I included a brief note about Annie and Grinnell in my news about Diamond and Xavier. The news is very good so I think it warrants a quick posting.
According to Cal Falcons, Annie has been seen for the first time on The Campanile this morning since Grinnell was released. These are some screen shots of her on the ledge that I took.
In a message from Cal falcons, they have stated that the new male interloper who injured Grinnell has not been seen since Wednesday. This contradicts a posting that said Annie had been soaring with the interloper. I am going to assume that was earlier. Remember Grinnell was released on Wednesday and he flew straight to The Campanile from Lawrence Hall.
For the past few days Grinnell has been perched on and off The Campanile. I believe that Annie is looking for Grinnell.
You can watch Annie and Grinnell on three cameras. Here are the links:
Join me in sending positive wishes that Annie and Grinnell will be united soon!
Thank you to Cal Falcons for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots of Annie.
It has been a bit of a day in the bird and wildlife world. Coming hot on the heels of the banning of trail hunting on Natural Resources Wales land and the National Trust properties in the UK, the State of Washington in the US has suspending bear hunting. It was well known that the adults were killed right when they came out of hibernation leaving cubs to fend for themselves, often dying. People, like you and me, called for these archaic practices to halt. The government listened. Remember that because every person can make a difference! You want hunting suspended in your state or province, phone and find out who to talk to. Write an informed letter. Demand change. Ask like-minded people to join you.
I am not going to start off with the streaming cams just yet. It was a grey damp day – with a little sunshine at times – on the Canadian prairies. The garden was full of birds, mostly sparrows and some Starlings. Mr Blue Jay came and went quickly. He does not seem to like the frozen corn cob. And, of course, there was Dyson & Company, along with Little Red.
All these years I have pondered the sheer amount of ‘bird’ seed that we go through in a week. It is true that there are normally 250-300 birds singing and eating daily but, how much can they eat? It appears that not all that new seed – seedless chipped sunflower and peanuts – is going to birds!
Dyson didn’t like the frozen corn either and didn’t bother to even take it for later. He has discovered how to vacuum out that new bird seed. I think I now know who broke my other feeder. Dyson has no shame. He lives to eat.
Dyson looks a little thinner in the image above but the one below is more of a likeness of this little one. Dyson brings us so much joy that we are thrilled he is healthy going into what might be a very bad winter.
With Dyson occupied on the sunflower/peanut feeder, it meant that Little Red could sneak on the tray feeder and eat all the cashews, fruit, Brazil nuts, and peanuts. If you are wondering, yes, the birds and animals possibly eat better than I do! Little Red is so cute.
Little Red lives in the penthouse. It is a ‘shed’ the size of a garage that is taxed like it is a new garage by our City. We haven’t had the heart to evict the little fellow even thought he fills everything up with Maple seeds and knocks everything off its hooks and generally makes a complete mess of the space.
There were a few European Starlings still in the garden. They will migrate returning next April but they are lingering just like some of the ducks and the Northern Cardinals. Who knows? Maybe they know what winter will be like better than anyone. They certainly have enjoyed eating the suet cylinder.
Others felt like Black Oil Seed today.
Isn’t she cute with her rosey legs and slightly pink tinted beak? Female house sparrows get short shift in the bird guides. It is a pity. They are quite lovely.
Last year I planted Scarlett Runner Beans and at the end of the summer the sparrows went wild shredding all of them and eating the greenery. What you are looking at below is a Flame Willow shrub. In winter the branches are red – super beautiful in a world of grey, white, and beige. There is some little vine or plant growing on that shrub. The sparrows have discovered it and they are doing the same thing – shredding and eating. Has anyone seen this behaviour?
And now back to the streaming cams for a quick update.
Port Lincoln Osprey Barge: By 09:30, three fish had been delivered to the nest. Bazza initially got the first fish when it arrived at 06:23. Ervie took it away from him. Bazza did nothing to try and get it back. Falkey got the 06:49:38 fish. The third fish arrived at 09:11:09 and Falkey got it, too. Ervie had a huge crop. He wasn’t bothered. Yesterday Cilla Kinross of the Orange Peregrine Falcons said that “Shrinking violets will not last long in the real world.” Bazza is hungry and he needs to challenge his brothers despite that he might be fearful of another incident like he had with Ervie.
Falkey has the fish. Bazza is crying to Mum and Ervie with his big crop is looking out to sea on the right. Will Mum take the fish and feed Bazza?
The White Tailed Eagle Nest in Durbe, Latvia. Milda and Mr L were at the nest working on more renovations. It was getting ready to rain and the image is a little ‘foggy’. Sorry about that. It is nice to see Milda. I hope that this will be a successful year for her after the tragedy of spring 2020.
The Minnesota DNR has turned on its Bald Eagle cam. Here is a video of that amazing couple – the sub-adult male who fathered his first chicks at the age of four last year – and the older female. This video was made on 18 November. It looks like Dad has his adult plumage this year! How wonderful. He will have turned 5.
Cornell Red Tail Hawk Cam at Ithaca. The camera has been frozen for awhile. I wrote to the Cornell Bird Lab to inform them and to also ask them if there have been any confirmed sightings of Big Red since the last one on 16 October. I will keep you informed.
Annie and Grinnell. I have not seen any updates. As well, nothing on the WBSE juvenile.
You might remember Tiny Little Bob from the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest in Cumbria. That little one is a fine example of a third hatch so tiny everyone thought it would die and well, she became the dominant bird on the nest. Her number is Blue 463. I am watching all of the announcements for her arrival in warmer climates. Today, however, the 2016 hatch from Foulshaw Moss, male Blue V8, was spotted in Tanji Marsh in The Gambia. He was seen there in January 2021 and was in Cumbria during the summer of 2021. This is the good news you want to hear. Survival.
And on that wonderful sighting, I will close. Take care everyone. Enjoy the end of the week and the beginning of the weekend. Stay safe. Thank you so very much for joining me.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, The Latvian Fund for Nature, Charles Sturt University at Orange and Cilla Kinross, and to Lady Hawk for her video on the arrival of the two Bald Eagles to the MN DNR nest.
Peregrine Falcon, Grinnell, is making all the headlines out in San Francisco. He was released yesterday and was seen on the Campanile. There are watchers on the ground but so far, everything seems to be relatively quiet. Everyone is cheering for Grinnell to get back with Annie. Only time will tell but, for now, stay safe Grinnell!
Was it a fludge? a recovery? not a real fledge? I have no idea but yesterday after having a robust encounter with Ervie, Bazza found himself in Dad’s man cave. He quickly figured out he could fly to the ropes and then to the perch – which he did in record time (2.5 hours). Then he flew overhead before landing on the nest wanting fish.
Bazza was rewarded this morning with the first fish of the day. Congratulations! That delivery came at 06:28:00.
Both Falkey and Ervie are very interested in Bazza’s fish. Very interested.
Oh, dear. Ownership of the fish is being challenged.
Ervie got it!
Ervie is still working on that fish. Maybe he will pass some of it along to Falkey who is getting closer to wanting to try and take it.
Oh, my. Mum has decided to fly in and get that fish! Here she comes. Mum is teaching them a good lesson about how they can lose their dinner – from another bird flying in and taking it.
Mum gets the fish from Ervie and flies off with it. A good lesson for the lads. Eat fast! Protect your fish. Another bird can swoop in and take it.
News coming out of the Royal Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head, NZ, is that there are now 34 eggs laid. The NZ DOC rangers have candled 11 of those eggs and everyone of them was fertile. Amazing. There are still eggs to be laid and it is noted that there are quite a few first time breeding birds. Their eggs have been placed in an incubator and will be returned to the parents once a regular pattern is established for them to incubate. Until then, they will have dummy eggs. For those of you wondering about Button and his partner (Button is Grandma’s son), they have yet to lay an egg. Fingers crossed! No Royal Cam family has been selected yet.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.
No doubt all of the Ospreys on the barge at Port Lincoln are hungry first in the morning. It could have been 10 or more hours since they had a fish, depending on who landed the last one/s of the day.
At 09:37, the three lads were snoozing duckling style on the nest. Was anyone thinking about breakfast?
Dad flew in with a nice fish at 09:38:15, just 20 seconds later, waking them all up in a start. My goodness, Ervie is quick. He is mantling that fish (on the far right in front of Dad).
Wings are starting to flap.
As the competition for the breakfast fish amps up, Dad is getting ready to take off.
There he goes just clearing Ervie’s left wing tip. It looks pretty crazy down there but this is what we want to see – these three really being able to grab the fish and defend it. Ervie is a bit like a magician when it comes to getting the fish, he is so fast.
Dad has lift off.
Bazza is on the far left. Falkey is in the middle. He would not mind challenging Ervie for that fish. Look at Falkey looking over. Bazza, meanwhile, is looking out over the water, unconcerned.
Falkey thinks he will try to get that fish by flapping his wings.
Ervie counters. They are looking at each other so intently – it is a wonder Bazza doesn’t slip through and take the fish. Just look at those two! Ervie is saying, “I dare you to try.”
Ervie flips Falkey’s wing back causing him to lose his balance.
There, it is all over and it only took 14 seconds. No feathers or wings injured in the process. Wow.
Ervie aka Little Bob has really become a force to reckon with since he hatched. He has never given in to his older siblings. Focused. A survivor. Every day he amazes me. I look forward to seeing his progress years from now.
Ervie was still eating at 10:10. He is up on the top left near the perch. It is not clear if there will be anything left for one or both of the others. Ervie looks pretty hungry!
There will be plenty of fish for all of the boys today. Dad will make sure of that. It is very interesting to see the competition between the two fledglings. It will help them in the real world and it was not a serious tussle. Ervie pretty much dominates the deliveries like he did when Mum was feeding everyone.
You might be interested in what it is like in the African desert for animals. I have become more and more keen on learning about the places where the UK and European Ospreys and Black Storks go for the winter. (More water there but this is enlightening). It is night in the Namib Desert but move the time line back. There are Wildebeests, Ostrich, Giraffes, Jackals, Hyeans, etc. depending on the time of day. Enjoy.
The Namib Desert is said to be the world’s oldest desert. It is in the southwestern part of Africa whereas the sites for the Ospreys are in the Northwest, south of the Atlas Mountains, in Senegal, The Gambia, etc. The Namib is home to iron rich soil creating red sand dunes and formations like those where I grew up in Oklahoma. It is also known for its nature reserves. The camera is at one of those.
There is Namibia northwest of South Africa.
Red iron oxide gives the soil its beautiful terracotta colour.
The lodge where the camera is located borders a really iron red rich area.
I have no new news on Grinnell other than he flew out of the rehabber’s box and was up on The Campanile. The UC-Berkley band started playing when he arrived! There is such an incredible amount of love for this beautiful falcon. Let us hope that it all ends well. Grinnell seems determined to take his territory and he is much healthier than when he was attacked 20 days ago. The image below is from the Instagram feed of Annie and Grinnell. Oh, he looks good. Nice deep yellow colouring on his beak, around his eyes, and legs. The vets indicated that his beak is growing and his wing is healing. They felt that it was much better to release him now. Thank you everyone at Lindsay Wildlife! Grinnell looks in great form.
Thank you for joining me. This has been a really great day with Grinnell’s release. It would only be better if he was sitting next to Annie on The Campanile. Maybe tomorrow. No news on the WBSE juvenile in care.
Thank you to the Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and to the Annie and Grinnell Instagram where I captured the image of Grinnell flying.
The Cal Falcon Team took this photo of Grinnell on the corner of The Campanile. He is back at the centre of his territory. They say it will take several days (or could) for things to settle. Still, Grinnell welcome home!
Update: Images of Grinnell being released are on the Instagram feed at the bottom of this posting. Here is Grinnell flying:
There has been no confrontation yet with the other male but it appears Grinnell wants his territory back! Send all your positive wishes! And check out the Instagram Feed for all the latest updates on our little hero.
Here is the link to Annie and Grinnell’s web site:
Bazza, the first hatch at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, is the last nestling to fledge. OK. He hasn’t fledged yet but you might have been fooled at 06:15 this morning when you saw an empty nest. Bazza was doing amazing hovering. Maybe this will be his day to fly! Wouldn’t that be grand? Bazza could begin to explore the cove with his brothers, Ervie and Falkey.
He really seems to want to be out there enjoying all the fun! But to put all of this into perspective, Ervie fledged early at 60 days. Bazza is 65 days old and Solly fledged last year at 65 days. DEW did not fledge til 73 days. Ervie just got us all excited! And then of course, Falkey followed suit rather quickly, too. But if Bazza does fledge today it will be right in line with Solly.
Yurruga, the nestling Peregrine Falcon in the scrape box of Xavier and Diamond on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia, is waiting for her breakfast. She is looking a little ‘ragged’ this morning. Almost all of the baby down is off!
Grinnell, the resident male Peregrine Falcon, at the Campanile on UC-Berkley’s campus, was released one hour ago in his territory. He has been in the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital and in ‘home care’ since he was injured in a territorial take over bid on 29 October. That is the latest news that I have. The cameras are being rotated a bit to try and get a glimpse of what will ultimately happen when Grinnell tries to land on the Campanile and take his place beside Annie. Will he succeed? Will the interloper? Here is a link to one of the cams:
It is nothing short of a blustery winter day on the Canadian prairies. Snow is blowing everywhere, some more flakes are falling, and the temperature is warm enough to be causing ice. It was a bit worrisome when I stopped at the pond and found a few ducks in a small open space of water.
They seemed to be enjoying themselves. No one seemed to have feather or wing issues but that open water is closing in fast.
There they are from a distance. It will give you some perspective on the size of the little pond.
I was surprised to see a few standing on the ice. Ducks – at least here – tend not to like to get their paddles cold.
My garden has been ‘very loud’ all day with about 200 or more House Sparrows all clamouring for food – which is in abundance. This little fellow was all puffed up to stay warm.
There was one lone Black-Capped Chickadee eating something in the Flame Willow. Like the sparrows, the chickadees are year round visitors to the feeders.
The two books from Roy Dennis Wildlife – Mistletoe Winter and Cottongrass Summer – arrived today. I have just finished Chris Packham and Meg McCubbin’s book and Isabella Tree’s on wilding to help restore the environment. It will be interesting to see what Dennis says in his latest book, Mistletoe Winter. Now for a nice cup of hot tea to go with it.
Send out positive wishes to Grinnell and all our feathered friends.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone and be safe.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.
The team at the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital has announced that University of California at Berkley’s very own Peregrine Falcon, Grinnell, is fit to be released back in the wild. He will be released tomorrow, 17 November, barring any unforeseen circumstances.*
Oh, what wonderful news. Grinnell was injured in a turf war on the 29th of October. He was found grounded on a garbage can about a kilometre from The Campanile. Grinnell required surgery and has been on anti-inflammatories, anti-parasitic, and antibiotics.
While ongoing competition for nesting sites demonstrates the health of the Peregrine Falcon population in the area, it is also the cause for many territorial disputes.
Annie and Grinnell have been raising chicks in the scrape box on The Campanile for six years. They are an amazing team. Grinnell is an exceptional father that likes to take part in everything from incubation to feeding.
Annie does know know where Grinnell has been. She has made overtures to the male that inflicted the injury on Grinnell. Individuals observing the two say that the new male appears to be skiddish. Grinnell will be released near to his territory. He will either try to take back his territory or seek out another space. It is unknown at this time what will happen. Many, of course, hope that Grinnell will have no difficulty ousting the rival and returning to Annie.
Fingers crossed!
*Some reports or saying Thursday or Friday but I have been informed it will be tomorrow, Wednesday, the 17th.
Thank you to the UC-Berkley Falcon Cam where I took my screen shot.
Little Yurruga has really been shaking it up – or should I say ‘off’? Those fluffy white down feathers, so soft and so cute when she was younger, must be driving her crazy. Underneath what is left is going to be a lovely bird, just like her Mum, Diamond.
There is no doubt that Yurruga can be loud and she certainly almost claims those eggs as her own in the video above. She can also persuade the parents to go to the ledge or leave entirely. But, Yurruga feels like a much gentler soul than Izzi. Diamond is simply a patient observant Mum and after a bit, Yurruga stops with the prey calling when she sees that nothing is coming. Rather nice.
A few minutes later, Yurruga was running around with a Starling beak. What a character!
There have been several fish deliveries at Port Lincoln. Ervie got the first fish and left a little for the brothers. That came in at 6:50:24. There was another delivery at 12:11 and another at 14:25:11. I could not tell who got the last fish but, Bazza picked up the noon delivery. Maybe Falky got the last one. Ervie didn’t. They are all getting fish to eat and no one is hungry despite the scramble for the latest delivery.
Port Lincoln posted Ervie’s flight path yesterday. He is definitely exploring around the barge.
Falky continues his flying and landing exercises and Port Lincoln adds that Bazza seems to figure if he stays on the nest, he has the best chance of getting a fish! One of the chatters wondered if he was too ‘heavy’ for lift off. Bazza will fly when Bazza is ready. We don’t need to urge him on. I am certain Ervie and Falky are very capable of doing that.
I am continuing to read and enjoy Emry Evans Monty more and more. I am on my second reading of parts of this marvellous book. While it is about the foundational male of Welsh Ospreys it is also about this wonderful species and insights into their behaviour. I was particularly moved by the essay on Monty’s mourning the loss of his daughter, Ceri, and the links drawn to all of the studies that demonstrate that animals not only experience ranges of emotion but also pain and suffering and to Dr Marc Bekoff’s writing as well as to that of Jane Goodall. One of those is The Ten Trusts.
Those trusts, according to Goodall and Bekoff are: 1. Respect all life; 2. Live as part of the Animal Kingdom; 3. Educate our children to respect animals; 4. Treat animals as you would like to be treated; 5. Be a steward; 6. Value the sounds of nature and help preserve them; 7. Do not harm life in order to learn about it; 8. Have the courage of your convictions; 9. Act knowing that your actions make a difference, and 10. Act knowing that you are not alone.
Because of the unnecessary death of Solly, the 2020 hatch at Port Lincoln, on the power line at Streaky Bay, I am particularly interested in #9. Each of us can make a difference and I note that in Wales, all that had to be done to keep the Ospreys off the power lines where they love to eat fish was to place two diagonal rods. How simple is that?! The South Australian Government could do this with all of the power lines near the coasts where the birds fish and eat.
There is an update on Grinnell, the male Peregrine Falcon who was injured in a turf war. Of course, everyone hopes that Grinnell is super fit and able to take on his assailant who is now courting Grinnell’s mate, Annie. This was 19 hours ago:
It is a another grey day with the promise of more snow. Meanwhile everything seems to have a crust of ice on it or, in the case of walkways, several centimetres of ice making it nearly impossible to walk. The birds are very inventive. They have been burrowing tunnels in the snow and then standing in the holes – it is like having one’s on private igloo.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. Stay safe!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB groups where I took my screen captures and video clips: Port Lincoln Osprey Project Cam and FB Page, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.
If you have read my bio, you will know that part of my life was spent studying statues placed in the public realm. I wanted to study the History of Ceramics but, at the time, there was no such programme in existence. The rest is more or less history. My niche was the public statues exported from Britain to the India sub-continent and Southeast Asia. If anyone asked me why, I would tell them that I loved to meet new people and travel and certainly that topic facilitated many adventures. On occasion, I still write an article or two. Public statues to men – there were hardly ever any celebrating women – are always controversial as we have witnessed over the past several years with the toppling of many public figures. Can a statue of a much beloved goose be controversial? I hope not!
Derek was a Snow Goose that arrived in Watchet Harbour in Somerset, UK, a decade ago. There are no other Snow Geese and everyone believed her to be a male until she laid an egg. Derek never migrated like the other geese. The boat owners feed her broccoli and Weetabix every morning. If they are late, Derek would board their boats and honk and honk and honk til she is fed. Charming. Sadly, Derek disappeared with only feathers being found a few weeks ago. The community fears a fox killed her. She delighted people near and far. As a result of the joy she gave there is a collection to have a statue of her made for the wharf. What a lovely idea. You can read about it here.
You might recall that a wooden sculpture was created to honour Ezra, Big Red’s Mate at Cornell. The work shows Ezra, Big Red, and a chick from their last brood. The detail in the carving is stunning. The artist, David Cohen, used acrylics for the plumage.
It is a lovely work celebrating a much beloved Red-tailed Hawk. It will remain on display for three years.
The only problem with this beautiful tribute to Ezra is that it cannot be placed outdoors. I am hoping that the Rock Star of the group, Big Red, will receive a bronze statue in her own garden in front of the Fernow Building which is across from the nest and where her fledglings always flew to first.
There are many animal and bird statues around the world. They are touching and quite lovely. Why not erect something to celebrate the birds that have brought us so much joy? Seriously, the politicians that find themselves immortalized often cannot make that claim!
Checking on the nests: At Port Lincoln, Dad brought in a fish at 06:22. Guess who stole the fish tail? If you said Ervie aka Little Bob you are 100% correct. Here is our lad finishing it off. Later, he was nosing around the nest looking for leftovers. Quite the guy you are, Ervie.
It is kind of wet in Port Lincoln. Don’t think any of the lads are going to be taking off flying today but…the birds always surprise us! The puffer fish is still being batted about on the nest but the chicks did not touch it. You can see it behind the chick on the far right, Bazza.
Yurruga has also had her breakfast. Oh, she is such a little sweetheart. She is changing every day. The wing flapping is really helping to get the floof off!
Mum and daughter looking out to Diamond’s territory waiting for breakfast delivery. I know that Yurruga is closer to the camera but she is really growing and, well, she is larger than Dad. What does that tell you?
When Yurruga is really hungry, she often picks at Diamond’s talons. See how much floof has disappeared since yesterday. Beautiful juvenile feathers hiding – and what a nice tail. I might not have noticed it because of those fluffy pantaloons. But there it is. Its length will be revealed once that white down is off. I keep saying it but looking at her it is just so hard to imagine her fledging in a week.
Xavier is excellent hunter. The girls hardly ever have to wait in the morning. In fact, most falcons have a place where they ‘stash’ prey. A pantry for those days when prey items might not be sufficient or for leftovers. The birds do not waste anything. We might all take some lessons from them.
Yurruga is doing really well at the self-feeding.
Self-feeding is tiring and Diamond helps get every last piece of meat off the bones – teaching the little one. Look at how carefully Yurruga watches. She is imprinting everything including the type of prey that is alright to catch. Her plucking is getting better, too. Again, she learned that from watching her parents.
The latest news about Grinnell is that he is healing nicely and has specialized home care. He is preparing to be released back into the wild. Send all your warm wishes his way that him and Annie regain their territory together. Oh, Grinnell you are so cute and so tiny with your wings all bandaged. Look at those yellow sticks for legs. Oh, my. You take care little guy.
Everyone seems to be alright. The big snow promised for this afternoon did not materialize. Thankfully. The garden birds have really been eating — and thank you for your kind notes. No, I am not going to get out in this mess. I put on my big boots with great grip and took care of the birds and that is it. I appreciate the concern. So very, very kind of you.
Thank you for joining me today. It is nice to see all the birds doing well today. Take care all.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Charles Stuart Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Lindsay Wildlife Hospital, and Suzanne Arnold Horning for the photo of the Ezra statue.
The plumage on a Peregrine Falcon is incredibly cute. Those beautiful slate grey heads, the horizontal striped pantaloons, the white chest, the gorgeous yellow legs and talons and cere.
One of the cutest is the little 8 year old lad below, Grinnell. Grinnell was, until the 29th of October, the resident male along with his mate, Annie, at The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley in San Francisco. On that day, Grinnell had an altercation with two falcon interlopers. He was found grounded on a garbage can about a mile and a half from The Campanile. Was he driving the interlopers out? was he fleeing? We will never know. Fortunately, he was found and taken into care at the Lindsay Wildlife Centre. There he had surgery on his wing and received antibiotics, anti-parasites, and anti-inflammatory drugs. He was doing well enough when he arrived at the clinic that he could feed himself. Apparently he quite loved the quail!
As you can see from the FB posting below, Grinnell is doing well.
Decisions will be made as to where he will be released by a couple of agencies. It is not known if Grinnell will return and fight for his territory and Annie, his mate of 6 years. Only time will tell. The good news is that Grinnell is recovering from his injuries.
Meanwhile, Annie has been getting friendly with the intruder. Oh, I wish it would go away! Annie does not know where Grinnell is and she has been scraping in the box, etc indicating that she is receptive to the new male. Falcon experts have stated that Annie will not enter into the battle if the two males rival for the territory – prime real estate! She will want to protect herself so that she will be healthy during breeding season.
Keep sending positive thoughts Grinnell’s way.
I know that some have been worried about the falcon left on the ledge at 367 Collins Street. At 11:12, Dad brought a huge prey item onto the ledge. You can see the eyas beginning to mantle, very excited. The bird was not prepped and Dad worked on it but the chick was not eating. I am not a vet but it appears that something is causing the chick to not be able to open its beak wide enough to eat. The chick appears not to be preening despite the floof (this normally causes them to itch and preen constantly) and I am concerned that there is ‘something’ not right.
I am not that familiar with the birds in Australia but it looks like it could be a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo or a Gull.
I feel really sorry. The Dad is working hard to feed and get the little one to eat and well, it appears that it can’t. It is only a guess as to what is wrong with the chick. Will anyone do anything to get it into care, I do not know. Every country and even every state is different in their laws and attitudes. All we can do is hope that the wee bird will improve on its own.
The weather in Port Lincoln is dire. One of the boats near the barge has gone under the water in the rough waves. No one was on board. It is a cold front moving through the area. It is 13 degees C with 32 kph winds. It is not a good day for fishing with the choppy water but the osplets have been doing some hovering. I hope they don’t get blown off the nest prematurely! So far they are all safe and secure!
I wish I had better news about the little falcon on Collins Street. Send lots of love and positive wishes for there to be a turn around or — for a miracle and someone approve it going into care.
Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project. I would also like to thank the individuals who have shared the FB posting about Grinnell.
