Category Archives: Tropical Mockingbird

V2 and Gabby, GHOW strike on M15 and other news from Bird World

6 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone from the beautiful island of Grenada. I hope that you are well and are so glad that you are here with me today.

My Monday was lovely. How can you come to the Caribbean and not go and spend time in the sea or the pool when it is -30 C where you live!?! What fascinated me was that once again – no camera – I was surrounded with birds. The Bananaquit were busy catching insects climbing on the stems of the Hibiscus plants while the Hummingbirds were busy getting the nectar from the Firecracker Plants. Tropic Mockingbirds serenaded everyone from the trees and one couple from the back of a lounge chair!

The plan for tomorrow is to once again get up before the sun rises and check out the area from where I am staying all along Grand Anse Beach and the ponds in the gardens. A Blue Heron flew over the pool today and landed on top of a waterfall and I am told that there is a small pond where I will find them in the morning – hopefully. With all birding, we live in ‘hope’.

I adore Samson. It has been so difficult to concede that he might no longer be with us. He has been gone for 8 days. Others have been gone longer. There are so many eagles that have gone missing right at the beginning of nesting season when adrenalin must be running higher – amongst all the eagles in an area – than normal. I continue to think about all of the eagles who have been absent and returned – Shadow at Big Bear and Bella at NCTC amongst others, and Sassa Bird sent me another story today to remind all of us that there is still hope. Thank you Sasha Bird!

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/justice-the-male-bald-eagle-returns-to-dc-nest-after-missing-for-weeks?fbclid=IwAR0Lkv-C1Y8QMg2aDSFxmznj3_nM1sPppXm8FzWgoNAkB5ldv8_7XWtl0eA

I want to continue to believe that Samson might fly in there and everything will return to what it has been for the past three seasons.

But as ‘A’ reminds me – Gabby has only 2 fertile weeks in a year. Would she give up raising eaglets and wait? or does she realise that Samson is not returning and has now transitioned to accepting a new mate? This is the latest news on the happenings at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest, ‘The Hamlet’ near Jacksonville, Florida. And thank you ‘H’ for keeping my feet grounded.

This is an image of Gabby with V2 close to one another on the branch of the nest tree. He apparently mixed up the signals from Gabby about mating. So we will see what happens here and at the WRDC nest where we know that Ron will not have a mate this year. Going back to what ‘A’ said and remembering my old eagle friend, the eagles will move on with their lives much quicker than us humans can adjust to it – it is breeding season and the hormones and all drive them. They are faithful to the nests and if their mate does not return ‘in time’ then they will accept a new partner if they are available.

V2 chortles for Gabby. Now, I want to see him bring her a big – yes BIG fish! (The image above and the one below are, I believe, not VS with his sooty head).

Gabby and V2 spend time together in the nest.

This is the latest announcement from the AEF that I can find on the situation with Gabby and Samson:

It is congratulations to Anna and Louis at the E1 nest at the Kistachie National Forest in Louisiana. These two are a great young couple. This will be their third season together. Looking forward to that huge pile of fish that Louis is going to bring in once the eaglets hatch! If he carries on like past years, viewers will be amazed at his excitement. In 2020, there were so many fish on the nest that Louis could have fed all of the nests in Louisiana and Florida that are on streaming cams! Seriously. It was incredible.

I know that we have all been concerned about the GHOWs knocking Harriet and M15 about on their nest. Well, it appears that those GHOWs are actually using the eagle’s old nest as their own! All I want to say is oh, dear. Here is the reason. Last night the GHOW attacked M15 and knocked him off the nest. Harriet went into protective mode with those big wings of hers. Oh, send out your best wishes for the GHOW to get occupied with their own owlets and leave the eagles alone. I know precisely what you are thinking – yes, that is some big wish. Thanks, A!

In Orange, Diamond watches from the scrape box as Indigo flies by with a prey drop from Dad, Xavier.

Video highlights from the Orange scrape for 5 December.

Zoe is incredibly beautiful. It remains unclear to me whether or not Zoe had a fish delivery before I checked on her. She did have a Cormorant pay a visit and she has now flown off the nest.

I am reminded by all of the holiday decorations surrounding me in Grenada that this is the season ‘for giving’. Take a moment to consider the amazing birds on these streaming cams that have been returned to the wild by the generosity of the people who rescue them, take them to wildlife rehabilitation centres, and the people there who work tirelessly to save their lives. It has been an incredible year. I will never forget the virtual cheering when Little Bit 17 (Notre Dame 17) was returned to the wild after we had all assumed he was going to starve to death. Humane Indiana did an amazing job in training him to fly and making sure he was ready to live a life off the nest. Ojai Raptor Centre worked around the clock to make sure that Victor was returned to a life in the wild….the list is endless. Right now Rita is recovering from life-saving surgery at the WRDC. Fitting in with this is an opinion piece in The New York Times that ‘B’ sent me today. It is a great essay. And when you are considering, stop and consider those that helped the birds that we love so much. Thank you so much, ‘B’.

opinion-_-how-wildlife-rescue-can-heal-the-human-heart-the-new-york-timesDownload

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, their articles, postings, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: The New York Times, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Orange, Australia Peregrine Falcons, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Kisatchie national Forest Eagle Cam Fans, NEFL Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, Raptors of the World and Gracie Shepherd, SWFlorida Eagle Cam, and fox5dc.com. Thank you to ‘A’, ‘B’, and Sassa Bird who sent me wonderful stories or links. It is much appreciated.

Harriet and M15 have second egg, Tropical Birds and more…

3 December 2022

Oh, I continue to marvel at the flowers, the beautiful sky and the green grass — and the birds on this small island!

There are Hibiscus of every colour.

It is a gorgeous view. This is a far cry from the wind chills of -30 in Manitoba!

The Tropic Mockingbird was eating fruit off of one of the trees.

In Grenada no one likes the Carib Grackles. They are always around when people are eating, taking their food. Is it because they are hungry? Well, my breakfast companion was a Carib Grackle. You see, I don’t really eat a big breakfast but it is the same amount for coffee and fruit than for everything piled up 3x over. So, — sorry. You will never take me out to breakfast with you! I turned my camera so that the women working at the breakfast buffet could not see. Then I fed the Grackle. It felt good.

In return, that same Carib Grackle, I assume, brought me a gift – feather. He left it right in front of me on the table. How sweet. I have heard of Crows leaving trinkets for people who feed them but, not a Grackle. The colour is washed in this image from my phone. It is small – about 10 cm or 4 inches long – and black. Probably from a Grackle!

After breakfast, we went to the mangroves near Mt Hartman to check on the egrets and herons. Nothing there but some cattle and goats along with a huge termite nest. Will check again early in the morning on Tuesday.

I am really surprised with all the mud around the edges of the ponds that there are not more Shorebirds, like the Greater Yellowlegs out and about. Maybe they come earlier – or later – in the day. Maybe tomorrow.

There were no Ospreys today at St George’s University but, there were some Cattle Egrets in the distance on an island, some more Grackles and Mockingbirds, and then….the fisher cleaning his fish threw the heads into the water. Well, some big birds began to fly in. Apparently the fishers do this everyday – clean the fish and give the birds the parts they do not want. Can you imagine Mum and Dad at Port Lincoln if this were to happen? or Ervie?!!!!!!!

The sea birds after the fish parts were Magnificent Frigatebirds. The image below is the female. She has a beautiful white collar.

The Magnificent Frigatebirds are from 95-110 cm or 37-43 cm inches in length. The male is all black and the female, as mentioned earlier, is all black with a white collar. They soar and swoop on the surface of the water getting fish using a wing span of 2.5 metres or 98 inches. They make their nests in trees and shrubs and laying their eggs from October through December. Unlike Ospreys and other sea birds, the Magnficent Frigatebirds never land on the water as they would not be able to pull themselves out like eagles or ospreys.

This is a juvenile. Its white head and chest will turn black as it reaches adulthood. It is off finding fish with Mum. Being trained like Indigo is.

Their tail reminds me of a scissor tail flycatcher. Notice the beak. It is like an albatross.

You can just see the Cattle Egret flying by the island. They are the smallest of the ‘white’ egrets on the island. The other two are the Greater or Common Egret and the Snowy Egret.

The sweet little Zenaida Dove was around with the Tropic Mockingbirds over on the SGU Campus where the Frigatebirds were.

Look closely at the photo below. See the white eye ring and look above the beak and around the eye at the pink-violet colouring. Just beautiful.

Zenaida Doves grow to be approximately 30 cm or 12 inches in length. It is a grey-brown bird with cinnamon or pink areas appearing around the neck and breast. There are two eye lines, lighter towards the black beak and getting darker towards the nape of the neck. There is a tinge of violet kissing the area around the eye with a blue-grey ‘cap’ on the head. It has white tipped outer feathers. The inner wing feathers have two black spots, while there are also blue-grey feathers going ombre into beige-grey. It feeds mainly on seeds and fruit. The Zenaida Doves lay their clutch of two eggs between February and August in a flimsy nest – sometimes on a palm leaf!!!!!!

This dove is not injured. Their legs and feet are red. Also it closely resembles the Eared-Dove but that bird does not have white around the wing tips.

I thought it was a good day because included in the sightings was a Grenada Dove. I have no photo. They are very quick and live in the back trees – some thorny trees that remind me of the Mimosa growing in my parent’s garden when I was a child. But I did see one! Yippeeee.

Seriously, we all know that the members of the Corvid family are brilliant but here is a new study that just emphasises that even more!

And a new study on the level of self-awareness in crows.

Gabby has not given in to the uninvited guests at the NEFL Bald Eagle Nest that she shares with Samson. Our beautiful Gabby is waiting and we are waiting with her – and hoping just like she is.

That head is not pure white yet or he has had it stuck in suet somewhere. I don’t think he could attract our girl.

Just to remind everyone, Bella had quite the time early last season. She was injured and bleeding and was absent for 21 days while she healed so that she could come and boot any female intruders away from Smitty! This year Smitty and Bella are working on their nest together. Hope for Samson and Alden.

Highlights today from the scrape at Orange. Indigo is quite the character! Diamond and Xavier have very vivacious offspring!

Also in Australia, the Rare Honeyeater is still learning its breeding song even if there are so few they might never find a mate and breed. If I am not mistaken, one of the adults at Orange brought in a Honeyeater this year. If I am wrong, please let me know!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-01/critically-endangered-regent-honeyeaters-boosted-in-the-wild/101710694?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=mail&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

In Port Lincoln, at 11:20:37 Dad brought in a fish. Mum was once again too late. Zoe got it! She spots him flying in and starts doing that famous talon dance.

I think Dad needs fish. It looks like Mum has a good crop.

Zoe is doing well and so is Indigo. This is good news. I do not keep up with their feedings now…Zoe might soon start to do her own fishing. We wait.

Last but not least, Harriet and M15 have their second egg of the season which means that hard incubation will begin. Congratulations to Harriet and M15 (remember Harriet is 28 years old), the Pritchett Family, and all who love SWFlorida Eagles.

This is not a long newsletter today but I hope that you found something of interest and also learned something new. That is the most important thing. Tomorrow I am getting up at 0400 to head north to Levera National Park and Lake Antoine. I cannot find a decent map to show you so, fingers and toes crossed there are some nice birds for Sunday morning!

Thank you for being with me today. Take care everyone. Send best wishes to Samson, Alden, and Rita. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: My Modern Met, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett Family, abc.net.au, D Steyck and the NCTC Bald Eagle Cam, Falcon Cam Project and Elaine, Big Think.com and Manitoba Birding and Wildlife Photography, NEFL and SWFL Eagle Cam and Watchers Group – and to my son, Cris, who chased birds all over for me today. It was great fun.

Tropical Mockingbird, Rita’s update and more…in Bird World

2 December 2022

Good morning everyone from the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada. It is 29 degrees C – a real shock from the snow, ice, and blowing winds of Canada! It has rained – it is the wet season – and all of the trees, the grass, and the flowers are bright and beautiful. The forecast is now giving us so many good days. On Saturday it will be an all day birding trip starting at 0530. I am excited. The island is home to many species but I especially hope to see the Cattle Egrets, the Green Herons, and the Tri-Coloured Heron out in the mangroves as well as the gorgeous parrots, shorebirds, and songbirds of this island. And, of course, the Caribbean Ospreys. Fingers crossed.

Grand Anse Beach is pure white sand. It is one of the longest white sand beaches in the world. Looking to the right of this beach is an area of the island above the Lagoon known as Springs. There is always a mist and it rains a lot. The area has some of the nicest gardens. Even though it is such a small island there is another area near the airport that is completely dry!!!!!

My first bird came into view as the light was leaving us…It s a Tropical Mockingbird. Oh, its song was incredible. Tomorrow I am going to sit right under the tree where several seemed to be perching. They must be very used to the human presence along the beach. Indeed, they will eat human food along with spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, seeds, small fruits and berries, mangoes — there are a lot of mangoes on the island in the spring. There are so many falling on the roads that the cars slide around on those that get slimy from being run over. The Mockingbirds also eat lizards as well as other small bird and lizard eggs. They have been seen consuming seed from bird feeders just like Dyson!

Many of you will have seen and heard the Northern Mockingbirds in North America. This is the Caribbean equivalent. The Tropical Mockingbird lives in open or semi-open areas. In this instance they are living in the trees along a major tourist beach area.

They lack colour but if that is a problem their song certainly makes up for it. They have a black beak and legs, a striking bright ebony eye with a black eye stripe. The top of their head is a medium grey fading into a lovely silvery white which continues along the throat, the breast and underparts of the bird. The wings are a symphony of grey and black with white wing tips. The tail is a dark charcoal verging on black with a white tip and underneath area. You can hear their song here:

‘H’ kindly sent me the most recent announcement about Rita, the mate of Ron, the bonded pair of Bald Eagles from the Miami Zoo. Thanks, ‘H’. Here it is:

 Yesterday, “Rita,” the bald eagle had surgery performed to help repair her severely fractured right wing. The surgery was performed by avian veterinary specialist, Dr. Don Harris, assisted by Zoo Miami Associate Veterinarian, Dr. Marisa Bezjian and the Zoo Miami Animal Health Team. The surgery was successful inserting a metal pin to align and support the fractured bone. However, the prognosis for successful healing is extremely poor due to the lack of circulation in the wing as a result of the devastating trauma. At this time, it is unfortunately unlikely that the wing can be saved and even more unlikely that she will ever fly again. Having said that, we are not giving up hope! She is receiving daily drug therapy, laser treatments and acupuncture along with her wound care and dressing changes. She has already beaten tremendous odds by surviving the trendous trauma from which she would have certainly died from had it not been for the intervention of all of the involved parties. We are all praying that she can provide us with a miracle and continue on a positive path.

Wildlife Rescue of Dade County FB, 1 December 2022

American Eagle Foundation LIVE Nest Cams is reporting on Samson’s absence:

Still no news to report. No sightings of Samson. No visitors to the nest. Gabrielle continues to perch at the nest throughout the day and at night keeping watch.

(c) 2022 American Eagle Foundation eagles.org AEF-NEFL

Gabby waits patiently for dear Samson to return. Continue with your positive wishes.

This story is from several years ago but was posted today on the NEFL-SWFL Bald Eagle FB group. It reminds us, like the time with Bella and Smitty this year, that eagles can be gone for some time and return. This eagle was missing for 3 weeks! I live in hope for our beloved Samson.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/missing-bald-eagle-returns-to-dc-nest-after-a-weeks-long-departure-experts-say/2019/02/27/a06bf238-3acb-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html

My holiday is not just a chance to spend time with my son and his wife, or eating amazing Caribbean food, or find new birds but it is also a time for a battery recharge after all that has happened during the last month.

Like all of you, I need some good news and I know you do, too. Well, here it is coming from Lori Covert in Captiva. You will remember that Captiva and Sentinel, the barrier islands off the coast of Florida, were the hardest hit by Hurricane Ian. The ospreys and bald eagles lost their nests. Well, smile when you read this!

I just checked on Zoe at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Dad brought in a very small fish at 0925. Mum probably didn’t even get a chance to see it. Zoe is very quick when she wants her food!!!!!!!!!

Zoey doing her talon dance.

Dad lands and Zoe has it before Mum even gets there. I do hope that Mum and Dad have some fish to eat at other times. This is worrisome sometimes.

Yesterday there were 2 fish brought in by Mum and 2 brought in by Dad. Zoe even tried her wings. Here is her tracker information for 2 December.

Diamond has been spending time at the scrape box at Orange. This morning she seemed very interested in the stones. My friend ‘A’ has observed that the falcons prefer to eat only the white stones. Do any of you know why this is the case?

We know why the birds eat stones. Here is the standard Goggle answer:

“Birds eat stones to form gastroliths that grind against food when they contract their gizzards. The grinding action of gastroliths aid in the digestion of fibrous food in birds. When the gastroliths begin to smoothen over time, birds eat new stones to replace the older ones.“

But why do they prefer white ones?

Giving Tuesday has just passed – where donors often match what funds are given. Now…there is December and if you are thinking about ‘giving’ for the holidays, stop and think of your local wildlife rehabber — or a rehabber that you respect for all the hard work they have done this year. We watch our beautiful birds and many times they go into care and we are cheering for them to be taken in and made well and released. So remember the wildlife clinics and give. Our Wildlife Haven listed the costs associated with surgery — think dear Rita! The antibiotics after. These items are extremely expensive. So help if you can!

In Australia ABC news did an article on this very topic.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/raptor-rehabilitation-centre-injured-birds-of-prey/101683638?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=mail&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Thank you so very much for being with me this morning. At the time of publishing this blog, I have no new news on any of the missing birds or Rita. Keep sending all your good energy to our missing birds and to Rita as she continues to fight to fly — I would love to see her be the exception to the rule (ie lack of circulation in the wing). Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures today: Lori Covert Instagram, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, WRDC, NEFL-AEF and the American Eagle Foundation.