Friday was the last full day of our time in Nova Scotia, and it turned out to be a blockbuster day. We arrived at Evangeline Beach in time for the Semipalmated Sandpiper murmurations! After arriving from Hudson Bay and the Arctic region, thousands of shorebirds feed on the mollusc. They will fill their bellies and get the much-needed fat on their bones in Nova Scotia before heading off for their flight to South America. It was one of the most magical moments I can remember.
I will post images from the long lens camera – thankfully I took the 600 mm. This is a poor video from my iPhone.
Turning left out of the beach road, a lone eagle was waiting for someone to toss out a dead chicken from one of the barns at a local farm.
There were eagles all along the road, sitting on hydro poles near the corn fields waiting for prey! I have images of them on my other camera and will post those for Monday. The day turned out to be really nice in terms of bird sightings.
The Eastern Kingbirds and Northern Mockingbirds have been around the animal sanctuary. The Mockingbirds particularly like the raspberries! The animals are positively charming. We respect what Jen and Will are trying to do here, taking in unwanted or abused farm animals – including a couple of feral cats. It is a lot of hard work, from dawn to dusk. I appreciate the cost of feeding and the vet care necessary for the animals, not to mention the upkeep of fencing! They sure don’t do it for the donations – it is sheer love.
This is Jen with Cece. A woman phoned at Christmas, wanting to know what to do with her newly born pot-bellied pigs. Could Jen help? At the end of it all, the baby piglets died all but one, and it was very tiny and sick when Jen finally was able to rescue it. Cece fit in the palm of Jen’s hand and had to be fed by a syringe. Cece lived to the surprise of many and thrived. Just look at her now! She is trained to live in a house but is learning to live with the other animals running free on the five-acre property.
There are too many wanting pot-bellied pigs for pets. They do grow, they need to be spayed or neutered and they need exercise. Many people do not understand how intelligent they are and are not equipped to take proper care of them. Jen now has eleven!
These two are below the apple tree. They love the apples and rolling in the mud in the little stream next to the tree.
The sheep are lovely. Not as trusting as some of the other animals. These two, mother and daughter, were quite abused and again, not expected to live. It is a testament to the knowledge and dedication — and love – that Jen gives to them. They are thriving like the donkey and the pony that are now nearly 30 years old.
The owner of the rooster had to move and could not keep him. They loved the rooster so much that they offered to help with its upkeep for as long as it lived. The rooster is thriving.
This turkey missed being someone’s dinner on Thanksgiving! It loves nothing more than a good dirt bath.
The sanctuary began with five goats that were not expected to survive. They did, and here they are now—adorable. They love people and want nothing more than to be petted.
Staying at the sanctuary enriched our holiday. I learned so much and am appalled at how harmful humans can be. It is unbelievable what we do to other living souls. It was a real joy to be in a place where life is respected.
Other adventures. included the wonderful surprises awaiting in the small town. Two decades ago, Canning was a small village that appeared destined to fold. Today, with the help of the local distilleries, wineries, tourists, and a group of young entrepreneurs, the town has taken on a new life.
The coffee was fantastic, too! The baking was delicious and is in high demand so you have to arrive early in the day to have good choices. Everything is gone around 1400 and the little shop closes at 1500. They seem to be doing well. They also sell some of the local coffee roasters beans along with pottery and art work including that of Will, one of the owners where we are staying.
The relaxed way of life, the charm of the small villages, and the friendliness of the people helped us enjoy every minute of the time we were visiting the Annapolis Valley. I look forward to returning!
Turning back to Bird World – Dr Green has found Antali. Everyone was quite worried. Antali is spending time with Dad, Finnegan, down river and is being fed well. Maybe Iris and Finnegan are dividing up the responsibilities for the two with Iris providing for Sum-eh???
‘PB’ sent me an image of Finnegan’s latest catch. My goodness. Him and Antali will be having a feast!
After spending so much time around tourists, beaches, and shorebirds, I completely understand the need to protect their nests!
The issue of the industrial fishing of the Menhaden is also harming the Striped Bass. It is the food chain. The commercial fishing needs to stop, not only in the Bay but also far enough away from the its mouth so that there might be some hope for the fish to recover in terms of populations, but this will not happen unless there is an immediate moratorium.
Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Friday 16th August 2024
Garry LV0 and Affric 152 spent hours on the nest again today. Although Affric gave Garry much vocal encouragement, he only brought moss to the nest, no fish. Fundación Migres provided more photos of the Scottish cohort including our chick 1JW, we’re not sure which photo he’s in but all the birds look in magnificent shape as they prepare for migration. Photos and tweets cobbled together into a video for those who don’t get on with TwiX. Weather-wise it was wet and windy as forecast, and more of the same tonight but with a possibility of dry spells tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.56.53 (05.06.56); Nest Two 21.47.01 (05.13.30)
“At Taiaroa Head, TF chick is doing well, according to his latest weighing. He has been fed regularly by his parents over the past two weeks. The chicks are all starting to flap and hop, stretching their wings to feel the wind. It is so sad to think that when they go, they are leaving for up to five years, heading for South America (off the coast of Chile) and not returning to Taiaroa Head for four to five years, when they will return to their natal nesting area to find a mate. We have a long time to become deeply attached to these chicks, born in January and leaving us in September. That’s many months to fall in love with them, watch them, wait for their parents, and hope for their wellbeing. It is such a bittersweet moment, and I will never forget the look of sheer bliss on Lilibet’s face as she fledged into the storm. It was an amazing thing to watch live. I felt very privileged indeed.”
“Lady is doing a great job of feeding the eaglet, really stretching to reach it and giving it just the right sized pieces, and the chick in turn is a great little feeder. SE34 is hungry and is eager to reach out for the bites. I did notice a size difference between the chicks yesterday or the day before, but they are still relatively closely matched. Once or twice, when Lady goes to clean bits of fish off SE34’s face, the eaglet shrinks as if intimidated and on one occasion ducks and tucks, but in general, it seems confident when eating.
Just before 15:53, after SE34 really reaches to grab a big bite, Lady drags the fish closer to the chicks. Shortly before 15:54, SE33 wakes up. SE34 continues to accept the bites Lady offers. SE33 is sitting up and watching the feeding. It has a PS, but does not interfere as SE34 continues to eat, not appearing to be intimidated at all by its sibling.
The two eaglets were left alone on the nest for a lot of time today – it was a sunny spring day and I doubt they were cold, and I also presume there was a parent within eyeshot somewhere, though I didn’t see either.
At 15:55 SE34 is being very careful not to look SE33 directly in the eye, but is not scared to accept yet another bite of fish. SE33 does another (small) PS. Lady continues feeding SE34, who continues taking mouthfuls without hesitation. SE33 sits beside SE34 at the table but is not being offered food, so competes for a bite. Lady looks slightly startled.
At 15:56 Lady gives a bite to SE33. At 15:56:35 the next bite goes to SE34 and SE33 decides to take exception, beaking its sibling in the head. It grabs a beakful of head feathers and twists at the back of SE34’s head. No damage is being done but SE33 is definitely frustrated and continues its attack for a full 20 seconds before looking up at mum. SE34 stays down.
Lady offers SE33 a bite, then proceeds to clean up the table, have a few bites herself, and generally not feed SE33. She offers a bite around 15:58 but there is no interest. She offers another and SE33 accepts it. Lady gives SE33 a second bite, then a third, and SE34 lifts its head. Lady continues feeding SE33 (who has the remains of an earlier crop). SE34 is getting squashed by its sibling. 16:02 and the feeding of SE33 continues. SE34 watches but is not offered any bites, nor does it compete for any. On the other hand, SE34 is pretty full by now, with a very respectable crop, and is certainly not intimidated, with its head up. At 16:02:45 Lady offers a bite to SE34, who accepts it without hesitation. There is no reaction from SE33. So it appears the bonking that is occurring on this nest is not causing problems with SE34’s feeding. SE34 is not intimidated out of eating and Lady is keeping an eye on your younger hatch. So far, so good. But as we know, these nests are very volatile and the dynamics can change rapidly and dramatically. Talons crossed that Lady and Dad do their usual sterling job. “
Thank you so much for being with us today. There will not be a posting on Sunday as we arrive home late Saturday. I will look forward to sharing some of the images of the shorebirds and more eagles on Monday. In the meantime, take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for the posts, notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, BAH, Geemeff, H, PB’, Jen Lussing and Will Cooper and the animals at the LAILO Farm Sanctuary, Aspinall Pottery, The Village Coffee Shop, Montana Osprey Cam FB, Montana Osprey Project, BirdGuides, Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal, Maryland DNR, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, NZ-DOC and Cornell Bird Lab, and Olympic Park Eagles.
It is grey and very windy today. The only animals in the garden are Dyson and her kits waiting for me to put out new peanuts. Some of the larger container pots of tomatoes were blown over during the night and I have a thick jumper on with wool socks this morning. It feels like fall!
We hope you enjoyed a little trip down memory lane with the events at the nests and the birds that gave us hope and smiles so far during the 2023-24 breeding season. I enjoyed reading every list that you sent! Thank you again. Some of you have sent in more memories than reading the lists triggered. I will include a mini-listing tomorrow or the next day. I am so happy that you enjoyed that post. If you forgot someone, feel free to tell me.
‘H’ sent me a note saying little Cobey at Colonial Beach was rescued. Tears. Thank you to the owner of the cam who persisted in requesting help, to the DWR who came to the rescue, and to Dominion Energy, which brought in the bucket truck to help get little Cobey down. Cobey’s condition was described as ’emaciated’.
And her report: “8/7 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This morning David delivered a partial fish to Cobey at 1131, and he also chased away an intruder. Cobey worked on the fish on and off for a couple of hours before David removed it, thinking that Cobey was done with the fish. Mom Betty had been missing for over four days. And, David was not providing enough fish, nor was he feeding his 44-day-old youngster, Cobey. Cobey had to take a crash course on self-feeding the past few days. But, Cobey wasn’t getting enough to eat, and he was declining. Everyone knew it. The weather forecast was predicting a few stormy days, and Cobey would not have had any protection from the weather. The nest owner continued to consult with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and the earlier decision to not intervene was reversed. We were notified on the chat at around 1430, and within a half hour, we saw the bucket being raised and someone with gloved hands reaching across the nest for Cobey. Many of us were crying. It was a miracle. We owe a debt of gratitude to Colonial Beach Osprey Nest Cam, and VA DWR, that Cobey now has a chance to live. Cobey was taken to Alton’s Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, and will be under the care of Mr. Harley Thomas White. “Now, you listen to Mr. White, Cobey, and do what you’re told… and he will make you better… And one day you will fly.”
Screen captures from a video Heidi posted on FB of the rescue:
Harley Thomas White is caring for Cobey. He made a fish gravy and fed Cobey some fish pieces, emphasising Cobey’s critical condition. Cobey is thin and weak. There will be daily updates. These images came from a video on the website of Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc. Check out Harley Thomas White’s FB page for the videos and updates for Cobey as well as the website of the centre. (Want to show your support for this rescue from the nest? Have a spare tenner? I bet they would appreciate it).
WordPress Media Storage. Once again, I have hit 99.95% of my storage capacity. Tuesday afternoon, I spent some time deleting educational and information files, videos, and images from posts in 2022 and 2023 to make room for Wednesday’s post. I will gradually go back through the Memorial Walls and try to leave the single best image for the deceased bird instead of including several. Moving forward, you will see that I am putting in links to articles and videos instead of inserting the video or the PDF file. It all goes to saving space. I pay the top subscription fee for WordPress, and they will not sell me any more storage, so this is the only alternative I have discovered. There will be images, but fewer of them, sadly. If you know any secrets to getting around this issue, please let me know!
I am getting extremely excited about the upcoming trip to Nova Scotia. There are three reasons for this. You might recall that we were in Toronto a few weeks ago. It was a trial run for a longer vacation. Two years ago my husband (at the age of 63) began having memory issues. This was followed by hallucinations beginning in March 2023. All the while, I could not get a doctor! With the help of an old friend, we were able to see a specialist in December of 2023. That visit, MRIs and trips to a neurologist confirmed a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. Some of you might remember that the American comedian Robin Williams had LBD. It is a terrible illness – not the memory issues. They come and go and never disappear like those who have Alzheimers, but it is the hallucinations that are tormenting. Thankfully, the pharmaceutical cocktail Don is taking is helping, and after Toronto, we got the green light to travel a little further and stay a little longer. (Please do not worry or fret. Believe it or not, we are doing great. Being outside on long walks fits me perfectly and it is also good for those with dementia. Nature heals and changes everything! We are living a good life – and enjoying every moment that we can). We are excited to return to a place we called home for so long but haven’t seen for 26 years. The second thing is that Nova Scotia is a birder’s paradise. While we will miss seeing the osprey chicks in the nest with the adults because they have now fledged, we hope to see them fishing and getting strong before they leave on their migration. We also hope to look out our windows in the morning and see Bald Eagles flying and get to add some shorebirds and waterfowl to our life lists. Meeting the Dennis family, who organised people throughout the province to observe and record the osprey nests, will be an honour. Last, luck found us the perfect place to stay. It is an Animal Sanctuary for rescued farm animals – pigs, goats, cows, etc. The entire property is Vegan, and we will be staying in a new apartment above a gallery. Across a quiet country road is the estuary where the eagles fly and the shorebirds scurry. What a wonderful change from living in the middle of a growing Prairie city! We are even hoping to ride bicycles!
‘CG’ reports on the search for Blue at HWF-BBCentral nest in Boundary Bay, British Columbia: “No reports yesterday of hearing Blue or the parents after Blue left the nest. Also, the parents were not seen later in the day. Normally, Mere would come back to the nest and be perched above from around dinner time until Blue was tucked in for the night. At 1251 hours today a parent was seen on a post near the water. Departed.”
In the United Kingdom, the fledging of two White-tail eaglets is causing a stir.
Beaver kits in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland are also putting smiles on the faces of those who worked so hard on their reintroduction. You may be aware that beaver activity is essential to establishing thriving wetlands and biodiversity.
In Finland, all chicks at Saaksilvie #1 have flown.
USU is on the nest with Mum at nest #4 in Finland. The status of its wing is unclear or what might happen to the chick.
Beautiful osplets in Latvia waiting to fly.
Hollywood movie crew members watch Iris as she feeds her chicks. They should be considering making a movie of her life! Sum-eh fledged and returned to the nest after practising flying. She is flying around the parking lot and Dr Green reported she had also gone up and down the river. Antali is yet to fledge. S/he is five days younger than Sum-eh.
‘A’ comments: “When a lovely big fish is brought in at around 16:55, the only one home is Antali, who does not try to claim the fish or self-feed. Iris, in response to the constant begging for fish, soon begins feeding Antali. who already has a healthy crop. He can see Finn and/or Sumeh flying above – watching from below but not at all alarmed as he would be were the osprey above an intruder. Sumeh flies in at about 16:59, eager for fish. Iris obliges. She feeds both osplets, but Sumeh is hungrier and more demanding, so she is given more food. This is a very big fish – there is plenty for the whole family. By 17:39 Iris is feeding primarily herself, although occasionally, one of the osplets (usually Antali at this stage of the feeding) decides one more bite could just fit. Dad arrives just before 18:04. Sumeh is closely studying the leftover fish mum is standing on. Iris is not pleased at the arrival of Finn, although he has BYO fish. It looks like a chunk of fish but may be something of the smaller variety. Finn takes it to the perch – the remainder of the earlier fish is still on the nest (about half of the fish) so there is still another meal for Iris and the kids.”
Beautiful osplet at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on a cloudy day. Waiting to fly. The chick has officially ‘perched’.
It really is not a coincidence that so many ospreys are dying in the Chesapeake Bay area. The extreme heat arrived, and there was no fish to hydrate the ospreys. Adults and chicks are being found dead. It is interesting to note that the Pacific Northwest had the extreme heat – even hotter in places – as did Iris – and the deaths were much less. So think about the lack of fish! The overfishing of the Menhaden needs to stop, and so does the rescue of starving osplets. We need a healthy population of fish hawks.
Mark Avery reminds us: “The Inglorious 12th – the start of the grouse shooting season is approaching. It’s one of the few issues that brings animal welfare, climate change, nature conservation and law enforcement together so clearly.” So what is the Inglorious 12th those that do not live in the UK ask? (12 August)
PETA UK says: “Traditionally, the Glorious Twelfth – or the “Inglorious Twelfth”, as it should rightly be named – marks the start of the red grouse shooting season. But this year, many estates have been forced to delay or even cancel it after human-induced climate change saw unseasonably hard sleet and cold rain, resulting in fewer birds for hunters to blast out of the sky…About 700,000 red grouse will be killed between now and December. According to a report by the League Against Cruel Sports, 40% of birds shot are wounded rather than being killed outright, causing intense and prolonged suffering. Grouse are low-flying and difficult to shoot cleanly, and hunters need no formal training or competence with a gun to go on a shoot – it’s a free-for-all. These are just a couple of reasons why this barbaric “sport” should be banned.
Grouse are charming, sensitive birds who are devoted parents to their chicks. They deserve better than being killed in cold blood for someone’s twisted idea of entertainment. And it’s not just the grouse who suffer at the hands of the hunters. To preserve the interests of their own sick pleasure, hunters remove the grouse’s natural predators, meaning foxes, stoats, weasels, squirrels, and birds like hawks, falcons, owls, hen harriers, and eagles are trapped, poisoned, or shot or their nests are destroyed.
All this cruelty and destruction so that a tiny minority of bloodthirsty people can wander through the British countryside gunning down sentient animals – it’s a senseless massacre, not a hobby.”
When you sibling wants your other slipper!
In a comment to a post about migration and if the males ever leave a chick on the nest (the question was in regard to nest #4 in Finland where the sole surviving osplet appears to have a wing injury), the author of Belle’s Journey and many papers on Osprey behaviour and, in particular, migration, Rob Bierregaard says: “Adult females almost always leave first, usually a week or two before the males. In the northeastern US, it’s usually mid-August for females and the first 2 weeks of September for the males and young. This information is based on 107 satellite-tagged birds, so I know when birds start migrating, as opposed to leaving the nest and hanging around somewhere, which they’ll do, especially after a nest fails. When young leave the nest, they are not necessarily starting their migration. Some wander all over the place and and delay the start of their migration until, exceptionally, November. I had one young from Martha’s Vineyard, an Island off the east coast of Massachusetts, wander 1,200 miles all the way to the Great Lakes! I had one male linger into late September when a young couldn’t get its act together and was constantly on the nest begging. The male finally gave up and left before the young did.”
The Eurasian Hobby in Dorsett is becoming a Hobby instead of a ‘baby chick’. Don’t you just love those strong legs of the falcons?!
Geemeff sends both a happy and sad story of Ospreys at the Cape which has grown from a few pairs to now over 500 they estimate.
Geemeff also sends the daily summary from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Wednesday 7th August 2024
No action whatsoever today, not even a visit from a little bird. It’s not yet the middle of August, but with night cam switching on ever closer to 10pm and staying on until almost 5am, and no chicks flying around demanding fish from Louis, the season feels suspiciously like it’s over for this year. Affric152 and Prince should still be around as they have a young fledgling to look after, and with luck we might even see their chick testing his wings on or near one of the cam nests. Garry LV0 was the last one to leave last year so perhaps he’ll do that this year too but it does seem as if the star pair, Louis & Dorcha, have already headed south. With the weather being wet and windy today, and more of the same forecast for the next ten days, moving south seems the sensible thing to do.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.21.45 (04.41.53); Nest Two 22.14.31 (04.49.20)
Today’s videos: none – not even a visit from a little bird!
Bonus read – a free ebook by W. H. Majoros Season with the Osprey:
The wind appeared to be strong at the Port Lincoln barge. Both Mum and Dad were tucked in and then Dad flew off and left Mum hoping he was going to bring her a nice big fish for brekkie.
Jackie and Shadow were at the nest for morning chortles on Wednesday.
Ceramic nests save the life of little seabirds and they are coming to Alcatraz to save birds. Thanks, ‘EJ’ – a very engaging story of people figuring out solutions.
But this is good news. It is time for some serious consideration about taking all the Menhaden that keep our ospreys alive (and other birds and mammals).
Atlantic menhaden board votes to study more restrictions on controversial Chesapeake Bay fishery
The measure passed this week is meant to help protect birds and fish that rely on menhaden as a key food source. But researchers say more data is needed to understand the dynamics in the bay.
I really hope that my readers living in this area and loving the Osprey will speak up – and anyone else that feels it is important for Osprey to have fish to eat! The commercial fishing of Menhaden has to stop – inside and outside of the Chesapeake Bay.
‘H’ reports:
8/7 Osoyoos osprey nest: Unless I missed one, it seems that there were only 4 fish brought to the nest, all delivered by Olsen. There were two good size fish from which Soo provided nice feedings. And, the two very small fish were acquired by Chick 1. Chick 2 was doing much better with his wingercizing today. At 1749, Chick 2 was so high that s/he was almost completely out of view for a second. Keep exercising those wings #2! Weather forecast for 8/8: Partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 92F/33C, light winds.
8/7 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Everything is going well for Johnny, June and 54-day-old ‘Fen’. Today was the first day in a few weeks that June did not catch a large striped bass, but the wind and rain may have had something to do with that. Fen was wingercizing with some nice hops today.
8/7 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: There was another fledge today. Due to the dirty camera, it is still difficult to see details of the birds. But, at 1200, we believe that chick 2, named Peyto, fledged at 54 days of age. Peyto landed on the nest perch at 1240, and dropped to the nest when a fish arrived. Congratulations Peyto!
A wee peak at WBSE 33 and 34. They always look like fluffy little snow people to me.
Hugo Yugo wishes everyone the best Thursday (or Friday) depending on where you live. She is a sleepy girl waiting to get her eyes cleaned, poor thing.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! 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, CG, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB, RP’, Heidi McGrue and the Joy of Ospreys, Henry Thomas White and Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc., Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, Sea Eagle England, Cairngorms National Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Cams, LDF, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey Cam, Chesapeake Mermaid, OpenVerse, PETA UK, Dyfi Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, CBS News, SFStandard, The New York Times, Mark Avery, Brian Collins and Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Osoyoos Ospreys, Fenwick Island, and Fortis Exshaw.
Some of our morning updates before we get to what is the real thrust of today’s news: SE33 has hatched at the Olympic Park Sea Eagle nest in Sydney. Congratulations Lady and Dad. What a beautiful strong little eaglet!
‘A’ remarks: “August 7 (Afternoon) After another shift for Lady, Dad was on incubation duties again for nearly an hour, though he left quickly when she returned. She then fed the chick again, with gentle, tiny bites offered, before settling again. She is restless, as you would expect with a chick and a pipping egg. Just before 2pm, Lady ate a little of the stored fish, and although she tried to feed the chick, she gave up because it was facing the wrong way. Shortly afterwards, she tried again and this time, SE33 ate a little. The pip on the second egg is more raised now. At 14:51, Dad brooded again, then went to the pantry but didn’t feed the chick. Lady was back after a 15-minute break. She was on the nest from just after 4pm, after a last short feed for SE33. Dad brought in a late fish at dark, and Lady ate a little before settling. She has spent longer on the nest today, though Dad has had a couple of shifts. He brought prey, and SE33 was fed four times. What will this night bring? Last season, the eggs hatched 32 hours and 46 minutes apart.”
‘H’ reports:
8/6 Osoyoos osprey nest: I had a busy day, so when I got home, I primarily rewound the stream to check for a possible fledge for Chick 2. S/he did not fledge today. And, when Chick 2 did his wingercizing, he was still only achieving what seemed to be a few inches of lift off the nest (cam view can be deceiving). A person very experienced with ospreys stated on a chat a few weeks ago, that ospreys typically need to do wingers and hovers for 10 days to build up their muscles for flight readiness. I’m not an expert, just a nest cam watcher… but, I have seen ospreys suddenly have the ability to perform some nice hovers, and then fledge in a day or two. Side note: Little died from starvation on 7/15, and his body has remained in the nest. This afternoon, a strong gust of wind lifted Little’s body and swept it off the nest. ‘AMW’, a very kind and caring viewer that lives nearby, drove to the nest to recover Little’s remains. She posted in the Facebook group: “Little is now buried in my yard … and I will plant a flowering annual plant in Little’s memory.” Thank you, ‘AMW’, from all of us.
8/6 – 8/7 Colonial Beach osprey nest: Cobey was awake early and at 0630 he picked up the old piece of fish and managed to pull off some pieces of fish-jerky. He worked on it now and again, and by 0800 he was still trying. David did not bring a fish for Cobey until 1348. It was a large whole fish. At the very young age of 43 days, Cobey has become quite the self-feeder by necessity. Cobey had managed to eat the head of that fish before there was an intruder issue. At 1415 David landed in the nest first, and it seemed that David may have been tangling with the intruder nearby. The intruder landed in the nest immediately after David, and stole the fish, despite David being on the nest. Oh no, no, no! Poor lil Cobey’s only meal of the day was gone! David did not bring another fish.
The nest owner, host of the live stream, is a very caring and avid osprey conservationist. She and others monitor many osprey nests in the Colonial Beach area. She stated that they are finding many dead ospreys, on the ground or in nests. It is thought that not only was fishing difficult when it was very hot, but that there may in fact be a shortage of fish for the ospreys to catch. Some ospreys are having to resort to kleptoparasitism to survive, or to feed their young.
Cobey’s mom, Betty, will have been missing for 4 days on the morning of 8/7. The cam owner provided a statement regarding a possible rescue of Cobey. “The VA DWR recommends that nothing be done at this time… we will continually monitor the nest, things may change.” Please note that the cam owner’s hands are tied, and she must follow the advice of the regulating authorities. Some comments on the chat were hurtful to her. Go easy on the chat. The cam owner is hurting as much, if not more, than you are. Colonial Beach weather forecast for 8/7: Cloudy with showers, risk of thunder storms, high temp 81.
8/6 Fortis Exshaw: There was a fledge today. It appeared to be the same chick that was doing the high hovering yesterday. We missed seeing them for about 3 weeks when the cam was dirty, and we still do not have a completely clear view. As a result, we were never able to learn how to differentiate the siblings. We know that the oldest chick in a brood does not always fledge first, but I suppose we will simply assume that’s the one that flew. The eldest chick was named BJ, and BJ initially seemed to only go as far as the camera at 0803, then returned to the nest at 0834. But, BJ made a true fledge at 0927. S/he made a nice landing on the T-perch at 1536, followed by a return to the nest at 1538. Well done, new fledgling!
‘CG’: “Blue branched this morning, and between the time she branched and the time she fledged, she was doing wingers, hopping, getting some good height, and went from the nest to the branch a number of times. She went to the back of the nest and totally surprised everyone at 1557 hours by fledging from the back north corner of the nest by the screen. One minute she was there then she was gone. She is 100 days old today.
They have been looking for her but haven’t been able to locate her on the cams. There is a ground crew out looking for her too.
Congratulations Blue! Way to go!!”
Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Tuesday 6th August 2024
No activity at all on Nest Two, today’s action all came from Nest One, where Affric 152 turned up at dawn quickly followed by Garry LV0. However the pair fled the nest when a third Osprey appeared in the distance – Affric’s mate Prince, perhaps. Garry returned a little later with a stick but didn’t stay long. A few hours later birds were seen in the distance on nest cam and a Wood Pigeon overflew the nest. It rained pretty much throughout the day, and more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.23.05 (04.07.43); Nest Two 22.22.22 (04.27.15)
Thank you so much for sending in the moments during the 2023-24 season that put a smile on your face. I really appreciate the time and thoughtful regard that you put into your choices and for sending them in. Most people will hesitate. Why do we think our voice doesn’t count? I hope that there are some surprises in here. I received 79 e-mails with the single word Iris along with what is posted below. So if you sent one of those in and I did not include your initials, my apologies. Just know that you counted in making Iris and her year with Finnegan, Sun-eh and Antali the top of the charts by a long mile. Also I didn’t ask for images but have included them if you sent them in!
‘MM’: “After a season filled with heartbreak after heartbreak it has made the happy moments even sweeter! One happy moment that happened early on in the season was when Beau finally figured out how to mate with Gabby and she was able to lay two eggs, unfortunately Beau got the mating mastered but that’s where the happiness ended, hopefully next season he’ll be ready.
Another happy moment was the successful fledge of two healthy osprey chicks from Port Lincoln thanks to the fish fairy and the generosity of so many who donated. The two happiest moments of the season for me are tied for first place. I was beyond thrilled when the season started in SWFL and M15 had taken F23 as his new mate after the loss of our beloved Harriet last session. The season got even happier with the hatch of the incredible E23 💜 And of course the other happy moment at #1 is sweet Iris finally getting sweep off her talons by the handsome Finn and their two amazing chicks 💙 ❤️ Thank you for the opportunity to reflect on the good after dealing with so much bad. Praying next season will be filled with many happy moments .”
‘H’: “As I understand it, you are asking for happy stories. Well, this makes me happy. This may sound strange. But, I am happy for Darling at Captiva. Darling fledged on 6/26 at 63 days of age. His post-fledge life was not easy. There was competition for the nest and food from his sibling, Ding. In addition, both of his parents may possibly have had issues with their health, and they stopped bringing food to the nest. Darling had not eaten for 3 days when he ended up in the water and was rescued and taken to CROW on 7/4. He passed away at CROW that night. We don’t know why things turned out the way they did, and we will never understand it. I wish it had not turned out that way. So, why does this make me happy? It doesn’t. The part that makes me happy is that Darling flew. I think of all the ‘littles’ we have known that died from nest accidents, or weather events, or starvation, or illness, or predation, and they never got a chance to fly. Darling was able to experience the sheer joy and exuberance of flying. And, I am so happy for him.”
‘SP’: Amongst all the turmoil of this year, there were more golden moments and miracles to celebrate. (Photos below in order of the list)
Cal Falcons Annie & her new mate Archie fledged four beautiful falcon chicks in Berkeley. This was the first time since Annie’s been a YouTube star that all 4 of her eggs hatched. We were entertained, enamored and completely enthralled with Aurora, Solstice, Eclipse, and Equinox.
San Jose City Hall couple Hartley & second year dad Monty also fledged four beautiful falcon chicks – all girls. Though we lost one, we enjoyed weeks of the girl power brought by Luna (RIP), Zoe, Lucia, and Alma.
Southwest Florida M15 and his new mate F23 fledged the ever-endearing E23, further mending the holes in our hearts left by the disappearance of Harriet the previous year. F23 proved to be a most nurturing and loving mother, while M15 continued his legacy of being provider extraordinaire. E23 was such a character and embraced being an only child with gusto. He proved to be an excellent flyer and at one point a protector of his natal nest.
Oh, thank you for the opportunity to revisit these wonderful moments!”
Cal Falcons.
San Jose.
SW Florida:
‘B’ writes: Too many sad stories, but always some nice ones, too. I liked how you said you think of all the miracles we have seen, to help offset the sadness of the sad stories. I had meant to write you a couple of weeks ago how I followed a similar strategy to help offset the sadness. I had a lower threshold than you, just thinking of the things that make me smile, rather than holding out for “miracles”. But my number one was the same as yours: the arrival of Finnegan, so that Iris has a real and proper (and wonderful) mate for the first time in years. Enough of that two-timing Louis!
In fact, two more of the top things that made me smile were also from Hellgate: the wonderful job Iris does as a mom when having chicks for the first time in years. Especially protecting those chicks in that awful heat. I swear, if “Mumbrella” were an Olympic event, Iris would be a medal winner. And the other is how peaceful and calm those osplets are when there started with such a huge difference in size. Part has to be what a great provider Finn is, and also how diligent Iris is in making sure each chick is served well. Gosh, the larger of the two would just stand and watch patiently if Little was served first, knowing his/her turn would come.
Also, Tuffy’s story always made me smile (even if hard to watch in earlier days), seeing him do what he needed to do to make it to being a beautiful and healthy fledgling in spite of the “Ruff” treatment from Ruffie.
And I couldn’t help but smile whenever I checked in on the Decorah eaglets after their nest (and branch) fell away, to see them happily perched on branches, as if to say, “we don’t need no stinkin’ nest, so long as we got our branch and our parents!”
In spite of all their hard luck getting a hatch, one can never help but smile to see Jackie and Shadow together. I have to hope for another Spirit next year.
And wonderful to see both Annie and Archie at Cal and Hartley and Monty at San Jose have four healthy hatches make it to fledge, even with the sadness of losing Luna at San Jose and the injury to Nox in Berkeley. I was so worried, especially for San Jose, what with the tough urban environment and seeing Lucia get rescued from the sidewalk and taking the elevator back to the roof twice before successfully fledging.
There’s more, but these are some of the stories that make me smile. (And, oh yes, of course there is Treasure and her siblings, also treasures.)”
CG: “My first thought was Tuffy. I watched this nest with trepidation. Tuffy was the underdog. How many times did we think he wouldn’t make it. He was so endearing, and I loved his sneakiness to try to get food. He never gave up. You always talk about the will to survive, and boy, his little body was bursting with it. The last time I saw him was just before they shut the cam down, and he was proudly standing on his nest.
Iris and Finnegan. I knew nothing about her until you talked about her. Finnegan came along and showed Louis the door. He has been a wonderful mate and provider for Iris and their osplets, and Iris has been a wonderful mum feeding and protecting her little ones the way she does. Just look at how they have turned out under their care. They look so healthy, and Big has been a wonderful big sib being so patient with his little sibling except for the one time little sib got uppity and boldly attacked big sib. That won’t be happening again! This has been a wonderful osprey nest to watch.
I could not fail to mention my peregrines Annie and Archie and Hartley and Monty, each pair with four chicks this year. Hartley and Monty went from newbies with one feisty Soledad last year to FOUR this year. What a jump! They handled it all with finesse. No nonsense Annie always handles her chicks with finesse, and her new mate Archie was a great provider and dad. Peregrines are a wonder and miracle every year. I wish all nests could be as calming as theirs with equal feedings, no shortage of food, no predators, and lots of chick shenanigans. “
‘BHA’: My smile of the year has to be Iris, Finnegan and family. (Along with you and probably everyone else.) What a miracle nest this year!!
Also, the San Jose falcons. The antics and shenanigans of the four girls were priceless! (Of course with a bit of sadness that we lost one of them…)
‘PB’: The bird that made me smile is Smallie. He was such a fighter especially how small he was up against 3 big sisters. I’m still sad about it. O18 became my favorite osprey, she was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Her personality matched her beauty. I miss her too! It’s making me cry thinking of them. But before them was a tie between Tuffy and Tiny D. They will all be in my memory forever.
‘J’ loves the Tortilla Bird. ” The photo of that tiny little babe in the tortilla just melts my heart (the feet! the feet!). That someone thought of wrapping it in a warm tortilla to keep it from getting cold is just brilliant – and hilarious at the same time. “
Geemeff: “But just want to say the names chosen for Iris & Finn’s miracle chicks are lovely and very suitable. In a season of sadness, they and the Poole Harbour Four have been some comfort. Iris’ success after so may years of being bullied by her ex, together with the unexpected success of saving one of Louis & Dorcha’s chicks to the point of successfully fledging, are my favourites of this season.”
‘TU’: My favourite article for a good mood is the one in The Guardian about the bird of New Caledonia. I loved it from the first sight.
‘L’: Iris finding Finnegan or vice versa. A wonderful memorable miracle. This nest brings pure joy! Iris is the best osprey mom I’ve ever had the privilege to watch and Finnegan is a precious gem.
Blue is amazing at the Boundary Nest. I think he’s a miracle for surviving erratic food deliveries.
The rescue of Rutland’s Little Bob. Golden moment.
The Purple Martins in Erie PA. All 5 fledged. Enjoyable to watch.
McEuen Park. One, out of 4, that survived to fledge after losing father.
Eagle Country-Tears for Meadow but Swampy lived and fledged.
Thunder, Akecheta and their 3 beautiful eaglets! Koa, Treasure & Sterling. A delight to watch. A stress free nest.
Cowlitz PUD- happiness, a survivor golden moment.
Osoyoos, losing Little which was sad enough. Thankful two will fledge. Happiness and a miracle in my book.
Little Miami Conservancy-All 3 eaglets fledged! Happiness.
Southwest Florida Eagles-One hatch, smart and accelerated in growth. An amazing first eaglet for M15 & F23.
BONUS!!!! Pure joy.
Challenger surviving his health issues.
Hugo Yugo, Calico, Hope & Missey and all the birds and squirrels that visit your garden.
(I could go on and on. So many more miracles and golden moments….The 2 miracle eaglets that definitely would have made my list were unfortunately killed by father Scout at the NCTC nest.)”
‘BA’: “The first time Lucia accidentally fell from the nest area and had to be rescued. First lots of worry about her, and then the smile moment when she was released on the rooftop. And then the chuckle: later watching SKHideaway’s video of it all. Lucia was just out of the box, looking around wide-eyed at all the contraptions and weird stuff, and SKH’s caption said, “She thinks she’s in Disneyland!” That cracked me up. It was such a tense moment, worrying about how frightened Lucia might be, and somehow we knew then she was going to be okay. (And then a couple of days later when she made it back down to the nest area and was reunited with her sisters – that was also a big smile moment.)”
LL: “Anything to do with Iris and Finn”.
JT: “The hatch of E23.”
PM: “Iris, Iris, Iris…West End nest. Those three eaglets were remarkable.”
‘A’: “Just before 09:32, there is a lot of thunder at Hellgate and Iris immediately flies to the nest. The rain really sets in, and Iris opens her roller doors and does her perfect mumbrella, managing to keep two fully grown osplets perfectly dry in the heavy downpour. What a mum she really is. Sumeh is the sweetest big sister ever, and little bro is adorable and such a feisty wee lad. This nest has been such a joy to watch. I could not have imagined enjoying watching a big sister/little brother osprey nest without a moment of stress or worry, but then along came Finnegan.”
I am with you – Iris has put everything into this season, and it may be costly. But it may also give her a reason to return no matter what it takes, as she now has Finnegan waiting for her. These two have bonded strongly and I am really hopeful that the strength of their relationship will give Iris what she needs to make it home again. She truly has been the most wonderful mother. What a waste – Louis truly is a cad.
BT: “Too numerous. 1. Fish Fairies at Port Lincoln. 2. Finnegan ousting Louis and winning Iris’s heart. 3. Annie and Archie raise four little falcons. Jackie and Shadow because they just make me smile all the time.”
RW: “The Fabulous Four at Poole Harbour ties with Iris and Finn.”
CB: “SE31 fledges and spends time with Lady and Dad on the Paramatta River learning to be an eagle. Iris and Finnegan because I never thought Iris would ever raise chicks again. The eagles at Decorah North because they survived so much and continued to be a family at their nest tree even when it had fallen over.”
CD: “I loved Smallie. The wee little falcon longed to live and it did get to fly.”
DDS:
Iris and Finnegan. Never thought this would happen.
Jackie and Shadow and their sticks and hopefulness.
M15 gets another chance to be a Dad.
They didn’t raise a family but seeing Gabby and Beau together made me smile.
The rehabbers that help.
The small Dutch falcon that died but got to fly.
The people who dared to provide fish to the osprey chicks at the barge in Australia.
Thanks to everyone who participated and to those who didn’t but sat and thought about what made them smile this year!
My list in a bit of a narrative and in no certain order:
The day I learned that Bonus was alive, I cried. Knowing that both Black Storks Waba and Bonus, raised by Karl II, are still flying gives me hope that there are others, too. I continue to be ever grateful for the work of Urmas in Estonia and his team in providing fish for the storks, ringing them, and checking on their well-being. It makes me smile to see the fish baskets that he sets up and fills to keep the storks alive. I wish that more people would engage with wildlife positively and constructively. I am grateful to the Roy Dennis Foundation and the Woodland Trust for removing the two chicks of Louis and Dorcha for translocation. Louis was not himself, and while I had an enormous smile when he reappeared after so many days, he needed to get his strength up, so it still felt like a good win-win. But knowing dear Louis is alive is a huge grin and a happy moment. The fish fairies at Port Lincoln took a stand and saved the osplets of Mum and Dad at the barge and I will forever think that this was a miracle that saved the chicks lives. Didn’t you just grin seeing the hand lay the fish on that nest? Whenever I checked on the nest at Poole Harbour, I smiled at the absolute dedication and great parenting of CJ7 and Blue 022. I remember the year they were courting, and it didn’t seem possible that CJ7 would get a mate, and now, to the astonishment of all, in their third year together, they successfully raised four to fledge. The California falcons will always make me smile: Larry at Alcatraz, Annie and Archie, and Monty and Hartley. Incredible families and, oh, our dear little ones that got themselves into some mischief, including Nox, who is recovering. That photo of him with his wing wrapped was lovely. I was happy when Smallie could come and go in and out of the scrape and got to fly and feel the wind under its wings despite its subsequent death. Big Red always puts a smile on my face as does Arthur when he lines the nest bowl with squirrel fur. They love being parents. And this year, because of the year that it was, I am grateful and smile whenever I see one of the nests have a fledge because they are just that much rarer. So many bird families lost so many of their offspring this year. To the delight and relief of many, Hope and Beaumont look like they will fledge two chicks this year from Snow Lane in Newfoundland – the first for many, many years. The Moorings Park nest just melted my heart when Tuffy overcame the abuse of the older sibling, Ruffie, and survive to become a gorgeous osplet that returned time and again to the nest so we could see that he was alright. What made me mad and also sick at times was the Frenchman’s Creek nest with fish after fish piled up and the poor osplets having to learn to feed themselves to survive – not from starvation but lack of parental attention. They triumphed, and somehow, the nasty fish disappeared. That made me smile big time. There were so many moments. Seeing SE31 flying over the Paramatta River with Lady and Dad, free of the harassment of the Pied Currawong, was simply one of the best moments ever, along with Flaco, the Eurasian Owl, who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and flew freely for a year. Perhaps I have said it more than once, but the resilience of Jackie and Shadow makes me smile every day.
The ultimate smile was Iris and Finnegan, though. I never thought I would see Iris raising chicks. Louis drove me nuts, and to see a young male osprey keep Louis on the other side of the territory made me grin every day, especially when Finn chased Louis off the owl pole. Iris is simply amazing. She is old (I have great empathy for her), raising chicks in that heat, and now Sum-eh has fledged. I also smile whenever I get a note or a letter from you. It makes my day, along with my garden animals, my family, and the girls, that much better. Thank you for being there.
Thank you to everyone who sent in their memories and for the images and videos thank you to ‘A, CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, NestFlix Memories, Osoyoos, Fortis-Exshaw, Colonial Beach, Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal, HWF-BBCentral, Heidi and Windows to Wildlife, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways for the images of the falcon families from San Jose, Cal Falcons, and SWFlorida Bald Eagles, Wildwest Rehabilitation Centre, Texas Monthly, SK Hideaways, and The Guardian.
Don’t forget to send me a note or a long list with your favourite moments of the 2023-24 season (every bird counts, no matter the species). I will publish these on Wednesday, August 8th. We need to have some smiles and I just know that there are some surprises lurking out there that have not been mentioned! You can put the list in the comments or send me an email: maryannsteggles@icloud.com Make sure I get this before midnight CDT on Tuesday August 7. Thank you so much!
Another hot day. 32 C. The bird baths needed filling continually. The Crows and Jays kept quiet during the high heat of the afternoon and are just coming into the garden. Dyson should be joining them soon!
We are nearing the time when every osplet should be fledgling. They will then have time to gain their muscle strength and get lots of practice. Some very precious osplets might even catch their fish before they leave on migration, but most will depend on their parents and, in particular, Dad as Mum will be departing well before anyone else. The females lose from 10-15% (some even have been found to lose up to 30%) of their body weight, and it takes them extra time to build up for their long journeys.
The University of Toronto reminds us of the simple facts, “There are two distinct populations of osprey with respect to lifestyle, the Residents and the Migrants. Residents are the ones, which breed in the subtropical latitudes in winter; they either stay in the same area all year round or move only locally during the non-breeding season. The other ones are the Migrants, which nest in the temperate latitudes and fly off each autumn to spend the winter in the tropical regions. North American ospreys start migrating south to their wintering grounds in Central America and in the northern parts of South America, around mid-August. By early September, most nesting colonies in the northern latitudes are empty. The numbers of migrating ospreys observed at selected watch points along their southward route are at their greatest during mid-September and early October. They reach their wintering grounds by late November. During winter, the only thing an osprey does is to eat, rest, recover from the stress of the previous breeding season and prepare for the next breeding season. It has been observed that during winter, they become more tolerant of each other as they congregate in loose flocks and are even known to hunt together in small groups, a few birds hovering over water, looking for fish might also stimulate others to join in the frenzy. Adult ospreys start leaving their wintering grounds in early March, by late March, more than half of the wintering ospreys have left the wintering areas, for their natal nesting grounds. Yearling ospreys stay on their wintering grounds for another eighteen months, returning to their natal nesting grounds at the age of about two years. Two-year-old ospreys however, leave the wintering grounds much later than the adults, and may reach their natal nesting grounds as late as June, by then; they are already too late to breed. However, pre-adult ospreys may become a nuisance to the breeders, because they try to take over nest sites and may interfere with the breeding pairs, as they explore and search for nesting sites of their own. They are also sometimes known to replace a partner in a breeding pair if it dies or is incapable of performing its duties. Ospreys arrive back at their natal nesting grounds by early May.”
If you are looking for interesting books on Osprey migration, here are my top two.
Soaring with Fidel by David Gessner is not your typical academic book and that is why it is my favourite choice for anyone wanting to understand the migration of ospreys and, in particular, those on the NE coast of the US. Gessner follows Fidel down the coast, to Cuba, and into South America. I promise you that you will want to travel to the mountains near Manzanillo, Cuba to see the hundreds if not thousands of ospreys that fly over heading south. It is the top of my bucket list. And I will get there!
The second choice is more for older chidren but Heidi expressly told me that it is not just for children, adults can enjoy it, too, and I agree. Belle’s Journey. An Osprey Takes Flight will touch your heart. It is the true story of a GPS tracked osprey. Rob Bierregaard takes us from Belle’s fledge, to her first successful fish catch, through a tumultous trip down the coast of the US to South America.
Which leads us into these amazing birds that are hopping, jumping, and hovering and will soon spread those wings with confidence and fly for the first time.
Oldest chick fledges from Saaksilvie nest #1 while the remaining chick gets some high hovers!
I haven’t reminded anyone about the benefits to birds of shade grown coffee for awhile. It is time to do that as we examine, on occasion, agricultural practices that can benefit not only humans but wildlife. The Snithsonian certifies ‘bird friendly’ coffee. They even sell it. In Canada, it is Birds and Beans. Yes, it is more expensive than brands where the tree canopy has been clear cut but, compared to other high quality small roasters in Canada, it is only about $3 more per 454 grams (one pound). It is discounted if you get a subscription. And no, I don’t get a commission! But I do support every effort to rewild and to make our planet more inhabitable for all living creatures so I cut back on the amount of coffee that I drink so I can purchase the bird friendly brand.
Ventana Wildlife is not all about Condors. They are a Species Recovery Programme. This is a recent video about the success of the restoration of the Bald Eagles in Central California. It is beautiful and short, 1:27 minutes.
Some news about Blue and a lot of flapping at Boundary Bay.
Food deliveries for Blue:
‘CG’ sends her report on Blue’s Day: Mere. Ha, ha. I’ll bet she was the twitterer I kept hearing yesterday. Blue knew she was there and was squeeing at her. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen before.
Blue greeting the day from her favorite spot. Wonder what she thinks of the fog.
I thought she had a pretty good day. She was very active all day long and did quite a bit of squeeing. I wondered if a parent was around but didn’t hear any adult twittering until later in the day. She spent the morning wingercising, hopping, and dancing across the nest. It was so cute that they put together a video.
Great Flapping From Blue on YouTube with a message from Hancock Wildlife regarding concern about Blue.
There was a food delivery of fish around 1000 hours. Blue pounced on it, and there was a struggle to release it from Mere’s talons. I’d called it a medium sized piece, and it was all gone by 1018 hours.
,During the afternoon, she spent time moving around the nest, looking out, preening, wing stretching, and more dancing, skipping, and flapping across the nest. She lay down a few times today but not for long except when she lay down in her favorite spot in the late afternoon. I think she was dozing.
There was another food delivery at around 1830 hours, and she accomplished a good clean snatch. It was a large piece. It looked like moist fresh meat, a little more work than fish, but she did a good job of holding it down and pulling pieces off and all the time was squeeing while eating. After dinner, she stood for a while, and after squeeing, she was answered by a lot of twittering. Someone asked about Pere. He is still around. In fact, it looked like he delivered the last meal. When chicks become “exuberant” trying to grab food when delivered, dads tend to retreat. All chicks are bigger than dad, especially the females. Poor Akecheta delivering food to his 3 eaglets at the West End Territory ended up on his back in the melee.
At 2200 hours, Blue was up and started doing a lot of preening. I had seen a lot of moths on previous nights, but tonight, as well as the moths, there were lots of tiny flying insects. Had to be annoying.
I checked in at 2244 hours, and she was asleep lying down with her head to one side. She looked so adorable. Funny, the flying insects and moths were gone.
WEATHER: Thursday, 8/1, at 1715 hours, it is 82F, mostly sunny, wind 8 mph, humidity 63%, feels like 90F, low tonight 61F.
Friday, 8/2 through Monday, 8/5: Highs ranging from 79F to 82F with lows ranging from 50F to 62F.”
If you missed it, Finnegan and Iris’s chicks were named. This article includes the overwhelming numbers of people who voted and how many chose the winning names.
Iris, Sum-eh and Antali see Finnegan coming in with a fish!
This nest just makes me smile. Thank you and good night Iris, Finnegan (wherever you are), Sum-eh, and Antali.
‘RP’ found this on X. So cute.
When fish deliveries come, everyone wants in on the action and some of that nice dinner! Fledglings who have been civil to one another on the nest take on a new energized stance as they prepare to live independently in the world.
Dyfi Osprey Nest.
It is precisely the same at every nest.
Glaslyn.
The baby, 5H6, claims the fish at Poole Harbour!
Later, other siblings want some fish, too.
At McEuen Park, the fledgling is enjoying a fish dinner all by itself.
It feels like things are finally settling down in the nests. The last of the osplets will be fledging and then they will need to eat and fatten up a bit – so will Mum and Dad – before they begin their migrations (if they migrate, some don’t). What a year it has been.
Annie and Archie are finally getting some quiet time after successfully fledging four! Dear Nox, the fourth hatch that landed in the water at the marina is improving. Great news. If I had a list for cutie pies this year I bet Nox and Smallie would tie. Interesting that they are both Peregrine Falcons!!!!!
Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Thursday 1st August 2024 Not much action today but after a quick pop in on Nest One from a pair of Warblers, we did have the pleasure of seeing an Osprey – Garry LV0 arrived and spent a few quiet minutes looking around and preening before flying off again. Chaddie 14 gave us the exciting news that the chick at Bunarkaig has fledged, this chick is thought to be the offspring of Affric 152 & Prince. Link to his update: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15536809. WTS George says we would really appreciate people signing our Living Legends petition to protect our ancient trees: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15532685. The weather was settled today, but tonight’s light cloud and light winds will change into heavy rain tomorrow. Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.32.55 (04.30.46); Nest Two 22.32.34 (04.38.42) Today’s videos: https://youtu.be/9LKihnfJAjo N1 A pair of Warblers visit 10.31.12https://youtu.be/QTRqeePpg8I N1 Garry LV0 arrives, stays a while, and preens 13.07.21
Bonus watch – Soar with a Golden Eagle as it flies over Scotland wearing a go-pro eagle cam:https://youtu.be/JDmgtkaKx6c
Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:
Royal Cam Chick is loosing all his baby down and transforming into a beautiful albatross that will be fledging in another 5-6 weeks. Isn’t he lovely?
Everyone is still home at Blackbush.
Morning rained stopped. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum chick is certainly ready to begin some great hovering and flapping. My goodness, I hope some fairies bring some soft material to this nest next year to help the ospreys get a head start.
Fledgling at McEuen Park waiting for Mum to bring some fish! This is actually a bit of a miracle, too. It is hard enough for a single parent to take care of chicks in a perfect world. Then imagine a single parent with four chicks, intense heat, and babies not able to thermoregulate. I think we are lucky that we had one survive on this nest in Idaho this year.
My goodness. The two chicks at the Latvian osprey nest in Kurzeme seem to have grown even more overnight! Look at the wing spread and look at that healthy ‘ps’. Another miracle nest and congratulations to Singa and Svings. The chicks were ringed on the 30th of July. The oldest is Red 59T, a female weighing a whopping 1750 grams. The second is Red 59V, a male weighing 1400 grams. The third egg DNH.
It’s very windy there.
Dorsett Hobby scares everyone by climbing to the rim of the nest. Is chick hungry?
Chatters have expressed some concern over what appears to be a wing problem with the chick on nest #1 in Finland.
Many of you will know that the largest wildfire in California history is burning and could be a threat to many nests. Here is an update on Liberty and Guardian.
Russian Imperial Eagle fledglings waiting at the nest for prey deliveries.
‘A’ sends the latest posts from Australia if you have not seen them:
At the Olympic Park, we are very close to hatch:
August 1: The 35th day since the first egg was laid. Early duets, and then Dad came in and took the fish tail off himself. He returned and sat for a short while. Lady returned after only 31 minutes. Another shortish shift each, then Lady came in at 9:20 with leaves and incubated again. During the morning, both were in for short shifts, with calling and duets. Later, both took their turn at incubating during some light rain. Late afternoon, Dad relieved Lady briefly, until she returned for the evening at 5:20. Lady spent some 7 hours on the eggs today, and they were uncovered only briefly during changeovers. No prey was brought to the nest.
August 2: A cold wet night for Lady. After a few calls, Dad came in at 6:30, and Lady was off for a break but heard close by. She returned after only 33 minutes – a quick break for her. There was some rain in the morning, and several changes. Lots of calling off the nest. Some rain on and off. Dad had a long (two-hour) shift from just before 9am, and again in the afternoon. Is Lady out getting prey for herself? Both brought some greenery in today, though again, no prey was brought to the nest. Lady was home from 15:35, and other than a few short stretches and rolls, she sat on the eggs until evening- though there was quite some muttering from the nest. A few late ups and downs, then settled. Both parents spent a similar time on the eggs today, with the eggs only uncovered for brief periods.
‘H’ sends her reports:
8/1 Osoyoos osprey nest: Breakfast consisted of the large leftover fish from yesterday. Soo fed her youngsters for about 18 minutes. The first new fish of the day did not arrive until 1221, when Olsen dropped off a very large partial fish. That fish provided for a 46-minute feeding for the osplets. I did not see any more fish brought to the nest the rest of the day, but I noted that the chicks both still had large crops late in the afternoon. It was a very warm day, with the temperature reaching 101F/38C. Soo was acting as Mombrella to help shield her big kids from the sun most of the afternoon. Weather forecast for 8/2: mostly sunny, high temp 102F/39C, light winds.
8/1 Colonial Beach osprey nest: It was a better day for this nest. Four fish were brought to the nest, three of from Betty. And, David delivered a fish after he had not been seen on cam for three days. So, little Cobey ate pretty well today. Betty was even seen acting as Mombrella for a while to shade Cobey from the hot sun…that’s progress! Forecast for 8/2: mostly sunny, high 95, winds 16 mph.
8/2 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: There is a patch on the ground at the very top of our nest-cam-view where the marsh grass is thinned-out a bit, and I have seen both fledglings fly to that spot on occasion. There’s something they like about being on the ground, and they think they are hidden by tall grass. It was getting dark, and at 2030 in the evening on 8/1, I saw both of the fledglings fly from the nest to that spot. I could make out one of their heads, while the other one was just out of view. I have not seen a fox this season, but I have in the past. They roam the marsh at dusk. I didn’t like the fledglings being on the ground at that time of day. How would they learn to stay up high out of harm’s way from ground predators, especially as darkness approaches? Shouldn’t it be instinctual? Or, is it something that they would somehow learn from their parents? Certainly learning from experience doesn’t sound like a very good idea. Well, I worried all night, and I was very grateful to see those silly juvies fly to the nest early this morning. I wonder where they actually spent the night.
If you happen to be near St Louis, Missouri, there are celebrating Murphy at the World Bird Sanctuary (Thanks, J)
And they continue…Omega will be there til they get the very last Menhaden. Perhaps it is time for a world wide boycott of Omega!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their wonderful reports, posts, pictures, videos, articles, books, and streaming cams that helped me write my post today: ‘A, CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, RP’, Amazon (book covers), David Gessner, Rob Bierregaard, Nesting Bird Life & More, Oxford Brookes University, Ventana Wildlife Society, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, All About Birds, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, BoPH, Pam Breci, SK Hideaways, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Blackbush Beach Ospreys, MN-LA, McEuen Park, LDF, Finnish Osprey Foundation, FORE, Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Olympic Park Eagles, Sharon Dunne, Montana Osprey Project, DancinLionHeart, and Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal.
Tomorrow is the first of August! The summer is absolutely flying by. Today’s report from my end – not those great folks that send me news on specific nests they are monitoring – is a bit brief. I spent a lovely afternoon in the park yesterday despite the 31 C heat. There was a lovely breeze and it was simply wonderful to hear the sounds of children’s voices splashing in a pool. A grandfather and his two grandchildren asked to share my picnic table. The children were so cute. One asked if I would like one of their ‘Bear Paws’ – a soft chocolate cookie. Yummy.
The correct cable arrived and now we can have some images of the garden friends from the better camera.
Is this just the most gorgeous Crow? I am finally beginning to be able to tell the new babies – not baby size – by their shape and personalities.
Its sibling was down on the top of the Weeping Caragana.
One of the siblings is very ‘tall and thin’ compared to the others.
They seem to have very different personalities, too. Gosh, they are wonderful. As are the Blue Jays!
There are six baby Blue Jays. Three were on the big tray feeder.
One wasn’t sure it would like beets and rice as much as the Crows!
The other two were on the deck amidst the seeds and sparrows.
There are hundreds of lively sparrows everywhere.
The squirrels habe been busy both Dyson kits and the Reds.
‘J’ wrote to ask me if the Tortilla Bird counts for happy moments. Yes, every bird counts! Every one of them. Put them on your happiness list. They don’t need to be on streaming cams.
Yesterday, a question from another reader : “So where is the food? Why aren’t the parents delivering food like we have seen on other nests? I wish that the there was a forum that would discuss this.” should have appeared at the top of CG’s report on Blue at HWF-BBCentral as a lead into their story. It remains unclear to me how this worked its way into that report! ‘CG’ certainly knows there is a forum. Apologies all around for any confusion or angst.
Here is CG’s report for Blue for 30 July (Thanks, CG):
Blue started the day by being a wet bird. Rain had been forecast for today.
She started out by working on some old food and came back to it about 4 hours later. She spent her day doing eaglet things like wingercising a number of times, stretching, preening, standing around, and poking around.
Blue looking pretty sleek here. It was around 1200 hours and she was surveying the scene and preening on and off.
Looks like getting some height here with her wingercising.
Food delivery by parent around 1630 hours. Blue, by the way, is good at mantling.
Half an hour later, another food delivery. One of the larger deliveries. She left only a small piece.
At about 2000 hours, she was lying on the nest. I left her looking out over the countryside at 2117 hours.
Weather forecast for Delta for the rest of the week. I have come to appreciate cams that show the weather in a corner.
Geemeff brings us some really good news from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust (Thanks, Geemeff):
Daily summary Tuesday 30th July 2024
The highlight of today was the welcome return of Louis, last seen on the 25th. He spent over two hours on Nest Two, perching on Dorcha’s perch then flying down to do some nest cupping, before departing. Nest Two had another visitor – Affric 152 made a surprise visit, just a brief touchdown really before flying off again. No sign of Dorcha, last seen on the 27th, or Garry LV0, last seen yesterday. No visitors to Nest One although a Wood Pigeon did a fast flypast caught on nest cam. Itziar Colodro from Fundación Migres gave us an update on 1JW and safety measures in the translocation area, see bonus section. The weather was settled, tonight’s forecast is a pleasant partly cloudy with a gentle breeze and a low of 9°c, and tomorrow promises to be dry and sunny with a high of 19°c.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.54.55 (04.12.32); Nest Two 22.52.04 (04.27.02)
Bonus info on safety measures for Ospreys in the Spanish translocation area, and update on 1JW (thanks Itzy):
Update on 1JW:
I have received lovely updates from Itziar Colodro about our surviving chick 1JW. She works for the Fundación Migres but has a much earlier connection to Loch Arkaig – a chick from a nest on private land, ringed JH3 in 2017 and named Pean (‘cousin’ if you like to our first Arkaig chick from new pair Aila & Louis, ringed JH4 and named Lachlan), didn’t migrate very far and took up residence in her area in Spain. There were a lot of photographers in that area and he became quite famous until sadly he was electrocuted on a faulty power line in 2018. Itzy was instrumental in getting the utility companies to act to ensure the safety of the birds.
After Itzy posted on Adam’s site Walking With Daddy / Osprey, I mentioned her work with the utility companies after the loss of JH3, and got this response:
Your words have really moved me🥹, because I have not forgotten JH3 either, that wonderful animal did not deserve that ending. Thanks to him, hundreds of electrical towers were corrected and are now safe for all birds of prey. In fact, we have built a nest for Ospreys since the entire power line was gone. Now it’s a very good and safe place for Ospreys.
Updating: 1JW is adapting great to the environment. It is an honor to be able to take care of him (and his brother 1JR). Loch Arkaig has meant a lot to me for many years you know. I hope I will soon visit that area, where I feel united with all my heart since many year ago. Thanks to you and your support and effort for the conservation of this wonderful species🦅🫂
‘H’ brings us up to date on a few of the nests she is monitoring (Thanks, H):
7/31 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: The camera view became partially obscured about two weeks ago from PS (forceful elimination) from the chicks, and our view has been almost totally obscured for the last week. The camera is positioned low, and it has a history of being hit with PS. Last year we got lucky, and Banff’s and JJ’s aim was off, and they couldn’t manage to hit the camera! The chicks are 49, 47, and 45 days old. Occasionally a chatter will remark that they think they see some wingers being performed, or we can listen for screaming and watch for moving shadows indicating that a fish may have arrived at the nest. Prior to the camera becoming soiled, we knew that family life was going very well. There were plenty of fish being brought to the nest, mainly from Harvie, but some from Louise as well. There had not been a lot of sibling rivalry and aggression, and the chicks all looked very healthy. A chatter that lives nearby has visited the nest a couple of times, and reports seeing the heads of two chicks each time she has visited. Should we be worried that only two have been seen? Or is it just the limited view when our BOG has been there? The BOG spotter has not been able to get a good elevated view of the nest due to restricted areas nearby. There have been reports that river and lake levels are low in Alberta, due to a significantly reduced snowpack last winter, and because of the heat and drought this summer. Is it possible that Harvie and Louise have not been able to catch enough fish to support three growing chicks? We simply do not know. The chicks are approaching an age where they will be ready to fledge soon. Pray for rain to help relieve the drought and clean the camera !!!
7/30 Captiva osprey nest: Even though live streaming from the camera has ended for the season, the Mods and others continue to have viewing access. Yesterday Ann P. reported seeing Jack at the nest. He still has the ‘spike’ going through the skin of his left leg, but he is alive and looks well. Jack was a phenomenal mate and dad this season. We are thrilled to see him. Photo courtesy Ann P. NOTE – FOR SOME REASON THE IMAGE WILL NOT ‘STAY’ ON THIS PROGRAMME. IT KEEPS DISAPPEARING.
7/30 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: Mom stopped at the nest for just a few seconds. We had not seen her since 7/18, the day before the cam went down for 5 days.
7/30 Osoyoos osprey nest: We had a short viewing day, as the cam went offline at 1215. Olsen brought the first fish at 0536, and he just so happened to drop it right at Middle’s feet. Middle strongly mantled over his/her prize and probably could not believe his good fortune. Big did not make a strong bid to take the fish from Middle. Middle ate for 20 minutes before s/he relinquished the fish to Big. Dad dropped off another fish at 0557. Big abandoned the fish she was eating to join in on the feeding from Soo. Both siblings were fed during that 10-minute meal, and then Big resumed eating her earlier fish.
‘PB’ brings us up to date on what is going on at The Port of Ridgefield (Thanks, PB).
‘PB’ also caught two of the fledglings on the Steelscape nest that has been so harassed. Hoping to see the fledgling with the injuries.
‘PB’s other report is that the McEuen female was feeding her hick with a male at the nest. The male has been missing for over a month and during that time three of the four chicks died from starvation. Is this the mate of the female or another male? It is unclear.
Good news coming out of Steelscape.
I remain so excited for the two osplets growing up in Latvia. They are not quite ready to fledge, but the two osplets on the Latvian nest in the Kurzema Forest are doing splendidly. It is believed there are approximately 200 osprey couples breeding in the forests of this beautiful country.
Gorgeous fledgling at the Mlade Buky nest of Bety and Bukacek.
Snow Lane, Newfoundland. Hope and Beaumont. Incredible season with this family. I never thought it would happen – checking on Hope and finding her often feed her chicks. Amazing, in fact.
It is raining at Hellgate Canyon. Iris and her two osplets look beautiful even soaking wet. Iris and her family are not out of the woods from the heat. It is going to return but they have ‘made it’ through several weeks of scorching weather and a huge storm and they have survived. It is at the top of my happiness list for sure. The image below is, to me, simply a miracle. I never thought I would live to see Iris raise a family again. But it happened. Miracles do happen.
Finnegan is working hard for his family!
That is a gorgeous osplet at Charlo, too. What is their weather going to be like? Ah, the same as Iris! A bit cooler and then gradually getting hotter.
It has been raining on the only chick at Dunrovin Ranch, too.
At Collins Marsh in Wisconsin, there are three well-fed, healthy, fully feathered osplets wanting to fly and they are going to do it any day now!
Family portrait at Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum. That chick is like the ones at Collins Marsh – ready and wanting to fly.
A fledgling with a fish meal and a Hooded Crow hoping for some leftovers at the German nest, BUND Goitzsche-Wildnis.
Marder’s Osprey Platform on Long Island has a chick that wants to fledge, too. It likes to still be fed, too.
At Manton Bay, Blue 33 has been bringing fish to the nest and sometimes Maya is there or flies in to grab them. Sometimes the fledgling is there. Nice to know that all three are still in the area.
It was a sad year for the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland. To be sure, though, we were blessed and so was Blue NCO, that the eggs did not hatch before Laddlie LM12 was killed. She has been at the nest with the dark osprey male. We will have to wait and see what transpires next March – but it looks like Blue NCO has, for now, held on to her beautiful nest.
Waiting for fish at Llyn Brenig!
Idris has been working over time at the Dyfi Osprey Platform feeding his chicks. He brought four fish to the nest in less than an hour.
You might be used to the Bald Eagles cutting back on prey but the osprey parents will keep this food coming so that the chicks can bulk up for migration. They are not yet fishing. Indeed, many will only catch their first fish while they are travelling south to their winter grounds. The parents, mostly the male, will work hard to get them in top shape for this journey. Then the male will remain for a few days to get strong, too (sometimes not – they leave right about the time of the kids) while Mum left earlier.
Well, if this doesn’t make your heart race!!!!!!!! We should never count the ospreys ‘out’. We might not ‘see’ them but this doesn’t mean they have met their demise. This is a great story.
‘J’ sent me the following image of the Centreport Eagles. It comes from the Bald Eagles 101 FB page she notes (Thanks, J).
It looks like theya re trying to take every last fish that an osprey could eat in Chesapeake Bay. This makes me so angry. If you take Omega supplements, or eat farmed/battery chickens or farmed salmon – that is where these fish so vital to our ospreys – are going!
It is your last day to vote on the names for Iris and Finnegan’s kids. Go to the Montana Osprey Cams FB and click on the image. Please vote.
And ‘J’ sends us the latest update on NOX:
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their observations, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, CG and HWF-BBCentral cam and Forum, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, H and Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, and Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Pam Breci and Port of Ridgefield, Steelscape, and McEuen Park, LDF, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, Newfoundland Power, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cams, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Collins Marsh, MA-LN, Goitzsche-Wildnis, Marder’s, LRWTm The Scottish Wildlife Trust and LOTL, Llyn Brenig, Dyfi Osprey Project, Faye Hill, and J and Centrepoint Eagles,Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, and The California Raptor Centre.
Oh, it was a beautiful day in Manitoba. Not too hot and there was a bit of a breeze. Even better to celebrate my daughter’s birthday albeit some days late. She is getting ready to head to Carnival in Grenada and a nice beach holiday for a month. Fantastic.
It was also a beautiful day in the garden. It is filling out all over. It was lovely to hear someone describe it was ‘paradise’. I hope it is for all the animals that live there.
I seem to be suffering from the summer ‘tireds’. Do you ever get that?
The Girls have been having a whale of a time watching the birds and other garden animals, and today, we caught The Boyfriend coming in for a meal. He has really been a concern as I have not seen him during the day. So I checked the front door security camera, and there he is—’pet’—coming in the night and wee hours of the early morning while I am still snuggled up with Hugo Yugo.
Calico is just so beautiful. This time last year, she was running to our house to eat and was quickly back caring for her kitten/s two blocks away under the deck of a house. I thank my lucky stars every day that she chose us. It will be a year since she moved into the house on August 28. Five days later, her only surviving kitten, Hope (aka Kitty Kitty), came to our deck to eat, and we were able to trap her and get her inside. Last night I took the walk that we made trying to find her just to remind myself again – and again – how grateful I am to have these wonderful animals gracing my life. They sure give me more than I can ever give to them!
Oh, and Calico has a tip for everyone who has cats. Those bowls that are elevated and tilt a little bit really work. Even the pickiest of the four, Hope, finishes up all her food.
Missey and Calico are getting along better.
Hugo Yugo is a force to herself and Baby Hope wouldn’t let me take her photo today.
Oh, Hope did stay still long enough! She is staring at Calico who is on top of the cat tree. Calico is swishing her tail – she wants to have a good play fight. Hope doesn’t seem interested.
Calico teasing with the tail.
Out in Bird World. There are intruders everywhere. Some of them are former fledglings returning to their natal nest. Some are ospreys beginning to move south and stopping over.
In many instances, everything goes well. ‘Hey Mum, I just stopped in to say hello!’ might be what Teifi would say to Idris and Telyn. Others are chasing this year’s fledglings off the nest. Some are vicious in their attacks, such as those at Patuxent. Sadly, it is what happens this time of year along with predation – those pesky eagles and goshawks wait til the chicks are nice and plump before they go to the nest, especially in Finland. We must breathe and continue to be thankful for those who have survived this year – for all the miracles that have put a smile on our faces.
Thank you to those that have already sent in wonderful lists of the events with the eagles, the hawks, the falcons, and the ospreys (and others) that put a smile on their face. Please send me your list. I will publish these next week!
What are you grateful for today in BirdWorld? I am grateful to wake up and see the fledgling Yellow USU is alive. (See video later in blog)
I am also wondering if this is our dear Louis who has landed on the Loch Arkaig 2 nest at 1156? If it is, it has been five full days since he has been seen and this would make me cry bucks of happy tears. I have written to Geemeff for confirmation as their are floaters out there at almost every nest.
Before I go on I want to thank those that keep an eye on nests. Heidi can call herself a real osprey expert these days but she is humble enough and will say, like Ferris Akel, that she ‘isn’t’. I am grateful to those community members who are keen watchers of nests and keep an eye on everything that happens that send in reports to me to share with you – A, CG, MM, PB, AM, MP, SP, Geemeff. So many of you. Thank you. It is impossible to have eyes on all the nests!
I missed CG’s report on Blue at the HWF-BBC nest for Monday so I am including it today. Thanks, CG!
“It’s 2210 hours here on the West Coast, Sunday, 7/28.
A parent showed up early this morning, around 0630 hours, with a food delivery. Blue also nibbled on leftovers. The leftovers seem to be tough. Blue spent the day periodically nibbling on leftovers, wingercising, hopping, napping, and looking out over the countryside. At 1900 hours, Blue was calling and a parent appeared with food. This seemed a larger piece than others that I have seen. I have a hard time seeing the food on the nest—maybe because it’s so small and blends into the nest material?
I’m no expert, but even though food is coming in, I’m used to seeing way larger pieces. I watched eagle nests with lone eaglets earlier this year and when a parent brought in a fish, you could tell it was a fish, or if it was a rodent, it had legs and a tail. The little Dorset Hobby in England currently on YouTube is receiving larger meals than Blue (and more often too!).
Happy Birthday Blue❣ Blue is 3 months old today. 🐟🐡”
July 29:
Blue and I woke up to rain. I am just learning about eagles like the rest of us, I am not an expert but someone who is watching and concerned for Blue. She woke up to rain; I woke up and it had already rained. She was a little wet, but maybe it feels good after all that heat. I don’t know if the shade is waterproof. Later in the day, Mere was looking quite bedraggled. She seems to perch often on the south perch.
Parent in with a fish around 0700 hours. I can actually see it and recognize it as a fish!
She horked most of the fish down in one go.
Blue needs way more food; I have learned that eagles need at least 350 grams of food per day up to 550 grams depending on their age. I was also reminded that this food needs to be nourishing, not skin and bones! Like us, blue needs enough food to grow strong bones and muscles, healthy feather growth, and energy. So where is the food? Why aren’t the parents delivering food like we have seen on other nests? I wish that the there was a forum that would discuss this.
Food delivery 7/27, if you can see it! Where’s the rest of whatever it is?
7/28: Largest piece of food that I’ve seen the past few days. Thought to be fish. My question is “Where’s the rest of it?” I’ve seen other eagle parents bring in whole fish to feed one eaglet. I’ve seen chicklets fed more food than this!
Also, if/when she fledges, she will need parental support providing her with food while she practices hunting. I do not even want to go there at this point.
Around 1130 hours, picked at yesterday’s leftover chunk of food/fish but didn’t really eat any. That continued throughout the day.
At 1900 hours, an adult brought food. Have no idea what it was. To me, it looks like scraps left from an adult’s meal. The only thing I have recognized so far was the fish this morning. I’m used to seeing food with legs and tails or a whole fish.
I have to give Blue credit for her continual wingercising. She was been doing a lot of wingercising throughout the day. Don’t know what anyone thinks about the condition of her feathers. When I initially saw Blue, my first thought was “what raggy feathers.” I know I’m not alone. To me, she always looks like she went through a hedge backwards. I have a medium-length-hair cat like that. His sister never has a hair out of place. I don’t know if part of this has to do with camera resolution. I’m used to looking at Jackie and Shadow with state of the art cameras, It’s like looking at their feathers under a microscope. And no, I’m not knocking Hancock’s cameras. I know these cameras are expensive so you buy what you can afford, and it also depends upon your purpose. I think I read that these cameras are good for about 5 years. On top of that there is continual maintenance. All in all, we are lucky we are able to view these nests.
I’m thinking Blue is one of those that Mary Ann talks about—they want to survive, and they fight against all odds for their survival.
We’re here cheering you on Blue. Take it a day at a time, keep up with that wingercising, and fledge when YOU feel you are ready.”
‘H’ reports:
7/29 Osoyoos osprey nest: I only saw three fish brought to the nest. It was not a very hot day, but winds were gusting to 18 mph in the afternoon. At 0534 Olsen dropped off a large partial fish, and Big took it to self-feed. Soo allowed Big to work on it for about 24 minutes before she took the fish to provide a feeding. At that point Middle ate for 6 minutes before Big joined in, and the sibs ate peacefully for the next 7 minutes. Then, Olsen delivered a whole fish at 0622. Soo fed, and once again it was a peaceful and seemingly equitable meal lasting 9 minutes. At 1043 Olsen brought a very large partial fish. Soo started her feeding, but was distracted and flew off with the fish at 1046. There may have been an intruder about. She did not return to the nest with the fish until 1057, but then she resumed feeding. Both osplets had a nice meal, and the total feeding time was around 31 minutes. Of note today was the wingercising. The osplets are 51 and 52 days old, and both of them were doing some impressive wingers with hops. At 1634 Big achieved several inches of lift off the nest! Weather forecast for 7/30: Partly cloudy, high temp 84F/29C, light winds.
7/29 Colonial Beach Osprey nest: Young 35-day-old Cobey is looking really good. Yesterday David delivered all four fish to the nest, but apparently today it was Betty’s turn, and she brought all four of the fish to the nest. That arrangement works fine, as long as David doesn’t go MIA again. The weather is warming up again in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a high of 88 on 7/30, and gradually becoming warmer throughout the week. Winds will gust to 17 mph on 7/30.
7/29 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: We only had one sighting of an osprey today. At 0816 Dad brought a partial fish to the nest. Since no one arrived to take it, Dad flew off with the fish. Stay safe, osprey family. We miss you, and we are thinking of you.
7/29 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): This will sound like a broken record, but this is the most amazing daily story at this nest… There were no fish at all brought to the nest on 7/29, and we didn’t see Johnny. The weather was not too hot, but it was a windy day. Poor ‘Fen’ had nothing to eat. And then, there it was… At 1745 June arrived with her daily huge live striped bass! I smiled and laughed, why had I even been worried? Those big bass are quite strong when they are flopping about, and it seems that Fen has learned to tuck and stay away until Mom gets the fish under control. Fen is 45 days old. (I think these fish are striped bass, but if anyone knows otherwise, please kindly let Mary Ann know)
7/29 Forsythe osprey nest: Larry is 69 days old, and fledged two weeks ago. The past few days there have been fewer fish brought to the nest for Larry. In fact there was only one partial fish today, and it was brought by Opal. Perhaps Larry has had some meals away from the nest. Well, the most interesting thing happened this afternoon… At 1708 Larry brought a large turtle to the nest. This is the first time we have seem him carrying anything in his talons. He toyed with the turtle a bit, but did not spend much time with it, and Larry soon flew away. The turtle had its head and legs all tucked away, so we didn’t know if it was alive. Well, at 2032 Mr. Turtle suddenly ‘came alive’, walked around in circles a bit, then promptly walked right off the nest! The nest is a typical man-made marsh platform, so not being very high, Mr. Turtle was probably okay.
At Sandpoint, we have a family portrait – Keke, Keo, and River. River is enjoying a nice fish meal fromm Mum. Look at the size of River to Keke. Could River be a girl? Gosh, I wish they would ring these osplets at the streaming cam nests!
At Oyster Bay, all three fledglings are home for the night with Mum perched keeping an eye.
Both fledglings hanging out at the nest in Patchogue during a thunderstorm on Monday.
Blue 022 is still busy making sure those four fledglings at Poole Harbour have enough fish! CJ7 will be trying to fatten up for her long migration. Blue 022 will stay on and take care of the kids. Normally, the female leaves first and the male leaves last.
At Saaksilvie Muonion, the family of four is doing well – Aile & Juhu, along with Kajo and Lumi. Nice fish have come to the nest, and interesting twigs offer great camouflage, and the osplets are keeping down. Does this nest also have intruders about?
Surviving osplet at Saaksilvie #4- Yellow USU – is getting fish deliveries from Mum.
Chicks at Blackbush Beach Resort are itching to fly. They are beauties.
I just caught the morning fish at McEuen Park. Baby has a full crop and Mum is getting to enjoy some nice fish. They have survived. She lost three but she has one that is on track to fledge.
Cowlitz PUD fledgling returns to the nest for fish dinners. All is well.
Intruders at the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland. There are intruders everywhere and our adults and fledglings are getting injured. This is the best year for Hope and Beaumont. Send them your good wishes so that the entire family is safe and well fed.
I have been checking on Hope and the chicks at Snow Lane and everything seems good. These are two beautiful osplets and how could we not be over the moon for this couple? They should ring the bells in Newfoundland. Miracles happen.
Crows are being pesky and not so nice to Australian ospreys.
This is how lucky Iris, Finn, and the two osplets were doing that storm. Have a read.
The only surviving chick at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest looks like it is going to fledge any day. It is getting bigger and bigger but not as big as Mum. A little boy?
Winnie and her baby at Dunrovin Ranch look out to the world below with all the horses.
Geemeff’s summary of Loch Arkaig for the Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Monday 29th July 2024
Another day with no sign of Louis or Dorcha, but once again Garry LV0 and Affric 152 visited Nest One, two visits from Garry LV0 and one from Affric 152, no fish were brought today. A Wood Pigeon was the only other visitor. LizB gave us another update on Affric’s nest at Bunarkaig:
The forecasted rain materialised, tonight’s forecast is light clouds and light winds with a chance of rain, but tomorrow’s looks more promising with sunny intervals and a gentle breeze.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.45.51 (04.24.09); Nest Two 22.38.14 (04.30.25)
We hope that Louis and Dorcha are off at another loch filling up on fish, getting strong and gaining some fat for their migration south. Without chicks, they can leave any time. And isn’t it great that the surviving osplet in Spain fledged? Just wonderful.
At the Dorest Hobby nest, ‘SP’ reports that the little Hobby had the following meals and is doing well: “…a decent breakfast at 7:57, then dragonflies at 14:58, 15:53, 16:07, 16:15, 16:36, and 4 more before a wee bird was brought for tea at 19:35. Followed by yet another dragonfly!”
Captive breeding is helping the Condor population and it is bringing the Guam Kingfisher back from near extinction.
If you missed the dawn duet from the Olympic Park Eagles, here you go! My favourite time is when the eaglets are old enough to join in with their parents. So cute.
The Canadian company, Omega, is still trying to take every last Menhaden out of the Bay so that the whales, dolphins, and ospreys (amongst others) starve.
Osprey doing well at A Place Called Hope (one of the absolute best rehabbers in the US).
Iris, Finn, and the kids are looking good. Soon we will know their names. Did you vote?
Iris’s older chick is now self-feeding. It won’t be long til the Little one is trying it out.
Still warm at Charlo.
The Charlo chick is sure working those wings. No hovering but certainly some good wingers.
‘PB’ reports that there is still tension from intruders at the Steelscape osprey platform in Washington. The intruder took the beak of the fledgling that has an injury and was also thought to be pulling out feathers. The chick did get away.
All is well at the McEuen Park Osprey platform.
Skylarks. You might only know them because they were once a model of an American car company but they are, indeed, a wonderful songbird.
But Skylarks have made The Red List! According to the RSBP, “The Skylark is a small brown bird, larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest – which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed – and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge which is visible in flight. It’s known for its display flight, vertically up in the air. Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red List species.”
In her entry for the Skylark in Red Sixty-Seven, Ann Cleeves describes the flight of the male Skylark. ” It rises almost vertically from the ground, then hovers effortlessly, sometimes for an hour or more, before plunging back to earth. It’s a tragedy that this iconic bird is under threat. It’s endangered because its habitat ranges beyond the moors and into the cultivated farmland. The spread of intensive agriculture has limited the species’ opportunities for breeding.” (86)
Two of Nova Scotia’s fledglings, Skylor and Heidi. Posts show that other osplets are fledging in Nova Scotia as I write! They had a good year. Everyone should be celebrating the great success of their nests.
I sure hope these two are around in a little over a fortnight. I would love to see them when I am in Nova Scotia.
Richmond and Rosie’s kids, Pax and Tully, are flying around the light pole. Gosh I miss them being on camera at the Whirly Crane.
Remember – vote for the name selections for Iris and Finn’s kids!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon! Remember to send in those lists of the wonders and the miracles of the 2023-24 eagle/osprey/falcon/hawk, etc breeding season! What put a smile on your face instead of a tear in your eye?
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, observations, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, PB, SP’, Jeff Kear, Finnish Osprey Foundation, The Woodland Trust, HWF-BBC, Sandpoint Ospreys, PSEG, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, McEuen Park, Blackbush Beach Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Ian L Winter, Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Raptor View Research Institute, MN-LA, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Dorsett Hobby, BirdGuides, Menhaden-Little Fish-Big Deal, Olympic Park Eagles, A Place Called Hope, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Steelscape Ospreys, The Guardian, OpenVerse, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Forsythe, Colonial Beach Ospreys, the RSPB, Golden Gate Audubon, Mary Anne Miller.
Late News: Coming from the Charlo nest: “The cam was shut off while ORI removed baling twine from the nest. When the cam resumed, chick #2 seemed to have some sort of seizure and fell off the nest. The men returned and recovered the chick’s body.”
Before we get on with today’s news, Dr Erick Greene listened and he will open a poll on Monday or Tuesday so that you can choose a name for Iris and Finnegan’s osplets. There will be a list of potential selections – we don’t make up our own. So please watch for the survey on Montana Osprey Cams FB page! Iris has chicks to be named for the first time in six years. The last was a Le’le in 2018. This is so wonderful.
There is an interesting statement embedded in the announcement below – Finnegan is bringing fish to the nest that weigh as much or more than he does. Amazing. He really is amazing. Iris did well in picking a mate. Louis did well to stay away – and it seems he knew it. Thank you, Louis.
Maybe one way to look at 2024 is not at the sadness but at the little miracles that happened. This is certainly one of them.
We continue to have storms in the evening with lots of lightning and thunder. Hugo Yugo was quite afraid last night around midnight when the entire conservatory lit up along with a loud clap. The garden is loving the heat and humidity. Tonight it looks like the first feast of green beans! And the celery is thriving. The squirrels have not done much damage to the veggies and herbs. Dyson has even managed to leave the tomatoes alone!!!!!!! But she has been relentlessly digging in the perennials that line the path to the feeder.
There are hundreds of baby sparrows. Six baby blue jays are also pecking away at the cylinders and drinking from the bird baths. I have not seen the baby cowbirds since returning from Toronto. Perhaps they flew out of the garden to learn about the big wide world. I hope they return. It is safe here, and there is always plenty of food and water. Even the hawk has no luck now, as the trees, shrubs, and vines are so loaded with leaves that the little birds can hide easily.
Not great images. I am just using the camera phone through the glass with the Feather Friendly strips on it. Heavily cropped to get the image bigger.
They are going through seed and peanuts. A three-gallon pail of each morning and evening – oh, and, of course, the cheesy dogs. Kilograms of them!!!!!!
Cowlitz Osplet. I checked and saw no osplet on the nest. Assumed fledge! That darn bird jumped up to the top of the grate. I think we should call it ‘branching’ despite the fact it is a term that we associate with eaglets. Sometimes osplets hop to the perch! So no official fledge at Cowlitz – meaning no flying and return to the nest at the time of this writing.
I received a request to find information about what appeared to be an osprey in a box at the bottom of the Cowlitz PUD nest from ‘AM’ in Asia. Cowlitz has posted about the incident at this link. I am including the images of the osprey and the box. We have no idea what condition the osplet was in when the individual found it or the depth of their knowledge of wildlife care. But it appears they were trying to do some good.
Wild animals need to be taken to a qualified rehabilitation clinic. Do not presume that another raptor will adopt them. Try and get help if you can. If you can pick up a raptor, remember ——-they are ill. Otherwise they would be taking your face or arm off. Seriously. I always call it ‘Remembering Rubus’.
Fish deliveries coming in to Charlo Montana for Lola and the two osplets.
Mum is out fishing at McEuen Park in Idaho.
Fish delivery to nest #4 in Finland.
At the Golden Eagle nest #2 in Estonia, Kristel had a great day on Monday. Nice prey deliveries. Look at her. The eyes are bright and clear and the feathers are shiny with no apparent issues. (As opposed to dull and falling out). She displayed amazing mantling behaviour and also nest protection.
A large Hare was delivered to the nest.
Mum flew in and out with a mouse. It is possible that she wishes her eaglet to imprint the prey so they know it is OK to hunt for this mammal after they are independent. Big Red and Arthur bring different prey items to the nest to teach their eyases what species to hunt.
I found this entry on Looduskalender interesting:
At the BBCentral nest in British Columbia, Blue had been eating the remains of any food that he could find on the nest. A prey delivery came from one of the adults mid-afternoon. Perhaps it is just me, but Blue seems to be developmentally ‘behind’ for the age that is given to him (86 days). I am talking about his ability to hold down prey and self-feed. We know eaglets are always hungry unless their crop is about to burst open. That said Blue demonstrates excitement when a parent arrives with prey and then is not interested. Is this because of his lack of self-feeding ability? or is it something else? I wonder. We only have to look at Kristel, the Golden Eaglet above, to understand this conundrum. Kristel often doesn’t get prey and the parents almost get their talons taken off when they arrive. Kristel tears into the food eating til her crop is full and leaving any extra for another meal. Her feathers almost glow and look silky. No tears at the ends…the overall condition of the two seems to be diametrically opposed. — If you disagree, please shout out to me. I am worried about Blue.
So far Blue has not eaten from the piece of prey.
Geemeff’s report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Monday 22nd July 2024
Today didn’t have the excitement of five ospreys visiting various nests not necessarily their own, but did see Louis and Dorcha on Nest Two, although at different times, and Garry LV0 bringing a fish to Nest One. Alas for him there were no takers so he flew off with it to a nearby tree, to munch it on his own, spotted by LizB through her long-lens. The weather was reasonably settled, a spectacular sunset seen from nest cam two ended the day, and tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy and light winds, with sunshine tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.20.44 (03.53.23); Nest Two 23.23.09 (03.57.04)
Today’s blast from the past is one of my all time favourites. On this day in 2020, newly-fledged Doddie JJ6 was having fun testing his wings. He was watched by younger siblings Vera JJ8 and Captain JJ7 who reacted like spectators at a tennis match. It was a perfect moment which definitely needed to be preserved:
We need the Menhaden saved if there is to be any hope for the Osprey population in the Chesapeake Bay Area! Please see the comment under the post.
The osprey nests in Nova Scotia have done very well this season. I know that Connie Dennis will correct me, but I believe they have tracked 31 nests and out of those only one chick has died! That is fantastic. These ospreys do not depend on the Menhaden. There are plenty of other species available, thankfully, and they are plentiful. Looking forward to seeing this lovely Osprey family soon.
Getting ready for a fledge at Bridge Golf.
Three osplets waiting to fly at Collins Marsh, too.
They are all self-feeding!
Bruce is delivering trout to Toketee and Tree at Seaside.
Beautiful osplet at Boulder.
Coming and going at BUND Goitzsche-Wildnis in Germany.
News from ‘H’: 7/22 Osoyoos osprey nest: It was hot again today, and the air was smoky. There were only three fish brought to the nest, but both osplets ate. All things considered, they were lucky to have as much as they did, and they both were able to eat well yesterday.
Olsen started things off with a fish at 0619. I couldn’t see the fish, but Soo fed the chicks for 6 minutes. Both osplets were fed, and Middle ate at least 49 bites of fish plus the fish tail. There was no aggression until Middle took the tail, and Big beaked Middle at that time. After breakfast both chicks were doing some ‘wingers’, and there was a welcome rain shower in the morning. Olsen dropped off the next fish at 1255. It was a medium-sized partial fish, and Big took it to self feed. Big only ate for 8 minutes, and there was still a good size piece of fish remaining. Middle did not attempt to eat any of that fish, so I suppose s/he wasn’t very hungry. Soo arrived at 1339, and she fed the chicks from that leftover fish for 10 minutes. The osplets were positioned on opposite sides of Soo, and for some reason, Soo preferentially fed Middle. It was interesting to watch, but Big did not seem to mind that s/he was not being offered many bites. Big ate the fish tail. That meal lasted for 10 minutes, and Middle ate 110 bites of fish. The temperature reached 100F/38C in the afternoon, and it was several hours before the next fish arrived. Olsen dropped off a medium-sized partial fish at 1948. Big took that fish and ate the whole thing. The area will be getting a slight break from the extreme heat for the next several days. Weather forecast for 7/23: Partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 92, winds gusting to 14 mph.
News from ‘A’:
A report from WBSE:
July 23: A quiet night and an early duet. Dad came to the nest early, at 6:30, but Lady was reluctant to leave. He circled her and hinted, but she sat tight, so he left at 6:35. She then sat for another 90 minutes, backing straight off when he returned at 8am. He gave her a good break, then, of over an hour, then both took a couple of short shifts on the nest. Both were heard calling off the nest at times, too. Lady had a good break in the middle of the day, away for 2.5 hours and returning with a full crop and some leaves. She was on the eggs from just after 3pm until dark, when she was heard calling –wanting a break? Dad was nearby but not coming to the nest. Lady backed off the eggs at 5:30, had a stretch, but then sat down to incubate again, settling for the night. That long late shift meant she spent seven hours on the eggs today. No food was brought to the nest, though both brought sticks or leaves.
And a really cute video from Taiaroa Head:
At the Tatarsan Eagle nest in RU, one of the recently ringed eaglets, Tanai, was believed to have died. It was jumping from branch to branch and fell off the tree. ‘TU’ reports that it returned to the nest five days later! This is wonderful news.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, queries, posts, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, AM, AMW, Geemeff, H, PB, TU’ Montana Osprey Cams, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Jacqueline Harris, Oceana, Charlo Montana, McEuen Park, Finland Osprey Foundation, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, HWF-BBC, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Save Our Menhaden FB, Connie Davis, Heidi McGrue, Collins Marsh, Seaside Osprey Cam, Boulder County, Fischadler Cam, Tatarsan Eagle Cam RU, WBSE Eagle Cam, NZ DOC, and Osoyoos.
Latest updates: Eagle took the oldest osplet at Cowlitz Sunday evening while Mum was feeding. Third osplet at Dyfi in Wales has fledged! Eight Omega ships out catching Menhaden in the Bay this morning – fish our ospreys, whales, dolphins and other fish could eat. Talk about sad. This has to stop.
It was another hot day in Winnipeg. It’s not as hot as it has been. Just 26 C. The boulevard needed mowing, and that is now done. More mulch around the path. I finished but need more. Birds fed and watered many times. They still feel the heat but are more active later in the afternoon and evening when the shade covers the entire garden area. Thank you to everyone who wrote a note and said they enjoyed the baby Blue Jay having its bath. Every season, there is one that loves that bird bath. They are a delight. I made another video. It is 5 minutes long. The birds disappeared while I was sitting on the deck. Still, Dyson comes to the tray feeder along with two Blue Jays and a host of sparrows, old and young. Dyson makes two appearances. You can see the tree branch behind the feeder move. The second time, she goes to another feeder to the left inside the lilacs). I love the Blue Jay pounding away at the seed cylinder at the end. Enjoy. (I will figure out how to edit this!
It is 2033, and the thunderstorm has arrived. The wind is causing the trees to blow around like a tornado. The rain is so heavy I cannot see my neighbour’s roof. It is pounding on top of the conservatory, and all ‘The Girls’ are here for security. I can see a clear sky to the west, so this will be short-lived but furious. I hope we do not lose a tree at the back. Hydro and cable, along with wifi, have just gone out. There is a vast black churning cloud moving south of me. Someone is going to have worse conditions. It’s also reminiscent of my younger years living in Oklahoma, which has all its storms and tornadoes. Did I say we have no power or wifi?
On Wednesday, I will review Connie Dennis’s book about Pickles. So please catch the blog on that day. I will also add a listing of adult Osprey books at the end. This year, the chats on some of the streaming cams were ripe with so much disinformation that many of you wrote and said you would never participate in them again. Take the ‘off-season’ once the ospreys that survive migrate and before the eagles have their eggs hatching to educate yourself. We can have a question section and a fact a day about Ospreys to prepare us. Mind you, we will have the ospreys at Port Lincoln, the falcons at Orange and the CBD, and the WBSE to keep our eyes on. So get your questions ready! I know you have a list of really intriguing ones.
Late news: You know I love Karl II and his kids. Waba, the son of the late Karl II and Kaia from the Black Stork Nest in Karula Forest, Estonia has left RU and is now in northern Estonia! Great news. Thanks ‘TU’. I want Waba to establish a nest in Estonia – maybe even his old natal nest – but only if the fish baskets will be replenished so the storklets don’t starve. We know the food supply is low at times. Speaking of low. Waba’s battery is at 1%. I am hoping he will get some sun and it will charge. This is the area where he is foraging.
The heat wave that hit the Pacific NW and caused such grief at our osprey nests is now moving East. ‘PB’ tells me that the Central area of the US where they live will hit 100 F tomorrow. It will continue to be hot at the osprey nests, and Heidi has just advised that Little at Osoyoos had a one-drop ‘ps’. Dehydrated and weak. Poor thing. Wishing for cool weather, a big fish, or a quick death- since no one is prepared to intervene in the lives of these beautiful feathered osplets (not just at Osoyoos). As you know, my position is that humans have ruined their habitat, destroyed the small quantities of fish the birds require (485-525 per nest of 3 chicks and 2 adults per season), and warmed our planet so quickly that the birds that have been here for 61.5 million years cannot adapt fast enough. We owe it to them to care. Where are the folks as brave as the fish fairies at Port Lincoln? Where are they!
In Macedonia, people save the storks by taking out their watering hoses and giving them this great gift of life.
This is the translation: “Humanitarian actions in Macedonia. The situation with the storks in Gevgelisk is alarming at 50+ degrees. They fall to the ground and dehydrate. The human savior is Miki Stanojkovic from Bogorodica Gevgelisk. An appeal to everyone to leave buckets of water everywhere where there is no river, spring or tap.”
At the nest of the Golden Eagle in Estonia (nest 2), Kristel had prey deliveries from Dad late on Saturday! The eagle also finished the remains of the Raccoon Dog and also fed on leg of sibling. The eaglet is doing some great hovering and working their wings. Appears to be strong.
Note: To this eaglet and to the one at Boundary Bay, their dead sibling is no longer alive and a sibling but potential food. These eaglets are hungry. Eagles are carrion eaters (dead animals). Eagles eat practically anything.
On Sunday, Gwenlais and Senni, took to the skies at the Dyfi Osprey Project. Both returned safely to the nest. Now we are wondering if the third chick will fly on the same day!
Iris at Hellgate Canyon tells us it is still hot there just by her posture! Her and Finn are hanging in there. Iris is amazing. She might not have had a chick since 2018 but she hasn’t forgotten all the tricks on feeding them and keeping them cool and alive. She is my heroine.
Those babies of Iris are so cute. Wonder when we are going to get some names for them.
I feel for the Mum at McEuan Park. Her mate disappeared at the end of June and she had four babies to care for and a heat dome. She has one chick left. She cannot shade it all day because she has to try and catch fish to keep them alive. Where are the fish fairies?
There are two osplets at Allins Cove East. They look good. They are approximately 21 days old.
One gorgeous chick on the Allins Cove West nest the middle of June. It has fledged.
Mum at Bridge Golf Course trying to keep her only surviving Bob cool.
All appears alright at Pitkin County in Colorado.
It will be getting even hotter in Charlo Montana. Charlie is delivering huge fish to Lola and the two survivors (the little one sadly fell off the nest doing a ps). Let’s hope they all make it.
Four big ole babies at Field Farm. That nest is really crowded. Really crowded. Jumping and flapping are going to be a challenge and the crib rails are – well, gone on one side. Stay in the nest kiddos!
Only Bob at Dunrovin appears to be doing well. Enjoying a nice fish dinner compliments of Dad Swoop and mum Winnie. (One egg DNH and the other osplet fell off the nest and died).
‘PB’ noticed that some osprey mums do not shade their chicks like Iris. She is absolutely right. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
At the Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope, the oldest has been doing a wee bit of bonking on the second. We hope it is short-lived. There have been intruders. Hope has done some fishing in past days. Both chicks appear to be doing well. I use that word a lot: ‘appear’. It is challenging to tell from streaming cam images how emaciated the birds can be. I got back to the eaglets Meadow, Sol, and Luna, who appeared to be doing fine but weren’t.
The pair of White Storklets on the Loburg nest were saved and taken to the local stork rescue and rehabilitation centre after their parents, Frieda and Emil, were missing. The storklets were nearing fledge and were ‘very’ hungry and would have perished if help had not arrived. Thank you, Storchenhof Loburg in Mockhem, Germany.
The only storklet of Bety and Bukacek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic has fledged.
Storks. Migration. Routes. A study shows that older storks get to their migration destinations faster than youngsters. Migratory behavior of storks changes over the course of their lives.
“Over a period of seven years, the scientists collected and analyzed the flight data of storks on their journeys to North Africa. This allowed them to analyze how migratory behavior changes over the course of an animal’s life. According to the scientists, they found that young storks take their time to explore new places during migration. With increasing age, however, their flights become faster and more efficient. Young storks therefore take routes that take longer, but also cost less energy. Older storks, on the other hand, optimize their migration routes in order to reach their destination more directly. According to the scientists, they consume more energy. However, the total time of their flight is shorter. Storks’ routes are also based on a wealth of experience. The results suggest that the birds use their spatial memory to find shortcuts. The researchers from Lake Constance therefore assume that individual experience is also a key factor in animal migration.”
The osplets in the Tweed Valley nests in the UK were ringed.
Another Osprey Rescue and some gifts for the rehab centre. Do you have some extra gravel sitting around? Call your local wildlife centre and see if they could use it!
Want another good story? I have posted this one previously, but it is a good reminder to us – again – that our feathered friends care about their families, will help them, and have feelings.
Inside the aviary where the chicks of Louis and Dorcha are waiting to take their first flight into the Spanish skies.
At the time of this writing, two of CJ7 and Blue 022’s chicks have fledged – Blue 5R0 and Blue 5R1. Both returned to the nest safely and hungry.
Nest #4 in Finland is doing well.
Issues surrounding food and rivalry are surfacing at the Latvian Osprey nest. This will pass as there are giant fish coming to this nest – we hope that continues and we have two fledges. Look at the size of those babies. Bells will toll across Latvia – surely – when these two take to the skies.
‘A’ reports on what is happening at the WBSE nest:
At WBSE, all is going well. Here is yesterday’s ranger report:
July 13: Another lovely day and the 16th day since the first egg was laid. An early duet and then Lady had a short break when Dad came in at 6:42. Later, a couple of short breaks with Lady calling from Ironbark Roost. Dad brought in a spray of casuarina at 8:02. Around 9am, he came in for a change-over, Lady very reluctant to get up, even as he circled her. She was even a little slow rising when he brought a mullet at 11:11 – but then she got up and fed as Dad sat. There were the usual changes during the day. Late afternoon, with Lady incubating, Dad was not seen at the river – fishing maybe? He returned at 17:17 – empty-taloned. He moved nearby, and both then settled for the night.
What is going on with the New Jersey Osprey? Don’t tell the Omega ships that there is a lot of Menhaden! They might find a way to fish those shores.
Eagle Owls in old castle ruins. Do you know this streaming cam?
Geemeff’s daily report on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Sunday 14th July 2024
A very interesting day today! We were given photos taken by LizB of the Bunarkaig chick during ringing yesterday, footage of the translocated chicks in Valencia, including ours, wingercising getting ready for lift off, and Louis brought Dorcha a fish on Nest Two. The first fish he’s brought since 5th July, and only the fifth fish delivery since the official fish count* stopped at 10am on the day the chicks were removed to join the translocation programme on 1st July. Are things getting back to normal? Difficult to say, but he and Dorcha have been spending time together and carrying out courtship rituals including coy-mantling and attempted mating, and today they had what looked like a proper tail-up mating attempt. No action on Nest One except for the busy little spider with its web visible in today’s sunshine. The forecast for tonight is misty with light winds, and dry with sunny intervals tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.14.09 (03.45.20); Nest Two 00.17.11 (03.54.45)
People have been wondering about Giliath. Here he is!
‘H’ reports: 7/14 Osoyoos osprey nest: The osplets are 34, 36, and 37 days old. Olsen knows where to find fish early in the morning, and they are usually small ones. At 0602 he dropped off a tiny fish. Middle got a few bites, but Big was the primary recipient of fish during the 3-minute meal. At 0651 Olsen brought a slightly larger fish. Middle beaked Little. Big and Middle were eating, and each time Little reached for a bite, s/he was beaked by Middle, and at one point was nearly pushed off the nest. Little did not eat at this 9-minute feeding.
Middle was once again beaked Little at 1035. Little was so close to the edge, I thought Little was going to get pushed off the nest. As Little struggled to grab a hold of sticks and climb back up to regain solid footing, he got a stick caught under his left wing, and could not get free of it. Little had that stick stuck under his wing for quite some time, and Middle took further advantage of Little in that compromised state by beaking him even more. Soo eventually seemed to help remove the stick from under Little’s wing. That whole episode was so heartbreaking to watch.
Another tiny fish was brought to the nest at 1106. It was a 3-minute meal, and Little did not eat. At 1332 Olsen delivered a large whole fish. I thought for sure that Little would be able to eat at some point during this feeding. Little was beaked several times by Middle, and was nearly pushed off the nest again. At one point, Big beaked both Middle and Little. They are all hungry. This was a 27-minute feeding…and Little did not eat a single bite of fish. Olsen double-backed with another large fish at 1422. Great! Back-to-back large fish…just what was needed so Little could eat. Middle beaked Little again. Big and Middle were set up on opposite sides of Soo, and Little ended up next to Big. We only had a partial view of Little near the top of the screen. But, it was apparent that Little was occasionally reaching in front of Big and getting bites from Soo. Little received at least 14 bites of fish that I was sure of, but possibly ate a few more. Big soon tired of that arrangement with Little, and started beaking Little intermittently. This meal lasted 28-minutes, and Little only ate about 14 bites of fish. The last fish of the day arrived at 1917, and it was a medium sized whole fish. Little was the first one at the table, and got some bites right away. Little had eaten 20 bites by 1919, but was then pushed from behind by Big. Little was able to eat another 4 bites by 1920, but then Soo moved the fish, and fed Big and Middle. It was a 6-minute feeding, Little ate 24 bites of fish, and he did seem to have a small crop. Little ate a total of approximately 38 fish bites today. Weather for Monday: Sunny, light winds, high temp 99F/37C.
7/14 Patuxent osprey nest: Little slept standing up last night for the first time…Oh, Little is a Big Man! Little was not able to eat on Saturday because his aggressive older sisters grabbed all the fish. This morning from 0520 to 0523 Mom fed Little from a leftover goldfish. That fish was then taken from Mom by one of the sibs. At 0651 Dad delivered a large headless fish and distracted the sibs, so Mom resumed eating the leftover goldfish. Little took the goldfish from Mom at 0655, and self-fed until 0731, at which time he abandoned the goldfish, and went over to Mom who now had possession of the new fish. Mom fed Little until 0802. Little had a large crop! There were other fish brought in throughout the day, but Little was not able to eat anything from those fish. There were some good wingers with leaps by Little today.
7/14 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: We are so happy for Louise after the sad season last year. Harvie is such a wonderful mate and provider for their three offspring, ages 28, 30, and 32 days. The kids are getting so big!
Thank you, ‘H’. Sadly unless there is a miracle, we are not expecting the third hatch at Osoyoos to make it because of the extreme heat. Send them good wishes. Soo and Olsen are trying — and no one is helping.
‘V’ sent in some images of the Cowlitz baby that was taken. She says, “Look at its wingspan. I wish there was someway to save the other baby”. I know that we all feel the same and wish those grates had held. They are so near fledge.
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. Send out nests all your good energy. The heat continues, the predators remain, too. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU, V,’ Loodusklender, Cowlitz PUD, The Guardian Humanitarian Macedonia, Eagle Club of Estonia, Dyfi Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, Allin’s Cove East and West, Bridge Golf, Pitkin County, Charlo Montana, Field Farm, Dunrovin Ranch, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Lindsay Wildlife, Eagle Owl Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, PLO, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Storchenneste, Mlade Buky, swr.de, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, Good News Network, Woodland Trust Scotland, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, BSE, and New Jersey Conservation.
Post Update: The second hatch at McEuan Park has died. The second hatch at Dorsett Hobby has died.
The heat produced some thunderstorms Friday night and some heavy rain. We are in another thunderstorm alert for the next few hours with loonie-size hail and 100 kph winds. The birds have been eating frantically all day. Their behaviour should have told me. Thankfully, it missed us.
It was a lovely evening at the park. Despite the signs around the pond, someone or many people were feeding the ducks. What they were feeding them was good bird seed—that is alright. And the duck population is good!
At home the little Blue Jay is having a wonderful time in the bird bath!
Little Blue Jay spent many hours playing in the bird bath. This is a very short clip.
One of the baby Cowbirds played in the water, too. It really helped to keep the birds cool on a hot day.
The shade tunnel at one side of the back garden for the birds and animals.
Being in the garden and spending time at the duck pond was a good way to step back for a few hours. It has been a tough week.
Seeing Jackie and Shadow together melts away anxiety. Ever hopeful, always loyal, these two never give up. When I get really low, they are the one raptor couple I turn to to make it all better.
Falcons help, especially soaring fledglings. Check out Alma and Lucia.
Bailey. She donates blood to help other raptors.
If you live in the United States, please read Audubon’s appeal for your help in getting the The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024 passed. Everything helps.
One of the representatives in Virginia has a son who works for Omega. Flood him with letters. The House of Representatives name is Rob Wittman. I am sure you can see the problems that the State of Virginia is having and why. Let’s try and help Virginia be as successful as New York!
The following short presentation (below) has an 8 minute film on the history of Menhaden and why it is so important. It is a keystone fish. For those in the film, they mention whales and other fish species such as tuna and bass, but we need these fish for our osprey. Menhaden is what osprey eat in this area and the Chesapeake Bay is depleted. The ospreys are starving.
This is the Director’s message:
The Montana Ospreys eat other fish. Some of those fish are trout. When the rivers get too warm the trout die. The Osprey also cannot eat. The osplets get tangled in baling twine. They have their own issues including the heat.
The message seems to have been sent from Dunrovin and Charlo Montana. Finn worked on the rails at his nest with Iris and their two chicks Saturday morning. Now we know that Iris always has one of the best nests in ‘the West’ if anywhere. It has gotten a little ruffled with all the activity this season, but the couple continues to work on it to keep their babies safe. Look at their babies with all those gorgeous juvenile feathers. Dear Iris has taken the brunt of the heat, and Finn has fished his heart out.
Everyone is concerned about how the heat is impacting Iris who so loves being a Mum and who is so lucky to have Finn. She is going to have high temperatres for another week.
At the Patchogue nest, Dad brought in fish for both Patches and Rainer! We get to see them both eating on the nest. How wonderful.
The Middle chick Blue 8B4 has fledged at Llyn Clywedog on Saturday! There he is on the right looking at us. Gosh, what a gorgeous place to take a first flight.
Fledglings in Germany at the Goitzsche-Wildnis nest continue to return to be fed by Mum or self-feed.
No fledges yet at Poole Harbour.
The heat continues to hit the Pacific Northwest. This heat is persisting and the longer it continues our Osprey prospects become more and more dire unless there is plenty of fish coming to the nest. Otherwise, in these extreme conditions the ospreys have to use the energy from the fish they do get to try and stay cool.
McEuan Park on Saturday:
Charlo Montana:
Blackbush: All three are doing well.
Great Bay: All three osplets have fledged and have returned to the nest for some of those fish dinners while they get their wings stronger.
Field Farm is doing good. Osplets getting a little antsy. Wonder how small that nest is going to feel when they all start flapping and hovering?
Sandpoint: Looks good.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Things look great. Look at the wing span of that Only Bob.
Look at the big feet on the Arboretum chick’s feet.
Cowlitz PUD: Second could get some more fish. Both osplets are alive and the eagle has not been back. Holding our breath.
Clark PUD: Only Bob is doing very well despite the heat.
Port of Ridgefield. Cam is often down but ‘PB’ caught this. Chick and Mum look good.
An osprey rescue! Thanks ‘SD’ for posting this.
The Imperial Eaglets were ringed!
At the Estonian Golden Eagle nest 2, Kristel has not had any food since Mm delivered a wood pigeon on 11 July. Dad has not been seen since 7 July.
The oldest eaglet at the Boundary Bay nest in British Columbia is still alive!
Two beautiful osplets getting those gorgeous juvenile feathers in Latvia.
‘H’ reports:
7/13 Osoyoos osprey nest: The early morning was interesting. Soo was off the nest and Olsen had been fishing. At 0501 he dropped off a tiny fish, Little took it but was beaked, then Middle took the fish. At 0503 Olsen was back with another ‘tiny’, and Big grabbed it. (I don’t think any of the kids have experience in self feeding). Middle abandoned its fish, and took Big’s fish. Soo landed in the nest with a slightly larger fish at 0507. She quickly took charge of the rather comical scene. Soo picked up fish #1 and her own fish #3. Big had fish #2 at that point but dropped it. Soo started to feed Big and Middle. Meanwhile, Little picked up fish #2, took it over to the far northeast rails, and appeared to lose it overboard. Then Olsen returned at 0515 with another tiny fish. Soo finished feeding from fish #1 and #3, and Little had managed to eat a few bites, before s/he was beaked by Middle. Then Soo fed Big and Middle from fish #4.
Olsen brought a small fish at 1252. Big beaked both Middle and Little, and Big was the only chick to eat during the 5-minute meal. There were no other fish brought to the nest that I saw. I triple checked in rewind, so I hope I didn’t miss a meal. The high temperature was 100F/38C at 1700. Olsen came to the nest several times in the late afternoon and evening, and just stayed and hung out with the family for a while each time. I don’t know if they were concerned about nearby activities. There were a lot of cars parked below the nest.
When a particular osplet is in danger of not having enough to eat to survive, I try to quantify how much they are eating, by either counting bites or estimating feeding durations. It is particularly difficult at the Osoyoos nest to quantify how much Little is eating. Quite often, the view of Little eating is blocked. Also, the live stream has been offline a couple of early mornings when Olsen usually makes many of his fish deliveries. That being said… My impression over the past three days is that Little is definitely not getting enough to eat. I’m not even sure that Middle is getting enough to eat, but Middle does usually fare better than Little. Weather forecast for Sunday: High temperature 99F/37C, sunny with winds gusting to 17 mph.
7/13 Patuxent osprey nest: At 63 days of age Little still has not fledged, but has been getting more lift during his wingercising. Little cannot compete with the two fledglings for food. They are bigger, stronger and more aggressive. There were 6 fish brought to the nest. Big managed to acquire one of them. But, Middle got all the rest, and even flew off the nest with a small fish! There were no feedings from Mom. Little did not eat today, but fortunately he ate well the day before. Need more fish, Dad!
7/13 Fenwick Island (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Today was a better day. The previous two days, Johnny’s fish deliveries had dropped to just two per day instead of his normal 5-6 per day. Today, Johnny brought 4 fish to the nest for June and 29-day-old ‘Fen’.
7/13 Colonial Beach osprey nest: There were only two fish brought to the nest. They had some morning rain showers and another shower in the afternoon. David delivered the first fish at 1120. Over 8.5 hours later Betty brought a large whole fish. Both kids ate their fill, slept off their food comas, and then they ate some more! The osplets are 18 and 19 days old.
7/13 Audubon Boathouse: Everything is splendid for this family. 29-day-old Harbor, and 25-day-old Gray seem to be getting along well.
Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Saturday 13th July 2024
Another day with little action, nothing on Nest One, and just a few early morning visits on Nest Two from Louis and Dorcha, neither seen on the nest after approximately 09.30. However, Louis spent some time sky-dancing before landing on the nest and making a couple of mating attempts with Dorcha along with coy-mantling. Of course, this is not to try for a second brood, it’s much too late in the season for that, but the mating attempts and the coy-mantling all reaffirm their pair-bond and is a healthy sign of the strength of their relationship, their fourth year together. In other news, Chaddie14 provides this update on the Bunarkaig nest: Lewis, our local raptor man, was up in the Bunarkaig nest today and found one dead chick and one healthy, possibly male, chick which he ringed. All just as was expected, so all good so far for the one chick. So success for the probable resident pair Affric 152 and Prince this year following the failure of that nest last year – we wish the surviving chick and his parents all the best. The weather was settled, and tonight’s forecast for the Inver Mallie area which covers the nests is light clouds and light winds, and sunshine tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.34.51 (03.31.49); Nest Two 23.22.11 (03.41.31)
There is sad news coming in this morning. The second hatch at Dorsett Hobby has died. Those who monitor falcon nests question the shape of the human made nest this year as it appears it was difficult for the Mum to feed or she was an inexperienced female. So sad. I wonder if there could have been an intervention early to save the chick that was obviously struggling.
‘J’ has put together the Memorial to Smallie for us. Please read through. Smallie was taken to a taxidermist and stuffed.
Summary of Seven Weeks Smallie =============================================
Hatched from the fifth egg, five days younger than his sisters, fifty days old.
Week 1
Smallie hatched on April 28, 2024, five days after the first three hatchlings. Since there are five eggs this year, it is most likely that the fourth egg did not hatch, and Smallie thus hatched from the fifth laid egg.
As an offspring, he is then much smaller than the three other hatchlings that are already five days older. This has a big disadvantage at feeding time, because Moe naturally fills the biggest mouths first. Only when there is something left will little Smallie get some bites. Miraculously, he manages to survive the first week anyway – the most crucial period. He gets just enough food not to die, but too little to grow normally.
Week 2
The first foreigners report to the chat at the webcams. Smallie immediately attracts attention because of his small size in relation to the three other hatchlings. Consequently, many think he is not going to make it, counting the number of bites he has received each day. But he turns out to be a smart and energetic little rascal who actively tries his best to get food – although it is not nearly enough to grow properly. In his attempts to get enough food he often stands close to Moe to (while she tears the prey to pieces) secretly try to pick some of the prey in her claws. But then one day when Moe shifts the prey (a pigeon) a little, Smallie ends up underneath. It remains unclear for some time whether Moe is not also tearing Smallie apart with the pigeon. Only after half an hour does he fortunately manage to get out of it in time and the viewers can breathe normally again.
Week 3
When the three oldest youngsters are ringed and turn out to be three sisters, Smallie is also measured. According to the chart, he would be 10 days old but in reality he is already 17 days – so he is 40% behind in growth development. He is too small to get a ring, and even his sex cannot be determined (due to his small size, it is only later assumed to be a male). He looks skinny and thin, but is otherwise healthy, so he is put back in the closet with the sisters to be given a chance.
Fortunately, the following days show that Moe now pays special attention to Smallie – she sometimes comes to feed him separately and at night she sits with him to keep him warm.
Week 4
The clever Smallie discovers a way to be the first to get food when Moe feeds from the grid : he crawls into the space between the grid and the nest box in the wide stone balustrade. He then sits in front and gets fed first. But unfortunately he does not manage to clamber back into the nest box after that. Suddenly he has mysteriously disappeared and everyone is extremely worried where he is and that he will not survive the night alone. It is only the next morning when he is checked that he is found safe and sound under the nest box and immediately put back in the box. The joy of his return lasted only a short time, because a few hours later he disappears in the same way. Fortunately, he returns by himself and now manages to clamber back into the hive.
He also provides some hilarious moments when he tries, for example, to pull food out of the mouth of a sister or Moe. When they raise their heads he holds on and is lifted up by his light weight.
Week 5
Moe no longer feeds individually, but on the roost gives the prey to the first one who wants it. The latter then takes it into the nest box and secretly (against the wall, with wings wide) feeds on it. The other two sisters often don’t notice this at first, but clever Smallie does. Because he is small, he will crawl under a wing and just join in.
Sometimes he is the first and only one to see that a prey is brought to the roost and then sees a chance to grab it. Hilarious is that he then tries to drag it into the nest box on his own – sometimes a pigeon almost as big as himself.
It is striking that the falcons always treat each other lovingly. The “fights” are purely about the food, not with each other. They prefer to sleep next to, on top of and against each other. When the other sisters are elsewhere, one sister often keeps Smallie company and she sleeps with him. Their greetings are very gentle and loving, with paws and beaks touching each other briefly.
Week 6
In the course of this week all three sisters fly out successfully, and Smallie ventures more and more on the grate, the walkway and to the shock of the viewers even already on the narrow edge : at 50m height and at an angle.
At the end of the week Smallie stumbles out of the railing at the grating and lands 50m down the street. Fortunately, an expert happened to be nearby, checking him : he had no broken legs or wings and was therefore brought back up immediately. It is a miracle that he survived that fall, because the small wings will have had little stopping power. It takes a day for him to get over the fright and show himself again.
Week 7
The sisters have been at the high offices near the station learning to hunt often this week, and few are seen on the tower. Only his favorite sister visits occasionally. So Smallie is alone a lot but apparently in no hurry to follow them. He often sits out of view of the cameras on the walkway. He has less and less down and is getting a beautiful plumage – though he seems on the small side even for a male.
At the end of the week he appears to be off the tower, because a little falcon is seen in the evening near St. George’s Church – sitting on a bicycle parked there. Someone took a picture of it and it does indeed turn out to be Smallie. But after the photo was taken, he disappeared again. A search the next day in the city center turns up nothing. Only in the evening is he discovered again, halfway up the tower. He manages to get to the nest box while fluttering up and is even visible again on the webcams. As a finale and last image of him on the webcams, he flies away from the roost. Against all odds, he has succeeded in achieving his first life goal : he too can leave the nest – he can fly.
Ode to Smallie
(page under construction)
This page is intended as an ode to the youngest and smallest peregrine falcon that managed to glue a huge number of viewers to the webcams daily for seven weeks in 2024 with his adventures. He stood out because of his small size, his constant fighting and his clever methods to get enough food, but also because of his mysterious disappearances, his loving scenes with his sisters, his fall from 50m high, and finally his last image on the webcams : flying away from the grid as an almost adult falcon.
He became “world famous”, because 2024 was the year that for the first time the webcams also managed to attract many viewers from abroad, with on the chats comments not only from Europe, but also from Canada, USA, Australia, India and even many from Japan, China, Korea and Russia with comments in their own language and script. The Japanese call him “Chibi-chan,” the Chinese “Xiaobao,” but most others have chosen “Smallie” (little one).
Part of the reason foreigners suddenly visited the webcams was a report on the international website “Bird Parenting.” If then only the usual four hatchlings would have been seen, most viewers would not return after a few visits. But the presence of the very small hatchling drew attention : how long would it stay alive ?
Smallie became for them the little brave hero of the daily story. Viewers sometimes forgot that it was not an expensive Disney movie, written by clever film writers, but simply conceived and performed on the spot by a family of peregrine falcons, with themselves as unpaid actors. Pure nature.
Yet the story contained many elements that appealed to people emotionally : possible death (which played a major role from the beginning), admiration (that despite his poor prospects, he continued to fight fiercely for his existence), frustration and pity (when Smallie had had another day of little food), great joy (when Moe stuffed him with a pigeon and he fell asleep while eating), excitement and uncertainty (when he was lost for hours), humor and amusement (when he once again outwitted a sister), sadness (when he was not to be seen for a long time), action (when he tries to conquer food in a clever but fierce way), fear (when he flutters on the narrow sloping edge), friendship (when his favorite sister comes to keep him company), tenderness (when he cuddles with his sisters), pride (when he finally comes to show that he can fly).
Local and national newspapers wrote extensively about the famous little falcon who had so many compassionate followers worldwide.
Unfortunately, just when he was ready to really fly out (he had already been flitting around town for a day), a fall into the canal near the OLV Tower proved fatal to him. Monday morning, June 17, he was fished out of the water there by bystanders, after which he was brought back to the second circulation with the help of the animal ambulance. Probably already shortly after this placement, he died there, as he was found dead Wednesday morning during a check on the spot where he had been put back on Monday.
Because he lay dead on the tower for a few days, the parents saw him and realized he was dead : he no longer responded to their presence, as hatchlings always do. If he had died somewhere else (at the bird sanctuary, for example, or on the way there) they would not have seen it, and would have spent days in town looking for him.
Smallie’s death was announced on the Amersfoort peregrine falcons’ own website at HetGroeneHuis, and on the chats at the webcams. Viewers could not believe it at first, but then loving and emotional messages poured in from all sides on the chats to comfort each other. He appears to have formed a tremendous emotional bond with many viewers during those seven weeks.
They also lamented the sight of the now empty nest box and the loss of seeing Smallie – although that would have been the case anyway if he had not fallen into the moat after his farewell, but had joined his sisters at the station : once flown away, the hatchlings rarely appear on the webcams.
The local and even some national media were shocked and paid attention to his death. He turned out to be a “world-famous little falcon” for good reason.
To give him a dignified end (and not just to be dumped or buried somewhere), it was decided to have Smallie stuffed and then added to the collection of stuffed animals of Bezoekerscentrum “HetGroeneHuis” in Park Schothorst in Amersfoort, so he will be permanently visible to the public. “
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB, SP‘, FOBBV Cam, SK Hideaways, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Debbie Campbell, Menhaden Defenders, Montana Osprey Project, PSEG, Llyn Clywedog, Goitzsche-Wildnis, BoPH, McEuan Park, Charlo Montana, Blackbush, Great Bay, Field Farm, MN LA, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Pam Breci, CBS News NY, Lady Hawk, Eagle Club of Estonia, HWF-BBC, LDF, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Audubon Boathouse, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Guardian, Amersfoort Falcons.
It is 40 C in Winnipeg with the heat index. So humid! We did our morning walk at the nature centre regardless packing a big container of watermelon bites and an insulated jug of water. The rain has caused everything to grow tall and the forest is cool. The breeze off the lake and the shade from the trees actually made the walk very tolerable. The delight was turning the corner and seeing a little duck, listening to the songbirds, and having a parade of over 50 Canada Geese of varying ages. I thought, for a moment, they wanted some watermelon!!!! Apparently, the pigs at the nature centre’s farm love it.
The geese came in groups, some juveniles mixed in with the adults. Everyone moving through the paths to get to the stream behind where I was sitting.
Not babies anymore. They will be ready to migrate when October arrives.
At home, Hugo Yugo decided that the perfect toy was my sun hat. She wold get under it and move towards Calico like she was going to bulldoze her down while she was drinking?
Dyson knows when I come home from the nature centre with new seed cylinders. She must have them on speed dial! I no more than get the new cylinder on the spike and she appears. I am so glad that Dyson is in such good condition. She is elderly by squirrel standards. We adore her and her kits.
Everyone is hot and wanting in the bird bath. I ‘thought’ that the Brown-headed Cowbirds had managed to sneak only one egg into the sparrow nest, but I was mistaken. There were three cowbird babies in the bird bath at the same time this afternoon. Those poor House Sparrows feeding those big things. And they are probably still feeding them.
On the far left is a baby Sparrow. You can see the size difference between the Cowbird. Both are ‘babies’.
Reets asked me if I tried the ice in the bird baths. Yes, I did. It is fantastic. I am thinking about embedding peanuts in one of the forms. Meant to take some photographs and forgot and by the time I remembered everything had been chipped away or melted. The birds did love the ice.
I am just getting news from ‘AM’ that one of the osplets was taken by an owl at nest #3 Finland. Mum tried to fight it off but to no avail.
Menhaden. I want you to dream about that word. It is those little fish that the Ospreys need in the NE United States to stay alive. I am embarrassed that Omega, a Canadian company, is taking millions of tonnes of this fish out of the Chesapeake Bay. The Ospreys are only one part of this. Heidi sent me this post by the son of the owner of Captain Mac’s Fish House. That is Fenwick Island. We are watching their osprey. He is also the manager of the fish house. This was two years ago – even the fish could not survive without Menhaden. Neither can the whales. It is time to stop them. I wonder if anyone is brave enough to do it — or will it take us, demanding a stop because of the destruction of the entire bay? The impact on the ospreys is worse than DDT, and they were almost completely wiped out then.
Note to everyone: Omega sells fish oil for humans. They are taking the krill from the Arctic that the whales and seals need. Do humans need supplements? My doctor says ‘no’.
Today’s message from Brian Collins at the Little Fish-Big Deal FB page. If you live in the US, read the notice by the Audubon Society below and write to your representative to save our ospreys.
These were the Omega ships on Thursday.
The other huge risk this year has been dehydration. Gary that does the FORE videos has put together an hour long informative video about the impact of dehydration in light of the deaths of Luna and Sol. But it is not only eagles that are at risk due to dehydration – it is ospreys and all the other animals!
Blue 8B3, the first hatch at Llyn Clywedog, a male, fledged on Friday the 12th of July. It was a beautiful flight off the nest banking to the right over the forest. Blue 8B3 returned safely to the nest.
The third hatch at the Janakkalan Nest in Finland died on the 7th of July from siblicide/starvation (as far as I know). The surviving two were ringed on Friday the 12th.
Video of the ringing by the 85 year old bander.
Beautiful chicks being fed at Saaksilvie 1 in Finland:
Sunnie Day posted a very interesting rescue of an Osprey. Very interesting, indeed.
Doing a bit of a roll call on some of the nests we have been watching:
Niagara Bee: All is well with the trio!
Hellgate Canyon, Iris and Finnegan: Might be a good name because of the heat! Iris is doing everything she can to protect her two precious babies in the searing heat wave.
Charlo Montana: Sad news this morning. Little fell over the edge of the nest and died. Please, please help the ospreys by secring their nests for them if you own a streaming cam! You need to do annual maintenance on the cameras so put up a secure railing, high, around the nest! Others in Wales do this for their birds. Their babies don’t fall overboard! Two babies this week lost because of a lack of a railing.
So sad. You were so healthy with such promise, little one.
Like Finnegan, Charlie is trying to get fish on the nest for Lola and the three osplets. Hot, hot.
McEuan Park, Idaho: Mom is off the nest fishing. Chicks not covered with shade. It is unclear what has happened to Dad, if anything. This nest really needs fish, several deliveries close together so #2 can get enough fish to survive. Two chicks already dead.
Later. Both chicks appear to have crops at McEuan Park.
‘PB’ caught a good ‘ps’ out of Two. It has to be eating. Relief.
Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum: 87-90 degrees F. Rain forecast for tomorrow.
Snow Lane, Newfoundland: Some fish are larger than others. The little one sometimes looks like it could use a little extra fuel. Tiny compared to Big sibling.
Field Farm: All is well with the Fab Four. This nest amazes me along with the few others that have four. Little Mini made it! Can you pick them out?
Outerbanks: ‘H’ reports that the names for the chicks are Bonker and Dodger. Quite fitting! Dodger fledged on Friday!
Sandpoint: Keo is getting some fish to the nest for Keke and River. Hot there as well – the general condition at most of the nests in the Pacific Northwest.
Clark PUD: Dad is getting fish on the nest and the Only Bob is good.
Dunrovin: It’s a cooker. Swoop is working hard for Winnie and remaining chicks.
Moraine Park: Heidi reports that the Only Bob is good.
Cowlitz PUD: Two Surviving chicks are still on the nest after the Bald Eagle took Little on Friday morning the 12th. Dad had delivered a fish and Electra was feeding the two larger siblings. Little was at the top of the nest. The eagle possibly followed Dad to try and get the fish. When it couldn’t, it took Little. An opportunistic moment on the eagle’s part. I was somewhat disheartened that the eagle came through the place where there is no fish grid. Let’s hope it doesn’t return.
Dyfi: Idris and Telyn have three beautiful osplets, Gwenlais, Coron, and Senni. They could fly any day. My money is on the only male, Senni, to go first to get away from his big sisters!
Poole Harbour: A beautiful family portrait – CJ7 and Blue 022 and the Fab Four.
News from Cal Falcons:
Geemeff reports on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Friday 12th July 2024
Today’s main story is seeing footage of the Spanish aviary where our two 2024 Arkaig chicks are now living, and the big thrill of having 1JR walk right in front of the camera giving us a good look at him. He looks in great condition and holding his head up, not thin, weak and submissive as he was before removal, and ready to play his part in helping establish a thriving Osprey population in Valencia. Nest One had some little visitors before Garry LV0 arrived bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of housekeeping. Over on Nest Two, Louis did the same, bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of nest-scraping, although Dorcha let him know she would much rather have fish. The weather was settled and should remain so with tonight’s forecast of light cloud and light winds, continuing through tomorrow. Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.31.09 (03.36.57); Nest Two 23.17.57 (03.38.38) Today’s videos: https://youtu.be/Nb4V8EKa_os WTS tweets and footage of our chick 1JR in the Spanish aviary https://youtu.be/6qeyNmLWYWc N1 Little birds visit – Great Tits and juvenile Robins, possibly 06.34.00https://youtu.be/Zv55S0PD-T0 N2 Dorcha arrives fish-calling, Louis arrives but brings no fish 09.02.36
‘H’ gives us her reports: “7/12 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was once again offline from 0300 to 0915. We probably missed Olsen’s first couple of fish deliveries. At 0918 Olsen dropped off a small whole fish. Middle beaked Little, and Big beaked both of its sibs. It was a 6-minute feeding, and Big was the only one that ate. The next meal was a tiny fish at 0959 that lasted 3-minutes. Little managed 10 bites of fish before being beaked. Middle was not able to get to the table. Olsen brought another ‘tiny’ at 1022. There was more beaking by Big. Middle managed to grab 2 bites of fish before being beaked by Big…and Little had nothing to eat during the 3-minute meal. At 1037 another tiny fish was delivered by Olsen. Little had squeezed around the right side of Soo and ate approximately 16 bites of fish. Big was eating at Soo’s left, and Middle could not get into position. It was another 3-minute feeding. So far, of the four feedings we viewed this morning, Middle has had 2 bites of fish, and Little has eaten 26 bites.
It was a warm day with light winds. Temp at 1500 was 97F/36C. Olsen did not make another delivery until 1505, and it was a large whole fish. Middle was the primary aggressor toward Little. Big and Middle ate, one on each side of Soo. There was only room for two at the table, and each time Little tried to approach s/he was intimidated. It was a 12-minute meal and Little did not eat. The final fish arrived at 2002, and it was a large partial fish. Once again, Middle beaked Little. But, Middle stayed back, and Little managed to get a few bites on the other side of Soo, that is until Soo moved the fish. At 2006 Soo flew off with the fish, but returned 15 seconds later. At that point, Middle was right up at Soo’s beak and ate a few bites, until it decided it would rather beak Little. When Middle did that, Big took that spot at the table. By 2009 Little was eating at Soo’s right side for a couple of minutes, until s/he was beaked by Middle, and then Middle took that spot at Soo’s beak. It was a 23-minute meal, and Big ate well. Middle and Little both ate ‘some’, but I could not tell how much. Middle had a moderate sized crop, and Little’s crop was small. It will be another hot and sunny day on Saturday, with the high temp predicted to be 99F/37C, and 12 mph winds.
7/12 Colonial Beach osprey nest: It was a rainy day at the nest. We were worried about Little, because s/he seemed to be chilled and shivering a lot. Perhaps Betty could have kept her littles a bit drier. There were three meals today, and it was concerning that Little did not want to eat at the first two meals. Finally, at around 1930 David brought a large headless fish, 8 hours since the last fish. Little was eager to eat…good! Both kids ended up with good crops. Little was still shivering though, and it was quite a while before Betty provided them with some warmth from her body.”
A Woodpecker comes to check on the Dorsett Hobbies when Mum is away.
The White Stork Project at Knepp Farm has been deemed a huge success this season.
What is the Golden Eaglet doing with its dead sibling?
Humans and Wildlife. India’s Flamingoes are facing great challenges.
“This migration season has been particularly deadly for migrating flamingos in India, and these collisions are highlighting the ever-increasing tensions between human development and wildlife. “
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care of yourselves. Stay cool! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, letters, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AM, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Nesting Bird Life and More, Matt McGuigal, Brian Collins, Audubon, William Dunn, FORE, Gary’s Videos, Llyn Clywedog, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Sunnie Day, OBA, Niagara Bee, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, McEuan Park Osprey Cam, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Outerbanks, Sandpoint, Dunrovin Ranch, Heidi McGrue, Cowlitz PUD, Dyfi Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, White Stork Project, Nesting Birdlife and More, Birdlife International, SK Hideaways, Osoyoos, and Colonial Beach.
