Welsh ospreys – Page 8 – Mary Ann Steggles

Moraine chick knocked off nest, fledge at Glaslyn…Sunday in Bird World

21 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

Update from Glaslyn: “Our eldest chick Blue 6M8 took her first flight at 08:50 this morning at 54 days old. She made a short flight around the field supervised by Elen before returning to the nest.” Congratulations Aran and Elen.

The beautiful osplet at Moraine that might have fledged today was not predated by the owl so many worried about, but became she became the victim of a tragic accident with Mum defending the nest against a raccoon. They will put up a raccoon baffle for next year…but maybe, every nest should be looking at raccoon and pine marten baffles and those that have owl predation a very bright solar (or hydro) powered bright light with red strobes. They will not bother the ospreys but could help with owl predation. Oh, goodness. It is hard enough for the wee babes to make it to be two or three weeks old but to die right before or at fledge, this is so sad.

I am sitting at the airport gate. It is always good to have a break, but it is even nicer thinking of home! I cannot wait to see Hugo Yugo, Calico, Baby Hope, Missey, Mr Crow, Dyson, and all the other animals, including ‘The Boyfriend’, who was caught on the security camera arriving at 0400 this morning. I hope he had food left! That camera identified him as a ‘pet’. It made me smile. It has been hot in Winnipeg – of course, unlike what it is for Iris and all the ospreys who continue to deal with tragically hot temperatures.

I am home, exhausted. More than exhausted. My head is reeling with news of tragedies….’The Girls’ were all wanting attention. What a joy it was to see them.

Her name can be seen by the public so I will include it here. I most often use initials. Ann-Marie Watson has watched over the Osoyoos nest and others in that area of British Columbia for years. When Little died and went over the edge several years ago, she travelled an hour and ventured into town during celebrations to give the little one a rite of passage. She sends this report about what is happening in the area. To me, it rings of the events of a couple of years ago when Cooper’s hawklets were jumping off their nests to save themselves from being roasted alive. I think her words bring home the tragedy that is hitting the area ——and I hope that it will emphasize how preious those nests are that have chicks that are alive. I wish that there were enough spaces for these babies so that the nests could make it through this dire time. Ann-Marie writes:

I put this up on our FB page and copy to you. I think Soo may have abandoned the nest and Dad is not feeding the chicks. I didn’t see Soo in the vicinity of the nest yesterday and the chicks are at risk right now. The sweltering heat is affecting so many nests in the south Okanagan.

As upsetting as it is the heat has been a major factor on a lot of nests. I went and checked on quite a few other nests I know of yesterday and it seems a few the parents have abandoned the nests for their own survival.
I called SORCO and OWL rescue for any advice I could get to save our nest in Osoyoos, basically the info I received there are many nests that have been abandoned due sweltering temperatures. Basically too many nests for them to intervene..SORCO is dealing with the owls and Burnaby rescue is at capacity.
This may not be good news for our nest as Mum hasn’t been seen and Dad is not feeding the chicks.
Thinking of you all and as Ann-Mo said take care of your own mental health.
I am taking a break after yesterday’s heartbreaking visits to the nests I went too. So much wildlife is suffering.

20 July 2024

Saturday in Bird World

20 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Update: I have gotten my Littles mixed up. Thanks, Heidi. “Little from Colonial Beach passed away overnight on the 18th. Little at Osoyoos passed away on the 15th, Monday afternoon.”

Toronto. 25 C. Sunny skies. It was a great day, and my faith in humans increased. Walking down Wellington Street West, there was a small area with trees amid the financial district skyscrapers. I looked, and someone had put up a suet feeder and spread seed on the ground for the birds. My heart grew!!!! A shout out to whoever is doing this for their kindness and generosity of spirit.

It might feel a little bit like ‘cat world’ this morning. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) had an exhibition of wild felines and also cats in art. It was fantastic. If you are ever in Toronto, go on line and check out the museum’s programming. In the late winter and early spring, the wildlife photography is on exhibition. The museum has two places to grab food – the lower level makes the best sandwiches and they are huge, quite sharable! They also have another place for coffee and dessert on the main level. The cake is delicious. Both are VERY affordable.

Isn’t this just the cutest stuffed animal you have ever seen? A Bay cat? from Borneo?

Cat Naps.

Maneki-neko.

What is the story of the Japanese lucky or welcoming cat? Do you know?

What is the story of maneki-neko, the Japanese beckoning cat?Download

Many wild cats were killed for their claws or their fur. Tiger claw necklace.

British shot tigers in India. Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, was no exception.

Shooting Tigers in Early 20th-Century India – Imperial & Global Forum Download

Royal Stool.

Prestigious cat with claws. I could not find out if the owner had killed the animals and the cap was a display of their hunting skill.

There was also an excellent video display about human destruction of wild cats by hunting, collecting skins, and now the destruction of their habitat. They suggest that one way to save the habitat is to stop using products that contain Palm Oil.

It was a fun day!

Just how rare do you think Ospreys are in Poland?

Osprey – a huge bird, rarer than lynx in Polish forests

When I read the article above that Geemeff sent to me, the first thing I thought of was stock the lacks with fish. Or as Geemeff states, why not pull a Gwash? So what is Gwash, you ask.

“As far as fish goes, we need more people to follow the example of Gwash Trout farm – after losing significant numbers of trout to Ospreys, they un-netted their biggest pond, built a hide, and charged photographers a fee. Now they make more money from those fees than the value of the fish taken by the Ospreys. What a result! Surely others could do the same?”

https://www.rivergwashtroutfarm.co.uk/horn-mill-osprey-hide/

There are many other osprey platforms that could bank on osprey tourism to help the birds. The first one that comes to mind is Osoyoos where a former student of mine used to watch Olsen fish in the local lake when she lived there. Why not stock that lake area? Put up a hide? The family needs 525 fish a year according to John Williams who has monitored the Llyn Clywedog osprey platform for years. That is nothing! We could raise $5000 to purchase commercial fish for the ospreys on line with a GoFundMe. Spread the word, get these platform owners on line, change the laws now before the heat get to the point that all of them die before the nests even get started. Yes, I am serious.

At HWF-BBCentral, Blue’s crop looks pretty flat to me and it appears to be hot on that nest. Need some fish tossing! Blue had fish meals on the 18th according to the Hancock Wildlife Forum.

One of the worksheets on this nest includes this information:

Finnegan continues to take as good a care of Iris and their two osplets as he can in the raging heat that continues to hit parts of Canada and the US.

Charlie got an early fish on the nest for Lola and the two remaining chicks at Charlo Montana on Friday. Every nest in this area needs as much fish as the males can muster. I would really hate to lose them all after they have endured this high heat for more than a week now. Temperatures should break in a full week – seriously – but it will get hotter for Iris before it even begins to cool down. My concern for these ospreys grows and grows.

Keeping an eye on McEuan Park. Weather is set to improve. Mum is off the nest a lot. Is she fishing? No rewind. Hoping she is safe and delivering fish and I am just missing seeing her. Only Bob had a feeding thanks to the hawk eyes of ‘PB’ – the cam is terrible.

Worst breeding year for Kielder Ospreys ever.

‘Worst year’ for Kielder’s breeding ospreys – BirdGuides Download

Fledge watch is on for the chicks of Aran and Elen at Glaslyn.

I am thinking the last two at Poole Harbour might be taking to the skies soon, too.

‘H’ reports:

7/19 Osoyoos osprey nest: The heat wave continues, and Olsen and Soo are having difficulty finding fish. There were five fish brought to the nest today, compared to only one small fish yesterday. That was certainly an improvement, but the fish were small, and unfortunately only one chick benefited. At 0800 Olsen delivered a partial fish, and Soo fed for 7 minutes. Big prevented Middle from eating. Soo brought a tiny fish at 0926, for a 3-minute meal, and once again, Middle did not eat. At 1223 Soo arrived with another tiny fish for a 3-minute feeding. Middle was only able to eat the small fish tail. Soo brought fish #4 at 1236, and I couldn’t see the fish, but Soo fed for 5 minutes. Big prevented Middle from eating at that meal. By 1600 the temperature had reached 100F. Olsen arrived with a nice-sized partial fish at 1701. He waited for Soo to arrive, but when she didn’t show, Olsen removed the fish. Olsen returned with the fish at 1710, and again waited for Soo. But after a couple of minutes, he once again left with the fish. Olsen returned with the same partial fish at 1723, and this time he let Big take it. Olsen stayed on the nest and waited. Big was not able to do much with it, and after a few minutes, Middle tried some self-feeding. Middle was actually able to pull off a few pieces of flesh, and I crossed my fingers that Middle would be able to continue eating. Middle became frustrated though, and soon quit. The siblings took turns trying to eat some of the fish, but by 1810, they had both abandoned the fish. At that point, Olsen removed the fish from the nest, and it looked about the same as when it first arrived. Each chick had only eaten a few bites of that fish. By nightfall, Soo had not been seen since the afternoon. The situation for Middle is dire. Middle has not had much to eat since 7/17, and with the scorching heat, that is especially worrisome. Weather forecast for 7/20: Sunny, high 101F/38C, winds 12 mph.

7/19 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): For several days it has seemed as though little ‘Fen’ has been ‘hangry’ most of the time, due to too few fish brought to the nest. And, today there was still only three fish delivered to the nest, but two of them were massive… one at 0930 from June, and another large fish from Johnny at 1405. June and Fen were literally eating all day from those two fish. At 1955, June and Fen were still eating part of June’s morning fish. Fen seemed satisfied!

7/19 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This nest has one surviving osplet out of three. Chick #3 died at just a little over one-day-old from unknown causes. Chick #2 passed away on 7/18 at 22 days of age, from siblicide/starvation. At the time, the area had been suffering from a heat wave, and David was not providing enough fish. David and Betty are believed to be first-time parents. And while Betty has been a stellar Mom, David seems to not fully understand his responsibilities as a provider. The heat wave has subsided, but, David’s fish deliveries are still way down. Betty has had no trouble catching fish the past few days. Some of the fish that Betty has caught are huge…that gal can fish! There were five fish brought to the nest today, and four of them were delivered by Betty.

The Patuxent River Park osprey nest live stream was offline on 7/19. We certainly want to continue to observe the family to see how the fledglings are making out…and in particular our hero, Little #3.

The Fortis Exshaw osprey nest camera has been covered with PS for several days. Way to go kids! We are hoping for some rain to clean the cam.

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

Daily summary Friday 19th July 2024

The day started with a temperature inversion and a spider in the mist gave a ghostly feel to Nest One, which was visited a bit later by a Wood Pigeon. Louis and Dorcha spent time on Nest Two, she was fish-calling and he was coy-mantling, there were a couple of half-hearted mating attempts and a comedy moment when Dorcha landed on Louis’ wing. After they departed, a pair of Hoodies checked out the nest but they were out of luck as there weren’t any scraps to be had, it’s been several days since Louis brought fish to the nest, the last time was on the 15th. The weather improved somewhat after the damp start but more rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.11.08 (03.33.21); Nest Two 22.57.26 (04.00.34)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/OD_RwDg4LUA N1 Spider adds to the eerie misty morning scene 03.59.18

https://youtu.be/6SBcqw1oX38 N1 A Wood Pigeon visits 07.24.06

https://youtu.be/wp5mZUIOlQU N2 No fish and a failed mating attempt 13.23.38

https://youtu.be/1GsH538qZJs N2 A pair of Hoodies check out the nest 15.07.55

Bonus action – Woodland Trust guide to helping wildlife in summer:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2023/06/10-ways-to-help-wildlife-in-summer

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

Spoonbills have returned to Cambridgeshire after centuries.

Spoonbills return to Cambridgeshire for first time since 17th century | Birds | The Guardian Download

Thank you so much for being with us today. Stay cool. Take care. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams: ‘Geemeff, H, PB’, ROM, The Conversation, Imperial & Global Forum, Wodny Spawy, River Gwash Trout Farm, HWF-BBC, Montana Osprey Project, The Weather Network, Charlo Montana Ospreys, McEuen Park, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, BoPH, BirdGuides, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Guardian, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, and Fortis Exshaw.

Sadness at Audubon Boathouse…Tuesday in Bird World

16 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone!

We have a predation at the Audubon Boathouse. For those of you that knew Steve and his mate and are familiar with Bailey, ambassador Osprey at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, you will be familiar with the predation at this nest. I realise that there is no guaranteed way to keep owls from attacking osprey nests and killing the chicks – it didn’t even eat them, just killed them, but you would think that they would be trying out something even a huge bright light (won’t hurt the ospreys) but might keep the owl away like they did at Lake Murray) to stop the slaughter.

It was nice and cool Monday morning and a good day to go and check the geese at the nature centre. The paths were somewhat wet after the big thunderstorm that went through Sunday evening, but the geese didn’t disappoint. Two little clips of a few of them.

https://videopress.com/v/yzWKYJom?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Everywhere I turned there were geese.

https://videopress.com/v/E3hr0afJ?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Need a smile? There was a hatch at the Loon Cam! It’s slow going at first. About 12 minutes in there are some cute shots of the hatchling.

I haven’t forgotten about all those grouse moors in Scotland with their hunts and all the raptors that are killed in the process. Ruth Tingay says in her most recent posting, ” call them ‘The Untouchables’. Those within the grouse-shooting industry who have been getting away with illegally killing golden eagles, and other raptor species such as hen harriers, buzzards and red kites, for decades.

They don’t fear prosecution because there are few people around those remote, privately owned glens to witness the ruthless and systematic poisoning, trapping and shooting of these iconic birds. If the police do come looking, more often than not they’re met with an Omertá-esque wall of silence from those who, with an archaic Victorian mindset, still perceive birds of prey to be a threat to their lucrative red grouse shooting interests.

For a successful prosecution, Police Scotland and the Crown Office must be able to demonstrate “beyond reasonable doubt” that a named individual committed the crime.” ——– You might see the problem if you think about the vast landscape that is Scotland and when these men own thousands and thousands of acres of land, who will see them? Have a read:

Why-Scottish-grouse-moors-will-have-to-stop-slaughtering-golden-eagles-opinion-piece-in-The-Scotsman Download

You might recall that I mentioned that Waba’s battery was at only 1%. ‘J’ went on the snoop to find out about these GPS trackers on the storks. This is what she found:

Some information taken from the Ornitela website:

What factors affect number of GPS positions that can be collected?
GPS positions logged by OrniTrack transmitters represent the parameter that is most relevant for the majority of users. GPS logging primarily depends on sky view and available battery power.
Sky view is needed for GPS antenna to detect satellites. Connection with satellites can be obscured in places with limited sky view, such as under the forest canopy, in mountainous terrain or urban areas among buildings. GPS position logging in such environments often takes longer, which results in higher battery drain than in open areas.
Logging GPS positions is a relatively expensive process in terms of energy use. When developing OrniTrack transmitters we paid particular attention to achieving the highest possible energetic efficiency of this task. Extensive testing of OrniTrack transmitters in an open terrain revealed that fully charged battery of smaller OrniTrack-30 is sufficient for logging at least 1500 GPS positions and larger OrniTrack-50 can log at least 5000 GPS positions without additional recharge. But please note that data transfer via GPRS, which is more energetically demanding process, was set to infrequent intervals of one data upload per day during the testing.
Further, please be aware that GPS position logging stops when available battery power drops below 3675 mV. The remaining power down to 3600 mV is conserved for data transmission and the transmitter stops completely if battery voltage drops below 3600 mV. Once solar panel recharges the transmitter battery, GPS logging and data transmissions resume.
Therefore, it is paramount that a user monitors the available battery power and adjusts transmitter settings accordingly.

Battery charge by solar panel
OrniTrack transmitters are equipped with efficient solar panels which recharge internal batteries. We experienced that under favourable light conditions solar recharge can be fully sufficient to continuously log GPS positions at 1 minute intervals during daytime hours. But for solar panels to do their job, they need to be exposed to direct sunlight.
Overcast days offer little to no direct sunlight. Low sun angle above the horizon, like it is at high latitudes in winter, also delivers inefficient charge. Species living under the forest canopy may also receive limited charge due to scattered light.
Finally, perhaps the most frequent factor restricting battery charge is due to bird feathers covering the solar panel. This highly depends on species tracked and transmitter placement. From manufacturing perspective it is not difficult to increase transmitter height so it sticks through the feathers. However, empirical studies and experimental testing in wind tunnels revealed that externals transmitters may increase bird flight costs due to air resistance and turbulence. We therefore chose the transmitter design that minimizes possible impacts on birds.
While we supply transmitters capable of efficient recharging under good light conditions, it is user’s responsibility to consider all relevant factors influencing recharge and monitor battery status when choosing transmitter settings.

Alma and Lucia still come home.

‘PB’ reports that Mum is feeding the oldest and only surviving osplet out of four at McEuen Park. Oh, I hope this one makes it. It is just going to get hotter. Send all your best wishes to our poor ospreys.

Meanwhile at Hellgate Canyon, Iris knows Finn is around and coming with a fish. Turn the volume up for the full effect. I would like to put a fish that size at the Osoyoos nest. Soo would pass out. She probably thinks the only fish there are are those little twiddlers. Their lake in that town needs to be stocked. Did you hear me Osoyoos?

A tired and proud Mamma Iris.

The moderator at the Charlo Montana osprey nest says they have not had a fall off the nest for the last nine years. Poor baby. For those who don’t know, little backed up to do a ps and fell off the nest Friday evening. It is still hot. Charlie is delivering good fish. But these nests in the Pacific Northwest need a break.

And they are not going to get it. Temperatures are expected to rise.

Minnesota still looks good.

Some of the Field Farm babies are spreading those wings and wanting to fly.

There is still one osplet at the Cowlitz PUD osprey nest in Washington State. Let us just hope that the eagle decides not to return tomorrow. Electra and her mate worked hard in very hot conditions – surely to goodness, they deserve to have one baby fledge.

Three big osplets at Oyster Bay. What a difference it makes to have your nest in protected waters away from the Menhaden trawlers and also not to be having heat in the high 90s.

Two out of four have fledged at Poole Harbour.

It is much cooler at Seaside and Bruce and Naha’s two osplets are flapping and jumping and thinking about flying.

Moraine: ‘PB’ sent a great image of the chick with a huge crop after Dad delivered dinner. Now that is what I would like to see at Osoyoos and McEuan.

I am so grateful for the turn around at Snow Lane, Newfoundland.

‘H’ reports:

7/15 Forsythe osprey nest: ‘Larry’, the only surviving osplet out of four, fledged this morning, at 55 days of age. We were joyful, and grateful that there was at least one fledge this season. We are happy for Opal and Oscar…that their efforts this season have not been completely in vain. Larry made a beautiful landing back in the nest four hours later, and Oscar brought him a large fish to celebrate!

7/16 Colonial Beach: The ‘kids’ are 20 and 21-days-old. Today was the first time I have seen any significant dominance and aggression from Big during meals. This nest averages three fish per day, but I wish David would deliver more. The osplets need more frequent meals. Due to the aggression from Big, Little did not eat at the first meal. Little eventually ate very well at the second meal, and had a very long private feeding. When the younger chicks first start to be denied food by a sibling, they don’t know what to do, so they just keep trying and can be further brutalized. They need to learn to employ certain tactics to get fish bites from Mom. Well, it seemed that Little was ahead of the curve. After the third meal commenced, and Little was attacked by Big, Little scooted over to the other side of Betty and was receiving some fish bites at her left side. But, Little soon decided that he wanted to eat beside his ‘bestie’ and went back beside Big. I was saying, “No no, what are you doing, Little…go back to the other side!” Little was beaked again, and after a brief period of being tucked, Little returned to Mom’s left side and was able to eat a nice meal. Thus endeth the lesson, kiddo.

7/15 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): This is another nest where I wish there were more fish being delivered. Johnny used to drop off 5-6 fish per day, but now only 2-3 per day. 31-day-old ‘Fen’ is hungry. And for the past few days, Fen has started aggressively attacking both June and Johnny. This nest has not been subjected to extreme heat or high winds. However, it is located in a summertime tourist area, with thousands of vacationers this time of year. I wonder if there are too many boaters out on the local waterways, and that may be hindering Johnny’s efforts to catch fish.

7/15 Osoyoos osprey nest: The extreme heat has lasted for several days and will continue for several more days. As a result, there simply have not been enough fish brought to the nest to support three growing oplets suffering in the heat. Little had not eaten very much for over three days. Little passed away this afternoon, at approximately 1430. I saw four fish delivered to the nest, and the last one was at 1731. Big and Middle were both fed at this meal. There have been meals over the past few days where Middle was denied the opportunity to eat by Big, including at the second meal this morning. Middle’s survival is not a given at this point. I’m not sure when the live stream went offline. There could have been another fish delivered in the evening, but I was not able to rewind to check.

7/16 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: Last season, the only chick ‘Skipper’, was predated by a Great Horned Owl just days away from fledging. Most of us have been on pins and needles watching this nest this year. The GHO had already been at the nest twice earlier this spring, and we feared that it would be back. This year Dory and Skiff had two beautiful osplets, named Harbor and Gray. The GHO did come back, and it attacked both chicks early this morning at approximately 0340, and killed them both. After all the predations that have occurred at the Hog Island nest, Steve no longer uses that nest. He and his new mate come around in early Spring to tend to the old Hog Island nest, but they do not use it to raise a family. Dory and Skiff will need to find another nest. The owl will never forget.

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

Daily summary Monday 15th July 2024

Today brought more news of the chicks – some footage of them preening, looking healthy and nicely rounded, and some tweets and facebook posts with photos and more details of the translocation programme. No action on Nest One but a little flurry on Nest Two, with Louis bringing two fish today. He gave the first one quite readily to Dorcha, but teased her by mantling over the second one and flying away with it. He did return with it later on and let her take it, and both adults ended the day with full crops. Weather was settled, tonight’s forecast is misty with light winds, and the prospect of sunshine, well, sunny intervals, and a gentle breeze tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.46.29 (03.24.36); Nest Two 00.01.35 (03.36.46)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/5Y9kwM70tXI N2 Two fish in two days! Louis brings an early breakfast 04.51.00

https://youtu.be/qJEOIijj5Hc Valencia: the chicks are preening, plus tweets & FB posts 13-15th July

https://youtu.be/2pzx2f_0dm4 N2 Fish number two arrives but Louis won’t give it to Dorcha 16.58.40

https://youtu.be/h9oCsNTe8zE N2 Louis returns and this time gives Dorcha the fish 18.16.47

https://youtu.be/rlP1X8w_HrI N2 Dorcha’s not happy when Louis brings sticks not fish 21.41.48

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

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

The three chicks at Finnish Osprey Nest #1 were ringed on the 15th. There is one male, Vaino, and two females, Valma and Vieno. Well done!

Mum caring for the chicks at Janakkalan.

Muonion is alright! Two little chicks. Three weeks old.

Latvian Ospreys. The oldest is eating really well. The second appears, at times, to be a bit shy. Both seem alright.

Kristel eating a Northern Raven – has a huge crop!

Kakapo in care after discovery of a beak injury. Thank yo so much for your annual checks. I hope this was caught in time.

Things are getting better at the Dorsett Hobby nest.

The Northhumberland Trust has an art contest and it is about Osrpeys.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, messages, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, LPC Loon Cam, Raptor Persecution UK, Looduskalender, SK Hideaways, McEuen Park, Weather Network, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana Ospreys, MN-LA, Field Farms, Cowlitz PUD, PSEG, BoPH, Seaside Ospreys, Moraine Park, Cathy Cohen, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Kakapo Recovery, osp, Northumberland Trust, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach Ospreys, Audubon Boathouse, and Forsythe Ospreys.

Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

15 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Latest updates: Eagle took the oldest osplet at Cowlitz Sunday evening while Mum was feeding. Third osplet at Dyfi in Wales has fledged! Eight Omega ships out catching Menhaden in the Bay this morning – fish our ospreys, whales, dolphins and other fish could eat. Talk about sad. This has to stop.

It was another hot day in Winnipeg. It’s not as hot as it has been. Just 26 C. The boulevard needed mowing, and that is now done. More mulch around the path. I finished but need more. Birds fed and watered many times. They still feel the heat but are more active later in the afternoon and evening when the shade covers the entire garden area. Thank you to everyone who wrote a note and said they enjoyed the baby Blue Jay having its bath. Every season, there is one that loves that bird bath. They are a delight. I made another video. It is 5 minutes long. The birds disappeared while I was sitting on the deck. Still, Dyson comes to the tray feeder along with two Blue Jays and a host of sparrows, old and young. Dyson makes two appearances. You can see the tree branch behind the feeder move. The second time, she goes to another feeder to the left inside the lilacs). I love the Blue Jay pounding away at the seed cylinder at the end. Enjoy. (I will figure out how to edit this!

https://videopress.com/v/p7WSRsNv?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

It is 2033, and the thunderstorm has arrived. The wind is causing the trees to blow around like a tornado. The rain is so heavy I cannot see my neighbour’s roof. It is pounding on top of the conservatory, and all ‘The Girls’ are here for security. I can see a clear sky to the west, so this will be short-lived but furious. I hope we do not lose a tree at the back. Hydro and cable, along with wifi, have just gone out. There is a vast black churning cloud moving south of me. Someone is going to have worse conditions. It’s also reminiscent of my younger years living in Oklahoma, which has all its storms and tornadoes. Did I say we have no power or wifi?

On Wednesday, I will review Connie Dennis’s book about Pickles. So please catch the blog on that day. I will also add a listing of adult Osprey books at the end. This year, the chats on some of the streaming cams were ripe with so much disinformation that many of you wrote and said you would never participate in them again. Take the ‘off-season’ once the ospreys that survive migrate and before the eagles have their eggs hatching to educate yourself. We can have a question section and a fact a day about Ospreys to prepare us. Mind you, we will have the ospreys at Port Lincoln, the falcons at Orange and the CBD, and the WBSE to keep our eyes on. So get your questions ready! I know you have a list of really intriguing ones.

Late news: You know I love Karl II and his kids. Waba, the son of the late Karl II and Kaia from the Black Stork Nest in Karula Forest, Estonia has left RU and is now in northern Estonia! Great news. Thanks ‘TU’. I want Waba to establish a nest in Estonia – maybe even his old natal nest – but only if the fish baskets will be replenished so the storklets don’t starve. We know the food supply is low at times. Speaking of low. Waba’s battery is at 1%. I am hoping he will get some sun and it will charge. This is the area where he is foraging.

The heat wave that hit the Pacific NW and caused such grief at our osprey nests is now moving East. ‘PB’ tells me that the Central area of the US where they live will hit 100 F tomorrow. It will continue to be hot at the osprey nests, and Heidi has just advised that Little at Osoyoos had a one-drop ‘ps’. Dehydrated and weak. Poor thing. Wishing for cool weather, a big fish, or a quick death- since no one is prepared to intervene in the lives of these beautiful feathered osplets (not just at Osoyoos). As you know, my position is that humans have ruined their habitat, destroyed the small quantities of fish the birds require (485-525 per nest of 3 chicks and 2 adults per season), and warmed our planet so quickly that the birds that have been here for 61.5 million years cannot adapt fast enough. We owe it to them to care. Where are the folks as brave as the fish fairies at Port Lincoln? Where are they!

Record-breaking-heatwave-shifts-east-as-millions-of-Americans-under-heat-alert-Extreme-heat-The-Download

In Macedonia, people save the storks by taking out their watering hoses and giving them this great gift of life.

This is the translation: “Humanitarian actions in Macedonia.
The situation with the storks in Gevgelisk is alarming at 50+ degrees. They fall to the ground and dehydrate. The human savior is Miki Stanojkovic from Bogorodica Gevgelisk. An appeal to everyone to leave buckets of water everywhere where there is no river, spring or tap.”

At the nest of the Golden Eagle in Estonia (nest 2), Kristel had prey deliveries from Dad late on Saturday! The eagle also finished the remains of the Raccoon Dog and also fed on leg of sibling. The eaglet is doing some great hovering and working their wings. Appears to be strong.

Note: To this eaglet and to the one at Boundary Bay, their dead sibling is no longer alive and a sibling but potential food. These eaglets are hungry. Eagles are carrion eaters (dead animals). Eagles eat practically anything.

On Sunday, Gwenlais and Senni, took to the skies at the Dyfi Osprey Project. Both returned safely to the nest. Now we are wondering if the third chick will fly on the same day!

Iris at Hellgate Canyon tells us it is still hot there just by her posture! Her and Finn are hanging in there. Iris is amazing. She might not have had a chick since 2018 but she hasn’t forgotten all the tricks on feeding them and keeping them cool and alive. She is my heroine.

Those babies of Iris are so cute. Wonder when we are going to get some names for them.

I feel for the Mum at McEuan Park. Her mate disappeared at the end of June and she had four babies to care for and a heat dome. She has one chick left. She cannot shade it all day because she has to try and catch fish to keep them alive. Where are the fish fairies?

There are two osplets at Allins Cove East. They look good. They are approximately 21 days old.

One gorgeous chick on the Allins Cove West nest the middle of June. It has fledged.

Mum at Bridge Golf Course trying to keep her only surviving Bob cool.

All appears alright at Pitkin County in Colorado.

It will be getting even hotter in Charlo Montana. Charlie is delivering huge fish to Lola and the two survivors (the little one sadly fell off the nest doing a ps). Let’s hope they all make it.

Four big ole babies at Field Farm. That nest is really crowded. Really crowded. Jumping and flapping are going to be a challenge and the crib rails are – well, gone on one side. Stay in the nest kiddos!

Only Bob at Dunrovin appears to be doing well. Enjoying a nice fish dinner compliments of Dad Swoop and mum Winnie. (One egg DNH and the other osplet fell off the nest and died).

‘PB’ noticed that some osprey mums do not shade their chicks like Iris. She is absolutely right. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

At the Snow Lane nest of Beaumont and Hope, the oldest has been doing a wee bit of bonking on the second. We hope it is short-lived. There have been intruders. Hope has done some fishing in past days. Both chicks appear to be doing well. I use that word a lot: ‘appear’. It is challenging to tell from streaming cam images how emaciated the birds can be. I got back to the eaglets Meadow, Sol, and Luna, who appeared to be doing fine but weren’t.

The pair of White Storklets on the Loburg nest were saved and taken to the local stork rescue and rehabilitation centre after their parents, Frieda and Emil, were missing. The storklets were nearing fledge and were ‘very’ hungry and would have perished if help had not arrived. Thank you, Storchenhof Loburg in Mockhem, Germany.

The only storklet of Bety and Bukacek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic has fledged.

Storks. Migration. Routes. A study shows that older storks get to their migration destinations faster than youngsters. Migratory behavior of storks changes over the course of their lives.

“Over a period of seven years, the scientists collected and analyzed the flight data of storks on their journeys to North Africa. This allowed them to analyze how migratory behavior changes over the course of an animal’s life. According to the scientists, they found that young storks take their time to explore new places during migration. With increasing age, however, their flights become faster and more efficient. Young storks therefore take routes that take longer, but also cost less energy. Older storks, on the other hand, optimize their migration routes in order to reach their destination more directly. According to the scientists, they consume more energy. However, the total time of their flight is shorter. Storks’ routes are also based on a wealth of experience. The results suggest that the birds use their spatial memory to find shortcuts. The researchers from Lake Constance therefore assume that individual experience is also a key factor in animal migration.”

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/friedrichshafen/studie-vom-bodensee-stoerche-im-alter-schneller-am-ziel-100.html

The osplets in the Tweed Valley nests in the UK were ringed.

Another Osprey Rescue and some gifts for the rehab centre. Do you have some extra gravel sitting around? Call your local wildlife centre and see if they could use it!

Want another good story? I have posted this one previously, but it is a good reminder to us – again – that our feathered friends care about their families, will help them, and have feelings.

Eagle Parents Spend Year Nursing Chick Who Fell Out of a Tree, Forsaking the New Nesting Season

Inside the aviary where the chicks of Louis and Dorcha are waiting to take their first flight into the Spanish skies.

At the time of this writing, two of CJ7 and Blue 022’s chicks have fledged – Blue 5R0 and Blue 5R1. Both returned to the nest safely and hungry.

Nest #4 in Finland is doing well.

Issues surrounding food and rivalry are surfacing at the Latvian Osprey nest. This will pass as there are giant fish coming to this nest – we hope that continues and we have two fledges. Look at the size of those babies. Bells will toll across Latvia – surely – when these two take to the skies.

‘A’ reports on what is happening at the WBSE nest:

At WBSE, all is going well. Here is yesterday’s ranger report:

July 13: Another lovely day and the 16th day since the first egg was laid. An early duet and then Lady had a short break when Dad came in at 6:42. Later, a couple of short breaks with Lady calling from Ironbark Roost. Dad brought in a spray of casuarina at 8:02. Around 9am, he came in for a change-over, Lady very reluctant to get up, even as he circled her. She was even a little slow rising when he brought a mullet at 11:11 – but then she got up and fed as Dad sat. There were the usual changes during the day. Late afternoon, with Lady incubating, Dad was not seen at the river – fishing maybe? He returned at 17:17 – empty-taloned. He moved nearby, and both then settled for the night.

What is going on with the New Jersey Osprey? Don’t tell the Omega ships that there is a lot of Menhaden! They might find a way to fish those shores.

Ospreys-Too-soon-for-a-victory-dance-New-Jersey-Conservation-Foundation Download

A rescue and return to the nest!

Eagle Owls in old castle ruins. Do you know this streaming cam?

Geemeff’s daily report on Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Sunday 14th July 2024

A very interesting day today! We were given photos taken by LizB of the Bunarkaig chick during ringing yesterday, footage of the translocated chicks in Valencia, including ours, wingercising getting ready for lift off, and Louis brought Dorcha a fish on Nest Two. The first fish he’s brought since 5th July, and only the fifth fish delivery since the official fish count* stopped at 10am on the day the chicks were removed to join the translocation programme on 1st July. Are things getting back to normal? Difficult to say, but he and Dorcha have been spending time together and carrying out courtship rituals including coy-mantling and attempted mating, and today they had what looked like a proper tail-up mating attempt. No action on Nest One except for the busy little spider with its web visible in today’s sunshine. The forecast for tonight is misty with light winds, and dry with sunny intervals tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.14.09 (03.45.20); Nest Two 00.17.11 (03.54.45)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/F2O6Qu9bv2E N2 Dorcha arrives early, Louis arrives a little later but without fish 04.30.14

https://youtu.be/-w9xcZQB1ZA N2 Was that a successful mating attempt by Louis? 05.26.51 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/map5PyIWzDs Wingercising ready for lift-off: Arkaig chicks in Spain 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/f3L7h59FXrQ Bunarkaig chick photos from LizB 13 July and WTS tweet 14th July

https://youtu.be/D2j9GKFPeTs N2 Finally! Louis brings a headless trout 15.31.07

https://youtu.be/dH2QtdR1ffY N2 Louis & Dorcha spend time together as the sun sets 21.21.29

https://youtu.be/w_VHNBuj340 N2 Louis returns unexpectedly with a stick 22.09.00)

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

People have been wondering about Giliath. Here he is!

‘H’ reports: 7/14 Osoyoos osprey nest: The osplets are 34, 36, and 37 days old. Olsen knows where to find fish early in the morning, and they are usually small ones. At 0602 he dropped off a tiny fish. Middle got a few bites, but Big was the primary recipient of fish during the 3-minute meal. At 0651 Olsen brought a slightly larger fish. Middle beaked Little. Big and Middle were eating, and each time Little reached for a bite, s/he was beaked by Middle, and at one point was nearly pushed off the nest. Little did not eat at this 9-minute feeding.

Middle was once again beaked Little at 1035. Little was so close to the edge, I thought Little was going to get pushed off the nest. As Little struggled to grab a hold of sticks and climb back up to regain solid footing, he got a stick caught under his left wing, and could not get free of it. Little had that stick stuck under his wing for quite some time, and Middle took further advantage of Little in that compromised state by beaking him even more. Soo eventually seemed to help remove the stick from under Little’s wing. That whole episode was so heartbreaking to watch.

Another tiny fish was brought to the nest at 1106. It was a 3-minute meal, and Little did not eat. At 1332 Olsen delivered a large whole fish. I thought for sure that Little would be able to eat at some point during this feeding. Little was beaked several times by Middle, and was nearly pushed off the nest again. At one point, Big beaked both Middle and Little. They are all hungry. This was a 27-minute feeding…and Little did not eat a single bite of fish. Olsen double-backed with another large fish at 1422. Great! Back-to-back large fish…just what was needed so Little could eat. Middle beaked Little again. Big and Middle were set up on opposite sides of Soo, and Little ended up next to Big. We only had a partial view of Little near the top of the screen. But, it was apparent that Little was occasionally reaching in front of Big and getting bites from Soo. Little received at least 14 bites of fish that I was sure of, but possibly ate a few more. Big soon tired of that arrangement with Little, and started beaking Little intermittently. This meal lasted 28-minutes, and Little only ate about 14 bites of fish. The last fish of the day arrived at 1917, and it was a medium sized whole fish. Little was the first one at the table, and got some bites right away. Little had eaten 20 bites by 1919, but was then pushed from behind by Big. Little was able to eat another 4 bites by 1920, but then Soo moved the fish, and fed Big and Middle. It was a 6-minute feeding, Little ate 24 bites of fish, and he did seem to have a small crop. Little ate a total of approximately 38 fish bites today. Weather for Monday: Sunny, light winds, high temp 99F/37C.

7/14 Patuxent osprey nest: Little slept standing up last night for the first time…Oh, Little is a Big Man! Little was not able to eat on Saturday because his aggressive older sisters grabbed all the fish. This morning from 0520 to 0523 Mom fed Little from a leftover goldfish. That fish was then taken from Mom by one of the sibs. At 0651 Dad delivered a large headless fish and distracted the sibs, so Mom resumed eating the leftover goldfish. Little took the goldfish from Mom at 0655, and self-fed until 0731, at which time he abandoned the goldfish, and went over to Mom who now had possession of the new fish. Mom fed Little until 0802. Little had a large crop! There were other fish brought in throughout the day, but Little was not able to eat anything from those fish. There were some good wingers with leaps by Little today.

7/14 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: We are so happy for Louise after the sad season last year. Harvie is such a wonderful mate and provider for their three offspring, ages 28, 30, and 32 days. The kids are getting so big!

Thank you, ‘H’. Sadly unless there is a miracle, we are not expecting the third hatch at Osoyoos to make it because of the extreme heat. Send them good wishes. Soo and Olsen are trying — and no one is helping.

‘V’ sent in some images of the Cowlitz baby that was taken. She says, “Look at its wingspan. I wish there was someway to save the other baby”. I know that we all feel the same and wish those grates had held. They are so near fledge.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. Send out nests all your good energy. The heat continues, the predators remain, too. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU, V,’ Loodusklender, Cowlitz PUD, The Guardian Humanitarian Macedonia, Eagle Club of Estonia, Dyfi Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, Allin’s Cove East and West, Bridge Golf, Pitkin County, Charlo Montana, Field Farm, Dunrovin Ranch, MN-LA, Newfoundland Power, Lindsay Wildlife, Eagle Owl Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, PLO, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fortis Exshaw, Storchenneste, Mlade Buky, swr.de, Tweed Valley Osprey Project, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, Good News Network, Woodland Trust Scotland, BoPH, Finnish Osprey Foundation, LDF, BSE, and New Jersey Conservation.

Friday in Bird World

12 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Today, I got a notice that another new tree is going in front of my property. What joy! I hope they grow fast. With all the new baby crows and squirrels, we need all the big trees fast.

I want to be overjoyed by this notice – and believe me, I am. But a quick walk down the street shows me that four more of the 1902 trees are set to be cut down due to disease. Each has a bright orange circle. I know they must go, but Dyson and her family need trees. There will be some left. Thank goodness.

Does anyone have any good plans for squirrel houses that work? So far, they have balked at the beautiful house I had sent from Sweden!!!!!!! Little Red finally took to the crates in the wood pile but the Greys need a tree. Maybe a fake tree??

The baby Crows have been visiting. I could not grab my camera quick enough to take a photo of them dancing on the glass roof of the conservatory. One was in the birdbath later while three tried to balance themselves on the hydro line coming into the house. The other two were walking around the fence. There are six of them with soft downy heads calling their parents to come and feed them. They are as big as Mr Crow!!!!!!!! The only way that you can tell the difference is that they are thinner and their heads are soft down, not feathery.

Look at the baby Crow’s soft downy head. The water feels good on their hot feet. These are just the cutest crows…

I think it is time for more cheesy dogs!

Let’s start with some good news. Nox. Thanks, ‘B’ for sending me the latest update on Annie and Archie’s fourth hatch. Look at those eyes and tell me this isn’t the cutest little falcon you have ever seen!

At San Jose, Alma has been hunting.

There are nests that I check on but don’t often report on especially when it is osprey season. Here are a couple that I know many of you are interested in!

If you have been wondering about the Centreport Eaglets, they did fledge and they are soaring and locking talons together! Amazing footage by Rob Schwartz.

LGL comes in to feed the Royal Cam chick!

Two little Hobbys. Dad has been hunting and had four bird meals for Mum to feed the little ones before mid-day.

Jackie and Shadow have been visiting the nest. Their chortling is music to my ears. No matter what is thrown at them, they always manage to over come it and bring us smiles.

Seren and Dylan were amongst the lucky nests this year. Indeed, Wales did good in the scheme of things. The weather around Kielder and Border was horrific – we saw it, too, at Loch Arkaig. These three are just beautiful osplets. Don’t you just love the look of the kid staring at the camera?!

Aran and Elen started out with three beautiful chicks and it looks like they will fledge three from Glaslyn in Wales.

Idris and Telyn started out with three and they will fledge three as well at the Dyfi nest in Wales!

Llyn Brenig in Wales started out with three eggs. One DNH and now there are two nice big Bobs ready to fledge.

Alyth SSEN started out with three chicks. One died from a nest accident and the other from weather induced causes. This only surviving Bob looks great. Alyth is in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Sadly, Laddie was possibly shot and Blue NC0 waited for her mate. The nest failed this year at Loch of the Lowes. Only time will tell who the nest belongs to next year. Blue NC0 has been with the dark-coloured osprey but there has also been another around. It was very sad as Laddie LM 12 was much loved. Much loved. The dark one has a fish for Blue NC0. Where is she?

Time to bid Tuffy goodbye! Remember his head pattern for years to come.

H wrote: “This was Tuffy’s last day on camera, before the camera was shut down for the season. Tuffy treated viewers to some extended appearances today. We witnessed Tuffy dive into the water to try to catch a fish (3:00). He didn’t appear to come away with a fish on that attempt. But, about an hour later, Tuffy flew to the nest carrying a tilapia (4:35). He was wet, and shaking off water. Tuffy took a long time to eat that tilapia, and we enjoyed watching him eat it. As we watched, memories surfaced of when Tuffy was so little, and he barely had enough to eat due to the dominance of his older sister, Ruffie. “We have been blessed to witness your life thus far, Tuffy… through all your struggles and your victories. You are a survivor. We wish you a long and productive life. We will never forget you.”

At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Mum is trying to keep her chick cool. It will go up to 90 and then 92 F on Saturday before the heat breaks a bit in Minneapolis.

Dad continues to bring in the fish and Mum continues to feed. The chick looks good.

At 0555, Finnegan arrived on the nest with a very large headless fish. He was still wet. I hope that Iris got a lot of that fish to eat. It is going to be hot today in Missoula. The temperature is 97 F. Remember that is not the heat index which will be higher.

‘PB’ alerted me to a late fish delivery by Finn for Iris and the kids. – a headless whooper!

‘A’ loves Finn – welcome back! We are so glad you are feeling better. “Finn is doing his usual superb job. There was a whole fish (small by his standards but a good medium at any other nest) delivered late in the afternoon, and Iris fed it all to the osplets within 10 minutes or so, creating respectable crops for both osplets (of course, Baby Bob’s was the largest, as always bigger than his head – seriously) but that wasn’t enough for Iris, who immediately began nagging Finn for more fish, although he was still preening and drying himself on the perch from his previous fishing expedition.

But off he went, dutifully obeying Iris’s instructions, and at he returned with one of his patented baby sharks (Pacific whitefish, I understand), minus head (a whole one was not only too large to get to the nest easily but also nearly brained an osplet last week, so Finn has learnt from that episode) around 20:34.

It is wonderful to see that Little’s left eye appears to have healed almost totally. I do hope he is not left with any residual corneal damage. I know I’ve been banging on about it but we both know if Baby Bob cannot triangulate, he cannot fish, and if he cannot fish, he cannot survive. So obviously, it has been my number one concern for some time now. There were four or five days there when I was truly distraught with worry for my little man.

These two are males. They must be. Not a single bonk or beaking. Nothing to suggest any aggression, at meal times or otherwise. They simply have to be brothers. Iris is looking good – she is eating better I think. And Finn is my favourite osprey dad of 2024. I know he has some competition out there, with some of the successful four-osplet clutches this season, but we all know that watching Iris being loved and cared for by a worthy mate who is helping her raise two exquisite osplets is the highlight of the season for many of us. She is blissfully happy and SUCH a good mum. (What a mumbrella she makes, shading them from the heat, sheltering them from the rain and cold – just totally devoted to her babies.)

I ADORE this family. Could you tell? “

I agree and so does everyone else. Finn is amazing. Here is his big whole fish for the family first thing Friday morning!

It is so hot at Charlo Montana. Lola is doing an amazing job. Charlie is getting fish in – every nest in the heat dome area could use much more fish. The adults as well as the osplets are all suffering. Today is Friday. Let us hope this heat dissipates soon.

I thought we might lose Middle at McEuan Park on Thursday but Mum went out and got a big fish and everyone ate. What a relief. Unless someone tells me otherwise, it appears that the male is now MIA.

The youngest of the two siblings at McEuan Park crop dropped quickly. It is difficult to know how much fish it got. Probably not nearly what it should have as Big is extremely aggessive and hungry. Hoping Mum goes out again and catches a huge one so that all can get their fill before bed time. No rewind, no time stamp, cam freezes. Hard to tell what is really happening.

Another fish came to the nest and the camera froze. I have no idea if number 2 got any fish or not. How frustrating is this.

The fledglings, both Patches and Rainer, do return to the nest at Patchogue. Fingers crossed for both of them. This is Patches with a fish from Dad.

Steelscape had a good delivery! Keep it up, Dad.

Looking good at Black Bush:

Continued concern for Little at Cowlitz PUD:

Geemeff sends us her summary for the day’s activities at Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 11th July 2024

The big news of the day is the safe arrival of our chicks at their new home in Valencia and they are now sporting their new yellow Darvic rings. The submissive chick is 1JR and the dominant one is 1JW, and they looked cosy together in their nest in the photo posted by Woodland Trust Scotland on their social media channels, link in the bonus section. Their parents spent time together today on the nest before an unseen intruder caused them to flee, Louis did a little nest-scraping and a fair bit of coy-mantling but still didn’t bring any fish for Dorcha, although we don’t know what fish exchanges might be taking place off-nest. Garry LV0 visited Nest One bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of housekeeping, but there was no sign of the Dark Female. it would be good to see him with a mate, perhaps they are connecting off-nest. The weather was settled today, the sun broke through a few times, and the forecast for tonight is partly cloudy with light winds.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.32.11 (03.36.07); Nest Two 23.26.04 (03.40.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/CscB0UbvO3c N2 News update – chicks safe in Spain and have been ringed 09.00

https://youtu.be/hT20jh6SGBU N2 Dorcha & Louis together on the nest but no fish 09.56.50

https://youtu.be/RQNxDQEbg5s N1 Garry LV0 visits but no sign of the Dark Female 13.08.50

https://youtu.be/VS4q1tY2vks N2 Dorcha & Louis spend time together until scared off by an intruder 18.08.40

Bonus photo – our chicks in their new Spanish nest:

The young ospreys from #LochArkaig are settling into their new surroundings in Spain. Here they are on their new "nest" in a specialist aviary. More here on our decision to pass them over to @RoyDennisWF for this translocation project.👉 https://t.co/tOtarSx6cw pic.twitter.com/oVA4VpjShg
— Woodland Trust Scotland (@WTScotsocial) July 11, 2024

Bonus song – The Osprey Song – performed by the Juniors at Hurst Lodge School:

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

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

‘H’ reports for the day:

7/11 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was offline until just before noon. Olsen has a habit of fishing early in the day, so hopefully he had delivered a few fish for the family earlier. The first fish we saw delivered was at 1736. I never got a good look at the fish, but Soo fed the osplets for 7 minutes. Little quickly found a spot on the other side of Mom and seemed to be eating. At 1739 Little was beaked by Big, but being on the rim, Little had nowhere to go. I could not tell at that point if Little was getting bites of fish, or was in submission. Big beaked Little again at 1740, then Middle beaked Big, and Big beaked Middle! A short time after the meal ended, we saw that Little had a small crop. The next (and last) fish of the day arrived at 2004, and was a large partial fish. Nice going, Olsen! Once again, Little set up on the other side of Mom from Big and Middle. We could not see how much Little was eating, but everyone ate, and there was no aggression. It was a 16-minute feeding. After the meal, Little had a small crop, and also had a good PS at 2119. The high temperature on 7/12 is predicted to be 96F/36C, and it will be sunny, with winds gusting to 13 mph.

7/11 Colonial Beach: David brought fish to the nest for Betty and the kids six times, and a couple of those were huge! The osplets are 16 and 17-days-old. There is some occasional beaking between meals, but the meals are peaceful. Yay!

7/11 Fenwick Island: I only saw two fish brought to the nest today for June and young ‘Fen’. Johnny usually averages 5-6 fish per day. The temp was in the low 80’s, and the wind was gusting to 17 mph. Fishing should not have been very difficult, but I’m not an osprey, so what do I know, lol.

7/11 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: It was a rather uneventful day for this osprey family…other than the youngest osplet, Gray, falling over and being stuck on his/her back for several long minutes! Finally, Dory arrived at the nest and pulled on some nesting, and then Gray was able to right itself. What a good Mom. Whew!

7/11 Kent Island (Chesapeake): Dear Audrey is still incubating her two non-viable eggs.

7/11 Captiva osprey nest. The chat has been shut off for the season, but the livestream will continue for a while. Jack had an injury to his leg, and we have not seen him for a while. Edie may have an issue with her health, and she stopped bringing fish regularly to Darling and Ding. Ding has dispersed. She had learned to catch her own fish, and has likely moved to find a better fishing spot. Darling died at CROW on 7/5. I have a huge hole in my heart. And it hurts.

When you see all those gulls rushing for the chips at the beach? Well, they would rather have fish new study finds.

Herring-gull-chicks-would-rather-have-fish-than-your-chips-finds-study-Birds-The-Guardian Download

Ventana Wildlife continues to vaccinate the California Condors for HPAI.

‘PB’ reports that Steelscape has had a fish this morning. Cowlitz PUD had no late night fish and nothing has arrived Friday morning so far. Send them good wishes.

Connie Dennis reports that the osprey nests in Nova Scotia are doing very well compared to others in the US and the UK. She is the founder of a group working to get Nova Scotia Power to put up poles, and she organises the monitoring of the province’s nests with information on their FB page, Ospreys of Nova Scotia. She has written a book for children on Ospreys with photographs by her husband, Don, that I will review in the coming days.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, messages, videos, images, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, B, Geemeff, H, PB’, California Raptor Centre, SK Hideaways, Rob Schwartz, Lady Hawk, Dorsett Hobbys, Llyn Clywedog, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Llyn Brenig, Alyth, LOTL, Heidi McGrue, MN LA, Montana Osprey Project, McEuan Park, PSEG, Pam Breci, Cowlitz PUD, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Charlo Montana, The Guardian, Ventana Wildlife Society, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Window to Wildlife, Kent Island, Audubon Boathouse, and Connie Dennis Ospreys of Nova Scotia.

Saturday in Bird World

6 July 2024

Good Morning,

As I write, it is 25 degrees C in Winnipeg, and it is mid-morning. The birds in the garden are taking advantage of the water, having had their seeds, peanuts, and cheese dogs put in dishes very, very early. I am hoping that the shaded tunnel areas we have created will help keep the birds and small mammals cool. I cannot imagine what it is like in the Pacific Northwest where temperatures will be as high or higher than 100 F.

Yesterday, with that horrid medication, I had a bit of a brain freeze. Smedley was at the Audubon Centre with Bailey – a long-term resident. Don’t tell me that ospreys don’t do well in care! Ridiculous. Sorry, I am on a rant. There is so much disinformation on the chats associated with the streaming cams. That, along with people who cross over into hyper-hyper-hyperbole, causes much damage and frustration in our understanding of avian behaviour.

The sunhine of the day was the first sunflower, a gift of the birds and animals. Every year they miss some seeds and the gift is a garden full of sunflowers blooming from now until the fall.

Everyone wants water or peanuts – or cheesy dogs. Notice this one is missing its crest. The adults are moulting. The new babies have their crest!

Mr Crow is watching me and wanting more dogs before the Starlings come and take them. He can see me. He knows I am sitting here taking his photo – and then he waits and the cheesy dogs appear! On Friday night we had eight crows visit for food.

Hugo Yugo says she prefers flowers.

Thankfully, the Hibiscus is in a place where The Girls cannot get to. Poison for cats, but oh, so beautiful.

It is a work in progress. The path to the feeder is now planted with bee and butterfly friendly perennials and a huge hosta! Can’t wait to see what it looks like at the end of the summer. Mulch will be going in this weekend!

It’s hot. And it will get hotter. Here is a message about the impact on songbirds. I will have a fan out tomorrow and we continue to top up the water!

I really want to give a shout-out to one of our readers, ‘EJ’. We can make a difference, and ‘EJ’ made a bold business move to save the raptors. She told me – “I used to be a co-owner of an agricultural sales business. I did not know about the harm rodenticides did to raptors until I read about it in your blog. At that point, we stopped selling rodenticides and explained to the farmers why. I don’t know if they stopped using them or not, but I wasn’t going to be responsible for the deaths of any raptors, like little Flaco.” Wow. Thank you, EJ. If everyone would do this, the world would be a better place.

We have a fledge at the Patchogue nest on Long Island. Patches made flying look easy and her return to the nest could not have been any better. Congratulations!

It is 80 degrees F with 2 mph winds and a 63% chance of rain. Babies you need to stay on the nest and not try any bold moves when the raindrops fall. Wet feathers don’t do well with a first or second or third flight. You need practice for that.

I love the look on the siblings face as Patches flies! They are going to want to join in the fun. Keep watching. Both chicks are more than ready to fly.

Fledgling rewarded with a nice big fish!

Patchogue adults sure make beautiful healthy osplets.

Patches took off again at 12:47. Oh, the other one is itching to fly. Wouldn’t be surprised if they go today, too.

Good news coming about Louis and Dorcha’s chicks in the Spanish Translocation Project:

I have been monitoring the Snow Lane nest of Hope and Beaumont and here is some interesting observations posted by Ian Winter who lives in the area on the FB page. Hope is also fishing and feeding her two babies.

I did not take screen captures of Hope’s head in last years and would be the last person to say that I could recognise her but, the behaviour of the female on this nest is very unlike the Hope that has been with Beaumont for past years where chicks have starved. So, please, I am not starting a rumour of a new female; just wondering what’s up. But happy no matter what the answer is! The chicks look good. Let’s hope the weather stays great for fishing.

There is also great news coming through Lucille Powell’s post about the second hatch chick at Hellgate Canyon and its eye.

Tuffy on the nest at Moorings Park before the heavy raindrops begin. Cam will stay on until Monday the 8th of July.

The four osplets at Field Farm are difficult to tell apart now. Little Mini grew and is probably a female – all that feist and sass that kept it alive – with those big siblings could only be a girl. They are now working on those wings and dreaming of flying like Patches.

Rain has come to Poole Harbour and the Fab Four of CJ7 and Blue 022. Oh, dripping wet osplets. Ever wonder what a really wet fish laden osprey nest actually smells like?

The rain and gale gusts have stopped at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn in Wales.

It’s nice at Glaslyn, too. That nest is getting quite full with those big chicks!

All is calm at Clywedog.

Dad has delivered a tiny little teaser and a Starry Flounder (I think) to the Clark PUD nest on Friday before noon. Will watch for other deliveries. It is going to be hot there…Clark PUD could get to 98 degrees F. The heat warnings continue through Monday in the area of Clark PUD, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos, and other nests along the Pacific Northwest.

This is the fish that I think is the Starry Flounder.

There is good news coming from Kielder Forest after so many disappointments this breeding season.

‘MM’ reminds me today that Keilder Forest Nest 7 has a streaming cam. It was offline when I checked but here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/live/-1xNy-elK0Q?si=ESBdYq6o0Iy5Hx1N

The second nest at Llyn Clywedog Reservoir in an area maintained by Forestry England has just ringed two chicks – the first for the adults at this new nest! One girl weighed 1680 grams, and a boy weighed 1410. Congratulations! (They are not on streaming cam only the original Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren is live streaming).

Dad is bringing in some nice fish at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. 74 degrees F. 10 mph winds.

Chicks at the Iowa DNR nest in Des Moines are doing fantastic. Lots of fish! How wonderful.

Cute little babies of Swoop and Winnie are enjoying their fish meal in Colorado. Looks like we have Reptiles. For those learning about Ospreys, the soft natal down gives way to the ‘Reptile phase’. Notice the black oily heads, the beautiful copper feathers at the nape of the neck. This is normally the time when they get ‘cranky’ and get serious about bonking if it is going to happen. Then you begin to see their pin feathers grow in along the wings and at the little tail and it won’t be long til they begin to look like juvenile ospreys. This stage they are growing very fast and often appear ‘lanky’.

Three cuties for Charlie and Lola at Charlo Montana. Little Three needs some more food – send good wishes.

Three much older osplets at nest #4 in Finland are doing fantastic.

White Storks for the London, UK metropolis?

Rewilding-plan-aims-to-bring-majestic-white-storks-to-London-Rewilding-The-Guardian Download

Protecting Falcons. Thanks, ‘SP’ for the link.

‘Ive-known-some-of-these-peregrines-for-15-years_-protecting-Scotlands-raptors-–-in-pictures-_-Environment-_-The-Guardian Download

Great news from the Oakland Zoo – a treated and released Condor.

Prey in the form of several voles and a Raccoon Dog have been delivered by both adults at the Estonial Golden Eagle nest 2. While the oldest gets the majority, the youngest has mantled the remains of the Raccoon Dog, after the oldest ate some, and has eaten. This is good. The oldest still attacks. The eaglets are hungry but now that both parents are delivering again we will wait and watch – with hope.

Another sunrise and two Golden eaglets at Estonia nest 2 alive. Hoping for another Racoon Dog for them today along with a basket of small voles.

‘PB’ is “mpressed with Steelscape! Dad just delivered a lunch fish 1230pm nest time and it’s 88 there high 95 today. All 3 babies look good!” This is fantastic news. Steelscape is in the heat area, too!

Learn all you can about Menhaden – the Osprey fish of choice in the NE US. Why they are important and then learn what is decimating the numbers and why coastal osprey in specific areas are suffering nest loss repeatedly.

Inshore-The-Atlantic-Menhaden-The-Fisherman Download

I am hoping that Little Mini at McEuan Park is still with us. Mum shading and I can only see three big ones but baby could be on the other side. No, sadly, Little Mini has passed at McEuan Park sometime during the late evening of Friday or early Saturday morning.

The kids at Grand Lake want fish. Just look at that nice meal Dad just brought in. They were telling Mum to hurry up and quit messing about. “We want fish!”

What a gorgeous evening in Colorado at the Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails Osprey Nest. One of those successful osprey rescues took place at this nest two years ago. The chicks were accidentally pulled off the nest with some straw. One died and one survived and was in care for awhile because the chick needed to get well before it could learn to fly. Yes, one of those ospreys who testifies that they do well in care! Saying that they don’t is an excuse not to rescue and try.

‘H’ reports:

7/5 Osoyoos osprey nest: This family ended up having a pretty good day. The temperature was predicted to hit 35 C. After two very early fish, there was not another fish brought to the nest for the next eight hours, and I was starting to worry. But, Olsen resumed his deliveries at 1446, and brought three more fish by 2032. There were no ‘whoppers’ today. The meal durations were: 10, 26, 9, 5, 7, and 8 minutes in length. The osplets were all little angels, and they ate side-by-side as Soo fed them.

7/5 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: It was very warm at this nest, at least 97 F. But, Dad was able to provide ample fish for his family, and everyone ate well. The chicks are 55, 58, and 59 days old. Chick #2 continues to be the leader in the race to fledge, showing off with a few mini-hovers.

7/5 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Capt Mac’s Fish House): The little 21 day old osplet is doing well. There were six fish meals provided, with one long stretch of six hours between meals. Because the chick was ‘hangry’, I caught the lil’ one taking its frustration out on Mom. S/he stretched and sat up as tall as it could and repeatedly tried to beak June in the face. “I want fish, Mom!”

7/5 Colonial Beach: Betty and David’s 10 and 11-day-old chicks are doing well. For the most part, there is harmony and both are getting fed.

7/5 Captiva Ospreys: We do not have a report from CROW as yet regarding the condition of Darling, since he was rescued from the water on 7/4. Ding had two fish meals brought to him by Edie on 7/4, but we did not see Edie on 7/5. Ding is trying his best to learn how to catch a fish. She made at least eight attempts to fish from the platform on 7/5, with no luck so far. Fingers crossed that Ding has a meal today, either from Edie, or perhaps when Ding catches her first fish.

Geemeff’s Daily Report for Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Friday 5th July 2024
Louis and Dorcha are still around, and reaffirming their bond – he coy-mantled and attempted mating, she rejected his advances, and later he brought her a fish. At the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, their chicks are settling in and WTS Jill gives us this update: RDWF reported yesterday that both birds are feeding well and seem to be settled in the lovely dry aviary. But it’s still too early to say they are out of the woods entirely. The final vet screening will happen early next week, we’ll get more concrete news after that. Nest One had a visit from Garry LV0 bringing moss and doing a bit of housekeeping, several songbirds also visited and a Hoodie preened on Dorcha’s perch for a while. The weather was reasonably settled after a wet night but more rain is forecast for tonight, with thundery showers tomorrow. The chicks are missed but the consensus on the forum is that in the circumstances, they’re better off in the translocation programme.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.06.53 (03.35.23); Nest Two 23.45.16 (03.43.32)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/zakv38LnsXI N2 Dorcha’s not impressed: no fish and Louis tries mating 08.00.12

https://youtu.be/EamXrQ5Z1TYN1 Four little birds flit around investigating the nest 09.15.32

https://youtu.be/KM9WDj8AjRk N1 Does Garry notice the two birds chasing each other? 09.36.18

https://youtu.be/rX4DKIlw6dM N2 Louis brings a lunchtime fish for Dorcha 13.20.39

https://youtu.be/kzKHN0llDEE N2 A solo Hoodie flies onto the side of Dorcha’s perch and preens 20.24.30

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/KmKrmLCYAdk N1 The chicks Bring Jollity doing flight prep quick time 2020 (Classic Ospreys – Holst)

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

Both White-tailed eaglet fledglings on the nest resting in the Tucholskie Forest in Poland.

Bety and Bukachek’s only storklet is gorgeous.

Thank you for being with us today. Please take care of yourselves. Stay cool if you are in parts of Canada and the US. Remember to hydrate and for those feeling a little cooler down under, stay warm! Hope to have you with us again soon.

Thank you to the following for their letters, notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, EJ, Geemeff, H, MM, PB’, PSEG, Native Songbird Care and Conservation, Mary Cheadle, Ian L Winter, Lucille Powell, Moorings Park Ospreys, Field farm, BoPH, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, LLyn Clywedog, Clark PUD, Kielder Forest, Minnesota Landscape Arobretum. Iowa DNR, Dunrovin Ranch, Charlo Montana Osprey Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, The Guardian, Oakland Zoo, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Steelscape, The Fishermen, McEuan Park, Grand Lake Ospreys, Pitkin County Osprey Cam, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Bielik On Line, Mlade Buky White Storks, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Patuxent River Park, and Window to Wildlife.

Thursday in Bird World

4 July 2024

Good Morning,

Happy 4th of July to all of those that are celebrating. I hope that you have a lovely non-fireworks non-balloon day full of fun and laughter with friends and family.

I want to start with a wonderful article about the work that Port Lincoln is doing to save the Osprey. Thanks so much from our friends in Tasmania, BLP, for sending this in. Today we need a good news story to brighten a little saddness.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-02/osprey-endangered-birds-artificial-platforms-installed-nests-sa/104042676?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

There are several nests in trouble and we need to watch them closely. One does not have rewind and that is McEuan Park in Idaho. If this is a nest that you regularly watch, we would very much appreciate receiving information on the behaviour of the chicks towards Little Mini, the fourth hatch, who appears to have injuries on its neck today. If you could let us know what you see, we would appreciate it. Date, time, and description of what happened would be helpful along with a screen capture if you are able. Thank you so much.

Regarding McEuan: There is a good amount of food coming to the nest and one of the older siblings did a tremendous ‘ps’ while I was watching. I was lucky to catch this. The Big one picks on Little Mini as does Little. This nest feels very unstable.

Gosh, I wish I could send some of our cool weather and rain to so many of you! Another day. Another hot chocolate instead of an iced tea or lemonade. Birds are ravenous – to stay warm. We are feeding them now in the morning and again around 1630. The garden is full of birds from morning to night. They are Grackles, Starlings, Crows, Blue Jays, and about six different species of Sparrow along with some Finches. It is brilliant. You can hear them singing more than half a block away.

Late news on Wednesday comes from Cal Falcons where Nox has been rescued and taken to rehab. This is one of Annie and Archie’s chicks.

This is Nox loafing on the ledge of The Campanile a few days ago. What a cutie. We wish you a quick recovery, Nox.

The news coming from the rehabbers and rescue workers in the US is that the ospreys and eaglets they are helping are not getting enough food – they come into care emaciated! You will continue to hear me call for interventions to provide fish or other prey during distressing times such as what The Woodland Trust did at Loch Arkaig or Port Lincoln at the barge nest of Mum and Dad. It is time to come to terms with the overfishing of Menhaden in the NE US, warming waters and a heating planet that means the fish go deep. It is also time to stop the pesticides and harmful farming methods that cause us not to have the small mammals that so many raptors depend on for food. Ospreys fish off the surface, not lower than a metre. If the weather is too warm, the fish dive. The ospreys are hungry (so are the eagles). They need us to advocate for them.

Right now there are a number of nests that are struggling. ‘MP’ has just alerted me to another eagle nest with two chicks that have had little food for several days. They join others we are monitoring including the Golden Eaglets in Estonia, Cowlitz, Osoyoos, Steelscape – places where some or all are not getting enough calories in a day to survive and, of course, Ding and Darling at Captiva, where Jack and Edie have simply vanished. Kids are starving and fighting. Heidi will comment later. McEuan Park has now joined this list. ‘H’ noticed Mini with a red neck and submissive and because there is no rewind on the camera and it is difficult to sit and wait for a feeding with so many other nests, we are unclear but it appears that Big and Little are both pecking and bonking Mini. It might not be alive in a couple of days. Like all the other nests, we feel helpless because there is no secure route to provide food and assistance.

Everybody is wondering what will happen to the two chicks of Louis and Dorcha who are in the Spanish translocation project run by the Roy Dennis Foundation. Here are two videos (there is an ad in the middle so keep going) that show you what happened in Scotland and then what happens in Spain. This will be very similar to what the Loch Arkaig chicks will undergo for the 2024 translocation. Very educational!

Another TV interview about the removal of Louis and Dorcha’s chicks.

On Wednesday a rainbow appeared over the Loch Arkaig nest and it wasn’t long til Louis appeared working on the nest. What a wonderful feeling. I hope he is doing much better.

The Loch Arkaig lads made The Telegraph.

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

Daily summary Wednesday 3rd July 2024

Today was much calmer than yesterday in terms of bird behaviour – Garry LV0 paid an early morning visit to Nest One, chattering away to himself, but didn’t come over to Nest Two, so Dorcha and Louis didn’t have to do much alarm calling. The Hoodies were in evidence again, but not when the big birds were on the nest. Dorcha arrived on the nest in time to meet Louis bringing a good sized headless fish – she left with it and he stayed to do some housekeeping including moving quite a big branch – hopes rise cautiously that he is on the mend. With WTS George taking a well-earned break, WTS Jill stepped in and gave a great interview on Sky TV about the translocation of the chicks. The weather was very unsettled, even the excellent camera lens coating couldn’t keep up and there were ‘camera diamonds’ on screen fairly often. However, the weather also gave us a beautiful rainbow over Nest Two, tonight’s forecast is for light rain showers and a gentle breeze, with a slight chance of sun and perhaps a little rain tomorrow, so we might see more rainbows.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.56.32 (03.31.18); Nest Two 23.47.16 (03.41.23)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/vpUK8HVFXCo N1 Garry LV0 chatters away to himself during an early morning visit 05.56.22

https://youtu.be/LLCSoyakFkU N2 Dyson and Henry Hoodie visit the empty nest 06.03.55

https://youtu.be/mj01V9rxF-w N2 Osprey flies from left to right under the nest 07:33:45 (slo-mo zoom)

https://youtu.be/5Pd8r2nronw N1 A little songbird visits for a few seconds 07.46.40

https://youtu.be/2V3SGgPo6Sw N2 Rainbow over the nest 10.48.14 (time lapse)

https://youtu.be/nkSCLuDYS2A N2 Louis brings a fish for Dorcha then does housework 12.49.01

https://youtu.be/uD0cwQ6ddHs N2 Louis arrives and stands quietly for a moment before departing 17.24.23

https://youtu.be/8SVETWUeZOQ Sky TV interview with WTS Jill Donnachie about the translocation 20.40

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

I could show you still captures but its the kid’s first flight. 1R0 from Rutland took off on the 2nd of July. Brilliant. Congratulations Maya and Blue 33.

Flying is hard work and Blue 1R0 returned to the nest for rest and to have a good fish feed with Mum Maya.

Another good news story from Geemeff. I doubt you have ever heard of this happening – an island taking out a runway to help birds. Oh, I wish that empathetic and generous spirited nature would spread to our next story. about two little starving eaglets.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/island-airport-tears-runway-help-113721922.html

Beaumont continues to bring in really nice fish to the Newfoundland Power nest at Snow Lane. The two chicks appear well.

The second baby at Hellgate Canyon still has an eye problem. Even so, Iris and Finnegan are taking great care of both of their babies and we hope that the little one’s eye becomes as clear as its big sibling. The little one has been able to open its eye for a bit and then close it and open again. This feels like good news.

‘A’ reports: “Today, I think Little’s left eye may be a bit better – it is still not normal, but it does appear to be open a little more than it was yesterday, when it was either closed entirely or open like a slit. His right eye is normal – large and piercing like it should be – but that left eye is a significant worry. I am not certain how long this situation has existed – I have been worried about his eyesight for a while, based primarily on his efforts to grab at food unsuccessfully, grabbing to the right of the bite being offered and often face-planting instead. I am so pleased to see what appears to be some improvement in the eye today – I will continue to monitor it, as it is literally a potentially life-threatening injury if it prevents Little from being able to triangulate and fish. Such a dear little osplet. He has been so feisty and confident and not once has he cringed or flinched at his sibling. He is brave, and heads straight to mum’s beak, with no qualms whatsoever about pushing in front of Big Bob, while Big Bob is quite happy to wait his turn, even if it takes five minutes for Iris to stop stuffing Little Bob and start feeding Big.

I cannot stress enough how happy this nest makes me. To see two osplets with such a huge size difference and five days between the hatches get along so brilliantly well from first day to now is a very rare thing. I don’t believe I have ever seen it on an osprey nest, though presumably the year there were three boys at Port Lincoln was a relatively peaceful one on that nest. I am not sure though that even that nest got away with having no bonking at all. The fraternal spirit on this nest is as just as magical as Iris’s romance with Finnegan. This nest is quite obviously blessed. “

Can you pick out the Little Mini at Field Farm in the following image?

All is well at MN Landscape Arboretum.

The three osplets at Collins Marsh are doing very well. They are beginning to self-feed.

‘H’ reports:

7/3 Osoyoos osprey nest: There were seven fish brought to the nest that I saw. A couple of the fish were tiny, a few were large, and there was one whopper. I did not see any aggression during the meals. Little ate well today, but at the 12:29 meal, s/he was kind of crowded out due to Soo’s positioning, and Little didn’t really make much effort to get up to the chow line. The feeding duration times (in minutes) were: 4, 4, 8, 10, 7, 60, 11. I’ll bet you can guess which meal was the whopper, lol. There were no fish that I saw between 1229 and 1741. Sometime after that, the video feed went offline. A high temperature of 31C/88F is predicted for 7/4. And, temps will be gradually increasing each day, peaking at a predicted 41C/106F by the middle of next week. Fingers crossed that Olsen will be able to find fish to catch.

7/4 Captiva Ospreys: I try to avoid hyperbole. But, there is a tragedy in the making at Captiva. Ding and Darling are 72 and 71 days old. Ding fledged on 6/22, Darling fledged on 6/26. They rely on their parents to bring them fish. Jack was last seen on 6/29, and Edie has not been seen since mid-day on 7/2. Fishing conditions for ospreys should not have been particularly difficult, so Jack and Edie are simply missing. The last time Ding had a meal that we know of was 7/1 at 1800. The last meal for Darling was 7/1 at 1600. Because Darling won’t allow Ding to be on the nest, Ding has been out of sight quite a bit. But, when we have seen Ding, she does not look well fed. Overall in recent days, Ding was been better fed than Darling. The official word is that there are rescue plans in place if any of the ospreys are found grounded. Please send positive wishes to this much loved osprey family.

‘PB’ confirms that Little Three had a good feed at Cowlitz:

She notes that Steelscape also had a good feeding for its little one. Excellent news.

‘PB’ also sent this note form a rescue. Oh, our poor osprey babies.

Did Diamond deliver Xavier a very special bonding gift? A racing pigeon?

The two golden eaglets on the Estonian nest have not had food for two days on Wednesday. I hope that we are not witnessing an event like we saw several years ago with Klints. I am very concerned about these eaglets whose nest is in an area of Estonia where there is a military base. Because of their location, it might be impossible to get them the help they require.

The situation is being monitored. I hope that the Eagle Club of Estonia is getting permission to enter the military zone and take the eaglets into care.

‘MP reports issues at one of the Dave Hancock nests in British Columbia today. That is the HWW-BBC nest where two rather emaciated eaglets are not being fed, although everyone insists there is food and the parents are not feeding the eaglets. No one wants to help because they are too near fledgling. Is it better to starve on the nest? All of this reminds me of Meadow. It is often too late when they fall out of the nest.

The decline of the Blackbird is due to another virus.

Blackbird-numbers-plummet-in-south-of-England-amid-potential-spread-of-virus-Birds-The-Guardian Download

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, posts, articles, videos, summaries, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, BL-P, Geemeff, H, PB’, McEuan Park, Cal Falcons, William Dunn – Menhaden, Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, SKY News, Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Michelle Gowland, LRWT, Rutland Osprey Project, yahoo News, Newfoundland Power, Montana Osprey Project, Field Farm, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Osoyoos, Window to Wildlife, Tampa Bay Rescue, Collins Marsh, Pam Breci, Cilla Kinross, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, The Guardian

Ringing, lots of ringing…Wednesday in Bird World

3 July 2024

Good Morning,

It’s the middle of the week. I thought we would have a wonderful Tuesday. It looked like a great day for a long walk at the nature centre and then the rains came – pouring rain you could hardly see 3 metres in front of you. And then finally the grey skies left and the blue skies and fluffy clouds arrived. The birds are singing for joy. The squirrels are running around looking for peanuts and Mr Crow is yelling that his cheesy-dogs are gone. The Starlings ate them! Life is back to normal. ‘The Girls’ survived the July birthday part and the horrific thunder and lighting of Monday night. We are all hoping that the rain will stop and we can have a few days of sunshine and warmth.

It is now July and I am hoping, beyond hope, that fledgling and osplet deaths are over. Many of the osprey chicks are now past the 3 week mark – a few aren’t. I am hopeful that without any major storms all will survive but, we continue to watch a few nests closely such as Captiva, Cowlitz, Forsythe, and Steelscape.

The latest for Steelscape comes in late Tuesday from Pam Breci:

I have still been feeling a bit low after the removal of the chicks at Loch Arkaig, even though I support interventions in such cases of great need. It just makes me sad seeing Louis and Dorcha without their babies. So, I want to start with a story that will amaze you. I added some quotes, but please read the entire article. You will be amazed.

Geemeff sent me the link:

“A pair of White-tailed Eagles on the Isle of Mull have amazed experts by continuing to care for their injured offspring into its second year of life, going so far as to skip breeding this year to focus on tending to the youngster.

The chick injured its left wing in July last year after its nest fell to the ground during unseasonably wild weather. Despite its sibling surviving unscathed and fledging not long afterwards, the injured youngster’s story has been a little less smooth.

As the parents continued to support the chick its wing continued to heal and it finally took to the skies in the autumn, in rather wobbly fashion, with little hope from locals that it would survive the long, harsh winter ahead.

Here is the full story!

White-tailed Eagles on Isle of Mull continue to care for injured offspring into its second year of life

Ringing took place at Glaslyn late on 2 July 2024. Heather Corfield reports “We have two females and one male. 6M8, 6M7 and 6M9 in age order. The youngest is the male. No surprises there.”

I continue to call for a boycott on eating tuna and salmon and this is one reason not to eat farmed salmon! They have destroyed the stocks of fish in the Chesapeake Bay and are now moving to the coasts. Multitudes are concerned and the regulating authorities are not listening. This is one of the main reasons that osprey chicks are starving – the fish they need is being taken to feed fish! Please tell your friends and find a viable alternative if you eat salmon or tuna.

Bad storms in Croatia are having an impact on our feathered friends. Many storks are being found dead.

‘H’ wondered if I had been checking the ND-LEEF nest lately. I haven’t and I am sorry that I have been occupied by the ospreys. Dad went missing on the 8th of May. The two eaglets were just a month old (like Harriet’s at SWFlorida in 2023). Gigi raised them alone. They fledged on June 26 and June 30. Isn’t that wonderful? Dad would be proud of Gigi and his babies. Phillipe Josse posted this photo of Gigi and her fledglings. Aren’t they lovely?

Iris’s youngest chick has a closed left eye. We are hoping for improvements. The chick is eating and moving well and the eye apperared to open a little Tuesday afternoon. Send good energy.

Meanwhile, Finn is being security guard!

‘A’ comments: “Darling Finn was in early with a nice fresh fish for the osplets’ breakfast. He arrived at 05:49 and Iris got straight into feeding the kids. He stays less than a minute before moving to the perch to dry off. As always, Little Bob is at the front for the feeding and the chicks are perfectly behaved. There is not a hint of aggression between them. This has to be the most laid-back osprey nest I think I’ve ever seen. It’s like watching a pair of RTH chicks or a couple of peregrine eyases. Just lovely.

By 6am, Finn is getting a little impatient. He returned to the nest about 05:58 and picked at some dropped bites and random pieces, but Iris has not finished stuffing her osplets, with Big Bob still managing to find some space in that massive crop. By 06:02 Finn is stalking the fish but Iris moves away from him, not yet ready to give it up. Big Bob has eaten very well but Iris hasn’t and Little Bob could definitely eat some more. So she continues feeding Little Bob, with Big Bob having finally left the table, full as a tick. Finn already has a very respectable crop.

At 06:03, with Little Bob turning away, Iris lets Finn take the half fish from her. He begins eating on the nest. Or is he preparing to feed the chicks? Within ten seconds, Iris has retrieved her fish and returns to feeding Little Bob and eating herself. Finn gives up and returns to the perch at 06:03:50. Iris keeps eating. She needs to have her own breakfast. But she still keeps trying to give bites to both osplets, but especially Big Bob, who has come back for seconds (or is it thirds?). Eventually she eats, and eventually, Finn gets his share. “

“When our darling Finn brought the lunchtime fish in at around 11:50, it was another humongous whole very floppy (well, more thrashy) fish, so Iris waited for Finn to disable it before she took it from him. Probably teaching him that large floppy fish and small osplets should not mix. She is a thinking woman’s mum, is Iris.

Both chicks are hungry but they behave perfectly while they wait for mum to get the fish bites ready. Finn is arranging sticks, periodically bonking Little Bob on the head with his tail. Little Bob gets confused about which direction he should be facing.

At this point, I’m going to raise something I’ve been worried about from the beginning really. But yesterday I watched something that again worried me a great deal – could you keep a close eye on Little Bob and see whether you think his sight is compromised in some way. Yesterday, he was grabbing at the bites and missing them to the right-hand side each time, as if one of his eyes was not focusing properly. I have noticed this before, but not to that extent. Mind you, it was 10pm and he may not see well in the dark. (We of course have the IR lights.) But I would like your considered opinion on it over the next few days or so, if you have a chance.

Obviously, he is still managing to stuff his face but it would not be a great way to live as a fledgling, so I am a bit worried, which is why I am finally asking your opinion. (The fact that nobody else has questioned it reassured me until that feeding last night around 10pm when it really was very noticeable. And how does he still end up facing the wrong way at his age? I wonder and I worry. Let’s hope I’m just totally mistaken.

Anyway, spoiler alert: although it was a wet morning, the chicks dried out in the afternoon and ate well all day. The midday fish was almost the size of Big Bob and, obviously, significantly larger than Little. Iris had some trouble (and had to use her wings) to even move it around the nest, and I cannot imagine her being able to rip it out of the water. That would take a very strong bird, which says something about our hero, Finn. He surely is a diamond and Iris SO deserves him. And wow, is he a looker. Such a handsome osprey. He is glorious.

At the noon feeding, Little was closest to mum and was fed first. His older sibling simply watched and patiently waited for his turn. Finn obscures our view as the feeding proceeds, but it appears that at noon, ten minutes after the arrival of the fish, Big Bob is still waiting. When Finn finally moves, at 12:04, we can see that Little Bob is still at mum’s beak but Big Bob does have a small crop so may have had some bites.

Finn decides he will start feeding himself from the tail end of this monstrous fish while Iris continues feeding Little Bob from the head end. I’m hoping Finn will feed Big Bob, who has turned to face dad and is obviously hopeful. Just before 12:07 Finn, who has come around to the head end of the fish, attempts to pull the fish from Iris’s grasp. She pulls back. She continues feeding Little. Big Bob is still hungry, and Iris turns her head to reach him, deciding Little Bob has had enough for now and her other chick needs his turn. So she feeds Big Bob bite after bite. Little turns away from the table. Finn plots his next attack on the fish.

Around 12:09 Finn gives up and heads for the perch. Mum keeps feeding BIg Bob. Just before 12:10 he begins alerting, looking upwards. That chirp of his is incredibly melodic for an osprey. Quite beautiful. Little, who has face-planted, sat up for a short while, then face-planted again, is not turning back to the table yet – I’m sure he will manage some seconds shortly. Just before 12:12 Iris joins Finn in alerting at something above. Finn is tracking it across the sky. He is concerned. At 12:12 the chicks both pancake.

At 12:12:28, another osprey attempts to land on the nest! Iris immediately rears up, flapping her wings with menace, and the bird flies off, with Finn in pursuit. Iris soon returns to the fish, but the chicks stay pancaked. Iris returns to eating herself, then feeds Big Bob again when he lifts his head. Little stands up but then decides his eyes are bigger than his stomach (well, not literally, obviously) and lies back down.

At 12:20 Iris is again looking upwards, and soon resumes alerting. Twenty seconds later, Finn lands back on the nest, much to our relief. This boy is strong and young and determined to protect his family. He is doing a wonderful job at it. Here is a big statement: this is a male with what it takes to become an M15. He is not quite there yet – I cannot see him raising two month-old osplets single-taloned as M15 did with his eaglets. But with another season or two of paternal experience, I can certainly see him becoming a dad of that calibre. I adore Finnegan. I cannot say enough good things about him. “

The nest is a mess but the chicks are fantastic at Niagara Bee.

Things continue to go well at Blackbush for the trio.

Concerns for the two osplets at Newfoundland Snow Lane nest of Beaumonth and Hope as bad weather continues. Prior to the rain a large fish was on the nest and Hope was feeding the chicks.

Big fish and four big osplets at Field Farm.

There are so many big osplets just eating, growing, and waiting for their day to fly. That is Great Bay, too.

The trio at Charlo Montana are changing from cute little bobbleheads and into Reptiles!!!!!!

So, it is too close to call for three of the Poole Harbour four. The little one is believed to be a male but the three older ones are either small females or large well fed males. Can’t sex. I am going to go with four males because of their behaviour – too sweet and nice.

Louis has been consistent in bringing in a morning and evening fish. Dorcha was on the nest around 2000 and Louis came in with her dinner. You could hear him returning her calls.

The video of that fish delivery:

The two chicks of Louis and Dorcha are believed to be two males! Here is Geemeff’s report:

Daily summary Tuesday 2nd July 2024

Today was the first day waking up to the reality of an empty nest. However, Woodland Trust Scotland spokesman George tells us the chicks are reported to be doing well after a warm, dry, peaceful night with plenty of fish. They have been initially assessed as two males, although a more thorough assessment will take place in due course when they are ringed and satellite tagged. Questions were raised on the forum as to the feasibility of continuing to feed the chicks on the nest rather than placing them in the translocation programme – WTS gives the reasons why that’s not possible, details here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15244841. It might have been thought that activity on the nest would tail off now but Garry LV0 stepped up to provide plenty of interest by intruding not once but several times on Nest Two. He even brought nest furnishings. If he does fancy Dorcha as a potential mate, both Dorcha and Louis have other ideas, and there was much flying on and off, alarm-chipping and hasty exits. Once Garry had left for the night, Louis turned up with a good size late night supper which was eagerly seized by Dorcha. No improvement in the weather, it’s deteriorating if anything, with a forecast of heavy rain and light winds tonight, and rain all day tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.44.17 (02.50.32); Nest Two 23.34.00 (03.23.23)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/xLYMFTjW5IQ N1 Incy Wincy spider’s midnight visit 00.42.41 (quicktime)

https://youtu.be/PcbM4KE7w-I N2 Hooded Crow intrudes on Dorcha 11.13.28

https://youtu.be/W32p5HJcb5A N2 Garry LV0 intrudes 13.07.20 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/Q9R-mWtaQiw N2 Action N2 involving Dorcha, Louis & Garry LV0 13.37.03

https://youtu.be/lgNojG-NglE N1 & N2 Garry LV0 brings a stick to N2 then takes it to N1 14.59.25

https://youtu.be/qghrnyyuS00 N2 Louis brings Dorcha a late fish supper 20.11.11

Bonus read – visiting Loch Arkaig and the Dark mile that gave Dorcha her name:

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/speanbridge/locharkaig/index.html
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 a video showing where the chicks of Dorcha and Louis will be translocated. Thanks, Mary Cheadle for posting this. We are all curious.

We have had more osplet deaths and the Memorial Page is now up to 90. The only surviving chick on nest 4 at Kielder Forest in the UK became lethargic and was not growing properly and died at 39 days right before ringing. It is believed to have been a lung infection due to all the cold rainy weather.

Nest 7 at Kielder had three healthy chicks that were ringed on Tuesday. Two females and a male. Very interesing names. Have a read:

Nest-7-ringing-Kielder-Ospreys Download

All is well at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Please be careful if you are looking for this nest. There is a lot of archived footage on YT that might cause you to not be seeing the current time/day.

Lots of feedings. Mum is very attentive. Chick is doing well. The colouring is off – everything appears darker than it is. The chick is normal osplet plummage. On my screen, it looks very dark.

Here is the link:

The lens is all fogged up at the nest of Dylan and Seren in Llyn Clywedog. The chicks are feathered and doing great. Fledging shortly.

The little one at Cowlitz does wait for the other two and then, if there is fish, it gets a few bites before it is moved away. There was not a lot of fish coming in on Tuesday. It was 69 F with 10 mph winds.

Here are Heidi’s reports for the day!

7/2 Osoyoos osprey nest: After the live stream was offline for 2.5 days, it went live at 0938 this morning. The chicks looked good. The first delivery we saw was a tiny fish at 1006. What struck me was that Little immediately shuffled away and tucked as Soo prepared to feed. That was a new behavior that Little had acquired since the last time we watched. This indicated that there had been some dominance and aggression at meals. It was only a four minute feeding, and Little got 3 bites. The next fish at 1146 was also tiny, for a 5 minute feeding, and after some initial intimidation, Little ate. At 1212, Olsen delivered a Whopper! As Soo was dragging the large fish into position, Middle beaked Little into submission, but then Big beaked Middle! So there it was…yes there has been aggression at meals. By 1218 Middle was able to start eating beside Big. By 1222 Little had worked his way around to the other side of Soo and was getting a few bites…but, don’t ya’ know Soo moved the fish, so Little had no protection. After several more minutes passed, Little was eating right up beside the other two osplets, and all were having a good meal. At 1242 the cam went down for more than an hour, so we don’t know how long the meal was, or if Olsen removed some leftover fish. The next (and last) fish of the day was at 1553, a large whole fish, for a meal that lasted 13 minutes. Everyone ate peacefully.

7/2 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Things are going well for Johnny, June, and their 18-day-old youngster.

7/2 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: The oldest osplet, Harbor, seems to be calming down a bit, and is less aggressive toward Gray. I was able to observe a few meals and they were peaceful. Good news. The nestlings are 18 and 14-days-old.

7/2 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: Della, Warren and their two 35 and 36-day-old osplets are doing great. There is never a shortage of fish from Warren.

7/2 Forsythe osprey nest: This has been a very sad season for this nest. Only the oldest osplet (named Larry) remains out of the original four chicks. It seems that there’s not enough fish in this area. There were six fish delivered to the nest, including two from Opal. Larry is 42 days old, and should be able to make it to fledge.

7/2 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: Everything is going well for this bunch. There may be a fledge in a day or two…and I am predicting that Middle will be first to take flight. Middle is a bit smaller than Big, so has less body mass to get into the air. Middle has been getting some nice lift while flapping/leaping across the nest. (Ages of the osplets: 56, 55, 52)

7/2 Captiva osprey nest: Darling dominated the nest all day. Ding was prevented from landing on the nest many times. Edie delivered the only fish of the day at 1114. Ding flew in, there was a scramble with Darling over the fish, and it appeared as though Ding left in possession of the fish, or she may have dropped it. It was obviously not a good day for fishing. You may recall that Edie took a 6-day break, and returned on 6/29. In Edie’s absence, Jack worked his tail feathers off fishing for his kids during that period of time. It seems as though Jack may now be resting and taking a well deserved break. He was last seen on cam on 6/29.

Oh, those San Jose siblings!!!!!!!!

And more from this adorable family who continue to visit their scrape for us!

Ventana Wildlife continues to vaccinate the California Condor population against HPAI.

Plastics are everywhere. They are not good for our birds – not good in the sea, in nets, in human garbage, mesh bags, etc. As humans we need to try and minimise the number of plastic items that we purchase. I know that it is difficult. I made a vow several years ago to sever ties with plastic – they are everywhere. If you are heading to the lake or the beach, The Guardian ran a good article on how to avoid plastic. Even if you live elsewhere, there are good ideas here for everyone everywhere. We can help our wildlife.

From-swimwear-to-toys-how-to-go-plastic-free-for-a-day-at-the-beach-Plastics-The-Guardian Download

Want to adopt a very important Kakapo?

I have a number of nests to report in Canada during the coming week. At least one of them has four healthy chicks! Stay tuned.

Thank you for being with us today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, questions, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Pam Breci, Scottish Field, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Menhaden Defenders, Phillipe Josee and the ND-LEEF Eagle Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Niagara Bee, Blackbush, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Great Bay, Charlo Montana, BoPH, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Mary Cheadle, Kielders ospreys, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Llyn Clywedog Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Osoyoos, Fenwick Island, Forsythe, Mispillion Harbour, Audubon Boathouse, Patuxent River Park, Window to Wildlife, SK Hideaways, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Kakapo Recovery.

Chicks arrived safely…Tuesday in Bird World

2 July 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Monday evening. Thank you for your notes. My DIL is safe as is the Island of Grenada. The small island of Carriacou was almost destroyed. It is a beautiful little place reached by boat from Grenada that holiday makers particularly enjoy. I am hoping that no one was killed.

It was rather appropriate that the rain was pouring down all morning in Winnipeg. The sky was a heavy grey and, that is pretty much how I felt. Sad. It wasn’t that I disagreed with the actions that The Woodland Trust and the Roy Dennis Foundation took, I did. It was just the ‘weight of the situation’ that got me down. Everyone hopes that they got it right. We must believe they did. I wish that Louis had rallied; he didn’t. The chicks needed to be saved before one or both starved. It still hits you hard seeing Louis bring in a fish to Dorcha and the chicks and the chicks not being there.

Those that have loved Louis and his mates for all these years will be processing this slow. We might not see Dorcha or Louis at the nest very much, if at all. All we can do is hope that Louis rests, eats and his health or whatever is bothering him dissipates and he becomes his old wonderful self. We wish Dorcha a recovery from caring for her babies. The females lose weight and she always fed her chicks before herself.

All went smoothly at Loch Arkaig and Louis and Dorcha’s two chicks have arrived safely at Inverness.

Geemeff sent her Loch Arkaig summary:

Daily summary Monday 1st July 2024

The 8th season for the Arkaig Ospreys effectively ended today with the removal of the two chicks from the nest to join a translocation programme which will see them go to Spain. Louis brought an early fish this morning which gave the family their final opportunity to be together, and this season’s tally ends at two hundred and fifty five fish. Woodland Trust Scotland spokesman George says: All went well this morning and the chicks are now with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. More information on the reasons behind the removal can be read here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15225467. LizB provided another one of her valuable off-nest reports to inform us that Louis & Dorcha were perched together while the raptor team were doing their work. The removal of the chicks is such an unprecedented event that it made the STV evening news, and there was much lively debate on the forum. Dorcha returned to the nest several hours after the team left, but only stayed long enough to grab some of the extra fish the team had placed there, and to see off the Hoodies who were also interested in grabbing some free fish. Although Louis returned this evening with a fish for Dorcha, that and subsequent fish will not be included in the count. Steve Q says: there is no value in the data of any fish brought to the nest post removal of the young. Garry LV0 paid a visit to Nest One bringing moss but spent his half hour there just perching quietly. It rained during the morning and cleared up in the afternoon, tonight’s forecast of light cloud and light winds suggests it should remain dry tonight.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.15.26 (03.29.30); Nest Two 23.57.38 (04.03.48)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Q_HakxODigs N2 Final family gathering for the 2024 Arkaig Ospreys 04.53.34 (freezeframe)

https://youtu.be/OX4_U4q4U4U N2 Dorcha returns to the nest after the chicks have been taken away 15.11.38

https://youtu.be/7EOiOedhNo0 N2 The chicks star on STV news 19.30

https://youtu.be/12Pe__3E3eo N1 Garry LV0 arrives bringing moss19.56.59

https://youtu.be/y2RIy-5tqEQ N2 Louis brings a fish but only Dorcha is there 20.00.44

https://youtu.be/0v65YxWPJvw N2 Two Hoodies appear and steal fish from the empty nest 20.04.34

Bonus read – the removal of the chicks makes the news:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-osprey-chicks-bound-spain-33146033

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

Two questions in the mailbox that you might also be wondering about. Thanks, ‘EJ’. Question 1: “Although I am sorry Louis seems to not be well, I am happy for the chicks going to Spain. How cool is that? So do they put them in a nest there? How do they find their way around? Will they migrate back to Spain or try to go home?”

Answer: ‘Hacking’ is the term often used for translocation. The chicks are fed and collected before they reach the fledging age, typically about six weeks or 42 days. They are placed in crates and carefully taken to a holding area. They will be thoroughly checked over, weighed, and recorded, and they will be fed very well. In the past, these compartments were in Roy Dennis’s garage near Inverness, Scotland. Once they have the total number of chicks – twelve (12)- preparations will be underway for them to be flown to Spain. There, they will be fed, checked over, and they will fledge from the chosen site. They will be satellite tagged and will have Spanish ring numbers but all their forms will say they hatched in Scotland. Ospreys ‘imprint’ on the area where they fledge which is why the timing is crucial. These chicks will imprint on this place in Spain. This ensures that they will return to this location when they are old enough to breed, not their natal nest in Scotland.

EJ’s second question: What happened to the male osprey who had the spine thingie in his leg and his leg was all swollen?

Answer to Question 2: EJ is referring to Jack at Captiva. According to the log kept by Windows to Wildlife, Jack has not been seen on the nest since 11:05 on the 29th of June. Edie has been bringing in fish and intruders have been around attacking the chicks, according to the same log. I have seen no information on the current status of Jack. I would not like to speculate at this time.

To keep my mind off Hurricane Beryl (everything is fine in Grenada, thank goodness), The Girls had their birthday party. Missey is now 2 and Hope is 1. Birthday parties are chaotic events. Their favourite treats are tossed all over the table along with some new toys, brushes, and scratching blocks. They seem to have a good time. Next party is September for Hugo Yugo who will be a year old; Calico will be two in November.

To put a smile on your face. Little Cowlitz 3 had a private feeding, and the result was a huge crop. Sometimes I am afraid to check, but Monday was good. Thanks, ‘PB’.

Only Bob at Clark PUD is feathered and beautiful.

Boulder’s Only Bob is doing great, too.

Bruce and Naha’s two chicks, Tsee and Toketee, are really enjoying some nice fish including a trout on Monday.

It is always feeding time at the nest of Iris and Finnegan. Not only Iris feeds the kids, but dear, darling Finnegan steps in, too. What a guy! He is feeding the oldest while Iris keeps the baby warm and dry in the rain. Talk about cooperation. Reminds me of Blue 022 and CJ7 this year at Poole Harbour. It is wonderful to watch this nest. I just wish I could read Iris’s mind!

A comments on the top image: “The rain set in at Hellgate by 17:20. After the feeding, Finn not only listened to Iris, but came back with another fish around 17:28, which he then fed Big Bob while Iris watched and kept Little Bob warm (his crop ended up larger than his older sibling’s – not unusually). Unfortunately, Iris did not get any of this second headless fish, She is the only one who hasn’t really eaten enough, but she has a larger crop, which was well filled this morning and is still visible. I loved the way Finn fed Big Bob in the pouring rain rather than get Iris up. He is looking after her as well as he possibly can. He is a gem. “

‘A’ writes: “Darling Finn brought in one of his traditional giant fish for Iris and the kids just before 05:52. She is pleased. The kids line up nicely at the table and wait for mum to wrangle the fish. Finn ate a few bites of the head end while waiting for Iris to get up (he was moving the fish around to a position from which he could feed her when she decided she needed to feed the kids).

Interestingly, as it’s raining, Big Bob does his usual bend and flap stretch, flapping the water off his wings, and in the process, bonks Little Bob with one wing. Little Bob totally ignores it. Had he ever been bullied, he would definitely have instantly ‘flinched’ at this.

Mum is taking a bit of time to get the fish to the kids – she too is flapping water off her wings (and she has a lot to get rid of!) and Little sees Dad moving around the nest towards the perch. Keeping his eyes on dad, he turns to face him. What’s he doing? Ah!! Clever dad. Remember that leftover fish I said must still be on the nest somewhere? (I saw it left there last night and did not see Finn leave the perch during the night or Iris having or feeding the chicks a nighttime snack.) Well, clever Finn knows exactly where it is.

Finn heads straight for the place mum left the fish last night (on the edge of the nest, near the perch) and uncovers what reveals itself in daylight to be almost all of a giant fish (just like the one he has just brought in this morning). I am a little concerned Iris didn’t remember it between 5am when she started pestering Finn for food and 05:52 when breakfast arrived. Maybe she’s a sushi girl and only likes her fish fresh. Finn takes his breakfast to the perch.

Little has turned back to the actual feeding adult and both chicks are getting an excellent breakfast. Oh they are just so exquisite, and their size and development gap makes it even more interesting in the sense that it appears there are actually two different species of creature on that nest (neither really bird-like, in all honesty).

By 6am the rain is teeming down again and Little Bob takes shelter beneath Big Bob’s crop!! Mum reaches to feed Big Bob. Little Bob backs up towards the camera and does a large PS. My goodness that is one very very plump osplet. Little decides he’d rather have shelter than food right now and huddles under Big Bob again, this time beneath his left wing. (I’m assuming Big is male, despite his size, based entirely on his behaviour, which just isn’t aggressive enough to be that of a female.) TOO cute.

But even from beneath Big Bob, Little is still fish crying, and eventually has to decide how badly he wants that fish. Yes, badly enough to turn around to face mum and stick his little head out from under Big Bob to ask Iris for a bite. His decision, though, comes just a few seconds too late, as the rain is heavier and soon after 06:01, Iris decides the chicks need to be kept dry more than they need more food at the moment. There is plenty of fish for everyone (Finn is still working on the giant fish on the perch – there is no way he can eat all of it and still be able to polish off the leftovers on the nest). Iris has left at least two-thirds (probably more) of the fish Finn brought in at 05:52.

This is an amazing family and Finn is the best ever mate and parent. He is a natural (or has experience) and he is devoted to his family. He has learned he needs to make more deliveries. He has learned how to feed the osplets with confidence. Some of the other stuff – feeding Iris, sleeping on the perch – is obviously just him. He may have had another mate (and perhaps chicks) or he may just be the paternal type (full of the right hormones, I presume, which is far less romantic). “

Cute little babies at Charlo Montana have fat healthy little bottoms. They are turning into Reptiles.

Alma and Lucia horsing around in San Jose.

Eastern Imperial Eaglets in RU are doing very well. They are getting stronger and standing, walking around, and pecking at their food.

Latvia’s osplets in the Kurzeme area are growing and growing!

Just look at those two Golden Eaglets in Estonia with their juvenile feathers growing. I blinked. They were white with those gorgeous deep chocolate brown feathers and now it is the opposite! Their ‘ps’ all over that branch tell me these two should be healthy despite the second one looking rather thin. Fingers crossed I am not fooling myself. I often wonder how cameras can distort things – eaglets look healthy like Meadow and turn out to be thin and dehydrated and full of mites and parasites.

Lady is in full incubation mode in the Sydney Olympic Forest now that her and Dad have their two eggs. I can’t wait!

The two Decorah North fledglings that lost their nest when it collapsed cannot stay away from that nest tree. ‘Home is where your heart is’ and it is that old broken tree for this family.

One of Thunder and Akecheta’s fledglings returns to the natal nest on Monday.

The Fab Four at Poole Harbour were ringed. The ring numbers are 5RO (1), 5R1 (3), 5R2 (2), and 5H6 (4). Tim Mackrill has advised Poole Harbour that the Roy Dennis Foundation believes these are four well-fed males. That indeed, would account for the civility on this nest!!!!!!!!!! I await for some more clarification as there were earlier reports of a mixed-gender nest.

‘H’ reports:

7/1 Captiva ospreys: Wow, what a day! Darling did not have any food yesterday (except a fish tail). On 6/30 Edie delivered three fish to the nest, but one of the fish went overboard during the melee between the sibs fighting over the fish, and Ding ate the other two fish. This morning, Darling woke up ‘hangry’, and was quite aggressive toward Ding. Darling attacked Ding in the nest and chased her off the nest many times. But, the young fledglings were soon having issues with an intruder, an osprey that was believed to be male. The intruder was buzzing the nest, and flying toward the nest with talons extended. It was also in pursuit of Ding several times when Ding flew from the nest. Almost every time Ding returned to the nest, she was attacked by Darling, and many times Darling pushed her off the nest. Darling also prevented Ding from landing in the nest several times. At 0852 Darling was attempting to force Ding off the nest, and the intruder landed on Darling, and forced Darling off the nest! At 0925 Darling was attacked again by the intruder. Finally, at 1053 Edie showed up with a large fish, and Ding got it. The intruder landed on the right perch and Edie chased it off and flew in pursuit of the intruder. At 1208 Edie delivered a large partial fish and Darling got that one (the viewing crowd went wild!). It was Darling’s first meal in about 42 hours. Chow down, Darling! Edie brought a fish at 1544, and that one also went to Darling. At 1801 Edie delivered a partial fish that went to Ding, so each osplet had two fish for the day. It was quite an educational day for the young ospreys. It was good for Darling to be assertive, and good for Ding to experience the new and improved Darling. And, Ding and Darling had their first significant encounter with an intruder. They will learn from all of these experiences to help prepare them to face the world on their own.

7/1 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: There have been a couple of rare occasions of Big beaking Little, but not at meals. Everyone gets to eat at the feedings, and Little is often front and center at Mom’s beak. The kids are looking good and getting big.

7/2 Colonial Beach osprey nest: David and Betty are doing a nice job of parenting, and their 7 and 8-day-old nestlings are doing well.

7/2 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream has been offline since Saturday afternoon.

Thanks so much, ‘H’.

This is a beautiful view of the Glaslyn Valley in Wales. It is home of Aran and Elen and their chicks are being ringed at the moment.

Beaumont and Hope welcomed the arrival of their second chick, from egg 3 ( egg 2 DNH) on Monday. Beaumont is bringing in lots of fish and Hope is feeding the chicks well. Fingers crossed!

Have you checked on those two beautiful osplets at the Patchogue nest on Long Island lately?

You might want to watch Blue 1RO at Rutland Water. Maya and Blue 33’s Only Bob will be fledging soon! What a gorgeous bird.

The latest edition of Cornell’s Living Birds is out and there is a nice article on how to bring birds to your garden.

To-Bring-Birds-to-Your-Garden-Grow-Native-Plants_-Heres-How-to-Get-Started-_-All-About-Birds-All-About-Birds Download

Some of you will have read the news that a male Bald Eagle, a few miles out of the territory of M15 and F23, was hit by a vehicle while on the road. It was NOT M15. Please relax if you were worried, but also tell people to slow down. Animals are killed every day by the hundreds because of speeding motorists.

You will have noted through Heidi’s reports that the nest at Forsythe New Jersey of Opal and Oscar never has enough fish. Here is the map of the huge trawlers (I am embarrassed Omega is a Canadian registered company) leaving the waters of Virginia and heading to the NJ area. Want to know why there is not fish for the Ospreys? This is your answer! The ships need to be banned. I understand that this is also the nursery of the East Coast Striped Bass and Rockfish and they are being wiped out.

There are elections coming up in some of these areas. If you live here, talk to the candidates. Try and get this stopped before it is too late.

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

Thank you to the following for their questions, comments, notes, announcements, postings, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, C, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, WX Chasing, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Mary Cheadle, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Boulder County, Seaside Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, Charlo Montana, SK Hideaways, Eastern Imperial Eagles RU, LDG, Eagle Club of Estonia, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, IWS/Explore, BoPH, Window to Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Colonial Beach, Newfoundland Power, PSEG, LRWT, SWFlorida Eagle Cam, William Dunn -Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal FB, and Cornell’s Living Bird.

Loch Arkaig’s chicks will go to Spain!…Monday in Bird World

1 July 2024

Good Morning,

It is 2129 in Winnipeg and this is what my family is watching. Hurricane Beryl. My daughter in law is barracaded in a safe room in their house in Grenada ready to ride out the hurricane which is expected to hit the island with no less than 100 mph winds. Sending good wishes to everyone in its path including the beautiful ospreys that I watch at the mangroves, the egret, the herons, and all the little songbirds around the island.

It is the earliest hurricane of this magnitude to hit the islands. The last major one was Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

We are just holding our breath and waiting for the hurricane to pass and to get some word that all is well.

Moving on to our beloved birds.

Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets for 2024 from the Loch Arkaig 2 nest are heading to Spain. Geemeff sends us the latest posting from The Woodland Trust.

Good evening everyone.

Having kept the situation under review again today it has been decided that the chicks will be removed from the nest tomorrow morning and handed on to the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to be translocated to Spain.

The nest will likely be visited around 10am depending on how the weather turns out. The chicks will be given another good feed on the nest before being taken out of the tree.

I know you will have lots of questions about every last detail of this procedure but I don’t have much of that at the moment.

They will go to a specialised aviary in Inverness where they will be hand fed and looked after over the following days. Beak swabs will be taken to test them for avian flu and some other infections required before they embark overseas. Assuming all is well with that, they will be flown out to Spain on July 10th likely with ten other Scottish chicks.

This programme was already planned and in motion and it has been incredibly fortuitous that the timing fits with the emergence of our crisis on the nest at Arkaig.

We have had a number of tough decisions to take in the last week but actually this last one has been quite easy. There seems to be something wrong with Louis, possibly compounded by poor fishing conditions. The rate at which he has been fishing is just not enough to give the chicks a reasonable chance of survival. Even if they struggled through to the end of the summer it is felt very unlikely they would survive migration, which calls for considerable reserves of energy.

We are fairly certain at least one of the chicks would have died by now had there not been supplementary feeding on Friday and this morning.

When Louis was absent after Wednesday we wanted to at least wait to see if he would return before stepping in. Even though he returned on Saturday, there is something not right with him and we cannot have confidence he will return to form in time to stop the chicks from perishing. Before his disappearance he perched for most of Wednesday after bringing in one fish. Today he perched up for eight hours again after bringing one fish. The family needs more than that if it is to build up enough strength to survive migration.

The window of opportunity to enter the chicks in this translocation is brief and we did not want to be in the position of hanging on longer to see if the situation improved for our family. By removing them we hopefully take the pressure off the adults and allow them to replenish themselves in the coming weeks.

Continuing to feed them ourselves at Loch Arkaig is just not a feasible option. There are risks every time we go in. If the family is not viable on its own efforts its best the chicks get a chance in Spain.

Louis and Dorcha will almost certainly stick around with the nest as the centre of their partnership before migrating a bit earlier than usual so we will hopefully see them for a good while yet.

As I said previously – Scotland currently enjoys a population of beavers, red kites and sea eagles because other countries gifted us some of theirs. It is marvellous that Scotland is giving this gift to Spain and I think we should be proud that the Arkaig pair are going to be part of it. They will be ringed as having fledged in Spain but their highland heritage will be on record. My understanding is they are going to be GPS tagged so we should be able to receive updates about them.

I am sure some people will post for or against what is happening, which is fine, but please don’t get into rows about it. There is absolutely no point. The decision has been made. It was our decision to make and we did so in consultation with osprey experts. I hope that even those who don’t like what is happening will acknowledge that we have given thorough and honest consideration of all the options before coming to this conclusion.

We were driven at all times to do what is best for the ospreys – both our family and the species as a whole. Our two chicks will get a better chance to survive. The species’ range will be increased making it more resilient in the years ahead.

We’ll miss them of course. But then we would have been parting with them in a few weeks time anyway.

And as some of you say at the end of every season – “Don’t be sad to see them go. The journey is their purpose.”

Please enjoy the last few hours of them on the livestream.

We will keep you updated on how things go tomorrow.

Beautiful Dorcha and her chicks. George is certainly right. Without the supplementary fish we could have lost one chick and maybe two. The decision they have taken is a good one. We wish Dorcha and Louis all the best – a fast recovery for our great fisher and good health for all. In years to come we will look forward to hearing about these two breeding in Spain!

Thank you Fish Fairies!

This is Geemeff’s summary for The Woodland Trust for Loch Arkaig:

Daily summary Sunday 30th June 2024

Today brought news of a bittersweet ending to the season. The carefully researched and calmly thought out decision has been made by Woodland Trust Scotland to remove the two chicks and put them into the translocation programme in the care of Roy Dennis. They will ultimately help to found a new breeding population of Ospreys in Spain. Today’s videos have a certain poignancy as we know that this is the chicks’ last evening on the nest – they leave Loch Arkaig tomorrow. However with Louis only able to provide half of one fish today, this is the best outcome for our family. Louis will have time to recover, and he and Dorcha can spend the rest of the season pairbonding before leaving, probably a bit early, on migration, and then we expect to see them return next year to start again. The fish tally effectively ends today at two hundred and fifty four, but doubtless statto Steve will continue to record any subsequent fish brought to the nest by either of the adults. The fish brought by the ‘fish fairies’ ie the licensed raptor experts only counts in that it almost certainly saved the lives of the two chicks. No action on Nest One, weather reasonably settled today with the odd moment of sunshine, but tonight’s forecast is for light rain and light winds, and more rain tomorrow. They’re off to sunny Spain, Viva España!

Woodland Trust Scotland’s statement in full:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15225467

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 00.20.20 (03.19.51); Nest Two 23.23.29 (03.56.16)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/vD6PgwUW6c0 N2 Dominant chick attacks submissive one despite all the fish available 08.16.00

https://youtu.be/i3mLfTb3FCk N2 Intruder or Dorcha grabbing some free fish? Looks like Dorcha 09:16:48

https://youtu.be/DOl24pZXxzo N2 Louis arrives with his first delivery of the day, headless big trout 09.35.33

https://youtu.be/ShR7Kb12D_c N2 Submissive chick gets a calm exclusive feed 19.25.27

https://youtu.be/W7mIANPajv4 N2 The chicks enjoy their last dinner with Dorcha 20.22

https://youtu.be/6Q7UEkwIG5M N2 Chicks spend a calm final evening together with mum 20.58.35

Bonus read – info on the Spanish translocation project which is the outcome for our chicks:

https://lamarinaalta.com/en/llegan-a-su-nueva-casa-en-la-marjal-pego-oliva-doce-polluelos-de-aguila-pescadora-desde-escocia

This is information on the start of the translocation project from Scotland to Spain last year. Thanks, ‘JK’:

Osprey-Reintroduction-Project-Valencia-Birding-Guided-Bird-Watching-in-Spain Download

Finnegan just continues to prove that he is one Super Star Dad. He brought in a fish to challenge everyone.

Finn removed the fish, flew about, returned with it to the perch where he ate before turning it back to Iris – who ate and fed the kids – and then Finn had some more. What a lovely way to end the day in Montana. I cannot imagine a more loving – more perfect – year for Iris.

Mummy is melting at Hellgate Canyon (Iris).

Good Night, Iris.

How much fish does an osprey need to eat per day? Have you been wondering this seeing nests thrive and others fail?

“Three separate studies estimated that an adult Osprey needs approximately 400 g (0.88 lb) of fish meat per day to meet its energy needs.”

All-about-Osprey-hunting-and-feeding Download

The ospreys do come and visit the nest platform at Lake Norman in North Carolina. What a beautiful setting for a nest.

The video of Lady and Dad’s second arriving.

It is difficult to assess how much fish Little Three is getting at Blackbush. Mum often blocks the feeding. The two big ones did get full crops.

The two osplets in the Kurzeme Forest area of Latvia are looking quite good.

Both chicks at Finland’s #1 nest are enjoying some really nice fish dinners on Sunday.

It is a beautiful day on the Muonion nest where the chicks are tiny compared to those at #1.

Three gorgeous babies at Janakkala.

The 26 day report for Rosie and Richmond’s nest in SF.

There are some crab shells on Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home osprey nest. Two surviving osplets are gorgeous, big, fully feathered and will be looking forward to flying soon.

A nest full of beautiful osplets at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn.

What a beautiful view. Kiedler nest #7 and its three chicks. Mum is Blue KX7 and Dad is KM18. They have been bothered by an intruder, a fledgling form Dumfries, over the past couple of days.

Oh, one of the chicks is being a big ‘grumpy’ over on the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Elen. Aran had just delivered a nice fish! Wanting to make sure Little Bob knows who eats first!

Gosh, the trio at Great Bay are looking good, too. So many great nests with three feathered chicks.

‘H’ reports:

6/30 Patuxent River osprey nest: The three gorgeous teenagers (ages 55, 54, 51 days) are preparing themselves for flight. All have been practicing some wingers, even Little. I’ve seen some hop-wingers from the two older chicks, but so far no hovering that I am aware of. Last night, chick #1 was standing to sleep most of the night for the first time.

6/30 Forsythe osprey nest: This nest is unsettled, even though the two remaining chicks are 41 and 40 days old. After Mini and Little died from siblicide/starvation, things started to settle down, and there was peace in the nest for about a week. Then the live stream went down for a few days. When it resumed, we noticed that Big was back to being aggressive, and was preventing Middle from eating, indicating that not enough fish had been brought to the nest during the cam downtime. The aggression is ongoing, and Middle does not get very much to eat. On 6/29, Middle ate for a total of about 11 minutes during 5 meals. 6/30 was a bad day with stormy weather almost all day long. There were two fish delivered, one each from Oscar and Opal. And surprisingly, Opal pulled a tiny fish out of the rail sticks at 1740. Middle ate approximately 31 bites of fish all day. Today should be better for fishing… sunny, high 82 F, winds gusting to 16 mph.

6/30 Bridge Club osprey nest: Almost two weeks ago, chatters of the live stream noticed something was wrong with the middle chick’s left leg. S/he was not able to use the leg. The chick propelled itself using its good leg and its wings to ‘walk’ on the nest. However, its range of movement was only several inches in any direction, and for that reason, some thought it may have been entangled by fishing line. There was a great deal of talk on the chat regarding the chick’s injury, and some viewers contacted the nest owners and various entities that might be able to perform a rescue. In response …the chat was shut down. The osplet was still able to eat as long as Mom fed close by, and she usually did. Mom also tried to provide shade for the chick. It was apparent to viewers that the osplet was never going to be able to fledge, and would eventually die in the nest. Communication was taking place amongst osprey nest-cam-watchers via other chats, that didn’t mind some off-topic conversation, and in Facebook groups. Over the next several days, a few persistent viewers continued to reach out to find someone to help this poor chick that was suffering. On 6/30, the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center arranged a rescue of the osplet, and it was removed from the nest early in the morning. The chick was examined and evaluated. Here is the statement from a representative from the Rescue Center:

“Thank you for your concern. An Osprey chick was rescued at the Bridge Golf Course in Bridgehampton, Long Island NY on Jun 30 at 7am this morning. The chick was then transferred to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue center where it was determined by x-ray showing an open fracture as well as a bone infection that had made the chick’s left leg unusable. X-Rays were shared with two local veterinarians who concurred with the diagnosis. The chick was transported to one of the Vets to be euthanized this afternoon. Given the nature of Ospreys, who need fresh fish for survival, even if amputation was successful, captivity for this migratory sea bird is truly not an option This is of course not the ending to the story that anyone wanted, but many times in nature a compassionate end of life scenario is what is best for both the bird and the bird family remaining in the nest.”

We all wonder what might have been the ending to this story if the nest owners had been proactive ten days ago, before bone infection set in, instead of ignoring the chatters. Perhaps the result would have been the same, but it would have ended the suffering of this young osprey a lot sooner. But, there is also another scenario involved here… Little chick #3 at the Bridge Club nest died of starvation during this period of time, after chick 2’s leg was injured. If chick 2 had been removed from the nest sooner, it is possible that Little 3 may still be alive.

This reminds me of the sad story of the eaglet, DH18, from the Dale Hollow nest in 2023, where refusal to acknowledge responsibility, indecision, and procrastination, lead to the rescue of DH18 that came too late for him to be saved.

‘A’ reports: “July 1: Now there are two eggs on the nest, full incubation starts. Before the second egg was laid, the first egg was uncovered for a total of 30 hours, with 22 hours total on those four cold nights. As we see most of the time, Lady alone incubated last night, leaving in the morning after a couple of early duets, with Dad coming in for his first shift at 6:37am. Both have shared incubation today, with Dad spending longer for 6:17 and Lady 5:22. The eggs were only uncovered for short periods – a total of 21 minutes. Dad returned late afternoon, though with no prey – nothing was brought in today for Lady, though she was away long enough to catch her own. Lady was on the eggs at dark, with Dad roosting close by.”

A correction. The Crooked Lake Nest is in Columbia, Indiana. I have the correct location in our data forms, but I said Iowa in my blog when noting the predation by the GHO of the three osplets. I’m sorry for any confusion.

A second note. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest. They had many storms as we did in Winnipeg. The cities are 8 hours apart but sometimes experience similar weather if the system is large. Viewers were concerned that the camera might have been ‘shut off’ when the weather was terrible and the chicks died. My observer believed that was what happened. As it turns out, the storm took the camera offline because there were outages in the area at the time. It happens here, too. Just want to make that correction. Everyone in Minnesota does a great job monitoring the nests in the area and we live in hope that the only surviving osplet at MN ARB will fledge this year.

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, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J, H, PB’, National Hurricane Centre, Geemeff, George and The Woodland Trust, Vallencia Birding, Montana Osprey Cams, Avian Report, EarthCam, SK Hideaways, Blackbush, LDF, Finnish Osprey Foundation, SF Bay Ospreys, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Dyfi Osprey Project, Kielder Forest Nest 7, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Great Bay, Patuxent River Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Bridge Golf Club, and Sydney Sea Eagle Cam..

Category Archives: Welsh ospreys

Moraine chick knocked off nest, fledge at Glaslyn…Sunday in Bird World

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Saturday in Bird World

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Sadness at Audubon Boathouse…Tuesday in Bird World

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Fledges at Dyfi…Monday in Bird World

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Friday in Bird World

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Ringing, lots of ringing…Wednesday in Bird World

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Chicks arrived safely…Tuesday in Bird World

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Loch Arkaig’s chicks will go to Spain!…Monday in Bird World

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