Category Archives: sea birds

First egg at Achieva, Second egg at Big Bear, Second hatch at JB…Monday in Bird World

29 January 2024

Oh, good morning. Sunday was a marvellous day. Sunny and warm at 0 degrees C. It was the perfect day to get outside – and most of the people in the City where I live agreed. 

I had been waiting to go and visit the chickadees, and it was ‘almost’ the perfect day. The parks department decided to trim all the trails at the Chickadee Walk at Bird’s Hill Provincial Park for the cross-country skiers. As a result, the hundreds of Chickadees were right up by the entrance at the parking lot waiting for seed. They are so tame that the birds land on your hands, arms, and heads! There were also Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a quick drive through the country meant seeing some soaring hawks and owls. 

Close by is a place that I have visited since I returned to Manitoba more than two decades ago. Pineridge Hollow as built on the site of an old quarry. It was originally a small restaurant serving a locally sourced menu and a small gift shop with a petting zoo. It has grown over the years to become a destination about half an hour’s drive outside of my city. There is now a ‘village’ – a dozen or more shops full of marvellous things, including an old-fashioned grocery. 

To expand their operation, they built the Village – parallel shops selling local produce, a bakery, a coffee shop, and clothing. I was surprised at how busy everything was, but we longed to get out in the winter, and today was the perfect day. The roads were good; there was no snow or wind, and our hands didn’t freeze if we didn’t wear gloves.

Many families and couples were milling around the property, visiting the goats and chickens, tasting the cheese and meats, and sipping hot chocolate by the numerous outdoor fire pits. It was fantastic. What a nice boost.

The cats have been fantastic. Hugo Yugo sees the vet on Wednesday, and I think Dr Green will be in for a shock. E23 has nothing on this darling ginger cat in terms of growing overnight. It is shocking. I can’t wait to see how much Hugo Yugo weighs.

Once I got home, all the bird news was good except for the egg at NEFL. We can’t complain, and Gabby and Beau will move forward. Hopefully, next year will be a success for them.

The first egg of the osprey season has landed on the Achieva Credit Union nest in St Petersburg. Diane looked like she was ‘thinking about something’ since Saturday morning and that egg arrived 1421:57. 

I am so excited. Little ones are arriving the first week in March!!!!!!

While we dream of ospreys at Achieva, Gil is 105 days old and Brad is 103 days old at Port Lincoln today. They could disperse anytime OR maybe, because they are male, they will hang around Port Lincoln like Ervie.

Gil was on the nest when Dad flew in with the first fish of the day at 0816. Brad was hot on his tail!

I don’t think that Gil is going to save anything for Brad.

No fear. Dad flew in at 1241 with another fish and this time Brad was on the nest and got it! Don’t you love how they do a toe dance like Mum when they see that fishy dinner arriving?

PLO has posted some tracking data.

This is Giliath who is following adults to their favourite fishing spots.

“Ervie continues to do laps of the Bay. He forages at Point Boston quite a bit and seems to return to the wharf to roost.” (PLO)

‘MP’ sends news that the second chick has hatched at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands on Sunday. Congratulations Mum and Dad. Oh, let us all hope that things go well and we have two fledglings this year from the nest. That would be splendid. It was a dual feeding before bedtime for the duo.

Lady Deeagle has the two getting a feeding! I understand the need for the deep nest. Just look where it is located but, a camera looking down would be helpful!

Great capture at the nest by ‘AE’. Thank you! Were they celebrating the arrival of Dad with that magnificent fish? or alerting to an intruder? or both?

Jackie and Shadow have their second egg of the season. Congratulations. We are into hard incubation with an eaglet expected the same time as the osplets at Achieva.

There were constant intruders at the SW Florida nest of F23 and M15 as caught on video by SK Hideaways. Just listen to that alarming.

E23 is sleeping and eating and growing. Just in case those sub-adults come back and threaten her little one, F23 is in the nest tonight with her baby. M15 got himself an amazing mate!

All seems to be well at Captiva. ’A’ writes: “CE10 and CE11 spent the day eating and eating and eating. There were TEN feedings during the day. Seriously. Ten. These are not hatchlings. They are growing up so fast, and with ten feedings a day, they are going to be massive fledglings! Connie and Clive continue to astonish me. They are amazing parents. Absolutely amazing. Right up there with M15 and F23. Connie in particular has been the most devoted of mums, while Clive provides so well for his family.”

Poor Gabby. She wants to be a Mum. And there were two sub-adult intruders today – they were gorgeous. Jasper and Rocket?

The new couple at Anna and Louis’s nest (KNF-E1) appear to be serious. They are bringing in nesting materials.

So what is happening at the WRDC? Well, it looks like all of the fish that was provided when the nest was cleaned and that huge fish that Rose brought in, is now gone. ’H’ reports that it is windy and that the fishing might be very difficult again. ”Now, it seems that they may be having trouble fishing again.  It was quite windy on Sunday, and neither parent brought prey to the nest.  Yesterday, Ron was hungry and ate some of the ladyfish and tilapia, but he did provide two very nice long meals of the fish for R6.  R6 was fed 7 times, but two of those meals consisted of fish scraps.” ’H’ provides a photo of the pellet that R6 cast Monday morning. 

And then when everyone was worrying, three big fish came to the nest! The times were: 7:06:51 Rose; 7:10:16 Ron; 8.52.14 Ron.

Tears of joy all around for this lovely eagle family that was so hungry.

At Decorah North, DNF is really finishing off that nest. Are they ready for eggs?

There is no egg at Moorings Park yet. Perhaps next week!

SE31 appears to have set off on their life journey. Lady and Dad have visited the nest to give it a good check – maybe before they head to Goat Island for a vacation.

LGK has returned home – quickly – to feed the Royal Cam chick! What a turnaround…it is hard to stay away once the little one arrives. How sweet.

Been wondering about what Challenger is doing today? Don’t know who Challenger is? For both, check out this video.

On the Cornell Campus, Big Red and Arthur were both spotted.

‘SP’ sent me the news of Marri being seen at Orange. She has not left! How wonderful.

Kielder Forest is excited. One of their fledglings from 2020 has been sighted by Jean-marie Dupart in Senegal!

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We love our birds and we participate in bird counts. Is there anything else we can do to help alleviate the threats to their existence? More than 600 million birds are estimated to have been lost in the UK in the last four decades. That is shocking. I wonder what it is in North America. So what is causing this? And believe me, the farming practices in the UK are not dissimilar to those in NA and other parts of Europe.

“Nor is it hard to trace the main cause of this loss of birdlife. As the RSPB has made clear, intensive farming practices, particularly the increased use of pesticides and fertilisers, have been the main drivers of most bird population declines in the UK since the end of the Second World War. The fact that farming could affect all birds, even those in inner cities and suburbia, may seem unlikely.

However, almost three-quarters of the UK is made up of farmland. What happens there affects birds in all habitats. In effect, our urban and suburban avian populations are overspills from the countryside. It would therefore be tempting to blame farmers for this unsettling state of affairs and press for quick measures to cut farm yields. Biodiversity loss would be slowed and carbon emissions cut. However, such rapid impositions would be risky.”

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Thank you so much for being with me for a quick run around some of the nests to see what is happening. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, photos, chat rolls, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, H, J, MP, SP’, Bird’s Hill Provincial Park Songbirds, Pineridge Hollow and The Village, Achieva Credit Union, PLO, John Bunker Sands Wetlands Eagle Cam, Lady Deeagle, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Moorings Park, Se McGregor, AEF, Lady Hawk, @CornellHawks, Kielder Ospreys, The Guardian, and Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam Chat.

Sunday in Bird World

28 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that your Saturday was a good one. In Winnipeg, it was the day to pick up cupcakes. They are a fundraiser for the Winnipeg Kitten Adoption and were made and donated by Bee’s Cakes. Missey gives them a thumb’s up! The owner loved our thank you so much that she is going to put Missey’s image on her website. How sweet. Missey is as sweet as that vanilla buttercream icing with sprinkles – so sweet that she let me trim her nails without a single flinch today. Now, let us see how Calico does tomorrow!

There were some worries at the John Bunker Wetlands Eagle nest that Mum was not feeding the newly hatched eaglet. (Remember that they can live for 24 hours on the food from the egg when they hatch.) The wind has really been blowing at the nest site and it sounded like hail, but I am told that is the rain hitting certain parts of the metal. Mum did feed that baby. A nice fish came in.

Feedings on Sunday morning. Hard to see because of the girders and the deep nest cup but a feeding is taking place!

Diane and Jack are making that Achieva Credit Union nest in St Petersburg pretty comfy. Eggs expected within the next fortnight. The way Diane is acting, we could have the first egg today or Monday.

At the nest with a Starling Sunday morning in St Petersburg.

No egg as of Saturday might at Moorings Park.

It can be argued that we always need more osprey platforms. Yes, sometimes they do not get used. Sometimes old ones are abandoned for new for various reasons including intruders and lack of fish. In Bellingham, Washington, USA, an Osprey couple wants to make a nest on an operational crane. The Port is hoping they will decide to use the new platform they are erecting. 

This happened in Manitoba and under the agreement with the five tribal councils involved in the Kesay Dam Project in our far north, the raptors got to keep their nest on the big forklift! It was deemed illegal to disturb the nest. Sometimes that part of the Migratory Bird Act is good.

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Eaglet or not. Gabby and Beau are a beautiful bonded couple and if a miracle could be found, I would hope that egg would hatch! I get the feeling that if it doesn’t, there will not be a second clutch, but, hey, surprise me Gabby.

What a relief to see that R6 is OK. Well, I say OK. R6 did consume enough of that nappy to worry onlookers. The PSs have been plentiful and have looked good, and let us hope that all that marvellous engineering of the crop and acid stomach switches on and relieves this 14-day-old eaglet of any ills that might have come its way because of human garbage.

R6 went to sleep with a really nice crop and with more fish on the nest for the morning breakfast! Relief. Relief.

E23 is really growing at the SW Florida nest. I love watching her grab the food from the parents when they are feeding. As you will have noted, the number of feedings has been greatly reduced, but the amount of intake is probably more now. This is one healthy eaglet losing its mohawk slowly, gaining clown feet and getting its juvenile feathers. Don’t you love the constant squeeing…

Every wonder about the GHOs that share the property with M15, F23, and E23?

And here is that video:

Cal and Lusa are doing just fine. Cal is standing and Clive might want to reinforce those rails! Meanwhile, Lusa likes to sit like a Buddha.

Liberty and Guardian look beautiful. They were at their nest in Redding, California Saturday.

Dr Sharpe has the West End streaming cam up and working. Thunder was at the nest this morning! They are still playing highlights at Two Harbours and Fraser Point.

I sure wish Jackie and Shadow had that nice soft nest of Jak and Audacity. Their camera is working fine.

It has rained at Cornell. Arthur was in earlier making a dash with a stick. Otherwise, life at the nest was quiet on Saturday.

No one was to be seen by the time Ferris Akel’s tour got to the Cornell Campus at Ithaca. Earlier in the tour, there were geese- some Canada Geese, some Tundra Swans, and some Snow Geese. There were also hundreds and hundreds of Redheads, a few male Scaup, and some Mallards at the south end of Cayuga Lake.

The male Scaup have the white along their wing. You can see five in the image below.

Ducks everywhere..my goodness. 

Snow Geese. You can identify them immediately by their black wing tips.

There were hundreds and hundreds of them – if not a thousand, flying in or already feeding.

Eagles, Red-headed Woodpeckers…it was a good day except for the heat shimmer.

And some Common Mergansers.

Precious egg at Big Bear. Every ounce of positivity you have – please send it to Jackie and Shadow so that their precious, precious egg/s will survive to hatch. These two deserve this and so do Jak and Audacity. It would be a great year – a year where we all jump up and down and scream – if either or both nests have a chick. 

Both eagles came to the ND-LEEF nest at South Bend – crisp temperatures of 36 F.

At Port Lincoln, Mum brought in the first fish of the day at 1337. Bradley took it.

It appears that both Marri and SE31 have left their nesting territories. I have seen no recent news of their presence. Please tell me if you have seen otherwise – thank you!

The Osprey Leadership Foundation is funding and teaching young people in West Africa about Ospreys. This is the first step in conservation. Thank you, OLF! 

Let’s get everyone to participate and overwhelm them with art bringing attention and supporting Albatrosses! I know that you can do it – seriously, you can or someone you know might. 

The joy – the sheer wonder – of looking close at your own garden or the nearest green space to where you live, the place you are most familiar.

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Thank you so much for being with me today and for your lovely ‘get to feeling better’ wishes. I am still under the weather but it is a head cold and a runny nose. Is it an allergy? I will find out on the 8th. Take care of yourself. Stay safe, stay warm or cool, depending on where you are. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, MP’, NEFL-AEF, Bee’s Cakes, JB Wetlands, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park, The Bellingham Herald, WRDC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Saunders Photography, Window to Wildlife, FORE, IWS/Explore, Cornell RTH Cam, @CornellHawks, Ferris Akel Tours, FOBBV, ND-LEEF, PLO, Gunjur Project, Holly Parsons, and The Guardian.

John Bunker Sands Eagles have first hatch, hunger at the WRDC…Saturday in Bird World

27 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday, the 26th, I ate a very special cake for my late Dad. It is his birthday. He had two favourite cakes – a fresh Coconut and, the other, a fresh Orange Cake. Some who live in the Southern US might be familiar with these – a nice white layer cake (sturdy and only handmade) filled with either freshly grated coconut with a buttercream frosting or freshly grated oranges mixed with some sugar, spread liberally between 5 or 6 layers, and let to sit.  If anyone is responsible for my feelings for abandoned animals, it is certainly him. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Hugo Yugo would have loved to have some of that cake. My goodness that little cat can get into the most trouble without even trying. She is sooooo curious. This coming week, she goes back to Dr Greene for her check-up. I think the vet will be pleased. 

Watching bird videos with Hope.

Hope is very patient with her little sister.

‘The Boyfriend’ enjoyed the Friday evening feast of organic roast chicken. The neighbourhood rallied around and showed their love for him – and the others – when it appeared that one individual would call the pound. I am joyful and grateful to live in an area with such compassion for animals.

Congratulations to the John Bunker Sands Wetland eagles on their first hatch of the season!

‘M’ sent me the video of Mum joyously calling Dad to tell him about the egg.

Jackie has been taking good care of the first egg at Big Bear laid on Thursday the 25th. Shadow brings his gal a nice fish lunch at 11:01. Mark your calendars for a Leap Year pip/hatch. Shadow actually brought in three fish on Friday for Jackie. Way to go….the reason nearly 10,000 people love this couple and wish them success this season. They are adorable.

If Gabby’s egg is to be the miracle of the breeding season, it should show signs of a pip Friday and hatch on Saturday or Sunday.

There seems to be a prey problem at the WRDC nest. For unknown reasons hunting seems to be difficult. Ron has not brought prey for a week, and Rose seems to be having a prey drought the past couple of days herself.  Both parents seem healthy, but I’m sure they are hungry.  We have not seen Rose with a crop, and Ron ate some of the fish on the nest yesterday.  They have run out of scraps for Rose to feed R6. The eaglet ate well Thursday, and had a small crop after a morning scrap feeding early Friday. PS are still okay.

Late afternoon on Friday. There is still no food delivery and everyone is getting worried, even if they are not saying it. Something is very much amiss here. 

Rose flew in after dumpster hunting with a child’s pull-up nappy and what appeared to be a piece of red meat (an organ) attached. R6 was fed. We must remember that eagles are carrion eaters. Their stomachs are made to digest the most horrible dead, maggot-eaten prey. Hopefully, this will keep R6 from starving, but imagine that the eagles have to eat garbage in one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Florida. Rose was plucking the plastic off the nappy. Then Ron flew in with a partial fish at 1730. What a relief. It was left on the nest and rightfully so – Rose doesn’t know when the next meal will come and R6 did eat – whatever it was.

We all need to learn something from Port Lincoln. They dared to provide fish for the family during the crucial period when one or both of the osplets might have perished. Their plan worked. It did not stop the adults from bringing fish to the nest. Five fish have been arriving daily, on average, for the fledglings, Gil and Brad. Three individuals with big hearts realised that it was time to help – so I say to those who are the administrators of the WRDC nest: the feral cats in my neighbourhood have more empathy and food than these beautiful eagles at the WRDC. Tonight ‘The Boyfriend’ had his normal organic chicken dinner. So, please, Help the eagles! Get them over the hump.

When we know there is a crisis, it is our duty, if we can in any way, to help the animals through the rough patch. Weather, overfishing, loss of habitat and thus loss of prey can now be linked to humans. There is your cause for intervention.

Rose appears to be feeding R6 some of the fish. Remember – these parents are hungry, too. They will protect the territory, feed themselves, and then feed the eaglets. Let us hope that tomorrow is a much better day and that the wind, or someone, gets this nappy and its plastic off this nest.

Here is the incident in question in video.

It appeared that R6 ate some of the plastic from the nappy…those stomach acids should do the trick. At the same time, the darling almost choked. 

We know that our beautiful birds around the world hunt in landfills. The storks of Western Europe, the General Adjutants in Assam, etc. What a testament to our mismanagement of the land that the animals and fish they need to survive are not abundant. One of the big threats to all of our birds, eagles included, is the growing abundance of plastic – as trash, as microplastics, fishing lines, etc. and now nappies.

The live stream went down at 2050 Friday night and returned at 0915 Saturday morning. The plastic has been removed from the nest with permission from USFWS. I hope that some fish were delivered as well. 

It appears that Ron has been able to deliver a fish Saturday morning. Let us hope that the dry spelling in prey at this nest is over. And then Rose brought in a big fish. Lovely!

Royal cam chick is being fed and weighed. 

Unfortunately, the amount of food the Royal Cam chick is getting is not sufficient and the Rangers – doing great diligence – have switched chicks with another family. They do amazing work, the NZ DOC rangers – everything they do is to ensure that these chicks survive to fledge. Swooping chicks, supplemental feeding, misting, you name it, they do it. Let us hope this attention to the care of these endangered seabirds spreads to other nests throughout the world.

The Royal cam chick was returned to the nest!

No shortage, so far, of prey items at SW Florida. E23 does get impatient and wishes Mum would get those bites a bit quicker to its beak!

Clive keeps the fish coming in at Captiva. These two are adorable, Cal and Lusa. Some think the plumage patterns on their backs look like turtle shells while others see them as bulls eyes.

Do you know what Doris Mager’s contributions to Bald Eagles was? If you do not know the name, have a read – and even if you do, refresh your memory!

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Here is Condor Chat in case you missed it on Thursday. The missing birds will be added to the Memorial Page for 2023 in the new few days.

Dr Sharpe is out fixing cameras at the Channel Islands nests! Retired? Doesn’t seem so.

Please join various wildlife groups – such as Cornell and Audubon – for the great Bird Count on the 16th of February. The more that count, the more we know about the declines and gains in bird populations.

Bird Count is on this weekend in the UK and will there be winners such as the Waxwing? We wait to see.

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Concern for the population of seabirds in the United Kingdom is growing.

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Want to know more about the winter bird visitors to Scotland and their migration? Have a read!

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We are 7 weeks and counting til the Ospreys return to the UK.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send positive wishes for a good prey day at the WRDC and if you can produce a miracle for Gabby and Beau, please do so! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Always free. You can unsubscribe anytime. Normally one post a day. No ads, no spam.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, zoom chats, photographs, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, M’, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, FOBBV, Marylu Pitcher, WRDC, Eagle Goddess, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk, Sharon Dunne, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, Saturday Evening Post, Audubon Magazine, Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Chat, Gracie Shepherd, National Audubon Society, and The Guardian.

Big Red and Arthur check out the nest…Thursday in Bird World

25 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, there was no peace in the house on Wednesday morning. Hugo Yugo wanted kitten milk (lactose-free milk), and there wasn’t any. Gosh, golly. You would have thought there had been some big international incident! It was all settled mid-afternoon, but goodness gracious. How can such a little thing be so loud!

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people waiting for the first chance to see Big Red and Arthur at their nest. That moment they arrived on Wednesday, the 24th of January! The time was 0938.

Big Red flies in while Arthur is checking the egg cup. He must be calculating how many stick deliveries they will need to keep the Ns safe.

At one point, I thought Big Red had a limp in her right leg. There are no injuries or blood as also confirmed by Suzanne Arnold Horning. It has to be trying to walk through those sticks that made her leg look wonky.

Our Queen of the Red Tail Hawks will be twenty-one this spring. Goodness. She is decidedly my first love of all the birds.

A Red-tail Hawk visited the Decorah North nest. Immediately you can understand ‘why’ they use the RT hawks’ vocals to replace eagles! Watch the sound!

Helen Matcham caught Marri, the Peregrine Falcon fledgling of Xavier and Diamond’s at Orange on the tower. She has not dispersed. How wonderful.

Royal Cam chick’s first feeding on video:

Latest update:

The first egg at Moorings Park Osprey nest is expected anytime. Sally returned the end of December with Harry arriving back at the nest in Florida in early January.

Harry has been bringing in some nice fish gifts for Sally. Also notice – the construction is finished and these two will have a nicer season as the golfing gets underway below.

Jack and Diane are working on their nest in St Petersburg on Wednesday, too. Expecting eggs within a fortnight I all goes to plan.

They left and Diane returned. Will we have an egg Thursday morning? 

Missing Mini. 

Jackie and Shadow spent a lot of time Wednesday morning arranging sticks at the nest and trying out the egg cup.

E23 is growing – this eaglets eats and sleeps on the rails -. Proud parents check in to see how their little one is doing.

What goes in, must come out. Thank you for this great screen capture.

These two parents have been working to see that not only are they fed but E23 has lots of variety and the nest always has food.

Cal and Lusa are doing fantastic. Lusa has learned to grab bites from Connie’s mouth quickly before Lusa knows what is happening! Waiting til big sibling is full is also a good thing. Connie always seems to make sure Lusa is fed and Clive keeps the pantry stocked. Cal has been standing and doing attempts at walking and really working its wings.

R6 scampered out of the nest bowl today and was up by the rails.

Working on the nest at Dulles-Greenway.

Despite the heavy rain at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest, Irvin and Claire were there working to get things ready.

The eagles have been visiting the ND-LEEF nest since the snow…there are the prints to prove it.

The moli are hatching on Kauai.

For your reading pleasure, the story of migration from the POV of the Osprey. Tiger Mozone reposted this series today in our FB group and I thought you would enjoy reading it. In the coming weeks, I will be gathering up the new books for adults and children on ospreys and falcons as their season opens. The countdown is on for their safe arrival home in Western Europe. Tiger says, “This is an osprey thriller from ten years ago. The author was Paul Wildlifewriter and it is a gripping story. It was published in weekly parts and each edition was eagerly awaited.”

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The US may list the Bumblebee as endangered, but globally, can we stop the use of pesticides to halt these tragedies? We need the pollinators!

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Thank you so much for being with me today. If anyone is watching the Venice Golf and Country Club and there are eggs, let me know! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, J, SAH’, Cornell RTH Cam, Explore, Helen Matcham, SK Hideaways, Holly Parsons, Sharon Dunne, Moorings Park, Achieva Credit Union, PSG Electric, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Carol Shores Rifkin, Lady Hawk, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Pix Cams, ND-LEEF, Sharon Pollock, The Guardian, and Wildlife Kate.

1st egg for Duke Farms, Tuesday in Bird World

23 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The girls have been helping me nurse a cold today. That means no crazy antics. In fact, they are still resting up from all the fun they had on Sunday!

Trouble with a capital T slept most of the day:

Calico woke up as usual – if she did not appear with a single meow around 0835 I would think she was the one feeling under the weather. Oh, what a gentle soul she is.

Time for Hugo Yugo to get those eyes and ears washed! Missey is an exceptional Mamma. Then they always spend a good hour snuggled together. It is beautiful.

The second round of eagle eggs are beginning to be laid. Congratulations Duke Farms – we welcome a new male there this season. Estimated time was 1548. Thanks, Trudi Kron, for the great screen capture!

Congratulations to Jolene and Boone at the ETSU nest in Johnson City on their second egg. Hard incubation has begun.

Will we have a clutch at the KNF-E1 nest with the new couple? We wait.

What a relief to have Gabby back at the nest tree. That egg is not viable, but, gosh, if a miracle happened and it hatched, I would not complain. Gabby had a huge crop and another fish. That was reassuring…but, mostly, it was one of those moments when the world feels like it is lifted off your shoulders. 

Poor Gabby. Does she believe that Beau incubated the egg, like Samson would have, in her absence? She is there on her egg Monday night. I feel bad for her.

As I continue to remind myself, I will say again – we are lucky. There are four well fed, much loved, fat bottomed eaglets to coo over. Perhaps there will be less competition for them when they are looking to raise their families.

F23 has turned out to be a fine mate for M15 and a grand Mum for E23.

F23 wants to make certain that E23 has its blankie.

Clive makes sure that Cal and Lusa are not going to go hungry! Their names, combined, stand for the local indigenous tribe that settled the area of Captiva eons ago.

Many believe that Ron and Rose should get the award this season for the deepest egg cup. This little one hasn’t a hope of getting out to those rails – or does it?

Missey and Dad were working on renovations to their nest after the two eggs they had been incubating broke – and appeared to not have any contents at the weekend.

I love how the eagles have shown their ability to mourn over the years (still remember vividly Joe at Captiva standing over the body of his dead daughter after she had secondary rodenticide poisoning) and then get on with life when something like this happens at Berry. 

Meet the new Royal cam chick!

And she’s home with Mamma!

A sub-adult landed on Gabby’s tree and we all jumped and hoped it was Legacy! Gosh, do you remember when she got ‘lost’ from the nest tree and flew by finally landed and stayed home for a month after fledging? I wonder if it is her. She was an incredibly beautiful fledgling and this sub-adult is a show-stopper! I would like to think that since Samson returned to his natal nest that it is entirely possible that this is Legacy. The plumage development might indicate that, too. (Of course, there are many eagles in this area, but…I can wish!)

EagleGoddess caught the sub-adult at NEFL covering the egg ever so gently. 

Other sub-adults are showing up elsewhere. There was one at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest, too.

A note from the Eagle Cam and some of the latest images from Chang-Le Dong of WBSE 31. Let us hope SE31 breaks the norm and stays at the river much longer than anticipated. Watching her develop from an egg to such a gorgeous fledgling has been a joy.

You might recall that the osprey on Louis and Alia’s old nest – nest 1 at Loch Arkaig – is named Affric. Look what they have discovered in Scotland. Thanks, Geemeff. It is stunning – love those bright colours.

Rob Schwartz continues to fight on behalf of the eagles of Centreport to stop construction that would be harmful to the eagles habitat. It is a bit long but I have included Rob’s entire post in case you want the details and wish to send a letter on behalf of the ‘eagles’.

Schwartz: ”For those of you who could not attend the Jan. 18th ZBA Meeting, I am attaching a partial video (which I cut to remove the legal mumbo jumbo). Per the testimony from a SEQRA expert , when the ZBA granted a business depth extension following their Aug. 3rd meeting, they violated SEQRA, with little or no regard for our eagles whose nest is adjacent to the Centerport Mill Pond. We feel that if this is done with the way most of the building has been done in the past – the area in which our eagles live will be destroyed, the environment is not taken into the proper consideration. The owners of the land are not doing their due diligence to make sure the land surrounding the Mill Pond is environmentally ready. As per the owners previous “pre application”, the proposed building is going to be 4 stories tall, (3 are only allowed in Huntington). Not surprisingly, there are rumors that the next door restaurant could also be demolished and turned into more apartments. The slimy nature of how the TOH ZBA is acting in the best interest of the builder should scare us all. The ZBA had a chance to end this on Thursday. However, they refused to hear from residents, even from the resident who initialized the complaint. The plan to put a boardwalk in over the mudflat alone should have been a signal to all, they intend to add as many apartments as they can get away with. The bottom line to this is: They are not willing to follow proper law in the Town of Huntington when it comes to the environment. Those laws were created to protect the environment. No one is telling anyone they cannot build on their land, but the town law needs to be followed. No one is above the law, no matter how much money they have. We all want responsible building in Centerport, but not a build and burn scenario. If this is allowed to go unchecked, you can say goodbye to our eagles and all the wonderful life Mother Nature has brought to Centerport. By the way, the ZBA Board Members are appointed, not elected – what do they have to lose? However, we should be sure to let the Town Board know how we feel about the ZBA that they appointed. If you email any of the below – be sure to CC Andrew Raia TOH Clerk, this way you email goes “On The Record”.Please consider sending emails to all of the following, protesting the ZBA’s reckless disregard for the environment. Here are the people you can email to tell them how you feel about ignoring the Environment. Keith Brown, NY State Assemblyman 12th Assembly District 
631 261-4151 (Commack Office) brownk@nyassembly.gov Edmund J. Smyth, Supervisor 631 351-3030 esmyth@huntingtonny.gov, Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman 631 351-3172 dbennardo@huntingtonny.gov, Salvatore Ferro, Councilman 631 351-3175 sferro@huntingtonny.gov, Gerard Asher, Chair 
John Bennett, Special Counsel 631 351-3196, ZBA@huntingtonny.gov

Hartley and Monty are bonding in San Jose!

The first fish comes after 1300 at Port Lincoln. Gil got it. Adult stretching their wings in heraldic pose to dry off.

Sadly, Australia has added 144 species to its list of threatened wildlife, an increase of five fold! For the first time, the Pink Cockatoo was listed. 

More-Australian-wildlife-added-to-threatened-species-list-in-2023-than-ever-before-conservationistsDownload

The Ventana Wildlife Society will have its regular chat. You can sign up on their website. They also archive the conversations – they are always informative.

In other news, Jean-marie Dupart has photographed Blue LV0 ‘Garry’ from Loch Arkaig in Senegal. Wonderful news.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’J’, Trudi Iron, Duke Farms, ETSU, Tonya Irwin, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College, Sharon Dunne, Holly Parsons, EagleGoddess, PIX Cams, Eagle Cam, Geemeff, Rob Schwartz, SK Hideaways, PLO, The Guardian, Jean-marie Dupart, and The Ventana Wildlife Society.

Welcome Lusa and Cal, Gabby abandons incubation, where is she?…Monday in Bird World

22 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Calico was her regular alarm clock self – my goodness. 0835. After their breakfast, the kittens – Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope – tore through the house. Then, there was a very loud crash. I wonder what happened?

Oh, dear. Who do you see?

Are these two the only culprits?

Calico was cautiously coming to see what happened from the other side of the house.

Baby Hope was relaxing on the top of a chair – she says she had ‘nothing to do with knocking the twinkle tree off the table’. Do you believe her?

No one is telling what happened…Baby Hugo decided to have a nap and poor Calico is just worn out from it all, too. I am left to wonder.

It is hard to believe, but they didn’t even wake up for lunch. Instead, all four crowded into the kitchen around 1800. Very strange, indeed.

The news from Bird World is really rather thin. We might think that the entire Bald Eagle season has mostly collapsed. There will be no chicks at Berry College or at NE Florida to look forward to – we have, on the streaming cams, two at Captiva, one at SW Florida, and one at Miami-Dade. We lost Anna and Andria at the KNF nests before the eggs hatched (thankfully). Superbeaks first clutch failed. Will we have any second clutches?  Will any new couples lay a clutch in Louisiana? We wait and wonder why this is happening.

So, instead of falling into that deep dark hole, we need to rejoice in the four healthy eaglets that are currently on the nests in Florida at Captiva, WRDC, and at Fort Myers. 

At Captiva, Lori Covert has named Connie and Clive’s eaglets – C10 is Lusa and C11 is Cal.

Look at how plump and healthy these two are with their full crops, fat little legs, and bottoms. Let us all wish them uneventful days until they fledge – and good feathers! 

E23 is also plump and very healthy, spoiled only eaglet by M15 and F23. Pin feathers clearly seen on the wing tips.

R6 is a fuzzy little darling – the pride and joy of Ron and Rita at the WRDC nest. So, on streaming cams, we have 4 – only FOUR – eaglets to watch.

Gabby flew off the nest to join Beau at 12:13 and has not returned to the egg as I write – it is now 15:57. It is ONLY 6 degrees C or 42 degrees F at 16:01 on Sunday. This egg is looking less and less viable.

No one returned. So, there are two scenarios. Gabby and Beau figured that the egg was not viable and abandoned it. The second one I do not even wish to contemplate is that something happened to Gabby. I simply do not wish to think about that, but there were intruders about. Let’s think positive -Wherever they are Sunday night, I hope they are both safe—way too many intruders about. Gabby was last seen at noon and Beau around 1700 after he incubated the egg for a short time after 1630.

Beau was at the nest tree Monday morning, vocalising. There has been no sighting of Gabby, and I am beginning to really become concerned. Please let me be wrong – this is highly unusual behaviour for Gabby. Is she injured? or worse?

A drone, flying over the NCTC nest, almost hits Scout! It is illegal to fly drones over an active Bald Eagle nest – so will they catch the culprit? and what will happen to them?

Lisa and Oliver were in the nest in PA County. Oh, this is one that I know many of you are looking forward to watching.

Jackie and Shadow were at Big Bear. Shadow delivered a fish gift and then they flew of only with Shadow to return to move some sticks he noticed were out of place earlier. Bless his heart. Shadow cannot leave those sticks alone.

Pittsburgh-Hayes female comes to the nest on Sunday.

Gary has ceased covering the Redding Eagles – Liberty and her three mates, Patriot, Spirit, and Guardian, after fifteen years. he says he is going to work on features and examine current research on eagles. This is a thank you video with lots of historical images of Liberty and her mates and chicks. I cannot embed it – have no idea why but this is happening more often. Here is the title for you to search in YT.

Major Announcement Regarding Coverage of the Eagles

The weekly video summary of the happenings at Port Lincoln.

At the time of this writing, only one fish has come to the PLO barge. It is extremely windy and the water is choppy. Mum flew in at 1247 with the first meal and Bradley got it.

Beautiful Capture of the Golden Gate Audubon Osprey male, Richmond. It is the 21st of January. His mate, Rosie, returns around Valentine’s Day. Richmond will be checking in for her return as he does not migrate.

Ruby has been missing for more than a fortnight. There are now intruders buzzing and a female wanting Jack’s attention at Captiva. Let us hope things settle down so we can have an Osprey family here this year.

The cold weather has also hit Europe where the ground is frozen and people are calling for food for the storks that are trying to feed in the fields. Here 80 storks are being taken care of in Russia – incredible. What kindness.

A Peregrine Falcon has been shot in Essex….this follows the dumping of the Woodcocks in Cheshire. And, of course, other heinous deeds to wildlife. Unfortunately, we don’t have a watchdog like Raptor Persecution UK in the US and Canada. 

Peregrine-suspected-shot-in-Essex-–-Police-appeal-for-information-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

Loving hummingbirds. Geemeff sent the link to Aryana’s tiny nest. She has eggs!

Aryana has her own FB page. Thanks, Geemeff. Quite the celebrity.

https://www.facebook.com/LivestreamHummingbirdCam/

The Royal Cam chick is making progress in its hatching! Thanks ‘A’.

The latest news on the attempts to re-introduce Kakapo to the New Zealand mainland and the trials and tribulations over these smart birds outwitting humans and a fence!

So much to be grateful for and SE31 is one of those things. The latest report from Chang-Le Dong and the WBSE:

Oh, I love Plovers and these nearly threatened shore birds had a fantastic year in New England in 2023.

Piping Plovers are one of the smallest of the species. Their colouring offers good camouflage against the beach sand where they nest and forage. These are unique to North America, although they do winter in Mexico. Their biggest threats are human disturbances, which are endangered or threatened in many areas.

Nesting-Piping-Plovers-on-the-rise-BirdGuidesDownload

Information is being compiled about Laura Culley with the goal of having a really good bio of her – pre-falconry and her falconry days -by an individual at Cornell. I will keep you posted as I am very hopeful that her manuscript about her life with Mariah will appear on those pages. In looking for information, I came across the following: ”Let me warn you–falconry is FAR more addictive than any drug. The sheer wonder that the bird CHOOSES to work with you it beyond my comprehension. It’s really not about food. That’s where you start to earn their trust, but after that, you’re always in the reality that they can fly. You can’t. There’s a wonderment when your bird (who is no more YOURS than the air you breathe) chooses to fly to your fist!!! Another reality is that you’re nothing more than their servant, and that’s a good thing. For me, it reconnected me to the natural world in ways that I can only describe a little bit. And you get to see who these birds are, sharing what they do and how they do it, and if that doesn’t regularly take your breath away, you need to check your pulse.”

Laura always said the hawk is the boss – we only serve them. She wondered at their abilities that we have lost, but most of all she was astonished, every day, by Mariah.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. We hope you can be back with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, articles, photographs, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, Geemeff, J’, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, WRDC, NEFL, Deb Stecyk, Dana Anderson, FOBBV, PIX Cams, Gary and FORE, PLO, Pam Kruse, Diana Lambertson, Natalia Voss, Raptor Persecution UK, Aryana YT/FB, NZ DOC, Kakapo Recovery, Chang-Le Dong, BirdGuides, and Laura Culley.

Dual feeding at SW Florida, intruder lands on Gabby’s nest…Thursday in Bird World

18 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It continues to warm up a bit on the Canadian Prairies. Right now – it is 1617 Wednesday afternoon – it is -17 C. But hang on. In one week it is forecast to be +4 C. Yes, you don’t your eyes checked, PLUS 4. Wow. That is going to be a great day to spend out at the nature centre. Soggy but wonderful. The animals will be delighted.

‘The Boyfriend’ survived the cold nicely and was staring at the garden door, waiting for his delivery of wet food this afternoon. If I do not respond, he now knocks. He is so bold and is so curious about the house but runs the minute I open the door or come near. 

Missey was watching from her perch on the cat tree. 

Calico is a regular alarm clock. 0837 on the dot for several days now. Then she just wants cuddles, not food. The others are still asleep! It is our special time together before the day begins.

Baby Hope at a weird angle. She still has her very bushy tail. That ‘look’ is almost hypnotic.

For some ‘trouble’ is their middle name, but for Hugo Yugo it is their FIRST name! I have tried to post videos of the play fights between Hugo Yugo and all the other three girls, but this system does not seem to want to accept them so, imagine, if you will, the little kitten pulling off the blankets and jumping on Hope this evening in a wild frenzy.

Hope gets away and Hugo Yugo looks up and is ready to pounce on the sofa.

Baby Hope resting by the twinkle tree. They will all get a second, third, and fourth wind…chasing, running, pulling ornaments off the tree. The blankets will be everywhere along with the toys! My goodness, the energy and the fun these little ones have.

And then there was this…Hugo Yugo! Hugo Yugo kneading Missey hoping to make milk. Goodness. And Missey just took it all in stride. 

It is just wonderful to see the garden animals and know that they did not succumb to the cold. Both Blue Jays are here getting peanuts along with Mr Crow.

The Black Capped Chickadees were eating the Black Oil Seed as well as the suet cylinders today.

Dyson ran too fast but I did get to photograph one of the kits at the feeder.

Oh, what a morning Wednesday was – Clive and Connie brought in five fish in three hours to the relief of everyone that had worried about their darling eaglets. What a power couple! So very happy that lots of fish got on that nest. Hopefully they can pile them up like Louis did at the E1 nest for a few years as there is a forecast of another bad weather system heading their way. Both C10 and C11 went to bed with big crops!

Jack is at the Captiva Osprey nest, but Ruby has been missing since her last visit on the 11th of January. That was only six days ago but Jack continues to call for her. I hope she is just having a spa time. Keep your fingers crossed.

There is no pip at the time of this writing for the second egg for Ron and Rita at the WRDC. It is 39 days old today and is, of course, clearly in the hatch window. No need to get too worried but if it were to go to 41, well…and I would feel sorry for that little eaglet because R6 will be ‘much bigger’. R6 might get to join the ‘only eaglet’ club of E23! 

What a difference from this fuzzy little chick to C10 and C11, who have almost lost their Mohawks completely.

Snug and warm under Mamma Rose.

As far as I know, there is no pip at Berry College. 

Looking at the eggs, is that nesting material? or the beginning of a pip?

Beau has new injuries to his feet. He has been busy all day trying to keep intruders away from Gabby, their egg, and the nest. One intruder landed on the nest tree and Gabby got rid of him. The time was 1552.

Unidentified intruder on branch while Gabby is calling out from the nest – it jumped in the nest and Gabby was calling and calling. It was a frightening moment for sure.

Beau is back on guard at the nest but has injured feet.

Didn’t see any eagles at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana – just their prints from earlier in the snow.

There is some fresh nesting material at Duke Farms, but no egg yet.

At Decorah North, DNF was in the trees while a beautiful red squirrel visited the nest tree and Canada Geese frolicked in the open water of the creek.

All is well at SW Florida. E23 continues to thrive and F23 has proven herself to be a great first time Mum.

E23 is never going to go hungry. M15 flew in with ‘something’ – did he get it at the Publix dumpster? (the butcher puts out food for M15). A dual feeding takes place around 1744 – E23 already had a big crop.

M15 reminds me of many of the male ospreys in the UK who love to feed their chicks and are great providers.

Here is the video of that dual feeding.

Jackie and Shadow were both at Big Bear today – gosh that nest has a gorgeous view.

At Port Lincoln, it seems that Giliath has found a place for fish – free fish? Smart little fledgling. Brad will be happy to eat all the fish brought to the nest. LOL.

So far, three fish deliveries. The 0637 was grabbed by Gil while the 0720 and the 0854 went to Brad. Dad came in with deliveries 1 and 3 and Mum brought in a partial fish in slot 2.

Everyone seems to enjoy spending time on the old barge.

It’s the first Royal Albatross hatch of the year (not the Royal Cam chick). Congratulations, first-time parents GBL and BYW!

There are so many wildlife cameras. This one is the BBC Winterwatch one. How many birds can you ID? 

Big Red and Arthur will begin work on their nest with regular visits starting in February. There is major construction going on within a close proximity – we will have to wait and see how this impacts the breeding season.

Do you adore fuzzy little raptor or bird babies? Check out the winners of the Audubon photo awards!

https://www.audubon.org/news/cuddle-these-ridiculously-cute-baby-bird-photos?ms=digital-eng-email-ea-newsletter-engagement_20240117_wingspan_&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20240117_wingspan&utm_content=

Millions of Bramblings gather in Switzerland. Can you imagine what a sight that was?!

Brambling-mega-flock-wows-crowds-in-Switzerland-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to having you with us again!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, ND-LEEF Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, FOBBV, PLO, BBC, Cornell RTH Cam, Audubon, Sharon Dunne, and BirdGuides.

C11 gets 2 great feedings…Wednesday in Bird World

17 January 2024

Hello Everyone,

Gosh, it warmed up here in Manitoba to a balmy -17 during the day. Everyone was smiling. Seriously, it feels so much warmer than yesterday (I am writing this on Tuesday so Monday). It is now -21 C just after midnight.

‘B’ sent me a note wondering about the falcon investigations and trials. I have mentioned the theft of Peregrine Falcon chicks and eggs sold as if they were bred from captive birds in the UK. There are actually several ongoing cases involving different individuals. And, yes, the time incarcerated is so little it is almost a joke, certainly not a deterrent when these birds are fetching such high prices in the Middle East. Maybe some of the other raptor numbers in decline are due to theft? I wonder how many other countries have nests that are targeted? And why aren’t they breeding their birds in the Middle East? That might help put an end to this despicable behaviour.

The girls are fine and so is The Boyfriend. He came up to the deck to eat Tuesday afternoon instead of having ‘delivery’. There were 13 European Starlings in the garden along with the usual group of garden animals. Everyone seems to have survived the very cold temperatures. I am smiling.

Calico continues to do well on her weight loss programme. She would love to have lots of treats, but she is getting used to have 3 or 4 little nibblers. She finally let me clean her right eye today. Now, will she let me cut her nails tomorrow? Oh, I love this cat. OK. I love them all. Surprise.

Missey enjoyed having a nap by herself while Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope tore up the house playing ‘kitty cat hockey’ with a ball of paper.

Hugo Yugo watching me as I put up paint swatches for the wall behind the cat tree. It is finally time to paint and bring some life to the walls! I just wonder if she will have some other stripes? (I did finally get the little bits off of that eye!). Hugo Yugo still has her round kitten face and she is getting so fuzzy…love the eye line that resembles that of a little osprey. 

The top of the cat tree is a 14 x 14 inch square. You can see how tiny this 4.5-month-old kitten is – half the square! Seven inches. Ever so little, but dynamite comes in small packages, and this is one huge character. Hugo Yugo runs her battery down to empty. If there is something to get into, she will find it. The twinkle tree has all its ornaments put on daily so that Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope can tear them off at night. Hugo Yugo seems to have two speeds – zero and 100 kph! Did I say I adore her? She is also the sweetest snuggle bug when her battery is completely flat.

On the other hand, Baby Hope is monster-size for a six-month-old. She has gorgeous almond-shaped, celadon-coloured eyes. She looks so much like Mamma Calico with that teardrop. Baby Hope is the first to come when you call her specific name and the one who always cleans up her food dish. She is a very gentle soul.

There are certain ways that Baby Hope turns her head, and I think, at a glance, that it is Calico. This is one of those.

Congratulations to Pepe and Muhlady on their second egg of the season laid Tuesday afternoon. Hard incubation and good positive wishes for this couple that lost their first clutch.

Ron made sure the nest was stocked for Rita and R6. That little one is a cutie—no word on a pip in the second egg.

With the bad weather, I am very concerned for little C11 at the Captiva Eagle Nest. 

‘A’ comments “The only food that was brought in today was the head of a catfish that Connie caught and obviously ate most of herself. She has to eat. The little ones got a few mouthfuls only – perhaps three or four at most for CE11, who did clean up the leftovers and even tried to swallow the bone. (CE10 did finish the ibis bone later in the day.) There has now been virtually no food at all for CE11 for over two days. If he doesn’t eat well tomorrow, he won’t make it. Luckily, the weather is forecast to clear, but it has been a very hard couple of days for the eaglets. CE10 has been no more aggressive than usual, which is a bonus, but if they have a third day like this tomorrow, there will definitely be at least one casualty on this nest, which is horrifying to contemplate. Clive brought nothing in all day, and only one speckled trout the day before (from which CE11 effectively got nothing). So this is a very unexpected situation for Captiva to find itself in… The good news is that both of the PSs I have seen from CE11 today have been healthy. That is something.”

“I’m praying for a large, early fish. Problem is that both parents are hungry too, so like early yesterday morning, when Connie headed off and quickly caught that catfish, only the remnants of its head were brought back to the nest at 08:17. CE11 did get three or four smallish mouthfuls off it – he got himself quickly to the table and it appeared that Connie wants both her babies to live because she was very careful to ensure that he got a little bit of that catfish head. Not much, but she coaxed him to start eating fast, not wait for CE10 to allow it! He also cleaned up a piece that had been left on the nest and even tried to eat a long thin bony bit (he picked any flakes off it first). So a couple of mouthfuls, though as I said, during the day he did do a couple of PSs that looked healthy. He had only two mouthfuls of the partial fish Connie brought in about 4.07pm and apparently spat one of those out. And he got nothing at all from the little piece of fish Clive brought in about 4:13pm. So CE11 has had just enough to survive a little longer. But he must eat and eat properly as early as possible today (17 January). At least both parents ate today and CE10 had enough to eat – just. She is, however, becoming much more aggressive towards CE11, who is in turn becoming increasingly submissive. At the last feeding of the day, around 4.17pm, CE10 got a small but adequate meal, while CE11 was too frightened to even lift his head until the food was pretty much gone. His hunger did drive him to take a few risks today, none of which really paid off for him. I’m very worried, though at least he’s still trying. He is looking a little unsteady though, perhaps suggesting he is getting a little weak and disoriented. Tonight, it is not raining and it is not too cold, so hopefully the little ones will dry out, which should help a bit with energy conservation.”

Ron is at the nest as of Wednesday night. Let us hope that C11 has had enough food and will get more fish tomorrow – oh, please. 

Great news. C11 has a huge crop! Life is good.

“Both eaglets have eaten now – you should watch that feeding (from about 08:08). CE11 was so smart. His crop is now actually larger than CE10’s! He has had a big morning – self-feeding, learning to shelter on the far side of Connie, and demonstrating sheer courage in the face of CE10’s aggression. And to cap everything off, he did a PS at around 08:03 that proved he still had something in the reserve tank – he would have made it another day, even had there been nothing to eat today IMHO. I could be wrong, but that’s what his behaviour and his PS suggested to me this morning.”

Small fish delivery by Clive. Every bite keeps C11 going until more food can come on the nest.

More fish came after 0900 and C11 is filling its tank again. C10 has already a huge crop.

There is concern for Ruby and Jack, the Ospreys at Captiva. ’H’ reports, “Ruby was last seen on cam on 1/11.  Jack was seen every day until yesterday, and was even bringing fish to the nest, waiting for Ruby.  Jack was a no show yesterday. The area has been inundated with really lousy weather for several days.  Lori has been at her Captiva home since 12/30.  She said that Ospreys in general seem to have vacated the immediate area.  Yesterday, the only O seen on cam was an unidentified flyby.”

The weather tapered off at Fort Myers. Little E23 is doing well – has had many full crops. No worries at this nest after the fright over the fish bone the other day.

A dual feeding, something that M15 loves to do! Precious.

R6 is doing fantastic. ’H’ reminds us: ”At Dade: No pip on R7 egg yet…will be 38 days today at 1355.”

At the NEFL nest, both get a fright. Pip watch should not be for another ten days, around the 27th, perhaps – if that egg is viable.ls

https://www.facebook.com/AEFNestCams/videos/1069926117588390/

The annual review of the year from Centreport, New York has been posted on FB. I cannot post those links on my blog but if you are interested, you can go to the FB page of the Centreport Eagles and find it. 

No word of a pip coming from Berry College yet.

‘H’ sends news and a video of the storm and damage at Hog Island. 

Storms-wreak-havoc-but-Queen-Mary-stays-High-and-Dry-Friends-of-Hog-IslandDownload

Good news coming out of Port Lincoln. The chick that was at Whaler’s Way fledged and has returned to the nest. Excellent news. This is that very precious nest on the cliffs.

At the Port Lincoln Barge, there were three fish deliveries by 1315. Gil got the breakfast fish at 0641 while Brad took the 1235 delivery by Dad and the large fish at 1315 delivered by Mum!

Condor in care doing well.

I am loving seeing all the birds from where I grew up. There were so many hawks then. Look at this beautiful image below. You might think it is a Red-tailed Hawk if you did not look at ‘the tail’. Look. It is a ‘Red shouldered’ Hawk and isn’t she a beauty? Wow.

The weather in Oklahoma dipped to 0 degrees F but felt like -17 F with the wind chill on Tuesday.

Big Red and Arthur were out with another hawk on the Cornell Campus on Tuesday. When it is cold the little critters hunker down. Big Red in all her glory. I am putting the photograph Suzanne took of the ‘visitor’ below. It has light eyes and could well be one of the Ms visiting the nest area. Big Red and Arthur did not seem to be concerned.

It’s cold everywhere and people are looking to feed the birds to help them make it through the freezing weather. Here is another recipe, a Vegan one, for bird suet.

A-Winter-Treat-for-Wild-Birds-Plant-Based-Suet-Real-Gardens-Grow-NativesDownload

Geemeff sent me this article showing the lovely poster that people received for supporting the efforts to get the mice off Marion Island.

Giving-back-the-Mouse-Free-Marion-Project-releases-a-poster-to-thank-its-many-supporters-Mouse-FrDownload

The December count for the Albatross at the Midway Atoll is in!

What has Audubon Florida been up over the past year? Here is a copy of the latest edition of The Naturalist. Have a look.

naturalist-winter-2023Download

White-tailed Eagle flying over Wales gives everyone a wonderful surprise. “White-tailed Eagle formerly bred in Wales, but has been absent since the 16th century. The recent reintroduction programme on the Isle of Wight has seen birds spread throughout southern England, resulting in the first English breeding record for 240 years in 2023.”

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Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. Stay warm and safe during these periods of extreme cold weather wherever you are. We hope to have you back with us soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J’, Raptor Persecution UK, Gracie Shepherd, WRDC, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, WRDC, NEFL-AEF, Berry College Eagle Cam, Friends of Hog Island, PLO, Ventana Wildlife Society, Oklahoma Ornithological Society, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Real Gardens, Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds, USFWS, Audubon Florida, and Bird Guides.

Tuesday in Bird World

16 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is warming up on the Prairies for a couple of days. We hit a summery -16 C on Monday!!!!! There was some snow falling. It looks like snow was falling down in Texas too…there is some seen on the John Bunker Bald Eagle nest near Dallas.

It was raining in Fort Myers and little E23 wanted under Mamma. The thermal down is not all in. There are pin feathers coming. 

SK Hideaways catches F23 as the great Mumbrella for us.

F23 is still protecting her precious chick, E23, into the night.

R6 has been fed at the WRDC nest – I am not hearing any news about a pip in that second egg. Remember they were laid four days apart.

Oh, I wish Rose would be more cooperative when she is feeding R6! This little one is a real sweetheart.

It is pitching down rain at the Captiva Eagle nest of Connie and Clive. C10 and C11 are tucked under Connie as best she can!

The very heavy rain stopped at Captiva around 1715.

‘A’ writes: ”Connie flew off the nest about 06:53 this morning and immediately headed off for food. When she returned, it was with the head of a fish – she too must have been ravenously hungry. The little ones both got something to eat, CE10 more than CE11 of course (he largely had to pick up dropped scraps), and the eaglets are now hunkered down under mumbrella as the rain pours down. It’s as bad as it was yesterday and poor stoic Connie has been in this position for all but two of the past 12 hours or so. She is amazing. The garage door technique is her only option at this stage, with the eaglets growing so large, and today, CE11 has managed the prime position right under mum, happily, as he got the raw end of the deal quite a bit yesterday afternoon. “ Where is Clive? 

No rain for Muhlady yet at Superbeaks where she is partially incubating the first egg of the second clutch for her and Pepe.

It is dry, so far, for Gabby and V3.

Beau is protecting Gabby and the nest.

It is wet for Abby and Blazer at Eagle Country.

The snow appears to have stopped in Iowa and one of the eagles, looks like DNF, at Decorah North is plucking their dinner on the snowy nest.

Chandler was in and out quick checking the snowy Port Tobacco nest.

There was some quick work on the rails at Duke Farms by both Mum and the new Dad. Mum has been laying in the nest for some time Monday afternoon late and evening. Might there be an egg coming?

There was no noticeable pip on either egg at Berry College Monday night. Egg 1 is 39 days old today.

The first fish of the day came at 0732. Both Brad and Gil were on the nest and could see the arrival. It was tense. Gil got it. These are incredibly handsome lads.

Brad gets a nice late afternoon fish!

The most recent posting for SE31 at the Sydney Olympic Park and the Parramatta River. So grateful for the images that the BOGs are sending.

“January 16: all 3 Eagles were reported at the river early at 7:30, with a duet and SE31 calling too. I have noted that she was seen with prey yesterday, probably a fish, though no catch details. At 8:30, juvenile was at Juvie Roost and one adult nearby at River Roost when an osprey flew past, calling. The adult flew to SE31, as the osprey, possibly the young one,  continued upriver. The river is still very muddy, with floating rubbish. Then at 10:10am, SE31 was spotted on the island with prey, possibly a bird. She was eating, then distracted by the parents’ duet, and when changing branches, she appeared to drop it, though was seen pecking at scraps on the initial branch. She probably did not catch this herself, though delivery was not seen. She was heard whining again later, and at 11:05am, all members of the family were still around on their riverside roosts. Later, at 1:30pm, SE31 was on the island, but her parents were not seen until mid afternoon, at around 3:30pm, when they were both seen near Goat Island.”

‘M’ sent a note about an intruder at the Achieva Osprey Nest of Jack and Diane. A female. Jack didn’t mind. Was it, ‘M’ asks – one of their chicks visiting? I have old images of the heads of the fledglings. You will remember that the pattern on the head of the osprey is the ONLY part of their plumage that does not change. I wonder if it is Tiny Tot Tumbles? She has returned on a couple of occasions. ’M’ says, “…09:25:08 when an intruder came into and landed in nest with Jack. He allowed her to land in nest with no push back and I’m wondering if she might be a chick from previous years. She is certainly a beauty and I think Jack is really impressed by her.”

For all you Red-tail Hawk lovers, World Bird Sanctuary (Home of Murphy the BE that incubated the rock and raised a fledgling) has sent some news of two of their RTH releases that have trackers!

“Both of our former rehab patients that had radio transmitters put on them are doing well. Lynyrd, the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, is covering quite a bit of ground as he moves around the city. He spent the first few nights near the release site before heading east, further into the city. Since then he has moved southward and is now moving back west while still remaining in St. Louis City. As a juvenile bird, Lynyrd doesn’t yet have an established territory. He will mostly likely not breed until his 3rd year (2025) and it will be interesting to see if he finds a territory before then or remains more nomadic. Check in tomorrow to see how the adult is doing! Forest Park Living Lab is a collaboration between the Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis University, the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, Washington University in St. Louis, World Bird Sanctuary, and Forest Park Forever.”

It is always good to see birds safely released and living in the wild after receiving rehabilitation. 

Humans brought mice to the islands of the Southern Ocean. It took more than a million dollars to make Marion Island mouse-free. Can you imagine mice eating adult albatross and petrels? Well, that is what they did!

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I tried to take a good photograph of the article about the Million Dollar Mouse that appeared in the Winter 2023 BTO News. It isn’t great.

The drawings are great and there is additional reading on the bottom right which is pretty clear.

More details about the father and son team that stole wild Peregrine Falcons and their eggs in Scotland and sold them on to the Middle East are coming to light.

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It is winter everywhere. What is cold to me might not be the same temperature as it is in Iowa or Texas, but when the temperatures drop – we all get cold. Birds and animals. I grew up in Oklahoma, and they have posted a recipe to help the birds out in the winter. This could be a fun project! It is a great recipe and is much more cost-efficient than purchasing ready-made. This could be a great project to create interest in children – yours, at school and in youth groups. Bring in the science of how birds stay warm. What kind of food do they need – get them involved in making the suet! 

Because it is cold, the suet does not melt. It can be cut with cookie cutters or pressed into other forms such as paper cups that can be removed. A hole can be made, and they can be hung from branches.

Use only unsalted peanut butter, please. No bacon grease, etc. 

Thanks so very much for being with me today. Stay warm. Stay safe wherever you are. We hope to have you back with us again soon.

Subscribing is free. No ads. No spam. Most often, only one e-mail newsletter a day unless something really strange or exciting happens. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog today: ’A, H, J, MP’, John bunker Tower Cam, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, WRDC Eagle Nest, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, NEFL-AEF, Eagle Country , Raptor Resource Project, Port Tobacco Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Berry College, PLO, Eagle Cam, Achieva Credit Union, World Bird Sanctuary, NZ DOC, BTO Winter News, Raptor Persecution UK, and the Oklahoma Ornithological Society.

Moorings Park is up and running…Saturday in Bird World

6 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the start to your weekend is a good one!

It was only -5 on Friday at the nature centre. It was a really good day for a walk. The Chickadees, the squirrels, and the woodpeckers were all out looking for food and enjoying the mild weather before – next week – when it is forecast to be -29 C. There were so many going for walks today. Happy. They were smiling and taking photographs. Sometimes, when it is frigid, we don’t want to get outside! So Friday was a good opportunity to walk in and have that quiet, peaceful time in the woods. Nature is healing.

Not a great shot of the woodpecker upside down at the feeder.

Snowshoes. The Ontario Heritage Trust gives us a good history of the snowshoe in Canada: ”Snowshoes are a practical mode of winter transportation, and they are also a symbol of practical ingenuity representing thousands of years of cultural history and adaptation to the country’s snowy winters. It is believed that snowshoes arrived in Canada during ancient migrations at least 10,000 years ago from eastern Siberia over the Bering Strait. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain provided the first written account of the First Nations using snowshoes to walk across the deep winter snow. Recognizing their value, Europeans used snowshoes for hunting and trapping, and for exploring the rugged landscape. In the mid-1800s, snowshoeing became a popular recreational activity, with clubs meeting for hikes and competitive races.”

The girls are fantastic. Every day – many times a day – I profess my great astonishment that these four girls are safe and sound. They bring me such happiness I cannot imagine life without them.

Today, my daughter sent me an article form the local news. Apparently feeding stray cats is illegal in my city. Well, who would have known? If I had not been feeding strays, I would not have Calico or Hope and the Boyfriend would be thin. My entire neighbourhood would be fined. Now how ridiculous is that? It seems that someone has thought so too so there is a move to strike that law and allow people to care for these needy animals. The girls and I intend to write in support of lifting the law that prohibits the feeding of feral cats.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-considers-allowing-care-for-feral-cats-1.7074944

Missey is rather ‘wild’ looking. ’J’ thinks she comes from a magical forest full of unicorns. I could not agree more. She is now 22 lbs. and is 16 months old.

Storytime and Baby Hugo decides which of the treats everyone is going to receive.

Calico listening to a chapter about the establishment of The Ramble in Central Park and all the birds that migrate there twice a year.

After story time, Baby Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope wrestle and run.

Hugo Yugo knows that Baby Hope is hiding under the tablecloth, ready to pounce.

There would not have been enough fines in the world to get me to stop feeding Calico — and I am so glad that someone rescued Missey and took her as a week-old kitten to the Humane Society – and that some kind heart took pity on Baby Hugo Yugo’s mother and brought her in to have her 7 kittens safely. These four beautiful souls are what rescue is all about. 

There is not a lot of action in Bird World. In some ways this has turned out brilliantly for all of us as we can enjoy three little eaglets – both clutches at such different stages of development – without having to spend much time decided on which streaming cam to watch.

There is much relief at watching the SW Florida nest – no bonking! Just one very special little eaglet who has the complete attention of its parents – the super dad M15 and his new mate F23.

E23 is an eating machine…and F23 and M15 are fantastic parents. Food coma after a great feeding from Dad!

The variety of food coming to the SW Florida nest this year is quite incredible. Today it was an Armoured Catfish – but there has been rabbit, egret, fish. F23 is very grateful for the fish!

A nest full of fish and eaglets looking out to a beautiful world at Captiva.

My goodness the nest was really rocking for Rose at the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in Dade County. Thinking pip in a week?

It is always a good day when Jackie and Shadow are in the nest at Big Bear.

At Port Lincoln, it is wet. Bradley took the first fish delivery from Mum. Giliath had to wait for food today until dad brought in a headless fish at 18:09.  He ate the entire thing in 15 minutes. 

Look at Gil’s tracking! We all wish Brad could have had that extra tracker. It would have been fantastic to compare the two brothers.

At Orange: ”At Orange, Marri was seen and heard flying past the scrape yesterday (5 January). Diamond and Xavier had two bonding sessions this morning (05:39:30 and 07:24:45). Diamond spent a lot of the day surveying her territory from the ledge of the scrape.”

WBSE news of 5 January: “SE31 appeared from River Roost at 6:40am, then flew to the island. She flew around the bay then, just before 7am, attempted to catch a fish, with a splash. Shortly after, she was not eating, so must have missed (or dropped it). Neither parent was seen earlier, but at 7:45am, one adult was seen at River Roost with SE31, who was whining continually for food. Around 11am, we saw SE31 soaring way up high and one adult on River Roost. Then, at around 12:05pm, the juvenile returned, past the adult and into the mangroves below the adult. Lady took off from River Roost, then the other adult appeared from behind the island. Both then set off, hunting hopefully, at 12:22pm. We did not see SE31 or either adult when we left at around 1:30pm. Then, at around 5pm, SE31 was seen again, and set off on a long flight, over the river to Homebush Bay and over Meadowbank, then back to more familiar territory.”

The latest news from WBSE: ”January 6: Early in the morning, our observer reported one adult and  the juvenile upstream of River Roost. Being Saturday, river traffic was very noisy. They were still there some time later. Then, at around 12:30pm, one adult was seen flying with a big fish, followed by an eager SE31. Around 40 minutes later, SE31 was seen sitting on a low branch on the island – had she eaten? Later in the afternoon, after a very hot day, none of the eagles could be seen from the boat ramp. Plenty of fish were jumping – come on SE31! “ Thanks, ‘A’.

At the Royal Albatross Colony near Dunedin, New Zealand:

Now this is the kind of news we want to read.

Oh, oh, oh. Moorings Park Ospreys are live!!!!!!!! Didn’t we have a great year last year with Harry and Sally. Look who is home. Oh, talk about a fluttering heart.

It is time to have some fun with some of those strange ‘bird terms’….Gorget, anyone?

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How can we help our urban birds? An article in the latest Living Bird Magazine from Cornell Bird Lab has some answers.

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Results of the Christmas Bird Count in Canada. Now, please make sure that you join Cornell and other groups for the Big Bird Day coming up in February. I will remind you again and again of the date as it approaches. All of this helps us understand what species are in decline, which are flourishing, and where. Then, we can ask why.

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If you live near Threave, you might want to join in the fun! This sounds like a great experience…wish I was in Scotland.

Two more book reviews coming for Sunday, 7 January.

Thank you so much for being with me today. We should have a few more eaglets in a week and hopefully some more eggs. We are looking for hatches at the WRDC and Berry College. Take care all. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, SK Hideaways, Vija, Window to Wildlife, Jenna Dorsey, WRDC, FOBBV, PLO, Bart M, Sea Eagle Cam, Ron Young, Fran Solly, Moorings Park, Living Bird Magazine, Audubon, and the National Trust for Scotland.