Category Archives: Manton Bay Osprey Nest

Saturday in Bird World

17 May 2025

Hello Everyone,

Morning Updates:

The 4th egg has hatched at Rutland Manton Bay.

First fledge at Duke Farms.

USK Valley: Children have given the ospreys their names: “We are pleased to announce that our male osprey is to be called Syfaddan* named after Llangors Lake, which is one of the favoured fishing grounds. The female will be known as Clogwyn** after the imposing rocky outcrop on the Allt overlooking their nest. This feature has also assumed the more romantic mantle of “the Pride Rock from The Lion King” – for fairly obvious reasons – by other children in the area.”

What’s in a name_ — Usk Valley OspreysDownload

Heidi Nest Notes:

‘PB’ reports two osplets at Salt Point.

The pouring rain continues. The grass and leaves turn a deeper emerald green with every drop. The temperature is dropping, however, and with the wind chill it is -5C. The potted tomatoes, peppers, and hydrangea are inside on the island, as snow is predicted. Brock’s dishes are all full. The birds have abandoned the garden to the squirrels, who continue their search for peanuts and seeds. It must be hard on the outdoor animals – this rollercoaster ride of a season.

The Girls have been busy watching everything flying about. The lilac blossoms are beautiful but I fear that with the high winds they will not last.

Hugo Yugo is under the table having been cornered by Toby. Baby Hope looks down hoping she is high enough and out of the way.

Toby and Hugo Yugo wanting to play with the same toys! These two are actually friends.

Thank you for all your good wishes for Toby. He appears to be getting better. We had a dear friend for lunch today, whom we hadn’t seen in several years. Toby and she hit it off brilliantly! What impressed me most was that ‘R’ picked up on Toby’s attachment to ‘me’. She asked Don if he was jealous. His reply was more thoughtful and elaborate, but in essence, he said, ‘no’. I had always brought the cats to our house, and they had always gone to him, so it was only ‘fair’ that Toby could be mine. Had I not been driving, the tears would have streamed down the front of my sweater. A complicated question answered precisely and accurately with empathy from a very dear man.

Quickly getting to the news highlights form Bird World:

Surrey Reserve Bald Eagles: Hancock Wildlife Foundation has sent a climber to retrieve the bodies of SR10 and SR11 so that they can be tested to determine the cause of the eaglets’ death. The post read, “A four member climbing team thankfully retrieved Brit & Rey’s two deceased eaglets. Lots of fresh fish was left for the parents. Thanks to all who organized this retrieval, and we hope this gives some peace to the deeply grieving parents.”

FOBBV: Special moments at the Big Bear nest captured on video before the darlings Sunny and Gizmo fledge. https://youtu.be/WraMnX8mFy0?

Loch Doon: First hatch of the 2025 breeding season came on Friday the 16th.

Kielder Forest: Rutland’s two-year-olds are making their presence known!

Another 2023 Manton Bay female! _ Kielder OspreysDownload

Nests are coming under heavy winds and rain. Will they hold up, ‘PR’ asks. They write, “We have a very windy day. The wind blew part of a house finch nest half off. I checked and they were still in process of building and no babies or eggs yet. But Oppd Osprey, Denton Homes and Trempealeau nests are all in heavy winds today. If you look at Denton it’s really blowing that tree around. Photos in order.”

‘PB’ reports that the Denton Homes nest is swaying considerably in the high winds.

We are all concerned about nests collapsing after the death of the triplets, three very healthy eaglets, of Scout and Bella, at the NCTC nest.

Cornell Red-tail Hawk Nest: Beautiful little chicks of Big Red and Arthur, bursting after a great meal. https://youtu.be/8VgHH2iV034?

Trempeauleau Eagle Nest: T3 is growing so well, and Mum gets a huge gold medal for raising this beautiful eaglet single-handedly.

Norwegian Osprey Nest: There are at least two eggs, perhaps three.

Goitzsche Wildnis: Incubation continues.

Golden Gate Audubon SF Ospreys: Rosie and Richmond had their first hatch on the 10th or the 11th of May. It is unclear if there have been any others.

Rutland Manton Bay: The age spread is great. Maya and Blue 33 are very experienced. Will they be adding another to the three hatches already? Quite frankly, I hope not. Number 3 is rather tiny.

Cardinal Land Conservancy: A fantastic nest that I haven’t checked on enough. Great parents, eaglets growing up with four meals and a turtle on Fridays. Incredible.

San Jose City Hall: SK Hideaways catches the frantic nature of having four ringed and hungry eyases! https://youtu.be/vpojZPJghJo?

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 16th May 2025

Today was calm and routine – Louis brought two fish for Dorcha, taking his tally to ninety three, but Garry didn’t bring any fish for Aurora, engaging instead in a mating session which looked successful. His tally remains at fifty four, the weather remains settled, and we’re moving along nicely towards pip-watch with first hatch expected around 21-23 May – that’s next week!

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.16.47 (03.21.04); Nest  23.44.37 (03.43.07)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/3ainCb_9inA N2 First fish arrives to the sound of birdsong 05.51.01

https://youtu.be/FmbBKyiOcBI N1 Successful mating for Garry & Aurora 18.36.48

https://youtu.be/jj0bPDw-OAE N2 Louis finally lands and gives fish two to Dorcha 21.36.22  

Geemeff’s sends two other news items:

Ospreys and menhaden – again! https://penobscotbaypress.com/articles/forum-islandadvantages/are-osprey-in-trouble-again/

GenZ have discovered birding – will their interest help stop some of the stripping away of wilslife and environmental protections?

https://www.deseret.com/magazine/2025/05/15/bird-watching-captures-new-generation

‘VV’ gives us a report of some strange activity happening at the Maryland Osprey nests near the Bay: “One of the nest owners of N5 (where the gull ate the eggs) has returned. W/o the other around I can’t discern M from F. If  Female, it means Nests 2, 3, 4, & 5 had established males this year who left their nests this month, 2 w/ mates and 2 w/o

Just as I was typing an eagle forced an osprey to drop a fish and the eagle retrieved it – these osprey cannot catch a break here this year.  OH NO, I think it was the male of N9 – where incubation is still ongoing – who lost the fish. The eagles tag teamed him, I think they have a nest directly across the creek from me but deep into the pine.

Anyway, at least 3 males self-deported this month from the 5 nests off my porch. If males consistently fail to catch enough food for the nest, would they just stop coming home? Forcing the females, incubating or not, to fish or starve. There appear to be many unattended nests along the creek which had previously been rigorously attended – and in a number of cases believe were incubating eggs.

Also, like N5, one osprey has returned to N14 after days of absence. IDK M or F on that nest. Regardless, I have to conjecture only a regional dearth of food leading to  impending starvation would prompt ospreys to leave off their breeding duties, from mating through to incubation.”

‘A’ sends us some news and comments, too! “Just look at these GHO owlets. They are the cutest things and couldn’t hurt an eaglet or osplet (yet)! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frFP0GfDFK8&list=TLPQMTQwNTIwMjWuwzEhGO60dQ&index=7. And we are soon going to lose our cute fluffball from Taiaroa Head. The countdown begins. Eight or ten weeks to go I think. September is fledge month from memory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W2RCbyMiTk&list=TLPQMTQwNTIwMjV0ZXQf2Szmxg&index=2. The little one has been under the average weight for a female chick of her age for a couple of weeks but was fed twice the day before this video and should now be in the normal weight range again. These birds are absolutely exquisite, and so gentle. I adore them. 

Lady and Dad have started to prepare their Olympic Park nest for a new season, and are spending nights near the nest much of the time. Earlier in the week, a juvenile sea eagle was seen around the island, catching a fish on the river. I wonder whether it is one of their past SE fledglings. Obviously, we hope so. Meanwhile, Mrs T continues to do a great solo job with T3, whose crop is immense nearly every time I check. She has really been a wonderful mum in difficult circumstances. Mr T continues to try and steal food from the nest when he can to take to his other nest, over on the island but Mrs T is still managing fabulously well with T3. I only hope the eaglet/s at Mr T’s other nest are doing well too. 

At FOBBV, we are waiting for Sunny and Gizmo to take the plunge, as you are well aware. At NEFL  the nest does look very empty. The juvie who adopted Bodie and the nest was such a strange addition to an already unusual season at NEFL. What a special year it really has been. I am absolutely certain that having siblings is a huge plus for eaglets (and presumably osplets etc) and it was a massive bonus for Bodie that the juvie arrived. It really did look as though the two of them enjoyed each other’s company immensely – I know I’m anthropomorphising but I’m just observing, and surely the juvie would have left again if that had not been the case, or if it was there purely for the food, would have fought Bodie. It was also interesting that a parent continued to bring food to the nest, making no serious effort to drive the intruder away. At Orange, Diamond and Xavier are doing a lot of bonding – several times a day – with Diamond also showing a lot of interest in cleaning up the nest box, even arranging pebbles. Diamond is on her ledge as I type, but has only a medium-sized crop (normally, she arrives with a crop so large it makes you wonder how she flies with it), so lunch might be on her mind. And Betty Lou looks so healthy – it has been a wonderful season for Jaks and darling Audacity.”

News from Knepp Farm:

News from KneppDownload

They are adorable!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/16/week-in-wildlife-hitchhiking-cygnets-a-criminal-duck-and-hopping-hares?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so much for being with us today. If the weather isn’t too bad, we are heading out to look at some jasmine plants today. In the meantime, take care. We are on hatch watch for the UK nests!!!!!!!!! It is finally going to get exciting. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, Heidi, PB, VV’, USK Valley, Dewey Beach, Barnegat Light, Hancock Wildlife Foundation Surrey Reserve Bald Eagle Nest, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, Loch Doon, Kielder Forest News, OPPD Fort Calhoun, Denton Homes, Cornell Bird Lab Red-tail Hawk Cam, Trempealeau Bald Eagle Nest, Fru Raurer, Joan Castnyer, Golden Gate Audubon, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, VV Maryland osprey report, ‘A’s report, Knepp Farm, Barbara Wolfson and Bald Eagles 101, Rutland Manton Bay, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall, The Guardian

Saturday in Bird World

26 April 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

It was a gorgeous spring day on Friday the 25th of April on the Canadian prairies and it is just as nice today. We drove a friend to Wildlife Haven (our great rescue and rehabilitation clinic) to drop off donations of supplements, enrichment items, and clean sheets and towels. They are all intended for Baby Days celebration which happens on the 24th of May.

If you live in the area, here is the information:

Wildlife Haven in Ile des Chênes, MB, is hosting its third annual Wild Baby Shower on Saturday, May 24th, 2025, from 1 PM to 3 PM. The event aims to support the care of orphaned, sick, and injured wildlife during their peak baby season. Attendees can enjoy interactive games, prizes, and meet Wildlife Ambassadors. There will also be guided hospital tours, a baby-themed photo booth, and a gift table for wild babies. 

The Wild Baby Shower is a chance to support Wildlife Haven’s mission of saving wild animals. Attendees can make a donation or bring a gift from the registry, which includes items like specialized food, warmth, and medical supplies, according to MyRegistry.com. Wildlife Haven anticipates admitting over 750 wild patients during their peak season, so any support is greatly appreciated. 

I like to remind everyone that baby animals will be coming into care around the world in the northern hemisphere and if you have anything that can help, please donate.

I want to start with a very special nest – this nest could teach the world some good lessons! Then we will check on what is going on with Heidi and those osprey nests in the US.

Heidi’s US Osprey nest note:

Wolf Bay osprey platform: The third baby for Josie and Bert hatched on 4/25.  The three cuties are only three days apart in age.

Geemeff reminds us of a special day – Mark Your Calendars!

“Sunday 4 May marks International Dawn Chorus Day 2025. Here’s the top tips from the RSPB for enjoying it.’

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/the-dawn-chorus-all-you-need-to-know-about-natures-big-show

Names were given and a memorial planned for the three eaglets of Scout and Bella that died when their nest was tossed out of the tree by high winds this week.

Glaslyn News: “It has been a dramatic season so far with KC6/Teifi and Aran fighting for their place on the Glaslyn nest. On Tuesday it became clear that Aran had started his campaign in earnest to recover his nest. He began aggressively divebombing KC6/Teifi on the nest and chased him through the valley, leading to spectacular views for visitors and volunteers who watched them in the air from the Visitor Centre.

On Wednesday morning he brought a large Mullet to Elen before chasing Teifi out of his territory once again. He has been present on the nest today, and this evening returned with another fish for Elen. We have not seen Teifi on the nest camera since Wednesday morning.

Is this the beginning of a fresh start for Aran and Elen?”

Here is that nest battle on video: https://youtu.be/MIcDcKGlwWo?

Big Bear Valley: I don’t know about you but I really don’t want Sunny and Gizmo to fledge for a long, long time! https://youtu.be/EHzKcNE3WG4?

Trempealeau Bald Eagles: T3 is 15 days old today. Mum is working hard to provide for herself and her only surviving eaglet. She came in with the big fish and fed T3 twice, brooding her eaglet inbetween so it could not get a chill. What a great Mum. Dad showed up today to feed a few bites of fish to little T3 and then flew off taking the fish to his other nest and chicks. (Don’t get me started!)

Peace caught it on video: https://youtu.be/yaubm2K6sAw? I really want this little one to survive. It is getting its thermal down, but the rain can cause Mum to not be able to fish, so Dad taking their food is not good.

Cromer Peregrine Falcons: Poppy and Henry have two chicks at the time I am writing. https://youtu.be/Q8E4xLgv55s?

Cal Falcons: Please read the post by Cal Falcons carefully. I hope you are as angry as I am at the changes that could make our beautiful raptors – endangered and extinct. What are you going to do to stop this

Cal Falcons

eordnosSptl6tum2m51haal60fa2ah381082575i5a4l5062l5084708tuc2  · 

Due to the use of DDT and other pesticides, there were fewer than 100 Peregrine Falcons in the lower 48 United States in the 1970s. Bald Eagles had dropped to fewer than 1000 individuals across the same area. Thanks to the effects of science-based environmental regulations such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), there are currently ~5,000 Peregrine Falcons and ~300,000 Bald Eagles in the lower 48!

The recovery of these two species is due almost entirely to legislation that is scheduled to be officially “sunset” by Executive Order dated 9 April 2025 (“Zero-based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy). The damage that this could cause is immeasurable and could take decades of concerted effort to recover from. In some cases, the damage could be irreversible, as many endangered species could very quickly go extinct without protections.

Environmental regulations protect not only plant and animal species but every person on the planet through clean air and water, and it is estimated that the environment provides approximately 150 trillion dollars of economic benefit globally every year for free (Jiang et al. 2021). Recovery of the Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle are just two of many stories that demonstrate the power of regulation in conserving the natural world that we all live in, depend on, and enjoy.”

These orders impact birds in the United States and those that migrate to my country for their spring and summer breeding. They also impact the nests that we watch. We need help for our wildlife and the natural areas of our world, not hindrances and indifference.

Defenders of Wildlife, a US-based organization states, ““Rolling back these kinds of protections for migratory birds such as snowy owls, red-winged blackbirds, and white pelicans will undoubtedly result in the deaths of tens of thousands of birds,” said Daniel Moss, senior government relations representative at Defenders of Wildlife. “This action is particularly egregious as we approach the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion which resulted in catastrophic mortality rates for sea birds. Only thanks to the MBTA, BP was forced to pay $100 million in fines.  Weakening this law by giving businesses a free pass to do harm is the exact opposite of what our government should be doing.”

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

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 25th April 2025

This day in 2021 saw the first appearance of Affric 152 on Nest One, and this day in 2023 saw the first appearance of Garry LV0 on Nest One, although he’d first appeared in 2022, intruding on Nest Two. This year things are looking different on Nest One – Affric has been chased off back to her own nest at Bunarkaig with her mate Prince, and Garry has definitely claimed the nest as his own and is fighting off all comers, while his relationship with new female Blue 536 goes from strength to strength. With mating attempts not being rejected and plenty of fish being offered, we can be cautiously optimistic that we finally have a bonded pair on Nest One, with the slim possibility of chicks this year, although it’s more likely to be next year assuming the pair return together. Garry brought three fish to the nest including the season’s first flatfish, and his tally rises to eighteen. Things are very settled over on Nest Two, with Louis taking turns to incubate the three eggs while Dorcha goes off to eat the fish he brings her. His two deliveries today take his tally to fifty one. The weather was settled today with the forecasted drizzle staying away, but rain is due tonight and all day tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.51.59 (04.29.33); Nest Two 21.45.59 (04.48.50)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/R8f0rZc_Ltc  N2 Breakfast for Dorcha as the first fish arrives 06.56.43 

https://youtu.be/nupk9f0MtmE  N1 Breakfast for Blue 536 – Garry LV0 brings a whole trout 08.46.59

https://youtu.be/jGh2w8AI_WA  N1 Garry LV0’s second fish is the season’s first flatfish 13.18.34

https://youtu.be/_pNEypf6mYU N1 A Hoodie arrives and flies off the perch to chase an Osprey 17.08.47 (zoom) 

https://youtu.be/XHIsDRQ7YH4  N2 Louis delivers fish number two, a headless trout 17.21.46 

https://youtu.be/8iv8nJJBeF8  N1 Blue 536 eventually comes for Garry LV0’s third fish 17.59.05 

Bonus watch – how do Woodland Trust create a new woodland?

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/1_Sm9SEu0PI  N1 Ringed female stranger visits 2021 (slo-mo, zoom)

https://youtu.be/F65FJe4xMHc  N1 Louis visits the nest shortly after the ringed female 2021

https://youtu.be/0swlIF7VWuM  N1 Woodpecker and Blue Tit visit 2021

https://youtu.be/6frCvYMt4a0  N2 Louis is too busy mating to notice Dorcha’s new egg 2022

https://youtu.be/OVCVE1wwydU  N2 Louis sees his egg and takes over incubation for the first time 2022

https://youtu.be/15WD6z9hROg  N1 It’s last year’s intruder from N2: LV0 visits N1 for the first time 2023 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/0-quAK2Ju1Y  N1 He’s back! Garry LV0 arrives 2024

https://youtu.be/EQN51E_PIO4  N2 Unringed intruder Osprey seen off by Louis 2024 (real-time with slo-mo repeat)

https://youtu.be/1TGdaSB0t04  N2 Female Chaffinch looks tiny perching next to Dorcha 2024 (zoom)

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

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

If you missed the April Condor chat by the Ventana Wildlife Society, here it is: https://youtu.be/sCGnKrFcHcM? I highly recommend that you watch, and if you loved Iniko, there is a video of her journey over the five years, especially the time of the Dolan Fire of 2020 that killed her Dad, Kingpin.

Iniko (Born during Troubled Times) is getting some orange/red on her head! Remember, she rose from the ashes as they mention in the video blog.

The Ventana Wildlife Society continues to work hard to protect these amazing birds from HPAI.

All I can say is I am glad the individual was caught. Unbelievable.

Vengeful shooter laid poisoned baits in attempt to frame a Scottish estate for raptor persecution –Download

Fraser Point: Both eaglets have names – Blue and Kaimani. Many of you have noticed the number of eels showing up at nests. Dr Sharpe was on the chat today and said this: “I wonder if wolf eels are especially susceptible to domoic acid poisoning. They must be turning up dead a lot along the western coast of Santa Cruz.” He went on to say, “We had two chicks die at the Pelican Harbor nest at about 1 week old one year. The red tide often seems to peak around the time the eagle chicks hatch.” “That’s probably what is killing the pelicans that are showing up at some nests. I saw a pelican spiral into the ocean and die a few weeks ago.” [Dr Sharpe is referring to Red Tide]. Dr Sharpe was asked about the Fraser Point eagles being older and would it impact them. He remarked, “Only if they eat a lot of fish and the red tide is still around. I’m in Colorado, so I don’t know the current conditions there.”

Decorah Goose Cam: Waiting for hatch!

Golden Eagle Cam in Romania: The new mother at this nest, Pausa, has never had eaglets before or so it appears. She has absolutely no idea what to do and when the eaglet hatched on day 43 she kept picking it up and moving it out of the egg bowl causing it to get cold. She stepped on it. Picked it up and moved it again. Eventually the poor little thing died. The third egg could hatch in 3-4 days time but I doubt if the eaglet will are any better than this one. Being parents is not always instinctual.

Cromer Falcons: Dad, Henry, watches Mum, Poppy, feed the chicks! They are such little darlings and such an attentive Dad!

https://youtu.be/aaC4hjDnOkg?

It is free and it is fun. Guess the day of the first hatch at Rutland Water’s nest of Blue 33 and Maya at Manton Bay! Put your choice in the chat and Bart M will tabulate everything.

The Bald Eagle, Majestic, arrived at Wildlife Haven in 2014. She was dehydrated and emaciated and had an old wing injury that had did not heal properly. She is a great ambassador and loves her new cage. She did some loud chortles as we walked up to say hello.

So cute. Ducklingham Palace.

Fort St Vrain: Wet days and a damp nest. The eaglets have their thermal down and are looking good despite the weather. Keep sending this family good vibes.

Newfoundland Ospreys have returned. We wait for the Snow Lane camera to come live to see Beaumont and Hope.

Why on earth are koalas being culled? (I asked the same question when authorities in New Zealand were going to cull Canada Geese).

Why were hundreds of koalas shot in an aerial cull in Victoria?https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/25/why-were-hundreds-of-koalas-shot-in-an-aerial-cull-in-victoria?CMP=share_btn_url

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. We will see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, Heidi, PB’, Wolf Bay, RSPB, Deb Stecyk/NCTC Eagles, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, FOBBV, Trempealeau Eagle nest, Cal Falcons, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Ventana Wildlife Society, Raptor Persecution UK, IWS/Explore, Wild Bucovina Association, Cromer Falcons, Defenders of Wildlife, Wildlife Haven, LRWT and Bart M, Xcel Energy, The Guardian, Ian Winter and Snow Lane Osprey Nest with Beaumont and Hope

Friday in Bird World

25 April 2025

Hello Everyone!

We have a nest note from Heidi: Bruce and Naha have their third egg at the Seaside Osprey platform. Congratulations! The egg was laid on Thursday the 24th.

‘A’ wants us to have a smile on our face, first thing! They write: “Aren’t they the cutest little people? And look at how strong their tiny legs are. That’s one of the features of these birds that I hadn’t really appreciated until the streaming cams.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2SHdcmTIo8&list=TLPQMjUwNDIwMjXPhayb3oGdQg&index=2

Oh, if humans were as resilient as raptors! Bella and Scout have been doing renovations on the alternative nest at the NCTC after their main nest and three chicks were blown off and killed.

.  New eaglet at Surrey Bald Eagle nest in beautiful British Columbia, Canada!

Can you help this little eaglet that lost its nest?

How about donating some fish for your local wildlife rehab clinic? Thank you so much to those high school students. I wonder how many other clinics need fish?

Don and Connie Dennis closely watch Ethel and Oscar at the Russell Lake osprey platform in Nova Scotia. They got this great photograph (there is no streaming cam) of Oscar catching his sweetie, a fish!

Usk Valley: First egg on Thursday!

Threave Ospreys: Former fledgling is home!

Wolf Bay: An enormous fish arrives, and both osplets get a nice feed.

Boulder County Fairgrounds: Mum and new male have four eggs on Thursday!

Centreport Eagles: There are three eaglets in the nest with thermal down.

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY IRIS!

Salisbury Cathedral: First hatch came on Thursday!

San Jose City Hall: Four little fluff balls in a pile. Their eyes remain closed. That said, these eyases will develop very quickly. From hatching as fluffy chicks covered in down like the four below, they grow into powerful, feathered hunters. They first fly at about 35-45 days, but remain dependent on their parents for several weeks while they learn to hunt.

Here is a detailed look at the development to help you as you observe these beautiful falcons.

1. Hatching and Early Growth:

  • Peregrine falcons lay 3-5 eggs in a clutch. 
  • The eggs hatch after about 30-36 days of incubation. 
  • Newly hatched chicks are covered in white down and weigh about 1.5 ounces. 
  • They quickly gain weight, doubling in size within the first 6 days and increasing tenfold within 3 weeks. 
  • Chicks initially scoot around on their tarsi (lower leg bones) before they are strong enough to stand and walk. 

2. Feather Development:

  • At around 21-35 days, feathers begin to replace the down, and brown juvenile feathers emerge. 
  • Pin feathers, the precursors to full feathers, appear at wing tips and tail. 

3. Fledging and Dependence:

  • Young falcons are ready for their first flight around 35-40 days, but they remain dependent on their parents for another month or two. 
  • Parents continue to feed and protect the young, teaching them how to hunt. 

4. Juvenile Plumage and Independence:

  • Juvenile plumage is worn for about a year, gradually fading and changing with wear. 
  • After a period of learning and practice, young falcons become independent and begin hunting on their own. 

5. Maturity and Breeding:

6. Lifespan:

  • Peregrine falcons can live for 12-15 years, and some may live even longer. 

Rutland Water: (From their recent newsletter): “Spring means the return of our Rutland Water Ospreys, and it’s already been a busy few weeks for them! The male 33(11) returned on 13th March, followed by Maya on 17th March. She has previously raised 38 chicks, and is one of the most successful breeding female Ospreys on record! After arriving and refuelling, the pair have certainly busy. 33(11) was collecting sticks and grass to build up the nest, and Maya laid her first egg on the evening of 2nd April, followed by a second on 5th April, a third on 8th April, and a fourth on 11th April. The two parents are taking turns incubating the eggs – though they had some drama to contend with when an intruding Osprey briefly landed on the nest (on Maya in fact!). It takes between 35-42 days for an egg to hatch, so the eggs should begin hatching in the first couple of weeks of May. Maya and 33(11) have successfully raised and fledged a clutch of four eggs previously, and we look forward to following their progress this season.”

Trempealeau Bald Eagle Cam: This is a wonderful Mum. She fishes and brings food to her only surviving chick (who is getting its thermal down, thankfully) and then the male comes and takes the fish. So far, they are doing alright, but send them good energy, please.

Denton Homes: Bad weather continues in the region. Hoping all the eagle nests (and others) stay safe!

Little Miami Conservancy: Two little eaglets filled to the brim. How lovely.

Decorah Goose Cam: We are on pip watch this week. Mother Goose carefully covers the eggs with the down so she can feed.

Mlade Buky, Romania Black Storks: Beautiful Bety and Bukachek.

Do you know what an Oystercatcher is?

Norfolk bird surveyors find Britain’s oldest known oystercatchers https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/24/norfolk-birds-rspb-britains-oldest-known-oystercatchers?CMP=share_btn_url

Glaslyn: Aran and Elen have been on the perch together on Thursday. I hope things are settling down and that the single egg in the nest hatches and fledges.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, PB’, NCTC, Ryan Baliski/Raptors of the World, Centre for Wildlife Care, Hoo’s Woods Raptor Centre, Connie and Don Dennis/Ospreys of Nova Scotia, Usk Valley Ospreys, Threave Valley Ospreys, Wolf Bay, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Centreport Eagles, Montana Osprey Cams, Salisbury Cathedral Scrape, San Jose City Hall Falcons, LRWT, The Guardian, Trempealeau Bald Eagle Cam, Denton Homes, Little Miami Conservancy, Decorah Goose Cam, Mlade Buky Black Stork Cam, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Cornell Bird Lab Cams

Wednesday in Bird World

19 March 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

I am finishing reading David Gessner’s book, The Book of Flaco. The World’s Most Famous Bird. I have about a quarter more to go, and I will send a review. However, I have discovered another writer who brings up topics we should contemplate within this volume. The author is Jack Turner, and the excerpts from his book, The Abstract Wild, set me out to order a copy.

The thread that bonds ‘us’ is our deep love and caring for animals, whether real or virtual. I have found it as easy to care for the lives of Jak and Audacity and suffer through their struggles as I have with Hugo Yugo and her teeth. Now, seeing the second hatch on the Kistachie E3 nest being beaten to death and starving causes acute anxiety and tears. Gessner writes about Turner: “In his brilliant manifesto….Jack Turner mourns the loss of our deep connection with animals. Implied in this is our unwillingness to fight for wild animals.” He then quotes Turner: “To reverse this situation we must become so intimate with wild animals, with plants and places, that we answer to their destruction from the gut. Like when we discover the landlady strangling our cat.” (135)

We turn to nature, to the trails in the woods, to the open skies for relief from what is surely a deplorable state on our planet. Nature is healing. I can no longer read the news where country upon country is attacking others and killing ordinary people, destroying their lives and homes – and, of course, the pets and the wildlife alongside this. Or the news that truck loads of people have powerful rifles and are aiming at the skies in Lebanon to kill innocent storks – the ones who survived the winter and the long migration and are returning to breed. What makes us so unique to think we can do this? Thank goodness there are a few people willing to get out there and stand up to make sure those people leave.

Each of us needs to find a way to stand up and help. And it doesn’t have to be money because everyone is struggling in this current economy. We have discussed this before, but right now, your volunteering, those old clean sheets, that bottle of bleach or detergent, and a flat of cat or dog food are more needed than ever. Each day, more beautiful animals are being left tied to the doors of pet shelters, surrendered by families who can no longer afford to feed themselves, never mind a much-loved pet. Help if you can in whatever way you can. Time, money, making phone calls, helping with fundraising, whatever…please help. Even that single bowl of water refilled during the day for migrating birds is a huge help. Do not underestimate these small acts of kindness. They save lives. Show that humans do care about wildlife and domesticated pets. Stay positive! Look for the beauty. It is right there, and it might need your help.

Turning to something different, I am so happy today. In the very late fall, when snow and ice were at the nature centre, we found two Canada Geese. They were ‘stranded’ here, and it was too late to fly. We told the lovely girl at reception, and she phoned Wildlife Haven, and they picked them up to add to four others from the centre from the previous day. Today, all six were released to the lake to join hundreds of other geese that have arrived, marking spring in Manitoba.

It was so lovely to be there to witness their return! [Please note the pet carriers. All rehab centers need them to help transport animals. If you have some sitting around please do donate them!]

All of the preparations for the outside animals have been made along with The Girls or our mini-break to Hecla Island. We are not gone long, returning late on Friday. We have a new cat sitter, but a miracle has happened. I do not know why we are so blessed, but I will take it. Anne, who has been with us for 15 months, helping with respite care for Don and giving me a break, has offered to take care of the girls when we travel. The Girls love Anne, they know her well. They run to the door when she arrives. This is so much of a relief. I do not know how many longer trips there are in our future, but I know that I will be much more relaxed now!

Bald Eagle News:

NE Florida: Bodie is learning to live like an eagle and doing well. (more news below)

Kisatchie E3: Three fish came on the nest. The eldest got all of then while the youngest was both submissive and attacked vigorously by the oldest almost to the point of death. They are both starving. The oldest will live another day, but will the youngest. This nest needs food, more food so that the adult might ‘decide’ (she or he is ignoring it)* and intruders and owls are not helping. Send them positive wishes, please. (Warning or watching this nest).

*As we have often seen, adults do not respond to chicks that are submissive and hungry. This nest was going OK, not great but it had the potential to fledge two. Now that is in jeopardy.

West End: Makaio’s new mate FV at the West End nest has been chosen by a donor an winner in the nest challenge.

Big Bear Valley: The two eaglets are doing fantastic. https://youtu.be/65ANhlrmBtc?

Cardinal Land Conservancy: Hatch and a pip.

Sauces Canyon: Jak and Audacity do not wish for SC1 to go hungry. The nest is full of seal placenta, seabirds of some type, fish. The little one is so protected in that deep nest bowl. This family is simply delightful.

The first egg has been laid at the Surrey Bald Eagle nest of Brit and Rey in British Columbia, Canada.

‘J’ sends sad news from PA County Farm:

Osprey News:

Heidi’s News:

3/18 – Fenwick Island osprey nest (Delaware, Captain Mac’s Fish House) – Woohoo, Johnny arrived back at the nest a day after we first saw June.  How wonderful!  Happy to see this pair again.  Last season, June and Johnny lost their first two eggs to crows… so “I would advise that you two be more diligent this season, okay?”  lol.

3/18 – Wolf Bay osprey nest (Alabama) – Congratulations to Josie and Bert.  Egg #2 was laid in the early morning hours today.  

3/18 – South Cape May Meadows osprey nest (New Jersey) – We have been awaiting the return of Hera and Zeus from their migration.  Last season their two very young babies were predated by a Great Horned Owl.  Then this morning… We witnessed a GHO visit the nest, and our hearts sank.  

Thank you, Heidi.

There has been no news of new arrivals in the UK or Europe at the time of this writing.

Eschenbach, Germany: “Herbert is already in nesting mode and has started working on the nest, carrying and moving branches. He is waiting for Hermine, of course, but if there are other candidates, the place must be attractive, not only for the capabilities of the titular male, but also for the comfort it offers. A long migration is well worth it!”

PARQUE NACIONAL MARÍTIMO-TERRESTRE DEL ARCHIPIÉLAGO DE CABRERA: Both adults have arrived at the nest and are refurbishing and mating. https://youtu.be/vEaRhXjFrkc?

Loch of the Lowes: Blue NC0 has begun refurbishing her nest waiting for the male who will be her new mate and provider.

Not only is Blue NC0 a good mother, she is also an amazing fisher. Look at that salmon!!!!!!!!

Guildford, Connecticut: Osprey on the nest!

Threave: Osprey has touched down. Believed to be a male. We are hoping it is Black 80.

Other Nest News:

At 4:51:54, Beau takes a fish from the juvenile intruder and gives it to Bodie who horks that fish down looking straight at the camera. While we might all have been ‘sick’ to see this intruder, it is possible that Bodie not having a sibling has learned many survival skills she will need in the wild by having this visitor.

They appear to be ‘friends’ now as long as it does not involve food. Bodie beaked and protected his food yesterday. This is a great learning experience. I think Gabby and Beau have decided that too.

San Jose City Hall: Monty and Hartley have 4 eggs!!!!!!! https://youtu.be/Wq4JNWh-1_s?

News from Knepp Farm and Storrington.

World Bird Sanctuary: Our dear Murphy who incubated an egg and adopted an eaglet has passed.

Lebanon: Illegal hunting of our beautiful storks in Lebanon: Dispicable.

Royal Albatross Colony: The Royal Cam chick is growing at Taiaroa Head. https://youtu.be/NNmkH964pvk?

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Tomorrow we leave for Hecla Island. We will return on Friday after hopefully seeing American White Pelicans, Trumpeter Swans, and Geese that have arrived recently. I do not know if I will be sending out a blog during that time but I will be back with you for sure on Saturday.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, Heidi, J’, NEFL-AEF, Carol Shores Rifkin, Institute for Wildlife Studies, Fenwick Island, Wolf Bay, SCMM, Eschenbach Ospreys, PARQUE NACIONAL MARÍTIMO-TERRESTRE DEL ARCHIPIÉLAGO DE CABRERA, Loch of the Lowes, Guildford Connecticut Osprey Group, SK Hideaways, Knepp Farm and Torrington Storks, World Bird Sanctuary, Maria Marika, Elain, IWS/Explore, Kistachie National Forest E3, PA Country Farm

Another arrival in the UK

17 March 2025

Blue NC0, the resident female at Loch of the Lowes, also arrived on St Patrick’s Day to her nest waiting to see if the new male from last year, after LM12 (Laddie) passed came courting.

She is gorgeous. She flew over the loch landing on the nest at 14:23.

In 2023, Blue NC0 also arrived on the 17th of March. Last year, she touched down early on the 8th of March. Her and Maya from Manton Bay often arrive near to one another and today, of course, they landed back in the UK safely on the same today.

Maya sent Blue 25 packing off the nest just like she did last year. So glad to see her home and hoping she is healthy and this is a good year for this nest.

Rutland Water wrote:

“Rutland Osprey Project

8h  · 

Maya is back in Rutland!!!

What an incredible sight this morning, when just before 10am we saw our resident female Osprey Maya land on the Manton Bay nest.

Maya has been in Rutland since 2009 and has been breeding on the Manton Bay nest since 2010. During that time she has raised an amazing 38 chicks, making her the most successful breeding female Osprey on record.

As we are watching the live stream now there is a fierce battle going on between Maya and female 25(10). 25(10) has been on the nest for the last couple of days, and when this same scenario happened in 2023 Maya eventually saw her off and 25(10) returned to her usual nesting site.”

Maya caught her own fish. Blue 33 you had better get busy and get another one for her!

Thank you to the Woodland Trust (Loch of the Lowes) and to the LRWT (Manton Bay) for their streaming cams and posts on FB and Geemeff for the video of Maya.

Tuesday in Bird World

3 September 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is our area’s first day of school – always the day after Labour Day and, for parents and children, it marks the end of summer. The weather certainly doesn’t indicate the end of summer and crisp air. It was a sunny, hot 26 C on Monday. Everyone was enjoying the last holiday before our Thanksgiving, which is in mid-October (unlike the American one, which is in November).

We went to check on the fields north of the City. Migrating birds depend on leftover grain from the harvest. In the evening, these fields could be full of Canada Geese and gulls fattening up for their long trips. Twenty-five flew over our garden this evening at 1930.

In this same area are quarries—old and new. The old ones, now long deserted, have filled with water and are home to ducks, geese, the local deer, which are here year-round, and all other types of wildlife. They are quiet spaces away from humans, leaving the animals to ‘do their thing’.

It doesn’t look very secure, but there are security guards around 24/7 that can arrive quickly if notified.

‘The Girls’ had their party. The marking of having Calico and Baby Hope as part of our family for a full year still brings tears to my eyes when I think of dear Calico living in the cold winter, having been dumped by her former family. It just hurts me to my core, even though I know she is happy, healthy, and much loved now. She is also safe, and we are triple-checking that garden door so that she doesn’t run out until the locksmith can get here. The four have brought more joy to us than can be imagined. Hugo Yugo will be a year old, and in late November, we will celebrate her year with us. She is not the tiny kitten that arrived. She is still the smallest but also the ‘boss’ of everyone else.

There were hard treats (some healthy for teeth), squeeze treats, catnip, several small new toys with a Halloween theme, and a new scratch post. The top hits were: catnip, squeezy treats, and the scratch post. They can certainly make a mess of things very quickly!

Baby Hope and Hugo Yugo were the first to check out all the goodies. Within seconds, Hugo Yugo had claimed the catnip that was inteded for Calico!

Missey was over at the new scratch post marking it before you could blink while waiting for the squeezy treats.

Calico decided that the catnip was truly hers and Hugo Yugo needed to scat!

Then Hugo Yugo wanted the scratch post!

Baby Hope didn’t like all the bother on the table and preferred playing with the stick toy and little frilly things.

Calico was the last to leave the party enjoying the reclining aspect of the scratching post and the catnip.

They seemed to have a good time. They have given such joy and comfort this past year. Life could never be the same without them and I thank my lucky stars every day (many times a day) that fate sent them my way. ‘J’ says, “Happy Einzugstag!!. That’s what I call it, “move-in-day“. Congratulations to all of you for finding each other to build a new family!!!”

Calico Approved: With four cats and a complete dislike for cat hair and cat food (it almost makes me sick), I am always on the look out for the perfect thing to remove cat hair. I think I found it today! It was my present from the party!!!!!!

It worked so well. 10 Paw Prints!

Moving on to our birds – eagles continue to arrive, geese are flying south, falcons are incubating in the Southern Hemisphere along with the Ospreys.

Heidi has worked really, really hard on this video summary of Mispillion Harbour in Delaware. These summaries are so difficult. Hours and hours of footage and no professional equipment. So bravo, Heidi.

Please go and watch her efforts, give her a thumbs up and subscribe to her channel. She deserves every like she gets! This nest, and it is a wonderful one, has been overlooked until she started monitoring it. Thank you so much. https://youtu.be/IOTOSegZTsU

Moving over to Montana –

Video on how they track the Montana Ospreys that are ringed:

https://youtu.be/lFQUgAXcF88?

Poor Diamond tried to get in the scrape and the wind was horrific. Xavier watched his mate struggle. https://youtu.be/SMFeIZ1hrM8?

Geemeff has created a summary of the entire season at Loch Arkaig for The Woodland Trust – and us! Thank you, Geemeff, for all the video summaries and your dedication to this nest and sharing all with us. We look forward to another season next year with dear Louis an Dorcha!

Daily summary Monday 2nd September 2024

Back to wet and windy weather so no activity on either nest, no change expected tonight or tomorrow. The nights are lengthening rapidly, today’s cam switchover times are: Nest One 21.04.58 (05.43.42); Nest Two 20.57.16 (05.51.13)

Here is the synopsis for Loch Arkaig’s 2024 roller coaster Season Eight: 

Louis arrived at 15.18.38 on Thursday 28 March 

Dorcha arrived at 14.21.27 on Saturday 30 March 

First Egg laid 11.13.47 Sunday 14 April 

Second egg laid 05.55.52 Wednesday 17 April

Dorcha is injured in an Eagle attack 11.08 Friday 19 April

Third egg laid 02.26.08 Saturday 20 April

First chick hatched 06.16.48 Wednesday 22 May

Second chick hatched 22.26.15 Wednesday 22 May

Third chick hatched 16.36.10 Friday 24 May

Sad death of little Chick3 approx 19.02 Sunday 16 June

Louis last seen Wednesday 26 June 

Louis returns with fish, uninjured but definitely not himself Saturday 29 June

Chicks 1&2 are removed to a translocation programme Monday 1 July

Chicks ringed with Spanish yellow Darvic rings: C1 – 1JW & C2 – 1JR  Thursday 11 July

Sadly 1JR started having seizures and succumbed to a heart condition Tuesday 23rd July

FLEDGE! The surviving chick 1JW found his wings and flew 3pm Thursday 25 July 

Dorcha last seen on camera on Nest One 11.19.43 Saturday 27 July

Louis last seen on camera on Nest Two 13.31.18 Tuesday 30 July

And the regular visitors:

Garry LV0 last seen 13.35.57 Wednesday 22 August (first seen 9 April)

Affric 152 last seen 15.09.07 Saturday 17 August (first seen 10 April)

Prince last seen 09.24.01 Saturday 29 June (first seen 1 April)

Today’s videos: none

Bonus guide – Meteorological Autumn started yesterday, WT explain the tell-tale signs showing nature gearing up for the next season:

https://woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/08/first-signs-of-autumn

I mentioned Finnegan as new Dad of the Year and, of course, forget another amazing Dad who helped raise four. Archie! ‘B’ writes, “You know, I have to agree with you that Finnegan gets a “New Dad of the Year” award.  It has been so amazing to see Finnegan arrive at Hellgate, completely displace Louis, and be such a wonderful mate for Iris and super dad to Sum-eh and Antali.  But what is also amazing is that in any other year Archie would be the runaway New Dad of the Year, showing up for Annie at Cal and being such a great dad to Aurora, Eclipse, Sol, and our dear Nox.  It has just been a really good year for new dads all around!”

It is hard to believe but those little sea eaglets are doing wingers and have pin feathers. What is it with time? It is passing so quickly! Soon they will be scampering all over the nest! https://youtu.be/trE2K9UQTSA?

There is some really sad news coming out of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. There is a possibility that the entire family is no longer with us. I had thought that I had seen Dad on the nest, but it turns out it was the intruder as there was no federal band (that was the Wednesday). This is so very, very sad.

Black MS – was banded in 2002 at the nest off of Kings Point Road just north of HWY 7 and Carver Park Reserve in Hennepin County, Minnesota. In 2024, he is 22 years old.

Both juveniles and at least one adult (if not two – both Beaumont and Hope) are at home on the Newfoundland Power nest on Snow Lane.

Want to know how important it is that fishing be regulated to support wildlife and not industry? No Menhaden came into the Potomac. Few, if any, of the Colonial Beach ospresy survived. They starved to death. It is a sobering read and please do sit down with a cuppa and write to people in power and let them know that you care before the ospreys are starved out of existence.

Virginia is fighting for its wildlife. The contacts are in the file below. Please help them!

The Osprey Flyer, Volume XXVI, September EditionDownload

Iris is still with us. She was on the nest fish calling a couple of times on Monday. Antali was fish calling late afternoon.

Nesting Bird Life and More caught Finnegan delivering a magnificent fish to Antali. https://youtu.be/0UiClVDZq2c?

Aran is still delivering fish to two fledglings at Glaslyn. Elen and one juvenile have departed for migration.

News from the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross at Orange. Mark those calendars!

I did not catch them on rewind but Pa and Missey were at the Berry College Eagle nest making nestorations Monday morning.

Jolene and Boone were caught by Sara A making nestorations at Johnson City: https://youtu.be/bFvDiI8-HIY?

Beau has been at the nest. Observers have noted some scratches, etc., to his feet due to territorial protection. Gosh, I wish him and Gabby could cut a break this year.

Annie and Archie have been courting around The Campanile. https://youtu.be/wS94ETIf-14?

At the Dunrovin nest, beautiful Junebug on the perch and a huge fish comes to the nest!

C16 at the Charlo nest with a huge crop later in the day.

At Sandpoint, River has been on and off the nest all day according to the local observers. The camera is offline.

Pam Breci caught up with Niagara Bee ospreys:

White YW is still at Foulshaw Moss but all fledglings and Blue 35 have departed. He should be heading south shortly.

Thank you so much for being with us today. We are glad to have you here. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J’, Heidi Mc, Montana Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Olympic Park Eagles, Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch, Newfoundland Power, Virginia Osprey Foundation, Nesting Bird Life and More, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Holly Parsons, Sara A, Dunrovin Ranch, Charlo Montana Ospreys, Sandpoint Ospreys, and Pam Breci.

Sunday in Bird World

1 September 2024

Hello Everyone,

It was a gorgeous albeit windy 22 C on the Canadian Prairies for the Labour Day long weekend. The sky is a beautiful blue with a few fluffy clouds. It was a good day for a walk and lunch by the lake at the nature centre. Lots of children trying their luck at getting tadpoles and little frogs jumping all around on the paths. There were several species of ducks, some Canada Geese, various species of woodpeckers, American Goldfinches, squirrels, etc. Missing were the calls of the Red-wing Blackbird which is striking in its absence.

My sanctuary at the nature centre. The wind was rather silent and the songbirds were singing their hearts out.

Well, we had a bit of a scare last evening. The garden door appeared closed when doing the final bits and bobs with the outdoor animals at 1800 but it was windy. A gust caught it and it went open and in seconds four cats on the deck! I know. Holding my breath and hollering, three ran into the house. Only Calico remained. She is actually ‘terrified’ of the outdoors – as a community cat she knows its perils. She hid under the deck for two hours. Finally, the other three were secured in the conservatory and the garden door opened. Calling and Calico ran in! I had read on the step like I did when she lived outside and she would stick her head out. Poor thing. All is well this morning, thank goodness – and a new lock will be fixed to that door after our long weekend.

We have new eggs at Port Lincoln and at Charles Sturt Falcon scrape, home to Xavier and Diamond on Saturday. Congratulations everyone! Surely we will now be in hard incubation mode.

35-40 days folks for all.

Video of Diamond laying the third egg: https://youtu.be/BgHpmXzRZzc?

And there are the three beautiful osprey eggs at Port Lincoln:

With the departure of Glenwais at the ripe age of 102 days at Dyfi, it is believed that Idris – not having any takers for his fish now – will begin his own migration either Sunday or today. I will keep you posted. What an amazing dad he is and like all others, we want him to eat well, rest up during the winter, and return to Wales healthy in the spring! Idris was last seen on the 30th of August at 19:53.

The empty nest. Idris has indeed departed for Africa. Idris has been breeding at Dyfi for five years, taking over for the iconic and much-loved Monty, who was here for nearly 12 years.

I wish that every streaming cam, no matter their location, would keep records and post them for the public such as those kept and published by the Dyfi Osprey Project. Their website is wonderful. Here is the information for this year. Imagine finding this at other sites!

More data to help us try and understand the return rate of the juveniles.

All four at home on Saturday at Llyn Brenig in Wales.

It was a fabulous year for Knepp Farm and their translocation project of the White Stork. They introduced injured birds from Poland. We watched them on the streaming cam and now that they are migrating, that will pause according to their FB posting.

This is why this project is so important as discussed on this BBC programme: https://youtu.be/dku18keuWUE?

I am pretty excited about the wetlands that are being created at Knepp Farm by a pair of beavers. This video shows what they have been doing, but beyond that, remember that wetlands are wonderful places for many species of birds!

https://youtu.be/2Ski21XVuR4?si=jKnUVA4cIwWUmhW2

At Poole Harbour, Blue 5R2 appears to be the only fledgling left at the nest. Blue 022 is delivering fish. Blue 5H6, the fourth hatch, migrated on the 30th of August. CJ7 and the others left earlier.

Just look at how healthy this chick is – its crop is full and its body has the kind of fat on it needed for migration. Despite having four to feed, Blue 022 and CJ7 did just that and had four really healthy fledglings this year. Bravo.

R52 would have liked another fish but Dad did not oblige at Poole Harbour.

Blue KL5 is still at RSPB Abernathy. Eating fish and getting ready for his long migration.

It looks like everyone has departed from Llyn Clywedog. Blue 5F Seren might already be in her winter spot in The Gambia. She has the same post every year and many travel to see her there. They are an amazing couple always raising big healthy chicks. Stay safe Dylan and Seren!

I missed him but Blue 33 was on the Manton Bay nest Saturday morning at 0611 for four minutes. Maya was seen on the nest on Friday at 1869. Blue 1R0, their only fledgling this year, has left on migration. They will both be leaving soon. Maya might have already departed. We wait to see for sure for a couple of days.

Bart M has done an amazing job giving us a detailed observation board and a list of key events at Manton Bay. Oh, I sure wish more nests would do this! There is a video archive, photographs, a nest history and more for anyone interested. Just go to the streaming cam and click the link to the obs board. For example, you will learn that Maya has been at this nest since 2010. Blue 33 took the nest and Maya in 2014 – he really wanted both of them! And the history of their nest and all the chicks they raised is there.

There is even a fish chart!

Finnegan delivered two fish to Antali on the nest. There might have been others at a different location. I have not seen Iris at the nest on Saturday but she was eating a fish on the Owl Pole on Friday at 1906. She could be fattening up and letting Finnegan take care of Antali and Sum-eh if she is still around.

A juvenile osprey was observed on the Osoyoos nest Saturday afternoon. I could not see what happened prior to that time and I did not see a fish delivery. Someone else might have – please let me know if you did.

At the other Fortis Exshaw nest in Canmore Alberta, both juveniles were seen on the nest wrestling for a fish from Harvie at 1534. It is presumed that Louise has left on her migration. The oldest won the prize with the smaller fledgling having to wait for another delivery. That delivery came sixteen minutes later! According to the chatters, there was a fish delivery at 0703 and 1005 also. Harvie is really working to get these two fit for flying. So it looks to me like two juveniles and Harvey with Louise and one juvenile away. Feel free to correct me!

Juvenile on post at Fortis at 1602 with adult on nest with another partial fish at Fortis. Wow.

Fish deliveries continue to come to the Newfoundland Power nest at Snow Lane. Both juveniles accounted for. Beaumont is delivering lots of fish. I cannot confidently confirm Hope’s presence but I also cannot confirm that she has departed. She did an amazing job feeding her two chicks this year and it was a happy surprise to see these two take their first flights. One of the really wonderful events of the 2024 season that will not be forgotten soon. Previously, the nest failed for four years in a row.

Heidi posted the link for the new 4K camera of Window to Wildlife at Captiva. They are doing tests.

https://www.youtube.com/live/H3Lpm6jNRXk?

Sharon Pollock catches us up with the Crawley Falcons:

Congratulations to Connie Dennis and Hope for Wildlife on a successful fundraising.

It is one of the reasons our zoo does not have many feathered ambassadors – when Avian Flu H5N1 hit, all of the birds had to be kept indoors for two years.

‘A’ comments on the Royal Cam chick: “at Taiaroa, the chicks are practising whenever there is enough wind, hopping and using their wings to get some air. No real hovering yet but we have had both paddles in the air. I love the way TF has built himself another nest this season. The chicks often build ‘play nests’ but they usually don’t move into them. One of the viewers noted mum sniffing at TF’s play nest yesterday and was wondering whether there was a bolus there. We await a response from the rangers to that question, as there was something white in the nest but it was blurry when you tried to zoom in on it. If it is a bolus, it would be interesting to know its contents, though of course I hope it’s not because that would suggest TF is only a day or so away from fledging. September is the month when we lose them, but not quite yet! It is the first day of spring here in the southern hemisphere, although the weather has been very vernal for weeks now. “

That lucky chick got a feeding, too!

and on the WBSE: “At WBSE, Dad was honking at 05:45, so Lady got up at about 05:50 began feeding leftover fish to SE33. She ignored SE34, who was facing the table side by side with SE33 but further from mum’s beak. After a few minutes, SE34 shuffled closer to mum, and from )5:53, she fed him exclusively, and because it was nearing the end of the fish, he got the larger bites, nearly all of which he managed. He has nearly caught up to his older sibling in size, though SE33 is still larger. Certainly, he got the better of the breakfast feeding today. There has not yet been fresh food delivered to the nest today and the pair are as usual lying in their cuddle puddle, sleeping and growing. Feathers are starting to show along SE34’s wing and both chicks are presumably itchy, as they are doing a lot of preening. 

There are baby rails being brought in and positioned, and the eaglets assisted in arranging some of the smaller pieces of nest material. Too cute. There are SO many fresh green leaves on that nest. They have so far been used primarily as a table, as well as to line the nest bowl area. I believe the eucalyptus would be good at minimising bacteria and discouraging insects, as eucalyptus oils have those qualities. The pair are looking active and healthy and are getting along fine today. There was no antagonism at the breakfast table, even when Lady began feeding SE34 only for a good two minutes, his sibling right beside him. There was no intimidation from SE33 and no fear shown by SE34. So that was progress. It still seems like SE34’s head look larger than his sibling’s, probably because he retains a lot of fluff atop his head while SE33’s head appears quite sleek. Otherwise, they are easily distinguished by the feather growth on the wings. The littles are really starting to move around, validating the baby rails decision. At the moment, they have snuggled up on the green leafy dinner table, up the back of the nest. They have moved from further towards the front, where they have been for their life so far. ” 

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, Falcon Cam Project at Charles Sturt University, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brenig Osprey Project, Knepp White Stork Project, Birds of Poole Harbour, RSPB Abernathy, Llyn Clywedog, LRWT Manton Bay, Montana Osprey Project, Fortis-Exshaw Osoyoos and Canmore, Newfoundland Power, Heidi and Window to Wildlife, Sharon Pollock, Connie Dennis and Ospreys of Nova Scotia, RSPCA Stapeley Grange, NZ DOC, and Olympic Sea Eagle Cam.

Second chick for Iris and Finnegan…Monday in Bird World

17 June 2024

Hello Everyone!

We hope that you had a lovely weekend. Sunday was beautiful in southern Manitoba. Blue skies with lots of wind to keep the mosquitoes away. We did the 10 km walk, the long path, around Oak Hammock Marsh. The Red-winged Blackbirds followed us. There were songbirds, ducks with ducklings, goslings, Pelicans, and Swans. There was even Killdeer. It was a glorious afternoon spent outside.

They were clearly ‘white’ but, for the sake of saving my arm today, I went with my phone and not the long lens. Bad decision. They look like Snow Geese or Swans to me and not Pelicans, but they were approximately 30 metres away. Please feel free to disagree! The image when cropped and blown up is too faint to tell accurately.

I really hope that you got to spend some time outside, away from the computer screen. Hearing the birds, listening to the wind, feeling the sun – it all makes everything better and it has been a particularly rough week in Bird World.

First news for Monday: We have a second chick at Hellgate for Iris and Finnegan!

I am going to start with the sadness so we can move on to the gladness.

Geemeff sends us the report for The Woodland Trust and the Osprey nests at Loch Arkaig:

Daily summary Sunday 16th June 2024

Sadly, there’s only one story today – the death of little bob3 at 24 days old. The youngest chick succumbed to weather, lack of food, and stress from aggression by the middle chick. Although s/he did get some fish today, it was too little too late and two days of cold wet weather plus being left uncovered in a downpour this morning when too weak to crawl under mum was too much for the chick to overcome. It will be interesting to see how the other two chicks react to having one less competitor, but it looks like chick1 is already working out strategies to prevent chick2 getting all the food. Louis brought five fish to the nest today, taking his tally to two hundred and seven. No activity on Nest One except for a little songbird who pootled around for a few minutes. It was very dreich today but tonight’s forecast of partly cloudy with light winds and 9°C temperatures is slightly better. 

RIP little chick three: 24th May – 16th June 2024

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.42.37 (03.13.33); Nest Two  23.20.40 (03.51.29)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/kT2dGq0-2zs N2 Fish number one, small whole trout – C3 is looking weak  05.06.42

https://youtu.be/hlazHmk6Q64  N2 Fish number two, headless large trout – C3 gets a few bites 05.52.19 

https://youtu.be/boDKXOe820U N2 Fish number three, headless large trout – C1 gets a good feed, C3 doesn’t move 09.40.52

https://youtu.be/n7QT7THpK3M N2 Fish number four, whopper headless trout – has C3 lost its fight? 13.44.49 

https://youtu.be/zW4F9G1h224 N1 A little songbird visits 14.03.50 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/zN-GUwN08iM  N2 RIP Little bob3: the last day of Chick Three 05.54 – 19.02

https://youtu.be/ElWA0SIE6yM N2 Fish number five, whopper trout. C2 immediately moves in 21.29.27 

https://youtu.be/dCQU4Mrm4F0 N2  N2 Chick1 has a cunning plan to thwart C2 21.40.45

A thesis on osprey nest mortality.

rettew-thesis-Osprey-aggressionDownload

Geemeff’s tribute to little C3 at Loch Arkaig.

And now for the giggle of the day which comes form ‘A’:

In Sydney, the eagles have been on the nest this morning (in fact, Lady is there at the moment). The magpies chose Saturday to start mating all over Melbourne. Nature strips, medians, backyards. It’s avian pornography wherever you look. Even the noisy mynahs are joining in (not with the magpies, obviously!) so it seems it is about a week or two until egg-laying begins in southeastern Australia. We are keeping an eye/ear out for our falcons in Collins Street – they must be around their scrape by now if they are planning to use it this year. 

It is time for some good news! Smallie is flying. ‘PB’ reports that he was seen sitting on a bicycle and was flying back and forth to the nest. Smallie was the much loved Amersfoort tiny, tiny falcon with the humongous siblings. Many thought Smallie didn’t have a chance. The parents kept feeding and Smallie, by his/her own nature didn’t give up. She/he got out on that scrape and ate anything they could. Now Smallie is flying! Tears.

‘PB’ reports that Smallie flew off the ledge like a pro! There he goes!

Another tragedy that has turned out alright. Both Decorah North eaglets are flying. Their nest collapsed Sunday morning and it was feared one might be grounded and couldn’t get up. But now they are together on a branch – the last news that I had. Mr and Mrs DNF are incredible parents and they will make sure these two are well looked after! No worries there.

The power on the camera at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum went down at 0530 on Sunday morning after the storms and rain went through the area.

All four osplets at Field Farm are doing great.

And smile. All four at Poole Harbour are doing fantastic, too. Little Mini is turning into a Reptile!

Reports from ‘H’:

6/16, Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  The third baby hatched at approximately 14:04.  Louise’s new mate, Harvie, has taken good care of her this season, helping with security, providing fish, and incu-brooding.  We know that he’ll be a great Dad.

6/16, Patuxent osprey nest:  There were six fish brought to the nest.  It wasn’t the best day for Little, but he still did okay.  There was no ‘whopper’ fish that would allow for a prolonged private feeding for Little.  S/he ate well at 0752 and 1237, but was only able to eat for about 9 minutes at the last four meals of the day.

6/16 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest:  Della and Warren, and their two 21 and 20-day-old chicks are doing great.  Warren is a fishing machine, and it seems like these two osplets are always eating. 


6/16, Captiva osprey nest:  It was another fish-filled day…and as you know, fish make ospreys happy…so everyone was happy!  There were seven fish brought to the nest by Edie and Jack, and Jack delivered five of them!  Oh, my goodness, what a great Dad…tirelessly providing for his family despite being injured.

We are on fledge watch for the last of the San Jose falcons! And SK Hideaways shows us how silly these kids are.

Food fight at San Jose!

Three beautiful babies at Cowlitz PUD protected by those fish grates by the PUD.

Three beautiful babies enjoying a fish dinner at Osoyoos.

More good news. The two Eastern Imperial Eaglets of Altyn and Nova in the RU nest appear to be very healthy.

I continue to hope that the two Golden Eaglets in the Estonian nest 2 will survive. They appear to both being doing well, also.

There was some concern about the osplet of Iris and Finnegan. It had gotten itself upside down in the nest, but that drama, thankfully, has passed and the chick is right side up again!

‘A’ comments: “Finn is still the perfect partner, feeding Iris and bringing in fish for her and the youngster. He just loves being on the nest when Iris is feeding the chick, which he is absolutely besotted with. He is fascinated and delighted by the little one and takes every opportunity to see it. He is very careful around the chick now, using his wings to keep his balance and ensure that he does not stumble or step on the chick – a major improvement on his initial clumsy clomping around the nest. 

Iris was a lot better today, feeding the osplet more often and generally looking a lot more alert and active. I wonder whether she was very tired from the first hatch,she had three nights (two that were particularly disturbed) when she was awake for much of the night while the first chick was hatching. She was aware on that first night of the activity beginning in one of her eggs, and over the following two nights she had a hatching egg, and then on the third night, a just-hatched chick. She had very little sleep, and she really did appear lethargic to me over the past couple of days. But today, she appeared much more energetic 

Meanwhile, that osplet is MONSTROUS. Surely it cannot possibly be only five days old. It looks twice that age, and it is growing so fast, it appears to be entering the dinosaur phase already. I am extremely nervous about a potential second hatch. This size discrepancy is ridiculous. Surely a hatch as tiny as this second one is likely to be has absolutely no chance against a sibling literally ten times its size. And I am not entirely sure Iris has the energy to give a new very tiny chick. Certainly, Finn will do his best to support Iris, and I love the way he feeds her on the nest. She sure is demanding! I never saw her with Stanley, but if he also fed Iris, then perhaps it is Iris who is dictating the behaviour of the males in her life. It is most unusual behaviour in my experience. Certainly, we have seen males occasionally offer a mouthful to a female on the nest, but I have never seen feeds of this length and this regularity. She is being feted by this handsome young man. Our Iris sure is an impressive cougar. “

And the news is still good. Richmond of SF Golden Gate Audubon is a Grand -Dad. Robin B caught Lassen and his family on video for everyone.

Sharon Dunne reports that both Royal Cam chick parents were in today! What luck!

Sara and Sota at the Sun Coast Osprey nest had two fledges this past week. Congratulations! (screen capture by Lucille Powell)

The two chicks at the WDNU Tower in South Bend, Indiana appear to be doing well. No rewind so it is hard to catch a great image of the entire family!

Charlie and his new mate at Charlo Montana have three beautiful osplets. Mum is not too happy with the delivery of ‘something’ – it certainly wasn’t a fish! She uses her beak to push it to the rails.

There are many benefits to having only one osplet to feed. Parents do not use up as much energy. There is normally enough fish for three. The Only Bob usually grows big and strong. Boulder County is a good example.

Only Bob at Manton Bay is doing fantastic. ‘She’ – seriously I believe this is a nice big female – will be ringed this week. Blue 33 and Maya doing well after Maya’s earlier sickness. (I still owe you the entry for Manton Bay. I have not forgotten. The deaths and tragedies seem to have overtaken everything lately).

After the issues at the Dahlgren nest, Sandpoint’s platform is starting to worry me. Old fish, new fish. Baby gets fed.

There are growing concerns for C3 at the Bridge Golf Club. We have already lost Mini Little to siblicide and it looks as if we could lose Little on this nest. It would appear that the supply of fish might only be enough for two chicks, not four and maybe not three.

The two osplets at Ferris State University have all their beautiful juvenile plumage. One egg DNH.

The trio at Radford University are at the same stage as those at Ferris in their plumage development. Aren’t these babies beautiful?

Two little sweeties at Blackbush. Hoping those eggs continue to be DNH.

Is it dangerous to be a fledgling eagle parent? Ask Akecheta!

There are so many people who have helped wildlife. At the moment I am completely behind Isabella Tree and rewinding. I am hopeful that what she has done at Knepp Farm might translate into urban and suburban gardens. After adding more trees to our property, we added more annuals to attract the pollinators. Every little bit helps. You can do it with a single pollinator friendly potted plant!

Conservationist-Isabella-Tree-‘Rewilding-is-vital-for-the-UKs-agricultural-future-Food-The-GuDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Have a great week. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, MP, PB’, Geemeff for The Woodland Trust, Sea Eagle Cam, Amersfoort Falcons, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, MN Landscape Arboretum, Field Farm, BoPH, Patuxent River Park, FortisExshaw, Window to Wildlife, Mispillion Harbour, SK Hideaways, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos Ospreys, Eastern Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Eagle Club of Estonia, Montana Osprey Cams, SF Bay Ospreys, Robin B, Sharon Dunne, Sun Coast Ospreys, Lucille Powell, WDNU Tower, Charlo Montana, Boulder County, LRWT, Sandpoint Ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, Ferris State University, Radford University, Netflix Memories, and The Guardian.

Friday in Bird World

7 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you so much for all of your holiday good wishes. I had a wonderful time. It is amazing how just a wee break can revive one’s batteries! ‘The Girls’ survived the 54 hours I was away. Missey and Hugo Yugo did well with the cat sitter, but Calico and Baby Hope did not. They hid. While I am certain that they came out when the individual left, it did take them twenty minutes to show their precious faces when I got home. Six hours later and all is well.

On Tuesday, the skies driving north were churning black. Torrential rain had been predicted, but by the time I got to Hecla Island the sun was coming out. A lone Tundra Swan swam with some Common Goldeneyes in the marshy areas. Eight-five Canada Geese flew in a huge formation overhead while American White Pelicans were fishing while Red-winged Blackbirds flitted around trying to catch – I hope – all of the mosquitoes that I would be complying about later. What an amazing welcome!

83 Canada Geese flying in. They will feed on the grass that you see in the images.

American White Pelicans.

The Red-wing Blackbirds were everywhere. Lots of insects for them to feast on.

Nature is such a healer.

The Girls and I are reading a new book, Wild Service. Why Nature Needs You edited by Nick Hayes & Jon Moses and published by Bloomsbury. The illustrations are stunning woodcuts (Lino?) by Nick Hayes. The author is a member of the Right to Roam Action Group in the UK. While I might not totally embrace some of the politics in the book, I want to read it again quietly after we finish the first ‘go’ and try and absorb more of what the pair are advocating. What did strike me, right at my heart, is the notion that we are stewards of nature and that we must care for it, not exploit it.

Sitting on the rocks or on the porch of the cottage and listening to the waves as the sun set over the horizon, I was struck by some of the ways in which people are so alienated from the natural world. We know that being in the forest, taking walks, or stroking our pets or someone else’s helps our mental and physical well-being. On average, 94% of the population spends their time indoors in front of a screen! This includes children.

There will be more about the book in the coming days, but I want to challenge you to get outside more. I know this is very difficult for some of you, but I suggest you use your creative mind to see how you might get out for half an hour each day. Listen to nature. If you are in a wheelchair, get someone to take you for a walk. It will benefit them, too. If you are in the City, find a safe little spot to sit. Perhaps take a friend or family member. If you have a garden, spending thirty minutes a day 5, days a week, is as beneficial as having a gym membership. All that bending, pulling, and lifting is really good exercise. This challenge includes spending less time in front of your computer watching the birds — yes, you heard that right. I am not saying stop altogether – of course not, but when the weather is good, and you have the opportunity, spend it with nature. (There are far too many articles from various academic and medical sources on the Internet on this topic. To find them search for ‘The benefits of being outside in nature’.)

My second day on the island was full of crashing waves and more birds including another ‘V’ of Canada Geese, more Common Goldeneyes, the Swan, American White Pelicans, a Bald Eagle and, yes, a Grey Wolf running across the road that caused us to stop dead in our tracks.

These are Common Goldeneyes.

The Pelicans fascinated me. It seems that they are a good marker for where fish are located and some of the local fishers pay close attention.

It was hard to say goodbye to the island. The little ducks and the Pelicans became my good friends while sitting on the rocks listening to the roar of the water. It is always good to be away and it is always good to get home!

TWO DAYS UNTIL PIP WATCH AT THE MONTANA OSPREY NEST AT HELLGATE OF IRIS AND FINNEGAN! MARK YOUR CALENDARS. FINGERS CROSSED. THIS COULD BE AN AMAZING SEASON.

Geemeff sent us a real treat. “BBC Springwatch 2024 episode 8 with Osprey hero Roy Dennis – I’ve recorded it for any overseas viewers who can’t access BBC IPlayer:

https://youtu.be/ILLmt5olhHs ©BBC

This is a must-see for anyone remotely interested in Ospreys and Eagles and raptors in general. Roy Dennis is an absolute legend in conservation, and at 80+ years old, is still working. This episode of Springwatch with Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams features an in-depth interview with Roy Dennis. Copyright BBC, but they do allow recordings, like this one, to be made.”

I hope to bring you a few highlights of the week; many through the eyes of those who kept tabs on your favourite nests. I really appreciate the kindness and the help – all of these reports allowed me to have such a nice serene break!

‘B’ was delighted when all of the Cal Falcons fledged! He writes: “All four of Annie and Archie’s chicks have now fledged.  I have been out hiking this morning (Tues), so all my info is from the Cal Falcons FB posts.  It sounds like Sol was the next to go after Eclipse, following Eclipse off the runway when he went for a morning flight (from the time of the post, maybe about 8 or 9 am) and landing near Eclipse on a neighboring building.   Then Aurora was next, perhaps at 11 am or noon, landing near Sol on that same neighboring building (which makes it sound like Sol had stayed in place on that building).  And then Nox (the last to hatch) finished off the morning, flying off the runway perhaps not long after Aurora.  No report yet on where he has landed.  Congrats to Annie and Archie and their fabulous four young ones!!” That is certainly wonderful news.

The third hatch at Patuxent, with the protrusion that had made a hole in the chick’s neck/throat area, was removed from the nest and taken to a wildlife rehabilitation centre on Tuesday. Thanks to all the chatters—our citizen scientists—who monitor these nests so closely and those who alerted Patuxent of the initial concerns. Thank you, Patuxent River Park, for your diligence in caring for your ospreys. We wait to see if Little can be returned.

Little Mini at Field Farm was tucked in under its much larger older siblings Tuesday.

The size difference is the same at Pool Harbour for Little Mini who got a really nice private feeding. My goodness.

Tuffy was hungry!

As of Wednesday night, Middle is still safe in the nest at Lake Murray.

Both Golden Eaglets in Estonia and both of the Imperial Eaglets in RU are still alive. (This is part of a thread that I will continue while I am away).

My goodness. Hartley and Monty have four lively eyases. Just check out how much bigger those girls are than Dad who is trying to feed them! Don’t you love how their eyes look around. What a grand family!

Fledge is coming soon at the nest of the Ns on the Cornell Campus.

Jackie and Shadow never give up hope. We could learn a lot form them and their struggles to have a family in the high mountains of Big Bear Valley.

Smallie has been eating – looks like leftovers from the big siblings, but what the heck? It is food. Perhaps not the best quality but Smallie’s feathers are coming and his crop was somewhat full.

The oldest Golden Eaglet at the Kaljukotkas 2 nest has been attacking, as predicted, the younger sibling and it has an injury. Caution should be exercised if you are watching this nest as obligate siblicide is the norm for Golden Eagles.

Many of you will remember the saga of Golden Eagle Spilve and her chick, Klints, who died of starvation in their nest in Latvia a few years ago. It was a tragedy that struck many people. It appears Spilve did not return to use that nest but has been in the area. She has been caught a couple of times on camera on the nest where she tried to raise Klints alone.

Little Mini still with us Wednesday evening at Field Farm.

We need to send good wishes to Little Minis – both at Field Farm and then also at Poole Harbour. These two are so much smaller than their siblings!

Frederick and Betsy’s two osplets are doing alright despite the size difference. Enough food and the second sibling seems to almost always have a crop.

Still fighting for ‘Top Chick’ at Loch Arkaig.

First hatch at the Minnesota Arboretum Landscape Osprey Platform on Wednesday 5 June. This appears to be egg #3. Egg #1 was left uncovered and it got wet. It would have been 42 days old today with the second being 39. Egg 3 was 36 days.

Three sweet babies at Bridge Golf. Wishing for lots of fish this year.

On Wednesday, ‘B’ wrote and brought us up to speed on two California nests: Cal Falcons and the West End.

“No new fledges since Tuesday noon at the various falcon and eagle (and a few osprey) nests I have watched.  

Cal Falcons had another Q&A session today (Wednesday) at noon on youtube, featuring Bridget Ahern (moon_rabbit_rising), who takes those great photos of the Cal Falcons.  They answered general questions, in addition to the photography questions directed to Bridget.  They report all four fledglings are doing well.  Eclipse (who fledged four days before the others) seems to be doing particularly well, chasing the parents at times and making longer excursions than the others.

One tidbit that I found interesting from Lynn and Sean is that they said that, in the cases of some falcons elsewhere who were taken in for care for specific reasons that were NOT avian flu, antibodies for avian flu were detected in the birds.  Which they took as evidence that some birds have been building resistance to the avian flu without being known to have the flu.

There may not be any fledges at the IWS nests, but there has been some mild drama at West End.  I mentioned when I wrote midday Tues that Treasure and Sterling were preventing Koa from re-entering the nest.  Koa tried again mid afternoon on Tuesday and got very firmly chased off in a big kerfluffel of flapping wings, but once Koa was gone Treasure kept being aggressive to Sterling, to the point that Sterling went into submissive posture and kept his/her distance.  (I suggested last time that the sense was that both T and S were female, but now I am hearing some thinking Sterling could be male.)  Then, late in the afternoon, maybe 5 pm, Koa managed to land in the “basement” of the nest when Akecheta delivered food to the nest, which distracted Treasure and Sterling.  Treasure grabbed the fish and ate nearly all, as Koa watched closely but knew he couldn’t approach without drawing Treasure’s ire.  It is not clear if Koa had eaten at all since fledging early Monday.  As soon as Treasure turned and took a step away, Koa jumped on the remaining fish and ate ravenously.  And then picked up scraps around the nest.  When done, Koa drifted down to a rock adjacent to the basement, keeping his distance from his siblings, seemingly not trusting them to be aggressive again.  Then Thunder flew in with a fish at 8:08, and we were all amazed that Koa flew/leaped up to mantle on the fish.  Treasure was probably still full and didn’t threaten, and Sterling was interested but was not assertive to try for it.  Then just four minutes later, Akecheta flew in with a fish, and Koa grabbed that one, too.  So our boy ate very well late Tuesday.  Some were saying Koa was now the new alpha.  Not clear to me, but he has regained his “right” to be on the nest without aggression from his sibs.

When done with the fish, Koa again drifted down to his rock next to the basement and spent Tuesday night there.  He was quick to get up to the nest for at least some share of the breakfish today (according to reports — I did not see this one), and I saw him getting a good share of an evening fish today.  Koa has more confidence, even if still wary of his sibs, is asserting himself, and is flying very well.  Oh, yes — Koa did a ps right in Treasure’s face in the afternoon.  Like right at point-blank range — Koa’s rear was right on Treasure’s head.  Chatters called it “payback”, but I don’t think they are that scheming.  But it was funny, given Treasure’s past aggression.

Thunder and Sterling both look like they could fledge soon.  Maybe tomorrow.”

The big news on Thursday was the return of Little Bob to Patuxent Nest 1 after a clear check from the wildlife rehabber and a few great meals!

‘A’ sends us news of the Sydney Sea Eagles: “June 4: Our eagles were awake early, with duets and mating in the morning mist– great to hear them. Both were away and brought in a couple of early sticks. The nest now has a good leafy lining. Dad brought in a good-sized fish, headless, just before 11am. Lady was there quickly to take it to eat. Then both were off somewhere – not seen from the river at 12:40pm. They both returned before 4pm, with more sticks and leaves. Then Dad brought another fish, a whiting, again claimed by Lady, while he arranged a few sticks on the nest. When she had finished, she left the rest of the fish on the branch and settled nearby. A busy day with lots of sticks and two fish.”

June 5: A cold, misty morning, with early duets and mating. Dad delivered leftover fish to the nest at 5:22am, which Lady took to eat. He brought in the first stick of the day at 6:52am, then both brought more, placing them just so. They were gone from around 10:30am. We heard that there were two eagles at Burns Bay and that they have been visiting around midday for the past couple of days. Both returned around 4:15pm, with sticks. After a while, with a few soft squonks, Lady bowed forward, inviting mating, with a duet at 4:33pm. Lady then spent time arranging sticks, with Dad chewing in the base to settle leaves and twigs. There was another mating at dusk. Dad brought eight sticks today and Lady also brought eight, with several matings seen.

It is nearing time to turn our attention South and ‘A’ also reminds us of the two wonderful falcons at the Orange scrape: “Speaking of Diamond, she is as I type (it’s nearly 1am on 6 June in southeastern Australia) sleeping on her usual place on the ledge of her scrape. When she turned up at the scrape shortly before 4pm this afternoon (5 June) she had the most MONSTROUS crop. I’m not sure whether that came courtesy of Xavier or whether she did her own hunting this afternoon, but certainly, she is looking happy and healthy. I wonder whether the peaceful life at Orange with the smorgasbord of bird species on the menu has helped Diamond live a long and healthy life. She has gradually laid fewer and fewer eggs as the years progress, so we will see how this season goes. She is a true matriarch of the falcon world. I love that these two not only stay together and maintain their territory throughout the year but actually use their scrape on a daily basis. I wonder how rare that actually is. Cal Falcons springs immediately to mind. I presume there are others and we just don’t see them. I wonder what happens at Collins Street in the ‘off’ season. I must ask Jonathan whether he sees or hears them at the moment. He has not done so over the past six months so they obviously don’t live where they breed. 

Here is the latest post from Cilla at Orange:

As winter has arrived, courtship displays start to ramp up. We have already had two matings (a week earlier than last year) and other activities, such as scrape preparation, prey bringing and pair bonding displays, are also starting to increase in duration and frequency. Here the pair bonding lasted 22 minutes.. Video: https://youtu.be/SEsXle_iMy8“.

And, of course, everyone is getting excited for Iris and Finn: “At Iris’s nest, we must be approaching hatch watch for that first egg, laid on 5 May. I continue to be incredibly worried that there is a second (or technically third) egg laid on 12 May – that gap is HUGE. One hatch only, please! I do not want either Iris or this new partnership to have the stress of more than one osplet. I would prefer a spoiled and well-fed Only Bob here and truly hope this first egg does not hatch. We will know one way or the other within a week. I am nervous for them. 

This morning, Finn arrived as usual to say good morning, this time with empty talons. Iris flew straight off the nest at 05:44:35 to stretch her wings. Finn settled down carefully on the eggs. He has really become a lot more gentle around the eggs – he was very clumsy early on and continually threatened to accidentally trample on the eggs, but now he has worked out that he needs to tread delicately. Iris is back around 06:09. She does not appear to have eaten. I do love the way they chat quietly to each other. Iris really does seem very happy. Let’s hope Finn proves worthy of this very special lady. Finn has gone fishing – we see shots of the river, Finn perched beside the river on a tall pole, then Finn diving and returning wet to his pole but with empty talons. The river appears to be moving fast, and there is a small section of waterfall where the water flows over a rocky outcrop right across the river. This should provide a good fishing area, though when the water is moving this fast and looks this dark, it may be hard to see the fish. (from ‘A’)” NOTE: EGG IS 33 DAYS OLD TODAY. PIP/HATCH WATCH WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY.

At San Jose, the Fab Four are thinking of flying.

Hartley has to break up the food fights that are now constant between the four.

The Forsythe Four are also doing very well. Much better than I expected after the dismal season last year. Fingers crossed.

They should be giving out awards to raptors. Louis would certainly get one for his fishing abilities!

You just gotta love Little Bob at Loch Arkaig.

The Dyfi Trio are doing fantastic.

Aran and Elen are coping well with their three as well. So far, almost all of the nests in the UK are doing well.

Both Golden Eagles at Kaljukotkas 2 are still alive and are getting their juvenile feathers. Is it possible both will survive? We must wait. It would be unusual.

I would really like to see some more big fish come to the MNSA Jay Koolpix Osprey nest.

CJ7 makes sure that Mini Little Bob gets some fish dinner.

Maya with her Big and Only Bob at Manton Bay. She was unwell and nature was kind with just one chick to look after.

What a gorgeous sight. Three healthy storklets! The torrential rains have caused so many nest deaths this season.

And also at Bociany.

In Latvia,

A nest full at Bolewice.

One healthy storklet at Mlade Buky.

On Thursday, the Ns were a little wet at the Red-tail Hawk nest on the Cornell Campus. The average day of fledging at Cornell is 46 days. Keep your eyes open next week.

Concerns for the Osprey nests in the NE.

I also want to share with you the newsletter from Knepp Farm with the trailer for the Wilding movie!

Wilding-movie-in-cinemas-soonDownload

For those following the remaining members of Karl II’s family, Waba continues to travel north but is going through Russia – thanks ‘T’ for that news!

As of Friday morning, Middle is still with us at Lake Murray! S/he is getting so big. Let’s hope the GHO cannot lift this beautiful only surviving osplet.

Thank you so very much for being with me today as we did a brief catch-up on some of the nests we have been monitoring. Looking forward to some more fledges and hatches in the coming week. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you so much to the following individuals who so graciously and generously sent me comments and links for these updates as well as those who created videos, made FB and Chat postings, and, of course, to the streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J, PB, T’, Geemeff and BBC Springwatch, SK Hideaways, Field Farm, BoPH, Heidi McGrue, Lake Murray Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell RTH, Amersfoort Falcon Cam, LDF, OBX Osprey Cam, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Bridge Golf Club, IWS/Explore, Patuxent River Park, Sea Eagle Cam, Cilla Kinross, Montana Osprey Project, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Dyfi Osprey Project, MNSA Jay Koolpix Osprey Cam, LRWT, Kirchzarten Stork Cam DE, Bociany Carne Online, Bocian Czarny Online, Mlade Buky, Diane Lambertson, and Knepp Farms.

Saturday in Bird World

1 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is bright and sunny and nearing 1800 on the Canadian Prairies. We had a lovely brunch with the entire family on the deck with warm sunshine blessing all of us. The grandson is on his way back home to Ottawa. Son is heading north to go fishing, and we will be going to check on the eagles at Hecla Island in the coming weeks – not sure when. It was lovely to see everyone. We will have a bit of a break and then the third round – looking forward. Most everyone lives at a distance so these times together are very precious.

The cats have come out of hiding. Well, Hugo Yugo and Missey like company. Calico and Baby Hope don’t. They are all sleeping. Worn out by the excitement! The rain has made the garden really lush. The European Starlings seem to have taken over the area. Mr Crow comes for his cheesy dogs and then they fly in – at least 8 or 10 of them. They have nest in the garden and I think they just don’t want to risk the Crows predating their chicks. Mr Grackle came for a nice bath today and there have been quite a number of House Finches flittering about. No more Baltimore Orioles. The homing bird feeder is up but I have not seen any visitors.

My Girls wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Visiting. One day we did get in quite a nice walk but most of the time it is good food and lots of conversation, catching up. My legs needed to move and it was off this evening early to count the goslings and ducklings at the park. 68 goslings!

Richmond and Rosie had their first hatch on Friday the 31st of May! Yeah. We have all been waiting for our SF Whitley Crane couple on their new light post nest to start their family.

In Montana, Iris and Finnegan are doing well. Gosh, aren’t you getting excited? We might get to see Iris raise a chick. Seriously, I would. be happy if there was only one healthy one. That would not wear her out. The females, as you know, are known to lose 30% of their body weight during incubation and raising chicks. Mind you, Finnegan is one good provider for Rosie. We haven’t had to worry about her. Finnegan believes his first egg was laid on 5 May. That means that we are at 27 days. Hatch watch 10 June.

Continued good thoughts, please, for Lake Murray. I checked and there are no strobes on at the time I am writing at Lake Murray. Oh, goodness. Why?

Mum was on the perch and at 23:01 she flies off and then returns to the nest where she stays with Middle. Did she hear the owl? or was it the woman walking under the nest pulling something – lights? The strobes went on by 2308. Thank goodness.

Beautiful fledglings at Venice Golf Course. With 26 areas to get fish, this couple once again pulled off a nice healthy trio of chicks to fledge.

MNSA trio looking good.

Looking Bleak. Concerns grow for Little at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home. He has had less than 20 bites of food, some scraps Mum found, on Friday. Not looking good. Be cautious if you are watching this nest. Sadly this baby will probably not make it through the weekend, if that long. Starvation is terrible thing. If only the ospreys had one or two chicks. If only.

Prove me wrong. OR maybe. Put some fish on that nest or near it for this family. Do a Port Lincoln and help out!!!!!!!

We are on fledge watch for Cal Falcons! Can you believe it?

CJ7 and Blue 022 have a nest full – the fourth chick hatched on Friday and they are going to be very, very busy. How many still remember when CJ7 didn’t have a mate and she met Blue 022? They ‘romanced’ all over Poole Harbour! This is wonderful. Send good thoughts to the little one.

We all wish Jack and Diane the very best. They need to go and find fish and get their health back to a good state. The nest has its predator baffles thanks to Tampa Bay Raptor Centre – we wait for another year.

At Boulder, the chick, the Only Bob, is cheeping away for fish and at another time Dad wants Mum to feed him, too.

They are all reptiles with big crops at Radford University. Little Bob looks good today!

The camera at Cowlitz PUD is beyond frustrating. We know there are chicks. Once in awhile you can see a little head. Hope those fish grates prove that are the most reliable predator deterrent (for GHOs and eagles) for our ospreys.

If you use the overhead cam at Cowlitz, you will see that there are three osplets. One is so tiny. I am already worried.

The Only Bob at Clark PUD is one lucky osplet.

Field Farm seems to be holding its own with its trio of hungry beaks.

Fledglings still visiting the Frenchman’s Creek nest for fish.

Great Bay – has three Bobs – and so far, so good. Big Bob is in the reptile state while Little Bob still has fluffy down.

The two chicks at Patchogue are getting their feathers. Gosh, don’t you wonder what Little Mini is up to? I sure hope she survived – certainly deserved to!

The camera at Collins Marsh is almost as bad as what my mind tells me water torture would be. There is at least one little bobblehead (new) on that nest. Why do their heads have to look like an egg on these poor resolution cameras?

Flopping fish at Loch Arkaig. Who cares when you have three Bobs in the nest and they are all hungry for a fish dinner?!

When I say – which I often do – that I wish each osprey nest would have one really healthy chick. This is what I mean. Only Bob at Rutland Water is transitioning out of the Reptile Phase – just look at that beautiful copper plumage on the back of the head – into getting its juvenile plumage. Only Bob is getting the best of the fish, not the skin, as many of the later hatches in dubious nests have to eat. It is understood that some fish are more beneficial and that others and only getting inferior parts of prey (this would also include other raptors) does not provide the high quality nutrition that all need. Maya and Blue 33’s only chick this year has the best of everything. Oh, goodness. We wish this for all the nests, but sadly, many struggle like the Little Bob at Maryland Western Shore.

Can you see Only Bob’s bursting at the seams crop?

At Goitzsche-Wildnis, Dad was feeding Mum. Osplets really growing. They have a Little Bob, too. Fingers crossed for all the ‘Littles’.

Betsy and Frederick’s two osplets appear to be doing alright.

Oh, goodness. There is a lot of flapping and hopping going on at the Cornell RTH nest of Big Red and Arthur. The Ns will fledge this month…too soon.

The strobes were not on when I checked Lake Murray. Hopefully someone will hit the switch or we could lose Middle Bob tonight. I am not saying strobes are 100% effective against predation. I believe the fish grate protectors are. I wish we could all go and make a lot of noise under this nest until such time as Middle Bob migrates!

May’s Ventana Condor Chat.

Monty and Hartley will be giving flying demonstrations to their Fab Four showing them what to expect when they spread their wings and dare to jump off the ledge.

We are on fledge watch at Cal Falcons…did I say that earlier? Look at the difference in plumage between the San Jose chicks and Cal Falcons – there is a week in age difference. Cal Falcons older.

‘J’ writes: “What a surprise when I checked the Cal chicks. They went from fluffy to falcon within two days! Gosh, were they cute in their woollen jackets. I’m keeping Archie in my thoughts, I really want him to be Annie’s forever partner. Did you see this video? It made me laugh so hard. That look: “what?!” You could write many memes for this video, so many expressions on those lovely faces.”

Adult in the scrape with the only falcon chick at Evergy Energy in Kansas.

Lots of prey on the nest of the Russian Imperial Eagles – and still two little fluffy white chicks. They raised two in 2023. Maybe again this year. Abundant prey is the key.

There are two of the most precious little bobbleheads in the Golden Eagle nest in Estonia. Wish for lots and lots of prey. Would love to see these nests be the exception to the norm of the oldest killing the second hatch! Wouldn’t that just warm our hearts from the losses at the osprey nests?

‘H’ reports: “The Captiva osprey family is doing very well.  Jack and Edie have been able to deliver plenty of fish.  Ding is 39 days old, and Darling is 37 days old.”

“Patuxent ospreys:  The osplets were 24, 23, and 20 days of age on 5/31.  At 0535 Dad delivered a ‘whale’ of a fish, that would last three meals.  The older and aggressive siblings actually ‘allowed’ Little to eat.  Little ate 98 bites of fish and had turned away from Mom by the time Dad removed a huge leftover.  Dad returned with the fish at 0922.  Little had a private feeding from 1019 to 1053, and ate 181 bites of fish!  Mom fed the large fish tail portion at 1118 and Little had an additional 30 bites of fish.  There were two additional fish brought to the nest at 1646 and 1721.  Little did not eat at those meals, but he did not seem hungry, and didn’t really try very hard to get to the table.  Little ate at least 309 bites of fish today.”

‘H’ loves Tuffy and Ruffie – and she wanted to add a photo of the two of them today. Thanks, ‘H’.

Just look at that face on our little Tuffy.

‘A’ checks on Smallie for us: “Check out Smallie a few minutes ago (from 11:05:43), when a sister allows him to grab a huge chunk of food from outside the scrape and pull it inside, where he then fights first her, then another sister who joins them, for his share of the food. With one sister holding it down, Smallie is able to self-feed with significant success, and then grabs at the food during a three-way tug of prey. 

My concern is that all three of the sisters are now spending a lot of time outside the scrape, where the food is being delivered. If Smallie joins the scrum out there, he is in danger of falling – the others are probably able to glide to the ground if they fall, with at least two of them looking ready to fledge, with virtually no fluff left. I am worried, though, that if he doesn’t get outside to eat, there won’t be food inside for him. So unless he can grab food from inside the scrape (which he did manage to do this morning), he will have problems. 

At least there is no chance that his sisters will mistake him for a meal – he is way too aggressive for that, and I’m sure at least one of his sisters is fairly wary of him. But he is determined to eat, and I suspect he will find a way to survive no matter what that takes. He is a very brave little falcon. Just adorable.”

Middle is still alive at Lake Murray. Relief. The lights held him off or some larger prey. Thank goodness.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please have a wonderful weekend. Spend some time away from the screens worrying – go outside and smell the fresh air and listen to some birds. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, streaming cams, images, and articles that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J’, Montana Osprey Project, , VGCCO, MNSA, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home, Cal Falcons, BoPH, Achieva Credit Union, Boulder County, Radford University, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Field Farm, Frenchman’s Creek, Great Bay Ospreys, PSEG, Collins Marsh, Geemeff, LRWT, Goitzsche-Wildnis, OBX 24/7, Cornell RTH, Ventana Wildlife Condor Chat, SK Hideaways, Evergy Energy, Imperial Eagle Cam RU, the Eagle Club of Estonia, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park, Amersfoort Falcons.