Tag Archives: avian conservation

Can AI save raptors from wind turbines and other news in Bird World?

23 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone.

It is a gloomy day today. The sky is solid cloud cover and it is cool enough that I can hear the furnace kicking in once in awhile. The juvenile Blue Jays are quite busy eating along with one squirrel and a few sparrows this morning. It has also rained. Today is Open House at the rehabilitation centre. It is about half an hour outside the City. We always wish them to have a beautiful sunny day. Perhaps tomorrow. It is going to be a good day to finish reading some of the books sitting on my desk before the pile gets higher!

In the Mailbox:

‘A’ wonders if the intruder male falcons ever kill the eyases.’

That is a question on everyone’s mind that is watching the 367 Collins Street Falcons. So, first. I am more knowledgable about Ospreys – for transparency! Osprey males if they believe the eggs to be of another male will wildly kick them out of the nest. I hope to find an old YouTube video of that happening. It is simply crazy the flap they get into. Of course, they do not want to spend the time feeding and raising another male’s chicks. This is why Xavier and Alden, Peregrine Falcons, are so special. They did not have to compete with a male – the male was deceased but, they did step in and help the female raise the chicks. What a civil way to get a mate and a fantastic piece of territory, too. But to answer your question, the second male has not been able to get rid of those eggs of the old male and we must wait and just see what happens. The old male is a ‘sitting duck’ so to speak if he incubates so he has chosen only to bring prey items to the female. If he is flying and hunting to feed the family he is less of a target. Sadly, we have to wait and see how this plays out but I have seen non-parental males kill the eyases. Yes.

Making News:

“Wind turbines” by ali_pk is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Technology is going to come to the aid of endangered eagles in Germany because of the deaths caused by wind turbines. Let’s support the effort and get every wind turbine trained to keep our raptors from being killed!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/20/germany-hopes-ai-can-stop-rare-eagles-flying-into-wind-turbines

Nest News:

Things seem to be going rather well at Port Lincoln. These are the time stamps for yesterday, thanks to the chatter, Gtr Kitarr. 11:30 & 12:35 chicks close-up. 12:36 & 14:23 & 17:42 fish delivery/feeding. 17:55 Dad takes the fish. 18:05 fish back/feeding. 18:12 Dad takes the fish. 18:25, 18:42 & 21:55 feeding. There were the two earlier feedings as well and I might have missed one. Everyone is eating including the little gaffer.

Thankfully Mum is managing to get some sleep. These three are healthy and active.

Victor Hurley, the researcher for the 367 Collins Street Falcon Scrape and the Victoria Peregrine Falcon Association posts some wonderful information weekly. This was part of this week’s early posting and you might be interested in it. It is specifically about the site at 367 Collins Street. Indeed, earlier in his PDF, Dr Hurley says that many of the Victoria Peregrine Falcons are using stick nests due to the lack of high locations.

“The reason Peregrine Falcons were first (and continue to be) attracted to 367 Collins Street is because of the building design has inset windows with external ledges and an architectural feature of indented corners to the building structure. The original ledge selected (and the one used to this
day) faces south east. This orientation provides warmth from the rising sun until late morning by which time the shadow from the building’s own south wall provides shade across the selected ledge. With the prevailing rainstorms tending from the west/north west means that most of Melbourne’s late winter rains blow over and past this ledge. Peregrine Falcons have had “the freedom of the city” to select alternatives and yet once the gravel filled trays were installed in 1992 pairs have repeatedly placed their thumping big feet to claim this one as their own ever since.”

No one knows how this season is going to turn out. We cannot even possibly begin to guess. We are, however, three days prior to a potential hatch and the female – and she is gorgeous – is holding firm to those eggs.

Dr Hurley did do a Q & A session and it is posted on the 367 Falcon Watchers FB Group, not YouTube. Indeed, Dr Hurley has posted lots of information on that site so please join their group if you are not a member already so you can access it.

Here is the link to that very informative PDF by Dr Hurley mentioned above.

file:///C:/Users/marya/Downloads/FFS%2005-22%20Why%20367%20Collins.pdf

The Sydney Sea Eagles will certainly win the beauty contest this week. Just look at the light on that beautiful plumage. The pair are still figuring out how to self-feed. They are not branching or hovering so there will be more time with them. When they stand on those branches and begin flapping then you can think fledge!

The cam operator did an amazing job and the light was just perfect to see that rusty peach. Incredible. I wish they would stay this way! Like the juvenile Ospreys, the plumage – to this person anyway – is much more beautiful than the adults!

At the scrape on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Xavier and Diamond are patiently waiting and eating, eating and waiting, for the eggs to hatch the first week of October.

I will be so excited when this very devoted couple have their first hatch.

Some of you might not know about Xavier. Diamond was at the scrape with her mate Bula. Bula died when the eyases hatched. Diamond could not have done all of the duties and kept them alive – and then Xavier came along. He did not actively care for the chicks but he brought food for Diamond and the chicks so everyone could live. The chicks survived and the rest is history. Xavier’s name means Saviour and he was definitely a saviour to this nest, like Alden for Annie at Cal Falcons. If something untoward were to happen at Melbourne, we might all begin to hope that the second male would be as kind as Xavier and Alden.

Thank you so very much for being with me this morning. Stop in and check on the PLO Chicks. They are quite adorable and keep your eyes on those lovely sea eagles. Take care of yourselves, too. Thank you for your letters and comments. They are always appreciated. I try to answer as quickly as I can. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB posts which make up my screen captures: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, 367 Collins Falcons FB, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

Early Tuesday in Bird World

19 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

We woke up to more rain with the promise of tornadoes in some parts of the Canadian prairies. When I first moved to Canada, tornadoes were rare – something that I knew a lot about coming from Oklahoma where F4s are the norm. Now everyone knows what the word ‘tornado’ means. It is 21 degrees C – almost half of what it is in parts of the UK and Europe. I am grateful for the rain – wells are full and so are lakes – instead of a drought and fire. The garden birds are happy today. Way too hot yesterday. Thunderstorms are headed to Llyn Clywedog in Wales but it looks like Glaslyn will be spared. The temperature at Heathrow Airport hit 40.2 C, a record. My thoughts go out to all the animals – human and not – around the world who are experiencing drought, massive flooding, fires, heat, or all of the above. We live in very challenging times.

In Finland, the female has returned to the Janakkalan nest. I have been missing her visits. Thank you ‘C’ for the time stamp. Reviewing footage, the Mum of the two beautiful osplets has tried to eat but she cannot keep the food down. She appears to be weak and tired. Her ‘ps’ is like water – not thick cream. It is so sad but we must be thankful that the chicks appear to be healthy, regardless. Dad is bringing in plenty of fish. One can eat well and the other one is getting there. There are, of course, fish squabbles and both wish their Mum was well and was feeding them. Send positive wishes to this nest – for Mum, so the chicks don’t get sick, for plenty of fish, and for cool weather as Mum is not able to shade the babies if it gets hot as she is normally not on the nest. This is a good thing since it appears that she could have trichomonosis which is highly contagious.

Rain is falling on the Ironwood Tree in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Mum is keeping SE29 nice and warm and we are waiting to see where SE30 is in the hatching process.

Very first bites of fish for SE29. Sweet.

The last osplet, Farne, has fledged from nest 1A at Kielder at 11:10. The Mum of the three fledglings, Mrs YA, has a real task ahead of her keeping these fed. This may hinder her own preparation for getting her weight and fat levels up for migration. I wonder what will happen at the time of migration? Normally the UK females leave earlier than the males leaving the Dads to feed the young ones for 2-3 weeks. Once the fledglings fly south the Dad will leave.

Thanks to Suzanne Arnold Horning we still have wonderful images of Big Red and Arthur’s Ls flying around campus, accepting prey drops, and catching their own.

Cutie Pie L4. Notice that the juvenile hawks have the loveliest blue eyes, sometimes blue-green or blue-green. As they mature, those baby blues will turn dark espresso brown.

Brooks flew off the nest on the morning of the 18th and has not returned. Richmond and Rosie are on the nest. I wish we had some understanding on what happened to Molate. GGA said that they will not retrieve Molate’s body while Brooks is still in the area. So sad for this lovely Osprey couple in their beautiful nest on SF Bay.

Golden Gate Audubon mentioned that some of the chicks in this area actually go to other Osprey nests where they are fed. This apparently happened in 2018 when one of Richmond and Rosie’s chicks moved to another nest and was fed and stayed there until he left the area. That was Brisa.

At the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G, it appears that Blue 498 fledged this morning. Congratulations! The only chick remaining on the Glaslyn nest is 499!

Both of the fledglings sitting on Aran and Mrs G’s perch! Gosh, they look like they are going to be dark like Mum.

Padarn and Paith on the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. Pedran fledged on the 15th of July. Waiting for these two to test their wings. Gosh, look at that crest. Gorgeous.

All of the chicks of Dylan and Seren’s at Llyn Clywedog have now fledged. what a fabulous year for this nest!

Dorcha continues to look quite fine after the scare with the blood on her abdomen/leg the other day. Louis continues to get the fish on the nest and the weather looks pretty good today. It is about 24 there today.

One of Blue 33 and Maya’s girls was on the Manton Bay nest this morning fish crying to Dad. These were the first to fledge and it is rare to catch them on the nest at Rutland.

Annie and Alden, the Peregrine Falcon couple on The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley might be wishing that Lindsay and Grinnell Jr would find their own territory!

What a gorgeous sunrise on the Channel Islands West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta this morning. Thunder even came to the nest and paid a visit at 05:45.

Everything looks good at the Boathouse Osprey nest of Dory and Skiff on Hog Island this morning. It is going to get pretty hot on Hog Island today…going up to 28 or 29 C with a 50% chance of rain.

No one slept on the Mispillion Osprey nest by the harbour in Delaware. Later Mum is on the nest with one of the fledglings feeding it and then enjoying some fish herself. I am surprised the other fledgling is not rushing in for some of that fish.

According to the chatters, fish of various sizes ranging from tiny to a little bigger arrived at 0501, 0516, 0534, and again at 0650 for Mum and the two osplets on the Osoyoos nest in British Columbia. Dad is making up in numbers what he isn’t able to supply in size with the heat in the region. Looks like it will be up to 33 C later today — it is 18 degrees C now. What a difference. Mum will be shading her babies!

I have seen no updates on Victor or Little Bit ND17 so far. It is 0939 CDT. All of the nests look fine but two which are worrisome. One is the nest in Finland which took a turn for the worst with one chick dying of starvation. The two older chicks, realizing that fish was at hand, learned to self-feed. There is also worry for Mrs YA at Kieldner nest 1A – how will she get herself in good condition to migrate while tending to all the chicks? Send them all your best wishes – and also for Brooks. I hope that he is safe and being fed elsewhere or that he gets himself home.

Thank you for being with me today. Take care. Stay cool if you are in an area of extreme heat. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their photos, videos, or their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Finnish Osprey Foundation, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Suzanne Arnold Horning, SF Ospreys and GGA, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch of Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Explore.org and IWS, Explore and Audubon, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and DDNR, and Osoyoos Ospreys.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

18 May 2022

It is nothing short of rainy and freezing on the Canadian Prairies. The furnace is on. Outside people have a heavy coat on and hat. I am beginning to believe that we really could have snow in a couple of days.

Little Red. 15 February 2022

The garden/shed is no longer. It was built in 1902 on the property next door. In the 1940s it was moved to my property. Since I dream of living up on the Cape in the dunes with the Ospreys and the sand, everything was covered with cedar shakes. A cottage in an urban environment. I think I miss the shed as much as Little Red does already. 🙁

The Dutch designed and built Red Squirrel House arrived today – thank you DHL. Now to put it up and see if Little Red will accept the new accommodation. He has been stressed out and upset and he might well just go elsewhere. I just hope not in anyone’s attic!!!!

Prairie people dream of sand and water!

“Beach Scene 7277” by Joanna Lee Osborn is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

One of my favourite beaches is Lunan Bay. It is just north of Arbroath, Scotland. Idyllic. Ospreys near by but not here at the beach.

If you want to read something other than factual books about Osprey development, I recommend both of David Gessner’s books. They evoke that beautiful New England coast. The first is Soaring with Fidel written when putting satellite trackers on Ospreys was novel. Gessner follows a bird – at first in an attempt to beat a BBC crew doing a documentary – and then was his own journey all the way to the mountains of Cuba where Ospreys fly in huge groups overhead as they fly to Venezula and Brazil. You will want to travel the same route – Gessner has a way of sucking you in to everything he does delightfully. The second is Return of the Osprey. A Season of Flight and Wonder. I do have a date with an Osprey and I will either be in Cuba on those mountains this September or next! Hidden within the pages of Gessner’s text is all kinds of information on Ospreys, too.

17 at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest has not had any food and unless something comes in late, it will go hungry. 17 had a full crop last night but to grow this wee one needs food and lots of it. The other two are levelling off. Surely something will happen and turn this nest around! I just ache for this hungry little one. If falcons and hawks can manage five nestlings, what happened with the eagles. Why can’t they get enough food for all of them?

Mid-afternoon saw more fish arrive at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Both Big and Middle are sporting nice big crops. Talk about a nest that has turned around. I really wonder what is going on there??? If Dad does have two nests does he alternate weeks – one week one gets little while the other gets a lot and vice versa? [I am not saying he has two nests but it is certainly a theory]. It has been a good week and I will take it. Middle is doing fine. Both are fine.

Middle has big droopy wings now. He was so hot today. Good thing there was fish!

Say hello to RR16, Richmond and Rosie’s wee little one hardly a day old. Cute.

Did DH14 fledge? or is Big just up higher on the nest tree? Three or four fish have been delivered to the nest today! Middle seems to be giving away the hide-and-seek secret hiding spot. Fantastic.

More fish. Middle has an enormous crop after River feeding. I do wonder about Big. She always likes her fish.

There was some concern about the weather plowing through northern Minnesota. I just checked and the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest is alright as is the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey nest where Mum is incubating two eggs.

Top is E1, Harriet, on the MN-DNR nest waiting for Mum Nancy to bring some more dinner!

Right by a field! There are two eggs being incubated at the Osprey nest below.

Aren’t they adorable? Can you see their ears? Those black mole-like dots behind the eye and a little down? Those will be covered with feathers soon. When you look at this group and want to place them in order of hatch, look at feather development, not size. Then you will always get it right.

From left to right, L1, L4 (always in front near the beak), L3, and then L2. It could be the camera angle but it might not. L3 looks larger than L2. I guess we will continue to watch and guess – boys or girls. L4 is definitely a little tiercel. And L1 is too much of a big Mama not be another Big Red. The world could use lots of good hawk mothers like BR.

The two chicks of Annie, Grinnell, and Alden are losing that ‘cute’ little newly hatched look. Feathers are coming in. They are getting taller and thinner. Annie spent time today trying to keep the two shaded. It must be hot in San Francisco. Oh, they are adorable. We could be only a week away from ringing them! And names…yes, names. Of course, one has to be Grinnell, right? I mean how could it not be Grinnell?

I would say they are hot!!!!!! I wonder if there is a bit of a breeze coming in from outside? It looks like they have been doing some egg painting.

Cal Falcons posted some information and two images of Alden taken by Moon Rabbit Rising. Check out her Instagram page for more images.

It is happening. Blue 33 and Maya were the first to arrive and lay eggs in the UK. Now we are getting into the next group of Ospreys. I know that there are quite a number together with Mrs G and Aran bringing up the end of hatch.

Right now there is a really nice pip at the nest of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes!

Everything is fine at the Rutland nest of Maya and Blue 33. The kids eat, sleep, grow, eat some more. Maya is like Big Red. No one goes hungry at her house!

Thanks to ‘B’ who wrote and said Ervie is on the nest. I went and had a good look. Ervie arrived in the wee hours of the morning and slept on the perch flying down to the nest. He flew off and got a puffer. And it appears his talon is starting to grow in.

You can still see Ervie on re-wind on the PLO streaming cam. What a treat. Two days in a row. Thanks so much B from all of us!

You can see the talon just starting to grow.

Every nest seems to be doing fine except for ND-LEEF which has risen to the level of worrisome. If I say this and if everyone sends really positive energy over their way, maybe things will change for the good. As I look at Maya feeding the three Bobs, I sit in wonder. Big Bob survived the fish but I surely thought that Middle Bob was a goner – exposed to rain and the cool weather for 5 or 6 hours til Maya got the fish off and him under her. All three of them are alive and thriving. It is just such a happy positive sight. I wish all of the nests were like this one. We need a miracle for ND-LEEF. Let us all hope for it!

It has been a super long day. I have a few last images for you. I put out a new seed cylinder – they do really well for the garden birds when it is raining. Guess who found it in seconds? Dyson!!!!!!!!

The Baltimore Orioles are still visiting. In the chaos today I did manage to get to the birdseed store to get some White Millet. The place was packed with people purchasing special feeders for Baltimore Orioles. Yes, they are cute. Do you need them? No. A dish of any kind of jelly (not just grape) and orange slices set on something are absolutely fine.

This fellow has been eating oranges and Danish orange marmalade.

Thank you so much for joining me this evening. When I get Little Red’s house fixed, I will show you. Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: DHEC, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cal Falcons, ND-LEEF, MN-DNR, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Ospreys, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon.