has the agency to get this topic of extinction on the airwaves and get more people lobbying to protect the osprey.

One of our long-time readers, ‘EJ’, sent this to me to share with you today. There is little mention of the lack of Menhaden, never mind the direct cause.

Osprey population ‘near complete collapse’ on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, scientists reportDownload

Terrapins are dying along with the Striped Bass and Blue Crabs. The whales and dolphins have left the area.

More sadness. Trolls are trying to blame this on Bald Eagles! Seriously. Omega Corporation (I am embarrassed that it is a Canadian company) takes 112 million pounds of adult Menhaden and perhaps even more when they are scouring the shores of New Jersey and Delaware. Ospreys need adult Menhaden to survive. That is it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Please don’t skip the image below of a dead osplet. Perhaps I have said this twice. You are watching the extinction of a species in this area. It can be stopped, but no politician in the area seems to have the will to do anything for wildlife. Are they so afraid of the next election and those great big donations?

Instead of stop watching these nests where the babies are dying – watch and learn and then get mad and do something. Sit down and write 20 letters – cute and paste is easy. Get the information on the overfishing in the area by a commercial company, the need for a 10 mile limit instead of 3, and write and write. Get everyone you know who cares about wildlife to write. Send it to the papers, the radio stations, those who care about the environment. Write Corey Booker in NJ. Maybe he will help!

Today, we lost the second hatch at Island Beach State Park, NJ. Notice it is NJ. It isn’t just the Chesapeake Bay. Omega is fishing off the shores of NJ and Delaware, but the ospreys are impacted in all the states in the region, including Maryland. Strangely, we are now having some issues with the third hatch at the Great Bay Osprey Platform in New Hampshire. it might not survive the weekend. We wait to see. Little Peabody died Monday morning.

It is the last day of June. Where did the days go? Tomorrow is Baby Hope’s second birthday. It’s also Canada Day, so we’ll be having a big party! I am not going ‘crazy’. The world doesn’t need to manufacture any more stuff and my ‘fur babies’ do not need a thing. Baby Hope loves those squeezy treats and what my friend, Geemeff, knows as Dreamies in the UK. She also has a new toy. Anne will be with us, so it will be grand. I might even get some vanilla ice cream and share it with everyone!

Good news coming in from our reader ‘PS’ who is keeping a close eye on the osprey family in Washington with its three chicks. Just look at them. They have outgrown the Reptile stage and are developing juvenile feathers. Each has a nice crop.

‘PS’ reports: “Quick update for today, June-28…a very good day! The family was finishing up a meal when I arrived, and all crops were very full, even the littlest one. Which was good enough, and a delight to see, but then dad showed up with another fish (looked like some kind of flounder or sole) 20 minutes later! Nestlings were mostly sleeping and couldn’t even be bothered to get up, except for the littlest one who figured why not, and continued to eat more. Mom ate a lot of this one too, then took a quick break down to the shoreline, walked around a bit, dunked her head in the water, then flew back. Dad was mostly taking a break on a nearby lightpost. Seems like the eating was very good today (bright, sunny, warm, calm winds). So good to see!”

If you haven’t checked out ‘PS’s’ Flickr diary of this family, please do:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/193514804@N08/3Y3f5314rM)

We also have a report from ‘PS’ for Monday morning: “Hope your weekend has been a good one – one update for you from today, June 29. Unfortunately it was a slow day from what I could see, at first – not only were the three nestlings not sporting bulging crops, but mom left the nest three times after I arrived, for up to ~12 minutes at a time, presumably to hunt on her own. No dad during this time. First two times she came back empty-taloned…then after she left a third time one of the parents returned, at last, with a fish! I thought it was odd, though, that this adult landed in the nest, looked a bit befuddled, left the fish, then decamped for the perch, without feeding the kids (in looking at my images later I realized that this was dad, but didn’t realize it at the time)…some ten minutes later, the other adult returned, this time with a pretty large southern Rock Sole (headless – fuel for the journey no doubt) which was immediately fed to the nestlings (this was mom, though at the time I was still somewhat confused as to who was who). Sadly, #3 was bullied out of the way by #2 (the size difference is enormous). I had to leave before the fish was finished, but hopefully everyone had enough and/or the parents were able to get more fish. 

It was sunny today, but very windy, so perhaps challenging conditions…it was worrisome to see mom leaving so often, and coming back with nothing. Clearly she didn’t want to leave for so long, but felt she had to…”

While chicks have been lost on nest 2 at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria, at nest 1, White YW and Blue 35 continue to raise their three chicks without issue! White YW brings in these huge fish, and Mum is excellent at getting the bites spread around despite having three ravenous beaks.

Notice the difference in plumage between the three chicks on the Washington nest and Foulshaw Moss 1. The most petite chick on the Foulshaw Moss nest still has ‘slight’ remnants of that big white wide stripe of its youth, while all the chicks at Washington are slightly younger and retain the white stripe on their back. Soon it will be covered with gorgeous, beautiful juvenile plumage!

At Rutland Manton Bay, the oldest chick is doing some amazing hovers. Landings on the nest are tricky with three large siblings! Watch for the first fledge of an osprey in the UK anytime!

Birds of Poole Harbour are celebrating the return of CJ7 and Blue 022’s of two-year-old Blur 5H3.

This year’s four will be ringed on Sunday morning the 29th so I will be able to report this today!

Here’s the video of the four pancaked and showing the Blue Darvic Ring 5R4 on the chick from Birds of Poole Harbour! https://youtu.be/eaxk967rTQI?

The cutoff for the weight for males usually is below 1600. Over is female, coupled, of course, with measurements to support that weight. In the end, though, only a DNA test can definitively provide the gender. (Sometimes the ringers are wrong.)

Here are the results:

Llyn Clywedog: Seren Blue 5F with her two gorgeous, big, healthy chicks. Unringed Dylan does a marvellous job of feeding his family. One year, he was tracked and timed by John Williams, revealing he flew 25 miles to chase an intruder away, returning with some lovely Brown Trout. (Trout was available at the nearby reservoir, but this fish did not come from there – he was watched closely.)

The Llyn Clywedog ospreys were ringed in 2025. Instagram reports that two chicks were safely ringed at the Llyn Clywedog nest as part of ongoing conservation efforts. The chicks were ringed with blue rings, and the specific numbers were not mentioned in the Instagram post.

Dyfi Osprey Project: Idris arrived with a fish on Saturday night around 2000. Look at the flurry. You can see some of the new bling on the chicks in the second image.

Loch Doon: Angel and Frankie’s two surviving osplets are now hovering!

Saaksilvie #4, Finland: Three healthy osplets, stretching and walking around the nest and one dirty camera lens!

Saaksilvie #2 LS: Three osplets finished their meal, and the fish left on the nest!

Couer de’Alene, Idaho: The four osplets are doing very well! No overfishing here that I am aware.

Smallwood: Look at these three beauties.

Boulder County: Family portrait.

Charlo, Montana: Someone is going to ‘yell’ at me and tell me I’m wrong, but right now, I have a little concern for the third hatch at this nest. The two larger earlier hatches are eating a lot of food, and the little one is in submission a lot. It is clever and finally sees an opportunity, getting on the opposite side of Mum to come away with a crop. That crop was not easy – it worked hard for it.

Dunrovin: Oh, that wee third hatch makes me ache. But, look, it is right up there – all three in a line being fed by Winnie. Dad Swoop up on the perch after flying in with the family fish meal.

Independence City: We can finally see that there are two beautiful chicks in this nest!

Heidi’s Osprey Report:

Great Bay:  All the chicks survived the heat dome that lasted for a few days, but since the weather cooled, it seems that Dad just cannot deliver enough fish to the family.  The chicks are 27, 26, and 23 days old on 6/30.  The two older chicks have big appetites, and Little3 has not been able to eat much for a few days.  Little3 may not make it.  But, he has won the hearts of many people who are praying for him.  Little3 is much loved.

Dewey Beach:  Dad has not been seen since 6/26.  Mom has been fishing for the osplet, in fact, she had already been fishing for several days prior to Dad’s disappearance.  But, for some reason, fishing has been slow for a few days.  Mom is catching fewer fish per day now, than when she was supplementing Dad’s fish deliveries.  The osplet is 47 days old, and has been doing some flapping.

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig  Sunday 29th June 2025
The weather was much more settled today and both males provided plenty of fish. Garry LV0 brought two fish for Aurora 536 taking his tally to one hundred and five, and Louis’ four fish deliveries saw his tally rise to two hundred and forty one. Chick2 is developing rapidly and not only downed a tail today, but also made off with a whole fish, taking it away from Dorcha who’d only just received it from Louis. But the chick wasn’t allowed to keep the prize for long, Dorcha reclaimed it and feeding commenced as usual. However chick1 also attempted to make off with a whole fish but Dorcha didn’t let go and the chick lost the tug of fish battle. The ringers are due in a few days time, a far cry from this time last year when a rescue mission was needed which saw the chicks getting their rings in Spain after joining a translocation programme, but this year everything is going well and both chicks are developing nicely. The overnight forecast for the Inver Mallie area which covers both nest is for light rain and light winds with a low of 17

°C, changing to heavy rain with a gentle breeze and a high of 18°C tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.57.10 (03.07.04); Nest Two 23.19.26 (03.34.20)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/S_0SrrYyZ64 N2 Another milestone achieved as chick2 grabs the whole fish from Dorcha 06.54.30

https://youtu.be/odnZYrgorqU N1 Elevenses arrives for Aurora, first fish of the day 11.08.24

https://youtu.be/84ZjnB_bAsU N2 Louis delivers lunch, second fish today 13.41.31 

https://youtu.be/O1w_ato2-I0 N1 Early evening fish supper arrives for Aurora 18.23.52 

https://youtu.be/p6uhCD-EqFA N2 Fish number three doesn’t last long and chick2 downs the tail 18.58.55 

https://youtu.be/Z51plMTQem4 N2 Late night fish supper arrives, fourth fish today 22.29.52

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/6PfZNX338WY  N1 Is the littlest Osplet attacking mum or just begging for food? 2019

https://youtu.be/VsVBpGjxCds  N1 Aila’s pleased to see a fish but one chick prefers doing flight prep 2020

https://youtu.be/Hi01r-gxXb4  N1 Legendary Louis and the midnight fish – well, nearly 2020

https://youtu.be/jxFvhSbXcIQ  N2 Drama as an intruder tries to land: Louis gives chase 2022

https://youtu.be/yIWqt92hZEI  N2 Yet another intrusion by the stranger: Dorcha gives chase 2022 

https://youtu.be/-nguqm1IS1c  N1 Affric rejects Garry’s advances, stays until a stick falls 2023

https://youtu.be/PP5IneygLtA  N2 Open – Squeak – Gulp – Repeat! Fish number two 2023

https://youtu.be/t4k0cpkaBv8  N1 Affric finally gets a fish from Garry 2023

https://youtu.be/CtkFrypee0Y  N2 Four week old chick looks enormous exercising its new wings 2023

https://youtu.be/qX0KLkUsPr4  N2 On a very wet night mumbrella Dorcha makes the chick seem invisible 2023

https://youtu.be/eNupYkdkQ8w N2 The welcome reappearance of Louis, bringing fish number one 2024

https://youtu.be/Q6y-LYkhTFo N1 Garry LV0 is intruded upon – is it Prince? 2024

https://youtu.be/T1ef16z0eKs N2 Fish number two arrives, but only one chick gets to eat 2024

https://youtu.be/TiKtuGDYD4I N2 Submissive chick desperate for food eats grass 2024

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 28th June 2024
After a stormy night leaving the family wet and bedraggled, the weather brightened up somewhat, although at the time of filing this report (midnight) the rain has started again and the wind’s picked up. Dorcha’s plumage is pearled with raindrops as she does her best to shield the chicks who none the less remain partly exposed to the weather. Today was a very low fish day, only two from Louis and none from Garry, so their tallies stand at two hundred and thirty seven and one hundred and three respectively. There were some intruder alerts, none too close to the nest, and with the choppy conditions of the loch Louis might be forgiven for only delivering two fish. However, it does bring back memories of this time last year when he stopped delivering fish and licensed raptor experts had to be called in to save the chicks from the twin threat of hyperthermia and starvation. Fortunately this year’s weather is much better than last year’s and tonight’s forecast is light cloud and a gentle breeze with a low of 11°C followed by sunny intervals and a high of 19°C tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.16.26 (03.23.11); Nest Two 23.18.10 (03.35.21)
Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/sLFUneYm7DAN2 The family’s glad to see breakfast arrive after a wild wet night 07.22.01https://youtu.be/19TjA7ShPk0 N2 Everybody’s hungry and ready when fish number two finally arrives 18.21.22https://youtu.be/XTmA9TtWnGkN2 Up up and away! Louis makes a wind-assisted exit 18.26.43https://youtu.be/DfdspR4jUqM N2 Is moving sticks on a windy day a good idea?18.42.48
Bonus map – keep cool during the hot weather and go down to the woods, the updated Woodland Trust map will guide you:https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/woodland-trust-woods/

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/hAJchYM7NIo  N1 Aila ignores an intruder Osprey skydancing for her attention 2020

https://youtu.be/6T4blnBVQXA  N1 Louis looms out of the mist with an early breakfish 2020

https://youtu.be/GvBAoPCLWDc N1 Louis brings a very large trout 2020

https://youtu.be/B2msIMScD6s  N2 Lots of happy squeaking when fish arrives 2022

https://youtu.be/r0IOlFls9Og  N2 Another intruder Osprey alert 2022 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/wZ-KmF2cTNA  N2 Dorcha strikes the wrong note 2022 (Classic Ospreys: Chopin)

https://youtu.be/OjdfAzv_aYI   N1 Affric stays and calls for hours but Garry doesn’t return 2023

https://youtu.be/BQ-is6X0Gqs  N2 Louis sorts Dorcha’s tricky stick 2023

https://youtu.be/tN0NyYd1Bk0  N2 Fish arrives but the chick’s home alone 2023

https://youtu.be/tcUkgVA5LFs  N1 Short-Eared Owl pays a visit 2023 (slo-mo, zoom)

https://youtu.be/6maD-9zG5xk N1 Garry LV0 visits twice and brings nesting materials 2024 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/Fw08D6I83msN2 Hand feeding of the chicks by the licensed raptor expert 2024

https://youtu.be/9HYxpRU-hjY N2 Dorcha returns when the fish fairies leave after feeding the chicks 2024

https://youtu.be/c2oZrwNXbvI  N2 Dorcha and the two chicks huddle together on a dreich night 2024
Why not come and join the lively community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s friendly, free and everyone’s welcome:

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

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 27th June 2025

The weather was the main feature today, it rained almost continuously, with a few dry patches here and there, leaving the chicks frequently looking very wet and bedraggled, but Dorcha did her best to protect them although she’s no longer able to cover the big chicks fully. Louis kept the chicks and Dorcha fueled with three fish deliveries and his tally now rises to two hundred and thirty five. Despite the weather the chicks are developing nicely, and chick1 passed another milestone today by uttering alarm calls, to which Dorcha responded by flying off the nest to investigate. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 brought Aurora 536 a single fish, taking his tally to one hundred and three. The weather forecast calls for overnight rain and a gentle breeze with a low of 13

°C but looks to improve by mid morning with sunny intervals and a fresh breeze, with a high of 17°C.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.44.36 (03.15.18); Nest Two 23.17.34 (03.53.44)

Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/5QGsGqpXlXM N2 Louis delivers the first fish and stays to do some feaking 07.59.09

https://youtu.be/U5A7TNhF3P0 N1 

Aurora seizes the fish from Garry as soon as he lands 10.32.37

https://youtu.be/Y3eZ0kROhw0 N2 Chick 1 spots something and alarm calls 11.09.07

https://youtu.be/fMZxwQzGQ2g N2 The soaked chicks tuck into the second fish 15.15.33

https://youtu.be/vWGOfJ8L-hI N2 The still-soaked chicks stretch their wings before tucking into fish three 19.28.25

Bonus activity – Woodland Trust asks us to forage responsibly, here’s their guide to foraging and what’s in season 

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/06/foraging-in-june

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/foraging/foraging-guidelines

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/K45u41D6zlI  N1 Midnight chick fight 2020

https://youtu.be/lB9x_rg5mfk  N1 Aila wears an Eiffel Tower hat – then throws it away 2020

https://youtu.be/ZpwTFmAeZss  N1 Osplets feed themselves while Aila watches an intruder 2020

https://youtu.be/c-Np1yrrrlY  N2 Intruder Osprey full sequence 2022 (audio boosted, slo-mo, zoom)

https://youtu.be/kTnD5iZwyT8  N2 Persistence pays off! Dorcha sorts a tricky stick 2022

https://youtu.be/5GXLNowB4_A  N2 Bad-tempered bob2 has a go at mum 2022 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/4Wv_FJSFrIw  N2 Antics with logs when Louis arrives 2022

https://youtu.be/emLHtjnOSEo  N1 Garry finally answers Affric’s calls but no fish 2023

https://youtu.be/NCX9qSkiBtc  N2 Extra large late night fish supper arrives 2023

https://youtu.be/8wwUVY5L_P8  N2 Louis returns and claims some fish for himself 2023

https://youtu.be/BQMQTT_q0yg N2 Dorcha goes fishing and brings back an eel 2024 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/lJMENKfuHSI   N2 OMG! Chicks nearly blown off the nest! 2024 (super slo-mo repeat)

Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:

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

Trempealeau Eagle Nest, Wisconsin: T3 has hatched but not fledged. Mum needs a gold medal. Her mate had two nests. He often took the fish she caught for her eaglet. She overcame the adversities. Just look at T3! Well done.

Buddy’s Mum has the video of T3 branching! https://youtu.be/-_iAbHAEyBs?

Denton Homes: They survived severe weather in their nest, which stayed in place. How lucky. So many worried! They have now fledged. Of course, the bad weather is still around. The camera has all these views, trying to keep up with those fledglings.

FOBBV:

San Jose City Hall: Chico keeps returning for food! No vacation yet for Monty and Hartley. SK Hideaways caught the last hatch, little Chico (everyone’s favourite) on the ledge with his distinctive red band. https://youtu.be/wi-93Aur43s?

Mlady Buky, Czechoslavkia: Bety and Bukachek’s two storklets have their bling! Aren’t they gorgeous?

Cornell Red-tail Hawks: The Os have fledged. The nest is empty and all the BOGs are getting great exercise chasing the fledglings around the Cornell campus trying to get a photo.

Nesting Bird Life and More video of Lesser Spotted Eaglet, Estonia: Mum feeds breakfast! https://youtu.be/XvS1kPgPwjM?

Golden Eagle, Latvia: Spilve has already delivered prey. Her baby is no longer a baby!

‘A’ sends us report for happenings down under: “The sea eagles at Olympic Park are mating constantly and sleeping in the nest tree. Lots of fish gifts are being brought to the nest for Lady. The nest itself could not be more prepared for eggs. They lined it perfectly last week. We are on tenterhooks awaiting the big day. Last year, their first egg was laid on 27 June so they’re running late. I’m expecting an egg this weekend. 

The pair at Port Lincoln are so close, they even snuggle on the nest at night. I don’t recall this being the case last season so maybe it’s a different pair or maybe they are just more tightly bonded a year on. The first egg wasn’t laid at Port Lincoln until late August last year so there are still eight or nine weeks to go by that schedule. August 27 was the day the first egg was laid at Orange last year, so those two nests are on a similar schedule. 

Our sweet albatross chick is the most beautiful creature. She is snowy, fluffy white, but her grown-up plumage is starting to show through in a major way now, so that she is rapidly beginning to resemble an albatross rather than a giant fairy floss. It is scary to think that when they take off, it will be years before they return, and they head off to fend for themselves with no training in flight or fishing, essentially alone, on a 6,000-mile journey. It’s incredible. And then, as if that were not miraculous enough, they return to within 50 metres of the nest in which they were raised. (Or is that just the males?) Every year, it amazes me anew. What incredible navigation systems they must have.”

Birdlife International has some great news including a link to the AviList – don’t know what that is? Well, check it out and discover something new.

AviList unites the world’s bird species – BirdLife InternationalDownload

Thank you for being with us today! Please take care. We look forward to having you back with us on Friday and pictures of Baby Hope’s second birthday party complete with ‘pet friendly cake’ and ice cream.

Thank you to the individuals who have sent me articles, information, observations and photographs, and news – you are amazing: ‘A, EJ, Geemeff, Heidi, PB, PS’, – thank you so much. Thank you to all the individuals whose names are in bold and who made videos from information on the streaming cams – and to all the owners of the streaming cams in bold, we are so appreciative as well as all the FB groups and individuals with their posts!

Friday in Bird World

27 June 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

One of our dear readers from Japan suggested a ‘snood’ to help protect Toby’s ears. What do you think? It is excellent for baths! Those big curly floppy ears are prone to infections, and I cannot thank ‘AK’ enough. Toby is a little shy and asked that his sisters not see him!!!!!!!!

We continue to declutter, and thank you for all the letters sharing your efforts to reduce clutter in your life. I appreciate the fact that I have kick-started some activity. Today, we are hosting a book sale. I wish you lived close if you like fine art, craft, ceramics, Asian art, and cookbooks. They are in mint condition and going for $5. Donations will be made to local pet rescues, as well as supporting the food for the feral cats that visit our garden. It feels good to clean out these books, knowing that they will have new life in someone else’s home. My mind feels lighter with them gone — they are in boxes wrapped in plastic waiting for 1400 to arrive! Anne is going to take Don on an excursion, and my friend, Susan, is coming to help me and Toby. We will be exhausted at the end of the day.

The book sale has kept me from losing my mind over commercial fishing for Menhaden – the boats have set their nets outside the Bay because there are no more adult Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. Can you believe this! We are witnessing the decline and potential extinction of ospreys in this region.

As I sat listening to the birds in the garden and the distant sound of a Pileated Woodpecker working on one of the utility poles, I was drawn to a quote by Rachel Carson in her insightful volume, Silent Spring. I have substituted part of the paragraph, and the words that I have inserted are very apt for today. Carson would approve.

As man proceeds toward his announced goal of the conquest of nature, he has written a depressing record of destruction, directed not only against the earth he inhabits but against the life that shares it with him. The history of recent centuries has its black passages – the slaughter of the buffalo on the western plains, the massacre of the shorebirds by the market gunners, the near-extinction of the egrets for their plumage. Now, to these and others like them, we are adding a new chapter and a new kind of havoc – the direct indiscriminate killing by starvation of birds, mammals, fishes, and indeed other species by the commercial over fishing of Menhaden fuelled by greed and power. (85)

At Fenwick Island, on Tuesday afternoon late, the Only Bob suffers from heat exhaustion and what appears an inability to cast a pellet. On Tuesday, it was weak and refused to eat much fish. Mum tried to shade it and feed it so this is not a case of parental neglect nor siblicide, no siblings to harm it. Heidi and I have struggled. Does a physically weakened chick have a lesser ability to cast a pellet?

A fish did come to the nest later, and only Bob ate, but it did not matter. This feathered beautiful osplet perished. More is included in Heidi’s report, below.

Many people want to know how they can help halt industrial fishing. Do not think it might not happen in your state. It’s time to establish a ten-mile limit. That would help. They might also want to breed some Menhaden in fish ponds to place back in the Chesapeake Bay.

Heidi’s Osprey Report!

Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  Johnny and June’s only surviving chick died on 6/25 at 38 days of age.  The cause of death was most likely starvation/dehydration, but it was not for a lack of fish.  Despite the heat in recent days, Johnny had delivered (starting with 6/19) 5, 5, 6, 6, 3, 5 fish for June and her chick. On 6/24, we noticed that the chick was not eating despite being offered fish many times.  Once in a while June’s baby would attempt to eat, perhaps ate a few bites, but then would quit.  The temperatures were in the mid to upper 90’s, so the chick was dehydrating rapidly.  On the morning of 6/25 the chick was seen attempting to cast a pellet a couple of times, but was unsuccessful.  At 08:03 on 6/25, June brought her first fish to the nest since she laid her eggs.  She wanted to make sure her youngster had a good breakfast.  The chick moved closer to Mom, and June attempted to feed her baby.  The chick was obviously hungry, wanted to eat, and tried to eat, but simply was not able to. Perhaps it was the inability to expel a pellet that caused the youngster to not be able to eat.  

In 2024, June was a first-time mom, and she obviously had a lot to learn.  She did not protect her first two eggs that year, and they were predated by crows.  She did not incubate egg #3 adequately, and it did not hatch.  Her fourth egg produced her only osplet, named ‘Fen’, and he was her pride and joy.  Johnny and June nurtured Fen, and Fen fledged.

I was watching June very closely this season to see what kind of mom she would be.  I must say, I will give her an ‘A’.  She did very well.  It is unknown why baby #3 died this year at 10 days of age, but it was possibly weather related.  Baby #2 died of siblicide/starvation on 6/6 at 18 days of age, after a few days of bad weather caused Johnny to have difficulty fishing.  Now, my heart simply breaks watching June look down at the body of her last remaining chick.  Take care, June… You and Johnny did your very best.

Mispillion Harbor has two cameras that show the osprey nest.  However, the Nature Center cam is set on auto-tour, and shows different views of the harbor.  Once in a while, I can manage to find one of our ospreys flying to or from the nest, and that’s pretty cool.  But, yesterday, I was extremely lucky to actually see Warren catching a fish in the river!  Very cool indeed!  I recorded a video of the event.

And a late addition to put a smile on your face form Heidi! Cape Henlopen osprey nest: An intruder delivered a fish to Hennie! Miles soon arrived to take charge. The kids thought it was ‘Uncle Bob’ bringing a fishie to Mommy, lol.

Video on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/FD2duIvU2UE

Thank you, Heidi! Great report. Sure is wonderful to see some healthy chicks in Canada, too!

There was a great feeding for all three at Chesapeake Bay.

Smile. Big Bear. ‘PB’ sent a screen capture of Sunny and Gizmo together on a pine. When the nests in the NE get us so despondent, there were miracles this year that we did not think possible. Big Bear is one of them, and we should never forget these two amazing fledgling eagles. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about them and seeing them together.

Please sign the petition to halt fireworks displays in the Big Bear Valley. Can you imagine the havoc this causes to wildlife including Jackie, Shadow, Sunny, and Gizmo!

Petition · No Big Bear Lake Fireworks Show for the Safety of Sister Eaglets (Gizmo and Sunny) – United States · Change.orgDownload

There is other good news. A reader from the NW United States wrote to me. They have found an osprey nest and have been monitoring the progress of the couple, the eggs, and now the osplets. ‘PS’ is delighted to share the images with all of you. There are plenty of fish, and the nest is doing tremendously well. Have a look. You can see the timeline and follow the progress on PS’s Flickr account!

This should brighten your spirits. There is no commercial fishing in the area, which impacts the wildlife.

 https://www.flickr.com/gp/193514804@N08/x125M54o11

Rutland Manton Bay: The four youngsters have new bling on those legs! At least one is hovering!

Birds of Poole Harbour: Chicks to be ringed shortly – maybe before publishing time.

What a startling contrast. Rutland’s Manton Bay and the Birds of Poole Harbour easily (well, the parents worked hard) raised four osplets. Something truly needs to change in the United States regarding the overall affection and care for wildlife, our planet, and all living things. What the politicians are allowing to be done to the water and the fish that provide life for so many other species is beyond unthinkable.

A beautiful website with everything you wanted to know about the Llyn Brenig Ospreys and a link to their camera:

Llyn Brenig Ospreys – Llyn-BrenigDownload

Kielder Forest: Sad news. The only chick at nest 5A has died.

Double bad news _ Kielder OspreysDownload

The Dyfi Osprey Project Family Tree with this year’s chicks! You will see that the ringers believe that the first chick is a female with two little brothers.

The latest news from the Usk Valley. The only osprey chick to hatch in this area of Wales for 250 years is now three weeks old. Brilliant.

Family Life at 3 Weeks — Usk Valley OspreysDownload

Hen Harriers continue to be killed near the estates that practice grouse hunting.

New report highlights the ongoing criminal persecution of Hen Harriers on UK driven grouse moors – RDownload

Red Kites being poisoned – come on people.

Police launch investigation after Red Kite killed in poisoning hotspot – Raptor Persecution UKDownload

Sending a big thanks to Geemeff for all her daily summaries for Loch Arkaig.

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 26th June 2025
Today started out very wet and improved as the day wore on, allowing the chicks and Dorcha to dry out. The fish likewise improved, starting out with a couple of tiddlers which were devoured very quickly but ending with a sixth fish that was a very good size. Louis’ tally now stands at two hundred and thirty two, while over on Nest One, Aurora 536 waited in vain – Garry wasn’t seen today so his tally remains at one hundred and two. Back with Nest Two, there were several intruder alerts causing the adults to alarm-call while the chicks pancaked, but no intruder was seen on camera. In fact, the only hint of a threat came when a disgruntled chick nipped Dorcha but the brief display of aggro didn’t last long. Tonight’s forecast is for light rain and light winds with a low of 12

°C, getting wetter tomorrow with heavy rain and gentle breezes with a high of 18°C.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.01.50 (03.13.11); Nest Two 23.27.44 (03.52.07)
Today’s videos https://youtu.be/UgED2vaVnqM N2 Tiny tiddler fish one disappears in 2 mins 44 secs! 06.01.22

https://youtu.be/T3wcvWqr90s N2 Fish number two is another tiddler trout, finished in 4 mins 18 secs  06.34.17

https://youtu.be/orl47PFpCZw N2 Alarm calls don’t put the chicks off fish three, C2 downs the tail 12.10.29

https://youtu.be/94_-OBRKhMg N2 The weather’s improved by the time Louis brings fish number four 14.31.44

https://youtu.be/_Tccc54DSoc N2 Dorcha seems distracted and doesn’t immediately start sharing out fish five 16.01.41

https://youtu.be/2c04CmwTpIw N2 Dorcha moves to shelter a chick and gets nipped! 20.24.31

https://youtu.be/Op1paAvV5o4 N2 Fish number six is greeted with enthusiasm by the family 22.43.48

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

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

Blast from the past, this day in previous years: 

https://youtu.be/7yjPCfe3BBM  N1 Aila is alarmed and departs leaving her chick home alone (2017) 

https://youtu.be/weTByvoNmU0  N1 Little bird lands on the nest unseen by the chicks (2019, slo-mo) 

https://youtu.be/FePBgx3QZcM N1 The nest’s getting pretty crowded so Aila perches for the night 2020 

https://youtu.be/Vbhk_9zm_cg  N1 The chicks start getting ready for lift-off (2020) 

https://youtu.be/xfmi6cOZFm8  N2 Louis brings leftovers for breakfast (2022)

https://youtu.be/UolftDEfSiE  N2 Chick left alone with dad watches his every move 2023 

https://youtu.be/tAe5tiIbdh4  N1 Dramatic 15 mins with all three players in the love triangle 2023 

https://youtu.be/staRRldEFb8  N2 Carnival of the sticks: elephant feet on the nest 2023 (Classic Ospreys – Saint-Saëns, quicktime) 

https://youtu.be/Dn2-ZuLvotg N1 Affric finally gets another fish and it’s not from Prince 2023 

https://youtu.be/XYwCiVtw5pE  N2 The family enjoy a quiet cosy time as the day draws to a close 2023

https://youtu.be/AITavG2FXxw N2 Fish number one and only, small trout remnant, Dorcha gets very little 2024

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Wednesday 25th June 2025

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 24th June 2025

Another routine day with plenty of fish, the only disturbance was both Louis and Dorcha being pecked by their chicks, angry at being trampled. However the pair are old hands at the business of raising chicks and don’t retaliate, they merely move away. Louis delivered four fish for the family including his first flatfish this season, and his tally rises to two hundred and twenty three. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 brought two fish for Aurora 536, bringing his tally up to three figures with the second one being his hundredth fish. The weather was more settled than the forecast had suggested, and it’ll be a dry cloudy night tonight with a low of 11°C, staying cloudy with occasional showers tomorrow and a high of 18°C.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.52.42 (03.26.57); Nest Two 23.12.54 (03.52.33)

Today’s videos: 

https://youtu.be/OsAAdFr1wtg N2 First flatfish from Louis this season 07.46.24

https://youtu.be/QbHgqBIf850 N2 Fish number two is a headless big Silver Tourist 10.09.44  

https://youtu.be/hflj4TIC2CU N1 Aurora seizes the fish as soon as Garry lands 10.10.58

https://youtu.be/pHhG2Zgdl1w N2 Fish supper for the chicks – a whole trout 20.49.43

https://youtu.be/uPinOwoSN8k N2 A mystery dark fish four provides a second supper, the chicks queue politely 21.36.59

https://youtu.be/0z96lSwSiq0 N1 Garry brings Aurora a second fish 22.22.31

https://youtu.be/SHVFvR_3BPs N2 Both Louis and Dorcha are pecked by chicks angry at being trampled 18.34.24

Bonus read – Flights, Camera, Action! Postcode Lottery discuss their sponsorship of the nest cam:

https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/postcode-hub/news/flights-camera-action

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/ArAamS1fRzQ  N1 Ouch! Bad-tempered Bob1 pecks Aila in the eye (2019, slo-mo)

https://youtu.be/fT6FvDGs30I  N1 Is that a chick snoring? (2020)

https://youtu.be/Gp2lut-Uwg4  N1 Golden goddess: Aila at sunset (2020)

https://youtu.be/wZd7bvRqhOY  N2 Dorcha drops the fish tail chasing Crows (2022)

https://youtu.be/2cdE4bMAN_M  N2 Dorcha senses the presence of a Hoodie under the nest (2022 zoom)

https://youtu.be/b_KmDWwbjOc N2 Sleepy Dorcha rests her weary head on the chicks (2022)

https://youtu.be/cnrmWr6Mc1M  N1 Fish for Affric from LV0 2023

https://youtu.be/ivJXSVb4nAs  N2 Lovely waggly wing wave 2023

https://youtu.be/_x3tC69zmB4  N1 New pair Affric & Garry looking settled 2023 (quicktime)

https://youtu.be/_8Z0ryX0F5Q N2 Fish supper arrives and the chick has a nibble 2023

https://youtu.be/Alfrd7novqE  N1 Garry LV0 arrives early and does some nest prep 2024

https://youtu.be/iQA9jIPeDsE N2 Fight! Is the nest getting too crowed? Chicks have a pop 2024

https://youtu.be/opTBHM-Q3jk N2 Dorcha brings a stick and hangs it round Chick1’s neck 2024

https://youtu.be/45KVDHPY0x40 N2 Fish number three, headless small trout, soon finished, Dorcha’s still hungry 2024

Geemeff’s     Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Monday 23rd June 2025

Another wet and windy day, dawn broke showing a very soggy nest. But Louis brought an early breakfast, the rain stopped, and the well-fed chicks soon dried out. It did rain again during the day and the wind picked up with gusts strong enough to overturn Dorcha and show off her underfluffies again, but the chicks were safely hunkered down and in no danger. Louis brought a total of four fish, taking his tally to two hundred and nineteen. The third of those fish was the 2000th fish counted and recorded by Steve Q and the fish counting team over the past five years – citizen science in action, well done team! Over on Nest One, Aurora 536 did eventually get a fish from Garry LV0, taking his tally to ninety eight, but first he decided to reaffirm their bond with what looked like a successful mating attempt, purely to strengthen their pairbond as it’s not possible to raise chicks now, however this behaviour bodes well for next year. Tonight’s overnight forecast is light rain and light winds with a low of 12°C, continuing through tomorrow with a high of 15°C.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.01.11 (03.19.14); Nest Two 23.08.33 (03.46.25)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/5SQEpQsyBQk N2 After a wet night the family is glad to see Louis with breakfast 06.59.13

https://youtu.be/nhAAPpCkdAE N1 Aurora wants fish but Garry prefers to reaffirm their bond 11.35.37

https://youtu.be/cV1jsH31ook N2 The chicks wait politely while Dorcha shares out the second fish 15.11.20

https://youtu.be/nQTfYzY5tVY N1 Aurora demolishes her fish in 15 minutes, returns demanding more 15.20.21

https://youtu.be/ltX67OdWZmU N2 Oops! Dorcha gets blown over, underfluffies on display again! 15.36.44 

https://youtu.be/bWyjtRWbBcw N2 Louis brings a third fish and stays to do some nest tidying 16.44.45

https://youtu.be/PbLaUGIVZs4 N2 Fish supper arrives when Louis brings fish number four 21.45.27

Bonus opportunity to make a difference – jobs and volunteer positions available at Woodland Trust:

https://jobs.woodlandtrust.org.uk/   and    https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act/volunteer-with-us/

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/Oay1Lrgh3O0  N1 Another Osprey intrusion, the chicks pancake 2019 (Slo-mo)

https://youtu.be/obBc6-JVTgU  N1 The family ignore fish three and track an intruder 2020

https://youtu.be/5CFk79DzWVg  N2 A large unwieldy twiggy stick arrives and departs 2020

https://youtu.be/Zl0Mf-1ZbRs N2 Dinner en famille! Dad feeds C1 from F3 while mum feeds C2 from F2 2022

https://youtu.be/ElJNzd8XcRA  N2 Sunlight sonata: a slice of family life 2022 (Classic Ospreys – Beethoven)

https://youtu.be/04jToc-igIg  N2 Prince intrudes at Nest Two 2023 (slo-mo, zoom)

https://youtu.be/cQ1zI4L_ng4  N2 Bombs away! Thankfully chick misses the nest cam! 2023

https://youtu.be/ovW-q9Dcbkc N1 Is Affric becoming more accepting of LV0? 2023

https://youtu.be/FaLhOxt1U50  N2 Mumbrella Dorcha does her best to shelter the chick 2023

https://youtu.be/e1DJpaL8Dlo N2 Dorcha causes chaos with a stick, tbut it soon goes overboard 2024

https://youtu.be/e3oZRUuHIzs  N1 Garry LV0 visits for just seven seconds 2024 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/35Zn71fWiCg N2 Fish number five breaks all-time latest delivery record! 2024You’re invited to join the lively community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s 

friendly, free and everyone’s welcome: 

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

Thank goodness for Suzanne Arnold Horning, who has a Miss Marple nose for tracking down Big Red, Arthur, and their fledglings. Otherwise, we would know nothing except for Ferris Akel and others who visit and post images. Thanks, Suzanne! If you want to see all the images, please join the Cornell Haw Cam Chatters FB group.

A recent video of the activity at Big Red’s nest in Ithaca, New York: https://youtu.be/LqRMYGHBwzA?

Norwegian Osplets at the Frau Rauer nest are doing fantastically. A video of a Gar fish delivery on the 21st and some images from today. Look at that beautiful plumage coming in. Gorgeous amber eyes, paired with a bold black band, will help them avoid glare when catching their fish. https://youtu.be/8JYzeY3e2gg?

News from Loch of the Lowes:

San Jose City Hall. SK Hideaways caught Monty and Hartley having some bonding time now that their four fledglings have flown the scrape! https://youtu.be/ZxdGDgrU7kE?

Charlo Montana: Mum and her three chicks! So far, Charlie is keeping the fish coming for his family. Cheer them on.

We were not sure that the female at the Trempeauleau Bald Eagle nest in Wisconsin could provide for her eaglet to fledge. Well, she did it! T3 is gorgeous! https://youtu.be/YjTK95bVETc?

Boulder County: Family portrait.

Saaksilvie #4: Three chicks are doing well.

Eschenbach, Germany Osprey Platform: Joan Castnyer reports: “This morning, early in the morning (07:23), the two young birds of this year were ringed in the Eschenbach nest. The operation was perfect and quick. Tomorrow (if the wind permits) the only chick from Goitzsche Wildnis is scheduled to be ringed. For reasons of protecting my own image, I have not published the specific moment, but when the ringer leaves and only the helmet is visible. I hope you understand.”

Golden Eagle Nest of Spilvie and Grislis, Latvia: Looks like our eaglet is fully feathered or nearly.

White Storks, Mlade Buky, Czechoslovakia: Bety and the two lovely storklets on the nest waiting for Bukacek to come with food.

Smile. Alukin’s new video of the white storks in Poland, which a generous and caring human helped. https://youtu.be/murd58vSLsU?

Marcin Kus films more help at another nest for little storklets in Poland! https://youtu.be/QJAD98Jp81o?

I would like to see this kind of caring – and courage – in parts of the US. Just feed them! With all that is going on – seriously? Wildlife is suffering.

I was shocked to receive a note from ‘B’ in California appraising me of the removal of Peregrine Falcon eggs to be hatched away from their natural nest. ‘B’ writes: “Hi Mary Ann,

I wondered if you had seen this, that three Peregrine chicks have hatched at Ojai Raptor Center (ORC)?  US Fish and Wildlife evidently reported that the adult Peregrines had established their nest in the middle of a nesting area for endangered and threatened species (California Least Terns and Western Snowy Plovers, respectively) and were preying on those species.  USF&W removed eggs from the Peregrine nest and took them to ORC, where they have now hatched.

Gosh, it is hard to know what to think.  It is sad that the Peregrine nest was removed, and I do worry for the outcome of these eyases, who will need to learn to hunt and live for themselves (apparently without the benefit of foster parents?) if they are to thrive.  But one also needs to weigh the fate of the endangered and threatened species. In the discussion on the ORC facegook page (https://www.facebook.com/theojairaptorcenter/), ORC says USF&W planned to capture and relocate the parents, but that sounds difficult to accomplish.

I don’t know what the plan is for the coming months.  Perhaps a falconer could help with the final steps of the pre-release process, as was done for Nox, one of Annie’s last chicks in Berkeley, after he was rescued injured from SF Bay.  (Recall that Nox did pass away not long after release.  I am not sure if I heard the cause.)

From what I read, it sounds like ORC was not involved in discussions and decisions that led up to them getting the eggs, so I do not want to criticize them for a difficult task they have inherited.  I certainly wish them — and especially the eyases! — well in what sounds like a challenging process.”

‘A’ brings us her report for Australia. Can you believe that we are now anticipating an egg for the White-bellied Sea Eagles? Where did the time go?!!!!!!

“June 24: Lady stayed in the same place all night. Dad turned up at the nest around 7am – he must have been somewhere close last night. There were early duets and mating by the nest, off for a while, then another duet and mating. A windy morning, with more bonding heard. Rain started around 10am. Later the wind was really strong. Both eagles came to the nest – but no action. Dad returned alone around 2:30pm, off again then back with leaves. Lady must have been close, as there was a duet when he left. Then both returned with leaves – then away, with another duet close – and again. They have been very vocal today. Dad brought leaves at 4:20pm, followed by Lady with more. Then again a duet, leading to mating at the end of the day. They both went to the nest – is this it? Then to the branch again. Again lots of bonding behaviour today, with duets and mating. They settled for the night nearby – but we are still watching and waiting for her first egg.

Sea-Eagle Cam: Lady and Dad worked on their nest at the Sydney Olympic Forest.

In New Zealand, our princess continues to grow rapidly, preparing for her great adventure. Mum GLG came in yesterday to feed her baby, and happened to time it perfectly such that the wee one was weighed before and after the feeding. She gained 1.6kg!!! That’s a helluva lot of squid for one feeding. Good work, mum. The day approaches. Still a few weeks to go. September I think is usual. She really is exquisite. 

At Orange, Diamond is sleeping on the Cilla Stones. She and Xavier are bonding, eating and waiting for eggs. It’s very windy there tonight, as it is in Olympic Forest. And wet. Diamond has a huge crop (courtesy of a large dinner presumably) as she always seems to do when I check in on her. Xavier is a very devoted mate (although Madame would prefer duckling to starling). 

Finally, in South Australia, the ospreys are both asleep on the nest, tucked and puffed up against the cold wind. Earlier in the evening, dad was actually snuggled up against mum, sheltering her with his body and wing. Too sweet. She seems happy to have him there. Both appear to have full crops (although they are also puffed up against the weather). 

As for the Collins Street falcons, you know the situation there. I will begin checking the site but the cameras won’t be switched on until there are eggs (they usually wait for two to be laid before they deign to let us in on the situation but we’ll see what they do this year. I do wish they would allow us to see the pair bonding and give us a chance to get to know the pair and establish whether it’s the same two as previously or a new pair or some combination of the two. It’s usually pretty hard to be sure at Collins Street so the more time we are given with them, the more chance we have of being sure of their identities, this year and subsequently.”

Thanks so much ‘A’.

We are also getting excited about the beginning of the Kakapo breeding season in New Zealand. Read all about it in the DOC’s Conservation Blog!’

Kākāpō breeding season 2026 | Conservation blogDownload

Sad news coming in. You might recall that Keo and Keke were forced to make their nest on a light stand when the goose family took over the osprey platform. Now, tragedy has struck as a result of this. ‘PB’ writes: “Sandpoint Keo and Keke 3 babies fell from their nest. A stick was brought, and that side collapsed, and three babies didn’t make it.” This is the first time that Keke has had three babies. They were healthy and will be buried under the nest today, according to Robin on the chat.

Thank you so very much for being with us today. We hope to have you with us again on Monday! Take care.

Thank you to those amazing people who help me by sending raptor news – special thanks today to: ‘A’, ‘B’, Geemeff, Heidi, ‘PB’, and ‘PS’, to the owners of the streaming cams or photographers mentioned in today’s blog and whose names I hope to have highlighted in bold. To all of the writers of the articles, chat moderators, and blogs that are included today – I am grateful for your hard work! Thank you.

Monday in Bird World

23 June 2025

Hello Everyone,

It has been extremely hot with heat warnings, and the haze from the wildfires continues to make it difficult for some to breathe or talk. You could easily smell the smoke in the garden despite the clear blue skies. We are scheduled to have thunderstorms and rain, which will be welcome.

We left Toby at home because of the heat and went to the Farmer’s Market at Pineridge Hollow. Near the Hollow is Oak Knoll Farm, a farm dedicated to free-range chickens, organic growing, and more, offering good, healthy food. We stopped and picked up some eggs from chickens that do get to run around outside, along with some very fresh mixed salad greens. Saturday night’s offering for dinner was an omelette with those eggs along with dill, cilantro, tiny little tomatoes (cut), sautéed red peppers, and cheese alongside a big salad. Oh, it was so delicious. We ate outside with Toby while the birds in the garden provided the music! Brock came after for some food – it was so nice to see him. He has not been around for a few days, and I worried that something had happened. We now have a group of us on a Facebook Messenger system, so I can check on him. Someone had seen him yesterday, so I knew he was alright.

The original plan had been to go to the Scottish Highland Games – think Outlander. Maybe tomorrow!

O1 fledged on Friday and it wasn’t long until 02 followed. One of Big Red and Arthur’s chicks has returned to the nest to have some dinner. I hope that both remain safe this year and we get to enjoy their antics through the dedicaton of individuals like Ferris Akel who check on them frequently.

Some of the videos of the Os after fledge by Cornell Bird Lab: https://youtu.be/2UhqSUunJ80?

My report begins with a tragedy – an extinction – that is unfolding right before our eyes, and not one Virginia politician will raise a finger to help. Indeed, it has sent my spirit into a spiral, leaving me to try and find a way to deal with what is happening to the Osprey in the Northeast US.

“Hi Mary Ann, thanks for reaching out. My email is ben.wurst@conservewildlifenj.org and my cell is 609-713-4464. I’ll be sharing more news soon but it is not good and this may end up being the worst year for ospreys in NJ in the history of their 50 year recovery project. I have heard from multiple volunteers of mine who survey parts of the state to say that nests are empty. Adult menhaden here are no where to be found. This was reported by commercial fisherman and reaffirmed by whale watch charter captains from Cape May. I’ll be talking with NJDEP Fish & Wildlife and Bureau of Marine Fisheries to give them an early season update. -Ben”

We know from our monitor friend Viki that all of the osprey platforms have failed on St George’s Island, Maryland. The adults laid their eggs and abandoned them within two weeks. The last surviving chick in The Wetlands died on Saturday, the 21st. Every osprey along the coast of Virginia has died or never hatched.

I have contacted Rachel Carson’s Foundation along with Conservation without Borders in the hope that some international organization will realise how serious this situation is and step up and help spred the word as they did with the DDT crisis.

Moving on to some nest checks:

The Falcons:

San Jose City Hall: Emma and Chico. https://youtu.be/T8FxaN9jVEo?

The Ospreys:

The Dyfi Osprey Project has published a lovely little video of the ringing of Idris and Telyn’s three chicks: https://youtu.be/1YBQ-OMf_JE?

Birds of Poole Harbour: CJ7 spends all her time feeding the four osplets who are growing like crazy and filling up that nest!

Snow at Fortis Exshaw, Alberta (near Canmore). Harvie brought in a nice fish but it was cold and wet and the snow was coming down. Mum chose to keep those babies warm.

No snow at Oosoyoos, BC. Two eggs for Olsen and Soo.

Pitkin County, Colorado: Two osplets are looking good.

Charlo, Montana: The three appear to be doing well. And it is here that I will predict that the osprey nests away from areas of industrial fishing will do very well this year, despite the competition from eagles and predation by other raptors.

I want to check on some nests in Washington and South Idaho, in a moment. Here is an article based on an extensive study of migration patterns that may be of interest to this group.

Migration of Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington OspreysDownload

Clark PUD: Soaking wet osplets, but they have their thermal down, thank goodness.

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: Beautiful Mum and her four osplets anticipating the final fish delivery of the day.

Big healthy osplets at the nest of Fru and Herr Rauer in Norway! Ospreys do very well where there are plenty of resources for their survival.

An extremely interesting conversation with Sacha Dench about Fru Rauer. Her life, her partners, where she lives on a military base, her migration through windmills, and so on. She is a very intriguing osprey. Please take a moment to listen and learn: https://youtu.be/eed75LvN87k?

Close-up images on a video of Richmond’s broken talon: https://youtu.be/vA4A4YFQlqw?

Heidi’s Osprey Report:

“The next few days are expected to be very hot in the Northeast US.  A couple of the osprey nests I am most worried about are Great Bay and Cape Henlopen.  

Little3 at Great Bay is hanging in there.  At 17 days of age, he is so much smaller than his older  siblings, but he has a strong will to survive. I hope Dad will be able to keep up with fish deliveries through the upcoming heat wave to give Little3 a chance.

I’ll give Miles and Hennie at the Cape Henlopen osprey nest an  ‘A’ for their efforts as first-time parents.  They are really giving it their all, and Miles has been a good provider.  Their little 9-day-old babies looked stressed out in the heat today, and it is forecast to get even hotter.  Good luck with your fishing, Miles… we’re all pulling for you.”

Foulshaw Moss/Cumbria Wildlife Trust:

Dunrovin Ranch, Colorado: Four to feed. More fish please – all day long.

Charlo Montana/Owl Resource Project: Raining. Waiting for a delivery for the trio.

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 22nd June 2025
The weather was as wet and windy as forecasted, and not only did thunderstorms cause power outages to take down the livestreams on a couple of occasions, but Dorcha got blown upside down and showed off her underfluffies. Despite the unsettled weather, Louis delivered three fish to the family, taking his official tally to two hundred and fifteen, although with the power outages, his actual tally might be a little higher. Dorcha garnered a lot of attention today, first dealing with a persistent intruder Osprey and later, after her wind-blown 

exposé, flew off and returned landing a stick on one chick and trampling the other. Fortunately, the chicks are getting used to avoiding parents with hazardous objects, and to give Dorcha her due, she was a fantastic mumbrella protecting the chicks during the torrential rain and thunderstorms. Nest One was very quiet today, Aurora 536 spent a bit of time perched there but there was no sign of Garry LV0, his tally remains at ninety seven. Tonight’s forecast is for light rain showers and light winds with a low of 10°C, continuing tomorrow with moderate breezes and a high of 15°C.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.50.38 (03.05.30); Nest Two 23.15.33 (04.45E)

Today’s videos: 

https://youtu.be/ziGy0dq7h4s N2 On a soggy morning, a welcome breakfish arrives 09.01.23

https://youtu.be/mfM8L84dSb8 N2 Dorcha deals with a persistent Osprey intruder 15.16.51 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/AaIHBsHrc8c N2 Another milestone achieved as chick2 swallows the fish tail 16.07.54https://youtu.be/tQT015x3acU N2 Dorcha shows off her underfluffies then causes havoc with a stick  17.17.21 (slo-mo repeat)https://youtu.be/bTAW58GyD6E N2 Louis’ third fish vanishes in 9 mins 32 seconds 19.59.40
Bonus read – with the ringers due in a couple of weeks, this BTO article answers common questions about ringing birds:

https://www.bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/bird-ringing-scheme/about-ringing/why-ring-birds
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:https://youtu.be/oifxV_nh8zM  N1 Aila has a new technique to keep meal times orderly 2020
https://youtu.be/tQxKMmVammE N1 Aila shows she can multi-task 2020
https://youtu.be/tbu4Qzgy1ww   N1 Chicks squeak with delight to see fish arriving 2020
https://youtu.be/ecj12yxfelc  N2 Chicks stop fighting when fish arrives 2022
https://youtu.be/4haONWz16oE  N2 Louis brings Dorcha a Silver Tourist 2022
https://youtu.be/Q_Dy6uP47I4  N1 LV0 follows Affric, attempts mating, gets rejected 2023
https://youtu.be/fjF9Mv8xJLk  N2 Louis crashes off the nest chasing hoodies 2023https://youtu.be/C9VqBeD-eZY   N2 Fish number three, big whole trout, the chicks form an orderly queue 2024

https://youtu.be/MjzQ3di6UIM  N1 Handsome Garry LV0 returns for a second visit, poses nicely 2024 

https://youtu.be/pMbvgH-OrHA  N2 Louis brings a late night snack – fish six is gone in 5 mins 2024


Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:

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

At some of the other nests:

Gizmo and Sunny continue to delight us with their presence and antics. https://youtu.be/gKIOpfTssuI?

Lesser Spotted Eagles: Madis and Milda in Estonia. Food seems to have been short at this nest for a bit. Milda was absolutely starving today. The second chick, as expected, died from siblicide on Saturday and was eaten. It was a sweet little thing – there with those eyes that look like they have goggles around them. Fly high little one.

Lesser Spotted Eagle, Latvia: Anna and Andris and their eaglet Reinis. Food is also scarce at this nest. Reinis cast a pellet and Anna ate part of it and then shared the remaining bit with Reinis.

A small bird is delivered, and the very hungry Reinis rushes to tug and try to get it. Anna feeds the little eaglet. Voles, a small rodent, follow during the day, along with a mouse.

Latvian Golden Eagle Nest of Spilve and Grislis: The chick is doing well. Prey items can be seen on the nest. Spilve is still feeding the eaglet small pieces of food. Look at the lovely juvenile feathers coming in and the quills where the tail feathers are breaking loose.

White Stork Nest, Mlade Buky, Czechoslovakia: Bety and Bukacek’s two storklets are getting their feathers and flapping their wings.

Black Stork Nest, Estonia: I understand that Urmas Sellis has set up a fish basket for helping feed the storks as he has done for many years now.

Trempeauleau Eagles: T3 is doing quite well, thank you!

Thank you so much for being with us today. Our peonies were beautiful. The wind and the rain would have ruined him so we picked all of you a bouquet! The Girls and Toby wish you a wonderful week of discovery and love.

Thank you to the great folks who send me information: Ben Wurtz, Geemeff, Heidi, PB, all the owners of the streaming cams listed in bold, the video makers at SK Hideaways, and the Cornell Bird Lab, along with the writers of the included articles and the English Forum at Looduskalender. I am deeply grateful for your work and for the opportunity to share it with others.

Wednesday in Bird World

23 April 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday was Earth Day. While we should, each day, try to protect our planet, did you do anything special? In Winnipeg, we will be having the opening of the new Buffalo Crossing at Fort Whyte on Sunday the 27th. It will mark the end of a week of events celebrating Earth Day. https://youtu.be/DQPIdqPi3TI?

Do you know the history of Earth Day? It is always on the 22nd of April.

Here’s are some facts:

  • 1969:John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and peace, later sanctioned by the United Nations. 
  • 1970:Senator Nelson organized the first Earth Day, focusing on the United States. 
  • April 22, 1970:The first Earth Day took place, with an estimated 20 million Americans participating. 
  • Late 1970:The Environmental Protection Agency was created, and other environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were passed. 
  • 1990:Earth Day went global, with over 140 countries participating, significantly expanding its reach and influence. 
  • Present:Earth Day continues to be an international event, advocating for a cleaner, more sustainable world. 

Morning Update: Kielder Forest: At 11.40 today KF13 laid egg 3 in nest 1A.

It is a heavy overcast day on the Canadian prairies. The birds flit in and out of the garden while a gentle rain descends. It doesn’t feel like spring. Much more like the end of autumn, but we need some good rain, so let it pour! That will help everything turn green. Still, the heaviest snows seen all year are falling in parts of northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

There really is not a lot going on with the ospreys right now. Many are incubating while others are fighting off intruders and trying to hold on to their nests. Some have simply not returned.

Tweed Valley Osprey Project: Well, this is marvellous. I hoped we would have a trio – two females and a male. Wouldn’t this be nice for Iris?

It is that age-old question—do we cooperate and thrive or compete and fail? Unfortunately, failure seems to be the order of the day for 2025 breeding osprey nests that have intruders.

Iris, Hellgate Canyon: Some are starting to look at that osprey that delivered the fish as if it could have been Finnegan. There was a more than 90% chance that it was due to the plumage and the fish gift. Thankfully, there continues to be no egg in the nest. The most we can hope for is that Louis gets busy helping with Star and their chicks, that Finnegan returns if Louis disappears to the baseball park, or that Iris does not lay a single egg this year. It is hard on her body, and for what? For Crow food?

Poor Iris was fish calling and calling. When you read that raptors ‘bond’ for life, after this year, I hope you don’t believe it! Male arrives with a stick. It looks like Louis to me. Brings a stick, not a fish and then wants to mate.

Here is the video of the encounter: https://youtu.be/pqB1cowWUO4?

Iris did quiet little cheeps looking over to the owl pole and flew off the nest late Tuesday afternoon.

Rumour has it that a male was sky dancing. I would love it to be Finn or another young one willing to tackle Louis.

Glaslyn: Aran continues to try for his nest, but Teifi is there or about, and, quite honestly, I think this much-loved older male osprey, mate of Mrs G and then Elen, is losing his hold.

Elen in the rain.

Duke Farms: I honestly did not believe all three would survive to fledge, but here they are. Just look at those beautiful juveniles.

Redding Eagles: On Tuesday, Liberty and Guardian were working on their new nest, bringing in soft grasses.

Eagle Country: Blaze and his new mate, Skye, did not have any eaglets this year, but the couple continue to come to the nest with prey items.

Little Miami Conservancy: LM 8 and LM 9 are getting their thick thermal down, and those pin feathers appear. Sadly, there are problems with not having enough food. LM 8 from a small fish, and LM 9 got some scraps.

USS Steel: USS8 has had nothing but big crops. There is something extraordinary about being an only eaglet.

Port Tobacco: Riley and Teo appear to be doing well.

Golden Eagle Cam, Romania: Pip Watch. If you are queasy and the second egg hatches, please be advised that golden eagles practice ‘Cainism’. The older will kill the younger unless there is an extraordinary amount of food, and even then, the life of the second is not guaranteed.

Denton Farms: ‘PB’ writes: “Denton Farms little one is too cute…look at that crop!”

Kielder Forest: Musical Nests!

First 2025 view of a regular intruder _ Kielder OspreysDownload

San Jose City Hall: 4th chick hatches two days after the oldest ones. https://youtu.be/sm1TK10KdyQ?

Raptor Resource Project reports on our single Mum and the only surviving eaglet and ‘PB’ adds: “Trempealeau mom just had her huge fish stolen from Mr T…this mom is trying so hard. Good thing the baby ate well. Now she needs to fish tomorrow before the rain starts.”

‘PB’ reports that Mum was up early for food for the two of them. The little T3 has a nice crop. They also report that huge storms with tornades are moving into the central area of the US. Stay safe everyone.

Fort St Vrain: The two surviving eaglets are getting their thick thermal down. They remain way too curious about the outside world, and those crib rails could use some reinforcement: they appear to be doing well.

Saaksilivie #1, Finland: It is located on the edge of a swamp in Satakunta, in the top of a pine tree about eight meters high. It is the home of Eura and Eve who fledged two chicks in 2024, Lumme and Utu.

Saaksilvie Satakunna, #2, Finland: No information on any occupancy or hatches since 2019. It is currently empty.

Saaksilivie Satakunnan, #3, Finland (Wind and Magic): This is the nest of Tuulos and Taika. They had three eggs in 2024. One did not hatch, one chick died right after hatching, and another was taken by an Eagle Owl.

Information on Nest #3: Nest #3 is located in the Satakunta region in Western Finland. Ospreys have nested there in 1997 and from 2002 to 2009. The man-made nest was rebuilt in 2016 but it wasn’t until 2019 when the current male, Ahti, discovered the nest and was soon joined by a female who was called Helmi. The young pair spent the summer in the vicinity of the nest but Helmi didn’t lay any eggs. The following year the pair returned and in the spring of 2020 Helmi laid 3 eggs. The first successful nesting at the site in 11 years resulted in two fledglings. In the spring of 2021 Ahti returned but Helmi didn’t. By the time Ahti returned the nest had been taken over by a new pair, but Ahti reclaimed his nest site and the female eventually stayed with him. The new female, who was named Nuppu, had a ring on her right leg. She was ringed as a nestling in 2018. In 2022, Tuulos and Tiuku were a new pair. They were there in 2024.

Saaksilivie #4, Finland: This is the nest of Nemo and Nuppu. In 2024, they had three eggs hatch. Chicks were URA, USU, and UPU. Upu was taken from the nest by a White-tail Eagle. Ura escaped from the nest when the White-tail eagle tried to take it. Usu fell from the nest and was rescued. USU was taken to the Pyhtää Bird Sanctuary for care but died later.

Saaksilivie #5 LS nest in Southwest Finland: Home of Sara and Roni who laid two eggs in 2024. Both were taken from the nest by Ravens when the nest was empty. They had two chicks fledge in 2023.

Geemeff sends us the daily summary for all things Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 22nd April 2025
Plenty of excitement today after a quiet day yesterday! Dorcha laid her third and final egg this morning, and a few hours later was seeing off an intruder Osprey who buzzed her on the nest. Unfortunately the intruder didn’t allow us a proper look but s/he was wearing a Blue Darvic ring on the left leg, therefore a Scottish Osprey. Blue 536 and Garry LV0 are candidates, or it might have been an unknown newcomer to the area. It probably wasn’t

 Affric 152, as Chaddie reports the Bunarkaig nest has a sitting Osprey on incubation duty, and we know that is Affric’s nest after LizB confirmed it via her long lens camera last year. Louis brought two fish to the nest, taking his tally to forty five. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 brought Blue 536 an early afternoon fish but she wasn’t around when he brought a second fish at supper time. Perhaps he’s supplying her with fish off-nest, as their relationship seems to be building nicely. His fish tally rises to twelve. After a soggy night, today was dry and will remain so overnight and tomorrow morning, but rain is forecast for the afternoon.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.58.56 (05.03.55); Nest Two 22.17.01 (05.07.23)

Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/VVo-U1M7_To  N2 Another early breakfast for Dorcha 05.55.09

https://youtu.be/F-c8ExCby2Y N2 Egg number three! Congratulations Dorcha! 10.30.10https://youtu.be/zG281Jn64sg N2 Louis gets a good look and takes over egg duty12.28.18https://youtu.be/ikIcnpBI7Kg N2 Intruder Osprey buzzes Dorcha 14:16 05https://youtu.be/2uVh32TZTaE N1 Blue 536 grabs the fish and leaves Garry LV0 to tidy up 14.25.59https://youtu.be/ir0pxb4jEZ8 N2 Louis hands over a second fish and settles down to egg duty 15.09.20https://youtu.be/pdZDKN8z3vU N1 Garry LV0 brings a second fish but no one’s there 20.43.20Bonus words of wisdom from George WTS about how to handle differing reactions around the possible outcomes for the three eggs: 

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=24624233

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/uPIkehlZIXw  N1 Aila gives chase 2020 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/-YjzEre5Ex8  N2 Midnight owl strike 2022 (slo-mo)

https://youtu.be/olQdCvN9Vj4  N2 Another owl strike an hour after the first 2022 (slo-mo)https://youtu.be/odF55TOSvUY N2 Louis chases an intruder osprey off the nest 2022
https://youtu.be/iOH80Okm7ZY N2 Yet another intruder Osprey on the nest 2022
https://youtu.be/uOeWEzk6yos  N2 Cheeky Hoodie intrudes on Louis 2023
https://youtu.be/U17pKvmqkcw N2 Golden Eagle touches down on Nest Two 2023 (slo-mo)https://youtu.be/nQJirIJiue4 N1 Garry stops coy-mantling and unsuccessfully attempts mating with Affric 2024
https://youtu.be/bVMPL7NSoN4  N1 Ill-tempered mating encounter between Affric & Prince 2024 
https://youtu.be/GomhIEZ_2mE N1 Garry brings another fish and leaves with a squirt 2024
https://youtu.be/dXwt2HSZ1fk  N2 A fish supper arrives during a colourful sunset 2024

Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:

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

Farmer Derek’s Owl Cam: Bonnie and Clyde’s Starr is growing and getting those gorgeous GHO feathers. Soon she will be hunting with her parents, practising on the ground. The adults will provide her with lots of food so she can thrive and teaching movements. Her initial hunting will be on the ground – after she fledges.

MN-DNR: Not an eagle! Look carefully and you will see the nesting duck.

Geemeff has found a new nest cam for a Great Gray Owl! “A new nest cam from explore.org: A Great Grey Owl

https://explore.org/livecams/owl-research-institute/great-gray-owl-nest

Geemeff has sent us some good information from Cornell’s Nestwatch about building bird houses and what to provide for birds when they are nesting. Enjoy!

All About Birdhouses – NestWatchDownload

Good night everyone! I moved the smaller light coloured cat tree into the conservatory. Hugo Yugo is the Queen of her castle!

Baby Hope likes the edge of the sofa. She has already created a bit of a dent!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams: ‘Geemeff, PB’, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Project/Cornell Bird Lab, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Duke Farms, FORE, Eagle Country, Little Miami Conservancy, Pix Cams, Port Tobacco, Wild Bucovina Association, Denton Farms, SK Hideaways, Saaksilvie #1, Explore.org, Farmer Derek’s Owl Cam, Cornell Nestwatch, Xcel Energy, Saaksilivie Nesting Information, MN-DNR, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust

Wednesday in Bird World

26 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the first half of the week has treated you well. Thank you so much for your notes and the news that you sent that arrived in my Inbox this morning (Wednesday). I will put those great items in for tomorrow! So appreciated.

I could not believe the number of Blue Jays in the garden Tuesday afternoon. A pest control person would say we have an ‘infestation’ of Blue Jays – there were 16 in the garden at once. No, not some flying in and out and being counted twice, but sixteen! What an amazing feeling to see so many. Ever since I was luring Calico into the house and met people from another street near where I live, I realised that many people were feeding the birds and the feral cats. It has helped to increase the population numbers.

Below are some lousy images taken through the conservatory windows with the iPhone.

Too many choices!

This one loved digging in the plant pot.

This Blue Jay really wanted a peanut, but one of Dyson’s kits was on the table feeder. This one is also moulting but have a look at those beautiful markings especially around the eye. Looks like it has been practising the latest look with the kohl markers.

The markings around the eye are entirely different on this one. Gosh, I love Blue Jays. These images will go in the file form last summer to see if I can identify any of the birds.

Hope is almost ready for her first birthday and she has the most beautiful eyes. She has only to stare at me and I melt – not beautiful Baby Blues but Baby Greens.

Hugo Yugo has the most beautiful tail. It is as big as she is!

While Omega is taking record catches of Menhaden (its quota), the Ospreys in the Bay area are noted to be having difficulty finding food. This is the saddest thing I can think of. The ASMFC makes the quota and every state is represented. IF we want our ospreys to have food and not have their population completely decimated then the people that make quota decisions need to understand that commercial fishing of Menhaden needs to stop and stop now. The list of those decision-makers is below.

I also learned this: “The Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay are two separate ecosystems.Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) uses ocean only survey data from NOAA on Menhaden to set an Ocean and Bay quota. No wonder the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is on the verge of collapse – the 112M lb Bay quota is set by throwing darts.” (Brain Collins, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB).

Commissioners-Atlantic-States-Marine-Fisheries-CommissionDownload

‘EJ’ sent me some great news about the intentional release of balloons. In Florida, it is now against the law. You can still have balloons, you just cannot intentionally let them fly free. But what about those accidents? Now can we get an all out ban on the use of balloons for anything? Just ban them. People who leave them tied to the gate posts on their drive cause as much trouble as those who release them into the air. They still get into the environment. Just take the big step and ban them.

DeSantis-signs-law-banning-intentional-release-of-balloons-Fox-NewsDownload

A Himalyan Vulture has been photographed in Armenia for the first time.

Western-Palearctics-first-Himalayan-Vulture-photographed-in-Armenia-BirdGuidesDownload

England is getting another protected area in Cumbria. It may be baby steps to some but any success is worth the effort!!!!!

Englands-largest-rainforest-becomes-protected-reserve-BirdGuidesDownload

Waiting for hatch at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

All is well with CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour and their four osplets. One is wanting to nibble and get that fish away from Dad!

The two Golden Eaglets at Estonian nest 2 Kaljukotkas are the sweetest things. Yes, you read that right! Prey was brought in and older sibling left some for the younger. Seriously it doesn’t get much better than that!

Aran and Elen’s trio at Glaslyn are marvellous. I can’t wait til they are ringed. What an idyllic spot to hatch! The sound of cows and sheep, the beautiful green of the Welsh countryside. They will be ringed shortly.

The two surviving chicks at Maryland’s Western Shore nest are really wanting to self feed. Mum still likes to control those fish!

They are very loud – oh, that beautiful sound of an osplet fish crying. And they are the size of their parents.

Nox and Annie – you might want to turn down the volume!

‘PB’ reports that in the late afternoon the third hatch at Steelscape finally had a crop! The little one has had trouble getting any food. We are concerned.

The baby had a tough time at Cowlitz PUD today, too, but ‘PB’ counted 50 nice sized bites of fish at the last feeding. That is not good but might be survivable providing more fish comes in early on Wednesday. A confirmed late evening large fish has arrived. The two older chicks ate their fill. Little three had nothing.

Marders Only Bob is doing very well.

I have to remind myself that those tiny third hatches can survive when I look at Blackbush. I am thinking of Tiny Little Blue 464 at Foulshaw Moss, Tiny Little at Achieva in 2021, Little Mini aka Tiny Dancer at Patchogue…but they have to have spunk and a bit of creativity to get to that fish.

Looking at the two osplets at Bridge Golf Course you might not notice that there is concern for the leg of the second hatch.

Geemeff sends us the Loch Arkaig Daily Summary – thank you, Geemeff!

Daily summary Tuesday 25th June 2024

A day with few fish but plenty of good manners, and confirmation of two chicks on the Bunarkaig nest (thanks Chaddie), whose parents may or may not be Prince & Affric 152. Louis only delivered three fish today, none of them especially big, so Dorcha gave the two chicks, who queued up politely and took turns, most of the fish and only took a little for herself. Louis’ tally rises to two hundred and forty nine (249), although judging by his bulging crop, he may well have caught more than three today. Dorcha took out her hunger on some sticks and the chicks paid close attention making sure to keep out of her way. Garry LV0 paid several visits to Nest One, bringing nesting materials and doing housekeeping as well as perching quietly and preening. The weather was settled today, and more of the same tonight with a forecast of light clouds, light winds and a low of 12 °C.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.18.32 (03.29.13); Nest Two (04.08.47)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/K3WvjHDOV-M N2 Fish number one, not much left for Dorcha 09.29.00

https://youtu.be/Z_3zm3AQWgc N1 Garry LV0 brings bedding but only stays a short time 12.04.22

https://youtu.be/Y2Gv_Oh4iNk N1 Garry returns and does some nest prep 14.45.25 

https://youtu.be/dFLYF7Ayh0E  N2 Fish number two, chicks queue politely 16.44.47

https://youtu.be/ySDyxYVtZpw  N2 Personages with long sticks 17.17.01 (Classic Ospreys – Saint-Saëns)

https://youtu.be/4vw_4rNXK2g N2 Fish number three, small headless trout, Dorcha gets hardly any 20.02.23

Bonus shopping – bag a bargain in Woodland Trust’s sale – every purchase made from WT’s shop funds vital work to plant and protect trees and woods across the UK: https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/summer-sale

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

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

Oh, look at my guy. Blue 33! He is delivering fish #10 at 20:18 for Maya to feed their Only Bob. Oh, there are nests that could only dream about this number and size of fish. So what is the difference? Rutland has a stocked pond.

Blue 1H0 has the same ‘snake eyes’ as Daddy Blue 33. Just gorgeous.

Oh, Iris. You are looking tired to me. But you are taking such good care of those babies.

On Tuesday, it appeared that Finn had trouble fishing with only this very early morning fish. Will there be another? What is the problem?

Darling Finn brought in the second fish of the day for Iris and their babies. Thanks, ‘PB’. Was he on security duty all day? or was fishing particularly difficult? That was a huge gap in time.

SF Bay Ospreys are giving us a 26 day report – that is the age of the oldest of the two chicks of Rosie and Richmond. It is now half way to fledge. Gosh, time passes so quickly.

Anna and Andrew’s Beautiful Lesser Spotted Eaglet at Zemgale, Latvia, Ieva. Several voles coming in for food. I wonder how many small mammals are available in the forest for food? Have the population of small mammals changed in the area?

Selgas and Svinga have at least one miracle little osplet in that nest in Latvia. I strained my eyes to try and see if there were two of them on Tuesday.

And yes, it was a second little head. Thanks, ‘J’.

In Newfoundland, the first egg has hatched at the nest of Hope and Beaumont in Snow Lane.

It’s raining and it is unclear to me if the baby has been fed.

‘A’ keeps us up to date on what is happening with Dad and Lady in the Sydney Olympic Forest: “Meanwhile, an egg is surely just around the corner at WBSE: June 25: After some time on the nest, standing and keeping us in suspense, Lady went to her sleeping branch and slept quietly for the rest of the night. Both woke early, with several early morning duets and finally mating at 6:25. Both were away just before 7am. Dad returned with a small bream, head eaten, and left it on the nest at 7:13. Both eagles were seen from the river at 7:50, one at River Roost, the other near Ironbark Roost in the forest. Dad returned and took the fish himself just after 9am. He brought a stick in just before 10am, followed by Lady, and left again after a little work. Both returned just before 11am, Dad with another stick. Both left again, no prey. Dad was back again an hour later, followed by Lady – no prey – and off again. Then he brought a leafy twig, again followed by Lady – then she was off again. Dad returned with a big whiting at 16:19, quickly claimed by Lady and taken off to eat at Ironbark Roost. She returned the last scrap to the nest at 16:48. Later, at last light, both were on the nest, then moved to nearby branches for the evening. Will tonight be the night?

Syracuse University confirms that Oren and Ruth’s two Red-tail Hawklets fledged.

‘H’ sends her great reports!

6/25 Colonial Beach Osprey nest: Yay!  Betty and David now have two lil’ babies.  Their second baby hatched at approximately 17:48.  One more egg to go.

6/25 Fortis Exshaw:  Things are going very well for this family…Harvie brings in so much fish, that there is no feeling of food insecurity by the osplets.  Two years ago, Louise and Jasper fledged three chicks.  Last year, Jasper disappeared early in the season, and Louise had a difficult time fishing for her three young kids, while at the same time dealing with some really mean intruders.  Louise had some assistance for a few weeks by another male, Mr. O.  He brought fish and helped with nest security, but I fear that Mr. O may have also been a victim of the intruders.  Only one osplet of three fledged.  That was Banff.  Fingers crossed for Louise and her new family this year.

6/25 Osoyoos osprey nest:  In my mind, fish size is relative to any given nest.  A ‘whopper’ at Osoyoos would be considered a medium sized fish at many other nests.  Olsen mostly brings tiny, small, and medium sized fish to the nest, and rarely is he able to catch a large fish.  There are variables such as: is the fish headless, is the fish thin or thick (fish mass)?  I like to judge by how long it takes Soo to feed her three kids from any given fish.  From my observations: A feeding from a tiny fish only takes Soo 3-4 minutes to feed, 5-7 minutes for a small fish, 8-10 minutes for a medium sized fish, and 11-15 minutes for a large fish.  This is not a perfect system by any means…a tough fish will take longer to feed, and if Soo becomes distracted for a bit, that will prolong a feeding.  There were ‘only’ five feedings for the osplets today, down from their average of 7-9 meals per day.  No aggression was observed during any of the feedings.  The meals lasted (in minutes of duration): 5, 11, 5, 8, and 15 minutes.   The chicks are growing rapidly, and their appetites are increasing.  Due to the size of the fish, Olsen needs to catch a whole lot of fish for this hungry brood in order to prevent any food insecurity.  Fingers crossed.

6/25 Forsythe osprey nest: The live stream had been down for 2.5 days, and upon return of the stream just before noon today, we saw one of the osplets self-feeding.  And, after a while, the other chick stole the fish and also self-fed.  The self-feeding is a new development.  The 35 and 34-day-old osplets are looking good.

6/25 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest:  Della and Warren are doing a great job, and this family is doing well.  The 29 and 28-day-old osplets are simply gorgeous (this is one of my home nests…so I’m a little biased, lol).

In Oklahoma, excessive heat is killing songbirds. Many Robins found dead. Some people are putting frozen gel packs in their water bowls and bird baths to help keep the water cool. Please put out water for all the feathered friends and critters! Shallow dishes with pebbles help. Food if you can, but water is so important. Thank you and thank you to everyone who sent me a note to say they are doing their part with providing water. You are saving lives. Smile. Every little bit helps.

It is about that time. 1 July in Canada and the 4th in the US. And I am sure there are celebrations elsewhere. I continue to imagine celebrations without things that harm the wildlife – like balloons and fireworks. Just think what the money spent on fireworks could do to help non-humans and humans.

Persuade your community that there are alternatives – that might even include a free picnic for everyone. Anything but fireworks and balloons.

Final note: The little one at Cowlitz had no fish from the first feed at Cowlitz PUD and the same at Steelscape. So sad.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: A, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Brian Collins, ASMFC, FOX News, BirdGuides, Trent University, BoPH, Eagle Club of Estonia, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, SK Hideaways, Steelscape Osprey Cam, Cowlitz PUD, Marders, Blackbush, Bridge Golf, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, LRWT, Montana Osprey Project, SF Bay Ospreys, LDF, Newfoundland Power, Sea Eagle Cam, SU Hawk Nest Cam, Colonial Beach, Fortis-Exshaw, Osoyoos, Mispillion Harbour, Forsythe, and Spay-Neuter Coalition of NM,

Monday in Bird World

24 June 2024

Oh, good morning. We are celebrating today. We have a late hatch baby osplet in Latvia!!!!!!!! Oh, tears and jumping up and down. Oh, please let this little one be safe. It appears the second egg has a hole in it. Just overjoyed. Ospreys are so rare in Latvia. Everyone must be celebrating. Congratulations Selgas and Svinga.

The Estonian Osprey nest of M1 and IIris has sadly failed. The ospreys continue to visit the nest on occasion. M1 has covered the egg on and off. The camera is now offline.

There is sad news coming from the Finnish Osprey nest at Seili. First two eggs did not hatch. The third did hatch and was predated by a Crow.

Look at those two beautiful osplets, fully feathered, in Napiwodzko-Ramucka in Poland.

The two Golden Eaglets in Estonia nest #2 are doing so well. It is late on Sunday and no food has arrived yet. They had good ‘ps’ early in the day.

The name given to the only Golden Eagle on the Estonian nest #1 is Diana.

The two gorgeous Eastern Imperial Eagles in Tatarstan RU are doing so well.

The Lesser Spotted Eaglet, Ieva, in Zemgale, Latvia is so cute. It is beginning to get its feathers. Mum Anna spends much time preening her little one. One thing I have found interesting is when Ieva casts a pellet, Anna will often share that pellet with Ieva as food again. There were lots of frogs on the menu for the 23rd, Sunday. After so many, many frogs, Andris shows up with a vole. I have not seen him on the nest recently so this is fantastic.

The first time the chicks in the Tweed Valley nest of Mrs O have seen the sun in 21 days. It must feel wonderful and it will dry out that nest. So many lost to weather. Glad to see these three nicely feathered and surviving!

The three osplets at the Oxford, MA nest (camera run by Oxfordma.us) look to be almost completely feathered and extremely healthy. A little older than the ones in Tweed Valley.

The four osplets at Field Farm are drying out after heavy rains.

Dad got the fish in and Little Mini is at the beak at Field Farm!

At Bridge Golf, both osplets had a nice fish lunch.

Fish on the nest at Moorings Park and Ruffy watches the water.

At the US Steel Bald Eagle nest of Irvin and Claire, their only eaglet, Lucky, fledged on Sunday! Congratulations everyone.

And now there is concern for Lucky. Send positive wishes.

Three babies at Blackush so far looking good. Weather is off and on miserable.

Last breeding season, the lovely Marders nest failed. All the chicks died for no apparent reason. The owner of the property followed all advice and protocols and had them picked up for a necroscopy. It is possible they were too decomposed. This year, the family has one two week old osplet and two DNH eggs.

Two beautiful fledglings returning to the nest for fish at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science platform.

Mum at Pitkin County working hard to keep her three osplets cool in the rising heat of Colorado.

Rainy, hot, and humid at Great Bay. It finally dries up. Three gorgeous osplets.

‘H’ hasher reports for us!

6/23 The Osoyoos osprey nest continues to do well.  The 13, 15, and 16-day-old chicks are looking good.  There were 8 feedings that I saw.  There was no sign of sibling rivalry or aggression.  Some of the fish were tiny, but some were medium in size.  Little missed out on the first meal that consisted of a small fish, because he was sleepy and waited to approach…”He who hesitates….”  Little only ate two bites of fish at the second meal, because the fish was so tiny.  Later, Little ate his/her share at the other meals, right up at Soo’s beak, side by side with the big kids.

6/23 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  Harvie is an excellent fisher, and he delivered three whoppers and a smaller fish today.  There were 8 meals, some of which consisted of leftovers from the whoppers.  There was no sign of aggression at the meals.  Little is handicapped…well, by being little, lol.  S/he simply cannot reach as far toward Louise’s beak as the bigger kids, but he manages to get fed, especially toward the end of the meals.  Little did not eat at the last meal of the day, simply because the fish was small.  All is good at this nest.

6/23 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Capt Mac’s Fish House):  There were six meals provided for the 8-day-old babe, which was an improvement.  The meals were also a little longer in duration.  Male ospreys usually wisely remove leftover fish from the nest to avoid enticing predators, and Johnny is very diligent about that.  At 1350, it had been 5.5 hours since the last meal, and June fed from a nice sized fish.  This time, June prevented Johnny from taking the leftover piece of fish.  June fed the osplet again in an hour, and the kiddo had a very nice crop!  In fact s/he had a nice crop a couple of times today.  Good.  Now, if Johnny could just deliver more fish…

6/23 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  The 9 and 5-day-old siblings are doing well.  There is never a shortage of fish provided by Skiff.  And, Dory is a great mom, always ensuring that both of her youngsters are fed.

6/23 Captiva Osprey nest:  This family had a very good day.  The new fledgling, Ding, made several flights off the nest, and she made some very nice landings back on the nest, and also onto the perch.  Darling performed her first hover high enough that s/he was out of our view.  And, Darling walked up onto a perch for the first time.  There were five fish delivered to the nest, and Jack brought four of them.  Overnight 6/24, the kids had a 

There has been an accidental fledge at the Avon Lake Bald Eagle nest with three eaglets. More information to follow.

Even rehabbers, especially rehabbers, need to remember. IF you can PICK UP a Peregrine Falcon and hold it and you are not doing that to put on its bands, then THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BIRD. It truly is that simple. You don’t want that raptor rendering your arm useless.

Oh, Monty and Hartley’s chicks are soooooo cute.

Iris and Finnegan have their hands full with these two osplets. You can immediately tell the difference in development just looking at them. But, oh, so cute! Finnegan spent Saturday night on the perch protecting Iris and the babies. Gosh, I love this guy.

‘PB’ reports that some bonking/dominance is taking place between Iris and Finnegan’s chicks. The oldest is in the Reptile Stage. Maybe it is a female. Iris is good, though. She makes sure both of those babies get stuffed to the top!

Bless his heart. Finnegan just keeps bringing in the fish for the family!

Cute little babies at Charlo Montana.

The camera is not great but we can now clearly see three osplets on the Collins Marsh nest on top of a relocated Wild Fire Watch Tower in Wisconsin.

Cowlitz PUD is looking good!

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

Daily summary Sunday 23rd June 2024

Calm was the order of the day, the weather was settled and the two chicks behaved impeccably. Dorcha had a bit of fun with an unwieldy stick which, after causing chaos, was lost overboard. Garry LV0 paid a flying visit to Nest One and a little bird did a quick flit round too. The star of today was Louis, who loomed up out of the darkness at 14 minutes and 23 seconds before midnight with a record-breaking latest delivery fish, to take his total for the day to five fish and his season’s tally to two hundred and forty one. Tonight’s forecast for Inver Mallie which includes the nest area, is partly cloudy and light winds. Perhaps Louis will do a spot more fishing – it will be interesting to see what time he delivers the first fish tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.09.26 (03.09.37); Nest Two 23.30.31 (03.43.42)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Mw1wYciPyBg  N2 Fish number, one live trout, chicks line up politely 06.28.23

https://youtu.be/NiluW_gKrG0  N2 Fish number two, headless trout, chicks still polite 08.26.17

https://youtu.be/e1DJpaL8Dlo N2 Dorcha causes chaos with a stick, tbut it soon goes overboard 11.02.20

https://youtu.be/e3oZRUuHIzs  N1 GarryLV0 visits for just seven seconds 13.31.19 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/gZDgFJrJfMo  N2 Fish number three, smallish headless trout, Dorcha doles out evenly 13.47.14 

https://youtu.be/0yXwS1_ft18 N2 Fish number four, whole flatfish, chicks are not very enthusiastic but queue up anyway  15.48.34

https://youtu.be/kqS35fIdnn8 N1 A little bird makes a brief flit around and underneath 20.38.30

https://youtu.be/35Zn71fWiCg N2 Fish number five, headless trout – breaks all-time latest delivery record! 23.45.37

Bonus watch – Woodland Trust’s video for World Rainforest Day 2024:

Oh, wonderful news coming from ‘AM’ and Port Lincoln: “Ervie arrived at the nest at 11:42 in Port Lincoln! He was kicked out by his mother at 12:17:43!”

I was just able to rewind. Ervie on the nest and then on the perch. There is some suspicions that Ervie is a female because Mum kicked ‘her’ out. Mum did not respond that way to Calypso (2019 hatch) who was believed to be female but turned out to be a male. The pair mated on the nest.

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

Thank you to the following for their posts, notes, comments, pictures, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AM, Geemeff, H, J, PB’. LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Seili Osprey Cam, Pybolowy Online, Tatarstan Eastern Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Oxford MA Ospreys, Field Farm, Bridge Golf, Moorings Park, Deb Stecyk, Blackish, Marders, VIMS, Pitkin County, Great Bay Ospreys, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cam, Charlo Montana, Cowlit PUD, Window to Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos Ospreys, Kent Island, Fenwick Island, Greemeff and The Woodland Trust, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Collins Marsh.

Weather related deaths…Sunday in Bird World

9 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Saturday was a blue sky sunny day (for the most part) on the Canadian Prairies. It was 22 degrees C with a bit of a breeze. A perfect day to be working in the garden. With all the rain and heat the little grass and the few weeds about have caused me to wish I had a goat!

Today, I promised myself that I would never purchase anything that needs to be assembled. All of the new planter boxes are together, but the so-called privacy screens’ that attach to the back are a bloody nightmare. The easiest thing today was picking up the new trees at the Re-Leaf Programme. Hackberry and Pin Cherry were the order of the day. Someone in the future will benefit from the shade of that Hackberry, and I hope the birds in my lifetime will enjoy the berries from both.

The Girls are all back to normal after my mini-break. The lilac bushes are full of leaves, and it is difficult for them to see the birds sometimes – and for me, too! It was late, but Baby Hope was particularly inquisitive about the ivy plant on the island. She is gorgeous. The girls are all back to normal after my mini-break. The lilac bushes are full of leaves, and it is difficult for them to see the birds sometimes – and for me, too! It was late, but Baby Hope was particularly inquisitive about the ivy plant on the island. She is gorgeous.

The Girls are thinking of birthday parties. Baby Hope will be a year old on 2 July, and Missey will be two on the 15th of July. Parties are in the making, complete with sardines, special tin cat food, and, of course, some new toys.

At the Florida-Gainesville Osprey nest, Middle fledged on Saturday and did a beautiful return flight. Mum was on the best waiting. She did a stupendous job this year. We could have lost all the osplets when Talon went missing, but this one survived thanks to Mum overcoming her brooding hormones and going out to fish!

The Lesser Spotted Eaglet that hatched in Zemgale, Latvia, succumbed to obligate siblicide on 8 June 2024. It had hatched the day before.

If you are unfamiliar with Cainism and siblicide, you might like to read the following when you have the time.

1-PDF-On-Cainism-in-the-Lesser-Spotted-Eagle-Aquila-pomarina-and-a-possible-Explanation-for-thDownload

We often wonder why nests do not cooperate and why the adults do not stop siblicide. The following article gives us some insight into this question.

Siblicide-An-Inextricable-Behavior-in-Birds-ExploreDownload

No issues with fish deliveries at Loch Arkaig. Louis is a master!

There is something very special about that third hatch at Loch Arkaig. I love how ‘she’ (seems too aggressive to be a third hatch male) makes herself bigger when the pecking order battles begin. Little is on the left.

Border Ospreys wonders if any eggs of Samson and Ursula might hatch? Well, we were surprised to see three at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum after the first egg had been left unattended for some hours in the rain. We have also watched as Milda the White-tail Eagle had to leave her eggs in quite cold weather to feed when her mate died. The two eggs hatched. Oh, and just this year, we witnessed this same phenomena at the NTCT nest of Bella and Scout. The eggs hatched but the eaglets, very healthy, were sadly killed by Scout.

So maybe Border Ospreys. Just maybe! We will wait and see.

WHAT-IF…-–-Border-OspreysDownload

There are two hatches at Sandpoint Osprey Cam. That second one came along quite quickly!

To the delight of everyone, the Minnesota Landscape Mum is feeding her chicks! This is a difficult nest. Caution advised.

Keeping our eyes on Iris and Finnegan’s nest in Montana. Dr Green’s post:

The Only Bob at Boulder County is turning into a reptile!

‘A’ brings us up to speed on Field Farm. “This is an amazing nest. This afternoon, dad brought in another monster fish, this one whole and very fresh. Mini Bob and Little Bob were at the right place at the right time and made up the front row of the feeding line. Mum fed Mini and Little, with the two older siblings making up the second row, behind their two younger siblings and apparently quite happy to wait their turn. Mini is adorable. Absolutely the cutest little osplet. S/he is just SO much smaller than its siblings, it is sometimes hard to find it on the nest (hint: it likes to stay near or underneath mum if it can). They are all sweet, with their round little bottoms and their bandit stripes, and these parents are working hard to ensure all four get full crops several times a day. 

With the size of the fish being brought onto this nest, I would venture a guess that none of these osplets has experienced that unpleasant sensation known as hunger. And in the absence of that experience, the older osplets are confident they will get plenty to eat even if they are left until last. Perhaps most of these osplets are male (only one of them behaves like a female and even then, it’s pretty rare and not prolonged). Whatever the reason, it is at this point a very peaceful nest and an absolute joy to watch. 

We are all too aware that these nests can literally turn on a dime, with a prolonged spell of bad weather impacting fishing or intruders causing distractions that limit fishing time or even end in the loss of a parent. So it is unwise to speak too soon or to assume that things will continue to run as smoothly as they have done so far. Talons crossed for this little band though. They are just lovely and I couldn’t help but mention the afternoon feeding.”

Turn on a dime it might. Little Mini got itself upside down with its head stuck under an older sibling and is fiercely trying to right itself. Sadly it will die if it can’t.

What a glorious relief. After what seemed an incredibly long time, Little Mini is upright! (No timestamp, very frustrating).

‘A’ observes, “Mini Bob at Field Farm IS OKAY. It finally managed to get back onto its front, although it was hindered by a sibling that would not get off it and was holding down its head, as well as by a long thin stick that was laid right across the chick, over its neck and literally holding it down, no matter how hard it struggled. Eventually, the arrival of a second parent caused a general milling about, which both got the sibling off Mini Bob and also moved the stick pinning him down. And he finally struggled over and onto his feet. He is okay. There is a feeding now occurring (about six hours ago) and Mini is at the back of the feeding line by the time he has righted himself and got to the table, but there is a big fish, I think, and it is not shy about finding a way to mum’s beak. Its little tummy was very full when it was stuck on its back (I think it was so fat, it was actually hindering its efforts to right itself), so I’m not concerned about that. It will be fed. 

It has a survivor’s temperament and there is not much bonking on this nest, for some reason. I still think the spreading around of the aggression rather than its being c oncentrated on a single (third) hatch may make the four-chick nests a better siurvival chance for the younger hatch/es than a three-chick nest. I am interested in that theory, as you have probably gathered by now. “

‘A’ also brings in another one of our four clutch nests, Poole Harbour! “Just a quick update on Poole Harbour. There is a feeding underway right now at Poole Harbour (7 June, 12:39). Mini is front and centre of the feeding line and Blue CJ7 is feeding the little one along with two of its siblings, one on either side. Little Bob, on Mini’s left, is also doing very well at this feeding. The oldest is still lying down behind the other three, not bothering to participate in the feeding until about 12:42, by which time it is standing behind Mini Bob, leaning over him a little but not being at all aggressive or even stealing bites. All four are waiting their turns. There is no bonking as yet at this feed, although the older siblings are in the reptilian phase. Mini Bob is a confident little osplet and seems to have no fear of its siblings. Mum is feeding it some bites that are way too big for it, but it is struggling valiantly to swallow what it can, and is doing well and getting some good pieces. This is an impressive nest indeed to have a fourth hatch looking as good as this wee osplet is. 

As the feeding continues and all four osplets have joined in, CJ7 doles out the food relatively evenly, though Mini is too small to compete for bites with its much taller siblings so relies on CJ7 specifically leaning down to offer it bites, which she does, periodically giving the wee one two or three bites in a row. They are all waiting their turn, politely holding their positions and allowing their siblings to eat without intimidation or interference. This is a truly lovely thing to watch. It is a huge fish, so the only thing that will leave anyone with room for more will be mum getting tired of feeding the osplets. Four little open beaks are hard work! Mum is not neglecting her own needs, though, tucking in to some very very large chunks of fish herself in between feeding bites to her chicks. She really does seem to make a huge effort to share the food around to all of them and to ensure that each is being fed. She really does take extra care. Mini Bob, being so much smaller than its siblings, finds it very hard to reach mum’s beak in any competition. But mum leans right down to Mini Bob’s beak, turning her head to ensure he can take the food easily. Sometimes the piece is too large and she feeds part of it to a sibling, then turns back and gives the remainder to Mini Bob. 

I would hazard a guess that this is a mainly male nest – if this lot were females, there would be a lot more aggression than what we are seeing (none at all). The youngest is very confident indeed and has no fear of its siblings whatsoever. If this continues, and there is no intruder problem or fish shortage, this nest is almost certainly going to fledge four osplets if Blue CJ7 has anything to do with it. It is just lovely to watch, and how often do you say that about a four-osplet clutch?”

Hats off to CJ7 and Blue 022. This is one of the finest four chick nests I have ever observed! Little Mini gets to eat with the group or is fed separately at every feeding on Saturday. Gold medal nest.

‘H’ reports on some of the nests she is monitoring:

“8, Forsythe NJ osprey nest:  The chicks are 18, 17, 16, and 14 days old.  It is uncanny how much the dynamics of this nest remind me of last year.  It feels as though I have been transported back in time to June of 2023.  The reptilian phase of osprey growth has hit this previously tranquil nest with potentially dire results (I pray not).  Chicks number 1 and 2 are generally very mellow (just like chicks 1 and 2 last season).  Little Mini4 is mellow.  And, chick 3 has become very aggressive (just like chick 3 of last season).  Chick 3 has found out that the easiest target for her to take out her aggression is Mini4.  So, chick 3 has been severely beaking poor lil’ Mini4 many times during meals, and sometimes outside of meals.  On occasion, chick 1 takes it upon himself to beak chick 3 after chick 3 beaks Mini4…just like chick 1 would do last year!  Oscar delivered 5 fish to the nest, and most were on the small-ish side.  There was one large fish, from which Mini4 was fed 17 bites of fish.  Mini4 had fewer than 90 bites of fish in five meals on 6/8.  I am very worried about Mini4.  I’m sure Oscar is doing his best to provide his family with fish.  The nest platform is in a very expansive marsh, and is located at least 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.  There are a couple of shallow-water bays nearby.”

“
6/8, Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  Dad delivered five fish to the nest for his family.  The first fish of the day was of medium size, and of course everyone was hungry.  Little could not get to the feeding line, and was shut out of that meal.  At meal two, Little only managed three scraps of fish off the nest fed to him by Mom at the end of the meal.  Hang in there Little, things usually improve for you later in the day!  Well now…Dad delivered a huge live fish at noon.  At 1220 Little was fed his first bite of fish.  Little had a mostly private feeding for the next 34 minutes, and ate approximately 246 bites of fish!  At 1500 Dad brought a large headless fish.  Little ate a few bites at 1505, but was beaked by Big.  Little soon resumed eating on the other side of Mom from Big, and ate an additional 46 bites of fish, before Middle returned to the table and pushed Little aside. Little was able to grab a bite intermittently, and by the end of the meal had eaten 61 bites of fish.  The last fish of the day was a partial fish at 2040.  Little made no attempt to eat…he was still stuffed from his earlier meals!”

There are three osplets at the Crooked Lake osprey platform (Timothy Dygert Live Stream). They are 9, 8, and 6 days old today.

Ruffie and Tuffy on the Moorings Park Osprey Platform in Florida. Each hoping to win that prize fish dinner.

The trio at Goitzsche-Wildnis are great!

At the Golden Eagle nest, chick 1 had a huge crop. Chick 2 waited, very intimidated, and was fed! I want to be hopeful.

The oldest sibling is starting aggressive attacks on the younger. Golden Eagles – like the Lesser Spotted Eagles – practice obligate siblicide. It is, however, late for this to be happening. The only way now might be to push the younger sibling off the nest which appears to be what is being attempted in the image below.

The older didn’t manage and I find this very interesting. Both fed – oldest first and then second.

One of the reasons that I have such huge respect for the communities, groups, individuals that maintain the Osprey nests in the UK is that they do not have this:

The weather in the UK has been really bad in the region of the Kielder Forest in the north. Many healthy chicks and some struggling third hatches have died due to the horrific wind, hail, and rain. Condolences go out to everyone at Kielder. I will slowly be adding these to the Memorial Page along with Little Bob from the Seaside nest who died in a severe storm on June 2.

On 8 June around 1300, Smallie, the youngest of the Peregrine Falcons at Our Lady Tower in Amersfoort Netherlands fell off the scrape. The youngster was rescue and we await news to see if he will be returned to the scrape. Thanks, ‘PB’ for alerting me to this event. We all care so much for this little guy. Smallie has been returned to an area near the scrape. Meanwhile the big sibs have food fights on the scrape!

Lots of visitors to The Campanile on Saturday! These are seriously beautiful fledglings.

Remember: The juveniles have vertical banding on their chests while Annie has horizontal as an adult. Those kids sure have nice crops. Annie and Archie are incredibly protective parents. What an amazing year it was.

Fledge watch on for the Red-tail Hawks of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus is approaching.

It is heating up in Orange as Diamond and Xavier are bonding in the scrape! Seriously is it really time for the Australian nests?? Unbelievable.

The streaming cam at Colonial Beach is back on line.

I am still seeing two babies at the Imperial Eagle nest of Alton and Nova in RU.

Nesting Bird Life and More captured a feeding at the nest with both of the Golden Eaglets.

Osplets that hatched on 21 and 22 of May in the Ramuka Forest in Poland are doing well.

Three osplets at Finlands #4 nest.

There are two osplets in the Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails in Colorado.

News of the San Jose Falcons!

‘PB’ reports that Smallie has been heard. We cannot see if it gets food but I plan to assume that since Mum came into the scrape to feed Smallie that she will try and make certain he has food outside. Fingers crossed.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Tomorrow I hope to cover some of the nests not touched upon today. There are so many events – hatches, fledges and, sadly, deaths, that is especially hard to keep up sometimes. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, observations, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J, MP, PB’, University of Florida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, LDF, ResearchGate, ExploreBlog, Geemeff, The Woodland Trust, Border Ospreys Blog, Sandpoint Osprey Cam, MN Landscape Arboretum Osprey Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Boulder County, Field Farm, BoPH, Time Dygert Live Stream, Moorings Park Ospreys, Fischadlerwebcam, Eagle Club of Estonia, Lake Murray Osprey, Forsythe Osprey Cam, Patuxent River Park, Amersfoort Falcon Cam, Cal Falcons, Cornell RTH Cam, Cilla Kinross, Colonial Beach Osprey Cam, Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Nesting Bird Life and More, Ramuka Forest Osprey Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SK Hideaways, and Pitkin County.

Late Monday in Bird World

3 June 2024

Hello Everyone,

There is a gorgeous blue sky day over the Canadian Prairies on Monday. The torrential rains last evening have made everything grow and grow. The Crows and the Starlings seem to have called a truce this morning. The Crows are eating peanuts while the Starlings are into the dish of Turkey Meatballs. Little Woodpecker was on the nut suet cylinder and everyone else was busy with the Black-oil Seed. Many are finding food elsewhere – thank goodness there are a few places along the river that have lots of vegetation and insects.

Today, I am preparing for a short holiday. It will be nice to be ‘taken care of’ for a few days! With the four girls and the outside garden critters and the garden, it takes a long time to get everything ready to leave. Hugo Yugo will suffer the most. She has to be around people. Hopefully, Missey will take good care of her while I am away.

I will collect stories, which I will publish on Friday. Feel free to send me news from Bird World. I will include it in an overview of the week. Until then please take care, walk outside, breathe in all the beauty that nature has to offer us. I am sending this out late Monday as I will be gone early Tuesday!

I missed it for early Monday’s news but Koa at the West End has fledged! Willynilly caught it on video. Koa flew to the original nest!

At Cal Falcons, fledgling Eclipse has returned to the balcony. What a super flier!

‘PB’ reports on Smallie: “Smallie is hungry and taking his chances outside now with big sisters. He is near the entrance and can see his white fluff.” I am very concerned for this little one now that the bigger ones are blocking food arrivals.

Smallie watched and waited and got a piece of prey and took it into the scrape and was self feeding. Way to go Smallie!

*Distressing image* Sadly, we have lost the fourth osplet Little Mini at Field Farm from siblicide starvation. Please send good wishes to Little Bob who could also be in peril at this nest.

Pecking order at Loch Arkaig! Little one is not intimidated, but knows when to let the big sibs have their way.

The two surviving osplets at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home are doing well.

Middle at Lake Murray is growing and growing. I wonder what the weight limit is for a GHO? The lifting capacity is between 4-5 lbs or 1.81 – 2.2 kg. A large female osplet could roughly weigh 4.4 lbs or 2000 grams.

The turned upside down nest at Patchogue held and the two osplets are doing fantastic. They are so camouflaged.

Only Bob at Clark PUD doing well.

Mum keeping trio cool at Radford University.

If Mum could only quit stepping on them! Fort Calhoun has two chicks and one non-viable egg. Thanks, ‘PB’.

Bety and Bukacek’s only stork is so gorgeous and healthy. Congratulations Mlade Buky. So many have suffered and died this year.

Still two sweet babies at the Imperial Eagle nest in RU.

Both of the Golden Eaglets have eaten well at the Kaljukotkas nest 2 in Estonia. Whether this will hold is unknown.

Three eggs still being incubated in nest 1 in Finland.

Three at Finland #4.

Mini Little at Poole Harbour is so tiny compared to the other siblings that it is hard to see him most of the time. Blue 022 has given this little mite a couple of private feedings. Let’s hope he makes it. There is lots of fish!

Thank you for being me with me. Take care all. Send good wishes to our nests, especially those that could be struggling. See you on Friday!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘B, Geemeff, H, J, MM, PB’, SK Hideaways, Amersfoort Falcon Cam, Field Farm, Geemeff, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home, Lake Murray Ospreys, PSEG, Clark PUD, Radford University, Pam Breci, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, Imperial Eagle Nest RU, Eagle Club of Estonia, Finnish Osprey Foundation and BofPH.

More Osprey eggs…Sunday in Bird World

28 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

When I set off to check on the Stellar’s Sea Eagle at our local zoo, it was windy, and the temperature in Winnipeg was 5 degrees C. The clouds parted, and the dreary day hinted at in the early hours soon gave way to bright blue skies and sun. It was glorious. I am so grateful to be able to get out and about exploring. It is never taken for granted. Each day is a unique treasure filled with discoveries.

At the far end of the zoo in the Asian area is one very handsome Stellar’s Sea Eagle. I love standing and watching him. Today they were cleaning out a part of his huge enclosure and he was just perched paying no mind. I wonder how long this beautiful creature has lived in a cage?

You might recall that a Stellar’s Sea Eagle landed on the eastern coast of Canada in November 2021. The huge eagle eventually travelled to Maine before returning to Canada. How it got from its regular home in Russia is unknown.

Birders-scramble-for-rare-sighting-of-Stellers-sea-eagle-in-small-N.S.-community-CBC-NewsDownload

Red-tail Hawk

The male Reeve’s Pheasant has the longest feather of any bird globally at 2.4 metres. The layers and layers of curved feathers are quite amazing. I was mesmerised by the limited colour pattern and how using only black, white, and a golden orange-yellow nature created such spectacular plumage to attract a female!

A lone Grey Wolf captured a lot of attention.

I spotted a pair of Eastern Phoebes in the trees. They are classified as ‘flycatchers’ and are one of the first birds to arrive in Manitoba in the spring, normally in March. They depart in September after making their mud nests and raising their young. They incubate four to eight pure white eggs for 16 days. They normally have two broods every breeding season. They are gorgeous little birds with a grey-green-slightly brown head (like a light olive khaki colour) and back with creamy white underparts tinged with a slight yellow-green-grey. Their bill is black and distinctive.

Hugo Yugo is having a bit of a rest before getting into more mischief. She loves to carry objects in her mouth, including the tub stopper, any earrings that get left out, keys, bags of cookies, necklaces, pens and pencils, cables for computers and cameras, and earbuds. Nothing appears to be safe these days. She also likes to hide them.

Gosh, I adore this little ginger. She is such a character – there is never a dull moment and I cannot imagine, for a single second, my life without her.

You will remember agonising over whether Tuffy at Moorings Park would live or die. Today, almost fully feathered (if not completely), Tuffy is a prime example of why you never give up hope for these little ones. I think that it is also a good example of why you do not turn away. We will never appreciate the struggles that the raptors have if we do not hang in there with them through the good, the bad, and the sheer ugly.

Look at Tuffy’s eyes light up when he sees a fish dinner. What a darling.

‘H’ captured that feeding on video for us. Please have a look. You can watch this on YouTube by clicking the YT link at the bottom left.

Many do not make it. In 2023, out of 339 eggs ‘H’ and I monitored, fourteen died from siblicide. In comparison, eighteen starved to death due to circumstances not related to siblicide and 36 did not hatch.

Asha and Brodie have their third egg at Loch Garten. Proud Mum shows off those eggs!

Aran and Elen have their third egg at 0807 on the 28th – this morning – at Glaslyn. Aran was on the perch giving support.

Mrs O at Tweed Valley laid her third egg on the 27th.

Johnny and June have their second egg at Fenwick Island in Delaware at 0810 on the 28th.

The Ravens took the eggs of Milda and Hugo ending another sad year for this gorgeous Latvian female White-tail eagle. She is now free to find food and not sit incubating and starving – and allowing her health to deteriorate.

There is an egg in the nest of the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Anna and Andres. I have included the link Sassa Bird provided.

This is one of the most interesting articles about the Lesser Spotted Eagle and should alert any potential viewers to the fact that under normal conditions, if there is a second hatch, it is killed by the first even if there is plenty of food present. (I have posted it previously). It is the definition difference between siblicide – the killing of siblings when there is only food for perhaps one – and enough food but the first hatch, the dominant bird, kills the second for no apparent reason.

1-PDF-On-Cainism-in-the-Lesser-Spotted-Eagle-Aquila-pomarina-and-a-possible-Explanation-for-thDownload

E23 is still home and still learning about those annoying small birds.

Edie feeding the two osplets at Captiva. It will be easier when they are not bobbling!

The male brought in a fresh fish at the Frenchman’s Creek osprey platform. He called the female several times while one of the osplets played tug-o-war with the fish. When the female did not come, he began to feed the chick/s. This is good news! These chicks will, despite everything, probably fledge. Thank goodness.

There are three eggs at the Radford University osprey nest in Bradford, Virginia. Thanks, ‘PB’ for mentioning this nest!

This is the link to their streaming cam:

Still snowing at some of the osprey nests in Finland.

Lots of shift changes at the nest of Big Red and Arthur – with two wiggling chicks underneath!

Meal before bedtime. Arthur has the pantry nicely stocked.

There is quite a wiggly nest full at Cal Falcons and everyone is hungry!

Gosh, we have fallen in love with Archie.

‘A’ writes, “

dinner at Cal Falcons was a lengthy affair, beginning at around 17:58 and still continuing more than 25 minutes later, with mum e-chupping to encourage the chicks to open their beaks just one more time. The two youngest chicks were at the front of the pack for this feeding, and were fed first, which was great, as the youngest is often stuck at the back and can miss out altogether at some feedings. Annie is very diligent about feeding all four, though, most of the time. At this feeding, she brought in a very large piece of prepared prey (she was gone about five minutes, unusually, and of course Archie came in to keep an eye on the eyases while she was gone – he is ADORABLE). 

By 18:23, the younger ones at the front appear to have got a second wind and are again accepting bites of food. Annie is amazing. She has been feeding for 25 minutes, and remember this lot is under a week old. I cannot imagine how much work poor mum is going to be doing feeding these four over the next four weeks or so, until they begin to learn to self-feed. And so far, dad has been fantastic in terms of ensuring a pantry full of delicious well-prepared meat for the family. But of course that load is going to increase dramatically week by week, as these four grow rapidly. So both parents are really going to have their work cut out for them. I do wish them both well in this huge endeavour. Annie is not used to raising four, and we have no idea of Archie’s parental experience, if any. It will be a big task for them both. Annie is still feeding at 18:25. By 18:27, there are finally no more takers and Annie eats a bit herself before taking the carcass (not much edible remains) back to the pantry. We can hearing Archie vocalising in the background – he sounds displeased though I have no idea why (and whether that vocal is indeed one of displeasure, but it is certainly very much like the one Annie uses when she is ‘warning’ that she is not happy with or about something or someone). But surely, after that thorough a feeding, all four eyases will sleep with happy tummies tonight. “

Two little hungry osplets at Captiva.

Nesting material is finally coming in to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. It even looked like Dad was telling Mum to incubate the egg that she kept wanting to cover up – it was the egg left out in the rain and uncovered on Friday.

‘AE’ shares news of Monty and Hartley. “From 6:05pm last night and until 6:38am today Monty was the one doing the overnight incubation duty. Hartley had visited the nest ledge. Monty never got up from the eggs so Hartley took herself over to the sunshade where she spent the entire night!”

Betsy and Frederick have three eggs. There was a wee break in the incubation to fix up some rails. Good idea!

Screen captures of Iris and Louis from Saturday. There was concern over an injury to Louis’s chest. You can see what could b e the injury on the chest close to the left wing. I realise that everyone in the world would like Iris to have a dedicated mate, but I don’t want Louis to be injured and possibly die due to an infection if that is a deep gouge with a piece of wood in it as some believe. Starr is at the baseball park, and if she doesn’t have eggs, she will soon. We know what will happen if Iris lays eggs, and that is fine – she will be free from the duties of raising chicks, which I clearly believe has lengthened her life. She eats well and cares for herself year-round. Most research indicates that female raptors lose at least 30% of their body weight, raising babies.

Swoop and the new female at Dunrovin are working on the nest. Look at that long strip of nesting material! An intruder was about and Swoop was in the nest quickly in protective mode.

There is some concern over the GH owlet at Wolf Bay. It has been slightly lethargic most of the day.

‘AE’ got a great screen capture of JBS20’s feet! She said, “Gotta love those feet! I never appreciated orange bird feet so much until I started watching bird cams. He’s waiting for breakfast to be delivered.”

Prey delivered, JBS20 eventually arrives to eat leftovers.

Swampy appears to be doing just fine since he fell from the nest to the branch and fledged and returned. Everyone keep sending him good wishes.

Have you been watching the FOLFAN eagles? Here is the latest.

All three eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy are doing fantastic. Look at the nice crop on the third hatch.

The two eaglets at the ND-LEEF nest both went to bed with full crops. I did not notice any aggression at the last feeding of the day. They both look like they are doing well.

I have written ‘R’ who is observing the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest of Talon and Stella. It looked to me that the two osplets had only one feeding on Saturday and that it was hot. Mum shaded them, but was on and off the nest. Is the Dad missing? One osplet, the third hatch, has already died of siblicide. At one time, Talon was bringing in plenty of fish. Something is amiss. Will another so-let’s life be in jeopardy? or both?

Bradley still loves eating his Puffer Fish on the natal nest!

The thawing of the permafrost is going to have a significant impact on birds and their migration. Many that travel to the UK for the winter from Scandinavia, Greenland, and Siberia, may stop migrating. What else is happening with the permafrost thaw?

Climate-change-is-impacting-bird-migration-patterns.-Heres-what-we-know-CBC-NewsDownload
The-Changing-Tundra-and-What-It-Means-for-Birds-American-Bird-ConservancyDownload
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Another deliberate killing of a raptor – this time a Red Kite.

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Incubation continues at Great Bay Ospreys.

Your smile for the day comes from the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey platform where the nest is full. Aren’t those three gorgeous in their juvenile plumage? The oldest is almost as big as the female.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We want you back with us soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, videos, articles, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, MP, PB’, CBC News, Moorings Park Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, RSPB Loch Garten, LDF, Sassa Bird, Research Gate (B-U Meyburg), Frenchman’s Creek, Radford University Osprey Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Cornell RTH Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Window to Wildlife, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, OBX Osprey Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Wolf Bay, JB Sands Wetlands, Eagle Country, American Eagle Foundation, Little Miami Conservancy, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville, Port Lincoln Ospreys, American Bird Conservancy, BirdGuides, Raptor Persecution UK, and VGCCO.

Osoyoos under evacuation alert, Dorsett and Huey fly..Sunday in Bird World

30 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I have a huge tip for you today if you feed birds in your garden. The weather could not have been more grand. It was a good day to work in the garden. The humidity had dissipated, there was no hot sun, the wasps were visiting somewhere else and life felt good. I did not stare at the computer screen worrying. We have some troubling nests and must wait and see how things unfold.

M’ asked me about the window dots/the pink squares that I use for to prevent bird collisions. They are a brand called Feather Friendly, and a single roll does about 100 sq ft and costs about $25 at my nature centre. you can purchase them online at many places, but the key is the name Feather Friendly. Clean the windows and let them dry. Apply lots of pressure on the strips outside the windows, then pull the supporting strip off easily. They work, and I have tried everything. The single decals must be placed outside – anything to prevent bird strike -must be on the exterior.

Today I am experimenting with birdseed. It is expensive as you know. Someone told me to go to the feed and seed store. I wish I could remember who that was and thank them. So today I mixed up 1/3 chicken scratch with 1/3 birdseed and 1/3 black oil seed. It is undoubtedly Dyson approved. She scooped it up with her paws for several minutes. It thwarted Little Red, who only wanted peanuts! LOL.

The seed mixture is a winner! I pushed the chicken scratch even further at the late top up. It appears that I can do 50% chicken scratch, 25% black oil seed, and 25% birdseed and everyone continues to approve. There were 8 Blue Jays at one time vying for space on the square feeder. Some stayed on the telephone wires and others were on the ground. Wow.

‘The baby with the tail’ – the little one that is slightly more round is changing every day. It still loves to be in the bird bath splashing about and it also loved the new seed mixture. I cannot put out peanuts for them because Little Red and Little Red2 take them all. They are so fast!

The little one that lost its tail is flitting around everywhere with the bigger ones and seems to be so agile. I am so surprised. It has adapted, like all birds seem to do, to the challenges that are thrown at them.

Little Red yesterday quickly removing about 35 peanuts from the table one by one. He could win an Olympic medal.

Oh, good news is always so welcome. An 11-year-old Osprey has been saved from netting!

SP sent me a fantastic article about tenacity and commitment. 50 Years of working with Puffins…a jolly good read.

50-Years-of-Project-Puffin-An-Oral-History-of-An-Audacious-Idea-AudubonDownload

Twirling around the nests:

We will start with ‘H’s reports this morning because two of the nests are under the radar for needing boxes of worry beads – Osoyoos and FortisExshaw, both in Canada.

Barnegat Light: “At 60 days of age, Dorsett opted for an early morning fledge on 7/30, at 06:09:10.  She first flew north, then headed east toward the ocean, hung a right at the Atlantic, then flew south, made a right turn at 24th street, and made a perfect landing back onto the perch at her nest.  Dorsett has since taken a couple of additional flights.  Congratulations to Duke, Daisy, and Dorsett!”

FortisExshaw:

Fortis Exshaw: “It was a good day for Louise and her kids, with only a few indications of minor intruder issues.  Louise brought three fish to the nest.  The first fish at 1104 was so large, it resulted in a prolonged period of feeding that was the equivalent of three meals.  Prior to Louise feeding, she allowed the chicks a chance to practice self-feeding from the headless fish for over an hour.  Chick #1 has learned the advantages of holding the fish down with its talons, and s/he was able to tear small pieces from the fish.  Chick #1 is now grabbing and mantling fish when Louise delivers.  Even though they hatched less than 12 hours apart, chick #1 is more advanced in skills development.  Mr.O was not seen on Saturday.  I hope Mr.O was not injured during the altercation with the intruder on Friday.”

Forsythe – Oscar delivered three fish, and Opal delivered a fish after a few days’ absence.  It was nice to see Opal.  Owen was the recipient of three of the fish, Ollie just one.  As with most nests during the post-fledge period, any given day may seem unfair in that one sibling gets the most fish.  But, it does seem to even out in the long term.  Ollie had eaten the majority of the fish the previous two days.  Starting Sunday there will be a break in the heat wave, with cooler temps the next several days. 

Osoyoos – There were four fish brought to the nest.  Dad ate the first small fish at 1041.  I’m sure he was very hungry, but perhaps he should have eaten it off the nest.  Just the fish being brought to the nest caused #1 to attack #2.  The fish at 1131 was very small, and chick #1 was fed a small meal.  At 1237 Mom brought a partial fish.  Chick #2 was beaked and bit by #1, and had no chance to eat.  At 1531 a larger partial fish was delivered.  Chick #1 wasted a full minute of feeding time attacking #2.  Chick #2 later snuck up on the other side of Mom and grabbed a large piece of fish equivalent to about 6 bites of fish.  It took a while, but #2 managed to swallow that whole piece of fish.  Chick #2 has had 30 bites of fish to eat in the last three days.  Note:  There is a wildfire located SW of Osoyoos, which has been renamed the Eagle Bluff Wildfire (previously called the Lone Pine Creek fire).  Parts of Osoyoos are under an evacuation alert, that currently does not include the area where the nest is located.

[‘H’ has just written that the nest area is, according to AMW not under an evacuation alert. Please send your best energy to Soo and Olsen. Just look at those two beautiful chicks. The camera feed could go down and we might not ever know what happens to these chicks if the fire does rage through. Our thoughts are with everyone…]

Dahlgren – Really big news . . the youngest of the two fledglings went diving! D12 dove from the nest platform four times, and did a little swimming and bathing.  While she did not catch a fish, this was an important milestone.

Severna Park –  Oscar continues to provide fish for his two fledglings at the nest.  It’s always nice to see them.

Patuxent Nest 1 –  The fledglings, Sibling-B and Foster, are frequently seen at the nest. But, it’s a good thing they no longer sleep there, because a Great Blue Heron has decided to make the nest its nighttime roosting spot.  Last night the GBH found a welcome surprise . . a fish had been left on the nest, which he quickly gobbled up.

WDNU Tower, South Bend, Indiana: The only surviving osplet on the WDNU Tower, Baby Huey, endured a horrible storm and then took his first flight on Saturday the 29th. Amazing. Congratulations. It was a tough year on the nest. So pleased for everyone.

Pathogue: Every time I checked Mini had a fish. At least three on Saturday. Dad is obviously feeding the fledglings off the nest as we do not see the older siblings bombarding Mini for that fish like they are doing on some other nests. These parents really know how to keep the climate chill.

Charlo Montana: Those osplets are adorable.

Boulder County: All is good.

Dunrovin: Harriet and the three fledglings pose together.

Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces: Both fledglings continue to return to the nest. Everything is excellent.

SSEN Alyth: When everyone is hungry and scrambling for fish, things happen. Mum came in with a fish at Alyth, it got caught on the talon of one of the chicks and they both went overboard….and the first then went to the third hatch! Some of the nest went down with them.

Well, the good news is that everyone is alright at the nest after this terrible entanglement and high tumble. Thank goodness.

Manton Bay: Blue 33 delivers fish and everyone goes crazy.

It may look rough on the nests but in the real world, the ability to eat is literally ‘life and death’ to our fledglings. They have to learn strategies, be quick – and be ruthless.

Loch of the Lowes:

Cowlitz: It is hot in the Pacific NW and the nests could be suffering. The fledgling at Cowlitz has rested on the nest and has had at least one fish on Saturday.

Sandpoint: At least two fish were delivered Saturday morning. I am not clear about deliveries the rest of the day.

Steelscape: I did not watch the nest closely enough to count deliveries but I do know that the third hatch had some fish on Saturday.

Minnesota Landscape: The weather has cooled down a bit and it makes for much better fishing. This one is doing well.

Maryland Old Town Home: The fledglings continue to come to the nest and like many of the others there is a lot of rivalry over fish deliveries.

Dfyi: All is good. Idris continues to bring in the fish! And Telyn loves to feed her ‘big and more independent every day’ babies.

Glaslyn: Aran is delivering lots of fish and the two fledglings are doing very well indeed.

Loch Arkaig: There were winds beginning to blow and rain starting late on Saturday at Loch Arkaig. Ludo is hoping for fish! Oh, by the way. The Crow that vacuums up the Loch Arkaig nest so well has been named Dyson!

Poole Harbour: It is all good.

Llyn Clywedog: Seren on the perch and beginning to get in form for migration. She will fly and will land on the same tree in the Tanji Reserve that she does every year. Meanwhile, the surviving fledgling of the goshawk attack has been photographed flying all over the area. So all is well.

Sydney Sea Eagles: Cuteness Overload. The pantry is stocked and Lady is joyful. 31 and 32 are delicate little snow people.

My friend ‘A’ lives in Australia and she loves the royal Albatross and most of the Australia nests and is happy to send us reports on recent events at those nests. A says: ” in Sydney, Dad brings in a lovely big fresh fish at 06:51:18. He heads off up the branch off the back porch and shakes himself off. He is still wet from catching that fish. He hasn’t even eaten the head. It’s been left on the nest for Lady and the chicks. He is a good provider. That should keep the family going for the rest of the day. Lady starts working on the head herself, and around 07:01 starts feeding the chicks. SE32 is ready to eat now, and the first bites go to the baby. It does really well, managing four or five consecutive mouthfuls without dropping them and without falling flat on its face. By now SE31 is awake too and ready for some more food. She feeds both chicks plenty of fresh fish, though concentrates on the younger one. These two are doing great.”

Orange Peregrine Falcons: “In Orange, Diamond spent the night perched on the ledge of the nest box, tucked and facing inwards as usual. Xavier arrived for an early morning bonding session at 06:28:24. These two are just beyond adorable. Xavier really is only half Diamond’s size. He is so svelte and handsome. She appears significantly older and lazier than Xavier. She watches the sunrise from her ledge and leaves the box at around 06:51. Both spend a few moments on top of the tower before Xavier heads off to get some breakfast..He arrives back at the box with prepared food at 07:37:05, with Diamond hot on his heels. He hardly has time to e-chup before Diamond has swooped in, grabbed the food and left again within three seconds! Xavier looks a little stunned. He glances down a couple of times at where the food was, as if wondering where it’s gone. Then he cleans a few feathers out of his talons. Oh but he is such a handsome falcon. Tiny but gorgeous.”

Collins Street: “At Collins Street, there was a short falcon visit about 9.30am – the falcon flew off the nest at 09:42. It doesn’t look as though any eggs have been laid but I note that the birds seem to be favouring the same nest box as last season. There has not been any shelter added at that end, which surprises me after what happened last year. (I’m sure you well remember the day mum went for a spa morning and returned to find two chicks in the gutter and two in the nest, all baking in the hot sun and looking as if they might be in serious danger. And mum pulled the smallest chick back into the box by lifting it with her beak! It was a very dramatic day.)”

Reports that a new camera is being installed at Port Lincoln and the stream will be back up sometime on Monday or Tuesday.

At the Royal Cam Albatross colony, ‘A’ notes: “I forgot to mention that on Friday (28 July), all 33 of the albatross chicks at the New Zealand colony received their permanent Darvic bands (no more coloured leg bands). Manaaki’s is black (for male) and his Darvic number is D36. They used Darvic bands last season but for some reason, this season’s are the first that are permanent and will last a lifetime. (And as we know, a lifetime can be 70+ years for an albatross!)”

Thanks, ‘A’! And thanks for giving me the head’s up that Ervie has been out fishing with Dad. Port Lincoln Ospreys posted these images of Ervie, and I knew you would love to see our favourite Eastern Osprey! —- Do you remember when we thought Ervie would eat Puffer Fish all his life? When he lost a talon, and we feared he would starve to death? Well, here we are. Ervie is almost two years old. I have not heard any news about Bazza or Falky, but Ervie, that little third hatch that didn’t take any gruff off Bazza, the first hatch, grew up big and strong and stayed near the natal nest – safe—still fishing with Dad. Do you recall those chin wags that Ervie had with Dad down in the cave? What a season that was! (I still want to forget last year…that was traumatic).

The Lesser Spotted Eaglet in Latvia is nothing short of adorable…and happily a small vole was brought in for food.

I think the eaglet has spotted the camera! Just look. Almost all of the natal down is gone revealing a soft brown plumage with stunning blue eyes.

The fledgling ospreys – three of them – return to the platform for some lovely fish meals at the German Goitzsche Wildness nest.

At the Finnish #1 nest, tummy and Usva took their first flights on 28 July. Only Roihu is left and that could be any moment. Beautiful healthy osplets!

Finnish #4. The two surviving chicks were younger when they were ringed and both are still on the nest. Neither has taken their first flight yet.

Whew…I hope I didn’t make you dizzy with that swing around the nests…in no particular order! Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care everyone. Have a great weekend. See you soon.

Thank you to absolutely everyone for their notes, comments, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, M, SP’, Audubon, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Dahlgren, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Forsythe Ospreys, Stephen Basly and WDNU, PSEG, Charlo Montana, Boulder County, T Barrington and Dunrovin Ranch, Pitkin County Osprey Cam, SSEN Alyth, LRWT, Loch of the Lowes, Cowlitz PUD, Sandpoint, Steelscape, MN Landscape Arboretum, Maryland Old Town Home, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, The Woodland Trust, Poole Harbour, CarnyXWild, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, NZ DOC, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Latvian Fund for Nature, Fischandler Webcam, and the Finnish Osprey Foundation.