Category Archives: UK ospreys

Emergency approval for HPAI vaccine for California Condors…Thursday in Bird World

18 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The skies have been weirdly overcast. The ‘look’ is partly from the wildfire smoke infiltrating Manitoba. It has, however, been drizzling for part of the day, making it a bit cooler at 22 degrees. They say our air quality poses a ‘low’ risk today because of the rain. I wonder about the poor birds and mammals in Canada’s western provinces. How are they doing amidst this outbreak of fire?

Lewis has taken over one of the chairs. Claudio tells me that I can clear up his hair stuck to the wool with washing up gloves. I need to try this!

Several times a day, Missy and Lewis take turns washing one another’s faces. My goodness, they are such a delight. The sheer joy animals bring our lives is so difficult to describe. Hold them close.

Just a note for all those Canada Goose fans. Decorah Goose Cam is shutting down. The new couple do not seem interested in using the nest. We will look forward to another successful year in 2024.

The loss of Pale Male, Central Park’s notorious Red-tail Hawk, who died at the age of 33 years in the loving care of Bobby Horvath took the birding community by surprise.

Thirty-three years. What a long life flying between high-rise apartment buildings in the area of New York City’s famous park. It was a long life and yet, of course, the loss is felt. Just like friends and relatives who have lived to ‘a ripe old age’, it still leaves a hole. For me, the death of Pale Male made the presence of Big Red and her three hawklets on the Cornell Campus much more significant. We didn’t get to watch Pale Male’s life play out – unless you happened to be living in NYC or visiting – but, since 2012, Big Red has been the star of one of the few Red-tail Hawk streaming cams in the world. She is the ‘Queen’. She is not young. So every day with her is simply precious.

Kelly Sorenson of the Ventana Wildlife Society writes that the use of the HPAI vaccine was approved on the 16th of May as an emergency measure to try and save the Big Sur and Pinnacle Condor Colonies in Central California from H5N1. The resolve to save these beautiful birds has made news around the world.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/17/vaccine-california-condor-avian-influenza-near-extinction?CMP=share_btn_link

The quarantine pens resulted from a huge fundraiser of the Ventana Wildlife Society. They raised 85,000$ to build them to enclose the California Condor community against the avian flu that is killing the condors in Arizona.

The total number of condors in Central California is currently 91 since the Dolan Fire of 2020. Ventana Wildlife continues to rebuild from that horrific fire that took so many lives.

Let us hope that the protective measures that are being employed will help during this tragic outbreak of H5N1 in the region. Arizona lost 20 of their flock this spring. Incredibly sad.

R5 fell out of the WRDC nest and was quickly rescued. On Wednesday, he was returned to the nest successfully without any alarm to R4. Well done, WRDC.

Lucy was vocalising during the late afternoon at the Lake Murray Osprey platform. LMO has done an incredible job of trying to keep the GHO from any further attacks after the predation of C1. Looks like the strobe lights, golf carts, picnickers and loud music are working. Other osprey nests with predation by GHOs should take notice – and also, check out the metal barriers installed by Cowlitz PUD against Bald Eagle attacks at their osprey nest in Washington like that which happened last season.

Lucy is fishing and taking good care of C2 who has a huge crop as best she can with these daily and night intruders at her nest.

We are on pip watch at the Dahlgren Osprey platform of Harriet and Jack.

I woke up to news form ‘H’ that the pip hatched early morning on the 18th.

Angel and her baby continue to do well although Tom either has trouble hunting or is a little unreliable. There was lots of food on Tuesday with a single delivery of a bird by Tom on Wednesday (please correct me!). As ‘A’ notes, Angel left the little one for several hours and either was unsuccessful in hunting or ate all the prey herself. Hopefully today there will be lots of food. The difference in this nest and Big Red’s is striking including – the eyases at Cornell are hardly ever left alone. Still nervous as there is a ways to go for Angel and Tom and RTH5.

The third osplet hatched at Rutland’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya. Oh, goodness, there is five days difference between Big Bob and Little…with one egg left to hatch!

So far, so good at Loch of the Lowes.

Louis brought in three really nice fish for Dorcha today. Gosh, he has always been such an extraordinary mate.

Dr Sharpe is really out there working to get all of the eaglets banded and, I presume, to say goodbye to the nests that he has so lovingly taken care of for many, many decades on the Channel Islands. These two beauties belong to Andor and Cruz.

More pictures from when Dr Sharpe banded Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets the other day.

E22 is still at the SW Florida Eagle nest in Fort Myers. There are some incredible images being taken by the photographers on the ground. Oh, how I wish someone would make a book about this year!

This beautiful image came from the streaming cam. E22 is such a beauty and how wonderful to continue to see you.

B16 is 116 days old and fledged 38 days ago. She continues to come to the nest at Berry College in Georgia and her loving parents continue to provide prey for her. What a beauty!

Our dear Ervie, the 2021 third hatch at Port Lincoln osprey barge, continues to get photographed in the area that he has called home since he fledged. I wonder if he is still fishing with Dad?

Lou and Annie’s chicks are awfully precocious this year. Rosa has already been looking out of the windows, a behaviour seen a week or so before fledge. Now all three of them have been caught glimpsing at the world that will soon welcome them.

Luna has also joined Rosa in trying to catch moths! Oh, the legacy that was Alden…his spirit, not his DNA, lives on at The Campanile.

Iris may or may not have any eggs in her nest. One was laid, are there two? Hopefully the Corvids will be there to claim them while Iris is off catching whoppers like the one today. It is incredibly sad that after 2018 – that was five years ago – that Iris did not have a reliable mate. She would, as we can see, be an amazing mother with good DNA.

As it nears midnight in Canada, Blue NC0 is awaiting the first fish delivery of the day to the Loch of the Lowes from Laddie for her and the two little bairns. There was a nice late fish by Laddie on Wednesday evening. It looks like Mum still has a crop but those little ones will be ravenous.

Maya is waiting for her delivery from Blue 33 at Manton Bay also.

My last check on the Moorings Park Osprey platform for the day shows Victoria eating away whenever he can. He has not fledged yet. Abby fledged ten days ago! It is so nice at home with Mum Sally, Victor just might want to stay forever. I don’t blame him. It has to be one of the most stable osprey platforms in the US.

Keep sending all of your good wishes to every nest. They need all the help that we can muster for them.

Thank you for being with me today. So much going on! Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, ‘H’, The Legend of Pale Male, Cornell RTH Cam, The Guardian, Ventana Wildlife Society, Heidi McGrue and R Nest Eagle Nest Watchers, LMO, Sheila Staley and Osprey Friends, Window to Wildlife, LRWT, LOTL, Geemeff and Friends of Loch Arkaig, IWS/Explore, Jann Galliva and CIEL, SWFL Eagle Cam, Rebecca Dawn and SWFL Eagles, Berry College Eagle Cam, PLO, Fran Solley and Friends of Osprey Su Bus, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Montana Osprey Project, and Moorings Park Osprey Platform.

Pale Male dies…Wednesday in Bird World

17 May 2023

Hello Everyone,

It was gorgeous weather on the Canadian Prairies yesterday, Tuesday, the 16th of May. That meant it was neither rainy, windy, or too hot. That called for a trip to Oak Hammock Marsh, the wetlands jointly managed by the Province of Manitoba and Ducks Unlimited. I have my qualms with DU – guns and shooting ducks, but they have played a considerable role in creating a network of wetlands that are home to so many migrating geese and ducks with trails surrounded by shrubs that are home to all manner of songbirds. Yesterday was no exception.

Just before arriving at the site, there was water still standing in the fields from the spring flooding. Talk about ducks – I had to take photos to remember all of them!

A male Northern Shoveler taking off in the centre. Below a Red-winged Blackbird. The water was full of Shovelers! Along with Pintails, a few Mallards, some Gadwalls. It was a surprise to see so many ducks on this one field. Grateful for spring flooding!

It is an enormous area.

The great stand off. The Red-winged Blackbird taunted the Canada Goose who was protecting its mate and their nest all afternoon.

Tree Swallows are the most common of the North American Swallows. They have this stunning iridescent blue-green upper parts – head, neck, wings, back with a spotless white underbelly, throat, etc. Two-toned! The lack of trees and woodpecker holes means that these birds are entirely dependent on nesting boxes for their breeding.

Oh, what damage we have done to the habitat of so many birds.

Purple Martins are the largest swallow found in North America. They used to build their nests and live in abandoned woodpecker holes but now, in the wetlands, and across the Prairies, they rely entirely on the goodness of humans to build them birdhouses so they can breed.

A pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds. Oh, I wish the light was better. They have a beautiful sepia-coloured head on an iridescent-green black body. These two had a nest in this tree and they were diligently keeping four Grackles at a distance.

A male Redhead. Easy to spot with that gorgeous and rather trendy brick-red upper neck and head! They are diving ducks and you will only find them in North America. Redheads like to lay their eggs in other ducks nests, more than any other duck, according to The Pocket Birds of Canada, 2nd edition (23).

Then when I walked the trails, it was a blessing that there were benches every 10 metres or so. Not because I was tired but overwhelmed and trying to identify all of the birds. Thank goodness for Merlin Sound ID and the Notes app on my phone!

It was a lovely time. Nothing was rushed…the stopping all around the trails allowed me to simply savour all those beautiful sounds and the smell of the marsh. There were children in the distance getting ready to go out in canoes and kayaks..they were laughing. Priceless.

As I write, Dyson and Scraggles are on the deck after peanuts, Little Red is going after the table feeder, Mr Crow is flying in and out, telling them the peanuts are his! What a blessed life. I cannot imagine, for a second, not having the sound of birds around me.

The big news of the morning is that Pale Male, the legendary Red-tail Hawk of Central Park has died. What a way to wake up! Thanks, ‘H’. He was called ‘Pale’ Male because of his light plumage. He was notorious for having his nest on one of the most expensive buildings around the Park and was the focus of the movie, The Legend of Pale Male. It is free online and if you haven’t seen it – or if you have – and want to honour this amazing raptor, have another look-

https://www.thelegendofpalemale.net

He was rescued by Bobby Horvath of WINORR.

At the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in Miami-Dade, Ron and Rita’s R5 fell out of the nest and has been taken for evaluation. He appears to be fine but whether or not he will be returned to the nest is another story since R4 could bolt.

‘T’ reports that the rescue of getting the nylon wrapped around one of the storkelets in Lindheim, Germany was a success.

The Loch of the Lowes nest is not strictly out of the ‘woods’ yet. The fish are not coming on the nest like they are at Rutland but, fish is coming. Continue to send your warmest and most positive wishes. Just look at those two sweet little babies.

Laddie brings a flapping fit to the nest at 1330 on the 16th.

These will be the only two hatches for Laddie and Blue NC0 this year. The first hatch was the second egg….and, as my grandmother always reminded me, things do work out. We might not always know the reason but, they do. In this instance, Blue NC0 has always struck me as a female osprey who can deal with, at most, two in the nest unlike Maya who has easily handled four three times. It has been a rough start and two healthy little ones is better than three sick and starving.

The Woodland Trust has put out a statement about the nest and the events of the last week.

An-update-from-the-osprey-nest-Scottish-Wildlife-TrustDownload

These two are seriously cute…let us hope that Laddie can keep up the fishing.

Laddie had only delivered on fish on Tuesday and then, right before 2100, he came in with a nice big one. Everyone went to bed with full tummies.

The wildfires in Canada are having a huge impact on the air quality not only for humans but for wildlife. This is the Fortis Exshaw osprey platform near Canmore, Alberta. The smoke is coming from fires at a distance. There are currently at least 81 fires burning in that province of Canada.

Oh, it would be nice if the pouring rain in Tennessee was in Alberta getting rid of the smoke. As I am writing Angel is keeping RTH5 snug and dry as the drops come down through the leaves and branches of the nest tree. There was snake on the menu today along with some of the usuals. RTH5 is growing, getting feathers, and is nothing short of adorable.

Tom’s deliveries to Angel and RTH5 caught on video by Arlene Beech.

Continued positive wishes for Lake Murray Ospreys. All their efforts on the night of Monday the 15th paid off – the GHO did not get C2 Monday night and let us all jointly send energy that it never does. Wish them well.

Thankfully C2 is cleverly camouflaged on that nest! Still, the GHO knows that it is there.

Lake Murray Osprey has put in more strobe lights, moved the mannequins around, put out some more bicycles – all in an effort to deter the GHO.

Big Red in all her glory! The Ms are growing and Arthur simply cannot stop hunting.

The little baby at Decorah hatchery is anything but a baby. It is walking stronger and flapping those beautiful wings as more and more juvenile feathers come in.

There are many advantages to being the only baby in the nest. Look at those legs and that fat bottom. Incredible.

All is well at Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg. A really nice big fish came late in the afternoon. I am not sure about prior deliveries. Big is so busy working those wings while Middle is enjoying that fish.

Oh, and then another big whopper came on the nest! Everyone at Achieva had a good fish day.

My goodness Blue 33 is a good provider! I lost count and couldn’t even go back before noon…fish after fish. Big ones for Maya and the kids – not little twiddlers. I cannot see a pip in either of the other two eggs. That does not mean it isn’t there, though.

These two have been together and raised so many osplets. They are like a very expensive Swiss watch in terms of their coordination and timing.

Oh, my goodness. The eyases are outside screaming when Lou lands on the ledge with lunch! They are so loud.

E22 is still on the nest and might have caught its first fish on Tuesday. It is, however, unclear if the fish was provided and brought to the nest by M15 or, after all the work that E22 has been doing trying to catch a fish at the pond, she finally got one. What is good is that E22 is still at home, still learning, gaining new skills, and of course, growing in confidence and strength. All of that will help ensure a long and prosperous life. Oh, don’t you wonder what has happened to E21?

Vija caught the event on video. Oh, that squeeeeee of 22’s.

For those watching the Golden Eaglet in Japan, Nina, she is growing fast and the parents have been delivering pheasant and deer for their little one! These are such beautiful eagles!

This is very worrisome. Only two more mutations required before it spreads quickly through humans. If you can help prevent bird flu by funding clean up activities, by volunteering, or even cleaning your bird feeders, please do. We have no concerns in Manitoba and no one is telling us to take down feeders. H5N1 has been moving to the West in North America but it is still spreading amongst waterfowl in the UK where this article was written.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/16/research-bird-flu-humans-prepare-now?CMP=share_btn_link

That is a quick check on some news and events we have been following. Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care, everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, updates, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘T’, WINORR, Storch Lindheim, LOTL, Scottish Woodland Trust, Fortis Exshaw, Window to Wildlife, Arlene Beech and Window to Wildlife, LMO, Cornell RTH, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Achieva Credit Union, LRWT, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Vija and SW Florida Eagle Cam, and The Guardian.

Fledge at Achieva, 2nd hatch at LOTL…Tuesday in Bird World

16 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It was another hot day in the Canadian Prairies. The temperature shot up to 29 C before one even realised it was hot outside. It is late evening, and it is still 28 degrees. The birds in the garden have been spending much time getting drinks out of the bird bath, and the bowls are scattered around the deck between the plants. It is vital to put water out in shallow dishes for them when it is hot – even more important than supplying food is water! The garden plants will need water later tonight. There is no rain in sight. This kind of lazy day – a summer day when it is not officially summer – gave me a chance to look at a new arrival in the stack of books I want to read. This one is Two Lights. Walking through Landscapes of Loss and Life by James Roberts. His writing style and references to his great-grandfather, the Scottish naturalist George Seton, pulled me in immediately. He lives in Wales along the border with Herefordshire and writes, “The dawn begins with seabirds, with the first faint wash of rose-tinted light touching their feathers. There are crested auklets perched on lava flows and sea cliffs. They are here in their millions. The sounds they make, as their milk-pale eyes open, creak and grate, as if overnight the salt winds have penetrated their workings. In among them are tufted puffins, red-legged kittiwakes, short-tailed albatrosses. Their purrs and shrieks begin.” Roberts imagines all the birds waking up at dawn around the world – that line of light separating day and night as it moves around the globe. He appears to have a fascinating mind and I can’t wait to get the time to really read this book. He continues, “It’s our fate on this ocean-facing island, if our direction of travel as a culture continues, to face the rising waters, the ever-more frequently boiling rivers. We may continue to poison them, to carve, block, and silt them for a time, yet, believing as we do that they are simply our resources to be harnessed. But they will outlast us, and their waters will run clean, eventually. There will come a time when this stretch of river will flow wilder than it does now.” The Ospreys have been here for 60 million years. They will be here- enough to begin again-, long after us, to reclaim these clear waters and their fish.

So many things to do and so little time to do them.

Lewis and Missey are not particularly cooperating when it comes to photos. When they were younger they would pose. Today, as usual, they are stuck to one another firm as if one was not there, the other would evaporate. They are watching out the window. Mr Crow is standing on the rim of the bird bath. They are as interested in what is happening in the garden as I am. They were the first to see the Northern Flicker when he landed in the lilac bushes today. Their sounds made me look!

The whole gang was here including Mr Blue Jay and Little Red who was frustrated that the birds were getting all the goodies from the table feeder.

Fledge of the Day comes from Achieva! Wow..look at Big go! 08:20:07. (More information on the nest below). Congratulations Achieva!

Smile of the Day. No one could believe that first hatch at Loch of the Lowes (LOTL) could be alive Monday morning and yet it was. Tears.

What a precious little baby.

On Tuesday, Laddie and Blue NC0 welcomed their second hatch of the season. Will there only be two Bobs?

I have been torn as to whether or not comment on the situation at LOTL. As anyone reading my blog knows, I believe in intervention when it will help and not harm them. Could we sit and watch the osplets starve to death not knowing if Laddie was only injured slightly? A number, how many is unknown, called for a fish table, myself included. When Laddie landed on the nest with that huge fish, we were all so glad he was well enough to care for his family. Now, it appears that this might have been an intervention to save the nest. If it was, then a big round of applause for those that helped! Please keep it up until Laddie is healed!

So grateful for all those people to kick in to help our little feathered friends! This feel good story comes to us today from CROW.

Our hearts go out to the Lake Murray Ospreys community. Middle will now be the only Bob at Lake Murray unless the GHO returns in the night and snatches it from the nest. It has been a tough 6 days for Lucy. She has lost her mate and two babies – just like River. I cannot even imagine what that must feel like. Now the fear of losing another one. Oh, these owls. I am always reminded of how the Crows actually escort the owls out of our neighbourhood during the day – not the night. Let us all hope that Lucy will be able to fledge one osplet this year. Send your best wishes.

This was posted by the individual who cares for the platform. We must always be mindful that we do not know what goes on behind the scenes and they must be feeling terrible right now. No sought music will be blaring and mannequins will be everywhere to try and now protect Lucy and C1. Be kind everyone. Their hearts are broken, too.

‘T’ writes that Lake Murray try and keep C2 and Lucy safe from the GHO. They have added: “3 strobe lights and a radio, along with moving the golf car and 2 trucks in the area. One night at a time is all we can do. Just like last year. Prayers for C2 and Lucy!” Send them all the positive energy that you can.

Lucy will defend this baby to her detriment if she sees the danger. We must now hope that all the deterrents that Lake Murray has put in place will work and we will have one nice healthy fledgling for Lucy.

Breakfast at Great Spirit Bluff for the four little falcons.

Things are looking well at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey Platform in St Petersburg, Florida despite a terrible drought in the area.

It looks like a couple of fish came to the nest on Monday. The last one was at 1857 as I write this. It is an enormous fish and everyone will get to eat off it including Diane who will wind up with a nice crop as well.

Life continues for Angel and RTH5 and Tom at their nest on the farm in Tennessee. As we know, Tom has really stepped up to his role as Dad and is providing prey and also standing over the baby when the other songbirds are attacking.

Such a big yawn.

Dad being protective while Mum is out hunting.

Looks like Angel brought in a squirrel!

You can see the ear clearly. When the feathers grow, it will be concealed. Have you noticed how dark the baby’s eyes are and how much they look like Angel’s?

Hot on the nest today. Little one panting.

‘A’ sent in the time stamps for Angel and her nest. My goodness how this has turned around to the good! “It was another day of eating for RTH5, who is now gigantic for a chick just 15 days old. Here are the time stamps: 10:33:18 Angel looks to be off on a mission. 11:35:57 Chick does some cro dropping. 11:39:43 Crop drops. 12:02:32 Tom in and 12:47:27 He is off after 2 Jays. Back 12:04:55. 12:07:34 Off gain. 12:49:20 Back up for a PS. 1:40:08 Angel returned to nest. 1:42:32 A little stretch for chick. 1:43:53 Angel of nest. 1;44:17 See her fly on a hot mission through trees. 1:46:32 Tom on duty. 1:50:22 Angel back with a squirrel she may have received from Tom while out nearby, as he had blood on his face and the squirrel was prepared. 1:58:10 Feed1. 2:19:35 Chick has had enough! 2:25:18 Time to do a face clean. 4:53:35 Angel is in strike mode. 4:54:15 She is off. And the chick has a PS. 5:06:20 Angel below and to the nest 5:06:53 with a young meadowlark. 5:09:30 Feed2. 5:48:48 Angel does another preening. 5:53:37 Chick crop drops. 6:39:38 Another preening. 7:29:10 Feed3. 8:19:17 Another preen and face wash. And the squirrel is finished, I think!”

The Ms are growing so fast. Big Red feeds and preens while the eyases grow and sleep. Arthur loads the pantry!

Big Red so loves being a mother.

Waiting and watching for Victor to take his first flight at Moorings Park Ospreys. Not yet. Abby flew a week ago! They are both intent on seeing what is happening in the water today.

And, of course, Sally is always ready to feed her babies.

While we are all ready to see the babies on the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta, Dr Sharpe has been busy elsewhere in the Channel Islands banding eaglets.

Banding right now.

At one time there were two eaglets spotted and that is precisely what Dr Sharpe and his team found when they got to the nest – two little boys for Thunder and Akecheta this year! I have to admit that the baby rails on that nest make me nervous just looking at them as I type these words.

If you are not aware, Dr Sharpe is retiring. Amber will be taking over in his place. If you are as grateful to him as I am consider sending him a quick note to tell him what his interventions and everything he did for the Channel Islands Eagles to be restored meant to you. I am sure he will print them and read the letters in time. His e-mail is: psharpe@iws.org

Osprey eggs being laid across Canada now as the Ospreys have returned from their migration. ‘H’ caught another egg at Fortis Exshaw today and now Newfoundland!

Both of the eaglets at Duke Farms have now branched.

Severna Park Ospreys at the Loudon Valley Osprey Centre have three osplets on the nest. Thankful to ‘H’ who is going to keep an eye on this family for me. It is always gratifying for three to survive and fledge but it is always a challenge for the parents to have food and security for five.

‘H’ spotted another egg being laid at Fortis Exshaw near Canmore, Alberta and also a feeding at Patuxent despite the egg cup being so deep all you can see are the feeding motions of the parents. There are osplets everywhere now and it is going to get busy as more begin to hatch.

Well, he is still my pick – Blue 33. There he was at 0434 with a fish for Maya and the babies just as the sun rose. Like the chapter ‘Chasing the Dawn’ in Roberts book, around the world, there are males bringing fish to their mates to start the morning off so that their babies are not hungry.

The camera was not zoomed in close enough to see if either of the other two eggs had a pip. Already these two are loving their fish. Nice big bites they were taking, too at Manton Bay. Such strong little osplets.

Others like Louis at Loch Arkaig will be bringing their mate a fish and letting them have a breakfast break from their all-night incubation. It is wonderful to check on these UK nests early…the songbirds are heralding in the dawn.

Telyn is also waiting for Idris to relieve her at the Dyfi nest in Wales. They must get so stiff!

Ah, Telyn couldn’t wait for that comfort break…gives us a chance to have a good look at those three eggs. She was gone for a minute and back on those eggs!

For all the newcomers, Telyn is the daughter of Maya at Rutland who has two little ones she is feeding and another two eggs she is incubating.

At Glaslyn, Aran slept on the perch while Elen incubated the eggs.

Ah, I often wonder what Murphy thinks about that little eaglet that grew up. Still doing well. What a lucky break for both of these guys.

Thankfully Bruce Yolton continues to track the raptors and birds around Central Park and he brings us news of Falco. He says, “It’s getting much harder to watch Flaco, the feral Eurasian Eagle-Owl that was released from the Central Park Zoo over three months ago. He’s not using the construction site as often, has gotten much quieter, and is less visible with the trees fully leafed out.”

Luckily, I did get to see him for about twenty minutes on Sunday night.

Wildlife Rehabilitation. I have been asked to write a blog on the new use of technology in helping our wildlife and every time I turn around there are old school methods being used. This one is perfect for keeping this Snowy Owl cool – an ice machine. If you have one and you are not using, take it out to your local wildlife rehab clinic. They might be able to put it to use!

A rescue is taking place at a stork nest in Germany today (Starch Lindheim) to remove a nylon stocking or strong brought to the nest. The fire brigade will do this today, not yesterday when it was discovered because there are too many straw bales at the site of the nest. It has worried some who think the adult might fly off with the nylon string attached and pull off a storklet.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. A lot is going on, and this is just a glimpse into some of the nests we have been watching – particularly those that might have concerns. We send all good wishes to Lake Murray! Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘L’, ‘T’, LOTL, Geemeff and LOTL, Lake Murray Ospreys, Great Spirit Bluff Falcons, Barbara Snyder and Achieva Ospreys with Jack and Diane, Achieva Credit Union, Heidi McGru and Achieva, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Moorings Park Ospreys, IWS and Explore.org, Townsend Duong and CIEL, Lin Lawson and osprey Friends, Duke Farms, Severna Park Ospreys, LRWT, Loch Arkaig, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, World Bird Sanctuary, Bruce Bolton, Medina Raptor Centre, and Starch Lindheim.

Little Bob is alive at LOTL, C1 taken by owl…Monday in Bird World

15 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

If we blink, it will be June. Seriously. I could not believe it when I went out to check on the garden Sunday evening and within the last week, there are little green tomatoes on the hanging vines, the lettuce is up and so are the climbing beans. All of the transplants are thriving. I have three peony bushes to plant and done. Oh, we love summer in Canada. It is a time for relaxing and being outside after the long winter. It is also nice to see the migratory birds flying through on their way north. The Harris Sparrows were here yesterday and some have Baltimore Orioles in their gardens now. I simply cannot stress how good for our souls nature is – even when the times are tough for our feathered friends. The air might not be as fresh as it could be, but it is so much better than having a furnace on all the time…going barefoot, having sunlight after 1630, clear skies and stars.

The worry has been at the Loch of the Lowes but, Laddie has brought in fish and by some miracle that first hatch – which appears to be the second egg – has survived. I am in tears. This is excellent news coming on the continuing sadness at Lake Murray.

Monday morning early. Is this the first hatch? Has it gotten any food?

It really is a miracle. Everyone thought that it was dead and dying but here is Laddie with a fish and Blue NC0 feeding that hatch. It turns out it was the paler second egg so if the next one hatches it should be the third so only two for Blue NC0 to deal with – that is a blessing. She does not do well with three..but two, yes!

Geemeff gives us an edited feeding over 15 minutes. Fantastic, and, yes, I am in tears.

Lucy brought in five fish to the osprey platform at Lake Murray on Sunday. No one went hungry!

Ricky was last seen on 9 May at 17:09 when he delivered this fish. Five full days. Please send your best wishes to Lucy and the two surviving osplets.

This post sadly gives us some confirmation that a dead Osprey has been found in the area of Lake Murray and I am going to presume that it was Ricky. I hope that LMO sends the body for testing. That said, Lucy has picked up the pace on fish deliveries and let us all continue to wish her well as she continues on this journey of raising these two osplets to fledge all on her own. She has lost a mate and a chick.

And then the sadness. ‘H’ and Kathryn report C1 was taken by a GHO last night at 0137. This nest is not getting a break and Lucy was doing so well. I am beyond words.

The osplets at Achieva were also eating a fish brought in by Mum at 17:38 on Sunday. They had an early fish brought in before 0700.

Everyone is alright at the nest of Big Red and Arthur. Everyone is fed. Arthur has found some nests to raid and I see at least a couple more squirrels in the pantry.

Angel’s baby RTH5 has been eating well at the nest in Tennessee on Sunday also. Tom has really grown into his role as Dad and not any time too soon. I thought this hawklet was a goner. No food and newly hatched for 30 hours.

RTH5 has black talons. it will be a normal coloured Red-tail Hawk not Leucistic like Angel.

Baby was to full to are if Angel brought in more prey Sunday night!

‘A’ found a cute little video by Ondabebe of RTH5’s birthday breakfast delivery.

When I checked there were three fish on the Moorings Park Osprey Platform in Naples, Florida. Victor has yet to fledge. It is 18:35 Sunday night.

The two hatches at Manton Bay are strong and loving their fish. Two more eggs to go for Blue 33 and Maya.

Blue 33 continues to come in and check on his family. Love this guy!

Aran and Elen are looking good at Glaslyn. Awhile to go for those eggs to hatch but life is fine on that nest in the Glaslyn Valley in Wales.

Louis has been hanging out with Dorcha at Loch Arkaig…gorgeous couple. Dorcha reminds me so much of Mrs G with that dark colouring. She is definitely good at the old ‘snake eye’.

CJ7 and Blue 022 have the switch off for fish and incubation exchange down. They are a lovely couple and it appears that Poole Harbour is planning ways in which visitors can view the nest from a hide without interfering with the birds.

For all of us missing E22 – and I suspect that is everyone reading this – s/he’s home! Must have gone for a little tour. Time: 17:23 Sunday the 14th.

Still no Ospreys at the Cape Henlopen State Park brand new Osprey platform but the Black Vultures continue to love it!

Murphy’s eaglet is all grown up and perched like Dad! Just look at that. We know the nestlings grow and watch and study everything their parents do. Then they do them! Just think if human parents realised this and only did what they wanted their children to emulate.

While Murphy’s b baby was getting to perch or ‘sort of branch’, one of the two eaglets at Duke Farms has officially branched.

It is one explanation for it – Jack at the Dahlgren Osprey platform places the stuffed animals as decoys so that if the owl attacks it takes a stuffy and not one of his and Harriet’s chicks. No chicks yet to take but the Owl got one of the dogs on the nest last evening.

This article on Svalbard is particularly disturbing. The focus is on climate change and the Polar Bear but Svalbard is home to the largest population of Pink-footed Geese that spend their ‘winter’ in the UK – in Scotland and in Norfolk. When it is getting too hot for the birds in the south and now in the north, where do they go and how do they survive?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/13/svalbard-the-arctic-islands-where-we-can-see-the-future-of-global-heating?CMP=share_btn_link

I have been reading about the Pink-footed Geese in Wintering. A Season with Geese by Stephen Rutt. His book led me to get the one that had inspired him – A Thousand Geese by Peter Scott and James Fisher written in 1953. “The pink-footed goose is the most abundant of our British wild geese – and the wildest. Its winter flocks on the meadows by the great estuaries of England and Scotland have been the respected quarry of generations of wild-fowlers, and – today – watchers. Its breeding grounds are remoter from civilisation than those of any other grey goose” writes Scott. His tale was of the wonder and the banding of thousands of geese. For Rutt, his is a diary and he speaks to a need to ‘see’ the birds that we have at hand and appreciate them. With the change in weather, and the ice melting – what will happen to the pink-footed geese?

There they are in England and Scotland where they arrive at the end of September and stay through the winter. Did you know that the geese travel with their fledglings as a family? It is quite remarkable.

“Pink-footed Geese” by naturalengland is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As I worry about geese – no matter the species that I have come to love because of our local geese and ducks that return in spring – others are working to try and breed captive birds to release in the wild. There was some success with Socorio Doves at the London Zoo! The author says, “Numbers have been rising slowly and the birth of a new chick raises hopes that the doves, which once thrived on Socorro island, 600km (373 miles) off the west coast of Mexico, before being eradicated, could be restored to their former homeland.” Wouldn’t that be fantastic?!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/14/london-zoo-team-save-doomed-species-rewilding-socorro-dove-wild?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so much for being with me today. Remember Dr Sharpe’s team are doing banding at the West End Eagle nest in the Channel Islands today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, discussions, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, Kathryn, Geemeff, LOTL, Nick Gordon and Friends of Dyfi Osprey Project Lake Murray ospreys, Laurie Spender and osprey Friends, Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, Poole Harbour Ospreys, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Heidi McGru and Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park, World Bird Sanctuary, Duke Farms, Dahlgren Ospreys, and The Guardian.

Warning at LOTL, Maya and Blue have second hatch…Sunday in Bird World

14 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone, and the very best of Mother’s Day to all those female Raptors and to several males who stepped in to be both Mum and Dad this season – yes, that is you, M15. We are grateful for all the joy you give to us and mindful of all the challenges that you face daily. Our goal is to try and make your lives easier – one person, one bird at a time. Today we have two raptor mothers whose lives are full of anxiety – keep them in your hearts. They are Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes, whose mate is unable to fish and there is a baby and Lucy at Lake Murray who lost her mate, Ricky, last week. To all the female humans who have stepped in to care for a living soul – human, bird, or otherwise – I hope that you have a lovely day!

Yesterday was the Big Count and I was shocked when I went to count the ducks and geese at one of the local ponds and found that the males outnumbered the females 4:1 – both Mallards and Wood Ducks. It was not a nice scene for a couple of the females not paired up with males. Those that were were cowering at the edge go the water, hiding.

The males were everywhere. I have never seen anything like it. Hardly any females.

This lucky female had her mate protecting her from the younger males.

In the garden, it has now become crystal clear why there is so much suet disappearing from the log! Little Red can pull an entire ball out of the holes and scurry it away!!!!!!!!!!!

The White-crowned Sparrows arrived yesterday with a few Harris Sparrows and Pine Siskins.

If you have trouble attracting birds, I highly recommend one of these tray feeders instead of the tube ones. They are easy to clean. Yes, the squirrels can get to them as well but everyone has been sharing without much fuss including Mr Crow.

Besides..Dyson needs to eat, too. It looks like she might have babies.

You need to mark your calendars. We have not been able to see Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets this year since they moved their nest. Dr Sharpe and his team will be banding them on the 15th of May and then on the 27th of May, Chase and Cholyn’s only eaglet will get its bling. Here is the announcement. I am so excited to see those West End babies!!

I want to start with some really good news. When the nests lose a mate, we have to take it one day at a time and we also have to hope that the osplets are old enough for the Mum to leave the nest to find food – or, alternatively, for the male to brood/incubate. On Saturday, around 1647, Lucy brought in a whopper of a fish to the Lake Murray Osprey Platform in South Carolina. It was MASSIVE. She was still feeding the osplets two hours later and there was still fish left for her!

One day at a time. Anything can happen. Send positive wishes to this nest, please!

It looks like Lucy got some fish and she has spent Saturday night on the perch watching out for the babies.

Laddie and Blue NC0s first hatch of the year is here.

Here is a video of that little one just after hatch at LOTL by Geemeff and the hatch in slow motion.

Is Laddie injured? is that fish blood? He did manage to bring in a big fish to the nest for Blue NC0 and the little one…scroll down to see what happened to that fish.

Laddie took a nice fish to the nest and then Blue NC0 dropped it. This is not a good start with a hungry Bob and another one pipping.

There is now a warning at the LOTL streaming cam. I am posting it here as Geemeff sent me with a big question – why not put out a fish table! Take the bold step and help this family until it can be determined what is going on!

Viewer warning
Please be aware that, due to the current situation with the male osprey, there may be scenes on the live webcam that some viewers may find upsetting.

Concern over male osprey, LM12
A number of you have contacted us over the last several days with concerns about the male osprey at Loch of the Lowes, LM12. Whilst we can report that LM12 is being seen from the hides, flying from time to time around the reserve and occasionally coming to the nest, it would appear that he may have sustained an injury meaning he is unable to hunt. At the time of writing, he has not brought a fish to the female on the nest for several days now.

Please know that we share your concerns, especially now that there is a small chick on the nest, and we will continue to monitor the nest around the clock. Sadly injury, illness and even mortality can and do regularly occur on wild osprey nests. Whilst we enjoy a privileged view into the lives of these two ospreys, it’s important to remember that they are wild breeding animals. The Trust has a non-intervention approach as we believe that it’s important to let nature take its course, with all the highs and lows that entails.

Please be advised that staff do not currently have the capacity to respond to your kind messages of concern. Thank you for understanding

Please keep Laddie and Blue NC0 in your thoughts and send them the very best and most positive wishes that you have.

Sad. Falco, the Eurasian Owl that escaped the zoo in Central Park, is eating out of dumpsters and searching for rats near dumpsters. Yes, he is doing the part of ‘Raptors are the Answer’ for New York City but what a life…but, of course, I am looking at this from a human perspective. Maybe he has so many big rats in NYC that he is full to the brim and never hungry as he might be in the wild of the wild. Bruce Yolton states, this is not the idyllic wild life one might imagine for this owl far away from its native home. It is Day 100 since he escaped. The top video sitting by the dumpster waiting for rats; the second in a tree in the park.

Smiles all around at the nest of Leucistic Red-tail Hawk Angel and Tom. Tom knows what he needs to do! More prey came in, and RTH5 went to sleep with a full crop and some pin feathers showing Saturday night. ‘A’ reminds me that RTH5 will be two weeks old tomorrow. Just look how big it has grown, and so happy that this nest has stabilised for Angel and her young mate so that this baby can survive and thrive, we hope.

RTH5 had a nice big crop Sunday morning!

Big Red and Arthur’s Ms are doing just fine despite the odd fly around that nest full of dead animals. Big is now doing preening of its younger siblings instead of pecking and that is fantastic…she will be a good little mama like her mother, Big Red.

Good Night Big Red. Happy Mother’s Day.

Arthur is healthy and is a great provider just like Idris is with his big fish for Telyn on Saturday at Dyfi. Look at that nice fish!

Blue 33 has the fish ready for Maya and the baby after the first hatch.

After Maya fed the little one, with Blue 33 watching, Blue settled down to be with his mate. Oh, I do love this osprey. My pick of the crop of them!

On Mother’s Day, Maya and Blue’s second egg hatched at 0636 and ten minutes later, Maya was feeding both chicks.

Geemeff has the hatch on video for us. Just look at how strong that second hatch is minutes after it enters the world…my goodness. There are two eggs to go. Happy Mother’s Day, Maya!

In St Petersburg, Florida, 56 day old Big Bob at the Achieva Nest helicoptered at 17:10. Winds had picked up a little with a few rain drops falling.

Diane brought in two fish on Saturday. The first at 0704 which Middle stole from Big at 0722 and a second fish at 0852. If there were alter deliveries, I did not see them.

Abby and Victor are both 10 weeks old. They hatched 18.5 hours apart on the 3rd of March. Abby flew for the first time on the 8th of May and it is possible that Victor will take his first flight on Mother’s Day!

Talk about two very healthy osplets. This is how birds can look – check out that plumage – when a community or a business decides to stock a pond. With climate change – and we have seen this with the storms and the drought this year at the nests, and it is just beginning, the heat. It is up to us to ease their lives and stocking ponds is the least we can do. The other would be to keep anglers off – no monofilament lines, sinkers, or hooks.

At Cal Falcons, Rosa is really working those wings. My goodness this big female is growing so fast and doing so many things that we have missed by having all those males on the nest in previous years. What a nice change.

At 1332, E22 was on the branches of the nest true and just after 1400, she was down at the pond with M15. E22 is not sleeping in the nest or on the branches tonight for the first time. Is E22 at another tree? nearer the pond? or did our little one finally depart? We wait.

Harriet would be terribly proud.

SK Hideaways caught what could be our last sighting of E22. Tears of joy but bittersweet. What an amazing eaglet E22 is – and what an incredible year at SW Florida. We now wait to see what will happen with M15.

There is an awareness campaign by the American Bird Conservancy. Please read and consider not using these products that harm our precious raptors and birds.

And a reminder from our water fowl:

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘H’. ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘S’, Jess Gallivan and CIEL, Lake Murray Ospreys, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Geemeff and LOTL, Sue Wallabanks and Friends of Loch Arkaig ospreys, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Bruce Yolton, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways and SW Florida Eagle Cam, and Michelle Minalak Lampey.

Hatch at LOTL…Saturday in Bird World

13 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a busy day today for all the people that love birds. It is World Migratory Day and it is the Big Bird Count in North America.

Today is World Migratory Bird Day for the Americas. Isn’t this a gorgeous poster linking the birds with that most crucial element, Water?

The organisers of this year’s event state:

World Migratory Bird Day 2023 will focus on the topic of water and its importance for migratory birds. 

Water is fundamental to life on our planet. The vast majority of migratory birds rely on aquatic ecosystems during their life cycles. Inland and coastal wetlands, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, and ponds are all vital for feeding, drinking, or nesting, and also as places to rest and refuel during their long journeys.

Unfortunately, aquatic ecosystems are becoming increasingly threatened around the world and so are the migratory birds that depend on them. The increasing human demand for water, as well as pollution and climate change, are having a direct impact on the availability of clean water and the conservation status of many migratory birds.

World Migratory Bird Day is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

UN Environmental Programmes

The Big Bird Count around the world has already begun in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, with counts already coming in through Cornell’s eBird and iNaturalist sites. I urge all of you to participate – even if you have seen only one bird today! These counts are so important to understanding which species are growing and which are diminishing. eBird is free and there are lots of informative articles and activities there on the Cornell site.

Shout out to PG&E for helping this Osprey family instead of ruining their breeding season! Thank you.

Well, I am just smiling. For the second day in a row, Middle Bob at the Achieva Osprey nest has stolen a fish from Big and had a nice meal for a change. Look at Diane’s eyes. She does not miss a thing and she knows that her second hatch is getting its Mojo.

Middle got it on the second try! Way to go, Middle! This kid is really getting its confidence – something reinforced with a nice fish meal. But this nest needs fish. As ‘H’ says, these osplets are ‘so skinny’.

Tom and Angel continue to bring in prey items. A squirrel was on the menu Friday morning. Little baby is eating well and Tom was there with a nice vole for Saturday breakfast! Oh, he has this figured out and is doing such a good job taking care of Angel and their baby.

Those Blue Jays sure are bothersome.

Tom brought in another squirrel and at least one lizard. I will have to check and see what the total count was for Friday.

Thanks ‘A’ for that time stamp. Looking at the nest from the other camera really show those pesky Blue Jays flitting about.

I have always talked about how calm Big Red and Arthur’s nest is..well, this year, M1 is a cracker and she has decided that everyone will know she is the ‘boss’. It is too funny.

Big Red used to sit on them if they got too cantankerous. I have no worries. Big Red is an exceptional Mum, and Arthur has a nest of dead animals.

Gerome is in feeding his storklets in Hochstadt, Germany. Ever since ‘T’ introduced me to storks I have a fondness for these amazing creatures and their dancing when food is brought to the nest. The fact that they are all over Europe and people love and care for them as harbingers of good luck warms my heart.

Lucy has fed the two osplets at Lake Murray. Ricky is now missing for 3 days and I have entered his name on the Memorial Wall. If he returns, which I seriously doubt, I will retract that entry. Kathryn sent the commentators report as well as a link to the video below. Let us all send positive wishes that Lucy can get enough fish to feed them all now that Ricky is not here.

Kathryn writes : “No sign of Ricky today. 💔 and only one fish. This has gone from bad to worse. Here is the Facebook’s page top commenter summary (there is no other summary, she also posts on the website) of the day: 5-12-2023 No sign of Ricky today even though throughout the day Lucy seemed to be fish begging. At 8:06pm Lucy is seen diving catching a fish bringing it to nest. When she landed the fish landed right on top of C2. C1 started dominating C2 but the fish sort of blocked it until Lucy moved it. C1 made sure to eat first as C2 smartly waited. Slowly after C1 had been eating C2 worked his way to the fish and got some good bites. Both C’s as well as Lucy ended up with a good meal finishing off the fish at 9:15pm This was the only fish of the day for the C’s and considering that the domination by C1 was light as C2 again played it smartly waiting his turn.”

Polo7422 posted a video of the feed. That is a really nice fish that Lucy caught. Let us hope that she is able to get two of those a day. That would make all the difference in the world to this nest.

This was the posting and summary for Thursday at Lake Murray. Let us all hope that Lucy can keep this up!

E22 almost poses for photos on the camera at SW Florida in Fort Myers. What a beautiful fledgling.

B16 continues to be fed by her parents, Pa and Missy Berry, at the eagle nest at Berry College in Georgia. B16 is 113 days old today.

I want to call her Red Rosa..she is such a big girl and such a delight. This is little Lou feeding his first hatch with Annie.

SK Hideaways caught Red Rosa doing all kinds of things…including being a Mum to the little ones.

People, so often, do not understand the importance of banding the chicks. there is so much information that we can glean from those bands. For me, it is when the fledglings return after their two year absence. I am looking for one particular osprey, Blue 464. There are other two year olds appearing and one of those today was ‘Only Bob’ at Llyn Clywedog two years ago – he was incredible. Everyone believed this osplet to be a female he was so large! Well, today, Blue 496 returned to his natal nest at Llyn Clywedog and his band was photographed…his mother, Seren, was on the nest incubating her eggs for this year. I hope he finds a female and a nest. Congratulations Blue 496, you survived your migration to Africa in your first year and your return as a two year old!

Abby went off for another flight today. Victor is not yet interested. Nice to be on the nest having some more fish – as if either one could hold another bite.

Abby returns. She has got her landing just right.

An attentive Osprey Dad – yes, that is Blue 33 and he has been on and off the nest at Manton Bay at Rutland checking on Maya and the chick.

The baby and its Mum had a couple of feeds. We need to tell Maya to stand on the other side so we can see!

Maya feeds the chick for the first time – and we can see it! Thanks, Rutland.

It is still awhile to go at Dahlgren for the Osprey eggs to pip and Jack continues to bring in the stuffies. Poor Harriet. She’s got them over at the side making baby rails.

There was a pip, however, at Loch of the Lowes, when Maya’s baby was hatching. We should have a little one for Laddie LM12 and Blue NCO at LOTL on Saturday and we did – that hatch came at 12:30. Oh, Laddie. I hope that you are not injured and that is why you are having trouble with fish.

Geemeff caught the sounds of the chick at LOTL!

It will be a while longer for Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig. You might recall that we were all worried that Dorcha might not return. So glad she did and happy to wait for the bairns (Scottish and Northern English for children).

I love how the UK males are almost always punctual with their evening fish for the Mums who have been incubating. It gives them a meal and a chance to stretch their legs and wings before the long night incubation. Idris is very good to take over so Telyn can enjoy her dinner at Dyfi in Wales.

The eyases have hatched at the Spartan Stadium scrape box maintained by the students at the University of Michigan!

The official report on the amount of restorations that Lady and Dad are doing at their nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest has been posted. You might recall that the possums had dug a hole in the centre of the nest and there was much concern over those precious eggs falling into it.

There are now three baby osplets at the Severn Park, Maryland Osprey Platform…they are hatching everywhere!!!!!!

For all the goshawk lovers out there, Arlene Beech caught a delivery of a squirrel to Mum and the chick. Just look at that little one…it knows what prey is! I love Goshawks…just not around Osprey nests.

Karl II tending to the four eggs of his and Kaia’s at the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest in Estonia.

Bety and Bukacheck have five eggs at Mlady Buky, The Czech Republic, that are being incubated.

This is the view of the nest of White-tail Eagle, Milda, in Durbe County, Latvia. Urmas is unsure whether to go and clear the camera as there has been no rain. He might normally do this at banding but he is concerned that the adults might be frightened. It is also unclear the fate of the youngest eaglet. We wait to hear and hope for the best as the eldest was getting aggressive by 5 May. That was a week ago.

Oh, it is duckling and gosling season and this is a reminder to please not feed the wildlife anything that would harm them. Bread is a real ‘no no’ as it can cause Angel Wing. They love it – it is full of sugar and salt – like cookies for humans. Other things to avoid include the following:

Please have the number of your local wildlife rehabber in your phone contacts. If you see a bird or mammal in distress, please do not hesitate to call them!

When I wake up, there could be another bobblehead or two! It is exciting. Please send your positive wishes to Lucy at Lake Murray so that she can catch enough fish so that she will not lose another osplet. There are so many nests to cover…today’s blog just touched on a few. Any not mentioned are doing well.

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

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘S’, UN Environment, Cornell eBird, Ed Oswald Ospreys Only, Achieva Credit Union, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Hochstadt Storks, Lake Murray ospreys, Laurie Spencer and Osprey Friends, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Berry College Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, John Williams and Llyn Clywedog, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Dahlgren Ospreys, Geemeff and LOTL, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Sonja Ann and Orange Australia PF, Eagle Cam, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Arlene Beech and Taiwanese Research Group for goshawks, Estonian Eagle Club, and Lady Buky.

First UK hatch at Manton Bay, Cal Falcons named…Friday in Bird World

12 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I took Tuesday afternoon off to go to Assiniboine Park. It runs along the Assiniboine River, is home to the Zoo, the English Gardens, the Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens, and now The Leaf. The sky was clear and it was hot. People were chatting and having their lunch on benches and laughing. here were Chipping Sparrows, Greylag Geese, Wood Ducks, Canada Geese, Franklin Gulls, Nuthatches, Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos along with the very friendly Black-capped Chickadees. It was a lovely day to be outside. I did not spend as much time watching the screens – my eye doctor will thank me. But I have a reasonable run down on some of the nests we are watching.

We need to start with something special and this appeared in the Fort Myers weekly newspaper and is making the rounds of the FB groups. M15 is a hard act to follow – human or otherwise!

Just look at this fledgling that M15 raised. You are incredible E22!

At Cal Falcons, Red caught a moth! Oh, goodness. The first thing that came to mind was Alden and when he taught the eyases of 2022 to catch moths. Red is soooooo big – a first hatch female. So different from all the males…she is right out there doing everything!

‘H’ reports the names are Red is Rosa, Blue is Luna, and Yellow is Zephyr. So happy to see the names of the children used this year!

Is there a hatch in progress at Manton Bay Rutland for Blue 33 and Maya? Why do we think this? Maya is not hungry! Just look at that nice fresh fish Blue 33 just delivered! Maya is always hungry so something is up!

This is at 2215:

Yes, absolutely! Geemeff confirms that 0818 the first hatch for Blue and Maya and perhaps a second on the way! Remember. They have four eggs. If they raise them successfully it will be their fourth clutch of four eggs to fledge! Super Family.

Blue NC0 and Laddie LM12 laid their egg first before Blue 33 and Maya but, it will be a close horse race with these two nests.

We have a little while to go for Idris and Telyn’s eggs to hatch at Dyfi.

I am really excited to see how the season unfolds for new couple Aran and Elen at Glaslyn. This couple made the BBC news…see below. Their eggs will be hatching a little later.

OK. I will make you feel guilty — if you love those fluffy sweet Royal Cam chicks like Pippa and SP and you eat tuna. Yes, tuna, unless you catch it yourself in the ocean. Maybe it is time to pass on that sandwich or salad, as the tuna industry is responsible for the death of the albatross, according to new research by BirdLife International.

New-study-underlines-risk-longline-vessels-pose-to-threatened-albatrosses-BirdLife-InternationalDownload

Good news at Achieva. Middle is getting confident. This is a big deal. If the second hatch is not confident but, rather, is shy and meek, on this nest, they could starve. Middle at the Achieva Osprey nest got its change at 1007 on Thursday morning to take a fish from Big, mantle it, and have a nice feed. Way to go Middle! Still, as ‘R’ notes, this nest is so difficult to watch when you see all the fish at Moorings Park!

There is positively no shortage of fish for Sally and Harry and their kids at Moorings Park. The fledglings will be so healthy. Let us hope that they thrive…and if you ever get the chance, please advocate for the stocking of the ponds and rivers with native fish for the ospreys.

Fish everywhere…always eating…Moorings Park. That is what I will remember about this season!

Aran and Elen made the BBC news! Everyone is so glad that Aran found a new mate and Eden looks like she is going to be a fantastic Mum. A new era for Glaslyn and one lucky female who found this incredible male.

Glaslyn-osprey-finds-new-lovebird-and-set-to-become-dad-again-BBC-NewsDownload

Big Red and Arthur’s three Ms are doing fantastic. They just seem to be growing faster than I remember in past years.

It is difficult to be certain if any prey has come on the nest for Angel and her baby on Thursday. Three lizards were mentioned but the moderator of the chat says no prey delivered…you can see my confusion. Yesterday was a virtual buffet! This chick does no appear ‘on the surface’ to have been harmed by not eating for over 30 hours when it was even younger but, the reality is that it should be eating every couple of hours.

‘A’ reports: “Tom is getting the idea that the baby needs frequent feeding. Today, he has brought in three lizards and he just flew in with something that is larger – cannot even see if it’s feathered or furred because Angel is obscuring it. Again, Angel and Tom fly in together, landing literally side by side, exactly like yesterday. So close together they appear to be a single bird. It’s hard to see which of the two brings the prey and which takes it, but I suspect it is Tom giving the prey to Angel. He did intervene and re-grab one of the lizards, but the chat suggests that was to kill it not steal it. The chick ate all three of the lizards and mum is feeding it from the fourth prey item even as I type. We are SO proud of Tom. He has come a long way.”

Murphy’s baby is not a baby and we now know that Rockababy is a Male. Just look at that eaglet! That crop and those legs and that fat little bottom. This is one healthy eaglet. World Bird Sanctuary did a fantastic job pairing these two.

The Denton Homes trio hatched on April 1 and 4. They are 41 and 38 days old today. It was a soggy day on the nest but they did some self-feeding and worked on standing and walking.

It was hot over at the Decorah Hatchery nest.

The triplets at Dulles-Greenway don’t seem to care about the plastic Martin brings in or the pieces that Mum Rosa weaves into the nest, just look at them. Their sights are set on that big world beyond.

It looks like it was hot in Pittsburgh at the US Steel nest of US6. Once they get their thermal down, the eaglets can help regulate their temperature by panting with their mouth open.

Congratulations to Patogue, New York on their first osplet hatch of the 2023 season.

Baby Season or Orphan Season? It is all the same. This is the time of year when there are nests and where little ones are getting blown out, dropped, nests are toppling, parents are lost. How to identify a nestling and what do you do if you find one. NOTE: The number below in the poster might well not apply to you! – check for your local wildlife rehab clinic.

One of my favourites – one of Monty’s boys, Tegid Z1 caught eating a fish. He has a nest but there is no camera and it is on private property so we seldom see him unless he lands on the Glaslyn nest (visiting his brother Aaron Z2 at Pont Cresor?). Nice to see you Tegid!

If you are watching the Loch Garten nest, things are still not settled. Poor Asha.

I am always interested in how groups funded their projects – or not. Friends of Ospreys Su Australia – the Port Lincoln group that identifies sites, erects platforms, and puts on trackers – charges $20. They have over 900 members and are hoping that everyone pays on time. That is 18,000+ AUS dollars. We associate them with Port Lincoln and the trackers and the barge. Is this the way to go to support your projects?

In other instances, it is difficult for groups to earn money. We immediately think that students at a university have ample funding but sometimes the funds go to athletics and not the study of birds or cameras to observe Ospreys. We watched the pair at University of Florida-Gainesville on the light stand above the practice field in previous years. The bulbs were changed to LEDs and then the camera was hit by lighting. The cost to replace the camera is 10k. The students and their department, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, have obtained a pledge for 5k. They are looking for everything from small donations – and I do mean small – to large to match this donor in order to replace their camera. If you are an alumni or a friend or someone who enjoyed this camera, I know that they would appreciate any funds and they are tax deductible if you live in the US. Google uff.ufl.edu and you will see the following tab:

And just a note! I do not know nor do I seek to find out who donates to any of the causes that I mention!

So glad Rose is home. ‘H’ says Rose looked tried and haggard, dirty when she got home..she does still a bit. Wonder what happened to her? We did not want another missing mate. It is too difficult and yet, we might have one at Lake Murray. Sadly, Lucy’s osplets are not as old as R4 and R5.

Heading back to our problem nest. The situation at Lake Murray is not good. Kathryn reports, “I haven’t seen Ricky today again, Lucy is bringing in fish but they are little. She is trying hard. Middle got maybe 3 bites and Big was furious about that. You can actually see the look on her face that she can’t believe middle is eating at all. She is pulling feathers out of middle’s back. Luckily middle is protecting its head so far. Middle knows to lay down and pretend to be knocked out.  Right now, big is laying on middle, waiting for movement again. She doesn’t even like middle asking for food. Horrible.”

Ricky has not been seen for two days. If he has not appeared by tomorrow, we can safely believe that he is no longer with us. It will be tough going for Lucy who is, no doubt, quite hungry and well, will Middle survive?

Geemeff confirms that there is a hatch at Threave Castle, possible Black 80s but we will clarify later. Thanks so much for being with me today…it is starting in the UK and I could not be more delighted. Stocked ponds and less intruders…Take care. See you soon!

I want to thank everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog this morning: ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘R’, Ft Myers Weekly, SWFlorida Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, LRWT, LOTL, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Birdlife International, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, BBC News, Cornell RTH, Window to Wildlife, World Bird Sanctuary, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource/Explore, Dulles-Greenway, PIX Cams, Mary Anne Miller and Osprey Friends, BCSPC, Elfyn Lewis and Glaslyn Osprey Group, Liz Bracken and RSPB, and Lake Murray Ospreys.

Angel’s nest normalises…Thursday in Bird World

11 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, it was a scorcher on the Canadian Prairies on Wednesday and we are set for 28 degrees C in a few days as the heat dome moves towards us fromm the West coast. All I can say is it is hot!

It is now 1839 Wednesday evening. Hail is coming down so intense that it is covering the ground like it is snow. It is about the size of marbles pelting. I can only imagine the horror at the Fort St Vrain Bald Eagle nest and the other nests in the area of that storm that went through Colorado. I wonder where all the garden critters are. Some will have gone into the small shelters for the chopped wood.

Relief. As soon as the storm passed, everyone was back in the garden.

Your giggle for the day comes from SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons! Red steals the food but doesn’t know what to do with it! She will learn soon enough! Mum Annie has a lot of patience but does the siblings who are hungry for breakfast?

A first for me. Two storklets with a snake on a nest in Germany could have gotten tangled. The Fire Brigade came to the rescue and saved the day. How do you say enlightened in bold letters?

‘T’ sent me the following information – check out the age of the male. “After the long-standing breeding stork Anna died in the 2021 breeding season, we will accompany Gerome (25 years) and his new breeding partner Frieda (17 years) from the Hessian nature reserve Bingenheimer Ried in the Wetterau in the 2023 breeding season. Up to and including the 2021 breeding season, Gerome had bred 14 times very successfully with the long-standing breeding stork Anna. During this time, Anna laid 71 eggs, from which 65 stork chicks hatched and from these a total of 47 young storks fledged.”

‘T’ reports that this is the same nest of Anna, the female Stork who broke her leg and the community helped to feed her and her babies. This is Anna’s former mate, Gerome, with his new female of two years. What an enlightened and caring community!

Another timely rescue this time of little Red-tail hawk lets in Austin, Texas. Smile every time you see humans helping our wildlife and reach out and thank them!

There has been, apparently, a lot of concern expressed about how Murphy’s baby will learn to hunt and live in the wild. World Bird Sanctuary shared their strategy with us on FB.

Bravo! E22 caught its first fish…little one dropped it but, gosh, this is progress. Well done, E22. Thanks, Gracie Shepherd. It is so good to see how well 22 is doing.

One day E22 will be catching whoppers like Aran does in the Glaslyn Valley of Wales, we hope. Just look at the size of that fish that landed on that nest! Elen has no idea how lucky she is that she found this nest and stayed….

There has been some concern about M1 taking a peck at M2 at Big Red and Arthur’s nest. This is perfectly normal behaviour and absolutely nothing to get worried over. It is very different from the dangerous level of aggression we have seen on osprey and eagle’s nests where siblicide has occurred due to food insecurity. I do not expect this level of rivalry to continue, and Arthur never lets the pantry dry up. Last year you might recall, everyone worried about little L4. Well, that last hatch climbed over all the others and was the first to catch its prey, becoming the first real juvenile after fledging. L4 is still around the campus – as far as I know.

I would loved to have seen Big Red when she was young and had her first brood. Just look at those tired feet. So grateful Arthur is such a good provider.

Big Red and one of her famous feeding sessions filling up those crops.

Birds, rats, mammals were all part of the feast at the nest of Angel and Tom in Tennessee today. Wow! So happy this little one survived those first days when food was so terribly scarce and Dad wasn’t sure how to help.

At 1841 the little one is getting another meal!

Everyone was elated when Rose returned to the WRDC nest – to Ron and R4 and R5. She appears to be fine.

Kathryn reports that Lucy has brought in the only fish at Lake Murray Ospreys on Wednesday. She also notes that Mum consumed C3. This nest really needs fish! What is going on with Ricky? Kathryn recalls six fish being delivered on Tuesday. Ricky has only been heard and not at the nest at all on Tuesday as of night fall. Intruders?

In addition to losing C3 on the 9th of May, we also lost the second hatch, Golden Eaglet, at Bucovina in Romania, the second hatch at Fort St Vrain, Colorado in a tragic hail storm. One of the little hatchings at Utica Peregrine scrape in NY was stuck to Mum Ares’ wing when she flew out. It fell and did not survive. So sad. Condolences to all those nests.

‘H’ reports that we have some osprey eggs that continue to be laid. Skiff and Dory – they raised three adorable osplets last year – have their third egg as of 10 May. This nest, as ‘H’ aptly notes could be problematic. She observes, “8 days between egg 1 and egg 3, with 5 days egg 1 to egg 2.  Intermittent incubation for only about a day. (I may be wrong about that, we’ll know if they hatch closer together.)”. Last year we delighted in these two raising those feisty three. Let us hope that the outcome is equally as good this year but that is a huge difference -.

S Cape May Meadows in New Jersey has a second egg for Zeus and Hera on the 10th. Lots of eggs are going to be hatching at once! I have never watched the South Cape May osprey platform – let’s see how it goes. Are any of you avid fans?

Not clear how many fish came to the Achieva Osprey nest on Wednesday but, it looks as if it could have been two. Middle did get some fish around 1500 or a little after.

That cute little Decorah eaglet is huge. It looks like it is going to be a really big female! Look at the size of those legs and feet next to Dad. Wow, Hatchery Chick. Seriously, we blinked, and this happened. That cute baby turned into a Hulk?!

Chase and Cholyn’s eaglet is growing, too, but does not appear to be as ‘huge’ as DH2!

Iris has been fighting off female intruders and today a banded Montana intruder. She also accepted the reality of that egg and went off to feed herself. The Raven took the egg on the morning of 10 May. Iris will no doubt lay another and another and the Raven will also have those for breakfast.

As far as I know, at the time of writing, Victor has not taken his first flight. Abby flew for the first time on the 8th of May. Victor is working his wings.

Two beautiful ospreys…Sally and Harry were remarkable. With the heat domes, the impact of urban expansion, places could take a look at Moorings Park and start stocking the ponds for the ospreys! It is going to become more and more important as we create growing challenges for them.

Warblers and Baltimore Orioles are arriving in Manitoba along with White-throated Sparrows. In the UK, the Warblers are singing, too. Remember – sit outside, go for a walk, let the sun warm your face. It will make everything seem a whole lot better! Stay in the moment. We cannot bring back the feathered friends we have lost but we can enjoy the ones that are with us – live or virtually.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/10/birdwatch-the-erling-haaland-of-warblers-turns-up-the-volume-to-11?CMP=share_btn_link

The goal of 1500 GBP has almost been met with a fortnight to go. Thank you to all of the donors. Conservation without Borders is working hard to keep HPAI from killing more birds – and I am thinking of late summer/fall return down the flyway.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. The sun is out Thursday morning and we are looking forward to some pips and hatches at a couple of the UK Osprey nests. Take care all. See you soon and remember…13 May is Big Bird Count! More on that tomorrow.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘T’, ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘S’, Kathryn, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Starch Hochstadt, Candy Smith and Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, World Bird Sanctuary, Gracie Shepherd and SW Florida, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cornell RTH, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Lake Murray Ospreys, Audubon/Explore, Nature Conservancy in New Jersey, Achieva Credit Union, Raptor Resource/Explore, IWS/Explore, Montana Osprey Project, Moorings Park Ospreys, The Guardian, and Crowdfunder.

Rose is home, Abby flew on the 8th…Wednesday in Bird World

10 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you so much for your notes and e-mails. Lewis and Missey are delighted you are not tired of seeing pictures of them! Right now, Lewis is looking out the conservatory window as a Chickadee flits back and forth to the table feeder. It is like having a movie screen’ for cats! They can look but not harm. Both of the kittens are now no longer ‘kittens’. No one told them that! They are huge and still growing! It will not be long before Lewis cannot fit in the cat house at all…and I notice more and more how tight that Big Dog Bed is getting! I wonder, with the summer heat now with us (yes, we have winter and summer only – spring is three days and fall about a week now), if they want to sleep in that fluffy bed together. We wait to see.

Lewis does not realise that he is now too big to roll up in the white lacquer tray.

They still fit. The lady who makes the crocheted blankets for our Humane Society is 99 years old. She works every day to make sure all of the rescues get their little security blanket. Lovely. A sweet soul.

First up, if you want to help select the name of Annie and Lou’s three chicks, get a move on it. Voting closes on Thursday with the name announcement on Friday. Type in the blue link in your search.

Look at those adorable babies…Thanks, ‘S’. I love the peach colouring that is coming in!

I had a great question today from ‘B’, and I wonder how many others have been wondering the same thing. “I watch the falcons at UC Berkley and wonder why there’s no evidence of bones or feathers clinging to the bone after they’ve finished a pigeon.” Falcons eat the whole prey item, including the fur, feathers (well, most of them – the others eventually get blown out of the nest, bones, teeth, all of the organs and, of course, the meat of their prey. This also includes the webbed feet of waterfowl, etc. Absolutely nothing goes to waste! What cannot be digested/processed in the crop before going down to the stomach will be cast in a pellet.

Rose is home. 16:32:03 according to ‘H’. What a relief for everyone. If you see this again, remember that Gabby also takes a spa break up at NE Florida, just about this time in the eagle development. So next year, remember that Rose might do this again! So happy she is well. The chatters are all in tears. It has been such a tumultuous year at this nest (well, everywhere). We needed a good ending on this one, for sure.

I was so busy watching C3 and the hatches at Big Red’s and just periodically checked on Abby and Victor. Abby was helicoptering. I caught that but, she took her first flight on 8 May at 0828! Well done, Abby. Many think that Sally should get Osprey Mum of the Year…she certainly gets my vote for US Ospreys! My goodness these two are eating like they were hatchlings…7 meals or so a day. She is always feeding them. Incredible. Wish we could have helicoptered C3 over to Sally! We have to thank Harry, too, for all the fish.

Murphy and his baby were caught and given a health check today at World Bird Sanctuary. That included weights and measurements and guess what? Murphy is confirmed to be a male and so is Murphy’s baby.

I am a huge fan of Mark Smith’s video and photography of Ospreys along the Florida coast. ‘R’ sent me a link to a FB video of this Osprey, pulled under three times (holy smokes), but he landed this enormous Pompano. Florida State Parks says, “The Florida pompano, part of the jack family, is a species of marine fish with a compressed body, short snout and deeply forked tail. Pompano fish often have a color variation of blue, green and yellow on their dorsal areas and silver and yellow on their body and fins. This species is popular for both sport and commercial fishing, and most that are caught weigh less than three pounds are less than 17 inches long, although some can weigh as much as 8-9 pounds and reach lengths up to 26 inches.”

Gracie Shepherd caught E22 trying to catch a fish in real time and slo-mo.

Idris has been out fishing, too. Telyn is shocked when he brings in a third Shad while she is eating the second!

Moving over to my favourite nest…Big Red and Arthur…no siblicide at this nest – ever. And there won’t be. (The majority of siblicide occurs in eagles, ospreys, Boobies, etc – not hawks and falcons).

It is such fun watching Big Red and Arthur’s Nest. M1 and M2 are quite perky, and Arthur has that nest lined with a variety of prey already. No one will go hungry, and I like that they store extra food if prey is short. Sibley, author of so many books on birds, says, “Any furred, feathered or scaled creature that is smaller than a groundhog and turns its back on a meal-minded Red-Tailed is very likely going to be returned to the earth as a pellet.”

‘A’ sent me a link to a marvellous feeding of the two with the M3 egg pipping early Tuesday. ‘A’ has been concerned about M3’s progress and the third has not hatched as of yet – Wednesday morning.

Now what is happening inside that egg with M3. Well, here is the answer from the Cornell chat: “About three days before hatching, the embryo’s head burrows beneath the right shoulder so the beak is positioned under the wing & against the two membranes separating the embryo from the air space at the large end of the shell. The beak pierces through the membranes into the air space & pulmonary respiration begins. About a day later, with a dwindling oxygen supply, the embryo begins to kick, to twist and thrust its head and beak.

Small cracks advance counter-clockwise by millimeters around the big end of the shell. A special “hatching muscle” on the back of the chick’s neck (see photo to the right)swells to several times its normal size with a great influx of fluid from the embryo’s lymphatic system. This swelling accentuates sensory signals sent through the neck, stimulating the embryo to further activity. Eventually, the cap of the egg is cracked enough. The embryo pushes it, unfolds from the tuck and escapes from the shell.”

Big Red is thanking Arthur for bringing more prey – this time; it looks like a duckling or gosling.

I always wonder how they can stay so clean!

There was some beaking around 0737 Wednesday morning. Big Red has been feeding very large pieces of prey and it looks like M1 decided to give M2 a beak hold and peak. A bit unusual. They do scrap the little hawk lets but there has never been any reason to worry in the past. The beak shows us M3 is still working away. It will hatch some time today.

At the nest of the other RTH, Angel, Tom is very slowly learning his role. He has brooded the baby Wednesday morning and has brought in breakfast. Angel has also flown in with a Meadowlark (live).

At 10:08 on Tuesday Angel had been hunting and has arrived back with a nestling for the chick to eat.

‘A’ tells me that there were five feedings for the baby Tuesday. Fabulous.

The last was 1947. The baby went to bed with a nice full tummy. Things continue to improve. Nice crop!

Things are so looking up at this nest. As ‘A’ observes, Tom tried to protect the baby from the Blue Jays while Angel was out hunting around 0709.

As the 81 wildfires in Alberta continue to cause issues for people and wildlife, the first egg at the Fortis-Exshaw Osprey platform near Canmore was laid on Tuesday at 17:13ish.

At the Utica NY Peregrine scape box, there have been two hatches so far!

Indeed, falcons are hatching everywhere!!!!!!

Wakefield looks to have four little fluff balls (feel free to correct me on the number!).

Cromer Peregrine Falcons have two eyases this year who enjoyed eating a Cuckoo on Tuesday. Oh, that is messy!

Four at Manchester NH:

The fluffiest in Japan grew up!!!!!!! Look at that sweet face and those incredible eyes.

‘A’ writes:

In happier news, listen to how happy SP is to see mum L again today after she had been gone for nine days of foraging out at sea. He is chattering the moment he sees her then begins wheeing away unceasingly. Such a very happy (rather large) albie chick he is.

One of the saddest things about some of the osprey’s nests is that we ‘expect’ that the third hatch might not survive due to the history of the nest. So far this year that has been held at Port Lincoln, where Zoe killed the younger siblings, and both Achieva and Lake Murray lost their third hatch. There were no hatches at Captiva, and Moorings Park is thriving with Abby and Victor and Venice Golf and Country Club with three. Many are on incubation duty, and those eggs will begin to hatch in a few days in the UK. I do not expect any issues at those nests unless it is LOTL. There could well be several problematic nests in the US where delayed incubation has not been employed. We wait to see. If you are aware of any osprey nests where there is an issue with potential siblicide, please make a comment or send me an e-mail: maryannsteggles@icloud.com I would like to monitor these nests. Thank you!

Will Big at Lake Murray take over and not let Middle eat? Can Lucy handle two osplets. I wish then she would only lay two eggs… C1 virtually tortured C3. Middle had to work hard to get some fish on Tuesday. No doubt Big will dominate every feeding and this one is going to have to be clever!

Middle finally got some food but look at Big. Big reminds me so much of Zoe at Port Lincoln in 2022. She ate almost the entire fish! Middle got some right at the tail. I hope that we keep another chick in this nest.

Charlie and Charlotte have their second egg of the 2023 season at Charlo Montana on Tuesday, 9 May around 1730.

‘S’ found some wonderful resources on monofilament line that I want to share with everyone. There is so much to do – and we can all help in memory of DH18!

This one is mainly about protecting seabirds. Have a read…I am always learning something new!

Protecting Seabirds from Fishing Line and Hooks

Thank you so very much for being with me. 11 April is pip watch at Loch of the Lowes in Scotland and at Manton Bay with Blue 33 and Maya. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to everyone for their notes, videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘S’, ‘R’, ‘B’, Loretta, Kathryn, Cal Falcons, WRDC, Moorings Park Ospreys, World Bird Sanctuary, Mark Smith Photography, Gracie Shepherd and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Joan Brady and Friends of Dyfi Osprey Project, Cornell RTH, Window to Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Melissa Richards and Falcon Watch Utica, Stamford All Saints Peregrine Falcons, Wakefield Cathedral Falcons, Cromer Peregrines, Karen Rjarks and Manchester NH Falcon Fans, Japanese Peregrines, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Lake Murray Ospreys, Charlo Montana Ospreys, and Native Animal Rescue.

Iris lays her first egg, C3 dies, Tom helps, Dorcha crashes…Tuesday in Bird World

9 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

As I write this, a gentle rain is falling on the garden. The Chickadees are at the tube and table feeders, the Starlings have been and gone, Mr Crow and Mr Blue Jay were here, and the Hairy Woodpecker. It is just turning 1330 on Monday. Life in the garden is good. The rhythm is so reassuring, knowing that everyone is here and safe. It is also my ‘go-to place’ when events on the nests get just too much. This has been a challenging year for many of our Raptor families. It is almost hard to imagine all that has happened.

Lewis and Missy continue to love the conservatory. Today, for whatever reason, they were not so interested in what was going outside.

The Starlings cooperated and ate together at the table once the squirrels had left. At one point there were five finding food.

Before we check in on all the action at the nests, two educational items in today’s blog: the first about monofilament line (with some images later from ‘B’) and the second about siblicide and the theories of why this happens.

First up, fishing line – any posting about this will be in tribute to DH18 whose life could have been spared had help been called immediately to come to the nest. All moderators of all chats must notify the proper authorities and local rehabbers immediately when a monofilament line or baling twine is seen on a nest. It is imperative, moving forward, no excuses.

It is not just Bald Eagles that get tangled…every kind of waterfowl has been seen dead or dying from this horrible stuff.

It appears that Iris has laid her first egg of the season. As I always say, we know how this will go so we should not fight it. At the same time, I would love her to feel the teamwork that Maya and Blue 33 have, to have Louis there with her with a celebratory fish and to have him help raise those chicks. Sadly, he cannot take care of two nests! So, Iris…lay the eggs, let the Crows get them, and spend your summer leisurely taking care of yourself.

The time was around 19:50-59.

Diane and her two surviving osplets from 2023 – Big and Middle. Aren’t they gorgeous? Everyone was so happy when Jack brought two fish to the nest. Let us hope that despite the drought, he and Diane will get enough fish to the nest for these two to fledge. They have gorgeous plumage, and they should have taken their first flights by June.

A short video clip posted by Heidi McGru on FB showed the Bald Eagle trying to snatch Middle at Achieva. I had wondered if it was after the fish but, no. He did not make it…I want to hope those osplets are too big. We wait. Everyone is now very vigilant on that nest.

Cowlitz PUD put up guards so the eagles cannot steal the osplets off the nest…maybe if this continues Achieva needs to think about that.

At the Moorings Park Osprey platform, the osplets are eating and they are helicoptering. We are right on the verge of fledge – it could come at any moment.

Our cuteness overload is coming from the nest of Big Red and Arthur. M2 hatched sometime around 0300 Monday. M1 is a strong feisty little hawk let, typical for Big Red’s chicks. Arthur has the pantry already full and we are already wondering if he will bring a nice Robin for Big Red for Mother’s Day. She loves Robins and will take them off the nest and eat them herself.

M1 is a very strong hawk let. It is already eating large morsels of prey. Look at that crop. Big Red has filled M1 up and will move to feed M2. Everyone at Big Red’s table gets fed if they want food and have that beak open. We have never lost a hawk let from siblicide or being hungry. Only one K2 had an issue with its beak and did not fledge…Big Red has been having chicks since probably 2005. That is an amazing record. She is 20 years old this spring.

Too Big!

There is a pip on that third egg…see image below the next one.

Early evening feeding…

There has been a significant change in the nest of Angel the Leucistic RTH and Tom in Tennessee. Monday morning, Tom gently preened the chick. He also brought in a lizard which Angel fed exclusively to the chick; she had previously delivered a nestling. Angel is more comfortable with Tom, and Tom is helping now with the nest by providing prey items. Progress.

At 10:17 Angel is feeding the nestling to her nestling.

Tom delivers lizard at 2:05:33.

At 2:05:42, the baby gets some lizard.

Beautiful Angel and her baby, the baby she is determined will live.

Big Red at Cal Falcons ran off with the breakfast prey this morning. It was finally retrieved and everyone ate but this gal is determined (and big).

With hawks and falcons, whose time in the nest is much shorter than eagles or ospreys, you can blink and they have gone from hatching to fledge!

Is Rose missing from the WRDC nest or is she just taking a break? The eaglets have not fledged! She was last seen at 0635 Sunday morning at the nest. If she has not returned by late Tuesday or Wednesday it is time to get really concerned.

Ron is bringing in fish to the two eaglets. Thankful they are older. This trend of single-parent nests this year is almost unnerving but Ron will manage as the eaglets are so much older than when M15 had to start caring for the Es.

There are three eggs for Tom and Audrey at Chesapeake Conservancy.

Idris has been working overtime with the fish coming to the nest for Telyn one after another!

Geemeff caught Dorcha crashing into the Loch Arkaig nest in the middle of the night…she is OK, thankfully.

Looks like Cape Henlopen has attracted some visitors but they are not Ospreys! They are Black Vultures. They feed almost exclusively on carrion but have a poorer sense of smell than the Turkey Vulture with its red head. You will often see Black Vultures following the Turkey Vultures to find prey. They roost in tall trees with unobstructed views…looks like this platform could be their roosting spot! ‘H’ writes that they are there every day. How lovely!

The tragedy with the three Osplets starving on camera when the male was killed and the female driven away (maybe injured) by a new couple was heartbreaking.

Zephyr and Bruce are at the Seaside Osprey nest near the Neawanna River in Seaside, Oregon.

Eggs being rolled at the nest of Jack and Harriet at Dahlgren.

Dad and Lady have been sleeping at the nest tree and they have also been working hard to repair the damage that the Ring-tailed Possums did to the nest. It is so lovely to see them! And to also know that both 27 and 30 are doing well in the wild after having been rescued and rehabilitated.

Thank you ‘B’ for sending me these images. More and more places are setting up containers for broken fishing line and hooks. Here is another example from the East Bay area near San Francisco. There should be educational programmes for children and adults on the dangers to encourage responsibility.

Much easier to see how big Murphy’s baby is…I wonder if Murphy will ever incubate another rock?

Look at those legs…wow. This baby is doing fantastic and thanks to Murphy, World Bird Sanctuary, and all the donors, Murphy’s baby will get to live wild. Please tell me that they are going to band this little one…er, big one.

World Bird Sanctuary has a Red-shouldered Hawk that is incredible in caring for more babies than you can imagine – and they are not hers! Some of the rehabs’ work is decidedly not high tech…here just gold old parenting skills. In others, the birds are enriched with paper flowers for their birthday to shred. I am trying to see if anything is being done with feathers other than having new feathers glued in place. Many wind up in care for at least a year until their new feathers grow in like the one below. We know this is the case with Connick from the Captiva Bald Eagle nest.

Before we move on to Lake Murray – which is, at present, one of two tense events (Rose missing being the other at WRDC), we need a bit of a laugh and it is thanks to Chase and Cholyn’s eaglet!

The weight of the size difference in the Osplets at Lake Murray is certainly worrisome. I have seen this once before and that was at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria in 2021. That third hatch survived – for many reasons. Blue 464 was bloody clever and determined and Mum, Blue 35, made special attempts to make sure it was fed when the others were asleep. I have not seen that diligence at Lake Murray. Blue 35 actually flew away with prey and waited til the two big siblings were asleep and then feed 35. There was also not the level of aggression as is being shown at Lake Murray. I often wonder ‘why’ the UK Ospreys are so much more civil than the US ones?

I would like all of them to live but I am not hopeful. Just look at the difference in the first screen capture of the wing sizes.

C1 zealously attacked C3 most of Monday and unrelentingly close to 1700.

*distressing image*

C1 holds C3 down so that it cannot move at all…more or less suffocating its sibling. Then, by some miracle, C3 gets up and tries to get to Mum. The time is 19:27. C3 died on the 8th of May. It was 15 days old having hatched on the 23rd of April. Soar high little Peanut.

Another article on siblicide by Robert Simmons in Animal Behaviour.

siblicide-does-not-get-more-foodDownload

Kathryn has been helping me with the events on Lake Murray. She has found another article on siblicide. I will, as noted yesterday, continue to post several articles during the next week. We have lots of ospreys incubating eggs with many of those nests not practising delayed incubation. It is possible that there will be many more chicks die this year. We wait to see. In the meantime we can educate ourselves on all the ideas that scientists have.

Eldon-Greij-explains-why-some-birds-practice-siblicide-BirdWatchingDownload

In Canada, we have had ‘heat domes’ that have taken the lives of many raptors including the chicks at Osoyoos, others jumping out of their nests in the interior of British Columbia to get away from the heat…that was previous years. This is the lead up to what could be another tragic year in Canada. Send all those babies on nests in BC your most positive wishes along with all the other nests we are watching.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care…we should have a hatch for Big Red by the end of the evening or early Wednesday morning. See you soon!

I want to thank Kathryn, who helped me with the siblicide at Lake Murray. It is not easy monitoring a nest where there is anxiety, where there is a ten-day difference between the age of the hatches (laying + hatch). She stayed right in there and provided me with valuable information. I also want to thank ‘H’ for sending me notes also. These are sad events that are very difficult to observe.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, pots, videos, articles, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures that helped to make my blog today: ‘B’, ‘H’, ‘A’, Geemeff, Kathryn, PC Clavier and Bald Eagles Live Nest and Cams, Montana Osprey Project, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, Cornell RTH, Suzanne Arnold Horning and the Cornell Hawk Chatters, Window to Wildlife, Cal Falcons, SK Hideway and Cal Falcons, WRDC, Heidi McGru and Raptors of the World, Joan Brady and Friends of Dyfi Osprey Project, Geemeff and Friends of Loch Arkaig, people’s Postcode Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, Cape Henlopen State Park, Seaside Ospreys, Dahlgren Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagles, East Bay Regional Park Department, World Bird Sanctuary, Jann Gallivan and CIEL, Lake Murray Ospreys, Animal Behaviour, Bird Watching, and @VladRadica.