My intention was to have this information blog for Thursday the 20th of July but, there is so much other news that I feared its importance would be overlooked by osprey news.
In its July-September 2023 journal, BirdLife International raises issues related to the Albatross. One in particular – long line tuna trawlers.
I want you to look at this image of Manaaki, the Royal Cam Chick at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand and parent, GLY, who has come in for a much anticipated feeding.
Do you watch this cam? Do you know the perils that face these sea-foraging birds? Do you want to change human behaviour to help them?
These are the facts according to a new study that looks at the risk longline fisheries pose to these beautiful sensitive and gentle albatross.
Long Line fishing trawlers set out a main line that can extend to 100 km or 62 miles. Now just stop and take in that length.
Each line has thousands of hooks that are baited and deadly. The bait is a meal for albatross. The jiggling of the lines in the water mimic the way that fish swim.
The albatross that snatch the bait are snagged and dragged under the water as the hooks sink. It is estimated that 160,000 birds die this way every year. They are often decapitated in the process.
Every day there are 5000 fishing vessels on the high seas. Of these 1000 are looking for tuna and they set these very long lines with a total of billions of hooks per year. Again try to wrap your head around that.
Fishing activity by the Osprey takes place at dawn and dusk when the long line tuna trawlers are setting their lines.
Only 3% of the lines are set at night when it is not harmful to the albatross who are not looking for food.
Albatross can determine if there is food at a distance of 30km.
The issue is that there is an easy fix and it costs the fishing trawlers nothing – set their lines at night instead of at dusk or in the morning. Other appropriate measures include attaching sparkly lines, often free by many agencies, or using protective hook covers.
But by far and away, the solution is to load the fishing lines at night.
So what can you do to help persuade these fishing companies that they need to change their practices? Stop eating tinned tuna! Write the company an e-mail. You can check on the label of the tins in your local grocery. Find out how sustainable they claim to be – and are they? Remember, only 3% are actually following best practices as they relate to the Albatross.
So…we are now trying to avoid plastic when we can, and we are now going to put that tin of tuna back on the shelf! So when you look at that Royal Cam chick – that cute sweet little fluff ball – you are doing the right thing. Thank you!
BirdLife International, July-Sept 2023, 18.
An example of what a trawler might look like. Many are much larger.
It is 11 degrees C or 51.8 F. Chilly. The temperatures on the Canadian Prairies are like a roller-coaster these days. My tea is not cold this evening; it is hot!
Sunday was meant to be a quiet day, and, for the most part, it was. I do not know if I mentioned a young and very beautiful Calico cat that has been coming to my house since last fall. I feed her and call her ‘Calico’ (nothing creative in that). Now she will come and sit about 1.5 metres from me. If she is ‘starving’, she comes to the garden door and looks in. Thankfully I see her most often and take out food. She had kittens about two weeks ago (the problem with feral cats). This is her first litter. I have tried to find where she goes until this evening. She is very tricky. She had me going in the opposite direction. I now have it narrowed down to an old garage or a garden shed. The goal is to locate the kittens, see if the Humane Society can find homes for them, and see the status of Calico. The goal is to get the kittens into good homes ultimately. Calico is probably too old to be socialised but I am hoping to have her a heated home by fall.
Then ‘H’ warned me about an issue with a nest in Ocean City (later). Definitely did not end quietly!
What should you do when you believe a nest has a crisis? You’ll need to take notes and screen captures. Dates and times. What happened? Make sure it is a crisis. While doing that, find out the precise location of the nest. Google search for the wildlife rescue and rehab clinics for that specific location. Get their contact details. Once you are confident there is a problem, contact them! Don’t sit and discuss the sadness on chat – do something! This is especially important if there is no chat moderator. There are rules and guidelines to get permits. The nest in question at Ocean City has adults missing, one chick dead, and one alive. The question is: Can they intervene and foster the surviving chick before it dies? What is that old Nike saying? Just do It. It takes time to get permission; the sooner people know there is a problem, the quicker help can arrive. It could save a life. (It isn’t easy to know who is the precise authority over the particular nesting area so write to several agencies).
There was a surprise for me. An Osprey landed on the Seilli Osprey nest in the far north of Finland. The nest did not have a mated pair or chicks this year but maybe next year?
The two chicks at nest #5 in Finland were ringed on 13 July.
The chicks at the two German nests that we have been observing – Goitzsche-Wildnis and Eschenbach – have now fledged. All three on the Goitsche-Wildnis cam flew on the 13th of July.
The three flew and returned at Eschenbach safely.
At the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Centre, the first two hatches flew on the 12th of July while the third took off on the 13th. A fish came in but only one claimed it as the reward…more fish arriving later.
The osplets at Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home nest have fledged as well and I am searching for dates. If you know when those beauties flew, please let me know. (I have asked chat with no response).
All is well for the fledglings at Wolf Bay in Alabama.
Just returned.
Waiting for fish!
At Crooked Lake there is a whole lot of flapping going on. Fledge is so close it could happen this week. The chicks are 51, 50, and 48 days old. Average fledge range is 50-55 days.
Watching the Ferris State University nest for fledges, too.
‘H’ is also reporting a fledge today. It is the first fledge for the Forsythe nest and she says, “Forsythe fledgling has been identified as chick #1 (Owen). I hope she was able to find a safe perch. The storm started 20 minutes after she took off.” Send your best wishes. It is terrible for these birds when they have just flown and the heavy rains begin. I am haunted by the image of Yurruga on the little building at Orange to do this day.
At Llyn Brenig, it is reported that “LM6 and LJ2 both brought in a good size trout each to the girls. Both have a huge meal tonight”.
In other news,
The MN Arboretum Landscape osplet appears to be eating really well and amassed a huge crop on Sunday. ‘L’ caught a screen shot of its outstretched left wing for me and all looks alright. Hoping that is the case!
It was raining on Little Mini – as it was on many of the nests in the area. Some had huge storms hit Saturday night. In fact, Mini seemed to have a miserable Sunday with the big ones flying in and grabbing the fish.
One soaked Little Mini. Hopefully, Mum and Dad will come and feed their fourth hatch so she gets some good fish before night falls.
Mini eating a nice fish Monday morning. Thanks Mum and Dad!
Everything is fine at Dunrovin and the weather appears to be markedly nicer than that for the nests on the NE coast.
Everything is fine at the Boulder County Fair Grounds and, in fact, it is looking good for most of the nests despite the storms and torrential rains in the NE, so far.
That egg on the Loch Arkaig nest is finally smushed…..Just watch this chick flap and hop!
Congratulations to Victor at Moorings Park who was seen catching a fish on Saturday 15 July. It might well not be Victor’s first but we certainly know he has the skill set to get his own food. A tribute video was made in celebration of the event.
Just when you think it is a quiet Sunday, it isn’t. Both adults at the Ocean City OC nest in New Jersey are missing. Two chicks – one has died. The other is living. Folks are hoping for an intervention and a fostering situation.
UPDATE: The second chick fell off the nest into the marsh and died. The issue appears to be a die-off of fish from the storms that have hit this coast over the past month as well as the heat domes and the current issues with fewer fish in areas of salt water. What makes this so sad is that entire nests have died off this season and without trying to be too negative this could be a glimpse into the future for many of the nests. I wonder if any of the surviving parents will leave the area for elsewhere? There are other ospreys, adults, landing on this nest. It is really unclear if these are the parents of the two dead chicks but, personally, I do not believe so. Ospreys do not just abandon dying chicks (even this did not happen at either Carthage or Snow Lane).
‘H’s report on the other nests she is monitoring:
Osoyoos: It is hot is Osoyoos and temperatures are predicted to be even warmer later in the week. Dad has been delivering 7-8 fish per day. Soo and Olsen’s 20 and 21 day old osplets are doing very well.
Forsythe: Things are off to a pretty good start this morning. Oscar delivered a partial fish at 0836, and Opal delivered a huge fish at 0853. The beneficiary is chick #2 who had been shorted on fish the past few days when chick #1 was in the nest. Opal will get a nice meal from that large fish as well. I hope that chick #1 is safe and will return to the nest soon.
Dahlgren: D12, the younger sibling at 55 days of age, seemed so eager to fledge on 7/16. There was a storm that went through, but after the weather cleared and his wings dried out, D12 stood at the edge of the nest for the longest time. At one point he leaned into the wind, bobbed his head, spread his wings a little, and bobbed some more . . and all the viewers held their breath . . Ah, but he did not fly, and we eventually had to exhale, lol. Fly when you are ready, little one.
‘Sibling B’ fledged at 1504 and made a nice return landing on the nest about 7 1/2 minutes later. Foster, Sib B’s older foster sister, was waiting in the nest to congratulate him. Nicely done, Sib B !
Louise delivered 8 fish to the nest at: 0604, 0640, 0807, 1234, 1400, 1804, 1945, 2058. Her chicks were once again well fed. Louise’s new friend, Mr. O, did not bring in a fish. But he did land on the nest at 1214 and seemed to be fending off an intruder. Louise landed on the nest right behind him, then Mr. O flew off after the intruder. Mr. O also brought a nice stick to Louise at 1921, and surprisingly, she was satisfied with his initial placement of the stick, lol.
Thanks so much, ‘H’.
A real survivor! Lived to tell the tale of its nest collapsing and is now seen in Senegal by Jean-marie Depart. What a beautiful story.
If you are concerned about the amount of plastic in the oceans – and we should be because in several years, there will be more plastic than fish – here is an article titled, ‘Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds’. Please read and try as hard as possible to find alternatives to plastic in everything you use and purchase. The article was part of a package of materials from the British Trust for Ornithology and appeared in Nature.
Whenever you look at those cute little Albatross chicks (or Petrels), you need to realise that they are the most at risk. Let us all join together to do what we can to help them.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you so much to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H’, Seilli Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Eschenbach Ospreys, MNSA Osprey Cam, Maryland Western Shore Old Home town, Wolf Bay, Timothy Dygert Live Stream, Ferris State University, Llyn Brenig, MN Arboretum, PSEG, Dunrovin Ranch, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Ej Ej and Moorings Park, OC Osprey Cam, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Dahlgren, Patuxent River Park, FortisExshaw, The Guardian, BTO and Nature, and Mary GK.
The weather was coolish on Saturday morning. I am sitting here with a heavy jumper on, deciding whether or not to go and find the wool socks. It would be a nice day if it were not for the ‘air quality advisories’. So we no longer have the heat but the smoke from the wildfires northwest of us. Not nice. So far, all of the animals have been to the garden today. I did not get a photo of Dyson, but that girl can suck in’ the peanuts. The Blue Jays decided it wasn’t safe to land to disturb her, so she sat in the middle of the feeder, eating a huge pile. She had to be hungry as she did not move to store any of the nuts. Then, while painting the front door, the Blue Jays decided to come and tell me all about Dyson eating the peanuts. It looks like the tray feeders may need to be really separated!
Dyson two days ago on the 13th of July. I am trying to figure out how old she is – she is not a youngster, for sure.
Oh, I finally caught her. Dyson on the 15th. Not a great image..she knew I was there.
I did not go out until the evening and oh, what a surprise there was in store. A week and a bit ago I saw hundreds of Canada Geese doing a ‘day care’. That day the little ones were on the grass and heading back down to the Red River. Today, they were in a ‘train’ – a Goose Day Care outing – to the pond! It was unbelievable. I had my long lens on and could not get a single view so here you go…what you are looking at are the older goslings getting their feathers. There is still baby down in places and the adult are in charge of this long line of youngsters.
‘A’ wonders if they fought – no they did not. All just kept following the lead adults!
They kept going. It was brilliant! The goslings are now so big that it is hard to tell them from the adults unless you look closely at their heads which still have some baby fuzz.
There were others about also. These five little tiny ones were separated from Mum and Dad. A gentle walk around got them back to the other side of the road where they should have been.
This remarkable time at the pond was marred by a small group of young people and a teenager who had some bread and were luring the goslings up on the bank and then kicking pebbles at them. I turned and spoke to them. Their parents did nothing…when I was across the pond, they started up their behaviour again. — We must educate the pre-schoolers on wildlife rights and how stressful their lives can be and their parents. This was completely unacceptable – it was ‘mean-spirited’. Perhaps, like the geese, ducks, and raptors, the children only copy the behaviour they see in the adults who are part of their lives. If so, what a sad world.
Now for some good news!
I mentioned this the other day. Everyone is still celebrating Nova Scotia Power’s rescue of the two osplets. Their parents built a nest on a power pole and then one day they brought in a stick that made the wrong connection causing the nest at Musquodoboit to catch on fire. The adults were frantic. The fire crew got there in time. The chicks were a little smokey but not injured. They were kept in rehab for a fortnight and then returned to a new nest on a new pole dedicated to them and their parents. The icing on the cake? the parents returned to care for their babies! Two weeks! Yes. Can you see my smile?
The nest is on fire.
Osplets in Rehab.
New nest.
New nest on a new pole close to the one on the power line but this one is safe! The parents return. Thanks CBC for the coverage!
Mini is still at home. The parents are still bring fish and Mini is getting much better at self-feeding as s/he grows and grows. Oh, I hope our little one is patient and enjoying life alone – or semi-alone.
Mini is really enjoying the fish that Dad brought.
Fire Island News has an article about the PSEG sponsored nests – at Patchogue (our little Mini) and Oyster Bay.
The heavy rains in parts of the UK on Saturday continued from Friday. Aran came in with fish for the two at Glaslyn – he is the king of fishing in the rain and appears to have broken some kind of record Sunday.
It was really blowing at Dyfi, the home of Idris and Telyn, on Saturday. That wind was a help to Cannon who fledged Sunday!
Those high winds and heavy rains were over in the Lake District impacting Foulshaw Moss.
Sunday morning and it is still wet in Alyth but let us hope that as the sun rises over the UK the Osprey nests will dry out.
Things are so much better in Poole Harbour Sunday morning. Blue 022 arrives with breakfast for CJ7 and the trio.
At Loch Arkaig, Only Bob is flapping those wings and looking around to see if Dorcha or Louis are bringing a breakfast fish.
Geemeff catches Louis bringing in a super fish for lunch at Loch Arkaig on Sunday.
Everyone is still home at Boulder County but for how long?
All is well at Collins Marsh.
Only Bob at Cowlitz PUD is self-feeding! If this osplet fledges, it will be the first time in many years this nest has had a fledge. All others died due to the heat domes and lack of food or predation by Bald Eagle. Keep your fingers crossed. Cowlitz PUD is counting on those wire grids protecting this family! If they do, let us put this design into use elsewhere. Lake Murray would be a good start!s
Lots of nice fish for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum chick on Saturday.
This post showed up regarding some of the nests around Minneapolis. Please read. I commented that we have a lovely situation at the Fortis Exshaw nest with a wonderful step-dad osprey!
I wonder how common it is for Osprey males to step up and help with the fishing when a male goes missing? are there so many looking for mates and nests? It is all very interesting.
Louise and her two beautiful surviving ‘well fed’ and cared for osplets – the last of the line for her and Jasper.
‘H’ reports on FortisExshaw: “What a splendid day they had! There were a total of 11 fish brought to the nest, including two by ‘Mr.O’. Fish were delivered by Louise at: 0548, 0638, 0735, 0757, 0903, 1423, 1807, 2050, 2117. Fish delivered by ‘Mr. O’: 0731 (but Louise was off nest, so he waited for 2 1/2 minutes then left with the fish), and 1244. ‘Mr. O’ also brought sticks to the nest three times. After his last stick delivery there was a brief period where Louise was helping ‘Mr. O’ move some sticks. You know you have really made it to the big time when you and your potential new mate have engaged in mutual nestorations. Nicely done, ‘Mr. O’!”
Audubon Boathouse: Skipper claimed his first fish! He took a couple of little nibbles, but then of course Mom, Dory, reclaimed the fish and fed her youngster. Skipper is 36 days old.
Barnegat Light: At 46 days old, Duke and Daisy’s youngster is doing great, S/he has been doing some impressive wingers. Check out ’09’s impressive wing span.
Kent Island: At 34 days of age, little ‘Junior’ has passed a couple of mini-milestones. He stood up, took a couple of tiny steps, and did a mini-winger. He also tried to move a stick. But, the stick he chose to move was too big . . and he just happened to be standing on the end of the stick, lol.
Forsythe: There were 3 fish delivered, two from Oscar, one from Opal. The high temperatures are predicted to be slightly lower this week, with heavy rains and storms in the forecast for Sunday. The 55 and 54 day old opletes are doing well.
Severna Park: Both of the fledglings continue to come to the nest to eat, and occasionally to simply hang out.
‘A’ has been observing Diamond and Xavier nothing that Diamond spent much time in the scrape with a sunken crop: “Her crop appears unusually sunken. She nearly always sports a huge crop, so I am most unused to seeing her like that. She arrived at the nest box at 17:24:45, e-chupping. For some reason, she appeared fascinated by the ceiling – or something above and spends some time gazing up. She waits. At 17:45:23 we hear an e-chup from outside the box and she answers immediately. She then moves into the centre of the box, e-chupping and obviously expecting a bonding visit. After a minute or so, it becomes obvious he is not coming, but she stands expectantly in the centre of the nest box for several minutes, occasionally letting out an e-chup. At 18:05:28, she suddenly looks up and to her right again. I am sure Xavier is up there somewhere. She bobs her head, looks around, prepares for departure, and flies out of the scrape at 18:05:40.”
Diamond will be glad of the scrape and the rest. She fought off an intruder earlier in the day.
In Dorset, the Hobby Falcons are serving up ‘bat breakfast’. Oh, goodness, those chicks are the cutest.
In California, Annie is enjoying her Saturday! Lovely to see you Annie and hear all that e-chupping.
Studies are beginning to reveal that human disturbance can cause nest failure.
I do not have a bird feeder with a camera but many of you have written to me to know if I did or if I know anything about them. I do not know anything about them but Wired – part of The New Yorks Times – has an article devoted to the three best in their opinion bird feeders with built in cameras in case you are interested.
Thank you so much for being with me today. it is a cool and damp morning again on the Canadian Prairies and it is time for me to fill the feeders! Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H’, CBC, PSEG, Fire Island News, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey News, Polly Turner and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Alyth, Poole Hrbour Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, MN Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities metro Osprey Watch, Fortis Exshaw, Audubon Boathouse, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Kent Island/Explore, Forstythe ospreys, Severna Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Dorset Hobby Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, BBC, and The New York Times Wired.
Before I forget…there are two Dmitri’s with storks that live on their roof. One is in Belarus, and the other in RU. I mentioned Dmitri in my Friday blog, thinking it was the one who had surgery in the RU. No, that was the one in Belarus. Sorry – my confusion. I have not heard how Dmitri has done from his surgery.
It was another nice day for a walk and I went to check on the goslings and ducklings at Fort Whyte. It is impossible to describe how the landscape changes there on a weekly basis never mind the size of those little ones. At Fort Whyte there are two large lakes. They are now pumping the water from the lake to a human built wetlands area that is elevated at the beginning and then that elevation goes down. The water is kept free of algae by the fountain type aerator and then flows down and through several water falls. It was crystal clear in spots today having been so clogged with algae the waterfowl wouldn’t even go in the separate water areas. Today, they were everywhere. Whoever designed this put so much thought into how it would work – for the wildlife. So happy.
There are tiny ducklings and goslings of every age. What joy! All of these had just come out of a nice swim in the ponds.
A handsome male American Goldfinch.
A female Shoveler.
So, as a result of this beautiful day – and things going well in the nests for a change, my report is rather slim this morning. But we are going to start with Fortis Exshaw because that is the nest that I was watching along with Mn Landscape yesterday more than some.
Fortis Exshaw is the dream story of the Osprey season. How often does a male come to the rescue of a female and help her raise another male’s chicks? Who might be the first bird that you think of to do this? Alden? How many others? Can you think of an Osprey male?
‘H’ reports: “July 14 turned out to be a wonderful day for these Ospreys. By 1038, 4 fish had been delivered to the nest, including 2 from Louise’s new male friend, ‘Mr. O’. But, as the day wore on, it seemed as though Louise was thinking that ‘Mr. O’ would continue to provide fish. He did come to the nest a few times to defend against intruders. When 6 1/2 hours passed since the last fish, I was hoping that Louise would just go fishing herself. And, boy did she ever . . Over the next two hours Louise brought 4 fish to the nest, and ‘Mr. O’ delivered another. There were a total of 9 fish for the day! ‘Mr. O’ defended the nest, brought in nesting material, and delivered 3 fish. Louise and her two 27 day old Osplets are very lucky that ‘Mr. O’ came along. Notice in one of the photos, ‘Mr. O’ is standing on the nest perch while Louise feeds”.
There is an uproar brewing over the death of Hope and Beau’s chicks at the Newfoundland Power Company platform in St. John’s. It appears – although I cannot independently confirm this – that some structural changes might have caused those two chicks to get ‘caught’. Feel free to Google Newfoundland Power and let them know what you think. This young wildlife rehabber hopes to change their policy! You can also write a comment on the FB page of Newfoundland Power.
We have fledges happening in the UK and, at the rate, that all the osplets are developing, it looks like this could be a daily event til all have had their first flight.
The male of Idris and Telyn flew Friday morning.
Always some nice fish at Dyfi! Rewards for the chicks and their fantastic Mum form Dad, Idris.
Blue 8C3 took off at Foulshaw Moss this morning. That is the nest’s second fledge of the season.
The two chicks are doing fine at Collins Marsh. In fact, it is hard to believe that I am writing this blog on a Friday and that all of the nests are relatively stable. It is about time!
Did I say that I love the Boulder County Fair Grounds nest? The three osplets are dreaming of the big world while Mum feeds Dad some fish behind them. What a loving family. They pulled together and made certain that the tiny third hatch survived. Remarkable.
All is well at Cowlitz PUD. I caught Dad delivering several fish today.
The only chick I am currently worried about is the one on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. The left-wing seems to be turned the opposite way from the right. You have to look closely. It almost reminds me of ‘Angel Wing’ in ducklings. We need to keep a collective eye on this little one keeping in mind that as long as it is on the nest, no permits are generally given to intervene.
If you happen to get some good screen captures of that left wing, please send them to me. I intend to write the local wildlife rehab clinic and the USFWS next week. Thank you.
The chicks are wanting to take the fish that Dad delivered at Seaside. Dad is wondering – where is Mum?
Victor. Harry dropped a fish at 1323 which Victor enjoyed so Dad is still bringing in fish. Victor is waiting at dusk to see if Dad will bring a late night meal.
All is well at Oyster Bay!
And now to go and check on PSEG’s other nest, Patchogue and Mini.
Mini has had a good day. She had a really good PS, she has been flapping, and also self-feeding. I counted the dark bands on her tail and thought she had only 4 and then when Mini was sleeping on her black bin liner pillow, it was easy to see that there are 6 dark lines. This means that her/his tail is long enough to fly. Still, Mini, you need to stay on the nest longer. We need you to be super strong for that first flight. And really, we aren’t ready to let you go yet. Understood? Mini has awfully long skinny legs…is our girl a boy?
I hope no one was walking underneath that nest when Mini let that loose!
The other reports from ‘H’ – she notes this morning that all the news are doing well! Isn’t this a wonderful change everyone? Maybe the tide has turned the corner, that is what I hope. OK. Let us get into the nests ‘H’ is monitoring:
Patuxent Nest 1 – I was sure that ‘Sibling B’ was going to fledge a couple of days ago. ‘Sib B’s’ hovers were so high yesterday afternoon, s/he was out of sight for several seconds, and I was watching Foster’s gaze to know that ‘Sib B’ was still above the nest. Ah, today is the day for sure. You can do it, ‘Sib B’!
Osoyoos – The two little Osplets are 18 and 19 days old, and they are doing fantastic.
Forsythe – The fish count has been way down for the last three days. There were 3 fish brought to the nest on 7/14, two by Opal and one by Oscar. I believe finding fish may be more difficult because of the heat. The nest is located in a marsh on Reeds Bay at the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. It is situated roughly 8 miles further inland than the Barnegat Light Osprey nest located 35 miles to the north The Barnegat Light Ospreys are not experiencing fishing difficulties, but the waters surrounding the Forsythe nest may be comparatively more shallow and warmer. The 53 and 54 day old siblings were taking it easy and conserving energy in this heat. Smart.
Dahlgren – D11 fledged on 7/12. At age 54 days, and four days younger than its sibling, D12 has has yet to fledge. But, D12 has really been exercising those wings.
The story in the UK on Friday at the Osprey nests was rain! Despite this those males did deliver some amazing fish! The nests are doing well. Just soaking.
Dorcha is a great Mumbrella.
It was heavy rain for Poole Harbour but Saturday morning they are missing what is hitting the other areas of southern England – more heavy down pours. It gives CJ7 and Blue 22 a break along with the triplets.
Brodie got a really nice fish to Loch Garten.
The winds are really strong at the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi.
Looks like more rain and storms for Alyth brewing in the distance.
It is a great topic — ending the ‘war on birds’. I did not realise that there was a ‘war’ going on – to me, the word ‘war’ implies killing – but, that is precisely what is going on. The on line journals and blogs are full of tales of poisons, arrows, shootings, and terrible traps all because birds are a little inconvenient. To me, it is the humans – us – that are inconvenient, who have robbed the planet of its life, who have taken the habitat of the raptors, the geese, the ducks, the deer. Every time I hear a person complain about walking in Canada Goose poop, I become outraged.
Those spikes we know are being removed by some birds and being used to strengthen their nests in the wild (from the article in my blog a few days ago). But…we must, in every instance that we can, help our feathered friends. Today, I saw one of those ‘green lawn’ signs. We need to educate people to stop using pesticides and herbicides. The songbirds need the insets. The larger birds need the songbirds. We are all in this dynamic circle of life or death, together.
Thankfully there is also kindness in the world – as it should be. Check out this home in Poland with two stork nests! May their kindness be repaid over and over again.
‘MB’ sent me this and I wanted to pass it along…please keep reading. Are there really solar wipers?
Lots of good information is coming out in the latest journals from the various birding associations, conservation groups, etc. I will try not to bombard you but will add one or two every blog so you can stay up with what is happening to our birds and what some of the solutions might be. In my garden the solution is lots of shade and lots of water! Be sure to put out a bowl of water as an act of kindness for the wildlife.
Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Enjoy your weekend and please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘H, MB’, Fortis Exshaw, Sunnie Day, Dyfi Osprey Project, Polly Turner, Collins Marsh, Boulder County Fair Grounds, MN Landscape Arboretum, Seaside Ospreys, Moorings Park, PSEG, Osoyoos, Forstythe, Dahlgren, Margaret Mackintosh and Loch Garten and Other Ospreys, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Alyth, Karla Pilz and Klapper-Treff, The Guardian and Audubon.
UPDATE: THE STORK NEST IS DIMITRI IN BELARUS NOT DMITRI IN RU. MY ERROR!
Good Morning Everyone,
It has been crazy weather with downpours and then suddenly the sun comes out. Great for the garden. The Blue Jays and Sparrows are good barometers of what is happening. They feed frantically before the black clouds and thunder roll in. Today, however, the Blue Jays frightened me – the new fledglings. They would simply not stop getting peanuts and flying despite the pouring rain. One sat on the neighbour’s roof and then flew – it was drenched and reminded me of Yurruga before it perished a year ago at Orange. I do wish they would just perch in the lilac bushes – and today, they could have waited with a Northern Cardinal! It was the first time I have seen a Cardinal in the garden – or, rather, the first time that I witnessed a Cardinal. The bushes are so thick it is impossible to see through them this time of year. My father used to call them ‘Red Birds’ and they would eat out of his hand – fascinated a young child.
In his new book, Reflections. What Wildlife Needs and How to Provide it, author Mark Avery, chooses to start with his back garden. Many of the most recent publications sitting on my desk or pre-ordered are written by well-known individuals who have specifically chosen to ponder the world’s fate through the lens of their own space and the birds they observe daily. Avery bemoans the loss of the Nightingale and its beautiful song at dusk or the Hedgehog while applauding the Red Kite reintroduction. It is a beautifully written book and every time I read someone else’s words about their own garden friends, I return to the view out of my conservatory that gives me so much joy. I hope that you do, too.
This image could be a better quality – apologies. It was starting to rain, and I had to try and miss those pink squares, but there is proof of the Cardinal in the lilacs – taking refuge there from the downpour. Cardinals are familiar birds in eastern and southeastern Canada, but they seem to visit central Canada more often, as the images posted on FB noted. I hope it is the new birdseed I am purchasing from a local farmer – it is all part of a plan to try and exist 90% local and without plastic.
You can see the big drops of water hanging from the branches. it really was a torrential downpour.
The Blue Jays are so fantastic. The little one that sat on the two garden ornaments and made a nest is distinctive and he loves to eat grain, not peanuts – and he loves to splash about in the bird bath. I adore him. Notice that his crest is black with a few light blue steel grey feathers in the front. I can spot him from the others instantly.
One of the adults moulting.
This one loves the peanuts and he is wet from the rain. They must have a spotting scope because the minute I put out fresh peanuts they are there!
This one was not happy with one of Dyson’s kits who wanted a peanut, too.
Recently fledged sparrows are everywhere. If ever there was an explosion of a species in the garden, it is them!
Besides spending much time just observing the behaviour of everyone in the garden and ticking off the list to make sure everyone was accounted for, I went off to the English Garden at our local zoo. The plan was to check on the local Cooper’s Hawk nest but there were so many people in the area that the hawks were silent.
That was not the case with the goslings that I had seen a couple of weeks ago. Someone had given them ‘bread’ despite the signs all over the area and they were fighting for it. Silly waterfowl.
The gosling day care still exists even though the goslings might think they are very independent.
Drying off after coming out of the water.
Then someone began to throw bread and the young ones immediately grabbed it and fled to the water chased by others.
It was quite the afternoon watching everyone.
I did not spend a lot of time watching the nests today. So my report is rather short but I want to start with one nest that both ‘H’ and I have been watching. The news is good this morning coming for Fortis Exshaw. ‘H’ writes, “
Louise brought fish to the nest at 0630, 0750, 0849, 1249, 1545, 1603, 1818, and 1958. Wow! In addition to that, a male Osprey gifted a partial fish at 0856, which Louise accepted. Wow! There was some minor intimidation from Big toward Middle at the early feeding, otherwise the feedings were tranquil, and both chicks’ crops were stuffed all day. I noticed something interesting regarding the issue of osplets having a feeling of ‘food security’ when adequate fish are brought to a nest, vs the awful aggression that is a manifestation of ‘food insecurity’ felt by the dominant osplet when food is scarce. When there is plenty of food for a couple of days, the dominant chick starts to relax. S/he no longer tries to eliminate a food competitor by prevent the sibling from eating, because it no longer feels that it may starve to death. But, what struck me watching the Exshaw nest yesterday was that the establishment of harmony at mealtimes may be a two-way street. The non-dominant chick also starts to relax, knowing that it will survive because of the ample availability of food. The non-dominant chick at Exshaw, ‘Middle’, simply started to hang back and wait at feedings, and let ‘Big’ eat first. Not only was Big more relaxed because of the amount of food available, but Middle was more relaxed as well. This enabled Middle to become more accepting of his hatch-assigned place in the pecking-order, and by not so much as even trying to get a bite of fish and potentially annoying ‘Big’ early in a feeding, Middle aided his own cause. It’s all about the food. But, we already knew that.It seems that Louise may have some help. A male osprey (that I believe was the same one she chased off the nest twice on 7/12), landed on the nest four times. At his first visit he gifted Louise a partial fish, and she accepted it. She fed some to the kids and ate some of it herself. Also at that first visit, the male moved a couple of sticks, and defended the nest. The male osprey also vocally defended the nest at a couple of his other brief visits to the nest. At his last visit he was even more vocal toward an unseen intruder, and he flew off chasing said intruder.”—————-
It sure seems like there could be a pot of gold at the end of Louis’s rainbow and for this nest. This is fantastic. I will suggest that Louise accepting the new male indicates that she was well aware – from the beginning – that Jasper is no longer with us.
For those wondering, the new male is not Jasper. The head markings are entirely different.
Both osplets fledged from the nest of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes Thursday morning. The little male flew first – gosh, what a joy that was – and the sister a little later.
I adore Mini. Mini gives me hope and every day that s/he self-feeds a little better gives joy. These days with her on the nest and adults making sure she is fed just is glorious. Today there was a goldfish just for Mini!
Trying to work those wings in a crowd.
Minnesota Landscape: I did not see a whole lot of fish being delivered but the little one is being fed. The rain came to the nest about the same time it began in Winnipeg!
Cowlitz PUD: My continued worry about this nest are the eagles in the area. I hope the protective guards work and that fish continue to come in. If you check on this nest, use the overhead cam view.
Boulder County: Doing Great.
The Bridge Golf Club: Both parents are now fishing and supplying the nest. There were 7 fish deliveries on Thursday. Both chicks doing well.
Charlo Montana: Continues to be offline.
First District Utility: Camera is frozen.
Collins Marsh: Everything is excellent.
Moorings Park: Victor went to bed without the usual fish form Harry. Several times today Victor was caught on camera diving trying to get a fish. Please send this wonderful fledgling all your good luck so that he can get his own fish! He needs to get this well in hand, and now is the time to be practising. Victor, you can do this! (I do wish someone would dump about 20,000 fish in that pond so he had some chance of success!)
Janakkalan: Both osplets doing well.
Dyfi: Both are flapping and hopping.
Glaslyn: Things look fine.
Alyth: Lots of good fish deliveries.
Now let’s get to those other reports by ‘H’:
Kent Island – “The big story is a new arrival to the nest. Audrey gifted her little chick a stuffed pink octopus! The nest owner has named the stuffie ‘Molly’.”
Barnegat Light – Daisy delivered one of her specialty bluefish, as hubby Duke was chillin’ out lying next to his kiddo. At 44 days of age, 09/N is growing up fast.
Severna Park – After #2 fledged in the morning, she skidded to a landing on the nest 5 1/2 hours later. Well done fledgling!
Forsythe – There were only two fish brought to the nest on 7/13, both by Opal. Oscar did not come to the nest. Opal came to the nest several other times throughout the day, but arrived empty taloned. There were also only two fish delivered on 7/12, one each by Opal and Oscar, but the first fish was so large that Opal made three feedings out of it. The mid-Atlantic area has been suffering from a heat wave for a few days, which may be making fishing more difficult as the fish seek cooler, deeper waters. The siblings are 52 and 53 days old.
Audubon Boathouse – Life is splendid at the Boathouse platform. Little Skipper is 34 days old.
‘H’ also checked in on McEuen Park in Idaho. Look at how big those three osplets are! Fantastic. Thanks so much, ‘H’.
Waiting word on Dmitri’s surgery. Before he went into hospital, he built a new place for the storklet that he rescued. Incredible man.
For our education – an article on the importance of water and agriculture to our planet and to our birds from the British Ornithological Trust. Indeed, one of the biggest detriments to the stability of our wildlife is the changing methods in agriculture over the past two centuries including deforestation and the use of pesticides and herbicides.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you so much to ‘H’ for her continued monitoring and to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: Fortis Exshaw, Mary Cheadle and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds, The Bridge Golf Club, Collins Marsh, Moorings Park, Janakkalan and Finnish Osprey Foundation, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Alyth, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife of New Jersey, Severna Park, Forsythe ospreys, Audubon Boathouse, McEuen Park, BTO, and Dmitri Storks.
It is humid and sultry (but not hot and sultry) on the Canadian Prairies. The skies feel like they could unload a whole lot of rain if they ever decided to open. My phone says they won’t. Let’s wait and see.
Today saw the arrival of some Japanese snacks and the kittens go crazy. What is it about White Peach Mochi and those crispy melon wafer cookies that cause them to turn into something besides kittens?
Later, look who is in his sister’s basket?
First up, I want to thank Gayle at Fortis Exshaw and Robyn at AIWC and the Alberta Birds of Prey for their immediate responses to the call for help if Louise at the Fortis Exshaw Nest should become injured or killed and the osplets left abandoned. Everyone was ready to help if help was needed. Thankfully, Louise is alright and is doing a splendid jog.
The fish deliveries for Wednesday, according to ‘H’ were: “Fish deliveries: 07:18:09, 12:28:02, 12:59:13, 13:36:54, 17:09:03”. All is well.——— Gosh, it is windy there. Louise is a fantastic fisher. Oh, gosh. Another large fish came in at 18:16.
‘H’ notes that Big intimidated Middle throughout the day but that Middle did wind up with some nice crops. Louise is fantastic even flushing out intruders from the nest.
This is wonderful news – Louise is amazing. Continue to send your positive energy to this incredible female.
‘B’ sent me the most fascinating article. I am so grateful as these ospreys have not given me a chance to read the papers. The birds are smart, they are taking things meant to keep them off buildings and using them to fortify and protect their own nests. Have a read – and thanks ‘B’.
Our dear Mini is starting to really spread its wings and is watching the older siblings intently on what to do when you get the itch to fly. Everyone keep an eye on Mini – s/he could fly at any time it seems. Let me know if I miss it!
Mum feeding Mini a private meal.
We just need Dad at Patchogue. All three fledglings and Mini are home wishing for fish.
Beautiful or handsome Mini.
Minnesota Landscape: The chick is getting its pin feathers. It was hot in Minnesota today. Mum is not always the most devoted mumbrella but she is much better at feeding.
First District Utility: The streaming cam continues to be frozen.
Moorings Park: I have never seen a fledgling spend so much time on a nest waiting for a fish delivery as Victor.
Boulder County Fair Grounds: This nest is fabulous.
Collins Marsh: A wet day but all is well. Mum and Dad on the nest with the two surviving osplets.
Poole Harbour: Family image. Watch the chicks and CJ7 as they see Blue 22 arriving.
CJ7 stays on the nest at night. Last year she lost a chick to a goshawk. Goshawks do not normally hunt at night but there could be Tawny owls or other predators in the area. She is not taking any chances.
Glaslyn: Elen and the two beautiful osplets waiting for a fish delivery. Everything is fine. Aran continues to impress with the fish deliveries.
Dyfi: Another family portrait and all is well with Idris, Telyn, Seiont and Cennen.
Llyn Clywedog: At 20:31, Seren Blue 5F brought in a huge Rainbow Trout to the nest. This is significant. It is the first fish she has caught and brought to the nest since April. Dylan has been supplying all the fish. Seren will begin to build up her strength for her trip to Africa. She goes to the exact tree in The Tango Marsh in The Gambia every winter and has done now for 7 or 8 years.
Alyth: All appears to be well at Alyth substation. The nice day turned into a very wet late evening.
Loch Arkaig: Geemeff caught the osplet picking up and moving a fish and self-feeding. Fantastic. Another milestone.
But, hey. Geemeff caught our chick – gosh, let’s get it a good name – playing football? Trying out for the Premier League?
Loch of the Lowes: She is gorgeous – Blue NC0. She will be dreaming of Africa and migration having laid the first eggs of the season along with Maya at Manton Bay. Chicks are gorgeous. All is well.
We must all hope that the situation concerning Avian Flu in West Africa has dissolved by the time these beautiful birds reach their winter homes. (I must check on that situation).
Loch Garten: I think this FB post says it all!
Foulshaw Moss: We have the first fledge of the 2023 season for White YW and Blue 35.
Tweed Valley: The two osplets were ringed, and their names are Sacha and Paul. Very appropriate for those great individuals behind Conservation Without Borders.
Finland #1. Everything is good.
Finland #4. It is often difficult to tell but it appears that things are alright on this nest.
‘H’s report on Patuxent 1: “Sibling ‘A’ that fledged on 7/11 at 0745, has not returned to the nest as yet. Nor has s/he been seen on the perch. The juvenile on the perch has always been identified as ‘Foster’. I hope all is well with the fledgling, sibling ‘A’. Sibling ‘B’ was very close to fledging on 7/12. You can just barely see its talons during a hover in one of the attached photos.”
Severna Park: “I’m pretty sure that Middle (chick #2) fledged at 0758 this morning at 65 days of age. Chick #1 flew off the nest at 0657.”
Dahlgren – The eldest chick (D11) fledged on 7/12 at 1148, at 55 days of age. S/he did not return to the nest on 7/12, but was seen resting on the nest owner’s boat with her dad, Jack. At 5 pm it was reported that D11’s mom, Harriet was seen feeding her on the boat!
Kent Island – It was another wonderful day for Audrey, Tom, and their little 31 day old chick. You will hardly ever find that youngster with a flat crop.
Osoyoos – After a couple days offline, the livestream resumed on 7/12. Ample fish were brought to the nest to feed the 15 and 16 day old osplets. Those kiddos are really looking good!
Why do ‘H’ and I make such a big deal about fledglings returning to the nest? Unless it is a case like Dahlgren where the chick is seen being fed by the parent nearby, fledglings return to the nest to be fed for about a month, sometimes much longer like Victor, while they learn to hunt and perfect their flying skills. If they do not return to the nest, something has happened to them.
Well, as ‘H’ watched, she is pleased to report, “Dahlgren D11 (chick #1) made a beautiful return landing on the nest this morning at 0744.”
At the nest of Big Red and Arthur: All of the Ms are fine and watching parents for prey deliveries!
Those Dorset Hobby Falcons are certainly cute! Who could resist watching them most of the day?
At the scrape of Xavier and Diamond – isn’t Xavier precious? Expect to see lots of bonding and Diamond trying to fatten up prior to egg laying next month.
‘A’ notes, “I need to mention sweet Xavier. He brought some breakfast to the nest box this morning at 07:37:38 and Diamond was into the box within seconds to claim it – but then realised it was a starling and jumped straight out of the box. Xavier looked a bit startled and somewhat nonplussed, and he hangs around for about four minutes, but then departs with his starling. An hour or so later (at 08:52:02) he tries again, and Diamond is more receptive to this offering. Well done, Xavier. This pair always seem to have crops – Madame Diamond is frequently too sleepy to take hers anywhere, so she rests on the ledge of her nest box for much of the afternoon. It’s a hard life for a peregrine at CSU in Orange!”
We are more than half way through incubation at the Sydney Sea Eagles nest of Lady and Dad. Dad came in to give Lady a break so she could go and have her morning meal and stretch her legs after a long night of incubation.
‘A’ writes, “Meanwhile, the dedicated incubation continues in Sydney. These two have a good rhythm. Let’s hope they do their usual excellent job of raising two fledglings this season. Both varieties of Australian possum are potential predators for both the eggs and the newly hatched chicks, though the brushtails are larger and more dangerous. The ringtails will eat those eggs just as fast as a brushtail, and although both species are primarily vegetarian, they will eat small chicks if they come across them. It is unusual for either type of possum to eat the chicks, but it has definitely been witnessed from both ringtails and brushtails. (I watched a little ringtail with a baby on her back crossing my street last night, like a tightrope walker above the road, clinging to the electricity cabling that crosses the road from one pole to another. They don’t seem to slip off, though I have occasionally seen one hanging from the wire and pulling itself across. Most walk along the wire with amazing speed and balance. The baby clings to mum’s back, or sometimes to her tummy. They are a protected native species, which is more than a little annoying for suburban dwellers with trees in their garden. The sound of possums thundering across the roof (or, worse yet, peeing inside the roof, staining the ceiling from above) is enough to wake the dead at 2am. And the sounds they make, especially during courting and mating season (now), are other-worldly in a very scary way!”
With all of the storklets killed and little Okrusezek fighting for his life as he lost it to the goshawk in Poland, I needed to check on a couple of the stork nests that we follow closely to make sure that all are home.
Mlade Buky: Everything is good with Bety and Bukacek’s beautiful storklets.
Karl II and Kaia, Karula National Forest: The storklets are losing the baby down and getting their feathers. They look good. Urmas continues to provide fish for the family in the fish baskets otherwise, we might not see these healthy ones. This is a man with a huge heart for storks just like Dmitri – and I checked. Dmitri was in the hospital awaiting his surgery Wednesday evening.
Tukums, Latvia: Everything appears to be good.
‘A’ loves the Royal Albatross. I do not report on them very often but as fledge is 6-8 weeks away, let us keep a closer check. ‘A’ reports: “In New Zealand, Prince Manaaki had a very busy day fixing up his nest, doing more excavations and heading off on some hill-climbing excursions. I can only suggest that you check today’s chat for some amazing pics of him (I particularly love the one where he is covered in nest material but the hill-climbing one is pretty cute too – let’s face it, he’s always adorable). https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/royal-cam-discussion/ Don’t you just love a nest where we get to watch a loving couple reuniting and courting, doting parents incubating their egg for over two months, and then a safe hatch in a supervised incubator followed by no sibling rivalry, just one absolutely gorgeous fluff ball that we get to watch for a whole 240 days? And all the time knowing that they will be kept cool, given hydration and supplementary feedings, weighed and health-checked weekly, and generally treated in the manner they deserve. What an incredible treat that albatross colony really is.”
A quick check and Mini is still with us on the nest!
I want to thank ‘J’ for helping me extend my data to include some of the German Osprey nests. In doing so, she sent me links to valuable information, including a 1996 study on the ospreys in Germany. It is a good read and sheds some light on what is helping Ospreys to thrive or not in a limited area of Germany. That area is home to many of my ceramic friends who still run potteries with wood-burning kilns in the Mecklenburg area north of Berlin.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. 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, B, Geemeff, H, J’, Fortis Exshaw, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Moorings Park, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Collins Marsh, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Alyth, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Livia Armstrong and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Polly turner and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Jeff Kear and Ospreys, Severna Park, Kent Island, Osoyoos, Dahlgren Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Cornell Bird Lab, Dorset Hobby Falcons, Holly Parsons and Orange, Australia Peregrine Falcons, Sea Eagle Cam, Mlade Buky, Eagle Club of Estonia, Latvian Fund for Nature, NZ DOC, and Researchgate.
If you watch long enough, you will begin to see flapping. Osplets so close and dreaming of flying. It is marvellous. They become what they are destined to be – beautiful feathered flyers. Such a bittersweet time for us.
It is hard for me to believe that the summer is just flying by as if someone or something switched gears and put us in supersonic mode. The females on the nests of the fledglings will begin to fish for themselves (while also bringing in fish for the chicks along with the male). The 30% of their body weight that they lost during the breeding season – laying eggs, tending to chicks, fighting off intruders, etc. – will be regained, hopefully, so that they can make their 5000 km migration in good health.
Meanwhile, the kittens remain together almost 90% of the time. They love watching the birds from their perch. Missey enjoys having her small round basket inside a taller rectangular one, while Lewis prefers a hard basket lid! Go figure. You cannot see the pink bird collision dots in the images. That is super.
She is sound asleep.
The sunflowers are compliments of all the garden animals who scattered seeds. Gos h, I wish I had a field for them to plant peanuts!
We will start with the sadness. As we know, Jasper, the mate of Louise at the FortisExshaw nest has been missing now for nearly four full days as I write this. Louise has been out fishing and has had to deal with intruders. ‘H’ has confirmed that the youngest of the three chicks has now died. She writes, “Chick #3 passed away at 20 days of age. ‘Little’ was not seen at all on 7/10. ‘H’ notes that there were at least four feedings with Big attempting to intimidate Middle by beaking. Middle prevailed and ate and in the end the three had some nice meals together. We can only wait and see what happens. Send this nest your most positive energy, please.
Louise managed to eat and fill her crop too. She will need all the energy she can gather to fight off intruders and be Mum at the same time.
There are many who wonder about the wiseness of reestablishing Ospreys while, at the same time, introducing Goshawks. Today there is more goshawk predation – again at Kielder Forest. Joanna Dailey writes, “The female goshawk returned to Nest 5A last night. Despite being mobbed, she predated 1B9/Greenlee.In the circumstances there won’t be a further post with ringing photos.Despite the establishment of a new wild nest, the lack of breeding on Nest 6 and Nest 1A, plus the loss of chicks, means that a maximum of eight youngsters can fledge from Kielder Forest. This is the poorest productivity since 2018. Let’s hope next year is an ‘up’ after the ‘downs’ of this season.” Later, Joanna writes, “A short time ago UV gave Mrs UV a large rainbow trout. It is encouraging to see their pair bond is holding.” You will often see the ospreys pair bonding or having fish exchanges after the death of a child. I equate it to humans giving one another a big hug and telling them they still love one another when an immense tragedy occurs like the death of a child.
Has anyone been following the Urdaibai nest closely? I am wondering about the fledge dates of the two? One appears to still be home.
The ringing of the two surviving osplets at Finnish nest #4 took place on 10 July 2023. Here is the video!
Missing the sound of starving falcon chicks? Well check out these four in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The only serving Lesser Spotted Eaglet in Latvia is growing and is so gorgeous. Dad has just delivered a vole.
The two Imperial Eaglets of Allyn and Altynay in the Tatarstan nest in RU, have names. The oldest is Alma and the youngest is Batyr. Both are males. The third sibling died on 9 June from starvation due to bad weather.
Here is our spin around the Osprey nests:
Crooked Lake: If you have been wanting to check in on the three osplets of Whitley and Noble at Crooked Lake, here is the link. These three are doing fantastic and giving Dad some attitude when he delivers those fish.
Cowlitz PUD. A nice fish delivery caught on the overhead cam by the PUD company. The nest continues to do well.
Boulder County: This nest with three is doing fantastic! My goodness we worried for a bit about Little but all is well because these two parents worked together to make sure that wee one survived. Now look.
Seaside: All is well. The camera angle sometimes cuts off one of the osplets and today I took a deep breath thinking one had fledged. No there was its tail! Mum has been busy aerating that nest!
Moorings Park: Gosh, Victor is waiting and waiting for that fish before lights out.
Outerbanks: Everyone is eating. Two at home now and it seems that everything is going well for the three fledglings.
Oyster Bay: Gosh those are beautiful osplets…now look at the one whose face you can see…doesn’t that look like Little Mini from Patchogue?
Little Mini has a slightly distinctive profile. So does this chick.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: This new Mum has caught on. The only surviving Bob out of the three had a nice meal and a big crop and spent time looking out over the landscape with Mum. Dad was not there watching either..fingers crossed. This little one is getting some fat reserves which is good. Notice also that it is losing the down on the back of its head as we enter the Reptile phase.
The Bridge Golf Club: Lots of good fish. Mum and the two surviving osplets are doing extremely well.
Clark PUD: Doing great. No worries.
Collins Marsh: Some nice fish landing on the nest. Fingers crossed!
Dyfi Osprey Project: It is windy in Wales late Monday and Tuesday is starting off a wee damp. The osplets are flapping those wings! Both are super. No problems here!
Glaslyn Valley: Windy and set and the camera got disconnected after 2100 Monday evening. Heather advises that it will be repaired and the Circle of Doom will be gone sometime Tuesday. Otherwise everything is fantastic.
RSPB Loch Garten: Wet and miserable. Everyone waiting for fish.
Llyn Brenig: Oh, the same weather pattern seems to be around most of Wales. It was very windy late Monday and now the rain is pitching down at Llyn Brenig. These kids know not to try fledging when they are soaking wet.
Loch Arkaig: Dorcha is taking no chances. S he is with her soon to be named little boy in the nest in case silent night callers come to visit.
Loch of the Lowes: The chicks had fish before night fall and then the rains came and they were soaked. Blue NC0, too. Gosh, the skies ahve cleared and they are fish calling. Seriously these two are so loud you could hear them in Stirling!
Alyth: Very windy at Alyth. Hopefully no one will do a lot of flapping and prematurely take off.
Poole Harbour: Those osplets of CJ7 and Blue 022 are so grown up. There was an intruder about and the three suddenly became as thin s pancakes. But later just look. They are so big and already wing flapping in the early morning before the breakfast fish. Parents must be thrilled – three healthy osplets soon to fledge.
Fischadler: The trio in Germany have been ringed. I am hoping to get details but that nest is getting awfully full. Aren’t they gorgeous?
‘H’s reports on the other nests she is monitoring:
Patuxent Nest 1 – Neither sibling fledged on 7/10, although the one that I refer to as ‘Chick A’, at 57 days of age, seems to be very close to becoming a flighted bird. —And ‘H’ was right, she adds “I knew that it would be soon. The chick that I refer to as sibling ‘A’ based on different markings, was very active with hovering this morning. Sibling ‘A’ fledged at 0745. I am not referring to the oldest sibling. The siblings are 57 and 56 days old. Now to keep track of all three juveniles to determine when the third chick fledges, lol.”
Without Darvic rings, it is nearly impossible unless there is a good differentiation in head markings.
McEuen Park: Three beautiful osplets!
Forsythe – There were only two fish brought to the nest yesterday, at 1136 and 1754. Both fish were delivered by Opal, and they were not very big. Each of the siblings self-fed from parts of each fish. Oscar was not seen on 7/10.”
So I am now wondering if something has happened to Oscar and we have another instance of a single parent nest. This is really tragic.
Kent Island – Ample fish were brought to the nest. What a lovely Osprey family. Gosh, I wish the nest owners would give Audrey and Tom’s little one a name.
Dahlgren – At 54 days of age, I think ‘Big’ is close to fledging. Big can ‘fly’ from rim to rim and has been doing some mini-hovers.
Severna Park – At 62 days of age, chick #2 seemed to be seriously thinking about taking its first flight . . but was not quite ready.
‘H’ notes: “The Ospreys at Barnegat Light and Audubon Boathouse are doing well, I will cover them tomorrow. The Osoyoos cam was offline on 7/10.”
‘A’ has been watching Lady and Dad at the Sydney Olympic Park. She writes, “At Sydney’s Olympic Park WBSE nest, the chilly morning starts as always with a vocal interchange around 06:33. At 06:34 she gets up, still vocalising, and backs slowly away from the eggs. She flies off just after 06:34:30 and Dad arrives on the branch behind the nest a couple of seconds later. By 06:35 he is arranging himself carefully on the eggs. Lady is only gone for a short while before returning and insisting on resuming her position on the nest. Lady and Dad have both been incubating this morning, taking turns. Each is reluctant to move when the other arrives. They are both very fond of incubating. As the morning progresses, a large crop appears first on one, then on the other, so I think they are both hunting for themselves at this stage. I have not seen very much food brought to the nest this week – several days go by with no sign of food at the nest but parents who are definitely not going hungry.”
This is a really good article on fish availability, the recovery or not of ospreys after DDT from The Center for Conservation Biology. It focuses on fish availability.
Never fear, Little Mini is here! Not to forget to include our miracle survivor of the Patchogue nest of four osplets who continues to dream of fish, being fed by Mum, and flying like its three older siblings.
Thank you so much for being with me today as we check on some of the nests we monitor. Except for Fortis Exshaw, the pulse is good. Of course, things can change momentarily for the worse, especially with intruders around and about. Send your most positive wishes to Louise. It is a difficult time for her. Take care of yourselves. 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 – always grateful’, Fortis Alberta, Urdaibai Biosphere, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Cilla Kinross, Latvian Fund for Nature, Tatarstan Imperial Eagles, Timothy Dygert Live Stream, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Seaside Ospreys, Moorings Park, Outerbanks 24/7, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Bridge Golf Ospreys, Clark PUD, Collins Marsh, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, RSPB Loch Garten, Llyn Brenig, Friends of Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Alyth, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Fischadler Ospreys and Severna Park, Dahlgren Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, McEuen Park, Forsythe, Kent Island, Sydney Sea Eagles, and The Center for Conservation Biology.
I hope that you found time to be outside, to sit, and to just listen to the birds. What a lovely feeling it is. I spent part of Sunday searching for a gravestone. It was not to be found but the little cemetery sits on the bank of the Red River and the birds were singing. What a tranquil place. The benches were also lovely and I could imagine sitting there sipping tea and reading a book. Just might do that one day!
Across the road there was a fawn that had lost its mother and was in a right panic. By the time the Wildlife Reha number was dialled, it was gone – hopefully back with Mum.
It is always good to start with a wonderful Osprey nest and what better one than Moorings Park. Have you still been checking in? If you are then you know that Victor is at the nest fish calling. Did Harry think he would still be supplying Victor with fish in July? Who knows but – Harry is doing an excellent job and just look at what a beautiful bird Victor is!
If you are worried about Soledad, San Jose City Hall’s fledgling falcon, she is fine! Screaming for prey!!!!!!!!!!!
We have been distressed about the fireworks and the raptors. Friends of Big Bear Valley have noted the impact on our dear Jackie and Shadow, the Bald Eagles, that live in the Valley. They are hoping to gather enough evidence to stop the fireworks in that area. Please send them anything you have in terms of articles, and also, if you have images of instances of fireworks near raptors that caused them stress, please also send that. Here is the information that ‘B’ sent me today:
The latest post on the Friends of Big Bear Valley facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FOBBV/) from Sandy Steers. She talks of how Jackie and Shadow disappeared for three days after the Big Bear fireworks show, and how last year they disappeared for six days after the show. Sandy closes with: For any of you who might be interested, we are gathering information on the intense and detrimental impact that fireworks have on wildlife, on the lake, on the environment in general and even on domestic animals and humans. If any of you have references to studies about any of this, please share them with us at fobbvinfo@gmail.com. Thank you!
I sent Sandy a number of articles and I am attaching a few of those here for you to read if you would like. Perhaps we need a movement that begins in the name of Jackie and Shadow and spreads across North America to stop fireworks out of respect for our non-human friends.
Sandy also included a history of the eagles Jackie and Shadow. Enjoy!
Two Imperial Eaglets at the Tatarstan nest in Russia got their bling, and they are both girls! Anyone reading my blog for any time will know that female raptors are highly aggressive. Imperial Eagles are no exception. Rarely does the second hatch survive. Well, this nest is a bit of a miracle for having two eaglets survive, but never mind, they were both girls. There were plenty of small mammals, and the male just kept bringing in prey. There was never a feeling of food insecurity, so both survived. Beautiful.
The three osplets at the Dunrovin Ranch have been ringed and it looks like there are two males and a female! Congratulations. More information as it becomes available.
‘H’ is concentrating on the FortisExshaw nest as it appears tragedy is just brewing. She writes, “What a mess this feeding was . . from 0903 to about 1115 – 090253 Louise brought in a monster fish, and she began to feed. Big beaked both its siblings right away. Louise began to have intruder problems at 0909. There was a pair of intruders, and the feeding was disturbed many times, as Louise defended and flew off after the intruders. Each time she returned she would resume the feeding. At one point, one of the intruders landed on the nest while Louise flew after the one on the perch.Long story short . . Over the course of more than two hours, Big and Middle each ate the equivalent of two or three meals. Little never got a chance. If it hadn’t been for those intruders, there would most likely have been a couple of opportunities for Little to get fed from that huge fish while the others were full and napping. But, it just didn’t work out that way. Total bummer. In addition to Jasper being missing, Louise does not need intruders to interfere with her attempts to care for her three offspring.After that, Louise left the nest a few times throughout the day, and would usually return with nesting material. But at 2032 she returned with a fish. It was difficult to be certain due to the raindrops on the camera, but the fish appeared to be partially eaten. The feeding lasted until 2041. At the beginning of the feeding, Big once again beaked both of its siblings. Middle did get to eat however, while Little cowered and stayed tucked behind the feeding line. At that point Little had not eaten for about 34 hours, and Little did not have very much to eat on 7/7 or 7/8. Little seemed to be weak, with waning resolve.Jasper has been missing since 0930 on 7/7.
The intruder on the nest at Fortis Exshaw. We may lose Little but please send this nest your most positive wishes. When Jasper disappeared these babies were so tiny. Most of the Mums do not go easily slip into getting fish for their chicks and it is going to be very difficult for Louise.
The two osplets have been ringed at the Borders nest and if you watched it is no surprise that the bigger and more aggressive second hatch is a female with the first hatch being a male. The male weighed 1480 grams and is Blue 733 and the female weighed in at a good 1720 grams and is Blue 732.
I still love how Dad likes to be on the nest ‘to see’ Mum feed the only surviving osplet at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest.
The little one got a late night feeding. Feeling optimistic.
Little Mini might have dreamed about being home alone and getting a huge fish delivery from Dad until it became a reality on Sunday at 12:41. Mini worked on that fish til 1330 when one of the Big siblings came home and took it. Oh, how I wish Mum had flown in and fed Mini.
There was so much left I wonder how much Mini was actually able to eat…I know she pulled really hard on the skin – you could see this on the streaming cam.
Mini got a late night feeding by Mum. These parents will not forget their fourth chick!
Awwwhhhh. After seeing fish on the nest and wishing, Mum feeds little Mini at 10:15 Monday morning. Mini I son Mum’s right.
So a spin through some of the nest that I have been monitoring:
Cowlitz PUD: Nice fish on the nest and it looks as if some was left so the Only Bob could practice self-feeding. Fantastic.
Collins Marsh: The two osplets were doing well on a rather misty/foggy Sunday. The fish cannot be huge or plentiful – or else that streaming cam goes through quickly. Still everyone seems to be alright.
Clark PUD: Sometimes the camera angle is so bad you cannot see a feeding! The only hint I have is that one of the osplets has a large crop and there was a fish left on the nest. Looks like the adults are teasing the waters of self-feeding at this nest, too.
Bridges Golf: Everything is fine.
Boulder County Fair Grounds: Lots of nice fish coming on to the nest. Sometimes Little tries to go under Mum to get some bites but, at the end of the day, Mum was hungry, too.
Island Beach: Beau and Bay and their lovely feathered osplets are doing fantastic. The kids are starting to try self-feeding.
Loch Arkaig: He is a beautiful little man who will soon have a name. Louis on top of his game with the fish deliveries on Sunday.
Llyn Clywedog: No place better than home!
Llyn Brenig: Everything is fantastic.
Loch of the Lowes: Blue NC0 did some feeding while one of the chicks delighted in having a piece on its own. Lots of wheeing…just like an eagle. Blue NC0 made sure that both were fed. Fantastic Mum.
Manton Bay: We get a glimpse of them now and then if we are lucky.
Dyfi: Two beautiful birds. Everything is good and better than good with Idris and Telyn and their two chicks. Fledging will be soon.
Glaslyn: Lots of nice fish coming in for these two. Elen and Aran made a great team and I think we have all fallen in love with the new Queen of Glaslyn.
Poole Harbour: Blue 022 made sure that CJ7 and the trio had a nice fish before bedtime!
Alyth: Lots of fish coming on the nest. The chicks give self-feeding a go but Mum comes in and makes sure that everyone gets some fish.
Finnish #1. A middle of the night feeding for what looks like Little.
Finnish #4. Now only two.
Finnish #5. Only two chicks to begin and now two as well. They appear to be alright and not suffering from bad weather or poor fish deliveries.
Moving over to ‘H’s’ reports- thank you ‘H’:
Kent Island – Despite some afternoon storms, all was good for this Osprey family on the bay. I am so happy for Audrey that she has a little one to care for this year. Tom and Audrey’s little kiddo is 28 days old.
Barnegat Light – Duke brought a fluke for his family in the afternoon. At 40 days old, 09/N was doing some wingers.
Severna Park – Chick #1 fledged on 7/9, at 62 days of age. She made a nice return landing on the nest three hours later, and she enjoyed several more flights throughout the day. Chick #2 is 62 days old on 7/10.
Forsythe – All is well for Opal, Oscar, and their two chicks aged 49 and 48 days.
Osoyoos – The fish have been plentiful at the nest. At 14 and 13 days old, those two kids are doing great.
South Cape May Meadows – Hera was seen at her nest in the morning of 7/9, where her three babies died of starvation due to the prolonged storm in June. Zeus has not been seen since the storm. My heart aches for Hera.
Dahlgren – We could see chick #1 fledge this week. The chicks are both doing well, and are 53 and 49 days of age.
Patuxent Nest 1 – There could be another fledge any day. The two siblings are 56 and 55 days old, and I think I can tell them apart, lol, so hopefully we’ll know which one fledges next. Foster loves that perch so much, she spent the night on it, with Mom back on the nest last night.
Audubon Boathouse – Dory and Skiff’s only chick is 30 days old already, and little Skipper is doing great!
It is always a joy to receive your e-mails, to read your comments, and to have you hear with us in Bird World. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘B, H, T’, Moorings Park Ospreys, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcon Cam, Earth.com, Page, BC SPCA, FOBBV, Tatarstan Eagle Cam, Dunrovin Rach, Fortis Exshaw, Borders Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, PSEG, Cowlitz PUD, Collins Marsh, Clark PUD, Bridges Golf, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, Island Beach State Park, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, CarnyXWild, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, LOTL, LRWT, Dyfi Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Alyth, Kent Island, Severna Park, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Forsythe Ospreys, Osoyoos, Audubon Boathouse, Patuxent River Park, DAhlgren Ospreys, and SCMM.
All of the Corvid babies are coming to the feeders. This includes the six Blue Jays – easy to recognise from the adults because they have their crest – the adults are now moulting having fledged this large nest. then there are the baby Crows. They do not look so much like babies but the adults feed them on the top of my fence and it is so cute. Then now, this morning, we have the Grackles. Of course, in the mix, are the dozens and dozens of baby House Sparrows, and Dyson’s kids. The images are not great…it is very difficult with the iridescent black and the black eyes and beak to capture the Crows when they are in the south of the conservatory.
Of course, the peanut stock is being depleted regularly with all of these Corvids. The St Boniface. is near the shop to get the birdIndustrial Park . It has two larger ponds and a smaller one. I have not been there this year, and it was high time to check to see what was happening. First, there were no Canada Geese. Not one. Not even a feather from moulting. There were four Ring adult Ring-necked ducks, a pair of Mallards, a few Red-winged Blackbirds, Song and Savannah Sparrows, and a lone Robin pulling worms out of the moist soil. All this rain is helping the birds!
That said- the running around for seed (the shop is quite a distance from where I live) means that my blog today is not nearly as long as normal.
‘H’ sent me great news on Saturday, and if you did not see the posting, you will be thrilled to know that Rita, the former mate of Ron, from the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, is splendid. While we would all want her living in the will with Ron, raising eaglets, it was not meant to be. She had to have part of a wing amputated and she was in guarded condition for some time. Here is the latest news from the Miami Zoo and it is good. Thanks, ‘H’,
Gosh, it’s nice to start off with good news and there is more.
Check out the growth of Dmitri’s storklet! This is from May to July, 2 months. I will put the link to today’s feeding below. Dmitri has been overwhelmed by the international response to his health condition. Enough funds have arrived for him to have the private surgery and not wait a long time in the queue at public hospitals. He has said that the storklet ‘saved his life’… The belief that storks bring individuals good luck if we care for them is shown clearly in this instance. This is a feel-good story, and so happy and grateful for this kind and generous ordinary person. If you wanted to donate, however small, to Dmitri, send me a note, and I will give you the address for the fund. He will need help and funds to feed the storklet and himself after the surgery. Donating was very easy.
The link to this feeding. There does not appear to be a streaming cam live but a camera has been provided to Dmitri so that he can make short clips of the storklet’s progress and post them.
Soledad is still yelling and screaming and the parents are furnishing her with breakfast and keeping track of their only eyas this year. Monty and Hartley you did well! It is sure nice to know that these babies that have fledged are safe.
The third hatch at Outerbanks 24/7 has fledged and like its two older siblings has already returned to the nest! Well done. Put this Osprey nest on your list to watch next season. They are all gone and then they are all on the nest. You can hear them fish calling on the cam!
There is a fledge at Llyn Clywedog. Dylan and Seren’s eldest boy, Blue 8B1, took to the skies, did a fantastic flight around and returned landing on the perch right next to Mum.
Dylan brought his young lad a nice Brown Trout as a reward.
Female chick PF4 has fledged at Loch of the Lowes! Oh, goodness they are all taking to the skies or thinking about it.
At the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn, the chicks are hovering.
The Finnish Osprey #4 nest was a concern. ‘A’ was correct to be concerned. The lack of fish and rain has prompted the first hatch to attack both Middle and Little. The female appears reluctant to feed the Little one and despite two large fish being brought to the nest one after another, the Big osplet has now killed the little one.” It was an outright attack according to my friend ‘T’.
Finnish #1 nest. Eine really loves to eat her fish and those chicks have to work hard to get fed. There could be a potential for problems. The Big one eats, then the second, and we hope there is enough for the third!
The Patchogue Osprey nest is doing fine. There is a lot of wing flapping. The two older osplets have fledged and returned to the nest. On Saturday, Three got up to the perch so it is only time til it flies officially. That left Mini on the nest and our deal little one looked so lonely. Little Mini had a couple of good crops on Saturday. Fully confident that this fantastic chick will fledge. Please continue to watch as we celebrate these amazing parents who raised four energetic and healthy osplets.
Mini keeping an eye on that fish that one of the older is eating. Mini is very smart and has proven itself a survivor. The only issue could be a nest accident but I didn’t say that! This is also a good nest to put on your list for viewing next year.
Mini alone -.
‘M’ got this nice screen capture of Mini alone today, too. The flying is going to cause the older ones to be hungry so no doubt the nest is going to be frantic when there are deliveries. Gos, this chick is gorgeous. Notice her nice necklace and those amazing eyes. You can always tell Mini by her head and neck form the others. And look at those thick ankles. Little tears of joy…I know many of us worried so much that we would lose Mini.
After some initial hiccups, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys are doing fantastic.
Everything appears to be alright at Cowlitz PUD. This nest was fortunate – only one egg hatched and there is enough fish for three. If you have forgotten, the theory is that the Bald Eagles – which are plentiful in the area – steal the fish from the Ospreys.
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest is very interesting. It is thought that this is the first breeding season for the female. The male is 21 years old. He often stays in the nest and observes the female feeding the chick. Today is the first day I can say that this baby has ‘a fat little bottom’. Things have improved since the beginning of the season on this nest.
Clark PUD is alright. I keep thinking this nest could use some more fish as the osplets are growing rapidly and feathering.
The female at Collins Marsh is just a sweetie. The two chicks of this new couple are doing very well, indeed.
The three chicks at the Lipka Forest Osprey nest in Poland are doing super.
The ringing of osplets (or any raptor or bird) can cause upsets at the nest. After the initial delay of the parents returning to the nest on Saturday, Louis comes in with fish number two. On Sunday, it is confirmed that this big chick is a boy! The naming contest has begun. Geemeff sent the link, please scroll through the comments when you get to this site: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/
‘H’ continues to be concerned about the FortisExshaw nest. This is her report for the morning: “Their only feeding yesterday was from a large fish brought by Louise at 0934. Since then, Louise has left the nest numerous times, and the longest she was away was 52 minutes. She returned a few times with nesting material. She was never seen with a large crop. I have seen beaking of Little a few times. I assume this beaking is probably taking place more often than I am finding it on rewind. Jasper will have been missing 48 hours on 7/9 at 0930. I hope Jasper returns. This is really tough on Little.”
Louise alone wondering what happened to Jasper with three very young chicks to feed and protect – and brood.
Ferris Akel has been checking in on Big Red, Arthur and the Ms and on Saturday he found all of them. Those fledglings are doing great.
Suzanne Arnold Horning found the Ms as well. Gosh these are precious little ones.
A beautiful story coming to us from the Kakapo Recovery about Nora – and, yes, she is still alive. I have attached the article below so you can read about this remarkable female, the matriarch to the now 209 Kakapo in the world.
All of Heidi’s other Osprey nests are doing well so no individual reports on them.
Thank you for being with me today. Send your positive energy to those struggling nests, including Fortis Exshaw. Take care, everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, M, T’, Miami Zoo, Dmitri’s stork, SK Hideaways and the SJCH Falcon Cam, Outerbanks 24/7, CarnyXWild, George Green and the Clywedog Osprey Group, Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve, Dyfi Osprey Project, Finnish Osprey Foundation, PSEG, Boulder County Fair Grounds, MN Landscape Arboretum, Clark PUD, Collins Marsh, Lipka Forest, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Ferris Akel Live Stream, Suzanne Arnold Horning, and kakapo Recovery.
Gosh, it is Friday and right now it is a few minutes before Saturday. The day flew by! Too many things to do and not enough hours in the day. I imagine all of you know that feeling. On Wednesday I was given a large basket of freshly picked strawberries and today – finally – they were made into David Leibowitz’s Parisian Strawberry Jam. There is no pectin although you can grate apples with the berries – they thicken it like pectin. I wanted that lovely slightly runny jam that isn’t too sweet that can go on scones, ice cream, or puddings. Tomorrow will be scone making! Need I say that Lewis and Missey both love scones. Bless their hearts. We are also getting ready for kitty birthdays. Missey will be a year the middle of July and Lewis a year the middle of August…wonder what special meal they will want?
Missey always poses.
Dyson is looking very healthy. She is at the feeders several times a day and often suns herself on the deck.
The babies are doing well. This one stayed long enough for me to focus the camera!
My neighbour informed me that there was an ‘explosion’ of Blue Jays this year – yes, there was! Six babies. There are also a similar number of baby Crows. Two Crow families came to get peanuts, cheesy dogs, and eggs again this evening.
Several years ago I did extensive research on the cost to the environment of the mega-dams that were constructed in the north of my province beginning in 1969. I learned that the lakes, the water, and the land remain toxic from the mercury dredged up by the construction of the Churchill-Nelson project by Manitoba Hydro. Then I began to think about Hope at the Newfoundland Power Osprey nest. Newfoundland Power has also built mega dams. Is it possible that Hope suffers from neurological damage caused by methyl mercury toxicity in the water and fish? Surely we can all agree that the behaviour of this female Osprey is not seen often.
This is a short portion of a book chapter about ceramics that includes mention of my research in Manitoba:
In Manitoba, a Crown-owned public utility produces hydropower for domestic consumption and export. This hydroelectric energy originates with the waters of northern Manitoba. It is then carried south to markets beyond provincial boundaries via a vast and intricate transmission network. In the 1960s, the provincial and federal governments built generating stations, powerhouse structures, control dams, and transmission lines on the Churchill and Nelson Rivers and their diversions to produce the electricity we use and sell. But what was the cost to the people who had lived on the land for generations? The damming of the rivers in Treaty 5 Territory caused flooding on an unparalleled scale to the homes, the traditional hunting grounds, and the burial sites of Indigenous people. Extensive documentation details the social ramifications of these actions. Ramona Neckoway, a member of the Nisichawayasihk Cree nation impacted by the mega-dam states: Manitoba Hydro’s vast and impressive network, including the labyrinth of transmission lines, affected and continue to impact entire generations of indigenous peoples in Manitoba. My grandparents’ generation, my parents’ generation, my generation, my children’s generation and their children’s generation, have borne witness to and experienced a kind of cultural genocide resulting from Hydro’s generation in Manitoba; these experience to varying degrees and severity are akin, in some ways, to the residential school era that devastated many Aboriginal communities, children, parents and grandparents.
The impact of these mega-dam projects is not limited to the province of Manitoba. In November 2019, people from around the world met in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for a conference organised by the Wa Ni Tan, a group trying to stop the building of mega-dams worldwide. People came from as far away as Brazil and Panama to mobilise against these hydroelectric projects’ social and environmental damage. Underlying their concern were the pronounced changes to their communities since the construction of the dams. These include “significant social disorder, the abuse of drugs and alcohol, racial discrimination and the destruction of ancestral hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering practices. “ The people used to drink the water from the river eat the fish they caught or the game they killed. Today, all of the animals, the fish, and the people have been poisoned by methyl mercury developed in the reservoirs upstream. The result of the mercury poisoning is that many indigenous people living near the mega-dams have had to abandon their fisheries and their traditional diets resulting in an elevated increase of diabetes amongst the population.
Sadly, despite all of the harm done to the land, the people, nature, and all living creatures, it is also known that these hydro dams are incredibly inefficient. The effectiveness even of the newest turbines is only around 60%, meaning that 40% of the primary energy is wasted.
Can Ceramics Ever be a Sustainable Cultural Practice? University of Nantes, 2021.
I intend to research the situation at the Snow Lane nest further. Their nest is far from the Muskrat Falls plant discussed in the article below. I also hope to hear from wildlife specialists in the area I have written to in order to establish if my theory has any weight.
Everyone commented on how tranquil the nest of CJ7 and Blue 022 was at Poole Harbour this season. Well, guess what? They ringed the three osplets on Friday and believe the first two hatches are males and the third is a female. That is a great solution to the beaking that often comes when the female is the first hatch and the wee lad is the third. Well done, CJ7 and 022!
Gosh, I remember when I thought CJ7 might never find a mate and then that you man flew to the perch of her nest two years ago. They made history and continue to do so. So happy for this family.
The two surviving chicks were ringed at Llyn Brenig today as well – two girls. The first hatch is Blue 7B5 weighing 1775 grams, and the second is 7B6 weighing 1730 grams. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Just a quick run through some of the nests:
Alyth: The chicks are loud and getting bigger by the day.
Aran and Elen and their two sons are doing really well at Glaslyn. Elen proved to be a superb mother in her first year raising chicks! Great choice, Aran.
Idris delivered a double-header for the kids at the Dyfi nest that he shares with his mate, Telyn.
The Only Bob of Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig is massive and it has these incredible ‘snake eyes’. Reminds me of Iris and Mrs G sometimes. The ringing should take place shortly and my bet is on a female! Or one of those males that simply breaks all records like Only Bob did at Clywedog a couple of years ago.
The ring number is LY7 but no release of gender yet.
Geemeff writes that the cam is down and the chick is being ringed! Here is some of its big wing flapping early on Saturday. Look at those wings!
There is an expected fledge today coming out of Loch of the Lowes. PF4 is really getting some height to that hovering!
The Only Bob at the Cowlitz PUD appears to be doing well.
Equally everything appears fine at Collins Marsh.
Everyone is preening at Oyster Bay. The nest is good.
The trio at the Pitkin County Open Trails Osprey Nest in Colorado are doing well. Mum was busy shading them from the heat on Friday.
The MNSA Jay Koolpix ospreys in Oceanside, NY are doing great, too.
Things appear to be going smoothly at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. There is a bit more nesting material and a few more sticks and the wee one is able to eat larger pieces of fish that Mum is feeding. Feeling hopeful.
This new Mum is learning and if the winds would cooperate and not take off all their efforts in getting material to the nest, this could become a very comfy place to brood this chick.
A quick check on the two remaining osplets at the Bridges Golf Osprey platform seem to indicate that this nest is doing alright. Fingers crossed for this family.
Is there is a potential problem brewing at nest #4 in Finland? The first hatch is not allowing the third hatch up to get fish. The third hatch is looking very thin. It has been raining but ‘T’ confirms that the third hatch got some fish. Hoping that this is just a one off.
There is also a potential problem unfolding at the FortisExshaw nest near Canmore, Alberta. Jasper has not been seen for nearly 24 hours. ‘H’ reported Big beaking Little and keeping it from eating. This is the last fish that Jasper delivered around 0930 on Friday. ‘H’ reports that
Feeding 0559 to 0608 – Louise blocked the view again, lol. I think Little may have been fed a couple of bites, but at 0601, Little tried to ‘exit stage left’, and s/he ran out of real estate in the nest cup. I believe Little had most likely been bonked. 0924 to 0958 – Ah, a different set-up. . Mom in the centre, Middle and Little on one side, Big on the other side. Louise fed to her right, exclusively feeding Middle and Little. Big kept peeking around the corner “hey, what about me?” Eventually, Big figured it out and moved to the right side of Mom. The two big kids squeezed Little against the cup wall and at 0934 Little backed out, and moved away. At 0942 Little tried to return to the feeding, but was beaked by Big. Big quit the feeding at 0951, and Middle quit shortly thereafter. At that point Little received a long private feeding. Little ate at least 81 bites.There were no other fish deliveries on 7/7.”
‘H’s other reports. Thank you:
Severna Park – “Chick #1 may be a large gal, and has yet to fledge at 60 days old. I wonder if the slightly smaller chick #2 (59 days old) will fledge first.
Kent Island – Tom is such a great provider. He delivered at least 5 big fish for his family, there may have been an early delivery that I missed, but the lighting was such that it was very difficult to view the nest in the morning. Tom and Audrey’s chick is 26 days old.
Forsythe – Well, thank heavens, Opal must have shown Oscar where she catches those huge fish! Opal brought in a big one, and Oscar delivered four very large fish. The kids are 47 and 46 days old.
Barnegat Light – Other than Daisy being dive bombed by the Red-winged Blackbird, life is good on the bay for Duke, Daisy, and their 38 day old youngster.
Boathouse – Dory and Skiff continue to dote over their cherished offspring. Little Skipper is 28 days old.
Dahlgren – At 51 and 47 days old, Harriet and Jack’s kids are growing up fast. They were both taking advantage of a breezy day and working those wings. And, one of them managed to get quite a bit of lift!
Osoyoos – Soo and Olsen’s 11 and 12 day old kids are simply thriving!
Patuxent Nest 1 – ‘Foster’ decided to take a quick spin around the marsh for her second flight from the nest. She landed on the nearby perch, just as pretty as you please!
Until the magistrates impose proper fines and penalties, the estates will continue to get away with murder.
The Hobby Falcons are busy feeding their chicks! This family is seriously adorable. Highly recommend you check out the streaming cam on YouTube: Dorset Hobby Falcons.
Before I get on my soap box about people shooting Red Listed birds, there is sad news coming out of Kielder Forest this morning. A chick has been predated. This is nest 5A home to Mr and Mrs UV.
UK Raptor Persecution has released the following information about the recent confirmed shooting of at least two red kites (with a third one suspected) near Westerdale in the North York Moors National Park (see here). The North York Moors Park Authority has issued the following statement:
I am absolutely outraged, along with you in the UK and elsewhere, that the legal system is punishing those responsible in a manner that is fitting and proper…meaning high fines, loss of licenses, custodial sentences. Is that what it takes to stop people having fun shooting birds? The real other enemy is that it is the ultra-wealthy who are doing the shooting. They have ‘friends in high places’. Indeed, some of them are the ‘friends in a high place.’
Murphy’s Eaglet was released today. Here are some images and the press release from World Bird Sanctuary.
Plastic. BirdLife International research is showing the extent to which this deplorable material that we cannot seem to get out of our daily lives is destroying the oceans and harming wildlife. The project has identified the most vulnerable sites and maybe there is something we can do to help.
Always gives us a smile – Annie and Lou – who are enjoying their time without the constant challenge of caring for eyases.
Last but never least, Little Mini. Mini had a nice breakfast this morning and it appears that the larger of the two are more interested in being on the perch!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Have a lovely Saturday! 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, Geemeff, H, T’, Google Maps, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Alyth Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust, Geemeff and Friends of Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cowlitz PUD, Collins Marsh, PSEG, Pitkin County Open Trails, MNSA Jay Koolpix Osprey Cam, MN Landscape Arboretum, Bridges Golf Club Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Jackie Morris and Friends of Dyfi osprey Project, Dorset Hobby Falcons, Fortis Exshaw, Severna Park, Kent Island Ospreys, Forsythe Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Dahlgren Ospreys, Boathouse Ospreys, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park 1, Kielder Forest, UK Raptor Persecution, World Bird Sanctuary, BirdLife International and SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, and PSEG.
