Category Archives: The Red List of Vulnerable Birds

Anna and Louis have a hatch, pip for Connie and Clive…Monday in Bird World

9 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you had a lovely weekend. Maybe some time to watch some birds? or did you stay glued to the screen over the Es at Southwest Florida? It was beautiful here on the Canadian Prairies with a reasonable temperature but, the wind remained such that being outside had you gasping for breath. I am hoping to get out this coming week! Til then I am still working on all my new year’s cleaning! How can two kittens, not big cats yet, leave behind so many furry balls every day? It is like they invite friends over and party all night! Quietly.

I love the Starlings that come to my garden. I would not want them to ever stop coming. They are on the Red List in the UK – they were one of the first birds I posted when I began listing the 20 or so out of the 160 odd that are vulnerable to extinction. Here they are in murmuration.

Have a read. The decline in winter birds that migrate to the UK and their empty nests has many worried. Once there would have been 2 million Starlings murmuring in Somerset at dusk, now there is only 25% of that number. What is the cause?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/08/uk-wintering-birds-sharp-decline?CMP=share_btn_link

HeidiMc has a lovely video of a day in the life of Ron and Rose..greetings, working on the nest, lots of chortling and a fish delivery. A nice celebration of a new relationship! Thanks H.

And another video by Golden Gate Audubon. Peregrine Falcons have been spending time on Richmond and Rosie’s Whirly Crane Osprey nest in SF Bay. I wondered if they were any of the fledged CalFalcon chicks but they answered this in the description – no. If they find out where the falcon was banded, they will let us know. Until then…he or she is a cutie.

There is news of WBSE27: On the 14th of December, WBSE 27 was at Swan Bay on the Karuah River. You can see Sydney and then the red pin. It is a distance of 188 km.

Isn’t she beautiful? I wish Lady and Dad knew their baby was safe and doing well.

WBSE27 is 17 months old and is going through her first moult. As a result she has shed her tracker which was attached to her tail. WBSE 27 is banded so any future sightings will be from the band and not the tracker. “Now SE27 starts the new year afresh – while we can no longer follow her adventures, we have a wealth of information to analyse and share! We are happy that she has found her way in the world after such a rocky start. She is familiar with a wide expanse of the Hunter Region of NSW, and has established travel corridors, roosting and feeding areas. We hope that in the next few years she’ll be able to find a territory, mate and nesting site, and one day produce chicks of her own to continue the journey.” Tears. After watching these beautiful babies thrive on the nest, it is a tragedy that they are so attacked by the smaller birds to the point of near death or death unless someone finds them and takes them so they can have the care they require. WBSE30 will get a sat pak tracker when she is released and we will be able to watch another baby.

My wish for the new year is that all of the sea eagle fledglings go and sit in front of the Discovery Centre – right away after fledging – and are taken into care so they will be able to thrive in the wild knowing how to hunt prey and fly well like 27. OR that someone comes up with a solution to the Currawongs, Boobook Owls, and Magpies that harass them til they are no longer in their parents territory, are injured, or stave to death.

Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red and Arthur out in the sunshine on Sunday. Big Red first and Arthur the second image. Thanks SAH.

There are birds that instantly will draw me to tears – tears of joy and relief. In Ferris Akel’s tour of 7 January, we saw Big Red and L4 hunting. Cornell has posted a tweet showing L2 on Sunday morning. Also Karel Sedlacek had Arthur on his iPhone presentation on Sunday. So why am I so happy? All of Big Red and Arthur’s kids from 2022 are accounted for: L3 is in care but preparing for release in the spring (we believe). L2 and L4 are hunting in their parent’s territory. Sadly, we lost L1 when she hit a glass corridor at Cornell (shame on them for having no bird proofing on that!). This is the very first year that I can remember fledglings being present in January! There is obviously plenty of food and Mum and Dad are not anxious for them to go anywhere. Tears of joy.

Finally a good look at both of the eaglets on the Superbeaks cam at once and look at those crops. Goodness these eaglets are being well fed and nicely cared for by Pepe and Muhlady. Notice also that a big stick has been placed across that opening to the left! Yes.

Big crops for both E3-01 and E3-02 at 1302 on Sunday! And it looks like there are still about nine fish on that nest. Alex is a great provider.

Alex came in yesterday and diffused a bonking event. E3-01 was 12 days old. Bonking seems to start with the growth of the thermal down (or at the age of about 8 days in Ospreys). It is hard to watch and entirely not understandable with a nest with so much fish but, in fact, food sometimes has nothing to do with it. Just a dominance issue. Thanks, Alex, for stepping in. Not worried about them…the eldest just making sure the little one knows who is boss!

Sunday. Look at the fish on the nest of Alex and Andria. Both babies eating well.

The key is to let the older sibling eat til it is about to pop and then feed the younger. This is only a problem if there is not enough food. On this nest there is tonnes of fish. No shortage here and both parents are willing to feed til they each have a crop as in the image above and below. The eldest can be a stinker.

Anna is listening to the eggs as she has a fish lunch at the E1 nest in the Kisatchie National Forest. There is a pip in one of the eggs.

And there is a hatch!!!!! Welcome to the world, E1-03.

Oh, precious. Louis will start hauling in the fish now. Can’t wait to see what he brings in – last year he was so excited he brought in 11 and Anna brought in 9 for a total of 20 fish on the nest in a single day. These eagles in Louisiana hatched at Kincaid Lake eat well!

MO and FO are still there. Reports are coming in from the SW coast of Florida that a lot of Ospreys are now returning to the area. I hope there are not too many nest fights. Will Lena return? Is Andy still out there?

MO and FO are working on technique.

E21 and 22 are fed well. There is some beaking at times. Still, they are adorable. How many eaglets has Harriet raised? Everyone to fledge as far as I know. I do not worry about these two at all.

Gabby and V3 on alert today.

Both Gabby and V3 were sleeping at the nest tonight. You could see Gabby on cam 1 and V3 on cam 2.

It is nearing 0700 and Zoe is awake wishing for a breakfast fish. Mum and Dad appear to be trying to get their girl to go out and fish for her own breakfast. Yesterday Dad brought a fish and Mum brought a fish but the times for the deliveries were late in the day: 16:42 and 17:50. So our girl went to sleep full to the brim. Today she is 113 days old.

A screaming Indigo!!!!!!!

I wanted to stop and check on Karl II’s family – the Black Storks from the Karula National Forest in Estonia. There has been no transmission from Karl or Kaia since they were in Africa and this is expected. There has been no transmission from Bonus since he was crossing the Eastern Desert in Egypt and I do not know yet what to think about that. Urdu (2021) remains in Turkey near the Aegean Sea although he flew west and not south. Perhaps Udu will stay in Turkey??

Little Waba (2022) seems to have really settled in to staying in Sudan on their side of the Nile. He is actively fishing.

A few bobble heads to watch and keep you yelling at the screen when they are beaking. It does end! It is often not nice to watch. If it drives you crazy, take a few days off. It looks like Diane at Achieva has a problem. She flipped in the nest into that hole in the centre. Last year that ‘hole’ at their eggs. No sense laying them this year if that hole that the squirrels made is not patched!!!! It appears that the eggs at Metro Aviation are not viable. The female is new replacing a long term mate of the male this year. The new female is very restless on the eggs tonight. Maybe a miracle late hatch? It would be nice as that nest has a history of successful fledges.

Last, congratulations to Connie and Clive on the pip of their first egg at Captiva. Last year their eggs were not viable. Wonderful news after the tragedy of Hurricane Ian, too.

Thanks for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!

Thanks to the following for their notes, posts, videos, announcements, tweets, and photos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: The Guardian, Heidi Mc and WRDC, Golden Gate Audubon, Raptor Recovery Australia, Suzanne Arnold Horning, @CornellHawks, Superbeaks, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Window to Wildlife, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, NEFL-AEF, PLO, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Looduskalender.

New Year’s Day in Bird World

1 January 2023

Happy New Year Everyone!

From my family, from Missy and Lewis, and from all the garden animals, we wish each of you the very best for 2023. It means the world to me to know that there are so many people, from all over the world, caring so much for the health and safety of our feathered friends. It is comforting in a world where the news is often full of doom and gloom to read about a species on the rebound, to see the efforts of the many groups including Conservation without Borders track and find a single osprey and bring attention to it so that villagers care, or others who battle the injuries our raptors suffer daily.

It has finally happened. All of the old calendars are put away and a new one is on the fridge. At one point, several years ago, I thought that paper calendars would be replaced by digital ones but, that seems not to be the case. This year so many groups had fundraisers by selling calendars. It was so difficult to choose but I want to give a shout out to Mary Cheadle from the Friends of Loch Arkaig and Heather C at Glaslyn. They both go above and beyond making sure to get their calendars to all parts of the world without a problem. I love the Friends of Loch Arkaig calendar with images of Louis and Dorcha and their family, Glaslyn is full of super quality photographs of Aran and Mrs G with their kids, the smaller format BTO Calendar has the cutest puffin on the cover and is full of images of the birds on The Red List, while DaniConnorWild has both a Red Squirrel Calendar and a Wildlife one this year. Every group has a fundraiser and it is difficult to choose! My plan is to rotate them throughout the year – and I do get to see the holidays in Wales and the UK that are different from ours in Canada.

If one of your resolutions for 2023 was to cut down your carbon footprint, then a study and a quiz in The New York Times ‘What’s the Best Way to Shrink Your Carbon Footprint’ might be an eye opener. The article is really interesting and confirms some of what I have read in Bill McGuire’s Hothouse Planet. Here is the article – take the quiz, see how you do! You might be very surprised.

Before fireworks are set off for any celebration including the new year, a word of warning. They not only scare and harm our pets but they decidedly harm the wildlife including, of course, our birds. Dogs are especially sensitive and Missy and Lewis were particularly upset but it was not until a few moments ago that I realised the timing of their upsetness. The fireworks were set off around 2230 not midnight. Please spread the word!

Read more on REGI caring for bald eagle injured by fireworks at https://www.wsaw.com/2020/09/08/regi-caring-for-bald-eagle-injured-by-

There are many articles popping up on the Internet. Now how do we get the right people in the city offices to sit down and consider not having fireworks? The research suggests that the birds are more devastating to birds than other wildlife.

life/body=Check out this article https://benitolink.com/fireworks-can-have-devastating-effects-on-wild

Today I have received several notes from concerned readers. Some are staying up with their pets to comfort them if the fireworks scare them. Others are demanding accountability for the millions spent that could be used for other things. The fireworks in Sydney, Australia cost 5.8 million Australian dollars. Unbelievable. But, I am not just picking on Sydney. Across the world, fireworks lit up the skies at a time when people and the planet are struggling. Would it not be money better spent on schools, health care, the environment? I started wondering how much each wildlife rehabber would get if that money was divided up amongst the centres in and around Sydney? and all the other huge centres around the world that set them off last night. Oh, I am such a party pooper!!!!!

Now on to some really good news. It just shows how a group representing our beautiful eagles and the wildlife can band together and stop developers. How awesome.

You may remember that there was a development proposal for 50 luxury condominiums in the Big Bear Valley. FOBBV set about to try and block this development. The good news is they won! A win for the environment and the wildlife including our beloved Jackie and Shadow who live in Big Bear Valley. We can win. We just have to have solid facts and a persuasive argument. Congratulations FOBBV!

Our legal challenge to San Bernardino County’s approval of the Moon Camp development project was successful! The Superior Court ruled in our favor on two items— The proposed mitigation for the destruction of acres of endangered Ashy Gray Paintbrush was invalid; and The potential impacts to fire evacuation from this project were inadequately analyzed and mitigated.Background: In 2020, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Center for Biological Diversity and San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society filed a legal challenge under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) to the County approval of Moon Camp. The proposal was for 50 (luxury home) lots and a 50+ slip private marina. The property is a primary foraging site for our Fawnskin nesting bald eagles and other wintering bald eagles. The site hosts 17 acres of endangered Ashy Gray Indian Paintbrush and Pebble Plains habitat found only in Big Bear Valley, as well as other endangered plant and wildlife species.

Jackie and Shadow were both at the nest today. Apparently Jackie didn’t stay miffed. Yesterday Shadow brought a big fish to the nest and wasn’t sharing. Shadow!!!!!!!

Jackie was sure trying out that nest bowl. She had some people wondering if she was going to lay eggs. It would seem she is just testing but, they could surprise us.

The storm came through and left a lot of snow on the nest of Jackie and Shadow. Doesn’t it look like a magical winter fairyland?

FOBBV has posted a banner saying they are now on ‘egg watch’ for Jackie and Shadow.

Rose and Ron have been working on the WRDC nest. Will they have eggs this year, too? Remember the season in Florida can extend to May! What a long time. It would sure be nice for the hatches to be spread out a little. Then we could enjoy each separate nest a bit better.

I hope that you took the time to watch the video clip of the feeding at Superbeaks that was on yesterday’s blog. PePe and Muhlady are managing the two eaglets fine. There is lots of prey brought to the nest and Muhlady fills the oldest eagle up to the brim. It staggers away ready for a food coma – or simply to watch Mum feed the younger sibling. Everything is very civilised and it appears – but, it is difficult to see – that both are doing well. A parent was on a branch and the eagles, now that they have their grey thermal down, are being left alone. Still, a parent is very near!

One eaglet is sleeping (left) and one is peering out over the rim on the right. Squint!

It is nearing 1500 at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. V3 has been in and out all day, once arriving even panting. Gabby has not been at the nest yet since 1755 on Friday. She is most likely nearby on another tree. And BTW. If you saw the picture of V3 with something hanging from his beak – he just didn’t use his napkin properly (or at all!). It is grass not fishing line. No worries there.

Gabby was certainly around and at 0700 the pair – and they do now seem to be a couple – were working on their nest. Let us wish them the best for 2023. We wait to see if there will be eggs and little eaglets.

I have said it so many times. Everyone reading my blog for any period of time knows that I get really nervous when the second egg hatches and if there is a third hatch, I start breathing deeply. The little one at the Kistachie National Forest nest E3-02 is getting stronger and staying more upright. There is lots of fish which Alex and Andria also love to eat. The second image shows the difference in size of the two eaglets. The eldest really got a great head start because it was so strong when it hatched. That second hatch, on the right in the image below, is just a cutie pie. Such a little sweetie.

Just look at the size difference.

There is a lot of fish on this nest just like there will be on E1. Alex and Louis really take advantage of the fact that Kincaid Lake is right at their door step and it is stocked!

With so much fish on this nest, the adult can feed one til it is full and passes out and then turn their attention to the other one who will get all of their attention and lots of fish – unless Mum tires out! They are doing well at this nest. In the image below, the first hatch is full with a nice crop. It just sits there nicely and watches the wee one getting fed with no trouble.

Alex is a real keeper and like M15 and Samson, steps up to feed the little one. E3-01 was fast asleep and he fed 02 to the brim! Thanks, Alex.

The little one got some nice bites during the second feeding, 0738, of the morning on New Year’s Day.

Nancy and her new mate were at the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest today doing some restorations. It will be awhile til there are eggs on this nest.

It is Pip Watch at Metro Aviation Bald Eagle nest in Louisiana.

It is about a week til we will be on pip watch for Connie and Clive at the Captiva Eagle nest on the Barrier Islands in Florida. So far everything looks good.

Everyone is a fan of Harriet and M15 and we are about 2 days away from pip/hatch watch at their Southwest Florida nest on the Pritchett property.

Things are going to start to happen so quickly at these eagle nests that we will simply not be able to keep up!

Challenger the Bald Eagle, known for flying in football stadiums and at the Super Bowls, is retiring at the new AMERICAN EAGLE FOUNDATION Centre in Tennessee. His successor is currently named Atlas and is being trained to become an ambassador. What intrigued me was the statement that Atlas will not be flying in sporting events but will be attending various environmental events including those with fisherman to educate them on recycling monofilament line and the use of lead. What a great change! From entertainment to education. Fantastic.

Don’t you just feel so good inside when a kind person stops and helps a raptor in need? Here is the result of quick action on everyone’s part. Remember always. We love seeing the raptors grow up in the nest from hatch to fledge but it is a very challenging world they face and it is the wildlife rehabilitation centres that put them back together and give them a second chance at life. So when you are donating – anything from clean old sheets and towels, cat food, time, or money – think of your favourite rehabber!

Injured bald eagle returns to Cave City skies

It looks like Ferris found a Red-tail Hawk on his tour of the Cornell Campus late Saturday afternoon. There was some discussion about the band. Big Red is banded but the chatters seem to think that this band protrudes a big. Is it BR? Dark brown eyes so not L4.

Before Ferris could focus the camera, she was off!

Cilla Kinross caught Diamond, Xavier, and Indigo flying around the tower. There is a prey drop, too. Watch carefully.

Cilla Kinross posted some images she took away from the streaming cams. Thanks Cilla, they are lovely!

I do love ducks, any ducks. Still, I cannot fathom what 28,000 Red-head ducks floating on water in the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan would look like. Can you imagine the sound? Most people seemed to think it was an oil slick. Why were there so many? and why did others gather with them? Have a read.

https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/28-000-ducks-mistaken-for-oil-slick-near-mackinac-bridge-and-it-keeps-growing?fbclid=IwAR0H7GMwVG98poha4VpNThetN7S_zP8u8FKB1Fj582mYJIwHYhxi8Nl2o_Q&utm_campaign=www.audacy.com%252Fwwjnewsradio&utm_content=1672328772&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook,twitter&utm_term=WWJ-AM?utm_campaign=sharebutton&utm_medium=email&utm_source=www.audacy.com%2Fwwjnewsradio&utm_term=WWJAM

The extreme weather of 2022 was more than a misery to wildlife who endured searing heat, flooding, landslides, extreme cold and more. The climate crisis is making population numbers dwindle. While the article is about the UK, it could well be written about areas of all countries.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/28/uk-wildlife-devastated-by-litany-of-weather-extremes-in-2022?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so very much for being with me the first day of 2023. Please take care. Thank you again for all of your messages of good cheer. They are so appreciated. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their videos, posts, notes, and streaming cams which make up my screen captures: The New York Times, FOBBV, Benitolink, Superbeaks, NEFL-AEF, KNF-E3, MN-DNR, AEF, WNYK, Ferris Akel Tours, Cilla Kinross, The Guardian, Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, WRDC, and Window to Wildlife.

Hatch for Alex and Andria, Ervie is fishing, L3 is flying… and more…in Bird World

26 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

For those that celebrated Christmas, I hope that you had a wonderful day surrounded by friends and family. For those celebrating the end of Hanukkah, chag Hanukkah sameach and for all preparing for the New Year and especially our friends in Japan, we are cleaning our house with you and looking forward to eating lots of mochi.

I have so many fond memories of living in the UK. I wonder how much it has changed? Those of you who live there can tell me. We lived on a lovely cul-de-sac on Gorse Road and the gorse was about six houses (semi-detached) from ours. We spent so many hours wandering those fields. But, back to the point. Milk was delivered by the person driving the milk float. But they also had a brochure with all of the holiday hamper offerings for the next year. You could pay for your Christmas feast by the week and it would be delivered on time. It was a fantastic way of budgeting for some truly remarkable things. But, at the time, the children got two presents. A sock filled with little treats and one big present, normally a new bike. That was it and it was wonderful. No flurry, no regrets, no big bills to look forward to. The most important thing was everyone stopping to share a truly nice meal with one another.

As we see the end of 2022 approaching, let us hope that joy, compassion, empathy for all living things, and peace will be with us in 2023.

I want to introduce you to someone who is a wildlife conservation photographer who moved to looking at the birds in her back garden. It is just a great little video clip and some of you will remember we also had the General Adjutants in the blog one year. Time to go back and visit the energy the women of Assam India had in trying to protect this terribly endangered species. Enjoy!

Making News: A golf course in the UK is being turned into a park and the only holes made will be by badgers and woodpeckers. Isn’t that fantastic – rewinding?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/25/frodsham-cheshire-golf-course-transformed-woodland?CMP=share_btn_link

Happenings in Bird World:

Things are starting to happen in Bird World with the first pip and quickly the progression of the hatching of their first egg for Alex and Andria at the E3 Bald Eagle nest in Louisiana. Indeed, I am writing this at 2200 Sunday evening and by Monday morning, there could well be an eaglet for this lovely couple. They are named after the closest city, Alexandria, to the forest. Many thanks to Tonya Irwin who has kept everyone up to date on the progress and who so carefully explains below how humidity impacts hatching. I learn something new every day. Thank you Tonya.

The latest news to describe how the difference in humidity (80%) in Alexandria, Louisiana impacts hatching.

First feeding – a Coot. Look how big and strong that little eaglet is. Unofficial full hatch time is 0341 on the 26th of December.

Meanwhile, in Central Florida, PePe and Muhlady are keeping the two eaglets well fed. I have to say – the position of the camera at this nest is excellent. Yes, yes, I can hear you screaming at me but let me explain. We cannot see a thing at Superbeaks. The eaglets are slowly being revealed to us as they grow taller. It certainly saves a whole lot of stress. There are two of them. Sometimes you only get sight of one.

Great news regarding Big Red and Arthur’s L3. Oh, gosh, we have waited to hear if this darling would ever fly again and there she is. So very relieved and happy. She sure looks like her formidable mother, Big Red!

In the meantime, Ithaca, home to Big Red, Arthur, and L4 is in the grips of that bomb cyclone weather with a temperature of -9 C and it is predicted to get as low as -13 C. Please send your warm wishes to our favourite RTH family as they battle to stay alive in these unusually frigid temperatures that are seeing many Americans in the area die. The cameras are down but Buffalo, which is, as the Ithaca Report said, “A low pressure storm system is expected to rapidly intensify, a process known as explosive cyclogenesis or “bombogenesis,” as it crosses the Lower Great Lakes west of Ithaca and Tompkins County. This storm will be extremely powerful, with forecasted core pressure more typical to oceanic lows and hurricanes than a continental storm system. The National Weather Service Buffalo office is describing it “as a once-in-a-generation type of event.”

Ervie was over at Delamare wishing for a fish! What a handsome fellow he is. I wonder if he is still fishing with Dad?

I have not kept as close an eye on Ernie’s sister, Zoe. The parents are still bringing her fish. Today, Mum brought in a small piece for her daughter at 1405. Zoe did seem to have a crop prior to that delivery. Wonder where she ate? and who brought it? or did she catch it? I would not be surprised if Zoe is not fishing but we wait to see if those attempts are successful. Perhaps she will join Dad and Ervie over at Delamere soon (her tracker will tell us? Now that would be sensational!!!!!!!

Zoe’s crop three minutes before Mum delivers her a small piece of fish. Don’t you think her crop looks full? and what about that necklace? It is pretty awe-inspiring.

Mantling that snack from Mum.

While Alex and Andria were celebrating the pip and hatching in their first egg at the E3 nest in the Kisatchie National Forest, Ron and V2 are still working on their nest.

Someone was with Gabby at the nest early in the morning. Is it V11? Will this nest settle down in the new year?

It looks like V11 is still there tonight. Send positive wishes! Maybe the revolving door of suitors and intruders is coming to an end. If V11 can keep them away and get food on the nest, wow. Wouldn’t that just be sensational? I don’t know about you but I am growing weary and if I am, can you imagine how Gabby feels after losing Samson? and then having seen mostly dire prospects come to the nest? Everyone has gotten a good education in widowed eagles finding new mates from watching both Gabby and Ron. (Ron is not widowed per se but he is alone as Rita will not ever return to the nest).

At the nest of Jackie and Shadow, the snow has all melted and our eagle couple are there checking on things today right before noon. — And my goodness, how could I not put Shadow right up there at the top with Akecheta now that our dear Samson is no longer with us? Sorry Shadow. I do adore you.

The sun setting on Fraser Point Bald Eagles nest, home to Andor and Cruz, is simply stunning. The eagles were not there – do not be fooled if you see one working on the nest – it is a highlight. There was, however, a visit by a Raven or a Crow.

No one home today at Two Harbours, the home of Chase and Cholyn. It certainly is a rather spectacular place for a nest – this and the West End nest of Cholyn’s daughter, Thunder and her mate, Akecheta.

The Red List 22. Red-backed Shrike

“Red-backed Shrike” by Andrej Chudy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The Red-backed shrike is only slightly bigger than the House Sparrows that visit my garden. The male is striking with its black mask earning the male birds of this species the nickname, ‘the bandit’. They have a grey head, that really dark black eye line going over their cere and running to the nape. Their underparts are white. They have the most gorgeous rust or shall we use the 2022 colour, Redwood, to describe their back and primary feathers. Their tail is black while their other wing feathers are black with white edging. Their beak is black and it is hooked. I really hate it when writers describe the female (image below) as being dull. They are not dull at all! Is it not possible to see the variety of browns and rusts in the upper parts, the lovely grey in the rump along with the upper tail coverts. Instead of an all black tail (very boring), the female’s is an espresso brown with white edging and tips. Their mask is subtle as if they have been trained in the fine art of using an eye liner brush compared to the male who has taken a Sharpie marker!

Matt Shardlow says of the Red-backed Shrike in his essay for Red Sixty-Seven: “Victoria shrikes watched over the land from Durham to Devon and Kent to Conway; eyes alert for burly bumblebees, dumpy dung beetles, well-fed wasps, even delicious lizards. with a pounce and swoop the animal was dead in the shrike’s little raptorial bill.” Shardlow reminds us that by the Beatles became the pop music hit of the 1960s, the Shrikes were in rapid decline and that decline continues. “In 1989, it was down to one heath, with one nest in one short lonely lolly-pop tree…” (80).

“Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)” by gilgit2 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

While many believed it was the weather that caused the near extinction of the bird, it was, in fact, a loss of food with large moths decreasing by 2/3 in population since 1948. The same was true for the bees and the beetles. Change in farming and the use of pesticides has been key to its demise. Imagine all the birds gone and left to only two pairs to raise young to keep the population going. Imagine now if this were all the birds. The use of pesticides is entirely unnecessary. Indeed, my City was ripe to spray all living flying things to get rid of mosquitoes only to discover that Dragon Flys do a much better job and cause no harm to the environment. It was time for a change to save the Shrike and it seems that some changes in the UK in terms of rewinding and the cessation of pesticide use in certain areas, since the publication of Red Sixty-Seven in 2019 (just 3 years ago), have had an impact. We can change things but we must just dig our heels in and get on with it. No excuses. The RSPB still counts only three resident mated pairs of Red-backed Shrikes living in the UK; the remainder are migratory. Let’s see if that number can be raised ten fold in the coming years. Wouldn’t that be grand?

Thank you so very much for being with me today. When I think of all of you, I get all giddy. So many people who care so much for our feathered friends. Sheer joy and a huge smile comes on my face. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for the letters, their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Beneath the Feeder, The Guardian, Kistachie National Forest Eagle Cam Fans and Tanya Irwin, NF-AEF, Ron and Roses Eagle Nest Watchers and Pat Burke, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters and Suzanne Arnold Horning, Superbeaks, Openverse, Institute for Wildlife Studies and Explore.org.

Is V9 the winner? and other news for Thursday in Bird World

22 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is still freezing. The last time I checked it was -26 degrees C. The furnace is working over time. But I am out of the parking pad and someone is coming to clear all of the snow so I won’t get stuck in there next time there is a blizzard. Tomorrow is the day to make sure that the birdseed and the cat food are topped up so that there is plenty to take all of the garden friends along with Missy and Lewis into the new year. I do not know about you but, I dislike crowds immensely, hate malls even more, and hope to get out and home before many wake up in the morning. Fingers crossed.

It is the day after the Winter solstice. A long time friend sent this to me and I want to share it with you – even if it is a day late.

A Winter Solstice Blessing

May you find peace in the promise of the solstice night, that each day forward is blessed with more light, that the cycle of nature, unbroken and true, brings faith to your soul and well-being to you. Rejoice in the darkness, in the silence find rest and may the days that follow be abundantly blessed. (Source unknown)

Bird World has gotten very quiet for the past few days. The only action that is happening is at the nests of Gabby and Ron where there remains some question as to which of the visitors each of them might choose. SuperBeaks is just steady as you go. This nest will go on my must watch list of eagle nests for next year.

Now at Northeast Florida. Too many visitors to follow. Too many discussions over who is who or if one is old enough to mate, etc. There is plenty of evidence for 4 year olds fathering healthy chicks including Harry at the MN-DNR nest in 2021 and again in 2022 before he disappeared. Is it possible Gabby might not have a mate this year? Of course it is. We should sit back and relax. It is a learning opportunity.

The camera has been down. There is another camera that the AEF have access to while the cameras we use to see the nest are down. Well done Gabby and V9. I gather they are friendly and working on the nest. Great news. Now if he can prove that he can keep intruders away, bring fish, and be truly a grand mate for Gabby — well, there could be little eaglets popping their heads up at this nest in the new year. Hopeful.

There is news of Rita requiring a little more removal of the wing. It is not clear if this is the tip that was removed several days ago or a new surgery. I am trying to clarify. It is certain that she will not fly again and they are looking for a permanent home for her. And this brings me to a problem that we all must consider every time we want a bird to be an ambassador or an educational bird —— they must have a place to go. That place has to have funds to feed and care for the wildlife they have. Many places are just over run with raptors and other birds. So when you consider making donations, please do keep this in mind. The costs involved are high and almost without exception these facilities work on a shoe string through the generosity of volunteers and donations.

Meanwhile Ron seems not to have settled on a new mate yet and appears to not like at least one of the females coming around.

In San Jose at the City Hall, Sequoia, the son of Grinnell and Annie, is calling his mate! This is just so wonderful. While it never makes up for losing birds, it is sure nice to see ones that we have watched from hatch to fledge begin their own families.

For those of you that love Peregrine Falcons and want to know more, here is a hefty book that has come out. Mark Avery wrote a good review in his recent monthly blog and this is part of his report, “This is a monumental book about what is regarded as the fastest animal on the planet (or flying over it). At over 500 pages, and amply and attractively illustrated, this is a tribute to and reference source about a marvellous bird. The brilliance of this bird is well captured in many of the photographs but the text is full of information about Peregrines from everywhere in the world where they occur. Chapters cover falcons in general, an introduction to this species, flight, diet, breeding behaviours and characteristics, movements, friends and foes and population numbers and trends. It feels like an encyclopedic coverage and the book is packed with information, but information delivered in a very palatable form.”

Speaking of falcons, Indigo is still being fed, still hiding food in the scrape and having Mum, Diamond, take it! Indigo has also started something unusual. Bringing grass into the scrape box! Goodness.

The SuperBeaks nest is wonderful. I am so glad that several readers asked me about them. I have had several giggles. While we have been frustrated not being able to see the eaglets, ‘S’ admits that we are getting a reprieve from worrying about them, too. We aren’t sitting and counting the bites this one or that one gets. We just sit and watch PePe bring in large fish and Muhlady feed the bobbleheads. We cannot even seen any beaking! It is actually quite nice. By the time we can see them clearly all of that will have passed!

There is a wee little head showing in the top image.

Both Pepe and Muhlady are on the nest vocalising.

Have not seen Jackie or Shadow at the Big Bear nest today but, there were a couple of Crows (or are they Ravens – difficult to tell) visiting trying to find any leftover bits of fish. Jackie and Shadow were there on Tuesday working away.

Here is a very short compilation for the winter solstice with recent images of the eagles at Big Bear – our adorable Jackie and Shadow.

The GHOs have been after M15 at the SWFlorida nest again – and, of course, since their nest is on the same property, we can expect an increase in this behaviour. Do the Eagles bothered the owls? Probably not. Maybe they should!

Cornell has put out its season highlights from the Royal Cam nest at Tiaroa Head. It opens with OGK doing a sky call – so get the tissue box. What a grand mate and dad he was. Last seen in mid-May (19 May I am told). We will forever miss him as will his long time mate, YRK, who will, perhaps, find another mate and raise more chicks. We will have to wait and see. And it could be a very long wait.

I know that many of you have wondered what happened to Mahlala, the Red tail hawk raised by the eagles on Gabriola Island. Their eaglet Junior, you will remember, was electrocuted on a power pole. I found this announcement today re their FB presence: “UPDATE: 12 20 22 GROWLS Eagle Nest Cam (Gabriola Rescue Of Wildlife Society). This FB Group is temporarily paused for 168 days. An admin paused this group on July 30, 2022. Group activity will resume on January 15, 2023 at 3:00 AM“.

No one knows why the FB was abruptly paused.

As for Mahlala, there are a large number of Red-tail Hawks in the general area. She was not banded so it would be difficult to tell her apart from any other unless you had clear identifying features which we don’t because the camera images were not clear. Did she return to the nest? Maybe GROWLS will tell us when they come back to life!

I posted an image of L4 that was taken during the Ferris Akel Tour last Saturday. Here are other images from this morning’s Cornell Hawks Twitter feed. It is nice to see the juvenile still doing so very well. That is a nice crop – and still in Mum and Dad’s territory without problem.

No. 21 The Red List. The Woodcock

Oh, look at that image. The eyes set way back on their head allow them to see predators when they have their long beak thrust into the ground hunting for food. They have short legs and are rather ’round’ compared to other birds.

Males perform a remarkable ‘sky dance’ on spring and summer nights, in a high, twisting flight, with chippering, twittering, bubbling sounds. These sky dances attract the females who will mate with one of the males. The males – like Daisy the Duck’s mate – take no part in the care of the eggs or the hatchlings!

Audubon Society says, “Downy young leave nest a few hours after hatching. Female tends young and feeds them. After a few days, young may begin probing in soil, learning to search for food. Young can make short flights at age 2 weeks, fly fairly well at 3 weeks, independent at about 5 weeks.” So not like ducklings or goslings that are precocial – able to care for themselves after 24 hours of hatching.

“Woodcock vintage drawing” by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

There are Woodcocks that are resident in the UK and there are others, several hundreds of thousands, that fly from Finland and Russia – a distance of some 3000 km, to over winter in the UK. They arrive during the first week in November. They like damp woodland where they nest in a feathered scrape on the ground. There are stories of the Woodcock carrying their chicks between their legs and body in their feet if danger should arrive. There are also stories of them carrying a stick in their mouth when they fly over the ocean to the UK so if they tire during their flight they have some wood to land on in the ocean.

Many feed at night thrusting their long beak probing around in the soil – their heads go up and down so often they have been compared to ‘sewing machines’. They fine worms and Beatles and suck them up like spaghetti. Can you imagine? I would love to see one.

British writers such as Drayton, Shakespeare, and Milton used them as a metaphor for ‘foolish love’.

“Woodcock Scolopax rusticola” by Peregrine’s Bird Photography is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The threats for the Woodcock vary from geographical location. In the US, fires are burning up habitat, climate change is drying up the wetlands, spring heat waves are driving the chicks from the nest, and heavy rains are endangering the eggs and the nests altogether. In all areas, habitat loss is driving a decline in populations. In the UK, those threats also exist along with the legal hunting of the Woodcock which begins on 1 November despite their being on The Red List. Wild Justice has asked the government to change the date to 1 December to try and help protect during the breeding season!

Two recent short articles from The Guardian are quite good.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jun/08/birds.woodcock?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/06/country-diary-claxton-norfolk-birds-woodcock-snipe-wigeon?CMP=share_btn_link

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, their notes, their posts, and videos that make up my screen captures: Cornell Hawks Twitter page, Superbeaks Bald Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Mark Avery Book Reviews, San Jose City Hall, Openverse, NZ DOC and Cornell Bird Lab, FOBBV, San Jose City Hall, WRDC, and the NEFL-AEF.

Pepe brings in an evening snack, more visitors to Gabby’s nest…it is Sunday in Bird World

18 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone from a very snowy Manitoba! It has been a long time since we have seen so much snow dumped on the Canadian Prairies at one time. It is beautiful and a good way to slow down.

The Starlings showed up at their usual time for some of the suet.

The House Sparrows were here – mostly on the ground eating seed that Dyson & Company had dumped on the ground. You see the squirrels have found a way to empty one of the feeders entirely by shining on it!

Dyson is in her favourite spot. I always know where to find her. The other three – her babies from the summer – are doing well. She has taken good care of them.

It is a different story in the house. Lewis and Missey want to help with everything including the new images of Aran that have arrived from Glaslyn or the squirrel cards from DaniConnorWild.

Are they so innocent?

One or the other loves to get in this little basket. When they first arrived, both of them could fit in it. No longer! I am now calling them cats instead of kittens!

Lewis pretending he is an angel. I will not take my eyes off him or these candles while they are on. It is way too easy for a cat to burn their fur or start a fire. In fact, after sitting nervously for a few minutes, I have decided to only use candles if they are covered by a glass globe.

With the help of ‘J’, the memorial listing of the birds that we have lost is getting filled in much better. I have now returned to it with her help – while at the same time preparing a summary of Port Lincoln’s season for Claudio and the incredible International Osprey Data Bank he has created for me to track the Ospreys on the streaming cams. By the end of the first week in January, there will be a separate page with the Memorial Wall for 2021-22. If you have any additions (or corrections), please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Let us all hope that 2023’s listing is much shorter.

I don’t always get to sit and watch Ferris Akel’s Saturday Tour but, it is often playing in the background. Whenever he is talking about an interesting bird – instead of just searching for them – I jump up. Today, there was a Belted Kingfisher. Isn’t it lovely? I have never seen one and they look like such unique characters with that long pointed beak and that ‘bed head’. Love the colour palette of the plumage, too. Lovely birds.

Several Bald Eagles were out in the fields near Montezuma. Ferris has a way of spotting them and I have no idea how he does it.

One of the most exciting moments for me was a Northern Harrier hunting in the fields and catching some prey!

It is hard to see but they have a face like an owl with plumage that captures the sounds. They fly low to the surface of the land to catch their prey unlike other hawks that might hover or sit on poles and wait.

I cannot imagine, for a single moment, not wanting to allow them to have a bird or a vole for their dinner. Beautiful creatures.

There were also Tundra and Trumpeter Swans. You could see areas with some open water while others were covered with ice or were slushy.

A Horned Lark had found some food and was eating it on the side of the highway. Silly one!

There were Snow Geese and Canada Geese, too.

They had been feeding on the fields of corn that had been harvested and then all of a sudden, they flew away. Ferris was happy. Last year at this very site someone shot a Snow Goose while he was broadcasting.

Ferris spotted Arthur and a juvenile Red-tail Hawk on the grounds of Cornell University. I would like to think that the juvie that was hunting is L4 who has decided to stay in its parents territory. Certainly Arthur and Big Red are not running it off!

Arthur is all poofed up. It is 0 degrees C and they are due for some more snow. Notice the very deep brown/black eyes of the adult Red-tail. Arthur does not have the majestic apron of Big Red on his chest so it is easy to tell them apart. Such a little cutie, Arthur is. Big Red was seen recently by Karel Sedlacek so I am not worried that Ferris did not see her. It is hard to imagine but in three months time we will be watching for Big Red to lay her eggs. She will be 20 years old this spring! Wow.

This is the juvenile that I believe to be L4. If you look carefully you can see the light celadon of the juvie’s eyes.

Ferris Akel is a wealth of knowledge who gives his time and shares the birds around the area of Ithaca with us almost every Saturday of the year. He has been doing this for more than ten years now. He is humble but, I learn something every time I stop to listen to his programme. You can subscribe to his channel on YouTube and there is a chat moderated by a fellow Canadian, Dolphin. I often lurk – but, everyone is grand and they will welcome you to chat if you say ‘hi’.

As night began to fall, Pepe flew into the Superbeaks nest with a huge prey for Muhlady and the eaglets. I am trying to figure out what it is – a Black duck with red? Anyone know what this might be? Is it a Red-legged Black Duck?

Muhlady certainly seemed pleased and what a nice time to bring the prey. A snack for everyone before bed and some breakfast in the morning. Lovely. This is my first time watching this nest – in fact, it is a new nest on streaming cams. One never knows what to expect but this eagle family seems to have a good source of prey and they are very smart – having their eaglets before it gets too hot! Can’t wait til we can see those wee ones a little more. You certainly can hear them if you tune in.

I had a giggle today. Lady Hawk called Gabby’s nest ‘As the Nest Turns’, too. And it certainly is a revolving door. Today there was a 4 year old and a juvenile less than 2 years which led me to want to think it was Legacy!

Legacy, I don’t know if this is you but, if it is, you are still as gorgeous as ever. It is those piercing eyes…I have looked several times at images of Legacy and it sure could be her. I sure wish someone would band these eaglets! And here is my reasoning. For the past several days, we have been receiving images of Siren 5F who is the mate of Dylan at Llyn Clywedog. She is perched in her regular roost in The Gambia where she winters. Easily recognisable. No guesses. That is how banding can help – amongst other things.

That 4 year old eagle sure has Samson’s legs!

A short video of V4 flying into the nest with V5. Someone mentioned Gabby abandoning this nest. The Bald Eagles are attached to the nest. I cannot see a reason for her to leave it unless she were ‘run out’ of the territory by a bonded couple intent on taking over the territory and the nest.

One of the resident Ospreys at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey is Bailey. She was the companion of Smedley who sadly died last year. Yes, Ospreys do well in care!!!!!

Wow. Look at this image from the scrape at Charles Sturt University in Orange today. The expression on Diamond and Indigo’s faces are amazing.

At the same time, Indigo can be just a darling.

Elain’s highlights of the day at the Orange scrape. Always welcome, Elain. You do a wonderful compilation! Thank you.

Ron is quite the catch. I sure hope some deserving female flies into his nest! He is doing a super job of working on it. Someone today wished that Ron and Gabby could get together. That would be one super couple.

Jackie and Shadow working on their nest. They were caught mating on the other camera today!

As we wait for eggs to be laid or hatch, for Gabby to get a new mate or not, there is not a lot going on in Bird World and for that, I am truly grateful.

Good news has come to us from the rehabilitation centre that has cared for WBSE27 and who is now training WBSE30. We know that 27 is flying free. We have seen her tracking. They did a marvellous job teaching her to fly and to hunt and they are now doing the same for 30. Let us hope that she, too, will be equipped with a tracker so that we can follow her movements.

The top image is 27 leaping off a perch while she was being trained before she was released. The bottom image is 30 being trained now. Warm wishes for her life to be as successful as her older sister’s.

30 is on the perch on the right.

I have not been able to find a recent update on WBSE 29. Lady and Dad have, however, visited the nest tree the other evening. So nice to see them!

And a quick check on Zoe at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. I caught Dad delivering either a small fish or a piece of a fish to Zoe at 1402. She spots him coming. My goodness, Zoe, you are loud! They could hear you across the lagoon.

So, with the lull, let us turn back to our Red List of Vulnerable Birds published in the UK.

No. 20 The Red List: The Smew

“Smew” by hmclin is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The author, Ben Watt, calls this darling black and white diving duck, the ‘Karl Lagerfeld’ of the divers. Watt uses such terms as ‘vivid white crest, jet black shades, white tux, …moving elegantly’. What a grand description. Quite fitting.

The top image is of a male Smew. The bottom is of the female adult. Just look at that magnificent rusty head on the female. Quite striking and gorgeous.

“Smew – male” by Len Blumin is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

“Zoo Smew” by hmclin is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

There are fossils of Smew going back 1.5 million years ago and yet this gorgeous little waterfowl is at risk of going extinct in our life time. Watt is on a crusade to save this bird that inhabited the wetlands near to his home. In 1956, there were 144 recorded wintering at the Brent Reservoir (Welsh Harp). It was a record! Today, there are 10. I did not keystroke that wrong – ten. So what is the problem? Climate change caused by humans. Milder winters, the increase of water sports and the pollution of waters. Watt says, ‘These days, the two inflowing rivers at the Welsh Harp are badly oxygen-depleted, and high in urban run-off, contaminated with silt, phosphates and micro plastics. Feeding grounds are suffering and the numbers of regular species are on the decline.’

We could of course say this for most of our waterfowl. Indeed, ‘A’ and I have been wondering about the silt flowing into the water at Port Lincoln due to flooding slightly north. Luckily, for the Smew, they can stay year round in various bodies of water near Amsterdam where they number close to 200 at a single count.

Last today, ‘J’ has been helping me with the memorial wall asks that we keep Victoria Cockatoo in our thoughts and prayers. Victoria is a 50 year old Cockatoo that had a very hard life before she was taken in by a kind owner, April. As a result of the treatment she received earlier in life, Victoria is battling significant health problems and is in hospice.  Yesterday she was eating April’s breakfast so there is some hope on improvement. Here is that link:

https://www.facebook.com/ParrotPlayhouse

Please also keep Alden, Samson, and Rita in your positive thoughts as well.

From somewhere in Australia, a tree full of Rainbow Lorikeets that used to come and wish our lovely little Black Pacific Duck Daisy nesting on the big WBSE tree ‘good morning’.

Thank you so much for being with me today. It is lovely to have you here with us. Take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams that make up my screen captures: OpenVerse, Port Lincoln Osprey, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, FOBBV, Raptor Recovery Australia and Judy Harrington and Sea Eagle Cam, WRDC, NEFL-AEF, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Superbeaks, and Ferris Akel’s Live Tours.

Another male at Gabby’s nest? Pa and Missy Berry have 2nd egg…and more in Bird World

17 December 2022

It is a bit like a winter fairyland outside if you can stay in and not have to drive. The main City streets are clear but in the country cars have been sliding into the ditch all of Friday. Hopefully no one was injured and…everyone can stay home until the weather improves.

I am having a hard time getting over the fact that someone stomped four beautiful Hen Harrier chicks to their death. It is simply unimaginable. And, yet, cruelty to animals appears to be on the rise. What has happened to us? We pollute our planet til it is gasping for breath and then treat the wildlife that we share it with in disdain. I say ‘we’. Anyone who reads my blog does not harm anything but, how can we cause a sea change in the rest of humanity? Of course, those four chicks are only the tip of the iceberg as evidenced by the listing of 77 Hen Harriers killed or missing (those known) since 2018 when the persecution of the birds was to end. Humans can be very disgusting. One of the latest below. If you wish to follow Dr Ruth Tingay’s blog, Raptor Persecution UK, go to raptorpersecutionuk.org

While the UK is battling this intentional killing, there are serious persecutions of raptors happening throughout the world. No country is immune it seems. What a sadness.

This morning, we need something uplifting and I cannot think of a sweeter sound that little eaglets wanting more bites of prey and being fed by their mum. In this case, it is Muhlady at the Superbeaks nest. You can hear them and see them, finally. That nest bowl is deep! And a good thing. We will not worry about them falling over!

The soap opera continues at the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest. It is surely a good thing that Gabby has not laid her eggs yet because it is a revolving door of suitors. Just when we think V3 is the winner – ‘behind door number 3’- he disappears and is missing for 24 hours and then V1 shows up! My question is: will V2 return?

According to ‘J’ who is watching this nest closely, Gabby was not too happy when V1 showed up instead of V2. (Rollin’ Rag is calling this one new but some have identified him as V1). ‘H’ says we need to buy more popcorn!!!!!! Yes, ‘H’, it is the best soap opera in Bird World at the moment. Indeed, I have not ever seen anything like it. Have you?

Here is another announcement – with another sub-adult visitor.

Gabby waits, looking off in the distance. Oh, I would give anything if Samson would fly in!

As Ron waits for Rita to return in the WRDC nest at the Miami Zoo, Rita is busy getting well in the clinic. Here is the latest news form Ron Magill:

The WRDC welcomes any and all donations to help with Rita’s care.

At the Bald Eagle nest on the grounds of Berry College in Georgia, Pa and Missey welcomed their second egg on Friday. Let hard incubation commence. Oh, I hope the snow and ice are not bad this year. Poor Missey is often buried, just like some of the other Mums.

Jackie and Shadow are used to snow and, as we all know, eagles prefer it cooler than hotter. The couple were caught working on their nest in Big Bear Valley today. Lovely to see you Jackie and Shadow.

This is the view of the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest of Nancy and her new mate today.

There is also snow at our favourite US Osprey nest – of Iris in Missoula, Montana. She is the oldest living Osprey that we know of…And we can look forward to her return the first week of April. While it is doubtful there will ever be osplets fledged off this nest again, it is always good to see Iris. Reassuring that everything is right with the world.

Good news coming out of San Jose City Hall. Annie and Grinnell’s 2020 hatch Sequoia is bonding with her mate! on camera!!!!!!!! It doesn’t bring sweet Grinnell back but his amazing personality will hopefully live on in his children and grandchildren!

Grandmother Annie’s ‘new guy’ sure does like to scrape! He’s hoping she will choose him. Let’s wait and see!

In Port Lincoln, Zoe remains on the natal nest and Dad continues to feed his big girl. She flew off the nest to get that fish! Look at that plumage. Zoe is rather magnificent.

A short but very precious video of Indigo lekking.

In the UK, the banning of certain fishing might help to keep some birds from extinction~including the darling Puffin. This is very good news. Now let us just hope that there will be oversight. Perhaps more and more governments will begin to take seriously the needs of our wildlife for food and habitat and begin restricting other fishing and building permits to help protect the sea birds.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/16/uk-may-ban-sandeel-fishing-in-move-to-save-threatened-seabirds?CMP=share_btn_link

There is, however, other disturbing news and that is the decline in the number of insects – vital to the health of many birds – and humans, too!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/15/flying-insect-numbers-plunge-64-since-2004-uk-survey-finds?CMP=share_btn_link

Ever wonder what Ospreys do after they fly from their spring and summer breeding grounds to their winter homes? Well, apparently they don’t do much! I became particularly interested in 4K because of Belvoir Castle (pronounced ‘Beaver’ Castle). When I was studying at Leicester University, Belvoir Castle and the Benton Estate were frequent haunts of mine when I needed to clear my head. There were no Ospreys back then so this is very exciting!

Tim Mackrill is giving a free talk on Ospreys. Here is the information:

When I was a student of Dr Klaus Klostermaier, I visited Germany for the first time. It was eons ago. I returned commenting on being able to open the windows and have no ‘bugs’. Manitoba is always awash with mosquitoes. Well, my tutor set me down and gave me a good talking to – you see he grew up in Germany before heading to Rome to become a priest and then to India where he was disavowed. It seems I was quite ‘wet behind the ears’. Germany’s industrial pollution had killed the insects so vital to life. That said, Germany spent considerable effort cleaning up its rivers and I wonder today about the insect population. So a world without insects biting us is not a good world at all!

It is now a week until the Christmas holiday celebrations for some of my readers. Others are celebrating Hanukah which ends on 26 December – right when Kwanza beings. It is a busy time of year.

I have been overwhelmed by the urge – the sheer panic – I see in so many when I go out. They are scampering about like starved mice to buy and buy. In keeping with the notion that the world has too much stuff, we are cancelling presents this year and from now forward. Instead ,we are opting for a simple Vegan pot luck. Today, I also got a fantastic idea to make that potluck even more fun from my friend, Sassa Bird. She is going to teach her friends and family to make bird seed ornaments. What a delightful idea. She is happy for all of us to join in the fun! It is a win-win.

Here is an easy recipe for that very expensive Bark Butter that my garden birds love: 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal, 1/2 cup of oatmeal (either quick or original, it doesn’t matter), 1/2 cup of lard (you need real lard not shortening and you can ask your butcher if you cannot find it), and the last ingredient is 1/2 cup of peanut butter (either smooth or chunky). It should be a wee bit sticky so it doesn’t crumble. I add more peanut butter if I need to. You can smear this on the trunks of trees, you can dip the tops of pine cones in it. One clever way I saw was to roll it in a log and chill it. Then roll it in cranberries. Cut in shapes and place in suet holders. I promise your guests will learn something and all the birds will be grateful. There is not a visitor to my garden that doesn’t love this mixture.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. I hope that all of you are well. I wish you good friendships, some good food, and lots of smiles and laughs as we bring 2022 closer to an end. We are all hoping in Bird World that it will be a better year. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, their posts, and their streaming cams that make up my screen captures: ‘H’ and ‘J’ for all the news on NEFL and the giggles, Sassa Bird for the great holiday idea, The Guardian, Tim Mackrill Twitter feed, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Port Lincoln Ospreys, San Jose City Hall, Cal Falcons, Montana Osprey Project and Cornell Bird Lab, MN-DNR Bald Eagle Cam, FOBBV, Berry College Eagles, Ron Magill and the WRDC, NEFL-AEF, Rollin Rag, and Superbeaks.

Darling Rubus is dead…and other news in Bird World

Hello Everyone,

What a very sad morning it is.

It was 2100 Monday evening on the Canadian Prairies when I started this blog and the world looked so much better with the idea that our little lad could be flying around with his older brother, Indigo Now that hope has shattered. This morning I know that all of you are feeling the same hole in your life. What a lively character Rubus was — and what immense joy he gave us stretching his little neck to get food and running all over the scrape box screaming and staring into the camera. Oh, little one, you shall be missed.

I am so very glad to have the kittens and the garden animals this morning. The kittens are being as cute as they can be. Both of them spend lots of time looking out to the garden watching the squirrels, the birds, and Hedwig – the rabbit, who came to visit us today.

Our thoughts go out to Diamond and Xavier and to Indigo who must carry on now and to Cilla Kinross and everyone at Orange and to all those around the world who dared love this little bundle of fluff that was Rubus.

Our dear darling little lad. This morning we are all weeping for you.

The speculation as to which fledgling is which has ended at Orange. The body of dear little Rubus was found and it appears he died some time ago. Here is the announcement from Cilla Kinross:

“NEWS 29th November 2022 Bad news about Rubus. His body was found today by one of our medical staff (who also watch the livestream). Cause of death is unknown. I thought at first broken neck because of the angle, but it seemed intact. I have asked the vet for an autopsy, but she said that it is too far gone, so it looks like he died a few days after last seen on 23rd November. That’s a pity as I would like to have known whether it was caused by trichomoniasis (canker) as has been suggested by some watchers. We’ve never had a case here, but the parasite could be present in the local pigeon population and transferred in the prey.”

It is hard to take it all in. Liz M has put together a compilation of Rubus’s life for us.

I will be doing a tribute to Rubus in the coming days and will then add him to our ‘Wall of Remembrance’. So sad today as I know you all are.

I have hoped so much that there would be some good news at the nest of Gabby and Samson, of Annie and Alden, and of Ron and Rita. The only sure thing is that Zoe loves fish and will eat any and all that land on her nest.

Cal Falcons has ‘finally’ issued a statement about what is happening at The Campanile. Thankfully that news is not bad. We just have to wait.

As the sun set over The Hamlet, Gabby looked out over the trees. She has been hunting and has a huge crop. The male intruder appears not to be about but, Gabby has to be wondering where her mate is. What has happened to him?

I am so glad that Gabby has eaten well.

I was reminded, this evening, that Bella was injured. She had extensive injuries and was away from the NCTC nest that she shares with Smitty for three weeks before returning and booting an interested female off. Samson could return. That is my mantra. In fact, I received a note from ‘T’ and the blood on the side of Samson’s face was not an injury but, was from a Coot that he had eaten earlier. Thanks, ‘T’.

In Miami…

Rita, the Bald Eagle mate of Ron, at the Miami Zoo, was a celebrity before she was critically injured with a double compound fracture to her right wing on Sunday. She has been stabilized and operated on and what a lucky eagle she is – had she not been found so quickly and taken to care by the police who found her, she would have died. Maggots had already started growing. So sad.

A round of applause to everyone who helped this injured eagle. The next 48 hours will be crucial – send Rita all your best wishes. The surgery will not happen for another 2 or 3 days and then months and months of rehab before she could released, if she is released. Ron has been on the nest looking for her and just doesn’t understand what has gone on because she was picked up miles away from the nest.

https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/rita-the-bald-eagle-in-critical-condition-at-zoo-miami/

Here is TV coverage of Rita and her injury with more details.

In California, Jackie was caught on camera — yes, the camera is back up and running after the storm thanks to everyone for that. It is so good to see you, Jackie.

In Florida, the GHOWs are striking at Harriet and M15 again.

Port Lincoln Ospreys:

I wonder if Zoe dreams about fish dinners?

Once Zoe spotted Dad away, she flew over by Mum and waited for him to return with ‘her’ breakfast.

Dad did not disappoint. He brought a nice little fish for Zoe.

And our Zoe made quick work of that little fish and was ready for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. 17. The Red List. The Scaup

There are two Scaup. Dominic Couzens in his text for Red Sixty Seven, suggests that the one in the United Kingdom be called the Greater Scaup because there is a Lesser Scaup across the pond in America. The one in the United Kingdom actually resides in both the United Kingdom, Europe and the ‘New World’. That is why, Couzens argues it should be the ‘greater’.

The Scaup breed in the taiga and the Arctic Tundra in the spring. They return to the United Kingdom in the autumn where they will spend the winter. They are medium sized diving ducks – not dabblers. They dive deep searching for aquatic invertebrates and plants. They normally feed during the day but have been seen foraging at night if the water has been disturbed during the day by boats and human activity. Did you know that to catch the invertebrates, the Scaup stick their bill into the mud, snap it closed, and swim forward scooping it up. They have been known to dive to 7 metres!

“Greater Scaup LMO 1” by THE Holy Hand Grenade! is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Look carefully at the Greater Scaup above with its magnificent green head, glowing yellow eye, white bill with the tell-tale black ‘V’ at the base. This marks them out from their American counterpart whose head is an iridescent purple, the black ‘V’ at the base of the bill is missing, and the head is less round. The Greater Scaup has a black neck and breast, white underparts, a dabbled grey and white wing and back, with black tail feathers.

The female is a beauty. Her head is black with that striking yellow eye. She has a white crescent between her bill and her eye. The breast is a lovely chestnut, the back and wings a mottled chestnut and white with a black tail.

“Greater Scaup (Female)” by Rick Leche is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The Scaup make their nests on the ground where the eggs can easily be predated by foxes, dogs, The female lines her nest with the down from her breast. The nests are generally near the edge of the water in areas that are known not to flood. Generally between 8 and 13 eggs are laid.

Their main threat is human development, although they are preyed upon by owls, skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and humans.  But there are other threats as well including water pollution and climate change. Alarmingly they are also caught up as bycatch when trawlers are out looking for fish.

https://envirobites.org/2020/05/05/the-unintended-catch-population-declines-in-greater-scaup-due-to-fishery-bycatch/

It has been a difficult last few days in Bird World. As a friend reminded me, “it would not hurt so much if we didn’t care so deeply.” Continue to care. The Birds need all of us and more. Continue to feel. Do not get numb to the challenges they face that cut their lives much more shorter than they should be. Send out your best wishes to Samson for a safe return to Gabby, to Rita so she will stabilize for her surgery, to Alden so he will return to Annie.

I am sorry this letter comes with nothing but sadness save for Zoe who is thriving which is a good thing. Raise a glass of something – juice, water, your favourite adult drink – to our little lad. Soar high little Rubus. Soar high. You were much loved.

Thank you for being with me this morning. Please take care. I hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘H’ for the news bites about Rita, Envirobites, Port Lincoln Osprey, Openverse, Lady Hawk and SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Channel 10 News Miami, WFLA News, FOBBV, Cal Falcons, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam Project and Cilla Kinross, and Liz M for her tribute to Rubus.

Did Rubus fly to the tower? an osprey eating a fish in Central Park? and other news in Bird World

27 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, we have all worried about Rubus and it seems that there might be some good news coming. I sure hope so! There is, currently, a lot of confusion about whether or not Rubus was flying around the tower with Xavier and Diamond yesterday. We wait for positive confirmation with high hopes.

It has been warm on the Canadian Prairies but it appears that we will now be sliding from +5 C to -10 C. It can be a bit of a roller coaster here sometimes but, a blue sky and sunshine are always welcome and that is what it is like this morning.

Little Red has mastered balancing himself on the feeder and eating so he is well and appears to be in good health as the winter begins to set in.

I love the Sparrows. While they generally eat the Black Oil Seed and Millet, they also seem to be liking the Butter Bark. It will certainly give them a lot of energy. You can make your own. There are recipes on the Internet using primarily peanut butter and cornmeal. If you have a good one, send it to me! Please.

I think Sparrows are beautiful. Just look at the range of colours out of a very simple paint box for them.

In the Mailbox:

Do you a follow the Tweed Valley fledgling, Glen, Blue 708? Well you might have gotten a real lump in your throat when everyone was worried that he was grounded on top of a building in Portugal. But great news has been posted and sent to me by ‘G’. This is fantastic news. Here are those two tweets:

We have seen those sat pads going haywire in areas where there are a lot of hydro or cell towers or both. But it is possible, looking at the map above, that Glen took off over the Atlantic where there would be no transmissions and then – wow – he lands in Morocco and the signal returns. ‘G’ reports that after flying over the Atlantic for 36 hours, Glen then rested for 12 hours in Khnifiss Bio-reserve and is now fishing in the same area. Thank you ‘G’ and what a relief this is to have everything fully confirmed. Glen is a strong bird, my goodness. Wishing a long and productive life for this fledgling!

Oh I get the most marvellous mail and today, ‘M’ sent me a link to something very special. Imagine an Osprey catching a fish in the pond in Central Park in the middle of New York City. Yes, you read that correctly! It is a rare sight indeed!!!!!!

There is more news from Bernard in Brittany!

I am certain that everyone was so excited to hear the news about Willow being spotted in Brittany in mid-September. That news comes on the heels of another Scottish bird being spotted in the same region which Bernard reported. Here is the information on it that Brian Etheridge sent to Bernard. Some of you might be quite interested in this osprey sighting. Osprey, blue/white 527 at Anse of Combrit, Brittany 29 on 3 September 2022. “This bird was ringed on 25 June 2022 as a chick in a nest of three young near Errogie, Scottish Highlands, 57. 46’12″N, 004.23’19″W by myself, Adam Ritchie and Ian Perks. The British Trust for Ornithology metal ring number is 1489674. This is the first sighting of this bird since fledging in July.”

Well, 527 has been spotted again! Mary Cheadle’s tells me that Blue/White 527 was one of many Ospreys photographed and counted by Jean-marie Depart in Senegal on 16 November. Now that should put a smile on our faces! I am very hopeful that Willow LW5 will be sighted if she is in Jean-marie’s territory!!!!!!

527 as photographed by JMD on 16 September 2022, above.

“Atlantic puffins” by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

‘N’ sent me a lovely announcement from Audubon. The focus is on Puffins. I had no idea that warming seas could cause the fish to grow larger causing starvation in the Puffins, did you? Here is a brief extract from that mailing by Audubon:

We monitor nesting on remote islands in the Gulf of Maine and this year they have great news! Despite a steep decline in 2021, seabirds like Atlantic Puffins finished this past summer on a remarkably higher note with twice as many chicks surviving and fledging compared to last year. Thanks to generous support from you and your fellow bird lovers, Audubon is able to closely monitor delicate habitats like this one and carefully tend to the birds that very much depend on us to survive.
 
The puffins’ precarious journey for survival is just one of countless examples in which the climate crisis harms and threatens our beloved birds. Last year, warming waters gave rise to increased butterfish counts, a food source too large for small Atlantic Puffin chicks to swallow, tragically leading to starvation. The climate crisis is also making storms more frequent, much stronger, and increasingly unpredictable. 

Australian Nests:

This was posted under the streaming cam by Cilla Kinross. Please keep reading as the news gets better throughout the afternoon.

“Our small search party scoured the campus today for Rubus without luck. The only place that adults gave warning calls was in Girinyalanha (when Indigo was in the box), so there is still a chance that he is there, but just hard to find. I’ll send another call out to staff to keep an eye out for him. However, at this stage, I’m not that hopeful. I have received a lot of criticism about why Rubus was not put back in the box (including hate mail, which I could do without, thank you). On reflection, Rubus probably should have come into care when he was found on the ground, not put in a tree (and certainly not put back in the box). But I was reassured by Victor Hurley’s assessment that it was unlikely that he had trichomoniasis (canker) and we often have birds still with a bit of fluff, that fly poorly for a couple of days before they come good. He was flying and his parents were feeding him, so I was not too worried. I take responsibility for that decision, even though I was not able to be present at the time (for personal reasons). If found, he will taken into care for veterinary assessment and rehabilation if necessary. I will let you know if and when that happens.”

Later there was some more positive news: “NEWS 27th November 2022 1300 h While our small search party was looking in the woods below the tower, a falcon flew out towards the tower. As I couldn’t see Indigo in the box any more, I assumed the bird we saw flying was Indigo BUT Indigo was in the box (at the back), so it was a different falcon. On tower cam, at that time, this same bird was seen to harrass Xavier into leaving the microwave, so I believe it was Rubus. This is typical juvenile behaviour, not something Diamond would do. She would land on the roof. Hopefully, we will soon see all four falcons on the roof together, so we can be sure.

This would be grand. I am so hoping that the mystery falcon is Rubus and all is well.

Breakfast came in the form of a Quail for Indigo who carried it to the scrape box and ate it, leaving leftovers in the corner just like she has been taught by Diamond and Xavier. Approximately 0613.

Diamond came and raided the pantry! There will be a lesson in this for Indigo!

Now let us go back to where this mystery of Rubus begins. At 084155, the tower cam shows two falcons flying. Indigo was in the scrape box at the time. Is there a third flacon sitting on that appendage sticking out on the right near the top? I hope so!

Diamond had been in the scrape and flew out – top image. Then Indigo came into the scrape – bottom image.

It is a tad confusing and perhaps misleading. If there had been three clear falcon profiles around the tower while Indigo was in the scrape box, then yes, we would know. On one occasion a flying bird thought to be a falcon was, indeed, a Swallow. Cilla has said that she will go out and investigate before she heads home. What she needs is to see 4 falcons on top of the tower. Proof. Fingers crossed — and toes.

Cilla has posted a video of the event at the tower. She says she is not wanting to get our hopes up but here is the footage.

There is some indication that the juvenile that was in the scrape box for so long on the 26th in Australia was Rubus but nothing is confirmed.

Breakfast came to Port Lincoln about 090609. Mum was on the nest with the fish and Zoe was elsewhere. Zoe flew in and took that fish and had her fill.

Here comes Zoe wanting that fish!

In Port Lincoln, it looks like Mum has landed another big flat fish at 1309. There she is eating it on the ropes while Dad sits stoically and Zoe is in the nest screaming for fish. I hope that Mum eats her fill. She will always share with her daughter, always, unless she is absolutely starving and sometimes, as we have seen this season, even then.

Well, it is hard to tell what happened with that fish. The camera was fixed in a particular location and if there was a fish transfer to Zoe, we could not see it. In the background you could hear Zoe fish calling so maybe Mum didn’t land on the nest?? Zoe is definitely not going to starve. This fledgling eats more fish than I could imagine. And still wants more!

Dad delivered his second fish of the day at 2043. Zoe in the nest and took it but Mum flew over. I wonder if she still wants to feed her daughter and have a bedtime snack?

No 16. Red List Bird. Pochard

The Pochards are a stunning duck that arrives in the United Kingdom from Scandinavia to over winter in the slower moving rivers and estuaries. There is now, also, a small group of Pochards that stay in the United Kingdom year round. They populate the newly created reservoirs and gravel pits. the Pochard feeds on seeds, roots and other plant material as well as small invertebrates by diving and also tabling.

There are declines in Northern Europe and this will decidedly impact the number coming to the United Kingdom in the fall. One of the major threats to the Pochard are the predatory mink that have invaded their breeding areas. The draining of lowland marshes and fish ponds for agriculture is causing a massive decline in the numbers. The major cause is climate change and there is also a growing number of mink – predators – in their breeding grounds in the north. That could account for a great loss of these gorgeous waterfowl. Other threats include egg collecting, fishing, disease such as Avian Flu, human disturbance, and illegal hunting!

“Red-crested Pochard” by Andrej Chudy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Let us have a look at this duck more closely in his breeding plumage. He has intense red eyes with a fiery rusty-copper head, a distinctive black breast, a dark taupe on the wings and back, a black rump and grey at the tip of the tail. The under area is white. In this image the bill appears to be red. You would recognise them immediately. The legs and feet are a blue grey for both genders.

Now just look at the female. How beautiful she is with her two little goslings. The eye is the deepest brown-black – not red -with a softer auburn head. The body is white mingled with the same soft auburn from the head.

“mare i fill 06, xibecs – madre e hijo, patos colorados – mom and son, red-crested pochard” by ferran pestaña is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

In his text for Red Sixty Seven, Mike Dilger states, ” I will concede that of all our threatened bird species, the more glamorous and charismatic species, such as the Puffin and Cuckoo, will undoubtedly grab the headlines. But, I’d argue, a winter without spotting a Pochard would be even worse than Christmas without a turkey.” (12)

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their videos, posts and streaming cams which make up my streaming cams: ‘G’ and Conservation without Borders, ‘M’, Quoteny, MC, Bernard, and Jean-marie Dupard, OpenVerse, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Port Lincoln Osprey.

Zoe eats a whopper, Ervie, and where are you, Rubus, darling?

26 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

The kittens thought it was about time that they got their pictures in the blog – again! It is almost impossible to actually call them kittens now. They are 4x the size they were when they arrived. That will be a month on Tuesday. If you look closely at Lewis, you will notice that his nose has some scratches. Those scratches are from his ‘sweet’ ‘never do anything wrong’ sister, Missy. Poor little, Lewis. She took a couple of nicks out of his left eye, too. Ah, it is always the quiet ones, eh, Lewis?

I am going to start off with some really good news. I know that any time we are feeling a little ‘low’, Ervie can always make us smile. Port Lincoln Osprey posted a video of Ervie enjoying a freshly caught fish at Delamere this morning. I wonder if he was out fishing with Dad?

Now for the worrisome. Rubus has not been seen since the 23rd when he was on the ridge of the building. There has been a break in the news and I just thought it was because Cilla had not been out and about but, turns out, Indigo has been seen and photographed but not our sweet little lad.

I have received a note from ‘J’ that included this announcement from Cilla Kinross. It says: “I am organising a bit of search tomorrow morning at 0830 with some locals. Not sure how many will turn up, but hopefully 3 or 4 so we can split up and have a good look for Rubus. The bird wil go to a raptor carer and if and when he’s returned, I’ll decide at that stage. Probably I would put him close to Indigo so easy for parents to find.”

This is not the news that we had hoped. Let us all get really positive and send that energy out to the grounds of Orange to help our wee lad.

I found this message from Cilla below the streaming cam: “NEWS 26th November 2022 1900h I had a good look around this morning. No sign of Rubus. I asked Security to keep an eye for him, especially if he was on the ground. Indigo was sitting quietly in the trees in Girinyalanha and I took some photos.”

At 1450, Indigo flew into the scrape box looking for leftovers and hoping for prey. He is big and strong and gorgeous.

Here is a video of Indigo arriving in the scrape box with prey!

Oh, what a darling Xavier is. He went into the scrape just to see how Indigo was making out with his prey. They are taking such good care and teaching Indigo such valuable lessons. Oh, I hope dear Rubus is found so that the family can be back together again soon.

Xavier you are the cutest!

It was certainly good news to see that Willow, Louis and Dorcha’s first fledgling of 2022 had been spotted in the same area as Paith from the Dyfi nest. There must be a message board somewhere for young osprey fledglings from the UK on good places to stop enroute to their winter vacation (or should I say their home for the next couple of years?).

Yesterday it was a bit of a feast at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest and this morning an extremely large flat fish (a flounder? they do have them in PL) appeared on the nest. Mum flew in when Dad arrived but Zoe took charge. Now, that fish was big enough to feed three but, it didn’t. Zoe ate every last bit of it. She worked on that fish for more than two hours!!!!!!!!! Mum gave up and went off to get her own. I can only imagine the number of fish Zoe’s mate is going to have to produce when she has a nest of osplets. Just think about it. I am not certain I have ever seen an osplet eat as much fish as our Zoe.

Mum waited for over an hour hoping to get some breakfast but, the fact is, Zoe does not share.

At one time there were gulls overhead and both Mum and Zoe were alarming.

No 16. The Red List. The White-fronted Goose

“Greater White-fronted Goose” by Rick Leche is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Oh, goodness. Isn’t that a beautiful goose? White-fronted geese are medium sized. The white face is set off by that taupe of the head and back, the splotched chest, and that orange bill of the Greenland geese with legs to match. On occasion, the bill can be pinkish – that of the Siberian birds. There is a fluffy white bottom under those grey-brown back and wing feathers. What is amazing is the ombre – going from the solid taupe head, to the lighter neck, then lighter still on the breast. Just imagine if someone took this into their hair salon and asked for the stylist to copy it! It would be quite stunning, actually. Females and males are similar while the juveniles lack the white face, the black barring, and their taupe colour is not as deep as that of the adults.

“Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) DSC_0139” by NDomer73 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

They breed in the cold of the Arctic tundra areas in the spring and summer. Greenland is one of the sites. In his entry, Gill Lewis writes, “This Greenland summer has seen her new brood hatch and grow. Her proud gaggle follow her, tail-waggling and beak-nibbling on the arctic tundra. A family, feeding and fattening.” In his entry, David Stroud said, “…she hatched six goslings and, with her mate, led them three kilometres up the steep valley sides and onto the lake-studded plateau used for brood-rearing and moulting.” Can you imagine, those wee ones following behind their Mum and walking upwards for 3 kilometres? It would be an incredible sight. They eat grasses, clover, grain, winter wheat and potatoes, according to the RSPB.

These lovely geese then fly and spend their winters in Ireland, the Orkneys, and Britain.

Why are these lovely waterfowl on such rapid decline? It is interesting and can be remedied. But, first. In 1982 shooting of White-fronted Geese in the UK was outlawed. Even so, their numbers have been falling rapidly. There are simply not enough youngsters to replace the adults and the cause is well known. The warming of the North Atlantic is the primary cause with its climatic changes and heavy snow falls. Those snows are arriving earlier and earlier at a time when the geese need feed before laying their eggs. So little food. One other cause, the one that can be remedied and is being done so for some species is wetlands. Instead of draining land so that humans can take over more and more vast tracks of it, we need to stop and rebuild the wetlands that are required for all our waterfowl. Whether or not anyone will find a way to halt or even slow the warming of our planet with its land and oceans is another story – a particularly grim one. So sad, these geese have been flying back and forth from the Arctic to the UK for 2 million years – just think about it. And, oh, how quickly we have ruined the entire landscape for them – in a blink of that time.

So when rewilding and news of the creation of wetlands comes to your ears, stand up in support of it – and remember the White-fronted Goose when you do.

“Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) DSC_0132” by NDomer73 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In the News:

“Long-Billed Curlews” by FotoGrazio is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The Curlew. These amazing shorebirds with their extremely long curved beaks are also in rapid decline. Oh, how I love reading these short Country Diary Posts. I hope you do, too.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/25/country-diary-a-cloud-of-curlews-carries-me-away

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Let us all collectively send our warmest and most positive wishes to Orange so that Rubus might be found safely and be cared for as he needs. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for the posts and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Port Lincoln Osprey FB, Orange Australia Falcon FB, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Openverse, and The Guardian.

Fish feast for Zoe…and other news in Bird World

25 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope those of you that celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely celebration. It was another warm day in the garden. Today it will be 6 degrees C. The sky is a beautiful blue and the sun is bright. There should be a lot of activity in the garden. I am quite enjoying watching the Starlings and the Sparrows flit about their lives enjoying the Butter Bark and the soft suet. It is hard to imagine that they are both vulnerable and in decline and on The Red List in the UK but, as I am told by many, their lives are so precarious and the Avian Flu last year could rear its ugly face again this year.

I just think that the Starling below is quite stunning. The so called ‘white’ spots on their bodies during the non-breeding season actually look silver in the sunlight. That coupled with those magnificent rust and rust tipped ebony wing feathers make them stand out and yet, if you don’t know they are there, they blend in quite nicely with the bark on the branches of the Lilacs.

Dyson has been coming for peanuts for several days but, instead of running about storing them, she has stopped and taken the time to eat several before scurrying about. She is really adorable. I notice that her colouring is also changing. Some of the youngsters have great tufts coming out of their ears now. I will see if they will sit still long enough for me to get a photo for you soon.

Junior was about today along with a least one of the three fledglings but Mr Crow and his family were not about. I wonder where they found food. It always scares me if I see road kill as I know they will chance it to get some food. I wish everyone would stop and if they see road kill get out and move it to the side of the road, way off the shoulder, if it is safe for them to do so.

The Australian Nests:

I cannot possibly tell you how quiet it has gone in Bird World now that all of the Australian birds have fledged. You might already guess that Xavier and Diamond are taking good care of Rubus and Indigo and that Zoe is screaming her head off for a fish. Dad went out and came back with nesting material. What in the world is up with the fishing in Port Lincoln?

Cilla posted a prey transfer for Indigo that took place yesterday in Orange.

Dad brought in a fish for Zoe at 09:56. She ate the entire thing. The fish tail went down at 10:21:08. Dad ‘appeared’ to have a crop. Mum was sitting on the ropes as she is above. Will Mum get anything to eat?

With Dad appearing to have a crop and Zoe getting a fish, what is there for Mum? Has Dad decided now that the chick has fledged, his duty is only to feed it and him and Mum can fend for herself? It is certainly common at other nests.

Mum did not sit around. She has proven herself today. She brought in a nice fish for her and Zoe at 13:30:31 and another one at 14:39:40. Indeed, Mum was on the nest with Zoe and flew off quickly as if the fish had skimmed the water near the barge. Isn’t this just excellent! Everyone will have had a good feed today.

Indeed, Mum was just finished feeding Zoe the 1330 fish when she spotted the next one. We will have to start calling her ‘Eagle-eyed Mum’.

Off she goes!

Zoe and Mum are having feasts today while Dad sits on the perch. Good for Mum. She is going to make sure that her and her daughter are well fed.

In his book, After They’re Gone. Extinctions, Past, Present, and Future, author Peter Marren says of the Ospreys, “To survive the Sixth Extinction, it may help to be useful- useful to humankind, that is” (164). Marren continues on the following page, “In Britain, nesting ospreys and sea eagles attract tourists and hence income to places that need it” (165). Every place that has wildlife should heed Marren’s words. They should consider the environment and rush to bring it back to life because those beautiful animals and birds and the landscape that is cared for and respected will help with the economy in the future. Indeed, my granddaughter is looking for a place for a holiday to see birds and animals. It would be truly sad if I had to tell her to go to a zoo!

Making News:

“a little change from plants- hen harrier looking for dinner.” by island deborah- New Book ‘Song of the Sparrow’ vig is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Well, to tackle this entire issue of the vulnerability and extinction of the Hen Harrier, Hen Harriers will be bred in captivity and released in England on the Salisbury Plain. Twelve birds, six males and six females, have been brought from France and Span to establish the breeding pairs. This is a project between Natural England and the International Centre for Birds of Prey. Their goal is to release 100 birds over the next 5 or 6 years.

Fantastic. You can read more about this intervention to increase biodiversity here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/23/hen-harriers-to-be-bred-in-captivity-and-released-on-to-salisbury-plain?CMP=share_btn_link

I have become increasingly aware of these magnificent birds over the past year and have devoured as many new books on them that I could. There are a couple that I have quite enjoyed and will mention if you or someone you know is interested in the life and the plight of these magnificent birds of prey. They are Bowland Beth. The Life of an English Hen Harrier by David Cobham, The Hen Harrier’s Year by Ian Carter & Dan Powell

“Hen Harrier male (Circus cyaneus) illustrated by the von Wright brothers. Digitally enhanced from our own 1929 folio version of Svenska Fåglar Efter Naturen Och Pa Sten Ritade.” by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The problem is the illegal killing and the destruction of the land that supports these beautiful birds. So when will the courts begin to crack down on those who persecute the raptors?

A nauseating story is coming out of County Down, Northern Ireland of a lovely Buzzard found with a plastic bag around its neck hanging on a tree. Unbelievable. Just look at that face and that gorgeous plumage.

“Inquisitive Buzzard” by John C Williams is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Here is that Story.

Dead buzzard found hanging from a tree in County Down – Raptor Persecution UK

Each year the Raptor Persecution UK puts out a report on the killing of raptors and, sadly, this year – 2022 – has been the second highest record in history. What a tragedy and why is this happening?

RSPB’s 2021 Birdcrime report reveals second-highest figure on record – Raptor Persecution UK

“Fieldfare on a cherry tree” by hedera.baltica is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

No 15. The Red List. The Fieldfare

“FF 031 ~ Fieldfare~” by Mike Hazzledine — British Biodiversity is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Fieldfares are a large member of the thrush family. The name Fieldfare comes from the Anglo-Saxon meaning ‘traveller of fields’. Look at the image above. They have the most beautiful light steel-blue-gray heads and wings. Their back, which you can see in the image below, is the colour of a beautiful Horse Chestnut. Their tails are black. Their ivory breast is spotted with a deep espresso tinged with chestnut. A peach wash makes a gorgeous collar. Their back end is a grey and they have black legs with touches of black around the eye. The female looks very similar to the male but has slightly more chestnut than the blue-grey and some consider the colouring more ‘dull’ on the female. There is an image of a female feeding her nestlings below. Make up your own mind if she is dull!

The decline of the Fieldfare from a handful of breeding pairs to now only one or two brings much sadness to many British birders. The author of the entry in Red Sixty Seven, Nick Acheson, writes about Joe Harkness another author whose book, Bird Therapy, speaks to the joy that birds bring to all of us. In writing about the Fieldfare, Harkness says that he is elated when two Fieldfares visit his garden during the winter’s snow and ice. Acheson says that Harness’s joy comes “not from the beauty of the birds, though beautiful they certainly are, not from their rarity, for per se they are not rare at all (globally). His joy comes from their shining witness, perceived – this once – in a place of domesticity.” Indeed, Fieldfares are not found in fields despite their name and do not frequent gardens but are mostly seen on the wet hawthorn hedgehops, Buckthorn bushes in the sand dunes along the sea.

“Fieldfare” by Linton Snapper is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The Fieldfare is not a thrush but it can be found spending time with flocks of thrushes during its migration from Northern Europe to spend time in Britain in winter. In the Scandinavian countries, they are known as Birch Thrushes or Bjorktrast. There they feed on berries until they arrive in Britain in mid-September where they roam the country side, the fields, the hedgerows and the gardens looking for food. In particular, they will search for berries from the Rowan, Hawthorn, and Holly. In farmlands, they feed on invertebrates and earthworms.

“Fieldfare on a cherry tree” by hedera.baltica is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The decline of the Fieldfare is due directly to the steep decline in insects. Studies in Europe have shown that the biomass of insects in Germany has declined by 75%. The decline is serious in other countries and this is due directly to the use of pesticides. Climate change is also playing havoc with these lovely little birds. Milder temperatures in the northern countries and then quick freezes have cost the lives of nestlings. Many Fieldfare have also chosen not to migrate which is one reason there is the decline in numbers in the UK. Of course, the Northern European countries are not the only ones that are using pesticides. In the UK, there are similar issues and declines in birds that depend on insects for their food source.

Oh, thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Openverse, The Guardian, RSPB, and Raptor Persecution UK.