Category Archives: NE Florida Eagle Nest

7 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

We hope that you are having a good start to the week.

It is a white-grey sky day in Winnipeg. I can see the little birds puffed up, trying to stay warm in the lilac bushes. What you can see in the winter is incredible, hidden by all the spring and summer foliage. All around the neighbourhood, squirrel dreys hang precariously. Bird nests are there that I didn’t know about. I see the hawk waiting at the corner, hoping for a quick lunch. Even with the cold there are so many wonderful things waiting to be discovered.

Something was terrific to be found in my garden at 2026. It was a young buck with only one antler. According to the home camera, the deer had been foraging around the bird feeders since 2056. This was unexpected despite the deer roaming the neighbourhood and especially at our park looking for food. So a load of potatoes and apples were left in case he or they return. We will get deer pellets tomorrow.

Calico had her annual check-up today. I was concerned about her weight as I joked the other day. She came in at 6.4 kg. It is right at the line or crossing it to be concerned about diabetes. Calico is beyond precious to me. I would never want to jeopardise her health, so she is now on Metabolic cat food – and so are all her sisters! If you have only one cat, it is easy to control what they eat. If you have four, it can prove challenging. So keep your fingers crossed for this special girl.

A couple of things off the top. Ranger Judy is not responsible for what happens to the Sea Eagles when they are picked up and taken into care. She is as devastated as are others who live in the area, like Cathy and Jen (and some I do not know), at the death of SE33. Yes, I wish I could have wiggled my nose to get Dr Tess down there to see if something else could be done. I am not a vet, and like everyone else outside that examining room, I don’t know anything about that injury. My wish would have been for Dr Tess to have had an opportunity to try and figure out if there was another possibility. She thinks out of the box, and in wildlife rehabilitation, that seems to be what is needed. Sadly, we will never know. Watching Lady and Dad work so hard to lose both of their eaglets is hard.

Donations. Thank you for all of your letters. I want to do a shout-out to the Ojai Raptor Centre that miraculously rid Victor of the zinc in his system – and, I forgot, and I am embarrassed about this – 19 was picked up when we feared he was dead near the nest in South Bend, Indiana and transported to the home of Humane Indiana where 19 was cared for and trained to be an eagle, returned and released near the nest. We all wept. —– There are so many other great centres. The ‘small and mighty’ Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey where Lisa Ferguson was the Volunteer of the Year. Today, she wrote to me to say that their 30-year-old ambassador, Bald Eagle Paige, took her last dance. Lisa says that Connick ‘was a character’. We hope he is happy at the Smithsonian. So look around you to the people who care and work hard for the birds when you decide to donate.

To answer a sack full of the same question: Did Beau bring prey to the nest? Yes, he brought some. Sometimes Gabby wasn’t there. That is, however, the big question. Will he bring prey to Gabby and the babies? Or will Gabby let Beau brood and she will do the hunting? We wait and we will have our answer shortly.

Traverse City, Michigan Bald Eagles, Harry and Harriet, love the snow! https://youtu.be/hac2G673Vo4?

Incubation continues with Gabby and Beau at NE Florida. They might just be hearing the little cheeps of their babies by now.

Gabby returns for the late shift after having a mud bath it seems!

Beau is up on security duty.

Meanwhile, eaglets are being fed at Captiva and SW Florida with no problems that I am aware.

Those babies at Captiva need a bath! Clive has food all over the nest and they are moving everywhere getting it stuck on those feathers.

Just look at the size of the wings on those Es at SW Florida!

Other Bald Eagle nests are still preparing and having fun with sticks. Just look at Liberty and Guardian. https://youtu.be/G6JplHWsizo?

Checking on Port Lincoln, both fledglings on the barge. Kasse is down by Dad in the cave with her fish tail and Wilko is on the nest.

Food deliveries for Monday and Tuesday at Port Lincoln:

There is some bonding going on at the Captiva Osprey nest! https://youtu.be/4lQxLJEbsj8?

The following was released by Terri at FORE on Monday:

Friends of the Redding Eagles-FORE

10h  · 

Announcement 1/6/25:

We wanted to let you know that we have received the Final Necropsy Report on our Redding eaglet “Luna”. We want to thank Krysta Rogers with the Wildlife Health Laboratory California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife for her hard work & thorough examination & extensive testing.

At this time, we are still reviewing the very detailed information presented in the entire Final Necropsy Report & we are consulting with our raptor rehab expert Marily Woodhouse on a few questions & clarifications on the findings. We also realize that some of the very graphic details of the report could be upsetting to many people who loved our Luna with all of their heart, so we want to be careful with how much of the Final Report we release publicly.

We would like to share this brief Summary that Krysta Rogers wrote so you will at least know what the findings revealed…

“Attached is the necropsy report for the eagle. Cause of death was likely related to the high temperatures in early June. There were no indications of infections or exposure to toxins, although testing was limited by the poor condition of the remains.”

Krysta also added this crucial information to the report:

“The unusually high temperatures in early to mid-June likely caused the eagle to leave its nest before it was physically ready. On June 11, when the eagle reportedly left the nest, the high temperature was 106°F. In early to mid-June 2024, there were two periods of consecutive days with temperatures above 100°F including June 5-7 when the maximum temperature ranged from 103°F to 106°F and June 10-12 when the maximum temperature ranged from 104°F to 106°F.

Additionally, the nighttime average low temperature for this week remained relatively high at 72°F. In early to mid-June 2023, the average high temperature was only 87°F during the day and 65°F at night, a temperature difference of 14 and 7 degrees, respectively.

Young birds in nests with little shade have few options to escape the heat and direct sunlight. During consecutive days of high heat, conditions in the nest may cause heat stress and the nestling may fall or jump from the nest when trying to escape the heat. The sibling of this eagle reportedly remained in the nest and died during this period of high heat. Heat stress may contribute to respiratory and/or cardiovascular strain, dehydration, and/or damage to the organs and gastrointestinal tract.”

Krysta Rogers

WILDLIFE HEALTH LABORATORY

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

As upsetting as this is to read, the information makes us feel even more relieved that our beloved Redding Eagles Liberty & Guardian accepted the Starter Nest we built for them & will now be nesting in a LIVE Tree with shade & a canopy to help protect all of their future eaglets. And, it was also a huge relief to learn there were no indications of infections like West Nile Virus or Avian Influenza present.

At least we finally have some closure on the 2023-2024 Nesting Season & now it is time for us to follow the lead of our beloved Redding Eagles as we begin the next chapter of this amazing journey together.

Here’s to New Beginnings!

Thank you to all of you for your never-ending patience & understanding. We appreciate all of you!

~Terri & the FORE Team

Moorings Park Osprey Cam, home to last year’s fledglings, Ruffie and Tuffy, is up and running for 2025. https://www.youtube.com/live/KSTIu8KwrfI?

Hob Osterlund has solved one mystery on Kauai:

There are ducks paddling about on the river in the UK! Oh, I can’t wait til spring til ours return.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/06/country-diary-gadding-about-on-the-river?

There is an exhibition in The Netherlands about birds. This is part of the text. If you are close, attend! “With a bird, showcases projects, objects, and investigations where artists explore our relationships with birds. These works delve into how we seek to understand, emulate, and connect with birds while examining how they transcend categories such as human and non-human, science and folklore, life and death, reality and dreams, and the realms of land, water, and sky. With a bird, supports resident city birds like sparrows, black crows, blackbirds, magpies, and tits with supplementary foods and invites humans to dream, imagine, speculate, observe, converse, listen, read, feed, reminisce, and reflect.”

Rita’s History Monday:

Geemeff sends us the link to the osprey nest in Spain: https://youtu.be/WiW_Ys_qLeQ?

Calico’s Tip for the Day: Work with all agencies including Wild Justice in the UK to ban lead in all its forms for ammunition! It will mean a huge life support to our raptors.

Image is from Wild Justice.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘B, Geemeff, J, S’, Great Lakes Bald Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, FORE, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Bart M and the PLO, Sylvia, FORE, Hob Osterlund, Moorings Park Ospreys, The Guardian, Rita the Bald Eagle, SEO Spain, Wild Justice