Category Archives: Manitoba wildlife

Es sleep side by side then struck by GHO…HPAI kills Arizona Condors…Saturday in Bird World

8 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

There are many holy days that some of you will be celebrating. As I write, this is Good Friday. Both Ramadan and Passover are with us, and Easter is on Sunday, with Eid al-Fitr on 20-21 of April in Canada. Whatever holiday is yours – even if none of them is – I hope you have had time with loved ones or outside listening to birds. Whatever it is that makes you peaceful and happy.

I promised some images of Missy and Lewis. They love water! The new shower is very exciting. They want to walk all over the wet floor and lick the water from the walls. They are simply fascinated!

Missy is growing. This is a bed for a very large dog. The two are usually inseparable, and to be able to sleep together, they required this 4′ x 4′ bed. Missy’s legs are thick and stocky, and her fur is about 7.5 cm long or 4 inches. She takes up a lot of room in that bed!

‘A’ commented that I had not been my usual jovial self. Oh, she knows my every mood! I haven’t been so happy. Is it the storms and the worry over whether or not any good tress will be left for the Eagles? Is this the beginning of a long series of events that will ultimately destroy their habitat? I worry about the raptors and the impact of humans over the past fifty years of their lives.

At the same time, I try to find the same joy that the Bald Eagle parents at Decorah did. Their first chick hatched and dead in the nest, and a solid second hatch burst into the world. Mum standing there with prey ready to feed it. Life goes on just like spring follows autumn and winter.

Life outside my conservatory window is teeming. Mr Woodpecker has been here around his usual time with the regular troop of sparrows and squirrels. Later, Mr Blue Jay and Mr and Mrs Woodpecker will arrive for their evening meal, and then the Chickadees will come. It is reassuring. Even Little Red is paying more visits, having discovered the suet. Everyone, including the sparrows, needs the fat and head there before going to the Black Oil Seed.

Then this image of Spirit and Jackie popped up on the screen. Oh, what a fantastic eaglet! Watching Jackie, Shadow, and Spirit last year was a blessing. If we get another chance this year, fantastic. If not, I am so glad they are visiting the nest so we can see they are alright. Maybe with HPAI, it is a blessing. We never know. My grandmother used to tell me there is a reason for everything; you might never know why things went one way instead of another.

A link to an exciting moment was sent to me by ‘MB’. Last year a Tawny Owl fostered chicks, but this year, one of her own eggs hatched. Luna is away and we get to see that little owlet come into our world and then Mum arrives. So exciting.

But my mood is also curtailed because of the growing impact of HPAI, now confirmed to be the cause of three condor deaths in Arizona.

https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2023-04/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-cause-three-california-condor-0

Here is a copy of the 2022 UK Report on HPAI – what to expect and what can be done. This terrible disease continues to impact the raptors and it is good to know a little bit about it and what we can continue to expect.

Report-on-HPAI-in-the-UK-2022Download

Then there are the two struggling nests: Dale Hollow and Achieva and the realisation that the egg Jak and Audacity have been incubating could not be viable. So sad for these two. I continue to wish they could somehow be foster parents. Put DH19 in there and see what happens! Of course, that is sheer lunacy getting an eaglet from Tennessee to California. No one would do it, but I do like to fantasise sometime.

In Canada, the Geese and Raptors are returning to their spring and summer breeding grounds. Sometimes, they pick unusual spots to lay those eggs.

In the UK bird enthusiasts are celebrating the return of the Bittern, thought to be on the edge of extinction.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/06/uk-loudest-bird-bittern-bumper-breeding-season?CMP=share_btn_link

It is so hard to imagine the difficulty that single raptor parents have in finding food and defending their nest. River has had to deal with fishing tournaments and bad weather amongst having at least 25 other bald eagle nests in the area. Today, Friday, has so far been a bad day for the nest with a piece of road kill coming in and DH17 being the only one fed with 18 and 19 pecking. Oh, how I wish she could get a big catfish on that nest. Or two of them but I fear the holiday weekend will hamper any fishing she might do. My heart breaks for her. How long have her and Obey been mates? She is grieving hard and now she is left with three eaglets, not one or two but, three, to care for in very difficult circumstances. I understand that a few from Dale Hollow will go out and search again for Obey.

River will feed 17 first. She needs one of the three to survive, and 17 is big and strong at the beak. She is not allowed the luxury of being able to bring in enough food, perhaps, to keep all three alive. We wait and hope for a miracle. 17 ate again tonight and has a crop. 18 and 19 had nothing that I could see.

It is unlikely that the searchers will find Obey. ‘A’ and I chatted about where birds go to die and what happens after Harriet disappeared. Birds die for many reasons – old age, injury, and disease. Injury would include all manner of collisions with human structures and also with attacks by other birds. I was told once that raptors if they know they are dying, will see secluded places like forests, dense bushes, and tree hollows – just like my cat Duncan wanted to hide when she had rodenticide poisoning. They want to be alone and quiet. Many hoped Harriet would be found injured and taken care of, but her body was not found, and neither has Obey’s. There are reasons for this. Birds are light in weight. Their bodies decompose very quickly if scavengers do not get to them first. We know that carrion eaters quickly find dead animals and consume them – that is their job. Other animals also eat birds and raptors. Even the feathers are eaten by rodents and insects or used for nesting material. I had no idea til I looked at this question carefully that feathers contain calcium that is good for the food chain. That is why we hardly ever see a dead bird unless it collides with our window or vehicle at a specific moment.

I can see that the third hatch at Achieva has not been fed. Chatters say Diane is ignoring it. This is typical behaviour for Diane, who did the same thing in 2021. The difference was Tiny Tot Tumbles, who went without food for 12 days (not straight, but hours added up) and survived to become the dominant osplet on the nest. This little one is not as strong and feisty. Eventually, Diane had to give in, and she fed Tumbles after dark lots of catfish while the others slept. That got Tumbles strong and kept her alive. Sadly, I believe we are in for heartbreak today at this nest. Despite terrible beaking, the third tries to get to Mum, but nothing…nothing.

So if I knew I would be an osplet and could pick a US Mum, it would decidedly be Sally at Moorings Park who feeds til everyone is full and even gets up and feeds the osplets in the middle of the night to help stop the beaking. Sally is a marvel!

Here is Victor stretching. How beautiful. Two osplets, Abby and Victor, will fledge from this nest if nothing untoward happens between then and now. At one time we worried for Victor but, the great parenting meant all the difference to this little one. Look at his cute talons! Can talons be cute?

Blue NC0 is incubating two eggs at Loch of the Lowes. She does well with two osplets. Hoping no more eggs! We lost the third hatch at this nest last year to siblicide. As far as I know, it was the only instance of this behaviour in the UK.

Maya and Blue 33 also have two eggs at Rutland’s Monton Bay Osprey platform.

One of our readers is visiting Rutland today. Oh, how I hope they get to see the ospreys!

Idris and Telyn continue to work on their nest at Dyfi in Wales.

With the death of DH1 and the arrival of strong DH2 everyone waited to see if Deborah Hatchery Mum (DHM) would feed her baby and – of course – she did! What an excellent feeding.

A little fluffy treasure. What a loving image.

Chase and Cholyn’s only surviving egg has hatched! Congratulations Two Harbours!

Fishing line at the nest of the Es in Fort Myers. Will wait to see how this plays out.

Tonight, E21 and E22 are sleeping together in Dad’s spot at the nest tree. What a beautiful sight.

There was concern that the two siblings would be attacked by the GHOs and that is precisely what happened. Here is the report.

‘H’ reports that there were three hits. Despite this, both Es were seen flying around the pasture Saturday morning. All is well.

Everything is A-OK at Duke Farms, too. Gorgeous juvenile feathers and huge feet on those eaglets sleeping next to Mum.

Everything is also fine at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest of Martin and Rosa. This would be a good eagle family to be a part of!

One good place to find solace is watching birds incubate eggs. (It can also be terribly boring). They are so dedicated. Big Red and Arthur are no exception and this will be one nest you will want to watch when the pips begin!

The only anxiety I have ever had is the weather, and Big Red can be encased in ice and it is okay. She is incredibly devoted. Three eyases…four eyases. No one goes hungry. She has had only one eyas not fledge and that was K2 who had a beak/jaw issue. She was taken into care but did not make it. That was in 2021. Last year, Big Red and Arthur raised four. L4 is still living and hunting in their territory. (L1 died when it hit a glass breezeway at Cornell and L3 is in care to be released. L2 left the territory and as noted, L4 is still there).

Catching up with Karl II and Kaia. Karl II has crossed over in Ukraine. His battery is only operating at 16%. They are working their way home to Estonia. Safe travels as you enter Ukraine.

Kaia also has a low battery. She has just crossed into Moldova. Waba continues to be in Sudan. No transmissions from Bonus and I am fearing he is lost to us.

Heidi Mc has worked hard on the Mispillion Harbour FB Group, videos, and the history of the nest. The goal was to increase awareness of the ospreys living along the coast of Delaware. Unfortunately, the recent storms have knocked out the camera. Heidi is hoping that the staff will be able to repair it before the Ospreys nest. So, keep checking!

We are still waiting for Iris to return to Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. Star returned to the Baseball Park the other day, and Louis arrived today. Come on, Iris! We hope you made it through winter. In the UK, Aran and Louis continue waiting for their mates, Mrs G and Dorcha. Mrs G typically arrives before 1 April, but Dorcha often doesn’t arrive until 11 April. Mrs G is the oldest UK Osprey and may no longer be with us.

Louis is working on the nest but Aran has been seen sky dancing so there could be a potential female mate in the area for him. That would be lovely. He is a fantastic mate!

The latest on Murphy and the foster eaglet.

11 April is pip watch for Annie and Lou. Please mark your calendars for the Campanile Peregrine Falcons.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘MB’, ‘H’, CBC London, Heather Calk and FOBBV, Robert Fuller, Ventana Wildlife Society, fws.gov, BTO, The Guardian, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Moorings Park, LOTL, LRWT, Dyfi, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, CIEL, Marti Lord and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Carol S Rifkin and NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watchers Club, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenaway, Cornell RTH, Looduskalender Forum, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Terry Carman Live Nest Cams and News.

Connick branches, Idris is home, Big Red lays first egg…Friday in Bird World

31 March 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

As I keyboarded ‘2023’ in, I had this feeling that I have been putting ‘2022’ there for a few days. Oops.

I have been clearing many things so that the workmen can finally come – and I do mean ‘finally’ -and install a shower. It has been waiting for the ‘right person’ to put it together since the pandemic. I do not know about where you live, but few people in my City want to take on ‘small jobs’. Luckily, the person who put together the conservatory said ‘yes’ when I approached them. I laughed and said it is just a smaller conservatory without a roof!

The kittens have, of course, been right in there helping. We even found some cat toys, a kitty fountain, and a beautiful felted ‘cat rock’ made in Lithuania. They enjoyed the afternoon. I hope to have better photos of them and their exploits for Saturday. Missy thinks that boxes of any kind are first-rate! I do not know if you can tell, but her fur is many different lengths, and her tail is nothing short of a bush. She looks very sweet and is but, I would not want to mess with her.

Did you know that cats love bubble wrap? Had no idea.

There was also happiness in the garden. Little Red came and had some suet. For those who do not know, our pesky Red Squirrel, Little Red, lived in our garden shed for many years. It had to be removed for the conservatory to be built, and he was evicted. Talk about feeling guilty. I tried to build him several ‘homes’ in the garden, including a specially designed Red Squirrel house, but nothing worked. Dyson & Co chewed the opening of the cute Danish house large so they could get in and snatch the peanuts meant for Red. Eventually, he did find ‘another’ shed down the lane and survived the winter nicely. Little Red is very resourceful.

Sorry, the photos are pretty bleached out. He is a gorgeous rusty red right now.

Dyson finished the nut suet cylinder as predicted which is why Little Red is having to go for this suet. Then Dyson finished off a pail of peanuts! No peanuts for Little Red, too. Dyson is just an eating machine! Look at all those shells and that is just from this afternoon.

I am concerned about Dyson. Hopefully, the fur coming off is simply moult. The line that goes around under her front legs is disturbing me – like she got caught in something which ripped her fur off. There is no blood or cuts, so fingers crossed. What do you think?

Oh, Mother Goose. She now has six eggs at her nest in Decorah, Iowa. Isn’t she beautiful? Look at the down she has pulled from her breast to insulate those eggs. Our geese make their nests on the ground. After the floods last year that destroyed those nests, the idea of a goose using an abandoned eagle’s nest is intriguing. Can’t wait to see them jump off and go down to the stream this year. It was magnificent last year.

A few weeks ago, an acquaintance of mine was with their family in India. They posted hundreds of images of birds on their FB feed. My comment was, “I am now seeing a reason to return to India!” There are villages in India counting on international birders to help their economy. If this means that the birds are protected, I am all for it!

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/mar/28/tourism-is-our-only-option-the-community-banking-on-birding-in-north-india?CMP=share_btn_link

Victor and Abby are 28 days old today. Have you noticed how much calmer the nest is?

First fish of the day and the rose gold of the sun coming over the nest.

Sally seems to have decided that this is where she likes to feed Abby and Victor. This is the second fish. The only thing that changes is the light.

And the third fish Thursday morning and it isn’t even noon! Way to go Harry.

Look at those lovely feathers coming in. It is beautiful to be out of that reptilian phase.

Victor felt the need to get away from Abby and down under Sally for some more fish later on Thursday. Oh, Abby, we know you are the boss. So does Victor. Just chill.

More fish will come. This is a fantastic nest.

Happy 4 weeks Abby and Victor! That plumage is simply gorgeous. Look at those two.

While Telyn was waiting for Idris on Thursday, she decided to take a quick trip over to Clywedog and interrupt Dylan and Seren!

Here is a map with the Welsh Osprey nests indicated. Telyn is from Dyfi, the orange teardrop shape. Clywedog is Mid-Wales, the yellow one.

Morning at Big Bear after the storm. Jackie and Shadow are on the nest and Shadow is playing with the sticks again!

They were still there in the afternoon.

Big Red has been in the nest all morning. It looks like Thursday 30 March will be the day for her to lay her first egg of the 2023 season.

Cornell called it at 13:22. Arthur will be so pleased.

The egg reveal came at 15:04:25.

Arthur wasted no time getting to the nest and ‘demanding’ some incubation time! He has been impatiently waiting for this first egg to arrive. So many are relieved. Many thought that Big Red might be ‘too old’ but as long as she is healthy she should produce eggs.

Big Red settling in for the evening.

Arthur and Big Red have been sharing incubation duties – they are so in tune with one another and Arthur is so delighted. Do we think he will get a chance to feed the eyases more this year?

Beau and Nancy are taking care of their few days old only to be eaglet in the MN-DNR nest.

Bella feeds little E7 fish at the NCTC nest!

The rain is pouring down in San Francisco and Annie is hunkered down keeping the four Peregrine Falcon eggs warm and dry! She is not wanting to share incubation duties with Lou during the rain.

Idris has arrived home at the Dyfi nest on Thursday 30 March a day after his mate, Telyn.

Yeah. Daddy Long Legs is home safely! I am so excited. Time 17:31.

There are so many wonderful Osprey couples but these two are one of my favourites. So happy to see both of you back together, Idris and Telyn.

Blue 022 arrived first at Poole Harbour and an unringed female came to the nest. Now CJ7 is home and there are three of them there. Oh, goodness. Remember. The original nest at Poole Harbour was CJ7’s!

The female visitor took the fish. Do we think Blue 022 has some explaining to do to CJ7?

Blue 22 best be getting out there and getting a fish for his gal!

Birdlife Malta is trying to get the public to report any untoward activities towards the storks during their stay and migration over the country. See down further for more news.

Blue 014, the mate of Aaron Z2 at the Post Cresor nest at Glaslyn has returned. Excellent news. We now await Mrs G and Aran.

More Peregrin Falcons are returning to Manitoba!

I have had so many letters about the Dale Hollow Nest. I do not report on this nest along the Tennessee-Kentucky border. I did last season. That said, the adult male has been missing since Tuesday. The female has been feeding the three eaglets on the nest, who are now a month old. This situation is similar to M15 – except that there are three mouths. Several female eagles have been successful in fledging three alone. Please send this nest your love and positive wishes.

They all had a good feed from a huge fish that was used many times today. The little one at the top has a very large crop.

People came out to help protect the White Storks in Malta!


wskrsnwings loves E21. She did an awesome video of that flight around the pasture, coaxing him along the way. Thank you!

Anton Outdoors shows us all those Bald Eagles in Alaska eating that salmon. If you ever wondered what it is like, here it your opportunity in 49 seconds.

Thank you so very much for being with me this morning. There are branchings and fledges to come. Eggs to be laid. Ospreys to return. Lots happening. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘H’, Decorah Goose, The Guardian, Moorings Osprey Park, CarnyXWild, Welsh Ospreys Zone Map, FOBBV, Cornell RTH, MN-DNR, Deb Stecyk and the NCTC Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, Dyfi, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Birdlife Malta, Manitoba Birding 0 Birds and Wildlife Photography, Dale Hollow Eagles, wskrsnwings, and Anton Outdoors.

Telyn home at Dyfi, Dylan at Clywedog??…plus eaglet hatches…Monday in Bird World

27 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Sunday was a beautiful day in the Canadian Prairies. Spring is arriving, and the small ponds around the City and parts of the river are melting. The Geese are beginning to return. I saw four this morning during my walk, and others have reported them returning on eBird.

There was one lonely goose on the open water at Fort Whyte Alive.

Several were in the sky, flying toward our Assiniboine Park and the River. It is exciting seeing the end of winter. Can’t wait to see ‘green’ as in grass and leaves!

We will start with an incredible video of M15 delivering a Bluegill to the eaglets at the SW Florida Bald Eagle Nest. Shot by The Real Saunders Photography, who are on the ground in Fort Myers. What a different perspective!

On Sunday, M15 brought three fish and a piece of ‘something’. I can’t be positive, but E22 got the majority, if not all, of the prey. He appears to continue to provide feast and famine days for the eaglets as he eases them into what will be living in the real world. There were no big dramas yesterday. M15 also found time to have a nice splash about in the pond. He has done it! Will the Es fledge this week?

The winds are blowing UK Ospreys onto their nests. Blue 022, the mate of CJ7 at Poole Harbour, flew on to the nest on the 26th of March. Other arrivals are being reported around the UK. The nest at Poole Harbour is part of the Roy Dennis relocation efforts to bring Ospreys back to the area after a more than 200-year absence. Last year CJ7 and Blue 022 fledged two historic osplets from this nest. Sadly, one was killed by a Goshawk.

Blue 22 was joined by an unringed female. Come on CJ7!

Telyn has arrived home at the Dyfi Osprey Platform in Wales just after noon on the 27th. Now we wait for her mate Idris to get home.

A second osprey has been seen on the nest at Clywedog, but the camera has gone down and no firm confirmation that it is Dylan. Sure hope it is!

The three osplets at the Venice Golf and Country Club in Florida appear to be doing quite well. They are certainly well camouflaged. You have to look carefully to tell the stripes on their backs from the sticks.

Arlene Beech reports that the first Osprey has arrived in Poland for the 2023 season.

It was so nice to check on Abby and Victor and find them both up eating Sunday morning. The average number of fish coming to the nest is 5-6 a day. Many of those are being brought in by Sally. It appears that on Sunday, Harry delivered one early fish. Thank goodness the water feature below the nest must be teeming with food. Sally has no trouble bringing fish to her, Abby, and Victor.

Everyone is preening and itchy. Look at the image above. The tail feathers are starting to come in also.

Sally keeping the osplets shaded. Where is Harry? He has been off camera for a couple of days. I am used to him being on the nest and there being a few more deliveries. Sally caught fish yesterday.

Abby and Victor were so full of fish they could hardly move and then Sally decided to feed them some more after the IR light came on. Just look at the crops on Sally and the kids.

‘A’ is a keen observer of the Moorings nest and she writes about Sunday, “Not only is Victor rapidly learning how to get to the beak, even if he has to go between mum’s legs or hide under her wing, and he seems to have renewed confidence. As I think I mentioned yesterday, he has developed a technique for not being beaked by Abby – as he becomes aware of Abby raising herself up to beak him from behind, he does the same himself, stretching his neck and standing literally on his tiptoes to get himself high enough to prevent her from being able to bring her weight down on his head. Abby retreats nearly every time. Victor has now learnt that, so he seems quite confident to continue eating even in Abby’s presence.” Thanks, ‘A’. There are no worries at this nest at the moment!

At the Achieva Osprey nest, Jack flew in with a huge fish around 0830. Diane has been busy feeding the trio. It is so difficult to see the behaviour on this nest this year without the camera zoomed in closer!!!!!!!! I cannot tell how the osplets are doing in terms of the feedings only that there are still three alive on the nest. The third hatch, despite being only four days younger than the eldest, is quite small.

Jackie and Shadow were at the Big Bear Valley nest early Sunday morning.

Shadow has been bringing in lots of nice fish. If those prey gifts could be eggs in that nest, it would overflow.

Congratulations to Bella and Smitty on their first hatch of the 2023 season at the NCTC nest.

Big Red was also on her nest early Sunday morning!

And the camera pans over to the Bradfield ledge and catches her trying to keep out of the wind. Is this a new improved zoom?

The three eagles of Martin and Rosa in the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia continue to do well. What more can we ask when three are in a nest, and one is much bigger? They are doing well! There are, as of today, seven Bald Eagle nests in the US with three eaglets. Wow.

Ron and Rose continue to trade off duties caring for the two eaglets. Everything is going along splendidly.

A whole new meaning to ‘sleeping with the fishes’.

Rose indeed found an incredible mate when she landed on Ron’s nest! Lucky girl.

We are still waiting for a pip at the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California. I am not ready to give up on their only egg this season. Send them positive wishes, please.

Bella and Smitty had their first hatch on the 25th of the 2023 season. This is great news. The couple did not have any eaglets last season.

PA Farm Country now has their third hatch of the four eggs on the nest this season. Wow. They are going to be busy!

Pittsburgh-Hayes had their first hatch of the 2023 season at 12:03 on the 26th. Welcome H19!

Six hours old.

Congratulations to Nancy and Beau at MN-DNR on their first hatch of the 2023 season. Hatch occurred early Sunday evening.

https://www.youtube.com/live/l95k-iKfh8Q?feature=share

Bonding is happening at the scrape on top of San Jose City Hall. This new couple replaces Shasta, Annie, and Grinnell’s son, Sequoia.

Proud Owlvira standing with her three owlets in Corona, California. They have all ‘branched’ to the rim of the nest.

Pip, Tootsie, and Hoots must be full as each is ignoring the mouse in the nest that Mum delivered a few minutes earlier.

Here is that delivery:

Checking on Karl II and his family and their migration back to Estonia. Karl II’s last transmission was as he was almost leaving Turkey. No news today. Kaia had one ping in Chad and nothing since. That was several days ago. Waba remains in Sudan. Bonus’s last transmission was in the fall migration in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

If you want to take part in voting at Cal Falcons for your favourite memes, go to https://calfalcons.berkeley.edu Click on either the FB or Twitter links, and you will find the ‘Vote Here’ link. Have fun!

There seem to be more cases daily, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, as so many never appear on the FB site. It is a simple fix. Imagine all the resources saved, never mind the pain and suffering of the carrion feeders. So explain to me why this is not happening. The EU has banned lead. You cannot hunt waterfowl in England, Wales, the wetlands of Northern Ireland and Scotland using lead but, the programme is not comprehensive. A voluntary initiative in the UK to stop pheasant hunters from using lead indicated that 94% of the pheasants tested had been killed with lead shots. It needs to be a mandatory ban on all lead in all hunting and fishing equipment. It is simple. Every news outlet is looking for a story. Give them one. Pepper the local papers and outlets with the reasons for not using lead then make it mandatory. It will take a few years but people will comply (for the most part). Just do it! And not piece meal.

Voluntary-UK-initiatives-to-phase-out-toxic-lead-shot-for-pheasant-hunting-have-had-little-impactDownload

Here is the link to the story about the EU banning lead that appeared about a month ago in The Guardian and in my blog at the time.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/15/ban-on-hunting-birds-with-lead-shot-in-eu-wetlands-hailed-as-huge-milestone-aoe?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so very much for being with me today. I hope to have another unique story from Barbados for tomorrow for everyone. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, announcements, tweets, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: Real Saunders Photography, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Ospreys of Poole Harbour, Dyfi, Venice Golf and Country Club, Arlene Beech, Moorings Osprey Park, Achieva Credit Union, FOBBV, Deb Stecyk and the NCTC Eagles, Cornell RTH, Dulles-Greenway, WRDC, FORE, Pix Cams, MN-DNR, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall, Corona Owl Cam, Live Owl Cam, Looduskalender Forum, Cal Falcon Cam, Phys.org, Terry Carman and Bald Eagle Live Nests and News, and The Guardian.

Pips everywhere…Sunday in Bird World

26 March 2022

The sun is bright, and the temperature is only -2 C, but a 22 kph wind makes it chilly! I have not seen them, but others have witnessed 45 Bald Eagles and 1 Golden Eagle arriving from their winter migration. First American Robin seen, also. Amazing. Last year many of the eagles who make their nests on the ground and the ducks’ and geese’ nests were ruined by overland flooding. Hoping that does not happen this year!

For me, the delight of the day came when about half a dozen Dark-eyed Juncos landed in the lilac bushes at about 1630! They’re back. Mr and Mrs Downy had just departed when they arrived. Do you know what this means? A trip to the bird food store for millet tomorrow.

‘H’ reports that it was quite the day at the WRDC nest. There was a feast with Rose bringing in 2 fish and Ron delivering 7 fish and a duck. Goodness. There was even one feeding. Needless to say neither chick was hungry! Incredible.

Gosh, that fish on the Moorings Park Osprey Platform has been there a long time. Sally started feeding Abby and Victor and Abby took great exception to Victor wanting food. Not that behaviour is any surprise. Poor little Victor. He did wait it out and watched and got over and Mum Sally fed him until he had a nice crop. There is still fish left.

Little Victor finally getting some fish.

Around 1640 Sally ‘decided’ to feed Abby and Victor before they got ravenous. Great idea. They both ate little civilised cherubs. Each got fed a nice meal.

There was even fish left for Sally.

Victor had a nice crop as the sun was setting over the nest. Harry was not around much today. Chasing off intruders? Sally caught one fish herself. Saw it from the nest and went and got it. Don’t think she cared much for that other fish that Harry brought in. Perhaps it was too bony.

Sally and the osplets sound asleep…Victor tucked in under Mum.

There is fish hiding all over the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest. The triplets are doing just fine. Martin and Rosa seem to managing them well.

This is the listing of the UK Ospreys that have returned. Thanks, Mary Cheadle!

Seren Blue 5F is an amazing fisher. Here she is with a huge trout – too large to finish in one meal. She will have the rest for breakfast.

There is still some rumbling on FB about Gabby ‘being missing since Wednesday’. Gabby has returned from her spa days. The AEF has confirmed this with the following post on the 25th of March.

Here are some images:

Meanwhile Jackie and Shadow keep us guessing at Big Bear.

They certainly have been bringing in more railing!

Our big girl Jackie on the left and Shadow on the right. A great image to see the difference in scale between male and female Bald Eagles.

Shadow provided Jackie with several fish on the nest Saturday. The perfect gentleman…oh, Shadow, you really do want those eggs!

‘A’ sent news that all three GH owlets at the Corona California nest have now branched.

Bonnie and Clyde’s owlets on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas are enjoying some sun and from being out from under Mum!

E21 is 79 days old today. The average age of fledge at South West Florida is 83 days. Oh, what a bittersweet moment this is all going to be.

Sometimes you can only see a few talons!

They track Dad when he is incoming with prey and get themselves in that nest!

On Saturday, M15 brought in no less than five fish for the Es.

M15 and the kids did defy the odds…fledge watch! We should all be jumping up and down with joy but, the moments are so bittersweet. What an amazing season and what a pleasure to watch M15 rise to every occasion. We do not know what his fate will be after the Es leave the area. Will M15 get a mate and keep the nest? Will he leave on his own for a more quiet life elsewhere after Harriet? We wait.

The miracle at the SW Florida nest this year has made the Naples news.

https://www.news-press.com/picture-gallery/news/2023/03/24/e-21-and-e-22-swfl-eagle-cam-defy-odds-they-prepare-fledge-harriet-missing-since-feb-2/11535484002/

Mum and Dad eating on the nest at Duke Farms along with the two eaglets. These two are so easy to watch!

Three eggs laid on February 20, 23, and 26 at Denton Homes. We will be on pip watch next week.

There is a possible pip at the NCTC nest of Bella and Smitty Saturday night.

There is a pip at Pittsburgh-Hayes, which was confirmed at 16:44 on Saturday. Hatch is now in progress. Oh, the wind is really blowing and it feels cold just watching Mum trying to get some sleep, hunkered down.

Did we not think everyone would have a hatch at the same time. Oh, goodness.

At the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest near Houston, Ringo has branched!

Beautiful Mama Goose and her two eggs at the Decorah Goose Cam in Iowa. The second laid on Saturday the 25th at 1000.

Eggs covered with nesting material and down while Mum has a break.

If you are into wading birds, do you know about the Alligator and Spoonbill Swamp Cam in St Augustine, Florida?

https://www.youtube.com/live/M4P_GzA6H80?feature=share

Ferris Akel had the most extraordinary images of the Sandhill Crane migration. These images were taken in Nebraska. Ferris said the tour was 1000% worth it! Even getting up at 0400 for the fly off.

Ferris Akel is a gem. He has a streaming tour of the Ithaca area every Saturday. You can see it later archived on YT. He also shares so much and taking us with him on this amazing tour was very special.

There are upwards of 400,000 Sandhill Cranes in this area migrating right now. They expect 600-650,000 at peak migration, according to Ferris.

This is a gathering place. They will gather around marshes often surrounded by prairie forest feeding and then flying off at dawn. Every crane set off at the same time to continue its travels north.

Those Sandhill Cranes will be flying into Southern Manitoba any day now!

Ferris has this fantastic spectacle – with the sound of the cranes – now on YT. Thank you, Ferris Akel!

This is why we need everyone to stop using lead in hunting and fishing equipment (and military).

Conservation without Borders are heading back to West Africa to see if they can find Tweed Valley Osprey Glen whose tracker says he is still in Morocco. I hope he is there for their arrival and not on his way back to the UK. Go Sasha Dench and Crew!

Meanwhile, we are going to band together and try to locate Glen’s brother, Kirk 707 beginning this week!

Good Morning, gorgeous. Big Red and Arthur have sure been trying out that egg cup. All eyes are on the 20 year old Red tail Hawk, the Queen of the Cornell Campus.

On the Canadian Prairies, people are just getting ready for gardening season. With the high cost of food, many are converting lawns into gardens or, if they have a small space, container gardens. This article in The Guardian challenges us to reconsider our garden because it should be a vital place for wildlife. Have a read, get some ideas! Send me some pictures if you join in. I would love to see what you are doing to help everything from a small insect, songbirds, beavers, deer, and waterfowl!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/25/garden-multilayer-forest-biodiverse-tom-massey-rhs?CMP=share_btn_link

Missy is going to help us review a new book for next week. It is Water Babies. The Hidden Lives of Baby Wetland Birds by William Burt. Oh, just in time for the new season!

She has already started evaluating the images!

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Remember to get outside and take in some fresh air, even if it is on your balcony or front step! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, streaming cams and videos that helped make up my blog today: ‘H’, ‘A’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Dulles-Greenway, Mary Cheadle, Carnyx Wild, AEF, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, Baiba and FOBBV, Corona Owl Cam, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Denton Homes, Deb Stecyk and the NCTC Eagle Cam, Pix Cams, Paul White and Webster Texas Eagles, Decorah Goose Cam, Alligator and Spoonbill Swamp Cam, Ferris Akel Live Tour, Terry Carman Bald Eagle Live Nests and Cams, Conservation without Borders, Cornell RTH, and The Guardian.

E22 branches, DG3 out of the nest for 5 hours, 3rd hatch at Achieva…Wednesday in Bird World

22 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It was simply a gorgeous day in the Canadian Prairies. The temperature worked up to -1; there was a cloudy sky and little wind. It was a perfect day for a walk at the nature centre until….DG3 decided to go walkies in the nest and found itself over by the rim! Needless to say…I didn’t go out but, stayed home, baked cookies, read your lovely letters, and enjoyed the kittens.

We have been shifting furniture. A bit of spring cleaning. Not sure the dried hydrangeas will survive. When the kittens first arrived, they enjoyed tearing them apart and eating the pinecones I had collected on my walks. In the winter, I smear suet over them and put them in the lilac bushes. Let’s see if these hydrangeas last! Not counting on it.

Missy and Lewis used to fit together on top of their climbing tree. No longer.

Dyson was here today eating peanuts. So lovely to see her and the three babies from last year. Little Red was running on the hydro wires on the lane and the lilacs were filled with birds, including Mr and Mrs Woodpecker. Life is good. Each survived the winter including Little Red who had to find another home after the garden shed was torn down to make way for the conservatory.

The woodpeckers love the logs with the drilled holes filled with suet.

Michael St John and I continue to track Blue KW0 and its adventures getting to Barbados from Scotland. Hopefully, Tim at the Roy Dennis Foundation will discover the owner of that mysterious band and where and when this lovely osprey was ringed in Scotland. This morning Geemeff sent me a really good article on birds – all manner of birds – hitching rides on the big ships. Geemeff asks an important question: do they land on the boats out of choice or necessity?

With Ships, Birds Find an Easier Way to Travel

Jackie and Shadow have far worse weather than I do. Glad Jackie isn’t buried under that snow. They continue to visit the nest and are seen mating on the tree.

The wind could not have been more perfect at the Southwest, Florida Eagle nest of M15 and the Es. E21 was on the rim of the nest, letting the breeze blow against its wings. E E22 was in the nest. Then E22 began to flap his enormous wings, and at 17:04:34, he branched. It was magnificent. E22 was 73 days old on Tuesday.

After making it to the spike, E22 explored other branches higher up. Our brave little one. Yahoo….22.

Poor 22 had another first yesterday. It got hit by the GHO while it was sitting on the rim of the nest. Thankfully 22 went into the nest and not over the side! Thanks, Heidi!

All three eggs have now hatched at Achieva Osprey in St Petersburg, Florida. The third was Tuesday, the 21 March around 10:00. The hatch dates for the three are March 18, 19, and 21 so there is only three days difference between one and three. Not bad. Jack and Diane will be particularly busy. Fingers crossed.

Moorings Park Osprey platform. Just look at Victor’s ‘ps’. Looks healthy! And he has a fat little bottom—time 0739, 21 March.

A considerable fish came to the nest at 10:48. It had its head and Sally worked away trying to get the flesh from the bones.

That time Sally took allowed Abby to get herself into a right state.

Victor and Abby are 19 days old today. You can still tell them apart by their heads but Abby is now bigger.

Abby remains aggressive. She demands to eat first. Victor, of course, doesn’t like it.

Victor goes into submission. Good lad. There is lots of fish left. Either Victor needs to wait or he needs to carefully move around to the other side of Sally.

You can see how Ally is working away at the head of that fish.

Victor is very hot. He has moved around the rim but Abby is keeping him at the side. Come on Abby! There is fish left and you have had lots.

Victor got up in the shade and Abby followed him.

At 12:02, Abby is in food coma. Victor is up in the shade of Sally and there is fish left. Come on Victor! Come on Sally. Now is the perfect chance.

Harry’s eyes remind me of Blue 33.

To the relief of all, Victor is eating!

Victor got some fish and Sally finished the tail at 12:34. That means that she fed Abby, Victor, and herself from 10:48-12:34. Remarkable.

Thank you, Sally, for shading the babies!

Of course, Victor does not know when to leave a good thing alone. He went on a ferocious attack on Abby. Victor, everything is fine. Leave Abby be! No revenge is necessary.

In Virginia, Martin and Rosa continue to do well with the three eaglets at Dulles-Greenaway.

I do not know about the weather but these little ones cannot regulate their temperature yet and the oldest has gotten out of the egg cup and over to the rim of the nest. It needs to get back! This happened around 11:00 on Tuesday.

The chick is still moving at 12:37.

The oldest was out of the nest cup for over 5 hours. At one point, Rosa went over to encourage it to get closer to the egg cup. It must be extremely hungry, and I hope it has not gotten a chill. And then, a miracle happened. All three are in the nest! Tears.

The female eagles are at a loss as to when this happens. Most will not help because they could harm the little one. You might remember that one of the Es got out of the nest cup this year, and Harriet did use her beak to roll it back under. That was a brilliant solution.

I cannot see DG3’s head in this image.

Then a few minutes later it is there and seemingly tired.

Now all three are back in the cup. Thank goodness.

DG3 feeling better a few hours later.

At 17:04, the trio were enjoying a meal.

I continue to have mixed feelings about Rose. Thankfully Ron is feeding the eaglets! Rose flew off early on Tuesday morning and Ron flew in and fed the little ones.

Rose returns and does a feeding. Did she bring the fish?

She’s gone again. Ron is looking after the little ones. No worries. Ron is really rather amazing and is having a wonderful time looking after his babies while Rose eases herself into motherhood.

‘H’ has sent me a note. Apparently Rose has done an amazing feeding of the eaglets. She is being patient and offering small pieces. It was 16:16. Thanks, ‘H’. I do hope that Rose gains more confidence. ‘H’ says there was no beaking and both left the meal with nice little crops that you can see in the image below.

Bravo, Rose!

The two eaglets at Duke Farms are older than those at Dulles-Greenway and WRDC. They hatched on the 27-28th of February and are 23 and 24 days old. Their thermal down is coming in and Mum and Dad do not brood them all day long.

They also have enormous crops. It is a wonder they can sit! or move.

The Latvian White-tail Eagles, Milda and Voldis, continue to incubate their eggs. Gosh, these are beautiful eagles.

Arthur and Big Red continue to work on their nest. It seems that Arthur is very much aware of the construction across Tower Road. Let us all hope that this does not cause issues for this Red-tail Hawk couple on the Cornell campus this year.

Meanwhile in Mlade-Buky, The Czech Republic, everyone is awaiting the return of White Storks, Bukachek and Betty.

Checking on Karl II and his family. Waba continues to forage in Sudan. There was a hiccup on the tracker, but it shows that Kaia is on the move north from Chad. Precisely where is unknown. Everyone feels that Karl II should be arriving in Estonia at any time but there is no tracking news. We wait.

How long does a Bald Eagle live when it is cared for? fed? Mrs B was at least 49 years old when she passed. Wow.

Flaco, the escaped Eurasian Owl from the New York City Zoo, thrives in Central Park. Check out the latest on Falco and other NYC urban hawks with Robert at urbanhawks.com

In Canada, especially in some of the most beautiful parts of our country, the developers are taking over land traditionally supporting Bald Eagles. Dave Hancock and his foundation are working diligently to replace nests in trees lost to developments, including parking lots! I have mentioned it before, but it is worth pointing out again in case you missed it, Dave is including a sunscreen because of the rising summer temperature in the lower mainland of British Columbia.

The geese are taking over some unused Bald Eagle nests in Iowa. This one in Decorah had goslings jumping last year to our delight. Now there are eggs again this year! Bravo.

Red Tide has come to the coast of the Barrier Islands in Florida. So what is Red Tide? NOAA says, “Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae—plant-like organisms that live in the sea and freshwater—grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. While many people call these blooms ‘red tides,’ scientists prefer the term harmful algal bloom. One of the best known HABs in the nation occurs nearly every summer along Florida’s Gulf Coast. This bloom, like many HABs, is caused by microscopic algae that produce toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. The toxins may also make the surrounding air difficult to breathe. As the name suggests, the bloom of algae often turns the water red.” In fact, not all of the waters are red but, this can be very deadly as you can see form the Plover below in the care of CROW.

How will this impact our eagles and Ospreys?

If you are watching the Loch of the Lowes nest and are confused because you cannot see the Blue Darvic ring for Blue NC0, it appears it has split and come off. I cannot emphasise how important these rings are in identifying the birds. The recent mystery surrounding Blue KW0 would not even exist without that ring!

Maya and Blue 33 continue to reacquaint themselves after their return to Rutland after their winter migration.

The Scottish Government is trying to come to grips with the illegal killing of the raptors because of the grouse-hunting community. They have now implemented a grouse shooting licensing bill. It is a first step. Still, the legal system must deal with those who defy the laws allowing gamekeepers to get off with little or no penalties for horrible crimes against these amazing birds, such as stomping on five Goshawk chicks in the nest!

Breaking news….Scottish Government introduces grouse shoot licencing bill

I want also to introduce you to a lovely Ukrainian tradition today. One of my former students from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, CD, teaches at a university in northern Manitoba. She posted that March 22 is the Day of the Forty Martyrs. Her baba (grandmother) would make bread (pasta) covered with little dough birds. Of course, I saw the post and thought how interesting. Here is the story from the Ukrainian Cultural Centre:

The importance of this day, which comes immediately after the spring equinox, pre-dates Christianity in Ukraine. According to folklorist Olexa Woropay, on this day the magpie puts forty twigs in its nest and forty larks migrate from south to north. Bird-shaped buns called zhaivoronky were baked – forty of them, of course – and were given to children so that the poultry breed well. Some traditions report the children playing with the forty bird-shaped buns, tossing them into the air to invite all the birds to return from their winter migrations.

What a marvellous tradition! Guess who is baking paska today?

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care all. Remember to get outside, even for a few minutes if you can! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, ‘H’, ‘CD’, Hakai Magazine, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Heidi Mc and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, Dulles-Greenaway, WRDC, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cornell RTH, Blade Buky, Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News, Urban Hawks, Hancock Wildlife, L Rose and Decorah Eagles Love Nest, Diane Lambertson Captiva Island Eagles and Ospreys, LOTL, LRWT, Raptor Persecution UK, and the Ukrainian Cultural Centre.

Annie lays 3rd egg, KNF-E3 has ‘branches’, Valentine hit by an owl…Thursday in Bird World

9 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the Canadian Prairies. The wind was brisk, but bundled up like one was heading to outer space, it is possible to walk through the woods and by the lake without getting too much wind burn. There were few birds and squirrels out, oddly. Perhaps it was all the schoolchildren. Four buses of laughing and sledging young ones. Brilliant. We must start getting them to love nature when they are little!

In the distance but almost in the centre of the middleground, you can see the Bald Eagle nest.

The trees that make up the forest are mostly Aspens and Birch.

The Chickadees were the only birds at the feeders with a single Red Squirrel hoping they would spill some seed!

The Bison were closer today.

Lots of owl action lately. Valentine got hit Tuesday night at the KNF-E3 nest of Alex and Andrai. As cute, fluffy, and ‘intelligent’ these ‘wise’ owls are, they are at the top of the Apex Predators, and they can do a lot of damage with their silent approach and razor-sharp talons.

Construction work near Central Park is causing some urban hawks to abandon their former nesting sites. Flaco, the escaped Eurasian Owl, has discovered that these building sites are good places to catch rats. Oh, Flaco, we sure hope that rat you ate had not consumed rodenticide! For the latest action, please go to Bruce Yolton’s urbanhawks.com

Most everyone was focused on the scrape of Annie and Lou on Wednesday. According to Cal Falcon’s chart, Annie was due to lay the egg around 1600, but by 1230, ‘H’ had sent me a note saying Annie looked like she was uncomfortable. She was! That third egg could be seen at 13:47:15. Most surprised was Lou, who is tiny and wondered what to do to get three under for incubation! Lou was adorable in his effort.

The reveal.

Annie was quick to get up for a break and give Lou a chance to see the three eggs.

Cal Falcons posted a video of the third egg being laid.

Peregrine Falcons are arriving at their scrapes all around the world. In Montreal, Eve and Miro, are thinking about spring on their scrape on the 23rd floor of one of the buildings of the University of Montreal. That scrape faces the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery. A great place for hunting.

Shadow visited the nest near Big Bear Lake he shares with Jackie at 10:23 on Wednesday, the 8th.

Shadow spent more than two hours at the nest just looking out to the beyond.

Now we wait to see if the couple will have a replacement clutch or they will come back in the fall and begin working on nesting for 2024.

Little osplets do not like to wait to be fed! When this happens they will often start cavorting and this usually ends up in some beaking. “Feed us!” Thank goodness Sally arrives. Poor Harry needs some instructions in feeding and a little more confidence.

Harry loves being on the nest with Sally and the kids. They are doing great. Beautiful Thursday morning in Naples, Florida.

These two at Moorings Park eat very well. Harry is an excellent provider. That there is a stocked freshwater pond also helps! No problems, even though they might like you to think there are! Harry is always good with fish deliveries and is trying to do a little feeding. Sally will let him do more when they are older.

E22 might want some of the fish at the Moorings. Today there was one delivery to the nest and it seems 21 got the most of it.

22 loves being on the rails, but 21 almost pushed him off accidentally on Tuesday. Thankfully 22 was alert!

As the sun set, the intruder female settled alongside M15 on the branch. Has this female fought with R23-3 and driven her from the territory? R23-3 has not been seen since Sunday and Marti Lord reports three new females hanging around.

M15 ate well! Look at his nice crop.

The female.

Marti Lord shares some incredible images of the new female with us.

M15 is a good catch. We all want him to find – or have her find him – a strong, fierce, protective, funny, ‘kissable’ mate like Harriet was for eight years. Isn’t it amazing how protective we have become of this amazing Dad?

The two eaglets at Duke Farm are doing fine. There has been some concern about beaking, but this is an experienced nest with lots of food. Enjoy!

Rosie has delivered the first stick of the 2023 season to the Whirley Crane. Poor thing. They must rebuild that nest again this year! I always think of Richmond and Rosie and then recall those lovely platforms all fixed with twigs and railings, waiting for some of the Welsh Ospreys. Still, R & R surprise me with what they can whip up in a short time.

Congratulations to Valentine who has flown to a branch and to Nugget who is up on a branch, also! Nugget is 70 days old today! Well done, you two.

At 0648 both eaglets were on the nest looking for leftover prey.

Alex and Andria are preparing for their eaglets to fledge. In Ithaca, New York, Arthur and Big Red are preparing the nest for their first eggs, which could arrive within a few days. The earliest Big Red has laid an egg was the 13th of March.

Arthur was in and out, and Big Red flew to the nest for a private inspection!

For something a little different. A Great Egret bathing…

Happy Hatch Day to two little Kakapo!

Oh, those gorgeous White-bellied sea eagles. As humans take over more of their territory, where do they go to make their nests? To the tall telecom towers in Malaysia! The telecom companies have been working with Birdlife International in Malaysia to find a solution for wildlife and communications companies. This should interest everyone as storks, eagles, and ospreys also use towers in other countries.

https://www.birdlife.org/news/2023/03/09/king-of-towers/

Quite honestly, I do not know what is wrong with humans. There is not a morning that I do not read about a raptor being poisoned in the UK or a Bald Eagle being shot in the US. The fines in the US are high, so impose them – $100,000 – and the individual gets a criminal record. So why are people still killing the raptors? Respect for all living beings must be instilled in children the minute they are born, and as adults, we must be role models so they can see how this plays out in real life – respect, compassion, and empathy.

Bald eagle found shot in Enumclaw

Last, a shout out to ‘B’. I had listed and discussed the Channel Islands nests and some changes there. At the time I did not know what had happened to FP. Thanks ‘B’ for updating me.

Andor and Cruz have established a new nest area. Dr Sharpe might be able to get a camera there for 2024. So, the best thing to do this year is to check the website for the Institute for Wildlife Studies for updates on West End and Fraser Point.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, ‘B’ Tonya and KNF-E3, Cal Falcons, Falcoun UdeM en direct, FOBBV, Moorings Park Ospreys, Heidi Mc and Moorings Park, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Terry Caman Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News, Marti Lord and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, KNF-E3, Cornell RTH, Native Bird Boxes, Kakapo Recovery, Birdlife.org, the Courier Herald, and the IWS.

Rose lays her first egg of the season. photos of where Zoe is fishing, will E22 survive?…Sunday in Bird World

5 February 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

As most of you know, I write my blog the afternoon and evening prior to the morning I publish it. I have had countless letters and notes today and a couple of comments wondering why isn’t anyone searching for Harriet. I do not know who began spreading the idea that there was no one looking for Harriet. Harriet is one of the most famous Bald Eagles in the world. She is beloved by the Pritchett family and thousands and thousands of watchers. She is known throughout Fort Myers. All of the news media – papers, radio, and TV news have covered the story of Harriet missing. People have been out searching. Here is one story that is carried about those searches.

https://www.news-press.com/story/news/environment/2023/02/04/harriet-the-eagle-has-gone-missing-search-continues-for-iconic-swfl-star/69873361007/

Saturday was one of the most heart-wrenching days I have spent monitoring a single nest while trying to keep up with some of the others. We are all sad. You are, I am, the Pritchett’s are. My thoughts have gone to M15 who is actively grieving for his mate and yet, has the responsibility for their last two eaglets. He brought in a fish big enough for all three to eat well this morning but, as we all know, 22 ate it all. 21 got little as I document below. It pulls at our heart. M15 will look after these children as best he can. He has other responsibilities too – while not knowing what has happened to Harriet. It is a very different situation to Gabby who had no eaglets on the nest. We do not know what will happen if 21 continues to keep 22 from eating. There are many scenarios at play with lots of people behind the scenes trying to figure out what is the best thing to do. All I know is that the Pritchett family cares deeply for its eagles. They have a stocked pond for them. They got help for 17 and 18’s eyes immediately. Those eagles are part of their extended family. If anyone can pull a Rabbit out of a Hat, the Pritchett’s can working together with CROW and the USFWS. The best place for the eaglets is on the nest with their dad, M15. I hope that there is a sudden change in 21 because 22 needs food and it is scared of its stronger and larger sibling. At the same time, M15 will, as eagles do, feed the beak that is at the table. I live in the hope that something good will happen.

I spent my Saturday on and off the SWFlorida Eagle Cam. All of the other nests appear to be fine. It is agonising to watch 22 being so hungry, digging through the nest for scraps when 21 has been fed well and has kept its little sibling from being fed by M15. 22 was able to get enough off the bones and fish by itself to get a small crop. I want 22 is a survivor like Tiny Tot Tumbles and Blue 464. Certainly 22 is as afraid of eating as TTT was…we just have to hope. The good news and celebration is down in Miami with Rose and Ron. And well, the fact that everyone else is doing well including Zoe who has a perch above a creek makes everyone happy. The first part of my blog is a long overview of SWFlorida today. Then I move into the other nests and all the great news happening elsewhere.

The temperatures are climbing on the Canadian Prairies with the Polar Vortex moving away. There is little wind. The squirrels were out in the garden enjoying a good feed.

You can see some of the snow falling. Dyson is on top heading for a solid seed cylinder while one of her babies is enjoying Black Oil Seed and some Butter Bark Bites.

M15 flew in with a large fish with its head on at 12:15:04 on Saturday. E21 was first up and did not hold back keeping its younger sibling in submission. As it ate and ate, E22 sort of shifted, keeping its head down, hoping there might be some fish left. E21 as I write has been feeding for a long time. M15 constantly looking around, keeping what is going on in the surrounding environment in his head. 21 is getting some huge bites. If you were watching – and thousands are – you will see that 22 finally moved up and got a bite – before 21 reached out to peck it. M15 left the nest and the rest of the fish.

E21 has been eating for at least 30 minutes and has a huge crop. M15 does a good job feeding his eaglet amidst all the other worries he has.

M15 waited for 22 to come over. 21 is stuffed and appears to be ready to go into food coma. 22 is looking.

The famous two bites of fish for 22.

At 13:03, just as 22 was set to eat, 21 goes on the attack.

M15 flies off. He is very preoccupied with the intruders into his territory. Don’t blame him! It is difficult to care for the eaglets, secure food, and secure the air space around the nest.

n the midst of his own personal grieving, M15 is taking care of his eaglets and his territory. He is an extraordinary dad and he will do the best he can BUT he cannot pull 22 up to the table to eat. There might be some tactics he could use but he has a lot on his plate and has no mate to help him.

The story continues with E22 finding fur and an old fish tail in the nest and self-feeding. Now get over to the new fish, 22. You got this!

E21 is aroused and is practically sleeping on the fresh fish..

22 creeps over with the fish tail towards the fresh fish and 21 strikes. This reminds me of Tiny Tot Tumbles. TTT ate the old food on the nest and survived until a time when the parent fed her secretly after dark when the other two slept. Fingers crossed that 22 can get a piece of that fish…there are two sections, the body and tail and the head. Plenty for both eaglets. A22 is desperately trying to self-feed. He just doesn’t have the technique down…hold it down with your talons and pull hard, 22!

E21 went back and 22 continued to work on the fish tail. He has gotten some fish off it – even a few bites helps. Every bite helps.

Then 21 took the fish tail. That was a moment when I felt someone had just hit me in the gut. How could he deny 22 that small morsel of fish? He took it and then just left it.

22 finally got over to the fresh fish and began picking at the head – not the open part – without success.

Then M15 flew to the nest at 14:18:39. I wonder if he saw 22 at the fish wanting food? But leave it to 21 – who is still bursting – to go up and begin pecking 22. Sad. Will 22 get some food?

It is possible we need another fish on this nest…22 is still not getting any and 21 is bursting at the crop. Sometimes if another fish comes on in rapid succession and if the parent won’t give up, the second submissive eaglet gets to eat. You have seen this at other nests. M15 doesn’t have the time to get out and get another fish. We are fortunate he was able to catch that big one this morning.

M15 flew off the nest at 14:49. 21 is in food coma (thank goodness). 22 moves over to self-feed. He found some scraps and is working on a piece. This is good. If M15 flew down now would 21 wake up? or would 22 get fed? We don’t know the answer to that but 22 is getting some flakes of fish. As I said earlier, even small amounts of fish help and we know that 22 ate some of the old fur and dried up rabbit. Bald Eagles eat anything and everything. As an adult, they will eat fur and bones and hard pieces of food to survive if they need to. IF 22 survives, he has been learning some good lessons on this nest for his future. I do hope he does but, it is not a given based on what is happening.

22 pecks and finds some bites until 21 wakes up and comes to investigate at 14:57 when it beaks little sib. 21’s crop is huge.

At 15:39 E22 broke into an area of the fish with flakes…can he get enough to fill up?

At 15:46, E22 could be heard singing, “I Did It My Way” as the little sibling had found enough scraps on the nest and the fish – he is really not that good at self-feeding but 22 worked at it – and he had a small crop. A round of applause. This is the face of a survivor.

It is 18:08, M15 is guarding the territory. He has brought in one large fish and did 3 feedings. Or was it 4? 21 got all of the them but a couple of bites while 22 ate scraps on the nest.

We must prepare ourselves. It is possible that only one eaglet will survive with Harriet’s absence. It is difficult raising eaglets – this size – alone – and I also believe we must accept that Harriet is not returning. If 21 were willing to let 22 get a good feed, I might feel different. But 21 is not willing to share. We wait. We Hope. There is absolutely nothing else we can do as we have no idea what discussions are taking place in the quiet corners of the Pritchett Farm, CROW offices, and USFWS. We know the situation is being monitored and we know that there is a search for Harriet.

Making News:

PG&E backs down from cutting down old pine with a nest to a pair of Bald Eagles. Thank goodness the eagles returned to the nest when they did or the outcome would have been different!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/04/california-bald-eagles-nest-tribal-communities-activists-pacific-gas-electric?CMP=share_btn_link

Oh, I wish I lived in Iowa! Do you know anyone who might be interested?

If this doesn’t turn someone’s stomach. What was practised in the UK’s historical past has met up with a society that no longer finds this acceptable. When will the enforcers step up and do what is right? Raptor Persecution UK reports on this tragedy:

The rotting carcasses of shot pheasants, ducks and geese have been found today, dumped on the Otley Wetlands Nature Reserve in West Yorkshire.

Morgan Caygill (@atypicalbirder) posted the following on Twitter this afternoon:

From the grisly photograph it’s clear that at least some of these birds have been ‘breasted’ (i.e. the breast meat has been removed, presumably for consumption).

It’s not clear whether the birds were all shot on the nature reserve or whether they had been shot elsewhere and just dumped on the reserve. It seems unlikely that bird shooting would be permitted on this award-winning reserve as it’s previously been celebrated as a ‘safe haven for wildlife’ (here).

Even if shooting is permitted here, however, the dumping of shot bird corpses would not be permitted. It’s an especially stupid and reckless thing to do given the ongoing concerns about the spread of avian flu.

Regular blog readers will know that the dumping of shot gamebirds is not a new phenomenon, it’s been happening up and down the country for years, prior to this latest outbreak of avian flu: e.g. in Cheshire, Scottish borders (here), Norfolk (here), Perthshire (here), Berkshire (here), North York Moors National Park (here) and some more in North York Moors National Park (here) and even more in North Yorkshire (here), Co. Derry (here), West Yorkshire (here), and again in West Yorkshire (here), N Wales (here), mid-Wales (here), Leicestershire (here), Lincolnshire (here), Somerset (here), Derbyshire’s Peak District National Park (here), Suffolk (here), Leicestershire again (here), Somerset again (here), Liverpool (here), even more in North Wales (here) even more in Wales, again (here), in Wiltshire (here) in Angus (here), in Somerset again (here) and once again in North Yorkshire (here).

The dumping of shot game birds is a breach of the Code of Good Shooting Practice which states:

‘Shoot managers must ensure they have appropriate arrangements in place for the sale or consumption of the anticipated bag in advance of all shoot days‘.

The Code of Good Shooting Practice is, however, in effect, just advice. It has no legal standing and is unenforceable. It’s handy for the shooting industry to point to it as ‘evidence’ that the industry is capable of self-regulation but it’s not really worth the paper it’s written on if shoot managers can breach it without consequence, as they so often do.

Last year, almost a year to the day, after yet another episode of dumped shot game birds, there was an exchange in the House of Lords where game bird shooter and DEFRA Minister Lord Benyon denied that there was evidence of shot gamebirds being dumped (I know!) and Lord Newby, having seen the evidence provided by this blog, stated he would pursue Benyon to find out what plans the Government had for dealing with it (see here). Unfortunately nothing ever came of that but in December 2022 Green Peer Natalie Bennett said she’d chase it up with Benyon.

Raptor Persecution UK Blog, 4 February 2023

At our nests:

Well, everyone was waiting and most people thought it wouldn’t happen but Rose laid her first egg at the WRDC nest with her new mate, Ron. Congratulations to everyone at WRDC and thanks to ‘H’ who warned me that Rose might be in labour. While I will question the wisdom of raising eaglets so late in the season with the heat, the saying ‘Eagles know best’ is appropriate here. Time: 18:22:10.

Ron has not seen his egg as I finish writing this (2300 Saturday evening). He will, no doubt, be elated in the morning!

HeidiM caught the action on video for us. Thanks ‘H’. Does anyone think Rose looks like she is in shock? Remember this will be the first egg she has ever laid…and her very first chick. Ron is experienced…so happy for him. The pair were so cute working on the nest – all that effort is now paying off.

Pardon me for being me…but I hope that they have one healthy little eaglet to care for this first year – not two or three, just one super healthy chick.

Baiba caught Ron’s reaction! Thanks, ‘H’ for telling me about this video.

Little B16 celebrates its two week old hatch! What a little sweet butterball of a baby.

Pa Berry feeds his baby some squirrel. Two weeks. Notice those black spots…thermal down is coming and our soft little butterball of a baby is going to change.

Connick had a good day. That eaglet is a little butterball like B16. Some people would say he looks like a Buddha sitting there. Notice that gorgeous wooly charcoal thermal down and the way the dandelions form almost a hooded cape over the little fellow. I keep saying….there is something nice about one eaglet on a nest!

Rhona A did an amazing little video clip of Alex bringing in the 15 fish yesterday – I missed the last one. 15. No worries about anyone going hungry on this nest. Lots of fish for self-feeding. Would love to send one or two of these over to SWFlorida or to Zoe.

Valentine and Nugget (yes, that is the official name for 02) are great. There is so much fish on that nest no one knows where to start eating and feeding. Did I saw I wish we could dump about 5 of them on the nest at SWFlorida? That would stop all the food insecurity for 21!

Next Friday, voting will begin for Anna and Louis’s third hatch in their three years together. Be sure to stop in and vote! Give this little one a super name.

Oh, if you are wondering what 03 is doing – well, it is incubating Dudley. 03 often sits on Dudley and we might need a backpack for 03 to fledge with Dudley if the affection continues. If you watch this nest, keep an even on 03’s behaviour. Sometimes Dudley is between his legs when he is being fed. So cute.

And there are no worries about Indigo. Indigo is still in Diamond and Xavier’s territory and was in the scrape screaming in Elain’s highlights for 4 February.

For all you Redding Eagle fans, there is some action at the nest caught by SK Hideaways.

Zoe is apparently fine. She is alive and this is the latest announcement by Fran Solly of Friends of Osprey. Thanks, ‘H’ for the tip that the tracking had come in!

Fran Solly says that Zoe has a perch over the water. Smart girl our Zoe.

The latest news shows images of where Zoe has been fishing. You know, she is a smart girl! Here is the announcement and one of the images. Sure makes you feel better. I wonder if these creeks aren’t full due to the flooding???? Anyone know?

What I would really like right now is an update on Ervie. Let me go and check to see if there is one and, yes, one from a couple of days ago. Ervie is still hanging around Port Lincoln!

Everything is fine at Superbeaks. The eaglets are self-feeding and being fed by Mum and Dad.

Jackie and Shadow are good except for the Ravens/Crows that you can hear at various times when you are watching the streaming cam. We are now 10 days away from pip watch for Jackie and Shadow. I am so glad these eagles have spaced out their eggs and hatch days a bit! Then we can enjoy the little ones at each nest a little longer. What a switch from the heat in Miami to the cool mountains of California with snow.

Do you watch the Bluff City, Tennessee Bald Eagle Nest? Frances laid her first egg of the season with her new mate on the 2nd of February. If there is a second egg, it should arrive today. Her new mate brings her a huge fish to celebrate —– gosh, Ron, did you hear that? Will you bring Rose a big fish, too?

Here is the link to this Eastern Tennessee University eagle cam:

https://www.youtube.com/live/oEWCovYPcP0?feature=share

It has been a long and tiring day for everyone. Last year was an exceptionally difficult one and this year has started off no different with the loss of Samson and Alden right at the end of 2022. I cannot imagine Harriet returning to the nest. ‘Something’ has happened to her and we might never know what that was. She was a devoted mother. She was much loved and no doubt we will mourn her later but, for now, it is that helpless feeling. Send positive wishes to the SWFlorida Eagle nest – M15 and 21 and 22 and the Pritchett Family. It is a difficult time for all of them.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, their announcements, tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams: ‘H’, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Raptor Persecution UK, WRDC, Heidi Mc and the WRDC, Baiba and the WRDC, Berry College Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways and the Redding Eagles, Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey, Port Lincoln Osprey, Superbeaks, FOBBV, and ETSM and BTES.

CE9 at Captiva eating well, dual feeding at KNF-E3…Friday in Bird World

20 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

It is a good day or, rather, I should say, Thursday was a great day in Bird World.

Thursday turned out to be a fantastic day for a walk at the nature centre. It was only -8 degrees C with a wind of 8 km/h. Did the 5.65 km trail. It felt good to get out and breathe in some fresh air. There were even a few critters around.

This male Downy Woodpecker was having a real go at this pole.

Then he decided he would check out the Black Oil Seed feeder tube.

This little Red Squirrel has figured out how to get the peanuts out of the feeder. The sky was too bright behind and I cannot lighten the image any more but, I hope you can see him a bit. He was adorable.

His friend, on the ground, found some peanuts, too. The colour of their plumage is so beautiful. Love that red with the black tips on the fur of the tail.

The Black-capped Chicadees flitted in and out to the feeders when the others were not there.

The squirrels were everywhere!

There was a White-breasted Nuthatch on the square feeder when I turned the corner. We normally think of them feeding upside down on a tree or a tube feeder but, there it stood. Notice the long beak and then stop for a moment. Everyone knows that raptors have a back toe called a hallux. But did you know that the Nuthatch has one, too? The White-breasted nuthatch has three toes in front and the hallux or back toe which is long, behind. It helps them to grip tree trunks so that they can forage upside down!

Compare the length in the image below of the hallux and one of the front toes.

The Nuthatch sees me, gets its peanut and prepares to take off into the forest. It was a lovely day. Thankful to have real birds to see!

In the News:

Warming temperatures are causing fewer swans to winter in Britain. What if the tundra in Russia warms as well? I am very interested in the story of the swans. During the summer, there was a family of Tundra swans at one of the wetlands that I frequent. I took some poor photographs of them for you. As it happens, a Tundra Swan that should have migrated is wintering in Manitoba in the area north of me about an hour known as the Interlake. It has discovered an area of water fed by an Artesian well. Will it be able to get food? will we get really cold temperatures? or is Manitoba set for continuing warmer winters that might suit some swans? I wonder.

It appears that the warming climates in the UK might not be beneficial to the swans during the winter.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/19/bewicks-swan-population-vanishing-britain-climate-crisis?CMP=share_btn_link

Checking on the nests:

As it happens I was confused about the name of the eaglet at the Captiva Nest and had seen and been given different ones. then I confused all of you. Apologies all around! ‘F’ and ‘M’ wrote to confirm (thank you both) and I mention this below but, for everyone – it is Captiva Eaglet 9 or CE9. (LOL. I had CJ7 on my mind once – apologies. Thinking about Osprey!)

The worries at both the Captiva Bald Eagle nest and for any for the second eaglet at KNF-E3 clearly can take a back burner. Connie and CE9 are doing well. There is nothing wrong with the ability of the eaglet to open its beak and eat as seen in the second image below. The wee one has a full crop also.

That late feeding of Clive the other evening made all the difference in the world to this eaglet getting strong in order to hold that head up. Fantastic.

The eaglet is getting stronger. We can see this by how it moves around the egg cup and is holding up its head – not much bobbling. The eyes are clear and focused so none of that fish juice seems to have caused any issues. This will all help with the feedings. Sweet little one. So happy to see this. Such relief.

I am just so over the moon for the turn around on the Captiva nest that I don’t know what to do! The next couple of images are from later in the afternoon. Baby has a nice crop and less juice on the head. Magnificent.

A new Coot had been brought on the KNF-E3 nest and a nice large fish. The eaglets are pecking at the Coot and Andria gives them a good feed from the fish. E02 ate first and this time nothing E01 did deterred the little one from the table. It is amazing how seeing food on a nest can calm things down!

The pair had a good feeding with Mum at 16:16. You can see the crops. Oh, oh, and fat little bottoms with tails. 02 is getting its mohawk. Watch for their ‘lips’ to turn yellow!

Thanks to ‘A’, I did not miss the dual feeding for the last meal of the day. Alex flew down to the nest at 17:47 and joined Andria in feeding the eaglets. E02 was stuffed!!!!!!! It was a good day. Nice to see the babies going to bed full to the top of the crop. Alex brought that fish in at 17:46. A nice big half of one so lots of food for all.

At the KNF-E1 nest of Anna and Louis, Mum makes E03 stretch that neck (this is great for building good muscles) for its fish. Not a big crop from this feeding but fine.

If the eaglets at Superbeaks are not bursting at the crop, we might wonder what is wrong. They appear to be doing some self-feeding and some winger sizing. Towards the end of the day Muhlady lands on the nest to give the pair a feeding. Tico is eating first and getting some nice bites. Pearl is watching from behind. After awhile, Pearl decides she is ‘fed up’ with Tico’s grabbing all the prey and she becomes dominant. No worries. Sibling stuck at the back and wanting food. A series of images from Thursday so you could see how big these eaglets are. Another feeding followed. Muhlady likes to keep those babies full and happy.

Both eaglets still have a few dandelions on their heads. Pearl is darker overall as she has lost more of the dandelions on her body than Tico.

Wingersizing and self-feeding.

Big world out there for a 5 week old eaglet.

The eaglets are walking on the nest and are the size of a turkey about now. They have grow so well and Pepe and Muhlady have been amazing parents to these two. At 42 days or 6 weeks, the eaglets will be the size of their parents. Can you believe it? Look at how strong Pearl is and how steady she is on her legs now…improving every day.

Big world out there!

This is where I can identify the eaglets. Tico is nearest to us and Pearl is behind Mum. She waited and did not get a good location. Tico began eating first at the 16:04 feeding.

Tico got some really nice bites! Look at Pearl watching closely.

Tico gets more and more bites and Pearl is getting impatient. She wants to be fed by Mum, too.

Enough. Pearl wants some bites and she tells Tico.

You can see how dark Pearl’s head is and her body compared to Tico’s.

Pearl gets fed but Tico is a real good one at the snatch and grab. No one goes away hungry.

Meal is finished. Pearl is on the left and Tico is on the right. Now you can see their plumage differences better.

As the sun goes down, the pair are fed again just so they go to bed with a full tummy. What a fabulous nest. So lucky to be able to watch this family of four.

As many of you know, M15 dropped a fish on E22. There has been much concern over E22’s eye. E22 has been eating well and following with its eyes today (Thursday). This morning, Friday, E22’s eyes look much better. The Pritchetts have posted a bit of a long stating that E21 has been bit of a stinker this morning. See below with this morning’s images.

These details are form the Pritchett website.

“9:45a H still on the attic. E’s resting at the rails. 9:49a H flies to the drive snag. 9:50a M in with a squirrel. E’s move close to M , watch it being defurred. E21 warns E22 off, E22 submits. 9:57a M feeds E21, E22 moves away.”

Here is the link to their page. You will also notice that they state no intervention will take place. I find this interesting after E17 and E18 and their conjunctivitis. But…what is important is that E22’s eyes seem much better!

https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/southwest-florida…/

Wingersizes:

At Big Bear, Shadow brought in an American Coot yesterday. Jackie has been feeding off of it. For those that do not know, a Coot is not a duck. It is specifically a rail but, it swims in the water and forages in the ponds. It is black with a distinctive white beak and a brick-red cere. They are large and the eagles eat off of them for days!

Shadow is up to his old tricks to get Jackie off the eggs so he can have some incubation time — it is called ‘Let’s Move some Sticks’!

Notice that Jackie’s beak is clean when she leaves. It will have the marks of eating bloody prey when she returns.

You can get a good look at Shadow’s hallux (right foot) in the image below.

Here comes Daddy!

Jackie is back with a slightly bloody beak. She must have had a nice Coot lunch.

As evening arrived, the snow flakes began to fall on the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear.

Zoe is 124 days old. Dad delivered 1 fish for his girl on the 20th (Australian time/day). She is anxiously awaiting more deliveries today. The camera showed a view of the old barge ? with an Osprey on it. I could not see a tracker but it does not mean it wasn’t Zoe. It was 07:09. She has been flying more and PLO are wondering if she is following Mum and Dad to fish.

Osprey is almost in the centre. Head turned to the right, back towards us.

In Florida, Jack and Diane have done an amazing job transforming that Achieva Osprey nest. My goodness, it doesn’t look like the same place. Let us all continue to hope that the bark brought in will help with that hole that the Crows and squirrels made last year that cost this couple their clutch.

Adjustments being made at Captiva Osprey platform. MO and FO returned to the nest after. I am not thinking eggs in the immediate future. No soft materials in that nest and no defined egg cup.

But, of course, they will go ahead and lay the eggs tomorrow just to show me that there is an egg cup hiding there in the centre and we can’t see it!

Sadly, the reign of terror at the Bald Eagle nest in Webster, Texas continues. The little one is only safe from the beaking when it is under Mum. It has found a way to hide but, clearly this situation is painful. It is unclear ‘why’ the eldest sibling, at such a young age, has launched into such brutal attacks when there is plenty of food on the nest. Bobbleheads cannot focus and often have beaking sessions when they are young but, it is rare to see such frenzied attacks. It reminds me of DH14 towards DH16 last year at the Dale Hollow nest last year. So very sad. I hope the behaviour stops before the wee one dies.

Let’s leave on a good note. The ‘new guy’ at The Campanile has finally brought a prey gift to Annie!!!!!!!!!! Yipppppeeeeee.

There are major and wonderful gains at Captiva with CE9. There is fish and both eagles at KNF-E3 ate well. Jackie and Shadow are fine. Gabby and V3 are fine. Diane and Jack seem to be thinking of eggs and Diane’s leg is good…and I forgot to check at Berry College! Egg 1 is 36 days old and egg 2 is 33 days old. We are still a little shy of pip watch and it seems nothing has happened. Saturday maybe!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, their videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘F and M’, ‘A’, The Guardian, Window to Wildlife, KNF-E3, Ron and Ruth Aguillard, KNF-E1, Superbeaks, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Carol Shores Rifkin and the NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watercress Club, FOBBV, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Achieva Credit Union, SK Hideaway and Cal Falcons.

Captiva eagle feedings are better…Thursday in Bird World

19 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

It was a wonderful day yesterday. Wonderful in that – for the second day in a row – a beautiful Mourning Dove was in the garden. Yesterday, she was eating on the snow under the feeders. Today, she spent the entire day pecking at the snow on my neighbour’s roof. Why? Five cats in the garden. Five. One had the nerve to sit right under the feeders. These are fat cats, pets, let out to go to the loo, and then called to come in. How do you spell furious? No one follows the by-laws and why should they? The City doesn’t even enforce them!!!!! Why bother then?

Prior to the demise of the Passenger Pigeon in our province in 1878, the Mourning Dove appeared. Normally they are only present in our province the south and central areas from April to mid-October. A few, however, remain in the winter and wow! I feel so lucky to have seen one. The shiny patch below the ear (rather round spot) signals the difference between this Dove and the Eurasian Collared Dove with its dark crescent collar.

In the mailbox:

‘L’ sent a link to a great article on Wisdom. What is it that allows some birds to live so long? Wisdom will be 71. How is this possible? Thanks, ‘L’!

https://www.audubon.org/news/why-birds-are-anti-aging-superstars

‘H’ wrote to tell me that there is a problem with sibling rivalry at the Bald Eagle nest at Paul White’s in Webster, Texas. The older sibling has apparently plucked all of the feathers off the back of the wee one. There is plenty of fish on the nest. These two are so very tiny.

Paul White says:


Webster, TX copyright Paul W. White 1/18/2023 Boots gets most of this feeding. Boy, his back has been taking a beating, it’s bloody! Ringo bites him even when he is sleeping and there is no reason for rivalry. I have never seen the bonking this vicious before.

Pat Burke, a very wise eagle loving woman shared her thoughts with the Webster Texas Eagle Watchers FB page. I always value Pat’s wisdom.

I get so many questions every year about why raptors in the US are so much more aggressive than those in the UK. The question usually focuses on ospreys because there are no Bald Eagles in the UK. So the real question is why on nests with plenty of food does one eagle turn on the other? Admittedly, the eaglets on the Webster nest are really quite young. We need to remember that eaglets are blind when they hatch and acquire their sight and focus over a period of a few days. That is why they are often called ‘bobbleheads’. Every beak is a potential adult with food! But what about if they are older? like the eaglets at KNF-E3? We often think of dominance but are there more subtle underlying issues? Toxins/pollutants/contaminated soil and water where the eagles get their prey? DNA? There sure are a lot of refineries and pipelines around Webster, Texas. Check it out. How about Alexandria, Louisiana? Check it out. They are there, too. You just need to Google: are there any refineries around Webster, Texas? are there any refineries around Alexandria, La? Not saying. Just thinking. Always so many questions about the level of aggression in US raptors versus those in the UK.

Making News:

Some good news!

But, there is also sad news today. The female Red-tail Hawk at Syracuse University has died from head trauma – either a building or window strike or a car/bus. How very sad for all of our friends at Syracuse who watched Sue raise her eyases for the past 12 years. .

Oh, more good news. Teaming together to save the Bald Eagles and their chicks – the culprit: monofilament line. Please, please clean up after yourself if you fish, tell others to do so, and help out if you see fishing line, old masks, mesh bags…A good idea is to take a couple of bags with you if you go for a walk. You can use one as a glove. Pick up and try to properly dispose. Cutting the fishing line into tiny pieces helps. Then clean your hands!

A Place Called Hope is where you want to wind up if you are a raptor. They are fantastic. They have put out a FB announcement. If you know of anyone in this area who has lost a pet Cockatoo, get in touch.

Monitoring the Nests (some of them):

Let’s start with a wonderful Peregrine Falcon scrape and the amazing and ever loud, Indigo! This should put a smile on our faces.

Elain has her great daily summary video from Diamond and Xavier’s scrape. Yes, Indigo is still home! Love that loud kid, don’t you?

After the rain it is so nice to see Annie and her new ‘stingy male’! Thanks SK Hideaways. If he wants to win her heart, he had best part with that food. Note to self: maybe he is shy and gives her prey off camera?

Jackie and Shadow were both on the nest at 12:43. Early alerting and then relaxed. No signs of a fish delivery from Shadow so far on the 18th (til noon nest time). It looks like he might have been busy protecting the territory.

Shadow never likes to give up his turn to incubate.

At the Northeast Florida nest of Gabby and V3, the couple are working on their nest. Looks like more material being brought in. What a lovely couple.

There were some good views of Pearl and Tico at the Superbeaks Nest today. Gosh, these are lovely eaglets. Very attentive parents, lots of prey. An amazing nest! Pearl is the darkest – on the right and Tico is on the left. This is the difference in one day in eagle development.

The adults at the Duke Farm nest have been on and off and are working to get restorations finished before egg laying. There was a juvenile that flew to the nest and made a bit of a mess but all seems to be well.

It is, at times, very difficult to say what is happening at Captiva but, it is clear that Clive is a great male. The nest is full of fish – 7 or 8 of them and some pieces. Clive is doing a smacking job feeding the little one. I want to be hopeful.

At the last feeding of the day, 17:57, the eaglet has a smallish crop and is covered in fish juice.

The features of the eaglet are exaggerated because the feathers around its head, neck, and throat are all glued to its body from the fish juice. Hopefully a good night under Mum will help with that. It looks as if it has some fish today. Please keep sending your positive wishes towards this family. It will help you to see that ‘lump’ in the throat – the crop. So hopeful. There were 8 feedings on Wednesday and it would appear that baby and Mum are figuring out this feeding.

Feedings much better Thursday morning at Captiva. Feeling so happy for the little one.

So what happened to all the fish being delivered to the KNF-E3 nest? The kids have been eating off that old piece of Coot all day Wednesday. KNF-E3-01 was walking today and moving sticks about just like the adults, too! Making great strides including having a go at self-feeding. At the same time, the oldest eaglet has prevented the youngest from eating until it straddles up close to Mum and gets a few beakfuls. There are no piles of fish on this nest and when 02 did get some food, it was the hard old parts of the Coot. Where is Alex? and where is some fresh fish?

Is the beaking that began in earnest a couple of days ago because the adults cleaned up the nest and there is not a pile of fish? food insecurity?

The streaming cam went out shortly after 14:42 and this feeding. 02 is so hungry but 01 filled itself to the brim at the expense of the younger sibling. 01 can hardly stand its crop is so big. You can see that tiny little crop of 02’s.

Notice how much bigger 01 – probably a female – and 02 – probably a male – is.

Coot and fish on offer at KNF-E1 and their cam is off line also. Hoping everyone is safe.

Harriet and M15’s eaglets are getting curious about the outside world. Still so tiny! And sweet. No obvious beaking on this nest.

No word on any pips yet at Berry College.

Both eagles at the US Steel nest in Pittsburg, PA today.

Oh, I love these video clips that HeidiMc does of Ron and Rose…I wish we could get this kind of cute interaction on the nest of Gabby and V3! You have to pay really close attention…look at what Rose does!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still laughing. Great job editing, Heidi. Do we think Ron is going to get the hint?

There was some excitement with Diane and Jack over at the Achieva Credit Union. Diane is certainly better and was feeling frisky. Bonding took place on top of the perch pole. Now – that is a feat and it really shows how much improved and healed her leg is. Fantastic. Not sure how successful that mating attempt was but, it was a first me – ospreys on a pole.

In South Australia, Zoe is 123 days old today. On Wednesday, Mum and Dad delivered 3 fish to their girl (Dad 2 and Mum 1). Zoe is not starving!!!!!!!! Delivery times were 09:55, 13:45, and 21:19.

So much news…so many nests!

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their letters, their posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘L’, ‘H’, Audubon.org, Webster Texas Eagle Watchers FB, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Red-tail Hawk Tales, Judy Eddy Bald Eagles 101, Fox 13 News Tampa Bay, A Place Called Hope, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Cal Falcons, FOBBV, NEFL-AEF, Superbeaks, Duke Farms, Window to Wildlife, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, SWFL Eagles and D Pritchett, Berry College, US Steel Eagles, Heidi Mc and WRDC, Achieva Credit Union, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

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Thanks to Clive, CE9 goes to sleep with a crop…Wednesday in Bird World

18 January 2022

Hello Everyone!

The temperature was -9 with 15 km/h winds and 85% humidity. It was the wind and the humidity that were the issues at the nature centre. That cold wind just went through all the layers. It was the first time my hands have been cold and I always wear the same gloves. It was eerily quiet.

Few were out in the forest and a lone deer was walking around not paying any mind. He looked over at me. What a beauty. How privileged to be able to see these gorgeous creatures in an urban environment where they are safe. I caught up with him again as I wandered on the paths.

It was a good day to get out for a walk and for a few minutes move past the worry of the little one at Captiva. We expect every raptor parent to be a Harriet or an M15 and the truth is, they aren’t. They are all individuals. To get a combination of great parenting, a super source for prey, and not bad weather is a big feat for all of our raptor families. Sometimes it doesn’t work out and watching a little eaglet hungry on a nest bursting with fish is almost too much. There is hope though and all of you continue to send your most positive wishes to the Captiva nest. At 18:11ish, Clive – please note this – Clive – begins feeding the wee one. At 18:22 and then again in a minute, the little eaglet had the best crop that I have seen. I am absolutely in tears. Tears of joy. As ‘A’ notes, Clive watched the nest and I am certain he is concerned for his baby crying for food when the nest is full. Thanks, Clive, for stepping in and feeding CE9.

The kittens offer a welcome respite. Missy is just a bundle of fluff and sweetness. Lewis is ‘something else’. It is rare that he sits still.

In the mailbox:

You will remember the removal of the Bald Eagle nest – with the eagles in the area – from a microwave tower – in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina caused such furore and for good reason. Highly illegal. Many of us wrote to the USFWS. I am pleased to report that along with those who wrote to tell me they had received responses, I received one as well this morning. One reader, ‘B’ wants us to note the crime tips address to report such illegal activities to protected wildlife. Put it in your phone if you live in the US. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write. So many responses appear to have led to a form letter and that is a good thing. The governmental agencies, wherever we live, that are responsible for the protection of our raptors, need to know that the public is outraged when there is non-compliance.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works to conserve and manage both bald eagle and golden eagle populations to assure both species continue to thrive.  

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection act prohibits anyone from disturbing the birds without a permit.  Disturb means to cause injury, interfere with normal breeding, feeding and sheltering behavior or nest abandonment.  Penalties for doing so could result in fines up to $5,000 or imprisoned up to a year or both.  The Service has developed a National Bald Eagle Management Plan that helps to determine appropriate buffers and distances from certain activities to protect our bald eagle populations.  

Bald eagles are increasing in numbers throughout the State, showing greater tolerance to human presence and establishing new nesting territories closer to development.  

This expansion of territories exposes them more frequently to human activities, and they continue to adapt.  We are committed to working with others to continue advancing eagle conservation and protection while enabling partners to meet their operational goals. We are able to confirm there is an active investigation.

Per Service policy, we do not comment on active investigations, nor do we share information regarding holders of permits and activities as some of this information is considered Personally Identifiable Information and cannot be released.  The Service welcomes tips regarding this case.  Information can be submitted at: https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips

‘A’ sent us more news about the floating platforms to help wildlife on the Yarra River in Australia. Brilliant idea especially after the flooding we had in Manitoba.

https://www.docklandsnews.com.au/floating-wetlands-set-to-transform-the-yarra-river-in-docklands/

Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust reminds us:

Not raptors but a thank you to a special young woman who dedicated her life to saving wildlife. Today is Dian Fossey’s birthday. One of the released condors by the VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY in 2022 was named after Dian.

Speaking of VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY, they were able to clear the roads up to Big Sur after the horrific weather to deliver lead-free carrion to the Condors! Yes.

At the nests:

The short throttling and some head beaking by the oldest eaglet on the KNF-E3 nest have caused 02 to be a little wary of its sibling. I notice that Alex has been on and off the nest and that the wee one has waited this morning for the oldest to eat before it ventured to the table. At 0939 the second hatch also had a private feeding. The eaglets are 23 and 20 days old. Normally with Bald Eagles any aggression ends at around 30 days but, this was unexpected and one has to wonder about hormonal changes with the growth of the blood feathers. Or a slow down in food deliveries.

At 0736, E01 is eating and E02 is holding back before going up to the table to avoid confrontation and beaking. Smart move little one. Notice that it is watching.

02 is up at the table and Dad is on the nest. Both will have crops.

At 0748, E02 had a nice crop.

At 0924:

At 0938, E02 gets a bit of a private feeding.

At 1028, both have medium sized crops.

Oh, gosh, golly. Anna has her mojo back. She is doing great feeding KNF E1-03. Little fella had a huge crop and could hardly move at one of the later feedings. Images from 3 different afternoon feedings.

Crop was so big, 03’s head just fell to the side in a food coma.

There continues to be concern for the eaglet at Captiva. CROW is aware of the situation and monitoring it but there are laws and hurdles and one must be mindful. It is much better for the eaglet to be on the nest. There has been speculation as to if there is something wrong with the eaglets beak but, from my seat, the bites have been too big and Connie has been too quick to pull back and eat those that are a proper size. It is unclear what she expects a new little eaglet to do. She should be waiting and holding and encouraging. Let us all hope that this happen and CE9 begins to thrive. As someone said, we would all hate to see an eaglet starve on a nest full of fish. So let us all send positive wishes that the adults gather themselves and get the feedings going properly.

The eaglet’s talons look dehydrated to me. Maybe it is the angle but I like to think about those fat little pinkies at SWFlorida and above at the KNF nest. Let’s see how CE9’s are in a few days if it gets some good meals from Dad.

There is just so much fish juice going on this baby. But, you can see a bit of a crop in the second image and right now, that is all I care about. This baby needs fish and it needs a wash.

I am going to sleep a little better tonight. I want you to look at its crop. It is hungry and it is figuring this out, too, and is getting some of that fish. Time 18:12:25-18:13:29. Clive, you need to step in more often. You are a great provider. I guess you need to feed this baby til Connie figures out what to do! Not every female is a natural mother.

The weather has shifted at Big Bear. Shadow has delivered two fish to Jacket so far on Tuesday and it is only 1300. The first arrived at 11:10 and the second at 12:03. Things are good at Big Bear. Bless their hearts they aren’t going to let any Crows get these eggs!

Shadow, you are wonderful!

Eating first fish.

Sweet Eagle Dreams, Jackie.

If you missed Jackie and the snow storm, SK Hideaways caught it in video for all of us.

These days whenever I am a little frustrated with a nest, I just go and check on Superbeaks! Pearl has lost her Mohawks. You will see in later images that Tico still has his. They are so curious about what is happening outside and below the nest. These two ‘always’ have big crops. Mum of the Week Award goes to Muhlady!

We are into week 5 and going into week 6. During weeks 5-6. they should be poking their heads out of the nest rim and observing the world around them – which they are doing. The parents will begin to spend more time near the nest but not directly in it with the eaglets. The eaglets will be fed by the parents up until about week 6 when they should be self-feeding. Of course, we know from watching the nests that the parents will feed them on and off much longer, encoring self-feeding so they can become fully independent. By week 6, they should be standing and walking with some ease. Their juvenile feather growth continues. By the end of week 7, they should be nearing their full growth. These eaglets are just spot on in terms of their development. Thanks for the close ups, cam op!

Just look at this healthy eaglet!!!!!!!!!

And now for the other end!

Check out the tail growth from a different view.

Last meal of the day on Monday. Tico is nearest to us. You can still see the dandelions on top of his head which should be gone by Wednesday. Muhlady is feeding Tico and he is stealing pieces of fish when she is slow to offer. Well done, Tico.

Thunder and Akecheta were checking on the state of their nest at the West End in the Channel Islands today.

Is it possible that our Gabby has another potential mate? Seriously. He is quite handsome. Actually, he is stunning. Or did he just happen by Monday evening? V3 will make quick work of this one!

And he did. V3 is on the perch at 1700 Tuesday evening!

This image of Gabby and V3 on the Lumberyard Branch is making the rounds. I don’t know where it started…but smile.

For all the Redding Eagle fans, Gary has a video up. The solar panels on the camera could not get charged during the fortnight of storms and rain in the area. The camera is now up and here is a great video showing Liberty (she is 24) and Guardian (he is 9) at the nest!

At the WRDC nest or Ron and Rose, it is clear that Ron has been working hard to get a nest ready and look at that soft egg cup. He sure does love to cuddle up in it and try it out. I wish I could speak Eagle but I wonder if he is trying to tell Rose that the eggs go in that nice soft spot. What do you think?

“Now, Rose, all you have to do is lay the eggs in this nice little space in the centre of the nest.” “Then I will bring you lots of fish, and in about 38 days there will be little eaglets just like us to feed.”

Indigo paid a visit to the scrape box! It has been several days despite his loud calling being heard. Nice to see you, Indigo. Elain made one of her videos showing Indigo entranced with spider webs. Enjoy!

Zoe is 123 days old. She is hoping for fish today. Zoe loves to be served…but, when she figures out if she goes fishing and she finally catches one..well, our girl will be off and running. She will be so excited. Fish! Anytime she wants one (if she catches it).

That is a quick look at some of the nests we are watching. There are many more – all working on repairing nests and getting ready for their breeding season. Send warm wishes to the little one on the Captiva nest. Positive energy can do wonders.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, tweets, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘A’, ‘B’, Window to Wildlife, USFWS, Dockland news, LRWT, Mighty Gals, Ventura Wildlife Service, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, FOBBV, SK Hideaways and FOBBV, Superbeaks, IWS and Explore.org, NEFL-AEF, Gary’s Eagle Videos and the Redding Eagles, WRDC, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.