Tag Archives: Big Bear Valley Eagles

Late Monday news in Bird World

25 July 2022

Oh, I hope that you had a good day wherever you are. Everything ‘seems’ to be fine in Bird World.

The rain has started pouring down – just a couple of minutes ago. Before that the three every-growing-larger Crow juveniles were having fun in the Bird Bath, eating their sandwiches and peanuts along with Dyson, the Blue Jays, and a host of sparrows. Dyson has to have a nest somewhere. She has a very short tail and I was told that she would line the nest with the fur. She is ‘quite large at the back end’ my daughter responded when she saw her. Baby squirrels soon? We hope. Lots and lots of peanuts were put out so everyone had plenty.

I just checked on the Osoyoos Osprey nest. I could not see the time stamps but Olsen apparently brought in at least one large fish to Soo today! There was an early one and one later and maybe some in between. The chatters were happy.

The smallest eaglet on the White-bellied Sea Eagles nest, SE30, needs a shampoo. There is fish juice stuck to all of the soft down on the top of its head. You can easily identify who is 30 and who is 29. 29 is also bigger. That extra day surely makes a difference at this stage. I stayed with the feeding to make sure that 30 got fish and it did! Lady tried 29 and its beak was closed and 30 moved to the other side for bites.

I am always asked if the female Ospreys bring fish to the nests. Oh, yes, they do! They normally do not do this until well after the chicks have fledged unless there is a need (for example, the male disappears or the fish deliveries are not enough). Rosie brought Brooks a nice piece of fish today. Brooks has been doing a lot of flight training.

Blue 33 landed at 17:52 with a really large fish – including the head. Two of the female fledglings had been on the nest fish calling to Dad when the third flew in wanting any leftovers on the Manton Bay nest.

It was delightful seeing all three girls on the nest and Dad. It is always nice to ‘see’ that everything is going to plan. It is not often you catch them on the nest and all seems well.

That is such a nice fish. I wish that Soo could have just one that size for her and the Osprey chicks in Osoyoos every day. What a difference it would make in their development.

Watching Osprey and Eagle families is very educational. You do not appreciate the necessity for good plentiful food until you have seen a nest suffer from lack of prey with stress lines in the feathers of the chicks and babies dying from starvation. It is the same with human animals.

There are so many Osprey nests and Daisy and Duke at the Barnegat Light nest have fallen off the radar. There the two surviving osplets are – goodness, full plumage – ready to go! (The third was accidentally pulled out of the nest cup at a very young age and died).

Every year I remember a friend telling me that if I really loved the plumage of the Red-tail hawk juveniles then just wait til I saw the fledgling Sea Eagles! But…I know we all have our favourites – there is nothing for me that can improve on the plumage of the fledgling Ospreys. I think they are much more beautiful than their parents! And wish they did not have to change. I would say the same for the Sea Eagles – juvenile sea eagles with their creams, golds, coppers, browns are smashingly beautiful.

The three osplets of Dory and Skiff are simpy adorable. They line up nicely for dinner and no one seems to want to cause the other any big problems. They are now standing and learning how to walk on their feet instead of their knees.

Oh, just look. Kissed by the peach at the nape of the neck and on the ends of the feathers with that dark eye line. How many young women wish they could get their eyeliner to look like that?

Dory did a great job – a big shout out – for this first time Mum. Skiff did, too!

The camera at Two Harbours in the Channel Islands panned around and caught one of the adults perched. Then they did nice close ups of Lancer waiting for a fish!

Lancer waiting patiently at time for a fish delivery – until she sees an adult and she really lets them know she is hungry!!!!!!!!!!

At the West End, Thunder was out on the Lookout Rock. Yesterday Akecheta brought Kana’kini a fish on the natal nest. I did not see any of the juveniles today. Did you?

At Fraser Point, Lilibet was on the perch and then on the nest eating a small piece of prey. Gosh, she’s gorgeous.

Ah, if you go to the Glacier Gardens Eagle nest and re-wind you can find spots where the camera does not have moisture on the lens. Peace and Love are getting big and they have been working their wings! I did notice that the rain has caused them to look a little ‘rough’. They will fluff back up quickly.

It is gently raining at the Big Bear Valley nest of Shadow and Jackie. Gosh it looks lonely without Spirit and her parents. Did you know that this is the one of the highest Bald Eagle nest in the US? The nest itself is 44 metres or 145 ‘ up in a Jeffrey Pine. The elevation is, however, 2164 metres or 7100 ft.

This is just a hop, skip, and jump through a small number of the nests we are watching. The nest of concern remains Osoyoos and it is doing well today. Fingers crossed and positive wishes for tomorrow and the next day. Thank you so much for joining me. It is such a nice change when the news is all good. Thank you so much for joining me. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their FB posts and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Osoyoos Ospreys, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Glacier Gardens, Explore.org and the IWS, Explore Audubon, Barnegat Light Ospreys, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, and LRWT.

Friday in Bird World

24 June 2022

Stormy weather with hail and strong winds in the south of our province meant that I am home earlier than planned. How nice! I get to check on some of our favourite birds and that is always a wonderful thing (unless something awful is happening).

This was a super cell caught at noon posted by Manitoba Storm Chasers.

Remember that I said that Blue NC0 was a good fisher? I have watched her go out fishing for three years. She left this morning and came back quickly with a meal for her and the chicks – they are older now and there is less of a threat of predation.

Now why did Blue NC0 go fishing? Her mate, Laddie LM12, spent the morning keeping 5 different intruders away form the nest. There is that word that is becoming haunting – ‘intruders’.

This morning both Lindsay and Grinnell Jr returned to The Campanile. It is a rare event and one that is to be celebrated – all chicks being together at the same time. Cal Falcons posted a lovely video of that visit. Those babies are doing so well ——- rabbit_moon_rising and others have posted fantastic photographs of aerial prey drops between Alden and the kids. Check out the Cal Falcons FB and Twitter pages.

The adults at the ND-LEEF nest continue to do great in feeding Little Bit 17 and 15. I have seen no word on 16. Sadly, the nest is continuing to break away. Will it hold out until Little Bit can fledge safely – not a forced fledge but on his own? He is 80 days old today. We really need about another 7-8 days. Positive wishes, please!

More of the left side breaking and on the right where the rim was it is all ready to collapse at any moment. Will the weight take the rest of it tumbling? Oh, I hope people are close by to help!

Little Bit and 15 are such good mates. Eating the fish together.

The remains of a very large sucker.

Several hours later, and Little Bit 17 is up on a very safe branch! 17 has officially branched already but this is so good because of that nest moving away. If you look at the image above, it will not take much for the right side to fall away completely. I hope that Little Bit is imprinting his exit route if that nest collapses. After spending time on this branch, he jumps back to the nest. So if he hears the nest giving way surely he will jump up to the branch. Oh, surely.

Oh, Little Bit. Stay safe!!!!!!!!

I seem to have not mentioned the Kakapo lately. Every time I put on their cute t-shirt and go out in the garden, I think of them and how much is done to try and protect their numbers and the cost of it. Helping wildlife is a good thing to do, whenever and however you can.

Kakapo are parrots that do not fly – sort of. They live on only a couple of islands and wear transmitters that need changed each year. I believe there are now 194. Last year it was 208. Staff change their transmitters annually and do wellness checks year round. Those who need care are flown to Dunedin, near Taiaroa Head, for help.

They are cute! Here is a link that was posted to help raise awareness of these flightless birds and their funding needs.

https://www.google.com/search?gbv=2&hl=en&q=kakapo&sa=N&start=18&ndsp=18&tbm=isch

Gosh. I blinked. They were wee babies and I was worried about their feedings and now Big Bob at the Llyn Brenig Osprey nest is standing up on its feet!!!!!!! Not yet steady but wow. So happy. They lost one chick and the weather was not grand but wow. Nice.

Oh, the weather can turn so nasty so quickly. I don’t think I would ever visit Wales in June because of all the rain and cold blowing winds. (Oh, that also sounds like Manitoba!). Poor Mum!

The winds are up at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. Telyn is out on the perch with the chicks in the nest. I wonder if she will join them? That perch is really bouncing around.

Oh, my goodness. The wind is tearing through the Glaslyn Valley with great force. Mrs G is really hunkered down with the trio tonight. Just look at her determined face. Poor Mum. Those babies are too big to be brooded. Send positive thoughts to all these nests.

The weather is not that bad at the Rutland Water’s Manton Bay nest of Maya and Blue 33. The wind is up a little bit. You can see it from the windblown look of Maya’s nape of her neck.

It’s 22:12 at the Loch Arkaig nest of Louis and Dorcha and all is well. They are just that further north that the day camera is still on.

It looks like it was an alright day on the Mispillion Osprey Nest on Delaware Bay. The chicks are flapping their wings and getting those muscles strong. Hard to see if Mum has done any more decorating. I don’t think so today.

Oh, and what a beautiful sight – three little Bobs enjoying their fish at the Boathouse Osprey nest on Hog Island, Maine. It looks like Dory has figured out the feeding!

I just love this phase of Osprey development. Being good, eating well for Mum, no beaking. Adorable. Just look at Little Bob…precious.

Only Bob at the Patuxent River Park nest 1 has a charmed life. He doesn’t have to share any of the fish with anyone but Mum and Dad.

I have a love-hate relationship with Goshawks. They have been known to lure Osprey parents off the nest into the forest where they kill them. (They do the same to other birds as well, mainly Corvids). Then they return for the chicks. In fact, Llyn Clywedog was just bothered today by a Goshawk intruder.

The trio of little hawklets at the RSPB nest in Abernathy, Scotland are certainly growing and getting stronger on their legs.

Liberty and Freedom have growing eaglets up in Alaska. Lots of food brought to the nest – no one is hungry!

It has been a couple of days since the Summer Solstice but, I don’t know about you but I am having some ‘Spirit Withdrawal’. Sure miss seeing this beauty on the nest all the time. Cali Condor caught her visit!

If you are having Red-tail Hawk withdrawal – and it is easy to do – Ferris Akel posted the highlights of his tour the other evening when he got all of them on camera. Much appreciated, Ferris!

It was nice to catch up with our feathered friends. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages and videos: Ferris Akel Tours, Cal Falcons, ND-LEEF, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Wildlife Trust, MB Storm Chasers, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bwywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, Mispillion Ospreys, Explore.org and Audubon, RSPB, Glacier Gardens, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.

L4 fledges and other news in Bird World

18-19 June 2022

The record breaking rains coupled with our current heat warning mean that it feels like a rainforest on the Canadian Prairies. The songbirds are happy. The lilacs and vines have grown enough that they are providing cooling shade for the birds. The temperature drops tremendously – just like walking into the Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama outside of Kyoto – when you enter their area of the garden.

“Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama, Kyoto 京都嵐山の竹林” by CLF is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

37 degrees C or 98.6 F today. Heat warning. Winter went to summer with tonnes of rain and flooding. The new normal?

Yesterday L4 was jumping all over the rails just as he had done the day before. The question on everyone’s mind was when is L4 going to fledge? Well, he flew this morning! 07:03:36. L4 landed in the trees across the street taking off from the rail where he loved to dance and jump. Congratulations! Big Red and Arthur have successfully fledged 4 hawks.

Ready…set…

Go!!!!!!!!! And L4 is off to the trees over by the Fernow Building across the street.

Rosie and Richmond’s two osplets were banded yesterday and the banders believe that they are two little boys by the leg measurements. Sweet. Today is the last day to vote on the name pairings! Here is the SF Bay Ospreys announcement:

The little Red-tail hawklet- Malala- that arrived for lunch and stayed to be adopted at the Bald Eagle nest on Gabriola Island (just off Vancouver Island) – has branched and is really growing. Consider its size compared to the eaglets and how fast it is at getting prey. Now think of Little Bit 17. ND15 and ND16 might be big but ND 17 is quick, like the hawklet, as lightning.

Yesterday Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets were on the nest together for awhile. So nice to see the Three Amigos. Beautiful, beautiful juvenile eagles.

Thunder’s sister at the Two Harbours nest of Chase & Cholyn is big and beautiful. Parents are bringing in the fish – there were three yesterday!

Spirit is a regular visitor to her Big Bear Valley natal nest. Her ‘eagle’ eyes see Jackie and Shadow coming in with fish and she is on that nest! Fabulous.

In the first image, Spirit has spotted a fish delivery. She rushes to the nest.

Those parents really have to be careful with those talons. Shadow’s beak is extremely sharp.

Whew.

It did not take long for Spirit to polish that fish off!

Remember when?

Saturday evening Mum arrived on the ND-LEEF nest and fed the three eaglets the rest of the raccoon. ND17 had a nice little crop after – he did appreciate the raccoon! 15 and 16 had some bites and left.

Sunday morning a really large fish was brought to the nest at 08:52. Little Bit 17 stole some of that fish at 09:01.

At 09:14:24 Little Bit 17 grabs more of that fish and rushes over to the rim to eat it while a big sibling stands behind him. I sure hope he got that nice tail portion!

Takoda is still branching – have not heard of a fledge at the National Arboretum nest in Washington, DC yet.

The nest of Aran and Mrs G is really getting to look like part of the field down below. All three of the chicks are doing grand.

Aran flew in with a really nice fish at 13:43! It was a lively one.

Not to be undone by Aran. Idris is on a roll and this morning he brought in a very rare Shad to the nest to the envy of all watching. Telyn was quite happy to take that whole fish and feed it to the Bobs!

CJ7 might be a first time mother but she is a really smart one. She had a nice piece of fish tucked under some nesting materials to feed the Bobs first thing this morning – they were hungry very early.

Blue 022 has proven himself to be a young but reliable Dad – several fish deliveries including this one at 15:47. Blue 022 is flying off and CJ7 is up and ready to feed the babies.

The three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya are as big as Mum when she is feeding them. All bets are on for tomorrow (Monday the 20th) being banding day provided a boat and a bander are available.

Everyone is tired after a big meal.

The latest tracking for Ervie shows him staying around Port Lincoln and his unusual haunts. This comes from the 18th. Did he visit the barge?

Other quick news. News is coming from Patuxent River Park. An osplet fell through the platform because a Beaver chewed a large hole. A new platform is going up. Will follow up on this. There was a hatch at the MN Landscape Arboretum Ospreys on June 17 at 08:26:34. A pair of Ospreys landed on the Collins Marsh nest above the old fire viewing tower. I hope they do not stay. This nest needs to be removed and a new platform built with a ladder and a perch! And the pond needs to be stocked with fish for them. The fishing has been hard for Laddie and Loch of the Lowes with no fish delivery so far on Sunday. I sure hope Blue NC0 goes out fishing – the Bobs are too big to let starve!!!!!!! Has something happened to Laddie? If you watched the Decorah North nest, DN16 has fledged. The three Black Storklets of Jan and Janika have yet to be moved to their ‘forest room’. I am told it will be soon. This is the latest feeding video from Liz. They are getting their itchy feathers!

Happy Father’s Day to all those bird fathers out there caring for their mates and their chicks and/or eggs! Here is a lovely tribute from Cal Falcons – grab a tissue! Lindsay and Grinnell Jr are one of the positive things to come out of Bird World this year!

Take care everyone. It is a busy day on the nests with lots of things happening. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys, GROWLS, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, FOBBV, NADC-AEF, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Cornell RTH Cam, EMU and Liz, ND-LEEF, and Cal Falcons.

Thursday Afternoon in Bird World

2 June 2022

I am so impressed with the way that the raptors get great coverage by the radio, television, and daily newspapers. Spirit and her fledge have once again made the news! Why do I like this? Because the more people are aware and the more they appreciate the raptors the less likely they will be to harm them or their habitat. As each of us learns about their journeys and hardships we might change the way we do things to benefit their environment. We might make a donation to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic that has helped them. The possibilities are endless to do good things for the birds just like the joy they bring to our lives.

I admit to loving this image of the three – from left to right, Shadow, Little Spirit, and Jackie. What a beautiful family. Just so very happy for all of them – Spirit could not have had better parents and let us hope that she hangs around for a month honing those flying skills so we still get to see her!

Here is one article today:

https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/06/01/spirit-big-bear-eaglet-flies-first-time-jackie-shadow/7475154001/?fbclid=IwAR3wJ1PcWT8t9ksw_4G6lHWHVJOu127Hl9iiUaTVDy8JHyt64mLCFIROT5o

Here is another that appeared on the FOBBV FB page:

‘R’ has been collecting images of Big at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest and they are amazing captures of the height that Big is achieving in her hovering. Thank you, R! I missed these and saw the hovering last evening. Big is so ready to fledge.

It is OK to go ‘Wow’.

These are from today. It continues to look as if Big is the one that is doing all the hovering. There is a bit more chocolate on her head. All that is needed is just the right wind!

Can you tell who is who? I never ever thought I would be in a position at this nest to wonder that!

What is wonderful is that there has been so much fish lately at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest that there are leftovers and tonight Mum even got to eat some by herself after feeding Middle.

Big is looking around and you can just feel her wanting to fly! Is Dad doing flying demonstrations above to try and get her interested? Maybe.

At 16:15 Little Bit 17 stole the fish tail form his big sibling 16 – the one that pulls out his feathers. Wow. Little Bit 17 is hungry and that was a nice piece of fish and the tail but the hunger has made Little Bit 17 brave today. He needs to eat. He spent much of his energy trying to get some food out of that road kill yesterday. Perhaps he expended more energy than what he got in terms of food. But, yes! Go Little Bit!

Little Bit moves in close to the right of 16 and grabs the fish tail. Remember he is the King of the Grab and Snatch.

Little Bit moves over to the side of the nest in a mantling position. He eats the fish by holding it down really tight and pulling up. Little Bit is getting faster! He knows that those big siblings could grab his precious food, too.

Protecting himself and eating fast.

Done. He goes around the nest after to see if there is any other food remnants. So far there has been a Blue Gill, a Small Mouth Bass, a Rye Bird and what looked to be a really bad piece of road kill. Perhaps a possum.

The nest needs much more food. But grateful for what comes. And it came in the form of Mum feeding – sit down – 16 and Little Bit 17 at the same time!!!!!! Seriously. She was mostly on the porch side of the nest but at 17:24:15 Little Bit has a nice crop and passes out in a food coma. It doesn’t get much better than that. Tears.

Sweet Eagle Dreams Little Bit 17. No one can say you are not brave – you are!

Dylan and Seren have plenty of fish up at Lyn Clywedog. Any early worries about the third osplet are all over. Each of the three chicks is doing extremely well.

Dylan is on the perch eating the head of the fish that he is going to take down to Seren and the kids.

One of the chicks is playing peek-a-boo.

They are all getting to be Reptiles!

It is evening at Poole Harbour. Fireworks are going off for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. (Don’t get me started on why fireworks are entirely unnecessary and harm wildlife and domestic pets). CJ7 doesn’t seem to be bothered but she does seem to be listening. Are we ready for the second hatch at Poole Harbour?

It is a bit drizzly up in Scotland at the Loch of the Lowes. Everyone is eating. The three are really growing. We can still tell Little Bob because he is a lovely light grey but he is growing and Blue NC0 has been super to make sure all are fed.

Big Red brought a big grey squirrel to the Ls for their dinner! Looks like a Thursday night feast.

Life looks pretty good on the nests. I will be watching the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest intently. Both birds are ready to go – but, I suspect it is Big with all the flapping and a nice gust will carry her off!!!!! Little Bit 17 is full and that is good.

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

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, ND-LEEF, Cornell RTH, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Woodland Trust, CarnyXWild, and FOBBV.

Little Bit 17 eats a whole fish!

I should go out and check on pelicans and ducks more often. Little Bit worked on a number of prey items getting some food. The times were 08:09:09-08:18:49, 11:33:51-11:36:11 Little Bit is working on the squirrel that was in the nest yesterday. From 12:27:47-12:40:47 he is eating away at something. Three other times are 12:51-12:54:27, 13:39:45-13:50:58 (Dad had brought in a prey item and 17 ate from 16:12:44-16:27. In the image below, Little Bit flaps his wings and goes to the porch to be fed.

Leftovers it seems mostly. Mum had him on the porch a couple of times and you could tell that he was eating.

Then a small fish was delivered to the ND-LEEP nest and a road kill Raccoon.

The small fish arrived at 16:04:17. It is hard to believe but Little Bit 17 got to eat the entire thing. Could it have been bigger? Sure. But let’s just be glad he got the entire thing instead of the skin at the end. Just lovely.

Little Bit 17 leaves the fish and moves back to working on the old raccoon. No one is paying any attention. Just like the squirrel yesterday it is too much trouble for some food for the older siblings. So Little Bit is pulling and eating away and slowly moving it over to the porch! This is a really smart kid! He has somewhere over there that he stashes food.

That is Little Bit 17 to the right of the tree trunk. You can see a bit of the raccoon just to his right.

At 17:27 Little Bit 17 is still working on that Racoon! It has been a good day.

CJ7 waited for a mate and waited for a mate at her Poole Harbour Osprey nest and no one came until last year when a 2 year old Blue 022 returned from his migration and stopped. The couple hit it off – they seriously mated on camera during a BBC interview and apparently all over town. It was too late for eggs but they joined up together on their return in 2022. Today, CJ7 is feeding her first ever chick. It is also the first osprey chick to hatch in Poole Harbour in over 200 years. Congratulations!

Spirit came home from food and was fed by Shadow yesterday at the Big Bear Valley nest he shares with Jackie. She flew off at first light – 05:30:33. Let us hope she returns for an evening meal and roosting at the nest tree!

And guess who’s home? Spirit flies like she has been doing it for days, not just a day! She arrived at the nest tree through the back door and the camera caught her for us!

This is a very quick check. But to end on a very positive note at 17:21 both chicks on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest are eating fish!!!!!!!!!

That is it for today. If you haven’t voted for the names of the two chicks at the Cal Falcons scrape, do so before Friday morning the 3rd. You can only vote once. Here is the address:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJIK22dUBPuCq2cnIg5HqfLrwBXGIzOmDYF-SqWoYzakYTYQ/viewform

Take care everyone. It has been a great day for the nests I checked on this afternoon. Good to see Little Bit working on road kill but also having that whole fish to himself. Let us see what happens tomorrow. Thanks so much for joining me. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ND-LEEF, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Friends of Big Bear Valley, and UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

31 May 2022

I wish I could tell you that ND 17 our very own Little Bit was stuffing its face with fish right now but, that is not what is happening. So far as I can tell only a small fish has come on the nest today. Hoping for more fish later!

They are not raptors but I adore the Black Storks (and White ones) and I like to mention them now and again. The Black Storks are extremely rare in Estonia and Latvia making their nests mostly in the southern areas of the countries. These countries are the northernmost areas for Black Storks to breed. They are, thus, very special. Jan and Janika started out with six storklets in their nest in Estonia – five have survived. All five are doing well. The fifth one is small but it is right up there with the others eating well so I am hopeful — if food is plentiful that all will fledge. That nest is going to get awfully small when they start jumping around and flapping those wings. Janika brought in a large meal for all five!

The weather around the MN-DNR is gusty and wet like it is here. They are getting this same system that has moved north and east from Colorado. Nancy is on the nest feeding E1, Harriet. There appears to be a sub-adult on the perch. Nancy appears to be ignoring it at the moment.

Nancy leaves after feeding E1. The visiting sub-adult remains on the perch.

Later, Nancy is gone and so is the visitor.

It was hard to see Spirit take her first flight this morning. Spirit loves her food and I am pretty certain that Jackie and Shadow will lure her with prey. We will see if it is to the nest or off nest – time will tell. Spirit is 88 days 12 hours and 35 minutes old when she flies off the nest.

Remember when? What a beautiful couple with their miracle baby, Spirit.

Deb S caught Spirit’s fledge in a really short video clip. Oh, what a fabulous first flight. Soar high Spirit, stay safe, wishing you lots of fish and a long, long life.

The first sighting of Spirit caught after her fledge:

The three eyases at the Spartan Stadium scrape at the University of Michigan are losing their baby feathers just like the ones at Cal Falcons scrape.

The five eyases at the Manchester New Hampshire are watching as Mum is flying in with lunch!

Are you a fan of Tom and Audrey at the Chesapeake Conservancy Osprey Nest? If so, there is reason to celebrate. Audrey laid her fist egg of her second clutch today!

The Ls are getting bigger and restless. L1 ventured out to the fledge ledge today and anyone watching probably needed a double handful of worry beads. The chicks will run up and down the grate, stand and look out at the field and the trees from the fledge ledge days before actually flying. Big Red has been going and sitting there showing them where to take off so this is a good thing. L1 has been trying to climb the light box – a bad idea. J2 did fledge from there in 2020 but it is much easier to take off from the grate! at the ends! or in the middle between the bars in front. Fledge watch opens for L1 on Friday!

Gosh, I know it is nice to have the freshest fish but goodness it is scary when a live flappy one comes on the nest. That just happened to Telyn when Idris brought in a Flounder. You can hear her little cheeps when she is looking at the fish breathing.

Louis and Dorcha at their Loch Arkaig nest.

The newest addition to the Louis and Dorcha family! What a sweet little bundle.

Every chick got fed – again – at the Loch of the Lowes. Little Bob is doing good, holding its own there in the middle of its two big siblings who, if you look at the back of their heads, are changing plumage.

Aran has been getting the fish to Mrs G who is busy feeding the little ones.

It is hard to see the babies at Glacier Gardens but you sure can see the cars driving by!!!!!!! Would love to get in the head space of the Bald Eagles when they pick the site for a new nest.

They are beautiful and they are the Pittsburgh-Hayes trio! All have branched and they are flapping those wings just like the Three Amigos at the West End. Fledge is approaching!

Need to keep an eye on the US Steel Eaglets too. They have just received a prey drop and one of the adults is out on the branch giving some hints.

Fledge watch is officially on for Liberty and Guardian’s Star and Sentry at the Redding California Bald Eagle nest. Fledge should be from 29 May – 15 June. I love the wide window. That is about the same for the Pennsylvania eaglets at Pittsburg-Hayes and US Steel, too. They are all beautiful birds and we can knock on wood – none had the Avian Flu. What a relief.

The chicks at Cal Falcons are almost out of the scrape following the shade. They are hot and panting in the California heat. Look at the bottom and please go and vote so they have two great names!!!!!!

And last, but never least – the two Osplets on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest. At one time I thought we might wind up with only one chick on this nest. Big Bob was quite the terror. Middle persisted and we now have two beautiful birds getting ready to fledge. I counted six plus dark bands on Big Bob today but it is Middle Bob that looked like he would take off if a gust came!

Gosh these are beautiful raptors! Just stunning.

That is it for today. I just checked. It is nearing evening at the Notre-Dame nest. I wish beyond anything that two big fish come on that nest tonight. If not, Little Bit is still OK. Tomorrow evening if no fish have come in – or other prey – I will start to fret.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their FB pages: The Eagle Club of Estonia, ND-LEEF, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Pix Cams, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Friends of Redding Eagles, MN-DNR, Glacier Gardens, Explore.org, Peregrine Networks, and Spartan Stadium Peregrine Cam.

Late Friday in Bird World

22 April 2022

There is so much news in Bird World. I simply cannot keep up. At the same time, most of it is all wonderful! That is a good thing. My report will be short. Many things to do after listening to the wonder session with Cal Falcons.

Jackie and Shadow are amazing. While we have rain warnings here on the Canadian Prairies, our beautiful Eagle family in the Big Bear Valley had a horrific snow/ice storm.

Here is a video clip of Jackie and Spirit. What a great Mum Jackie is!!!!!!

This image was taken at 13:45 and things are much improved.

Cal Falcons. Mark May 5-6 as hatch days. Gosh, the Q & A with Sean Peterson and Lynn Schofield was really and truly informative. I learned so much! And I am posting it for you so you can listen if you wish. There were a couple of takeaways from this session that I found quite interesting. The first was that Alden was known to both Annie and Grinnell and was accepted by Annie and Grinnell. He had been seen for 1 or 2 months. Neither of them ever tried to chase Alden off the Campanile. On at least one occasion, Alden brought a prey delivery to Annie while Grinnell was alive. Again, no action by Grinnell. There is speculation that Alden was going to be a ‘nest helper’ for Annie and Grinnell and that is why neither of them were antagonistic or aggressive to him. The second was that a falcon has super eye sight for about a mile. They can spot a prey item. Grinnell was killed within a mile of The Campanile. Annie might have seen Grinnell being killed and that would contribute to her bonding with Alden so quickly.

Here is the link to this session.

Another fish came to the UFlorida-Gainesville at 16:11:37. The feeding finished at 16:47:55. Little Bit got nothing. The problem is that the two big siblings are now requiring more and more food and both are intimidating the wee babe. If another extremely large fish comes on board before night, finger’s crossed. I am not hopeful, however.

In part, one of the biggest issues is how the female stands to feed the chicks. If she would point her head at the rim so that Little Bit could get between her legs or on the opposite side, he might have a chance of some food.

Lena has been calling for a fish delivery. I wonder if she is hoping she can get Little (MiniO) who fledged this morning back up to the nest for some food.

There is absolutely nothing more beautiful than Big Red looking down at her new baby and it looking up to its wonderful Mum.

Iris has been spending time today at the nest just like she seems to do every afternoon.

The winds are roaring around the Channel Islands Bald Eagle nests. Everyone at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta are holding on!

It is not nearly as breezy but the wind is blowing and it is wet and dreary at the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and Harry and their two eaglets.

Big and Middle shared a fish at 09:38. These two are looking really good and there is absolutely no rivalry. It is truly wonderful – even when there are not a lot of prey items.

It is Earth Day and this is a very good reminder from Rosie and Richmond!

Wishing Everyone a Very Happy Earth Day. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I grabbed my screen captures: SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, DHEC, Friends of Big Bear Valley, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Cornell Bird Lab and Montana Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wldlife, Explore.org, and Cal Falcons.

Late Thursday and early Friday in Bird World

14-15 April 2022

Everyone is anxiously awaiting the end of the storm system that is staying over Manitoba. Hopefully it will be on its way eastward late on Friday. There is so much snow. It has been a privilege to feed so many visiting Dark-eyed Juncos over the past two days as well as the regular garden birds, squirrels, and rabbit. My live is so enriched by their presence that it is hard to imagine not having them visit daily.

Things are really busy in Bird World. The UK and European raptors are busy laying eggs, eagles are preparing to fledge or just hatching, US Ospreys are arriving and laying eggs and some nests are just coming back on line.

I know that many of you love the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagles. That nest is now back on line with eggs being laid when? the end of April? or beginning of May? For whatever reason, that camera will not allow me to post it here so do go to YouTube and search for Glacier Gardens! Isn’t it gorgeous. There are so many Bald Eagles in Alaska – they love the salmon and the cooler temperatures. Indeed, the 67 or 68 Bald Eagles taken into care during the heat of last summer in British Columbia flew north to Alaska, not south. This will be a growing trend as the raptors adapt to climate change.

Oh, goodness. Little Bit at the UFlorida Gainesville Osprey nest is doing so well. What a little cutie pie. He is still tiny compared to Big but Mom is doing really well.

Look at him stretch those neck muscles to reach his fish. Yes, that is him at the back. Big has already eaten, is full, and is walking away to the left front. Excellent!

The Patuxent River Park has started the streaming cams to their osprey nests. This is cam 2. Now isn’t she gorgeous?

This is the nest where the foster chick went overboard last season and where a staff member took her canoe out and retrieved the chick and got it back on the nest – after hours! So many were grateful for that act of kindness.

Thank you ‘L’ for alerting me to this camera being back on line.

Here is the link to cam 2:

And this is the link to cam 1:

I decided to go and check on Jasper and Rocket at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby at Jacksonville. And look where I first found them! It will not be long for their first flights.

The AEF did a short visit of Rocket joining Jasper.

Besties.

At the SWFlorida Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, E20 is turning into a great prey stealer. Lady Hawk made a video of M15 with prey by the pond when E20 snatched it and took it to the nest to eat. Bravo!

I am going to bed with a smile on my face. Look at that crop of Little Middle at the Dale Hollow nest!

Spirit continues to grow and be well loved and cared for by Jackie and Shadow at the Big Bear nest. Gorgeous.

For all of those waiting, the chat will open for Big Red and Arthur’s streaming cam on Monday. Normally the chats vary the times between M-W-F and T-Th-S. Great moderators with years of experience are there to educate you about the hawks, their history, and what to expect. I hear Laura Culley, the falconer, will be with us again this year. Fantastic.

Here is the link to access the camera:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/red-tailed-hawks/

You will see the page below. Click on the red chat symbol! It is easy. Just don’t go to YouTube expecting a chat!!!!!!!!

As some of you may know, the female at the Duke Farms nest left on the 11th when the eaglet was banded. She has yet to return to the nest. While we all want her to be safe and return soon, it is reassuring that the eaglet is of the age that it can be left alone and would naturally have been at times. The male is bringing in food and feeding and caring for his eaglet and this is all good.

UPDATE: Biologists have spotted the female this morning and she is fine.

Harry, Nancy and the two eaglets at the MN-DNR nest seem to be just fine – for now. North Dakota got really dumped on with the snow. The storm is moving east. I hope it stays away from this nest in Minnesota!

The Black Storks at the Sigulda County nest in Latvia are busy. They are doing a lot of restoration work on their nest for this breeding season.

Here is the link to the camera of Grafs (m) and Grafiene (f):

Here is Grafiene feeding the storklets in July 2021. The parents go fishing and regurgitate the small fish onto the nest for the babies.

The nest seems to get so small as the storklets grow.

It was a hot summer with food becoming scarce. Many individuals helped the storks and the storklets by setting up a pond with a decoy to try and lure the fledglings to they could get food. I was very grateful for the efforts made at some of the Black Stork nests last year including the delivery of fish to keep Jan and Janika’s storklets alive. Droughts, rising summer temperatures, the erosion of wetland habitat all impact our beautiful feathered friends.

The Poole Harbour Osprey couple made the BBC news.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-61109786

Have you voted for the name for Annie’s ‘New Guy’? You have until noon PST 17 April. New name announced on Monday the 18th!!!!!!!! Yahooooooo.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/04/13/nine-names-one-falcon-vote-to-give-uc-berkeleys-new-guy-a-new-name/?fbclid=IwAR1y1UU5qtPvCT2w5kCi-51qPYWOaog27Lo7uVTpWuBQ5brVbKlGQDmLgcE

I know that some of you love Dyson. I don’t normally post other wildlife but I found this streaming cam with a grey squirrel box, a mother and 3 wee ones. You might enjoy watching it!

Gray Squirrel Nest

We still have light snow falling and the Juncos are still in the garden in full force. The great thing about this morning – the sun is out!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell RTH, DHEC, UFlorida Ospreys, Looduskalender, Latvian Fund for Nature, Duke Farms, Friends of Big Bear Valley, MN-DNR Eagles, NEFlorida and the AEFR, Patuxent River Park, and Glacier Gardens.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

15 March 2022

It has been a very sad morning in Bird World with the death of what appears to be, now, the oldest chick on the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Lori Covert the landowner has contacted CROW, that wonderful wildlife rehabber on Santibel. Permission was given to remove the body of the osplet for testing. CROW arrived and removed Big beginning at 15:21:15-15:21:26. You can see how quick they were to come once they had the OK and how they did not disturb the nest.

Big was 27 days old. He or she would have been 28 days tomorrow.

They do not want to cause any undue stress or frighten the other two on Did Big choke on a pellet? He had been gagging several times this morning. Casting pellets is a natural part of a raptor’s life. What cannot be processed in the crop is compacted into something not unlike a small charcoal pellet. The birds then regurgitate these. Researchers like the pellets because they can study what the birds have been eating. But a pellet or the H5N1 highly pathogenic Avian Flu is on speculation. It appears that Big died after moving up to eat but couldn’t. That was approximately 08:33. I sincerely hope that this is not a case of H5N1 and look forward to the announcement. The other two osplets both ate at 15:40.

Little Bob (Mini on chat) and Middle Bob appear to be fine. They are interested and can eat and that is a great sign!

It used to not unsettle me when an adult or a chick died. Perhaps it is just everything that has happened for so many years catching up with me but I was particularly upset at the loss at Captiva this morning. Thankfully the garden critters were robustly going after the two new seed cylinders that were put out yesterday. Dyson could not decide where to settle. He wanted the oil seeds that had fallen out of a bag on the snow but he also wanted to eat off the cylinder and he was intrigued by the peanuts in the square tray feeder.

Despite his altercation with the cat, Dyson remains pleasantly plump after the harsh winter and the back half of his tail is growing back. Horrah!

The Blue Jay family – OK. One member of the Blue Jay family has returned from their migration today. I could not get the camera quick enough for a photo but I hope to attract it with a cob of corn on the deck. i wonder if it is Junior? Mr? or Mrs? And where do they go?

It was a good day for a walk in the woods. Our temperature is a balmy +2 C. The snow is definitely melting and there is an open water area now at the Fort Whyte Nature Centre. There were three Canada Geese there today!

There were a number of Black-capped chickadees at the feeder and when I arrived the little Downy Woodpecker with the broken beak was just flying away. Too quick for me to catch him but for those of you who asked, it is still alive and eating well out of the cylinder feeder! That is certainly good news.

What I needed was a walk in the woods where it was absolutely quiet. The snow is now wet enough that it did not crunch. All you could hear on occasion was the songs of the birds.

Walking in nature is good therapy.

I am happy to report that all of the eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest have eaten. Little Bit was sure enjoying a fish that had been brought to the nest.

The middle on moved up and got some food, too, after Little Bit. You can see the huge difference in size now between all three chicks. Big just looks enormous!

This was Little Bit sleeping before the feeding over on the rim of the nest. It looks bigger stretched out and was clenching its talons and letting go and clenching them again. Was it catching a fish in its eaglet dreams?

Sweet baby sleeping in the shade. For those of you that do not know, the black dot behind the eye and corner of the beak is the ear. It will get covered with feathers. You might also notice that Little Bit is getting some of its darker thermal down and losing its baby fluff. Looks like a few little feathers poking about perhaps.

I just checked and Little Bit was fed at 16:20. So all is well at Dale Hollow as evening approaches.

Big Red gave Arthur some incubation time today. That is fantastic. She doesn’t allow him much but it is nice to see him so alert taking his turn with their first egg.

Arthur is very handsome.

I don’t think you could find a more gorgeous female Red tail Hawk than Big Red anywhere! She is so stunning with her really dark morph.

Big Red took a dinner break at 17:29 nest time.

Do not worry. This egg is fine. We learned that due to Milda leaving her eggs in almost freezing weather for 5-6 hours. They both hatched. Everything is good. Big Red has been having chicks for 17 years. She is an expert. I certainly am not. LOL. Remember. I wanted to give Rosie and Richmond sticks!

There was a very sweet posting by the SF Ospreys today on their FB page:

I really wanted to dump a lot of sticks for these two down in the parking lot! As many of you know, I look for ways to make the lives of our birds better. Part of that has to do with the elimination of lead in all fishing and hunting equipment. The other has to do with rat and mice poison. Well, look what a Place Called Hope just posted!

At the West End Bald eagle nest, Akecheta brought in a Cormorant to the nest. This came after there was something that looked like an Armadillo. Both were road kill. Thunder decided to feed the three eaglets the fresh fish! The West End nest is doing well.

Shadow and Jackie at the Big Bear Valley Bald Eagle nest are also doing just fine. The little one is growing like a very bad weed.

I checked on Kincaid, too, at the Kistachie National Forest nest in Louisiana. He is wing flapping and showing his preference for some prey and not others but I do not believe that he has branched yet.

That is it for me today. I am still recovering from the loss of Big. Looking forward to the test results. If it was a pellet then we should know that very fast. If it was something else, we will have to wait for test results that can take days.

From all the critters in the garden, thank you for joining us today. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: A Place called Hope, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, KNF Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, and SF Bay Ospreys.

Late Sunday in Bird World

13 March 2022

As we all know, behaviours of nestlings can turn on the weather. After seeing the three osplets at the Captiva Nest behaving nicely at meals today, it was heart wrenching to watch the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. Just about the time that everything looked good on the Dale Hollow nest, the oldest of the siblings took it upon itself to make certain that Middle and Little Bit got nothing to eat. In other words, she asserted her dominance. It seems that the recent snow storm probably caused these issues. This is precisely what happened at Captiva. Now that the weather system has passed and lots of fish have been brought to the nest, Captiva has returned to its normal state of calm. I hope that the same happens at Dale Hollow. Little Bit is so small, much smaller than Little Bob at Captiva. Fingers crossed.

Neither of the two smaller siblings got any of that meal. River was feeding and pulling off the bones to feed Big. It looked like the remainder of a Coot.

Thankfully another fish came on the nest. Big was right up there but, Big got full and there was fish left. Hoorah! The good thing about prey items coming in close together when there is a dominant sib.

What really impressed me was Little. When it looked like River was going to give the bite of food to Middle, Little stretched its neck and did a grab. It caught River’s attention! Look at Little in the image below stretching that neck. This Little Bit is hungry and is determined to get some food now that Big has eaten its fill.

Now that Little Bit has River’s attention it is getting some nice bites and a little crop is forming.

I noticed that Little Bit kept looking at the fish and at one point was pecking at it. Is this Little One going to be like Rocket at the NEFlorida nest and start pecking at the open fish on the nest when it is hungry? leading to a really early self-feeding? It certainly stretched that neck and did a grab. Give it a week and we will have a really good snatch and grabber in Little Bit.

There is a breakfast fish left on the nest. It is not clear if there are any fish hidden under the straw. Happy Eagle Dreams everyone.

River returned to the nest and was feeding the eaglets again at 18:10. Just look who is up there at the front. Oh, this is good. Everyone will get some of that fish before bedtime.

It was a whole different story at the Captiva Osprey nest. Andy brought in the 11th fish for Lena and the three kids at 17:26:07. You could almost hear the osplets saying, ‘Oh, please Dad, no more fish. Please, no more fish’. There has to be a point when they are just so full they cannot consider another bite.

By 18:24, all three were passed out in food comas. Think we will see a bit of growth tonight?! Maybe. Hopefully they will sleep well for Lena and Andy. What a day it was. I thought 10 fish was a record but 11! The one thing I did not notice was a lot of recreational boat traffic for a Sunday. Maybe I missed it. Could that and a slight dip in temperatures help Andy fish like this?

It is hard to believe but all of these little eaglets will go from being about 7.62 cm or 3 inches to 91.44 cm (nearly a metre) or 3 feet tall in 3 months. Yes. You read that correctly. Pretty unbelievable. All that prey is turned into eagles the size of the parents.

Life is good over at the West End Eagle nest. Look at those little fuzz balls. So cute. I love it when they put their wings around one another.

Then it switches. The wee one is in there somewhere. There is lots of food on this nest. The parents eat really well and feed the babes til they are full.

Thunder might should have been called ‘lighting’ because that is the speed that she uses when she does a feeding!

Akecheta loves being a Dad. Every time I check on this nest he is brooding. What a great partner you are this year, Cheta.

It is 16:14 on the Big Bear Valley nest. I have never heard or seen wind like this. The gusts have gotten stronger throughout the afternoon. Jackie is hanging on with the baby underneath her. There have been six feedings at the nest today so everything is fine. They are just going to have to hold on – nothing new for Jackie and Shadow. They can handle it.

Oh, the camera could do with a really good wipe at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby. Rocket and Jasper are so gorgeous. They have both been self feeding and parents come and go helping out once in awhile. I have not seen any move to branch yet with either Rocket or Jasper.

Gabby loves being a Mum and she is going to enjoy every minute with Jasper and Rocket that she can.

Cheta just doesn’t want to get off the nest this evening!

Have a look at these two! R1 and R2 have grown like weeds!

Right now you can tell R1 who is on the left from R2 because there is a large white patch on his chest. But gosh, if it wasn’t there, it is very hard to tell the two apart. This Papadam chair nest has really worked well. Just look at both of them standing up so straight. They will be up on that branch before long.

Or maybe they won’t branch and will flap on the rim and fly off. R1 is doing a great job of getting some exercise into its wings.

As the sun sets, it has turned out to be a really good day for all of the nests! I am so hoping to have some news about Grinnell and Annie who seem to be in some kind of standoff with one another and of course, our dear Ervie. Wasn’t that a wonderful picture of him in the pine tree? There will be more Osprey arrivals in the UK tomorrow. Wonder who we will see?

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Look to the birds for joy in a weary world.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles, the WRDC, NEFlorida and the AEF, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.