Tag Archives: birds and weather

Early Saturday in Bird World

15 October 2022

It is 0500 on the Canadian prairies and the sky is solid clouds with a temperature of 5 degrees C. I am surprised at how toasty warm it is in the conservatory and how quiet it is. No cars, no people, no geese honking, or songbirds. Quiet.

The situation at Port Lincoln has had me up and down most of the night. I had so hoped that Little Bob would get some more food during the day but Big has made sure that Little and Middle are so frightened of eating that Little wouldn’t hardly raise its beak. It is a worry. If Big is going to calm down, it should begin to happen. What I witnessed on Saturday was a huge sibling demanding all the fish including any that would go to Mum. I am up early today because one of the things that relieves stress is to go for a walk in the forest and that is where I will be headed. As much as I would like to remove Big from the entire situation at Port Lincoln, I can’t. You can’t. Sometimes it is simply hard to watch abuse.

A sweet story about Blue Herons by an 11-year-old, how weather changes might impact Chiffchaffs, and a couple of videos to start the day:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/15/young-country-diary-grandmas-favourite-walk-was-to-see-the-herons

Besides the little warblers in the article below, how many other birds will be impacted by weather?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/12/weatherwatch-chiffchaff-garden-winter-breeding-population

Before we go and get the round up of the days events in Australia, Lady Hawk made a very short video of Samson and Gabby for all of us who are missing them!

And for those who cannot wait until the next season of Royal Albatross begins, Sharon Dunne aka Lady Hawk, made a much longer video of the albatross arriving at Taiaroa Head. I wonder who the Royal Cam family will be?

Oh, I had so hoped that Big Bob at Port Lincoln was ‘cooling her jets’ and settling down. The breakfast meal on Saturday went well. Big filled up. Middle got quite a bit, and Little got a couple of bites and then was able to get fed some fish before the tail area. Everyone settled down. As the anticipation of another fish arrival grew, Big ‘decided’ to remind Middle and Little Bobs with some savage beaking and pulling at the neck and some tossing that – she – and only she – was to eat first.

As the morning wore on with no additional fish delivery, Big got increasingly angry. The chatters who were watching the live stream were urging Little Bob to just not make a sound. Big is in a frenzy. Will Big be one of the exceptions to the rule of calming down? Middle and Little would gladly be fostered about right now. No matter what size the next fish is, it is Big’s. And no one will have any peace until there are several fish deliveries in a row that are huge…deliveries that have a late one and then an early one the next morning. Gracious.

Neither sibling is spared. The meal was over. Both Middle and Little were minding their own business and Bob decided to go after them.

At 11:50 Little Bob insists on cuddling with Big Bob – right under her neck. Interesting. Big Bob gave Little ‘the look’ but, didn’t beak.

It is windy and choppy. No fish delivery yet. It is after 1330. It could be quite nasty with Big on edge. I sure hope it is a monster of a fish.

There will be two more fish deliveries at Port Lincoln. The mid-afternoon delivery saw Bob terrorizing both Middle and Little again. Does anyone remember the days when Big only went on a rampage between meals and everyone got to eat? It has been a long time since that happened. Now, both Middle and Little are fearful of eating. Little Bob did not get anything to eat. Middle did a do around and pulled some pieces of fish from behind Mum.

On the PLO nest there was a late fish delivery at 20:13:24 but Little did not get anything to eat. Middle got to enjoy some fish. It is very clear that Big Bob has scared Little from eating. Let us hope, beyond hope, that he gets some food Sunday morning. Of course, the other miracle would be that Big would slow down in the aggression. Will this happen?

At 367 Collins Street, Mum returned after Dad had fed the chicks. The prey that he brought in was identified as a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. You can just see a few of the yellow feathers remaining. Apparently these are very dangerous birds for the falcons to catch as they can break the tarsus.

So we can be clear. The prey breakfast that Dad brought was not the pigeon that Mum caught and brought to the ledge. From the look of her enormous crop when she returned, she must have been ravenous and finished off that entire bird.

Mum cleaned up pieces of prey in the scrape, stayed with the chicks for a bit, and then left. Dad returned when the chicks were panting to try and shield them from the sun. Again, this is the strangest Peregrine Falcon scrape I have ever seen.

The eyases have grown so much that little Dad has a hard time just shading one of them. We are still about a week away before they can run down the gutter to the other end when it is in shade.

Top 2 images of Mum shading the chicks when she returns. Why didn’t she stay? It is so hot for them.

Little Dad comes and does his best. Look at how big they are. Oh, the shade cannot come quick enough and my calculations are that is 2 hours away.

I have included this ‘behind the scenes’ view of what I believe is the oldest or next oldest of the chicks. Just look at the feathers coming in, that huge tail, and yes, that fat little bottom and legs. It will not be long til this one is running up and down the gutter.

The Melbourne Four are eating well. The last delivery arrives around 1725. Dad comes in with a nicely prepared piece of prey. None of the four will be going hungry!

After Dad feeds them, Mum returns to brood the eyases.

Diamond fed Rubus and Indigo again around 10:17. Oh, she must enjoy facing away from the camera so we cannot possibly count the bites each of them gets! Of course, now that Rubus can see better and is more stable, there is no cause to worry. Rubus gets fed! And so does Indigo. She had an enormous crop when Diamond left the scrape with leftovers at 10:32.

We have to assume that with how well the feedings have been going that Rubus was full as well as both chicks will go into food coma.

Rubus had a really good feed at noon. At 1209 Diamond was insisting that he eat this huge piece of prey but, he tried and tried and couldn’t. Eventually Diamond ate it giving Rubus lots more bites after. The feedings are going so well now.

At the last feeding of the day, Indigo had an enormous crop and Rubus had a wee one. When you are watching a feeding at Orange, turn the sound up. Rubus is sooooooo loud!

Migration:

Here is a link to the interactive Bird Map showing ospreys, Black Storks, and other raptors on their way to their winter homes:

https://birdmap.5dvision.ee/index.php?lang=en

I will bring news of Karl II and his family – Kaia, Waba, and Bonus as soon as new transmissions are received.

Bird Cast shows us the changing nature of migration through North America.

As the sky begins to lighten, I can smell the coffee. Once upon a time I had a cat named Duncan. She knew that when the morning and evening coffees came, she would be able to go outside. She would sit at the edge of the counter waiting for her harness to go on and we would sit, enjoying the beautiful outdoors. What a great friend she was! I am not sure what the birds would make of having a cat outside but, as the sky turns a light grey, the Dark-eyed Juncos are arriving in droves. There are, perhaps, 40 of them this morning searching for any Millet left from yesterday. It looks like that is my reminder to feed them before I enjoy that coffee. The songbirds have arrived and broken the silence…and it is wonderful. A single Blue Jay has arrived as well. Time to get moving!

Let us all send the warmest wishes that we can to the Port Lincoln barge. May there be so many fish that Big gets sick of seeing fish and allows Middle and Little to eat, unharmed.

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

Thank you to the following for their stories, posts, videos, and streaming cams that form my screen captures: The Guardian, Lady Hawk, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Beaking and hurricanes…and other news in Bird World on Wednesday

28 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

My thoughts are with everyone and anything that is in the path of Hurricane Ian. So many of you live in this area and my thoughts are with you and your families and our beloved birds and their nests.

This is the latest image of the eye as it moves. The wind at Captiva is currently 94 kph (or 55 mph). All of the streaming cams are down at Captiva and SWFlorida. The eye of the storm at 12:43 is moving towards Captiva/Sanibel.

Making News:

I started writing this blog on Tuesday so you will also be getting some hurricane news here (as well as above). Here is the news on Hurricane Ian. As I write this, the eye is approximately two hours from making landfall which could make landfall at around 1400 and that hit could come at Sanibel/Captiva. This is live coverage. NOAA is the only institution that can declare landfall and where/when. It looks like this huge and strong hurricane will impact all of our beloved nests. We will be so glad to see them when this is over.

This streaming station was working. If it should go out, check on YouTube for others that are covering this massive hurricane.

Farnley, a female fledgling of 2022, is making news as she continues to work her way south in the UK while she is thinking about migration. I note that in the long list of beautiful images of this juvenile, towards the bottom is an image of her catching a good sized fish. Most of the fledglings will never have caught a fish before they leave the nest for their journey to their winter home. We worry that they cannot do it. Well, if Farnley can so can the rest of them we hope!

Update on 1B3/Farnley | Kielder Ospreys (wpcomstaging.com)

It is now 2136 on the Canadian Prairies on Tuesday. This is the current satellite map and the cone showing the wind strength of Hurricane Ian as he moves towards making landfall near Tampa/Fort Myers as a category 4 hurricane.

At 22:25 Tuesday evening, the eye of Hurricane Ian was 100 miles from the Captiva Osprey nest.

Rita came in to check the status of her nest at 0845 this morning.

The platform at Captiva Ospreys was rocking and rolling with heavy rain drops (or hail) when it quit working around 0335. The Southwest Florida Bald Eagle cam is down and this is the view at Northeast Florida and the nest of Gabby and Samson.

Nest News:

Well, it has started – the beaking. It was Middle Bob giving Big Bob quite the headache. Little Bob looked the other way and ignored it. The behaviour, as predicted, began when Big Bob went into the reptilian phase.

Big Bob is miserable with all the itching from feathers growing in. It is Day 9 and this behaviour is pretty much right on schedule – it began yesterday. It is about nest dominance. I have included tonnes of screen captures because I have yet to import my little video programme I use. I hope you don’t mind. Some of the physical gestures and looks are quite interesting.

You have to feel sorry for Big Bob. Just look at him. You can really see how the soft down is leaving Big Bob’s body and being replaced by feathers. We saw this yesterday clearly happening. There is sweet Little Bob with its soft down. Each osplet still has their egg tooth.

The down from the back of Big Bob’s head is almost entirely gone. There are a few whisps of dandelions and a bunch of dandelions on top of his head.

Now you can see the back of Big Bob’s head. Slick and oily black. This will become magnificent coppery coloured feathers.

It all began with Big Bob hammering Middle Bob as Little Bob looks on.

And then Middle Bob got fed up and when Big Bob turned around, he gave it to him. These two would have a ‘draw’ if they were in a boxing ring. Meanwhile, Little Bob is on the other side of Middle Bob looking in the opposite direction.

I did say evenly matched but Middle sure did give Big a thrashing.

The Middle Bob moved over and Big Bob beaked Little Bob just because he was in the wrong place at that moment.

And then Mum finally sat down on all of them. Thankfully Little Bob did not get too much of a thrashing from Big. The beaking stops when dominance is established and normally by 28 days. Of course, siblings can be killed. The dominant bird normally gets fed first and will eat til it is full then the others can have their fish. If the deliveries fall short, which they have certainly done, then there can be death. I do not believe that is going to happen on this nest unless there is a sudden and long lack of fish deliveries. It will be an interesting outcome because Middle Bob is very strong. Let us hope Little Bob keeps getting lots of fish! He needs to grow. Middle Bob will get really cranky when his feathers really change which could be tomorrow late or the next day. Nothing like two itchy rivals in a nest!

The new male has made a stop at the ledge of the 367 Collins Street scrape. The Mum was kerchuffing and they had a bit of a conversation. She had been looking down at the eggs and, she did not leave right away even if lunch was waiting for her elsewhere.

The Mum has been quite restless. I wonder if we might have eyases for the 29th in Australia?

The Sea Eaglets are a bit worrisome. They are so energetic, jumping and flapping all over that nest. Last year SE28 fludged because of this kind of activity. They sure look like they want to fly but, I have not seen them self-feed properly. Have you? That is what I mean by worrisome.

Look at the height achieved in the last image.

Xavier and Diamond wait with one another. We will be ever so excited – like these two lovely parents – when those eggs hatch.

Thank you so much for being with me today. We are sitting on pins and needles for the hatch at the Melbourne scrape. The Sea Eagles will continue to bounce and flap higher and higher. Let us all hope that the PLo nest is flooded with fish and that things go smoothly there today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window to Wildlife, WRDC, NWFL-AEF, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

Late Monday in Bird World

26 September 2022

It stayed cloudy with temperatures reaching a lovely 15 degrees on the Canadian prairie. It will be a good evening to go and check out the migration of the ducks and geese as they move through the city at dusk.

I wanted to do a quick check on the Australian nests to see if there has been any change from yesterday, especially at Melbourne.

Making News:

It is the weather that is making news as Hurricane Ian could make a huge impact on the Florida nests! That purple and red is right in an area that could hit Fort Myers and the nests on Captiva. Look like it is lots of rain for the Gainesville area and Jacksonville.

Folks are expecting the hurricane to hit the Captiva area tomorrow. The individuals who built the new Osprey nest and perch have said that it has been built to withstand a hurricane. Well done, everyone!

Falcons are hatching on a balcony in Perth, Western Australia in a flowerpot and not for the first time! You can check them out at their Twitter feed.

In Britain, scientists are changes in autumn – in trees that are sending out more seeds and a decline in insects. All of that will have an impact on our birds.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/25/autumn-uk-milder-season-flora-fauna

Nest News:

The Pritchett Family has turned on the streaming cam for the Southwest Florida eagles, M15 and Harriet.

I don’t quite remember a year when everything seemed to be happening at once. The Bald Eagles are busy working on their nests or arriving to start work. Connie was seen at Captiva yesterday. I have caught three nests with adults visiting, sleeping and/or doing nestorations: Two Harbours where both Chase and Cholyn are active, West End with another visit from Thunder, and Andor and Mama Cruz were at Fraser Point.

Thunder simply looks majestic on the rocks at the West End nest in the Channel Islands. Isn’t she simply gorgeous in that early morning sunshine? Where is Akecheta? Maybe I have missed him.

At Two Harbours, one adult was on the nest looking about and it was not long before both were there greeting one another and beginning to work on those rails. Just look at the height of that nest above the sea. We were all so grateful that Dr Sharpe climbed up that steep cliff to rescue Lancet last year.

Cholyn will be 25 years old this year. Incredible.

They are certainly a power couple and if you didn’t know, Cholyn is Thunder’s mother!

Andor spent the night on the Fraser Point nest that he shares with Mama Cruz.

Mama Cruz showed up before the day began to start working on the nest. This couple fledged Lillibet and our beloved, Victor, this year.

Hello Andor. You are looking very handsome, indeed.

Gabby and Samson stayed at the nest tree near Jacksonville perched high on the branches and when the sun was up work began again on that nest.

The day is just getting ready to start in Melbourne and our beautiful new Mum, sitting on those precious eggs, could be feeding wee ones before long! And about these eggs – I am beginning to wonder if there is any possibility that they are a mix of old dad’s and new dad’s?? That would require DNA testing of everyone so…it isn’t going to happen. But, so far, fingers crossed for healthy and very lively eyases! Food is being provided and there has been no attempt to harm the eggs.

I am so looking forward to the little white eyases with their pink beaks, eyes and legs. Such a contrast to the wee Osplets.

Are the eyases cheeping?

Yesterday there was a flapping fish and wee moments of discord at Port Lincoln Osprey barge. It is a wonder those Bobs weren’t hurt by that whacking fish! You might recall that this happened at Manton Bay at Rutland when Blue 33 brought in a big size perch and it flipped and flapped landing on top of the wee babes. They did survive it – and so did the Bobs yesterday. Wonder what is in store for today?

As I write this, the trio at Port Lincoln are waiting for their breakfast.

In the middle of the night at the Sydney Sea Eagle nest, Lady is sleeping on the branch with her head tucked in. SE29 is standing with its head tucked in and SE30 still prefers to sleep duckling style.

These two are really antsy this morning once the sun came up in the forest. They are extremely interested in what is happening beyond the nest and both have been on the branch. True branching looks like it could happen soon.

Xavier waits for Diamond to want a break and let him take care of the eggs.

That is a quick look at what is happening at the Australian nests. Today brings new promise of a hatch at Melbourne and well, those Sea Eaglets are really jumping and flapping. And they are gorgeous.

Thank you so much for being with me. Take care and I will see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or posts that were used for my screen captures: NOAA, Crawley Falcons, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Explore.org and the IWS.

Thursday Morning in Bird World

14 April 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Under the Feeders. 14 April 2022

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

Friday Morning in Bird World

04 March 2022

I am certain that Jackie and Shadow would have liked the weather up in the San Bernardino Mountains to be warm and sunny – not a heavy snowfall overnight and snow showers for later today. Still, Shadow had a fish on the nest in anticipation of feeding a chick or Jackie and all is well.

What a beautiful image of a happy Mum, Jackie, and chick 1. The chick was fed at 08:05 for the first time from the fish on the nest.

This image should bring tears to thousands.

Shadow has been wanting some time with the baby but last I looked Jackie was still not accommodating him. Hopefully he will go out and stock from fish on the nest – a little, not enough to attract a mass of Ravens.

Jackie knows that she must keep the baby warm in the cold and wet weather. She will have it out eating only a very, very short time. Once hatched, the chicks can survive on the egg yolk they have absorbed for 24 hours.

What a beautiful couple. I wonder how many sticks Shadow is going to bring in to the nest in his nervous happiness?

Beautiful. The love this family has for their little one and the joy of nearly 9 thousands people watching brings light to a world so weary.

It has all paid off, Shadow.

While Jackie and Shadow adjust to being parents for the first time in three years, Arthur and Big Red are preparing for their sixth breeding season together. They have both been working on the nest this morning now that the snow has melted.

Arthur just loves to work on the nest cup. I sure hope Big Red lets him have some more incubation and brooding duties this year. She is overly careful when it comes to those eyases!

Big Red sits on the lights fluffed up looking out on her territory. Oddly, this is also one of her favourite places for mating. Is she giving Arthur a hint today???

The three osplets at Captiva had a striped fish early this morning, the Sheepshead. What a strange name for a fish! It is noon there now and Lena would love another delivery. In the blink of an eye I saw Andy fly out to the water, I wonder if he was lucky?

That is Big Bob peeking out from under Lena first thing in the morning.

Big Bob certainly had a nice crop after that feeding but Little Bob could have done with some more fish, for sure! Yesterday Big Bob was pecking at Little. Hopefully that will end soon.

Lena moves around the nest like a clock making sure the chicks are shaded. Andy, your family needs a fish!!!!!! Stock up today. Tomorrow is Saturday and all the boats will be out on the water.

At the Southwest Florida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, E19 has branched! It won’t be long til E20 is up on the Veranda with its sibling. Oh, how big they have grown. I remember the anticipation around Christmas at their hatch! That was not so long ago. E19 and E20 grew up in a blink.

The two chicks at Duke Farms seem to be doing well. Do you remember when E19 and 20 looked like this?

The baby is so tiny. Glad to see Mum feeding it and the other behaving.

Other Bald Eagle nests are continuing with their egg laying. There are now 2 eggs at the US Steel nest, and 1 at both Fort St Vrain and Fraser Point. No doubt there will be more news coming today. The folks at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest have reached out to the Audubon Society to help them with the predicament of the eggs at the nest in St Petersburg. Are there three eggs? have they fallen so deep because of squirrels working on the nest cup? have the three eggs been eaten by Ravens or other animals?

I have been hoping to see several dual feedings at the Dale Hollow Lake nest on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky of River and Obey. I have either missed them in re-wind or they haven’t happened. It was reassuring this morning to see that the wee babe was being fed after the twins were full.

Today is the day that the Cal Falcon team will be discussing the recent absence of Annie (she has returned) at 12 noon Pacific Time. If you are interested in peregrine falcons and the nest at The Campanile in particular, tune in if you can. You can find that session here:

Sean has indicated that he will be archiving the discussion immediately after it closes at the same link if you can’t make it. Thanks, Sean!

Thank you for joining me today. The joy at the Big Bear Valley nest of Shadow and Jackie has brought such a bright light to thousands. Please continue to send your warm wishes to them. This is just the beginning of their journey as a family – and there is one more egg to hatch! Fingers crossed. That said, if there is only one —— one is gold.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Duke Farms, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett.

Late Thursday in Bird World

24.2.2022

The Kakapo Recovery are having a t-shirt fundraiser. They posted the following information on their FB today:

There are male and female styles and sizes range from the smallest to 2 or 3 XL. Shipping from New Zealand is reasonable should you wish to help out!

There are lots of chicks and where there are infertile eggs they are being swopped with fertile ones so some of the mothers get a chance to rear a chick. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that number of 201 to climb! It looks like it could be a good year for our non-flying parrots.

The tracking for Ervie indicates that he did visit the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge sometime yesterday. He was most likely checking to see if Dad was there so they could have a visit. No one spotted him on camera so maybe he landed on the wheelhouse.

Early Friday morning, nest time, and the barge is full of pigeons hoping to find leftovers. They certainly do a great clean up job for Mum!

The Mum at Duke Farms gives everyone a peek of the fully hatched chick 1 at 14:28. What a little fluff ball. So tiny!

It has been a really good day at Captiva. It is 17:46 and Lena is waiting on Andy to bring in the dinner fish. The three osplets still have crops from the earlier feed. All is good!

Gabby and Samson continue to demonstrate branching to Jasper and to be named NE27. Today the two eaglets were kept full to more than full. They have grown so fast. Time seems to go by in a blink. Just a few days ago it seemed they were only tiny fluff balls like chick 1 at Duke Farms today.

Oh, I love that beautiful glow over the nest in Jacksonville, Florida as the sun sets on Gabby, Samson, Jasper and NE27.

NE27 is going to clean up every bit of that fish! Sweet eagle dreams.

Lady Hawk did a great video of Samson bringing in this large carp for the eaglets. Listen to them cheeping. So cute. Gosh these two are just darlings.

There is snow and sleet falling on the nest of Bonnie, the GHOW, whose nest is on Farmer Derek’s land. The area extending from there over the Mississippi River and into Ohio are set to get quite a bit of precipitation.

This is what the Mississippi River Flyway Cam is showing. Looks like snow to me! The snow is really blowing around creating what we call ‘white out’ conditions at times. A white out is literally when you cannot see anything in front and beside you but snow. Highways and roads disappear. People do try to drive on it. They often wind up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Not recommended. You cannot even see approaching cars.

The female, Nancy, at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bald Eagle Nest near Minneapolis is getting snow as well. This nest fledged two great juveniles last year. Harry, the male, was only four years old and it was his first breeding attempt with Nancy. This year he looks much more like a mature Bald Eagle. Very handsome.

Checking in on the Iowa Bald Eagle nests, there is wet snow coming down on the Denton Home’s nest. No eggs there yet.

There is snow at the Decorah North nest of Mr North and DNF. If you look carefully you can see Mr North high up in the tree. What a beautiful sight.

When the city gets too much for me – as it often does – my mind moves to a cottage at the edge of a forest full of wildlife. This is so beautiful and serene. All you can hear is the snow falling and the wind. There is a creek in the background.

Mrs is keeping the eggs nice and warm and dry.

The other Bald Eagle nest with a streaming cam in Decorah also has snow. No eggs yet and no one on the nest. Right now I can hear lots of geese honking. My goodness they are super loud!

Here is the link to this camera. You might catch the geese flying in also at dusk.

The snow has not reached Pittsburgh but the wind is sure blowing at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest tonight. Mum is trying to keep those eggs warm and dry in that cold. With their 7000 plus feathers, the eagles are well equipped to ride out the cold, the snow, and the bitter winds. Regardless, I just ache for them.

The sound of those honking geese reminded me that Ospreys are moving north out of African towards Europe and the UK. A number were reported entering southwest France today. With all the snow here and in other places it is hard to imagine but the birds will be making their way home. In a month there should be Ospreys on a nest or two in the UK. I am counting on one of my favourites, Blue 33, and his partner, Maya, arriving at Rutland first. We wait to see!

In San Francisco, Richmond has been on and off the Whirley Crane nest in the shipping yards anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mate, Rosie. Those two are going to have a lot of work when she gets here. Just look at that nest. Maybe Richmond should take a page out of Louis’s book up at Loch Arkaig and start work before she arrives. Richmond, that would be a very sweet thing to do!

Dyson and Scraggles have been playing in the seeds and snow so they are both fine. The 50 or so European Starlings that visit the nest for food have been perching in my neighbour’s trees. Today they both got a gift certificate for two car washes. My goodness those birds can poop! Little Red has been busy. We did not see our chickadee today but it might have arrived, with or without its mate, while we were off for our walk. It felt good to get out in the fresh air.

Thank you so much for joining me. All the nests are doing quite well. It is comforting. Take care. See you soon. Saturday is pip watch for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Don’t forget.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Kakapo Recovery Project, Denton Homes, Explore.org, Stewards of the Mississippi, MN DNR, Farmer Derek, Golden Gate Audubon, Pix Cams, and Duke Farms.