Tag Archives: Annie and Alden

Late Saturday in Bird World

14 May 2022

I get the most fantastic mail and have the most wonderful readers – you. Today, ‘EJ’ wrote to tell me about a nest that I might enjoy. I think you will love the heart warming story of this Kestrel family in North Yorkshire. Robert E Fuller has a number of web cams set up about his property. One of those is a Kestrel nest. This year the male and female had six chicks. Sadly, as EJ explains, the female got in a tussle with an owl. She returned to the nest only once after that. As you probably know, males are not so good at feeding chicks – that is normally the role of the female. What would happen to the six chicks? Robert Fuller took the three smallest to raise by hand. He left the three larger chicks in the nest. And guess what happened? Dad learned, after a little trial and error, how to feed his chicks!

This is a fantastic video. Look at the size of the chicks an see how the one horks own the snake. Incredible. I did not think they could do that at this age. Always learning something wonderful from the nests.

Dad is going to have to hunt during the day and stay with the chicks or nearby when the owls are out at night. They are still small and need protection. Send all your positive energy towards this great family. Oh, and the three small chicks are doing well. Google Robert Fuller on YouTube if you do not already subscribe.

Thank you, EJ. This is a really, really positive story – one that we need!

The UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys. ‘R’ sent me the dates for the three chicks today. Thank you so much! The eggs were laid on 27 Feb, 1 March, and 8 March. If I recall correctly that is the same difference between Solly and Tapps at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge in 2021. That did not end well – both chicks died of starvation and siblicide actions. Sad. According to the news article below, Big hatched on 5 April at 16:45 with Middle hatching the following morning, 6 April, at 10:00. The article was published on 8 April and they were still waiting for Little Bit to hatch.

This now makes Big 39 days old and Middle would then be 8 days old. In reality, Big is only 17 hrs and 45 minutes older than Middle. Look at them – Big is a ‘big’ female and Middle has to be a male but – we will look at them again nearer fledge. Fledging for Western Ospreys normally occurs from 7-8 weeks or 49-56 days. We will have a way to go – but it will fly by quickly!

There is a great article on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest that I just located. It has 13 images. Have a look. It is fascinating reading and many images you would not have seen!

https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2022/04/08/live-webcam-captures-newborn-osprey-in-nest-at-uf/9503896002/

Around 16:20 Mum brought a fish to the nest. In the image below, Big is behind Middle. She raises her head and walks towards him. Mum will begin feeding Big.

Middle gets its head down in a protective pose.

Mum begins feeding Big.

By the time four minutes is up, Middle is on the opposite side of Mum screaming for fish.

Mum feeds Middle. I was shocked but – she has been better with feeding Middle the past couple of days. Middle is like Middle Little at the Captiva Osprey Nest ——- he is ‘very’ loud.

When the feeding was over Middle had a really nice crop!

‘R’ sent me a lot of maps and information on the places where Mum and Dad fish. I hope to get that organized for all of you for tomorrow or Monday.

This is Alden. He spent some time with the eyases this afternoon. You might recall that Alden brought in a moth and tried to feed the chicks yesterday. Today he just went in with them. They see a parent and think ‘food’. Alden did some ‘fake feeding’ but I think he is going to get the idea just like the Father Kestrel.

Cal Falcons made a 2 minute video of Alden visiting the chicks. It is funny. Alden, I love you!

There is no pip yet – that I am aware while I am writing this – at the Osprey nest of Richmond and Rosie in San Francisco Bay.

Watching birds incubate nests is like waiting for the paint to dry.

Nancy and E1 Harriet were just enjoying a nice meal as the sun begins to lower itself at the MN-DNR nest.

All of the nestlings were anxiously awaiting fish at the multitude of feedings they had today at the Manton Bay platform of Blue 33 and Maya. Gosh they are soooooo cute. The baby is at the far end.

Chase and Cholyn have made sure that Two Harbours 1 (TH1) was full to the brim today. Wow. That almost looks painful.

There is news from Denton Homes today. You will recall that the three nestling Bald Eagles died very quickly from Avian Flu. Dad later died of Avian Flu also. Surprisingly Mum who consumed the infected chicks survived. Today, Mum was seen with a new potential male mate. I did not catch it – but, life goes on. Well done, Mum.

Five full sleepy falcons at the Manchester, NH Peregrine Falcon scrape. Gosh, these parents must be awfully busy — and so much for being able to see the chicks if they are at the other end of the box. Looks like the wee ones have been decorating the mirrors! All five are well fed. No worries.

Falcons can be very loud but, I don’t think quite so loud as ospreys. The four in the nest in the Polish forest had a great feed yesterday. Have a look at what it is like to feed four bigger falcons. Wow.

My apologies to everyone at Utica Peregrine Falcons. I think that I posted the wrong image for Astrid and Ares’s scrape with their two chicks.

The site of the camera links also as a great blog about all the daily activities with the chicks and their parents. Here is the link to the several cameras that cover this nest in Utica, New York:

https://www.big-green.net/falcon/

That is a very quick check a few of the nests we have been watching. It has been a busy day – cloudy, grey skies, rain, then cloudy. It was bird count day and it has been busy in the garden. I am shocked at how many oranges and jars of grape jelly Baltimore Orioles can eat! Of course, they are so cute.

He seems not to have been able to decide how best to get at that orange slice.

It was all a lot of fun.

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

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, LRWT Manton Bay, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Utica Falcons, Dolina Baryczy Falcons, Cal Falcons, Denton Homes Eagles, Robert Fuller, Peregrine Networks, and Explore.org.

Saturday in Bird World

14 May 2022

Today is Big Bird Day when all the world is counting. The lists of the birds coming into the garden is growing and growing. For the first time, there have even been some Baltimore Orioles and the numbers of Harris Sparrows continues to grow. The rain forecast for this afternoon has been cancelled by the weather station and it is hoped that those traveling long distances to get to the north of our province have a good rest and feed before starting up that journey again. I made a decision to put out at separate stations many different kinds of food: sliced oranges, grape jelly, peanuts, Butter Bark, Black Oil Seed, White Millet, Solid Seed Suet, and Meal Worms. Gosh those European Starlings love the Butter Bark and the Meal Works while the Harris and Chipping Sparrows are taking to the Millet. It should be a big count by the end of the day.

Southwest Florida. The big eagle nest of Harriet and M15. Everyone thought that E20 had left for the long goodbye but look who is back on the nest branch this morning?

The streaming cam for the nest of Anna and Louis will probably be turned off on 20 May. It was a fabulous season down there with Kincaid that beautiful female. What a treat that she hung around the nest tree for so long. Indeed, she was there this morning proving to be a delight for everyone. It was so nice that Cody got the cam up and running after the latest storm.

Kincaid arrives at 11:19:20.

All of these fledglings will be leaving their parents territory – if they haven’t already – to find their own place in the world.

Speaking of fledglings, the Three Amigos at the West End nest are thinking about flying. Kana’kini hovered this morning. Here it is:

The security system seems not to be bothering the ospreys at the new Llyn Brenig Osprey nest in Wales. LM6 laid her first egg on the 25th of April. Dad LJ2 has been bringing in some fantastic fish. Wishing this couple all success this season.

It is sometimes very difficult to tell which osplet is which at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest. While this is a good thing, it is often hard to focus on who is eating and who isn’t. This morning was very interesting. I am hoping that the dominance attacks on Middle by Big are behind us.

A fish was delivered – it looked like it had been hacked up by a chain saw – by Dad at 08:32. The kids were squawking to be fed but Dad didn’t, as usual, by into that. He left the fish. While both of the chicks pecked about, it was Middle that really got into the self-feeding. Of course, he has had to do this for several weeks now to get any food at times. He is doing well. Mum comes in a little over an hour later and feeds the two. Both were fed.

There are male Ospreys that really like to feed their chicks. This Dad doesn’t seem to enjoy this part of the parenting. I am glad to see a big hunk of fish on the nest.

Middle has found the open spot and he should be able to get some good fish. Notice the ‘design’ of the feathers on the top of its head. That is a way of distinguishing the two. Big’s plumage is darker with a much longer tail, also.

Middle has done a good job on that fish. Another difference is the size of the wings. You can clearly see this below. All bets say Big sibling is another one of those robust aggressive females and our Middle is a male.

Mum comes to the nest. She is feeding Middle. Big is behind her just like yesterday. Interesting.

I wonder if Middle ever wishes that Big would just flap those wings and fly off? She will, Middle! The plumage is gorgeous. There is still a long way to go for that tail to be long enough for flight.

When Big Red laid four Red-tail Hawk eggs at the nest she shares with Arthur on the Cornell campus, everyone went into shock. Almost immediately thoughts of doom and gloom went through the community – fearing that the wee one, L4, would have the same fate as the youngest eaglets and osplets. Not so with hawks and falcons normally. Little L4 has been the first in line making its way through the gang if necessary to get on the front row. Today, L4 is skipping and flapping its wings! Big Red is going to be tired and Arthur has had to bring in more food than ever to feed his family but life is good and everyone is well.

Get the worry beads out! When these four start running and flapping from one end of the ledge to the other your heart will sink several times. But all will be well if you don’t see them as there are blind spots on the cameras. It looks like chippy is for lunch!

The California Condor chick that was hatching yesterday has hatched. You can get a wee glimpse of the newest member of the Condor family at Tom’s Canyon under Mum. The female is 846 and the male is 462. 462 hatched in 2008 and 846 hatched in 2016.

Here is a short video of the hatching:

Alden is trying so hard to be the best Dad and mate he can be. Alden will figure it out. Precious. He caught a moth and brought it in to feed to the chicks. I adore Alden! You know he will get this and he will want to take part in every aspect of the nestlings lives.

He is really hunting and getting the pantry full an those wee white balls are growing! The oldest is 9 days old today! And the youngest is 8 days old.

There are so many nests but I know that some of you will want to go and check on E20 or Kincaid if you didn’t know they were around the nest trees. Have a lovely Saturday. Please take care!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Llyn Brenig, Cal Falcons, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, KNF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and the Cornell Bird Lab (RTH and Condors).

Friday Morning in Bird World

13 May 2022

Good Morning Everyone! I hope that your Friday is a very good one.

Have you seen this old film titled Osprey?

In the Q & A discussion at Cal Falcons, one big difference between Grinnell and Alden that has been noticed is that Alden hunts at night. He also seems to be hunting in exotic places bringing in various prey items. Last evening the kids and Annie had a bed time snack at 22:00.

Alden on the left and Annie, who has just taken prey item, on the right. Look at those two smiling eyases! How grand. Both ate extremely well, the little one falling into a food coma first.

All are wide awake first thing in the morning and ready for fish at the Manton Bay Osprey nest at Rutland. Blue 33 (11) has been flying in with more and more fish during the day. The three are doing very well with the flapping perch incident well behind them! A great way to start a Friday.

At 11:50 Blue 33 took a turn feeding his chicks as Maya looked on.

More food around 14:00. Maya is pretty much feeding the chicks every two hours. The trio will grow fast!

The streaming cam to the nest of the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Anna and Andris in the Spruce Tree in a forest area at Lemgate, Latvia is back on line. The couple are incubating one egg which is set to hatch in June.

Both eaglets are still on the nest at Dale Hollow. They are 75 days old today if you count hatch day (28 Feb). Gorgeous birds who are now filling in almost the entire nest. They are definitely within fledge range which is normally 10-12 weeks for Bald Eagles.

The eaglet at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is four days older than the pair at Dale Hollow.

Middle Little was on the platform at the Captiva Osprey nest this morning early calling for dad, Andy, to bring in a fish. All four of the family can be seen flying around the area and since Middle Little and Little MiniO are the only fledglings, Lori has been able to take images from her kayak and is certain it is them screaming for the parents to bring fish. Lori is returning to Canada today. If you have enjoyed watching the Ospreys and all her help finding them to reassure us all are alright, why not go to the chat today and just give her a little thank you. It has been a great year at the Captiva Osprey platform – a first in a long time to have osplets fledge! Thanks, Lori.

At 07:25:29, Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Middle started cheeping right away and managed to get into position quickly, on the opposite side of Mum, to get some nice fish. That is a great way to start the day at this nest. It is 22 degrees C, winds were at 6 kmh at the time of the delivery with the pressure rising. The weather forecast is for a thunderstorm later today.

Nice to see that fish this morning before the weather turns bad.

Big did not seem threatening but Middle still got around the back of Mum and over to the opposite side calling loudly for food. Good for you, Middle.

Mum did give Big the first couple of bites before Middle got up front but then she fed both. I hope Middle is getting his confidence back!

Oh, this camera can be annoying. That is Middle with its wings spread. Growing. Getting to the point that Big really cannot do too much damage other than throwing Middle off the nest — which I hope is not going to happen. The thunderstorm is forecast to begin around 16:00 nest time.

Nancy and E1 – Harriet – were rearranging straw on the nest this morning. There continues to be a sub-adult around the nest. Both Nancy and E1 continue to do as well as expected as a nest with a single parent. Look at Harriet help her Mum!

Cholyn fed TH1 at 05:33 from the fish that was left overnight.

Just look at that beautiful golden glow over the nest shining on the face of our beautiful Mum. It won’t be long til Dr Sharpe climbs up the cliff to band the eaglet. I will see if I can find out when that is going to be for everyone. If you know already, let me know!

They have fledged but both Jasper and Rocket are still hanging around the nest tree getting food from Samson and Gabby. Gabby normally migrates north when it gets hot while Samson stays in the Jacksonville area. Last year he kept feeding Legacy for some time. It is so nice to see the birds on the nest. Look close. One of the eaglets is on a branch almost at the left bottom corner.

The two eaglets on the Decorah North nest of Mr North and Mrs DNF are well and doing just fine. Bad weather has been going through the area with a Derecho or Inland Hurricane with winds of 100 mph going through South Dakota and area yesterday. Fingers crossed for all that were in its wake.

Big Red and her gang of four eyases are doing just fine this morning, too. The chicks are relaxing after having breakfast and Big Red has been on the nest doing some allopreening.

Big Red is so beautiful.

This has been a great way to start a Friday morning. All of the nests appear to be doing well. In Canada we traditionally plant the annual flowers on the May long weekend which is connected with Queen Victoria’s birthday. That is next weekend. Everyone will be at the greenhouses stocking up on flowers and vegetables and mixed in there will be me today. Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Latvian Fund for Nature, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Explore.org, NEFlorida-AEF, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.

Thursday Morning in Bird World

12 May 2022

It might be grey skies on the Canadian Prairies but it was a golden morning on most of the nests. If I say that, will it change? Oh, let us hope not.

The third egg hatched overnight at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and that wee Bob was up eating with its two big siblings a few hours later. Three Bobs after worrying we had lost one with the fish ordeal yesterday. Three Bobs.

Rutland has reported that the chick that was left exposed yesterday is eating well. This is encouraging. Life is good.

Little Bob’s is eating well for hatching so recently!

With Rutland’s good news, it seemed a good time to check on the two osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. It looked like Middle had worked for position again but he was up getting fed on one side of Mum with Big on the other. Of course, Middle has to balance itself on the edge of the nest. Fish is good. It is 25 degrees C, winds are 16 kph, and the pressure is falling.

Sadly, the news is not all good. The Dahlgren Osprey nest of Jack and Harriet lost its second chick. The area has received a lot of rain during hatch and the nest is above water on the creek. I so wish that nest would be cleaned out off season and people would stop leaving toys or remove toys so Jack cannot find them if they go in the bin. Harriet cannot keep the nest orderly and she has even lost eggs in the mess. That camera is off line. The third chick did eat this morning.

There is a pip for Richmond and Rosie!

There is the nest of these two famous Ospreys on top of the old WWII Whirley Crane at the Richmond Shipping Yards in SF Bay.

Here is the link to both of the cams: http://sfbayospreys.org/

It is a gorgeous day for Nancy and Harriet at the MN-DNR nest. The bad weather seems to have left the area and the winds are nice and calm. There is food on the nest. Excellent.

It is hot at the Bald Eagle nest at Decorah North in Iowa. Mrs DNF is trying to be a Mumbrella as best she can. The two eaglets have done well. No indication of any issues like there were at the Denton Homes nest (Avian Flu).

The two eyases at the Cal Falcons scrape both had a nice breakfast at 06:30 nest time. Annie is having a siesta as they sleep off the food coma.

There are still five itchy growing eyases at the Manchester NH scrape. Gosh, the parents of these 5 have to work so hard. It takes so much more food and time. This Mum fed for an hour one day.

The one surviving chick at the Cromer Peregrine scrape in the UK looks good today. Hopefully all is well with this wee one.

Kaia has been aerating the nest in the Karula National Park in Estonia that she shares with her mate, Karl II. It is a beautiful day there. Looking forward to those eggs hatching. These two are great parents.

My friend, ‘S’ in Latvia was so proud last year. Kaia was a new mate. Three eggs hatched and Kaia did not ‘sort’ the chicks. Indeed, that was such a wonderful thing. The small one, the third hatch, Pikne, turned out to be a strong little female almost beating her dad to Africa for the winter migration!

For all the Peregrine Falcon fans, I have a conundrum for you and a posting from our local nest. First up, the puzzle comes from the Field Museum in Chicago. [Thank you to Holly Parsons for posting this because I would have missed it.]

Want to know what happens? Check out the Field Museum FB page.

We have several Peregrin Falcon nests in Manitoba as part of the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project. One of them is on the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. The streaming cam link is in the information from Dennis Swayze below. The juveniles spend a lot of time around our legislative building as they practice their flying and hunting. It is always nice to see them in the summer!

As for me, I am really busy today trying to work outside around yet another bout of torrential rain. I will check in with these and our other nests much later today. I hope everyone has a lovely Thursday wherever you are. Thank you for being with me and please take care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Manitoba Peregrine Recovery Group and Dennis Swayze, Cal Falcons, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Peregrine Networks, Field Museum, Eagle Club of Estonia, Explore.org, MN-DNR, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and LRWT.

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Late Wednesday in Bird World

11 May 2022

It is really sad when a ‘bird Mum’ seems to consistently favour one healthy chick over another especially when the eldest has already killed the third hatch. Today, at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest, this preference for the dominant one over a healthy chick crying for food was so evident despite Middle making every effort to get around to the beak to eat even after being intimidated. Yes, Middle held back for his own survival. But it is ever so sad. He is a big healthy osplet! A fish came in at 18:24. Big did the dominance stance and Middle pulled back. By the time Middle got around on the rim to Mum’s beak, she had already given Big part of the tail. Big ate the entire fish! At 18:37 Mum find a few little scraps on a bone and gives it to Middle. At 18:38 Middle takes the bone to self feed trying to find any meat no matter how dry to eat. Middle has not had much food today but he has had some. Yesterday he ate well so we are still good.

Middle will be a survivor if he does not fall off or get shoved from the nest – he reminds me so much of Tiny Tot Tumbles at Achieva last year. She dug around in the nest eating very old, very dry leather hard pieces of fish. They kept her alive. She was self-feeding proficiently before the two older siblings. TTT became the dominant bird on the nest and if any of those three chicks were to survive their first year, my money would be on her. In fact, this winter Tiny Tot Tumbles was photographed at least once on the Achieva nest so she is still alive. That is wonderful and it will be the same for Middle. I just wish these osplets were banded.

It is worth noting that Big already had a ‘big’ crop before the last feeding of the day ever took place! There she is in the middle of the nest standing proudly with all the commotion going on around her. Middle is trying to get to the fish.

Sadly, all Big has to do is raise her head and walk towards Middle and he cowers. This behaviour was noted to have changed over the weekend by ‘R’. Prior to Friday, Middle had been getting up to the fish faster and, therefore, getting more food. The assumption is that food was scarce over the weekend when there was a big storm and the camera kept cutting in and out. It is also believed that Big took this out on Middle.

Middle is watching Big and trying to move up to get some food. If Mum would just turn herself 45 degrees both chicks could eat. It is very frustrating.

Mum found a few bites for Middle. Just think. Big ate an entire fish and Middle got a few bites.

Middle is continuing to chew on the fish bone to try and find some food.

Is there enough food coming on the nest for Mum and the two chicks? There was yesterday and with Big having a crop before she ate this entire last fish today, I would say yes. Certainly 50% of the fish could have gone to Big with 25% each to Mum and Middle and everyone would have been fine. It is not a case of everyone starving. It is sad.

This female is not the only one that has favoured one chick over another. I am certain that you can think of several instances if you have been watching streaming bird cams for awhile. One thing I have noticed – at least in Bald Eagles – is that the Dad will often step in and feed the ‘left out’ sibling. I know it sounds crazy but some of those males that are now Dads would have had big sisters who demanded and took everything. Do the males remember?

The two eyases at the CalFalcons scrape do not have the problems Middle has at UFlorida. Alden caught a pigeon today and I am absolutely certain Annie was delighted. Everyone can fill up and there will be leftovers in the pantry.

Precious.

Look at those two. Talk about a different atmosphere in a nest! I will take a falcon any day.

Bursting little crops. These two will cuddle up under Annie and sleep well.

Cal Falcons put this feeding into a short video clip.

So happy to see the promotion of the Peregrine Falcons and their chicks on The Campanile. Anything that will bring awareness to the raptors so that we can help make their lives a little better is welcome – and one way is to educate people.

https://www.dailycal.org/2022/05/09/unique-and-interesting-peregrine-chicks-born-atop-campanile-on-mothers-day-weekend/

It is so far, so good at the Manton Bay nest. Both chicks have eaten and it appears that the third chick is hatching. It will be a relief for Mum to be only brooding instead of brooding and incubating. I really hope that chick is doing just fine in the morning – the one that was exposed. It looks good so fingers crossed.

Ferris Akel has a pair of Red-tail Hawks near to where he lives and today he has discovered that Betty and Barney have three chicks!

Two Habours 1 is doing just fine. She looks out on that gorgeous cobalt coloured water that surrounds her nest in the Channel Islands.

The winds are really gusting at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta not far from Chase and Cholyn’s nest at Two Harbours. Let us all hope that the eaglets do not want to stand up and get near that ledge. Hunker down.

There are big storms about and it is very, very gusty at the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and E1 Harriet, too.

Harriet has brought in a really nice fish. You can see it in the image above. She is trying to stand in the violent wind gusts and feed Harriet. Sweet. These two are doing well under the circumstances.

We have another storm coming that is predicted to drop 40 mm of rain in a short period of time tomorrow. I wonder if this same system will hit the MN-DNR nest?

Those same winds are blowing at the Osprey platform at the Arboretum on the grounds of the University of Minnesota. The couple have one egg so far. Last year they fledged one chick.

Here is the link to their streaming cam:

The prey that is brought to the urban nests versus those in rural areas can be very different. In New York City, the Red-tail Hawks seem to live on pigeons and rats. Today a rat was delivered to the Presidio Red-tail Hawk nest in San Francisco. It makes me nervous. I am very much against the use of rodenticide and when the rodents are slow and easy catches they are often poisoned. The hawks thus die of secondary poisoning. It is tragic and unnecessary!

Fingers Crossed!

All White-bellied Sea Eagle fans should be checking in on the nest around the beginning to mid-June. Lady and Dad have been making nestorations and mating.

Of course, we will also be gearing up for the CBD Peregrine Falcons in Melbourne (late August or September for the cam to return), Xavier and Diamond at their scrape in Orange, and of course, the Ospreys at Port Lincoln. It is mid-May now. Time is passing.

Thank you for joining me this evening. Hopefully we will wake up to three healthy chicks at the Manton Bay platform tomorrow and several more fish for UFlorida-Gainesville! Tomorrow is pip watch for Richmond and Rosie. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sea Eagles@BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, Cal Falcons, Presidio RTH, Ferris Akel, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey Cam, Explore.org, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, and LRWT Manton Bay.

Tuesday in Bird World

10 May 2022

Gosh, golly. 21 degrees C. This means summer!!!! The parks, both of them, were full of joggers, walkers, people having picnics, playing ball, or tennis. The Cricket pitch was busy. Canadians are wearing short sleeves and shorts and we are happy and smiling! Last week was a different story. If it rains again on Thursday we will be back grumbling. I promise. Summer is way too short. You realize I did not say ‘spring’. Honestly we don’t have it any more. A normal summer temperature a couple of decades ago was 18 degrees C. Of course can hit 35-38 C easy. Then we all go inside grumbling. There is a sweet spot around 21-23 degrees C that is just perfect for humans and for the birds on the Canadian prairies.

Note: Bear with me. I did not edit this today!

I left this morning in search of wood ducks. Where are they? I found one couple at one park and three males and one female at another. Even more absent were the Mallards. Sadly, what else I found was that the torrential rains and rising water levels everywhere have made many of the duck and goose eggs non-viable. If the outside coating gets wet, there is no oxygen. This was sad.

The water has receded and you can see some of the clutch that has been abandoned. This area is a small island – there are two islands – in the centre of the pond. It appeared very, very crowded with geese further back incubating and a pair of Wood Ducks walking through.

I wonder how man of our waterfowl lost their eggs this season? Some goslings have hatched but I did not see a single one today. Last year I could not walk for wee ducks and geese. Let’s see what next month brings.

This Mallard couple were taking turns trying to find pond vegetation and keeping an eye on me – I was about 20 metres away but they still knew I was there. The birds around the Witches Hut at St Vital Park are very friendly. During nesting season they get a bit touchy but I think they were waiting to see if I brought any food with me.

The light was not great today. In fact, it gave some rather bizarre colours to the birds.

The colours on this Mallard might even make a Peacock envious.

The Black-capped Chickadees, six of them, were dive bombing me. Did they know I had seed for them in my pocket? or do they now see humans and think seed? Probably the latter. It is a very popular spot for walkers and people that live close by to spend an afternoon, always with birdseed. The lens I had on the camera really compromised what would have been great images taken with a phone camera rather than a 600mm lens.

They came and went many times while I stood and watched. Picking up a single seed, flying up to the tree nearby to crack it on a branch and then back for another one. I wonder how many calories they burn flying back and forth??

The Canada Geese were everywhere – and I do mean everywhere.

Tucked in near to them was a Chipping Sparrow hunting for sees and bugs.

None of those images will win any awards for photography but they are a nice memory of my day and some of the birds that I saw.

When I got home I went back and checked on the Manton Bay Osprey Nest in the UK to see if the third chick had hatched for Blue 33 (11) and Maya. Not yet but you could clearly see a crack forming. One of the reasons that this couple has such huge success is that the eggs normally hatch within a couple of days. Maya always delays incubating the first two eggs until the last has been laid. Talk about a remedy to help with food competition. Of course, it helps to have a big lake with lots of fish in it and not much competition right under your nest!

There was Blue checking out his newly hatched Big and Middle Bobs.

Big Bob looks like it is going to have an attitude.

If you stare at the egg long enough at the back on the left at about 2100, it appears there are some cracks forming. Of course, I could be losing my mind also.

So all is well at Rutland. Then skipping over to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest and gosh. Middle had a crop at 16:18. So I went back and it appeared that another fish had come to the nest around 15:00.

The fish has arrived. Middle is just lucky. If Mum moved the wrong way she would knock him off that nest. He is on the far side. The chick you are looking at is Big.

Mum is feeding Middle!

Mum continues to feed Middle.

So, today, Middle ate and had a couple of crops. This nest is like a roller coaster. Did you know that birds can get stress lines in their feathers? I don’t know if all banders check but when they checked the three lads at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest they checked for stress lines and found none. Of course, they would not have. Those three males were like three choir boys until they fledged. They they really began to do the ‘dust ups’ shoving one another off the nest, intercepting fish, stealing fish and whatever else three brothers can think to get into. Here is a ‘dog fight’ between Ervie and Falky.

And here is the ‘dust up’ between Ervie and Bazza on the nest where one falls off:

For those of you that do not know the PLO nest it is on a barge at Port Lincoln, Australia. The nest always had a history of siblicide. This year everyone held their breath when the three eggs hatched and there was Little Bob. Well, Little Bob was quite the character. He had to always be at the beak, in front. When Bib Bob tried to bully him, Little Bob just didn’t let it happen and Big Bob got tired and quit. Still we worried until everyone realized that Little Bob was getting rather dominant. At the time the three were to be banded, it was decided that the heaviest of the three would get the one satellite-pak. Everyone was sure it would go to Bazza the eldest. No. Ervie – who never missed a meal and who had been right up front that morning – got the GPS system! And we cheered! The three were Bazza the eldest with the red band, Falky the middle with the yellow, and Ervie the youngest with the dark green band. Falky – being the middle – did not always get much attention until he dove off the barge and caught a fish! Falky was also the one spotted 300 km north of Port Lincoln. Bazza was the reluctant flier and stayed on the nest to let Mum feed him. Then he left. I hope we hear about Falky and Bazza. Ervie was flying about and then Ervie got one of his talons pulled out. Who knows how. As a result he stays around Port Lincoln and has a fondness for Puffer Fish! He is adored by many.

Sometimes it is nice to sit back and remember those really wonderful nests and last year, PLO was one of the best!

If you are into the translocation project that has been going on in the UK, you will be excited to read the announcement by Poole Harbour today on their FB page:

Single Bald Eagle Mums have a difficult job especially if the nest is in an area where there are constant intruders. There had been a bit of a dry spell at the MN-DNR nest but today around 16:15 nest time, Nancy brought in a huge fish. E1 ate well. I understand that a group of school children are calling E1 – Harriet. If it isn’t official, it should be. It is a perfect name to honour her missing and believed dead young dad, Harry.

The winds are still blowing strong in Scotland and the rain will start pelting down at the Loch Arkaig nest in the West. Dorcha is doing a great job keeping those eggs incubated.

At the Loch of the Lowes, the wind is blowing but you can hear the ducks and geese flying in for the evening. Blue NC0 looks pretty content on the nest of hers and Laddie’s. Not long til there will be chicks here.

One of the things that people/researchers/naturalists and lovers of Osprey look at it is the return rate. How many fledglings from a nest in a particular year with particular parents return as juveniles and are officially seen? Well the Llyn Clywedog nest is doing a bit of celebrating today. So far two out of three of the 2020 trio have returned – 550 and 551. They only need 552 and they would have a 100% success rate. They are going to have bragging rights regardless for some time. This is fantastic news.

Richmond and Rosie have been fighting off intruders this entire season. We are a few days til hatch watch. Here is the banner for SF Bays Hatch Watch announcement at the SF Bay nest of these two great Ospreys.

Here is the link to Richmond and Rosie’s streaming cam:

This is the 15:49 feeding at the Cal Falcon nest of Annie and Alden. Cute. So cute.

This is the 16:55 feeding at the Manchester New Hampshire Peregrine Falcon scrape. Crazy!

Everything is perfectly fine at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus. L4 can almost be heard saying, “My crop’s as big as your crop! Nah, nah, nah!” Every time L1 does something, L4 seems to copy her.

Big Red looks like she is ready for an evening break before she snuggles down with these four Ls.

So far, so good. Food was on both the MN-DNR and the UFlorida-Gainesville nests. One day at a time. Today it was all good. So from me and all the garden gang and TH1 at the Two Harbours nest in the Channel Islands, good night. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: LRWT, UFlorida-Gainesville, PLO, Birds of Poole Harbour, MN-DNR, Woodland Trust, Loch of the Lowes, SF Bay Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Peregrine Network, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, and Explore.org

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Late Monday in Bird World

9 May 2022

Some of you will know this story. Last year, my friend, ‘T from Strasbourg’, asked me if I were an Osprey which of the males would I want for my mate. I knew she was going to say Monty! I didn’t pick one of the Welsh lads nor any of the Scottish ones but, rather, Blue 33 (11) at Rutland. And this is why. He is extremely supportive and he will have a fish on that nest for Maya and their chicks at the crack of dawn. He likes to snuggle in the nest with her when the chicks are hatching.

Poor Maya was restless. There was a chick hatching during all that squirming. We get a peek at 23:02 but, from all the action it appears that hatch was finalized around 23:00. You can’t see it but Blue 33 (11) has a big fish on that nest ready for Maya and the chick or chicks when she wants it. He is definitely not a dead beat dad!

Speaking of Dead Beat Dads — I know, some of you are going to get mad at me but, seriously, there are excellent males and then there are not so good ones. The variety of Bird parents is not a lot different than humans.

I have had trouble with accessing the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest since the end of last week. This evening I was sent a very thorough report on the comings and goings on that nest by ‘R’. Thank you so much! It makes for sad reading. There could still be intruders at that nest. There is not a lot of fish coming on the nest and when it comes, Big is getting the advantage. Middle is getting some food but at a high price. I hope things turn around. Tomorrow I will bring you ‘R’s report and a look at what is happening at that nest. That Dad is certainly not Blue 33 (11). Nor is the Mum Maya. Blue and Maya have raised a clutch of four with a total of 15 to fledge in 6 years. That is a pretty impressive record. I understand that they might be grandparents now. Fantastic.

Annie, Alden, and Grinnell’s chicks are in the news again. Had to share. Seriously these two chicks look like they are smiling all the time.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/05/09/its-two-falcon-babies-for-uc-berkeleys-annie-and-her-new-mate-alden/?fbclid=IwAR1F2vdjXfmhk-q1Okxp6eV4jlEQMnpZZ6ii_TqlJPz8w74QQ_eYv_kFSN0

For those of you watching the nest of Big Red and Arthur, it is time to get your virtual worry beads out. The eyases have moved out of the nest bowl and they are very interested in what is happening in the world around them. This means that they will be hovering over the side of the nest. This is only the prelude to them jumping, flapping, and running up and down the ledge! So far none have fallen off but I thought I should warn you ahead of time.

Notice the crops. That is Little Bit right there in front again with a crop as big as Big’s. No chick is favoured over another. All are fed til they are full.

Big Red will lose about 30% of her weight raising these four eyases. Once they leave the territory around the beginning or middle of May, she will go back to taking care of herself.

Nice fat little eyas. That is what you want to see.

That’s it. It is still raining here. Apparently the entire southern half of our province is under threat of overland flooding until next week. Oh, I so longed to hear rain but, we can do without it now. The farmers should be planting and, of course, their fields are under water. The wildlife are looking for places to go. From 4 or 5 years of drought – I had forgotten how rain sounds or smells – now we have way too much! The garden critters are fine although I just saw Dyson and it looks like he has lost half her tail. Gracious. I must get a better look tomorrow.

Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and RTH and the LRWT.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, Hampshire Falcons and more in Monday Bird World News

9 May 2022

Oh, it is pouring down rain and, as such, is a great day to drink hot tea and read. A friend sent me an article from the New York Times. [ Thank you ‘WW’ for that]. I do have a subscription but, as of late, I just haven’t had the time to forage through the paper or, for that matter, read it at all, sometimes. I like Margaret Renkl’s writing style. Her book Late Migrations looks down at me from the bookcase and like her, I have stacks of books all around, some read, some waiting. Today, she has written an opinion piece on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. It is a good – it is a hopeful read. That is something we can all use on a cold wet dreary day.

So apparently I can gift the article to you to read. I don’t know about you but good news is uplifting and I will take all of it that I can find including the discovery of a bird living in quiet isolation that was believed to be extinct. I just hope that thousands of humans don’t converge on Louisiana with their long lenses and ruin it! Seriously, it is important not to give away the locations of some nests and these would be one of those instances to stay quiet!

Did you know about the Peregrine Falcon scrape in St Mary’s Church in Hampshire in the UK? I didn’t! This nest has been here for a number of years. Listen to the discussion at the end to find out how the nesting birds were discovered.

The chicks are just slightly older -but not much – than Big Red’s. They are getting their itchy blood feathers. The scrape looks successful. Why do I say that? Look at all the ps on the walls!!!!!!!!!!

This is a great 51 minute talk about Peregrine Falcons by Ornithologist Keith Betton who is also the Country Bird Recorder for Hampshire. It is interesting.

There was a bit of a prey tease the other day at the Cromer scrape. They made a short video of it. Cute.

It is dinner time at one of Poland’s Peregrine Falcon nests – and it wasn’t a tease. Also notice – it is a nest! Just like the other one in the Polish forest, Dolina Baryczy.

It is evening – 20:21 – at the LRWT Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. We are definitely on pip watch but, if there is one, our Mum is not revealing it. Maya has been extremely restless since late last evening. Is she hearing her chicks? I feel like a very restless expectant parent!

I am not familiar with the Osprey nests in Finland but, last year, a lovely young woman wrote to me to tell me that they have ten nests. That is fantastic. This is the link to one of those. Last year the couple laid three eggs. All three hatched. The youngest died at the age of 2 days for an unknown reason according to the streaming cam information. There was not a threat from the goshawks so I want to continue to check on this nest. The location is splendid. Just look at the water with all the fish for the babies and parents.

The female is Manta and the male is Manu.

The eldest eaglet at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest is getting closer to branching. She was up on the top of the nest rim called ‘The Baby Gate’ today. The others are just too curious and they will be up there soon!!!!!!! Just don’t go crowding one another knocking someone off!!!!!!!!!

Anyone still worried about L4 at the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur? I sure hope not. There is the tiny one right up front having lunch! If he isn’t on the edge, he will climb over the others to get up to Mum’s beak. Partially this is because he eats less food but needs to eat more frequently than the older siblings. But oh, what a little cutie pie.

Oh, those wings look like soft cashmere. Wee one is tucked in under them keeping warm. Every chick has a big crop!

The weather in Scotland around Loch Arkaig has not been good. The winds have been very very gusty with rain. One of those gusts almost completely blew dear Louis’s mate, Dorcha, off the Loch Arkaig nest around 16:00 today. Unbelievable. It always frightens me when this happens. Last year and the year before, Big Red was almost blown off once with a chick holding on to her.

Dorcha recovered but gosh, golly.

Nancy is on high alert at the MN-DNR nest after a juvenile eagle stayed on the perch tree and another flew overhead. Oh, I wish they would leave her alone. She cannot go and hunt for her and E1 with these interlopers about. It is pretty clear that the success of the reintroduction of the Bald Eagles (and Ospreys) in the US has caused a lack of good territories and nests causing much of the disruption and harm we have seen lately. I would also include the Peregrine Falcon population in the California area. What is the answer? More artificial nests? the stocking of ponds for fish for the birds?

Alden may be shy of the chicks but he is keeping the pantry full for Annie and the two wee babes. Don’t they just melt your heart?

Seriously sweet.

Some much bigger birds in the Dale Hollow Eagle nest were both enjoying a nice fish today for lunch. Both of them are perching up on the nest rim and each is doing very well. Looking forward to their successful fledge!

The UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest cam is back up and running. Excellent news.

I continue to hope that there will be a new wee babe on the Manton Bay nest by the time I wake up tomorrow. All of the nests I have checked are doing fine except for the continuing intrusion at the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and E1.

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville, Ospreys, DHEC, Andover Peregrines, LRWT, Cal Falcons, MN-DNR, Woodland Trust, Cornell RTH, and Pix Cams.

Early Monday in Bird World

9 May 2022

As citizens of Manitoba, we are really learning about what it means to live on the floor of what was once Lake Agassiz —- in other words, a flood plain. Two more Colorado Lows are set to dump more water on a province that is flooded south of Winnipeg and north of Winnipeg. One big lake save for those communities who spent funds on creating their own dams. The loss is enormous but looking at it from a wildlife perspective, one has to wonder where all the deer, the nests, and the animals have gone. I have seen one image of deer walking along a railroad track that runs from Winnipeg to the US border trying to find dry land and food. That border is now closed as are many highways and even some bridges in my City. Years ago one of our Premiers decided to build what was teasingly called ‘Duff’s Ditch’. Well, everyone should be grateful to Duff Roblin for having that kind of insight. The City is mostly dry and safe.

There are few birds in the garden as the raindrops begin to fall on a grey day.

I am as nervous as Blue 33 (11) is as he comes in and off the nest at Manton Bay checking on Maya and the eggs. There are three. At one point you could only see two, has there been a hatch? So, we wait for confirmation one way or the other! I cannot see any egg shells so I suspect that pesky egg is hiding!

It is certainly time to begin checking on the Black Stork nests in Estonia and Latvia. There is something curious that I noticed which I suspect my friends in Estonia have known all along. Jan and Jaanika laid their eggs a whole month earlier this year than last. In 2020, the eggs were laid on 12 May, 14 May, 16 May, and the 18th of May. Hatch from 14-17 June. This year the eggs were laid on 15, 17, 19, 21 April, 23 and the sixth and final egg on 25 April! This is excellent – the timing. Last year the couple was so very late that Janika started her migration before the chicks had fledged. It was a very difficult time and the food for the chicks was supplemented by fish being brought to the nest by the wildlife specialist, J Kuze.

The Black Stork in Estonia is so rare that every effort is made to help them that is possible.

I am not a stork expert. It would seem, however, that the parents cannot support six storklings very easily and they will probably select the three strongest. But, we wait to see.

Here is the link to Jan and Jaanika’s streaming cam in Jogeva County, Estonia:

I also checked on the nest of Karl II and Kaia in the Karula National Forest in the south of Estonia. The eggs for this year were laid on almost the identical dates as last year. Those days were 24, 26, 29 April and 1 May. Hatch began in 2021 on 28 May.

This is the link to Karl II and Kaia’s nest in the forest.

Sadly, it appears that Grafs and Grafiene did not return to their nest this year in the Sigulda Region of Latvia. Did they not survive migration? or did they decide to locate their nest elsewhere? I do know the answer to this but I will try to find out.

There is only one osprey nest in Latvia. This year only the male returned, Theo. He tried to attract many females to his beautiful nest. It is hoped that a young female, tagged UV and an Estonian female, will stay with them. Mating was attempted this morning but UV was not receptive. Sadly, this nest is a bit haunted. None of the former chicks have survived due to goshawk predation.

Here is the link to the Kurzeme camera of Theo:

In comparison, the Osprey nest of Ivo an Iiris in Tarta County, Estonia has done well. All of the couple’s chicks fledged last year!

Pip watch will begin on the 21st of May. That is only 12 days from now. Here is a link to Ivo and Iiris’s streaming camera:

Gosh, Big Red is gorgeous. It is so hard to believe she is 19 years old. She is in such good shape this year. What a beautiful golden glow on her and the four eyases as a new morning wakes up on the Cornell Campus.

This is a great nest to watch! There is plenty of time to watch these eyases develop, fledge, and then learn to be a ‘hawk’. Arthur will teach them flying and hunting with Big Red joining in. There is nothing better than seeing the parents teach the chicks how to hunt a squirrel in a tree!!!!!!

The two eyases at the Red-tail Hawk at the Presidio Trust Building in San Francisco are doing fine. These two are really growing. Look at the size of that wing. Wow.

Peregrine Falcon chicks are doing well this morning, too. The chicks at the scrape in the tower of Chichester Cathedral just had their afternoon tea.

All five eyases were fed and happy this morning at the Manchester, New Hampshire scrape.

Sleeping babies at Utica, New York scrape. Will the other eggs hatch? We will see.

Henry and Poppy do a great job taking care of their two chicks at the Cromer scrape. If you are interested in their day to day activities, there is a great blog with this nest that has images and comments of everything that happens on the nest. I will post it after the image of the chicks!

https://www.cromerperegrineproject.co.uk/post/cromer-peregrine-activity-log-08-05-2022

If you are wondering about the third egg at the U-Cal Berkeley scrape of Annie and Alden, don’t. It is non-viable. If it were going to hatch it would have happened on Saturday. What will they do with it? Incubate it, roll it around, or break it – or maybe Sean or Lynne will collect it for the museum when they clean the scrape.

Two healthy chicks are good. They are incredibly adorable.

All three eaglets are accounted for on the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

TH1 at the nest of Chase and Cholyn is getting its blood feathers. There are a few lingering dandelions on the top of the head. It will not be long until this wee one looks like its cousins at the West End.

I checked on two nests in the East – PIttsburgh Hayes with its triplets and the National Arboretum nest. They are all awake and looking good this morning.

The three are beginning to fill up the nest!

Breakfast time for DC9. Looking good. There was a little concern earlier for DC9 because a bird had been brought on the nest as a prey item. Everything seems to be alright.

I want to leave you with a smile. A Canada Goose has chosen a planter on the deck of a Calgary, Alberta couple to lay its eggs three years in a row!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/a-calgary-couple-s-unusual-houseguests-return-every-spring-to-lay-eggs-in-their-planter-1.6445267?fbclid=IwAR0ofbF90vvx29SCgnb-y60yl1bmVOCUlRz_3iiz5Cs_CasPpui7bPNEof0

Lots happening today. Some exciting. Some sad. The youngest golden eaglet has been killed at the Estonian nest. It had been beaked by its eldest sibling earlier and prey became scarce and the oldest killed the youngest today. That was the Golden Eagle nest in the Soomaa National Park in Southwestern Estonia. As I mention often, the rate of siblicide is much higher in nests other than falcons and hawks.

Thank you for joining me on this rainy grey day in Manitoba. Take care everyone. See you soon – hopefully with a news of the first Osprey hatch in the UK!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: LRWT, Eagle Club of Estonia, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Presidio Trust, Chichester Cathedral, Peregrine Networks, Utica Falcons, Cromer Peregrines, Explore.org, Pix Cams, and the NADC-AEF.

Sunday in Bird World

8 May 2022

I had a lovely letter from a friend today. Like so many of you, she has tried to watch some of the nests and gotten attached to the birds only to have her heart pulled out when an older sibling shoves them out of the nest or, in other instances, they were starved or killed by beaking or both. It has been a tough year on the nests. Tough even for me.

My friend pulled back and has started watching Big Red and Arthur’s nest on the campus of Cornell and Annie and Alden on the grounds of UC-Berkeley. Her question this morning was simply to clarify that hawks and falcons do not practice siblicide. The answer is that the preponderance of siblicide occurs in eagles (some species more than others), egrets, boobies, herons, pelicans and, I am going to add ospreys to that list. There are lots of reasons, some explored in earlier blogs but, it is safe to say that if you wish to enjoy the birds on the streaming bird cams, falcons and hawks are generally a very safe choice as are ducks and geese. Because the chicks are precocial (are fully feathered, can walk and swim and eat on their own), the ducks and geese need those chicks to hatch all at once. They delay full incubation until the last egg is laid. Robins do that too and so do hawks and falcons. In this way, the older chicks are not that much bigger (normally) than the younger. The ducks and geese and even the raptors need their babies to fledge at the same time. So incubating them so they will hatch together really helps. It is called synchronous hatching (begins hard incubation after the last egg is laid) as opposed to asynchronous hatching where the parent immediately begins hard incubation immediately after the first egg is laid.

Annie makes a kind of chee-up sound when she is ready to put the food in the beak. The chicks learn this. Annie might well give the biggest chick the first few bites but she immediately moves around giving the youngest some. Today, the Peregrine Falcon Mother at the scrape in Oudenaarde, Belgium spent a whole hour making sure that all 5 of her eyases were fed and full. No one left the table hungry. The Mum at the Manchester NH falcon nest also has five eyases. Not one of them went to bed hungry tonight despite their size difference – the smallest had a big crop just like the largest. That is what hawks and falcons do!

A clump of falcons in a feather bed.

The wee one is piled on top of one of the siblings to stay warm.

Here is Annie feeding her two chicks brunch on Mother’s Day! Watch carefully how she feeds the big one several bites, then the small one and then goes back and forth. Annie is a pro. Both are well fed!

And Cal Falcons posted a second feeding just a short time ago. It is really cute. Alden checks in on the babies who see an adult and open their beaks. Alden is so cautious and nervous. He It very happy when Annie arrives with lunch he provided in her beak from the other side of the scrape!

Here is that feeding. It is so cute. Notice how the little one gets full and then gets back up for some more. Falcons eat everything. Nothing is wasted. Some of the first few bites were feathers.

It doesn’t get much better than the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur at Cornell. Little L4 is growing and surviving and well, I haven’t watched this nest 24/7 but I have not seen any tendencies by the oldest to interfere with the younger ones.

SF Bay Ospreys does not want us to forget about Rosie on Mother’s Day. I adore her and if there is an osprey nest in the US to watch that is stable – Rosie and Richmond in SF are it! —- Oh, and no. Ospreys are not prone to Avian Flu. They eat fish.

Someone dressed Spirit up. LOL. Good thing I don’t have the software to do this!!!!!!! I think Spirit is a Jackie in the making, too.

We all loved Kindness at Glacier Gardens. Many have been watching the nest cam and have been wondering where the eagles , Liberty and Freedom, are. Well, they have built a new nest! Here is the video reveal of that find:

The camera remains off line at the UFlorida-Osprey nest if you have been checking. It is unclear when it will be back on. If it is a mechanical issue it would be difficult since the chicks are older.

The Dale Hollow Eaglets have full crops and are drying off today. These two are doing very well.

Some nest renovations have been going on at the National Arboretum. I don’t think DC9 appreciated some of those branches.

At 2045 there is still no hatch at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. Maya is certainly restless tonight.

If you are a fan of Lady and Dad at the Sydney Sea Eagle nest in the Olympic Forest, you will know that the couple have been working on the nest. We are about three weeks away from the first egg being laid.

Where’s Ervie? Looks like he still hanging around the barge area of Port Lincoln. Fine by me!

It has been a busy day at all the nests and throughout different regions as the migratory birds continue to move through. My garden was full of White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows again today along with the usuals. The little Chickadee couple love to have a swim!

The Starling was not so pleased when Dyson came along and wanted some of the seeds.

Dyson is trying to try out for the local gymnastics team. Look at her stretch! She is losing her winter fur and the tufts on the end of her ears are gone. Ironically, her tail is much thicker. She is in really good health. Good to see.

I hope that each of you have had a wonderful day today and, hopefully, if you could, got to spend some time outside. It really is energizing – even for a few minutes sitting in the sun. Thank you so much for joining me today. It is a joy to have you here. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Peregrine Falcon Network, Cornell RTH, Friends of Big Bear Valley, NADC-AEF, DHEC, Sea Eagle Cam@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and the LRWT.