Category Archives: vulnerable birds

Where is darling Louis? …Friday in Bird World

28 June 2024

Hello Everyone,

Thursday was not a good day. Indeed, it has been tearful and solemn. Our beloved Louis at Loch Arkaig has not been seen on camera since 1151 local time on Wednesday. Intense storms with gale-force winds in the area almost blew the two osplets off the nest. Dorcha is trying to keep them safe, and she did fly off and returned with an eel so they would have something to eat. Geemeff writes, “Only one fish yesterday, and just the tail end of that. No fish today, so Dorcha went off and came back with an eel. Concern is growing for Louis.”

Many of you will have watched Loch Arkaig nest 1 during the pandemic where Louis and Aila raised three amazing osplets, JJ5, JJ6, and JJ7. Sadly Aila did not return and he bonded with Dorcha. Louis moved them from the Loch Arkaig nest 1 to the current nest where, sadly, the weather is worse. Louis has always been an amazing provider. My heart is breaking. It feels like someone hit me really hard in my abdomen. This just can’t be happening.

As Thursday passes, concerns continue to grow as Louis has not been seen all day after being perched in his favourite tree late on Wednesday by Liz Bracken who can view the area with her scope.

Dorcha is feeding the chicks but eating very little herself. She needs to eat, too. Oh, please come home safe, Louis.

Dorcha is desperately trying to protect her two chicks during the storm.

Geemeff’s report for Loch Arkaig:

Daily summary Thursday 27th June 2024

Midnight finally arrives to end a dreich day filled with worry over Louis – where is he? The usually reliable super-fisherbird hasn’t been seen for over 24 hours, and concern is growing. He only brought a partial fish to the nest yesterday and Dorcha and the chicks are hungry. So taking matters into her own talons, Dorcha went off and returned with an eel which she proceeded to feed to the very eager chicks, once again, she didn’t get much herself. Dorcha’s fish (yes, eels are fish) takes the tally to two hundred and fifty one. Despite the official forecast the weather has been atrocious and at one point, both chicks were nearly blown off the nest in a violent gust of wind. What’s described as a ‘moderate breeze’ and heavy rain soaking the nest and its occupants is set to continue until tomorrow afternoon when there is a prospect of some sunshine. As the chicks’ plumage isn’t fully waterproof as yet, Dorcha still needs to act as mumbrella to shelter them, which she can’t do if she’s off fishing. With luck, Louis will turn up tomorrow. No action on Nest One.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.38.27 (03.25.18); Nest Two 23.00.49 (03.57.48)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/BQMQTT_q0yg Dorcha goes fishing and brings back an eel 15.14.44 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/lJMENKfuHSI OMG! Chicks nearly blown off the nest! 15.16.18 (super slo-mo repeat)

Bonus read – something different to think about, here’s Woodland Trust’s guide to foraging and what’s in season: 

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/06/foraging-in-june

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/foraging/foraging-guidelines

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

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

This is the latest news from The Woodland Trust:


After taking advice we have decided to place some fish on the nest today if Louis or Dorcha do not bring anything in meantime. This could be within the next hour or two subject to legal clearance. The camera may be switched off for this to happen. Given the weekend is approaching, a licence is also being sought to remove the chicks from the nest so we have that option over the weekend if we need it. The advice we have received is that if Louis has not returned by the end of the weekend, then he likely will not be returning. That being the case it is unlikely Dorcha would be able to successfully raise the two chicks to the end of the season and migration. Even given her best efforts to protect them and fish, they would likely not make it. Enquiries have revealed that among the options there is potential for the chicks to go into an existing translocation programme for the benefit of the species. We won’t commit to that until we are sure Louis and Dorcha don’t have a good chance of continuing undisturbed to raise their family. The tricky thing is not intervening too soon when Louis might turn up at any moment, and not leaving it too late until the chicks won’t be in good enough condition to survive translocation. The advice we have is that it is too soon to write Louis off yet, but if he continues to be absent until late into the weekend then we should look at removing the chicks then. The licence to do that is being sought today, even if it is not needed in the end. In order to increase the chance of a successful outcome for the chicks should they be removed in a few days time, they are going to be fed today to tide them over for now. They may also be fed tomorrow. To provision the nest Lewis will climb the tree and leave fish. You will appreciate we have a lot to sort out and I may not be able to answer the many questions I am sure you will have. So please bear with us.

If you are interested in Ospreys in Canada, I have just joined the very informative Ospreys of Nova Scotia FB group run by Connie Dennis, who monitors the nest of Ethel and Oscar at Russell Lake in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Connie told me that the birds in Nova Scotia have “lots of fish”. My goodness, that makes me want to dance!

Ethel feeding Skyor and Heidi at the Russell Lake osprey nest in Nova Scotia. Photo credit: Connie Dennis.

There are no streaming cams but if you want to see some pretty well-fed babies head over to that group!

The trio at Charlo Montana – Charlie and Lola’s kids – are doing well. It has been raining but fish has come in and they seem fine.

I wish every nest had a Finnegan and, like all of you, I continue to be overjoyed that Iris has such an incredibly amazing wonderful magnificent mate!

‘A’ comments: “at Hellgate, Finn removed the fish from the nest around 07:15 and it was so heavy, he could hardly drag it off the nest, let alone lift it! I wondered why he didn’t just eat on the nest and feared he would drop it. And it appears that’s what must have happened, because although he had a good crop when he next returned, it was nowhere near the size it would have been if he’d eaten even a third of that fish. So obviously, he has dropped it, which is unfortunate, as it would have fed the entire family at least four big meals today. When Finn does come back at around 08:35, it is not with the remainder of the fish but with a huge branch. He then manoeuvres it into position and moves another large branch further around the nest. It appears he has noticed, as I have over the past 36 hours or so, that Big Bob is beginning to become very adventurous and is exploring the surface of the nest and heading out towards the rails on his own, sometimes even ending up out there at 3am and having to be brought back into the warmth of Iris’s underfluffies. Big Bob really does look to be right in the middle of his reptilian phase (I have to believe now that he is also a male, given how incredibly laid-back he is and how he tolerates Baby Bob in front of him for feedings, waiting to reach over to get a bite once Iris has stopped giving Little Bob consecutive bites, often for some time. Yesterday evening, she was feeding Little Bob for so long that I became worried Big Bob would lose patience, leaning over Little for a bite and continually missing out. Surely, he would become frustrated by this sooner or later. But no. Mum just kept feeding Little Bob until, essentially, he was too full to compete and sat down. The rain has now really set in (it’s nearly 9.30am and the camera keeps freezing) and although poor Iris is saturated, she still manages to keep both osplets absolutely dry. She is truly amazing – and the best mumbrella ever in both rain and sunshine. This is the most magical nest. First, of course, we have the gift from the gods that is Finnegan. Then, we have two viable eggs, both Finn’s, laid a full week apart, which both hatched. As if that were not enough, despite the serious concerns raised by the massive time and size discrepancy between the two hatches, we discover we have a second chick, nowhere near as well developed at hatch than was its much larger older sibling, that somehow still manages to get itself fed without any fear of getting to mum’s beak (once he could see it). And now, to cap it all off, we have a much older, larger sibling deep in the reptilian phase who still has not raised a talon or a beak in anger towards his younger sibling. So I can only think we have two brothers here. Surely even parents as devoted as Iris and Finn have demonstrated themselves to be could not have controlled the sibling aggression to this degree with a female first hatch and a male second hatch. It has been one miracle after another.  Still, as we have seen, Iris is an amazingly experienced, patient and dedicated mum. She never ceases to impress me. And as for Finn, what a man. He has his quirks, but Iris really has found a keeper in this handsome, devoted young mate. You go girl! What a cougar she is. Oh don’t you just ADORE the way he feeds her? ” She continues, “I do wish Finn would stop removing the leftovers from the nest. He eats a huge meal from them, then doesn’t feel hungry and obviously doesn’t realise that the chicks cannot eat enough to get them through the long gaps between fish deliveries that are the result of this behaviour. It would be far better if Finn caught much smaller fish, but these gigantic fish that seem to be the only thing on offer at this location will be great in a few weeks’ time but at this stage is proving annoying. Still, Iris is ensuring that the babies are fed into a food coma every time she has the opportunity to do so, even if it means sacrificing the time to eat properly herself on occasion. Finn has fought her for the fish more than once while she is feeding the osplets, and she has had to insist that he leave it alone until she’s finished. (It’s as if he wants to show the fish off, then take it away and eat the head before returning it. But of course this excites the chicks, who then wonder what has happened to the fish, so Iris argues loudly about it and usually wins – at least temporarily.) It is this particular quirk of his that does lead me to believe this is his first time. He should know by now that babies need small, frequent feedings not two or at most three massive feedings a day. “

At Field Farm, all four osplets are feathered and accounted for! ‘A’ writes, “Mini was self-feeding at Field Farm yesterday. What a cutie he is. All four are looking wonderfully well. “

CJ7 and Blue 022’s chicks should be getting ringed soon. They, too, are doing quite well. Dedicated parents, good fish supplies. It all makes a difference.

Steelscape appears to be doing alright.

Salt Point is good.

At the Newfoundland Power nest, Hope continues to feed her chick.

At Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Mum is feeding the only surviving baby, too. Some relief. I hope these two mothers continue.

The weekly highlights in video for Richmond and Rosie in SF:

A message from Kelly Sorenson of the Ventana Wildlife Society:

My link to Thursday’s Condor Chat did not work. I asked ‘B’ to let me know if they found out anything about Aurora’s death. Here is what he reports, “There is no definitive answer on the cause of death for Aurora, but the possibility VWS considers to be most likely seems to be possible lead poisoning from contaminated prey that was fed to the chick.  This is mainly because they report that they are seeing high lead concentrations in many of the birds that they have trapped.  They were not able to recover Aurora’s body for analysis because the nest tree was so compromised by the Dolan fire that it would be too risky for a climber to retrieve the body.  VWS says that Zenith, the father, consumed the remains, so if there is indeed lead poisoning there would be concern for Zenith’s health, and they will watch for that.

Neither mother Redwood Queen nor Zenith are currently vaccinated for avian flu.  The fact that both Redwood Queen and Zenith seem to be healthy makes them think that avian flu is less likely to be the cause of Aurora’s death, but they will be watching Redwood Queen and Zenith for signs of illness, and both parents are now “at the top of the list” for trapping to be vaccinated.  28 out of 100 of the free-flying condors in the flock are currently vaccinated.  8 more have now received the first of two doses of vaccine in June and remain in isolation pens awaiting the second dose.  (Only adults that are not nesting and juveniles can be vaccinated, so it has not been possible until now to vaccinate Redwood Queen or Zenith this year, since they were nesting until now,)  Two more condors that were trapped recently were found to have high lead concentrations and have been taken to the Oakland Zoo for chelation treatment before they can be vaccinated.

One other potential cause for Aurora’s death that cannot ruled out is that s/he may have been attacked by a predator (even possibly by another condor) at night when Aurora was not visible on camera.”

Heidi will, no doubt, include this in her report. This attack reminds me of Ervie and his siblings after they fledged – out and out monstrous effort to keep the other away from the nest and food. Let us hope that neither is injured.

Heat. Dehydration. Lack of food.

‘J and PB’ called my attention to the report from FORE on Luna:

 “6/27/24 Update on Luna’s Necropsy & the effects of extreme heat on eaglets & other nesting birds. I contacted our Raptor Rescue Angel Marily Woodhouse from Defiance Canyon to get an update on Luna’s remains & she shared this important information with me…

“I emailed with the Lab, and she said on the 21st that she would be getting the body in the next few weeks, when someone from the Redding office is going to Rancho Cordova. Luna’s body is being kept frozen at the CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife Office until transport. Dehydration is an effect, but the initial cause is high heat and/or becoming too weakened to eat for that and additional reasons. All young birds grow incredibly fast, but eagles go from less than a quarter lb. to 8-10 lbs. in 10 weeks, which is a high level of physical stress. It’s difficult to keep up, even in optimal conditions. Extreme conditions exacerbate the stress. When I looked at the temperatures for the 10 days from June 5th to June 14th when Sol died, the average high this year was 101; in 2023 the average high for the same 10 days was only 88. An article in the Guardian today talks about the heat issues, focusing on people, who have more ability to escape than an un-flighted bird: 

“One degree celsius of warming may sound relatively small but it can translate into quite substantial impacts as it’s an average and the extremes of that average can cause much higher likelihoods of deaths from heatwaves, as well as agricultural impacts and wildfires,” she said.

Here is the article in The Guardian, FORE is referring to. We need to realise that heat and lack of food is going to kill so many, many more and that where possible we should provide supplementary fish:

Visualized-the-parts-of-the-US-where-summer-heat-has-risen-the-most-Extreme-heat-The-GuardianDownload

In case you do not open files, here is the map. You will see that many of the problematic nests are within the upper heat reaches of 3 C.

It is the hard reality of our heating world and how terrible the impact is going to be on our beloved friends.

Oh, how lovely to see them. Larry and mate visit their Alcatraz scrape!

Look at that crop on Tuffy! Just saying…when food is plentiful.

Ferris Akel caught up with the Ns and with Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus Thursday evening.

Big Red is moulting. She will be ‘Blondie’ soon.

One of the Ns.

Big Red and Arthur on Bradfield at the end of a busy day.

David Gessner’s book on Flaco, the Eurasian Owl, that escaped from the Central Park Zoo, who died nearly a year after gaining his freedom, will be released in 2025.

‘H’ reports:
6/28 Colonial Beach had their third hatch overnight. 

6/27 Osoyoos osprey nest:  The live stream resumed at 0930.  It is not uncommon for Olsen to deliver three fish by that time of the morning, and when the cam went live, we could see a partial fish in the nest.  Soo fed meals from that piece of fish at 1007 and 1044, finally finishing the fish at 1057.  There were two more fish delivered that I saw.  A  large whole fish was delivered at 1513, that Soo fed for 11 minutes, and finally a bedtime snack fish at 1829.  Things are looking good for this bunch.

6/27 Forsythe osprey nest:  Due to Bigs dominance, Middle had not had very much to eat for a couple of days.  There were four fish delivered to the nest, including one from Opal.  The first fish of the day, at 0856, was a very large fish from Oscar, that Opal fed for 55 minutes.  Big was determined not to allow Middle to eat.  Despite the long meal, Middle was only able to eat 20 bites of fish!    Almost seven hours passed before Opal delivered the next fish at 1550.  It was a good size fish that she fed for 18 minutes.  Early on, Middle managed to position himself on the opposite side of Opal from Big, and Opal fed both of the siblings.  Sometimes, the moms will inexplicably move the fish, and blow the cover of the underdog osplet being fed to one side.  I was worried that Opal might do that…but she didn’t.  Middle ate for 18 minutes.  Middle was not able to get to Opal’s beak at the third meal consisting of a tiny fish.  At 1753 Oscar brought a fish that Opal fed for 13 minutes, and Middle was able to be fed on the opposite side from Big for 10 minutes.  One day at a time.

6/27 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Capt Mac’s Fish House):  There were six meals averaging about 12-15 minutes in duration.  This lil’ 13-day-old baby is growing, getting plump, and looking good.


6/27 Captiva Ospreys:  It has been an unusual, but successful season for Jack and Edie, and their two offspring.  Most of us always root for the underdog, youngest osplet.  Darling was younger by only 36 hours.  But, the siblings may as well have been three days apart in their ages, based on the degree of dominance from the older sibling, Ding.  Darling fought for his meals on an almost daily basis, including surviving a 3.5 day period of starvation.  Darling is a survivor.

Darling fledged on 6/26.  On 6/27 Darling flew back to the nest for the first time, and made a good landing.  Unfortunately, the fledgling Ding no longer wants to share the nest with him.  Ding acted very aggressively toward Darling for nearly half an hour, eventually forcing him off the nest. 

Ding’s instinct is simply one of survival.  Ding is not being ‘mean’.  She is a strong osprey, and that is a good thing to be.  Ding is territorial, and now only sees Darling as competition for food that a parent may bring to the nest.  Jack has been delivering five fish a day to the nest for Ding and Darling.  Today, Jack brought three fish to Ding at the nest.  Perhaps Jack took two fish to Darling on a branch.   That would be more fish than Darling would get after food fights with Ding on the nest. 

We were very glad to see Darling this morning.  We may or may not see Darling again on camera.  This is not an unprecedented turn of events at some raptor nests after fledging.  Jack will continue to bring fish to Darling away from the nest, Darling will learn how to fish, and he will continue to be a survivor.

Many thanks to the wise and capable Mods of the Captiva live stream, for assisting us with our thought processes on these events.

‘PB’ reports that Baby Cowlitz had 75 bites of fish Friday morning and is a survivor! How wonderful. It will live another day. Wish for fish! And gentle siblings.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. This was a hop skip and jump through some nests with some information on what is impacting our most loved birds. Take care of yourself. See you soon!

Thank you to the following who sent me comments, notes, for their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today. I could not do it without you! ‘A, B, CD, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Connie Dennis, Ospreys of Nova Scotia, Cowlitz PUD, Charlo Montana, Montana Osprey Project, Field Farm, BoPH, Steelscape Ospreys, Salt Point, Newfoundland Power Snow Lane Osprey Cam, MN Landscape Arboretum, Ventana Wildlife Society, Heidi McGrue, FORE, The Guardian, SK Hideaways, Moorings Park, Ferris Akel Tours, David Gessner FB, Colonial Beach, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Forsythe Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, and Cowlitz PUD.

Wednesday in Bird World

26 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the first half of the week has treated you well. Thank you so much for your notes and the news that you sent that arrived in my Inbox this morning (Wednesday). I will put those great items in for tomorrow! So appreciated.

I could not believe the number of Blue Jays in the garden Tuesday afternoon. A pest control person would say we have an ‘infestation’ of Blue Jays – there were 16 in the garden at once. No, not some flying in and out and being counted twice, but sixteen! What an amazing feeling to see so many. Ever since I was luring Calico into the house and met people from another street near where I live, I realised that many people were feeding the birds and the feral cats. It has helped to increase the population numbers.

Below are some lousy images taken through the conservatory windows with the iPhone.

Too many choices!

This one loved digging in the plant pot.

This Blue Jay really wanted a peanut, but one of Dyson’s kits was on the table feeder. This one is also moulting but have a look at those beautiful markings especially around the eye. Looks like it has been practising the latest look with the kohl markers.

The markings around the eye are entirely different on this one. Gosh, I love Blue Jays. These images will go in the file form last summer to see if I can identify any of the birds.

Hope is almost ready for her first birthday and she has the most beautiful eyes. She has only to stare at me and I melt – not beautiful Baby Blues but Baby Greens.

Hugo Yugo has the most beautiful tail. It is as big as she is!

While Omega is taking record catches of Menhaden (its quota), the Ospreys in the Bay area are noted to be having difficulty finding food. This is the saddest thing I can think of. The ASMFC makes the quota and every state is represented. IF we want our ospreys to have food and not have their population completely decimated then the people that make quota decisions need to understand that commercial fishing of Menhaden needs to stop and stop now. The list of those decision-makers is below.

I also learned this: “The Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay are two separate ecosystems.Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) uses ocean only survey data from NOAA on Menhaden to set an Ocean and Bay quota. No wonder the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is on the verge of collapse – the 112M lb Bay quota is set by throwing darts.” (Brain Collins, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB).

Commissioners-Atlantic-States-Marine-Fisheries-CommissionDownload

‘EJ’ sent me some great news about the intentional release of balloons. In Florida, it is now against the law. You can still have balloons, you just cannot intentionally let them fly free. But what about those accidents? Now can we get an all out ban on the use of balloons for anything? Just ban them. People who leave them tied to the gate posts on their drive cause as much trouble as those who release them into the air. They still get into the environment. Just take the big step and ban them.

DeSantis-signs-law-banning-intentional-release-of-balloons-Fox-NewsDownload

A Himalyan Vulture has been photographed in Armenia for the first time.

Western-Palearctics-first-Himalayan-Vulture-photographed-in-Armenia-BirdGuidesDownload

England is getting another protected area in Cumbria. It may be baby steps to some but any success is worth the effort!!!!!

Englands-largest-rainforest-becomes-protected-reserve-BirdGuidesDownload

Waiting for hatch at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

All is well with CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour and their four osplets. One is wanting to nibble and get that fish away from Dad!

The two Golden Eaglets at Estonian nest 2 Kaljukotkas are the sweetest things. Yes, you read that right! Prey was brought in and older sibling left some for the younger. Seriously it doesn’t get much better than that!

Aran and Elen’s trio at Glaslyn are marvellous. I can’t wait til they are ringed. What an idyllic spot to hatch! The sound of cows and sheep, the beautiful green of the Welsh countryside. They will be ringed shortly.

The two surviving chicks at Maryland’s Western Shore nest are really wanting to self feed. Mum still likes to control those fish!

They are very loud – oh, that beautiful sound of an osplet fish crying. And they are the size of their parents.

Nox and Annie – you might want to turn down the volume!

‘PB’ reports that in the late afternoon the third hatch at Steelscape finally had a crop! The little one has had trouble getting any food. We are concerned.

The baby had a tough time at Cowlitz PUD today, too, but ‘PB’ counted 50 nice sized bites of fish at the last feeding. That is not good but might be survivable providing more fish comes in early on Wednesday. A confirmed late evening large fish has arrived. The two older chicks ate their fill. Little three had nothing.

Marders Only Bob is doing very well.

I have to remind myself that those tiny third hatches can survive when I look at Blackbush. I am thinking of Tiny Little Blue 464 at Foulshaw Moss, Tiny Little at Achieva in 2021, Little Mini aka Tiny Dancer at Patchogue…but they have to have spunk and a bit of creativity to get to that fish.

Looking at the two osplets at Bridge Golf Course you might not notice that there is concern for the leg of the second hatch.

Geemeff sends us the Loch Arkaig Daily Summary – thank you, Geemeff!

Daily summary Tuesday 25th June 2024

A day with few fish but plenty of good manners, and confirmation of two chicks on the Bunarkaig nest (thanks Chaddie), whose parents may or may not be Prince & Affric 152. Louis only delivered three fish today, none of them especially big, so Dorcha gave the two chicks, who queued up politely and took turns, most of the fish and only took a little for herself. Louis’ tally rises to two hundred and forty nine (249), although judging by his bulging crop, he may well have caught more than three today. Dorcha took out her hunger on some sticks and the chicks paid close attention making sure to keep out of her way. Garry LV0 paid several visits to Nest One, bringing nesting materials and doing housekeeping as well as perching quietly and preening. The weather was settled today, and more of the same tonight with a forecast of light clouds, light winds and a low of 12 °C.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.18.32 (03.29.13); Nest Two (04.08.47)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/K3WvjHDOV-M N2 Fish number one, not much left for Dorcha 09.29.00

https://youtu.be/Z_3zm3AQWgc N1 Garry LV0 brings bedding but only stays a short time 12.04.22

https://youtu.be/Y2Gv_Oh4iNk N1 Garry returns and does some nest prep 14.45.25 

https://youtu.be/dFLYF7Ayh0E  N2 Fish number two, chicks queue politely 16.44.47

https://youtu.be/ySDyxYVtZpw  N2 Personages with long sticks 17.17.01 (Classic Ospreys – Saint-Saëns)

https://youtu.be/4vw_4rNXK2g N2 Fish number three, small headless trout, Dorcha gets hardly any 20.02.23

Bonus shopping – bag a bargain in Woodland Trust’s sale – every purchase made from WT’s shop funds vital work to plant and protect trees and woods across the UK: https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/summer-sale

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

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

Oh, look at my guy. Blue 33! He is delivering fish #10 at 20:18 for Maya to feed their Only Bob. Oh, there are nests that could only dream about this number and size of fish. So what is the difference? Rutland has a stocked pond.

Blue 1H0 has the same ‘snake eyes’ as Daddy Blue 33. Just gorgeous.

Oh, Iris. You are looking tired to me. But you are taking such good care of those babies.

On Tuesday, it appeared that Finn had trouble fishing with only this very early morning fish. Will there be another? What is the problem?

Darling Finn brought in the second fish of the day for Iris and their babies. Thanks, ‘PB’. Was he on security duty all day? or was fishing particularly difficult? That was a huge gap in time.

SF Bay Ospreys are giving us a 26 day report – that is the age of the oldest of the two chicks of Rosie and Richmond. It is now half way to fledge. Gosh, time passes so quickly.

Anna and Andrew’s Beautiful Lesser Spotted Eaglet at Zemgale, Latvia, Ieva. Several voles coming in for food. I wonder how many small mammals are available in the forest for food? Have the population of small mammals changed in the area?

Selgas and Svinga have at least one miracle little osplet in that nest in Latvia. I strained my eyes to try and see if there were two of them on Tuesday.

And yes, it was a second little head. Thanks, ‘J’.

In Newfoundland, the first egg has hatched at the nest of Hope and Beaumont in Snow Lane.

It’s raining and it is unclear to me if the baby has been fed.

‘A’ keeps us up to date on what is happening with Dad and Lady in the Sydney Olympic Forest: “Meanwhile, an egg is surely just around the corner at WBSE: June 25: After some time on the nest, standing and keeping us in suspense, Lady went to her sleeping branch and slept quietly for the rest of the night. Both woke early, with several early morning duets and finally mating at 6:25. Both were away just before 7am. Dad returned with a small bream, head eaten, and left it on the nest at 7:13. Both eagles were seen from the river at 7:50, one at River Roost, the other near Ironbark Roost in the forest. Dad returned and took the fish himself just after 9am. He brought a stick in just before 10am, followed by Lady, and left again after a little work. Both returned just before 11am, Dad with another stick. Both left again, no prey. Dad was back again an hour later, followed by Lady – no prey – and off again. Then he brought a leafy twig, again followed by Lady – then she was off again. Dad returned with a big whiting at 16:19, quickly claimed by Lady and taken off to eat at Ironbark Roost. She returned the last scrap to the nest at 16:48. Later, at last light, both were on the nest, then moved to nearby branches for the evening. Will tonight be the night?

Syracuse University confirms that Oren and Ruth’s two Red-tail Hawklets fledged.

‘H’ sends her great reports!

6/25 Colonial Beach Osprey nest: Yay!  Betty and David now have two lil’ babies.  Their second baby hatched at approximately 17:48.  One more egg to go.

6/25 Fortis Exshaw:  Things are going very well for this family…Harvie brings in so much fish, that there is no feeling of food insecurity by the osplets.  Two years ago, Louise and Jasper fledged three chicks.  Last year, Jasper disappeared early in the season, and Louise had a difficult time fishing for her three young kids, while at the same time dealing with some really mean intruders.  Louise had some assistance for a few weeks by another male, Mr. O.  He brought fish and helped with nest security, but I fear that Mr. O may have also been a victim of the intruders.  Only one osplet of three fledged.  That was Banff.  Fingers crossed for Louise and her new family this year.

6/25 Osoyoos osprey nest:  In my mind, fish size is relative to any given nest.  A ‘whopper’ at Osoyoos would be considered a medium sized fish at many other nests.  Olsen mostly brings tiny, small, and medium sized fish to the nest, and rarely is he able to catch a large fish.  There are variables such as: is the fish headless, is the fish thin or thick (fish mass)?  I like to judge by how long it takes Soo to feed her three kids from any given fish.  From my observations: A feeding from a tiny fish only takes Soo 3-4 minutes to feed, 5-7 minutes for a small fish, 8-10 minutes for a medium sized fish, and 11-15 minutes for a large fish.  This is not a perfect system by any means…a tough fish will take longer to feed, and if Soo becomes distracted for a bit, that will prolong a feeding.  There were ‘only’ five feedings for the osplets today, down from their average of 7-9 meals per day.  No aggression was observed during any of the feedings.  The meals lasted (in minutes of duration): 5, 11, 5, 8, and 15 minutes.   The chicks are growing rapidly, and their appetites are increasing.  Due to the size of the fish, Olsen needs to catch a whole lot of fish for this hungry brood in order to prevent any food insecurity.  Fingers crossed.

6/25 Forsythe osprey nest: The live stream had been down for 2.5 days, and upon return of the stream just before noon today, we saw one of the osplets self-feeding.  And, after a while, the other chick stole the fish and also self-fed.  The self-feeding is a new development.  The 35 and 34-day-old osplets are looking good.

6/25 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest:  Della and Warren are doing a great job, and this family is doing well.  The 29 and 28-day-old osplets are simply gorgeous (this is one of my home nests…so I’m a little biased, lol).

In Oklahoma, excessive heat is killing songbirds. Many Robins found dead. Some people are putting frozen gel packs in their water bowls and bird baths to help keep the water cool. Please put out water for all the feathered friends and critters! Shallow dishes with pebbles help. Food if you can, but water is so important. Thank you and thank you to everyone who sent me a note to say they are doing their part with providing water. You are saving lives. Smile. Every little bit helps.

It is about that time. 1 July in Canada and the 4th in the US. And I am sure there are celebrations elsewhere. I continue to imagine celebrations without things that harm the wildlife – like balloons and fireworks. Just think what the money spent on fireworks could do to help non-humans and humans.

Persuade your community that there are alternatives – that might even include a free picnic for everyone. Anything but fireworks and balloons.

Final note: The little one at Cowlitz had no fish from the first feed at Cowlitz PUD and the same at Steelscape. So sad.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: A, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Brian Collins, ASMFC, FOX News, BirdGuides, Trent University, BoPH, Eagle Club of Estonia, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, SK Hideaways, Steelscape Osprey Cam, Cowlitz PUD, Marders, Blackbush, Bridge Golf, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, LRWT, Montana Osprey Project, SF Bay Ospreys, LDF, Newfoundland Power, Sea Eagle Cam, SU Hawk Nest Cam, Colonial Beach, Fortis-Exshaw, Osoyoos, Mispillion Harbour, Forsythe, and Spay-Neuter Coalition of NM,

2 kg female osplet ringed in Wales…Tuesday in Bird World

25 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

‘The Girls’ and I are sitting in the conservatory despite the high temperature. It is 29 C. We have gotten hotter in the summers, but everything feels strange – like a big storm coming. The trees are twirling around and the clouds are moving quickly covering up the sun and yet, there is no prediction of anything happening. Cold water has been put out for the birds and more food for the Corvids as they are feeding babies and fledglings are coming to the garden now. I hope to get some good images of them one day.

I am not complaining. I understand from ‘MM’ that it is 96 F with a heat index of 101 in North Carolina. This is why all those osprey babies (and eagles) should hatch in the winter. So much better!

The garden is a shady paradise in the lilacs and the tunnel created with the vines and other trees. There is also shade on the deck in the late afternoon. The birds come out to feed again after having a siesta.

Junior wants a peanut but Dyson is there.

So he decides to have a bath.

It is hot everywhere. Please remember to leave out shallow bowls of water for the animals. You will save their lives. Water is more important than food when the heat is so high. Even pie pans with water – put try and put them in the shade. Thank you.

This just puts a smile on my face. Someone doing something to help birds. Enter mosquitoes to the Hawaiian Islands.

Millions-of-mosquitoes-released-in-Hawaii-to-save-rare-birds-from-extinction-Hawaii-The-GuardianDownload

Idris and Telyn have set a record at the Dyfi nest in Wales. One of the females broke the weight record for a chick ringed in Wales. She came in over 2 kg. Here is the announcement with the names of the osplets!

That is incredible. ‘Daddy Longlegs’ Idris has really been hauling in the fish. Even that male has a nice healthy weight.

‘MM’ sends news that we have the first hatch at Colonial Beach. It is hot there. 31.3 C or 88 F. Chick has already had its first feeding! Well done, Betty and David. See also ‘H’s report below on this nest.

Iris’s oldest chick is rather precocious. It is already nibbling on the fish!

‘A’ comments on something magical: “Finn brought in a leftover chunk of fish at about 18:44 and just stands with it on the nest for about 25 minutes. Finally, he starts nibbling at it and Iris stands up, but Finn just keeps eating himself. Baby Bob spots who has the fish and is promptly over to dad, although both chicks already have good crops. It takes dad a while to stop feeding his face (and giving the odd bite to Iris) and start feeding Little Bob, and then he looks the wrong way when dad offers him fish, but around 19:16 a feeding of sorts begins. Soon, Big Bob sees what is happening and lumbers up behind Little Bob but does not interfere. Dad leans over to feed the older chick and at this point, he gives up on eating and starts feeding the two osplets in turn. It is wonderful to watch. This guy really is a keeper. He has a bit to learn about leaving leftovers on the nest and if he is only going to catch two or three whoppers a day, to bring them back more than once so they represent more than one feeding, but none of that will matter shortly, when they are big enough to handle fewer, larger feeds. 

Finn has been an amazing first-time dad, guarding his family and the territory with great dedication and bringing in enough fish to feed the family (albeit his delivery schedule needs a little adjustment – see above). He has fed Iris on several occasions when she is tired or when it is wet, and now, he is feeding the osplets as well. This is one fantastic dad in the making. And Iris has chosen well. “

‘B’ writes that we have fledges! “Fledges at both Fraser Point and Bald Canyon this morning — the second FP chick (usually referred to as Reign) at 8:32:09 and Selene at BC at 10:07:54.  Reign was back on an adjacent branch at 10:38:06 and on the nest proper within a minute…So all the Channel Islands eaglets that are on nest cams have now fledged.” Congratulations everyone. A wonderful year!

‘B’ also sent us a link to an article in The Washington Post. Do you think the Bald Eagle is the official bird of the United States? Have a read!

Opinion | You probably think this is our national bird. Think again.

‘TU’ has sent us some news. A pair of Egyptian Geese took over a stork nest. Their chicks took the leap this morning. Video below.

In Montreal, Peregrine Falcon chick Polo fledges! Beautiful flight. Oh, how I hate those windows.

Let’s catch up with the news from ‘H’:

6/24 Colonial Beach Virginia osprey nest:  Congratulations to Betty and David on the hatch of their first baby!

6/24 Barnegat Light osprey nest:  Even though Daisy and Duke did not have any eggs this season, they continue to hang out together in the bay area.  We are delighted when they grace us with their presence on camera.  Theirs is a love story.

6/24 The Osoyoos osprey nest had another nice day. They had nine feedings, and all three of the osplets had good crops.  Meal times remained peaceful, but I did catch a pretty good beaking battle in between meals, and that kerfuffle was started by Little!

6/24  Fenwick Island osprey nest (Capt Mac’s fish House):  Okay now…I am starting to be impressed.  June is keeping her leftover fish, saving it for more feedings, and she is feeding longer.  Just look at the crop on that lil’ 10-day-old osplet.  Now, that’s what I’m talking about!

6/24 Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  It was a veritable fish-feast-day.  There were a total of six long meals throughout the day .  Something really cool happened in the afternoon… At 1410 Mom brought a large fish to the nest (first fish for her this season), and two minutes later Dad landed in the nest with a large fish.  A dual feeding took place, with Dad primarily feeding the two older siblings for 1/2 hour before he left with half his fish.  And, Mom primarily fed Little.  She continued to feed everyone from her fish after Dad left, and her fish lasted an hour.  

6/24 Captiva ospreys:  The day started off with a surprise for Ding and Darling when they had a visitor in the middle of the night…a young heron landed in the nest for a short period of time.  The kids maintained their cool, but we’ve never seen their eyes so big!  Jack brought three fish to the nest today, and Darling had his very own hardhead catfish.  He was able to unzip it, and ate the whole fish.  Edie was last seen on cam on 6/23, but there have been sightings of an adult osprey landing in a nearby tree, and some believe that they have heard Edie.  It is believed that Edie is taking a short break, and that her absence from the nest has nothing to do with the fishing line incident of 6/21.  After the fishing line incident, Edie delivered fish to the nest on 6/21, 6/22, and 6/23, and she seemed just fine.

Thanks so much, ‘H’. That Fenwick Island baby is too cute – and oh, so full! Love it.

That little osplet in Kurzeme Latvia is also so cute. OK. They are all cute little dinosaurs.

Four hot ospreys at Field Farm. Little Mini is getting its feathers.

Birds of Poole Harbour Fab Four are deliriously wonderful. CJ7 and Blue 022. I can’t tell you how much I adore them.

And then there is Louis at Loch Arkaig that brought in a fish at midnight to Dorcha. Yes, midnight. Do ospreys hunt in the dark? how light was it in Scotland at midnight? Oh, I just wish I could send one of those fish over to Osoyoos.

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig: Monday 24th June 2024

The day started out a bit soggy but soon improved, and Louis had a bit of a lie-in after yesterday’s midnight fish, not turning up until lunchtime with today’s first fish. He followed it up with three more, taking his tally to two hundred and forty six. Dorcha had fun with a stick but was left hungry as the growing chicks devoured most of the fish, however the arrival of a large 11pm fish supper meant she didn’t end the day hungry. The nest seems to be getting a little crowded now that the chicks are mobile and stretching out their suddenly long wings, perhaps that’s why one chick took a pop at the other and a short sharp fight broke out. There was much discussion on the forum about which chick is which as it’s getting very difficult to tell them apart. Garry LV0 turned up on Nest One again today, bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of nest scraping. Is this a frustration eyrie? Whatever his motives, it’s good to see him. Tonight’s forecast is light rain and light winds, luckily although the chicks are too big to fit under Dorcha, their preen glands are coming through and they’re starting to get some waterproofing. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.15.51 (02.48.23); Nest Two (03.32.32)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Alfrd7novqE  N1 Garry LV0 arrives early and does some nest prep 06:15:01 

https://youtu.be/fs7pwvQ359g N2 Fish number one, small whole trout, chicks queue politely 12.45.07

https://youtu.be/iQA9jIPeDsE N2 Fight! Is the nest getting too crowed? Chicks have a pop 13.01

https://youtu.be/opTBHM-Q3jk N2 Dorcha brings a stick and hangs it round Chick1’s neck 14.28.44

https://youtu.be/ryxHF_M71io N2 Fish number two, big whole trout, Dorcha gets hardly any of it 15.30.25

https://youtu.be/45KVDHPY0x40 N2 Fish number three, headless small trout, soon finished, Dorcha’s still hungry 17.08.47 

https://youtu.be/Ijm7ts7aZGk N2 Fish number four, whole trout, Dorcha tucks in immediately 23.05.25

Bonus read – Flights, Camera, Action! Postcode Lottery discuss their sponsorship of the nest cam:

https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/postcode-hub/news/flights-camera-action

Blackbush. Sometimes dual feedings. Sometimes Dad feeding Mum who feeds babies. Send this nest hope. We have seen these little ones before survive. Tiny Dancer. Tiny Little. Blue 464. It depends on the amount of prey and the willingness of the parents to work hard to keep all of them alive – just like CJ7 and Blue 022 are doing.

Beautiful fledglings back on the VIMS nest.

Once in awhile you will catch a fledgling on the Frenchman’s Creek nest. These kids are gorgeous. Look at that clean nest!

Looks like Tuffy had a couple of nice fish today on the Moorings Park nest. These kids of Harry and Sally are gorgeous.

It was 26 C in Osoyoos today. Tomorrow will be 27 – and believe me, it is hotter on the top of an osprey nest than it is at ground level. Then there is to be rain. Oh, please give these babies some fish – some big fish because Soo and Olsen have to eat, too!

My goodness. The plumage on that baby at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is dark. Very pretty little osplet. The image shows Mum feeding the little one from the whole fish that Dad brought in around 1400. There had at least been one earlier fish. It is hot on that nest!

Oh, look at those fat little bottoms at Charlo Montana!

Winnie and Swoop have their second baby at Dunrovin on the 24th.

It is hot in Colorado. Pitkin County Mum is the perfect mumbrella keeping her babies cool. She fluffs her own feathers to keep herself cool as well.

I sure would like to see more fish in the heat at Cowlitz PUD but there are still three osplets that appear to be alright.

Beautiful baby at Clark PUD.

Boulder County Mum keeping their Only Bob cool and fed!

No love lost when it comes to food amounts San Jose fledglings!

Many of us are hoping to find out what happened to Redwood Queen and Zenith’s chick in the Big Sur Redwood Forest. We are joining the Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Chat which is on the last Thursday of the month. Very informative.

Got to the Ventana Wildlife Society website to sign up. The Condor chats are also archived and you can view them on YouTube.

Educate yourself about California Condors and the acute challenges they face. The Ventana Wildlife Society led the way in giving their flock vaccines for HPAI. Now they are helping others.

We have another Condor baby. Fingers crossed.

Decorah North continues to thrive despite the nest collapse.

Gorgeous Black Storks in Portugal.

Beautiful Mum at Port Lincoln Barge on the nest and eating a fish she caught and brought back quickly.

‘PB’ has been keeping an eye on Cowlitz PUD and Steelscape. She writes, “I just checked both Cowlitz and Steelcase since they are both in the same area. Fish seems to be coming in slow and far apart, keeping #1 grouchy and getting most of the food. Steelcase is worrisome to me for #3. It’s is constantly bullied by #1 when food arrives. Even bullies away #2. #3 Steelcase could use more fish. #3 managed to bravely grab a few big pieces of the tail section on ladt fish but is hungry. Cowlitz little baby ate a good breakfast but not much after that. Last fish there was 4 hours ago. Still light out so hoping for a late fish but both places need larger fish to feed 3 mouths.”

Smile. Canada Geese enjoying the grass by an airport in Alabama. Thanks, ‘L’. It seems so odd seeing them with palm trees! Oh, I love the Canada Geese – and guess what? They are not the national bird of Canada. The Gray Jay is. Go figure.

And another smile. Ospreys rescued and in care. Thanks, ‘J’.

Menhaden are the primary fish of the Ospreys in the NE USA. If you want to know how bad the commercial fishing industry is impacting these life-giving little fish, you only have to go to the FB page – Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal. here is a post from this morning. This is seriously concerning and the commercial fishing needs to stop before the Osprey are completely wiped out. Of course Dophins and Whales eat Menhaden, too, and they are practically disappeared from the area.

Our friend Hob in Kauai sends us news of the first moli fledge for 2024. how wonderful!

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. If it is super hot where you live, drink lots of fluids. Consider putting water out for the animals even if you can’t see them – we have visitors during the night that eat and drink. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, letters, comments, questions, videos, images, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J, L, MM, MP, PB, TU’, The Guardian, Dyfi Osprey Project, Colonial Beach Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cams, Pam Breci, The Washington Post, Fenwick Island, Patuxent River Park, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve of NJ (Barnegat Light), Window to Wildlife, HorstsHorst, Montreal Falcon Cam, LDF, BoPH, Geemeff, Blackbush, VIMS, Frenchman’s Creek, Moorings Park Ospreys, Osoyoos Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, Charlo Montana, Ashley Wilson, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, Clark PUD, Boulder County, SK Hideaways, Ventana Wildlife Society, Lady Hawk, Tajo International, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Polk County Animal Control, Menhaden-Little Fish, Big Deal FB, and Hob Osterlund.

Monday in Bird World

24 June 2024

Oh, good morning. We are celebrating today. We have a late hatch baby osplet in Latvia!!!!!!!! Oh, tears and jumping up and down. Oh, please let this little one be safe. It appears the second egg has a hole in it. Just overjoyed. Ospreys are so rare in Latvia. Everyone must be celebrating. Congratulations Selgas and Svinga.

The Estonian Osprey nest of M1 and IIris has sadly failed. The ospreys continue to visit the nest on occasion. M1 has covered the egg on and off. The camera is now offline.

There is sad news coming from the Finnish Osprey nest at Seili. First two eggs did not hatch. The third did hatch and was predated by a Crow.

Look at those two beautiful osplets, fully feathered, in Napiwodzko-Ramucka in Poland.

The two Golden Eaglets in Estonia nest #2 are doing so well. It is late on Sunday and no food has arrived yet. They had good ‘ps’ early in the day.

The name given to the only Golden Eagle on the Estonian nest #1 is Diana.

The two gorgeous Eastern Imperial Eagles in Tatarstan RU are doing so well.

The Lesser Spotted Eaglet, Ieva, in Zemgale, Latvia is so cute. It is beginning to get its feathers. Mum Anna spends much time preening her little one. One thing I have found interesting is when Ieva casts a pellet, Anna will often share that pellet with Ieva as food again. There were lots of frogs on the menu for the 23rd, Sunday. After so many, many frogs, Andris shows up with a vole. I have not seen him on the nest recently so this is fantastic.

The first time the chicks in the Tweed Valley nest of Mrs O have seen the sun in 21 days. It must feel wonderful and it will dry out that nest. So many lost to weather. Glad to see these three nicely feathered and surviving!

The three osplets at the Oxford, MA nest (camera run by Oxfordma.us) look to be almost completely feathered and extremely healthy. A little older than the ones in Tweed Valley.

The four osplets at Field Farm are drying out after heavy rains.

Dad got the fish in and Little Mini is at the beak at Field Farm!

At Bridge Golf, both osplets had a nice fish lunch.

Fish on the nest at Moorings Park and Ruffy watches the water.

At the US Steel Bald Eagle nest of Irvin and Claire, their only eaglet, Lucky, fledged on Sunday! Congratulations everyone.

And now there is concern for Lucky. Send positive wishes.

Three babies at Blackush so far looking good. Weather is off and on miserable.

Last breeding season, the lovely Marders nest failed. All the chicks died for no apparent reason. The owner of the property followed all advice and protocols and had them picked up for a necroscopy. It is possible they were too decomposed. This year, the family has one two week old osplet and two DNH eggs.

Two beautiful fledglings returning to the nest for fish at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science platform.

Mum at Pitkin County working hard to keep her three osplets cool in the rising heat of Colorado.

Rainy, hot, and humid at Great Bay. It finally dries up. Three gorgeous osplets.

‘H’ hasher reports for us!

6/23 The Osoyoos osprey nest continues to do well.  The 13, 15, and 16-day-old chicks are looking good.  There were 8 feedings that I saw.  There was no sign of sibling rivalry or aggression.  Some of the fish were tiny, but some were medium in size.  Little missed out on the first meal that consisted of a small fish, because he was sleepy and waited to approach…”He who hesitates….”  Little only ate two bites of fish at the second meal, because the fish was so tiny.  Later, Little ate his/her share at the other meals, right up at Soo’s beak, side by side with the big kids.

6/23 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  Harvie is an excellent fisher, and he delivered three whoppers and a smaller fish today.  There were 8 meals, some of which consisted of leftovers from the whoppers.  There was no sign of aggression at the meals.  Little is handicapped…well, by being little, lol.  S/he simply cannot reach as far toward Louise’s beak as the bigger kids, but he manages to get fed, especially toward the end of the meals.  Little did not eat at the last meal of the day, simply because the fish was small.  All is good at this nest.

6/23 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Capt Mac’s Fish House):  There were six meals provided for the 8-day-old babe, which was an improvement.  The meals were also a little longer in duration.  Male ospreys usually wisely remove leftover fish from the nest to avoid enticing predators, and Johnny is very diligent about that.  At 1350, it had been 5.5 hours since the last meal, and June fed from a nice sized fish.  This time, June prevented Johnny from taking the leftover piece of fish.  June fed the osplet again in an hour, and the kiddo had a very nice crop!  In fact s/he had a nice crop a couple of times today.  Good.  Now, if Johnny could just deliver more fish…

6/23 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest:  The 9 and 5-day-old siblings are doing well.  There is never a shortage of fish provided by Skiff.  And, Dory is a great mom, always ensuring that both of her youngsters are fed.

6/23 Captiva Osprey nest:  This family had a very good day.  The new fledgling, Ding, made several flights off the nest, and she made some very nice landings back on the nest, and also onto the perch.  Darling performed her first hover high enough that s/he was out of our view.  And, Darling walked up onto a perch for the first time.  There were five fish delivered to the nest, and Jack brought four of them.  Overnight 6/24, the kids had a 

There has been an accidental fledge at the Avon Lake Bald Eagle nest with three eaglets. More information to follow.

Even rehabbers, especially rehabbers, need to remember. IF you can PICK UP a Peregrine Falcon and hold it and you are not doing that to put on its bands, then THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BIRD. It truly is that simple. You don’t want that raptor rendering your arm useless.

Oh, Monty and Hartley’s chicks are soooooo cute.

Iris and Finnegan have their hands full with these two osplets. You can immediately tell the difference in development just looking at them. But, oh, so cute! Finnegan spent Saturday night on the perch protecting Iris and the babies. Gosh, I love this guy.

‘PB’ reports that some bonking/dominance is taking place between Iris and Finnegan’s chicks. The oldest is in the Reptile Stage. Maybe it is a female. Iris is good, though. She makes sure both of those babies get stuffed to the top!

Bless his heart. Finnegan just keeps bringing in the fish for the family!

Cute little babies at Charlo Montana.

The camera is not great but we can now clearly see three osplets on the Collins Marsh nest on top of a relocated Wild Fire Watch Tower in Wisconsin.

Cowlitz PUD is looking good!

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

Daily summary Sunday 23rd June 2024

Calm was the order of the day, the weather was settled and the two chicks behaved impeccably. Dorcha had a bit of fun with an unwieldy stick which, after causing chaos, was lost overboard. Garry LV0 paid a flying visit to Nest One and a little bird did a quick flit round too. The star of today was Louis, who loomed up out of the darkness at 14 minutes and 23 seconds before midnight with a record-breaking latest delivery fish, to take his total for the day to five fish and his season’s tally to two hundred and forty one. Tonight’s forecast for Inver Mallie which includes the nest area, is partly cloudy and light winds. Perhaps Louis will do a spot more fishing – it will be interesting to see what time he delivers the first fish tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.09.26 (03.09.37); Nest Two 23.30.31 (03.43.42)

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

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Mw1wYciPyBg  N2 Fish number, one live trout, chicks line up politely 06.28.23

https://youtu.be/NiluW_gKrG0  N2 Fish number two, headless trout, chicks still polite 08.26.17

https://youtu.be/e1DJpaL8Dlo N2 Dorcha causes chaos with a stick, tbut it soon goes overboard 11.02.20

https://youtu.be/e3oZRUuHIzs  N1 GarryLV0 visits for just seven seconds 13.31.19 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/gZDgFJrJfMo  N2 Fish number three, smallish headless trout, Dorcha doles out evenly 13.47.14 

https://youtu.be/0yXwS1_ft18 N2 Fish number four, whole flatfish, chicks are not very enthusiastic but queue up anyway  15.48.34

https://youtu.be/kqS35fIdnn8 N1 A little bird makes a brief flit around and underneath 20.38.30

https://youtu.be/35Zn71fWiCg N2 Fish number five, headless trout – breaks all-time latest delivery record! 23.45.37

Bonus watch – Woodland Trust’s video for World Rainforest Day 2024:

Oh, wonderful news coming from ‘AM’ and Port Lincoln: “Ervie arrived at the nest at 11:42 in Port Lincoln! He was kicked out by his mother at 12:17:43!”

I was just able to rewind. Ervie on the nest and then on the perch. There is some suspicions that Ervie is a female because Mum kicked ‘her’ out. Mum did not respond that way to Calypso (2019 hatch) who was believed to be female but turned out to be a male. The pair mated on the nest.

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

Thank you to the following for their posts, notes, comments, pictures, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AM, Geemeff, H, J, PB’. LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Seili Osprey Cam, Pybolowy Online, Tatarstan Eastern Imperial Eagle Cam RU, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Oxford MA Ospreys, Field Farm, Bridge Golf, Moorings Park, Deb Stecyk, Blackish, Marders, VIMS, Pitkin County, Great Bay Ospreys, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation, SK Hideaways, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cam, Charlo Montana, Cowlit PUD, Window to Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos Ospreys, Kent Island, Fenwick Island, Greemeff and The Woodland Trust, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Collins Marsh.

Tragedy at Minnesota…Tuesday in Bird World

18 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I had a wonderful Monday with my son. The rain did not come until 1600 and now the sun is trying hard to peek out from the grey clouds. ‘The Girls’ have all come out of hiding now that he has returned to his sister’s house. They really do not like company!

Early morning news from ‘IB’. MN Landscape nest back up and yes, two babies have died. Soar high little ones.

‘PB’ wrote early that Smallie had gotten himself into some mischief by landing in the city’s moat. He was rescued by the Animal Ambulance – the staff seem to know Smallie rather well by now – dried off and sent on his way. They note that his flying is not that good yet. But he is safe and back with the big sisters fighting for food or getting a private feeding. It is likely we won’t see much more of the falcons on the ledge but maybe Smallie will spend the night inside the scrape.

‘PB’ reports that Smallie has not been seen since he was rescued in the canal. Sisters have. Send him good positive wishes this little fellow.

The fledglings are still around the Campanile! Good news for us to grab a view. Maybe not for a tired Annie.

Iris and Finnegan welcomed their second hatch Monday morning.

Both are getting a nice fish dinner as a drenched Dad, Finnegan, looks on as Mum Iris feeds. The water in the Clark Forke River has cleared up and Finnegan is really doing some marvellous fishing. He is just the best thing that could have come into our beloved Iris’s life.

‘A’ comments: “At the 16:43 feeding (medium-sized whole fresh fish courtesy of Finn) our rapidly growing osplet (who looks like a mini dinosaur already) it is easy to see the tiny second hatch, its beak open, initially with its back to mum and the food, but it turns around, albeit behind its sibling so without much chance of getting fed in this position. I have no idea what time this little one hatched (I’ve been so busy today, this is my first chance to check the nests and it’s nearly 8.30pm here in Melbourne). 

Iris is doing a great job of feeding Big Bob, who eats well and holds his head up perfectly, as s/he has done since it hatched. The little one is facing the wrong way. Its little beak is open but it cannot see mum. Mum is going to have to move if she is to feed the baby. It is probably not particularly hungry yet, but that depends on what time it actually hatched. That was a large hole I saw, so it could have produced a hatch by dawn, which would definitely make it time for a feeding. I am unsure whether it has been fed earlier in the day. 

By 16:46 the baby is facing the right way, Iris considers offering it a bite but changes her mind and continues feeding Big Bob. Little Bob is right beside its sibling but further from mum, who is already reaching to feed Big Bob. At 16:46:53 she gives it the first tiny flake of fish. At 16:47 she feeds it a larger piece, which it seems to manage. And another at 16:47:15. She is now feeding one bite to Big Bob and one to Little Bob but quickly reverts to feeding the larger chick. Periodically, she carefully gives Little Bob a mouthful of fish. It is begging for food, keen to eat, and it seems to be doing pretty well with the bites it is being given by Iris. She is a good mum – filling up the larger osplet and then starting to offer bites to the little one. There is no bonking at this early stage from the larger chick. 

At 16:49:30 Iris has a bit of fish for herself, returning to feeding at 16:50:16. Mum has moved the fish, and Big Bob has turned to his right to accommodate the change in position, but Little Bob turned to his left, so now his back to the feeding again. Iris continues feeding Big Bob, who has eaten a LOT of fish in the past ten minutes. 

Iris takes a bite of fish and carefully moves all the way around the nest to Little Bob’s side, where she appears to be preparing to offer him the fish, but then eats it herself and begins cleaning up the dropped pieces from around the chicks (suggesting that Little Bob failed to swallow much of the fish he was given). Finn immediately flies onto the nest as if to take the remaining fish Iris has temporarily deserted, but then he seems to be considering feeding the chicks. Instead, he waits for Iris to finish eating the leftovers so that he can offer her the bite. Eventually, having waited some time, he swallows it himself. Iris retrieves the fish and at 16:53 resumes feeding Big Bob.

Little Bob is again facing the wrong way. Big Bob is eating and eating. Iris moves the fish around the nest, as if intending to feed Little Bob, but instead decides to try and hork the tail down. It is still attached to quite a bit of flesh and Iris has to work to try and get it down. She tries twice, failing both times, and eventually returns to feeding Big Bob with it! Finn watches on. Little Bob is right beside Big Bob now, facing mum and begging for food, but mum has not offered him any. Big Bob refuses a bite and at 16:54:45, Iris leaves the last piece of fish and decides to brood. I would like to think that Little Bob had at least a couple of bites of fish that he didn’t drop. Finn flies to the perch, waits until Iris is settled and flies in to retrieve the tail piece of fish. “

Fab Four at Field Farm are doing fantastic. Looks like they are going to beat the odds.

The Quartet at Poole Harbour are equally as fabulous. They are managing with four mouths to feed splendidly. Such calm. I still think the majority are little boys if not all of them!

‘J’ sent me something that I think you will enjoy. The Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS) with Dr Sharpe and the people who care for the Channel Islands eagles released the reasons for the names given to the eaglets in the Adoption Challenge. I don’t think they would mind if I share it with you. ‘J’ compiled the information from their individual posts on FB. Images of the eaglets are on the IWS FB page.

The second Pinnacle Rock eaglet has been named Sean ‘Olol ‘Koy after the Institute for Wildlife Studies San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike Project lead! These siblings celebrate Sean and Nicole’s effort to rescue the Bald Canyon eaglet earlier this spring. From the donor, ” ‘Olol ‘Koy is Chumash for dolphin. The Chumash Creation story is that Hutash, Earth Mother goddess created the first Chumash people on Limuw Island (now Santa Cruz Is.) When the island became too crowded she created a rainbow bridge to send half the people over to the mainland. Some looked down and fell into the ocean to drown. Hutash saved them by transforming them into dolphins. Chumash consider dolphins their brothers and sisters.”

One of the two chicks from the Pinnacle Rock nest has been named Nicole Tauri! From the donor, Tauri is a Native American name for Young Eagle, and “We all know our New Hero, Nicole! Thank you for your service Nicole!”. The photo is of a pair of chicks from 2014.

The Los Pinos chick has been dubbed Kāwika (Kaa-vee-ka), Hawaiian for Dave. From the donor: “For appreciation of all the awesome views, experience and knowledge of the Channel Islands Nest. His dedication speaks for itself. Our friend goes back all the way to 2006! He was a IWS Chat Mod back in the early 2000 and then the CamOp after Dr Sharpe. The first and Head IWS CamOp for Explore and Mod for IWS YouTube. “

The second chick at Twin Rocks has been named! No ‘Nah Me is named after the donor’s grandparents, and a street in Quartzite Arizona. “In 1965 [my Gramma and Grampa] bought property in Quartzsite, AZ along with 5 other couples. The other people argued about what to name the street. All wanted their last name used! My Grampa quietly left and went to the recording office and submitted No-Name Street. It was granted. I went to Quartzsite in 2020 to visit their resting place. I talked to the lady at City Hall and told her that story. The lady said ‘Really, we’ve been pronouncing it No ‘Nah Me!’”

The two eaglets from the Seal Rocks nest on Santa Catalina Island have been named! They are “Milo” and “Merida Jane” in honor of two beloved pets who have recently passed.

The second Fraser Point eaglet has a name- Reign! This bird was adopted and named by a group of seven friends who call themselves the Cruzors gave this name because “Cruz is royalty herself being the first natural hatch on the islands since the bald eagle restoration project. Therefore, it is only fitting that her offspring embody her legacy.”

One of the two eaglets at Empire nest on Santa Catalina Island has been named Charley! 

The story behind this name, in the words of the IWS supporter adopting this nest:

“The first name of my beloved ex-husband. We had a relationship that spanned nearly 20 years & after our divorce we eventually became nearest & dearest friends. At the end of his life he battled 2 different cancers over 3 years & I was his caregiver through both. When he was diagnosed with the 2nd cancer (Stage IV pancreatic) he asked me, “Will you help me get ready to go to Heaven?” I, of course, said yes. His last wish was to travel with a friend to their cabin in the woods to see the wildlife. On the trip we came across a Bald Eagle perched where it could be clearly seen in an unusual area near a well-traveled highway. We stopped & our friend got a great picture. The eagle was one of the last of earth’s creatures Charley saw–he died at the cabin less than 24 hours later. That was coming up on 13 years ago this November & to this day I keep a framed picture of that eagle nearby.”

We have a drawing winner who named the eaglet from the Middle Ranch nest on Santa Catalina Island. This eaglet will be named Avalon, in honor of the city where they were married in 1990. Congratulations on getting to name an eagle, and on 34 years of marriage!

The first Fraser Point eaglet has been named Manini, the adopter’s family name, and an homage to the advisor and doctor to King Kamahamaha I who brought plants, including pineapples to the Hawaiian Islands.

I am reposting the announcement for our first Fraser Point eaglet because I misplaced the title “King.” The first Fraser Point eaglet has been named Manini, the adopter’s family name, and an homage to the advisor and doctor to King Kamahamaha I and who brought many plants, including pineapples to the Hawaiian Islands.

We have names for the Bald Canyon eaglets! Hatched on the day the moon covered the sun, the older sibling is named Eclipse, and the younger Selene after the Goddess of the Moon in Greek Mythology. 

The proverbial West End middle eaglet has been named Treasure. From the adopter: “Well, each of these eaglets is a treasure, and, with full respect to his/her siblings, I would like this one to carry that name: Treasure.”

The eldest eaglet from the West End has been named Koa. From the Level 1 Nest Adopter who gave this eaglet its name “WE1 is the offspring of Akecheta and Thunder. Akecheta means “fighter” in Native American language. As the eldest triplet, WE1 will carry on its father’s legacy as the protector. Koa is the Hawaiian word for warrior. Koa warriors served to protect lands, natural resources, and the ruling chiefs. They were seen as brave, bold, fearless, valiant & courageous.”

We have a new name! The youngest of the West End chicks has been named Sterling in honor of the adopter’s late father.

We have our first named chick! Pimu, from the Twin Rocks nest on Catalina Island, named “to recognize and honor the Tongva People who were the indigenous custodians of the Southern Channel Islands, including Catalina Island, over 7000 years ago. The Tongva called Catalina Island ‘Pimu.’”

The weather is bad at Charlo Montana. Not good for newly hatched chicks.

There is bonking starting at Osoyoos and the fish that I have seen have been small. This nest really needs a good supply of food to feed five. Not Olsen’s fault. He is doing the best that he can in a tough situation. ‘H’ might have a further report.

The Loch Arkaig is difficult to watch. C1 now goes after C2. I did not see a lot of fish deliveries. This is really sad. C3 reminds us how fabulous nests can change. It takes one ferocious, normally female, oldest sibling and a day or two without a lot of food deliveries and mayhem can occur – the result, the loss of one or more babies.

Geemeff’s Daily summary Monday 17th June 2024

After yesterday’s sadness at the loss of little Chick3, today was calmer all round, both for the family and for the watchers. Louis brought three fish to the nest, taking his tally to two hundred and ten. He put on a sprint between leaving the nest after delivering the first fish and returning with the second fish, and achieved a remarkable Nest to Nest time of 9 minutes 37 seconds. However, this doesn’t beat his all-time N2N record of 5 minutes 23 seconds on 31st May 2020. The third fish was basically just a tail end, and as with the earlier fish, dominant C2 got most and wouldn’t let submissive C1 have any. C1 is looking very hollow-cropped while C2 has the usual golfball – so it was heartening to see C1 suddenly decide to stand up to C2. Several attempts were made in quick succession, none lasted long and inevitably C2 soon subdued C1, but this bodes well for the future. There was discussion around the fate of the sad bundle of feathers that was C3, it’s possible Dorcha will dispose of it in the forest as she’s done before, or bury it within the nest vegetation, or it might even get eaten. C1 had the odd peck at it today, right before Dorcha had to deal with an intruder Osprey overflying the nest. No activity on Nest One, the weather was much more settled, and tonight’s forecast is a dry night with light cloud and light winds.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.03.50 (02.54.38); Nest Two 23.19.46 (03.48.07)

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

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

Today’s videos, all Nest Two:

https://youtu.be/rcFGjw9ggH8  Fish number one, very small whole BT, C1 gets none 04:27:10 

https://youtu.be/IVqA6qiQegI Fish number two, small whole trout, arrives <10 mins Nest-to-Nest time!  04.37.12 

https://youtu.be/vxpIhe93244 Chick1 pecks at Chick3’s body, Dorcha deals with intruders 14:29:47

https://youtu.be/sAFaD-IV1No  Fish number three, just a tail-end but C2 stops C1 getting any 17.48.52 

https://youtu.be/UVmvmdGrrgo Chick1 finally makes an attempt at standing up to C2 18.10.01

Bonus watch (not for the faint-hearted) –  LizB talks about Ospreys eating their dead chicks. Warning: graphic content.

Rosie and Richmond continue to construct their new nest on the light stand now that two chicks have hatched.

Challenger, the Eagle that soared to fame during the Super Bowl and has served as an ambassador for decades is to undergo cataract surgery today at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Send this amazing eagle good wishes for a full recovery.

Even-Eagles-Get-Cataracts-Discover-MagazineDownload

Siblicide is horrible to watch. ‘H’ and I can predict some nests where it will occur because we are aware of the weather and food availability. Others we can’t. Loch Arkaig threw us a curve ball. A perfect nest where there is fish and good parenting. Weather sets in. Things go sideways. We are watching several nests at the moment and hoping they might turn around.

There is some concern over Little Bob at Cowlitz. It ate at breakfast but had only a handful of bites of fish from the second feeding due to the eldest keeping it away. Smart little one went on the other side of Electra to eat. We wait to see how this unfolds. There is plenty of competition in the area for fish and the eagles there do steal from the ospreys when they fly to their nests with fish.

I have concerns about the osprey nest at the Bridge Golf Club. We lost Little Mini and we could lose Little. Big is hampering it eating.

One of the things that touches my heart is seeing the fledglings return to the nest to eat their fish. We see this at University of Florida-Gainesville and I am sure it is happening there while the camera is down. We see it at Moorings Park with Ruffie and Tuffy and also at Venice Golf Club. I would, however, dance around the room if all three fledglings showed up at the nest at once – just to know all are safe and sound.

Split screen shows both at Moorings on Monday having fish like the two above.

Change in date for the ringing of Rutland’s Only Bob.

In Scotland, the Golden Eagle Recover Programme is working hard.

Golden-Eagle-recovery-continues-in-southern-Scotland-BirdGuidesDownload

Good night Lake Murray. I hear predator grates like the ones at Cowlitz PUD will be installed if the Cowlitz chicks are once again saved from any predation this year like they were in 2023.

‘H’ reports:

6/17 Forsythe osprey nest: It was another good fishing day for Oscar.  There were only five fish, but three of them were quite large.  The first meal of the day lasted for 75 minutes, and both of the osplets ate three times.   As you might expect, sibling rivalry was quelled today. 

6/18 Kent Island (Chesapeake) osprey nest:  It looks as though egg 1 of Audrey and Tom’s second clutch is not going to hatch.  It is at 41 days, and had been pecked by a crow over a month ago.  Egg 2 broke at laying.  Egg 3 remains, and will be 33 days old later this evening.

Lavc58.134.100

6/18 The Boathouse osprey nest:  Dory and Skiff’s lil’ babe is four-days-old already, and is cute as a button!  Egg #2 is at 37 days today, with no pip seen at the time of this note.

6/17 Patuxent osprey nest:  The three osplets are 37, 40, and 41 days old.  There were seven fish brought to the nest.  Little ate nothing of the first small fish.  Meals two and three were sort of combined, as there ended up being two fish in the nest at the same time.  Little ate very well at those feedings, and both of the older siblings tried a little bit of self feeding.  Little did not eat again until the last meal of the day, and ate 32 bites of fish plus the fish tail.  My impression over the past two days is that Little needs to have more to eat.  The temperatures will be very warm in the upcoming days, and I hope Dad will bring in some whoppers so that Little will have enough to eat.

6/17 Captiva osprey nest:  They had another splendid day.  There were five fish brought to the nest, two from Edie and three from Jack.  There were feedings and self-feedings.  Darling has become quite adept at self-feeding, and s/he was able to maintain possession of a fish or two when Ding attempted to steal it.  Progress!  Ding was doing some major helicoptering, including a few times completely out of sight for several seconds.  

And how wonderful. A Black Stork nest and the chicks getting ringed in Latvia!

Thank you so much for being with me. Please do take care. We hope to see you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, IB, J, PB’, MN Landscape Arboretum, Amersfoort Falcons, SK Hideaways, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Field Farm, BoPH, IWS/Explore, Charlo Montana, Osoyoos Ospreys, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, SF Bay Ospreys, Discover Magazine, Cowlitz PUD, Bridge Golf Course, VGCCO, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Forsythe, Patuxent River Park, Lent Island, Audubon Boat House, Window to Wildlife, BirdGuides, Lake Murray Ospreys, and LDF.

Tragedy at Crooked Lake…Sunday in Bird World

16 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

To all those wonderful men – human and not – for taking care of living breathing things, protecting them, feeding them, loving them – Happy Father’s Day. And to one special Osprey this morning who is injured with a spike in his leg – Jack at Captiva. You are amazing. Despite all, you are still helping feed your family this morning!

There is a lot going on in Bird World. Rescues, uprightings, sibling rivalry, hatches, GHO attacks, and death. You name it, it seems to be happening. The very beautiful and good is tinged with the sorrow and sadness. We just have to breathe and as someone said today, ‘life is very fragile, embrace someone and hold them tight, you don’t know what is coming next’. What a year it has been and we are only half way through. As one reader said to me, “The Memorial Page has exploded”. It has and I am still catching up! It is always sad to lose one of the birds and, please, take the time to check out the Memorial Page. If I am missing one of our feathered friends, please write and tell me so I can add them. I am still working on the European Storks that died so tragically from the horrific weather. And, another thing, the second hatch at Hellgate has not happened. I was sent incorrect information and the more I looked for a second head, I could not find it.

In all of this, Saturday was a gorgeous, hot windy day and we spent it at the duck pond watching the little ducklings and goslings, of all ages, flitter around the pond enjoying the shade and the cool water despite the build up of algae. People were happy being outside. There was a wedding reception in the garden area, and the ice cream man with his bell could be heard at a distance. Even deer were coming out to eat grass in the shade. Now the skies are pearl grey to dark charcoal and you can just feel a storm building up. Despite saying we would have no rain, we are now in an area of Extreme Weather with high winds, hail, and rain predicted. If this continues, we will need machetes for the garden instead of clippers and mower.

There were lots of ducks and geese on the islands in the pond which is shaded. The wind was keeping everyone cool despite the 27 C temperatures. Some of the geese had been in the water with their goslings. Some went in and out, in and out. Others foraged for little pebbles to aid their digestion. The goslings range in size from those that are about half as large as their parents to tiny wee ones that looked like they hatched only a couple of days ago. All of the adult geese are moulting. They will exchange all of their feathers. They will not be able to fly and leave the area until their full moult is complete. I don’t think anyone minds. Each trip I gather a handful of feathers for ‘The Girls’. They go crazy for them. Besides boxes and bags (without handles), these feathers are their next favourite toy. Their most favourite are the tunnels that they race in and out of late in the evening or early in the morning.

Baby Hope will be one year old on 2 July. As so many of you know, just thinking about her brings tears to my eyes. After Calico ‘decided’ that she was coming in the house on 28 August 2023, we thought we would never be able to find her only surviving kitten. (We could tell there was only one by the single teat being suckled). It appears that Calico might have lost ‘Hope’ and that was why she was ready to leave her life on the streets and come inside where she had lots of food, a safe place to sleep, comfy beds and toys and, of course, lots of love and stories. Five days later we looked out at the feral feeding station and there was a mini Calico. We knew it was her kitten. In three hours, Hope was inside suckling on Mum and life was good. We are trying to figure out precisely just what kind of party to have for her!

Hugo Yugo says that she thinks we need grilled cheese sandwiches along with ice cream for the party! What do you think?

Hugo Yugo is still tiny, a little peanut, but she remains the boss of all the others. Despite eating her food and theirs, she has hardly grown. She is a bundle of energy that never stops. She still sleeps draped around my neck at night. And she still begs for her pieces of cheese around 2100. I have been able to wean her off the kitten milk at the vet’s request. She is dynamite!

As I go to press, I am getting sad news. It appears that a GHO attack has taken all of the osplets from the Crooked Lake nest in Iowa. ‘H’ says, “This is without a doubt the most bold owl attack I have ever seen.  Just unbelievable. The owl stayed in the nest and killed all three osplets right in the nest in front of Mom, then flew off with one of them.’

Geemeff is also writing that C2 at Loch Arkaig is now dead or death is imminent. This is so sad and is due directly to siblicide by the ever aggressive C1. First time ever to happen at Loch Arkaig.

We will begin with news from ‘H’.

6/15 Forsythe osprey nest:  There were eight fish delivered to the nest by Oscar, and a few of them were fairly big.  How many times have we seen situations where the fish production at a nest increases after the starvation deaths of one or two of the osplets?  I know I’ve seen it happen a few times, and it just leaves me shaking my head.  After the siblicide/starvation deaths of Mini and Little, there is still some aggression from Big toward Middle.  But, Middle is managing to find ways to eat.  S/he most often squeezes around to the other side of Opal from Big, where there is just a small space between Opal and the outer rim of the nest.  Middle ate at least 345 bites of fish in eight meals.  I hope Oscar continues to have fishing success.  

6/15 Dahlgren osprey nest:  The baby named ‘Hope’ was stuck in a deep hole in the nest for about 1.5 days.  Dahlgren Osprey Cam arranged for a rescue by Tidewater Wildlife Rescue.  TWR performed the rescue this afternoon, and repaired the hole in the nest.  Little Hope is doing well, and we are so grateful.  Keep the fish coming in, Doug!

6/15 South Cape May Meadows osprey nest:  The two little bobs are doing very well.  Zeus has really stepped up, and he is providing lots of fish for his family.  We are so pleased!

6/16 Chesapeake, Kent Island osprey nest:  We wait to see if the first egg of the second clutch for Audrey and Tom will hatch.  The egg is 39 days old, but it was pecked by a crow on 5/16.  I hope there will be at least one 

6/16 Boathouse osprey nest:  The little osplet of Dory and Skiff is doing great.  Their second egg is 35 days old today.

6/15, Patuxent osprey nest:  Dad continues to deliver tons of fish, and many of the fish are huge.  He brought fish to the nest six times today, but we could tell that a few of them were the large leftovers he had previously removed from the nest.  All of the chicks were stuffed many times over.  There was very little aggression today, and Little was even seen eating at the ‘big kids table’!


6/15 Captiva ospreys:  There were 7 fish brought to the nest, four by Edie, and three by Jack.  There was a lot of eating going on…feedings and self-feedings.  Ding and Darling ate their fill.  And, at 53 days of age, Ding was hovering!  We are still worried about Jack.  He still has that foreign body ‘spike’ sticking through his leg.  But, he is able to fish and help take care of his family.  Bless his heart.

I want to thank Heidi – again and again. I could not keep up with the nests without her. So everyone, give her a loud shout out, please!

Those watching the Dahlgren nest and getting ever more anxious that the wee babe named Hope was stuck in a hole can now relax. It has been rescued and all the time it was there, dear Mum kept feeding it. Thank goodness. This is one of those really feel good moments that we need when tragedy seems to be lurking at many of our nests. Thank you to everyone who alerted the owners and to the rescue team that saved the wee one. Bless their hearts they filled in and repaired this nest with sticks, mud, and grasses/moss. Well done!

Tragedy may have been averted at the Wells Fargo Iowa DNR Osprey Platform. The little one with a full crop got on its back and could not right itself. It took the entire day. Will it be alright? We have to wait and see.

My favourite capture of Iris and Finnegan. I hope she lives many more years to enjoy this wonderful relationship.

Zoe fledges and Lucia returns flying strong several times.

Middle flew back to the osprey platform to be with Mum at Lake Murray after avoiding the GHO by flying. Magnificent. Fingers crossed everyone. This is such good news. Seriously this is incredible news. So happy happy.

Polo 7422 published a video of the hit by the GHO on Hope. (Have you noticed so many named Hope or Hugo??)

Going to check on some of the Finnish nests today! I had a lovely note from ‘SP’ today. I have been covering some of them as best I can but I also learned that some of my confusion with the numbering and names is because there are two separate organisations. That is why I cannot find 10 nests on this one site! ‘SP’ elaborates, “The link I gave in my previous male, Sääksikamerat (kaikki näkymät) | Sääksilive (saaksilive.fi), with 5 nests, and 2 views of the active nests (I follow mainly these):                     

Here nests 1, 3 and 4 are occupied. 

  • Number 4 has last year’s couple, 3 chicks, eating a lot, and the making heavy exercises (fighting) from the very beginning (genes from the female). A video in the web by a non-native follower:
    Brutal fight between two eaglets #ospreycam #ospreys #siblingfight #shorts (youtube.com)   
    Hope the fishing weather will be good in July … (Last year the yongest chick got fiercely killed by the sibling.)
  • Number 1 has an older, experienced couple, with so far 1 chick and 2 eggs left.
  • Number 3, with a first time mum (bride from last year) and last year’s male, has 1 chick, one to pop up soon (hole in the egg already). First chick died.

(Last year the female disappeared and the 3 chicks died.

Number 5: the last year’s couple arrived, but somehow they ”changed their mind” abt nesting. The two eggs, not taken care about, were taken by a raven. Very ”nicely”, indeed, both times:

The other robbery:  6.5.2024 – #5 – Korppi ryöstää Saran munan mukaansa – YouTube

This nest, number 5 was interesting last year: After the own 2 chicks had left, a foreign chick, from Sweden, landed on the nest, and stayed very long, for weeks, and got fed by the male.”

Number 1 – adults doing incubation. Waiting for pip/hatch watch.

Number 2 is a failed nest. No activity.

Number 3 has a beautiful osplet. Dad brings a huge fish!

Number 4 has three healthy osplets.

Number LS/5 is a failed nest. No activity.

From separate organisations:

Seilin in the West of Finland. Couple incubating eggs.

Janakkala in the North has three osplets.

Muonion, in the far north, is incubating eggs.

At Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Dad delivered no less than five fish, several large. There is also rain and Mum is keeping those babies warm and dry. Everyone ate.

‘L’ writes: “Dad stood near mom while she fed the babies at Minnesota. I think he is trying to teach her. She literally went over the head of the oldest one to feed the third one. ” It seems that the latter part of the day was not so good at this nest. We live and hope.

Olsen is doing the best that he can at the Osoyoos Osprey Platform. Most of the fish brought in were so small but he landed a whopper later in the afternoon and everyone did eat well.

It has been a miserable day across much of Wales. Telyn and Idris worked to feed their three chicks and to keep them dry even though they are getting their juvenile plumage and can thermoregulate.

Blue 022 is working hard to get lots of good fish to CJ7 so that their four Bobs will all be full and happy.

I know how sad everyone has been after the loss of Sol, so close to fledge, at the Redding nest of Liberty and Guardian. Everyone at FORE is simply heart broken, too.

Luna is alive and well and for this we must be very glad.

All three eggs have now hatched at Niagara Bee. They are all looking good.

I will now be carrying the daily summary by Geemeff that she publishes for the Woodland Trust. It is the happenings on the Loch Arkaig nest of Dorcha and Louis. Lots of good information and links to videos! Thank you, Geemeff, for allowing me to publish this information.

“Daily summary Saturday 15th June 2024

No action on Nest One, and very little on Nest Two. Louis only brought one fish mid-morning, and wasn’t seen again until suppertime when he caused consternation by arriving empty-taloned. Dorcha couldn’t believe it and gave him a right earful while he cleaned bits of fish off his beak. He’d obviously eaten recently and had a nicely rounded crop which added fuel to Dorcha’s ire. Earlier Dorcha had caused a bit of consternation herself when she arrived with an awkwardly shaped stick and proceeded to drag it through the huddle of chicks, although she quickly redeemed herself by being an excellent mumbrella and keeping her three big chicks warm and dry during a torrential downpour. As usual, chick2 got all the fish and beaked the other two to keep them away from the food, therefore it will be good if Louis arrives early tomorrow morning with a fish big enough that C1 & C3 get a share too. Statto Steve Q provided us with a thorough analysis of the fish stats to date – despite the odd blip, Louis’ current total of two hundred and two fish is pretty much comparable with previous years. The weather was very unsettled today with a misty start turning into a rainy day and more of the same forecast for tonight.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.36.53 (02.58.59); Nest Two 23.10.58 (03.27.50)

Watch the livestream 24/7:

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

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/2hIydufKS3I Fish number one and only, headless trout, C2 gets it all 10.17.28

https://youtu.be/FlvoO8n_ZAk  Dorcha: from menace with a stick to brilliant mumbrella 17.32

https://youtu.be/OiKvZO7vkTU Louis finally arrives but he’s fishless! Dorcha can’t believe it  20.13.30

Bonus info – Steve Quinn’s fish stats for week 11:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15060802

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/ntv71sF-N_s  N1 Simultaneous feeding – mum and dad each feed a bob! 2019

https://youtu.be/1RzPgaEWMr0  N1 Limbo dancing 2020

https://youtu.be/PvklkJGfZIc  N1 Home alone chicks amuse themselves 2020

https://youtu.be/J8geReKxLxc  N1 Mumbrella Aila does her best to shelter the chicks 2020

https://youtu.be/FJYbKk1hA-4  N1 A Jay visits the empty nest 2021

https://youtu.be/tsAAz0z9Ac8  N2 Hooded Crow intrudes and perches on the nest 2022

https://youtu.be/k6W6PKYMMYQ  N2 Chicks battle it out as soon as mum leaves 2022

https://youtu.be/LTMLWBLOZnY  N1 LV0 just won’t get the message 2023

https://youtu.be/hFbYpDjHeyI  N1 Affric reaffirms her bond with Prince 2023

https://youtu.be/yvMLAjhrNaA  N2 Hangry chick attacks Dorcha 2023 (quick-time)”

Looks like we have one hatch at the Green Ledge Light Preservation Society nest on Long Island.

There was a lot of discussion over which eaglet it was that fell from the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Cruz. It appears it was Manini and not Reign as I reported earlier. Congratulations on fledging!!!!! BVS Girl has that first flight on video.

The two Golden eaglets in Estonia nest 2 are plump and healthy. They are flapping their wings and walking.

This is the second hatch spreading its wings. Look at that fat bottom and those big strong legs. I am so happy for this nest. I hope the good fortune continues.

Fish dinner arriving at Cowlitz PUD and we have three hungry osplets.

I cannot tell you how much fish Little Mini got at Field Farm on Saturday. It is often difficult to tell, but the wee one is growing and had a sort of half crop in the morning.

Checking in on the San Jose Falcons.

For images of the Cal falcon fledglings, please go to the Instagram account of moon_rabbit_rising!

Suzanne Arnold Horning posted some lovely images of Big Red and Arthur’s Ns. They have fledged and were found in spots near to Fernow and Tower Road. Both fledglings are doing well.

Tweed Valley Osprey Project gives us an excellent view of Mrs O feeding her three osplets.

Thank you so much for being with me. Watch for that hatch of Iris and Finnegan from Sunday-Tuesday according to Dr Greene. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, observations, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A’, Geemeff, H, L, MM, PB, SP’, Timothy Dygert Live Stream, The Woodland Trust, Forsythe Ospresy, Dalgren Ospreys, SCMM Kent Island, Boathouse Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, Heidi McGrue, Sunnie Day, Montana Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, Lake Murray Ospreys, Polo 7422, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Nesting Bird Life and More, MN Landscape Arboretum, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Dyfi Osprey Project, BoPH, FORE, Niagara Bee, Feemeff, Green Ledge Light Preservation Society, BVSGirl, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cowlitz PUD, moon_rabbit_rising, Suzanne Arnold Horning, and Tweed Valley Ospreys.

N1 and N2 fledge…Tuesday in Bird World

11 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

So far, the news is good, but I haven’t heard from ‘H’ yet, and I fear chicks in the NE at Forsythe unless a miracle happens on Monday. Several items have come in my inbox to share with all of you and we will look at them first. I had intended to share one reader’s trip to Manton Bay today, but I hope to add some more information and will include that either Wednesday or Thursday. I had some wonderful Ramen with my son today. It is nice to have him visiting. It has been a long time.

Letter 1: ‘M and F’ write: “Hello dear Mary Ann, we have just had an intruder at t the Sydney Sea Eagle nest, it arrived at 08:03 and stayed until about 08:40. Not sure what it is, but looking at its head I would say it was a Tina Turner Eagle.”

I ran and grabbed Penny Olsen’s book on Australian Birds of Prey and this is a Wedge-tailed Eagle. Isn’t it a beauty?

Letter 2: ‘J’ wonders: “Do you have the odds numbers for 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 chicks to compare? I probably am not the only one who would be really interested in that. I really want Tiny Field Farm to fledge, he’s so brave.”

Well, I didn’t, at first, think I had this. There are fewer four hatch nests so it is easier to calculate even manually, but, hey, it is in the forms. This is the information for 2023 for 340 eggs from around the world that we monitored. Our 4 egg nests had a slightly better survival rate than the US study that showed 1 out of 100 surviving. Ours was 50%. (I apologise that this is small. I hope you can blow it up on your screen. If you would like me to send it to you via e-mail, just send me a note: maryannsteggles@icloud.com).

Letter 3: EJ sent us a great article form Audubon on the challenges to our urban raptors.

City-Life-is-Hard-for-Raptors.-Can-Removing-Rat-Poison-Make-it-Easier-AudubonDownload

Letters 4 and more: Thank you so much. I am so glad that you enjoyed the picture of Missey and Hugo Yugo in the basket. Your support and good wishes for ‘The Girls’ warms my heart. I cannot imagine my world without them. Of course, I might treasure a little sleep. So far, there are three piled in. The only one not on the duvet making me scrunch up in configurations I never dreamed possible is Hope!

I wish I could take in more, but I can’t. People are losing their homes, their apartments and well, just having a really rough time of it here in Canada. I don’t know what it is like where you live, but our Humane Society finds dogs, cats, rats, and all other species left at night at their door. People are ashamed they can no longer care for their precious pets. It is very sad. We are now feeding the two Boyfriends, a Grey Tabby with only one ear, and 4 Gingers. There could be others. These are the ones that come during the day. I am glad to be able to help these. Wish I could do more but one has to be realistic.

The Gold Medal nest this week has to be Poole Harbour. There are so many good nests with the males working overtime to bring in huge fish in the UK that it feels awkward to sort out one, but it is because there are four osplets. Just look at them. CJ7 and Blue 022 have been working overtime to make certain that there is fish and tranquility. When they ring them, I wonder if they are all little boys. We will have to wait and see.

I love the golden glow of the sun streaming down on these babies and Little Mini looking out towards us. It is getting to eat first.

Blue 022 is great at helping CJ7 with these four and is happy to top up Little Mini. One has to wonder if the males that are so eager to make sure the little late hatches are fed were also little late hatches themselves. Blue 022 is just amazing. When he landed on CJ7s platform three years ago we had no idea what a great Dad he would be.

Thanks for all the alerts about Smallie. That little darling is back in the scrape! What a smart little fella to get itself back where food will come. And just look at the plumage. I am certain that those watching this Peregrine Falcon nest in Amersfoort Netherlands are feeling huge relief. What a character. Smallie pulls at all our hearts.

‘PB’ sent a video clip and I took some screen shots of Smallie figuring out how to get back up to the scrape.

On Tuesday morning, Smallie wakes up and is hungry and leaves the scrape box calling for food.

He is looking for the parents and siblings. Send positive wishes for food for this little one – and not big siblings doing a steal at the grate!

N2 was so excited. Both of the eyases had been flapping and jumping while watching the traffic. N2 flew first. A magnificent flight right across Tower Road to the trees in front of Fernow. In the image below you can see those legs leaving as it gets its wings going. N1 is curious and should fledge soon.

And then – N2 flies!

Some more tweets from Cornell showing the adventures of N1 and N2 after fledging.

And the concern for the new fledglings as they fly back and forth across Tower Road to the nest and trees.

Both ‘branched’ at the Syracuse University Red-tail Hawk cam of Ruth and Oren.

Not returns to the tower.

Moon_Rabbit_Rising has some images of the Cal Falcon fledglings!

Thunder and Akecheta’s three fledglings are well and being the juveniles that they are. Fighting for food!

I am so hopeful that Iris and Finnegan will have one healthy chick. Just hoping not two unviable eggs. Fingers crossed. Finnegan is a great mate and he will be a superior Dad! He has been feeding Iris, bringing in cot rails, and some greenery. (More below)

Little Mini right up there at the beak at Field Farm. They are all lined up – three to one side and one on the other at Field Farm later in the day.

The third chick at Island Beach State Park hatched on Tuesday.

Fingers crossed for the three at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Mum has been feeding, often with her back blocking the camera so it is hard to see if everyone is eating.

Dad watches over many of the feedings at the Landscape Arboretum nest. Hopefully he is helping Mum to understand that she can’t eat all the fish and not feed the babies!!!!!!!

The two hatches at Sandpoint seem to be alright.

The two older hatches at Bridge Golf are so much bigger than the wee one. Fingers crossed for another nest.

Three at Cowlitz PUD looking’ good.

Only Bob at Boulder County is changing! Fat little bottom on this reptile. You can see the pin feathers coming through, too. What a joy it is to see these healthy Only Bobs.

Two beautiful fledglings return to the Venice Golf Course nest wishing for fish! Oh, I keep missing seeing the three of the juveniles together. What a great season!

Leave it to Harry and Sally to ensure that both Tuffy and Ruffie have fish on the nest. Wow. Doesn’t this make you feel wonderful? No wonder the fledglings form this nest never want to leave. Poor Victor had to be chased off. He must have wondered what in the world was going on!

Both Golden Eaglets in Estonia being fed! This nest is such a surprise. Could we have two fledges? Oh, I am hoping so.

Edith P posted a video of this feeding. Gosh, I just want to be so hopeful.

White-tailed Eaglets in their nest in the Lower Kama National Park doing well.

The two Eastern Imperial Eaglets in the RU nest are well taken care of by the adults.

‘A’ comments on Lake Murray, Iris, and the WBSEs: “As night falls at Lake Murray and Surviving Bob settles down to sleep, duckling-style, on that nest on its own, I cannot help but take a deep breath and hope we make it safely to dawn. It is alert and looking around – I am certain it hears something nearby that is making it nervous. It stands up for a little crop drop. Lucy has a massive crop. She is preening and those lights are shining brightly on her. I only wish they lit up the nest itself a lot better. Surviving Bob is restless at Lake Murray. S/he is standing, preening, looking around. It has a gigantic crop to match Lucy’s. She is awake too, on the perch, where she is of no help whatsoever to Middle Bob. It is infuriating to me that she doesn’t stay on the nest, knowing she has now lost all but one osplet from two seasons. That really confuses me. “

Fish dinner at nest #4 in Finland.

It is almost unthinkable to see an older sibling attacking a younger one on the UK nests. Yes, there were problems at the Loch of the Lowes but that was because of intruders and a lack of fish and then Louis’s short disappearance one year (prior to this year when he was found dead). But to imagine that the oldest Bob would be attaching Little Bob at Loch Arkaig when there is clearly enough fish to feed the entire family and another one, well, it is unthinkable. And yet it is happening. Geemeff chronicles the issue:

“The tab is open, and I know that if I hear Lucy alerting, we’ve lost our remaining osplet. Problem of course is the Hellgate tab is also open, and it is two hours earlier in Montana, where it is still light. So a vocal exchange between Finn and Iris can cause a momentary panic.

Around 18:43, Finn flies to the perch post with a HUGE fish. He has eaten at least a quarter of it from the head end and has a good crop but what is remaining is a massive amount of fish. He brings it to the nest. Iris vocalises and shifts on the eggs, standing and rolling them but then settling back down. She is very vocal as Finn stumbles around the nest, doing a little aerating and nearly stepping on Iris’s head! It is hard not to get the impression that she is being extra protective of those eggs and does not want to leave them right now, even for a massive fish dinner. 

Around 18:47 Iris stands up again, vocalising continuously, and checks the eggs again. She is still reluctant to leave. Eventually, at 18:50:25 Iris flies off the nest, without the fish, and Finn inspects the eggs. He seems fascinated and carefully settles down to incubate.  Hmmmm. Suspicious? I fear Iris may be able to hear a chick inside that first egg (the one laid on 5 May).  could be pipping, or at least that Iris can hear the chick inside. I do hope not. If it hatches, we will have to wait in fear that a second chick may arrive a whole week after the first. That would be awful. Stressful in the extreme.

Iris is back at 19:58. Finn takes 30 seconds or so to move, then carefully stands up and allows Iris to inspect her eggs. She settles down and Finn takes the fish with him as he leaves. Iris does not have a crop and makes no objection when Finn grabs the fish. She is not interested in eating right now. That is not very Iris-like, is it? That was one of her favourite whoppers too, the type we so often see her eating on her favourite pole in her solo seasons. But she was not tempted. Why? “

“In Australia, it is 12.22 and both Dad and Lady have just arrived back on the nest at WBSE. They look extremely healthy this season. Their plumage is gorgeous and their crops are full. Dad is working hard on the outer kiddie rails. I cannot believe how close we are to egg watch here. It really could happen at any time now. Certainly, the bonding behaviour has given way to nesting behaviour over the past few days, with more time being spent at the nest, more food gifts, and more matings. Dad brought in a lovely fresh medium-sized fish to the nest soon after 07:35 this morning (7 June) and waited for Lady, looking around. She arrived a minute or so later to collect her breakfast, taking it up onto the branch behind the nest to eat it. At 08:16, a duet, then they headed off. They have now lined the nest bowl with fresh green leaves (just leaves, not twigs or sprigs). This nest is ready to receive two eggs, thank you. So, soon we will have eggs at WBSE.”

Someone left a fish on that nest!

At another nest in Australia, this time in Griffin, Queensland, George and Hope, have laid their second egg on the 10th of June. The first was laid on the 7th at the Osprey House Environmental Centre.

Wings of Whimsy gives us a video of the stunning fledglings form the West End Bald Eagle nest.

‘H’ reports on the nests she is monitoring and today we have the first sadness at Forsythe as her and I have been predicting.

“6/10 Forsythe osprey nest: There were six fish brought to the nest by Oscar, and none were very large.  Big1 controlled the scene at all of the meals…the gatekeeper as to who was allowed to eat.  Little3 beaked Mini4, Middle2 beaked Little3 and Mini4, and Big1 beaked everybody, including Mini4 at times.  Little3 was allowed to eat now and then, and she managed to eat 153 bites for the day.  Little3’s best meal was the third meal when she ate 95 bites of fish.  Big1 just sat there and watched as Little3 ate, and kept the other two away from Opal.  Mini4 tried many times, but could not get up to the table all day, and s/he had only eaten 36 bites of fish in over 48 hours.  Mini4 passed away late on 6/10 or early on 6/11 at 16 days of age.  S/he was a brave and strong-willed osplet, and we will miss him.

6/10 Captiva ospreys:  Jack, had not been seen at the nest since 6/7.  Edie had been doing a stellar job bringing fish to the nest to feed their two osplets.  Well…on 6/10 at 18:22, Jack flew in and landed on the nest.  He had an obvious wound to his left leg that did not appear to be fresh.  He was bearing weight on the leg okay, and he otherwise seemed in good health, albeit a bit slim perhaps.  His family was overjoyed to see him.  He only stayed a moment and flew off.  It seems as though Jack may have sustained an injury a few days ago, perhaps in a territorial battle.  We are so glad Jack is alive, and that he seems to be on the mend.

6/10 Osoyoos osprey nest:  There is a third baby at Osoyoos for Soo and Ollie.  Let’s hope fishing is good there this summer, so that all three youngsters will thrive.”


6/10 Patuxent River Park ospreys:  There were five fish and feedings for the day.  Little was shut out of the first meal.  For the second meal, Dad delivered a large whole fish at 1031.  By 1048 Big and Middle had already moved aside, and that allowed Little to have a 25 minute private feeding from Mom.  The third fish was smaller in size, and Little did not eat.  Meal #4 was a very large Koi fish delivered by Dad at 1627.  This fish fed everyone for nearly two hours.  Little had a private feeding from 1750 to 1818, then Big and Middle went back to be topped-off.  Little had the biggest crop of his young life!  A small fish was brought in at 2013…and Little didn’t even try to get to Mom for that one.

Thanks, ‘H’. It is tough to lose those little ones.

People see them. Those gorgeous green parakeets that call the streets of London their home.

How-parakeets-escaped-and-made-Britain-their-home-Birds-The-GuardianDownload

As I get ready to close, word has come from ‘BHA’ that Lucia was grounded again and returned to the scrape!

Thank you to everyone who sent in letters and thank you for being with us today. Please take care. Looking forward to having you with us again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, queries, comments, videos, images, postings, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘A, BHA, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, M & F, PB’, Audubon Magazine, BoPH, Amersfoort Falcon Cam, Cal Falcon Cam, Cornell RTH, Cornell Hawks, SU-RTH Cam, Lady Hawk, Montana Osprey Project, Field Farm, Island Beach State Park, Friends of Island Beach State Park, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Sandpoint Ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, Cowlitz PUD, Boulder County, VGCCO, Moorings Park, Geemeff, Eagle Club of Estonia, Edith P, White-Tail Eagle Cam of RU, Lake Murray Ospreys, WBSE, Osprey House Environmental Centre, Wings of Whimsy, Forsythe Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, Osoyoos Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, and The Guardian.

Monday in Bird World

10 June 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. (Thoreau, Walden, 58).

The Girls and I are revisiting Thoreau’s Walden – I learn something every time I read this book! Mostly, it cements in me how fortunate we are if we can spend time with the trees, the animals living in the wild, even nature in our own gardens.

I hope that you had a really good weekend and found some time to spend with friends, family, or outside—or all three! We worked in the garden and are sore from the tips of our toes to the top of our heads. The heat and rain have caused everything to grow out of control! So far there has been no rain so it was a good day since everything is drying out. I would love to send this rain to places that are running out of water. It is frightening because there are not only implications for humans but also wildlife.

Wheres-the-Water-CounterPunch.org_Download

Two things to put a smile on your face today. The first comes from ‘T’. Watch ‘the cobra’ attack the Imperial Eagle. Then laugh. (Valid made the video and Rinur posted it).

The second comes from Missey and Hugo Yugo, who adore one another. When Missey lost her best friend Lewis last year, she was the saddest cat. Then Hugo Yugo came into her life and she took over the motherly duties the little ginger cat was longing for. Like Calico and Hope, these two are inseparable.

TWO Great Questions from the InBox:

Question 1. ‘NF’ asks: “Have a question…we had eaglets double fledge 6/7 in Kansas. Do you have any knowledge of that happening before? Many questions about that. Thanks in advance & keep up the good work!!”

Sadly, my data forms are for Ospreys but I could recall instances of eagles fledging close together, but not specifics. Thankfully, Elfruler came through and ‘NF’ sent me their response. I thought some of you might also be wondering. “Hi, Nina, it was fun watching your 2 juveniles take off yesterday!  Yes, there are several records of 2 juveniles fledging on the same day.  In recent years:

Maryland Port Tobacco, 6/4/23, three eaglets fledged on June 4, the first at 6:18, the second shortly after that (cam down, time uncertain), the third accidentally fell at 7:09.

Ohio Avon Lake, 7/7/22, one at about 6:22, the other at about 7:21.

Oklahoma Bartlesville 6/10/22, one at about 15:21, the other at 15:28.

Pittsburg Hays 6/10/22, one at 7:20, the other at 7:50.

Ohio Ashtabula, 6/24/20, one at 6:43, the other at 12:43.

British Columbia Surrey Reserve, 6/28/20, one at 8:15, the other at 10:18.

There are more in my spreadsheets, I’ve just searched the last few years, but from these you can see that it does happen.

Best to you,

-elf”

Question 2. From ‘PB”. “I saw your update on Seaside and #3 passed due to a wind/hail storm…but I watched their in memoriam video of #3 and they showed the storm so how did the little baby pass when under mom? Was it more lack of food?”

Yes, the little one was well protected by Mum. The death was not caused by anything human or by siblicide but was starvation and/or illness caused by a weather-related event. The storm was a mitigating factor in the chick not having enough food and also they get these terrible respiratory illnesses from the cold and damp. We won’t know precisely which it was.

If you missed it, Treasure at the West End nest of Akecheta and Thunder fledged on Saturday. Lady Hawks’ video shows the whole event clearing up many questions. Treasure is on a steep hill and has not been seen eating. Is this a place where the eaglet can get its footing to fly off? More questions than answers. The latest information is that Treasure is on a cliff face near the old nest.

‘B’ reports that Sterling has fledged on Sunday so all three of Akecheta and Thunder’s eaglets this year have taken their first flights.

Hats off to Dylan at Llyn Clywedog – he brought two HUGE trout (along with other fish) to the nest for Seren and chicks on Sunday. My goodness, gracious. Dylan does love his trout and if you don’t know, they stock the Clywedog Reservoir with 45,000 fish annually!

Dr Green just posted the following information as we are now on pip/hatch watch for the first egg at Iris and Finnegan’s nest.

I don’t know about you, but I am sitting on the edge of my chair in anticipation. I never thought Iris would have another devoted mate like Stanley.

Port Lincoln reports that Calypso and his new mate are checking out the Tulsa Platform. Could Mum and Dad be grandparents this year??? Things are beginning to heat up in Australia!

Little Mini right up at the beak for that fish dinner at Field Farm. One determined little osplet. This will certainly help with its survival. Don’t you just love these vivacious fourth hatches? They have to be clever and determined. Remember: It is only about 1 out of 100 fourth hatches that survive. Looks like Field Farm and Poole Harbour are going to be survivors if things continue as they are. Other nests are in trouble.

It rained some more. Each time there was a feeding Little Mini is there. No problems that I can see other than its size. The other three are rather ‘chill’ compared to many nests.

At Poole Harbour, Little Mini is right there. Sadly, Blue 022 has a love for black bin liners. I wish he didn’t bring them to the nest.

Two chicks for the WDNU Tower in 2024.

Two surviving chicks at Seaside.

The trio at the Salt Point Osprey Platform are all thriving. Do you know this nest at Cayuga Lake in Upstate New York? It is the home of Orpheus and Ursula. Here is some information provided by the Lansing Parks and Recreation Department.

“This nest was built by Orpheus in 2013, and with his two mates Ophelia (2013–2022) and Ursula (2022–current), they have reared many healthy fledglings over the years. The nest is ideally located within the Salt Point Natural Area in Lansing, NY, at the confluence of Salmon Creek, a fast-flowing trout stream, and fish-rich Cayuga Lake. Orpheus and his mate continually tend their nest built atop a 55′ dedicated nesting platform with a spectacular 360º view—and protection against marauding great-horned owls. This nest camera is a solar-powered camera operating in one of the cloudiest areas in the USA. After a streak of consecutive overcast or stormy days, the batteries drain and the recording may stop. After a few hours of sunshine, all will return to normal. High winds may also cause noise from the camera housing.”

Here is the link to their streaming cam. These chicks are doing fantastic.

Three at Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces are doing well. We can just see the tops of their heads!

‘H’ sends in the reports for the nests she is monitoring:

“6/9, Forsythe NJ osprey nest:  This nest has become very unsettled and dangerous.  The nest dynamics continue to evolve for the worse.  The oldest of the four osplets, Big1, has become very aggressive and controlling.  Before today, Little3 was the primary aggressor, and would take out its hunger-frustration on Mini4.  Today, Big1 was beaking all of its siblings.  Every time LIttle3 would beak Mini4, Big1 would beak Little3.  But, several times at each meal, Big1 would beak all of them, including Middle2, so that Big1 would be the only one eating.  Quite often that would set off Middle2, and Middle2 would beak everyone.  There were six meals today.  Middle2 managed to make out okay simply because of its size.  Middle2 was able to position itself further away from Big1 at feedings, and still be able to reach Opal’s beak.  Neither Mini4 nor Little3 had very much to eat yesterday, as Little3 would keep Mini4 from eating, and Big1 would keep Little3 from eating.  Today, I counted fish bites for both Little3 and Mini4.  Mini4 ate a total of 36 bites of fish today, and Little3 ate a total of 17 bites of fish.  There is not enough fish being brought to this nest for three osplets undergoing a growth spurt, much less four osplets.  It’s going to take  A LOT MORE FISH.  This is very sad.”

6/9, Patuxent River Park osprey nest:  It was a good day for this nest.  There were “only” three fish and feedings, but a couple of the meals lasted so long, they should be counted as two meals.  The first fish at 0749 was a large live catfish, and that fish flipped and flopped all over the place.  No one was hurt, and I think the kids were mildly entertained, lol.  That meal lasted for 95 minutes.  Little still does get beaked and intimidated once in a while, but Little has learned to mitigate those occurrences.  S/he simply stays away from Mom in the early phase of a meal, so as not to incur the wrath of Big.  Little waited until about 0830 and then worked his way to the other side of Mom and she began to include her youngest in the feeding.  After a while Little had a bit of a private feeding, and had eaten a total of 80 bites of fish.  When Mom had given up on picking at the catfish skull, Dad moved on over, picked up the skull and pulled off 30 additional bits of meat for Little.  What a cool Dad.  The fish at 1118 was a small headless fish, and the meal lasted 10 minutes.  Big and Middle were not very hungry, and Little ate 55 bites of fish.  The last fish of the day at 1458 was a huge whole fish, that provided for another 95 minute feeding.  Little had a few separate private feedings and ate for a total of 30 minutes. 

Dahlgren osprey nest:  Being first-time parents, the new couple, Helen and Doug, continue to work out some issues with parenting.  There is a learning curve of course, and they are getting better.  Their single osplet is 8 days old, and is looking good…nice and plump!

Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:  Louise and her new mate Harvie are expecting their first baby at any time.  Louise laid three eggs, but we’ve never seen three eggs at one time in that deep egg cup.  All the best to them!

South Cape May Meadows osprey nest:  On 6/8 a crow destroyed one egg, and pecked at another.  We believe that there is still at least one viable egg remaining.  From the nature of the contents of the destroyed egg, we believe that egg was definitely not egg #1, and was more likely egg #3 (not positive, though).  Eggs #1 and 2 would be 38 and 35 days on 6/10.  We are hoping for a hatch for Hera and Zeus.

Fenwick Island, Delaware osprey nest, at Captain Mac’s Fish House:  Johnny and June’s first two eggs were destroyed by crows.  Eggs 3 and 4 remain, and we are on pip watch!

Osoyoos osprey nest:  Soo and Ollie’s two little bobs are doing great.  The third egg is 36 days old on 6/10.

McEuen Park osprey nest: They have three little hatchlings that hatched sometime between 6/4 and 6/8, with one egg remaining.  There is no rewind for that cam, so it was difficult to find a view when the parents were not ‘incu-brooding’.

If you were following Chance, the Red-tailed Hawk that went to an eagle’s nest for dinner and got adopted, you might know that it fell from the nest. Chance is near-fledging. Chance was rescued and is in a wildlife facility. This is the latest from the photographer covering the story, Jann Nichols.

‘PB’ writes that Smallie has been seen and photographed – see image below – but there is no confirmation that the eyas has had any food since being returned after its fall.

Big siblings on the grate.

One of the chicks, the eldest, wasn’t looking good to me at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It seems to have rallied a bit. I do wish this Mum would spend less time eating fish and more time feeding her chicks. That is precisely how we lost the chicks last year! Send good energy to this nest!

‘MP’ has been watching and counting. He says, “I counted her eating five bites to one she attempts to give one chick but if they don’t take it immediately she retreats with it and eats it herself. One chick keeps rolling on their back.” MP continues, “The male appears to be bringing bigger fish maybe so she will have enough for her and the chicks? He does stand there and watch which I’ve never seen other males intently watch the feeding. My take is he’s seeing if she feeds them at all. It is hard to watch not knowing if you are watching the makings of mental illness on a nest of innocent babies leading to their death.”

This is the oldest chick that keeps going over. I fear that the babies are dehydrated. Mum leaves them exposed and the little things cannot regulate their temperature. It is very hot at times and they need many feedings, lots of little bites throughout the day to keep them healthy. So very, very sad. We have seen this same behaviour in Hope at the Snow Lane nest consistently. I once queried an old hand at osprey behaviour about mental illness and our discussions wound up around the theme of how chicks learn. We know that they have instincts and we also know that they copy parental behaviour. That is how they learn. We know that some osprey nests are simply better than others. The environment is richer with fish. The parents are more attentive. Did this female as well as Hope come from nests where the female neglected her chicks? or where there was a drought and the chicks suffered? We will never know the answer to that question because the birds are not ringed and we cannot track their history.

Let us hope that this nest has a turn around.

This was earlier.

Later:

Three eggs visible at the nest of Hope and Beau in Newfoundland at Snow Lane.

Two cutie pies at the Sandpoint Osprey platform. Looks like we have one egg that could be a DNH. We wait. These two are only two days old.

Trio at Great Bay doing fantastic, too. Is it my imagination or are the inland nests doing better this year in terms of survival rates? In my data forms, we have regions such as North America, UK, Europe, etc but we do not have North America divided up by regions. That might prove helpful in the future.

Patchogue osplets are doing very well despite the nest being full of garbage – the plague of being a nest in an urban environment.

Three beautiful babies at the Dyfi nest in Wales enjoying a fish dinner in the drizzle.

Three little ones at Bridge Golf being fed. Fingers crossed.

Two eaglets – still – at the Eastern Imperial Eagle nest in RU.

Still seeing two at the Estonian Golden Eagle nest.

Fledge feels eminent at the Cornell RTH nest of the Ns – two hawlets of Big Red and Arthur. Both have been flapping and jumping from one end of the nest to the other. Arthur has been busy bringing in prey close together to try and stop them from flying today.

Oren and Ruth’s two hawklets (one died) are preparing to fledge form their nest at Syracuse University, too.

Cal Falcon fledglings visiting the tower.

Many of you are travelling to see osprey. For the next couple of days I will be including images. Today is from Mobile Bay and tomorrow will be Rutland. ‘L’ had a lovely tour of the Alabama and Florida coasts and sent some images of Ospreys on their platforms and fishing that she saw and took with her phone for us. Thanks, ‘L’.

Some great news coming in late. One of two chicks fathered by 4K at Belvoir Castle near where I lived in the UK has been photographed in the UK on his return as a two-year-old. 4K was the subject of a book, If You Build It, He Will Come. He was also the focal osprey for Sacha Dench’s first round of Flight of the Osprey. Blue 4K is a mature male Osprey from Belvoir Castle, Rutland, hatched in 2013 and satellite-tagged in 2018. I wondered how he had died and Geemeff gave me the following information months ago, “Blue 4K’s tracker showed him in Guinea setting off north, then stopped transmitting. The tracker was fitted in 2018 so was coming to the end of its service anyway, therefore we just expected to see him back at his nest a month or so later. But after weeks went by, it was clear he wouldn’t be returning, and Simon has assumed he died in Guinea when the transmissions stopped. But of course, we don’t know.”

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. We hope to see you again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, questions, photographs, comments, videos, articles, tweets, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, J, L, MP, NF, PB, TU’, Thoreau, CounterPunch, Elfruler, Lady Hawk, Llyn Clywedog Osprey Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Field Farm, BoPH, WDNU, Seaside Ospresy, Salt Point Ospreys, Pitkin County, Jann Nichols Photography, isamersfoort.pl, MN Landscape Arboretum, Newfoundland Power, Great Bay Ospreys, PSEG, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bridge Golf Club, Imperial Eagle RU, Eagle Club of Estonia, Forsythe Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Dahlgren Ospreys, SCMM, McEuen Park, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, and Fenwick Park Ospreys, Cornell RTH Cam, SU-RTH Cam, and Cal Falcon Cam.

Friday in Bird World

17 May 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

The Girls and I hope that you have had a wonderful week. We are so grateful that you are here with us and for your Leo and care for the wildlife – and all the animals – that grace our lives. Today is a bit of a hodgepodge. I mention Cal Falcons early on and then later bring them in again…my mind was a bit wandering! Most of all I would like to continue to convey my gratitude towards those that care for ospreys on platforms or trees and who are mindful of the dangers to their lives and take preventative action.

We are in the midst of the biggest downpour of the year. The thunder clapping and lighting sent Hugo Yugo running out of the conservatory in sheer fright! That has stopped and she is back with everyone except for Baby Hope who much prefers to nap on my bed during the day. Calico and Missey have called a truce with one on the hassock and the other on the back of the sofa pillows. They seem non-phased by the rain hitting the glass roof.

There was a beautiful rainbow when the sun finally began coming out!

‘H’ and I continue and will continue to monitor Little at Lake Murray, although it breaks my heart to know that predator-fish grids – could have been installed to protect these young from the resident GHO and were not put in place. It is hard cheering a little one on when it gets fed and smiling at its big crop when you know the outcome could be that it will be lunch for an owlet. Cowlitz PUD had great success with their simple placement of fish grates on opposite sides of their osprey platform. They are happy to share that information and everyone that has an osprey nest should install these. It might also work with goshawk predation.

H reports: “Kenny delivered a small whole fish at 1220.  Little had the perfect positioning again… on Lucy’s left side, with the older sibs to Lucy’s right.  Little was fed 20 bites of fish before Lucy moved, and exposed Little, and he was beaked.  It was only an 11 minute feeding.  Little managed to get two more bites of fish, for 22 bites at this meal.”

I note that Little was shut out of the afternoon fish until Kenny came in with a third back-to-back one and Little got in a good position and ate almost all of the fish.

Then great dad Kenny brought in so many fish back to back that Little got the majority of the 17:29 and all of the 1811! Way to go Little. The two big ones did not even bother standing up for the last fish they were so full from the earlier deliveries.

This family is working so hard they really do deserve protection from those owls. I am shattered that this was not done in the offseason. If money was an issue, try a CrowdFunder. The cost of two fish grates and welding could not be that much compared to the price of setting up an osprey platform or to the lives of the birds.

Others are keeping an eye on Lake Murray and I am grateful for MM’s morning observations: “dad brought a small fish in at 5:56 am which mom and number 3 ate most of except for a few bites to number 1. I think #3 got beaked one time other than that it was a quiet breakfast. At 7:46 am dad brought in what appeared to be just the head of a fish. #3 lucked up for the first few minutes and was on the far side of mom out of the eyes of the other two and recieved about 24 bites before mom changed her position and blew 3s cover at which time it was beaked away from the table. Feeding ended pretty soon after since it was only the head. So overall #3 has ate a decent morning as far as food goes.”

And even ‘A’ who doesn’t watch osprey nests has fallen in love with Lake Murray’s Little Bob. She adds, “

I am amazed by the third hatch at Lake Murray. It is simply incredible. Lining up right next to its fearsome siblings, reaching across in front of them to take bites. This is one brave little osplet. I think his older, larger siblings are actually slightly in awe at his daring. Why else do they allow him to get away with it? But the key point is, he is brave. He is prepared to take risks to get fed, and I honestly do believe Lucy has made that choice we often see mums make in these situations. This one has earned the right to a chance, and Lucy is giving him that chance. I could be wrong – I have only been watching the nest closely for three or four days, but that is certainly my impression. 

I must also say that pretty much every time I’ve turned to the stream, the three osplets all have very noticeable crops (including the smallest). I have on several occasions watched the youngest crop drop several times in order to continue eating more and more. He is definitely getting plenty of food! 

Whether or not this nest has turned a corner, it is way too early to say that because the level of aggression is still very scary on occasions. It may be that the two older osplets are now more interested in each other than in their youngest sibling – it certainly seems that way. Yes, they do intimidate the youngest, but as long as he takes the appropriate action and displays suitably respectful behaviours, they seem to be threatening him, looming over him, but then leaving him alone. Watch him feeding around 04:13 yesterday afternoon (16 May). Let’s hope, having put the oily teenage phase behind them, they will now learn to get along nicely, as we have often seen before on osprey nests. Talons crossed.   

I didn’t intend to become involved in an osprey nest, especially one with three osplets and a siblicide threat hanging over it. Unfortunately, due to your blog, I happened to stumble across the live stream and instantly fell in love with Little Bob. He is just so cute and so very brave and clever, I couldn’t help it. You just have to root for the chicks like this one. And like others before him, I think, he is going to learn so much from all this bullying that he will fledge as a smart, resourceful juvenile with a great chance of survival as a wild osprey. “

Dixie fledged on Thursday morning at Superbeaks just like Mason did!

In case you missed it, here are some banding day highlights form Cal Falcons. Two boys and 2 girls and they need names.

Poor Annie gets it right in the face!

I am always touched by the kindness of humans to our wildlife friends that we share our planet. It is so timely that this edition found its way to my inbox. Yesterday I sat and chatted with my allergy doctor (I don’t have allergies but I do have Nonallergic vasomotor rhinitis which causes my sinuses to cause my nose to run like a water hydrant on a hot day in the summer. He lives in the country. People have taken to letting their children use bee bee guns to shoot squirrels. He builds homes for the squirrels! Or to sit on their porch with shot guns looking for a coyote to kill. It made us both sick and I sighed that living in the country was no different than in the middle of a large urban city. Some will care for our wildlife friends and others are so ignorant and cruel – best ignore them and do what we can.

This story of how one family dealt with nests at the doorway will melt your heart. It is from Orion Magazine.

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Tracking data indicates that those amazing Sandhill Cranes that migrate through Nebraska and come up to Canada travel as far as NE Asia in their winter migration!

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A Tree Pipit visits Dorcha and Louis’s nest at Loch Arkaig. If you don’t know how large ospreys are, this will give you a good idea.

The weather at the PSEG Patchogue nest has been torrential rains. Mum and Dad have been doing heroics to keep the chicks dry and warm. Weather like this is always troubling as the chicks can get ‘colds’ and not thrive. Let’s hope for sunshine and some fish!

I often talk about the lack of siblicide in the Peregrine Falcon and Hawk populations. It does occur. It is extremely rare. Even the smallest hatch normally survives. I did find a short letter with some good information in it on one exception.

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The second egg has been laid at Dunrovin on May 16 in the morning. Congratulations Winnie and Swoop.

Precious baby. Rutland. Grateful for the quick intervention on Wednesday. Rutland Water is to to be praised. This baby tried hard to get out of those cot rails and back to its mother. Blue 33 brings in some really big fish and despite eating their head they are sometimes still alive and flapping. So glad this little one, their only one, survived.

Sometimes people listen when we make loud noises for things that will protect the raptors. Well done!

And Geemeff reminds me that even The Woodland Trust that has a non-intervention policy has placed Pine Marten baffles around the two trees at Loch Arkaig that are occupied by the ospreys. Before it is too late, those osprey nests under threat by predation should have metal grids placed opposite one another, as at Cowlitz PUD Osprey platform, for the bird’s protection.

What has caught the attention of Louis and Dorcha?

There are now two Golden Eaglets in the Bucovina nest in Romania. Without exception, the eldest will kill and eat the second hatchling. Please be advised of this historical practice of this species if you are watching this streaming cam.

The precise term is “mandatory/obligatory cainism”. The oldest has no choice. Looduskalender published one of the most concise definitions: “The killing is done by pushing away from food and / or by direct attacks. Usually the dead body is not eaten, but it is often fed by the parent birds. While with many species of birds the nest killing of siblings during malnutrition is common, the act of killing is independent of the food situation in species with obligatory cainism. Mandatory cainism is similar to the inherent nest clearing behaviour of the Cuckoo and can be also triggered experimentally, for example by presenting a white cloth ball to the young bird. The attacks of the older towards the younger siblings usually begin with the day of hatching of the latter. Most of the younger birds survive only a few days. The parents do not hamper these attacks, it has been repeatedly observed that the older young bird continued his attacks even when a parent bird would feed him. The roles of “Cain” and “Abel” are determined solely by the sequence of hatch, in experimental transposition of “Abel” to a younger sibling, this “Abel” immediately took over the role of “Cain” and attacked the younger nestling. In further experiments on Verreaux’s eagle eagles, the aggressiveness of the siblings lasted at least until the completion of the major plumage growth. The nest of the species with obligatory cainism usually consists of two eggs. That’s why if both eggs hatch, only the older nestling survives.” (June 18, 2013).

The aerial acrobats of the falcons at Cal’s The Campanile are going to continue to get impressive as Archie and Annie demonstrate and then teach the Fab Four how to survive in the wild.

A video encapsulation of the Cal Falcon eyases growth over the past weeks.

The news is worrisome for the fish at Captiva and the warm waters could be the reason that Ospreys have not had chicks late in the season in the Barrier Islands.

‘H’ reports: “It was another slow fishing day for Jack.  The water of the small bay between the islands is warm, and the fish may have gone deeper.

The first feeding was not until 1119, and consisted of a small whole silver perch.  CO7 intimidated CO8.  CO7 ate, and later beaked CO8 at 1125 when s/he attempted to approach.  It was only a 13 minute feeding, and CO8 had nothing to eat.

Meal number two was at 1217, a partial sheepshead.  CO7 was in a position to be fed, and CO8 was intimidated a few times and stayed back.  The feeding was over by1235.  Nothing for CO8.

Jack brought in a whole hardhead catfish at 1549, and the third feeding started around 1551.  With fewer fish, CO7 has been extra aggressive today.  CO7 beaked CO8 on multiple occasions.  At 1610 and 1614 CO7 seemed to be done eating for a while so CO8 made his move toward Edie, but CO7 beaked him and then ate some more each time.  At 1617 CO8 attempted to move even further away from Edie, but was followed by CO7 and beaked.  Finally, at 1620 CO7 moved away from Edie, and allowed CO8 to eat!  CO8 ate for a full 10 minutes, and ate approximately 142 bites of catfish.  At that point CO7 had returned to eat some more, until the fish was about finished.  CO8 then ate at least 6 more bites while Edie was trying to pull some flesh off of a tough piece of skin.  Oh, yes…CO8 had a nice crop!

Feeding four was at 1936.  Edie had brought in a partial catfish at 1935 (strange that Edie did not have a crop).  CO7 would not let CO8 eat.  CO8 snuck one bite.  At 1955 Eddie rushed off to chase Clive (the neighboring eagle), and she returned a few minutes later.  Upon her return, she fed CO8 a few bits of the scraps remaining.  CO8 had a total of 5 or 6 bites of fish.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better fishing day.  It will take a lot of fish to calm CO7 down.”

Ildiko Pork got some good screen shots of Mum and the oldest and only surviving chick of three at the University of Florida-Gainesville osprey platform. It looks like the osplet is healthy and will survive. Stella is doing well providing for it and her after Talon’s disappearance.

Maria Marika reports that the four Bolewice storklets are doing well. Great news.

‘H’ reports that there is a second hatch at Outerbanks. “517, The earliest that I could see the second chick fully out of the shell was at 00:18.”

At the Netherlands Peregrine Falcon nest, watched closely by PB, she reports that the Smallie has gained some feathers and she is really hoping for its survival. With the good rate of success by the falcon nests, we will all be cheering this little one on.

And just look at Monty and Hartley’s four to put a smile on your day!

At the Loch of the Lowes, Blue NCO is getting acquainted with the ‘dark male’ that has appeared on the nest tree for a few days.

Tom and Audrey are not having any luck at Kent Island this year as ‘H’ reports.

Thank you for being with me this morning. Take care everyone. We wish you a ‘Rainbow’ of a day.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, observations, articles, and streaming cams that helped me write my post this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, MM, PB’, Lake Murray Ospreys, Heidi McGrue, SK Hideaways, Orion Magazine, Audubon, Geemeff, PSEG, Raptor Research Foundation, LRWT, Bald Eagles 101-Judy’s Post, Looduskalender, Wild Bucovina, Window to Wildlife, Ildiko Pork, Maria Marika, Outbanks 24/7, the Netherlands Falcon scrape, Chesapeake Conservancy, and The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL).

More Eagle eggs…tributes to Flaco…Sunday in Bird World

25 February 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

It is +7 C in Winnipeg and everyone seems to be outside, smiling, walking their dogs or cats. The squirrels and Black-capped Chickadees were out at The English Garden. It really was superb despite my angst over the fact that we need the snow, we need our normal winter.

I am smiling. 4.8 km. It was a good day for a walk. Limited ice, lots of sunshine!

At home, Missey and Hugo Yugo found the store room. Quilts piled high on storage bins in case they wanted to look out. It is awaiting spring cleaning, but these two did not care! Well, not quite true. Hugo Yugo raised her head. She did not want her nap disturbed by me.

Lewis and Missey spent hours at this window next to one another, watching the Chickadees that had a nest there. Life goes on. Hopefully Hugo Yugo will spend time there with Miss.

It has been a horrid week. Trees were cut down, Hugo Yugo was ill and is now well, and ‘The Boyfriend’ disappearing topped it all. He did return. And then he was gone again. Not like him! A few of us feared the worst, but then he showed up at 1620 Saturday for food, and as I am writing this, he is eating kibble from the dishes left by my neighbour. Turns out he was locked in her garage for a few days. So…please check to ensure no kitties are locked in yours if you leave for a few days. Things turned around. I cannot do anything about the trees, but plant more in my garden or move which I don’t wish to do — I really couldn’t leave the garden animals. So, forward!

First, there is a correction. I had originally posted that Stella and Talon had their first egg on the 21st. Then I heard that they had three and thought I was wrong. It appears that the second egg was laid yesterday -Saturday- at the Florida-Gainesville nest, so let’s rewind. If there is to be a third, it should be in the nest on the 27th.

Andor and Cruz have their first egg of the 2024 season at Fraser Point in the Channel Islands. You may recall that they are Lillibet and Victor’s parents. Victor was rescued and treated by the Ojai Raptor Centre before being rereleased to the wild in 2023.

The first egg for Dad and the new female at ND-LEEF (ND17’s nest) was laid Saturday evening.

The Centreport Eagles have egg number 2. It feels like the sky is raining eagle eggs as of late.

Jak and Audacity teach us the meaning of love and hope. It has been three years since they fledged a single eaglet. Will we dance for joy on 8 March – we certainly will – if this egg survives to hatch!

PB sent a great image of Meadow this morning. Unless something changes, it appears that we no longer have to worry about Meadow’s survival. Isn’t that fantastic?

They are both rather itchy at Eagle Country.

Beau and Gabby also teach us about love and endurance and accepting one another’s learning curves. The couple returned to their nest after abandoning their egg on Saturday working away. Maybe they will have eaglets next year, maybe not. For now, the two are keeping their territory out of the hands of intruders and living their lives.

Tiny bobbleheads at Superbeaks.

JBS20 has had nice crops all Saturday. The arrival to the nest of the second adult made for some happy moments. AE sent a screen capture of that happy reunion.

Are you holding on to the edge of your seats? Today is the 25th of February. We are four days away from pip/hatch watch for Jackie and Shadow. FOUR.

Shadow has been up to his old stick trick to try and get some incubation time – and when the exchange happens, we get to see three intact eggs.

At the Captiva Eagle nest of Connie and Clive, their surviving eaglet, Cal, is getting proficient at self-feeding!

Ron and Rose are having R6 feed himself most of the time, too.

Chase and Cholyn’s precious egg at Two Harbours.

A view of the two eggs at Duke Farms.

And two eggs at Decorah North!

Royal Cam chick watched over by parent LGK followed by some good feedings. It is always hard to see these little ones left while the adults are out foraging. I wonder what kind of a gardener this one will be?

Giliath is doing well. Making the rounds and catching Puffers, too.

Bonding taking place at Lake Murray Osprey Platform. Lucy lost all her chicks to the GHO last year as well as her mate. I am disappointed that the protective guards used at Cowlitz PUD successfully in 2023 were not tried at this nest.

It is touching that so many are grieving over the death of Flaco, the Eurasian Owl. Tributes poured in from everywhere – the major newspapers and stations as well as a myriad of FB groups.

People and news crews gathered to remember this remarkable owl. Poems were written, tears were shed.

The Guardian carried Flaco’s story.

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The personal testimonials about how Flaco inspired them to change jobs or to even live are very touching in this New York Times article.

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Could there have been other factors contributing to that collision?

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My inbox has been full of the same question – how do I feel about Flaco’s death? The simple answer is I was both sad and conflicted when I heard about his death. I am glad that out of his fourteen years (13 in captivity), he could live one of them freely, being an owl, learning to hunt and flying freely. This will conflict with many people whose opinions I respect and who I contact for help if a raptor is in danger in their area. My thoughts come from seeing our local eagle, Majestic, sitting in a 10 x 10 ft cage – it is a cage, come on. She did this for years and years before an enclosure like the one Rita has was built. Majestic cannot fly and cannot live in the wild. There was nothing wrong with Flaco – he was, as all animals in small enclosures in a zoo are, nothing short of a display object. I cannot even imagine what it would be like for a healthy owl to be confined. So…I am so sad he has died, but I am so glad he was able to fly free.

I just received a message that the ospreys from West Africa are beginning to arrive in Spain! We are less than three weeks away from UK arrivals if they are as early as Maya was one year. Gosh, golly…..And remember. We are FOUR days away from pip/hatch at FOBBV with Jackie and Shadow.

Thank you for being with me today. If you want more images and discussion about Flaco, I urge you to check out Bruce Yolton’s blog. He is a photographer and has followed Flaco from the beginning. I know that he preferred that Flaco was safe in his enclosure, so we will agree to disagree. He is, however, talented and observant of all wildlife in the area. Take care everyone. There are too many Bald Eagle eggs, and the Ospreys are coming online. It is going to get busy. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, images, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘AE, EJ, MP, PB’, IWS/Explore.org, Trudi Kron, ND-LEEF, Eagle Country, NEFL-AEF, Superbeaks, JB Sands Wetlands, FOBBV, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, Bald Eagles of Centerport Live Stream, tulsaducati, PLO, Laurie Spencer, Brendan Hall, Stella Hamilton, MandaPanda73, Pauline Ludwig, Janet Walker, Ian Ingle, The Guardian and The New York Times.