protecting wildlife – Page 34

Mini and More…Sunday in Bird World

20 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

My goodness. At 2000 the garden just lit up with visitors -two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds came to feed on the Vermillion plants. They are on their migration, coming down from northern Manitoba, feeding in Winnipeg, and continuing southward. Then the Cooper’s Hawk that was on the Conservatory roof a couple of days ago flew in and landed in the lilacs, being ever so quiet -hoping to get a snack before light’s out. The Blue Jays and Sparrows are quiet ten minutes later, as are Dyson and Gang, who were scurrying around when the hawk arrived. I was watching to see if Calico would return for a snack.

Heavily cropped and poor lighting.

11:36:58 Saturday. Minnesota Arboretum chick takes to the skies. Mum is still waiting – late Saturday afternoon – for her baby’s return. Get a fish Dad!

The osplet returned to his waiting Mum at 18:11! Well done. Congratulations!

The youngest osplet at Charlo Montana C15 also fledged on Saturday and it flew when the Highlights were on.C15 has returned to the nest.

‘A’ alerted me to an incident Saturday morning with Mini. Mini had flown to the perch from the brewery side of the road and was chased by one of her siblings, who forced her off the perch and onto the nest—very aggressive behaviour by 3 who spent the night on the north perch chattering. Mini will later get a fish and eat it without incident- 0658.

Mini went on to enjoy her morning fish. She ate every bite.

1417:

By 1600 that left leg is causing Mini considerable discomfort.

1711: Dad brings Mini a nice live whole goldfish! Thanks for the notification ‘L’. Hang on, Mini! Dad has a really nice crop…good for you, Dad. You have been so incredible this season feeding a family of six!!!!!!!!!

Look at our girl hold that fish down with that right talon. Way to go, Mini!

At 1735, twenty-four minutes later, our gal is ready to hork that fish tail. Down it goes at 1736.

Holding the fish down tight with the right foot has allowed Mini to eat much faster and she did not lose the fish over the nest. So proud of you, Mini.

Mini finished that up and flew off only to return to the nest a few minutes later. We can see her nice crop. She wants another goldfish – fish calling to Dad!

Good night, Mini!

After Three had left the nest, Dad delivered a big fish to Mini. S he was jumping all over the nest in excitement as he arrived. She ate every bit flying off with the tail. Mini is doing so much better with her feeding now that she is holding the fish down with that right talon.

Clean up crew arrives.

Wow. There were so many fish deliveries on the Sandpoint Osprey nest and my goodness, the Mum fed the osplet rather well in comparison to other days. No one was hungry. At 1533, the 7th fish arrived on the nest. Unbelievable.

Coco has a big wingspan and is flexing those wings getting them strong. There was a good ‘ps’ around 11:11 as well.

Looking good at the Dunrovin nest with fledglings continuing to return and screaming for fish from Swoop and Harriet. What a beautiful day they had in the mountains.

‘H’ has some good reports for us! As always, thank you for keeping such a good eye on these nests.

Fortis Exshaw – “After missing the only fish delivery to the nest from Louise on 8/18, a very hungry Banff wisely decided to forgo an early morning flight. She was waiting on the nest when Louise delivered a ‘whale’ fish at 1001. That fish was equal to 2.5 to 3 fish. Oh my goodness, the temperament of teenage ospreys . . after taking possession of the fish, Banff lunged and flapped at her mom to get her off of ‘Banff’s nest’! Lol, Louise understands . . this is not her first rodeo with teenagers. Banff feasted on the huge fish on-and-off for several hours, and never let go of it. There was at least 1/4 of the fish remaining when Louise delivered another fish at 1509. A very excited Banff celebrated with a couple of high hovers while holding the fish! Banff ate some of the new fish, but she was not very hungry. Then at 1728 an intruder decided to harass Banff. Banff was buzzed with close fly-bys four times, then Banff quickly flew off the nest to avoid potential harm. Good girl. She left a partial fish and a nearly-whole fish on the nest. Banff did not return to the nest for the rest of the day, and the intruder did not take the fish. Banff will have breakfast already waiting for her in the morning. Stay safe Banff, wherever you are.”

[News has come in that Banff was taken off the nest and dropped at the side by the intruding Osprey at 0622 this morning. Thanks PB].

Osoyoos – “Olsen brought two fish to the nest, The first fish at 0837 was a huge headless fish that lasted nearly two hours. And the second fish at 1400 was also a good-sized fish. At 54 days of age, ‘Junior’ was doing some high hovers, and at 1833, s/he was completely out of view of the cam for a few seconds. Keep an eye out . . Junior just might fledge today!”

Forsythe – After having not been seen for 20 straight days, mom Opal made a surprise appearance on the nest at 0909. And guess what? . . Oscar brought her a fish! How cool is that? Oscar to his gal: “See ya’ next year, honey. Stay safe.” It was wonderful to see Opal again before she starts on her long journey.

Barnegat Light – “Here’s a photo of the multi-talented fledgling, Dorsett, as “captain of the ship.” And, after she was not seen on camera for two days, Daisy was on the nest in the morning. Later in the afternoon, Daisy delivered a fish to Dorsett on the nest. Nice to see you, Daisy.”

Severna Park – “There has only been one fledgling seen on the nest for the past five days. We cherish every chance that we get to see her and her dad, Oscar.”

Thank you again, ‘H’. It is that time of year when, as you said, it is always a pleasure to get a glimpse of the youngsters and their parents.

It looks like Diamond was hungry when, after turning down the European Starling, she finally accepted it!

It was not typical behaviour for Louis to be away from the nest and not delivering fish to his youngster/s. Ludo was certainly getting anxious. The weather was terrible and the water choppy. What relief when lewis shows up after a two day absence…

The weather has been terrible in Wales, evens Aran is out there fishing!

Louis has been delivering to Ludo today. I wonder if the water is as choppy at Loch Arkaig as it has been. Fish 2.

We are still waiting – and so is Dad – for the first egg at Port Lincoln. The good news is that Ervie is back in Port Lincoln!

As of 2330 Saturday in Canada, this is the situation at the Sydney Sea Eagles as reported by ‘A’: “

Breakfast was very late this morning – around 11.25 – and the fish took 15 minutes for Lady to feed to SE31. There were no bites for SE32, not even a little one, though to make up for it, he got beaked and lifted off the ground by its back and its neck several times. SE31’s viciousness is increasing. Today, when both were hungry, SE31 was a little stinker, really hurting little SE32 when she lifted him up by the loose skin between his shoulder blades. SE31 had literally mouthfuls of feathers to spit out on several occasions. Little SE32 crept forward and around and did everything possible to get near mum but to no avail. SE31 beaked him wherever he tried to go. Just as Lady left the nest, all food gone, SE32 makes it up to the empty table. Poor little mite looks so sad. We need a large lunch fish fairly quickly, as that was not a large fish and we need SE31 to be too full to eat before SE32 is going to get anything at all. He had a bad day yesterday food-wise and we really need him to eat this afternoon.”

Later news: “So there were three small whole fish brought in between 11:25 and 13:06 and SE32 got one small piece. This situation is worsening, and although SE32 is getting up to the table, he is too scared to raise his head once he gets there. He rushes up to the table to try and find leftovers he can self-feed but there have been no leftovers for him to find over the past 24 hours, so this is not helping him right now. SE31 keeps a close eye on him, so if he found food to self-feed, SE31 would probably be up there joining in without moments! And he makes sure SE32 stays in submission during feedings by simply leaning over him (and sometimes grabbing a beakful of feathers and shaking him violently, even picking him up off the ground, his little feet flailing to gain traction).” Thanks, ‘A’. I h ope the situation changes quickly

Let us all hope that little 32 gets some courage and a lot of fish!

At Taiaroa Head – home of the Royal Albatross Colony, Manaaki gets wonderful feedings two days in a row!

One of my heroes that fights for wildlife and whose early love of Kestrels keeps him going in the face of death threats is Chris Packham. There is a really good article in The Guardian today about this man who is one of the founders of Wild Justice.

Chris-Packham-‘I-would-lose-my-voice-immediately-if-I-went-to-prison-for-protesting-Wildlife-T Download

Thank you to everyone for being with me today. As the wild fires grow in Canada, please keep all of our feathered friends (and the humans and other wildlife) in your thoughts. Take care! See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, L’, Mn Landscape Arboretum, Charlo Montana, PSEG, Sandpoint, Dunrovin, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Severna Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Cilla Kinross, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, E Lewis and Glaslyn Osprey Group, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Lady Hawk and the NZ DOC, and The Guardian.

Skydancing…the plight of the Hen Harrier and Mini is adapting…Friday in Bird World

18 August 2023

Good Morning,

It is Thursday afternoon and it is nearly 1400. A Cooper’s Hawk has just landed above my head on the Conservatory. A summer fledgling who has found the garden and its hundreds and hundreds of Sparrows, the snack of choice for this raptor. You have to look in their eyes – just once – directly and you will melt. It was a long time ago now that I ran into the garden through deep snow for fear that a very large female Shark-shinned Hawk was eating Hedwig, the resident rabbit. She wasn’t but, in an instant, our eyes met one another. There was a meeting of spirits. I understand fully the Circle of Life and for this beautiful raptor she needed food. I love raptors – some people don’t. They see them as big mean birds.

Today, there will be little news from nests but I want you to understand, by listening, what all the fuss is about the hunting estates, and the extinction of the Hen Harrier.

So please listen! You also get an explanation of the Inglorious 12th of August. I hope you understand why stomping on a nest of innocent Hen Harrier chicks makes me ill and causes my anxiety to rise. The wealthy pay 1000s of GBP per day to shoot grouse but they also stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and spend money in the villages. The fines and punishments mean nothing because killing birds is big business with the Driven Grouse Moors seen to be a ‘part of traditional Britain’ – which they are. We live in the 21st century and our attitudes towards killing have changed since medieval times.

There are three episodes. Educate yourself and listen to all of them. Imagine the vast expanse of Scotland because this is where this happens.

Part One. Susie’s Chicks

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/audio/2023/aug/15/killing-the-skydancer-episode-one-susies-chicks?CMP=share_btn_link

Part Two. The Perfect Crime.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2023/aug/16/killing-the-skydancer-episode-2-the-perfect-podcast?CMP=share_btn_link

Part Three. An Open Secret

https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2023/aug/17/killing-the-skydancer-episode-three-an-open-secret-podcast?CMP=share_btn_link

There are so many good books out there on Hen Harriers. They are such beautiful raptors. These are two of my favourites:

At Patchogue, Mini had four fish on Thursday. She ate the majority of each of them proving that she is adapting to her situation. It has been over a week now that she appeared on the nest with her injury.

When there is not much of the fish left – or if they are small, to begin with – Mini has difficulties because she still cannot put weight on that left leg. She can’t hold down the fish and pull. Today, she was persistent in working on the tail of one of those deliveries. Tried to work on a tiny piece! Dad brought the fourth fish in, a small one, late in the day. Mini worked and worked, and she succeeded – this fish, not a bite of it, went overboard.

Gosh, she is beautiful.

Mini is desperately trying to get every morsel of that fish tail.

Mini worked and worked an she horked all of that fish tail!

All gone.

We have to watch Mini’s progress. She appears more steady on her legs, less wobbly – although at the end of the day – around 1952 when she flew off the perch she appeared to have trouble -, uses her wings to help her, and is enthusiastic in her fish calling. She is flying. Dad continues to feed his youngest. What we know about Mini’s personality is this – she survived against great odds – one of only a few (I have to find those stats) fourth hatches to live this season. She is intelligent, tenacious, and she does not give up. She works hard. If all of my university students had those qualities, teaching would have been a breeze!

Good Night, Mini.

There is good news about Ervie who is enjoying Turnby Bay!

Waiting and watching as Dad continues to deliver fish to Mum at Port Lincoln.

At Sydney Sea Eagles, little 32 (noticeably smaller now than 32) still waits submissively while 31 eats. The fish was very large, and 31 was full, and the baby ate. The pattern of domination was set early. We can still see some of the feathers missing from 32.

“A’ gives us the rundown: “Dad came to the nest shortly after 9.35 and asked Lady whether it was okay for him to have some of the leftover fish. Surprisingly, she actually agreed! She stood up from brooding the chicks and flew off, leaving him to have a snack and then feed the remainder of the fish to SE31 (well, SE32 got about half a dozen or perhaps eight mouthfuls at the beginning of the feed, but as soon as SE31 beaked him, pulled out another beakful of feathers (she can’t shake SE32 any more – he’s too big now – but still grabs a beakful of feathers somewhere on SE32’s head or neck and twists back and forth till he pulls out the feathers, leaving herself spitting out fluff), he went into submission. Late in the feed, Dad tried to offer him a bite but SE32 shrank away, which confused Dad, who didn’t try again. SE32 still has a huge crop from breakfast, so if he doesn’t eat again for the rest of the day, he will be fine… As long as SE31 has had enough, she is perfectly happy to watch her little brother stuffing himself to the brim. On other occasions, though, she continues to return to the table, and as long as she is that close, SE32 is fearful, with good reason, as SE31 will often react to any food given to SE32 by beaking him.”

Friday morning Xavier had stashed a fresh European Starling in the corner of the scrape. We know that this is not Diamond’s favourite breakfast but…she was hungry. Went over and accepted the food gift and out she went. Still waiting for eggs.

Three healthy and happy fledglings at Boulder County hoping that they will be the lucky one to get the fish delivery.

At the time of my writing, Maya was still at Rutland.

Only four so far reported crossing over the Straits of Gibraltar.

This is Thursday’s chart from Hawk Mountain in PA, USA.

Migration is on everyone’s mind and Tiger Mozone posted an older chart showing the relationship between fledge dates and migration from Loch Garten.

A note came to me today stating that the Middle hatch at Achieva is doing very well and is flying around. He needs to gain some weight before release. This is all good. You might recall that he was falling off the nest – dehydration/starvation – and was monitored and picked up for rehab.

Voldis and Milda continue to provide prey items for their two fledglings at the Durbe County White-tail Eagle nest in Latvia. LizM catches one of those deliveries on video.

LizM catches Karl II coming in with a load of fish for his three fledglings in the Karula National Forest nest in Estonia.

Ludo has not had anything to eat as of 0900 Thursday morning due to intruders at Loch Arkaig. Has Dorcha left for migration? Geemeff reminds us that she departed on the 18th last year. Louis is probably fighting intruders. Certainly Ludo is having to deal with them. Poor thing. What is up with these intruders this year?

‘H’ reports that it was a good day at Fortis Exshaw: “All things considered, it was a good day. I think the cam viewers are in agreement that any day where Banff has a couple of fish to eat and she is not snatched from the nest by an intruder, it is a good day! Louise delivered one of her signature ‘whale’ fish at 0619. Banff would eat from that monster fish on and off until 1551. At 0626 Louise flew off the nest with one of the nearly-whole leftover fish that she had delivered in the evening on 8/16. At 0630 and 0631 Banff was buzzed by an intruder. Louise quickly flew to the nest holding what appeared to be the same fish she had just removed. Then, when Louise flew off to chase the intruder, she left that fish in the nest. Banff picked up the 0632 fish and deftly laid it right beside her ‘whale’ fish. That was so cute. So, the 0632 fish brought to the nest seemed to have been a recycled leftover fish from 8/16. Louise brought a big gob of fluff to the nest at 0720. We thought that she may have intended to cover JJ’s body with it, but she did not. Louise flew out at 0742 chasing an intruder. At 0907 O’Hara landed on the nest and was scanning the skies, then he flew off quickly in pursuit of something a few minutes later. At 1442 O’Hara was back again and stood on the nest as a sentry until 1502. Starting at 1618, Banff had been intermittently nibbling on the recycled leftover fish, when an intruder started buzzing and dive bombing her. She was buzzed at least seven times until 1621. At 162130 there was an adult that flew higher over the nest, but we weren’t sure if it was the intruder, Louise or O’Hara. Banff’s response to the attack was to ‘pancake’ as flat as she could until the threat subsided. Then, cool, calm and collected, Banff finished eating the recycled leftover fish. She was also dive bombed twice at 1649. At 1819 Louise delivered the last fish of the day. Banff was buzzed twice by an intruder at 2004, and she pancaked again. Then an intruder (or ‘friendly’?) hovered over the nest briefly at 2005. After all her flying and being chased by intruders the previous few days, and the stress of twice being snatched off the nest, Banff decided to rest and refuel today. She took no flights, she was a total homebody.”

‘H’ also reports:

Osoyoos – There were five fish brought to the nest at 0604, 1039, 1243, 1357, and 1742. Despite the ongoing heat wave, this family is doing great. The young osplet is 53 days old.

Forsythe – Dear Ollie is spending much more time away from the nest, but she did have three fish delivered to the nest for her by Oscar.

Severna Park – At least one of the juvies is still coming to the nest and eating fish provided by Oscar.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow with a look at what is happening on the European nests.

Thank you to everyone for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB, R’, The Guardian, PSEG, Port Lincoln Osprey, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Bart M and LRWT, Jane D and Ospreys, Hawk Mountain, Boulder County Fair Grounds Osprey Cam, Tiger Mozone, Liz M and the LDF, LizM and the Eagle Club of Estonia, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, FortisExshaw, Osoyoos, Severna Park, and Forsythe Ospreys.

Second attack on Banff…Thursday in Bird World

17 August 2023

Hi there,

As I sit and write this, six Blue Jays are getting peanuts in the garden and drinking from the fountain. The sky is black and we have both air quality warnings and wind warnings of 80 kph. The birds are frantic. One even hid in a red plant when the gusts got high. (Fast speed so nothing looks like it is moving but it was!)

The cutest thing was when the ‘baby’ slept in the bird bath. Oh, this little one delights me many times a day. Such a cutie pie.

Bliss. Soaking your feet on a hot day in water with the sun pouring down warming your feathers.

A sibling decided they liked the cleaner water in the taller bird bath for his bath! These Blue Jays are the cutest things this year. They spend the entire day in the garden. So grateful that they do not like little grape tomatoes! They seem to eat everything else in sight.

Missey watched it all from her perch inside the sitting room.

The only nest that I checked on throughout the day was Patchogue. I knew others were watching Fortis closely and Mini is quite dear to my heart.

At 0951 Mini is on the nest screaming. She sees Dad!

I know that I call her Mini and at one time it was Little Mini. Some call her Tiny Dancer. But I want you to look at the span of the wings right now…not little anymore.

Her left leg is not straight. My friend ‘R’, who is qualified (I am not) to discuss physical issues more than anyone I know, believes the trouble is at the knee. The problem with getting Mini help is that she is flying, her parents are still feeding her, she is not grounded. There is just no way to do that at this point. She is wild.

Indeed, it is appropriate to bring in today’s experience with Calico -the stray that I hope to get vaccinated and fixed. She is in heat. The vet told me that she would not be around for two days, but, like clockwork, she arrived at 1901 (instead of 1900) for her dinner. I fed her a bit on the deck, picked her up, and took her into the conservatory. Well, now. She bolted and climbed the glass walls to the roof, sliding down. I felt horrible. The terror that she was experiencing sent me back to the drawing board on how best to care for her and any kittens. So the goal is still to find the kitten/s – to get them adopted or keep the only surviving one if possible and get Calico fixed and all vaccinated. If she chooses to live outside she will have a heated house if she wants to live in it. There will always be food. Tomorrow when she is not traumatised by being inside a house, I will fit the collar on if I can find one that closes with Velcro. There was no way I could hold her and buckle the collar I had prepared with the tracker. I must remember that she is a wild soul and be patient.

Mini is also wild and she will not fit into the story that I (or anyone else) has written for her – either.

The last fish was a rather large goldfish. She ate some on the nest and flew off with the rest in her beak. Everyone watching held their breath when she was feeding near the rim, fearful she would drop her dinner over the edge. Hopefully, Mini has found a flat room in her time of adaptation where she can eat in peace without the fear of losing the fish.

The best-case scenario for Mini is a miraculous healing. Second, she is grounded and rescued. We must realise that she would have to stay in care until spring when the ospreys return from migration. She could not be released before then (it would be winter). That is why the local publicity and her story are important and, perhaps, a GoFundMe to help with her expenses should she go into rehab. I have a feeling our gal would eat a lot of fish if she got the chance!

This afternoon Banff flew on to the nest at Fortis Exshaw and was once again repeatedly attacked and taken off the nest by another Osprey – an adult. I have asked ‘H’ for clarification because it looked like it might have been an adult this time. A local resident, Tina Moore, noted (on the chat) there was an aerial fight between four ospreys. It is a very unstable situation. Will Banff figure out to stay in the trees and hope she gets fish fed there? How many fish does Louise lose trying to feed herself and Banff? Where is Mr O? I presume he is also fighting intruders. Someone told me once that the raptors protect their territory first, themselves second, and the chicks third.

‘H’ gives us the most remarkable account of these events – with an ending that defies logic as we still see JJ’s body – a result of starvation.

“Fortis Exshaw – Ya’ just can’t make this stuff up. We don’t believe Banff had any food on 8/14 after she was dragged off the nest by an intruder, but we cannot rule out that she may have been fed while in hiding. Banff only had one fish to eat on 8/15 at 0639. 8/16 started out to be a peaceful day. Banff went on a few short flights, but starting at 0855 she was dive bombed 8 times while on the nest by an intruder. Banff eventually flew off the nest while being chased. At 1111, Banff flew to the nest perch and was buzzed by the intruder, so she took off. She was chased back to the nest and was dive bombed two more times, so Banff flew away. A local live stream viewer, TM, went to the nest and reported that she saw a couple of adult ospreys helping to chase the intruder away from Banff (she thought them to be Louise and O’Hara). We next saw Banff at 1304 when she landed on the nest, and she was dive bombed three more times. At 1305, the intruder approached from behind, grabbed Banff on her back with its talons and dragged her off the nest! Starting at 1545 Louise hovered over the nest dangling a fish and flew off. Then she came back and landed with the fish, but took off with the fish again after a minute. She came back with the fish and hovered and flew away. Then she landed with the fish and flew off. Louise was looking for Banff, and trying to attract Banff. At 1548 Louise again landed with the fish . .and we thought we heard Banff calling, and Louise heard the calls too . . Louise immediately looked north and seemed to be laser-focused on a specific spot, and she flew off with the fish. We think she may have taken the fish to Banff. If so, it would have been Banff’s first meal in 33 hours. Banff landed on the nest at 1922. She appeared to have a slight crop. Louise knew where her girl was, and she was on the case! Louise proceeded to deliver seven whole fish to Banff from 2020 to 2123! Now, that is the kind of fishing success Louise was having just a few weeks ago. The first fish was at 2020. Banff had not quite finished fish-1 when Louise arrived with fish-2 at 2035, and Banff started eating fish-2. At 2041 Banff dropped fish-2 and started eating fish-3. Banff finished fish-3 and resumed eating fish-2. At 2105 Louise brought live fish-4, Banff drops fish-2 and starts to eat fish-4. At 2110 Louise arrived with fish-5, an even larger live fish. Banff had not eaten much of fish-4 when she grabbed fish-5. By then, Banff had a huge crop, and she really wasn’t hungry. She stood holding fish-4 in her left talon, and a still flopping fish-5 in her right talon. Louise arrived with whole fish-6 at 2115. Banff let go of fish-4, and started eating fish-6 (fish-5 was still alive). Banff periodically took bites from fish-5. She soon switched her main focus to the frisky fish-5, and periodically took bites from fish-6. Finally . . at 2123 Louise delivered fish-7. Through all of this time Louise’s crop had been flat each time we saw her. Satisfied that she had provided enough fish for her kid, Louise picked up a nearly-whole fish-4 and ate it. You go girl! You deserve it, Louise. The entire time Louise was eating, Banff was simply standing there with a fish in each talon, but not eating. She was talking up a storm, telling Mom all about the terrible time she had been chased, dive bombed, and dragged off the nest by that awful mean bird. Only fish-1,3,and4 were eaten in their entirety. Pieces of fish-2,5,and 6 remain in the nest. Fish-7 remained a whole fish. Banff will have the strength to fight another day. Banff slept on the nest, and Mom spent the night on the T-perch. (It is such a shame that fishing became so difficult for several days, and JJ could not get enough to eat. Now JJ’s body is surrounded by fish)”

I want to thank the folks at Cowlitz because of their progressive thinking on stopping the predation of their osplets. Many nests could benefit from the grids that Cowlitz PUD put up to protect their ospreys. Maybe Fortis Exshaw should be first in line – along with Lake Murray -to get those plans.

At 2245, I got a note that Banff was on the nest and had a huge crop thanks to a fish Louise delivered. Thanks ‘PB’. One thing is certain: Louise appreciates what has happened to her daughter – and Banff is getting real-world experience that will give her an edge out in the world off the nest! She is one tough cookie.

Tears.

How many raptors were displaced because of the fires throughout Canada will never be known. You can see the fires still burning behind the nest in the mountains beyond. They would have lost some or all of their nests, mates, and chicks. A few nests, like one in Nova Scotia, made the news because two chicks were rescued from the wildfire, and a new nest was put up after they had been in rehab for a fortnight. The parents returned to care for them. Many, many more were not so fortunate.

Dyfi: A beautiful capture of Cennen.

Glaslyn: Aran’s fish dinner. Where is everyone?

Manton Bay: My favourite Osprey Dad in the World (sorry Louis). Blue 33 has made quite the nest and is doing repairs so that when him and Maya return in March it will be ready! What a wonderful provider!

Osprey season is over at Dahlgren and the cam will be shut off until next spring. Good luck. Safe travels everyone!

‘H’ reports on Osoyoos: “Osoyoos – The heat wave continues in the region, and the air remains smoky. But despite the heat and smoke, Olsen delivered a large headless, and Soo brought two nice-sized fish to the nest. There was a long tug-o-fish between Soo and Junior for the second fish, but Soo kept the fish and fed Junior. At 1941 ‘Junior’ grabbed fish #3 from Soo and ate the whole thing! “

Alyth: The camera has been down for several days. Last time we saw the youngsters there were fish squabbles but all were well.

Ever wonder why ospreys might benefit from being banded? Here is the latest report From Diane Bennett at Tweed Valley about an osprey caught in netting. Have a read – it is very informative.

15th-August.docx-Google-Drive Download

The latest report on the Border Ospreys – both adults were still at the nest.

YET-MORE-HUMBLE-PIE-–-Border-Ospreys Download

Jeff Kear gives us the round-up of who is where in UK Osprey Land.

Darling Xavier. Sometimes Diamond is so picky. I hope he had a nice breakfast. How dould you not love this tiny male…oh, Xavier, you are a doll.

Port Lincoln: Dad dutifully takes a fish to Mum, which she flies over to the ropes to eat. Mum is still spending time on the nest, and the couple are still mating. We wait for eggs.

Sydney Sea Eagles: Little 32 is shy even when 31 is not doing anything and often goes into a submissive mode. Some worry about why this little one is not more spunky. ‘A’ writes, “Around 10.22 dad brought in what looks like an eel. Little SE32 has a nice crop from his breakfast and is looking perky. He has front position for this feeding, at least as mum takes control of the food, but we will see what happens once the eating begins. There should be plenty of meat on this eel to feed both eaglets, so all SE32 has to do is wait until SE31 is full and all should be well. Fingers crossed.”

And that is precisely what happened!

Just a correction. KL5 has been at the Loch Garten nest causing havoc. All of the information that I saw posted on FB stated that he fledged from the Loch Garten Nest in 2020. ‘D’ says that it was actually at Loch Ness. Thanks, ‘D’.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, D, H, PB, R’, PSEG, Fortis Exshaw, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Jane Dell and LRWT, Bridgette Schwurack and Dahlgren Osprey Cam, Osoyoos, Alyth, Diane Bennett, Border Ospreys, Jeff Kear and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Cilia Kinross and Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons, PLO, and Sydney Sea Eagles.

5 fish and counting for Mini…Wednesday in Bird World

16 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the start of the week has turned brighter for everyone with the return of Banff to the Fortis Exshaw nest and Mum, Louise. Certainly, Mini is doing better, and Dad is fishing overtime for his girl – so for once, this newsletter sparks a cheery note rather than one full of profound anxiety or sadness.

As for me…well, Tuesday was a bit of a nightmare but, in the end, it turned out grand. You get worried when a stray cat comes like clockwork to be fed and does not show up. After waiting and missing what would have been 3 feedings, I hit the street. I asked anyone who passed me if they had seen her – after discovering that if you carry a blanket and a smelly dish of sardines, people believe you are looking for a lost cat and are not some crazed stalker. Well, it happens that the place thought to be where she was hiding is home to a raccoon. He has been living there for a couple of years.

It seems that Calico is the Queen of MisDirection! At least when she knew I was tracking her. I worry that she is locked in a shed or garage. So I have taken to social media, and tomorrow a new set of flyers will go in mailboxes based on what I learned – which is that she hangs out in an area that I had not known about. If I only had thought of the Air Tag earlier…oh, well. My grandmother always said that things work out how they should. Sometimes I want to ask: Really?

My grandmother welcomed all of my pets even allowing my duck to have almost full reign of her home. She also encouraged me to fall in love with her ‘hens’. They were the girls -beautiful Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns. At the far end of her garden, past the vegetable patch, was the hen house. The smell of the fresh straw put in the boxes after collecting the eggs still reminds me of her. The cats stayed at my parent’s home, but anything with feathers was welcome at hers. What would she advise me about Calico?

Calico looks much healthier after being dewormed and getting rid of fleas or ticks. Her fur is getting shiny, and she is putting on some weight.

UPDATE: Calico appeared cowering in the lilac bushes as I chased a brute of a male out of the garden. She is in season again..she ate four tins of Cat food and drank 1/3 cup of kitten milk before running the opposite way. I will get an Air Tag and collar locally early tomorrow morning, find the kittens, and help her end her life on the streets – and the future of her kittens. And it is pitching down raining here so hopefully Calico is tucked in with her kitty.

There is a new fire burning in Yellowknife, NWT. And there is smoke in our City…it is not haze, not fog, but smoke. Smells like burning tyres. The birds have been frantic today at the feeders and bird baths. They eat any seeds they can find. Do they think the fire is close? The Blue Jays have been here all day, along with Dyson and Gang and Mr and Mrs Little Red. So everyone is accounted for, but Calico – even the four Crows arrived along with the Chickadees and the woodpeckers.

Could we have some little Little Reds? If you do not know, Little Red lived in the old cedar shake shed until he was evicted for the conservatory to be built. I still feel guilty. He rejected several houses – one a rather nice one with a beautiful tin roof – but this summer, he has returned to the garden and is living in the wood box in a house built for him, insulated with all the squirrel mod coms. Now it seems he finally has a mate! She has been very busy with the peanuts today. I wonder if she is decorating?

Mini did well on Tuesday. Dad brought in five fish and there could be more delivered later in the afternoon or evening. Yes, Mini lost 2 over the edge but, by the 5th one she had it figured out – do not eat at the rim! Keep the fish off the edge. It was a huge fish and Mini ate 7/8ths of it. She is also adapting to using her right leg to hold the fish down instead of her left and personally, I thought she was doing better with her left leg. No, she is not perfect. Yes, it could be a fracture that will heal wonky. Could she survive? Well, her chances might be as good as any others. Who would have thought an osprey would lift Banff off the nest? Life is precarious for all of our feathered friends. They don’t live and think about retirement. It is living right now, at this moment. So for this moment, Mini is doing well – better than expected. We should smile.

By 1724, Mini was full. She had eaten at least 3/4 of that big fish that Dad brought. You did well, Mini!

Mini returned and had a good landing from the perch to the nest. Gosh, she is really adapting. She immediately headed over to the piece of fish she had left on the nest. Thankfully no crows were about and she is enjoying a nice topper upper.

She horked the fish tail down at 18:14. Good work Mini. You ate that entire – huge – fish that Dad brought! Soon we can put the Mini worry beads back in their box if you keep this up. Wouldn’t that be nice

Mini got a small fish from Dad early Wednesday morning. You can have a good look at her leg! Thanks for the heads up ‘PB’ and for those two close-ups of her foot.

The three fledglings were at the Finnish nest #1 – they had crops and one had a fish. So beautiful and nice to see that they are doing very well.

At Muonio, Y1J plans for his first flight on the 9th of August. Sibling Y4J flew on 13 August and Y9J took to the skies on the 12th. Osp caught that first flight for us with some interesting commentary.

There has been lots of fish delivered to the Janakkalan nest.

There are lots of fish coming to the nest for the fledglings at Ilomantsin, too. So the Finnish nests look like they are doing alright.

I was looking for information on Finnish migratory patterns for ospreys and found an article on birds from Norway that might interest you. It is the migratory season!

Migration Download

Looks like all is well for our third hatch at Steelscape! This is good news. The last few days have been excellent for this little one.

Karl II continues to find food for his three fledgling Black Storklets. What a heart warming scene this is – and such a wonderful Papa to these babies.

Wish it were the same for the chick at Sandpoint. Crying for food, Mum eating and not feeding any fish. The name of this nest is appropriate. So if Mum is the role model, will this chick treat its osplets the same? Talk about sad.

Thankfully the Mum at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum figured it out before she lost her third chick. This survivor is doing great.

At the nest in Orange, Alabama, Wolf Bay, the fledglings are fighting over fish – it often ends badly with the fish being lost to both! There is no love lost between these two and that fish went flying to the bottom of the nest. The cleaners will be happy.

A huge storm went through Maryland and positively soaked the fledgling on the nest at Maryland Old Home Town.

Everything is good at Boulder County. Mum is home with the three fledglings and one of them has a fish while the other two will ‘wish’ that Dad returns for them.

The last of the chicks have fledged at Kielder Forest.

New-post-Final-lift-off-in-Kielder-Forest Download

Ludo continues to enjoy Louis’s remarkable fishing!

Blue 33 continues to supply remarkable fish to the kids at Rutland.

‘H’ has good news from Fortis Exshaw: “Fortis Exshaw – After the intruder dragged Banff off the nest on 8/14, and she wasn’t seen for 17 hours, we were so relieved when she flew to the nest at 0629 on 8/15. Louise was on the nest at the time waiting for her, and she soon brought Banff a nice fish. Banff appeared to be completely unharmed physically, but she had most likely been psychologically traumatized (so were we). But, by golly that intruder came back at 0905 and began dive-bombing Banff again! After 30 seconds of that, Banff knew that she had to get off that nest, and she flew off. Because of her previous experience, Banff had learned that she was literally a sitting duck up there, and she risked being hurt or dragged off the nest again. Throughout the attacks of 8/14, Banff’s instinct had been to defend the nest, and she had stoically fought the intruder. Banff is smart, and a quick learner. She now knows that her own survival is her number one priority. At 1327, Louise brought a fish to the nest for Banff, and she waited for nearly 1/2 hour for Banff to show up before a very hungry Louise ate the fish herself. After fleeing the intruder in the morning, Banff was not seen for five hours. She finally flew to the nest at 1403, and Louise was still on the nest. Upon Banff’s arrival Louise flew off, presumably to catch another fish to feed her hungry juvie. But, another fish never came for Banff. Fishing conditions may have been difficult in the area. The temperature reached 32C/90F, and it was extremely windy. A hungry Banff spent the night on her nest, dreaming of a huge fish for breakfast.”

‘H’s other reports:

Osoyoos – “The last time I checked, the temperature at Osoyoos had reached 37C/99F at 1505, and it may have gotten even hotter. There was only one fish delivered to the nest by Olsen at 0759. That fish was a really good sized headless fish, though. It is thought that Soo had tried to fish as well. Their 50-day-old osplet spent most of the day seeking shade from Mom as protection from the hot sun. Some relief from the high temperatures is expected by the weekend.”

Dahlgren – “Harriet has not been seen for 12 days. The older sibling, D11, has not been seen for 5 days. And, Jack has not been seen on camera for 4 days. D12 was only seen in the morning on 8/15. We know that D12 can catch her own fish, and Jack may be supplementing what D12 is able to catch. Dahlgren has been a wonderful nest this year, but our time with our friends is winding down.”

Kent Island – “Molly enjoys exploring her neighborhood, and she loves to perch on the back of the Adirondack chair on her neighbor’s dock.. Molly has spent the last two nights away from the nest.”

Severna Park – “Since I can no longer tell the fledglings apart, I was relying on seeing them together at the nest to know that they were both still around. But on 8/15, I could not find a time where the two of them were together in the nest.”

Barnegat Light – ‘The fledgling, Dorsett, is amazing, and fun to watch. Kudos to the camera operators who do such a great job tracking her. Daisy is still around, and the family is doing well.”

Thanks so much ‘H’. We will collectively hope that the heat dome over Osoyoos dissipates quickly or that Olsen is able to catch some fish regardless.

To the surprise of everyone, Kaia stopped by the nest but did not feed her three storklets. Many think she came to say goodbye before leaving for Chad where she will overwinter. I am so happy that she is alive. Like elsewhere, the changing weather has caused so many disruptions and near deaths and in the case of Karl II and Kaia, Karl took the hard decision to do a brood reduction early on. Thankfully with the help of the fish baskets and then some rain he was able to fledge these three beauties.

This is the location of this Black Stork Nest in Estonia:

Karl just brought breakfast for the storklets. If you have never seen how storklets behave during a feeding, please take a look.

Look who’s home?! It’s Pepe and Muhlady at Superbeaks. Talk about a beautiful sunrise. So happy to see the two of you!

Tonya Irwin thinks she also spotted Louis home at E-1 in the Kisatchie National Forest.

Tonya has confirmed that Louis is definitely back and we wait for the arrival of Anna!

I am anxious for Gabby to return and it looks like there will be a new cam in operation at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest near Jacksonville.

Everyone is watching Mum at Port Lincoln and thinking eggs.

Sunnie Day posted some great news from Freshkills Park in NY. Every nest fledged young osprey this year! Marvellous.

Freshkills-Park-wildlife-resurgence-Every-osprey-nest-fledges-young-silive.com_Download

Thanks so much for being with me today. It is so good to have you here with all of us. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘H, PB’, PSEG, FOF, Osp and FOF, Ornis Fennica, Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Sandpoint, MN Landscape Arboretum, Wolf Bay, Maryland Western Shore for Old Home Town, Boulder County, Joanna Dailey and Kielder Forest, The Woodland Trust, LRWT, Gotyid Exshaw, Osoyoos, Dahlgren, Kent Island, Severna Park, Conserve Wildlife F of NJ, Looduskalender Forum, LizM and the Eagle Club of Estonia, Superbeaks, Tonya Irwin and KNF, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, Sunnie Day, and PLO.

There are no words – Banff is home, Mini has 3 fish…Bird World for Tuesday

15 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a great morning! There are just two incredible things. First up, Banff is home! I will leave the rest of the blog as is for those that do not know what happened at Fortis Exshaw yesterday, but, Banff is home! She survived. I thought ‘H’ and I were going to have to pack it in for a few days to deal with the stress but, relief. Second, Mini has had three fish delivered this morning to the nest and has eaten well. Her leg looks a little better. Should I pass the tissue box all around? It is the overwhelming joy that we experience when they survive that makes all of this worthwhile. The intruder is still at Fortis. Maybe Louise will move Banff off of the nest and begin to feed her elsewhere. it would be a good idea as they prepare for migration.

‘H’ writes: “Louise was in the nest, and we could hear Banff calling. At 06:29:14 Banff flew to the nest !!! Of course there was an immediate intruder issue, and Louise took off after it. Louise returned 10 minutes later with a fish for her youngster !!”

I thought that I had seen it all but until ‘H’ sent me the video late Monday afternoon of an intruder at the Fortis-Exshaw nest carry Banff off in its talons, my heart sank. Banff, just barely fledged, put up a gallant fight against a bird much larger and street-smart than her. In the end, this Osprey grabbed her with its talons and carried her off – some said across the pond. A kind soul who lives locally went to check and saw Louise in the trees by the pond and thought they heard a faint cry from Banff. Banff has not returned to the nest at the time of this writing. She is terrified and hiding, injured to varying degrees, or worse. Our hearts have been ‘taken to the cleaners’ this year at Fortis. Antacid companies, as are the manufacturers of tissues, are making money off this Osprey season.

‘H’ caught this attack on video and added a narrative to go with mine – “The morning of 8/14 had been so much fun for Banff . . she enjoyed several short flights around the area and had landed on many of the different perches. She had taken her maiden flight less than 24 hours earlier. At 10:35:34 an intruder began an attack on Banff, and she valiantly fought him off. Banff flew off after the intruder, and then she did not return to the nest for three hours. At 13:25:59 Banff returned to the nest, but she had been followed in by the intruder, who resumed the attack on her. Finally, the intruder employed a sneak attack from behind, grabbed Banff with its talons and dragged her off the nest. Twice over the next several hours Louise brought fish to the nest to lure Banff back. She and the stepdad, O’Hara, both stood guard on the nest, waiting for Banff to return. By nightfall, there had been no sign of Banff, but we thought we may have heard her calling in the evening from somewhere close to the nest. TM, a viewer who lives nearby, twice went to the nest area and did a thorough search for Banff. TM thought she saw Louise in a tree, and Louise chasing an intruder, but she did not see Banff during her search. Thanks for your efforts, TM.”.

Louise waiting and worrying on the nest for Banff. Some believe they have heard Banff’s ‘voice’ on the streaming cam. Let us hope that she is not desperately injured, just frightened.

We are used to predators – GHOs and Eagles – taking the Osprey chicks off the nest. We don’t like it but it happens. But seeing what appears to be an attempted nest take over on the heels of JJ starving to death really rattles everyone. This is not the end of Osprey season that we had anticipated – and it surely wasn’t the year we thought we would have. Did I say the birds bring us joy? Of course they do but they also create great anxiety when their lives do not go smoothly. The real question is why all the aggression this year? Thoughts? Let me know.

Now word is coming in that Daisy has been attacking Dorsett at Barneghat-Light.

Meanwhile, at Patchogue, Mini had part of a large fish this morning before flying off the nest. That fish was later dropped to the ground by the Crows. Mini has returned. She actually looks better. Still issues with her leg. She has gone down duckling and is resting that leg – good girl! Let’s hope Dad remembers to bring a fish!

Mini was not impressed when Mum flew in later with one of her sticks. She had a fit – she is hungry. Dad – help us out here.

Mini sleeping on the perch Monday night.

Three fish so far and it is only morning at Patchogue. Our girl is eating well. It helped that they were headless. Her leg appears a wee bit better. Thank goodness.

Someone is not hungry at Boulder County!

It looked like the fledgling at Cowlitz PUD did some nest defense today too. The osplet is safe! All is well. Every nest needs these guards. Imagine just how much it would have helped at FortisExshaw! The predators rely on being able to swoop down and clear and they cannot do it with the wire protective grids.

‘H’ reports on Osoyoos: “The fish count was down at the Osoyoos osprey nest on 8/14. Olsen managed to deliver four fish. The Osoyoos area is still suffering from extreme heat, and the high temperature for Tuesday could go as high as 41C/106F.”

Osprey season will -eventually – be winding down and all the heartbreak will evaporate into the history of the nests. One event I am looking forward to is coming up and it is not an Osprey – it is Gabby returning to the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest. Who will join her? V3?

Thunder and Akecheta were both at their historic nest on Monday. What a joy it was to see them!

Quiet at Fraser Point and Sauces.

Can you find Hope at Glacier Gardens?

That wonderful Dad to Ludo and mate to Dorcha, Louis, has been busy supplying fish for everyone. Luco is so loud! You could hear him in Glasgow.

Lou and Annie are still at The Campanile keeping one another company. It is lovely to see their off-season bonding – it gives us something wonderful to look forward to nest spring.

At the Sydney Sea Eagles, ‘A’ reports: “Breakfish was late this morning, and when it came, poor little SE32, despite having front position at the feeding, was completely ignored by mum and got literally two small bites from the entire fish. Lady leaned over him and stepped past him in order to offer every bite to SE31, whose crop is immense. SE32 will be self-feeding soon – he was picking flakes from around the table after SE31’s feeding. Dad flew onto the nest shortly after mum left and poor little SE32 was so hungry he grabbed at Dad’s beak! Dad obliged by searching the nest for leftover fish and managed to find some great material for SE32’s next pellet. At one point, Dad went to offer a piece of skin to SE31 and SE32 dived in front to grab it from Dad. His crop is deflated and flat and he didn’t go straight off to sleep like SE31. He just lay there looking around and hoping for a parent, His little tummy is rumbling. Poor baby. I do hope an early lunch is on today’s schedule. At least the weather is good for fishing.”

Well, have no fear, the food came on the nest and both eaglets were full to the top of their heads!

At the home of the Royal Cam chick, GLY – Dad – showed up to feed Manaaki. Oh, what a relief to see this parent. They had to go a great distance to find food…but they are alive! Our boy was so happy…he will really be gardening tomorrow. Now for Mum – L – to return. We would cry a bucket full of tears. Such good news.

Our lad has so much energy with that feeding!

At Port Lincoln, Mum is playing with everyone. No first egg yet. I am thinking next week but, some are already disappointed with the date they choose. We wait! The camera is up and running fine. It was a small technical glitch.

Diamond willingly took a couple of Starlings that Xavier brought as food offerings today – what a change. Of course she would love a big juicy pigeon or a parrot – a nice Supreme – but, today, she was obliging. S o many times I feel sorry for Xavier when he comes in with prey and gets totally rejected.

I did not believe that Banff could survive that attack. Oh, what a wonderful thing that she returned. Such a relief for everyone. This gives me great hope. The talons of the Osprey cannot injure like an eagle’s could.

One last giggle for all of you. Yesterday I played Hide and Seek with Calico (Geemeff caught that). So..it is now Calico 4 – Mary Ann 0. On Thursday I am going to employ a cat collar with an Air Tag! If I can get it on her – she is very calm around me now. The goal is to find what I believe is a single surviving kitten and get it and Calico in the house for the vet appointment on Saturday morning. Calico may outwit Apple Air Tags, too.

Thank you for being with me this morning. Send your best wishes to every nest and every bird. What seems calm and wonderful can change into something horrific quickly. We want them fat, safe, and ready for their migrations. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to ‘A, Geemeff, H, L, PB, SW’ for their notes and to the following for their streaming cams and videos that helped me to write my blog this morning: Fortis Exshaw, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, PSEG, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos, NEFL-AEF, IWSExplore, Glacier Gardens, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, PLO, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

Mini needs our help, tell her story…Monday in Bird World

14 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It has pitched rain – on and off – for most of Sunday. The garden is a sea of greens with a few sunflowers still poking through and the Trumpet flowers basking in the humidity and heat. The climbing roses bloomed again for the second time this summer and it was so nice to see the bees return. Sunday evening, Ring-billed Gulls danced in the thermals over the Conservatory for several minutes while a young Cooper’s Hawk tried its luck for a sparrow snack. Calico has been and gone and back again. Those arrivals and departures remind me of the regularity of the trains in Japan. I have stopped leaving food out because of the wasps – they must not like the rain because we have finally had a reprieve today. Lewis and Missey have been helping me finish with the clearing out of my old office and each discovered, in their own time, that the branches of the apple tree are filled with little birds. They can sit and watch and be only 5-6 cm away! Lewis was delighted. He is loud like some of the osplets…hopefully he will not scare them away.

Mini has been on the nest for Saturday night, most of Sunday, Sunday night and Monday morning. Resting her leg. Tired from lack of fish? Dad brought her a fish early Monday morning. Mini ate a small portion of it, perhaps a quarter. The fact that the parents are bringing food is good. She needs to eat much more. My inbox was overflowing with the news of the delivery. The love for Mini should heal here.

I am, however, worried about Mini. I do not want her to die of starvation on a nest like JJ (or die anywhere of starvation). She needs to eat a lot more than she has.

The archaic laws of the Migratory Bird Act only allow for intervention when a bird is off the nest. What if the injury is such that the bird remains on the nest because they cannot get off? Then help needs to come to them!

Mini’s story needs to be told. If you live in Patchogue, contact the local press and take them to the nest. Tell them about Mini. Tell them of her struggles and triumphs.

For the rest of us, contact them through FB Messaging – e-mail, telephone. Get them to care as much about Mini as we do. You can write it and cut and paste the same story to everyone of the news outlets. The more they receive the more attention Mini will get.

If Mini does require immediate help, all of the attention might just get the help she requires when and if she cannot leave the nest.

I messaged Newsday and ABC7 on FB and told them about Mini. Please contact them – Newsday.com and also News 12 Long Island, ABC 7 New York, Newsbreakcom, Greaterlongisland.com and anyone else that you know. Tell them Mini’s story. Make this as big as Murphy and his Rock. It could save our girl’s life if she does not get fed and is weaker and on the nest.

The Osprey season of 2023 has been anything but normal. Many of us are struggling to find answers to questions because things seem to be upside down and inside out. For example, all of the birds are gone at Loch of the Lowes or so it seems. First and way too early was Blue NC0. Then PF4, the male. Then Laddie LM12 leaving the female PF5. So you ask what is strange about all of this? The norm is for the female to leave early so that she can fatten up for the long migration. Remember she has lost about 1/3 of her body from egg laying to fledging chicks. The male stays on until after the youngsters fledge so that he can get in form. It is not normal for the male to leave prior to the fledglings. The answer might be in the fact that the female fledgling was simply ruthless to Laddie…and we know that she can catch her own fish!

Osprey-Diary-at-Loch-of-the-Lowes-So-Long-and-Fly-High-Scottish-Wildlife-Trust Download

At Loch Arkaig, Ludo was not seen since 0905 on Sunday morning – the very loud youngster of Louis and Dorcha. Geemeff reminds me that JJ6 Doddie flew out for migration on the 15h of August in 2020 one week prior to his mom Aila (oh, she was a darling). So has Ludo begun his journey? Or is he sitting on the nest screaming for fish as I write this? Ah..Geemeff confirms that Dorcha and Ludo showed up on the nest. Excellent.

There is, of course, the unresolved soap opera at Lock Arkaig’s Number One nest. Geemeff adds: “Not only did the female Affric (152) bring a fish to Nest One where her potential suitor Garry (LV0) was waiting, but it was an eel! A huge, lively eel – never seen one on those brought to either nest before.” Louis did abandon his former nest with the sweet Aila and took up residence with Dorcha when Aila did not return in 2021 at Nest Two. But who will Africa choose? Will it be Garry or Prince or maybe it will be both. Has there ever been a love triangle for Ospreys like the Trio on the Mississippi?

Then, of course, there are all the issues at Loch Garten. Juveniles defending the nest against a two-year-old fledgling from the same nest. The male Brodie appeared at the nest with a fish but no juveniles to take it. Loch Garten has also confirmed that 2C4 got his injury from a stick on the nest and not from KL5. That is a relief. 2C4 has shown up at the nest looking very thin and no KL5. Send positive thoughts.

Many were so upset about what happened to JJ at the FortisExshaw nest that they had difficulty sleeping. I want someone to correct me and tell me that it is not unusual to lose so many fully feathered osplets right at the time they are to fledge! It tears our hearts out. We watch them and get to know all the little details of their lives from the time the eggs hatch to fledge. At 55 days old it seems incomprehensible that one should die of starvation but JJ did. Then Banff had two fish on Sunday and fledged. Louise brought them in. What has happened to O’Hara?

A nest that I had difficulty watching turned around this year with a new set of adults – Collins Marsh. The former couple that raised Malik did not return in 2022 and this new couple have raised two beautiful fledglings. It is a joy to witness. They are both returning to the nest and have had nice bulging crops. This nest really gets gold stars this year along with many others in the central part of North America that seemed to fare better than those on the NE Coast and Florida.

Look at the crop on the one in the top photo. I wish every chick went to sleep at night like that!

Boulder County is another Osprey nest that has to put a big smile on all our faces. Oh, goodness we worried about little three but it grew up and just look at the fledglings. They are returning for regular fish meals – no one appears to be going hungry!

Cowlitz PUD did well this year with a single fledge. For those who do not know this nest’s history, it is full of tragedy. Electra lost chick after chick from starvation and siblicide before (and including) 2021 only to have three beautiful osplets taken by a Bald Eagle in 2022. The power company studied the situation and installed two metal grids on either side of the nest to protect the family. (This design could work to save other nests and the power company should be thanked continually for their forward thing on this matter). The fledgling returns to the nest this year- often on and off. The grids protected the family, and there was enough fish for one. We celebrate that great achievement!

At Oyster Bay, all three fledglings continue to return to the nest – showing us that they are all safe – for fish and togetherness.

A difficult nest to watch was the Bridge Golf Club. The teeny weeny third hatch succumbed to siblicide. There were fears for the second hatch because fish deliveries were so sporadic. It was the time of the ‘great storm upheaval’ in June. The nest’s two osplets survived it all and there were four fish deliveries before the camera went off line (possibly due to the storm in the area Saturday night). These two are doing well.

Sandpoint has struggled with inexperienced parents this year. There were five fish delivered on Sunday and Coco did get some fish to eat. Relief. What was the difference? Mum went fishing!!!!!!!!! We sure wish this would happen at the Patchogue nest – Mum flew to the nest with Mini resting and brought sticks. Mini needs a fish, too.

Many females fish once the chicks have fledged and supplement the fish brought to the nest by dad. This is making all the difference in the world for Coco.

Now for ‘H’s nest news:

Fortis Exshaw – Banff fledged at 56 days of age! She flew off to the west, strong and gracefully. Two minutes later she landed on the T-perch, and it was a pretty good landing for the first time. After resting for about thirty-five minutes, she flew from the perch, circled around and made a perfect landing on the nest. Well done, Banff. O’Hara landed on the nest to ward off an intruder three times within five minutes starting at 1756. And, Louise delivered two good-sized fish for her girl on Sunday.

Osoyoos – Olsen, Soo and their 49-day-old chick are doing well. Olsen delivered at least 8 fish to the nest for his family, including one really big one. The worry for Osoyoos is the prolonged heat wave that will continue through Thursday. The temperature for Monday is predicted to go as high as 39C/102F.

Forsythe – Ollie is still hanging out at the nest, but is spending more time away exploring, and perhaps following Dad. Oscar delivered three fish to the nest for Ollie on Sunday.

Kent Island – Molly had a splendid day! Just two days after fledging, Molly took several short flights from her nest, and she was treated to lots of yummy fish.

Dahlgren – D12 was seen on the nest a few times, but her dad was a no-show on Sunday. Jack may have brought a fish to D12 at another location. We know D12 can catch her own fish, and she may have, but she did not bring a fish to the nest.

Patuxent Nest 1 – The juvies, Sib-B and Foster, are still being provided for at the nest by Dad. I always smile when I see them.

Thanks ‘H’! So happy to see O’Hara back at the nest.

For all those that lost chicks – whether it was a single chick or an entire clutch – due to weather, starvation, or siblicide – some did manage to fledge at least one fledge, and for that, we are joyful.

There is great news about Pat, the fledgling eagle from Dulles-Greenway. Possible release into the wild at the end of August. Smile everyone!

The answer to the ‘hen harrier problem’ is not to move the chicks and the nests but to bloody end, the wealthy going out and shooting birds. At the same time, the government should ban the 15th of August when the super wealthy go out with their guns and shoot defenceless ducks and other feathered friends. They are sitting ducks with nowhere to go while guns blast away. It makes me ill.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/08/scheme-to-protect-hen-harriers-in-england-a-waste-of-money-says-group?CMP=share_btn_link

The camera is back online at Port Lincoln.

WBSE 31 and 32 are bursting. So much prey. Both are eating well. But if you look, you will see that Lady looks soaking. ‘A’ notes: “Lady is a devoted mum. She pays a lot of attention – sometimes, when she is trying to make sure SE32 gets fed, she slows right down with her feeding, giving SE31 very small bites. She keeps a constant eye on whether SE32’s head is back up and is careful to try and give a bite to SE31 just before she loses patience and beaks her brother for getting too many consecutive bites. She really does do her best. This afternoon, when it was raining, she was the best mumbrella ever, spreading her wings right out and flattening her body so that the eaglets were toasty warm and dry, while the rain beaded off Lady’s back and soaked her head feathers, which she shook out periodically. She was on the nest for the best part of three hours, keeping her babies safe on a day that was the coldest in over a year in Melbourne and similar in Sydney – the ‘feels like’ temperature stayed in single digits all day. So she knew that exposure was a danger this afternoon and she protected her eaglets perfectly for as long as was necessary. I love the devotion of these bird parents.”

At Orange, Diamond and Xavier have been bonding and mating and we might be thinking there could be an egg soon.

Someone posted this on FB. Really? No, we want tonnes of fish being brought to every raptor nest, every chick to have a huge crop at bedtime, no intruders, enough platforms for every raptor to raise a family, no illness, no human debris tangling up our friends and cutting into their legs and wings, no predation, no more red tape to intervene when our feathered friends need help….Then we can enjoy that cup of tea!

Of the 324 eggs monitored in 2023 by me and ‘H’, only 76.55% have survived. We will have to wait until the figures for 2024 to have a good comparison. A mortality figure of 4% in ospreys was always believed to be average. This year it is 23.45%.

Thank you so much for being with me today and for helping to spread the story of Mini. Let us hope that some interest is generated for our little gal. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: A, Geemeff, H, L, L, PB, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sue Wallbanks, Mary Kerr, Fortis Exshaw, Collins Marsh, Boulder County, Cowlitz PUD, PSEG, Bridge Golf Club, Sandpoint, FortisExshaw, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Kent Island, Dahlgren, Patuxent River Park, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, The Guardian, PLO, Sea Eagle Cam, and Charles Sturt Falcon cam and Cilla Kinross.

Tragedy hits Fortis Exshaw again as JJ dies…Sunday in Bird World

13 August 2023

Hello Everyone,

Saturday was nothing short of a day full of anxiety for many of our Osprey nests. We have lost another beautiful bird nearing fledge, and we are consumed with worry over Mini and how fast our darling girl can heal. Loch Garten has me worrying that more fledglings might have died or been injured due to KL5’s aggressions. My blog today runs over with the harsh reality of the lives of our beloved fish-eating eagles. Sometimes these events just take the wind out of our sails and we need time to just sit and stare at the wall.

It is one of those osprey seasons where we have cried buckets and Saturday evening is no exception. Louise and Jasper’s second hatch, JJ, succumbed to starvation at 21:21:50. He had not been allowed to eat for more than forty-eight hours. The two fish that came to the nest on Saturday were eaten entirely by Banff, the first hatch and much larger female.

Fortis-Exshaw has seen its share of sadness this season, beginning with the loss of the male, Jasper, when the chicks were only wee. The third hatch immediately became a victim of siblicide/starvation. Then O’Hara comes on the scene to help Louis feed the two surviving chicks and the relentless intruders. We believed that everything would be alright. Then there are wildfires, more intruders, and then Louise is left defending the nest and providing for the chicks – again – on her own. Condolences all around. JJ was adored for his sweet nature.

Look at that beautiful, fully feathered osplet on the left – sweet JJ. Soar high little one, soar high. It is simply hard to believe.

These are ‘H’s notes about Saturday at Fortis:

” Oh, dear . . what happened to all the fish that used to be brought to this nest? I wish Louise could tell us. JJ had not eaten since 1808 on 8/10. There were only two fish brought to the nest by Louise on 8/12. The first fish at 1259 was rather small. JJ fought Banff valiantly for it, and was able to tear off a small piece, but Banff won the fish. After Banff ate that fish, she put on a surprising aerial display of out-of-sight hovers. The next fish was at 1409, and it was very large. It was enough for a couple of meals each for Banff and JJ. There was a three-way battle for that fish. JJ had it for only a few seconds, then Banff took it, but Louise took it from Banff. Louise wanted to feed, but unfortunately only Banff came to the table. JJ had been jumped on by Banff during the tussle for the fish, and JJ ended up cowering over on the sidelines. After just a few minutes of Louise feeding, Banff pulled the fish away from Louise, and Louise left the nest a short time later. We all thought that Banff would eat her fill then walk away from the fish, so then JJ would be able to eat. But, apparently Banff’s mindset was becoming more survivalist, and adult-like. Whereas she previously would walk away from a fish when she was full, today she did not walk away. It was Banff’s intention to maintain possession of ‘her fish’. So, she would take long breaks from eating and simply stand on the fish. JJ tried unsuccessfully to take the fish a couple of times. Almost 2 1/2 hours after she started eating, Banff left a tail+ piece on the nest. JJ never even knew it was there, and Banff finished it later. JJ passed late in the evening at 55 days of age, and he was reunited with his Dad, Jasper. Fly high JJ, and may you always have a full crop. We are so very glad that we met you, and we will never forget you. “

On Sunday morning, Banff flew to the perch. It is highly likely that she might fledge today. Louise has not been seen on the nest since JJ died that I am aware.

On top of this great sadness, there is also some great joy. ‘H’ reports that Dorsett, the only surviving osplet, of Duke and Daisy at Barnegat Light caught her first fish ‘on camera’ yesterday. “Dorsett caught her first fish, 13 days after she fledged. She caught an Atlantic needlefish, and ate the entire fish on Duke’s perch. Way to go, Dorsett!” We must rejoice in this – because hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands and thousands) of little osplets died on the nest during those horrible storms in mid-June. Dorsett is the only one from Duke and Daisy’s nest to make it and she is amazing.

‘H’ also reports on good news at Kent Island, “Kent Island – At approximately 1655 Molly made a perfect landing back on her nest, 25 hours after she fledged. She was soon treated to a nice fish from her Mom. It’s great to see you back, Molly!”

There has been a lot of discussion about how Mini might have injured her leg. We will never know. There are endless possibilities. Whatever happened occurred off the nest, away from the camera. My ‘dime’s worth’ is on a fish fight with someone. At the RSPB nest, the 2-year-old returnee KL5 has been ruthless in seeing off this year’s fledglings (2C4 and 2C5) – in dramatic, unrelenting and harmful ways. He is determined to take this nest.

Most of the time, we think of Ospreys being relatively docile compared to other raptors, but we must remember that they are Apex predators. And while they do not have the type of talons to fight head to toe with eagles and hawks, the battles between Ospreys can get superheated and very intense, as this video shows.

At Patchogue, Mini had everyone concerned Saturday morning when she dangled her left leg while sitting on the perch. I want to think that she did not want to put pressure on the leg – to allow the swelling to go down and this healing process to accelerate. So far, she does not appear lethargic. Everyone loves Mini and wants this super special lass to achieve great things, not be suffering from an injury. So – it is tough for everyone to watch and to wait and see how this plays out. It appears that Dad might be feeding Mini off nest – perhaps she has found a place where it is easier for her to hang on to the fish (a nice big flat surface like a roof) and eat slowly.

The ‘elephant in the room is the lingering question: will Mini heal enough to care for herself by the time Dad and she need to leave on their migration?

Saturday morning at Patchogue:

Mini is fish calling really loud this morning. She is spunky and alive and wants Dad to get there in a hurry. Please send her your best wishes! We want our dear little one to heal quickly. The good news is she is not lethargic.

There is also good news coming out of NZ for the supplementary feeding for the Royal Cam chick worked wonders. ‘A’ reports, “In New Zealand, Manaaki is very active following his supplementary feeding and has spent the days since gardening up a storm and ticking off the local scenic walks. (He has ventured even further than before in his explorations.) What a beautiful creature he really is. His fluff is almost gone now and we are looking at a juvenile now, not a chick. Our gorgeous boy.”

What would our world be like if all the people who owned streaming cams took the same great care with such compassion as NZ? When the parents do not show up or there is not enough food, they feed the chicks!

‘A’ reports that someone is going out to fix the camera at the barge in Port Lincoln on Monday (today in Australia). We are waiting for the first egg for Mum and Dad.

A very quick look at some other nests that have caused some worry in previous weeks.

MN Arboretum- Fish are coming on the nest and the beautiful osplet, fully feathered and nearing fledge, is doing a good job at self-feeding. You can sure see the change in the landscape now – from dry soil to corn growing!

Steelscape:

That is wonderful news to see this little third hatch eating so well.

PF4 has been caught on camera at Loch of the Lowes!!!!!

I have been so worried about this nest. We can now see PF4 also catching her own fish – the second time on camera. But, look at her, she must have been catching fish all along. Mum Blue NC0 has not been seen since 15 July and PF5, the younger brother, for some weeks now, too. It is unclear what is happening with Laddie LM12. But, for now, we can rejoice that this fledgling is surviving by her own fishing – a skill set that she is perfecting before she migrates.

I always appreciate Emyr Evans Science Sundays. Ospreys and catching fish – we have seen their dives. They are so brilliant – it is one of the most incredible things to watch.

Like so many of you I needed a little break for today. I find the situation at Fortis-Exshaw a little overwhelming – it has been like a roller coaster – and I cannot imagine how Louise is feeling.

Thank goodness for the kittens who bring me such joy! Always together, always loving towards one another. I hope that the introduction of Calico does not change the dynamics too much.

Please take care everyone. Let us collectively take a deep breath and turn our attention back to sending good energy towards Mini at Patchogue. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H, PB, R’, Fortis Exshaw, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Kent Island, RSPB Loch Garten, PSEG, NZ DOC, MN Landscape Arboretum, Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, and Dyfi Osprey Project.

Is Mini Better? Saturday in Bird World

12 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone…

Oh, it has rained. We are to have rain throughout the weekend and into next week. The river does not look so dismal (muddy and low) and there were lots of Canada Geese out swimming when I went to the farmer’s market this morning. We have everything local save for peaches which are coming in from Ontario. Oh, how I remember the big peaches my mother used to buy that came from Georgia when I was a wee lass. The juice would roll down your chin! These are not quite that good, but – they are delicious.

Calico continues to visit every 3 hours and eats like she has 25 kittens somewhere…that somewhere is beginning to be a monkey on my shoulder. If she were healthier, that Go Pro would be strapped on her and off we would go….but she isn’t. So we wait. Waiting is a little like waiting and watching Mini’s left leg heal. We all want it to happen now. ‘M’ reminded me of Royal Albatross OGK. He was missing for 40 days and returned with a limp. It was painful to watch, but he eventually healed. OGK would come down the hill ever so slowly. Made us all ache in sympathy. OGK is due to return this November on Taiaroa Head – if he did not perish. I have him on the Memorial Wall but will be ever so delighted to delete that…he was the most amazing dad. Do you remember?

The many faces of Mini today. To my untrained eye, Mini’s leg did not look any worse on Friday.

She did not lose that fish piece that arrived from dad around 0951. She almost did and then she recovered. She will fly away with it in her beak.

1627. A much bigger fish came on the nest and Mini also flew off with it in her beak. Let’s hope that she did not lose it! That would have been a feast!

This amazing Dad is off – more fish to catch – a huge family to feed!

Mini is off at 1429 with the fish in her beak.

1838. Mini is really wanting Dad to land with a fish for her.

Mini is not lethargic. She is flying and eating, and she is managing. This is all good. We need to just breathe – in and out – and send all our positive energy to our brave girl. She can do this! Healing takes time. It does not happen in a day.

In other news:

Let’s start with the nests that ‘H’ is monitoring:

Fortis Exshaw: “Oh, dear. It’s either feast or famine for JJ. There were two fish delivered to the nest by Louise (13:24,16:16), and the older sibling, Banff, ate them both, mouth to tail. Life is difficult for JJ. Not only is JJ at the bottom of the pecking order, but JJ seems to be a smaller, non-aggressive male. Fortunately, JJ ate quite well on 8/10. The stepdad, O’Hara, made an appearance at the nest on 8/11. At 1850 Louise landed in the nest, quickly followed by O’Hara. He helped Louise ward off an intruder, and stayed at the nest for several minutes. There had been some concern that we had not seen O’Hara for a few days. The last positive identification of O’Hara was on 8/8. But truth be told, with all the pixelation of the video lately, we could have easily misidentified an adult doing a quick fish drop as being Louise. One day at a time . . hoping for some fish for our beloved JJ today.”

Kent Island – ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly!’ Molly fledged, at 60 days of age. But . . we did not get to witness her take off for her maiden flight. The Explore.org livestream was showing one of their frequent ‘highlights’. Bummer. When the brief ‘highlight’ period ended, we saw that the nest was empty! Tom soon landed with a fish to lure Molly back to the nest, and he was joined by Audrey. Molly was later spotted in a nearby tree (photo credit Mrs. Com). By nightfall, Molly had not returned to the nest. Congratulations to Audrey, Tom, and Molly! Well done, all.

Osoyoos – The livestream returned, and we saw that the osprey family was doing well. My goodness, ‘Junior’ had grown in the past 48 hours. And, it was evident that s/he had progressed with the wingercising, even achieving a few inches of lift off the nest. There were five fish brought to the nest after the stream returned.

Forsythe – Oscar brought three fish to the nest for Ollie. Ollie spent more time away from the nest on 8/11. Older sibling Owen, has not been seen for 8 days, and we hope that she is doing well.

Dahlgren – D12 caught a small fish! In recent days, D12 had landed on the nest with a fish a couple of times, but we weren’t sure if she actually caught it herself. This time, we witnessed the catch. D12 scoped out the fish directly below the nest, made a pinpoint dive, emerged with her catch, circled around and landed on the nest with her prize. Well done, D12! Older sibling, D11, was not seen on 8/11.

Severna Park – We are fortunate to be able to still see the fledglings. One or both can often be found at the nest. Oscar is doing a great job making sure his juvies are fed.

Thank you so much ‘H’ for your keen eye and your informing commentary!

The story at the Osprey nests throughout the Northern hemisphere is that of final fledges, fledglings returning to the nests hoping for fish meals, and pending migration.

Muonio Finnish Nest: The first fledge was on Friday. Just look at that crop in the middle! The one on the far left is getting ready to take its first flight. Bravo!

Ilomantsin: The fledglings – all have flown now – are returning to the nest and Mum is more than happy to feed them when she gets a chance.

MN Landscape Arboretum: Maybe it is just me but I would love to see this chick get some more fish! The small mud puppies are easy for the chick to eat but gosh…could we have a few more please and thank you.

Steelscape: ‘PB’ reports that it was a fantastic day for the third hatch who had been losing out severely. Fantastic news.

Sandpoint: This is not a nest that I have observed in previous years. It was added this year to the data base. Does anyone know if these are inexperienced parents? Or is the local fish situation really dire? Timestamps on the chat for Friday: By Karyn: Fish count stands at 3 from Keo Ts 5:38:58. Coco steals 5:53:32 and downs tail 6:09:04 2nd fish 10:47 and most eaten by dad. Coco tries to take from Mom but ends up with one bite & literally a tail. 3rd fish is a micro mini at 11:47:11 and mom eats the head and Coco steals…just a few bites to that fish.”

Cowlitz: Everything looks good. Fledgling continues to return to the nest!

Clark PUD: Fish on the nest and look at that wing span!

Seaside: Naika and Kawok are on and off the nest wanting fish! It is all good.

The Bridge Golf Club Ospreys: The cam had been going on and off line and now it is back up. Reports are the two surviving chicks have fledged but are returning to the nest for fish! Congratulations everyone!

Dyfi: The UK nests are getting rather lonely. T he fledglings no longer have to wait on the nest for fish to arrive. They can see their parents and chase after them or they can go and practice in the water preparing for their future fishing adventures.

Telyn has migrated from the 13-28th of August in past years. Wonder what it will be this year?

Glaslyn: Aran is delivering fish to the two lads. Elen was last seen at the net on Friday morning. It is possible she is taking time to prepare for migration – or has she departed?

Llyn Brenig: Everyone has a fish!

Llyn Clywedog: The rain drops hitting the nest sound like someone tossing small stones and the wind is howling in the distance.

Loch Arkaig: The nest of Dorcha and Louis is not quiet. Ludo is right there waiting for Dad to bring him a fish – and he is decidedly not silent about it! This chick is going to need lozenges before the season is over!

Tatarstan Eastern Imperial Eagles: Oh, goodness the plumage on these birds is magnificent. They both lived…lots of food and superb parenting. They are both females.

Sydney Sea Eagles: Perfect little angels at this feeding. 31 had a huge crop and Mum was filling 32 to the top of its crop, too! There is such a variety of prey in the pantry – birds, fish, and eels. Pin feathers are starting to emerge and if you note the size difference already, you ,right be inclined to believe that 31 is a Bib Sister while 32 is a wee brother.

Loch Garten: KL5, the 2020 male fledgling from the Loch Garten nest, appears to not be going anywhere. He is looking for his own nest as are many two year old returnees. Thankfully he will be leaving for migration sooner than later and will allow some peace and order to return to the nest. The juveniles are getting much experience defending this nest and themselves against very aggressive intruders.

Congratulations to the West Midlands for the very first ringed osprey in centuries!

Kurzeme Black Kite: Dad is making all the deliveries for Bronza. Mum was last seen on 8 August and is most likely preparing for her migration by fattening up off the nest. What a gorgeous Black Kite!

Stepping back in time: There have been many favourites on the SW Florida nest but E17 and 18 were nothing short of adorable…will never forget 18 having to go into ‘time out’ in the rehabbers!!!!!!

It is an important moment for those involved in the reintroduction of raptors in the UK.

Birds In Helping Hands wants us to spread the word and not use insecticides and herbicides.— Please write down the ingredients for the safe weed killer (if you are inclined to kill them) somewhere for next year! Tell friends and family. Most of the cleaning firms in my City only use white vinegar – no harsh chemicals at all. Think about it. We need to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Most of you have experienced some very hot weather this summer. Ever wonder what that heat does to our birds? to the seas that they depend on for their fish? Birdlife International has a short informative article to educate all of us.

What-ongoing-heatwaves-could-mean-for-bird-populations-around-the-globe-BirdLife-International Download

Thank you so much for being with me today! Please take care. Hoping to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their comments, notes, postings, articles, tweets, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H, M, PB’, PSEG, Fortis Exshaw, Kent Island, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Dahlgren, Severna Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, MN Landscape Arboretum, Pam Breci and the Joy of Ospreys FB, Clark PUD, Sandpoint, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, Diane Lambertson and The Joy of Ospreys FB, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Tatarstan Imperial Eagles, Sydney Sea Eagles, Sue Wallbanks and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, West Midlands Ringing Group, LDF, Laura Davis Nelson and SWFL Eagles, @Timmackrill, Birds in Helping Hands, and Birdlife International.

Monster Fish, Mini and more…Friday in Bird World

11 August 2023

We are supposed to have rain over the next week. Everyone knows this and was in a bit of a panic to get outside and be in the nature centre today before it rains for 6 or 7 days. Of course, it never rains all day long. It is like Asia when it looks like the forecast is 100% for all day, but the rains begin, on time, at 1600 and are downpours and then stop. That said, it has been raining for the past four hours…Little Red, the Blue Jays, and all the sparrows continue to eat regardless. I am putting a bit of food out every hour so that it does not get wet for them. They also have seed cylinders, the solid ones inside the lilac bushes.

Calico has a covered area where she can eat (along with a few of her friends if they stop by). She comes on the dot just about every 3 hours. Her fur looks better since the worm and flea/tick treatment. I was reminded by ‘RP’ today that often kittens will follow their mother to find food. Maybe a kitten or two or three will show up! I live in hope because Calico surely has them hidden well.

The new wetlands area begins at the lake. The water is pumped to another pond where it flows downwards, filling all of the pool areas in the park. (All photos taken with iPhone).

I went to count goslings. There were only 14 visible but mostly there were mature Mallards, a few American Goldfinches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Black-capped Chickadees. The animals and birds were quiet. Humans were loud. It was nice to have the nature centre garden market open – lots of freshly picked veggies, the profits going to a good cause.

The day continues to be consumed with Mini and her left leg. There are visible two puncture wounds above the ankle and before the knee of the left leg. Did Mini injure her leg stretching it and having someone’s talons caught in hers? A fish fight? We don’t know.

Indeed, any observer knows very little. We can deduce that she is keeping her balance with her wings. She appears to be in some pain. She is still flying and she is hungry. She is not – and I want to repeat this – she is not lethargic. She is not grounded. My friend ‘R’ and I know that if it is a sprain it will heal. If it is a break, it will heal – maybe not the precise way that it would if set in a cast but there is no guarantee that a wildlife rehabber would —- OK and this is harsh — put Mini’s leg in a cast and keep her in residence til late next spring when she could be released. She would not be ready for this year’s migration. This is something that has to be considered. I know that it is hard to watch her but she is alive, eating, flying, screaming for fish.

My reaction to Mini comes out of remembering many others, like Mini, that did not get a second chance. The first one that comes to mind is WBSE 26. We need to take a deep breath, send positive wishes, and not panic but observe.

1530: Fighting with one of those hard to eat fish unless the head has been taken off…it is good practice for our girl to try and open up these fish, though. No matter how frustrating it is to watch. She will have to do it soon enough in the real world without parents.

The two puncture marks above the left ankle before the knee. Two spaced black dots the distance of talons. We do not want these to get infected. (Mini could we ask that you go and stand in some salt water and soak that leg? Salt water aids healing).

You can see the punctures better here.

Mini has been on and off the nest. She has been fish-calling. Flying down from the perch. It was not a bad landing.

Our beautiful survivor.

Gone.

Bobby Horvath has a practice on Long Island. He rescued Pale Male (the 31-year-old celebrity Red-tail Hawk with its nest on one of the most expensive properties in Central Park) and held him as Pale Male was dying. Horvath is willing to come out to help Mini if she is lethargic. Here is the note that he sent ‘L’ and the phone number. Write it down! Bobby might be our best hope that she would get good care instead of being euthanised. But he is busy – like everyone, and please note that he is stressing weak or lethargic – low or on the ground – not on the nest. Please don’t call him otherwise. All the rehabbers are busy. There are strict laws – and we don’t want anyone to get tired of hearing about Mini. We want them to respond when it is necessary. At least one local individual is making trips to check around the nesting area if Mini were to get grounded.

One diagnosis from a trained reader ‘MP’ suggests that this could be a lunated patella (a dislocation). I found an academic paper on this orthopaedic problem.

Avian-luxations-occurrence-diagnosis-and-treatment Download

Steelscape: The third hatch has a huge crop today. And wait…more news. The third hatch had 3 fish today…and one of the older siblings had a huge crop. All is fine. We can relax. Thanks so much for the images and the report ‘PB’.

Fortis: ‘PB gave me the head’s up early that we would be getting a very good report from ‘H’. There were two whoppers brought on to the nest!

‘H’ writes: “It turned out to be a very good day. The youngest osplet, JJ, had not had very much to eat for the previous three days. The viewers were all extremely worried for him. The day started out with Louise delivering a headless fish, which JJ initially acquired. JJ had the fish for a couple of minutes and managed to pull off a few bites before big sis, Banff, took it away. Banff ate that entire fish, but JJ managed to grab the tail. For JJ’s sake, we knew there had to be another fish delivered soon while Banff was still full, but the next fish did not arrive for four hours. At 1215, Louise delivered the largest fish to date this season. It was massive. Louise initially wanted to hold on to the fish to feed, but Banff took it. It was a tough fish and Banff had not made much headway, when JJ managed to drag the huge fish from Banff at 1242. They traded possession of the fish a couple more times before Louise returned to the nest at 1355. She confiscated the fish and fed JJ! That’s what we were all hoping she would do. JJ was fed for 10 minutes before he got the boot from Banff, and then Louise fed Banff. By 1422 Louise was clearly distracted by something and she stopped feeding. She was on alert. At least 1/2 of that huge fish was left, and JJ tried to pull off a few more bites. Louise flew off the nest at 1456 taking the rest of the fish with her! She returned at 1535, with the same fish. There was still about 1/2 of the fish remaining, it did not appear as though Louise had eaten any of it. Banff claimed the fish at that point and ate until 1608. JJ then fed for an hour before Banff reclaimed the fish at 1707. When Banff quit eating again, JJ ate from 1730 to 1808. Then Banff ate some more, and finally downed the tail of that massive fish at 1821. That had been a 6-hour fish! So, there were only two fish delivered to the nest, but the monster fish had provided at least six or seven meals each for JJ and Banff. JJ had his largest crop in days. The siblings are 54 days old. Banff has managed to increase her lift off the nest during her wingers, but has not hovered as yet. JJ has only achieved a few inches of lift off the nest while wingercising. During the night of 8/11, the siblings both slept upright and tucked for the very first time.”

Those are two North American nests I have been concerned about in addition to Mini. The other nest is PSPB Loch Garten and the attacks on the two male juveniles by a male fledgling from that same nest in 2020. Remember the males return to their natal nest area and things are getting crowded in parts of Scotland.

There remain intruders including an unringed female at Loch Garten. The injured chick 2C4’s wing has stopped bleeding. Hopeful he will be fine.

Sadly, the 2020 fledgling KL5 is back again this morning at the nest.

Thankfully all is well at the nest of Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig – and Ludo is as noisy as ever.

Suzanne Arnold Horning found all of the hawks on the Cornell Campus Thursday. So grateful for her diligence and kindness in sharing her images of Big Red and Arthur’s family.

‘A’ reports on the Australian and NZ nests:

Sydney Sea Eaglets: “This morning’s breakfast had to wait for Dad to bring in a fish. Eventually, just before 09:20, he came in with a whole fresh small-medium fish, which Lady fed to the chicks and ate herself. After the breakfish was consumed, Lady headed off. Dad brought in part of a fish (slightly less than half – he had eaten the head and then kept going for a bit longer). He stood there for some time, waiting for Lady to arrive and feed the eaglets, but she never came and the chicks were obviously begging him for food, sitting up at the table and trying to move closer to him and the fish. Eventually, he decided to feed them, and both got quite a few bites before Dad downed the tail, fed the kids a few more bites, then took the remaining morsel to the perch branch to eat himself. So now the nest is again devoid of food and we do need a good feeding day today. I was happy to see that both chicks waking up hungry and waiting for a later-than-usual breakfast did not precipitate bonking behaviour. Both were peaceful while they waited for food to arrive and once it did, there was negligible bonking. SE32 has taken to pushing itself forward, in front of SE31, to ensure it gets fed, and SE31 is allowing it to eat without interference most of the time. SE32 is still wary, and ducks for cover if SE31 does beak it, but the shaking by the back of the neck has largely ceased.”

Royal Cam Albatross: “We are hoping that Manaaki gets his supplementary feeding today – he looks literally flattened as he lies in his nest and seems to be low on energy (or just conserving it). He had built up significant reserves, according to the rangers, and is not on the high priority list but is still scheduled to be fed by today. As every day passes, I worry more and more about his parents.”

I just noted before I closed the blog this morning that the supplementary feeding was given to the Royal Cam chick. This is a great relief to everyone who sat and worried about this little bundle of joy.

Collins Street: “Cameras won’t be back up at Collins Street until the first egg is laid (last year, that was 25 August, so some time in the next two weeks is likely).”

Port Lincoln: “At Port Lincoln, they are on egg watch. To be honest, every time I watch and see mum sitting on the nest, I wonder whether she is laying that first egg. She is in that position now and I am wondering if this is the big moment. Surely, there will be at least one egg on that barge before the weekend is over.”

Orange Falcons: “Orange is as it always is – Diamond with a full crop, Xavier dancing about looking handsome. It’s just after 1pm in eastern Australia. A lovely day in Sydney, Orange and Melbourne, though they are expecting rain in Port Lincoln.”

Wondering about Dmitri and his stork? Excellent post on Thursday from Karla Pilz!

At the nest of Karl II, the three fledglings slept on the nest and then were there for the morning and flew off.

‘H’s other reports!

Kent Island – This Chesapeake osprey family is doing very well, and dear Mollie seems to be very close to fledging. She hovered high out of sight for several seconds, and for a while we didn’t know if she had fledged. Audrey and Tom’s youngster is 60 days old.

Barnegat Light – Life is grand for the fledgling, Dorsett. And, she has shown a definite preference for eating her meals on the utility pole. Dorsett is 72 days old, and fledged 12 days ago.

The Osoyoos osprey cam was offline for the second straight day. We miss the ‘O’s and we are anxious to see how they are doing. The young nestling is 46 days old.

Thanks ‘H’.

Skipping to a couple of other nests before I close for the morning.

Boulder County: All three fledglings were perched for the night and off the nest in the morning. They are being fed off cam it appears and all is well for this family as it prepares to migrate.

At the Dyfi Osprey Centre, they are remembering Monty. Monty was the male at Dyfi from 2011-19. He had three mates – Nora, Glesni, and Telyn. Of their children, 8 have returned as two year olds. A remarkable number and his DNA continues throughout the area….his perch is inside the new Centre.

The Dyfi website adds: “Monty was the breeding male at the Dyfi from 2011 to 2019 and he is arguably the most famous, and loved, osprey in the world!
Monty was unringed so we never knew exactly how old he was or where he came from. We know that he has been around on the Dyfi since at least 2008 and probably 2007, so his year of birth has to be 2005 or earlier…Monty was a fantastic fisherman whose fishing habits have been closely studied. Two separate scientific studies conducted in 2013 and 2015 have concluded that there is no correlation between the fish species that Monty catches and environmental factors such as tidal phase, temperature, time of day etc. It seemed he was able to catch a fish whenever he (or his family) was hungry and did not need to link his fishing trips to any other factor. Monty’s typical catch was grey mullet but he has been known to bring home some more unusual fish including a long eel-like garfish, a poisonous greater weaver fish and the occasional twait shad!”

The other nest I want to mention is Iris. She is still with us in Missoula and she has not been visited by Louis as much this year (it seems) as in years past. Pe chaps it is the weather and the challenge of feeding the trio and Starr. Iris has had a persistent visitor, a ringed male and here is some information posted on him this morning. Iris is, by the way, not chasing him off.

Thank you for being with me today…please send good wishes to Mini. Take care. See you soon!

I am so grateful to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: “A, H, L, MP, PB, RM, RP’, PSEG, Steelscape, Veterinary Quarterly, Fortis Exshaw, RSPB Loch Garten, Sue Wallbanks and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, SK Hideaways and Sydney Sea Eagles, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Karla Pilz and Stork 40, Eagle Club of Estonia, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Mary Anne Miller and Montana Ospreys at Hellgate.

Ervie is on the move, 2C4 injured…Thursday in Bird World

10 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is freezing – well, not literally, but temperatures will drop to 11 C tonight. Already it is feeling like wool socks and jumpers.

I hope your day has been as good as it can be as we worry about our little Mini. I hope that we are not worrying about Mini in a week – that she is progressing. My friend ‘R’ says that when a patient comes into a doctor’s office with a complaint, they look for symmetry. Do you know how hard it is to get Mini to stand with her legs apart, facing the camera? Three does it all the time. Frustrating!

Before we even peek at the kittens today, the big news is that Ervie is on the move! Oh, I hope that someone will be there to take photos of our little lad. Ervie is nearly two years old (hatched mid-September 2021), and I would love for him to stay in Port Lincoln and take over the barge from Mum and Dad. but now thankful he has a tracker.

Thank goodness for the three kittens! They work wonders – better than worry beads!

Calico now allows me to scoop her up and rub her cheek against mine. She is also in full approval of kitten milk. She drinks about 1/3 of a cup at each meal. Her fur is beginning to shine a bit. She is very sneaky, and I cannot find that kitten/s. She weaves in and out – keeping me guessing and running – when she is ready! Geemeff suggested in jest that I put a GoPro on her. Well, there is one sitting here in front of me. But Calico doesn’t weigh more than a quarter, so I am reluctant, but it sure would help me find where she is going! She certainly has a PhD in thwarting surveillance techniques.

Oh, Wednesday was another day spent – in part – staring at Mini’s leg to see if something is wrong and what it could be. The truth is we will never know. She is eating and flying and that is good. Mum is checking on her and fish keep coming in. She did not even finish a really large one. I am glad she is not grounded because who knows what would happen after that…let us all hope it is a sore sprain. Someone thought her foot had been cut but it was blood from the nice fresh fish she was munching on…fingers crossed. She is surely loved and if love can heal she will be 100% soon!

Mini got some nice fish flakes but lost part of the fish over the side of the nest. She appeared to be in some pain and having difficulty with that left leg in the early morning.

This is the best image to see that left leg.

16:31

1727. Parent with another fish for Mini.

These parents are amazing. They take such good care of all their chicks and now they are concerned about Little Mini, too.

Mini flew off shortly after. Please send her positive wishes. On Thursday morning the parents brought Mini her breakfast fish…she is not putting any weight on that left leg today. She ate some of the fish but appears to be worse than yesterday.

My heart is just broken. She cannot be taken into care unless she is grounded. Oh, I so wish this is just a bad sprain, but I fear it is worse than that.

If we ever begin to doubt how much Mini wants to live and how much she deserves to, ‘MP’ found a screen shot of the Patchogue nest he took eons ago. It was raining and the three bigger chicks were under Mum and Mum had quit feeding the fourth hatch. There is Mini. She should have died of exposure. She didn’t. She should have died of hunger. She didn’t. Let us all help her beat this! Positive energy.

Today, Mini appears to be in considerable pain – visually so. I hoped – beyond hope- this was just a simple sprain and she would ‘get over it in time’. But it looks like she really needs an intervention – which is something that I did not want to see for fear that our darling girl cannot get better. Send our little fighter all of your love.

There have been worries at several other nests. One was the third hatch at the Steelscape nest that has not had fish in some time. ‘PB’ alerted me to a fish arriving at 1535 on Wednesday and the third hatch devoured it. Thank goodness, the older siblings flew in later. This baby was starving.

At Loch Arkaig, after being MIA for 28 hours, Louise arrived with one fish for Nuka and returned shortly after with one for Dorcha. Relief. I don’t even know what my mind would do if we lost Louis this year to intruders – and there are intruders everywhere.

In the middle of some worry over Mini and concerns for the third hatch at Steelscape (and other nests), there are always stories that lift our spirits. ‘MB’ sent me one of those today to share with you. One lucky osplet family.

I reported about the storks dying due to extreme weather. Those were Latvian storks…my friend Sassa Bird says that they have not witnessed in their lifetime a catastrophic storm with tornadoes and hail and the winds that caused the deaths of the beloved storms preparing for migration. It is simply heartbreaking. The Latvians love their storks, and this has been a challenging year in the area with the weather. Our thoughts go out to everyone there.

The trio at Osprey House in Australia are beginning to enter the Reptilian Phase.

Bitty – DH2- from Decorah Hatchery caught its first fish. Did the parents leave the fish? Who knows – it is a great milestone for this beautiful eagle.

First fledge at nest 10, Kielder Forest! 9 August.

Seaside: Fledglings on the nest – one with fish and one wishing! It is fantastic to see all of these young fliers return to the nest to be fed. We get to know they are safe and the parents can feed them while they work those flight muscles.

Boulder County: Some fledglings have huge crops, while others sit and wait and hope for fish. Just look at the one in the middle – reminds me of Diamond when she finishes eating a huge pigeon. There are no worries about these. Fish are plentiful. Great parenting to get the three to fledge.

Dunrovin: All is well. Swoop is busy bringing fish to the nest and the three are at the nest at night.

SSEN Alyth: So many fish that the one has a crop that is about to pop and another fish comes to the nest!

RSPB Loch Garten: Sadly, there was an aerial battle between fledgling 2C4 and intruder KL5. The result was that 2C4 has been injured. It looks as if that injury is on the right elbow – perhaps a deep talon scratch – that has bled between the wing and the body. Send your best wishes.

Geemeff sent me the video of this persistent attack on the two youngsters at this nest.

Dyfi: No one is hungry at the nest of Idris and Telyn – not even the cleaners!

Time for ‘H’s reports:

Fortis Exshaw – “As nest cam viewers, we try to rationalize what we see on the livestream. But, sometimes even the most knowledgeable viewers can only guess at possible causes of what we see, or what we are not seeing. Louise used to bring in 5-8 fish per day, and now it’s down to 1-2 per day. On 8/7 the air quality was smoky. The temperatures in the area have been in the low to mid 70’s, and there were a couple of light rain showers on 8/9. There was one brief intruder issue on 8/9 that we saw, and both Louise and O’Hara defended. There has been some intermittent construction taking place very close to the nest for the last two days. The construction disturbance has not completely prevented Louise from delivering fish, but we don’t know if it has hampered her efforts at times. There was only one fish delivered to the nest on 8/9, and it was brought by Louise. The older sibling, Banff, ate it. The younger osplet, JJ, only had a fish tail to eat on 8/7, he had two small-ish meals on 8/8, and had nothing to eat on 8/9. We are praying for a fish-filled day on 8/10. The chicks are 53 days old.”

Forsythe – Wow, what a day for Ollie and Oscar! Oscar delivered six fish to the nest for Ollie (at 0613, 0803, 0906, 1342, 1444, and 1734), and a couple of them were quite large. Ollie was probably pinching herself to make sure she was not dreaming, lol. There were times when there were two fish in the nest, and a small partial fish was left on the nest when Ollie finally retired to her roosting spot. It was the sixth straight day with no sign of the older sibling, Owen.

Barnegat Light – Duke was minding his own business and enjoying his afternoon bath in the Bay . . Ah, but someone else was also minding his business . . Dorsett flew right at her Dad and buzzed him! It was hilarious.

Kent Island – This family had a fish-filled day, and Molly and Audrey each had their own fish at one point. 59-day-old Molly has been sleeping upright for two nights in a row.

Osoyoos: Offline.

Severna Park – One or both of the siblings can often be found at the nest. Being the good Dad, Oscar is continuing to provide for his two fledglings.

Patuxent Nest-1 – Foster and Sib-B are often seen at their nest, and Dad continues to supply them with large fish.

Thank you so much, ‘H’.

Sydney Sea Eagles: ‘A’ reports “Isn’t it always the way? Just as I say the WBSE food supply has been wonderful, we had a day today when the first food did not arrive on the nest until nearly 12:25. It was a nice, big whole fresh fish (perhaps a bream?), which Lady quickly took charge of to feed the eaglets, who had spent the morning snuggled up sleeping together and putting in some serious growing time. Once food arrived however, SE32 was quickly up at the table and got at least the first dozen bites. SE31 was not bothered, lying behind SE32 and watching its younger sibling eating. Amazing! SE32 was obviously hungry and Lady fed it bite after bite. Eventually, SE31 decided it was ready for brunch and stood up to eat but SE32 just pushed forward another step and kept eating. SE31 watched. Lady kept feeding SE32. After another six or eight bites for SE32, SE31 again tried to get to mum’s beak but Lady keeps feeding SE32. Finally, SE31 has no real choice but to beak SE32 in the back of the head. Not hard and just once, but SE32 ducks down and SE31 gets to eat a few bites. SE32 is back up with 25 seconds and accepting more bites. They eat side by side until SE32 decides to stare down SE31, which had the usual result. SE32 allows SE31 to eat for a moment or two before again popping up. The pair are remarkably civil and both get plenty of brunch. I am no longer worried about the relationship between them, unless the food situation deteriorates. It was an exceptionally windy day in Sydney, with the trees tossing violently. This is no doubt the reason Dad had problems fishing today. This was a big fish though, enough to feed Lady and the kids for the rest of the day.”

Avian Flu has not gone away -. Now it is in the Red Grouse populations.

Highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-in-red-grouse-in-Scotland-–-Raptor-Persecution-UK Download

In a related vein, Wild Justice held a poll about banning rouse hunting or issuing licenses. Geemeff sent me the results of that vote. As Geemeff says, the authorities should take note of this!

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MB, MP, PB, R, Sassa Bird’, Port Lincoln Ospreys, PSEG, Steelscape, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Al Eastman, Sassa Bird, Linda McIlroy and Raptors of the World, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Joanna Dailey and Kielder Forest, Seaside, Boulder County, Dunrovin Ranch, SSEN Alyth, RSPB Loch Garten, Fortis Exshaw, Forsythe, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Kent Island, Severna Park, Patuxent River Park, Raptor Persecution UK, Wild Justice, Syllabub and RSPB Loch Garten, and Dyfi Ospreys.

Category Archives: protecting wildlife

Mini and More…Sunday in Bird World

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Second attack on Banff…Thursday in Bird World

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5 fish and counting for Mini…Wednesday in Bird World

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There are no words – Banff is home, Mini has 3 fish…Bird World for Tuesday

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Mini needs our help, tell her story…Monday in Bird World

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Tragedy hits Fortis Exshaw again as JJ dies…Sunday in Bird World

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Is Mini Better? Saturday in Bird World

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Monster Fish, Mini and more…Friday in Bird World

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Ervie is on the move, 2C4 injured…Thursday in Bird World

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