Dr Greene just posted his fond farewells to Iris and family!
The garden feels intensely wet still. Hopefully today’s wind will help dry things up. Every tree and shrub got a good start to getting ready for their hibernation!
We have a full day on Friday. It started with a visit to the Japanese exhibition at The Leaf made possible by the local bonsai group. This was followed by a good old walk at the nature centre, and a birthday party for the oldest grandson. At the end of it all, life felt good. Still alive. Not ready to whither like the vines and leaves are doing.
The exact origin of torii is uncertain. “torii” means “bird sitting,” possibly referring to birds perching on the crossbeams. Torii gates are used to separate the ordinary world from the sacred, and they can be found at both Buddhist and Shinto sacred sites in Japan.
A Zen dry garden.
Cranes. Tsuru. Symbols of longevity and good luck. Thought to live 1000 years, the birds mate for life and also symbolize loyalty. They are a common motif in Japanese art.
By the time we got to the nature center, it was 21 C. There were some ducks on Devonian Lake and a few ducks at the other ponds. Songbirds included American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadees, and White-throated Sparrows. Geese were heard overhead.
Good News. Firefighters save Willow and Scout’s Bald Eagle nest from the Airport fire in California.
Niagara Bee looks sad and empty. This osprey platform needs a predator baffle—feel free to message them on FB! If a Raccoon killed that Osprey, as indicated by the camera footage, then this is a must, an absolute must.
The osprey on the perch at Charlo is eating a fish. It is either Charlie or C16. I cannot tell. C16 was 100 days old on 20 September.
Jack was on the perch at Achieva in St Petersburg.
Beaumont comes in with a magnificent fish for one of the fledglings.
And another delivery!
Deliveries still coming in Latvia.
Quiet at Hellgate Canyon.
Thanks, ‘PB’ for the latest update from Dr Greene:
The season is really coming to an end except for Australia and Florida.
Two difference choices of Spanish fledglings to get to Africa!
The Olympic Park Sea Eagles are doing really well. Just look at them lined up so nicely.
Were you watching the Royal Albatross in 2019? One has just been seen off the coast of South Africa!
You are probably sick of listening to me about the need to control the commercial fishing of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay if our Osprey are to survive. Please send your comments to the individual in the posting below before 2 October if you think that watching Osprey chicks starve to death because a Canadian company is taking every last one of the Menhaden is wrong. Thank you. Please do it for Cobey, the Colonial Beach Osplet who starved to death on his nest along with 99% of the other chicks in that area.
In the latest issue of The Journal of Raptor Research (vol. 58, no. 3, September 2024), an article looking at window strike had some interesting information:L. “Raptors occupying urban environments may be more vulnerable to window collisions than rural raptors because of the greater density of buildings in urban areas. Although large buildings such as skyscrapers cause the greatest number of bird collisions per building, the vast numbers of residential homes across urbanized landscapes collectively pose a far greater risk (399).” Please put up window collision stickers, use window paint markers, Feather Friendly strips, whatever it takes! Thank you.
Calico’s Tip of the Day: Dryer Balls. “Dryer balls are most commonly made of tightly compressed wool, but can also be made of plastic or rubber. They help prevent laundry from clumping together in the dryer by tumbling between layers and separating fabric. This action allows warm air to circulate better which can even help reduce drying time. (Maytag)”. We discovered that with an average load, using four dryer balls, the amount of drying time was cut in less half and at a lower temperature. All towels were fluffy.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care of yourself. Have a lovely weekend. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘PB, SP’, The Leaf, Ft Whyte Alive, CBS News Los Angeles, Niagara Bee, Charlo Montana, Achieva Credit Union, Newfoundland Power, Nesting Bird, LDF, @Hellgate Osprey, Progretto Falco piscatory, Gregorius Joris Toonen, Olympic Park Eagles, Growing Home Ospreys, Jerinelle Wray, NEFL-AEF, Androcat, Sharon Dunne, Thomas Lilly and Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, and The Journal of Raptor Research.
It’s the middle of the week. I thought we would have a wonderful Tuesday. It looked like a great day for a long walk at the nature centre and then the rains came – pouring rain you could hardly see 3 metres in front of you. And then finally the grey skies left and the blue skies and fluffy clouds arrived. The birds are singing for joy. The squirrels are running around looking for peanuts and Mr Crow is yelling that his cheesy-dogs are gone. The Starlings ate them! Life is back to normal. ‘The Girls’ survived the July birthday part and the horrific thunder and lighting of Monday night. We are all hoping that the rain will stop and we can have a few days of sunshine and warmth.
It is now July and I am hoping, beyond hope, that fledgling and osplet deaths are over. Many of the osprey chicks are now past the 3 week mark – a few aren’t. I am hopeful that without any major storms all will survive but, we continue to watch a few nests closely such as Captiva, Cowlitz, Forsythe, and Steelscape.
The latest for Steelscape comes in late Tuesday from Pam Breci:
I have still been feeling a bit low after the removal of the chicks at Loch Arkaig, even though I support interventions in such cases of great need. It just makes me sad seeing Louis and Dorcha without their babies. So, I want to start with a story that will amaze you. I added some quotes, but please read the entire article. You will be amazed.
Geemeff sent me the link:
“A pair of White-tailed Eagles on the Isle of Mull have amazed experts by continuing to care for their injured offspring into its second year of life, going so far as to skip breeding this year to focus on tending to the youngster.
The chick injured its left wing in July last year after its nest fell to the ground during unseasonably wild weather. Despite its sibling surviving unscathed and fledging not long afterwards, the injured youngster’s story has been a little less smooth.
As the parents continued to support the chick its wing continued to heal and it finally took to the skies in the autumn, in rather wobbly fashion, with little hope from locals that it would survive the long, harsh winter ahead.
Ringing took place at Glaslyn late on 2 July 2024. Heather Corfield reports “We have two females and one male. 6M8, 6M7 and 6M9 in age order. The youngest is the male. No surprises there.”
I continue to call for a boycott on eating tuna and salmon and this is one reason not to eat farmed salmon! They have destroyed the stocks of fish in the Chesapeake Bay and are now moving to the coasts. Multitudes are concerned and the regulating authorities are not listening. This is one of the main reasons that osprey chicks are starving – the fish they need is being taken to feed fish! Please tell your friends and find a viable alternative if you eat salmon or tuna.
Bad storms in Croatia are having an impact on our feathered friends. Many storks are being found dead.
‘H’ wondered if I had been checking the ND-LEEF nest lately. I haven’t and I am sorry that I have been occupied by the ospreys. Dad went missing on the 8th of May. The two eaglets were just a month old (like Harriet’s at SWFlorida in 2023). Gigi raised them alone. They fledged on June 26 and June 30. Isn’t that wonderful? Dad would be proud of Gigi and his babies. Phillipe Josse posted this photo of Gigi and her fledglings. Aren’t they lovely?
Iris’s youngest chick has a closed left eye. We are hoping for improvements. The chick is eating and moving well and the eye apperared to open a little Tuesday afternoon. Send good energy.
Meanwhile, Finn is being security guard!
‘A’ comments: “Darling Finn was in early with a nice fresh fish for the osplets’ breakfast. He arrived at 05:49 and Iris got straight into feeding the kids. He stays less than a minute before moving to the perch to dry off. As always, Little Bob is at the front for the feeding and the chicks are perfectly behaved. There is not a hint of aggression between them. This has to be the most laid-back osprey nest I think I’ve ever seen. It’s like watching a pair of RTH chicks or a couple of peregrine eyases. Just lovely.
By 6am, Finn is getting a little impatient. He returned to the nest about 05:58 and picked at some dropped bites and random pieces, but Iris has not finished stuffing her osplets, with Big Bob still managing to find some space in that massive crop. By 06:02 Finn is stalking the fish but Iris moves away from him, not yet ready to give it up. Big Bob has eaten very well but Iris hasn’t and Little Bob could definitely eat some more. So she continues feeding Little Bob, with Big Bob having finally left the table, full as a tick. Finn already has a very respectable crop.
At 06:03, with Little Bob turning away, Iris lets Finn take the half fish from her. He begins eating on the nest. Or is he preparing to feed the chicks? Within ten seconds, Iris has retrieved her fish and returns to feeding Little Bob and eating herself. Finn gives up and returns to the perch at 06:03:50. Iris keeps eating. She needs to have her own breakfast. But she still keeps trying to give bites to both osplets, but especially Big Bob, who has come back for seconds (or is it thirds?). Eventually she eats, and eventually, Finn gets his share. “
“When our darling Finn brought the lunchtime fish in at around 11:50, it was another humongous whole very floppy (well, more thrashy) fish, so Iris waited for Finn to disable it before she took it from him. Probably teaching him that large floppy fish and small osplets should not mix. She is a thinking woman’s mum, is Iris.
Both chicks are hungry but they behave perfectly while they wait for mum to get the fish bites ready. Finn is arranging sticks, periodically bonking Little Bob on the head with his tail. Little Bob gets confused about which direction he should be facing.
At this point, I’m going to raise something I’ve been worried about from the beginning really. But yesterday I watched something that again worried me a great deal – could you keep a close eye on Little Bob and see whether you think his sight is compromised in some way. Yesterday, he was grabbing at the bites and missing them to the right-hand side each time, as if one of his eyes was not focusing properly. I have noticed this before, but not to that extent. Mind you, it was 10pm and he may not see well in the dark. (We of course have the IR lights.) But I would like your considered opinion on it over the next few days or so, if you have a chance.
Obviously, he is still managing to stuff his face but it would not be a great way to live as a fledgling, so I am a bit worried, which is why I am finally asking your opinion. (The fact that nobody else has questioned it reassured me until that feeding last night around 10pm when it really was very noticeable. And how does he still end up facing the wrong way at his age? I wonder and I worry. Let’s hope I’m just totally mistaken.
Anyway, spoiler alert: although it was a wet morning, the chicks dried out in the afternoon and ate well all day. The midday fish was almost the size of Big Bob and, obviously, significantly larger than Little. Iris had some trouble (and had to use her wings) to even move it around the nest, and I cannot imagine her being able to rip it out of the water. That would take a very strong bird, which says something about our hero, Finn. He surely is a diamond and Iris SO deserves him. And wow, is he a looker. Such a handsome osprey. He is glorious.
At the noon feeding, Little was closest to mum and was fed first. His older sibling simply watched and patiently waited for his turn. Finn obscures our view as the feeding proceeds, but it appears that at noon, ten minutes after the arrival of the fish, Big Bob is still waiting. When Finn finally moves, at 12:04, we can see that Little Bob is still at mum’s beak but Big Bob does have a small crop so may have had some bites.
Finn decides he will start feeding himself from the tail end of this monstrous fish while Iris continues feeding Little Bob from the head end. I’m hoping Finn will feed Big Bob, who has turned to face dad and is obviously hopeful. Just before 12:07 Finn, who has come around to the head end of the fish, attempts to pull the fish from Iris’s grasp. She pulls back. She continues feeding Little. Big Bob is still hungry, and Iris turns her head to reach him, deciding Little Bob has had enough for now and her other chick needs his turn. So she feeds Big Bob bite after bite. Little turns away from the table. Finn plots his next attack on the fish.
Around 12:09 Finn gives up and heads for the perch. Mum keeps feeding BIg Bob. Just before 12:10 he begins alerting, looking upwards. That chirp of his is incredibly melodic for an osprey. Quite beautiful. Little, who has face-planted, sat up for a short while, then face-planted again, is not turning back to the table yet – I’m sure he will manage some seconds shortly. Just before 12:12 Iris joins Finn in alerting at something above. Finn is tracking it across the sky. He is concerned. At 12:12 the chicks both pancake.
At 12:12:28, another osprey attempts to land on the nest! Iris immediately rears up, flapping her wings with menace, and the bird flies off, with Finn in pursuit. Iris soon returns to the fish, but the chicks stay pancaked. Iris returns to eating herself, then feeds Big Bob again when he lifts his head. Little stands up but then decides his eyes are bigger than his stomach (well, not literally, obviously) and lies back down.
At 12:20 Iris is again looking upwards, and soon resumes alerting. Twenty seconds later, Finn lands back on the nest, much to our relief. This boy is strong and young and determined to protect his family. He is doing a wonderful job at it. Here is a big statement: this is a male with what it takes to become an M15. He is not quite there yet – I cannot see him raising two month-old osplets single-taloned as M15 did with his eaglets. But with another season or two of paternal experience, I can certainly see him becoming a dad of that calibre. I adore Finnegan. I cannot say enough good things about him. “
The nest is a mess but the chicks are fantastic at Niagara Bee.
Things continue to go well at Blackbush for the trio.
Concerns for the two osplets at Newfoundland Snow Lane nest of Beaumonth and Hope as bad weather continues. Prior to the rain a large fish was on the nest and Hope was feeding the chicks.
Big fish and four big osplets at Field Farm.
There are so many big osplets just eating, growing, and waiting for their day to fly. That is Great Bay, too.
The trio at Charlo Montana are changing from cute little bobbleheads and into Reptiles!!!!!!
So, it is too close to call for three of the Poole Harbour four. The little one is believed to be a male but the three older ones are either small females or large well fed males. Can’t sex. I am going to go with four males because of their behaviour – too sweet and nice.
Louis has been consistent in bringing in a morning and evening fish. Dorcha was on the nest around 2000 and Louis came in with her dinner. You could hear him returning her calls.
The video of that fish delivery:
The two chicks of Louis and Dorcha are believed to be two males! Here is Geemeff’s report:
Daily summary Tuesday 2nd July 2024
Today was the first day waking up to the reality of an empty nest. However, Woodland Trust Scotland spokesman George tells us the chicks are reported to be doing well after a warm, dry, peaceful night with plenty of fish. They have been initially assessed as two males, although a more thorough assessment will take place in due course when they are ringed and satellite tagged. Questions were raised on the forum as to the feasibility of continuing to feed the chicks on the nest rather than placing them in the translocation programme – WTS gives the reasons why that’s not possible, details here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15244841. It might have been thought that activity on the nest would tail off now but Garry LV0 stepped up to provide plenty of interest by intruding not once but several times on Nest Two. He even brought nest furnishings. If he does fancy Dorcha as a potential mate, both Dorcha and Louis have other ideas, and there was much flying on and off, alarm-chipping and hasty exits. Once Garry had left for the night, Louis turned up with a good size late night supper which was eagerly seized by Dorcha. No improvement in the weather, it’s deteriorating if anything, with a forecast of heavy rain and light winds tonight, and rain all day tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.44.17 (02.50.32); Nest Two 23.34.00 (03.23.23)
This is a video showing where the chicks of Dorcha and Louis will be translocated. Thanks, Mary Cheadle for posting this. We are all curious.
We have had more osplet deaths and the Memorial Page is now up to 90. The only surviving chick on nest 4 at Kielder Forest in the UK became lethargic and was not growing properly and died at 39 days right before ringing. It is believed to have been a lung infection due to all the cold rainy weather.
Nest 7 at Kielder had three healthy chicks that were ringed on Tuesday. Two females and a male. Very interesing names. Have a read:
All is well at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Please be careful if you are looking for this nest. There is a lot of archived footage on YT that might cause you to not be seeing the current time/day.
Lots of feedings. Mum is very attentive. Chick is doing well. The colouring is off – everything appears darker than it is. The chick is normal osplet plummage. On my screen, it looks very dark.
Here is the link:
The lens is all fogged up at the nest of Dylan and Seren in Llyn Clywedog. The chicks are feathered and doing great. Fledging shortly.
The little one at Cowlitz does wait for the other two and then, if there is fish, it gets a few bites before it is moved away. There was not a lot of fish coming in on Tuesday. It was 69 F with 10 mph winds.
Here are Heidi’s reports for the day!
7/2 Osoyoos osprey nest: After the live stream was offline for 2.5 days, it went live at 0938 this morning. The chicks looked good. The first delivery we saw was a tiny fish at 1006. What struck me was that Little immediately shuffled away and tucked as Soo prepared to feed. That was a new behavior that Little had acquired since the last time we watched. This indicated that there had been some dominance and aggression at meals. It was only a four minute feeding, and Little got 3 bites. The next fish at 1146 was also tiny, for a 5 minute feeding, and after some initial intimidation, Little ate. At 1212, Olsen delivered a Whopper! As Soo was dragging the large fish into position, Middle beaked Little into submission, but then Big beaked Middle! So there it was…yes there has been aggression at meals. By 1218 Middle was able to start eating beside Big. By 1222 Little had worked his way around to the other side of Soo and was getting a few bites…but, don’t ya’ know Soo moved the fish, so Little had no protection. After several more minutes passed, Little was eating right up beside the other two osplets, and all were having a good meal. At 1242 the cam went down for more than an hour, so we don’t know how long the meal was, or if Olsen removed some leftover fish. The next (and last) fish of the day was at 1553, a large whole fish, for a meal that lasted 13 minutes. Everyone ate peacefully.
7/2 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Things are going well for Johnny, June, and their 18-day-old youngster.
7/2 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: The oldest osplet, Harbor, seems to be calming down a bit, and is less aggressive toward Gray. I was able to observe a few meals and they were peaceful. Good news. The nestlings are 18 and 14-days-old.
7/2 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: Della, Warren and their two 35 and 36-day-old osplets are doing great. There is never a shortage of fish from Warren.
7/2 Forsythe osprey nest: This has been a very sad season for this nest. Only the oldest osplet (named Larry) remains out of the original four chicks. It seems that there’s not enough fish in this area. There were six fish delivered to the nest, including two from Opal. Larry is 42 days old, and should be able to make it to fledge.
7/2 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: Everything is going well for this bunch. There may be a fledge in a day or two…and I am predicting that Middle will be first to take flight. Middle is a bit smaller than Big, so has less body mass to get into the air. Middle has been getting some nice lift while flapping/leaping across the nest. (Ages of the osplets: 56, 55, 52)
7/2 Captiva osprey nest: Darling dominated the nest all day. Ding was prevented from landing on the nest many times. Edie delivered the only fish of the day at 1114. Ding flew in, there was a scramble with Darling over the fish, and it appeared as though Ding left in possession of the fish, or she may have dropped it. It was obviously not a good day for fishing. You may recall that Edie took a 6-day break, and returned on 6/29. In Edie’s absence, Jack worked his tail feathers off fishing for his kids during that period of time. It seems as though Jack may now be resting and taking a well deserved break. He was last seen on cam on 6/29.
Oh, those San Jose siblings!!!!!!!!
And more from this adorable family who continue to visit their scrape for us!
Ventana Wildlife continues to vaccinate the California Condor population against HPAI.
Plastics are everywhere. They are not good for our birds – not good in the sea, in nets, in human garbage, mesh bags, etc. As humans we need to try and minimise the number of plastic items that we purchase. I know that it is difficult. I made a vow several years ago to sever ties with plastic – they are everywhere. If you are heading to the lake or the beach, The Guardian ran a good article on how to avoid plastic. Even if you live elsewhere, there are good ideas here for everyone everywhere. We can help our wildlife.
I have a number of nests to report in Canada during the coming week. At least one of them has four healthy chicks! Stay tuned.
Thank you for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, questions, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Pam Breci, Scottish Field, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Menhaden Defenders, Phillipe Josee and the ND-LEEF Eagle Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Niagara Bee, Blackbush, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Great Bay, Charlo Montana, BoPH, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Mary Cheadle, Kielders ospreys, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Llyn Clywedog Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Forsythe, Mispillion Harbour, Audubon Boathouse, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, SK Hideaways, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Kakapo Recovery.
It is 2129 in Winnipeg and this is what my family is watching. Hurricane Beryl. My daughter in law is barracaded in a safe room in their house in Grenada ready to ride out the hurricane which is expected to hit the island with no less than 100 mph winds. Sending good wishes to everyone in its path including the beautiful ospreys that I watch at the mangroves, the egret, the herons, and all the little songbirds around the island.
It is the earliest hurricane of this magnitude to hit the islands. The last major one was Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
We are just holding our breath and waiting for the hurricane to pass and to get some word that all is well.
Moving on to our beloved birds.
Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets for 2024 from the Loch Arkaig 2 nest are heading to Spain. Geemeff sends us the latest posting from The Woodland Trust.
Good evening everyone.
Having kept the situation under review again today it has been decided that the chicks will be removed from the nest tomorrow morning and handed on to the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to be translocated to Spain.
The nest will likely be visited around 10am depending on how the weather turns out. The chicks will be given another good feed on the nest before being taken out of the tree.
I know you will have lots of questions about every last detail of this procedure but I don’t have much of that at the moment.
They will go to a specialised aviary in Inverness where they will be hand fed and looked after over the following days. Beak swabs will be taken to test them for avian flu and some other infections required before they embark overseas. Assuming all is well with that, they will be flown out to Spain on July 10th likely with ten other Scottish chicks.
This programme was already planned and in motion and it has been incredibly fortuitous that the timing fits with the emergence of our crisis on the nest at Arkaig.
We have had a number of tough decisions to take in the last week but actually this last one has been quite easy. There seems to be something wrong with Louis, possibly compounded by poor fishing conditions. The rate at which he has been fishing is just not enough to give the chicks a reasonable chance of survival. Even if they struggled through to the end of the summer it is felt very unlikely they would survive migration, which calls for considerable reserves of energy.
We are fairly certain at least one of the chicks would have died by now had there not been supplementary feeding on Friday and this morning.
When Louis was absent after Wednesday we wanted to at least wait to see if he would return before stepping in. Even though he returned on Saturday, there is something not right with him and we cannot have confidence he will return to form in time to stop the chicks from perishing. Before his disappearance he perched for most of Wednesday after bringing in one fish. Today he perched up for eight hours again after bringing one fish. The family needs more than that if it is to build up enough strength to survive migration.
The window of opportunity to enter the chicks in this translocation is brief and we did not want to be in the position of hanging on longer to see if the situation improved for our family. By removing them we hopefully take the pressure off the adults and allow them to replenish themselves in the coming weeks.
Continuing to feed them ourselves at Loch Arkaig is just not a feasible option. There are risks every time we go in. If the family is not viable on its own efforts its best the chicks get a chance in Spain.
Louis and Dorcha will almost certainly stick around with the nest as the centre of their partnership before migrating a bit earlier than usual so we will hopefully see them for a good while yet.
As I said previously – Scotland currently enjoys a population of beavers, red kites and sea eagles because other countries gifted us some of theirs. It is marvellous that Scotland is giving this gift to Spain and I think we should be proud that the Arkaig pair are going to be part of it. They will be ringed as having fledged in Spain but their highland heritage will be on record. My understanding is they are going to be GPS tagged so we should be able to receive updates about them.
I am sure some people will post for or against what is happening, which is fine, but please don’t get into rows about it. There is absolutely no point. The decision has been made. It was our decision to make and we did so in consultation with osprey experts. I hope that even those who don’t like what is happening will acknowledge that we have given thorough and honest consideration of all the options before coming to this conclusion.
We were driven at all times to do what is best for the ospreys – both our family and the species as a whole. Our two chicks will get a better chance to survive. The species’ range will be increased making it more resilient in the years ahead.
We’ll miss them of course. But then we would have been parting with them in a few weeks time anyway.
And as some of you say at the end of every season – “Don’t be sad to see them go. The journey is their purpose.”
Please enjoy the last few hours of them on the livestream.
We will keep you updated on how things go tomorrow.
Beautiful Dorcha and her chicks. George is certainly right. Without the supplementary fish we could have lost one chick and maybe two. The decision they have taken is a good one. We wish Dorcha and Louis all the best – a fast recovery for our great fisher and good health for all. In years to come we will look forward to hearing about these two breeding in Spain!
Thank you Fish Fairies!
This is Geemeff’s summary for The Woodland Trust for Loch Arkaig:
Daily summary Sunday 30th June 2024
Today brought news of a bittersweet ending to the season. The carefully researched and calmly thought out decision has been made by Woodland Trust Scotland to remove the two chicks and put them into the translocation programme in the care of Roy Dennis. They will ultimately help to found a new breeding population of Ospreys in Spain. Today’s videos have a certain poignancy as we know that this is the chicks’ last evening on the nest – they leave Loch Arkaig tomorrow. However with Louis only able to provide half of one fish today, this is the best outcome for our family. Louis will have time to recover, and he and Dorcha can spend the rest of the season pairbonding before leaving, probably a bit early, on migration, and then we expect to see them return next year to start again. The fish tally effectively ends today at two hundred and fifty four, but doubtless statto Steve will continue to record any subsequent fish brought to the nest by either of the adults. The fish brought by the ‘fish fairies’ ie the licensed raptor experts only counts in that it almost certainly saved the lives of the two chicks. No action on Nest One, weather reasonably settled today with the odd moment of sunshine, but tonight’s forecast is for light rain and light winds, and more rain tomorrow. They’re off to sunny Spain, Viva España!
Finnegan just continues to prove that he is one Super Star Dad. He brought in a fish to challenge everyone.
Finn removed the fish, flew about, returned with it to the perch where he ate before turning it back to Iris – who ate and fed the kids – and then Finn had some more. What a lovely way to end the day in Montana. I cannot imagine a more loving – more perfect – year for Iris.
Mummy is melting at Hellgate Canyon (Iris).
Good Night, Iris.
How much fish does an osprey need to eat per day? Have you been wondering this seeing nests thrive and others fail?
“Three separate studies estimated that an adult Osprey needs approximately 400 g (0.88 lb) of fish meat per day to meet its energy needs.”
The ospreys do come and visit the nest platform at Lake Norman in North Carolina. What a beautiful setting for a nest.
The video of Lady and Dad’s second arriving.
It is difficult to assess how much fish Little Three is getting at Blackbush. Mum often blocks the feeding. The two big ones did get full crops.
The two osplets in the Kurzeme Forest area of Latvia are looking quite good.
Both chicks at Finland’s #1 nest are enjoying some really nice fish dinners on Sunday.
It is a beautiful day on the Muonion nest where the chicks are tiny compared to those at #1.
Three gorgeous babies at Janakkala.
The 26 day report for Rosie and Richmond’s nest in SF.
There are some crab shells on Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home osprey nest. Two surviving osplets are gorgeous, big, fully feathered and will be looking forward to flying soon.
A nest full of beautiful osplets at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn.
What a beautiful view. Kiedler nest #7 and its three chicks. Mum is Blue KX7 and Dad is KM18. They have been bothered by an intruder, a fledgling form Dumfries, over the past couple of days.
Oh, one of the chicks is being a big ‘grumpy’ over on the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Elen. Aran had just delivered a nice fish! Wanting to make sure Little Bob knows who eats first!
Gosh, the trio at Great Bay are looking good, too. So many great nests with three feathered chicks.
‘H’ reports:
6/30 Patuxent River osprey nest: The three gorgeous teenagers (ages 55, 54, 51 days) are preparing themselves for flight. All have been practicing some wingers, even Little. I’ve seen some hop-wingers from the two older chicks, but so far no hovering that I am aware of. Last night, chick #1 was standing to sleep most of the night for the first time.
6/30 Forsythe osprey nest: This nest is unsettled, even though the two remaining chicks are 41 and 40 days old. After Mini and Little died from siblicide/starvation, things started to settle down, and there was peace in the nest for about a week. Then the live stream went down for a few days. When it resumed, we noticed that Big was back to being aggressive, and was preventing Middle from eating, indicating that not enough fish had been brought to the nest during the cam downtime. The aggression is ongoing, and Middle does not get very much to eat. On 6/29, Middle ate for a total of about 11 minutes during 5 meals. 6/30 was a bad day with stormy weather almost all day long. There were two fish delivered, one each from Oscar and Opal. And surprisingly, Opal pulled a tiny fish out of the rail sticks at 1740. Middle ate approximately 31 bites of fish all day. Today should be better for fishing… sunny, high 82 F, winds gusting to 16 mph.
6/30 Bridge Club osprey nest: Almost two weeks ago, chatters of the live stream noticed something was wrong with the middle chick’s left leg. S/he was not able to use the leg. The chick propelled itself using its good leg and its wings to ‘walk’ on the nest. However, its range of movement was only several inches in any direction, and for that reason, some thought it may have been entangled by fishing line. There was a great deal of talk on the chat regarding the chick’s injury, and some viewers contacted the nest owners and various entities that might be able to perform a rescue. In response …the chat was shut down. The osplet was still able to eat as long as Mom fed close by, and she usually did. Mom also tried to provide shade for the chick. It was apparent to viewers that the osplet was never going to be able to fledge, and would eventually die in the nest. Communication was taking place amongst osprey nest-cam-watchers via other chats, that didn’t mind some off-topic conversation, and in Facebook groups. Over the next several days, a few persistent viewers continued to reach out to find someone to help this poor chick that was suffering. On 6/30, the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center arranged a rescue of the osplet, and it was removed from the nest early in the morning. The chick was examined and evaluated. Here is the statement from a representative from the Rescue Center:
“Thank you for your concern. An Osprey chick was rescued at the Bridge Golf Course in Bridgehampton, Long Island NY on Jun 30 at 7am this morning. The chick was then transferred to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue center where it was determined by x-ray showing an open fracture as well as a bone infection that had made the chick’s left leg unusable. X-Rays were shared with two local veterinarians who concurred with the diagnosis. The chick was transported to one of the Vets to be euthanized this afternoon. Given the nature of Ospreys, who need fresh fish for survival, even if amputation was successful, captivity for this migratory sea bird is truly not an option This is of course not the ending to the story that anyone wanted, but many times in nature a compassionate end of life scenario is what is best for both the bird and the bird family remaining in the nest.”
We all wonder what might have been the ending to this story if the nest owners had been proactive ten days ago, before bone infection set in, instead of ignoring the chatters. Perhaps the result would have been the same, but it would have ended the suffering of this young osprey a lot sooner. But, there is also another scenario involved here… Little chick #3 at the Bridge Club nest died of starvation during this period of time, after chick 2’s leg was injured. If chick 2 had been removed from the nest sooner, it is possible that Little 3 may still be alive.
This reminds me of the sad story of the eaglet, DH18, from the Dale Hollow nest in 2023, where refusal to acknowledge responsibility, indecision, and procrastination, lead to the rescue of DH18 that came too late for him to be saved.
‘A’ reports: “July 1: Now there are two eggs on the nest, full incubation starts. Before the second egg was laid, the first egg was uncovered for a total of 30 hours, with 22 hours total on those four cold nights. As we see most of the time, Lady alone incubated last night, leaving in the morning after a couple of early duets, with Dad coming in for his first shift at 6:37am. Both have shared incubation today, with Dad spending longer for 6:17 and Lady 5:22. The eggs were only uncovered for short periods – a total of 21 minutes. Dad returned late afternoon, though with no prey – nothing was brought in today for Lady, though she was away long enough to catch her own. Lady was on the eggs at dark, with Dad roosting close by.”
A correction. The Crooked Lake Nest is in Columbia, Indiana. I have the correct location in our data forms, but I said Iowa in my blog when noting the predation by the GHO of the three osplets. I’m sorry for any confusion.
A second note. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. They had many storms as we did in Winnipeg. The cities are 8 hours apart but sometimes experience similar weather if the system is large. Viewers were concerned that the camera might have been ‘shut off’ when the weather was terrible and the chicks died. My observer believed that was what happened. As it turns out, the storm took the camera offline because there were outages in the area at the time. It happens here, too. Just want to make that correction. Everyone in Minnesota does a great job monitoring the nests in the area and we live in hope that the only surviving osplet at MN ARB will fledge this year.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J, H, PB’, National Hurricane Centre, Geemeff, George and The Woodland Trust, Vallencia Birding, Montana Osprey Cams, Avian Report, EarthCam, SK Hideaways, Blackbush, LDF, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SF Bay Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Dyfi Osprey Project, Kielder Forest Nest 7, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Great Bay, Patuxent River Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, and Sydney Sea Eagle Cam..
