Category Archives: protecting wildlife

Mini’s leg, fosters in Norway…Wednesday in Bird World

9 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It has been a long day of staring at the computer screen, hoping to see Mini, hoping that her swollen leg was better, wondering if she has a fracture or just is sore from a scuffle.

I had a lot of comfort in the three furry balls – Missey and Lewis (inside) and they’re soon to be sister, Calico (outside). Today Calico allowed me to pick her up, cuddle her and rock her back and forth like you might do a baby. At some point she had a family. Something happened. We are hoping that she will want to be a part of our family. I have been unable to locate any kittens. Tomorrow I am going back out with smelly tins of sardines trying to see if I can coax them out – if they are alive and if I can find their hiding spot -. They deserve a home, too. I now know that Calico will wean them and expect them to be hunting on their own. That is so hard to imagine. They will be approximately 40 days old today.

I am not expecting any issues with Lewis and Calico but it could well be a different story with Missey, the Alpha Cat, and the new family member. Hopefully, they will all feel safe, and secure, and have no rivalry like we see on Osprey nests!

Without X-Ray vision, we will not know what is wrong with Mini. I know that each of you is probably having sympathy pains right now. We do know that Mini flew onto the nest late Monday afternoon, and she was visibly having issues with her left leg. She slept duckling style, taking the pressure off that leg and allowing it to rest and heal. She would have been in some pain. She had difficulty holding her fish tight and could not finish it. MP observed that one of the adults came down from the perch concerned. Later a Crow ate the fish that Mini left – and yes, Mini leaving a morsel of fish tells us much. Worrying, of course, does not help. For Mini to get help, she would need to be grounded, just like Middle at Achieva.

Animal Help Now lists three wildlife rehabbers that deal with raptors in the area of Patchogue. This is the information for each of them. Please put it somewhere so if you see Mini fall off the nest, please start calling. STAR would be my first point of contact. If you were also to see Mini struggling on the nest, it might be worth a call. Because Mini is not always on the nest and we are not always able to stay on the screen, it is vital that everyone watches and is alert to an immediate need and has these numbers handy.

Mini is a fighter. She has overcome such adversity to fledge and be the strong osplet she is this is nothing short of heartbreaking. But, let us please send our most positive wishes and hope that what we are seeing is nothing serious.

Mini from 0851-905.

At 1000, the part of the leg above the knee was swollen. Mini was eating but there was some difficulty in holding the fish down tight.

At 1606, that leg looked better to me but it could have been the camera angle.

Keep sending your most positive wishes to our gal. She can do this.

There are a lot of fundraisers and some are extremely worthwhile and others not so much. I want to mention to you the Loch Arkaig annual calendar fundraiser. If you live outside the UK, Mary Cheadle can figure the postage for you. Except the costs of printing, the funds go to The Woodland Trust so that you can see Louis and Dorcha and that the area can be cared for. So think about it! I thought calendars were out of date because of our phones, but mine from last year, with its images of the nest and the chicks, is right here in front of me – being used and reminding me of important dates. You can connect with Mary Cheadle on the Loch Arkaig FB group or through FB Messenger. Please order quickly – read below for the details. Mary raises a lot of funds for the Lock Arkaig nest through her fundraising efforts – it is volunteers like her and at the wildlife clinics that make a difference in the lives of the birds we love so much.

I am just going to scramble through a few of the nests today. My mind really was on Mini and not much else! — OK. The female at Sand Point had me raise my voice once or twice. She has to be starving…well, I hope that explains her behaviour.

Fostering in Norway. The Mum returned to the nest and fed the foster and snuggled with all the chicks. Let us hope this goes well.

Wondering about Newmann, the Great Spirit Bluff male that lost his mate to a GHO attack and raised to fledge his youngsters. He is back near the scrape.

Boulder County: Everyone is eating. Three fledglings in and off the nest. Smile. All is good.

MN Landscape Arboretum: All is fine.

Steelscape: All three fledglings on the nest. Hard to tell how each is doing without witnessing all of them eating.

Sandpoint: Well, the Mum is either ‘starving’ herself, like the chick (probably) or has no maternal instincts. The chick finally got some fish by self-feeding…my heart sank listening to its fish calling.

When was the last time you saw a fully feathered chick in submission because of its Mum?

Cowlitz PUD: Fledgling on nest self-feeding.

Now to move over and check on the nests ‘H’ is checking on!

Fortis Exshaw: “There were two fish brought to the nest, thought to have been delivered by Louise (the video screen is pixelated again!).  The younger sibling, JJ, was able to claim both of the fish and mantled strongly, despite his older sister being stronger, larger, and bossy!.  It was nice to see JJ’s increased level of confidence.  But, big sister, Banff, was not about to make it easy for JJ.  She harassed JJ the entire time he was trying to eat his fish.  JJ managed to maintain possession of the first fish for 7 minutes before Banff stole it.  The fish had been headless upon delivery so it was easier for JJ to tear off bites while continuously having to defend his food.  The second fish was whole, so JJ had to unzip his prize while repeatedly being pestered by Banff.  Banff was able to grab the second fish from JJ after 12 minutes.  In both cases JJ only managed a small crop, and Banff clearly ate most of the fish.  But, being about 1/3 larger than JJ, Banff would understandably need to eat more than JJ.  There is nothing apparent to the viewers to provide a clue as to why more fish are not being brought to the nest, but we would all like to see JJ with a huge crop today!”

 

Osoyoos – Olsen brought seven fish to the nest.  The one at 1746 was a small headless fish that 43-day-old ‘Junior’ grabbed and self-fed, while learning to hold the fish with his talons.  Shortly after Junior ate that fish, Olsen delivered a small whole fish and Junior grabbed that one as well.  This time, Junior was much better at holding the fish while tearing off chunks.  Nice job, Junior!  Note: Thank you to HS for recovering chick 2’s body from the ground and giving him a proper burial.  Very much appreciated.

Forsythe – Oscar brought Ollie two fish on 8/8.  Ollie spent almost the entire day at the nest, taking just a few brief flying excursions.  Ollie cuts such a lonely figure on the nest, and some viewers feel sorry for her.  But, she will most likely spend the next few years of her life leading a solitary existence.  Older sibling Owen has not been seen for five days.

Dahlgren – Jack delivered a whale fish to D12 for dinner.  D11 did not fly in to make a bid, so D12 had it all to herself.  She spent the entire evening eating that fish, and then fell asleep standing on a huge leftover portion, and dreaming of breakfast.

Barnegat Light – It seems that every day there is a new ‘first’ for the fledgling, Dorsett.  On 8/8, Dorsett discovered the utility poles.

Kent Island – We were all very relieved when the livestream returned in the morning after the dangerous storm the previous evening.  Audrey, Tom, and Mollie had all weathered the storm.  And, 57-day-old Mollie self-fed nearly an entire menhaden in the morning.

Thanks so much, ‘H’. Excellent news. Everyone is safe, they are all eating! And to that very kind person who took care of the little osplet’s body – thank you from all of us for your compassion.

At The Campanile, Lou and Annie are bonding!

Kissey-kiss.

The nest of Karl II in the Karula National Forest and Kaia is now empty. All three storklets fledged.

7192 was the last to leave the nest at 06:42.

Karl II is a fantastic father. Here he is with the last feeding of his storklets before they leave the nest. Wishing all of them full crops and safe flights.

Storks have already started their migration in Europe. Many have sadly gotten caught in ferocious storms and died. It has been a tragic year for many species. Sassa Bird posted some images of the Swedish storks killed by the storms.

In North America, Sunnie day reminds us about BirdCast. Check out your region.

At Rutland, everyone is fattening up and preparing for their journeys.

Ludo is quite the character. Louis is such a patient Dad.

At the Sydney Sea Eagles, life is excellent. ‘A’ writes, “

Little SE32 really has turned the dynamic of this nest around over the past few days. The youngster (I suspect a younger brother) has gained tremendously in confidence and this has caused SE31 to largely cease its attempts at intimidation. Occasionally, there is an interaction, but it is as often caused by SE32 as by SE31! The younger sibling is quite prepared to look its older sibling in the eye, drawing itself up as tall as it possibly can and sometimes beaking SE31. Not a great idea, but not at all vicious – more posturing – and certainly an indication that SE32 has decided to stand up for itself. It eats and eats, without any fear of SE31 beside it or behind it. If it is offered a bite of fish, it eats it, regardless of SE31’s position or attitude. It is glorious to watch this little one realising that its sibling was never really trying to hurt it and that all it has to do is stand its ground. So the nest has become a happy place, with both eaglets eating and eating and then eating a little more. So far, both parents are doing some feedings, though Lady is doing the majority. Lady is also doing some fishing sometimes, though Dad is bringing in most of the prey. Yesterday’s fish was MASSIVE. A very long brown fish that fed everyone for the afternoon and much of today. Of course, things could turn on a dime and everything could head rapidly downhill, as we know, but at this stage, both these parents are doing a wonderful job and their eaglets are healthy and active and both eating extremely well. Their major problem is hauling their massive crops around. SE31 eats so much, it falls into a food coma, allowing SE32 to then eat for up to half an hour (or however long Lady is prepared to continue coaxing it to eat more and more and more). Eventually, SE32 is stuffed to the gills and turns away, at which point SE31 often wakes up for seconds. Lady sometimes feeds the pair for over an hour at a time. Very patiently. She is amazing.”

 Thanks, ‘A’.

Mini’s leg doesn’t look worse this morning. Relief. She would like a fish! And she is spunky enough to chase a crow off the nest. Let us hope that she heals quickly and Dad gets a nice fish to her soon!

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourselves. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, websites, streaming cams, and videos that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H’, Animal Helps, PSEG, Mary Cheadle and the Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Rune Age, Ashley Wilson and Peregrine Falcons at Great Spirit Bluff, Boulder County, MN Landscape Arboretum, Steelscape, Sandpoint, Cowlitz PUD, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Dahlgren, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Kent Island, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Eagle Club of Estonia, Sassa Bird, Sunnie Day, Gaye Kelly and Osprey Friends, and Sydney Sea Eagles.

Does Mini have an injury…Tuesday in Bird World

8 August 2023

Hi Everyone,

I hope the beginning of the week has been kind to each of you! It is nearing 1700 on Monday as I begin to write after spending some time checking on the birds – both on the screen and in the garden. Things are winding down. Spotters in the UK are starting to see migrating ospreys flying south. Here it was sunny and is now overcast. The Blue Jays and a single Crow have offered joy in the garden today. It will not be long before the migrating birds appear, including the hummingbirds and the Baltimore Orioles looking for their grape jelly and oranges, before continuing their southern journeys. I plan to get to the nature centre on Wednesday for a long walk and check on the ducklings and goslings. They should be all grown up! Little Red was there, too, and Dyson and the gang will, hopefully, be around later this evening.

There is severe weather headed for the east coast of the US that is predicted to produce 75-80 mph winds, hail, and tornadoes. Thinking of all our nests including, potentially, our Mini – and all of you. Stay safe.

Mini was on the nest at least twice today. In the image below, at 16:32, she has a crop. She got the 0601 fish delivery! Not huge, but a fish, and she will have another during the day for sure – as is noted in that 16:32 crop.

It is hard to see Mini’s nest empty…one day soon she will not show up, she will be on her way south. While we will never know for certain what will happen to this young lady, she has been a survivor. There is some concern Monday evening that Mini might have an injury to her left leg. Let us all just breathe. We have seen ‘slight’ injuries on nests take several days to heal. Mini will rest and Dad will bring fish if she is, indeed, having an issue.

Oh, goodness. Mini is still favouring that left leg this morning. She cannot put much weight on it. She has a fish and let us all hope that our little one heals..she has plenty of time before she might think about migrating in September. Just rest, Mini!

Can she hold down the fish hard well enough to eat…let’s keep an eye.

We fretted over the debris in Mini’s nest and thankfully, none of the twine or the bin bags endangered the health of the adults or the osplets. In Montana, they continue to find osprey chicks when they are being banded in nests where they are tangled – dangerously so. Thankful for the intervention.

Oh, what a cute little one. So grateful he is recovering.

A hope, skip, and jump around the nests. There is not a lot of action – that is a good thing.

MN Landscape: Chick is self-feeding, but when Mum has a fish she is eating, this baby is loud with the fish begging!

Boulder County: That nest just seems to get smaller and smaller when all three of the fledglings are home!

Seaside: Naika and Kawok continue to fly in and off the nest. Naika had a beautiful big fish that could not be finished. Kawok got to finish the best part – the tail half!

Clark PUD: One osplet has fledged. Both on the nest and being fed. All looks good.

Loch of the Lowes: Please note that Blue NC0 has not been seen since 15 July and the male, Blue PF5 for several days now.

Janakkala, Finland: Ospreys watching for Dad who delivers fish – and then the great tug o war begins.

Muonio, Finland. Video of the ringing of the chicks has been released.

Port Lincoln Osprey: The date of Zoe’s egg tells it all. Soon we will be staring at incubation in Southern Australia.

Mum and Dad on the nest of the barge at Port Lincoln. They are both anticipating the arrival of the first egg.

It is time for ‘H’s report:

Fortis Exshaw: “It was not the best of days for the youngest chick, JJ.  In the early morning, both Banff and JJ took turns trying to eat the large fish tail left over from the very tough fish the previous day.  The tail also had a large piece of attached skin dangling from it.  JJ finally managed to eat the skin and tail at 0816.  As it turned out, that was all that JJ had to eat on 8/7.  Two large fish were delivered to the nest, the first one by O’Hara at 0844, and Louise delivered one at 1352.  The older sibling, Banff, ate both of those fish. JJ did have a couple of good meals the previous day, however, and we’re hoping the fishing improves for Louise and O’Hara today.  The air was visibly smoky or foggy for most of the day, and a nearby viewer confirmed it was smoke from a distant fire.  Perhaps the smoke had made fishing more difficult for the adults.  There were no major intruder issues that we could see.”

Osoyoos –  It was another good day for the family. There were six fish delivered to the nest.  The body of chick #2 had been slipping off the edge of the nest for a few hours, and at 1205 when Soo shook the nest as she flew, the body finally fell to the ground.  A member of the Facebook group who lives in Osoyoos was going to try to retrieve #2’s body.

Kent Island – A severe storm system went through the area in the evening, with heavy rains and wind gusts that were predicted to be up to 70 mph.  The live video stream went off, and the cam is showing highlights.  During the day, young Molly had been ‘helicoptering’ so high that she was out of cam view a couple of times.  I hope she wasn’t too excited with all the wind and continued practicing her hovers.  We hope that Molly and her parents, Audrey and Tom, stayed safe during the storm.  We anxiously await the return of the live stream, and for any news from the Com family.  

Barnegat Light – A couple of ‘firsts’ for this osprey family on 8/7:  On 6/28 Dorsett was banded, and afterward the bander installed a new perch for Duke near the Bay.  On 8/4, the fledgling Dorsett, was on the perch for the first time, and then on 8/7 Daisy tried the perch for the first time!  The other ‘first’ was that Dorsett flew in and landed on the railing with a big gob of soft nesting material in her talon.  A surprised Daisy said, “Well how lovely, thank you very much, Dear!”

Severna Park was another nest impacted by the strong storm system on 8/7. Here is a photo of the two fledglings after the worst of the storm was over.

Patuxent Nest-1 was also inundated by the storm on 8/7.  In this photo the two fledglings are waiting for their ‘breakfish’ delivery on 8/8.

Audubon Boathouse – It is not very often that Skiff and Dory are seen together at the Boathouse nest, but they were on 8/6.  Little Skipper was predated by an owl 15 days ago.  The view from the Boathouse nest cam is one of the most picturesque of any osprey streaming cam, and perhaps soon I will be able to find solace in its beauty.  But, it’s just not happening yet.

Black Stork Karula Forest: This is the nest of Karl II and Kaia. Karl II has the sole responsibility for feeding the three storklets since 23 July at 16:19 when Kaia was last seen on the nest. She is not dead. She is foraging in an area with a brook about 6km from the nest site. Storklet 7194 fledged on 7 August.

Big Red and Arthur’s Red Tail Hawk Nest:

Ferris Akel has some really good footage of the Ms and family!

A good article on L2’s release with video.

Red-tailed-Hawk-22L322-Released-After-a-Year-of-Recovery-Cornell-Lab-Bird-Cams-Cornell-Lab-Bird-CamDownload

The 2023 season highlights – life with the Ms.

San Jose City Hall: SK Hideaways caught more bonding between Monty and Hartley. Wonder where Soledad is and how she is doing?

Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Orange: Xavier and Diamond continue bonding and mating as the 2023 breeding season is getting ready to begin in Australia. ‘A’ remarks, “At Orange, bonding activities are increasing, including mating up to several times an hour and much prey being brought to the scrape. Diamond will occasionally accept a starling but only if she is particularly hungry, which is rare – she is not often seen without a noticeable crop. Xavier brought her an eastern rosella she was happy about the other day and a pigeon was on today’s menu, but he usually dances around with his starlings before leaving again, taking his starling with him. He is so svelte and handsome with his snowy bib and his orange feet.”

Sydney Sea Eagles: Both eaglets are being fed very well. There is a variety of food including fish and today an eel! Their big crops have made lovely cushions to sleep on. What a relief.

Roy Cam Albatross: ‘A’ reports “The big news is that Manaaki weighed only 8 kg at today’s weighing (he is 200 days old today, only 40 days from the average fledge age, and today was one of 20 chicks at the colony, 10 males and 10 females, to be fitted with a data logger). The 8 kg he weighed today is down from his peak weight of 11 kg, and a supplementary feeding is scheduled for him tomorrow or Thursday. Imagine, we never thought we would see our big boy needing supplementary feeding, but that is what happens when a parent fails to return, and sadly, it has been way too long since we last saw L (20 July). GLY has done his best but he is unable to sustain a male chick on his own. At this point, GLY has not been in since 30 July, which is a very long time for GLY, who usually has half that time between visits. Before this absence, L was gone for 15 days in April and again in May, but this is significantly longer than those absences. So we are all worried about both parents at this stage and Manaaki has obviously been hungry for several days, begging other chicks’ parents for food. It would be a tragedy to lose either one of this couple, who had already successfully fledged two chicks before Manaaki so were a well-established pair.”

Lady Hawk gives us a video of the GPS tracking device and the weighing.

Going back to Port Lincoln, there is news of Ervie and Zoe from the Port Lincoln FB page today:

Please send all your most positive energy to our Mini if she has an injury to her leg so that she rests and recovers fully.

Thanks, everyone for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H’, CNN Weather, NOAA, PSEG, Wild Skies Raptor Centre, MN Landscape Arboretum, Boulder County, Seaside, Clark PUD, LOTL, FOF, PLO, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Audubon Boathouse, Patuxent River Park, Severna, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Kent Island Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Ferris Akel Tours, Cornell Bird Lab, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam and Port Lincoln Ospreys FB.

SE32 gets a great meal…Monday in Bird World

7 August 2023

Hello Everyone!

The weekend is over for many and in Canada and those having Bank Holidays there is one more day before the week officially begins. Oh, retirement is wonderful! Sometimes I do not even know what day it is!

Before I move any further, one of my favourite authors, David Gessner, hs some appearances in Cape. Do you live close enough to attend? If so, lucky you! And if you have not read Soaring with Fidel – please do. Often for sale at heavily discounted prices, it is the tracking of an Osprey to its winter home in South America through Cuba. It can inspire you to follow the birds too just like individuals follow the falling cherry blossoms in Japan.

We had an ‘explosion’ of Blue Jays this year, according to my neighbour. The only ones that I could tell apart were that little rather round one and Junior, the Dad, because he was moulting. But now, I have stared at them so much there is a way to tell them apart and tomorrow I plan to have a chart and I can tell which ones are coming and going. With an Osprey, it is the pattern on their head that never changes from when they are ready to fledge til they die. Take images of the front, back, sides, and top – stare. Make a file. you can recognise those ospreys! This does not readily work with Blue Jays but there is something about their tails and it is the lateral white band. Some have a very delicate scalloped white lateral band, some have a white dot on the outermost feathers on either side, one had a single white dot on the very middle tail feather. Each appears to be unique. — I am not a Blue Jay expert. Someone who is might tell me that I am totally wrong but right now, that seems to be a good start for this family.

I have learned from my friends and readers living in Germany that I am blessed to have Blue Jays because they do not see them! So a little factual information for those who live where Blue Jays do not:

The Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata is a little larger than an American Robin, about 30 cm in length from the tip of its bill to the tip of its tail. A white-faced bird with a blue crest, back, wings, and tail, it is strongly marked with black and white. Male and female Blue Jays are very similar in appearance. The crest, an elongated crown of feathers found in many jays, is raised or lowered according to the bird’s mood. In moments of high excitement and aggression the crest may be fully erected, forming a prominent peak. When the Blue Jay is greatly surprised or excited, the crest points forward. If the bird is frightened, the crest bristles out like a bottle brush. The Blue Jay’s crest position, when erected, is emphasized by a black band that crosses over the back of the head, a continuation of the broad band or necklace across the chest. However, when the bird is feeding among other jays, when it is ready to flee, or when it is quietly resting, the crest is laid flat on top of the head, giving the bird a quite different and somewhat untidy appearance. 

Hinterland Who’s Who – Blue Jay

This is one of the babies. Notice the deep white lateral band on the tail feathers and that gorgeous scallop. So what is this chap doing? Sibley says that he is sunning himself BUT, is this behaviour something else? Sunning is when a bird spreads its wings and fluffs its body feathers to take advantage of the airflow between the feathers. In this instance, while this might look like sunning, we have to consider other factors. First, the lad has its crest raised. Those wings are beating a bit in alarm, and the Jay appears to be mantling precious peanuts. What you cannot see is that Little Red is sitting on a tree branch wanting those nuts!!!!!!!!!

Blue Jays do not grow their feathers simultaneously. When they moult, they drop one or two feathers at a time. This fellow appears to be missing one feather on the left and a central one coming in. If the feathers come out completely, I was told they will grow back. n immediately. Fantastic. You might recall that I had an earlier little one that lost its tail feathers due to a fright moult. He is quick and stays in the lilacs out of the sight of my camera, but it appears those feathers are coming in.

This one is quite different in its patterning.

This little one did not want me to see its tail! It was hot and all it wanted to do was drink – remember, water!

He finally turned but I had a bad sight line. A single white on the far left feather.

Another variation! This is the youngest of all the babies in the garden. Will the patterns on this tail change during August? I will keep an eye and report back. Isn’t this little one just precious?

And another. There should be 14 different patterns for the 14 different birds. If you have several Blue Jays in your garden or if you see Blue Jays, let me know what you discover – does each have a different pattern with the white on the tail?

For those who do have Blue Jays, just a tip. They need calcium. sometimes there are not natural sources. What you can do for the Jays and all the other birds, especially during egg laying season, is to provide them with crushed egg shells. Please wash the shells out and allow them to dry before crushing them and placing them on a feeder.

Today was planned to be the day that Calico’s kitten or kittens would be found, and they would begin their integration into the family by staying in the luxury suite – the Conservatory. Geemeff gave me some fantastic tips to help this happen. Sunday morning Calico decided that she wanted to come into the house. I wasn’t quite ready. There was a new litter box and some ‘high value’ treats to get along with kitten milk in case, for some crazy reason, something happened) and toys. The plan was to follow her after her afternoon meal. (She comes approximately every 3 hours). She ate 4 small tins of cat food (yes, that is not a typo) and drank 1/3 of a tin of kitten milk. She loves the stuff, and it is so good to help her replenish her lost calcium and give her protein. She was not anxious to come into the house. We were ready to follow her and had a blanket, a cat carrier, a tin of salmon and another of sardines to try and lure the kitten/s out so we could get them. At some point, she spotted us and darted under a gate and down a sidewalk in a person’s yard. By the time we had retraced our steps and were in the back lane, Calico was nowhere to be seen.

Like birdwatching, this is going to require patience. Everything is in order. We wait. Either the kitten/s will follow Calico to our house, or she will bring them if she feels that level of trust. Or once weaned, she will return full-time to the garden and I will bring her into the house. She has been dewormed and has had her flea and tick treatment. She has standing appointments with two vets and the clinic at the Humane Society. My grandmother always said that things work out how they should. Patience, dear one, patience!

Just hoping these two are welcoming!

A wonderful intervention that took less than half an hour and saved a chick’s life. Please read. It is a heart warming story of a huge storm, Monty and Nora, and their two babies.

The-Perfect-Storm-Dyfi-Osprey-Project-WalesDownload

For those who opposed the intervention, Emyr Evans wrote, “The bottom line is that Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust is one of the 46 Wildlife Trust charities working hard for Conservation in the UK. It took 500 years for Man to completely, and artificially, wipe out the osprey in this country. Even today they are still shot and their eggs stolen illegally, year after year after year. To my knowledge, at least six adults have been shot in just the last three years alone. Illegal osprey persecution and killing is intervention no matter how you look at it. A half an hour intervention yesterday doesn’t even begin to re-address the balance.”

With the storms in the US and the overfishing in the NE of the vital fish for the Ospreys, I know that you can think of at least one nest that would have benefitted from an intervention such as that above. As a society, we must consider what we have done to the planet and how these beautiful birds might be living if we had not intervened and destroyed their habitat, the air they breathe, depleted the fish and then caused all manner of poisonings, harming them with debris. The list is endless, never mind the dramatic impacts of climate change that we have caused. Of course, this statement applies to all of North America, Canada included!

A-Tiny-Fish-That-Fuels-a-Healthy-Atlantic-Ecosystem-Now-Stirs-Industry-Debates-The-New-York-TimesDownload

With all the discussions about the Cornell Bird Lab, and window strike and M2’s death, my friend ‘R’ sent me an article to read and share with everyone. Just imagine, “This is a huge problem,” the author writes. “They estimate that somewhere between 300 million and 1 billion birds a year die in the United States from window collisions.”

They are simple solutions for our homes, but I think the tiny pink squares would work on the office windows at Cornell as they would elsewhere…we have the strips on the Conservatory, and the other windows look like a team of youngsters were turned loose with white markers. We have not lost a bird to a window strike.

The real question is this: We know the problem, and we know the solutions, so why aren’t big companies and institutions that have buildings with large amounts of glass doing something about this? I find it very frustrating – just like the simplest solution to not decapitating albatross is to set the lines of the long-haul trawlers at night. Like, do it! Don’t be complacent.

How-small-changes-to-buildings-could-save-millions-of-birds-CBS-NewsDownload

Checking on our nests:

Let’s start with ‘H’s report first because there is great news coming out of Fortis Exshaw: “Any day that the nestlings have a couple of crop-filling meals is a good day.  Both JJ and Banff woke up very early and were delighted to find large leftover pieces of fish on the nest.  They both ate, and had crops.  At 0632 O’Hara touched down on the nest, looked around a bit, and then left.  He was almost immediately followed to the nest by Louise who brought a large fish.  Louise fed both siblings.  Again, both had nice crops.  O’Hara had returned to the nest at the beginning of the feeding and he stayed for 24 minutes, simply standing guard while Louise fed the kids.  At 0709 there was an intruder issue, Louise and the kids were all alarming, and O’Hara immediately flew to the nest to assist with nest defense.  After five minutes he bolted off the nest in pursuit of the intruder. Louise is known for the large fish she catches, but at 0909 she delivered the smallest fish I’ve ever seen her catch.  Banff ate that one.  The last fish of the day was delivered by Louise at 1422.  It was a large headless fish, and Banff claimed it.  We noticed that Banff was having a little difficulty pulling off pieces.  Banff ate for 75 minutes before walking away, and JJ took over.  There was still 3/4 of the fish remaining.  JJ had even more difficulty pulling off pieces of fish.  JJ ate for nearly an hour, and only managed a slight crop.  The siblings continued to take turns eating from that fish for six hours.  At least 1/4 of the fish remained as darkness fell.  That was one tough fish!  The siblings are both 50 days old, and Banff has been achieving a little lift-off from the nest during her wing exercises.”

Osoyoos – “There were at least five fish brought to the nest that I saw.  Soo and Olsen’s youngster ate well.  It is emotionally difficult for the livestream viewers when a chick dies, and when the body remains in the nest it is a persistent reminder of the sadness.  There have been a few attempts to cover the body with new nesting material the past couple of days.  On 8/6, Soo tried to remove the body of #2, but it was heavy, and unfortunately it got hung up on some sticks at the rail.”

Forsythe – It was a better day for Ollie.  Oscar delivered three fish to the nest for her.  Older sibling, Owen, was not seen for the third straight day.  Opal was last seen a couple of times on 7/25, and once on 7/29.  Ollie is in charge of the nest and has been taking on the intruders, quite effectively I might add. 

Kent Island – Oh my goodness, 55-day-old  Molly has been doing some brief hovers!

Barnegat Light – Daisy caught a false albacore and treated beach-loving Dorsett to some ‘little tunny’.

Dahlgren – D12 hangs out at the nest more than D11 does, but usually when Jack delivers a fish, D11 appears out of nowhere to make a claim.  This has resulted in some epic battles and tug-o-fish between the two siblings.  Mom, Harriet, has not been seen for three days.

Thanks so very much ‘H’. That is great news at Fortis Exshaw and Osoyoos.

Dorset Hobby Falcons: We have the first fledge!

Patchogue: Every time we get a glimpse of Mini, it could be the last one. She has grown into such a beautiful bird with those short stout legs and big wings, the hearts on her chest, and her dirty knees. How fortunate we were to have her in our lives this year – this bird gives me hope!

When I look at those hearts, I think they represent each of us that loved her dearly and sent her warm wishes for survival. Her cheering squad. Just look at how many there are! She carries us with her wherever she goes.

Collins Marsh: Both osplets have successfully fledged. Mum is till content to feed them on the nest and they return to have a nice rest once in awhile, too. Flying is hard work!

Clark PUD: Both osplets have fledged. They, too, are returning to the nest. Beautiful!

MN Landscape: Everything is a little damp but the fish are coming in and this chick is looking good.

Sandpoint: This nest was needing fish and two arrived on Sunday. We need more!

Loch Arkaig: Luco gets some fish from Dad – there were 5 fish delivered on the 6th. Ludo was so full he could have popped.

Poole Harbour: Another nest with lots of good fish for the trio.

Llyn Brenig:

Dyfi Ospreys: I am always so entranced about their comings and goings. Wish all the nests safe travels, full crops, and a return next year.

Finnish Ilomantain: Some nice fish on the nest for the chicks.

Charles Sturt Falcon Cam: Xavier wants eggies!

Port Lincoln: Last year Mum laid Zoe’s egg on 9 August. Just sayin’. we are getting close!

Sydney Sea Eagles: WBSE 32 got a good feed. ‘A’ remarks, “It seems little SE32 has become much more confident today. SE31 is still getting the best of the feedings, but not because SE32 is being intimidated or bonked but just because SE32 is not accepting all the mouthfuls it is being offered. It seems both chicks are being well fed and SE32 is not instantly cowed by sudden movements. Rather, it is sitting beside its sibling, watching the feeding and waiting its turn, without being intimidated. This is a wonderful development, as this situation has always been more about SE32’s attitude than SE31’s bonking. Now the younger one seems far less scared and is much more confident sitting up at the table. We will see how the rest of the day goes, but it is 3pm currently and another feed has just ended. Both chicks have been well fed today and I have not seen SE32 bonked at all today. It is sometimes slow to join in the feeding, but that is its own choice, not the result of being intimidated.”

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, R’, David Gessner, Osprey Watch, NY Times, CBS News, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Kent Island, Forsythe, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, Dahlgren, Sk Hideaways and Dorset Hobby Falcons, PSEG, Collins Marsh, Clark PUD, Sandpoint, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Poole Harbour, Sue Wallbank’s and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagles, and SK Hideaways and Sydney Sea Eagles.

JJ finally got some fish…Sunday in Bird World

6 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you have had a really lovely weekend so far. Here the potatoes in the fibre bags are dying off at the top, signalling they are ready to be dug. Some tomato plants think they are finished producing, while others have substantial green heritage tomatoes waiting to turn red. The pepper plants produced one pepper each, while the cucumber plant gave me two delicious English cokes. This year’s garden winners were the Basil, which grew like a small bush, the thyme, and rosemary. The grape tomatoes were also abundant. There is a ‘feel’ in the garden, like the summer is ending, something that doesn’t happen until September. Everything is still emerald green…it just feels a little ‘off’. It has been a very strange year.

When I first left my urban existence to live on a small acreage in rural Canada, some things did not make sense. Surrounded by big corporate farmers, they had cut down the hedgerows that kept the topsoil from blowing away when the winds were high and the soil dry. This caused them to have to use more fertiliser. The end result of all of that was my pond’s poisoning and my orchard’s death. That was decades ago. It all came back like a tidal wave today when I saw this article on farming and the benefits of hedgerows and fens to bring back wildlife.

There are many simple things that we can do, too including working to create what I call mini-corridors for the birds in our neighbourhoods as well as the other small mammals. Think using native plants in your garden along with bird feeders and sources of water. Create a pathway with your friends and neighbours for the birds and animals to move from yard to yard – thriving. The idea that birds and wildlife can find food readily available in urban centres should become a reality – we destroyed their habitat. Let’s help do something for them.

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There really is not a lot of news in Bird World as fledglings and their mums fatten up in the UK and Europe for their migration. The same thing is happening in parts of North America but there are still chicks on the nest to fledge like those in Newfoundland/Labrador. We all watched in agony as the osplets of Hope and Beau died on the nest but, what we didn’t see – because the nests are not on streaming cams – are the numerous other nests in the region that thrived producing at least two but, often, three osplets this year.

The big worry of the day came from Fortis Exshaw where intruders – at least one female intruder – caused havoc. I will let ‘H’ tell us all about it but, there are intruders everywhere. In Canada, we can imagine that those in the regions hit hardest by the wildfires lost their nest and/or, their mate, and their chicks. Others are floating around. Some are heading south from further places in the north hoping to get an easy fish. Around the Canmore, Alberta area where the Fortis Exshaw nest is there are numerous Bald Eagles, these intruders or floaters, 2 year olds looking for a mate and a nest, and gulls to name a few of those that would love to peck off a free fish from an osprey. They don’t know there are two hungry babies on the nest needing that fish!

But it is not only Canada that is experiencing intruder issues. We have seen this in the US and it is also happening at some of the nests in the UK. Some, like Dyfi, are having visitors – two year olds scouting for nests and mates before migrating.

Just look at that beautiful bird. The genetics running through her is exceptional. Indeed, one of my friends says the measure of the success of the nest and the good DNA – along with a lot of luck – is in the two-year-old returnees. The problem is seeing them!

Another view of this gorgeous two year old.

Here is the information on the Dad, Merin. Interesting bird.

Llyn Clywedog has its share of visitors as has most of the other nests. Hopefully they will land, look, and take off without causing any mischief.

But the news of the day was being made at FortisExshaw and here is ‘H’s report: “What a range of emotions for the viewers of the Exshaw nest on 8/5.  The youngest osplet, JJ, had not eaten in nearly two days, so we were hoping for a fish-filled day.  But, intruders were the theme for most of the day.  Louise and O’Hara were busy fending off intruders, and even when there seemed to be nothing happening, we knew that they were unable to bring fish to the nest.  On at least two separate occasions a female intruder spent some time on the nest.  (The video quality  was still pixelated most of the day, so it made it very challenging to figure out the identities of all the birds.)  The female intruder was actively preventing Louise from landing on the nest.  Then, an amazing move by Louise at 1339 . . the female intruder and O’Hara were both on the nest, when Louise flew in with a fish and landed right where the female intruder was standing, intentionally delivering the fish to the intruder.  The intruder quickly grabbed the fish and flew away, never to be seen again for the rest of the day.  Brilliant idea, Louise . . feed the intruder!  After that, several hours went by without a sighting of any adult ospreys.  We were worried for JJ.  Banff had eaten two fish the previous day.  At 1729 Louise landed with a huge headless fish, and of course Banff grabbed it.  Banff ate for 90 minutes before she finally walked away from a large leftover piece.  Finally after 52 hours, JJ had some fish to eat.  At 1936 Louise brought a very large whole fish to the nest, and Banff ate for a few minutes, but she was still too full.  At 2021 there was a bit of a kerfuffle between the sibs, and Banff stole the remnants of fish #1 that JJ had been working on.  JJ started eating fish #2 at 2046, and ate a pretty good amount of it.  Louise landed with fish #3 at 2054, and Banff ate some of it.  JJ quit eating from fish #2 and went to eat from fish #3.  But, Louise wasn’t done yet . . at 2140 she brought in a large live fish.  Louise started to feed Banff, so JJ returned to eating fish #3, but then he changed his mind and ate some more of fish #2.  There was so much fish that JJ had a veritable fish buffet, lol.  At 2150 Banff stopped eating, so Louise was able to eat from fish #4.  At 2153 JJ quit eating from fish #2, walked over to Mom, and Louise fed JJ.  Then, quite a memorable moment . . at 2154 JJ ate the tail of fish #4.  In my mind, JJ scarfing down that fish tail was symbolic of this family having overcome so many challenges.  Happy tears!  In case you were wondering, only fish #1 and #4 were eaten in their entirety.  Pieces of fish #2 and #3 remain somewhere on the nest.  Louise assumed her position on the T-perch for the night at 2200.  Good night to our beloved feathered friends.  SOD.”

Let’s keep going with ‘H’s reports –

Osoyoos – It was another very good day for the Osoyoos ospreys.  Olsen brought in nine fish for his family.  Olsen’s fishing success is especially remarkable in view of the continuing heat wave and smokey air quality. 

Severna Park – The juvies are still occasionally seen at the nest, and Oscar continues to provide meals for his fledglings.

Forsythe – Ollie spent most of the day at the nest, and Oscar brought her one fish.  To my knowledge, Owen was not seen. 

At the Patchogue nest, Mini had some nice fish. I counted at least three nice ones but there could have been more. She has a perch where she can see Dad coming in or she is on the nest waiting. The older ones do not seem to be coming in for fish – they would be fed ‘off camera’. In normal circumstances, the youngsters may try to fish (but not all do) and most are not proficient in fishing until they are on their own during migration.

Mini flies off at 0741 after eating her breakfast fish which had arrived at 0701.

She was full. You can see that lovely fish tail left on the nest. Dad will find it when he delivers Mini her next fish and he will finish it off.

Mini at 0844.

Enjoying a huge fish at 1503.

Collins Marsh: Both chicks have now fledged! Congratulations to everyone on a super successful season.

Clark PUD: Mum and the two osplets were hot and hungry when a big fish came to the nest. Mum wasted no time taking charge of that fish and all three ate. Well done, Mum!

MN Landscape Arboretum: Numerous small fish hitting the nest which is fantastic….sometimes the chick is not even hungry became they can arrive in such rapid succession.

Sandpoint: Two fish arrived – a small one and a medium one -. Like many nests, this one could use more fish!

Cowlitz PUD: The fledgling had at least two very nice sized fish on Saturday. Fantastic.

Boulder County: Cam 1 is back on line! And you can now return and watch the three fledglings eating beautiful fish with Mum and Dad close at hand.

Dyfi: Even with an intruder, all is well with the fledglings. Nice fish and the weather is improving.

Glaslyn: OH1 and OH2 are waiting for some fish! They are definitely not starving. Aran is a fantastic provider.

Poole Harbour: One chick has a crop and two are eating fish. What a fantastic nest this one is. CJ7 got herself a good mate by waiting.

Loch of the Lowes: The only ones around are Laddie LM12 and the first hatch, the female. I feel sad when I look at this nest plagued by intruders all season. Blue NC0 gallantly defended the nest and her babies so many times. she has not been seen since 15 July, and the second hatch, the male, has not been seen for some time. Is Laddie proving for him off camera?

Llyn Brenig: The crop in the top image and the fish in the second say it all. This nest is doing well.

Loch Garten: Asha and Brodie’s two fledglings waiting for fish, too. Brodie often brings in a late one so that Asha can enjoy some fish with whichever chick hasn’t had fish. They, too, have had their issues with intruders but the nest has been successful.

Loch Arkaig: Geemeff reports that there were so many fish brought to the nest by Louis on Saturday that Ludo could not eat them all. He was full to the gills! The nest even had intruders but hopefully Louis got some fine fish, too.

Finland #1: Fledgling waiting for fish. This is what we are seeing on most nests.

Finland #4. Apila really looks miserable – it is damp and its crop is really empty. This baby has yet to fledge according to the obs board for the camera.

Ilomantsin: All of the chicks have now fledged and all have returned to the nest and have, at one time or another, had a nice fish meal.

Sydney Sea Eagles: ‘A’ reports that SE32 got plenty of fish. “But today, like yesterday, the little one got plenty of food. Dad brought in two fish and mum brought in one, as they were a little smaller than those being caught last week. But there was plenty to go around and although SE32 had to wait its turn, it did end up getting three or four very good feedings for the day. The best position for it is behind SE31, so that it can reach over SE31 for food. Otherwise, if SE31 is behind SE32, it finds the back of SE32’s head just irresistible! …SE32 is becoming a trifle more confident, though it varies from feed to feed.”

SK Hideaways gives us a video of 32 getting lots of that fish!

Cornell Red-tail Hawks: Ferris Akel had his traditional Saturday tour and he found Big Red, Arthur, and L3 who was recently released in the area after being in rehab for around 9 months (please feel free to correct me on the time but it was many, many months).

Arthur out hunting new Holey Cow.

Big Red, our beautiful matriarch who is now 20+ years young.

L3 who is now flying beautifully and has her own red tail!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, videos, photos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, Ian L Winter and the Ospreys of Newfoundland and Labrador, Sally Whale and Friends of Dyfi Osprey Project, Dyfi Osprey Project, Osoyoos, Severna Park, Forsythe, PSEG, Collins Marsh, Clark PUD, MN Landscape Arboretum, Sandpoint, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour, LOTL, Llyn Brenig, RSPB Loch Garten, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SK Hideaways and Sydney Sea Eagles, and Ferris Akel Tours.

Introducing Molly…Saturday in Bird World

5 August 2023

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday ‘felt’ like Saturday. I wonder what today will feel like?

Books that have been ordered (I often order directly through the UK) are beginning to arrive for some good fall reading. One of those is ‘Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear’ by Lev Parikian. I will keep you posted…

Gosh. I am really hoping that WBSE 32 gets a little ‘Mini’ in its spirit. It looked like it was this morning. The wee one was fed first Saturday morning because 31 wasn’t quite awake yet. WBSE 31 has been asserting its dominance. Let us wait and see but, this nest normally sorts those things out just like SW Florida does! These two little fuzz balls are darling.

Osoyoos: There are wildfires in the area. There are burns going on to stop the fires from spreading but this is what is happening near the Osprey nest. The re-posting was by a former student of mine that lived on the lake and has since had to move because of the fires and the smoke. Please keep this nest in your thoughts.

‘H’ reports for Friday: “Osoyoos –  There were four fish delivered to the nest, which is fewer than normal.  But, size matters, and a couple of those fish were quite large, providing for prolonged stop-and-resume feedings.  All is well for Soo, Olsen, and their 40-day-old offspring.”

Patchogue: Dad delivered a fish to a hungry Mini at 0544! And there were the following fish deliveries – 0801 (2 fish), 0948, 1332, 1342, and 1437. By the time the small fish arrived at 1438, Mini looked like she was going to pop a crop. Smiling. This little one is smart. She stays on the perch, watches, and anticipates. And often the others are not even around.

Need I say this is one fantastic Osprey family. I have not seen such dedication very often at the nests. Mini is thriving.

1341:

Fish at 1437.

MN Landscape: So many fish coming on the nest that when the last one of the day arrived the chick didn’t even bother getting up to eat.

Seaside: With both chicks fledged, the nest is very quiet first thing in the morning.

Boulder: The story of the week looks like it will be mostly empty Osprey nests!

Collins Marsh: One chick has fledged and the other will fly soon. Both return to the nest to be fed. Everything is going along just fine.

Bolton Castle: The two young osplets are the grandchildren of the late Mrs G at Glaslyn. Their Mum is KS1 that fledged at Glaslyn in 2018. Their ring numbers are 9C6 and 9C7 and they have both fledged…one on 2 August and the other on the 4th of August. Fantastic. They have amazing DNA.

Argathy: Both osplets, Blue 743 and Blue 744 have now fledged. They were ringed on the 19th of July and neither bird showed any fault bars – meaning that they never had a day without a meal! Fantastic. Photos from Argathy Red Kits on the date the chicks were ringed.

Dyfi: Idris and Telyn are keeping their chicks full to the brim.

Glaslyn: OH2 enjoying a fish alone in the nest without the very vocal OH1.

Alyth: Chick on the nest waiting for a fish delivery….gets it and then in flies another fledgling. Too bad..the one on the nest kept the fish!

Poole Harbour: The fish keep coming for the trio and CJ7 and Blue 022 are alert to the fact that until the fledglings leave for their migration the goshawk could arrive any time. Send good energy so that this does not happen!

At Loch Arkaig, Ludo is acting as a security guard! He does not like Hooded Crows on his nest!

Time for ‘H’s reports:

Forsythe – We only know what we can see on camera, but if a fledgling osprey spends a great deal of time at the nest, one would assume that they are not being fed off the nest.  But, perhaps it is not correct to make that assumption.  Ollie seems hungry, but she does not look or act like she is withering away.  After Ollie apparently did not eat for two days, Oscar delivered a fish for Ollie at 0926.  The older sibling, Owen, did not show up to make a bid for the fish.  Ollie hung out at the nest for most of the day, but did spend some extended time out exploring.  Oscar did not bring any more fish to the nest on 8/4.  I don’t believe that Owen was seen at all on camera on 8/4, and we saw very little of Owen on 8/3.  Perhaps Owen has learned to catch her own fish, or she is simply staying away from the nest, because all she and Ollie did was fight when they were together.

Kent Island – Tom and Audrey’s 54-day-old young lady now has a name: “Molly”   We love you, Molly!

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Barnegat Light – Since fledging 5 days ago, Dorsett continues to explore her environs and she tries new things every day.  Today, she was seen on Duke’s perch for the first time.  Very cool!

Patuxent Nest 1 –  Dad continues to deliver large fish to the nest for Foster and Sib-B.  

Dahlgren: “The youngest of the two fledglings, D12, made her first catch (that we are aware of).  Now, we have seen D12 diving from the nest or perch a few times, but thus far she had always emerged from the water empty-taloned.  But, early today . . there she was staring down into the water, head bobbing, focusing . . and off she went!  A picture perfect dive into the water. a brief pause (contemplating), wings flapping, and lift-off out of the water.  She flew down the creek a bit, circled back around and landed on the nest with a . . live CRAB!  Oh, my!  We couldn’t believe our eyes.  Well, D12 fooled around with that crab for nearly 1/2 hour.  She tried unsuccessfully to penetrate the shell a couple of times, and she did pull off a leg, but discarded it.  And, despite D12 stepping on the crab’s claws many times, luckily the crab never pinched her.  Eventually a bored and frustrated D12 walked away from the crab, which was still alive.  The weakened crab walked sideways toward the edge of the nest trying to return to its watery home, but its progress was blocked by some sticks.  During all of this, D11 landed on the perch and observed her younger sister’s antics.  D11 seemed a bit bemused, but otherwise uninterested.”

  

Oh, thanks so much ‘H’. I love the story about the crab!!!!!!!!

Dorsett Hobby Falcons are branching. This means that fledging will be coming soon!

Collins Street: Two falcons were bonding on the ledge!

In Orange, ‘A’ reports that Xavier has been in and out of the nest with food which Diamond has refused. Once it was a Starling! There has been some bonding! Excellent. We wait…Xavier loves his eggies. Maybe we need – oh, dear, a Supreme Parrot for Diamond to woo her.

There is bonding going on between Annie and Lou at The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley!

“Meanwhile, in New Zealand, we are hoping for a visit from L, who has not been in since 20 July. We have had gaps of 12 days and 15 days previously with L, who seems to forage further away than GLY, so we are not panicking yet, but we are on the verge on doing so, as it is 5 August today, so it’s been 16 days. Another day or two and we will be genuinely worried. Manaaki weighed just over 9 kgs when he was weighed on Tuesday (four days ago), which is not surprising considering how hungry he has been at the last few feedings plus the fact that GLY has had to do all the heavy lifting feeding-wise since 20 July. He has done his very best to give Manaaki everything he can but there have been feedings that have left Manaaki obviously hungry afterwards. It has certainly not reached the stage where supplementary feeding is needed but if L does not appear in the next few days, that might be considered over the next fortnight. I’ll keep you posted. There’s a lot of wingercising going on, with all three chicks on the headland doing a lot of flapping and just feeling the wind beneath their wings. TF chick and Manaaki are both ridding themselves of fluff – Miss NTF chick has the least fluff left – and UQ chick is joining in. Manaaki’s nest is often empty as he goes exploring and visiting his neighbours, a sad reminder of what we will soon confront once Manaaki fledges. Now’s the time to appreciate our beautiful boy whilst we can. We won’t have him all that much longer.” Thanks, ‘A’.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning! Please 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 this morning: ‘A, H’, Sydney Sea Eagles, Osoyoos, Debra Ceravolo and Osoyoos Connect, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Seaside, Boulder County, Collins Marsh, Bolton Castle, Argathy, Dyfi Ospreys, Glaslyn, SSEN Alyth, Poole Harbour, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Forsythe, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife F of NJ, Patuxent River Park, Dahlgren, SK Hideaways and Dorset Hobby Falcons, C=Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, and the NZ DOC.

Names for the chicks and saviour male at Fortis Exshaw…Friday in Bird World

4 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Things are starting to quiet down a bit. There are a few more birds left to fledge. We have to imagine that in 2-4 weeks, all of them will be on their way to their winter homes. For the juvies, what an adventure will be in store for them. Let us all hope that those who lived to fledge this year will make it and return in 2 years to try and find a mate and raise their own families.

The images are not good as these two are moving about, but even at a year old (Missey was found in July 2022 and Lewis in August 2022) and not siblings, these two could not be closer. They play together constantly and wash one another, sleep beside one another, and hold paws. I am continually amazed at their remarkable bond.

These two will shortly have a ‘new sister’. I hope that they learn to love her. Since last fall, I have cared for a feral cat, a Calico. This late spring, I began to call her and move the food dish closer and closer to the garden door. At the beginning of July, I accelerated the feedings and attention. The goal (at first) was to trap her and take her to be vaccinated, dewormed, and fixed. Then release her back into the wild. That shifted when she allowed me to stroke her and scratch her head. Now I sit beside her while she eats. We have a trap and release programme in our City for feral cats, and because of Lewis and Missey, I also have a wonderful vet who has offered a significant discount since Calico is a feral. So…the race is on to see who is first. The vet can see her on the 14th for all the health checks, vaccines, deworming, etc but not the surgery. The waiting list for the operation is currently at the end of November. I am unclear about the trap and release programme openings. They will call.

Our neighbourhood has two other feral cats, but this petite female has won our hearts and minds. Her spending another winter in -35 C temperatures doesn’t sit right. It is incomprehensible. (We hope to trap the other two and get them to the Humane Society to be fostered for socialisation and adoption). So, it could be the 14th when Calico joins us. Wish us luck as we integrate her into the family.

Lewis watching Calico eat.

My father loved animals – and could not stand to see one go hungry. He was the one that took care of all the strays in our neighbourhood when I was young, and that practice continued until he died in his 90s. People knew, and they would ‘dump’ their cats at our house, knowing he would care for them until he could find good homes. It feels good to carry on his legacy.

There is a lot of news about rescues, unusual bird sightings, and near tragedies. I am going to share a little more with you than usual today. It is all very interesting and should motivate us to get out and help – including stopping people from cutting down trees where there are active nests. More birds are getting caught in fishing lines, not just our raptors. This is a massive problem in North America.

We can help by committing to cleaning up a specific area once or twice a year. You can do this alone or organise a group. Wear latex gloves and have a container that will not allow you to be pricked by the hooks. The problem, then, is how to dispose of this mess. Every lake area should place containers for people to leave their broken lines and hooks or dispose of found debris. If not, contact your local wildlife rehabber to ask how to dispose of the items safely so they do not return to the environment.

Is it really possible not to see one of those huge Bald Eagle nests in a tree?

It has been three years since the Dolan fire swept through Big Sur. The new release pen for the condors is now open.

How are the birds adapting to survive in the heat? This is a great article by Bay Nature. Please have a read…I learned so much. Tactical pooping?

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It isn’t about raptors but it is about the growing threats to wetlands which are essential for our birds and other wildlife. So what did happen to Grace? and her wetlands?

The-mysterious-death-of-Grace-the-snapping-turtle-The-NarwhalDownload

Lots of bird counts going on right now. Many are coming up with some surprises. These are Red-Billed Cloughs – pronounced ‘Chuff’. They live along the western shores of the UK and Ireland.

In 2002 a pair of Cloughs was noticed in Cornwall. It was later discovered that they had arrived from Ireland. The population has grown. These birds eat insects and larvae and are often mistaken for Crows. Aren’t they gorgeous with their shiny scarlet bills and legs? Even those yellow Darvin Bands look perfectly selected, but the deep ebony plumage with that hint of blue-green on the wings is also so dramatic. Notice the curve of the long beak. It is perfect for going after the insects and larvae that the Cloughs eat.

Big Red and Arthur’s 2022 fledgling L3 was released on Wednesday. A bittersweet moment. So happy to see her with her beautiful red tail flying in the wild but so sad for her sibling M2 who died of a collision on the Cornell Campus the same day.

It is relatively quiet in the nests. There are a few more birds to fledge, some raptors thinking about eggs in Australia, and now beaking at the Sea Eagle nest. Quiet is nice for a change.

Around the nests:

WRDC: I have not watched this nest for some time since R4 and R5 fledged, but goodness – today, R5 grabbed a fish right out of Rose’s talons as she flew by. Way to go, R5 – didn’t even drop it. But this was only the beginning. Rose tried to steal the fish, but R5 held strong and then R4 appeared in the nest. These two are getting really good training for when they are out living independent lives.

Hellgate Canyon: Marlene Harris got a great screen capture of Iris. She is still here – and should be for the rest of August! Gosh, isn’t she looking good?

Let’s go to some good news coming out of Fortis Exshaw from ‘H’: “

First, the news: they have names!  Names for the 47-day-old osplets: Chick #1, believed to be a female, has been named Banff, after the nearby Banff National Park in Alberta.  Chick #2, believed to be male, has been aptly named Jasper Junior, or ‘JJ’ for short.  In addition, Mr. O, the family’s savior who came on the scene to help Louise shortly after Louise’s long-time mate Jasper disappeared, has been named O’Hara, after Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park, British Columbia.  Lake O’Hara is located about six miles from Lake Louise in Alberta.There were no fish delivered until the afternoon.  Banff and JJ had eaten well on 8/2, so we weren’t  worried.  Intruders may have been the reason for Louise and O’Hara not bringing in fish.  Both Louise and O’Hara had flown to the nest a few times to ward off intruders.  Then, as if it had been choreographed, two fish were delivered eight minutes apart.  (Conversation between Louise and O’Hara: “OK, O’Hara, it looks like the intruders have vacated the area, so let’s feed the kids.”  O’Hara replied, “Yes, Louise, let’s do this!”).  O’Hara delivered a nice size fish at 1405, and it was claimed by Banff.  Then, Louise delivered an even larger fish at 1413.  Banff abandoned her fish in an attempt to grab the new fish.  So Louise said, “Okay, kiddo, then I’m going to take the fish you had,” and she jumped over Banff and picked up the first fish.  But, Banff said, “No, wait Mom, that’s mine,” and reclaimed it.  That made it easy for JJ who was able to claim the second fish.  Perfect!  Each sibling ate their entire fish and had huge crops.  (the quality of the images is poor, as parts of the video screen remain severely pixelated)”

Patchogue: I could stare at Mini all day long. Soon she will be gone and these moments are very precious. What a beautiful bird she is.

Three fledglings were at the nest Friday. (I do not know the two older siblings well enough to tell if both have been coming to the nest or only one of them.) Mini was wanting a fish, and so were they.

Steelscape: Still on highlights.

MN Landscape: Hot. Chick is trying to stay cool and hoping for fish.

Boulder County: Only cam #2 is operating.

Finland #1: No one on the net and then they see Dad flying in with breakfast. Dad really stretches to try and protect his legs.

Finland #4. Wet and hungry and fish crying – very loud!

Ilomantsin: Wet and hungry, too. Dad leaves after bringing in a breakfast fish. The other sibling is hoping he returns soon with one for it.

Kuopio: Oh, the winds are powerful. One chick has a nice crop, and another digs into a fish. Three is hoping more will arrive.

Port Lincoln: Dad continues to bring Mum fish as she stays on the nest. When will we have that first egg?

Time to return to ‘H’s other reports:

Forsythe: Ollie is very hungry.  Oscar delivered one fish to the nest on 8/3, at 0724.  Both Owen and Ollie vied for the fish, with Owen the victor.  Owen took her fish off the nest, and to the best of my knowledge was not seen on camera the rest of the day.  The last time Ollie had a fish to eat (that we know of) was at 0920 on 8/1 (Ollie did acquire one fish on 8/2, but lost it).  Is Owen being fed off-nest?  If so, it wouldn’t make sense for Oscar not to bring fish to the nest for his other fledgling.  Perhaps Owen has learned to catch her own fish.  There are two ‘ponds’ near the nest, and basically they are simply holes in the marsh that trap water, and perhaps small fish as the tide goes out.  Ollie was seen diving into those ponds three or four times on 8/3.  She apparently did not catch a fish.  Ollie knows that she has to try to feed herself at this point to survive.  This is a sad situation.  I hope Oscar will bring Ollie an early breakfish today.

And great news just coming in from ‘H’: “Oscar delivered a small whole fish to Ollie at the nest at 0926.”

Osoyoos – Olsen delivered 6 fish for his family, and Soo also fed a meal from a leftover fish.  Junior has been starting to exercise his wings a bit.

Barnegat Light – Lol, Dorsett is a real beach kid.  She simply loves spending time along the shore of the Bay.  Dorsett worked up a voracious appetite, and made sure she was on the nest at supper time when Daisy served up her daily bluefish!

Thanks so much ‘H’ for all your reports today!

Let’s continue to send out most positive wishes to all those nests that continue to struggle.

Despite it being nearly the end of Osprey season in the Northern Hemisphere, I want to recommend one of the best Osprey books on the market. In Canada, it is $20 plus $3.99 shipping. This is an amazing price.

Tim Mackrill graduated from my old alma mater in the UK, the University of Leicester. He managed the Rutland Water Project and wrote the incredible history of their Ospreys for ten years before moving over to the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. His speciality is Osprey migration. The images are excellent; thorough information covers everything from the different sub-species of ospreys and their plumage to their habits, breeding, migration, translocations, building nests, and everything to know about the chicks from breeding, development, and fledging. Tim did not miss a beat when writing this easy-to-understand book on our favourite raptor. If you only have one reference book for ospreys on your shelf – this is the one I recommend.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H’ – for your great reports and the cover image, CBC New Brunswick, Joan Dice and the Trio and Other Eagle Nest News, Ventana Wildlife Society, The Narwhal, BirdGuide.Com, Cornell Bird Lab, WRDC, Marlene Harris and Cornell Hawk Chatters, Fortis Exshaw, PSEG, MN Landscape, Boulder County, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Forsythe, Osoyoos, NJ Wildlife Conserve Foundation, and Tim Mackrill and the RSPB.

Beautiful Mini…Thursday in Bird World

3 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

We are almost at the end of the week. The time is flying by, and in Canada this is the August long weekend. It will be 30 C, and everyone will rush to their cottage near a lake to refresh. For me, it will mean continued diligence in keeping the bird baths and bowls full of water. It also means that it is the weekend for local corn, time to finally pickle the beets, harvest the first of the potatoes (I planted the seed potatoes in fibre bags), and take several gallons of peaches and turn them into jam. About 6 blocks away, our award winning ice cream shop will have the first of the Louis Lavender flavour available. Everything they make is local and this is lavender mixed with Saskatoons – they are sort of like blueberries but I like them better. Looking forward!

There is lots of good news coming in. This is just a thin slice of what has been happening.

I am thinking Ospreys!

Some wonderful rescues! Every one of these speaks to the dedication of the people at the wildlife rehab clinics – most volunteers – and to the power of people to cause change. Never give up!

Do you fish?

We are still elated that the osprey was untangled without incident to it or the other sibling on the nest.

It takes an international community to help the wildlife. They cannot speak for themselves. They have a right to live without our debris, without their lives and those of their chicks being endangered by our garbage – balloons, baling twine, fishing line. Just as was the case with the osplet above, please do not give up. Phone the local wildlife rehabber, the USFWS offices, television and radio stations in the area – do whatever it takes to right the wrong. The Migratory Bird Act allows for interventions when human debris endanger the life of wildlife even chicks on the nest.

Encourage the owners of every streaming cam to do annual clean-ups and repairs to their nest platforms just like they perform on their cameras. Be alert to fishing line, baling twine, hooks and line on the nests and make those phone calls and send those e-mails. You could save a life and I promise you, you will wake up feeling better and more determined to help others. They cannot get themselves out of our mess. Just look at that twine below.

A group of people came to the rescue.

One last information post before we move to the nests. The term ‘Crossing the Rainbow Bridge’ is familiar to all of us. Have a look at this!

The results of the necroscopy on Tuffy2, the Red-tail Hawklet on the Redding Bald Eagle nest, are published. The photo is by Doug Gifford.

This is the summary:

Bay Raptor RescueAuthor Here is a summary of the necropsy: 1. The analysis supports my post-mortem findings that the hatch year female was in very poor nutritional condition. 2. Her body and head had wounds that are consistent with talon punctures. 3. The body wounds were older and partially healed, and include a fractured sternum. 4. Two head wounds were more severe and recent, with the larger, rear wound penetrating the skull and causing brain damage. 5. The diagnosis is predator trauma leading to reduced food intake and emaciation.

Bay Raptor Rescue, 2 August 2023

Time to check in our nests…let’s start with the reports from ‘H’ today!

Fortis Exshaw: It was an intruder-filled day, with many intruder fly-bys, and even an attempted landing.  It started early, while Louise was away from the nest.  At 0635 Mr.O landed urgently in intruder-defense mode. He jumped up to intercept an intruder and ended up falling on his face. Then he flew off after the intruder.  Mr.O also flew to the nest a couple other times to help keep intruders away.  At 1237 Mr.O stayed on the nest for a full 50 minutes to provide protection while Louise fed the chicks.  There were six fish brought to the nest.  Just before noon portions of the livestream video image pixelated making identifications of the ospreys difficult.  There is a possibility that Mr.O may have delivered the fish at 1907.  At 0605 chick #2 grabbed the first fish and began to eat, but #1 stole the fish four minutes later, and a bit later #2 stole it back.  Both chicks ate well from that fish.  Chick #1 ate the second fish at 1135.  Louise fed both chicks at 1230.  Chick #1 ate the next fish at 1756.  At 1907 a small whole fish was dropped off and #2 grabbed it and mantled, but then surprisingly he walked away from it, so #1 ate the fish.  Finally, at 2005 Louise brought in a large fish and provided a long feeding for chick #2.  Chick #1 joined in the feeding later on.  


Forsythe: There were only two fish delivered to the nest by Oscar on 8/2.  It is impossible to know if the fledglings are being fed off the nest.  But, Ollie in particular spends a lot of time at the nest.  Owen acquired the first fish at 1001.  Ollie was the winner of the second fish at 1619, and she flew off with it.  However, Ollie arrogantly circled back around and buzzed Owen on the nest while still holding the fish.  At 1630 Ollie tried to land on the nest to eat her fish, but Owen wouldn’t let her.  A battle ensued with Owen taking possession of the fish, but both sibs ended up going overboard.  They were seen chasing each other, and neither one had the fish!   Ollie had lost her only fish of the day!  These two siblings had several knock-down-drag-out fights throughout the day.  It was awful to see.  They are so hungry.

Osoyoos –  Eight fish were brought to the nest, and all was well for this family of three.

Kent Island – At 51 days of age, Tom and Audrey’s chick did a nice job self-feeding from a fish delivered by Tom.  An official name for youngster will be announced on 8/4!

Thank you so much, ‘H’!

Shifting to our Mini. I wonder how many of you continue to stop in to see if you can see Mini on the Patchogue nest? Clearly I do…she is such an inspiration. And today, she had at least one nice fish!

Mini sees Dad coming with the fish.

Gorgeous Mini two hours later. Hoping for another delivery.

The bird that got the 1948 fish was Mini! The hearts are a give away along with the dirty front part of the legs.

Steelscape: The cam is on highlights. Three had not even hatched!

Before that happened, ‘PB’ caught the oldest sibling flying for the first time. The time was 0944. Throughout the day, Mum has been fighting off intruders.

Llyn Clywedog: John Williams keeps some amazing statistics on events at the nest of Dylan and Seren and the number and type of fish form month to month is one of those.

Loch Arkaig: A Hooded Crow visits the nest when Louis has been there. Is this Dyson?

Tartastan RU Eagles: Those two Eastern Imperial Eaglets are looking out to the world of Tartastan and dreaming of it being theirs.

MN Landscape Arboretum: It has been hot and Mum has tried to keep her gloriously large only osplet cool on Wednesday.

Collins Marsh: Two beautiful osplets. Collins Marsh should be very thrilled this year to see these handsome birds. One has fledged – I believe the other still has to fly but correct me, please!

Boulder: They have all flown successfully. Congratulations! Dad flies off with his fish – no one is home. Notice that the markings on Dad’s legs are like those of Mini.

Charlo Montana: The cam is up and running and just look at those two precious osplets.

Glacier Gardens: Hope is another beautiful raptor and what a wonderful name. It is something that each of us could use more of in our lives. Hope is flapping those wings and dreaming of a world off the nest.

Did you know that the farther north you go the larger the raptors are in size? And did you know that Hope will fledge around 89 days – the average for Alaskan eagles. That is almost a fortnight longer in the nest that her southern counterparts. The American Eagle Foundation found a huge difference in weight which is logical, “Northern eagles are larger than Southern eagles. Male Bald eagles’ weight may range from 6 to 9 pounds, with females’ weights usually 20 to 30 percent greater. Alaskan females reach up to 15 pounds. Florida males may weigh only 6 pounds.”

At San Jose City Hall, Soledad’s parents, Monty and Hartley, are finding some time -now that their vivacious daughter has fledged – for some bonding.

Cal Falcons: And checking in with Annie and Lou – looks like Annie devoured one huge pigeon! I always find it interesting that the fuller the crop is the more ‘Lacey’ the feathers on the chest/breast area appear…just beautiful. Annie looks like she needs to go and loaf and fall into a food coma.

Kuopio Kallaesi: Only the smallest of the chicks, K7Y, who weighted only 1100 grams at the time of ringing, remains on the nest. The other two K8Y and K9Y have fledged and have returned to the nest. Poor thing is all wet this morning. The parents are still taking great care and this one gets a really nice fish and is self-feeding without any interference from the others. Grand.

Ilomantsin: Everything looks fine.

Cornell Red-Tail Hawks: So many of you have written after the death of M2. It is not clear whether she hit a building or a window. But, as most agree, Cornell should be setting the gold standard in terms of safety for. irds. It is, after all, the home of the internationally respected Cornell Bird Lab. So with $30.8 million of assets for the Cornell lab in fiscal year 2022 (annual report below, thanks EJ), couldn’t they spare what is needed to make each window safe? Last year a very kind and empathetic donor gave $20,000 to collusion proof the breezeway where K1 broke her neck. In other instances, Karel and Cindy used their own resources to collision-proof the bus shelters. Just say’in.

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Because of M2’s death, it is reassuring that Suzanne Arnold Horning found all four remaining family members on campus on Wednesday.

Last, a photo of Murphy at the World Bird Sanctuary. His foster eaglet has been released and Murphy is enjoying being – just Murphy! I do wonder if he will ever incubate an egg again….we wait.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Have a fabulous day. Please take care of yourself. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, pictures, Videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog for today: ‘EJ, H, JN, PB’, The Times, Parkes Champion Post, APCH, Linda McIlroy and Raptors of the World, Montana Osprey Cams, Christine’s Critters, KSBW TV News 8, Bay Raptor Rescue, Doug Gifford, Fortis Exshaw, Forsythe, Osoyoos, Kent Island, PSEG, Steelscape, The Clywedog Osprey Group, Tartastan Eagle Cam, MN Landscape Arboretum, Collins Marsh, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Boulder County, Charlo Montana, Glacier Gardens, SK Hideaways and SJ CH, SK Hideaway and Cal Falcons, Kuopio Kallaesi, Ilomantsin, Suzanne Arnold Horning and the Cornell RTH Chatters Group and the World Bird Sanctuary.

Ervie has a female friend, M2 dies…Wednesday in Bird World

2 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Before we get on with the news…I really want to put a smile on everyone’s face this morning. Ervie. Dear Ervie. A female was hanging out in Ervie’s territory. Now Ervie is visiting hers. Jumping up and down for joy and little tears…Can we even begin to imagine? Just remembering that tenacious little third hatch taking on big Bazza continues to bring joy…and of course, all the scraps with Falky. The puffers. The worry and now this!

Gosh, I thought I would not be adding to the Memorial Page at this time of year, but here we are at # 127. Three new additions in the last 24 hours. One of them is the second hatch of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus, who was discovered in bushes under a roof, indicating a building or window collision. M1 and M3 had been spotted on Campus. Condolences…everything was just going so well, and it would not be long until they would be leaving the territory and finding their way.

Red-tailed-Hawk-Fledgling—Likely-22M222—Found-Deceased-On-Campus-Cornell-Lab-Bird-Cams-Cornell-Lab-B-1Download

The other two deaths were the Black Stork fledglings, Jola and Derek.

Just breathe. That seems to be the mantra this season. Just breathe because balancing out all the deaths are some very good things that are happening.

You might recall that the Friends of Big Bear Valley were petitioning to have Labour Day fireworks cancelled in the Valley because of the stress put on Jackie and Shadow. This year it was several days before they returned to their nest. FOBBV asked for and received many articles on the damage fireworks cause to wildlife and domestic pets. ‘B’ wrote me this afternoon to inform me that there will be no more fireworks in the Big Bear Valley. Isn’t this wonderful? It should give us the understanding that what we do can matter – that our actions can drive meaningful change. We cannot give up in despair.

Sandy wrote in her FB post on 31 July: “Thank you for keeping up with Jackie and Shadow even as they are enjoying their summer break. They would like to announce that all of us can now relax—they heard that the Labor Day fireworks show planned for September in Big Bear Lake has been cancelled. Hooray!! Sandy”

This is the latest news from Loch of the Lowes. Blue NC0 has not been seen since 15 July and PF5 has not been seen since 28 July.

More good people helping an Osprey!

Oh, these Osprey fledglings are getting themselves into some mischief. Another rescue.

Checking in on a few nests:

At Patchogue, Mini continues to fare rather well. On Tuesday a fish arrived at 0826. I believe it was Mini that took the fish and flew off the nest with it. If it wasn’t she was definitely on the nest at 1028 and received a smaller fish. At 12:53 she was on the nest watching for Dad to fly through with a fish.

At 1700, Mini was ready and waiting when Dad delivered a magnificent fish! Look at the size of that fish. Mini will not need a late night top up. Way to go Dad!

Mini flies off with that big fish!

It is difficult to measure just how well each of the three osplets is being fed at Steelscape in comparison one to the other but the third hatch is still with us.

Pont Cresor: Home to Aeron Z2 and Blue 014. Three chicks fledged – 11, 16, and 19 July. Congratulations!

Collins Marsh: This nest continues to do amazingly well. Nice fish and the two chicks growing – one already fledged.

Pitkin County Open Space and Trails: It is good to remind ourselves that the battles for fish on the nest are helping our fledglings learn how to survive in the wild when there are many more vying for that fish they have in their talons. We have to breathe. In order to live, the ospreys must eat and that often means being ruthless.

Imperial Eagles, Tatarstan RU:

Port Lincoln Osprey: Dad brings Mum a fish on the nest!

Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Orange: Loving Xavier and Diamond. Wishing for a good season.

Sydney Sea Eagles: So delicate how Lady gives the tiniest of fish flakes to SE31 and SE32. Dad is keeping the pantry nice and full. He even fed Lady while she was brooding.

“Dad brought in the customary fresh fish at 06:52:25 this morning. It was intact and relatively large for this area. A lovely breakfast for the family. Mum had already fed them a first breakfast about an hour earlier, but SE32 was not really over-interested in eating at that time of day (exactly as it did yesterday morning). By the end of the morning, both had eaten plenty of lovely fresh fish. Always a happy sight.” – ‘A’ reports.

‘PB’ has been keeping an eye with ‘H’ on Fortis Exshaw. In fact, I am pretty certain that many of you are checking in and sending your wishes to this nest that is struggling with intruders. ‘PB’ writes: “Small fish 18:16 that #1 gets (from Mr O?), then Louise with bigger fish 18:26 and she feeds 2 and herself, mom is on extreme alert.”

Fortunately that chick 1 was busy with the earlier fish so Louise and 2 could eat.

I noted another fish that came in at 19:55. Chick 1 got that one and is getting really good at self-feeding! It is a good thing that Louise and chick 2 had the fish that Louise brought in – they must have been very hungry! In fact, we often forget that the parents have to eat as well…not just the chicks on the nest.

Oh, another fish at 2128! Did 2 get this one? It was mantling the delivery.

And ‘PB’ writes that Louise brought another fish in right after this one. Well, that is one way to make sure the very hungry second chick gets fed – one fish right after another and then another and another til the big one is so full it doesn’t care.

Louise flew off the nest. Has she engaged with an intruder? Two cannot self-feed and is picking at the fish – chick on the left.

One eventually goes into a food coma, while Two really tries to figure out what to do with his fish. And bravo…self-feeding for the very first time. This is a good thing.

‘H’ was keeping track and she put it very well…I love how she says Louse went into high gear! “It was touch-and-go for a while at the Exshaw nest.  On 7/31, Chick #2 only had one meal, around noon.  Chick #1 has begun to rush Mom or Mr.O to grab the fish upon delivery.  #1 is quite capable of self-feeding an entire fish.  Chick #2 is not at that level as yet, in fact #2 is downright polite about it, and won’t even try to steal a piece from #1.  By 1800, there had only been two fish delivered, and #1 had claimed and eaten both of them.  We were very worried about #2.  Well, then Louise kicked it into high gear and delivered five fish between 1813 and 2137.  Oh, bless her!  Chick #1 grabbed the fish at 1813.  And for the first time, #2 grabbed the fish at 1825, and tried to self feed.  After a few minutes, Louise took the fish and fed #2.  Yeah!  Chick #1 claimed the fish delivered at 1955.  Then at the 2128 delivery, chick #2 grabbed the fish from Louise and mantled it!  Yeah!  Chick #1 had designs on that fish too, and she seemed quite taken aback at #2’s new confident behavior, lol.  There was one more fish brought by Louise at 2137, which was claimed by #1.  Chick #2 did a nice job self-feeding from his fish, and was still eating it well after dark.  I believe that Louise delivered all of the fish to the nest on 8/1.  There was a delivery at 1103 where we had a very limited view of the adult, but there was a brief view of Louise’s distinctive back-of-head markings (quite different from Mr.O).  Another questionable identification of the adult was at 2128, however both top and back head markings proved it to be Louise.  In my opinion, Mr.O did not make an appearance on camera on 8/1.  But, don’t worry, Mr.O was probably guarding the area so that Louise was free to do her thing.”

367 Collins Street: Not live yet. They were just testing the system! That said, it could be up and running right now.

Boulder County: ‘PB’ notes that the storm that swept through the area has taken out the camera on the Osprey nest. At the time all three osplets were on the nest. Let us hope that everyone is fine.

Cowlitz PUD: Everything appears to be just fine and the metal guards have protected the nest and not impeded any movement of the adults or the fledgling.

Hellgate Canyon, Montana: Everyone has a picture of Iris with her huge fish today on the Owl Pole. It is always good to see her here or on the nest! Looking’ good, Iris.

Osoyoos: There has been a question about removing the Middle chick’s body from the body. All of you have watched Osprey nests and chicks dying at various ages. Sometimes the adults remove the body of their dead chick while, at other times, it is left on the nest and becomes part of that historical object.

‘H’ reports: “Olsen brought 9 fish to the nest on 8/1, and a few of them were large.  Soo, and her remaining chick were well fed.  I have seen a few nests where a chick died from siblicide from aggression that was fueled by a lack of fish on the nest, and then the next day there were lots of fish.  Chatters would ask, “where were all those fish when they needed them?”  The weather conditions have not improved at Osoyoos . . it is still quite hot, and the air is smokey from the nearby wildfire.  One difference seems to be that Soo was missing the last 52 hours of chick #2’s life.  The Osoyoos osprey family of three carries on . . and we support them.  The youngster is 37 days old.”

‘H’s other reports:

Kent Island – The livestream returned after having been down for nearly four days.  It seems that Audrey and Tom’s 51-day-old chick may have grown a bit in those four days.

Severna Park – It was so nice to find both juvies on the nest in the afternoon.  Earlier, one of the fledglings landed on the nest carrying a partial fish.

Barnegat Light – News Flash: Dorsett went diving and swimming!  Dorsett spent a fair amount of time on a piling at the Bay beach, when at 1002 she decided to take the plunge into the Bay.  Later in the afternoon she waded in the water and took a bath at the shoreline of Barnegat Bay.

Dahlgren –  Members of this lovely osprey family are often seen at the nest.  It is always good to see them.

Forsythe – In a flurry of fishing, Oscar delivered six fish to the nest for his two fledglings between 0724 and 0920.  Owen and Ollie each received three fish.  There were no fish delivered to the nest later in the day.  The older sibling, Owen, seems to be spending the most time away from the nest.  

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care. L ooking 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, B. H, PB’, Fran Solly and Friends of Sth Australia, Cornell Bird Lab, Maria Marika, FOBBV, Loch of the Lowes Visitor’s Centre and Wildlife Reserve, Laura Asbell Stansfield, Barbara Walker and Osprey Friends, PSEG, Steelscape, Inc., Nyth Pont Cresor, Collins Marsh, Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces, Imperial Eagles RU, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sydney Sea Eagles, Fortis Exshaw, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Osoyoos, Kent Island, Forsythe Ospreys, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, and Dahlgren Ospreys.

Soo returns to the nest…Tuesday in Bird World

1 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

It is the first day of August and I am reminded that we have about 7 more weeks of summer. It cooled down in the garden today and the birds were noticeably happier. The lilacs have given them respite when it was really hot and the bird bath – remember to keep putting out water. Dehydration is a terrible problem. Many wildlife rehabbers say it is worse than not having regular meals. Clearly, the Blue Jays, now totalling more than 14, find the bird bath a source of pleasure!

Today it will go up to 31 degrees. It has been like a yo-yo – temperatures going up to the 30s and then dropping to the low teens.

Missey and Lewis continue to enjoy watching the birds and ‘talking to them’ – and as always, staying rather close to one another.

Once in a while, a bird will land on the glass ceiling, which fascinates the kittens.

On days when we lose an Osprey, it is always comforting to have the garden birds and the kittens.

I want to start with some amazing news coming out of Loch of the Lowes. The female fledgling, PF4, – a strong and determined and hungry fledgling – caught her first fish today. Why is this such a big deal? It is rare for a fledgling osprey to catch a fish before it has left for migration. This is still July! It was small but that does not matter. The skill and coordination required – well, it looks like this one is well equipped to face the world. Fantastic.

I am really hoping that LOTL will post a video of this special moment in PF4’s life.

Others have been wondering if anyone could remember another UK fledgling successfully catching a fish before migrating. The only one that has come to mind so far is Oswald who hatched in Naimshire in 2011. He did not migrate until October!

At Llyn Brenig, Mari tried over and over again to catch a fish. Maybe she will be successful like PF4 tomorrow. That would be fantastic.

We always need a feel good moment and here is the one to begin our day. Couple saves Osprey! Salmon Arm, BC.

And because we can all use good news about more generous and compassionate people, another osprey save.

Staying in British Columbia, the second hatch at Osoyoos died Monday 31 July.

The little one, the second hatch, is alive at 0531 when fish comes in before the attack by One. (I do not like the images of the chicks being brutalised or dead…one of the last looks when this one could hold its head up). It has been an incredibly difficult year for the Ospreys around the world this year.

Soo, the female has not been seen since Saturday. Olsen has been bringing in nice fish but this little one was too weak to eat Monday morning. Problems with starvation/siblicide were mitigated by the growing heat domes in the area and the wildfires and then the disappearance of Mum. Olsen has been doing splendidly under the circumstances. This evening, good news has come from ‘H’ who says that Soo is back on the nest at 1633. She adds, “After Soo returned to the nest at 1633, she fed #1 from a large fish that had been left on the nest.  Soo was on the nest with #1 when Olsen delivered a fish at 2008.”  Thank you, ‘H’. With two parents and a single osplet, let us hope that all goes well for this little one to fledge.

In order to highlight the threats to our feathered friends, NZ is adding some very interesting birds to its ‘Bird of the Century’ contest.

“This year five extinct species will be included among the 75 contenders, to bring attention to the pressures facing the natural world. In New Zealand, 82% of birds are threatened with extinction.”

New-Zealand-to-add-extinct-species-to-bird-of-the-century-poll-to-highlight-wildlife-threat-New-ZeDownload

Bruce Yolton continues to follow the Eurasian Owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo as the owl continues to live and hunt in the wild.

At Steelscape, things continue to look good.

Patchogue: Mini enjoying a fish while another sibling is envious.

Mini enjoying another fish! Our girl is doing well.

Bridge Golf: Cam went down late on the 27th of July. Both osplets were fully feathered, healthy, and eating well. No reason to believe that they will not fledge.

MN Landscape: Even with lots of intruders around and Dad on the nest, this 21 year old father has made sure there is fish on the nest. The only surviving osplet is doing well – and there are many, many nests in this area that have suffered this season. A number of reports indicate that a number of males are missing and the females are having to provide protection and hunt. Lots of nests have lost osplets in the area because of this.

Collins Marsh: The first hatch has flown. I am not certain that 31 July was the first time because this bird flew like a pro! Congratulations.

Sydney Sea Eagles: SE31 and 32 are off to a very good start. They are about the same size and Lady is a pro at feeding them the tiniest bites of fish. Both are doing so well.

SK Hideaways gets us up close and personal with these little fluff balls:

The three little Osplets at Osprey House in Australia will melt your heart.

Dorsett Hobby Falcons: Cuteness overload. Gosh, it is easy to forget that the little hawks and falcons grow so much faster and fledge sooner than the ospreys and big eagles. I just love their little beaky kisses!

Finnish Osprey Nest 1: Roihu, the little male on the nest with two sisters, fledged today! Congratulations.

Finnish Nest at Muonio in Lapland: All three are doing super.

Alyth: The trio have all fledged. They did not spend the night on the nest but nearby and were there at dawn waiting for fish deliveries.

Poole Harbour: Lots of fish coming to the nest and every once in awhile you just wonder if CJ7 might like to have a long fish lunch. There has been at least one intruder in the area but so far everything is going smoothly at the nest.

RSPB Loch Garten: Five fish were delivered before the camera went down. It was a really good day at the nest.

Fish scuffle at Manton Bay: Blue 33 flies in with a fish with two of the fledglings on the nest. Another flies over after the delivery. There was a bit of a fight for the fish but nothing like we have seen on other nests. They all know there will be more fish — and look at the size of it. Can you imagine if a fish this size fell on the Osoyoos or Forsythe nest?

At Loch Arkaig, a Sparrowhawk visits the nest of Louis, Dorcha, and Ludo…it is no threat to them but what a lovely chance encounter.

Boulder County: All three safely flying and on the nest. Life continues to be good at Boulder.

Time for ‘H’s reports: Fortis Exshaw: Mr. O made a quick stop at the nest at 0612.  Louise had not yet arrived at the nest in the morning, so only the kids were there.  Mr.O stood there for ten seconds, looked around, checked the skies, then he left.  Mr.O was just checking up on things for the family.  Smile.  There were three fish delivered to the nest, including one by Mr.O.  Chick #1 is undergoing a bit of a personality change.  S/he is slightly aggressive toward #2 when a fish is delivered, and often grabs the fish, and self-feeds.  All perfectly normal at this stage in its development.  Chick #1 ate the first two fish that were brought to the nest.  When the third fish was delivered by Louise at 1221, #1 sent #2 to the sidelines, and then was fed by Louise.  After several minutes, #2 managed to get to the other side of Louise to be fed as well, but it was the only meal of the day for chick #2.  Chick #2 will learn to try to acquire fish as well, and s/he needs to improve its self-feeding skills.  But, a few more fish would help in this situation, I think.

Forsythe: “After two days of much cooler temperatures, it seemed that fish were easier for Oscar to catch.  Oscar started the day off like gangbusters, delivering fish at 0839, 0852, 0949, 1024, and 1052.  There were three fish for Owen, and two for Ollie.  But, then there were no more fish for the rest of the day.  Go figure.  So, as the fledglings became hungry later in the day, there were a couple of kerfuffles between them.  Five fish is not bad, though.  With easier fishing, perhaps it’s a good time for the juvies to try to catch their own fish.  They are 70 and 71 days old and fledged two weeks ago.”

Thank you, ‘H’!

I have often mentioned Urmas and his fish baskets. These baskets have saved the life of Karl II and his family. It is a beautiful intervention intent on saving these rare birds. Kindness. Compassion.

Emyr Evans (Dyfi Osprey Project) has posted a short article discussing inbreeding in Ospreys. you might find this interesting.

Inbreeding-in-Ospreys-A-Matter-of-Affordability-Dyfi-Osprey-Project-WalesDownload

On the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York, Suzanne Arnold Horning was able to catch sight of some of the Ms. The three fledglings have done well…super well in fact. I won’t say another word because I do not want to jink this year.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘AMW, Geemeff, H, MP’, LOTL, Carol White and Friends of Llyn Brenig Osprey Project, Sunnie Day, Linda McIlroy and Raptors of the World, APCH, Osoyoos, The Guardian, Bruce Yolton, Steelscape, Patchogue, Bridge Golf, MN Landscape Arboretum, Collins Marsh, Sydney Sea Eagles, Osprey House, SK Hideaways and Dorsett Hobby Falcons, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Alyth, Poole Harbour, RSPB Loch Garten, LRWT, Boulder County, Fortis Exshaw, Maria Marika, Emry Evans and Dyfi Ospreys, and Suzanne Arnold Horning.

Fish Battles and more…Monday in Bird World

31 July 2023

My goodness. It is the end of July. Where did the summer go? and the Osprey season? It seems it was only a couple of weeks ago that we were wondering if Blue NC0 would lay the first egg of the UK season or would it be Maya?

I woke up to a note from a friend living on a farm in southern Manitoba with a pond. She wanted to know what is up. The geese typically are not on her pond until the middle of October, and at least 65 landed on Sunday. Is migration starting this early?

‘PB’ sent us a smile for the day. After Louise feeds the osplets twice from the big fish she brought to the nest, look at those crops.

‘H’ adds: “Mr.O was not seen on 7/29, and we were worried that he may have been injured while fighting an intruder the day before.  We were so relieved when Mr.O flew to the nest with a fish on 7/30 at 0911.  I’m sure many viewers were jumping for joy.  Louise flew to the nest a few seconds later to greet him.  They immediately had an intruder issue and Louise and Mr.O spent the next few minutes sending the intruder packing.  Louise brought three more fish to the nest throughout the day, including a couple of her signature ‘whoppers’.  The chicks had bursting crops.  All is well.”

Now for a break through….a simple coat of paint! We have known this for years but there was no action. Now there is no excuse.

How a pool ring helped a little vulture.

More fishing hooks…

Swinging through the Nests:

We are going to start with Australia and ‘A’ has some news to add:

Lady has had a busy morning, organising the three half-fish on the nest and ensuring Dad didn’t remove a single flake of it. She is very jealous about guarding the food once it is on the nest. Dad very rarely gets away with removing any food from the nest. There were cot rails to replace this morning after the first breakfast sitting. Both eaglets ate well. They are beyond adorable. Dad is bringing fish after fish for his family and Lady is absolutely devoted to her chicks. Such a sweet family. Those little faces are just darling. 

In Orange, Xavier arrived for the early morning bonding session but he has not had a good morning, with two starlings rejected by Diamond. I’m not sure why he keeps bringing them. Surely he must know by now that they are not a popular offering. He is on the ledge as I type, surveying his world. It’s an idyllic place for them to raise their family, Ah, something has caught his attention. He e-chups a few times, then flies out of the box. No idea what he’s spotted but something below the nest box certainly interested him. Such a handsome wee falcon. Gorgeous. I love little Xavier. There is regular mating on the tower and much digging of deep indentations in the nest box. 

In New Zealand, Manaaki is looking especially gorgeous this morning. It is a lovely sunny day at the colony and our beautiful albie chick has had a quiet morning, relaxing on his nest. For once, he has not been gardening or exploring, just enjoying a quiet rest. He is gradually losing his fluff and is starting to look increasingly like his parents. Our giant fluff ball is nearly an albatross. What a beautiful boy he really is, Darvic bling and all. We’ll miss him terribly when he fledges. It’s such a very long time before there is any chance of seeing them again – several years in most cases – so their fledge is particularly bittersweet. We still wonder and worry about little QT, who fludged early in a storm. Lilibet was only 220 days old when she became the first fledge of the season last year. That look on her face ….. 

At Collins Street, it is a cold but sunny morning. There is still some time to wait before we can expect eggs to be laid. Last year’s first hatch was on 30 September, so it should be up to four weeks before the first egg is laid. The last week of August probably, although as I keep saying, who knows what climate change will do to the birds’ inner clocks. I have been rewatching some of last year’s videos from Collins Street in an attempt to discern enough identifying features to determine whether or not this is the same couple we saw in the second part of last year’s season. 

Thanks ‘A’.

Moving back to the nests we have been following:

Collins Marsh: Two beautiful, fully feathered chicks standing in the blowing wind on the nest. This couple looks like they will fledge a pair of osplets this year! It is fantastic. Last year the nest was abandoned, and the year prior, the chick Malik had a forced fledge and was found dead below the nest. This is a new couple in 2023 who diligently cared for their young. Fingers crossed for safe flying.

Boulder County: Two fledglings, one to fly and Mum on one of the successful US nests this year. This beautiful couple that fed one another and did tandem feedings in the beginning so that little third had a chance did it! Success.

Finnish Nest 1:

Fish brings both fledglings in – Mum has a full house. There was still one to fledge at the time of my writing.

Finnish Nest 4: It was a little wet and the three were huddled together for warmth and some fresh fish. Notice the difference in plumage in the two nests. The little ones at nest 4 still have the white stripe. We are a ways from fledgling here! Indeed, they can still, for the most part, fit under Mum to stay dry.

Ilomantsi Finland: This nest is the most eastern of all the Finnish nests and is right on the Russian border. It is the home of parents Manta and Manu who have raised three beautiful osplets. Two females and a male. All have been ringed and at least one has fledged.

The ringing of the chicks took place on 11 July.

Patchogue: Watching for a fish delivery! Our Mini (top) is magnificent. Look at those ‘snake eyes’. Just like Iris! Not nearly the fish deliveries coming to the nest that we saw a few days ago. Dad is feeding off nest. Oh, we need a GoPro on Mini!!!!

Steelscape: Three got some fish and had a nice crop for a bit. Oldest sibling is doing a good job self-feeding. Keep sending good wishes to this little one.

Sandpoint: Wishing for fish for Coco who has not had a lot of fish over the last 24 hours. Keke is very hungry as well and has eaten fish and then tried to feed Coco. Wish for lots of fish!

MN Landscape Arboretum: All is good! The first image is from Sunday and the second Monday morning when Mum and chick are waiting for a delivery. Gosh this nest looks better than it did at the beginning of the season and this new female has really turned into a good Mum.

Alyth: Everyone appears to be doing well after the big tumble out of the nest on Saturday.

Dyfi: Nothing deters Indris – not even a bit of Welsh wind and damp – from getting fish to his kids.

Glaslyn: Looks like there is more rain at Glaslyn and wind. Elen hunkered down on the perch.

One of our Manitoba Osprey nests:

‘H’ has her reports – thanks ‘H’.

Forsythe – There were three fish brought to the nest by Oscar.  Ollie was the beneficiary of all three fish.  But at 0612, two minutes after the first fish was delivered, Owen flew to the nest and a battle ensued with both fledglings going overboard in a mass of wings and talons.  Ollie was seen flying away and Owen returned to claim the fish lying on the nest.  There were a few more brutal battles between those two juvies throughout the day.  Someone is going to get hurt.  More fish is needed at this nest.

Barnegat Light – Dorsett had the pleasure of experiencing several flights on her fledge day.  In these photos, the new fledgling is hanging out with Mom and Dad, and later she is shown enjoying a well earned dinner fish.  

Osoyoos: I’m not quite sure how many fish were delivered to the nest . . many were delivered by Dad, but then some were removed from the nest.  It was a confusing day, and a sad day.At 0542 Dad dropped off a partial fish.  Over the course of the next 2 1/2 hours both chicks tried to self feed from the fish.  #2 was more interested than #1, as #2 was literally starving, but at 33 days of age, did not have the skills to self-feed.  Most of the time that #2 was attempting to eat, s/he was attacked by #1.  There were a few times when #2 held the fish with its talon he did seem to pull off some bites.  Eventually at 0811 that fish either went over the east side of the nest or became lodged in some sticks.  Chick #2 had been facing away from the camera, but when #2 turned around, his crop was still flat.At 0724 Dad arrived with a partial fish and fed chick #1.  Whenever #2 attempted to approach, s/he was attacked by #1.At 1321 Dad was feeding, with a chick to either side.  #2 actually ate 8 bites of fish, before #1 lunged in front of Dad to reach #2, and attacked.  The incident seemed to be disturbing to Dad.  He stopped the feeding and flew away.  The remainder of the fish was left in the nest.  Chick #1 picked up the fish and did a pretty good job of self-feeding.  #2 managed to grab a large tail piece and tried to eat, but unfortunately he dropped the fish over the side.There were other feedings by Dad at 1415, 1529, 1959, and 2014.  Chick #2 did not receive any bites of fish at those meals.I’m not sure if Mom was seen at the nest on 7/30.”

McKeun ParK:
I took this pic yesterday afternoon.  Looks like they all fledged!

Thanks so much ‘H’.

A note has just come in from Kielder Forest that Grasslees is the first osplet to fledge from nest 2. That happened on Saturday, the 29th. Return to nest safely.

Glacier Gardens. The eaglet has been named Serak and is beautiful in that dark chocolate plumage.

Eastern Imperial Eagles: At the Tatarstan nest of Altyn and Altynan, the two eaglets have branched!

Karl II and Kaia: The three surviving storklets have been ringed. One has a transmitter. Karl II has been providing all of the feedings. Kaia was last seen on the nest on 23 July at 16:19. I asked my friend ‘T’ what is happening at this nest and she went and consulted the Forum to check for theories. We know that food appears to have been very limited due to the drought in the area and that Urmas has had to supply fish baskets so this family could survive. For the first time in the history of the nest Karl II did a brood reduction. So this is what ‘T’ sent to me, “She finds good food for herself further away. But she would probably have to find three times as much to give it to the chicks.” As was noticed by some observers, Kaia often stole food from Karl II and did not provide all the food she found for the chicks. Karl II has often sent her away from the nest so that he could take care of the storklets. Is Kaia off finding food for migration? Has she abandoned her nest? We do not know this answer and we wait – perhaps until next year.

The storklets are hungry. Karl II has brought in some fish that were not provided in Urmas’s fish basket and we should thank this generous man who kept this family alive and all who donated to purchase fish for them.

Karl II feeding. Kaia has left early. Is it because of a lack of food and she must build up her strength for migration?

Here is the latest news on Waba and Bonus.

Before we close, it looks like Mini might have gotten a fish on the nest from Dad Monday morning. She was up on the perch when Dad delivered at 0821. Smart girl!

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send the struggling nests your most positive energy – Osoyoos and Forsythe could use many more fish. Please 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, J, PB, T’, Fortis Exshaw, Ars Technics, Alis Jasko and Nor Cal Birding, Tonya Irving, Raptors of the World and VulPro, Sea Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, NZ DOC, Collins Marsh, Boulder County, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Ilomantsi Finland, PSEG, Steelscape, MN Landscape Arboretum, SSEN Alyth, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, MB Birding, Forsythe Ospreys, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, McKuen Park, Osoyoos, Kielder Forest, Glacier Gardens, Eastern Imperial Eagles, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Looduskalender.