I was going to save the news for tomorrow but, I couldn’t. Earlier in the day the eagles had been working on the nest. I commented that when they brought in soft nesting material for the egg bole we could then be watching for an egg. Well guess what?
Jackie brought in the nesting material. Laid down in the nest bole for over an hour and laid her first egg! Wow. It is the first time I have caught her live. What a lovely moment. Congratulations Jackie and Shadow.
Time 1600.
Thanks to FOBBV for the streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
I want to thank everyone who sent an e-mail or who made a comment about the loss of Orange’s dear darling Rubus. It was extremely difficult for everyone not least of all those wonderful people at Orange. We all loved the feisty little eyas. What joy he brought!
It would be helpful if there were an international protocol in place that everyone agreed on and knew. If a raptor is grounded and does not flee when a human approaches, it should be placed in care for an examination. No guessing, no regrets. Just a clear protocol. If the raptor requires care, it can receive it. If it doesn’t, it is released where it was found or at its nest, if known. Perhaps protocols could be put in place in memory of Rubus.
Meanwhile, Indigo is doing very well and thriving. Wonderful news. This is him yesterday eating a huge prey item! So glad he is visiting the scrape.
It is not about raptors but, after the week we have had and now with Harriet having an injury from the GHOW hit last night, we need a laugh. We seriously need a laugh just to take us away even for a few minutes. This Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo will certainly help.
“G’ sent me a great article on Glen, the only surviving Tweed Valley osprey fledgling. It is a great article and you realise how miraculous this bird’s adventure has been – almost blown out to sea, having to flap its wings for 36 hours over the ocean! And finally finding a small piece of land to rest for 11 hours. Thanks, ‘G’. Glen deserves a long and safe life.
Congratulations to M15 and to Harriet for their first egg of the 2022 season! The time was 18:09:34. M15 was there with Harriet during her labour.
Sharon Pollock posted a video of the happy moment:
At the nest of Pa Berry and Missy, Pa has had to deal with a GHOW strike like Harriet did the night before she laid her egg.
Many of you will have seen Tiger Mozone’s name on the PLO chat. Tiger runs a FB group re Ospreys and is encyclopaedic when it comes to the history of UK Ospreys. Tiger and Chloe Baker have a web site with much information on the UK Ospreys – magicats. He also has a Twitter account. Check him out.
Tiger and I have been chatting today about the state of the fish at Port Lincoln. I have been – well, almost, pulling my hair out over the lack of fish. Is it because of commercial fishing? flooding and silt? changing water temperatures due to climate change? Dad’s age? You have probably asked yourself the same thing. So far no one seems to have come up with an answer but Tiger and I talked about practical or possible solutions. I have always maintained that fish must be provided. But how do you provide fish? Well, large commercial-like tanks such as the ones that the Ospreys in South America steal from is one solution. Tiger thinks a fish pond or stocking the lagoon where the barge is located. I wonder how many regulations there are for doing this? Are there any more than all of the permissions required for intervention?
Zoe is wide awake and wanting fish. Dad will deliver early today. I wonder if she spotted him flying off.
Did you know that there is a river that was created and stocked just so photographers could take images of Osprey fishing? Yes. It is the River Gwash and Tiger told me about it today. So if you can build a river in the UK and stock it so Ospreys can fish and charge people to photograph them in a hide doing just that then, why not stock the lagoon where the barge is and – from a safe distance – allow people for a charge to photograph them? Why not? It might bring more tourism to the area, too! That along with Osprey Excursions.
The Gwash River runs through Rutland, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire.
Other places stock ponds and lochs for the osprey such as Rutland and Keider. It is time that everyone considered this as humans have mismanaged our planet so much. We owe it to these beautiful birds.
Alden has still not been seen. A video clip of Annie reacting to the visiting male.
Dear Gabby waits for Samson’s return. If you did not see my correction, Samson was not injured. There was a posting on FB showing what appeared to be an injury to Samson’s head; I carried that information in a blog. The AEF wishes for everyone to know that he was not seen injured when he was at the nest. I had posted the update in a later blog but it seems some did not see it. Apologies for any confusion.
This is the latest announcement from the AEF on FB at the time of writing this blog:
We know that Bella returned to her nest after three weeks and there is a story surfacing out of Hanover of the resident female returning to her nest after being absent for a week. It gives me hope that Samson will return!
Jackie and Shadow always put a smile on my face and here they are working on their nest at Big Bear. Adorable. I received a note that Shadow had been away since the 24th returning today, 5 days later (the information is second hand but comes from a trusted source). So, let us all take a deep breath and believe that Samson just took a wee break before it all begins, too.
The Southern Royal Osprey are a delight to watch and I know that many of enjoyed watching Lillibet, the 2022 Royal Cam chick grow and fledge and the marvelous care that YRK gave to her daughter after OGK went missing in May. There is a new Royal family and Dad, GLY, is incubating that precious egg. Sharon Dunne (aka Lady Hawk) has published a video of the new family and some visitors.
Migration News:
Waba is still in the Sudan.
Bonus is still in Turkey but he has started moving South! Well done, Bonus.
There is a silver lining in today’s news with the arrival of the first egg at the Bald Eagle nest of M15 and Harriet in Fort Myers, Florida.
Please send your best wishes to Rita so that she is strong enough for her operation. ‘H’ wrote this morning to tell me it is scheduled for 1500 Eastern time today. Send good wishes to Alden and Samson wherever they are please come home if you can, and to everyone at Orange and all those who loved little Rubus. He is much missed.
Thank you for being with me. This is not a very long blog but I hope there is something good in there for everyone. I am now ready to try and start packing! Take care of yourselves. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘H’ and ‘G’ for their notes, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and S Pollock, Berry College, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cal Falcons, NEFL-AEF, River Gwash Ospreys, abc.net.au, York Dispatch, FOBBV, NZ DOC and Sharon Dunne, and Looduskalender Forum.
Yesterday was a good day. All four of the Blue Jays were seen along with all four of the Crow family. The two Chickadees came flitting through. Four grey squirrels and one red one. Loads of Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. I know I have mentioned all of them recently but there is something so reassuring to see them – alive. Urban environments present particular challenges for our feathered friends and, it is like knowing that your whole family is fed, warm, and tucked in for the night. It feels good just like watching the little falcons eat. Something very rewarding.
Making News:
SE 30 was seen in a residential area around the Discovery Centre. What a beautiful sea eagle.
Jackie and Shadow have been working on the nest in the Big Bear Valley. Shadow has a new hair style to show off for this breeding season!
It is that time of year that lead begins to make news – and never in a good way. Read the post by one of my favourite Wildlife Rehab Clinics in the US, A Place Called Hope. It takes one lead pellet or one lead sinker to damage or kill an eagle. When there are alternatives, this is unacceptable. If lead paint is outlawed because it can harm humans, then lead hunting and fishing equipment that causes death to our raptors needs to be outlawed as well.
I wish that I could tell you that all is well at Port Lincoln. A whole fish arrived at 090824. Middle did get some bites but Big ate the majority of that fish making Middle have to do the snatch and grab. At 124709 another fish arrived on the nest. Big is going to eat all of it. She has beaked Middle so that he is afraid to come up to the table. Middle was tucked in tight. Listening and watching. At 13:10:58 Middle slithers up to Mum. Is there any fish left? No. Mum just ate the fish tail.
There will, of course, be other fish. But there is still a problem. We had high hopes that Big would calm down and everything would be civil on the Port Lincoln Nest on Monday. Big did get most of the fish but she was not chasing Middle away from the table.
Both eating on Monday.
By Wednesday everything had changed significantly. If Big continues to eat the way she is, Mum is not getting enough food and Middle will continue to be intimidated and afraid to go and eat.
Big will stop eating to intimidate Middle.
Middle really needs to have a good meal.
There were other fish but beyond the 0909, Big did not allow Middle much. Those fish came in at 1247, 1651, 1931, and 1952.
If Middle moves a speck, Big raises its head. This is not a good situation. Middle neeeds to eat today, Thursday in Australia.
At Melbourne, the problem was the heat. The eyases were very hot. Some made it to the other end of the ledge to enjoy the shade. Mum and Dad had turns acting as umbrellas to block the sun.
Both parents dug in their talons and tried to help the Melbourne Four.
Thankfully the shade came! What a difference a couple of hours makes.
Lots of prey came for the Melbourne Four. It looks like Mum took charge of all the 5 feedings. Thanks to ‘H’ and ‘A’ for the time stamps and information. At the 0552 feeding, the eyases ate for 9 minutes; at 0749 it was 21 minutes, at 1627 for 32-33 minutes, at 1734 for 12 minutes, and a bedtime snack came in at 1859 and the kids ate for 5 minutes.
Indigo and Rubus had five feeds yesterday, too. Those came at 072721, 100848, 105425, 144754, and the last one before light’s out was at 181056. The prey thought to be a Red Waddle bird at 100848 was positively identified as a Noisy Miner later.
Have a close look at little Rubus. He is starting to get pin feathers.
Diamond is making sure that Indigo uses her neck muscles, too!
Diamond is fascinated by the camera!
Migration News:
The news coming for Karl II and his family of Black Storks from the Estonian Karula National Forest appears to be all good. Little Waba flew 298 km and is now in Turkey. S/he did that in one day!
This is an image from where Waba’s tracker indicated s/he is feeding. Just lovely.
There was no new transmission from Kaia. She continues to be in Chad in a dry area it is believed.
Bonus is still in Romania feeding in the ditches east of Latinu.
Karl II really got to flying. he covered 373 km in one day and is now feeding along on the eastern side of the Nile River near Asswan.
Great News.
Two things I try to avoid when bringing you news about our feathered family are politics and religion. Sometimes, politics cannot be avoided because our wildlife are wrapped up in particular views and policies that belong to the different parties in the various governments around the world.
There is a quiet movement behind the scenes to see what can be done to change the intervention laws in South Australia in the memory of Little Bob. What we have learned is that David Speirs -often seen with the ospreys, Janet Forster (Port Lincoln Osprey founder), and who is now President of Friends of Ospreys- was the Minister of the Environment for the State of South Australia and, as you can tell, extremely supportive of the Ospreys. The Liberals lost the last election and the Labour Party is in power. David Speirs (Ervie is named after the village in Scotland where Speirs was born) is now the leader of the Opposition.
Every day something new is discovered. Current regulations and policies are being examined to see how to move forward. The last thing anyone wants to do is to damage the fine work that Port Lincoln and Friends of Osprey have already done. It takes time for change but, no one is forgetting Little Bob least of all Port Lincoln who support intervention but cannot within the current policies and guidelines or they would lose their licenses and everything they have gained in terms of being able to provide for the Ospreys. All of this is good. Little Bob is not forgotten.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you later today with the breakfast news. Send positive wishes to Port Lincoln, please.
Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sydney Sea Eagle Cam FB, Friends of Big Bear Valley, A Place Called Hope, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Looduskalender.
Good Afternoon everyone. I hope each of you had a very lovely start to the week yesterday. This has really been quite the year for the birds on the streaming cams around the world. I haven’t ever seen a year like it. At the end of the season we will touch on every nest and see if there was an incident. You can help me! Start making your lists.
First up. Let’s check on the condition of Laddie LM12″s eye is in this morning if the camera can catch him looking the right way. Was he able to bring in more fish for Blue NC0 and the three nestlings?
Yes! Was so happy to see this great improvement over night. It reminded me of when Bella returned to her nest with Smitty after an altercation with another intruder. The wee chicks are also eating well – all three of them. Such a relief, Laddie!
They are all fish crying. Just look at the Bobs. Blue NC0 is extremely loud. You could hear her to Glasgow!!!!!!! Laddie did deliver another fish. For some reason NC0 flew off the nest with it and did not bring it back. Ugh.
Horrific news is coming in from Colorado’s Fort St Vrain Bald Eagle nest. One of the eaglets was pulled off the nest by a raccoon! Search parties have gone out to look for the wee one.
These are the images from the incident. The eaglet was very brave. The question is: where are the adults when this is happening?!
There has been so many incidents with intruders. We have Laddie with the eye, the eaglet taken off its nest by a raccoon (I will now add raccoons to the list of ways eaglets and other raptors can be killed), and as we celebrate DC 9 being 8 weeks old, Lotus is missing. Mr President celebrated the day by bringing in food and by guarding the nest.
One of the nests that I have watched and – well, the Venice Golf and Country Club Ospreys – fell through the crack. It seems I reported the happenings on the nest only a couple of times. We were, at one time, worried about the third hatch on that nest. There was a lot of food competition. I am happy to report that the first osplet fledged on 30 April and the others following within days. This was a nest to celebrate that event for sure.
The osplet on the left, not flapping its wings, actually flaps its wings and flies off the nest to the surprise of the other two.
The parents continue to provide food on the nest for their babies. As far as I know all three were on the nest today.
It just couldn’t be any better for ND17, Little Bit. A fish came on the nest and the adult is feeding 17. Despite the other siblings not being interested, Little Bit is very aggressive in his snatch and grab movements especially around 18:19. These actions will help him later on when eagles are fighting for prey items in the wild. It is clear that he is still very nervous around the big siblings. At 18:35 he has a very large crop! 17 has now had at least four big meals today – four! (There could have been five).
The adult feeds almost all the prey item to Little Bit before one of the older siblings comes over to get some bites.
Little Bit has a very large crop at 18:32 but he is still up by mom in case there is more food! Too funny.
Little Bit is using a turtle shell for a pillow – but even more important,, he is sleeping on his ‘prey stash’. Smart Little Bit 17.
I want everyone to really give Little Bit 17 a big cheer. This morning a parent delivered a really large fish for self-feeding. One of the older siblings pecked at it. At 10:18:34 Little Bit takes the fish away from the big sibling!!!!!!!!!! (The big siblings do not do as well at self-feeding as 17).
At 10:26:55 Little Bit is eating the fish and the bigger sibling – I think it is 15 – joins him.
Two fish deliveries that I have seen. Little Bit 17 eats from 10:18-10:27 when he foregoes the one fish to the elder sibling (very peaceful). Another fish arrives from Mum and Little Bit feeds on it from 10:46-11:15. Typically Mum will come in and feed them later but, for now, they need to be learning these skills. Little Bit is doing great. He just needs to remember to hold down the fish with his talons! This nest has had a miraculous change in the past 5 days.
At 12:09 Little Bit finds some fish scraps – perfect size in the nest!
The streaming cam for the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest is up and running again since the lightning storm. If you go on rewind, you get all manner of days. I tried to catch the lightning and rain from Sunday night but to no avail in the image below.
They both survived nicely and it is getting more and more difficult to tell who is who unless you watch their behaviour (Middle still grabs the food) and look closely at the bands growing on their tails.
It is good to see them!
Friends of Big Bear Valley – the home of Jackie and Shadow and Spirit – have put a call for your help. Here is the appeal:
One of Dyson’s favourite friends ‘A’ has sent us news of Peregrine Falcon scrape on top of a government building in Japan. There are many falcons and beautiful hawks scattered over the islands of Japan and it would be wonderful if some had streaming cams. ‘A’ tells me the demands are growing so we are hoping that one of the companies will start a trend!
Everyone at Manton Bay is itchy! So far no fighting amongst the chicks! There is, of course, with Blue 33 fishing lots of food on the nest for Maya and the wee ones.
Everyone is watching the nest of Idris and Telyn at Dyfi Osprey platform in Wales today. The first pip of the three eggs came at 16:24.
That is a lot to take in on one morning. Great relief that Laddie’s eye is healing. He has three screaming osplets in the nest – who by the sounds of them – will be as loud as NC0 when they want fish. Too funny. The chicks at Gainesville did great during the storm and Little Middle is just the bravest little eaglet I have seen. The people searching for the eaglet at Fort St Vrain have found feathers, nothing more. So very, very sad. It seems to me that there are raccoon baffles that can be put on a platform. Am I dreaming that? And please read the open appeal from FOBBV and support them if you feel so inclined.
The garden has been very, very busy with migrating visitors. Yesterday there were American Goldfinch and Rose-breasted Gosbeaks. Little Red’s new penthouse will be moved around to see if I can entice him to move in. It is Dyson that is causing all the mischief – of course, it is Dyson! I found a very old birdfeeder that my neighbour made decades ago in the shed. Filled it with White Millet and guess who found it first thing? Dyson! Now, he almost got stuck in Little Red’s new house – how did he get out? He chewed the entrance hole bigger! He almost got stuck in this new feeder, too. I had filled it up and realized I should cut the wire and get a brush for the top – left for two minutes! Dyson gets inside.
Dyson is so cheeky. he knows that I will not get mad at him so he sits in the feeder watching me.
Thank you so much for joining me. Dyson and I hope that you have a really wonderful day. We will see you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB pages where I took my screen captures: Scottish Wildlife Trust, Xcel Energy, NADC-AEF, VGCCO, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, LRWT, and Dyfi.
It is 8 degrees C and will be 18 Celsius today in Winnipeg. Our City is a bit of an island with areas north and south flooded and communities being evacuated. It is also the height of bird migration. So we truly did go from winter to summer. Crazy.
News of the morning. We have a pip at Cal Falcons for Annie, Alden, and Grinnell!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, fantastic.
Baby Steps! USS4 took its first baby steps. How sweet. Just look at those strong legs!
If you missed it, Spirit branched! Jackie and Shadow have done a fantastic job raising this super ‘spirited’ eaglet. What a joy it has been to watch her grow from that first pip to now.
Many of you watched the satellite/GPS tracking of Karl II as he returned from his winter home in the Chad and Sudan areas of African. Karl II arrived at his nest n the Karula National Forest in Estonia on 8 April 8. His mate, Kaia, arrived on April 12th. This couple – who fledged three last year – have four eggs this year. They were laid on 24, 26, and 29 April and on 1 May.
The image below is of Kaia aerating around the eggs. You can distinguish Kaia from Karl II not only because Karl is bigger but also he is banded and also has his satellite tracker on his leg.
Nancy was in the nest with E1 last evening. She is doing a great job at being an only parent.
We all love Shadow and Jackie. Here is an interesting story from yesterday but more interesting is the image of a young Shadow on the bottom right!
It was a foggy morning at the nest of Big Red and Arthur. Gosh I love that dark morph of Big Red’s plumage. She is so gorgeous.
L4 continues to delight. Here he is climbing over the gang from the back to get some breakfast. L4 was also seen having two crop drops by Cornell staff this morning. Way to go little buddie. No worries ever about Big Red and Arthur being able to handle four!!!!!!!!
It is not entirely clear what has gone on at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest this morning. Mom was on the nest and there was a fish delivery. Was it Dad returning? or was it the intruder and the Middle wanted to be fed?
The chicks are standing and walking better. They are also growing with all the good fish that has come in. Just look at the size of that wing!
It is really a beautiful morning with the sun rising over the nest. This is Mum with the chicks.
There is what appears to be a remnant of prey but that is not Mum and that bird is not feeding the little ones. Note the design on the back of its head.
Is this Dad? I admit to not having looked at his plumage as carefully as I should have. The kids would like some fish. It is going to get hot on that nest this morning.
There you can see that design better. I wonder who this is? And where is Mum? Has she gone fishing? I will check back later to see how these two are.
I wanted to let everyone know about the pip at Cal Falcons. This is so exciting. Annie and Alden can hear the cheep-cheep of Grinnell’s chick and the egg tooth pecking away. Tears.
Bird World needs some good news and it is happening. Here is the link to their camera:
Thank you for joining me this morning. I will be back tonight with check ins on your favourite nests! Until then, I will be watching this pip while I ready the garden for summer today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Big Bear Bald Eagles, Pix Cams, MN-DNR, USSteel Eagles, and The Estonian Eagle Club.
Gosh, it was sure nice to end the day on Tuesday seeing the Mum and the two osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest with huge crops.
Food coma for the kids and some fish leftover for Mum! Nice. I really hope that today turns out as good as yesterday for these two.
It really is unclear again what is going on this morning. A headless piece of fish was brought to the nest by the male around 09:00. He did not feed the youngsters. Middle was right up there hungry chewing on the edge of the fish. Once again he is looking around. Is it another day of intruders causing havoc with fish deliveries and feedings? Is Mum off chasing the interloper away?
The chicks ate well and went to bed full. Ideally they are fed more often and early morning would be ideal to keep them hydrated. This is also a nice size fish so everyone gets some.
We wait to see how this sorts itself.
Intruders or interlopers are causing mischief at the nest of Richmond and Rosie, still. Indeed, there were five! They have not let Rosie or Richmond alone this breeding season and soon there will be three osplets to feed.
Miss a day or two and there are more falcons hatching! There are four at the Salisbury Cathedral in the UK. Oh, so well-behaved and cute.
There are now five eyases at the Peregrine Falcon scrape in Manchester, NH. The three oldest all hatched on the 28th of April with the wee ones on 1 May and 2 May. Often all the eggs will not hatch, – but, they did this year.
They will all be fine.
It is 11:16 nest time and there have already been three feedings!
Here is a link to this camera at Manchester.
Nancy has been on and off her perch this morning at the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest. I have not seen a feeding. There appears to be a little food left on the nest for her and E1.
Lady Hawk did a tribute for Harry and E2 at the MN-DNR nest. He has now been away nearly a full 8 days. Another interloper/intruder is assumed. And another siblicide.
Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, has an egg. Right now she is just as happy as she can be! Sometimes go off in this fantasy that maybe Louis will actually help her this year and not just feed Star and her chicks at the baseball park.
I wonder what the status of the Clark Fork River is this year? You might recall that last year it was almost dry in places with lots of beautiful trout dying because of the hot water. I would love to give them some of our water if it would help! If only it were that easy.
The two Red-tail Hawks at the Presidio in San Francisco are fine this morning. They are a little itchy and both of them are waiting for breakfast.
Everyone is soaked at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia. Our tiny eaglet of Martin and Rosa grew and is now self-feeding. Blink.
Prey delivery for the eaglet came at 09:07.
The Pittsburgh-Hayes triplets are drying out after being soggy yesterday like the Dulles-Greenway eaglet.
Spirit is getting almost as big as Mama Jackie! What a gorgeous nest they have at Big Bear Valley.
Do you remember sitting and holding your breath wishing that the egg would hatch successfully after Jackie and Shadow not having any chicks for two years? Now look at her. Spirit did hatch and it was 3 March. She is 62 days old today! Wow. Not ready to fledge but getting there. In California, the average age for fledging is 12 weeks. This also depends on the amount of prey, the sex of the eaglet, and the timing of the hatching.
There is an excellent report on the different times of hatching and fledging for Bald Eagles by latitude. Go to avianreport.com/baby-bald-eagles
One of the eaglets is self-feeding at the West End and doing a pretty good job of it. Looks like Kana’kini to me as she is larger than Sky or Ahota.
River brought a fish in and fed the two eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest. Big is really beginning to flap its wings while sitting on the railing. 66 Days old.
Most of us can’t be in San Francisco on 6 May for hatch day for Annie, Alden, and Grinnell. No worries. Sean and Lynn of CalFalcons will be holding another one of their great Q & As. Here is the information:
We are actually one day away from the first anticipated hatch day at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. The window on the three eggs hatching is: Egg 1: 5th to 12th May; Egg 2: 8th to 15th May; and Egg 3: 11th to 18th May.
For those of you that do not know this couple, they are considered super Osprey parents! They consistently fledge all of their chicks. They have been together since 2015 and in six years they fledged 20 chicks – that doesn’t count this year!
It has been drizzly in Ithaca at the Red-tail hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur. Big Red has the four wee ones comfortably under here so they will not get wet. They cannot regulate their temperature yet and this is so important! Warm and Dry.
Fingers crossed for the osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest today. Let us hope that Mum returns to feed the babes soon. (Gosh, I wish these dads would also feed the chicks…it would be so helpful).
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures today: Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Pix Cams, Montana Osprey Project, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Cal Falcons, Rutland Water LRWT, DHEC, Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Peregrine Networks Live, Salisbury Cathedral Falcons, Presidio Trust, and Dulles-Greenway.
It has been a great day in Bird World. When everything seemed so bleak with the ‘Only Baby’ at the Two Harbours nest on the Channel Islands holding on after a fall ten feet below the nest, the sun rose. When daylight came Dr Sharpe and two volunteers hiked for an hour to reach the nesting site. The trio rescued the eaglet, built up the walls of the nest, and placed the wee one back. Everyone held their breath hoping that the parents, twenty-four year old Chase and Cholyn, would appear immediately. They waited almost three hours to return. Everyone was on pins and needles. What if they did not return was the question on everyone’s mind. One did a fly by, and then they both arrived – Cholyn with some nesting material and Chase with the first fish of the afternoon. Baby was home! It was less than 24 hours but, it felt like an eternity. Would the eaglet be able to hold on? That strong brave little one stayed put until help came!
Dr Sharpe and the rescue were interviewed by ABC news:
“Oh, please, just one more bite,” Cholyn insists. Meanwhile, TH1’s crop is about to pop. Can you see it? The parents were overjoyed to have their chick back on the nest.
Cholyn and Big Red believe that no one should leave the table hungry. Tonight, squirrel was on the menu at the Red-tail Hawk nest in Ithaca, New York.
There are still three for Big Red and Arthur. As you can see, Arthur has really been packing the pantry and I am happy to say that most of it is squirrel and chippy.
There has been little mention of egg 4. It pipped and the chick was alive last night. It is difficult to tell because the other three Ls lay on it. If it is to hatch we should see that wee one in the morning. Personally, three eyases is great!!!!!! The three Ls appear quite healthy.
Liberty and Guardian’s eaglets for the 2022 season now have names. They are Sentry and Star. Well done everyone who took part in the voting for these two at their Redding, California aerie. Just look at them. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Spirit and Jackie shared a meal together today. It is hard to grasp but just look at the size of Spirit. They said that she would be the size of a Canada Goose now!
It is often hard to go back to a nest when the older siblings have been responsible for the death of the younger. It took me a long time to ‘get over’ being upset with Solly at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest when she caused the youngest, Tapps, to die at the age of 18 days due to starvation. It was only after she fledged that I warmed up to her again and I was honestly very sad when she died on an electrical pole in South Australia eating a fish. The two surviving ospreys at the University of Florida’s Gainesville Osprey nest are really doing well. The food competition appears to have dissipated. It is quite sad that the third hatch has to be sacrificed, or so it seems, for the good of the whole in terms of brood reduction.
The two eyases at the Presidio Red-tail Hawk nest in San Francisco are also eating well and growing without much of a problem. Once in awhile the eldest tries to be dominant but things seem to be alright.
It was sunny with wind gusts at the Two Harbours nest. Chase and Cholyn had to hover and approach the nest twice to land. It was dreary and windy just around the corner at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Of the three trips up the cliffs in less than two weeks, Dr Sharpe rescued the youngest male from the West End nest who had fallen and then returned a few days later to measure and band the three. It is easy to spot the big sister in the group now with her two little brothers.
On Thursday the 28th, the Ventana Wildlife Society is holding a Zoom-chat. It is free and it begins at 4pm Pacific Time. When you register you can submit questions to the staff. Because Condors eat carrion, I submitted questions related to the current Avian Flu in relation to those beautiful California Condors.
In Latvia, the first egg at the Lesser Spotted Eagle nest has been laid. The nest is in a beautiful Spruce forest in Zemgale. The map below was posted on the English Forum, Looduskalender, and shows the area of the nest in green.
The nest is 17 metres off the floor of the forest and from its size, is believed to be at least five years years old. The couple are Anna and Andris. Lesser Spotted Eagles normally lay two eggs. If there is enough food available, both chicks will grow and fledge. If there is not, then siblicide will occur on the nest. It is good to understand this before you begin watching a Lesser Spotted Eagles nest (or a Greater or a Golden Eagle).
Andris is being shown the egg by Anna. Notice how small he is compared to the female in front.
Here is a short video of that first egg.
Here is the link to the streaming cam:
Do you love Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world? She is not only the Queen of the Ospreys but she is also one beautiful bird. Just look what good shape she is in after doing her winter migration. I am very impressed. I wonder what 28 or 29 Osprey years translates into human years??? or is there such a thing? I hope I look that good at the equivalent age!!!!!
Here is Iris this evening on her nest at Hellgate Canyon, Missoula, Montana.
Earlier, at 18:20 her mate, Louis, brings her the second fish of this season! For those who do not know Iris, Louis and Iris have this rather jaded bond. Louis also has a nest with Starr at the baseball park. This is the first year that I remember Louis bringing fish to Iris in several years. And now he has brought two! Wow.
Iris knows Louis is approaching and she does some quiet little fish calls.
Wow. That is a nice big fish. Notice the head is missing. Traditionally, males eat the head before delivering the fish to the nest.
Iris accepts Louis’s gift and flies over to the pole to eat it for her dinner. I wonder if we should be expecting eggs soon???
A marvellous book arrived in the post today. It is called Eagle Man and is about Charles Broley and his dedication to the Bald Eagle. Broley lived in Florida and in Canada. Broley was a banker; when he retired he devoted himself to bird watching. Broley became a world authority on the Bald Eagle. His observations taught us about courtship rituals, nesting, feeding, and even the migratory patterns of the eagles. I landed a copy in very good condition. It was obviously treasured by its owner, D. Gordon, who wrote on the flap that he received it in May of 1956. It is signed by Charles Broley. Inside the binding is the obituary of Broley who died on 7 May 1959 in Delta, Ontario. I am so looking forward to reading this book that inspired many to respect the Bald Eagles as many, like Dr Sharpe today, fought to bring their numbers up after most were wiped out by DDT.
Thank you for joining me. There are so many nests to cover and some will find themselves here tomorrow. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or webpages where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar Forum, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Montana Osprey Project, Explore.org, Redding Eagles, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Latvian Fund for Nature, Presidio Trust, and the Ventana Wildlife Society.
There is a winter storm warning in effect for the Big Bear Valley area. Heavy snow fall and winds are expected. It is to peak, according to the weather forecast, tomorrow tapering off on Tuesday.
Samson loaded up the nest wish fish. This is their home and has been for many years. The adults are certainly accustomed to the wind and snow in the mountains east of Los Angeles. The trio will be fine. Jackie and Shadow are standing guard over the little one in the nest this evening.
The first two images are from earlier today. You can see the fish in the pantry.
As the storm begins, both Jackie and Shadow are at the nest.
It is nearing 21:00 and the winds are beginning to pick up. They are supposed to be quite gusty at 45 mph. You can currently hear what sounds like hail on the camera. It is really starting to blow. The baby is hunkered down in the nest. Hang on Mum and Dad!
You will notice how carefully they move around the nest in the winds. Get your head down little one!
The winds will continue to pick up in velocity. Here is a glimpse of what is happening at the nest around 21:00 the 27th of March.
Please send your good wishes to these amazing parents and this little one as they ride out the winds and the heavy wet snow that will be coming. I will include a review of the happenings at Big Bear but you can also watch them here:
The nest is at the top of the tallest tree, a tree that has know so many storms.
I know that many of you adore Jackie and Shadow, as I do. You might not know that the weather is going to bet increasingly challenging in Big Bear Valley. Again send your positive wishes to this beautiful family of three. Thank you! Take care.
Thank you to the Friends of Big Bear Valley’s streaming cams where I took my screen shots and video capture.
Many of you have been watching the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida along with me. It is the home of Lena and Andy and their chicks. The oldest sibling, Big Bob, passed away on the 15th of March around 08:39. This was a shock to everyone as all of the osplets appeared to be in good health. Big Bob’s body was take to the University of Georgia at Athens where a necroscopy was undertaken because CROW did not have the sophisticated equipment to conduct the tests. It was originally anticipated that the cause of Big’s death would be know at the end of that week. it has been announced that the tests are now being run by a national laboratory with even more sensitive testing equipment than the UGA Vet School.*
Andy, Lena, and the two remaining chicks are doing very well. Little’s plumage is almost catching up to Middle’s and they are relatively equal in size. Gorgeous Ospreys.
Andy is arriving with a morning Mullet appetizer at 08:14:57.
Look at those beautiful ‘babies’. Middle is on the left and Little is on the right.
Andy is off to get a bigger fish so he can eat the head and have some breakfast, too. He brought in the tiny teaser Mullet in tact. Look at the back plumage. Soon we will have difficulty telling the two chicks apart.
At the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur, Arthur flies in to relieve Big Red at 06:40. He already has her breakfast waiting for her and she is off!
Arthur got to incubate their eggs for about forty-minutes before Big Red returned to take over.
Big Bob and Middle Bob had a really good feed yesterday morning at the Dale Hollow Nest. That Coot that filled both of them up to the brim and more was a blessing since it appears that nothing came on the nest but a small unidentified object (rat? small squirrel skin?) later. That said, the camera was diverted to the lake in the early evening. It appears – but I cannot confirm 100% – that River was digging in the nest at the time. It also appears that she found Little Bit’s body and fed it to Big. Again, I cannot confirm that for certain. It was only by going back and slowly moving the feed that we were able to catch the momentary checks on the nest.
Both were very hungry this morning and Big let it be known that whatever was coming in, he ate first. The parent arrived empty taloned.
A little later the parent returned and fed the unidentified object to the right of it above to Big. Middle did not venture up to even sniff the prey knowing that Big is very hungry and not in a good mood.
I will monitor the Dale Hollow nest again before I finish and bring any updates below. I find myself returning to the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Thunder looks on with pride last evening as Akecheta feeds the three eaglets. We are all so proud of how far Akecheta has come – a doting, loving, protective Dad at age six. I also like to point out that the smallest chick on the West End nest is 4 days younger than the oldest. The youngest chick at Dale Hollow was only 3 days younger than the oldest.
This is an amazing image!
The eaglet on the Big Bear Valley nest was left alone this morning as Jackie and Shadow appeared to be on high alert.
While everyone is anxiously awaiting and mapping the return of the UK Ospreys on charts, graphs, and maps, thousands are awaiting the arrival of the oldest female Osprey in the world, Iris, from her winter migration. Her spring and summer home is the Clark-Fork River area of Missoula Montana and her nest is on a platform a parking area of the Riverside Clinic. Workers have been busy putting up fencing so no one will get too close to the nest and frighten Iris away.
At the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15, E20 officially fledged yesterday, the 22nd of March.
E20 had fludged after E19 fledged on the 21st. Congratulations to the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest for two successful fledges and a fantastic year. Thank you to the D Pritchett family for caring so much for their eagles and for allowing us to enjoy watching their daily lives.
At the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian, the parents are celebrating the successful hatch of chick # 2 at 08:47 this morning, the 23rd of March. Chick #1 hatched on the 20th.
In the wee hours of the Morning at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo, R1 was accidentally pushed off the nest. I have no further news on the status of R1 at this time. Will update later if there is news.
R1 was spotted at the base of the tree. It then flew – yes, flew! – to an adjoining tree! R1 is fine. Not to be left behind, R2 the only eaglet on the nest at 12:30 is appearing to want to join its sibling. Wow. This is all good news!
The surviving oldest eaglet on the Duke Farms nest is continuing to do very well.
Lots of people are busy watching the Sauces Bald Eagle cam hoping for that pip! Jak and Audacity are getting anxious, too!
It was announced that there will be a live chat with Dr. Sharpe today on bald eagles on the islands, restoration, nesting, at 2 pm Eastern/11 am Pacific on the Live Chat Channel https://youtu.be/4nSIhl1fOFk
I want to end this here so that you have an opportunity to know about Dr Sharpe’s talk.
It is 11:37 nest time at Dale Hollow. No prey brought in yet. Middle flapping its wings.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I will have a late report today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams: Redding Bald Eagles, Explore.org and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Duke Farms, Friends of Big Bear Valley, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab and the Montana Osprey project, and Dale Hollow Eagles.
What a busy day it was in Bird World and what a gorgeous day it was on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting and causing all manner of problems but the Canada Geese are flying in, the Grackles have arrived in mass, and the first White-throated Sparrow appeared at the feeders along with the usual woodpeckers, European Starlings, House Sparrows and, of course, Dyson! We had another visitor too that seems to be coming every morning around 08:00, an unusual time for a rabbit. I wonder if Hedwig’s burrow is full of water????
Hedwig is an Eastern Cottontail. They are the most prevalent of the five rabbit species in Canada. The four others are the Artic Hare, the Mountain Hare, White-tailed Jackrabbit, and the Snowshoe Hare.
Hedwig being an Easteern Cottontail is the smallest of the five. His mother left him underneath our Peony Bush. He was about a month old. He found safety with all of the birds feeding and discovered that if he hung out under the feeders, he never had to worry about food. We have tried to give him carrots and he refuses them. He often eats the bark off of our Lilac Bushes where he can easily hide. We don’t care. It doesn’t seem to damage them. Isn’t he a cutie? He has some special marks on him that we know it is the original Hedwig. Let us hope he has another good year.
There is a pip/hatch watch going on at the Pittsburg-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. This couple fledged three last year! The pip happened at 09:39 this morning.
There was a good look at the size of the pip at 19:21.
Liberty and Guardian have a pip over at the Redding California Bald Eagle Nest. That happened around 07:04. There is a race between them and Pittsburgh-Hayes to see who hatches first! They also fledged three!
This morning on the SWFlorida Nest on the Pritchett Family Farm, E19 the eldest, fledged before noon. It was caught on camera by a couple filming the event. E20 was flapping, too, and the streaming cam operator did not know who would go first. Talk about sibling competition between these two. E20 did not have a very solid branch like E19 did who used it like a trampoline jumping up and down and flapping. As a result, E20 fludged and then flew away. Both flew like the great birds they are on 20th of March. How lovely. Congratulations to M15 and Harriet and the Pritchett family for another successful year. The fledglings will hang around with mom and dad. They will perfect their flying while being provided food. This is what it is all about.
Here is E19s fledge:
The cameras are down and I do not know if anyone caught E20’s flight. What a day for them to go down.
Well, this is a great way to feed chicks if you have three! Akecheta is feeding the Middle chick while Mum Thunder feeds Little Bit and Big. I wish you could see the smile on my face. Look at the size between the two Thunder is feeding. Little Bit is four days younger than Big. There are no squabbles.
Thunder and Akecheta are – to me – a real powerhouse couple. They may have had two unsuccessful years until Akecheta matured but just look at them now.
Andy came in at 17:28 with the last fish of the day for Lena, Middle and Little. It has been some time since Big died suddenly. The nest is doing really well. There is no word on the cause of Big’s death. I do not wish to speculate but had it been a physical cause like choking on a pellet, the vets would have found that immediately when they did the necroscopy. Toxin tests take longer. In the Balkans, the tests for Avian Flu only took a few days and – all the birds on this nest are fine. I wonder if any raptors die of heat stroke or heart attack? Do you know?
This was the 4th feeding for the osplets and it was a whole Sheepshead. Middle and Little ate and ate. In the image below, just look at how beautiful they are standing with Lena, a very proud Mama. That beautiful setting son casts a lovely glow on this Osprey family at Captiva, Florida.
The eaglets of Abby and Blazer (Eagle Country) hatched on the 11th and 14th of March. Just look at them now. Wow. Gorgeous babies. Nice crops. Both appear to be self-feeding.
If River and Obey do not stop bringing fish to the nest and feeding Big and Middle, I am not ever going to be able to take a walk! All kidding aside. It has been one big fish fest at the Dale Hollow Nest today which is the miracle that we were all hoping to see happen. This should be the last of many feedings at this nest today.
This fish arrival is at 18:19:36. Here comes River!
River has not started her feeding. Just look at the crop on Big. This eaglet is going to be an enormous female. And I really do mean enormous. The size of its legs are huge. I wish we could get a good comparison between Big and Mum.
Middle is still very shy of Big. I do not blame him. Big eats the first bites but River just then decides to put her beak in the middle of the two and sees who wants the fish. It also appears that River has slowed down in the speed of her feeding.
Once Big is full, Middle begins accepting bites. Remember – the key is survival. Middle has eaten and eaten today and it is not going to do a thing to wake up Big’s wrath.
Middle eats and eats. By 18:35 his crop is so big you might think it is going to explode. River continues to push fish at him.
At 18:35:38 Middle is so full he walks away from the table! He simply cannot hold another bite. It looks like he might not be able to hold up that crop.
Middle has to try and lay down. It must be awfully uncomfortable with that massive crop.
But wait! Middle stands up.
And with a crop as big as half a baseball, Middle turns around to head back to the table to the shock of Big.
As he turns, Big reaches over to pull off the piece of straw across Middle’s crop. Middle is a little shy and doesn’t seem to know if this is a friendly or hostile gesture. I don’t blame him. The gesture is friendly.
Both kiddos eat a couple of more bites and collapse. They are certainly going to have sweet eagle dreams! And so am I!
I have focused on the Dale Hollow Lake nest with more information than the other nests because it had been so full of strife. My mailbox has been full of questions and you might be wondering about some of these.
Where is DH16? When a nestling dies, Eagles either consume the dead chick, bury it in the nest, or carry it off. River buried DH16 in the nest last night, the 19th of March.
Why such a change in this nest? There are many possible reasons and my answers are based on a large body of academic literature. 1) Threats and intruders to the territory of River and Obey have diminished and they are able to focus on hunting and feeding. 2) Fishing and hunting have greatly improved for the eagles. There could be many causes for this including the most obvious weather. 3) The reduction of the brood was accomplished. 4) Middle was able to garner enough energy to show that it was determined to live and River took notice of this and is now feeding it. 5) Some or all of the above. One reader ‘B’ suggested that maybe River and Obey had read by blog about needing to have a spare in case Big died! That is a good point with Avian Flu tearing through the region.
Whatever has happened, we have had a wonderful 36 hours and let us all hope that this continues. Things are going very well. Big has calmed right down. The fact that so many fish were brought in today and another found buried on the nest kept Big full and happy and allowed Middle to gain confidence and to eat its fill. Middle will literally grow over night. I am sure many of you have been shedding tears of joy. I sure have.
Will close with Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. Five feedings for the little eaglet today! The baby is eating longer and more fish and the feedings are slowly decreasing because of that. The naming contest closes on March 25 and several names will be drawn out of those suggested by donors. The 3rd grade class at the local school will vote. Hopefully this cutie will have a name next week!
Life in Bird World has been very good today. Very, very good.
Thank you so much for joining me. Please take care. See you soon!!!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Dale Hollow Eagles, Pix Cams, Redding Eagles, Eagle Country, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.
