protecting wildlife – Page 9 – Mary Ann Steggles

Wednesday in Bird World

4 December 2024

Hello Everyone,

First thing. There is an egg for Ron and Rose at the WRDC nest near Miami in Dade County. 14:34 according to Heidi on Tuesday. Congratulations! Everything looks alright with that egg.

The video: https://youtu.be/sb71R6oInuQ?

In one day, we will celebrate the arrival of Hugo Yugo to our lives. We adopted her on the 5th of December believing that she was a male as we had been told (and requested). The vet would laughingly inform us that we had one of a handful of Ginger Girls. Her name became Hugo Yugo, and it took her nearly nine months to start growing. We would not have given her back for a New York minute.

Wrapped in her blanket, at 11 weeks old, she was all ears. And she was sick. Poor thing. Dr Green quickly put that to rights.

My pal and faithful osprey data collector, Heidi, is worried that I will compromise ‘The Girls’ by bringing Brock into the house. She knows that these four girls are ‘everything’ to me. Brock would need to be ‘caged’ (I have one), and he would need to go to the vet for testing before he could be cleared to come into the house. I do not believe this will ever happen. Brock is too ‘feral’. So, we provide him with high-quality food, water, and 2 warm and safe places to sleep that are dry if he should choose to use them. My Girls are the rocks in my life. They give me the same joy that walking in the forest does. I will do anything and everything to protect them just as if they were my human children.

Hugo Yugo is at the vet’s last year, the morning after we picked her up from her foster family. She was dreadfully ill.

It was terrible. We ached for this little one. A week later, she was still sick, but she was showing some signs of improvement. She loved cuddling in a pink baby blanket. I would wrap her tight like a tortilla and place her in the curve of my left arm to stay warm. That is where she still sleeps today, sans a blanket.

All well at the vet’s on the 18th! She is playing and the vet tells us she will survive.

By the 28th of December (23 days later), Hugo Yugo was ruling the cat tree. We never looked back. She continues to be the boss of the house. The respite worker commented today on how HY chased Calico back into the back corner of the conservatory from the living room. This little Ginger is fearless.

At the vet last week still getting into trouble. It is a small sink but Hugo Yugo did grow, finally.

Tuesday was Gifting Tuesday. This year was Calico’s turn the local charity that would get our funds and any other selections related to that institution. Last year, Missey had this privilege. Local wildlife rehab facilities, feral cat groups, nature centres, you name it, were there for the picking. The one that Calico put her paw on first was the choice. It was Wildlife Haven this year! Then, she had to select the ambassador to be adopted. She put her paw on the printout of Gus, the Turkey Vulture! There you go. Looks like a carrion eater is our adoptee this year! It is pretty fun. We had several others this year. Giving Tuesday is great if there is someone or some institution that will double the donations. It can have a huge impact.

Gabby and Beau spent almost all day at the nest on Tuesday. Thinking eggs? Oh, please!

She looks like she is thinking about it or geez, is this Beau? My old eyes are so bad.

‘J’ reports that an owl struck Gabby during the night but she is OK. Oh, these owls!

It is windy at Port Lincoln and the family is waiting for the first fish of the day.

Noon. No fish yet. Looks like a day when we will be wishing the fairy would appear.

Now that I have gotten it out of head that Kasse has the pink ring, here she is with her bright red ring doing some nice wingers.

Well, it is afternoon. Dad is in the man cave, and he appears to not be interested in fishing. Mum is off the nest. I wonder if she has gone to find fish for her and the two osplets.

Mum did bring in that fish. Then the fish fairy came with 6 fish and Dad rounded up the day with two after 4pm! What a day at Port Lincoln.

Royal Cam Dad RLK is home safely and ready to incubate his egg! Oh, isn’t it a relief when they return after foraging?

One of the eagles was seen on Tuesday.

Giliath!

Thunder and Akecheta spent the night at the West End nest and were there in the early morning.

Hey look who is at Fraser Point! Andor and Cruz.

I did not see anyone at the Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn.

It was a gorgeous day at Decorah in Iowa!

One eagle at the NCTC nest and then two. Bella and Scout visit the old nest.https://youtu.be/F6ZwZg36Vtc?

Looks like the Eagles have the Hilton Head nest! Yeah, George and Gracie. https://youtu.be/kQnHDQbI7KM?

But wait a minute! Bailey the GHO is working on the nest after the Eagle leaves. This is not so good! https://youtu.be/sb71R6oInuQ?

In past instances, the GHOs have taken the nest from the eagles. Think Bonnie and Clyde at Farmer Derek’s. They are not cute and fluffy. GHOs are Apex Raptors, Predators of the highest level.

Bonnie and Clyde paid a visit to the Cardinal Land Conservancy nest on Tuesday.

Hawk Mountain migration update. There are some real concerning numbers there and there are some surprises. See if you can find the raptors that gained in numbers and then which one lost the most?

22 year old Red tail Hawk rescued!

‘J’ sends me a note that had me shaking my head: “I told you I had bought Geo Magazine from April 1978 because it had a long article in it about kakapo. It was a harsh read. Starts with quotes from people in the 1800s – I now know the best way to cook a kakapo, you never know when that might come in handy. When the author went over there were only 12 (!!!) kakapo left as far as anyone knew, and all of them were males. There were 24 humans watching and protecting them 24/7 and basically everyone was waiting for the species to die out. One, a 24 year old student fell down a cliff and died. But after the author came back home he got the call that 30 more kakapo had been found, so at least it ended with a positive note, everyone hoping that at least one of the 30 would be a female.”

Today, people are still working around the clock to care for these amazing birds. As of November 2024, there are 244 kākāpō alive. They are critically endangered. Fun Facts: The population has actually doubled since 2016. The programme to save the Kakapo was started by the New Zealand Government and the Maori tribe, Ngai Tahu. Conservation efforts include artificial insemination, supplementary feeding, and transmitters to help the staff locate the birds for their annual checks.

New Zealand’s quirky kākāpō are pulled back from the edge of extinction | Natural History Museum Download

‘J’ sends us Rita the Eagle’s History Monday:

The visitor to the Achieva Credit Union osprey platform looks down and says, “What the heck is this mess?! And they want me to lay eggs, where?” Thanks, MP for the capture.

Tuesday is always a long day for me. Today was snow and really brisk winds. The roads were terrible. Calico has a project and I had to pick it up at our local photo store – which happened to be about 24 minutes across town on slick roads. I was not impressed with the way our winter is starting. Hopefully I didn’t miss too many events in Bird World!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, notes of concern, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Heidi, J, MP’, WRDC, Heidi McGrue, Hugo Yugo and the Anderson Animal Wellness Centre in Winnipeg, NEFL-AEF, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sharon Dunne, Judy Harrington, IWS/Explore.org, Raptor Resource Project, NCTC, Deb Stecyk, Hilton Head Land Trust, Hawk Mountain, A Place Called Hope, Natural History Museum, Rita the Eagle, Achieva Credit Union

Tuesday in Bird World

26 November 2024

Good Morning,

It snowed on and off all day. This morning there were five grey squirrels at the feeders – five in sight, altogether. Dyson, the three kits, and another one. Is it Dyson’s mate?

A cutie.

Then these four. Each appears to be healthy. They have their heavy winter coats and are so beautiful against the snow.

Starlings came. So did the Blue Jays, Crows, and Sparrows. Everyone was hungry. They are working away at the suet cylinder. Calico and I hope to get into the kitchen and make some suet cookies to hang throughout the lilacs. Where does the time go? How did I ever teach, assist in running a school of art, and take care of a home?

Oh, it is always so lovely to see them. However, Brock (aka The Boyfriend) did not come at his usual time. It worried me. Several hours later, Calico came in and kept patting me and meowing. Brock was here! Communication. Brock prefers wet food, but it freezes, and it is so hard to watch for him when we have busy days. This was amazing.

A shout out to ‘H’ and ‘J’ for some news you will all want to hear.

Sadly, I have added Bald Eagle Abby and mate of Blaze at Eagle Country to our Memorial Wall. She has been MIA long enough for Eagle Country to declare her deceased. A new female is now at the nest with Blaze.

This is the new female Skye.

Link to all of the Eagle Country cams – and they have a lot of them on this nest!

https://www.youtube.com/@EagleCountry/streams

Blaze at the nest as the sun begins to set. Beautiful sunset.

The video of the install of the new camera for the MN-DNR Bald Eagles. https://youtu.be/EWZF56NcxyA?

Mark your calendars. ‘H’ informs me: “Banding for Wilko and Kasse at PLO: Weather permitting, Saturday 11/30. Alternate dates 12/1 or 12/2.” It makes me sad. They will soon fledge after this and I find myself hoping that they are male so they hang around, but we need some females down there for Ervie!!!!!!! I sure hope Wilko doesn’t fledge or the ringing will be canceled.

SK Hideaways has posted a video showing what appears to be one of the adults in flight traning with another bird. Is this training with Yira? or is this Diamond and Xavier flying together? passing prey? I want to believe it is Yira.

Oh, it is a bright morning at Port Lincoln. We have lots of wingers going on! Everyone is anticipating the arrival of the morning fish.

The Fish Fairy arrived at mid-morning much to the delight of Mum, Wilko, and Kasse. Just look at all the nice fish! They were hungry. This is so good.

They will sure make quick work of those fish! Seven were delivered. Wilko was unafraid!

Dad came and took one of the fish for himself leaving Mum and the kids six. Wilko is trying to unzip one.

Look at the time. Almost all of the fish are gone.

Wind and rain came later to Port Lincoln.

‘A’ writes: “I see on the Port Lincoln chat that you have nominated Kasse as female and Wilko as male, and based on relative size and their behaviours, I absolutely agree with you. I initially thought they might both be male, because they got along so well, but at this stage, Kasse is absolutely huge, so large that she really must be a female. Wilko is a cute and brave little man. How much did he make you laugh today, standing up to defend the nest against the potentially dangerous Hat? And as for Kasse, she pancaked beautifully at the approach of the Fish Fairy’s vessel and stayed flat to the nest, her eyes wide in amazement as the Hat deposited a veritable fish-shop display window onto the nest right in front of her. In fact, she remained pancaked for about five minutes, until Mum literally landed on her head! I also admit to laughing uncontrollably at the sight of Kasse literally being stood on her head overbalancing while grabbing a bite just after 10:25. TOO funny. She did eventually manage to regain her footing but it took her quite a while.

These two are adorable. Kasse has absolutely no fear of her older sibling, and I do think their behaviour definitely supports your opinion. The older they have got, the more obvious those genders have been, with lots of small interactions suggesting that Wilko is indeed the older brother, with Kasse the younger sister. I always think that for stress-free viewing, this is by far the best option (apart from two males on the nest). If we are going to have a behaviourally dominant female on a nest, it is best that she be the youngest, as it gives her a bit of spunk to survive being bottom of the pecking order and means her older sibling is not too aggressive. That of course is what has happened here in my opinion. But they are both gorgeous, very healthy and have a magnificent mum. I could not agree more with your assessment of this osprey mum. She has been incredible this season, including taking over fishing duties whenever it has been necessary. Just a really special bird. “

Gabby and Beau are diligently working on their nest in NE Florida. They seem to do this early in the morning when it is cooler.

A gorgeous day at the Captiva Bald Eagle cam.

‘J’ copied Rita’s History Monday for us: “It’s time for Rita’s History Monday! Now that Rita’s offspring, #98, was off on her eagle adventure, attention once again focused on the fallen nest. Year after year it fell apart, and as Lloyd Brown of Wildlife Rescue and Ron Magill of Zoo Miami examined the condition of what little was left, they felt that it would be in the best interest of the eagles to install a more secure platform in a more stable spot in the tree. It is said that Bald Eagles mate for life, and they also have nest fidelity, so they return to the same nest tree each year. The remnants of the old nest were 95 feet high, up in a spindly part of a Casaurina (Australian) Pine. There was concern that if the eagles returned and tried to rebuild in that unstable spot, the nest would likely fail again. With approval from US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), they researched the best type of platform that could be used in that type of tree. So, in preparation for Season 2022, a new nest platform was installed! The platform is made of a 5 foot wide wooden papasan chair that was lined with plastic mesh to provide drainage and airflow. This type of nest has been successfully used for other Bald Eagle nest platforms. They carefully secured it in the tree and partially filled it with small sticks and pine needles to make it more inviting. We waited and hoped that the eagles would return. But, that’s not all folks! The community was also in for a great surprise! Stay tuned for more exciting news and thank you for liking and sharing the history of Rita.”

Xavier is arriving with cicadas. Does anyone remember Izzi eating all those cicadas like they were ice lollies? Oh, how I miss that lovely boy. https://youtu.be/ayiv0X4Z9Sg?

The Peregrines Zen and Zara – SK Hideways shows us their ‘need for speed when a Merlin is concerned! https://youtu.be/-wfh2voivv0?

The Girls and I have been reading books. We have a small stack to get through but we have finished reading Serviceberries. I will talk about that on Thanksgiving Day. The book that Calico really wants me to mention is certainly an exceptional book for young people, but Heidi is going to tell me it is equally terrific for adults, and she would be right. The book is An Anthology of Exquisite Birds by Ben Hoare. This weighty volume has been reviewed, and its gorgeous drawings have received critical acclaim. It is full of fun facts and information in a way that it is different from your normal field guide. It keeps you engaged. I wanted to know more about these exotic birds – well, at least exotic to me! One of my favourite illustrations was the Superb Fairywren.

There are 224 pages, including an entry on my beloved House Sparrows. They noted that thousands of years ago, ‘house sparrows lived only in Europe and Western Asia.’ (189). Today, they are located on every continent except Antarctica. Many loathe having them at their feeders along with European Starlings, and yet, for the decades that birds have been coming to the garden, I cannot honestly cite either one as bullies. Everyone seems to have a turn. One day, after observing the Starlings for several hours, they actually ‘lined up’ to get to the feeder, flying from the neighbour’s tall tree to those at the back of the garden. Then, a few would fly to Abigail’s tree, waiting their turn in line for the big tray feeder. It looked exceptionally well organized. For the life of me, I simply cannot abide by those that go to the end of the earth to find ways to stop these two species from getting seed at their feeders. If a human or non human is hungry, then why not feed it? Does it really matter what feather pattern the birds have? At some time in the future, perhaps sooner than they might realize, the sparrow’s song might be the only one in the garden. At the same time, their numbers are declining. Research indicates that sparrow numbers are declining worldwide. The North American Breeding Bird Survey estimates that the total numbers of sparrows declined by 80% between 1966 and 2019. In Europe, numbers are down by approximately 60%.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/16/house-sparrow-population-in-europe-drops-by-247m?CMP=share_btn_url

Please spread the news that these little birds deserve food and water, too!

Where Have All the House Sparrows Gone?Download

This is the list of birds included in this beautiful encyclopedia of sorts that also includes information on feathers, nests, beaks, etc.

I didn’t ask permission to post these page images, but I hope the publisher will realize that Calico’s Ten Golden Paw Award is, precisely, a golden recommendation! If you have someone struggling to find a birthday gift or a holiday present, this could solve your struggles. It is $21.40 US from the online retailers. It’s a perfect price point, too. It is an excellent book to hold and read. Good paper, gold tipped pages matching the amazing cover, below.

Did you miss Ventana Wildlife’s November Condor Chat? Here it is archived! https://youtu.be/1JWS76hlPG8?

In Scotland, a Golden Eagle dies at a wind turbine farm.

Golden eagle dies in rare collision with wind turbine in south Scotland – Raptor Persecution UK Download

Be careful for the deer. The four deer were running around trying to find food this morning. We had a huge box of apples, carrots, cabbage, etc and could not find them despite the fact they had been near to our house 45 minutes prior. Tomorrow we will leave the food at the park. There were City workers doing something to the road next to where they stay so no one saw them there.

You can see the snow that fell on our garden by looking at the top of the table. The tracks belong to Brock who has chosen to come and go to a place where he feels safe. Oh, maybe one day he will trust us enough to just step inside. For now, we hope he is warm. It is -5 C and feels like -10.

How do birds stay warm in this kind of cold?

How do birds keep warm in the winter? | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Download

Thank you for being with us today. Take care everyone. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J’, Eagle Country, MN-DNR, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, NEFL-AEF, Window to Wildlife, Rita the Eagle FB, Nesting Birdlife and More, SK Hideaways, An Anthology of Exquisite Birds by Ben Hoare, The Guardian, The Cornell Bird Lab, Ventana Wildlife Society, John Debacker, USFWS

Monday in Bird World

25 November 2024

Hello Everyone,

GREAT NEWS: Morning update on WBSE33.

Judy Harrington reports that WBSE 33 has been cleared by the vets and is fit and ready to go to a rehabilitation facility. There he will gain strength and more experience before release.

Isn’t this wonderful news!

And I want to thank our friend, ‘H’ in Florida for going to take a photo of the Achieva Osprey nest. She says, “I happened to be in the area last week but it was at night and somewhat well lit. The base of the nest sits on a solid wood utility pole that is fully upright and when standing below, it appears the base of the nest is level on the post. You can definitely see the holes in the base of the nest.” Thank you so very, very much. That clears up a lot of questions. Here are the images that ‘H’ took:

Sunday was another grey sky day with some blowing snow. As I write this, the weather app on my phone tells me it will be -9 C. When we go out, we need our warm boots, toques, mitts, and heavier coats. Outside, it felt colder than it was. Even the conservatory feels like it is -20 C, and it isn’t. It is now -5 C and for the first time I have closed the door. The girls are not happy. We will see what is wrong with the heating tomorrow. Maybe just the fact it was cloudy with no sun made it cooler. Just the thought of winter sends shivers down my back, literally.

Near the quarries, Magpies were swooping across the road and a Bald Eagle on top of a pole. More and more Bald Eagles are choosing to stay in Manitoba during the winter. These quarries are perfect places for them to hunt rabbits, squirrels, and voles.

One of the abandoned quarries where there are often waterfowl and deer. The Bald Eagle was very close to this site. I wonder when the water will freeze. This is a vast unused pit that is just full of various wildlife at different times of the year.

Nearer to home was something I didn’t want to see – a deer family at a small park one block square with lots of traffic roaring around on all sides. People walk their dogs (thankfully, they keep them on the lead), but will those dogs cause the deer to bolt? Someone has left pumpkin, and tomorrow, we will take apples and pears for them.

I posted it in our local community news. Most people are very caring. One lady lets them eat all the pumpkins in her garden. How kind. It warmed my heart to see who many who care for this deer family in one way or another.

The territory that the deer once inhabited has been disrupted and transformed into rapid transit routes with dedicated bus lanes and condominiums. It’s truly disheartening to think about how the deer will navigate across four lanes of heavily congested traffic to reach the larger park area if they decide to go there. They face the same challenges that other wildlife do in an urban setting that is nothing more than a building site – predators, cars, habitat loss, and food shortage. Again, thankfully people are providing what they can which included potato peels from one lady today!

Early fish have come to Wilko and Kasse. Mum was obviously very hungry as she held her fish back as Dad came in with a larger fish five minutes later.

This obs board has been updated and what is missing from the one that follows is the mention that Mum has brought in a fish and Kasse will be able to get some nice fish. Mum has really proven herself this year. Incredible. I keep saying that about her and I mean it. If we took away the fish fairies, the only thing that is keeping Wilko and Kasse alive is Mum and her fishing. Sorry Dad. I would scream at you, too.

It is after 1400 and still nothing save for the mornings offerings of fish at Port Lincoln.

The fishing got better at Port Lincoln as the day progressed. Kasse got to eat well at the end.

At NE Florida, Gabby and Beau continue to work on the nest in the early morning.

Incubation continues at SW Florida where M15 and F23 will welcome their eaglet/s earlier than Superbeaks and Captiva.

Thunder and Akecheta are busy working on their nest at the West End in the Channel Islands.

Liberty and Guardian kicking sticks around. https://youtu.be/U6n6tdpAvig?

Gigi and the new male are also working on their nest, the ND-LEEF, in the cooler area of southern Indiana.

A stunning sub-adult is at the US Steel nest.

Bonnie and Clyde were at their nest working diligently.

No further news on WBSE33.

There has been no sighting of Yira. Holly Parsons posts the latest update from Cilla Kinross.

I am skeptical. I have said this many times. I want to see Yira fly past the nest box and grab prey from Xavier’s talons when he drops it. Yira should be begging loudly for prey from the parents. She should be perched on buildings so loud as to get the parent’s attention and anyone passing by. So why have we not heard or seen her? Please, do not get me wrong. I want her to be alive and well and getting prey, but this just doesn’t feel right. With no evidence, I do not know why one would assume that all is well. Or is it, ‘no news is good news?’

Sunnie Day reports that the osprey platform at the Venice Golf and Country Club is being replaced. Way to go

Deb Stecyk caught Bella and Scout at their NCTC nest. https://youtu.be/TZ3pvvhr4Bs?

Thank you so much for being with us today. As you can see, I am feeling a little better. That allowed us to go for a nice outing today. Thank goodness. I am really, really dreading winter arriving this year. There I have said that twice. The snow doesn’t even look beautiful to me this year!

Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H’, Ranger Judy Harrington, Port Lincoln Osprey, Bart M and PLO, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, IWS/Explore.org, SK Hideaways, ND-LEEF, Pix Cams, Cardinal Land Conservancy, Judy Harrington, Deb Stecyk. Sunnie Day,

Wildlife Updates: Eagle Nests and Osprey News-Wednesday in Bird World

13 November 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The first thing. WBSE33 is thin but no fractures and will do well. Relief. But, how many of you remember Daisy the Duck who tried desperately to have ducklings on the nest but lost to the Crows two years in a row. Look at this little sweetie on that sea eaglet nest!

Thank you, and welcome to all our new subscribers. I have exited Twitter and will no longer be posting on that platform. You can now find me on Bluesky with the name OspreyLover. I will figure out how to post my blog there this weekend. Otherwise, the best way to be assured of getting Bird World news is by subscribing. The link is below. I will not send you spam. I will never have a fee for the blog. I publish only one post per day under normal conditions. If there is news that you would not wish to miss, then yes, there could be a second. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please feel free to share the blog with your friends and family. You can also find my blog on FaceBook or by going to maryannsteggles.com

Oh, goodness. A cold, fierce wind blew into Winnipeg Monday night and Tuesday morning. My Soleri chimes were waking up everyone. The outdoor carpet was tangled. Everything was tossed about. Thankfully, Friday is to be a bit warmer. It is time to find the ‘warmer’ coats and boots. Have them at the ready. That 10 C day should also give us time to finish up things for the soon-to-be-named tuxedo cat, ‘The Boyfriend’.

Hugo Yugo is 100% better and looking for more ways to get into mischief and have to have to go to the vet! We still cannot believe that she ate a shoestring with a knot. Incredible. You wouldn’t think she had been on death’s door. The mere fact that had she not passed this shoestring, she would have had to have undergone major surgery. It gives me chills.

These images were taken on Tuesday morning after the ‘expulsion’ Monday evening. Such a cheeky girl. Please believe me when I tell you that Hope is the ‘angel’ in the family of four girls. Hugo Yugo is still quite small for her age.

Darling Hope.

On Tuesday we stopped to remember dear Lewis who died on this day in 2023. He was the dear companion of Missey – and a great kitty to all.

Every year, I prepare myself for the little sea eaglets. They have such a beautiful life in the nest. We grow to love them dearly. Then there is the reality of their lives right after fledge. Heart-breaking. I hope SE33 survives. Some of its older siblings have survived in care. I hope SE33 is trained and released. Then it can have a life. It feels like a triple kick in the gut when the news arrives. Despite knowing to expect something, we always hope. We hope two eaglets will fly out of the nest to the River Roost. There, they would sit next to Lady and Dad, eat fish, and start a family with babies. So today, I am gutted.

In Montana, someone cut down Iris’s Owl Pole where she eats her fish. Dr Greene is investigating. I mean – seriously? Why would anyone do that? But then why would someone cut down the Llyn Brenig platform? Humans need more training so we can co-exist with wildlife in our shared world.

Muhlady laid her first egg on Tuesday. (I do not cover Superbeaks other than the very main points due to the restrictions of the cam owner).

There continues to be hurricanes that can alter the fate of some of the nests in Florida.

Migratory birds are under continuous threat. They are essential to the well-being of our planet.

https://bbc.com/news/science-environment-68254027

In Port Lincoln, Dad is at the nest. Here is the obs board so far. Please note that Mum is fishing!!!!!!!! Way to go. I do not recall her fishing for the kids on the nest in past years. Thump me gently, as I could easily forget. This is excellent news. We know that the nests where females share fishing duties have a greater chance of success. I am smiling so big. I wish you could see it.

First fish is a large one that Mum caught right under the nest. Dad left his fish and then came back and took it. There is some dominance behaviour happening.

Early morning in Melbourne. The rain will come as it did in Orange. These three are staying home. As you know, females are larger. It takes longer for their bodies to bulk up and their feathers to come in because they have so many more to grow. That is also why they require more food and are aggressive. They need all they can get to be bigger and bigger. Let’s all be grateful that they are not flying. I wish Garrama had not gotten startled and flown because it began to rain right after.

Yira and Gammata are cute, adorable, and will be preparing to fledge. I worry about them, too. In the images, unless the camera is playing tricks on us, we can see the difference in size in what could be a female and a male for Diamond and Xavier.

Garrama fledged at 11:26:44 after beaky kisses with Yira.

There is the fledge. https://youtu.be/dk8u-xnmCFw?

Cute video of Bubba preparing to fledge in case you missed it. Thanks, Heidi. (I could not find the live stream today). https://youtu.be/Hbi_1T2zyfc?

Just look at Bubba! Oh, the benefits of being the only osplet on the nest.

There are three beautiful fully feathered osplets at the Coobowie platform in South Australia. This is wonderful news. This nest originally had four chicks, unheard of in Australia. Sadly, the fourth hatch died.

At Captiva Eagle Cam, Connie and Clive are there. When should we expect our first egg, do you think?

The nest at NE Florida looks ready.

It was windy in Iowa and from the historical records, we should not be expecting an egg with The Majestics at Denton Homes any time soon. Both eagles were at the nest late Monday night.

Gigi and the new male were at the ND-LEEF nest on Tuesday in South Bend, Indiana.

Hope and Chandler visited the nest at Port Tobacco separately. But like the ND-LEEF nest, they could both be sitting on branches above the nest. Sometimes you can see shadows.

At least one eagle at Avon Lake.

Beautiful Liberty and Guardian at the Redding nest on Tuesday together.

Mr North is bringing in sticks! https://youtu.be/IC8Qaj9dD-A?

At the nest of Bonnie and Clyde, there is a possum! Oh, geez. I am glad there are not eggs to eat. I love this couple despite the fact that they ousted a young eagle couple and well, we know what GHOs do to young osplets. https://youtu.be/q6hxRXKEDxk?

The latest news from Hawk Mountain. Either some species have not started to move South or we have a huge problem. Take your time and look at the up to date numbers and the ten-year average. Others are doing better – the vultures and the Bald Eagles.

Wild bird numbers continue to decline dramatically.

Wild bird numbers continue ‘alarming’ decline in UK, Defra figures show | Birds | The Guardian Download

A teenager in British Columbia has the first case of Bird Flu, assumed to be H5, in Canada.

A Golden Eagle with a satellite tag missing in the infamous Angus Glens Grouse Moor Estate!

Satellite-tagged golden eagle ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances on grouse moor in the notorio Download

Your smile today comes from Missey. I now know why I cannot grow ferns.

Thank you for being with us today. I have some good images to share with you. I just need time to get my long lens camera plugged in to download them. There are never enough hours in the day!!!!!!!! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J’, Judy Harrington, Meterologist Bryan Bennett, BBC News, Port Lincoln Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Growing Home, Dave Wetherall and Friends of Osprey Sth Aus, SK Hideaways, Growing Home, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, Denton Homes, ND-LEEF, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, FORE, Farmer Derek, tulsaducati, Hawk Mountain, The Guardian, Raptor Persecution UK.

Sad news, WBSE34 euthanised and 33 is in care…Tuesday in Bird World

12 November 2024

Hello Everyone,

Sad news has come in this morning. As you were aware, it appeared that only one sea eaglet was seen around the parents. WBSE34 found itself far, far from home and blinded. We have also received word that WBSE33 is in care. This could be very good news if her condition is good. Oh, these poor babies. Thanks, Heidi.

Hugo Yugo is fine. It could, however, have ended badly. She ate a shoelace with a knot at one end! I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say that the ‘evidence’ arrived in the middle of dinner with my ‘bestie’. Hugo Yugo is back to her cheeky self and is now cuddled under my left arm, making it difficult for me to keyboard. Her sisters might well wish she was still under the weather as they had quite a bit of peace while she was under the weather. We are all relieved, and to think we thought she was trying to pass a fur ball!!!!!!! Not our girl. Where in the world she found this shoestring is beyond me; none seem to be missing. Gracious. I thought only dogs did things like this!!!!!!

Quickly skipping to our birds…

As anticipated, the second egg arrived for M15 and F23 around 6:15 PM. F23 experienced some intense contractions, which made me feel uncomfortable! I don’t expect a third egg, so we should be entering the hard incubation phase. A hatch is expected in mid-December.

Here it is caught on video! https://youtu.be/CyGBfYAPlDk?

We might have at least one fledge at Collins Street when you read this. The eyases are hungry, the parents are teasing them, and they can fly – they don’t know it yet! https://youtu.be/lauS5ZxHfaw?

Still there, but not for long.

Gosh, they are cute. SK Hideaways caught two on the perch and beaky kisses, too. We are so going to miss these three! https://youtu.be/xTzR2lhGCh8?

The family is waiting for breakfast at Port Lincoln. One fish arrived at 0924, and another at 1018. Mum brought them both to the nest, but as you will see from the images, she is not wet, so it is assumed that she picked them up from Dad. Unless, of course, she dried really quickly before returning to the nest.

Yesterday, Dad delivered four fish. He will probably do that again today. He is off to a good start! Kasse and Wilko can eat all the fish that comes to the nest – guaranteed.

.These fish counts and observations are absolutely critical in understanding osprey behaviour and the fish demands of a nest. I am still collecting data for the people working in Virginia to end the commercial fishing of menhaden. Yesterday, I received a fish count from ‘SD’ who counted 579 deliveries at Glaslyn. Counts vary due to the weather, the nests close proximity to good fishing, competition from other ospreys, eagles, gulls, etc. (More about the overfishing of Menhaden and need for accurate counts like they do at Port Lincoln below).

Morning images from the scrape of Diamond and Xavier. They might not have the runway that the Collins Street triplets have, but there is a whole lot of flapping going on with downy feathers flying everywhere! These two are more than adorable. Diamond and Xavier are demonstrating their flying skills and showing the kids how much fun it is to be a bird outside the window of the scrape.

Lots of food at Orange. The down is disappearing with only a few dandelions left. This year I have spent more time watching this scrape than Melbourne. Oh, how I hope that Yira and Garrama triumph without any issues soaring high above the tower chasing Diamond and Xavier for prey and getting it! With no bad weather when they fledge. Yes, let’s wish – all of us for sunny days and no rain!

Lots of activity at the nest of Gabby and Beau on Monday.

In migration news, Blue 511 appears to have flown with the good winds south out of Poole Harbour Monday morning. There is news of an osprey still in The Netherlands that has not left on its migration.

If you missed part 1 of the five part series on what CJ7 and Blue 022 got up to in raising four osplets to fledge in 2024, then here it is. There is a new release every Friday so do subscribe. (It’s free). The first episode is ‘The Arrival’. https://youtu.be/IlySzcfTh3c?

Isn’t it about time that all power companies need to be respectful of wildlife and amend and erect new poles or place them underground so no bird gets fried? Eighteen swans found dead. Please read about their unnecessary deaths here: https://bbc.com/news/articles/cew2nzvdyklo

The posting below addresses Stripped Bass; if you look closely, you will see that this was over a year ago. Never mind the date – everything still applies. I want to add that the osprey chicks and some adults starved to death because of Omega’s industrial fishing of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. Not just a few, nearly every chick hatched and not just in Virginia! This has to stop. For precious little Cobey and all the Cobeys that hatch in the future, please help. If you do not live in Virginia, write to their Governor. Let’s flood his office from around the world. You can get a digital form by searching for Governor Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia and clicking the ‘Contact’ link at the top.

Wild Justice has just sent out its report on the Rodenticide Stewardship Report. Did the efforts to create less harm to wildlife work? Have a read – you can really educate yourself on these commercial killers and the harm that they do.

Collateral_Damage_Wild_Justice_website Download

Can you help the British Trust for Ornithology?

Calico would like you to help those who cannot always help themselves or who find themselves in a difficult moment.

‘MP’ sent me a link that addresses even more ways that being in nature heals us and how touching plants can help. Thank you!

https://www.livescience.com/health/a-direct-relationship-between-your-sense-of-sight-and-recovery-rate-biologist-kathy-willis-on-why-looking-at-nature-can-speed-up-healing?utm_term=EACFAD43-2015-4ED5-BB24-0F91F8AC994E&lrh=ad9593b53bdc7d1701328fe35b20b4bcfcaf820d4b7c74c2aa18868201b08d9d&utm_campaign=368B3745-DDE0-4A69-A2E8-62503D85375D&utm_mediu

So that you know, I will no longer be posting on X but will be moving the blog to Bluesky this week. The best way to receive the blog is by e-mail subscription. There is no fee, and I have vowed that there never will be a charge for my blog or ads. You can unsubscribe at any time quickly.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please stop and go outside and be near plants and birds. Each of us needs to take care of ourselves. It is an anxious time. Tomorrow I will have some images of the geese and ducks that remain at my local pond for you. It was soothing – yes, soothing is a good word – to spend time with them on a crisp sunny day.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, MP’, SWFlorida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Port Lincoln Ospreys, NEFL-AEF, Birds of Poole Harbour, CBCN, Wild Justice, BTO, Facts that will Blow Your Mind FB, livescience.com

Bubba is ready to fledge…Monday in Bird World

11 November 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for your good wishes for Hugo Yugo. As I write this, she is pretty sick. She ate a little food on Saturday night and drank water on Sunday morning. She was able to keep it down. I am preparing to feed her with a syringe with ground-up kibble mixed with kitten milk to keep her going until she can see the vet on Wednesday. I will feed her every 1.5 hours. It is now late Sunday evening. Hugo Yugo had another feeding and instead of going straight to hide in my room on my pillow, she plunked herself down on the foot stool to watch her sisters. It feels like an improvement. And yes, we fed her with a syringe until nearly midnight when she ate on her own. Tears.

She is now cuddled with her Missey. This is fantastic.

I am really, really tired of hearing about our wildlife being killed unnecessarily. It has been a week that just keeps on giving!

New research shows that skyscrapers are killing millions of birds annually during migration. It doesn’t have to happen. What is wrong with people?

Fears New York buildings’ deadly toll on migratory birds could be on the rise. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/10/birds-building-collisions-new-york-city?CMP=share_btn_url

It just seems there have been so many deaths associated with humans where I live lately. There were the eight bald eagles in the field (COD pending), then the two local foxes whose den was destroyed at the site of new condos – the one being hit by a car on a busy street last night and the other on a busy bridge. My fear is that they were targeted – the driver of the vehicle either baiting them or driving around til they saw them out and speeding up. I am worried about Dyson and her kids who now run across a street that has nothing to slow down the would be Formula 3 drivers since their trees were cut down. We went to get Hugo Yugo more kitten milk and noticed the large tree at the intersection where the Blue Jays nest has a vast orange circle on it this morning, indicating it is now destined to be cut down. When they are finished, we will not have a tree anywhere in sight higher than a meter. Our street was fully canopied two years ago after the leaves came out. It was gorgeous. Looks like the barren moonscape now. The trees the City planted will take 25 years even to become a size for animals to use. The ones being cut down were planted in 1902. If I could scoop up all the garden animals and The Boyfriend and move them, I would leave.

Oh, enough of my rant. The animals are so used to me that I can now sit on the upper deck and photograph them while they forage.

Just look at Dyson. She is not young. She is a real Senior citizen in the squirrel community, but, more important, she is the matriarch.

It is not a great image, but look at that strong back leg of Dyson’s as she gets ready to jump down with her precious peanut.

One of Dyson’s three kits. Isn’t it cute?

And another kit. The three of them were running around the garden with their Mum. They don’t mind me at all. I feel so privileged – and, of course, these are the reasons that I could never leave here – just vacation elsewhere. There is no natural food or not much for them anymore. The Squirrels used to eat the ‘helicopters’ (the seeds) of the Maple Trees but there are no more Maples and no one had the foresight to plant Oak trees!!!!!!!!!!! So no acorns. I did catch Little Red at the very top of the crab apple tree getting the little apples, though. That is not enough to sustain even him, however.

This is how it starts out in the morning. Today, I discovered that the Blue Jays get busy pecking the peanuts and shooting the ones they don’t like off the feeding tray! Dyson & Co thank them for sure. Junior is also stuffing peanuts down its throat like Mr Crow – like a pouch as in pelican. :))

Both Crows visited today.

Oh, the joy they bring! Just look at that face on the Crow above. I cannot imagine anyone harming them.

Isn’t this a gorgeous image? Don Dennis photographed this Bald Eagle couple on Russell Lake, Nova Scotia on Saturday, 9 November 2024. Many more will be coming to our prey-rich Atlantic province for the winter! Don is an excellent photographer. It looks like these two were deep in conversation. I love the evergreens and then that touch of autumn foliage.

Time to check on the birds on streaming cams.

Bubba is ready to fly! 56 days old. Heidi got all the hovering action on video! https://youtu.be/Hbi_1T2zyfc?

At Port Lincoln, breakfast came early. Kasse ate last, but the milestone reached was by Wilko who stood up to eat! He is becoming a ‘big boy’.

Wilko stands up tall part way through the feeding to eat! Way to go, Wilko.

Now it is Kasse’s turn for some fish!

At Collins Street, the parents want the triplets to fledge. They deliver prey and take it away flying by to tease them to use those wings and chase them! It is all coming far too soon for Melbourne and Orange. https://youtu.be/l-xDYFIszYQ?

Diamond and Xavier are not withholding prey!

No news really for the fledgling WBSE. It kind of worries me. The one was in the bushes the other day. Will someone check? I wonder. One had their wing caught eons ago in branches down low and couldn’t get away.

At Hilton Head Bald Eagle nest, we have a takeover (or potential take over bid) by the GHOs. The nest was battered by Hurricane Milton. Wonder where the eagles will nest? https://youtu.be/5WqBTRFWqZ4?

Meanwhile at NE Florida, Gabby and Beau worked tirelessly on Sunday getting that nest ready for those precious eggs (fingers crossed).

It rained in Iowa. I did not see any eagles working on the nest at Decorah North. Rain started later in the afternoon.

Eagles were present at Denton Homes.

Beautiful sunset over the Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Connie and Clive.

Where are the Ospreys at Captiva?

Jackie and Shadow make us all smile! They were at Big Bear on Sunday! https://youtu.be/QqiawH1-NpA?

Franklin was near the ETSU-Bluff City nest on Sunday.

And look who later joined him on the branch – Frances!

At the WRDC, Ron and Rose are getting cosy. https://youtu.be/g-bRObhrWfQ?

Incubation changes at SW Florida are smooth and routine.

Lots of work to do by Jolene and Boone at the ETSU-Johnson City nest destroyed by Milton. They got a kind helping hand on that rebuild.

Incorrigible. The Grouse Moor Licensing Scheme to protect raptors is already attacked by the estate owners! Unbelievable.

Scotland’s grouse moor licensing scheme has already been sabotaged – Raptor Persecution UK Download

I hope they don’t mind. Karl II was the most amazing Black Stork father and he deserves to always be remembered on ‘Father’s Day in Estonia’ and every where around the world where he was loved.

Here is that video: https://youtu.be/ECHO4uUJrFQ?

The latest from Sharon Dunne on the Royal Albatross chicks and their flight to the waters off Chile.

Rita the Eagle Monday Facts.

Live in Vancouver? There is a fundraiser for The Nest Companion Bird Car & Rehabilitation Society.

There are still hundreds if not thousands of Canada Geese in Winnipeg who have not migrated. In SW Manitoba, the Sandhill Cranes are still flying south. It is the middle of November!

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, images, posts, videos, and streaming cams: ‘A, Connie and Don Dennis,H, J’, Heidi McGrue, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, SK Hideaways, Judy Harrington, Hilton Head Land Trust, NEFL-AEF, Raptor Resource Project/explore.org, Denton Homes, Window to Wildlife, Heidi McGrue, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cali Condor, ETSU-Bluff City, ETSU-Johnson City, Raptor Persecution UK, Madli Allsoo, Sharon Dunne, Rita the Eagle, The Nest Companion Bird Care & Rehabilitation Society

Sunday in Bird World

10 November 2024

Hello Everyone,

Bald Eagles are still abundant in Manitoba. The climate creates good conditions for prey as their territories move northward, so many will winter here. But what I woke up to on Saturday could have been better, much better.

I want to thank Ruth Hiebert for allowing images and a narrative of the horror she found in a field in southern Manitoba. She immediately contacted the Conservation Officer. She checked on Saturday, and the eagle carcasses were removed. She hopes to discover what happened to them, and I will pass on any news.

I am going to speculate, and yes, an egg could come on my face, but I haven’t seen eagles die of Avian Flu at the same time in the same place as this. I haven’t seen it with poisoning, either. Perhaps you have. I have, however, seen it when shooting is the issue. If that is the case, we should know soon. If it isn’t, it will be a while. So many dead in the same place is beyond sad.

That was the first news that I woke up to on Saturday morning. The only way to shake off something like that is to go out in nature, to feel the wind and the warmth of the sun, to hear the song of the birds, and that is precisely what we did. We walked the entire 4km trail and more with no less than a hundred Black-capped Chickadees taking seed from our hands! What a day. Little wind. Nice sky. 15 C – the middle of November. Everyone on the trails, most walking their dogs, was joyful to the extreme because of the weather.

The Chickadees were caching some of their Black Oil Seed in the crevices of the trees like this one.

The White-breasted Nuthatch would not take seed from our hand, but wanted it on the path.

At home, there was also a celebration. For the first time in a long, long time, I saw Dyson and her three kits in the garden together. They are all alive. In an urban environment, with their trees cut down, they have to run across busy streets; this is amazing. Tears. Tears and more tears. Dyson is the equivalent of a Senior Citizen in the Squirrel World. She has survived being poisoned, run over, or trapped and removed from the area. We are so pleased to see her and the three kids. Photos on Monday!

At Orange, Garrama almost fludged. Not a good way to start its independence! https://youtu.be/6SKCxY-L0bQ?

Yira and Garrama are changing into fully fledged falcons. Not a lot of down left!

Watching.

More on the two as they get close to the ledge at Orange by SK Hideaways: https://youtu.be/p0oQTto_yLs?

It is a whole lot of flapping going on!

A remarks: “Fledge watch formally begins on 12 November at Orange, I believe, which is Tuesday. I think they are a little further behind the Collins Street three than that but time will tell. Garrama is having difficulty getting fed now that he has to fight his giant sister for every mouthful, usually without parental intervention. Xavier is so much smaller than Yira that he doesn’t dare interfere once she has claimed a piece of prey, while Diamond does sometimes assert maternal authority and feed the chicks herself, under which conditions Garrama gets at least some food. Otherwise, he is reduced to finding leftover scraps around the scrape, and I suspect he will be somewhat relieved when Yira fledges and he gets the food to himself for a few days before it’s his turn to take the plunge. “

No fish yet at Port Lincoln. Mum, Wilko, and Kasse are waiting to see if Dad returns with a good breakfast. Otherwise, I bet those fairies are waiting in the wings to help.

Dad came through with a partial ‘flat’? fish at 10:34. Notice how big Kasse is – larger than Wilko!

Kasse still has the white stripe on the back.

Big stretch as Mum toe dances and calls as Dad is arriving with the fish.

‘A’ gives us the day’s run down at PLO: “At Port Lincoln, our osplets are SO cute and they’ve had a pretty good day. Breakfast was a large whole fish that arrived courtesy of Dad at 10:34. At 13:55, he brought in a small tidbit in the form of a fish tail. At this point, Mum decided to get involved and brought in an extra-large whole fish at 14:49. Impressive work, Mum! The resulting feeding lasted for NEARLY AN HOUR. Both osplets got plenty to eat today, and there is still plenty of time for another fish to be brought in before dark (it’s only just after 4pm at Port Lincoln right now). “

There are still three eyases on the ledge at 367 Collins Street in the Central Business District of Melbourne as of 1017 Sunday morning.

Latest sea eagle report:

‘

There are no other nests with eggs at the time of writing that I am aware.

Beau and Gabby were at the nest. Female eagles have three periods where they are fertile and will want to mate. Of course, Eagles bond at other times, but Saturday, Gabby was not in the mood. Sorry Beau!

That precious egg of M15 and F23’s is never left for very long without someone around.

Gracie Shepherd got the shift change! Watching the care and attention these eagles give to their first egg of the season is hugely moving. I cannot comprehend why anyone would ever wish to harm one of their species. They are parents who care and who are concerned for their young just like us.

Could Captiva be next?

Will there be a different outcome at the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout this year? https://youtu.be/rW1IE9BzUkg?

Connick leaves the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey and heads north to the Smithsonian. Connie and Clive’s little one, who fell from the nest and had feather development issues, will live an excellent life without the fear of being shot or poisoned. Let’s hope he can educate people to care for wildlife including these majestic birds.

Take a look at this!

More sadness near the grouse hunting estates in Perthshire, Scotland.

Buzzard found shot next to grouse moor in Strathbraan, Perthshire – Raptor Persecution UK Download

Now a smile. This Sharp-shinned Grouse has all the right moves, ladies.

Lady Hawk posted information about Lucina, the female at the Wild Bucovina Golden Eagle nest in Romania. Lady Hawk’s take from the information that is current is that Lucina died of either lead or rodenticide poisoning. The font is small so please refer to Lady Hawk’s FB page.

Audubon Florida’s Eagle Watch report looks at the challenges, some new, and the successes of the 2023-24 season. Those challenges include nest removal!

audubon_florida_eaglewatch_2024_v7_web Download

Why are thousands of sea birds washing up on Australia’s coast?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/09/thousands-of-dead-seabirds-are-washing-up-on-australias-beaches-researchers-want-to-know-why?CMP=share_btn_url

Last, a learning experience from the Toronto Field Naturalists on hawk migration and raptors. https://youtu.be/hrQk8Dg1Ebo?

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J, Ruth Hiebert’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Gracie Shepherd and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Deb Stecyk, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, USFWS Columbia Pacific Northwest, USFWS, Lady Hawk FB, Audubon Florida, The Guardian, Toronto Field Naturalists.

First egg of the Bald Eagle season at SW Florida…Saturday in Bird World

9 November 2024

Hello Everyone. Good Morning!

Congratulations to M15 and F23 on beating everyone to the start line for the 2024-25 Bald Eagle breeding season. Wow. 8 November. These two are early!

M15 was above the nest during the labour and immediately went down to share the moment with his mate. And then, of course, the gift of fish. Congratulations!

SK Hideaways captures this historic moment and the delivery of the fish gift for his mate by M15 on video: https://youtu.be/EAsqF1jMMWg?

I wonder which eagle nest will be next.

There were two major breakthroughs on Friday morning with ‘The Boyfriend’. He did not go under the step when I took ‘his’ food out. He stayed about a metre away. Then he sunned himself looking in the window at Calico and Baby Hope. About an hour later, one of the ‘pets’ that get let outside arrived. ‘The Boyfriend’ did not attack the cat, but that cat hissed and howled like someone was pulling its ears off. He just sat still and stared and then went back to getting some sun. I have put a call in for a trap to catch the tiny black kitten so that it can go to a shelter, be socialized, and have a home. And now for the fun part. How long have we been calling this tuxedo cat ‘The Boyfriend’? Don’t you think it is time for him to have a name? Please send me suggestions either in the comments or by sending me an e-mail. I will put all of them in a jar and pull one out on the 15th of December. So, please help us name this kitty we have grown to love so much! He has now started his de-worming treatments.

Please, also, send your best wishes to little Hugo Yugo who is quite under the weather. We are hoping that she is only having difficulty with a hairball. She now has medicine which should send that mat of hair out the other end like the Atlas rocket!

She has been drinking lots of water and resting. Even Hope knows she is unwell and is letting her sleep in the basket without bothering her. Thanks, Baby Hope! (Of course, Baby Hope is no longer a ‘baby’ as she is now as big as Calico!)

Gosh, I am glad the fish fairy came to Port Lincoln. What a relief. Wilko and Kasse are growing and they need more and more fish. I wonder if there is any parallel between the weeks each year when Dad’s fishing seems to slow?

Mum, Wilko, and Kasse are waiting for fish.

Kasse is one month and one day old today. There she is nearest the screen in the image above – she still has a bit of the white stripe down her back. it will be gone shortly. It was a quick and easy way to tell her apart form Wilko. Is Kasse the largest? Kasse is three days younger than Wilko. I think Kasse is a female third hatch. They are both antsy and we need more fish on this nest – for Mum, too. Come on Fish Fairies!

At this feeding, Kasse got the fish tail.

Great view of Kasse with her white stripe.

Yeah. Three Tommy Ruffs delivered to Mum, Wilko, and Kasse at 1147. Thank you, Fish Fairies.

News from Sydney–:

Both chicks ate early at Orange amidst a lot of wingersizing!

“Please feed me the Starling!”

The Collins Street eyases are looking more and more like their adult parents on Saturday.

Karen Leng caught the triplets in a FB video on Friday when F23 flew in with prey. Oh, they are hungry and it got a wee bit chaotic as would be expected as we near fledge. The baby is last up to the beak. Notice the difference in the amount of down still clinging to the wing feathers.

SK Hideaways caught the triplets branching and getting rid of a lot of fluff! https://youtu.be/YTHBvEzfNsA?

One of the triplets makes it to the perch! Heidi caught the moment on video: https://youtu.be/zZp3Q-xeBm4?

F23 protects her babies. https://youtu.be/ZW3vdXxADcc?

Bubba continues to thrive at Growing Home nest near Sydney, Australia.

It was an amazing year at Poole Harbour. CJ7 and Blue 022 raised four osplets to fledge without even missing a beat in the music. CJ7 contributed much fish to the nest to help her mate. I don’t recall any animosity and of course we all fell in love with the fourth feisty hatch Blue 5H6 which just has to be a female. There is a five part series celebrating the triumphs of the season, please take the time to watch. What a year it was!

Just look at that beautiful family.

The first segment is ‘The Arrival’. Here are Blue 022 and CJ7 meeting one another after their migration, an early scene in the segment.

It’s annual adoption time at the Kakapo Recovery.

Read Bluster-Murphy’s profile and learn how to adopt a kākāpō here: https://www.doc.govt.nz/…/get-involved/adopt-a-kakapo/

The latest news from Knepp Farm on the White Stork’s reintroduction and the huge success of 2024. It is a remarkable story of Polish storks that were injured and could not fly being brought to the UK to re-establish the population there.

A Stork’s Story – from the Ground, Up! – Knepp Download

Connie and Clive have been at the Captiva Nest. I wonder if they will be next to lay eggs?

Jackie and Shadow were at their nest, too! https://youtu.be/MDW_573xNpU?

And if you can keep track of the numbers, E1-M2 and E1-F3 were at the Kistachie National Forest E1 nest working hard.

The Majestics are working hard, too!

There are so many Bald Eagle nests. These aren’t even scratching the surface.

Is climage change changing eagle migration and prompting early breeding?

Bald Eagle Climate Change Impact Guide Download

Geese make me smile. I love my Canada Geese, Ross’s Geese, White-fronted Geese and dream of seeing seas of Barnacle Geese and Pink-footed Geese. Maybe!

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

Thank you to the following for their posts, notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, H, J’, SWFlorida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Judy Harrington and Olympic Park Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Karen Leng, SK Hideaways, Heidi McGrue, Growing Home Osprey Cam, Birds of Poole Harbour, Kakapo Recover, Knepp Farm, Window to Wildlife, Cali Condor, Kistachie National Forest, Denton Homes, Zero Hour Climate, Wild Sligo.

Fish Fairy Arrives at Port Lincoln…Friday in Bird World

8 November 2024

Good Morning,

It was sunny and windy on Thursday morning. There were about 500-600 Canada Geese on a nearby golf course when I drove past. The water in the ponds providing swimming for some and no doubt safety for others later.

All of the feral cats have been to the feeders this morning: Squishy, a grey tabby with a flipped over ear, the Orange Ginger family pet that is let loose during the day, the grey tabby, and The Boyfriend. The need is growing. Of course, everyone thinks that prices of things will drop, but in my lifetime I have never seen this happen. Pet food appears to be soaring. My heart breaks for the families who have to surrender their pets, but not for those that dump them. They need care and surely there is someone to take them home and love them rather than leaving them to the freezing cold of a Winnipeg winter. On Saturday we will take all the wood out of the wood boxes, load them with straw and put a light bulb in there and close in three and a half sides. It will help some.

There is still concern about Avian Flu and bird feeders. ‘R’ sent us an article from The Washington Post that might answer some of your questions. The author says, “While avian flu is widespread among wild bird species, less than 2 percent of cases have been in songbirds and other typical visitors to bird feeders. Health officials have not recommended taking down bird feeders except for people who keep domestic poultry as part of a backyard flock. (In such cases, the USDA says poultry owners should take down feeders for wild birds or keep them well away from their captive flock, and to make the captive flock’s food and water inaccessible to wild birds.)

People should clean bird feeders and bird baths regularly. Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands after touching the feeders. Avoid direct contact with birds, and do not handle sick or dead birds.”

Here is the entire article. Please read!

Opinion | Why it’s concerning that a pig has contracted the H5N1 avian flu – The Washington Post Download

The GHO continues to come to the nest of M15 and F23. https://youtu.be/dRJqTZaPN-M?

Fort St Vrain female brings rabbit up to the nest. https://youtu.be/KhZAFvcMp1c?

Gabby on and off the nest quickly at NE Florida!

M15 and F23 working diligently every day on their nest in Fort Myers, Florida.

M15 checks out the nest for suitability for F23 and their eggs.

Chandler flew in to the Port Tobacco Eagle Nest for a few seconds!

Haven’t seen anyone so far on Thursday at Big Bear.

Ron and Rose were at the WRDC nest despite the very windy conditions on Thursday.

Connie and Clive visit the Captiva Eagle nest on the Barrier Islands in Florida on a breezy day. Nice crops! Good to see these two after Milton tore through the island.

Eagles working on the Denton Home nest and sleeping together at the nest. What a wonderful sight.

Wednesday they worked on the West End cam of Thunder and Akecheta, Thursday it was Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn, Thunder’s parents.

Sub-adult visits the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout. https://youtu.be/uWfxpBlLquY?

They were flapping and waiting for breakfast at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne.

Prey delivery at Collins Street.

‘A’ remarks: “Suddenly, the trio at Collins Street are rapidly approaching fledge. Two of them are now running along the ledge, flapping their wings vigorously, which is nerve-wracking in the extreme. There is almost no fluff left on the older two, except a few dandelions on their heads. The youngest still sports some fluff on its wings, but suddenly, these three are looking very much like juvenile falcons. We will not have them for much longer. I cannot believe how quickly that triple-headed fluffball of an eating machine has become three juveniles who are potentially within days of fledging. Omigod, I am going to miss them SO much. It seems like only yesterday that we saw our first gutter stomp. “

Yira and Gammata share morning prey. Diamond feeds, too.

Do they need more prey at Orange? https://youtu.be/S-XJbpAaq0c?

‘A’ comments: “At Orange, the pair still have quite a bit of down on their heads and wings. They are about a week behind the Collins Street trio, are they not? At least the Orange fledglings do often/usually return to the scrape after fledging (we remember those occasions when the parents literally had to bar the door from their adult offspring, with a not so gentle hint relating to the concept of dispersal). But we do generally get to see a bit more of them once they fledge. At Collins Street, we essentially wait until someone finds one of them injured, dead or starving on the streets of Melbourne’s CBD. We get little or no information on them post-fledge (although the Facebook group may have some BOTG – I’ll be relying on you for info from that source). But watching the Collins Street kids today has left me flabbergasted at how time has flown and the fact these chicks are already about to do the same. I’m sad now. “

Dad is off his perch and Mum is calling for food. There was not much on Thursday and Kasse got nothing. There was some beaking. This provoked the fish fairies into action.

‘A’ reports: “The most important news of the day is that there was a four-fish delivery from our beloved Fish Fairy at Port Lincoln this morning (09:38). A day too late unfortunately to prevent the two incidents of bonking yesterday that for the first time occurred during a feeding and was definitely done in order to prevent Kasse from eating. Not a good thing, and I’m glad the FF stepped in straight away. I would have preferred it to happen two days ago, when I was worrying about the lack of food deliveries and the potential for aggression this presented, but I suppose they were trying to avoid it altogether. And dad had been stepping up his fishing efforts – successfully, up until the last three or four days. So it was probably weather-related. But whatever the reason, the nature and timing of yesterday’s aggression made it essential that the Fish Fairy step in asap. I’m glad they didn’t delay. “

Thank you, Fish Fairies! I will sleep better Thursday night in Canada knowing you are there.

Heidi’s video of the Fish Fairy!!!!!!!! They included this information below the video: “Wilko is 33 days old, and Kasse is 30 days old. There were only two fish delivered to the nest yesterday, and as a result there was significant sibling aggression due to food competition. This morning, the ‘Fish Fairy’ placed four fish on the nest. It was the first time the supplemental fish were necessary this season. Ospreys are endangered in South Australia, and last season they instituted an officially authorized program of supplemental feeding for this nest. The supplemental feeding program is intended to help increase the survival rate of the osprey nestlings. Last year’s Fish Fairy program was a success, and both osplets fledged! For more information on the supplemental feeding program, please see this statement dated 10/27/23: https://portlincoln-osprey.com/portli…

https://youtu.be/lZRZQG4puUs?

The latest on the Olympic Park eagles.

Elizabeth Grey, National Audubon said on Thursday that Audubon vows to: “Strengthening Local and State Initiatives: While federal policy may shift, our commitment to local and state conservation efforts remains steadfast. We will work with communities to build resilience, ensuring that conservation continues regardless of changes at the federal level.” Just as I see my City taking every piece of land and building 3-4 story apartment buildings instead of 35 stories, each of us needs to lend a hand to help wildlife. You can do that in your own garden.

Jackie and Shadow have been chortling! https://youtu.be/d8gCyTmwZ0A?

I needed a smile today and seeing Seren 5F at her winter home in The Gambia does it. She is a great mate to Dylan at Llyn Clywedog and a fantastic mother. She wasted a lot of years being courted by Aran but, in the end, he stayed with Mrs G. Great choice! But glad 5F found a great mate, too. Dylan is amazing. This is her biography from Glaslyn Wildlife.

Seren Blue 5F will be thirteen years old during the 2025 breeding season.

“Hatched at the Rutland Site K nest in 2012. Her mother is the satellite tagged female Yellow 30 (hatched at the Rutland Site B nest in 2005) and her father was the translocated Rutland male Red 08 (2001).

In December 2013, Blue 5F was photographed by Chris Wood at Tanji Marsh in Gambia, she was 18 months old at the time and would not yet have made a return journey to the UK. In December 2014 Chris returned to Tanji Marsh and he again found 5F settled for the winter there. She had not been spotted back in the UK during the summer, although it is likely she would have travelled north as a two-year old. On 9^th April 2015 Blue 5F was captured on camera again, as she landed on the perch of the Glaslyn nest, this was the first sighting of her in the UK as an adult. She remained in the Glaslyn area during the summer and intruded at the Glaslyn nest on several occasions. By the middle of October we heard the news via Fansu Bojang and Chris Wood that 5F was back in her wintering quarters in Tanji Marsh.

On 29th March 2016 Blue 5F landed on the perch at Glaslyn once again. Two days later she was in a skirmish with her cousin Blue 24 at the Dyfi nest. Glesni, another cousin, who was the resident female at Dyfi, had not yet returned. Before long, 5F was back on a favourite nesting platform in the Glaslyn area. Aran was spotted mating with her on several occasions and for a while she appeared to be incubating eggs. The nest failed however and 5F soon resumed her regular intrusions at the Glaslyn nest.

During the winters of 2016 to 2019, 5F was once again settled in her wintering quarters in Gambia, where Chris Wood photographed her for the fourth and fifth consecutive years. During the winter of 2018 she spent the majority of her time in the Tujereng Beach area of Gambia, although she was spotted at Tanji again in autumn 2019.

On 1^st April 2020, 5F appeared on the camera that had been installed by NRW at the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest in mid-Wales. On 3^rd April she also appeared on the Glaslyn nest, before being seen off by Mrs G. The following day she returned to Clywedog and was soon joined by the resident male, Dylan. The original female, Delyth, failed to return and 5F became Dylan’s new mate. Together they raised three male chicks and all three successfully fledged. A very happy outcome – Congratulations 5F!”

There are still Ospreys in the Netherlands that have not migrated – along with several in the UK. Maybe they know something we do not? Is it possible not to migrate in an age of climate change? Last year was the hottest on record for our planet.

How might climate change impact Bald Eagles?

How climate change could hurt bald eagles » Yale Climate Connections Download

Modeling climate change impacts on overwintering bald eagles – PMC Download

Latest ever osprey in Poole Harbour is Blue 511.

A 25 year old German Osprey has been seen in Sardinia. Blue Ring OD. Amazing. Its experience, after surviving those first years after fledgling, have kept this bird alive. Incredible.

The last information I could find on the migration of the Black Storks from Estonia. Apologies for the small size. I cannot enlarge but perhaps you can.

Calico wonders if you would like to make someone feel warm and fuzzy? Lucille Powell has provided the address for the residents of the Riverview Care home next to Iris and Finnegan’s nest. Have a card and a stamp? Want to include a note about yourself and how much you love the ospreys? Or anything else. Here is the information. Think about spreading the love!

I do not know if they are taking any further orders but here is the information about the Iris and Finnegan pins. These are made out of sticks brought to the nest by the ospreys and collected by Dr Greene. They are carefully lathed and assembled by Sharon Leigh and her husband. I have enjoyed mine for years and you can get find new ink cartridges almost anywhere.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, R’, The Washington Post, Androcat, chickiedee64, NEFL-AEF, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, FOBBV, WRDC Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Denton Homes Eagle Cam, Trudi Kron and Bald Eagles 101, Deb Stecyk and NCTC Eagle Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Nesting Birdlife and More, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Olympic Park Eagle Cam, Heidi McGrue, Judy Harrington, SK Hideaways, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Valerie Webber and The Clywedog Osprey Group, Yale Climate Connections, Ecology and Evolution and PMC, Jeff Kear and Friends of Loch Arkaig FB, H Lorm and Looduskalender Forum, Montana Ospreys at Hellgate and Lucille Powell, Montana Osprey Cams.

Tuesday in Bird World

5 November 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Monday was a rainy grey day on the Canadian Prairies, but the weather wasn’t what weighed on my mind. While driving past what was once a vibrant golf course, I reflected on how the University of Manitoba is transforming it into a site for student and faculty housing, along with a grocery store. Although this project aimed to enhance campus life, it comes at a significant cost to our local wildlife. Once again, we are witnessing a concerning loss of habitat. Our city is rapidly becoming a place devoid of the natural spaces that our feathered friends depend on. Without grass for the Canada Geese to forage, trees for nesting, and adequate food sources, we risk the disappearance of these beautiful creatures. While there are a few ponds near housing developments, they lack the connectivity necessary to foster a thriving ecosystem. We must reconsider our development priorities to ensure that we do not sacrifice our local wildlife in pursuit of urban expansion.

Nearer to home, ‘The Boyfriend’ finally relaxed and ate his food out of a dish right outside the garden door! Yahoo.

Calico looked on and wasn’t so happy. “How come he gets more cat food than we do?” was what all the squawking was about.

Baby Hope was not bothered about our visitor this morning. Odd. I hope she isn’t feeling unwell. She is normally standing at the window watching ‘The Boyfriend.’

At the feeders, the European Starlings were eating suet as fast as they could before the rain came.

In my mailbox was a sad note from ‘J’. The beautiful female Golden Eagle from the Bucovino nest in Romania has died. Her name was Lucina and many of you will have watched her raise her annual eaglet for the past four years. Her mate was Calliman. Here is the announcement. On the Memorial Page, Lucina is #183 and 2024 is not yet over.

This is Lady Hawk’s video about the death and a warning – it shows the body of Lucina. https://youtu.be/J0eH1vIyKto?

Lucina and Calliman in February of 2024 working on their nest.

Condolences to all who loved this beautiful female who took such amazing care of her babies raising four to fledge in four years. Fly high, Lucina!

At Port Lincoln, a nice whole fish arrived on the nest. Was it Dad? or a fairy? The camera turned away right at the time of delivery. It doesn’t matter. What does is that Wilko and Kasse get the calories they need to develop properly.

Mum is such a treasure. Both are going to be full. Just look at how their tails and the beautiful juvenile plumage are growing.

Mum managed some bites of fish for herself and then the rains began. Both Wilko and Kasse tried so hard to get under Mum!

Mum wiggled and squiggled and got both her babies under her as the drops became heavier and heavier.

Dad flies in with a big crop and a partial fish for Mum and the kids.

The partial fish is completely gone in ten minutes.

With the heat heating the ledge at 367 Collins Street, F23 and the triplets take refuge in the cool shade of the North end scrape. They are quickly losing those baby feathers. My goodness. Soon these three will look like Mum and Dad.

The latest news from Sydney on the Sea Eaglets, SE33 and SE34.

‘A’ has the latest ranger report: “November 5: Both parents were seen down on the river early in the morning, and several more times. One juvenile was seen on the island at around 7:30am and it was quiet later, so may have been fed. There have still been no eagle visits back to the nest. I was watching from just before 1pm – both parents and one juvenile on the island. I saw the juvenile fly and change position and both parents took off. One returned with a fish at 13:10. It flew past the juvenile, ate some and spent some time, it seemed, trying to encourage the young one to take the fish or come closer. Finally, at 13:46, the juvenile stood beside the parent and was fed. It did not seem to try to grab the fish or feed itself. Just after 2pm, the adults flew off and the young one may have been self-feeding for a while. I did not see it perch anywhere else on the river, though it did fly about at one stage. When I left, before 3pm, both adults were out of sight. Swoopers have not bothered them much on the island today. Later in the afternoon, one adult and juvenile could still be seen on the island.”

In Orange, Yira and Garrama have been self-feeding for several days. https://youtu.be/hRXw1nEKFdQ?

It is precisely the same at 367 Collins Street where the chicks are similar ages. They are meeting milestones at both scrapes just as they should. Despite their determination, each Mum eventually takes the prey so that all chicks are fed. Beautiful. https://youtu.be/mNsKgks91lA?

‘A’ comments: “At Collins Street, the littles are very mobile, and currently we have two at the sheltered end, very much awake and looking mischievous, while the third sleeps in the unsheltered scrape at the other end. The three tend to sleep at the northern end but seem to like to move about between the two scrapes during the day. It is a great relief to mum and dad, who no longer have to worry about brooding or sheltering the trio. Feeding, on the other hand, is a loud and vigorous affair, the remnants of which are really starting to pile up in the gutter. I remember reading somewhere that a messy scrapeI r (full of feathers and streaked with PSs) was evidence of a healthy brood. Collins Street appears to support this view! The trio are SO adorable. Very active and exploratory. I wonder who will be first to fly onto the window ledges – the Collins Street equivalent of ‘branching’. I do so love the sound of gutter stomping in the springtime. “

At Growing Home near Sydney, Bubba is waiting for breakfast. S/he will not have to wait long.

The wind is helping move the mess of nesting material at the Achieva Osprey nest in St. Petersburg, Florida. I wish a colossal gust would just come and rip it off. We can see the large drainage holes where the chick from 2024 might have fallen to its death. (No one seems sure of the exact cause of its demise – was it a predator?). A predator baffle has been installed, but I do not believe the tree has been trimmed so raccoons can climb and jump to the nest. No organization has yet taken the holes seriously enough to want to help put stainless mesh to protect the chicks and eggs.

Ron and Rose were at the WRDC working to get their nest ready for this years breeding season that is set to begin with the first eggs begin laid in three weeks or less.

Poor E1 F3 picked a mate, E1 M2, that loves catching turtles. Tonya Irwin caught the moment that the ‘gift of turtle’ that the male had brought to Kistachie National Forest Nest E1 F3 bite and hung on to the female’s talon!!!!!!! Ouch.

‘J’ sends us news about the Kakapo and in particular, Kumi, who will be 20 years old next year. Isn’t he gorgeous? He is up for adoption as part of the fundraising efforts of the Kakapo Recovery. For details, see their website.

In Canada, many organizations are joining together to purchase land to create or expand wetland areas. One of the most active is Ducks Unlimited. Similar projects are helping internationally and this is one reason that waterfowl numbers are climbing while so many others, like Prairie Songbirds, are declining in population numbers rapidly.

We must educate our youth about the privilege of living alongside wildlife. At the same time, we need to guide them to understand the importance of protecting their habitat rather than destroying it!

Join the Ventana Wildlife Society on Wednesday for the release of the Rookies into the wild of Big Sur and Pinnacle. (Go to the website of the Ventana Wildlife Society to sign up).

If you missed their condor chat for October, here it is: https://youtu.be/TUVUjut9Z-A?

The current status of the California Condor:

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, information, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, J’, Lady Hawk, Bucovina Golden Eagles, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Judy Harrington and the Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Liznm, Charles Sturt Falcon Project and Cilla Kinross, Growing Home Osprey Cam, Achieva Credit Union, WRDC Eagle Cam, Tonya Irwin, Kistachie National Forest Eagle Cam E1, Kakapo Recover, Suffolk Wilderness Trust, Friends of the SIBC, Ventana Wildlife Society.

Category Archives: protecting wildlife

Wednesday in Bird World

Like this:

Tuesday in Bird World

Like this:

Monday in Bird World

Like this:

Wildlife Updates: Eagle Nests and Osprey News-Wednesday in Bird World

Like this:

Sad news, WBSE34 euthanised and 33 is in care…Tuesday in Bird World

Like this:

Bubba is ready to fledge…Monday in Bird World

Like this:

Sunday in Bird World

Like this:

First egg of the Bald Eagle season at SW Florida…Saturday in Bird World

Like this:

Fish Fairy Arrives at Port Lincoln…Friday in Bird World

Like this:

Tuesday in Bird World

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: