Tag Archives: Bonnie feeds the owlets

Cuteness Overload in Bird World

It is Tuesday in New Zealand but on the Canadian prairies it is Monday and it is snowing! There is snow swirling all around and the birds would like nothing better than to come into the house! Poor things.

Today is the day that the NZ Department of Conservation rangers at Taiaroa Head weigh all of the Royal Albatross chicks. Every Tuesday they do this. If any of the chicks are underweight, the rangers will give them a supplemental feeding. Sometimes the winds are not conducive to returning while at other times these largest of NZ sea birds have to travel far to find food. Sadly, some of them also perish in the process. If there is only one parent feeding it is often hard to keep up with the demands of a growing albatross chick. That is when I sing the praises of the NZ DOC – they will do anything to keep the adults and the chicks in a good healthy state.

The Royal Cam chick is a female and she was hatched 80 days ago. Her nest is at a place called ‘The Flat Top’ on Taiaroa Head, a peninsula near Dunedin, New Zealand. It is the only breeding colony near human habitation for these albatross. Because raising a chick causes such stress on their bodies, the albatross breed biennially. Indeed, while it might sound like they have two years to recuperate, it will take almost an entire year to raise their chick. The 2021 Royal Cam chick will fledge and begin her five to six years at sea in September. Her parents will return to Taiaroa Head to feed her until she goes on her own journey. The parents will then go to sea only returning the following November when they will breed again. This means that the parents will not see one another for approximately fourteen to fifteen months returning to a specific spot on the planet to breed. It is a real joy and a relief when both return safely. The chick will remain at sea, never touching land, for five to six years before she returns to Taiaroa Head to begin choosing her own mate.

In the past week, the Royal Cam chick has ‘lucked out’. She had two family visits – her parents arrived yesterday around 15:00 and they had flown in together on Saturday to feed her together. It is hard to comprehend how extraordinary these family reunions are until you sit and stare at the ocean where the two go foraging for food for both themselves and the chick. It is vast.

Two months ago, Lime-Green-Lime (LGL), the female and Lime-Green-Black (LGK) were fitted with small backpack satellite transmitters. These transmitters are intended to study their foraging habits. LGL has travelled 11.737 kilometres going to and from the sea in order to feed her chick. This is the graph of those travels:

What a happy family reunion! The nickname for the little chick has been a Maori word for cloud, Kapua. I think you can see why in the image below! Look at all that gorgeous white feathery down.

LGL and LGK both visit and feed their chick. 12 April 2021

Kapua has learned how to beg for food. In fact, she is often impatient during these family visits for good feedings. Sometimes her parents like to stop and visit with one another! Of course, Kapua wants all the attention on her.

The albatross chick has to clack on the parent’s bill to stimulate the regurgitation of food. Here you can see how the parent also has to lean down and the way the chick and parent hold their bills so the precious squid oil will go into the chick and not on the ground!

While her parents are away, Kapua spends time in her nest. She watches the boats go past, makes little play nests around her but never strays, at this age, far from her natal nest in case her parents return with food.

Isn’t she the epitome of cuteness?

When things get too stressful on the other nests, I always return to the Royal Albatross and my faith in the New Zealand government for keeping Kapua safe and healthy.

Yesterday was a milestone for one of the most beautiful Bald eaglets anywhere, Legacy. She is the daughter of Samson and Gabrielle at the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle Nest in Jacksonville, Florida. Legacy has been jumping up and down working her wings and legs to get them strong on the spongy Spanish moss nest. Yesterday, though, Legacy made another milestone. She branched at 3:59. Legacy will continue now to go up on the branches of her natal tree until the point where she will fly from the nest to a branch before she takes her first real flight from the nest which is known as fledging. There she is. Legacy was a little nervous and she made her way down to the nest bowl carefully. Soon, though, she will be jumping up and down to that branch having a lot of fun! She loves the wind beneath her wings.

Legacy is a big strong eaglet. 11 April 2021

Sweet little babies staying warm and dry under Nancy at the MN DNR nest. Looks like they have rain instead of the snow we are experiencing north of them. The little ones are not able to regulate their temperature yet so they need to stay warm and dry!

Little ones staying warm near Nancy, MN DNR Nest. 12 April 2021

Izzi, the peregrine falcon has not left his natal scrape box in Orange, Australia. Yesterday he caught an adult Starling all by himself and was quite loud in announcing it to the world. This image catches his trade mark screeching on entering the scrape box:

The two owlets raised in the Bald Eagle Nest near Newton, Kansas are growing and growing. There are still many who consider them to be ‘cute’! Yesterday their mother, Bonnie, tested them. She left a duck and parts of a rabbit in the nest. She stood on a branch watching to see if they would begin feeding themselves. They didn’t but they will be self-feeding soon!

Bonnie is feeding Tiger and Lily duck and rabbit. 11 April 2021

And it is so sweet. Louis is on the nest at Loch Arkaig early to add a few sticks. He stayed on the perch branch for a long time waiting for Aila to return.

In 2017, Louis was given the nickname ‘Lonesome Louis’ because he paced back and forth on the nest when his mate of ten years did not return. The pair had failed to breed in 2016 and people were hopeful that 2017 would be different. Louis waited for three weeks and then a new female appeared. It was Aila meaning ‘bringer of light’ in Finnish. The pair raised one chick in 2017 and he was called Lachlan meaning from the lakes. Sadly, a Pine Marten raided their nest and ate the eggs in 2018. In 2019, the couple had two chicks fledge – Mallie and Rannoch and in 2020, there was the famous trio – Dottie, Vera, and Captain. Everyone is hoping for a quick return of Aila so that Louis is not ‘lonesome’ again!

Louis looks for Aila. 12 April 2021.

There are two other updates without images. Iris at the Hellsgate Osprey nest has been doing nestorations and feeding herself. Her mate, Louis, who also has another nest with Star at the Baseball park has visited twice – each time mating with Iris. The last time was 18:16 on 11 April when he made a quick visit. Louis brings Iris nothing – and yes, he is a bird but I continue to say how sad this is for the oldest female Osprey in the world. Wouldn’t it be nice if she was treated like the royalty she is? And the other is the state of the Achieva Osprey Nest in Dunedin, Florida. Jack the father has not been seen for awhile and everyone is beginning to wonder if he did not die or get severely injured. The thunderstorms have been very severe. Yesterday, there were two fish in the morning and Tiny Tot did get fed from both. He has not eaten now for more than 26 hours. Diane brought a small fish this morning that partially fed 1 and 2 and she has gone out and caught another smaller fish. Right now the two older osplets are eating. There may not be enough for Tiny. She will have to go out again if she is to eat and feed Tiny. There have been rumours about a hawk in the area. So, once again, we are at a tragic point this season on this nest. Just when Tiny Tot was getting full for a couple of days and getting his stamina and health back, then the storms come. Diane cannot protect her osplets and fish at the same time. She has not eaten either and I hope that whatever threats are around the nest are gone and that Diane catches one of her whooper catfish so that everyone can be full.

UPDATE 2PM CDT: Jack has arrived at the nest with a fish at 2:41:31 EDT. Diane was still feeding 1 and 2 on the fish she brought in – her second of the day. Maybe Tiny Tot will get some food. Glad Jack is OK.

Thank you for joining me today – our wintery weather will be here for three days if the predictions are correct. Not a great time for my walks!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Cornell Bird Cams and the NZ DOC, Farmer Derek, the NEFLorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, Woodland Trust and People Post Lottery, Sturt University at Orange and Cilla Kinross, and the MN DNR.

Bird World – Monday Updates full of joy

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) has a new couple on their nest. Harry, the male, is still sporting some of his 4 year old Bald Eagle plumage. Nancy is the female and all we know is that she is older – precisely hold old or how many eaglets she has raised is unknown. The couple welcomed little E1 on 26 March and E2 was born on 29 March at 3:24pm.

Harry is just starting to figure out what his duties are. I had a giggle when E1 was born. Harry tried to roll the little fluff ball – and he is not the only one to do that! It will be a real delight to watch this couple raise these little ones in what should be a prey rich area.

Harry wanted to feed the little ones this morning but he is still flummoxed by the entire experience. Nancy will make sure he figures it out! Best he goes out fishing and fills the pantry.

It has been pitching down rain in Wales but Aran has arrived safely home from his winter migration, He is on the perch to the left. Mrs G, the oldest Osprey in Wales, is on the nest with a morning fish. She is one of the best fishers in the country and often hauls in whoppers to the nest. There will be cheers all day throughout Wales. It is such a relief when both mates arrive home safely from their winter vacations.

Aran arrives home. 29 March 2021

Over at the Loch of the Lowes Nest, Laddie and NC0 got right down to business at the break of dawn. Or did they? Maybe Laddie just did a landing sans fish??

Look at that gorgeous view. Just stunning with the apricot and pink over the water from the glow of the morning sun rising. What a wonderful place for a nest.

At the Great Horned Owl Nest on the farm near Newton, Kansas, Bonnie has been going out hunting. The owlets had mostly snake today. Bonnie joined up with Clyde and the image below shows her bringing in a vole. She helps orient the head so that little Lily has an easier time horking it whole. These two are growing and growing and demanding more and more food.

At the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida, both Diane and Jack brought in fish late in the day. Mom actually left the nest to go fishing when it appeared she had given up on dad. It made for a lot of confusion. with the trio. Look where Diane has that fish! Tiny Tot got right up on the rails. These are really hold your breath moments because those twigs that make up the outside of this nest are not all that secure. By getting up there though, Tiny ensured that it got food while the other two were still full from eating earlier. And it’s a good thing. It is noon on this nest on Monday, 29 march. Not a single fish has arrived all morning. Diane found some scraps in the nest and fed Tiny Tot a few. If I could strangle a bird it might be Jack!

Diane feeding Tiny Tot. 28 March 2021.

I received the most wonderful letter from a lady in Iowa who stressed that they were the home of the ‘Decorah Eagles’. When my parents were still alive, there were many trips where we would drive through Iowa on the way to see them in Oklahoma. But, I have to admit that while I had heard of the Decorah Bald Eagles it was not a nest that I was following. This lovely woman’s letter tweaked my interest and if you don’t know the nest, it is really a wonderful one to follow. Little DN13 was born on 26 March followed by DN14 on the 27th. They are so cute and the parents are beam with pride.

Here is the link to the Decorah Explore streaming cam:

And last but never least, Big Red laid her second egg of the 2021 season this morning at 10:10am. And, if she lays three, we can look for the last one on 1 April! It is colder in Ithaca this morning at 5 degrees C or 41 F than it is here in Winnipeg where it is 8 degrees C or 46.4 degrees F. It has stopped raining and the sun is finally coming out in Ithaca.

Yesterday, Arthur did most of the incubating and he was on the nest before Big Red flew in to lay this egg. They are a great pair that often work like well designed Swiss watch.

And here is the link to the Cornell Red Tail Hawk cam with Big Red and Arthur:

As many of you know, I am one of a growing number of individuals calling for the ban of lead in fishing and hunting equipment and designer rat poisons. I am working on a story about the Black Kites in Taiwan and a man who worked to get rat poison banned in that entire country.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following streaming cams where I took my scaps: Cornell Bird Labs, Decorah Eagles and Explore, Achieva Osprey, Farmer Derek, MN DNR, Scottish Wildlife Trust, and the Bywd Gwylit Glaslyn Wildlife.

Oh, the owlets are soooooo cute!

Two Great Horned Owls took over a Bald Eagle nest on a farm and ranch near Newton, Kansas owned by the Klingenberg family. That was on 1 February. The owls were given the names of Bonnie and Clyde because of the gangsters that robbed banks in the US. Bonnie and Clyde endured the coldest weather the region had known, snow, and rain to hatch the two eggs. The oldest was born on 7 March and is named Tiger. The youngest was born on 9 March and is called Lily. The daughters of Farmer Derek named the owlets. Clyde has proven himself to be a terrific provider and between the two, the owlets are growing bigger and bigger daily.

It is getting much more difficult for Bonnie to keep the eldest under her. And the chicks were both pretty active today with Tiger getting out from under Bonnie and up on the nest to flap its wings. Yes, you read that right – it is up flapping its wings. Hard to believe. They are now 17 and 15 days old.

Here are some pictures from today. I thought you would really enjoy seeing the change in the plumage and see their eyes. Tiger looks like a little old man. (The colour from the streaming cam is very saturated at times).

This is the best look that I have had of Lily. Normally Tiger is rooting around and trying to eat everything. What a little cutie. Bonnie looks down at them with that wonderful motherly love.

At one time they were under Bonnie’s tail keeping warm. When they came out you could really see that beautiful plumage developing on Tiger’s wings and the back of its head. Soon that fluffy white down will be gone.

Here is Tiger out of the nest cup completely and facing the opposite direction from Bonnie. It is standing up well and flapping its wings. Notice the bright orange pads. And look at the back of Tiger’s head. In Canada we have nice warm mohair hats for winter and this looks like a lovely pattern for one of those.

These Great Horned Owls are bringing so much joy to so many and, in the process, people are starting to learn about owls. The streaming cams are great sites to observe what we would normally not be able to see in nature.

Have a fabulous day everyone! Thank you to Farmer Derek for the streaming cam. That is where these scaps were taken.

The Owlets have names

Just a very quick announcement. The two Great Horned Owls, Bonnie and Clyde, who stole the Bald Eagle nest on the farm near Newton, Kansas had two eggs hatch. The oldest hatched on 7 March and the youngest 9 March. Already they have pin feathers and the oldest horked an entire mouse last night! The farmer that set up the streaming cam for the Bald Eagles and whose family has welcomed the owls has two daughters. Those daughters got to pick the names for the owlets. The oldest is Tiger and the little one is Lily! What wonderful names.

You can just see the proud mama, Bonnie, and one of the little ones sticking its head up.

Lovely names and it is so nice to see the entire family involved. We have all learned so much since the owls took over the nest on 1 February. Thank you Farmer Derek and your family.

H is for horking

Horking means to gobble down food, to eat fast, or greedily, not sharing with anyone. When we say a raptor horks down its dinner, we mean that it ate the entire prey item whole. The birds will hold their head up so that the esophagus is clear and literally move their muscles swallowing the food whole. Remember that Great Horned Owls have exceptionally wide esophagi when you look at the following sequence of images.

In the image below, Clyde has brought a mouse to Bonnie so she can feed the two owlets. Bonnie takes it as normal and is goes to lay it down on the nest as she always does. Typically, Bonnie will break off pieces of meat to feed to the two babies at intervals.

In the image below, Clyde is still on the nest. Bonnie is looking down at one of the owlets who seems particularly interesting in eating that fresh mouse.

Clyde has left and much to the shock of Bonnie the owlet is ‘horking’ the mouse. In the image below the mouse is about half way into the owlets mouth and down its esophagus.

Bonnie looks on in shock. Only a small portion of the mouse extends out of her chicks mouth.

Bonnie is unsettled by her baby horking the entire mouse. She might have worried that it would have choked or stopped breathing. So, Bonnie pulls the entire mouse out of the owlet’s mouth and esophagus! In the image below Bonnie has it in her beak.

The owlet still wants the mouse and grabs it with its beak.

This sequence of events is all happening within two minutes. The owlet has the mouse again and is horking it, hurrying as fast as it can so Bonnie will not take it away again.

Bonnie looks on as her baby finishes eating the mouse whole. The owlets were born on 7 March and are only twelve days old today.

It is best to see ‘horking’ than to just read the words. Sometimes it is quite surprising what the raptors can eat whole. Once Big Red and Arthur have their eyases, you will get to see what it is like for a chipmunk to be horked whole.

Today’s word: hork, horked, horking was brought to you by the Great Horned Owls, Bonnie and Clyde who stole a Bald Eagle nest on a farm in Kansas and their two owlets. It looks like Clyde is going to have to find more and more mice!

Thank you to Farmer Derek for the streaming cam where these scaps were taken!

Take care everyone.

Stormz

When I woke up this morning, this was the weather forecast that caught my attention. I sat and stared. Yes, the Achieva Osprey Nest in St. Petersburg, the SWFL Eagle Nest in Fort Myers, and the NEFL Eagle Nest in Jacksonville were all in the ‘possible threat’ of a Severe Threat region. What precisely does that mean? If it’s bad it is going to be really bad but, it might not be nothing at all?

At the Osprey nest in St. Pete’s, it was already starting to get a little gusty. Still, Jack came in with a really nice fish around 9:09 and all had a good breakfast – all of them were fed equal – and there was no issues of the eldest trying to be dominant. Great planning, Jack! It was, however, not long until the local weather report had warnings of rip tides (dangerous currents) and by 10:30 the nest platform was swaying pretty good. The local weather said 48 kph or 30 mph winds. It is hard to understand what that means to the nest structure and the Ospreys. I have presumed that the structure was built to withstand a hurricane but that might not be true at all. But what kind of a gust does it take to blow an Osprey or a little one off the nest? My mind quickly went back to the wind gusts that sent the Red Tail Hawk at Ithaca, New York, Big Red, flying off the nest bowl taking one of the eyases with her last year in the spring. That was really scary to watch. They both clamoured back onto the nest. Still, I sat and hoped that Tiny Tot would hold on good and tight. How much does the little thing weigh?

The image below does not capture the swaying of the nest. The rains had not started but, the gusts were strong. See how the little ones are all tucked in. It reminds me of ‘the duck and cover’ exercises when I was in grade school. If a nuclear bomb exploded, we were told to get under our desks and cover our heads – we would be safe. Don’t even get me started about that. However, those three little Ospreys are doing a great job of tucking in. They would have gotten an A from my first grade teacher, Mrs McReynolds.

In a couple of hours there was a break in the weather and the little ones were able to relax. You are looking at Tiny Tot on the left and the eldest on the right. Both are getting juvenile plumage – all the fluffy down is now gone. They have a grey matte down covering and the beautiful copper coloured feathers are coming on their heads. They have a white stripe from their heads down their backs. The dark lines from the back of their eyes to their neck are becoming prominent. They sure resemble dinosaurs when they are all tangled up together! Their crops have dropped so both are ready for a good meal. Let’s hope Jack has some success fishing. I am going to imagine that fishing could be difficult with the rain, winds, and rip tides.

Within an hour, the weather changed again. The winds picked up giving Diane a brand new hair do and the little ones are holding on under her wings. Good thing. The skies open and heavy rain comes down soaking everyone and the nest.

It has been a difficult week for food on this nest. The high temperatures, reaching as much as 30 degrees C, have meant that the fishing was only good in the early mornings and around sun down. Despite the rain and the rip tides today, Jack did manage to bring in another fish -quite small – after the weather had settled for a bit, around 7:26pm.

The oldest dominated the feeding and treated both number 2 and Tiny Tot (some call him Tumbleweed) rather aggressively. The kids are wet and cold and miserable – and I imagine Diane is, too. These are experienced parents who have fledged three off a nest. They know what they are doing but they cannot control the weather – the storms or the high heat. Let’s just hope that tomorrow is a cool calm day with a couple of big fish on the nest!

The issues with the eldest on the Achieva Osprey Nest happen over and over again on Osprey and Bald Eagle nests around the world (as well as with other species). And the situation -the sibling rivalry -can turn on a dime. For the past few days there have been concerns about the aggressive behaviour of the eldest to the youngest at the Duke Farm nest in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The actions of the eldest got so bad that a message was posted by Duke Farms acknowledging that the behaviour being displayed was abnormally aggressive – ‘abnormally.’ The farm had obviously received e-mails and phone calls wanting an intervention to happen. Duke Farms had to remind watchers that the birds are protected and that their staff are not allowed within 305 metres or 1000 feet of the nest.

I have great sympathy for anyone watching the bashing that is given to the smaller ones. My whole body has gone rigid seeing a little one in submission unable to get any food – their heads pecked and their necks twisted by the eldest – when all they want is a few morsels of fish. And like many of you, I have watched these little ones perish, frustrated that no one took them off the nest and fed them so they got strong and could go back.

This morning the rain was coming down really hard. There was no food on the nest. The fish from yesterday was gone and the mother had picked every piece of meat off of the black feathered bird brought into the nest. At 12:59 the male flew to the nest and looked at the empty pantry. At 14:57:21 he returns with a trout from the stocked pond on the farm. Yes, like the nest for the SW Florida eagles on the Pritchett Farm, this one also has a fully stocked pond for the eagles.

Nest watchers were anticipating that the behaviour of the eldest was going to be very bad once prey arrived since there had been no food for twenty-four hours. That is, however, simply not what happened. The youngest stepped up to the front of the nest bowl and ate – and I mean ate! Not nibble – gorged on large chunks of fresh fish. It had so much confidence that it actually stole a bite of fish out of the eldest’s beak. This little one is smart. If it gets a chance it keeps its head down and then gets fed. Yesterday everything worked in its favour, too. The eldest ate first – as usual. Mom fed it from the black feathered bird picking anything off that she could find til it was full. Then she moved over to the fish. At first the little one was hesitant but, sensing that the eldest was not going to attack, it took a few bites and then climbed around and went up where its mother could more easily feed it. She filled that little eaglet with fresh fish. So, again, the little one is smart – in fact, they have to be to survive. And that is what all of this is about – survival.

Samson and Gabby watched the skies from the branches for a long time. If you look off in the distance the report for Jacksonville showed the worst of the storm coming in late, around 11pm nest time. Still the dark skies must have worried these experienced parents. It is always good to remember that the birds can sense the changes in the weather coming as good as any satellite system.

Gabby is sleeping close to Legacy. It is nearly 11pm. You can hear the winds on the camera’s microphone but the local weather says it is clear. Excellent news.

The weather forecast for these three nests calls for slightly cooler temperatures with sun or partly cloudy skies for Friday the 19th. Let us hope that lots of fish are on the menu! I should also add, since some of you might be wondering – the nest in Fort Myers is also fine. No weather issues!

Thank you so much for joining me today. Before I go, let’s close with a scap of Bonnie the Great Horned Owl. She is all fluffed up. What amazing plumage! She, once again, survived the snow and rain in Kansas. Her little ones still have their eyes closed but they were restless and one stuck its head up. They are doing fine. Clyde is a fantastic provider and the mice were coming to the nest despite the inclement weather!

Thank you to the Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida; Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey; Derek the Farmer, and the AEF and NEFL Eagle Cam for their streaming cameras. That is where I took my scraps.

Bonnie and Clyde’s Owlets

A pair of Great Horned Owls (GHOW) moved into a Bald Eagle nest on farmland near Newton, Kansas on 1 February 2021. The farmer that owns the land named them Bonnie and Clyde after the notorious bank robbers who were killed in an ambush in Louisiana on 23 May 1934.

Great Horned Owls (GHOW) are notorious for using the nests of other birds instead of building their own. They normally lay their eggs in January and February using unoccupied nests of other raptors or squirrels. They also use hollow trees and cliff ledges. Bonnie and Clyde visited the nest of the eagles to check it out. Perhaps they thought it was an abandoned nest – at first. The eagles either saw the owls or had some reason to check their nest. That evening, 31 January, the Bald Eagles spent the night on their nest. One of the GHOWs flew through the nest knocking one of the Bald Eagles off. The following day there was a single confrontation. Neither bird was injured. The Bald Eagles are a young couple and they will have found another spot for their nest.

Bonnie incubated her egg/s keeping it a big secret on how many there were. At 5:20 on 6 March Bonnie took a mouse from her mate, Clyde, but she did not eat it – instead she put it in the nest cup! For sure there was an owlet. A couple of days later it was believed the second had hatched. So far it has been difficult to see the little owlets.

If you look carefully at the image above, you will notice that the owlet’s eyes are closed. The oldest one is believed to be eight days old; it hatched on 7 March and the youngest hatched on 9 March. Normally their eyes open between 7-9 days. And believe it or not, in six to nine weeks these fluffy balls could fledge! Clyde is going to need to do a lot of hunting!

Owls have extraordinary vision. Because they cannot turn their eyes in their sockets, owls turn their heads 270 degrees without moving any other parts of their body. It is almost like having eyes in the back of your head!

Looking at the following two images. Bonnie does not move her shoulders at all, just her head.

Look at Bonnie’s eyes. Her top eyelid is much larger than the bottom. The only birds that have this are other nightjars -Nighthawks and Whippoorwills.

We think of owls as being only nocturnal but they can see perfectly well during the daytime. They actually close their eyes to a small slit. It makes them look like they are sleeping when, in fact, they are only blocking the bright light. When hunting they can see perfect below them because of the area where their vision cells (the rods and cones) are grouped, the fovea. When hunting at night, the owls are silent because of their soft rounded feathers. They also see extremely well at night but their exceptional hearing also helps them.

Owls are great mousers. Bonnie and Clyde will keep Farmer Derek’s rodent population down. Owls are a much better solution than rodenticide.

Thank you for checking in with me today. I hope everyone is well and safe. Thank you to Farmer Derek for his streaming cam. That is where I got my scaps.

Not one but Two Owlets

This is a quick update on the Bald Eagle nest near Newton, Kansas taken over by a pair of Great Horned Owls. The owls have occupied the nest since 1 February when it was thought they were desperate to find a place to lay their eggs. Because of the pair ‘stealing’ the nest out from under a young mated pair of Bald Eagles, they were given the names Bonnie and Clyde. It has been unclear how many eggs that Bonnie had in the egg cup. It could only be confirmed that there was one and that little eaglet hatched on the 7th of March. Today, it is believed that there are now two eaglets in the nest. For a split second when Bonnie was feeding, there was a glimpse of what appears to be two pink beaks.

Bonnie took a break and this is the best image I could get showing the ‘most’ of a downy eaglet body. The rails of the Bald Eagle nest are high and there is hay or straw lining the bowl so it is almost impossible to get a good look.

Earlier I was able to get some images of Bonnie feeding her little ones. She bites off tiny pieces of mice to feed to the bobble heads.

Tomorrow we should be able to see more but you can see the fluffy head or heads tucked in right under Bonnie’s head.

Clyde is going to be very busy if he is supplying mice for three now besides himself. More images will follow over the nest few days. Congratulations Bonnie and Clyde!

Thanks to Derek the Farmer for the streaming cam where I captured the images.