osprey starvation – Page 12 – Mary Ann Steggles

A Goose Convention…Bird World for Wednesday

5 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Tuesday required a walk in the park, and I am so glad I picked St Vital. The adult Canada Geese had brought all the goslings up from the Red River to the park to feed on new grass and rest. I have never seen so many goslings in one spot in my life!

There were more goslings and ducklings around the pond, but, it was only when I was in the car leaving, that I saw this group that excited me so much. There were literally hundreds of them. I slowed right down in sheer wonder at what I was seeing but, I did not stop to take a photograph. For fear of disturbing them and sending stress through the entire group, I continued on. Some were in the flower garden eating plants! There were also Wood Duck babies – I only saw the Mums – and Pintail babies along with Mallards and goslings. It was a grand morning.

Just to let you know, early counting at the park indicated a lower number than in previous years. The hundreds of goslings came from nests along and around the river and not the park but to my sheer joy, there were lots of babies hatched from nests on the island in the pond. Some are only a few days old; others are nearing six weeks. It certainly raised my level of joie.

At the beginning of the season, there were so many male Wood ducks and only a couple of females at this pond that it was curious. Now there is not a male Wood duck in sight. Are they on the island in the shade while the females are out on the pond with the wee ones foraging?

More ducklings, Mallards.

This gosling has its beautiful juvenile feathers coming in on its back as that soft natal down just seems to be peeling away and falling off. I was shocked at the size of this one who came right to 3 metres of me and my camera without any fear. Look at those huge muscular legs.

The ones in the image below are all starting to get their wing and tail feathers. Like the other one above you can see the back juvenile plumage already in place.

Weeding the flower beds?

Adults trying to herd the youngsters across the road so that they can all go back to the river.

The newly hatched. It is hard to believe but all of these will be ready for their migration flight which will take place from September to the end of October.

As is typical, I want to bring the sad news first so that we can end on a ‘high’ note. The Newfoundland Power nest brings me to tears. Things are much better at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest, but I will remain cautious. While ‘MP’ finds joy in the sparrows living in the nest under the Patchogue osplets, my joy is walking in the trees and listening to the birds. I am so grateful that I was out today, for when I returned, ‘T’ sent me news of the death in Finland – another siblicide at the Janakkalan nest and then the death of the last surviving falcon at the University of Montreal. Tomorrow, I expect to add #105, the other osplet from the Newfoundland nest unless Hope continues to feed it and it somehow frees itself from that mud. 105. We are only beginning July. ——- Still, we must rejoice in all the ones that survive and, of course, one of those is our own Little Mini from Patchogue.

Dad brings in a fish to Mum and the two surviving osplets at Janakkalan.

Hope continues to brood and feed the chick that is alive and stuck in the mud of the nest. This is beyond sad. Will the chick get strong to free itself? is it injured? Why doesn’t someone climb the ladder and help? Bring some grasses, assess the chick and then decide what to do. Even bring a fish or two! It could help and it sure wouldn’t hurt. A great big show of human empathy is what is needed here!!!!

The second chick at Newfoundland is free from the mud but, is dying. Two very healthy babies. Sad beyond belief. There has been no shortage of fish. I wonder what this male thinks when his chicks die year after year after year.

Dad looking down at his dying chick. Poor thing is crying and raising its head.

‘H’ reports that with even five fish delivered yesterday the first hatch or in this case also the Alpha chick on the Fortis Exshaw nest is continually beaking the little one – not just at meals, all the time. We are now watching this nest for siblicide.

At the Minnesota Arboretum nest, the Mum has tried to create a little nest…if the wind would cooperate and leave the grasses alone. She is also continuing to feed the chick who is right at the table when fish is brought in when it is hungry. Things are looking good here. But like the Newfoundland nest there is a lot of sticky gumbo and these couples need nesting materials.

Will this osplet chick grow up not knowing that a nest needs lots of bedding? Instinct? Observed and learned?

The single surviving osplet is entering the Reptile phase. Send positive wishes…we are not out of the woods until this one has a successful fledge and returns to the nest.

Just look at the Clark PUD nest in comparison. The two chicks are doing well. (I worry if there are rains that the Minnesota chick will also get stuck in mud.)

I no longer count the bites of fish Mini gets (if I can see to do this). Mum is feeding her and she is also self-feeding. This chick is strong and resilient. She is also a beauty! Some images from the Patchogue nest today where hovering is reaching new heights! We are into fledge season for many!

Please look at these four beautiful osplets. Did you ever think that Mini would catch up with Third Hatch? I suspect but, will never know, that Big, Two, and Mini are females and Three is a male. Why? Little Mini’s growth continues while Three has stopped. Three’s legs are long and skinny. We can now see the size of Mini’s wings in comparison to Three which is right beside her.

Can you see the tail of Big? Hovering is off the scale on Tuesday. Fledge is near.

Look at Little Mini’s expression to the sibling hovering.

Gorgeous Little Mini.

Mini self-feeding.

The Patchogue nest was on high alert with Mum mantling at 10:11. No fledges yet but more wing flapping including our Little Mini! Yes, that is Mini with its wings spread. Smile everyone.

One of the chicks, perhaps, Big is dangling just like Big at Patchogue. Getting lots of air. ‘H’ reports, “The community held its July 4th parade, and the parade route traveled right in front of the nest. So, there was a slight bit of a disturbance. Otherwise, there may very well have been a fledge on 7/4. ‘Big’ (I assume) did some decent hovering. See the feet dangling in one of the attached pics.”

‘H’ reports that the Forsythe nest continues to do well. “There has been a heat wave along the coast, with temps in the low to mid 90’s for a few days. The heat may be responsible for a reduced amount of fish being delivered to the Forsythe nest. There were only four fish brought to the nest on 7/4, although two of them were pretty big. Opal delivered the two large fish herself. Big took the first small fish to self feed, then Middle stole the tail! Cool Osprey stuff. Even with the reduced amount of fish, ‘Big’ maintained his ‘composure’ (lol) . . no aggressive behavior. (ages 44, 43 days on 7/5)”

The osplets at the Boulder County Fair Grounds wished they were a little smaller so they could fit underneath Mum during the rain.

The two surviving osplets at Collins Marsh appear to be thriving. Just look at that beautiful nest their parents have made for them.

The foster chick at the Patuxent River Park 1 nest fledged yesterday — and to the relief of all, returned to the nest 27.5 hours later! Look at the smile on that chick’s face. Great flying. I bet she is glad to be home. Thanks ‘H’ for the great news.

‘H’ adds “At 1319 Dad delivered a large fish to the nest, and in contrast to her usual demeanor, ‘Foster’ grabbed the fish from Dad. Mom wanted the fish and a brief tug of war ensued, but Mom got the message, and ‘Foster’ won. Foster’s crop was hollow, and she ate ravenously. When she was full, there was still plenty of that fish left for Mom to feed to her foster siblings. Dad delivered large fish two more times, and ‘Foster’ was back to being her normal reserved self, standing by until Mom had fed her offspring, and ‘Foster’ was then fed by her foster Mom. (the siblings are 50 and 49 days old)”.

Blue 33 always makes me smile…On Tuesday, he delivered three fish to the nest in less than an hour! He’s got fledglings to feed. Blue 3H3 took off today and 3H5 is really doing fantastic at hovering.

As was mentioned in my blog yesterday, many of the females are out fishing to supplement the fish from the males. This has been a year of injuries and intruders that have caused all the Daddy Door Dashes to wish they had a cell phone and a credit card to the nearest live fish market.

Laddie was back delivering fish to the nest of Blue NC0 and the two kids today, thankfully.

I promised an update on the Australian nests and I keep forgetting. ‘A’ sent this to me after I hit ‘send’ on my Tuesday morning blog.

Sydney Sea Eagles: :A wet day, with Lady spending much longer on the eggs – 8.5 hours – and as usual only leaving them uncovered for short times. Dad brought in bird prey at 9:16am – a coot again – the cameras were down for some time. Lady took it off to eat, but Dad had a full crop too. I am wondering where he is catching the coots – I would expect people to see him hunting in the wetlands the coots are found in. Coots have very distinctive lobed feet. After a damp day, both eagles settled again as usual at dusk.”

Orange Falcons: “Xavier spent some time hanging out in the nest box today, doing some scraping. There were a couple of bonding sessions, with a two-minute chat and bonding at 17:48:40. Diamond then went to the Cilla Stones. She is sleeping on the Stones again tonight. Both appear well.”

Speaking of falcons, Annie and Lou are enjoying some peace and quiet after the 2023 season. I wonder if the fireworks bothered them? Or maybe SF didn’t have any loud light displays. — There were fireworks in the Channel Islands on the night of the 3rd and ‘B’ tells me that Thomas slept through them. Oh, that is wonderful. We worried about the impact on all the eaglets.

CBD Falcons: “At Collins Street, they will not turn on the cameras until about 10 or 12 days before the first hatch is due. Maybe a few days earlier than that but not much. So I will keep an eye on the local news for any sign of the first egg being laid. Of course, it is still several weeks away. August is usual, I believe.”

Royal Albatross: “In New Zealand, Manaaki had a very rare night-time feeding when a parent (identify impossible to discern in the darkness) arrived to feed him at 2.40am!!!”

‘A’ comments on what is happening at the Bald Eagle nest that adopted the little Red-tailed Hawk named Tuffy, “Meanwhile, I was disturbed to hear that the eagles who are fostering a red-tailed hawklet are starting to attack the chick and dropped it off the nest the other day. Poor little thing must be awfully confused by the schizoid behaviour of its foster parents, but I hope it wakes up to the danger in time to depart before it becomes a snack. What interests me is the number of these cases that are now becoming apparent. It suggests, of course, that this situation is way more common than we realised before the era of streaming cams – we are now seeing something we previously did not have an opportunity to observe for ourselves, and in the process we are finding that these ‘strange’ things are not as rare as we perhaps thought. The fact that the hawklets are faster-maturing than the bald eaglets and are confident little chicks who are not used to bonking on their natal nest and therefore confidently beg for food. I believe it is at that moment that the eagle parents recognise the hawklet as a baby chick rather than as prey. If the hawklet does not beg, it becomes lunch. If it does, it turns into a chick in the eyes of the eagles. The situation is obviously unstable, and if there are food shortages, the hawklet may be in serious danger. But many of these hawklets do seem to fledge and survive, albeit with a weird taste for fish!”

In the UK, raptors are continuing to be openly shot on the wealthy estates. This one is Westerdale in North Yorkshire. When will the shooting and gaming community come together, buy some extra grouse – I understand there are often many left after the shooting parties, and let the wild birds live their lives.

2nd-red-kite-found-shot-nr-Westerdale-in-North-York-Moors-National-Park-in-recent-weeks-with-suspic Download

There are young osprey chicks in Canada and ones getting ready to fledge. There is banding going on in the UK and other parts of Europe. Some of the Mums will begin to feed themselves to regain their lost weight, raising their chicks and preparing for their migration to Africa. It is hard to imagine, but in 3 weeks, females like Blue NC0 could leave their nests for their long journey. It is typical for the females to leave the nest first. The male stays and brings fish to the fledglings until they leave. He may remain and eat up before flying off – generally in September. I hope to have some news for us on the status of HPAI in West Africa as that is the winter home to many of the UK Ospreys. We also need to check and see what is happening with Avian Flu in South America, as it is the winter home to most of the North American ospreys.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon.

I am grateful to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, H’, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Newfoundland Power, MN-Landscape Arboretum, Clark PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Collins Marsh, PSEG, Patuxent River Park, LRWT, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Severna Park, Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, Raptor Persecution UK, and the NZ DOC.

Fledge at Rutland, Dmitri’s stork gets a nest…Tuesday in Bird World

4 July 2023

Good Morning,

To everyone celebrating the Fourth of July – have a wonderful day! I remember the sparklers and those triangles ‘black things’ that grew like long snakes when lit with a match and made such a mess. There was always a picnic and a freezer full of homemade ice cream. There were also fireworks. Of course, now, we think of their harm to wildlife and to pets, not those dazzling colours in the sky. No one knew then, but we do now – so, instead of fireworks, give something to your local wildlife rehab – a bag of dog kibble, a gallon of bleach, old towels and sheets – whatever you can afford.

The theme of this year’s osprey season might well be the number of nests where the females have had to go and supplement the fish brought in by the males.

We will start with the sad bits and end on a high note with Soledad’s 3rd day in the wild world of downtown San Jose.

Monday was a bit of hard day – again. The third hatch at the Borders nest in Scotland died from starvation/not being able to get to eat/siblicide. There were mitigating circumstances and everyone hoped that things would work out for Samson and Juno’s little chick. Samson was gone for some 20 hours and did not deliver fish and for some strange reason, many of the males are not doing well at deliveries this year. Even Blue NC0 has been going fishing again at Loch of the Lowes. Juno went fishing and came in with some big ones, but the two older siblings took over, and the little one was left out. Fly high, sweetie.

The third hatch is on the far left being submissive.

The two chicks are in a sad state at Newfoundland Power. I hope when you read this that they have passed over that Rainbow Bridge. So many of you have phoned and e-mailed the power company and so have I. Unfortunately, nothing will probably be done. Humans need to become more empathetic to suffering. The first one appears finally succumb to starvation after more than two or more days of being injured and without food. The second one was injured with sticks by Hope on the 2nd. Hope tried to aerate the mud around the chicks and feed the chicks. I have great pity for her…she lost her all of her chicks, save for one in 2019. She appears not to understand how to care for the babies or why they are dying. ‘T’ and I are wondering if raptors can suffer mental illness.

It is raining in Newfoundland and poor Hope is brooding her dead and/or dying chicks. Did I say my heart just aches for this mother who just seems so unaware.

There is good news at another nest we have been concerned for, thankfully. The life of the only surviving chick at the MN- Landscape Arboretum nest is improving. The female had quite the turnaround, and this little one is growing nicely.

At the Patchogue nest, it looked like Big was going to fledge Monday afternoon. At 1518 s/he had its wings out almost knocking Mini off the nest. Lots of wing flapping and hopping and some very good hovers. All of this caught Mini’s attention and then later, the other two big siblings. Gosh, do you remember when we were reluctant to check on this nest for fear something had happened to Little Mini? or we went to bed worried about how much food Mini had. Well, now this nest is one that I turn to for hope. These parents have done an exceptional job. If osplets model their future behaviour by the way they were treated on the nest, then these four will have very successful families!

Siblings all lined up before Big gets really antsy. Oh, it could have been such a wonderful self portrait if not for the itchiness of feathers! But look at our Little Mini there with its smile and huge crop – a reminder that with the hard work of the parents and the determination of this tiny tiny chick – we can have success. Look at the size of Mini next to Big! Gracious.

The long skinny legs of Big make me think it is a male…a big male.

Big getting some height.

Mini of the ‘many’ faces today as she pondered all the flapping and hovering. Then every once in awhile Mini would get excited and flap its little wings, too.

Mini wanting Big’s fish.

There is a chance of a fledge at Patchogue today although it would be good if Big would continue the hovering practice.

Another site that makes me happy is Dmitri and his stork. If you remember he removed the beaten and battered fifth stork from the family nest before its mother could kill it. He cared for its wounds, fed it worms, and made a pen for it to grow and eat. Now look. Dmitri made a real stork nest for his not so little foster storklet, Pyatachok. ‘T’ tells me that the name refers to ” “the small coin 5 kopecks and also a piglet like the friend of Winnie the Pooh.” The five of course refers to this one’s birth order.

I understand that Dmitri has a very treatable cancer and that the community and wider community have rallied to gather funds for his after care and treatment. His operation is 18 July. Wishing him well. Anyone who rescues an abused animal and treats it with the respect that this man has is fantastic. Oh, my faith in humans does sometimes rise high. This same community helped with the materials and maybe even the camera for this kind man.

Missing all the squeeing from the WRDC nest…well, here is Rose delivering a fish and R4 and R5! Thanks Heidi Mc.

Sunnie Day gives an upclose and personal view of Whitley and Noble at the much loved Crooked Lake osprey nest.

The new couple at the Collins Marsh osprey platform in Wisconsin are doing fantastic. The two surviving chicks have grown like crazy and are doing so well.

I cannot confirm that the couple at the Cowlitz PUD are Electra and her mate. I can say that this single surviving osplet is being well fed when fish is available. It is growing and Mum is sleeping side by side with the chick in the nest which might help protect it from any predators.

You would be hard-pressed to pick out the tiny third hatch at the Boulder County Fairgrounds osprey nest today! Exceptional parenting, plenty of fish – this nest of three has thrived with that tiny one growing and catching up. This nest was once on my worry list – no more!

The Lipka osprey nest in Poland with its three osplets is doing exceptionally well, also.

The three at the Ramucka Forest osplet nest in Poland are also thriving!

The three chicks at Nest #1 in Finland are trying to work out what to do with a piece of bark (is it similar to Birch?) brought to the nest.

Elen and Aran’s chicks have been ringed at Glaslyn. We have two boys.

We have the first fledge of the 2023 season for Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland Water. Blue 3H3 took off at 0924 on the 4th of July. Congratulations.

‘H’s report on the nests she is monitoring:

FortisExshaw: “It has been difficult to view feedings at this nest, as our view is usually blocked. But there was a feeding at 1734 on 7/3 that was easily seen. Everything was going along great, and Little was in the front row receiving many bites of fish. However, four minutes into the feeding, one of the older chicks, that I believe to be Big, unleashed a beaking attack upon Little. Little didn’t do anything to instigate the attack. After the attack, Little stayed crouched in submissive posture for the remainder of the feeding. I cannot say that was the first time there has been aggression toward Little at a meal, but it was the first time I have seen it. The kids are prone to bonking battles in between meals, and sometimes those battles are started by Little. Pics attached are from the 1734 feeding. (ages 16, 16, and 14 days on 7/4)”.

Osoyoos: “Osoyoos – The 8 and 7 day old Osplets are just little angels at meal times, but they do get into some bonking between meals. Oh my, this nest is in dire need of some padding. See the attached pic . . the kids are sitting in a hole below the level of the pole that the nest is built on! “

Severna Park: “Severna Park – These gorgeous teenagers are on fledge watch. Ages 57 and 56 days on 7/4.”

Forsythe: “Forsythe – The temperature was very hot with thunderstorms later in the day. The heat may have made for difficult fishing for the Ospreys. There were two early fish, then Opal was MIA for several hours. When she returned at 1411 she brought a very large fish with her, and at 1459 Oscar also landed with a large fish. There were six fish in total. This nest remains peaceful. The Osplets are 43 and 42 days of age.”

McEuen Park, Idaho: Look at those beautiful osplets – all three of them! I hope they are not scared off their nest today by fireworks!

Dear Soledad. Oh, how we do worry about you! So good to see how you are doing.

Ferris Akel found all of Big Red’s family last night at Cornell. The three fledglings are doing exceptionally well.

A short and lovely article about a man who bought 35 acres of land in Ireland and began to rewind it. There is hope as each of us does what we can to help our planet. Maybe in your garden it could start with a single plant to help bees or butterflies.

‘The-result-was-amazing-one-mans-mission-to-reforest-a-barren-Irish-hillside-Rewilding-The-Gu Download

Thank you so much for being with me today. Be kind to yourself. Take care and see you soon!

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me create my blog today: ‘A’, Border Ospreys, PSEG, MN-Landscape Arboretum Osprey nest, Newfoundland Power Company, Sunnie Day and Crooked Lake Ospreys, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, Lipka Osprey Nest, the Ramucka Forest Ospreys, Bywyd Gwywwd Glaslyn, Rutland O, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Severna Park, Forsythe ospreys, McEuen Park, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcon Cam, Ferris Akel Live Stream, and The Guardian.

Foster fledges…Monday in Bird World

3 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I spent most of early Sunday doing some clerical work. The joy of finding new osprey nests with healthy chicks like Loch Don raises my spirits. Hopefully, by today I will have caught up with everything Claudio needs me to do. His programme for monitoring the nests for my research is exceptional, and I am so grateful to him and to ‘H’ for helping track quite many nests for me. Now it is time for me to get all the details of the nests I am following cleaned up and updated! As a result, this blog could be a mishmash. Still, there are always good things that come out of tidying.

My need for additional information allowed me to reconnect with Diane and others at the Tweed Valley Ospreys. Tweed Valley chicks will be ringed and fitted with satellite trackers soon. Last year they had three lovely males. Sadly, it appears that two perished, but Blue 708 Glen is still alive and loving his life in Morocco as of 14 June.

First up I reported that the osplet at Snow Lane in Newfoundland died on 1 July. That poor little one is still suffering and dying on the 2nd. Meanwhile Mum Hope is eating away and sometimes feeds the other chick. (Wishing someone would go up and retireve that baby and foster it).

The situation at the nest of Hope and Beau grows more dire as it appears that the healthy chick was injured with sticks being brought in on Sunday. The poor little one that was dying on 1 July does seem to have passed.

Did I say someone should have rescued this healthy first chick and fostered it? There is something ‘wrong’ with this female.

The second chick is lodged at an angle this morning in Newfoundland. Hope is feeding it but it appears to have been injured with those stick movements. This nest is so sad – it makes you wonder about the female’s presence of mind.

The Mum at MN-Landscape Arboretum sure likes to eat her fish, too. I wonder what that 21 year old male thinks??? The female is doing better and she is shading the chick much of the time as well as feeding. It is extremely hot in our region (32 C in Winnipeg and this nest is about 8 hours south of me). The wee two week old is losing its down and getting its black oily head and turning into a Reptile. Oh, I so hope this baby survives!

There is good news coming in my mailbox about Soledad from ‘SP’. “Soledad slept on the rotunda across from City Hall and then flew to the top of an apartment building this morning, where her parents met her for breakfast. By all counts, so far, she’s a strong flyer. Now talons crossed that she avoids all those mirrored buildings downtown.” ‘B’ reports that Soledad was brought back to the area around the natal nest and that it is quite hot in San Jose. After a bit of a loaf, she was running along the ledge and flying off. Hopefully, she saw one of the parents with prey! The latest report from ‘B’: “At 8:10:10 pm that Soledad took off. About a minute and a half later, a falcon landed on the ledge where she took off, and I thought at first she was back — juvie coloring — but I think it was Monty, because I saw no bands. He stood there for a few minutes, scanning about, then took off in the direction Soledad departed.” Like ‘B’, I hope that there was prey being delivered by Hartley and that all three are together at night. Here is a video of Soledad’s adventures on Sunday.

‘SP’ and I have also been keeping a worried eye on the Evergy third hatch. It “hopped/flew to the roof above his perch. I did not see it happen, only the resulting move of the camera. I learned about his move when I inquired on their FB page. They said the camera angle was changed “in case he passes by the area”. What? I reviewed yesterday’s stream and just reviewed it again. I did not hear or see any sign of him.” ‘SP’ and I strongly felt that this chick should have been taken into care early on and wrote and wrote when the others fledged. No one seemed to care! How sad is that?

At the Patchogue nest on Sunday, Dad was fishing overtime. Lots of fish coming on the nest. Little Mini gets fed some and misses out on others but the nest is so civil! All four are doing well because these parents work so hard for them. Just look at the four today. It is worth noting that Little Mini is continuing to grow and with lots of fish she could easily be as big as 3 if she is not already. Having trouble recognising her? She is the third from the right, nearest the rim of the nest.

‘M’ writes that there was a milestone at the nest today. Big had a fish and walked away when it was full and Mini went over and ate the rest, self-feeding. Then Mum came and fed Mini a fish! Excellent news. Looks like we are going to have four fledges at this amazing nest. — Mini had lots of feedings on Sunday, too, including 0801.

Mini self feeding.

Mini on the far right but being fed some fish, too.

Mum feeding Mini.

There is so much fish and so much wing-flapping on the Patchogue nest on Sunday that it is hard to keep up!

At least two have fish, Mini look directly at us from the back.

Mini continued to get fed, continued to self-feed, and was finding scraps in the side of the nest. What a character – and a survivor. Always alert now for opportunities for fish in case she gets locked out from the Bigs.

Mini finds a fish tail in the rim of the nest.

Mum feeds Mini again.

Lots of flapping from the older siblings. Look at the wing span on this one and those long skinny legs…my bet would be a male despite the necklace (yes, some males do have necklaces) – and some females leave their nests and do not return when terrible things happen but are not dead – as my friend ‘T’ reminded me today. Think Florence at Captiva.

Mini self-feeding. Good night Mini…Your tail is getting longer. You are growing…we never thought we would see this day and that is why we are paying so much attention to you – a fourth hatch!

All three osplets at Boulder County Fair Grounds are getting their beautiful juvenile plumage. All three are thriving – and again we thank the wonderful work of these two adults. They have consistently made sure that the smaller third hatch was fed.

The fish are small and slow to arrive but the only chick at Cowlitz PUD is still doing alright.

The three osplets at Dunrovin Ranch are doing splendidly.

Betsy feeding her three ‘great big’ chicks at the Outerbanks 24/7 nest. She doesn’t mind and remember, it always allows the females to have some fish, too.

There are so many three chick nests this year! The ones at Alyth SSEN substation are starting to flap their wings and get some air. The nest is too high for ringing, sadly. These are sure beautiful birds.

Two beautiful big Bobs of Dylan and Seren. This is one of my favourite nests. I love how the Reservoir is stocked – yes, probably more those fishing but, I would like to think it is for the wildlife, too. Much ask John Williams unless someone knows.

Dylan and his first mate (he ousted the very popular Dai Dot), Delyth, from 2016-2020 have had 4 chicks return. They were KS7 and KS8 (both 2018) and KA6 and KA7 (both 2019). Dylan and Seren have been together for three years, 2020-23) and they have had 2 of their chicks return, 550 and 551 (both 2020). Of those six returns, four were male and two were female. Thanks, John Williams for your great blog and all those stats!

Idris and Telyn have two beautiful chicks at Dyfi, too – another favourite couple. Idris replaced Monty at Dyfi in 2020. There were sightings of his 2020 chick Teifi KC6 in Santander, Spain in 2022 but the chick has not been seen in Wales. This does not mean that others have not returned. They have to have verified sightings to be recorded. Many males do return to their natal nest.

That chick of Louis and Dorcha continues to amuse. What a feisty independent osplet!

It looks like ‘H’ has some good reports for the nests she is monitoring today!

“Barnegat Light – This little family of three is doing quite well. There has not been a name announced as yet for 09/N, who is 33 days old on 7/3.”

“Audrey, Tom, and the Babe at Kent Island had a good day. Tom delivered 5 fish that I saw. I wonder if the youngster will be given a name? Three weeks old on 7/3.”

“Severna Park – Life is good. Oscar and Olivia are great providers for their two good looking kids, ages 56 and 55 days on 7/3. There’s a lot of wingersizing taking place on that nest.”

H loves the foster at Patuxent! “I can’t say enough about this young foster Osplet. She was placed in this nest by park personnel on 6/29. Her behavior is unique to this viewer. ‘Foster’ is so polite and reserved. I would love to have known the dynamics between her and her siblings at her nest on the “tower” from which she was rescued. Perhaps she was an only ‘child’. Dad delivered a fish at 1828 on 7/2, and they had not eaten for about 5 hours. ‘Foster’ looked just as eager as the others when the fish arrived, and for a brief second, it looked as though she might take the fish from Mom, but she didn’t. We have seen her self-feed. Instead, ‘Foster’ stood patiently and stoically on the rim and watched Mom feed her own two kids. It’s almost as if ‘Foster’ wants to respect her hosts, by not being intrusive, but of course we cannot ascribe those thoughts to her. Typically the fish brought to this nest are huge, but this fish wasn’t that large. In the end, ‘Foster’ only received a few bites, and that was the last fish of the day. I felt a little sorry for her, but she did eat two nice meals earlier in the day.’Foster’ often flaps and exercises her wings, and manages to get a little lift. She is almost able to go from rim to rim. But, ‘Foster’ is a big girl, and she has a lot of weight to lift.”

Foster fledged at 08:26:24! Congratulations!

“The Forsythe nest of Oscar, Opal, and their two surviving kids are doing great. There were at least five fish that I saw. Opal brought in a huge live fish at 0934 that lasted for three long meals. What a Gal! The kids are 42 and 41 days old.”

It was a rainy day at the Boathouse nest for Dory, Skiff, and little Skipper. Skipper sought his/her Mom’s protection from the weather, but Dory can no longer cover her growing nestling. Skipper is 23 days old on 7/3.”

This year is particularly interesting at the nest of Big Red and Arthur. Normally, Big Red does not like to feed her fledglings at the natal nest. This year, with the construction across the street, she is delivering more prey there. The little one was on the nest when she arrived at 13:29:50 and mantled quickly but was accosted by what appears to be its oldest sibling. Big Red took note of who got the prey and quickly left the scene.

Maria Mariko reports that history has been made in Poland. Seven Black Storks have been ringed and fitted with trackers.

We always worry about fledglings. Always. We watch the eggs, we wait up for the hatch, we bite our nails when there are problems, we cry, we jump for joy, and then they fledge – and we often do not see the fledglings or hear them. Two other nests with recent fledges are the Decorah Hatchery and the Cornell RTHs, who we know are safe from the posting above.

DH2 has been located.

‘A’ reports on the Sydney Eagle nest of Dad and Lady: “Dad is presumably doing fine at this stage, as he is hunting normally and doing his incubation shifts. July 3; a few possum visits in the night, Lady up and down many times, but eggs uncovered for only short times. Early duet as usual & Dad relieved her at 6:40. After a flight away she finished off the fish leftover from last evening. During the day both were in and out a lot, but eggs only uncovered briefly. Dad brought in a coot just after 2pm, which he plucked & de-gutted away from the nest, ate most himself & brought her a few scraps. By dusk, both were settled for the night as usual. Today she spent slightly longer on the eggs than he did As per the report, Lady did longer on the nest than Dad today, which is unusual, but she is probably doing a bit of hunting for herself at this stage until Dad is 100% again. He can still do a perfectly good job of sitting on the eggs, even with an injured leg. I have not seen any signs of injury over the weekend, so let us hope that all is now well.”

Sadly, another bird with fishing line and hook. Do you ever just wonder how many there are that die with this situation – never seen? How sad that we cannot find a way to clean up the shores and all the dead trees in the water and rid the waterways of human debris.

Oh, my goodness, P20 shows up at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest to get some food from Mum today!

The only surviving eaglet at the Fort Vrain Bald Eagle nest in Colorado fledged today. Congratulations!

Thank you so very much for being with me today. All of the UK nests are doing fantastic! While I continue to worry about Little Mini at Patchogue, I am much more optimistic that this survivor will fledge. The worrisome nests are Newfoundland Power and MN Landscape at the moment. So rest assured that the nests are doing well, some better than others. Having a good location is key. Having a good location with a stocked source of fish is paramount to success. So send your best wishes to all the nests. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, SP, T’, Newfoundland Power, MN-Landscape, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Ospreys, PSEG, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Cowlitz PUD, Dunrovin, Outerbanks 24/7, Alyth SSEN, CarnyXWild, John Williams, Dyfi, Geemeff and The Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Cornell RTH, Maria Marika, Laura Rose and Decorah Eagles love nest, Kathleen Moore and Nor Cal Birding, Pix Cams, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Kent Island, Severna Park, Patuxent River Park I, Forsythe Ospreys, Explore/Audubon, Sydney Sea Eagles, and Fort St Vrain.

Soledad Fledges, Mini hides a fish, Ervie, and more…Sunday in Bird World

2 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, Saturday was a hot and humid day on the Canadian prairies. Got up early to get to the nature centre before the Canada Day crowds converged and frightened all the goslings into the forest and into the shade of the reeds. What a morning it was. There are nine new baby Bison and I found Canada Geese with goslings that I had not seen this season. It was fantastic…hopefully this good omen will carry through all our nests for the month of July!

A gosling daycare..or fostering. Every age!

A lucky family of seven.

‘B’ kindly let me know that Monty and Hartley’s Soledad fledged at 11:07 on Saturday 1 July. Stay safe, Soledad. You gave us heartache when we feared you were not going to be fed and then wonder as your parents figured it out and you become one feisty Only chick. Thank you for a great season!

Wings out, head in position, ready for take off!

SK Hideaways has it on video! You can see the parent flying with Soledad!!!!!!

We have some news of Ervie, the 2021 third hatch at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge!

Yesterday, ‘R’ caught Big hiding a fish on the Patchogue nest. Well, today Mini did the same thing. Little Mini is a fast learner. So this is the running commentary on Little Mini for Saturday up to 1059 nest time. At 0731 Mini does a big stretch and tells Mum to get Dad to get the fish on the nest! The fish arrived at 0804 and by 0816 Mini is being fed and has a little crop by 0829. We must remember that Mum has to eat, too so feeding Mini gives her that opportunity. Thank goodness. More fish arrives and Mini is eying one that Big is self feeding. Mini is going to get some of that fish and is self-feeding. The time is 0916-0924. Mini hides the remainder. No one notices. Mum is feeding Mini again and Mini has a bulging crop at 1008 which can still be seen at 1059 so Mini is not crop dropping – Mini is full.

0527: We want fish!

0731: Mini stretching. Mini’s feathers are looking good.

0816: Mini being fed by Mum.

0905: Mini staring at the fish its Big sibling is eating.

0915. Mini self-feeding.

0921. Mini hiding fish.

0958: Mum feeds Mini again!

1059: Mini and the big crop!

11:32. Mini in the yoga pose.

Little Mini was self-feeding again at 1844.

Mum let Little Mini work on that fish and then flew down to feed her. What an amazing mother.

One of the Bigs got the first fish at Patchogue on Sunday morning. Mini was working on the tail it appeared and then another fish landed and last check Mum was feeding Mini and having breakfast herself. That was 0807.

One of the things you might be noticing about Little Mini is that she no longer isolates herself but is often within the group of other siblings. She is pretty good at self-feeding and eating the tail of the fish while the other sibling eats off the touch head. Smart Mini! At 1632 there was a fish delivery. Mini should have been on the perfect side to feed but wasn’t. She did find an old fish tail which she horked and must have been fed something. At 1738 Mini is eating scraps and is eating the tail of the fish of the Big Sib at 1745. She has one heck of a big crop.

Baby at the MN Landscape Arboretum having some fish at 0859 and 1059. This is an improvement!

In fact, the little one at Minnesota ate from every fish that I am aware and was shaded by Mum today. Mum even fought with some grasses in the early morning trying to create a nest. What an improvement…mothering instincts are kicking in. Fantastic.

A big storm went over the Loch Arkaig nest! Dorcha tries to protect her chick.

Two healthy osplets, a male and a female, were ringed at Roundhouse Loch Doon in Dalmellington, Scotland today.

The UK Osprey Mums are really getting into the fishing and not waiting for the males to get the lunch to the nest. Juno yesterday and today it was Asha!

Some good news coming from Dulles-Greenway. Pi has been spotted in the area!

Black Storks Waba and Bonus continue to live and are on the move..a bit.

The three storks on the Kirchzarten nest in Germany are doing well.

A fire in the area of a nest of a very special eagle, a Short-toed Eagle – an Accipiter who eats snakes-, in Israel turned into one of those good news stories. According to ‘T’, this is the story of one little eaglet’s safe rescue, “At the beginning of the week, a strong fire broke out in his territory, and the flames almost reached the very nest. Apparently, the chick jumped out of the nest to escape and somehow survived the fall from a height of 11~ meters! Even more amazing is that the קק״ל – קרן קימת לישראל staff who put out the fire found it on the ground and handed it over to labour manager Mandy Turkin. Mandy immediately took him to Itamar Dror, who was responsible for the firefighting. Itamar immediately understood what he had in his hand and called @Or Milshtein – the regional head of RTG. Or coordinated his collection with the help of volunteers from the Wildlife Hospital of Israel, who sent him for treatment and evaluation. With the help of the hospital staff, the chick recovered and did not suffer significant injuries. We started a race against time to return him to his nest or else he would spend his life in a cage. So, almost 40 hours after he jumped out of the nest, on 28.6.23, we met Aharon Shachar, an ambulance volunteer, who handed us the chick. We went to the territory with Dr. Yotam Orchan (who volunteered to climb into the nest) and Eyal Shaani. The area was beaten and burned, and no animals were in the territory, so the fear was great. However, we hoped for the best and returned the chick to the nest 40~ hours after he jumped! We moved out of the territory, left nature to do its job and remained in suspense. Will the animals return? Will they be able to see that we have returned their chick to the nest? And if so, will they even return to care for him? Until last night, we were in suspense. We received good news from Eyal that Ani, watching from afar, immediately saw the female in the nest with the chick.” We need a lot of good news stories, and this is one of those.

Things seem to be reasonable at the Cowlitz PUD osprey platform. That sure is a nice Only Bob. The protective grids are now covered with PS but let us hope that they are doing their job – keeping those eagles from predating this baby! I would love to see a chick fledge from this nest for a change!

It is possible we are losing one of the chicks at the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland. My friend, ‘T’ is very animated when it comes to this nest and this female. “…Hope is so miserable in such a degree… Her baby spent all day upside down on his back and she is standing on the edge of the nest all the time and eats. If babies or one baby manage to move to her – lucky him! She will share food.” I am feeling like this is going to be another sad year. The little one upside down for so long is struggling and neither are eating what they should. I did not see the one eat at all – please correct me if I am wrong.

Sick baby not being brooded.

Dad having to step around the sick and or injured one.

Hope is feeding the other chick but the one that was on its back for so long appears to be losing a grip on life. I wonder if it injured itself.

The chick at Newfoundland died and Hope was eating and eating fish and not feeding the other one this morning…it is known as “the last hope nest”. Hope came in 2019. 3 chicks that year one fledged, none of the others have survived since. Thanks ‘T’.

On the other hand, the two chicks at Collins Marsh are really doing well. There were no residents on this nest last year and this must be a different pair from the one here in 2021. They are taking good care of their chicks.

Oyster Bay is good while Island Beach cam is down.

It looks like at least one of the osplets at Seaside is self-feeding now. This nest is doing really well.

Every osplet is hot today including those at Clark PUD.

‘H’s report on the nests she is monitoring.

Fortis Exshaw – is doing great. Jasper brought so many sticks yesterday, and I was yelling at him not to position any more sticks blocking our view, please place them on the other side! They seem to have no clue that we are trying to observe them, lol. Even Little is able to climb up and out of the nest cup now. Jasper delivered at least 6 fish. Pics are of the fish and feeding at 1746.

Forsythe – They had a splendid day. There were a total of 9 fish, but Opal and the kids rejected the one delivered by Oscar at 1637, because they were simply too full! Opal brought in a giant fish at 1502, and they ate for about an hour and a half.

Osoyoos – Egg number 3 is at 38 days on 7/2. The kids are already 6 and 5 days old. I hope the egg does not hatch. See attached pic that shows the top of the pole that the nest is built on. That nest is in sad shape. I do recall before eggs were laid, the nest was looking much better. . but, then there was some very stormy weather for a few days that blew all of their new nesting material off.

Kent Island – I was worried for a while, when there was a six hour period of time with no fish. But, they ended up having a good day. There were 5 fish brought by Tom, and Audrey provided at least one feeding for the little one from a leftover.

Brodie has returned to the nest of his mate Asha at Loch Garten and is delivering fish! He brought in another one so the family had three yesterday. Fingers crossed.

The Dad at Sydney Sea Eagles is doing much better but everyone is keeping an eye on him since he fell a few times off the branch and was missing for 20 hours. We are now in day 16 of incubation.

We will soon be watching for those Australian nests – Port Lincoln Ospreys, the CBD Falcons, and of course Diamond and Xavier!

What a glorious eaglet Hope is at the Glacier Gardens nest in Juneau, Alaska.

Sweet babies of Karl II and Kaia at the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest in Estonia.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘B, Geemeff, R, T’, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcon Cam, Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey Sth Bus, PSEG, MN Landscape, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Roundhouse Loch Doon, Sue Wallbanks and Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles in the USA, Maria Marika, Kirchzarten Storks, Israeli Eagles, Cowlitz PUD, Newfoundland Power Corporation, Collins Marsh, Seaside ospreys, Clark PUD, Fortis Exshaw, Fostythe, Osoyoos, Audubon/Explore, Mary Cheadle and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Glacier Gardens, and the Eagle Club of Estonia.

Mini Picks Fights, M3 fledges…Friday in Bird World

30 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

I got up early – it was cool for a change and not so humid and headed to Fort Whyte Alive. It has been a few days since I walked around that trail checking on the little ones and oh, was it good, to get out and get some exercise. What is that phrase? “Use it or lose it!” I remember a surgeon telling my mother that after she had broken her hip and it was all pinned…she did not want to get up. Well, she did when she realised that laying there might mean spending her entire life like that. Thank goodness.

The cutest Little Red wasn’t afraid of anyone walking by.

There were little ones around. Here are some images of them..and their proud parents. There are not many families and it was such a delight to turn a corner and encounter a family out foraging.

Hooded Merganser chicks! There were 18 of them at the final count.

The Canada Goose family with four chicks is doing fine. The males always follow behind, keeping the little ones in line! The rain has provided much-wanted new grass for everyone! And no worries, that chick is wet from the recent rain – is not ill!

The giggle for your morning continues to come from the Loch Arkaig nest. Gosh that chick is a character. Thanks, Geemeff.

Mini missed out on breakfast which must have caused her to be a little grumpy. Then she had a nice feed of fish around 11:42 before the Bigs came over and Mini moved away…she would definitely have linked more fish. Our girl is so skinny. She really needs to bulk up with the weight but it is difficult with the three Bigs. Well, Mini started staring at Three after puffing herself up…and then…

Despite having some fish, Mini’s crop is hollow and it is very hungry. This chick – as I will keep saying – needs fish to ‘bulk up’ for migration. Note the ‘thick’ legs and toes.

‘R’ reports that Mini picked another fight in the afternoon. Mini is hungry! Watch the video again and see how she puffs herself up to look bigger—perhaps sizing out the siblings. She needs to eat…and today, like other days, has been slim pickings. At 20:32, Mini finally – in desperation – grabs a bite meant for a larger chick. That bite was all Mini got. The fish was gone. This nest desperately needs more fish so that Mini can get a nice big crop…she is so thin.

When Ferris Akel was on the Cornell Campus Thursday evening, M3, the third hatch of Big Red and Arthur for the 2023 season fledged from the light tower to Rice to join the two other siblings who had previously fledged. Congratulations. Stay safe, sweetie.

The little one at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest had a few feedings on Thursday. Not much fish and adult female eating often and not offering, often off the nest for long periods not protecting the chick from the weather…makes me ache.

A nice fish came on the Collins Marsh nest and both chicks and Mum ate well. Nice.

Only Bob at Cowlitz PUD had a nice fish feed before tuck in Thursday night! In fact, this little one had several nice fish dinners on Thursday…and just look at it grow.

Oyster Bay continues to flourish.

The camera pixellation is not so defined as others but it is easy to see that both of the chicks – Kewok and Naika -on the Seaside osprey nest in Oregon are thriving this year.

It has been a good day at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform and oh, Little is getting a private feed right before dinner. I so wish this was Little Mini eating…

Massive chicks – three of them at Carova Beach North in the Outerbanks.

The trio at Wolf Bay in Alabama are bigger than Mum…

In Finland, you will remember that the female went missing on nest #3. The father continued to bring fish filling the nest but the chicks were too young to self feed. One died and two were taken into care. There is now good news on two fronts. The two chicks taken into care are doing so well that they will be placed as fosters in other nests. And the Dad did a 30 minute sky dance for a new female and has even delivered fish to her. She could not find a better mate than Tuulos.

There are two chicks for Beau and Hope at Newfoundland Power – Snow Lane Platform.

Several fish for the duo at the Clark PUD nest in Washington.

Blue 022 comes in and checks out the supplies at Poole Harbour and returns with a nice fish and then another one so the chicks have a big tea before bed.

The ringing of the two osplets of Idris and Telyn is available on YouTube: (414) RINGING 2023-YouTube. For some reason it will not allow me to embed it for you. Those chicks were a female weighting 1920 with Darvic ring 7B3 and a male at 1515 arms with ring 7B4.

Everything is fine at the Llyn Brenig.

Laddie makes sure everyone is fed before they are tucked in for the night – and now, they are waiting for the breakfast fish!

One of the Great Spirit Bluff fledgling Peregrine Falcons was killed by an owl on the 22 June. That was Alice P58. All of the others, Thomas B59, Kami P59, and Jaycee P60 are still alive (do not believe the rumours they have all died).

‘H’ found some worrisome news about WBSE 30.

There are now three chicks at the Patuxent nest..if you go your eyes do not need to go to the doctor! There is a foster placement at the nest.

‘H’ checked on two other nests on Thursday – Fosythe and Kent Island.

Forsythe had already had three fish in the afternoon, with a feeding at 1412. “I decided to observe their behavior to determine how well the chicks had been fed throughout the day. They both waddled up to Opal, and ate peacefully side by side. No sign of aggression. Verdict: they had plenty of fish throughout the day. ‘Big’ obviously had that feeling of ‘food security’, as you say.”

Kent Island: “I am aware of at least 4 large fish brought to the nest by Tom. The fourth delivery was at 1522. The chick was well fed.”

‘H’ also recommends a season tribute to the SW Florida Eagle Cam by LizM- again I am getting blocked but the title is (414) A Season to Remember Season 11-You Tube. It sure was a bittersweet year at SW Florida!

Mini is not the only one wanting fish. Soledad has been waiting for a prey delivery for over a day!

I need to go and check on Mini before I post this. I am so worried about Mini. She needs fish – a really good feed. My concern is that the big ones just take the fish now and leave nothing.

Well. Mini is being brilliant and staying close to the right side of Mum so that whenever a fish comes in, she is at the ‘good eating spot’. The others appear to be more interested in wing-flapping this morning, which is good. Mini ate from 0625-0636, then pulled at the leftovers on a bone at 0757. She eats again from 0853-0906. There appears to be not a lot of fish on those bones – Mum and Mini cleaned them up quickly. Hopefully, Mum is also feeding Mini faster, so it gets more before the others come around. Please wish for fish for Mini today!

Telling Mum she wants fish!

Eating.

Pulling on that bone.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Wish for fish! And take care of yourself if you are out in the heat. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, and postings that helped me to create my blog today: ‘H, Geemeff, R, T’, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Ferris Akel, MN Landscape Arboretum, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, Boulder County FG, Outerbanks, Wolf Island, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Newfoundland Power, Clark PUD, Poole Harbour, Dyfi Ospreys, Llyn Brenig, LOTL and The Wildlife Trust, Australian Raptor Care and Conservation Inc, Patuxent, Forsythe, Kent Island and Explore, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcons.

Sydney Sea Eagle ‘Dad’ feared injured has returned…Thursday in Bird World

29 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Did you miss June? It seems to have flown by. In Canada, school holidays are beginning. The nature centres will be full of young people learning about their environment, kayaking and canoeing, and, of course, the dreaded ‘fishing’. Still, we want them outside appreciating what Mother Nature offers and learning how to be good stewards of the land. If fishing increases the need for stocked ponds albeit with cleaning up line and hooks and using non-lead equipment or if duck hunting helps create more wetlands and places for the waterfowl, then I can live with that…not my best option but better than the alternative.

It is hot and humid and there is going to be rain today. That is grand. We need it. The rivers in the city are very low. There could even be a thunderstorm which means that Lewis will be quite anxious. And guess what? They were right. We had dark swirling clouds and a heavy and longish downpour. The garden turned even more emerald green than it was and the flowers perked up. The squirrels and Blue Jays have planted sunflowers everywhere. I had no idea that they could root in almost no soil…I will get some photos for you. Last year there were a few and in the fall the birds ate the seeds! Oh, it was magnificent. I love my ‘Gone to the Birds’ garden.

Missey and Lewis have been helping with the flower arrangement. They seem to prefer the asymmetrical look.

Of course, when I came to check they were snuggled up in the chair together not saying who did what! Precious rescue kittens. We are starting our 9th month together. According to Missey’s file, she will be a year old around the middle of July while Lewis will be a year old the following month.

One of Dyson’s babies. Isn’t it sweet?

Everyone was busy eating before and after the storm.

I am having a fun dinner party for an old friend that I have not seen in so many years…so I am starting early on Thursday and today’s blog will be much shorter than normal.

Let’s get started with Little . Of the four chick nests, there are now only a couple that still have four chicks and I want to be confident in Mini fledgling. It is looking better every day. Did Mini get the breakfast fish? That has to be the question for every day. The answer is YES! Mini ate for ten minutes from 0521-31 until Big took the fish. Mini was pecking at the leftovers at 0646. Another fish lands on that nest at 0825, and Little Mini is being fed until at least 0839 – Mini is sleeping with the bones at 0902, no doubt concealing that precious fish from the big siblings. Another giant fish lands on the nest at 0954. A Big Sib is trying to self-feed but is not having much luck unzipping that hard-headed fish…I have no worries that Mini will find a way to get some fish, even if it is scraps from that fish.

Loving how Mini is looking so healthy and standing up strong. Mini can move around the nest really quick too especially if there is fish.

Mini found scraps. Mini can self-feed better than Big!

Mini being fed from the 0825 fish. Chick 1 is really an enormous female. Just look at the size of that bird. We have to be thankful that Dad really kept the fish coming on the nest so the chicks never felt that there was a severe issue with food, Mum looks out for Mini. Wondered about that for a couple of days but, yes, Mini gets its fish. The big first hatch is a gentle soul. We have fretted over Mini but for a nest with four chicks in an urban area this has been an incredible experience.

If there is fish around, Mini is lurking or standing right up front. I don’t know how many scraps Mini got of the 0954 fish, but he was right up front when the 1137 fish landed. The kid ate, ate, and wound up with a nice big crop that could still be seen at 1346. Now Mini is funny. There was some leftover fish, and at 1250, Mini decided to cover it up under him! Clever. Love this little osplet…let us continue to hope that he survives (this has to be the world’s tiniest female or a tiny, tiny male).

1147: Mini having a great big feed. Way to go Mum!

1220: Mini ‘sniffing out’ the fish that one of the Bigs has. Mini will later hide that fish.

“If I just get up close and slide my wing over this piece of fish those big siblings will never miss it!”

“Fish? What fish?”

Look at Mini sitting up tall with its big clown feet. That sure does look like some necklace developing on Mini!

20:43. Mini is eating scraps off the nest…did we say ‘SURVIVOR’? This is from the 2018 fish…it is raining.

Our beautiful Mini with the skinny neck tonight…watch this one change. The chick behind Mini to the right has long legs like a male. Looks like 3. The other one to the left has thick stocky legs like a female.

Mini’s tail is growing.

Thursday morning did not start well for Mini. It missed the breakfast fish which was taken by one of the Bigs (#2). Mini found some old fish skin and was pulling on it. His crop is sunken…let us wish for a lot of fish today.

There is growing concern over the fate of the 21 year old male White-Bellied Sea Eagle, Dad, from the Sydney Olympic Park nest. He had two falls and has not been seen in more than 22 hours. Lady is incubating two eggs.

The latest reports on Dad are: “12:45pm BOTH eagles have been seen and heard – flying and duet. Ground obs have not been able to get a good look at Dad, other than he is flying ok. He had been high up in a tree not too far from nest when they started looking.” THEN: “1:30pm – Dad returned to nest, he is currently incubating. He doesn’t seem himself. While he remains in the treetops there is nothing we can do but monitor.” Gosh, isn’t this a relief! I hope Lady gets some much needed food.

More dual feedings at the Boulder County Fair Grounds – thank you, Dad. This nest is doing well because these two adults work so well together to make sure all three – including that little third – get fed. It reminds me of some of the UK nests in that regard. Lots of fish came on this nest today and everyone ate very well.

Deyani is growing up and she brought prey to her nest – and Tom and Angel’s – on the 27th. Growing up successfully!

Mum at Mn Landscape Arboretum fed the chick at 0551 and 0956. Much of the time Mum stands at the edge and eats – seemingly waiting for the wee one to come over. I was glad to see that twice Mum went to the chick. Maybe. Hard to hope.

‘M’ has noticed a ring on the male at this nest. If you are watching, keep an eye and please let me know if you get all the numbers. We know there is an MS or M5. Thank you. This pair have tried to bring in sticks and the minute they get on the nest, they fly off. I hope they bring some more fish. This wee one needs to be shaded and brooded! It does not have its thermal down so it can regulate its temperature…asking for small miracles.

From the observers of the MN LA nest:

The camera remains offline at Bridges Golf. This image is from Tuesday.

Lots of fish coming to the Boulder County Fair Grounds nest today. Everyone is eating well!

Slow fish delivery at Cowlitz PUD but…the little one got a good feed.

The chick, however, continues to have a hollow crop meaning it is hungry. Dad brought in a little mud puppy, but Mum is so hungry she might eat it all – her crop is hollow, too. It is regrettable…I wonder how many eagles are in the area taking Dad’s fish.

Boy, if we could only FedEx some of that nice fish at Seaside up to Cowlitz. Goodness.

Oyster Bay is great.

There had been some concern for Tom as in Tom and Audrey on Kent Island but ‘H’ reports that “Tom arrived with a large fish around 0630, some 20 hours after the last fish. Our view of the actual feeding was blocked, but you can see that the chick’s crop after the meal was much improved. Audrey and her baby polished off that entire fish!” That is excellent news.

At the Patuxent 1 nest, ‘H’ reports: “We will never know why the chicks appeared so starved the other day when the live stream returned. It was days after the stormy weather had passed. But all is well at this nest. There were 5 large fish delivered that I saw.”

At FortisExshaw, the report is good. ” Jasper delivered 5 good sized fish that I saw. And there were also feedings from leftovers. The kids do not seem to mind eating leftovers, lol.”

Everything’s settling down at Forsythe! Thank goodness. ‘H’ counted ten feedings with Middle sometimes getting to eat alone! What a turn around. Food security is back.

‘H’ has also been monitoring the Osoyoos nest and says no pip seen in the third egg and the other two chicks are doing well.

All of the other nests -Severna Park, Dahlgren, Boathouse, and Barnegat Light-are reported by ‘H’ as doing well.

A 19 year old male Osprey is getting much needed help at A Place Called Hope, one of my favourite rehab centres in Connecticut. Send all your positive energy his way! He has a family somewhere…let us hope his mate can care for the kids and that those osplets are old enough to leave so she can go fishing.

The ‘Grey’ Storklets are thriving in Germany.

M3 is still in the nest at Cornell and has not fledged yet. Big Red brought meals for M3. Meanwhile, Big Red and Arthur are making food drops and feeding M1 and M2 over on Rice.

Ferris Akel is on the Cornell Campus with Big Red and family on the day that M1 fledged, a week ago:

‘A’ reports on Diamond and Xavier’s scrape in Orange: “At Orange, there is a lot of bonding behaviour occurring, with Xavier bringing prey for Diamond (whether or not she ends up eating it is another question – her crop was HUGE this morning when she arrived in the scrape) and the pair of them having undisturbed bonding in the scrape twice today. Xavier is looking particularly healthy this season. Diamond is SO much larger than Xavier. She does look like a grand dame. I do hope they don’t have more than two chicks this year, and a spoiled only chick is quite okay with us. Diamond is getting older and we don’t want to see her overly stressed by parenting. She is a gorgeous bird and many people love her dearly. She is definitely approaching old age in wild peregrine terms, so we do worry about her. At least, I do.”

Things are so much better at the nest of Karl II and Kaia. The storklets are big and healthy with all the good little fish and frogs that are coming in.

The White Storks in Tukums, Latvia are also doing so well. What a relief for everyone.

We should all be concerned about the ocean and its fish and the need for their protection for all of the wildlife that depend on the seas. Birdlife International discusses this and the need for protections – as well as the UK and the EU working together.

Safeguarding-the-lifeline-of-our-seas-A-call-for-urgent-and-coherent-action-to-protect-the-vital-fo Download

The wildfires from Canada that have been spreading acrid smoke have cost the environment.

Did you know that British Columbia has more Bald Eagles than anywhere else? Yes, that American symbol loves living in Canada – for the salmon! Hancock Wildlife has a couple of new eaglets with names. They have not fledged yet. Check out their camera and all the timely things that Hancock is doing – including building eagle nests with shade features and fighting the removal of eagle nests from parking lots.

Please remember to put out water for the birds and wildlife. You never know who might come to thank you.

Ringing continues to take place on the UK nests. I’ll let you know more about that as information comes in. BTW. How are you doing trying to cut plastic out of your life? It isn’t easy…I hope you won’t give up.

Thank you so much for being with me today as I touched on just a few nests that ‘H’ and I have been monitoring. Please take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to create the content for my blog today: ‘A, H’, PSEG, Se McGregor and the Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Boulder County Fair Grounds Osprey, Lady Hawk and Window to Wildlife, MN Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch, Bridge Golf Course Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside Ospreys, Kent Island, Patuxent River Park, Osoyoos, Forsythe, A Place Called Hope, @CornellHawks, @ProfBillMcGuire, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, The Eagle Club of Estonia, Liznm and Must-Toonekurg, Latvian Fund for Nature, The Guardian, Ferris Akel, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, Janice Betts and UK Bird Lovers, BirdLife International, and Frank Neufang.

Beautiful Mini…Wednesday in Bird World

28 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Gosh, it was rainy and cool and just a lovely day. The vines that grow every year increasing the depth over the woodboxes, are having a tremendous growth spurt. The heat, humidity, and recent rains have contributed nicely. These are also where the birds have their nests, hide from predators, and escape from the rain and snow. Right now, the depth is about 45 cm or 18 inches – reminds me of the Sparrows living in the base of Mini’s nest at Patchogue.

Thought for the Day:

First up there are heat waves everywhere but the southern US is getting hit hard. Please leave out water for all the animals and birds and remember to change it and add fresh cool water often! Please feed the birds if you can.

Current-heatwave-across-US-south-made-five-times-more-likely-by-climate-crisis-Climate-crisis-Th Download

Today was a better day for the nests on the streaming cams. Because of that, I include other news of birds that we might have forgotten with all the recent trauma.

We have an excellent update on Connick, who is in care at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida. Just look at this handsome boy. Thank you, Audubon, for taking such good care of Connick and feeding him those tasty non-fish meals he loves so much! Just think…an eagle in Florida that doesn’t like fish. That is too funny.

Oh, it is always good to have some interesting news in Bird World and today’s news comes from ‘T’ about a pair of storks in Germany. “When the white stork Heinrich and his new partner, a black stork, moved into the nest on a meadow belonging to Wolfgang Schulze in Lüder two months ago, an ornithological sensation was in the offing. In the meantime, this has become a joyful certainty. About a month ago, two young storks were born, and now an expert has ringed the animals, which could symbolically be called “grey storks”.”

Speaking of storks, there is a stork in a location that is entirely unexpected.

More good news from that Eagle nest in Redding, California that has the foster Red-tail Hawk. The female had been a little aggressive towards Tuffy and there was fear that Tuffy might become the next meal. Well, things are fine! Here is the latest report:

I honestly don’t know if it is good news or not…The female at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest has fed her only surviving osplet Tuesday morning. Poor little thing. What a horrible nest and a parent that appears young and so inexperienced.

Another feeding later. Do we dare hope?

Little Mini at Patchogue got some early fish and then was shut out. It has been going around the nest finding scraps and eating. It found an old piece, not too bad, at 1335 and yanked it out of the nest material and ate it. Our baby is very hungry but it reminds me of Tiny Tot Tumbles at Achieva in 2021. That chick ate old bones – anything it could find – and she survived. So send good thoughts to our dear Mini.

Well, Mini was determined to eat and wasn’t going to let anyone stop her. The fish arrived at 1555 and she was fed until 1648! She ate the entire fish…the others had scraps from earlier fish they were feeding on or just not interested. Tears of joy!

Mini sees the fish.

Mini moves to the other side.

Our beautiful Mini.

Two osplets, nice and healthy hatches, from the Belleville, Ohio Osprey platform that was predated on the 24th of June and the second taken on the 25th of June. So sad.

I have missed telling you about Osoyoos. ‘H’ reported the first hatch to me yesterday (2 days + today) and now we have the second. Soo is an excellent experienced Mum and that second hatch was eating not long out of the shell! Let us all wish them cooler weather and more and bigger fish this year.

The three osplets at Boulder are hot but are getting fed nicely. Little is doing OK.

The two surviving osplets at the Bridges Golf Club are hungry.

Rain at Outerbanks but it doesn’t stop the fish coming to the nest.

Seaside is doing great!

Being an Only Bob can be a very good thing. The little one at Sandpoint is getting all the fish!

There are still two growing osplets at Collins Marsh in Wisconsin.

Great Bay is following its name – the chicks are doing ‘great’.

Patuxent 1 news from ‘H’: “The live stream came back online around 10:15 am, after being down for four days. The first fish came at 1458, a large whole fish. The Osplets both had hollow crops going into that feeding. Both chicks were very hungry, and Big displayed some dominance. There was nothing severe, but many times Big would stand tall and give Middle ‘the look’, and Middle would step aside. The feeding lasted from 1458 to 1542, and Middle only had a small crop after the meal. The next fish and feed 1627 to 1706. More dominance displays from Big. When Big finally quit eating at 1654, Middle had a decent meal. View was blocked, but I’m sure Middle’s crop was much bigger after that meal.” (There is later news below).

‘H’ is still watching the Forsythe situation carefully as Big is continuing aggression towards Middle. “Oscar was MIA for awhile and Opal brought in 2 fish on Tuesday.”

At Barnegat Light, ‘H’ reports: “Daisy managed to remove Middle’s body yesterday. We did not actually witness her doing so, the cam was focused on a close up of the chick at the time. When the cam zoomed back out, the body was not there, and Daisy was seen on the beach. Banding took place this morning at 0745. Red band 09/N on right leg. Ben (Conserve Wildlife NJ) also installed a new perch for the adults. Ben will come up with a name for the chick later today.”

‘H’ reports that both of the chicks at Severna Park are now self-feeding.

At Patuxent 1, ‘H’ says “Update from yesterday. After the cam came back on yesterday from being offline for 4 days, the chicks looked starved with hollow crops. I already reported on two fish seen yesterday. There was a later fish at 1830, a large partial fish brought by Dad. Dad waited a bit for Mom to return, but he eventually fed the two chicks. There was no aggression, although Big ate first. Both chicks had a nice meal. Mom returned later. And, Dad also delivered a huge headless fish at 2041 and again, both chicks were stuffed.”

At FortisExshaw, ‘H’ notes that “There were at least four large fish delivered that I saw, and at least three feedings from leftovers.”

All is well at the Boathouse…don’t we just love Little Skipper? Only Bob, healthy Bob. Thanks, ‘H’ for keeping an eye.

Blue NC0 sees Laddie flying in with the evening tea fish and she is calling and calling. The chicks are older and so excited and calling with Mum. All is good on the nest since the ringing.

Bonus and Waba are on the move and that direction is ‘North’! Just look at those Black Storks – just one year old – fly!

Our Manitoba Peregrine Falcon family has its Darvic rings.

We are so used to seeing human-made platforms for Ospreys that we forget what an osprey nest in the wild might look like. So here is the nest of Samson at the Borders in the UK.

The weather has not be conducive to getting lots of fish on the nest. Rosie Shields has some excellent images in her latest newsletter. Sadly, the weather has turned and Samson is having some difficulties getting fish on the nest resulting in some pecking by the older chick to the younger and some apprehension of the little one to get up and eat. Samson is working hard but there is also an intruder…oh, what a year this has been. Send this nest your good wishes.

The Borders nest reminds me of Iris’s Owl Pole. She has been having a rough time with all the intruders. Stay safe, Iris! On the 26th with one of her big catches. Dear Lady, we love you…

When we get down, remember that there are good people everywhere helping the raptors when they can.

Thank goodness, the Duke Farms nest collapsed after the two eaglets had fledged! There have been a number of nest collapses this breeding season. Goodness.

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Big Red continues to bring prey to the nest for M3. Wondering what the ‘M’ is all about? In 2012 when the cam was installed, Big Red had already had a couple of successful years that were known. (She hatched in 2003 and has probably had chicks since 2005 or 2006). So they began with the letter ‘C’. We are now up to M for this season. Chicks are not named.

If you are a long-time reader of my blog, you will recall that I am highly interested in how ospreys do when admitted to care. There is a belief which seems erroneous that they do not do well. Last year in June, the female at the Emma Lake Pitkin County Open Space and Trails nest accidentally pulled the two chicks off. One died. One went into care.

This is the latest news I have seen on that chick that survived and went into care.

This year there are three osplets on that nest and they are doing fantastic.

Ron and Rose are still at the nest with their eaglets R4 and R5. Here is a glimpse of one interaction.

The membership fees for the Friends of Osprey (South Australia) are going to erect platforms all over the region. Several have gone up in the past month. Here is another. Many have had to rear their young on nests on the ground, which is highly susceptible to predation.

Newfoundland Power has two osplets! Send them your best wishes.

The Clark PUD chicks are entering the Reptile phase.

The third hatch at the Evergy Topeka Falcon scrape is making great progress in getting feathered. Adults are leaving prey items.

Six fish were delivered to the Crooked Lake Osprey nest today. Chicks are really looking good with those juvenile feathers.

The camera at Charlo Montana was hit by lightning but I can now report that there are two osplets. It appears that the hatch dates were the 14 and 16 of June.

Those two beautiful Glaslyn chicks of Aran and Elen have been ringed and have names. The first hatch is a big female at 1910 grams. She is Blue 7B3 and is named Cennen. The second hatch is a male weighing 1515 grams and is named Seiont.

Thank you so much for being with me today. So many nests, never enough time! Take care of yourself…see you soon! And remember – head outside and listen for the birds.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘H, T’, Anthony Douglas Williams, The Guardian, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Maria Marika FB, Michael Winger and Polar Educators International, Doug Gillard and Nor Cal Birding, MN Landscape Arboretum, PSEG, Osoyoos Ospreys, Boulder Fair Grounds ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, Outerbanks 24/7, Seaside Ospreys, Sandpoint ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Patuxent River Park 1, Forsythe Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Severna Park, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Audubon Boathouse, Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Dennis Swayze and MB Birding, Rosie Shields and The Borders, Montana Osprey Project, Celia Aliengirl and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, The Patch, Cornell RTH, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, Heidi McGrue and the WRDC, Colin Phil Cook and Friends of ospreys Sth Bus, Newfoundland Power, Clark PUD, Evergy Topeka, Crooked Lake Ospreys, and Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn.

Some Crazy Madness with a little sadness…Tuesday in Bird World

27 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a hot and humid day on the Canadian Prairies. The Blue Jays were out early wanting peanuts and cool water in the bird bath. It is 26 C but feels much hotter and the heat means no visits to the nature centre today.

We need so much to be able to have a good laugh and today, as Geemeff said to me, we require some madness after all the sadness. We have it thanks to Louis, Dorcha, and a stick.

Now to start with some nests that are just a wee bit of a worry alongside a few that are simply tragic – Bridges Golf and MN Landscape. Many are thriving.

A video of a feeding Monday at Cowlitz PUD. ‘B’ and I are wondering why so few large fish are in this nest. A letter has gone out making enquiries and we are so grateful that a reply has come back from Amanda -Here it is, “Thank you for your interest in the OspreyCam. This nest is located on a slough off of the Columbia River. The male osprey could be fishing in the slough area and not in the river. There are quite a few bald eagles in the area that may be stealing their larger catches as well. Fish numbers appear to be average for this year in the area. On average there are normally 4-5 fish deliveries from sunrise to around 5pm and I observe at least one large fish during these feedings, in which the chick turns away from the food before the fish is gone.”

That is encouraging and shows that there is local interest in this nest. I have missed many of those feedings but the presence of the eagles is a problem. Let us hope that the protector screens help this year.

Nice feeding around 1745 at Cowlitz.

I am still cautiously optimistic about Mini. On Monday morning, Mini got right up by Mum and demanded to be heard and fed – and it was! Nice to see an expanding crop. Little Mini is growing; this time, Three is on the other side, and Mini is getting the fish. Talk about happiness. Because of the size of Big – Mini, it will need to be a little assertive and get itself up there, even if it is just a big feed first thing in the morning. Mini also has to demand that Mum feed it!

Our beautiful Mini next to its big sib…that has to be one big female! Look at those short stocky legs. Mini might well just be a little female. S/he loves to move sticks around.

Mini was feeding on a little bit of a scrap when a big fish came in…I found myself screaming at Mini to forget the scrap and get over to the big fish that Mum was feeding. ‘L’ reports that one of the big sibs took the scrap and Mini did get some of the end of the fish. Now, Mini. Next time get up to the table.

‘L’ sent me a screen capture of Mini pulling hard on that tough fish, just like Mum. Thanks, ‘L’.

Mini reminds me of Dyson. S he is finding nestovers in the twigs and eating them. A survivor.

There is no nest cup at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the Big chick, the first hatch, died overnight of exposure. Mum is trying to brood the Middle chick. The youngest died of exposure and getting caught in the corner on Sunday. Perhaps the individuals at the site could provide nesting material for them! This nest is pitiful. I note that many do restorations at sites and put in new material. Some groups even provide nice railings for the ospreys.

I have no doubt that the third chick will perish also. The parents are not feeding them! Nor did they provide adequate nesting material and care. Must be young and very inexperienced. So sad.

A nice big fish lands on the Bridges Golf Club – quite a surprise but this nest probably had issues with the storm that caused all the deaths at the end of last week – the big ones will not let three eat!

The Middle chick was unrelenting in its killing of Little even though the little one made no move to eat. At 1206 on 26 June, it appears this poor babe finally passed.

The Bridges Golf Club should stock ponds for the Ospreys if there is not enough fish. it is time we help the wildlife.

So those are our worrisome or ‘serious’ problem nests in the US that I am watching. Hopefully, those that were in trouble will calm down but there is a system of thunderstorms heading to the NE. I hope it is a fast moving storm.

Heading to the UK, they are banding the two chicks of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi Monday evening. It is over. Telyn is back at the nest right after the ringers leave..and it looks like another record set. A colossal female broke nest records weighing in at 1910 grams, with the second, a lovely male, at 1515 grams. Wow. Speculation is high that if the ringing occurred on Tuesday, the female would weigh a kilo!

Loch Arkaig Nest 1 – Louis’s old nest with Lila has a love triangle. Have you been watching? Geemeff brings us up to date! “All three members of the love triangle turned up on Nest One yesterday within 15 minutes – but it does seem as if Garry (Blue LV0 newly named after his natal nest at Loch Garry) has the upper hand, as Prince left the nest in a hurry when he saw Garry approaching. Affric (named after her natal nest at Glen Affric) arrived around the same time as Prince, already clutching a fish. Did he give it to her, or was it Garry? all eyes on that nest to watch the saga unfold – our very own soap opera ‘Lochenders’ “.

Oops. Out of order but…nevermind. It is fun. The storklets from Belarus are so full after a good meal they are in a frog and fish coma.

Foulshaw Moss chicks are growing and Big Bob – OK, this is a female, right? – is wingercizing.

Glaslyn: All is fantastic. Aran brings so much fish. The chicks are full and Elen is eating.

Just look at that beautiful nest of CJ7 and Blue 022. And the fish that arrive. Thriving chicks.

I am on a bit of a soapbox today about nests after seeing that Minnesota Arboretum specimen of something and Osoyoos….seriously there are no twigs that could be tossed up there. Look at Poole Harbour, and now look at Llyn Clywedog. If there are so many ospreys in the US and so few trees, then people – humans – need to help out. We did after all destroy their habitat. So, let us see if we can all work to get the nests cleaned out after the breeding season and stocked with nice nesting material.

Two beautiful boys ringed on the 24th.

Llyn Brenig is doing great. Lots of nice feathers on those two chicks. Also, another nice nest!

The chicks at Loch Garten had so much fish on Monday that they weren’t even interested sometimes. More fun to move sticks!

The beautiful day turned to rain at Loch Arkaig. Lots of fish. Louis is an excellent provider.

Look at that adoring look Louis gives to his chick.

All is good at the Loch of the Lowes. Blue NC0 with her two beautiful chicks.

Threave Castle: This is the home of Black 80. He is the 2006 male hatch of Mrs G and 11 (98). Talk about good DNA. This is the second year that he and his mate have raised four chicks. Today, this second group of four osplets and they were ringed today, Monday 26 June. Hopefully more information will be released tomorrow.

Sometimes when I get very upset, I remind myself that we want the strong osplets, the ones with really good DNA to survive. Mrs G and both her partners, 11 (98) and Aran provided just that. I am also fond of White YW (2008), also a male of Mrs G and 11 (98) who heads up the family at Foulshaw Moss and consistently raises successful broods.

SSEN Alyth: Seven fish were delivered to the nest today. I imagine what seven nice fish would do for a few of the struggling nests in the US! Three nicely feathered almost ready to fledge osplets.

The portrait of the surviving family members at Barnegat Light – Duke, Daisy, and Big. Duke is 17 years old…I am so glad he is home safe.

At 1455 Daisy tried to move the dead osplet and doing so prompted the Big one to think it was food. I believe she was going to take it off the nest but it is too big or is stuck. Sad. Perhaps she will bury it in the nest.

‘H’ reports that there were 8 fish brought to Barnegat Light on Monday. Heidi adds nothing the attempt to move Middle, “Daisy seemed to be intent on flying off with Middle’s body a couple of times, but it must be too heavy. Then she tried to cover Middle with moss. So, the body is a sad reminder. But, they are at least a family of three. And we are thankful that Duke returned. We won’t forget Middle and Little . . they enriched our lives.” The sadness of the storm just continues giving to these families as they continue to cope with their daily lives and mourn their dead.

Fortis Exshaw: ‘H’ reports “There were at least three large fish deliveries that I saw, and Louise stashed the leftovers for additional meals. Due to the deep nest cup, it is difficult to see if all are getting fed, but all of the Osplets appear to be thriving. The older two, that hatched on the same day, participate in little bonking battles at off meal times, but they seem well behaved during feedings (from what I can see).”

Dahlgren: ‘H’: “There were at least 6 fish delivered by Jack. This nest remains quite tranquil. Both Osplets are doing wingers, especially ‘Big’, and Big is practicing self feeding. They are 39 and 35 days old.”

Kent Island: ‘H’ notes, “The early days of family life were a bit worrisome, but Audrey and (new) Tom are doing great. It seems that the little one’s crop is almost always full . .14 days old on 6/26.”

Audubon Boathouse: ‘H’ notes that life for the only Bob is rather “idyllic”.

‘H’ reminds us that fledge watch could be coming in about a week at Severna Park. Both of those osplets are doing well after a very rocky start.

The three at the Boulder Country Fairgrounds nest are hot today. Mom is doing a really good job covering them. The little one also had some fish. So things are alright on this nest.

Little Bob at the Boulder Fair Grounds looks like he swallowed an egg he is so full. He will have sweet osplet dreams tonight.

Great Bay: Started as a good day, and the wind and rain are showing up Monday night.

Outer Banks: All is well at the nest of Betsy and Frederick and their three beautifully feathered osplets.

Seaside: It is all good. I think they might have had salmon today.

Collins Marsh: Rainy day. Mum trying to cover the two surviving osplets. They are getting their feathers. but both look ‘thin’.

McEuen Park: Three gorgeous healthy osplets.

Forsythe: ‘H’ reports: That Big started out being very aggressive towards Middle first thing in the morning. She notes that this has become a pattern since the storms and then Big settles down later. Oscar delivers lots of fish – no fewer than 10 yesterday although some were small. Send good wishes. That storm really caused ‘mental health issues’ with these chicks in the nests.

Finnish Osprey Nest #1: All three osplets hungry for breakfast and doing well.

Finnish Osprey Nest #4: All three are fine.

Finnish Osprey Nest #LS5: Beautiful morning for the two chicks.

Urdaibai: All three big osplets are doing fantastic.

Deyani continues to return to the nest in Tennessee. ‘A’ writes, “Deyani is doing so well, returning frequently to the nest and showing real skills with her flying and self-feeding and generally acting like a big girl now. I love that she’s sleeping perched next to mum. I love that mum is still no doubt preening her hawklet. She just loved preening Deyani, and I bet she still does if she gets the chance. She came in today around 12:12, played with a stick for a while, flew off, returned about an hour later, then stayed until 3pm, pancaking for a while and doing some preening. Angel arrives with a small morsel at 12:13:26 but we can’t see what it is because of Deyani’s mantling. PLEASE tell me if you have ever seen another hawk do that quivering thing when mantling. I haven’t seen it before. Deyani is the only bird I’ve ever seen mantle like that. Anyway, she has been fed – something, today.”

The big storm that is heading eastward hit the Cornell campus. The Ms are drenched but safe. Two of them are on the end of the nest light tower and the third is on the tower next to the nest. Aw..poor babies.

Whew! That isn’t nearly all of the nests but a quick check on those doing great with a little commentary on the worrisome ones.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care and remember to put out bowls of water. The birds and other wildlife will thank you.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, and streaming cams that helped to create my blog today: ‘B, Geemeff, H, L, T’, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Cowlitz PUD, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Bridges Golf Club, Dyfi Ospreys, Belarus Stork cam, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour ospreys, CarnyXWild, Llyn Brenig, RSPB Loch Garten, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LOTL, Threave Castle, SSEN Alyth, Conserve Wildlife F of NJ, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Outer banks 24/7, Seaside Ospreys, Collins Marsh, McEuen Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Dahlgren Ospreys, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Urdaibai Biosphere, Window to Wildlife, and Cornell RTH.

Some good news…Monday in Bird World

26 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for your wonderful notes and your cheerful suggestions on what you do when you feel stressed. Gosh, what a wonderful ‘Bird Family’ I have! so caring and compassionate. ‘M’, I will watch those sparrows netting under the Ospreys at Patchogue! Every time I get mad at Big for raising its head when Mini has a chance to eat I promise I will seek those birds out!

There is some good news coming in from Sunday. I have already posted it but everyone is so thrilled that Duke has returned to Daisy at Barnegat Light. Gone a little over 72 hours. Not sure if he has eaten. Duke looks thin and was interested in Daisy’s fish. Daisy has done magnificently as a single Mum for a few days despite losing two of three chicks…she could ahve lost them all. It is sad to see a big healthy Middle, a fat little osplet, on the nest dead. What a few days it has been in osprey World.

Happiness is a walk around a duck pond or through the forest when the sun is warm on your face and at every turn there is a new surprise. Today it was in the form of little ducklings and goslings and all the birds enjoying the bird bath or the fledgling Blue Jays trying to crack a peanut so that it is the right size to eat.

The Canada Geese or moulting. There will be feathers all over the area around the pond for the next 4-6 weeks. T hey undergo an entire moult and cannot fly during this time.

This lucky family had five goslings. Dad was behind being security guard.

A juvenile Mallard.

Proud Mum had several of those little fuzzy duckling juveniles.

Coming home, the fledgling blue Jays were having a wonderful time in the bird bath!

Our top tip of the day comes form Amy Tan and it is great advice – costing around $1-$5 – to keep birds from colliding with windows and being injured or dying.

Now see the spider webs.

For the first time, Ospreys are breeding in an area of Germany where there were none! The ringing of the beautiful osplets today. Talk about happiness.

https://fb.watch/lohgZHspZq/

It is only 1515 at the Barnegat Light nest of Daisy and Big Bob. Daisy has already brought in four fish on Sunday. Big is eating well and Daisy is eating, too. They will be fine unless another catastrophic event happens. Daisy adjusted quickly to being a single Mum providing for the nest – the weather did not cooperate but she will get to raise one healthy chick to fledge, hopefully.

Daisy protecting her only surviving osplet. Big is 26 days old today.

Well, of course, the good news is that Duke has returned to Daisy and their nest. He looks thin. He was gone over 72 hours.

‘H’ notes that Daisy hid the body of Middle on Duke’s arrival. Poor Mum. She did her best and we have no idea what Dad went through…just glad they are together with one chick. ‘H’ also confirms that Duke did steal the fish that Daisy had but went fishing and brought another one in for the family. Poor guy. He was so hungry. Wonder where he had been?

The other great news is that Little Mini at Patchogue lucked out and had two good meals so far on Sunday. The first was at the crack of dawn at 0500 and the second came at 13:28. Little Mini ate the entire fish! No one else was interested. This is what will save our Mini…and it is Sunday. So good going!

Oh, thank goodness. Mini got a little more fish from the 1707 delivery. How much before the big ones come to the table…well, unknown. Mini is so hungry it is not leaving the table but is increasingly intimidated by the bigger siblings.

Mini stays and starts getting fed again at 1812. What a relief. Nope. The Bigs come back! Mini needs to grab that fish. Mum offers and he keeps his head down.

Mini has a tiny mini crop.

Mini did really well Monday morning. Right up there with Three eating! This is a really good break through for our wee one who is getting so many feathers it is hard to tell 4 from 3.

Thanks Stephen for this great photo of another survivor at South Bend.

Continuing to be grateful to the Finnish Osprey Foundation for removing the surviving chicks from nest 3 for care.

At the Forsythe Nest, ‘H’ confirms that Oscar brought in 13 fish on Sunday. Big was extremely aggressive and almost pushed Middle over the edge. That aggression died down a bit and Middle did eat. Let us hope that this all stops. Big is 34 days old and Middle is 33.

Osoyoos: ‘H’ was then that called the pip! Sunday 23:21. Oh, I hope this nest has a good year without the heat domes of past.

Boulder County Fair Grounds is sometimes not an easy nest to watch. There is plenty of fish but Little sometimes appears to get shut out. It had a couple of reasonable feeds by 1600 on Sunday.

Cowlitz PUD: Did not see any fish deliveries up to and including 1330 nest time. Where are the fish?

Seaside: Those two chicks are really growing! Would love to ship the Cowlitz baby over to them some days!

RVA Ospreys, James River: Two Ospreys on the nest on Sunday. No clutch this year. Maybe next.

Great Bay Ospreys: LOTS of fish. Some dominance issues with the Big sibling but the second hatch got some fish!

Moraine Preservation Fund: Trio are doing well and this is a nest where the Dad steps up to feed the chicks! We need more of that wired into their system!

Outerbanks 24/7: Chicks are well fed. Betsy flew off with a fish at 1431 when kayakers came too close to the nest. The osplets pancaked. There need to be barriers around the nests and notices to people in boats, motorised or not.

Oyster Bay: Everything is good.

Maryland Western Shore for Old Town: Fantastic day!

The Bridge Golf Club Ospreys, Noyack, NY: Trio on the nest. Larger two siblings will not let the very tiny third hatch eat. To be fair, the second hatch is quite thin and the little one is so tiny and so hungry. This nest is not thriving.

Sandpoint: Chick hatched on 22 June. Eating well.

Cape Henlopen: No ospreys and the Black Vultures have come to use it as a spot to rest and scope out the area.

White Stork Nest, Tukums, Latvia: Since the rain this nest has been doing fantastic. Storklets growing and appear to be very healthy.

The construction of the new nest for Martin and Rose is now finished. Thank you Window to Wildlife. Pi and Pat were apparently watching from a distance. It is approximately 6 ‘ x 3’.

‘A’ is worried about some events at the nest of Angel and Tom and Deyani. She writes, “at Angel’s nest, there was no food brought to Deyani today (Sunday). She visited the nest several times during the day, attacked the nest a little, pancaked for an afternoon rest for a while, but left late in the afternoon and did not return. There were early evening storms in the area, and about an hour ago, there was very heavy rain and thunder. Then, about 15 or 20 minutes ago, and once more as I type this, there were several shots fired. They were about 30 seconds or so apart and there were three or four of them. Then, as I said, about a minute ago, another shot rang out. It was pitch dark when the first shot was heard. They were fairly close to the microphone (which is in a tree at least 100 metres from the nest). I have no idea what anyone would be shooting at out there in the dark, but I sure hope it’s not Angel. The others would not be visible to a shooter. I am presuming all is okay, but it’s always worrying. Deyani is unlikely to be starving, and could easily have been fed off-nest today, but we will see what happens tomorrow. She is a strong flyer and seems able to manoeuvre around the trees well, so I am fairly confident she will be fine.” Lamping is the term for hunting at night with lights. I really hope that nothing untoward has happened to anyone in our hawk family. This is one reason the location of nests is often not disclosed. — Angel is sleeping on a branch Sunday night so is OK.

Window to Wildlife has a fundraiser to upgrade Angel’s camera for next year. Information is under the streaming cam above the live chat. There are lots of worthy fundraisers out there….

In the mailbox: ‘D’ shares a photo from her holidays. An osprey nest above a Go-Kart track in a busy shopping mall in North Carolina. She was surprised that the ospreys were not bothered by all the humans and the noise and adds that when asked the people at the mall and track said that the osprey return every year.

Ospreys have had to adapt based on humans taking over their natural habitats and cutting down dead trees. Ospreys prefer the top of a dead tree with a clear view in every direction. This differs from eagles that like to build their nest on the tops of conifer trees. Both have suffered good nesting sites due to our increasing demand for land, and artificial nests and platforms are being constructed in almost every country. Living around humans is a high cost compared to a nice site near a lake. “The Ospreys’ ability to adapt to and prosper within urban and suburban areas, combined with their recent reproductive success and thriving populations, has resulted in conflicts between Ospreys and the electric utility, communication, and transportation (e.g., aviation) industries. Human–Osprey conflicts vary widely in scope and scale, ranging from minor conflicts, such as an individual Osprey nest built on a human-made structure (e.g., cellular tower), to major problems, such as local populations of Ospreys directly or indirectly impacting human safety near civilian airports and military airfields through nesting and movement activities. Creative, mutually beneficial management and mitigation practices for both people and Ospreys are needed to allow for the successful coexistence of Ospreys and humans, especially in landscapes highly altered by humans.” Here is the full article from the Journal of Raptor Research:

JRR-OSPR-13-04.1 Download

Thank you so much for being with me. I hope to cover more of the international Osprey nests tomorrow and in particular, the UK ones where ringing is taking place. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to everyone that sent notes, videos, tweets, posts, and operated streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A, D, H, M, T’, Amy Tan and Nor Cal Birding, Gregarious Joris Toonen and Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, PSEG, Stephen M Basly, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside Ospreys, RVa Ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Moraine Preservation Fund, Outerbanks 24/7, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Bridge Golf Club, Sandpoint Ospreys, Cape Henlopen State Park, Latvian Fund for Nature, Window to Wildlife, Forsythe Ospreys, Osoyoos Ospreys, and the RRP.

Duke returns to Barnegat Light

25 June 2023

‘H’ just sent me the good news and I could not wait to share it with everyone. He had been missing since 1709 on 6/22. That was a little over 72 hours during the storm.

Daisy did an amazing job but lost 2 of her three chicks.

Duke looks thin and is very interested in the fish that Daisy has been feeding big.

What a relief!

Thank you, ‘H’! I know that everyone will appreciate this good news.

Category Archives: osprey starvation

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Some good news…Monday in Bird World

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Duke returns to Barnegat Light

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