Category Archives: UK ospreys

Saturday in Bird World

24 August 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

You will now notice links to videos within the blog. Just click on them, and they will take you to YouTube. Geemeff helped me figure out how to save that precious space to include more images without using up all my media allowance! Thanks, Geemeff.

Friday was another scorcher in Winnipeg. It will be 31 C today but the heat index is reaching to 39 or 40 C. Even the English Gardens were so sultry that it was difficult to enjoy the beautiful foliage.

I continue to smile and tell The Girls how fortunate they are. What we are seeing is a growing number of cats, beautiful ones, coming to the feral feeder. People continue to dump their pets because they cannot afford to feed or care for them. It is so sad when these darling animals bring so much joy to one’s life. There was a steady stream yesterday – ‘The Boyfriend’, a Ginger Male, and a gorgeous long-haired ‘sort of’ Calico (photo below). ‘The Girls’ alert us to their presence. ‘The Boyfriend’ mostly comes during the night – between midnight and 0400. I catch him on the front video camera. But there is also ‘something’ coming and eating all the food and pushing the dishes about and upsetting the birdbaths. I do wonder if it is the fox or a raccoon or, perhaps, a big dog. They must come in through the back because they are not seen on the front camera.

Missey watching from inside where it is cool. They are telling everyone to please put out water because the heat index today was 38 C. The outdoor animals are having a very difficult time.

Remember those storms that hit Missoula with hurricane-force winds? We worried and teared up because of dear Iris and her family. Amy Moore tells us more about the devastation to other osprey families in her article in The Pulp. Thankfully, Iris, Finnegan, Sum-eh, and Antali were not injured.

Empty nested – The PulpDownload

‘J’ reminds us that Bobby Horvath keeps himself busy saving Ospreys and geese that get hit by golf balls on courses! He picks them up and puts them back together so they can live in the wild. Our fledgling ospreys can get into much mischief thanks to us and our fishing gear. Please tell people to take care of themselves and try to clean up after themselves, or stop fishing.

I have talked to you about the issues related to Osprey starvation and the industrial fishing of Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay. ‘H’ found this article that demonstrates clearly that the fish that our ospreys need to survive in the region can make a come back. New York put in regulations. Have a listen!

Hawk Mountain is located in Pennsylvania and is considered to be the world’s first sanctuary for raptors. It began during a time when people were paid to kill raptors – in 1929, $5 was a lot of money and if you turned in a goshawk that was what you received. A dead goshawk that is. Hawk Mountain was where the shooters lined up on top of the ridges when the birds migrated to kill them. Just think of that – thousands of bodies lying on the ground in the forest. A man by the name of Richard Pough began to take photographs of the autracities and eventually those images caught the attention of Rosalie Edge. Edge went to Hawk Mountain, and she came back in 1934, leasing 1400 acres. She created a safe place for the raptors. The killing ceased. In 1935, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary was opened to the public. Edge eventually purchased the property, creating a non-profit organisation to look after the sanctuary. You can visit there today – you can even go and help do a count!

They have just published its first migration count for this season.

Little Ringed Plovers nest successfully for the first time in Cornwall.

First successful nesting of Little Ringed Plover in Cornwall – BirdGuidesDownload

Annie and Archie are getting some together time as empty nesters. https://youtu.be/8SZz3qZEUws?

And more from our favourite Cal Falcons! https://youtu.be/8SZz3qZEUws?

CROW reminds everyone – baby Squirrel season is starting in some parts of North America. What should you do? Read below.

Migration season for Ospreys in the UK is underway (as it is in other parts of the world). I will keep track, once in awhile, of who is home and who is not.

Gorgeous Friday in Missoula and there are some ospreys on that hellgate Canyon nest.

Oh, goodness. ‘TU’ sends news that a storm came through and blew fledgling Antali off the nest. Let us all hope he is alright. https://www.facebook.com/100001195985354/videos/1565499424179303?idorvanity=241808466290553

Looks like everyone is still home at Charlo.

River is hanging on tight with the high winds at Sandpoint.

Looks like everyone is still home at Pitkin County.

For the most part the Finnish Osprey nests were relatively quiet. I caught an unringed on nest #1.

A nice little video of an osprey nest in Whistler, British Columbia. https://youtu.be/XgPX9SMm7N4?

FORE (Friends of Redding Eagles) has given us an update about the necroscopy of Luna and discussions on what to do about the nest tree of Liberty and Guardian. Thanks, ‘J’ for sending this in!

“Friends of the Redding Eagles-FORE

Sotprsodnem0a5cugugg44la299993c4hfi88m7cht3gu03la021u78a912a  · 

Update on Liberty & Guardian’s Nest & Nest Tree 8/22/24:

We just wanted to give you an update on our progress this Summer! We haven’t been posting much because It’s actually been a very busy Summer! We’ve been working non-stop on finding a way to help Liberty & Guardian any way we can next season. We’ve heard several of you suggest we simply “Cut down the Nest Tree” or “Remove the Nest”. After what happened to our Luna & Sol last season we completely understand how you feel! None of us want to experience something like that ever again! But, there are several Federal Laws protecting Bald & Golden Eagles so we have to abide by those laws at all times.

We’re still waiting on the Final Report on Luna’s Necropsy, but I have been in touch with Krysta Rogers frequently these last few months & she has been very helpful. She has answered several questions we asked her after the preliminary report was released & she reviewed a few videos I sent to her of Luna on the Grassy Island. Krysta said she will share the FINAL REPORT with us as soon as it is ready. We would all like to know what the cause of death was for our Luna & Sol & we really hope the final necropsy report will give us those answers. We have to let you know that there are times when the necropsy results are inconclusive, but we remain hopeful!

We’ve also been in touch with the California State Avian Conservation Coordinator Shannon Skalos regarding what we can & can’t do about Liberty & Guardian’s Nest & Nest Tree. Shannon was very helpful & understanding & she put us in touch with our local Fish & Wildlife Supervisor John Perrine who we’ve been working with to come up with a plan. Since we are not Biologists ourselves, we work under the guidance of our local Fish & Wildlife Biologists. We’ve been discussing what we can do within the constraints of the Federal Laws protecting Bald Eagles & their Nests & Nest Trees. 

Back in June, Shannon informed us that we cannot do anything to the Nest or Nest Tree without a Federal “Take Permit”. She said those permits can take quite a while to obtain & she didn’t think we had enough time to go that route(6-12 months). She said US Fish & Wildlife generally tries to “let nature take its course”, but they will always consider things on a case by case basis. 

Shannon let us know we would NOT need a permit to do something in any of the nearby trees as long as we don’t touch the Nest Tree. So, we immediately reached out to our dear friend & Eagle Biologist David Hancock from British Columbia who has a lot of experience & success in this area. David has been consulting with us & now we are in the process of making a plan which we will complete in September. We will share more details on our plan as we get closer! 

Our Project Manager Joe will be coming to Redding in September to replace parts & overhaul the entire Eaglecam System. So, we still have a lot of work ahead of us! But, we are determined to do whatever we can to help our beloved Redding Eagles Liberty & Guardian! And, we are also determined to do whatever we can to make it a great viewing experience for all of our wonderful followers & incredibly generous Donors who make this all possible!

We could not do this without YOU!

Stay tuned!

~Terri & the FORE Team

Here is some helpful information with us from the US Fish & Wildlife Eagle Management Plan:

“Eagle Nest Protections

Along with protecting eagles, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act also protects eagle nests. Eagle nests are protected at all times, not just when the nests are in use by eagles. This means eagle nests can never be removed, destroyed, moved, tampered with, or obstructed, no matter what time of year it is, without a permit.

An eagle nest is defined as “any assemblage of materials built, maintained, or used by bald eagles or golden eagles for the purpose of reproduction. An eagle nest remains an eagle nest until it becomes so diminished, or the nest substrate upon which it is built fails, that the nest is no longer usable and is not likely to become usable to eagles, as determined by a Federal, Tribal, or State eagle biologist” (50 CFR 22.6).

The following are all considered eagle nests and are protected (unless the nests are determined by a Federal, Tribal, or State eagle biologist to no longer be usable):

Any nest constructed by an eagle, even if the nest is never finished or used.

A nest built by another bird that is subsequently used by an eagle for reproduction.

A nest constructed by an eagle that is subsequently used by another species, such as owls or osprey. 

Note that if nest take removes all available nesting substrate from an eagle pair’s territory, this can lead to abandonment and loss of the eagle territory, which constitutes a form of disturbance take.laws”

Is Mum looking a little eggy at Port Lincoln?

Seabirds sang a tribute to the Penguin Icon, Sphen, as they mourn his death.

Magic moment: Sydney aquarium filled with song after sea birds mourn death of gay penguin Sphen | AnDownload

Our smile for the day comes from ‘SP’. Most of you know the Crawley Falcons that hatch their chicks on the balcony of a high rise in Australia. Apparently neighbours decided peregrine falcons were too noisy and asked that the plant pots where the falcons laid their eggs be removed. Well…Here is the story in pictures from their FB page. Oh, they now have at least two eggs.

And a shout-out ‘back’ to my kid teaching at St George’s Medical School – he’s been sending the love for over twenty years now! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/L9wxFqMKJH1qLkBg/

Turtles are starting to arrive at the Kistachie National Forest E-1 nest…oh, geez. If this eagle keeps this up, there won’t be a turtle within 5 miles of the park! This male loves his turtles.

Karl II’s son, Waba, is in the Ukraine where he continues to feed as he works his way back to Africa. Fingers crossed that Waba will return to Estonia and take over his natal nest next year! Yes! Waba can continue the great example of his father, Karl II, who sadly was electrocuted on an unprotected pole in Turkey last year.

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 23rd August 2024

More rain overnight last night with strong winds, and a misty morning today. No Ospreys appeared on either nest, just a pair of Great Tits on Nest One, but we were treated to footage from Spain of our one surviving chick, 1JW, looking magnificent and defending his fish with a short sharp warning nip to another Osprey who attempted to get some of it. This all bodes well for his upcoming migration journey, and explains his informal nickname of ‘Jaws’. Also sent through by Fundación Migres were photos of Pean JH3, the Loch Arkaig Osprey who fledged from a private nest in 2017 the same year that Aila & Louis fledged their first chick, Lachlan JH4. Pean’s untimely death on a faulty power line in 2018 inspired Itziar Colodro Sainz from the Fundación to campaign successfully for modernisation of the local grid at the translocation area of Marjal Pego-Oliva Nature Reserve, which has subsequently saved many birds. More here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15815194 and here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-46952452. The wet weather will continue all week, with the possibility of thundery showers tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.32.40 (05.19.49); Nest Two 21.24.56 (05.26.39)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/cuNHwXdx6jE Video footage of ‘Jaws’ 1JW defending his fish in Spain 

https://youtu.be/Cxnfg-UCmUk N1 Pair of Great Tits visit 07.22.56

Bonus new partnership initiative between WT and Sainsburys also means more food and homes for wildlife:

https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4349695/sainsburys-woodland-trust-launch-agroforestry-initiative

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

‘H’ posted on Fenwick Island….little Fen. Dad is smart. Just drop those fish in when flying by. Don’t risk those precious talons with a hungry juvenile.

SE33 was aggressive towards its little sibling today. Despite there being plenty of fish on the nest, it would not allow the baby to eat but a few bites before starting to bonk it. SE33 goes into a food coma and Dad comes along and saves the day giving little 34 a really nice feeding. That baby was full. Love you, Dad!

‘A’ writes more of these current issues with sibling rivalry: “This morning, Lady went out early and brought back a large fresh whole fish. She started feeding SE33 at around 06:49 and continued to do so until just before 06:58, when SE34, who had had his head down on the nest, finally accepted a bite. But even though it had been eating large chunks of fish for nearly ten minutes, SE33 was not happy about SE34’s inclusion in the feeding and immediately beaks him in the back of the head. SE33 grabbed a beakful of head feathers and shook SE34 for some time. A moment or so later, when SE34 dared to move, he was attacked again. Once again, the shaking lasted some time. SE33 has an enormous crop by this stage and has been eating large pieces of fish uninterrupted since 06:50. 

The fact that SE34 had stayed down for so long, cringing violently away when Lady leaned near him to pick up a dropped piece of fish (she had dropped it, not SE34), was worrying enough in itself, but when after eating so much fish and SE34 showing deference for so long, SE33 instantly retaliated for the one mouthful SE34 had been given, it really depressed me. I thought we had got beyond this on this nest, but obviously, we haven’t. In fact, over the past week or so, it seems SE33 is getting more aggressive rather than less. 

Lady is still looking out for him, and there is still plenty of fish (Dad added a second fish to the breakfast spread this morning – there always seems to be food ready for when Lady wants to feed the eaglets) but it is a worry that he is obviously intimidated by SE33 to the extent that he is sometimes scared to eat. The question is whether he is still getting enough once SE33 has eaten all it can. 

By 7am, SE33 is getting more and more reluctant to accept bites. (It had already been rejecting them when SE34 dared to accept his first mouthful but that didn’t stop SE33 from attacking.) But SE34 is still not brave enough to lift his head. At 07:02, SE33 is STILL eating. SE34 dares to move – he is monitoring proceedings. By 07:02:40, SE33 is refusing food and Lady eats the bite herself. At 07:03, SE34 lifts his head cautiously.

There are two fish on the nest – one whole and one that Lady is finishing off. SE33 gets a second wind but this is a good thing, as it stops an attack on SE34 for lifting his head. Lady pauses the feeding. She surveys the eaglets and takes stock of the situation. She waits. SE33 is full, so I think she is waiting for it to turn away or lose interest in attacking SE34. She is certainly planning what to do next. 

Just after 07:04, SE33 does in fact turn away. SE34 sits up a little further. His head is up. At 07:04:25, Lady offers a bite to SE34, who takes it without retaliation from SE33. Lady then steps closer to SE33 and persists in offering it a bite for nearly half a minute until eventually it is accepted shortly before 07:05. 

Although SE34 has his head up, Lady does not offer him food. She continues feeding SE33, although it is reluctant and slow to accept bites. 07:06:20 and Lady moves some nest material, which strikes SE34 and causes him to turn away, fearing he is being attacked. Lady ends the feeding at this point, returning to brooding the eaglets, even though SE34 has not had any breakfast while SE33 is stuffed to the brim. There is a whole fish still on the nest, plus some leftovers from the other fish, and yet she has abandoned the effort to feed SE34. He is obviously intimidated and scared to eat, but with SE33 so full, it is unusual that Lady did not persist in her efforts to feed SE34. She made very little effort to feed him, and did not offer him bites with the same patience and persistence she used to push more and more food onto SE33. So it was all in all a worrying and disappointing breakfast feed. 

I am assuming Lady is going to let SE33 fall into a food coma and then go back to the fish to feed SE34. I certainly hope so. Otherwise, we are going to have problems at this nest. I am encouraged by the fact that the size gap between the two appears to have narrowed over the past four or five days, so talons crossed. “

There is more news from Australia. ‘A’ sends us the news of a rare white Rhino calf born – no feathers, but we will celebrate with them!https://youtu.be/QaPgf26-WYE?

Thank you so much for being with us today. Have a wonderful weekend everybody! See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, videos, articles, images, summaries, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB, SP, TU’, The Pulp, Return of the Menhaden, Hawk Mountain, BirdGuides, SK Hideaways, CROW, RSPB Loch Garten, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint, Pitkin County, Saaksilvie, Whistler Osprey Cam, FORE, PLO, The Guardian Crawley Falcons Instagram, Tonya Irwin, Looduskalender, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Heidi McGrue, and Olympic Park Eagles.

Friday in Bird World

23 August 2024

Good Morning,

Thursday was an ‘odd’ day. We woke up to overnight torrential downpours with pools of water everywhere. The dishes for ‘The Boyfriend’ were scattered everywhere, and one of the birdbaths was turned upside down. Now, as this wind? Or was it the fox? I couldn’t tell. By early morning, it was muggy outside – but it didn’t stop us from heading off to check on birds. There were hundreds of Red-wing Blackbirds in the corn fields. According to Wiley On-Line, “Red-winged Blackbirds are often initially attracted to corn fields to feed on insect pests during the 2–3 week period between silking and kernel development.” I learned something new today.

The minute I stopped, the birds all dove down into the corn. Would they come up and do their fancy flying while I was there? Of course not! LOL

Then a Red-tail Hawk was spotted on a branch above a wheat field. Looks like it is moulting.

The animals at Pineridge Hollow do have a nice life. They are not continually caged up so they can be exploited for our benefit. There is a large field at the back where they can feed and wander except for the chickens that are likely taken into a coop at night.

This must be Rufus!

This is Sugar.

The goats were simply not interested in being friendly today.

The field behind the pen enclosures where the animals can roam.

We were not home for a minute before the Crows came calling. Some were on the wire demanding cheesy dogs while a couple were eating of one of the nut and bug suet cylinders. Gosh, I love these characters!

The lesson for today comes from the garden’s Blue Jays. Here is Junior. Junior is the father of one group of this year’s fledglings. I know him by the pattern of the white on his tail. His other distinction right now is that he looks ‘ill’. Junior is healthy. He is moulting. The process of replacing feathers often happens a few feathers at a time. This allows the birds to fly to feed and protect themselves. They also need those feathers to protect them from the summer heat and torrential rains. That said, some of the Blue Jays will lose all their head feathers and become completely bald. That is what Junior is doing. Because our summer season is so short, most Blue Jays in my neighbourhood opt to lose them all so that the time to have a full crest again is shortened. Some say it takes about a week.  You may read that Blue Jays of all ages moult and become bald. I have not found this to be the case. This year’s fledglings have their full crests and that is how I can tell them from the adults quickly.

You can see that Junior’s crest is just beginning to come in.

This is one of this year’s fledglings. I want you to look very closely. This is the little one that I was concerned about. It’s tail is still not straight but its crest is in better condition. It is eating and flying well. I shed tears seeing this one today as I had not seen it. We have several new feral cats and a fox coming to the garden and I was so concerned that one or the other had killed the poor baby. Not so!

This is Mamma. She is moulting, too. She is a little behind Junior. You can even see her ‘ear’ – the dark circle behind the eye.

A perfectly healthy 2024 Blue Jay fledgling who has just enjoyed some peanuts and is pondering what to do next with that tiny seed in its mouth. Behind him, you will see one of the ‘new’ baby Sparrows. They keep upsetting the frame that holds my cherry tomatoes upright.

I love our geese.

News about another female checking out another osprey platform in Poole Harbour. Notice the comment about CJ7 coming in 2017. CJ7 waited and waited for her prince – Blue 022 to arrive. They have raised chicks in 2022, 2023, and again – four this year – 2024.

If you live in Nova Scotia, why not head down to Hope for Wildlife. They are the leading rehabilitator in that province.

Will Port Lincoln’s Mum and Dad be grandparents this year? Calypso has a mate at the Tulka platform!

Antali is tugging on Iris’s talon trying to get the fish delivery. Ouch! https://youtu.be/fCwI1JTBKTA?

Iris is tired. She has been busy making sure that her babies, Sum-eh and Antali, are well feed. But has she been practising self-care? I sure hope so. We want to see you back next year, Queen Iris.

Hope calling to Beaumont when she sees him coming in with a fish at the Newfoundland Snow Lane nest.

It is all good.

On the other side of North America, it was quiet at the Cowlitz PUD osprey platform of Electra.

Well, it wasn’t quiet at the Fortis-Exshaw Platform near Canmore, Alberta. Harvie brought a fish to two hungry fledglings on the nest just after 1600. I bet his talons hurt as much as Iris and Finnegan!

The moderator (That Kat) on the Charlo Montana chat posted a great video of an osprey diving for a fish. https://www.youtube.com/live/4TD1GYd7WJw?si=rhkO_2YiGwlS1qb3

What a gorgeous place for an Osprey platform at Charlo! Lola on the perch and C16 on the nest.

Dad is delivering a lot of fish to the Olympic Park Sea Eagle nest. Big Sibling seems to always have a huge crop! They both still resemble little snow people. So cute.

The extent of plastic in the ocean is killing the beautiful petrels and albatross. I know it is hard to avoid plastic, but make a pact with yourself that you will try! And reuse plastic in your home whenever you must buy items enclosed in it!

Only Bob joins all the other fledglings worldwide, screaming for fish to be brought to the nest.

The four are hanging around Field Farm, too, and getting some nice big fish.

Crows and fledglings are at Oyster Bay on Long Island.

It looks like our great Patchogue Long Island Mum is still in town. She was on the nest at least once on Thursday.

Just look at the fish on the nest at Osoyoos! My goodness. What I would have given to have had fledglings so full they couldn’t eat anymore when Little was still with us!!!!!! Maybe a movement will start where people deliver fish to nests when the birds are hungry. Just to carry them through. It takes on average 500 fish for a family with three fledglings according to all the studies done by John Williams for Forestry England up at Clywedog.

I kept getting the ball of death when I tried to rewind at Marders in East Hampton Long Island. The fledgling is on the nest being fed. It is in the blue rectangle.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 22nd August 2024
Today brought a lovely surprise – Garry LV0, thought to have left on migration after last being seen on 18th August, turned up at Nest One today. He spent more than fifteen minutes on the nest, preening and looking around, before flying off eastwards. The weather was wet and windy and it’ll be about a week before there’s a chance of sunshine. Woodland Trust have announced their candidates for British Tree of the Year, one of which, the Skipinnish Oak, is a neighbour of Loch Arkaig Pine Forest. More info and link to vote for your favourite here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15806183
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.40.30 (05.15.27); Nest Two 21.37.17 (05.21.30)
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/H_ddzxroEpkN1 Garry LV0 turns up after a 4-day absence! 13.19.20
Bonus action – after voting for your favourite British tree of the year, please sign the petition to save them and other living legends: 

https://campaigns.woodlandtrust.org.uk/page/99702/petition/1

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

News item – grim news, unfortunately:

This fool, #IdiotsWithGuns as I call them, is contrite, but the fine and punishment is not nearly enough – he’s broken up a breeding pair, killed one of the adults, and a chick starved to death in the nest while an egg didn’t hatch as no adult around to incubate. Just disgusting. And to make it work, he effectively got just a $350 fine. And the neighbour who chopped down the nest tree forcing the family to move onto the idiot’s land is also culpable.https://cdapress.com/news/2024/aug/22/hayden-man-fined-for-killing-osprey/

Geemeff sends us the Latest video of Loch Arkaig Osprey chick ‘Jaws’ 1JW, plus photos of the late Paen JH3, both in Parque Natural del Marjal de Pego-Oliva Spain from Fundación Migres and tweets from Woodland Trust Scotland: 

https://youtu.be/cuNHwXdx6jE

Today’s Freebie: Identifying Shorebirds with the BTO.https://youtu.be/V3eiuj37gJE?si=YQQwHawVYPeAZbZM

I am reminded by a message from ‘PB’ about the growing numbers of wildlife in rehabilitation centres. SOAR is only one of thousands of centres.

Our wildlife rehabilitation centres are often so full that they turn away animals. It is so very very sad that these excellent doctors and their clinics do not get an ounce of government support. Everything is done by donation and an army of volunteers. So this brings me to my last point for the day. Help. Do what you can to help the wildlife. You might only be able to put out a life saving bowl of water – do it, please. You have no idea how many lives you could be saving. But you can also do more. Every one of us has more stuff than we can possibly use. The next time you clean out the closet or the garage or the basement, look at what is there. The rehabilitation clinics need stuff. From bleach to tools to food for the animals – garden produce, etc. Good clean towels and sheets, laundry detergent, toys – don’t forget the toys for enrichment. Paper towels…the list is endless including kiddie pools! Look around you. Set you a neighbourhood campaign. Gather up everything you can and if you can’t deliver it, I promise you the wildlife centre will find a devoted volunteer who can. You will have cleared out some space and you will be smiling because this is one way to really help.

And last, Diana, the surviving Eaglet on the Kaljukotkas nest in Estonia, returned to her natal nest so we can see how gorgeous she is!https://youtu.be/YJhsF7ZxAww?si=jnO8GKsNSz77ZTO4

Thank you so much for being with us today. We so hope that you are having a good end to the week! Remember to get outside and listen for the birds and look up – you might just see a hawk sitting on a branch in the most unexpected of places.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, PB’, Sweetbriar Nature Centre, BoPH, Connie Dennis, Friends of Sth Aus, Cornell Bird Lab, Newfoundland Power, Cowlitz PUD, Fortis-Exshaw, That Kat, Charlo Montana, Olympic Sea Eagle Cam, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, Boulder County, Field Farm, PSEG, Osoyoos, Marder’s, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, BTO, Liznm, and SOAR.

Thursday in Bird World

22 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

We hope that you are well. The end of summer (or winter, depending on where you live) is soon coming to an end! Already some children are heading back to school. Here it is the day after Labour Day. That really does mark the end of the summer for many.

It continues to be hot, and the garden birds are spending more and more time in the baths. It looks like another host of House Sparrows has appeared in the garden. I even ‘thought’ I saw a couple of new baby red squirrels the other day, but I am not sure. I feel very sorry for them and all of the eagles and ospreys we have been monitoring who are caught in this extended heat wave. Please put out water for all the animals and change it regularly, and if you can afford it, feed them. If billions of people joined together, the lives of our feathered friends would be much improved.

Wednesday is our local Farmer’s Market. It has grown over the years to have some exceptional vendors as our neighbourhood community grows and grows in population, attracting many young professionals who like the vibe. From the original stalls selling produce, organic meats, and local honey, we now have artisan ice creams, flowers, organic breads, the most amazing dumplings, empanadas, and Japanese baking. The temperature was not so hot making it that much more congenial to mingle with friends and neighbours this afternoon.

Oh, I hope they continue to come to the market. Their handmade dumplings are delicious. And look at the price!

A mother and daughter grow fields of flowers right outside the City for the bouquets. They are lovely. Just the right size.

I wanted to show you all of the goodies, but Hugo Yugo got on top of the table before I could blink. She is always the first to be curious, quickly followed by Missey! For some reason, Hugo Yugo was not interested in dumplings. Could it have been that they were tofu and cabbage? I could easily be completely Vegan if it were not for dairy. I am trying, but ice cream and cream for my coffee get me every time.

Yes, there she is! Missey first tried the tofu cabbage dumpling and loved it. Then she moved on to the Ube Melon roll! Both got her thumbs up!

Calico and Hope are curious and sweet, but they prefer watching the animals in the garden instead of human-related ‘things’.

Before we went to the market, we stopped in at the duck pond. What a surprise. The Canada Geese were feeding on the Cricket grounds and, for the most part, the ducks had the pond all to themselves. OK. There were about twenty geese at the pond compared to hundreds feeding on the pitch. Most ducks were the sweetest little Wood Ducks – tiny compared to the Mallards. Some of the images are pretty dark despite lightening them…apologies.

I am ready for some rain. For an afternoon, curling up in a chair and reading a book, the stack on the bedside table grows, and by the time I get myself tucked in, I am too exhausted to read. I am not complaining! How many of us wish there were at least 36 hours in a day?

And to my great joy, ‘The Boyfriend’ showed up during the daylight hours. I catch him on the video cameras coming in the middle of the night, but had not seen him during the day. He looks to be in good form.

You might have noticed that we are not hearing from Heidi regularly. She is having a much-deserved break after a season of great sadness. The osplets on all the nests she has been monitoring have fledged (or died). Please give her a big round of applause so she can hear it! Thanks, Heidi, for your outstanding contributions and for taking care of all that data for me on those nests. You will never know how much I appreciate it. Thank you is hardly adequate.

I received a letter today from a family on the Potomac River that put up an osprey platform. They attracted a family that fledged two chicks. They wrote to me to enquire about siblicide occurring after fledge. What happened was that the older sibling prevented the younger one from getting any fish, and the younger one died on their lawn. Years ago, when we thought of siblicide and indeed, until a couple of years ago, the older sibling (usually) killed the younger one on the nest before the age of 21 days. With the heat domes and the lack of fish during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, we are seeing more and more competition between the fledglings of a nest and various intruders for local resources such as food.

Siblicide happened at Port Lincoln several years ago, pre-fledged at 65 days. The chick was pushed off the nest into the water and died. So there is a range. As the planet heats up and more fish dive deep or are lost to commercial fishing trawlers (unless that dire practice can be stopped), we will likely see many more deaths on the nests than we have seen this year. I regret painting a gloomy picture, but I would rather be entirely wrong than write as if we live in Disneyland where everything ends beautifully. Oh, how I wish it were so.

The Ospreys are leaving. The Storks are migrating. Shorebirds are flying south from the Arctic to their homes in South America. The move is on. Bald eagles return to check out their nests’ condition and lay claim to them again. The Eastern Ospreys are preparing to lay eggs like the falcons in Australia. We already have baby sea eaglets. For the next few months, the action will be coming to us from Australia, and then the eagles in the US will begin to lay their eggs.

We will start with a good news story about wind turbines sent to us from Geemeff. I was starting to think there was nothing good about the darn things. One of the things I hate about wind turbines is the refusal of so many factories to paint one blade black. What a simple solution someone found Let’s see what is happening here to protect the sea eagles in The Netherlands.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/08/zeeland-wind-farm-activates-sea-eagle-protection-system

It is fantastic to see the fledglings return to the nest months after their first flight. Today, Alma visited the San Jose City Hall scrape to the delight of all. SK Hideaways caught it.

Xavier arrives with prey. Diamond prefers bonding to eating! https://youtu.be/STISiz5bv34?

This is nothing short of animal cruelty. Do people think birds have no feelings? Help spread the word about the use of birds and include balloons when you ask friends to protect wildlife. Thank you.

The dark eye lines on Hope and Beaumont’s osplets are wide and magnificent. Dark beauties they are! There is a rumour that the second chick fledged on Wednesday the 21st. I did not see it and there is nothing on the FB group. Will confirm later.

Dad arrives to much enthusiasm at the Royal Albatross colony to feed the Royal Cam chick.https://youtu.be/3as5kXIFb18?

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Wednesday 21st August 2024

Nest One had a few little songbird visitors today despite the wet and windy weather, but otherwise no activity. Garry LV0 was last seen briefly on Sunday 18th and seems to have left the area, so with increasing reports of final sightings from UK Osprey projects, tonight’s bonus is the excellent webinar on Osprey migration by Dr Tim Mackrill.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.35.33 (05.14.32); Nest Two 21.27.36 (05.19.35)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/08N3dt1mD6k N1 A Warbler & Coal Tits visit 09.34.52

Bonus info – Osprey migration webinar with Tim Mackrill: 

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Iris brings fish to the nest. Sometimes there is a fledgling there to nab it! The chicks are looking good and no doubt being fed at the nest and elsewhere as Iris, we hope, is packing in the calories, too, for her long flight.

Beautiful fish arriving on the nest for C16 at the Charlo Montana nest.

Junebug on the perch at Dunrovin waiting for fish.

River has been on and off the nest all day at Sandpoint getting fish! She had a big morning brekkie to help start the day.

One lucky chick at Blackbush has a fish dinner.

I did not see anyone at home at Cowlitz. Maybe I missed our fledgling.

At Saaksilvie #1, ringed and unringed are getting some fish dinners.

Clean up crew at the Seilli nest in Finland.

I saw no activity at nest #4 on Wednesday in Finland.

Both fledglings on the nest in Latvia having some nice fish with Mum.

‘A’ reminds us: “We are on egg watch at Orange. As I mentioned, Diamond laid her first egg on 26 August last season, so we are nearing that time. There is lots of bonding and mating taking place. 

22 Aug BONDING 05:50:59, 10.30.59, 14:47:34, 17:30:42 PREY 07.02.32 X takes; 07.04.12 X stashes; 09:15:07 D takes; 13.23.42 D takes

TOWER MATING 07.05.16 LR 17s, 07.06.27 LR 18s, 07.10.49 LR 15s, 07.56.23 LHC 15s, 09:46:48 MW 12s, 13.53.31 MW 10s, 13.54.48 MW 6s

Diamond and Xavier are both looking healthy, unlike the starling Xavier stashed in the front corner of the scrape this morning – Diamond has treated it with the disdain it deserves but it will be recycled in the morning. Nothing is wasted here. There is discussion on the site about the worth of maggots in starlings. Of course we know from bald eagle nests that there’s good protein in maggots. Perfectly edible. “

Always good to see Jackie and Shadow. As a couple they spell, HOPE.https://youtu.be/UCkug0-kyW0?si=XbT6zm2FPZkbCkH8

A big shout out to Mary Cheadle who organises all of the fundraisers for the Lock Arkaig FB group. Thousands of pounds go to The Woodland Trust each year from viewers and fans. Thanks, Mary, for all you do!

There is one more fundraiser. For a donation of 3 GBP or more, you have a chance to win some expensive books on Ospreys, totes, etc. Check out the Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys FB if interested. The deadline is 30 August. It is the last fundraiser of the year.

Blue 1RO was 100 days old on Wednesday. Does anyone else think s/he looks exactly like their daddy Blue 33?

It was rainy and looked like a gale was blowing at the Glaslyn nest. The fledglings still think that Aran can pull off a miracle fishing for them! Two came in early in the day but no late fish to keep those crops full during the night.

It was windy with some rain at Dyfi but the wind did not appear to be blowing as strong as it was at Glaslyn. (Maybe just me…)

It was blowing hard at Llyn Brenig – the two fledglings were holding on tight to their nest!

Juveniles at Poole Harbour screaming their heads off for fish at Poole Harbour.

Fledgling still at Mlade Buky. Nice.

New Zealand is rushing to vaccinate its native birds ahead of what they believe will be a huge outbreak of H5N1.

New Zealand rushes vaccination of endangered birds before deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu arrives | NDownload

Studying Petrels and Albatross…what have they found out over the last decades of research?

Decades of Data, Diverse Discoveries | Friends of Midway AtollDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. It is always a pleasure!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, letters, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff’, dutchnews.nl, SK Hideaways, Birds in Helping Hands, Newfoundland Power, Cowlitz PUD, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, Sandpoint Ospreys, Blackbush at Old Tracerie, Saaksilvie, LDF, Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, LRWT, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, BoPH, Mlade Buky Stork Cam, The Guardian, and Friends of Midway Atoll.

Wednesday in Bird World

21 August 2024

Good Morning,

It is actually Tuesday afternoon, late afternoon, that I am beginning to write the post for tomorrow. The sounds of the Blue Jays squawking at something are overlaid with the sound of a jet aeroplane flying overhead. It was a hot day today. 29 C. Sweltering at the nature centre. A few songbirds were out getting seed at the feeders, and some ducks were sitting under one eating dropped seed, but not much more. Only a few humans were venturing out at 1400 these days! We are all idiots likely to get heat stroke! Thank goodness for the small shade gardens scattered about with benches. These have been growing to accommodate the increasing summer heat and the need for people to stop and take a breath.

The ducks are having a wonderful time searching for seed under one of the feeders near the hide. They knew I was there and cared little. Humans are no threat to the wildlife in the centre. Thank goodness there is a safe place for them.

There is a group of volunteers that care for the garden areas. They have recently finished a couple of small ponds with koi and turtles. The sound of the water is so relaxing.

A second pond.

Looks like a grebe to me!

An American Goldfinch and a Black-capped Chickadee.

There is very little news in Bird World. The revelation that Laddie died a natural death while very sad, is a tremendous relief to everyone. The thought of an individual or individuals purposefully killing this beloved osprey at Loch of the Lowes was simply unthinkable.

A few sites continue to post some of the highlights from the season. Just look at the snow at Clywedog!

There are rumours that F23, the mate of M15 at Southwest Florida, has been seen at the nest on Tuesday.

He is one of my favourite dads in the UK, and his mate Blue 35 ranks right up there, too. She is the one who creatively fed Tiny Little several years ago – the tiniest third hatch I had seen in years compared to the big siblings already in reptile plumage. Tiny Little became the dominant bird in the nest and was called Blue 464. White YW stayed late and fed her. I have seen no sightings, but I hope she has survived.

Our friend Geemeff that supplies the summaries for Loch Arkaig loves polar bears. I hope to travel up to the Arctic with them to see these beautiful creatures but, in Manitoba, you are having to travel greater distances. The bears that come into the town because they are starving to death get little respect. It is the three strikes law. After three visits, they are shot. Of course, the ice and the seals they rely on are few these days. It isn’t about birds but I am including this article because Geemeff loves those beautiful bears so much.

“The fatal encounter and sightings in unusual locations foreshadow what experts say is a looming clash between polar bears and northern communities as climate change upends the habitat and food sources of the apex predator.” “Across the region, sea ice will play a critical role in polar bears’ future prospects, including where they are spotted and how well-fed they are. Some populations faced near-record-low ice cover this summer, while other bears like the western Hudson Bay population had “excellent” ice coverage. But even extensive ice cover isn’t enough: across swaths of the bay, the ice was thick but lacked ridges and snow cover, meaning it was a poor breeding site for ringed seals, a top polar bear prey. Shifts in seal populations will put immense pressure on bears to find enough food.”

They are starving. I wonder what humans do when they are starving and their children are starving?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/20/polar-bears-climate-change-human-encounters?CMP=share_btn_url

Royal Albatross Chick is spreading those big wings and it is only the 20th of August!

‘A’ remarks: “The Cornell footage of our TF testing his wings is impressive. What a wingspan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzeozQW_SM&list=TLPQMjEwODIwMjQgpA2JbubKqA&index=5 Isn’t that magnificent? I am unsure whether that is TF or TFT. If it is TF, he has far more fluff left on him than I thought from last week’s shots, when there appeared to be very little left on his wings and back. And he should have lost more since those pictures, so this chick appears to have quite a lot to still get rid of. “

‘MB” sent us a great article about the growing White Stork colony at Knepp Farm. It is on my bucket list!

Young Storks Begin New Life at Knepp – KneppDownload

There is still activity at the Hellgate Canyon nest of Iris and Finnegan.

Geemeff sends her daily report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Tuesday 20th August 2024

Nothing to say, not one visitor big or small on the nests today. Affric and Prince are perhaps still around looking after their fledgling on the Bunarkaig nest as the male and chick were seen there as recently as Sunday 18th, but Bird Guides reports more and more sightings of Ospreys on the move and we wish all of them a safe migration journey and hope to see the adults back next year. The wet and windy weather certainly makes migrating now the best option, for Scottish Ospreys anyway.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.41.41 (05.08.00); Nest Two 21.36.44 (05.13.09)

Today’s videos: None!!

Bonus Highlands walk report including Loch Arkaig:

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=125825

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

The latest from Richmond and Rosie’s nest on top of the light stand in San Francisco:

‘H’ caught up with Fenwick Island:

Remember. Those Omega ships in the Bay are causing the ospreys to starve especially in the extreme heat periods. If you live in the US and feel strongly about this issue, please write your Senator!

There is growing concern that the area that Omega has been fishing has caused this – impacting jobs and tourism.

One of the things that keen observers of Canadian geese know is how loyal the mates are to one another. In one of the books at the farm animal sanctuary, there was a story of a couple. The female had a broken wing and could not fly. The male would walk, fly a short distance, and wait for his mate to catch up. The story of the swans in the post below reminded me of this kindness. How many of you remember the story of Arnold and Amelia? Two Canada Geese living at a pond on the grounds of a wildlife rehab centre in the NE US? Arnold had his foot attacked by a snapping turtle and required care. Amelia waited on the porch of the clinic, looking in. Eventually, they were allowed to eat together and then be together as Arnold improved. It was beautiful – sheer devotion.

Beaumont and Hope’s second hatch has been doing a lot of hovering. It will be flying with the rest of the family soon.

Four at home at Dyfi – still not seeing Senni.

Remembering SW Florida’s beautiful season.

Nine fish were delivered to the Muonion nest in Finland on the 20th of August! NINE. Everyone was seen.

Altyn and Nova’s fledglings at the Imperial Eagle nest in RU.

For those of you that remember the agonising death of Golden Eagle Spilve’s chick, Klints, I am happy to say that Spilvie and her new mate are at the nest in Latvia doing some restorations.

Thunder and Akecheta at the West End nest in the Channel Islands on Tuesday. Cholyn, Thunder’s Mum and mate to Chase, was seen at the Two Harbours nest a few days ago.

The USK Valley in Wales has a new streaming cam for ospreys! Congratulations.

View the birds — Usk Valley OspreysDownload

We have something a wee different from a reader. I want to add that every living creature is impacted when humans use poisons.

‘MP’ writes: “I thought I’d send a little something different. Like the rodenticide to Raptors, insecticides have done the same to the hog-nosed skunk. Skunks don’t ask for anything other than to just be left alone. Insecticides have done in many insects which is what the hog-nosed skunk feeds on and the insecticide that killed the insects too kills the skunk who eats the insect. This species of skunk is hard to find now in Texas where it was plentiful once. 

image.png

Hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus mesoleucus) are about the same size as striped skunks but have some differences in appearance. They have a long, hairless nose pad and come equipped with long claws and powerful front legs that are good for digging. They typically have a single broad, white stripe that starts at the head and extends down the back to the end of the tail. Their diet consists mostly of insects. Hog-nosed skunks are found in the western parts of the state. A subspecies from the Big Thicket of East Texas is thought to be extinct. Alternate name: rooter skunk. Texas Parks and Wildlife.”

‘A’ writes about the little sea eaglets: “Early breakfast at WBSE was lovely. Both chicks ate side by side, with mum offering them both bites and no bonking was observed. SE34 is noticeably smaller than SE33 but not fearful to eat today at all. He leaned forwards and even shuffled forwards a couple of steps at one stage to get closer to mum’s beak. SE33 did do better from the feeding but this was due to Lady favouring the older eaglet. 

Certainly, both had enough food at that meal, which ended when Dad turned up and shortly before 06:32 began that godawful cackling that the ranger’s report calls ‘duets’. There is nothing musical about them – they are a dreadful din, slightly reminiscent of a gaggle of backyard geese greeting a rain shower. Duet? I don’t think so. Anyway, participation in said duet distracted Lady from the job of feeding the eaglets. By 06:33 when it ended, the chicks had both dozed back off. 

Around 06:35 the littles again wake up and the feeding resumes. But Lady now has to stretch too far to reach SE34 so she feeds SE33. SE34 is looking interested, head up, and even tries to get a little closer to mum, who ignores him. Finally, at 06:37:41 Lady reaches the extra distance to SE34 and gives him a bite. And a second. She then resumes the easier option of feeding SE33. When SE33 refuses a bite at )6:38:10, Lady offers it to SE34, who takes it gratefully. Lady is now down to leftover scraps and is working hard to get edible pieces for the littles. 

She feeds the second half of a bite to SE34, but otherwise feeds SE33. SE34 gets a bite at 06:38:40. Again, Lady resumes feeding SE33. By 06:39:30, SE33 has decided it is still hungry and stands up to better reach the food. SE34 shuffles forward as well, but SE33 is now even closer to Lady and is now eagerly eating, so SE34 is not offered any food until 06:40:24, when Lady makes a real effort to reach SE34 with a bite. SE33 again shuffles forward. SE34 does the same but SE33 is much closer to mum, who resumes feeding SE33. 

By 06:41:20, SE34 is obviously trying to eat and each time SE33 gets a bite, SE34 watches and tries to get closer to mum. Lady eventually stretches to give him a bite just before 06:42. She then gives him a second bite, before cleaning his face and feeding what she removed to SE33. SE33 again sits up eagerly, moving forward, so gets offered the food. At 06:42:46, SE34 sits up tall, hoping mum will notice him, and she does. He gets a bite. SE33 considers, then rejects the idea of turning away from the table. 

Around 06:43 Lady is patiently feeding a bite to SE34 when SE33 leans in and steals the last piece from literally in front of SE34’s beak. Lady is only feeding SE33. The two are sitting up side by side looking cute as fluffy little buttons. At 06:45:28 Lady reaches to give SE34 a bite but then resumes feeding SE33. At 06:46 Lady makes a real effort to feed a bite to SE34. There has been no intimidation or bonking and no sign that SE34 is nervous or reluctant to eat. Both eaglets behave perfectly throughout the meal. 

Lady then takes the remaining carcass (bones mainly) off the nest, and the littles were then left alone for a long time. SE34 is determined to use SE33 as a pillow, then they switch positions, and eventually the two settle down into a cuddle puddle. There is obviously still some close parental supervision, as evidenced by a periodic cackle. The littles are sleeping. 

At 08:42 a parent visits the nest and checks the babies, scattering some dry leaves over them like a blanket. SE33 wakes up and what I believe to be Lady does some allopreening of her older hatch. SE33 sits up and turns around, revealing its large crop. Around 08:46 Lady heads up the perch branch. She flies off just before 09:23. The little pile of white fluff is already asleep again. 

These two seem to be doing okay, but SE33 is certainly dominating most of the feedings, largely because of Lady. I am not sure whether this is happening at all the feedings, and certainly SE34 did not appear intimidated when offered food at this feeding. Whenever Lady bothered to reach far enough, SE34 readily accepted the mouthful. There was no hesitation. He did look at his sibling a few times, but never in the eye. Nest etiquette was observed and as a result, there was no aggression and both were very civilised. This is what we want to see. “

‘H’ posts about the Fortis Exshaw nest – doing good!

Please lobby to get the lights turned out in your town or City. It is migration season. Billions die from collisions each year because the lights in our city’s tallest buildings are full on.

Global Bird RescueDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Hugo Yugo wants you to have the most marvellous day ever!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, MB, MP, PB’, George Green and The Clywedog Osprey Group, @Foulshaw Ospreys, The Guardian, Knepp Farm, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SF Bay Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary, Newfoundland Power, The Real Saunders Photography, Saaksilvie, Liznm, IWS/Explore, USK Valley Ospreys, Wesley A. Brasheat, Global Bird Rescue, and Olympic Park Eagles.

Tuesday in Bird World

20 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

First up, if you would like the recipe for the Nova Scotia Brown Bread with oatmeal and molasses, send me an email (maryannsteggles@icloud.com), and I will happily send you the recipe that I used. It was delicious, especially after 24 hours! I did not use a bread machine (a few of you asked). Having spent a few decades as a potter, the kneading of bread is enjoyable. The bread slices nicely after it has a chance to sit for several hours (perhaps 6) and even better the next day. It was good with a curried chickpea filling as a sandwich today.

Oh, I thought the baby Cowbird had left the garden…Well, I should say that the House Sparrows raised three cowbirds in their nests in the lilacs and nearby trees. But, there, sitting on a lilac branch, big and bold, was a beautiful little Cowbird. It is making my day. I don’t like what they do to the other little birds – laying their eggs in their nests and having tiny birds feed those big hatchlings, but I like to know that all of them are safe. Despite knowing that the local hawk has to eat, I still have a big ache when I hear he had a Blue Jay for lunch or a little woodpecker.

It remains hot for Winnipeg – not in the 30s anymore, but a hot 27 C. The bird baths are busy and have to be filled constantly.

The peppers are ripening every day, and so are the tomatoes. I wish you were here so I could give you armfuls of herbs! Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope are playing Hungarian Sweet Pepper hockey tonight!

Mr Crow has left me some feathers from his moult. The squirrels are busy eating. In about a month, they will begin hoarding peanuts. Right now, they are eating them at their leisure. My neighbour finished my planter, and I put in three big gobs of grass. It is a little late. We will see if their roots take before winter. If this heat keeps up, we might not have winter until the new year. That said, a goose wedge (or skein) flew overhead around 1800, heading to the river. They will begin flying into the pond at the nature centre in a few weeks from the north (or that has been the historical practice). On the ground, they are called a gaggle.

It could be a better image – heavily cropped and taken with an iPhone through the conservatory windows – of either a Great Crested Flycatcher or an Eastern Kingbird – sitting on the lilac branches this morning. It is so tricky seeing the birds when the foliage is dense.

I wonder what else is lurking in those branches. When I set Merlin to listen, everyone becomes quiet. It is too funny!

I had hoped that we would not see any more osprey deaths this season, but such is not the case. The middle chick at the Osprey Environment Centre in Australia has died. The weather turned cold, rainy, and quite nasty and it was difficult for George to fish. The stronger sibling, the first hatch, did survive. Parents are George and Hope.

The fish deliveries and the anxiousness of Sum-eh and Antali are ramping up the action at Hellgate Canyon.

Just look at Antali’s crop!

There is good news about Yellow USU. Nothing wrong with the wing. It appears that the issue had to do with a bit of a lack of fish. USU is doing well in care and eating buckets of Bream. What a relief for this sole survivor of its nest in Finland.

There is a lot of fish coming to the nest of Eura and Eve (nest # 1). The fledglings have huge crops – there are three of them, two females and a male, but I cannot see the yellow Darvic rings in the images below.

Adult cleaning out the nest bowl at nest #4. He was sure working on that nest bowl – you would have thought there was another male’s eggs in there he wanted to get rid of but, it is just preparations for next year.

Two on the nest at Pitkin County fish calling!

Windy and one on the nest at Llyn Brenig. Three fledglings apparently at Clywedog, but I missed them.

All of the youngsters are still at Glaslyn.

Those fish that are coming in are a nice size to fatten these babies up for their long flight.

Kiddos of Idris and Telyn still wanting fish at Dyfi.

Xavier and Diamond are working on eggs for the 2024 season!

Do the Osprey (and other fish and mammals) a favour if you live in the US. Find your Senator on the list and write to them to push an end to the industrial fishing of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and at its mouth – we need more than a 3 mile ban.

Gabby is expected back at the nest in the NE of Florida within the next three weeks! It doesn’t stop many from checking in daily. When will Beau return? Will this be ‘their’ year?

Blue 5F Seren is still home at Llyn Clywedog and those fledglings are getting some whoppers for their dinners.

Mr North and Mrs DNF are getting a new nest after theirs collapsed during torrential weather this season.

Another Montana fledgling with a crop that is about to pop!

Juveniles eating fish at Allin’s Cove East on Long Island.

At Rutland, Maya, Blue 33, and 1R0 were all on the nest Monday morning. I caught 1R0 screaming for fish and Blue 33 obliged with a whopper for their Only Bob.

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Monday 19th August 2024

No activity on the nests today bar a fleeting visit by a little Robin. Has Garry LV0 headed south? He only made a brief appearance yesterday, and with the wet and windy weather which is set to continue for days, he may have decided to seek out warmer climes. As always, nothing is certain so it’s wait and watch to see if he turns up again. If you’ve enjoyed watching the Osprey cams this season, the bonus section has the different ways you can support Woodland Trust.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.48.46 (05.20.05); Nest Two 21.37.58 (05.21.11)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/2UwIdLfYcRc N1 A Robin is today’s only visitor to the nests 05.32.36

Bonus action – if you’ve enjoyed the Osprey cams, here are some ways to support Woodland Trust:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act

Geemeff sent us some more very interesting news items. I am including all the links as I am certain there are several that will be of interest to you if not all!

https://www.fws.gov/event/native-american-aviaries-partnership-between-coeur-dalene-tribe-and-birds-prey-northwest

Charles County Sheriff’s Office: Officer Ptack’s Act of Kindness Saves Distressed Osprey
You’ll never believe what this Grand Lake osprey chick is doing in its nest
Wolf reintroduction has made it a lot harder to be a Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/24521011.letter-turbines-will-ruin-powys-uplands-forever

The day old White-tail Eaglet is doing well according to PLO.

Jolene and Boone are visiting their nest in Johnson City, Tennessee. More and more eagles will be returning in the next month to get reacquainted and freshen up their nests.

Today’s special! A free copy of August Birdwatch Magazine!

a free digital copy of August Birdwatch Magazine:

https://pocketmags.com/free/265737

Sea Eaglets playing nice.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, messages, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, PB’, Osprey House Environment Centre, Cornell Bird Lab, Pam Breci, Pyhtaan lintuhoitola, Saaksilvie, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, Llyn Brenig Osprey Cam, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Cilla Kinross, SK Hideaways, Save our Menhaden, NEFL-AEF, Llyn Clywedog Osprey Cam, Raptor Resource Project, Allin’s Cove East Osprey Cam, LRWT, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, fws.gov, Sky Hi News, Country Times, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sara A,

Monday in Bird World

19 August 2024

Hello Everyone,

The plane left late, sat on the tarmac in Winnipeg on arrival, and it seemed it took forever to get home. Of course, I was anxious – that old saying that it is a good thing to be away and even better to be home. ‘The Girls’ are so excited. All four of them are running around playing but staying right close to us. The birds were well looked after, and my neighbour is building a large planter out of stones so wild grasses can be planted. He even weeded the area around the weeping Caragana. I am so grateful. The rest is so overgrown and needs some good attention. Ten years ago it was easy – the heat just seems to take the ‘steam’ out of everyone. Everything is growing like I recall the vegetation did in Grenada. I need some sheep and goats out there!!!!!!

It was a magnificent holiday – one of the best ever, and we have had many holidays- graduate studies ensured that. I think it was because we chose not to do too much and not run around the province of Nova Scotia trying to check out tourist sites and osprey platforms. We did that one day and went ‘no’ after. The small villages and the surprise birding areas fuelled our joy. Sitting on the sidewalk sipping coffee and eating the most delicious lemon cake in Canning was just the right speed. Tonight, we are sipping some of the nicest coffee from beans roasted in Berwick and eating chocolate processed in Antigonish while the girls cuddle. It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to have Hugo Yugo wake me up during the night, nuzzling her head under my chin. Then, I looked down and saw Calico at the foot of the bed. Everything is alright in the world. The squirrels are out eating this morning – it seems I left them enough food for two weeks, not six days! When I think of Jen and her sanctuary, it is farm animals. In our garden, it is a sanctuary for those who find themselves living in an urban area that used to be wild. It makes me feel good. It also made me feel guilty as I dreamed of moving back to the hills of Nova Scotia. I think the key is to travel there often! Settling in a beautiful small village without a doctor, a grocery store, or a bank might be challenging. Today, we will revisit Nova Scotia by making a lovely brown bread with oatmeal and molasses. It is traditional – most eat it with scrumptious baked beans, just like in the States of New England. So, despite the heat, the oven will be on.

Well, the bread tasted much better than it looked. First effort! The chowder was top-notch if I say so myself. It’s Missing Nova Scotia.

The cat sitter had one thing to say, and you won’t be surprised: “Hugo-Yugo is such a little helion. LOL. She chased all the others throughout the house one morning.” The tiniest ginger cat has been the boss since she arrived. There is no question. She is not vicious, just persistent.

Calico, who loves to eat, will quickly move out of the way when she sees her coming towards her dish! They do get along. No fighting…just everyone needs to remember the hierarchy – the youngest is the boss. Antali would like that.

I ordered two books that I could skim at the sanctuary apartment. One of those is The Pig Who Sang to the Moon. Anecdotes from this volume will, no doubt, fuel some of the stories in my post in the future.

It is hard to fully articulate just how tired I am. Hopefully this posting will make some sense and not seem too scattered.

It is time for annual summaries and Dr Green has supplied us with two for Iris and Finnegan. I will continue to add these as I find them as it is so nice to revisit our nests before everyone departs.

Antali finds a fish hidden in the nest! And then Antali gets another. Well done. Don’t worry. Sum-eh has had fish.

Dr Green prepared this timeline for Iris and her nest happenings this season. Finnegan did fantastic. 8-9 fish a day, and the one day he and Iris brought in 10. Incredible. This was the biggest miracle in the eyes of all watchers who sent me their ‘miracle’ lists.

‘PB’ caught Antali waiting at the nest at Hellgate Canyon wanting a fish.

The ospreys around the Clarke Fork River are helping the scientists. Here is a podcast by Dr Green.

“Osprey chicks are helping scientists track pollution in the Clark Fork River

https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-08-15/osprey-chicks-are-helping-scientists-track-pollution-in-the-clark-fork-river

Iris the Osprey is a world-famous bird who’s nested along Missoula’s Clark Fork River for most of her long life. She’s also a longtime participant in research tracking mining pollution in the river. After more than a decade, the latest data on the health of the river is expected soon.”

Iris has certainly caught and eaten her share of fish in the local river. Today, she had another whopper on the Owl Pole! And after she has a good feed, Sum-eh and Antali will be wanting some.

Dad is busy filling up the little sea eaglets!

‘A’ comments on the sea eaglets breakfast:

“The littles had someone else’s chick for breakfast (probably a baby water bird with white feathers, which Lady took the prey away to pluck. Dad arrived early and was sent off on a breakfast mission at 06:48, returning just five minutes later with the bird. Once the breakfast was defeathered, Mum decided the littles were still sleepy and settled down to brood them a little longer. She got up and began feeding them breakfast soon after 07:15. SE33 is still sleeping, so she starts by feeding SE34, who is in front of SE33. After a few bites, SE34 wakes up, so Lady gives it some bites. The pair are both eating nicely, side by side, with each being given bites. SE34 is not afraid to accept the food it is offered and SE33 does not interfere. 

By 07:20 Lady is feeding SE33 exclusively. When she offers SE34 a bite at 07:22:25, it is refused. She returns to feeding SE33. Again, about a minute later, SE34 refuses a bite to eat, even though it is sitting up and indicating it would like some breakfast. At 07:23:40 Lady again tries to get SE34 to take food and it refuses. This is a worrying development. Lady again returns to feeding SE33. 

At 07:24:10 Lady again offers a bite to SE34 who is slow to accept it, but Lady persists and eventually SE34 takes the bite, without any response from SE33. From this point, Lady offers the eaglets alternate bites, with both littles accepting the food they are offered. They are like the best of mates, side by side at the table. Plenty of food and mum keeping a close eye on the kids and ensuring both get enough to eat. Lovely; 

Well that was a nice start to the day at WBSE. Dad is really doing a great job of keeping food on the nest for the family. That fish he brought in, was it yesterday?, was the largest I think I have ever seen brought in to this nest. And of course Lady is her usual self when it comes to doling out the food evenly and ensuring that the kids play nicely. “

“It was time that I spent a day with the littles at WBSE and ensured that everything was progressing well and that both parents were doing their respective jobs, while both littles were eating well and behaving themselves nicely. So today, I watched the feedings in some detail. I have already talked about the breakfast feeding. 

There was bonking at the lunchtime feeding. Dad brought in a nice fish, and Lady began feeding SE33, with SE34 asleep in front of it. After a while, SE34 woke up and lifted its head. Lady offered it a bite, which it accepted without any objections from SE33. Lady then returned to feeding SE33. At 12:38 Lady eats a big mouthful of fish herself – it was easier than preparing it for one of the littles. This seemed to frustrate SE33, causing it to wait too long between bites, and it beaked SE34 in the back of the head. SE34 ducks and tucks. It is slow to accept bites now, and Lady is slow to offer them. Lady continues to feed SE33, however, leaning over SE34 to do so. SE34 just sits, head up and waiting but not competing for food. It is a little intimidated when SE33 tries to remove a bone from its beak, thinking perhaps it is being bonked, By 12::41, SE34 is leaning towards the fish, only inches from his beak. Mum continues feeding SE34. By 12:41, SE33 is full, refusing a bite that Lady offers three times. When SE33 turns its head away, Lady offers the bite to SE34, who accepts it without hesitation. She gives the next bite to SE33, who takes it. She then resumes feeding SE33. When SE33 refuses the third bite, she offers it to SE34, who is slow to take it so she again offers it to SE33. This time, it is accepted. SE34 lifts its head and makes it clear it is wanting food but Lady offers the fish to SE33. Whenever Lady tries to clean fish off SE33’s face, it cringes away from her as if scared. Neither eaglet is keen on having its face cleaned by mum! 

!2:42 and SE34 has its head down as Lady feeds SE33. Just before 12:43, SE34 lifts its head again but Lady continues reaching past it to feed SE33. When she leans close to SE34 to pick up a dropped piece of fish, it immediately pulls as far away from her as it can. This is such strange behaviour, as mum has never hurt either of the littles, intentionally or otherwise, so I have no idea why her movement close to the eaglets causes them to behave as if intimidated. 12:43:20 and SE34’s head is up again and it is waiting hopefully for fish. Lady continues to feed SE33, who is sitting up behind SE34. At 12:45:38 Lady finally offers a bite to SE34, who takes it immediately. She offers another bite to SE34, who takes that one too. There is no reaction from SE33. From this point, Lady offers bites to both eaglets, sometimes giving SE33 two bites in a row but usually alternating between them. SE34 is initially a little cautious but is soon confidently eating with its sibling. Nice. 

By 12:52, SE33 is full and Lady appears distracted. SE34 could certainly eat more but Lady decides the feeding is over. ABut Sgain, I think SE33 did better at this feeding than SE34, and this appears to be the case at virtually all the feedings, unless Lady takes the opportunity to give SE34 a private feeding while SE33 is sleeping. This situation provides SE34 with its best opportunities to eat without concern or trepidation. There is still half a fish left on the nest (though this fish is a different species from the giant one Dad brought in yesterday and is a medium-sized, plate-shaped specimen. 

At 13:46:46 dad removes the half-fish from the nest and takes it up onto a branch to eat. At `3:53:30 he returns what remains and Lady gets up from brooding the eaglets to feed the remains to the littles. SE33 is too full for more food! It gets stepped on as mum leaves the nest, waking it up. SE34 snoozes on. But SE33 finds room for some more fish and SE34 wakes up and is also happy to eat more. Lady feeds both. By 14:04, SE34 is being offered every bite, with SE33 finding itself too full to accept bites. SE33 is behind SE34 and leaning on its sibling, leaving SE34 a little cautious, though it is not stopping the little from eating. It is finally getting its fair share of this fish! SE33 momentarily finds some more room in its crop and rejoins the feeding but by 14:06 it is again full. The bites Lady is giving SE34 in this feeding are large, but the eaglet is managing them with ease. 

Lady keeps coaxing SE33 into eating yet another bite, and SE34 is still eating with gusto. Lady is getting careless about the size of the bites she is offering, many of which are so large, she is eating them herself after the eaglets reject them. 14:09 and both chicks are accepting bites. By 14:10 Lady is feeding only SE34, who is really stretching to take the bites from mum. The winds are so gusty, Lady loses her balance on the nest and has to use her wings to steady herself. 14:11 and Lady has switched to feeding SE33. Then SE34 gets a few bites in a row. Lady is doing her best to feed both eaglets, moving the fish closer to SE34 and continuing to offer bites to both chicks. 14:12 and she is again concentrating on SE34. These chicks have impressive appetites and are gradually demolishing this fish, which is larger in pieces than it first appeared when a whole fish. 14:13 and both chicks are sitting side by side at the table, eating nicely together as they are fed alternate bites. What a cute picture they make when they’re not beaking each other in the head. Just too sweet for words. 

Both chicks ate a good breakfast of bird and a good lunch of fish. They both did small but healthy PSs while I was watching those two feedings. There was no significant aggression and nothing that intimidated SE34 from eating in any meaningful way. There were moments when it was cautious because its sibling was behind and leaning on it, but nothing that prevented it from eating a decent amount of food at breakfast and at lunch. It had a full crop after each feeding. 

I am hopeful for this nest, despite the immediate bonk-fest that these two started almost as soon as SE34 hatched. They are two very feisty eaglets and it would not surprise me if we had a female first hatch. I am unsure about the second, but it could be a little brother, based on its size and behaviour. It does appear to be the dominant hatchling, and SE34 is obeying nest order etiquette by being careful not to trigger SE33 with, say,  direct eye contact. SE33 occasionally enforces its dominance but this is rare and SE34, beyond observing the courtesies, is not being intimidated by its sibling or prevented from eating. I am keeping an eye on the obvious size gap that has opened up between them since SE34 hatched, at which stage they seemed remarkably similar in size. I cannot be certain whether the size gap that now exists is the result of gender or of SE33 getting a larger proportion of the food. I suspect the former. “

Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Saturday 17th August 2024
The promised dry spells did appear on and off today – a bit like Affric 152 and Garry LV0, who spent hours on the nest, coming and going at different times over a three hour period. Garry showed off his nest-building skills, bringing moss and sticks, but no fish, to Affric’s displeasure. She rebuffed his advances and if he has any hope of getting her to abandon Prince and pair with him, he’s going to have to do better. Fish is key! No activity of any sort on Nest Two, and rain forecast for tonight, tomorrow and the whole of next week.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.48.22 (05.05.22); Nest Two 21.39.17 (05.09.41)
Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/K86m0Q234Sc N1 Something scares Garry and Affric off the nest 12.12.38https://youtu.be/_qwTc6b2sdY N1 Affric wants to see Garry’s fishing skills, not nest-building ones 12.24.16

Bonus video of beautiful Loch Arkaig scenery – Eas Chia-Aig waterfall near Spean Bridge:https://youtu.be/N7G3OfNTKGI

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

And for Sunday:

Daily summary Sunday 18th August 2024

Not much happened today, Garry LV0 provided the only action on either nest when he popped in to Nest One with half a flatfish in his talons. Ironically Affric 152 wasn’t around to take it, so he departed with it less than a minute later. LizB posted a possible reason for her absence: “Bunarkaig update – second hand information, but apparently the male was fishing in the bay this morning for around an hour, making a few trips back to the nest with fish for the chick. Perhaps there was plenty for Affric too which might explain her lack of appearances at nest 1 today”.  Weather was wet as forecasted, and will remain wet for the rest of the week, with winds varying from gentle to moderate.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.47.38 (05.09.00); Nest Two 21.39.08 (05.12.56)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/paY4d-BqJBw N1 Garry LV0 brings fish – no one’s there 13.11.38

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Bonus watch – From Perthshire to Africa, Scottish Wildlife Trust’s google earth video of an Osprey migration route:

Both fledges at the Imperial Eagle Nest waiting for adults with prey.

Rosie Shields has given us a wrap up for Samson and Ursula at the Border Osprey nest.

GOING GOINGDownload

Our beloved Ervie is moving about the Port Lincoln area. It is about time for him to find a mate and have a family.

Hunt saboteurs are organised this year and have successfully put an end to at least two of the annual Inglorious Day Grouse shoots.

Hunt saboteurs disrupt grouse shoot on Stean Estate, Nidderdale – Raptor Persecution UKDownload

The Colonial Beach Osprey Project sent me the following information: Joanie Millward, President of the Virginia Osprey Association, kindly included numbers for last year and this for comparison. This information will go into the International Osprey Data Project to help us continue to grow a more thorough understanding of what is happening in each region.

You will note the high proportion of nests that only fledged one chick. This is an indicator of the nests’ lack of prey in that region, which is so sad.

We should all be enjoying the adults and kiddos flittering around the nests occasionally. Migration is well underway as we saw with the Shorebirds in Nova Scotia.

Will Blue NCO return and breed successfully again at Loch of the Lowes? Will her mate be the Dark Knight? We have to wait til next spring and see.

Tweed Valley reports:

Another miracle nest this year is Snow Lane, the home of Beaumont and Hope and their fledgling and soon to be fledgling in Newfoundland. It has been eons since osplets fledged from this nest and I am certain tears are being shed by all who love this couple. It is truly wonderful.

Trudi Kron posted an update from the Hancock Wildlife Foundation regarding Blue:

What a gorgeous group at Glaslyn! Aran and Elen’s 2024 graduating class.

Lola and fledgling at Charlo on Sunday.

Still home in Minnesota!

‘H’ reports: “8/18 Osoyoos osprey nest: The new fledglings seem to be doing great, flying to and from the nest.  And, their parents are providing them with plenty of fish to fuel their flights.  The cam was down until 0844, so we may have missed an early fish.  At 0946, Soo delivered a huge salmon to the nest.  Soo kept the fish, and Chick 2 was the recipient of the first meal from that fish, then Soo removed the huge leftover.  At 1023 Olsen brought a medium sized whole fish, Chick 2 nibbled at it, but was already too full.  Chick 1 flew to the nest at 1108 and ate that fish.  Soo brought back her fish at 1109, but neither chick was interested, so she left with it again.  She returned with the fish at 1134, fed Chick 1, and again Soo removed the large leftover salmon.  At 1246 Soo brought the same fish back, and fed some more to Chick 1.  It was interesting that Soo would never allow the chicks to take that fish from her.  Then at 1254, Soo removed the large leftover again.  At 1316 Chick 2 grabbed a medium sized partial fish from Olsen and ate it.  At 1317, Soo returned with the same fish she initially brought to the nest at 0946.  The massive fish had been gradually getting smaller.  She fed Chick 1, and finally the fish was all gone except for the tail.  That salmon should certainly qualify for frequent flier miles!  Olsen brought the last fish of the day at 1927, a whole fish that Chick 2 grabbed and started to eat.  But, Chick 1 flew to the nest after a few minutes and stole the fish from Chick 2!

8/18 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  All three fledglings are still returning to the nest for fish, and they also like to hang out a bit on the perches.  Harvie brought six fish to the nest for the juvies today, and there were some pretty good battles for the fish.  The intruder was only on the nest for less than a minute in the morning, and she left when she saw Harvie approaching.  We did not see Louise today.”

We watch these beautiful birds from the time they hatch to fledge. We cry sometimes and then they are free. It is time we protect their environment as there are far too many electrocutions.

Netflix is requesting the removal and/or relocation of osprey nests. Seriously? Thanks, Geemeff.

Netflix Looks to Rehome Ospreys in Little Silver – Two River TimesDownload

Cowlitz fledgling caught on the nest Sunday morning.

Chicks home at Oyster Bay.

Raining at Patchogue – no one home.

Keke and River on the nest. Keo continues to deliver fish.

Port Lincoln has a new baby on a barge and it is not an osprey – it is a White-bellied Sea Eagle!!!!!!!!

Iris wasn’t the only female raptor catching a whopper on Sunday. Just look what Jackie hauled into the nest at Big Bear!

Xavier and Diamond are thinking ‘eggies’.

In Latvia, the first hatch, a female, Red 59T, flew for the first time on the 15th of August followed by her little brother, Red 59V, on Sunday, the 18th. Congratulations!

Thank you so much for being with us today. It is always nice to have you here – and I always enjoy your letters, your news messages, and your comments. Keep them coming! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, articles, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Montana Osprey Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, @HellgateOsprey, Montana News, Birdling Life and More, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Rosie Shields for Border Ospreys, PLO, Raptor Persecution UK, Joanie Millward, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Newfoundland Power, Trudi Kron, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Charlo Montana, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, PSEG, Sandpoint Ospreys, Celia Aliengirl, The Two Rivers Times, Pam Breci, SK Hideaways, LDF, Osoyoos, and Fortis Exshaw.

Saturday in Bird World

17 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Friday was the last full day of our time in Nova Scotia, and it turned out to be a blockbuster day. We arrived at Evangeline Beach in time for the Semipalmated Sandpiper murmurations! After arriving from Hudson Bay and the Arctic region, thousands of shorebirds feed on the mollusc. They will fill their bellies and get the much-needed fat on their bones in Nova Scotia before heading off for their flight to South America. It was one of the most magical moments I can remember.

I will post images from the long lens camera – thankfully I took the 600 mm. This is a poor video from my iPhone.

Turning left out of the beach road, a lone eagle was waiting for someone to toss out a dead chicken from one of the barns at a local farm.

There were eagles all along the road, sitting on hydro poles near the corn fields waiting for prey! I have images of them on my other camera and will post those for Monday. The day turned out to be really nice in terms of bird sightings.

The Eastern Kingbirds and Northern Mockingbirds have been around the animal sanctuary. The Mockingbirds particularly like the raspberries! The animals are positively charming. We respect what Jen and Will are trying to do here, taking in unwanted or abused farm animals – including a couple of feral cats. It is a lot of hard work, from dawn to dusk. I appreciate the cost of feeding and the vet care necessary for the animals, not to mention the upkeep of fencing! They sure don’t do it for the donations – it is sheer love.

This is Jen with Cece. A woman phoned at Christmas, wanting to know what to do with her newly born pot-bellied pigs. Could Jen help? At the end of it all, the baby piglets died all but one, and it was very tiny and sick when Jen finally was able to rescue it. Cece fit in the palm of Jen’s hand and had to be fed by a syringe. Cece lived to the surprise of many and thrived. Just look at her now! She is trained to live in a house but is learning to live with the other animals running free on the five-acre property.

There are too many wanting pot-bellied pigs for pets. They do grow, they need to be spayed or neutered and they need exercise. Many people do not understand how intelligent they are and are not equipped to take proper care of them. Jen now has eleven!

These two are below the apple tree. They love the apples and rolling in the mud in the little stream next to the tree.

The sheep are lovely. Not as trusting as some of the other animals. These two, mother and daughter, were quite abused and again, not expected to live. It is a testament to the knowledge and dedication — and love – that Jen gives to them. They are thriving like the donkey and the pony that are now nearly 30 years old.

The owner of the rooster had to move and could not keep him. They loved the rooster so much that they offered to help with its upkeep for as long as it lived. The rooster is thriving.

This turkey missed being someone’s dinner on Thanksgiving! It loves nothing more than a good dirt bath.

The sanctuary began with five goats that were not expected to survive. They did, and here they are now—adorable. They love people and want nothing more than to be petted.

Staying at the sanctuary enriched our holiday. I learned so much and am appalled at how harmful humans can be. It is unbelievable what we do to other living souls. It was a real joy to be in a place where life is respected.

Other adventures. included the wonderful surprises awaiting in the small town. Two decades ago, Canning was a small village that appeared destined to fold. Today, with the help of the local distilleries, wineries, tourists, and a group of young entrepreneurs, the town has taken on a new life.

The coffee was fantastic, too! The baking was delicious and is in high demand so you have to arrive early in the day to have good choices. Everything is gone around 1400 and the little shop closes at 1500. They seem to be doing well. They also sell some of the local coffee roasters beans along with pottery and art work including that of Will, one of the owners where we are staying.

The relaxed way of life, the charm of the small villages, and the friendliness of the people helped us enjoy every minute of the time we were visiting the Annapolis Valley. I look forward to returning!

Turning back to Bird World – Dr Green has found Antali. Everyone was quite worried. Antali is spending time with Dad, Finnegan, down river and is being fed well. Maybe Iris and Finnegan are dividing up the responsibilities for the two with Iris providing for Sum-eh???

‘PB’ sent me an image of Finnegan’s latest catch. My goodness. Him and Antali will be having a feast!

After spending so much time around tourists, beaches, and shorebirds, I completely understand the need to protect their nests!

Cages installed to help nesting Ringed Plovers – BirdGuidesDownload

The issue of the industrial fishing of the Menhaden is also harming the Striped Bass. It is the food chain. The commercial fishing needs to stop, not only in the Bay but also far enough away from the its mouth so that there might be some hope for the fish to recover in terms of populations, but this will not happen unless there is an immediate moratorium.

STRIPEDBASS_Issue10_05-17-2024Download

Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 16th August 2024

Garry LV0 and Affric 152 spent hours on the nest again today. Although Affric gave Garry much vocal encouragement, he only brought moss to the nest, no fish. Fundación Migres provided more photos of the Scottish cohort including our chick 1JW, we’re not sure which photo he’s in but all the birds look in magnificent shape as they prepare for migration. Photos and tweets cobbled together into a video for those who don’t get on with TwiX. Weather-wise it was wet and windy as forecast, and more of the same tonight but with a possibility of dry spells tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One  21.56.53 (05.06.56); Nest Two 21.47.01 (05.13.30)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/RnY54XNtci8 Spain: more photos and tweets of 1JW and the other ten translocatees

https://youtu.be/rQYUcsjAKB0 N1 Affric joins Garry but he brings sticks not fish 10.51.20

https://youtu.be/lD-oLI2NjpA N1 Garry and Affric return later but there’s still no fish 16.20.59

Bonus photo – our ringer Lewis Pate makes The Week In Wildlife (thanks Moira)

https://bit.ly/WeekInWildlifeLewisringingaSeaEaglechick

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

‘A’ comments about the Royal Albatross:

“At Taiaroa Head, TF chick is doing well, according to his latest weighing. He has been fed regularly by his parents over the past two weeks. The chicks are all starting to flap and hop, stretching their wings to feel the wind. It is so sad to think that when they go, they are leaving for up to five years, heading for South America (off the coast of Chile) and not returning to Taiaroa Head for four to five years, when they will return to their natal nesting area to find a mate. We have a long time to become deeply attached to these chicks, born in January and leaving us in September. That’s many months to fall in love with them, watch them, wait for their parents, and hope for their wellbeing. It is such a bittersweet moment, and I will never forget the look of sheer bliss on Lilibet’s face as she fledged into the storm. It was an amazing thing to watch live. I felt very privileged indeed.”

“Lady is doing a great job of feeding the eaglet, really stretching to reach it and giving it just the right sized pieces, and the chick in turn is a great little feeder. SE34 is hungry and is eager to reach out for the bites. I did notice a size difference between the chicks yesterday or the day before, but they are still relatively closely matched. Once or twice, when Lady goes to clean bits of fish off SE34’s face, the eaglet shrinks as if intimidated and on one occasion ducks and tucks, but in general, it seems confident when eating. 

Just before 15:53, after SE34 really reaches to grab a big bite, Lady drags the fish closer to the chicks. Shortly before 15:54, SE33 wakes up. SE34 continues to accept the bites Lady offers. SE33 is sitting up and watching the feeding. It has a PS, but does not interfere as SE34 continues to eat, not appearing to be intimidated at all by its sibling. 

The two eaglets were left alone on the nest for a lot of time today – it was a sunny spring day and I doubt they were cold, and I also presume there was a parent within eyeshot somewhere, though I didn’t see either. 

At 15:55 SE34 is being very careful not to look SE33 directly in the eye, but is not scared to accept yet another bite of fish. SE33 does another (small) PS. Lady continues feeding SE34, who continues taking mouthfuls without hesitation. SE33 sits beside SE34 at the table but is not being offered food, so competes for a bite. Lady looks slightly startled. 

At 15:56 Lady gives a bite to SE33. At 15:56:35 the next bite goes to SE34 and SE33 decides to take exception, beaking its sibling in the head. It grabs a beakful of head feathers and twists at the back of SE34’s head. No damage is being done but SE33 is definitely frustrated and continues its attack for a full 20 seconds before looking up at mum. SE34 stays down. 

Lady offers SE33 a bite, then proceeds to clean up the table, have a few bites herself, and generally not feed SE33. She offers a bite around 15:58 but there is no interest. She offers another and SE33 accepts it. Lady gives SE33 a second bite, then a third, and SE34 lifts its head. Lady continues feeding SE33 (who has the remains of an earlier crop). SE34 is getting squashed by its sibling. 16:02 and the feeding of SE33 continues. SE34 watches but is not offered any bites, nor does it compete for any. On the other hand, SE34 is pretty full by now, with a very respectable crop, and is certainly not intimidated, with its head up. At 16:02:45 Lady offers a bite to SE34, who accepts it without hesitation. There is no reaction from SE33. So it appears the bonking that is occurring on this nest is not causing problems with SE34’s feeding. SE34 is not intimidated out of eating and Lady is keeping an eye on your younger hatch. So far, so good. But as we know, these nests are very volatile and the dynamics can change rapidly and dramatically. Talons crossed that Lady and Dad do their usual sterling job. “

Thank you so much for being with us today. There will not be a posting on Sunday as we arrive home late Saturday. I will look forward to sharing some of the images of the shorebirds and more eagles on Monday. In the meantime, take care of yourself. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for the posts, notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, BAH, Geemeff, H, PB’, Jen Lussing and Will Cooper and the animals at the LAILO Farm Sanctuary, Aspinall Pottery, The Village Coffee Shop, Montana Osprey Cam FB, Montana Osprey Project, BirdGuides, Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal, Maryland DNR, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, NZ-DOC and Cornell Bird Lab, and Olympic Park Eagles.

Friday in Bird World

16 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thursday turned out to be a great day for Bald Eagles, just when I thought that there were none to be seen until winter. The local chicken farms, which cover a large area of the Annapolis Valley, provide carrion for the eagles – all of them I am told as well as the other farmers. It made me smile. Not the chickens crunched up in tiny cages, but their lives do not go to waste when they die.

Eagles were soaring over the estuary and at Grand Pre National Monument, the site of the Evangeline memorial. I was walking through the gardens when I heard the distinct call of a juvenile, and I saw two adults flying overhead. Following the sound, I located the baby in a gorgeous pine tree by the potager (kitchen garden area). The minute the adults and a fledgling appeared, this one cried for prey. It was a beautiful juvenile doing what juveniles do when they do not hunt for themselves- tracking the adults. What a distinctive call so different from an osprey.

Taken with a 200 mm lens and cropped – oh, how I wish I had my larger lens with me!

The nest was on the grounds of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I think they are pretty lucky – quiet and protected. It is the memorial site to the Acadians forced to leave Nova Scotia by the British. The Acadians were farmers living in the 1680s in an intertidal area. The tides were over 11 metres, some of the highest in the world. They reclaimed land using dykes, wooden sluices, and a series of drainage networks creating a rich soil that enabled them to become excellent farmers.

The memorial site remembers not only the cultural legacy of the Acadians but it is also the site of the Great Expulsion. The deportation of the Acadians began in the fall of 1755 and continued through 1778. The first group was approximately 7000 individuals. In total, about 11,500 out of a population of 14,000 were deported. Why? Well, two reasons. The Acadians would not be loyal to the British, but the second was more economical. The British wanted their prime agricultural land.

Brochures state: “The Memorial Church expresses the Acadian’s strong attachment to Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada. Built in 1922, with funds raised from Acadian communities throughout North America, the Memorial Church symbolizes the spirit of Acadian nationalism and the deep-seated desire to commemorate the tragedy of the Deportation. Architect René Fréchet of Moncton, New Brunswick, drew up the plans for the church, which reflect Normandy-style architecture of the 1700s.  The design does not duplicate the original pre-Deportation church whose appearance is unknown. “

The Memorial Church at Grand Pre.

On the path leading to the entrance to the Memorial Church is a bronze statue of Evangeline. She is the focus of Longfellow’s poem, Evangeline, written in 1847. “Almost immediately after its release, the poem obtained worldwide popularity. Millions of people were drawn to the story of a young Acadian couple from the village of Grand-Pré, Evangeline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse, who were separated by the events of the Deportation. Evangeline, being a faithful, pious woman, vowed to find her true love Gabriel, yet she always seemed to be two steps behind. More than a fictitious character, Evangeline became a symbol of the Deportation and the perseverance of the Acadian people.”

EvangelineDownload

View over the Annapolis Valley from ‘The Lookout’ north of Canning.

There are orchards and vineyards everywhere you turn. Indeed, the local artisans have been invigorated by the steady stream of tourists coming to the wineries and the distilleries in the area. Small villages that were losing young people appear to be stabilising according to the young ladies at one of the many coffee roasters in the area.

Tomorrow I am heading out in search of some shore birds. The Noodle Guy’s food is too good to pass up so you will find me there again before leaving for home Saturday afternoon. The joy has been staying in the quiet farmlands of the valley away from the tourist areas – loud, crowded, and overpriced. The cat sitter says that ‘The Girls’ are doing fine. Calico has even come out from under the sofa for pets. It is good to get away, it will be great to be home. The trip has turned out to be a good one. erful

Cornell Bird Labs gives us a hint as to what to expect now that Iris and Finnegan are ’empty nesters’.

Youngest Osprey Chick %22Antali%22 Takes To The Skies! | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird CamsDownload

Comings and goings at Iris and Finnegan’s nest:

Concerns have been growing for Antali who has not been seen on camera. Thank you, Dr Green and than you ‘PB’ for seeing this alert and sending it to me. Postiive energy out there please to help find Iris’s second baby.

‘A’ comments: “It was an awful day at Hellgate, with driving rains. But despite this, Finn brought in a fish for Sumeh, which she demolished in short order, finishing with a large crop. Antali flew in late (it was nearly 9pm) followed by both mum and dad. Dad brought the fish, which Iris took charge of, despite Antali trying to wrestle it from her. She fed Antali, so that once again he did not get to practice his self-feeding. He was hungry, grabbing at the bites, and vocalised throughout the feeding. But despite the dreadful weather, both fledglings had a decent-sized fish of their own today, Sumeh’s self-fed, Antali’s fed by Iris. The winds were so strong, Sumeh was literally tossed about by them when she flew off the nest. She started off by lying duckling style on the nest after she finished her fish, but as the rain grew heavier, she decided to head elsewhere, and took off in the gusty conditions. It is good to see the parents looking after this pair, and both fledglings coming to the nest for fish (obviously keeping an eye out for any sightings of an incoming Finn, in particular – he has been doing such a great job for this family. I was a little worried about this stage, where the fledglings have such a high caloric requirement, but at least Iris can fish for herself now and so Finn is only providing for three. Iris is helping with that too, I presume – today, though, it was Finn doing the fishing. 

I too worry about Iris. She is so devoted to her osplets. She goes without food herself if the chicks need it. She has been stoic in the heat, shading the osplets even once they were pretty much fully grown, and sheltered them through a very hot summer. She has been the best mumbrella in heavy rains with howling winds, keeping her babies warm and dry whilst being soaked to the skin herself. She has been the most dedicated of mums, and I do feel concerned to consider how much this season may have taken out of her, and whether she will have the time and the opportunity to rest and eat before she heads off on migration. I do wonder why there is a need for these ospreys to migrate as far as they do – surely southern USA would  be far enough. Africa seems a little extreme (and unnecessarily dangerous). 

Antali returns to the nest at 20:08, in time to meet dad with yet another fish. Iris turns up as well. Finn leaves her to it and Iris claims the fish. Antali tries to peck a little at the fish but then just waits to be fed by Iris. At least he is getting fed – I was very worried about whether he would be able to compete for food with Sumeh at this stage of their development, and although I do wish Antali would be left to self-feed a bit more, I am basically just pleased that both osplets are being fed, and apparently fed enough, to be growing and looking healthy. Both appear to be mastering this new flying skill, though the winds were very challenging today. “

‘H’ reports:

8/15 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Chick 2 fledged on 8/14 at 67 days of age, and s/he returned to the nest in about a minute.  The cam was frozen for about three hours, and we didn’t know if Chick 2 flew again during that period of time.  But, after the live stream was restored at 1149, we did not see Chick 2 leave the nest again on 8/14.  On 8/15, Chick 2 decided to take an early flight at 0552.  For the next few hours, Chick 1 flew out and back to the nest several times, but we did not see Chick 2 return.  Then the cam froze again for almost 2.5 hours, and resumed at 1230.  At 1230, Soo was seen on the nest eating alone.  Hours passed without seeing Chick 2, and we were worried.  Finally, at 1649 Chick 2 landed in the center of the nest right on top of Chick 1, practically knocking him/her off the nest.  It is entirely possible that Chick 2 may have returned to the nest during the cam downtime, but we were relieved to see Chick 2 return after 11 hours.  The siblings were both hungry, and did a lot of fish-calling.  Olsen brought a small whole fish at 1923, and it was grabbed by Chick 1.  The cam froze again at 2020.  (There is talk of setting up a fund to raise money for a new camera for next season.)

8/15 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:   We are lucky that we still get to see all three of the fledglings at the nest or the perches.  Louise has not been seen since she provided feedings on the t-perch on 8/10 and 8/11.  Harvie is continuing to bring fish to the nest.  It may not seem as though he is delivering enough fish to the nest to feed three active and hungry juvies, but he may be providing meals for them at off-camera locations as well.  The intruder is still around.  She has not been a major problem, and has not stolen a fish from the juvies in three days.  The intruder sometimes lands on the nest, or the nest perches or the t-perch.  At 1502, the intruder was standing on the nest-pole, when an adult osprey flew in quickly and flushed her off the pole.  Then there was a brief chase that occurred within our view.  We assumed that other adult osprey was Harvie.  The fledglings are becoming more confident and bolder around the intruder.  At 1908, the intruder landed on the nest, and she was forced off by one of the juvies.  Harvie delivered a fish at 2018, and the intruder landed on the nest at 2020.  The intruder simply stood there while one of the juvies was eating, but then she was forced off the nest at 2033 by one of the juvies… Well that did it, now the intruder was mad, lol.  Over the next 25 minutes, the intruder dive bombed the two juvies on the nest at least 14 times.  It seemed that she was mostly trying to harass them.  There was only some occasional minor contact with her talons on their backs, but nothing too serious.  She was not trying to hurt them… if she had been, she would have.  The fledglings are learning life lessons.  Unwanted ospreys interfering in their lives will be a part of their world.

WYL arrives to feed the Top Flat chick at the Royal Albatross Colony in New Zealand.

SE33 and 34 are getting bigger. The wings are longer as are their necks and as you can see they are nearly the same size. Lady is feeding them a small bird.

‘A’ visits the sea eagle nest: “It was also another wet day at WBSE. It seems that both eaglets are getting fed. SE34 is not at all intimidated by SE33, and is quite capable of starting a bonking incident if it feels antsy. Lady is reaching across SE33 to feed SE34, and there seems to have been quite a bit of red meat on the menu. It looks very nutritious. It may be easier to catch small birds at the moment than to fish in the rain. As long as the eaglets are being fed, we are happy. There does however appear to be a distinct size difference appearing between the eaglets, with SE34 looking noticeably smaller than its older sibling. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about at this stage but it is worth keeping an eye on. I was worried about one or both of SE34’s eyes the other day but they appear to be normal now so it may just have been rain or fish juice. (There’s often a chunk of fish stuck to the end of his beak, skewer-style, so there’s bound to be fish juice on his facial feathers.) They do both seem healthy and they are both being fed. Dad is doing a great job of keeping food on the nest and Lady is making sure both eaglets are fed. So far, so good. “

C16 on the Charlo Montana nest screaming for fish!

Oh, just look at how big those little ones are at the Osprey Environment Centre in Australia! If you recalled that there were three, sadly, one has died, but two are well.

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 15th August 2024

Plenty of action today as Affric 152 and Garry LV0 flew on and off Nest One over a period of several hours, ignoring a quick flypast by the RAF. She spent a lot of time fish-calling and was eventually rewarded with a fish – but it was a teeny tiny little tiddler which she demolished in about three minutes. She called for more, but Garry didn’t oblige. The weather wasn’t very obliging either, wet and windy most of the day, and same again expected tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.02.27 (05.12.15); Nest Two 21.52.38 (05.17.08)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/pL-09gIw4A8 N1 Garry LV0 brings moss, tidies, and has a preen 12.08.32 

https://youtu.be/sAin2I829BE N1 Garry LV0 returns with a stick 13.05.22

https://youtu.be/1mt2ZZZhteM N1 Affric 152 arrives followed shortly after by Garry LV0 14.55.05

https://youtu.be/U9CxLSmhoTM N1 Noisy RAF flypast doesn’t faze Affric & Garry 15.30.39

https://youtu.be/-c3lZKY7Blc  N1 Garry brings Affric a teeny tiny fish  16.36.28 

Bonus action – last chance to nominate Woodland Trust for a £5k grant, closes midnight tomorrow:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15743696

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Jack and Shadow continue to let us see them, returning to the nest and the roost tree often. It is fall. Oh, these two!

Growing concerns for the lack of insects in the UK. But, it isn’t just the UK. There appears to be an international decline. What is causing it? We should all be concerned because the insects are part of this great food chain. The small birds eat them – think of that little Hobby and all the Dragonflies it eats. The larger birds eat the Hobby – and, ultimately, we have our Apex Raptors. They are the measure of the health of a region – without the ladder of prey they do not survive.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/15/britain-insects-surveys-butterflies-climate-aoe?CMP=share_btn_

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cam FB, Hellgate Ospreys, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Fortis-Exshaw, Olympic Park Eagles, Living Bird Life and More, Charlo Montana, Cornell Bird Lab, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways, and The Guardian.

Wednesday in Bird World

14 August 2024

Good Morning,

The flight to Nova Scotia was absolutely unremarkable. The food was delicious and the staff were funny and accommodating. Getting to the airport hotel was easy and we are simply happy to leave the cark park with a paper map in our hands. We are looking forward to rediscovering this beautiful province of Canada after an absence of so many, many years. Yes, ‘paper’ map. I get so sick of not having one and having to look at my phone.

Bliss. You can hear a pin drop. The area is near orchards, corn fields, small farms, honey producers, and the estuary where the tide comes and goes. No street lights, no noise from traffic, nothing. Silence. I cannot tell you how much I needed this.

All of the animals at the sanctuary were either taken because they were abused or surrendered because they were unwanted. I cannot wait for Jen to give us a tour.

Lots of sheep.

A farm bouquet of sunflowers and cabbages.

Fields and fields of apples to send out to the world.

It was a funny thing looking out at the animals at the sanctuary. Decades ago, I ‘gathered’ that I had an animal sanctuary and didn’t realise it. It was not something one thought about at the time. The sheep came from the late Walter Toews, who gave me the little ones rejected by their mother and other mothers. My children fed them with bottles, and they had the run of the fifteen acres. The horses came from PMU farms. Do you know what a PMU is? They were farms where the urine from the pregnant horses was collected and used to make birth control pills at the time. The conditions varied. Some of the cows were male Holsteins – a male milk cow is an oxymoron and, like male chicks, unwanted. As a result of those memories, I have a greater appreciation for this family that has taken on the task of caring for many animals scattered over the acreage that otherwise would have lost their lives. It is hard work – but highly rewarding. I mean, look at that sweet face.

No sign of eagles. The eagle sign on the road says December-March. I wonder where they are now?

Tomorrow is Maude Lewis Day. Preeminent folk artist of Nova Scotia who lived at Digby. I learned much about her from my neighbour when I lived in Wolfville. Her father ran a fish market in Digby. Maude would paint scallop shells and he would sell them in his shop. He also gave her meat for the dogs and for herself. My neighbour had a box of handmade Christmas cards that she brought out one day to show me. Maude gave her cards at Christmas and some on her birthday. They were remarkable. So, it is a bit of a pilgrimage – to a replica of her house (the original tiny home is in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, her burial site, and to a few other haunts of Maude’s near Digby.

“Maud Lewis” by Ron Cogswell is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Maud Lewis Painted House” by Sean_Marshall is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

If you have Netflix, there is an excellent documentary-drama titled Maudie about Maude Lewis’s life. Get the tissues ready.

Oh, how I missed this beautiful landscape, the rolling hills, the vineyards, the orchards, and the friendly people. It has been great to return.

C16, the only surviving osplet on the Charlo Montana nest (two nest accidents killed the other two chicks) fledged on Monday the 12th. Congratulations Lola and Charlie!

C16 continues to return to the nest. Mum Lola would like to see Charlie get a big fish on that nest for them.

One of the delights of trying to identify an osprey and sometimes the gender IDing at ringing is not always clear. News from USK Valley about Blue 397.

C16 wasn’t the only Montana chick to fledge on Monday. Junebug from Dunrovin Ranch took its first flight, too.

Look at those beautiful wings – and those long thin legs. Is Junebug a male?

Identity Issues — Usk Valley OspreysDownload

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.

Daily summary Monday 12th August 2024

Garry LV0 and Affric 152 had a busy day today, hopping on and off Nest One multiple times. Garry tried his luck but got nowhere, and ironically, after fish-calling for most of her time on the nest, Affric wasn’t present when Garry did turn up with a plump juicy fish. He took it away again and she lost out. No activity on Nest Two, although thunder and lightening around 08.30 did make both nest cams shake and hiss momentarily. There shouldn’t be any problems tonight, the forecast is for clear skies and a gentle breeze, maybe the Perseid meteor shower might show up on nest cam. However it’s all change for tomorrow, with heavy rain and a moderate breeze (make that strong winds at the top of the nest trees) forecast for tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.13.43 (04.57.35); Nest Two 22.22.41 (05.00.53)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/csO3lrb-qgY N1 Garry and Affric are alarmed by an unseen intruder 13.05.37

https://youtu.be/cdetJmrEd_w N1 Affric 152 shrugs off Garry LV0’s mating attempts 15.21.22

https://youtu.be/93Tf6cfsq2Q N1 Garry LV0 returns alone and perches quietly before departing 15.50.01

https://youtu.be/Zz5MF4QI0Ic N1 Affric 152 returns alone and perches quietly, has a squirt and departs! 17.23.22 

https://youtu.be/l2actnz1EJo N1 Garry LV0 returns with a fish but Affric’s not there 20.26.49

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

All of the chicks at Fortis-Exshaw nest near Canmore, Alberta fledged! That intruder did not bother this nest like last year, thankfully.

Our gorgeous Iris. I get all teary. What a wonderful mother she is.

Iris continues to make sure that both chicks are eating.

A lovely article about Iris:

First Chick in Five Years Fledges from Hellgate Osprey Nest | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab BirdDownload

Always – yes, always, a happy time when Jackie and Shadow are at the nest.

‘J’ sent us news of one lucky osprey.

Sadly, other ospreys continue to die. Honestly, I cannot wait til the third week in September when everyone should be on their way to their winter homes and the only nest we have to pull our hair out while watching is Port Lincoln. Maybe those Fish Fairies will be around again this year!

We know that the overuse of antibiotics is causing Superbugs that humans will be unable to treat because we have grown resistant to them. Well, guess what? We are doing it to the birds!!!!!! Seriously.

Urban birds are teeming with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/13/urban-birds-are-teeming-with-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-study-finds?CMP=share_btn_url

Mum removes Dad’s beautiful decorative rope when she takes out a partial fish. Let’s hope it falls off her talon!

Hope feeding her two beautiful babies. They are within fledge in a week for the oldest chick at Snow Lane platform in Newfoundland.

Thank you so much for being with us. Take care everyone. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J’, OpenVerse, Heidi McGrue, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, USK Valley Ospreys, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, All About Birds, SK Hideaways, Bobby Horvath, SF Bay Ospreys, and The Guardian.

Monday in Bird World

12 August 2024

Hello Everyone!

We are about 95% ready to leave tomorrow for our mini-break in Nova Scotia. Cat sitters, garden helpers, outside garden birds and animal helpers – well, it is all under control. Mr Crow & Gang have 12 kg of cheesy dogs, there are large pails with wild bird seed, black oil seed, and peanuts prepared for each day we are away to be distributed, cat food and anything a cat sitter could need is piled high on the island including some new treats and toys. ‘The Girls’ are smart and they have caught on to what is happening. They don’t know it but I am already missing them, too. It is the only thing I dislike about even being away one night – is missing them and not having Hugo Yugo snuggling under my chin at night.

I melt every time I look at Baby Hope. It is those celadon eyes.

Calico and I have been working on items to clean cat hair off of the chairs. We have discovered that those natural coconut scrubbers for dishes are fantastic. They look like a donut and are made from the fibres of the coconut shell.

Everyone shares the one little basket that is fixed so they can look down very low and watch Mr Crow eating his dinner.

Hugo Yugo Day 1 with us and now. She is not afraid of anything and is really pretty much the boss of the gang. Yes, she still looks like a kitten but she will be a year old on 2 September. She is a little ‘toughie’.

I have just received word from the Green Ledge Light Preservation Society that the two osplets in the storm along the coast of Connecticut created by Debby are both fine. Only a couple of sticks at the nest needed to be arranged! Amazing. I cannot tell you how relieved and happy I am for those two. knew you would want to know, too – and I want to give a shout-out to the staff at Green Ledge for letting me know so swiftly.

My goodness. Getting organized for a longer trip takes the cake. I am hope that the neighbour will follow the few instructions and feed the garden animals and water the plants. The cat sitter is fantastic so no worries there. ‘The Girls’ have gotten used to Gary. It looks like the weather will be good in Nova Scotia and I cannot wait to walk across a reasonably deserted country lane and sit and watch eagles soaring in the sky for feeding on the fish at the shore.

There will be no post Tuesday morning. I don’t get into the Halifax airport til late Monday evening despite having to leave the house at noon! I was a little shocked to see all the regulations for just flying within Canada. Goodness.

The news in Bird World is dwindling and that is a good thing. We want everyone out there to be safe and building their strength for migration. On my radar are only a handful of chicks to fledge including Antali and C16 and ours in Canada.

That cute little Hobby fledged. Just quick as a wink. They change from bobblehead to Hobby so quickly. I can’t get used to it. It is like the California Falcons – one minute they are hatching and the next they are flapping all the baby down off their wings preparing to fly.

SK Hideaways always does the best videos and here is hers of the little Hobby fledging! Check out her other posts too – especially if you are missing the Cal or San Jose Falcons!!!!!

We will be watching with great anticipation and much enthusiasm as Diamond and Xavier prepare for those eggies that Xavier loves so much.

Beautiful, beautiful little sea eaglets at the Olympic Park nest. Dad couldn’t be prouder. He even fed Lady some bits of bird today – romantic and sweet. The little ones are having some bonking fests. Do not worry. It will end.

‘A’ comments (paraphrased) – The bonking is well underway at WBSE (so far, SE34 is giving as good as s/he gets), it is reassuring because some claim that the WBSE is an obligate siblicide species. Obviously, that is not universally the case, and we therefore have to ask ourselves what is it about this nest that makes it one of the exceptions. I think Lady is the difference. The parents who show a conscious interest in ensuring the younger hatch is fed are the ones who can _ and regularly do – fledge two (or even three or four – look at West End, for example, and some of this season’s osprey nests that fledged four). Lady is careful to feed both her chicks (and Dad keeps the nest well supplied with fish – at least, he has done thus far). Surely this has to make a major difference. But of course we worry when we see sibling rivalry become aggression. I’m sure it will quickly settle down, especially given how very close these two are in size. It’s hard to tell them apart except by the remains of their tiny egg teeth. 

There is a live Osprey chat tomorrow sponsored by Explore.org. Thanks to everyone who sent this notice to me. Sadly, I will be on the plane, but I hope they will archive the talk so those who miss it can check it out later. This is the link to join and set an alarm to alert you when the talk is starting:

Do you ever have to pinch yourself when you look at Iris and Finnegan and their two osplets? I still can hardly believe it. What an amazing year it has been, and what a challenging one for these two parents. The heat was enough to kill all the osplets off so many nests, and these two survived without a hiccup. Finn was an amazing fisher, and Iris didn’t allow any shenanigans between those chicks. Each was treated equally. Iris often fed little Antali when she might have wanted a little fish. But thanks to Finn, so many came to the nest that no one was ever hungry.

Antali watches Sum-eh fly all around the area and is often caught watching the train with Mum Iris. She is so protective of her babies. Soon Antali will be flying up and down the river chasing Dad for fish, too.

I am so in love with this family.

Iris made sure that Antali had some fish. She is really incredible. I am so glad that I got to witness her being a Mum to these two.

At Charlo, C16 continues their quest to take to the skies. C16 is really a gorgeous osplet. I am so happy that Lola and Charlie will have one to fledge. Maybe someone can work on some permanent cot rails for that platform during the off-season.

The Dunrovin Ranch chick is dreaming of flying, too – but still loves to be fed by Winnie. It has been doing some wingers but not to the extent of C16.

In Port Lincoln, Dad has been busy decorating the nest. He sure loves Turquoise. Later, he came in with a white piece of rope. I wonder if Mum would rather he was delivering fish? Port Lincoln will remove the ropes so they don’t harm the osplets! We will have eggs at Port Lincoln by the end of the month. I bet Bart is already a guessing pool on the date of the first one.

In New Zealand, the Kakapo are getting their health checks and new batteries for their transmitters. What a great job the Kakapo Recovery does in making these birds safe and keeping them well.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 11th August 2024

The little songbirds were back on both Nest One and Nest two, but they were a supporting act to the main event – Ospreys turned up in the shape of Affric 152 and Garry LV0. They spent a fair bit of time together on Nest One, Garry brought a fish which was seized by Affric who proceeded to leave with it, return, munch a bit on the nest and leave with it again. After finishing it she returned and demanded more fish from Garry but only got a half-hearted mating attempt from him. The forecasted thundery showers didn’t materialise today but there’s a weather warning for the Highlands for thunderstorms starting at 2am tomorrow, and more rain throughout the night.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.14.16 (04.49.55); Nest Two 22.11.11 (05.04.26)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/zbmAOdpvwjg N2 A pair of Crossbills visit 08.31.06

https://youtu.be/MLLmjh7dMH8 N1 A Robin pays a visit 09.52.04

https://youtu.be/lzSl5Wepv8U N1 Affric 152 follows Garry LV0 onto the nest 10.58.12

https://youtu.be/WceshcwWjH8  N1 Garry LV0 brings a fish to Affric waiting on the nest 16.44.20

https://youtu.be/hotAz4uBAdI  N1 Affric returns to Garry on the nest, wants more fish 16.58.26

https://youtu.be/6trrzqNVgnQ  N1 Garry returns with sticks, does a little tidying 18.31.33

Bonus watch – how it all began! Woodland Trust Season One highlights (2017):

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

What would we do without Suzanne Arnold Horning? She chases Big Red and Arthur and the kiddos (when they are on the Cornell campus) and so generously posts her photographs on FB. This way we always know that our Red-tail Hawk Queen is safe and sound and living a good hawk life – or King if it is Arthur.

Another nest that has had me gobsmacked this season is the Newfoundland Power Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope. I even went so far as to ask if ‘C’ had some historical images of Hope’s necklace and head markings. I could not believe she had gained such maternal instincts. It is her or her identical twin and this huge change in behaviour has meant that the two osplets did not starve, but look amazing in their juvenile plumage and will certainly (knock on wood) fledge!

Oh, that Boulder County nest is sure trying to get the award for the most bin bags in one season to land on an osprey nest. Caught the entire family at home on Sunday. All are safe.

Lots of very loud fish calling from the Poole Harbour nest. Blue 022 and CJ7 have been brilliant – being one of only a few nests to successfully fledge four osplets in the 2024 season. But, I bet they are tired. CJ7 will need to build her strength for migration. Blue 022 will stay behind being Daddy Door Dash til the kids depart. Hopefully he will have some time to eat some good fish alone to get himself ready. We will look forward to another grand year in 2025.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum fledgling is safe and getting those wings strong. Comes back for nice fish meals from Mum – fed on the rails like she always wants to do it.

Concerns raised that H5N1, the highly pathogenic bird flu, could break out in Australia in the spring.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/12/bird-flu-outbreak-australia-h5n1-risk?CMP=share_btn_url

Let’s get a ban on the commercial fishing for Menhaden and see if we cannot have a resurgence of healthy osprey families with two or three chicks fledging instead of one or none! Come on politicians. Stand up for wildlife.

Specieswatch: Sand eel fishing ban offers hope of stock resurgencehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/07/specieswatch-sand-eel-fishing-ban-offers-hope-of-stock-resurgence?CMP=share_btn_url

Besides window strike, fishing line, hooks, baling twine – and how many more items that cause our feathered friends injury or death – did we ever think of soccer nets?

Always feel free to send me news. Always grateful! One person cannot keep up.

Polish White Storks continue their journeys after arriving in Africa.

A step in the right direction but an all out ban on fishing is needed. Thanks, ‘PB’.

Atlantic menhaden board votes to study more restrictions on controversial Chesapeake Bay fishery

https://www.whro.org/environment/2024-08-06/atlantic-menhaden-board-votes-to-study-more-restrictions-on-controversial-chesapeake-bay-fishery

The measure passed this week is meant to help protect birds and fish that rely on menhaden as a key food source. But researchers say more data is needed to understand the dynamics in the bay.

‘H’ reports:

8/11 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  The intruder was still around, and she spent some time on the nest.  She was not aggressive today, but Harvie did jump on her a couple of times to indicate his displeasure.  At 0932, an osprey chased the intruder off of the nest-pole, but we couldn’t tell who flushed her off.

Harvie delivered at least 7 fish to the nest, and the intruder took the first one in the morning.  All the rest of the fish went to the siblings.  Our view is particularly bad in the evening due to the sun shining on the film coating the camera, and we could not tell who made the fish drop at 1855, but it was most likely Harvie.  Also, a chick was seen eating a fish at 2116, but I couldn’t find a delivery for that fish through the glare.  Besides Harvie’s deliveries, there were two other fish delivered today… and I still can’t wrap my head around this one:  At 1242, the intruder landed in the nest with a partial fish, and one of the siblings took it.  After about 3 minutes, the intruder left.  I know…bizarre, right?  Well, many of us scrutinized that osprey for identification, and we agreed that it was the intruder.  Go figure.  After the intruder flew off at 1245, she was not seen for the rest of the day.  At 1630 an adult osprey landed on the t-perch beside one of the juvies, and provided a feeding for about 18 minutes.  The t-perch is too far away for identification, but only Louise would have done that.  Louise did the same thing once yesterday as well.

Nakoda, the only chick that hasn’t fledged, was on the nest-perch twice today.  At 1352 Nakoda actually flew from a high hover and landed on the nest-perch.  Nakoda did not fledge today, but s/he is ready.

8/11 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Olsen delivered a large fish at 0735, and both chicks were able to do some self-feeding.  Then the live stream froze for more that six hours.  I did not see another fish delivered for the rest of the day.  Chick 2 was seen doing some very nice hovering in the evening…Yay!  Chick 1 fledged on 8/3 at 57 days of age.  Chick 2 is 65 days old on 8/12.

8/11 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House):  The first part of this season was quite rocky as new parents Johnny and June struggled to get their act together.  They had one chick to raise, and it has all worked out wonderfully.  ‘Fen’ fledged today at 58 days of age.  Fen took off from the perch, and made a nice landing back in the nest about 5 minutes later.  Congratulations to Fen and his Mom and Dad!

Thank you so much for being with us today. I will report from the estuary with the eagles on Tuesday morning – it could be a little later than normal. Not sure. So please take care. We look forward to having you with us.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, C, Geemeff, H, J, L, PB’, Green Ledge Light Preservation Society, SK Hideaways, Cilla Kinross, Olympic Park Eagles, Explore, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, PLO, Kakapo Recovery, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Newfoundland Power, Boulder County Ospreys, BoPH, MN-LA Ospreys, The Guardian, Fairhaven Animal Control and Shelter, SOS Tesla, WHRO.org, Fortis-Exshaw, Fenwick Island, and Osoyoos Osprey Cam.