Tag Archives: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac

Everything is good in Bird World. 17 October 2021

It was 19 or 20 degrees C, depending on which weather station you listened to, on the Canadian Prairies this afternoon. Those temperatures are traditional summer ones, not middle of October! As a result, my foray to photograph Wood Ducks went sideways. It was a beautiful Sunday and everyone was outside in their summer clothes with bikes or skateboards, picnic lunches or books or both.

“Kildonan Park” by RWTurenne is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I do not blame them but, it was impossible to get near the ducks and the Canada Geese in the pond near the Witches’ Cottage in Kildonan Park.

“Kildonan Park” by Travy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

We may get our first frost on Wednesday evening but until then the days are going to be brilliant. No doubt those ducks will still be around awhile longer.

“Lots of Ducks” by theclyde is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

There was a small altercation at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge around 09:24. It is unclear what got into Middle Bob but he had a bee in his bonnet and decided he wanted to take it out on Little Bob. The skirmish lasted three eyelid blinks and it was over. And it did not put Little Bob off in the slightest. He was up front and ready to eat when the next fish was delivered at 12:16:01. Indeed, there had been two fish deliveries and feedings already – at 6:34:35 and another at 8:21:17. All of the chicks have been preening feverishly. Wonder if it is the itch from the feathers that is making Middle Bob out of sorts?

The juvenile feathers are really coming in and depending on the way the light hits the nest you can hardly find the chicks.

Little Bob is up at Mum’s beak with Middle Bob to its right. Big Bob is facing off the nest and has a rather robust tummy and crop.

No one seems to have moved. Little Bob is eating first. Anything Middle Bob have done to try and intimidate him has not worked. I am just going to put it down to Middle Bob waking up on the wrong side of the nest! If Little Bob turns out like Tiny Tot Tumbles from the Achieva Nest, Middle Bob will wish he had not been naughty.

It was a nice sized fish – not a whopper – but, it topped the kids off, all of them. In six hours, three fish. Pretty good, Dad!

That is Little Bob in the middle showing his nice crop in the image below. Look at how the tail is growing on the chick to the right.

Little Bob is 32 days old today. That makes Big and Middle 34 days or if you count the other method – Big is 34, Middle is 33, and Little is 32. There is 51 hours between the time Big and Little hatched. That surely has had a strong impact on the peacefulness of this nest, this year.

There were some very tender moments between Diamond and her baby yesterday evening in the scrape box at Orange. Here is one of those.

What a difference it makes when the chick’s eyes are fully open and they can see their parent and that food coming in that big beak. This chick is 9 days old. Just imagine. A week ago it was hardly bigger than one of those eggs. It is healthy and strong.

One but, probably both, of the White Bellied Sea Eagles is going to fledge really soon. They can hardly contain their wings from flapping and their legs from jumping. Typically, fledges occur in the morning or evening. Keep your eyes open for news from this nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest.

For those of you following the Royal Cam Chick, Tiaki, this season, there were a few tense days when her sat-pak was not plotting her GPS. Today it began working – possibly due to needing to be charged -. She is well past the International Date Line on her way to the waters of Chile. That was such a relief for everyone. When those GPS units quit working everyone fears the worst.

Last year’s favourite Albatross, OGK, Pippa Atawhai’s Dad, has been in and out at Taiaroa Head waiting for the arrival of YRK, his mate. Oh, I hope she arrives soon!

Lady Hawk posted a video showing Tiaki’s location and OGK having to defend his territory.

Apparently, OGK left and the two love birds spent the night on a spot near to Pippa Atawhai’s nest.

First feeding for the 367 Collins Street Four in Melbourne. Everyone has a nice polished crop and that scrape box sure needs a good wind to hit it! They are soooooo big. Three seemed a lot to handle last year with those big females but imagine when they are ready to fledge. These parents are going to deserve a really good rest.

They were the stars of one of ABC’s breakfast television shows yesterday. Melbourne sure loves their falcon family! They also included Diamond and Xavier from Orange. It was wonderful that the Peregrine Falcons made it into the last round of voting for Australia’s Bird of the Year. Maybe next year!

One of the most interesting prey items was a quail that Dad brought in. Everyone is wondering where he found it. I mean, seriously, where do you expect to find a quail in a large city? the zoo?

What a wonderful way to end the day – all of the birds are fed and well taken care of. Life really is good on the nests. We are so very fortunate to be able to watch their lives.

Thank you so much for joining me. I hope to have some good images of the Wood Ducks this week. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: Sea Eagle Cam @Birdlife Australia Discovery Center, 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam at Orange and Cilla Kinross, and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

Thursday Late in Bird World

It might still be drizzly and cold on the Canadian Prairies but the rain has stopped on the Port Lincoln Osprey nest – Thankfully! The kids had a last feed at 19:44:28 yesterday. Today, two fish were delivered before 08:30.

Dad is eating his share before the delivery to the nest.

The second fish that arrived, in the image below, is a flat fish. The previous one was a round. You can check the difference quickly. There are Leather Backs and Mullets in Australia. But, sadly, while my father and sons and grandson could tell you the names of most fish, I can’t.

Little Bob is the only one left eating.

Little Bob is usually first to the table and the last to leave. That may be the only way that we recognize him in the future.

Even Little Bob finally got full down to the tip of his talons and Mum was able to enjoy some of that nice fish. Beautiful.

Yesterday, Xavier delivered a food item to the scrape box at Orange. Diamond was not home! He looked at his little one and went over and fed it some of the bird. What a sweet moment.

There have been several feedings already this morning. Diamond and Xavier’s Only Bob can see them – its eyes are wide open.

Peeking out!

Remember that very tired little one that could not hold its head still so you could count to 3? Look today! Those eggies will turn out to be props and toys to play with for this little one other than competition in the nest.

It looks like the Collins Street Four were treated to having a pigeon plucked in the scrape box. Here is the before. The scrape isn’t all that tidy but…

Did Mom make this mess? Or was it Dad?

That is the little one that look so hawk like with that bulging crop. Cute. Everything that they see they imprint. By plucking the pigeon in the nest they will quickly learn the method.

Everything is alright in Bird World and there is still most of a day to come.

This is a quick check on everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care!

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Saturday in Bird World

There is still time for you to put in your count for the October Big Bird e-Bird Count. You have until midnight as far as I know. In one hour we had 37 Dark-eyed Juncos, 3 Blue Jays, 3 Harris’s Sparrows, 1 American Robin, and a host of House Sparrows. There were also 3 grey squirrels and 1 red and then Little Woodpecker came when the new suet cylinder went up. I wonder if they sit and watch? or how good their noses are.

Everyone of them seems to know the minute the feeders are full and once the suet cylinder is finished when a new one is put in place. It is much cooler than it was a few days ago and the sky has been a light grey all day. I wonder how long the Dark-eyed Juncos will be with us?

There is, as far as I know, only one hatch at the Peregrine Falcon scrape box in Orange. The little one has been fed several times already. It gets full with 3 or 4 nice bites of prey.

And then it will pass out quickly in a food coma! It is quite frightening the first time you see this happen, especially with a newly hatched chick.

Yesterday I made a video clip of one of the feedings at the 367 Collins Street Peregrine Falcon Scrape.

The Collins Street Kids are really growing. The two larger ones now jump a bit to get up to Mum’s beak for the prey.

There was a beautiful golden glow on Mum at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge this morning. Viewers got a treat. The cam operator showed the Calypso Star I taking clients out for shark cage diving. You might know it but it was that business that allowed the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge and streaming cam to come into existence. Thank you Calypso Star!

It is 8:23 just now and the kiddos are still waiting for breakfast. They will certainly not starve! Never. Last night when they went to sleep their crops were bursting.

Once of those funny crop shots when they lean back to preen. Look how big that is. Each of them was the same.

Here’s Little Bob! Look at that crop and then look at his feet!!!!!! I love Clown Feet Time.

I am learning just to keep quiet on bird chats. A couple of days ago, a dear woman, who has been quite ill and is recovering, was more than put down because she suggested that birds have emotions. There is a lot of research on this subject. For the next week or so, I will post some academic/scientific papers on this topic. Some will be shorter and some longer. The one today concerns two particular emotions: fear and frustration. It is titled, “Avian Emotions: Comparative Perspectives on Fear and Frustration.” It was published in Frontiers of Psychology in December 2018.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6344452/

I grew up in Oklahoma (home of the Five Civilized Tribes before it became a state) where there are strong beliefs about animals and birds. They serve as messengers of the Spirits of the Indigenous people. Some offer warnings – others are there to help. Here is an interesting article birds as symbols.

Birds in Indigenous Tribal Religions

We are looking for a hatch for Xavier and Diamond today. It might not happen. If it doesn’t, it is just fine. Those who watched their scrape last year certainly came to love their only hatch, Izzi. He was quite remarkable.

Thank you for stopping in today. Remember to turn in your bird count if you haven’t already. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots and video clips: the Port Lincoln Osprey Project, 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt University at Orange Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Is it a hatch or two for Diamond and Xavier?

The Guardian is hosting its 2021 Australian Bird of the Year competition and the Peregrine Falcon has made it to the final 20. The voting started out with 50 birds with 5 eliminated each day. The falcons are down to the wire! Here is the link to cast your vote for your favourite bird but Xavier and Diamond really hope that you will vote for the Peregrine Falcon!

Oh, Mom, Dad, and the four eyases on Collins Street in Melbourne really hope that you will also vote for the Peregrine Falcon! No pressure. LOL.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/sep/27/australian-bird-of-the-year-2021-vote-now-for-your-favourite

It is not even dawn in Orange, Australia. Diamond has been restless all night. Is there a hatch? a pip? Most bets were for a hatch on 7 October and that is today!

Xavier always arrives around 06:00. Today it was 05:56. He approached Diamond cautiously. She is not going to budge. Something is happening! Diamond is sure not giving away any hints. Xavier is making sounds like a squeaky door. I wish I could speak falcon. Must be an eyas under there breaking out of its shell. Yippee..confirmation to come later.

Remember, you can watch the action here:

WBSE 27 and 28 are awake as dawn approaches. Both have been joining in the morning duet with their parents. Just precious. Both are healthy. WBSE 27 will be 10 weeks old on Thursday and WBSE 28 will be 10 weeks old on Saturday.

In the 10th week, the sea eaglets are fully feathered. There could be some downy feathers still developing under their wings. All of the feathers should be out of the blood quill and hard pinned now. The two will do much more wing flapping. Watch for them to stand more on one leg. The eaglets can self-feed but Lady does love to feed them, too. Flapping up to the branches is called branching and this can occur at any time as can fledging, the first flight.

I hope that the Pied Currawongs do not chase them out of the forest. They need to imprint the way back to the nest so they can get their flying better. Fingers crossed.

There appears to be a problem with the streaming cam of the Port Lincoln Ospreys. I can tell you that three fish had been delivered to the nest before I went to bed last night. The first was at 9:00:06, the second at 12:02, and the third was at 14:09:33. Everyone was really full with that last feeding. Based on the past history of fish deliveries that would have been at least two more fish deliveries if not three before the day was over. The nest is doing really well.

All three had big crops like these two. The third osplet has passed out behind the two still looking hopefully at mom to see if there is anything left.

Wonder what those brown things are in the nest?? What has Dad brought in?

Remember to vote for your favourite bird and also mark on your calendar 9 October for the Big Bird Count. I will remind you again how to participate the day prior.

Thank you for joining me. We are definitely in for a hatch or two or three today at Orange. Xavier is waiting anxiously! Take care. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, the 367 Falcons by Mirvac, the Falcon Cam by Charles Sturt University at Orange and Cilla Kinross, Sea Eagle Cam @ Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre.

Everything is just fine

I just watched the Dad at the Collins Street Peregrine Falcon scrape trying to feed a huge piece of pigeon to “the four”. He tried several beaks to see if any of them could handle it and then ate some and tried again. Bingo! Then he did it again. Bingo! These two are just amazing – the parents. It is a lot of work to feed 4 instead of the usual 3. I can’t even imagine what it will be like when each one wants their own pigeon! Makes me tired thinking about it.

The eyases are able to eat larger and larger pieces of meat.

Ah, so sweet. Open wide.

Here are some pictures of a beautiful mom a few hours earlier. The eyases have doubled in size. It is getting more difficult to brood them.

Notice how careful Mum is raising her leg to get off of the eyases, turn, and get to the ledge to take a break.

Whew. Oh, just look at how big those the chicks are that are sitting straight. If Victor Hurley could get to the scrape box and weigh and measure the wings of the eyases next week, he might have a good idea which are female and which are male. This, of course, will not happen. He does not wish to disturb them in any way. But a Peregrine Specialist can from those two measurements differentiate between the males and females at that early age. For us, when they are about 24 days old we should be able to tell the males from the females. The females are approximately 50% larger. According to the research, even though the females are so much larger they do not substantially require more food than the males, just about 25% more.

Ah, you will often see them playing with one another’s beaks. Beaks of course mean food! They will not hurt one another. They are much stronger today than they were yesterday and you will continue to see significant growth and strength.

Cutie Pies.

And, yes, all four are there! It is 22 degrees C in Melbourne. That is 71.6 in F. A really nice warm day.

Mom is taking another break. Sometimes if you listen very carefully you can hear Dad calling her. She has to eat, too, and Dad is in charge of filling the pantry. She will often pick up the food for the chicks and bring it to the nest.

You will notice that the parents do not normally leave food in the nest. You will also see Mum eating bits of old food left in the scrape. She doesn’t want to attract insects or anything that could harm the chicks. That level of cleanliness has evolved for millions of years.

Mom has now been gone for 12 minutes (my current screen time). The chicks are nice and toasty stacked up on one another on a beautiful warm Melbourne Day. Rest assured, the adults are not far away. There is someone nearby at all times despite the fact that there really are no predators in the area.

The Port Lincoln Osplets had their first feeding at 9:00:06. It was a really nice fish and very one was stuffed, leaving the table with a nice crop.

Just look at that crop on the chick in the foreground. My goodness. By my reckoning that is Little Bob. He might have had a bit of trouble getting into the right spot yesterday but it certainly looks like he did well this morning.

A half hour later and the chicks are still working on that fish.

Right before 9:30, the fish is completely finished. There is nothing left. One of the older siblings is looking at Mom. You can see their nice crop, too. Little Bob is the one with its head near Mom’s tail.

The second fish of the day arrived on the nest at 12:02. It was entirely consumed and the feeding fished at 12:20. My goodness.

The chicks are all lined up nicely for Mum. Everyone will be fed and the feeding will end with each of the three having a crop. If you are just joining us and are wondering what the word ‘crop’ means, it is like a pre-stomach stomach storage area in raptors. They can ‘drop their crop’ when they need food and energy. It really helps because out in the real world, away from mom and dad feeding them, the birds might not be so successful at fishing or hunting. This way if there is plenty they can eat lots and kind of store it for when there isn’t.

Little Bob is in the middle. You can see the ‘dot’ on his head in the image above and the stripe down his back is not as wide as the two older siblings. The length of the copper-red feathers coming in on the head and neck appears to be the same length now on all three. The tail feathers of the older two are longer.

At the end of the feeding the three were still lined up as they had been. This nest is so civil. Just causes smiles, big ones.

Oh, this has been such a great year to watch. Last year this nest was the one that almost made me stop watching Ospreys altogether. I am mystified but overjoyed. The only explanation is the closeness in the hatch. No one of the osplets is significantly smaller than the other- or the reverse, none is significantly larger than the others. Not like Tapps and Solly. In this instance, Little Bob is also tenacious and has not let Big Bob’s occasional attempts at dominance rattle him in any way.

In this short blog, so far, you have read about two Australian Birds. The Guardian newspaper out of London, UK is holding its voting for Australia’s Bird of the Year. You do not have to be Australian to vote. I will post the link. Please note that the Peregrine Falcon is still in contention! There is no Osprey to vote for but the Galah is still in contention. There are many other birds and you might have a different one you like. It doesn’t cost anything and every day some birds are knocked out of the competition. You can vote every 24 hours til the end. Please take part. It is a bit of fun!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/sep/27/australian-bird-of-the-year-2021-vote-now-for-your-favourite

Also mark 9 October on your calendar. That is the big e-Bird count for the fall that helps in understanding where the birds are with regard to migration. Last year Cornell reported that 32,000 people from around the world submitted 80,400 check lists with 7, 128 species observed.

I am certainly curious about this year’s migration because today it was 28 degrees in my City today. That is a temperature that years ago we never even hit in the summer. It has become more normal over the past four years but not digging into October. So please do take part. Here is the information and instructions on how to do so.

https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-2021

It is hatch watch for the Orange Falcons, Xavier and Diamond. Diamond has been letting Xavier do some of the incubating today. I hope she is spending some time enjoying herself in the sun. These two parents are going to be really busy very soon.

Royal Albatross male, OGK, spent the night on Taiaroa Head waiting for his mate YVR to arrive for the 2021-22 breeding season. Oh, he is such a handsome but sweet male. The amount of time and care he gave to his daughter, Miss Pippa Atawhai, when she was the Royal Cam chick a year ago won the hearts and minds of anyone who saw them together. He never rushed when he came to feed her. Always doing more than a few skycalls, OGK would often sit with his chick for long periods of time preening her and chatting. Sometimes he would even sleep!

It will be a joyous occasion when the two are reunited after being apart since before Miss Pippa Atawhai – their daughter and the 2020 Royal Cam Chick – fledged last September. I think OGK is anxious for his sweetie to arrive. Send all the positive wishes for this amazing couple. Maybe the NZ DOC will decide to have OGK and YRK has the Royal parents again this year. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Take care everyone. It is getting late and I want to go and check out my book on duck ID. Thank you for joining me. Stay safe, watch the birds and be joyful! Vote for your favourite Australian bird and be sure to register for the big bird count!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, Falcon Cam at Charles Sturt University in Orange and Cilla Kinross, the Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC.

Incredible

The weather in Port Lincoln, Australia deteriorated further with winds blowing at 47 kph around noon with even stronger gusts. The humidity is 74% and it is 14 degrees C.

The little ospreys were fed at 7:00:33 and again with the same fish returned at 8:09:50.

Dad delivered a whopper of a fish at 11:20:11 for the third feeding. Just look at the size of that nice fish. Little Bob is staring. It looks like his eyes are going to pop out! I bet he is already calculating where to get in the feeding line. Right now it looks like Big Bob is eating first. That is Middle Bob kinda’ slumped over. He still has a crop from the earlier feeding and he looks like he would rather sleep than eat.

That is an amazing fish. Thanks, Dad.

Nothing has changed in those three seconds. Little Bob is still staring and Big Bob is still eating.

Well, you can see from the image below, taken 29 minutes later, that not only did Little Bob figure out where to sit at the table but he has already been fed enough to make a nice sized crop. Middle Bob seems to have woken up and is ready to eat, too. Of all the chicks, Middle Bob seems to be terribly laid back for a raptor.

Thirty-eight minutes later and the only one remaining at the table is – yes, you guessed it – Little Bob. This kid can sure pack away the food. And he doesn’t seem to stop when he is full but keeps on going if there is fish to be eaten.

Speaking of fish. Look! There is hardly any fish left. What a feeding.

It had to be difficult trying to feed the chicks in such wind gusts. Can you believe it? Little Bob is still at the table, still eating.

Little Bob has one of those nice big crops that looks as if it would feel rock solid if you touched it. Of course, Little and Big are still waiting to see if there is any fish left. Middle Bob is out! Meanwhile, Mom has also gotten to eat some good pieces. She needed fish. That huge fish fed the entire family very well.

Little Bob is certainly doing well and can hold its own on this nest as long as Dad keeps getting the food in. He is certainly growing.

Everyone is full. Mom is holding those babies down tight on that nest – as tight as she can. The trouble is trying to get them all under! Look at that tail and those big feet. These osplets are doing well.

Let’s keep their hatch dates in mind. Big Bob on 13 September 22:03, Middle Bob on 14 September 02:30, and Little Bob 16 September 00:51. Little Bob is 51 hours younger than Big Bob. Today, Big Bob is three weeks old.

As you can see the chicks are getting their feathers. The rusty-gold-coppery ones (I often call them peach) are coming in nicely on the head and neck. You can see in the image above, the feathers starting on the wings and the little tails. Those feathers are often called ‘blood feathers’. Feathers need blood to grow. The blood quills will disintegrate once the feathers push through that quill. The flight feathers on the wings and tail will be the last to appear. The chicks are already doing some preening and, indeed, will spend a substantial amount of their time cleaning those feathers. Some researchers say as much as 70% of their time is spent working on their feathers. Right now we are in a rapid growth period where the size of the chicks is continually doubling with the feathers growing and the muscles in the legs and the wings developing. They seem to change their appearnance almost before our eyes. Most times it is hard to differentiate one from another.

The Collins kids are doing well, too. Here is a good look at all four of them from this morning:

This is an image from their last feeding about a half hour ago. No worries here either. Eyes are all open, everyone keeps their head up nice and high for food, and Dad is really cutting down on the number of pigeons in the area.

It is early afternoon for these Australian bird families. It is late on the Canadian prairies. I always sleep better when I know that all of the ‘babies’ have eaten. Take care everyone. Continue all those powerful positive thoughts you have been sending to Port Lincoln during this period of bad weather. It is obviously working!!!! See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: the Port Lincoln Osprey Project and 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac.

Late night check in with the PLO and Collins Street kids

The males have been working overtime it seems making sure that there is food for all of the nestlings.

As many of you know, the weather in Port Lincoln has been anything but ideal. The winds were blowing from 40-50 kph and there were white caps on the water. At one time the barge and nest appeared to be rocking around quite a bit. Still, a miracle happened. Having been hunkered down, Dad brought in the first fish for the osplets at 8:37:58. It was truly remarkable. But what was more outstanding was that he delivered a second fish at 8:38:02, a third at 10:14:25, and a fourth at 13:53. It is just now turning 15:00 on the nest. This is simply joyous. Everyone has eaten, they have had crops, and there has been complete civility.

I put in the image below for two reasons. The crops of the two osplets on the front row are getting bigger. Secondly, because that is Little Bob who is on the front left. I want you to have a very good close look at his cere, the lighter bits below the beak and the black line through his eye. Look at its thickness. It is thinner than the other two. additionally, his head is just a wee bit lighter, for now.

I believe that it is Little Bob and Big Bob eating with Middle Bob holding back. It will get fed. Do not worry!

You can almost lose them on the nest these days. Little Bob has decided to flap his wings a bit while Middle Bob eats some fish.

Just look at Little Bob. Chubby tail, wings, fat little bottom and those soft pantaloons to go with the big white clown feet. They are so adorable. I never knew pin feathers could be so strikingly beautiful.

Oh, dear, watch out Mum!

Ah, look at those legs! These osplets are nice and healthy.

In Melbourne, the eyases are being fed just about every hour. Birds, mostly pigeon, arrived at 6:12:50, 7:10:34, 8:07:39, 9:12, 10:20:07, 12:42:14, 14:40, and 15:51:06. Everyone who was hungry got fed until they fell asleep. We will be seeing some remarkable growth for these little fluff balls. Tomorrow their eyes will be open wider, their necks will be getting more stronger and the amount of space they take up in the scrape box will be larger. Of course, we are only mid-afternoon, and already eight feedings. There will be quite a number before it is time for these wee ones to tuck it in for the night.

Oh, wonderful. They are ready for a snack.

Oh, relief. It is not a pigeon.

Here I come with another Melbourne Blue Plate Special kids.

Wake up everyone! It’s tea time!!!!!

Open wide!

Sleeping babies.

Let us all remember the great joy that the birds brought us last year and now. Hopefully you had an opportunity to take a deep breath. Maybe you were able to enjoy your garden or the wildlife in your area. Perhaps you came to love many of the bird and animal families on the streaming cams. I know that I felt more joyful just by becoming more connected with nature. So when someone asks you if you are ready for things to return to normal, think about your answer carefully.

Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin remark, “Under a dark cloud of fear and confusion people all over the world found solace and respite in nature; it improved the quality of their lives and their physical and mental health.” I believe that everyone reading my blog finds joy and inspiration in birds. You also do whatever you can to make their lives better. Each and every one of you has either aided or is aiding birds in one or in many ways. We all do what we can. The simple act of providing water during migration can be a huge help. Making sure your windows are left dirty or have deflectors so the there is no bird strike is another. Writing to people who can lobby for laws that ban lead in hunting and fishing equipment as well as the designer poisons such as rodenticide help tens of thousands a year. Educating people and working with your local parks authority to eliminate the feeding of bread to ducks can keep the waterfowl healthy. Donating even the smallest amount can keep the streaming cameras running for some not-for-profit nature centres and bring joy to hundreds of others. The list is endless.

Thank you for popping in to check on these two nests. Take care of yourself and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Thank you to the following streaming cams where I took my screen shots: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

Checking in with the Australian Birds

Yesterday I waited until the trio at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest had their morning feast before I headed off to read and sleep. There was a smile on my face. The chicks had a huge fish to share with mum at 8:57:45. They looked like they were going to pop those crops! I did one last check and goodness gracious, one of them was having some extra bites at 10:20:16. I hope Mum got some good fish! Where in the world are these osplets putting all this food?

Here is an image of that breakfast fish. It is a nice one and all of the chicks ate well and behaved themselves.

Nice crops.

It’s clown feet time! Just look at how full Little Bob is – and the size of those feet.

Mum offering a chick some more bites. Just in case they might still be hungry. What a great Mum she is!

Dad made another delivery at 13:32:17. The chicks still have some crop left from the morning ‘whale’ of a fish.

Bigger crops. These three should sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

There is another small fish delivery at 17:00:36.

That little fish was gone very quickly.

And another fish was delivered at 18:18:57.

No one went to bed hungry.

It has been raining in Orange and Melbourne. There is no indication that there is a pip in any of the eggs at the 367 Collins Street scrape. That said it is really hard to see because the couple chose to use the scrape at the far end of the ledge away from the camera.

You can see the rain gathering in the gutter area. Stay dry falcons!

It is supposed to rain for the next couple of days. Maybe the eyases will wait. What lousy weather to hatch if you do not have any protection from the rain like the scrape box of Xavier and Diamond in Orange. It is about 8 days for hatch there.

Xavier arrived with a full crop and soaking wet to see if Diamond wanted him to take a turn incubating. While Diamond made up her mind, Xavier caught a little sleep. Oh, what a sweetie. Look at his crop – wow.

But look at how dry it is for these two. I wonder if anyone in Melbourne would consider putting some kind of a cover over those two scrapes for next year? Can’t do it now as it would stress out and disturb the birds but, maybe next.

Lady Hawk recorded WBSE 27 and 28 doing the morning duet with their parents. Oh, I remember when WBSE 26 sang with its parents. That was such a delight. Now we have these two joining in the family tradition. As you can see they are both doing fabulous.

There nest is quite dry. Sleeping duckling style!

That is the morning check in with our Australian nests and scrapes. Let’s hope that the forecast for rain in Melbourne is wrong! Otherwise, every bird is doing great. No worries here.

Thank you for joining me. It is another blue sky sunny day on the Canadian Prairies. We are blessed. Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: the Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Sea Eagle Cam @ Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, The Falcon Cam Charles Sturt University at Orange and Cilla Kinross, and 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac.