Category Archives: nest collapse

Wednesday in Bird World

18 March 2026

Hello Everyone,

We are in the midst of an unexpected blizzard, while thousands of miles to our southeast, it is green, and geese are enjoying the grass on a golf course. Thank you, ‘L’, for letting me share this lovely image of spring! We love our geese, but there is no place for them here, and yet, many arrived several weeks ago! The ponds have frozen, but there remains some open water in the two rivers that wind their way through our City. It is supposed to warm up beginning tomorrow, but I will believe it when I see it. We were not expecting this much snow today!

It doesn’t look like much, but the snow is blowing and accumulating so quickly! The lad who shovels or us thought snow was finished – he is going to get a real surprise! It is more than 30 cm deep on the walkway he cleared a few days ago, and is within 45 cm of covering the large bird table feeder. Unbelievable.

Toby loves it. He bounces through the snow if there is even a whiff of a ‘cat’ in the garden. My plan is to have a tall wooden fence built to match the one constructed a few years ago. I had not planned to put a fence on that part of the property, but the theft of dogs in our City has become quite troubling. Of course, ‘the cats’ – distinguished from ‘The Girls’ – come in from that back corner, so it is important to close it in. Toby loves his sisters, ‘The Girls’. He plays with them, but those that make their way into his outdoor territory will be ousted unless they are Brock (who now still spends 99% of his time at the neighbour down the street)!!!!!!!!!

I hope, after all these years, that each of you knows that I love all animals, but there is a special place in my heart for Big Red and Arthur, the late Annie at The Campanile, and ospreys. I have posted this song before, but I want you to get in the mood. Osprey season is starting in the UK – and has already begun in the US. Here are those wonderful school children with the Osprey Song (2011): https://youtu.be/KoOQK6ejuXY?

At the Lake Murray Osprey platform, Lucy has laid her second egg with a new mate. Please, please put up the owl defences for this family Lake Murray!

Company for Brutus. Storms are tearing down eagle and osprey nests around the US including an osprey nest that Penny Albright monitored near Sanibel that lost two chicks when the nest collapsed. These eaglets made it through…

Blue 25 has made another visit to Blue 33 and Maya’s nest at Manton Bay – Blue 33 normally arrives a few days prior to Maya, and Blue 25 enjoys his company! Geemeff caught her time on the nest: https://youtu.be/HU_XGU3NTro?

We have an osprey at the MNSA Osprey nest in Oceanside’s Jay Cool platform.

“WYL greets his chick upon returning to the nest in New Zealand. The adult male arrives from a foraging trip over the Pacific to feed his growing chick at the Plateau nest site. As the chick gets bigger, the parents will take longer foraging trips to collect enough food for both themselves and their chick.” (Cornell Bird Lab)

Peanut defended the Winter Park Florida nest against a RTH! Nestflix Memories (Gracie Shepherd) caught it on video: https://youtu.be/cQksMDubVEc?

Tonight, Wink is taking now chances. She is right in the nest with Peanut if that GHO returns – and, of course, it will – they never give up! Wink is an incredible mother – I am truly amazed and thankful for her diligence.

Gabby with her babies, Kai and Eve, at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest in Florida. Best keep a close eye on these two – they could fledge before you blink.

At the Johnson City nest of Boone and Jolene in Tennessee, snow arrived. Jolene kept those two babies warm and tried to feed them at the same time. Like Wink, she is an experiened and an exceptional Mum.

Huge crop on JBS 24. Mum and Dad are delivering food and leaving it for self-feeding on occasion.

Harry and Sally are up there in my list of osprey parents. Three babies, three little fat bottoms. Large fish coming in and Harry on guard as it appeared there could have been an intruder around today during a fish delivery. If you haven’t been watching Moorings Park, then check out this osprey family. It is a success story – and believe me when I tell you that there will be few such stories in the NE USA this season unless a miracle happens.

Rutlands Lagoon 4 nest is trying to keep the Egyptian Geese from laying eggs while everyone waits for the ospreys to arrive. This is a second nest with a camera amongst several nests at Rutland Water. AI says: “Based on 2025/2026 sightings, the Lagoon 4 nest at Rutland Water is often occupied by male 359 (a 2021 Rutland-born osprey) and female 3H9 (a 2023 Rutland-born osprey). They have been observed investigating the nest and strengthening bonds. Note: 359 and 3H9 are a distinct pair from the main Manton Bay pair, Maya and 33(11).”

I am getting impatient – and it is a tad early – for Maya and Blue 33 to arrive at Manton Bay.

At the Whitley Crane nest known as the Golden Gate Audubon Osprey nest, Richmond has worked and worked. There is a new female at the nest with him. I do not believe Rosie will make an appearance. Why do I say this? Well, when Aila did not return, Louis moved his nest to another location when he bonded with Dorcha. We often think animals and birds are not intelligent. If I have said it once, I will say it again million times, my teacher about raptor behaviour, the late Laura Culley, taught me that they are smarter and use higher levels of intelligence and communication that humans have lost.

I noticed in one of the chats – it was the Winter Park Florida chat – that someone noted that ‘animals have feelings’. Dr Mark Beckoff and Dr Jane Goodall taught us this. There are several good books out there. I urge you or anyone who is interested in the behaviour of non-humans to read any or all of the following.

Saddness at the Two Harbours as Chase & Cholyn lose their last egg. SK Hideaways has it on video: https://youtu.be/8vmMpnkNsh4?

Big Red and Arthur have snow on their nest at Cornell University.

Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red relaxing on the lights!

Cameras are now live at the Poole Harbour nest of CJ7 and Blue 022.

We have an osprey at Threave. Is it Black 80?

At Achieva the third egg was laid on the 25th of January. Can someone who is watching this nest tell me if Jack is delivering enough fish to his mate? I did not see deliveries today, but I might have missed something.

Dyfi is live! Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/tOS_34MKI5E?

In fact, start checking out all your favourite UK and European nests as the cameras are being turned on faster than I can keep a list.

The Pitkin County Osprey nest in Colorado is live.

I have such a soft spot for this White-tail eagle in Durbe County Latvia. Milda. Her current mate is Zorro. There was sorrow and now Zorro has proved to be a good mate and provider.

April 7. Hellgate Canyon. Iris’s favourite day to return to her nest in Missoula, Montana. Count the days – 20. Less than three weeks! The snow has melted.

There is evil in the world. I cannot imagine how anyone could harm an animal and yet, every day I find myself telling people not to give their kittens away to anyone. Russell Mason beat a Goshawk to death – how in the world can someone do this?

Large estates, with no eyes around in Scotland (and elsewhere), allow many horrific things to happen to our beautiful feathered friends. What can be done to stop this?

Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason pleads guilty to battering a Goshawk to death on shooting estate iDownload

The Cornell Bird Lab gives us hope that people around the world are increasingly engaging with nature and birds. Yes, there are incredibly vicious people anywhere in the world that will harm birds and other animals, but there are more, I hope, that love and help them.

To put a smile on your face:

A total hoot! Beautiful birds – in pictures

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/mar/17/a-total-hoot-beautiful-birds-in-pictures-claire-rosen?CMP=share_btn_url

Thank you so much for being with me today and for your patience, as my posting is often irregular. I had hoped to keep to Fridays and Mondays til the UK osprey season began, but every day there is something new and exciting! I will continue to post at the oddest of times, sometimes two or three times a day as news comes in. As you can imagine, my life is anything but routine. We do have a schedule, but it all depends on my husband’s mood, which can vary. I am impatiently waiting for spring to arrive. What I miss most is reading. Yes, we have story time, but it isn’t the same as sitting quietly on a park bench with squirrels dashing around, the wind gently blowing, with a good book in my hand, reading in silence. So, no promises other than there will always be a Monday blog, often coming out late Sunday, until we have osprey chicks on the nests in the UK and Europe.

Thank you to everyone who created videos, wrote informative FB posts, to Raptor Persecution UK for keeping us informed, and to the Cornell Bird Lab for continuing to support education. I remain forever grateful to the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to venture into the challenging lives of our feathered friends. To all my readers who are now long-time friends, I appreciate your support. Your letters and comments mean the world to me.

Boone and Jolene lose their nest tree…Monday in Bird World

30 September 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Please mark your calendars. It isn’t stripped bass – they, too, need the Menhaden and so do our ospreys. Remember Cobey from the Colonial Beach nest and let them see that people care. Thanks, ‘PB’.

Thank you so much for all your lovely letters and comments. You have no idea how much I appreciate hearing from you. I don’t always answer quickly, but I will answer. I promise. For everyone who has raked their leaves in the corner of their lot and left them, thank you. The key is to not mow them, to not blow them (who invented those noisy machines?), and to not stuff those leaves in bags. Just contain yourself and leave them alone. The insects will thank you and the songbirds in the spring will thank you even more.

Most of you are aware that my ‘right hand’ person is Heidi. I simply could not make it through all that data without her — or all the deaths. We try to prop one another when we just can’t stand another little one losing its life because there was not enough fish. A few weeks ago, Heidi attended the Hawk Watch Migration count at Cape Henlopen. Heidi has permitted me to share her day with you. In doing so, I hope that you might get so excited that you will head out to learn about migrating birds and how to identify them! It is an exhilarating experience.

I had a blast at the Hawk Watch platform at Cape Henlopen, Delaware on Saturday.  The platform is built on top of an old WWII military bunker located at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware on the Atlantic Ocean.  It is just south of the mouth of Delaware Bay, and almost directly south of the infamous Cape May New Jersey Hawk Watch platform on the other side of the bay. 

There was a lead hawk spotter-counter there, named Jen.  Jen has 25 years experience, and lives in Colorado.  She relocates to the area each fall to lead the hawk count.  There were also several other experienced spotters arriving throughout the day, some of whom were also from out of state.  The spotters all had binoculars and scopes, but they primarily used their binoculars.

I was pleased with my binoculars.  I had been worried that I may not be able to find the birds when the spotters called them out, but I did very well in being able to get most of the birds into my view.  Haha, except for the Merlins… they were so darn fast, I was only able to see a few of them before they flew southwest behind some trees.

The weather was nice, with a light NE wind.  Some spotters had hoped for a little less bright sun for enhanced viewing.  But, the hawk watch had their highest total hawk count, and the highest osprey count to date this season.  I picked a great day to go there.

I remember what Gessner said in his book “Soaring with Fidel.”  It was when he was on the Cape May platform, that he was apprised of the hawk spotting technique:  GISS = ‘general impression of size and shape’.  The other folks at the platform were very helpful in giving me tips.  

Ospreys were fairly easy for me to identify, except when they were very far away and were headed straight for the platform.  To my eye, at that distance and aspect, they could have been a large gull.  Those folks were so good though, they could still tell it was an osprey even that far away. 

The ospreys made me smile.  There were so many of them (298).  Some ospreys flew high and were off to our left or right, but some were lower and flew right over us.  Many were already carrying a fish when we spotted them.  I was told that on average (depending on the wind of course), it might take an osprey only about 20-25 minutes to fly over the water from Cape May to Cape Henlopen.

I’m guessing that the viewing platform is less than 500 feet from the Atlantic Ocean.  I saw several ospreys diving and fishing.  If they missed, they would simply rise up and dive again.  Most were successful in catching their lunch.  I was told that sometimes the ‘O’s would find a tree to perch and eat, but that many of them would simply just hang on to their catch and keep on flying.  Indeed they did… I saw many ospreys carrying fish that just kept on going, and I suppose they knew they had a ready meal when they decided to stop.

I also did pretty well at identifying the bald eagles, even the juveniles.  At one time, Jen modified someone’s sighting and said that a particular bald eagle was not an adult, but a sub adult.  Wow.  Jen also pointed out an adult ‘baldie’ that was missing a couple of primaries on the right wing.  I could see that the feathers were missing through my binoculars.   

They counted a record number of sharp-shinned hawks.  I got to know their shape and their pattern of wing flapping (thanks to Jen’s tutelage).  I didn’t have the confidence to call any of them out when I saw them… but, I would smile a little to myself when the spotters would call out “sharpie.”  The spotters could spot peregrines, and state if it was a juvenile.  They knew ‘cooper’s’ from ‘sharpies’ based on their different styles of wing flapping.  And, they spotted several kestrels.  

One of the spotters alerted us to an adult bald eagle chasing an osprey holding a fish out over the ocean.  So, I quickly found the scene in my binoculars and watched as the eagle was directly upon the osprey.  The ‘O’ dropped the fish, and the two birds parted ‘amicably’, lol!  Another spectacular scene happened over the ocean… After we were alerted, I quickly viewed it with the naked eye… A previously identified peregrine stooped to try to catch a merlin, but the speedy merlin got away just in the nick of time!  Wow again!

Oh, gosh… I was simply blown away by this experience.  It was fantastic.  After seven hours on my feet, turning around and around, and straining my neck to look up, I was exhausted, hurting, and sunburned (note to self… don’t forget the sunscreen next time).  I have a lot to learn about hawk watching, and I am looking forward to it.

Heidi sent us some images:

Thank you Heidi for sharing this awesome experience with us! I am so happy that you got down to Cape Henlopen.

Where did the time go? I remember this wee one eating and now it had its fledgling flight. What a beautiful chick. 64 days old. S/he is stunningly gorgeous. I suspect a ‘she’ with that amazing necklace – the only one to survive of the three that hatched at this nest this year.

That ‘other’ Australian osprey is now a dark little reptile!!!!!! Growing Home’s Only Bob is thriving. In a few weeks, this little dark pesky osplet will look like the one above.

At the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam in Orange, Australia, we are preparing to get out the popcorn and watch Xavier and Diamond’s first eyas of 2024 hatch!

In Ithaca, Suzanne Arnold Horning caught up with Arthur. Big Red and Arthur traditionally start checking on their nest in November (if my old memory and notebooks serve me correctly).

I did not know this!

Monty and Hartley are at the San Jose scrape. https://youtu.be/RH_D9M-FGVQ?

Gabby and 24E1 spent the night at the nest tree.

Heavy rain arrived late on Sunday.

Audacity is working on the nest in the Channel Islands that she shares with Jak in the hope that they might have even one single egg to hatch this year. https://youtu.be/MVtTqzgcVhc?

Lady slept with her babies on the nest. One is more interested in what is happening off the nest while the other is self-feeding. Oh, these babies are growing up just a little bit too fast.

‘A’ comments: “Still waiting for my sea eaglets to leave, and so are the currawongs. As I mentioned in an email last week, the currawongs have been particularly bothersome this season, swooping the parents and generally attacking the nest way more than I have seen in previous years. It is not a great sign, is it. We can but hope, but we have to admit that past experience does not suggest a good outcome. I am worried. 

At WBSE everything was very civilised at lunch, with mum feeding the half half of a fish to both eaglets fairly even-handedly. The two are, as you mentioned in your blog, the best of friends, and they have been getting along famously for a while now. In fact, I continue to insist we have a pair of brothers in these two. There is no female aggression between them. They had a minor period early on where basic pecking order was established based on age, and SE34 was fairly confident fairly soon, so there was only a relatively short period where SE34 was even vaguely intimidated by his older sibling. 

The pair have been an absolute joy to watch, as is usual with this nest. I give the credit to the parents, of course, who are like a well-oiled machine at this point. Dad has kept food on the nest very reliably and Lady has doled it out, making sure her younger son was never overlooked. These two gorgeous nestlings are the result of their dedication. Now, we watch with extreme apprehension to see whether they can be the fledglings that beat the currawongs and manage a successful life as juveniles. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? 

Every year I grow to love the two eaglets at this nest and every year, we have a tragic outcome because of those damned pesky small birds. I get why they do it, and I can’t help but admire their courage and their teamwork when I see variants of it in my own garden and in mum’s, but when it impacts our eaglets year after year, it becomes very depressing indeed. These guys prefer fish to currawong anyway! I wish the currawongs would work that out. How many currawongs have been eaten on that nest? I haven’t seen a single one. ” “I’ve been watching my gorgeous sea eaglets this afternoon. Mum has been feeding the pair a fish mid-afternoon. They are well-behaved. Lady is still feeding them although it appears both are very capable of self-feeding at this stage. Mum slept with them on the nest last night, at the back of the nest, near the perch branch, but still, very near to her babies and keeping close watch over them. We don’t even have GHOs here, and I am unsure whether any of our owls are predators for the sea eagles. Which reminds me, that GHO you showed in your blog is adorable, and I know that they are mortal enemies for bald eagles and ospreys but to me, they are still the cutest creatures. Those legs are SO strong (as are their feet) and the silence of their flight is quite eerie. I told you about the gorgeous large Powerful Owl that flew within a metre or two of me in the back yard a few months ago. It flew so close and it was so large and yet it was virtually silent. There was no sound of beating wings, just a very slight rustling as the wind passed through the feathers. I felt so privileged.”

Beautiful fall footage of Boone and Jolene’s nest tree taken before the tree and nest were destroyed by Hurricane Helene. https://youtu.be/tzrHesJqNNA?

Talk about cute. This reminded me to put out some apple pieces for the garden squirrels!

Holly Parsons is getting way too excited about the pip watch coming up for Xavier and Diamond. She is so excited she posted a video about how chicks get out of eggs to show us how much hard work it is for them. No wonder they are soooooo tired after hatch! https://youtu.be/Ptr-kS09H4w?

Melting glaciers in Europe are causing some countries to stop measuring their depth because they no longer exist. Others are having to redrawn national boundary lines. Water will have a huge impact on humans, but also on our beloved raptors.

Melting glaciers force Switzerland and Italy to redraw part of Alpine border | Climate crisis | TheDownload

Calico’s Tip for the Day: Ditch the toxins and embrace white vinegar. Calico is constantly bugging me about the gallons of white vinegar. Now this brilliant cat has found a beautiful chart with everything we can use it for and help save the environment!

Take Calico’s Quick Quiz. How many uses of white vinegar did you know about? And did you learn something? I had no idea about perfectly peeled eggs! We are going to try that tomorrow for our picnic.

Thank you for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, blogs, articles, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog: ‘A, H, J, PB’, Virginia Osprey Foundation, Osprey House Environment Centre, Heidi McGrue and The Joy of Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Holly Parsons, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Lisa Dulany, SK Hideaways, NEFL-AEF, NestFlix Memories, Olympic Park Eagles, Wildlife Haven, Holly Parsons, The Guardian.

Surviving chick at McEuen fledges…Thursday in Bird World

1 August 2024

Good Morning,

Happy August. To all those in the area of the big storms last night, I hope that you and our feathered friends in the area are safe. It is another hot day on the Canadian Prairies. 32 C. The garden is thriving, and the birds cannot stay out of the birdbath. I don’t blame them. The heat and the humidity have been challenging. I wish the nature centre stayed open past 1700. The nicest time to walk is in the early evening. Tonight, it was around the neighbourhood. One thing I missed was the sound of birds until I got closer and closer to my little haven, and there they were – hundreds singing their hearts out. My garden is their paradise. Everything is for them so nothing is tidy. The sunflowers the birds planted are growing wild, the deck is set up so that there is room for feeding in the lilacs, on the deck and the little feeder, and behind the conservatory is an area for the Crows which is being infiltrated by the Blue Jays and Squirrels. The Starlings seem to have moved now that their chicks have fledged.

As I continue to suggest that humans need to work together with wildlife, I have, at the same time, been researching birding in Nova Scotia and I came across a wonderful entry about Bald Eagles that is truly heart warming from ‘Keeping an Eagle Eye on Sheffield Mills’ in Saltscapes Magazine:

In what has become a true phenomenon, Bald eagles have been making their way to the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia to ride out the winter and to feast on handouts. Hundreds of the birds come, filling the skies like flocks of seagulls. It’s a sight to stir the soul of even the most travelled nature aficionado. Like many solitary creatures, including grizzly and polar bears, these eagles congregate in large groups near a food supply as a winter survival strategy. But in the Annapolis Valley, the plentiful food source is anything but natural. In an ironic twist, the poultry farmers of Kings County, who once regarded the eagles as deadly predators, are helping the birds claw their way back from the endangered species roster. With the encouragement of Acadia University biologists, poultry farmers began the practice in the 1970s of letting the eagles clean up the plentiful supply of dead chickens that large poultry farms are saddled with every winter. The birds relished the free chicken dinners and have come back every year for more.

The return of eagles across the Annapolis Valley marks a heartening trend across the province. No longer poisoned by DDT or shot by misinformed farmers, eagles have become a common sight in many regions in Cape Breton and northern Nova Scotia. “We’re even starting to see them more and more in southern Nova Scotia and even on Brier Island,” says Mr. Maybank. “That’s very encouraging.”

With 85 to 90 per cent of Nova Scotia’s poultry producers located in eastern Kings County, the supply of chickens shows no sign of running out. But Mr. Hennigar says that everyone is working to make sure eagles don’t become dependent on these handouts. Farmers are careful not to overdo it, giving the birds a chance to forage for themselves on warm winter days.

I am hoping that a few of those eagles will be around along with all the sea birds, the ospreys, and the shore birds when I am visiting!

This is what can happen when we join together. The chickens would have been destroyed, why not feed the eagles? Restaurant meals are dumped. Why not feed the Crows or the feral cats? Pet food is put in dumpsters when the expiration day arrives and yet it is still good. It just can’t be sold. So why not get the pet stores to donate the food to feed the feral cats? or help those who cannot afford to purchase food for their pets and are considering surrendering them? Have an hour, talk to you local pet store and see if you can help.

‘H’ reports: (Thank you!)

7/31 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The live stream was down all day until 1520.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There were two large partial fish on the nest, and no one was eating.  When was the last time we’ve seen two leftover fish on the nest at Osoyoos?  I’ve only been watching this nest for three years, but I cannot recall it ever.  We could not initially see the second leftover fish because Soo was standing on it.  But, at 1539 Olsen dropped by with another partial fish.  No one was interested, and he took a look at the other fish, so he left with his latest offering.  It was at that point that I saw the large fish that was under Soo.  They must have had a fish-filled day!  Who knows why fishing had been so good.  It was 94 degrees, and none of these fish were small.  At 1611 Soo fed Big from the fish she was standing on until 1632, and there was still a lot of that fish remaining.  At 1726 Olsen arrived with another large partial fish, and this time Middle took it from him, and ate until 1738.  Meanwhile, at 1730 Soo had resumed feeding Big from her fish, but Big walked away at 1738.  At 1832 Middle self-fed for 10 more minutes.  Soo provided a feeding for both chicks starting at 1911.  Middle quit the feeding at 1930 and Big ate until 1944.  Then Soo fed Middle until 1954.  Soo finished that fish herself, eating the tail at 2003.  There were still two large pieces of fish on the nest.  At 2007 Soo provided one last feeding for both siblings from the fish that Middle had taken from Olsen.  That meal lasted until 2018, and I think they ate all of that fish.  There was still a large piece of fish remaining for their breakfast.  Oh my goodness!  I hope the cam can stay online.  The chicks are 54 and 55 days old.  We will be watching for lots of wingers, with the chicks achieving higher lifts off the nest.  Weather forecast for 8/1:  sunny, high temp 99F/37C, winds gusting to 9 mph.

7/31 Colonial Beach:  This nest can be summarized as: ‘Inconsistent’.  New dad, David, is MIA from the nest again.  He was last seen on cam on 7/28.  He’s not really missing, because the cam owner sees him occasionally in the tree across the street eating a fish.  Cobey can see him too, and calls to him.  Betty has been providing all the fish the past few days.  The temp today was 91 with light winds.  At one point today, Betty was gone from the nest for five hours straight.  Cobey had no shade from the hot sun.  But, Betty is a new mom, and even when she is at the nest, she apparently doesn’t know to provide shade for her youngster.  Betty finally brought a partial fish at 1700, for a feeding that lasted 18-20 minutes.  37-day-old Cobey had only one meal today, and only two meals yesterday.  Weather forecast for 8/1: sunny, high temp 93, winds 9 mph. 

The ospreys that have not fledged yet are getting good height and soon all of them will be airborne as the month of August is here and many will leave in early September to take to their winter homes where they will remain for two years before returning to the north.

In Finland, the oldest is getting some good height and should be fledging any day at the Janakkalan nest.

Two chicks getting fed. Parents seem to be staying around the nest. This nest has had problems with predators in the past.

The chick at Saaksilive #4 where the two other siblings were taken by the White-tailed eagle is still on the nest and doing well. It was very frightened the day of the last incident. Fingers crossed for this little sweetie to survive. It is a huge concern as the eagle lives in the forest near to the platform.

The only surviving osplet is now eating, enjoying being fed by an adult.

The heat continues in Montana.

Finn had a fish on the nest mid-morning.

Finn delivers 8 fish on Wednesday the 31st of July. He is not slacking. Everyone in his family is going to be nice and bulked up for migration! Way to go, Finn.

The Only Bob at Charlo Montana is starting to hop and flap. Will we see hovering soon?

Dunrovin Ranch, early morning.

Field Farm Dad is busy bringing in the fish with four fledglings to feed! This has been such an amazing nest to watch this year, just like Poole Harbour with its four. Can you imagine raising a nest of four osplets this year? Well, a few did and Field Farm was one of them.

All is well at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Electra and her only surviving chick that has fledged waiting for a fish delivery at Cowlitz PUD.

Mum and fledgling at the Boulder County meal got a ringside seat when staff of the county came to rescue the twelve domesticated ducks that had been left in the Cattail pond.

In another story, “Crews responding to the Stone Canyon Fire on Tuesday inadvertently dropped fire-retardant slurry into the St. Vrain Supply Canal, and the slurry has made its way into Boulder Reservoir.” While this might not pose a problem to humans other than eye irritants, the “Police added that aquatic life and wildlife may also be adversely impacted due to the concentration of the slurry.” (Daily Camera, 31 July 2024).

McEuen Park Only Surviving osplet out of four flew today for the first time and landed on the old South nest with Mum. (Thanks PB for the photo with Mum and the alert!)

Mispillion Harbour kiddos flying around as well.

Giving an osprey a wonderful second chance at life!

The hurricane force winds that hit the Missoula Montana area are now in Omaha, Nebraska as of Wednesday early evening. ‘PB’ advises that the cam at Fort Calhoun is down. We hope the ospreys are safe.(Thank you!)

Wings of Whimsy posted an annual round up of events at Decorah North and their 2023-24 season. I know that you will be more than interested if you haven’t seen this already. This amazing family had their nest and part of their tree break during bad weather and the four of them stayed together at their home. It was beautiful.

And there’s a live chat you can join about this incredible family and their year with the Raptor Resource Project coming up!

The Eastern Cattle Egret is breeding in the Middle East for the first time.

Eastern Cattle Egret breeds in Middle East for first time – BirdGuidesDownload

And Penguins are swimming in the Black Sea. The Penguin escaped from a private zoo. ‘TU’ writes: “Professor and Doctor of Biological Sciences Anatoly Kudakhtin, chief researcher of the Caucasian Nature Reserve and academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, noted that the Black Sea is a suitable habitat for this bird due to the abundance of fish.”

World Heritage site designation will help save migratory birds in PRC.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has designated 5 additional World Heritage sites along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Gulf of Bohai, helping migratory waterbirds across the continent.-https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/07/30/new-world-heritage-sites-in-china-help-migratory-birds/

The Centreport Eagles are having some fun.

That Dorsett Hobby is such a sweetheart.

Some footage of Richmond and Rosie together with their two osplets. It is the first time that the entire family has been caught on camera – at least to my memory so that we can see them clearly. What beautiful chicks and this light stand did turn out to be a good nesting spot. I am so happy for these two. There have been deaths and accidents at the old nest (no not always!) – it is good to have a glorious year.

‘CG’s report on HWF-BBCentral and Blue: (Thank you!)

July 31, 2024

Lots of moths flying around after dark.  They’re the white blobs.  Every so often Blue flinches as the fly into her.  Early in the morning, they had disappeared.

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There was a small food delivery around 0715 hours.  Someone thought it was a bird with not much meat on it. 

It turned out to be a glorious afternoon for Blue and her fans.  There was a humungous food delivery in the early afternoon.  It was in large pieces that looked like fish.  It looked fresh and moist.  She must have been so hungry and that fish so delicious that she tucked into it and kept going.  I was watching on the live cam and lost count of the pieces.  Someone said 12.  

She spent most of the afternoon in the one back corner looking out over the countryside.  Seems to be a favorite spot for contemplating.  She could have been napping on and off; I couldn’t see her eyes.  She also has some shade with that screen and can move to another spot on the nest if she wants some sun.  She did move into the sun at one point and at around 1630 hours, she found some fish she had missed, and had a leisurely snack.  Then back to contemplating.

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Is that a crop I see?

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She did not seem to do much wingercising today.  She did do a lot of calling. I left the live cam running, and all day, every so often, I would hear her and loud adult bald eagle twittering.  I never saw the adults, but they could have been perched out of cam view.

My weather forecast image in the last blog turned out as a sad miniscule square.  It looked fine in the email.  Maybe WordPress doesn’t like .png files.  I used a different method here so it’s a .jpeg file.  So, we’ll see. 

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That is wonderful to see that crop on Blue and it is really nice to see some cooler temperatures. Thanks, CG.

In the following posting from Geemeff there is an excellent article on why ospreys intrude on other osprey nests. Have a good read!

Geemeff’s Summary for Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust: (Thank you!)

Daily summary Wednesday 31st July 2024

The big news for today is that there is no news! No Ospreys were seen on either nest today, and the only activity was visits from some little birds. Pleasant weather today, but light rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.55.17 (03.53.23); Nest Two 22.56.40 (04.13.37)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/0pQQIotNUsM N1 Various little birds visit the nest 09.50.27

https://youtu.be/dJAmVH178r8 N1 A juvenile Robin fiddles with the nest furnishings 10.59.11

https://youtu.be/irAW6knurFY N2 A pair of juvenile Bullfinches investigate the empty nest 19.17.24  

Bonus read – why do Ospreys intrude on established nests?

https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2022/05/intruder-series-ospreys/

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

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

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care and remember to get those notes in telling me – and all of us – what it was that put a smile on your face this year. It can be eagle season, hawk, falcon, stork, osprey – whatever. Just in the midst of saddness I know that there were some of the happinest moments. We don’t want to forget them. I will be publishing the list in a week, Wednesday, the 7th of August.

Thank you to the following for their observation reports, comments, notes, videos, images, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘CG, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, Saltscapes Magazine, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Field Farm, MN-LA ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County, Daily Camera, McKuen Park, Heidi McGrue, Medina Raptor Centre, Pam Breci, Wings of Whimsy, Trudi Kron, BirdGuides, Birdlife International, Bald Eagles of Centreport, Dorsett Hobby, SF Bay Ospreys by Golden Gate Audubon, HWF-BBCentral, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust.

Decorah North nest collapses

16 June 2024

The Decorah North Bald Eagle nest collapsed. It was raining at the time and it is presumed that the nest was too heavy for the support to hold it.

D17 was on a branch and flew to an adjoining tree while D18 was on the edge of the nest when it fell. Both appear to fly but D18 is on the ground but its condition is unknown. Hopefully someone will go out and rescue this little one as it is difficult to fly up, there are predators on the ground, and it could be injured. Please don’t wait – we all recall Meadow.

Thank you to the Raptor Resource Centre and Explore.org and to ‘PB’ for alerting me to this tragedy.