Tag Archives: Achieva Credit Union has Osprey nest

Early Wednesday in Bird World

We are continuing to have a real blustery winter night with road conditions deteriorating. For the first time, our new furnace has decided that it did not want to work. As a result, I am getting to stay up and wait for the technician to fix/repair or whatever magic they can do to get us heat. Meanwhile, I am grateful that in our new addition we have electric heat. It is a great back up. The wait has given me a chance to check the nests again!

It is so wonderful to have YRK back on the nest at Taiaroa Head with OGK hopefully having a nice fish lunch. There are tonnes of Albies flying in and banking right above YRK. They are so peaceful to watch with those big wings.

Here comes another one.

Bazza is on the nest hoping for a fish meal when Dad flies in at 16:13. Immediately Falky flies over to the nest from the ropes.

There is a bit of a kerfuffle.

Bazza gets his fish! Bazza had a fish tail leftover around 06:00 and Falky got the morning fish so both lads will have a fish today. It appears that Mum and Dad are only bringing in 1 or 2 fish per day now trying to encourage the lads to be independent. So if they want more, they are going to have to go fishing!

Ervie has to be fishing. That lad is used to being fed first and lots. The other day when Ervie was on the nest all day was unusual. He was either extra hungry and tired or maybe it was his farewell day to his natal nest. Have you seen this before? Sometimes we begin to wonder why the bird is spending so much time on the nest and then, they never return. It is good to take nice long looks on days like that.

As it happens all of the PLO fledglings this year are males so that means that there will need to be more Osprey platforms or nests around the barge when these young men have their own families.

A pip was seen Tuesday morning at the Miami-Dade Bald Eagle Nest of Rita and Ron. There should be a new little one tomorrow – the third. Rita looks quite content as the end of Tuesday approaches. I hope the two older siblings are kind. Ron is a good fisher so there is lots of food for everyone.

Oh, and for all your Redding Eagle fans, I understand that the chat function will come alive next week. This nest has been recommended to me by someone I really trust. Thanks ‘B’. The female is Liberty and she is 23 years old so a very experienced Mum. Her mate is Guardian and he is 8 years old. Guardian is Liberty’s third mate. They have been together since 2019. Last year the couple fledged three: Honor, Glory, and Rebel. Liberty has fledged 24 juveniles altogether! Just wonderful.

Oh, she is beautiful.

This is the link for the Redding Eagle Cam:

I could be delirious from lack of sleep (just kidding) but yesterday I posted some images from the Achieva Osprey Nest. The one female kept bothering me. I knew it wasn’t Diane and I had looked at that face so much and then just now looking again. I am certain that this is Tiny Tot Tumbles. This would not be the first time she has returned to the nest. There is that distinctive thin V on the head with the heart. Jack is also happy to feed her! She is still as elegant as she was when she stood on the perch. If it isn’t it is her twin sister!!!!!!

If you do not know the story of Tiny Tot, please send me a note. I will be happy to tell you. She is one of the third hatch success stories of 2021.

Tiny Tot defended the nest last summer by herself and with Jack. She was incredible and, if this is really her, well….’It is so nice to see you!’

These are some images of Tiny Tot Tumbles.

Well, the technician has given us the good and bad news. I am off to bed. The blog might be quite late tomorrow!

Take care everyone. Stay safe. Be careful if you have wintery weathery.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Achieva Credit Union, Redding California Eagle Cam, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

Tuesday in Bird World

It is a blustery snowy day on the Canadian Prairies. We woke up to more snow and the birds wondering where to find food underneath it. It is fine for the birds that eat out of the feeders but those that feed on the ground will have a tough time of it. I feel for them on days like today. Our temperatures are ranging from -22 C to -14 C. So not warm! And the snow will continue throughout the day and night. It is definitely winter in Canada. We have had 4 or 5 years of drought and hopefully the moisture and rain in the spring will change that!!!

Everyone is trying to see if there is a pip or a crack in the third egg at the WRDC Nest in Miami-Dade county. The two nestlings are doing quite well. R1 does a little of the bonking but R2 is eating very well. Both have had full crops. Personally, I am hoping that R3 does not hatch. These two are doing well and the third hatch – well, we all know that often it is a real challenge for them even with experienced parents.

R1 and R2 are simply ‘can’t take my eyes off them cute’. Adorable. Cuddly. Soft.

A little one peeking out from under Mum after their nice meal. They have been enjoying a variety of fish including Tilapia. Dad seems to always have several varieties on hand for feeding.

Harriet and M15’s E19 and E20 are continuing to do well, also. They are starting to get their pin feathers now that they are 8 and 7 days old. We can look forward to them being ‘itchy’ by the weekend, I would think. They grow so fast.

You can see the pinfeathers easier in the image below. They are just tiny black flecks right now but they are growing in.

Adorable.

Gabby has about a week more of incubation before her and Samson will be busy feeding the bobbleheads! Fingers crossed for both eggs to hatch up at The Hamlet near Jacksonville. I cannot wait. This is one of my favourite nests. Last year the couple fledged Legacy. As an only child on the nest, Gabby and Samson did everything they could to replace the lessons Legacy would learn from having siblings. At one point, when Legacy was so so tiny, they tested her to see if she would walk over to the fish out of the nest bowl. She did and she kept getting stronger and stronger. What a beautiful juvenile she was when we last saw her in the summer.

Mr President and The First Lady have been to visit their nest at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. Since 2015, the pair have made this nest their home and during that time they have fledged 7 eaglets. Don’t expect eggs for a bit.

Here is the link to their camera.

This morning their nest had another visitor – a Red-tailed Hawk hoping to catch some breakfast.

Jack and Diane have been working on their Osprey nest on the grounds of the Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida for awhile now. Jack brought Diane her first breakfast fish the other day and this morning she was waiting for another. Looking for eggs to be laid in a few weeks.

Last year Jack and Diane were one of a few couples, world-wide, that fledged three chicks. For a long time it was touch and go with Tiny Tot Tumbles but Diane started bringing in extra fish including her huge catfish and things turned around for that little one. She must have a secret place to go fishing because she always leaves and comes back with a large fish to feed everyone.

So far this nest has not had the problems with predators taking the eggs like Lena and Andy at Captiva. However, I am a little uneasy at times as the fish deliveries are inconsistent. I even thought that Jack was providing for another nest last year. So, fair warning – this nest can cause one to be anxious at times.

Here is the link to this Osprey camera:

Another good Osprey Nest to watch is up at Oyster Bay, NY, where there were three fledges last year, also. Here is that link and I will bring it and Achieva back up again – along with others – when eggs are about to hatch.

Sometimes it is nice when not much is happening in Bird World. We can sit back and relax and enjoy all of them without the drama. I have not seen nor have I had word that Daisy the Duck has returned to the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest since she visited on 1 January with her mate. I surely hope that she finds another spot and tries it. Anything is better than the Sea Eagles nest! We want her to succeed. My contact has not sent me an image of her down in the water so let us all image her paddling in the duck pond!

Thank you for joining me today. Stay warm, stay safe! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest and D Pritchett Family, NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, the WRDC, The National Arboretum Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, and the Achieva Credit Union.

Christmas Day in Bird World

It is a gorgeous Christmas morning over Big Bear Lake in San Bernadino County, California. This is the home of Bald Eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow. What a beautiful view as the sun rises to wake up the forest and the animals that live around the lake.

A little later the camera operator gives us a treat by panning around the area where Jackie and Shadow live.

Jackie and Shadow have been delivering some nice (some large) twigs to the nest. This wonderful couple live in the hope of hatching eaglets and we send them positive energy as we hope with them.

Harriet and M15 might be wishing for a little bit of the cooler northern Californian weather in Fort Myers. The couple began ‘listening’ to their eggs last evening. It is pip watch!

About four days before hatching, the eaglets will grow their egg tooth. Imagine it as a sharp spike facing outward towards the shell on the tip of the beak. The little ones will chip away at the shell. They will take their first breath and continue picking away until they have broken through and hatched. This whole process can take up to four days.

Last year Harriet and M15, fledged E17 and E18 – the twins that won all of our hearts from their first bobblehead days, to going into care for conjunctivitis, to their return. Beautiful fledglings. Best friends.

I am so glad that Samson and Gabby did not lay their eggs at the same time as Harriet and M15. This way we will get to enjoy having two nests of bobble heads independent of one another! Last year, Gabby and Samson had one hatch, Legacy. S/he turned out to be a beautiful and formidable juvenile.

Gabby is on incubation duties.

Anna and Louis are also incubating two eggs and have a wait similar to that of Samson and Gabby. Their nest is in the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana. This is the couple’s second breeding attempt. Last year they fledged Kisatchie, the first eaglet hatched and fledged on this nest in central Louisiana since 2013. Wow. Cody and Steve have installed sound at the nest this year.

It was fun watching Anna and Louis last year figure out what to do as new parents. Louis is a fabulous provider. When he is not loading the nest down with fish, he is aiming to give Anna the softest Spanish Moss he can find for the egg cup! Just look at it.

Clive and Connie are incubating two eggs over at Captiva. They have had some terrible weather there lately and this image is from yesterday. The camera appears to be down this morning.

Clive is a new mate for Connie. Last year, Connie and Joe hatched two eaglets, Peace and Hope, who died on the nest from rodenticide poisoning.

One of the ospreys over wintering at Urdaibai in the Basque Country of Spain waking up to Christmas morning.

While many of the Ospreys are opting to stay on the Iberian Peninsula instead of making the long journey down to The Gambia or Senegal, there are still celebrations as the December count along the Senegal coast was 1100 birds this year. Jean-Marie Dupart did an amazing job going out and counting all of the beautiful fish eagles. Thank you!

German Osprey along the coast of Senegal.

Closer to home, Jack and Diane have been working on their nest. Some really nice strips of bark have been brought in. Last year, the pair fledged three for the first time: Sibling 1, Sibling 2, and the miracle bird who survived against all the odds and became dominant, Tiny Tot Tumbles.

Cilla Kinross is celebrating the third camera at Charles Sturt Falcon Project. There is a ledge and box camera and now one that shows the falcons flying around the outside of the water tower. Congratulations, Cilla.

Here is the link if you wish to check out the new tower cam:

Big Red and Arthur have been spotted out hunting so all is well with the Red-tail Hawks on the Cornell Campus. Hope to have images I can post for you shortly.

The countdown is on for all the hawk and osprey fans…three months til Big Red is incubating eggs and three months til the first arrivals of the Western Ospreys back in the UK. Oh, and the beautiful storks of Latvia and Estonia. May they all stay safe until then.

Wishing all of the birds who bring us such joy, extra prey items, good weather, and safe flying.

Thank you for joining me today. No matter what holiday you celebrate, I hope that you have a peaceful, joyful day, with something a little special. For those birds not with us today, we thank them for the happiness they gave to us – and as one of my readers ‘B’ so eloquently said, ‘and all they taught us.’ So true. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Friends of Big Bear, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett Family, KNF Eagle Cam, Captiva Eagle Cam, Urdaibai Biosphere Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and the Achieva Osprey Cam.

Note: Port Lincoln Osprey Cam is down or we would all get a look at those lads!

Tuesday in Bird World

Daisy arrived at her eggs in the Sydney Olympic Forest at 04:47:25. She is a little earlier than yesterday. There will be a full report on Daisy later today. She is alert and perhaps slightly nervous with what happened yesterday with the Ravens.

Ventana Wildlife Society have posted the release video of Iniko. Here it is:

The Port Lincoln Lads continue to fly around the cove and their parents continue to provide them with lots of fish to keep them in fit shape. Deliveries after noon include: 12:32 for Ervie, 14:45 for Bazza (a huge fish), 16:29 for Falky, and Ervie picks up the 16:34 delivery.

Ervie is on the left and Falky is on the right eating their fish. Look at how good those feathers are. These three are just doing fantastic!

I have to admit that I really miss the little Ospreys. Jack and Diane have been working on their nest at Achieva and the Osprey couple at Captiva were trying to mate yesterday.

My friend ‘S’ has sent me a great video showing Osprey fishing. It gives you some good insight into how physically fit these birds have to be to fish. Think about it. The male fishes all day long when there are eggs and chicks on the nest. Incredible.

Ken Phung is from Taiwan.

In Bald Eagle world, everyone is waiting for Anna at the KNF Bald Eagle Nest in Central Louisiana and Connie at the Captiva nest in Florida to lay their second egg today. Indeed, all of the Bald Eagle nests are busy – one way or the other. Gabby escorted the sub-adult female off her nest yesterday.

This is a short report. Daisy seems to have taken over my life – and I am happy but the other nests sure don’t get much attention. In our garden are 27 European Starlings and several hundred sparrows. It is cold today, -16 C. Feeders are full and everyone is depleting them!

Take care everyone. Full report on Daisy later today but for now the eggs were safe over night. Rain and storms predicted again which might help our little Duck. See you soon!

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project. A big shout out to ‘S’ for the Osprey video. That is fantastic.

Oh, for the love of Ervie

It is no secret that my long-term research project on third hatch Ospreys that survive can cause a whole lot of heart ache. The opposite side of that is the sheer joy in watching these ‘thirds’ come into their own. Some suffer much more than others. In 2021, one of the worst was Tiny Tot Tumbles on the Achieva Osprey nest in Florida.

There is Tiny Tot Tumbles beside sibling 1. I often called her ‘Big Nasty Sister’. She is the reason that many people do not like to watch the Osprey nests. That said, sibling 1 stopped a lot of the beating on Tiny Tot because sibling 2 started. That nestling would purposefully eat and eat and eat so that Tiny Tot had no food.

Beaten and starved. It was hard for anyone to imagine Tiny Tot Tumbles surviving. There she is all submissive, literally starving, while the others eat.

What a beautiful bird Tiny Tot Tumbles became.

Elegant. Tiny Tot Tumbles is one of the most striking juvenile ospreys I have ever seen. Before she left the nest, her plumage was super espresso with only the thinest of white scallop revealing she was not an adult. She was smart. She remained on the nest honing her flying skills, getting stronger, learning how to fight off intruders. It is a shame she is not banded but she has a very distinctive pattern on her crown.

At Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria, no one expected Tiny Little Bob to survive more than a couple of days. The weather was miserable and the two older siblings were 4x her size.

The size difference increased. That is how she got the name ‘Tiny Little Bob’ because she was just so small.

I love this image. Tiny Little Bob really wants some of the flounder that Mum, Blue 35 has. She has watched and waited til the older siblings are full. Then she will make her move. She exhibits all of the hallmarks of a third hatch survivor – patience, fortitude, and ‘focused watching’. They can read the nest.

I wish I had this video recorder earlier so that I could have captures Tiny Tot Tumbles ousting the intruders from the nest! Or more of Tiny Little Bob. I did get it in time to show you Blue 463 in the nest. It is the third week in August. All three of the Foulshaw Moss chicks have fledged. White YW is an incredible provider and he will stay until Tiny Little Bob migrates before he leaves. She will be the last one to leave. Smart girl. She really fattened up for that migratory trip. I only hope that she survived. Few British Ospreys have been spotted in The Gambia and Senegal. There are lots without bands along the coast of West Africa but not the ringed British. Where are they?

Tiny Little Bob is banded as Blue 463. She is the bird on the back of the nest on the right. She is food calling. I want you simply to notice how big she is. Tiny Little Bob became the dominant bird on the Foulshaw Moss nest for 2021. She could fight for the fish with the best of them. Most of the time she used her patience and ‘snake eye’ to get the siblings off their lunch!

At Port Lincoln, Bazza aka Big Bob, tried several times to dominate but, Ervie aka Little Bob wasn’t having it. If you have been following me most of the time you will know that when the three males were banded, Little Bob got the sat-pak because he was the biggest of the three. Unlike Tiny Tot Tumbles who missed 12 full days of meals in the first five weeks of her life, Tiny Little Bob made sure he was right up front by Mum’s beak. I don’t think he ever missed a meal and he would certainly stay til he was full. On the morning of the banding, Little Bob had landed the breakfast fish. That probably helped a lot with that weight in!

There is Little Bob in front with his beak wide open. Just look at those little wings. Oh, my goodness is there anything cuter than a recently hatched osplet?

The thing about the third hatch survivors is that they have lived out of sheer willpower and cleverness. I can almost hear Ervie say, ‘I am not taking anything from you, Bazza!’ They become kinda’ street wise. They watch, assess, and attack. Does anyone remember Tiny Little Bob staring down both of her big siblings? They were not going to get anything by her. You might also remember that Tiny Tot Tumbles took on any intruder protecting the nest. She was fierce. That is how they survive — and I believe that they are actually better able to cope out in the world of Ospreys far away from the nest than their siblings.

Ervie sure showed us what he is made of today.

Bazza had the fish and had been eating. Ervie really likes the back portion and the tail. So he is watching Bazza. I could have made this into a video but what I want you to do is focus on the ‘look’ on Ervie’s face and his actions.

Ervie is the bird on the right. Bazza is in the middle with the fish tail. Falky is on the left and is not interested.

Look at Ervie’s eyes and his open beak as he lands on the nest. He is telling Bazza he wants that fish tail now. Ervie means business.

Ervie is twisting his body. He is not looking at Bazza’s face. He is looking at the fish tail.

Ervie moves up and over pushing Bazza’s head. Ervie raises his wings.

Ervie is totally in front of Bazza. Notice that Bazza is not looking at the fish.

Ervie turns his head around. You can draw a line from his eye and beak to the fish. Ervie is completely focused.

He goes for it.

Ervie dives down to get the fish tail.

He has it. He turns his body and raises his wings. Bazza is being pushed out of the way so Ervie can turn.

He’s got it. Wow. Just look at the impressive wings of Ervie.

Ervie moves over to the other edge of the nest where he finishes the fish tail. The entire take over bid took 19 seconds.

Bazza does not seemed phased and Falky probably wishes he were somewhere else!

These three have just been a joy to watch. I wish each of them had been given a sat-pak so that we could watch their lives unfold. I hope that the hydro poles in South Australia have their protective covers placed on them just as quickly as it can happen. The loss of Solly was a tragedy in terms of understanding the dispersal and long term survival of these Eastern Osprey.

I hope that I have not bored you too much with these third hatches. Each is really a miracle and for me, remembering them helps honour the pain and suffering that they went through to live.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.,

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or my video clips: Achieva Credit Union, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.

Who is in the scrape?

At 13:13:01 on 22 November an adult peregrine falcon landed on the Southwest ledge of The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley.

Annie visited the ledge early this morning just as the pink of dawn covered the horizon.

Oh, Annie, you are so beautiful. Look at your gorgeous patterned chest with that soft almost cotton-like collar.

The bird appears anxious. Is it Grinnell returning to his scrape but worrying about the interloper? Is it the interloper? or is it Annie and I am just reading the situation incorrectly?

Grinnell has two bands – the one on the left leg is either a dark blue or black with white letters and numbers. Then there is the standard metal band on the right with Grinnell’s federal number. I just can’t see bands on this birds legs!

That said, this is a comparison between Grinnell and the interloper male posted on the twitter feed of the CalFalconCam on 5 November 2021. Grinnell is on the left and the interloper is on the right. The angle makes the interloper on the right appear much larger than Grinnell but the UC Falcon team confirmed that both of the males are a similar size.

There is a hint. Look at the beautiful striped breast of Annie and how far it goes up her chest. We know that Grinnell doesn’t have a lot of stripes. The interloper does but it does not go up high enough for the bird on the ledge. (See images below).

Using the images of the three birds, it appears that the bird on the ledge after lunch should be Annie. But, why is she so nervous?

Sean Peterson of UC Falcons solved the mystery and confirmed that this is Annie for me. He says that “She might be a bit nervous about all the activity over the last week or so.” Thanks, Sean!

She is looking around everywhere and doing a little chumping. Oh, how I wish Grinnell would have landed on that ledge at that very moment. Maybe he doesn’t know the interloper has not been seen since Grinnell came back to his territory on Wednesday.

Annie jumps down from the ledge.

With a hop and a little flight she lands in the scrape box.

Gosh, Annie, you are beautiful.

Oh, I wish that Grinnell would fly in and join her in the scrape! Come on Grinnell!!!!!

We wait and hope.

Cal Falcons has a fundraiser going to thank Lindsay Wildlife Experience. T-shirts for $20 US plus postage. If you are interested, go to the falcons web page and click on the hoodies. The fundraiser will pop up immediately. In order to keep down costs, the shirts will be printed once the fundraiser is over. Estimated delivery time to Canada is 27 December.

In other Bird World news, both Diamond and Xavier have visited the scrape box in Orange today. The issue of the missing eggs does not seem to be an issue. At Port Lincoln, Bazza scored the breakfast fish at 07:37. Dad arrived with another at 08:28 and Ervie got that one. Once Bazza was full with his fish, Falky took over. I just checked and Bazza was eating again. Gosh.

For the fans of Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida, Jack delivered his first fish to Diane today. Don’t expect eggs for awhile.

The couple have been renovating their nest on the parking lot of the Achieva Credit Union. They have a massive egg cup! Here is the link to that camera:

I also want to remind you of the African desert cam at the bolt hole. A meteor shower was caught on camera and there were three Cheetahs that visited today. The beautiful birds arrive around sunrise.

The link to this camera is here:

It is pretty quiet these days. The Eagles are working on their nests and eggs are being laid but it will be a bit before we see some bobbles.

Take care everyone. Be safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UC Falcon Cam, Achieva Credit Union, and the Namibia Cam.

Hold on to your seats

The three males on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge were – as I said many, many times – the most polite and civil trio I had ever witnessed. Well, today all bets are off. It was expected that once the lads had fledged and were moving into being independent that the conflict over fish deliveries would increase. It hasn’t actually been that bad. There was a tussle between Ervie and Falkey this morning over the breakfast fish. Ervie won.

Well, the fish isn’t even on the nest and Ervie and Falkey are going at one another. Caught in the cross-fire is Mum and Bazza. It is 14:10 in the afternoon and all is not well. I just hope the two do not injure one another.

There is only the anticipation of a fish because Mum is on the nest and the boys might have seen dad. Bazza is staying out of everything. He is by Mum but already Ervie and Falkey are eyeing one another.

Falkey goes over to jump on Ervie. Ervie is under Falkey and on top of Bazza. Poor Mum. I wonder if she has ever had a nest of all boys?

Everything is wings and twisting and turning.

Bazza stands up and Mum ducks.

Falkey is standing on top of Bazza.

Ervie is watching trying to see what Falkey is doing to Bazza.

Then everyone gets into the mix again.

I ‘think’ it is Falkey on the left, Bazza in the middle, and Ervie on the right. Poor Mum is in there, too.

Ervie is full of adrenalin and he gets Bazza on his back. This is not going to end well at all.

They are going down. This is definitely not good at all. Falkey who precipitated all of this with Ervie is simply looking on from the left as the two brothers have it out.

Bazza winds up in Dad’s man cave. He is alright. But he will not have the lift to fly up to the nest. Remember, Bazza is the only one that has not fledged.

The owners are monitoring the situation. They say that Bazza will probably fly to the ropes and then on to the nest but, perhaps, not just right now. They won’t intervene because they do not believe it is necessary and it would ‘freak’ out the other birds.

Falkey is left on the nest.

Mum arrives and Dad flies in with a whopper. Falkey will be much nicer after he eats his fish.

Falkey still has control of the fish. Mum is on the nest – she would some fish, too and there is Ervie right behind Falkey. He would like some fish, too. You can see Bazza down in the man cave.

Some of you will remember Tiny Tot Tumbles from the Achieva Osprey Nest. She went on to very proudly defend the nest against adult intruders. These birds have to be able to ‘fight’ so to speak. They are getting ready to leave the natal nest territory and set out on their own. It is just like Grinnell having to go in and take back his territory. We might like to think birds are sweet and only sing lovely songs and get along but even in my garden sometimes it is a real battle between some rivals.

It doesn’t look like there will be any dull moments on this nest now. To be continued at the next fish delivery….

Thank you for joining me and thank you to Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took these screen captures. Take care everyone!

Is it Tiny Tot Tumbles?

There is never 100% certainty in identifying a bird four months or a year or two after it has flown off the nest unless there are Darvic rings and bands. For ospreys, there are facial features – the head – that remain the same for their entire life once they have reached the age of fledging. I have been told, by Osprey experts that I respect, that an osplet born in the spring of 2021 could no longer have the white curved feathers on its wing tips. I am trusting that information to be true.

As many of you know, I have a very special interest in Osprey third hatches. I am particularly focused on these little ones that survive but who have been denied food by their siblings and who might have died due to siblicide. I will be collecting data from nests for the next decade to see if there are any patterns on these particular survivors. Do they do better in the long haul than their siblings? It is extremely difficult if they have not been ringed. The best way to study their survival is both a Darvic ring and a sat-pak with a battery that would last for four years, like the one on Solly who hatched in 2021 at the Port Lincoln nest.

Over the past month or so, a number of Ospreys have landed on the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Several remind me of the intruder that Tiny Tot Tumbles battled last summer. Have Jack and Diane visited? Maybe. I admit to being so focused on Tiny Tot Tumbles that I ignored the other two siblings and parents in terms of identification markers.

On 30 October an osprey landed on the Achieva nest. I stared at that ‘face and head’ for two days. Could it be?

Staring at me every time I open the fridge or close it is a large magnet of Tiny Tot Tumbles. The screen capture was on 20 June, two weeks before she left the nest for good. Tears began to flow.

There are thousands of images of Tiny Tot in my external hard drives. From the moment she hatched, to the little one running around the rim of the nest trying to get some food. There were days that I counted each bite of food that she got. Notebooks full. That fridge magnet image was taken on a day when Tiny Tot was at her loveliest. She would sit on the perch for hours – she was elegant! And she was a formidable opponent. Any intruder was ousted from the nest. She often battled them alongside Jack, her dad.

A slider to move back and forth to compare.

I am convinced that the amazing osprey that landed on the Achieva nest in St Petersburg at 12:57 on 30 October is, in fact, Tiny Tot Tumbles. She has been away and survived for four months, grown and matured. The white plumage forming the V is very thin on both of those images.

There have been visitors that have, of course, a similar V but the amount of white plumage varies with each of them. The bird below has visited the nest often but it is not Tiny Tot.

This was Tiny Tot Tumbles on 3 July. Look at the white lines from the beak forming a ‘V’. They are thinner on Tiny Tot than on the bird above.

Here is Tiny Tot Tumbles on 27 June mantling.

This is an image of Tiny Tot Tumbles on 26 June. I had enlarged it from a screen capture so that everyone would note the very specific head – the thin white lines, the heart shape of the white. Sadly, the resolution is not good.

These following two images were posted on 20 and 21 June, respectively. The top one is the one on 20 June that I used for my fridge magnet. The next one is the following day, Tiny Tot on the perch.

She is so elegant. She has grown and filled in since she flew off the nest. There she is on the perch looking like she is applying to be on the runway for the most beautiful Osprey of 2021!

Here she is as a wee babe. It was easy to imagine with the difference in age and size that Big Bob might cause problems. In the end, both Big and Middle Bob, sibling 1 and 2, prevented Tiny Tot from eating for a total of 12 full 24 hour periods during the first six weeks of her life.

There is Tiny Tot submissive and hungry over to the right. Big Bob has been unmerciful in its attacks on her on this day.

What changed on the nest was Diane going out and fishing. She began to bring back big catfish and there was always enough to feed Tiny Tot. By 7 April, Tiny Tot has grown and is getting big enough that the older siblings might try to thwart her from eating but she is unstoppable. If she did not get enough to eat, Tiny Tot would root around in the nest. She always found scraps and was known for even cleaning off fish flakes from discarded bones. It is difficult in the ‘real world’ and it takes this kind of tenacity to survive.

Tiny Tot has a nice big crop on 9 April! Just look at her there in the middle of the image below.

This is 10 May. Tiny Tot is gorgeous. She is beginning to get that characteristic head that we all recognized. Her juvenile feathers are coming in and she has survived! In the end, Sibling 1 fledged and returned to the nest once, the following day. Sibling 2 fledged returning for a bit for food. Then Tiny Tot was all alone. Jack brought in fish for her and she stayed – as she should – honing her flying skills and getting ‘street smart’ protecting the nest. On 5 July, precisely four months after she hatched, she flew off the nest. We never thought we would see her again.

I am grateful that Tiny Tot has paid a visit to the nest to show us all that she is thriving. She has put on weight from the elegant pose on the perch post but that striking head remains the same.

I hope that Tiny Tot visits the nest over and over again. She was gallant in her protection of it for Jack, her dad, and with him on occasion. And, for the record, she could be a he. There were never DNA tests taken or any banding. Just keep your eye out for this beautiful osprey. Could we be lucky enough to see s/he raise osplets on this very nest in the future?

Take care everyone! See you soon.

Thank you to the Achieva Credit Union for its streaming cam in St Petersburg where these screen shots were taken.

Monday in Bird World

One of the most wonderful things about the time I spent teaching university classes is the students you meet. Often you get to see them grow up from being first years to graduating and, at other times, you are lucky enough to follow them through adulthood. I often think I was so blessed as I continue to stay in contact with so many watching their extraordinary lives unfold. One of those students is an artist living in northern Manitoba who treated me to a late Halloween treat – images of the Northern lights or the Aurora Borealis from where she lives in Northern Manitoba. These colourful dancing lights are energized particles from the sun slamming into our atmosphere. They say that this happens at 72 million kmh (or 45 million mph). My mind cannot even comprehend how fast that is. When this happens, Earth’s magnetic field redirects those same particles toward the North Pole. That redirection is what causes the Aurora Borealis. I would like to share them with all of you.

Aren’t these incredible? When my children were little, living on the acreage in southern Manitoba, you could look out over the flat landscape of the prairies and see them so clearly.

Oh, what a wonderful treat. Thank you!

The moderators on the chat at the scrape box of Diamond and Xavier have confirmed that Diamond was also limping and had a droopy wing the day that she was away from Yarruga for ten hours. She appears to be getting better. Yesterday little Yarruga was so hungry. Yarruga is definitely as loud as big brother, Izzi. If we ever worried, right after hatch, that Yarruga might have trouble feeding, we do not have to anymore. Here is a clip of Yarruga trying to take the prey and self-feed! Yarruga is 3 weeks old. S/he is going to be a formidable falcon.

Xavier is doing all of the hunting. This morning Diamond fed Yarruga early.

The sun is casting a golden glow on the trio of the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. It has been confirmed that they will definitely be ringed, named, and at least one of them will receive a sat-pak on either 8 or 9 November. When I hear the precise time I will let you know. Last year PLO posted a video of everything later. I do hope they will do that again this year.

I am also told that the two chicks at Thistle Island are a bit younger than the PLO trio. I am so selfishly hoping that Little Bob gets a tracker.

There is going to be a live-streamed Condor release tomorrow. The Zoom event will start at 9:30 am Pacific time (that is 11:30 CDT) with the release pen opening at 10 am PT or 12 noon CDT. Every year young condors are released into the wild on the Central Coast of California. This year they will release six which includes #1031 Iniko, the daughter of Kingpin and Redwood Queen, who survived the Dolan fire. Iniko will be released on 4 December but three other birds will be released tomorrow. If you would like to watch this event – and any release into the wild of a condor is fantastic – then you need to sign up. Here is the link to do that:

https://www.ventanaws.org/zoom-chats.html

If you would like to watch the live-streaming condor cams, here is the link to the Ventana Wildlife Society where you can locate the camera you want:

https://www.ventanaws.org/condor_cam.html

I am so very grateful for these Zoom events. It is one of the good things to come out of the pandemic. I hope that every group continues using them so that those of us far away can join in.

A report on the Ospreys in Finland has been published. It is in Finnish but you can cut and paste and use Google Translate. There are a few images of the nests, etc. They are lovely. Here is that link as I know that some of you watch the Finnish Osprey nests faithfully.

http://128.214.237.21/sites/default/files/files/linnut_vk2020_086-093_saakset_artikkelit_10293.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2HZ8k187x2tvZvT0UfesEMjKgQyZQ2WpxcJDJpycQsmlAFuzeckF6IoXg

There have been images of a pair of Ospreys on the Achieva nest in St Petersburg, Florida. At this point, I cannot confirm they are Jack and Diane. They certainly could be but as one loyal watcher has said, “They do not behave like Jack and Diane.” There is time yet. Last year eggs hatched the first week of March which means they were laid the end of January/early February. If they are not Jack and Diane, Jack will surely run them out of town!

The only confirmation on WBSE 27 is the following from yesterday:

We all hope that WBSE 27 will be kept until it is completely healed and flying well so that it can be released with some hope that it will be able to survive. What a beautiful bird. Those Pied Currawongs are quite dangerous. It is not always safe to be the juvenile of the Apex Raptor on the block! Get well soon WBSE 27.

There have been no new transmissions from Karl II, Udu, or Pikne. It is assumed that Karl II has reached his wintering grounds in the Sudan since his last GPS showed that he had arrived there safely. Pikne was along the waters of the Red Sea. There are real worries for little Udu. He crossed the Mediterranean Sea which would have been exhausting. He will need food and water. His last location was an oasis but they use hot sulphur water for the crops and this is not good for Udu. It is hoped that he made it to the Nile River. Send positive energy to him and also to WBSE 27.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Everyone is fine. You cannot see the Collins Street Four unless they are running down the gutter but they are doing well. More down is being shedded off those wings every hour. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots and video clips: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam at Orange and Cilla Kinross, Eagle Club of Estonia Forum, and for the FB Page of the Sea Eagle Cam@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for the image and announcement about WBSE 27.

Izzi’s very noisy sibling

Tomorrow I am going for the annual tour at our local wildlife rehab facility, Wildlife Haven. Every year they do this as a fund raiser but it is a good way to get a really good look at the varied and in-depth work that these people do. There doesn’t seem to be an animal or bird too difficult to try and help mend. I do not know if they will allow photographs but, I will try and take some to show to you.

This video was posted. It is the little ‘waiting to get a name’ eyas in the scrape box of Xavier and Diamond on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia. Prey items come one after another. The chick already has a fine crop but will be fed more. But, turn the volume up and listen to this little one. Last year’s only chick, Izzi, was know to be such a character and part of it was his very loud voice. Everyone is beginning to wonder if this chick will be even louder than Izzi!

Have a look. It is such a cute clip.

One of the things that you can see are the chick’s ears. Look closely. It is also scooting around, and there are some pin feathers coming. This chick is, of course, doing very well under the excellent care of Xavier and Diamond.

Clearly as Dr Hurley notes, an Only chick gets all the food!

For those fans of Anna and Louis whose Bald Eagle nest is in the Kisatchie National Forest in Central Louisiana, both eagles were working on the nest this evening around 18:54.

Wrestling with sticks seem to be what all the Bald Eagle couples are doing now – as well as trying to keep any would be intruders out of their territory.

It wouldn’t be right not to go and check on those gorgeous osplets at Port Lincoln before I sign off. They are just simply so beautiful in their full juvenile plumage. Here is the trio looking out probably seeing the parent flying in with their lunch.

That lunch arrived a few seconds later.

Everyone lined up and as I write this, they are still eating.

This is a reminder that Xavier and Diamond’s chick needs a name! This is the information as Cilla Kinross posted it under the information for the streaming cam:

VOTE FOR NAME FOR THIS CHICK You have until Friday 5 pm 22nd October to vote. You can only vote once. Note that multiple votes will be deleted. All names are in the Wiradjuri (local indigenous) language and relate to weather terms: cloud etc. Here is the link: https://forms.gle/iPQhxDCLtEh19jp38

Cilla Kinross, Charles Sturt University

I want to note that Cilla would like everyone to cut and paste the link into their own browser. So the time for voting is closing quickly. Why not join in?!

I will not be posting my newsletter until tomorrow late afternoon or evening depending on the tour at the wild life facility. Fingers crossed I can get you some good inside views of what goes on when animals come in needing attention.

Thank you for joining me. Please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I take my screen shots: the KNF Bald Eagle Cam, the Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam at Orange and Cilla Kinross and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project.