Tag Archives: beaking

Continuing Broodmate Aggression at the UFL-Gainesville Osprey nest

2 May 2022

I have not spent the time I should have observing the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest since the third hatch starved to death because of siblicide. The nest appeared to have ‘calmed’ down after that. I am, thus, very grateful to ‘R’ who took the time to write to me telling me about the change to aggression.

While my research focuses on that third hatch, it appears from the instances of aggression that we have seen this season – that ‘something’ is happening out there in the nests. Before we chat about these sorrowful avian behaviours, I want to go back to the book I am reading, The Eagle Man. It is about Charles Broley, a Canadian, who spent his time between here and Florida observing Bald Eagles and banding thousands. Broley’s observations are from direct observation or information provided to him by others. He did not have the benefit of the streaming cams and data collections that we have today. Still, some of his observations continue to hold true such as the ‘Northern’ Bald Eagles are larger than the ‘Southern’. In another instance, he notes that the ‘Southern’ eagles are more aggressive than their ‘northern’ counterparts. In terms of nest aggression, Broley said: “The more demanding of the babies gets the greatest amount, however, for the weaker, smaller one is always neglected for the more aggressive one. As a consequence on that is a little smaller, a trifle weak, perhaps, tends to grow weaker through lack of food, abuse from the older bird, and general neglect, while the stronger one, because it gets all the food, increases in size and strength rapidly (52).

In their article, “Why do some siblings attack each other? Comparative analysis of aggression in avian broods” by Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer, Tamas Szekely, and Hugh Drummond (Evolution, 2007), the authors list eight traits that they are testing to determine if any, some, or none drive aggression on nests. Those traits are:

  • feeding method (monopolization of food). Direct feeding when food passes directly from the adult beak to the chick’s beak. This allows the dominant bird to violently exclude any competition. The authors believe that when food is placed on the nest floor in indirect feeding it is more difficult to monopolize. The feeding method theory predicts that “a greater use of aggression in species in which direct feeding predominates throughout the nestling period).
  • effective weaponry (pointed or sharp beaks)
  • limited escape possibilities (nest site typography)
  • differences in age and size of broodmates (hatching asynchrony)
  • large food parcel size
  • small brood size. As brood size increases the authors observe that it is more difficult to intimidate and attack.
  • aggressive potential (maturity and body size)
  • slow food transfer

The researchers studied and compared several species including the Accipitridae (eagles, hawks, and buzzards) along with Boobies, Anhingas, Ibises and Spoonbills, Egrets and Herons, Pelicans and Kingfishers. I was, of course, disappointed that they did not include Ospreys. Following lengthy observational study, the authors concluded that indirect feeding, small broods, and long nesting periods are significantly correlated with broodmate aggressive competition. They also agreed that more studies needed to be conducted because exchanging or removing even one factor might alter the results of the research. I did find it interesting that out of 58 Eagle nests studied compared to 52 falcon nests, the eagles were 81% more inclined to nest aggression. They thought that factors such as larger clutches, a shorter nesting period, and one other factor — that the broodmate aggression being eliminated through evolution- could be at the heart of why falcon nests have little siblicide. It is rare to find siblicide in falcons and hawks while, as we have seen recently, it is much more common in eagles and ospreys.

Within this season, we have seen siblicide, the deliberate killing of a sibling, at several nests. These include the third hatch, DH16, at the Dale Hollow nest on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky; the third hatch at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest; the second hatch at the MN-DNR nest who was physically abused (with holes in its head) in the nest and, ultimately, successfully shoved off the nest on the third attempt; and the biological chick killed by the foster chick at the Pink Shell Osprey nest in Florida. In addition, it is difficult to know what the outcome would have been at the Captiva Osprey nest if the oldest sibling had lived. Big did prevent the female and the two younger siblings from eating for a period of 72 hours before it literally dropped dead. Would the death of the youngest sibling at the Duke Farms Eagle nest be classified as siblicide?

The situation at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest has not stabilized. The information I received this afternoon from observations on the nest indicate that the eldest sibling is relentless in stopping the middle sibling from eating. Observations of the behaviour include – the mother feeding the dominant sibling, the dominant sibling abusing the younger even if its crop is full to overflowing, the younger one having to expend energy and become aggressive to even get a few bites of fish. I do not know the number of deliveries in a day or the size of the fish. The camera re-wind is such that it is not conducive to discovering this information. Tomorrow I plan to write to Gainesville and see if I can get the data which someone must be keeping – and also to find out precisely how old these osplets are. While there is no truly ‘safe period’ against broodmate aggression, it is normally expected to stabilize around the age of one month. That said, the dominant aggressive osplet in the Port Lincoln nest did throw its sibling over the nest to its death when the chick was 65 days old. This is why we cannot predict what will happen.

In the top image, the eldest chick, Big, has learned to get between the mother’s legs preventing Middle from getting food and from the advantage of having the adult in between the two birds. Thank you ‘R’ for drawing this to my attention.

Middle had to expend a lot of energy flapping its wings and trying to mantle to get a few bites. The ratio was more than 10 bites to 1 with Big having the advantage. I do not know when the Middle sibling last had a good meal with a crop.

We must remember that the more food Big gets the bigger and stronger that bird gets to the detriment of the younger. It is hot on top of that light stand in Florida and the fish is the only hydration the chicks get.

Middle is once again rushing at the Mum to try and get some food.

Another small fish comes on the nest later. In the image below, Big has been eating and has a huge hard crop. Middle has no crop. Big has been eating but Middle moved slightly and caught Big’s attention who went on the attack.

Big goes back to eating.

Eventually Middle gets a few bites of fish once Big passes out in a food coma. In essence, Big ate almost two entire fish with the Mum and the Middle sibling getting very little.

One thing that is missing in this discussion is the fact that the Mum also needs to eat. It was 25 degrees C today or 77 F on the ground and later in the day (9pm). It is very hot on top of that light stand. I cannot predict what will happen on this nest or on Middle’s survival. Normally I would say not to worry but Big has tried to push Middle off the edge – when I see this behaviour my antennae really begin to alert. It is going to depend on many factors some of which we just do not know – will there be an increase in size and number of fish being delivered? is there a genetic disposition towards aggressive behaviour at this nest?

I am sorry to bring you this sad news. I had so hoped that the aggressive behaviour would have ended with both chicks thriving. I will be keeping a closer watch on this nest and I am very grateful for the letter alerting me to the change. If you know of other nests where siblicide has occurred since 1 July 2021 to the present, please do let me know. It would be much appreciated.

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

Thank you to the UFlorida-Gainesville for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Thursday Morning in Bird World

14 April 2022

Dyson sends his love to everyone and he wants you to know that he is doing what he does best – getting seeds off the hard seed cylinders!

Thank you so much for your kind notes. The snow storm did precisely what had been predicted. There was a lull yesterday in the late afternoon and then the snow began with earnest around midnight. The forecast is now at the higher end of the snow accumulation at 80 cm or 2.62 feet. We continue to clear periodically and put down a line of seed that extends across 9 metres or 30 feet of decking and keep the feeders full and check on the hard seed cylinders as they need replacing. It has been a challenge. The sheer number of birds in the garden speaks to the recent arrival of thousands of birds during spring migration. Rain is set to start shortly turning to snow in the afternoon. Could it get worse for our feathered friends? The winds continue to bring some white out conditions. Hopefully the storm will taper off, as predicted, late Friday. Sadly, it brings out the worst in the birds who are hungry and fearful that they will starve to death. It is not unlike the beaking in the streaming cam nests when a weather event or diminished prey delivery sets off the ‘survival’ instinct in the biggest bird. Difficult to watch.

When you think you have absolutely ‘had it’ – you ‘are done’ with the birds and their beaking and bonking, stop and watch this piece of archival film that Charles Puleston shot in one of his Osprey nests on Long Island in the 1950s. It is called ‘My Turn’.

I can promise you that there is nothing more joyful, more tearful, and more satisfying than having a third hatch almost die in front of your eyes and then to have them turn around and become the most clever and dominant bird on the nest! It happens! Those are the nests you never forget.

A few of you have written to me in the last week about your need to pull back from the streaming cams and the chats that go along with some of the nests. The last note came this morning from a reader and I thought it would be a good time to discuss this. Watching the streaming cams can often bring about a sense of utter helplessness and frustration instead of the joy you anticipated. Instead of shutting the birds out of your life, I would like to make a couple of recommendations. The first is to educate yourself about the species you are watching. You do not have to purchase the books, go to your local library and if they do not have a copy see if they can order one in for you to borrow. The second is to arm yourself with emergency call numbers. Last year when a fostered Osprey chick fell off the nest at Patuxent River’s nests, the nature centre was closed. No one was answering the phone. People watched in horror hearing the chick splashing in the water. A number of us began to call leaving messages. One of the staff heard these and took their canoe back out to the park and found the chick – just in time – and literally tossed it back on the nest. This was a perfect outcome. That said frantic phone calls came from Hawaii, Canada, and the US to anyone who would listen. Every streaming cam needs the number of the local wildlife rehabber. Sadly, they do not post them. So it is up to you to find those numbers and have them ready if something happens. You also need to understand that most times help does not come. That is why Patuxent was simply so fantastic.

OK. Back to educating yourself. If you want to understand how the use of DDT caused the large Apex predators such as Eagles and Osprey to become almost extinct, get a copy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Here is an article that speaks to the importance of this book.

Find out who Dennis Puleston was to the environmental movement and how he signalled the decline in Ospreys. Who was Charles Broley to the Bald Eagle community? These are people who fought the good fight to protect and restore the populations of Ospreys and Bald Eagles. You should know who they are. For a specific UK approach, any of the books by Mark Avery who headed the RSBP for 25 years are excellent.

The current threat is often from climate change and for eagles it is heat. Many eagles went into care last summer as did Ospreys particularly in the Pacific Northwest. One of the newest additions that David Hancock (Hancock Wildlife) is adding to the artificial nests for the Eagles in British Columbia, Canada is a shade screen. Ground breaking. How fantastic! Indeed, you might have noted the artificial nest in the Miami Zoo for the WRDC nest. These human-made nests will become more common as trees fail just as artificial platforms are now common for Ospreys.

How many times have you seen individuals belittled and having to apologize for putting human emotions on birds? This especially happens in some chats. I suggest that you read Marc Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals. Good solid research. You won’t apologize again! Jennifer Akerman’s The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way are also very good.

My library is mostly full of books on Ospreys and the smaller raptors, Peregrine Falcons and Red-tail Hawks.

Falcons: The Peregrine by J.A. Baker, Falcon by Helen Macdonald, and H is for Hawk are some good starters. Winter’s Hawk speaks to the persecution of the Red-tail Hawk where I grew up, in Oklahoma. The Kings and their Hawks gives a particular historical perspective. These are a few to get you started.

Ospreys: Alan Poole’s Ospreys is a good solid introduction to the birds. I am particularly fond of David Gessner’s Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond for a good look at the issue of migration, particularly the New England ospreys. It is a good read. Gessner’s other books speak to various environmental issues impacting birds. There are others: Scottish Ospreys by Philip Brown, Lady of the Loch by Helen Armitage amongst others. I will try and bring one up now and then.

If you want to understand migration, A World on the Wing. The Global Odyssey of Migrating Birds is a great start!

If you want a good laugh, Zarankin’s Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder is excellent!!!!

I did a quick check on some of the nests. The third hatch is hanging in there at the UFlorida Gainsville Osprey nest! Good for it. Spunky little thing.

Here is the link to the UF Osprey cam. It is not on YouTube.

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

The sun is coming out on Little Middle and Big at the Dale Hollow nest. They will be anxious for some fish to arrive on their nest.

Deb Stecyk did a short video of Big and Little Middle in the storm.

I found a new Peregrine Falcon nest this morning! It is in the UK at the Chichester Cathedral. There are four eggs.

When people get burnt out of watching Bald Eagles and Ospreys – where there is often a lot of beaking – I highly recommend both falcon and hawk nests. They are often overlooked because they are smaller raptors but the way that they take care of their young is reassuring that life is good.

There is also a Kestrel nest in Yorkshire. Eggs soon!

I highly recommend the streaming cam of Big Red and Arthur at the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. Good solid nest. Big Red is 19 and Arthur is 6. Big Red has been raising little hawklets for 17 years – for ten on camera. Only one did not fledge and that was K2 in 2021 due to a beak injury and infection. There is also a good respectful moderated chat for a couple of hours in the morning.

The Queen of the RTHs, Big Red incubating four eggs on the Fernow Light Tower. This is the first time she has laid 4 eggs since the camera was set up in 2012.

Indeed, you will notice a lot of nests of falcons and hawks with four eggs this year. It could be nature’s way of adjusting for the quickly spreading Avian Flu.

Half way around the world, Lesser Spotted Eagles will be nesting in Latvia. The nest of Anna and Andris is now happy as Andris returned from his migration yesterday. Anna came home on the 12th.

And because incubation can be so boring to watch, Cal Falcons has done a really fast day in the life of Annie and the New Guy incubating! So funny and a good way to end this blog.

All of the nests seem to be doing fine. The first egg at Llyn Clywedog was laid at 10:27 this morning UK time. That is the nest of Dylan and Seren. I will be checking on those UK Osprey nests later today.

Thank you so much for joining me and for all of your good wishes, prayers, and warm thoughts for us and the garden birds and animals in the storm. It is much appreciated. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Under the Feeders. 14 April 2022

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: DHEC, UFlorida Osprey Nest, and Cornell Bird Lab and RTH.

Dale Hollow – still some beaking amidst the good

21 March 2020

It was a grey morning when Big and Middle wake up. Both immediately begin preening. Big is getting its blood feathers along the wing.

At 06:43:46 River flies in with what looks like to be a medium sized fish. Both babies are sleepy heads.

River offers Middle the first bite at 06:45:13. He moves to take it. Despite Big not seeming to be interested, this is a mistake.

Big is the dominant bird on the nest. Middle needs to be careful not to wake up Big’s bad side. Big gets angry and lashes out. Poor Middle is terrified and immediately moves to try and get away. Big could fatally injure the wee one.

Big will eat and Middle will keep a very submissive and self-protective pose until 06:47 when it moves to the rim of the nest closer to Mum River. River offers bites to Big who doesn’t seem to be interested. Middle notices and moves close to Mum’s beak eating quickly at 06:48:50.

River drops a piece of fish she is trying to give Big. Middle looks at it but is extremely aware that Big is moving. This clearly frightens Middle.

Big is moving so it can do a poop shot. Look at that PS. Gracious.

Big then moves up to River to eat.

Middle might look calm but it isn’t. It is frightened by the actions of Big, a reminder of what happened to it less than 48 hours ago when Big took its wrath out on Middle til late in the day on the 19th. Many of us thought Middle would not survive.

Middle is getting smart but it needs to continue to be extremely cautious. Middle moves between River’s legs to snatch some bites where it is protected from Big. The time was 06:54:43.

By 06:57:54 River has reached the fish tail. Little would like some. Big will eat most of the tail at 06:58:44 but then it drops a large piece. River gives Middle some of the tail at 06:59:13.

River moves to get another piece of fish that is on the nest at 06:59:35. Middle continues to eat. It is interesting that Big is less interested in food. Does it need to cast a pellet?

Obey arrives on the nest at 08:15:58. The eaglets have finished eating and River is shading them when he arrives. You can see that there is another piece of fish on the nest and behind River there is another. Fish magically appear from inside all that straw!

Obey does a quick check, an alert call, and he is off. By this time Big is hungry so River gets to the fish tail and begins to feed Big at 08:20. You can see the other piece of fish, a large portion, to the left of River. Middle stays in submission in the middle of the nest while Big eats.

At 08:26:22 Middle moves around to position itself for food. Middle is watching Big careful to not make Big angry.

Middle gets its first bite at 08:26:40. Middle has really perfected its move up to the beak and the snatch and grab. Both will eat until 08:34:30 when Middle is the only one left eating. The feeding is finished around 08:36:42. Middle had dropped its crop earlier and is now getting another one. Yeah!

At 10:20:17, Middle is crying for fish. Big is over at the rim and River, hearing Middle, moves up to the piece of fish near the feeding area.

River reaches down to feed Middle and Big immediately moves!

Another mistake! Middle cannot eat before Big. It is 10:20:33 and Big attacks Middle. Remember that Big is so much larger that it can still kill the smaller Middle relatively easy. Not good to wake up Big’s bad side.

Big moves up to eat for a few minutes. Middle stays in submission.

Then Big moves to the rim of the nest. Will Middle get any food?

Yes!

Middle moves very carefully over to the right of the nest.

Middle eats for awhile and then River offers a bite to Big at the rim.

At 10:24:54 something wonderful happens. Middle does a poop shot. This is so good. The plumbing is working fine.

Afterwards, Middle moves up and continues to eat. Big is quiet. Thank goodness.

By 10:26:48 Middle appears to be full and moves over to look at what is going on in the woods.

Big and Middle eventually wind up beside one another at the rim. Everything is amicable. Both are hot. Why is River not up here shading her chicks?

The two of them move around the nest trying to get cool. It is now 11:05 and the nest is quiet. No more feedings.

This nest is hardly settled. Middle is learning tricks to survive but has to remain very careful at the beginning of each feeding. Let Big go first and hope that lots of fish land on the nest. We have to take this nest at almost a feeding at a time for now. Send positive wishes!

Also a correction to an earlier post: Abby and Blazer’s two eaglets hatched on the 11th and 14th of February not March. Thanks ‘S’. LOL. They would not be ready for branching if it was March!!!!!!!!!

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

Thank you to Dale Hollow Eagle streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

What a fighter Little Bit was! (updated)

18 March 2022

Over the past couple of days there was a lot of focus on the word ‘survival’. ‘Survival of the Fittest’ is most often the term used. On the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest belong to River and Obey, there were three eaglets struggling to survive. On the 15th of March, Big Bob’s instinct that something had shifted in the amount of prey delivery or feedings kicked in. Big Bob wanted to survive. Because of her size and weight, it is easy to intimidate the younger siblings. Some leave it at that. Others switch to some beaking but, that normally stops as the chicks get older. Others get in a killing frenzy like Big did. Middle Bob’s tactic to try and not get the wrath of Big Bob in order for it to survive was to get out of the way and literally keep its head and neck down. That brings me to Little Bob or Tater Tot.

I have watched many third hatches. That is what I do – study the long term survival of the third hatches. They are remarkable if given a chance. They are creative, quick at getting food or finding dried up food in the nest and eating it. The easiest way to say it is, “They get street smart”. I look back at Tiny Tot Tumbles on the Achieva Osprey Nest in 2021. On more than five occasions, watchers thought that today was the day that Tiny Tot would die. Tiny Tot survived because its mother started bringing catfish to the nest in addition to the fish that Jack, the Dad brought in. Tiny Tot was also clever and would eat anything. It learned to run around the rim of the nest and get behind the mother feeding. It learned snatch and grab. All of those techniques to survive worked. Every one thought that Tiny Little, Blue 463, of the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest would only last a day or two. Its two older siblings were enormous.

There is Tiny Little or Blue 463 in the image below. You will immediately recognize him. You can quickly see the size and age difference. The parents were White YW and Blue 25. I watched one day when the Mum was feeding the old siblings. They were obviously full. So she stopped feeding them. Tiny Little had not eaten. White YW flew off the nest with the fish. She waited and returned to the nest and fed Tiny Little the rest of the fish once the two big sibs had gone into food coma. Tiny Little got incredibly good at the snatch and grab and the parents made sure it ate.

Both Tiny Tot and Tiny Little lived to become the dominant birds on their respective nests. They became the ‘boss’. Tiny Tot even helped her parents fight off intruders. She took charge of the nest. So what happened this early evening on the Dale Hollow nest did not have to happen the way it did.

Little Bit or Tater Tot had an enormous will to live. It had not had any food since the morning of the 15th. My calendar and the timing shows that to be at least 79 hours. Little Bit also had a strong survival instinct and I will never forget it.

In India, the yogis slow their breathing down. To conserve its energy, Little Bit appears to have also slowed its breathing and, at the same time, understood if it stayed perfectly still (something very hard to do), it might, just might, not get the wrath of Big. It was simply incredible to watch. I marvelled at this wee babe tricking many of us – including myself – twice. I was for certain Little Bit had not survived the brutality. So, I want to say that I really admire the tremendous effort this chick made to live. I really wish it had of survived because it had a formidable spirit.

I am glad that Little Bit fooled me and made me look silly twice. I wish it had been a third time. Little Bit endured an incredible mauling by Big but the last attacks on its head killed it. Little Bit was injured so badly that it moved its leg and eye for the last time about 19:11:46. River had come to the nest without any food. Middle moved up hitting its beak on River’s bak trying to get some saliva. There was no food brought to the nest. River dug a piece of fish bone out but there was nothing for the two to eat. Big did beak Middle several times. River looked as if she was going to brood them and then she flew off. Obey came on the nest and noticed Little Bit was dead. He had no food either. So neither Big nor Middle had any food tonight. Tomorrow, Middle will have had one small meal Thursday night since Wednesday morning. Sad. Very sad.

I want to remember Little Bit the way he was on the 14th of March when all were up at the table and it had a little crop. It was such a sweet wee babe. You can see that while the oldest sibling is quite large, the difference in size compared to the Foulshaw Moss chick, is not that acute.

I am glad that Little Bit’s suffering is over. He wanted to live so much that he endured some of the worst treatment that I have ever seen in a third hatch. Of the nests that I monitor – in terms of third hatches – there have been two siblicides. The first was Tapps on the Port Lincoln Osprey nest (2021 at 18 days) and the second is our Little Bit (at 17 days).

For those who might be new at watching Bald Eagles, the Dale Hollow Nest is an anomaly in my huge binder of nests. So what am I saying? In general, a small chick like Little Bit needs to eat less food much more frequently to thrive. After 3 weeks, the feedings change – they become longer and more frequent because their crops will hold more food. There appeared to be a pattern whereby a fish would come in around 07:09 and almost 12 hours later another would appear at around 17:09. These were not huge fish. On occasion, a fish would come in after the breakfast fish but this was inconsistent. To keep nest stability, it appears that feedings need to be regular and frequent in the first few weeks. An adult needs to be on the nest to shade the young nestlings from the heat of the sun. Even Big was losing hydration this afternoon panting away. Little Bit had its fur pulled off and had bare skin showing in parts. It could not stand the heat. It was stressful on each of the three chicks. It is impossible to tell without having the chicks weigh in but one might assume that they became dehydrated. All I had to do was look at some of the other nests to see if the adult was shading the chicks. Akecheta and Thunder were, Lena at Captiva was, etc. Typically the parents will shade or be umbrellas even when their chicks have juvenile plumage. I did see River cover the eaglets when it was raining Thursday evening but I did not see her shading them in the heat of the afternoon this week. Please correct me if I am wrong.

There will be some people who will be angry with me. On the research documents that I fill in on the nests there is a category for siblicide but there is also a category for parental neglect. Those categories appear in much of the literature on the topic. Not every human child has an attentive parent. We would like that to be the case but, it is not always true. There are degrees of human parenting that range from neglect to excellent. Likewise, the quality of care of eagle parents seems to also vary. The adults are not robots who promptly feed their chicks every hour although most do when they hatch up to about two and a half to three weeks — 8 or 10 times a day. Watch the counts for feedings at the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow. Eating once a day will cause an eaglet to not thrive. So it would appear that it was not just Big trying to survive but also the quality of parental care on the nest or lack thereof that combined with a lack of food.

I hope that both Big and Middle Bob survive to fledge. It is hard to lose a little one or any one of the chicks on the nest. It breaks your heart. But let us hope that Middle will survive. We need to send it our most positive wishes.

Thank you so much for joining me, for all your letters and comments, and for allowing me to be fooled by Little Bit twice. Sadly, this time Little Bit has crossed over. It was a difficult day and because of that I think I also said that ‘S’ that gave me the information on Milda’s new mate was from Lithuania. My sincerest apologies. S is from Latvia. There will be more grammatical errors and some spelling issues, probably. It was a difficult day – I said that twice. Tomorrow is a new day and let us all send positive wishes to all of the nests. Take care everyone.

Do not worry. My newsletter will come later Saturday afternoon. We all just need to take a wee break. It has been traumatic.

Thank you to the Dale Hollow Eagle streaming cam where I took my screen captures.