Tag Archives: Black Storks of Latvia

Friday in Bird World – the happy and the sad

There were a few people who did not sleep well last night – concerned as we were over the safety of Malin. At the same time, there are great people going out to check on our little warrior. I want to give a shout out to Susan Theys, the wildlife rehabber for the area. Susan searched last night for Malin to make sure that he was OK and is returning sometime today, when she gets a chance, to search again. In addition, I want to thank Jake Koebernik, the Osprey and Eagle DNR staff for area 3, Steve Easterly, the DNR Biologist, and Patricia Fisher, Wildlife Rehabber. Malin had been flapping its wings vigorously yesterday and for a few days. Still, the video footage shows a chick that left because there was an intruder.

Two other really good things happened. The rain has been pouring down for hours on the Canadian Prairies. The ditches are full and it is marvellous. I hope that it rains for a week – putting out all the fires and filling up the water reserves. Instead of being grumpy, people are so happy. This rain might also be falling in Missoula, Montana – in the Clark Fork River tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

The second miracle happened in Latvia on the Black Stork nest of Grafs and Grafiene near Sigulda. For those who do not know, the male, Grafs was having a difficult time feeding the storklings by himself since Grafiene left for her migration. A feeder area was fixed in the ditch and stocked with fish along with a decoy of Grafiene. Grafs had not found this and the concerns grew. Fish could not be delivered directly to the nest because of the condition of it. On 20 August, Grafs made one fish delivery. BUT the miracle happened at 8:39:34. The youngest storkling, at 66 days, fledged. My source tells me that two fledged but I need to confirm the second. Now the storkling/s can find the feeder and supplement any food from Grafs. What a relief! I hope that all of them leave the nest. The oldest is 69 days and the middle is 67 days old. This is the best solution.

Here is the flight sequence of the youngest:

Wheeeee.

In Estonia, in Jan and Janika’s Black Stork nest in Jegova County, the trio have eaten every bit of the fish that Urmas has brought to the nest – for the banding and then the pail of fish the other night. You can see that they are gone in the image below.

Jan fed the storklings at least once today. These birds, like those of Grafs, are almost ready to fledge. They will, hopefully, find the feeder area set up for them too!

It is essential that we all stay hopeful – for the six storklings and for Malin. Send strong positive thoughts to all these birds.

I took this at the tea time meal. Tiny Little did not have the fish, Big Brother 464 did but, she is waiting and hoping and so far White YW has been a great ‘Door Dash’ delivery.

Oh, this bird has brought us such joy. She is tenacious. I adore her.

Dad wouldn’t leave Tiny Little hungry and screaming her head off! It is three hours later, the last fish of the day probably, and here is Tiny Little filling her crop in the image. Oh, you are going to sleep well Tiny Little!

There have been rumours that some of the female Osprey in the UK – the ones on the streaking cams – have fledged. Today, Telyn, who was believed to have left since she had not been seen since Wednesday, turned up with a fish on the Dyfi Nest. So Telyn is still with us!

Mrs G is still on the Glasyn Valley nest. Oh, she is so stern looking! You can almost tell an Osprey female from the intensity of their gaze.

Disturbing news coming out of Maryland in the US today concerns two workers who needed to replace a light in a Southern Maryland Park. Actually it is outrageous. To do that, they removed two Osprey chicks from their nest and euthanized them. I know how to spell both words ‘disturbed’ and ‘angry’. The incident occurred at Cove Point Park. “County officials said they had a “cooperative services agreement” with the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to have the ospreys and their nest removed. The commissioners said they were “not consulted or informed as to why or how the decision was made to euthanize the juveniles in the nest rather than relocate.” That last word is very significant – relocate. Relocate is not euthanize.

The Washington Post article is here. I hope you can open it. If not, Google the subject. There will be other news agencies picking up this story.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/08/20/two-young-osprey-were-removed-their-nest-euthanized-so-workers-could-replace-light-southern-maryland-park/?fbclid=IwAR2FK-kl_ATvumaLbvuTcOXd27F7GIywXTafm6Hh2MKm4FwaadqqW_O83PE

When the laws and agreements do not work, who advocates for the birds? The Audubon Society acted as advocates for Pale Male’s nest on Fifth Avenue. Maybe Audubon will go to work for these two?

If you find this as disturbing as I do, take a few minutes and fill out the form telling the Commissioners of Calvert County, Maryland what you think. Here is the link to the form:

https://www.calvertcountymd.gov/FormCenter/Contact-Us-Main-Homepage-8/Contact-Us-49

Always good for a smile or three are the two sea eaglets, WBSE 27 and 28. My goodness these two are so close in size and the bonking was at a minimal this year. They are well fed and healthy….and those pin feathers are coming in and they are both preening up a storm!

I have not been able to spend as much time with this family in the Sydney Olympic forest but I hope that might change. These two are growing slightly ahead of schedule it seems – their big clown feet match those crops. Just stop and look at those crops. They are so full they sag. Crazy. Dad and Lady are doing a fantastic job. So pleased.

The day is just beginning in the forest. Just look how big that sea eaglet is next to Lady! Wow.

I know that many have not watched this nest because of past things that have happened. I encourage you to check in this year. Lady is a more experienced mom and both of the eagles are healthy. There is no one getting the advantage over another. They are delightful.

That is what I want to leave you with this magnificent rainy day – a smile. Those sea eagles are adorable. Why not stop in and check on them? Here is the link:

Thank you to everyone for joining me. Please continue to send your positive energy to the Black Storks in Latvia and Estonia, to those storks and Ospreys migrating, and to little Malin. Malin really needs it. To my knowledge he has not returned and it is worrisome because the parents have been on the nest with fish today trying to lure Malin back. Malin is approximately 2 months and 2 days old.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Byrwd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, The Latvian Fund for Nature, The Eagle Club of Estonia, Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia, and The Discovery Centre, and The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam.

Fish delivered to the Estonian storklings!

There are some very interesting developments going on in Estonia with the Black Storklings of Jan and Janika. On the 18th of June, Jan fed the storklings one time. He has not found the feeding pond, dug especially for him, with the decoy of Janika but, a Blue Heron has!

@Forum of the Jergova Black Stork Nest in Estonia

After dark, Urmas and a helper delivered a pail of fresh fish for the three storklings. You can see the pail that he is holding and all of the fish that have been poured onto the nest. Urmas was hoping to clean up the old fish with a branch but he did not because it could harm the storklings or the storklings might bite him. Everyone is doing an amazing job to make sure that these three rare Black Storklings will live and fledge! I cannot imagine another thing that Urmas and his team could possibly do for these beautiful young birds. Thank you Urmas!

@ Eagle Club of Estonia and the Form of the Black Stork Nest at Jergova

After Urmas has left, the storklings went back to sleeping. They will wake up to a fine meal.

@ Eagle Club of Estonia and Black Stork Nest Forum at Jergova

Grafs has delivered two feedings to his storklings at the Siguldas Latvian nest. They were so hungry and so glad to see him for the second feeding. We can only continue to hope that a miracle happens and Grafs finds the feeder with all of the little fish. This nest is not stable like the one in Estonia so no one can climb with a pail of fish and deliver them.

In stark contrast, Malin, the Osprey in the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest has a crop that is so big that it looks like it could pop. I have seriously lost track of all the feedings today, the size of the fish, and what might have been left from last night.

This Osprey chick has not seen so much food in its entire life! His system has adjusted to eating more fish. Originally, Malin would eat and then stop before he had a crop. Now he eats and eats as much as he can.

Marsha has flown in and is feeding an already full Malin that fish that was on the nest.

A few minutes ago, around 4:20 nest time, Malin still has his crop and Mom is looking pretty good, too. I wish there was someway to measure Malin. He looks like he is twice as big as he was at the beginning of the month with much more feather development.

By the size of the feet most people would say Malin is a little male. I know when the banders ringed Tiny Little on the Foulshaw Moss nest they could not tell if Blue 463 was a male or female. That was because of the lack of food. And that is precisely the problem with Malin – a lack of food might trick us. Malin could be a female but my ten cents worth is on a small very handsome male.

Don’t you just love how those wing feathers are crossing over the tail? This chick has been such a worry but it feels like that anxiety is all gone. Let us hope that the good feedings keep up for all three of the birds – Marsha, Collins, and little Malin. We want them healthy for their migration.

Ha, ha. My friend, S, in Hawaii just sent this picture to me – the one below. She is calling it the ‘Battle of the Bulges’. ‘My crop is bigger than your crop!’ Too funny. It is so nice to be able to relax and laugh. For so long we thought Malin was doomed but wow. I wish this kind of happiness for the Black Stork nests.

There is something troubling brewing. EC from France has posted images on FB of the fire, now four days old, burning the Massif des Maures in France. It is a huge mountain range. This is the worst fire in that area in 20 years he reports.

@ Eric Calvete
@ Eric Calvete

The fire is in the area with the red teardrop marker.

Google Maps

Here is the map showing the two main routes of the European birds. You will see on the top left that the birds from the UK normally fly over France, through Spain and across the Straits of Gibraltar and then the Sahara and Atlas Mountains. This is an extremely challenging journey. If they stay west in France, they will miss the fires currently burning at Massif des Maures. The good news is they should. The Eastern routing through Turkey and Greece still has major fires burning and is causing much difficulty. You can see how the arrows in the dark green – from The Netherlands to Latvia and Estonia converge and go through both Greece and Turkey to reach Africa.

We are told that the heat we are experiencing will now not go away. I hope that if that is the case our birds make adjustments to their schedules.

@ Open University

Some quick news from other nests:

NC0 is still feeding her fledglings at the Loch of the Lowes. LR2 snagged a really nice fish delivery from mom. So this is one female who has not started her migration.

Idris has been feeding Dyssni and Yestwyth at the Dyfi Nest in Wales today. Telyn has been seen so she has not left on her migration despite earlier reports that she might have.

All three chicks were on the Foulshaw Moss Nest. It looked like 464 had snagged the fish delivery with the other two waiting to see what happened. I have not seen Blue 35 and I do not know if she has departed or is just allowing White YW to do the feeding duties while she fattens up for migration.

Maya was caught on camera at the Rutland Manton Bay nest yesterday. Will continue to monitor her whereabouts. Both chicks, 095 and 096, are at Rutland.

There is our beautiful albeit somewhat grumpy looking Tiny Little on the right. It was nearing 7pm at the nest. Her crop looks good. Gosh she is a big bird! That look reminds me of Mrs G. So stern. That also makes me think she is a female!

It is always nice to see Tiny Little with a crop! And that is a good place to close for today. I hope everyone is keeping well. Sending off prayers and warm wishes to the nests and people in Latvia and Estonia and to the birds trying to make their way to their winter homes.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Loch of the Lowes, Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, The Eagle Club of Estonia, The Latvian Fund for Wildlife.

Happenings in Bird Land. 17 August 2021

Our sky is very overcast this morning and, for one of the first days, our temperature will not go over 29 C which is the same as it is in the Caribbean. It is not surprising that the summer flowers, such as Jasmine and Hibiscus, are thriving while the others meant for bees and butterflies are having a difficult time with it even with watering. So far I have gathered 5 one-gallon pails of blossoms off this Hibiscus and dried them for tea. It has been a bumper crop.

Sweet little Malin slept on his fish. Smart little one. Perhaps that is how to keep leftovers if you are afraid that someone will steal your food! Malin ate it for breakfast and then, at 10:17ish, Dad made a delivery.

Sometimes Malin bites Dad’s toes. It is a good idea to drop that fish and get away fast!

Malin protecting his little fish while Dad flies away.

We are keeping a close eye on what is happening with the Black Storks in Latvia and Estonia and I am very grateful to ‘S’ for helping with this. In Latvia, Grafs made a fish delivery at 12:04:43.

The storklings had one feeding yesterday but four feedings on the 15th. It is hoped that more fish will come to the nest today.

One of the birdwatchers in the area and a good friend to this nest, BK, purchased a white decoy and has spent their time painting it to be Grafiene 2. This decoy was installed on the morning of the 17th to try and lure Grafs to the fish table.

Anyone who lives in duck hunting country will know that the use of decoys to attract birds can be very successful. We hope that Grafs smells the fish donations and sees Grafiene 2.

Some of you might be wondering why they do not climb the Black Stork nest near Sigulda. The simple answer is – it is not safe to do so. The nest is mostly made of peat and the birds could from their movements and jumping cause that to break off. Human disturbance would cause the same issues. It is also a very old tree and not strong. Everyone is doing everything that they can. After the feeding at noon heavy rains came to the area.

One development is that the eldest storkling is now branching. You can see that in the image below.

This Black Stork nest is very special to the people of Latvia as are these miracle storklings. ‘S’ tells me that there was no successful nesting here in both 2019 and 2020. This year no one thought that Grafs would attract a mate to the nest – especially so late in the season. No one would dare to think that there might be storklings for fear that something would happen. But there were eggs and they did hatch and look at these beautiful trio. Sadly, around the nest the area of the forest and adjacent areas have changed so much in the past couple of years that finding food for a family here can be difficult. Everyone continues with hope that Grafs will find the fish table. As I have said so very often, human encroachment and human impact on the climate are causing wildlife irreparable harm. Providing food for the birds now and in the future is the least we can do.

In Estonia, Jan has brought in three big fish for the trio at 11:01:17. He made a second trip to the nest at 15:09:18. In between, the storklings have been picking at the old fish on the pile. They were so full that they did not eat one of the big fish that came to the nest. Sadly, that fish fell off.

In other Osprey news, Telyn is still at the Dyfi Nest and has not left for her migration. She delivered a nice size fish and Dysnni was the taker! Some had thought he might have left the area but he hasn’t. Maybe Idris will get something for Ystwyth who looks on – no doubt she had hoped to nab that fish.

And here is Ystwyth, Blue 491, with her fish:

Beautiful Telyn or Blue 3J is a great provider for her two fledglings just like Idris.

Dysynni, Blue 490, flew up to the branch to eat his fish. Everyone always talks about how messy Idris is when he eats well, his son is just like him!

Dysynni has managed to eat the flesh of the fish and leave the tough skin. Bravo – but still messy! BTW. Dysynni is 89 hatch days old today, the average age of the males fledging off the Dyfi Nest in Wales.

You could hear LR2 on the other side of the Loch of the Lowes she was food crying so loud. There is no getting away from the fact that a fish is wanted! NC0 came in with a nice one. So, if anyone is wondering, NC0 has not left for her migration either. Historically, the 18th was the latest that she has left but, perhaps, the birds, hopefully, understand the weather along the migratory route and they will stay in place. As long as there is food, why leave? wait a couple of weeks. LOL. As if I can read an Ospreys mind!! I do hope they can wait.

Lucky! That is a nice fish and this chick doesn’t look like it is starving. That is a pretty nice crop.

These birds have turned out to be strong and healthy. Laddie and NC0 did well.

To close the day off, it was wonderful to click on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest and see Tiny Little, Blue 463, eating a really nice size fish! It was 18:40. It could be the last one for the day.

But, the icing on the cake was the receipt of my ‘Iris pen’ just a few moments ago in the post! It is Choke Cherry and is absolutely gorgeous. You can refill with any Cross Cartridge. What a fantastic fundraiser. Thank you Montana Osprey Project! My picture does not do this beautiful pen justice.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please continue to send your warm wishes and prayers to the very precious Black Stork nestlings in Latvia and Estonia. The people there are doing everything they can to take care of these precious birds. I am continuing to monitor the fires in Greece. There are two new ones. Those fires impact the migration of the birds already on their way. There is a very sophisticated system using magnetic fields and Quantum Mechanics that our birds use to get from one place to another. If you want to read about it, one of the best books is A World on the Wing. The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul. I just want them to stay put if they can! Take care everyone. Order you Iris pen if you didn’t! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, The Eagle Club of Estonia, The Latvian Club for Nature, The Dyfi Osprey Project, The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, and The Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes.

Estonian Black Storks fledge…and other news from Bird World

All you have to do is watch a songbird catching insects for her wee nestlings, coming and going all day, to clearly see the great effort this is on behalf of the adult. As the nestlings grow ever larger, those same parents have tremendous pressure to increase the amount of food and the number of deliveries. Just finding food has been a serious challenge for all the birds this year whether they are in Montana, Florida, or Latvia. The tremendous heat waves, droughts, and urban development have impacted hunting areas as well as the quantity of fish or prey available.

I recorded an evening food delivery to Grafs and Grafiene’s storklings in Latvia. This is about a minute long. I could have recorded them for much longer but I can only upload so many MBs. It is absolutely fascinating. The parent arrives, regurgitates the fish, and quickly gets out of the way! Those three are so excited– and hungry!

There have been some concerns over the availability of food. Latvia has experienced, like other countries, excessive summer heat. ‘S’ tells me that they have also been experiencing land amelioration that has caused drainage issues in the surrounding area. If you have ever watched Ferris Akel’s Live Tours of birding areas in upstate New York, you will be aware of how the drainage of land impacts the birds. One day the water and food are there and two or three days later – gone! Poof. The summer heat has exacerbated these issues. Still, this trio of Black Stork nestlings seem to be developing quite well.

If you missed it, Karl II and Kaia’s nestlings were ringed on 9 July at the nest in the Karula National Park in southern Estonia. They also had Kotkaklubi transmitters put on their legs so the researchers can follow them as they migrate. They are Pikne 716P, Tuul 716 T and Udu is 716U. Tuul is the youngest and is seen here in this short video clip flapping and jumping. That nest seems so small!

All that flapping was leading up to something — Udu 716U fledged at 6:19 and then another fledged 716T, Tuul. This leaves Pikne, 716 P to fly. The fledgling Udu has flown and returned to the nest and flown again. It is so wonderful to see them in the early morning enjoying the little bit of wind under their wings. Always exciting and bittersweet.

I promised you an update on Big Red, Arthur, and the Ks. Everyone is doing well. K1 and K3 are very strong fliers and have really extended their range within the territory of their parents on the Cornell University campus. K1 is a very successful hunter. It is unclear to me whether or not K3 has caught his own food yet but, if he hasn’t, he will soon. Big Red and Arthur seem to take turns watching the fledglings progress from a distance.

Here is K3 on top of Roberts Hall.

K1 has been hunting. Wonder what she has in those talons?

A small bird.

K1 finished her snack and is ready to find some more prey!

I love this image. You can clearly see the ‘eyebrows’ that keep the glare out of the hawk’s eyes. Then there is that amazing red streaked belly band – enough to rival that of her mother, Big Red. K1 is such a gorgeous hawk. In this image she is completely focused on the task at hand – finding another prey item.

There is proud papa, Arthur, watching his kids closely but not interffering with their learning.

K1 seemed to be all over the campus hunting. I am not so familiar with the buildings but doesn’t she look gorgeous on this one with the red clay roof tiles? Just a beauty.

The Ks are doing well. We are moving into August. They should be hunting in the fields by highway 366 shortly, if they are not already. The days will pass quickly. The pair will begin soaring and then it won’t be long til Big Red and Arthur will be empty nesters.

Thank you so much for joining me. I hope to get some images of our local water fowl to share with you tomorrow. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I take my screen shots and video clips: The Latvian Fund for Nature and the Eagle Club of Estonia. Thanks go to Suzanne Arnold Horning again for sharing her great images of the Red tail haws with us.