The squirrels were busy this morning loading up with nuts. Little Red has made his home in the wood bin and can scurry back and forth very quickly from the feeder to his cache.
There are still a few European Starlings that come for suet or to eat off the seed cylinder but only three or four compared to the original twenty-eight.
If I told you I put on my lightweight winter jacket and toque for my walk on Monday, would you believe me? The temperature dropped! The nice thing was that the ducks and geese were in the water or eating grass instead of trying to stay cool on the little islands in the pond.
It was so nice to see so many wood ducks back at the pond. Many of the females were incubating eggs while the males were out foraging. Someone had brought seed for them, too.
Things are really starting to pick up at the osprey nests. Our heads are going to start spinning like an old LP shortly! I am checking on a few of the nests to see what is happening and how close we are to pip or hatch watch. Today I am just running through some of the nests.
Hellgate Canyon: Dr Greene and his team have a list of four names for Iris’s new mate! Please vote on your favourite.
Dunrovin: Swoop and Winnie have their first egg on Monday 13 May at 0654. Swoop was right there giving support to his new mate.
Captiva: The fishing line was removed and they commented that there was a really large hook on the end!
Here is the video WingsofWhimsy made. It is 27 minutes long but you get to see how anxious the adults were for their chicks and what was happening on the nest.
Rutland Manton Bay: Blue 33 and Maya will have one healthy Bob this year. The time has passed for the other remaining egg in the nest to hatch. Some of you will recall that Maya was ill shortly after her return from migration, and many worried we would lose her. I am happy for one healthy chick and one healthy Mum!
Dyfi Osprey Project: Telyn having a nice nap before those eggs hatch and she is a very busy Mum. 12, 15, and 18 of April. Four to five days away from Pip.
Glaslyn: Elen incubating in the rain. Eggs 22, 25, and 28 of April – two weeks away for Aran and Elen.
Loch of the Lowes: The latest news:
Loch Arkaig: Dorcha reminds me so much of Mrs G. Eggs 14, 17, and 20 of April. Six days away til pip watch.
Alyth SS substation: Harry and Flo are doing fantastic. Eggs 15, 18, 21 April. So we are 29 days for the first egg today. Still a week to go.
Poole Harbour: CJ7 and Blue 022. Eggs were 15, 18, 21, and 24 – yes, there are four of them – of April. A week away. You can see we are really going to be busy next week with all these hatches! Really raining here.
There is another very tearful moment when Blue 22 sees his daughter 5H1 land after two years from when she fledged! How amazing and wonderful news for Poole Harbour.
Clark PUD: Eggs were 7, 10, and 13 of April. We are on hatch watch!
Cowlitz PUD: 18, 21, and 24 of April. More than a week to go.
Bundstiftung Goitzsche-Wildnis: Eggs laid on 9, 12, and 15 of April. We are on hatch watch!
Moorings Park: Ruffie and Tuffy are doing fabulous.
Patchogue: MP found some funny moments with these adults and the two new chicks. “08:42AM. The chick wasn’t getting fed so when the other chick turned away and mom was handing the food to them the second chick grabbed hold of the food and mom’s beak and was lifted up into the air. Feisty little one.”
The slope that PSEG created when they tipped that nest upside down is causing difficulties for Mum to stand stable and feed the chicks.
Lake Murray: The third hatch had a crop a couple of times on Monday, but was shut out of some feedings. The two older osplets need more food than the little one, but this little one continues to worry me. I want to be wrong. ‘H’ also reports: “I was only able to watch the last two meals. 12 bites at the 1840 meal, and 0 at the 1916 meal. What a shame.”
‘H’ reports first thing this morning: “5/14, 0619 Kenny delivered a very small partial fish to the nest for breakfast. It was only a five minute feeding, and the typically cantankerous older siblings were both in a good mood! Little ate 24 bites of fish, and there were no attacks on Little. It seems as though Big and Middle don’t have the energy to be uncooperative first thing in the morning.”
Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home: The trio seem to be doing alright!
Barnegat Light: ‘H’ reports: “It looks like Daisy and Duke at Barnegat Light will not have chicks this year. Just in the past several days, they are not mating (that we see) or improving the nest. They mostly hang out on the beach together.”
Jackie and Shadow make me smile.
Fledging is in the offing at Johnson City-ETSU. Sara A caught it on video!
Big Red and Arthur are doing fantastic. I am so glad that with her leg injury there were only two babies this year.
The Cal Falcons continue to provide our daily dose of cute and happiness.
Just look at how fast those San Jose falcons are doing. Monty and Hartley can handle one – or four! Yeah to these second year parents.
Bowling Green has four flacon babies, too.
Jeff Kear posted this wonderful article that goes back to the beginning of the 20th century with the UK Ospreys. Good read regardless of where you live. Where the birds chose to build their nests was quite interesting: “There were nests to be seen placed in every available situation, some on the top of withered maples, some in the thick vines and creepers that clung round their stems, while others (so favourably have the birds been protected) were placed flat upon the ground, more especially on the beach, where the piles of sticks rose, in one instance at least, to some five feet in height. The favourite situation for ground-nests was a narrow strip of beach separated from the rest of the island by a stretch of marsh (vide Fig. 1). Here we counted no less than four nests in half a mile or so. One nest, presumably inhabited the year before, was built upon the top of a shed.”
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘AE, A, Geemeff, H, MP’, Dunrovin Ranch, Window to Wildlife, Wings of Whimsey, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), The Woodland Trust, Alyth SS, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Birds of Poole Harbour, Clark PUD, Cowlitz PUD, BUND Goitsche-Wildnis, Moorings Park Ospreys, PSEG, Lake Murray Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home, Wildlife Conservancy of NJ, SK Hideaways, Sara A, Cornell RTH, BirdGuides, and Bocian Czarny Online.
Lots of things happening on Sunday. If you missed it – I sure did – Mum and Dad had their first hatch of the season at the PSEG Osprey platform in Patchogue on Long Island early Sunday morning. Thanks, ‘MP’.
Oh, that baby is so tiny!
And now it is Monday morning and we have hatch two at Patchogue – I didn’t miss this one! Dad was right there with a big fish for Mum and both of the babies.
Farther north, Dory and Skiff laid their second egg at the Audubon Boathouse.
Iris laid her third egg (the first one got kicked out of the nest) on Sunday. Iris and New Guy are incubating two eggs now.
Iris is happy. She is getting 2 or 3 nice fish a day! Glad to see this guy is keeping up with his end of the bargain and you-know-who seems to be staying home.
After the loss of Laddie and her eggs, Blue NCO returns to her nest at Loch of the Lowes on Sunday. Geemeff adds, “Approx 18.30 Calls are heard off camera, then NC0 appears. She’s been absent for a few days, staying away more frequently since dear Laddie’s untimely death and the destruction of their eggs by the Pale Male on 7th May. She flies onto the nest and perches, moves onto the nest, calling. Then a male appears, not the Pale Male but the new Dark Male who’s also been hanging around. He doesn’t have any fish so she quickly gets rid of him, and departs herself around 7pm.”
On Sunday, the first fish came early and good thing. It was hot and I have not seen another for a number of hours. ‘H’ and I both watched that 0607 feeding. ‘H’s notes: “I counted bites, but as it turned out, I did not need to. Little ate first, and one of the older ones joined in several minutes later. There was no beaking. The third sibling joined in later, and again no beaking. Little was sort of crowded out, but not pushed out. Later, Little pushed his way back to the feeding line and the three osplets ate peacefully side by side. Unbelievable! There was still a little bit of fish remaining at 0641, but Lucy had no takers, as everyone was full. (if you’re counting…Little ate 114 bites of fish).” That is a good start to what looks like a hot, hot Sunday.
I just feel very unsettled about Lake Murray and the third hatch. I want to be proven wrong.
Ah, it is the end of the day at Lake Murray. Kenny brought in a big fish. Just look at three’s crop. A good start to the day, a not so good at all middle, and a good ending for our little one.
‘H’ agrees! “Lake Murray ended on a high note, 183 bites for Little at the last meal.” And this is her full report for the day: “
5/12 Lake Murray osprey nest: Little (C3) has a very difficult life. His/her two older siblings (C1, C2) are so much bigger, stronger, and dominant. They are 21, 19, and 16 days old on 5/12. Big and Middle both pick on Little, but I think Big is responsible for most of the attacks on Little.
The first meal of the day, at 0607, was a complete surprise… in that it was peaceful! Go figure. Little ate first and had a long private feeding before the other two sleepyheads even got ‘out of bed’. After a long while, Big and Middle joined in the feeding and there was harmony! I was in shock… I couldn’t believe Little’s good fortune. Thank goodness for small miracles. Little ate 114 bites of fish at this meal. After that, the day went downhill quickly for Little. Kenny would bring 5 more fish to the nest that day. At the first four of those meals, Big and Middle were merciless… attacking Little multiple times to keep him from eating. Some of the attacks were quite brutal. At meals two through five, Little ate 0, 2, 6, and 1 bite of fish. Then, at 1800, the last fish of the day… Kenny delivered a large whole fish. I knew that the size of the fish, especially late in the day after Big and Middle had been stuffed all day… would significantly improve Little’s chances for a good meal. Little did not get to eat right away. He was beaked and kept from participating in the meal. At one point both of the larger siblings went after Little simultaneously. At 1816 Lucy did something very cool… she moved the fish all the way across the nest to where Little was, and Little was fed 14 bites before he was attacked. It was not until 1832 that Little ate his next bite of fish, in fact he managed to eat 12 more bites before he was savagely attacked by Big. Slowly but surely, the two older chicks were getting full. Little would sneak up to Lucy and get a few bites of fish here and there whenever he could. By 1850 Little was receiving a mostly private feeding. Lucy was feeding as quickly as she could, and Little was often seen crop-dropping. Little ate until 1906, and had eaten approximately 183 bites of fish at this meal.
I really like this ‘kid’. Little has a determined nature about him, and it seemed that he was always scheming to find a way to get back to Lucy to be fed. Little reminds me of Tuffy at Moorings Park. One big difference is, Tuffy only had one older dominant sibling to contend with, while Little has two.”
Sure nice to see that top on Three. Thank goodness for those late day big catches.
I keep saying that Harry and Sally have the most beautiful osplets. It is the richness of those deep espresso-black feathers set against that gorgeous landscape. Tuffy survived Ruffie. Sometimes you have to look several times to tell which one is which now.
‘H’ reports on Captiva: “5/12, Captiva osprey nest: The siblings are 19 and 17 days old on 5/12. There is no question that CO7 is dominant, and behaves aggressively toward its younger sibling, generally making life quite difficult at times for CO8. Many times CO7 gets quite a bit more to eat at a meal than CO8. But, by the end of the day CO8 will usually have his/her crop filled a few times. CO7 seems to calm down a bit by the afternoon, and that improves CO8’s chances for a good meal. Yesterday evening however, CO8 took advantage of CO7’s improved demeanor and CO8 started a fight! Those fights never turn out well for CO8…s/he will learn, lol!
First-time parents, Edie and Jack, have proven to be wonderful parents. Jack is a good provider, supplying the nest with ample fish. And, Jack often participates in the feeding of his offspring. On 5/11 there was a long dual feeding, where Edie fed CO7, and Jack fed CO8. On 5/12 Jack fed CO8 a long private feeding from 17:03 to 17:21, until CO7 (displaying his Dr. Jekyll persona) sidled-on-up beside CO8, and the two temporary besties ate side by side, fed by Papa Jack. Both osplets ended up with good crops.
This nest is doing well, although there are times when I’m sure CO8 would beg to differ!”
We now have a full clutch for the Seili Osprey nest in Finland. Way to go Hildur.
There is at least one egg at the Juurusvesi nest also with Ania and Bartek.
The third egg hatched at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home Ospreys on Sunday.
The first hatch happened at the Outerbanks nest some time over night.
Hatch at Carthage!
There is still no sign of a pip in the second egg at Rutland’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya.
Dorcha shows off her gorgeous plumage and wings while she waits for the eggs to hatch at Loch Arkaig.
At Frenchman’s Creek, an adult was on the nest feeding one of the fledglings. Later a fledgling was on the nest alone. It is impossible to know if it is the same fledgling or if both juveniles were at the nest on Sunday.
The Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey cam was offline on Sunday every time I checked. The same was true for the University of Florida-Gainesville Osprey cam. Very disappointing. They got a new camera this year and it is terrible.
Big Red is always a pick of one of my favourite raptor mothers. She is just in her glory when there are chicks in the nest.
The nest of Ruth and Oren looks so tiny to me compared to the sq footage of Big Red’s penthouse. You can see the ‘ear’ of the hawks. Look below the eye in the top image at the little black circle. It will be covered with feathers.
Did you know about this Red-tail Hawk nest at Wake Forest? Look at the different ages of the three in terms of their feather development.
The only word is ‘adorable’.
Oh, goodness. They are self-feeding!
‘A’ loves these little ones: “The 11:31am feeding at Cal Falcons this morning (12 May) was yet another of Annie’s perfectly shared efforts. As always, the chicks got to the table in their own time and order, with the youngest taking a while to wake up (at which point it immediately grabbed centre front position and began eating voraciously, as always) and one of the older chicks didn’t join in until last of the four. But despite this, Annie managed, as always, to share the food with such perfection that the four ended up with crops of almost identical size after the feeding. All were bulging in that rather ugly manner, where there are not enough feathers to cover the large bulge, and Annie’s job was done for another few hours. They are eating less often, as I mentioned, but are polishing off entire birds at a meal now instead of having leftovers. There is rarely anything remaining. This time, though, when the meal ends just before 11:43, there are a couple of bones left on the scrape, a little bit of juicy-looking flesh attached, presumably for the chicks to begin nibbling on themselves. Chick number three has a go, and the youngest, behind it, is fascinated by the sight, peering over to watch closely what its sibling is doing.It’s easy to see who is the smartest eyas in this scrape. (To be honest, it’s been obvious from the beginning – this little one has been a dynamo since day one.) These four are doing superbly well. They spend most of their day growing with all their might, but they are starting to get more curious about the world beyond the scrape. Those feathers are coming in nicely, and they are starting to stand up and attempt to walk a few steps on their feet before reverting to their tarsi. I just cannot believe they will be banded in only three days.”
Larry’s chicks benefit from Larry having learned how to be a great Mum from Annie.
If you need to understand the words ‘hope’ and ‘resilience’, look no further than Jak and Audacity at the Sauces Canyon Bald Eagle nest.
The adults at Decorah North are showing the eaglets where to go to branch. It will not be long!
Reign and Manini are looking really good at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Cruz.
The baby at Little Miami Conservancy ended the day with a really nice crop.
The trio at the West End nest of Thunder and Akeheta are eating well. Check out this ‘ps’.
I ‘think’ this darling is little Treasure.
Look who is on the JB Sands Wetlands eagle nest on Mother’s Day! So nice to see you JBS20. Aren’t you lucky? Someone brought you lunch!
Precious storklet of Bety and Bukacek.
There are four storklets on the streaming cam at Knepp Farm in the UK. In 2020 the first white storklets from the rewinding programme hatched at Knepp Farm. They were the first wild chicks hatched in Britain in 600 years! The last nesting pair were seen in Edinburgh in 1416. No one knows for certain why they completely disappeared but they were on medieval menus, they were killed for food, and what about their feathers? Maybe egg collectors, too.
The adults, Anna and Bartek, stay in the nest at night together with their storklets.
Things are getting busy at Sydney. ‘A’ reports:
“May 12: The eagles appeared to have been at Goat Island last night, and were heard duetting early, at 7:15am. They were seen leaving at 10:30am and were seen shortly after at Burns Bay and then heard duetting. Mid-afternoon, at 2pm, Dad showed up at the nest, followed shortly after by Lady. They flew off and then returned just after 5pm. Both were then at home for the night.”
Last year our hearts broke for Little Mini at Patchogue. She had survived being the tiniest little fourth hatch and then she injured her leg. Many knew the story of Ma Berry and we have seen other raptors that have survived with disabilities. ‘Geemeff’ sent me the following article. We really need to think inclusion not euthanasia. This is the story of a shorebird, a wading bird, with only one leg that is doing just fine, thank you.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MP’, Birdy Isac NY, Audubon/Explore, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff, Lake Murray Ospreys, Moorings Park Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home Ospreys, LRWT, Frenchman’s Creek, Cornell RTH, Syracuse U-RTH Cam, Amy Bonis, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways, Parks Conservancy, IWS/Explore, Raptor Research Project/Explore, Little Miami Conservancy, JB Sands Wetlands, The Guardian, Chronicle Live, Knepp Farm, Window to Wildlife, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Outerbanks Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, and NEF-AEF.
*Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to thank those who supplied information, images, etc, for my post this morning. If there is an error or omission, please let me know!*
Oh, it was like the goslings jumping. I was worried about the third chick at Lake Murray and missed the happy occasion at Patchogue. Mum and Dad have their first hatch of the 2024 season at the Long Island nest of our darling Tiny Little Dancer of 2023. Thanks ‘MP’.
Dad was there to check on things and make sure a fish was on the nest. This is an experienced family. They raised four last year to fledge so it is a good nest to watch.
It was a sad day in the garden on Saturday morning.
Everyone always talks about a Spark Bird. There can be several of these significant birds throughout our lives. As a child in Oklahoma, it was the Blue Jays and Cardinals that my dad fed out of his hand. As a teenager, it was the Red-tail Hawks. Then, decades later, there was the most magical moment. It changed my life. It was a winter morning in the garden when my eyes connected with those of a female Sharp-shinned Hawk within half a metre of me. Since that day, hawks have been visiting the garden in search of a “Sparrow Blue Plate Special”. Now, to have an Immature Cooper’s hawk die in my garden is simply heartbreaking. The carcass is going for testing for HPAI, as there were no obvious signs of trauma. However, I suspect the hawk flew into the garage belonging to the house next door or somehow broke its neck, colliding with the thicker branches trying to catch a songbird.
The happy ending to this, if there could be one, is that the hawk’s body is going to our local museum as part of their specimen collection. If you find a bird whose carcass is in good condition, check with your local natural history museum or wildlife centre to see if they would be interested in having it as part of their specimen collection.
It was 14 degrees C Saturday afternoon at the nature centre. The Canada Geese had moved from the main lake to the smaller ponds and fields to forage. There were hundreds of Dark-eyed Juncos, several dozen Chickadees, Woodpeckers, and House Sparrows enjoying the warmth as a huge hawk flew overhead.
Meadow is at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey and is getting the first-class care this rehabilitation centre is known for!
Meadow being weighed.
An ambassador celebration at Audubon!
Two little eaglets being fed at the ND-LEEF nest. Looks like the new Mum has been named Gigi.
There has been some concern for the One eaglet in the nest at Tremplealeau, Wisconsin. The male disappeared and the female is alone.
UPDATE: Dad has returned to the Trempealeau Nest and two fish have come in already – Saturday! Yeah.
The situation at Moorings Park improves for Tuffie bite by bite.
Tuffie had some of the leftover fish early and it appeared that he might have had some other bites. It was when I returned from my walk at the nature centre, that Tuffie had a nice feeding. After Ruffy ate, Tuffie was fed and then both of them ate together.
‘H’ gives us a more detailed day’s report for our little one at Moorings Park. “Tuffy ate at least 54 bites at the first meal of the day; 1109 headless fish, Tuffy was attacked by Ruffie, Tuffy moved away to the rail and never went back to eat. Harry removed the leftover fish;1156 Harry returns with what appeared to be the leftover fish. Tuffy is beaked several times and was not able to eat;1455 Harry in with whole tilapia, Tuffy is beaked and intimidated several times while Ruffie is fed. At 1526 Ruffie moves away, and Tuffy is finally able to eat. At 1533 Ruffie returned to the table, Tuffy was intimidated and turned away. Ruffie ate until 1538, then Tuffy moved up and the two ate side by side until 1540, when Tuffy was beaked again. Ruffie finished the fish. Tuffy ate at least 66 bites at this meal.”
With my bad math, that would seem to be at least 120 bites of fish for Tuffie today – more than the two previous days counts.
Oh, the size difference between these two! So glad that third egg didn’t hatch.
Last instalment from ‘H’ – what a good day for Tuffie all things considered. “1710 large headless fish – Tuffy got 3 quick bites, was intimidated and turned away, later got 3 more bites and was beaked. Ruffie ate until 1722 then moved away. Tuffy had a short private feeding until 1726, then was beaked by Ruffie. Ruffie ate some more, then Tuffy got a few more bites starting at 1730. Ruffie quit the feeding again at 1736. Tuffy voluntarily moved away from Mom from 1738 t o 1740. Tuffy ate a few more bites at 1740, and then Tuffy went and laid down at 1742. Total bites for Tuffy at this meal = at least 77 bites.Total bites to Tuffy for the day so far = 197”.
The crop is almost as big as Tuffie!!!!!!! Get the tissue box.
The little bottom sticking out from under Sally belongs to Tuffie who, all in all, had a reasonable day. Each day is getting better in terms of food intake for Tuffie.
Over the past seven years, turning points come on nests like this one. Whether or not it is the change from the Reptilian Phase into the period when juvenile plumage is coming, or if the weather shifts and the fishing gets better, or if the female ‘decides’ that the little one is going to live and begins to feed it, we should be watching and waiting to see what it is on this nest.
Many of you will have shed tears of joy for little Tuffie today. He is hanging in there and all that good energy from the Tuffie Fan Club must be helping!
The second egg was laid at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island Saturday morning around 0858.
In the UK, Storm Kathleen is hitting areas hard. Dorcha was just blown off the perch at Loch Arkaig.
The storm is not blowing so hard at Loch of the Lowes, yet.
The winds were howling at Alyth, where Harry and Flora have their nest.
Storm Kathleen is kicking up waves at Rutland as Maya and Blue try to protect their eggs.
Idris holding on to a huge fish while the gale blows at Dyfi.
Telyn is soaked.
What a great screen capture of Idris and Telyn.
Extremely gusty at Glaslyn.
Same gusts at Llyn Brenig where there was a fish delivery. You might recall Blue 372. She was over at Glaslyn with Aran and flitting from nest to nest. She is trying to find a mate…well, this is her! And this is what is happening in the image below: “LJ2 has been joined on the nest by Blue 372 this afternoon.Blue 372 is a 3 year old Scottish female translocated to Poole Harbour in 2021, she has been seen on a number of Welsh nests over the past week or so and is now braving the winds up at Llyn Brenig. LM6 our regular female has not yet returned from migration.”
She is determined. Will this be her nest?
‘H’ reports that the Mum at Carthage laid the season’s first egg. Saturday the 6th of April at 10:17:10.
Confirmed pip at US Steel’s nest of Claire and Irwin – and now it is a hatch. looks like another crushed egg hatch. Little one alive and squiggling this time!
Darling Big Red never seems to age except for her feet and legs. She and Arthur continue their dedicated teamwork to hatch those four little hawklets.
Iris might have wished she had waited a few days to return to Montana.
Do not get upset if you check on the little owlet at Wolf Bay. They are both fine. There is a prey item currently on the nest, Saturday evening, that is white.
JBS20 is getting those wings strong. Adult in to fed but JBS20 is good at self-feeding!
Was it a quail lunch at the Redding Eagle nest? or a Guinea Fowl? Both eaglets are doing very well.
E23 gets a fish delivery from Mum. It must have been delicious. The fledgling ate all of it.
A family portrait at the West End nest of Akecheta and Thunder.
Little heads pop up for dinner at the Fraser Point nest of Cruz and Andor.
All is well at Denton Homes.
Happy eaglets at Decorah North.
Diana Persinger recorded a video for FB of a very messy meal for these two at Decorah North.
Everything is good at Little Miami.
Little fluff balls at the ND-LEEF nest.
Worried about Angel? She was on the nest with Tom on Friday.
There are no worries about Leaper and Jersey. They had crops most of Saturday and were about to burst late in the day and Dad had a fish in his talons and Mum had one, too!
The fortune of a nest can shift from good to bad to good. Let us hope this is what is happening at Moorings Park.
Hatch watch has begun for the Fort St Vrain Eagles in Colorado.
There is some thought that the ‘original’ Dad at Pittsburgh-Hayes has returned to the nest after being gone for a very long time. (I would have to check my Memorial Page). Is it possible he was in care, rehabilitated, and released and came home?
This was posted by WingsOfWhimsy with the photos below. They sure look alike.
“WingsOfWhimsy 20 hours agoA little bit of interesting news to share. I will say right up front that I have VERY little personal knowledge to go on here, so I will direct you to either the live cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l95k-… or the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/36054… for additional info. There is a theory that the original “Dad” from the Pittsburgh Hays nest has returned. Dad has been away for quite some time, and HM2 has bonded with Mom, although their egg failed to hatch this season. (I believe mom was first seen with HM2 in September.) Recently a visitor has been on the scene, and I have to admit… even I see the similarities! Could it be that Dad has returned? This is certainly exciting, but also a bit concerning. If this is Dad, both he & HM2 likely consider Mom and the nest to be theirs. These comparison photos were shared by a FB Group user: Lynda Philips, comparing Dad and the recent visitor. This is all I know right now, but I will update as best as I can. The folks in the group or on chat are surely more familiar than I am, though. Please consider checking in with them for more details!”
Yesterday I included a video by DaniConnorWild to show you the penguins in Antarctica. Today, here is a sobering article on the unprecedented heat rise on that continent and the fears that it has for the penguins and for humans. The author says with the rise to 38.5 C, “These events have raised fears that the Antarctic, once thought to be too cold to experience the early impacts of global warming, is now succumbing dramatically and rapidly to the swelling levels of greenhouse gases that humans continue to pump into the atmosphere.”
Thank you so much to the following who sent me comments, news, their pictures, screen captures, videos, articles, and those who operate the streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J’, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Stephen Basly, Tremplealeau, Moorings Park, PSEG, The Guardian, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Alyth SS, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Marissa Winkle, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig, DTC, PIX Cams, Cornell RTH Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Wolf Bay, JB Sands Wetlands, FORE, IWS/Explore, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project, Diana Persinger, Little Miami Conservancy, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, and Sassa Bird.
The girls hope that you have a wonderful start to the weekend. They have been enjoying the +11 C temperatures and the life that has come back into the garden. The squirrels, the Blue Jays, the Dark-eyed Juncos, and an array of Sparrows including some Pine Siskins have been keeping them busy.
Calico ran from one corner of the conservatory to the other – yes, Calico ran! watching the squirrels gather peanuts and hide them.
Hugo Yugo played and slept in her basket and kept an eye out when Dyson was on the fence. I clean her eyes twice daily but she still has the drippies.
Baby Hope looked beautiful watching the birds fly over the glass ceiling.
My friend Ruby was visiting. She is an indigenous healer. Her knowledge about the natural world is abundant as are her observations. The Snow geese could be seen on Tuesday at a particular point near to where she lives. For her, this signals that there is no more snow coming to us!
Today, driving through the agricultural fields north of Winnipeg, yielded huge numbers of Canada Geese on the shallow waters foraging from what was left of last year’s crop that they fed on when they migrated south. There were Snow Geese and Tundra Swans mixed in.
The Snow Geese arrive in early April and will be with us until November – just like the Canada Geese. In the late fall they will congregate south of where I live to fill up in the corn fields that have been cultivated – a boost to them for their long flight south.
The Tundra Swans normally arrive before all the snow is gone and forage in these flooded fields like they are doing today. They will make their nests along the coast of the Arctic at the top of Manitoba near Churchill. These nests will be large mounds of material along the shoreline. The female will incubate 4-5 eggs for 31-32 days. The geese are ‘dabbling’ waterfowl and forage along the surface for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. They also eat tubers and, as we see here, grain left after cultivation.
It was positively joyous seeing the geese playing in the water and foraging for plants. I wish some of the ones in the urban areas would take flight to the country.
Two news items coming in this morning about Ospreys in the US.
USFWS says it is legal to put deterrents on light poles to keep ospreys form nesting.
Thank you to everyone who sent me news items. I am so grateful to all of you. ‘R’ is watching the Gainesville nest and ‘H’ is keeping a keen eye on what is going on at Moorings Park for me. Watching the osprey nests is extremely difficult when there is a chance of siblicide. It wrenches your stomach, causes you to have indigestion, and a great sadness comes. As I continue to say, it is never easy and over the past seven years, this year has been the hardest. When ‘H’ and I start counting bites – we hope that there are at least 100 a day, minimum. Tuffie had 99 on Thursday. Let’s see how that poor little one winds up today.
‘H’ has kept eyes on Tuffie for me when I am not able. So thankful! This nest is so bleak compared to last year. She reports, “Tuffy has had a bad day. S/he has suffered numerous beat-downs from Ruffie, even outside of meals. And, at meals Ruffie would not let Tuffie get fed. Four fish so far: 0904 – whole fish, nothing for Tuffy; 1124 – partial fish, two bites for Tuffy; 1354 – almost whole fish, one bite for Tuffy;1607 – an enormous headless tilapia. Ruffie had the equivalence of at least 3-4 meals on and off for 1.5 hours, while intermittently severely beaking Tuffy, and not letting Tuffie eat. Finally, at 1734 Tuffie began to get fed. Tuffie had eaten 4 bites up to that point, and ate a total of 46 bites before Ruffie decided that Tuffy had had enough. At that point Sally fed Ruffie a little more, and then she walked away from the large leftover piece of fish. She fed Tuffie three scraps off the nest. At 1801 Harry arrived to remove the fish from the nest. Total bites to Tuffie so far today = 53.”
Then an update -“Harry brought a partial fish at 2000. Selly fed both osplets, and Tuffy ate about 42-43 bites at that meal. Sally stopped the feeding early, perhaps because it’s too dark for them to see, but still plenty of fish left for breakfast unless Harry removes it. Total fish bites for Tuffy today = at least 95.”
Sunday Morning Update: “4/6 – Around 0652 Sally picked up the large leftover piece of tilapia and began feeding Ruffie. Ruffie beaked Tuffy several times, and was particularly brutal at 0707. However, Ruffie eventually moved away from the feeding line and Sally was able to feed Tuffy. Tuffy received several bites before Ruffie eventually moved back to the feeding line. For several minutes Tuffy and Ruffy ate peacefully side by side, but for some reason, only Ruffie got bites for the last 4 minutes of the feeding. I counted 54 bites that Tuffy actually ate. “
Sunday morning image:
The back of Tuffie’s head has been battered and is bloody – it isn’t feathers coming in…Send your most positive wishes to this nest, please.
Again, Sunday morning you can see the size difference. Tuffie certainly got a good name! This little one is like Hugo Yugo!
Tuffie being fed Sunday morning:
The peaceful side by side meal.
Reports of Meadow in care – and these are the same folks that are repairing the Achieva Osprey nest of Diane and Jack if you are looking for somewhere to donate:
This is the rest of the communique that says that Meadow will go to the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey – that was where Connick rehabilitated along with some of our favourite ospreys.
They state: “Meadow made it here safe and sound. The eaglet is very thin. We have rehydrated it and are getting ready to start the baby on liquid food. This is our standard protocol for very skinny birds. The liquid food consists of carnivore care. This is a premium recovery food for carnivores with a poor nutritional status. It is a specialized formula that contains beneficial omega, fatty acids and easily digestible proteins that come from egg and chicken sources to support nutrient absorption, and optimize the energy levels of the bird. We do have a few other additives as the bird progresses in its recovery slowly switching over to solid food. Because this bird is eight weeks old, it is no longer safe to put it back in the nest, even if she was in perfect health, which she is not. There are multiple reasons for this, but for Meadow, even if she was younger, because of her nutritional status, putting her back is not an option. We will transfer Meadow to the Audubon Center for Birds Of Prey in the morning so that she can get continued excellent care under their Eagle experts, and she will be with at least 17 other eagles that are currently patients there. And she will be in the presence of adult eagles, which we feel is important.Will keep provide an update later on this evening. Please cross your fingers and say your prayers and think positive thoughts for Meadow. If you would like to support the raptor center of Tampa Bay and help us out with the things that we do to support our eagles and all other Birds Of Prey, please visit our website.”
A further update on Meadow. Thanks, ‘J’.
‘R’ reports on Talon and Stella at Gainesville: “All is well in G’ville. Talon is bringing in big fish and all 3 osplets are well fed and all about the same size. Hopefully all 3 will thrive.”
The three eaglets at PA Country Farm are also doing well!
The earthquake that went through parts of New York and NJ did not make the Duke Farms eaglets even flinch. They had nice crops during the day and both Leaper and Jersey appear to have overcome the period of low prey delivery just fine. It would be nice if this would happen at Moorings Park – but the Mum at Dukes Farm worked hard for these babies.
Here is a video showing the nest at Duke Farms shaking during the earthquake.
Proud parents Liberty and Guardian at Redding.
Archie is taking very good care of Annie.
Likewise, at Loch Arkaig, Dorcha was equally happy to see Louis arrive with a fish.
This was after he did a beautiful sky dance at dawn.
The trio of osplets at Frenchman’s Creek are really looking nice as they get their juvenile plumage. What a difference – sorry Sally and Harry – but just look – this nest has three osplets that are thriving!
I absolutely would not mess with the Mum at Little Miami Conservancy. Her little bobbleheads are all doing fine.
That Johnson City Eagle nest is very windy! Did we blink? These two look like Swampy and Meadow to me.
There ARE three eaglets at FOLAN.
Two sweet eaglets at Farmer Derek’s Bald Eagle nest.
Swampy alone on the nest after Meadow’s accident.
The eaglet – JBS20- at John Bunker Sands Wetlands is 71 days old today. The average age of eagle fledging in the US is 77 days (unless it is Alaska where it is 85 days).
Angel the Leucistic Red-tail Hawk made an appearance at last year’s nest in Tennessee. There are no eggs and little activity for some time. I believe that Angel and Tom made an alternative nest to use this year somewhere close.
It is not unusual for raptors to change the site of their nest. Mr President and Lotus moved their nest, River moved her nest at Dale Hollow, M15 and Harriet moved their nest, Richmond and Rosie moved theirs this year, while Thunder and Akecheta changed sites in 2023. Sometimes the birds perceive a danger that we might not – such as the site being unsafe. “Excessive human activity near raptor nests in the early weeks of the breeding season may cause a pair to abandon the site; or if later in the nesting cycle, may cause an incubating or brooding female to flush from the nest, leaving eggs or nestlings vulnerable to fatal chilling or predation.”
We will never know the specific reasons and it is always sad if a nest has been on camera and we do not know what is happening, but, in the end, we have to trust that the raptors felt more secure in moving their nest and laying their eggs in a different location. For Angel, maybe she felt the old location meant a smaller nest and not a lot of room for 3 or 4 chicks to flap about!
There is an Osprey pair on the nest in Kurzeme, Latvia!
Osprey pair returned to their nest in the Lipka Forest in Poland on 4 April.
A great image from Sharon Dunne of the Royal Cam chick – so white and so fluffy.
Shadow is not giving up! I really do wish there was an orphan eaglet somewhere that could miraculously find itself under this amazing Dad.
Do you love penguins? There are some amazing shots of several penguin species in the following 17 minute video DaniConnorWild did of her photography excursion to Antarctica.
Human debris is coming to all of the osprey nests. There is hardly a single one that is not plagued by plastic. What will happen to the chicks and the eggs?
Sometimes the wind takes things away!
Looks like the geese are thinking about the Sandpoint Osprey platform as a nest.
Beautiful day at Lake Murray. Lucy is incubating those precious eggs.
The birds are migrating and some old friends are arriving at your feeders and bird baths. Thanks so much for giving them water and food. ‘L’ says that the Brown Thrashers are in Alabama!
Ending with that wonderful happy glow that spread around the world when Iris set down on her nest at Hellgate Canyon Friday morning.
Cornell has a free raptor guide for you to download to help you ID the birds.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, images, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, L, R’, WMUR9, WJAR, Moorings Park Ospreys, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, HDonTap, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, PA Country Farms Eagles, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Geemeff, Frenchman’s Creek Ospreys, Little Miami Conservancy, Johnson City-ETSU, AEF, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, LDF, Utah Grosse, Sharon Dunne, DaniConnorWild, Steelscape, Boulder County Fair Grounds, PSEG, Sandpoint, Lake Murray, ‘L’, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, and The New York Times.
Today’s posting may be short. I was away most of Wednesday and visitors will be here most of Thursday! It is time for homemade soup, Focaccia, and apple crisp. I also need a slight break from staring and counting the bites that Tuffie isn’t getting at Moorings Park.
When everything seems rather bleak, it is good to turn to a couple that can raise three eaglets, where the female has the nest under control, and where the Dad steps in and helps feed and keep the peace. That nest is the West End with Thunder and Akecheta. It is also Manton Bay at Rutland where Blue 33 has helped dear Maya when they had four!
There is a big difference in size between hatch 1 and 3 at the West End, but no matter. Both are thriving.
Our thoughts are with Meadow and his sibling, Swampy, and Abby and Blaze at the Eagle Country nest after Meadow was blown off the nest during high winds on Wednesday. Meadow was on the branch safe at the time of writing. Meadow is 64 days old today. The average age of an eaglet to fledge in Florida is 11 weeks or 77 days.
Perched for the night. (more images below)
It is so difficult to watch a nest that is struggling and that is certainly what is happening at Moorings Park. It began with the transition to the Reptilian Phase and a perceived drop and lateness in fish deliveries by the eldest chick, Ruffy. The question is: will Tuffie get enough fish to survive this period?
Osprey chicks typically double their weight by day 7 or day 8. Between days 8-10, the soft grey down they hatched with is replaced by a wooly charcoal coloured down. They become more mobile in the nest. The data records that ‘H’ and I have kept indicate that it is during this period of time when the Reptilian phase begins that the chicks are most ferocious if fish is not plentiful. Darker feathers on their heads begin to appear – a kind of black oily spot and some gorgeous copper red ones down at the nape of the neck. When they are about three weeks old, the primaries, secondaries, and the rectories begin to appear.
The chicks are kept warm by their buff-colored plumage of down feathers called the first down. The crop develops within the first week of its life, which stores food so that the chicks don’t need to be fed very frequently. They usually double their weight in the first week of their lives. Under normal conditions, a nest will settle, and the fear of siblicide will pass as the osplets leave the Reptilian phase. That is, of course, not always the case. There are exceptions, and Port Lincoln certainly showed us in its past history that chicks are not safe, even at 42 or 65 days of age, if the eldest is determined to kill them.
Tuffie keeps his beak open and is begging for food and there is none on the nest when Ruffy is asleep. I have seen females hide food or keep food back to feed these little ones. Sally is not doing this.
Tuffie got only a few bites. Nothing more. Ruffy had a crop. I am in the seventh year of my twenty-year siblicide study. It is never easy. In fact, it seems to get more difficult to observe every year, every nest.
In contrast, Duke Farm’s Mum found scraps in the nest and made sure both Leaper and Jersey had some bites.
The rain is coming down and is expected to continue for several days. The eaglets, Leaper and Jersey, will be banded at the end of this week. What an enlightened nest! Wish each nest on streaming cams would band their chicks. Thank you Duke Farms!
There are now three osplets on the University of Florida-Gainesville nest of Talon and Stella.
The three at Little Miami Conservancy are doing well. Mum even changes the side of the nest from where she is feeding to make sure all three get prey.
The first egg for the Patchogue Ospreys on Long Island was laid on Wednesday.
Maureen posted these images of Meadow on Naturechat. Meadow is still on the branch, can flap its wings, and is safe. Not back in the nest but the parents can feed it there.
Parents know where Meadow is and are caring for their second hatch.
We can see Richmond and Rosie – barely. They are quite a distance from the Whirley Crane and its camera.
Louis is keeping Dorcha supplied with fish!
As we sit and ache for dear Meadow on the branch and longing for Tuffie to have a real good meal, imagine why a person would kill over 3000 eagles? Have a read. This is horrible…
There was a confirmed pip in egg two at Fraser Point for Andor and Cruz Wednesday evening.
No eaglets. No matter. Their bond is strong. Our beloved Jackie and Shadow will forge ahead. — I am starting to wonder if they laid their eggs later if they might have more success or is it only the altitude and not the altitude and the weather.
I am not sure what is being served up, but the two Decorah eaglets are warm and DNF is making sure they are both fed in cold damp conditions.
There are two at Centreport. It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.
Still no sign of Elen after some days at Glaslyn. Aran is now ‘considering’ Blue 372.
Mice. Introduced by humans to Marion Island continue to injury or kill both the Albatross adults and the chicks.
The New Forest in the UK has received funds to help with the restoration of wetlands, bogs, meadows, and heaths. Congratulations.
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, J, L, R’, IWS/Explore, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Duke Farms, U of Florida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Little Miami Conservancy, PSEG, Maureen and Naturechat, SF Bay Ospreys, Erica Crowley, Geemeff, BirdGuides, Gracie Shepherd, SK Hideaways, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Centreport Eagle Cam, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, and Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels.
UPDATED CORRECTION: IT IS LIBERTY AND GUARDIAN’S FIRST CLUTCH. ONE EGG BROKE. I APOLOGISE FOR ANY CONFUSION WHEN I SAID IT WAS THEIR SECOND. REMEMBERING WRONG! THANK YOU SP.
We are starting with Big Red. Many of us watched and wondered about Big Red. Several reported seeing a limp before eggs arrived including myself. It appears that our much beloved Red-tail Hawk at the Cornell Campus has sustained an injury to her foot. Please read the article below for all the information and send positive energy to Big Red, Arthur, and their four eggs.
The warmth of the sun is pouring into the conservatory. Hugo Yugo is asleep in the blue chair while Missey eyes the top of the cat tree. A woodpecker is at the square suet feeder while the Blue Jays flit back and forth from their nest tree to the feeder loaded with peanuts. Dyson and the last year’s kits have already been to eat and Little Red is still scurrying about.
There is something comforting and stabilising about nature and the change of the seasons. No matter what happens in our lives, life outside of ‘us’ continues. That natural rhythm gives me hope every year as life returns to the garden. The soil warms, the first Crocus will appear, and then the tulips. The leaf buds will pop open on the lilac bushes, and the fragrance of the flowers will envelop the entire space around the third week in May. This year also brings new promise as the Black-capped Chickadees are making a nest in two trees in the garden. It is a first. Normally, they nest in the very large Blue Spruce across the road. If deemed safe, Junior and his mate will bring the new Blue Jay fledglings this summer, and we will also have a deck full of baby Crows. Seriously, I cannot wait. That reminds me – both ‘Boyfriends’ have been to the feeding station today. Are they brothers?
The top is the ‘original’ Boyfriend that came to the deck with Calico. He has 2/3 of a white bow tie.
This one has only a part of a bow tie. The one below is actually the friendlier of the pair.
The central heating is off, and nothing made me think I needed a jumper or socks this morning. Today will be a day for a trip to the country or time spent whipping the deck into shape. It is getting there. This year, I will put up privacy screens to become a trellis for climbing flowers for the hummers and bees. Everything is going to be red – hopefully, it will be inviting. There is a new outdoor carpet to replace the old soiled and faded one. I dislike them immensely, those carpets. Most are plastic. This one is made out of recycled fizzy drink bottles, but the energy consumed in manufacturing the original bottles and now this carpet is probably much. I should try and find out. I have the carpet for a single reason – the feral cats. It covers the spaces between the boards and keeps the snow and rain from going under the deck where the outdoor cats often sleep.
It all feels different today – like spring really is coming. It was something we would only dream of on 1 April several years ago.
Megan Boardman spent Easter weekend at Rutland Water, where she took some amazing images of the Ospreys. Megan has happily and generously allowed me to share these with you. She holds the copyright. Do not share them with anyone – just enjoy them here. Thank you, Megan!
Maya in the nest with Blue 33 on the perch.
Megan caught the moment that the intruder arrived at the nest as Maya was laying her first egg. Blue 33 went into action to chase them away!
The first chase.
The intruder comes for the second time. Megan says that it was ‘an action filled day’.
Megan writes, “After things calm down (and first egg laid during the chaos), 33 brings fluff to the nest and Maya flies to wash her talons.”
I am a sap for Blue 33. Here he is protecting Maya again today.
Maya laid their second egg at Rutland this morning.
Sadly, intruders can cause damage and on Monday one of those caused Mother Goose to lose one of her eggs at Decorah.
As you will note from Alison’s terrific commentary, Leaper and Little Jersey are doing quite well at Duke Farms. There has been a big turnaround in food deliveries and life has settled back to being civilised. It is the ‘cherry’ on top of the sundae when life returns to normal without an eaglet being lost in the process.
‘A’ stayed up til the middle of the night (she lives in Australia) to give you this morning round up at Duke. “
Another fish came in at Duke Farms, courtesy of dad, just before 08:05. It is whole and medium in size. There is still half of the breakfast fish left nearby on the nest. Mum is brooding the eaglets and doesn’t get up. Dad leaves again 30 seconds later, knowing better than to attempt to take any fish with him. It is raining this morning, and mum shelters the eaglets, doing her best mumbrella. Just before 08:11, dad is in with ANOTHER fish, a little smaller than the last one but whole. Dad stands there for a bit, periodically looking down at his fish, then flies off the nest at 08:11:50. At 11:04:35, dad is in with yet another whole fish. This is getting ridiculous. He surveys the fish buffet in front of him – three whole fish and a half fish left over from breakfast – actually looking from one to another, to another. I think even he is astonished. Dad leaves at 11:04:49.
At around 11:20, mum finally gets up and shakes her wings to get rid of the water, while the chicks scramble to get up from beneath her. This leaves Jersey front and centre at the table, and as mum flaps her wings to remove the water, one of her wings strikes Leaper, who immediately grabs Jersey by the back of the nape, though she quickly lets go and herself goes into submission. She is quickly up again while Jersey remains tucked. Mum surveys the brunch selection and chooses the smallest of the three whole fish to begin feeding Leaper. Jersey remains tucked though facing the table. Leaper interrupts her eating to back up for a huge PS (11:21:26) then returns to the table. Jersey remains tucked until 11:23:25, when he lifts his head and turns away from the food. Mum is now eating herself. She is hungry. She downs the last third of the fish, including the tail, as a single mouthful.
She then moves to a second whole fish. Leaper, who had left the feeding and sat down on the far side of Jersey, who had finally turned towards the table, suddenly changes her mind, turns around and heads back towards mum. This causes Jersey to turn away from the table again. Seeing that mum is offering bites to Leaper, who is refusing almost all of them, Jersey gains the courage to turn around and move up to the table beside his sister, though he is still nervous. Mum ignores both of them, continuing to eat herself. She appears very hungry. It’s a while since I’ve seen her eat fast and greedily like this. She sure deserves it. When Leaper shakes her head, Jersey leans away slightly. He remains nervous.
Finally, mum reaches out towards Jersey with a bite. He shuffles a couple of paces closer to mum, half-turning away from Leaper as he does so, and grabs the bite. It is his first of the feeding. (Leaper has eaten about half a fish at this feeding so far.) Mum continues to feed Jersey big juicy fishy bites with no objection from Leaper, who is full, so sits watching her brother eat. He is still a bit slow to take bites, nervous of his sister, and is still grabbing at the food rather than eating in a leisurely and relaxed manner. At 11:27:20 Leaper moves towards mum, causing Jersey to turn away, but she is just changing position and has finished eating, so Jersey immediately looks over his shoulder and grabs the next bite. He then eats and eats, and some of the bites are very large. It is a lovely juicy fleshy fish.
Around 11:29, he refuses a bite – he is too full (he started the feeding with a crop from breakfast), so does a crop drop and accepts the next bite offered. She is very patient with him, offering pieces several times, moving slowly and carefully around him so as not to startle him, turning her head to make a bite easier for him to access – she really is a special mum. I have grown to love and admire her so much over the past week. She has been amazing. Jersey is still eating at 11:30 but is looking as though he cannot fit much more. There is still one whole fish and two half fish (one large, one smaller) left on the nest. Both eaglets have gigantic crops. Again. He refuses a big bite at 11:30:30. Mum waits for a bit, and at 11:31:16 Jersey accepts the next bite she offers and then continues to eat. At 11:32, having refused a bite, Jersey crop drops but still cannot fit in the next bite mum offers either.
After a short period where he was too full to take the proffered bites, Jersey resumes accepting food. Mum is stuffing him to the brim. A couple of crop drops shortly before 11:35 don’t make enough room for more food, so Jersey refuses some bites but then accepts a very large piece, and another bite, around 11:35:30. Mum is working on the last of this second fish now. The rain, which has never entirely stopped, is now getting steadily heavier and the eaglets are starting to look more than a little damp. By 11:36 mum is eating virtually all of the mouthfuls herself. She tries hard to persuade him to take just one more bite around 11:37 but he says no, eventually underlining his point by backing off and then turning away. The feed officially ends.
Jersey is full and being soaked by the rain, so he heads for the centre of the nest and tries to dive headfirst under his sister, but is thwarted by her immense crop. He tries again, and there is some general shuffling of eaglets, after which he succeeds in tucking some of his head under Leaper’s crop He keeps trying to find a way to burrow under his sister, and eventually, at 11:40, mum comes over from where she has been standing on the rails, does a little aerating behind the two eaglets, and then settles down to shelter the pair from the continuing rain. What a wonderful mum.
There is still one medium-large whole fish and one large part of another fish on the nest, along with a scattering of leftovers from the two fish that have already been almost completely demolished this morning (mum has left the second one as a skeleton with something that looks like a jawbone attached to one end and perhaps part of a tail at the other – slim pickings from that carcass I suspect). So there is lunch and dinner on this nest already, regardless of how busy an afternoon the parents have. Now that the rain appears to have set in, that may be a very good thing.
At 12:26, mum stands up and flaps her wings, sending sprays of water in all directions. Another burst of flapping, and she leaves the nest soon after. The eaglets snuggle up together – it is still raining steadily, though not too heavily. As I type this, it is 13:10 and Jersey is sleeping with his head tucked as far under his sister’s right wing as possible. Both are in food comas, even as they are being soaked by the continuing rainfall. They have their thermal down now – this is the world of grown-up eaglets. (I think they’d prefer being brooded by mum over youthful independence just now.) I hope their mumbrella is back soon. I do hope she is not out fishing!!”
Monday morning and that beautiful peachy orange of the sun is waking up the land at Decorah North.
Those babies are kissed by its rays and Mum is ready with breakfast.
Guardian and Liberty laid a second clutch. They so wanted a family and here they are with two little bobbleheads at Redding. Doesn’t it feel nice?
The breakfast fish seems to be coming in around 0900 or 1000 at Moorings Park. Perhaps I am missing an earlier delivery. Little Tuffie did not seem interested in the first feeding but caught up during the second. The fish was nice and big and there was still much good flesh left for the third meal.
Both osplets are scooting out of the egg cup but Ruffy is the real expert so far.
Due to Ruffy’s long neck and bigger size, Tuffy has to work a bit harder to get food.
Look closely. They are changing. The back of their heads. The feathers are disappearing and that black oily tar colour is appearing as the two softly enter the Reptilian stage.
Notice the difference in plumage at Frenchman’s Creek Osprey nest. These three are getting their juvenile feathers. A really big fish is on the nest for breakfast Monday and the little third hatch is up at Mum’s beak getting first bites.
It looks like the third hatch got a bit of a private feeding later.
‘AE’ sent some images of the Patchogue Osprey platform. Mum and Dad have worked hard to repair the disturbance caused when the nest was flipped upside down. The egg area is quite small compared to last year but it appears that the eggs will not roll out. Might we hope for only two? And as ‘AE’ notes, the plastic bags continue to be brought to the nest.
She also sent us a screen capture of the eaglet at JB Sands Wetlands. Just look at how big s/he is! Dad did a fine job caring for the eaglet and Mum just like Arthur is doing for Big Red. Look at those gorgeous wings!
‘MP’ writes that Barbara Walker, the Manager of the Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue, has undertaken to put up the necessary deterrents out of ‘high quality’ materials at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest of Jack and Diane who lost their eggs and two-day old chick. The precise reason for the eggs to be found under the nest and the demise of the little osplet has never been determined. Thank you, Barbara! – from all of us.
Watching for Iris to return to Hellgate Canyon.
The Owl Pole where Iris loves to eat the whoppers she pulls out of the local river.
Iris’s nest. It will be the best nest on the continent – Iris does an amazing job of keeping it in tiptop condition. Her ‘train’ is also waiting. When she arrives you will hear my scream all the way to Rio! Or Melbourne.
LJ2 working on the nest at Llyn Brenig.
Libby and Branson have returned to their nest at the Lochter Activity Centre in Scotland.
Today there were four eagles at the Dulles-Greenway nest.
The couple at the Wetlands Institute Osprey nest (there are five and this is one of them) are back working on their nest this year in hopes of raising a family.
There is a pip on Monday afternoon at the ND-LEEF nest! Congratulations!
Is there a second hatch at Centreport?
At the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout, the rain is coming down. Bella is protecting her precious eggs in the hope of fledging eaglets off this nest this year.
Chicks doing well at Little Miami Conservancy. And another one hatched this morning, LM3. Now there are three.
A lovely radio interview on BBC Radio Scotland about Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.
Dorcha and Louis make the BBC news.
Louis pretending he is a penguin delivering Dorcha a fish!
The Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society has put up a new nest for Ollie and his mate at Norwalk. It is a beauty. His nest often got washed out to sea with the high tides. They hope this will help. Ollie has returned home and is waiting for his mate. There is also a new camera. I am trying to locate the link for you.
Note the lovely mesh below the frame.
This was a storm that hit Ollie’s nest in 2022. The nest is on Long Island Sound.
Many have asked about Dmitri. You will recall he rescued the little storklet – the one Mamma Stork was killing – and raised it to fledge. Then Dmitri required surgery. He is well and fixing the stork nest for this year! Thank you to all who helped. He says he is “so happy to be alive and for the birds arriving back from Africa”.
At Utica, Astrid has laid her fourth falcon egg of the season!
Which brings me to Angel and Tom. Our dear ‘A’ is very worried about them and the fact that there are no eggs. I wonder if it is possible that they have another nest this year? or are they just a little late?
The latest word on R6:
The White Storks in Goggling Germany now have 5 eggs!
I love gulls and I purchase chips for them whenever I am at the beach or at Lockport by the dam. Do you feed gulls chips?
Did I ever tell you how marvellous it is to still have story time with the girls? At least once a day, and always at 1900, we gather in the conservatory and I read to the cats. It all began with Calico and her needing to recognise my voice and to trust me. She was in a little room, my old office, and I would go in with a book and her meal. She would eat, cuddle on my lap (yes I sat on the floor) and I would read to her. She has a preference for certain author’s voices. It has been a wonderful way for me to keep up with my reading and for all four of them to gather together. I now know that volunteers at the raptor centres read to the ambassador birds. They are no different than humans – all living things need stimulation and love. I ordered a number of books before the end of 2023 because part of my year was a promise to cut down on the book orders. I have ordered three books so far which has to be an all time low for me during the winter when there is time to read! So, ‘The Girls’ and I are working through that stack of books during story time. Next up is Chris Packham’s Birdwatching From Beginning to Birder. Will keep you posted as we finish up Tim Mackrill’s The Osprey. Review coming up later this week.
Missey looking at the bookshelf to see if she can find a book for story time.
It was a delight to see that animal skins and feathers are being banned from fashion week in Copenhagen. It could be the start of something special. No more animals bred and kept for the fashion industry!
Thank you so much for being with me today. All of the nests appear to be doing fine with the exception of Big Bear and Two Harbours where disappointment at a lack of hatch touches all of our hearts. All of the eaglets in the nest and all eggs being incubated appear to be in good order this Tuesday morning. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MB, MP, SP, TU’, Cornell Bird Lab, Megan Boardman, LRWT, SK Hideaways, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, FORE, Moorings Park Ospreys, Frenchman’s Creek, AE-PSEG, MP-Achieva, Montana Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Lochter Activity Centre, Dulles Greenway, Wetlands Institute, ND-LEE, Centreport Eagles, Little Miami Conservancy, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC, Geemeff, LRWT, Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, @Stork40, Utica Falcon Cam, Windows to Wildlife, Jeanne Kaufman, The Guardian, Goggling Germany White Storks and SPO, and Amazon.
Hugo Yugo was in at 0800 and ready to come home at 1200. She is wobbly and quite ‘out of it’ actually. She had to have a larger incision than normal as, according to her marvellous vet Dr Green, “the ovaries were elastic and didn’t just pop out.” I am used to picking them up much later in the day so I have begun to have sympathy pains with Hugo Yugo. She will have a quiet time in the ‘Big Dog Bed of Missey and Lewis’ in the big bedroom this afternoon. Thank you for all of your good wishes for her. She feels loved!
Well, two hours later. Hugo Yugo escaped and can walk very well in her little pink onesie, but she is certainly not going to win any beauty contests in that thing. This little one is the sunshine in my day. She is going to be fine!
2100. Hugo Yugo is tearing through the play tunnels with Calico Kitty Kitty. She is fine. The onesie is nowhere to be seen. I didn’t take it off – did Calico, Calico Kitty Kitty, and Missey help her? She is her insatiable self leaping over couches and running from one end of the house to the other. I know. Dr Green said to keep her still. Well, that isn’t working.
Thursday morning, Hugo Yugo is eating like a 17-hand Quarterhorse. She is perfectly fine!!!! Tears of joy. Here she is.
I sent my post out early on Wednesday because of Hugo Yugo’s surgery and missed including some events – we will start with those.
The first one is a happy one. The first egg hatched at PA County Farms.
The second one is also happy. Annie and Archie now have three eggs at The Campanile Falcon scrape in San Francisco on the UC-Berkeley Campus. Will Annie and Archie stop at three or continue to four eggs?
Archie thinks three is enough!
The third is very happy. R6 branched! Just look at his face. He knows precisely the great milestone he just crossed! Congratulations Ron and Rose.
More good news. The Venice Golf and Country Club had their third hatch before the camera went down. They have easily raised three in the past with lots of sources for fish in the area.
There is some good news coming from the NCTC nest. Fellow Canadian, Deb Stecyk monitors the NCTC nest. She writes of the broken egg of Scout and Bella (If you did not see it), “March 18, 2024 With the arrival of spring it was a sad day at the nest with the loss of one egg. Both Scout and Bella were observed moving the broken egg shell and nibbling on the contents and egg shell. It tugged at our hearts watching Scout when he first noticed the broken egg shell, his concern and uncertainty seemed apparent. Of note Scout incubated the eggs for about 3 hours yesterday (2 shifts) with Bella taking on the balance. Perhaps the loss of one of her eggs, prompted Bella to be more protective and stay close to home. When we finally got a better look at the broken shell it did appear to have grey material inside the shell, although it may be a collection of nesting materials trapped inside the egg shell. If the egg contained liquid anything that it came in contact with after it broke would definitely stick to the inside of the shell. The egg shell was buried beneath the adults for some time before it was finally moved out and onto the nest. We will keep our fingers crossed that it was the non viable egg that broke. After the incident we had good views of the remaining two eggs all positive signs of things to come. We will continue to hope that Bella and Scout are blessed with two healthy eaglets. With each passing day we are one day closer to hatch watch, it is now after midnight so we have 15 sleeps to go “.
Trudi Kron has been monitoring the JB Sands Eagle nest. You will remember that there has been concern for Mum. Trudi notes that the middle talon of Mum’s right foot is swollen. The swelling goes up and down during the day. Is it broken? the toe? It does not appear that the leg is the issue. Eagles adapt, thankfully. We wish Mum a speedy recovery. Dad has done an incredible job.
Trudi made a lovely video of a day in the life of JBS20.
Sadly, Dahlgren has now confirmed what ‘H’ reported a week ago – that is not Harriet on the Dahlgren Nest with Jack.
The three eaglets of Thunder and Akecheta are doing splendidly. They are all growing and all being fed. It is difficult to see them as they are in the back of the nest, but what a wonderful family.
‘A’ reports: “
At West End, those three are adorable. Akecheta was on afternoon duty today, with the eaglets lined up nicely at the table, and though wee WE was at the back, it was in the middle and pushed forward to get its turn. These three have been behaving so nicely for so many days now that I am forced to believe we have three boys here. The size discrepancies at this stage appear to me to relate to their hatch order and their pecking order rather than to gender, but of course it’s way too early to know. He is a wonderful dad. He does a lot of the brooding and general kid watching in the afternoons. Thunder always does the night shift.
How funny is that? Just as I type that, I see the first bonking in days – number one chick bonked number two (Nessy), who immediately retaliated with determination, leaving the older one down for the count! TOO funny. At the next feeding, with mum, around 5.27pm, all three are again lined up nicely, and all three eat. Wee WE is a feisty little thing, reaching for food and even eating from out of its sibing’s beak if there is an overflow situation within reach!! They are all active and appear to be very healthy. The aggression is negligible and the youngest is not at all afraid of its siblings or of getting to the table. It doesn’t have Nessy’s reach, and usually has to wait its turn, but it always gets fed. There is always plenty of fish on the nest. “
Food appears to me to have been scarce for the past couple of days at Bluff City. Franklin dug around for awhile and found some leftover squirrel for the two eaglets. Fingers crossed for a big prey drop on Thursday.
Jolene saved the day at Johnson City when she brought in part of a big fish. Anyone know what is happening in this area at the moment to see a prey decline? or is it my imagination?
The two eaglets at Duke Farms are eating well.
Synchronised eagle dancing at Eagle Country with Swampy and Meadow. Life is good in Central Florida.
And now the mystery is over and it is also good. Mrs DNF (Decorah North Female) was not injured. It was a cow placenta that was brought in to the nest and it stained her feathers and beak as well as the eggs and nesting material.
At 14:12 on Wednesday, there was a pip confirmed on one of Ellie and Harvey’s eggs. They are the eagles on Farmer Derek’s property. It is also known as the Kansas City Bald Eagles if you get confused.
And this morning the eaglet has hatched!
We are four days away form pip watch at Little Miami Conservancy in Ohio. The couple are incubating three eggs.
At Loch of the Lowes, Blue NCO waits for Laddie to arrive. I want to be hopeful, but I have feared since Laddie migrated in less than good condition that he might not return this year. If he does, I hope his health is good. If he doesn’t, I hope an energetic young lad appears on the scene.
The Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria is now live. The Ospreys are expected back in a week.
Big Red and Arthur had snow on Wednesday. She is keeping those eggs warm and dry. Yes, there are now two. Right on time!
Arthur helped.
If you watch the Leicester Peregrine Falcons, they have their first egg!
We will wait and see if Osprey eggs hatch in Florida’s Barrier Islands late in the season. Pip/hatch watch for the four that Edie and Jack are incubating is 24 April.
One of many articles I will be posting now and again on osprey nest success and what factors help.
‘A’ reports on Top Flat chick. “At Taiaroa Head, there was some concern about TF chick and supplementary feeding was considered when his weight dropped from a massive 5kg last week to 3.3kg this week. His last feeding had been on 14 March from LGL. A reweigh after LGK came in and fed TF on 20 March showed TF at a very healthy 4.4kg today (21 March). TF was 58 days old today. At 17:18 this afternoon, TF was visited (briefly) by the famous Henry the Heron. He’s a very impressive heron. And very curious about the toroa chicks every season. He always visits the Royal Cam chick throughout the season, and this year is no exception. Meanwhile, TFT chick was fed this afternoon by dad WYL, meaning both chicks have happy tummies right now. They are such fluff balls. It’s lovely that our gorgeous chicks have not had any reason to spill, so their gorgeous plumage has not been marred by oil and remains snowy white. Absolutely beautiful. “
The German Ospreys are arriving home.
Reports coming from the Strait of Gibraltar report ospreys, numbering at least 30, flew across on Wednesday. They are on their way. Many will be stopping off to take on food and water before reaching their final destinations -their spring and summer breeding nests.
For those of us who love the songbirds and who doesn’t, do you ever wonder about their song. ‘R’ found this for us today!
And last, what we might all be wondering is said by ‘A’: “At Big Bear, the question is being asked, if Jackie is still incubating her obviously failed eggs, why are she and Shadow mating in March? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw5d1P1xSyY&list=TLPQMjEwMzIwMjQLv1nCV0k5Nw&index=11. Dare we hope? I believe I wondered about this 10 days or so ago, having witnessed similar behaviour then. Is there any chance whatsoever of a replacement clutch for these two? It’s not as though the temperatures are likely to endanger a successful second clutch, is it? What a turn-up for the books that would be!!”
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, L, R, Trudi Kron’, PA Country Farms, SK Hideaways, WRDC, Diane Lambertson, Deb Stecyk, NCTC, Trudi Kron, IWS/Explore, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Sharon Lee, Farmer Derek, Little Miami Conservancy, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL) Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Cornell RTH, BBC News, bioone, NZ DOC, The Washington Post, Gregorius Joris Toonen, and FOBBV.
Before I begin, the little chick at Achieva is no longer with us. It remains unclear as to what happened. No eggs, no chick. Some predator during the night. So sad. jack was so excited about this baby.
Friday was quite the day. Every time I turned around, something new happened with the Ospreys. It was wonderful but, at times, a little overwhelming. Ospreys will populate the news as they arrive and lay eggs, and things will go quiet for a month before everyone begins to hatch. Thank goodness for incubation.
So, we are fully into migration for all the species. As so many have noted, the ‘spring up’ in terms of Daylight Savings Time seems to have caused spring – which was not expected in some places for a few weeks now – to jumpstart. Things to remember about migration: Get your city to turn its lights off. Turn your lights off. Gives the birds a chance. BirdCast says there are 5.5 million birds on the move Friday night. Put up the Feather Friendly stickers on your window. Fill the feeders. Get the water bowls and baths clean. Stock up on seed. Welcome them home! or boost their energy as they fly through. Here are 10 ways in which you can help:
If you don’t know BirdCast, check it out. You can input your location if you live in the US and see what species are arriving and in what numbers. It is a lot of fun and you will learn something.
‘The Girls’ and ‘The Boyfriend’ are all fine, as are the garden animals. Everyone has been seen, which is such a relief this time of year. The squirrels think another winter blizzard is coming as they haul away peanut after peanut. There are now four Blue Jays, which means two have arrived to join the two who stayed during the winter.
Hugo Yugo will go for her ‘operation’ on Wednesday. Dr Green, the vet who has cared for her all along, will have the honours. The primary issue with all voluntary kitten adoption organisations is that they are overwhelmed and have to rely on the vets having space for their kittens. They never know what is available. Dear darling Hugo Yugo, the tiniest 6-month-old kitten I have ever seen, went into heat last Tuesday. It is unimaginable to me that something so tiny would be ready to breed. Her very loud meow turned into a horrifically loud mating call that brought endless feral males to the deck! Poor thing. So glad she was in the house! So, we decided to try to see if there was any possibility of getting her into our vet before the end of May or September. Luckily, they had a cancellation today. I couldn’t believe our luck. So send her good wishes – she will be sleeping on warm blankets and having good pain meds on the 20th.
I learn something valuable every day. Dr Peter Bloom, who banded Black 61, is also responsible for something extraordinary. Steve Schubert of Morro Audubon says, “Pete Bloom captured and brought in the last remaining wild California Condor on Easter Sunday in 1987, contributing to the captive breeding program . The species was absent from the wild until reintroduction began several years later, in 1992.”
Friday was a bit of a day – . Ospreys were landing in their nests, Ospreys were laying eggs, and a chick was hatching at Venice Golf and Country Club. Thank you so much to ‘H, J, and M’ who helped me stay on top of it all! Very seriously, there is no way that a single individual can monitor 150+ osprey nests, so I appreciate all your sightings! You are amazing.
Lucy laid her first egg at Lake Murray. I so hope the GHOs leave this nest alone this year. She has a new mate having lost Ricky and all three of her chicks in 2023.
It looks like both Mum and Dad have arrived at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island. These two did what most only dreamed of last year—they raised four osplets to fledge!
The first egg has hatched at Venice Golf and Country Club! Congratulations. In 2023, their first egg hatched on the 13th of March – so very close this year.
‘H’ also reminds us, “Olivia arrived at Severna Park on 3/8, Oscar on 3/10. Edie at Captiva laid her second egg on 3/13, expect a possible 3rd egg tomorrow. Opal at Forsythe arrived this morning.”
At Dahlgren, Jack brought in his first ‘stuffie’ of the season on Friday. There might be some difficulty deciphering which female is which, but we will never mistake Jack.
Looks like that stuffed animal is gone.
Ospreys arriving in Europe and getting right to the action.
The first arrival at River Gwash, and the fishing looks good.
At Port Lincoln, Ervie and Giliath are fishing buddies.
In the UK, it looks like Blue 33 and Maya will be the first to lay eggs. Laddie has yet to return to Loch of the Lowes. Blue NCO waits.
That is definitely not an Osprey on Loch Arkaig’s nest 1 that used to belong to Louis and Aila. (Louis and Dorcha are on nest 2).
‘A’ has been watching the West End nest and notes, “I watched a late afternoon feeding from Akecheta where the two older chicks were very well behaved (probably stuffed) and dad concentrated on the youngest for several minutes. It was bonked just once throughout the event. It’s a strong, feisty wee one and it gets itself to the table when it can. I have my fingers crossed for it, but if the food supply remains as good as it usually is with these parents, I am cautiously optimistic. In fact, a lot of our two-eaglet nests with young chicks are doing well, with relatively little bonking, although there is the worry you noted with possible intruders at one nest. Of course, we all know that losing a parent is the worst thing that can befall a nest with young chicks, followed by a food shortage or prolonged rain. So, while we cannot control any of those things, I am still hoping this season has turned a corner.”
Proud Dad Akecheta with fantastic Mum, Thunder.
Cali Condor caught Thunder giving a private feeding to eaglet 3 at the West End.
‘A’ was watching when Akecheta fed the wee one and says, “Watch Akecheta feeding the baby some lunch from 13:12. The wee one is eating well and getting enough food. It waits its turn – but these parents are diligent enough to ensure that the older two are sufficiently stuffed to let the youngest have its turn at the table. And the size of some of the fish Akecheta in particular is bringing in is awesome! With each day that passes, as the baby of the bunch gets stronger and more agile, I am more hopeful about this nest. The older two have calmed down slightly – Nessie has a long neck!!!!!”
The two eaglets at Bluff City are eating squirrel. Is it just me or is that first hatch twice as big as the second?
Just look at the eaglets at Johnson City. Jolene and Boone have chicks with the ‘fattest little bottoms’ and their thermal down is really coming in….big clown feet. I blinked. Must have.
Dixie and Mason continue to do great at Superbeaks.
Leaper and Jersey had a fabulous feeding. The new male is keeping nice sized fish in the pantry for Mum and the kids. Their crops were popping several times today. No worries at this nest!
Jack arrived at 0921 on Friday with a fish for Diane and the new baby at Achieva.
The last feeding that I saw on Friday was late afternoon. Jack came to the nest empty-taloned but wet later.
The Crows are the only ones at Oyster Bay so far.
Oh, empty platform at Chesapeake Bay. There is confirmation that the ospreys are flooding the area as they arrive from their winter migration.
Let us all hope that it is a much better year for the Osprey couple that find this nest in Cape May Meadows.
There was an osprey on the MNSA platform on Friday.
The Estonian Golden Eagle Helju has laid the first egg of the season!
In Florida, R6 is now learning about having to defend a nest against intruders!
E23 continues his flapping and flying…we are so near fledge.
Sharon Lee captured Gabby and Beau and isn’t it a gorgeous image of the pair at NE Florida?
Jackie and Shadow are so hopeful. More snow. We need to be more like them. I still wish for a fairy to delivery them a baby eaglet.
Big Red and Arthur were working away on their nest at Cornell. I am expecting eggs to be laid here and at the nest of Angel and Tom any day.
Annie almost had me thinking she was laying her first egg on Friday. Archie was in the scrape calling her when she wasn’t there. Gosh, isn’t he cute? And look at those deep chrome-yellow legs. This guy is healthy!
Annie.
Archie.
Monty and Hartley were both at the San Jose City Hall scrape on Friday.
It’s not siblicide in Ospreys. Geemeff sends us an article out of Science that discusses the Eurasian Hoopoe and siblicide.
That’s a crazy round-up of some of the nests that everyone is following. Don’t be shy! Send me any osprey news that you see – landing on a nest, laying an egg, hatching. Everything is appreciated and welcome. Take care all. Thank you for being with me today. Send good energy to the Achieva nest – there is lots of food competition there for Jack!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, M, SS’, National Wildlife Federation, Spectrum News, BirdCast, Lake Murray Ospreys, PSEG, Isak, Forsythe Osprey Cam, Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Jane Dell, River Gwash Ospreys, PLO, Mary Kerr, Geemeff, IWS/Explore.org, Cali Condor, Bluff City-ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, Superbeaks. Duke Farms, Achieva Credit Union, Chesapeake Conservancy/Explore.org, SCMM, MNSA, Eagle Club of Estonia, WRDC, SK Hideaways, Sharon Lee, FOBBV, Cornell RTH Cam, Cal Falcons, San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, Science, and BirdGuides.
I am not sure it is a ‘Good Morning’ but Hello to everyone,
My focus has been entirely on the JBS Wetlands Eagle family. I have not seen both eagles on the nest since Wednesday and this has been concerning. However…any concerns have now dissipated.
JBS Wetlands has also written to MP: “
“Thank you for reaching out! The other adult eagle has been spotted several times this week activity hunting and spending time on the top of the tower on the lookout. We spotted the adult yesterday several times as well, twice on top of the tower while the other parent was on the nest with the eaglet!”
Finally, I caught a feeding at 16:03 and JBS Wetlands contacted me to tell me that both eagles were on the nest at 1832 with a feeding in progress. Relief.
Sadly, this morning, the world woke to the news that Flaco, the Eurasian Owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo just a year ago, has died from injuries after colliding with a building. Oh, I loved this little guy – like all of you.
We are now five days away from pip/hatch watch at Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow are too funny. Shadow persisted, going in and out all day Friday, wanting turns to incubate! At one point, I looked at the eggs, which were intact. I returned for a screen capture and couldn’t find that split second. Jackie is being ever so careful. Extremely careful.
Five days. That is next Thursday. Mark your calendars. I have my tiny tiny bottle of champagne ready. At 1600 nest time on Friday there were 8595 people watching. I believe we will hit 10,000 when there is a hatch. Incredible. Bells should be ringing around the world in celebration.
This is a recap of Friday’s nest activity at Big Bear.
Chase and Cholyn have their first egg at Two Harbours!
Isn’t she the most beautiful 25 year old Bald Eagle? If you do not know, she is Thunder’s mother (Thunder the partner of Akecheta at the West End nest). And if this is Cholyn, my apologies!
The Canada Geese are back! Will we have a nest and be delighted when there is a hatch, and they all jump down to go to the stream?
Two eggs for Mr North and DNF laid on the 15th and 18th of February. Pip/hatch watch 35-36 days from then. Both taking good care to do incubation duty!
M15 feeds E23 as F23 looks on. They will relish these last weeks before their first eaglet takes flight.
I wasn’t expecting to see them, but Beau and Gabby did spend the night at the nest tree on Thursday. Gabby stayed longer in the morning and even went down to the nest. I wonder what she is thinking?
Lewis needed to help with the incubation at the Dulles-Greenway Nest. He did not. Rosa knew this and was half-hearted in doing her share. On Friday, the Crows did what was necessary – they pecked holes in them when left alone. It is best this happened now, not when there are eaglets.
Everyone is being fed at Eagle Country. There is some unidentifiable prey o that nest and piles of bits and bobs of fish and mammals. No one could go hungry. I do keep saying this, but some nests are prey richer than others. This is a good one!
Much smaller feedings, but more of them at Superbeaks. Mason and Dixie are so tiny compared to Swampy and Meadow!
At Captiva, Cal continues to be fed and is standing on the rim of the nest looking around. It appears that Connie and Clive will leave Lusa to become part of their nest. So sad to know how big that beautiful bird was and not to know what caused its demise.
Look how big E23 is. Anyone think this eaglet is a female besides me?
Everything continues to look good for Jak and Audacity at Sauces. Could this be the year that both Sauces and Big Bear have eaglets?
A big milestone. R6 caught self-feeding! He got some really good bites, too!!!!!
The deer and bunnies are keeping the eagles at Decorah North company while they incubate their eggs.
At the University of Florida-Gainesville, Stella and Talon have their third egg of the 2024 season. Thanks, ‘R’.
Big Red and Arthur were at the nest on Friday. Big Red stayed and spent a lot of time in that nest bowl making people think that today could be the day. It seems it wasn’t but we are moving into a window where we can begin to anticipate…think 13 or so of March.
So far, everything has stayed the same at the Patchogue Osprey platform. When the crew came to clean the nest of harmful objects, they flipped it over after more fishing line was noticed. It has created a mound that would cause – potentially – the eggs to roll. The Ospreys will have to create a nest cup in the mound and build off the sides, which we know that they can do watching Richmond and Rosie do this many times. Still, it would be helpful if the crew got the bucket, flipped it over and fixed the sticks along the edges to help Mum and Dad!
PSEG has posted that the ospreys will fix the nest the way they want. In other words, nothing will be done.
I received an update from Australia. Those adorable Lorikeets that used to check on Daisy the Duck at the WBSE nest have had paralysis issues. Here is the latest news on their treatment. I thought you would be interested. It is long. I could not post a PDF, but we all learn something every day. These rehabbers at WIRES are so dedicated!
Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome
Further to our update a fortnight ago, we are now thankfully seeing a reduction in the number of Rainbow Lorikeets impacted by Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome.We were able to provide prompt medical treatment for several hundred affected Lorikeets, and well over 400 survivors are now in recovery with their WIRES carers. We’ve included a little clip below.
Why did this happen?
Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome has occurred more frequently over the past four years, with this season being the most serious. Thousands of Lorikeets were impacted and had more serious and immediate symptoms. It appears to be a toxicity that affects a Lorikeet’s kidneys, liver and muscles. We believe it could be caused by a fungus or bacteria following heavy rain events.
Our Wildlife Veterinarian Dr Tania Bishop, treating a Rainbow Lorikeet affected with Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome.
Can it be treated?
When a Lorikeet is rescued early enough, a vet can flush out the kidneys with fluids and provide glucose for energy to support getting the toxin out of their system. They can also provide medication for any complications like aspiration and pneumonia, and lubrication to make sure their eyes aren’t permanently damaged.
Whilst affected birds are extremely hungry and thirsty, it is impossible for them to swallow whilst the toxicity is in their system as it affects their muscles.
When the Lorikeet can start swallowing again, a wildlife carer needs to support-feed them until they can feed themselves, and then provide up to eight weeks of dedicated care before they are fit enough to survive in the wild.
The photo above shows two Rainbow Lorikeets who had started to revive after receiving fluids with glucose. The towel is supporting their necks.
The photo below shows Lorikeets after receiving treatment. They’re no longer using their neck supports and whilst they’re still very wobbly and weak, they’re starting to get up, hop and chirp.
What was WIRES’ response?
Since the first build-up of cases many weeks ago in south east Queensland and northern NSW; local groups, WIRES volunteers, and veterinarians have been managing this crisis, including rescuing, evaluating, and providing immediate care.
When the event escalated, we deployed four Emergency Responders with Wildlife Ambulances to assist vets and carers with the rescue, transport, and immediate care of thousands of birds.
We opened a temporary Community drop-off centre in Grafton, the worst affected area, and deployed our Wildlife Veterinarian Dr Tania Bishop to personally treat large numbers of Lorikeets on site and provide treatment advice for local vets.
Hundreds of recovering Lorikeets are now in WIRES’ care. They will require many weeks of rehabilitation before they are strong enough for release. Below is a clip from just one of the pre-release aviaries erected at our carer Robyn’s property. Robyn has hundreds of recovering Lorikeets currently in care.
And continuing on with learning. Do you know the 8 birds that mate for life? Make your list and then read this article by Audubon. How well did you do?
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon! (And please ignore that Pop Up Subscribe – it irritates me, too! I am trying to get it removed).
If you want to subscribe, you can do so here.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, screen captures, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AE, B, Geemeff, H, J, MP, R’, WC# News, The New York Times, FOBBV, IWS/Explore, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, Dulles-Greenway, JB Sands Wetlands, Eagle Country, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Gracie Shepherd, Heidi Mc, UFlorida-Gainesville, Cornell RTH Cam, PSEG, WIRES, and Audubon.
“.
