Tag Archives: Berry College

Day 21. Welcome to Winter. R10 on its way!

22 December 2025

Good Morning Everyone!

[I am sending this out at 2200 Sunday evening in case things get hectic Monday morning – have a great day everyone].

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice. From now on, we will have a tiny bit more daylight, which is always welcome. Sunday was bright and sunny, and there is nothing better to energise a weary body after days of snow and grey than bright light. The Girls certainly enjoyed having those beautiful rays of warmth fill the conservatory.

For the past several weeks or months, I have encouraged each of you to slow down – to savour the moment at hand without worrying about what happened a week ago, what will occur in a month, or if your holiday dinner is perfect, or your house looks like the best cleaning service has detailed it. You would be too worn out to enjoy any of the fun if you did that. Instead, relax. Make the days simple so that you can enjoy them.

I found a blog post about ‘How Not to Feel Lost in a Parisian Cafe’, and I want to share it with you, not that you are going to Paris soon (or maybe you are), but because it speaks to sheer relaxation. Take a quiet moment with a cuppa and enjoy it. Practice relaxing. It is one thing that North Americans are not good at! Endless lists, too much goal orientation and achievement having priority over simple living.

https://open.substack.com/pub/frenchglimpses/p/how-not-to-feel-lost-in-a-parisian?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

This led to a link about the joys of doing nothing in retirement. In this article in The Wall Street Journal, there is this quote: “Earlier this summer, I read ‘This Is Happiness,’ by Niall Williams, about a fictional Irish community in the mid-20th century where rain is a constant presence in the lives of the town’s poor residents, until it isn’t. “You don’t see rain stop, but you sense it,” he writes at one point. “You hear the quietness you thought was silence get quieter still, and you raise your head so your eyes can make sense of what your ears have already told you, which at first is only: something has changed. The quote describes more eloquently than my words how I felt that morning at the cabin when something for me had changed. It was the realization that in experiencing the peace that doing nothing brings, I could acknowledge quietly to myself, “This is happiness.”

Here is the link to the entire article (I don’t have a subscription and I was able to open it; I hope that you can): https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/relationships/retirement-rest-do-nothing-benefits-90d52ff4?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Nellie arrived. The pups have been in and out, and then a rest, and then in and out again. Nellie loves the deep snow in the garden – she is a big girl. Toby likes to go out but not stay out as long. It has been great fun watching them play.

We had a proper ‘tea’ and christened a new teapot. This year we managed to break two teapots – the daily glass one and a much-loved temmoku one made by my friend Gunda Stewart years ago. There are ‘art’ teapots in my cupboards made by people across Canada, but I don’t use them. So…dear Anne brought us a replacement glass one, and I went over the top and purchased a rather glitzy version for special occasions. It is entirely unlike me; I am a much more rustic, handmade person. I like the story behind this design. It is based on the ceiling of the Library in the Fairmont Hotel in Toronto. This is where the ladies had to wait and have tea while the men checked them into the hotel.

I met a wonderful woman years ago in Yangon. Besides the fact that we both looked up and noticed that we were each reading Burmese Days, we were also sequestered inside our hotel for a few days during bombings in the City. Victoria introduced me to Coronation Chicken, and that is what we had today, along with egg mayo, sausage rolls, vegetable samosas, cranberry, orange, and mince tarts, shortbread cookies shaped like Scotty dogs, Fortnum’s Christmas cake, and chocolates. It was a fantastic way to celebrate the solstice! (I meant to take photos and forgot in the flurry of Nellie’s arrival!)

I wondered if Nellie was going to get stuck. She didn’t. She jumped and rolled.

A really tired Toby. He went to sleep before he even got in his bed.

Next to Toby, Nellie is in her big dog bed.

All is right in ‘dog’ world.

SK Hideaways Videos, week of 14 December 2025

Sauces Canyon Eagles:  Jak and Audacity Chortle in the Dawn ~ An 11-Year Love Story (2025 Dec 19)
As Jak and Audacity greet the day with nature’s most perfect music ~ chortles ~ we share a little history of this 11-year love story. 
Video: https://youtu.be/jCVVKQNIbfw
Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies | explore.org
Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnTsOesC6hE

West End Eagles

Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies, explore.org
Nest Low Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfuqjSNXZ14
Other Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmmAzrAkKqI
Overlook Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kad6O4nF6bg

Haku Issues Mating Invitation ~ Akecheta’s Not in the Mood (2025 Dec 20)
As Akecheta and Haku enjoyed their often frequented ocean view, Haku started feeling a little frisky. She let out some beautiful chortles and lowered her head, making it clear she was inviting Akecheta to mate. This time, Akecheta was focused elsewhere and did not respond. These two are spending a lot of time together on camera, so we could guess they’re doing so off camera as well. We have seen at least 2 mating attempts before this event, so may also guess that such attempts are being made behind closed tors. We are feeling optimistic about a fruitful nesting season for these two. 
Video: https://youtu.be/zhov66JVXDI

Akecheta Attempts Mating After Haku Casts Massive Pellet (2025 Dec 17)
After spending the night together on the night perch, Haku woke before Akecheta and cleared her gizzard by casting a rather large pellet. So large, in fact, that when it hit the ground, it woke Akecheta. Unperturbed, he went right back to sleep before waking later to attempt the first mating we’ve seen on camera. While unsuccessful, it bodes well for these two pursuing nesting and mating behaviors for the season ahead. Akecheta later did some nestorations before setting off to the middle tor, posing beautifully for the camera. (2025 Dec 17)
Video: https://youtu.be/YWxv9J9LbMM

FOBBV Eagles: Two Juvie Eagles Visit Nest Tree ~ Jackie & Shadow Let Them Be (2025 Dec 15)
Two first year juvenile eagles (2025 hatch year) visited the nest tree. The first flew to the very top while Jackie and Shadow were finishing their day’s nestorations. While their hackles were raised and they were very vocal, Jackie and Shadow did not physically approach the visitor. The second juvie arrived at the nest tree after Jackie and Shadow had retired to their Roost Tree. Who might they be? #CouldBeSunnyOrGizmo
Video: https://youtu.be/F6R4BuHTTOc
Courtesy FOBBVCAM, Friends of Big Bear Valley, CA

FalconCam Project
Courtesy FalconCam Project, Charles Sturt University NSW
Box Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv2RtoIMNzA
Ledge Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZaWzhXSAI
Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KCFRoO6URs
Tower Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQxrTGgNu4M

GIRRI FLEDGES at 43 Days Old (2025 Dec 18)
Girri woke early on her fledge day, full of energy and raring to go. After some vigorous wingercises and a full frontal attack of the camera, Girri took a wee rest and did a bit of yoga before taking flight. The fledge was perfect, as she flew across the flatlands to a perch tree. Cilla Ross captured video of her perched safely to everyone’s delight. Wishing Girri well in this exciting new phase of her young life.
Video: https://youtu.be/96yPLdvaixU

Viewer Discretion: Diamond’s Prey  Unzipping Lesson ~ Girri Chases Gimbir (2025 Dec 15)
Diamond brought another galah (aka pink and grey cockatoo) to the nest for Girri. She watched as her chick tried to consume the galah, but Girri does not yet possess the skills to prep prey. After letting Girri struggle a while, Diamond demonstrated how to prepare and ultimately consume prey. While SK Hideaways doesn’t normally publish graphic displays of raptors eating, we felt Diamond’s master class was interesting and educational. This is something raptor lovers may want to understand about these birds of prey. But we understand if you’d rather skip this lesson. When Gimbir came for the second seating, Girri chased him around the nest. Then Diamond fed him a few bites, but decided better of it. Best he remember that he’s a mate/parent and not a chick.
Video: https://youtu.be/rgCWPyT11No

There is nothing cuter than a couple of bobbleheads – .

Dade County R9.

SW Florida E26.

Two very much loved eaglets. R10 appears to be on its way.

I am unclear as to the status of E27’s egg. A single healthy eaglet fledging strong would be fine for me for each nest.

It looks like a juvenile eagle on the Berry College Bald Eagle nest in Georgia.

For those following the ups and downs of Lumi, the young lynx that found itself in the care of our local wildlife rehabilitation clinic, Wildlife Haven, is improving all the time. A video was posted on Instagram of Lumi going through the morning zoomies. She certainly looks like she is getting stronger each day!

We have eggs with Louis II and Anna II at Kisatchie National Forest’s E1 Bald Eagle nest. Now there is a bonded pair at the E3 nest. Tonya suggests that we are now on egg watch for them. Nice. https://youtu.be/NkSdsMy2WAo?

Gimbir in the Charles Sturt University Falcon scrape overlooking the wooded area below where Cilla saw Girri yesterday. I wonder if Gimbir can encourage Girri to try and make her way up that steep flight to get to the scrape where she hatched?

At Port Lincoln, let’s see what Giliath and Ervie have been up to – Giliath has been to Lincoln National Park, Boston Point, and Boston Island (very similar to Ervie).

Ervie’s tracker – both lads come back to the wharf at Port Lincoln to roost at night.

I don’t know about you but I am always relieved to see our dear Ervie doing so well.

I read Mark Avery’s Blog every month and he always reports on Bird Flu in the UK. Having seen the deaths of hundreds of Canada geese near to where I live, I continue to be interested in how HPAI is still impacting wildlife.

This was the report in Mark Avery’s most recent blog:

“Bird flu: Defra’s most recent update seems to cover the period up to 30 November and has a lot of positive records, especially of wildfowl, and adds Woodcock to the 2025 list of affected species bringing the total to 53: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Bewick’s Swan, Black Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Eider, White-tailed Eagle, Red Kite, Buzzard, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Curlew, Woodcock, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Kittiwake, Little Gull, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Gannet, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Cormorant, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Black Guillemot, Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Grey Heron, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Greenfinch and Starling. The flaws in the ‘surveillance’ scheme mean that it is difficult to know what this species list means in terms of species affected – click here. “

Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care! Have a great beginning to the week. See you on Tuesday!

Thank you to SK Hideaways for those great videos and to the owners of the streaming cams who give us a look into the lives of our eagles. I also want to thank those who take the time to post reports and images on FB so that we know what is going on with our beloved raptors. Thank you to Mark Avery for his blog where I used his bird flu report today as well as to the authors of the articles in Substack and WSJ.

Tuffy reads Ruffy the riot act!…Second miracle chick at NCTC…Berry eaglet dies…Thursday in Bird World

11 April 2024

Good Morning,

My plans for Friday and Saturday have altered. There will be blog posts but they will be briefer than normal for those two days.

It is Wednesday evening. The second egg at the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout is hatching. The chick can be heard on the microphone. Thanks ‘T’ or your keen eye! Send the most positive energy to this nest so that Scout does not kill this second miracle chick! Perhaps Bella will feed the little one when he is there so he can understand that it is not a prey item.

For dear Bella, I hope, like each of you, that this little one fledges and thrives.

Scout has been acting ‘odd’ again. We will just have to wait and see what happens.

It was another gorgeous day on the Canadian Prairies. 14 degrees C. There was a cool breeze blowing off the lake at the nature centre that made it feel much chillier. The geese and the ducks arriving did not mind! Everyone walking on the trails was happy and one of the rangers remarked that the muskrat had been seen in the swamp. There were Saw-whet Owls, a Blue Heron heard but not seen, woodpeckers, geese, ducks, Red-wing Blackbirds and the Song and Fox Sparrows have returned from their migration.

I heard the Saw-whet Owl but did not see it and this is not unusual for these nocturnal birds.

Cornell Bird Lab gives us some cool facts about these smallest of owls.

  • Cool Facts
    • The Northern Saw-whet Owl may have been named for giving a call that sounds like a saw being sharpened on a whetting stone, but there is no consensus as to which of its several calls gave rise to the name.
    • The main prey items of the Northern Saw-whet Owl are mice, and especially deer mice of the genus Peromyscus. Saw-whets usually eat adult mice in pieces, over the course of two meals. 
    • The female Northern Saw-whet Owl does all of the incubation and brooding, while the male does the hunting. When the youngest nestling is about 18 days old, the female leaves the nest to roost elsewhere. The male continues bringing food, which the older nestlings may help feed to their younger siblings.
    • The female saw-whet keeps the nest very clean, but a mess starts to accumulate when she leaves. By the time the young owls leave the nest, 10 days to 2 weeks later, the nest cavity has a thick layer of feces, pellets, and rotting prey parts.
    • Migration in saw-whets has historically been poorly understood, because of their nocturnal, reclusive behavior. In the 1990s researchers began Project Owlnet, a collaboration that now consists of more than 100 owl migration banding sites. Researchers use the too-too-too call to lure owls in to mist nets, and band thousands of saw-whets every fall. 
    • Migrating Northern Saw-whet Owls can cross the Great Lakes or other large bodies of water. In October of 1999, one landed on a fishing vessel 70 miles from shore in the Atlantic Ocean near Montauk, New York.
    • The oldest Northern Saw-whet Owl on record was at least 9 years, 5 months old when it was captured and released by a Minnesota bird bander in 2007. It was originally banded in Ontario in 1999.

In the urban area where I live, habitat loss is one of the primary reasons for wildlife decline. My goal over the past decade has been to create a corridor or the birds – an area populated by bird feeders, bird houses, bee houses, and, ironically, safe places for the feral cats to feed, drink, and sleep. (I have discovered that the feral cats do not bother the birds at the feeders. It is the domestic pets that do!) Cornell Bird Lab is reaching out and asking that each of us do something to provide habitat for the birds.

TRES_DeborahBifulco_550x230px
Make a Difference for Birds Facing Habitat Loss “As I was setting up the nest boxes, I saw my first Tree Swallow of the season and had a pair of bluebirds checking out the boxes right after I put them up—looks like the boxes are bluebird approved!”—Kim Savides, Ithaca, NY Experiences like this are more common than you might think! Creating a nesting space for birds helps replace missing habitat elements and alleviate competition for good nest sites. Cavity-nesting birds like bluebirds, chickadees, swallows, and titmice will appreciate the additional space, while you get to enjoy the magic of witnessing nature close to home. You can get personalized guidance on which nest boxes to install for your region and habitat—along with free construction plans—on the NestWatch website. Don’t have space for a nest box? Create other nesting opportunities by hanging flower boxes or adding potted plants to your outdoor space. Just don’t wait too long; birds are looking for the ideal nesting spot right now!

I promised you some images of ‘The Girls’. Missey and Hugo Yugo have been getting into far too much mischief. They have their own ‘feather’ collection, which consists of a vase full of Canada goose feathers, which they can play with at any time. Ah, but since one feather looks like the other, they have also been into my Pheasant and Peacock feathers vase. The Peacock feathers are quite old. My grandmother’s younger sister raised peacocks on her farm in Oklahoma. I remember their tails fanned out in the front garden as a child.

I there is trouble or anything ‘going on’ you can count on Hugo Yugo being involved. Dear Hope was sitting minding her own business when Hugo Yugo decided it was time to play!

Remember. Hugo Yugo is very, very tiny for her age. She easily fits into that shoe box with room left over. She plays like a kitten and continues to be the size of one even though she is seven months old.

Hope loves to watch the squirrels out of the window and is very curious about the ‘outdoor’ cats. Here she is sitting minding her own business.

Hugo Yugo has spotted Hope and is ready to play!

Hope has so much patience – like the others because of Hugo Yugo’s size.

Hugo Yugo never seems to get tired of play fighting.

She easily pushes Baby Hope over on her back.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Baby Hope gets some peace. Hugo Yugo’s battery is out of juice.

The sweetest cat…Calico.

‘J’ sends us the latest update on Meadow:

Mid-week Meadow update: We sent the DNA sample to the lab on Monday, so we expect results back sometime in the next couple of weeks. Meadow is eating well from tongs in the kennel — and all that food gets pretty expensive! Meadow is fed four times a day, as eagles grow incredibly fast in order to leave the nest at 12-14 weeks. The average Bald Eagle rehabilitation costs our Center more than $5,000 including medical care, housing, and food. To support Meadow’s care, please contribute at https://act.audubon.org/onlineact…/ar8crC6bIUGX9UsdFBWdnw2

‘H’ brings us the fully daily report from Moorings Park:

“Harry brought a small whole fish at 0711.  Tuffy received one bite and was beaked by Ruffie.  Tuffy moved away and Ruffie ate.  At 0716 Tuffy was beaked again even though he was not in a position to eat.  The fish was gone by 0722.  One bite for Tuffy.

At 0920 Harry delivered a large live fish.  There was no initial aggression toward Tuffy other than ‘the look’, which was enough to keep Tuffy from the table.  At 0928 Tuffy got one bite and was beaked and driven away.  One more bite for Tuffy at 0934, and he was beaked.  Tuffy ate another bite of fish at 0937 and was severely beaked by Ruffie.  By 0940, Ruffie quit the feeding, but she  blocked Tuffy from Sally.  There was still a fair amount of fish remaining.  Sally ate some, and at 0945 Ruffie ate some more.  At 0946 Tuffie started to make his move to get around to the other side of Sally, but by the time he got there, Ruffie was finished eating and moved away.  At that point Tuffy was fed a nice breakfast.  Tuffy was seen crop dropping a few times to make more room.  The fish was gone by 0959, and Sally found a few scraps off the nest to offer Tuffy as well. Tuffy ate at least 63 bites of fish.”

… At 1131 Harry brought a headless fish.  Tuffy moved away as he has been conditioned to do.  Ruffie was fed.  Ruffie wasn’t very hungry and moved across the nest at 1135.  Tuffy could not believe his luck!  Tuffy had Sally and the fish all to himself, and he ate at least 98 bites of fish by 1147, at which time he walked away from Sally.  Then, Ruffie ate again for a few minutes, and Sally finished the fish tail.

…At 1519 Harry delivered a fairly large headless fish, four hours after the last fish.  Tuffy stayed near the front, but turned away from Ruffie, and Ruffie was fed.  At 1521 Tuffy received one bite, then was intimidated by Ruffie with ‘the look’.  The video live stream froze at 1524, and resumed at 1536.  So, while we have no idea what transpired in those 12 minutes, we found the siblings eating side by side.  The meal was over by 1539.  Tuffy had a huge crop…enough said!

‘H’ caught Harry coming in with two fish! A double-header.

“Master-fisher, Harry, delivered two whole fish at 1655, a medium-sized one and a large one.  Harry flew off with the larger fish.  Ruffie ate while Tuffy stayed back.  Tuffy still had a decent sized crop from the 1519 meal, and he did not seem hungry.  Sally and Ruffie ate all of the fish by 1703.

… At 1703 Harry returned with the headless one.”

Everyone loves Tuffy and MM caught this great image! It sure looks like Tuffy is giving Ruffy an earful. ‘MM’ says that Ruffy did not retaliate. Yeah for Tuffy.

This image of Tuffy telling Ruffy the what for touched so many hearts. After I saw MM’s image and H’s little video for me, The Tuffy Fan Club lit up my inbox. If only this little osprey knew what a cheering section it has – my goodness. This is a memorable moment. This is what it is all about—watching the very difficult times and seeing some of these little ones come out fighting and surviving. You never forget them.

‘H’ captured the moment in the video, making my day. I love it when these little beaten ones turn around to their perpetrator. You know that this nest is turning around.

And then, there was a late delivery. ‘H’ writes: “Harry dropped off a small partial fish at 2150.  Sally ate, and she had a difficult time connecting with little beaks due to the darkness.  It was peaceful, but Ruffie got the most simply because she could reach out further to Tuffy.  Tuffy ate 5-6 bites.”

Thursday morning report at Moorings Park from ‘H’: ‘At 0759 Harry arrived with a very large headless fish (possibly catfish).  Ruffie beaked Tuffy immediately, setting the tone.  Tuffy tucked.  At 0808 and 0810 Tuffy tried to approach Sally, but he was intimidated by Ruffie, so he moved further to the sidelines.  Tuffy remained tucked at the sidelines for a very long time.  Ruffie was not being fed that entire time, but she kept an eye on Tuffy. The fish was very tough, and it was slow-going for Sally.   At 0825, Tuffy started to slowly inch closer to Sally, and by 0826 he was at her right side letting her know that he was ready to eat…but, Ruffy was obviously ready to pounce.  Sure enough, at 0826 Sally offered Tuffy a bite, and he was immediately beaked by Ruffie.  At 0832 Tuffy scooted even further away from the feeding line, but Ruffy followed him.  At 0835 Ruffie saw that Tuffy was trying to sneak around to the other side of Sally and she moved across the nest and beaked him.  By 0849 Tuffy was still tucked at the far rail, and Ruffie was getting bites of fish whenever she could as Saly continued to struggle with the tough fish.  It’s Interesting to note, that since Ruffie has grown so much, she can reach Sally’s beak from almost across the nest, so at 0850, Ruffie was still getting a few bites from Sally all the way across the nest.  This increased range of Ruffie seemed to greatly reduce Tuffy’s ability to sneak around to get into a better position.  Slowly, Ruffie seemed to be relaxing as she got full, and Tuffy was once again near Sally at 0852.  Tuffy ate 6 bites of fish and was beaked.  Ruffie soon moved away from Sally, and by 0855 Tuffy was finally being fed.  Ruffie laid down across the nest and Tuffy had a private feeding.  Tuffy ate at least 102 bites of that tough catfish!  This feeding of Tuffy was made possible because of the large size of the fish Harry brought.  For survival of the non-dominant osplet.. size matters.”

‘H’ said that right! You can count fish, but you need regular deliveries of large fish to prevent siblicide. The delivery of 8 small fish does not help! Catfish also seem to help. The head is tough going and slows down the feeding. The oldest gets full and goes away leaving fish for the little one. Diane’s catfish at Achieva certainly pulled that nest through tough times.

‘H’ also caught the second egg at Carthage – four days after the first and Mum has been doing hard incubation since the first one was laid. Can I say, oh, dear before they have even hatched? All chicks were lost on this nest last year.

‘H’ reports that “First egg at Forsythe today, 20.10.02.” Opal is the same Mum from last year but this is a new Oscar.

Like so many others in the area, this nest was hit hard by the Nor’easter in June and then the overfishing of the Menhaden.

The weather is horrible at Loch Arkaig’s nest 2 with Louis and Dorcha. Dorcha is there in the middle of the wind and snow and it appears she could be laying her first egg.

‘J’ sends us Karen Mott’s photo of the three eaglets at Centreport on Long Island. What a surprise when their heads all pop up!

Unless you are an expert on California Condors, I really suggest you grab a cuppa’ and watch this 24 minute film. It’s new. It is by Tim Huntington and the cinematography is gorgeous.

Watch-New-Condor-Film-by-Our-Partner-in-Condor-RecoveryDownload

It feels like video day! Dani Connor Wild gives us her last instalment of her trip to Antarctica with leopard Seals, more Penguins, and story after story.

JBS20 continues to make his fan club nervous as he continues to explore the tower that would be a tree. Fledging within the week probably.

Despite the miserable wet weather, Bonnie and Clyde keep their eaglets fed and warm.

The weather is wet and miserable for the Little Miami Conservancy eagle family, too. Bette is doing a great job as Umbrella while Baker is keeping food on the nest.

The ND-LEEF babies of Dad and Gigi appear to be doing fine.

USS7 – Claire and Irvin’s little one – is super! We can certainly be thankful for these little ones with their soft downy heads and little wings and feet.

Ellie and Harvey filled up Cheyenne and Wichita on Wednesday.

I know that the prey deliveries get fewer as the eaglets get older, but after hearing about Meadow being emaciated, it would be so nice if the parents could keep up the deliveries like they did when the eaglets are in their growth period. The Dukies would have liked some more today I am certain.

Hearts continue to break for Jackie and Shadow and their dream of a family.

Port Tobacco’s ‘Only Eaglet’ is certainly benefitting from all that food brought to the nest and not having to share but Chandler, the Dad, is missing.

Update: B17 has died. Please send your good wishes to Ma and Missey at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest in Georgia. Their only eaglet B17 appears to be unwell. Did it get sick from the damp weather? This photo is from Tuesday.

This is the today’s state of affairs at the eagle nests from ‘J’:

New eaglets:
Bald Canyon 2
Folfan 3
Avon Lake 2

Eaglet died:
Berry College

MIA:
Chandler, the male, at Port Tobacco. Not seen at the nest since 9 April. Intruders about.

‘J’

The eaglets at Decorah North must bring us some happiness. They are lovely.

Raptor-Resource-Project-Bald-Eagle-and-Bird-of-Prey-CamsDownload

We have a Finnish Osprey at home. Cara arrives at the Janakkala Nest on Tuesday the 9th!

Then, almost simultaneously, Stefu arrives at the Seili Nest! They are coming home.

Falcons hatching in Eindhoven and in Japan!

At Port Lincoln, Bradley loves to show off his fish!

‘A’ brings us news of the Mums at Taiaroa Head Albatross Colony: “The mums are obviously foraging closer to home than the males in the Royal Cam families, with both BOK (arrived 12:46) and LGL (13:04) coming in to feed their boys some lunch today (11 April). I thought you might be interested in this footage, not for general consumption because it is a bit long (18 minutes) but it is the beginning that was fascinating to me. The story here is that BOK returned when she was ready to find a mate (so probably aged about four) and this bird, at the time known as Red, was her preferred suitor. This was the footage of the day Red was banded and became WYL, father of TFT chick with his mate, BOK. The thing that interested me the most was that this is a mature bird, ready to court and find a mate. They don’t return to Taiaroa Head until then. So Red must have been at least three and probably four or even five years old. And he allowed the rangers to approach him, extend an arm (for self-protection) and pick him up while holding his bill closed. There is no attempt to flee, struggle or engage in self-defence. He just quietly submits to the rangers’ tender care, while they equip him with the White, Yellow and Lime banding that identifies him as WYL. Imagine doing that to an eagle at the same age! You’d lose a limb. And an eye or three. The stately gentle beauty of these amazing birds never ceases to take my breath away. Looking at those adorable little snowmen with their tiny little fluffy wings that will soon become like the wings of a glider plane, steering their direction as they ride the thermals. These are wings designed not to flap, which would be pretty much impossible given their enormous spread, but to surf the wind currents. Truly amazing birds. So very precious. A haven such as Taiaroa Head shows human beings at our best. Those rangers (and the NZ government that finances their work) dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of the toroa, which are particularly special to the Indigenous people of NZ (the Maoris). How wonderful is it to know that these chicks are hatched in an incubator to protect them from fly strike, and are then weighed weekly, supplementary fed if necessary, and generally given optimal care throughout their prefledge period? Or knowing that the adults, too, will receive supplementary feeding and/or hydration as required, such as if one parent does not return to relieve its mate for an over-long period of time? Or that the sprinkler system will be turned on to keep the chicks and adults on the nests cool on days where heat stress might otherwise impact them?  What a joy. 

Small colony of Dorset Puffins on the brink of extinction.

Last-English-south-coast-Puffins-on-the-brink-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care and feel free to send me any bird news that you see!

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, screen captures, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, J, H, MM, T’, Deb Stecyk, NTCT Eagle Cam, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Moorings Park Ospreys, Carthage – DTC, Forsythe Osprey Cam, The Woodland Trust, Karen Mott-Centreport Eagles, Ventana Wildlife Society, DaniConnorWild, JB Sands Wetlands, Cardinal Land, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Port Tobacco, Little Miami Conservancy, Kansas City Eagles, ND-LEEF, Pix Cams, Berry College Eagle Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Yvonne M, Japanese Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Lady Hawk, and BirdGuides.

Dual feeding at SW Florida, intruder lands on Gabby’s nest…Thursday in Bird World

18 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It continues to warm up a bit on the Canadian Prairies. Right now – it is 1617 Wednesday afternoon – it is -17 C. But hang on. In one week it is forecast to be +4 C. Yes, you don’t your eyes checked, PLUS 4. Wow. That is going to be a great day to spend out at the nature centre. Soggy but wonderful. The animals will be delighted.

‘The Boyfriend’ survived the cold nicely and was staring at the garden door, waiting for his delivery of wet food this afternoon. If I do not respond, he now knocks. He is so bold and is so curious about the house but runs the minute I open the door or come near. 

Missey was watching from her perch on the cat tree. 

Calico is a regular alarm clock. 0837 on the dot for several days now. Then she just wants cuddles, not food. The others are still asleep! It is our special time together before the day begins.

Baby Hope at a weird angle. She still has her very bushy tail. That ‘look’ is almost hypnotic.

For some ‘trouble’ is their middle name, but for Hugo Yugo it is their FIRST name! I have tried to post videos of the play fights between Hugo Yugo and all the other three girls, but this system does not seem to want to accept them so, imagine, if you will, the little kitten pulling off the blankets and jumping on Hope this evening in a wild frenzy.

Hope gets away and Hugo Yugo looks up and is ready to pounce on the sofa.

Baby Hope resting by the twinkle tree. They will all get a second, third, and fourth wind…chasing, running, pulling ornaments off the tree. The blankets will be everywhere along with the toys! My goodness, the energy and the fun these little ones have.

And then there was this…Hugo Yugo! Hugo Yugo kneading Missey hoping to make milk. Goodness. And Missey just took it all in stride. 

It is just wonderful to see the garden animals and know that they did not succumb to the cold. Both Blue Jays are here getting peanuts along with Mr Crow.

The Black Capped Chickadees were eating the Black Oil Seed as well as the suet cylinders today.

Dyson ran too fast but I did get to photograph one of the kits at the feeder.

Oh, what a morning Wednesday was – Clive and Connie brought in five fish in three hours to the relief of everyone that had worried about their darling eaglets. What a power couple! So very happy that lots of fish got on that nest. Hopefully they can pile them up like Louis did at the E1 nest for a few years as there is a forecast of another bad weather system heading their way. Both C10 and C11 went to bed with big crops!

Jack is at the Captiva Osprey nest, but Ruby has been missing since her last visit on the 11th of January. That was only six days ago but Jack continues to call for her. I hope she is just having a spa time. Keep your fingers crossed.

There is no pip at the time of this writing for the second egg for Ron and Rita at the WRDC. It is 39 days old today and is, of course, clearly in the hatch window. No need to get too worried but if it were to go to 41, well…and I would feel sorry for that little eaglet because R6 will be ‘much bigger’. R6 might get to join the ‘only eaglet’ club of E23! 

What a difference from this fuzzy little chick to C10 and C11, who have almost lost their Mohawks completely.

Snug and warm under Mamma Rose.

As far as I know, there is no pip at Berry College. 

Looking at the eggs, is that nesting material? or the beginning of a pip?

Beau has new injuries to his feet. He has been busy all day trying to keep intruders away from Gabby, their egg, and the nest. One intruder landed on the nest tree and Gabby got rid of him. The time was 1552.

Unidentified intruder on branch while Gabby is calling out from the nest – it jumped in the nest and Gabby was calling and calling. It was a frightening moment for sure.

Beau is back on guard at the nest but has injured feet.

Didn’t see any eagles at the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana – just their prints from earlier in the snow.

There is some fresh nesting material at Duke Farms, but no egg yet.

At Decorah North, DNF was in the trees while a beautiful red squirrel visited the nest tree and Canada Geese frolicked in the open water of the creek.

All is well at SW Florida. E23 continues to thrive and F23 has proven herself to be a great first time Mum.

E23 is never going to go hungry. M15 flew in with ‘something’ – did he get it at the Publix dumpster? (the butcher puts out food for M15). A dual feeding takes place around 1744 – E23 already had a big crop.

M15 reminds me of many of the male ospreys in the UK who love to feed their chicks and are great providers.

Here is the video of that dual feeding.

Jackie and Shadow were both at Big Bear today – gosh that nest has a gorgeous view.

At Port Lincoln, it seems that Giliath has found a place for fish – free fish? Smart little fledgling. Brad will be happy to eat all the fish brought to the nest. LOL.

So far, three fish deliveries. The 0637 was grabbed by Gil while the 0720 and the 0854 went to Brad. Dad came in with deliveries 1 and 3 and Mum brought in a partial fish in slot 2.

Everyone seems to enjoy spending time on the old barge.

It’s the first Royal Albatross hatch of the year (not the Royal Cam chick). Congratulations, first-time parents GBL and BYW!

There are so many wildlife cameras. This one is the BBC Winterwatch one. How many birds can you ID? 

Big Red and Arthur will begin work on their nest with regular visits starting in February. There is major construction going on within a close proximity – we will have to wait and see how this impacts the breeding season.

Do you adore fuzzy little raptor or bird babies? Check out the winners of the Audubon photo awards!

https://www.audubon.org/news/cuddle-these-ridiculously-cute-baby-bird-photos?ms=digital-eng-email-ea-newsletter-engagement_20240117_wingspan_&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20240117_wingspan&utm_content=

Millions of Bramblings gather in Switzerland. Can you imagine what a sight that was?!

Brambling-mega-flock-wows-crowds-in-Switzerland-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. I look forward to having you with us again!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J’, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Berry College Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, ND-LEEF Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, FOBBV, PLO, BBC, Cornell RTH Cam, Audubon, Sharon Dunne, and BirdGuides.

Hatch at LOTL…Saturday in Bird World

13 May 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is a busy day today for all the people that love birds. It is World Migratory Day and it is the Big Bird Count in North America.

Today is World Migratory Bird Day for the Americas. Isn’t this a gorgeous poster linking the birds with that most crucial element, Water?

The organisers of this year’s event state:

World Migratory Bird Day 2023 will focus on the topic of water and its importance for migratory birds. 

Water is fundamental to life on our planet. The vast majority of migratory birds rely on aquatic ecosystems during their life cycles. Inland and coastal wetlands, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, and ponds are all vital for feeding, drinking, or nesting, and also as places to rest and refuel during their long journeys.

Unfortunately, aquatic ecosystems are becoming increasingly threatened around the world and so are the migratory birds that depend on them. The increasing human demand for water, as well as pollution and climate change, are having a direct impact on the availability of clean water and the conservation status of many migratory birds.

World Migratory Bird Day is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

UN Environmental Programmes

The Big Bird Count around the world has already begun in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, with counts already coming in through Cornell’s eBird and iNaturalist sites. I urge all of you to participate – even if you have seen only one bird today! These counts are so important to understanding which species are growing and which are diminishing. eBird is free and there are lots of informative articles and activities there on the Cornell site.

Shout out to PG&E for helping this Osprey family instead of ruining their breeding season! Thank you.

Well, I am just smiling. For the second day in a row, Middle Bob at the Achieva Osprey nest has stolen a fish from Big and had a nice meal for a change. Look at Diane’s eyes. She does not miss a thing and she knows that her second hatch is getting its Mojo.

Middle got it on the second try! Way to go, Middle! This kid is really getting its confidence – something reinforced with a nice fish meal. But this nest needs fish. As ‘H’ says, these osplets are ‘so skinny’.

Tom and Angel continue to bring in prey items. A squirrel was on the menu Friday morning. Little baby is eating well and Tom was there with a nice vole for Saturday breakfast! Oh, he has this figured out and is doing such a good job taking care of Angel and their baby.

Those Blue Jays sure are bothersome.

Tom brought in another squirrel and at least one lizard. I will have to check and see what the total count was for Friday.

Thanks ‘A’ for that time stamp. Looking at the nest from the other camera really show those pesky Blue Jays flitting about.

I have always talked about how calm Big Red and Arthur’s nest is..well, this year, M1 is a cracker and she has decided that everyone will know she is the ‘boss’. It is too funny.

Big Red used to sit on them if they got too cantankerous. I have no worries. Big Red is an exceptional Mum, and Arthur has a nest of dead animals.

Gerome is in feeding his storklets in Hochstadt, Germany. Ever since ‘T’ introduced me to storks I have a fondness for these amazing creatures and their dancing when food is brought to the nest. The fact that they are all over Europe and people love and care for them as harbingers of good luck warms my heart.

Lucy has fed the two osplets at Lake Murray. Ricky is now missing for 3 days and I have entered his name on the Memorial Wall. If he returns, which I seriously doubt, I will retract that entry. Kathryn sent the commentators report as well as a link to the video below. Let us all send positive wishes that Lucy can get enough fish to feed them all now that Ricky is not here.

Kathryn writes : “No sign of Ricky today. 💔 and only one fish. This has gone from bad to worse. Here is the Facebook’s page top commenter summary (there is no other summary, she also posts on the website) of the day: 5-12-2023 No sign of Ricky today even though throughout the day Lucy seemed to be fish begging. At 8:06pm Lucy is seen diving catching a fish bringing it to nest. When she landed the fish landed right on top of C2. C1 started dominating C2 but the fish sort of blocked it until Lucy moved it. C1 made sure to eat first as C2 smartly waited. Slowly after C1 had been eating C2 worked his way to the fish and got some good bites. Both C’s as well as Lucy ended up with a good meal finishing off the fish at 9:15pm This was the only fish of the day for the C’s and considering that the domination by C1 was light as C2 again played it smartly waiting his turn.”

Polo7422 posted a video of the feed. That is a really nice fish that Lucy caught. Let us hope that she is able to get two of those a day. That would make all the difference in the world to this nest.

This was the posting and summary for Thursday at Lake Murray. Let us all hope that Lucy can keep this up!

E22 almost poses for photos on the camera at SW Florida in Fort Myers. What a beautiful fledgling.

B16 continues to be fed by her parents, Pa and Missy Berry, at the eagle nest at Berry College in Georgia. B16 is 113 days old today.

I want to call her Red Rosa..she is such a big girl and such a delight. This is little Lou feeding his first hatch with Annie.

SK Hideaways caught Red Rosa doing all kinds of things…including being a Mum to the little ones.

People, so often, do not understand the importance of banding the chicks. there is so much information that we can glean from those bands. For me, it is when the fledglings return after their two year absence. I am looking for one particular osprey, Blue 464. There are other two year olds appearing and one of those today was ‘Only Bob’ at Llyn Clywedog two years ago – he was incredible. Everyone believed this osplet to be a female he was so large! Well, today, Blue 496 returned to his natal nest at Llyn Clywedog and his band was photographed…his mother, Seren, was on the nest incubating her eggs for this year. I hope he finds a female and a nest. Congratulations Blue 496, you survived your migration to Africa in your first year and your return as a two year old!

Abby went off for another flight today. Victor is not yet interested. Nice to be on the nest having some more fish – as if either one could hold another bite.

Abby returns. She has got her landing just right.

An attentive Osprey Dad – yes, that is Blue 33 and he has been on and off the nest at Manton Bay at Rutland checking on Maya and the chick.

The baby and its Mum had a couple of feeds. We need to tell Maya to stand on the other side so we can see!

Maya feeds the chick for the first time – and we can see it! Thanks, Rutland.

It is still awhile to go at Dahlgren for the Osprey eggs to pip and Jack continues to bring in the stuffies. Poor Harriet. She’s got them over at the side making baby rails.

There was a pip, however, at Loch of the Lowes, when Maya’s baby was hatching. We should have a little one for Laddie LM12 and Blue NCO at LOTL on Saturday and we did – that hatch came at 12:30. Oh, Laddie. I hope that you are not injured and that is why you are having trouble with fish.

Geemeff caught the sounds of the chick at LOTL!

It will be a while longer for Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig. You might recall that we were all worried that Dorcha might not return. So glad she did and happy to wait for the bairns (Scottish and Northern English for children).

I love how the UK males are almost always punctual with their evening fish for the Mums who have been incubating. It gives them a meal and a chance to stretch their legs and wings before the long night incubation. Idris is very good to take over so Telyn can enjoy her dinner at Dyfi in Wales.

The eyases have hatched at the Spartan Stadium scrape box maintained by the students at the University of Michigan!

The official report on the amount of restorations that Lady and Dad are doing at their nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest has been posted. You might recall that the possums had dug a hole in the centre of the nest and there was much concern over those precious eggs falling into it.

There are now three baby osplets at the Severn Park, Maryland Osprey Platform…they are hatching everywhere!!!!!!

For all the goshawk lovers out there, Arlene Beech caught a delivery of a squirrel to Mum and the chick. Just look at that little one…it knows what prey is! I love Goshawks…just not around Osprey nests.

Karl II tending to the four eggs of his and Kaia’s at the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest in Estonia.

Bety and Bukacheck have five eggs at Mlady Buky, The Czech Republic, that are being incubated.

This is the view of the nest of White-tail Eagle, Milda, in Durbe County, Latvia. Urmas is unsure whether to go and clear the camera as there has been no rain. He might normally do this at banding but he is concerned that the adults might be frightened. It is also unclear the fate of the youngest eaglet. We wait to hear and hope for the best as the eldest was getting aggressive by 5 May. That was a week ago.

Oh, it is duckling and gosling season and this is a reminder to please not feed the wildlife anything that would harm them. Bread is a real ‘no no’ as it can cause Angel Wing. They love it – it is full of sugar and salt – like cookies for humans. Other things to avoid include the following:

Please have the number of your local wildlife rehabber in your phone contacts. If you see a bird or mammal in distress, please do not hesitate to call them!

When I wake up, there could be another bobblehead or two! It is exciting. Please send your positive wishes to Lucy at Lake Murray so that she can catch enough fish so that she will not lose another osplet. There are so many nests to cover…today’s blog just touched on a few. Any not mentioned are doing well.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to everyone for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: ‘A’, Geemeff, ‘H’, Kathryn, ‘S’, UN Environment, Cornell eBird, Ed Oswald Ospreys Only, Achieva Credit Union, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Window to Wildlife, Cornell RTH, Hochstadt Storks, Lake Murray ospreys, Laurie Spencer and Osprey Friends, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Berry College Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, John Williams and Llyn Clywedog, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Dahlgren Ospreys, Geemeff and LOTL, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Sonja Ann and Orange Australia PF, Eagle Cam, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Arlene Beech and Taiwanese Research Group for goshawks, Estonian Eagle Club, and Lady Buky.

Soap opera at Rutland, Both home at LOTL, R5 is here…It’s crazy on Friday in Bird World

17 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish friends. Growing up, I was always told that the paternal part of my father’s family was from Scotland. No way. They were from Donegal and Cork!

There is so much happening in Bird World that I am having difficulty keeping up this morning. Eagle eggs pipping, hatching, eaglets branching (yeah, 21), and ospreys arriving in the UK as they all got on the Eurostar together! Even so, the kittens would feel entirely left out if I didn’t include some pictures. They enjoyed and were spoiled by the young ladies looking after them while I was away. It also seemed that they were as delighted to see me! Lewis decided to help put things in the fridge – yes, he did get in there – and also helped block the cashmere sweaters. That is a tip if you come to Canada during the winter – a cashmere turtle neck will be your best friend! Or other real wool clothing. Makes all the difference.

Lewis is the smallest, but he can take over the entire dog bed! Missy is too nice to him.

I have not watched the SW Florida nest much today – just on and off. I know the prey deliveries vary by day. Both eaglets continue to do fine as they approach their 11th week, and 21 branched on the spike. They had both been working on breakfast Dad had brought in, and 21 jumped up and down. Is this a real official branch up to the tree? Well, maybe not. If so, that won’t be long!

This is a compilation video from the 5th of March – so 12 days ago. It is lovely, and I thought it would inspire the rest of our Friday—beautiful images from one of the on-ground photographers in the area. It gives us an entirely different sense of what is happening. M15 is magnificent. Thank you to The Real Saunders Photography!

For awhile it was in doubt but R5 made it into the world when Dad, Ron, was on the nest. I cannot wait to see Rose’s face when she returns and finds two babies in the nest needing her attention instead of that pesky R4. Oh, R5 you are going to have to be strong little one.

Ron got up from brooding so that R5 could break free.

Well, R4. You are a spunky little character. Poor R5.

It seems that R5 is pretty strong, too. It was up hoping to get some fish after its feathers had dried off! My goodness. Ron and Rose make healthy robust eaglets!

Ron has been doing a fantastic job feeding R4, and he will undoubtedly be of great help with R5. Rose continues to give big pieces and, well, as ‘A’ notes, she loves her fish. Fingers crossed for this new Mum as she navigates two growing babies demanding food!

I do hope, as ‘A’ mentioned this morning, that Rose will stay on the nest more and let Ron out so that he can fish and hunt and protect the territory.

There are now two eaglets at the Dulles-Greenaway nest! Congratulations Martin and Rosa!

The beaking is still going strong on the Moorings Osprey nest. Harry continues to bring the food in, and I hold my breath every time I see the oldest one go after the youngest.

Will be happy when this period of their lives evaporates! There had been little beaking at meal times, but, it appears this has begun, and Abby is being very dominant. So far Sally has fed them both – so, go for it Sally. Give those 8 or 9 feedings with one an hour long. Fledge two!

So far, there have been five feedings on the 16th of March: 12:26; 02:34 (yes 2 in the night), 0803; 10:43, and an hour-long marathon at 13:14. I caught another feeding at 15:51 and another at 19:19, and I am presuming that there were others that I missed. The osplets, Abby and Victor, are getting plenty of food.

Oh, these two are changing so much. Nothing appears soft and cuddly anymore. The dark eye line has given away to almost spooky white goggles, and bald heads with black and copper coming through. Abby and Victor hatched on the 3rd of March. Today they are two weeks old!

Sally is a very relaxed and observant Mum. A piece of nesting material, a strip of bark, had covered Abby’s head. Sally casually went over and lifted it off with her beak and put it to the side. Well done, Sally!

Blue 33 was on the nest at Manton Bay working hard after eating his fish. Oh, he wants Maya to arrive! What a cute couple they are. Tradition has it that they will sleep together in the nest duckling style! It is beginning to rain and it is 1832. Blue is there hoping his gal will arrive.

Well, Geemeff writes this morning that there is a soap opera brewing at the Manton Bay nest. Remember the female that arrived first? Blue 25? Well, she is making a play for Blue 33 and he is falling for it (for the moment!). Geemeff warns us that Blue 33 has landed on Blue 25’s back a couple of times and there could have even been a successful mating at 13:21. Oh, and gosh, there is sky dancing heard off camera!!!!!!!!!! Maya will eat Blue 25 for breakfast if she catches her at that nest.

Oh, Blue! Did you happen to check that band number? Blue 25, go home!

Laddie and Blue NC0 have both arrived at LOTL on the same day! It looks like Blue NC0 arrived first.

Getting acquainted again.

The female has arrived at the Cromer Peregrine scrape!

My eyes have been on Jackie and Shadow on Thursday. They were at the nest early, working and they returned after 1900 to do some more nesting. Will there be a replacement clutch? Gosh, it is beginning to seem a little more of a possibility. We wait….birdwatching requires a lot of patience and a lot of waiting, no matter what species and what circumstance.

Look at that crop! Someone had a good breakfast!

During the evening restorations, Jackie even tested out the nest bowl. Are these two teasing us? I hope for a miracle – a replacement clutch and a single healthy hatch, just like Spirit last year!

At the Berry College Eagle Nest, B16 is 55 days old today. He is a little more than two weeks younger than the Es. As the apple of Pa and Missy Berry’s eye, B16 is – well, can I say it? A nice-sized young lady! Beautiful eaglet and doing so very well. LOL. The gender is just my guess based on the size of B16.

As the sun sets over Captiva, Connick is growing and flapping his wings. Just like 21, he is getting some air under there but, he still loves to be fed by Mum, Connie, or Dad, Clive.

Take a look at those great tail feathers. Such a gorgeous eaglet.

Today, Mum and D3 defended their nest at Centreport, New York. Six eagles! Six. Could you talk about intruders?

At the new National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus, BOGS have seen evidence that Lotus is feeding an eaglet!

Gosh, so many eaglets at so many stages of development. Ringo, at the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest, is getting some air under his wings.

Do you know the Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki?

For many decades there have been actions in our most western province, British Columbia, to protect the old growth forests. Today, I found a site on the Internet that has discussions/presentations with Suzuki and one of those is ‘The War of the Woods’. I thought you might enjoy it and some of the other topics listed. Last year, David Hancock reported that the British Columbia government approved the cutting down of 141 Bald Eagle nests in the area where the Site-C hydro dam is to be built. British Columbia is home to North America’s largest population of Bald Eagles. Any logging harms wildlife! And also helps to create the atmospheric rivers that have so devastated the region in the past couple of years. Christian Sasse and David Hancock had an on line discussion about these issues. I will check and see if I can find that for the weekend.

https://gem.cbc.ca/the-nature-of-things/s62e10

I will have to get my running shoes on today even to attempt to keep up with a few of these nests! Thank you so much for being with me today. Let us all send wishes for a tailwind for Maya, so she arrives safely home and boots 25 off to her nest! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, The Real Saunders Photography and SW Florida Eagle Cam FB, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, FOBBV, Berry College, Window to Wildlife, Centreport Bald Eagles, AEF-NADC, Paul White and Webster Texas Bald Eagle Cam, and the CBC.

Daddy Door Dash…Sunday in Bird World

26 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Saturday was a huge surprise with the revolving door deliveries at the SWFlorida nest. Just when we worried because of the female’s presence, M15 brought in lots of prey. And once, ‘she’ fed E21 and only once did she get in the nest.

The day started well for the eaglets, E21 and 22. M15 has delivered two fish to the nest. The first was an Armoured Catfish, but the second appeared to be a normal catfish. E21 had a crop, and E22 is working hard on that second fish!

The second fish arrives at 1100. I thought that Dad might feed the eaglets, but he keeps the female away from the nest by doing food drops.

After 21 eats their portion, 22 takes the fish. The time is 1142.

22 kept working on that piece of fish until it was all gone. He is our little survivor!

Meanwhile, while 22 was working on that fish, Dad brought in more mysterious animal organs. E21 grabbed them and ate quickly. 22 didn’t even seem to notice! Time is 12:04.

We must celebrate these two eaglets. They are doing so well under the circumstances and Dad is just doing the absolute best he can for them.

At 13:10:49, M15 brings another nice fish to the nest for the eaglets. This time he is followed by R23-3 (Black Talon). Dad leaves her. Interestingly, while this female was hungry and ate most of that fish, she did feed 21 and didn’t seem to be mean about it. This is disheartening as the morning and yesterday had gone well without her.

By 1317, 22 decides he might get up there and get a few bites. I do not think 22 got any, but he had eaten much of the earlier fish. Still, you can see him moving his beak up. The lunch was finished at 13:19:40, and the female flew up to a branch above the nest.

Lady Hawk caught it in a video showing that the female was not all nice but, she did feed E21 some bites. Perhaps M15 was watching?

The prey items keep on coming. M15 brings in another fish to the eaglets at 15:38:09. 22 is right up there snatching and grabbing. He is very hungry and intends to get this fish!

Our Snatch and Grab King is not giving up on any of this fish even if Dad moves it around to also feed 21.

22 is getting so much fish. He will sleep well tonight and be good if nothing else comes to the nest today. Bravo, M15!

Dad also has a nice crop so he is also eating well today. Simply relief. I don’t know if there are medals for eagles figuring out complicated life circumstances, but M15 would surely be at the top of the list this year to receive one.

At 0800 on Sunday, M15 drops a live fish on the nest. E22 mantles and grabs it first but submits to 21 who eats it all!

It is not clear what happened next on the SW Florida nest Sunday morning.

At 09:15:57, the female with the injured talon, no longer black as the scab had come off, was on the nest with the eaglets. At 09:15:15, M15 had flown down into the nest. Did he want her to leave? Did he have fish? I could see he did not leave a meal, and the female remained in the nest. I suspect she thought there was some fish, and 21 had cleaned everything up. 21 finished eating that live fish at 0857.

Dad at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest has been contending with a rather aggressive female since Mum disappeared earlier this month. It now seems that Dad and her are a couple. She’s a big girl!!!!!!!

People are fascinated by Bald Eagles buried in snow. This is Nancy at the MN-DNR nest.

This is what it was like at the eagle nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear where the winter storm continues to rage.

Jackie and Shadow made The Los Angeles Times. Oh, they are so loved both in California and around the world. Again, if our love could help them, they would have a nest full of eaglets!

Big-Bear-bald-eagles-sit-on-eggs-in-snow-as-fans-watch-for-hatchling-Los-Angeles-TimesDownload

The weather is much different in Jacksonville, and V3 managed to get a fish on the nest, eat a few bites, and then Gabby came and claimed it. No talons were injured this time, and well done, V3. What a guy you are keeping security watch while Gabby eats. V3, you are fantastic.

No eggs at The Hamlet but HD and HM (Hatchery Dad and Mum) at Decorah welcomed their first egg on Saturday. Congratulations Iowa! Talk about a handsome eagle couple!

For those of you following the love triangle saga at Centreport, New York, ‘H’ tells me that Mum has been mating with D4 and that Mum also mounted D-5. Yes, you read that right. Will we have a lover’s triangle on Long Island?

‘H’ confirms also that Angus and Florence mated ten times on Saturday! Angust brought four fish gifts. One is the Talipia in the image below. Now..when will we have eggs on that nest?

B16 is 35 days old today. Wow. Those eaglets (B16, Connick, Ringo, the ones at KNF) are getting so big and grown up.

Ringo, the lone surviving eaglet, is strengthening her legs and wings! Doing well in Webster, Texas.

More and more postings are showing raptors in rehab because of rodenticide poisoning. When will these designer poisons be banned? Let the raptors do their job and have food without the fear of death!

Did Jack come too close to the eggs with his fish delivery for Diane? Heidi Mc caught it on video!

Sweet Pea is in the post-guard phase for those who follow the Royal Cam Albatross. I do not recall a little Albie wandering from the nest so early, but there he goes (yes, I believe it is a ‘him’ this time). What a brave and independent baby this year!

And last, but absolutely never least, Big Red and Arthur have been on the Fernow Light stand building a nest! Aren’t they beautiful? Arthur will deliver and you can count on Big Red doing the supervising! (She also delivers sticks).

Big Red and Arthur’s 2023 hatch L4 – who no one believed would survive – is still living on the parental territory without any issues from Mum and Dad.

Here is the link to Big Red and Arthur’s camera on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. This is one of less than a handful of streaming cams focusing on the lives of Red-tail Hawks. Big Red is 20 this year.

https://www.youtube.com/live/ndnr3bwdRzE?feature=share

Thank you so much for being with me this Sunday morning. Take care, everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Stephen Basly and the Notre Dame Eagles, The Sacramento Bee, FOBBV, The Los Angeles Times, NEFL-AEF, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Window to Wildlife, Berry College Eagles, Paul White and the Webster Texas Eagles, Boston.com, Heidi Mc and Achieva Credit Union, NZ DOC, Cornell Bird Lab, and @Cornell Hawks.

E22 steals fish and self-feeds, Big Red switches site of nest?…It is Monday in Bird World

20 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

There is lots of news in Bird World. My focus continues to be on the nest of Bald Eagles M15, E21 and E22 in Fort Myers, Florida, at the moment. There is drama going on at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest in South Bend, Indiana and the Osprey nest on Captiva. Keeping an eye on those as well.

‘M’ sent me an excellent article from The Guardian on the ten birds that most changed the world. Please have a read! We can all learn something…I did. And it was nice to see that the Sparrow made it to the list along with some of your favourites, such as the Eagle.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/19/dodo-eagle-sparrow-the-10-birds-that-changed-the-world-for-ever

Big Red seems unhappy with the building works across Tower Road from the Fernow Light Stand. She is moving sticks to another light tower that may not have a streaming cam. This would be a source of great sadness and anxiety among the thousands of people who look forward to this twenty-year-old RTH laying eggs and raising her eyases.

An image of the Fernow Light Tower nest. You can see some of the building equipment at the Rice Building.

CROW continues to monitor the situation. M15 is doing a fantastic job protecting and feeding the eaglets. I hope that he can keep it up; it is so much better if they are raised by him and fledge their nest. I don’t like how the female eagle looks at the two eaglets in the first image below. Her presence is now concerning and could be very dangerous to the eaglets. I once thought this was not the case, but her actions yesterday changed my mind.

If you missed my report on Sunday, the female Bald Eagle, VF3, with the necrotic talon, kicked M15 off the nest and attacked E22 three times when it tried to get food. Here is a video containing those terrifying 11 minutes and 52 seconds.

The female was on the nest tree earlier with prey. Some believed she might feed the eaglets. She did not; she flew off with it after plucked the fur off the item. The situation is growing dangerous as this female is now emboldened to treat M15 with contempt. It is essential for the Es that Dad not get injured so that he can continue to provide food for them. If you are wondering why he does not fight her, this is the reason. She is also much larger than he is, and despite her injured talon, she is strong. I do not think she will go away quickly, if at all.

M15 flew in with another Armoured Catfish at 15:42:21. While he is vocalising to the female who is identified as FV3, Dad just carries on. Perhaps we are the ones worrying and he isn’t! Both eaglets ate, with 22 getting some nice bites.

M15 appears nervous when he is in the nest feeding the eaglets.

At 1700, M15 flew in with a nice morsel, a leftover from his good evening meal. E22 claimed it and ate it! Well done, E22.

M15 did eat well. He had an enormous crop.

The Es are waiting for breakfast on Monday. 21 is on the right, with 22 on the left. Please take a look at the difference.

The Es had a nice big fish for breakfast. M15 brought it to the nest at 10:50:18. 21 eats first, then 22, and then 22 gets a touch insisting that 22 move away. 22 goes into submission. There is nothing to fear. 22 turns around and does the snatch-and-grab that will help him survive in the wild.

Is it another Armoured Catfish?

22 is doing clean-up duty.

Should birdwatchers be afraid? are we vermin?

Some good news regarding Sequoia and Sasha at San Jose City Hall.

Speaking of egg laying, Gabby fooled me with all that nesting behaviour.

They are a gorgeous couple together. Gabby is just smitten by V3.

V3 keeping guard.

No egg!

Annie has been hanging around the scrape.

Here are the names for final voting for the new male. We should know soon!

Vote-now-Here-are-the-finalists-in-Berkeleys-falcon-naming-contest-Berkeley-NewsDownload

Jackie and Shadow are still incubating eggs, and the Ravens remain around the nest tree, making a nuisance out of themselves. The eggs are probably not viable – I have thought that since the first day – that Saturday – they stayed away when the earthquakes were in the Valley. I ‘want’ to be fooled by their behaviour. Last year Spirit hatched on day 40.

Shadow.

The male has been incubating the eggs at Metro Aviation Bald Eagle nest in Louisiana. The female flew in today and taloned one of them. They are not viable and this might allow the pair to move forward.

Do you watch the Golden Eagles in Romania? Lucina and Caliman were in the nest in the forest today! I love these Golden Eagles, but this nest is not for the faint-hearted. The oldest eaglet in a Golden Eagle nest will almost, without exception, kill its younger sibling. This is called obligate siblicide.

The causes of obligate siblicide in specific eagle species are discussed in this academic paper. Some of the conclusions are below. This will help explain some behaviour that you have seen on nests previously. The observations also apply to Golden Eagles.

Sibblingaggression-Ibis-PDF-2Download

These observations suggest that the availability of food does not affect the chances of survival of the second chick in those species in which it never, or very rarely survives. The critical factor appears to be the interval between hatching, which is clearly variable. If, at the hatch of the second chick, the first is already skilful at taking pieces of flesh offeredby the parent, then the younger sibling exerts little influence on the behaviour of the adult. At feeding times, it is offered fewer pieces of food and these, moreover, are proffered only briefly and in an inadequate fashion. The second chick soon dies of starvation. Attacks on it by its sibling are, by comparison unimportant.

If, on the other hand, the interval between hatching is short, then the second chick can develop normally so long as it is protected from its sibling’s attacks by the brooding female parent. As soon as brooding is interrupted, the younger chick is subjected to the attack of the older. It is intimidated, no longer participates in feeding and flees to the edge of the eyrie. This process of the acceptance of intimidation, observed in the Lesser Spotted Eagle, quickly leads to the elimination of one chick, even when two of equal size are experimentally placed together, and explains why two chicks cannot normally be reared.

Bernd-Ulrich Meyburg, Sibling aggression and mortality among nesting eagles

These particular species of eagles are one reason that so many people turn to the gentle Albatross for respite.

Of course, if you are ‘into Eagles’ like most of us are (as well as the Albatross, the parrots, the budgies, the terns….), single chick eagle nests from the start normally bring a lot of joy. Just like little B16 at the Berry College Eagle nest in Georgia.

Zoe. What can we say? According to the Friends of Osprey FB group, Fran Solly and Buzz Hockaday have been up to where Zoe last sent a transmission. That place was Point Drummond near Mount Hope. On all occasions, they did not see her. If she is out of cell coverage range, it ‘feels’ unusual as she was so quick to fly about previously. Let us hope it is a faulty transmitter and that nothing has happened to Zoe.

Point Drummond. This was the site of the last transmission from Zoe. Is it at all possible she flew out over the sea?

Lori Covert has already named the new female at Captiva with Angus. The name is Florence. According to ‘H’, Angus has provided fish, has tried mating unsuccessfully with the new gal, and then has kicked her off the nest. The relationship is a bit topsy-turvy. We wait to see how this works out.

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. We hope to see you with us again in Bird World.

If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, it is easy. Just fill in the form below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, and streaming cams which make up my blog today: ‘M’, ‘H’, The Guardian, Cornell RTH Cam, @CornellHawks, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, @Geemeff, Karen Enright and Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons FB, NEFL-AEF, Cal Falcons, Berkeley News, FOBBV, Tonya Irwin and Raptors of the Word, Golden Eagle Nest Bucovina, Research Gate, Cornell Lab and NZ DOC, Berry College Eagles, Friends of Osprey FB, Google Maps, and Kakapo Recovery.

Nest Takeovers, Little Bit ND 17’s Mum missing…Sunday in Bird World

19 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Gosh, it was a gorgeous day on the Canadian Prairies…it was so nice that I spent the entire day in the conservatory with the kittens watching and counting birds and watching the cams. Gabby had me fooled into thinking she was going to lay an egg today!

Cornell has posted the results so far for the Great Bird Count: “Halftime for the 4-day Great Backyard Bird Count—and the results so far are impressive. More than 200,000 bird enthusiasts have reported 6,426 species on 125,101 checklists and 103,207 sightings saved in Merlin. Bird reports are coming in from 182 countries so far.” That is very impressive.

It is difficult not to take pictures of Missy all day. She loves to pose! Lewis can’t slow down. He would rather terrorise the toys or his tail.

As spring is only a little over a month away, the bright-white dots on the Starlings’s sides, flank, and belly are getting lighter and some are disappearing. These suet cylinders are just the best thing for us in the winter. No mess. No waste. Everyone likes them but the woodpeckers and Black-capped Chickadees.

Things continue to be unsettled in various parts of Bird World this morning and yet, the eagles and ospreys just go on with their lives. They can teach us a lot of good lessons if we listen! Sometimes it is just difficult to watch a day longer. Take a break. It will be good for you. Much of the time the birds bring us great joy. Their lives touch ours and we often feel like we know the bird families better than our neighbours or friends. And then something happens and it feels like it has happened to ‘our family’ — and it has. Our connection to these beautiful raptors is not insignificant. Think about it. Sometimes things do not go the way we want them to. But when it goes well, there is nothing more adrenalin pumping and happy…hysterical joy. So take a moment if you are stressed…and then come back and share the joy.

First up, we have some more sad news – another female Bald Eagle is MIA. Our dear Little Bit ND-17’s mother has been missing since the morning of 15 February. A female intruder has been landing on the nest. We wait to see if Mum returns.

Is it OK to say that things are really getting nasty out there with so many eagles – males and females – wanting nests and mates?

Dad tussling with female intruder who flew onto nest. At other times it appears he might tolerate her a little.

ND-17 was one of the great success stories of last year – at a time when most of us were frantic that he would die of starvation. Today, Paul Kolnik posted a memory of the day that Little Bit fell off this nest…we waited, we pleaded, we wrote letters…and then, really just in time to save him, the Humane Indiana Wildlife came to his rescue. He ate, he learned to fly and his wings got strong and he learned to hunt prey and then — he came home to the park to live in the wild. It was wonderful to have the BOGs sending in photos of his great progress and to watch him near the river.

This is another lesson for all of us. If you can pick up a raptor, something is wrong. Get help immediately. This precious little one that ate squirrel pellets to survive deserved nothing less – and he lived! Always grateful to the wildlife clinic that gave him a chance at life. Always.

Mum and Dad worked so hard to rebuild their nest in St Joseph’s Park in South Bend, Indiana after it completely collapsed last year causing – ultimately – ND 17 (Little Bit) to eventually go into care. It is hard to see these adults come come back and rebuild and work for their future – just like Harriet and M15 – and have things thrown apart by possible intruders.

Intruders are everywhere. Even Annie at Cal Falcons had to engage with a Red-tailed Hawk!

Everyone waited and watched as Mabel and Angus readied their Osprey nest and we just knew that we were going to have eggs for Valentine’s. Again everything turns on a dime. Mabel is gone. Did she tire of battling the female intruder? or was she so injured she had to leave? or was it worse? It is absolutely not clear what happened to Mabel. And it is definitely not certain that there will be any eggs on this brand new nest platform this year unless Angus leaves and a bonded pair come to the nest right ready for their eggs to be laid.

There was an intruder attack on the NCTC nest of Bella and Smitty. Bella laid her first egg on the 15th and her second on Saturday at 18:55–the attack was only 47 minutes earlier. Please keep this couple and all the raptor families under attack in your most positive thoughts.

Connick is really growing up and this is a great video of him winging it. You can see those new juvenile feathers coming in with their quills, Connick’s big strong legs and her amazing tail.

Gosh, the meals might be very different with the TBD male at the Cal Falcons scrape. He brought a Greater Yellowlegs, a shore bird, to his gal on the 17th. He’s learning!!!!!!!

Thank you to ‘B’ who sent a really nice article about Mr P and Lotus at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. The couple have moved their nest and are, this year, among several very popular Bald Eagles who have decided for new housing. At the West End we have Thunder and Akecheta and at Fraser Point, Andor and Cruz, too.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/17/bald-eagles-national-arboretum-dc/

There is great news coming out of New York City. Flaco will be allowed to live free and not pursued or returned to the Zoo. He is living the good life and has proven that he can take care of himself.

Now – for all the raptors that live around Central Park – if the City and residents plus all those businesses – would not allow rodenticide, Flaco and his pals could clean up the place without their lives being in danger.

I wanted you to see where Flaco was…the arrow for the video only works if you go to the person’s twitter feed unfortunately.

It opens with our friend Indigo screaming into the scrape…Elain’s highlights from the Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam in Orange, Australia. Indigo is a darling and he looks so much like Izzi…so happy all members of the family have returned to the scrape and are safe and sound.

Not a day can go by without checking in with M15 and the eaglets, E21 and 22. On Saturday morning at 0735, M15 comes in with a fish..many thought that it was a small fish. In fact, M15 took advantage and gave the eaglets some teaching moments. He left the head for one and a portion of flesh and the tail for the other. They worked on those for a bit. 21, of course, ate first and 22 had to resort to his amazing snatch and grabs. 22 also got the tail – smart – out of the pile and dismissed with it nicely. 22 is doing well…he really is. Still a bit timid but on Saturday he ate well as he had done on Friday with that rabbit and innards.

While 21 battles with that Armoured catfish head, 22 got the juicy and meaty tail!

At 1400, M15 comes in with another fish. This time 21 appears to get it all with 22 searching the nest for scraps which he finds! 21 was still eating at 15:11. It was a nice fish. Too bad 22 didn’t turn around…but, hey. They have eaten well in the past few days. There are no worries.

This amazing Dad did not disappoint. He flew into the nest an Armoured Catfish around 15:52ish. 22 got the lot of it and, of course, the event was not without some anxiety as the female with the black talon flew onto the rim of the nest. She did not bother the eaglets. Instead she watched M15 feed 22. Then she flew off.

M15 gave her a piece of his mind and she will fly away…he did his job. He fed the eaglets!

At 1600 the female is watching Dad.

Seconds later she flies away leaving 22 and the eaglets. 22 would like more but, he will in fact, wind up with a crop. 21 was full from the earlier feeding. you can see s/he still has a crop in the image below. Timing is perfect for 22.

At 16:38 M15 is back with a nice chunk of ‘fish’? and 22 gets right over there at Dad’s beak. 21 does not care. He is asleep on the rails. 22 gets some super nice bites of fish…well done 22. You don’t have to snatch and grab. It was a much more civilised meal for you. It lasted 10 minutes.

One of the females landed on the nest tree with prey. She flew off with the prey. Was she thinking of feeding the Es? or just needed a plucking post? The Es continue to wait for breakfast on Sunday morning…

There is something ‘up’ at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and V3. Gabby was on the nest again today…They are a beautiful couple and the area is so much more secure and stable since V3 took control.

V3 and Gabby have been scanning the horizon for intruders and at 1800, Gabby is back in the nest.

Nancy and Beau have their second egg – arriving right on time – at the MN-DNR nest. Congratulations!

Liberty and Guardian seem to be back to their old selves after their first egg collapsed.

https://www.youtube.com/live/0EmSL0K_XGA?feature=share

Congratulations to Valentine who – for the first time in their life – mantled and claimed their own fix from Dad Alex at the KNF-E3 nest. Thanks Rhonda for the video! Oh, this is just brilliant. A beautiful execution by Valentine.

Missy and Pa have a little while to go until B16 is mantling a fish and taking it but…in all honesty, it won’t be long. B16 is 29 days old today. This is one big eaglet just like KNF-E1 03 (Trey).

At the National Arboretum, Mr P is decidedly hanging out at the old nest after it seems Lotus insisted on having a new one deep into the forest.

There are Peregrine Falcons almost everywhere and Tom and Azina at the Charing Cross Hospital scrape box are getting to know what it is that Azina prefers for her gift meal.

Every morning when we wake up, we need to thank the wildlife rehabilitation centres, their staff, and the army of volunteers they have who save our birds when they get themselves in trouble.

The dumping of shot game birds in the UK has now found its way to Wales. Go to Raptor Persecution UK for the whole nauseating story…

Question I keep getting asked: Do I think Jackie and Shadow’s eggs are viable? I would hate to speculate. Eggs have been left for long periods of time and miraculously hatched. It depends on the circumstances and we don’t know what all of those are. I continue to remind myself that the first egg might not hatch but the second could. If that is the case then I will not give up until the 25th which is 6 days away. That would be the last day for egg 2 to be viable. If they do not hatch, I hope the Ravens take them so Jackie can lay new eggs in the nest without the issue of having the other two there as well.

It is possible that the UK Ospreys are beginning to pack their bags in Africa and start their journey to their spring and summer breeding grounds…I am so excited.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for being with me today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, videos, announcements, and streaming cams that make up my blog today: ‘B’, ‘H’, ND-LEEF, Paul Kolnik and Bald Eagles 101, Cal Falcons, D Steyck and the NCTC Eagles, Window to Wildlife, The Washington Post, MSN, Stella Hamilton, Elain and the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SWFL Eagles and D Pritchett, Paul Kolnik and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, MN-DNR, FORE, Rhonda A and KNF E-3, Berry College, Mr P and Lotus Twitter, FaB Peregrines, Terry Carman and Bald Eagles Live Nest News and Cams, Raptor Persecution UK.

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Another miracle day, eggs and more eggs…Thursday in Bird world

9 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

It has been precisely a week since the iconic Southwest Florida Bald Eagle, Harriet, went missing. Search parties are still looking for the Queen, hoping to find her and trying everything possible including vocalisations. Another team is set to head out on Saturday searching through some thick brush areas. So far there has been no sight of her and there have been no birds taken to wildlife rehab centres that are Harriet. The resolve to not give up is strong in many around the Fort Myers nest site who have watched Harriet raise her eaglets with Ozzie and then M15 who was, apparently, the ‘Frequent Visitor’ mentioned in many reports. We wish everyone well as they give their all and their love to trying to find dear Harriet.

Meanwhile, M15 continues to take fantastic care of the eaglets. Someone said if there is a silver lining to all of this it has been the amazing care that M15 has given to the nest. There were no less than 8 feedings on Wednesday. E22 had such a huge crop that it simply could hardly walk!

This was how E22 looked at 13:08. Do eaglets get indigestion?

M15 returned for the 7th feeding at 15:44:55 with a really nice fish.

E21 got up first to eat having dropped its crop from the very early feedings. E22 was simply not interested in food. Can you imagine? E22 not interested in food? Our Snatch and Grab King! There would have been no place to put even a flake of prey having eaten at least one if not two fish earlier! M15 fed then half the fish to 21 and left the other half on the nest. Wise move, Dad.

At 16:44 E22 watches Dad aerate the nest. Notice how big that crop still is. Not much difference from 13:08. E22 is full up to the dandelions on top of its head!

M15 returned at 17:24. E22 still had no interest in eating and 21 went to bed (as did 22) with a nice crop.

Both of the eaglets were fed well and are being taken care of diligently – and protected – by their Dad. M15 even did some aerating of the nest and tried to cover 21 with nest material which caused me to laugh. Prior to Harriet’s disappearance, M15 loved to cover up the babies with the nest materials. All is well on this nest. In the on line discussion this evening hosted by Christian Sasse, it was noted that the people for the most part have left the area and those leaving food are no longer a problem. This is great news. M15 can get on with it and we already know that he is up to the job!

Good night, Dad.

It is Thursday morning and M22 has already brought a fish in for breakfast. E21 has a great crop and 22 got fed some fish, too.

Postscript: I missed this entirely. M15 brought in two white rats on the 7th of February, Tuesday. E21 ate all of them. Lady Hawk caught it in a video.

Where in the world do you get white rats/mice with pink eyes? (You know what I am thinking already, don’t say it..that word that begins with an R).

Other Nest and some Other News Thrown In – in no particular order!

A new couple have moved into Sue and Otto’s territory at the Graveyard at Syracuse University. Here is that announcement.

Congratulations to Diane and Jack whose first egg of the 2023 season came after an amazing labour display at 06:51 on the 8th of February in St Petersburg, Florida.

It’s two eggs for Ron and Rose at the WRDC Eagle nest in Miami! Oh, things are starting to get busy with all these eggs. It will be difficult to keep up with them. Congratulations to this new couple! Ron will be an amazing mate for young Rose and we all hope that Rita is recovering well in rehab.

Pat Burke called it at 18:09:57.

HeidiMc got it on video:

The cold winds are whistling around the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and her new mate. Both were at the nest. Nancy spent a lot of time on the nest today – in the nest bowl. I wonder if there is an egg in there? I cannot see one. Tonight, standing guard.

Do you live in New York City? near Central Park? have you seen an unusual owl? Geemeff sent me news that there is an owl on the loose. It is not just any owl that has lived in the wild all its life. No, vandalism caused Flaco, at the Central Park Zoo, to leave his cage Thursday night – the same day that Harriet went missing. Flaco has never had to feed itself and the weather in the area is worrying many. Here is the story:

https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/science/zoo-freed-nyc-central-park-zoo-vandalism

Imagine a penguin bigger than you ever thought possible…well, it happened in New Zealand.

The-Biggest-Penguin-That-Ever-Existed-Was-a-‘Monster-Bird-The-New-York-TimesDownload

We are focused on M15 – a male Apex Raptor taking care of his eaglets after his mate disappears. Around the world, similar stories are playing out – a mate is killed or disappears. It is or would be extremely rare for one of our feathered friends just to up and decide they ‘had had enough’ and left a nest of babies. In this case, a male Swan in Boston MA has charge of his five goslings after their mother died on the nest right after they hatched. He is reported to be doing a superb job, too, even allowing them to ride on his back!

There has been a break and the nest has plenty of food back on it. Ringo really enjoyed a good feed and had a huge crop at the end of it, just like E22 did at SWFlorida today.

The ‘baby’ isn’t such a baby any more at Barry College. Missy still stays on the nest but doesn’t have to brood B16 tonight.

All of the eaglets on the nests are growing and growing and moving through each of the development stages just like they should be doing. The first of the Bald Eagles on streaming cams to hatch this year was Pearl and Tico at Superbeaks. Just look at these beauties. Pearl is 62 days old and Tico is now 61 days old. The average age of fledge in Florida is 77 days. After fledging, it I normal for the eaglets to return to the nest to be fed by the parents who will be teaching them to hunt prey as they strengthen their wings and enhance their flying skills. This period lasts for normally a month or five weeks (sometimes more). I am always very distressed when I see a fledgling shoot out of the nest and never return.

If you do not have your calendars marked, then please do. We are now six days away from the 15th of February which is pip watch for Jackie and Shadow. So far everything is going like clockwork. This adorable couple have kept the Crows at bay and protected those two precious eggs they have been incubating. I wonder if we are in for two ‘spirited’ eaglets this year?

Connick, the only eaglet of Clive and Connie at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest has a huge crop today, too…what is it with today? Every eaglet has been stuffed til they can hardly walk! I know what you are going to say…these ‘babies’ are now sporting their thermal down, the feedings are not so close together, and yes, they can hold a lot more food at a single feeding! And you would be absolutely correct.

At the KNF-E1 nest of Anna and Louis, they filled E-03 up to the brim too – right before the heavy rains came to the area.

Remember. E-03 will be named. You can vote beginning at noon on Friday the 10th (tomorrow) until Saturday at noon. Three names are selected by forestry staff and voted for on the chat. Head to KNF-E1 nest on YouTube. Wonder what the names will be this week?

Valentine and Nugget were soggy over at the E3 nest on Lake Kincaid. Andria makes an effort to keep her ‘big babies’ dry! After the rain settles, Alex is on the nest and it looks like Valentine was doing some self feeding.

Is this Alex or Andria? I am not sure.

Ever wondered what an eagle nest might smell like with the rain and all the fish bits and bobs? Oh, goodness. Just the thought.

Andria trying to keep those babies dry. Sweet Mum.

Alex and Valentine literally looking for a midnight snack.

It was pitching down the rain in Orange, Australia, too. Diamond before and after drying off. I have never seen Diamond so wet!!!!!!!

At The Campanile, Annie was in the scrape box – after what looks like a meal and then scraping and eating some stones. Oh, so nice to see you, Annie. When might we expect some eggs???

We knew we couldn’t call him ‘The New Guy’ forever. Cal Falcons seem to think Annie has decided that this one – albeit a slow learner about the prey gifts – is the one she will share her scrape box with. So there is going to be an opportunity coming up quickly to suggest names and vote. Cal Falcons tweeted the details on Twitter.

I received a note from ‘H’ and it appears that Zoe has missed two check ins. Send positive wishes for a transmission this evening!

Thank you so much for being with me today. It is always so nice to have you hear and to get your notes and comments. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, photos, videos, announcements and streaming cams that help make up my blog: H, Geemeff, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Red-tailed Hawk Tales, Achieva Credit Union, WRDC, Heidi Mc and the WRDC, MN-DNR, Inside Hook, The New York Times, LEXNAU and Matthew Wraifman, Paul White and the Webster, TX Eagle Watchers, Berry College Eagle Cam, Superbeaks, FOBBV, Window to Wildlife, KNF-E1 and KNF-E3, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Cal Falcons.

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M15…the man of the Hour…Tuesday in Bird World

7 February 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Before I begin, I just wanted to bring you some news to put many of your minds to rest: “The photo of Harriet purporting to show fishing line and sinker has been shown to be a mucus stream from a cast pellet. The lady who took the photo said it was ejected, and she watched Harriet for several hours before she disappeared, and there was nothing hanging from her mouth.” I found this on a stream in FB and it makes perfect sense now. So, now fishing line or lead sinker. Good. It is also known that “When she left the camera view (heading ENE) she had been vocalizing at intruders in the area.”

Now to the big news of the day and M15 continues to be my Man of the Hour.

I have to admit that I did not watch many of the other nests on Monday like I would normally. On Sunday, M15 began to figure out how to keep 21 at bay so he could feed 22. Yesterday, he came in with two super fish and yes, 21 might have been a stinker but, it did not prevent 22 from eating. 22 did not get as big a crop at the first feeding – understandably since 21 would have been flat out empty over night. This afternoon at 1646 E22 starting eating…and when all was done, even with M15 distracted by an intruder, 22 had a nice crop. Good job, Dad. As ‘B’ says, you should be ‘Eagle of the Year’.

The fish appears to be a Ladyfish. They are long slender fish found in the Gulf of Mexico. They are abundant around reefs and mangroves. (Please let me know if you think this is the wrong ID – not easy to tell seeing only half of a fish but trying!) Some people call them Skipjacks.

Thanks ‘J’ for this screen capture.

Two happy well fed and much loved eaglets, E21 and E22.

M15 had no more than fed the eaglets and had some bites himself than he was up on the branch keeping vigil over the territory, protecting his kids.

Screaming out to those that dared to enter his territory.

We may never know what happened to Harriet. ‘H’ and I started making a list of all the things that can happen to raptors, most of them human caused. It was quite long and it would be wrong to speculate.

I remember many years ago someone asking me if I knew Harriet. Who didn’t know Harriet? She was an extraordinary Bald Eagle, perhaps 30 years old now, the Matriarch of the American Bald Eagle Family in Florida if not everywhere. People around the world watched her raise her children with much love and affection. We felt like we knew her and joked when she would kick M15 telling him ‘the eggs are ready’. We live in the hope that some miracle may bring her home all the while watching the wonderful care that M15 is giving their eaglets.

Posters are up and everyone is looking.

The problem with humans is that we want to help. We feel helpless in a situation like this. Everyone loved Harriet and they want to help M15 have food and to be able to feed the eaglets. Some people are leaving food believing it is the right thing to do despite being told it is illegal and dangerous to the eagles. The other day we saw a vulture eating something on the ground near the nest tree. M15 had to take precious time and energy and chase it off the territory. What if there had been a fight and M15 got injured? These acts are being investigated. Chat comments about ‘fish fairies’ do not help the situation at all. That also implies illegal acts but, it puts ideas in people’s minds. None of this is good.

https://news.wgcu.org/section/environment/2023-02-06/unauthorized-feeding-at-north-fort-myers-eagle-nest-investigated?_ga=2.119338825.1332564065.1673883405-1168945520.1673028514

M15 is doing great without us. Yes, it took him a couple of days but, imagine that he is grieving for his mate while also caring for their children. The crowds of people around the nest tree can keep him from hunting, take away his attention and energy for the things he needs to do. He is fishing successfully and by 1030 nest time, he had already been out and about, to the nest with some roadkill which 21 ate. No worries 22 is fine and when M15 gets his fish on the nest he will be fed.

‘H’ sent me a note about Zoe and we can all relax. She is back on the Australian coast apparently near some good salmon fishing. As she gets closer and closer to the tip of the Eyre Peninsula, I wonder if she is going to go and tell Mum and Dad about her adventures all the while wanting to sleep in her own bed and be fed by them for a few days resting up for Zoe’s next adventure!

Zoe’s epic journey of more than a 1000 km is making the news in Australia!

There is also a recent posting for our Ervie. Look at where he is going! Isn’t it fantastic?

It was very nice to see that Gabby is back with V3 in the nest before roosting on the tree for the night. Stability. Gabby was giving V3 little eagle kisses, too.

The other nests are doing fantastic with the exception of Jak and Audacity at Sauces Canyon in the Channel Islands. The thinness of the eggs is caused by residual DDT (as DDE) in the area. They have lost their second egg to breakage. So sad for them.

Rachel Carson called attention to the decline in raptor populations due to DDT in her book, Silent Spring. This pesticide, introduced after WWII, was recalled but not before long lasting damage was done. There are areas of high concentrations of DDT or DDE that continue to harm the Bald Eagle population. One symptom of this is egg thinning.

This is a recent article on DDT and declining bird populations by the EPA.

The-Case-of-DDT-Revisiting-the-Impairment-US-EPADownload

So a quick run through..

When I last checked there are still no eggs at either the Achieva Osprey nest or Captiva. That could change in an instant!

Indeed, Diane is staying at the nest tonight. Might we wake up to an egg Wednesday morning?

Angus is getting excited and has brought in a huge amount of nesting material this morning. Does this mean an egg is near?

Connick has a mohawk, a cute little tail, is covered with wooly thermal down and gets feed well. It is nice to be the only baby on the nest.

Superbeaks. Pearl and Tico are fully feathered in their juvenile livery. They are such gorgeous eaglets.

Ringo at the Webster Texas Bald Eagle nest is growing and getting up right to the fish! Big bites today! Like Connick, Ringo has that wooly thermal down and a dandelion mohawk.

Cutie Pie B16 at Berry College has been exercising its little wings. Oh, this little one is such a sweetheart. No wonder Pa and Missy just cannot help but be on the nest watching this chick.

Sometimes Anna continues to incubate Dudley on the KNF-E1 nest, sometimes the ‘to be named this coming Friday E1-03’ eaglet does the honours. This eaglet is huge…do we think we are looking at a female?

There are still a few fish on the KNF-E3 nest of Alex and Andria. It does look like Valentine and Nugget have made quick work out of them…oh, and yes, the parents, too! Getting harder to tell the two eaglets apart. You have to look closely at the development of the juvenile feathers on the back and wings. It is Nugget that is hoping to get fed by the parent. Notice its back compared to Valentine.

Could not help but stop in to see Jackie and Shadow. It is early Tuesday in Big Bear Valley and we are 8 days away from pip watch. You can hear the crows in the background once in awhile. Oh, I wish they would go away! Jackie and Shadow have been vigilant and Jackie is vocalising at them this morning around 06:22.

Yesterday, Shadow had an intruder after his fish! Oh, sometimes there is hardly any peace for some of the nests.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!

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Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, posters, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that make up my blog: SWFlorida and D Pritchett, WGCU, Fran Solly and Friends of Osprey, ABC Eyre Peninsula, NEFL-AEF, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles in the US, EPA, Achieva Credit Union, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, Paul White and the Webster TX Eagle Watchers, Berry College Eagles, KNF E-1 and KNF-E3, FOBBV, and Cali Condor and FOBBV.