Tag Archives: Avian Flu

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

23-24 April 2022

Everyone who watches streaming bird cams gets anxious at one time or another. The lives of our feathered friends are so fragile. There are so many factors that can trigger a significant change in their lives. Today I watched as Dad at the Denton Homes nest stood in bewilderment as his third chick was dying on the nest. He had just delivered a fish. I remember that same look of helplessness on the faces of the two White-tail eaglets in Estonia last year when their two chicks died of Avian Flu (confirmed by the Vet College there after retrieval of the bodies and the nest contents). They tried feeding them and they would not eat. I understand that the two adults left that nest and have not returned to it. Did they also die of Avian flu? or does their behaviour align itself with other raptors who have lost their chicks due to rodenticide, monofilament, etc. and choose not to use the nest again?

One of my readers, ‘B’ sent me an article from The New York Times on Avian Flu. Thank you! I am very grateful to ‘B’ for sending this to me. I have been so preoccupied that I have not had a chance to read the news as closely as I should.

This is a very good article on the Avian Flu. Please read it carefully. Dr Schuler, like the Cornell Bird Lab when I wrote them, is not suggesting people take down their bird feeders. She says, “So it doesn’t seem like that (bird feeders and songbirds) is a major source of potential transmissions”. Please read carefully.

Grieving is well documented in Corvids. In his book, The Emotional Lives of Animals, Marc Bekoff cites the case of a Magpie, a member of the Corvid group, being killed and lying on the side of the road. He addressed a mourning ritual whereby four Magpies stood over the deceased and gave it a gentle peck while two flew to get grass. Once they had covered the body the four stood vigil for a period of time and then flew away. The covering ritual has been observed by so many of us when an eaglet dies. We saw this with Connie and Joe at Captiva, at the White-tail eagle nest in Estonia, and in a variety of other nests.

The parents at the Denton Homes nest appear to be in a state of shock and mourning. Saturday morning when the three chicks died, the Dad was bewildered. Later, Mum came and incubated the trio before their bodies were moved to the rim of the nest. Tonight, one of the adults is standing vigil over their bodies. It is both moving and sad.

The wee chicks look like they are sleeping.

The Mum has come to the nest. It is a wet dreary day to keep her babies warm. She must feel confused and helpless. Yesterday there were three vibrant nestlings and they were dad when Dad brought in prey.

Late in the day the parent stood vigil over the nestlings and the nest.

Avian Flu is killing many wild birds throughout the United States and Canada. Nestlings are particularly vulnerable since they are tiny and the flu kills them quickly (the only blessing). It is hoped that the parents do not suffer and survive it.

Another, ‘W’ sent me an article on the impact of the wind turbines on birds. It comes from the Audubon Magazine. Thank you ‘WW’.

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/spring-2022/off-east-coast-massive-network-wind-turbines

I have checked on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. That miracle fish did arrive at 18:32:45. Little Bit did what he could do to try and get even one bite. The fish was finished at 19:11:16. It has now been more than 72 hours since Little Bit had more than 5 bites of food. He was brutally attacked by Big and I do mean brutally.

In the image below the fish has just come to the nest. Big has already attacked Little Bit for walking up and trying to get a bite. Big frantically waves his wings going back and forth from Little Bit to Middle. Middle is trying to stay away and is scurrying around the nest to get some fish from the other side.

Big is pulling the skin and has plucked a part of Little Bit. He is shaking it frantically back and forth, up and down.

The abuse has been extreme with some plucking, pulling and twisting of the loose skin on the wee one’s body. I do not need to say anymore. This is the last fish on this nest today. Little Bit is already starving. By morning the two older will be famished. I am desperately sad and feeling helpless about what is happening on this nest. It began so beautifully. I am at the point where I wish for Little Bit’s suffering to end. That would be kind.

Little Bit was alive when a fish came on the nest around 10:15 Sunday morning. He tried to get some fish. It is now raining. I believe he died at 11:39. This poor little one. All Little Bit wanted was some fish, not a lot – just a little. He had walked up to the mother fish crying when the other two finished eating but no fish. He walked as far as he could and laid his little head down. No more pain, no more suffering. Brave Little Bit.

UPDATE: LITTLE BIT MOVED ITS HEAD BUT IT IS WEAK.

It is best never to cheer or wish for three birds on nests. It is inevitably difficult and many perish starving to death while at the same time enduring beaking just because they are there.

Moving to a happier nest. It is late Saturday at the nest of Big Red and Arthur, L2 is just about here!

You can see that the shell is now just on half of L2. Big Red is doing her rolling trick to try and ease the shell off without harming her baby.

How cute! Two little fluffy ‘snowbirds’ in the morning. L3 is pecking away!

Big Red likes to do everything. This is the 5th season for her and Arthur and she has not taken a real break during hatching!!!!! Arthur has been busy filling up the pantry adding chippies and squirrels.

Little sleepy head. So cute.

At the Captiva nest, Little or MiniO has still not returned. Jack has brought in a big fish and Middle or Little is enjoying it. There is much discussion on the chat because Andy has not brought in another fish and Lena has not eaten. When the chicks fledge the male is responsible – for millions of years of imprinting and doing – for the chicks to be fed. He is providing for the fledged chick on the nest. Lena has finished her job of raising and feeding the chicks. She will begin to go fishing for herself. There is no word about Little or MiniO. We do not know if Andy is providing fish to her elsewhere.

It has been a morning – full of sadness and, at the same time, blessed relief for Little Bit. Sadness about the H5N1 racing through some of the waterfowl and raptors and happiness at the successful hatch of L2 and the pip of L3. I will be checking on the rest of the nests late today. Surely there will be lots of good news! I understand that Spirit is now the size of a Canada Goose! Keep that imagine in your mind as you watch a short pick me up video. My friend ‘R’ sent me a short clip of Canada Geese, waterfalls and spring to cheer me up this morning. As I look out on the snow, I am so grateful. Thank you ‘R’. I want to share it with you! [Note: It is the waterfalls, not the movie and not the ad.]. Time to feed the garden animals!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/nature-south-carolina-falls/

Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Denton Homes Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wldlife, and UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey.

Late Friday and early Saturday in Bird World

22-23 April 2022

Friday was drawing to a close. Big Red had been restless all of Thursday and it was a wonderful relief when L1 hatched and was deemed ‘perfect’ after a worry over some blood coming from the egg earlier. Tonight (Friday late) Big Red is trying as best she can to get some sleep while L2 is hatching. The cracking is such that we now have gone beyond a mere pip.

If all four of the eggs hatch, Big Red s going to need to grab those naps as much as she can.

Big Red is not giving away any hints Saturday morning. But you can see the more than pip in the back right egg and a pip in the back left egg. L1 is doing fine. Being an Only Child – even for a short time – has its advantages.

Arthur brought in another starling in the morning. There are now 2 Starlings (one partially eaten), 1 grey bird, and a partially eaten snake in the nest.

Dawn is just breaking in the Tucholskie Forest in Poland. You can hear the songbirds singing as the sun rises through the pine trees. This just reminds me of a fairy tale forest. White-tail Eagles are so beautiful with their lighter heads and darker bodies – all seemingly touched with a bit of silver.

Mum left to take a wee break. Both of the eaglets are still alive and appear to be doing well.

Mum returns to brood the chicks in the soft morning light.

Do you know the Anacapa Peregrine Falcon Nest? This couple have been together since 2013 raising chicks on the cliff face on the remote Anacapa Island in California. They are known as Mr and Mrs A.

Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands where we have a couple of familiar Bald Eagle Nests, Two Harbours (Chase & Cholyn) and West End (Akecheta and Thunder).

Two chicks have hatched this year. Just look like white fluffy little teddy bears with big pink beaks and pink toes and feet. So cute. They are 3 days old. It is hoped that the third egg is non-viable. It is typical for not all of the falcon eggs to hatch. These chicks are big and strong and that chick would be behind.

Here is a feeding from yesterday.

This is a feeding from today.

This is the link to the streaming cam for all you falcon lovers!

https://explore.org/livecams/falcons/peregrine-falcon-anacapa

I want to check on the status of the Black Stork nest that was the home of Grafs and Grafiene last year. The very late arrival of the female last year caused issues at the nest. The male returned earlier in April this year. Many on the Forum are wondering if it was Grafs or another male. The male worked away bring twigs and moss to prepare such a nice nest. Now it is the 22nd of April and there is no female yet. The male sings and looks around. Fingers crossed for a quick arrival of a female to this gorgeous nest in Sigulda County. Come on Grafiene!!!!!

Here is the link to the nest:

Karl II is working very hard on the nest he shares with Kaia. He is very handsome!

Karl II and Kaia have had a male intruder land on the nest. Kaia helped magnificently in defending the nest. Unlike other species, the males and females will defend the nest against opposite genders. There are apparently a lot of single male floaters due to a lack of female storks. They are causing problems with established nests. We are waiting for an egg at this nest!

Here are the couple defending their nest.

Mum and Dad returned to Glacier Gardens yesterday! Looking forward to another great year up in Alaska. Kindness was the sweetest little eaglet. It was a great name and touched the heart of so many. It is so nice to see Mum and Dad.

There are now three eggs at the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dyland and Seren Blue 5F. Dylan is a great fisher but he also loves to incubate and he wasn’t wanting to give up that spot Saturday afternoon!

Mrs G and Aran have two eggs now.

Cheers are happening in Poole Harbour because CJ7 and Blue022 have their first egg. There will be more. The first hatch will be historic – the first Osprey in Poole Harbour in over 200 years!!!!!!!!! Incredible. The community worked hard to relocate Ospreys to the area and it looks like they will have success this year.

This is such wonderful news for this couple that began bonding last breeding season.

The very first osprey of the 2022 season has hatched in the Diaccia Botrona Nature Reserve in Maremma in Tuscany, Italy yesterday.

The situation at the Florida-Gainesville Osprey nest is not improving. I captured a couple of images of Little Bit taking a few bites of a fish on the nest before Middle went after him. You have to look carefully. Its tiny head is in the very centre of the nest under the tail of that fish.

The minute the older sibling notices Little Bit move it attacks despite it having a full crop.

The two large siblings prevented Little Bit from getting any food even though they were clearly full.

Feeding and any movement by Little Bit triggers their aggressive behaviour. The ability of both Big and Middle to dominate the food coming into the nest is directly seen in the growth progression of the three nestlings. I often smile when I see people in chat rooms saying not to call the dominant birds bullies but in his 1979 article “Sibling Aggression among Nestling Ospreys in Florida Bay” in The Auk (vol. 96, no 2, 415-17) Alan Poole says just that in discussing the difference in size of the nestlings “however, 3 days after the first sibling bullying was seen, nestling A was 165 heavier than B…” (416). The older two are simply that – bullies. What I did find interesting about Poole’s study was that he did not find the same level of aggression in the Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay area. Some of you will have observed, as I have, sibling competition and aggression at several Florida Osprey nests such as Achieva Credit Union (2021), Captiva (2022), Pink Pearl (2022), and Gainesville currently. You might well know of others in the last couple of years.

Little Bit mustered the courage to get to the beak but there was no fish left.

In the image below you can see the size difference between Big, Middle, and Little Bit. The older ones will continue to have the advantage unless this chick gets fed – it had a few bites yesterday and some fish later on the 21st. Tiny Tot lasted for 72 hours before getting some fish at Achieva in 2021. Indeed, that chick had – in a month – the equivalent of 12 full days without food. She went on to become dominant. It remains unclear to me if Little Bit will survive the weekend, sadly.

Little or MiniO fledged yesterday morning early (the 22nd) and has not returned to the nest. It is unclear to me whether she is in a tree or is grounded. Middle (or Little) is in the nest with Lena fish calling to Andy.

I never like to close with sad news but I have just heard that two of the eaglets at the Denton Homes nest have died. It is suspected that it is Avian Flu. We will see if the third survives but it is doubtful. The Dad is there and is very confused. The surviving chick is in the nest with the two deceased ones. — It was thought that Avian Flu was mostly staying on the East coast. This is a move into the heartland being triggered by migrating birds? There will be concern for other nests in the region. Please send them your warmest and most positive energy.

We have had rain since the wee hours of the morning on Friday. It has filled several of the low areas of the garden with water. The worry is that they are reporting a drop in temperature that would freeze the ground surface causing the rain not to soak in (the ground is already saturated) and create wide scale flooding. We worry about the animals. All of the squirrels, Hedwig, Mr and Mrs Woodpecker along with a myriad of Juncos, Sparrows, Grackles and Starlings have been trying to eat. It is difficult to convince Hedwig that we have special food for him on a plate that is relatively dry!!!!!!

Thank you for joining me. I hope to have some happy news on Big Red and Arthur’s L2 later this evening. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Brywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Biehki Online Bory Tucholskie, Estonian Eagle Club, Diaccia Botrona Nature Reserve, CarnyxWild, Explore.Org, and the Latvian Fund for Nature.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

19 April 2022

Right now it is hard to believe that snow will be arriving again in about 4 or 5 hours. All of the garden animals are out and about running around on the hydro lines and poles and checking to see if there are any corn kernels hidden in the wood in the little sheds. Dyson knows it is there! He will find it for sure.

Sharpie seems to have some competition in the garden now with a Cooper’s Hawk (note the curved tail). This hawk is much larger than Sharpie. I wonder if it is a female. Certainly didn’t need to worry about birds at feeders!!!!!!!! They took off but a few went down under the deck and Cooper knows they are there.

Besides the garden chaos with Cooper, there has been a mini-kerfuffel going on in my City today. To feed the songbirds or not? to put out feeders or not? in times of Avian Flu. I decided to ask the Cornell Bird Lab and also sent a question to Dr Thijs Kuken at the University of Erasmus in Rotterdam who is a virologist and studies Avian Flu. I have not heard from him. But the Cornell Bird Lab did send the following information:

“Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

We are paying attention to the situation. Avian influenza viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species. Wild aquatic birds can be infected with avian influenza viruses in their intestines and respiratory tract, but usually do not get sick.

There are no suggestions to take bird feeders down unless you have backyard poultry or work with poultry or other domestic birds. Of course, this may change as birds begin their migrations north.

Below are some resources that should help.

Fact Sheet from the Cornell Vet School: https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/system/files/public/cwhl-fact-sheets-ai.pdf

I hope this helps.

Thank you.”

Sarah Wagner, PhD
Public Information Specialist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

It is recommended that you clean your feeders with a very mild mixture of dish soap and either white vinegar or bleach (very, very mild). You should allow everything to fully dry before using them. There are also recommendations that you clean your feeders every 48 hours. But do note, if you have feeders near poultry – as in a back yard poultry area), those feeders should be removed!

Checking on the UK Ospreys, Mrs G and Aran have their first egg. It arrived at 19:37! Aran saw the egg and went to get Mrs G some more bedding. Sweet.

Telyn and Idris welcomed their second egg at the Dyfi Osprey nest at 18:01.

Sweet. A nice fish for Telyn. Oh, Idris. You are a darling.

A small piece of fish with the tail arrived at the Dale Hollow Eagle nest late in the day. Big and Little Middle were decidedly hungry! It was nice to see the adult feed them both.

I know that the parents slow down the delivery of fish as the eaglets get older providing them with plenty one day and nothing another so they learn about living on their own. However, it sure was nice to see a piece of fish show up for these two!

Martin and Rosa’s eaglet at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest is doing great. They have had some bad weather and it is still really windy there.

Akecheta has been busy protecting his three eagles at the West End nest on the Channel Islands. It looks like he was concerned about some gulls that were overhead this afternoon.

I did not see it but ‘B’ sent me a video clip of an intruder getting right in the scrape box at Cal Falcons. I am glad I did not see that event live. Thank you, ‘B’.

Sadly, the successful breeding and relocation programmes often cause a lot of floaters looking for nests that can be quite disruptive to established pairs with eggs or chicks. Or, sadly, cause fatalities.

Little Bit has a nice crop. You can see it in the ‘cuddle puddle’ on the nest. That fuzzy light grey marble looking thing is its crop! The nest has done well today. Mum has tried to keep those osplets cool.

Jasper at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest took its first flight and has since made several others. Rocket is ‘thinking’ about flying. Jasper, however, seemed to have everything happen the day he flew for the first time. He roosted during a storm on the nest tree and, as the AEF realized, he was also hit by an owl! Needless to say he was tired and starving when he got back in the nest. Here is the footage of the owl attack.

This has been a very short newsletter. I hope that everyone is doing well. Take care and I will see you again soon – with more eggs being laid tomorrow in the UK! Thank you for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: DHEC, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Explore.org, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, Pix Cams, and Dyfi Osprey Project.

Late Tuesday and Wednesday in Bird World

12-13 April 2022

We continue to shovel the walkways so that we can put down seed. Then it snows lots more and we do it again!

It is nearing 23:00 on the 12th of April. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are closing all of the major highways in the province where I live. This is unprecedented and will actually be quite helpful in keeping people safe. For at least two days we have known about the historic storm that is due to arrive in a few hours and have been told to stock up on medicines, batteries, candles, food, etc. All of the schools are closed. As for me I am sitting back and waiting and watching the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest south of me in Minnesota to see how this system plays out with those eagles.

The nest is in a severe thunderstorm watch area. The winds were gusting earlier. I caught a few minutes of the nest as it creaked and swayed.

It is currently raining and the nest is still blowing about but not nearly as bad.

This is the nest Wednesday morning. They have gotten rain but not the snow that we are experiencing that is confusing many of the smaller birds such as the Juncos.

There have been two recent visits of Ervie’s to the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. One was 17:42 on the evening of the 12th (last night). The other was this morning, the 13th in Australia. Ervie arrived and then left and returned with a puffer.

In the image above, you can see the missing talon. Ospreys only have four talons. The image below has caused a lot of confusion. Does the nail on the right top belong to a different foot? or the one with the missing talon?

Is Ervie missing one or two talons? or is one curled under? Everyone is looking very closely at Ervie’s feet.

I wanted to do a quick check of many nests this morning so we can see how they are doing.

The rain from yesterday seems to have stopped. Both Big and Middle Little at the Dale Hollow nest are dry and there are large pieces of fish on the nest. Little Middle had a nice feed earlier, too. So all is well with those two!

This nest has settled down.

This is the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. It is gorgeous. Dylan is notorious for bringing back trout to the nest! Sadly, yesterday, a goshawk came and sat on this nest. Goshawks tend to like to lure the Ospreys into the forest where they attack. Fingers crossed that it will not return!

Aran and Mrs G together on the perch first thing on the morning of 13 April. Aran at the back and Mrs G with her really dark face at the front.

Handsome Aran with his fish on the perch at Glaslyn later in the day. Did he bring it for Mrs G? where is she?

Idris and Telyn on the perches at the Dyfi Nest. All is well.

Blue NC0 laid her first egg on April 12 at 18:35. What a beautiful nest at the Loch of the Lowes – so soft and comfy – and personally, one of the most gorgeous sites in all of the Osprey breeding areas.

Laddie LM15 comes to take his turn helping his mate Blue NC0.

CJ7 has been bringing nesting materials into the alternate nest at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 has been seen sky dancing all over the place. I hope he stays at Poole Harbour!

All is well at Rutland Water. Maya is incubating three eggs. Fantastic.

If you are following the UK arrivals, here is a good chart for you.

Thank you to Friends of Loch Arkaig FB Page for posting his chart.

Moving back to North America, the three osplets at the U of Florida at Gainesville continue to do well. Little Bob is still with us! And that is a good day.

Strong winds took out the camera at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the 12th.

Calmer winds are forecast for the Channel Islands today. That is fantastic. Looks like the view is pretty good from Two Harbours already. That wee one of Chase and Cholyn’s looks so tiny in that huge nest!

Andy has delivered fish. Little (or Mini) is calling for fish in the image below while Big flaps its wings.

Gosh, those chicks of Andy and Lena’s are sure beautiful. They will surely pop the corks when these two fledge! It has been a good year for Captiva Ospreys.

Mr President and Lotus’s chick has a nice big crop this morning. That little fuzzy teddy bear of a shape has sure changed over the past week! No signs of bad weather at the National Arboretum Nest in DC.

It is a little wet and windy in Iowa at the Decorah North nest. I wonder if they are going to get any of the system that is impacting us?

This is an image of Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle for Wildlife Haven, our local rehabber. She has been part of a fund raising campaign because of the Avian Flu. She has been moved indoors where she will be safe. Everyone loves Majestic!

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a virtual talk/discussion on what is being done about Avian Flu in our province on 19 April at 7pm. Here is the link to sign up. It is free. Since it is virtual and if you are wanting to learn more about Avian Flu, why not sign up?!

Avian Flu Seminar

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is having a GoFundMe drive for nests for Bald Eagles. David Hancock is ‘the eagle man’ in Canada. Most of you probably know him. He reminded me today that when he was sixteen years old and living at Blaine Harbour, you would see white buckets on the fishing boats with eagle legs. Yes, the legs cut off. They would be shipped to Alaska for $2 a pair. That was 1954. Sadly, David says that the same attitude of neglect towards the Bald Eagles continues.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-home-for-our-delta2-eagles-nest?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

Thank you for joining me today. We are busy trying to take care of the birds that come to our garden as best we can. The squirrels are tucked up warm and no where in sight. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, MN-DNR, DHEC, CarnyxWild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, Scottish Wildlife, Poole Harbour, Rutland Water, UFL Ospreys, Explore.org, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NADC-AEF, and Wildlife Haven.

Sadness at Captiva … and other Bird World News

15 March 2022

There are so many things happening in Bird World that it is impossible to keep up with the nests. There are also so many nests that have not even been mentioned in my blog. I will try to cover a few different ones, once in awhile. Hopefully you will discover something different and interesting. But I have to start with some sadness that could potentially grow to the entire nest.

This morning it was discovered that one of the three chicks on the Captiva Osprey nest has died. It is not clear which one it is yet as I write. Lori has asked permission to go to the nest and have the body removed so that it can be tested.

All of the chicks were alive at 07:43.

A fish came in and Little who had been up moving sticks was eating.

From what I can tell, it is the Middle chick that I have been calling Middle Bob that has passed. He did not come up to eat as quickly as the others but did try to feed at 08:33.

Andy came in with sea grass to cover the body of his baby.

How sad this is for these two lovely Osprey parents. They will not know what happened to what appeared to be a fully healthy chick. These two have tried so hard and lost chicks to Ravens but to have one die mysteriously is so tragic. My thoughts go out to Andy and Lena. I hope that this is not the avian flu and that Big and Little will be fine and fledge.

However, if this happens to be H5N1 the highly pathogenic avian flu all of these beautiful osplets could perish. We wait to see.

CROW has been given permission to remove the body and is on high alert over Avian Flu. Permission still needs to come from the USFW service. This is such a sad day. Condolences go out to everyone at Captiva who worked so hard towards a successful nest for Andy and Lena this year.

I will admit to not being happy when the Great-Horned Owls took over the Savannah Skidaway Island Osprey Nest. Not happy. The female hatched one chick that is affectionately known as ‘Little Grey’. I have to admit that wee one is cute and is always so happy when the Mum appears on the nest. It will go running for a cuddle. Here is a video of the Mum bringing a Barred Owl to the nest for lunch. Watch Little Grey when it sees its Mum and runs to her. Enjoy!

Some of you will remember that I wrote about Isabella Tree’s book Rewilding and the move at Knepp Farm in Surrey to turn away from modern agriculture practices and return their farm into a place where nature thrives on its own accord. They have set up the only streaming cam for White Storks in the UK. The birds are not always on the nest so be patient. I am hoping to see some eggs soon! You can find this new streaming cam here:

https://www.whitestorkproject.org/live?fbclid=IwAR38_Hoj5djOymLqdGX8cCltvtfkrkMYCf1nFplBFLC6bK-aoH6izrZyquA

Are you a fan of the Dulles Greenway Eagles in Virginia? The nest is located in a wetland area. The first egg was laid on 1 February with the second on 4 February. Egg 1 hatched on 13 March at 08:18.

Oh, this little one is a real cutie pie.

Rosa is feeding the wee one some duck. What a beautiful nest.

There is no history of this couple at the nest. They arrive in 2021 and the information on the streaming cam suggests that Rosa is a first time mother this year. Whatever, congratulations Rosa and Martin on hatch 1! Hatch 2 should be happening soon.

Here is the link to their cam:

Normally Maya and Blue 33 are the first Ospreys back in the UK. To go along with that they usually arrive within half an hour of one another. The first this year was Laddie LM12 at Loch of the Lowes but, the second was Maya! She arrived officially on 15 March, today.

She is in remarkably good shape and begins immediately to work on her nest!

There is another female working with some fairly large sticks, too, and that is Rosie of Rosie and Richmond Osprey nest at the SF Bay Whirley Crane. The Ravens removed all of the twigs from their nest over the winter so there is a log of work today in California. Maya is a little luckier.

I started this blog last evening and to find one of the chicks at Captiva is dead is quite overwhelming. They were so healthy. It is not good to speculate what happened. There could be a number of causes. We normally think of birds having to come in contact with a sick bird or its feces. The chicks have only eaten fish. But, still, everyone is on high alert as this is a very contagious disease. Sadly, Andy or Lena might dispose of the body before it can be retrieved for testing. In the UK, studies have show that they take the body about 300 metres from the nest – if they do not leave it in the chick in the nest to become part of its history.

It is now after noon and Lena has stood over her chicks shading them from the sun including Middle. My heart just breaks for these parents.

On this very sad note I am going to end my blog this morning and watch the other two chicks and their behaviour.

Thank you for joining me. I am so sorry to bring you this sad news this morning. This was not the nest I was worried about! Dale Hollow is. I will check on it, too, later. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: LWRT Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Golden Gate Audubon and SF Bay Ospreys, Dulles Greenway Bald Eagles, and Cornell Bird Lab.

Late Saturday in Bird World

05 March 2022

There is snow falling on Big Bear Valley. While Shadow and Jackie have over 7000 feathers in various layers to keep them warm and dry, our little chick doesn’t. It has only its soft natal down. Jackie and Shadow will both have a brood patch. It is an area between the breast bones. When egg laying is imminent, the feathers begin to fall off leaving an area of skin. That skin will keep the chick warm as the body temperature of an eagle is 105 degrees F. Eagles do well in cold snowy weather, possibly better than in the heat of summer – except for the wee ones.

The chick has already been fed at 07:45 by Shadow and by Jackie at 09:57. This feeding appears to be the third and began roughly at 12:50.

beautiful image of the parent looking down on the wee babe.

I often have trouble figuring out who is on the nest unless they are standing beside one another. Jackie is so much bigger but Shadow is inclined to have to move the sticks around. Is this Shadow on the nest?

Having moved the stick to the edge of the nest bowl – to keep the chick from running out? It is actually a good idea. Last year, the chick ran out from under Missy at the Berry College Eagle nest and perished in the cold. Smart to put that there!

You will see that the snow is falling and gets worse towards the end of this this short feeding.

The little one is alert and the adult is working hard to make sure that every bite counts. It doesn’t always with the newly hatched.

This baby is adorable balancing itself with the tip of its wings. I cannot see any indication that anything is happening with the second egg. In some ways it would be better to have only one in this weather. As they get bigger it is always easier to fit one six-week old chick under the adult than two. They have to be kept warm and dry.

The snow is really starting to come down. The chick must be chilled. Look at its tiny pink feet. It has managed to get some nourishment and there appears to be a tiny little crop.

Here is a look at Shadow delivering that large fish with its head entirely in tact. Looks like Shadow and Samson both like to wear skinny black jeans.

Safely tucked under its parent it will dry quickly from the little snow flakes that stuck to its down and will be toasty warm.

This is the forecast for the Jackie and Shadow’s nest:

There is a huge piece of fish that you can see in the image below. Lots of food for this week one and some for the adults, too.

The preliminary test results have been released on the Hilton Head Island eaglets that fell out of their nest. Their deaths were caused by the highly pathogenic Avian Flu that is spreading, sadly, to other parts of the east coast and Florida. It is believed that a duck brought to the nest was the carrier. The parents may not get ill as they are larger than the wee babes. This is very sad news.

Far away in Australia, OGK flew in last evening to find that his Quarry Track chick had been left alone by the Mum, YRK, the previous night. It is the beginning of what is known as the post-guard stage. The chick is left alone and both parents are out foraging to be able to meet all of its food requirements as well as theirs. No doubt QT chick slept much better with Dad guarding it the following evening.

Here is an extremely short video clip of the trio at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky. The adults are River and Obey. It is cute – shows how those little ones can really move around the nest when they want to!

Dale Hollow also posted a 5-minute video of on of the feedings. These three are so cute. It is so nice to watch them move about the nest and, just think, in about a week and a bit, this will be happening at Big Bear!

At the end of Ferris Akel’s tours, he always goes through the Cornell Campus looking for Big Red and Arthur. He has found Arthur hunting along the 366 highway.

Ferris looked and looked for Big Red and he found both her and Arthur on top of their favourite building, Bradfield. Big Red is doing a lot of preening. This is getting so eggciting. There is already a lottery on the Cornell Red Tail Hawk FB group for when the first egg will be laid.

Andy has brought a late Saturday fish onto the nest at Captiva. It was 16:47.

Lena is feeding her three chicks, each more ravenous than they have been as they are in super growth stage. Little Bob has pushed himself right up there so he will get some. No worries about anyone being hungry tonight.

It is the end of a good day. All of the nests that I regularly keep track of are doing well. Port Lincoln is, of course, a lonely site of a nest. It would be good to see Ervie. But, enjoy the birds. We cannot take anything for granted. In a blink something can happen. So enjoy the moment.

It is -4 and grey on the Canadian Prairies. Sharpie has been in and around the garden looking for lunch several times today. I am always glad to see him. Little Woodpecker – both Mr and Mrs – have been eating suet and there are lots of European Starlings and House Sparrows. I have not seen the three Grey Squirrels today but Little Red has been in and out.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Osprey Cam and Window on Wildlife, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Ferris Akel Tours, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, and Cornell Bird Labs and NZ DOC.

Late Sunday in Bird World

02.27.2022

The Captiva trio are in food coma after their second big feed for the day. It is 16:56 nest time. Little Bob got his tiny but chubby bottom up to that table just like our dear Ervie. This little one loves to eat that fish! Little and Middle Bobs fell asleep at the table. Big Bob had left earlier and passed out on the other side of the nest.

That fish delivery came at 16:00:35. This time Andy ate the head so he had some nourishment, too.

One of my friends, ‘B’ suggested that it is the recreational vehicles at the weekend causing fishing difficulty for Andy. ‘B’ commented that it was the same issue at the Redding nest last season. Tomorrow is Monday. I hope Andy’s fishing returns to 3 or 4 fish. The adults need to eat as well too. It is like the oxygen instructions in a plane. The responsible party needs to put theirs on first and then take care of the others. Same for eating with Ospreys.

We will not worry about these three until tomorrow. Thanks Andy and Lena!

Window to Wildlife, the group affiliated with the cam and the chat, posted a short video of Little Bob hatching today.

I am just so impressed with the tenderness of some of the males. At the Dale Hollow nest today, Obey was clearing out some of the pantry items to see what he needs to bring in. All the while he was feeding River who was brooding the twins and keeping their pipping egg 3 nice and warm.

At the same time, River and Obey do another tandem feeding for the twins this afternoon.

I am so glad that I found this nest! They are an incredible family that is working so well together. Experience can do that!

The Port Lincoln Osprey nest is really lonely this morning in Australia. The pigeons are still doing clean up. I wish I could import them to clean up around my bird feeders! They look very thorough.

This is the latest tracking for Ervie posted yesterday on the Port Lincoln Osprey Project’s FB page. While he really did explore Port Boston to the right of the airport, Ervie continues to return to the area of the green pin to roost at night. The barge is the point right above the ‘t’ in Port at the bottom of the tracking image.

The juveniles, Jasper and NE27 on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest are doing well. Here is a great image of NE27 standing tall this afternoon. Remember that this beautiful Bald Eagle will get a name based on the votes that the American Eagle Foundation receives of the five finalists. Jasper got her name because she was born when the named storm, Jasper, hit the area.

Message me through comments if you would like the information on voting.

The juveniles at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest in Fort Myers are several weeks older than those at NEFlorida. Harriet and M15’s E19 and E20 are really good at self feeding and they stand on the edge of nest rim and look about. Next stage is branching!

Big Red and Arthur have been working on their nest on the light stand. It looks so forlorn today with some snow and ice remaining.

I have not heard about a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. When the pipping begins, the parent will hear the cheeping of the chick and can feel it moving about. You should notice the one on incubation duties looking down and listening.

I always hate to close with bad news. This are the two most recent postings for the Hilton Head eaglets. You will note that HH3 and HH4 are in critical condition. There is also information about the spread of avian flu and the deaths of other eagles. Anyone feeding birds needs to be vigilant in cleaning the feeders. If you were to find dead birds at the feeders and it is not the result of a cat or raptor, you might want to contact your local wildlife rehabber for advice. Do not handle the dead birds with your bare hands. You might want to do a major clean up as the lab results can take several days. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Our thoughts go out to all of the bird families that have been impacted by this lethal disease. It is sobering to consider that an entire generation of eaglets (and other birds) could be wiped out.

I note that rodenticide poisoning also causes nestlings to literally fall out of the nest. One of my favourite wildlife rehabbers, A Place Called Hope, has admitted a Barred Owlet who fell out of the nest and is suffering from this poison. This is entirely avoidable. Everyone reading my blog knows rodenticide. Work hard to educate people so these beautiful raptors do not have to suffer.

Are you a falcon lover? The Peregrine Falcons are getting busy in Utica, New York. I am looking to find their streaming cam link and will post it tomorrow for everyone.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022 – Nine Matings, a Food Exchange & An Intruder

Thank you so much for joining me today as I did a hop, skip, and a jump checking on some of our nests. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Bald Eagles 101 FB, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on the World, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs RTH camera, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Saturday in Bird World

26.02.2022

Good afternoon Everyone! The sun is shining bright on the Manitoba prairies this morning. Even 2 metres of snow looks beautiful! It is a balmy -8 C and it feels like summer. It is too hot for winter coats today. Now if all of this snow will melt slowly…ever so slowly so we do not have floods. The soil needs the moisture!

If you missed it yesterday, there is real cause for celebration at the American Osprey nests. Rosie has returned form her migration to be reunited with Richmond on the Whirley Crane in San Francisco Bay yesterday. Richmond had been hanging around the nest for three weeks. Some of us were beginning to worry a little and then…Rosie showed up right at dawn 06:43 on 25 February! If you are new to watching Osprey nests in the US, this is a rock solid nest. I am a huge fan of the UK nests and this is my number 1 for stability and the occasional humorous moment in the US. Richmond is great at fishing at night amongst other antics.

As you can see this is the couple’s sixth season on the Whirley Crane. Last year they fledged three fine Juveniles! Here is that great reunion video again.

Here is the link to their camera for those who do not have it. It is not on YouTube. The camera is, as I write this, currently off line.

https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/golden-gate-osprey-1

Ervie did not come to the nest yesterday as far as I could tell from having eyes glued on the screen and doing a lot of rewinds. The barge was visited by a number of the pigeon clean up crew and a lovely Cormorant. There was also another bird that landing on the moorings but I cannot accurately identify it. In the image below, the Cormorant is on the perch and the other bird is on the perch.

Port Lincoln has not updated Ervie’s sat-pak tracking yet. So, it remains a mystery where he captures his delicacies – those puffers!

There is sad news coming out of the Hilton Head Island Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and Mitch. I report on this nest occasionally. Two eaglets hatched and the last time I checked on them they had their juvenile feathers and were self-feeding. Yesterday one of them was found on the ground below the nest. It has been taken to Corvian Avian Conservation, a wildlife rehab clinic. It is unclear the state of the eaglet at the time it was rescued. This morning food has been brought to the nest. The remaining eagle did mantle the prey and is seen eating but not enthusiastically. The nest is being monitored. There is some concern that the bird prey brought might have avian flu, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that is spreading. I assume the remaining eaglet might also be removed from the nest for testing if authorities are concerned. Will monitor and post.

I will do a post just on Avian flu early nest week. There are other nests where the eaglets have fallen over the edge of the nest and they are being tested. Do not discount it. This is very, very serious. There are virologists looking at these deaths to try and understand the spread and the remedies. It could impact much of the nests other than the Ospreys who seem to be less prone because they eat fish almost entirely.

We all worry when these things happen and it is easy in small nests where there is prey competition, parental neglect, and a lot of wingersizing. I want you to watch, when you have time, this lovely video of a rescue of two eaglets in Sweden so you will understand that wildlife rehabbers can do amazing things. This is a heart warming story of individuals who really wanted a success.

The number of people watching the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear, California continues to grow. It was 2131 not long ago. Today is pip watch and you can join in, too.

While we were focused on the Captiva Osplets, Ervie, or Jackie and Shadow, something wonderful was happening over at the nest of River and Obey at Dale Hollow Lake. Twins hatched at 11:16 and 11:51 yesterday. There is a pip in the third egg. Wow.

If you are wondering where Dale Valley Lake is, it is in Kentucky. It is one of the oldest human made lakes in the region, created out of the Obey River, in 1943. Now you know how these two eagles who have used this nest for six years came by their names. The lake has 27,700-acres of water and is well stocked with fish for the Baldies.

Just when I praise the nest for being located right above the lake, I see Dad has brought in a rabbit for the eaglets lunch! Too funny.

Here is a link to the streaming cam so you can join this nest with the two grey little bobbles and another on the way:

I suggest you put this nest on your watch list. I am really hoping that the parents will not bring in any birds to this nest due to H5N1’s potential spread.

Kincaid is doing really well at the Kisatchie Forest Bald Eagle Nest near Alexandria, Louisiana. Louis brought in another big fish and Kincaid is really enjoying this late morning feed. Like many nests located near a stocked body of water, Louis mostly brings in fish but he also brings in Coots and other waterfowl. If you are new to watching Bald Eagles and want to add a nest to your long list, I highly recommend the KNF nest. It is on YouTube. Cody and Steve have made sure the image is great and the sound is awesome. Next year they will have the two nests on Kincaid Lake on camera. Great moderators on chat. Cody and Steve are often on there to answer your questions along with Tonya.

Normally I start with the Captiva Osprey Nest but, today, I will almost close with it. Lena was hollering at Andy to get a fish on the nest at dawn. I could not see a delivery. Please correct me if I am wrong. By 09:34:03 Big Bob was getting agitated and did some beaking.

Little Bob was smart. He moved far to the right out of harm’s way. You can barely see him. He has his neck stuck down in the twigs. Smart.

Their last feeding was in the afternoon yesterday and the trio were very hungry by the time Andy landed that fish on the nest at 10:30:42.

It was a large fish and Lena moved around the nest making sure that each of the babies was full.

They are all lined up nicely to eat. Big Bob’s slight aggression ended as soon as food arrived. Please note that if you are reading the chat, the moderator calls this ‘playtime’. They are all a week old and some aggression is typical at this age but more so now that the early regular and very stable feeding routine has been thwarted.

I hope that Little Bob gets up in the front despite the fact that he has one of the longest necks I have seen on an osplet!

Lena will continue to fed until the fish is gone if that is what it takes to fill her and the babies to the brim.

Nice crop!

It is now 12:43 nest time in Florida and Lena is yelling at Andy for fish.

It is 13:32. Lena is calling Andy again and you can hear him in the distance along with the cheeping Bobs.

There are so many recreational vehicles on the water today. I wonder if this is hampering Andy’s fishing. It is also quite warm in Florida today. Lena is doing a good job of shading the babies who cannot yet regulate their own temperature.

Til later…

We all need a giggle and today’s laugh is brought to you by a Raven in Poole Harbour, England at the nest of Osprey CJ7 (Rutland fledge 2015). The Raven is leaving two lovely chocolates that it will bury in the nest. How romantic a gesture this could be. I hope that this is for the arrival of CJ7 and the male, Blue 022, that we hope will also return and have their first successful breeding season together. If you want to see the whole video posted the Poole Harbour Osprey Project, please head over to their FB page. You do not need to be a member.

Here is the link to this streaming cam. Last year it was too late for this potential couple who delighted observers with their mating antics all over the town. If we get a hatch and a fledge, it will be the first time in over 180 years since their extinction! That is something to cheer about.

And on that happy note, I will say goodbye. Keep your eyes out for Ervie and a pip at Big Bear and a successful hatch for Dale Hollow. Things are really gearing up. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Poole Harbour Osprey Project, KNF Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Dale Hollow and Golden Gate Audubon and SF Bay Ospreys.

The Eaglets at The Hamlet

One of my most favourite Bald Eagle nests is the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby. As it happens I was concerned that I would write too much about this nest – so what do I do? I over compensatted by not mentioning them very much! I hope to make up for that!

The NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest is located in Jacksonville, Florida. This is the third breeding season for Samson and Gabby. In 2020, they fledged Romy and Jules, in 2021 it was Legacy, and we are now waiting for the names for NE26 and NE27. NE26 hatched at 04:06 Sunday 23 January and about 46 hours later at 02:24 the 25th of January, NE27 hatched. They are cute little fluff buttons. While it is far too early to start saying one is a male and the other is a female, NE 26 sure looks like a big sister to a little brother.

Here is a picture from the 8th feeding yesterday. Just look at those crops. NE26 is so much taller than 27 that it works out perfectly to have the shorter 27 in front. Both chicks are fed well, the pantry is stocked, and there is little to no rivalry. Two nice little eaglets.

Here are some images from today. The cam operator was nice enough to give us some closeups of the feather development of the two. NE26 is 10 days old today and NE27 is 8 days old.

They have sure grown fast. Not that long ago these were the two smallest fuzziest babies. Now that light grey down is very slowly giving away to the darker natal down. They still have their cute little tails but the wings and legs are much longer and they are beginning to get bottom heavy.

Too warm in Jacksonville to be under an adult!

Little one is doing some panting to keep cool.

Now look at the follicles on that leg that is taut.

See that little dimple behind the far end of the beak? That is the ear. It will get fully covered over by feathers eventually.

This feeding was only a couple of hours ago. Sweet little babies waiting their turn.

Both have had lots of food. The neck of 26 is getting longer and the size difference seems pronounced. That is why I said little boy and big sis. Of course, I am probably all washed up and we will never know anyway. Just want them both to be healthy and have a good fledge.

Gabby is a formidable mother. I would not want to mix it up with her! No way.

I also want to bring you news about two Ospreys. You might recall that I mentioned that the highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian Flu has struck UK birds. The Queen’s swans were culled as were others and then 500 birds at the Whitby Wildlife Rescue. It was feared that one of those was the only resident Osprey. The Centre stated today that the Osprey was one of the birds not euthanized. What a relief for so many. This has been a terrible time for this wildlife centre whose heart and soul were wrenched out. On top of the APHA killing the birds during a 24 hour period they have worked so hard to save, the people have had to endure hate mail and lies. What a tragedy.

A sighting. On the 4th of August 2021, Blue 437 fledged from Nest 5A at Kielder Forest. It was 75 days old. There were no sightings until today when it was spotted in top form fishing in Senegal. The Blue tag with numbers was crystal clear in the photo (sorry I am not allowed to share it). There was no question like there was with the JJ2 or JJ7 last week. Blue 437 is Mrs Gs’ (Glaslyn Nest with Aran) first great grand chick. After the toll that the trees in Kielder Forest took this winter, this is nothing short of a wonderful miracle! I can only imagine the joy that is spreading through the team. We all know that feeling too well when our beloved birds fledge and then we never know what happens to them. Blue 437 has great DNA. Looking forward to seeing him return in a year to try and find his own mate and nest. Blue 437 was part of 16 juveniles that fledged from the Kieldner nests in 2021.

On that most happy of notes, I will stop. Do check in on the NEFlorida nest of Gabby and Samson. What a great team they are!

Take care everyone. See you soon. Thanks so much for joining me.

Thanks so much to NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Late Sunday in Bird World

The other day, Jean-Marie Dupart took photographs of a Scottish Osprey in the Saloum Delta in Senegal. The band on the leg, slightly obscured, could read JJ2 or JJ7. JJ2 was believed to be a female at the time of banding. JJ7 was believed a male at the time of its banding.

Here is the photograph Jean-Marie Dupart took of the Osprey in question:

The Woodland Trust and People’s Post Code Lottery put out the following announcement today:

I had so hoped it was JJ7 but, in the end, it is wonderful to see a healthy Scottish fish eagle that hatched in 2019.

In a sadder note, the H5N1 highly pathogenic strain of Avian Flu that killed the two white-tailed eaglets in the spring of 2021 is striking again in the UK. First swans were culled and now the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary in Yorkshire.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-60188953

Ervie has been waiting on the nest hoping that Dad would either bring him a fish or that he would catch one as he focused on the beautiful waters of the cove. And then, at 8:20:39, Ervie finds an old fish tail on the nest. He did several double takes when he saw it a few seconds earlier. What a delight! An old dried up fish tail for our lovely boy.

Ervie really enjoyed that old piece of fish.

Ervie had been standing fish calling to the parents missing that piece of tail down by his talons. In the image below you can see that this is not a big piece of fish but for Ervie, it must have felt like he had found gold in that nest.

Gosh, Ervie is a handsome Osprey.

Ervie is still working on that old piece of dry fish. He is not giving up.

And he is still working on it…

You can see from the time how long Ervie has been pulling this dry fish. He is making good progress. Ervie would love to share some of the fish from the KNF nest! But he is not going to give up until he eats every single scrap of this tail. That is why you are a survivor, Ervie.

While Ervie is dreaming of having a big fish soon, the eaglet at the KNF nest in Louisiana has been filled to the brim by Anna. Look at that crop. Incredible.

Anna is making up for missing the feedings yesterday afternoon but, at the same time, Louis did a fantastic job taking care of the eaglet. The baby was never hungry and always had a bit of a crop. Louis was extraordinary – just like Samson was when Gabby was away for 24 hours before NE26 and 27 hatched.

Diamond did not seem to spend the night at the scrape but she is on the ledge early this morning. I wonder how much the hot weather impacted her and Xavier? As you know, many Peregrine Falcons wound up in care from dehydration.

Last breeding season the Mum at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest spent most of it buried in snow. This year is starting off the same way. Whether it is extreme heat or extreme winter storms, our feathered friends are being impacted.

Mum will keep the eggs warm and dry. These eagles are amazing.

I wanted to do a last check on the WRDC eaglets, R1 and R2. They are doing fine. R2 is being fed at the moment which must mean that R1 is full! You can tell the difference between the two because R1 still has a big drop of light natal down on its head.

If you are a Pittsburg-Hayes eagle fan, the couple were just mating on the tree. Eggs are not normally laid til 15 February or after. I wonder if they will be early this year? Looks like they have a nice egg cup created. Last year this couple raised triplets. Yes, three eaglets. 3.

Thank you for joining me today and for all your letters and comments. I really enjoy hearing from you. Take care everyone. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: WRDC, KNF Bald Eagles, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Duke Farms, Charles Sturt University at Orange Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, and Pix Cams.