Category Archives: sibling rivalry in Ospreys

Little Mini working on a Big Fish…Friday in Bird World

7 July 2023

Hello Everyone!

There is another big thunderstorm brewing. Without even checking the weather forecast you could feel the anxious energy as 13 crows came to eat peanuts, cheesy dogs, and eggs. The Blue Jays were flying in and out, having baths, and eating anything in sight as were the squirrels, the Grackles, and the Sparrows. Now it is only 1900 and the sky is dark, like this page. The thunder can be heard rolling in the distance and now there is lighting. Lewis is hiding. Our weather is quite crazy. It was 32 C a few days ago and then dropped to 14 C. Having been so hot for so long it felt like we needed to take out our woolen jumpers and socks. Hoping all the animals are safely tucked in their little dens and trees for the duration.

I have had several letters concerning the Newfoundland nest. Each writer wanted to know why the male at the Newfoundland nest doesn’t leave the female if all the chicks die. That is a very interesting question. Of course, I can only speculate, but contrary to the popular urban myth that raptors bond for life, many do ‘divorce’. In the case of this male, my only thoughts are he has no other available option. As we know, Osprey males return to the area of their natal nest while females, usually but not always, disperse. This could be his natal nest. Until the arrival of Hope, the nest had been successful. He is a very good provider, and there would appear to be ample fish. My guess is no other female in the area at this time, so his urge to breed takes over, and Hope is there.

In Latvia, the male Osprey has waited for a new female mate for years, and just recently, a single Black male stork has found a mate in Latvia. So, let us hope for Beau to find a great mate and for Hope to retire and live by the lake catching and eating her fish.

Checking in on those UK nests as promised:

Loch Arkaig: Dorcha is keeping her very large Only Bob dry during the rain in western Scotland. Geemeff writes, “Bit of a heart-stopping moment. Chick is 37 days today so at least two and a half weeks from fledging – we do not want a wind-assisted fludge! Chick would be injured or maybe not even survive!”

Only Bob is right in the range for getting ringed…will Only Bob be a boy or a girl?

Louis did not deliver the first fish of the day until around 1225. Intruders? Weather? Not like Louis to be so late.

Loch of the Lowes: The chicks are self-feeding. The fish have ranged from small to a good size and both seem to get something to eat although the wee brother would like to have some fish all the time. He is hoping there could be some left. At one point Blue NC0 brought in two fish – one she had caught and another that Laddie brought in.

Llyn Brenig: Everything is fine at Llyn Brenig. Like the other nests in Wales it was a bit windy and damp on Thursday at times.

Llyn Clywedog: Oh, it was sometimes windy at nest and at least one of the osplets loved it and was jumping up and down and hovering. Scared the wits end out of me – . All I could think of was the poor dear being caught up and being blown to Ireland!

Loch Garten: It is wet at this nest also at times on Thursday. Brodie has been getting some fish into the nest and, of course, Asha is one of the females not afraid to go out fishing. The chicks are doing well.

Glaslyn: It was a tad windy with some drizzle and Elen happily brooded her two little boys.

Dyfi: All is well. Idris is up on the perch and Telyn is in the nest feeding those two beautiful chicks, the female Cennan and the little boy, Seiont.

Poole Harbour: It is another successful year for CJ7 and Blue 022. Those three osplets are feathered and are just waiting to be ringed which could happen any day. This is so wonderful. Last year this couple made history by fledging the first osplet in more than 250 years in Poole Harbour.

Alyth: It has been a bit of a wet one at Alyth. The oldest chick is now 46 days old and the fledge window opens at 48 days in the UK. They hatched on May 21, 23, and 25. Their mother, Flora, hatched in 2014 so she is 9 years old this season. Aren’t they gorgeous. Just look at those feathers and wet crests!

The last chick at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya, 3H5, fledged on Thursday, 6 July. Congratulations for a successful season. All of the fledglings have returned to the nest.

Remember Murphy’s chick? That eaglet will be released today, Friday July 7 by the World Bird Sanctuary.

More places are giving up fireworks…remember. If you want to do something that will help the lives of so many, get together with your like-minded friends, family, colleagues and urge your city to ban fireworks and to use the funds that were spent for something to help.

I cannot tuck in until I check on Little Mini at Patchogue. The nest is really getting full of chicks and Mini just continues to grow. I did not get to watch her as closely today as I would have liked. I hope that any concerns today about her coughing were nothing. But we must be vigilant and continue to monitor her closely.

Mini really wanted some of that 19:31 fish that a big sibling had…in the end she gave up and had a snooze. Later Mini got the fish! Thank goodness. She was looking a bit peckish. (I like Mini with a nice big crop!)

Two did a lot of hovering and joined Big on the perch at 16:45. So Big has fledged and Two has ‘branched/perched’. Wonder who will be next. The worrisome part of Two’s branching is that its talons almost got caught in that black bin liner. Oh, human garbage…

Boulder County Fair Grounds continues to look good. Lots of good fish being brought in and the kids are quite civil at the table in the image below.

Collins Marsh: Two beautiful feathered osplets. I watched for a long time to try and see if there were many fish being delivered and during that time there were none. If you are watching this nest, do let me know about the fish deliveries. Thank you!

Because ‘H’ is worried about FortisExshaw, so am I. The first hatch is so much bigger than little 3. Big ate first, then Middle got to eat with Big, and I held my breath and then Mum fed the wee babe some fish. Thank goodness but under ‘H’s close ye, she notices that the beaking by Big is often and that the nest cup is deep and narrow in places causing Little to have trouble getting in the food line. Louise is good and ‘H’ notes she will take the fish to Little and feed it. “Little is managing to get fed, and I don’t feel that the situation with Big’s dominance and aggression toward Little is dire at this point.  Some feedings are not viewable.” Please send positive wishes. There are fish and two good parents just a huge difference in size between the first hatch and Little. This is a ‘Little’ that needs our good energy!

‘H’ reports on the Patuxent 1 nest: “There were five very large fish delivered to the nest by Dad.  All of the chicks are occasionally self feeding, but are also fed by Mom.  The fledgling ‘Foster’ is estimated to be about a week older than her foster siblings (ages 52 and 51 days), and she is the most adept at self feeding.  At 1514 Dad delivered a huge headless fish, and ‘Foster’ took the fish from Mom, without any resistance from Mom.  ‘Foster’ ate about a third of that fish, and then each of the siblings gave it a go.  There was still a large portion remaining and Mom fed everyone. You will recall that ‘Foster’ was placed in the nest as a rescue on 6/29, and she fledged on 7/3.  ‘Foster’ has not left the nest since she returned to the nest on 7/4 after fledging.  In all of the attached photos, ‘Foster’ is the one standing on the rim.”

‘H’ reports that all of the other nests are doing really well. Isn’t that wonderful?

‘A’ has been keeping an eye on what is happening in Australia and New Zealand. At the Royal Albatross Colony -“In New Zealand, the gale force winds of the past two weeks or so have finally died down. Those winds have been so incredibly strong, many parents have been unable to come in to feed the chicks. Still, of the 33 chicks at the colony this season, only three are requiring supplementary feeding, which is wonderful. This means that the other 30 are being adequately fed by their parents. Little UQ chick was supplementary fed again today (it was fed last Tuesday, though it was not weighed). Weighing was abandoned this week, due to the strength of the winds, so we will have to wait for next Tuesday’s weighing to see how Manaaki’s weight is coming along. He still has plenty of time to slim down, regurgitate his bolus and so on before fledging time – there’s about ten weeks to go now, I think.” “Here is a very short piece from yesterday, when Manaaki took the chance to have a good preen after having his plumage blown in all directions for the past couple of weeks. What a lovely juvenile he really is. Just gorgeous. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLXBhFj9vUw&t=24s. What a handsome albie. The chatters call him Prince Manaaki. He sure knows the Royal part of being a Northern Royal Albatross! And just for the memory, look at our little chick at about one month of age (he was born 27 January, I think) so this would be just before the post-guard phase. The last few days and nights of constant parental presence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw2r53APHGQ. Just look at that adorable little ball of fluff. And look at him now! A lot of squid has gone into that transformation.”

Charles Sturt Falcon Cam -“At Orange, Diamond is perched on the ledge, with a full crop, as darkness falls. She will no doubt spend the night in the nest box, probably on the Cilla Stones. It seems that Xavier needs to relearn the bit about handing over the prey all over again every season. He brought in what appeared to be a largish grebe at 14:25:23. Diamond arrived within eight seconds, but Xavier took the prey and left!! C’mon Xavier, not again. We discussed this last season. And the one before. Still, Diamond already had a large crop when she arrived, and she is sure not looking hungry this evening. She never does, come to think of it. At least it wasn’t a starling, which is progress. (As you no doubt recall, Diamond hates starlings.) “

Speaking of Falcons, here is the latest video by SK Hideaways on trying to find Soledad! It must be very difficult to keep up with a falcon but isn’t she the cutest thing? I cannot wait for Diamond and Xavier’s eggs to hatch – and they haven’t even

Ferris Akel did some highlights of the Ms and he caught one of the Ms going after a squirrel amongst other day events.

At 0702, Little Mini at Patchogue was working on a huge fish…Mum comes to the rescue. Those bony heads are difficult for chicks.

Thank you so much for being with me for this nest round up. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their diligent monitoring, their notes, videos, and the streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H’, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Llyn Brenig, CarnyXWild, RSPB Loch Garten, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Althy, LRWT, World Bird Sanctuary, Celia Aliengirl and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, PSEG, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, Collins Marsh, Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Falcons, and Ferris Akel Live Stream.

Nest Round up. Late Thursday in Bird World

6 July 2023

Hello Everyone,

As promised, a quick round-up of what is happening at our nests today. I hope this finds you all well. It is nearly the end of the week and now it also is beginning to feel like July will fly by.

Cowlitz PUD: The fish are coming. I wish a few great big ones would land on this nest. The chick is growing like a bad weed and if you look carefully you can tell that this little one is nearly the size of Mum.

Collins Marsh: Everything is fine at Collins Marsh. Two nice growing osplets.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: The chick has lost its fluff and that head is pure Reptilian. A nice early fish came in and Mum fed the wee one after it scrambled to get up to the rim of the nest. At first I thought, oh, no, she is going to eat it all and not feed the chick. Wrong.

Boulder County Fair Grounds: These two parents continue to work together to feed and shade their three growing chicks. What a great nest this has become after the initial sidelining of the third hatch.

Patchogue: Big was on the perch and it looks like everyone is doing alright. Mini has been eating and eating and doing some wing flapping along with the others. ‘M’ mentioned some concerns in chat that Mini was sneezing between 0757 and 0800 and was concerned if this was true. As it turns out Mini was being fed by Mum the entire time (and at least 15 minutes prior). Mini seemed to just eat and eat today. She is growing but needs that tail longer to fly and from the look in her eyes, she really wants to fly when she sees Big hover to the perch!

The Fabulous Four from Patchogue!

Sandpoint: The second egg did not hatch and the first is a right little reptile! Seems to be doing quite well.

Outerbanks: Doing great. Fledglings return to the nest. Just perfect! I was, however, horrified, when ‘A’ sent me an image from the 4th of July where fireworks went off near to the nest…on the water under??? I do not know anything about fireworks regulations but this should not be allowed. The area should be restricted so as not to disturb the nest.

On behalf of all of us, I will write to the individuals that run the camera and see what they know and if this behaviour can be stopped. I understand from ‘L’ that it is possible in the tourist areas along the coast to have fireworks once a week, not just on holidays. Can you see me shaking my head?

‘L’ asked me if there was a way to send donations from outside RU to Dmitri who rescued the little fifth stork and cared for it so that it is big and strong. As you might recall, Dmitri has prostrate cancer and is looking for assistance to get the surgery quickly. It is scheduled for 12 July. This is the link that I was given for donations to be sent: https://www.donationalerts.com/r/storks40

There is some more sadness. The last of the three osplets of the Great Bay nest has died. That storm just keeps on giving and it isn’t good.

But there is also good news elsewhere…after the third hatch died of siblicide at The Bridge Golf Club, the camera went offline. It was feared that the storms that caused such deaths at other nests such as Great Bay also impacted the two older chicks here. Well, guess what? Just look at those two older ones! Isn’t that wonderful? I can hardly believe my eyes.

Here are the nests that ‘H’ has been monitoring – thanks so much, H.

Dahlgren – Jack and Harriet’s kids are doing great.  There were at least 5 fish delivered by Jack on 7/5, and both chicks are doing some self feeding (49 and 45 days old)

Osoyoos – There is a good supply of fish coming to the nest, and the little ones are being well cared for by Mom and Dad (Soo and Olsen ?).  Ages 10 and 9 days old.

Forsythe – They had 11 fish delivered to the nest on 7/5, and Opal delivered 4 whoppers.  A little joke is that Oscar fishes from the ‘kiddie pool’, lol, but Oscar did deliver a pretty big fish at 1344.  The chicks are 45 and 44 days old.

Barnegat Light – Life is good for Duke, Daisy and 09/N.  Daisy brought a smooth dogfish shark to the nest, yummy!  We are still awaiting a name for their 36 day old youngster.

Kent Island – There were at least 6 fish delivered by Tom that I saw.  Audrey and Tom’s little kiddo is 24 days old, and would like to have a name!

Audubon Boathouse – The sun finally shone brightly at the nest of Skiff and Dory after several gloomy days.  At 26 days old, little Skipper is growing like a weed.

Severna Park – Olivia and Oscar sure did haul in some large fish on 7/5  Big did not fledge on 7/5, perhaps today is the day.  Ages of the sibs: 59 and 58 days old.

The UK nests are fine and I will look closer at them tomorrow. We will close with a video by Gracie Shepherd of Thunder, Akechets, Scout, and 39D soaring. Enjoy.

Thank you so much for being with me this evening for this quick check on some of the nests. Take care. See you soon!

I want to thank the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this evening: ‘A, H, L, M, T’, Cowlitz PUD, Collins Marsh, MN Landscape Arboretum, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, PSEG, Sandpoint Ospreys, Outerbanks 24/7, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Bridge Golf Club, Dahlgren Ospreys, Osoyoos, Forsythe, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse.

A Goose Convention…Bird World for Wednesday

5 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Tuesday required a walk in the park, and I am so glad I picked St Vital. The adult Canada Geese had brought all the goslings up from the Red River to the park to feed on new grass and rest. I have never seen so many goslings in one spot in my life!

There were more goslings and ducklings around the pond, but, it was only when I was in the car leaving, that I saw this group that excited me so much. There were literally hundreds of them. I slowed right down in sheer wonder at what I was seeing but, I did not stop to take a photograph. For fear of disturbing them and sending stress through the entire group, I continued on. Some were in the flower garden eating plants! There were also Wood Duck babies – I only saw the Mums – and Pintail babies along with Mallards and goslings. It was a grand morning.

Just to let you know, early counting at the park indicated a lower number than in previous years. The hundreds of goslings came from nests along and around the river and not the park but to my sheer joy, there were lots of babies hatched from nests on the island in the pond. Some are only a few days old; others are nearing six weeks. It certainly raised my level of joie.

At the beginning of the season, there were so many male Wood ducks and only a couple of females at this pond that it was curious. Now there is not a male Wood duck in sight. Are they on the island in the shade while the females are out on the pond with the wee ones foraging?

More ducklings, Mallards.

This gosling has its beautiful juvenile feathers coming in on its back as that soft natal down just seems to be peeling away and falling off. I was shocked at the size of this one who came right to 3 metres of me and my camera without any fear. Look at those huge muscular legs.

The ones in the image below are all starting to get their wing and tail feathers. Like the other one above you can see the back juvenile plumage already in place.

Weeding the flower beds?

Adults trying to herd the youngsters across the road so that they can all go back to the river.

The newly hatched. It is hard to believe but all of these will be ready for their migration flight which will take place from September to the end of October.

As is typical, I want to bring the sad news first so that we can end on a ‘high’ note. The Newfoundland Power nest brings me to tears. Things are much better at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest, but I will remain cautious. While ‘MP’ finds joy in the sparrows living in the nest under the Patchogue osplets, my joy is walking in the trees and listening to the birds. I am so grateful that I was out today, for when I returned, ‘T’ sent me news of the death in Finland – another siblicide at the Janakkalan nest and then the death of the last surviving falcon at the University of Montreal. Tomorrow, I expect to add #105, the other osplet from the Newfoundland nest unless Hope continues to feed it and it somehow frees itself from that mud. 105. We are only beginning July. ——- Still, we must rejoice in all the ones that survive and, of course, one of those is our own Little Mini from Patchogue.

Dad brings in a fish to Mum and the two surviving osplets at Janakkalan.

Hope continues to brood and feed the chick that is alive and stuck in the mud of the nest. This is beyond sad. Will the chick get strong to free itself? is it injured? Why doesn’t someone climb the ladder and help? Bring some grasses, assess the chick and then decide what to do. Even bring a fish or two! It could help and it sure wouldn’t hurt. A great big show of human empathy is what is needed here!!!!

The second chick at Newfoundland is free from the mud but, is dying. Two very healthy babies. Sad beyond belief. There has been no shortage of fish. I wonder what this male thinks when his chicks die year after year after year.

Dad looking down at his dying chick. Poor thing is crying and raising its head.

‘H’ reports that with even five fish delivered yesterday the first hatch or in this case also the Alpha chick on the Fortis Exshaw nest is continually beaking the little one – not just at meals, all the time. We are now watching this nest for siblicide.

At the Minnesota Arboretum nest, the Mum has tried to create a little nest…if the wind would cooperate and leave the grasses alone. She is also continuing to feed the chick who is right at the table when fish is brought in when it is hungry. Things are looking good here. But like the Newfoundland nest there is a lot of sticky gumbo and these couples need nesting materials.

Will this osplet chick grow up not knowing that a nest needs lots of bedding? Instinct? Observed and learned?

The single surviving osplet is entering the Reptile phase. Send positive wishes…we are not out of the woods until this one has a successful fledge and returns to the nest.

Just look at the Clark PUD nest in comparison. The two chicks are doing well. (I worry if there are rains that the Minnesota chick will also get stuck in mud.)

I no longer count the bites of fish Mini gets (if I can see to do this). Mum is feeding her and she is also self-feeding. This chick is strong and resilient. She is also a beauty! Some images from the Patchogue nest today where hovering is reaching new heights! We are into fledge season for many!

Please look at these four beautiful osplets. Did you ever think that Mini would catch up with Third Hatch? I suspect but, will never know, that Big, Two, and Mini are females and Three is a male. Why? Little Mini’s growth continues while Three has stopped. Three’s legs are long and skinny. We can now see the size of Mini’s wings in comparison to Three which is right beside her.

Can you see the tail of Big? Hovering is off the scale on Tuesday. Fledge is near.

Look at Little Mini’s expression to the sibling hovering.

Gorgeous Little Mini.

Mini self-feeding.

The Patchogue nest was on high alert with Mum mantling at 10:11. No fledges yet but more wing flapping including our Little Mini! Yes, that is Mini with its wings spread. Smile everyone.

One of the chicks, perhaps, Big is dangling just like Big at Patchogue. Getting lots of air. ‘H’ reports, “The community held its July 4th parade, and the parade route traveled right in front of the nest.  So, there was a slight bit of a disturbance.  Otherwise, there may very well have been a fledge on 7/4.  ‘Big’ (I assume) did some decent hovering.  See the feet dangling in one of the attached pics.”

‘H’ reports that the Forsythe nest continues to do well. “There has been a heat wave along the coast, with temps in the low to mid 90’s for a few days.  The heat may be responsible for a reduced amount of fish being delivered to the Forsythe nest.  There were only four fish brought to the nest on 7/4, although two of them were pretty big.  Opal delivered the two large fish herself.  Big took the first small fish to self feed, then Middle stole the tail!  Cool Osprey stuff.  Even with the reduced amount of fish, ‘Big’ maintained his ‘composure’ (lol) . . no aggressive behavior.  (ages 44, 43 days on 7/5)”

The osplets at the Boulder County Fair Grounds wished they were a little smaller so they could fit underneath Mum during the rain.

The two surviving osplets at Collins Marsh appear to be thriving. Just look at that beautiful nest their parents have made for them.

The foster chick at the Patuxent River Park 1 nest fledged yesterday — and to the relief of all, returned to the nest 27.5 hours later! Look at the smile on that chick’s face. Great flying. I bet she is glad to be home. Thanks ‘H’ for the great news.

‘H’ adds “At 1319 Dad delivered a large fish to the nest, and in contrast to her usual demeanor, ‘Foster’ grabbed the fish from Dad.  Mom wanted the fish and a brief tug of war ensued, but Mom got the message, and ‘Foster’ won.  Foster’s crop was hollow, and she ate ravenously.  When she was full, there was still plenty of that fish left for Mom to feed to her foster siblings.  Dad delivered large fish two more times, and ‘Foster’ was back to being her normal reserved self, standing by until Mom had fed her offspring, and ‘Foster’ was then fed by her foster Mom.  (the siblings are 50 and 49 days old)”.

Blue 33 always makes me smile…On Tuesday, he delivered three fish to the nest in less than an hour! He’s got fledglings to feed. Blue 3H3 took off today and 3H5 is really doing fantastic at hovering.

As was mentioned in my blog yesterday, many of the females are out fishing to supplement the fish from the males. This has been a year of injuries and intruders that have caused all the Daddy Door Dashes to wish they had a cell phone and a credit card to the nearest live fish market.

Laddie was back delivering fish to the nest of Blue NC0 and the two kids today, thankfully.

I promised an update on the Australian nests and I keep forgetting. ‘A’ sent this to me after I hit ‘send’ on my Tuesday morning blog.

Sydney Sea Eagles: :A wet day, with Lady spending much longer on the eggs – 8.5 hours – and as usual only leaving them uncovered for short times. Dad brought in bird prey at 9:16am – a coot again – the cameras were down for some time. Lady took it off to eat, but Dad had a full crop too. I am wondering where he is catching the coots – I would expect people to see him hunting in the wetlands the coots are found in. Coots have very distinctive lobed feet. After a damp day, both eagles settled again as usual at dusk.”

Orange Falcons: “Xavier spent some time hanging out in the nest box today, doing some scraping. There were a couple of bonding sessions, with a two-minute chat and bonding at 17:48:40. Diamond then went to the Cilla Stones. She is sleeping on the Stones again tonight. Both appear well.”

Speaking of falcons, Annie and Lou are enjoying some peace and quiet after the 2023 season. I wonder if the fireworks bothered them? Or maybe SF didn’t have any loud light displays. — There were fireworks in the Channel Islands on the night of the 3rd and ‘B’ tells me that Thomas slept through them. Oh, that is wonderful. We worried about the impact on all the eaglets.

CBD Falcons: “At Collins Street, they will not turn on the cameras until about 10 or 12 days before the first hatch is due. Maybe a few days earlier than that but not much. So I will keep an eye on the local news for any sign of the first egg being laid. Of course, it is still several weeks away. August is usual, I believe.”

Royal Albatross: “In New Zealand, Manaaki had a very rare night-time feeding when a parent (identify impossible to discern in the darkness) arrived to feed him at 2.40am!!!”

‘A’ comments on what is happening at the Bald Eagle nest that adopted the little Red-tailed Hawk named Tuffy, “Meanwhile, I was disturbed to hear that the eagles who are fostering a red-tailed hawklet are starting to attack the chick and dropped it off the nest the other day. Poor little thing must be awfully confused by the schizoid behaviour of its foster parents, but I hope it wakes up to the danger in time to depart before it becomes a snack. What interests me is the number of these cases that are now becoming apparent. It suggests, of course, that this situation is way more common than we realised before the era of streaming cams – we are now seeing something we previously did not have an opportunity to observe for ourselves, and in the process we are finding that these ‘strange’ things are not as rare as we perhaps thought. The fact that the hawklets are faster-maturing than the bald eaglets and are confident little chicks who are not used to bonking on their natal nest and therefore confidently beg for food. I believe it is at that moment that the eagle parents recognise the hawklet as a baby chick rather than as prey. If the hawklet does not beg, it becomes lunch. If it does, it turns into a chick in the eyes of the eagles. The situation is obviously unstable, and if there are food shortages, the hawklet may be in serious danger. But many of these hawklets do seem to fledge and survive, albeit with a weird taste for fish!” 

In the UK, raptors are continuing to be openly shot on the wealthy estates. This one is Westerdale in North Yorkshire. When will the shooting and gaming community come together, buy some extra grouse – I understand there are often many left after the shooting parties, and let the wild birds live their lives.

2nd-red-kite-found-shot-nr-Westerdale-in-North-York-Moors-National-Park-in-recent-weeks-with-suspicDownload

There are young osprey chicks in Canada and ones getting ready to fledge. There is banding going on in the UK and other parts of Europe. Some of the Mums will begin to feed themselves to regain their lost weight, raising their chicks and preparing for their migration to Africa. It is hard to imagine, but in 3 weeks, females like Blue NC0 could leave their nests for their long journey. It is typical for the females to leave the nest first. The male stays and brings fish to the fledglings until they leave. He may remain and eat up before flying off – generally in September. I hope to have some news for us on the status of HPAI in West Africa as that is the winter home to many of the UK Ospreys. We also need to check and see what is happening with Avian Flu in South America, as it is the winter home to most of the North American ospreys.

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

I am grateful to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B, H’, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Newfoundland Power, MN-Landscape Arboretum, Clark PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Collins Marsh, PSEG, Patuxent River Park, LRWT, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Severna Park, Fortis Exshaw, Patuxent River Park, Raptor Persecution UK, and the NZ DOC.

Fledge at Rutland, Dmitri’s stork gets a nest…Tuesday in Bird World

4 July 2023

Good Morning,

To everyone celebrating the Fourth of July – have a wonderful day! I remember the sparklers and those triangles ‘black things’ that grew like long snakes when lit with a match and made such a mess. There was always a picnic and a freezer full of homemade ice cream. There were also fireworks. Of course, now, we think of their harm to wildlife and to pets, not those dazzling colours in the sky. No one knew then, but we do now – so, instead of fireworks, give something to your local wildlife rehab – a bag of dog kibble, a gallon of bleach, old towels and sheets – whatever you can afford.

The theme of this year’s osprey season might well be the number of nests where the females have had to go and supplement the fish brought in by the males.

We will start with the sad bits and end on a high note with Soledad’s 3rd day in the wild world of downtown San Jose.

Monday was a bit of hard day – again. The third hatch at the Borders nest in Scotland died from starvation/not being able to get to eat/siblicide. There were mitigating circumstances and everyone hoped that things would work out for Samson and Juno’s little chick. Samson was gone for some 20 hours and did not deliver fish and for some strange reason, many of the males are not doing well at deliveries this year. Even Blue NC0 has been going fishing again at Loch of the Lowes. Juno went fishing and came in with some big ones, but the two older siblings took over, and the little one was left out. Fly high, sweetie.

The third hatch is on the far left being submissive.

The two chicks are in a sad state at Newfoundland Power. I hope when you read this that they have passed over that Rainbow Bridge. So many of you have phoned and e-mailed the power company and so have I. Unfortunately, nothing will probably be done. Humans need to become more empathetic to suffering. The first one appears finally succumb to starvation after more than two or more days of being injured and without food. The second one was injured with sticks by Hope on the 2nd. Hope tried to aerate the mud around the chicks and feed the chicks. I have great pity for her…she lost her all of her chicks, save for one in 2019. She appears not to understand how to care for the babies or why they are dying. ‘T’ and I are wondering if raptors can suffer mental illness.

It is raining in Newfoundland and poor Hope is brooding her dead and/or dying chicks. Did I say my heart just aches for this mother who just seems so unaware.

There is good news at another nest we have been concerned for, thankfully. The life of the only surviving chick at the MN- Landscape Arboretum nest is improving. The female had quite the turnaround, and this little one is growing nicely.

At the Patchogue nest, it looked like Big was going to fledge Monday afternoon. At 1518 s/he had its wings out almost knocking Mini off the nest. Lots of wing flapping and hopping and some very good hovers. All of this caught Mini’s attention and then later, the other two big siblings. Gosh, do you remember when we were reluctant to check on this nest for fear something had happened to Little Mini? or we went to bed worried about how much food Mini had. Well, now this nest is one that I turn to for hope. These parents have done an exceptional job. If osplets model their future behaviour by the way they were treated on the nest, then these four will have very successful families!

Siblings all lined up before Big gets really antsy. Oh, it could have been such a wonderful self portrait if not for the itchiness of feathers! But look at our Little Mini there with its smile and huge crop – a reminder that with the hard work of the parents and the determination of this tiny tiny chick – we can have success. Look at the size of Mini next to Big! Gracious.

The long skinny legs of Big make me think it is a male…a big male.

Big getting some height.

Mini of the ‘many’ faces today as she pondered all the flapping and hovering. Then every once in awhile Mini would get excited and flap its little wings, too.

Mini wanting Big’s fish.

There is a chance of a fledge at Patchogue today although it would be good if Big would continue the hovering practice.

Another site that makes me happy is Dmitri and his stork. If you remember he removed the beaten and battered fifth stork from the family nest before its mother could kill it. He cared for its wounds, fed it worms, and made a pen for it to grow and eat. Now look. Dmitri made a real stork nest for his not so little foster storklet, Pyatachok. ‘T’ tells me that the name refers to ” “the small coin 5 kopecks and also a piglet like the friend of Winnie the Pooh.” The five of course refers to this one’s birth order.

I understand that Dmitri has a very treatable cancer and that the community and wider community have rallied to gather funds for his after care and treatment. His operation is 18 July. Wishing him well. Anyone who rescues an abused animal and treats it with the respect that this man has is fantastic. Oh, my faith in humans does sometimes rise high. This same community helped with the materials and maybe even the camera for this kind man.

Missing all the squeeing from the WRDC nest…well, here is Rose delivering a fish and R4 and R5! Thanks Heidi Mc.

Sunnie Day gives an upclose and personal view of Whitley and Noble at the much loved Crooked Lake osprey nest.

The new couple at the Collins Marsh osprey platform in Wisconsin are doing fantastic. The two surviving chicks have grown like crazy and are doing so well.

I cannot confirm that the couple at the Cowlitz PUD are Electra and her mate. I can say that this single surviving osplet is being well fed when fish is available. It is growing and Mum is sleeping side by side with the chick in the nest which might help protect it from any predators.

You would be hard-pressed to pick out the tiny third hatch at the Boulder County Fairgrounds osprey nest today! Exceptional parenting, plenty of fish – this nest of three has thrived with that tiny one growing and catching up. This nest was once on my worry list – no more!

The Lipka osprey nest in Poland with its three osplets is doing exceptionally well, also.

The three at the Ramucka Forest osplet nest in Poland are also thriving!

The three chicks at Nest #1 in Finland are trying to work out what to do with a piece of bark (is it similar to Birch?) brought to the nest.

Elen and Aran’s chicks have been ringed at Glaslyn. We have two boys.

We have the first fledge of the 2023 season for Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland Water. Blue 3H3 took off at 0924 on the 4th of July. Congratulations.

‘H’s report on the nests she is monitoring:

FortisExshaw: “It has been difficult to view feedings at this nest, as our view is usually blocked.  But there was a feeding at 1734 on 7/3 that was easily seen.  Everything was going along great, and Little was in the front row receiving many bites of fish.  However, four minutes into the feeding, one of the older chicks, that I believe to be Big, unleashed a beaking attack upon Little.  Little didn’t do anything to instigate the attack.  After the attack, Little stayed crouched in submissive posture for the remainder of the feeding.  I cannot say that was the first time there has been aggression toward Little at a meal, but it was the first time I have seen it.  The kids are prone to bonking battles in between meals, and sometimes those battles are started by Little.  Pics attached are from the 1734 feeding.  (ages 16, 16, and 14 days on 7/4)”.

Osoyoos: “Osoyoos – The 8 and 7 day old Osplets are just little angels at meal times, but they do get into some bonking between meals.  Oh my, this nest is in dire need of some padding.  See the attached pic . . the kids are sitting in a hole below the level of the pole that the nest is built on! “

Severna Park: “Severna Park – These gorgeous teenagers are on fledge watch.  Ages 57 and 56 days on 7/4.”

Forsythe: “Forsythe –  The temperature was very hot with thunderstorms later in the day. The heat may have made for difficult fishing for the Ospreys.  There were two early fish, then Opal was MIA for several hours.  When she returned at 1411 she brought a very large fish with her, and at 1459 Oscar also landed with a large fish.  There were six fish in total.  This nest remains peaceful.  The Osplets are 43 and 42 days of age.”

McEuen Park, Idaho: Look at those beautiful osplets – all three of them! I hope they are not scared off their nest today by fireworks!

Dear Soledad. Oh, how we do worry about you! So good to see how you are doing.

Ferris Akel found all of Big Red’s family last night at Cornell. The three fledglings are doing exceptionally well.

A short and lovely article about a man who bought 35 acres of land in Ireland and began to rewind it. There is hope as each of us does what we can to help our planet. Maybe in your garden it could start with a single plant to help bees or butterflies.

‘The-result-was-amazing-one-mans-mission-to-reforest-a-barren-Irish-hillside-Rewilding-The-GuDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Be kind to yourself. Take care and see you soon!

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me create my blog today: ‘A’, Border Ospreys, PSEG, MN-Landscape Arboretum Osprey nest, Newfoundland Power Company, Sunnie Day and Crooked Lake Ospreys, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, Lipka Osprey Nest, the Ramucka Forest Ospreys, Bywyd Gwywwd Glaslyn, Rutland O, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Severna Park, Forsythe ospreys, McEuen Park, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcon Cam, Ferris Akel Live Stream, and The Guardian.

Saturday in Bird World

1 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Canada Day.

Friday was tough. A GHO wiped out a nest of 37-34 day old osplets at Moraine Park, PA, beginning around 0135. What a tragedy. These three were doing fantastic. When the totals come in for the season, how high will the percentage be for predation by raptors? It hit me hard…because I enter those deaths three times: here in the blog, on the Memorial Wall, and in the data forms. I am ‘sick and tired’ of entering ‘Died’. To top it off, a feral cat took one of the baby Blue Jays that got too low…Not a good morning so I cannot promise you that this blog will be even intelligent today! Apologies beforehand.

Other good news…The Tom and Angel mugs arrived today and they are cute and super. Coffee in them tonight! Thanks Windows to Wildlife for the fundraiser to upgrade your camera for this beautiful RTH family in Tennessee. Tom brought Deyani a lovely meal today. She must perch and watch for the adults to fly in with prey. Deyani was hot on Dad’s heels.

The other good news is that two other things arrived in the post. One were some new window markers. With the fledgling Blue Jays it is not too soon- and all the fledgling sparrows and now little Crows – to redo all the squiggles. Remember to always put the decals and do the window painting on the OUTSIDE – not the inside of the windows. The other was David Gessner’s new book, A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World. Gessner inspired me by his early books on Ospreys along the Cape and to travel to Cuba to see the Osprey migration over the mountains in September which I hope to do soon.

The really good news is that Mini did eat – and she is not being so aggressive today. Hunger can change a chick’s behaviour. If they think they are dying they have nothing to lose if they attack to test their chances. Mini even wound up with a crop today. That was a fantastic lift to the spirits!

‘R’ sent me a running list of events at Patchogue for which I am terribly grateful. It was a busy day today and I could not keep up. Please read this carefully there are a couple of surprises in there.

“Here is what has happened so far today. 0556 – Mini working on scrapes. 0627- 0638- Mum pulls out a large chunk of fish and feeds Mini over 100 bites! Nothing left for the Bigs. 0853-0857 – Mini and 3 are fed by Mum. Both get equal portions. 1201 – large fish delivered but Mum sits on perch while Bigs eat the whole fish.  Nothing for Mini. Despite this she has a nice crop in the afternoon. 1549 – Big stands up and has been laying on a large fish!  Can’t find when it was delivered, but Mini gets nothing, nor do 2 or 3.1606 – Bigs eating away. Mini watches. 1728 – Dad delivers another fish. Mini and 3 watching as 1 and 2 gorge themselves!” Now follow the images below and see what happens at 1741. Thanks so much, ‘R’ – so grateful for your eyes on this nest.

Mini has a crop at 0950.

1015. Mini eating. Mini is on the right side of Mum and had a good 14 minute feed.

1137: Nice crop.

1233. Big got the next fish. Mini did not get any.

‘3’ got the 1738ish fish. Mini would like some fish.

‘R’ reports: “1741.  Mini eating from tail of large fish while 2 eats from head. Still going strong at 1756!  Sneaky!” That is so brilliant of our Little Mini.

The other good news is that with the sibling rivalry happening in the Borders nest, Juno, the female, took matters into her own hands and went. fishing. Read this blog post. It will give you a smile because now there is hope that the third hatch will survive. Way to go Juno!

FAMINE-AND-FEAST-–-Border-OspreysDownload

Then Jackie and Shadow were up in Big Bear and that couple lives on hope..the failed seasons and then the beautiful eaglet, like Spirit. They make me happy and help the sad go away!!! This couple loses brood after brood to crows and DNH and yet they continue to love one another and are now at the nest waiting for the next season. Let us all hope it is a good one for them!

‘MP’ wrote to me about the MN Landscape Arboretum nest and the band on the male. We could tell a certain alphanumeric. ‘MP’ went on to find this information. “Black MS – was banded in 2002 at the nest off of Kings Point Road just north of HWY 7 and Carver Park Reserve in Hennepin County.” The only other possibilities were bands with combinations of green and black so it appears that the male at this nest is 21 years old. Is this a new female? I wish we knew more. As a male he would certainly know what to do after surviving for more than two decades —- that just makes me happy and washes some of the sadness of the day away. Thank you ‘MP’.

Mum has fed and shaded the little one better today. The grassy materials brought in are not flying away either but hardly any sticks are staying on the nest. This couple needs a pile of nesting material! But, just seeing this chick alive today is good. Very good.

Twin Cities Metro was really happy with the National Arboretum nest today too, so she went to check on another nest. Please read it all..you will recognise yourself in that post.

Our ‘not so little’ Cowlitz chick is doing well. Please, please let those metal grids hold so that this nest is not attacked by the eagles and this baby taken. If this works, every nest should put up similar grids. We would then not lose 3 precious babies to a GHO at Moraine, or at Lake Murray…well, I could go on and on.

Geemeff wonders if ospreys can have a brain freeze? Do birds go crazy? or have fogs? What is up with Elen when she repeatedly attacks Aran at Glaslyn? I am bewildered by it all. Aran was just sitting on the perch minding his own business.

I am so upset with Patuxent River Park that has the osprey nests. These are the reasons that I will not promote this nest at all in any of my blogs next year and I urge people to boycott their streaming cam.

First, Patuxent nest 2 was the site of tourist boat encroaching in the area of the nest that left the adult birds stressed and away from the chicks for several hours. Then the third hatch on Patuxent 1 was ill (lack of food?) and placed in another nest where it died the following day. Now why was this chick not taken to rehab and then returned to a nest – either its own or another? That was 1 June. The chick died on June 2.

But this is really getting to me. Yesterday, nest 1 received a foster chick from a nearby tower with its Darvic ring and metal band. Today, they ringed the two chicks from nest 1 – Big and Middle. The individuals retrieving the chicks out of the nest did not cover them with anything. Instead – well, you can see the images but because the chicks were stressed, their bodies were ‘yanked’. If the chicks had been covered with a cloth, they could have been removed easily. We have seen this many times – at Barnegat Light recently and at Dale Hollow when DH18 was rescued. Oh, but that wasn’t all – the bangers caused the forced fledge of the foster chick.

Removing second chick for ringing. Why not a towel to cover them so they are not frightened? And ouch! Geez. I don’t want anyone grabbing me like that.

At the end of the ringing, as is customary, no fish were placed on the nest. Seriously they can probably hear me screaming in Maryland.

Foster chick returned wet. I am sure that you can come to your own conclusions but I prefer slow, kind, and compassionate when dealing with our raptors.

The female at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform is a sweetie.

The Outer Banks is doing great….I wonder how many of these amazing nests have GHOs around?

Oyster Bay continues to thrive.

The WDNU Tower camin South Bend, Indiana, is back on line. This is the nest where two chicks died on the 14th of June for unknown reasons. Then the camera was taken offline so viewers did not see the dead bodies…they are now more incorporated into the nest and the third chick is thriving. It is the oldest and has been named Huey. This is wonderful news.

The two chicks at Island Beach, NJ have been banded by Ben Wurst. They are Red 24N and Red 25N. They are part of the RedBand Project which is “A citizen-science based banding and re-sighting project on Barnegat Bay that is menat to engage locals and visitors to the New Jersey coast in osprey management and conservation.”

It is worth posting what NJ is doing and why this project is so important. Here is the information from the website so that you can see how funding cuts can lead to citizen science.

Ospreys have made a remarkable recovery in New Jersey. Over the past 40 years we have seen the population grow from only 53 pairs in 1973 to over 700 in 2022! Over that same time funding needed for their management has declined. Today their population is not in jeopardy of being extirpated as it was in the early 1970s. As funding is being directed towards species that are in decline, we move to utilize our citizen scientists and volunteers to help monitor and manage the population.

To help engage citizen scientists and for the first time in over 20 years, young ospreyshave been marked with an auxiliary band in New Jersey. The new band, which is a red anodized aluminum rivet band bears an alpha-numeric code. This allows birders, osprey watchers and wildlife photographers the ability to identify these individual birds by their bands — when they are alive!

This new project is being focused on ospreys that nest in the Barnegat Bay watershed from Point Pleasant south to Little Egg Harbor. The main goals of the project are to engage the public in osprey management and conservation along the Jersey Shore. At the same time, while collecting data from re-sightings, we will learn about their dispersal, foraging habits, site fidelity, migration routes, and their life span.

Project Redband

#4 Finland: All three accounted for – and doing well.

#3 Empty. Let us hope that there is a couple and chicks here in 2024.

#5 LS: Two chicks only. Doing fine.

Nest #3 in Finland appears so lonely after the Mum was killed and one chick died with the other two taken into care. Likewise South Cape May Meadows, lost the male and all three osplets during the extreme weather system that hung over the area. The camera is back on. No one home. No, I was wrong. ‘H’ tells me that Hera visited yesterday. It must be so sad for her – no mate, no chicks. Zeus has been missing since the storm and did not return like Duke at Barnegat Light.

‘H’ reports that all is well at FortisExshaw near Canmore, Alberta: “Another good day.  The older two chicks, (both aged 12 days on 6/30) have been climbing up to the edge of the nest cup and checking out the local landscape.  I observed two feedings.  Louise always makes sure that ‘Little’ gets fed (age 10 days).  There was a little bonking squabble between the three nestlings in the morning that appeared to have been started by Little.  There was no parent on the nest at the time.  When Louise landed, Little scooted right up to her and appeared to be explaining his innocence, lol.”

The following reports also come from ‘H’-

“Osoyoos:  The little chicks are doing well, ages 4 and 3 days on 6/30.  Egg #3 will be 37 days on 7/1.”

“Severna Park:  Lots of flapping going on, with a little lift!.  Ages 53 and 52 days on 6/30.”

“Dahlgren:  Those two Osplets are doing great, and they are practicing their wingers (especially ‘Big’).  Ages 43 and 39 days on 6/30”.

‘Forsythe:  Things have really settled down at this nest.  The fish are usually small, but they are plentiful.  There were 11 fish delivered to the nest.  The siblings are 39 and 38 days old on 6/30.”

“Barnegat Light:  Duke, Daisy, and their surviving chick are doing quite well.  I just can’t quite get some of the recent sadness out of my mind, and am still grateful that Duke was able to make it back after the storm.  We tend to take the adults for granted . . until one day they don’t return.  Oh, and Duke loves the new perch installed by Ben!  ‘Big’ is 30 days old on 6/30, and no name has been given to Big as yet.”

“Kent Island:  Tom continues to provide for his family and delivered five fish that I saw.  Tom and Audrey’s only chick is 18 days old, and lovin’ life on the Bay.”

“Audubon Boathouse:  Dory and Skiff’s 20 day old nestling is also lovin’ life on the Bay!”

Thanks, ‘H’. So grateful for your monitoring these nest and your daily reports!

Now what is happening in the world of storks?

The three storklets in the nest in Tukums, Latvia are growing so much they could become confused with the adults soon.

Karl II and Kaia are keeping close watch on their three storklets in Estonia.

The four storklets of Bety and Bukacek will definitely be ready for fledging and migration. They are big and strong.

Dmitri’s fostered storklet is doing wonderfully.

Checking on that nest of Imperial Eagles in Tartan Russia…both have survived, and they are getting so big.

There is so much prey on the nest of Golden eagles Lucina and Caliman in Romania. This chick is very lucky.

Ventana Wildlife has released the recording of the June 2023 Zoom chat on the state of California Condors. Have a listen.

Suzanne Arnold Horning found the Ms around the Cornell Campus Friday night. Gosh, she must have a ‘hawk eye’. They are doing fine and so very grateful for that protective curtain on that glass building and walkway that a few have hit and injured themselves or died. It is important that humans be pro-active in caring for our wildlife.

This is the latest update on the Sydney Sea Eagles from them but ‘A’ tells me that while Dad is flying he still seems to be unsteady on those legs:

There is also a worrisome update about Tuffy, the RTH in the Eagle’s nest. It sounds like the eagles are starting to think that Tuffy is prey.

The latest edition of the Journal of Raptor Research – volume 57, no 2, June 2023- is all about kestrels. I love them but know little about them. The stated fact is that there is a “widespread, long-term decline of American Kestrels that persists across North America” (152). The studies were attempting to discover the causes. They include an increase in Cooper’s Hawks, habitat loss, habit loss while nesting, the emergence of anthropods and grasshoppers, rodenticides, the use of neonicotinoids, and climate change. For my purposes, the study that Claudio and I and ‘H’ are conducting studies just Ospreys. The predation by other raptors is of real concern – more than twice the number of chicks killed by predators than siblicide. We will know after all the chicks have migrated, but it is becoming worrisome.

Want to see some nest repairs? Check out what is happening in the Kistachie Forest, home to the nest of Anna and Louis, Alex and Alexandria.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Today is Canada Day and the Fourth of July is coming up along with Bank Holidays and all other celebrations as summer begins so take care. I hope that you live in an enlightened community and are not having fireworks as they do so much damage and stress out the urban wildlife…See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, reports, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H, Geemeff, MP, R’, Sunnie Day, Window to Wildlife, PSEG, Border Ospreys, FOBBV, MN Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities Metro Osprey News, Cowlitz, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Patuxent River Part, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Outerbanks 24/7, WDNU, Island Beach, Project Redband, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Severna Park, Dahlgren, Forsythe, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Audubon/Explore, Latvian Fund for Nature, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlady Buky, Dmitri Storks, Imperial Eagle Cam, Bocina Wildlife, Ventana Wildlife, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Sydney Eagle Cam, Nor Cal Birding, Tonya Irving and the US Forest Services, and JRR.

Mini Picks Fights, M3 fledges…Friday in Bird World

30 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

I got up early – it was cool for a change and not so humid and headed to Fort Whyte Alive. It has been a few days since I walked around that trail checking on the little ones and oh, was it good, to get out and get some exercise. What is that phrase? “Use it or lose it!” I remember a surgeon telling my mother that after she had broken her hip and it was all pinned…she did not want to get up. Well, she did when she realised that laying there might mean spending her entire life like that. Thank goodness.

The cutest Little Red wasn’t afraid of anyone walking by.

There were little ones around. Here are some images of them..and their proud parents. There are not many families and it was such a delight to turn a corner and encounter a family out foraging.

Hooded Merganser chicks! There were 18 of them at the final count.

The Canada Goose family with four chicks is doing fine. The males always follow behind, keeping the little ones in line! The rain has provided much-wanted new grass for everyone! And no worries, that chick is wet from the recent rain – is not ill!

The giggle for your morning continues to come from the Loch Arkaig nest. Gosh that chick is a character. Thanks, Geemeff.

Mini missed out on breakfast which must have caused her to be a little grumpy. Then she had a nice feed of fish around 11:42 before the Bigs came over and Mini moved away…she would definitely have linked more fish. Our girl is so skinny. She really needs to bulk up with the weight but it is difficult with the three Bigs. Well, Mini started staring at Three after puffing herself up…and then…

Despite having some fish, Mini’s crop is hollow and it is very hungry. This chick – as I will keep saying – needs fish to ‘bulk up’ for migration. Note the ‘thick’ legs and toes.

‘R’ reports that Mini picked another fight in the afternoon. Mini is hungry! Watch the video again and see how she puffs herself up to look bigger—perhaps sizing out the siblings. She needs to eat…and today, like other days, has been slim pickings. At 20:32, Mini finally – in desperation – grabs a bite meant for a larger chick. That bite was all Mini got. The fish was gone. This nest desperately needs more fish so that Mini can get a nice big crop…she is so thin.

When Ferris Akel was on the Cornell Campus Thursday evening, M3, the third hatch of Big Red and Arthur for the 2023 season fledged from the light tower to Rice to join the two other siblings who had previously fledged. Congratulations. Stay safe, sweetie.

The little one at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest had a few feedings on Thursday. Not much fish and adult female eating often and not offering, often off the nest for long periods not protecting the chick from the weather…makes me ache.

A nice fish came on the Collins Marsh nest and both chicks and Mum ate well. Nice.

Only Bob at Cowlitz PUD had a nice fish feed before tuck in Thursday night! In fact, this little one had several nice fish dinners on Thursday…and just look at it grow.

Oyster Bay continues to flourish.

The camera pixellation is not so defined as others but it is easy to see that both of the chicks – Kewok and Naika -on the Seaside osprey nest in Oregon are thriving this year.

It has been a good day at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform and oh, Little is getting a private feed right before dinner. I so wish this was Little Mini eating…

Massive chicks – three of them at Carova Beach North in the Outerbanks.

The trio at Wolf Bay in Alabama are bigger than Mum…

In Finland, you will remember that the female went missing on nest #3. The father continued to bring fish filling the nest but the chicks were too young to self feed. One died and two were taken into care. There is now good news on two fronts. The two chicks taken into care are doing so well that they will be placed as fosters in other nests. And the Dad did a 30 minute sky dance for a new female and has even delivered fish to her. She could not find a better mate than Tuulos.

There are two chicks for Beau and Hope at Newfoundland Power – Snow Lane Platform.

Several fish for the duo at the Clark PUD nest in Washington.

Blue 022 comes in and checks out the supplies at Poole Harbour and returns with a nice fish and then another one so the chicks have a big tea before bed.

The ringing of the two osplets of Idris and Telyn is available on YouTube: (414) RINGING 2023-YouTube. For some reason it will not allow me to embed it for you. Those chicks were a female weighting 1920 with Darvic ring 7B3 and a male at 1515 arms with ring 7B4.

Everything is fine at the Llyn Brenig.

Laddie makes sure everyone is fed before they are tucked in for the night – and now, they are waiting for the breakfast fish!

One of the Great Spirit Bluff fledgling Peregrine Falcons was killed by an owl on the 22 June. That was Alice P58. All of the others, Thomas B59, Kami P59, and Jaycee P60 are still alive (do not believe the rumours they have all died).

‘H’ found some worrisome news about WBSE 30.

There are now three chicks at the Patuxent nest..if you go your eyes do not need to go to the doctor! There is a foster placement at the nest.

‘H’ checked on two other nests on Thursday – Fosythe and Kent Island.

Forsythe had already had three fish in the afternoon, with a feeding at 1412.  “I decided to observe their behavior to determine how well the chicks had been fed throughout the day.  They both waddled up to Opal, and ate peacefully side by side.  No sign of aggression.  Verdict: they had plenty of fish throughout the day.  ‘Big’ obviously had that feeling of ‘food security’, as you say.”

Kent Island: “I am aware of at least 4 large fish brought to the nest by Tom.  The fourth delivery was at 1522.  The chick was well fed.”

‘H’ also recommends a season tribute to the SW Florida Eagle Cam by LizM- again I am getting blocked but the title is (414) A Season to Remember Season 11-You Tube. It sure was a bittersweet year at SW Florida!

Mini is not the only one wanting fish. Soledad has been waiting for a prey delivery for over a day!

I need to go and check on Mini before I post this. I am so worried about Mini. She needs fish – a really good feed. My concern is that the big ones just take the fish now and leave nothing.

Well. Mini is being brilliant and staying close to the right side of Mum so that whenever a fish comes in, she is at the ‘good eating spot’. The others appear to be more interested in wing-flapping this morning, which is good. Mini ate from 0625-0636, then pulled at the leftovers on a bone at 0757. She eats again from 0853-0906. There appears to be not a lot of fish on those bones – Mum and Mini cleaned them up quickly. Hopefully, Mum is also feeding Mini faster, so it gets more before the others come around. Please wish for fish for Mini today!

Telling Mum she wants fish!

Eating.

Pulling on that bone.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Wish for fish! And take care of yourself if you are out in the heat. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, and postings that helped me to create my blog today: ‘H, Geemeff, R, T’, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Ferris Akel, MN Landscape Arboretum, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, Boulder County FG, Outerbanks, Wolf Island, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Newfoundland Power, Clark PUD, Poole Harbour, Dyfi Ospreys, Llyn Brenig, LOTL and The Wildlife Trust, Australian Raptor Care and Conservation Inc, Patuxent, Forsythe, Kent Island and Explore, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcons.

Beautiful Mini…Wednesday in Bird World

28 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Gosh, it was rainy and cool and just a lovely day. The vines that grow every year increasing the depth over the woodboxes, are having a tremendous growth spurt. The heat, humidity, and recent rains have contributed nicely. These are also where the birds have their nests, hide from predators, and escape from the rain and snow. Right now, the depth is about 45 cm or 18 inches – reminds me of the Sparrows living in the base of Mini’s nest at Patchogue.

Thought for the Day:

First up there are heat waves everywhere but the southern US is getting hit hard. Please leave out water for all the animals and birds and remember to change it and add fresh cool water often! Please feed the birds if you can.

Current-heatwave-across-US-south-made-five-times-more-likely-by-climate-crisis-Climate-crisis-ThDownload

Today was a better day for the nests on the streaming cams. Because of that, I include other news of birds that we might have forgotten with all the recent trauma.

We have an excellent update on Connick, who is in care at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida. Just look at this handsome boy. Thank you, Audubon, for taking such good care of Connick and feeding him those tasty non-fish meals he loves so much! Just think…an eagle in Florida that doesn’t like fish. That is too funny.

Oh, it is always good to have some interesting news in Bird World and today’s news comes from ‘T’ about a pair of storks in Germany. “When the white stork Heinrich and his new partner, a black stork, moved into the nest on a meadow belonging to Wolfgang Schulze in Lüder two months ago, an ornithological sensation was in the offing. In the meantime, this has become a joyful certainty. About a month ago, two young storks were born, and now an expert has ringed the animals, which could symbolically be called “grey storks”.”

Speaking of storks, there is a stork in a location that is entirely unexpected.

More good news from that Eagle nest in Redding, California that has the foster Red-tail Hawk. The female had been a little aggressive towards Tuffy and there was fear that Tuffy might become the next meal. Well, things are fine! Here is the latest report:

I honestly don’t know if it is good news or not…The female at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest has fed her only surviving osplet Tuesday morning. Poor little thing. What a horrible nest and a parent that appears young and so inexperienced.

Another feeding later. Do we dare hope?

Little Mini at Patchogue got some early fish and then was shut out. It has been going around the nest finding scraps and eating. It found an old piece, not too bad, at 1335 and yanked it out of the nest material and ate it. Our baby is very hungry but it reminds me of Tiny Tot Tumbles at Achieva in 2021. That chick ate old bones – anything it could find – and she survived. So send good thoughts to our dear Mini.

Well, Mini was determined to eat and wasn’t going to let anyone stop her. The fish arrived at 1555 and she was fed until 1648! She ate the entire fish…the others had scraps from earlier fish they were feeding on or just not interested. Tears of joy!

Mini sees the fish.

Mini moves to the other side.

Our beautiful Mini.

Two osplets, nice and healthy hatches, from the Belleville, Ohio Osprey platform that was predated on the 24th of June and the second taken on the 25th of June. So sad.

I have missed telling you about Osoyoos. ‘H’ reported the first hatch to me yesterday (2 days + today) and now we have the second. Soo is an excellent experienced Mum and that second hatch was eating not long out of the shell! Let us all wish them cooler weather and more and bigger fish this year.

The three osplets at Boulder are hot but are getting fed nicely. Little is doing OK.

The two surviving osplets at the Bridges Golf Club are hungry.

Rain at Outerbanks but it doesn’t stop the fish coming to the nest.

Seaside is doing great!

Being an Only Bob can be a very good thing. The little one at Sandpoint is getting all the fish!

There are still two growing osplets at Collins Marsh in Wisconsin.

Great Bay is following its name – the chicks are doing ‘great’.

Patuxent 1 news from ‘H’: “The live stream came back online around 10:15 am, after being down for four days.  The first fish came at 1458, a large whole fish.  The Osplets both had hollow crops going into that feeding.  Both chicks were very hungry, and Big displayed some dominance.  There was nothing severe, but many times Big would stand tall and give Middle ‘the look’, and Middle would step aside.  The feeding lasted from 1458 to 1542, and Middle only had a small crop after the meal. The next fish and feed 1627 to 1706.  More dominance displays from Big.  When Big finally quit eating at 1654, Middle had a decent meal.  View was blocked, but I’m sure Middle’s crop was much bigger after that meal.” (There is later news below).

‘H’ is still watching the Forsythe situation carefully as Big is continuing aggression towards Middle. “Oscar was MIA for awhile and Opal brought in 2 fish on Tuesday.”

At Barnegat Light, ‘H’ reports: “Daisy managed to remove Middle’s body yesterday.  We did not actually witness her doing so, the cam was focused on a close up of the chick at the time.  When the cam zoomed back out, the body was not there, and Daisy was seen on the beach.  Banding took place this morning at 0745.  Red band 09/N on right leg.  Ben (Conserve Wildlife NJ) also installed a new perch for the adults.  Ben will come up with a name for the chick later today.”

‘H’ reports that both of the chicks at Severna Park are now self-feeding.

At Patuxent 1, ‘H’ says “Update from yesterday.  After the cam came back on yesterday from being offline for 4 days, the chicks looked starved with hollow crops.  I already reported on two fish seen yesterday.  There was a later fish at 1830, a large partial fish brought by Dad.  Dad waited a bit for Mom to return, but he eventually fed the two chicks.  There was no aggression, although Big ate first.  Both chicks had a nice meal. Mom returned later.  And, Dad also delivered a huge headless fish at 2041 and again, both chicks were stuffed.”

At FortisExshaw, ‘H’ notes that “There were at least four large fish delivered that I saw, and at least three feedings from leftovers.”

All is well at the Boathouse…don’t we just love Little Skipper? Only Bob, healthy Bob. Thanks, ‘H’ for keeping an eye.

Blue NC0 sees Laddie flying in with the evening tea fish and she is calling and calling. The chicks are older and so excited and calling with Mum. All is good on the nest since the ringing.

Bonus and Waba are on the move and that direction is ‘North’! Just look at those Black Storks – just one year old – fly!

Our Manitoba Peregrine Falcon family has its Darvic rings.

We are so used to seeing human-made platforms for Ospreys that we forget what an osprey nest in the wild might look like. So here is the nest of Samson at the Borders in the UK.

The weather has not be conducive to getting lots of fish on the nest. Rosie Shields has some excellent images in her latest newsletter. Sadly, the weather has turned and Samson is having some difficulties getting fish on the nest resulting in some pecking by the older chick to the younger and some apprehension of the little one to get up and eat. Samson is working hard but there is also an intruder…oh, what a year this has been. Send this nest your good wishes.

The Borders nest reminds me of Iris’s Owl Pole. She has been having a rough time with all the intruders. Stay safe, Iris! On the 26th with one of her big catches. Dear Lady, we love you…

When we get down, remember that there are good people everywhere helping the raptors when they can.

Thank goodness, the Duke Farms nest collapsed after the two eaglets had fledged! There have been a number of nest collapses this breeding season. Goodness.

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Big Red continues to bring prey to the nest for M3. Wondering what the ‘M’ is all about? In 2012 when the cam was installed, Big Red had already had a couple of successful years that were known. (She hatched in 2003 and has probably had chicks since 2005 or 2006). So they began with the letter ‘C’. We are now up to M for this season. Chicks are not named.

If you are a long-time reader of my blog, you will recall that I am highly interested in how ospreys do when admitted to care. There is a belief which seems erroneous that they do not do well. Last year in June, the female at the Emma Lake Pitkin County Open Space and Trails nest accidentally pulled the two chicks off. One died. One went into care.

This is the latest news I have seen on that chick that survived and went into care.

This year there are three osplets on that nest and they are doing fantastic.

Ron and Rose are still at the nest with their eaglets R4 and R5. Here is a glimpse of one interaction.

The membership fees for the Friends of Osprey (South Australia) are going to erect platforms all over the region. Several have gone up in the past month. Here is another. Many have had to rear their young on nests on the ground, which is highly susceptible to predation.

Newfoundland Power has two osplets! Send them your best wishes.

The Clark PUD chicks are entering the Reptile phase.

The third hatch at the Evergy Topeka Falcon scrape is making great progress in getting feathered. Adults are leaving prey items.

Six fish were delivered to the Crooked Lake Osprey nest today. Chicks are really looking good with those juvenile feathers.

The camera at Charlo Montana was hit by lightning but I can now report that there are two osplets. It appears that the hatch dates were the 14 and 16 of June.

Those two beautiful Glaslyn chicks of Aran and Elen have been ringed and have names. The first hatch is a big female at 1910 grams. She is Blue 7B3 and is named Cennen. The second hatch is a male weighing 1515 grams and is named Seiont.

Thank you so much for being with me today. So many nests, never enough time! Take care of yourself…see you soon! And remember – head outside and listen for the birds.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘H, T’, Anthony Douglas Williams, The Guardian, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Maria Marika FB, Michael Winger and Polar Educators International, Doug Gillard and Nor Cal Birding, MN Landscape Arboretum, PSEG, Osoyoos Ospreys, Boulder Fair Grounds ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, Outerbanks 24/7, Seaside Ospreys, Sandpoint ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Patuxent River Park 1, Forsythe Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Severna Park, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Audubon Boathouse, Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Dennis Swayze and MB Birding, Rosie Shields and The Borders, Montana Osprey Project, Celia Aliengirl and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, The Patch, Cornell RTH, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, Heidi McGrue and the WRDC, Colin Phil Cook and Friends of ospreys Sth Bus, Newfoundland Power, Clark PUD, Evergy Topeka, Crooked Lake Ospreys, and Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn.

Some Crazy Madness with a little sadness…Tuesday in Bird World

27 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a hot and humid day on the Canadian Prairies. The Blue Jays were out early wanting peanuts and cool water in the bird bath. It is 26 C but feels much hotter and the heat means no visits to the nature centre today.

We need so much to be able to have a good laugh and today, as Geemeff said to me, we require some madness after all the sadness. We have it thanks to Louis, Dorcha, and a stick.

Now to start with some nests that are just a wee bit of a worry alongside a few that are simply tragic – Bridges Golf and MN Landscape. Many are thriving.

A video of a feeding Monday at Cowlitz PUD. ‘B’ and I are wondering why so few large fish are in this nest. A letter has gone out making enquiries and we are so grateful that a reply has come back from Amanda -Here it is, “Thank you for your interest in the OspreyCam. This nest is located on a slough off of the Columbia River. The male osprey could be fishing in the slough area and not in the river. There are quite a few bald eagles in the area that may be stealing their larger catches as well. Fish numbers appear to be average for this year in the area. On average there are normally 4-5 fish deliveries from sunrise to around 5pm and I observe at least one large fish during these feedings, in which the chick turns away from the food before the fish is gone.”

That is encouraging and shows that there is local interest in this nest. I have missed many of those feedings but the presence of the eagles is a problem. Let us hope that the protector screens help this year.

Nice feeding around 1745 at Cowlitz.

I am still cautiously optimistic about Mini. On Monday morning, Mini got right up by Mum and demanded to be heard and fed – and it was! Nice to see an expanding crop. Little Mini is growing; this time, Three is on the other side, and Mini is getting the fish. Talk about happiness. Because of the size of Big – Mini, it will need to be a little assertive and get itself up there, even if it is just a big feed first thing in the morning. Mini also has to demand that Mum feed it!

Our beautiful Mini next to its big sib…that has to be one big female! Look at those short stocky legs. Mini might well just be a little female. S/he loves to move sticks around.

Mini was feeding on a little bit of a scrap when a big fish came in…I found myself screaming at Mini to forget the scrap and get over to the big fish that Mum was feeding. ‘L’ reports that one of the big sibs took the scrap and Mini did get some of the end of the fish. Now, Mini. Next time get up to the table.

‘L’ sent me a screen capture of Mini pulling hard on that tough fish, just like Mum. Thanks, ‘L’.

Mini reminds me of Dyson. S he is finding nestovers in the twigs and eating them. A survivor.

There is no nest cup at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the Big chick, the first hatch, died overnight of exposure. Mum is trying to brood the Middle chick. The youngest died of exposure and getting caught in the corner on Sunday. Perhaps the individuals at the site could provide nesting material for them! This nest is pitiful. I note that many do restorations at sites and put in new material. Some groups even provide nice railings for the ospreys.

I have no doubt that the third chick will perish also. The parents are not feeding them! Nor did they provide adequate nesting material and care. Must be young and very inexperienced. So sad.

A nice big fish lands on the Bridges Golf Club – quite a surprise but this nest probably had issues with the storm that caused all the deaths at the end of last week – the big ones will not let three eat!

The Middle chick was unrelenting in its killing of Little even though the little one made no move to eat. At 1206 on 26 June, it appears this poor babe finally passed.

The Bridges Golf Club should stock ponds for the Ospreys if there is not enough fish. it is time we help the wildlife.

So those are our worrisome or ‘serious’ problem nests in the US that I am watching. Hopefully, those that were in trouble will calm down but there is a system of thunderstorms heading to the NE. I hope it is a fast moving storm.

Heading to the UK, they are banding the two chicks of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi Monday evening. It is over. Telyn is back at the nest right after the ringers leave..and it looks like another record set. A colossal female broke nest records weighing in at 1910 grams, with the second, a lovely male, at 1515 grams. Wow. Speculation is high that if the ringing occurred on Tuesday, the female would weigh a kilo!

Loch Arkaig Nest 1 – Louis’s old nest with Lila has a love triangle. Have you been watching? Geemeff brings us up to date! “All three members of the love triangle turned up on Nest One yesterday within 15 minutes – but it does seem as if Garry (Blue LV0 newly named after his natal nest at Loch Garry) has the upper hand, as Prince left the nest in a hurry when he saw Garry approaching. Affric (named after her natal nest at Glen Affric) arrived around the same time as Prince, already clutching a fish. Did he give it to her, or was it Garry? all eyes on that nest to watch the saga unfold – our very own soap opera ‘Lochenders’ “.

Oops. Out of order but…nevermind. It is fun. The storklets from Belarus are so full after a good meal they are in a frog and fish coma.

Foulshaw Moss chicks are growing and Big Bob – OK, this is a female, right? – is wingercizing.

Glaslyn: All is fantastic. Aran brings so much fish. The chicks are full and Elen is eating.

Just look at that beautiful nest of CJ7 and Blue 022. And the fish that arrive. Thriving chicks.

I am on a bit of a soapbox today about nests after seeing that Minnesota Arboretum specimen of something and Osoyoos….seriously there are no twigs that could be tossed up there. Look at Poole Harbour, and now look at Llyn Clywedog. If there are so many ospreys in the US and so few trees, then people – humans – need to help out. We did after all destroy their habitat. So, let us see if we can all work to get the nests cleaned out after the breeding season and stocked with nice nesting material.

Two beautiful boys ringed on the 24th.

Llyn Brenig is doing great. Lots of nice feathers on those two chicks. Also, another nice nest!

The chicks at Loch Garten had so much fish on Monday that they weren’t even interested sometimes. More fun to move sticks!

The beautiful day turned to rain at Loch Arkaig. Lots of fish. Louis is an excellent provider.

Look at that adoring look Louis gives to his chick.

All is good at the Loch of the Lowes. Blue NC0 with her two beautiful chicks.

Threave Castle: This is the home of Black 80. He is the 2006 male hatch of Mrs G and 11 (98). Talk about good DNA. This is the second year that he and his mate have raised four chicks. Today, this second group of four osplets and they were ringed today, Monday 26 June. Hopefully more information will be released tomorrow.

Sometimes when I get very upset, I remind myself that we want the strong osplets, the ones with really good DNA to survive. Mrs G and both her partners, 11 (98) and Aran provided just that. I am also fond of White YW (2008), also a male of Mrs G and 11 (98) who heads up the family at Foulshaw Moss and consistently raises successful broods.

SSEN Alyth: Seven fish were delivered to the nest today. I imagine what seven nice fish would do for a few of the struggling nests in the US! Three nicely feathered almost ready to fledge osplets.

The portrait of the surviving family members at Barnegat Light – Duke, Daisy, and Big. Duke is 17 years old…I am so glad he is home safe.

At 1455 Daisy tried to move the dead osplet and doing so prompted the Big one to think it was food. I believe she was going to take it off the nest but it is too big or is stuck. Sad. Perhaps she will bury it in the nest.

‘H’ reports that there were 8 fish brought to Barnegat Light on Monday. Heidi adds nothing the attempt to move Middle, “Daisy seemed to be intent on flying off with Middle’s body a couple of times, but it must be too heavy. Then she tried to cover Middle with moss.  So, the body is a sad reminder.  But, they are at least a family of three.  And we are thankful that Duke returned.  We won’t forget Middle and Little . . they enriched our lives.” The sadness of the storm just continues giving to these families as they continue to cope with their daily lives and mourn their dead.

Fortis Exshaw: ‘H’ reports “There were at least three large fish deliveries that I saw, and Louise stashed the leftovers for additional meals.  Due to the deep nest cup, it is difficult to see if all are getting fed, but all of the Osplets appear to be thriving.  The older two, that hatched on the same day, participate in little bonking battles at off meal times, but they seem well behaved during feedings (from what I can see).”

Dahlgren: ‘H’: “There were at least 6 fish delivered by Jack.  This nest remains quite tranquil.  Both Osplets are doing wingers, especially ‘Big’, and Big is practicing self feeding. They are 39 and 35 days old.”

Kent Island: ‘H’ notes, “The early days of family life were a bit worrisome, but Audrey and (new) Tom are doing great.  It seems that the little one’s crop is almost always full . .14 days old on 6/26.”

Audubon Boathouse: ‘H’ notes that life for the only Bob is rather “idyllic”.

‘H’ reminds us that fledge watch could be coming in about a week at Severna Park. Both of those osplets are doing well after a very rocky start.

The three at the Boulder Country Fairgrounds nest are hot today. Mom is doing a really good job covering them. The little one also had some fish. So things are alright on this nest.

Little Bob at the Boulder Fair Grounds looks like he swallowed an egg he is so full. He will have sweet osplet dreams tonight.

Great Bay: Started as a good day, and the wind and rain are showing up Monday night.

Outer Banks: All is well at the nest of Betsy and Frederick and their three beautifully feathered osplets.

Seaside: It is all good. I think they might have had salmon today.

Collins Marsh: Rainy day. Mum trying to cover the two surviving osplets. They are getting their feathers. but both look ‘thin’.

McEuen Park: Three gorgeous healthy osplets.

Forsythe: ‘H’ reports: That Big started out being very aggressive towards Middle first thing in the morning. She notes that this has become a pattern since the storms and then Big settles down later. Oscar delivers lots of fish – no fewer than 10 yesterday although some were small. Send good wishes. That storm really caused ‘mental health issues’ with these chicks in the nests.

Finnish Osprey Nest #1: All three osplets hungry for breakfast and doing well.

Finnish Osprey Nest #4: All three are fine.

Finnish Osprey Nest #LS5: Beautiful morning for the two chicks.

Urdaibai: All three big osplets are doing fantastic.

Deyani continues to return to the nest in Tennessee. ‘A’ writes, “Deyani is doing so well, returning frequently to the nest and showing real skills with her flying and self-feeding and generally acting like a big girl now. I love that she’s sleeping perched next to mum. I love that mum is still no doubt preening her hawklet. She just loved preening Deyani, and I bet she still does if she gets the chance. She came in today around 12:12, played with a stick for a while, flew off, returned about an hour later, then stayed until 3pm, pancaking for a while and doing some preening. Angel arrives with a small morsel at 12:13:26 but we can’t see what it is because of Deyani’s mantling. PLEASE tell me if you have ever seen another hawk do that quivering thing when mantling. I haven’t seen it before. Deyani is the only bird I’ve ever seen mantle like that. Anyway, she has been fed – something, today.”

The big storm that is heading eastward hit the Cornell campus. The Ms are drenched but safe. Two of them are on the end of the nest light tower and the third is on the tower next to the nest. Aw..poor babies.

Whew! That isn’t nearly all of the nests but a quick check on those doing great with a little commentary on the worrisome ones.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care and remember to put out bowls of water. The birds and other wildlife will thank you.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, and streaming cams that helped to create my blog today: ‘B, Geemeff, H, L, T’, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Cowlitz PUD, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Bridges Golf Club, Dyfi Ospreys, Belarus Stork cam, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour ospreys, CarnyXWild, Llyn Brenig, RSPB Loch Garten, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LOTL, Threave Castle, SSEN Alyth, Conserve Wildlife F of NJ, Boulder County Fair Grounds Ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Outer banks 24/7, Seaside Ospreys, Collins Marsh, McEuen Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Dahlgren Ospreys, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Urdaibai Biosphere, Window to Wildlife, and Cornell RTH.

Some good news…Monday in Bird World

26 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for your wonderful notes and your cheerful suggestions on what you do when you feel stressed. Gosh, what a wonderful ‘Bird Family’ I have! so caring and compassionate. ‘M’, I will watch those sparrows netting under the Ospreys at Patchogue! Every time I get mad at Big for raising its head when Mini has a chance to eat I promise I will seek those birds out!

There is some good news coming in from Sunday. I have already posted it but everyone is so thrilled that Duke has returned to Daisy at Barnegat Light. Gone a little over 72 hours. Not sure if he has eaten. Duke looks thin and was interested in Daisy’s fish. Daisy has done magnificently as a single Mum for a few days despite losing two of three chicks…she could ahve lost them all. It is sad to see a big healthy Middle, a fat little osplet, on the nest dead. What a few days it has been in osprey World.

Happiness is a walk around a duck pond or through the forest when the sun is warm on your face and at every turn there is a new surprise. Today it was in the form of little ducklings and goslings and all the birds enjoying the bird bath or the fledgling Blue Jays trying to crack a peanut so that it is the right size to eat.

The Canada Geese or moulting. There will be feathers all over the area around the pond for the next 4-6 weeks. T hey undergo an entire moult and cannot fly during this time.

This lucky family had five goslings. Dad was behind being security guard.

A juvenile Mallard.

Proud Mum had several of those little fuzzy duckling juveniles.

Coming home, the fledgling blue Jays were having a wonderful time in the bird bath!

Our top tip of the day comes form Amy Tan and it is great advice – costing around $1-$5 – to keep birds from colliding with windows and being injured or dying.

Now see the spider webs.

For the first time, Ospreys are breeding in an area of Germany where there were none! The ringing of the beautiful osplets today. Talk about happiness.

https://fb.watch/lohgZHspZq/

It is only 1515 at the Barnegat Light nest of Daisy and Big Bob. Daisy has already brought in four fish on Sunday. Big is eating well and Daisy is eating, too. They will be fine unless another catastrophic event happens. Daisy adjusted quickly to being a single Mum providing for the nest – the weather did not cooperate but she will get to raise one healthy chick to fledge, hopefully.

Daisy protecting her only surviving osplet. Big is 26 days old today.

Well, of course, the good news is that Duke has returned to Daisy and their nest. He looks thin. He was gone over 72 hours.

‘H’ notes that Daisy hid the body of Middle on Duke’s arrival. Poor Mum. She did her best and we have no idea what Dad went through…just glad they are together with one chick. ‘H’ also confirms that Duke did steal the fish that Daisy had but went fishing and brought another one in for the family. Poor guy. He was so hungry. Wonder where he had been?

The other great news is that Little Mini at Patchogue lucked out and had two good meals so far on Sunday. The first was at the crack of dawn at 0500 and the second came at 13:28. Little Mini ate the entire fish! No one else was interested. This is what will save our Mini…and it is Sunday. So good going!

Oh, thank goodness. Mini got a little more fish from the 1707 delivery. How much before the big ones come to the table…well, unknown. Mini is so hungry it is not leaving the table but is increasingly intimidated by the bigger siblings.

Mini stays and starts getting fed again at 1812. What a relief. Nope. The Bigs come back! Mini needs to grab that fish. Mum offers and he keeps his head down.

Mini has a tiny mini crop.

Mini did really well Monday morning. Right up there with Three eating! This is a really good break through for our wee one who is getting so many feathers it is hard to tell 4 from 3.

Thanks Stephen for this great photo of another survivor at South Bend.

Continuing to be grateful to the Finnish Osprey Foundation for removing the surviving chicks from nest 3 for care.

At the Forsythe Nest, ‘H’ confirms that Oscar brought in 13 fish on Sunday. Big was extremely aggressive and almost pushed Middle over the edge. That aggression died down a bit and Middle did eat. Let us hope that this all stops. Big is 34 days old and Middle is 33.

Osoyoos: ‘H’ was then that called the pip! Sunday 23:21. Oh, I hope this nest has a good year without the heat domes of past.

Boulder County Fair Grounds is sometimes not an easy nest to watch. There is plenty of fish but Little sometimes appears to get shut out. It had a couple of reasonable feeds by 1600 on Sunday.

Cowlitz PUD: Did not see any fish deliveries up to and including 1330 nest time. Where are the fish?

Seaside: Those two chicks are really growing! Would love to ship the Cowlitz baby over to them some days!

RVA Ospreys, James River: Two Ospreys on the nest on Sunday. No clutch this year. Maybe next.

Great Bay Ospreys: LOTS of fish. Some dominance issues with the Big sibling but the second hatch got some fish!

Moraine Preservation Fund: Trio are doing well and this is a nest where the Dad steps up to feed the chicks! We need more of that wired into their system!

Outerbanks 24/7: Chicks are well fed. Betsy flew off with a fish at 1431 when kayakers came too close to the nest. The osplets pancaked. There need to be barriers around the nests and notices to people in boats, motorised or not.

Oyster Bay: Everything is good.

Maryland Western Shore for Old Town: Fantastic day!

The Bridge Golf Club Ospreys, Noyack, NY: Trio on the nest. Larger two siblings will not let the very tiny third hatch eat. To be fair, the second hatch is quite thin and the little one is so tiny and so hungry. This nest is not thriving.

Sandpoint: Chick hatched on 22 June. Eating well.

Cape Henlopen: No ospreys and the Black Vultures have come to use it as a spot to rest and scope out the area.

White Stork Nest, Tukums, Latvia: Since the rain this nest has been doing fantastic. Storklets growing and appear to be very healthy.

The construction of the new nest for Martin and Rose is now finished. Thank you Window to Wildlife. Pi and Pat were apparently watching from a distance. It is approximately 6 ‘ x 3’.

‘A’ is worried about some events at the nest of Angel and Tom and Deyani. She writes, “at Angel’s nest, there was no food brought to Deyani today (Sunday). She visited the nest several times during the day, attacked the nest a little, pancaked for an afternoon rest for a while, but left late in the afternoon and did not return. There were early evening storms in the area, and about an hour ago, there was very heavy rain and thunder. Then, about 15 or 20 minutes ago, and once more as I type this, there were several shots fired. They were about 30 seconds or so apart and there were three or four of them. Then, as I said, about a minute ago, another shot rang out. It was pitch dark when the first shot was heard. They were fairly close to the microphone (which is in a tree at least 100 metres from the nest). I have no idea what anyone would be shooting at out there in the dark, but I sure hope it’s not Angel. The others would not be visible to a shooter. I am presuming all is okay, but it’s always worrying. Deyani is unlikely to be starving, and could easily have been fed off-nest today, but we will see what happens tomorrow. She is a strong flyer and seems able to manoeuvre around the trees well, so I am fairly confident she will be fine.” Lamping is the term for hunting at night with lights. I really hope that nothing untoward has happened to anyone in our hawk family. This is one reason the location of nests is often not disclosed. — Angel is sleeping on a branch Sunday night so is OK.

Window to Wildlife has a fundraiser to upgrade Angel’s camera for next year. Information is under the streaming cam above the live chat. There are lots of worthy fundraisers out there….

In the mailbox: ‘D’ shares a photo from her holidays. An osprey nest above a Go-Kart track in a busy shopping mall in North Carolina. She was surprised that the ospreys were not bothered by all the humans and the noise and adds that when asked the people at the mall and track said that the osprey return every year.

Ospreys have had to adapt based on humans taking over their natural habitats and cutting down dead trees. Ospreys prefer the top of a dead tree with a clear view in every direction. This differs from eagles that like to build their nest on the tops of conifer trees. Both have suffered good nesting sites due to our increasing demand for land, and artificial nests and platforms are being constructed in almost every country. Living around humans is a high cost compared to a nice site near a lake. “The Ospreys’ ability to adapt to and prosper within urban and suburban areas, combined with their recent reproductive success and thriving populations, has resulted in conflicts between Ospreys and the electric utility, communication, and transportation (e.g., aviation) industries. Human–Osprey conflicts vary widely in scope and scale, ranging from minor conflicts, such as an individual Osprey nest built on a human-made structure (e.g., cellular tower), to major problems, such as local populations of Ospreys directly or indirectly impacting human safety near civilian airports and military airfields through nesting and movement activities. Creative, mutually beneficial management and mitigation practices for both people and Ospreys are needed to allow for the successful coexistence of Ospreys and humans, especially in landscapes highly altered by humans.” Here is the full article from the Journal of Raptor Research:

JRR-OSPR-13-04.1Download

Thank you so much for being with me. I hope to cover more of the international Osprey nests tomorrow and in particular, the UK ones where ringing is taking place. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to everyone that sent notes, videos, tweets, posts, and operated streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A, D, H, M, T’, Amy Tan and Nor Cal Birding, Gregarious Joris Toonen and Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, PSEG, Stephen M Basly, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside Ospreys, RVa Ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Moraine Preservation Fund, Outerbanks 24/7, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Bridge Golf Club, Sandpoint Ospreys, Cape Henlopen State Park, Latvian Fund for Nature, Window to Wildlife, Forsythe Ospreys, Osoyoos Ospreys, and the RRP.

Coming to Grips with the loss…Sunday in Bird World

25 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

My colleague ‘H’ tells me that storm system over the NE US was the ‘gift that just kept giving’. And it did. Now that the skies are clear all of the volunteers can go out and get a sense of what has happened at the unmonitored nests. The loss was significant but now it is time to pull up our proverbial ‘boots’ or socks and wish those nests that did have survivors the absolute best. Watch them and cheer them on, please! They went through an awful time.

Today has been the worst day for me. The sheer toll of the loss has only sunken in, and the after-effects on the nests will linger – the chicks worrying that it could happen again. I am so grateful to have the garden animals and Lewis and Missey. Dyson is looking so much better these days.

We have a couple of giggles/surprises for the morning. The first one comes from the Glaslyn nest in Wales. If you are a Crow, do not, under any circumstances, land on the nest of Aran and Elen. You might live to regret it. Here is Aran flying in with a fish. Elen has been vocalising since the Crow landed on the perch. Aran took the Crow ‘out’ with the fish and even kept hold of it to take to the nest…ah, isn’t he wonderful?

The second is from Mary Cheadle who has the most extraordinary screen capture of Louis and Dorcha’s osplet.

In the UK, the word on everyone’s lips is ‘ringing’. All of the chicks are getting their bling right now. Let’s take a look and see what happened.

Llyn Clywedog: It is hardly a surprise to say that those two beautiful osplets of Dylan and Blue 5F Seren are boys. Seren has had 8 boys and 1 girl.

Manton Bay: Blue 33 and Maya had three chicks this year – two girls and a boy. The first hatch is a girl and is 3H3. The middle hatch was a boy, 3H4, and the third hatch was a girl, 3H5. They said they would release more details later. There they are with their new bling. What beautiful babes.

Family portrait at Rutland:

Looking for another Osprey nest to watch in the US? The Iowa nests are currently doing well. The weather so far (although there are storms brewing tonight) has been favourable.

This is the Wells Fargo DNR nest in Des Moines. Go to iowadnr.gov

Conner at Window to Wildlife is helping rebuild the Dulles-Greenway Eagle Nest. Way to go!

Two of our favourite Black Stork fledglings, Waba and Bonus (the foster chick of Jan and Jannika on Karl II and Kaia’s nest in 2022) are on the move:

The latest news on Tweed Valleys Glen:

Good news is coming in from South Bend, Indiana.

News about the 2 chicks that fell out of the Great Bay Osprey nest:

The current sadness is Finnish Osprey Nest #3 where the Mum is missing and the Dad has loaded the nest with fish but he is not feeding the chicks. They are hungry and fish crying and are not old enough to self feed. It is hard to watch three healthy chicks starve to death on a nest full of fish.

At Patchogue, Mini has eaten. There are rumours abounding that Mini is not being fed. It is true that Mini is not getting the amount of fish it did a week ago. The Big ones are self-feeding and are up at the beak but Mini has eaten. We just have to wait and see how it pans out. Mini ate from 1330-1336 and then again beginning at 1418 for an unspecified time. He had some fish in the early morning. Again, how much I cannot tell because Mum blocked the view. Please send good positive energy to this nest! Mini is growing. Look at the feather development below. Mini is flapping its wings after eating!

We just must wish for lots of fish.

Mini is eating at 0511!

There have been expressed concerns about the female’s behaviour at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey nest. I am copying the posting made on FB. Also, we have seen first time mothers – regardless of the species – struggle to figure out their new role. Fathers, too. At the falcon nest, Monty wanted to feed the egg! We worried about Soledad…well, she was an only eyas and the three of them certainly managed to figure it out. Let us all hold our breath and hope that this new Mum does, too. She has three little ones on the nest.

I was also reminded by Geemeff today of the phrase ‘wildlife commodification’. Earning money off the wildlife. There is a set of nests that will not be in my blog net year – I will follow them for the data but will not promote them – because of their actions recently. Nests are not to be disturbed. Taking tours to see nests should only take place at a great distance using a scope. You will know the nest I am talking about and the circumstances if you have read my blog in the last couple of days. Animals and raptors have rights. We must respect them.

OK. Off the soap box. A whirl around the nests!

Seaside: both osplets are well fed, growing and doing wonderfully.

Great Bay: A few dominance issues.

Severna Park: some rain, fish, and self-feeding. The two chicks are doing well.

Outerbanks 24/7: Three beautiful osplets, nice fish. All is good.

Chesapeake Conservancy, Tom and Audrey: There were early concerns about new Audrey feeding her chick. She figured it out. ‘H notes that Tom brought six fish to the nest on Saturday.

Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home: Two beauties flapping their wings. Gorgeous sunset.

All is well at Boulder County Fairgrounds. The two adults appear to work so well together making sure that Little gets fed.

Moraine Preservation Fund: Seems to be quite enough fish and all three doing well.

Cowlitz PUD: Doing great! Chick is getting its feathers…

Forsythe: Oscar is on a mission. Huge fish at 17:15 along with all the others. Two surviving chicks out of four but, despite this, as ‘H’ notes: “
I saw this once yesterday, and so far twice today.  Big has started to push Middle, to the point that Middle has very nearly gone overboard a couple of times.” The stress of the days without food and seeing your siblings die around you has a profound impact on these birds.

Barnegat Light: Daisy continues to hope and wait for Duke’s return. Even then, she is out fishing for her and her only surviving Bob. She has removed the body of Little but brooded Middle. I cannot imagine the sadness that these females are feeling or the sheer mental stress of them and the chicks. So sad but so proud of Daisy and her determination to keep herself and this one chick alive.

Many of you have expressed sheer exasperation about the plight of the ospreys during the storm not least of all Barnegat Light. K notes, “

I was just thinking about Barnegat Light and how initially I was happy to watch a nest be monitored by a nature CONSERVATION. Key word conserve. They are meant to preserve not slowly watch them all suffer to death for online views and not provide them assistance when they are suffering. We vow to protect these animals and we are not helping them in the easiest way we can – providing food. There is a responsibility when setting up a camera and we should take it seriously. 

‘L’ was heart broken beyond words.

Dahlgren: ‘H’ reports that all is well.

Fortix Exshaw: ‘H’ observed “I found fish delivered by Jasper at 0543, 0631, 1041, 1638, and 1821.  There may have been others.  There were more feedings however.  Louise does save leftovers, she hides them inside the nest cup, and pulls them out for additional feedings.  The nest cup is deep, and Louise lays the leftover fish vertically down the side.  She broods her leftovers, lol.  I have seen her do this several times.  At 0631, there was a dual feeding! I want to follow this nest more closely, to make sure Little is getting fed.  The visibility varies from day to day.”

  

The wait is finally over! After wondering what was happening on the Durbe nest of Milda and Voldis (the camera was totally covered), we now see that there are two beautiful White Tail Eaglets on the Latvian WTE nest. I am so happy for Milda! She lost her earlier mate and suffered two unsuccessful years of breeding. Now success! This is a cause for celebration. Look at those two beautiful eaglets.

Kathryn asked me about intruders and the harm that they might do. Here is a good example.

Intruder storks attacking a nest in Germany.

In Tukums, Latvia, the three white storklets are doing so well now that the rains came and there is food.

Look at the crops on the three storklets of Karl II and Kaia! My goodness. Was so worried about this nest.

Bety and Bukacek’s four are so big and so healthy looking. They will be ready for migration, no problem.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send your positive wishes to all of the nests so that those that have suffered or are suffering might get some relief today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘Geemeff, H, K, L, L, T, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Mary Cheadle and Friends of Loch Arkaig osprey FB, CarnyXWild, LRWT, Iowa DNR/Wells Fargo, Window to Wildlife, Maria Marika FB, @Jane Dell, WNDU, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Finnish Osprey Foundation, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Seaside Ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Severna Park, Outerbanks 24/7 Chesapeake Conservancy, Maryland West Shore for Old Town Home, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Moraine Park, Cowlitz PUD, Forsythe Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Dahlgren, Fortis Exshaw, Sassa Bird, Storchennest Kirchzarlen, Latvian Fund for Nature, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Mlady Buky Stork Cam.