Category Archives: World Albatross Day 2023

World Albatross Day…Monday in Bird World

19 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that each of you had a lovely weekend. It is World Albatross Day today and the theme this year is the harm that plastics due to the sea and to these fish eating beauties. They fill up with plastic ‘things and then get so full they cannot eat real food and die. They feed plastic to their babies like SP at Taiaroa Head, NZ. Th e Royal Cam chick of the year. Then they die. How can we help? Let’s start at home. The next time you purchase an item, try to go plastic free. Then do it again. Soon you will be doing so much good for the environment, yourself, and our precious wildlife.

“‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ on World Environment Day 2018” by United Nations Information Service Vienna is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Today is a run-through of many nests because I have not caught up with some for a few days. There are only brief notes to say that they are alright. I know that many of you wait for the news of some of the nests that we are concerned about. Hopefully, this will give you a quick sense of how they are doing. I apologise that this reads a bit like a grocery list. It is also the day that I drive north to the Grindstone/Hecla Island Provincial Parks to attempt a count of the Bald Eagle nests around the island. Last year the nests were flooded. All of the eggs were lost. I will take you to the islands and show you a different part of my province and its wildlife.

The area was initially settled by people migrating from Iceland and many of the communities in the surrounding area are populated by people of Icelandic descent.

I am also looking forward to stops along the way and little day trips to areas where I have never been…a breath of fresh air from the City OR will it be with the forest fires?

We need a smile. Thanks, Cal Falcons.

I want to give a big shout-out to Kathleen at Marder’s. Two of their osplets died, and the third is not in good shape. They responded quickly. Marders has a lift ready to retrieve the two little eaglet bodies. They will be refrigerated so that they can be collected by the DEC. Dr Gavin Hitchener will perform the necroscopy if the bodies are not too decomposed. Marder’s loves their ospreys. This has been a sad year for them and others along this coast.

Nest and Scrape Round Up:

I am going to start with a couple of the Latvian nests. My friend Sassa Bird is dancing with glee as the rains are coming down in Latvia. I hope she doesn’t mind…her note was so joyous. She says, “I can happily report that it has been raining for two days in Latvia. Finally!!! I can’t remember the last time when I was so overjoyed about raining and taking it in with all my senses. I’m so happy for all the wildlife getting some relief. We already see a rapid change in the feeding pattern at our live-streamed white stork nest – they’re getting more and more of all the little creatures that have come out of hiding.”

When I went to check on the nests, the forest is so alive with song and life!

White Storks, Tukums, Latvia: They will be so happy because of the rain! Sassa Bird says they have been eating much better since the rains began.

Lesser Spotted Eagles, Latvia: The nest of Anna and Andris and their only surviving eaglet. The rains have brought out the small animals and Andris brings a vole to the chick on the nest who is hungry.

Video of Anna bringing a bird for the chick, Arturs, on 18 June.

Karl II and Kaia Black Stork Nest, Karula National Forest, Estonia: No rain yet for this couple and their three storklets after the brood reduction of Little Benjamin. Send them good positive energy. Let the rains come and the frogs come out of hiding! Such a lovely family.

No rain but Karl II found some fodder for the storklets and Kaia gave them water…Here are the feedings from Sunday.

Kaia giving water to her storklets.

Black Stork Nest, Lodz Poland: The only surviving storklet was getting a feeding when I last checked! Good news.

Black Stork Nest, Wolsztyn, Poland: Missing Tytania returns to the nest after a three-day absence. Want to see ‘stork’ happiness? Watch. Do not, for a second, ever let anyone tell you that wildlife do not have emotions.

White Stork Nest, Mlady Buky: The four storklets of Bety and Bukacek have been ringed and are growing and growing. The food source must be very good in this area of The Czech Republic.

Collins Marsh: The third osplet has died either late on the 16th or the 17t of June, 9-10 days old. Image is of Mum with her two surviving osplets and a partial fish.

Cowlitz PUD: Looks good today.

Newfoundland Power: Three eggs being incubated at the nest that is considered a ‘lost hope’. Let’s see if we can get a fledge here this year! That would be brilliant.

Fortis Exshaw: There are two hatches. The second shortly after the first. Yeah for delayed incubation! Rain is there and windy. Fingers crossed. It is a really deep nest cup and this could help these hatchlings.

Boulder County Fairgrounds: Gosh, this nest is doing well today.

HellGate, Missoula Montana Ball Park: Star and Louis have three osplets this year. That is why Louis has been so busy! He doesn’t have time to go over to that ‘other’ nest.

Severna Park: ‘H’ says that everything is fantastic. Big and Middle are now thriving and we remember Little. Great screen caps, ‘H’. Thank you.

Forsythe: ‘H’ reports that the nest has settled down with the death of Mini and that all were lined up eating without beaking.

Dahlgren: This osprey nest has just been civil and peaceful all season. The chicks are doing great. Thanks’ H’.

Kent Island: It seems that Audrey has figured out that she needs to feed her Only bob! As ‘H’ says, ‘thank goodness’.

Patuxent I: Serene.

Patchogue. Sunday is always a bad day for fish on this nest. I wonder if it is the number of people going outside to the creeks and lake? Mini never gets all the food it wants, but the wee one started out alright with a massive crop at 0908. That was good because Mini got shut out of several fish later in the day. Keep an eye on Mini for me on Monday. Send me a note telling me how it did. Thank you!

There is so much rubbish on our osprey nests. Mum tried to get rid of that clear plastic. Every nest should be cleaned, thoroughly, before the next breeding season starts.

Oyster Bay: The three seem to be doing alright.

Outerbanks: Kathryn reports that the nest is tranquil compared to the other two nests she observed. It has to be – 9 fish before 1230! Gracious. Incredible.

Barnegat Light: This is now the problem nest with Big beaking Little almost constantly. ‘He’ kept close tabs on this nest on Sunday and Little did manage to get a total of 239 bites but there were a lot of feedings. Hoping the aggravation and dominance from the first hatch settles down.

Finland Saaksilvie 1: All is good.

Finland Saaksilvie 5 (LS): Nice fish deliveries. Chicks are in the Reptile phase. All is good.

Poole Harbour: Life is sweet for the trio of CJ7 and Blue 022. Lots of fish, growing like mad. Little Reptiles in the making.

Llyn Brenig: All is great in Wales!

Loch of the Lowes: Laddie brought in a huge trout for the family. All is good.

Manton Bay: The problem is this is such a successful nest that I don’t always check in. Beautiful trio. Banding soon…Proud parents Maya and Blue 33.

Dyfi Ospreys: Wet chicks! Banding in about a week. Well done Idris and Telyn.

Loch Arkaig: Many have said that they are glad that Louis and Dorcha had only this Bob as it is a handful and a half. Cannot even imagine with all the fine fish the life the Middle might have had! LOL.

The latest news from Kielder:

New-post-Nest-5A-newsDownload

Imperial Eaglets, Tatarstan, Russia: The two eaglets of Alton and Altynay are doing fantastic! So big and healthy!

Evergy Topeka Scrape: The older siblings have fledged and are getting fed at the scrape and mid-air while the third hatch with its underdeveloped plumage waits in the scrape hoping for a feeding. The company and a wildlife rehabber in the area have been contacted by the situation. The eyas is beginning to develop feathers but is very late and some have not come out of their shafts. Looking better each day.

San Jose City Hall: What can I say? Soledad is trying out for the role of The Hulk.

Angel and Tom RTH: “Deyani is still on the nest at 6.15pm so hopefully we won’t get a late afternoon fledge (it is light at that nest until well after 9pm). Deyani finally killed the pine cone early this morning. It is now just a small piece. It is astounding to me that she is still on the nest. She is flapping and jumping all over the nest, prey spotting on the ground (we thought she was about to take the plunge this morning when she saw something particularly interesting) and perfecting some very vicious-looking grabbing and killing skills on innocent nest material. Such an exquisite hawklet.”

Later ‘A’ remarks: “Deyani’s only meal today was a bird (catbird according to some chatters) after 4pm, so the parents are definitely giving her the hint, I think. Angel spent the previous two nights sleeping on the branch near the nest (until then, she had spent every night on the nest with Deyani). Tonight, she is not there, but is presumably perched elsewhere in the nest tree, within eyeshot of her precious hawklet. So yes, six are clearly there, the food has been cut right back today and mum has left the building (or at least the near vicinity). So it’s time to fly sweetheart. We want you to stay forever but your parents have other ideas.”

One of the ways that we tell if a hawk let is ready to fly is to count the lines on its tail. It is better if you can clearly count six lines before fledge. Deyani clearly has 6!

Cornell Red Tail Hawks: The Ms. Big Red and Arthur’s kids. Flapping, jumping, and walking…But count the stripes on the tail of this one. Not 6.

Whew! Yes, like a grocery list. I will not be listing nests like this again but there could be some that are unfamiliar and you might want to check them out.

Wondering how it is going in The Gambia fighting Avian Flu? The fundraiser was successful and Conservation without Borders also got some additional help.

And last, climate change affects our feathered friends in many ways.

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

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that helped me to create my blog today: ‘A, H, Kathryn, Kathleen, Sassa Bird’, OpenVerse, Cal Falcons, Marders Ospreys, Latvian Fund for Nature, Arlene Beech and the Latvian Fund for Nature, Looduskalender Forum, Eagle Club of Estonia, Lodz Poland Storks, Mlady Buky Storks, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, Newfoundland Power, Fortist Exshaw, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Louis Matteau and Montana Ospreys at Hellgate, Severna Park, Forsythe Ospreys, Dahlgren Ospreys, Kent Island Ospreys, Patuxent River Park, PSEG, Outerbank 24/7, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Dyfi Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Kielder Forest, Imperial Eagles Tatarstan, Evergy Topeka, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Falcons, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, and Geemeff and Conservation without Borders.

Little Mini is the Early Bird again…Friday in Bird World

16 June 2023

Good Morning,

Thursday was a wonderful day full of field birding in the area of Delta Marsh at the southern end of Lake Manitoba and Island Park in Portage la Prairie. At least 29 species of birds at Delta Marsh – almost all vocalising while the Pelicans and Terns were busy catching fish. To be out among the living – in fields near a big lake – well, it simply lifts one’s spirits! The area is maintained by the Province of Manitoba and Ducks Unlimited. Those are the folks that I have a love-hate relationship. I am grateful that they expand and maintain wetland areas in our province such as Delta Marsh and Oak Hammock Marsh. Both are major flyways for migration. My only problem is ‘duck hunting’….

The haze from the wildfire smoke clouded the sky. Overhead, 77 Canada Geese were heading north in it. Do they know the fires are up there? Chevrons of 70-150 geese have been flying north for several days now. These geese have no goslings to care for….remember I am very worried about the numbers this year. They are heading for food, space, and cooler weather – although surprisingly it has cooled down the past couple of days in the southern part of Manitoba.

Three American Robins flitted about the parking areas. There are so many insects and mosquitoes…what a fantastic place to live and hunt. It was so quiet…no one else about save for a couple of men fishing down the road.

A female Yellow-headed Blackbird serenaded me from the path.

While her mate, across the path, was warning me to keep walking!

At a great distance, the Black Terns were fishing in Lake Manitoba.

A pair of Northern Shovelers were in a shallow pond nearby. It was such a variety of habitats.

At Island Park, a Goldeneye was being followed by eleven little ones.

A Mallard couple were resting in the sunshine while a female Mallard had a raft of ducklings she was trying to manage.

Did you know that a group of flying ducks is called a skein? If they are in the water, it is a raft, and if they are walking on the ground, the group is called a flock or a waddling.

Oh, these babies are so cute.

Sometimes it is just so wonderful to leave the city behind and be in a place where all you can hear is the sound of birds!

‘A’ sent this to me yesterday. You don’t have to be a Royal Albatross fan to smile when you hear SP do a skycall. It just melts your heart. Oh, we need to clean up how those ocean trawlers cast those long lines and stop the beheading of the osprey. We need to demand that they take the six simple steps to stop the killing of albatross as bycatch. Here they are- have a short read and educate yourself, and then set about studying which fish sold is responsibly harvested – if you eat fish.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/6-ways-us-fisheries-reduce-albatross-bycatch

19 June 2023 is World Albatross Day. This year’s theme, selected by The Albatross and Petrel Agreement, is Plastic Pollution. Here is more information:

Agreement-on-the-Conservation-of-Albatrosses-and-Petrels-World-Albatross-Day-2023-Photo-PostersDownload

And a video.

Now imagine that sweet little chick on the South Plateau trying to eat fish with an ocean full of plastic. You can help by refusing to purchase any items made of plastic. We now know that recycled plastic is not good for the environment. Choose alternatives.

We are now four days away from American Eagle Day in the US on 20 June. A posting by Sassa Bird reminds us of the challenges that eagles such as M15, E22, and Jackie and Shadow face every day.

While I was away today, Little Mini at Patchogue was eating and growing, eating and sleeping and growing. Seriously waking up and finding out that this fourth hatch had breakfast while I was still sleeping just makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

So the first fish comes around 0545 and like Wednesday, the big siblings are ‘sleepy’. Little Mini is gonna’ get the proverbial worm – in this case, a private 20 minute feeding. Little Mini has a huge crop at 0604 when he stops eating. The crop Little Mini had at 0748 was hilarious. Mini did not get any of the 0956 fish and the kid scared the wits out of me when he is hanging over the nest at 1414. Another fish lands on the nest at 1418. Little Mini is good. He sees it is a big one and he hangs back while slowly making his way around the rim of the nest so as not to alert the other three. Did someone on chat call them ‘The Three Witches of Patchogue’? At 1513, Little Mini is at the beak. Then another fish arrives at 1622, another at 1726, and at 1848. Little Mini was up and ready to eat at 1858. He didn’t get a lot but then another fish shows up at 2031. I thought Mini would go up but he didn’t bother.

0545:

0743:

Little Mini’s crop at 0748. Have a giggle.

This nest needs better rails!

1424 – making his way around the rails.

1729:

1858:

1903. I wold say that Mini did very well in terms of fish today. Mum has been so good to feed him better and thankfully those big siblings are not earlier risers. These parents are amazing. Dad fishes all day and Mum feeds almost all day long.

2018: Still has a crop.

Oh, I hope that this pattern that has been set for a few days continues at Patchogue. Little Mini got the early fish this morning as well. It is fantastic.

0622

0634

0804. Little Mini is getting feathers and has clown feet…oh, joy. Look at that lovely crop.

The Memorial Wall has grown to include 70 birds from the streaming cams now. The latest was Little Benjamin from the Karula Forest Black Stork Nest of Karl II and Kaia. I mentioned this in Thursday’s blog – it must have been heartbreaking as this is the first time Karl II has ever had to do this horrific deed. So many nests are struggling and osplets dying…take a look at that listing for the last two weeks alone! We hope that there is enough food for the five in the family. Send good wishes to this Estonian couple. Black Storks are so rare and everyone has tried to help.

Little Benjamin sitting upright moments before.

Kathryn found another Osprey nest with a trio. This one is at Great Bay, New Hampshire! The chicks hatched on 24 May and the 27th of May – yes the last two on the same day seven and a half hours apart.

Kathryn says there is some submissive behaviour but, in the last image, you can see that all three have big crops!

Here is the link to their camera:

Sunnie Day reports that the Iowa DNR Osplets are doing great.

‘H’ reports on the Forsythe Nest where there are four osplets. Both ‘H’ and I are extremely concerned for Mini who had only 30 bites of food on Thursday and 34 on Friday. This is not enough to sustain life.

At South Cape May Meadows, there is new life. I kept hoping Mum would give us a good look, but no. Sure are a nice looking couple – let’s see how he does with fishing, and she does with feeding!

Oh. surprise. ‘H’ noticed the second hatch this morning at SCMM!

Every time I watch the Boulder County Fairgrounds nest, I start to have palm sweats. Then I am proven wrong…the wee third hatch gets to eat!

Just look at that face! Seriously, osplets can be joyful and enthusiastic when eating fish!

The third hatch at Oyster Bay has a fat little bottom.

Tom and Audrey’s first hatch at Chesapeake Conservancy is a cutie.

The only osplet at the Cowlitz PUD is doing great!

‘A’ looks at Deyani and remarks, “I’m glad we have our exquisite hawklet for at least one more day. Every moment is becoming more precious as the time for fledging grows ever nearer. Will we ever be ready? I doubt it.” Beautiful – and not a bunny will be left on that farm! Deyani has the most beautiful water blue eyes.

Everything seems to be just fine at Severna Park ospreys. Middle is practising some self-feeding. And Big is as big as Mum.

All three at Barnegat Light are either in the Reptile phase or entering it. Fingers crossed for Little Bob. Still tiny and still precarious feeling.

The trio at Dunrovin Ranch in Colorado are big and doing fantastic.

Those two at Jack and Harriet’s nest in Dahlgren are doing great, also. Nice big crops and growing like weeds…and I am not seeing so many toys in that nest now. Thank goodness.

At Loch of the Lowes, Laddie brought in a big fish, and everyone ate including Mum, Blue NC0. Nice.

Idris and Telyn have BIG Bobs…I blinked. Just look at these two.

CJ7 and Blue 022 are such great parents. It has been a joy to watch them raise chicks for the second year.

Those amazing wildlife rehabbers! Two osprey chicks hatched from eggs and fostered. Thanks, Sunnie Day.

HARWICH PORT — 06/14/23 — A couple of osprey chicks await to be re-nested. A couple of osprey chicks were re-nested at Bud’s Go-Karts where there is an existing nest. Wild Care Executive Director and Wildlife Rehabilitator Stephanie Ellis has raised the birds from eggs that were removed by wildlife officials from nests built on chimneys in Osterville and Falmouth. The chicks were placed into surrogate nests along with chicks their same age to be raised by a new set of parents.

MERRILY CASSIDY/CAPE COD TIMES

Thanks Sassa Bird for this joyous story. Bald Eagle parents – more than 30 years old have healthy triplets.

Thank you so much for being with me. I am up and out early, so there could be news I miss. Please send your positive wishes to those struggling, including the little one at Forsythe who seems to be shut out of early fish today. We may lose this baby. Take care, everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, postings, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A, H, Kathryn’, NoAA, Albatross and Petrel Agreement, ABUN, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Sassa Bird and the AEF, PSEG, Eagle Club of Estonia, Great Bay Ospreys, Sunnie Day and the Iowa DNR, Forsythe ospreys, SCMM, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Chesapeake Conservancy, Cowlitz PUD Window to Wildlife, Severna Park, Barnegat Light, Dunrovin Ranch, Dahlgren Ospresy LOTL, Dyfi Ospreys, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Sunnie Day and Harwich Point, and Sassa Bird and Alaska Rain.