Tag Archives: Annie and the New Guy

Early Monday in Bird World

18 April 2022

The sun is shining bright, the sky is blue with some clouds, and the Dark-eyed Juncos and European Starlings arrived in the garden three or four hours ago! There is not supposed to be more snow for another five or six days – thankfully.

Mr Woodpecker came for some of the suet a few hours later. Normally he goes to the suet cylinder with the wooden flap that helps him sit better but today he decided he wanted the peanut suet.

I love the rustic garden we have created that allows us to interact with wildlife in an urban setting rather than setting boundaries to keep the birds, the squirrels, the rabbits, and sometimes a raccoon separate and apart. We seem to have all found a way to coexist which certainly brings a lot of joy.

I received a note from a friend of forty years this morning. They live in a beautiful flat in New Zealand near a place where they can observe ducks and swans but, with the sale of the family cottage, they are now longing for a home with a large garden. Whether it is a large or small space, each of us can bring joy to our lives by helping our feathered or furred friends. In fact, it is often so much easier to manage a small space with a single feeder. Everything helps! Yesterday a huge flock of robins came to our neighbours. She didn’t have seed of any kind but she had dried cranberries, frozen blueberries, and some apples she chopped up. The Robins were very grateful.

The day started off really well for Little Bit at the UFlorida Osprey nest in Gainesville. Mum called and Dad brought another fish to her at 09:34.

Little Bit – in the middle – stretches its neck really far and gets some amazing bites of fish. This little one is not bothered at all when it comes to putting its head in front of Big sibling. Did I actually think at one time this wee baby would not survive? He is so feisty and what a great Mum he has. She tries each beak when she has flakes of fish. Not one of the chicks is ever left out. Slow and methodical. I am so impressed by her.

Big Bob (left) has its dark oily head today and has been seen doing a lot of preening as its new darker-grey wooly down comes in. Little Bit (middle) still looks rather soft and young. It is healthy – look at that fat little bottom. Middle Bob (top right) is in between the other two siblings. Tomorrow Middle Bob will look much more like Big Bob. The dinosaur phase is upon us.

Yesterday, at the Captiva osprey nest, the last fish was delivered around noon. Was recreational boat traffic the cause of no deliveries later in the day? I always wonder especially on a holiday weekend.

The first fish today came in and Middle grabbed it. I think Lena was planning on dividing it up but she didn’t get a chance. [Chat uses the term ‘Little’ when I say Middle]. I hope Andy brings in another fish soon for Lena and Little [Mini].

Idris brought in a super fish for Telyn at the Dyfi nest and then incubated the eggs for her so she could have a good feed.

Idris is one of my favourites.

Aran and Mrs G have both been on the alert this morning at the Glaslyn nest. No eggs so far – that’s a good thing.

Aran looking around from the rim of the nest.

Mrs G. looking at the intruder above the nest.

Both on the look out from the perch. There are still floaters around looking for a mate and a nest. They often cause a bit of chaos.

Yesterday, Blue NC0 laid her third and, hopefully, last egg of the 2022 season. If all three hatch, Laddie LM12 is going to be one busy male at the Loch of the Lowes. Last year the couple fledged two chicks.

Here is a short video clip of the third egg being laid.

Maya and Blue 33 (11) will have the first Osprey chicks to hatch on the streaming cams in the UK. I will alert you as we approach pip.

All three eaglets at the West End had a nice early breakfast. Thunder told them to stay away from the edge!

There were some gorgeous views from the Two Harbours nest at sunrise.

Chase wanted some time with the eaglet so he brought in a big stick and coaxed Cholyn off the nest. Sounds just like Shadow at the Big Bear Valley nest! You can see that stick to the side of Chase.

The Pittsburgh Hayes eagle nest would sure like some of that warm California Sun today. Everyone looks miserable. I can only imagine what that stock of fish smells like.

Unbelievable. Only Bob at the National Arboretum nest is no longer a fluffy little white teddy bear. Just look at that eaglet with that big crop. There is still some white natal down on its head.

The image below is the eaglet on 6 April. Twelve days ago! The saying is: An eaglet grows from three inches to 3 feet in 3 months. That is incredible.

Mother Goose has her eggs in the old abandoned Bald Eagle nest at Decorah North in Iowa. She seems to be doing fine. No disturbances and unlike dear sweet Diasy, Mother Goose has help.

The camera operator searched and found the Bald Eagles working on their new nest this morning. It is really windy!!!!!!!!

Harry and Nancy were both on the Minnesota DNR nest as snow was falling this morning. Everyone was having a big feast. Each parent was eating and feeding an eaglet. Beautiful.

Liberty and Guardian were both on the Redding Bald Eagle nest this morning too. It looks, from the size of all of these eaglets, that we are really going to be busy when they all start fledging at once!

Would you like an opportunity to name the two Redding eaglets? Here is where you go to fill in the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepb87S7zrcMZI6PXzhLCeFD6t21xj5sjw7mEV9n2aT_34CWg/viewform

Names already used include the following: Liberty, Patriot, Spirit, Guardian, Conehead, Freedom, Hope, Peace, Shasta, Justice, Stormy, Windy, Lassen, Pi, Paddy, Poppy, Birdie, Bogey, Solo, River, Sky, Hope, Honor, Glory & Rebel.

The whole family was on the nest this morning at Big Bear after Shadow brought in a really super fish.

What a peaceful image. Spirit looking out on Big Bear Lake while Jackie finishes up some fish. Spirit has such a huge crop! Glad there was some fish left for Jackie.

While the ‘New Guy’ is incubating, Annie chases an unwanted male from The Campanile. Oh, and we so wished Annie would have some peace and quiet.

We are waiting for the announcement of the name for ‘The New Guy’.

Jan brought some moss to soften the nest that he shares with his mate, Janika. Their artificial nest is in Jogeva County in Estonia. It was built in 2021. Black Storks are very rare in Estonia and everything is done to encourage them to nest successfully. If you look carefully you can see that there are two eggs already in the nest.

Big Red and Arthur have been taking turns incubating the four eggs. In fact, this year, Arthur has become a bit bolder in his attempts to get Big Red off the nest so that he can care for the eggs, too. We will be on pip watch at the end of the week. I won’t be able to sleep!!!!!!

In past years we have seen Big Red encrusted in snow, blow off by high winds, and drenched by torrential rains. With four eyases it will be imperative that they get under the adult until they are able to regulate their own temperature if bad weather hits the Cornell campus.

Big Red is certainly a good name for the Queen of Red-tail Hawks. She has the most gorgeous deep red plumage whereas Arthur is lighter.

You can really tell the difference in the couple’s colouring by looking at BR above and then Arthur below.

It has been a wonderful day, so far, at the nests. That is a great way to begin the week. Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Captiva Osprey Cam and Window for Wildlife, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Explore.org, Pix Cams, NADE-AEF, MN-DNR, Redding Eagles, FOBBV, Cal Falcons, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.

Friday in Bird World

15 April 2022

It has been a cracker of an afternoon in Bird World. The ‘New Guy’ – to finally have an official name at noon on the 18th – is ready to step in and incubate when Annie calls. I like this fella’. No, he will never replace Grinnell – he is his own endearing self. Through his kindness and generous spirit of heart, ‘New Guy’ saved this clutch and won the heart of Annie and so many of us. Precious.

The more I watch the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest, the more that Mum endears herself to me, too – just like the ‘New Guy’. At lunch time, she had a huge chunk of Mullet (please correct me if I am wrong) to feed the trio. That is nothing extraordinary but how she checked on Little Bit offering it bites when Big Sib had calmed down, how she moved the fish to feed again when Dad came wanting leftovers, well…none of the chicks were left out. They all had a nice feed. Little Bit is spunky, too. Big tries to intimidate both Middle and Little Bit but, thankfully, is not all that aggressive. They wait and head back up, sometimes walking right in front of Big to get to the beak. I am impressed.

Each raptor mother has their own personality and way of feeding. Some feed fast and only to beaks open at the front. This Mum is slow and methodical, not stopping til all are full unless the fish runs out. Oh, I wish I knew more about this couple!

Little Bit managed to get some nice big bites amongst lots of smaller ones.

The bigger siblings can eat more at one feeding than Little Bit but this morning it appeared that Little Bit did a bit of a crop drop and wanted more fish. Excellent.

When the Dad arrived the Mum went to protect the hunk of fish and the chicks moved up and she fed them more.

Then Mum moved the fish and continued feeding -topping everyone up. She is very, very smart. She topped herself up, too. It is hot on top of that light stand – fill the kids up!

Little Bit wants more fish and Mum made sure he got some more.

Mum ate some of the nice fish once the babies were full and sleeping.

Then she began to call for Dad.

Food comas.

The third hatch at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey got some fish at the beginning of the 13:07 feed. All three are fine.

Blue NC0 and Laddie now have two eggs in their nest at Loch of the Lowes. Congratulations!

B15 is believed to be a female. She certainly is a big fledgling. B15 has stayed around the Berry College nest of her parents, Pa Berry and Missy, learning to fly and coming for food. Missy loves to feed her baby! This is such a huge help to the success of this gorgeous juvenile. It was a great year for Berry College.

There is another fledgling happy to visit home. Oh, is Kincaid ever loud! He will be just as happy if Anna wants to feed him, too, like B15. Last year Kistachie shot out of the nest never to be seen again. That is not especially a good thing. This year Kincaid is hanging around to the delight of everyone.

There is Kincaid on the branch of the nest in the Kisatchie National Forest near Alexandria, Louisiana. The sound on their camera is simply incredible.

Want to have a listen? Here is the link to the camera. The laughing frogs will put a smile on your face.

Martin and Rosa’s eaglet at the Dulles-Greenway Eagle cam lost all that baby down and is getting its juvenile feathering. The change seemed to come in a blink of an eye. The eaglet hatched on 13 March making it (counting hatch day) 33 days old today.

Just look at those ‘Daddy Longlegs’ on Little at the Captiva Osprey nest! Good gracious. He will rival Idris!!!!!! Little got the 11 am fish. Lena is calling Andy to get some more fish on the nest. She is so loud, you could hear her in Fort Myers.

There was a wonderful article about the Bald Eagle Mum at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest that defended her three eaglets against a determined intruder. Have a read and look at the picture. That was an amazing event on this nest. I would never want to make an Eagle mother upset – absolutely never.

https://triblive.com/local/dont-mess-with-momma-hays-bald-eagle-defends-against-intruder/?fbclid=IwAR3mMoCGGnzMsuESvp53P4ndAqCpyeHk6dCO_nlt8xKR4Wy-wc3KM8pDMK4

It is always nice to see Iris. What a joy it was when she returned to her nest at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana this year — the oldest Osprey in the world believed to be 28/29 this year.

So loved.

Port Lincoln posted a great remark on the chat for the PLO barge:

​”Who said Ospreys don’t fly around at night. Mum returned to the barge at 23.02 tonight and Ervie was fishing off the end of the main wharf at 20.47.”

It is always wonderful to hear about Ervie!

Aran and Mrs G have been in the nest. Later in the evening, the pair fly out to a favourite tree of Aran’s admiring their territory. This is what ospreys do on a Friday night in Wales.

Idris is on his perch while Telyn works on nestorations. She is a great one for moving large twigs. Wow.

A nice fish came to the Dale Hollow nest at 13:45. Both of the eaglets had a great feed.

Big is full and now it is Little Middle’s turn.

Then Big wanted some more of that nice fish.

Both eaglets were happy and had nice crops. A whole fish doesn’t go a long way anymore. If you count hatch day, the DH eaglets are 47 days old today.

Can you tell who is who?

The way to tell Little Middle is that he has a more prominent white ruffle on the end of his tail! (The angle of the camera makes Little Middle who is closest to the bottom appear slightly larger than he is but…that good fish is really causing this eaglet to grow).

It has been a great Friday in Bird World! The sun is still shining on the Canadian prairies, the wind is calm, and the snow has stopped. Nice.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida ospreys, VGGCO, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Berry College, KNF, Dulles-Greenaway, Port Lincoln Ospreys FB, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Montana Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, and DHEC.

Name Annie’s ‘New Guy’

Cal Falcons has made a short list of the names that you can choose from in voting for a name for Annie’s New Guy. Here is that announcement:

Tuesday in Bird World

12 April 2022

The ‘historic’ storm is set to hit us sometime during the late evening or night. It will snow and blow then calm and start up again on Thursday. Apparently people are hoarding food and turkeys are said to now cost $80 each. Of course, they will be useless if the electricity has an outage. It is the reason that we have a back up wood stove in the City. Eons ago and I do mean eons, I remember a storm that hit leaving several feet on the roads and downing the power lines. The cables had thick ice – first sagging and then snapping under the weight. The house in the country had a hand pump to the cistern if the power was lost and a large wood stove. We ate, had hot baths and meals – one day it was so warm the children were wearing their summer clothes. The snow was so deep. It took 13 days before we were a priority with the municipality – being the only house on a road for several miles. We were fine. Sometimes old school is best. All of the garden critters have been fed so much especially Dyson and Scraggles as well as Little Red. They can hoard it all away and munch and stay warm inside their nests and the penthouse til the storm is over. No worries for them!

Dyson really does enjoy those nice nuts. He even seems to be putting on some weight since he discovered he prefers the ‘luxury’ bird seed. Too funny. He feels his cheeks and runs away returning quickly!

The soap opera in the Glaslyn Valley is officially over for the 2022 season. Mrs G is back with Aran on the Glaslyn nest and Blue 014 has Aeron Z2 all to herself at Pont Cresor. Aran has delivered half a fish to Mrs G. He might be waiting to deliver a whole one until he is sure she is staying!

Mrs G, the oldest Osprey in the UK, is as gorgeous as ever with her dark plumage.

Aran on his perch and Mrs G in the nest.

Mrs G enjoying the fish that Aran provided.

As the sun begins to set, Aran is in the nest working on the walls that were installed by the Glaslyn staff in an effort to ease the nesting season for Mrs G and her mate.

It is raining at the Dale Hollow nest. Little Middle and Big are soaked.

At 11:10:31 Obey brings a fish to the nest for Big and Little Middle.

Everyone is soaking. Little Middle was first up at the feeding once River decided it was a good time to start – around 12:13.

Even when Big moves up, Little Middle stays in place and continues to eat. It is all good.

Little Middle is happy River came to the nest. He loves cuddling with Mum.

The little eaglet at the National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus is thriving.

While this wee one begins to get its thermal down, there is branching happening at the NEFlorida Bald eagle nest of Samson and Gabby. Yesterday Jasper branched at 10:10:53 as Rocket looked on.

No worries, beautiful Rocket. You will be up there soon enough! Too soon for us!!!!!

Just look above and have a quick peek at this short video – a reminder of how quickly the eagles grow! I recall the days that we were all worried that Rocket would survive but, he did. He was self-feeding first and became ever so clever.

The bonking has started at the UFL Osprey nest. I am cautiously hopeful that the beaking will subside but let’s see if Dad can get more fish on this nest pronto.

Richmond and Rosie at the SF Bay Osprey nest have their third egg. You have heard me say it many times. They are good and solid and capable of dealing with three! Eggs were laid on April 5, 8, and 11. Just perfect.

Everything is fine at the Black Stork nest of Karl II in the Karula Forest in Estonia. Kaia has returned!!!!!!!

I am so happy to report that the male is back on the Black Stork nest in Latvia! This nest is in the Sigulda region of Latvia.

Oh, and I am so excited. I love Black Kites and Grey and Golda are working on their nest in Latvia. This is exciting. Some of you might remember the Black Kite nest in a cemetery in Taipei. I continue to look for that streaming cam to start operating. But now we can watch in Latvia!

Black kites are medium sized raptors. They generally live in the forests where they generally occupy the lower canopy. This is where they hunt small mammals, frogs, salamanders, and even grasshoppers as well as other insects. They will lay between 2 and 5 eggs.

Last year there were three hatchlings. They were seriously cute.

The second White-tailed eaglet hatched at the Danish nest yesterday. Both hatches are doing well. Just watching for the third to arrive tomorrow.

White YW and Blue 35 have been working on their nest at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. The camera does not have a rewind capacity so you have to watch often and long to catch the ospreys on the nest. This is the nest of Tiny Little’s parents. S/he was ringed Blue 463 and as the third hatch, with the help of Mum and Dad, s/he thrived. I am very much looking forward to this season with these fabulous parents. Where do the parents roost? On the tree in the distance.

Here is the link to the streaming cam. There are two views when you click on the page.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

Everything is fine at the Dyfi Osprey nest of Idris and Telyn! They are a super couple. Again, great nest to watch. Link to camera is below. You can count on Idris bringing in some whoppers!

This is a new couple. CJ7 who has hoped for a mate for so long and the more than eager to oblige dashingly handsome Blue 022. They are at Poole Harbour and as I always mention – any chicks that hatch on this nest will be the first in over 200 years. You can well imagine that the local community is pretty excited.

Here is the link to their camera as you begin to get your UK Osprey nests to watch consolidated.

There is a soft rain at the Loch of the Lowes. You can hear the songbirds in the distance. Laddie and Blue NC0 have a beautiful nest and it is impossible to see if there is an egg yet. I don’t think so.

Blue NC0 has been on and off the nest. Did I tell you she is a fantastic fisher? It is not clear whether or not Laddie caught this fish and handed it off to her after he had eaten the head but, that is probably what happened. Blue NC0 would be pleased. She turned out to be a fantastic Mum last year to the surprise of some. Once the chicks were old enough she was out fishing. She really kept the fish flowing on the nest for the two healthy chicks last year.

Here is the link to the camera at the Loch of the Lowes.

Tomorrow, Cal Falcons is due to post the list of names so that the community can vote. It will be so nice for the New Guy to get a proper name. Everything is going fine for this new couple as we continue to mourn the loss of Grinnell.

All of the Peregrine Falcon nests are doing just fine as is Big Red and Arthur’s Red-tail Hawk nest at Cornell. The action will be starting in a few weeks!

Thank you so much for joining me today as we skipped around some of the nests. The weather that is approaching Manitoba will also impact the MN-DNR nest I am pretty sure. I will try and keep an eye on Harry and Nancy and the two eaglets. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, DHEC, Birdlife Denmark, NADC-AEF, NEFlorida-AEF, UFL Osprey, CFN, SF Ospreys and Goldden Gate Audubon, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Dyfi, and Cal Falcons.

Monday in Bird World

11 April 2022

The tributes continue to come in for Grinnell! It is more than heart-warming to know that this little falcon touched the hearts and lives of so many in such a positive way.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/11/peregrine-falcons-grinnell-annie-captivated-audience

I have not seen the list of names chosen by Cal Falcons in the naming contest. Will keep you posted.

A soap opera saga is playing out in the Glaslyn Valley in Wales. The four players are Mrs G, the oldest UK Osprey; her mate, Aran, Monty’s son Aeron Z2 at Pont Cresor, and Blue 014. With the late arrival of Aran and Blue 014, Aeron Z2 and Mrs G got a little too comfortable over at Aeron’s Pont Cresor nest. When both Aran and Blue 014 returned yesterday things got a little sticky. It looks like the guys are going to leave the girls to fight it out. I am just not clear which Aran or Aeron Mrs G wants!!!!!!!!

Aran is really handsome and looks in tip top shape. It is interesting, in terms of bird behaviour, what happens to a couple after there has been a loss of chicks on a nest and, to add to that, an injury to the male. That is precisely what happened at Glaslyn last year. We will wait to see how this sorts itself out.

Handsome Aran. 10 April 2022

Aran is enjoying his fish and keeping watch over his nest while the ladies fight it out.

While the drama continues to unfold in Glaslyn, the folks down in Poole Harbour are rejoicing at the reuniting of CJ7 and Blue 022. These two are totally committed to one another. What is at stake? The first Osprey to hatch in Poole Harbour in over 200 years! It is really exciting. CJ7 waited a couple of years for a mate and Blue 022, a youngster, showed up last year very keen – very keen, indeed.

The list of Ospreys left to return to the UK is growing shorter by the hour. Both Louis and Dorcha returned to the Loch Arkaig Nest safe and sound. So happy!

Some of you will remember the 2020 Osprey season at Loch Arkaig with Louis and his mate, Aila. They raised three amazing fledglings. Sadly, Aila did not return last year. Louis moved to a different nest and bonded with the female that is now called Dorcha.

I adore Louis. He is a great provider and a fabulous father. Here he is bringing Dorcha a fish. Louis knows how to take good care of his family.

It is very windy at Loch Arkaig today. It is hard to get a good image of Louis and Dorcha. Louis is on the left and Dorcha is on the right. Notice Louis’s beautiful necklace. I saw someone on one of the chats the other day comment that they thought only females have necklaces. That is not correct; there are quite a few male Ospreys with exquisite necklaces – the envy of many females!

Here is a link to camera 2 at Loch Arkaig:

I started the other day, with my friend ‘S’s list of favourite Osprey nests. So I want to go back to that list because Chesapeake Bay is on that list of great Osprey nests to live stream. The nest is on Kent Island just off the coast of Maryland. It is on the property of ‘The Crazy Osprey Family’. This family has been sponsoring a streaming cam for the Ospreys since 2012.

The Chesapeake Conservancy Osprey nest is the home to Tom and Audrey. Last year, after a couple of eggs broke in the nest, the couple fledged one chick, CJ.

Some viewers have been concerned about what appears to be a cut on Audrey’s chest. I say ‘cut’ because it does not appear to be blood from bringing in a fish. It is amazing how quickly wildlife heal and the water around the nest is 50% salt which is excellent to help cuts heal (Thanks ‘L’ for checking on that amount of salt here). Audrey should be fine.

The couple who returned to the nest from their winter migration to South America – Audrey on the 18th of March and Tom on the 25th – have been caught on camera mating today. If mating is successful, it takes three days to produce an egg. Keep watching!

Here is the link to Tom and Audrey’s camera:

Osprey

The Osprey family on the light stand at the University of Florida at Gainesville survived the ball game yesterday. All three chicks were wide awake and ready for fish this morning! It is too early to tell how this nest is going to turn out. Middle and Little Bob still do not control their head as well as Big Bob who is right up front for food.

Here is a link to this cam:

https://wec.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/ospreycam/

Richmond and Rosie, the bonded pair of Ospreys whose nest is on a World War II crane at the Richmond Shipping Yards in SF Bay are hilarious. I highly recommend this nest – yes, absolutely. Solid Ospreys.

However, Richmond got a little carried away and decided to bring a small tree to the nest. In the process, he almost broke all the eggs! Richmond!!!!!

Then later Richmond decided he wanted to incubate the two eggs and was tired of waiting so he sat on Rosie! Richmond, maybe Rosie is thinking of laying a third egg??? What do you think?

Doing a quick check on Middle Little at Dale Hollow shows both eaglets ate well, both parents on the nest and a couple of nice hunks of fish. No sign of any monofilament line. All is well.

Middle Little is growing really well and eating good! Look at that big hunk of fish.

Sitting on the Canadian Prairies you would not know that a super storm is set to hit the area tomorrow. Most people are being extremely cautious. Our rivers are full to overflowing and they are predicting ‘the storm of the century’. Is it weatherman hype? In this case I hope they are entirely wrong! Thousands of Dark-eyed Juncos have just descended on our City, the Geese are nesting, the Snowy Owls are migrating north, and more song birds are moving in by the day.

This was Sunday in a rural area. The water is now up over the banks there.

There are tens of thousands of Canada Geese in Manitoba and more arriving daily.

Normally the geese leave you alone unless you get too close to their nest. Then watch out!

This little red squirrel had a stash of corn kernels at the base of the tree in the park.

He was such a cutie.

Oh, he looks like my Dyson with part of the fur on his tail missing. Poor thing.

Speaking of Dyson, I need to go and make sure that there are plenty of solid seed cylinders placed in various locations so that the squirrels can get to them during the storm. It should not be arriving until tomorrow evening – plenty of time to restock wood for the Jotul stove in case the electricity goes out, find candles, and generally get ready to sit back and read for several days. Can’t wait!

I hope that all of you are well. Thank you so much for joining me today. It is a pleasure to have you with us.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Explore.org, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, UFL Ospreys at Gainesville, DHEC, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife, and Poole Harbour Ospreys.

Wednesday Morning in Bird World

06 April 2022

First up. The children at the school in Big Bear Valley have picked the name for Jackie and Shadow’s eaglet. It is ‘Spirit’. What a wonderful name! Fly high, Spirit!

NBC – along with dozens of other news outlets – carried the announcement.

I get really excited about the return of the Ospreys to the UK in the spring. There are many reasons for this but the one that stands out the most is the respect and care given to these beautiful fish hawks. Did you know that most of the lochs are off limits to human use of any kind during the breeding season from 1 April to September? Most of the wildlife centres operate on grants and donations and have specially constructed ‘hides’ and monitors inside the buildings so that you can see the birds. Rutland Water and Poole Harbour have ‘osprey tours’ that are guided.

There are currently Ospreys on the following nests:

  • Rutland Water Manton Bay: Blue 33 (11) and Maya currently have 1 egg waiting for the 2nd any moment.
  • Loch of the Lowes: LM12 Laddie and Blue NC0. No eggs yet. Some intruders about.
  • Llyn Clywedog: Dylan is now home with Blue 5F Seren as of yesterday. This couple raised the largest male Osprey chick ever recorded last year.
  • Dyfi: Idris returned to Telyn yesterday and has been Sky Dancing and mating.
  • Foulshaw Moss: White YW and Blue 35 both at home working on the nest.
  • Poole Harbour: CJ7 the resident female hoping for a mate circled the town and has just arrived not long ago.

We are anxiously waiting for the arrival of Mrs G’s partner, Aran. Aran was injured and left late in September for migration. I do hope he returns safe and sound! If not, Mrs G will have lots of suitors. Perhaps even Monty’s boys have some idea that they would like to have nests close to one another. Tegid Z1 (love the guy) and Aeron (Z2) over at Pont Cresor. In the US, all eyes are on the nest in the parking lot in Missoula, Montana that belongs to Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world. Return safe, Iris!

PA Farms has announced that the 4th eaglet on the nest died during the night probably from hypothermia. What a little scraper he was climbing over those big siblings to get to the food.

The weather has been miserable in many areas this spring. It can cause all manner of diseases – the wet damp nests – for our birds.

Some are wondering if Big at the Dale Hollow nest is actually suffering from something. I had an inbox full of notes saying Big is being ‘too nice’ to Little Middle for the second day. Indeed, Little Middle got up first with no intimidation and ate the fish that came in at 08:54. Nice fish andd still scraps on the nest. Little Middle is ready for breakfast!

Little Middle gets up and does a stretch. It is so nice to see chubby legs. Big does nothing.

Little Middle is truly enjoying that fish!

Big moves up later.

Big is ahead in getting its feathers despite the fact that the two hatched on the same day. Notice the tail feathers on Big. You can see them growing out of the calamus or the quill. Some people refer to these structures as the shaft. They are properly known as ‘blood’ feathers. In baby birds, these are the feathers that are growing (not molting). They have a large supply of blood inside them while they grow. This will regress when the eaglet is older. Some of you might well remember that the Captiva Eaglets last year, Hope and Peace, were fed a rat that had died because of rodenticide. In the case of the last eaglet to die, it actually broke off a blood feather and bled to death because the rodenticide caused the blood not to coagulate.

Feathers are so important. They keep our feathered friends warm and dry while giving them the ability to fly as well as their distinct plumage of each species.

Little Middle proudly shows off his large crop at 09:26.

It is official. The chick has hatched at Two Harbours this morning for Chase an Cholyn! Congratulations!

Want to catch the action at Two Harbours? Here is the link:

If you move around the Channel Islands to check on Thunder and Akecheta at the West End, get out your worry beads! Those eaglets are right up to the edge with curiousity!

At the Utica Peregrine Falcon nest, Astrid just laid her 4th egg! Congratulations!

Yesterday I posted the name of the FB group for this streaming cam incorrectly. The correct name if you are searching is Falcon Watch Utica. Thanks ‘MR’ for catching that and letting me know!

Interested in Peregrine Falcons? Cal Falcons just posted information for a free virtual falcon conference for 19 May. There is always something wonderful to learn. Here is that posting:

The ‘New Guy’ continues to impress me. More bedtime snacks for Annie last night who, in her excitement, pulled the NG off the ledge with the prey!!!!!

I have news from many readers of nests opening up. I hope to report on those tomorrow including that of the Imperial Eagles. Karl II, the Black Stork from Estonia, has transmitted from Belarus. Hopefully he will be in his nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia shortly!

Thank you for joining me this morning. There are so many nests! Will continue to monitor to see if Iris gets home to Missoula Montana and if Aran appears at Glaslyn. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Explore.org, and Dale Hollow Eagle Cam.

Romance on The Campanile

05 April 2022

Someone once told me that if you can get people involved in the lives of the birds, get them to see them as the individuals that they are, get them to understand the hardships that they face because of ‘us humans’, then there is hope that the world will be a better place for our feathered friends.

One of my readers, ‘B’ mentioned to me that California loves its birds. He sends me wonderful links to the news stories of Grinnell and Annie or Jackie and Shadow. It was mind blowing to see the sheer mass of press coverage – everything from breakfast news, to the headline news at 6pm, to the printed pages – stories of the lives of the birds from eagles to falcons. What a fantastic way to get the public involved. No wonder the streaming bird cams in California have over 5000 viewers at times.

Today there is another wonderful article surveying the life of Annie and Grinnell, the death of Grinnell, and the rise of the ‘new guy’. Have a read, it is a good one:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-05/the-avian-soap-opera-unfolding-atop-this-berkeley-clock-tower-has-humans-riveted?fbclid=IwAR35v7zWAV6nJvN-3ds3G_NNllvIG9AF7qMeBoSeT7TFvDlepiI5mb8–vk

I miss Grinnell. There was something about that little falcon that tugged at my heart every time I saw him. For transparency sake, I should say that I feel thee same heart tugs when I see Xavier bringing prey to Diamond or the male at the CBD 367 Collins Street scrape in Melbourne plucking a pigeon for his female triplets. They are tiny up beside the females. If someone could design a pajama onsie like the plumage of an adult male falcon, they would surely make a lot of money. Seriously, these little males are cute. We cannot forget – at the same time – that they are the best aerial predators in the world flying at speeds up to 350 kph, breaking the necks of their prey in the sky. Still…put that altogether with the ritual bonding of the couples and you have a most interesting raptor. I disagree with some who say watching falcons is the ‘gateway’ into watching larger raptors. For me, the falcons and the hawks are just as interesting, if not more, than the eagles. Eagles frustrate me. Falcons can feed three eyases without a problem and have them all fledge. Enough said.

For Annie’s sake and for the two eggs of Grinnell’s in the scrape along with the one of the ‘new guy’, I am glad the NG came along. I like the fact that he brings prey to Annie late at night. If she isn’t hungry she can stash it away and have it in the middle of the night or eat it for breakfast. There is no waiting for food. I like the tenderness that he uses in trying to roll the eggs and get them under his tiny body along with the fact that if Annie calls him – he comes. New Guy isn’t going to win a lot of awards for his jammies – they are a little rough at the edges, something that goes along with his lameness – but he will most certainly win hearts and minds, just like Xavier did at Orange, for rescuing this 2022 breeding season for Annie — and for our dear Grinnell. We must not forget that. He isn’t the male that comes storming in and shattering the eggs of his predecessor. Nope. He is tender and caring. It is a miracle of sorts that he came along, just at the right time, slipped into place. In a month, we will play guess whose nestling belongs to whom – and we won’t know and the new guy and Annie won’t know. They will just take care of all three of them.

I do wish that the falcons wore identity tags. It appears that the ‘new guy’ flew up to the ledge. No prey in talons but obviously working on something. Is it stashed somewhere? The ledge clock says it is 17:16 when he arrives.

Simultaneous with the new guy’s arrival, Annie gets up and leaves the eggs to take a break.

It was only the limp that gave away it was the ‘new guy’ trying to fit the eggs and roll them under him without causing any damage.

Annie returns with some nice YSL red lipstick at 18:08. She obviously had a nice supper. Did I say I was getting to like the new guy? How many times?

Cal Falcons put together this video of the exchange of incubation duties. Enjoy!

Good night Annie and ‘the new guy’. Good night to all of you. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to Cal Falcons for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.