Category Archives: Long Island Wildlife

Friday in Bird World

17 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The Girls and I hope that you have had a wonderful week. We are so grateful that you are here with us and for your Leo and care for the wildlife – and all the animals – that grace our lives. Today is a bit of a hodgepodge. I mention Cal Falcons early on and then later bring them in again…my mind was a bit wandering! Most of all I would like to continue to convey my gratitude towards those that care for ospreys on platforms or trees and who are mindful of the dangers to their lives and take preventative action.

We are in the midst of the biggest downpour of the year. The thunder clapping and lighting sent Hugo Yugo running out of the conservatory in sheer fright! That has stopped and she is back with everyone except for Baby Hope who much prefers to nap on my bed during the day. Calico and Missey have called a truce with one on the hassock and the other on the back of the sofa pillows. They seem non-phased by the rain hitting the glass roof.

There was a beautiful rainbow when the sun finally began coming out!

‘H’ and I continue and will continue to monitor Little at Lake Murray, although it breaks my heart to know that predator-fish grids – could have been installed to protect these young from the resident GHO and were not put in place. It is hard cheering a little one on when it gets fed and smiling at its big crop when you know the outcome could be that it will be lunch for an owlet. Cowlitz PUD had great success with their simple placement of fish grates on opposite sides of their osprey platform. They are happy to share that information and everyone that has an osprey nest should install these. It might also work with goshawk predation.

H reports: “Kenny delivered a small whole fish at 1220.  Little had the perfect positioning again… on Lucy’s left side, with the older sibs to Lucy’s right.  Little was fed 20 bites of fish before Lucy moved, and exposed Little, and he was beaked.  It was only an 11 minute feeding.  Little managed to get two more bites of fish, for 22 bites at this meal.”

I note that Little was shut out of the afternoon fish until Kenny came in with a third back-to-back one and Little got in a good position and ate almost all of the fish.

Then great dad Kenny brought in so many fish back to back that Little got the majority of the 17:29 and all of the 1811! Way to go Little. The two big ones did not even bother standing up for the last fish they were so full from the earlier deliveries.

This family is working so hard they really do deserve protection from those owls. I am shattered that this was not done in the offseason. If money was an issue, try a CrowdFunder. The cost of two fish grates and welding could not be that much compared to the price of setting up an osprey platform or to the lives of the birds.

Others are keeping an eye on Lake Murray and I am grateful for MM’s morning observations: “dad brought a small fish in at 5:56 am which mom and number 3 ate most of except for a few bites to number 1. I think #3 got beaked one time other than that it was a quiet breakfast. At 7:46 am dad brought in what appeared to be just the head of a fish. #3 lucked up for the first few minutes and was on the far side of mom out of the eyes of the other two and recieved about 24 bites before mom changed her position and blew 3s cover at which time it was beaked away from the table. Feeding ended pretty soon after since it was only the head. So overall #3 has ate a decent morning as far as food goes.”

And even ‘A’ who doesn’t watch osprey nests has fallen in love with Lake Murray’s Little Bob. She adds, “

I am amazed by the third hatch at Lake Murray. It is simply incredible. Lining up right next to its fearsome siblings, reaching across in front of them to take bites. This is one brave little osplet. I think his older, larger siblings are actually slightly in awe at his daring. Why else do they allow him to get away with it? But the key point is, he is brave. He is prepared to take risks to get fed, and I honestly do believe Lucy has made that choice we often see mums make in these situations. This one has earned the right to a chance, and Lucy is giving him that chance. I could be wrong – I have only been watching the nest closely for three or four days, but that is certainly my impression. 

I must also say that pretty much every time I’ve turned to the stream, the three osplets all have very noticeable crops (including the smallest). I have on several occasions watched the youngest crop drop several times in order to continue eating more and more. He is definitely getting plenty of food! 

Whether or not this nest has turned a corner, it is way too early to say that because the level of aggression is still very scary on occasions. It may be that the two older osplets are now more interested in each other than in their youngest sibling – it certainly seems that way. Yes, they do intimidate the youngest, but as long as he takes the appropriate action and displays suitably respectful behaviours, they seem to be threatening him, looming over him, but then leaving him alone. Watch him feeding around 04:13 yesterday afternoon (16 May). Let’s hope, having put the oily teenage phase behind them, they will now learn to get along nicely, as we have often seen before on osprey nests. Talons crossed.   

I didn’t intend to become involved in an osprey nest, especially one with three osplets and a siblicide threat hanging over it. Unfortunately, due to your blog, I happened to stumble across the live stream and instantly fell in love with Little Bob. He is just so cute and so very brave and clever, I couldn’t help it. You just have to root for the chicks like this one. And like others before him, I think, he is going to learn so much from all this bullying that he will fledge as a smart, resourceful juvenile with a great chance of survival as a wild osprey. “

Dixie fledged on Thursday morning at Superbeaks just like Mason did!

In case you missed it, here are some banding day highlights form Cal Falcons. Two boys and 2 girls and they need names.

Poor Annie gets it right in the face!

I am always touched by the kindness of humans to our wildlife friends that we share our planet. It is so timely that this edition found its way to my inbox. Yesterday I sat and chatted with my allergy doctor (I don’t have allergies but I do have Nonallergic vasomotor rhinitis which causes my sinuses to cause my nose to run like a water hydrant on a hot day in the summer. He lives in the country. People have taken to letting their children use bee bee guns to shoot squirrels. He builds homes for the squirrels! Or to sit on their porch with shot guns looking for a coyote to kill. It made us both sick and I sighed that living in the country was no different than in the middle of a large urban city. Some will care for our wildlife friends and others are so ignorant and cruel – best ignore them and do what we can.

This story of how one family dealt with nests at the doorway will melt your heart. It is from Orion Magazine.

Orion-Magazine-When-Birds-Nest-in-the-Doorway-Go-Out-the-WindowDownload

Tracking data indicates that those amazing Sandhill Cranes that migrate through Nebraska and come up to Canada travel as far as NE Asia in their winter migration!

Tracking-Data-Show-Us-One-of-North-Americas-Most-Epic-Migrations-AudubonDownload

A Tree Pipit visits Dorcha and Louis’s nest at Loch Arkaig. If you don’t know how large ospreys are, this will give you a good idea.

The weather at the PSEG Patchogue nest has been torrential rains. Mum and Dad have been doing heroics to keep the chicks dry and warm. Weather like this is always troubling as the chicks can get ‘colds’ and not thrive. Let’s hope for sunshine and some fish!

I often talk about the lack of siblicide in the Peregrine Falcon and Hawk populations. It does occur. It is extremely rare. Even the smallest hatch normally survives. I did find a short letter with some good information in it on one exception.

p00184-p00184Download

The second egg has been laid at Dunrovin on May 16 in the morning. Congratulations Winnie and Swoop.

Precious baby. Rutland. Grateful for the quick intervention on Wednesday. Rutland Water is to to be praised. This baby tried hard to get out of those cot rails and back to its mother. Blue 33 brings in some really big fish and despite eating their head they are sometimes still alive and flapping. So glad this little one, their only one, survived.

Sometimes people listen when we make loud noises for things that will protect the raptors. Well done!

And Geemeff reminds me that even The Woodland Trust that has a non-intervention policy has placed Pine Marten baffles around the two trees at Loch Arkaig that are occupied by the ospreys. Before it is too late, those osprey nests under threat by predation should have metal grids placed opposite one another, as at Cowlitz PUD Osprey platform, for the bird’s protection.

What has caught the attention of Louis and Dorcha?

There are now two Golden Eaglets in the Bucovina nest in Romania. Without exception, the eldest will kill and eat the second hatchling. Please be advised of this historical practice of this species if you are watching this streaming cam.

The precise term is “mandatory/obligatory cainism”. The oldest has no choice. Looduskalender published one of the most concise definitions: “The killing is done by pushing away from food and / or by direct attacks. Usually the dead body is not eaten, but it is often fed by the parent birds. While with many species of birds the nest killing of siblings during malnutrition is common, the act of killing is independent of the food situation in species with obligatory cainism. Mandatory cainism is similar to the inherent nest clearing behaviour of the Cuckoo and can be also triggered experimentally, for example by presenting a white cloth ball to the young bird. The attacks of the older towards the younger siblings usually begin with the day of hatching of the latter. Most of the younger birds survive only a few days. The parents do not hamper these attacks, it has been repeatedly observed that the older young bird continued his attacks even when a parent bird would feed him. The roles of “Cain” and “Abel” are determined solely by the sequence of hatch, in experimental transposition of “Abel” to a younger sibling, this “Abel” immediately took over the role of “Cain” and attacked the younger nestling. In further experiments on Verreaux’s eagle eagles, the aggressiveness of the siblings lasted at least until the completion of the major plumage growth. The nest of the species with obligatory cainism usually consists of two eggs. That’s why if both eggs hatch, only the older nestling survives.” (June 18, 2013).

The aerial acrobats of the falcons at Cal’s The Campanile are going to continue to get impressive as Archie and Annie demonstrate and then teach the Fab Four how to survive in the wild.

A video encapsulation of the Cal Falcon eyases growth over the past weeks.

The news is worrisome for the fish at Captiva and the warm waters could be the reason that Ospreys have not had chicks late in the season in the Barrier Islands.

‘H’ reports: “It was another slow fishing day for Jack.  The water of the small bay between the islands is warm, and the fish may have gone deeper.

The first feeding was not until 1119, and consisted of a small whole silver perch.  CO7 intimidated CO8.  CO7 ate, and later beaked CO8 at 1125 when s/he attempted to approach.  It was only a 13 minute feeding, and CO8 had nothing to eat.

Meal number two was at 1217, a partial sheepshead.  CO7 was in a position to be fed, and CO8 was intimidated a few times and stayed back.  The feeding was over by1235.  Nothing for CO8.

Jack brought in a whole hardhead catfish at 1549, and the third feeding started around 1551.  With fewer fish, CO7 has been extra aggressive today.  CO7 beaked CO8 on multiple occasions.  At 1610 and 1614 CO7 seemed to be done eating for a while so CO8 made his move toward Edie, but CO7 beaked him and then ate some more each time.  At 1617 CO8 attempted to move even further away from Edie, but was followed by CO7 and beaked.  Finally, at 1620 CO7 moved away from Edie, and allowed CO8 to eat!  CO8 ate for a full 10 minutes, and ate approximately 142 bites of catfish.  At that point CO7 had returned to eat some more, until the fish was about finished.  CO8 then ate at least 6 more bites while Edie was trying to pull some flesh off of a tough piece of skin.  Oh, yes…CO8 had a nice crop!

Feeding four was at 1936.  Edie had brought in a partial catfish at 1935 (strange that Edie did not have a crop).  CO7 would not let CO8 eat.  CO8 snuck one bite.  At 1955 Eddie rushed off to chase Clive (the neighboring eagle), and she returned a few minutes later.  Upon her return, she fed CO8 a few bits of the scraps remaining.  CO8 had a total of 5 or 6 bites of fish.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better fishing day.  It will take a lot of fish to calm CO7 down.”

Ildiko Pork got some good screen shots of Mum and the oldest and only surviving chick of three at the University of Florida-Gainesville osprey platform. It looks like the osplet is healthy and will survive. Stella is doing well providing for it and her after Talon’s disappearance.

Maria Marika reports that the four Bolewice storklets are doing well. Great news.

‘H’ reports that there is a second hatch at Outerbanks. “517, The earliest that I could see the second chick fully out of the shell was at 00:18.”

At the Netherlands Peregrine Falcon nest, watched closely by PB, she reports that the Smallie has gained some feathers and she is really hoping for its survival. With the good rate of success by the falcon nests, we will all be cheering this little one on.

And just look at Monty and Hartley’s four to put a smile on your day!

At the Loch of the Lowes, Blue NCO is getting acquainted with the ‘dark male’ that has appeared on the nest tree for a few days.

Tom and Audrey are not having any luck at Kent Island this year as ‘H’ reports.

Thank you for being with me this morning. Take care everyone. We wish you a ‘Rainbow’ of a day.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, observations, articles, and streaming cams that helped me write my post this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MM, PB’, Lake Murray Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, SK Hideaways, Orion Magazine, Audubon, Geemeff, PSEG, Raptor Research Foundation, LRWT, Bald Eagles 101-Judy’s Post, Looduskalender, Wild Bucovina, Window to Wildlife, Ildiko Pork, Maria Marika, Outbanks 24/7, the Netherlands Falcon scrape, Chesapeake Conservancy, and The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL).

Thursday in Bird World

16 May 2024

Good Morning,

It was miserable today. We have had rain and rain and are almost water-logged. I recall the day I begged for rain, but now we could have a week break! I went for two different short walks. The first was around an area known as the Sturgeon Park Greenway. The first thing that I saw was a group of twenty little goslings! One family was doing gosling day care while the other adults foraged.

There was a lovely little waterfall.

Red-wing Blackbirds were everywhere. I love their song.

I only saw this male Mallard.

I had not been to The Leaf for a few weeks. The Leaf is a huge conservatory at our zoo. It has a tropical area, a Meditteranean area, a special floral area that changes regularly, and a butterfly garden. It was a wonderful day in the Butterfly area! The last time I went, I did not see one butterfly. Today there were so many and they were active.

The only one that I recognised was this Blue Morph.

Oh, and yes, this is the Red Postman. The others I did not know.

My goodness, Bird World happenings just aren’t slowing down. The intervention at Rutland, the banding of the Cal Falcons, and then the banding of the eyases in The Netherlands, a fledge or two…endless delights. Even Little got a nice feed at Lake Murray!

That Bob is a toughie at Rutland. Tossed off the nest, rescued and then smacked with a stick. It is still alive, thank goodness. How would you put that if you were doing their ‘baby’ book?

Here is the banding video if you missed it at Cal Falcons.

If you are interested in Peregrine Falcons – it doesn’t matter what region of the world they are living – the Q & A after the banding is really informative. “A little squirming pillow in your hand, they are super duper soft” (Sean). I really recommend that you grab a cuppa and listen because you will learn so much! Great questions this year like how to peregrine falcons decide on where to have their nest? Do they predate Crows? What do they eat? Why not HPAI vaccination?

Names are now on the Cal Falcons FB, Twitter, etc – think of four names that fit together and have a theme. Heart the ones you like to make a short list!

‘H’ and I have been sounding an alarm over the osprey population decline in the US for the past two years. One of our researchers ‘VV’ is monitoring ten nests from their home in Maryland. Those nests are not on streaming cams, but they give us good insight into the current issues this year. One nest has recently had its eggs stomped by Canada Geese. Other bonded pairs are not bonded but divorcing putting the breeding season at risk. We hope that two of the ten nests will have fledglings.

Michael Academia has been discussing the Menhaden issue. Others have noted it. I want a moratorium on the fishing especially by the big net trawlers. It does not matter if the population appears stable – it isn’t. Few chicks last year and the same possibility this year. This can prove critical in 2-4 years.

Researchers-Sound-the-Alarm-Over-the-Chesapeake-Bays-Ospreys-AudubonDownload

At Kent Island, ‘H’ reports it appears the Tom and Audrey will not have any osplets this year. “Kent Island (Chesapeake) osprey nest of Audrey and Tom:  Things have just been ‘off’ this season for Audrey and Tom.  Audrey was inattentive to her first egg in April and the egg was predated by a crow.  Audrey did not lay a second egg and then she took a hiatus, and was not seen on cam for several days.  Audrey and Tom returned and Audrey laid the first egg of their second clutch on 5/8.  A second egg was laid on 5/11, but immediately broke.  Over the past few days Tom has brought Audrey very few fish.  Audrey finally left the nest in the early evening of 5/15, presumably to fish.  She and Tom were both at the nest a little later. Tom left, and Audrey left the nest again at 19:52.  She did not return to incubate the egg overnight.”

The eggs are hatching at the Montreal Peregrine Falcon scape. The first one has hatched this morning!

While we have strong concerns over the depleting osprey population due to overfishing, loss of habitat, and loss of mates, they are having a bit of a different experience in Finland. this was posted in the chat on the Juurusesi Saaksilvie streaming cam on Wednesday:

“Good news from the other nests in Juurusvesi: all nine are nesting! Two nests in new artificial nests and ONE COMPLETELY NEW!. At all three nests in Karhenvesi, nesting is also fast!”

The feeding of the Outerbanks Chick:

Johnson City eaglet fledges on Wednesday.

Prepping. If you see a raptor lower their head, do a PS, there is a distinct possibility they are going to fly. And this one did! JC23 has not returned to the nest. Send good wishes. JC24 has yet to fledge.

‘H’ kept good track of Lake Murray today:

“At 1424 Kenny delivered a live largemouth bass.  Lucy was distracted, and the feeding did not start until 1428.  The feeding was very slow going for a while as Lucy dealt with the tough fish head.  Little was positioned to Lucy’s left and the older sibs to her right.  This tactic worked amazingly well in Little’s favor, and s/he was able to get many bites of fish.  Usually one of the siblings would nip this arrangement in the bud, and reach behind Lucy and put an end to it, but not this time.  All three were fed in this manner for a long time, but Lucy eventually shifted to her left and Little was displaced, forcing him to reach between Lucy’s legs for bites, and this worked!  Lucy fed Little many bites through her legs. There was some beaking of Little toward the end of the feeding, and Little was placed in ‘time-out’ by Big, but soon Big retired from the feeding, and Little was back, and eating beside Middle.  The feeding lasted until 1514, and Little ate at least 123 bites of fish.”

“At 1619 Kenny brought a headless fish to the nest.  All three osplets still had big crops from the last feeding.  Little ate a couple of bites initially, then was beaked.  The older siblings both beaked Little intermittently, even though Little was not near Lucy.  But, by 1651 they had both dropped out of the feeding and Little ate until 1654.  Little had about 46 bites of fish at this meal.”

Morning report from Lake Murray from ‘H’: “

5/16 – Lake Murray osprey nest – Kenny brought a large headless fish to the nest for breakfast.  Little was intimidated, but managed to grab a couple bites now and then.  When Big dropped out at 0640, Little crept up near Middle, but Middle gave him the ‘stink eye’, like “Don’t even think about it, Kid.”  At 0647 Middle beaked Little, but at 0648 Middle left the table, and Big returned to eat some more.  At 0656 Big was finally sated, moved away, Little had a nice little private feeding for 8 minutes, and had eaten at least 78 bites of fish.

This is not a photogenic nest, especially in the morning, lol.

See the second screenshot of the chat this morning.  There is a tragedy in the making here, I think.  But, I hope I’m wrong.   See the statement:  “All we can do is hope, and pray, and wait.”   You know that was not true… they could have done more in the off-season, as you had recommended.”

As ‘H’ indicates, the owners of the Osprey platform at Lake Murray were made aware, several times, of the fish grids that Cowlitz PUD attached to their platform to prevent predation. It is very sad. The GHOs will sit and wait for their opportunity. Why would they move? They didn’t move at the Pritchett Property but the eagles were able to defend. Ospreys can’t.

‘H’ also reports on the Audubon Boathouse. “5/15 – The Audubon Boathouse osprey nest of Dory and Skiff: Dory laid their third egg at approximately 09:00.”

‘H’ reports on Captiva: “

5/15 Captiva Ospreys:  Fishing was uncharacteristically slow for Jack the first part of the day, but improved later on.  Hence, it wasn’t the best of days for CO8.  CO7 is 22 days, CO8 is 20 days old, and CO7 is still dominant.  At the first meal of the day (0806), a large catfish, CO8 managed to eat intermittently for a total of 17 minutes, despite CO7 preventing him from eating at times.  The second feeding did not take place until more than six hours later, and it was only a small needlefish, so CO8 was not able to eat at that meal.  The third feeding, a snapper at 1518, only lasted for 6 minutes, and CO8 only managed to eat for about one minute at that meal.  Jack delivered another snapper at 1553, and that feeding lasted about 20 minutes.  Being so close to the previous fish delivery, CO8 fared a little better at this feeding, and managed to eat for a total of 8 minutes.  Jack brought a headless catfish for the final feeding of the day at 1926.  CO8 managed two private feedings of 14 minutes and 6 minutes.  CO8 ate fish for a total of roughly 46 minutes today.

So, life is difficult for this youngest nestling, as it often is on osprey nests.  But, the situation is not dire for CO8 (when compared to the situation that Tuffy at Moorings Park faced several weeks ago, or that C3 is now potentially facing at Lake Murray).”

Watching for hatch at Clark PUD.

Tuffy and Ruffie have been getting really good height with all their flapping. Some nice hovers by both. Fledgling is really near. Which one will be first?

Chicks at Patchogue doing well.

The single chick at Carthage was well fed on Wednesday. ‘H’ saw at least six feedings. Fantastic.

Still one hatch at Mlade Buky nest of Bety and Bukacek.

The most beautiful stork landed in Karl II’s nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. The young ones are returning. Might Bonus or Waba make this their nest?

Four beautiful black storklets in Poland at Bolewice.

Still incubating osprey eggs in the Ramuka Forest.

The two White-Tailed eaglets in the Bory Tucholskie Forest in Poland are doing well also. Just look at those crops! I am so pleased that once again there is plentiful food for two babies.

Three beautiful storks in the Lodzi Forest.

Where storklets hatching elsewhere, too, in Poland – these are in Zastawki!

There is serious concern for the Moraine Park Osprey platform which has been continually attacked by a GHO.

It is untrue that Ospreys tolerate humans well. Nests fail. Note the warning from Tweed Valley.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, on line sessions, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, PB, VV’ Geemeff, Cal Falcons. Audubon, UniMFalcons, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Outerbanks, Johnson City-ETSU, Lake Murray Ospreys, Audubon Boathouse, Clark PUD, Moorings Park Ospreys, PSEG, Chesapeake Conservancy, Captiva Osprey New (WoW), Carthage-DTC, Mlade Buky, Eagle Club of Estonia, Black Stork On Line Bolewice, Ospreys on Line Ramucka Forest, White Tale Eagle On line Tucholskie Forest, Lodzi Black Storks On Line, Bocian Zastawki, Moraine State Park Ospreys, and Tweed Valley Osprey Project.

Tuesday in Bird World

14 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The squirrels were busy this morning loading up with nuts. Little Red has made his home in the wood bin and can scurry back and forth very quickly from the feeder to his cache.

There are still a few European Starlings that come for suet or to eat off the seed cylinder but only three or four compared to the original twenty-eight.

If I told you I put on my lightweight winter jacket and toque for my walk on Monday, would you believe me? The temperature dropped! The nice thing was that the ducks and geese were in the water or eating grass instead of trying to stay cool on the little islands in the pond.

It was so nice to see so many wood ducks back at the pond. Many of the females were incubating eggs while the males were out foraging. Someone had brought seed for them, too.

Things are really starting to pick up at the osprey nests. Our heads are going to start spinning like an old LP shortly! I am checking on a few of the nests to see what is happening and how close we are to pip or hatch watch. Today I am just running through some of the nests.

Hellgate Canyon: Dr Greene and his team have a list of four names for Iris’s new mate! Please vote on your favourite.

Vote-To-Name-The-Hellgate-Osprey-Cams-New-MaleDownload

Dunrovin: Swoop and Winnie have their first egg on Monday 13 May at 0654. Swoop was right there giving support to his new mate.

Captiva: The fishing line was removed and they commented that there was a really large hook on the end!

Here is the video WingsofWhimsy made. It is 27 minutes long but you get to see how anxious the adults were for their chicks and what was happening on the nest.

Rutland Manton Bay: Blue 33 and Maya will have one healthy Bob this year. The time has passed for the other remaining egg in the nest to hatch. Some of you will recall that Maya was ill shortly after her return from migration, and many worried we would lose her. I am happy for one healthy chick and one healthy Mum!

Dyfi Osprey Project: Telyn having a nice nap before those eggs hatch and she is a very busy Mum. 12, 15, and 18 of April. Four to five days away from Pip.

Glaslyn: Elen incubating in the rain. Eggs 22, 25, and 28 of April – two weeks away for Aran and Elen.

Loch of the Lowes: The latest news:

Loch Arkaig: Dorcha reminds me so much of Mrs G. Eggs 14, 17, and 20 of April. Six days away til pip watch.

Alyth SS substation: Harry and Flo are doing fantastic. Eggs 15, 18, 21 April. So we are 29 days for the first egg today. Still a week to go.

Poole Harbour: CJ7 and Blue 022. Eggs were 15, 18, 21, and 24 – yes, there are four of them – of April. A week away. You can see we are really going to be busy next week with all these hatches! Really raining here.

There is another very tearful moment when Blue 22 sees his daughter 5H1 land after two years from when she fledged! How amazing and wonderful news for Poole Harbour.

Clark PUD: Eggs were 7, 10, and 13 of April. We are on hatch watch!

Cowlitz PUD: 18, 21, and 24 of April. More than a week to go.

Bundstiftung Goitzsche-Wildnis: Eggs laid on 9, 12, and 15 of April. We are on hatch watch!

Moorings Park: Ruffie and Tuffy are doing fabulous.

Patchogue: MP found some funny moments with these adults and the two new chicks. “08:42AM. The chick wasn’t getting fed so when the other chick turned away and mom was handing the food to them the second chick grabbed hold of the food and mom’s beak and was lifted up into the air. Feisty little one.”

The slope that PSEG created when they tipped that nest upside down is causing difficulties for Mum to stand stable and feed the chicks.

Lake Murray: The third hatch had a crop a couple of times on Monday, but was shut out of some feedings. The two older osplets need more food than the little one, but this little one continues to worry me. I want to be wrong. ‘H’ also reports: “I was only able to watch the last two meals.  12 bites at the 1840 meal, and 0 at the 1916 meal.  What a shame.”

‘H’ reports first thing this morning: “5/14, 0619 Kenny delivered a very small partial fish to the nest for breakfast.  It was only a five minute feeding, and the typically cantankerous older siblings were both in a good mood!  Little ate 24 bites of fish, and there were no attacks on Little.  It seems as though Big and Middle don’t have the energy to be uncooperative first thing in the morning.”

Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home: The trio seem to be doing alright!

Barnegat Light: ‘H’ reports: “It looks like Daisy and Duke at Barnegat Light will not have chicks this year.  Just in the past several days, they are not mating (that we see) or improving the nest.  They mostly hang out on the beach together.”

Jackie and Shadow make me smile.

Fledging is in the offing at Johnson City-ETSU. Sara A caught it on video!

Big Red and Arthur are doing fantastic. I am so glad that with her leg injury there were only two babies this year.

The Cal Falcons continue to provide our daily dose of cute and happiness.

Just look at how fast those San Jose falcons are doing. Monty and Hartley can handle one – or four! Yeah to these second year parents.

Bowling Green has four flacon babies, too.

Jeff Kear posted this wonderful article that goes back to the beginning of the 20th century with the UK Ospreys. Good read regardless of where you live. Where the birds chose to build their nests was quite interesting: “There were nests to be seen placed in every available situation, some on the top of withered maples, some in the thick vines and creepers that clung round their stems, while others (so favourably have the birds been protected) were placed flat upon the ground, more especially on the beach, where the piles of sticks rose, in one instance at least, to some five feet in height. The favourite situation for ground-nests was a narrow strip of beach separated from the rest of the island by a stretch of marsh (vide Fig. 1). Here we counted no less than four nests in half a mile or so. One nest, presumably inhabited the year before, was built upon the top of a shed.”

British-Birds-A-study-of-the-home-life-of-the-Osprey-BirdGuidesDownload

Beautiful storklets to give you a smile.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘AE, A, Geemeff, H, MP’, Dunrovin Ranch, Window to Wildlife, Wings of Whimsey, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), The Woodland Trust, Alyth SS, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Birds of Poole Harbour, Clark PUD, Cowlitz PUD, BUND Goitsche-Wildnis, Moorings Park Ospreys, PSEG, Lake Murray Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home, Wildlife Conservancy of NJ, SK Hideaways, Sara A, Cornell RTH, BirdGuides, and Bocian Czarny Online.

Hatches, eggs, and full crops…Monday in Bird World

13 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Lots of things happening on Sunday. If you missed it – I sure did – Mum and Dad had their first hatch of the season at the PSEG Osprey platform in Patchogue on Long Island early Sunday morning. Thanks, ‘MP’.

Oh, that baby is so tiny!

And now it is Monday morning and we have hatch two at Patchogue – I didn’t miss this one! Dad was right there with a big fish for Mum and both of the babies.

Farther north, Dory and Skiff laid their second egg at the Audubon Boathouse.

Iris laid her third egg (the first one got kicked out of the nest) on Sunday. Iris and New Guy are incubating two eggs now.

Iris is happy. She is getting 2 or 3 nice fish a day! Glad to see this guy is keeping up with his end of the bargain and you-know-who seems to be staying home.

After the loss of Laddie and her eggs, Blue NCO returns to her nest at Loch of the Lowes on Sunday. Geemeff adds, “Approx 18.30 Calls are heard off camera, then NC0 appears. She’s been absent for a few days, staying away more frequently since dear Laddie’s untimely death and the destruction of their eggs by the Pale Male on 7th May. She flies onto the nest and perches, moves onto the nest, calling. Then a male appears, not the Pale Male but the new Dark Male who’s also been hanging around. He doesn’t have any fish so she quickly gets rid of him, and departs herself around 7pm.”

On Sunday, the first fish came early and good thing. It was hot and I have not seen another for a number of hours. ‘H’ and I both watched that 0607 feeding. ‘H’s notes: “I counted bites, but as it turned out, I did not need to.  Little ate first, and one of the older ones joined in several minutes later.  There was no beaking.  The third sibling joined in later, and again no beaking.  Little was sort of crowded out, but not pushed out.  Later, Little pushed his way back to the feeding line and the three osplets ate peacefully side by side.  Unbelievable!  There was still a little bit of fish remaining at 0641, but Lucy had no takers, as everyone was full.  (if you’re counting…Little ate 114 bites of fish).” That is a good start to what looks like a hot, hot Sunday.

I just feel very unsettled about Lake Murray and the third hatch. I want to be proven wrong.

Ah, it is the end of the day at Lake Murray. Kenny brought in a big fish. Just look at three’s crop. A good start to the day, a not so good at all middle, and a good ending for our little one.

‘H’ agrees! “Lake Murray ended on a high note, 183 bites for Little at the last meal.”  And this is her full report for the day: “

5/12 Lake Murray osprey nest:  Little (C3) has a very difficult life.  His/her two older siblings (C1, C2) are so much bigger, stronger, and dominant.  They are 21, 19, and 16 days old on 5/12.  Big and Middle both pick on Little, but I think Big is responsible for most of the attacks on Little. 

The first meal of the day, at 0607, was a complete surprise… in that it was peaceful!  Go figure.  Little ate first and had a long private feeding before the other two sleepyheads even got ‘out of bed’.  After a long while, Big and Middle joined in the feeding and there was harmony!  I was in shock… I couldn’t believe Little’s good fortune.  Thank goodness for small miracles.  Little ate 114 bites of fish at this meal.  After that, the day went downhill quickly for Little.  Kenny would bring 5 more fish to the nest that day.  At the first four of those meals, Big and Middle were merciless… attacking Little multiple times to keep him from eating.  Some of the attacks were quite brutal.  At meals two through five, Little ate 0, 2, 6, and 1 bite of fish.  Then, at 1800, the last fish of the day… Kenny delivered a large whole fish.  I knew that the size of the fish, especially late in the day after Big and Middle had been stuffed all day… would significantly improve Little’s chances for a good meal.  Little did not get to eat right away.  He was beaked and kept from participating in the meal.  At one point both of the larger siblings went after Little simultaneously.  At 1816 Lucy did something very cool… she moved the fish all the way across the nest to where Little was, and Little was fed 14 bites before he was attacked.  It was not until 1832 that Little ate his next bite of fish, in fact he managed to eat 12 more bites before he was savagely attacked by Big.  Slowly but surely, the two older chicks were getting full.  Little would sneak up to Lucy and get a few bites of fish here and there whenever he could.  By 1850 Little was receiving a mostly private feeding.  Lucy was feeding as quickly as she could, and Little was often seen crop-dropping.  Little ate until 1906, and had eaten approximately 183 bites of fish at this meal. 

I really like this ‘kid’.  Little has a determined nature about him, and it seemed that he was always scheming to find a way to get back to Lucy to be fed.  Little reminds me of Tuffy at Moorings Park.  One big difference is, Tuffy only had one older dominant sibling to contend with, while Little has two.”

Sure nice to see that top on Three. Thank goodness for those late day big catches.

I keep saying that Harry and Sally have the most beautiful osplets. It is the richness of those deep espresso-black feathers set against that gorgeous landscape. Tuffy survived Ruffie. Sometimes you have to look several times to tell which one is which now.

‘H’ reports on Captiva: “5/12, Captiva osprey nest: The siblings are 19 and 17 days old on 5/12.  There is no question that CO7 is dominant, and behaves aggressively toward its younger sibling, generally making life quite difficult at times for CO8.  Many times CO7 gets quite a bit more to eat at a meal than CO8.  But, by the end of the day CO8 will usually have his/her crop filled a few times.  CO7 seems to calm down a bit by the afternoon, and that improves CO8’s chances for a good meal.  Yesterday evening however, CO8 took advantage of CO7’s improved demeanor and CO8 started a fight!  Those fights never turn out well for CO8…s/he will learn, lol!

First-time parents, Edie and Jack, have proven to be wonderful parents.  Jack is a good provider, supplying the nest with ample fish.  And, Jack often participates in the feeding of his offspring.  On 5/11 there was a long dual feeding, where Edie fed CO7, and Jack fed CO8.  On 5/12 Jack fed CO8 a long private feeding from 17:03 to 17:21, until CO7 (displaying his Dr. Jekyll persona) sidled-on-up beside CO8, and the two temporary besties ate side by side, fed by Papa Jack.  Both osplets ended up with good crops.

This nest is doing well, although there are times when I’m sure CO8 would beg to differ!”

We now have a full clutch for the Seili Osprey nest in Finland. Way to go Hildur.

There is at least one egg at the Juurusvesi nest also with Ania and Bartek.

The third egg hatched at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home Ospreys on Sunday.

The first hatch happened at the Outerbanks nest some time over night.

Hatch at Carthage!

There is still no sign of a pip in the second egg at Rutland’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya.

Dorcha shows off her gorgeous plumage and wings while she waits for the eggs to hatch at Loch Arkaig.

At Frenchman’s Creek, an adult was on the nest feeding one of the fledglings. Later a fledgling was on the nest alone. It is impossible to know if it is the same fledgling or if both juveniles were at the nest on Sunday.

The Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey cam was offline on Sunday every time I checked. The same was true for the University of Florida-Gainesville Osprey cam. Very disappointing. They got a new camera this year and it is terrible.

Big Red is always a pick of one of my favourite raptor mothers. She is just in her glory when there are chicks in the nest.

The nest of Ruth and Oren looks so tiny to me compared to the sq footage of Big Red’s penthouse. You can see the ‘ear’ of the hawks. Look below the eye in the top image at the little black circle. It will be covered with feathers.

Did you know about this Red-tail Hawk nest at Wake Forest? Look at the different ages of the three in terms of their feather development.

The only word is ‘adorable’.

Oh, goodness. They are self-feeding!

‘A’ loves these little ones: “The 11:31am feeding at Cal Falcons this morning (12 May) was yet another of Annie’s perfectly shared efforts. As always, the chicks got to the table in their own time and order, with the youngest taking a while to wake up (at which point it immediately grabbed centre front position and began eating voraciously, as always) and one of the older chicks didn’t join in until last of the four. But despite this, Annie managed, as always, to share the food with such perfection that the four ended up with crops of almost identical size after the feeding. All were bulging in that rather ugly manner, where there are not enough feathers to cover the large bulge, and Annie’s job was done for another few hours. They are eating less often, as I mentioned, but are polishing off entire birds at a meal now instead of having leftovers. There is rarely anything remaining. This time, though, when the meal ends just before 11:43, there are a couple of bones left on the scrape, a little bit of juicy-looking flesh attached, presumably for the chicks to begin nibbling on themselves. Chick number three has a go, and the youngest, behind it, is fascinated by the sight, peering over to watch closely what its sibling is doing.It’s easy to see who is the smartest eyas in this scrape. (To be honest, it’s been obvious from the beginning – this little one has been a dynamo since day one.)  These four are doing superbly well. They spend most of their day growing with all their might, but they are starting to get more curious about the world beyond the scrape. Those feathers are coming in nicely, and they are starting to stand up and attempt to walk a few steps on their feet before reverting to their tarsi. I just cannot believe they will be banded in only three days.”

Larry’s chicks benefit from Larry having learned how to be a great Mum from Annie.

If you need to understand the words ‘hope’ and ‘resilience’, look no further than Jak and Audacity at the Sauces Canyon Bald Eagle nest.

The adults at Decorah North are showing the eaglets where to go to branch. It will not be long!

Reign and Manini are looking really good at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Cruz.

The baby at Little Miami Conservancy ended the day with a really nice crop.

The trio at the West End nest of Thunder and Akeheta are eating well. Check out this ‘ps’.

I ‘think’ this darling is little Treasure.

Look who is on the JB Sands Wetlands eagle nest on Mother’s Day! So nice to see you JBS20. Aren’t you lucky? Someone brought you lunch!

Precious storklet of Bety and Bukacek.

There are four storklets on the streaming cam at Knepp Farm in the UK. In 2020 the first white storklets from the rewinding programme hatched at Knepp Farm. They were the first wild chicks hatched in Britain in 600 years! The last nesting pair were seen in Edinburgh in 1416. No one knows for certain why they completely disappeared but they were on medieval menus, they were killed for food, and what about their feathers? Maybe egg collectors, too.

The adults, Anna and Bartek, stay in the nest at night together with their storklets.

Things are getting busy at Sydney. ‘A’ reports:

“May 12: The eagles appeared to have been at Goat Island last night, and were heard duetting early, at 7:15am. They were seen leaving at 10:30am and were seen shortly after at Burns Bay and then heard duetting. Mid-afternoon, at 2pm, Dad showed up at the nest, followed shortly after by Lady. They flew off and then returned just after 5pm. Both were then at home for the night.”

Oh, how I do love Swifts.

Birdwatch-the-invincible-swift-effortless-master-of-the-air-Environment-The-GuardianDownload

Last year our hearts broke for Little Mini at Patchogue. She had survived being the tiniest little fourth hatch and then she injured her leg. Many knew the story of Ma Berry and we have seen other raptors that have survived with disabilities. ‘Geemeff’ sent me the following article. We really need to think inclusion not euthanasia. This is the story of a shorebird, a wading bird, with only one leg that is doing just fine, thank you.

Rare-wading-bird-with-one-leg-spotted-at-Northumberland-nature-reserveDownload

Good Night Gabby and Beau wherever you are.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MP’, Birdy Isac NY, Audubon/Explore, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff, Lake Murray Ospreys, Moorings Park Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home Ospreys, LRWT, Frenchman’s Creek, Cornell RTH, Syracuse U-RTH Cam, Amy Bonis, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Parks Conservancy, IWS/Explore, Raptor Research Project/Explore, Little Miami Conservancy, JB Sands Wetlands, The Guardian, Chronicle Live, Knepp Farm, Window to Wildlife, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Outerbanks Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, and NEF-AEF.

*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to thank those who supplied information, images, etc, for my post this morning. If there is an error or omission, please let me know!*

Mother’s Day Hatch at Patchogue

12 May 2024

Oh, it was like the goslings jumping. I was worried about the third chick at Lake Murray and missed the happy occasion at Patchogue. Mum and Dad have their first hatch of the 2024 season at the Long Island nest of our darling Tiny Little Dancer of 2023. Thanks ‘MP’.

Dad was there to check on things and make sure a fish was on the nest. This is an experienced family. They raised four last year to fledge so it is a good nest to watch.

Monday in Bird World

29 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I am finishing this posting late Sunday evening as I must leave the house early Monday morning. So, whatever happens between midnight CDT and Monday morning will be covered on Tuesday. It is also going to be cooler tomorrow. 2 C. We were 24 C last week. I do not know about the birds and animals in the garden, but it has been quite the past few months with the weather fluctuating daily.

Hugo Yugo and Missey want to wish everyone a great start to their week. These two are inseparable, just like Calico and Baby Hope. It is not just Missey that washes Hugo Yugo – that little ginger gives Missey a good going over. It is so precious.

Beautiful chortling from Jackie and Shadow to start your day.

I spent Sunday with my daughter and her three children to celebrate the granddaughter’s birthday. You will recall that this young woman is quite an inspiration to me and others. She has the most empathy and is a social worker helping those who struggle to live independently due to long-term abuse and addiction. She is also Vegan and has been for seven years. Her commitment to the welfare of animals and people warms my heart.

There are some sad and horrifying things happening in Bird World and I would like to dispense with them right away and get on to some of the more positive events that happened in our nests on Sunday.

I have great concerns for the second hatch at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. ‘R’ did a great job monitoring the nest and confirmed my fears. He writes, “At 0647 a fish was brought in.  It looks like Stella as only one Osprey came into the nest. At 1247 Stella again brought in a fish.  She is gone most of the time so I suspect she is doing the fishing. After this feeding both osplets had decent crops. At 1247 Stella fed part of a fish that was laying in the nest (catfish). At 1447 Talon brings in a fish.  This is the only time he is in the nest for 12H.  This is also the last feeding for the 12H period. Stella spends most of her time off the nest and occasionally brings in nesting material.

The birds must be getting very hungry as #1 (my numbering for the biggest and aggressive osplet) occasionally attacks #2 even when there is no feeding going on.  #2 is getting very little food. Very strange and hard to follow with such a poor arrangement of the camera.”

The image below is well after ‘R’s’ reporting. Sibling 1 has been eating all the fish and has a huge crop and is attacking the middle sibling. The third hatch died of a very vicious siblicide.

Tragedy was brewing Sunday afternoon when both Claire and USS7 got caught in fishing line on the US Steel Bald Eagle nest. In an incredible effort, Claire got that line off herself and her chick. She then gathered it up and flew off the nest! Well done – an experienced Mum working to save her little one.

‘H’ reports that the two eggs laid at the Fenwicke Island Osprey nest in Delaware have been eaten by Crows. Both adults were off the nest!

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ospreys are being rained on. The first egg which had been left in the pouring rain is now well hidden under nesting material. The second egg was laid on Sunday and it has been walked on and rained on…It could well be a blessing if it does not hatch.

Good news coming from Decorah North. NC18 no longer has fishing line hanging from its beak. It appears it has been cleared as per Raptor Resource Project.

‘B’ writes: “I couldn’t believe it!  Archie snuck in there at 8:38:45 while Annie was away and began feeding the chicks.  He must have had that TINY bit of prey stashed somewhere, just waiting for his opportunity.  It only lasted a minute, because Annie returned at 8:39:45 and snatched it from him, also having a couple of words with him. Way to go, Archie!”

Cal Falcons caught this magical moment.

Sometimes it is hard to tell how much fish Tuffy gets, but he is being fed well and his feathers are continuing to grow and the nest appears peaceful.

Keo and Keke surprised everyone with their first egg laid late on the 27th or the wee hours of the 28th (?) at the Sandpoint Nest.

On Sunday that egg at Sandpoint had some drizzle on it.

‘PB’ found a nest in Canada in the Niagara on the Lake area. It is the Niagara Bee Group Ospreys and they already have two eggs!

Some rain got on the two eggs Sunday afternoon. It is not clear if they will be viable or not.

This is the link to their streaming cam:

Ollie and his mate have returned to the Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society on Long Island. There is a new camera and the nest has been secured from a storm last year that wiped it out. Ollie returned on the 30th of March and his mate arrived a few days later. They now have one egg according to the wonderful moderator of their FB messaging who answered me promptly.

More and more fish deliveries at Frenchman’s Creek. Reflecting on this nest and the Mum who is obviously ill/injured makes me wonder how these two surviving osplets will behave as adults with their own chicks. For example, at the Hopeless Nest in Newfoundland, the female does not feed the chicks. Both died last year and I believe in all the time only one chick has survived and that was in 2019 (please feel free to correct me). Will these two not feed their chicks? if they are female? Or will their instincts or memories drive them to be good parents?

Dad continues to bring fish – thankfully he eats the head so the chicks can eat the fish easier. He is also still spending time feeding his two big babies. I think they are going to be alright. People should not worry about the fish piling up unless it compromises the nest structure. The carrion eaters will arrive and have it cleaned up in no time!

The weather is improving in Finland and the ospreys are busy mating, fixing nests, or laying eggs. There are two eggs at Satakunnan.

There is a new female this year at Juurusvesi. She is Yellow M76822 and was ringed in 2020 at a nest precisely 100 km away at Viitasaaki.

Did not see an osprey on the nest at Paltamon where there is still snow on the ground, but there was a Peregrine Falcon!

Both have returned to Janakkala – obviously eating well. No egg yet.

The male in Germany is feeding the female who is incubating their eggs a fish meal. How cute.

Louis must have been dealing with intruders. She finally got a fish and it was after 1500 – that is decidedly not the Louis we know.

There is a new couple with three eggs on the Estonian Osprey nest in Tartu County. (It is not believed that this is either the former male Ivo or his mate). This is wonderful news for a country where the osprey population is low. In 2018, 210 pairs.

No one will ever go hungry if Arthur is around. The nest of Big Red and N1 and N2 is now lined with squirrel. Do not despair of you see these two beaking away at one another. It will stop. Their eyes cannot focus properly – just like the falcons. Give them 4 or 5 days. Their heads are not steady and any beak is a potential meal! They will get rough – in this instance, it is play fighting unlike what is happening at University of Florida-Gainesville.

Buky and Bette still have two eggs at their nest in Mlady Buky.

Geemeff brings us up to date on the comings and goings of nest 1 at Loch Arkaig. “An unringed female came to Nest One and got two fish from Garry LV0! She spent a lot of time there, fingers crossed she returns tomorrow. Affric 152 hasn’t been seen since the 24th, and the unidentified pair at Bunarkaig are definitely now incubating eggs so it does look like that is her on that nest. So with luck she’ll stay away and Garry will have the time and space to woo this female and they form a bond. There is still time – just – for eggs this year but just seeing him with a mate would make me very happy.”

Geemeff has it all on video.

And then a second fish. This looks promising. There has not been a family of osplets on this nest since Louis moved to nest 2 with Dorcha after Aila did not return.

Swampy had a meal and slept like an adult perched with a parent on the natal tree.

‘H’ reports that Severna Park finally has its first egg – a fortnight later than last year. 17:26:55.

Deb Stecyk did a really nice tribute to Bella. Poor eagle…what a terrible year she had with her new mate, Scout.

When the young woman posted her linocut of Flaco on FB, I could not resist. It arrived and went off to the framers. I forgot to request non-reflective glass. Said with a loud sigh, as it was difficult to get a half-decent image without reflections for her to use on her Instagram page. I thought it came out rather well – the print with the matting and framing. It’s hard to tell the colours, but the largest matt is a deep grey-blue-black, with the little interior section the colour of a deep rust brick.

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We will look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, MP, PB, R’, SK Hideaways, Baiba, Fenwicke Island, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Cal Falcons, Moorings Park ospreys, Sandpoint Ospreys, Niagara Bee Group, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, Frenchman’s Creek, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fischadlercam, Geemeff, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell RTH, Mlady Buky Stork Cam, Eagle Country, Severna Park, Deb Stecyk, and DirtGirl Designs.

*Disclaimer: I make every effort to identify and thank those who have provided information. If I have made an error or omission, please let me know so I can rectify it. Thank you.*

Dorcha is injured…Saturday in Bird World

20 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

We woke up to a little more snow Friday morning after the rain and snow mixed on Thursday. It is quite cool at 0 degrees C today compared to other days, and it is quite windy. That snow continued on and off during the day and has now accumulated late Friday night. I feel for the birds who do not know if it is winter or spring. They do better in the snow than in the rain as some of the food does not get sloppy and wet. There were hundreds and hundreds today and south of where I live, people had hundreds of Robins on their lawns pulling up worms!

I should introduce new readers to some of the garden animals so they know who I am constantly mentioning.

Dyson is the matriarch of the Grey Squirrel family. She is named after the inventor of the famous vacuum cleaner because of her skill in ‘sucking up peanuts’ faster than anyone! She is at least five years old; my diary tells me seven. Last year, she had three kits. They still come to the garden. She is much adored and has her own fan club! She is extremely healthy this spring. I love how her little fingers cup the small Black-oil seed and peanuts.

Little Red lived in our garden shed until it had to be torn down for the conservatory two years ago. I tried to build him a new house. Then we purchased a special squirrel house from Finland – Little Red didn’t like it and then Dyson ate the wood around the hole so she could get in and eat the peanuts I had placed in there to lure Little Red. Little Red was always alone. Then Miss Little Red arrived and well, now we have at least four Reds living in and about the garden.

A baby?

There are also Mr and Mrs Blue Jay, who are the parents of Junior, who had his little jays starting two years ago. He does not migrate, and last summer, we had two Blue Jay families living within 10 metres of the garden. The fledglings arrived and ate at the feeders. There are currently six Blue Jays around. I cannot wait for this summer. The garden could be filled with Blue Jays!!!!! Their colours are so magnificent, and the white pattern on the tip of their tails is different for each one – that is how I identify them. Junior’s feathers are a bit of a mess right now. It looks like he has been in a fight, as it seems a bit early for moulting. Indeed some of the feathers appear broken.

Then there is Mr and Mrs Downy, Mr and Mrs Hairy, and Mr Pileated that come throughout the day. I caught Mrs Downy on the suet this afternoon.

The European Starlings are having a feast in the large table feeder. Today they seem to be attracted to the suet while the squirrels – both Dyson and the three kits from last summer – and the two little Reds – forage for peanuts. I have not seen the Blue Jays so far and it is 1322 Friday afternoon.

Four cats bring me more joy than anyone could ever imagine. Missey arrived with Lewis on 2 November 2022; they were adopted from the Humane Society, which takes in stray cats and kittens. Sadly, we lost Lewis in September 2023. Calico lived in the garden and was dumped as a kitten (or so it seems). I lured her into being friends in the winter of 2023 and then once she had her kittens – only one survived (Baby Hope) – they moved into the house. It was quite the ordeal tracking her and then hoping the kitten would find us (it had left their nest and was eight weeks old). The most recent addition is Hugo Yugo, who is a rescue. Her mother was starved when she was carrying her seven kittens. As a consequence, Hugo Yugo continues to be the size of an 8-10 week old kitten despite the fact that she is now eight and a half months old. She was supposed to be a male but turned out to be a Ginger Female (only 20% of Gingers are female). She is a character. I would not part with any of them. They create a life around me that is like a symphony.

Missey has been talking to the Dark-eyed Juncos through the window and Hugo Yugo along with Calico and Baby Hope went into a food coma and have yet to surface.

Mamma Calico and Baby Hope. They posed. I could not believe it. My heart just stops every time I see them together – and they are like this most of the day unless eating or playing. Inseparable. Calico raised Hope. She would come and eat and run back to take care of her quickly. Hope was the healthiest feral kitten I had ever seen. Calico did a superb job. Cannot imagine them living on the streets.

And for those wondering who I am, well, I am a Retired Professor who has undertaken a long-term study of siblicide on Osprey nests. Last year, I increased the number of eggs observed to 341 with ‘H’. This year, we are aiming for 500. The results will be published when we have good annual comparisons – starting with 2 years and then moving next to 5 years. In 2023, many chicks were lost due to a Nor-eastern in the Chesapeake Bay Area and overfishing of the Menhaden. Perhaps that will not happen this year. I am not desensitised to the tragic events on the nests that have deaths – I take each one pretty hard. It is the joy of seeing the chick we might believed would perish thrive – to wonder at their perseverance, determination, and cleverness. Ultimately, I would like to see if these beaten chicks that do survive the nest to fledge have a higher return rate in the second year. Sadly, due to the fact that so few nests band their osplets, it is impossible to determine.

I want everyone to enjoy nature. To marvel at how beautiful the world is right outside our own windows and to realise how important it is to get out and breathe the air and listen to the birdsong. Life is stressful and it is one proven way to calm ourselves down!

Friday was a day for egg laying…I continue to tell everyone to mark their calendars. That third week in May is going to be a very busy one.

On Friday afternoon, 19 April, Dorcha was injured in an encounter with a large raptor—a golden eagle or a Sea Eagle—at Loch Arkaig. According to Geemeff, Ravens were escorting the large raptor out of the area when Dorcha got involved. Dorcha returned to the nest at 1501 with scratches, blood, and an injured leg.

The injuries to the right leg – it looks like a large puncture to me – can clearly be seen when Dorcha gets up from incubating her egg when Louis brings her a fish.

Poor Dorcha. She was due to lay her third egg and she did at 02:26 Saturday morning, the 20th of April. Hard incubation should begin.

I am expecting the third egg if there is to be one at Loch of the Lowes today, the 20th.

All eyes are on the eggs of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus anxiously awaiting the sign of the first pip.

Positively nothing at the nest of Angel and Tom. Is Tom missing? ‘A’ seems to think he is.

At Eagle Country, Swampy is going higher on the natal nest tree. S/he will fledge shortly. What a seemingly strong and healthy eaglet.

Tuffy had a Good Friday. Harry delivered a huge Tilapia at 0941 at the Moorings Park nest on Friday. Tuffy was in and out of the feeding, but by 1055 was finished and had a nice crop!

Tuffy has had big crops all Friday. This little one is eating well.

Later than the image above, after another fish. Harry must have an excellent spot to land these whoppers…

A fish arrived at 1423. Tuffy had a nice crop at the end of that meal, too!

Tuffy had a crop when the 1602 fish arrived. He looked but didn’t bother to go over and eat. He was full already.

A little bit of a fish came at 1831..Tuffy even got some!

It ‘feels’ like Tuffy and Ruffie have done nothing but eat all day. Each time I go and check Tuffy is up at the beak. If this little one continues to eat this much fish per day, we will have to change the middle letters of its name from ‘F’ to ‘B’. Sssshhhh. Don’t say it out loud. We don’t want to give the second hatch a complex. All kidding aside, Tuffy did really well on Friday. In fact, both were so full that Sally got to finish off a nice fish as the sun was setting on the nest.

First egg for Cowlitz PUD is 18 April! Love these folks. They put up metal fish grates to protect the osplets from being taken by the Bald Eagles!

Egg #1 or Bruce and Naha at Seaside on the 18th of April, too!

We have an egg at Oyster Bay on Long Island.

‘H’ reports: “Opal did it again…she laid the 4th egg at 17.46.” I caution new observers that this is a tough nest to watch if all eggs hatch and fish deliveries are few. Siblicide warning.

All three chicks at the Venice Golf and Country club platform look fine.

The camera has gone black again at Frenchman’s Creek. Now it is only listed as Private so I presume residents only that wish to sign up. We will sadly never know the fate of the two older osplets. I hope that they continue to self feed and that someone from Frenchman’s Creek will let us know if they fledge.

All three eaglets at Little Miami Conservancy have nice crops on Friday.

Snow on Finland’s Osprey nests.

Egg three at Llyn Clywedog nest of Seren and Dylan arrives on the 19th as well.

‘L’ reports: “New female at Charlo is OJ (Wakati) from 2018 Dunrovin nest. She’s got her leg banded.” This might get interesting. Happy for you Charlie if Charlotte does not show up!

Lucy and Kenny’s three eggs at Lake Murray Ospreys. For new viewers, a GHO took all three chicks off this nest in 2023. Former mate, Ricky died and difficult for Mum to feed, hunt, and offer security.

Iris was at her nest in Missoula, Montana on Friday.

It is hard to believe that these two are Liberty and Guardian’s little eaglets.

Lots of soft bedding for the two tiny eaglets at Fort St Vrain – and a good thing, too, as the snow began to fall Friday evening.

Port Tobacco’s only eaglet appears to be doing just dandy!

Do you have a dream to see the geese that winter in the UK? Before the climate changes so much that they stay in Greenland and Siberia? Here is a file to help you identify them. It is on my bucket list!

Guide-to-Britains-geese-species-how-to-identify-and-where-to-see-Countryfile.com_Download

We know how Ospreys connect people! Here is an article on three special women whose lives are intertwined by these fish eating birds.

The-Osprey-Connection-AudubonDownload

To my knowledge, all nests are doing well. The snow has again started, and I am behind in my data entry. I will check on some of the eagle nests tomorrow, along with what is happening at our hawk and osprey nests. Take care everyone. Thank you for being with us today.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, L, PB’, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Cornell RTH Cam, Window to Wildlife, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, PSEG, Forsythe Osprey Cam, VGCCO, Little Miami Conservancy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Llyn Clywedog and CarnyXWild, Charlo Montana, Lake Murray Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, FORE, XCel Energy, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, BBC Countryfile, and Audubon.

*Disclaimer: Every effort is made to acknowledge those that provide information and material for my posting. If I have failed to credit someone, please do let me know so that I can correct this. Thank you,’

Tuffie’s crop is as big as he is…Sunday in Bird World

7 April 2024

Hello Everyone,

It was a sad day in the garden on Saturday morning.

Everyone always talks about a Spark Bird. There can be several of these significant birds throughout our lives. As a child in Oklahoma, it was the Blue Jays and Cardinals that my dad fed out of his hand. As a teenager, it was the Red-tail Hawks. Then, decades later, there was the most magical moment. It changed my life. It was a winter morning in the garden when my eyes connected with those of a female Sharp-shinned Hawk within half a metre of me. Since that day, hawks have been visiting the garden in search of a “Sparrow Blue Plate Special”. Now, to have an Immature Cooper’s hawk die in my garden is simply heartbreaking. The carcass is going for testing for HPAI, as there were no obvious signs of trauma. However, I suspect the hawk flew into the garage belonging to the house next door or somehow broke its neck, colliding with the thicker branches trying to catch a songbird.

The happy ending to this, if there could be one, is that the hawk’s body is going to our local museum as part of their specimen collection. If you find a bird whose carcass is in good condition, check with your local natural history museum or wildlife centre to see if they would be interested in having it as part of their specimen collection.

It was 14 degrees C Saturday afternoon at the nature centre. The Canada Geese had moved from the main lake to the smaller ponds and fields to forage. There were hundreds of Dark-eyed Juncos, several dozen Chickadees, Woodpeckers, and House Sparrows enjoying the warmth as a huge hawk flew overhead.

Meadow is at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey and is getting the first-class care this rehabilitation centre is known for!

Meadow being weighed.

An ambassador celebration at Audubon!

Two little eaglets being fed at the ND-LEEF nest. Looks like the new Mum has been named Gigi.

There has been some concern for the One eaglet in the nest at Tremplealeau, Wisconsin. The male disappeared and the female is alone.

UPDATE: Dad has returned to the Trempealeau Nest and two fish have come in already – Saturday! Yeah.

The situation at Moorings Park improves for Tuffie bite by bite.

Tuffie had some of the leftover fish early and it appeared that he might have had some other bites. It was when I returned from my walk at the nature centre, that Tuffie had a nice feeding. After Ruffy ate, Tuffie was fed and then both of them ate together.

‘H’ gives us a more detailed day’s report for our little one at Moorings Park. “Tuffy ate at least 54 bites at the first meal of the day; 1109 headless fish, Tuffy was attacked by Ruffie, Tuffy moved away to the rail and never went back to eat. Harry removed the leftover fish;1156 Harry returns with what appeared to be the leftover fish.  Tuffy is beaked several times and was not able to eat;1455 Harry in with whole tilapia, Tuffy is beaked and intimidated several times while Ruffie is fed.  At 1526 Ruffie moves away, and Tuffy is finally able to eat.  At 1533 Ruffie returned to the table, Tuffy was intimidated and turned away.  Ruffie ate until 1538, then Tuffy moved up and the two ate side by side until 1540, when Tuffy was beaked again.  Ruffie finished the fish.  Tuffy ate at least 66 bites at this meal.”

With my bad math, that would seem to be at least 120 bites of fish for Tuffie today – more than the two previous days counts.

Oh, the size difference between these two! So glad that third egg didn’t hatch.

Last instalment from ‘H’ – what a good day for Tuffie all things considered. “1710 large headless fish – Tuffy got 3 quick bites, was intimidated and turned away, later got 3 more bites and was beaked.  Ruffie ate until 1722 then moved away.  Tuffy had a short private feeding until 1726, then was beaked by Ruffie. Ruffie ate some more, then Tuffy got a few more bites starting at 1730.  Ruffie quit the feeding again at 1736.  Tuffy voluntarily moved away from Mom from 1738 t o 1740.  Tuffy ate a few more bites at 1740, and then Tuffy went and laid down at 1742.  Total bites for Tuffy at this meal = at least 77 bites.Total bites to Tuffy for the day so far = 197”.

The crop is almost as big as Tuffie!!!!!!! Get the tissue box.

The little bottom sticking out from under Sally belongs to Tuffie who, all in all, had a reasonable day. Each day is getting better in terms of food intake for Tuffie.

Over the past seven years, turning points come on nests like this one. Whether or not it is the change from the Reptilian Phase into the period when juvenile plumage is coming, or if the weather shifts and the fishing gets better, or if the female ‘decides’ that the little one is going to live and begins to feed it, we should be watching and waiting to see what it is on this nest.

Many of you will have shed tears of joy for little Tuffie today. He is hanging in there and all that good energy from the Tuffie Fan Club must be helping!

The second egg was laid at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island Saturday morning around 0858.

Storm Kathleen is hitting the UK hard.

Storm-Kathleen-sweeps-across-west-of-UK-and-Ireland-–-in-pictures-UK-news-The-GuardianDownload

In the UK, Storm Kathleen is hitting areas hard. Dorcha was just blown off the perch at Loch Arkaig.

The storm is not blowing so hard at Loch of the Lowes, yet.

The winds were howling at Alyth, where Harry and Flora have their nest.

Storm Kathleen is kicking up waves at Rutland as Maya and Blue try to protect their eggs.

Idris holding on to a huge fish while the gale blows at Dyfi.

Telyn is soaked.

What a great screen capture of Idris and Telyn.

Extremely gusty at Glaslyn.

Same gusts at Llyn Brenig where there was a fish delivery. You might recall Blue 372. She was over at Glaslyn with Aran and flitting from nest to nest. She is trying to find a mate…well, this is her! And this is what is happening in the image below: “LJ2 has been joined on the nest by Blue 372 this afternoon.Blue 372 is a 3 year old Scottish female translocated to Poole Harbour in 2021, she has been seen on a number of Welsh nests over the past week or so and is now braving the winds up at Llyn Brenig. LM6 our regular female has not yet returned from migration.”

She is determined. Will this be her nest?

‘H’ reports that the Mum at Carthage laid the season’s first egg. Saturday the 6th of April at 10:17:10.

Confirmed pip at US Steel’s nest of Claire and Irwin – and now it is a hatch. looks like another crushed egg hatch. Little one alive and squiggling this time!

Darling Big Red never seems to age except for her feet and legs. She and Arthur continue their dedicated teamwork to hatch those four little hawklets.

Iris might have wished she had waited a few days to return to Montana.

Do not get upset if you check on the little owlet at Wolf Bay. They are both fine. There is a prey item currently on the nest, Saturday evening, that is white.

JBS20 is getting those wings strong. Adult in to fed but JBS20 is good at self-feeding!

Was it a quail lunch at the Redding Eagle nest? or a Guinea Fowl? Both eaglets are doing very well.

E23 gets a fish delivery from Mum. It must have been delicious. The fledgling ate all of it.

A family portrait at the West End nest of Akecheta and Thunder.

Little heads pop up for dinner at the Fraser Point nest of Cruz and Andor.

All is well at Denton Homes.

Happy eaglets at Decorah North.

Diana Persinger recorded a video for FB of a very messy meal for these two at Decorah North.

Everything is good at Little Miami.

Little fluff balls at the ND-LEEF nest.

Worried about Angel? She was on the nest with Tom on Friday.

There are no worries about Leaper and Jersey. They had crops most of Saturday and were about to burst late in the day and Dad had a fish in his talons and Mum had one, too!

The fortune of a nest can shift from good to bad to good. Let us hope this is what is happening at Moorings Park.

Hatch watch has begun for the Fort St Vrain Eagles in Colorado.

There is some thought that the ‘original’ Dad at Pittsburgh-Hayes has returned to the nest after being gone for a very long time. (I would have to check my Memorial Page). Is it possible he was in care, rehabilitated, and released and came home?

This was posted by WingsOfWhimsy with the photos below. They sure look alike.

“WingsOfWhimsy 20 hours agoA little bit of interesting news to share. I will say right up front that I have VERY little personal knowledge to go on here, so I will direct you to either the live cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l95k-… or the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/36054… for additional info. There is a theory that the original “Dad” from the Pittsburgh Hays nest has returned. Dad has been away for quite some time, and HM2 has bonded with Mom, although their egg failed to hatch this season. (I believe mom was first seen with HM2 in September.) Recently a visitor has been on the scene, and I have to admit… even I see the similarities! Could it be that Dad has returned? This is certainly exciting, but also a bit concerning. If this is Dad, both he & HM2 likely consider Mom and the nest to be theirs. These comparison photos were shared by a FB Group user: Lynda Philips, comparing Dad and the recent visitor. This is all I know right now, but I will update as best as I can. The folks in the group or on chat are surely more familiar than I am, though. Please consider checking in with them for more details!”

Yesterday I included a video by DaniConnorWild to show you the penguins in Antarctica. Today, here is a sobering article on the unprecedented heat rise on that continent and the fears that it has for the penguins and for humans. The author says with the rise to 38.5 C, “These events have raised fears that the Antarctic, once thought to be too cold to experience the early impacts of global warming, is now succumbing dramatically and rapidly to the swelling levels of greenhouse gases that humans continue to pump into the atmosphere.”

‘Simply-mind-boggling-world-record-temperature-jump-in-Antarctic-raises-fears-of-catastrophe-CliDownload

Killing Owls to save Owls. Is it really the answer?

Killing-owls-to-save-owls-the-US-wildlife-plan-that-sparked-an-‘ethical-dilemma-Conservation-TDownload

Thank you so much to the following who sent me comments, news, their pictures, screen captures, videos, articles, and those who operate the streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J’, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Stephen Basly, Tremplealeau, Moorings Park, PSEG, The Guardian, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Alyth SS, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Marissa Winkle, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig, DTC, PIX Cams, Cornell RTH Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Wolf Bay, JB Sands Wetlands, FORE, IWS/Explore, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project, Diana Persinger, Little Miami Conservancy, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, and Sassa Bird.

Leaper and Jersey not rattled by earthquake…Saturday in Bird World

6 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

The girls hope that you have a wonderful start to the weekend. They have been enjoying the +11 C temperatures and the life that has come back into the garden. The squirrels, the Blue Jays, the Dark-eyed Juncos, and an array of Sparrows including some Pine Siskins have been keeping them busy.

Calico ran from one corner of the conservatory to the other – yes, Calico ran! watching the squirrels gather peanuts and hide them.

Hugo Yugo played and slept in her basket and kept an eye out when Dyson was on the fence. I clean her eyes twice daily but she still has the drippies.

Baby Hope looked beautiful watching the birds fly over the glass ceiling.

My friend Ruby was visiting. She is an indigenous healer. Her knowledge about the natural world is abundant as are her observations. The Snow geese could be seen on Tuesday at a particular point near to where she lives. For her, this signals that there is no more snow coming to us!

Today, driving through the agricultural fields north of Winnipeg, yielded huge numbers of Canada Geese on the shallow waters foraging from what was left of last year’s crop that they fed on when they migrated south. There were Snow Geese and Tundra Swans mixed in.

The Snow Geese arrive in early April and will be with us until November – just like the Canada Geese. In the late fall they will congregate south of where I live to fill up in the corn fields that have been cultivated – a boost to them for their long flight south.

The Tundra Swans normally arrive before all the snow is gone and forage in these flooded fields like they are doing today. They will make their nests along the coast of the Arctic at the top of Manitoba near Churchill. These nests will be large mounds of material along the shoreline. The female will incubate 4-5 eggs for 31-32 days. The geese are ‘dabbling’ waterfowl and forage along the surface for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. They also eat tubers and, as we see here, grain left after cultivation.

It was positively joyous seeing the geese playing in the water and foraging for plants. I wish some of the ones in the urban areas would take flight to the country.

Two news items coming in this morning about Ospreys in the US.

USFWS says it is legal to put deterrents on light poles to keep ospreys form nesting.

Osprey catches prized Golden Rainbow Trout.

Osprey-snatches-prized-golden-rainbow-troutDownload

Thank you to everyone who sent me news items. I am so grateful to all of you. ‘R’ is watching the Gainesville nest and ‘H’ is keeping a keen eye on what is going on at Moorings Park for me. Watching the osprey nests is extremely difficult when there is a chance of siblicide. It wrenches your stomach, causes you to have indigestion, and a great sadness comes. As I continue to say, it is never easy and over the past seven years, this year has been the hardest. When ‘H’ and I start counting bites – we hope that there are at least 100 a day, minimum. Tuffie had 99 on Thursday. Let’s see how that poor little one winds up today.

‘H’ has kept eyes on Tuffie for me when I am not able. So thankful! This nest is so bleak compared to last year. She reports, “Tuffy has had a bad day.  S/he has suffered numerous beat-downs from Ruffie, even outside of meals.  And, at meals Ruffie would not let Tuffie get fed. Four fish so far: 0904 – whole fish, nothing for Tuffy; 1124 – partial fish, two bites for Tuffy; 1354 – almost whole fish, one bite for Tuffy;1607 – an enormous headless tilapia.  Ruffie had the equivalence of at least 3-4 meals on and off for 1.5 hours, while intermittently severely beaking Tuffy, and not letting Tuffie eat.  Finally, at 1734 Tuffie began to get fed.  Tuffie had eaten 4 bites up to that point, and ate a total of 46 bites before Ruffie decided that Tuffy had had enough.  At that point Sally fed Ruffie a little more, and then she walked away from the large leftover piece of fish.  She fed Tuffie three scraps off the nest.  At 1801 Harry arrived to remove the fish from the nest.  Total bites to Tuffie so far today = 53.”

Then an update -“Harry brought a partial fish at 2000.  Selly fed both osplets, and Tuffy ate about 42-43 bites at that meal.  Sally stopped the feeding early, perhaps because it’s too dark for them to see, but still plenty of fish left for breakfast unless Harry removes it.  Total fish bites for Tuffy today = at least 95.”

Sunday Morning Update: “4/6 – Around 0652 Sally picked up the large leftover piece of tilapia and began feeding Ruffie.  Ruffie beaked Tuffy several times, and was particularly brutal at 0707.  However, Ruffie eventually moved away from the feeding line and Sally was able to feed Tuffy.  Tuffy received several bites before Ruffie eventually moved back to the feeding line.  For several minutes Tuffy and Ruffy ate peacefully side by side, but for some reason, only Ruffie got bites for the last 4 minutes of the feeding.  I counted 54 bites that Tuffy actually ate. “

Sunday morning image:

The back of Tuffie’s head has been battered and is bloody – it isn’t feathers coming in…Send your most positive wishes to this nest, please.

Again, Sunday morning you can see the size difference. Tuffie certainly got a good name! This little one is like Hugo Yugo!

Tuffie being fed Sunday morning:

The peaceful side by side meal.

Reports of Meadow in care – and these are the same folks that are repairing the Achieva Osprey nest of Diane and Jack if you are looking for somewhere to donate:

This is the rest of the communique that says that Meadow will go to the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey – that was where Connick rehabilitated along with some of our favourite ospreys.

They state: “Meadow made it here safe and sound. The eaglet is very thin. We have rehydrated it and are getting ready to start the baby on liquid food. This is our standard protocol for very skinny birds. The liquid food consists of carnivore care. This is a premium recovery food for carnivores with a poor nutritional status. It is a specialized formula that contains beneficial omega, fatty acids and easily digestible proteins that come from egg and chicken sources to support nutrient absorption, and optimize the energy levels of the bird. We do have a few other additives as the bird progresses in its recovery slowly switching over to solid food. Because this bird is eight weeks old, it is no longer safe to put it back in the nest, even if she was in perfect health, which she is not. There are multiple reasons for this, but for Meadow, even if she was younger, because of her nutritional status, putting her back is not an option. We will transfer Meadow to the Audubon Center for Birds Of Prey in the morning so that she can get continued excellent care under their Eagle experts, and she will be with at least 17 other eagles that are currently patients there. And she will be in the presence of adult eagles, which we feel is important.Will keep provide an update later on this evening. Please cross your fingers and say your prayers and think positive thoughts for Meadow. If you would like to support the raptor center of Tampa Bay and help us out with the things that we do to support our eagles and all other Birds Of Prey, please visit our website.”

A further update on Meadow. Thanks, ‘J’.

‘R’ reports on Talon and Stella at Gainesville: “All is well in G’ville. Talon is bringing in big fish and all 3 osplets are well fed and all about the same size.  Hopefully all 3 will thrive.”

The three eaglets at PA Country Farm are also doing well!

The earthquake that went through parts of New York and NJ did not make the Duke Farms eaglets even flinch. They had nice crops during the day and both Leaper and Jersey appear to have overcome the period of low prey delivery just fine. It would be nice if this would happen at Moorings Park – but the Mum at Dukes Farm worked hard for these babies.

Here is a video showing the nest at Duke Farms shaking during the earthquake.

Proud parents Liberty and Guardian at Redding.

Archie is taking very good care of Annie.

Likewise, at Loch Arkaig, Dorcha was equally happy to see Louis arrive with a fish.

This was after he did a beautiful sky dance at dawn.

The trio of osplets at Frenchman’s Creek are really looking nice as they get their juvenile plumage. What a difference – sorry Sally and Harry – but just look – this nest has three osplets that are thriving!

I absolutely would not mess with the Mum at Little Miami Conservancy. Her little bobbleheads are all doing fine.

That Johnson City Eagle nest is very windy! Did we blink? These two look like Swampy and Meadow to me.

There ARE three eaglets at FOLAN.

Two sweet eaglets at Farmer Derek’s Bald Eagle nest.

Swampy alone on the nest after Meadow’s accident.

The eaglet – JBS20- at John Bunker Sands Wetlands is 71 days old today. The average age of eagle fledging in the US is 77 days (unless it is Alaska where it is 85 days).

Angel the Leucistic Red-tail Hawk made an appearance at last year’s nest in Tennessee. There are no eggs and little activity for some time. I believe that Angel and Tom made an alternative nest to use this year somewhere close.

It is not unusual for raptors to change the site of their nest. Mr President and Lotus moved their nest, River moved her nest at Dale Hollow, M15 and Harriet moved their nest, Richmond and Rosie moved theirs this year, while Thunder and Akecheta changed sites in 2023. Sometimes the birds perceive a danger that we might not – such as the site being unsafe. “Excessive human activity near raptor nests in the early weeks of the breeding season may cause a pair to abandon the site; or if later in the nesting cycle, may cause an incubating or brooding female to flush from the nest, leaving eggs or nestlings vulnerable to fatal chilling or predation.”

We will never know the specific reasons and it is always sad if a nest has been on camera and we do not know what is happening, but, in the end, we have to trust that the raptors felt more secure in moving their nest and laying their eggs in a different location. For Angel, maybe she felt the old location meant a smaller nest and not a lot of room for 3 or 4 chicks to flap about!

There is an Osprey pair on the nest in Kurzeme, Latvia!

Osprey pair returned to their nest in the Lipka Forest in Poland on 4 April.

A great image from Sharon Dunne of the Royal Cam chick – so white and so fluffy.

Shadow is not giving up! I really do wish there was an orphan eaglet somewhere that could miraculously find itself under this amazing Dad.

Do you love penguins? There are some amazing shots of several penguin species in the following 17 minute video DaniConnorWild did of her photography excursion to Antarctica.

Human debris is coming to all of the osprey nests. There is hardly a single one that is not plagued by plastic. What will happen to the chicks and the eggs?

Sometimes the wind takes things away!

Looks like the geese are thinking about the Sandpoint Osprey platform as a nest.

Beautiful day at Lake Murray. Lucy is incubating those precious eggs.

The birds are migrating and some old friends are arriving at your feeders and bird baths. Thanks so much for giving them water and food. ‘L’ says that the Brown Thrashers are in Alabama!

Ending with that wonderful happy glow that spread around the world when Iris set down on her nest at Hellgate Canyon Friday morning.

Cornell has a free raptor guide for you to download to help you ID the birds.

Download-Our-Free-Raptor-Reference-GuideDownload

More about bird flu, the poultry industry in the US, the price of eggs….

A-Cruel-Way-to-Control-Bird-Flu-Poultry-Giants-Cull-and-Cash-In.-The-New-York-TimesDownload

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, images, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, L, R’, WMUR9, WJAR, Moorings Park Ospreys, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, HDonTap, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, PA Country Farms Eagles, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Geemeff, Frenchman’s Creek Ospreys, Little Miami Conservancy, Johnson City-ETSU, AEF, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, LDF, Utah Grosse, Sharon Dunne, DaniConnorWild, Steelscape, Boulder County Fair Grounds, PSEG, Sandpoint, Lake Murray, ‘L’, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, and The New York Times.

Big Red has an injury…Tuesday in Bird World

2 April 2024

Hello Everyone,

UPDATED CORRECTION: IT IS LIBERTY AND GUARDIAN’S FIRST CLUTCH. ONE EGG BROKE. I APOLOGISE FOR ANY CONFUSION WHEN I SAID IT WAS THEIR SECOND. REMEMBERING WRONG! THANK YOU SP.

We are starting with Big Red. Many of us watched and wondered about Big Red. Several reported seeing a limp before eggs arrived including myself. It appears that our much beloved Red-tail Hawk at the Cornell Campus has sustained an injury to her foot. Please read the article below for all the information and send positive energy to Big Red, Arthur, and their four eggs.

Big-Red-Begins-2024-Breeding-Season-With-Toe-Injury-Cornell-Lab-Bird-Cams-Cornell-Lab-Bird-CamsDownload

The warmth of the sun is pouring into the conservatory. Hugo Yugo is asleep in the blue chair while Missey eyes the top of the cat tree. A woodpecker is at the square suet feeder while the Blue Jays flit back and forth from their nest tree to the feeder loaded with peanuts. Dyson and the last year’s kits have already been to eat and Little Red is still scurrying about.

There is something comforting and stabilising about nature and the change of the seasons. No matter what happens in our lives, life outside of ‘us’ continues. That natural rhythm gives me hope every year as life returns to the garden. The soil warms, the first Crocus will appear, and then the tulips. The leaf buds will pop open on the lilac bushes, and the fragrance of the flowers will envelop the entire space around the third week in May. This year also brings new promise as the Black-capped Chickadees are making a nest in two trees in the garden. It is a first. Normally, they nest in the very large Blue Spruce across the road. If deemed safe, Junior and his mate will bring the new Blue Jay fledglings this summer, and we will also have a deck full of baby Crows. Seriously, I cannot wait. That reminds me – both ‘Boyfriends’ have been to the feeding station today. Are they brothers?

The top is the ‘original’ Boyfriend that came to the deck with Calico. He has 2/3 of a white bow tie.

This one has only a part of a bow tie. The one below is actually the friendlier of the pair.

The central heating is off, and nothing made me think I needed a jumper or socks this morning. Today will be a day for a trip to the country or time spent whipping the deck into shape. It is getting there. This year, I will put up privacy screens to become a trellis for climbing flowers for the hummers and bees. Everything is going to be red – hopefully, it will be inviting. There is a new outdoor carpet to replace the old soiled and faded one. I dislike them immensely, those carpets. Most are plastic. This one is made out of recycled fizzy drink bottles, but the energy consumed in manufacturing the original bottles and now this carpet is probably much. I should try and find out. I have the carpet for a single reason – the feral cats. It covers the spaces between the boards and keeps the snow and rain from going under the deck where the outdoor cats often sleep.

It all feels different today – like spring really is coming. It was something we would only dream of on 1 April several years ago.

Megan Boardman spent Easter weekend at Rutland Water, where she took some amazing images of the Ospreys. Megan has happily and generously allowed me to share these with you. She holds the copyright. Do not share them with anyone – just enjoy them here. Thank you, Megan!

Maya in the nest with Blue 33 on the perch.

Megan caught the moment that the intruder arrived at the nest as Maya was laying her first egg. Blue 33 went into action to chase them away!

The first chase.

The intruder comes for the second time. Megan says that it was ‘an action filled day’.

Megan writes, “After things calm down (and first egg laid during the chaos), 33 brings fluff to the nest and Maya flies to wash her talons.”

I am a sap for Blue 33. Here he is protecting Maya again today.

Maya laid their second egg at Rutland this morning.

Sadly, intruders can cause damage and on Monday one of those caused Mother Goose to lose one of her eggs at Decorah.

As you will note from Alison’s terrific commentary, Leaper and Little Jersey are doing quite well at Duke Farms. There has been a big turnaround in food deliveries and life has settled back to being civilised. It is the ‘cherry’ on top of the sundae when life returns to normal without an eaglet being lost in the process.

‘A’ stayed up til the middle of the night (she lives in Australia) to give you this morning round up at Duke. “

Another fish came in at Duke Farms, courtesy of dad, just before 08:05. It is whole and medium in size. There is still half of the breakfast fish left nearby on the nest. Mum is brooding the eaglets and doesn’t get up. Dad leaves again 30 seconds later, knowing better than to attempt to take any fish with him. It is raining this morning, and mum shelters the eaglets, doing her best mumbrella. Just before 08:11, dad is in with ANOTHER fish, a little smaller than the last one but whole. Dad stands there for a bit, periodically looking down at his fish, then flies off the nest at 08:11:50. At 11:04:35, dad is in with yet another whole fish. This is getting ridiculous. He surveys the fish buffet in front of him – three whole fish and a half fish left over from breakfast – actually looking from one to another, to another. I think even he is astonished. Dad leaves at 11:04:49. 

At around 11:20, mum finally gets up and shakes her wings to get rid of the water, while the chicks scramble to get up from beneath her. This leaves Jersey front and centre at the table, and as mum flaps her wings to remove the water, one of her wings strikes Leaper, who immediately grabs Jersey by the back of the nape, though she quickly lets go and herself goes into submission. She is quickly up again while Jersey remains tucked. Mum surveys the brunch selection and chooses the smallest of the three whole fish to begin feeding Leaper. Jersey remains tucked though facing the table. Leaper interrupts her eating to back up for a huge PS (11:21:26) then returns to the table. Jersey remains tucked until 11:23:25, when he lifts his head and turns away from the food. Mum is now eating herself. She is hungry. She downs the last third of the fish, including the tail, as a single mouthful. 

She then moves to a second whole fish. Leaper, who had left the feeding and sat down on the far side of Jersey, who had finally turned towards the table, suddenly changes her mind, turns around and heads back towards mum. This causes Jersey to turn away from the table again. Seeing that mum is offering bites to Leaper, who is refusing almost all of them, Jersey gains the courage to turn around and move up to the table beside his sister, though he is still nervous. Mum ignores both of them, continuing to eat herself. She appears very hungry. It’s a while since I’ve seen her eat fast and greedily like this. She sure deserves it. When Leaper shakes her head, Jersey leans away slightly. He remains nervous. 

Finally, mum reaches out towards Jersey with a bite. He shuffles a couple of paces closer to mum, half-turning away from Leaper as he does so, and grabs the bite. It is his first of the feeding. (Leaper has eaten about half a fish at this feeding so far.) Mum continues to feed Jersey big juicy fishy bites with no objection from Leaper, who is full, so sits watching her brother eat. He is still a bit slow to take bites, nervous of his sister, and is still grabbing at the food rather than eating in a leisurely and relaxed manner. At 11:27:20 Leaper moves towards mum, causing Jersey to turn away, but she is just changing position and has finished eating, so Jersey immediately looks over his shoulder and grabs the next bite. He then eats and eats, and some of the bites are very large. It is a lovely juicy fleshy fish. 

Around 11:29, he refuses a bite – he is too full (he started the feeding with a crop from breakfast), so does a crop drop and accepts the next bite offered. She is very patient with him, offering pieces several times, moving slowly and carefully around him so as not to startle him, turning her head to make a bite easier for him to access – she really is a special mum. I have grown to love and admire her so much over the past week. She has been amazing. Jersey is still eating at 11:30 but is looking as though he cannot fit much more. There is still one whole fish and two half fish (one large, one smaller) left on the nest. Both eaglets have gigantic crops. Again. He refuses a big bite at 11:30:30. Mum waits for a bit, and at 11:31:16 Jersey accepts the next bite she offers and then continues to eat. At 11:32, having refused a bite, Jersey crop drops but still cannot fit in the next bite mum offers either. 

After a short period where he was too full to take the proffered bites, Jersey resumes accepting food. Mum is stuffing him to the brim. A couple of crop drops shortly before 11:35 don’t make enough room for more food, so Jersey refuses some bites but then accepts a very large piece, and another bite, around 11:35:30. Mum is working on the last of this second fish now. The rain, which has never entirely stopped, is now getting steadily heavier and the eaglets are starting to look more than a little damp. By 11:36 mum is eating virtually all of the mouthfuls herself. She tries hard to persuade him to take just one more bite around 11:37 but he says no, eventually underlining his point by backing off and then turning away. The feed officially ends. 

Jersey is full and being soaked by the rain, so he heads for the centre of the nest and tries to dive headfirst under his sister, but is thwarted by her immense crop. He tries again, and there is some general shuffling of eaglets, after which he succeeds in tucking some of his head under Leaper’s crop He keeps trying to find a way to burrow under his sister, and eventually, at 11:40, mum comes over from where she has been standing on the rails, does a little aerating behind the two eaglets, and then settles down to shelter the pair from the continuing rain. What a wonderful mum. 

There is still one medium-large whole fish and one large part of another fish on the nest, along with a scattering of leftovers from the two fish that have already been almost completely demolished this morning (mum has left the second one as a skeleton with something that looks like a jawbone attached to one end and perhaps part of a tail at the other – slim pickings from that carcass I suspect). So there is lunch and dinner on this nest already, regardless of how busy an afternoon the parents have. Now that the rain appears to have set in, that may be a very good thing. 

At 12:26, mum stands up and flaps her wings, sending sprays of water in all directions. Another burst of flapping, and she leaves the nest soon after. The eaglets snuggle up together – it is still raining steadily, though not too heavily. As I type this, it is 13:10 and Jersey is sleeping with his head tucked as far under his sister’s right wing as possible. Both are in food comas, even as they are being soaked by the continuing rainfall. They have their thermal down now – this is the world of grown-up eaglets. (I think they’d prefer being brooded by mum over youthful independence just now.) I hope their mumbrella is back soon. I do hope she is not out fishing!!”

Monday morning and that beautiful peachy orange of the sun is waking up the land at Decorah North.

Those babies are kissed by its rays and Mum is ready with breakfast.

Guardian and Liberty laid a second clutch. They so wanted a family and here they are with two little bobbleheads at Redding. Doesn’t it feel nice?

The breakfast fish seems to be coming in around 0900 or 1000 at Moorings Park. Perhaps I am missing an earlier delivery. Little Tuffie did not seem interested in the first feeding but caught up during the second. The fish was nice and big and there was still much good flesh left for the third meal.

Both osplets are scooting out of the egg cup but Ruffy is the real expert so far.

Due to Ruffy’s long neck and bigger size, Tuffy has to work a bit harder to get food.

Look closely. They are changing. The back of their heads. The feathers are disappearing and that black oily tar colour is appearing as the two softly enter the Reptilian stage.

Notice the difference in plumage at Frenchman’s Creek Osprey nest. These three are getting their juvenile feathers. A really big fish is on the nest for breakfast Monday and the little third hatch is up at Mum’s beak getting first bites.

It looks like the third hatch got a bit of a private feeding later.

‘AE’ sent some images of the Patchogue Osprey platform. Mum and Dad have worked hard to repair the disturbance caused when the nest was flipped upside down. The egg area is quite small compared to last year but it appears that the eggs will not roll out. Might we hope for only two? And as ‘AE’ notes, the plastic bags continue to be brought to the nest.

She also sent us a screen capture of the eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands. Just look at how big s/he is! Dad did a fine job caring for the eaglet and Mum just like Arthur is doing for Big Red. Look at those gorgeous wings!

‘MP’ writes that Barbara Walker, the Manager of the Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue, has undertaken to put up the necessary deterrents out of ‘high quality’ materials at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest of Jack and Diane who lost their eggs and two-day old chick. The precise reason for the eggs to be found under the nest and the demise of the little osplet has never been determined. Thank you, Barbara! – from all of us.

Watching for Iris to return to Hellgate Canyon.

The Owl Pole where Iris loves to eat the whoppers she pulls out of the local river.

Iris’s nest. It will be the best nest on the continent – Iris does an amazing job of keeping it in tiptop condition. Her ‘train’ is also waiting. When she arrives you will hear my scream all the way to Rio! Or Melbourne.

LJ2 working on the nest at Llyn Brenig.

Libby and Branson have returned to their nest at the Lochter Activity Centre in Scotland.

Today there were four eagles at the Dulles-Greenway nest.

The couple at the Wetlands Institute Osprey nest (there are five and this is one of them) are back working on their nest this year in hopes of raising a family.

There is a pip on Monday afternoon at the ND-LEEF nest! Congratulations!

Is there a second hatch at Centreport?

At the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout, the rain is coming down. Bella is protecting her precious eggs in the hope of fledging eaglets off this nest this year.

Chicks doing well at Little Miami Conservancy. And another one hatched this morning, LM3. Now there are three.

A lovely radio interview on BBC Radio Scotland about Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.

Dorcha and Louis make the BBC news.

Louis pretending he is a penguin delivering Dorcha a fish!

The Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society has put up a new nest for Ollie and his mate at Norwalk. It is a beauty. His nest often got washed out to sea with the high tides. They hope this will help. Ollie has returned home and is waiting for his mate. There is also a new camera. I am trying to locate the link for you.

Note the lovely mesh below the frame.

This was a storm that hit Ollie’s nest in 2022. The nest is on Long Island Sound.

Many have asked about Dmitri. You will recall he rescued the little storklet – the one Mamma Stork was killing – and raised it to fledge. Then Dmitri required surgery. He is well and fixing the stork nest for this year! Thank you to all who helped. He says he is “so happy to be alive and for the birds arriving back from Africa”.

At Utica, Astrid has laid her fourth falcon egg of the season!

Which brings me to Angel and Tom. Our dear ‘A’ is very worried about them and the fact that there are no eggs. I wonder if it is possible that they have another nest this year? or are they just a little late?

The latest word on R6:

The White Storks in Goggling Germany now have 5 eggs!

I love gulls and I purchase chips for them whenever I am at the beach or at Lockport by the dam. Do you feed gulls chips?

Justice-for-gulls-They-steal-our-chips-–-but-also-deserve-our-love-empathy-and-respect-Birds-TDownload

Did I ever tell you how marvellous it is to still have story time with the girls? At least once a day, and always at 1900, we gather in the conservatory and I read to the cats. It all began with Calico and her needing to recognise my voice and to trust me. She was in a little room, my old office, and I would go in with a book and her meal. She would eat, cuddle on my lap (yes I sat on the floor) and I would read to her. She has a preference for certain author’s voices. It has been a wonderful way for me to keep up with my reading and for all four of them to gather together. I now know that volunteers at the raptor centres read to the ambassador birds. They are no different than humans – all living things need stimulation and love. I ordered a number of books before the end of 2023 because part of my year was a promise to cut down on the book orders. I have ordered three books so far which has to be an all time low for me during the winter when there is time to read! So, ‘The Girls’ and I are working through that stack of books during story time. Next up is Chris Packham’s Birdwatching From Beginning to Birder. Will keep you posted as we finish up Tim Mackrill’s The Osprey. Review coming up later this week.

Missey looking at the bookshelf to see if she can find a book for story time.

It was a delight to see that animal skins and feathers are being banned from fashion week in Copenhagen. It could be the start of something special. No more animals bred and kept for the fashion industry!

Skins-and-feathers-are-as-cruel-as-fur-the-fashion-industry-is-told-Fashion-The-GuardianDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. All of the nests appear to be doing fine with the exception of Big Bear and Two Harbours where disappointment at a lack of hatch touches all of our hearts. All of the eaglets in the nest and all eggs being incubated appear to be in good order this Tuesday morning. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MB, MP, SP, TU’, Cornell Bird Lab, Megan Boardman, LRWT, SK Hideaways, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, FORE, Moorings Park Ospreys, Frenchman’s Creek, AE-PSEG, MP-Achieva, Montana Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Lochter Activity Centre, Dulles Greenway, Wetlands Institute, ND-LEE, Centreport Eagles, Little Miami Conservancy, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC, Geemeff, LRWT, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, @Stork40, Utica Falcon Cam, Windows to Wildlife, Jeanne Kaufman, The Guardian, Goggling Germany White Storks and SPO, and Amazon.