Tag Archives: Black Storks are rare in Estonia

Late Thursday and early Friday nest news

It was a rare treat to check on the Black Storks and find that Karl II was at the nest feeding the three fledglings. It was around 18:00I had been missing this. The ritual of the feeding and the eating is entrancing. This nest is in the Karula National Park in Estonia. As in Latvia, the Black Stork is very rare and much loved. Karl II and Kaia raised three healthy hatchlings this season. Congratulations!

In my last newsletter, everyone was waiting for the second egg at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest to arrive. If you missed it, it was around 3:27 am nest time on 6 August.

Last year’s PLO fledgling, Solly, is 320 days today. Wow. It is about time to get out the party hats and celebrate her one year hatch day. This just gives you hope. Today, Solly is going in and out and in and out at Eba Anchorage. She apparently has a favourite dead tree in the area that she likes to roost in.

Oh, it seems nestlings are just like human children. Let mom or dad get out of sight and they start picking on one another. This was the case with 27 and 28 at the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in Sydney, Australia. If this is all these two get up to – let them have a little fun. They are so close in size that neither has an advantage. Have a peek.

Dad and Mom are continuing to bring in fish about 5 fish a day to the Collins Marsh Nest. This is a big improvement over a few weeks ago. Malin’s tail now reveals three rows of dark bands and the beautiful scalloped juvenile feathers.

Oh, Malin is becoming such a gorgeous bird. The stepped up deliveries and the drop in heat seem to be suiting this Osprey family in Wisconsin, USA.

Such a little sweetie. Malin really loves this part of the nest. You can catch her sleeping there during the day (like in the image above) or at night. All tucked in with Mom watching over her. If we could only slip a little pillow under that wee head.

Suzanne Arnold Horning was on the Cornell Campus this evening and found K3. Oh, this is such a cute Red-Tail Hawk fledgling! She did not find the other three and commented that K3 must have missed the memo on where to meet tonight. He was apparently flying around food calling!

I didn’t think another Red-tail Hawk fledgling could ever win my heart like J3 did but look at that sweet face on K3. I am melting.

K3 is over on one of the light towers. What a gorgeous image of this third hatch against that clear blue sky. He has really grown into an amazing fledgling. These two, K1 and K3, are simply great fliers and K1 has turned into a fantastic hunter just like her parents, Big Red and Arthur.

Other Nest News:

Congratulations to Rutland Water. It is their 25th anniversary and today, the 200th chick, Blue 360, fledged! Wow. What a fantastic record for the translocation project. The announcement and photo of that lucky chick is on their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/324266140960825/posts/4294404503946949/

Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig (nest not on camera) have their first fledge this morning. Voting has ended to name their chicks. Hopefully we will know tomorrow! What fun. That Loch Arkaig nest was so empty this year without Aila. Hopefully another couple will claim it for the 2022 season or maybe Louis and Dorcha will move from the nest off camera to the one where we can watch their every move.

Between now and the beginning of the third week in August, the females of the UK nests will begin their migration to as far away as Spain/Portugal or West Africa. The males will remain as long as there are chicks calling for food. This is normally 2-3 weeks.

This is what fish calling sounds like thanks to one of the fledglings up at the Loch of the Lowes. This chick could be heard all the way to Glasgow! They are so loud. You can easily imagine that the male will know if there is a chick on the nest who is hungry.

Things seem to be going really well on the nests today. That is always worth a big smile!

Thank you so much for joining me. I will be back late Friday evening with a nest update. Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my video clips and screen shots: Eagle Club of Estonia, Collins Marsh Osprey Cam, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Loch of the Lowes, Port Lincoln Osprey Project and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project FB Page, and Suzanne Arnold Horning for letting me share the beautiful images of K3.

The featured image is K3 on the light stand taken by Suzanne Arnold Horning.

A Hop and a Skip through the Nests

Thanks to one of the chatters on the Achieva Osprey Nest, I found out that the two chicks and Electra did have one fish delivery today. Thank you Burky! I had missed it and was feeling pretty horrible for those little ones because the rain is just pouring down at Cowlitz.

It wasn’t a big fish. In fact, it could have been the leftovers from yesterday’s big fish. I don’t care. It was fish for this hungry family. What really bugs me is if you look at the water. Monty got to be famous because he was an amazing male osprey taking care of his responsibilities. He even went out in Storm Hector to fish! And Louis at Loch Arkaig fished at night for his three chicks and Aila. What is wrong with Wattsworth?

Those sweet little babies were cold and hungry. Electra eats off some of the old skin and begins to feed them. Today, their little buttoms look fatter because of all that fish they had yesterday.

I have to continue to remind myself that the chicks had big feedings yesterday after more than 24 hours without food (it was nearer to 36 hours). They have had one feeding today. Yes, they are hungry but they will survive unless they get cold and the rain hangs on. Tiny Tot went days on a hot nest without food. Tiny Tot has thrived but that was first due to Diane going fishing and making sure he was fed. Something happened on that nest that changed Diane’s attitude towards Tiny. Was it his second instance of charging at the older siblings? or was it his persistence at trying to find ways to eat? Tiny is a survivor.

This nest at Cowlitz needs food and it needs more twigs – a lot more along the sides so these babies don’t fall off. Was really proud of Electra yesterday when she kept eating and feeding the babies and holding on to that fish. She seems to know Wattsworth well but, still she has to depend on him to get them fish. She cannot leave her babies and let them get soaked. Their feathers will not keep them warm and dry yet.

Speaking of Tiny Tot. That kid hit the fish jackpot today. Jack has brought in three fish – THREE -. The first one was at 7:40:36 and the last one was 5:16:48. I can’t imagine what lit a fire under Jack but Tiny Tot is really enjoying all that food.

Here is Jack delivering that last fish. Tiny has earned it. The adult intruder was about today and Tiny got them off and away from the nest.

If you look closely you can see the big crop that Tiny already has. Wow. Three fish in a day. It has been a long time since Tiny had that much food.

Tiny wasted no time eating that fish. He is really aware that there are other Ospreys around and he doesn’t want to have it taken away. Oh, Tiny, you are going to sleep so well. I hope the two Cowlitz kids grow up as strong and remarkable as you.

I was not going to go and check on the Golden Eagles in Romania. The fact that a camera was installed on an active nest and that event frightened the father away does not sit well with me. That left a single mother and a chick. Still, I would love to see some success on this nest so once in awhile I check in. That mother is really a huntress. There is another fawn on the nest for the chick!

Just look at the crop on that little eaglet. Now that is what I wish for the Cowlitz Kids – so full of food every day they are about to pop. This eaglet is so lucky that predators haven’t been around while the mother is hunting.

Father Stork at the Black Stork nest in Southern Estonia seems to love to aerate the nest. Every time I check in he is doing some kind of nest maintenance. What a guy you are Karl II.

Things are stepping up at the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Park. Dad and Lady have been doing nestorations for more than a month it seems. It looks like they are finalizing those. Dad is bringing fish to Lady and mating has happened. Now everyone is just sitting back and waiting for that first egg from this beautiful pair of WBSE.

Thinking about the Sea Eagles and that precious 26 from last year made me also begin to think about two other nests in Australia that will be ramping up for breeding season, too.

Solly from the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, hatched in 2021, has given Osprey researchers a lot to think about with her satellite tracker. She is 267 days old today. On 11 June, she flew north from Eba Anchorage to Laura Bay. It must have been a reconnaissance flight as she returned to Eba that evening.

Meanwhile Mom is eating a fish on the barge at Port Lincoln.

And, wow, I said two nests but no – it is three. How could I have forgotten about the Collins Street Peregrine Falcons in Melbourne?! That is shameful. Those three girls – triplets – all born on the same day within hours were amazing. I have no idea how their little dad kept up with them. It is just a fantastic nest to watch. I love falcons! When the camera is up and running you will hear about it. There are four videos from last year posted on YouTube. Just Google CBD Falcons. Here is one of them. It is rather long. You can skip through it if you like or watch the entire thing. Aren’t those girls so cute looking up at mom?

Oh and the last is Izzi, Xavier and Diamond at the scrape box on the old water tower on the grounds of Charles Sturt University. It is a research project of Cilla Kinross. We are lucky enough for her to share the cameras and the daily lives of this great couple of Peregrine Falcons.

Yesterday, Diamond accepted prey from Xavier. This is a big deal – kind of like a marriage in the land of falcons. Xavier had made two previous failed attempts – today’s worked. Here is a short video of that prey exchange:

That is just a hop, skip, and a jump around some of the nests that we don’t always cover. As the fledges take place in North America, the action is just starting in the Southern Hemisphere. There is a lot to look forward to.

Thank you for joining me. Stay safe, stay well.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grabbed my screen shots: Achieva Credit Union, Cowlitz PUD, Eagle Club of Estonia, WBSE Eagle Cam, BirdLife Australia and the Discovery Centre, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Asociatia Wild Bucovina. I would also like to thank the PLO for the FB page and the screen shot of Solly’s tracking map.

Cowlitz kids are eating and some Stork Tales – updated version

I tried not to check on the Cowlitz Nest today because I was so afraid those two little Ospreys were dead. I have complained about the mother, Electra, eating food and then letting the father, Wattsworth, take the fish off the nest when she hadn’t even fed her babies. They were crying so hard for food. Thin little rakes they are. A big fish came on to the nest around 2:30 ish nest time. The starving kids could only fight while Electra ate. Then finally they stopped. I thought the little one had died actually. Electra ate her fill and Wattsworth is at the side of the nest waiting to take the fish. She is feeding the chicks right now as I type. Let us hope that she fills those little babies from the tip of their talon to the top of their crop. They need it.

It is unclear to me how long chicks can go without food before there is damage. If you followed the Glaslyn Nest, the chicks were without food for 48 hours. Mrs G is an excellent mother. The circumstances were just so different. Raging storms and force 11 winds along with intruders put the Glaslyn Nest at risk. Aran had injured his wing and could not fish. Glaslyn Wildlife spoke to experts and supplied a fish table for the family. Despite eating on the Sunday, the chicks began to die that afternoon not having anything since noon on the Friday. The oldest first and then the youngest on a subsequent day. Aran is still healing and gets his fish from that provided by the community. Aren’t people kind?

Electra finished feeding her two chicks. They were still not looking full. I wonder if their little bodies can only hold so much. Or maybe get that crop filled and drop the contents into the stomach so that they could eat some more. That would be brilliant. I feel so sad for these little ones.

Well, good gracious. The little ones cried long and hard enough that Electra is feeding them some more fish. I couldn’t stop crying.

Here is a brief video clip of part of that feeding.

They are still being fed. I think they both remind me so much of Tiny Tot when he was starving – well, gosh. Tiny Tot has several times when he had not eaten for 72 hours. Diane needed fish and when she started bringing in big catfish herself that nest at Achieva turned around. Today Tiny is a force to be reckoned with and it is grand.

I wish that when the two are full that Electra would sit on that fish. They would feed them several times before bed and food for in the morning. Oh, please, Electra don’t let Wattsworth take that fish!

The babies were still hungry as Wattsworth took the fish off the nest. Do we dare hope that he might keep it somewhere for his family and bring it back in a few hours?

UPDATE: Wattsworth brought the fish back and Electra is feeding the chicks again. Tears are pouring down my cheeks. I so wish this behaviour would continue every day on the nest but, for now – those little ones are feeling good and they will go to sleep tonight full not crying for food.

Oh, wow. Thank you Wattsworth. Look at the crop on that one chick! These little ones will have happy fish dreams tonight.

Tiny Tot is waiting on the Achieva nest for an evening fish – or he is really hoping an evening fish comes in. Me, too.

In Czechoslovakia, the surviving three White Storks were banded today. And they have names: Pankrac, Servac, and Bonifac. They were banded on camera. The bander was really gentle with them! Thank you to my friend, ‘T’ in Strasbourg for alerting me to the banding. I might have missed it!

It is better to watch the video. The bander covered them with a towel so that they would not be frightened. Here is the video:

Oh, and the three precious storks of Karl II and Kaia on the nest in Southern Estonia are doing so well. Nice fat little babies. Well fed. Watched over with great care. It is totally refreshing after the Cowlitz nest.

Thank you for joining me today. We can only hope that the fishing will be good and that Electra will respond in a positive way to the hunger cries of her babies. I so wish she had continued feeding them – they did do a crop drop. Now they need food to store for later. Send warm wishes their way! It is all we can do!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Cowlitz PUD, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Ziva Camera Mlade Buky.

Tuesday Nest Hopping

Well, dear Tiny Tot did return to the Achieva Credit Union Osprey Nest this morning. Made me feel all joyful! He was on the perch and a bird buzzed him at 12:09:58. A full seconds later Tiny Tot leaves the perch. Was he in hot pursuit? Or was he just fed up being annoyed? The adult intruder had been on the nest earlier, too, when Tiny Tot was not there but it seems to be the Mockingbird that was a nuisance. Small birds love to annoy Big Birds. And how much longer will Tiny come to the nest? I wonder.

That adult intruder comes in every so often just to check things out. When Tiny arrives, it leaves! Tiny has made an impression – don’t mess with Tiny! Good.

Here comes Tiny heading for the perch at 11:07:27! You don’t see the adult Osprey – it took off the minute it saw Tiny arriving. Jack really does need to agree on a hefty amount of fish for this little one for securing the family nest all the time. :)))))

Oh, it is so nice to see you, Tiny Tot.

Tiny Tot is on the perch. If you look to the right and slightly up you will see the nuisance bird flying away from the nest.

Tiny flew off at 12:10:28 to the left.

Across the continent, Rosie is on the Whirley Crane nest in Richmond, California, with the trio. The chicks were banded on 4 June.

Isn’t that just a gorgeous location for a nest? Richmond is a great provider. This is their fifth season as parents. Rosie will stay around til the trio are well and truly fledged and independent then she will migrate. Richmond does not leave the area in the winter so he will be there helping the fledglings if necessary until they leave the territory.

Those white storks in Mlady Buky are really growing. Just miss a day and they look all grown up! And look how clean and dry they are. This is one of the best feel good stories of this year – it really is. I would love to wake up every morning and be surrounded by people who care about all living things.

Look carefully. You can see the throat pouch in the image below. Remember storks make a lot of sounds but they do not have vocal chords like songbirds. Instead, they clatter their bill together very, very fast and the noise resonates in this throat pouch making it much louder – like an amplifier.

Looking at how quickly these three are growing made me realize that I also need to check on Karl II and Kaia’s three storklings. They are the Black Storks in a nest in Southern Estonia.

Here is Kaia looking down at the three of them. Oh, I am so hoping that enough food arrives on this nest so that the little third hatch will survive. Kaia is a new mother and Karl II’s old mate, Kita, laid 5-7 eggs and they could not feed them all. Kita was known for tossing one or two of the small ones off the side of the nest. It is understandable when there is a food shortage but it looks like Karl II might have this under control and if Kaia only lays three eggs then they might fledge all their storklings without hardship.

Karl II and Kaia take turns feeding and watching the storklings. That is Kaia above. She has no bands on her legs – makes her easy to recognize. Those long legs help her wade through the long grasses and water in search of food.

Here comes Karl II. See his band. Kaia moves off the nest for her break to eat and forage for food for the storklings. So everything is just fine on this nest also. So far the day has been good for the birds I have checked on.

Taking turns.

In Wales, the camera operator gave everyone a good tour of the landscape that is the territory around the nest of Aran and Mrs G. For those of you unfamiliar, Mrs G is the oldest Osprey in the United Kingdom. She is 21. Her and Aran lost all three of their 2021 hatches due to Aran being injured while protecting the nest. He lost some primary feathers and could not fish. The community provided a fish table. Everyone ate but the wee ones not having food for 48 hours meant they could not be saved. Aran and Mrs G are getting their strength back and Aran is now flying much better. They are a strong established couple and will return next year from their African migration to try again.

Isn’t this just the most idyllic setting? There is a beautiful pond, an old stone fence along with cows and sheep. You can almost ‘hear’ the landscape!

All the rain made the Welsh countryside emerald green.

Now look carefully. Can you spot the Osprey?

Gorgeous landscape around the Glaslyn Osprey Nest.

The Two Bobs at the Rutland Manton Nest look almost as big as Maya and Blue 33 (11). Looks like it is time for some fish!

Blue 33 brings in a nice fish for Maya and the lads.

Now this image is really making me happy. The other day Idris got one of those mesh bags that holds produce – like oranges – caught on either his talons or a fish. It got into the nest with Telyn and the two Bobs. Thankfully no one was injured. The staff were watching it closely and if necessary, they would remove it. Otherwise they were going to wait to remove the mesh when the Bobs are banded at the end of the month.

Here is an image of the Two Bobs and the mesh the other day. You can imagine how worrying this was for everyone. You can also see the flat crops of each of the osplets, the down off their heads and the feathers growing in, and their deep amber eyes. They are in the reptile phase and for some, this is not so attractive as when they have either their natal down or their juvenile feathers. They really do remind us that Ospreys were around 50 million years ago – and as my son tells me – scientists only figured out that dinosaurs had feathers a few years ago so are they birds? or dinosaurs?

Another way that humans endanger wildlife is not disposing properly of our rubbish.

And this is today. Oh, what a relief. I hope someone finds that mesh and disposes of it properly.

Mesh is gone fron the Dyfi nest! Yeah.

Wattsworth has brought in a really nice fish to Electra on the Cowlicks PUD Osprey Nest in Washington State. I sure hope she takes the time to feed each oproperly. There was an awful lot of aggression on this nest yesterday and I am going to put it flatly on Electra for the lack of feeding when she had fish in hand on Sunday.

Wattsworth delivers a big fish – now feed your babies til they are bursting Electra!

And speaking of little bobs – oh, my. The third hatch at Foulshaw Moss of White YW and Blue 35 is really a wee lad. Everything is fine as long as food is not around but there is also a lot of aggression and it seems that there needs to be more fish delivered. Come on White YW!

Bob Three is really so tiny. He is cuddled up with sibling 2 having a nap. Of course sibling 1 is so big that it wants all the food but – Bob 3 is still here with us today and that is a good day in my books.

Wee little hatch 2 at Foulshaw Moss Nest in Cumbria.

The only child of Dylan and Seren is just in fish heaven. Growing up with no competition, s/he will need the parents to help it understand how to survive in the wild – the fight for the fish! I wonder if they will do that?? Certainly Bald Eagles train their only eaglets by pretending to be surrogate siblings. Samson did a wonderful job with Legacy on the Northeast Florida nest in Jacksonville.

All that chartreuse is moss. The first time I looked I thought it was another mesh bag. Is it just me or does this nest need some tidying?

And my last check in, the two Bobs up at Loch of the Lowes with Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. Gosh. They are looking good, too.

It is so nice to stop in and find that everyone seems to be doing alright on a Tuesday. No telling what Wednesday will bring but for now, these birds are surviving.

I want to thank ‘S’ for writing to me and telling me that Tiny Tot had returned to the nest. It is much appreciated as are all your letters. Tomorrow I am going to explain something I learned today – the difference between the Migratory Birds Treaty of 1917-18 and the Wildlife Protection Acts of each individual province including my own.

Thank you for joining me. Smile. It is a great day.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Mlady Buky, Eagle Club of Estonia, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Loch of the Lowes, Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT and Rutland Water, Clywedog Osprey Project, Carnyx Wild, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Achieva Credit Union, Bwyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife Trust, Cowlitz PUD, and Golden Gate Audubon.

The Rare Black Storks of Estonia

Black Storks have gorgeous plumage. Their back, head, wings, and neck are a glossy black breaking into iridescence on their neck and chest. Their belly is white. They have a red bill and red legs. The juveniles are simply a little duller overall. They are large birds weighing on average 3 kg. They range in height from 95-100 cm. They are monogamous during their breeding season. The female lays 3-5 white eggs that hatch between 32-38 days. The storklings will fledge around 71 days but, they remain dependent on their parents for food and protection as well as training for longer. They make their stick nests in coniferous and mixed forests.

Black Storks are very rate in Estonia. It is the northern limits of their range. Most researchers thought it was the Pine Marten eating the eggs in the nests that caused such low numbers but recent research suggests something else. In an article titled, ‘The black storks in Estonia are suffering from loneliness’ by the Estonian Research Council of 6 February 2019, the analysts said:

As a surprise, it came out that one third of the nests of the Black Stork in Estonia are inhabited by single birds who cannot breed due to lack of partner. Such single birds may leave their nests and annoy breeding couples. Thus, the Black Stork in Estonia lack partners who may have died on long migration routes or proceeded to breed elsewhere where living conditions are more favourable than here. 

While not having a partner would significantly impact the breeding of the Black Stork, a more recent article suggests that the Black Stork is in danger of disappearing altogether due to low reproduction rates. Tests on storklings indicated a high concentration of mercury in their system. They believe that the levels in the fish that the storks eat is so significant to cause infertility. Two other issues are parasites and human intrusion (Low birth rates may spell black storks’ disappearance from Estonia’, ERR news, 16 March 2021).

There is a Black Stork nest in Karula National Park in Southern Estonia. The storks are known to have been using this nest since 2016. The current adults are ringed Karl II (715R) and Kaia who joined Karl in 2020.

In the image below, Kaia is waiting for her turn to incubate the eggs. Karl II is just getting off the nest. You can see his ring and number on his left leg.

Karl II is equipped with a backpack GPS transmitter. Kaia does not have one and she is not ringed. The GPS monitor tracks Karl II to his winter migration home in South Sudan and return every year. Here is a map of that route for his return in 2021:

No one knows where Kaia stays during the winter as she does not have a tracker.

In 2021, Kaia laid five eggs from the 24-30 of April. One of the five eggs was broken on 25 March. You can see that broken egg to the right of the nest. Another egg broke on 25 May leaving the couple with three eggs – a much easier number of chicks to keep healthy and strong. In addition, Kaia is a first time mom.

Karl II helps to incubate the eggs as well as nest maintenance and aeration. Here is an image of him aerating the nest. It has been raining a lot. This helps to dry out the straw and moss so there are fewer parasites.

While Kaia incubates the eggs, Karl II keeps himself busy bringing in nesting materials.

The weather in southern Estonia was not good towards the end of May when hatch watch would be starting. There were heavy rains often with hail hitting Kaia or Karl II when they were incubating. When the sun is out and the moss in the forest is dry, Karl II will bring in new moss to line the nest cup where the eggs are.

On 27 May, Kaia can hear ‘the egg talking’ – it is a bit of a quack, a high pitched sound:

The storklings continue to talk to the parents. Karl II continually brings in soft moss and dry materials to make the nest soft and dry as hatching gets closer.

This is Kaia. Her very first chick hatched at 8:51 am on 28 May. She is not ready to show us!

Awww. There it is.

Karl II comes in at 9:44 and both parents look at their lovely little chick together.

Here is a close up

Have you ever seen an adult stork feed a wee storkling not even a day old? Well, here is your chance:

Kaia brings in an adder, a snake, to the nest along with the little fish. The storkling is eating.

At 17:44 there are two storklings! This is super. They are both born on the same day.

Karl is really bringing in lots of food. There are tadpoles, earthworms, tiny fish, viper snakes, and now a second or third eel.

Kaia regurgitates food on the slope for the little ones to eat.

A crack in the third egg appears on 30th May. The little one looks down to see its sibling hatching.

At 18:20 on the 30th of May, the third storkling is out of its shell. Meanwhile, its two older siblings are gobbling up food from the side of the nest.

The trio is with Kaia, their mom, today, 5 June 2021. It is 10:09:21. Looking good!

I hope that there is plenty of food for everyone. It looks like that is the case. If not, Black Storks (as well as white ones) will toss the smallest from the nest if it means there would be three unhealthy chicks instead of two healthy ones. Fingers crossed. This little one is five days younger than the oldest.

You can watch this family in Estonia here:

Thank you for joining me today. I hope you liked reading about the Black Storks. They are so beautiful but, unlike the White Storks in Mlady Buky, they do not like so much to be around people. This streaming cam is a wonderful way to observe their daily lives and challenges.

Take care!

Thank you to the Eagle Club of Estonia and Kotkaklubi for their streaming cam where I grab my screen shots.