Category Archives: urban raptors

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.

DH18s rescue continued, Bonus is alive, Horror at Angel’s nest…Saturday in Bird World

29 April 2023

Good Morning All,

It is Saturday. The weekend started for many yesterday afternoon…and for some of us, it is always the weekend! I hope whichever is the case for you, it is all good.

It is almost the end of April. The calendar might say spring began 5 weeks ago, but here on the Canadian Prairies, it does not always feel that way. Today it did, even with some grey skies until late. In the garden, a younger crow has just flown down to check out the cat kibble at my neighbour’s because ‘Calico Cat’ is outside eating the kibble on my deck. It is always a busy time in the garden from 1800-1900. Everyone wants to eat something before they go to roost for the night. Mr Younger Crow must be hungry. He is now below the feeders picking up some of the Butter Bark that the Starlings tossed out of the feeder when they were picking out the Meal Worms. It is not easy for urban birds. As he settles to eat, another fat (literally) cat with a collar darts out…it is pretty sad. The time that the birds need to be eating is also the time that humans get home from work and let their cats out. It is against the law. But no one will enforce the bylaw. There are not enough workers to do that, and it has never seemed there was a will. The goal when the bylaw was passed was to reduce the feral cat populations in the City.

But, never mind. Everyone got something tonight to eat, and that is what matters. Soon I will not be able to see them so quickly as the buds are getting ready to pop open. Green. Seriously, it is time for the green in the garden.

Read to the end of the blog today for some info on a new video of DH18’s rescue.

Your first smile of the morning comes from the Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn…poor baby has such a big crop it can hardly move!

Our giggle of the morning is a short 3-minute video from the Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam. Have a smile to start your day!

And then there is the sheer joy of the morning. Bonus is a Black Stork. He was one of the Estonian nestlings of Jan and Jannika that were removed to be raised by Urmas and Dr Madis when Jan went missing. Bonus was fostered by Karl II and Kaia. In his migration, Bonus’s transmitter stopped working in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Yesterday, that transmitter started sending signals again. Bonus is alive! Bonus is flying north and is at the Israeli-Jordanian border. He must have spent the winter in Sudan with Waba! Now. Jump up and down. And realise that transmitters can go ‘off’ – I am thinking of some UK Ospreys, including Glen. If the administrators turn the transmitter completely off, you will never know if they are alive in seven months. Just a thought. Thank you, ‘T’ for letting me know. Over the moon!

The latest news on DH18- I am so glad to hear he is eating well and is bright and alert. Hopeful. Continue to imagine a new buffet for him full of succulent morsels carefully prepared.

Many of you will not have seen this quick action by Bella at the NCTC nest in 2021. I am so glad that Deb Stecyk posted it again. Fishing line as we are well aware is a huge hazard to the well-being and lives of our raptors. As humans we need to do better in cleaning up the messes we leave and also those that others make. Good bi-annual clean-ups of shorelines – rivers, lakes, streams, small ponds, all help. Sadly, one of the biggest dangers is the fish that break the line, hook in their mouth, and go on to be caught by the eagles and ospreys. These are brought to the nest to feed the chicks only to have the line bet in the chick’s mouths and tangled amidst nesting material, legs, wings, and necks. This is what happened to DH17 and 18.

There is something else that should be done. A blanket permit to the licensed wildlife rehabilitation centres allows them to approach a nest that has a monofilament line on it that is or could endanger the life of the eaglets. It is a no-brainer. Not randomly, but to the centres that can organise the rescue. This would save many lives and a lot of injury or death to the raptors. This should be our next effort – in honour of Dale Hollow 18 whose life could be seriously compromised because of the delay. Letters would go out to the USFWS as well as the licensing agent in each State.

Flo comes to the platform to mourn the loss of her babies.

‘A’ sends news of a hatch underway Friday morning at the nest of RTHawks Angel and Tom!

Angel and Tom have a hatch! Thanks, Gracie Shepherd. Notice how Angel preens the little one. so sweet.

It should have been wonderful…it wasn’t. *DISTRESSING* ‘A’ writes, “I cannot believe what has just happened at Angel’s nest. Tom arrived for morning duty at around 07:42 and saw his chick for the first time. It is an absolute darling – fluffy white little sweetheart, yawning and looking up at dad. He looks startled and spreads his wings as if he is mantling. He has his back to us, but we hear the chick’s distress sounds. Angel lands on a branch behind the nest at 07:44:48, at which point she can see what is happening in the nest. Tom leaves a few seconds later, at which point we see that the chick is dead. Tom has killed it. Angel is very distressed. She has already vocalised her displeasure at him as he left the nest and she is now very uncertain. She tries to allopreen her baby. She is vocalising constantly. She broods the second egg, her dead baby in front of her on the nest. She leaves the nest around 08:07:14. Tom returns at 08:07:47 and looks down at the nest. Angel can be heard in the background, still angrily vocalising at Tom, who looks up, then back down at the dead baby. He may be realising what he has done. He is obviously confused. He is touching the baby with his beak. I cannot keep typing right now. This is the saddest and most unexpected thing I have seen.”

‘H’ sends news of the third egg at the Osprey platform of Duke and Daisy at Barneyghat Light in New Jersey.

Both Es on the branches of the nest tree at Fort Myers on a grey Friday morning.

There are lots of osprey intruders flying about in the UK at the moment. They do not have nests or mates yet. Some of these turn out to be very interesting ospreys. In this case, it was a grand chick of Mrs G at Glaslyn.

You can see the moss in the nest above at Aran and Elen’s nest at Glaslyn. You will also see it in other nests. Here is a statement on what the Ospreys are doing as they incubate eggs and prepare for hatch.

The little eyases at Cal Falcons are two weeks old. They will be banded on 5 May. Mark that in your calendars. Thanks Cal Falcons for showing us how much they have grown in two weeks with all those prey deliveries! Great job Annie and Lou.

The first venture out of the scrape was to be about a week away but one of those pesky little ones decided to tumble out. SK Hideaways caught it for us.

A question came in the e-mail from ‘N’ who wonders how the little falcons in Rome who lost their mother, Vergine, are doing. Here is a link to the camera. The chicks appear to be fine. Alex is feeding them and doing the best he can.

https://www.youtube.com/live/wIin45_sXz4?feature=share

Sunnie Day reminds us that in some areas, the twine used to hold hay or straw bales together is as dangerous to the raptors as is the fishing line. They have sure pulled a lot out of Montana nests with some chicks dead in unmonitored nests. So sad.

I am so glad that Murphy and his eaglet are still making news. It is a good feeling story. Murphy may never feel the urge to incubate a rock again but, he was noticed and thoughtful individuals gave him and the eaglet needing a parent a chance. It worked. Joy all around.

We have a first egg today for Karl II and Kaia at the Black Stork Nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia.

Condor chat by the Ventana Wildlife Society for April! Avian Flu Update. Rebuild. Population Status. Nesting. Reducing lead poisoning in Condors.

Everything is alright with the little eaglet at Decorah Hatchery.

There is more news coming out of the Raptor Resource Project and the six goslings that jumped. They have reviewed the footage and discovered what happened to the sixth baby.

Wow! ‘R’ sent me some exciting time lines for the Achieva Osprey platform. Middle Bob is doing really great thwarting Big Bob from both attacking it and getting to the fish. Fantastic. What a change in behaviour!

Speaking of Achieva. I do not know why that chat attracts people who not only supply disinformation but also like to be extremely hostile and have no knowledge of Osprey’s behaviour. Call them out if you know they are wrong! Block them. Whatever it takes.

As you are aware, the Kakapo are one of the world’s most endangered Species. The New Zealand Government and the Kakapo Recovery have done everything they can to increase the numbers and protect and assist the Kakapo if sick or injured. A single stoat made its way on to one of the uninhabited islands where the Kakapo live. It could have killed every non-flying parrot. Luckily that Stoat was found!

What is a stoat? The stoat is a small predator with a long, low-slung body that makes it particularly well-suited to hunting small rodents and rabbits. I think they look like weasels. Stoats can quickly kill an adult rabbit, which is much larger than itself, with a bite to the base of the skull. 

It is that time of year. Everyone is finding bunnies and baby birds and worrying what to do about them. Sassa Bird posted a reminder for us from Audubon. You might not find yourself in this situation but, guess what? A friend or family member might so have a read so you can help if required.

It is also time for a few other information sheets. Spread the word. People want to do the right thing. Do not feed the ducks and geese bread. They love the stuff. It is sugary and salty and it will stop them from eating the plants that are good for them. In addition, it could also cause deformities such as Angel Wing – we saw this at my local park pond last year – and the ducks had to be euthanised.

Many of you are wanting to help the birds with materials for their nests. It is important not to put out anything that could harm them. This includes dryer lint if you have used detergents with fragrance or any softener or dryer sheets. Dryer lint also contains microfibres. Do not put out pet hair if your pet has had any treatment for fleas and ticks like Revolution. It kills birds! Do not put out human hair as it can cut the legs of the birds just like monofilament line. String and yarn if the pieces are too long can be deadly.

So what can you offer to the birds? Here is the information from the David Suzuki Foundation. Please pass it along to others!

How-to-offer-birds-nesting-material-David-Suzuki-FoundationDownload

Get the tissues out. On the AEF Twitter page, there is a new video of the rescue of DH18 – from an entirely different view. The boat to go to the site, the climb, and our dear DH18 getting care at the bottom of the tree. Go over and have a look. Grab the tissue..and then look at how big DH18 was.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Continue to send your best wishes to DH18 who is healing from its surgery and who will have more surgery in the coming days. We continue to be grateful to everyone who rescued this eaglet in need. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘R’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘S’, IWS and Explore.org, Dulles-Greenway, Birdmap.it and Looduskalender, AEF, Deb Stecyk and NCTC, HeidiMc and Window to Wildlife, Cornell Angel Hawk Cam, Conserve Wildlife, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Birdcam.It, Sunnie Day, CBS Sunday Morning, Eagle Club of Estonia, Ventana Wildlife, Raptor Resource Project, Achieva Credit Union, Kakapo /recovery, Audubon, David Suzuki, and the AEF.

E22 branches, DG3 out of the nest for 5 hours, 3rd hatch at Achieva…Wednesday in Bird World

22 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It was simply a gorgeous day in the Canadian Prairies. The temperature worked up to -1; there was a cloudy sky and little wind. It was a perfect day for a walk at the nature centre until….DG3 decided to go walkies in the nest and found itself over by the rim! Needless to say…I didn’t go out but, stayed home, baked cookies, read your lovely letters, and enjoyed the kittens.

We have been shifting furniture. A bit of spring cleaning. Not sure the dried hydrangeas will survive. When the kittens first arrived, they enjoyed tearing them apart and eating the pinecones I had collected on my walks. In the winter, I smear suet over them and put them in the lilac bushes. Let’s see if these hydrangeas last! Not counting on it.

Missy and Lewis used to fit together on top of their climbing tree. No longer.

Dyson was here today eating peanuts. So lovely to see her and the three babies from last year. Little Red was running on the hydro wires on the lane and the lilacs were filled with birds, including Mr and Mrs Woodpecker. Life is good. Each survived the winter including Little Red who had to find another home after the garden shed was torn down to make way for the conservatory.

The woodpeckers love the logs with the drilled holes filled with suet.

Michael St John and I continue to track Blue KW0 and its adventures getting to Barbados from Scotland. Hopefully, Tim at the Roy Dennis Foundation will discover the owner of that mysterious band and where and when this lovely osprey was ringed in Scotland. This morning Geemeff sent me a really good article on birds – all manner of birds – hitching rides on the big ships. Geemeff asks an important question: do they land on the boats out of choice or necessity?

With Ships, Birds Find an Easier Way to Travel

Jackie and Shadow have far worse weather than I do. Glad Jackie isn’t buried under that snow. They continue to visit the nest and are seen mating on the tree.

The wind could not have been more perfect at the Southwest, Florida Eagle nest of M15 and the Es. E21 was on the rim of the nest, letting the breeze blow against its wings. E E22 was in the nest. Then E22 began to flap his enormous wings, and at 17:04:34, he branched. It was magnificent. E22 was 73 days old on Tuesday.

After making it to the spike, E22 explored other branches higher up. Our brave little one. Yahoo….22.

Poor 22 had another first yesterday. It got hit by the GHO while it was sitting on the rim of the nest. Thankfully 22 went into the nest and not over the side! Thanks, Heidi!

All three eggs have now hatched at Achieva Osprey in St Petersburg, Florida. The third was Tuesday, the 21 March around 10:00. The hatch dates for the three are March 18, 19, and 21 so there is only three days difference between one and three. Not bad. Jack and Diane will be particularly busy. Fingers crossed.

Moorings Park Osprey platform. Just look at Victor’s ‘ps’. Looks healthy! And he has a fat little bottom—time 0739, 21 March.

A considerable fish came to the nest at 10:48. It had its head and Sally worked away trying to get the flesh from the bones.

That time Sally took allowed Abby to get herself into a right state.

Victor and Abby are 19 days old today. You can still tell them apart by their heads but Abby is now bigger.

Abby remains aggressive. She demands to eat first. Victor, of course, doesn’t like it.

Victor goes into submission. Good lad. There is lots of fish left. Either Victor needs to wait or he needs to carefully move around to the other side of Sally.

You can see how Ally is working away at the head of that fish.

Victor is very hot. He has moved around the rim but Abby is keeping him at the side. Come on Abby! There is fish left and you have had lots.

Victor got up in the shade and Abby followed him.

At 12:02, Abby is in food coma. Victor is up in the shade of Sally and there is fish left. Come on Victor! Come on Sally. Now is the perfect chance.

Harry’s eyes remind me of Blue 33.

To the relief of all, Victor is eating!

Victor got some fish and Sally finished the tail at 12:34. That means that she fed Abby, Victor, and herself from 10:48-12:34. Remarkable.

Thank you, Sally, for shading the babies!

Of course, Victor does not know when to leave a good thing alone. He went on a ferocious attack on Abby. Victor, everything is fine. Leave Abby be! No revenge is necessary.

In Virginia, Martin and Rosa continue to do well with the three eaglets at Dulles-Greenaway.

I do not know about the weather but these little ones cannot regulate their temperature yet and the oldest has gotten out of the egg cup and over to the rim of the nest. It needs to get back! This happened around 11:00 on Tuesday.

The chick is still moving at 12:37.

The oldest was out of the nest cup for over 5 hours. At one point, Rosa went over to encourage it to get closer to the egg cup. It must be extremely hungry, and I hope it has not gotten a chill. And then, a miracle happened. All three are in the nest! Tears.

The female eagles are at a loss as to when this happens. Most will not help because they could harm the little one. You might remember that one of the Es got out of the nest cup this year, and Harriet did use her beak to roll it back under. That was a brilliant solution.

I cannot see DG3’s head in this image.

Then a few minutes later it is there and seemingly tired.

Now all three are back in the cup. Thank goodness.

DG3 feeling better a few hours later.

At 17:04, the trio were enjoying a meal.

I continue to have mixed feelings about Rose. Thankfully Ron is feeding the eaglets! Rose flew off early on Tuesday morning and Ron flew in and fed the little ones.

Rose returns and does a feeding. Did she bring the fish?

She’s gone again. Ron is looking after the little ones. No worries. Ron is really rather amazing and is having a wonderful time looking after his babies while Rose eases herself into motherhood.

‘H’ has sent me a note. Apparently Rose has done an amazing feeding of the eaglets. She is being patient and offering small pieces. It was 16:16. Thanks, ‘H’. I do hope that Rose gains more confidence. ‘H’ says there was no beaking and both left the meal with nice little crops that you can see in the image below.

Bravo, Rose!

The two eaglets at Duke Farms are older than those at Dulles-Greenway and WRDC. They hatched on the 27-28th of February and are 23 and 24 days old. Their thermal down is coming in and Mum and Dad do not brood them all day long.

They also have enormous crops. It is a wonder they can sit! or move.

The Latvian White-tail Eagles, Milda and Voldis, continue to incubate their eggs. Gosh, these are beautiful eagles.

Arthur and Big Red continue to work on their nest. It seems that Arthur is very much aware of the construction across Tower Road. Let us all hope that this does not cause issues for this Red-tail Hawk couple on the Cornell campus this year.

Meanwhile in Mlade-Buky, The Czech Republic, everyone is awaiting the return of White Storks, Bukachek and Betty.

Checking on Karl II and his family. Waba continues to forage in Sudan. There was a hiccup on the tracker, but it shows that Kaia is on the move north from Chad. Precisely where is unknown. Everyone feels that Karl II should be arriving in Estonia at any time but there is no tracking news. We wait.

How long does a Bald Eagle live when it is cared for? fed? Mrs B was at least 49 years old when she passed. Wow.

Flaco, the escaped Eurasian Owl from the New York City Zoo, thrives in Central Park. Check out the latest on Falco and other NYC urban hawks with Robert at urbanhawks.com

In Canada, especially in some of the most beautiful parts of our country, the developers are taking over land traditionally supporting Bald Eagles. Dave Hancock and his foundation are working diligently to replace nests in trees lost to developments, including parking lots! I have mentioned it before, but it is worth pointing out again in case you missed it, Dave is including a sunscreen because of the rising summer temperature in the lower mainland of British Columbia.

The geese are taking over some unused Bald Eagle nests in Iowa. This one in Decorah had goslings jumping last year to our delight. Now there are eggs again this year! Bravo.

Red Tide has come to the coast of the Barrier Islands in Florida. So what is Red Tide? NOAA says, “Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae—plant-like organisms that live in the sea and freshwater—grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. While many people call these blooms ‘red tides,’ scientists prefer the term harmful algal bloom. One of the best known HABs in the nation occurs nearly every summer along Florida’s Gulf Coast. This bloom, like many HABs, is caused by microscopic algae that produce toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. The toxins may also make the surrounding air difficult to breathe. As the name suggests, the bloom of algae often turns the water red.” In fact, not all of the waters are red but, this can be very deadly as you can see form the Plover below in the care of CROW.

How will this impact our eagles and Ospreys?

If you are watching the Loch of the Lowes nest and are confused because you cannot see the Blue Darvic ring for Blue NC0, it appears it has split and come off. I cannot emphasise how important these rings are in identifying the birds. The recent mystery surrounding Blue KW0 would not even exist without that ring!

Maya and Blue 33 continue to reacquaint themselves after their return to Rutland after their winter migration.

The Scottish Government is trying to come to grips with the illegal killing of the raptors because of the grouse-hunting community. They have now implemented a grouse shooting licensing bill. It is a first step. Still, the legal system must deal with those who defy the laws allowing gamekeepers to get off with little or no penalties for horrible crimes against these amazing birds, such as stomping on five Goshawk chicks in the nest!

Breaking news….Scottish Government introduces grouse shoot licencing bill

I want also to introduce you to a lovely Ukrainian tradition today. One of my former students from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, CD, teaches at a university in northern Manitoba. She posted that March 22 is the Day of the Forty Martyrs. Her baba (grandmother) would make bread (pasta) covered with little dough birds. Of course, I saw the post and thought how interesting. Here is the story from the Ukrainian Cultural Centre:

The importance of this day, which comes immediately after the spring equinox, pre-dates Christianity in Ukraine. According to folklorist Olexa Woropay, on this day the magpie puts forty twigs in its nest and forty larks migrate from south to north. Bird-shaped buns called zhaivoronky were baked – forty of them, of course – and were given to children so that the poultry breed well. Some traditions report the children playing with the forty bird-shaped buns, tossing them into the air to invite all the birds to return from their winter migrations.

What a marvellous tradition! Guess who is baking paska today?

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care all. Remember to get outside, even for a few minutes if you can! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, ‘H’, ‘CD’, Hakai Magazine, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Heidi Mc and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, Dulles-Greenaway, WRDC, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cornell RTH, Blade Buky, Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News, Urban Hawks, Hancock Wildlife, L Rose and Decorah Eagles Love Nest, Diane Lambertson Captiva Island Eagles and Ospreys, LOTL, LRWT, Raptor Persecution UK, and the Ukrainian Cultural Centre.

Ervie, Jackie and Shadow at nest, Milda lays an egg…Friday in Bird World

10 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

The end of the week is here! It is rarely of little consequence to me unless something is happening. There are some wonderful things about retirement!

Two new to me ‘previously owned’ books arrived in the post this morning. I have been waiting some time, and what a joy to receive them. One is by Roy Dennis. It is The Loch. A Year in the Life of a Scottish Loch. It was an accompaniment to a television series in the 1990s. The images are beautiful and would have you booking a ticket to Scotland immediately. The other is a study of Peregrine Falcons in New York City by Saul Frank. It is titled City Peregrines. A Ten-Year Saga New York City Falcons. Will keep you posted!

Meanwhile, the kittens have taken over the house. They love nothing more than going in and out of a box and all the wrappings, large paper bags are fair game for an entire afternoon of jumping in and out, and anything that is light enough to be transported can and will be picked up and moved by Lewis.

Lewis decided to take over the large dog bed today with all of the blankets!

Missy fell asleep in the small basket while she was playing.

They bring joy! And they love watching the animals in the garden.

There is news of Ervie and he is still in Port Lincoln!

Lou did a marvellous job yesterday. There was a huge storm in San Francisco and Lou incubated for almost six hours was Annie was missing.

Wondering about Jackie and Shadow? They showed up together on cam 2 on Thursday. In fact, they were on the snag tree and in the nest and Shadow stayed around for some time! There is also a sub-adult hanging about.

Looking at the image above and the chart below, how old do you think this eagle is?

Jackie and Shadow were also in the nest doing some cleaning. The time was 13:38 on Thursday. Getting anxious to see if we will have a replacement clutch.

M15 was extremely busy flushing those female intruders from the territory on Wednesday, which might account for the few prey deliveries to the Es. Lady Hawk posted all the action! We might begin to imagine that M15 wishes he was less popular.

On Thursday morning, a prey drop came at 12:47. E22 got it and ate it but not before 21 had some and then 22. It went back and forth. Both ate.

I love these little chats that C F Marshburn creates for the eagles.

Wonder why there has not been a lot of prey deliveries? D Morningstar posted a very informative video of M15 and one of the female intruders. He cannot risk getting injured. Better the eaglets be a bit hungry than to have their only provider, Dad, disabled or killed.

You can hear 22 in the background calling for fish! I don’t think we will ever forget him!

Ron and Rose are approaching pip watch and now they are having to defend both their nest and those precious eggs!

I cannot think of an Osprey nest I have enjoyed more than Moorings Park. One of the reasons is Harry. Not only is he such a great provider, but he loves being in the nest with Sally and the two kids, and he is getting more involved in feeding the little ones every day.

Unlike eagles, ospreys will remove the fish from the nest to not attract insects and intruders wanting food.

The osplets eyes are open wide, as is their beak. That open beak will get the fish! The eyes of the osprey are large. Poole tells us that they can resolve the details of an object at 3-5 times the distance a human can (11).

The pair hatched on the 3rd of March. They are a week old today. These two have already tripled their body weight since hatch. This weight will double in the nest four days. Their fastest growth is between 15-30 days.

In North America, Western Ospreys, according to Cornell Bird Lab, remain in the nest for 50-55 days before their first flight (the fledge). They will return to the nest to be fed by their parents while they develop their flying skills. While the fledglings may accompany and observe the adult fishing, they are not taught to hunt/catch prey like Bald Eagles do with their fledglings. Ospreys have developed a clear instinct for knowing how to fish after 60 million years of existence.

Notice the white at the tip of the osprey looking at you in the image below. This is what remains of the egg tooth that this little one used to break up that egg shell. Also notice the black line that extends under the eye towards the nape. This helps them to ward off glare so they can see fish in the water when there is bright sun. Yes, football players picked up on this trick from the Ospreys!

These two are beginning to develop. See the cream stripe down the centre top of the back. Notice the little ‘prickles’ on either side. This pair will keep their light woolly down (feathers) for 10-12 days, and then dark charcoal thick down will replace it. This is called the ‘reptilian period’. Their heads will look like black oil has been poured on them. Some copper-red feathers will appear at the back of the head and nape. It is often during this period that osplets get ‘cranky’ and they may begin beaking one another.

There was some concern that Indigo had left the territory of his parents, Diamond and Xavier. That is not the case. He was MIA for about 24 hours, then showed up and spent an entire in the scrape. Wonder what he was up to that tired him out so much? In the Wizard of Oz we are reminded, ‘There is no place like home!’

In Latvia, Milda, the White-tailed Eagle, has laid her first egg of the 2023 season. Sending positive wishes to her and Voids. Milda deserves it. She lost her long-time mate, Ramis, two years ago. She has yet to raise chicks to fledge since then successfully. 2022 was particularly difficult. After almost starving, Milda, who had been incubating here eggs for 8 days with no food for herself, left to eat. The fear was the eggs would not hatch. But, they did. The wee things eventually froze/starved to death. So, yes, please, lots of positive wishes for this much loved WTE.

Milda will likely lay two eggs three days apart. They will be incubated for approximately 35 days.

Voldis and Milda were working on their nest and mating late in February. Arlene Beech shares some of this with us in her video.

Watching raptors incubate eggs is boring. We are almost to the stage where Ron and Rose will stop incubating and feed little eaglets! The same applies to the Venice Golf and Country Club, where osprey eggs await their pip date. There are lots of others. Meanwhile, the Kistatchie Forest eaglets are branching, and soon SW Florida will be branching also. So enjoy a few days of incubation with Annie and Lou and watching Sally and Harry feed their little ones and the two eaglets at Duke Farms. Soon you will be scrambling to find time to check in on everyone. Oh, and then Jackie and shadow could surprise us with more eggs!

It is pip watch for Martin and Rosa at Dullas-Greenaway on the 11th! – yes, tomorrow.

Watching Karl II’s Black Stork family for migration movement. Waba headed north to Eritrea, then turned around and returned to Sudan. Gosh, this little one surprises us all the time. No transmissions from Bonus, Kaia, or Karl II yet.

There has also been no transmission from Zoe from the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. We wait in hope that she will turn up somewhere and someone will see and photograph her.

I wonder how many raptors actually land on ships and travel around. We certainly saw this with Glen, the Osprey, who was on two ships. Now a Burrowing Owl has gone on a cruise.

Gosh, I hope that Zoe didn’t get on a cruise ship!

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am heading off for a wee bit of a break and to catch sight of some waterfowl, I hope. It is not clear if there will be a blog on Saturday morning. It could be an abbreviated one. I will, for sure, be back on Sunday. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, Port Lincoln Osprey, Cal Falcons, FOBBV, Avianreport.com, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagles, Carol F Marshburn and SWFlorida Eagles, D Morningstar and SW Florida Eagles, Patti Lawless Sirbola and Ron and Roses Eagle nest Watchers, Dulles-Greenaway Eagle Nest, Moorings Park Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Amanda lake and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Arlene Beech and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Looduskalender Forum, and ABC7 Southwest Florida.

Annie lays 3rd egg, KNF-E3 has ‘branches’, Valentine hit by an owl…Thursday in Bird World

9 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the Canadian Prairies. The wind was brisk, but bundled up like one was heading to outer space, it is possible to walk through the woods and by the lake without getting too much wind burn. There were few birds and squirrels out, oddly. Perhaps it was all the schoolchildren. Four buses of laughing and sledging young ones. Brilliant. We must start getting them to love nature when they are little!

In the distance but almost in the centre of the middleground, you can see the Bald Eagle nest.

The trees that make up the forest are mostly Aspens and Birch.

The Chickadees were the only birds at the feeders with a single Red Squirrel hoping they would spill some seed!

The Bison were closer today.

Lots of owl action lately. Valentine got hit Tuesday night at the KNF-E3 nest of Alex and Andrai. As cute, fluffy, and ‘intelligent’ these ‘wise’ owls are, they are at the top of the Apex Predators, and they can do a lot of damage with their silent approach and razor-sharp talons.

Construction work near Central Park is causing some urban hawks to abandon their former nesting sites. Flaco, the escaped Eurasian Owl, has discovered that these building sites are good places to catch rats. Oh, Flaco, we sure hope that rat you ate had not consumed rodenticide! For the latest action, please go to Bruce Yolton’s urbanhawks.com

Most everyone was focused on the scrape of Annie and Lou on Wednesday. According to Cal Falcon’s chart, Annie was due to lay the egg around 1600, but by 1230, ‘H’ had sent me a note saying Annie looked like she was uncomfortable. She was! That third egg could be seen at 13:47:15. Most surprised was Lou, who is tiny and wondered what to do to get three under for incubation! Lou was adorable in his effort.

The reveal.

Annie was quick to get up for a break and give Lou a chance to see the three eggs.

Cal Falcons posted a video of the third egg being laid.

Peregrine Falcons are arriving at their scrapes all around the world. In Montreal, Eve and Miro, are thinking about spring on their scrape on the 23rd floor of one of the buildings of the University of Montreal. That scrape faces the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery. A great place for hunting.

Shadow visited the nest near Big Bear Lake he shares with Jackie at 10:23 on Wednesday, the 8th.

Shadow spent more than two hours at the nest just looking out to the beyond.

Now we wait to see if the couple will have a replacement clutch or they will come back in the fall and begin working on nesting for 2024.

Little osplets do not like to wait to be fed! When this happens they will often start cavorting and this usually ends up in some beaking. “Feed us!” Thank goodness Sally arrives. Poor Harry needs some instructions in feeding and a little more confidence.

Harry loves being on the nest with Sally and the kids. They are doing great. Beautiful Thursday morning in Naples, Florida.

These two at Moorings Park eat very well. Harry is an excellent provider. That there is a stocked freshwater pond also helps! No problems, even though they might like you to think there are! Harry is always good with fish deliveries and is trying to do a little feeding. Sally will let him do more when they are older.

E22 might want some of the fish at the Moorings. Today there was one delivery to the nest and it seems 21 got the most of it.

22 loves being on the rails, but 21 almost pushed him off accidentally on Tuesday. Thankfully 22 was alert!

As the sun set, the intruder female settled alongside M15 on the branch. Has this female fought with R23-3 and driven her from the territory? R23-3 has not been seen since Sunday and Marti Lord reports three new females hanging around.

M15 ate well! Look at his nice crop.

The female.

Marti Lord shares some incredible images of the new female with us.

M15 is a good catch. We all want him to find – or have her find him – a strong, fierce, protective, funny, ‘kissable’ mate like Harriet was for eight years. Isn’t it amazing how protective we have become of this amazing Dad?

The two eaglets at Duke Farm are doing fine. There has been some concern about beaking, but this is an experienced nest with lots of food. Enjoy!

Rosie has delivered the first stick of the 2023 season to the Whirley Crane. Poor thing. They must rebuild that nest again this year! I always think of Richmond and Rosie and then recall those lovely platforms all fixed with twigs and railings, waiting for some of the Welsh Ospreys. Still, R & R surprise me with what they can whip up in a short time.

Congratulations to Valentine who has flown to a branch and to Nugget who is up on a branch, also! Nugget is 70 days old today! Well done, you two.

At 0648 both eaglets were on the nest looking for leftover prey.

Alex and Andria are preparing for their eaglets to fledge. In Ithaca, New York, Arthur and Big Red are preparing the nest for their first eggs, which could arrive within a few days. The earliest Big Red has laid an egg was the 13th of March.

Arthur was in and out, and Big Red flew to the nest for a private inspection!

For something a little different. A Great Egret bathing…

Happy Hatch Day to two little Kakapo!

Oh, those gorgeous White-bellied sea eagles. As humans take over more of their territory, where do they go to make their nests? To the tall telecom towers in Malaysia! The telecom companies have been working with Birdlife International in Malaysia to find a solution for wildlife and communications companies. This should interest everyone as storks, eagles, and ospreys also use towers in other countries.

https://www.birdlife.org/news/2023/03/09/king-of-towers/

Quite honestly, I do not know what is wrong with humans. There is not a morning that I do not read about a raptor being poisoned in the UK or a Bald Eagle being shot in the US. The fines in the US are high, so impose them – $100,000 – and the individual gets a criminal record. So why are people still killing the raptors? Respect for all living beings must be instilled in children the minute they are born, and as adults, we must be role models so they can see how this plays out in real life – respect, compassion, and empathy.

Bald eagle found shot in Enumclaw

Last, a shout out to ‘B’. I had listed and discussed the Channel Islands nests and some changes there. At the time I did not know what had happened to FP. Thanks ‘B’ for updating me.

Andor and Cruz have established a new nest area. Dr Sharpe might be able to get a camera there for 2024. So, the best thing to do this year is to check the website for the Institute for Wildlife Studies for updates on West End and Fraser Point.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, ‘B’ Tonya and KNF-E3, Cal Falcons, Falcoun UdeM en direct, FOBBV, Moorings Park Ospreys, Heidi Mc and Moorings Park, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Terry Caman Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News, Marti Lord and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, KNF-E3, Cornell RTH, Native Bird Boxes, Kakapo Recovery, Birdlife.org, the Courier Herald, and the IWS.

Gabby’s new man, wind farms in Tasmania and more…in Bird World

8 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you for all your comments and mail. I am very behind in responding and I apologise but, I will before the middle of next week! Keep them coming!

Oh, it is another beautiful day in the Caribbean. Hot. There was little wind and the water was as smooth as glass. It is hard to imagine huge traffic jams and security guards everywhere, that was what happened here today. The Cuban Diplomatic delegation is here to discuss all manner of things with the new Prime Minister of Grenada. There is also a medical conference with a lot of Cuban doctors. So, we spent the day away from the main area of St George’s at the ‘family friendly marina’, Le Share Bleau. The couple that run the restaurant are excellent chefs and they are from Manitoba! The young man grew up in the area of the city where I live.

At the same time I got to check on that Great Egret that has his own private pond!

Everything is cared for here and is beautiful to the eye as well as to the soul.

Christmas decorations began going up last weekend.

There is no reason for this Great Egret to ever leave. It has an entire pond with fish to itself!

An incredibly beautiful bird.

A Coconut Tree. One of the best ice creams on the island is Coconut. The second really good one is Nutmeg.

The Tropic Mockingbirds love to eat the fruit of the palm tree.

This Tropical Mockingbird sat still long enough for me to get a good photo!

It is a gorgeous island that is trying to be good stewards. Plastic bags were outlawed awhile ago but you can still see them. Plastic drinks bottles are a problem – what do you do in an area where the water is not always good to drink and there is a growing number of tourists? Do you put up water stations and everyone has their own recyclable bottle included in their ticket price? Plastic imports carry a higher import duty than other materials that can be recycled. The upmarket shops have lovely jute bags for their customers. Many groups work on shore clean ups. They are trying – there remains a lot to do like there is everywhere.

One of the biggest pollutants does not occur in Grenada but in Brazil where the fertilisers used in the fields runs off the land and into the ocean where it mixes with the seaweed. That seaweed finds its way to the Grenadian coast and then rots giving off noxious gases.

Coming out of the COP 15 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal is the statement: “Humans are instruments of mass extinction”. There has been nearly a 70% decrease in wildlife since 1970. What will be the next Dodo bird? And why aren’t we ready to tackle this and start b being good stewards?

Here is that story:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/06/canada-leads-calls-to-reverse-nature-loss-as-cop15-opens-in-montreal?CMP=share_btn_link

And another one on two birds that are now thought to be added to the extinct list – the Rook and the Swift. The number of birds added to the Red List – which I was including in all my blogs before the holiday – has doubled. This is just so sad. As a world population we need to stop what we are doing and have a reckoning with ourselves on what is really important to us – what is essential. Not a want but a need.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/07/rook-and-swift-added-to-threatened-bird-species-list-in-wales?CMP=share_btn_link

One of the good things that the hotels in Grenada do for the birds is maintaining beautiful gardens. The fruit from the trees and the nectar from the flowers feeds multitudes of birds. The ponds – if stocked – attract the herons. Off the beach this morning were a pair of Frigatebirds. The tourists like the birds and the flowers. While I was taking photos of the hummingbirds last evening, a big crowd stopped. They had not see the little one flitting around. Everyone had a smile. Now to spread this love elsewhere!

So tomorrow is my last day here. I will not be back in the cold of the Canadian Prairies until Friday afternoon. Oh, the cold. I am not looking forward to that but, having a week away was a gift.

So, let us see what is happening in Bird World.

Just look at that face. How incredibly cute! Just know that the only time you could cuddle with this little one is when it is not feeling well or is under anaesthesia. After you look at the eyes, move down to that killer beak and well, we can’t see the talons but Victor Hurley calls falls ‘all blood beaks and bloody talons’. The fastest flying predators in the world.

Oh, if they could only market a plush toy as cute as this guy. Hi sweetie.

First up is a question from ‘O’: ‘What is happening at the Melbourne Scrape?’

Well, nothing. The Melbourne Four all fledged. One was lost early in a flying accident and had to be euthanised. The little male was recently taken into care and released with a comment that he was really healthy. The parents lay the eggs and raise the eases to fledge at the scrape box on the ledge of 367 Collins Street. They will teach them to fly and hunt prey around the CBD area. The camera is normally turned off until the following breeding year. Whether or not the parents return with the chicks to the scrape is unknown because of this.

Here is the announcement from Wildlife Victoria:

Annie and Grinnell’s 2020 fledgling, Sequoia, is making news with his meetings with a female at San Jose City Hall, BA24. There is a streaming cam and all are hoping that the pair will form a bond and raise eases. But, will they?

News on Glen, the last surviving Osprey fledgling from Tweed Valley made the news:

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/scottish-osprey-feared-dead-arrives-in-morocco-after-flying-for-36-hours?fbclid=IwAR0c7LKhF8KDU-SPzKBlksH7u5hL6pjufYA6CC5LHU0J6Sx2ldVBCwqGfuA

Sharon Dunne aka Lady Hawk gives a look at Harriet and M15’s eggs for this year and some of the daily activity at their nest in Fort Myers, Florida.

‘D’ sent me this screen capture making the rounds. This is V2, the visiting male at the NEFlorida nest, who has mated with Gabby. Yes, he does have the most gorgeous soft blue eyes. ‘Celadon eyes’. Celadon was a 9th and 10th century glaze perfected in China for use on porcelain. Celadon glazes ranged in colour but one was like water…that is like the eyes of this eagle.

Some are wondering if there is any possibility that he could be another offspring of Romeo and Juliet and thus, Samson’s full brother. Samson hatched in 2013. The tragedy at the nest occurred in 2018. So, is there a possibility? Perhaps. Like males do, Samson returned to his natal nest so, could this be a 2017 fledgling?

V2 got introduced to the problems with owls.

Jackie and Shadow are working on their nest. They were there today. The California Big Bear Valley could do not normally lay their eggs until January and as late as March.

There have been many times that Indigo has not been able to finish his prey so, like a good little falcon, Indigo stashed it in the corner as he had seen his parent’s do. Well, Diamond has been snatching that prey! So Indigo has been staying in the scrape much longer keeping an eye on his lunch.

Zoe has been diving and flying. Dad delivered his beautiful girl a nice little fish this morning.

At last some intelligence about wind farms and how they impact birds — and a compromise in Tasmania.

For all the eagle lovers, ‘N’ sent me this image…it is perfect for all of us. Smile!

Thank you so much for being with me. My next blog will come out Saturday morning so there is a break on Friday. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their letters, questions, photos, videos, postings, and streaming cams included in my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Elain and the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, NEFL-AEF, Sharon Dunne/Lady Hawk and SWFL-Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, San Jose City Hall, STV News, Wildlife Victoria, ABC News, The Guardian, and ‘N’, D’ and ‘O’.

Alden missing, Samson missing, Rita injured…Monday in Bird World

28 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I am earlier than I thought I would be today because there is more breaking news. We will start off with the kittens because they, so far, are a good thing to wake up to – no injuries, just boundless energy and cuddles.

Missy and Lewis hope that everyone has had a good day so far. They have discovered something! The in-floor heating comes up through the tiles, through the basket, and into their blanket. Talk about cosy.

These two will not be separated. Missy is the leader, the alpha cat and Lewis follows along dutifully. Same basket. Same food dish. Same water dish. Same tent for sleeping. Together. In all my years with cats – and that is a lot!-I have never seen or enjoyed anything so much.

We are still waiting word on Samson at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. As I noted it is not unusual for eagles to take a couple of days off before the incubation period starts or even during. However, at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest, if memory holds, it is always Gabby who is away and Samson dealing with incubating eggs or eaglets. Oh, let us all hope he is just a bit out of sorts and gets home soon.

For those of you that do not know him, Samson is the eaglet of Romeo and Juliet. The NEFlorida nest that Samson now shares with Gabby was Samson’s natal nest. Samson hatched on 23 December 2013. That means that he is 9 years old. Simon left the area on the 22nd of April 2014 and returned in 2018. Him and Gabby have had 3 seasons of eaglets. In 2019, they fledged Jules and Romey, named after Samson’s parents. In 2020, it was the ever cute Legacy and in 2021, Jasper and Rocket fledged. Samson is an absolutely devoted mate to Gabby and a super dad to his kids.

Samson with Legacy. 2020

Samson remains missing this morning.

The intruder has literally jumped into the nest at NEFL. Gabby was there and was keeping him at a distance.

At the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in the Miami Zoo, the home of Ron and Rita, I have received word from ‘H’ that Rita has been found injured. An announcement just released states that the injury is not as bad as they thought at first. Rita has a broken wing. She is in surgery. Updates will be issued as more is known.

One would think it would be enough with Samson missing and feared that he will not return, Rita’s broken wing and the fact that she could likely miss the 2022 season but, Alden has not been seen for 5 days (not since 23 November) and a male intruder has been at Cal Falcons. Annie has not chased him away. Does this mean we have lost Alden in a territorial dispute, too?

Darling Alden who gave us the loaf, moth chasing, and who saved the 2021 season after Grinnell was killed. Are you really gone?

Cal Falcons has not, it seems, issued any official word other than releasing the videos and the statement of Alden missing for 5 days.

The observation board at Port Lincoln has Mum delivering 2 fish and Dad none but Dad did deliver a fish tail – literally the tail – to Zoe at 18:26. I am not sure she was impressed.

The anticipation of another fish got Zoe quite excited.

It was nice to see Dad with a crop and when the fish tail landed, Zoe has still had a crop from the earlier fish provided by Mum. Zoe is not suffering from a lack of food!

I checked for updates on SE30 and SE29 and could not find any. The last was a couple of weeks ago. I will let you know if there is any news at all.

Need a new Osprey cam to watch? Cottesloe has long wanted one and now it is a reality. Cottesloe is in Western Australia. It will be fantastic to have another cam to go along with Port Lincoln next year.

In New Zealand, the Royal Cam couple for the year has been decided and the camera at Taiaroa Head has been moved. Thanks Ranger Sharyn!

I will be monitoring the situations to see if there is any change with Alden, Samson, or Rita, I will let you know. Please send out your warmest and most positive wishes to Samson and Gabby, Annie and to Alden, and Rita and Ron.

Thank you for joining me this morning. I wish that the news I was bringing was much better. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to ‘H’ for alerting me to the situation at Orange and Dade County and for their streaming cams and videos that make up my screen captures: Cal Falcons, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Cottesloe Streaming Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and NZ DOC.

Mourning Budgie, hungry eyases, and more in Bird World

15 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone.

It is Tuesday on the Canadian Prairies. It seems like the days have passed by so quickly – just a blur. One day it is Friday and in a blink, we find ourselves waking up to Tuesday. In part, I attribute this to the time difference between North America and Australia where all of the streaming cam action has been taking place these past three months. At any rate, I hope that you are well and I am so glad that you are here with me on this sunny day. It is only -6. Glorious! The Starlings are eating the suet and the lilacs are full of sparrows. Three grey squirrels have been running about this morning hoping that I will put out peanuts or a new seed cylinder for them. Soon!

Last week I received a letter from someone who had commented on one of the streaming cams and who had been admonished for putting human feelings on the birds. As you might recall, I am an ardent supporter of the research of scientists such as Dr Marc Bekoff at the University of Colorado and others such as Jane Goodall. I reassured my reader that, according to Dr Bekoff, it is currently acceptable within the science community, to anthropomorphise wildlife. Indeed, him and his colleagues do this all the time. I received so many letters in response to this question. It is reassuring that so many people, from every corner of our planet, understand that animals have emotions, that they feel pain, they experience joy and grief and fear. One reader shared the story of one member of her flock and how they grieved following the death of their mate. ‘J’ has given me permission to share the story of her budgie, Wolpe, with you. Thank you ‘J’. Here is a brief recount of how Wolpe mourned and how the death of her first mate changed her attitude towards life and love.

As a child, ‘J’ had a pet budgie that would sit on her shoulder when she was reading. It was her dream to have her own aviary ‘when she grew up’ and to share her life with these amazing birds.

The beautiful budgie below is Wolpe, one of 15 budgies that make up ‘J’s bird family. Each is a rescue that shares ‘J’s flat with her in Europe. In my City, we do not have budgies that look like Wolpe; they are all one colour. I find the colour patterns of Wolpe fascination but, I am disgressing from our story.

Wolpe and Peppi were long term mates. Peppi would preen Wolpe and give her all the love and care that he could. He also showed his affection by feeding his mate. Wolpe loved Peppi but did not reciprocate in showing her affection. She never preened Peppi – never ever – and she never fed him.

When Peppi died, Wolpe physically and mentally went into mourning. She “stood still on a branch for 10 days straight after her mate died last year. It was horrible to see.” She was not her usual self. She did not interact with any of the flock, or the enrichment toys nor was she actively engaged in shredding things – her favourite activity. It was totally clear that she was grieving her lost mate.

At the same time that Wolpe was morning so was ‘J’. One of the hardest things that ‘J’ had to deal with was the fact that most people did not understand her grief. A common response was, “it’s only a bird.” For ‘J’ each time one of her family passes, it “takes away a little piece of my heart.”

This is Wolpe with her mate, Peppi, before he died in 2021.

When Wolpe chose a new mate, it was Kobito. Kobito is also green just like Peppi. It was a huge surprise to ‘J’ that these two began their relationship as a couple. It mean huge changes in each of their behaviours.

For Wolpe, this meant that she became more physically caring for her mate. She now carefully goes through Kobitos head feathers, running each one through her beak cleaning it. She organizes the feathers on his head, something that a bird cannot do for themselves. Wolpe also feeds Kobito. It is as if she realized that she needed to be more tender and more caring. Kobito, on the other hand, always sat in front of the window looking ‘out’ He was isolated and distant as if he wanted to be somewhere else. Once he courted and won Wolpe, it seemed that he “actually turned in Peppi II!” Kobito began to socialize with the other birds; he became part of the flock and even became closer to ‘J’. It was like a 180 degree turn. He also spent much time preening and feeding Wolpe.

It seems as if Wolpe realized what she had lost when Peppi died. She missed that closeness of having a mate, of being able to show her love. She is making up for that now. Grieving can lead to introspection and changes and I hope that Wolpe and Kobito live long and happy lives together with ‘J’.

If you have an example of grieving feathered friend or raptor that you remember and would like to share or remind me, please send me an e-mail!

Indigo and Rubus learned how to sort out who was going to eat. Indigo was famished when she arrived back at the scrape on the 13th. Indigo spent Monday evening in the scrape.

As he calmed down, glad to be back in the scrape, and was fed, the frenzy to eat calmed. At one point Rubus and Indigo had a bit of a tussle over a prey item. They wound up sharing it! One ate off one end while the other was at the other.

Diamond flew in and fed both Indigo and Rubus.

Later, Xavier arrived with more prey and Xavier and Diamond each fed their youngsters.

Indigo was still working on the last prey delivery at 1824.

As the IR lighting was preparing to turn off, Rubus was in her favourite corner of the scrape while Indigo was sleeping on the ledge. It is so nice to have Indigo back in the scrape. We are always so anxious for the birds to fledge but it has to be difficult for them. Indigo is eating and resting. Rubus continues to lose dandelions. Soon they will look alike!

This morning it is only 4 degrees C in Orange.

‘A’ sent me a thorough recap of the happenings at Orange. Thanks, ‘A’.

RECAP: prey at: 5.43.29 Xavier with prey, Indigo takes; 6.03.43 Xavier with prey, Indigo takes; 6.05.25 D w/StubQuail, feeds Rubus; 9.41.51 X w/?juv BFCS (black-faced cuckoo shrike), Rubus takes; 12 57 55 X with star, leaves it, Indigo claims; 13.06.50 X w/star, Rubus takes; 13 12 07 D w/prey, Indigo takes; 14:19:22 X w/pardalote; 16:46:15 prey, 18.06.46 X prey; 19:42:29 D retrieves nestovers from near Cilla Stones and takes them into the centre of the scrape and starts eating herself; 19:43:33 Diamond feeds Indigo. 

The lack of fish continues to plague Port Lincoln. Two fish came in yesterday both brought by Dad. The times were 0836 and 1707. In both occasions, Mum took the fish and flew off to eat a portion. She returned and Zoe got the tail in the morning but nothing in the evening. Mum is obviously desperately hungry. We know that she often fed the osplets to her own detriment. I am glad that she has some food but, what is really going on at Port Lincoln. Is Dad unwell? is there a lack of fish? Dad is notorious for bringing in a historic average of 7 fish per day.

It is 11 degrees this morning at Port Lincoln.

I really hope that more fish arrive on the nest today. We have one big healthy osplet getting near to fledge and a Mum who was desperate for food yesterday. Send this nest your good wishes, please.

‘A’ reminded me that we now also have a true name for the ‘Z’ in our list of birds: Zoe will now take that spot.

As you are probably aware, the camera at 367 Collins Street is no longer streaming. ‘H’ reports that the camera had a technical issue and then with the death of the fledgling, Victor Hurley asked Mirvac to leave the camera off until next season.

‘H’ reports that the injured fledgling was euthanized on 15 November, yesterday. Having hit a window or a wall, the beautiful fledgling suffered a broken spinal column. The clinic determined that the injured bird was a female. Oh, how sad. It is a reminder that live for urban raptors is very challenging. Thanks, ‘H’.

‘A’ sent the following description, comparing Orange and Melbourne. I hope she does not mind that I share it with you as I thought it was particularly appropriate after the death of that healthy eyas. The parents can provide them with prey, teach them to hunt but they cannot protect them in the environment into which they fledge. I wish they could! ‘A” writes: The Orange eyases fledge into a relatively sheltered, semi-private area, a bit like the eaglets at SWFL eagles, whereas the poor Collins Street chicks fledge into an urban jungle filled with concrete and glass and difficult wind currents and gusts (for example, at every cross street, the bird flying down a city street would be hit by a strong wind gust from one side or the other, rushing down the cross street). I am sure you know what I mean about the wind tunnel effect through those walls of massive skyscrapers in modern-day CBDs. It may be a safe scrape but the environment into which they fledge is very dangerous. 

The last to fledge, dubbed Peanut by ‘H’ – and a very fitting name at that – fledged at approximately 0712 on the 15th, yesterday morning.

Send your very best wishes out to this family – may they all soar high, have full crops, remain safe in an area full of prey but also high buildings with deadly wind currents. We will look forward to seeing Mum and Dad 2022 again next year! Thank you to Mirvac and Victor Hurley for allowing us the privilege to watch these incredible falcons. There is rain in the forecast today in Melbourne and it is cool, 7 degrees C.

Making News:

Cornell reports that it was one of their best Bird Count Octobers ever! Excellent news. So many people participated around the world.

Migration:

There will be no news of Kaia and Karl II til spring it seems.

Bonus remains “near Başkaraören, in the Seydişehir district, Konya province in Turkey. He stayed mainly on the north side of the Beysehir Channel.”

There must be really good fishing there for our fledgling Black Stork.

Waba is still in the Sudan. He has also found a very good area to fish.

The Looduskalender Forum indicates with the rainy season this area would be much greener now than in the satellite view that they have of the region.

It is wonderful to know that these two fledglings will do well. Remember that migration is driven by food availability and these two, Bonus and Waba, seem to have found good feeding grounds for now. I wonder if they will try to stay where they are for the winter?

Thank you so much for being with me today. I will resume The Red List of vulnerable birds tomorrow! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their pictures, posts, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: thanks ‘A’ and ‘H’ for the Australian reports, thanks ‘J’ for sharing Wolpe’s story with us, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Cornell Bird Labs, Google Maps, and Looduskalender Forum.

Stolen eggs, fledgling in care, Ervie and more in Bird World on Monday

14 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Oh, goodness, Sunday was a day full of surprises! Two of them welcome and the other two, just shattering.

I had not anticipated sending out the newsletter this morning. The news coming out of NZ and Melbourne today would overwhelm this wonderful story of birds and emotions that I am working on. So tomorrow I will introduce you to Wolke so that you can enjoy reading about her incredible journey through grief to find love.

I don’t think anyone was shocked to discover that Big Bob at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge was a girl. I am not sure that anyone was surprised that she was the largest osprey ever hatched and ready to fledge either. Big is a BIG girl. The pink band is fantastic and what a super tribute to Janet Forster’s granddaughter to have the 2022 osplet named after her, Zoe. What was surprising was the determination of the local gulls to steal the fish right off the nest on the barge as Zoe was pancaked!

This really opened my eyes to what Dad might have to go through when he is fishing. We have seen the gulls steal a fish right out of his talons but, imagine them swarming him when he is fishing. That makes me sad.

Dad came in with a fish at 132824. He brought an earlier fish at 064935.

Mum prevailed and fed herself and her big Zoe.

It was a good fishing day for Dad who flew in with another fish at 1900. We have all been worried about Dad. Is the lack of fish due to weather? sediment so he could not see clearly? or him just feeling unwell? We probably will never know but, he did manage 3 fish and Mum and Zoe had the fish that were left after banding that the gulls did not get. (I think the gulls only took 1 of the 3 fish).

Zoe screaming loud with Mum as they see Dad approaching with the fish.

The shock of all shocks was Indigo being physically strong enough to fly into the scrape box and scare the wits end out of Rubus and Diamond who were enjoying a nice meal!

What great form! She landed in that scrape safely and took control of that prey. The in climate weather for the past day must have meant she had not had food and was famished.

Indigo stayed in the scrape with Rubus. He was there when they turned the IR off. (Cilla has done this to keep the numbers of mosquitoes down).

Dusk is coming.

Two specific incidents come to mind. One was Legacy, the 2021 fledgling of Samson and Gabby at NEFL. Legacy flew off the nest. I would have to check but, she was gone about a week. Everyone presumed she was being fed by the adults. She was seen flying into other eagle’s nests and it appeared to birders on the ground she was looking for her natal nest. She was caught on camera flying close by and then one day, she landed on the nest. She was famished and she did not fly off that nest for another month! Samson and Gabby were so glad to see her they provided so much fish! The second was WBSE 26. 26 was in the forest for about a week being harassed by the Currawongs and Magpies after fledging. She made it back to the natal nest, exhausted and hungry. Again the parents happily took care of 26 – you could almost see Lady’s delight that her baby was home. 26 stayed, ate, and got her strength up for about a week before being chased out of the forest. That was 2 years ago today that the Magpie helped 26 fight off the Currawongs.

I was also thinking about Izzy who returned to the scrape at Orange for so long. Diamond had to block the door finally for Izzy to get the message to move on. I suspect that Indigo is tired. Flying is a lot of work and the birds have to build up those muscles. Indeed, Indigo did go to sleep eating! Indigo might have been flying around the campus not connecting with the parents for a prey drop during the stormy weather the day prior. It will be interesting to see what happens when Rubus fledges. For now, isn’t it a delight to see Indigo safe and back in the scrape knowing he has had a meal?

The third surprising event was just a shattering. Four eggs from the Royal Albatross that are now breeding at Taiaroa Head have been stolen! There is no evidence to suggest that predators took the eggs and the NZ DOC is working with the police and going over footage to try and determine what has happened. Unbelievable.

Hearts are breaking.

Whenever something really terrible happens, I think of Ervie and today, thank you Friends of Osprey for posting more pictures of our beloved lad. Now notice Ernie’s lovely necklace. We know he is a male so, let this image guide us. Males do have necklaces. Blue 022 has a stunning one. It is not a foolproof method of determining gender in Ospreys.

Just look at Ernie’s nice crop. I wonder how his talon is coming along. I could not tell from the images but, he certainly is a most handsome osprey.

Speaking of Ervie, Friends of Osprey posted another image of Ervie with his satellite tracker and an explanation about trackers and why they are important.

Sad news is coming out of Melbourne. This is the fourth event – another shattering one. One of the fledglings has been found on a footpath near 367 Collins Street. Send all your positive wishes, please.

Just about the time we think things are going quiet, events that we might not have imagined take place. Our thoughts go out to the fledgling from Collins Street so that it will improve quickly and be able to be released. Life is very challenging for the urban birds. While there is generally a lot of prey – pigeons – there are also lots of buildings with glass that are difficult to manoeuvre when one is just learning to fly.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care all. If you get a chance stop in and check on Indigo, she might just stay at the scrape today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams that made up my screen captures: Friends of Osprey FB, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Falcon Watchers FB, Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ FB, Port Lincoln Ospreys and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.