Tag Archives: Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn

Late Tuesday and Wednesday in Bird World

12-13 April 2022

We continue to shovel the walkways so that we can put down seed. Then it snows lots more and we do it again!

It is nearing 23:00 on the 12th of April. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are closing all of the major highways in the province where I live. This is unprecedented and will actually be quite helpful in keeping people safe. For at least two days we have known about the historic storm that is due to arrive in a few hours and have been told to stock up on medicines, batteries, candles, food, etc. All of the schools are closed. As for me I am sitting back and waiting and watching the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest south of me in Minnesota to see how this system plays out with those eagles.

The nest is in a severe thunderstorm watch area. The winds were gusting earlier. I caught a few minutes of the nest as it creaked and swayed.

It is currently raining and the nest is still blowing about but not nearly as bad.

This is the nest Wednesday morning. They have gotten rain but not the snow that we are experiencing that is confusing many of the smaller birds such as the Juncos.

There have been two recent visits of Ervie’s to the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. One was 17:42 on the evening of the 12th (last night). The other was this morning, the 13th in Australia. Ervie arrived and then left and returned with a puffer.

In the image above, you can see the missing talon. Ospreys only have four talons. The image below has caused a lot of confusion. Does the nail on the right top belong to a different foot? or the one with the missing talon?

Is Ervie missing one or two talons? or is one curled under? Everyone is looking very closely at Ervie’s feet.

I wanted to do a quick check of many nests this morning so we can see how they are doing.

The rain from yesterday seems to have stopped. Both Big and Middle Little at the Dale Hollow nest are dry and there are large pieces of fish on the nest. Little Middle had a nice feed earlier, too. So all is well with those two!

This nest has settled down.

This is the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. It is gorgeous. Dylan is notorious for bringing back trout to the nest! Sadly, yesterday, a goshawk came and sat on this nest. Goshawks tend to like to lure the Ospreys into the forest where they attack. Fingers crossed that it will not return!

Aran and Mrs G together on the perch first thing on the morning of 13 April. Aran at the back and Mrs G with her really dark face at the front.

Handsome Aran with his fish on the perch at Glaslyn later in the day. Did he bring it for Mrs G? where is she?

Idris and Telyn on the perches at the Dyfi Nest. All is well.

Blue NC0 laid her first egg on April 12 at 18:35. What a beautiful nest at the Loch of the Lowes – so soft and comfy – and personally, one of the most gorgeous sites in all of the Osprey breeding areas.

Laddie LM15 comes to take his turn helping his mate Blue NC0.

CJ7 has been bringing nesting materials into the alternate nest at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 has been seen sky dancing all over the place. I hope he stays at Poole Harbour!

All is well at Rutland Water. Maya is incubating three eggs. Fantastic.

If you are following the UK arrivals, here is a good chart for you.

Thank you to Friends of Loch Arkaig FB Page for posting his chart.

Moving back to North America, the three osplets at the U of Florida at Gainesville continue to do well. Little Bob is still with us! And that is a good day.

Strong winds took out the camera at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the 12th.

Calmer winds are forecast for the Channel Islands today. That is fantastic. Looks like the view is pretty good from Two Harbours already. That wee one of Chase and Cholyn’s looks so tiny in that huge nest!

Andy has delivered fish. Little (or Mini) is calling for fish in the image below while Big flaps its wings.

Gosh, those chicks of Andy and Lena’s are sure beautiful. They will surely pop the corks when these two fledge! It has been a good year for Captiva Ospreys.

Mr President and Lotus’s chick has a nice big crop this morning. That little fuzzy teddy bear of a shape has sure changed over the past week! No signs of bad weather at the National Arboretum Nest in DC.

It is a little wet and windy in Iowa at the Decorah North nest. I wonder if they are going to get any of the system that is impacting us?

This is an image of Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle for Wildlife Haven, our local rehabber. She has been part of a fund raising campaign because of the Avian Flu. She has been moved indoors where she will be safe. Everyone loves Majestic!

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a virtual talk/discussion on what is being done about Avian Flu in our province on 19 April at 7pm. Here is the link to sign up. It is free. Since it is virtual and if you are wanting to learn more about Avian Flu, why not sign up?!

Avian Flu Seminar

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is having a GoFundMe drive for nests for Bald Eagles. David Hancock is ‘the eagle man’ in Canada. Most of you probably know him. He reminded me today that when he was sixteen years old and living at Blaine Harbour, you would see white buckets on the fishing boats with eagle legs. Yes, the legs cut off. They would be shipped to Alaska for $2 a pair. That was 1954. Sadly, David says that the same attitude of neglect towards the Bald Eagles continues.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-home-for-our-delta2-eagles-nest?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

Thank you for joining me today. We are busy trying to take care of the birds that come to our garden as best we can. The squirrels are tucked up warm and no where in sight. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, MN-DNR, DHEC, CarnyxWild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, Scottish Wildlife, Poole Harbour, Rutland Water, UFL Ospreys, Explore.org, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NADC-AEF, and Wildlife Haven.

Tuesday in Bird World

12 April 2022

The ‘historic’ storm is set to hit us sometime during the late evening or night. It will snow and blow then calm and start up again on Thursday. Apparently people are hoarding food and turkeys are said to now cost $80 each. Of course, they will be useless if the electricity has an outage. It is the reason that we have a back up wood stove in the City. Eons ago and I do mean eons, I remember a storm that hit leaving several feet on the roads and downing the power lines. The cables had thick ice – first sagging and then snapping under the weight. The house in the country had a hand pump to the cistern if the power was lost and a large wood stove. We ate, had hot baths and meals – one day it was so warm the children were wearing their summer clothes. The snow was so deep. It took 13 days before we were a priority with the municipality – being the only house on a road for several miles. We were fine. Sometimes old school is best. All of the garden critters have been fed so much especially Dyson and Scraggles as well as Little Red. They can hoard it all away and munch and stay warm inside their nests and the penthouse til the storm is over. No worries for them!

Dyson really does enjoy those nice nuts. He even seems to be putting on some weight since he discovered he prefers the ‘luxury’ bird seed. Too funny. He feels his cheeks and runs away returning quickly!

The soap opera in the Glaslyn Valley is officially over for the 2022 season. Mrs G is back with Aran on the Glaslyn nest and Blue 014 has Aeron Z2 all to herself at Pont Cresor. Aran has delivered half a fish to Mrs G. He might be waiting to deliver a whole one until he is sure she is staying!

Mrs G, the oldest Osprey in the UK, is as gorgeous as ever with her dark plumage.

Aran on his perch and Mrs G in the nest.

Mrs G enjoying the fish that Aran provided.

As the sun begins to set, Aran is in the nest working on the walls that were installed by the Glaslyn staff in an effort to ease the nesting season for Mrs G and her mate.

It is raining at the Dale Hollow nest. Little Middle and Big are soaked.

At 11:10:31 Obey brings a fish to the nest for Big and Little Middle.

Everyone is soaking. Little Middle was first up at the feeding once River decided it was a good time to start – around 12:13.

Even when Big moves up, Little Middle stays in place and continues to eat. It is all good.

Little Middle is happy River came to the nest. He loves cuddling with Mum.

The little eaglet at the National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus is thriving.

While this wee one begins to get its thermal down, there is branching happening at the NEFlorida Bald eagle nest of Samson and Gabby. Yesterday Jasper branched at 10:10:53 as Rocket looked on.

No worries, beautiful Rocket. You will be up there soon enough! Too soon for us!!!!!

Just look above and have a quick peek at this short video – a reminder of how quickly the eagles grow! I recall the days that we were all worried that Rocket would survive but, he did. He was self-feeding first and became ever so clever.

The bonking has started at the UFL Osprey nest. I am cautiously hopeful that the beaking will subside but let’s see if Dad can get more fish on this nest pronto.

Richmond and Rosie at the SF Bay Osprey nest have their third egg. You have heard me say it many times. They are good and solid and capable of dealing with three! Eggs were laid on April 5, 8, and 11. Just perfect.

Everything is fine at the Black Stork nest of Karl II in the Karula Forest in Estonia. Kaia has returned!!!!!!!

I am so happy to report that the male is back on the Black Stork nest in Latvia! This nest is in the Sigulda region of Latvia.

Oh, and I am so excited. I love Black Kites and Grey and Golda are working on their nest in Latvia. This is exciting. Some of you might remember the Black Kite nest in a cemetery in Taipei. I continue to look for that streaming cam to start operating. But now we can watch in Latvia!

Black kites are medium sized raptors. They generally live in the forests where they generally occupy the lower canopy. This is where they hunt small mammals, frogs, salamanders, and even grasshoppers as well as other insects. They will lay between 2 and 5 eggs.

Last year there were three hatchlings. They were seriously cute.

The second White-tailed eaglet hatched at the Danish nest yesterday. Both hatches are doing well. Just watching for the third to arrive tomorrow.

White YW and Blue 35 have been working on their nest at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. The camera does not have a rewind capacity so you have to watch often and long to catch the ospreys on the nest. This is the nest of Tiny Little’s parents. S/he was ringed Blue 463 and as the third hatch, with the help of Mum and Dad, s/he thrived. I am very much looking forward to this season with these fabulous parents. Where do the parents roost? On the tree in the distance.

Here is the link to the streaming cam. There are two views when you click on the page.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

Everything is fine at the Dyfi Osprey nest of Idris and Telyn! They are a super couple. Again, great nest to watch. Link to camera is below. You can count on Idris bringing in some whoppers!

This is a new couple. CJ7 who has hoped for a mate for so long and the more than eager to oblige dashingly handsome Blue 022. They are at Poole Harbour and as I always mention – any chicks that hatch on this nest will be the first in over 200 years. You can well imagine that the local community is pretty excited.

Here is the link to their camera as you begin to get your UK Osprey nests to watch consolidated.

There is a soft rain at the Loch of the Lowes. You can hear the songbirds in the distance. Laddie and Blue NC0 have a beautiful nest and it is impossible to see if there is an egg yet. I don’t think so.

Blue NC0 has been on and off the nest. Did I tell you she is a fantastic fisher? It is not clear whether or not Laddie caught this fish and handed it off to her after he had eaten the head but, that is probably what happened. Blue NC0 would be pleased. She turned out to be a fantastic Mum last year to the surprise of some. Once the chicks were old enough she was out fishing. She really kept the fish flowing on the nest for the two healthy chicks last year.

Here is the link to the camera at the Loch of the Lowes.

Tomorrow, Cal Falcons is due to post the list of names so that the community can vote. It will be so nice for the New Guy to get a proper name. Everything is going fine for this new couple as we continue to mourn the loss of Grinnell.

All of the Peregrine Falcon nests are doing just fine as is Big Red and Arthur’s Red-tail Hawk nest at Cornell. The action will be starting in a few weeks!

Thank you so much for joining me today as we skipped around some of the nests. The weather that is approaching Manitoba will also impact the MN-DNR nest I am pretty sure. I will try and keep an eye on Harry and Nancy and the two eaglets. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, DHEC, Birdlife Denmark, NADC-AEF, NEFlorida-AEF, UFL Osprey, CFN, SF Ospreys and Goldden Gate Audubon, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Dyfi, and Cal Falcons.

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

09-10 April 2022

Just when you think spring might be coming with the arrival of the Dark-eyed Juncos and thousands of Canada Geese, a huge storm warranting a special weather advisory will impact us and the American States bordering us. It is to arrive late Tuesday and stay with us til Friday when it slowly moves east. We are being warned that the snow fall could be from 30-80 cm (1 foot to 2.62 feet). Did I say how sick I am of winter?

The best news has happened in the Osprey world – Aran, the mate of Mrs G at Glaslyn – arrived home at 16:10!!!!!!!!! We have all promised not to tell him that she has been hanging around with Z2 Aeron over at Pont Cresor. Don’t think Aran would like. There they are on the nest and the sheep bleat in the background. It is an idyllic place – pastoral. Like a 17th century painting when the cows are being moved from one field to the other.

Aran on the rim and Mrs G in the nest.

Aran looks really good. So very nice to see you home.

Aran arrived! 10 April 2022

Mrs G is the oldest UK Osprey. Her plumage is very dark. You will be able to quickly identify who is on the nest. This is a very desirable site and there are often many floaters coming around.

Last year Aran was injured. Some believe his wing was damaged in a skirmish with Aeron Z2. We will never know for sure. The weather was wet and cold. A big storm was passing through when the three chicks hatched. The community set up a fish table for Aran and Mrs G hoping it would help but it was too late for the babies. Aran and Mrs G did well. Aran healed and got stronger and fledged in September. We all hope that this year is different for this amazing couple and their kind, generous, and loving supporters in the Glaslyn Valley that kept them alive last year. — Yes, fish tables do work!!!!!!!!!!

Footage has been released of the first White-tail eaglet hatching in the UK.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in some questions. Yes, my research interests are in Osprey nests with three hatches and, in particular, the third hatch. Sadly, most of the nests in the US do not ring their birds so I rely on places that do so that I can track those birds in the future if they fledge and are sighted. I am still interested in the behaviour on the nest with three chicks (Apex raptors). Have I have been watching the Venice Golf and Country Club nest? and the one at the University of Florida? The answer is yes. I have only mentioned VGCC once. The camera is often not very clear. The osplets at Venice hatched on the 10, 12, and 15th of March. There continues to be bad beaking of the third hatch from the oldest despite the fact that they are getting older and there is often enough fish on the nest. There wasn’t much left for three this morning. The youngest who is 25 days old got a few bites. It is anticipated but, of course, not always 100% certain, that the nest will quiet down between 28-35 days if enough food is brought in.

The University of Florida Osprey nest at Gainesville has a pretty good streaming cam that is sponsored by the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department. The nest is on an 80 ft light stand on the softball stadium. There are three osplets on that nest. Eggs were laid on 26 Feb, 1 and 4 March with hatches on 5, 6, and 8 April.

They are adorable! You can still see the egg tooth and if you look carefully there is a nice big fish on the other side of Mum. As in all nests of three osplets, there is worry about the third especially if there is a lot of age difference. We must wait and see. The little one has been fed but still has trouble focusing and face plants. I am looking forward to seeing how the week develops.

I am hopeful.

The streaming cam feed is not on YouTube. You can access it here:

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

​The Captiva Osprey nest of Andy and Lena, as many of you know, began with three chicks on the nest. The eldest, Big, was continually stressing its desire to be the dominant one on the nest. Big died suddenly on 15 March. Chicks 2 and 3 have done very well.

Andy and Lena are excellent Osprey parents. Today, there were 7 feedings – yes, seven!!!!! The chicks are getting ready to fledge and Andy and Lena continue to provide them with lots of fish. I want to thank one of the chatters who is also a fan of Ervie, ‘JL’ for listing the type of fish and the time stamps for today. They were #1 @ 07:50:02 (leatherjacket); #2 @ 08:55:21 (needlefish); #3 @ 10:19:50 (mullet ?); #4 @ 11:58:51 (fantail mullet); #5 @ 2:17:45 (striped mullet); #6 @ 4:53:40 ballyhoo; and #7 5.29.38 striped mullet. But wait!!!!!!!!!! Feeding #8 came in at 18:30.

There are a couple of other nests with chicks that I wish were fed this well!

These are healthy Osplets. Their parents have taken such good care of them. I hope that when they have their own nests that they will copy the great care they had as chicks.

The sun was setting on the West End Bald eagle nest where the triplets of Thunder and Akecheta were eating and settling in from a busy day. Another fine nest with three hatches and great parenting.

Pittsburgh-Hayes are old hands at raising three eaglets. Those that hatched this year are doing great! It will not be long til they are branching and causing all manner of mischief.

Let’s run through a few of the other nests and see how they are doing.

Thunder’s sibling at the Two Harbours Bald Eagle nest of Chase and Cholyn is doing very well indeed. This is going to be one well cared for eaglet.

The poor parents at US Steel Irwin Plant eagle nest are trying to feed two moving heads!

Mr President and Lotus’s only Bob has moved beyond the white little fuzzy ball stage. Look closely the thermal down is slowly coming.

It seems like it was just yesterday that we were waiting for the two eggs to hatch at the Redding nest of LIberty and Guardian and look at them this morning! They hatched the 20th and 23rd of March making eaglet #1 3 weeks old today and eaglet #2 19 days old. Wow.

What a fabulous day. Little Middle had a really good breakfast this morning, too. He has grown over night!

Standing up looking out at the world with a super crop. Nice.

Someone asked: How is Ervie? We have all been worried about Ervie and his injury. Port Lincoln posted his sat-pak tracking and a statement about his injury on the 8th. I will share it with you here. He was on the barge and we were all glad to see him this week.

Today will be a lovely day on the prairies. I love waking up to the Dark-eyed Juncos hoping around the deck eating the tiny little Millet seeds. Lots to do to get ready for Tuesday. The nests look pretty good this morning. So happy for the people of Glaslyn who were worried Aran might not return – he is home! Annie and the New Guy have a nice rhythm and things are going well on that nest as are Big Red and Arthur.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, DHEC, Pix Cams, Explore.org, Brywrd Gwyllt Glaslyn, UFL Osprey Cam, VGCC Ospreys, Redding Eagles, NADC-AEF, and Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.

Tuesday in Bird World

22 March 2022

It is impossible to convey how joyful the image below makes me. River has been diligently shading Middle and Big since they finished an entire American Coot around noon.

As you can see both eaglets have big crops. Middle’s is enormous. That kid really likes American Coot!!!!!!

River stayed with the eaglets on the nest for most of the day. There were high level alerts between her and Obey and they both went into defensive mode. The two chicks ate and ate and still have a bit of a crop after some crop dropping. They will be fine til tomorrow but let us hope that something big comes in to the nest so things stay relatively peaceful. Middle is growing and that is a good thing and he is getting better at strategizing.

Middle is, however, scaring the wits out of me! I really hope that he doesn’t tumble over the edge when he tries to get upright. Oh, gosh, golly. What next?

At the MN DNR nest of Harry and Nancy, it was a cold torrential downpour this morning and the weather is still miserable in Minnesota. Nancy is doing everything to protect those precious eggs.

Poor Kincaid is one soaked eaglet and its nest is wet to its core. You can see all of the turtles that have been brought up for lunch by Louis! Goodness. This was another nest that often had American Coot along with the fish and the turtles.

It isn’t raining yet in Pittsburgh. Thank goodness. DH17 just hatched this morning. Two little Booble heads for Mum and Dad! DH16 wants to eat and the wee babe just wants to sleep. Cute.

The winds have really calmed down at the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena must be so happy. She was almost blown over last night! Just take a look at these two gorgeous osplets.

In the image Lena is moving around the edge of the platform to provide shade for the osplets. That is Little – yes, Little (or Mini) under Lena’s tail. Can you believe it?

And there is beautiful Middle Bob up front by Mum. The plumage that is coming in on these chicks is so gorgeous.

Both watching Mum fly!

The fourth fish delivery to the Captiva nest came around 14:00. Look at how well the chicks plumage camouflages them on the nest.

Everything looks good at Eagle Country. The two chicks of Abby and Blazer – well, it doesn’t seem right to call them chicks anymore. Gosh, they are beautiful and big! Won’t be long til fledging.

Well, what is up with Annie and Grinnell? Some are worried because the young females continue to come to the ledge of The Campanile wanting to court Grinnell. He has tried to get them to leave without a lot of success. Meanwhile, he tries to reassure Annie that he is the one. The pair have been caught on camera courting in the scrape. Annie, who normally lays her first egg on 10 March, is a bit late. She has been spending more time hanging around in or near the scrape. Thanks to ‘B’ we have a good time line of Annie’s activities this morning. ‘B’ notes the following (I missed it because of Dale Hollow): “Grinnell arrives on the wall to their balcony at 7:55, drops down to the scrape at 7:57.  Annie arrives on the wall almost immediately as G drops down, then Annie joins Grinnell in the scrape at 8:00:16, sixteen seconds late for their 8:00:00 pair bonding appointment.  G leaves within about a minute, but Annie remains, lying in the scrape until 9:30.  Annie moves to her roost on the lamp at that time and remained there until 10:23, when she returned to the scrape, where she remains now at 10:35.  Doing a little scraping, picking at rocks, lying.” Thank you, B. 

Annie has a really nice crop. I sure hope that meal was provided by Grinnell! Annie is gorgeous. They are even grandparents.

Here Annie is in the scrape.

Annie returns to the scrape. I sure hope we see some eggs in this scrape, soon

Martin and Rosa are taking really good care of their one and only chick for 2022. It is growing quickly – getting all the food that could be meant for 1 or 2 more. What a darling.

The first hatch at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian is certainly cute and fuzzy. It hatched on 20 March at 21:20 so it is 1.5 days old. The remaining egg is pipping!

Oh, those first little bites are so tiny.

Well, this is really how to feed three eaglets so that you have three fledges! Thunder and Akecheta are a great team. This keeps the volume and any rivalry down when they do their tandem feedings which is often.

In Manitoba we have the Peregrine Recovery Project and two of the breeding males have arrived back in our province a little early. One was trying to work on the scrape box on the Raddison Hotel and the gravel was still frozen. Meanwhile the Canada Geese continue to fly in while the Snowy Owls are departing for the north.

It is a beautiful day so far on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. What a gorgeous place to have a nest. There is the Queen of the Red tail Hawks, Big Red.

I want you to take in this beautiful Welsh landscape. Pastoral. Now look at the Osprey nest. The good people of Glaslyn have built up the edges for Aran and Mrs G on their return. Everything is fixed and wired. All the Ospreys have to do is bring in the nesting material!

I sure wish someone would have done this for Richmond and Rosie. Seriously there are twigs all over the Glaslyn Valley for Aran and Mrs G but no so plentiful on a shipping yard with concrete! Rosie was making progress yesterday and then the wind flipped her off the nest along with all her hard work.

The Dahlgren Osprey nest was a new build platform. Jack and Harriet have both been working and the locals are leaving more stuffed toys for Jack to take to the nest. Today’s delivery was number 2 toy. Jack and Richmond both have something in common. They love to bring bright and unusual things to their nest. Cute. Jack does get out of hand, helped along by the good citizens of the community. I don’t think I have ever seen an eagle bring a toy to the nest. Have you?

This is the most recent report from the Kakapo Recovery – it is a struggle with these amazing non-flying parrots. Those who work with them are so dedictated.

Thank you so much for all your notes and suggestions for viewing. I hope to have a listing to share with everyone in a couple of days. It has been a good day except for the weather and intruders. There are pips, hatches, eaglets and osplets eating, Ospreys arriving, intruders, tornadoes, torrential rain, high wind gusts, and all manner of anything that can happen at a nest.

Oh, River brought in a small rat or squirrel. It looks like Big will eat most of it. I am kinda’ glad about that if it is a rat.

Middle has now moved up and has not fallen off. Relief.

At 16:49:11 the camera goes to the lake. There were some horrible sounds at 17:07:23. What was that? I hope it is just my over active imagination.

There must be intruders about. Fingers crossed everyone!

Middle doesn’t need a rat to eat. He had half an American Coot this morning and some leftovers from it -small pieces later. He still had a nice crop. That said, I am certain he would get right up there for ‘rat’ if Big left any for him.

Thank you so much for joining me and thank you for all of your notes, your comments, your questions, and your recommendations. They are always appreciated. Please take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Kakapo Recovery, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Pix Cams, Dahlgren Ospreys, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, MN DNR, KNF, Dulles Greenway Eagles, Redding Eagles, Eagle Country, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife, and Cal Falcons.

The Sweet and the Bittersweet

Ah, the sweet and the bittersweet. All of my friends from the Achieva Osprey Club who loved Tiny Tot or Tumbles as so many called her, will remember that she was the last fledgling to leave the nest. She was there for precisely four months – worrying us, causing us to lose sleep, cry, hope, cry again, bite our finger nails to the quick and watch the hurricane warnings with great anxiety. And then, of course, the miracle of it all, Tiny Tot became the most fierce and dominant bird to hatch on that nest this year. She will survive anything. No doubt. Tiny Tot stole my heart because of her ferocious desire to live. She had been starved – not being allowed to eat for several 72 hour long sessions by her two older siblings – and she tried every way to get around and get the food. Of those four months, she had no food for 12 full days, scattered more in the first half than the last. In the end, Tiny Tot ‘didn’t take anything from anyone’. She could handle an intruder as well as an adult – and she did, many times protecting the nest alone. Here she is a few days before she left the nest for good. She was gorgeous and she was the first miracle of 2021.

The second miracle I often talk about, too, is Tiny Little on the Foulshaw Moss Nest of White YW and Blue 35. Like Tiny Tot, Tiny Little is the only fledgling left on the nest in Cumbria. Everyone else but dad, White YW, has migrated. She has benefited, like Tiny Tot, from getting well fed, getting her flight skills in order, and not being in a hurry. She was enjoying a nice fish tonight for dinner (nest time). Will it be the last on the nest? Or will we get the pleasure of seeing her tomorrow? There are still plenty of Ospreys hanging on.

Polly Turner caught Tiny Little with her fish in this very short video!

The view this morning from the Glaslyn nest is Aran overlooking the valley. It reminded me of the paintings of the German Romantic painter, Casper David Friedrich. Aran’s healing from his late May-early June injury is something to smile about as well.

Idris and Dysynni were still at home on the Dyfi Nest. Idris brought in quite the catch for his boy, Blue 490. Telyn has not been seen since around noon on Saturday, 21 August.

That fish is just amazing. Idris you are so strong and just a great provider!

And what a beauty Blue 490 turned out to be. A lovely male.

So proud of his fish!

You can’t see them – sadly the camera at the Llyn Clywedog nest of Seren and Dylan and Only Bob, Blue 496. John Williams reports seeing Seren fishing and Only Bob later in the afternoon today, UK time. So they are still with us.

Maya was still at Rutland yelling as loud as she could for Blue 33 to get that breakfast fish on the nest! Ah, so happy to see you Maya. You deserve the time to get in great shape after the kids have headed off on their adventure.

I mention all of these because I really hope that Tiny Little is in no hurry to get on with her life. Selfish me. I want to enjoy her for a few more days.

In Latvia, everyone is elated. One of the storklings of Grafs has found the feeder!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a success.

No matter where you live, remember this, please. In the future when our birds are at risk with no food or water – an area can be designed for them with a decoy to lure them to the site.

So happy for our friends in Latvia. It has been a long worrisome year.

Discussed on the Latvian Forum today is also a theory that the male, Grafs, lured the storklings off the nest by flying close and then flying away. This was what was suggested by chatter Liz01, a long time watcher and forum poster, “After the first storklet leave the nest on August 23 and didn’t come back, someone landed on the left. He flew away and the Storklets followed his departure with their eyes .. they turned and looked towards the forest on the right. One of the two, the eldest, took courage and flew behind. I already saw it yesterday, but only the departure and wondered how it could be that he chose this route. Now I have the explanation. It could be it was flying with Grafs!”

That is a very interesting and astute theory. I have seen hawks take a small piece of prey to lure their fledglings from one hunting spot to another or Peregrine Falcons that tease the eyases with prey flying in front of them to get them to leave. It is certainly a very credible idea by Liz01. Here is the link to the page where you will find photographs and a short video of what she noticed.

https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1015&start=2500

The wind continues in Sydney, Australia. At this point I am not prepared to report on the White Bellied Sea Eagles nest. The amount of prey has dropped to the point that I fear that WBSE 28 will be killed by 27. I do hope that the situation turns around. I am still working on how best to deal with the situation that occurred with Malin in the hope that people will learn and help wildlife. In a few weeks, someone let me know how WBSE 28 fared. Thanks.

Last a very rare sighting of a White-tailed Eagle has occurred in King’s Lynn, UK. If you are an eagle fan, have a read. This is amazing news.

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/rare-white-tailed-eagle-spotted-in-kings-lynn-8270552?fbclid=IwAR2wzMu2VsM9qykrr8KSXX86DC3MvUQZqzcCs00iNhJ7kTeIMFzxdBZMUfc

In Manitoba, we are celebrating the work of our great vets, the rehabbers, and the visiting vets at Wildlife Haven. We also have the Manitoba Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project. I will tell you more about that in a couple of days. For now, our grand dame, Princess is 19 years old. She hatched in Minneapolis in 2002 and was translocated to Winnipeg that same year. Two years later she meets up with her first mate. She has had 4! In 15 years, she laid 54 eggs, hatched 46 chicks with 37 fledges. More about her later this week and her rescue. Everyone is happy.

Take care everyone. I am hoping to let you know that Tiny Little is still with us and has not started her migration. Just a few more days, please, Tiny Little. And where are Karl II and family? Updated reports tomorrow. Stay safe. Be kind to one another. Protect our wildlife.

I am grateful to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, The Latvian Fund for Nature and the Latvian Fund for Nature Forum, the Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT and the Manton Bay Osprey Nest, the Achieva Osprey Nest, and the Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn.

Send love and positive energy to Latvia and Estonia

I want to begin with the Black Stork nests today. For those just learning about the situation of the Black Storklings in both Latvia and Estonia, here is a very brief summary. The storklings at the nest of Grafs and Grafiene in Latvia and that of Jan and Janika in Estonia are late hatchlings. There was concern from the beginning that both parents might leave for their migration before the storklets fledged. Currently, the mothers have left and the fathers, Jan and Grafs, are the sole providers. Neither male can provide enough food for three storklings to thrive. There is also a question of the supply of the fish. In both Latvia and Estonia, feeder situations have been established with decoy female Black Storks. To date, neither male has found these feeders.

‘S’ in Latvia reports, “The good news is that it seemed that yesterday Grafs had encountered a generous feeding place on the way, not so far away. We were already a bit sad thinking that the storklets will have to spend another day with just one small noon feeding, what a celebrated surprise it was when he came back less than 4 hours later with plenty of food. Many of us bursted into happy tears:) It is good to know that he can still manage to get food elsewhere even if it is not from the feeder. And the most important thing is that he is still here caring for his young.”

aGrafs and Grafiene’s Storklings, Sigulda, Latvia 19 August 2021

At the very beginning, M. Strazds, a Latvian Black Stork specialist, warned that he felt that there was only 0.1% chance that Grafs would find the feeder because birds do not normally search for new feeding spots at the end of the nesting season. Still, as I understand it, the storklings, once they fledge, will find the feeder and it will be very good for them.

In Estonia, Jan has made only one delivery that I am aware of. The storklings have supplemented that with the fish that Urmas delivered last night. I was made aware that the storklings were playing with the fish but, it appears now that they have been eating them as the pile of fish is almost gone as I write this. I am aware that there are controversies about the effect of humans getting close to the nest because of the stress that it causes on the birds. But starving is also a major stressor. I believe that Urmas and his team know what they are doing and I hope they continue to feed these birds.

Jan and Janika’s Storklings, Jegova County, Estonia

There is one other nest with a fledgling, Pikne, the female, still being fed by a parent and that is the nest of Karl and Kaia in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. ‘S’ reports, “The feeder approach has been very successful with Karl’s nest in Karula for the sole reason that he has a transmitter and it is possible to track his usual feeding places.”

Pilkne, the last remaining storkling being fed by Karl II at the nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. The other two have fledged.

It has been a very difficult year for those who care for the birds and who watch the streaming cams. Osprey chicks died due to weather related issues and Cooper’s Hawk eyases got so hot on the nests in Canada, they lept off the nests to avoid literally being roasted. Many are dying as they undertake their migrations which are challenging enough without having fires and smoke enroute.

At the same time, there have been some remarkable situations. Around the world, humans have stepped in to save birds of every variety. In the interior of British Columbia, the wildlife rehabbers climbed the Osprey nests and removed the chicks taking them into care because of the extreme heat and fires. At various places around the world, Osprey chicks have been fostered and received a second lease on their life. A Canada Goose named Arnold had his digits fixed so that he could live a full life with his mate, Amelia. A very old Bald Eagle full of lead was given treatments and is now thriving and waiting for A Place for Hope to get its permit so he can be their ‘forever’ bird. Every day I read about a group of people and trying to help fix what many believe is unfixable. I hope that this is just the beginning of a change in intervention and our understanding of what works and what doesn’t. The key is not to give up.

There are, however, three miracles. I am thinking of the three Ospreys that should have died but did not – they have thrived – two of them to become dominant on their nests! Those were Tiny Tot aka Tumbles at the Achieva Osprey Nest in Florida and Tiny Little Bob aka Blue 463 on the Foulshaw Moss Nest in Cumbria. To me these are simply nothing short of a miracle.

Tiny Little Bob aka Blue 463, Foulshaw Moss Nest, 19 August 2021

The third has yet to fledge but has shown remarkable growth. I am aware that many on the chat rooms in Latvia and Estonia are concerned about feather growth. This was also a big concern for Malin on the Collins Marsh Nest in Wisconsin. Malin is our third miracle.

Malin, Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, 19 August 2021

I cannot tell you what happened to make the food deliveries on this nest turn around. All I can say is that they did and there are no more missing feathers, the tail now has 7 dark bands when 3 weeks ago there were 2 with the hint of a 3rd. It has been a remarkable recovery. At one time, there was concern that Malin might survive but not be able to fly. Those concerns have now vanished. Today, Malin has had 3 fish deliveries before 1pm and one of those was a whopper. Malin actually walked away from being fed by mom, Marsha, he was so full.

One of the major concerns for the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest is that the parents would also leave Malin on the nest and begin their migration. So far everything is going smoothly so I will just ‘knock on wood’ that it continues to be that way.

One other good news story is that the fires in Turkey are dying down or are out.

And there is more. Aran, the mate of Mrs G on the Glaslyn Valley Osprey Nest, was injured and was missing a couple of primary wing feathers,. There was a huge concern that he would not be able to fly — and consequently that he would not be able to fish or be able to migrate. Well, look at Aran’s feathers today! Yahoo. He is good to go. Tears. This is an amazing couple who lost their three chicks due to starvation when Aran was injured. The Glaslyn community kept the birds alive with a fish table until Aran was able to fly and fish.

Indeed, I do not want people to think that feeder areas or fish tables do not work. It depends on the circumstance and in the case of Aran and Mrs G as well as the Mlade Buky White Storklings, those fish tables saved the lives of those two families.

Aran at the top sitting on edge of nest! 19 August 2021.

We have a lot to be thankful for – and there is a lot of work to do to figure out how to help our precious birds – all of the wildlife. Humans stepping up to take responsibility and to “try” even if they are met with low odds and negativity should be the norm not the exception.

What can you do today to help the birds and all of the wildlife?

I want to close today with a bit of a giggle. If you watch Ospreys you understand how difficult it is for both the male and female to raise three. Actually that is true of eagles as well. Well, what about five? Now consider the fact that those five are all female. The poor dad would need a set of sound cancelling headphones!!!!!!!!!! You can hear females clear across a lake. Oh, my. The parents of these Westport, MA fledglings will certainly deserve their winter break.

Thank you for joining me on this quick update on what is happening in Latvia and Estonia. Send them all of your positive energy – and take care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, the Eagle Club of Estonia, the Latvian Fund for Nature, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn and the anonymous reader of my blog that sent me the image of these five beautiful female Ospreys. Thank you.

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump through Ospreyland

Several people have written and asked about the third or last chick placed on the Patuxent River Park Osprey Nest 2. Many call that little one the ‘Silo Chick’ since it fell out of a silo and was fostered on this nest at the River til fledging. This little one seemed to have a short run, hopefully, of bad luck as it also fell out of the Patuxent nest as well and was rescued by Katherine Dami and her boyfriend. That little Osprey was so lucky! The flurry of activity around that rescue made me realize that every streaming cam needs to have an active 24/7 emergency number to the local wildlife rehabber or the person who would instigate emergency rescue at the nest. Ah, but back to the topic at hand. Silo chick fledged and has not been seen at the nest. Katherine, when asked, wrote to ‘S’ and said that they had not observed Silo Chick at the nest. Katherine did say that a large number of fledglings have gathered together and were honing their flying skills on another spot in the Patuxent River. So let us all hope that Silo Chick is there! If I hear anything more I will let you know. That nest looks very empty right now. Some fledglings like to be fed on the nest. A good example of that is LM1 and LM2 up at the Loch of the Lowes but maybe these three are being fed off camera.

So far there are only two eggs on the Port Lincoln Osprey Nest in Australia. I am quietly cheering that it remains only two. There are nests, such as that of Blue 33 and Maya at Manton Bay Rutland, that can feed and manage four chicks but, Mom and Dad at PLO will do better if there are only two. It could stop the rate of siblicide on this nest.

Tiny Little our ‘Big Girl’ at the Foulshaw Moss nest snagged herself a nice fish this morning from dad, White YW. After losing one to a bigger sibling last evening it is grand to see her eating away. Indeed, it is always nice to see Tiny Little!

Aran and Mrs G have been staying around the nest at Glaslyn. There was even sky dancing observed. The Ospreys want to seal their bond before migration. I am so happy to see the two of them around the nest. There was a time when Aran was injured and not flying much or fishing that I was concerned that Z2, Aeron, from the Pont Croesor Nest nearby or his siblings including Z1, Tegid, who has a nest in Snowdonia, might be eyeing the Glaslyn nest.

Mrs. G on the nest:

Aran up on his perch.

There has been a lot of discussion about when NC0 will leave the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest in Scotland for her migration. She is still here and she is fishing – hauling in some nice ones for her two babies who prefer to eat on the nest. This was Sunday late afternoon.

The anticipation and seeing mom arriving with a fish:

NC0 lands it.

LM2 got the fish and ate really fast with older sibling hanging around.

Maya is also still at Rutland Manton Bay – there had also been questions about whether she was still around. Seen on nest with chick around 18:00 Sunday. Blue 33 had just brought in a fish for Blue 095.

The Friends of Loch Arkaig have just announced that the names of Louis and Dorcha’s two male chicks for 2021 on the alternative Loch Arkaig nest will be Aspen and Alder. The names are derived from the two popular trees in the area. They took 45.5% of the votes. Well done!

People have been wondering where Iris is. The cam operator spotted her early this morning, around 9am, on her favourite perching spot on Mt Sentinel. Iris is fine and is enjoying her summer. Worries, of course, continue for the Montana Ospreys as the Clark Fork River water levels are at all time lows. The trout are dying. The New York Times carried an article on this urgent matter. If you don’t have a subscription you might not be able to open the article and I apologize but do try. Just look at the level of the water in the image and the dead trout. So terrifying.

Speaking of Iris, I promised the Montana Osprey Project that I would mention their fundraiser – The Iris Pens – this weekend as a reminder to everyone. Dr Erick Greene has collected a few more twigs and sent them off to the workshop of Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles in South Carolina. The pens are $45 US and that includes postage.

This is Dr Greene with the box of Iris twigs.

This is Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles opening up the box of twigs they received from Dr Greene.

Richard begins by cutting the sticks in their workshop.

Pens get their beautiful shape on the lathe.

This is what the finished ‘Iris Pens’ look like – the colour and patterns will depend on the wood that the pen is made from. Iris spreads her love to various trees and shrubs!

The pens have been made and sold out for the past few years. This year as in other years we wish for Iris’s safe return to us from her migration next spring. If you want an Iris Pen, do so quickly. The original 35 are gone and, as mentioned, Dr Greene has sent some more twigs the birds knocked out of the nest to Richard and Sharon. Follow these directions supplied by the Montana Osprey Project.

1) Send an email to montanaospreyproject@gmail.com2) If your mailing address is in the US, on the subject line of your email, type your full name followed by Pen OrderFor example To: montanaospreyproject@gmail.comSubject: Your Name – Pen Order3) If your mailing address is outside the US, on the subject line of your email, type your full name followed by International Pen OrderFor example To: montanaospreyproject@gmail.comSubject: Your Name – International Pen OrderIf yours is an international order we will get back to you with a few additional instructions.4) The email’s body should include the following information:a) Your name b) Your email c) Number of pens you would like to order.d) Total amount ($45.00 per pen). Shipping is included in this price.e) Your mailing address just as it should be on the envelope. f) Send the email to MontanaOspreyProject@gmail.com5) For those of you who live in the United States, make out a check out to: Montana Osprey Project – Erick Greene(We are not set up to take credit card or Pay Pal orders. Sorry – has to be a personal check or money order)6) Mail your check to:Dr. Erick Greene – Montana Osprey ProjectDivision of Biological Sciences 32 Campus Drive University of MontanaMissoula, Montana USA 598127) For those of you who live outside of the US, send us the email with all of your information, but hold off on sending a check. We will get back to you with a few more instructions.

I can’t wait for mine to arrive.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am off in search of hawks and ducks this afternoon. It is sunny and warm but we are going to venture out in the heat anyway! Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Manton Bay Osprey Nest and Rutland Water, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Patuxent River Park Osprey Cam 2, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project. I would also like to thank Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles for allowing me to use the information and the images for the Iris Pens and for their dedication to the Montana Osprey Project. A big shout out to Dr Greene for his devotion to the Montana Ospreys. Thank you!

Featured Image are the two 2021 chicks of Laddie, LM12, and Blue NC0 waiting for NC0 to get the fish to the nest. Their numbers are LR1 and LR2.