Thank you so much for your good wishes! When I got in the door at home and saw the kittens, the trip seemed to melt away. Air travel is not like it ‘used to be, back in the day’. I am privileged to be able to travel and had a wonderful trip, and it was just as good to arrive home, too! I shall mumble quietly about the lack of ground crew personnel, sitting on the tarmac, and waiting for luggage for hours at an airport where the passengers could have offloaded it faster!
If you are planning a trip to Toronto, message me. I will happily pass on all the tips I have learned on this trip and in past ventures to that amazing city.
The kittens were fine. Happy. Wanted to play ‘fetch’ for hours!
The best news of the morning is that a male UK Osprey has arrived home from his winter migration. Blue 33 arrived at Manton Bay at 12:58:39 – just about an hour ago. Some of you will know that I adore this male Osprey…so glad to see him return safe.
Of course, Blue 33 caught a fish right away and is looking around for his mate.
He waits for the love of his live, Maya, to return.
E21 and 22 might have gotten a snake at 1930 on Monday evening with nothing on Tuesday but, on Wednesday, M15 brought in three fish for them. The female intruder was hot on his heels! Poor Dad.
When they were not mantling and fighting for prey, 21 was testing out his wings and 22 was giving us all nervous breakdowns by standing on the rails all day long.
The scramble over one of those deliveries.
Lady Hawk has edited all of the action surrounding the three feedings on the 15th into one video for us.
Last night was the first time that M15 did not sleep on the branch above the eaglets. Instead, he chose to stay in the tree next to the female. Lady Hawk has it on video.
Did you watch the nest of Ron and Rose on Wednesday? Oh my goodness, R4 is a really strong eaglet. I could not believe it when I saw it holding its head erect and eating after only a few hours after hatching. What kind of sibling R4 will be?
Upside down, again!
Before R4 hatched, Rose did not stay in the nest during the day. That behaviour was quite odd. Ron got plenty of incubation time. Now he is lucky if he gets a chance to brood and incubate the kids! Rose has turned into an extremely dedicated Mum whose feeding abilities are improving.
You can see R4’s egg tooth, that temporary white projection that helps the eaglet break through the hard shell.
On Thursday morning, ‘H’ reports to me that the egg with R5 has been hole side down for some time, and there is some concern. We will have to wait and see. My mantra is always – one healthy eaglet!
On Wednesday, Mum brought a rabbit in for breakfast while Dad had been brooding the eaglets.
These two are loosing that soft natal down and you can see their dark thermal down growing in.
At the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and V3, the couple worked this morning on the nest. Gosh, they are a handsome couple. It doesn’t look like there will be any eggs this year, but every time they work on that nest, they bond.
This nest might have been Gabby’s former mate’s natal nest but, since Samson’s disappearance in late November, Gabby is determined that it will be her territory! V3 is helping her do that.
At the nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear, the couple continue to visit the nest and Shadow seems particularly keen on refurbishing it. “Jackie…we need more eggs!”
The sun rising over Big Bear Lake Thursday morning.
Shadow at the nest on Wednesday working away.
The four owlets in Corona, California have been named: Pip, Tootsie, Hoot, and Peanut. Sadly, Peanut died on the 11th of March.
The Canada Geese are arriving at some of the eagle and osprey nests! Look who showed up at Charlo Montana? One year, we had fluffy little goslings jumping from that platform instead of osplets flying.
Oops…and then the snow came!
The geese are at the unused eagle nest in Decorah, and they might give us some lovely goslings to ooooh and coo at this year, like last.
Everything continues to go well for the two osplets at Moorings Park. Harry is a fantastic provider. There is always fish for the two and Sally, although it might not arrive as early as the osplets would like. She keeps the eaglets fed well, and Harry occasionally gets to pitch in and help, too. I continue to praise this nest. Harry loves being with Sally and seeing the nest happenings. Both take the best care they can of these two as they morph into ‘dinosaurs’. On Wednesday, they had a couple hour long feedings. Both were stuffed.
Proud first-time parents, Harry and Sally.
Harry flew in with a live fish about 1908. Look at the eaglets above and then at the images below and you can see how quickly their plumage is changing.
These two will now eat longer at a feeding. They will consume more fish giving them a nice crop. There will be fewer feedings per day.
Do Osprey Mums feed their osplets in the middle of the night? We certainly saw this at Port Lincoln and now, here is Sally feeding these two. It is 00:33 Thursday, 16 March. (Clock says 12:33 which always confuses me).
It is called ‘How to keep peace and food security on an osprey nest!’ Fantastic parenting at this Moorings Osprey nest. Just wonderful.
Port Tobacco has two of three Bald Eagle eggs hatched this morning.
It is pip watch at PA County Farms where there are, again, four eggs in that eagle’s nest.
Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Now that Blue 33 is home we sit and watch and wait for Maya. They have previously landed within an hour of one another. Stay safe. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, LRWT, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, WRDC, Duke Farms, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, Corona California Owl Cam, Lin Lawson and Osprey Friends, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Moorings Park Ospreys, and Sassa Bird.
Thank you for all your good wishes. I am having a delightful time. It is fun to be in a different city. Toronto is a beautiful place to visit. For someone from a small Canadian city, to be able to walk through neighbourhoods that are entirely Greek, Korean/Japanese, or Italian is fantastic. The little privately owned shops and cafes with no big box store in sight make for a lot of nice window shopping. I love beautiful fountain pen inks and cannot find them where I live. I have ordered them from a small shop near the University of Toronto for years. What a pleasure it was to visit the store! Bottles of the most amazing colours of ink, all made in Kyoto. The young lady who helped with my ink purchase made that visit more special, telling me of a nearby Japanese coffee shop with custard cream dorayaki. They are not precisely like North American pancakes but similar, filled with custard cream, strawberry cream (Lewis’s favourite), or red bean paste. Delicious. Blocks of Japanese restaurants – not just sushi – . Decades ago, fewer Japanese restaurants in Winnipeg served more than sushi and ramen. Those gave way to sushi shops and now to a few Japanese fast food-type restaurants. How extraordinary to sit down and have a full meal of seasonal plates! LOL. I did not get to the park with the ducks!!!!!!!!!! That will come either tomorrow or Monday. The snow is heavy and very damp, and is difficult to walk. Still, there were over 16 kilometres of walking. It was marvellous.
A mural of an owl staring dow at Bloor Street West.
That heavy snow is also in Ithaca, New York, the home of Big Red and Arthur. They visited the nest on Saturday afternoon.
Ferris Akel had his regular Saturday tour, and it was a magical landscape at Sapsucker Lake near Ithaca. That Cardinal on the snowy branch is gorgeous.
When I got back to my room, there was a great joy. Annie had laid her fourth egg. Is Lou going to be able to get four big red-speckled eggs under his little body? He will surely be busy if all four of those eggs hatch!!!! Remember Melbourne. Gosh, golly.
There was other good news. After its fludge, Valentine has made it back to the nest. Now we wait for Nugget to get itself up there! It sure helped having a hungry eaglet and a fish on the nest!
Oh, tears. ‘B’ just wrote. At 17:17:43 Nugget is back in the nest. Whew! All is well. Nugget flew on to the nest like a pro and mantled that prey! Valentine looked and knew he was coming!
Look at Valentine – a look of sheer surprise as Nugget hones in on that fish dinner! Nugget, you earned it. So happy to see you both back on the nest.
You may remember the Bald Eagle family that adopted the Red-tail Hawk, Mahlala. Remember Mahlala had to work herself back up to that big old nest, too. Nugget, you can do this!
The intruders are causing issues for M15 and delivering prey to the Es. By 1200 noon on Saturday, they had no deliveries, nothing. Poor M15. He has had to be a security guard and mum and dad lately. What happened to R23-3? She had kept these other female eagles away?
Glad to see that M15 got some food. He has to be strong to protect the Es and to take care of them. We are getting close to fledge for these two. On the 2nd of February did we believe we would see this miracle?
That new female is a big gal!
Besides the intruders preventing M15 from feeding the eaglets today (so far I have not seen any prey drops but I could easily have missed one today), other sad news is coming from the Corona Owl cam. ‘A’ writes that little Peanut, the fourth hatch, died at 25 days. 11 March at around 10:00. Cause unknown.
Warning: Deceased owlet in image 2 down. As is a practice amongst some raptors, the deceased was considered prey, not a living eaglet, and fed to the others.
‘A’ wonders if this nest is not problematic for smaller owlets due to its shape. It reminds me of some deep egg cups in eagle’s nests that have caused the tiny ones to be trampled and unable to get up high to eat.
The two osplets at the Moorings Osprey platform in Naples Florida are growing…notice they are starting to take on that ‘long and lean’ look to their necks as they approach the Reptilian Phase.
The Duke Farms eaglets are fine, too.
Pip watch at the Dulles-Greenway Nest of Martin and Rosa right now – as I keyboard these words in!
Ervie has been fishing!!!!!!!! Would love to see some recent photos but, isn’t it such a relief that his tracker is working?
The last of the 55 Kakapos that hatched in 2022 has been named.
And last, trying to track down information on an Osprey seen in Barbados on 09 March. Blue Darvic Ring on left leg KW0. Do you recognise this number? USFWS? Passing through? or local?
Thank you so much for being with me on the day that Nugget flew back to the nest. So much joy! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their questions, notes, postings, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘MSJ’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘B’, Cornell RTH, Ferris Akel Live Stream, Heidi Mc and Cal Falcons, KNF-E3, Rhonda A and KNF-E3, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Corona California Owls, Moorings Park Ospreys, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Kakapo Recovery.
Greetings from Toronto – where, on my arrival yesterday, there was a winter storm! It is, of course, nice in Winnipeg. You can’t win them all. I am, however, looking forward to seeing ducks as the temperatures are relatively mild, and there is open water most everywhere. Let’s see if I can get some good images for all of us.
‘H’ sent me a note to tell me that the two osplets at Moorings Park in Naples, Florida, have been named. It is a bit of a giggle. So many nests try for gender-neutral names because no one knows if the chicks are males or females. It doesn’t matter. The eldest at Moorings Park is Abby, and the youngest is Victor. What matters most is that two beautiful little osplets – and these two are – with amazing parents and plenty of fish – fledge and live long and productive lives. That is ‘the’ most important thing. So far, this osprey platform has been calm this season.
I have mentioned how much I adore Harry. He is right in there – feeding, bringing in lovely fish, and watching his babies being fed by Sally. Harry is nothing short of amazing. Many Osprey males deliver the fish and get out of the nest! Of course, there are exceptions, several of whom are in the UK. I am thinking of Idris, Blue 33, and Louis, but there are others.
It is a damp day in Hillsborough, New Jersey. I believe they are getting part of the weather system that is hitting Toronto.
At the Southwest Florida Eagle nest, E21 is 65 days old on Saturday, and 22 is 63 days old. On Friday, there were at least two prey deliveries. I could not determine the nature of the first one, but the second was a very nice fish. Intense mantling by both eaglets. It appears that 22 got the first delivery at 10:56:24, with 21 getting the fish delivery at 10:02. As you are probably aware, M15 has had issues with prey deliveries due to ongoing disturbances by new female intruders.
22 was hungry and looking for ways to steal that first delivery from 21. Good for Dad getting another meal on the nest quickly.
The 10:56 delivery. Just look at 22 mantle that prey.
SW Florida Eagle Cam caught the 10:56 delivery and 22’s amazing mantling!
On the rails, 16:42. Time to really get the worry beads out!
Lady Hawk captured the two feedings for us on video.
One of the intruders flew into the nest and took all of the leftovers. Some of the folks at SW Florida believe that this is 23-1, the other female with the injured foot. She was sure fast taking that fish tail and the Es were not impressed!
It is wet at the SWFlorida nest Saturday morning. Let’s hope Dad can get some good fish for the kids without being antagonised by this female.
Valentine and Nugget are causing everyone to be anxious. Valentine is jumping to the branch above the cam, and Nugget has jumped to the branch below the cam. Some news is that Alex and Andria have been down to the ground. Is one eaglet there? Are they delivering prey? Is one of the eaglets grounded? We wait to find out.
Rhonda shows us the action.
Here is the latest news from Rhonda. Please send your most positive wishes to Nugget getting home to the nest.
Another posting for the KNF-E3 nest.
Big Red and Arthur are getting the same heavy wet snow falling in Greater Toronto.
There is pip watch for two nests this weekend that we have been watching – the WRDC nest of Ron and Rose in Miami and the nest of Martin and Rosa in Virginia, Dulles-Greenway.
Ron and his new mate, Rose, have two eggs. This is a very late clutch. We will have to wait and see how the eaglets do in the extreme heat of south Florida.
Word has come that the eggs at WRDC have been left for three hours. We wait and watch to see if they are viable.
Ron is back on the eggs.
There is some rain falling at Dulles-Greenway as we await pip!
If Annie is going to lay four eggs, which she could do, that last one will come around midnight scrape time, Friday night/Saturday morning.
Cal Falcons has designated the 11th of April as pip watch for her and Lou’s eggs. Also, check out their fundraiser. Sean Peterson’s partner, Lynn Scofield did the design for this year’s t-shirt.
Do you love California Condors? Do you want to learn more about this extremely endangered species and what is being done? I would like you to attend the live online chats every month. They are so informative. Often there are videos of the Condors and releases. They also do an archival posting on YouTube the following day for those unable to attend live.
‘H’ and ‘A’ sent me news. It is a map showing the cell coverage area of the Eyre Peninsula. It is believed that Zoe is in the white area on the bottom left where there is no coverage but excellent feeding for Ospreys. Fingers crossed everyone.
Do you watch David Attenborough’s programmes? If so, you might be outraged to discover that the BBC has cancelled one of the episodes of his last series. What we do not need are more lies about the state of our planet. We need the facts and the areas where we can make positive changes. We certainly don’t need a cover-up of information!!!!!!!
There is a lot going on. Please send your positive wishes to Nugget and Valentine! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos and streaming cams that help make up my news today: ‘H’, ‘A’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Duke Farms, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Rhonda A and KNF-E3, Cornell RTHs, WRDC, Terry Carman and Bald Eagle Live Nest and News, Cal Falcons, Ventana Wildlife Society, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and @MarkAvery.
Well, gosh, golly. I am going to bed feeling better than when the day began. The mantra, ‘Trust the Eagles,’ should be printed and put on the bulletin board before me. Yesterday, I worried that the intruding female had caused M15 to reconsider feeding the eaglets for fear of his and their safety. Thankfully, that was not the case. He was trying to figure out how to discourage that female and get on with being the great dad that he is.
On Friday, M15 hatched a plan that worked. He brought 3 prey items for the Es, and eventually, the pair had crops. I worried he might abandon them if the black-taloned eagle kept up her attack if he brought whole fish to the nest. So no whole fish. Some would consider those scraps, but the eaglets ate. The prey item times were: 1300, 1353, an 1515.
M15 flew to the nest and quickly dropped a fishtail off. E21 got it. Maybe this is the way to keep the female away…make tiny drops to the eaglets. They will need a lot of them, but they can self-feed now. Thank goodness. E22 will get some of that fish, too. No worries.
22 still eating. 1339. M15 more food! 21 watches how well 22 is doing at self-feeding.
The other fish part came in at 13:53. It was a really niced size piece that fed both eaglets.
They see Dad flying in with more food.
At 15:15, M15 flew in with a carcass of ‘something’ with feathers and long yellow legs. Perhaps carrion/road kill he found on the way home. Or did he raid a nest. He dropped to the nest with it and was rushed by two extremely hungry eaglets. It is difficult to say how much meat was on that piece or who benefited. E22 was self-feeding at the end. Is this M15’s plan – to bring scraps to the nest for the eaglets, small pieces and get out so as not to attract that female?
My friend ‘A’ has nothing but praise for 22 doing this feeding. She says,
‘The feeding at 15:15 saw E22 get brave. He snatched and grabbed some big bits of that feed and he swallowed one giant bit of bone with flesh attached to it that even I doubted he could manage – but only for a moment. For a few mouthfuls there, he still had about ten inches of that hanging out the left side of his beak while he grabbed another three good-sized mouthfuls from dad, then returned to swallowing, and repeat. So he did well. He has had enough food to get through to another day. He mantled that food too when he grabbed it – and when E21 tried to intimidate him out of the position right next to M15’s beak, E22 fought for his spot and refused to be driven away from it.’
22 is in there first.
22 is doing some snatch-and-grab as 21 gets to the beak of M15. The intruder did not bother M15 today.
At 16:18:53, E22 is full for the first time in 48 hours or more. He cannot hold up his crop or keep his eyes open. The three prey items came in a flurry of deliveries from 1300-1515, 2 hours and 15 minutes. That interests me because not only did It fill up the eaglets, but coming in such rapid succession meant that both ate without intimidation. The female intruder did not come around. Good job, Dad.
M15. Thank you! You are so loved and admired. It has taken some time to figure out how to manage all that you have on your plate – eaglets to be fed, your own needs for prey and keeping healthy, sleep, security, and keeping intruders away from the eaglets. You have worked that out. I am so sorry if I ever doubted you!
Good night Dad! Good night Es. SEDs.
If you are wondering, ‘she’ is not on the same branch or cuddled up to M15 tonight, as I write. She is, however, on the nest tree. She could be as formidable as Harriet and make a great mate, protecting future eaglets, but right now, M15 doesn’t need her attention, nor does he need her in the nest stealing food. As we know, male Bald Eagles do not normally fight larger, more aggressive female eagles. I am glad he has figured out how to deal with all that has been ‘thrown’ at him. The Es are seven weeks old. They are going to branch and fledge before we know it.
Around 0835, M15 dropped off an Armoured Catfish to the eaglets and did some aeration on the nest. He did not stay to feed the eaglets at that time. It appears that they have broken through the head and are self-feeding. This is a great start to Saturday!
E21 seems to have given up and 22 has been working on the tail..smart. It is 0903.
In other news, the Peregrine Falcons are back in the scrape box and have been for some days. Elain caught all of them -Diamond, Xavier, and Indigo – yesterday in her scrape highlights.
Do you remember the fireworks that caused Diamond so much distress? The discussion over what happened continues.
You can still hear the ice pellets at the nest of Bald Eagles Jackie and Shadow. Shadow did bring in a very nice fish to Jackie! Oh, how I wish she would stand up and we would see a huge crack in one of those eggs.
I so admire how Californians love Jackie and Shadow. They are making the news with their endurance during this terrible winter storm that has hit Southern California.
There is something about Angus. Is it his youth? or the funny expressions he makes? Looking forward to eggs for Angus and Florence at Captiva!
Other Osprey nests are now coming into play. At the Lake Murray platform, Lucy has returned on the 17th of February and Ricky was back on Thursday the 23rd.
‘H’ writes to tell me that there is a possible first pip at the Moorings Park Osprey Platform in Naples, Florida!
And speaking of Ospreys, how would you like to help protect the Glaslyn Ospreys? Do you live in Wales near the Glaslyn Valley? Geemeff writes that this is a great opportunity – and it is. I wish I lived there!
As so many of you know, the Royal Cam chick is a delight to watch. Yes, it is difficult to see them alone on those nests! It is rather amazing that they stay so close to home. My kittens would never be so disciplined. Sweet Pea is gardening already. Sharon Dunne caught it on video:
The Steller’s Sea Eagle was first seen more than a year ago along Canada’s Atlantic coast. Then it went to Maine, returned to Canada, and is now back in Maine. It appears that a large raptor that should be spending its winters in Ussuriland, Japan, or Korea is finding life rather pleasant in Maine. Obviously, there are no food worries. The Stellar’s Sea Eagle breeds in areas of Russia and in particular, the Bering Sea. As far as I know, there is no mate.
One of the nature centres about an hour from where I live is getting ready for the ducks and geese to begin arriving. So lovely to involve students from one of the local universities to get their hands in there and help them with their duck tunnels!
Elsewhere in Canada, old-growth forests are continually under threat in British Columbia. This past year numerous Bald Eagle nests have been cut down. There is a move for legislation to save the very last of these lovely spotted owls before they are completely extinct.
I promised I would check on the GHO nest in Corona, California. There are four owlets in that nest! On Thursday night, Hoots brought Owlvira the following: 1 RODENT, 1 MOUSE, 1 RABBIT / Tonight: NO deliveries as of yet on Friday as I am writing this. The weather is a little frigid and mice might be tucked in tight.
This is the link to this streaming cam. Best action is during the night when food deliveries and feeding occurs.
In Kansas, on Farmer Derek’s land, Bonnie and Clyde are incubating eggs. You might recall that in 2021 they took over the nest of a young Bald Eagle couple. They raised two owlets to fledge. They were adorable, and seeing them climbing around on this giant nest was a treat. It will be a good comparison to that deep nest in California. Highly recommended.
I wish I could tell you that Jackie and Shadow have a pip or a hatch or that Zoe has checked in, but I can’t. We wait until the eggs are unviable, and with Zoe, we hope her transmitter begins working. CROW does not need to intervene in SW Florida. M15 has this under control! Relief.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Susan Starck Romano and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam Project and Cilla Kinross, Cilla Kinross and Orange Australia Falcons, FOBBV, Jason Robertson and FOBBV, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Osprey Nest, Shela Staley and Osprey Friends, Cambrian News, Sharon Dunne and NZ DOC, Matt Felperin and Maine Birds, Oak Hammock Marsh, The Guardian, Carona California Owl Cam, and Farmer Derek.
There is lots of news in Bird World. My focus continues to be on the nest of Bald Eagles M15, E21 and E22 in Fort Myers, Florida, at the moment. There is drama going on at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest in South Bend, Indiana and the Osprey nest on Captiva. Keeping an eye on those as well.
‘M’ sent me an excellent article from The Guardian on the ten birds that most changed the world. Please have a read! We can all learn something…I did. And it was nice to see that the Sparrow made it to the list along with some of your favourites, such as the Eagle.
Big Red seems unhappy with the building works across Tower Road from the Fernow Light Stand. She is moving sticks to another light tower that may not have a streaming cam. This would be a source of great sadness and anxiety among the thousands of people who look forward to this twenty-year-old RTH laying eggs and raising her eyases.
An image of the Fernow Light Tower nest. You can see some of the building equipment at the Rice Building.
CROW continues to monitor the situation. M15 is doing a fantastic job protecting and feeding the eaglets. I hope that he can keep it up; it is so much better if they are raised by him and fledge their nest. I don’t like how the female eagle looks at the two eaglets in the first image below. Her presence is now concerning and could be very dangerous to the eaglets. I once thought this was not the case, but her actions yesterday changed my mind.
If you missed my report on Sunday, the female Bald Eagle, VF3, with the necrotic talon, kicked M15 off the nest and attacked E22 three times when it tried to get food. Here is a video containing those terrifying 11 minutes and 52 seconds.
The female was on the nest tree earlier with prey. Some believed she might feed the eaglets. She did not; she flew off with it after plucked the fur off the item. The situation is growing dangerous as this female is now emboldened to treat M15 with contempt. It is essential for the Es that Dad not get injured so that he can continue to provide food for them. If you are wondering why he does not fight her, this is the reason. She is also much larger than he is, and despite her injured talon, she is strong. I do not think she will go away quickly, if at all.
M15 flew in with another Armoured Catfish at 15:42:21. While he is vocalising to the female who is identified as FV3, Dad just carries on. Perhaps we are the ones worrying and he isn’t! Both eaglets ate, with 22 getting some nice bites.
M15 appears nervous when he is in the nest feeding the eaglets.
At 1700, M15 flew in with a nice morsel, a leftover from his good evening meal. E22 claimed it and ate it! Well done, E22.
M15 did eat well. He had an enormous crop.
The Es are waiting for breakfast on Monday. 21 is on the right, with 22 on the left. Please take a look at the difference.
The Es had a nice big fish for breakfast. M15 brought it to the nest at 10:50:18. 21 eats first, then 22, and then 22 gets a touch insisting that 22 move away. 22 goes into submission. There is nothing to fear. 22 turns around and does the snatch-and-grab that will help him survive in the wild.
Is it another Armoured Catfish?
22 is doing clean-up duty.
Should birdwatchers be afraid? are we vermin?
Some good news regarding Sequoia and Sasha at San Jose City Hall.
Speaking of egg laying, Gabby fooled me with all that nesting behaviour.
They are a gorgeous couple together. Gabby is just smitten by V3.
V3 keeping guard.
No egg!
Annie has been hanging around the scrape.
Here are the names for final voting for the new male. We should know soon!
Jackie and Shadow are still incubating eggs, and the Ravens remain around the nest tree, making a nuisance out of themselves. The eggs are probably not viable – I have thought that since the first day – that Saturday – they stayed away when the earthquakes were in the Valley. I ‘want’ to be fooled by their behaviour. Last year Spirit hatched on day 40.
Shadow.
The male has been incubating the eggs at Metro Aviation Bald Eagle nest in Louisiana. The female flew in today and taloned one of them. They are not viable and this might allow the pair to move forward.
Do you watch the Golden Eagles in Romania? Lucina and Caliman were in the nest in the forest today! I love these Golden Eagles, but this nest is not for the faint-hearted. The oldest eaglet in a Golden Eagle nest will almost, without exception, kill its younger sibling. This is called obligate siblicide.
The causes of obligate siblicide in specific eagle species are discussed in this academic paper. Some of the conclusions are below. This will help explain some behaviour that you have seen on nests previously. The observations also apply to Golden Eagles.
These observations suggest that the availability of food does not affect the chances of survival of the second chick in those species in which it never, or very rarely survives. The critical factor appears to be the interval between hatching, which is clearly variable. If, at the hatch of the second chick, the first is already skilful at taking pieces of flesh offeredby the parent, then the younger sibling exerts little influence on the behaviour of the adult. At feeding times, it is offered fewer pieces of food and these, moreover, are proffered only briefly and in an inadequate fashion. The second chick soon dies of starvation. Attacks on it by its sibling are, by comparison unimportant.
If, on the other hand, the interval between hatching is short, then the second chick can develop normally so long as it is protected from its sibling’s attacks by the brooding female parent. As soon as brooding is interrupted, the younger chick is subjected to the attack of the older. It is intimidated, no longer participates in feeding and flees to the edge of the eyrie. This process of the acceptance of intimidation, observed in the Lesser Spotted Eagle, quickly leads to the elimination of one chick, even when two of equal size are experimentally placed together, and explains why two chicks cannot normally be reared.
Bernd-Ulrich Meyburg, Sibling aggression and mortality among nesting eagles
These particular species of eagles are one reason that so many people turn to the gentle Albatross for respite.
Of course, if you are ‘into Eagles’ like most of us are (as well as the Albatross, the parrots, the budgies, the terns….), single chick eagle nests from the start normally bring a lot of joy. Just like little B16 at the Berry College Eagle nest in Georgia.
Zoe. What can we say? According to the Friends of Osprey FB group, Fran Solly and Buzz Hockaday have been up to where Zoe last sent a transmission. That place was Point Drummond near Mount Hope. On all occasions, they did not see her. If she is out of cell coverage range, it ‘feels’ unusual as she was so quick to fly about previously. Let us hope it is a faulty transmitter and that nothing has happened to Zoe.
Point Drummond. This was the site of the last transmission from Zoe. Is it at all possible she flew out over the sea?
Lori Covert has already named the new female at Captiva with Angus. The name is Florence. According to ‘H’, Angus has provided fish, has tried mating unsuccessfully with the new gal, and then has kicked her off the nest. The relationship is a bit topsy-turvy. We wait to see how this works out.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. We hope to see you with us again in Bird World.
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Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, and streaming cams which make up my blog today: ‘M’, ‘H’, The Guardian, Cornell RTH Cam, @CornellHawks, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, @Geemeff, Karen Enright and Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons FB, NEFL-AEF, Cal Falcons, Berkeley News, FOBBV, Tonya Irwin and Raptors of the Word, Golden Eagle Nest Bucovina, Research Gate, Cornell Lab and NZ DOC, Berry College Eagles, Friends of Osprey FB, Google Maps, and Kakapo Recovery.
It is Valentine’s Day (as I begin writing Wednesday’s blog) and it would feel a lot more warm and fuzzy if fish started falling from the sky on the SWFlorida Eagle nest. The FFV has been protecting the area (photographs by local photographers confirm this). Her right foot has lots of injuries as if she has been in a recent fight during the last 2 or 3 days. She might need some time to heal before she is able to help bring in prey. I wonder how she is eating? M15 helped Harriet in 2015! The eaglet was E6. There are other examples of male or female eagles stepping in to help raise eaglets that are not theirs, also. There is a snow storm with high winds hitting Jackie and Shadow after three days of their on again-off again relationship with the two eggs they guarded so closely for over a month. It seems things are back to normal in Big Bear. If the earthquakes have significantly decreased, I am going to really think they might have had something to do with their behaviour for 3 days.
So, some good news was needed to mend my aching head and heart and it wasn’t, however, the third egg laid at the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida on Valentine’s Day at 03:30. No, it came in the form of three pieces of news. The first one was a tweet from Geemeff Wednesday morning:
It is a huge beginning. Come on North America!!!!!!!!!!!
The second is form ‘H’ saying that all three of the falcons at Orange have been seen on the tower. Excellent.
The third is news about a small owl named Flaco that had been living at the Zoo at Central Park. Someone cut the wire to its cage and the owl escaped. Flaco has been seen eating and living nicely in the wild around New York City’s Central Park by a circus of curiosity seekers and residents. Zoo officials thought that Flaco could not live in the wild but he is proving them wrong. We learn something new every day from our raptors!
The New York Times reports for Valentine’s Day on Flaco…In the image below there is a bait tap but Flaco is not hungry!
“A major concern for everyone at the beginning was whether Flaco would be able to hunt and eat,” the society said in a statement, noting that zoo employees had observed him catching and consuming prey. “That is no longer a concern.” The officials from the Zoo also said, “In addition to proving himself as a hunter, the society said in its statement, Flaco had shown “a rapid improvement in his flight skills and ability to confidently maneuver around the park.”
The image above is a baited trap. Right now Flaco is full form his good hunting and is ‘not taking the bait’. The goal, according to the article, is to retrieve Falco and bring him back into the safety of the Zoo where he would not fall prey to rodenticide, GHO attack or killing, and collisions. Those are the risks of any urban raptor (or songbird for that matter). I find myself torn – while I believe in intervention, Flaco appears to be doing quite well living the ‘wild’ life.
Good news is also coming out of Orange. Xavier and Indigo have been back to the scrape. We wait and hope that Diamond was not too traumatised…Cilla says that Xavier will check and make sure it is safe and inform Diamond. Well done, Orange falcons.
Xavier made sure Indigo had a good breakfast. Look at that nice prey item that is in the scrape! (or am I wrong and this is Indigo’s great hunting?). The image was taken around 0849, the 15th of February in Orange.
Elain captured yesterday’s highlights.
I was so used to the Landings Nest near Savannah being an Osprey nest…then it was taken over by a GHO couple. Yes, those owlets are adorable. :)). I just wish they would leave the eagles alone!
An Osprey flew by this morning. Getting hopes up!
Heading to the SWFlorida nest..I am taking a bit of a breather today. E21 is 41 days old today and E22 is 39 days old. I am still concerned for E22 but, I want to be hopeful. Observers at the SWFlorida nest have posted this explanation as to what they think is going on at the nest. M15’s duty right now is to finish raising these eaglets. The female wants M15 and the territory ——she should be interviewed. There would be 100s of 5 year old female eagles wanting to match up with this super guy. I just wish she would prove her devotion by not just doing security but also becoming Mommy Door Dash.
This was also posted on the SWFL FB group this morning:
E22 is hungry. Dad jumped down first thing and fed the old fish tail to 21. Wishing for several big ones.
Bird with long legs and tail feathers came on the nest – it was a carcass. If the whole bird had made it, maybe 22 would have had some good food. I wonder what is going on. M15 ate, 21 ate, and 22 got some bites. Not many. Some by his quick snatch and grab out of 21 and Dad’s beak. Some up at the table when there was not much left.
On top of everything else, now there are drones. When will M15 cut a break?
At 1828, E22 got bold. Tired of having 21 get all the food for the day – and I do want to use the word ‘starving’, 22 went for it. M15 backed up a bit to help 22 and there was some quick snatch and grabs. It is unclear to me how much fish 22 got after 21 ate – 21 has a crop in the image below. The snatch and grab netted him a number of bites. And 22 was bold – he has to be. His life depends on it. I have seen statements that he got lots to eat. I would not characterise it as that but…he ate. And he had a ps that looked reasonable during the day. Someone got a screen capture of it.
It was frenzied for 22 who worked to get between Dad and 21 and grab every bite he could. Some were a nice size. We wait til morning. Again, the fish was not huge, 22 got some at the end.
After the feeding, M15 joined the FFV in the tree.
Wednesday morning M15 and the FFV were close on the tree.
M15 came in with a fish which 21 seems to have gotten the best of. 21 bonked 22 to keep it away. At 09:38 21 is self feeding on a leftover fish piece and 22 grabs it and takes it and wolfs it down. He is hungry.
To be clear, this is a small piece of fish and 21 will retake it, then 22 will get it back, and then M15 will fly down again. Someone said that in all of this 21 ate half a fish – if I had seen 21 eat half a fish I would be jumping on top of my roof for joy.
At 10:49, 21 is still eating and 22 is trying to find a scrap.
There is no shortage of food at many of the other nests. Still it helps to be ‘the one and only apple or Valentine of your parent’s heart’. Connick has an enormous crop! Looks like he is trying out for the role in some super hero movie with those amazing wings and big strong legs! Granted it is hard to take your eyes off that enormous crop to look at those wings and legs. He is one healthy eaglet…and I for one, wondered if he would make it early on. Well, no worries here. His smile is yellow and the black of his beak is shiny and healthy. Of course, nice clown feet, too, Connick…they go well with the mini-mohawk.
B16 is adorable. Notice the difference between B16 below and Connick above. Ask me if I would like to see 22 look like this? Of course.
There is something terribly ‘sweet’ about this little eaglet..I don’t know quite what it is but, something. Now look at B16’s wings. Consider for a moment how large they are.
The cameras have been on and off in the Kisatchie National Forest. The eaglets are fine and all of them are growing and developing those gorgeous juvenile feathers that we are going to see on Connick all too soon.
Gorgeous Trey. The IR camera really shows the thermal down and where the juvenile feathers are coming. Trey is incubating Dudley! She takes good care of that old unviable egg. Practice for the future. You can just see a little triangle of white almost directly under her beak. That is Dudley.
Anna and Trey with Dudley hiding underneath Trey.
Valentine and Nugget are simply developing into beautiful feathered eaglets. Valentine seems to have had a huge growth spurt…or is it the camera angle?
Jackie and Shadow have had at least one shift change today and they are both staying close to the nest and those two precious eggs. The storm system with snow and winds moving through is due to pass later today (Tuesday as I am writing).
The couple look much more settled.
At 11:06 Jackie called Shadow and he was there in a second to relieve her and incubate. Not leaving those eggs for a second longer than necessary. Am I thinking that we are back to normal and that pip watch is tomorrow? Hope.
Gabby and V3 were at the natal tree perched on the branches and in the nest bowl doing some work today. Gabby is in really good condition. Look at the colour of her beak and her feathers. Her eyes are clear. She is not tired and she is really healthy.
There are now three eggs at the Achieva Osprey nest. I mentioned it in yesterdays blog. So right now we have three osprey nests that have eggs being incubated in Florida: Moorings Park, Venice Golf and Country Club, and now Achieva in St Petersburg. We wait to see if there will be any eggs at Captiva this year for new couple Mabel and Angus.
Beautiful Diane will be doing hard incubation for between 38-43 days. Mark your calendars. Looks like 24-29 March. Later than 2021. (No eggs survived in 2022).
Most of you know that I am very fond of Diane and often get rather irked at Jack. Some of us even thought he had 2 nests in 2021 – the fish delivery was erratic and poor little Tiny Tot Tumbles, the third hatch, well…was deemed to be on death’s doorstep, literally, several times but, thanks to her Mum who saw her daughter want to live, fed her catfish after the two older siblings were sound asleep. In the dark, the little one ate and ate. TTT become the dominant bird on the nest staying long after the older two had fledged. She even helped her dad defend the nest and I want to add, as a juvenile having hatched in early March, she defended the nest many times by herself beginning in June. So….a warm soft spot for this Osprey Mum. I wish that third hatch had a band. Several times it looked like she visited the nest late in 2021 and in 2022.
Other Bird News:
Several months ago I added a note about two individuals that care for Cockatoos – sanctuaries for unwanted birds. One was April whose Victoria Cockatoo was believed to be dying and required urgent medical care. Individuals came to the rescue with their donations and now Victoria Cockatoo has gained weight and is doing extremely well.
The other was Dan Scott with Chloe’s Sanctuary. Funds are now in place for Dan and his flock of 11 ‘highly needy’ Cockatoos to take up residence in a new home in Nevada. Their old home in California was flooded. Thank you to all who answered their call.
Most people think Cockatoos are beautiful. So do I. We know that they are highly intelligent. Not Sulphur-Crested but Guffins have demonstrated that they can use tools!
People want one as a pet – that is what some of the YouTube videos do…make us want a pet bird.
Around the world, people go to pet stores and buy birds instead of going to sanctuaries. This means that the rescued or sanctuary animals could be euthanised if no home is found. I was sent a list of parrots, cockatoos and budgies requiring homes in one European city. It was huge. There is a growing call – by individuals that have ‘rescued’ parrots and budgies as well as animal right’s persons – to stop the breeding and sale of birds.
Two pet stores in North America that are getting a lot of attention because of their relationship to puppy mills, and other factory breeding programmes for animals, birds, and amphibians are PetSmart and PetCo. You may know these companies. Organisations that want the rights and lives of animals to be respected are asking customers to boycott those stores. Wallets do speak loud when profits are the only concern! There are a number of videos on YouTube that you can access showing dumpster divers finding fish and amphibians literally being tossed in to die. But there are just as many concerns for the dogs, cats, and birds as well. Our beloved feather friends often come from pet mills that are anything but caring and will do what they can to cut costs and maximise profits. So before you buy a bird from a pet store, think twice. Before you buy pet and bird food at a pet store, think about which store and what their policies are that you are supporting. Call your local organisations to see if your local humane society or rescue centre has any birds. Check out the reputation of the company selling the animal. A certificate saying an animal is a purebred does not mean that it came from a caring lovely small family breeder. Believe me I can tell you horror stories about cat breeders! Ask about surrenders and rescues. Give them a second chance at life. Parrots and Cockatoos live for a long time and many outlive their owners. Planning should be in place for all feathered friends just as you might do a dog or cat. Research the species. Every one of my contacts with Cockatoos warns that they are like tyrannical toddlers. I am also told that getting a beak trimmed can cost anywhere from $100-140 and the beaks must be trimmed.
‘J’ reminded me this morning that you can also adopt a ‘Cockatoo or a Parrot’ from a sanctuary which will help with their care. Many allow you to visit your adoptee. What an idea…a win-win for all. Some provide photographs.
Birds can be fantastic friends. My maternal grandfather had a Blue Budgie. My grandmother knew he adored that bird more than her! Think first! Thank you for listening…we need to be mindful, always, of the welfare of the animals and birds, both in our care and in the wild.
Thank you so much for being with me today. If you haven’t done so, do suggest a name for the new guy in Annie’s life. Go to Cal Falcons FB Page. I am not certain how long they will take potential names. Take care everyone. See you soon….please continue to send your good wishes to M15 and E21 and 22, our dear Diamond so traumatised by the fireworks, as well as Zoe who has yet to send in a transmission.
Thank you to the following for their notes, essays, articles, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures that form this blog: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘Geemeff’, and ‘J’, The New York Times, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Elain and the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Cornell Bird Lab, SWFlorida Eagles FB and Lisa Marie, Iris Schneider and the SWFL Eagles FB, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Paul Kolnik and Bald Eagles 101 FB, Window to Wildlife, Berry College Eagle Cam, KNF-E1, KNF-E3, FOBBY, NEFL-AEF, Achieva Credit Union, Victoria’s Playhouse, and The Guardian.
The weather on the Canadian Prairies continues to be mild. The snow is slowly melting and the ice that sometimes forms at the edge of our roof where the heat escapes is disappearing, if it was there in the first place. The birds continue to sing a slightly different tune like they did yesterday and if I had not seen the forecast for colder weather to hit, one might believe that spring was around the corner. And of course, it is! Right?
As far as kittens go, they are now six months old. The tufts on Missy’s ears can be seen if you squint. She is now 8 lbs and 6 oz. and her tail looks more and more like that of a raccoon daily. Hence, the name Maine Coon. I don’t know if you can tell but her hair is thick and wooly, various layers to help these cats keep warm in the cold. Hopefully she will never experience it! I don’t know how she came to be alone, only days old, under a truck and taken to the Humane Society and then…adopted by us. Well, we are so happy she is part of the family!
Nests are very busy. The Ospreys that have eggs are incubating them. Still eagles laying eggs…Tico and Pearl growing…intruders that are protecting nests. It has been a busy few days. Watching the NCTC nest of Bella and Smitty and hoping for egg 1 of the 2023 season…it will be her first egg in two years. Injury and female intruder complicated matters so that there was no clutch at this nest last year.
First up. Loud bangs and lights – fireworks set off in the night – terrified Diamond at the Orange scrape on the Charles Sturt University campus in Australia. Cilla Kinross is investigating and has called security. Have a look at Heidi Mc’s video from all of the cams. And remember this whenever you hear anyone thinking of celebrations with fireworks. They need to be outlawed.
Oh, I hope that Indigo and Xavier are alright. Thanks HMc!
Making News:
A Red Kite fell out of the sky…discovered to have several shotgun pellets in its body at rehab. Here is the story.
Most of us know this but, sometimes we need a little reminder and a nudge – the restorative power of nature! A walk in a forest, a stroll around the block, a trip to a park…sitting and listening to the sounds of birds. It is magic.
Sadly, Jak and Audacity have lost their 4th egg to breakage. The root cause is the lingering DDT (DDE) in the region, the food, the fish – the Channel Islands. Some areas were exposed to more than others. This couple has not had a good history – so sad for the – but the outlook is not good as this has obviously impacted Audacity’s ability to form hard shells. Here is a report discussing the dumping of the DDT in the Channel Islands that helps us understand that dumping these horrific toxins in the sea was more extensive than was thought.
At the nest of Shadow and Jackie, Shadow spent the majority of the day incubating the eggs. He came in with a fish for Jackie and there was some concern about the eggs being left on and off during the day several times including 0919, 1029, 1151, 1439, 1541, etc. Some people thought that Jackie was missing but she isn’t. Is she getting some much needed time off the nest before she is brooding eaglets? With pip watch on a couple of days away, I wonder if this marvellous couple can hear their eaglets.
There was some question about how long eggs can be left and still have the eaglets be viable. If you recall, Milda left her eggs unattended in cold weather in Latvia for approximately 5 hours. No one thought the eggs would be viable but, yes, the two eaglets hatched sadly to later succumb to starvation. (It was a bad year for Milda the White-tailed Eagle as she had lost her mate right after laying her eggs). The on and off for these two for the past couple of days should not be a problem if we consider the situation at the Drube WTE nest of Milda.
Jackie mantling her fish at 12:55.
Rolling those two precious eggs at 15:15.
One of the times the eggs were left the longest, 1541-1749.
Official pip watch as stated by FOBBV is 15 February. Here is the daily recap with all the comings and goings as kept by FOBBV:
Connick is growing and growing and is one of the sweetest little eaglets. Nice fish coming on the nest and even a family meal together with Mum Connie and Dad Clive.
If you have been falling all the happenings at the SWFlorida Eagle nest, you will know by now that the Frequent Female Visitor has been protecting the territory and chasing away other intruders. Several have remarked that this behaviour reminds them of M15 when he arrived as the Frequent Male Visitor. M15 wound up helping Harriet look after E6.
The highlights of Sunday at the SWFlorida nest are – E22 did a fantastic mantling job on a nice piece of fish that he snatched and grabbed from the first delivery at 10:04. It is the first time that E22 has been seen mantling.
Due to the lack of deliveries the past couple of days, 21 is feeling a bit peckish and decided to beak 22 just to remind the younger sibling who eats first. Well, M15 fed both eaglets, 21 first, manoeuvring that fish so that 22 got a feeding, too. It was a good sized fish. Both ate and both had crops of various sizes. Well done, Dad.
E22 is being submissive while 21 eats first.
This is E22 at 1040. It looks like a pretty good crop to me.
The presence of the Frequent Female Visitor is disturbing M15’s ability to hunt. At 14:44 I noted that no other prey items had been delivered.
At 1532 M15 is on the nest and pulls half a fish from the nesting material. It is not entirely clear how much fish each eaglet received. I continue to remind myself that Dad needs to eat..if the eaglets are hungry then imagine that Dad is too.
22 held back and was rather submissive. In the end, it had some fish. Both ate today. Not as much as those days when 5 or 6 deliveries were coming in but they both ate. This is important. 21 will stay peckish and peck if it senses that food is scarce. It is a survival mechanism. All of us know this and we also will recall that this nest is quite calm when adequate prey is coming in. Send positive wishes. With everything going on, M15 needs all our love!
E22 found some fish scraps and is enjoying them.
The eaglets are hungry. Dad is hungry. Let us hope that more fish come to the nest or a nice big rabbit today…All intruders need to disappear!
Martin and Rosa at the Dulles Greenway nest in Virginia have their third egg. It was laid today. Congratulations to this extremely popular eagle couple.
Just a reminder! One more day and suggestions open for Annie’s ‘New Guy’ at Cal Falcons. Needs to be related to Cal-Berkeley and should be male – since we obviously know the gender! Search for Cal Falcons on FB or Twitter.
As we near Valentine’s Day, we can start looking for the arrival of Rosie at the Osprey nest in SF Bay. And speaking of Ospreys, ‘A’ wonders when the ospreys will start arriving in the UK. Well, ‘A’, Blue 33 and Maya are often the first to arrive at Rutland Water around 26 March. 6 weeks or so away. The time will pass quickly! I see no news on Zoe’s transmission. Get into cell range, Zoe! Please.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, and streaming cams that make up my blog: Heidi Mc and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, South Essex Wildlife Hospital, Raptor Persecution UK, The Guardian, Phys.Org, FOBBV, Window to Wildlife, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Sassa Bird and Dulles-Greenaway Eagles, and Cal Falcons.
First, I want to address the issue of the blog where I reported that Harriet had returned to the nest. If I discover that I have made a mistake, I will always rectify it as soon as I can. I am human and each of you have my sincerest apologies. I do know the little wisps on M15’s head (but not Harriet’s head) and I saw the younger eagle on the branch and the older one in the nest feeding the eaglets. As did so many. I was not the only one fooled at the time in believing that somehow Harriet had just casually flown back into the nest. But neither one of those eagles were Harriet. I wish one of them had been. Instead, it was M15 feeding the old bunny leg to the kids (thanks H). The intruding female was on the branch and then on the rim of the nest and then in the nest before M15 ran her off. Not Harriet. I feel awful.
So let’s go over to the SWFlorida Nest for Saturday and see what did happen, even in all that confusion at the end of the day.
It is after 1455 and the Es have only had one meal so far today. That was at 09:11:45. In fact, it was the fish left from yesterday and 22 got it and I hope Dad had some, too.
Beautiful 21 with its gorgeous ebony juvenile feathers coming in…and look, the yellow mouth! 21 missed breakfast.
It is really windy today in Fort Myers. M15 has been away and is back. Is there an intruder at the nest?
M15 has been feeding his eaglets many times per day but, not today. Was it just the intruder that stopped his hunting? As we all know, stress can do many things. Just today, an individual moving a log near a bear den in Canada caused the mother to run away, abandoning her nest and her cub.
Most of the people around the SWFlorida Eagle nest mean well. Like the person moving the log, they do not understand what could result from their actions. People make mistakes. We do not intend to. The person using the flashlight and the flash camera has apologised. S/he wanted to do something nice for their parent. They stood up, explained, and said they were truly sorry. I am certain that they felt horrible when they discovered that the flash drove M15 off the nest for 3 hours. Yes, the GHOs could have snatched the eaglets during that time. Thankfully, nothing happened. A GHO was probably the farthest thing from the person’s mind. I can only imagine how wretched they would feel if they discovered their actions had led to the death of the eaglets. To the person who was there, thank you for stepping up and admitting to your error.
We think of the flash, the releasing of the two white mice, leaving food at the base of the tree as interfering. As humans we do not know how this will turn out. Many of you wrote and said that you were so happy that no one had taken E21 and E22 off the nest – that M15 rose to the job. He certainly did and we hope that he can continue. Indeed, one of the threads that will run through any breeding season is: should humans interfere? and if so when? and to what extent? There are certainly laws pertaining to this but, in some cases there is reason to help such as the little abandoned bear cub mentioned above.
Keeping with this vein of intervention, interference, etc, Geemeff sent me an essay by Dr Marc Bekoff, a leading expert of animal behaviour. It is called “Four-Day-Old Baby Orangutan needlessly Killed at the Basel Zoo”. I know that – despite it being about other wildlife, we need to read this. Geemeff thinks I need to include a health warning. Duly noted. Thank you for this Geemeff. This is the situation and the question: The mother died. There was nothing wrong with the Baby Orangutan. The ‘zoo staff’ did not think it would thrive so they killed it! Do humans have the right to make this decision? These are things we should be thinking about.
There are some links at the end of the blog that will lead you to more information. It is time that we began asking difficult questions about how we approach wildlife in terms of ethics and morals. Our track record of protecting our planet and all its living beings is dismal. Why do we think we have the right? or even the knowledge to decide life and death?
I have also started putting together the material for Harriet on the 2023 Memorial page. I hope to be finished in a fortnight. I think that we can all presume that the nest is now that of M15, E21, and E22. There is much information on where eagles go to die as I am reminded by my friend, ‘A’. I hope to touch on that this week as we begin to process life without dear Harriet.
As everyone knows, at around 15:45, M15 landed on the nest. He was being chased by the female intruder. He brought a fish to the nest to feed the babies. Was the female hungry? was that why she chased him? ‘H’ confirms that M15 was also on the nest later, at 17:13:57 and fed the rabbit left overs. So a fish this morning left from yesterday was fed to 21. The additional fish and then rabbit leftovers were fed at the end of the day, 22 got some at the end of the feeding. With all the commotion let us hope that things normalise Saturday night for Sunday. Thanks ‘H’. I had not seen that fish!
M15 feeding 21 who is enjoying this fish. S/h had missed out on the morning fish so is hungry. Time is 1608.
Lady Hawk caught the GHO strike- thanks ‘A’:
And then there was the bad weather with either hail or heavy rain when M15 came down to the nest to be with the eaglets. It was 02:45. He stayed until approximately 0414.
M15 brought a fish to the nest and was feeding 21 and 22. It was just after 1004.
In the other nests:
Gabby and V3 certainly have an awkward relationship sometimes…especially when it involves food. Gabby thinks that any prey brought to the nest is hers. That is what Samson did but her new mate, V3, has always eaten his food on the nest. We have watched him do this. So was this V3’s lunch and Gabby wanted it? Talons hooked again. If I were V3 I would think hard and act quick…your gal Gabby is hungry and she will rip your talon off for that squirrel! or bird or fish. HeidiMc caught Saturday’s action.
At the KNF-E3 nest of Valentine and Nugget, Nugget stood on both feet/talons Saturday morning. This means that leg is healing. Fantastic. They both have their juvenile feathers and the weather continued to be soggy.
At the KNF-E1 nest of Anna and Louis, the eaglet has been named Trey. Can you see Trey’s crop? And look at that mohawk? Is it in the shape of a heart? Trey is a big eaglet!!!!! Wonder how long it will take them to make their way through all that fish?
Tonya Irwin edited all those fish deliveries the other day into a single video. Have a look and a giggle. Louis, you are amazing.
Elain brings us up to date with what is happening at Orange with Xavier, Diamond, and Indigo…
Indigo is simply tooooooooo cute. Once they discover the reflection on the camera lens it is adorable the poses the eyases and fledglings make.
There are now two eggs at the Bald Eagle nest of Rosa and Martin (Dulles-Greenway). There is going to be an informative discussion. Here are the details. You might want to listen in.
Angus seems to have a new step stool? or is this a new mating technique? Mabel does not seem too impressed. I do wonder if these two will have eggs this year at Captiva?
It was another great day at the Superbeaks nest. Pearl and Tico are just beautiful juveniles. Well done Pepe and Muhlady. Did I tell you? There was an announcement that the nest would be on line next year. Nice. I am so glad that it was recommended to me.
Making News:
An arrest for smuggling songbirds into the US. Finally! I want you to imagine being stuffed into a hair curler on a flight!
Only 3 of the 6 ospreys with trackers checked in today and one of those was Ervie!!!!!! Still at Port Lincoln. Living the good life. Zoe has missed quite a number of check ins. Not sure whether to worry or sit back and wait to see if her tracker comes into range.
Thank you so very much for being with me and thank you for your kind letters today. I really appreciate your understanding. Take care of yourselves. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, their posts, and their streaming cams where I took my screen capture to create this blog: ‘H’, ‘A’, Geemeff, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Black Bear Rescue Manitoba, Marc Bekoff, NEFL-AEF, Heidi Mc and NEFL-AEF, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Tonya Irwin and KNF-E1, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, The Guardian, Kakapo Recovery, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.
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Oh, the sky is grey with heavy clouds after having beautiful sun yesterday. The temperature is an absolutely balmy -1 C. The Conservatory is warm, the kittens are playing and, surprisingly, there are few birds at the feeders today, so far. It is the second day that I have been totally relaxed about the SWFlorida Eagle nest. Harriet has now been missing for 6 days with no sign of her. People have been searching all over the greater Fort Myers area and, of course, the Pritchett family and friends have searched and searched their property. She is, after all, a member of their family along with M15 and the eaglets. M15 continues to do an extraordinary job of caring for his family. I am finding it hard to concentrate on anything else, actually – including a new Dorie Greenspan cookbook that has arrived full of wonderful images of baked goods!
On Tuesday, M15 had an early feed of what appeared to be roadkill or a turtle. Then he flew to the nest at 12:13:02 with a fish in his talons. It looked like a Ladyfish again. He must have a great source of these and all the Florida fishing sites say they are plentiful.
Of course, 21 ate first. 22 kept its head down watching and waiting and in the end needed a bit of coaxing by M15 to eat. M15 moved the fish, and moved up to 22 even moving his beak right over. After a short time, 22 began to relax. I do think that 22 has won the ‘snatch and grab award’ over Rocket at the NEFlorida nest last year. 22 got some nice big bites and by the time the food was gone, around 12:42, he had a good crop! M15 was back up on his branch watching over the territory and protecting his and Harriet’s eaglets right after. I do hope Dad is eating, too.
21 watches but does nothing. Food security back on the nest.
What a beautiful picture. It could only be better if Harriet was there. Everyone is missing her.
It is 15:04:21 and M15 just flew off the nest to go hunting for food for him and the eaglets. You can see his shadow on the ground as he leaves the nest tree.
M15 returned looking rather wet at 15:31:14.
He flew down to the nest with the eaglets at 16:17:47. E21 was ready to eat but, M15 thought he was going to have some food, too. 22 eased his way around, a little late to the table, and got a few bites including snatching the very last large piece. He didn’t get enough for me to do a dance but, I am not worried. 22 had enough earlier if something else comes in, great. Maybe not. Both him and 21 can wait til tomorrow. I saw no beaking and no animosity on the nest between the eaglets. What I did see was M15 offering some bites to 22 after he had moved over nearer the table. Good job, Dad.
Well, there was another feeding and I can tell you that E22 ate for more than 8 minutes. At the beginning, M15 fed 21. But 21 was already full. The bites were small with long pauses. M15 kept taking a bit, holding it to the left for 22 to see it. Finally, 22 turned around. Did the snatch and grab and then got comfortable. At the end of the feeding, 17:40:51, 22 was practically pushing Dad off the nest rail wanting the last of the goodies from the head. M15 was hungry, too, and ate. Thankfully. The feeding lasted from 17:27:53 to 17:40:51. Both eaglets went to bed with big crops. Sweet.
It was a magnificent feeding. I will probably say it a hundred times: M15 has made a concerted effort to include 22 in this feeding and in several others over the past few days. 22 has gone to bed full and content. Life is good.
In the video, notice how 22 is facing towards the rim of the nest with one eye on Dad and then, gradually, he will begin to turn counter clockwise ending up right in front of dad and beside 21. He is still aware of 21, still aware of the earlier beaking days ago now. Once he turns his head quickly thinking 21 will strike. It doesn’t. 22 is quickly back at Dad’s beak – literally under Dad’s chin.
Leave it up to 22 to do the clean up after Dad has flown up to the branch.
Proud Dad!
He has lost his mate of 8 years – 8 years Harriet has been his world and the Es that they have raised together. He is grieving but, he has set that aside to take great care of their children. He has a job to do and he is doing it. I know that we would like nothing better than for Harriet to fly in to that nest.
This is a good, short interview with the Director of the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey near Fort Myers on WINK news.
Liberty at the Redding Eagle nest in California that she shares with her mate, Guardian, is on the nest. She is quite hot and panting. It looks like we could have a first egg soon.
Liberty fooled us!
Oh, I have missed check in on Indigo. Xavier had a well prepared prey item for his son this morning but instead of Indigo screaming in fast, Xavier had to wave it around for a bit. No worries. Indigo is always hungry!
Checking on the Osprey nests, there is no egg at the Achieva nest of Diane and Jack as of 1800 Tuesday.
Diane is tired and almost falling over standing up to sleep at Achieva. Will this be the night?
Yes! Around 0650 today (Wednesday), Diane laid her first egg at the Achieva nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Now for Captiva!
Angus has just brought a fish to the nest and Mabel is waiting to leave with it to eat because there are intruders about including a Brown Pelican flying over.
Trying to get confirmation that the second egg at the Venice Golf and Country Club was laid on Tuesday. Ospreys not giving away a thing!
Ron is taking good care of Rita. There was some worry about a stick that he brought in – hoping all is well with that egg! (It looks fine at the end of the video by HMc). I noticed he brought something in for Rose for lunch and ‘H’ has confirmed it was a pigeon. Ron also did some incubation duties. Well done you two.
Rose is really vocal when she sees Ron coming with food! “Ron, couldn’t you have plucked it?”
Some images from the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow. We are one week away from pip watch. Talk about exciting!
A three ‘note’? conversation from Jackie to Shadow – eek, eek, eeeeew. OK. I am tone deaf. Wish I could understand ‘eagle’.
A cute video of Nugget interaction with Alex at the KNF-E3 nest of Alex, Andria, Nugget, and Valentine. You might recall that there were 15 fish brought in by Alex a few days ago! And don’t forget, the names will go up for voting for Anna and Louis’s little one on Friday.
Last, a peek at Zoe. Thanks ‘H’ for giving me the head’s up about a new posting with comments by Ian Falkenberg, included below. Zoe has flown farther than any other fledgling osprey – more than a 1000 km! She is fishing around Mount Hope and I hope catching whoppers. What an extraordinary osprey she is. As several of you have commented, if I can paraphrase, ‘To think that we thought she would never be able to fly she was eating so much fish!’ She proved us all wrong.
Martin and Rosa at Dulles-Greenaway have their second egg. President and Lotus have moved to the second nest and it is believed they have an egg…eggs dropping into nests everywhere!!!!!!!!
Making News:
How many times have you seen the ads promising weed free lawns? or have seen individuals spraying their lawns? or companies? Those pesticides are killing our song birds! Please tell your neighbours and friends, family members that there are alternatives – one of which is just leaving everything alone!
A shout out to someone who stopped to help a hawk and maybe, give it a second or third chance at life! You be that person one day. You will remember the moment you help an animal all your life.
To Watch, Listen, and Participate:
Christian Sasse is hosting a live Facebook discussion about Harriet. The UTC stands for Universal Time. This came through my FB feed but I cannot find it anywhere in terms of a link to send you. I will keep trying.
This is another poster with a different time. 7pm Mountain Standard Time. LOL. The World Time Buddy says this then is 8pm in Winnipeg, 9pm in Toronto, 10pm in Halifax. Check your American time zones to these.
Please have any questions you might have on a piece of paper. You should be able to keyboard them into the rolling chat.
To Watch:
This is a 13 minute and 47 second documentary on the restoration of the Bald Eagle to the Channel Islands. Did you know that in 1980 there were no Bald Eagles on the Channel Islands? The footage shows the extraordinary extent to which the staff of the Institute for Wildlife Studies went to in order to reestablish the eagle population after its decimation by DDT. You can even see Dr Sharpe hanging from a helicopter switching a dummy egg in a nest with a nestling! Enjoy.
Thank you so much for being with me. As you can see I am still watching – with great admiration – the effort that the single dad, M15 is giving to his eaglets. Those eaglets are being fed. He is sensitive to when 21 has a big crop and holds back, gives 21 tiny bites because it isn’t as hungry as 22 and waits, almost baiting 22. It is brilliant. I am so impressed with M15. Sorry…it was only 6 days ago we wondered if 22 would even be alive by Sunday! 22 is getting some confidence. Yes, 22 is still afraid but certainly calm has settled over this nest in SW Florida. Like ‘A’, I would like to see these two be great buddies again. It has been traumatic and now life is become more normalised.
Take care of yourselves. See you soon!
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Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, announcements and streaming cams that make up my screen captures and blog: ‘H’ and ‘A’, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, FORE, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Achieva Credit Union, Window to Wildlife, Venice Golf and Country Club Ospreys, WRDC, HeidiMc and the WRDC, FOBBV, Friends of Osprey, Rhonda A and the KNF-E3 nest, The Guardian, Bobby Horvath, and the Institute of Wildlife Studies.
Before I begin, I just wanted to bring you some news to put many of your minds to rest: “The photo of Harriet purporting to show fishing line and sinker has been shown to be a mucus stream from a cast pellet. The lady who took the photo said it was ejected, and she watched Harriet for several hours before she disappeared, and there was nothing hanging from her mouth.” I found this on a stream in FB and it makes perfect sense now. So, now fishing line or lead sinker. Good. It is also known that “When she left the camera view (heading ENE) she had been vocalizing at intruders in the area.”
Now to the big news of the day and M15 continues to be my Man of the Hour.
I have to admit that I did not watch many of the other nests on Monday like I would normally. On Sunday, M15 began to figure out how to keep 21 at bay so he could feed 22. Yesterday, he came in with two super fish and yes, 21 might have been a stinker but, it did not prevent 22 from eating. 22 did not get as big a crop at the first feeding – understandably since 21 would have been flat out empty over night. This afternoon at 1646 E22 starting eating…and when all was done, even with M15 distracted by an intruder, 22 had a nice crop. Good job, Dad. As ‘B’ says, you should be ‘Eagle of the Year’.
The fish appears to be a Ladyfish. They are long slender fish found in the Gulf of Mexico. They are abundant around reefs and mangroves. (Please let me know if you think this is the wrong ID – not easy to tell seeing only half of a fish but trying!) Some people call them Skipjacks.
Thanks ‘J’ for this screen capture.
Two happy well fed and much loved eaglets, E21 and E22.
M15 had no more than fed the eaglets and had some bites himself than he was up on the branch keeping vigil over the territory, protecting his kids.
Screaming out to those that dared to enter his territory.
We may never know what happened to Harriet. ‘H’ and I started making a list of all the things that can happen to raptors, most of them human caused. It was quite long and it would be wrong to speculate.
I remember many years ago someone asking me if I knew Harriet. Who didn’t know Harriet? She was an extraordinary Bald Eagle, perhaps 30 years old now, the Matriarch of the American Bald Eagle Family in Florida if not everywhere. People around the world watched her raise her children with much love and affection. We felt like we knew her and joked when she would kick M15 telling him ‘the eggs are ready’. We live in the hope that some miracle may bring her home all the while watching the wonderful care that M15 is giving their eaglets.
Posters are up and everyone is looking.
The problem with humans is that we want to help. We feel helpless in a situation like this. Everyone loved Harriet and they want to help M15 have food and to be able to feed the eaglets. Some people are leaving food believing it is the right thing to do despite being told it is illegal and dangerous to the eagles. The other day we saw a vulture eating something on the ground near the nest tree. M15 had to take precious time and energy and chase it off the territory. What if there had been a fight and M15 got injured? These acts are being investigated. Chat comments about ‘fish fairies’ do not help the situation at all. That also implies illegal acts but, it puts ideas in people’s minds. None of this is good.
M15 is doing great without us. Yes, it took him a couple of days but, imagine that he is grieving for his mate while also caring for their children. The crowds of people around the nest tree can keep him from hunting, take away his attention and energy for the things he needs to do. He is fishing successfully and by 1030 nest time, he had already been out and about, to the nest with some roadkill which 21 ate. No worries 22 is fine and when M15 gets his fish on the nest he will be fed.
‘H’ sent me a note about Zoe and we can all relax. She is back on the Australian coast apparently near some good salmon fishing. As she gets closer and closer to the tip of the Eyre Peninsula, I wonder if she is going to go and tell Mum and Dad about her adventures all the while wanting to sleep in her own bed and be fed by them for a few days resting up for Zoe’s next adventure!
Zoe’s epic journey of more than a 1000 km is making the news in Australia!
There is also a recent posting for our Ervie. Look at where he is going! Isn’t it fantastic?
It was very nice to see that Gabby is back with V3 in the nest before roosting on the tree for the night. Stability. Gabby was giving V3 little eagle kisses, too.
The other nests are doing fantastic with the exception of Jak and Audacity at Sauces Canyon in the Channel Islands. The thinness of the eggs is caused by residual DDT (as DDE) in the area. They have lost their second egg to breakage. So sad for them.
Rachel Carson called attention to the decline in raptor populations due to DDT in her book, Silent Spring. This pesticide, introduced after WWII, was recalled but not before long lasting damage was done. There are areas of high concentrations of DDT or DDE that continue to harm the Bald Eagle population. One symptom of this is egg thinning.
This is a recent article on DDT and declining bird populations by the EPA.
When I last checked there are still no eggs at either the Achieva Osprey nest or Captiva. That could change in an instant!
Indeed, Diane is staying at the nest tonight. Might we wake up to an egg Wednesday morning?
Angus is getting excited and has brought in a huge amount of nesting material this morning. Does this mean an egg is near?
Connick has a mohawk, a cute little tail, is covered with wooly thermal down and gets feed well. It is nice to be the only baby on the nest.
Superbeaks. Pearl and Tico are fully feathered in their juvenile livery. They are such gorgeous eaglets.
Ringo at the Webster Texas Bald Eagle nest is growing and getting up right to the fish! Big bites today! Like Connick, Ringo has that wooly thermal down and a dandelion mohawk.
Cutie Pie B16 at Berry College has been exercising its little wings. Oh, this little one is such a sweetheart. No wonder Pa and Missy just cannot help but be on the nest watching this chick.
Sometimes Anna continues to incubate Dudley on the KNF-E1 nest, sometimes the ‘to be named this coming Friday E1-03’ eaglet does the honours. This eaglet is huge…do we think we are looking at a female?
There are still a few fish on the KNF-E3 nest of Alex and Andria. It does look like Valentine and Nugget have made quick work out of them…oh, and yes, the parents, too! Getting harder to tell the two eaglets apart. You have to look closely at the development of the juvenile feathers on the back and wings. It is Nugget that is hoping to get fed by the parent. Notice its back compared to Valentine.
Could not help but stop in to see Jackie and Shadow. It is early Tuesday in Big Bear Valley and we are 8 days away from pip watch. You can hear the crows in the background once in awhile. Oh, I wish they would go away! Jackie and Shadow have been vigilant and Jackie is vocalising at them this morning around 06:22.
Yesterday, Shadow had an intruder after his fish! Oh, sometimes there is hardly any peace for some of the nests.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!
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Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, posters, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that make up my blog: SWFlorida and D Pritchett, WGCU, Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey, ABC Eyre Peninsula, NEFL-AEF, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles in the US, EPA, Achieva Credit Union, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, Paul White and the Webster TX Eagle Watchers, Berry College Eagles, KNF E-1 and KNF-E3, FOBBV, and Cali Condor and FOBBV.
