Tuesday was cooler—21 C. Visiting the nature centre required a windbreaker and it was just so much more excellent walking. There were lots of Canada geese, wood ducks, and mallards at the pond, as well as a single Solitary Sandpiper – the first time I had seen one at the park!
All About Birds describes them: “The natty Solitary Sandpiper, with its olive-gray wings, black-and-white tail, and bold eyering, is a distinctive exception among the many lookalike sandpipers. Its helpful habit of bobbing the back half of its body or trembling its tail (and often feet) while foraging make it instantly recognizable. In flight, look for blackish underwings against a white belly, a pattern unique among North American shorebirds. As the name suggests, this species is normally seen singly. On migration, it turns up very widely, even in very small or temporary wetlands.”
From the map below you will see that this little bird is on its migration. What a distance it will go!
There is a small flower garden, and every blossom seemed delighted that the heat had passed. It feels like fall and even some of the leaves are changing colour.
It was a great walk!
News of fledglings from the UK in the Iberian Peninsula on their migration are reaching us. Threave’s 4B9 was seen and photographed on a stork nest in Portugal! These youngsters are making good progress. This is the first confirmed sighting of a fledgling from a public nest this year.
Geemeff sends us her daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Tuesday 27th August 2024
A lot of rain, a bit of sun, and no visitors to the nests – the season appears well and truly over. However, LizB reports: “One osprey spotted flying west to east along Loch Arkaig yesterday afternoon. Possibly the Bunarkaig male heading back to the nest but no way of knowing.” Perhaps we may yet have a final Osprey visitor before this comments page closes to end this eventful season.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.22.18 (05.34.50); Nest Two 21.20.17 (05.44.14)
Today’s videos: None
Bonus opinion: State-sponsored environmental vandalism or a good idea? What does WTS think?
At Dunrovin, Junebug was knocked off the nest by a GHO. This caused great fear amongst avid watchers. Junebug did safely return to the nest and Mum Winnie rewarded the bravery of her little one with a nice fish!
Antali had an early breakfast fish on the nest and then Iris is fish calling. Finnegan flies around the nest once and returns with her dinner! Iris flies off. Iris is now taking care of herself – as is Finnegan – so she can prepare for her migration.
Iris and her family have suffered through the most extreme heat for long periods of time, hurricane force winds, and now some are saying the earliest snows are on their ways. We wait to see.
Some concern that the juveniles had not been seen on the Newfoundland Power nest at Snow Lane. Here they are. One had a nice fish! And then Beaumont came in at another time with fish for both! Things are going so well this year.
In Wales, everyone has departed the Dyfi Osprey nest, but Idris, the male, who is keeping his oldest daughter Gwenlais, Blue 6B1, full of fish.
All three fledglings were seen on Tuesday the 27th at the Glaslyn nest. Not sure Elen is still here but Aran is still delivering fish. Will try and find out!
All three fledglings at Fortis-Exshaw along with Dad.
The fight against Omega’s industrial fishing in Virginia waters. Write your Senator to stop this. Our Osprey depend on these little fish to live.
Look at the amount. 112 million pounds. An Osprey family of five needs, on average, 500 fish a season – let’s be generous 750 pounds. Come on!
The antics of Xavier and Diamond are endless. If you are not familiar with Diamond, she does NOT like European Starlings for her dinner! or breakfast. or lunch. or for a snack. Nope. Not a Starling.
‘A’ writes, “The first egg at Orange was laid around lunchtime today (timestamp 12:08:07. TOO exciting. Now we all get to watch Xavier bargaining for egg time (I don’t think starlings are going to cut it, Xavier) and talking to his egg. (He is the CUTEST falcon dad of them all – he has even been known to try and feed the egg!!!) I do LOVE these two. I hope Diamond only lays one more egg. She is not getting any younger and I don’t want her to be overly stressed, though unlike our precious Iris, she doesn’t have to suffer the stresses of migration. She gets to live here in her scrape with Xavier all year round, which is a huge bonus for them and for us! I am SO excited. “
Watching at Poole Harbour to see who is home. Three of the four juveniles along with Blue 022 and CJ7 were seen on the nest on Monday.
Collins Street Falcons are waiting for their second egg at which time hard incubation could start. They might lay one or two more eggs. It has happened at this nest. Until hard incubation begins, the egg will be left unattended now and again.
We have rejoiced at four hatchlings and cried last year when the female was injured and the eggs were not incubated. There are high hopes for this year as this article in The Guardian discusses.
Holly Parsons is a wonder of information. She has included a video with David Attenborough on how eggs are made. I think you might be interested. https://youtu.be/PcI72ldPvx8?
Great photographs of Mum and Dad’s Calypso and her mate, Bradley, on the Tulka platform in South Australia. They have survived quite a wind storm.
Fledglings are still at Llyn Brenig!
‘AR’ sends us some news items…when will the shooting stop? Don’t people realise that eagles (all living souls) have emotions, feel pain, have families, partners and deserve respect?
‘AR’ also brings us up to date on the stunning project to try and eradicate the mice that are eating albatross alive – young and adult. This is the plan:
“It is a joint endeavor between the South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries and the environmental NGO BirdLife South Africa—is to deploy helicopters to drop 600 tons of pesticide-laced pellets across the island.”
I am still seeing SE34 being submissive and sometimes not eating because of SE33. The pin feathers are coming in, and surely SE33 will settle shortly. Dad and Lady are great parents.
The first egg for Mum and Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge was 26 August. Today is the 29th in Port Lincoln. You know what that means – egg #2 is expected!!!!!!!
Dad has been making enquiries as to when this might happen!
And both juveniles are still at Osoyoos being fed!
‘The Girls’ and I have started a new book. It is a bit of a how to, but since they enjoy watching the birds and we want to make their lives in the garden as good as we can, there are some interesting ideas. These include making suet, plantings, upcycling items as bird houses and feeders, etc. Calico did listen to the beginning. She tends to like longer narratives so we will see, but for anyone interested in creating a wonderful spot for birds in their gardens, it is a good read. I plan to work on the various birdbaths and ponds next year! When I start you can follow my progress – or lack thereof.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, observations, videos, articles, books, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AR, Geemeff, J, PB’, All About Birds, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Newfoundland Power, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Heidi McGrue and Fortis Exshaw, Brian Collins and Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal, Holly Parsons, Birds of Poole Harbour, The Guardian, 367 Collins Street Falcons, Bazz Hockaday and Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, Brenig Osprey Project, Newsweek, Olympic Sea Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Dan Rouse, komu.com, thehill.com.
It is the start of the last week in August and today our temperature dropped to 28 C. It didn’t feel like the end of August of years gone by.
Some mark the end of summer at this time with children heading back to school. Others look to the calendar and notice that the fall equinox is on the 22nd of September, a Sunday beginning at 0743. I have yet to see any trees ‘turning’ where I live, but it often comes slowly, barely perceptible, going from deep emerald green through the greens to yellows and reds. What does this year have in store?
There are still hundreds and hundreds of birds in the garden – wrens, finches, sparrows, Blue Jays, Crows, woodpeckers, and the occasional ‘odd one out’. Dyson is here with her big kits, and all of them are starting to get their cold-weather fur. Dyson looks healthy and gorgeous. I hope to get a photo of her for you in the coming days. Little Red is busy, along with a few other little Reds. The Crows are still here, all from the one family across the lane. Everyone survived! Tonight, they were feasting on pizza. :))))))
Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope wish you a very good last week in August! We are going to have their parties on 2 September, Hugo Yugo’s birthday. We will also celebrate the arrival of Baby Hope a year ago and, of course, Calico. There will be dental treats – oh, don’t tell them they are healthy and keeping those teeth clean and gums nice with every crunch! A few new toys and another cardboard recliner scratcher. They have obliterated the one from Missey’s birthday already!!!!!!!!
If I am looking for Hugo Yugo, she will be in the cat tree – the large one in the conservatory. If she wants to find you, there will be the loudest yawl out of the smallest cat. Hugo Yugo has only one volume – extremely high! Calico never meows. Never. She doesn’t complain if I sleep in. All that is left to the little orange tabby that was supposed to be a male!!!!!!! LOL. I do adore her. Hugo Yugo is undoubtedly a character and lives up to her name. She is going to the vet the first week in September. I am concerned about her teeth, and then, of course, there is always the watery eye. I need help keeping up with the eye patch cleanings. She has gotten to the point that she runs if she sees me coming with the pad jar!
Baby Hope (aka Calico Kitty Kitty) is simply the perfect cat for someone who likes quiet. She never scratches the furniture. She never begs for food. She never gets into trouble knocking things over. She loves sleeping in the basket, looking out, and watching the squirrels, the Blue Jays, and the Crows wrestle for food near the Weeping Caragana. Her eyes don’t drool, and her teeth and gums are perfect. She is very strong and healthy (or that is how things appear).
I am so glad that we fed Calico as much as we did as long as we did once she began coming to the garden in the winter of 2022-23. Surely it helped Baby Hope have strong bones. Hugo Yugo’s mother did not have that advantage and I think he has severely compromised Hugo Yugo’s overall health. She was starving and taken in at the last minute before the seven kittens were born.
If you ever want to do the cat world a favour, adopt a rescue, and don’t buy a purebred. Donate food to a shelter, help raise funds through a yard sale or spread the word if there is one. Right now, in Winnipeg, one kitten adoption group has more than 240 kittens in its care, and we are just coming into the next kitten cycle. Advertisements are everywhere for beautiful senior cats whose owners have died and need a home. There are so many. The Girls have given me more joy and love than I will ever do for them. They are surely a cause for celebration when it comes to lowering stress.
The problem today is that you cannot have pets if you live in a 55+ or assisted living, normally. Many apartments do not allow pets. I looked at a condo overlooking Lake Winnipeg not long ago when caring for my husband, and the garden just seemed too much. The problem – they would only allow me two of the four girls. I couldn’t separate them! And, of course, the other problem was leaving the garden animals. — But, it occurred to me that there is a real problem with people being able to have pets live with them. Don’t these places know that pets can lengthen one’s life and add joy, aiding in pain relief and easing tension?
I want to start our day with something entirely different. It does involve feathers, though. I love getting letters and messages, and this story about MOMA moved me. It comes from a reader who rescues budgies. Many are elderly. MOMA was one of those lucky to find their way to this caring home. She didn’t live long, but she lived well and with love. I thought she deserved her own spot, but more news came pouring in, so here we go, first up – MOMA, the gorgeous blue and white budgie. Just look at her below.
These are the words of a lovely woman, ‘J’, who lives in Europe and rescues budgies. She currently cares for fifteen – the maximum she feels she can feed and provide veterinary care. There are hundreds, if not thousands, out there needing homes, found in deplorable conditions. She is contacted often to see if she can take any more. People need to realise the amount of care that is required, the cost of food, and veterinary costs. Even getting beaks trimmed costs at least 30 Euros. ‘J’ has always told me to tell everyone to please help stop the sale of pets at pet stores and their breeding. There are already too many wanting to find homes – sounds like our cat situation, too. So please keep that in mind.
Thanks ‘J’ for sharing Moma’s story with us. These are ‘J’s words:
Since the beginning after I read your bio I wanted to tell you about Momo. Because it involves pottery. In the year 2000 I did a course in pottery. Just a beginner, so I wasn’t very good, but I enjoyed it very much and made cups so small they’re only good for japanese tea ceremonies or such. One day though, my piece got higher and higher… My teacher came and put her hands over mine to stabilize them, and with her help I made a wonderful piece that I made into an oil therapy lamp. Years later, when the birds moved in, I couldn’t use it anymore, so I just put it on top of a cupboard.
Today, exactly four years ago, Mia and Momo moved in. On the same day, but from two different people. Mia came first and her bringer stayed quite a while, because they’re car broke down. Instead of waiting in the car she of course waited in my kitchen where Mia stood in a small cage. Then Momo was brought, and the moment her bringers left, Momo’s bringer said “WHAT is that?!”. Not very nice, but very understandable, because you had to look twice to say that the little bundle of eh what? was indeed a budgie. Or as I said to my vet: If she had been human I would have said Momo was a bag lady who had been living on the streets for many years. She was very small, and bent. Momo was found outside in such a bad state that her first avian vet was surprised she survived. Gotten to know her I’m not: Momo was a Tough Cookie!! Her age of course was unknown, but everyone agreed she had to be over 10 years of age.
Since she needed some peace and quiet now and then from the rest of the flock (the reason she moved into her own home in the first place) and also needed to be underneath the bird lamp, I put her in the big cage, lamp an all, which normally was left open so Momo could get visitors, but that I could close to give her some rest.
dig
I couldn’t leave her on the hard cold floor, because her feet/legs were badly (don’t know the correct word) “hurt” because she was laying on them all the time. You can see what she thought of my efforts. She kept shredding the kitchen paper and throwing it out.
I finally found a solution she accepted in a piece of synthetic cloth that came with one of my early mistakes (I bought a “hut” because it looked so cute). Well, she mostly accepted it…
dig
Even a bird as small as Momo does NOT fit in this lamp, often her tail stuck out through one of the star holes I made – hilarious. Her poor tail had looked poorly from the start, being in the lamp didn’t help. So I went out and bought five different houses with more room. Momo went into one, looked around, walked out and went back into the lamp and that was it.
Going to the vet was easy: why catch her, when I can just grab the lamp? Can you imagine the face of my vet, opening the box expecting a travel cage and instead looking at an oil therapy lamp??
Unfortunately, Momo didn’t get to stay long with us, she died only 7 months later. But what a 7 months they were. I am in awe of this little bird. She was so courageous, so tough and did things HER way. I was lucky to get to know her, she was one special Lady.
What a lovely story. The little bird had “Cataracts, arthritis, sores on legs, scrambled feet, bent back, and this tiny little bird lived the best life she could live.” A bit of a lesson to us all!
At Port Lincoln, the first egg of the season was laid early Monday morning. Congratulations! Mark your calendars for pip watch: 21-22nd of September.
At the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest, Beau continues to wait for Gabby’s arrival with fish on the nest! Typically, she does not return til September.
The Captiva Eagle cam is not streaming yet, but Clive is home! We have seen Jack earlier at the Osprey nest. Poor guy still has that spike in his leg, but he seems to be flying and feeding well.
My goodness C16 is a gorgeous osprey at Charlo! And look at that stunning background.
It looks like Iris and Antali at the Hellgate Canyon nest so far on Sunday (up to 1354).
Finn delivers a massive fish to Antali that will surely make him sleep well!
There have been juveniles at Blackbush at Old Tracadie Harbour osprey platform. Gosh, I wish chicks were banded in the US – at least the ones on streaming cams – so we could see who is still coming to the nest.
There is at least one juvenile coming to the Field Farm osprey platform for food while the nest cleaners wait to see what is left for them.
Juveniles continue to come to the Oyster Bay nest on Long Island.
No one appears to be home at PSEG’s other osprey platform in Patchogue – that is for the little sparrows who have their nest in the bottom of the osprey’s.
Keke is still with us at Sandpoint. She watches as River eats its morning fish.
Only Bob is still home at Boulder and still being fed.
I am seeing no action at the Cowlitz Osprey platform in Washington State. That doesn’t mean the ospreys are not around. I have just not caught them on the nest.
It appears that three ospreys – Louise, Harvie, and a juvenile were at the Fortis-Exshaw nest in Canmore, Alberta on Sunday.
Olsen is delivering fish to the Osoyoos nest. By 1331, he had delivered a goldfish, a twiddler, and another small fish to waiting juveniles. Soo is there too, she took a fish and Olsen worked on the egg cup.
Viki reports that all of the ospreys around Island Creek, except for Mr Bennett, have departed for their migrations. The Bald Eagles are currently returning to the area and that does seem to be the case elsewhere. I will be curious to see if the eagles lay their eggs earlier this year?
At Poole Harbour, one of the chatters (‘HW’) cited the fish deliveries at that nest in southern England: “Fish today – 12:25 (022 -> 5H6), 14:45 (022 -> 5R0), 14:55 (CJ7 -> Unclaimed), 16:00 (022 -> 5R2), 20:07 (CJ7 -> 5H6)”. It would then appear that the female CJ7 is still at the nest helping with deliveries and has not begun her migration.
Three of the four had fish at the nest with the youngest one 5H6 winning two deliveries including a royal battle with the 2007 delivery by CJ7.
Poor Dad. He needs to get out of their quick. Talons are snapping. This is one huge dust up!!!!!!!!!!!
The baby wins the fish.
Key dates for this breeding season and it is 5R1 that we have not seen at the nest on Sunday. CJ7 migrated on 2 September last year after fledglings migrated on the 27th and 29th of August. CJ7 hatched at Rutland in 2015. She is 9 years old. Blue 022 was translocated to Poole Harbour in 2019. He is 5 years old.
Two beautiful juveniles at Hope and Beaumont’s nest in Newfoundland. What a great year they had too!
There is more news coming from Captiva with Window to Wildlife:
Please remind everyone! The stores are now full of Halloween decorations – tell friends, family, and neighbours.
Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.
Daily summary Sunday 25th August 2024 Another day with no activity, unless you count the spiders – both nests now have a resident spider who looks spectacular on night cam, appearing huge and spinning a gigantic web. It was as wet and windy as forecast with just the odd moment here and there of sunshine stealing through, no change expected tomorrow. This time last year we saw Ludo LY7 for the last time on nest cam, and off-nest reports from LizB informed us she’d sighted an Osprey with fish in Louis’ perch tree for several hours in the late afternoon which was probably Louis sticking around, but of course, there’s no need for him to do so this year, and he hasn’t been seen since 30th July. I
t would be lovely if Garry LV0, last seen a few days ago on the 22nd, popped in if he’s still around. Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.26.30 (05.26.20); Nest Two 21.24.45 (05.35.29) Today’s videos: none! Bonus reintroduction projects – a David Attenborough video explaining the highly successful Rutland translocation, and a news item about the new Irish Osprey project:https://youtu.be/BR2M1Jgvess https://belfastmedia.com/dulra-let-s-make-the-osprey-a-symbol-of-the-lough https://youtu.be/pRLsj6nkSzM N2 Farewell to Ludo – final visit to the nest in 2023
Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:
I missed ‘A’s post for Sunday at the Olympic Sea Eagle nest. Here it is, “This morning there was a big fish on the nest when Lady decided to have a nibble herself and then, soon after 06:01, start feeding SE33, who seems hungry and is eager to eat. SE34 slumbers on, his back to the table. He wakes up and stretches a little just before 06:02 but immediately pushed the snooze button. Just before 06:11, he wakes up properly and lifts his head to survey the scene. He is still facing the wrong way. He’s in no hurry, lying there just looking around. SUCH a cutie. He is adorable. Soon after 06:16, he finally gets up and turns to face Lady. He is much closer to her than is SE33, and when she offers SE34 his first mouthful of the day, at 06:16:41, he readily takes it. Lady tucks into the fish herself, and while he’s waiting, SE34 edges closer. SE33 is also sitting up at the table, and when Lady finally offers a bite to the eaglets, it is to SE33. Lady returns to eating. The next bite, at 06:18:10, goes to SE33. At 06:18:21, Lady gives a bite to SE34. When he takes it, SE33 immediately beaks him. He lays his head down on the nest, while Lady immediately distracts SE33 with a bite of food. She then feeds SE33 for some time. It is 06:23 before SE34 again lifts his head. But he refuses a bite at 06:23:09 and another 12 seconds later, with SE33 leaning in his direction. Lady feeds SE33. SE34’s head is down on the nest. Lady picks up a dropped piece from next to SE34, who lies still, his head down. SE33 has a huge crop at this stage. There is still plenty of fish, and somehow, SE33 is finding space to eat more of it. 06:25 and Lady is unsure of what to do. She steps back, some fish in her beak, and surveys the eaglets. She eats the bite herself. She walks over to the two, wondering whether to brood them, but with Dad waiting behind the nest on the perch branch, his eyes on the two-thirds of a large fish still on the nest, Lady turns back and grabs the fish, pulling it closer to the eaglets and further from Dad. 06:27 and SE33 surely must be full. It feels so good, it stands tall and flaps its little wings. 06:27:20, Lady reaches out to offer fish to SE34, who refuses it, pulling away and putting his head back down onto the nest. Lady eats it herself, and the next bite. SE34 stretches his little wings, standing up a little and leaning forwards. He looks at Lady, but when she offers him food, he is too scared to take it. Just before 06:28, she again tries to get SE34 to eat but he is again too scared to reach for the bite. He puts his head back down on the nest while Lady offers the bite to SE33.
SE34’s head is up and he is watching Lady as she offers him another bite at 06:28:41 but he pulls away. Lady returns to eating herself, occasionally offering a bite to SE33. Dad has retreated up the branch and has turned his back on the nest, giving up on the idea of removing the fish – at least for now. 06:19:15 and SE34’s head is up. It is 06:28 and mum is still feeding SE33, with SE34 too scared to eat. His head is up and he is watching everything but he stays down. He recoils when Lady offers him a bite. 06:29 and Lady, eating quite a bit herself, is still feeding SE33. 06:29:25 and SE33 finally stands up and waddles away from the table, turning around (carefully, with an enormous crop). At last, at 06:29:39, SE34 accepts a bite of food from Lady without hesitation. He is still nervous when she picks up a dropped piece from near him, which she feeds to SE33, and SE34 pulls away slightly. 06:30 and Lady is cleaning all the dropped pieces from the table and feeding them to SE33. Lady returns to the fish, where she eats several bites herself before offering one to SE34. He is reluctant, and she is very patient and persistent with him, to no avail. At 06:31 she gives up and eats it herself. 06:31:31, it is as if SE34 has suddenly made a decision. He lifts his head and looks at mum. He shuffles forward. SE33 has left the table, but is behind SE34.
However, SE34 is still too nervous to accept the bite he is offered. 06:31:39. At 06:31:47, he finally accepts a small piece. And another 15 seconds later. And a third, larger piece just after 06:32. And another. And another. Lady is eating a lot herself, but every 10 seconds or so, she gives a bite to SE34, who is now taking them all. There is a gap between two of the bites, and when Lady offers the next one, SE34 pulls away sharply, as if startled and fearful. Lady rips the skin off the fish and eats it, leaving the juicy fleshy part of the fish, now easy to get at. SE34 is watching her closely. When she offers him a big bite at 06:33:30, he accepts it readily. Lady has to offer him the next bite three times, however, before he has the courage to grab it. SE33 has sat up now, which has perhaps made him nervous. Still, he is less scared in taking a big bite at 06:34. But in doing so, he becomes aware of the proximity of SE33 and is very nervous about accepting another bite. Probably, SE33’s huge crop brushed him as it turned away, and SE34 takes the next bite. And the next, and the next. SE34 is now eating with more confidence and SE33, full and content, is resting its giant crop, lying behind SE34 and surveying its forest world, having a yawn. Oh, butter wouldn’t melt in that sweet beak. Surely it would never bonk a younger sibling! It’s angelic.
06:35 and finally, SE34 is getting fed some breakfast. SE33 surveys the canopy above, gazing around its nest. It turns to check out the ongoing feeding of SE34 but soon returns to its fascination with its surroundings. 06:36 and SE34 is eating really well. Lady is feeding fast, and giving him big bites, but SE34 is managing them well. He is hungry and eager to eat. Lady occasionally takes a couple of bites herself. 06:37 and SE34 is suddenly in need of a break. He pauses, perhaps dealing with previous bites. He has eaten a large amount of fish in a relatively short period of time, and seems full at 06:37:24, but Lady coaxes him and he takes another bite. And another at 06:37:30. He has his second wind and continues to eat. He is still nervous, though, and when he drops a bite and Lady retrieves it from beneath him, he cringes and refuses the resulting bite. Lady pauses for a short snack, then offers SE34 a bite at 06:38:36. He is ready to take it. Lady continues feeding SE34, now offering him smaller bites. He eats manfully on, 06:40 and Lady is still feeding SE34, who is eating confidently.
This feeding was both reassuring and worrying. SE34 is obviously not confident when eating. Lady is persisting, and there is plenty of fish on the nest, so I remain confident that the outcome will be positive. But the process may be a nervous watch, with SE34 periodically missing out on meals and being fairly randomly bonked by SE33. I think the random nature of the attacks are part of the problem. Sometimes, SE33 is laidback and has no objection to her little brother’s participation in a meal. At other times, she is positively Zoe-like, intolerant of SE34 getting a single bite even when her own crop is absolutely massive. And there is little or no effort from SE34 to ensure he gets himself fed. It is entirely dependent on Lady’s patience and persistence. If she does not ensure that SE34 eats, there is every likelihood that he won’t. This does not bode well for his future survival prospects. If he lacks the drive to ensure its own survival in a relatively friendly nest environment with a helpful and experienced parent, I hate to think of its chances when it comes to seeing off those pesky birds that we know will shadow his every move once he fledges. I hate to say that, but in order to survive, these sea eaglets need some spunk. They need spirit and the drive to survive. I am not seeing that in SE34, which I find disturbing and concerning.
But it’s not meant to be a depressing post – SE34 had a full tummy to start the day, as did SE33, and with plentiful sushi on offer on the nest at most times of the day, let’s hope things continue to work out for SE34. If his size relative to SE33 is anything to go by, he has caught up a little bit in the past week, so the parents must be successfully getting enough food into the little man. I do hope he gains in confidence, which is such an essential quality for a successful future as an eaglet fledging into this forest. He won’t stand a chance against that army of pestering small birds if he can’t stand up for himself against imaginary threats like mum moving too close. Nor has he shown any ingenuity when it comes to getting fed. He has not moved away from SE33 or tried to skirt around it to ensure a better feeding position. He worries me in that respect. But please prove me wrong, SE34. Lady and Dad are certainly doing their best. Even mum is bringing in fish, of which there appears to be no current shortage in their favourite fishing areas.”
Today’s report from A on the sea eaglets and weather: “At 06:42, the eaglets are sitting up at the table side by side, looking adorable, but Lady is only feeding SE33. She sees that SE34 is not confident enough to take a bite. But SE33 soon decided it could no longer fit fish into its giant crop, and turned away from the table 06:42:20. S/he then lay down behind SE34. When he took a bite from mum and was not beaked for it, SE34 was emboldened to take another bite and another. Mum then proceeded to feed SE34 the remainder of the fish. He ignored SE33, who in turn was more interested in playing with nest material than bonking her little brother.
06:42:42 and SE34 is STILL pulling away from Lady offering a bite of fish. SE33 is not interested and SE34 can see that as he looks over his shoulder, but he still cringes away from the next bite offered, just before 06:43 and the next. Mum is patient, offering the bite a third time at 06:43:10 but again it is refused. But six seconds later, SE34 takes the bite and nothing happens. But as Lady offers the next bite, SE33 sits up again and SE34 turns his head away. Lady offers SE33 the bite but s/he isn’t interested and moves away. This gives SE34 the courage to take the bite offered at 06:43:45 and another five seconds later. SE34 turns away from the next bite but Lady is patient, offering it to him again, waiting, offering it again. Finally, it is taken.
Lady keeps offering bites and SE34 cringes away, feeling SE33 moving behind him. Eventually though, he accepts a bite, but cringes away again from the next, even though Lady patiently offers it to him several times. His head is turned away from Lady. After much coaxing, he accepts a bite at 06:45:45 and another ten seconds later. And another two in the ten seconds after that.
From this point, Lady feeds SE34 the rest of the fish. SE34 gets to eat a large amount of very fresh fish and by 06:57, he has a crop that rivals SE33’s. Just LOOK at it at 06:57:15-20!!!! Just look at those bright little eyes and that shiny little black beak. Is that not just absolutely adorable? And that’s a nice way to start the day – both eaglets with giant crops before 7am, and a nice feed for Lady as well. Fabulous.
We are expecting gale force winds over the next 36 hours and I think Orange may be affected. Sydney is on the fringes of the impacted area but should be okay. Melbourne shouldn’t be hit. “
‘A’ reports on the Royal Cam chick: “He is magnificent. It literally brings tears to my eyes, emphasising as it does how very little time we have left with these gorgeous chicks. As I was saying the other day, we are spoiled in the sense that it is a very very long season, with a long incubation period and a long pre-fledging period. But that does have the effect of giving us a very long time to fall deeply in love with these beautiful creatures. Seven or eight months is a very long time to watch them prepare for the flight of their lives. Or, rather, the flight that is their lives. They’ve never even practised fishing and off they go, heading for the coast of Chile, completely alone in the world and without any skills at all. There are no training wheels for albatross chicks.
We will miss you little man. You are gorgeous. Both parents have been in to feed TF in the past few days, so at least we know that they’re okay. It is always a worry for me, waiting for a parent to return and counting the days. “
Scientists are asking us to help them find species of rare birds. Can you help?
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, stories, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today. ‘A, Geemeff, J, VV’, Moma, Melbourne Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, NEFL_AEF, Jenny Peckham, Charlo Montana, Montana Osprey Project, Blackbush at Old Tracedie Harbour, Field Farm, PSEG, Sandpoint, Boulder County, Cowlitz PUD, Fortis-Exshaw (Canmore and Osoyoos), BoPH, Newfoundland Power, Window to Wildlife, and Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Olympic Park Eagles, SK Hideaways, Lady Hawk, and The New York Times.
Thursday was an ‘odd’ day. We woke up to overnight torrential downpours with pools of water everywhere. The dishes for ‘The Boyfriend’ were scattered everywhere, and one of the birdbaths was turned upside down. Now, as this wind? Or was it the fox? I couldn’t tell. By early morning, it was muggy outside – but it didn’t stop us from heading off to check on birds. There were hundreds of Red-wing Blackbirds in the corn fields. According to Wiley On-Line, “Red-winged Blackbirds are often initially attracted to corn fields to feed on insect pests during the 2–3 week period between silking and kernel development.” I learned something new today.
The minute I stopped, the birds all dove down into the corn. Would they come up and do their fancy flying while I was there? Of course not! LOL
Then a Red-tail Hawk was spotted on a branch above a wheat field. Looks like it is moulting.
The animals at Pineridge Hollow do have a nice life. They are not continually caged up so they can be exploited for our benefit. There is a large field at the back where they can feed and wander except for the chickens that are likely taken into a coop at night.
This must be Rufus!
This is Sugar.
The goats were simply not interested in being friendly today.
The field behind the pen enclosures where the animals can roam.
We were not home for a minute before the Crows came calling. Some were on the wire demanding cheesy dogs while a couple were eating of one of the nut and bug suet cylinders. Gosh, I love these characters!
The lesson for today comes from the garden’s Blue Jays. Here is Junior. Junior is the father of one group of this year’s fledglings. I know him by the pattern of the white on his tail. His other distinction right now is that he looks ‘ill’. Junior is healthy. He is moulting. The process of replacing feathers often happens a few feathers at a time. This allows the birds to fly to feed and protect themselves. They also need those feathers to protect them from the summer heat and torrential rains. That said, some of the Blue Jays will lose all their head feathers and become completely bald. That is what Junior is doing. Because our summer season is so short, most Blue Jays in my neighbourhood opt to lose them all so that the time to have a full crest again is shortened. Some say it takes about a week. You may read that Blue Jays of all ages moult and become bald. I have not found this to be the case. This year’s fledglings have their full crests and that is how I can tell them from the adults quickly.
You can see that Junior’s crest is just beginning to come in.
This is one of this year’s fledglings. I want you to look very closely. This is the little one that I was concerned about. It’s tail is still not straight but its crest is in better condition. It is eating and flying well. I shed tears seeing this one today as I had not seen it. We have several new feral cats and a fox coming to the garden and I was so concerned that one or the other had killed the poor baby. Not so!
This is Mamma. She is moulting, too. She is a little behind Junior. You can even see her ‘ear’ – the dark circle behind the eye.
A perfectly healthy 2024 Blue Jay fledgling who has just enjoyed some peanuts and is pondering what to do next with that tiny seed in its mouth. Behind him, you will see one of the ‘new’ baby Sparrows. They keep upsetting the frame that holds my cherry tomatoes upright.
I love our geese.
News about another female checking out another osprey platform in Poole Harbour. Notice the comment about CJ7 coming in 2017. CJ7 waited and waited for her prince – Blue 022 to arrive. They have raised chicks in 2022, 2023, and again – four this year – 2024.
If you live in Nova Scotia, why not head down to Hope for Wildlife. They are the leading rehabilitator in that province.
Will Port Lincoln’s Mum and Dad be grandparents this year? Calypso has a mate at the Tulka platform!
Iris is tired. She has been busy making sure that her babies, Sum-eh and Antali, are well feed. But has she been practising self-care? I sure hope so. We want to see you back next year, Queen Iris.
Hope calling to Beaumont when she sees him coming in with a fish at the Newfoundland Snow Lane nest.
It is all good.
On the other side of North America, it was quiet at the Cowlitz PUD osprey platform of Electra.
Well, it wasn’t quiet at the Fortis-Exshaw Platform near Canmore, Alberta. Harvie brought a fish to two hungry fledglings on the nest just after 1600. I bet his talons hurt as much as Iris and Finnegan!
What a gorgeous place for an Osprey platform at Charlo! Lola on the perch and C16 on the nest.
Dad is delivering a lot of fish to the Olympic Park Sea Eagle nest. Big Sibling seems to always have a huge crop! They both still resemble little snow people. So cute.
The extent of plastic in the ocean is killing the beautiful petrels and albatross. I know it is hard to avoid plastic, but make a pact with yourself that you will try! And reuse plastic in your home whenever you must buy items enclosed in it!
Only Bob joins all the other fledglings worldwide, screaming for fish to be brought to the nest.
The four are hanging around Field Farm, too, and getting some nice big fish.
Crows and fledglings are at Oyster Bay on Long Island.
It looks like our great Patchogue Long Island Mum is still in town. She was on the nest at least once on Thursday.
Just look at the fish on the nest at Osoyoos! My goodness. What I would have given to have had fledglings so full they couldn’t eat anymore when Little was still with us!!!!!! Maybe a movement will start where people deliver fish to nests when the birds are hungry. Just to carry them through. It takes on average 500 fish for a family with three fledglings according to all the studies done by John Williams for Forestry England up at Clywedog.
I kept getting the ball of death when I tried to rewind at Marders in East Hampton Long Island. The fledgling is on the nest being fed. It is in the blue rectangle.
Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Thursday 22nd August 2024 Today brought a lovely surprise – Garry LV0, thought to have left on migration after last being seen on 18th August, turned up at Nest One today. He spent more than fifteen minutes on the nest, preening and looking around, before flying off eastwards. The weather was wet and windy and it’ll be about a week before there’s a chance of sunshine. Woodland Trust have announced their candidates for British Tree of the Year, one of which, the Skipinnish Oak, is a neighbour of Loch Arkaig Pine Forest. More info and link to vote for your favourite here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15806183 Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.40.30 (05.15.27); Nest Two 21.37.17 (05.21.30) Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/H_ddzxroEpkN1 Garry LV0 turns up after a 4-day absence! 13.19.20 Bonus action – after voting for your favourite British tree of the year, please sign the petition to save them and other living legends:
This fool, #IdiotsWithGuns as I call them, is contrite, but the fine and punishment is not nearly enough – he’s broken up a breeding pair, killed one of the adults, and a chick starved to death in the nest while an egg didn’t hatch as no adult around to incubate. Just disgusting. And to make it work, he effectively got just a $350 fine. And the neighbour who chopped down the nest tree forcing the family to move onto the idiot’s land is also culpable.https://cdapress.com/news/2024/aug/22/hayden-man-fined-for-killing-osprey/
Geemeff sends us the Latest video of Loch Arkaig Osprey chick ‘Jaws’ 1JW, plus photos of the late Paen JH3, both in Parque Natural del Marjal de Pego-Oliva Spain from Fundación Migres and tweets from Woodland Trust Scotland:
I am reminded by a message from ‘PB’ about the growing numbers of wildlife in rehabilitation centres. SOAR is only one of thousands of centres.
Our wildlife rehabilitation centres are often so full that they turn away animals. It is so very very sad that these excellent doctors and their clinics do not get an ounce of government support. Everything is done by donation and an army of volunteers. So this brings me to my last point for the day. Help. Do what you can to help the wildlife. You might only be able to put out a life saving bowl of water – do it, please. You have no idea how many lives you could be saving. But you can also do more. Every one of us has more stuff than we can possibly use. The next time you clean out the closet or the garage or the basement, look at what is there. The rehabilitation clinics need stuff. From bleach to tools to food for the animals – garden produce, etc. Good clean towels and sheets, laundry detergent, toys – don’t forget the toys for enrichment. Paper towels…the list is endless including kiddie pools! Look around you. Set you a neighbourhood campaign. Gather up everything you can and if you can’t deliver it, I promise you the wildlife centre will find a devoted volunteer who can. You will have cleared out some space and you will be smiling because this is one way to really help.
Thank you so much for being with us today. We so hope that you are having a good end to the week! Remember to get outside and listen for the birds and look up – you might just see a hawk sitting on a branch in the most unexpected of places.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, PB’, Sweetbriar Nature Centre, BoPH, Connie Dennis, Friends of Sth Aus, Cornell Bird Lab, Newfoundland Power, Cowlitz PUD, Fortis-Exshaw, That Kat, Charlo Montana, Olympic Sea Eagle Cam, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, Boulder County, Field Farm, PSEG, Osoyoos, Marder’s, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, BTO, Liznm, and SOAR.
The reports that ‘H’ sends missed me by a few minutes as I had to turn the computer off early to get to the Halifax Airport. She spent much time observing the nests, and I didn’t want you to miss her observations!
8/16 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: A day in the life for this osprey family: Very early this morning one of the fledglings flew from the t-perch and picked up a leftover fish and had a nice breakfast. Seven new fish were brought to the nest today, including two from Louise! Louise was first seen at 1008 when she landed for a quick on-and-off the nest. Then the intruder soon landed and prevented another osprey from landing (we couldn’t tell who). After Harvie’s third fish delivery of the day, the intruder landed and stood on the nest for a couple of minutes as a juvenile ate. An adult did a close fly-over and the intruder left. From 1028 to 1055, the intruder was on and off the nest a few times, and twice prevented another osprey from landing, including one carrying a fish. At 1109, the intruder landed, a juvie quickly flew to the nest from the t-perch, and flushed her off the nest! At 1131 the Intruder landed again, and Harvie flew to the nest and ejected her. Getting rid of the intruder was becoming a family affair. Louise delivered a fish to one of her youngsters at 1309. Louise’s crop was a bit hollow. She went and grabbed another fish and brought it to another juvie at 1319. Wonderful Louise, now go grab a fish for yourself! The intruder buzzed the nest at 1346 and 1357. At 1524 a juvie on the nest prevented the intruder from landing, but she circled around and landed on the nest anyway. The juvenile then flapped and ejected her! At 1656 the intruder was on the nest when an osprey did a close fly-over, and when the osprey approached again, the intruder quickly flew off. Then it was time for the intruder to do her evening dive-bombing. From 19:39:22 to 19:44:02 the intruder dive-bombed the lone fledgling on the nest 11 times. The juvie did not leave the nest, but just kept her eyes on the intruder and pancaked each time the intruder approached. Only once did there appear to be some slight contact from the intruder’s talons. The intruder then made herself at home on the angled nest perch. At 1948 she buzzed the chick on the nest and flew away. The three siblings were all next to each other on the t-perch as darkness fell.
8/16 Osoyoos osprey nest: Both chicks spent some time in the nest waiting for fish today. At 1212, Olsen delivered a large partial fish, and Soo grabbed it. We thought she was going to provide a feeding, but she flew off with the fish instead. I didn’t see any more fish delivered until 1951. Olsen brought a small whole fish that was grabbed by Chick 1. Olsen returned at 2003 with another nice sized whole fish for Chick 2. Both chicks had their crops filled for the night!
Thanks so much ‘H’ and thank you Fortis-Exshaw for both cameras at Osoyoos and at Canmore.
