Category Archives: migration

Maya’s home! hatch at Achieva, Egg at Centreport …Sunday in Bird World

19 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

If you live in the United Kingdom, Happy Mother’s Day! And what a fantastic day it is with Maya landing on the nest. Blue 25 is there, and our guilty male, Blue 33, comes in with a fish! Thanks, Geemeff, for the head’s up!

Look at Blue 33’s eyes – like, oh gosh, what do I do now? Too funny. Go home, Blue 25. You just wanted free fish anyway!!!!!!! This is such a relief!

Oh, you can almost ‘smell’ spring on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting, and we have reached the balmy temperature of -5 C. Incredible. the Pileated Woodpecker has decided the garden is a good breakfast stop, and I must remember to fill up the suet logs for him. The Sparrows are singing and one Blue Jay has returned. Meanwhile, the Chickadees are busy in a tree in the front where I cannot see them. Are they making a nest?

Lewis has loved watching the squirrels and birds out the garden door! So happy he enjoys looking outside and not getting into mischief 24/7. He has only been inside the fridge twice now, and I have discovered that the loose tea packets sound like cat treats. I could not imagine what was making him so crazy. Of course, then he just had to have some treats. LOL. Thankfully he runs it all off during the day and night. Meanwhile, Missy lets Lewis get into trouble. She waits til the middle of the night for her turn when no one is looking!

After all the running around watching the birds and squirrels from room to room, Lewis is exhausted! Guess who takes up the entire big dog bed? and who has to sleep in the little basket?

The first hatch of the 2023 season for Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Platform in St Petersburg, Florida came Saturday morning! 10:22:21 seems to be about the time. These are Tiny Tot Tumbles parents and there are two more eggs to hatch. Congratulations to everyone at Achieva.

Jack looks down at his new baby – proud dad.

M15 seemed to be entered into some speed fishing derby this morning. He brought four fish to the nest for the Es, nice size fish, from 0927-12:54. I stopped watching after that, knowing that the pair were good to go for another 48 hours if necessary! M15 didn’t stop with those four deliveries, he kept on going! Are you trying to impress the new lady, M15, like you have impressed us this year?

So many fish and birds were landing on the nest today that 22 was eating one and had a spare! And 21 was so full he didn’t want it. My last count of deliveries was six.

At 17:54, M15 came down from his branch and fed the eaglets the bird that he had brought. Talk about sweet.

Lady Hawk gives us some close ups of the female and in the background you can hear E22 squeeing very loudly – if he didn’t we would think something was wrong, right? Gosh, I am going to miss that sound!

M15 has already brought in food to the Es on Sunday morning as I prepare to publish this blog. Amazing Dad and Mum.

We all love Indigo. We also know that Diamond and Xavier do, too. Alas, they are trying hard to suggest to Indigo that he is now old enough to strike out and find his territory, and it isn’t their scrape box! Poor Indigo. Oh, this reminds me of life with Izzi!!!!

Cute little Xavier. He will let Diamond take care of Indigo!

If you have been watching the Moorings Park Osprey platform, the beaking is sometimes very difficult. Abby is quite the aggressive young lady when she wants to be, and she signals to Victor she is the boss. You need to watch the feedings because Victor is getting fed. That is what we want to see. Victor eating. And he is!

The key is for the one being beaked and being submissive to never look the dominant chick in the eye. It seems to set them off. The feedings below were at 11:26 and 14:21.

The dominant chick needs to be reassured that they will get food. The younger ones learn, if necessary, to give in to that and wait their turn. Abby now has a darker, blacker head.

Victor does not always get fed at every meal. The key is that he is eating and this phase should pass. There is plenty of food and both Harry and Sally are good parents. It is part of growing up on an osprey nest. At the 1654 feeding, Victor was in an awkward position. I presume he wanted to stay out of Abby’s way. He did get some fish.

That is Victor up at Sally’s beak. He is getting some bites of the fish before Abby attacks. She is being extremely aggressive despite there being enough fish for both. Let us hope that Abby goes into food coma and Victor gets some more.

Abby leaves the feed with a nice crop and Victor wants Sally to keep feeding. Where is the fish, Mum?

Victor is fish-calling. There is nothing left. What we need, is for Harry to fly to the nest with another great big fish for the last meal. Fill Abby up, and then Victor can have a good old feed. That is what he needs.

The one thing I like about eagles is that they leave prey on the nest for the Mum to feed the babies. Ospreys do not do that. They do not leave anything that will attract predators or insects. So Sally and the chicks are heavily reliant on Harry for prompt deliveries. Any break in the pattern will set the dominant chick off into survival mode where they worry that food is in short supply.

These images are from an earlier feed in the afternoon.

If you were watching the Moorings, Harry came in right on time with a nice chunk of fish. It was 19:12. Abby was still full and Victor was right up at the table! Victor is the one that is lighter and with the more copper head.

Victor is still getting fed at 1937 – so a 25-minute dinner. Note that Abby is in a food coma and does not care what is happening. This is how you keep a nest from falling into siblicide. Good management of deliveries when things get ticklish. Over the years, I have seen the female remove fish from the nest and return with it to feed the little one once the dominant pass out. (A good example was Blue35 at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria 2 years ago).

Victor is still fed at 19:45. Abby is now at the table. No worries for our little one tonight. He just ate a huge amount of fish!!!!!!!!!!! Throughout, Victor continued to do crop drops to hold more food. Smart.

Even with Abby there, Victor has not backed down and continues to be fed. This is all good. It is 19:48. There is also a lot of fish left. Thanks, Harry!

R4 and R5 each had nice crops when I checked in on a late-feeding Saturday. Rose is getting there. Just have patience. There is plenty of food for these two, and she has Ron as a backup as she learns her new role.

Ron giving them an early morning feed.

Rose feeding in the afternoon.

Evening meal compliments of Dad, Ron. I did not see one of the eaglets eat. Full from an earlier meal? Issues? We would expect both to have their beaks up. It has been difficult to see how much prey the little ones get on the one camera as the adult’s back is to us, blocking the view.

Jackie and Shadow are still taunting us with the thoughts of a replacement clutch. Jackie was in the nest bowl yesterday and both were at Big Bear again today. We wait.

Jackie wasn’t the only one to check out the egg bowl. Shadow joined in the action, too. Now we need something to fill that ‘egg’ cup!

At the nest of Martin and Rosa at Dulles-Greenway, the third hatch was underway Saturday night as the sun was setting. Last year they raised a single super-eaglet. This year the pair are going to be triply busy!

Worried about the two eaglets at Duke Farms? Don’t. They are both doing fantastic.

Sometimes you get lucky, and today was one of those days. Tico and Pearl were up on their nest at Superbeaks, getting fed by Muhlady! They are doing precisely what eaglets are supposed to do. Remember this. When they fledge, they should return to the nest where the parents feed them while they, the eaglets, get their flying and hunting skills perfected. This can be a month or a little longer.

Connick is no longer ‘little Connick’. Clive and Connie continue to sit on the branches on the natal nest showing Connick where he will branch.

At the nest of Trey, KNF-E1, the GHO attacked all night! Poor little eaglet. Listen and watch how well Trey protects itself.

Oh, how I miss seeing the action at the nest of Thunder and Akecheta. What a blessing it is that they come to the old cliffs and nest so that we can see they are alright. Both eaglets were there on and off today, early morning and at dusk.

What an amazing eagle. I would love to see you with those little ones this year, Akecheta. You were incredible with the trio last year!

As we all know, it has been a turbulent season at the Centreport Bald Eagle nest on Long Island. Dad is no longer with us and there were a number of suitors vying for Mum and the nest. There was even a death spiral between two of then – D4 and D5. Neither died. The winner appears to be D3! Now, it looks like there is an egg.

Why is Mum not incubating the egg 24/7? It is called delayed incubation. This helps all eggs laid to hatch closer together and ultimately helps stop siblicide on nests!

A visitor was at the nest of Gabby and V3 in St Petersburg, Florida. An Osprey! According to Gracie Shepherd, this osprey is a regular visit to this nest. His name is Bogey, and he is waiting for his mate, Bacall. Someone liked the movies that named these two! Time 16:57.

Big Red and Arthur have been mating and continue to work on their nest on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. L4, the feisty little hatch from 2022, remains in or near the territory of her parents. They have tried to suggest she move but it looks like L4 is staying put.

The storks are back in Germany. These storks are in Chemnitz-Wittgensdorf and have their nest on an old industrial factory’s chimney. The nest is approximately 28 m off the ground. Here is the link to their camera which is part of a research project with the Saxon State Foundation for Nature and the Environment (LANU Sachsen).

https://www.youtube.com/live/pgtil9B_7qw?feature=share

BirdLife International does not want us to give up. Their scientists want us to understand that there are conservation efforts that are being rewarded. The following articles remind us of this, “For example, in 2005, the Azores Bullfinch was Europe’s most threatened bird, with a population of just 40 pairs. SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) helped to restore its native laurel forests, and it now numbers more than 1,000 individuals. On the other side of the globe, the Tahiti Monarch is recovering from just 19 birds through the hard work of SOP Manu (BirdLife in French Polynesia), who have managed to control not one, but nine invasive species.” We have to get out there and do what is necessary. What is good for our birds is also good for us! and our planet.

https://www.birdlife.org/projects/preventing-extinctions-bringing-the-worlds-most-threatened-birds-back-from-the-brink/

Migration is so dangerous. It is so hard to imagine the distance travelled in such a short time and the challenges that all the birds face. The other day the news carried a photograph of a kestrel that had flown from the southernmost part of Africa up to Northern Europe. Incredible. I am starting to use the other maps available to track the Black Storks of the Karula National Forest in Estonia as well as following the news on Looduskalender.

Still no news from Kaia or Bonus.

Remember to do what you can to protect their habitat, to save them from rodenticides, fly traps, song bird traps, shootings, monofilament line, lead ammunition and fishing gear, galvanised items, and the more than other 4o or more things that impede their lives.

We will be watching many places for a hatch, but Bella and Smitty at the NCTC nest – who have been fending off intruders – should have a pip on the 22nd of March. Getting ready for pip watch with Liberty and Guardian at Redding, too.

There continues to be no transmission from Zoe.

Thank you so much for being with me today and to those who wrote in hoping to help find out who banded Blue KW0. It is a considerable mystery with no records in Scotland, Canada or the US, but we hope to locate a bander in the Caribbean who did. Keep your fingers crossed. I will let you know if we are lucky! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, announcements, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, Geemeff and LRWT, Achieva Credit Union, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Moorings Park Ospreys, WRDC, FOBBV, Dulles-Greenway, Window to Wildlife, Tonya in NO, IWS and Explore.org, Lisa Schwartz and the Bald Eagles of Centreport, NY, NEFL-AEF, Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, LANU Sachsen, BirdLife International, Looduskalender Forum, and FORE.

16 fish for Trey, hatches and arrivals…Saturday in Bird World

18 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is the start of the weekend. What is going to happen today in Bird World? The Ospreys are arriving in the UK. It is like each one got a separate train car, so one or two arrive, we take a breath, and another is spotted on a nest! It is going to be a busy few days.

Before we get to what is happening at the Eagle and Osprey nests, I want to update you on Karl II and his Black Stork family. We have not heard from Karl II since he landed in Chad in September. His tracker is working and he has begun his journey back to the Karula National Forest Black Stork Nest in Estonia. We wait for the tracker to kick in for his mate, Kaia. Now, to get home through Ukraine. What a relief. There is also news of Waba, who remains in Sudan foraging.

The latest tracking has Karl II heading to Khartoum.

Waba remains in Sudan between Murshid and New Halfa.

Sometimes you wonder what is happening. Then you go back to information that you already know and apply it to see if it is a fact in the new instance. So, the Red-tail Hawk Big Red fills her eyases up with food if she doesn’t want them to fledge. It could be a sunny day, and you wonder what she is doing, and then a storm comes, and you go ‘right’ – eyases can’t fly with wet feathers. So, on Friday, Anna and Louis brought 16 fish to Trey on the Kisatchie National Forest E1 nest. Wowzers.

M15 has been busy. There were at least five prey deliveries to E21 and 22 on Friday—feast and then famine—just like life in the wild. M15 is teaching these two so much! Or are the females leaving him alone today so he can hunt?

Vija gives us the video of the fifth delivery of the day. Look at that mantling job of 22!!!!!!!!!! We are all so proud of you, little one.

Oh, and a fish. 22 is making up for 21 stealing all its fish.

This is what E21’s branching looked like from the ground. Thank you Lisa Russo, SW Florida and Saunders Photography!

Here is that branching in a video clip by Lady Hawk.

Today and a few days old…hard to imagine.

Good night M15, good night Es.

It is no secret that I worry about eaglets that have a difference – such as two days – in their hatch or if they have a first-time Mum, OR if both of these instances collide. I have fretted over Rose’s feeding techniques at the WRDC nest. She is getting there slowly. It reminds me of Anna at the KNF-E1 nest two years ago with her first eaglet, Kisatchie. She gave him huge bites, and he didn’t know how to hold his head. Of course, they figured it out, and he fledged, big and bold. Rose is figuring it out, and Ron is helping her!

It is 1700 at the Moorings Park Osprey platform. Sally is stuffing Abby and Victor. The pair behave themselves during the feedings (most of the time) and do their usual beaking about when Sally isn’t brooding. That is pretty normal and as long as both are eating well, everything should be fine. It is sometimes difficult to watch as they can get really rough with one another.

It is hot and Sally is shading the babies while they eat. (So difficult to get a good screen captures of them).

You can see the thermal down coming in. Look at those little bodies below. I always think it must make them ‘cranky’ – all that itching and hormone changes.

Notice the copper-red feathers coming in at the head on Victor, below.

Our cute fluffy chicks look more like their relatives, the dinosaurs today. Of course, they are actually dinosaurs.

If you squint, you can see those crops getting full. All is well at the Moorings. That is Victor closest to you.

Harry brought in a nice fish at 1915 and Sally immediately began ‘stuffing’ Abby and Victor. Their crops were so full they could hardly move after. Well done, Sally!

Victor has his beak wide open! Just look at how dark these two are now.

There are two hatches (3?) at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey Platform. The camera drives me crazy as it is so low a resolution that you can hardly see what is happening. That is why I do not report on this nest very often. You can tell there are two because of the stripes on their back if you look close enough – squint, hard!

At the Achieva Osprey nest, Diane is not allowing Jack to come and incubate, and she is acting as if there could be a hatch. The three eggs were laid on 08, 11, and 14 of February making the oldest 37 days today.

The two eaglets at Duke Farms are nothing short of being little darlings. So sweet. No trouble. Experienced parents, and the weather has turned warm enough for them to be out from underneath Mum and Dad for a bit.

Rosa and Martin are working hard to keep the two new Dulles-Greenway eaglets fed and warm – DG3 and DG4. Will there be a DG5? They are our little fluff balls today, just like the ones at the WRDC. I am always fascinated by the eaglets, some born with those dark goggles and some not.

Shadow and Jackie have been on and off the nest today at Big Bear. We are all waiting and watching you two!

Baiba gives a montage of the work that Jackie and Shadow did a couple of days ago! We are in suspense as to how this will work out but…hopeful.

Meanwhile, Liberty and Guardian are getting no rest at their nest in Redding, California this year. They can hardly incubate their only egg without an intruder popping up.

Blue 33 has been a busy boy since he returned from migration. Goodness gracious, the energy he has. Not only has he had to hang out with Blue 25, who seems to be wanting to hedge her bets in case her mate doesn’t return, but he has also been caught mating with 25 and even brought her a fish. Incredible.

Maya and Blue 33 are a ‘super’ couple having raised two sets of four osplets. Some nests have trouble keeping up with two chicks – not these two. Many of you have asked about the ospreys that kick other male’s eggs out of the nest. I often post a video of a couple but I did not realise that Blue 33 was one of them until today when Geemeff sent me the following note:

#Maya got her name in 2014, was known as #Mrs5R and was paired with #Blue28. She’d laid 3 eggs but then #Blue33 arrived, evicted Blue28, kicked out the eggs and spent the rest of the season bonding with Maya. The pair returned the following year and to date have 23 chicks!

Geemeff, 17 March 2023

Geemeff added that we do not know how old Maya is; she is unhinged. Blue 33 is a 2011 hatch. Blue 25 is the long-time mate of Blue 11. Both hatched in 2010, and the couple has been together since 2013.

Blue 25 is relaxing a little too much in the nest Blue 33 is building for his mate, Maya.

Osprey arrival at Theave! They are coming and they are coming in steady!

How many of you could write an article for The Guardian on how birds changed your life or inspired you to love birds? I bet every one of you! Here is an interesting read about someone who fell in love with an NZ parrot, the Kea.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/16/the-new-zealanders-have-finally-done-it-theyve-turned-me-into-a-bird-lover?CMP=share_btn_link

Anyone who knows me, understands that Mr Crow is a big part of my life. Last year, he blessed me by bringing his three fledglings to my garden many times daily until they came on their own. It was the same with Junior, the Blue Jay. Today, one of the Blue Jays came to the garden along with a Pileated Woodpecker. Spring is coming! The woodpecker has been here all winter but, the Blue Jays took off late in the year. So nice to have them back. But, back to the Crows. ‘R’ sent me a very interesting article that I would like to share with you. Its focus is on the repopulation or the saving of the Crows

This crow is ‘very intelligent’ — and it’s struggling to survive in the wild

Plans to repopulate Hawaii’s forests with its “very intelligent” crows have been upended in part by its natural predator, the Hawaiian hawk. Now scientists are tracking the hawk in order to save the corvids.

By Dino Grandoni

March 17, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

FERN ACRES, Hawaii — Amy Durham wound the straps under the wing, over the wing, under the other wing, over the other wing, making sure the backpack-like device stays comfortably strapped to the Hawaiian hawk for many months.

“This may be your best work yet,” said Diego Johnson, one of her colleagues holding the straps on the chocolate-colored hawk’s chest as Durham secured a lightweight GPS transmitter to its back.

These San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance researchers are trekking around the mountainous jungles of Hawaii’s Big Island not just to understand the ‘io, one of the state’s only birds of prey, which is considered at risk. It’s crucial, too, for restoring an even more endangered bird species — the ‘alalā, or Hawaiian crow.

Known for its problem-solving abilities, the Hawaiian crow is one of the most remarkable bird species in the world. The ‘alalā, whose name means to “yell” in the local language, is one of the only birds in the world known to naturally use — and even make — its own tools.

Yet this distinctive crow that many dub “very intelligent” has been extinct in the wild for two decades, with the only about 120 alive in human care today.

So far, plans to repopulate Hawaii’s forests with its native crows have been upended in part by the ‘io. The hawks are the crows’ natural predator, and have come after the corvids during prior reintroduction efforts.

The ʻio, the endemic and endangered native Hawaiian hawk species, is one of only two native raptors found in Hawaii. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

The wing feathers of an ʻio. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

The talons of an ʻio are tagged by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance scientists before its release for future identification. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

By tracking the hawks, scientists with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources are trying to figure out where it is safest to reintroduce the crows so they can again thrive in the wild. At the heart of their research is a riddle: How do you protect two rare birds when one keeps attacking the other?

“They’ve coexisted for many, many, many years,” said Bryce Masuda, conservation program manager for the zoo. Now his team is trying to get these two bird species found nowhere else on Earth to coexist again.

Bringing back a ‘family god’

Ever since people set foot in the Hawaiian archipelago, humans have been enthralled by the islands’ crows.

Its glossy black feathers adorned Native Hawaiian robes. Its imposing beak and piercing eyes led some families to regard the ‘alalā as a manifestation of an ‘aumakua, or “family god” that watches over them.

When Capt. James Cook arrived in Hawaii in 1778, many murders of crows stalked the islands’ volcanic hillsides.

The Mauna Loa eruption of 2022 is seen at dawn from the southeast area of Hawaii Island. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

A fence line along a gravel road separates invasive animals from the native forest in the Puʻu Makaʻala Natural Area Reserve. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

An ʻalalā, the endemic and endangered Hawaiian crow species, on an aviary window at the Maui Bird Conservation Center. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

Over the centuries, a variety of factors — disease, destruction of forests for farming and cattle ranching and predation by cats and other nonnative animals — conspired to drive the crow’s population down.

By 1992, there were only 13 ‘alalā in Hawaii’s forests. The last wild ones were spotted a decade later. The only ‘alalā known to exist today live in a pair of breeding centers run by the San Diego Zoo on the Big Island and Maui.

A picture of one of the survivors caught the attention of Christian Rutz, a behavioral ecologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

For more than a decade, he had studied a different corvid species called the New Caledonian crow. Without any training, chicks in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, pick up sticks to collect grubs from crevices. At the time, no other crow was known to naturally use tools.

But Rutz suspected there were others. When he saw the Hawaiian crow’s straight beak and forward-facing eyes — features perfect for holding and manipulating twigs — he phoned the San Diego Zoo’s bird conservation center.

A manager told him the Hawaiian crows were always flying around with sticks in their bills. Rutz was stunned. “I booked myself pretty much onto the next flight to Hawaii,” he said.

The Washington Post, 17 March 2023

There are osprey sightings at Chesapeake Conservancy and Patuxent today, too!

If you have been looking for the GROWLS streaming cam, it doesn’t exist. Possibly because of the attention last season, the land owners do not want a camera on the nest where Junior hatched, and Malala was adopted. Sharron Palmer-Hunt advises that they will put up the camera that they have when a suitable nest is located.

Since it is St Patrick’s Day when I am writing, let us all wish the luck of the Irish to Jak and Audacity at Sauces Canyon. Their seventh egg – lucky number 7 – is still holding!

There are many in the UK fighting for justice for the raptors. Trying to get those that are responsible for maintaining the laws to do their job. It is incredibly frustrating to find the evidence and then stand bewildered when no one does enough about it to cause real change. Hats off to those who diligently work for the raptors.

Isn’t it time that game shooting was stopped?

If you live in the UK, why not add your name to help stop the trawling of Sandeels so that birds like the Puffins can continue to have a food source?

Thank you so much for being with me today. I will try and include a look at a few other nests that have been neglected at the weekend. Take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘R’, ‘Geemeff’, Kisatchie National Forest E-1, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Vija and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Lisa Russo and SW Florida Eagles and Saunders Photography, Lady Hawk and Sw Florida Eagles, WRDC, Moorings Park Ospreys, VGCCO, Achieva Credit Union, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, FOBBV, Baiba and FOBBV, FORE, Theave Ospreys, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Chesapeake Conservancy and Explore.org, IWS and Explore.org, Raptor Persecution UK, and @MeganMcCubbin.

Laddie, Darling. You’re Home!

17 March 2022

It doesn’t get much better than this – and if you are wondering about Osprey behaviour, Laddie or LM12 at the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland, could teach some of the younger males a thing or two.

Laddie’s mate, Blue NC0 landed on the nest first on the 17th. She kept looking around and then she laid down in the nest bowl looking to her left. She ‘knew’ he was coming! Laddie arrives at 13:43. Both of the Loch of the Lowes ospreys are home safely from their winter migration.

What does Laddie do? He gets busy getting his gal a fish. Then he starts cleaning up the nest and the nest bowl. Yeah, Laddie. What a great mate you are for Blue NC0!

Duck and cover just in case there is a crash landing. Here comes Laddie!

How excited can an Osprey be? They have just flown from Africa, albeit they stopped along the way but still, here they are, immediately getting down to the business of readying for the 2023 breeding season. I sure wasn’t moving furniture around after my short holiday!

The fish delivery came at 15:12. Laddie had only been home an hour and a half and a fish gift for Blue NC0. That is the way to win the heart of your mate and reassure them you are still up to providing for her and the kids.

Laddie testing out the nest cup.

Want to watch Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0? Here is the link to their camera!

https://www.youtube.com/live/dl3n3PHd-h0?feature=share

Thank you for joining me for this brief update on the LOTL Osprey nest. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust for their streaming cam and Geemeff alerting me to the fish delivery!

Soap opera at Rutland, Both home at LOTL, R5 is here…It’s crazy on Friday in Bird World

17 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish friends. Growing up, I was always told that the paternal part of my father’s family was from Scotland. No way. They were from Donegal and Cork!

There is so much happening in Bird World that I am having difficulty keeping up this morning. Eagle eggs pipping, hatching, eaglets branching (yeah, 21), and ospreys arriving in the UK as they all got on the Eurostar together! Even so, the kittens would feel entirely left out if I didn’t include some pictures. They enjoyed and were spoiled by the young ladies looking after them while I was away. It also seemed that they were as delighted to see me! Lewis decided to help put things in the fridge – yes, he did get in there – and also helped block the cashmere sweaters. That is a tip if you come to Canada during the winter – a cashmere turtle neck will be your best friend! Or other real wool clothing. Makes all the difference.

Lewis is the smallest, but he can take over the entire dog bed! Missy is too nice to him.

I have not watched the SW Florida nest much today – just on and off. I know the prey deliveries vary by day. Both eaglets continue to do fine as they approach their 11th week, and 21 branched on the spike. They had both been working on breakfast Dad had brought in, and 21 jumped up and down. Is this a real official branch up to the tree? Well, maybe not. If so, that won’t be long!

This is a compilation video from the 5th of March – so 12 days ago. It is lovely, and I thought it would inspire the rest of our Friday—beautiful images from one of the on-ground photographers in the area. It gives us an entirely different sense of what is happening. M15 is magnificent. Thank you to The Real Saunders Photography!

For awhile it was in doubt but R5 made it into the world when Dad, Ron, was on the nest. I cannot wait to see Rose’s face when she returns and finds two babies in the nest needing her attention instead of that pesky R4. Oh, R5 you are going to have to be strong little one.

Ron got up from brooding so that R5 could break free.

Well, R4. You are a spunky little character. Poor R5.

It seems that R5 is pretty strong, too. It was up hoping to get some fish after its feathers had dried off! My goodness. Ron and Rose make healthy robust eaglets!

Ron has been doing a fantastic job feeding R4, and he will undoubtedly be of great help with R5. Rose continues to give big pieces and, well, as ‘A’ notes, she loves her fish. Fingers crossed for this new Mum as she navigates two growing babies demanding food!

I do hope, as ‘A’ mentioned this morning, that Rose will stay on the nest more and let Ron out so that he can fish and hunt and protect the territory.

There are now two eaglets at the Dulles-Greenaway nest! Congratulations Martin and Rosa!

The beaking is still going strong on the Moorings Osprey nest. Harry continues to bring the food in, and I hold my breath every time I see the oldest one go after the youngest.

Will be happy when this period of their lives evaporates! There had been little beaking at meal times, but, it appears this has begun, and Abby is being very dominant. So far Sally has fed them both – so, go for it Sally. Give those 8 or 9 feedings with one an hour long. Fledge two!

So far, there have been five feedings on the 16th of March: 12:26; 02:34 (yes 2 in the night), 0803; 10:43, and an hour-long marathon at 13:14. I caught another feeding at 15:51 and another at 19:19, and I am presuming that there were others that I missed. The osplets, Abby and Victor, are getting plenty of food.

Oh, these two are changing so much. Nothing appears soft and cuddly anymore. The dark eye line has given away to almost spooky white goggles, and bald heads with black and copper coming through. Abby and Victor hatched on the 3rd of March. Today they are two weeks old!

Sally is a very relaxed and observant Mum. A piece of nesting material, a strip of bark, had covered Abby’s head. Sally casually went over and lifted it off with her beak and put it to the side. Well done, Sally!

Blue 33 was on the nest at Manton Bay working hard after eating his fish. Oh, he wants Maya to arrive! What a cute couple they are. Tradition has it that they will sleep together in the nest duckling style! It is beginning to rain and it is 1832. Blue is there hoping his gal will arrive.

Well, Geemeff writes this morning that there is a soap opera brewing at the Manton Bay nest. Remember the female that arrived first? Blue 25? Well, she is making a play for Blue 33 and he is falling for it (for the moment!). Geemeff warns us that Blue 33 has landed on Blue 25’s back a couple of times and there could have even been a successful mating at 13:21. Oh, and gosh, there is sky dancing heard off camera!!!!!!!!!! Maya will eat Blue 25 for breakfast if she catches her at that nest.

Oh, Blue! Did you happen to check that band number? Blue 25, go home!

Laddie and Blue NC0 have both arrived at LOTL on the same day! It looks like Blue NC0 arrived first.

Getting acquainted again.

The female has arrived at the Cromer Peregrine scrape!

My eyes have been on Jackie and Shadow on Thursday. They were at the nest early, working and they returned after 1900 to do some more nesting. Will there be a replacement clutch? Gosh, it is beginning to seem a little more of a possibility. We wait….birdwatching requires a lot of patience and a lot of waiting, no matter what species and what circumstance.

Look at that crop! Someone had a good breakfast!

During the evening restorations, Jackie even tested out the nest bowl. Are these two teasing us? I hope for a miracle – a replacement clutch and a single healthy hatch, just like Spirit last year!

At the Berry College Eagle Nest, B16 is 55 days old today. He is a little more than two weeks younger than the Es. As the apple of Pa and Missy Berry’s eye, B16 is – well, can I say it? A nice-sized young lady! Beautiful eaglet and doing so very well. LOL. The gender is just my guess based on the size of B16.

As the sun sets over Captiva, Connick is growing and flapping his wings. Just like 21, he is getting some air under there but, he still loves to be fed by Mum, Connie, or Dad, Clive.

Take a look at those great tail feathers. Such a gorgeous eaglet.

Today, Mum and D3 defended their nest at Centreport, New York. Six eagles! Six. Could you talk about intruders?

At the new National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus, BOGS have seen evidence that Lotus is feeding an eaglet!

Gosh, so many eaglets at so many stages of development. Ringo, at the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest, is getting some air under his wings.

Do you know the Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki?

For many decades there have been actions in our most western province, British Columbia, to protect the old growth forests. Today, I found a site on the Internet that has discussions/presentations with Suzuki and one of those is ‘The War of the Woods’. I thought you might enjoy it and some of the other topics listed. Last year, David Hancock reported that the British Columbia government approved the cutting down of 141 Bald Eagle nests in the area where the Site-C hydro dam is to be built. British Columbia is home to North America’s largest population of Bald Eagles. Any logging harms wildlife! And also helps to create the atmospheric rivers that have so devastated the region in the past couple of years. Christian Sasse and David Hancock had an on line discussion about these issues. I will check and see if I can find that for the weekend.

https://gem.cbc.ca/the-nature-of-things/s62e10

I will have to get my running shoes on today even to attempt to keep up with a few of these nests! Thank you so much for being with me today. Let us all send wishes for a tailwind for Maya, so she arrives safely home and boots 25 off to her nest! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, The Real Saunders Photography and SW Florida Eagle Cam FB, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, FOBBV, Berry College, Window to Wildlife, Centreport Bald Eagles, AEF-NADC, Paul White and Webster Texas Bald Eagle Cam, and the CBC.

Blue 33 arrives at Rutland…Thursday morning in Bird World

16 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you so much for your good wishes! When I got in the door at home and saw the kittens, the trip seemed to melt away. Air travel is not like it ‘used to be, back in the day’. I am privileged to be able to travel and had a wonderful trip, and it was just as good to arrive home, too! I shall mumble quietly about the lack of ground crew personnel, sitting on the tarmac, and waiting for luggage for hours at an airport where the passengers could have offloaded it faster!

If you are planning a trip to Toronto, message me. I will happily pass on all the tips I have learned on this trip and in past ventures to that amazing city.

The kittens were fine. Happy. Wanted to play ‘fetch’ for hours!

The best news of the morning is that a male UK Osprey has arrived home from his winter migration. Blue 33 arrived at Manton Bay at 12:58:39 – just about an hour ago. Some of you will know that I adore this male Osprey…so glad to see him return safe.

Of course, Blue 33 caught a fish right away and is looking around for his mate.

He waits for the love of his live, Maya, to return.

E21 and 22 might have gotten a snake at 1930 on Monday evening with nothing on Tuesday but, on Wednesday, M15 brought in three fish for them. The female intruder was hot on his heels! Poor Dad.

When they were not mantling and fighting for prey, 21 was testing out his wings and 22 was giving us all nervous breakdowns by standing on the rails all day long.

The scramble over one of those deliveries.

Lady Hawk has edited all of the action surrounding the three feedings on the 15th into one video for us.

Last night was the first time that M15 did not sleep on the branch above the eaglets. Instead, he chose to stay in the tree next to the female. Lady Hawk has it on video.

Did you watch the nest of Ron and Rose on Wednesday? Oh my goodness, R4 is a really strong eaglet. I could not believe it when I saw it holding its head erect and eating after only a few hours after hatching. What kind of sibling R4 will be?

Upside down, again!

Before R4 hatched, Rose did not stay in the nest during the day. That behaviour was quite odd. Ron got plenty of incubation time. Now he is lucky if he gets a chance to brood and incubate the kids! Rose has turned into an extremely dedicated Mum whose feeding abilities are improving.

You can see R4’s egg tooth, that temporary white projection that helps the eaglet break through the hard shell.

On Thursday morning, ‘H’ reports to me that the egg with R5 has been hole side down for some time, and there is some concern. We will have to wait and see. My mantra is always – one healthy eaglet!

On Wednesday, Mum brought a rabbit in for breakfast while Dad had been brooding the eaglets.

These two are loosing that soft natal down and you can see their dark thermal down growing in.

At the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and V3, the couple worked this morning on the nest. Gosh, they are a handsome couple. It doesn’t look like there will be any eggs this year, but every time they work on that nest, they bond.

This nest might have been Gabby’s former mate’s natal nest but, since Samson’s disappearance in late November, Gabby is determined that it will be her territory! V3 is helping her do that.

At the nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear, the couple continue to visit the nest and Shadow seems particularly keen on refurbishing it. “Jackie…we need more eggs!”

The sun rising over Big Bear Lake Thursday morning.

Shadow at the nest on Wednesday working away.

The four owlets in Corona, California have been named: Pip, Tootsie, Hoot, and Peanut. Sadly, Peanut died on the 11th of March.

The Canada Geese are arriving at some of the eagle and osprey nests! Look who showed up at Charlo Montana? One year, we had fluffy little goslings jumping from that platform instead of osplets flying.

Oops…and then the snow came!

The geese are at the unused eagle nest in Decorah, and they might give us some lovely goslings to ooooh and coo at this year, like last.

Everything continues to go well for the two osplets at Moorings Park. Harry is a fantastic provider. There is always fish for the two and Sally, although it might not arrive as early as the osplets would like. She keeps the eaglets fed well, and Harry occasionally gets to pitch in and help, too. I continue to praise this nest. Harry loves being with Sally and seeing the nest happenings. Both take the best care they can of these two as they morph into ‘dinosaurs’. On Wednesday, they had a couple hour long feedings. Both were stuffed.

Proud first-time parents, Harry and Sally.

Harry flew in with a live fish about 1908. Look at the eaglets above and then at the images below and you can see how quickly their plumage is changing.

These two will now eat longer at a feeding. They will consume more fish giving them a nice crop. There will be fewer feedings per day.

Do Osprey Mums feed their osplets in the middle of the night? We certainly saw this at Port Lincoln and now, here is Sally feeding these two. It is 00:33 Thursday, 16 March. (Clock says 12:33 which always confuses me).

It is called ‘How to keep peace and food security on an osprey nest!’ Fantastic parenting at this Moorings Osprey nest. Just wonderful.

Port Tobacco has two of three Bald Eagle eggs hatched this morning.

It is pip watch at PA County Farms where there are, again, four eggs in that eagle’s nest.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Now that Blue 33 is home we sit and watch and wait for Maya. They have previously landed within an hour of one another. Stay safe. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, LRWT, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, WRDC, Duke Farms, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, Corona California Owl Cam, Lin Lawson and Osprey Friends, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Moorings Park Ospreys, and Sassa Bird.

Wow..the pace is picking up. Wednesday in Bird World

15 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is my last day in Toronto, and as the old saying goes, ‘There is no place like home.’ Toronto is a fantastic city with so many things for everyone. It has been particularly busy because of the Harry Potter show, and March break for the students. Exciting to see young people at all the museums, going to the theatre, and looking at dinosaurs! A short break can recharge the batteries. It has been a fun time. I am, however, looking forward to being home with Missy and Lewis and everything familiar!

A few hours after the little one of Ron and Rose hatched at the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in Miami, DG3 hatched at Dulles-Greenway in Virginia, but that wasn’t the only other. My goodness. It would take a tiny army to keep up with all the nests, the pips, the hatches, and now the returns of the UK Ospreys. It will be crazy when they fledge on the same day.

Rose and Ron’s first hatch and this morning R5 is wanting to get out and join its older sibling.

Oh, R4 has been ‘goggly’ eyes.

Ron and Rose’s baby a couple of hours later. This eaglet has ‘strong’ and ‘trouble’ written all over it.

Gosh, Rose loves her fish! The little one is getting some bites at a later feeding, but Mum is making sure she gets plenty. Too funny. Just wait til that eaglet is the size of the Es!!!!!!

This eaglet covered with fish juice reminds me of Connick when Connie was figuring out feeding, and Connick was trying to focus and grab the fish from the beak.

HeidiMc taped the action for us. If someone could please move that piece of nesting material!!!!!!!!!!! All kidding aside – the feedings are improving from one to another. Well done, first-time Mum, Rose.

Rose is going to be a very busy Mum. R5 is pipping. ‘H’ says it was called at 0705 on the 15th of March.

Rosa telling Martin their first eaglet has hatched at Dulles-Greenway.

At least two nests are experiencing bad winter weather. One of those is Duke Farms. The parents got busy once the snow and wind came and fed both of the eaglets quickly so they did not get wet and sick.

That miserable weather got itself sorted. The nest at Duke Farms was drying out, and the eaglets were having a meal at 1827.

Big Red and Arthur were not at the nest today. So glad she doesn’t have eggs yet. Even though we know Big Red can be encased in ice and snow and keep her eggs warm, it would be much nicer for those watching if the weather were better!

It was still snowing at midnight at Cornell.

Two raptors who were at their nest working yesterday and today were Jackie and Shadow. What do you think? a replacement clutch? It is certainly starting to feel like a possibility.

Thanks ‘A’ for the link!

As I write this, it is 1700 at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of E21 and E22. The pair have spent the day standing on the rails and wing flapping. One small fish was delivered at 10:39. They had a lot of fish yesterday and are fine with this. Dad needs a break and he could be off fighting an ever-growing number of intruders in the territory. M15 has managed what many believed would be impossible. 6 weeks he has cared for these two alone. They are now 10 weeks old and within fledge range. We will start watching for branching soon. The average age of fledge in Florida for Bald Eagles is 11 weeks. Can you believe it?

I cannot see her talons, but this appears to be the female that landed in the nest the other day. Most of us got attached to R23-3, who has not been seen for many days. Let’s see how long this one lasts! Poor M. I am sure he would appreciate a companion that kept everyone else away while he finishes up raising the Es as a single parent.

The Bald Eagles are still going strong with the late hatch of Ron and Rose at Miami, all the new hatches in Virginia at Dulles-Greenway, a new baby at Tobacco Creek and so on.

Chandler and Hope’s new little one at Tobacco Creek, Maryland. Chandler has a lot of fish in that nest for Hope and the baby.

At Bluff City, Tennessee, Eugene and Frances have a little one at the ETSU (Eastern Tennessee State University) Bald Eagle nest. Goodness! On top of having a new baby to care for, Chandler has had to fight off intruders while trying to feed the new hatch!

At Johnson City, Tennessee, Jolene and Boone had a hatch, too!

Now the first osprey has landed at a streaming cam in the UK. It isn’t Maya on her nest but B25 from another nest

Everyone has their eyes set on the trackers watching as the ospreys and other birds enter UK territory after their winter break. On Tuesday, 6250 Black Kites crossed Gibraltar along with three ospreys.

Loch of the Lowes is so beautiful. Looking forward to your arrival Laddie, LM12, and Blue NC0.

Loch Arkaig is waiting for Louis and Dorcha.

At Moorings Park, Sally waited at 0830 for a fish delivery to feed the two osplets. It hadn’t arrived, and she sat back down on the pair! Their heads are now pretty bald and getting dark.

I am behind on reporting on the Venice Golf and Country Club ospreys but, it appears there has been a hatch there (perhaps on the 13th). The remnants of the egg can be seen at the rim of the nest.

Lou came to Annie’s aid in warding off an intruder. Thanks for catching this SK Hideaways! All I can say is ‘wow’.

‘A’ sent me a note. Lots of bonding – four minutes of it – by Diamond and Xavier in the scrape at Orange. Indigo might have been heard but, for now, the parents are enjoying time together.

There is snow in the East and rain coming down on the Channel Islands eagle nests. Audacity looks completely miserable at Sauces Canyon. One precious egg to keep warm, dry, and whole!

Cholyn at Two Harbours is wet, too.

Making news is this huge mess that is heading to Florida. How will this impact our beloved birds?

A-Giant-Blob-of-Seaweed-is-Heading-to-Florida-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today! The Thursday blog will go out just a few hours later than usual. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, WRDC, HeidiMc and the WRDC, Sassa Bird, Dulles-Greenway, Duke Farms, Cornell RTH, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagles and D Pritchett, ETSU, Mary Kerr and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Osprey Sky Call, @Tommy Finlayson, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of LOTL, Woodland Trust, People’s Post Code Lottery and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Moorings Park, VGCCO, Cal Falcons, Cali Condor, Charles Sturt Flacon Cam, IWS and Explore.org, and The New York Times.

Ervie, Jackie and Shadow at nest, Milda lays an egg…Friday in Bird World

10 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

The end of the week is here! It is rarely of little consequence to me unless something is happening. There are some wonderful things about retirement!

Two new to me ‘previously owned’ books arrived in the post this morning. I have been waiting some time, and what a joy to receive them. One is by Roy Dennis. It is The Loch. A Year in the Life of a Scottish Loch. It was an accompaniment to a television series in the 1990s. The images are beautiful and would have you booking a ticket to Scotland immediately. The other is a study of Peregrine Falcons in New York City by Saul Frank. It is titled City Peregrines. A Ten-Year Saga New York City Falcons. Will keep you posted!

Meanwhile, the kittens have taken over the house. They love nothing more than going in and out of a box and all the wrappings, large paper bags are fair game for an entire afternoon of jumping in and out, and anything that is light enough to be transported can and will be picked up and moved by Lewis.

Lewis decided to take over the large dog bed today with all of the blankets!

Missy fell asleep in the small basket while she was playing.

They bring joy! And they love watching the animals in the garden.

There is news of Ervie and he is still in Port Lincoln!

Lou did a marvellous job yesterday. There was a huge storm in San Francisco and Lou incubated for almost six hours was Annie was missing.

Wondering about Jackie and Shadow? They showed up together on cam 2 on Thursday. In fact, they were on the snag tree and in the nest and Shadow stayed around for some time! There is also a sub-adult hanging about.

Looking at the image above and the chart below, how old do you think this eagle is?

Jackie and Shadow were also in the nest doing some cleaning. The time was 13:38 on Thursday. Getting anxious to see if we will have a replacement clutch.

M15 was extremely busy flushing those female intruders from the territory on Wednesday, which might account for the few prey deliveries to the Es. Lady Hawk posted all the action! We might begin to imagine that M15 wishes he was less popular.

On Thursday morning, a prey drop came at 12:47. E22 got it and ate it but not before 21 had some and then 22. It went back and forth. Both ate.

I love these little chats that C F Marshburn creates for the eagles.

Wonder why there has not been a lot of prey deliveries? D Morningstar posted a very informative video of M15 and one of the female intruders. He cannot risk getting injured. Better the eaglets be a bit hungry than to have their only provider, Dad, disabled or killed.

You can hear 22 in the background calling for fish! I don’t think we will ever forget him!

Ron and Rose are approaching pip watch and now they are having to defend both their nest and those precious eggs!

I cannot think of an Osprey nest I have enjoyed more than Moorings Park. One of the reasons is Harry. Not only is he such a great provider, but he loves being in the nest with Sally and the two kids, and he is getting more involved in feeding the little ones every day.

Unlike eagles, ospreys will remove the fish from the nest to not attract insects and intruders wanting food.

The osplets eyes are open wide, as is their beak. That open beak will get the fish! The eyes of the osprey are large. Poole tells us that they can resolve the details of an object at 3-5 times the distance a human can (11).

The pair hatched on the 3rd of March. They are a week old today. These two have already tripled their body weight since hatch. This weight will double in the nest four days. Their fastest growth is between 15-30 days.

In North America, Western Ospreys, according to Cornell Bird Lab, remain in the nest for 50-55 days before their first flight (the fledge). They will return to the nest to be fed by their parents while they develop their flying skills. While the fledglings may accompany and observe the adult fishing, they are not taught to hunt/catch prey like Bald Eagles do with their fledglings. Ospreys have developed a clear instinct for knowing how to fish after 60 million years of existence.

Notice the white at the tip of the osprey looking at you in the image below. This is what remains of the egg tooth that this little one used to break up that egg shell. Also notice the black line that extends under the eye towards the nape. This helps them to ward off glare so they can see fish in the water when there is bright sun. Yes, football players picked up on this trick from the Ospreys!

These two are beginning to develop. See the cream stripe down the centre top of the back. Notice the little ‘prickles’ on either side. This pair will keep their light woolly down (feathers) for 10-12 days, and then dark charcoal thick down will replace it. This is called the ‘reptilian period’. Their heads will look like black oil has been poured on them. Some copper-red feathers will appear at the back of the head and nape. It is often during this period that osplets get ‘cranky’ and they may begin beaking one another.

There was some concern that Indigo had left the territory of his parents, Diamond and Xavier. That is not the case. He was MIA for about 24 hours, then showed up and spent an entire in the scrape. Wonder what he was up to that tired him out so much? In the Wizard of Oz we are reminded, ‘There is no place like home!’

In Latvia, Milda, the White-tailed Eagle, has laid her first egg of the 2023 season. Sending positive wishes to her and Voids. Milda deserves it. She lost her long-time mate, Ramis, two years ago. She has yet to raise chicks to fledge since then successfully. 2022 was particularly difficult. After almost starving, Milda, who had been incubating here eggs for 8 days with no food for herself, left to eat. The fear was the eggs would not hatch. But, they did. The wee things eventually froze/starved to death. So, yes, please, lots of positive wishes for this much loved WTE.

Milda will likely lay two eggs three days apart. They will be incubated for approximately 35 days.

Voldis and Milda were working on their nest and mating late in February. Arlene Beech shares some of this with us in her video.

Watching raptors incubate eggs is boring. We are almost to the stage where Ron and Rose will stop incubating and feed little eaglets! The same applies to the Venice Golf and Country Club, where osprey eggs await their pip date. There are lots of others. Meanwhile, the Kistatchie Forest eaglets are branching, and soon SW Florida will be branching also. So enjoy a few days of incubation with Annie and Lou and watching Sally and Harry feed their little ones and the two eaglets at Duke Farms. Soon you will be scrambling to find time to check in on everyone. Oh, and then Jackie and shadow could surprise us with more eggs!

It is pip watch for Martin and Rosa at Dullas-Greenaway on the 11th! – yes, tomorrow.

Watching Karl II’s Black Stork family for migration movement. Waba headed north to Eritrea, then turned around and returned to Sudan. Gosh, this little one surprises us all the time. No transmissions from Bonus, Kaia, or Karl II yet.

There has also been no transmission from Zoe from the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. We wait in hope that she will turn up somewhere and someone will see and photograph her.

I wonder how many raptors actually land on ships and travel around. We certainly saw this with Glen, the Osprey, who was on two ships. Now a Burrowing Owl has gone on a cruise.

Gosh, I hope that Zoe didn’t get on a cruise ship!

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am heading off for a wee bit of a break and to catch sight of some waterfowl, I hope. It is not clear if there will be a blog on Saturday morning. It could be an abbreviated one. I will, for sure, be back on Sunday. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, Port Lincoln Osprey, Cal Falcons, FOBBV, Avianreport.com, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagles, Carol F Marshburn and SWFlorida Eagles, D Morningstar and SW Florida Eagles, Patti Lawless Sirbola and Ron and Roses Eagle nest Watchers, Dulles-Greenaway Eagle Nest, Moorings Park Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Amanda lake and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Arlene Beech and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Looduskalender Forum, and ABC7 Southwest Florida.

2nd egg for Chase & Cholyn, Tico forced to fledge, and more…Sunday in Bird World

5 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It was a beautiful day on the Canadian prairies on Saturday, and I did not stay as alert to what was happening on the nests as I might usually. Sometimes that is a good thing! It gave me some time to spend with the kittens in the conservatory, which I enjoy doing. Lewis is a particularly hyper kitty. It is no surprise. He chased toys all over an aquarium the first time we saw him. Missy was quiet like she is now. Indeed, she hardly ever meows but has the sweetest purr. She leaves all the haggling for food and treats to Lewis, a task he particularly enjoys. In early November, both kittens could fit with room to spare on the top spot of the cat tree. No more! Lewis even hangs off the edge.

Lewis enjoys being a dare-devil!

He certainly has a great view of the garden!

Missy was too busy watching birds out of the window to worry if Lewis was going to fall down.

They had a lovely day. Missy even got to see Mr Woodpecker!

M15 continues to bring in prey items. E22 got the first on Saturday which appeared to be a squirrel, bunny, or roadkill. After that, E22 continued to mantle and got the fish. E 21 would steal it from between 22’s legs. You must dig those talons in, 22! Both are eating well, and there is no cause for concern unless something catastrophic happens at the nest.

At 12:06, M15 came to the nest and broke a fish into two pieces (or what it looked like) so each eaglet could eat. He fed one, and the other ate. It seriously doesn’t get better than this. He is an incredible dad who has made several deliveries to his 8-week-old eaglets on Saturday. They will be on the nest for 10-11 weeks til they fledge. At that time, M15 will help them get their flight muscles strong and their flying good while providing prey and teaching them to hunt. I know that we did not ever think we would see this day a month ago but wow. Isn’t it grand?

Each has been working on and off again with the head of an Armoured Catfish that came in around 15:20:41.

E22 mantled the fish head, but then E21 took it.

Around 1700, E22 was still chewing on that old catfish head while 21 had found a dried fish tail hidden in the rim of the nest. Then 21 got excited and started jumping and flapping! 22 could care less. He continued eating!

Good Night M15, R23-3, E21 and 22. Sweet Eaglet Dreams.

There have been two deliveries at the SW Florida nest before 1100. They came around 10:00 and another nice fish at 10:43.

Both eaglets have been spending time on the rim of the nest.

Our great Dad.

Word has come from ‘H’ this morning that Pearl flew to the nest on Saturday and landed on Tico, forcing him to fledge. He has not been seen at the nest since.

Tico was seen across the street with his foot caught in a vine upside down last night. He freed himself. There have been boots on the ground looking for him. They believe he could be in the woods.

If you have been watching the Bald Eagle nest at Camp Margaritaville in Auburndale, Florida, CM2 has passed. This little one was harassed and hurt from the time it hatched for no obvious reasons, as there was plenty of food in the nest. (There is a stocked pond). Whether it died on Friday or Saturday is unknown, but the cause was siblicide. The eaglet suffered greatly. Sometimes we must be grateful that the suffering ends for these precious little ones. Thanks, ‘H’ for alerting me to this tragedy.

Annie arrives to incubate her and Lou’s first egg of the season…talking to it! How precious. Time 08:39:37 4 March.

Cal Falcons tells us when to expect the next egg.

This is a view of Bald Canyon. Thank you, Gracie Shepherd. If you want to see all of the IWS streaming cams from the Channel Islands, go to iws.org and click on the name of the nest in the listings on the left.

Gabby and V3 continue to put a smile on my face. V3 is a good provider and a fantastic security guard. Have you noticed that there are seemingly no more intruders coming to the nest except for the odd fly through juvenile?

V3’s talons have had a rough time lately.

The two eaglets at Duke Farms are growing and eating and are such cute fuzzy little bobbleheads. They look like miniature teddy bears. Did you know that their Dad, A/59 is 23 years old? He is! There is lots of food in this nest!

Jackie and Shadow are spending less time on the eggs. Right now, I wish the Ravens would come and take them so the eagles could move forward. They did visit today. It must be difficult for the eagles to destroy their own eggs.

They might have another clutch, but they might not. If those eggs weren’t in the nest, it would give them some closure. So sad for these two. Amazing parents who gave us Spirit – 1 year and 1 day since her hatch.

At the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and Beau, one egg remains. One broke after Nancy worked hard to protect the two eggs during a strong winter storm. The songbirds are announcing spring is coming. You can hear them in the background of the streaming cam. It is lovely.

Cholyn and Chase are still incubating a single egg at Two Harbours in the Channel Islands. Folks were watching for a second egg and Cholyn did not disappoint. That egg arrived around 18:14:24 Saturday 4 March.

Maria dk caught the moment on video:

Everyone is holding their breath and sending the most positive wishes to Jak and Audacity who are still incubating egg #7 after the eighth egg broke.

‘H’ had me laughing and well, anytime there is siblicide, we look to find the joy in the birds. Dear Angus loves to stand on the back of Florence. Poor thing!

Harry and Sally are doing a fantastic job of being first-time parents. Their osplets both hatched on 3 March. The oldest at 01:29 and the youngest at 20:03. Now, if every female raptor (osprey or eagle) could manage their delayed incubation so that the hatches were this close or closer, the world of raptors would be a much more equitable place.

Seriously, how much more cuteness do we need? Just look at those two lined up so nicely for fish.

We are still some days before pip watch at Achieva in St Petersburg, Florida. The first egg is 25 days old today – so 10-11 days from now, probably making that the 15th of March.

Rosie and Richmond were both on the Whirley Crane today. It seems to take them a few days to get re-acquainted each year but, for us, it is nice to have both of them safe at home.

The Welsh take their ospreys seriously. The final touches to the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn were put into place as the team awaits the couple’s arrival from their winter migration. Ospreys were seen over Suffolk today, heading north!

The Patuxent River Park Osprey platform cams are streaming, and the first bird arrived on Saturday. It is happening – everything is starting at once!!!!!!

Small and lost Atlantic Puff is saved from highway collision in New Brunswick, Canada.

Little-Atlantic-puffin-rescued-on-busy-N.B.-roadway-CBC-NewsDownload

Happy Hatch Day! Another Kakapo celebrates. This is so wonderful. 55 hatched in 2022 and they are still alive!

What should and what can we do to stop the destruction of nature on our doorsteps? There is a new word for it, ‘ecocide’.

 This wholesale demolition of nature is described as ecocide – a term put forward by the Stop Ecocide Foundation as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”. Although no law has yet been passed, we know ecocide when we see it. It is a moral red line that is being crossed.

While this is about a particular acerage being taken over in the UK, the concerns extend to the entire globe.

“The dismantling of nature’s complexity can no longer be seen as acceptable fallout to maintain the way we have become accustomed to living, and to support the “growth” agenda to which we have become addicted. The planet is perilously close to ecosystem collapse. Humanity created the problem. It is our job to fix it – now.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/02/we-must-call-out-the-ecocide-on-our-doorstep?CMP=share_btn_link

Big Red has been at the Fernow Light stand nests. Progress is really being made and we are within 9 days of what could be the first egg laid.

Did you watch Bonnie and Clyde raise Lily and Tiger on the Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s Property in 2021? Well, their eggs are getting closer to hatching this year. Egg 1 is 33 days old, and egg 2 is 30 days old. The incubation period for GHOs is normally 30-37 days….so guess what? We are there.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Thank you, ‘A’ for the link. Sweet Pea is a proficient gardener. Watch out for the squiggling in the nest and those paddles!

Last but certainly not least is a march and a call to end rodenticide poisons. We must all band together to stop these deadly toxins that kill rodents, our beautiful raptors, and other mammals! Raising awareness helps.

It is so nice to have you with us in Bird World. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their tweets, their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams that help make up the news in my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Camp Margaritaville Bald Eagles, Lady Deeagle55 and Superbeaks, Maria dk and IWS and Explore.org, Cal Falcons, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, NEFL-AEF, Duke Farms, FOBBV, MN-DNR, IWS and Explore.org, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Ospreys, Achieva Credit Union, Golden Gate Audubon, Patuxent River Park, CBC.ca, Kakapo Recovery, The Guardian, Cornell RTH Cam, Farmer Derek, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Terry Carman Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News.

Rosie is Home, Arthur is Busy, Intruder lands on Guardian in Nest, …Thursday in Bird World

2 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

The top Osprey story has to be that Rosie has returned to the nest on the Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipping Yard. Richmond will be delighted! Oh, so happy you are home safe, Rosie.

Just look at those two beautiful eaglets on the SW Florida Nest. They are 7.5 weeks old! It has been a month since their Mum, Harriet, disappeared. M15 has done a fantastic job caring for the couple’s two eaglets, who were a month old. Now they have their juvenile plumage, standing on the rim of the nest, stealing food, and self-feeding. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

On Tuesday, M15 brought a squirrel to the nest. Of course, E22 grabbed a massive piece of it! What a survivor! SK Hideaways caught E22 doing another great eating trick: sit on 21 to get to the beak!

The two eaglets have been enjoying the Florida sunshine and standing on the rails on Thursday. There were four deliveries on Wednesday: 1308, 1338, 1457, and 1505. They came fast and were not large. E22 often got the fish only to lose it to 21.

M15 came to the nest with a small fish at 13:38:16. E22 pulled off something quickly, 21 got some fish, and Dad quickly left. He was gone in 39 seconds! At 13:38:55.

After, E22 searched for scraps while 21 looked out at the big world beyond.

Lady Hawk caught the deliveries and the action in a video montage.

It is 10:30 in Florida as I finish writing on Thursday. The Es are waiting for breakfast.

As I continue monitoring the SW Florida Eagle nest with M15, I try to catch up on other nests we have been watching. These eaglets are growing, and it will not be long until there are fledges. Right now, the first hatch of Alex and Andria at the KNF-E3 nest in the Kisatchie Forest in Louisiana is hovering! Yes, you read that right. He has wind under those wings. Just look. Incredible. The nest is going to become a trampoline for these two eaglets.

B16, the ‘apple’ of Pa and Missy Berry’s talons and eagle eyes is 39 days old today and is now mantling prey when it comes to the nest!

Both of the recent hatches at Duke Farms appear to be doing well. Dad has been on and off the nest checking, and there was an attempt at tandem feeding today. Well done, Duke Farms!

What an adorable image. Two little fluff balls. Pa and Ma make sure that each gets fed and has a little crop.

There has been more trouble at the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California. An intruder landed on the nest! Gary explains what is happening but, Guardian prevails saving the nest and the egg.

At the nest of the Sauces Canyon couple, Audacity and Jak, egg #7 is holding. If I were Audacity, I would eat on the nest without trying to move! Everyone send this fantastic couple the most positive wishes you can – imagine, seven eggs hoping that one will not break easily and will hatch!

Cholyn was thrown off the nest at Two Harbours in the Channel Islands on Wednesday. There were concerns for her. She returned to incubate the egg overnight, doing a handover to Chase at 0605 Thursday morning. Cholyn is 24 years old – she went right over the cliff’s edge.

Nancy and Beau at the Minnesota DNR nest have lost an egg. It is believed to have broken when Nancy tried to keep the eggs warm and dry during the recent winter storms. Let’s hope for one healthy hatch!

A squirrel has been in the nest at Decorah North chewing on the egg. There is a question of its viability. Eagle back incubating regardless!

We are looking for a pip at the Moorings Park Osprey platform. Sally was acting rather peculiar…maybe the pip has started! Sally and Harry are not giving a thing away. Cannot tell Thursday morning if there is a pip or not.

Arthur is being just his amazing self and delivering sticks for the nest for Big Red. We could be less than two weeks away from the first egg!

Arthur should be proud. He has diligently transformed a pile of windswept sticks with new ones creating a nest for his queen, Big Red. Let’s hope she approves!!!! Big Red can be specific when it comes to stick placement!

Thanks, Sharon Dunne, for the update on the first Moli of the Laysan Albatross Colony on Kauai’ to hatch this year.

Another Kakapo gets its name!

Scientists were delighted when travelling through Madagascar, a believed to be an extinct songbird, the Dusky Tetraka, was seen! Here is that article from Birdlife International. Can you imagine how excited they were?

Found-Mysterious-songbird-rediscovered-in-Madagascar-after-eluding-scientists-for-24-years-BirdLiDownload

You will remember my joy when the EU announced that lead would be banned in all 27 European countries in wetlands as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Here is more information about this bold move. Can we get this to happen in North America? It would certainly be a beginning but we need to ban lead in all hunting and fishing equipment everywhere!

Press-release-Lead-ammunition-finally-banned-from-wetlands-across-the-EU-BirdLife-InternationalDownload

While the Bald Eagles and some ospreys nest in the US, the first osprey to return from winter migration to Africa has flown over Hampshire in the UK. It will not be long until we have our first returnees on the streaming cams. Will it be Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland?

I am getting so excited it is impossible to think!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, it is going to be getting soooooo busy. Word has come of Osprey crossing The Strait of Gibraltar. Oh, cold chills are going up my arms. I do so love these raptors.

There is a new osprey platform going up in Cumbria that is hoping to attract a couple! Good luck everyone.

Last is a book review that I have been reading in the evenings after checking on the SW Florida nest.

Raptor behaviour interests everyone, and I wanted to know more about M15. Marti Lord is one of the local photographers and observers of the SW Florida nest. To say that they love these eagles would be an understatement! Their book, Miracle in the Pines – An Eagles Love Story, is an intimate account of a single year in the life of M15 and Harriet. It is 2020. Lord says, “This book is a mixture of my real-life visits to the Southwest Florida Eagles Nest, home of Harriet and M15, to Photograph and observe them, mixed with watching the live cams every day and documenting the activity on the nest. Then I add my own twist of fiction and storytelling to complete the story.”

The story is about season 8. Harriet and M15 had two eggs in the nest. One failed to hatch. Mr Sassy Pants, or E14, was the name given to the eaglet that hatched and tragically died on the nest at 26 days of rodenticide poisoning. CROW removed the body and the non-viable egg. Lord says, “I watched closely to see if there would be any clues as to what Harriet and M15 would do next.” They did move on, and what unfolds is the story of two eaglets, Miracle and Grace, hatched from a second clutch of eggs.

While the book is composed of chapters following the daily lives of the eagles, what struck me most is how Lord shares another perspective, one that those watching the nest on a streaming cam will never have. The family of eagles is observed in the area around the nest. M15 is particularly present once the eaglets fledge. He helps them by the pond, delivers prey; he flies with them. Those stories make this book a really good read, especially if you want to know more about this family and M15.

In 2020, E9 is still in the area, and M15 goes hunting with him. Not only is the season remarkable for the success of a second clutch, but also because this is the year Miracle stays at the nest with her parents squeeing and chasing Dad for fish until the 15th of November. It is just about time for Harriet to lay her eggs, and everyone is wondering when 15 will leave OR will Harriet and M15, who have been working on an alternative nest, have to move house. This intimate behind-the-scenes account of this extraordinary year was such a joy to read. Lord brings to life all of the birds and mammals that live on or come to the pond at the Pritchett property and their interactions with the eagles. And, yes, the GHOs are there and knocking M15 off the branch, too! My only disappointment was that the images were in black and white, and Lord’s photographs of this nest, often seen on the SW Florida Eagles Facebook, are extraordinary in colour. I presume that this was the publisher and a cost issue. It happens far too often now… but, that does not take away from a really detailed and passionate accountant of a year in the life of this Bald Eagle family. I admired M15 prior to reading the book and am more of an ardent supporter now!

How ironic it just was to check FB and Trish Rawlings had posted a picture of Harriet feeding E15!

Just because. A throw back video to a month ago when Mama Harriet was being fed by M15 who was also feeding the eaglets. Yes, it is OK to tear up.

Love. Annie and Lou style, thanks to SK Hideaways. Eggs? Soon?

There is lots and lots of news and nests to cover now. This is a glimpse into what is happening at some of the nests!

Lewis and Missy wish everyone a good end of the week. Did I say they love their big dog fluffy bed?

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, postings, tweets, videos, and streaming cams which help make up my blog: Lucille Powell and the SF Osprey Cam with Rosie and Richmond, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Tonya Irwin and KNF E3, Berry College Eagles, Gary and FORE, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, IWS and Explore.org, MN Non-game Wildlife Program, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Moorings Park Naples Florida, Cornell RTH Cam, Sharon Dunne and Royal cam Albatross Group NZ, Kakapo Recovery, Birdlife International, Alan Petrie Ospreys FB, @WildHaweswater, Marti Lord, NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watcher’s Club, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, and SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons.

Is it an egg for Cholyn! Sad news from San Jose, 2nd hatch at Duke Farms…Wednesday in Bird World

1 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is so lovely to have you with us today! It is the middle of the week, the first day of March. Spring is officially three weeks away. Can’t you hear the geese honking and the songbirds in the trees? or see the birds pulling worms from the soft, moist earth?

It is -18 Tuesday morning on the Canadian Prairies. The sun is shining, and the wind is brisk at 11 kph, but only at times. It promises to be a beautiful bright day.

Looking out at the duck pond, now frozen, there is a promise of their return in a few months. Oh, what joy!

Remember. Being outside in nature, even for a few minutes, benefits our physical and mental health. Even sitting by the pond, anticipating the arrival of geese and ducks, was uplifting, no matter how cold it was this morning. So, please, think about it, put your coat on and get moving if possible.

Everyone is looking forward to the arrival of the waterfowl. It is a mark that spring is arriving.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/27/country-diary-grebes-in-the-harbour-a-curlew-in-the-rushes?CMP=share_btn_link

As I get ready to turn the computer off, it looks like Cholyn might be ready to lay the first egg of the 2023 breeding season on the nest she shares with Chase, Two Harbours, in the Channel Islands. It is 18:32 nest time in California.

And, yes, it is egg one for Chase and Cholyn! Chase gets a look. Remember that Cholyn is Thunder’s Mum. (Thunder and Akecheta on West End)

There is sad news from San Jose, California. You might recall that Annie and Grinnell’s 2019 hatch Sequoia had bonded with mate Shasta at the San Jose City Hall scrape. We were so looking forward to their eggs this spring. Shasta has sadly died from injuries obtained from a collision. Here is the last image of Shasta and the announcement.

At the scrape of Sequoia’s Mum, Annie, at The Campanile, Mum was scraping in the box and waiting to see if Lou would deliver prey there today.