Thank you for being with us. There is ‘some’ news coming in from Bird World and a note from ‘J’ who found a YT video of a young woman reading to an Eagle! She said that she had never heard of reading to animals til she discovered I was reading to the cats. If you have animals, read to them, especially if they are young and frightened. Let them get used to your voice. The tone of the words in the book is important, too. Calico will walk out if they are ‘loud or gruff’. Seriously. Otherwise, she sits and listens intently from my grandmother’s quilt or my lap. The girls have all had story time more than once today. It is a lovely time together, and they listen, just like this eagle.
The kittens are tuckered. They played, going around in circles and up through the ‘catservatory,’ over the table, through the kitchen, leaping to the island and down to the floor before scurrying as fast as they could tree in the con into the sitting room. Hope liked to take an ornament off the twinkling tree, and away she would return to the cat tree. As a consequence, today has been quiet. Quiet as a mouse wanting to get into the mince pies on the counter. They have slept all day. Even Hugo has not been crying for food. Incredible.
Thank you to those who have sent in their uplifting moments from 2023. For those that haven’t, there is still time. Send them in by the end of the day on 31 December. I will be posting them on the 1st of January. You can add them in the comments or send me an e-mail. I won’t mention your name! E-mail is: maryannsteggles@icloud.com
The big news in Bird World is a possible pip at the SW Florida nest of M15 and F23. I have not seen this or any official notification by the Pritchett family, so it could be simply someone being optimistic. That is easy to do – I have been there once or twice.
F23 and M15 should be able to hear their eaglets soon (if not now).
Clive and Connie -along with C10 and C11 -survived that soaking storm that went through Captiva. The eaglets look a little ragged but everyone is alright. Just look at that pantry! What I wouldn’t give if V3 had Clive’s instincts! These two are going to be nibbling on those fish before we know it. Just look at all of them!!!!!! A nestful.
Did your hair look like this in the 80s? (Thanks, J). And where did those pin feathers come from!!!!!! Stop growing you two.
Gabby rolling the egg at NE Florida.
Eggs are completely unviable. Alex off the nest at KNF-E3.
One egg for Abby and Blazer at Eagle Country on 25 December. Second should arrive on the 28th – that is Thursday.
Both eagles working on the nest at Duke Farms.
A foggy Christmas at the Dulles-Greenway Nest.
They are busy at the Johnson City Bald Eagle nest.
Dad brought in a small fish at 0744 to the Port Lincoln Osprey barge nest. Gil got it and Brad stole it and ate it! Way to go Brad. That was a really good steal.
SE31 rumoured to have caught another fish.
Marri’s Christmas set to music by Cilla Kinross.
Ospreys at Achieva in St Petersburg. Normally eggs are laid in early February.
We had hedgehogs in our garden when we lived in the UK. One even made its way into the house by way of a seven-year-old who thought it adorable til the fleas started flying off in the gazillions! The hedgehogs feasted on the fruit from the orchard at the back of the garden and from the food we left them: water, cat food, and mealworms. While this note is for people with hedgehogs, think also of the community cats in your neighbourhood and leave food and water out for them and the birds – if you can. A bowl of water can be a lifesaving thing!
Thank you so much for being with us. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, videos, articles, poems, and posts that helped me to write my blog this morning: ’H, J’, Bird TLC, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Elfruler, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, Carol Shores Rifkin, KNF-E3, Pat Burke, Eagle Country, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway, Sara A, PLO, Bart M, Cilla Kinross, Achieva Credit Union, BirdGuides, Audubon, and Al-liance.
The best of the holiday season to those who are celebrating Christmas. We hope that you have a wonderful, wonderful day.
There was a light dusting of snow on Friday morning. When I went out to feed the birds, I looked up to the sky, and let a few of the falling flakes dance across my face. It was glorious. A single simple moment brings such joy.
‘The Girls Thought for the Day’: Any ordinary day can become extraordinary – stop, breathe, and look for the beauty.
Late Thursday night, I put out a ‘Bug and Nut’ suet cylinder, hoping to entice any Blue Jay in the neighbourhood. I was not quick enough with my camera this morning, but one deep in the lilacs took a nut and flew off. I didn’t scream for joy because Hugo was nestled in my arms, but oh, how wonderful it was to see the flick of those beautiful Indigo feathers. Dyson was there, too, eating peanuts along with both Little Reds. About 75 sparrows came for some festive seed, and various community cats, including ‘The Boyfriend’, had roast chicken and dry kibble. It is a lot of work and I am behind in my shovelling of shells, but the happiness that these animals bring cannot be measured.
The girls will have a table set just for them. Now will they really perch on the chairs and eat their chicken like nice little male osprey chicks? Or will they snarl and fuss? We will see.
The toy of the season has been this interactive one. It has a rotating laser light, a feather toy at the top that moves and little balls they can move with their paws. By far they have played with it the most.
Baby Hugo would rather play with Baby Hope sometimes.
I have mentioned that Hugo is fearless, right? She is so tiny compared to the others but playing rough is just what she wants to do. She is like a little orange tiger.
Now she has decided it is time to play with Missey!
Calico gets out of the way quickly when Baby Hugo is tearing around the sitting room.
Calico was so thin at the end of the summer after raising the kitten/s. She did an amazing job with Baby Hope compared to other stray cats and kittens I have seen. Calico is always worried about food, having lived on the streets, and I am afraid she is the ‘clean up’ kitty. She has gotten a little ‘pear-shaped’ since August when she moved into the house, and we are now working on a bit of a diet plan.
The girls enjoyed their little party. First up to check it out was Missey followed by Hugo. Calico and Hope opted to eat in their usual spots. Each got their favourite treats along with some ‘dental toys’ and another new toy to alternate – keeping them active and away from ‘boredom’. Did we worry about cats being bored decades ago? or that their nails required trimming? or their teeth brushed?
Around the table are their bowls and favourite treats. Missey prefers the Churu Pops while Calico loves anything to do with Catnip. Baby Hope gets the Wilderness Salmon and Cranberries while Baby Hugo loves the Greenies Dental (I have to break them up for her). Sardines all around, dental chews, gnomes big and small to drag on the floor and a cat toy. All in all I would say that Santa did quite well by the girls.
They will have roast chicken in the pink dishes later. For now it is tinned food.
See that package of sticks with tassels? They are supposed to help keep their teeth clean. They have certainly chewed on them all evening. Fingers crossed. The cleaning of teeth has been one of the biggest expenses for families with felines I am told by the vet techs.
As the end of the year approaches, it is good to reflect on all the extraordinary events in our lives and Bird World. What were the 2 or 3 events with our feathered friends that touched you this year? If you feel like it, drop me a line and tell me so that I can share. I want to see how many overlap so I will also rank the top 5. I plan to publish them on the 1st of January to kick off the year. You can add them as a comment or send them to me as an e-mail – thanks, ever, for sharing: maryannsteggles@icloud.com
At NE Florida. Gabby. Will she have to do it all? This nest concerns me. I adore both of them and would like nothing more than to see Gabby become a mum again, but…she cannot do it alone.
The learning curve is high. Instinctual does not mean parents (raptor or otherwise) get it right. Stop and think about the males that have either done something accidentally to harm their chicks or something silly. Tom and the first hatch for him and Angel, the Leucistic RTH, this year. The feeding of so many eggs, including that at the scrape of Monty and Hartley. Many females prefer to eat and not feed their chicks. We will never know what drove V3 to bury the first egg, and we will sit at home and scream at the screen for him to bring prey to Gabby. I would prefer that this egg fails than to see an eaglet starve. Again, Gabby cannot do it alone – she might be a super Mamma, but she will still require help. — Please prove me wrong! You can all throw rotten tomatoes at me!
‘H’ sent me the most recent news on Gabby: ”Gabby was not in the nest for a while, and Beau flew to the Wallenda. He stayed there for a long time, finally going to the nest at 165025. He started pulling up moss again, and looked like he may have intended to perhaps do what he did to egg #1…but every time he started to do something, Gabby hollered at him from a nearby tree. So, he eventually flew to the Sunset branch. The egg was inadvertently moved to the edge of the bowl (not that there is much of a bowl) from Beau’s actions. Now, Gabby just returned to the nest….she resumed incubating the egg from its current location. 550 people were holding their breath.”
Thanks so much, ‘H’.
It is raining at the nest of Alex in the Kisatchie National Forest. Alex is trying to keep those eggs dry tonight. Just ache for him…gosh, I wish I could send you Gabby and her egg!
The John Bunker Sands Eagles are incubating two eggs and the area has already had over two inches of rain.
Now that it is the 25th of December, you can start getting excited because we are going to be on hatch watch at the nest of M15 and F23 in Fort Myers soon. There has been great success at Captiva with Connie and Clive and I am looking forward to M15 and his new mate raising their first clutch together.
Great photos coming out of the Parramatta River from Chang-Le Dong of SE31. Thank you!
‘A’ gives us a good report on the sea eagles: ”December 25: Early, all three eagles were down on the river and SE31 was eating a fish. Around 7am, the parents were duetting with the juvenile squeeing a ‘Happy Christmas’. Again, after 8am, when our juvenile had finished eating, there was another chorus. Then she seemed to stay out of sight, with no more views. Late in the afternoon, at 5:30pm, the storm was approaching and only one adult was to be seen. There was a great sighting of the critically endangered Eastern Curlew earlier, flying over the wetlands. Very exciting.”
‘A’ also says “At Orange, all three of our falcons have been sighted today, with both parents visiting the scrape (Diamond several times during the day, and she is there now, while Xavier visited for a bonding session at 18:26). Marri was sighted (and heard!!) atop the tower more than once, chasing poor Xavier off the roof on one occasion. There was a big storm, with hail, in the middle of the day, but it fined up later on and all falcons were sighted after the storm, so none of our precious falcons was harmed. “
Checking on Port Lincoln:
Gil and then Brad share in the last fish delivery that is recorded before I call it night’s out. It was a nice big fish to complement an earlier delivery by Dad.
The Arno Bay Ospreys in South Australia have been given names!
At Redding, Guardian is bringing in the prey and building up Liberty’s strength for eggs!
At the Royal Albatross Colony:
Scary times for Anna and Louis?
Monty and Hartley have a brand new scrape box. Listen to them discuss its potential!
Some images today from the Captiva nest:
The nest is sure nice at Eagle Country. Waiting for eggs.
Jackie was hard at work Sunday morning moving some sticks around on her nest at Big Bear.
Occasionally, I see a posting about an extraordinary young person getting involved to help save the birds and their habitat. I know that there are lots more out there, but kudos to this young man on his second fundraising project for the albatross.
On Christmas Eve, the girls and I slowed down. My friend in Paris suggested I take a nice chunk of chocolate and put it into a mug with heated 10% cream. Stir. Drink. Just like one of the stalls makes in Shakespeare and Company. It was lovely. Try it! And if you want to give it a hint of Mexico – stir with a cinnamon stick. Then, we wrapped ourselves in my grandmother’s quilts and continued reading about Red-tails in Love – the story of Pale Male – in the quiet of the conservatory with the full moon hovering overhead. Blissful. Truly one of the nicest moments of the year.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, articles, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H’, NEFL-AEF, KNF-E3, Tom Fleming, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Brandy Adams, Chang-Le Dong, PLO, Fran Solly, FORE, Sharon Dunne, Tonya in NO, SK Hideaways, Window to Wildlife, FOBBV, Holly Parsons, and Eagle Country.
To those celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – and Boxing Day – have a wonderful holiday. Have lots of laughs, good food, make memories!
As we near the end of the year, I also want to thank everyone for your empathy, interest, and dedication to the planet’s wildlife (and domesticated pets). Pictures of your fur babies or birds visiting your feeders are always welcome, and I am so grateful for your letters and comments. It is heartwarming to know that a huge community of caring souls exists. Together, we have wept, and we have celebrated. Most of all, we have marvelled at this wonderful world we are a part of. So, here is to 2024 – may it be a blessed year for our birds and our families- no matter how many legs they have!
My year has been full of joy and utter sadness. I am so grateful to the girls that have enriched my life well beyond anything that I could have even dreamed about. There will, however, always be a tear shed and a little hole in the heart because of Lewis. What a great guy he was. Each one of them is their own person – their own character with their story. I feel lucky to be a part of that journey with them.
Dear little Hugo decided to confront Calico head on. Seriously. Confronting Calico?! Calico normally takes off to get out of Hugo’s path. It is simply too funny. Notice how her eyes are so much better. And her face is getting a little round. It looks like we will make it!
In the garden, the squirrels are thriving in the warm weather. They have some treats, too – in the form of a big bag of in-the-shell peanuts. Dyson could not be happier! The Blue Jays have not returned and so it must be assumed that they have made their way to warmer climates south of here. I cannot fathom all of them having an untimely demise. Today, there were five Black-capped Chickadees in the apple tree in the front garden. Tomorrow they will get a special ball of seeds just for them. Oh, it would be grand if they made their nest in their in the spring! It is away from where the community cats normally visit so should be safe.
In Osprey World, it is about 83 days until the first birds begin returning to the UK from West Africa or the Iberian Peninsula. Keep them in your thoughts as they make this perilous journey.
‘H’ sent me to a posting by Elfruler that is truly a good read and a great way to sit down and contemplate what is happening over at the nest of Gabby and V3. Thanks, ‘H’.
I am not an eagle expert. But, if Ospreys know who the eggs belong to and if the male even twitches that they arrived a little too early since the pair’s mating, you will see that Osprey kick those eggs over to the next lach! So if Ospreys know, then why wouldn’t Bald Eagles?
Around 17:13 Gabby went into labour and laid the second egg. She was sooooo tired after. Beau was on a branch looking down. He could hear her. Now. Let us see how this plays out.
Quick reveal – white spot under feathers near centre.
Tired Mamma. 525 people watching and excited for Beau and Gabby.
I have missed several of the Ferris Akel tours on Saturday and today was a reminder that we really need to slow down and enjoy life. I miss those tours! Ferris found both Big Red and Arthur, Mourning Doves, and some geese and ducks today along with Bald Eagles!
Beautiful Big Red hunting.
Arthur on the throne.
So many Doves and they kept flying in!
Sandhill Cranes flying in and landing.
And then after gathering at their stop, they left.
Kids still being fed well by Connie and Clive. The pantry is absolutely full thanks to Clive’s amazing hunting skills. No need for C10 to be intimidating C11 but it is – dominance.
I love in when Clive comes in to check on the eaglets and when he feeds them while Connie is away like now.
Connie returns.
‘A’ comments on the activities at Connie and Clive’s nest: ”Meanwhile, at Captiva, yesterday’s feeding record was broken today, with 13 feedings. Yes, you read that right. Thirteen. Here are the time stamps: 6:57:55 Feed1, 8:19:14 Feed2[CE10], 8:52:45 Feed3, 9:47:42 Feed4, 10:57:05 Feed5, 11:37:15 Feed6, 12:33:50 Feed7.1:51:25 Feed8,3:33:15 Feed9 [Clive]. 3:59:34Feed10[CE10] 4:29:25 Feed11, 5:11:15 Feed12, 5:55;20 Feed13.
These two are so adorable, though the bonking has definitely begun. You will note that at feed 2, for example, little CE11 puts its head up to participate, gets bonked once, and is down for the count. That happens at another feeding later in the day too (feed 10). But both are getting more than enough to eat, with Clive keeping fish scattered about the nest and around a dozen feedings a day. I would so love it if there was no bonking, but then I remember that’s why we watch peregrines and RTHs.”
SE31 and family at the river.
A look at Gil and Brad from the egg to the fledge. Thank you Fish Fairies for ensuring that these two were well fed and fledged!
Can the Black-footed Albatross be saved? And is this island free of cats? and rats? A good read from Audubon. Please cut and paste the link to Audubon for the article below the photo credit.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
I am so grateful to the following for their notes, articles, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, NEFL-AEF, Elfruler, Paul K, Ferris Akel Tours, Window to Wildlife, Chang-Le Dong, PLO, Bart M. Openverse, and Audubon.
It was -2 C on Saturday. At one point, it was -8 when I was at the Nature Centre. Yes, I put on the super warm boots and heavier long coat and, with Possum hat in hand, went for a 2km walk. Lots of families were out enjoying the day. I saw only a few Black-capped chickadees flitting around with the woodpeckers and the squirrels. The crisp air was lovely.
This time of year, I like to pop in and check out the new bird books on the shelves. I found one that might interest you – for yourself or a friend. If you need just a little motivation to sit and watch outside or want to record your sightings, this book is for you. It is large enough you won’t be cramped on filling in information yet small enough to stick in your bag along with a pen for your walks. I usually record my findings on eBird, but I will also start to use this diary instead of scribbling on the pages of my Manitoba bird book!
When I got home, the little boy across the street ‘Teddie’ and his dad had been doing some snow sculpture. Cute!
The girls are fantastic. Well, I think they are. Calico might tell you differently. She was trying to have a nice snooze after breakfast – Calico loves to sleep upside down. Well, Hugo thought Calico’s tummy was the perfect bullseye to jump on. Hugo wanted to play. – Calico wanted to sleep. Dear Calico was so startled that she ran as fast as she could the opposite direction after giving out a hiss!
Missey quickly hid in the large tunnel toy while the commotion was going on.
Baby Hope decided that the safest place was in the basket.
Hugo, of course, was not bothered by any of this. She just went over and started playing with the other tunnel toy! Hugo is utterly fearless. I wonder what the dynamics are going to be in a year?
Baby Hope eventually came out and posed. I cannot take my eyes off her. She is the most precious kitten. I will still be tearing up when she is ten years old marvelling at how she found us after the entire neighbourhood looked and called ‘hoping’ to reunite Calico and her kitten.
Despite the mishap with Calico, Missey, Hope, and Hugo are having fun together. They are not bored but are getting vast amounts of exercise. The flow of the house from the conservatory through the kitchen, around the island, past the library and into the sitting room is a perfect race track for them to exercise those leg muscles.
The kittens want to give you a big giggle to start your day off right.
It is so quiet in Bird World that it is actually eerie. There are storms moving through Florida and along the Carolina coast. In the midst of those, Connie and Clive have their first pip. The couple had piled grasses into the nest prior to the arrival of the storm and those eggs are nice and dry. Mum and Dad are soaking! Good luck Connie and Clive. Bird World needs a little bobblehead right now especially since Gil has fledged and Brad is thinking about it!
Video of hatch in progress. If this chick makes it, it will be the first successful hatch of the 2023-24 Bald Eagle season on streaming cam! Fingers and toes crossed.
Clive is staying right there with Connie. Both of them are getting soaked, just like M15 and F23.
The hatch came at 0614 Sunday the 17th.
At Southwest Florida, M15 is protecting F23 and their two precious eggs from the storm. What a guy…F23 does not know how lucky she is…yet.
More sightings of SE31 and Lady and Dad providing food down by the River Roost. Also I am reposting information from an earlier post in case you missed it. SE31 had been taken into care and released in the area by the parents.
This has been the most wonderful year at the Parramatta River. To have one sea eaglet survive to be trained by its parents to live a successful life in the wild just makes me tingle all over. We have all shed tears for this nest in the past and I have longed for Lady and Dad to be able to finish what they began as an egg. Let us all hope that 32 is out there someone living their life, too.
Marri flew up to the ledge of the scrape on Saturday in Australia. Oh, wonderful.
Xavier has been testing out the new pebbles in the clean scrape.
At Port Lincoln, ‘A’ gives us an update: ”Giliath went on a second flight – only about 90 seconds, from 11:58:29 until 11:59:54, when he demonstrated an impressive backward-flying landing manoeuvre. Brad was very impressed and a little surprised. It’s all happening with this pair. I still think Brad is a couple of days away from fledging. He has not done anything like the amount of wingercising that Giliath did pre-fledge. But we will see. It probably depends on the wind. “
Mum, Gil, and Brad waiting for fish mid-afternoon.
All of us remain hopeful for Gabby and V3 this year.
At the KNF nest, Alex is still doing incubation duty while F1 stands guard and protects the nest! This was Friday but he was still on the eggs on Saturday.
Saturday night and Alex is roosting elsewhere. Maybe with F1. I wonder when his hormones will shut down or he will realise the eggs are not viable? Was it Shadow that incubated for 80 days? Does someone remember?
If there is time for Pepe and Muhlady to have a second clutch, maybe this will work out for Alex and F1. If not, may their bond grow stronger. She is surely a fierce eagle!
Meanwhile, Bella gets friendly with the new male.
Elfruler.com has an article with a lot of data from their research on why Bald Eagle eggs fail. This might give some good insight into what is happening this year on some nests.
There is more good news coming for the Albatross. We have Moana returning to NZ and we have the central character of Kalam’s Journey returning to Kauai – and she is not yet 7 years old! She survived! Tears.
Incubation changeover at Taiaroa Head at the Royal Albatross Colony. Get ready for beautiful sky calls.
Cockatoos alter their food to make it easier to eat – looks like my Crows and my Blue Jays!
My rescue girls certainly think that this would be the best thing that could happen!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care – and if you are in the path of the storms, stay safe. We want to see you back with us soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Cat’s Diary, Gracie Shepherd, Window to Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Chang-le Dong, Sydney Eagle Cam, Helen Match, SK Hideaways, Jerinelle Wray, Carol Shores Rifkin, KNF-E3, Deb Stecyk, Elfruler.com, Holly Parsons, NZ-DOC, Lady Hawk, and The New York Times.
Good Morning to all of you. We are just two weeks and a day away from a brand new year – and sometime, between now and then, I hope that we have two healthy hatches at the SW Florida Eagle nest of M15 and F23. They could be the first successful nest of the year with two eaglets.
Before we move on to the other birds and the scant news, I have some more information about Hugo. When you adopt a kitten in Winnipeg, you should be given a file folder of information. That was missing when Hugo was picked up. It came in the post today. So, here are some things that were gleaned.
Hugo was born at the beginning of September. The folder says 5 September, but other information on line said 2 September, and my vet thought that because of her size and teeth development that this had to be the beginning of October. From what I understand, the original family wrote down 5 September as the date the stray cat they took in had her kittens. This original foster family took in a very malnourished stray cat, a Tortie, on the Peguis Reserve north of Winnipeg so that the cat would have a safe place to have her kittens. The family named the cat Grace and she had seven kittens. It is unknown if this was her first litter, but she was very tiny. Hugo had trouble eating. The kittens were surrendered to the adoption agency on the 11th of November. All were very tiny for their age.
It is not clear what health issues the original situation with the Mum will have on Hugo’s development, overall health, or life expectancy. Right now Hugo is enjoying eating her kitten food, the kitten kibble, and loves the thick kitten milk. She loves to play and is sleeping on one of her favourite teaser toys. She likes being wrapped tight in a blanket and held close. Like all the others, I would not give her up for anything. Today she weighed 1384 grams before her evening meal. On Thursday, she weighed 860 grams so that is a gain of 524 grams or more than a pound. She looks like she might be long. Her eyes are still a little drippy so more Polysporin for Pink Eye. She will have her second round of vaccinations on 28 December and be spayed on the 15th of March -. The vet might be in for a surprise since all the paperwork still indicates that Hugo is a ‘he’ and that ‘he’ will be neutered.
Hope watching Hugo play with the red pom-pom on the tunnel.
It was Hope that first took over Missey’s basket with the little granny square blanket she was given when she was adopted. Now it is Hugo that is moving in on Hope’s territory! I did say that little Hugo is fearless, right?
Missey sits on the back of the sofa or on the wicker and watches them all. More than half the time she is now playing with Hope and Hugo. So nice to see her back to her normal self.
Hugo looking outside to ‘The Boyfriend’ who came for breakfast.
Beautiful Calico. I tear up every time I think about what she went through and how healthy little Hope was. What a miracle.
It was +4 today and what a nice day for a short brisk walk at the nature centre. The squirrels were running everywhere and watching them made me think that they thought spring had arrived. The chickadees were out at the feeders along with a male and female Downy Woodpecker and a White-breasted Nuthatch. The entire place feels empty without the ducks and the geese, though.
There is good news coming from the Sydney Olympic Forest area for our WBSE family – Mum, Dad, and one fledgling presumed to be SE31.
“December 13: Early morning, both adults were seen at River Roost and SE31 was seen going into the mangroves and heard calling. Then again, at 07:45, SE31 was heard but not seen. Then at last, just after 9am, an adult was seen catching a large fish – grabbing it with one foot – in front of River Roost. SE31 flew out to claim it with loud squeeing, then all three were out of sight in the mangroves. No further observations during the day.
December 14: Early morning, SE31 was spotted at Mangrove Island – then moving to River roost. This seems to be her home patch now, moving back and forth and sheltering in the mangroves lining the river. It has been a really hot day again. We have no more observations for today – hopefully, our eagles were keeping as cool as they can by the river.”
And the last report from Sydney: ”December 15: Early morning report at 07:30 of SE31 and one adult at the water’s edge at River Roost, then joined by the other adult. Then, at around 09:20, SE31 was seen flying over the wetlands, venturing further and flying right up high, before returning to River Roost – feeling her wings for sure. At around 4pm in the afternoon, SE31 was seen at River Roost, a parent arrived, then shortly after she flew to Mangrove Island. Later, she was seen flying high again, before returning to the River Roost mudflats.”
At Orange, Diamond still is not too pleased that the scrape box was cleaned. Wonder what the rush was? Does anyone know if Marri has returned to the scrape since the cleaning?
At Port Lincoln, it is Gil and Brad on the nest. Both now have names. It has been such a good year at Port Lincoln thanks in full to the foresight and tenacity of Janet, Bazz, and Fran who insisted on an intervention. We can all agree that the research coming off this nest opens up new avenues for thinking when it comes to Ospreys. Give them an international round of applause. For my friend ‘A’, she is overjoyed at the success of this nest. In the past she was hesitant to even go on line to check on the osprey family. Today she wrote, “I just adore this pair SO much. Goliath in particular is wingercising with great concentration. He has been getting air, with some impressive hovering yesterday. I know it’s a wonderful achievement and I should be pleased, and it is and I am, but I will miss these two. I do hope that they do an Ervie and hang around Port Lincoln at least sometimes. I still wonder what on earth caused Zoe to head inland into the desert. It made no sense. But then, much of her behaviour made no sense.”
At the time I am writing, Dad has delivered a partial fish to Mum and the boys. That is fantastic.
They are gorgeous – Gil and Brad.
These are the comparison weights provided by the observation board, Bart M for the PLO chicks:
Giliath (male) – 1445 grams
Bradley (male – 1390 grams
In comparison:
Zoe (female – 1700 g
Ervie (male) – 1380 g
Bazza (male) – 1280 g
Falky (male) – 1230 g
At Osprey House, George has delivered two fish – one for each fledgling!
‘H’ reports: ”Broken shell overnight first noticed around 0310 (very poor visibility). Muhlady appeared to move the shell. When cam view improved, it was evident. No eaglet seen. Maybe they will reclutch. They have been mating.”
The question is this: why are these shells breaking? Is it humidity? were they viable to begin with?
We should watch for Connie and Clive at Captiva Bald Eagle nest. The wind is picking up. Storms with heavy rain are expected over the weekend on the Barrier Islands in Florida. Let us hope that there is no hatch during this time. Renee posted this information on chat: “PIP WATCH: Starts Saturday Dec. 16, 2023. Due to some delayed incubation, we may not see a PIP until Sunday 17th or Monday 18th.” I would like for this to wait until nice weather not during a thunderstorm.
There are many nests without any eggs yet. Duke Farms is one of those. Dad went missing in the spring, and there is a new male.
The other is NE Florida, ‘The Hamlet’ home to Gabby and V3. These two were busy working on the nest and alerting against intruders.
Indeed, of the streaming cams, there are so many without eggs yet. We might enjoy the spacing this year and get to see those little bobbleheads developing at all stages.
Anna and Louis laid their first egg on the 9th of December. There has not been a second egg. It would have been laid on the 12th. Fingers crossed that this egg is good – especially because of Andria’s death and the loss of the two eggs at KNF-E-1.
Alex continues to incubate his and Andria’s eggs. The female continues to bury them, and he digs them up. My heart aches for him. At the same time, please do not let these eggs hatch. The only way these eaglets could survive would be if the female visitor fully embraced motherhood. Remember, Harriet and M15’s chicks were at month old when Harriet disappeared last February at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest.
Suzanne Arnold Horning is always looking out for Big Red and Arthur. This spring, Big Red will be 21 years young.
Plans to genetically engineer the Dodo back to life! Location: Mauritius.
Bird Guides announces, “An audacious plan between geneticists and conservationists to bring back the extinct Dodo has been announced.
Attempts to bring the species back to its former habitat in Mauritius are set to be led by US-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company, Colossal Biosciences, which is pursuing the ‘de-extinction’ of various other species.”
If you missed the latest Condor Chat with Ventana Wildlife, here you go!
Could you fish in these conditions? Albatross do it every day in the roaring Southern Ocean.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care. See you on Saturday!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J, L’, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Karen Long, PLO, Bart M, Heidi Mc, Osprey House, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Ann Penury, Duke, NE Florida-AEF, KNF E-1, KNF E-3, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Bird Guides, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Holly Parsons.
We must start with Wisdom, the oldest banded Laysan Albatross in the world. She is dancing again! On the Midway Atoll. Can you imagine? 72 years old and dancing. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw the message from Holly Parsons. Wisdom is incredible. Send positive wishes that this very special albatross will breed again this year!
Wisdom lost her long-time mate three fall breeding seasons ago. Hold on to your seats this year! It looks like she might have attracted a young male partner.
Wisdom is on the left with the red band, Z333.
And then for news in Cat World. The hunt for the male kitten has come up trumps. Let me introduce the youngest and last kitten I will ever adopt. Hugo. After Grayish turned out to be a female, I was about to give up and then the head coordinator asked me what I wanted in a kitten. A short time later she phoned and said she had the perfect match. Did I mind a Ginger?
Stories about Hugo and the girls will come on Wednesday morning!
When it comes to Ospreys, no one has all the answers. I am grateful to Bart, who has worked hard for Port Lincoln to get the observation board information up to date, work on fish delivery stats, and monitor the chat. Bart has now included those days with zero fish so that his findings will be accurate. It was a simple oversight, but having those figures in there and those days will change the final statistics while providing an accurate view of what happened. Bart’s efforts and those of the fairies have offered everyone an excellent educational and sharing experience.
I gave Port Lincoln a poke yesterday. They are in a tough situation because what they are doing is unique – supplying supplementary fish to a nest where siblicide is a known reality. Dad has never been a stellar performer. As Bart noted today, he is at best good for four fish, no more. (Most of the nests I have monitored average seven deliveries a day for 2 or 3 osplets.) The reasons for the low number of deliveries can only be speculated. This is not just my thinking. We have seen two instances on camera of what appears to be seizures. But how those impact his brain and his daily living is unknown. Then there is his age. Again, there is only speculation as to whether the sheer physicality of osprey fishing is hampered by age, but it leaves us to wonder. Does he lack motivation because of the fish fairies? Anything is a possibility. At this juncture, using one nest to test whether ospreys will stop fishing if humans provide fish is insufficient for scientific proof. And with this nest having a high siblicide rate and Dad being a poor performer regardless, that makes it even more problematic. Testing this theory on a known superstar like Blue 33 at Rutland would be better. Yes, he has fish right at the nest site. Absolutely. Would he stop fishing if fish were provided? If he did, that would be very telling. Would he start fishing to keep his chicks alive once the fish fairies stopped? Well, that is the question. At Port Lincoln, they struggle with what to do as the fledge nears. They are attempting to motivate the adults to get out there and bring in the fish because they are concerned that the osplets will bolt off the nest if delivery is so close to ‘fledge’. Another intriguing question is: Are the osplets (and ducts) so used to having humans deliver fish that they would not bolt?
I am told that Port Lincoln is disinfecting the old barge to ready it to receive fish (Dad used to take the fish there) in case they need to provide fish after banding.
The issue is this. ‘H’ and I have monitored over 300 eggs in 2023 from being laid to fledge or death or not hatching. We know that relatively good condition osplets who had their crop full can live between 58-79 hours without fish. 79 is pushing it. ‘H’ is checking her data because, in the June deaths of Chesapeake Bay, some of those chicks were younger and did not live that many hours. I will include this information once we glean it from the data forms of the International Osprey Data Project.
So let us send Port Lincoln some real positive energy as they work towards getting these two fledged. That is the goal of the project – two fledglings. After fledge, the fairies should be able to toss all the fish they want on that nest, and the kids will need it. Do you remember Ervie and Falky? or the fights between Ervie and Bazza for fish after fledging? This is one of those dust-ups between Ervie and Bazza. It happened almost two years ago…aren’t we just so proud of our Ervie?
‘H’ reports that Dad brought in a half fish at 16:58. #2 grabbed it to self-feed but Mum took over and both ate with crops. Hoping Mum got some, too.
‘H’ and I will be publishing all of the data with complete explanations but these are the findings in the International Osprey Data Project so far. It will not be complete until I add the final details of Port Lincoln this year and the information from Iowa for their 2023 nests in January.
This is the current information for all the nests and the 335 eggs we monitored. Thank you, Claudio, for making our life easy with those forms!
My interest is in siblicide, specifically, the 3rd and 4th hatches that survive siblicide attempts. This has meant monitoring hours between an osplet getting any fish and counting bites of food when they do in comparison to the rest of the clutch. It is agonising research, but the triumphs are enormous. Think of the fourth hatch at Patchogue this year…imagine for a second that tenacious tiny little osplet whose drive to live was tremendous. Some called her Tiny Dancer. She was amazing.
The following information includes nests in North America, the UK, Europe, and Australia. This is the raw data and it is, as far as I know, one of the largest osprey behaviour studies that is ongoing.
We got some great close ups of Giliath and #2 as a few raindrops fell.
Cute little Dad. His crop is certainly not bulging.
Whole family lining up for the fish fairy! Or that is what it looks like. But…
Today is the odd day so no deliveries from the fairies. Will either adult deliver a fish? We wait to find out.
‘A’ sent us reports about the Sea Eaglets. Isn’t it wonderful to know that one is alive and well. Tears of joy:
“December 3: There was a storm last night with hail and heavy rain so the river is very muddy. Both parents were on River Roost around 8am and the juvenile was spotted on a low branch in the sun – all drying out. Later when the young one was seen near the adults, she was whining for food. At 10:30 when adults are on River Roost and she is on the island, she is quiet. In the afternoon around 4:30pm, both parents were on River Roost, with the juvenile out of sight again. A parent flew into the mangroves; the young one was probably there hidden away. Just after 5pm, she was seen low on a branch at River Roost again.
…Audio file December 4: down by the river 07:24 both parents on river roost and duetting. 08:04, young one calling. Earlier, peewee swooping adults. 08:07 parents calling again, juvenile too. 08:13, the tide has turned. 08:35, a good shake by the juvenile, downy fluff flying, then moved to a different branch. Then a few minutes later, the juvenile flew closer to the adults. When parents duetted, she was listening and looking up. Then again , and juvenile on and off. The parents moved a little closer, but at 9:30 all were still there. Just after 10am an adult left, swooped over the river and caught a fish. Juvie flew down to the ground, and the fish was delivered. She ate on the ground out of sight. Around 11:15, the adult took off, circling overhead. No action then until 12:10, when the juvie was flushed out by 4 ibis flying in to the mangroves. Then shortly after, it changed branches again, flying a short distance. At 12:30, neither adult was there. No more observations later.”
‘A’ sent the latest news from the Parramatta River in Sydney and the WBSE:
There have been no sightings of any juvenile activity at Orange since the 2nd of December Australian time. ‘H’ tells me that Cilla has checked the trees and there is no sign. This is so very sad. The huge effort put into their eggs, their survival in the scrape, ….heart breaking for Xavier and Diamond.
‘A’ provides the latest news though…perhaps there is a juvenile? There are reports that a juvenile might have been heard. There was no sighting. It was very hot in the area and the birds were staying in the shade of the trees to stay cool.
Gabby and V3 are taking a page out of Jackie and Shadow’s play book – gosh, they messed around with those sticks for such a time!
Everyone is cheering for this couple!
Our beautiful Jackie and Shadow.
Ron and Rose are busy, too.
We are so close at Superbeaks.
Liz Schwartz has posted romance over at the Centreport Eagle nest.
Released condors having a feast.
Overfishing. The decline of worldwide fish stocks. It is time to think about this as we enter the breeding season for many of our feathered friends who depend on the oceans for their food and, thus, their lives. It is estimated that the number of fish in the oceans has declined by 90% since 1900. There are many, many scientific articles about these catastrophic numbers – just a sampling of some of general interest and some more academic.
The latest migration count from Hawk Mountain is in.
Maybe some ideas….I recall once when my children were quite little seeing someone hanging the thin orange slices on their spruce tree outdoors. Here we coat the pinecones with melted suet and roll them in bird seed and hang them throughout the lilacs during the winter.
Thank you for being with me today. It is so nice to have you here with us. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, streaming cams, and articles that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, HP, J, SP’, Holly Parsons, Friends of Midway Atoll, PLO, Bart M, Sydney Sea Eagle FB, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, NEFL-AEF, Ventana Wildlife Society, C Roberts, Our World in Data, National Geographic, BMC, Nature Communications, US Dept of English, Helgoland Marine Research, Centreport and Liz Schwartz, Hawk Mountain, and Wildlife Watch.
I had a couple of conversations with an individual from the Bay Area in California on Friday. Our weather in Winnipeg is -1, with a low of -7 C. It is warm compared to when I moved to the Canadian Prairies – or that is my memory. Having far too many -30 or -35 C days was not unusual then. To stay warm, we dress for the cold, and our houses usually have double (double glazing) and triple-pane windows (triple glazing) with good insulation. I was asked what is the average temperature in December and I had to go and check. It is -8 for a high and -15 C for a low currently.
Dyson was in the table feeder eating yesterday. Oh, how I love that squirrel. I often miss her. She was really enjoying the solid nut block. And that nice thick fur for winter. Fantastic.
Little Red was back in the lilacs foraging on the ground along with eons of Sparrows. The European Starlings are here and I heard the Pileated Woodpecker but did not see it. What amazes me are the Chickadees that flit back and forth from a spruce tree across the road to the feeders in the coldest of weather. Each girl loves to watch them from the conservatory. Hope also jumps up and down trying to catch the birds on her bird TV programmes. It is so funny. She is a clone of Mamma.
When Calico came into our lives, I dismantled my old office for her. This meant that about three thousand books (yes, academics are book collectors) got put on temporary bookcases. Lately I have been wondering why the glass of the Japanese prints was so dirty and why the frames were always crooked in the morning. Now, I have my answer. Hope likes to walk and leap at them during the late night partying. I will be so glad to have those books back in their right spot.
Hope. Everything starts to happen around 2130 at night!
Missey continues to work on the twinkle tree. It is looking a little bedraggled with the branches pulled this way and that, too.
The girls are great. They have been doing their usual thing – Hope wants to watch the bird videos but sometimes excepts an old BritBox mystery. Calico eats and sleeps waking up around 2130 to wrestle with Hope and run over the house. Missey loves to play with Hope and both have once again, been around the twinkle tree.
I sound like a broken record, but every time I scratch Calico under her chin and she begins to purr or rolls over on her back for more, I melt. Cannot imagine her out in the cold.
Hope is very long. You can just see that little scab that is bothering me at the site of her incision. Talk about being a worried human Mamma!
I caught Missey as she came leaping to the top of a chair to get away form Hope.
The girls do not know it, but we are on the countdown to the little brother’s arrival. Like the eggs at Superbeaks, it is less than a week away. Will his name be Duncan after so many people, including my dad? Or Duncan Lewis, whose empathy saved the chimps? There are many more environmentalists. Or will it wind up being Hugo? All I know is that he must love people and want to snuggle! And not let these three older sisters intimidate him. He should be OK on that front. He was one of 7 kittens, all female, but he was born to a very tiny little kitten named Eva, young like Calico. I wish I could take her, too, but four is the maximum along with the outdoor kitties.
I am happy to say that ‘A’ is back with us. She kept good eyes on the Australian nests for me today while I spoke with folks in California about a podcast interview. I’ll let you know more about that at a later date. It is so nice to have ‘A’ back and to hear that things are going well in Melbourne.
‘A’ brings us really good news from Sydney and the Parramatta River: “December 1: both adults were at River Roost early, on separate branches, grooming then duetting. Juvenile was behind in the mangroves, out of sight but heard. The adults then moved together, duetting, with juvenile still noisy too. Later around 11am, parent delivered a fish at RR, eaten by juvenile. There was some disturbance over the wetlands with helicopter circling for mosquito control. Later in the afternoon around 5pm our juvenile was seen flying around & behind Mangrove Island Wonderful to see her flying so strongly and coping with a few chasers.
As I keep saying, this must be a joy to Lady and Dad as well – the very first time they have had the chance to do this with one of their eaglets. I am incredibly sad, and to be honest a little surprised, that only one of our juveniles appears to have made it, but considering the sad history of this nest, this is truly an achievement to celebrate.”
‘A’ reflects on Port Lincoln – its official report and her thoughts: “Breakfast is currently underway at Port Lincoln (10:30am local time) – the fish fairies arrived early this morning. Fran says mum picks the boat up from a mile away and goes to her ‘fish fairy perch’ and escorts them in. I wonder whether the osplets will be so familiar with the fish fairies that they see them as sources of food and are more likely to approach them than fludge! That would be interesting. But of course they won’t risk that and will cease the fish deliveries after they band the osplets.I remain extremely worried about what happens then. Two fully feathered osplets, not quite ready to fledge, on a nest where the parents bring in perhaps one fish a day, two at most. Imagine the incredible tragedy of losing them at that stage. We have about a week, 10 days at most probably, before we find out. I am apprehensive in the extreme.”
This was a really early delivery. Will we hope that Mum or Dad go out fishing later? Looks as if nothing is left on the nest for a bedtime snack.
Both osplets are working on their self-feeding, two different styles. Giliath stands up and #2 likes to eat duckling style.
Ervie has found a very special place to go fishing…he has progressed from those early puff fish to abalone! Do you wonder if either of the osplets from this season will fish for puffers? And don’t you just miss seeing Ervie on that nest. If I close my eyes, I can still see him flying in with a puffer stuck to his talons – a talon missing – and him munching away. What a wonderful osprey he is!
At Orange, ‘A’ remarks: “The sole surviving juvenile at Orange is doing well this morning. It has been spotted chasing its parents and on the tower roof. Cilla has taken a video – I will send it as soon as it is uploaded to the info section below the live stream. The weather has cleared up in Orange today and it looks like a lovely day. “
The biggest news with the Bald Eagles is what is going on at NorthEast Florida. V3 was a little late to come to the nest. In flew, A1 and him and Gabby got a little friendly. Will this turn out to be a threesome like the Trio on the Minneapolis Flyway? Does Gabby mate with A1 and has his eaglets raised by V3? Is Gabby not fertile yet? Will V3 get the boot? It really is ‘As the Nest Turns’ and I thought things had quieted down this year.
Wow. What an expression. It reminds me of individuals who ride bucking horses in the American and Canadian rodeos. You can tell A1 from V3 if you can get a chance to look at their talons. A1 has quite a number of black lesions just like one of the females after M15 last year.
V3 flies in a few minutes later to his branch and Gabby doesn’t say a word. “Oh, it has been a very quiet morning, dear.”
Bella and the new young male are still together.
Finally some Osprey action at Captiva!
A juvenile at the Osprey House nest enjoying its fish.
Missed the California Condor Rookie Release? Here you go!
News coming from Kahui and Hob Osterlund and the Laysan Albatross. Thanks, Holly!
When I continue to talk about how much politics is mixed up with the health of raptors in the grouse moor estates, here is a good read for those who do not understand why this issue is not going away. Why it is important to get a sound law and why it is important to make sure that unbiased individuals enforce it. Unbelievable.
Last, please do not purchase any bird seed this season in the mesh holders. You can help stop their use by refusing to purchasing and telling the shop owners to stop buying them for sale. You can also tell them why. Our nature centre had these monstrous things last year! At the same time, it is just as dangerous to purchase fruit and veg in these bags. They go to the landfill and it is there that all manner of birds get tangled in them. You must cut them up finely.
Thank you so much for being with me this morning as we wait…to see what will happen at the NEFlorida, for the eggs to hatch at Superbeaks and then elsewhere. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A’, Sydney Sea Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, NEFL-AEF Deb Stecyk, HeidiMc Osprey House, Holly Parsons, Ventana Wildlife, Raptor Persecution UK, and Robin Sitka.
Two pieces of good news on the home front. Hope is back eating like a little pony, which tells me she is feeling better. She is also tearing around the house and trying to help Missey destroy the little twinkle tree.
Getting ready for the High Five moment. Oh, this little one is precious. She is slowly beginning to trust me again. The vet was such a traumatic experience. From now on, it is the mobile vet clinic!
Missey decided to whiff Hope’s ‘private parts’, and Hope took exception! Missey is a lover, not a fighter.
Missey decided it was safer to watch the birds landing on the roof of the conservatory than mix with Hope.
Calico likes being in the sitting room! She loves her hard chair and being in the sun. The other two do not realise that this chair gets the heat from the furnace…it is toasty warm where Calico is. Calico definitely does not share that information.
The second piece of good news is that Greyish – his new name to be determined later – will arrive around the 4th. The foster family is on holiday, and they return on the 3rd and want to say goodbye to the little lad. Oh, fingers crossed that the girls love this little grey tabby boy. You can look forward to too many photos of the four of them!
At Port Lincoln, they are waiting for fish.
Dad arrives with a small headless fish at 11:08. Self-feeding and tug-o-war between the chicks. It is really windy today – Dad you did a great job! Thanks.
That fish from Dad was a blessing. It is 14:22 and the family are waiting for another or for the fairy.
What happens when the fish fairy arrives?
The fish fairy arrived at 14:57. Raining. Lots of smaller fish – 5 to be precise. Just perfect for Giliath and #2 to do some self-feeding. They can both handle the fish now but gosh, it is so much nicer to be fed by Mum.
I have seen no images posted or word of the Sea Eagles since the 22nd. Perhaps you have?
Xavier and Diamond have been in the scrape calling for a juvenile, but I have not seen or heard anything regarding Barru or Marri for the past several days. It is worrisome.
Oh, there is not a lot of news. Eagles continue to work on their nests or to incubate. We are waiting for a second egg at SW Florida on Monday (today). Gracie Shepherd captured a screenshot of the nest bole for M15 and F23. It is incredible.
Gabby and V3 have a marvellous soft nest, but the worry is two-fold: can V3 provide enough food for the family, and has there been any actual mating? Maybe both happen off-camera. Maybe not. We wait. No one wants to see eaglets hungry and dying, so let’s hope he can fish as well as the best Trophy winner in the area.
Ron and Rita have a great nest going at the WRDC in Miami-Dade.
Great update on Beau and Nancy.
It is snowing in Iowa.
Looks hot at the nest of M15 and F23 in Fort Myers. Gular fluttering or panting helps eagles to cool down and regulate their temperature. The Hanover Eagle blog tells us more:
“Most raptors have a core temperature of 40 °C (104-105°F). Small raptors maintain a slightly higher temperature than larger raptors, because their metabolism is higher. Research shows that these “high- flight-speed” raptors, such as falcons, have a higher resting metabolic rate compared to “low-flight-speed” raptors such as vultures or eagles. Smaller, fast-paced raptors also have hearts and flight muscles that are nearly twice as large as bigger, slower-moving raptors in relation to overall body mass! All of this means that smaller raptors create and dissipate heat more rapidly than their larger cousins.
In addition to gular fluttering, eagles cool off by simply altering their posture. They shift their body away from the sun to ensure that as small of an area as possible receives direct sunlight. The Hanover nestling can now regulate their own body temperature without parental help, but when they were fresh out of the egg the on-duty parent would sometimes shade the little one by providing a sun umbrella with their wings.”
You might want to know some things about birds regulating their temperature. With increasing temperatures worldwide, it is good to reflect on how our feathered friends have historically tried to control their temperature. If the outside temperatures continue to rise, we might need to consider other helpful measures. At Tairoa Head, the Royal Albatross is misted by the rangers in New Zealand.
The new male at the Pittsburg-Hays Bald Eagle Nest and Mum have been mating.
At the NCTC nest, Smitty has been officially missing since the 21st of September when he was last seen on the nest together with Bella.
Dave Hancock and his crew counted 1066 Bald Eagles on Sunday!
In St Petersburg, Jack and Diane are thinking it is time to get working on cleaning up their nest.
After the holidays, we begin to look at the seed catalogues. Sometimes before. If you want to start a pollinator-friendly garden, check out some of these plants.
Thank you for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, screen captures, and articles that helped me to write my blog today: PLO, Gracie Shepherd, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Trudi Kron, Laura Rose, Hanover Eagle Blog, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Golden Gate Bird Alliance, Elfruler, PIX Cams, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and Barbara Snyder.
So it is Superbeaks, Captiva, KNF-E3, and SWFlorida. Now that M15 and F23 have their first egg it might be that there will be a flurry of egg laying. Let’s see!
It was one of those coolish days on the Canadian Prairies – I did not venture much beyond the feeders and doing some much needed clean up around the woodbox and deck. The usual suspects showed up at the feeders including Dyson who spent much time munching away at Black Oil Seed.
It was so good to see Dyson.
One of Dyson’s kits came to the table feeder earlier. So cute.
It is always nice to see Junior. He will probably stay for the entire winter.
The girls are doing fine. Hope has started eating. She was always ravenous so to see her not excited about food bothered me. That said, she had to be eating as I saw her at the litter box so, the assumption is she ate when I was not looking, probably when it was dark. Always wondered what living in a dark place might do to her and Calico…at any rate, she had some White Fish just like the osplets and some roast chicken and all is right with the world. Must admit I shed a couple of tears of joy.
Sleepy head Hope.
And, oh. Do I see the reason that Hope was not tearing up the food dish?
The girls have applied to adopt a little brother. He was the only boy in a litter of seven! He was fostered in a home with children, older cats, and a dog. Fingers crossed. He is a cutie, and there could be many applications for him! (It took a while for us to decide, as Greyish will be the 4th and last addition to the brood. There are so many kittens needing homes….). Will keep you posted!
Now for some nests…
Many are spending their Friday night staring at the female, F23, on the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest.
There it is! I was not going to make the mistake of announcing an egg without seeing it!
M15 sees the egg.
I don’t know about you, but I teared up. After losing Harriet and raising 21 and 22 from the time they were a month old alone – a single dad – it is glorious to see that M15 will get to be a dad again with a new mate. Bravo. F23 is one lucky lady.
Many of the tributes to Samson came in after I posted my Friday blog. He was an amazing eagle and it is nice to remember him, even a day late.
We do know that some eagles just leave the nest without explanation. I often think of Ma Berry. She flew away from the nest with Pa and was seen with her distinctive leg at a lake in Alabama. My old falconer friend tells me all the time that the raptors are much more intelligent and communicate in ways that are ‘higher’ than humans. She says we ‘lost that ability’ – like telepathy. Some believe that Samson is still alive. Some stay until their chicks are old enough to be cared for by a single parent before they fly away. Harriet would have stayed if she could but many understand she waited, knowing she was sick, and left when she knew M15 could keep those kids of theirs alive – and he did. We will never know but if Samson is out there, he had his reasons for leaving. Gabby is moving on with V3.
Eagles were at Decorah North.
After 3 days away, Jolene has returned to Boone at the Johnson City Bald Eagle Nest in Eastern Tennessee.
If only humans were more like the Ospreys. It is estimated that North Americans waste as much as 40% of their food. Shame on us!
Mum did not waste a single flake of fish off the bone of the Trevally. She was up this morning finding anything she could on that bone to feed the osplets.
Still waiting for a breakfast delivery…
Gosh, they are cute! They are getting sooooooo big!
The fish fairy arrives with another huge Trevalley and a Red Mullet. Mum decides to go for the Mullet first!
Mark the date. Looks like banding will be 8 December. Both chicks will get a tracker!
Several people have written to me wondering if the Fish Fairy providing fish would prompt Dad not to go out and bring in the fish for the family. From past seasons and the beginning of this season, I will continue to suggest that the osplets on this nest are alive because of the Fish Fairy. Dad had several seizures on camera. We do not know how many off. It is possible that he is not 100%. His fishing attempts have been well below the norm but I cannot possibly tell you for sure why that is the case.
I have seen no new images from the Sydney Sea Eagles of either juvenile.
Xavier and Diamond were in the scrape. Rain has begun in Orange. I dislike rain so much with the juveniles but, at least, Barru (and maybe Marri) have had a chance to strengthen their flying before the downpours. Hoping to hear something of the fledgling but could not find a word today. Perhaps you have seen something?
And then, one of the fledglings made it to the box!
Xavier was in the nest box calling to the juvenile and flew out after it almost made it in…education falcon style! Captured by Holly Parsons.
When will it stop? Seriously. Isn’t it time to stand up for wildlife and end the aristocratic and royal practice of the beaten grouse hunts? Then we might see an end to the Hen Harriers and Eagles disappearing.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, video clips, screen captures, streaming cams, and articles that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H’, Nancy Babineau, Terri Bayles, NEFL-AEF, Carol Shores Rifkin, Raptor Resource Project, Sara A, PLO, HeidiMc, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Helen Matcham, Holly Parsons, Raptor Persecution UK, and Hakai Magazine.
A skein of 0ver 50 geese flew over the conservatory this morning as I was luring Hope into the carrier to go for her surgery. Send her your good wishes. She was such a darling. One little kibble and she got into the big carrier and didn’t cry or fuss or anything. Incredible. If you take your pets in a carrier to the vet or on a trip and they are nervous, cover them. It settles them and they are not tense.
As is typical, I am writing this blog on Tuesday night with some additions normally done on Wednesday morning. But Wednesday is different this week – it is the day that Hope and I have to be at the clinic for her surgery. So we will be up and away so she is there at 0730. First in line and first home, hopefully!
Aren’t they gorgeous? The joy these two have brought to my life cannot be measured. Today, we had several story times. All I have to do is sit on my grandmother’s scrap quilt and start reading, very quietly, and they are both there. Missey joins us now, too. We are on the final chapter of The Comfort of Crows. Will have to pick a new book to start while we wait for Hope to be able to come home.
Missey fell asleep watching Cat TV. I held my breath thinking she was going to tumble off the edge – just like we all held our breath when Barru would get near the ledge of the scrape -. Thankfully, she did not.
The surprise of the day came late in the afternoon. I had just placed fresh food in the feral feeding dishes and then – look. There are two of them. Two Boyfriends. Seriously, they look like twins!
If you look closely, the cat with its back to us is the ‘original’. You can see the two places where the fur is growing back on the tail and back. Where did this other cat come from? Is it also feral? or is it someone’s cat who was let out when they got home from work?
Gosh, I can’t wait to get rid of that old carpet. Its only function now is to keep the snow and rain from going through the boards in the deck and making the ground soak. It is much nicer for the community cats if they have a dry place to sleep.
There is not a lot of news in Bird World. We spend our days waiting to see if Dad or Mum will bring fish to the PLO barge reassured that the osplets will get fed, regardless. We know that two fledglings – one at Sydney and the other at Orange – have survived til now. The fate of Marri and 32 (?) is unknown. The Eagles in the US are laying eggs. We wait to see who will be next after Superbeaks, Captiva, and KNF E-3.
At the Port Lincoln Nest, Mum and those precious babies waiting quite some time before a meal arrived. Mum left several times and there was a quiet expectation that she might try fishing. Dad was on the ropes when she was gone.
As it turned out, Dad came in with a small headless fish at 13:37. Mum went out and caught a medium fish at 14:01 and the Fish Fairy arrived with a Trevally and a Red Mullet at 14:19.
The kids looked up and then there was a scramble as Mum landed on the nest to take that first fish from Dad.
The wind was blowing the nesting material about as the barge rocked. The waves were choppy and there were white caps. Mum seemed to spot a fish and was quickly off. The kids seemed to be cheering her on as she landed with their second meal.
The fish fairy delivery. Notice that Mum really has a fondness for that Red Mullet!
Sometimes you are just too full for any more fish…it is a shame that all of them arrive in such a short period of time but, these things cannot be planned.
At the time of writing, this was the events posted on the observation board.
The intruder that did the fly by over the barge nest was none other than our dear Ervie!!!!!!!! Checking out his new siblings!!!!!!!
There is an image of a fledgling bathing in the Parramatta River. Great news. Wish there were two of them, but thrilled we have one. Juvenile is about in the centre of the image at the water line.
The latest video on the Orange falcon fledglings.
There is wonderful news coming out of the UK. Roy Dennis has been recognised for all of his work with raptors – from the time he was a young lad. We benefit from his dedication as do the skies, the hills, and the lochs. Congratulations.
‘H’ and many others were excited to see F23 sitting on the SW Florida Nest today. Quite a number think we are now on egg watch! After Andria fooled me and Elfruler and lots of others, I will just keep my opinion to myself.
When it happens, it is presumed that this is F23’s first egg ever.
It is raining hard at the NCTC nest of Bella. So who is the visitor? (I am surprised that there are not better markers for IDing Smitty after several years).
V3 and Gabby continue to work on their nest all the while being acutely aware of any intruders that might be in the territory.
Work going on at the Berry College nest daily.
The latest migration counts from Hawk Mountain up to 20 November.
Thanks so much, ‘N’, for another great article from The New York Times. This time we learn how devilishly intelligent the Caracaras truly are – wow.
The Rare Bird Reporting Panel has come up with its long standing report on what is happening in the UK. The study reveals, “…four bird of prey species, including Osprey, have reached record totals in the UK, as have several species of rare and colonising herons.”
Lots more news will be coming on Friday, but tomorrow might be a little thin. Keep your eyes on our nests. They are saying ‘egg watch’ at SW Florida but there could be others to surprise us! Hope will require some extra attention when she gets home. Thank you for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, graphics, and steaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘H, N’, PLO, Kerry Allen, Cilla Kinross, Roy Dennis Wildlife foundation, Heidi Mc, Deb Stecyk, NEFL-AEF, Hawk Mountain, New York Times, BTO, Bird Guides, and Healthy Yards.
