Category Archives: sibling rivalry in eagles

Mrs G Remembered, eggs for Seren and Telyn…Friday in Bird World

14 April 2023

Good Morning,

It was overcast and coolish, 1 C, in the early morning of Thursday. It felt like rain; we could use it, but the drops never came. The Dark-eyed Juncos are eating the Millet spread over the deck, the little woodpecker has been at the feeder, and 18 European Starlings showed up at about 1000. It is now noon. They should be happy. There is Bark Butter with Mealworms along with their favourite suet. Hoping they come back. Last year’s numbers were high for Starlings. Hoping it is the same this migration. People take them for granted, like Sparrows, but what happens when they are gone? They are under threat. So, this garden embraces them and the Sparrows; believe it or not, they all co-exist nicely for the most part. Right now, they all need food. Those long journeys and habitat loss in my area over the winter due to the ever-expanding need for humans to have more extensive houses means that we should all pitch in and feed them – if we can.

Snail mail. We don’t get so much of it anymore; it is always a welcome treat. Today the publications from Birdlife International and Living Bird were in the post. I realise that having them sent costs the environment. I hope they will be helpful in the future to others as they are going in dedicated binders.

Lots to learn. The National Whitebark Pine Restoration Plan members have worked for 14 years to get a plan to restore this tree species. They hope to have a tree with genetic resistance to white pine blister rust and they are really expecting the Clark’s Nutcracker to spread those seeds. It could help to restore many lost forests for the future. The Smithsonian now has a bird friendly chocolate certification programme to go along with their Birds and Beans coffee and Caffe Ibis Coffee. You can normally order from the Smithsonian. In Canada, coffee can be ordered directly from the roaster in Toronto. Some specialty bird feed providers also have one lb bags of coffee beans such as Preferred Perch in Winnipeg. What else did. learn? That both the Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks that visit my garden like Dark-eyed Juncos as prey items along with lots of House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, and Starlings. Cornell did a great study on what birds should actually be the State birds and only two states kept the ones that they celebrate: Louisiana with the Brown Pelican and Oklahoma with the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. In Manitoba, where I live our provincial bird would be the Connecticut Warbler. 33% of the entire population breeds here. Our provincial animal is currently the Great Grey Owl.

Heather Corfield at Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn has written a lovely blog dedicated to the memory of Mrs G, the formidable female Osprey that has populated the area. She laid 60 eggs and fledged 52 chicks. She has at least 130 grand-chicks along with countless great-grand chicks. She had only two mates, Ochre 11 (98) to 2015 and then our dear Aran since then. She bred at Glaslyn for 19 years and was the oldest UK Osprey. It is a good read about a very remarkable bird. As Heather says, we knew the day would come. She was at least 23-24 years old – but it doesn’t make it any easier. Mrs G did not return from migration and it is unknown when and where she died.

https://www.glaslynwildlife.co.uk/the-end-of-an-era/

Does get much cuter than fluffy little Peregrine Falcon eyases! OK. Big Red, yes, I do love Red-tail Hawk eyases the most!!!!!! Annie giving the two nestlings at Cal Falcons their first feeding at 0720 on Thursday morning.

There were two adorable little white white fluff balls with no egg shell present.

No shell but a visible crack in the one shell to the left.

Now Annie looking rather mischievous…and there is a half shell on the scrape. Looks like we have hatch 3.

Annie turned around at 11:53 and moved the shell and you can see a tiny wet pink eyas.

The reveal and Lou gets to see that his family has just grown some more. Best be out there hunting, Lou!

Later…the new hatch will be ready for some prey tomorrow! It is less than five hours old in the following images.

These eyases will grow dramatically from their hatch to fledging. Think 40 days. At first, their eyes are closed except when food begging; the eyes open like slits. By the fifth day, their eyes will be fully open all the time except when they are sleeping and they can focus and see clearly.

At that time their weight will have doubled from when they hatched! I am such a fan of falcons and hawks…you will be overwhelmed with ‘baby pictures’.

‘A’ says, “Little Lou is enjoying being a dad. As soon as Annie decides to take a prey gift for herself, he’s onto those chicks and the remaining egg. I wonder if he is counting. Does he notice that these well-behaved eggs are progressively being swapped out for these small fluffy wriggling things. He’s doing such a good job of covering everything and everyone he needs to, at least so far… That won’t last long, especially if that last egg hatches.”

Do you know how Peregrine Falcons get such amazing colours to their eggs? Here is the answer from the Chicago Peregrine Program:

“As an egg moves down the female’s oviduct it presses against glands that produce colored pigments. Peregrine egg colors range from pale creamy to a dark rusty brown. Marking patterns develop by if the eggs are in motion or not when they reach the glands with pigment. If the Peregrine egg is stationary at the time when it comes in contact with the glands, it’ll become spotted. If the egg was in motion, it would have streaks. Because the egg can continue to gain color down the oviduct, and as the egg can rotate slightly while it moves, you can have color laid over where color was already added.The pigments in the glands become depleted with each successive egg laid. Looking at this egg set from The Field Museum, we would estimate the egg on the far right was laid first, while the one on the far left came last.”

For more information about egg color in birds – check out this link from Cornell –https://www.allaboutbirds.org/…/the-beauty-and…/…#

Falcons are either laying eggs or have hatches…it is so much fun. Seriously if you have never watched a falcon scrape you need to start! Everyone eats! The incidence of sibling rivalry/siblicide is so diminished compared to ospreys and eagles. You will be astonished.

The Michigan Spartan scrape box has four eggs!

Oh, and then there are the most gorgeous osplets with their juvenile feathers at Moorings Park eating breakfast. Gosh, they are all beautiful.

Oh, and Idris preparing a fish for Telyn Blue 3J at the Dyfi Osprey platform in Wales. The anticipation of the first egg is growing.

And….

we have two first eggs – at Dyfi and at Llyn Clywedog! Telyn laid her egg at 17:40 with Seren coming in twelve minutes later at 17:53. Congratulations!

Telyn – congratulations to one of my most favourite couples, Idris and Telyn!

Idris sees their egg!

Beautiful Seren Blue 5F. 17:53:20.

Dylan had been up on the perch since 0615 expecting an egg today so he was there when the big event happened.

Just look at that beautiful pristine landscape. What wonderful places these Welsh ospreys have for their platforms!

Several have wondered why there are not more osprey platforms in the Glaslyn Valley. Well, there was Aran and Mrs G’s platform. Then another platform was placed just at the boundary of Port Cresor which is now occupied by Aeron Z2 (2017 Monty and Gleans) and Blue 014. At the time, some believed the placement was to ‘steal’ Mrs G from Glaslyn. There has certainly been a lot of interest in the Glaslyn nest from Monty and Glesni’s boys that hatched at Dyfi including Z1, Aeron’s full brother, Tegid (2016, Monty and Gleans). He briefly appeared on the nest. Did he steal the female’s fish? His nest is ON4 on private property. Is there a move to consolidate Monty’s family holdings in Glaslyn now that Aran is trying to establish himself with a new mate? Aran got Tegid moving!

Tegid is the 2016 hatch of Monty and Gleans and was known as ‘The White Egg’. He was harassed by Blue 24 (female) if I recall. Good to see you Tegid. Now go home to Snowdonia!!!!!

Aran flapping after sending off Tegid. Sadly, the whole event sent the nice female off and she hasn’t been seen on the nest on Friday. Aran was sky dancing to another female, a more aggressive one to him.

Ringo fledged at the Webter, Texas Bald Eagle nest near Houston but, s/he has continued to return to the nest for food lured by parents. Thursday was no exception. This is fantastic. These parents are teaching Ringo exactly the sane way that M15 is teaching the Es to survive independently. Great mantle, Ringo! Looks like a big girl to me.

There are two eggs at the Golden Eagle nest in Romania. Siblicide is common in Golden Eagle nests so watch this nest with that warning.

The cam operator at Cornell Bird Lab gave us some incredible close up images of Big Red today. It will not be long until hatch watch for her and Arthur.

She is incredibly beautiful, our 20 year old Red-tail Hawk ‘Queen’.

Achieva and Dale Hollow: River brought in a nice fish at 10:22 Thursday morning. Despite the intruder close by, River fed both eaglets well. Yes!

DH18 decided to do some self-feeding on the last of the fish bone. Way to go little one.

DH17’s wing span!

A view of the Obey River.

Both osplets at Achieva had crops during the 0800 fish feed! Good news.

The three eaglets at PA Farm Country are growing and doing very well, indeed. No issues at this nest to report.

Gabby and V3 might not have had a nest of eaglets this year but they are positively delighted being with one another and I am looking forward to November next year when, hopefully, they will lay a clutch of eggs for the first time together.

I have been watching the Dulles-Greenway nest reasonably close. On Thursday by late afternoon, all I could see were two short feedings with the third hatch not getting anything at the second. Are there intruders about? or am I missing feedings?

All looks well at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest.

The eaglet at US Steel is 8 days old.

Cholyn and Chase’s single hatch this season is not going to go hungry. The nest is loaded with a variety of prey items for this chubby little fluff ball.

In Estonia, Karl II waits for the arrival of his mate, Kaia, at their Black Stork nest in the Karula National Forest. Karl II arrived yesterday from migration. Kaia is close behind.

There are some dates that you should mark on your calendar. The first one is a day that many of you will not recognise – National Curlew Day which is the 21st of April on the feast day of St Brueno, the patron saint of Curlews. The species is critically-endangered in many places around the world because of modern agricultural politics, climate change, habitat encroachment. Instead of me telling you about Curlews, read about them. Find ou what their status is where you live. These lovely shore birds migrate and they need wetlands, they need not to be shot! See what you can do to help in your area.

The other two days are about bird counts. 13 May. Mark it on your calendar. It is Global Big Day that helps us celebrate the birds that are in our environment. The second event is World Migratory Bird Day which is held twice a year to celebrate the marvellous journeys our birds make in the spring and fall. Please sign up to eBird to help track the birds and to see where help is needed. Last year 51,455 birds worldwide entered their statistics from 201 countries for 7,673 bird species.

Many of you have pets or have had in the past. Did you take them to the crematorium? Did you leave them with the Vet if they had to be euthanised? Last year we saw dumped pets euthanised in several landfills around the Minneapolis area.

Three-bald-eagles-dead-10-others-sickened-after-eating-carcasses-of-euthanized-animals-at-MinnesotaDownload

This could not have been an isolated incident, but it came to light only because of the Bald Eagles eating the carrion found at the dump and having to go into rehab. Reports have come that a similar incident happened in the Pacific-Northwest in the Cowlitz district in Washington from one of our readers. Why are we hearing about this? Has there been a change in human behaviour during and after the pandemic? Did pet crematoriums close so that vets are left dealing with animals left in their charge? What can be done? If your pet is sick, you should learn how your vet clinic disposes of the body. That should be a priority. Are they assigning these animals to another business that should be disposing of them correctly but is dumping them? It is entirely possible that these contractors are not following laws or protocols. Ask. The vets’ drugs can cause our carrion eaters – Crows, Vultures, Bald Eagles, etc. – to get ill and die. This is not a good situation. Talk to your local wildlife rehab clinic and veterinary surgeon if you want to help and do not have pets. They might not be aware!

A sad story coming from Arkansas in the US. What’s with the need to kill other living beings? I do not get it.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, news, and streaming cams that helped inform my blog today: ‘A’, ‘B’, Heather Corfield and Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Chicago Peregrine Program, Olga Kysil and Orange, Australia Peregrine Falcons, Moorings Osprey, Dyfi Osprey, CarnyXWild, Paul White and the Webster TX Eagles, Associate Wild Bucovina, Cornell RTH Cam, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Achieva Credit Union, PA Game Commission, NEFL-AEF, Dulles-Greenway, PIX Cam, IWS and Explore.org, Eagle Club of Estonia, and CBS News.

First-time falcon dad wants to feed his egg, Louis at home with Dorcha…Monday in Bird World

10 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for all your letters and holiday wishes. Each was very much appreciated. It is so kind of you to think of me!

It is 1800 Sunday evening, and my garden is teeming with Dark-eyed Juncos and House Sparrows. Mr Blue Jay has been for a visit, as has Little Red and Dyson & Gang. I can hear the Crows in the distance as gulls fly overhead. It is remarkable how spending time in the light or stepping away from a nest for 24 hours can refresh your mind and body. Missy and Lewis have voted that I write the blog in the conservatory where there is light! It was not that long ago that 1800 would have meant darkness. Twenty-six Ring Billed Gulls flew over like they do every dusk from spring through to fall when they depart. On the Red River Flyway, more than 400 American White Pelicans flew north. Spring is wonderful!

Both Mr and Mrs Downy came to the garden several times today. They always come right before dusk, no matter how many visits they have made earlier. I am a wee bit sloppy about getting the suet into the holes, but, hey, they seem not to be annoyed.

e-Bird reports from Saturday said that the Dark-eyed Juncos were arriving in our province. On Sunday, more than two dozen were in the garden flitting about. Oh, how grand. Just love these little ones.

The first Hibiscus blossom of the year arrived yesterday! So far, Lewis and Missy have left it alone. They often like to sleep in this pot after I water them. I never knew cats loved the water so much!

Correction: The GHO strike on the Es took place NOT during the day. Lady Hawk’s time fooled me and ‘A’. Thanks, ‘H’ for the head’s up! It seemed so unlikely but, there have been battles with eagles and owls during the day time. The first that comes to mind is Bonnie and Clyde taking the nest from the young eagle couple at Farmer Derek’s three years ago.

We are one day away from hatch watch at Cal Falcons and only Annie and Lou know if they can hear those little eyases chirping away getting ready to burst out of those shells. Mark your calendar! While we have been told that the 11th is probably hatch day here are some figures from Cal Falcons based on past hatch times.

Annie and Lou have made the LA Times! Well done.

Remember! There will be the annual Q & A session and celebration on YouTube with Cal Falcons on the 11th. Here is the information.

Wonder what it feels like to lay that first egg? A very young male still has his juvenile plumage and probably a first-time young female falcon at San Jose City Hall. SK Hideaways caught their reaction to their first egg! Please watch this super-edited video. It gives us some insight!

The female appears to later ‘shade’ the egg.

The young couple bond in their scrape. We wait to see how all this plays out.

Our young dad is ready to feed his baby – even in the shell! This is going to be very interesting!

There were two fledges on Sunday. B16 from Berry College and Ringo from the Webster Texas nest. Congratulations!

There are five eggs at the Manchester, New Hampshire, scrape! The couple has been together for 9 years, and last year they hatched and fledged five. ‘SP’ says the chicks are banded but the male and female are simply known as Mum and Dad. Here is the link to their camera and there are the five from last season. Adorable.

There is nothing more adorable than little pink beaks reaching up from white fluffy bodies to be fed.

Ringo flew strong and in the video on FB by Paul White, you could see her fly way out into the background near the water feature. Brilliant.

‘JL’ asked: “I was wondering if you could comment on aggressive/submissive behaviour sometime. On the SWFL nest, I’ve watched E22 become the aggressor, and E21 turn submissive. It was almost an overnight change (even before E21 left). I suppose the question is, why did 21 allow the change to occur? I noticed the same with the Sea Eagles (29 and 30), with 30 becoming more assertive before 29 left.”

We have all witnessed various levels of aggression on the nests. This ranges from the bobbleheads fighting it out in those first few days to the extreme aggression where a sibling is killed. Dominance ‘play’ is often seen but is not dangerous to any of the nestlings. It is when there is fear for survival that really aggressive behaviour comes in. Research reveals that deadly aggressive behaviour can happen on a nest that is full of prey. Just what causes one bird to turn against another in that situation is a matter of conjecture. Is it DNA? is it toxins that drive aggressive behaviour? is it a particular growth stage that spurs the attacks?

A sibling has never died of siblicide on Harriet and M15’s nest. Never. They have beaked each other, making chatters concerned, but that was dominance play. Both eaglets, E21 and E22, are now similar in size and have fledged. 22 gained confidence and, if I am correct, grew a little while 21 was away. We do not know their genders, although I thought they were the same sex because the fighting and dominance/submission has not been extreme. 22 had control of the nest when 21 returned and wanted to keep that position. ‘E21, you are not going to boss me around anymore!’ In the end, we know that they became beak and branch buddies. All is fine. M15 took good care of them; amazing. You will begin to see how remarkable his parenting was as the saga at Dale Hollow unfolds.

WBSE 29 and 30 were both females. Females are much more aggressive towards little males. So again, it could have been a confidence matter, testing the ‘waters’ of who is dominant at WBSE like it was when 21 returned. In neither case, there was never cause for any concern over the health and welfare of the other eaglet in these two instances.

Concern continues to grow for Mrs G as she is ten days late from her normal arrival time to Glaslyn.

Meanwhile, Aran has been sky-dancing for an unringed female that came to the Glaslyn nest. He has fed her a fish in the nest and he must be understanding that Mrs G is not returning. A new era at Glaslyn could be starting.

Meanwhile, Dorcha has returned to Loch Arkaig and is waiting for Louis to return from his adventure around the loch so they can begin their 2023 breeding season.

Dorcha begins work on the nest just like Louis did last week. Hey, Louis, come home!

Louis home. Both arrive at the nest with a fish as the wind blows strong. And do I hear ice pellets?

In Latvia, a Mallard attempted to land on the nest while Voldis is incubating his and Milda’s eggs. That duck didn’t even get a chance to land! Hatch watch coming soon. Hoping this will be a good year after two tragic ones for our beautiful WTE Milda whose nest is near Durbe in Latvia.

In Decorah, precious DH2 gets a feeding.

Martin and Rosa’s three eaglets continue to do very well at Dulles-Greenway.

There are three eaglets at Bald Canyon. I have noticed a tiny bit of beaking between 1 and 2. 3 was out of the way and did get fed. Relief.

One much adored eaglet at Two Harbours that will be well fed and loved by parents, Chase and Cholyn. For those that do not know, Cholyn is Thunder’s Mum. (Thunder is the mate of Akecheta at the West End).

Everything looks A-OK with Big Red and Arthur!

‘T’ sent her vote for photo of the day…Bluff City eaglet with a crop the size of a tennis ball!

Maya has laid her third egg of the 2023 season at Manton Bay! Blue 33 has been by her side. What a couple!

Yesterday Iris arrived home to her nest at Hellgate Canyon, Missoula, Montana. She is the matriarch of American ospreys and is believed to be the oldest living osprey in the world.

Her first mate there was Stanley and they raised multiple chicks to fledge. Then Stanley passed and Louis came on the scene. Louis has always had another nest at the baseball park. It has been nothing but sadness for Iris and Louis. Lin Lawson gives us the history, in case you did not know it. This will provide some background as to why people get upset when Louis comes to the nest with Iris. Things will not change so do not get upset. They will mate, Iris will lay eggs, the eggs will get eaten by the Crows, and then Iris will spend her summer eating fish and growing strong. There will be no starving osplets on the nest to worry about. And that is a good thing.

DH17 and DH18 ate well and went to bed with full crops. River is trying the best she can. She is followed to the nest by intruders that land and stay there. DH17 is 38 days old, and 18 is 39 days old. DH19 was 32 days old when it died of starvation. We send good positive wishes to River. This situation is tough, and there is no guarantee that any of the eaglets will survive. Diane and Jack were both at the Achieva Nest. Diane fed Big Bob and left Middle Bob in submission without any fish. Later Diane went fishing and brought in one of her nice catfish, and Middle ate for at least 30 minutes. There is a drought in the St Petersburgh area, and all of the water is very low, causing fishing to be difficult. Send your best wishes to this nest.

Reports are coming in that the much loved Finnish Osprey, Salli, has been electrocuted in Iraq on her way home from her winter grounds.

Thank you so very much for joining me today. Take care, everyone. Have a great beginning of the week. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘T’, ‘SP’, ‘JL’, Geemeff, Cal Falcon Cam, LA Times, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Falcons, San Jose City Hall Falcons, Peregrine Networks Live, Colleen Hayman Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons, Paul White and Webster TX Eagles, Jackie Morris and Friends of Dyfi Osprey Project, Dailypost.co.uk, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Geemeff and Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Latvian Fund for Nature, Raptor Resource Project, Dulles Freeway, IWS and Explore.org, Cornell RTH Cam, Bluff City Eagle Cam, LRWT, Montana Osprey Project, Lin Lawson and Osprey Friends, and Dale Hollow Eagle Cam.

Iris and Dorcha are home…Sunday in Bird World

9 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The big news of Saturday was the return of Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, to her nest at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. 13:48.

Well, this is really something to celebrate. She looks good. No doubt she is off catching a whopper that she will have on the Owl Pole – and yes, that is precisely what she did although she ate it somewhere else and came back with a nice crop.

Oh, Iris. It is so nice to see you.

We have been waiting for two specific mates to appear in the UK. Mrs G at Glaslyn (she is pretty late) and Dorcha. Dorcha arrived this morning. Louis will not be lonesome! Thanks, Geemeff. But where is Louis? He has been making restorations since his arrival and has not been seen since yesterday morning (Saturday). Send best wishes! Maybe Dorcha’s voice will call him to the nest! (Oh, this doesn’t feel right).

I am receiving news from ‘T’ that Karl II has landed at his nest in Estonia. As of early morning him and Kaia were only 203 km apart in their flight. Waiting for images! How wonderful.

Happiness in the form of two fledglings at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of M15. On the branches together, in the nest together, doing some nice little beak kisses, playing at the pond. All calm until Dad brings in the evening meal, and we know what will happen if that does happen.

Meanwhile, M15 is still getting attacked when he brings food to the Es.

‘A’ notes that ever since the three GH owlets played on the Es nest they are taking liberties. Now attacks during the day caught by Lady Hawk.

An excellent (and frank) presentation by Connor on what happened to Connick and what the future might hold for him.

Jackie and Shadow continue teasing us about whether there will be a replacement clutch. It would be nice, but it is also good to see them. Both look very healthy!

Oops…no, we don’t hide the Osprey eggs, Florence! Some people colour eggs from the store and try and hide them, but, no, Florence, not Ospreys! Sadly, one of the eggs stuck to Florence when she got off the nest at Captiva and was out of the egg cup. Angus tried to roll it back in but to no avail. It is just fine. One of the other eggs will be viable, if not both. Young couple. Honestly, they do not need three to look after the first time! Thanks, ‘H’, for alerting me to this incident.

Blessings happen in mysterious ways. Not sure which egg is outside the nest cup, and this will impact the pip watch if it is the first one laid. They still have two! Two is plenty. Two is more than enough for a young first-time couple.

Mrs G is quite late, and the hope of her returning to her mate, Aran, and her nest at Glaslyn, where she is the matriarch of the UK Ospreys, is dwindling.

Aran needs a good mate. I hope the sky dancing he has been doing attracts one.

I often get asked for nest recommendations. There are so many favourites, but I also look for stable nests with rewind and good cameras that are on YouTube. I also highly recommend UK Osprey nests. The only incidence of siblicide was last year at Loch of the Lowes. Mrs G has not returned as of today. That takes Glaslyn off my recommendation list for first time watchers. Then there are the goshawks and that takes away Poole Harbour. I love Foulshaw Moss but there is no rewind and you have to go to another site. I also love Llyn Clywedog but, my top three would be Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland Manton Bay. This couple has raised two sets of four osplets. They are a super couple! The pond is stocked. Last year they raised three big females. The second is Maya’s daughter, Telyn, who has her nest in Wales with Idris at Dyfi. She is also a super Mum. Third, and these are in no particular order, is Loch Arkaig with Louis and Dorcha. There are many others but, I would start with those three.

So far the three at Bald Canyon are doing well. Send out positive wishes. It is hard raising three.

Nice crops for the two eaglets at Pittsburgh-Hayes.

Mum at Pittsburgh-Hayes had to defend the eaglets against a racoon. Have you noticed how raccoons are increasingly becoming a problem? Some nests might require baffles. Thanks, ‘A’.

Only eaglet at US Steel, USS6, is doing well too. What a little cutie.

DH2 at the Decorah Hatchery appears to be fine. What a little cutie.

All three lined up like little angels at Dulles-Greenway. Reminds of Bazza, Falky, and Ervie. Wonder if Martin and Rosa have three little boys?

Two happy eaglets at Duke Farms!

One precious little eaglet for Bella and Smitty at NCTC doing well.

Like US Steel, NCTC, Chase & Cholyn have one perfect little nestling at Two Harbours.

Rose and Ron worked together and Rose is growing into being a fantastic Mum for R4 and R5. Just look at the two of them with their really dark thermal down and wisps of white Mohawks. And, we can’t leave out the clown feet!

The new Peregrine Falcon residents at San Jose City Hall have an egg! As ‘H’ points out, the male still has his juvenile plumage!

Mother Goose is beautiful first thing in the morning and as the sun sets on Decorah, Iowa.

Abby and Victor can make a lot of noise. When they see Harry coming, they can get so loud. This is what makes Sally so wonderful. She feeds those babies – during the day and at night. An incredible Mum. This made a difference for Victor!

The owlets of Bonnie and Clyde are huge. ‘P’ asked me what type of tree the nest is in. It is an Oak tree. I am just not 100% certain of the variety of Oak.

It looks like they are having a great conversation.

We have been expecting the sadness at Dale Hollow and Achieva. As many chatters aid, the two little ones are no longer suffering. That is surely a blessing.

Yesterday, the third hatch at the Achieva Osprey nest of 2023 was added to the 2023 Memorial Wall. He died at 15:52:03. Thanks Barbara Snyder for a picture from when we were hopeful. I have listed the cause of death as starvation/parental neglect. Yes, it happens.

The third chick at Dale Hollow passed. Cause of death starvation/siblicide. It is unclear if DH18 will survive. It has not had food for a couple of days. Thank you ‘AM’ for letting me know.

‘H’ reminds me that we are awaiting the arrival of Tom at the Chesapeake Conservancy Osprey Platform. The latest he has returned is 31 March. This could be worrisome.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. There is much good news to celebrate today. It is hoped that the two nests, Dale Hollow and Achieva, will stabilise. Please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘AM’, ‘T’, ‘A’, ‘H’, Geemeff, Montana Osprey Project and Cornell Bird Lab, Geemeff and Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Looduskalender Forum, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Terry taipan and Bald Eagles 101, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, FOBBV, Jackie Morris and Glaslyn Osprey Group, Dyfi, IWS and Explore.org, PIX Cams, Decorah Eagles, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, Duke Farms, NCTC, WRDC, San Jose City Hall, Goose Cam Decorah, Moorings Park Ospreys, Farmer Derek, Barbara Snyder and Achieva Credit Union.

Es sleep side by side then struck by GHO…HPAI kills Arizona Condors…Saturday in Bird World

8 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

There are many holy days that some of you will be celebrating. As I write, this is Good Friday. Both Ramadan and Passover are with us, and Easter is on Sunday, with Eid al-Fitr on 20-21 of April in Canada. Whatever holiday is yours – even if none of them is – I hope you have had time with loved ones or outside listening to birds. Whatever it is that makes you peaceful and happy.

I promised some images of Missy and Lewis. They love water! The new shower is very exciting. They want to walk all over the wet floor and lick the water from the walls. They are simply fascinated!

Missy is growing. This is a bed for a very large dog. The two are usually inseparable, and to be able to sleep together, they required this 4′ x 4′ bed. Missy’s legs are thick and stocky, and her fur is about 7.5 cm long or 4 inches. She takes up a lot of room in that bed!

‘A’ commented that I had not been my usual jovial self. Oh, she knows my every mood! I haven’t been so happy. Is it the storms and the worry over whether or not any good tress will be left for the Eagles? Is this the beginning of a long series of events that will ultimately destroy their habitat? I worry about the raptors and the impact of humans over the past fifty years of their lives.

At the same time, I try to find the same joy that the Bald Eagle parents at Decorah did. Their first chick hatched and dead in the nest, and a solid second hatch burst into the world. Mum standing there with prey ready to feed it. Life goes on just like spring follows autumn and winter.

Life outside my conservatory window is teeming. Mr Woodpecker has been here around his usual time with the regular troop of sparrows and squirrels. Later, Mr Blue Jay and Mr and Mrs Woodpecker will arrive for their evening meal, and then the Chickadees will come. It is reassuring. Even Little Red is paying more visits, having discovered the suet. Everyone, including the sparrows, needs the fat and head there before going to the Black Oil Seed.

Then this image of Spirit and Jackie popped up on the screen. Oh, what a fantastic eaglet! Watching Jackie, Shadow, and Spirit last year was a blessing. If we get another chance this year, fantastic. If not, I am so glad they are visiting the nest so we can see they are alright. Maybe with HPAI, it is a blessing. We never know. My grandmother used to tell me there is a reason for everything; you might never know why things went one way instead of another.

A link to an exciting moment was sent to me by ‘MB’. Last year a Tawny Owl fostered chicks, but this year, one of her own eggs hatched. Luna is away and we get to see that little owlet come into our world and then Mum arrives. So exciting.

But my mood is also curtailed because of the growing impact of HPAI, now confirmed to be the cause of three condor deaths in Arizona.

https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2023-04/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-cause-three-california-condor-0

Here is a copy of the 2022 UK Report on HPAI – what to expect and what can be done. This terrible disease continues to impact the raptors and it is good to know a little bit about it and what we can continue to expect.

Report-on-HPAI-in-the-UK-2022Download

Then there are the two struggling nests: Dale Hollow and Achieva and the realisation that the egg Jak and Audacity have been incubating could not be viable. So sad for these two. I continue to wish they could somehow be foster parents. Put DH19 in there and see what happens! Of course, that is sheer lunacy getting an eaglet from Tennessee to California. No one would do it, but I do like to fantasise sometime.

In Canada, the Geese and Raptors are returning to their spring and summer breeding grounds. Sometimes, they pick unusual spots to lay those eggs.

In the UK bird enthusiasts are celebrating the return of the Bittern, thought to be on the edge of extinction.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/06/uk-loudest-bird-bittern-bumper-breeding-season?CMP=share_btn_link

It is so hard to imagine the difficulty that single raptor parents have in finding food and defending their nest. River has had to deal with fishing tournaments and bad weather amongst having at least 25 other bald eagle nests in the area. Today, Friday, has so far been a bad day for the nest with a piece of road kill coming in and DH17 being the only one fed with 18 and 19 pecking. Oh, how I wish she could get a big catfish on that nest. Or two of them but I fear the holiday weekend will hamper any fishing she might do. My heart breaks for her. How long have her and Obey been mates? She is grieving hard and now she is left with three eaglets, not one or two but, three, to care for in very difficult circumstances. I understand that a few from Dale Hollow will go out and search again for Obey.

River will feed 17 first. She needs one of the three to survive, and 17 is big and strong at the beak. She is not allowed the luxury of being able to bring in enough food, perhaps, to keep all three alive. We wait and hope for a miracle. 17 ate again tonight and has a crop. 18 and 19 had nothing that I could see.

It is unlikely that the searchers will find Obey. ‘A’ and I chatted about where birds go to die and what happens after Harriet disappeared. Birds die for many reasons – old age, injury, and disease. Injury would include all manner of collisions with human structures and also with attacks by other birds. I was told once that raptors if they know they are dying, will see secluded places like forests, dense bushes, and tree hollows – just like my cat Duncan wanted to hide when she had rodenticide poisoning. They want to be alone and quiet. Many hoped Harriet would be found injured and taken care of, but her body was not found, and neither has Obey’s. There are reasons for this. Birds are light in weight. Their bodies decompose very quickly if scavengers do not get to them first. We know that carrion eaters quickly find dead animals and consume them – that is their job. Other animals also eat birds and raptors. Even the feathers are eaten by rodents and insects or used for nesting material. I had no idea til I looked at this question carefully that feathers contain calcium that is good for the food chain. That is why we hardly ever see a dead bird unless it collides with our window or vehicle at a specific moment.

I can see that the third hatch at Achieva has not been fed. Chatters say Diane is ignoring it. This is typical behaviour for Diane, who did the same thing in 2021. The difference was Tiny Tot Tumbles, who went without food for 12 days (not straight, but hours added up) and survived to become the dominant osplet on the nest. This little one is not as strong and feisty. Eventually, Diane had to give in, and she fed Tumbles after dark lots of catfish while the others slept. That got Tumbles strong and kept her alive. Sadly, I believe we are in for heartbreak today at this nest. Despite terrible beaking, the third tries to get to Mum, but nothing…nothing.

So if I knew I would be an osplet and could pick a US Mum, it would decidedly be Sally at Moorings Park who feeds til everyone is full and even gets up and feeds the osplets in the middle of the night to help stop the beaking. Sally is a marvel!

Here is Victor stretching. How beautiful. Two osplets, Abby and Victor, will fledge from this nest if nothing untoward happens between then and now. At one time we worried for Victor but, the great parenting meant all the difference to this little one. Look at his cute talons! Can talons be cute?

Blue NC0 is incubating two eggs at Loch of the Lowes. She does well with two osplets. Hoping no more eggs! We lost the third hatch at this nest last year to siblicide. As far as I know, it was the only instance of this behaviour in the UK.

Maya and Blue 33 also have two eggs at Rutland’s Monton Bay Osprey platform.

One of our readers is visiting Rutland today. Oh, how I hope they get to see the ospreys!

Idris and Telyn continue to work on their nest at Dyfi in Wales.

With the death of DH1 and the arrival of strong DH2 everyone waited to see if Deborah Hatchery Mum (DHM) would feed her baby and – of course – she did! What an excellent feeding.

A little fluffy treasure. What a loving image.

Chase and Cholyn’s only surviving egg has hatched! Congratulations Two Harbours!

Fishing line at the nest of the Es in Fort Myers. Will wait to see how this plays out.

Tonight, E21 and E22 are sleeping together in Dad’s spot at the nest tree. What a beautiful sight.

There was concern that the two siblings would be attacked by the GHOs and that is precisely what happened. Here is the report.

‘H’ reports that there were three hits. Despite this, both Es were seen flying around the pasture Saturday morning. All is well.

Everything is A-OK at Duke Farms, too. Gorgeous juvenile feathers and huge feet on those eaglets sleeping next to Mum.

Everything is also fine at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest of Martin and Rosa. This would be a good eagle family to be a part of!

One good place to find solace is watching birds incubate eggs. (It can also be terribly boring). They are so dedicated. Big Red and Arthur are no exception and this will be one nest you will want to watch when the pips begin!

The only anxiety I have ever had is the weather, and Big Red can be encased in ice and it is okay. She is incredibly devoted. Three eyases…four eyases. No one goes hungry. She has had only one eyas not fledge and that was K2 who had a beak/jaw issue. She was taken into care but did not make it. That was in 2021. Last year, Big Red and Arthur raised four. L4 is still living and hunting in their territory. (L1 died when it hit a glass breezeway at Cornell and L3 is in care to be released. L2 left the territory and as noted, L4 is still there).

Catching up with Karl II and Kaia. Karl II has crossed over in Ukraine. His battery is only operating at 16%. They are working their way home to Estonia. Safe travels as you enter Ukraine.

Kaia also has a low battery. She has just crossed into Moldova. Waba continues to be in Sudan. No transmissions from Bonus and I am fearing he is lost to us.

Heidi Mc has worked hard on the Mispillion Harbour FB Group, videos, and the history of the nest. The goal was to increase awareness of the ospreys living along the coast of Delaware. Unfortunately, the recent storms have knocked out the camera. Heidi is hoping that the staff will be able to repair it before the Ospreys nest. So, keep checking!

We are still waiting for Iris to return to Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. Star returned to the Baseball Park the other day, and Louis arrived today. Come on, Iris! We hope you made it through winter. In the UK, Aran and Louis continue waiting for their mates, Mrs G and Dorcha. Mrs G typically arrives before 1 April, but Dorcha often doesn’t arrive until 11 April. Mrs G is the oldest UK Osprey and may no longer be with us.

Louis is working on the nest but Aran has been seen sky dancing so there could be a potential female mate in the area for him. That would be lovely. He is a fantastic mate!

The latest on Murphy and the foster eaglet.

11 April is pip watch for Annie and Lou. Please mark your calendars for the Campanile Peregrine Falcons.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘MB’, ‘H’, CBC London, Heather Calk and FOBBV, Robert Fuller, Ventana Wildlife Society, fws.gov, BTO, The Guardian, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Moorings Park, LOTL, LRWT, Dyfi, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, CIEL, Marti Lord and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Carol S Rifkin and NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watchers Club, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenaway, Cornell RTH, Looduskalender Forum, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Terry Carman Live Nest Cams and News.

Murphy gets to be a Dad!, DH2 bursts out of the shell…Lotus and Mr President have 2 eaglets…Friday in Bird World

7 April 2023

There are good things happening all around us. The Robins are arriving in gardens around the world. Storks are settling into their nests in Europe. Most of the ospreys are in their nests in the UK. There is much to be thankful for and today, Murphy, the Bald Eagle incubating Rock Baby gets a foster eaglet. It is a win-win for both of them! Let us hope that they take to one another. This is both our giggle and our good news story for the day!

The ‘Make You Feel Good’ video is from Geemeff and wow. The Osprey nest collapses and it is quickly replaced!

https://whdh.com/news/team-makes-emergency-repairs-after-falmouth-osprey-nest-platform-falls-due-to-wind-rotted-boards

Peregrine Falcons are hatching in Japan and this is a reminder that we are now only four days from pip watch for Annie and Lou at Cal Falcons.

Jackie and Shadow continue to tease us and many of those chatters are hoping for Easter eggs in that nest up at Big Bear.

There was only one egg and USS6 hatched on the 5th of April at 23:38. The egg cup is so deep and Mum keeps aerating that nest but, there is a little cutie pie in there.

It is a little soggy at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest but the two eaglets are doing just fine.

Rosa and Martin have the three sweetest little eaglets. Thank you for posting this comparison, Sassa Bird.

So much nesting material has been brought in. Martin must have found a buy one get two-free sale! ‘A’ has noted that there is some beaking that has happened at Dulles-Greenaway.

It is mid-afternoon on Thursday and the three eaglets at Dale Hollow need some food. They have picked off everything from that old catfish and racoon heads that they can. ‘A’ notes that both 17 and 18 have attached 19 and that the little one did get a tiny bit of food before bed Thursday. River is constantly aware of intruders at or near the nest and this is such a problem for her bringing food. Send every good wish you have to this nest.

Ospreys continue to arrive at Kielder Forest.

Everything is fine at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the grounds of the Cornell Campus. Arthur is getting some good incubation time this year.

Nih Red’s cere is a lovely chrome yellow. Looks nice and healthy!

There are eyes on several osprey nests and one of those is that of Iris at hellcat Canyon in Missoula, Montana. April 7 is her favourite day to return from migration. Did she survive this year? We wait.

Those precious three eggs.

One of those great nests is Moorings Park Ospreys. Abby ad Victor are growing longer tail feathers! They are gorgeous.

Just look at that gorgeous peach in the plumage of Abby.

If you saw it, your eyes were not deceiving you. Yes, these are the three owlets from the Pritchett Property on M15 and the E’s nest! Gracie Shepherd got it on video.

Waiting for Iris.

Waiting to see about that pip at Decorah. Yes, we have a hatch. Welcome DH2.

Here is that hatch captured by Paul K – this is the most spectacular hatch that many have ever seen. DH2 literally bursts out of the shell, a strong and healthy eaglet. Fingers crossed.

DH2 is healthy and ready for prey!

There are two very feisty bobbleheads at Bald Canyon. Oh, goodness they are active!

At Jak and Audacity’s nests, it is unclear if that precious egg #7 is viable. Oh, how I wish they could get a foster eaglet like Murphy.

We are waiting for Dorcha to return to Loch Arkaig. Louis was early this year and he has been doing some restorations and did some sky dancing on his return to the nest. Come on, Dorcha. We don’t want Louis to be Lonesome Louis, again.

Geemeff provides us an explanation of sky dancing, “Soon after his arrival at the nest, the male starts sky-dancing over the nest. During this aerial display the male flies sharply up rapidly beating his wings and often carrying a fish or nesting material. At a height of several hundred feet the bird hovers with tail fanned and talons dangling. He then dives down to varying distances and quickly ascends to repeat the hover several times, often uttering a creee or cheeerk call. The sky-dance display is preformed frequently before the arrival of the female and continued less frequently after her arrival. The sky dance seems to have two functions, a territorial display and to advertise for a mate.” (New York Wild)

There are also second eggs for Maya at Rutland and Blue NC0 at LOTL. Something wonderful to celebrate. Thanks, Geemeff.

Geemeff sent a video of Maya popping her egg out! She notes that poor NC0 was grunting and it looks like Maya just sends the eggs out like they peas being shelled!

I love waterfowl and Coots are right up there. Every time I read about them I learn something new. Did you know?

Older chicks can swim faster to dinner, which is first come, first served. But parents mete out justice to the early arrivals. Mom takes a big chick by the head in her bill and shakes it around like a dog with a rope—an act called “tousling” that doesn’t quite communicate its vigor. Lyon calls it “spanking.” The chicks “scream blue murder,” but punishment is calibrated to deter without harming them, Lyon says. This way smaller chicks get to eat, and more chicks survive overall.

Bay Nature

Read the entire article here. You will learn something new, too!

On the Family Dramas (and Weird Feet) of the American Coot

The mystery is now solved. How many eaglets were Mr President and Lotus feeding? Well, it is now confirmed that the National Arboretum couple has two eaglets in their new nest. There are their little heads in the image below!

Bad weather hit Fort Myers late on Thursday and one of the Es, on the branch, is soaked.

M15 continues to deliver fish and teach the Es what they need for survival. SW Florida is doing very well. Harriet would be overwhelmed at the amazing job her mate has done to raise their last two eaglets.

Things continue to look bleak at Achieva. I saw only one small fish come in at Dale Hollow. We can only hope that there is a turn in all of this. I urge caution, especially if you are watching Achieva today.

Thank you so much for being with me today. We are now 3-4 days away from pip at Annie and Lou’s. That will be such a joyful moment. Take care. See you soon!

If you would like to receive Bird World news in your inbox, please subscribe.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, tweets, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, Geemeff, Sydney Wells and Bald Eagles 101, WHDH, Japan Peregrine Falcons, FOBBV, PIX Cams, Sassa Bird, Dulles-Greenaway, Kielder Ospreys, Cornell RTH, Moorings Park ospreys, Gracie Shepherd and SW Florida Eagles and D Pritchett, Montana Osprey Project and Cornell, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Paul K and Raptor Resource Project, IWS and Explore.org, Geemeff and Friends of Loch of Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Bay Nature, Friends of the National Arboretum, and SW Florida Eagle Cam.

WBSE 30 is released!…Thursday in Bird World

6 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The snow stopped and it is now 1816 and it is starting up again with huge flakes. They are dancing about like large cotton balls or marshmallows. Lewis is having quite the time hoping that he might be able to catch one of them. Of course, he does not want to pose for a photo!

Just think. A few days ago everyone on the Canadian Prairies was sure winter was gone, and spring had arrived. I bet that early-arrival Canada Geese wish they were somewhere else. Mind you, maybe they flew north fast to miss those US storms.

Thursday morning. It is beautiful. No snow falling. Woodpeckers busy at that the suet. Photos tomorrow of them and the kittens.

Taken with the iPhone.

A reasonable guess would have been over 400 birds visited the feeders today. They were mostly House Sparrows and Finches with the regular woodpecker visits and Blue Jays. I know the Black-capped Chickadee has been around because I heard them, but they are quick to flit about, and I have yet to see them getting seed. Mind you, I was not watching them all day.

My head continues spinning with all the news coming out of Bird World. Almost immediately, one new hatch is negated by another nestling dying in a nest, Oklahoma, simply disappearing at collapse or, as at Bartlesville night.

So I hope to bring us a few lighter moments as we begin the blog for the next little while. Stress is not good. Then I plan to put in the golden moment of the day and today it comes from Sydney, Australia!

We are going to start with Murphy, ‘Rock Daddy’. He has now been incubating his ‘rock egg’ for some time and has become overly protective of the territory. So, he is being moved. They are not giving him his own hatchling because they are not certain that he would feed it regularly. Too bad, he could be a great Dad!

M15 does not get away without a giggle. This guy has been through so much! Gets his two kids home and all they want to do is fight!

He has brought 21 a fish and 21 spent some time resting in the nest. 21 was away for 5 days. It reminds me of Legacy from the NEFL nest of Gabby and Samson – flew out, away six days, finally found the nest and didn’t leave again for nearly a month (or so it seemed).

The surviving WBSE (White-bellied Sea Eagle) from last season’s Sydney Olympic Forest hatchings has been released. Jump up and down. She has been in care for such a long time, and we are ever so grateful to everyone who helped transport her and care for her so that she could live in the wild. Here is that great news. What a beautiful moment.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The news is that Connick is going to be alright after his slip and fall. Here is that moment on 4th of April caught by Deb Stecyk (you can go to 4:55):

Message from Window to Wildlife:

This is the latest message…older ones are below. It appears that dear Connick could be impacted by rodenticide poisoning. His two half-siblings died two years ago of rodenticide. It broke Joe’s heart, and he left the nest. This is just tragic. CROW and all their volunteers need to spread the word and find a way to prohibit this nasty poison from Captiva. In many ways, it was a real blessing that Connick fell out of the nest so he could get help.

There is a FB fundraiser for Connick’s care. Just look at him at CROW. He is in such good hands. If anyone can save him from this dreaded designer poison, CROW can!

There have been some further tragedies due to the winter storms pouring through the US. The eaglets at Standley Lake Regional Park have died from a nest collapse. Another nest in Minnesota has collapsed.

One of the eaglets at Bartlesville, Oklahoma got out of the egg cup and could not get back and appears to have gone over the edge of the nest. Today, the third egg hatched. So some good and bad for Oklahoma.

As storms continue, it is likely there will be further deaths, sadly. As we mourn, new eaglets are hatching and eggs being laid. Nature does not stop.

I wrote congratulations yesterday but now little DH1 has died. ‘A’ left me a note for when I woke up. So sad for the hatchery parents. As Paul Kolnik points out, the second egg is pipping. Perhaps this family will get one healthy chick. Send good wishes.

Congratulations Decorah. DH1 arrived in the early morning of 5 April 2023.

US Steel has only one egg. There is a hatch in progress. USS6 hatched at 23:58 on 5 April. Congratulations!

While we were delighted to see E21 back at the nest, landing right beside Dad on the 5th of April, E22 wasn’t quite so sure.

Until now 22 has had the area around the pond and nest tree all to himself. He had a right dust up with 21 over ‘bathing rights’.

The iconic image of the day comes from Dulles-Greenway where there are currently three very healthy eaglets. Baby has a really nice crop.

DH19 continues to self-feed to stay alive at Dale Hollow. A survivor – send all your good wishes. River has her hands full.

This was at 1006 Wednesday morning. You can see the huge crop on the two larger eaglets. DH19 fed itself last evening and got a big crop and is now picking away at this carcass. This little one wants to live.

‘A’ reports that D19 had no food later and that it is raining hard and she is worrisome for this baby. It is not good at Achieva either. We will all hold our breath. These two nests may only have two to fledge. Send good wishes.

In the UK, there are two male Ospreys waiting for their mates to return from migration. One of those is Louis at Loch Arkaig who is looking for Dorcha and the other is Aran at Glaslyn looking for Mrs G. As many will know, Mrs G is not a youngster. Glaslyn Osprey Group reminds us ospreys that reach breeding age have a life expectancy of eight years. Mrs G is the oldest living osprey in the UK. We know that Mrs G has been raising chicks for 19-20 years. We do not know how old she was when she began. Glaslyn is preparing everyone for her not to return just in case that is what happens.

Of course, everyone is also waiting for the return of Iris who is approximately 28-29 years old this year and has her nest at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. Her favoured date to return is 7 April – tomorrow.

Wind, rain, encased in ice…nothing stops Big Red from keeping her eggs warm. Her and Arthur now have three they are incubating. Last year, Big Red surprised us with her very first clutch of four since she has been on a streaming cam.

Gabby and V3 were at the nest. At times they were vocalising. Intruders in the area?

Victor is over at Sally’s beak. Just look at Abby standing on those beautiful strong legs! And, yes. My friend ‘R’ believes that juvenile Osprey plumage is the most gorgeous in the world. I totally agree.

There are still three growing osplets at the Venice Golf and Country Club. The camera is, like Achieva, not good, and it is difficult to tell what is happening in the nest. As a result, I do not monitor it closely.

The two eaglets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are doing well. There are a lot of flies in that nest, though. Terrible. I hope that this does not do anything to cause the eaglets distress. (We have seen raptors jump out of nests to escape flies in the past).

I found this entry by Elfruler this morning, and I thought it might shed some light on this year with the bald eagle hatches. They clarify that the eaglet at Bartlesville would have died of hypothermia/falling out of the nest. It is so sad when the eaglets get out of the egg cup. I marvelled at how Harriet had ‘rolled’ one of either 21 or 22 (I cannot remember which now) back under her after pondering the situation for some time. Harriet had experience, many don’t, and their babies die. Their beaks are so big that picking them up would injure, if not kill, them also.

They are so cute. I wish they were not so terrible to our eagles….those GHO chicks. Bonnie and Clyde’s owlets are out in the sun this morning.

And some good news. People like David Attenborough can convince people that birding is not a silly, useless hobby and guess what? Birding can be good for the local economy! Tourists are willing to pay top dollar to have their tours organised, their hotels and meal plans arranged so they can get up at dawn to go and see Puffins! Or in the case of Ferris Akel recently – Sand-hill Cranes in Iowa. It is time other locations stepped up and cleaned up their wildlife habitats. In several locations, ponds and lakes stocked for fishing have made their owners more profit by having people with cameras taking photos of ospreys fishing!

What a wonderful world it would be!

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/apr/02/tourists-arrive-skomer-attenborough-wild-isles-wales?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so much for being with me. I wish I had news about the eggs in the Channels Islands. We wait to see if they are viable. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their observation notes, their posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog this morning: ‘A’, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest and Cams along with the World Bird Sanctuary, Harley Jeffery Thames and SWFL Eagle Cam-Harriet and M15, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, CROW, Sutton Centre, Paul Kilnik and Bald Eagles 101, Raptor Resource Centre and Explore.org, US Steel, Dulles-Greenaway, Cornell RTH, NEFL-AEF, Moorings Park Ospreys, VOCCO, PIX Cam, Elfruler, Farmer Derek, and The Guardian.

DH19 self feeds and gets a crop, Big Red lays egg 3…late Tuesday and early Wednesday

5 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The promised snow storm from that Colorado Low dumped more than 30 cm of snow in my garden and drive! It is hard to know what is happening elsewhere, but, I will not be driving to an appointment any time soon.

There is some news that I want to bring to you and it centres on DH19 at Dale Hollow. My friend ‘A’ watched the nest for me – what a great research assistant she is – and provides the following information.

“Today was the hardest day for little DH19. He was beaten so badly and so often by DH18, I actually worried for his life. The attacks were prolonged and unprovoked, and occurred when 18 had a massive crop. It was terrifying and emotionally traumatising to watch. Over and over again. There were several occasions when River used food to stop the attacks, and there were also occasions when DH17 definitely intervened to protect its sibling.”

“Realising this, River flew off the nest, leaving the tail and about four to six inches of nice flesh attached to it. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the little one got to the tail, and began self-feeding. It was getting excellent bites from the tail, holding it down well and really twisting and pulling with all its strength to pull off really big juicy pieces. It was doing so very well. It ate and ate but there was still half the flesh and all the tail left when 18 decided to steal the fish.”

“

DH19 had to work really hard as the flesh started to get close to the tail. He pulled and tugged and got everything he could from the fish and then set to trying to swallow the fish tail. His first attempt fails because he cannot get the angle right. The second try almost succeeds, but although he gets the correct angle, he gives up before completing the task. On the third attempt, he got the angle just right, finally horking down the tail with the remaining attached flesh at 06.47.25. Cheers, then tears. Jonathan was a little amused by my cheering on this little eaglet on a REPLAY as if my urgings and pleadings could affect what I was watching. 

Little DH19 has a crop! She earned it entirely by herself. Not a mouthful of it was fed to her. What a brave, clever, determined little person she is.”

Thank you, ‘A’. Everyone. Send your best wishes to this determined eaglet.

‘A’ was also watching Achieva for me and she notes the following:

“Assuming the one on the right as we look at the screen is the youngest, with the Middle Bob on its left. Big Bob has come up behind Little Bob, who is not intimidated by its presence. As I said, I cannot guarantee which of the two osplets in front is Middle and which is Little – I am guessing a bit here – so I suggest you watch this feeding for yourself. I do think that Little Bob gets by far the best of the first ten minutes of the feeding. It is not a large fish, certainly – by Dale Hollow standards, I would call it small-medium. Here, they call it a big fish apparently. 

At any rate, the little one is at the table and right at mum’s beak for this feeding, which goes on for well over 40 minutes (Flo was still feeding at 21:00 but was finally cleaning up any last dropped morsels at 21:03), so I can only hope it got enough to eat. The bad light made watching the feeding a particularly frustrating experience and afterwards, it was hard to see who had what sized crops.” Let us hope the baby got to eat. That camera is horrible!

Connick is now being cared for by CROW. If you missed it, he fell off the nest last evening, Tuesday 4 April. There was some earlier concerns about Connick losing flight feathers as shown in this video by Hancock Wildlife. Thanks, ‘H’ for sending this to me.

Send Connick your best wishes, too!

Gabby and V3 were together at the NE Florida Eagle nest. I haven’t reported on them for awhile. They are just hanging out, eating, working on the nest, and being an adorable couple. I hope that M15 gets a good mate.

For all the White Stork fans, Bety is now at home with Bukachek in Mlady Buky. Yeah. They made it!

Our Black Stork family for the Karula National Forest continues to move – or, at least the adults. Karl II is in Moldova and Kaia is in Bulgaria! Waba is still in Sudan.

And last but never least, Big Red has laid egg 3 of the 2023 Cornell Red-tail Hawk season on the 5th of April at 0609. Congratulations Big Red and Arthur.

Sleep while you can, Big Red!

Thank you for being with me for this brief catch-up on some missed news. Continue to send your best wishes to the Achieva and Dale Hollow nests. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to ‘A’ for all your hard work and ‘H’ and the following for their streaming cams and videos that helped make up this blog: Cornell RTH, Mlade Buky, Looduskalender Forum, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, NEFL-AEF., and Dale Hollow Eagle Cam.

Aran arrives, NC0 lays first UK Osprey egg, E22 at the pond with Dad…Tuesday in Bird World

4 April 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, this report was very long and I have cut it down. There is simply too many things happening and I decided not to make your eyes sore. LOL. If there is sadness or worry at some of the nests, the first story should make up for all of that!

There simply are no words to describe the feeling when we see an image like the one below. It is remarkable. What a magnificent day that began with M15 coaxing 22 so he could eat and they wind up in the pond together having their evening bath. Remarkable isn’t even the right word. After all the devastation from the supercells, this melts my heart.

D Morningstar shows us 22’s first bath. Wait to see M15 turn around and look at his fledgling. Priceless. Jumping for joy at 5:28. Gulping water. Learning.

Are you exhausted from all the drama and trauma at the nests? This morning (Monday), I just wanted to pick up squeeing E22 and tell him it is alright. ‘You are a bird. You can do this!’ M15 is one super dad. We have seen just how hard adult eagles work to get their fledglings where they want them so they can feed them if those little Butcher Birds would take a holiday.

There was a lot of debate about whether it would be Maya or Blue NC0 that laid the first Osprey egg in the UK to kick off the season. Congratulations Laddie and Blue NC0! You get the honour in 2023!

The folks at Glaslyn are cheering. One of their couple is home safely. Oh, it is so nice to see you, Aran. Now we wait for Mrs G, the oldest osprey in the UK.

My goodness, Aran, you are handsome!

It did not take Aran long to get a fish on the nest branch!

Geemeff caught his arrival for us! Sure is a nice fish. Was he looking for Mrs G to come and grab it? Let us hope she is home soon.

More on SW Florida. It was quite the morning at the Pritchett Property with M15 doing everything he could possibly think of to get 22 to either get to the nest to eat a fish, eat it at the snag tree, or down by the pond. What a Dad. He never gave up. Victory!

‘A’ sent us the video link for yet another GHO strike caught by Lady Hawk on 22 during the night. Those owls are persistent. E22 do not let that owl daunt your staying home with Dad at the pasture, the pond, and in the trees!

At 0926, Little Bitty 22 (s/he is not so little) continued to enjoy being at the pond and having a bath. What a beautiful sight. There is no word on 21 so far.

Valentine are both back at the KNF-E3 nest in the Kistachie National Forest. Thanks Rhonda A for the video!

It is Monday morning, and it looks like there is a pip at Decorah!

Jackie and Shadow have been mating and Shadow has made sure Jackie is eating well. They were at the nest very early this morning.

The pair spent a lot of time at the nest until the ice pellets and wind picked up in the afternoon on Monday.

I really wish that Shadow could lay those eggs.

After their evening meal on Monday, Duke Farm Dad settled down with the family for a bit. Beautiful

They are soooooooo cute. Just love H19 and H20 at Pittsburgh-Hays.

Second hatch for Bald Canyon Eagles. That first one is just a little fluff ball darling.

Waiting for a pip – while hoping the egg is viable at Sauces Canyon. You send all. your good vibes to Jak and Audacity. This is egg 7 and it is intact. They sure deserve a healthy hatch.

Two eggs have hatched at the Bartlesville Oklahoma Bald Eagle nest. Congratulations. One more to go, maybe.

Dulles-Greenway. Martin and Rosa are doing great with their three eaglets. Oh, please just send some good love to them. It is hard with three and I really do not want anything to happen to either parent!

Oh, my goodness. Ron and Rose’s two eaglets have beautiful white Mohawks and gorgeous thermal down. They had excellent crops when Ron came in with another big fish after 1600 on Monday. Rose did a great job feeding the pair.

Every female adult eagle has ‘that look’. There is no way I would want to mess with Rose!

Just pause and look at those Mohawks. It looks like they have just returned from a luxury salon! I have never seen anything like it. Have you? Normally there are a few dandelions. This is incredible.

Quite the egg cup that Laddie and Blue NC0 have going at Loch of the Lowes. Will they beat Maya at Manton Bay with the first egg to officially kick off the UK Osprey season?

Beautiful CJ7 at her nest at Poole Harbour.

So you have found a baby bird. What do you do? Audubon tells us how we should behave:

https://www.audubon.org/news/when-you-should-and-should-not-rescue-baby-bird

Waiting for Iris? Here is her past schedule.

Harriet is home at Dunrovin and Star is at the Baseball Park. Come on Iris!

Moorings Park. Abby and Victor might like an earlier breakfast, but Dad seems to like to bring in a late fish. They are both well-nourished. No perceivable problems at this nest.

I do wish they would not get so close to the edge!

Victor still protects his head in case Abby wants to take a peck.

Angus and Florence continue to incubate their three eggs at Captiva. Gosh, these chicks are going to hatch late. Wonder what the heat and humidity will be like? Sure hope the fishing is good for Angus if they have three lively osplets to feed.

There were storms in Iowa. Mother Goose seems to be fine in her nest at Decorah.

Arthur and Big Red have quite a ways to go before hatch. I am so very grateful that there nest is up on that light stand!

Do you watch the Great Spirit Bluff Peregrine Falcons? If you do, Savannah just laid her third egg of the season!———— We are one week away from pip watch at Annie and Lou’s at Cal Falcons. Are you getting excited?

As I close the blog for today, I am reminded that there is a concern for the three eaglets at Dale Hollow and the three osplets at Achieva. The fish deliveries dropped off at Dale Hollow over the weekend, possibly due to the fishing tournament held at the lake. River has brought in a nice fish, and the three will go to bed with very full crops. River, you are doing great. It is not easy while you grieve your missing Obey.

DH19 had a good feed but, throughout the feeding, River was distracted with the intruder. It was a lot of work for the little one to get that crop. Please, go away intruder and let River get on with what she needs to do. It would be grand if the same success came to this nest as SW Florida.

Fish deliveries have dropped off at Achieva as noticed by chatters. ‘H’ tells me that the little one has little to nothing to eat. In fact, I believe that all three of the osplets are quite hungry especially in the heat. They need their hydration. Send your best wishes to these two nests, please.

All chicks at Achieva are so ravenous. The third hatch is very tiny. The problem is that Diane simply will not stay the course and feed the little one and often sends fish back when Jack arrives. I am not hopeful this morning.

What might impact Jack’s hunting abilities besides his fish being stolen by other birds? Avian Report says, “Osprey hunting times vary with locality and are influenced by weather conditions, particularly wind speed and tide schedules, where tides occur. A study of foraging Ospreys found that birds tend to hunt more often at dawn and dusk. However, Ospreys concentrated their hunting efforts and were more successful during mid-tide regardless of the direction to low or high tide. An Osprey’s hunting schedule and success are affected by wind speed. According to field observations, ospreys were more successful in catching fish during calm wind hours. As the wind speed increases, the water becomes choppier, and Ospreys have less success catching fish. Consequently, Ospreys tend to avoid hunting during high winds. The hunting success rate of Ospreys is not affected by overcast or bright days or even rain.” We do not know all the obstacles Jack faces getting fish to the nest.

It feels like a roller coaster for all of us. So many things are happening – many are joyful, and others are tragic. When it gets too much, go outside and listen to the birds in your neighbourhood (I hope there are some), take a short walk and breathe in the spring air. Look at the flowers. Then breathe again. Call a friend and step back from a nest. One of the difficulties is feeling helpless. Then pause…and find the joy because it is there. The glass is more than half full.

Cherry blossoms are such a joy. They remind us that spring has arrived while at the same time, they bud, bloom, and fall to the ground symbolising that life is fleeting. ‘A’ sent me some beautiful images from Tokyo yesterday. With some sadness, we must continue to remind ourselves that nature brings us joy. I know she will not mind if I share one of those with you. How gorgeous. Thank you, ‘A’.

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

Thank you to the following for the notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘A’, ‘Geemeff’, Betty Weeks and SW Florida Eagle Cam, D Morningstar and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Geemeff and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Geemeff and Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Eagle Goddess, Rhonda A and KNF-E3, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, FOBBV, Duke Farms, PIX Cams, IWS and Explore.org, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, Paul Kolnik and Bald Eagles 101, Dulles Greenway, WRDC, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke, Audubon.org, Lin Lawson and Osprey Friends, Moorings Park Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, Decorah Goose Cam, Cornell RTH, Dale Hollow Eagles, Achieva Credit Union, and Avian Report.

E on fence, Nests Devastated…Monday in Bird World

3 April 2023

Good Morning,

What a horrible horrible weekend it was. There is some good news and before I even say anything else, we will get right to it. M15 watched and saw 22 fly to the ridge of a nearby roof yesterday. 22, then flew back to the branch below the nest. The Real Saunders Photography caught the difficulty E22 had in trying to get up to the nest from the branch below but, applaud, the effort that M15 made to try and get him there!

On Sunday, one of the local photographers has caught M15 feeding 22 on that roof. While there is debate over whether or not it is 22, there is no reason to believe that it is not 22. Eaglets remember have longer wing and tail feathers than their parents until their first moult. That is where M15 fed his fledgling! He may be also feeding 21 off camera but no one has seen that happen as far as I know. I hope that the address is not divulged so that the public will keep away and let M15 finish the task he began with Harriet when they had their first egg for this season. He is doing brilliantly and this story is one of the bright stars in a bleak world.

The confirmation needed:

One of the fledglings at SW Florida on the pasture fence around 0920.

The rural bird watchers in my province were having a field day on Sunday. There is a ridge of hills – not mountains – where the thermals are pretty good. eBirders report 102 Bald Eagles, 72 Red-tail Hawks, 4 Golden Eagles, 4 Rough Legged Hawks, and many smaller birds: migration and spring. After the loss of so many – and the little eaglet at MN-DNR was found and confirmed dead – it was a hard week in Bird World. The arrival of the migrants gives me some hope. Must begin to compare these arrival statistics with last year.

After a short drive checking on geese arrivals – and they are coming – poor things. Some are here already walking on the snow and ice while others fly overhead. Snow is predicted for today through Wednesday when it turns to rain. They might wish they had waited although if I had been in the northern part of the central US I would get out of town, too. There is more severe weather predicted for them. We get the odd little tornado but nothing like those storm cells covering half the eastern part of the US that are destroying raptor nests!

Junior was here. In fact, every one began to arrive in the garden around 1530 trying to fill up before the snow begins. So nice to see him. He is looking very well, indeed.

Mrs Downy is a regular visitor to the garden. She comes several times a day keeping me on my toes to fill that log with suet!

One of 35 or 40 House Sparrows. You can see the buds on the lilacs coming along nicely. The flowers are usually here by May.

The raccoons are busy early and have seen on at least two nests in the last day or two- Redding and Golden Gate. You might recall that they captured and killed an eaglet at Fort St Vrain in Colorado this year. I do not like them around the nests. They love to eat eggs too.

Oh, I sound like a broken record but when eaglets fledge, we want them to return to the nest. We have all seen M15 trying to coax 22 up to the nest. Well, congratulations to Trey, the only eaglet of Anna and Louis this year, who has flown back to the nest after fledging. This is precisely what we want to see.

Trey fledged on Friday, returned to the nest for a feeding on Sunday. Way to go Trey!

At the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest, Ringo has branched!

More news is coming in from the MN-DNR nest and its failure and the death of that much-loved eaglet of Nancy and Beau. The report below was updated. The crew returned to clear out the nest of all the food to try and find the baby to see if it was alive. Sadly, the eaglet was found some ten feet from the nest. How it got there is not known. So very, very sad.

Nancy and Beau continue to grieve. Beau doesn’t know what to do and continues to bring prey to the nest to feed Nancy and the baby. So sad.

Starr is mourning the loss of her nest at The Trio, Mississippi Flyway, Fulton, Illinois. Dennis Brecht has confirmed that Starr and her new mate, Tarek, had two little ones in the nest that perished. Brecht confirmed that the tree snapped about 2 or 3 feet above the ground and that many more trees were down and twisted around one another. Starr was looking at her loss from the Lookout Tree, soaring and returning to the lookout tree. I was hoping her mate was nearby. We are waiting for news from Brecht. As you might remember, Starr was with Valor I and II – the trio. She lost Valor 1 to Jolene, but Valor II stayed with her and disappeared. She has had a rough few years from the days of The Love Trio that raised all those babies in that nest.

The very sad thing is that the eagles are facing not only a huge decline in the population due to deaths from nest collapse but also, we continue to have warnings of active cases of Avian Flu. This is just the beginning of storm season.

Here is yet another nest collapse. This time one of the eaglets survived! Isn’t he a little cutie? Send you best wishes!

Big Red and Arthur have their second egg of the ‘M’ season. Their nest was shaking and rattling yesterday due to the high winds. It would be nice if they had a break. Big Red has a nice crop on her return to the nest from her break. It feels like she is giving Arthur much more incubation time this year.

Angel and her mate, Tom, have eggs they are incubating. Their tree is holding.

I am hoping that the camera angle is causing the distortion of the nest for Mother Goose at Decorah.

‘A’ sent me a great report on Dulles-Greenway.

“At Dulles Greenway, lunch at around 13:04 was probably a possum (opossum?) as it had a long thin tail and was way too large to be any sort of rat. Again, all three sat up nicely to the table, with the two youngest in front and the oldest at the back, waiting for their siblings to feed! Perhaps we have a rare male first/male second/female third in this nest. Otherwise, it’s three boys, I would say. I did see one single beaking at this morning’s breakfast – but I’m pretty sure that was the youngest (if not the second youngest). The oldest sibling is very relaxed, usually last to the table and never getting pushy when it misses out on getting enough food (which it does more often than the younger ones).” 

Pittsburgh-Hayes is doing good. Five feedings already this morning and it isn’t even mid-morning!

Lou finally got some incubation time. ‘B’ sent me the following note: “Mary Malec of Cal Falcons was reported as having said that in the recent storm Annie did not get off the eggs from 1 pm one afternoon until 7 am the next morning, the longest continuous incubating she had seen from Annie.” Lou really does want to stay a little longer. Thanks SK Hideaways for the video.

Looks like we have lift off at Ithaca for the Peregrine Falcons. Egg 1!

We can’t see them but Pip, Tootsie, and Hoot are about a metre above the nest bowl according to the chat moderator. Fantastic.

Abby and Victor continue to thrive under the care of Sally and Harry at Moorings Park. Harry brought in a fish at 2000!

The Montana Ospreys are arriving at their spring and summer breeding grounds. Harriet arrived at Dunrovin and Starr arrived at the Baseball Park on Sunday. Iris is always about a week after Star. Let us all hope the matriarch, the Queen, survived the winter and her return home.

There is a hatch at Bald Canyon, the three eaglets at Tobacco Creek of Chandler and Hope are doing well, and today is pip watch for Jak and Audacity at Sauces. Oh, goodness. Now that hatch, a healthy eaglet, would sure get our spirits up. And then if Jackie lays an egg- well, the sun would be shining bright.

Hatch at Bald Canyon:

Chandler feeding the 20, 18, and 16 day old Ps.

Meanwhile, Shadow is filling Jackie with fish and they have been mating often…hoping for one viable egg! Baiba brings us the action in images.

The egg at Sauces Canyon is 35 days old today. We wait! Best wishes for Jak and Audacity.

There is also one egg at US Steel and we are on pip watch today, too!

Things have deteriorated over the weekend at Dale Hollow. This could, in part, be due to the fishing tournament at the lake and the intruder. Little third hatch was afraid to eat and had nothing of the last two fish brought in. Things were going well. Send good wishes. Note: River has just brought in a nice fish around 0800 Monday. Let us hope there is enough to go around. DH19 in submission and you can see how small it is. Oh, goodness.

I am so sorry to bring such sad news today. Let us hope this is the tragedy’s end as more bad weather and supercells head east. When trees are checked, like the nest at MN-DNR, and the arborist says they are dead, would it not then be of some help to try and lessen the load of the heavy eagle nest by removing some material during the off-season when the eagles are not there and by doing some human intervention on the tree to support it? With all the loss of trees and the number of eagles, thoughtful designs for artificial nests should be considered and implemented.

Thank you for being with me. Take care all. See you soon. Feel free to hit the share button for FB and Twitter!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos, photographs, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, Real Saunders Photo, Brittany Laurie and NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watcher’s Club, Nancy Babineau and SWFL Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, SF Bay Ospreys, KNF-E1, Paul White and the Webster Texas Eagle Cam, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nests and Cams, Lady Hawk and MN-DNR, Dennis Brecht and Trio Eagle Nest Lovers Group, Cornell RTH, Angel the Leucistic RTH, Decorah Goose Cam, Dulles-Greenaway, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Melissa Richards, Corona Owl Cam, Moorings Park Ospreys, Sheila Staley and Osprey Friends, IWS, PA Farm Country, FOBBV, PIX Cam, and Lolita Ozolina and Baltgalvas ergo ASV.

2nd egg for Chase & Cholyn, Tico forced to fledge, and more…Sunday in Bird World

5 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It was a beautiful day on the Canadian prairies on Saturday, and I did not stay as alert to what was happening on the nests as I might usually. Sometimes that is a good thing! It gave me some time to spend with the kittens in the conservatory, which I enjoy doing. Lewis is a particularly hyper kitty. It is no surprise. He chased toys all over an aquarium the first time we saw him. Missy was quiet like she is now. Indeed, she hardly ever meows but has the sweetest purr. She leaves all the haggling for food and treats to Lewis, a task he particularly enjoys. In early November, both kittens could fit with room to spare on the top spot of the cat tree. No more! Lewis even hangs off the edge.

Lewis enjoys being a dare-devil!

He certainly has a great view of the garden!

Missy was too busy watching birds out of the window to worry if Lewis was going to fall down.

They had a lovely day. Missy even got to see Mr Woodpecker!

M15 continues to bring in prey items. E22 got the first on Saturday which appeared to be a squirrel, bunny, or roadkill. After that, E22 continued to mantle and got the fish. E 21 would steal it from between 22’s legs. You must dig those talons in, 22! Both are eating well, and there is no cause for concern unless something catastrophic happens at the nest.

At 12:06, M15 came to the nest and broke a fish into two pieces (or what it looked like) so each eaglet could eat. He fed one, and the other ate. It seriously doesn’t get better than this. He is an incredible dad who has made several deliveries to his 8-week-old eaglets on Saturday. They will be on the nest for 10-11 weeks til they fledge. At that time, M15 will help them get their flight muscles strong and their flying good while providing prey and teaching them to hunt. I know that we did not ever think we would see this day a month ago but wow. Isn’t it grand?

Each has been working on and off again with the head of an Armoured Catfish that came in around 15:20:41.

E22 mantled the fish head, but then E21 took it.

Around 1700, E22 was still chewing on that old catfish head while 21 had found a dried fish tail hidden in the rim of the nest. Then 21 got excited and started jumping and flapping! 22 could care less. He continued eating!

Good Night M15, R23-3, E21 and 22. Sweet Eaglet Dreams.

There have been two deliveries at the SW Florida nest before 1100. They came around 10:00 and another nice fish at 10:43.

Both eaglets have been spending time on the rim of the nest.

Our great Dad.

Word has come from ‘H’ this morning that Pearl flew to the nest on Saturday and landed on Tico, forcing him to fledge. He has not been seen at the nest since.

Tico was seen across the street with his foot caught in a vine upside down last night. He freed himself. There have been boots on the ground looking for him. They believe he could be in the woods.

If you have been watching the Bald Eagle nest at Camp Margaritaville in Auburndale, Florida, CM2 has passed. This little one was harassed and hurt from the time it hatched for no obvious reasons, as there was plenty of food in the nest. (There is a stocked pond). Whether it died on Friday or Saturday is unknown, but the cause was siblicide. The eaglet suffered greatly. Sometimes we must be grateful that the suffering ends for these precious little ones. Thanks, ‘H’ for alerting me to this tragedy.

Annie arrives to incubate her and Lou’s first egg of the season…talking to it! How precious. Time 08:39:37 4 March.

Cal Falcons tells us when to expect the next egg.

This is a view of Bald Canyon. Thank you, Gracie Shepherd. If you want to see all of the IWS streaming cams from the Channel Islands, go to iws.org and click on the name of the nest in the listings on the left.

Gabby and V3 continue to put a smile on my face. V3 is a good provider and a fantastic security guard. Have you noticed that there are seemingly no more intruders coming to the nest except for the odd fly through juvenile?

V3’s talons have had a rough time lately.

The two eaglets at Duke Farms are growing and eating and are such cute fuzzy little bobbleheads. They look like miniature teddy bears. Did you know that their Dad, A/59 is 23 years old? He is! There is lots of food in this nest!

Jackie and Shadow are spending less time on the eggs. Right now, I wish the Ravens would come and take them so the eagles could move forward. They did visit today. It must be difficult for the eagles to destroy their own eggs.

They might have another clutch, but they might not. If those eggs weren’t in the nest, it would give them some closure. So sad for these two. Amazing parents who gave us Spirit – 1 year and 1 day since her hatch.

At the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and Beau, one egg remains. One broke after Nancy worked hard to protect the two eggs during a strong winter storm. The songbirds are announcing spring is coming. You can hear them in the background of the streaming cam. It is lovely.

Cholyn and Chase are still incubating a single egg at Two Harbours in the Channel Islands. Folks were watching for a second egg and Cholyn did not disappoint. That egg arrived around 18:14:24 Saturday 4 March.

Maria dk caught the moment on video:

Everyone is holding their breath and sending the most positive wishes to Jak and Audacity who are still incubating egg #7 after the eighth egg broke.

‘H’ had me laughing and well, anytime there is siblicide, we look to find the joy in the birds. Dear Angus loves to stand on the back of Florence. Poor thing!

Harry and Sally are doing a fantastic job of being first-time parents. Their osplets both hatched on 3 March. The oldest at 01:29 and the youngest at 20:03. Now, if every female raptor (osprey or eagle) could manage their delayed incubation so that the hatches were this close or closer, the world of raptors would be a much more equitable place.

Seriously, how much more cuteness do we need? Just look at those two lined up so nicely for fish.

We are still some days before pip watch at Achieva in St Petersburg, Florida. The first egg is 25 days old today – so 10-11 days from now, probably making that the 15th of March.

Rosie and Richmond were both on the Whirley Crane today. It seems to take them a few days to get re-acquainted each year but, for us, it is nice to have both of them safe at home.

The Welsh take their ospreys seriously. The final touches to the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn were put into place as the team awaits the couple’s arrival from their winter migration. Ospreys were seen over Suffolk today, heading north!

The Patuxent River Park Osprey platform cams are streaming, and the first bird arrived on Saturday. It is happening – everything is starting at once!!!!!!

Small and lost Atlantic Puff is saved from highway collision in New Brunswick, Canada.

Little-Atlantic-puffin-rescued-on-busy-N.B.-roadway-CBC-NewsDownload

Happy Hatch Day! Another Kakapo celebrates. This is so wonderful. 55 hatched in 2022 and they are still alive!

What should and what can we do to stop the destruction of nature on our doorsteps? There is a new word for it, ‘ecocide’.

 This wholesale demolition of nature is described as ecocide – a term put forward by the Stop Ecocide Foundation as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”. Although no law has yet been passed, we know ecocide when we see it. It is a moral red line that is being crossed.

While this is about a particular acerage being taken over in the UK, the concerns extend to the entire globe.

“The dismantling of nature’s complexity can no longer be seen as acceptable fallout to maintain the way we have become accustomed to living, and to support the “growth” agenda to which we have become addicted. The planet is perilously close to ecosystem collapse. Humanity created the problem. It is our job to fix it – now.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/02/we-must-call-out-the-ecocide-on-our-doorstep?CMP=share_btn_link

Big Red has been at the Fernow Light stand nests. Progress is really being made and we are within 9 days of what could be the first egg laid.

Did you watch Bonnie and Clyde raise Lily and Tiger on the Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s Property in 2021? Well, their eggs are getting closer to hatching this year. Egg 1 is 33 days old, and egg 2 is 30 days old. The incubation period for GHOs is normally 30-37 days….so guess what? We are there.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Thank you, ‘A’ for the link. Sweet Pea is a proficient gardener. Watch out for the squiggling in the nest and those paddles!

Last but certainly not least is a march and a call to end rodenticide poisons. We must all band together to stop these deadly toxins that kill rodents, our beautiful raptors, and other mammals! Raising awareness helps.

It is so nice to have you with us in Bird World. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their tweets, their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams that help make up the news in my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Camp Margaritaville Bald Eagles, Lady Deeagle55 and Superbeaks, Maria dk and IWS and Explore.org, Cal Falcons, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, NEFL-AEF, Duke Farms, FOBBV, MN-DNR, IWS and Explore.org, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Ospreys, Achieva Credit Union, Golden Gate Audubon, Patuxent River Park, CBC.ca, Kakapo Recovery, The Guardian, Cornell RTH Cam, Farmer Derek, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Terry Carman Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News.