Be sure to read all the way down. There is some terrific news waiting for you today.
Oh, Friday started out with a trip to the wildlife rehabilitation centre for this little fellow. The baby is one of the Blue Jays with a nest in a tree across the lane. He was in the garden trying to eat a cheesy dog. He appears to have a problem with one eye, and his tail seems to have some issues as it was turned to the side, not straight. He could not fly. The rehabilitation centre said they would happily take him into care as they agreed on both issues after seeing a photograph. Send him good wishes!
It is not clear what caused the issues/injuries or how he will do but it was unsafe for him to be hopping around on the ground with the feral cats and the hawk about.
Next was a visit to check on the American White Pelicans at Lockport. There were a few there along with about forty Double-crested Cormorants on the other side of the dam. (Taken with iPhone at a great distance so not the best!)
Since it is now the 10th of August, the Pelicans will be making their move to go south in about a month or five weeks.
Bird World is fairly quiet. It is a good thing. As the weeks went by ‘H’ and I got wearier and wearier and at times just couldn’t wait for osprey season to end.
I was very grateful for a comment by ‘DV’ on my blog post on FB. They write: “Discussing the rescue of the chick of Saaksilive #4 nest on the chat of #1 nest, I thanked them for responding so quickly, and was told, “It’s in the law in Finland, you need to help an animal who can’t keep up or is struggling”. In view of the procrastination of the ‘permission authority’ in the Colonial Beach rescue, maybe we should do something about such a law, here. No wonder Finland is rated the ‘happiest’ country in the world….they seem to be the most sensible, as well.”
What do you think about trying to get the laws changed for immediate intervention like they do in Finland in Cobey’s name? I am certainly willing to lend a hand to try and get the archaic Bird Migration laws changed in North America – and attitudes around the world. Thank you ‘DV’.
The person who might be able to help is:
Mr. Jerome Ford, Assistant Director, Migratory Birds Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. Via Email: jerome_ford@fws.gov
Paraphrased from a letter regarding the Dale Hollow Nest to Ford in 2023: Citing article 50.CFR.22.76-22.80 of the Migratory Bird Act, a “take” anticipates a rehabilitation permit will authorize the rescue, or take, and further expects the temporary possession of and/or transportation of an eagle and/or eaglet to an authorized and permitted rehabilitation facility. The guidance from USFWS advises take permits will not be issued to address “interference with the natural course of events at the eagle nest”, however, a take would be authorized if such a take “is necessary to protect an interest in a particular locality. The Dale Hollow situation had to do with harm done to the eaglet through manmade materials – fishing line. In the instance of Colonial Bay and other nests in the region, I believe it can be argued that the lack of restrictions on the taking of Menhaden hgas caused the ospreys to starve to death. That coupled with an extreme heat situation – also caused by human activity – should be grounds for an emergency ‘take’ in the instance of starvation, etc. Something can be argued. Evidence can be gathered.
That adorable Dorsett Hobby is about to fledge. What a darling.
Nox (Annie and Archie’s 4th hatch that got himself into a bit of mischief has some company).
Tuesday was a special day for our Heidi (aka ‘H’) as she got to Mispillion Harbour. She runs the Mispillion Harbour Osprey Nest FB group and reports on Warren and Della whose platform is at the DuPont Centre.
Richmond and Rosie’s two chicks have now fledged. Pax on July 24th and Tulley on 7 August.
The late Toni Costello and I used to banter back and forth about which were the most beautiful juveniles of the raptors. Her pick was always the White-bellied Sea Eagles. They sure are cute as little bobbleheads, too.
Antali isn’t a little fuzz ball any longer and is getting those wings working towards fledging. Iris is such a proud Mamma.
Antali is one handsome boy with that pure white chest just like Finnegans’.
Iris just looks so proud.
The Dyfi Osprey Project posted a video of Idris delivering a fish and all of the chaos ensuing when the fledglings each want it! It was on the Dyfi Osprey Project FB page. Here are a few screen captures. There is no love lost when it comes to a much wanted fish and fledgling siblings. Reminds me of Ervie, Bazza, and Falkey.
In New Zealand, the Royal Cam chicks were ringed.
Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.
Daily summary Friday 9th August 2024
Same as yesterday – except it was some Great Tits and Coal Tits taking advantage of the absence of Ospreys and spending time on Nest One. Nest Two had zero activity again. However, we did get some news and a photo of 1JW in Valencia – he’s doing well and enjoying exploring the Pego Oliva marshland, link below. The rain and wind continued as forecast today, with thundery showers expected overnight changing to light rain showers tomorrow. Both nest cams went down shortly before 21.00 and are still down now (23.45).
Season highlights for the Lodze Bociany Black Storks in Poland.
The trio at Blackbush at Old Tracadie wishing and hoping for fish.
At Charlo, Montana, C16 is really working its wings. Fledge is near. The chick ate all the fish Charlie brought in but lost the tail over the edge – and didn’t share a morsel with Mum Lola.
Two beautiful well-fed osplets at the Newfoundland Power platform in Snow Lane. Mum Hope and Beaumont have done a commendable job this season!
If your pet is treated for fleas and then gets to have a swim in a pond, a river, a stream, or a lake, the toxins in the treatment are killing wildlife.
The Storks are on the move, both Black and White -. This Polish stork is already in Egypt.
I promised to include some of the memories that were forgotten with the first listing. Have some more smiles!
‘B’: “hi Mary Ann — Thanks for compiling the wonderful list of birds and nests and events that made us all smile. There are so many things that have touched the followers of your blog and these nests, and we all clearly share many of the same happy experiences. If there is one that I kick myself for not remembering it is the SW Florida nest of M15 and his new mate F23 and their eaglet E23. It was so nice to see life go on for M15 with a wonderful new mate and the lively and joy-inspiring E23. I apologize to M15 for totally forgetting them when my eagle attention moved on to the midwest and western eagles — it’s inexcusable!
SE31 also definitely makes my list, and I even thought of him, but it was so long ago that I thought the fledge and remaining in the area must have all been before the first of this year.. It brought so much joy to see one of Lady and Dad’s sea eagles be able to stay in the area and remain with parents for a very reasonable amount of time. I still am sad (and mad) about the chick of several years ago who was euthanized after she had worked so hard to fledge in spite of their injured leg. I forget the number — SE26 or 25?
And I agree with “L” that pictures and stories of your “girls” — Missey, Hope, Calico, and Hugo Yugo — and your garden visitors always bring a smile.”
‘R’: “Thank you for all the memories today. Sorry I did not get my email to you sooner, my fav was Flaco 🦉🥲❤️ and of course, Iris’s prayers being answered by Finn 💕💞”
‘J’ : “Just read the newsletter and it made me smile, laugh out loud and cry. What a wonderful (can’t think of the correct word, “habit”) to do an “what made you smile” to end the season.
I thought of two more moments that really made me laugh.
M15, F23 and E23 all down by the pond. E23 flew away, both parents followed him with their heads, then, at the same time, lowered their heads and looked at each other. Precious!
Made me think of when Harriet and M15 were perched next to each other, Harriet looking at E15 from behind M15, and someone captioned it “honey, what are we going to do about our kid?” (that didn’t want to leave).
The other moment was Archie feeding his chick, trying to be all stealthy and then scampering out of there before Annie could have a go at him.
I have more great moments to share:
On the way back from the pond I watched a beautiful (as opposed to mangy and thin, which often is the case in the city) fox.
Unfortunately when I had no camera with me, all four swallow chicks were on the nest, next to each other and all four looking out. So my view were 4 little faces in a row. MELT!
Yesterday just before I left the cemetery, on the bench were I usually take off/pull on my shoes, was a squirrel eating a eh, what’s the word, pine cone? He made rapid work of it. Beautiful bushy tail, he was very small, so I think it was a baby.
I went to a hardware store that also sells garden stuff, and it always makes me smile that birds are flying about inside. But this time I laughed out loud, to see a pigeon stand in front of a sack with bird feed. I have no doubt that he’d managed to open it.”
‘V’: “OMG. I forgot M15 and his new lady! How could that happen?”
A miracle? Is it possible that these are the two osplets from Cowlitz PUD? Thanks, ‘PB’.
No words from ‘H’ this morning. We all remember last year and the intruders at Fortis-Exshaw with Jasper and Banff.
The intruder is now on the perch.
And at Osoyoos!
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to everyone who sent a comment, a note, to others for their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘AM, AMW, B, Geemeff, J, H, PR, RP, V’, SK Hideaways, California Raptor Centre, Heidi McGrue, SF Osprey Golden Gate Audubon, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, Dyfi Osprey Project, Sharon Dunne, Lady Hawk, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Polish Osprey Cam Highlights, Blackbush at Old Tracerie, Charlo Montana, Newfoundland Power, The Guardian, SOS Tesla-Save the White Storks, Raindancer Wild Bird Rescue, Fortis Exshaw, and Osoyoos Ospreys.
It is grey and very windy today. The only animals in the garden are Dyson and her kits waiting for me to put out new peanuts. Some of the larger container pots of tomatoes were blown over during the night and I have a thick jumper on with wool socks this morning. It feels like fall!
We hope you enjoyed a little trip down memory lane with the events at the nests and the birds that gave us hope and smiles so far during the 2023-24 breeding season. I enjoyed reading every list that you sent! Thank you again. Some of you have sent in more memories than reading the lists triggered. I will include a mini-listing tomorrow or the next day. I am so happy that you enjoyed that post. If you forgot someone, feel free to tell me.
‘H’ sent me a note saying little Cobey at Colonial Beach was rescued. Tears. Thank you to the owner of the cam who persisted in requesting help, to the DWR who came to the rescue, and to Dominion Energy, which brought in the bucket truck to help get little Cobey down. Cobey’s condition was described as ’emaciated’.
And her report: “8/7 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This morning David delivered a partial fish to Cobey at 1131, and he also chased away an intruder. Cobey worked on the fish on and off for a couple of hours before David removed it, thinking that Cobey was done with the fish. Mom Betty had been missing for over four days. And, David was not providing enough fish, nor was he feeding his 44-day-old youngster, Cobey. Cobey had to take a crash course on self-feeding the past few days. But, Cobey wasn’t getting enough to eat, and he was declining. Everyone knew it. The weather forecast was predicting a few stormy days, and Cobey would not have had any protection from the weather. The nest owner continued to consult with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and the earlier decision to not intervene was reversed. We were notified on the chat at around 1430, and within a half hour, we saw the bucket being raised and someone with gloved hands reaching across the nest for Cobey. Many of us were crying. It was a miracle. We owe a debt of gratitude to Colonial Beach Osprey Nest Cam, and VA DWR, that Cobey now has a chance to live. Cobey was taken to Alton’s Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, and will be under the care of Mr. Harley Thomas White. “Now, you listen to Mr. White, Cobey, and do what you’re told… and he will make you better… And one day you will fly.”
Screen captures from a video Heidi posted on FB of the rescue:
Harley Thomas White is caring for Cobey. He made a fish gravy and fed Cobey some fish pieces, emphasising Cobey’s critical condition. Cobey is thin and weak. There will be daily updates. These images came from a video on the website of Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc. Check out Harley Thomas White’s FB page for the videos and updates for Cobey as well as the website of the centre. (Want to show your support for this rescue from the nest? Have a spare tenner? I bet they would appreciate it).
WordPress Media Storage. Once again, I have hit 99.95% of my storage capacity. Tuesday afternoon, I spent some time deleting educational and information files, videos, and images from posts in 2022 and 2023 to make room for Wednesday’s post. I will gradually go back through the Memorial Walls and try to leave the single best image for the deceased bird instead of including several. Moving forward, you will see that I am putting in links to articles and videos instead of inserting the video or the PDF file. It all goes to saving space. I pay the top subscription fee for WordPress, and they will not sell me any more storage, so this is the only alternative I have discovered. There will be images, but fewer of them, sadly. If you know any secrets to getting around this issue, please let me know!
I am getting extremely excited about the upcoming trip to Nova Scotia. There are three reasons for this. You might recall that we were in Toronto a few weeks ago. It was a trial run for a longer vacation. Two years ago my husband (at the age of 63) began having memory issues. This was followed by hallucinations beginning in March 2023. All the while, I could not get a doctor! With the help of an old friend, we were able to see a specialist in December of 2023. That visit, MRIs and trips to a neurologist confirmed a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. Some of you might remember that the American comedian Robin Williams had LBD. It is a terrible illness – not the memory issues. They come and go and never disappear like those who have Alzheimers, but it is the hallucinations that are tormenting. Thankfully, the pharmaceutical cocktail Don is taking is helping, and after Toronto, we got the green light to travel a little further and stay a little longer. (Please do not worry or fret. Believe it or not, we are doing great. Being outside on long walks fits me perfectly and it is also good for those with dementia. Nature heals and changes everything! We are living a good life – and enjoying every moment that we can). We are excited to return to a place we called home for so long but haven’t seen for 26 years. The second thing is that Nova Scotia is a birder’s paradise. While we will miss seeing the osprey chicks in the nest with the adults because they have now fledged, we hope to see them fishing and getting strong before they leave on their migration. We also hope to look out our windows in the morning and see Bald Eagles flying and get to add some shorebirds and waterfowl to our life lists. Meeting the Dennis family, who organised people throughout the province to observe and record the osprey nests, will be an honour. Last, luck found us the perfect place to stay. It is an Animal Sanctuary for rescued farm animals – pigs, goats, cows, etc. The entire property is Vegan, and we will be staying in a new apartment above a gallery. Across a quiet country road is the estuary where the eagles fly and the shorebirds scurry. What a wonderful change from living in the middle of a growing Prairie city! We are even hoping to ride bicycles!
‘CG’ reports on the search for Blue at HWF-BBCentral nest in Boundary Bay, British Columbia: “No reports yesterday of hearing Blue or the parents after Blue left the nest. Also, the parents were not seen later in the day. Normally, Mere would come back to the nest and be perched above from around dinner time until Blue was tucked in for the night. At 1251 hours today a parent was seen on a post near the water. Departed.”
In the United Kingdom, the fledging of two White-tail eaglets is causing a stir.
Beaver kits in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland are also putting smiles on the faces of those who worked so hard on their reintroduction. You may be aware that beaver activity is essential to establishing thriving wetlands and biodiversity.
In Finland, all chicks at Saaksilvie #1 have flown.
USU is on the nest with Mum at nest #4 in Finland. The status of its wing is unclear or what might happen to the chick.
Beautiful osplets in Latvia waiting to fly.
Hollywood movie crew members watch Iris as she feeds her chicks. They should be considering making a movie of her life! Sum-eh fledged and returned to the nest after practising flying. She is flying around the parking lot and Dr Green reported she had also gone up and down the river. Antali is yet to fledge. S/he is five days younger than Sum-eh.
‘A’ comments: “When a lovely big fish is brought in at around 16:55, the only one home is Antali, who does not try to claim the fish or self-feed. Iris, in response to the constant begging for fish, soon begins feeding Antali. who already has a healthy crop. He can see Finn and/or Sumeh flying above – watching from below but not at all alarmed as he would be were the osprey above an intruder. Sumeh flies in at about 16:59, eager for fish. Iris obliges. She feeds both osplets, but Sumeh is hungrier and more demanding, so she is given more food. This is a very big fish – there is plenty for the whole family. By 17:39 Iris is feeding primarily herself, although occasionally, one of the osplets (usually Antali at this stage of the feeding) decides one more bite could just fit. Dad arrives just before 18:04. Sumeh is closely studying the leftover fish mum is standing on. Iris is not pleased at the arrival of Finn, although he has BYO fish. It looks like a chunk of fish but may be something of the smaller variety. Finn takes it to the perch – the remainder of the earlier fish is still on the nest (about half of the fish) so there is still another meal for Iris and the kids.”
Beautiful osplet at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on a cloudy day. Waiting to fly. The chick has officially ‘perched’.
It really is not a coincidence that so many ospreys are dying in the Chesapeake Bay area. The extreme heat arrived, and there was no fish to hydrate the ospreys. Adults and chicks are being found dead. It is interesting to note that the Pacific Northwest had the extreme heat – even hotter in places – as did Iris – and the deaths were much less. So think about the lack of fish! The overfishing of the Menhaden needs to stop, and so does the rescue of starving osplets. We need a healthy population of fish hawks.
Mark Avery reminds us: “The Inglorious 12th – the start of the grouse shooting season is approaching. It’s one of the few issues that brings animal welfare, climate change, nature conservation and law enforcement together so clearly.” So what is the Inglorious 12th those that do not live in the UK ask? (12 August)
PETA UK says: “Traditionally, the Glorious Twelfth – or the “Inglorious Twelfth”, as it should rightly be named – marks the start of the red grouse shooting season. But this year, many estates have been forced to delay or even cancel it after human-induced climate change saw unseasonably hard sleet and cold rain, resulting in fewer birds for hunters to blast out of the sky…About 700,000 red grouse will be killed between now and December. According to a report by the League Against Cruel Sports, 40% of birds shot are wounded rather than being killed outright, causing intense and prolonged suffering. Grouse are low-flying and difficult to shoot cleanly, and hunters need no formal training or competence with a gun to go on a shoot – it’s a free-for-all. These are just a couple of reasons why this barbaric “sport” should be banned.
Grouse are charming, sensitive birds who are devoted parents to their chicks. They deserve better than being killed in cold blood for someone’s twisted idea of entertainment. And it’s not just the grouse who suffer at the hands of the hunters. To preserve the interests of their own sick pleasure, hunters remove the grouse’s natural predators, meaning foxes, stoats, weasels, squirrels, and birds like hawks, falcons, owls, hen harriers, and eagles are trapped, poisoned, or shot or their nests are destroyed.
All this cruelty and destruction so that a tiny minority of bloodthirsty people can wander through the British countryside gunning down sentient animals – it’s a senseless massacre, not a hobby.”
When you sibling wants your other slipper!
In a comment to a post about migration and if the males ever leave a chick on the nest (the question was in regard to nest #4 in Finland where the sole surviving osplet appears to have a wing injury), the author of Belle’s Journey and many papers on Osprey behaviour and, in particular, migration, Rob Bierregaard says: “Adult females almost always leave first, usually a week or two before the males. In the northeastern US, it’s usually mid-August for females and the first 2 weeks of September for the males and young. This information is based on 107 satellite-tagged birds, so I know when birds start migrating, as opposed to leaving the nest and hanging around somewhere, which they’ll do, especially after a nest fails. When young leave the nest, they are not necessarily starting their migration. Some wander all over the place and and delay the start of their migration until, exceptionally, November. I had one young from Martha’s Vineyard, an Island off the east coast of Massachusetts, wander 1,200 miles all the way to the Great Lakes! I had one male linger into late September when a young couldn’t get its act together and was constantly on the nest begging. The male finally gave up and left before the young did.”
The Eurasian Hobby in Dorsett is becoming a Hobby instead of a ‘baby chick’. Don’t you just love those strong legs of the falcons?!
Geemeff sends both a happy and sad story of Ospreys at the Cape which has grown from a few pairs to now over 500 they estimate.
Geemeff also sends the daily summary from Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Wednesday 7th August 2024
No action whatsoever today, not even a visit from a little bird. It’s not yet the middle of August, but with night cam switching on ever closer to 10pm and staying on until almost 5am, and no chicks flying around demanding fish from Louis, the season feels suspiciously like it’s over for this year. Affric152 and Prince should still be around as they have a young fledgling to look after, and with luck we might even see their chick testing his wings on or near one of the cam nests. Garry LV0 was the last one to leave last year so perhaps he’ll do that this year too but it does seem as if the star pair, Louis & Dorcha, have already headed south. With the weather being wet and windy today, and more of the same forecast for the next ten days, moving south seems the sensible thing to do.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.21.45 (04.41.53); Nest Two 22.14.31 (04.49.20)
Today’s videos: none – not even a visit from a little bird!
Bonus read – a free ebook by W. H. Majoros Season with the Osprey:
The wind appeared to be strong at the Port Lincoln barge. Both Mum and Dad were tucked in and then Dad flew off and left Mum hoping he was going to bring her a nice big fish for brekkie.
Jackie and Shadow were at the nest for morning chortles on Wednesday.
Ceramic nests save the life of little seabirds and they are coming to Alcatraz to save birds. Thanks, ‘EJ’ – a very engaging story of people figuring out solutions.
But this is good news. It is time for some serious consideration about taking all the Menhaden that keep our ospreys alive (and other birds and mammals).
Atlantic menhaden board votes to study more restrictions on controversial Chesapeake Bay fishery
The measure passed this week is meant to help protect birds and fish that rely on menhaden as a key food source. But researchers say more data is needed to understand the dynamics in the bay.
I really hope that my readers living in this area and loving the Osprey will speak up – and anyone else that feels it is important for Osprey to have fish to eat! The commercial fishing of Menhaden has to stop – inside and outside of the Chesapeake Bay.
‘H’ reports:
8/7 Osoyoos osprey nest: Unless I missed one, it seems that there were only 4 fish brought to the nest, all delivered by Olsen. There were two good size fish from which Soo provided nice feedings. And, the two very small fish were acquired by Chick 1. Chick 2 was doing much better with his wingercizing today. At 1749, Chick 2 was so high that s/he was almost completely out of view for a second. Keep exercising those wings #2! Weather forecast for 8/8: Partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 92F/33C, light winds.
8/7 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Everything is going well for Johnny, June and 54-day-old ‘Fen’. Today was the first day in a few weeks that June did not catch a large striped bass, but the wind and rain may have had something to do with that. Fen was wingercizing with some nice hops today.
8/7 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: There was another fledge today. Due to the dirty camera, it is still difficult to see details of the birds. But, at 1200, we believe that chick 2, named Peyto, fledged at 54 days of age. Peyto landed on the nest perch at 1240, and dropped to the nest when a fish arrived. Congratulations Peyto!
A wee peak at WBSE 33 and 34. They always look like fluffy little snow people to me.
Hugo Yugo wishes everyone the best Thursday (or Friday) depending on where you live. She is a sleepy girl waiting to get her eyes cleaned, poor thing.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, CG, EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB, RP’, Heidi McGrue and the Joy of Ospreys, Henry Thomas White and Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc., Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, Sea Eagle England, Cairngorms National Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Cams, LDF, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey Cam, Chesapeake Mermaid, OpenVerse, PETA UK, Dyfi Osprey Project, SK Hideaways, CBS News, SFStandard, The New York Times, Mark Avery, Brian Collins and Menhaden- Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Osoyoos Ospreys, Fenwick Island, and Fortis Exshaw.
A year ago we were running a couple of blocks to feed Calico and any living kittens that we couldn’t see. We had ordered a GPS tracker then, and when we take our walks now, we are reminded of the worry and anxiety of those days. This is Calico and her only surviving kitten, Baby Hope, on 6 September 2023, two days after Baby Hope came to join us. Calico had come inside a week earlier. Hope came to the feral feeder…it was such a joyful day.
The woman who helped me told me to leave Baby Hope in the kennel, alone, for six days. I couldn’t. She needed to be with Mamma. They continue to be inseparable. The joy that kitten had when she saw her mother and dear Calico, too, – well, who says animals do not have emotions?
Double Calicos = Double Happiness.
November 2023.
March 2024.
And then there are the Crows. Such beautiful intelligent birds. The fledglings are getting braver. They are coming to the bird baths more often and they are eating at the big table feeder.
We cannot forget the baby Blue Jays. They are sooooooo adorable. This one reminds me of the littlest one last summer. The babies have their crests. The adults are molting and look ragged – an easy way to tell them apart. Every day I wake up and feel blessed by having these wonderful garden animals and ‘The Girls’ in my life.
Today is Owl Awareness Day! Many of you know how I feel about owls when they decide to have an osplet for lunch. Poisons should not be used – ever. Spread the word -DO NOT USE RODENTICIDES!
With the destruction of habitat and the dwindling number of small mammals, rats and mice become food. If they are poisoned, they move slowly and the raptors catch them. It can kill them or their chicks. So sad. We have seen this happen. I know you remember the nests! Of course they also kill domestic pets such as cats who also catch mice and rats.
Dr Green is in the hide on the lift taking photos of Iris and her family. He hasn’t done this since 2018.
There were concerns when Antali was trying to pass a pellet early Saturday, but all is OK. The chicks are eating well and getting huge crops. Thanks for the close-ups, cam op!
I cannot imagine waking up and not seeing Iris and her babies – and Finn, too, and that day is coming in 5 weeks or less.
Fledges Saturday at Island Beach State Park and Blackbush Old Tracerie.
There was also a fledge at nest 10 in Kielder Forest. It was the young male. He took off and did a quick return. Kielder cannot confirm this was his maiden flight but it probably is.
Oh, goodness, there’s a fledge at Osoyoos, too. I’m shedding tears over this one. Heidi will report it in full, but we have lifted off in a year when many feared we would lose all three chicks to extreme heat and not enough fish. In the end, it appears the nest will only lose one chick, Little. Congratulations, Soo and Olsen—you did it!
‘H’ reports:
8/3 Osoyoos osprey nest: Great news: At 57 days of age, Chick #1 fledged at 0533, and made a nice landing back on the nest less than two minutes later. Chick 2’s head was on a swivel going round and round, as he stood in the nest and watched his sibling flying. Chick 1 had performed some very high hovers yesterday, so the fledge was not unexpected. Olsen delivered a small whole fish at 0620 and Chick 1 grabbed it and gobbled it down. After his breakfast, Chick 1 took a few more short flights. At 0753 Olsen dropped off a large partial fish, and Soo fed both osplets for 45 minutes. There was still some fish left, but the chicks both walked away, so Soo was able to finish the fish herself. Olsen also brought some nice-sized fish at 0927 and 1024, and Soo fed both siblings. Then the cam went offline for 4.5 hours. After the live stream resumed, we saw Olsen deliver a small fish, and Soo fed Chick 2. Chick 1 didn’t even approach the chow line. I did not see any more fish delivered today. The high temp today was 101 F, and Olsen had done a great job fishing despite the heat. Unless I have missed it at some point, I don’t believe Chick 2 has performed any hovering as yet. Weather forecast for 8/4: partly cloudy with smoky air, high temp 95F/35C, winds gusting to 17 mph.
8/3-8/4 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This is a sad story. The last time 41-day-old Cobey ate well was on Thursday. There were no fish brought to the nest on Friday. On Saturday, Betty left the nest at 0935, and she did not return. David dropped off a medium-sized headless fish at 0957, and he left. Cobey had not previously done any significant self-feeding, but he was ravenous and he tore into the fish. He was doing a pretty good job of pulling off fish bits. Cobey ate the fish off and on over the next several hours. His efforts were tiring, and he would have to take breaks to rest. It appeared as though Cobey managed to eat all but the tail of that fish. There were no other fish brought to the nest for the rest of the day. At 1915 David stopped at the nest for just a minute, and he did have a crop. Poor lil Cobey was fish-begging, and David left. We hoped that David would return with a fish…but he didn’t. Cobey had been left alone for 9.5 hours on Friday, but Betty eventually did return. The weather was warm on 8/3 (90 F), and there was a moderate breeze, but we had known Betty to have success fishing in much more adverse weather. On 8/4, David arrived at the nest at 0724 with a headless fish. After Cobey briefly chatted with his Dad, he started to eat. The fish seems to be tough, and Cobey is expending a lot of energy. We are praying that Betty is safe, and we are praying for her to return to the nest. Cobey needs a proper Mom-feeding at this point. Weather forecast for 8/4: partly cloudy, high temp 88, winds gusting to 14 mph.
The only surviving osplet out of four at McEuen Park is gaining wing strength flying from platform to platform.
Female osprey Goldie seems to be able to care for the three osplets despite her mate Kurt’s MIA and the heat in the area.
I wonder how many birds are electocuted each day because of hydro poles that have not been mitigated to protect them? This poor darling caught on fire and then, hitting dry grass, started a fire.
The situation really needs to change if the Ospreys in the region of the Omega Menhaden trawling are to survive.
Please urge people to watch their speed. Their are so many fledglings and many get hit by cars. So sad.
Thunder and Akecheta were spending some time at home on Saturday – the West End nest of Catalina Island.
Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Saturday 3rd August 2024
No Ospreys seen on either Nest One or Nest Two today, but LizB pulled off a coup by getting clear footage of the resident female at Bunarkaig and yes, her video confirms what’s been suspected for some time – it’s Affric 152. Link to her video in the bonus section. Nest One had some little songbird visitors and Nest Two had bigger and less melodious visitors when some Hoodies arrived for a fruitless check for fish scraps. It was a dreich day with rain on and off throughout the day, and more rain expected tonight and tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.26.50 (04.24.39); Nest Two 22.25.18 (04.34.28)
Top Flatt chick required a supplementary feeding today and the NZ DOC rangers were there to help.
Clark PUD fledgling back on the nest resting and waiting for fish.
Fledgling waiting at Cowlitz PUD, too. These images are important because our flying babies lived for another day!
The Only Bob at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has the most beautiful wings. Flying soon.
Still showing up at Poole Harbour. Six fish arrived at the nest on Saturday. Mum helped deliver some, too.
Blue NC0 looks out over the Loch of the Lowes. Her life changed completely this year. Her dear Laddie LM12 was killed and her precious eggs were kicked out of the nest. The good thing – no chicks hatched, no chicks starved. Blue NC0 seems to have kept her nest and maybe she has a new mate. We will see next spring.
One chick left to fledge at Collins Marsh. The other two continue to return – as they should – for fish and rest.
The only surviving chick at Charlo Montana is getting antsy with those wings. I wonder which will fly first – Sut-eh or the chick at Charlo?
River with a full crop at Sandpoint!
Family portrait at the LDF Osprey nest in Kurzeme.
Hen Harriers are one of the most gorgeous raptors. Two more have been killed, and investigations are underway. Sadly, one of those is Susie. You might remember that I reported on her nest of chicks – five of them. An individual stomped on them til they died. It is worth reading about these amazing raptors that make their nests on the ground. I have mentioned Bowland Beth and A Hen Harrier’s Year. Both are excellent.
Little Taquito is getting feathers. Thanks, ‘J’ for the video capture.
The camera at Boundary Bay is frozen at 0901. On Saturday Blue had a remarkable ‘ps’.
At the Captiva Osprey nest, Jack was seen at least twice. Poor Dad. Easy to recognize. He still has the spike in his leg but he appears to be doing well.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, questions, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J, MP, PB’, RATS, Hellgate Osprey, Montana Osprey Project, Kielder Forest, Osoyoos, Colonial Beach, Pam Breci, castanet.net, wavy.com, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal FB, Red-tail Hawk Tales, IWS/Explore, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Lady Hawk, Clark PUD, Cowlitz PUD, MN-LA, BoPH, Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Collins Marsh, Charlo Montana, Sandpoint Ospreys, LDF, Raptor Persecution UK, BirdWatch Ireland, Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, and HWF BBCentral Forum.
Thank you so much for all your notes and photographs and news! I really do appreciate it and I love hearing from you. I might not be able to answer back straight away, but I will!
It is that time of year when overlooked nests are being entered into our data forms and when fledges and deaths continue to have to be inserted. Today, after thinking we had anything and everything that could predate an Osprey, we discovered that Canada Geese ate the eggs of one nest in Maryland. Thankfully, ‘H’ is much better at working magic with this programme that Claudio designed and we now have a category of Predation – Other. We can fill in the odd happenings. I have 43 more nests – and at least 86 more eggs/chicks – to put in the forms. So far, 37% of all osprey eggs have either failed to hatch or the chicks have died. Siblicide still accounts for the seond highest causes after DNH, then predation by owls at 11% and weather events at 11%. I did note a section ‘indirectly by humans’ and it seems to be that these weather events might fall under that as well. If we can get the authorities to recognize human caused climate change, then we might convince them to help with our ospreys. I note that a list was growing under a posting of one FB group – a wish list that included: woven and wired rails like the good folks at Glaslyn do for Aran and Elen, netting below the nest to catch chicks that fall over the edge, predator baffles, stocked ponds, strobe lights and grates to try to ward off predators such as owls and eagles, intervention with fish when required, etc. These were thoughtful listings of ways that we can help without breaking the bank. Is it too much to ask?
Speaking of stocked ponds, Anne-Marie was able to establish that the lake where Olsen is fishing has lots of fish. With the heat those fish have gone deep and he is not able to catch them as Ospreys only go less than a metre deep in their dives.
Some images of the not so wetlands yesterday. Despite the rain, the reeds seem to have taken over lots of the area.
Can you find the eagle’s nest? It is difficult with all the foliage.
It is 1939 Thursday evening and the sun is beginning to get low in the West. The day was not as hot as it has been, but it was warm enough and quite humid still. The birds have been busy coming and going. I have noticed that there has been not so many Blue Jays and my neighbour came to tell me that the local hawk got 2 of them. I took a breath. Everyone has to eat.
I really did think that there was something wrong with Hugo Yugo when I saw her.
Why would a cat nudge herself between two pillows and a hot cover on a hot day in a glass room? I have no idea. It is possible that she was hiding from Baby Hope because a few minutes later she was tearing all over the house!
Thankfully, nothing has happened to the Crows. Can you tell I adore these characters? They rest on my backlane neighbour’s shed. He said that even their bellies are covered with soft down.
Everything is getting quiet. Most of the birds are going to their roosting spots for the night. Hugo Yugo is fixated on a fly that has gotten into the house and now Baby Hope is joining her. No doubt they will have quite the time tonight chasing it and knocking things over in the meantime.
‘PB’ clicked on the McEuen Osprey nest feed just in time to catch Mum delivering a monster fish for her and the baby! 25 C so a bit cooler for them on Thursday. The high heat will return on Wednesday.
The triplets at the Osprey Centre in Australia are doing well.
Iris and her chicks survived the storm that raged through Missoula Wednesday night, but many nests were not so lucky. ‘PB’ informs me that Louis and Starr’s chicks are alright. Their nest is at the Baseball Park or near to it. (They have moved house).
In fact, Louis and Starr’s three chicks have fledged and there are five ospreys flying around the ball park. This is fantastic. Maybe both of these nests by the Clarke-Fork River in Missoula will fledge all of their chicks. That would really be something this year!
Iris is going to have a lot to put in her 2024 diary. Finding Finn, having babies, sweltering heat and then hurricane-force winds. Regardless, Finn just keeps bringing in the fish.
Beautiful Iris.
Finn and Iris have obviously been talking about the need for some small fish to come on the nest so the kids can start to self-feed! Or did they? Finn: ‘Iris, where are you? I don’t feed chicks!!!!!!!!!!’
‘Is it OK for this one to have the whole fish?’ Check out the look on Finnegan’s face.
Tug-o-war with Mum who arrives just in time.
Of course, Iris took charge. She will make sure that both chicks get fish in the heat and storms.
I guess Iris got tired of waiting for Finn to bring in a big fish so she went out and got her own for her and the kids!!!!!!!
Rest assured now that Iris is fishing no one is going to go hungry on this nest. Her first two chicks in six years. She isn’t going to let them die of starvation or Finn slowing down.
Iris has been feeding the chicks and herself for several hours. Finn is on the perch. I wonder what he is thinking?
Three hours into the feeding. Isn’t Iris getting tired? No. She is making sure that there will be no bullying from older to younger and that her and the chicks are well fed. I wonder if there is anything left if she will share with Finn?
Don’t you love the way that Iris pulls back the skin revealing the soft fish flesh? It is much easier to feed the chicks this way!
Finnegan came in with a late fish. ‘PB says it wasn’t as big as Iris’s but big enough to keep these babies well fed for the night!
‘H’ is going to be reporting on Osoyoos, but right now there is a huge fish on that nest and I hope that everyone eats and gets full.
The breeding programme for Hen Harriers in Scotland is doing well. The question is – can we keep the gamekeepers from shooting them? If you do not know about these amazing raptors, I am including some great books below this blog by Raptor Persecution UK.
I posted these audio stories of the plight of the hen harrier last year. I want to do that again for those of you that might not have found my blog then or who didn’t have time to listen. This will give you a really good idea of why the attempts to increase the population of these gorgeous raptors is ongoing and the challenges that everyone faces.
So please listen! You also get an explanation of the Inglorious 12th of August which is coming up in three weeks. I hope you understand why stomping on a nest of innocent Hen Harrier chicks makes me ill and causes my anxiety to rise. The wealthy pay 1000s of GBP per day to shoot grouse but they also stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and spend money in the villages. The fines and punishments mean nothing because killing birds is big business with the Driven Grouse Moors seen to be a ‘part of traditional Britain’ – which they are. We live in the 21st century and our attitudes towards killing have changed since medieval times.
There are three episodes. Educate yourself and listen to all of them. Imagine the vast expanse of Scotland because this is where this happens.
This is my favourite book. It gives us a ‘true’ insight of the live of a Hen Harrier – from hatch – to being shot and what their life was like. Before you read any of the others, I highly recommend this one. It is extremely well written and pulls at your heart. Not fancy coloured photographs, just the first hand account of this magnificent female harrier and her short life.
The other excellent book is A Hen Harrier’s Year. The gorgeous watercolours of the birds are a real winner!
We are all concerned about Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay nest. Check out the feathers. This eaglet really needs to be rescued and taken into care. I honestly do not understand why nothing is being done for Blue.
At the US Steel nest, we have video footage of Lucky living his life in the skies! Wish this was Blue.
The Janakkala pair are learning to self-feed as fledge dates approach in Finland.
Kristel is 81 days old today. It is the same age as Diana at the other Golden Eagle nest in Estonia fledged.
Kristel had breakfast on Thursday – a Eurasian Collared Dove.
The reintroduction of Ospreys into Ireland begins with the arrival of the chicks today. Here is the latest information:
Only one osplet remains at the Ferguson Museum osprey platform. The other two have died from lack of fish.
This was the whole family at the Middle Farm nest on Fisher’s Island, NY, on the 28th of June. Tragedies can begin to happen without our knowing and within less than a month a family of five is now a family of three.
Cowlitz PUD fledgling returns to nest for a fish meal!
The wind has hit Sandpoint Osprey nest and Keke and River are holding on tight.
Lola at Charlo Montana needs to pick up her talons and go out fishing like Iris. The chick is 43 days old today.
Royal Cam chick news:
Geemeff sends us her daily report about Loch Arkaig for The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Thursday 25th July 2024
Today we received the wonderful news that the surviving Arkaig Osprey chick 1JW has fledged! All eleven members of the Scottish cohort took to the skies over Valencia today, more info in WTS George’s comment, link below. A bright spot in an unusual season. His dad Louis was also around today, visiting his nest bringing a stick and doing a little nest work, good to see him after an absence of a few days. Nest One also had Osprey visitors – Affric 152 arrived moments after Garry LV0 did. Neither stayed long, and both flew off in the same direction. With an identical broken feather spotted by LizB on both the blue-ringed Bunarkaig female and on Affric when she landed on Nest One, it’s almost certain they are one and the same. With an unfledged chick still on the Bunarkaig nest, what’s Affric doing on Nest One with Garry? The forecasted rain was much in evidence today, and more expected tonight with thundery showers overnight easing off to light rain tomorrow.
Bonus photos – 1JW on a feeding platform near to the aviary:
#ArkaigOsprey in Spain, 1JW is a wild bird once more!
He fledged today just before 3pm.
Here he is on one of the feeding platforms near the pen that has been home for the last couple of weeks. Now he will start exploring the marshes of Valencia. pic.twitter.com/t2jUfcAK6l
— Woodland Trust Scotland (@WTScotsocial) July 25, 2024
Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:
Special blast from the past: On July 25, 2020, the world came together to tell the story of a single day on Earth, hundreds of thousands of members of the public responded sending their typical day to Ridley Scott. This was my entry:
A simple solution that can be done right at the factory. Paint one blade black and save the lives of our birds.
Mum and Dad are having ‘some fun’ on the barge at Port Lincoln!
Just look at this!
News on Luna’s necroscopy at Redding:
There has been no word about N1 who appeared to have an accident Wednesday morning during a streaming cam event at Cornell. She was seen sitting peacefully but no one has seen her since.
There are concerns about Little who fledged on the 18th at Patuxent River Park and has not been seen on camera. People want to know why they support boat tourism and do not care for their chicks. Does anyone know what is happening here?
In Poland, the life of the Black Storklet was saved. When rescued the storklet weighed only 1500 grams when, at this age, it should have been at least 2500.
Maria Marika gives us the background information on why this little storklet fell into such poor conditions.
‘H’ reports:
7/25 Osoyoos osprey nest: The osplets are 47 and 48 days old. The temperature was lower today, and Olsen brought four fish to the nest. The first three fish were small to medium in size, and Big was able to acquire all three of them to self feed. Big had meals lasting 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and 9 minutes. The last fish arrived at 1817, and it was very large. Although it was big, it was obviously not a 3-hour fish, but it took Soo 3-hours to feed from it. Big was in rare form and she was a complete tyrant on the war path for almost the entire three hours. Big was intent on preventing Middle from eating, regardless of whether Big was hungry or not. It would take too long to provide details, so I will try to summarize. Over the course of the three hours, Big ate the equivalent of at least 4-5 meals. Big was almost constantly beaking or otherwise harassing Middle, even when Middle was not anywhere near Soo. There were numerous times in the process of beaking Middle, that Big nearly pushed Middle off the nest. There were even several times that Soo was nearly forced off the nest by Big diving over her to try to get to Middle. In fact, at 1929 Soo did have to leave the nest briefly when she had to jump to the extension bar. The aggressiveness of Big caused many distractions and delays as Soo was attempting to feed. To make matters worse, the fish was very tough, and the few times when Middle was in a good position to eat, it would take Soo too long to offer fish bites. Instead of receiving multiple bites in rapid succession, Middle would only get a few bites before Big attacked again. There was not a single period of time when Big actually retired from the meal to rest, so that Middle and Soo would have some ‘alone time’. I counted fish bites for Middle, and there were a few times when I could only surmise bites based on the movements of Middle and Soo. Middle ate at least 140 bites of fish during that 3-hour ordeal, and Middle did have a moderate crop after the meal. Due to cam downtime issues, we don’t know how well Middle ate yesterday. Weather forecast for 7/26: Sunny, high 84F/29C, light winds.
7/25 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: Big had spent the night on the nest so that she could guard her leftover fish, and she had a nice breakfast early in the morning. She was joined in the nest a little later by Middle. They both came and went from the nest throughout the day. We did not see Little at the nest. At 1443 an adult intruder landed in the nest, and a minute or so later, a juvenile osprey approached to land. The intruder jumped up and intercepted the juvie, talons to the face, and flew away. The young osprey fell below the nest out of our view. Based on certain characteristics, we thought that the juvie was either Big or Middle. At 1502 Middle was in the nest when Dad delivered a large partial goldfish. Dad had been followed in by the adult intruder who immediately engaged in a battle for the fish with Middle. Dad jumped on the intruder twice to try to help out, but his efforts were futile. The intruder ended up with the fish in its talons and sort of fell/flew off the nest dragging Middle with him. Middle landed back in the nest a few minutes later.
After a while we started to hear loud rustling noises and ‘wing flapping’ below the nest. The flapping sounds were heard intermittently in spurts, as if the bird would need to rest at times. As the tide came in, the flapping efforts started to sound more ‘watery’ like flapping in water. We believed there was an injured osprey struggling below the nest out of our view. The nest is 10 feet above the marsh. If the incident at 1443 involved Big, and if Big had landed awkwardly in the marsh, she could have been injured. Or another possible scenario, was that the adult intruder may have landed in the marsh and been injured when it went off the nest somewhat awkwardly holding a large goldfish, with a juvenile osprey attached. A ten-foot height does not allow much time to recover and fly before landing in the marsh.
We were convinced that there was an osprey needing help…and soon! We had a gut feeling that it was Big below the nest. Some chatters called the park office, some called a local raptor rehabber who said she’d try to find someone with a boat. And posts were also made on the chat to the attention of the park. We needed help. After many long hours, no help came. As high tide hit, and as darkness fell, we no longer heard the flapping below the nest.
Annie is moulting and loafing!
Yesterday, Koa was seen on the West End cam at the old nest of Thunder and Akecheta!
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, questions, articles, videos, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘EJ, Geemeff, H, J, PB, TU’, McEuen Park, Osprey House Environmental Centre, Hellgate Osprey, Wild Skies Raptor Centre, Montana Osprey Project, Osoyoos, Raptor Persecution UK, The Guardian, HWF-BBC, US Steel, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Eagle Club of Estonia, Gregorious Joris Toonen, Berkeley News, Ferguson Museum, Cowlitz PUD, Sandpoint Ospreys, Charlo Montana, Bird Cams, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Factsdailyy, PLO, Heidi McGrue, Celia Aliengirl, Bocianimy, Maria Marika, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, and SK Hideaways.
Morning Updates: Cowlitz chick did fledge and fly, not just to the fish grate! Congratulations. This kid beat the eagle………yeah. Dad flew in with a fish, Mum followed, and then the Baby was back on the nest for a fish reward. It could not have been more perfect.
Bridge Golf Course Chick fledges this morning!
Last update is Cornell: The Sedlacek’s were filming N1 this morning when she appeared to have some kind of accident. Cornell has said nothing on X.
Tuesday was a beautiful day—20 degrees C and overcast. This is my view as I start writing my post for tomorrow. I needed the solitude and quiet, listening to only the birds and watching squirrels scurry about that this little oasis provides. I am very fortunate to have such a gorgeous, tranquil place to visit and to be able to stop and breathe when needed.
I can hear a Crow cawing, and the scent from the flowers envelopes the entire area. This gorgeous Monarch landed so close.
When I got home half the bowl of little juicy grape tomatoes were missing. Guess what?! Hugo Yugo has a new game – Tomatoe Floor Hockey. Baby Hope decided to join in for the fun.
Outside six baby crows wanted hot dogs, Blue Jays were everywhere, and Dyson’s kits were running around with about 150 little sparrows. The most wonderful chaos. Thank goodness for the garden animals and ‘The Girls’. They cushion some of the saddness.
There will be more osprey deaths announced. We will be saddened, and then we will get angry. It is partly because it has been an endless year of disappointments. I remember a time, not so long ago, when it was the little osplet deaths from siblicide that were so heartbreaking. This year, it is something else. Weather, just straightforward starvation, predation, nest accidents – older chicks nearing fledge that are dying before our eyes – wow. Not little ones with their soft down or just getting into the Reptile phase. No – feathered chicks. Close to fledge. The parents got them there through some challenging times. Then to lose them. Well, it breaks your heart.
Allow me to ramble a bit. Can we do something about these deaths in older ospreys? To answer that question, I need to share a post that my son posted from Borneo, where he has been fishing.
Studies have shown that in North American as much as 40% of the food purchased is wasted. If we shared, no one would be hungry. This also goes for the animals.
Saving your food that would otherwise be thrown away will feed the Crows, the Blue Jays, the Starlings. It will also feed the feral cats. Get one of those nifty pails with a good lid and collect daily and find a spot to put it out. You will see that the food is gone quickly. Buy a meal for a person at a restaurant that supports these programmes. Donate to a food bank. ——Put out life saving water! Every little bit helps. Every living being counts.
Then we can work on what needs to be done with the birds on streaming cams. The Migratory Bird Laws must be amended so that quick help can be given – not endless bureaucratic paper work. There must be provisions for providing food – and individuals to do this – during the inevitable heat dome periods that will increase in number and severity or when a parent dies. The Mum at McEuen has done well, but she lost three babies out of four because of heat and the loss of her mate. Put up baffles on every known nest. They are inexpensive. Don’t wait for something to happen. Fort St Vrain now has baffles after a raccoon took one of the eaglet babies, Achieva was getting a baffle after the chick fell through the hole this year, Moraine Park needs one, and they say they will install it next year. But, again – don’t wait. Encourage every cam owner to put up baffles. If there is any chance of an owl striking, then put up solar red strobes and a big bright light. Lake Murray tried everything – we have to continue to try. I am hoping that Cowlitz will look again and decide to put in another fish grate. That should stop the eagle but not harm the ospreys. We need emergency numbers to phone when there is an accident. This has been known for years, and efforts were made years ago to try to get the cam owners to post an emergency number under the stream. Those of you watching these nests have been the first to notice something wrong with a nest!
Today, the utter disappointment for non-action is pointed directly at Charlo Montana. When chicks are ringed (right about the age of those on this nest), the chicks pancake. They are taken down in little bags, weighed and measured, and checked over while their Darvic rings are put on. Often people help with the railings on the nest at the same time or during the off season. Fish are left to soften the intrusion and many times the occupants are misted if it is as hot as it is in Montana. None of this happened. The baling twine was removed. That is also a good thing but under the circumstances they really needed to do more. My inbox went up to 163 letters from viewers who expected Charlo to help their ospreys and didn’t. No one understands why this family was not provided with fish in the scorching heat and poor fishing conditions.
Let us all send Charlie, Lola, and the remaining chick fish, cooling weather, and a fledge.
So that is my rant…in days to come I will be posting other deaths. We need, each of us, to sit quietly and breath like I did at the park today. I have to remind myself to stop and think of the miracles this year – Finn and Iris, the fledge of four for CJ7 and Blue 022. They defied the odds and did it. What a pair. I still remember Blue 022 courting CJ7 near the end of the season and all of us wondering, a few years ago, if they would return and raise a family. They did…several. And this year was amazing.
Well, the death I was waiting to post is one of the Loch Arkaig translocation chicks. The vets did everything they could in Spain. The chick appears to have had congenital issues that caused its heart failure.
This is a good place for Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig because she always has the inside scoop with The Woodland Trust!
Daily summary Tuesday 23rd July 2024
The main story of today is the news just received of the sad loss of our chick 1JR. Try as they might, the veterinary team in Valencia were unable to save him when he started having seizures. More details in WTS George’s post, link below. Tonight’s bonus video is 1JR in happier times a few days ago, looking strong tucking into a big fish dinner. We”re happy to hear his brother 1JW and the other ten Scottish Osplets on the translocation project are all well and thriving. In other news, Dorcha went adventuring and turned up on Nest One, before returning later to her own nest. Neither of the two males were seen although sky-dancing was heard while Dorcha was at Nest One. Was it Louis, or Garry LV0, and were they dancing for Dorcha or another female? Today’s weather was settled, tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy with light winds, but rain is forecast for tomorrow.
You might see an osprey that needs help. Make sure you have the nearest wildlife rehabilitation clinic’s contact information in your phone!
One of our readers, ‘EJ’, got to visit Hellgate Canyon, and she was overjoyed to see Iris! ‘EJ’ sent us these photographs that give us an entirely different perspective. ‘EJ’ stayed far away to avoid disturbing our miracle nest.
Despite the heat, Finn continues to bring in good sized fish that will safe his family from the effects of the heat dome that continues over the area.
Blue is calling out for prey when he sees an adult about. It looks like he did not eat the delivery from Monday. You can see it covered up on the nest. I wonder why the adult doesn’t feed this eaglet?
The recent osprey hatches in Australia are reported to be doing very well.
The latest on the Dorsett Hobby chick from SK Hideaways.
Family portrait (of a sort) at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. One beautifully feathered osplet.
Cowlitz PUD are fantastic. When sent the images of the osprey in a box, they responded! And we know they care because they put their heads together and came up with the fish grates. They did not protect the chicks this year but they worked last year (there are eagles all over the area). We have one survivor and it is doing well. Dad came in with a big fish for Mum and osplet.
Looks like we have only one left to fledge at Field Farm.
Kristel, the Golden Eaglet at the Estonian Nest #2 is nearing fledge. She is growing stronger. Prey deliveries are like their life in the wild – sometimes abundant and sometimes not. Kristel worked on eating nestovers today. I did not see a delivery. It is hard to drop a small vole on a nest with an excited eaglet!
Sandpoint osplet, River, is preparing for fledge as well!
In Boulder Mum looks on as chick does some nest renovations! Fledge is near.
‘PB’ reports that McEuen osplet is up and waiting for Mum to arrive with a fish – had a reasonable ps, too.
It will not be long until we have little White-tailed eaglets at the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Park.
I am often very proud to be a Canadian. (Not proud about the Omega company and its trawlers – let’s be clear – or any other Canadian ecological disaster company and we have some doozies or our garbage that floats around and gets on bird nests). I am proud that many of our Osprey nests have done well this year. I have mentioned those in Nova Scotia and then there is also Niagara Bee with its three healthy (or seemingly so) osplets.
Tomorrow I am going to go and check on a Bald Eagle nest. It looks like the heavy rains and storms that we had over an extended period of time caused our local osprey nest to fail. It is not clear what is happening in the north of our province.
Betsy and Frederick’s kids at the Outerbanks (Carova, OBX nest) fledged awhile ago. They are returning to the nest – great news.
The three at Blackbush are just getting bigger and bigger. We are going to have a lot of fledges coming on the same day from the looks of things.
The ospreys around Mobil Bay seem to be doing well. ‘L’ checks on them and today sent us an image with a female and two chicks on a nest she watches often. Thanks, ‘L’ for sharing!
Another good news story to help soften the week.
‘H’ reports:
7/23 Osoyoos osprey nest: The first fish of the day did not arrive until later in the morning. At 1004 Olsen dropped off a small whole fish. Big beaked Middle, grabbed the fish, and ate the entire fish in 8 minutes. At 1419 Soo arrived with a large headless fish. Big took the fish to self feed. Soo allowed Big 36 minutes to work on the fish, then at 1455 she took it. There was still a large piece of fish left. Big beaked Middle, so Soo fed Big. By 1507, Middle had worked its way over to the other side of Soo, but the feeding was going slowly. The fish was tough, and Soo was also distracted by something. Big was being disruptive as well, by trying to reach across in front of Soo to get at Middle. Middle finally got a bite of fish at 1509, and then 6 bites by 1512, but was then beaked by Big. By 1521 there was still a good sized piece of fish remaining, and Soo was still feeding Big. As the feeding continued, Big would intermittently intimidate Middle and cause him/her to move away. Middle was only able to grab a bite of fish now and then. At 1547 Big had a bulging crop and started to walk away, but changed its mind, beaked Middle, and resumed eating. At 1549, Big moved away, and I could not see how much fish was remaining. Middle moved in and got a few bites of fish before being beaked by Big, then Big ate some more. The meal was finally over at 1555. When Soo had taken the fish from Big at 1455 it was not large enough to have provided an hour-long meal. The fish being tough, plus the various distractions, caused the meal to drag out. Middle only ate a total of 23 bites of fish.
At 1620 Olsen delivered a large partial fish, and Soo took it. The feeding began at 1622, and Middle was beaked by Big. By 1625 the siblings were positioned on opposite sides of Soo, and Middle was able to grab a bite of fish now and then. Big backed away at 1643. Middle had only eaten 25 bites up to that point. The rest of the feeding belonged almost exclusively to Middle. It was a 30-minute feeding that ended at 1652. Middle ate at least 107 bites of fish. Thank goodness. When I checked the live stream a couple of hours later to see if another fish had been brought to the nest, the cam was offline. Weather forecast for 7/24: Sunny, high 93F/34C, winds 16 mph.
7/23 Colonial Beach: 29-day-old ‘Cobey’ seems to be doing well. There were only two fish brought to the nest yesterday, but there were four fish today. It looks like Betty has had to return to being the primary provider, and she caught three of the fish today. Predicted high temp for 7/24 is 81 F, with light winds.
7/23 Barnegat Light osprey nest: As you know, Duke and Daisy did not have eggs this season. But, their love story continues to delight and inspire viewers. Daisy and Duke continue to hang out with each other every day. And, we actually saw Duke catch a fish in the Bay! Kudos to the cam-ops for always managing to find them.
7/23 Fenwick Island osprey nest (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Things are going well for this osprey family. 39-day-old ‘Fen’ seems to be more calm, and I haven’t seen him/her attacking June or Johnny for a few days. I’m sure that has something to do with the ‘whales’ that June has been bringing to the nest that have provided many meals. June caught another one of those whales this morning, and Johnny contributed a large fish of his own in the afternoon. High temp for them on 7/24 is predicted to be 79, with 12 mph winds.
Thanks, ‘H’ for all your wonderful reports – every day! And for catching that fledge at Bridge Golf.
The tortilla rescue is doing well.
Smile. More ospreys being saved.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, photographs, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘EJ, Geemeff, H, J, L, PB’, Cowlitz PUD, Cristofre Martin, Charlo Montana, The Woodland Trust, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Orange Beach Wildlife Centre, The Guardian, British Wildlife Rescue, Montana Osprey Project, HWF-BBC, Osprey House Environmental Centre, SK Hideaways, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Field Farm, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Sandpoint, Boulder County, McEuen Park, Niagara Bee, Outerbanks 24/7, Blackbush, Pacific Wildlife Care, Osoyoos, Barnegat Light Ospreys, Colonial Beach, Fenwick Island, Wildwest Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Bobby Horvath.
Post Update: The second hatch at McEuan Park has died. The second hatch at Dorsett Hobby has died.
The heat produced some thunderstorms Friday night and some heavy rain. We are in another thunderstorm alert for the next few hours with loonie-size hail and 100 kph winds. The birds have been eating frantically all day. Their behaviour should have told me. Thankfully, it missed us.
It was a lovely evening at the park. Despite the signs around the pond, someone or many people were feeding the ducks. What they were feeding them was good bird seed—that is alright. And the duck population is good!
At home the little Blue Jay is having a wonderful time in the bird bath!
Little Blue Jay spent many hours playing in the bird bath. This is a very short clip.
One of the baby Cowbirds played in the water, too. It really helped to keep the birds cool on a hot day.
The shade tunnel at one side of the back garden for the birds and animals.
Being in the garden and spending time at the duck pond was a good way to step back for a few hours. It has been a tough week.
Seeing Jackie and Shadow together melts away anxiety. Ever hopeful, always loyal, these two never give up. When I get really low, they are the one raptor couple I turn to to make it all better.
Falcons help, especially soaring fledglings. Check out Alma and Lucia.
Bailey. She donates blood to help other raptors.
If you live in the United States, please read Audubon’s appeal for your help in getting the The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024 passed. Everything helps.
One of the representatives in Virginia has a son who works for Omega. Flood him with letters. The House of Representatives name is Rob Wittman. I am sure you can see the problems that the State of Virginia is having and why. Let’s try and help Virginia be as successful as New York!
The following short presentation (below) has an 8 minute film on the history of Menhaden and why it is so important. It is a keystone fish. For those in the film, they mention whales and other fish species such as tuna and bass, but we need these fish for our osprey. Menhaden is what osprey eat in this area and the Chesapeake Bay is depleted. The ospreys are starving.
This is the Director’s message:
The Montana Ospreys eat other fish. Some of those fish are trout. When the rivers get too warm the trout die. The Osprey also cannot eat. The osplets get tangled in baling twine. They have their own issues including the heat.
The message seems to have been sent from Dunrovin and Charlo Montana. Finn worked on the rails at his nest with Iris and their two chicks Saturday morning. Now we know that Iris always has one of the best nests in ‘the West’ if anywhere. It has gotten a little ruffled with all the activity this season, but the couple continues to work on it to keep their babies safe. Look at their babies with all those gorgeous juvenile feathers. Dear Iris has taken the brunt of the heat, and Finn has fished his heart out.
Everyone is concerned about how the heat is impacting Iris who so loves being a Mum and who is so lucky to have Finn. She is going to have high temperatres for another week.
At the Patchogue nest, Dad brought in fish for both Patches and Rainer! We get to see them both eating on the nest. How wonderful.
The Middle chick Blue 8B4 has fledged at Llyn Clywedog on Saturday! There he is on the right looking at us. Gosh, what a gorgeous place to take a first flight.
Fledglings in Germany at the Goitzsche-Wildnis nest continue to return to be fed by Mum or self-feed.
No fledges yet at Poole Harbour.
The heat continues to hit the Pacific Northwest. This heat is persisting and the longer it continues our Osprey prospects become more and more dire unless there is plenty of fish coming to the nest. Otherwise, in these extreme conditions the ospreys have to use the energy from the fish they do get to try and stay cool.
McEuan Park on Saturday:
Charlo Montana:
Blackbush: All three are doing well.
Great Bay: All three osplets have fledged and have returned to the nest for some of those fish dinners while they get their wings stronger.
Field Farm is doing good. Osplets getting a little antsy. Wonder how small that nest is going to feel when they all start flapping and hovering?
Sandpoint: Looks good.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Things look great. Look at the wing span of that Only Bob.
Look at the big feet on the Arboretum chick’s feet.
Cowlitz PUD: Second could get some more fish. Both osplets are alive and the eagle has not been back. Holding our breath.
Clark PUD: Only Bob is doing very well despite the heat.
Port of Ridgefield. Cam is often down but ‘PB’ caught this. Chick and Mum look good.
An osprey rescue! Thanks ‘SD’ for posting this.
The Imperial Eaglets were ringed!
At the Estonian Golden Eagle nest 2, Kristel has not had any food since Mm delivered a wood pigeon on 11 July. Dad has not been seen since 7 July.
The oldest eaglet at the Boundary Bay nest in British Columbia is still alive!
Two beautiful osplets getting those gorgeous juvenile feathers in Latvia.
‘H’ reports:
7/13 Osoyoos osprey nest: The early morning was interesting. Soo was off the nest and Olsen had been fishing. At 0501 he dropped off a tiny fish, Little took it but was beaked, then Middle took the fish. At 0503 Olsen was back with another ‘tiny’, and Big grabbed it. (I don’t think any of the kids have experience in self feeding). Middle abandoned its fish, and took Big’s fish. Soo landed in the nest with a slightly larger fish at 0507. She quickly took charge of the rather comical scene. Soo picked up fish #1 and her own fish #3. Big had fish #2 at that point but dropped it. Soo started to feed Big and Middle. Meanwhile, Little picked up fish #2, took it over to the far northeast rails, and appeared to lose it overboard. Then Olsen returned at 0515 with another tiny fish. Soo finished feeding from fish #1 and #3, and Little had managed to eat a few bites, before s/he was beaked by Middle. Then Soo fed Big and Middle from fish #4.
Olsen brought a small fish at 1252. Big beaked both Middle and Little, and Big was the only chick to eat during the 5-minute meal. There were no other fish brought to the nest that I saw. I triple checked in rewind, so I hope I didn’t miss a meal. The high temperature was 100F/38C at 1700. Olsen came to the nest several times in the late afternoon and evening, and just stayed and hung out with the family for a while each time. I don’t know if they were concerned about nearby activities. There were a lot of cars parked below the nest.
When a particular osplet is in danger of not having enough to eat to survive, I try to quantify how much they are eating, by either counting bites or estimating feeding durations. It is particularly difficult at the Osoyoos nest to quantify how much Little is eating. Quite often, the view of Little eating is blocked. Also, the live stream has been offline a couple of early mornings when Olsen usually makes many of his fish deliveries. That being said… My impression over the past three days is that Little is definitely not getting enough to eat. I’m not even sure that Middle is getting enough to eat, but Middle does usually fare better than Little. Weather forecast for Sunday: High temperature 99F/37C, sunny with winds gusting to 17 mph.
7/13 Patuxent osprey nest: At 63 days of age Little still has not fledged, but has been getting more lift during his wingercising. Little cannot compete with the two fledglings for food. They are bigger, stronger and more aggressive. There were 6 fish brought to the nest. Big managed to acquire one of them. But, Middle got all the rest, and even flew off the nest with a small fish! There were no feedings from Mom. Little did not eat today, but fortunately he ate well the day before. Need more fish, Dad!
7/13 Fenwick Island (Captain Mac’s Fish House): Today was a better day. The previous two days, Johnny’s fish deliveries had dropped to just two per day instead of his normal 5-6 per day. Today, Johnny brought 4 fish to the nest for June and 29-day-old ‘Fen’.
7/13 Colonial Beach osprey nest: There were only two fish brought to the nest. They had some morning rain showers and another shower in the afternoon. David delivered the first fish at 1120. Over 8.5 hours later Betty brought a large whole fish. Both kids ate their fill, slept off their food comas, and then they ate some more! The osplets are 18 and 19 days old.
7/13 Audubon Boathouse: Everything is splendid for this family. 29-day-old Harbor, and 25-day-old Gray seem to be getting along well.
Geemeff’s summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Saturday 13th July 2024
Another day with little action, nothing on Nest One, and just a few early morning visits on Nest Two from Louis and Dorcha, neither seen on the nest after approximately 09.30. However, Louis spent some time sky-dancing before landing on the nest and making a couple of mating attempts with Dorcha along with coy-mantling. Of course, this is not to try for a second brood, it’s much too late in the season for that, but the mating attempts and the coy-mantling all reaffirm their pair-bond and is a healthy sign of the strength of their relationship, their fourth year together. In other news, Chaddie14 provides this update on the Bunarkaig nest: Lewis, our local raptor man, was up in the Bunarkaig nest today and found one dead chick and one healthy, possibly male, chick which he ringed. All just as was expected, so all good so far for the one chick. So success for the probable resident pair Affric 152 and Prince this year following the failure of that nest last year – we wish the surviving chick and his parents all the best. The weather was settled, and tonight’s forecast for the Inver Mallie area which covers the nests is light clouds and light winds, and sunshine tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.34.51 (03.31.49); Nest Two 23.22.11 (03.41.31)
There is sad news coming in this morning. The second hatch at Dorsett Hobby has died. Those who monitor falcon nests question the shape of the human made nest this year as it appears it was difficult for the Mum to feed or she was an inexperienced female. So sad. I wonder if there could have been an intervention early to save the chick that was obviously struggling.
‘J’ has put together the Memorial to Smallie for us. Please read through. Smallie was taken to a taxidermist and stuffed.
Summary of Seven Weeks Smallie =============================================
Hatched from the fifth egg, five days younger than his sisters, fifty days old.
Week 1
Smallie hatched on April 28, 2024, five days after the first three hatchlings. Since there are five eggs this year, it is most likely that the fourth egg did not hatch, and Smallie thus hatched from the fifth laid egg.
As an offspring, he is then much smaller than the three other hatchlings that are already five days older. This has a big disadvantage at feeding time, because Moe naturally fills the biggest mouths first. Only when there is something left will little Smallie get some bites. Miraculously, he manages to survive the first week anyway – the most crucial period. He gets just enough food not to die, but too little to grow normally.
Week 2
The first foreigners report to the chat at the webcams. Smallie immediately attracts attention because of his small size in relation to the three other hatchlings. Consequently, many think he is not going to make it, counting the number of bites he has received each day. But he turns out to be a smart and energetic little rascal who actively tries his best to get food – although it is not nearly enough to grow properly. In his attempts to get enough food he often stands close to Moe to (while she tears the prey to pieces) secretly try to pick some of the prey in her claws. But then one day when Moe shifts the prey (a pigeon) a little, Smallie ends up underneath. It remains unclear for some time whether Moe is not also tearing Smallie apart with the pigeon. Only after half an hour does he fortunately manage to get out of it in time and the viewers can breathe normally again.
Week 3
When the three oldest youngsters are ringed and turn out to be three sisters, Smallie is also measured. According to the chart, he would be 10 days old but in reality he is already 17 days – so he is 40% behind in growth development. He is too small to get a ring, and even his sex cannot be determined (due to his small size, it is only later assumed to be a male). He looks skinny and thin, but is otherwise healthy, so he is put back in the closet with the sisters to be given a chance.
Fortunately, the following days show that Moe now pays special attention to Smallie – she sometimes comes to feed him separately and at night she sits with him to keep him warm.
Week 4
The clever Smallie discovers a way to be the first to get food when Moe feeds from the grid : he crawls into the space between the grid and the nest box in the wide stone balustrade. He then sits in front and gets fed first. But unfortunately he does not manage to clamber back into the nest box after that. Suddenly he has mysteriously disappeared and everyone is extremely worried where he is and that he will not survive the night alone. It is only the next morning when he is checked that he is found safe and sound under the nest box and immediately put back in the box. The joy of his return lasted only a short time, because a few hours later he disappears in the same way. Fortunately, he returns by himself and now manages to clamber back into the hive.
He also provides some hilarious moments when he tries, for example, to pull food out of the mouth of a sister or Moe. When they raise their heads he holds on and is lifted up by his light weight.
Week 5
Moe no longer feeds individually, but on the roost gives the prey to the first one who wants it. The latter then takes it into the nest box and secretly (against the wall, with wings wide) feeds on it. The other two sisters often don’t notice this at first, but clever Smallie does. Because he is small, he will crawl under a wing and just join in.
Sometimes he is the first and only one to see that a prey is brought to the roost and then sees a chance to grab it. Hilarious is that he then tries to drag it into the nest box on his own – sometimes a pigeon almost as big as himself.
It is striking that the falcons always treat each other lovingly. The “fights” are purely about the food, not with each other. They prefer to sleep next to, on top of and against each other. When the other sisters are elsewhere, one sister often keeps Smallie company and she sleeps with him. Their greetings are very gentle and loving, with paws and beaks touching each other briefly.
Week 6
In the course of this week all three sisters fly out successfully, and Smallie ventures more and more on the grate, the walkway and to the shock of the viewers even already on the narrow edge : at 50m height and at an angle.
At the end of the week Smallie stumbles out of the railing at the grating and lands 50m down the street. Fortunately, an expert happened to be nearby, checking him : he had no broken legs or wings and was therefore brought back up immediately. It is a miracle that he survived that fall, because the small wings will have had little stopping power. It takes a day for him to get over the fright and show himself again.
Week 7
The sisters have been at the high offices near the station learning to hunt often this week, and few are seen on the tower. Only his favorite sister visits occasionally. So Smallie is alone a lot but apparently in no hurry to follow them. He often sits out of view of the cameras on the walkway. He has less and less down and is getting a beautiful plumage – though he seems on the small side even for a male.
At the end of the week he appears to be off the tower, because a little falcon is seen in the evening near St. George’s Church – sitting on a bicycle parked there. Someone took a picture of it and it does indeed turn out to be Smallie. But after the photo was taken, he disappeared again. A search the next day in the city center turns up nothing. Only in the evening is he discovered again, halfway up the tower. He manages to get to the nest box while fluttering up and is even visible again on the webcams. As a finale and last image of him on the webcams, he flies away from the roost. Against all odds, he has succeeded in achieving his first life goal : he too can leave the nest – he can fly.
Ode to Smallie
(page under construction)
This page is intended as an ode to the youngest and smallest peregrine falcon that managed to glue a huge number of viewers to the webcams daily for seven weeks in 2024 with his adventures. He stood out because of his small size, his constant fighting and his clever methods to get enough food, but also because of his mysterious disappearances, his loving scenes with his sisters, his fall from 50m high, and finally his last image on the webcams : flying away from the grid as an almost adult falcon.
He became “world famous”, because 2024 was the year that for the first time the webcams also managed to attract many viewers from abroad, with on the chats comments not only from Europe, but also from Canada, USA, Australia, India and even many from Japan, China, Korea and Russia with comments in their own language and script. The Japanese call him “Chibi-chan,” the Chinese “Xiaobao,” but most others have chosen “Smallie” (little one).
Part of the reason foreigners suddenly visited the webcams was a report on the international website “Bird Parenting.” If then only the usual four hatchlings would have been seen, most viewers would not return after a few visits. But the presence of the very small hatchling drew attention : how long would it stay alive ?
Smallie became for them the little brave hero of the daily story. Viewers sometimes forgot that it was not an expensive Disney movie, written by clever film writers, but simply conceived and performed on the spot by a family of peregrine falcons, with themselves as unpaid actors. Pure nature.
Yet the story contained many elements that appealed to people emotionally : possible death (which played a major role from the beginning), admiration (that despite his poor prospects, he continued to fight fiercely for his existence), frustration and pity (when Smallie had had another day of little food), great joy (when Moe stuffed him with a pigeon and he fell asleep while eating), excitement and uncertainty (when he was lost for hours), humor and amusement (when he once again outwitted a sister), sadness (when he was not to be seen for a long time), action (when he tries to conquer food in a clever but fierce way), fear (when he flutters on the narrow sloping edge), friendship (when his favorite sister comes to keep him company), tenderness (when he cuddles with his sisters), pride (when he finally comes to show that he can fly).
Local and national newspapers wrote extensively about the famous little falcon who had so many compassionate followers worldwide.
Unfortunately, just when he was ready to really fly out (he had already been flitting around town for a day), a fall into the canal near the OLV Tower proved fatal to him. Monday morning, June 17, he was fished out of the water there by bystanders, after which he was brought back to the second circulation with the help of the animal ambulance. Probably already shortly after this placement, he died there, as he was found dead Wednesday morning during a check on the spot where he had been put back on Monday.
Because he lay dead on the tower for a few days, the parents saw him and realized he was dead : he no longer responded to their presence, as hatchlings always do. If he had died somewhere else (at the bird sanctuary, for example, or on the way there) they would not have seen it, and would have spent days in town looking for him.
Smallie’s death was announced on the Amersfoort peregrine falcons’ own website at HetGroeneHuis, and on the chats at the webcams. Viewers could not believe it at first, but then loving and emotional messages poured in from all sides on the chats to comfort each other. He appears to have formed a tremendous emotional bond with many viewers during those seven weeks.
They also lamented the sight of the now empty nest box and the loss of seeing Smallie – although that would have been the case anyway if he had not fallen into the moat after his farewell, but had joined his sisters at the station : once flown away, the hatchlings rarely appear on the webcams.
The local and even some national media were shocked and paid attention to his death. He turned out to be a “world-famous little falcon” for good reason.
To give him a dignified end (and not just to be dumped or buried somewhere), it was decided to have Smallie stuffed and then added to the collection of stuffed animals of Bezoekerscentrum “HetGroeneHuis” in Park Schothorst in Amersfoort, so he will be permanently visible to the public. “
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, announcements, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB, SP‘, FOBBV Cam, SK Hideaways, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Debbie Campbell, Menhaden Defenders, Montana Osprey Project, PSEG, Llyn Clywedog, Goitzsche-Wildnis, BoPH, McEuan Park, Charlo Montana, Blackbush, Great Bay, Field Farm, MN LA, Cowlitz PUD, Clark PUD, Pam Breci, CBS News NY, Lady Hawk, Eagle Club of Estonia, HWF-BBC, LDF, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, Fenwick Island, Colonial Beach, Audubon Boathouse, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Guardian, Amersfoort Falcons.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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:
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.
First. We thought for sure he was no longer with us and well, here is the good news from Geemeff:
“Louis the Loch Arkaig Osprey makes a triumphant return
08.26.37 The two chicks alone on the nest look up and start squeaking. Then Louis lands, with a fish. Wonderful to see him back looking magnificent with a nicely rounded crop. Where has he been? What happened to him? We’ll probably never know, but right now, this is the most wonderful sight. The two chicks immediately go over and take the fish off him. 08.26.55 Dorcha returns, and immediately looks for the fish 08.27.00 Louis departs – please return soon! Dorcha moves over and takes the fish away from C1 and starts dishing up. Normal service has resumed!”
The Girls are anticipating the big birthday party on the 2nd. They have found a few little boxes but they can’t open them! Calico was hiding – but Hugo Yugo, Missey, and Baby Hope, the birthday girl were out playing.
Goodness, it is almost July. Hard to believe. The ‘bad’ news in Bird World generally tapers off this month and that is a good thing. It was pitching down rain in Winnipeg and much cooler than it has been. It was a good day to go to our biosphere, The Leaf. For some reason, I was fascinated by the flowers. Enjoy. The iPhone didn’t do too bad!
There was a special exhibition of plants used in traditional healing. Camomile, Cedar, Sage, Sweetgrass…
The koi pond through the mist of the water fall.
It was a lovely quiet day.
‘H’ is taking some time. We will look forward to her reports when she returns.
We are still hoping that Louis will return to Loch Arkaig. Plans are being made if this doesn’t happen. This is the latest news from George at The Woodland Trust.
Dorcha comes home to well fed-osplets.
The family cuddles together wondering where Dad is.
In all her sadness, Geemeff is still able to send out her daily report for The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Friday 28th June 2024
There is no easy way to say this: Louis is still missing, not seen since Wednesday evening. We still hope to see him safe and well, but as the chicks were beginning to suffer from the incessant rain and lack of food despite Dorcha’s heroics with catching an eel yesterday, Woodland Trust took the unprecedented step of approaching NatureScot for permission to intervene. They are the Scottish Government’s lead adviser on wildlife management. In this case, using the evidence of Steve Quinn’s meticulous fish stats showing Louis’ decline and first hand observations of Louis’ unusual behaviour by LizB, permission was granted. Intrepid licensed raptor experts Lewis and Henry braved the climb to the top of the very tall nest tree and hand-fed the chicks with mackerel, leaving some on the nest as well as on a specially built platform below for Dorcha. Not a moment too soon as Lewis observed the second chick was approaching the stage of being too weak to eat. Luckily, after the initial strangeness, both chicks fed well and downed a whole mackerel each. Dorcha returned soon after they left and fed herself and the chicks from the fish left on the nest. Whatever your opinion about intervention, it’s good to see the chicks with full crops again. In other news, Garry LV0 paid a visit to Nest One and returned bringing nesting materials. Tonight’s forecast for the nest area is light rain showers and a gentle breeze, but the sound of the wind and the movement around the nest suggest otherwise.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.48.40 (03.30.52); Nest Two 23.19.18 (03.59.43)
I wrote to Dr. Greene to find out if Iris’s osplets will be banded. The answer is “no”. The camera and the nest are only for education, not research purposes.
‘A’writes: “Darling Finn slept on the perch all night, as he has taken to doing every night, watching over his family. He is such a sweetie. He left on a fishing trip to get breakfast very early indeed – it was still dark just after 05:30 – but for once, he had left fish on the nest and Iris got up at 05:35 and grabbed a large headless fish to feed the osplets. The pair as always lined up at the table and were beautifully behaved, as mum shared out the food to both. Oh my goodness, Big has had a growth spurt!
Little is slow to get up but makes his way to the table. Mum welcomes him with half a dozen bites. These two are just so sweet together. I saw one short, minor early episode of very half-hearted beaking and that was it. I still believe it could easily have been as much about curiosity as anything else, as there was no real aggression involved in it. More like checking what this small thing was. I am not entirely convinced it could even be classified as real bonking. Certainly, Little Bob did not interpret it as such, as hsi behaviour subsequently did not alter in any respect whatsoever. So it was not even worthy of being considered an act of establishing ‘pecking order’. Little Bob is harder for Iris to feed – he needs to move forward a step so she doesn’t have to reach as far forward and down to reach his beak. She makes the effort, but it means that when the two are side by side and competing for bites, Little Bob generally loses because of its greater height and reach. It’s surprising that Little doesn’t move forward – he normally does in this situation but sometimes makes mum really stretch. He is first to turn away from the table too, his little crop bulging.
So far, Iris hadn’t had a single decent bite for her own breakfast – she will always ensure that the babies have had a decent amount to eat before she starts sneaking in the odd bite for herself. This is truly one incredibly devoted mum. I love watching Iris with her chicks. The way she shades them, shelters them from the rain, keeps them warm at night, righted Little Bob when, early on, his little balloon body ended up flailing on its back – these osplets are the centre of her existence and she prioritises their welfare above everything else in her world. Watching her, you feel genuine joy for her.
Finn is back with a fresh headless fish just before 06:02. Good on your dad. There is still half a fish leftover from last night (and this morning’s first breakfast). He spends a bit of time trying to work out whether to choose the fish he’s just brought in or the half-fish left on the nest. He stands beside Iris for several minutes, reaching out at one stage as if to gently touch her with his beak. He adores her. Eventually, he decides on the fresh fish and flies to the perch with it just before 06:04. Ten minutes or so later, he returns the leftover fish to the nest. Good man! At 06:15 he tries to feed Iris, offering her a bite of fish several times before she accepts a small piece. She then stands up and grabs the leftover fish from the early breakfast (not the one Finn caught this morning) and begins feeding Big Bob while Little Bob backs up for a tiny PS.
Little Bob appears to have entered his own reptilian stage this morning, his little head starting to look oily. Big Bob is definitely a woolly oily teenager but perfectly laid-back and well behaved. He eats far better now, though still does not comfortably manage large pieces and still has trouble finding the right angle to get food from mum’s beak. He experimented with some self-feeding yesterday.
Finn watches breakfast feeding number two for a couple of minutes, then takes the leftovers of his morning catch and flies back up to the perch with them.
I wrote this yesterday – but I will send it anyway. Iris really is looking absolutely exhausted to me. I worry about her. She is putting everything into this season – she adores her babies – but you may well be right. If this is how she spends her last year, she would have wanted it this way. She is such a natural mum. She is in her element. I have come to love her a great deal.
I continue to believe Finn is literally heaven-sent. Just the sweetest guy. His loyalty has been fantastic. Louis never stood a chance against Finn’s determination to win Iris. I worried so much about him, but just look at the mate he has turned out to be. And what a handsome catch he is! I actually don’t hear them chat together at all – I hear Iris doing a lot of chatting but I never hear him answer. He just listens, learns and obeys. “
Osoyoos: It is 77 degrees F and 4 mph winds.
Olsen brought in a tiny whole fish at 0446. Each chick and Soo had some bites. She fed, stopping on and off, until 0453:10.
At 0800:53, Olsen brought in a very alive nice sized headless fish! Thank you for eating, Olsen. You and Soo have to eat in order to care for the babies.
Everyone got fish. Little walked away and the feeding stopped at 0818:25.
Olsen brought in the third fish of the day at 1131:49. It was a really nice size.
All of the chicks already had big crops when this big fish arrived! I am so glad that today was my day to monitor. It has been terrific. Soo fed the chicks and was still eating off the fish herself at 1158. Tears.
Little turns around and looks like it is trying out for the role of Hulk at 1157. Kids are too full to eat anymore.
At 1610 the chicks still had big crops. Did I miss a fish?
At 1728, Olsen brought in a large headless fish. Everyone has eaten well all day. The cooler temperatures and no wind must be helping. This is tremendous for this nest. Please send positive wishes every day to this family. They certainly deserve it. So was still feeding everyone an hour later and still had fish left. Sweet dreams babies…
I will check later but this nest doesn’t need any more fish today to survive but gosh it would be good for all of them if they ate and ate.
From now on I will add the temperature and wind conditions, where possible, on nests we are closely monitoring.
That tiny third hatch at Blackbush seems to be breaking hearts! It is a cutie. ‘MP’ adores this little one for being “persistently motivated, resilient and goal-driven in the face of challenges and difficulties of the parent’s predicament. Dad is lovingly family-oriented.”
‘PB’ has been monitoring the Cowlitz PUD nest and reports: “Cowlitz, little had around 115 bites. Excellent feeding and you can see a crop! This is a spunky little one that knows how to get to mom and be safe from big ones. When big one approached, little scooted closer to mom for protection and was able to feed again.Add 50 mote bites for Cowlitz little 3=165 total so far. Little found a gap between mom and dad to be fed 50 more bites!
You might remember that Challenger had cataract surgery. ‘J’ writes that it went well and sent us the link. He is now back home!
If you missed the June Condor chat, here it is!
David and Betty welcomed osplet three to the Colonial Beach nest on Friday.
Fledglings continue to return to the Venice Golf Course osprey nest for fish dinner. How lovely.
Family portrait at Oyster Bay. All is well.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Only Bob is alive and Mum is feeding it – looks OK.
It was really windy and rainy at the nest of Beaumont and Hope in Newfoundland. Hope is feeding the baby better than she has done in past years. 12 C with winds gusting to 40 km/h. Not good for fishing those winds.
Gorgeous day in Colorado. Charlie and Lola are doing really, really well. What a beautiful trio. Did you know that Lola is Charlie’s new mate replacing Charlotte? And she is 14 years old and was banded in Lola, Montana? She must have lost her mate, too. Glad these two found one another – they are a beautiful family.
Two beautiful osplets in Latvia!
A nest full of big beautiful osplets in Poole Harbour.
All is good for the Dyfi kids of Idris and Telyn.
The Dorsett Hobbies have three eggs.
Gorgeous eaglets at the Estonian nest #2. Walking stronger. Eating well. Both of them.
Well the persecution of raptors continues and now there is a Taskforce. I hope it does something besides having meetings — something good for the raptors.
A large number of my readers live in the UK. Here is a great article – for those times you are going out to find wildlife – on where to go, who to spot, etc.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, J, MP, PB’, George Anderson and The Woodland Trust, Geemeff, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Montana Osprey Project, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Blackbush, Cowlitz PUD, American Eagle Foundation, Ventana Wildlife Society, VGCCO, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Newfoundland Power, Charlo Montana, LDF, BoPH, Dyfi Osprey Project, Dorsett Hobby, Eagle Club of Estonia, Raptor Persecution UK, and The Guardian.
Friday was a really beautiful day. The sky was a clear blue and there was no rain and little wind. The temperature was 24 C. It was a good day to check out the goslings and ducklings at the park later – I went around 1700 and they were coming out of their shady island nests to swim. Even with the sprinkler system, the rain and the heat are causing some algae/pond plant problems.
It was really hard to see the tiny ducklings.
Oh, I adore the little female Wood Ducks.
This Mallard had two surviving ducklings. Many had 12 or 13 and it was hard to tell as the Canada Geese do their ‘daycare thing’ so you might see several geese caring for nearly forty youngsters while the other parents forage.
Five beautiful and tiny little wood ducks.
My garden is lush. The water has caused everything to thrive in a year when I worried as the winter had been so dry. Some of you will recall that there was a peony plant and a climbing rose that were planted on my property in 1902 when the old two-story house was built by Italian rail workers. Both are still alive. The peony is full of buds that will bloom soon and the rose is simply bursting with buds. I coddle it as if it were the most precious thing and I often wonder who lived here and who the woman was who planted the roses and the peonies.
The roses now cover an area of approximately 3 metres by 5 metres. The area is absolutely thick with branches laden with these amazing buds. What a treat! I am already dreaming of what it will be like to sit next to the flowers and sip my tea when they bloom – imagine the scent!!!!!!!
I feel that I am such a bearer of bad news these days. There are so many issues that face our raptors and many of those are playing out around the world. You might recall that there was heavy rain and flooding around the nest of Liberty and Guardian. It was noted that the tree was dead. Today, Sol is dehydrated, and death could be imminent. FORE has tried to get a tree climber but the tree is in too bad of a shape for them to climb. Liberty tried to feed her eaglet but Sol was not interested.
Over the years the citizen scientists, like yourself, observing the nests of all avian species have noted issues with nests. If it isn’t happening (and certainly some places are diligent at inspections), nests should be inspected annually prior to breading season. Dead trees, sadly, should be taken down so that we do not find ourselves in the situation with Liberty and Guardian’s Sol. This might also help with nest collapses when the nests are simply too large and heavy rain would cause them to crash potentially killing eaglets.
Sadly Sol passed away Friday morning. He was 77 days old. Right ready to fledge.
For those concerned for Luna, boots on the ground found her and she is alive and well. What a relief!
At the Fraser Point Nest of Andor and Cruz, Reign has fell off a nest that is collapsing. She was found safe under the nest!
The full report of Ospreys on the Iberian Peninsula for 2023-24 is now available.
Two juveniles on Tor – those West End fledglings are strong. Thunder and Akecheta got them a lot of high quality food. We see it in their spunk and in their flying. But, oh, to have such open spaces without buildings. They are blessed.
All three West End Eaglets – Koa, Treasure, and Sterling were caught on video soaring together. How lovely.
Idris and Telyn did a great dual feeding for the osplets at the Dyfi nest in Wales. They are looking for names. Need to be unused river and mountain names in Wales. Check it out! Dyfi Osprey Project.
Those Montreal falcons really want to fly! If you are missing the Cal Falcons and San Jose ones, then take a look at these three.
Things have still to settled down at Loch Arkaig. C2 still dominates all the feedings.
Blue 022 gets the fish to the nest for CJ7 to feed the Fab Four.
New dad, Finnegan, is actively involved in every aspect of the family including security, delivering food, feeding Iris, and feeding the chick plus being support. What a guy. So thankful you came along, Finnegan. This is an amazing story unfolding on the nest Iris now shares with you.
Good night, Iris.
‘A’ alerts us to the second hatch. Iris didn’t get much sleep!
“Darling Finn was in with a late fish last night (14 June) at 18:53:45. It’s a nice size and appears whole. When Iris stands up to claim it, we can see the second tiny head in the nest. It is still very tired from the hatch, and only wakes up because Big Bob disturbed it by standing up, getting ready to be fed. Big Bob is gigantic already, so this second hatch is going to need to be a strong-minded chick. Iris begins eating while Finn checks out his offspring.
Finn stands and watches Iris feeding Big Bob, who is a great little eater. After a couple of minutes, he flies to the perch while Iris continues feeding. By 19:09 Big Bob’s face is covered in fish and he is falling into a food coma. Mum settles down to brood the pair. Finn flies down the nest, then at 19:16 heads off. Dad is back with a stick at 19:30:24 and leaves again immediately.
Shortly after 19:29, Iris stands and begins alerting. She looks upwards, continuing to alert loudly. Intruder? She calms down relatively quickly but continues to glance upwards and to her left (towards the camera). It is at this point that Finn arrives (from the opposite direction) with the stick, which he nearly brains the chicks with. After he leaves, Iris remains standing and occasionally glances at the same spot again.
Eventually, after a good rouse and another glance around, Iris goes to settle on the chicks but changes her mind and stays standing, looking around. Around 19:33:40 she has a good flap of her wings. Impressive.At 19:34 she carefully returns to brooding the chicks. At 20:06:30 Finn is back on the perch. He flies off again at 20:12:20.
This morning, Finn arrives on the nest just before 05:18, while it is still dark, to say good morning. He stands beside her. She is her usual very chatty self. He is silent. Having said only yesterday I’d never seen Iris sleeping tucked, she did so quite a bit last night (especially as morning approached). Shortly after 05:25, Finn set off to get breakfast. He returns soon after 06:30 but without a fish. Iris does not sound pleased by this development.
He does a little busy work on the nest, but when Iris stands up at 06:3424, he immediately flies off. Iris stretches her wings and then flies off the nest herself at 06:34:40. She is back at 06:35:13, so obviously just did a circuit of the car park. Dad is back just before 06:38, again with empty talons. Iris leaves again. Finn is standing on his left leg a lot, which I presume is just resting but I am hoping he has not suffered any injury to the leg. I don’t think so. He wonders whether/how to brood the chicks and looks around for Iris.
Eventually, shortly after 06:41 Finn settles down to brood the osplets. It appears Iris has taken breakfast into her own talons. Iris is back at 06:56:17. She has no fish. Finn gets up carefully and flies to the perch, allowing Iris to brood the osplets. Iris gets up, moves a large piece of bark, and settles down again. Why? Strange. After a good preen, Finn leaves again around 07:09, hopefully on a fishing expedition. Iris looks to have a good crop still but the chicks need feeding, especially the younger one.
It is now 07:25 and Finn is not yet back. I do hope this new baby is not too tiny and that it is able to get fed. I also hope that it is a female and the first hatch a male, but I doubt that. This first hatch is precocious, physically and behaviourally. It is strong and a very good eater. I am fearful for the younger osplet, but then always was with the lengthy gap (a full week) between the laying of those two eggs. We will wait and hope.”
An absorbing article about Iris and Finnegan with interviews with Dr Greene and his helper Sharon Leigh-Miles.
‘A’ has finally fallen in love with Ospreys! She writes, “Iris carefully supervised Finn’s first attempt at feeding their chick yesterday morning (14 June) at around 08:55. Initially, he wasn’t very good at it, finding it hard to reach down far enough to put the food into the chick’s beak, but after two or three efforts, he successfully gave the chick a bite. And another. He was good at getting the pieces small enough but leaning down to get the food into the chick’s beak took him a little more practice. But he is learning. Iris standing behind him, watching closely but not interfering, was so sweet. She is happy to teach him how to be a good dad – I’m surprised she is not more protective of the wee one, but she obviously trusts this guy and he has already proven himself to her in many ways. Certainly, he has demonstrated an amazing level of devotion to his family. Let’s hope he remembers that his primary role is away from the nest – fishing for the family and keeping intruders away from the territory. Family time is a bonus. But I do adore how proud he is of Iris and their chick. I wonder how he will manage provisioning for two osplets, Iris and himself.
By 08:57 Iris was a little concerned that far more fish was going into Finn’s mouth than into the chick’s beak and decided to intervene. When Finn tries to feed the chick a piece that is too large, Iris takes it from his beak and bends down to feed it carefully to the wee one. Finn continues to eat the fish, while Iris feeds the chick saliva several times. He keeps eating. She moves closer, obviously wanting more of this fish to be fed to the chick. (It is large and pretty much whole, so Finn is entitled to eat the head at least. Iris however is concerned only about feeding the chick.) When he turns to feed a piece to the osplet, she takes it from him again and feeds it to the chick. This is repeated several times, with Iris taking food from Finn to feed to the chick. This is SO sweet. They are not so much tandem feeding as team feeding. Iris is clearly teaching Finn about being a great dad.
Finn now concentrates again on eating for himself, so Iris settles down to brood the chick, though it remains visible at her breast. She reaches out to nibble at the fish Finn is holding down, as he continues to eat beside the nest bowl. He feeds Iris a couple of bites, then continues eating. She continues nibbling at the fish too. When Finn flies to the perch shortly after, he leaves the fish beside Iris. He returns to the nest at 09:33:35 with eyes firmly on the leftover fish. Iris has a lot to say. He nibbles on the fish a little, but soon leaves without removing the remaining fish.
He is soon back again (10:05), possibly with a stick, although Iris standing up obscures our view. She is very chatty. He is tall, dark and handsome, a man of few words. She settles back down to brood and he simply stands behind her on the nest, protectively. After a couple of minutes, he circles Iris and she stands up to show him his baby (and the hatching second egg, presumably). He looks down into the nest, obviously fascinated as always. She continues to chirp. Having closely examined his progeny, Finn flies to the perch. Iris continues chatting. By 10:19, she is settling down to brood again. Finn remains on the perch. There is still half a large fish (probably a fair bit more) remaining on the nest. “
We still have three chicks at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum! Mum provided good shade for much of the day and the three had some good fish.
Wow, that third hatch at Charlo Montana sure came quickly. Charlie looks on at this three kids and his new mate.
Little Mini had a bit of a crop earlier in the day from this feeding but was shut out later – something that bothered me a bit. It was rather submissive during a late feeding allowing the older Little Bob to lean over it and eat. I am hoping Little Mini was just full.
Only Bob at Sandpoint is a fat bottomed little cutie.
‘MM’ watched the Osoyoos nest for us on Friday and she reports: “It was offline again until about 9:30 this morning so not sure if there were any feedings before then but I have counted 6 so far today with the 6th one still taking place. For the most part they have been very small especially the first three or four. I’m almost certain at the first feeding(9:56 am) mom ate it all while the chicks bonked one another. The fish lasted all of 5 minutes, was so small you could barely see it. At 10:56 and 11:34 am dad delivered small fish again with each chick getting a few bites and mom also definitely wasn’t enough to fill their crops. At 1:26 and 2:51 pm he brought fish that were a little bit bigger but not by much. Again they each got enough to keep hunger at bay but still not seeing bulging crops like at other nests. Number 6 was delivered at 4:12 pm and was still ongoing when I started this email. It was definitely bigger than the others. As the chicks get older hopefully the fish will get bigger because there’s no way those tiny fish will fill up 3 growing chicks and mom has quite the appetite as well 😄 I noticed they are pretty well behaved whilst eating but not so much while there’s no food on the nest.”
The 6th fish of the day and the biggest. Thanks, ‘MM’
Two gorgeous feathered babes on the Patchogue nest!
The little one enjoying some fish on the Cowlitz PUD nest.
It is difficult to see if all the chicks are alright on the Oyster Bay nest because of the greenery.
Two surviving osplets at Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home are fantastic.
Smallie spent the night in the scrape. He is looking very well.
Prey continues to be provided for the Ns at the Cornell nest of Big Red and Arthur. Both fledglings appear to be flying strong.
‘H’ reports:
Dahlgren osprey nest: Early on 6/14, viewers noticed that the 12-day-old chick was in a deep hole in the nesting, and sitting on a bottom wood slat of the platform nest. The baby is surrounded by some articles of clothing, perhaps gloves (?), and can’t hardly move. So far, Helen has been able to feed her baby in that position. Viewers tried for hours to raise awareness with the nest owners. Finally this morning on Facebook is the response: Brigitte Schwurack Top contributor Thank you for your message, the owners of the camera are informed.
6/14, The weather started to clear, and it turned out to be a great day! Due to poor fishing, the youngest osplet, Darling, had not eaten for over 3.5 days. At 0917 Edie delivered a whole catfish, and Ding ate. Darling was not able to eat any of that fish. At 1015 Edie brought another whole catfish and fed Ding. While that was taking place, Jack arrived with a partial fish. Ding grabbed Jack’s fish, and Darling was quick to grab Edie’s catfish, and ate his first bites of food for over 87 hours. At 1024 Edie took the fish from Darling and began to feed him. Darling ate for about 40 minutes. At 1259 Edie landed with a partial ladyfish, Darling grabbed and mantled, but Ding took it away. Ding ate until 1334, then walked away. There was still a lot of fish left, and Darling self-fed on the ladyfish. At 1337 Edie brought a whole ladyfish, Darling abandoned the other one, and Edie fed some of the new fish to Ding, but most to Darling. At 1428 Edie fed the remainder of the first ladyfish, mostly to Darling, and some to Ding. Finally, at 1956 Edie delivered a partial catfish. She fed Ding, and then Ding did some self-feeding. Everyone’s prayers had been answered for tons of fish. Darling had a large crop for most of the day. We are so very thankful that the weather cleared and Edie and Jack were able to catch fish, and that our dear Darling is still with us!
6/14 Forsythe osprey nest: There are not enough fish being brought to this nest. It has already undergone brood reduction once. Mini4 died of siblicide/starvation on 6/11. There were four fish brought to the nest on 6/14, and none were very large. Big and Middle were both responsible for preventing Little from eating for the second straight day. Little passed away overnight…COD siblicide/starvation. Big also controls when Middle is allowed to eat, and Middle ate a total of 156 bites of fish the entire day. This may end up being a one-chick nest, where once there were four of the cutest little osplets you had ever seen.
6/14 Fenwick Island osprey nest – Captain Mac’s Fish house: Congratulations to Johnny and June on the hatch of their first baby at approximately 19:45.
6/14, Patuxent osprey nest: There were six fish brought to the nest by Dad, and a couple were whoppers! Everyone had a great day, and Little had several good private feedings. Remarkably, at meal #5, Little was eating right beside Big…as if they had been best buddies their entire lives!
It was almost daylight, and I thought the osplet had survived another night without being hit by the GHO. At 0538 C1 was standing up in the nest when she was struck hard by the GHO. The GHO was not able to take her. C1 managed to grab the rail sticks with her talons, but had been thrown off balance, and she eventually fell off the nest. That nest is very high, and we hoped that she was able to flap and float down to the ground. Well, she did better than that…. The nest owner saw C1 flying across the lake!
‘J’ sent us an update on Connick, Connie and Clive’s eaglet from 2023.
‘J’ also sent us an update on Chance:
‘RP’ sent us a smile:
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, EJ, H, J, MM, PB, RP’, FORE, Vicki Jacques, BVS Girl, Aguila Pesiadora, The Raptor Resource Project, BocianiMyBolewice, IWS/Explore, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch Arkaig, Montreal Falcon Cam, Geemeff, BoPH, Montana News, Charlo Montana Osprey Cam (Owl Osprey Project), MN Landscape Arboretum, Field Farm, Sandpoint Ospreys, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, PSEG, Cowlitz PUD, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Amersfoort Peregrine Falcon Cam, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Lake Murray Ospreys, Forsythe, Patuxent River Park, Dahlgren, Fenwick Island, and CBS Sunday Morning.
The rain clouds came Wednesday evening and watered the garden and they are rolled in again from the West Thursday morning. Hugo Yugo is afraid of the thunder and lighting and the minute it starts she scatters to get under the duvet on my bed. Poor thing. Friday is a different matter. There are no clouds in sight. The sky is a pure beautiful blue with the bright emerald green from the trees decorating it. Everything is so lush. I have never seen trees and shrubs grow so much in such a short time. It just shows how much we need the water and how dry our winter had been.
I spent about three hours walking at the zoo on Thursday and about an hour sitting and having tea and watching the polar bears. It was the most glorious day. I am hoping to be a good example to all of you to get out and about, but I have to admit that I was pretty sore and tired after that!
The bears had been fed and were swimming in the icy cold water area before they left to go into their den. They are so gorgeous and are extremely well cared for. (I am still not sure what I think about zoos).
Besides spending time in the research centre learning how climate change is hampering the ability of these iconic bears to get food, I also found out how the staff at the zoo determine if one of them is ill. They put different coloured sprarkle bits in their food. So Bear A might have green, Bear B red, etc. Then they check their poop. Reminded me of the movie, The Last Emperor of China.
Polar bears are most active in the winter and hibernate during the summer. Churchill, Manitoba, is the Polar Bear Capital of the World. I do not know when they gave that small town on Hudson’s Bay the moniker, but today, if you want to see Polar Bears, you must go out in boats at two specific times of the year – spring and fall. The times are getting later and later as the sea ice gets smaller and smaller and further away from land. The bears have great difficulty getting food. They must fatten up in the winter to live on the fat all during hibernation. Sadly, they are hungry because of fewer and fewer seals. Some bears are catching seals in open water, and in the fall, they are desperately hungry. They come into Churchill and feed on garbage, which causes the citizens to get upset and the bears to be shot. Life is becoming desperately hard for them.
Sad news coming in this morning. One of the four fledglings at San Jose, Luna, has been found dead on the ground following a building collision. Thank you ‘SP’ for alerting me.
As I ready for bed, there is serious concern over the Captiva Osprey nest. Connor from Window to Wildlife posted the following letter. This is one of the nests that ‘H’ monitors and she notes that Darling has had nothing to eat (but perhaps a few scraps) in 75 hours. This is because of the weather. We are hoping for a miracle but are realistically expecting Darling to pass away.
‘H’ reports on Captiva which is a nest she monitors: “6/13 Captiva ospreys: The stationary tropical wave weather pattern that extends all across south Florida is expected to continue for the next few days, albeit with conditions predicted to be a little less severe in some places. The two osplets, Ding and Darling, had eaten a meal the evening of 6/10. Then fishing became impossible due to the stormy weather, not just because of the wind and rain, but due to the effect it had on the water surface and water turbidity. The evening of 6/12 Edie brought a partial catfish to the nest which was eaten by Ding. The morning of 6/13, Jack delivered a partial needlefish that was eaten by Ding. In the afternoon, Edie brought a partial catfish, and that was eaten by Ding. And, in the evening, Jack delivered a partial sheepshead that Ding ate. The shortage of food has rekindled Ding’s ultimate dominance over Darling, and Ding wins the battles for the fish. If enough fish is brought to the nest, Darling will win some of those battles, and Ding may also allow Edie to keep a fish to feed Darling.
In my opinion, if Darling passes, it will have nothing to do with Jack’s injury. This is about the weather. It is a prolonged weather event that a young unfed osplet cannot endure. And, I’m sure this scenario is being played out at many osprey nests all across south Florida that have been impacted by this nearly-stationary tropical wave.
This is exactly the same effect that the Nor’easter had in New Jersey last June. Certain adverse weather systems simply hang around too long, causing poor fishing that lasts for too many consecutive days…not just one day, or two days, but three days or more. The end result is the starvation/dehydration deaths of many young ospreys. In some cases, the prolonged stormy weather may cause the deaths of the adult ospreys as well. For example, at the Ocean City, NJ nest, where the parents disappeared after the June 2023 storm, intruders took over the nest, and the osplets died in the nest.
When the weather begins to improve after such a prolonged adverse weather event, and the adult ospreys are able to catch a fish, they must eat at least part of the fish to ensure their own survival, before bringing the remainder of the fish to the nest to feed their young. Then, the dominant osplet in the nest will eat first.
At Captiva, Edie was providing for her two osplets just fine for three days in Jack’s absence, while we were unaware that he had been injured. Then the storm hit, and made fishing impossible for an extended period of time. Now that fishing has started to improve, and both Edie and Jack have been able to bring a few fish to the nest, the eldest osplet, Ding, has first dibs on the food. If Darling dies, it will not be because of Jack’s injury. It will be due to the storm, and because s/he happens to be the youngest osplet in the nest.
By 07:00 on 6/14, Darling will not have eaten for 84 hours. Pray for enough fish this morning to feed both Ding and Darling.”
6/13, Forsythe osprey nest: After 10 fish were brought to the nest by Oscar on 6/12, this nest took a nose dive…with no apparent explanation. At 0822, Oscar delivered a medium-sized headless fish. Little was not permitted to eat at that meal, and Middle only ate a few bites. After many hours, Opal decided to go fishing herself, and she returned with a large whole fish at 1530. That feeding lasted for 40 minutes, and yet Little only ate 4 bites of fish. He was prevented from eating by both Big and Middle. We saw Oscar on the perch, but perhaps he wasn’t feeling well. Little ate pretty well on 6/12, so he is not in immediate danger of starvation.
6/13 Patuxent: There were six fish brought to the nest by Dad. Little did not manage to eat at the first meal, but had a nice 12 minute private feeding at the second meal. Little was not able to make it to Mom’s beak during the next two meals. Little usually automatically assumes his tuck-and-surrender posture when a fish is delivered to the nest, and he has learned to wait his turn until Big and Middle are full. But, at meal five, he fell asleep while waiting, lol. The meal began at 1600, and by 1616 both Big and Middle had dropped back…queue Little…calling Little…where’s Little?…Oh my goodness, he had fallen asleep! Mom ate some of the fish, and all of a sudden Little woke up at 1621 and said, “Oh, here I come Mommy, save some for me.” But, there were only two bites of fish that Mom had left to feed her youngest. Ahh, but Dad wasn’t finished…he delivered a large headless fish at 1822, and Little had a mostly private feed for 23 minutes and ate 145 bites of fish.
6/14 South Cape May Meadows osprey nest: We knew that the crow most likely destroyed egg #3 on 6/8, and it pecked at another egg. One egg hatched on 6/11 which could have been either the first or second egg. Well…another egg hatched overnight on 6/14! So, the first baby was from egg #1 at 39 days, and the second baby was from egg #2 at 39 days. “Now, you two must get along..Ya hear!” Congratulations to Hera and Zeus!
6/14 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: The second baby hatched overnight. Congratulations to Louise and Harvie! (I do not have any good photos yet)
6/14 Boathouse osprey nest: Congratulations to Dory and Skiff on their first baby of the season. The lil’ one hatched just after 8 a.m.
Gosh, that is a cute little baby, Heidi! Look at those dark eyes.
Thanks so much, ‘H’. We love your reports!
One of my readers said this morning that ‘the Montana nest might bring us the happiness we need this year’. With all the worry about Jack at Captiva with ‘the something’ sticking out of his leg (looks like part of a fishing spear to me), and all the nests that have four chicks, and now Loch Arkaig with the ferocious C2, well. It is going to be nice to sit and watch Iris live out a wonderful summer. She always had the best nest in the country. She would work on it right after she arrived from migration and then stop and make sure it was in tip top shape when she left. Just look at it. Perfect. This is just the best ‘icing on the cake’ for this female. A devoted male after so many years. When did Stanley die? 2014? If you look at the timeline below, you will see that the fledge in 2018 was just a fluke. It has been ten years since Iris had a clutch of chicks that fledged! So this really is a miracle year.
So far, Finn is delivering on his promise to continue to be a good mate and dad. A huge fish came on the nest for Iris and baby Thursday morning.
The enthusiasm for a big fish for the babe and Iris caused some concern Thursday afternoon. ‘MB’ writes, “Some clumsy/scary looking moments at Iris’ nest 14:50 ish. A large fish arrives complete with head. The two adults both seem keen to wrangle it, more interested in the fish than the chick. The wee chick is trodden on a few times. It goes down and stays still for a while, and I am holding my breath. By 15:00 ish the chick is back up and begging and the fish has been taken over to the perch to be sorted out. Hopefully it will arrive back for a more civilised feeding.”
Goodness me. We do not need a nest accident! Iris and Finnegan with that whole fish and wee babe wanting fish!
Finnegan looks down at the wee babe while Iris feeds. Oh, I wish I could see what he is thinking.
‘A’ adores Finn: “Finn does appear young, but if he has never done this before, he sure is a natural dad. He adores Iris and worships this tiny creature in the nest. He watches it with absolute fascination, and spends quite a bit of time on the perch, guarding his family with obvious pride. Adorable.
You should see the size of the afternoon fish he brought it – it is MASSIVE (timestamp 14:51:15). Iris is happy! She starts to eat, but Finn decides he’s hungry too, so there is a bit of a tug of war over the fish, with the chick rapidly moving out of the way for fear of being squashed by this giant fish. Iris returns to brooding the chick and Finn starts eating the head of the fish. The chick is confused!
Finn takes the fish to the nest perch and continues eating. And eating. And eating. By 15:32 Iris is getting impatient, and Finn brings the fish back to the nest. He stands beside Iris, looking very proud, until 15:40, when he grabs the fish and brings it around to Iris’s head. She is periodically vocalising at Finn but not getting up for the fish!
Finn continues eating the fish head, occasionally offering a bite to Iris, who ignores it. Just before 15:43, he feeds a bite to Iris, which she accepts. She finally stands up, and slowly moves around to the fish. It is 15:44 and the chick is hungry. Finn stays on the nest, and the chick is not sure which parent to turn to for food. Iris is eating. Finn is watching his chick from the other side of the nest cup. Finally, around 15:45 Iris starts feeding Bob. The chick is good at this part! It is a voracious little feeder and can hold its head up, and steady, very easily indeed. It is strong and it is healthy. Such a blessing. Iris is giving her baby the smallest pieces – just right for a newborn osplet. She is such an experienced mum – calm and diligent. In fact, this chick seems to have inherited some pretty good genes all around.
Oh I love this little family. Finn is proving to be a perfect dad, He could not be prouder of his osplet and he adores Iris. I know how many people are just over the moon for Iris. Every girl deserves a Finn in her life! I adore the way he feeds her on the nest. SO sweet. I have never seen a feeding like yesterday’s – yes, a few bites, but not a full eight-minute feeding that involved at least 50 bites of fish. That really was something very special indeed. I love this guy. Not just delivering fish but breakfast in bed for the new mum. He’ll be bringing flowers next! “
A pip in the second egg of Iris and Finnegan has been confirmed Thursday evening. Tears. Get the tissue boxes out!!!!!! The champagne is already gone.
The three babies at Charlo Montana are soooooo tiny.
C2 finally let up and everyone, including Dorcha, got some fish out of the sixth delivery of the day. Did I say that C2 is a big female and behaves like Zoe, the osprey, at Port Lincoln of 2022?
All of the osplets at Field Farm are accounted for!
A flurry of a tandem feeding at Poole Harbour with CJ7 and Blue 022 trying to keep the four osplets alive and healthy. They are doing an incredible job.
Blue 022 is great at feeding. Both adults were rushing to get the four fed as heavy rain was coming into the area.
One surviving Osplet, one deceased by a nest accident, and it looks like a DNH egg at Sandpoint.
Those three are tough little osplets at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. They are still alive!
It is extremely difficult to see how many or how little fish are coming to the Osoyoos nest with its three osplets. Soo and Olsen have had a tough time of it in recent years. The area has been hit with heat bombs and the local lake and river that supply the fish appears not to have enough fish – or it is so warm that they are diving deep – that Olsen cannot catch them.
I noted three feedings on Thursday. At 1034, 1536, and 1656. This is not enough to sustain this family.
If you have the time, the Osoyoos cam is up and running. Any help in establishing how many fish come on this nest would be ever so helpful. Thank you.
It’s hot at the Cowlitz PUD nest. Three osplets. We need lots of fish to come on this nest!
Perhaps it is my imagination but it seems like the fish deliveries at some of the nests with small babies – that need to be fed a little but many times over – are slow.
Waiting for pip/hatch watch at Captain Mac’s Fish House Osprey platform.
Maya keeping her Only Bob dry from the rain at Rutland. What a great Mum she is. So sad she was sick at the beginning of the season. The ringing of the chick is scheduled for June 21.
At the Golden Eagle nest #2, Mum has brought prey in a couple of times on Thursday. Both chicks ate.
Edith P caught the feeding on video.
Golden Eaglet in Bucovina România doing well.
Some images from the nest of Big Red and Arthur and the new fledglings, the Ns.
The two hawklets at Syracuse have both branched and the nest is bare. I am thinking they both might have fledged.
‘H’ is watching for a pip Thursday evening for Dory and Skiff. Will see what she reports in the morning.
Hatch at nest #3 in Finland. (One egg had nest accident and one other egg left to hatch)
One osplet so far at nest #1 in Finland.
Some of you will have read the book Beauty and the Beak. I am sorry to inform you that Beauty has passed away.
Thank you so much for being with us today. There is joy tinged with great sadness. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, images, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB, SP, T’, Connor and Window to Wildlife, Patuxent River Park, Forsythe Ospreys, SCMM, All About Birds, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Charlo Montana Ospreys, Geemeff, BoPH, Sandpoint Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, Osoyoos, Cowlitz PUD, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, Captain Mac’s Fish House, LRWT, Eagle Club of Estonia, Edith P, Wild Bucovina Association, Cornell RTH, Heidi McGrue, Nesting Bird Life and More, Finnish Osprey Foundation, and Birds of Prey Northwest.
