We have another Osprey egg – the first one laid at Venice Beach for the season.
The latest Kakapo chart sent to us by ‘J’:
JBS24 remains seemingly healthy more than 18 hours after JBS passed. This is welome news. HPAI ‘normally’ takes siblings closer together – so, it would appear HPAI is not the COD for 25.
Family portrait late Tuesday 10 February.
News of the Laysan Albatross from Hob on the island of Kauai:
The USK Valley is in Wales. The region has recently had its very first osplet fledge. In 5 weeks we hope to be welcoming the adults back to the nest.
SPO posts about the anticipation of the first egg at the US Steel nest:
Jean-marie Dupart counted 61 ospreys in the Somone Lagoon in Senegal recently. They will be departing for their nests in the UK and Europe soon.
Scout and Bella have been so busy working on their nest. These wonderful pair lost their eaglets last year when their nest collapsed. It was a real tragedy – those beautiful babies had their juvenile plumage. Sending this pair good energy for a successful year.
SW Florida’s E26 stands on the rails in heraldic pose, is self feeding, and still loves to be cared for by Mum and Dad.
Eve and Kai are growing and doing so well. They are getting their ‘tails’ at the nest of Beau and Gabby.
That piece of fencing is still in the nest of Connie and Clive. Nothing can be done about it at this point. Notice where Quinn is standing. Quinn could have a pre-mature forced fledge. Let us just hope that this piece of human junk that made its way to the nest is not harmful to anyone and that it will be removed in the off season during camera maintenance.
R9 and R10 are doing very well at the Dade County nest, too. We have much to be thankful for despite the loss of three eaglets this season.
Gus and Willow laid their first egg at the Eagle Country nest in Florida on the 11th of January. Blaze has not been seen for some months. Skye was seen after Blaze went MIA.
Thank you so much for being with us tonight as we catch up with a few of our bird families. Take care of yourself. Spring is just around the corner! But our bunch have ‘Valentine’s Day’ on their minds despite the fact that Toby’s ‘bunny ears’ arrived today. (Toby wasn’t so sure about these!) They are supposed to be a bit of a hat with ears, but we need some alterations!!!!!
We hope to be back with you the end of the week.
Thank you to the owners of the streaming cams, the authors of the FB posts, the creators of the videos, OpenVerse for its image bank, and The Guardian. My blog would not be the same without your talents and generosity in sharing.
It is warming up. -15 C wasn’t bad today but it is still cold. Not having any wind really helped on our morning excursion. The last Thursday of the month is ‘old people’s day’ at pet food stores, with 10-20% discounts. Toby loves going to the pet store. He is spoiled. Well, is there a word that means ‘more than spoiled’. He is always on the ‘lookout’ for a new toy when we go shopping, and today it was a fishing wand with some Valentine feathery bobbles. He would not stop whining til it went in the cart!!!!!!! Now, pet stores often do things on purpose just like grocery stores – put the toys down low in line of the pet’s sight. Remember having a toddler at the checkout line with candy???
Well, the fishing wand toy was a big hit with everyone – including all The Girls. So, thank you, Toby!
We managed to get The Girls two extra-large bags of their kibble and six large 24-tin boxes of wet food, and then there was Brock. He got his huge bag of dry kibble and some wet, and I got a big box of wet food for my neighbour, who also feeds Brock. Toby got his dry food and a handful of Lamb Chop toys. On the way home we stopped to pick up a box that had been delivered earlier in the week when we weren’t home. It is an aviator jacket – faux leather with shearling. Toby is a WWII fly boy!!!!!!
Does he look tired of trying on coats? He isn’t actually. Apparently, the tri-colours look ‘grumpy’ because of their colour patterns. I think he is rather handsome and reminds me of the character Andrew in the Foley’s War series.
Toby now has more jackets than Don and me combined. I guess it is time for a doggie closet. It is a good thing that not one of the The Girls likes to be ‘dressed’.
We have finished one book and begun another for Calico’s story time at night. The book was an ‘accident’. Yesterday was the day you don’t want to wake up to. I woke up unwell, but did manage to get the last appointment with my doctor on Friday. Then, when I went to do errands while Ann was here, the front passenger tyre was cooked. The book was a purchase so I could relax and read while the chaps worked on getting a new tyre for my car. The Kamogawa Food Detectives Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai. If you have ever travelled or lived in Japan, I recommend this book. When I visited Japan, which I often did, starting in the 1980s, I always stayed several blocks from the JR Station on Gojo-dari. I could walk to the Kamo River. The book somehow brought back all the flavours and aromas of the streets that I loved so much, like a tsunami rushing over me. Calico approves. The other book, The Friendship Book, arrived in the post – I had not ordered it. Who blessed me with a book of daily readings??? Eventually, the mystery revealed itself, and we are very grateful to ‘MC’ for the volume that we read at the start of story time each evening.
There is a lot going on in Bird World.
‘N’ writes about the Kansas City Bald Eagles, “Ellie laid her first egg this evening! Woohoo so excited. I have included the Facebook post of the announcement. I felt like I was reading Elfuler’s section on behavior in oviposition (egg laying) as I am watching. Amazing. Never gets old does it…
The Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis) is a small, mottled brown-and-gray nightjar found in open, arid habitats throughout the Americas. Known for its buoyant, butterfly-like flight, it feeds on flying insects at dusk and dawn. It is often distinguished from the similar Common Nighthawk by its lower, more erratic flight and a white or buffy bar located closer to the wingtips.
Our Melbourne correspondent is in love with the Royal cam albatross: “Just look at that beautiful little creature. Isn’t it just exquisite beyond words? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeHJsX84JAI. And how wonderful is Mum BOK? They are so serene, gentle, and patient. Beautiful, stately birds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeHJsX84JAI“
‘A’ continues, “The partying juveniles are keeping our baby awake. (Probably, they’re providing some form of entertainment for BOK as she sits there for days on end.) Seriously, aren’t these ‘adolescents’ just too funny? Mind you, after this period of partying, they can spend literally decades as part of a bonded pair, devoting themselves to raising a chick every second season, so perhaps this is the only real chance they get in a very long lifetime to ‘live it up’.
Aren’t their sky calls just wonderful? One of those adolescents has the most startling screeching noise. They do seem to have highly individual voices at that age.
Plateau Chick is progressing well, although it is still fairly small (and lost weight the first two days after hatching, which is not unusual). Mum regurgitated a squid beak during yesterday morning’s feeding, which the chick spat out and the ranger later retrieved from the nest. The twice-daily weighings and health checks will become daily at one week of age I believe, but so far, there have been no concerns with the wee one. It is absolutely precious, is it not? That perfect little bill and those sweet little feet are totally adorable.”
SK Hideaways caught two of the cutest little eaglets at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest! https://youtu.be/GPwd5POXfuM?
At the Moorings Park Osprey platform, Harry and Sally now have three eggs. They are an incredible couple. Food is normally not scarce but, honestly, I hope one of these eggs does not hatch!
All those Hen Harrier killings in the UK??? Well, one man, Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty to the offences in some of the killings.
In part it reads, “MAN SENTENCED FOR BIRD OF PREY PERSECUTION OFFENCES ON GRASSINGTON MOOR
A man has been sentenced for trying to kill a legally-protected bird, following an investigation by North Yorkshire Police.
The case against Racster Dingwall for encouraging or assisting bird of prey persecution, using the Serious Crime Act 2007, is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
In October 2024, a covert camera placed by the RSPB captured footage of three men on Grassington Moor, using radios and speaking in code to discuss shooting towards and killing wild birds, including hen harriers.
The recording was passed to North Yorkshire Police, and an investigation was launched by the force’s Rural Taskforce.
The footage was processed by technicians at the Regional Scientific Support Services, and an expert from the National Wildlife Crime Unit was called in to interpret it.
This analysis showed that one of the men – later identified as gamekeeper Racster Dingwall – was in possession of a semi-automatic shotgun for the sole purpose of killing a hen harrier.
Dingwall, 35, from Ellingstring, was interviewed by Rural Taskforce officers, and subsequently charged with encouraging or assisting the killing of a Schedule 1 wild bird (contrary to Sections 45 and 58 of the Serious Crime Act 2007); and possessing a shotgun for the purpose of killing a Schedule 1 wild bird (contrary to Section 18 (2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981).
All wild birds are protected by law, and ‘Schedule 1’ birds, including hen harriers, have additional protection.
It is thought to be the first time a charge of encouraging or assisting an offence under the Serious Crime Act 2007 has been used in relation to bird of prey persecution. “
There are still more people to find, as a substantial number of satellite-tagged Hen Harriers have been shot over the past couple of years.
At the Fort Myers nest o M15 (who delivered three meals in record time on Thursday), E26 has not only been incubating the egg, covering it with moss, and is now working on building the rails. Quite the eaglet!
Gabby and Beau’s NE32 and 33 are growing like wild weeds in a picture-perfect garden. Both had huge crops on Thursday afternoons, and the adults even managed to get some nice fish.
There is a lot of prey on the Winter Park Bald Eagle nest. There was a tandem feeding. Both have been fed. The oldest is simply big in comparison, so you can probably guess that she is a fierce first-hatch female and a second-hatch little boy. Things have turned around. Fingers crossed that it continues.
Cuties at the E1 nest of Anna and Louis II in the Kisatchie National Park.
It will not be long til those little bobbleheads of Anna and Louis will be the gorgeous feathered juveniles like those on Ron and Rose’s nest at Dade County.
C14 or Quinn at the Captiva nest of Clive and Connie is catching up with those juvenile feathers quickly. So sweet this Only.
Thank you so very, very much for being with us today and for all your wonderful comments, e-mails, and snail mail letters. I do so appreciate them! Take care of yourself. We look forward to having you with us again at the end of the weekend!
Thank you so much to the individuals who have created some incredible video captures of our raptor families, to those who post information on the various social media sites, and to Raptor Persecution UK, OpenVerse, and to ‘N’ and ‘R’ for sending me great information along with ‘A’ and her commentary on the Australian birds. My life is so much better – as is my blog – with each of you in it!
Toby relaxing in the conservatory.
Calico tempted to eat Toby’s chicken for her lunch!
It is -9 C with soft snowflakes falling on the Canadian Prairies. Toby has been out for his walk with Ellen. Because the snow is deep and wet, he wore his boots, hat, and his insulated play suit. He wasn’t so happy. Look at that grumpy face! He sure had fun, though, once he was outside.
Ellen gave him a good romp – 1.3 km in thirty minutes. That little puppy was quite zonked when he got home. My friends and lovely neighbours are making sure that Toby has an even bigger wardrobe. One is even knitting him a beautiful scarf with snowflakes!
Both Blue Jays were at the feeders again Thursday morning. This makes me so very, very happy. The Jays wanted peanuts, but one of Dyson’s kits just sat on the big table feeder, munching and munching. Nothing was going to budge that squirrel! The Jays were losing their patience. In this two-minute video, Junior, the male, spends the last half hoping to find a way to reach the feeder!
I want to thank ‘L’ for her note today. It touched my heart. She had a feral cat named Hobo. Worrying about him in the cold, she put a heating pad inside a gigantic dog carrier. Hobo liked it. Her letter gave me pause to reconsider what I might do for Brock.
As all of you know, I agonise over Brock every winter. He has indeed survived, but there is always a worry. I have a huge carrier that I got when we had Lewis, so I am going to order a heating pad and another outdoor extension cord. Then we will see if Brock goes for it!
Brock looks in the garden door after finishing his third meal of the day. If you look at the table to the rear and left of Brock, you will see the amount of snow that fell overnight. The young man was here shovelling the deck but it has filled up – again!
Jaine arrived and headed out onto snowy roads to take Don to the Y’s walking track for the afternoon. The Girls, Toby, and I are making cinnamon-cardamon rolls for her to take home when she gets back. I hope they are good.
We use the same dough recipe for everything from pizza to cinnamon buns and butter rolls. It is effortless, and like my grandmother, I don’t measure. If you want to try it along with us, here is what I did: Place a packet of active dry yeast in a bowl with 2 T sugar, 2 T oil (I used a fruity olive oil), and 2 t salt. Add 3/4 c of very warm (not hot but quite warm) water. Stir and let it froth. Once the yeast froths, add 1.5-2 cups of flour. Depending on the weather and the type of flour you are using, you might find you need a little more. Stir hard, knead, and let the dough rise twice. Punch down between rises. [I use a small Wolf counter oven instead of my big oven. It has a ‘Proof’ setting for 80 degrees F that is really helpful and makes the rising go even faster.]
When the dough has risen twice (which makes the rolls much lighter), flour your surface and roll the dough out into a big rectangle. (See below) Those are slices of butter (you can use either salted or non-salted) spread around. You can even melt the butter and brush it on. For this recipe, the more butter the better. (Don’t tell my doctor!). Then sprinkle a mixture of 1 cup of white sugar to which I have added 1 t of cinnamon and another t of cardamom. You can adjust to taste. You might not use all of this. If you want, you can omit the cardamom. During a visit to Copenhagen, I fell in love with the Danish cardamom rolls, and ever since, I have been adding cardamom to everything. Today, I also sprinkled some dried cranberries over the dough to try and make the rolls a little more festive.
Fold up the edges and roll into a jellyroll-like shape. Then cut into slices. Place these on a buttered OLD non-shiny pan. Do not use parchment, either, as it will make the bottoms soggy, just like a shiny pan. You can be neat and make the rolls all the same. I can’t be bothered! I do like them rustic. Allow the rolls to rise one more time before placing them in a 375°F oven. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and, when pressed, spring back.
My family likes a lemon or orange glaze – just mix some orange or lemon juice with icing sugar and smear all over. Yummy, yum.
We decorated the box and included an ornament for her tree. I hope she likes it. I am so terribly grateful for her help and support.
So, let’s check in on some of the nests.
There are still two eaglets at the Superbeaks nest of Pepe and Muhlady in Central Florida.
The clock is counting down to SW Florida when M15 and F23 will welcome chick number 1.
In Orange, Australia, Diamond decided to feed Gimbir instead of Girri. Of course, Girri’s crop was about to pop! What a beautiful gesture to a great first-time dad who has been Daddy Doordash all season. I bet he was hungry.
It is NOT unusual (nor is it frequently seen) for adult males or females to feed one another. Which nests can you think of where you have seen this? The FalconCam Project caught it on video: https://youtu.be/1FOmMdoS6tA?
Why does it always have to rain and why are there storms around fledge time? It always makes me so nervous. Girri will fledge soon. Enjoy her while you can! They do not normally return to the scrape very much, if at all.
Indeed, Girrir was flapping and almost went out the front. 12:34:52ish.
That was too close for comfort. She is not ready. She still has down and I want a week of sunny dry days not the storm clouds you can see in the distance.
The eagles at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest are working on that egg cup. This nest is looking really good. Just look at the size of it! The people who work at the centre say that visitors walking on the boardwalk often see the eagles flying overhead. Maybe you should visit JBSW if you live near Seagoville, Texas (east of Dallas).
The snow was really coming down at the US Steel nest. Evenso, nestorations continued. Those 7000 feathers kept those Irv and mate toasty warm and dry. https://youtu.be/1tK8d2JFE1Q?
Gigi and Pat were working at their nest, the ND-LEEF, in South Bend, Indiana, on Thursday despite the snow, too.
In Winnipeg, we are experiencing a very sad moment. Hundreds and hundreds of Canada Geese have been found dead due to HPAI.
This news just makes me feel very ill. I love our geese so much!
It is never good to go to bed angry and I don’t like closing my blog on a sad note. We watched T3, the only surviving eaglet of Mrs T, thrive under almost the sole care of its mother at the Trempeauleau nest in Wisconsin. There are bittersweet moments. Two other eaglets perished, but you will remember how much joy T3 gave us. Here is a lovely video about this determined young eaglet! Enjoy. https://youtu.be/OMa50gXbe18?
Mrs T was sleeping on the branch at the Trempeauleau nest on Thursday. They have snow, too.
Good night, Beau and Gabby.
Trudi Kron brings us up to date on the new couple at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest.
A note from our Bird World reader ‘J’ in Berlin also brings some good news about Kakapo. Enjoy:
Thank you so much for being with us today. Everyone wishes you a fantastic end of the week!
HY knows how to stay warm.
Thank you so much to ‘L’ for the great suggestion for Brock! I am also grateful to the authors of the FB posts, the creators of videos, the owners of the streaming cams, and the authors of the articles included in today’s blog.
We hope you are well! It has been a cracker of a day, and it all started in the garden at the feeder…
A morning video of the garden and yes! Two Blue Jays. I am so relieved. Junior and Mrs J are alive!
Birds and Squirrels at the table feeder – and look two Blue Jays!
Today we have a news story about Cornell University and its attempts to protect Big Red’s nest during a construction project! Lovely. Now if we could get them to make sure every window on that campus had bird strike preventative measures.
Suzanne Arnold Horning, the admin for the Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters FB group is posting daily images of events from the nest. Today it was a flap fest. Oh, goodness, these end of the year summaries and montages are really quite wonderful while we wait for all the action to start. Let’s see – third week in March for eggs for Big Red and Arthur? What do you think?
Suzanne picked the top five viewing moments. Aren’t they cute?
Speaking of protecting birds from window strike, I am ‘horrified’ that my city, under its mayor, Scott Gillingham, has altogether scrapped a programme to protect birds that came into effect only a year ago. Unbelievable. We will just have to try and fight this decision.
‘J’ in Berlin sent me a great announcement. It has to do with a young man that I mentioned several times in past years – Oliver Hellowell who lives in the UK. I love his wildlife and landscape photographs.
Oliver Hellowell loves raptors and he has photographed many. He is quite the talent. Keep your eyes open for his work.
It might have been ‘only’- 10 °C, but it was cold on the Canadian Prairies. The snow keeps on giving, and today was the photo shoot in the park. Instead of spending half an hour, we stopped at fifteen minutes. It was that wet, cold to the bone. Of course, Toby loved it! We didn’t get a chance to take off our Dyfi toques – so the whole shoot is now dedicated to a great osprey pair, Idris and Telyn. If the pictures turn out, I will post some. I, who do not like to have my photo taken, promise.
We now having a warning for -40 C (with wind chill) coming for Saturday. The frigid cold is to begin tonight!
Heidi gave me the best holiday present. She made a montage of the indoor and outdoor animals set to holiday music for us – and she included dear Lewis. I broke down when I saw him. Oh, how I loved that boy. Since so many of you have been readers for years, you might enjoy seeing HY when she was little and dear Lewis along with everyone else. Thanks, Heidi – that is what it is all about. Giving of your time and love. I so enjoyed this montage. https://youtu.be/yKOeSsFwJcE
You forget how little they once were!
Hope with her first Christmas tree.
No plant was ever safe with Lewis or Missey! He was my darling.
Heidi’s video really hits the holiday spirit even if many, who knew Lewis and saw it, have wept. Please enjoy! There is even a baby HY in there.
Bella and Scout at the NCTC nest are working hard. Last year their three beautifully feathered eaglets perished when their nest collapsed. We wish them a great season this year.
While we wait for eggs at NCTC, we do not have to wait long for little eaglets at SW Florida. My calculations indicate that we should see an eaglet around Tuesday of next week. M15 and F23 are excellent parents. This is exciting.
Gabby and Beau will have to wait a little longer. Egg dates: 23 and 26 November. End of December eaglets!
Superbeaks (Central Florida) has two hatchlings. The third egg was laid four days after the second (Froto). We wait to see if it is viable. Mira and Froto are doing well.
We have eaglets at the Duke Farms nest! No eggs. Just nest prep.
Ron and Rose continue incubating at the WRDC nest. Egg dates: 12 and 15 November. I will be looking for a pip around the 18th of December or that first egg. That would be 35 days.
Clive and Connie at Captiva on Sanibel Island are also resting and waiting while incubating. Egg dates: 16 and 19 November. I do love that camera that Window to Wildlife have installed.
There are no eggs at Eagle Country. The river cam caught the eagles bathing.
Girri is 36 days old today. Female falcons, on average, fledge at 40-44 days, slightly longer than males, because they need to fill out that larger body mass and cover it with more feathers. Girri is quickly losing her baby to all that flapping! Could you take a look at that crop? Diamond and Gimbir keep their only baby full to the brim! I recommend watching because Girri is going to fledge soon, and whether she returns to the scrape afterwards is anyone’s guess.
That’s a wrap for today. Thank you so much for your comments and your letters. We are glad that you are enjoying this daily mix of pets and birds!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care of yourself. We will be back tomorrow!
Thank you to Heidi for that amazing holiday present. I am so very grateful – and for the spirit of love, care, and the time it took. These really are the best presents of all! To ‘J’ for sending me the news about Oliver Hellowell and to the owners of the streaming cams and authors of the FB posts, you have my thanks.
It is a beautiful Saturday on the Canadian Prairies. On Friday, many towns in and around Winnipeg reached a high of 16.7 degrees C, the highest temperature recorded in Canada that day. It was truly uncharacteristically warm, and thus worrisome.
I am actually sending this post out Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. I hope this is not too confusing! Monday morning is going to be very hectic. Toby has an organized dog walk with Ellen and then we are going to fetch our friend Ruth who is coming for lunch with a pop in visit by our daughter. Enjoy!
Oh, how nice it is to have you with us today. I hope that everyone has been watching that cute little fluff ball of Gimbir and Diamond. He or she now has a name – Girri – and thankfully it is one of two syllables that is easy to pronounce!
Cilla Kinross broke down the votes – but look at the number of votes. That is a fantastic response!
I have the listing from SK Hideaways of her weekly videos but this one is particularly cute. Can we truly take our eyes off little Gimbir, first-time dad, and his little baby!?? https://youtu.be/SyatpPaTnJU?
Is it my imagination, or is Gimbir getting much more time with his chick than Diamond allowed Xavier? Gimbir even tries to brood the baby! Or is Diamond just away a little longer and doesn’t see the interactions?
There was lots of activity and SK Hideaways has caught it on video:
We love that little fluffball of Gimbir and Diamond. Can you imagine someone stealing it to sell for profit? Well, Raptor Persecution UK is following a court case for someone who does just that!
Some of the cute stills of Gimbir feeding the little one for the first time. This is precious.
Look how big Diamond is compared to Gimbir in the image right above.
Just imagine Gimbir and Diamond arriving at the scrape with that precious baby gone?
Raptor Persecution UK continues to follow the plight of the Hen Harriers especially those found dead in and around the large hunting estates. You might recall that I reported on five little Hen Harrier chicks stomped to death several years ago. Their mother has now been found dead, and once again we are made starkly aware of how dangerous the lives of these amazing birds are!
Snow on the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley on Sunday.
Both eagles at US Steel.
Both eagles at Cardinal Land Conservancy. Will there be an egg soon?
On a sad note, Blaze has not been seen at the Eagle Country nest for eleven days now.
I am enchanted with what is happening at the Sydney Sea Eagle nest this year. Lady and Dad arrive at the nest in the early morning with prey and no sea eaglets. They begin to defeather, looking around, and then both eaglets fly to the nest! In all the years I have watched this nest, this has never happened (at least to my memory). Does anyone else remember a year where the fledglings could fly freely around the forest returning to be fed? Please let me know!
This just brings tears to my eyes and I hope yours, too. These two eaglets from the Olympic Forest in Sydney will surely survive. They will get strong, learn how to hunt and beat those darn Currawong!
Just over the moon – almost beyond giddy. How long have the supporters of this nest have waited for a season like this one?
‘A’ has sent in a lot of commentary, and I need to post it, as I have been sending out little blurbs when an event has happened without a comprehensive narrative. I know how many of you enjoy their ‘take’ on what is happening in and around Australia, so here we go – albeit some out of order. Enjoy.
“It is nearly 8pm in eastern Australia and starting to get darker (it won’t be dark for a while yet with daylight savings) and both our eaglets are settling for the night on the branches above the nest. Lady is also perched nearby, in the nest tree. As I said, this is a family unit, working together. It is wonderful to watch, and the eaglets are gaining in confidence by the day. I have not seen this before. I hardly dare to hope that this really is the season they will succeed but I have felt that all along, as you know, and it is beyond thrilling to see the eaglets flying with confidence, returning to the nest for food and rest, and refusing to be cowed by those damned currawongs. “
“The upshot is that all three chicks have fledged and that one of those three has successfully returned to the ledge. Mum brought a snack too, which is encouraging – I am hoping we see all three return to the ledge. As I said, I’m hoping no news will be good news in terms of their welfare and whereabouts.
I will keep an eye on the cameras to see if we get any returnees but you would be best keeping an eye on the Facebook group – I am not a member of Facebook and refuse to become one at this late stage, but it might be worth it at this stage of events for the Collins Street group. It is exciting news that all three have fledged successfully and each one of the three appeared to fledge strongly and confidently. It terrifies me to even think about how difficult it is for young falcons to learn the intensely dangerous skills involved in their hunting technique, but I suppose this is where the parents play yet another critical role. I have been tremendously impressed by these parents, and the moment the crash landing back into the gutter occurred, a parent (probably mum) was immediately in the frame, doing a fly down (probably following the chick) to check that the chick was okay, indicating that the parent in question had been very close by during that fledge and obviously supervising everything that was going on. I do hope that indicates that these parents are going to be good teachers of their chicks. So many times during this season, I have been astounded at the size of the prey items brought to the ledge. These parents are very good hunters – let’s hope they’re great teachers as well. I suspect they might be. How wonderful would that be? There must be room for at least one more pair of peregrines in the CBD area. I’m still wondering where there are suitable nesting areas near Melbourne Airport. I must ask my sister that question again.
It will be raining in Melbourne over the next couple of days – not good flying weather for new fledglings. I do hope they return to the ledge for shelter, rest and food. There is plenty of time to learn all the skills they will need to survive alone out there.”
“Superdad M15. My favourite bald eagle male of all time. He is amazing. We will never forget his efforts the season he reared two eaglets alone. I think Mrs T might be in front in the female version of that award. And I noted from your blog that Mr T is up to his old tricks yet again. Leave the woman alone, you cad! What’s the betting he leaves her incubating a fertile egg and then takes off for the girlfriend’s island nest? I have no trust in him, I’m afraid. Once a cheat, always a cheat.
Oh, the joy of watching WBSE post-fledge. I never thought I’d type that! What a happy mutually supportive family they are this year. That nest makes me so happy at the moment.
Meanwhile, at Collins Street, two fledglings are on the ledge. The little male who returned after fledging yesterday spent the night on the ledge and in the scrape, and one of his sisters joined him around lunchtime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYQ2f7XnC8I&list=TLPQMTMxMTIwMjUIejz-QtbpwA&index=6. Wonderful! The returnee’s first priority is a little self-feeding in the gutter. Excellent. Let’s imprint that return to the ledge for food behaviour. The control she showed flying onto the ledge was impressive, don’t you think? Strong and balanced.
All three of the Collins Street fledglings returned to the ledge yesterday – the little male was still there from his fledge and immediate return the day before, but both his sisters joined him there during the day (how cute were the beakie kisses when the first sister returned and they lay side by side on the ledge? Just too adorable. I hope they can help and support each other just as the sea eaglets are doing. I’m sure it helps. Meanwhile, at Orange, our darling dad in training is progressing with determination. “
The Friends of Osprey South Australia and Port Lincoln have announced that, due to the failure of the trackers that have been placed on the osplets, they will now only be banding the little raptors.
Our local wildlife rehabilitation clinic, Wildlife Haven, is helping a Red-tail Hawk!
It is that time of year when people start thinking about the upcoming holidays. No matter what religious persuasion you are (or maybe not any), gifts find their way into the celebrations. Why not do something to help wildlife? One year, our family adopted the hawks, the Crow, and some of the other raptors at Wildlife Haven instead of buying ‘stuff’. Indeed, I do not need anything, having spent the last year trying to rid myself of the many things accumulated over a lifetime. Instead, we now gift small, locally made consumables. We will also reach out to local clinics in various ways. We have two large, used once dog carriers that are way too big for Toby. They will be donated along with a pet crate and various items on the wish list. I hope our family approves! Over the holidays, we will have a four-legged visitor to join our gang – Nellie, a very large British White Retriever. She is Toby’s bestie. The plan is to invite another four-legged friend and provide treats for the cats and dogs, along with some delicious shortbread for the adults.
There continue to be an enormous number of Canada Geese in and around Winnipeg along with Bald Eagles at every turn. Many of the geese have turned into lunch or those eagles. Great image by Kevin Eisler.
We still have osprey in Manitoba, too – the water is still open and fish and prey are readily available for the raptors. Migration times are extended!
Hawk Mountain’s latest migration chart for the week of 12 November. Those osprey numbers are not good.
Please continue to spread the word: Good Wolf reminds us that balloons have no place in celebrations in 2025. We know that they harm wildlife – it isn’t speculation. There are many other ways to decorate that are safe for our raptors and other wildlife.
Thank you so much for being with us. Please take care of yourself. We look forward to having you back with us for our next Bird World post which should be on Monday 24 November. See you soon!
Thank you so much to SK Hideaways, Heidi, and ‘A’ for their videos, notices, and commentary and to the owners of the streaming cams and FB groups who keep us informed, and The Guardian -I am in your debt. I am grateful to everyone behind Raptor Persecution UK who are working hard to bring justice for our raptors and to all who work hard to protect our precious feathered friends.
What a day! It is beautiful weather on the Canadian Prairies, unseasonably warm while it is also unseasonably hot in Big Bear Valley and everyone is wondering if Jackie and Shadow will delay eggs for a bit. The big news is coming to us from Fort Myers Florida, where M15 and his second mate, F23, now have their first egg kicking off the 2025 Bald Eagle season in Southwest Florida. Congratulations to the Pritchett Family and all who love these eagles.
There it is!
Thank you to the Pritchett Family for their streaming cam allowing us to celebrate this wonderful moment with these two loved eagles.
