It was a crisp -15 this morning and has warmed to a balmy -10 C. The sky is ‘baby blue’, and the European Starlings have filled the bare branches of the lilacs. A new seed – especially for Jays – has massively attracted the Starlings.
The girls are napping after lunch. They have a pattern. Eat. Sleep. Eat. Sleep. Then 2130 comes, and it is ‘party’ time.
I am going to put this right up front. Many of you are living in areas where it is getting cold. The mice are coming in. Lots will decide to poison them. Please don’t. There are many reasons, and here is one recent study that might help you convince others not to use poison. I had a darling, sweet three-year-old cat that I had raised on a bottle die from eating a mouse that had consumed poison in one of my neighbour’s houses or sheds. It is a tragic way for any animal to die.
SW Florida’s M15 and his new mate F23 have their second egg right on schedule. Now the two can begin hard incubation and we might be expecting a New Year’s baby!
The Pritchett’s will post the official time.
SK Hideaways caught the joyous occasion on video.
Checking the nest at Pittsburgh-Hays, Mum and the new male.
V3 delivered a food gift to Gabby. Well done you! But, if you were watching, V3 finally ate the squirrel.
Too funny not to include!
Eagle at Redding bringing in sticks….
Meanwhile in Louisiana, eggs are being rolled at the KNF-E3 nest of Alex and Andria.
Nine more days til hatch at Superbeaks. Gosh don’t you wish that cam was fixed just a little different for that side view? I can’t imagine only watching the tops of their heads.
It was a warm day for Connie and Clive at Captiva.
It was a bright day in Iowa with the snow still clinging to the ground and the nest at Decorah North.
It is chucking down rain in Port Lincoln, South Australia.
The rain appears to have stopped or slowed down at Port Lincoln.
Getting stronger on those legs, and look at how much those tail feathers have grown. 959 people watching. Fish fairies can be lucrative in the sense that any funds generated go directly back into the project which is fantastic – new platforms, satellite trackers, and fish!
At Orange, chat mentioned that a juvenile was seen flying at 08:32:51 to the MW (I haven’t got a clue what that refers to).
Diamond watching from the scrape.
Cilla made a video with music of a juvenile chasing Diamond at the tower. Oh, how grand.
Rohan Geddes got some shots of our White-bellied Sea Eagle juvie yesterday. Nice flying.
The two osplets at Osprey House really go after the fish when Dad arrives. It is a wonder he has any talons left.
Raising condors to save the species.
Looking at this lovely Condor baby! A little bit bigger than Hope but doing the same thing – following Mamma and copying her.
Ospreys in Spain in the winter. The Biosphere at Urdaibai.
Golden Eagle believed to have come to harm — another beaten grouse hunting estate. It is time this stopped. Can a bill – the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill – be passed in Scotland and not be watered down so that the culprits continue to get by with this senseless killing? Or will the bill get passed, and then the penalties for continuing to kill the birds be so small that it is laughable, and the gamekeepers will continue to stomp on chicks and shoot these beautiful adult raptors? Despicable. While leaf blowers get my friend ‘R’ really worked up, the stomping of chicks in a ground nest and the unnecessary shooting of raptors or the mass killing of ducks and geese at ponds makes my blood boil.
Sharon Dunne brings us news from the Royal Albatross Colony.
Looking for some new nature books? Mark Avery just published Stephen Moss’s list for 2023. Have a look. You might find something interesting. Many of the books that I love have been recommended by Avery. This is my first time to see Moss’s list.
These are the 47 books and their reviews of Avery during 2023. The Meaning of Geese continues to be one of my all-time favourite reads of this year, alongside The Comfort of Crows.
Pink-footed geese are part of the flocks that Nick Acheson so desperately wants to see in Norfolk. And just look at this:
How many of you have that ‘bucket list’? Or do you have a Copy of 1000 places to visit before you die? I have only two events on my bucket list – to see the ospreys fly over Cuba near Manzanillo in the mountains during migration and to travel to Norfolk and see the geese before the climate changes so much. They stop spending the winter in the UK. Perhaps next year for both!
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care. Look forward to having you with me again soon.
I wish to thank the following for their notes, articles, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘H’, Tufts Now, Carol Martucci Smith, SK Hideaways, PIX Cams, NEFL-AEF, FORE, KNF-E3, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Raptor Resource Project, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, Osprey House, USFWS, Tim Huntington, Alan Petrie, Geemeff, Sharon Dunne, Rohan Geddes, Carol Shores Rifkin, Mark Avery, and Jake Fiennes.
Thank you for all your wonderful ‘get well’ notes.
Thursday was worse. I thought things would be better, but the day started much worse. I am doing what the doctor orders – drinking lots of water or tea and sleeping as much as possible. Thankfully, there is not much happening in Bird World. In Winnipeg, the Snow Geese are arriving! The Canada Geese are leaving. The Robins continue to fly through. Migration is going both ways.
The hardest thing about being sick is seeing Calico watching me from the glass door, wanting more stories! Oh, that kitten – she still is a kitten (hard to believe with what she has been through), and she loves to curl up on my lap and listen to a good book. You can tell which ones she likes. It must be the author’s words – she prefers one to another. We have now finished five books in the last month. Today marks a month and three days that Calico has lived in the house. On 2 October, Hope will have been with us for a month. She listens to the stories but prefers to play. It is lovely. Cannot imagine life without the four of them, 16 legs and how many bags of litter a month? And I’m not too fond of cat food. It is just too funny. Hope loves sardines. One good thing about having Covid is I cannot smell them.
It rained, and the wind was blowing leaves everywhere. The Blue Jays were in the garden along with Dyson and Little Red. Hope and Calico spend time atop their ‘tent’ enclosure. Hope enjoys looking at what is happening outside. Missey and Calico have a truce, and there is no more animosity at the glass door. Even Lewis has calmed down. As soon as I am up to it, they will all be inside the main part of the house together.
‘L’ asked me how I taught Hope to do the High 5s. I didn’t. She taught me!
Hope’s eyes remind me of Missey’s!
Hope is so healthy. Look at those fat little legs. Calico still lets her nurse. You might be able to tell, but dear Calico is putting on a little weight. She no longer looks starving and sunken in with her bones being the most significant thing you first see.
Lewis is a big boy. He doesn’t know it, but he will get a new toy – a reward – if he can be gentle when Calico enters the living area with Hope in a few days.
No more growling or hissing at the door between Calico, Missey, or Lewis. It is lovely.
Calico is a gentle soul. I cannot imagine anyone dumping this wonderful kitten in the cold of winter.
Hope, Calico, Missey and Lewis have decided that instead of making pumpkin pie with our little pumpkin, we will put peanut butter in holes and leave it out for the squirrels. Want to join us? You could do this with your children or you could do it after you have your Halloween pumpkin. Just load up a bunch of holes with peanut butter!
I have been so sick or busy that I missed it. Voting time for The Guardian’s favourite Australian Bird. The Peregrine Falcon is in 8th place so far. Check it out; pick your favourite. You can vote every day! You do not have to be Australia, but there are funds to help with conservation, so please go and vote.
This will just warm your hearts. SE31 and 32 join in the morning duet with Mum and Dad. Oh, I used to love to sit and watch SE26. 26 loved to sing the duet. It was so beautiful.
Watching these two and this beautiful family is so bitter sweet. I wish there was so solution to the Currawongs.
They are becoming very interested in what is happening outside the nest.
It doesn’t get much sicker than this. The migrating birds are not protected in places like Malta because of politics. So, vote with your wallet. Refuse to travel to countries where there are laws to protect migrating birds and those laws are flippantly disobeyed by the hunters. Malta. Lebanon. There are others but those are on the top of my list today.
I wept for my friends in Latvia. They work so hard to try and build the small numbers of birds in their country to something significant, and then to have that beautiful fledgling of this year blown out of the sky for no reason other than someone could aim a gun and pull a trigger for fun. It makes my blood boil.
The end of the season at the Royal Albatross Colony as only 4 are left to take off to the skies and the open sea. Cornell did a short you tube video on what you can expect for September-October.
The Snow Geese might be flying over Minnesota to get to Canada and further north but Dad is still at the Landscape Arboretum in Minnesota bringing fish to Lil’ Arb.
Look who was home today! Jackie and Shadow. What a delight to see these two working on their nest together. It is such a relief to see mated pairs return together to their nests uninjured.
Cali Condor has it in a video.
At the Pritchett Farm, M15 and the new female continue to bond and work on their nest. The season looks promising. Please send out positive energy so that these two can start their lives together in peace.
Things continue to ‘feel’ unsettled at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. There have been visitors to the Northeast Bald Eagle nest. Unconfirmed. V3 did not visit the nest on Thursday. Gabby was briefly there. Unknown was on the nest later.
Gabby is not happy. Has your heart dropped down to your ankles yet? Will this be a repeat of 2022?
We all love the underdogs that survive, and Flaco is one of those. This Eurasian Owl escaped from its cage at the Central Park Zoo and is now enjoying a life of freedom. Bruce Yolton follows him for us daily as he finds food and survives in the wilds of New York City! Bruce has recently posted some good (and short) videos about Flake’s activities. I hope you are enjoying them.
New York City has hired specialists to help deal with its rat problem, especially since the pandemic. The worry has been the use of rodenticides. We must all remember that Raptors are the solution – the answer to problems with rats and mice. Falco loves this great big rat (it looks like that to me because of the tail).
Well, we are nearly there. It can take as long as 72 hours from a the sighting of the first pip (little chip in the egg) to the eyas being fully hatched. All eyes are on Orange!
At Port Lincoln, Mum gets off the eggs, very excited. Dad2 is flying in with the second fish of the morning – a headless offering which will give Mum a nice round crop. We get a good look at the eggs!
I am holding my breath. This nest has broken our hearts more than once. Will there be a change with the new lad? Will he be a sufficient provider for all the chicks to survive? We wait.
For those new to watching Ospreys develop, the Manitoba Osprey Project put together an informative and concise sheet on what to expect. It will help you as you watch these adorable little dinosaurs. You can click on any of the tabs for the Montana file below to find out other information.
Remember. The Port Lincoln Ospreys are Eastern Ospreys. The Montana Ospreys are Western. Eastern Ospreys do not migrate. Western Ospreys do (for the most part – exceptions are in the warmer climates of the southern US). Western Ospreys vary in their dates for fledging, but many studies indicate a date of 52.8 days after hatch (51-54 days). The average fledge date in Australia is 69 days (Kangaroo Island studies).
Mum looks pretty comfortable at 367 Collins Street. It is nearing noon on Thursday, and she does not seem heat-stressed. This is good. We should be able to enjoy the Orange hatchlings for a bit before focusing on the white fluff balls hatching on this ledge high over the CBD in Melbourne.
Last, let us check on the status of migration for Karl II and his family. This year’s fledgling, Kalvi, is in Bulgaria on the 28th.
Waba (2022 fledgling) is in Romania fishing at the Danube River.
Karl II is in Turkey!
Kaia is also in Turkey!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please keep your eyes on the scrape of Diamond and Xavier at Orange! Pip watch is soon. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their notes, articles, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘Geemeff’, The Guardian, SK Hideaways and Sydney Sea Eagles, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Malta, Cornell Bird Lab, MN Landscape Arboretum, Cali Condor and FOBBV, FOBBV, Saunders Real Life Photography, NEFL-AEF, Bruce Yolton, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, PLO, University of Montana, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and the Looduskalender Forum.
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.
Good Morning Everyone, and the very best of Mother’s Day to all those female Raptors and to several males who stepped in to be both Mum and Dad this season – yes, that is you, M15. We are grateful for all the joy you give to us and mindful of all the challenges that you face daily. Our goal is to try and make your lives easier – one person, one bird at a time. Today we have two raptor mothers whose lives are full of anxiety – keep them in your hearts. They are Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes, whose mate is unable to fish and there is a baby and Lucy at Lake Murray who lost her mate, Ricky, last week. To all the female humans who have stepped in to care for a living soul – human, bird, or otherwise – I hope that you have a lovely day!
Yesterday was the Big Count and I was shocked when I went to count the ducks and geese at one of the local ponds and found that the males outnumbered the females 4:1 – both Mallards and Wood Ducks. It was not a nice scene for a couple of the females not paired up with males. Those that were were cowering at the edge go the water, hiding.
The males were everywhere. I have never seen anything like it. Hardly any females.
This lucky female had her mate protecting her from the younger males.
In the garden, it has now become crystal clear why there is so much suet disappearing from the log! Little Red can pull an entire ball out of the holes and scurry it away!!!!!!!!!!!
The White-crowned Sparrows arrived yesterday with a few Harris Sparrows and Pine Siskins.
If you have trouble attracting birds, I highly recommend one of these tray feeders instead of the tube ones. They are easy to clean. Yes, the squirrels can get to them as well but everyone has been sharing without much fuss including Mr Crow.
Besides..Dyson needs to eat, too. It looks like she might have babies.
You need to mark your calendars. We have not been able to see Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets this year since they moved their nest. Dr Sharpe and his team will be banding them on the 15th of May and then on the 27th of May, Chase and Cholyn’s only eaglet will get its bling. Here is the announcement. I am so excited to see those West End babies!!
I want to start with some really good news. When the nests lose a mate, we have to take it one day at a time and we also have to hope that the osplets are old enough for the Mum to leave the nest to find food – or, alternatively, for the male to brood/incubate. On Saturday, around 1647, Lucy brought in a whopper of a fish to the Lake Murray Osprey Platform in South Carolina. It was MASSIVE. She was still feeding the osplets two hours later and there was still fish left for her!
One day at a time. Anything can happen. Send positive wishes to this nest, please!
It looks like Lucy got some fish and she has spent Saturday night on the perch watching out for the babies.
Laddie and Blue NC0s first hatch of the year is here.
Here is a video of that little one just after hatch at LOTL by Geemeff and the hatch in slow motion.
Is Laddie injured? is that fish blood? He did manage to bring in a big fish to the nest for Blue NC0 and the little one…scroll down to see what happened to that fish.
Laddie took a nice fish to the nest and then Blue NC0 dropped it. This is not a good start with a hungry Bob and another one pipping.
There is now a warning at the LOTL streaming cam. I am posting it here as Geemeff sent me with a big question – why not put out a fish table! Take the bold step and help this family until it can be determined what is going on!
Viewer warning Please be aware that, due to the current situation with the male osprey, there may be scenes on the live webcam that some viewers may find upsetting.
Concern over male osprey, LM12 A number of you have contacted us over the last several days with concerns about the male osprey at Loch of the Lowes, LM12. Whilst we can report that LM12 is being seen from the hides, flying from time to time around the reserve and occasionally coming to the nest, it would appear that he may have sustained an injury meaning he is unable to hunt. At the time of writing, he has not brought a fish to the female on the nest for several days now.
Please know that we share your concerns, especially now that there is a small chick on the nest, and we will continue to monitor the nest around the clock. Sadly injury, illness and even mortality can and do regularly occur on wild osprey nests. Whilst we enjoy a privileged view into the lives of these two ospreys, it’s important to remember that they are wild breeding animals. The Trust has a non-intervention approach as we believe that it’s important to let nature take its course, with all the highs and lows that entails.
Please be advised that staff do not currently have the capacity to respond to your kind messages of concern. Thank you for understanding
Please keep Laddie and Blue NC0 in your thoughts and send them the very best and most positive wishes that you have.
Sad. Falco, the Eurasian Owl that escaped the zoo in Central Park, is eating out of dumpsters and searching for rats near dumpsters. Yes, he is doing the part of ‘Raptors are the Answer’ for New York City but what a life…but, of course, I am looking at this from a human perspective. Maybe he has so many big rats in NYC that he is full to the brim and never hungry as he might be in the wild of the wild. Bruce Yolton states, this is not the idyllic wild life one might imagine for this owl far away from its native home. It is Day 100 since he escaped. The top video sitting by the dumpster waiting for rats; the second in a tree in the park.
Smiles all around at the nest of Leucistic Red-tail Hawk Angel and Tom. Tom knows what he needs to do! More prey came in, and RTH5 went to sleep with a full crop and some pin feathers showing Saturday night. ‘A’ reminds me that RTH5 will be two weeks old tomorrow. Just look how big it has grown, and so happy that this nest has stabilised for Angel and her young mate so that this baby can survive and thrive, we hope.
RTH5 had a nice big crop Sunday morning!
Big Red and Arthur’s Ms are doing just fine despite the odd fly around that nest full of dead animals. Big is now doing preening of its younger siblings instead of pecking and that is fantastic…she will be a good little mama like her mother, Big Red.
Good Night Big Red. Happy Mother’s Day.
Arthur is healthy and is a great provider just like Idris is with his big fish for Telyn on Saturday at Dyfi. Look at that nice fish!
Blue 33 has the fish ready for Maya and the baby after the first hatch.
After Maya fed the little one, with Blue 33 watching, Blue settled down to be with his mate. Oh, I do love this osprey. My pick of the crop of them!
On Mother’s Day, Maya and Blue’s second egg hatched at 0636 and ten minutes later, Maya was feeding both chicks.
Geemeff has the hatch on video for us. Just look at how strong that second hatch is minutes after it enters the world…my goodness. There are two eggs to go. Happy Mother’s Day, Maya!
In St Petersburg, Florida, 56 day old Big Bob at the Achieva Nest helicoptered at 17:10. Winds had picked up a little with a few rain drops falling.
Diane brought in two fish on Saturday. The first at 0704 which Middle stole from Big at 0722 and a second fish at 0852. If there were alter deliveries, I did not see them.
Abby and Victor are both 10 weeks old. They hatched 18.5 hours apart on the 3rd of March. Abby flew for the first time on the 8th of May and it is possible that Victor will take his first flight on Mother’s Day!
Talk about two very healthy osplets. This is how birds can look – check out that plumage – when a community or a business decides to stock a pond. With climate change – and we have seen this with the storms and the drought this year at the nests, and it is just beginning, the heat. It is up to us to ease their lives and stocking ponds is the least we can do. The other would be to keep anglers off – no monofilament lines, sinkers, or hooks.
At Cal Falcons, Rosa is really working those wings. My goodness this big female is growing so fast and doing so many things that we have missed by having all those males on the nest in previous years. What a nice change.
At 1332, E22 was on the branches of the nest true and just after 1400, she was down at the pond with M15. E22 is not sleeping in the nest or on the branches tonight for the first time. Is E22 at another tree? nearer the pond? or did our little one finally depart? We wait.
Harriet would be terribly proud.
SK Hideaways caught what could be our last sighting of E22. Tears of joy but bittersweet. What an amazing eaglet E22 is – and what an incredible year at SW Florida. We now wait to see what will happen with M15.
There is an awareness campaign by the American Bird Conservancy. Please read and consider not using these products that harm our precious raptors and birds.
And a reminder from our water fowl:
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘H’. ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘S’, Jess Gallivan and CIEL, Lake Murray Ospreys, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Geemeff and LOTL, Sue Wallabanks and Friends of Loch Arkaig ospreys, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Bruce Yolton, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways and SW Florida Eagle Cam, and Michelle Minalak Lampey.
‘J’ asks: “I was just wondering if you could talk about R23-3’s damaged talon. Do they heal? Will the actual nail fall off? Will it grow back?”
These are great questions; they have been on everyone’s mind since we first saw R23-3’s injured feet. First, let’s get to some facts in case some do not know. Those talons (and beaks) carry the eagle’s prey and nesting materials to the nest. They are also used to fight their enemies. Talons are essential for the eagle’s survival. Each foot has four talons, three in the front and one in the back, the hallux. The talons are made out of keratin. It is a protein. Human hair and nails are also made out of keratin.
So have a good look at the image below. Do you remember where the main injuries were on R23-3’s feet and talons? She appeared to have multiple marks and gouges, with one main injury on DIGIT IV, the Outer Talon. We saw it early as black, and I even called her ‘black taloned’. I feared that the injury was necrotic and would eventually kill her. There was no soft tissue swelling, just a deep gouge with a dark, dry scab. That scab eventually came off. The female adult appears to be eating and in good health. She enjoys her baths with M15 and socialising with him in the pond and on the branch. In other words, she is not lethargic.
That hallux is important because it digs into the prey items and allows the raptors to carry their food to where they will eat it or feed their young. The talons are grey in colour when the eaglets are in the nest and turn a shiny black as they age and fledge. They will remain that shiny black throughout their lives..
Now back to the question. The injuries on the female R23-3 appear to be healing. She has yet to lose her talon. If the entire talon were to be pulled out, growing a new one would be a very slow process. You might recall that Ervie, the third hatch Osprey at Port Lincoln in 2022, lost a talon. It was believed to be pulled out when he was fishing, but we do not know. It took nearly 8 months to see any growth in that talon.
We know that the female can bring carrion to the nest tree. We have seen her. She is also eating, arriving with a crop when she has yet to take a fish from the nest. We have yet to see the female actively hunting and carrying a large, heavy prey item to the nest tree. We, therefore, cannot make any observations on her ability or lack of ability to transport prey with that right foot.
If the foot continues to heal as it appears to, this female will be fine. Some eagles are flying and living with only one leg, as we have witnessed this year or managing with a leg with an old injury that did not heal properly, as Ma Berry did for years at Berry College. Feet get damaged regularly. V3’s feet are rough at the NEFl nest (with Gabby). Let us wait and watch to see how she does!
Hard to see the full extent of the injuries in the image below. We can, however, determine which is the most injured toe on the right foot.
We can also see some damage on the left foot.
It must be noted that Peregrine Falcons have been observed with talons with broken ends, which do not appear to grow back. In other words, the entire black talon needs to be pulled out and it is possible that it will regrow slowly.
In the News:
How might climate change impact the Northern Hemisphere’s sea birds? This is a great article coming out of Birdlife International on this topic. Have a read!
Have you been missing Indigo? wondering if he was still around the scrape on the campus of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia? thinking that Diamond and Xavier might be having some peace and quiet? No. Indigo is still there! Elain caught him on video!
Jackie and Shadow are so loved. They get more visitors to their streaming cam in the Big Bear Valley east of Los Angeles than any other eagle family in the US. We are saddened by the non-viability of their first clutch of eggs in 2023. It is not clear whether or not they will lay more eggs. The couple has left these two and the wind and ice are pelting down. Love you, Jackie and Shadow! Today, they made the USToday News. Thanks, ‘B’, for letting me know!
M15 is on top of his game. On Sunday, the single parent delivered 3 fish to the nest of E21 and 22 before noon! Way to go, Dad! There were a total of five for the entire day.
Gosh, these eaglets are gorgeous.
The tails indicate the difference. E22 on the left and E21 on the right. Otherwise it is really difficult to tell them apart.
Such beautiful and precious babies. E21 below panting to keep cool.
The end of the day posting from SW Florida Eagles:
I mentioned that Duke Farms’s male will be 23 this year. That hatch date is 11 March. He was taken in as a foster eaglet at Duke Farms when he was a fortnight old. His two recently hatched eaglets are growing and are ever so strong! Just fluffy little snow people…adorable.
The osplets at Moorings Park in Naples, Florida are doing great. No worries at this nest so far.
Monday morning there was some frustration on the osprey nest by the osplets. Sally was hungry and there was a lot of fish. Harry finally gave her a break so that she could eat. The little osplets sure wanted some fish! They were up and waiting as Mum ate. There is nothing to worry about. At this stage of their development, they will eat a little fish many times a day not a lot of fish a few times.
At the Achieva Osprey nest, Jack and Diane have been doing incubation rotations. There are still some days til pip watch for these two.
Big Red and Arthur continue to work on the nest and mate on the light stands. Eggs soon, please!
Big Red and Arthur’s 2022 hatch, L4, remains on the Cornell Campus. Bravo! They are paying her no mind and she is going on about her business hunting in a very prey rich territory.
Happy Hatch Day!
There are now four eggs at the Peregrine Falcon nest in Japan. Will there be a 5th?
Watching for the second egg to be laid at Cal Falcons. Annie has been in the scrape box most of the day.
At 14:51 there was still just one egg. Soon!
At 15:09, Lou is on incubation duties.
‘H’ sent me news that the second egg arrived around 0430 Monday 6 March. Thanks, ‘H’.
Lou is getting the hang of ‘enfluffeling’!
Connie and Clive’s only eaglet, Connick, is looking for roles in more superhero movies. Looks at those legs!!!!! Wow. This eaglet is big and strong.
Connick is a huge, beautiful, well-nourished eaglet! Sometimes there is no place to go when the sun is hot on the nest. Connick can regulate his temperature now.
Gabby and V3 are both at the nest tree today. V3 provided for Gabby the security she needed with so many intruders and hopeful suitors. This nest is pleasantly peaceful now. Have you noticed that it is the same at SW Florida except for the GHOs?
Thanks, ‘T’ for the head’s up. The West End streaming cam was panning around, and guess who the camera caught? Akecheta!!!!!! Oh, it would be grand if they could figure out how to get this camera to focus on the new nest of Thunder and Akecheta. The time is 13:13 Sunday, 5 March. Nice to see you, Dad.
We may not be able to get everyone to stop using rodenticide but each of us can start by remembering that ‘Raptors are the Solution.’ If you know of someone with rodent problems, discuss with them why you do not use these highly designed poisons. If they have domestic pets, it might help save their lives, too. My cat Duncan would still be alive if a neighbour had not used this terrible poison and if Duncan had not caught the mouse that ate it. We will simply not be able to convince everyone but it is worth a try.
I want to thank Dave Hancock and all the folks in British Columbia who work tirelessly to support the well-being of Bald Eagles. There are more Bald Eagles in British Columbia than anywhere in the world. Due to climate change and rising temperatures during breeding and nesting season, Dave Hancock has also been working on eagle nest shades. He is an amazing man who has spent his entire life trying to improve their lives. Some of you will be familiar with the nest cams in British Columbia. They also have a web site with lots of information on eagles.
At the Corona, California GHO nest, the four owlets appear to be very healthy. The fourth is tiny, but size does not mean it is not well. Owlvira seems to be able to manage to feed all of them quite well. Potential names have been posted on chat, and now those are being put into a list for voting.
You can see the size difference in the image below as all are snuggled upright to stay warm.
Thanks so much for being with me today. Take care of yourselves! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘B’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘J’, Superbeaks, Lady Deeagle55 and Superbeaks, Avianreport.com, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Birdlife.org, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SWEagleCam.com, Duke Farms, Moorings Park Ospreys, HeidiMc and Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH, @Cornellhawks, Kakapo Recovery, JPFalcon Cam, Cal Falcons, SKHideaways and Cal Falcons, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, IWS and Explore.org, Raptors are the Solution, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and California Corona Owls.
The top Osprey story has to be that Rosie has returned to the nest on the Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipping Yard. Richmond will be delighted! Oh, so happy you are home safe, Rosie.
Just look at those two beautiful eaglets on the SW Florida Nest. They are 7.5 weeks old! It has been a month since their Mum, Harriet, disappeared. M15 has done a fantastic job caring for the couple’s two eaglets, who were a month old. Now they have their juvenile plumage, standing on the rim of the nest, stealing food, and self-feeding. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
On Tuesday, M15 brought a squirrel to the nest. Of course, E22 grabbed a massive piece of it! What a survivor! SK Hideaways caught E22 doing another great eating trick: sit on 21 to get to the beak!
The two eaglets have been enjoying the Florida sunshine and standing on the rails on Thursday. There were four deliveries on Wednesday: 1308, 1338, 1457, and 1505. They came fast and were not large. E22 often got the fish only to lose it to 21.
M15 came to the nest with a small fish at 13:38:16. E22 pulled off something quickly, 21 got some fish, and Dad quickly left. He was gone in 39 seconds! At 13:38:55.
After, E22 searched for scraps while 21 looked out at the big world beyond.
Lady Hawk caught the deliveries and the action in a video montage.
It is 10:30 in Florida as I finish writing on Thursday. The Es are waiting for breakfast.
As I continue monitoring the SW Florida Eagle nest with M15, I try to catch up on other nests we have been watching. These eaglets are growing, and it will not be long until there are fledges. Right now, the first hatch of Alex and Andria at the KNF-E3 nest in the Kisatchie Forest in Louisiana is hovering! Yes, you read that right. He has wind under those wings. Just look. Incredible. The nest is going to become a trampoline for these two eaglets.
B16, the ‘apple’ of Pa and Missy Berry’s talons and eagle eyes is 39 days old today and is now mantling prey when it comes to the nest!
Both of the recent hatches at Duke Farms appear to be doing well. Dad has been on and off the nest checking, and there was an attempt at tandem feeding today. Well done, Duke Farms!
What an adorable image. Two little fluff balls. Pa and Ma make sure that each gets fed and has a little crop.
There has been more trouble at the nest of Liberty and Guardian in Redding, California. An intruder landed on the nest! Gary explains what is happening but, Guardian prevails saving the nest and the egg.
At the nest of the Sauces Canyon couple, Audacity and Jak, egg #7 is holding. If I were Audacity, I would eat on the nest without trying to move! Everyone send this fantastic couple the most positive wishes you can – imagine, seven eggs hoping that one will not break easily and will hatch!
Cholyn was thrown off the nest at Two Harbours in the Channel Islands on Wednesday. There were concerns for her. She returned to incubate the egg overnight, doing a handover to Chase at 0605 Thursday morning. Cholyn is 24 years old – she went right over the cliff’s edge.
Nancy and Beau at the Minnesota DNR nest have lost an egg. It is believed to have broken when Nancy tried to keep the eggs warm and dry during the recent winter storms. Let’s hope for one healthy hatch!
A squirrel has been in the nest at Decorah North chewing on the egg. There is a question of its viability. Eagle back incubating regardless!
We are looking for a pip at the Moorings Park Osprey platform. Sally was acting rather peculiar…maybe the pip has started! Sally and Harry are not giving a thing away. Cannot tell Thursday morning if there is a pip or not.
Arthur is being just his amazing self and delivering sticks for the nest for Big Red. We could be less than two weeks away from the first egg!
Arthur should be proud. He has diligently transformed a pile of windswept sticks with new ones creating a nest for his queen, Big Red. Let’s hope she approves!!!! Big Red can be specific when it comes to stick placement!
Thanks, Sharon Dunne, for the update on the first Moli of the Laysan Albatross Colony on Kauai’ to hatch this year.
Another Kakapo gets its name!
Scientists were delighted when travelling through Madagascar, a believed to be an extinct songbird, the Dusky Tetraka, was seen! Here is that article from Birdlife International. Can you imagine how excited they were?
You will remember my joy when the EU announced that lead would be banned in all 27 European countries in wetlands as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Here is more information about this bold move. Can we get this to happen in North America? It would certainly be a beginning but we need to ban lead in all hunting and fishing equipment everywhere!
While the Bald Eagles and some ospreys nest in the US, the first osprey to return from winter migration to Africa has flown over Hampshire in the UK. It will not be long until we have our first returnees on the streaming cams. Will it be Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland?
I am getting so excited it is impossible to think!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, it is going to be getting soooooo busy. Word has come of Osprey crossing The Strait of Gibraltar. Oh, cold chills are going up my arms. I do so love these raptors.
There is a new osprey platform going up in Cumbria that is hoping to attract a couple! Good luck everyone.
Last is a book review that I have been reading in the evenings after checking on the SW Florida nest.
Raptor behaviour interests everyone, and I wanted to know more about M15. Marti Lord is one of the local photographers and observers of the SW Florida nest. To say that they love these eagles would be an understatement! Their book, Miracle in the Pines – An Eagles Love Story, is an intimate account of a single year in the life of M15 and Harriet. It is 2020. Lord says, “This book is a mixture of my real-life visits to the Southwest Florida Eagles Nest, home of Harriet and M15, to Photograph and observe them, mixed with watching the live cams every day and documenting the activity on the nest. Then I add my own twist of fiction and storytelling to complete the story.”
The story is about season 8. Harriet and M15 had two eggs in the nest. One failed to hatch. Mr Sassy Pants, or E14, was the name given to the eaglet that hatched and tragically died on the nest at 26 days of rodenticide poisoning. CROW removed the body and the non-viable egg. Lord says, “I watched closely to see if there would be any clues as to what Harriet and M15 would do next.” They did move on, and what unfolds is the story of two eaglets, Miracle and Grace, hatched from a second clutch of eggs.
While the book is composed of chapters following the daily lives of the eagles, what struck me most is how Lord shares another perspective, one that those watching the nest on a streaming cam will never have. The family of eagles is observed in the area around the nest. M15 is particularly present once the eaglets fledge. He helps them by the pond, delivers prey; he flies with them. Those stories make this book a really good read, especially if you want to know more about this family and M15.
In 2020, E9 is still in the area, and M15 goes hunting with him. Not only is the season remarkable for the success of a second clutch, but also because this is the year Miracle stays at the nest with her parents squeeing and chasing Dad for fish until the 15th of November. It is just about time for Harriet to lay her eggs, and everyone is wondering when 15 will leave OR will Harriet and M15, who have been working on an alternative nest, have to move house. This intimate behind-the-scenes account of this extraordinary year was such a joy to read. Lord brings to life all of the birds and mammals that live on or come to the pond at the Pritchett property and their interactions with the eagles. And, yes, the GHOs are there and knocking M15 off the branch, too! My only disappointment was that the images were in black and white, and Lord’s photographs of this nest, often seen on the SW Florida Eagles Facebook, are extraordinary in colour. I presume that this was the publisher and a cost issue. It happens far too often now… but, that does not take away from a really detailed and passionate accountant of a year in the life of this Bald Eagle family. I admired M15 prior to reading the book and am more of an ardent supporter now!
How ironic it just was to check FB and Trish Rawlings had posted a picture of Harriet feeding E15!
Just because. A throw back video to a month ago when Mama Harriet was being fed by M15 who was also feeding the eaglets. Yes, it is OK to tear up.
Love. Annie and Lou style, thanks to SK Hideaways. Eggs? Soon?
There is lots and lots of news and nests to cover now. This is a glimpse into what is happening at some of the nests!
Lewis and Missy wish everyone a good end of the week. Did I say they love their big dog fluffy bed?
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, postings, tweets, videos, and streaming cams which help make up my blog: Lucille Powell and the SF Osprey Cam with Rosie and Richmond, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Tonya Irwin and KNF E3, Berry College Eagles, Gary and FORE, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, IWS and Explore.org, MN Non-game Wildlife Program, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Moorings Park Naples Florida, Cornell RTH Cam, Sharon Dunne and Royal cam Albatross Group NZ, Kakapo Recovery, Birdlife International, Alan Petrie Ospreys FB, @WildHaweswater, Marti Lord, NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watcher’s Club, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, and SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons.
Saturday was a huge surprise with the revolving door deliveries at the SWFlorida nest. Just when we worried because of the female’s presence, M15 brought in lots of prey. And once, ‘she’ fed E21 and only once did she get in the nest.
The day started well for the eaglets, E21 and 22. M15 has delivered two fish to the nest. The first was an Armoured Catfish, but the second appeared to be a normal catfish. E21 had a crop, and E22 is working hard on that second fish!
The second fish arrives at 1100. I thought that Dad might feed the eaglets, but he keeps the female away from the nest by doing food drops.
After 21 eats their portion, 22 takes the fish. The time is 1142.
22 kept working on that piece of fish until it was all gone. He is our little survivor!
Meanwhile, while 22 was working on that fish, Dad brought in more mysterious animal organs. E21 grabbed them and ate quickly. 22 didn’t even seem to notice! Time is 12:04.
We must celebrate these two eaglets. They are doing so well under the circumstances and Dad is just doing the absolute best he can for them.
At 13:10:49, M15 brings another nice fish to the nest for the eaglets. This time he is followed by R23-3 (Black Talon). Dad leaves her. Interestingly, while this female was hungry and ate most of that fish, she did feed 21 and didn’t seem to be mean about it. This is disheartening as the morning and yesterday had gone well without her.
By 1317, 22 decides he might get up there and get a few bites. I do not think 22 got any, but he had eaten much of the earlier fish. Still, you can see him moving his beak up. The lunch was finished at 13:19:40, and the female flew up to a branch above the nest.
Lady Hawk caught it in a video showing that the female was not all nice but, she did feed E21 some bites. Perhaps M15 was watching?
The prey items keep on coming. M15 brings in another fish to the eaglets at 15:38:09. 22 is right up there snatching and grabbing. He is very hungry and intends to get this fish!
Our Snatch and Grab King is not giving up on any of this fish even if Dad moves it around to also feed 21.
22 is getting so much fish. He will sleep well tonight and be good if nothing else comes to the nest today. Bravo, M15!
Dad also has a nice crop so he is also eating well today. Simply relief. I don’t know if there are medals for eagles figuring out complicated life circumstances, but M15 would surely be at the top of the list this year to receive one.
At 0800 on Sunday, M15 drops a live fish on the nest. E22 mantles and grabs it first but submits to 21 who eats it all!
It is not clear what happened next on the SW Florida nest Sunday morning.
At 09:15:57, the female with the injured talon, no longer black as the scab had come off, was on the nest with the eaglets. At 09:15:15, M15 had flown down into the nest. Did he want her to leave? Did he have fish? I could see he did not leave a meal, and the female remained in the nest. I suspect she thought there was some fish, and 21 had cleaned everything up. 21 finished eating that live fish at 0857.
Dad at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest has been contending with a rather aggressive female since Mum disappeared earlier this month. It now seems that Dad and her are a couple. She’s a big girl!!!!!!!
People are fascinated by Bald Eagles buried in snow. This is Nancy at the MN-DNR nest.
This is what it was like at the eagle nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear where the winter storm continues to rage.
Jackie and Shadow made The Los Angeles Times. Oh, they are so loved both in California and around the world. Again, if our love could help them, they would have a nest full of eaglets!
The weather is much different in Jacksonville, and V3 managed to get a fish on the nest, eat a few bites, and then Gabby came and claimed it. No talons were injured this time, and well done, V3. What a guy you are keeping security watch while Gabby eats. V3, you are fantastic.
No eggs at The Hamlet but HD and HM (Hatchery Dad and Mum) at Decorah welcomed their first egg on Saturday. Congratulations Iowa! Talk about a handsome eagle couple!
For those of you following the love triangle saga at Centreport, New York, ‘H’ tells me that Mum has been mating with D4 and that Mum also mounted D-5. Yes, you read that right. Will we have a lover’s triangle on Long Island?
‘H’ confirms also that Angus and Florence mated ten times on Saturday! Angust brought four fish gifts. One is the Talipia in the image below. Now..when will we have eggs on that nest?
B16 is 35 days old today. Wow. Those eaglets (B16, Connick, Ringo, the ones at KNF) are getting so big and grown up.
Ringo, the lone surviving eaglet, is strengthening her legs and wings! Doing well in Webster, Texas.
More and more postings are showing raptors in rehab because of rodenticide poisoning. When will these designer poisons be banned? Let the raptors do their job and have food without the fear of death!
Did Jack come too close to the eggs with his fish delivery for Diane? Heidi Mc caught it on video!
Sweet Pea is in the post-guard phase for those who follow the Royal Cam Albatross. I do not recall a little Albie wandering from the nest so early, but there he goes (yes, I believe it is a ‘him’ this time). What a brave and independent baby this year!
And last, but absolutely never least, Big Red and Arthur have been on the Fernow Light stand building a nest! Aren’t they beautiful? Arthur will deliver and you can count on Big Red doing the supervising! (She also delivers sticks).
Big Red and Arthur’s 2023 hatch L4 – who no one believed would survive – is still living on the parental territory without any issues from Mum and Dad.
Here is the link to Big Red and Arthur’s camera on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. This is one of less than a handful of streaming cams focusing on the lives of Red-tail Hawks. Big Red is 20 this year.
Thank you so much for being with me this Sunday morning. Take care, everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Stephen Basly and the Notre Dame Eagles, The Sacramento Bee, FOBBV, The Los Angeles Times, NEFL-AEF, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Window to Wildlife, Berry College Eagles, Paul White and the Webster Texas Eagles, Boston.com, Heidi Mc and Achieva Credit Union, NZ DOC, Cornell Bird Lab, and @Cornell Hawks.
I hope that the ‘almost’ end of the week is looking good for all of you.
Thank you for your notes about the kittens. They are doing great. There are times I wonder if I will survive! My entire house looks like a kitten day care!!!!!! They prefer boxes and paper shopping bags to any kind of toy from the pet store. They want to sleep in baskets with soft blankets, on top of tables with soft blankets, and in drawers. I am trying to remember to cut all those handles – and you should, too. They can get their necks through them. They have been playing with this bag for a couple of weeks now. Taking turns being inside and out. It is just about torn to shreds! Lewis always appears to be chewing on something and Missey is always a darling – oh, no, she never causes any mischief! Never! LOL.
In the News:
Sue and Otto are remembered. It is a lovely article about this adored pair of Red-tail Hawks. In it, I also note that they are giving different days for the birds death. I will try and confirm which is correct.
A Place called Hope – one of my all-time favourite wildlife rehabilitation centres – is asking for help. Unusual donations. They want more specimens of raptors killed by rodenticide and lead. They are gathering evidence so that a bill can be passed in Connecticut to stop the sale of both rodenticides and lead. Do you work at a centre that can help? And even if you don’t, read the request. It is shocking how many deaths there are so quickly….we need to stop this, we need to help our raptors.
The faces of some of those affected and some who have died due to rat poison and lead.
The joy I felt at seeing Cattle Egrets, in the pastures and small allotments in Grenada following the goats and cows, is hard to describe. Imagine being a farmer in the UK, changing your way of doings things to bring health to your land, and now you have cattle egrets! Just imagine how thrilling – a sign of a healthy space.
The article below gives a good history of the cattle egret. It is a really good read while demonstrating that biodiversity can work if we make the effort to change our practice. “Numbers of cattle egrets are booming in Britain, boosted by wildlife-friendly farming where cows are grazed on gentle rotations designed to improve soil quality and boost invertebrate populations.”
In Melbourne, scientists are wondering if a change in climate is the cause for the rise of the ‘devil bird’ in Melbourne’s suburbs. If you live in Melbourne, have you seen one of these?
We don’t get to see the Layman Albatross nesting on Kauai, Hawaii on streaming cams, only through the postings of Hob Osterlund. Thank you, Holly Parsons, for this re-post on the hatch of the little Moli.
A Sanibel eaglet that fell out of its nest now has been adopted and has its forever home. Congratulations!
In the Nests:
Louis and Anna’s little chick is doing fantastic. Oh, they had a soggy start to Wednesday after the storms pushed through the area but, everyone is fine.
Cody got the camera up and running at the E3 nest. Thank you Cody! You can really tell the difference between E01 and E03 now. E01 being the one with the most juvenile feathers. It feels like it happened overnight!
Just look at how well those eaglets are camouflaged in that nest. Both have serious crops from being well fed.
Coot is still on the menu. There must be an absolute abundance of Coots on Kincaid Lake this time of year.
02 is stretching its wings much to the curiosity of big sibling. They both have fuzzy Mohawks and you can see the feathers coming in along with those huge feet!
There is information on the chat roll for both KNF-E1 and KNF-E3 about naming 01 which I am presuming can only be Alex and Andria’s 01 chick from the E3 nest. “We will have a 24hour poll to name O1 on Friday the 27th starting at noon and ending on Saturday the 28th at noon. 3 names will be selected by local Forest Service employees then voted on in the chat.” Send in a name…give that little eaglet something to wear proudly all its life. Mark your calendars..this Friday til noon Saturday to come up with a great name. Then the 3 finalists.
It really was a scary time. On the 24th of January the Ravens came to the nest of Jackie and Shadow. Shadow came to the rescue. How terrifying for Jackie! The Eagles have to be constantly vigilant against Ravens and like Harriet and M15, the GHOs. Those Ravens know that Jackie has two precious eggs and they want them!
Here is another view of the threat by the Ravens.
Ranger Sharyn comes by and does a weight check on Sweet Pea. That is one of the nicknames that the South Plateau chick has at the moment. There will be a naming contest after the middle of February when all of the eggs have hatched. I wonder what the name will be? Names become important – they often help us to remember the birds easier than if they have a number. Scientific studies have also shown that our attachment to the wildlife/raptors/sea birds is more intense if they have a name. I am all for whatever it takes to help people care – and to help others to understand how important it is to care for these beautiful birds – all of them – before it is too late.
I am reposting one of Sharon Dunne’s screen captures of L and GLY together during the changeover. Just a gorgeous couple. Thank you, Sharon.
‘A’ sent me the link to this video capturing the moment that GLY sees his chick for the first time. Thanks, A!
The feedings for CE9 continue to go well. The little eaglet has responded in kind by growing and growing! CE9 is sweetness in a tiny bundle. So glad this little one is thriving.
Oh, sweetness in a food coma.
At 12:47:21 Clive feeds Connie and Connie feeds CE9. Precious. CE9 just wants lunch not fooling around parents!!!!!! This little eaglet will have its name today!!!!!! Wonder what it will be?
The last meal of the day at Captiva as the sun sets.
You may have also noticed that Connie continues to bury the unviable egg in the nest now.
The weather forecasts do not look good. The winds are really starting to pick up at Pa Berry and Missy’s nest in Georgia. B16 remains a beautiful little energetic fluff ball. There is some speculation that B16 is actually the second egg hatching at 36 days. Second eggs tend to hatch earlier than first due to delayed incubation. Chatters note that this would be in line with hatching last year also. One wonderful eaglet is fine.
Missy is making sure that the hatches are tight so little B16 is warm and dry. I would love to see these eagle nests catch a break one year from the snow and ice…we will see what happens later today and tomorrow as that system sweeps through the US.
The ospreys at Achieva have been mating and alerting from the nest. Are we going to see eggs in the next week?
The cam operator gave us some very good close ups at the Superbeaks nest this morning. Pearl is 49 days old and Tico is 48 days old today.
Texas already had the storms and the tornadoes and thankfully, the Webster Bald Eagles are just fine! Ringo and Boots up and eating well. Thankful for small miracles as there were no less than 14 confirmed tornadoes in Texas on the 24th.
Nancy and her mate were at the MN-DNR nest working on getting things ready for eggs.
They were working on the rails today.
The predicted snow is starting to fall on the Mum at Duke Farms and her egg. Oh, this poor dear. I remember a couple of years ago her being buried under snow. They survive of course but, it is so hard to watch. We just want to help them and ease any misery and pain they might have.
The snow and winds have hit Iowa and the precipitation is accumulating on both the nests at Decorah.
So far, the snow has not reached Pittsburgh and the US Steel Bald Eagle nest.
There are a lot of intruders. Harriet has had to defend the nest and now Bella is having to defend the NCTC nest. Stay safe, Bella. We do not want a repeat of last year where you were injured and gone for nearly 3 weeks.
Heading to Australia to check to see if Zoe is on the barge nest and yes, there she is. Zoe is 131 days old on Thursday in Australia. Yesterday Mum brought her one fish. I wonder if there will be any deliveries today. It is 1500 and I see no deliveries yet – unless I missed something. Zoe looks remarkably well fed and in good health.
Diamond was in the scrape box on the waterpower of the Charles Sturt University in Orange. It is now 15:21 and Indigo has not been seen or heard so far today.
Thank you so very much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, announcements, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘A’, A Place Called Hope, The Guardian, Holly Parsons Albatross Lovers FB and Hob Osterlund, Terry carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and New and WAVY.COM KNF-E1 and E3, FOBBV, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Sharon Dunne and Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ and NZ DOC, Window to Wildlife, Berry College, Achieva Credit Union, Superbeaks, Paul White and the Webster TX Eagle Group, MN-DNR, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Pix Cams, Deb Stecyk and the NCTC, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.
If you would like to be a member of our bird loving family, we would love to have you join us. There is normally one posting per day unless there is some big excitement. I try hard not to load up your inbox. No ads, no fees. You can unsubscribe at any time.
To all of our readers celebrating The New Year, The Year of the Water Rabbit or for those celebrating Tet, the Year of the Cat, in Vietnam, we wish you joy, good health, prosperity, and a long life. Have a wonderful holiday. I hope that you were able to spend it with your family, friends, or loved ones.
So what is entertaining the kittens! The Dove was as fascinated with them as they were with it. Tomorrow we are putting up a high table feeder for this Dove so that it might be able to eat without fear of the neighbourhood cats killing it! It spent part of the afternoon in the tree that you can see. That is a ‘female’ Maple. It has those helicopter seeds. I do wonder if the dove was able to eat some of those.
Making News:
Oh, my goodness, tears of joy. Redwood and Phoenix’s chick is now a fully grown juvenile and seen for the first time at Big Sur.
A little history for those that do not know the California Condor community. Prior to the Dolan Fire that began 18 August 2020 and destroyed much of Big Sur, the top male condor in the Big Sur Colony was Kingpin 167. Redwood Queen was known as ‘Slope Slug’. She spent all her time down the slope of the hill because the other condors harassed her so much. She was the one at the bottom of the hierarchy (just like all new ones are). THEN something magical happened. Kingpin 167 paired with Redwood Queen 190 and she instantly rose to the top of the ranks. Their most famous chick was Iniko 1031 who survived the Dolan fire as a nestling in a large Redwood Tree. Iniko was famous. Images of the young condor with the fire crackling around the tree went viral. Iniko survived the fire only to be injured when a male condor came into the nest. Redwood Queen arrived to save her chick. Iniko was injured when it was shoved out and down the nest. Iniko was taken to the Los Angeles Zoo for medical care and rehabilitation. Kingpin 167 is presumed not to have survived the fire and died. He has not been seen since. Redwood Queen pairs with 477 Phoenix, aptly named because he also survived a horrific wildlife, earlier. Their first egg laid in the old tree where Iniko hatched was not viable. The pair moved to a tree in Pinnacles National Park that Phoenix had shared with his former mate. There they raised 1174 in 2022. How lovely for both of them – both survivors of wildfires.
The VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY has all the information about all of their condors and their programme to protect and improve their lives on their website. Today, however, there are many celebrations because the chick of Redwood Queen and Phoenix has been seen at the feeding station at Big Sur. This is a place, high in the hills, where the VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY brings carcasses (without lead or any other toxins) for the Condors to feed on. We all know about the dominance issues with the little eaglets and ospreys, so you can well imagine what it is like in this pecking order!
In the UK, fury is growing over the most recent killing of raptors. Hopefully the voices of the people will become so loud that those politicians and police that are to protect the birds and obey the laws will change and do what is right.
I love Goshawks despite their raids on Osprey nests. Just like I love Red Kites – all raptors. Geemeff reposted this Tweet. It is so difficult to explain how people feel when day after day and week after week, the illegal killing of raptors in the UK continues in or on those estates where grouse are hunted and killed. The entire country should rise up against the privileged — and it is the privileged that own these estates and have hunting weekends on them. A small group that have loyal ties (both figuratively and literally) that allow this to keep happening.
I would also like to say the it takes skill to kill one goshawk but five??? So many of the bird community offering rewards to find the culprits which will be individuals associated with the hunting estates. Mark Avery says “Both RSPB and Wild Justice have each offered rewards of £5,000 for evidence leading to a conviction and Rare Bird Alert has started a crowdfunder to add to that sum. Let’s see the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Game and Wildlife ConservationTrust do something similar if they are serious about rooting out wildlife crime, but it would take a lot more than that to persuade me that they are. By the way, I haven’t heard or seen any comment from the local MP – a guy called Matt Hancock.” The collusion needs to be stopped…and people need to do the right thing.
For those of us worried that something might have happened to Richmond, the resident male Osprey mated with Rosie, at the Richmond Whirley Crane in SF Bay, Richmond is fine. There he is in the streaming cam below! Oh, wonderful. Rosie migrates and she normally returns to her Richmond right around Valentine’s Day. The couple raised Brooks and Molate in 2022. Sadly, we lost Molate when he died on the nest. As far as I know the precise cause of death is not known.
Kakapo Recovery have positions open. If you or anyone you know might qualify to work for them for the next year, please check this out. I wish I were younger! What a privilege to help this species thrive and grow in numbers.
A Check on the Nests:
So happy to announce that there was a peaceful feeding at the Webster TX Bald Eagle nest. Yes!!!!!!! No beaking at all. Thanks Paul White for letting us know. The pleasantness has continued all day. The real question is why did it start and excel to such viciousness…but, the great news is that it is over for a day, so let’s add another day, and another one and see two fledge. Yes.
There is only one day separating them in age. Ringo is the oldest – hatched on the 12th of January – so 9 days old today. Ringo stopped beaking on his 8th day. Boots is the youngest and hatched on the 13th. There is only a day’s difference. 8 days old.
I have been checking Duke Farms now and again but, not often. Thanks Paul for posting these images on Bald Eagles 101 for us. Congratulations to Duke Farms.
Beautiful Jackie first light. 20 January 2023.
This is a video to go with Shadow flying in and wanting a turn at incubation on the 15th. What a great guy. I love these two…they are so funny. Shadow with his big sticks and wanting time with the eggs. Precious.
Elain’s highlights from the 20th at the scrape of Diamond and Xavier. No worries. Indigo is there in full volume. Gosh, we will miss him when he leaves the territory!
All is well at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest.
CE9 and the parents really have this feeding thing down…the little one is going to get stronger and stronger. Isn’t this just such a relief? Just look at the fish on that side of the nest!!!!!! This baby should never be hungry.
Nice crop after the first feeding of the morning. Little one is stronger, is using its wing tips to balance – and is eating well. Bravo.
CE9 snatched that big piece of fish out of Connie’s beak before she could change her mind. Way to go CE9!!!!!!!!!!
Here comes another biggie!!!!!!!!! Never fear. CE9 is on top of this. He has figured it out. Mum gets a big bite, then wants to think about whether she should feed it or eat it. CE9 says ‘feed it!’ and he grabs. Gets it.
CE9 is getting fluffier and fluffier, too and you can see this cute little eaglet with its little tail. So thankful that all that fish juice did not cause any problem to its eyes.
Fish everywhere! This nest has really turned around. Thanks, Clive for all the fish and giving the little guy a boost the other evening. It sure helped.
Life is good at Superbeaks. Seriously. These eaglets are huge!!!!!!!! They will absolutely be the size of their parents in about 10 days. Like all other raptors, their wings will be longer than their parents to help them fly at the beginning. Think of a very large turkey!
Pearl.
Tico is panting to regulate his temperature in the hot Florida sun.
Working those wings.
The Royal cam chick has hatched. Congratulations to L and GLY and to all the NZ DOC rangers and everyone at Taiaroa Head.
I did not watch the KNF E3 nest today but, ‘A’ filled me in. Her description of what happened is detailed and wonderful and I want to share it with you (with her permission). This flowing record is a precise recount of how the dominant eaglet often gets fed and the others down the line might not. Were the parents preoccupied with something? We do not know. It is, however, a relief that E02 was full to the brim. A week ago I was giving Adrian the Mum of the Week award. Things change quickly and E01 did quite a bit of beaking and shaking – enough to give E02 pause to be cautious. Survival. Survival out of the eyes of both eaglets.
Alex brought a new breakfast fish in to the KNF3 nest at about 06:48. Mum flew up to a perch branch and left things to dad, who looked a little confused. The eaglets were ready for breakfast! At 06:51:20 mum flies off. Dad is still unsure, and eventually he flies up to a perch branch, then away. The chicks are surprised and disappointed and go back to sleep. Mum reappears at 07:03:51 and starts feeding 01, who is first to the table. Little 02 waits a few moments for 01 to have some food, then edges up to mum’s beak but at 07:12 it still has not had a mouthful. 01 considers turning away from the table, full already, but sees 02 getting close so considers changing its mind and going back for more fish. In the end, it decides not to bother, Finally, at 07:12:38, 02 reaches the beak but by now, Andria is eating her own breakfast. The little one waits patiently, while 01 waddles away and collapses in the middle of the nest, in a food coma. The little one moves even closer to mum, reminding her that it still has had no breakfast. At 07:13:18 it gets its first (and only) mouthful. It tries to nibble at the fish. Mum flies off at 07:14:14, having fed 02 a single mouthful of breakfast and nothing more!! The little one continues to attempt to self-feed. The headless, largely uneaten fish is a much easier proposition for 02 than yesterday’s ancient coot, and it is getting some bites from the fish but soon gives up. The pair settle in for a snuggle.
When mum returns at 07:28:04 she is empty-taloned. She does not attempt to feed the chicks, instead aerating the nest, moving some sticks around, and then brooding the eaglets! She flies off the nest at 07:37:36, having still not fed 02 more than one mouthful of breakfast. There is a hardly touched, decent-sized fish sitting on the nest. Just before 08:08 a parent (Alex?) arrives, surveys the scene, and aerates the nest. He goes to the fish and little 02, having just had a reasonable PS, rushes up to his beak to be fed, as 01 watches but doesn’t get up. Finally, 02 is getting some breakfast. But not much, as Alex feeds it only a mouthful, at m two,08:09:56. before flying off at 08:09:56. Little 02 resumes nibbling at the fish (try the headless end, sweetie, not the tail) but eventually gives up. Dad returns a few minutes later with a stick, which he positions carefully. He then flies off again, without feeding either eaglet. By now, 02 is getting really hungry. It falls asleep in a cuddle puddle with 01.
Dad is back with another stick at 08:32. As he moves around the nest to place his stick, dad is followed by 02, who is desperately hoping for food. But dad flies off the nest at 08:40:15. Mum is back at 08:53:42 but sits on the nest for a full 20 minutes. It is after 09:13 before she finally moves to the fish. Little 02 is up to the beak in a flash and finally gets some bites of fish. It is soon joined by 01, who takes over front position. Little 02 remains patient and finally gets fed breakfast. Afterwards, both eaglets have massive crops.
‘A’, 20 January 2023
There were many other feedings during the day. Both eaglets ate well and there is no cause for alarm.
11:00:53
12:22:20. E02 getting fed. E01 in food comma from the earlier feeding at 11:00.
4:56:44. E02 eating again.
By 15:10, E01 is up at the table getting the bites. Good thing little one was up there first!
Zoe is quite the character. She is 126 days old today. And yesterday, Dad brought her 2 fish. She had to wait on Saturday until 15:23:40 for a fish delivery and oh, wow. She was so excited to see that fish coming in. What is interesting is that Zoe had been away from the nest for approximately an hour. She flew in to the nest, did the toe dance, and the fish arrived. What I am suggesting is she was where the parents were fishing and saw them heading to the barge with the fish OR was somewhere near enough to see them flying in with her dinner.
If you are wondering when Zoe might leave the nest, Calypso the 2019 female fledgling left on 9 February; Solly left the nest area for good on 2 February. Zoe has some time yet before parents begin to think about eviction. Of course, Ervie was there a way longer!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gabby and her ‘man’.
E22’s eye is fine. Is there a pip at Berry College – will find out in the morning! So much going on but, for right now, it is all good.
Thank you so very much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, their announcements, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures for my blog: Ventana Wildlife Society, Raptor Persecution UK, Geemeff, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Kakapo Recovery, Webster Texas Eagle Cam Watchers, Paul Kolnik Bald Eagles 101 and Duke Farms, FOBBV, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, Sharon Dunne and the Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ and the NZ DOC, KNF-E3, Port Lincoln Ospreys and NEFL-AEF.
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Oh, Saturday looked promising for a nice walk in the forest. No! It was only -12 C but the winds were gusting more than 16 kph which means wind burn. I ‘decided’ reluctantly that it would be a good morning to clean house while listening to Ferris Akel’s tour. At the same time, I was very much aware of the European Starlings – all 40 of them – that had descended on the garden. Out went two new cylinders -a plain butter bark one and a seed cylinder. The images are poor because of the light. The Starlings came not just to eat but to ‘sun’ themselves on the tips of the lilac branches rotating their bodies to get warm. Brilliant.
These Starlings are nothing short of gorgeous. They live in harmony with the many sparrows that show up at the feeders. It is the squirrels that cause most of the havoc claiming the entire 10 metres of lilac bushes as their own.
All four of the squirrels were out and about – Dyson and two summer babies and Little Red. The images of them could not be lightened any more. It is unfortunate as this little summer offspring of Dyson is so cute. My offering is one meagre image. This little male was finding peanuts in the snow and eating them. So sweet.
My top story is a shout out to the wildlife rehabbers and the vets in Prince Edward Island for undertaking only the second spinal cord compression injury and the eagle surviving! When I was a professor, one of the things I valued was curiosity above almost everything else. ‘What if I did this?’ ‘How can we improve that?’ ‘Could something like this work?’ Questions that often result in our wildlife having a second chance at life. I wish more vets and rehabbers were as curious as some who make milestones in our understanding of raptor injuries and the potential with groundbreaking surgeries. Congratulations to everyone.
More good news. Another six of the Bald Eagles who suffered in Minnesota from phenobarbital poisoning (and some with high lead levels) were recently released. The staff at the wildlife rehab centre had to physically remove the poisoned/euthanized pets from the stomach of these beautiful birds before they could be treated. There were thirteen in total. One had Avian Flu along with the poisoning and died. Another two died leaving ten that were nursed back to health.
‘A’ has reminded me that pip watch will begin in one week at the Royal Albatross Colony on Taiaroa Head. The Royal Cam parents are GLY and L. What is so fascinating to me is how the NZ DOC recognises the impacts on Climate change and is trying to do something about it! ‘A’ included this quote from Ranger Sharyn Broni when she wrote, “
Virtually all the eggs will be hatched in the incubators as the increasingly hot summers make the risk of fly strike too great. We see the effects of climate change on these large birds quite markedly. During the 1950s for example, this type of work would have been unnecessary. By the 1990s conditions were more frequently hot enough to cause fly strike at some nests some of the time. It was during the 1990s that methods to repel flies and also to keep toroa cooler on the nest began. By 2018 fly strike is almost a certainty if the egg is left at the nest to hatch.
The dummy egg holds the parents on the nest while the egg hatches in the incubator over several days. The nest will be sprayed with AIL (Avian Insect Liquidator) to clear out any flies that may be living in the nest. The newly hatched chick has AIL applied to it prior to it being returned to the nest.“
It is a whole lot better cleaning out kitchen cupboards and little ‘kitten’ things all over the house while listening to Ferris Akel’s Saturday Morning Bird tour of the Montezeuma/Ithaca area of the Finger Lakes area of upstate NY. I can stop and look if I hear something of interest or just listen. Ferris is a great advocate for being outside and for birdwatching as a way to let the stress of the world go! I will keep reminding all of us this winter as it is far too easy to stay inside on bad weather days. And sometimes advisable to do so!
There were Snowy Owls, swans of various species, gulls of various types including a Black-backed gull, Canada geese, Red-tail Hawks (a young adult with a red tail and light eyes), Northern Mockingbird, and Bald Eagles on the morning’s tour.
The images were chosen for very specific reasons.
Snowy Owls like ‘snowy, northern climates’. There are always a few around a small airport that Ferris frequents. They are commonly seen in the fields of the province where I live, and one, as you know, is in Southern California this winter!!!!!
A juvenile Tundra Swan with the grey head. Strangely, we have one still living in Winnipeg in an area that has some open water. It should not be here. Will it survive? So far our temperatures have not been constant -32 to -38 C. So, I am hopeful. Our climate is changing so it will be interesting if more stay in the future.
It is Bald Eagle hatch season in the US and while we all get giddy over little pink tootsies, it is good to know how the little eaglets change in their appearance until they become the iconic bird with it sure white head. The image below – look closely, has the yellow smile I spoke about yesterday in the eaglets on the Superbeaks nest. Its eyes are still dark but not as dark as the month olds at Superbeaks. They will continue to lighten. The cere, mandible, and beak are all espresso brown. The head is brown and the body has scattered white and brown striations on the chest. The eagle at the top fits nicely into being a year and a half old according to Avian Reports picture chart on eagle development (below this image). If it were a year old it would have prominent white streaks in its head.
The two eagles below are an adult pair. The beak and the head are definitive means of attributing age. Look at the chart often. It will not take you long to single out the age. But, always remember, eagles can get ‘stains’ on their feathers, especially the tail feathers and sometimes the head. So then look at the beak!
This is a gorgeous Red-tail Hawk. We know that it is at least a year old because it has its red tail. But the eyes remain light so it is not a full adult yet. What a beautiful hawk. My goodness you would think that it was a copy of a young Big Red with its extraordinary apron.
Those eyes are part way between a juvenile (blue/green) and an adult (dark chocolate).
Ferris spotted Big Red when he entered the Cornell Campus. For some reason, the sighting was very emotional. Big Red will be 20 years old this year. What she has gone through to survive that long is beyond imagination. As far as we know, she has only ever had one chick not fledge and that was K2 who had to be taken into care because of a beak/jaw infection/deformity and who had to be euthanised. She is the most famous Red-tail Hawk in the world and rightly so. She will be laying eggs in mid-March.
Ferris caught up with Big Red on one of the light stands as the light was really going late in the day. You can see the wind is really blowing. She is holding on tight to the bars of the stand. Every sighting of her is a joy. It is 1 degree C and the wind is blowing at 14 kph on the ground so it is really windy on the top of the tower. Evan the tower is moving a lot.
Ferris also found L4, the 2022 fledgling of Big Red and Arthur. It was the first year that Big Red had four eggs and had four fledglings. No one believed a 19 year old hawk could do that – Big Red is changing everything we know about Red-tail Hawks in the wild.
In this side view, you can clearly see that the eyes are still light. Not yet a year old.
L4 looking up as some Canada Geese fly overhead.
Little E22 is already such a cutie. Harriet and M15 are a dynamic duo. The DNA running through those two eagles gives us very strong eaglets right out of the broken egg shell. E22 is standing up pretty good…only a few hours after hatching.
Want some fish, E22?
By late afternoon, it was apparent that 21 and 22 had several feedings. There was fish juice all over them. Any bearing came accidentally from 22 whose eyes are not yet focusing. Harriet and M15 must be the most patient feeders!
At 1757, they both had juice and matted feathers everywhere especially 22. The following image gives you a terrific look at that egg tooth and how it extends so much below the mandible. Imagine the eagle on its back hammering away.
Harriet and M15 are great partners. It was only a matter of time before 21 bonked 22. So Harriet, who had been feeding the pair alone, called in M15 to help. Lady Hawk caught the tandem feeding in the following video.
At Anna and Louis’s KNF E-1 nest there have been plenty of opportunities Saturday morning to see the eggs but, no obvious pip. Eggs are 39 days old and 34 days. Average hatch time in Louisiana is 35-39 days so folks are sitting on the edge of their seats to see if this young couple will have a hatch (or two) this year.
Both Anna and Louis have been incubating and rolling the eggs. Louis is a great provider and Anna has proven to be a really good eagle Mum. I was so hopeful they would have two chicks this year as the food resources are there but, it might well be that they, again, have only one. One is fine!
Oh goodness. There is a pip seen after 1300 Saturday. Jumping up and down! Tomorrow there will be a wee one for Anna and Louis. (could be later in the day on Sunday depending on its progress)
At 1652, you can really see the progress that little eaglet is making. Well done!
It is raining in Louisiana this morning. Louis covered the eggs with nesting material not giving us any hint as to how the hatching is going!
At the E3, nest of Alex and Andria, the two eaglets are growing like bad weeds in the garden plot.
Look at the bottom of E3-01!!!!!!! Well fed eaglets, both of them.
Eggs are being rolled at Metro Aviation. It is unclear if there is a pip. I saw a black spot but I think it is nesting material. Will these eggs hatch? The first egg is 42 days old today. The second egg is 39 days. Remember the average is 35-39 for Louisiana Bald Eagle eggs. It is possible that neither egg is viable. But we wait and hope for this couple.
At Berry College, Pa Berry was on the nest. We have some time before pip watch for these two Georgia Bald Eagles. Egg 1 is 26 days old today and egg 2 is 23 days old.
All is well at Superbeaks! Both are on the nest and I haven’t had to scream yet today about the lack of chair rails…but, oh, I wish these eagles would strengthen the sides of this nest.
Rolling eggs at Captiva. Next week is pip watch for Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. That is a very clear camera image!!
At the Captiva Osprey nest, Andy and Lena are now replaced by FO and MO. They need to bring more nesting material and everyone would love to see some fish gifts. There is still time! Rumours have it that the pair mated on the nest for the first time on Saturday. I did not see it and I screamed at the rewind on the camera! I can neither confirm nor deny.
Elain continues to keep us up to date with her daily video summaries from Orange. Indigo made only one appearance on the 7th of January! Much more quiet, yes.
Geemeff posted an article on Twitter that is really informative about tracking devices and how they are so useful to our understanding of the movements, behaviour, and challenges our wildlife face. It is a really good read!
So where does a disappearing elusive Australian Painted-Snipe go if no one has hardly ever seen one? Just look at how lovely it is in the image above. I love that white eye line.
Keeping closer to home and keeping in mind that lovely book, Slow Birding (I think it is the favourite of 2022), I want to remind all of us that we can do things at home now or next year to enrich the lives of the visitors to our own gardens.
Provide shelter. No, it doesn’t need to be some elaborate structure. It could mean leaving some of those tall perennials in place to provide a place away from the wind or rain. If like me you have had to cut trees down (yes, sadly), place the limbs and branches around the garden preferably stacking them. Great shelter. In addition, the rotting wood will provide great feasts for birds that feed on insect life. I have several different 60 cm tree trunks that are now about 20 years old. The birds peck away at them in the spring and summer as they are slowing breaking down into a kind of mulch.
Looking at the seed and garden catalogues and wishing. Consider – and you must consider your own planting zone – climbers for shelter in the fall and winter but also plants that are bird, bee, and butterfly friendly in your area. I am looking for quick growing berry bushes and a couple of trees with berries right now to plant in the spring. The birds will all thank you.
If you have the space, the finances, and the physical ability, why not set up a couple of bird feeders? Feeding the birds really gives them a boost and a better chance at winter survival. Also consider seeds with shells and no shells. All of my garden birds love the Black Oil Sunflower Seeds but the empty shells make a huge mess. You can purchase already hulled seeds. (I rake mind and push them to the back of the mini-forest where they break down and help the soil). If you do put up feeders or bird feeding tables, you have to be able to clean them. Feeding birds is also about responsibility to them so they do not get disease. “The National Wildlife Health Center recommends cleaning bird baths and feeders with a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach. (If there is visible debris, scrub it off before soaking in the bleach solution.) Dry out the feeder before hanging it back up”.
Want to give the birds some treats? These ideas I originally found on the RSPB website. You can blend birdseed with unsalted nuts, raisins, and lard and press it into moulds or over pinecones and hang outside. Do you have some old hard cheese that could be grated? (no Blue apparently). Birds love it. My Starlings are loving pieces of apple and pear as well as raisins, sultanas, and currants. It is a good way to use up some bruised fruit. I put chunks into a tray feeder.
It is always my pleasure to bring you some of the recent news about our feathered friends. I did not cover Zoe today but rest assured, the girl is eating! Dad brought her a fish yesterday and it is believed Mum added one to that as well. Most days she has 3 fish delivered by Daddy and Mummy Door Dash. Oh, they must be wishing she would move out of the house?? But, they will dutifully continue to feed their girl. No fear. They are dedicated. It is nearing noon in Australia as I write this and Zoe is 112 days old and she is yelling at Mum who is on the ropes for a fish. Time to become independent dear girl. Or are we set to break other records? She is exploring the area but is she exploring places where she could catch fish? And Ervie! Oh, I wish someone would submit some images of Ervie. Missing that beautiful boy.
Oh, thank you so much for being with me today. It is wonderful to know that there is such a supportive community ‘out there’ for our feathered friends. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their tweets, announcements, articles, posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘A’ and NZ DOC, Ferris Akel Tours, Avian Reports, SWFL Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Haw, and SWEagle Cam and D Pritchett, KNF 1, KNF 3, Metro Aviation, Berry College Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Geemeff, The Guardian, and Port Lincoln Ospreys and Friends of Osprey.
