Tag Archives: Black Pacific Duck

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 12-13

The Sydney Olympic Forest is quiet. The wind is rocking Daisy and her eggs as she gets some sleep in the quiet of the afternoon. By the time she leaves her nest for her break to eat and go to the bathroom, she will have been on the nest for almost a solid 22 hours. Without a break. Not one. I think the possum frightened Daisy this morning right when she should have left for foraging. I hope that it doesn’t happen again.

By normal calculations this is day 6 of hard incubation. Duck eggs take from 26-30 days. This means Daisy has three more weeks to thwart all that would wish to eat those eggs or get her off their nest. Those bookmakers that take bets on almost anything probably have the odds flat against our little duck. I don’t want to get my hopes up – it is true that everything seems like it is against her but, just in case, I think I am going to dream up something nice to have on hand ‘just in case’. As I said in my earlier blog, seeing Daisy and her ducklings leap off that nest would really start 2022 off right.

I am very anxious for Daisy today. It is all because she did not go off the nest to forage before sunrise. It is now 16:21 and she has three and a half hours until sunset. I think that she would be safe to leave a wee bit before then. I notice that the birds in our garden have left the lilac bushes and feeders about an hour to an hour and a half before sunset each day. Maybe the Ravens do that as well?

Every time Daisy starts gathering leaves or moving about as she did about ten minutes ago, I think she is going to leave. The Ravens are smart. They haven’t come on the nest after Daisy fearlessly protected her eggs but they have been around several times to check to see if she is there. They know those eggs are in that nest and they would not hesitate if our little duck was away.

The light changes on the nest continually. Half an hour ago Daisy was hidden in the shadow of the branches and now she is fully illuminated. It is now three hours until sunset. This feels like the slowest day of the week.

This is the forecast for the Sydney Olympic Park for tomorrow and Thursday.

Daisy waited as long as she could waiting til the sounds of the forest told her the others were roosting. She flew off at 19:10. She returned at 20:42:42 so she was off the eggs for about an hour and a half.

I love this view of Daisy and the nest tree. There she is ready to take off.

Off our darling Daisy goes to a well earned meal and break!

Daisy returned refreshed and hopefully a little full.

Daisy did not leave the nest for a morning break on Day 12 but she prepares her nest and flies off at 02:23:38. I am so glad that Daisy has taken this break. The forecast for rain still stands and Daisy will be on the down so that it does not get wet.

Today the weather will be moving from the 16 degrees C to 29 degrees C right before the rains are expected at 17:00. The morning light is starting to filter through the forest and sunrise is at 05:39. Daisy has not returned from her break. She has been away for three hours.

As the birds start to wake up in the forest I am starting to wish that Daisy would hurry back to the nest.

Daisy arrived back at the nest right around 05:59:28. She was followed by a Noisy Miner. Not taking any chances, Daisy went up to the parent branch until it left.

Once the Noisy Miner leaves, Daisy carefully walks over to the egg cup and starts incubating those precious 8 eggs.

Gosh, Daisy just looks so tiny.

Whew. Daisy is still a little wet. You can see the feathers on the top of her head. I hope that the time she spent foraging and paddling in the water will energize our beautiful little duck. No one knows what the day will bring but fingers crossed that it is as uneventful as yesterday. Keep sending your best wishes to her. Just because it is quiet does not mean that something horrific could happen any moment. She needs all the positive energy she can get.

I will monitor Daisy during the day and send an update this evening. All eyes are on the Northeast Bald Eagle Nest of Gabby and Samson. In fact, while I have been waiting for Daisy, Gabby might have laid her first egg. She has not left the nest for a long time. Take care everyone. Thank you so much for stopping by to check on this marvellous Pacific Black Duck, Daisy.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 12

Daisy has not taken a break since Day 12 began at midnight on 14 December in Australia. She had a short break after sunset on Day 11.

This morning Daisy did have a number of visitors. The first was a Galah and then some Rainbow Lorikeets arrived. At one time the Galah screeched and it woke up the Ringtail Possum who came out of its nest.

The Galah flew away and the Lorikeets stopped chattering.

The Ravens flew around the tree making noise checking on whether anyone was sitting on those eggs. Daisy was there and they left – just stirring up a little anxiety. It is interesting that they have not landed on the nest the last few days. Maybe that little duck scared them enough that they will never come if she is there.

Once the Ravens left, the Lorikeets came back up on the nest.

It is nearing noon. It has been so quiet that it is almost eerie.

The cam operator must have left as we have had a wide shot most of the day. I scrolled back through the footage and found a few close ups for us to enjoy.

Look at all that lovely down!

Don’t you love how the golden light of the sun falls on our beautiful duck?

Daisy must be very tired and hungry.

Daisy is going to have to take a break. Let us all hope that she can wait until sunset.

It has been so quiet on Daisy’s nest the past couple of days. I would love for it to stay this way but anything can happen in a second. There is rain forecast for tomorrow. If Daisy goes out foraging at sunset – which she has to do (or go before) and if she does the same before sunrise, she might be on those eggs to protect that down when the rain comes. That down is precious because it is making up for a lack of leaves.

It is after lunch on the nest and everything is so quiet. It is like all of the other birds were boxed up and sent out of the forest. I can hear the hum of the streaming cam and about every half hour a bird. So strange. Maybe it is siesta time.

Can you see Daisy?

That said…I do wish it would be his way til about the 6th of January when those ducklings leap off that nest. If Daisy does manage to get those eggs to hatch – against every obstacle she could have – I think we should each toast her with whatever your favourite beverage is when Daisy and her babies leap. My goodness I cannot think of a better way to enter into 2022.

I have the sound turned up way too loud. If anything happens on this nest I will be alerted. For now, I am going to go and look through a book on raptors and have some nice green tea.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me and Daisy. She is so hidden in the shade of that big tree – she blends in perfectly with the nest. See you soon!

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@ BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 11-12

It is 17:01 nest time on Day 11 as I begin writing. It has been a relative quiet afternoon for Daisy, the Pacific Black Duck incubating 8 eggs on the large White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Daisy alerted once and within a minute was relaxed again. The camera operator zoomed in on Daisy nestled over her eggs with the sun filtering through the canopy, she glowed.

I took way too many screen captures but who doesn’t love to look at Daisy? And I included some larger versions that are easier to see!

Sometimes, like in the bottom image, it is hard to make out where Daisy is. She is quite camouflaged at times. She spent much time rolling the eggs and plucking more down off her breast. She is a devoted little Mum.

If the pattern continues, Daisy will take her next break right after sunset returning in about two and a half hours. I wonder if she will do the same thing tomorrow morning? The noise in the forest will alert me to the arrival of predators but for now, it is past midnight on the Canadian Prairies, and I am blissfully tired. Oh, that the rest of Daisy’s day is simply uneventful.

Daisy left the nest at 19:48:59. There were no issues prior to her leaving to get a break and eat.

She carefully covered up her eggs with all that fluffy down and the few leaves she has.

There she is flying off to the right – a blur with that beautiful blue scapular showing.

Daisy was gone less than normal. She returned to the nest of 8 eggs at 21:24:44.

It is now 03:46:45 on day 12 and Daisy has not left the nest. I tried to figure out what was keeping her – she needs to eat and there it was – our old friend Ring-tail Possum. Oh, I hope he goes away! Daisy needs to leave so she can have enough food to keep her til sunset.

Daisy doesn’t realize that her eggs are too big for the little possum to carry. They normally eat fruits and flowers. But this possum could steal that lovely down and that would be tragic for Daisy as there are not enough leaves to cover the eggs. Too bad they can strike a deal – the little possum could send leaves falling from the branches above to Daisy in exchange for some of that soft down for its nest.

The problem with the possum is that it is infringing on Daisy’s need to forage so in that way it is troublesome. We don’t want Daisy to need to leave during the day to eat.

It appears that Daisy has chosen not to leave the nest and get food and take a break. Oh, I so wish that possum had not come. Daisy had a very good pattern going – being away during the dark when the predators were sleeping. Will she have to leave during the day and risk her eggs? We have to wait and see.

Dawn is at 05:38. You can see that the forest is getting lighter.

There is some very good weather news. It is to go up to 25 C in the Sydney Olympic Park today with no rain forecast until Thursday.

I will continue to monitor Daisy during the day. She had a good afternoon and evening yesterday. We will all hope for the same today — and that she does not have to leave the eggs til sunset, not even for a comfort break. Send all your positive messages to our favourite brave little duck – Daisy!

Thank you so much for joining me. I will have a Daisy update in 6 or 7 hours unless something untoward happens. Take care everyone. Keep smiling. So far everything is good with Daisy. She is a great little Mum.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 11 continued

It is 13:14 in Sydney Australia’s Olympic Park Forest. Daisy, the Pacific Black Duck, has 8 eggs she is incubating in the White-Bellied Sea Eagles nest. So far today she has had a visit by three Ring-tail possums in the night and two Ravens. The possums did not bother Daisy’s eggs and the Ravens sitting and cawing in the upper branches of the tree did not cause any issues for Daisy. She seemed to ignore them completey – she kept her cool. They might well come back today and the sea eagles might show up but for now, our little duck is resting. She took 5 hours off -divided into two time periods – to go and forage. She has taken the opportunity to sleep while incubating.

Daisy seems to be developing a strategy to thwart both the Ravens and the sea eagles. She stays on the nest leaving right at sunset and then leaving again 2 or 3 hours before sunrise. That way she can eat while the others are sleeping and be on her eggs to protect them if the Ravens visit. Last year she played tag with Dad. So far they have not encountered one another. Dad did come one evening but Daisy was foraging.

Daisy is such a beautiful duck. I love how the down looks like it has little twinkle stars in it.

At 13:46 a visitor came to the nest – a quiet visitor. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird fly from the right to the left across the nest and land. My heart sank. I thought the Ravens had gone into stealth mode. But, no. It was a Pied Currwaong. You might recall that it is the Currawongs that chase the Sea Eagle fledglings out of the forest. Or you might recall that a group of them pecked at the head of WBSE 27 causing it to have to go into care (it was also hungry and dehydrated). They can be mean. Daisy kept her head down but keeping her eye on every movement the bird made.

In the top image, the Currawong is flying between the two branches on the left.

The Currawong has landed on the branch directly in front of Daisy. Daisy is watching with one eye and keeping still.

You can see it better in this image. It continues to fly around the tree. I can see its shadow. Perhaps it is more curious. It is unclear to me if the Currawongs are a threat to Daisy. I must check.

The first half of the day has not been totally uneventful. Ravens did land on the tree but did not go to the nest and Daisy ignored them. Now the Currawong. She seems nonplused so I am going to presume she is not taking the bird as a threat. Whew. Anxious for a moment there. In fact, I am certain that all of us are anxious and would like to grab Daisy and give her a safe nest box. Sometimes watching but not being able to do anything is extremely frustrating. I suspect you feel the same. I wonder how many of you are eating more cookies or candies watching Daisy to help with the stress???? I certainly am! The holiday baking is not going to last long at this rate.

Other Bird World News. The State of Illinois has passed a Bird Safe Buildings Act to eliminate the death of millions of migrating birds. Dallas has been turning off the lights to help during migration but Illinois is taking this to the actual construction of the building. This is a good thing!

I have found a new Bald Eagle Streaming Cam for you. There is a huge interest in birds where I grew up – Oklahoma. There are so many hawks and eagles. Bartlesville has set up a streaming cam for their Bald Eagle couple. I do not know anything about this nest but it has been recommended to me. Here is the link:

Live Eagle Camera

If you like images of beautiful birds, here are some amazing captures in super 8k resolution. Thanks ‘S’ for sending me this link. Some of these are simply stunning.

Speaking of beautiful bird images. Every year we travel to Toronto where the Royal Ontario Museum puts the winners of the international bird and wildlife photography contests – from youngsters to seniors, amateur to professional – on display. The results of one of the many photographic contests have been posted on the Internet. There were 22,000 entries for Bird Photographer of the Year. The prize went to an amazing image – you will have to go to the link to see it – I do not want to spoil the surprise. There are categories for young and old. You will not be disappointed and if you love them, there is a book with the 300 winning entries in all categories. Here is the link to this year’s winners:

https://www.birdpoty.com/2021-winners?fbclid=IwAR0GP7AE4gxcS3iREKgIYPmJViqp07iDOvsU9dUnFZGG_odSMvCarCIboLs

I will be monitoring Daisy throughout the rest of the day. Other than the Noisy Miners and horrific sounding Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, I hope to hear absolutely nothing more than the hum of the streaming cam. My next report on Daisy will be tomorrow (Monday the 13th) around 13:00. All of the other nests are doing just fine. I am hoping to see an egg on the nest of Gabby and Samson tomorrow or the next day. Fingers crossed. And mark your calendars because in less than two weeks – 12 days to be exact – we could have a hatch on Harriet and M15s nest in Fort Myers. Honestly, I can’t wait – it is called ‘Bobble head Withdrawal.’ The couple spent some time bonding today before they get busy with little ones. And YRK has flown in to relieve OGK after 8 days of incubating duties at the Royal Albatross Colony on Taiaroa Head, NZ.

Thank you so much for joining me and caring so much for Daisy. I believe that thousands of people sending love and positive wishes to Daisy and her precious eggs is nothing short of wonderful. If only she knew. Wow. I am blown away just thinking about it.

Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and to ‘S’ for sending me the link to those amazing bird images.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 11

Daisy opted to take 2 breaks. One right after sunset on Day 10, returning about two and a half hours later. She then incubated until 03:08 when she left for a morning break and foraging.

While Day was away, the little Ring-tail Possum was climbing around the branches of the tree gathering leaves for its nest and showing some curiosity about Daisy’s spot. I was so glad that it did not get too close to that fluffy down covering the eggs. It might like some of that softness for its own nest!

Oh, but look. Isn’t it cute? It will not hurt Daisy or her eggs (unless it does take the down because that is what is covering the eggs!).

Daisy returned at 05:38:10. Literally 10 seconds after sunrise. Amazing inner clock this little duck uses.

The camera operator caught WBSE flying around the River but they did not come to the nest in the old Ironbark Tree in Sydney’s Olympic forest.

That is the Parramatta River and that white streak over the trees in the foreground is a WBSE. There are other WBSE nests around the area so it might not have even been Lady or Dad.

The two Ravens came to the tree cawing trying to scare Daisy at 07:40:37. They were in the branches up above (you could not see them when the cam operator pulled back). Daisy took no notice of them – she had no reaction and they left within 30 or 40 seconds. I find this behaviour very interesting. This little duck is really getting smart.

It is currently around 09:45 on the nest and so far it has been a relative peaceful morning. Here are some images of Daisy on the nest.

Daisy looks so peaceful sleeping in the middle of all that fluffy down.

All I can hear in the forest are the Noisy Miners and some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. Hopefully our beautiful little Pacific Black Duck – Daisy – will have another peaceful day incubating her eggs. Fingers crossed.

Thank you for joining me to check in on Daisy. I will continue to monitor the nest from now (16:49 until the wee hours of tomorrow morning) and I will post a very late night notice. Take care everyone. Send all your positive wishes to Daisy – they are working!

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 10

The little Pacific Black Duck leasing the big White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest is incubating 8 eggs. This is potentially day 3 of hard incubation.

Daisy left last night right after sunset. She covered up her eggs well with the down and was off the nest at 20:07:48. No one bothered the eggs while she was away. She returned at 21:55:42.

Daisy returned to her intact nest cup at 21:55:42.

Oh, this beautiful little duck. I think she must have been taking some advice from her elders on when to leave and return to thwart the WBSE and the Ravens. Let us hope it continues to work.

As I write this it is coming on to 07:45. Everything is fine in the forest. I can hear the Noisy Miners and some Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos but nothing from either the Sea Eagles or the Ravens.

Daisy was very smart leaving after dusk and returning. I hope that she had enough to eat to keep her strength so that she does not have to leave again until night time. Send all your positive energy. So far in the scheme of things in the forest, Daisy is doing great! She is so brave. The Ravens normally come in the morning and if they do, they will be in my evening report. Fingers crossed they are taking the day off.

Thank you so much for joining me. I will bring an update on Daisy later this evening. Until then, take care!

Thank you to the SeaEagle @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 9 continued

The Ravens came around 09:37. They were in the branches of the Ironbark Tree where Daisy has her nest. They made loud noises, stayed for a couple of minutes and left. They never went down to the nest. The day was relatively uneventful until the Ravens returned at 15:52. Daisy froze. They made loud ‘caws.’ They sounded frightening. From the camera position I could not tell where on the tree the Corvids were. Daisy turned around once as if they had moved behind her and then, they were gone. Throughout the day Daisy has been plucking more down off her breast and sides.

It has been reported that the White-Bellied Sea Eagle couple, Dad and Lady, that ‘own’ the nest Daisy has her eggs in have left Goat Island. The cam operator looked over at River Roost and they were there.

Hard to see but 2 white dots on tree middle ground 1/4 in from left edge – those are the WBSE

Meanwhile, Daisy is snoozing. She has spent a lot of time today sleeping which is really good since she had less than 3 hours to forage. It doesn’t take a lot of her energy to incubate. Hopefully she won’t have to use what she has to escape from the WBSE if they show up or if the Ravens return before dark.

No predators came. Daisy spent much time putting down between the eggs before she flew off the nest for her break at 20:07:47. So she left just a minute or so after sunset. The nest looks nicely covered. Well done, Daisy!

Thank you so much for joining me. Tomorrow is Day 10 for this brave little duck. Take care.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for its streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles Day 9

If you read my earlier blog but not the updated version, then there are a couple of corrections. Daisy left her nest at 01:40:55 after the possum settled down. She landed back on the nest after a break and foraging at 04:59. That was very short! The Ring-tail possum will be an annoyance to Daisy but, unlike the Bushtail Possum, the Ring-tail will not eat the eggs. Last night the Ring-tail and Daisy scared one another leaving Daisy to reveal all of her eggs.

It is now 09:17. Daisy did not lay another egg this morning. So the total of eggs is eight. In the image above you can see that Daisy is getting more down off. It is going between and around the eggs. Daisy is now in ‘hard’ incubation. Normally she would leave the nest often for short bits. Because of the Ravens, she might leave at night to forage. She will probably not be off the eggs for more than 3-4 hours at a time. The eggs will take 26-30 days to hatch. So if we count yesterday as hard incubation day 1, we are looking at 5-9 of January for the ducklings – should the eggs survive to hatch – to arrive. The following day they would leap off the old Ironbark Tree nest to the forest of the floor and follow their brave Mum down to the river where they can begin relative independent lives. They are fully capable of regulating their temperature and feeding themselves, plus walking and swimming when they hatch.

Some images of our favourite brave little duck – the little duck who might, against all odds, hatch some ducklings!

Daisy continues to remove more down, mixing it with the eggs or tucking it in each side.

One of the things I realized today is just how important sound is to Daisy. She has to be able to differentiate the sound of the Ravens from all the other noises including airplanes. She also has to be able to detect when the Ravens – or Sea Eagles – are coming due to the vocalizations in the forest.

Daisy has been on the nest now for almost five hours and no predators. Putting myself in her place – knowing that around where I was trying to keep my children save – were predators that would harm them but I have no idea when they will try to break in the house to take them. I can imagine that this little duck is under a lot of stress. She cannot let her guard down for a second. She is doing her very best!

Daisy has removed more down and some of it has decorated the back of her neck.

At 09:55:17, the pair of Ravens came to the Ironbark Tree. They did not land on the nest but in the upper branches and made a lot of noise and then flew away.

Daisy immediately tucks her head in but she is very vigilant – ready to strike if they get on the nest.

The concept of ‘the sitting duck’ is too appropriate. But, so far, the little duck has held.

It is now 10:15 and the Ravens cannot be heard in the forest. They will return. Just when is a guess but they will be back.

For a comparison of their size, the Pacific Black Duck ranges in length from 54-31 cm with the males being larger. The wingspan is 90 cm and they weight 1000-1100 grams. Australian Raves are 46-53 cm in length and weigh 650 grams. They have a wingspan of 100 cm. Daisy could be a little smaller in terms of length and wingspan but she outweighs the Ravens by at least 350 grams or about 3/4 of a pound.

Daisy is really pulling off the down. More is clinging to the back of her neck. I hope it doesn’t blow off and be wasted. Hopefully when Daisy has to take a break she will be able to cover up the eggs really well with more down to help her. I wonder if that would deter the Ravens?

It is nearing 10:30 in the morning for Daisy. I have the sound turned up so I can hear if the Ravens return and will be monitoring what Daisy is doing from now to dark. All I can hear in the forest right now are a lot of Noisy Miners. I will do a posting at dusk (2am CDT in Canada) of a round up of the rest of the day’s events.

Thank you for coming to check on Daisy, the brave Pacific Black Duck who is on day 2 (?) of her hard incubation. Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 9 – updated

It is actually still Day 8 for Daisy as I write this. The clock on the streaming cam says that it is 19:28. It is 02:28 on the Canadian Prairies. Daisy remains on her eggs.

Does she know that the two Ravens are on the branches above the nest? She must. They are right above her. One on one side and one on the other.

Every once in awhile they make a noise. They know that sooner or later Daisy is going to have to leave the nest. When she does, they will take her eggs. I am hoping that Daisy can sleep a bit and conserve all of her energy. She has not left the nest for at least 14.5 hours. Unlike raptors that have true crops to store food, ducks have an enlarged esophagus that is capable of handling large amounts of food before it moves into the a thin-walled area of the stomach called the proventriculus.

The White-Bellied Sea Eagles, Lady and Dad, are not at their River Roost.

Daisy has been very vigilant about the Ravens but she had another intruder. That was the Ring-tailed Possum who has its own nest in that big nest. This possum will not harm Daisy’s eggs. It might scare her – which it did but it is the Bushtail Possum that likes the eggs. That possum wanders around at night. Daisy remained on the nest until the possum quieted down. Poor thing they will wear her out by not letting her eat! I wish there was some type of sci-fi invisible protective dome we could place around Daisy and her eggs.

Daisy flew off the nest at 1:40:55. She waited for the Ravens to leave and then had to wait for the possum. By leaving in the middle of the night she outwitted the Ravens. She will have a few hours to forage before she has to return to her eggs. I hope our little duck got lots to eat. She must be tired fighting off all these intruders who want her eggs!

It is now 03:50 in the Sydney Olympic Park Forest. Daisy should be returning to her eggs within an hour. It appears that the on line camera continues to go on and offline. I cannot access live after 01:59 – so, for now, this is my Daisy report. So many of you have dropped all your other bird watching to cheer Daisy on. Continue to send your good wishes to her. She needs all she can get. Will the little duck outwit all of them? We wait. It appears we have 8 eggs – hopefully no more. Daisy did a bit better covering. Fingers crossed.

Daisy returned to her nest at 04:59 ahead of the Ravens. Our little girl is smart!

Our girl looks good and the down coming around the nest will make it easier for her to cover. Cloudy today but no rain forecasted for Daisy.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Be safe out there.

Thank you to SeaEagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 8 The Ravens return AGAIN

No more had Daisy relaxed along with the other nectar eating birds in the forest than the Ravens returned.

Daisy is OK. As you can see from the images, she had to reveal the eggs twice trying to thwart off the Ravens. The Ravens were actually moving sticks which made Daisy a bit nervous. I was hoping they would loosen up some leaves.

Our little duck is very brave. But will more than two Ravens return.

Daisy shows everyone just how brave a little duck she is in the following segment.

It is nearing 11:30. Daisy is able to relax. The winds are picking up quite a bit and you can hear some distant thunder. I hope that the poor weather coming on will keep the Ravens home and not out plotting those lovely duck eggs. Rain should start at noon and continue until sunset. If Daisy stays on the nest like she has the past days – leaving about 15 minutes before sunset, the eggs should be safe til she returns. Sunset is at 19:56. I hope.

The winds are picking up.

Still it is not yet noon and Daisy has had two visits from the Ravens. They want those duck eggs. They did manage to get them last season but only when Daisy was away from the nest. Perhaps the timing will work this year?

Daisy has chosen this nest and she must feel that it is safer than being down on the ground by the river.

You can watch Daisy here:

Thank you for joining me again as we watch the brave little Pacific Black Duck who laid her eggs in the big Sea Eagles nest – Daisy.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and my video clips.