The banding at the University of California-Berkeley scrape is over! My goodness! The male chick is so loud you need noise cancelling head phones. Seriously.
Hatch 1 is a girl. This is Annie’s only 4th female in all the chicks she has hatched. You might remember that last year they were all male. Hatch 2 is a male.
Here are some images of the banding – which went very smoothly!
The female is being banded first. The female was quiet during the whole procedure. Her little brother was very vocal. Just look at him in the corner when his sister is moved.
Measurements.
Clamping of one of the bands.
The federal silver band has a different kind of rivet.
“I want my sister back!”
Taking a tiny piece of feather for DNA testing.
All done. Weighed, measured, health check and banding. The little male is vocalizing and in the protective mode.
This is my favourite image of both of them calling at once!
Measuring.
Banding.
Removing a feather from the back for DNA testing.
Checking and measuring the wing.
Both back in the scrape safe and sound.
Cal Falcons have posted the view from the north during the banding. You can see Annie and Alden flying around The Campanile while the chicks are being banded.
Thank you! There is a banding discussion and Q & A session at 12 noon Pacific Time.
Thanks Cal Falcons for your streaming cam and for the video of the banding!
The morning started off terrible in Bird World. Dylan was believed to be missing at Llyn Clywedog with three hungry chicks on the nest and Seren calling and calling — and another floppy fish covered the oldest Bob at the Dyfi Nest. Things turned out well and I thought it was a good idea to tell everyone immediately!
The weather is very bed at the site of the Llyn Clywedog Nest. The wind is blowing strong and it is raining. Dylan did manage to get a fish on the nest for Seren and the chicks. Fantastic. The babies were so hungry. You can see one of them at the left.
John Williams says the weather and fishing are set to improve tomorrow. Thank goodness. Most of you will recall the horrific storms, the damp and cold last season.
Telyn got up to eat the Flounder and there was Big Bob. There was also Middle Bob!!!!!!
What a relief.
Just look. Big Bob was so strong when it hatched and so is Middle Bob. Middle Bob is still a little wet from hatching. These two are going to be a handful and we have egg 3 to go.
A look at Aran and Mrs G’s first Bob at the Glaslyn Osprey nest. Cutie Pie. This is chick # 50 for Mrs G.
It seems that the Racoon event at the Fort St Vrain Bald Eagle nest is not a one off revenge attack. EJ searched and found a 2019 incident at a nest in Washington DC involving a Raccoon and an Eagle.
It doesn’t look like there has been a fish delivery at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest before 1430. These are such gorgeous chicks. That is Middle flapping his wings this afternoon.
Things are still going well at the Loch of the Lowes!
Here is a good look at that eye. Looks perfect to me.
There continue to be six storklets on the nest of Jan and Janika in Lativa. No elimination so far.
At the nest of Bukachek and Betty, there are three storklets and two eggs. So far everyone is doing well.
The eyases at the Manchester NH scrape are going in and out of the scrape to the ledge. If you go to the streaming camera and only see one or two chicks, do not panic!
Oh, Annie, Grinnell, and Alden’s chicks are getting their beautiful feathers too. Look at the eyes beginning to reveal those steel blue-grey feathers. Gorgeous. There is a reminder at the bottom that the banding is at 0800 tomorrow – Friday the 27th. Set your clocks!
Cal Falcons posted a great growth chart of these two chicks on their Twitter and FB feeds. I am certain that they do not mind if I share this with all of you. Everyone is here to learn!
Mum and chicks doing well at the Great Spirit Bluff Peregrine Falcon scrape.
If you do not have it, here is the link to the Spirit Bluff streaming cam:
Life on the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur at Cornell is changing rapidly. Juvenile feathers are coming in. Indeed, with the sticks in the nest you can see how well camouflaged the eyases are compared to a couple of weeks ago.
Self-feeding is happening! Lots of little chippies on the nest for the Ls.
Gorgeous peach feathering coming in along with the belly bands!
Every time I go to the Big Bear nest, I fear that Spirit will have taken the leap. She spends a lot of time on the balcony and is now able to go back and forth from the front porch to the back. For viewers this means that she could be on the nest tree and just out of view of the camera.
Today is the last day for the Captiva Osprey cam and chat to be operational. If you would like to be notified of any videos posted by Windows for Wildlife be sure to go and subscribe – it is the bell under the streaming cam image on the right.
The streaming cam at the West End Bald Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta is running again! Fantastic. Many of us were afraid we would miss the trio – Kana’kini, Sky, and Ahota – fledging. Oh, how grand.
We are also able to watch Lancer on the Two Harbours Alternative Nest of Chase & Cholyn.
It feels like we can all go whew but the weather at Loch Arkaig is not good. Poor Dorcha. It is great to have the cameras running at West End and Two Harbours. Remember that the banding for the Cal Falcons is at 8am Pacific Time tomorrow morning. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: CarnyXWild, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, ND-LEEF, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, FOBBV, Cornell RTH, Mlade Buky, Peregrine Networks, Cal Falcons, and Explore.org
Whew! I am still scrambling from looking at so many streaming cam nests this morning. There are so many different things happening from pips to hatches to fledges to deadly intruders. I took the afternoon off and went out to our nature centre for the 3 km walk. It was just beautiful – not too hot and the rain that came didn’t happen until later.
I was greeted by the cutest little Yellow Warbler the minute I stepped on the path.
One of the real treats was a lone Pelican flying overhead with its fish in its mouth. It was so high in the sky and the image is so very cropped but still, it is recognizable as an American White Pelican. At least 50% of North America’s American White Pelicans come to Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, and Winnipegosis during the summer. There is also a significant population at Lockport, Manitoba at the dam. I photographed those last year and will do so soon again.
There are several Canada Geese incubating eggs either in the nest boxes or in sites that are raised up close to water. These goslings are so lucky that they will be hatched inside the fence of the nature centre. They will not have to contend with concrete highways and parking lots like so many that have lost their habitat do.
One of the most intriguing images was a tree that had a number of birds on it. At first it appeared that it was only Double-crested Cormorants but then…you begin to see three other species – 2 Bald Eagles (it really is their tree) and a Hawk. There were, in addition, two more Cormorants I cut out of the image so that I could blow it up enough so that you could see the ones that aren’t Cormorants. So on the top left is a Baldie. Central Bottom is a hawk it appears. And on the bottom right is also a Bald Eagle. The eagle couple live year round in Manitoba.
There were Purple Martins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow Rumped Warblers, Black Capped Chickadees and some Mallards today.
In other Bird World news today, there is a pip in one of Mrs G’s eggs at the Glaslyn nest.
Mrs G is sleeping and not giving away any news but part of a shell has been seen on the nest.
There are now three osplets at the Foulshaw Moss nest in Cumbria. I might have mentioned this earlier. This is a favourite nest of mine. Blue 35 is a great mother – especially if the third hatch is small. Thanks to her and to the great fishing of White YW Tiny Tot, Blue 463, became the dominant nest on the bird and fledged. I think White YW is quite handsome.
The fish deliveries and eating were good at ND-LEEF. Little Bit 17 isn’t quite so little anymore. Thankfully.
Alden delivers another moth to the scrape in The Campanile at UC-Berkeley. He is calling to tell Annie. The chicks were much more civilized this time. So cute. So innocent. Annie and Grinnell certainly picked a kind friend to help out if something happened to Grinnell.
Idris and Telyn with their first Bob at the Dyfi Nest in Wales. Just look at that fish Daddy Longlegs brought in for the family! Congratulations again Dyfi!
Here is a video of that happy moment when the first hatch at Dyfi in 2022 became real.
Laddie’s eye looks amazing. He is delivering fish and Blue NC0 is feeding all three chicks! Life is good at Loch of the Lowes.
Father Kestrel at Robert Fuller’s Kestrel scrape in Yorkshire, UK has done an amazing job feeding and providing security for his eyases since the female was lost.
Lots more nests to check on tomorrow! Remember that Cal Falcons has changed the time for banding Annie, Grinnell, and Alden’s chicks to 8am Pacific Time Friday the 27th of May. Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I hope that each and every one of you had a fabulous Wednesday. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Robert Fuller, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, ND-LEEF, Cal Falcons, and the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust.
Thank you to ‘B’ who sent me a note saying that Cal Falcons had changed the time for the banding of the two chicks. Here is the notice on their Twitter Feed:
The time is Pacific.
If you visit the Berkeley Campus and do not have a pair of binoculars and would like to see if you can find the falcons, binoculars are now available to use thanks to the t-shirt sales! Isn’t that fantastic.
Here is an announcement from Cal Falcons about the last few days of fundraising this year:
I ordered the t-shirt on the right only long sleeved – because it is Annie and Grinnell. The cotton was lovely and soft not heavy and stiff like some t-shirts. I really liked it.
There are many places to donate or to purchase memorabilia. The joke is, like Julia Zarankin, author of Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder, I never anticipated wearing t-shirts with birds on them. I think Julia and I probably have the same size stack! I am going to put in a plug for Sean and Lynn- heavy organic material tote bags please and thank you.
If you haven’t read Zarankin’s book, it is hilarious. You will see yourself in the pages!!!!!
Thanks everyone. Be sure to change the time for the banding!
I can’t speak for all Canadians but, in Winnipeg when the sky is blue and no rain is falling and the temperature makes it feel like summer, we go outside. We will find anything to do to keep us outside. Today, amidst the roar of songbird vocalizations I planted the Vermillionaires that are going to make the summer hummingbirds very happy. Neighbours were on their bikes, walking up and down the alley in their summer attire being friendly. I did not check a lot of nests as a result.
I am, however, going to start with the bad news first. The highly pathogenic strain of Avian Flu is not in Sitka, Alaska. This is not good news. There is a huge population of Bald Eagles in Alaska that live off the salmon. Our dear Kindness that fledged off the Glacier Gardens nest last year is one of those. For more information go to the link that Terry Carman has posted on the Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News today.
How many of you fell in love with Louis and Aila at the Loch Arkaig Osprey nest? was it in 2020? when they fledged Vera, Doddie, and Captain? Captain, a third hatch, was my big celebration that year. Loving parents Louis and Aila made sure that that wee one was fed. Indeed, Louis often fished at night and tandem fed the chicks with Aila. We were devastated when she did not return from migration in 2021.
Doddie has been spotted, photographed and the band number has been confirmed – JJ6. He was diving for a fish on the Shetland Islands. This is absolutely fabulous news! We wait for news about Vera and JJ7 Captain.
That is quite the distance. The males tend to cause some bother around their natal nests. I must check on this. The distance is quite interesting.
The Manton Bay Three continue to thrive. Blue 33 stands guard while Maya feeds the chicks. This is a brilliant strategy on Blue’s part. He is prepared – either to help feed the chicks or to fight off any intruders that might want to take advantage of the situation of three chicks and a single adult on a nest.
I love fat little ospreys. Well, I love fat little chicks on a nest – period. This means they are well taken care of. These three are growing so fast it is hard to believe.
Yeap. No one is going to mess with Blue 33 (11)s family. He even has a better ‘snake eye’ than Iris sometimes!
A nice big fish came on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest around 1:39. Mum fed both of them and by the time she was finished, each had huge crops! I thought it was going to be another day where it was 10 bites for Big and 1 for Middle but, in the end, it seems to have worked out relatively even. These two are seriously gorgeous birds.
The four eyases of Big Red and Arthur are growing and growing. It was a nice day and then it rained and rained on the Cornell Campus. The only ones that seemed to fit under Mum were L3 and L4. Sometimes being the first hatch isn’t all that nice! That said L1 and L2 have some nice feathers coming in.
River and Obey continued to come to the Dale Hollow nest to try and lure their two fledglings, DH14 and DH15 back to the nest. So far it does not seem to have worked. A partial fish was left and one of the adults returned at 1609 to eat it and aerate the nest cup.
This was earlier. The adults have moved the large twig over to the side also.
It was hot in San Francisco today and Alden was working hard to keep the chicks shaded.
Alden helped Annie recover from Grinnell’s horrible death. These two very healthy chicks are a great testament to the hard work that both Alden and Annie have put in to make sure they not only hatched but that they thrived.
We were used to Annie and Alden feeding the chicks 10 or 12 times a day – little tiny meals. Now that they are older they will have fewer meals but will eat more and will have enormous crops. Just look below at the crops and how big their feet are!!!! Perhaps it is the angle but the Little one (nearest us) seems to have longer ‘toes’ talons than the oldest.
For those of you who love that ‘high spirited’ Spirit at the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow, you best be watching her closely! She is branching and flapping and looking out to the world away from the nest. She was their miracle chick this year and Jackie looks on knowing that Spirit will not be throwing her little fits for much longer – we will surely miss them as much as her parents.
I want to close with another wonderful day for ND17. A very large fish landed on the ND-LEEF nest at 1942. Little Bit 17 was in the right place at the right time – indeed, the parent actually oriented themselves so that 17 was on one side and, I believe, it was 15 on the other. Little Bit ate and ate and ate. Another huge crop at bedtime! Get the tissues. This is nothing short of fantastic. Perhaps this female has decided that she should feed her littlest one!!!!!!!
17 is on the nest under the left wing of the adult.
You can see where 17 is clearly now and see the size of that fish. Incredible. That will feed everyone.
17 got right up to the beak. Notice how well he is protected when Mum actually turns to the little ones benefit. The two older siblings are not going to plow through her to get to Little Bit 17. Perfect location.
Little Bit 17 knows how to put the food down. Look at that beach ball crop. Three days in a row. I hope I don’t jinx it. This little one will grow and grow over night. It isn’t going to catch up with the other two – it is six days younger – but it will help with the feather and muscle development – all this fine fish. Such a relief.
Thank you so very much for joining me. Little Bit 17 with a full crop is simply a perfect way to end this blog this evening. Take care everyone. Tomorrow we should have some more UK Osprey hatches!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell RTH Bird Cam, LRWT, DHEC, Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Friends of Big Bear Valley, and Cal Falcons.
Warrior has been sitting up in the nest tree since he flew up there yesterday. At 0530, Warrior flew/fell out of the top of the nest. DHEC cut it on camera and posted a video.
A fish was left on the nest by the parents and then an adult came with another fish this morning at 10:04. They are trying to see if the fledglings will return to the nest to eat. Hopefully they can lure them back to the nest to eat! Or will they feed them elsewhere? Lots to learn before they are ready to be their own independent selves.
Things continue to go well for Middle at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest. Dad made a delivery at 08:56. ‘R’ sent me a note about the intruder on the nest at the same time. I had missed it and the fact that there were a few swipes between Big and Middle over the fish. Thanks so much, ‘R’. (I really do hate the rewind on this camera).
Notice the adult on the far left – this appears to be an intruder who wants that fish!
Middle wanted that fish, too. In the end, Big got it but not without the two locking talons. Middle continues to ‘sniff around’ knowing that Big should get tired of working on that fish but will she? Middle wants some fish and he is getting much more confident despite Big’s little pecks!
At 0859 Middle is looking and wanting that fish intently.
Have you noticed how loud Middle’s fish calling is? She is really screaming at Big wanting that fish and staring.
At 0902, Middle gets the fish. Big is finished. It is a nice sized piece of fish with that beautiful tail. Middle will make quick work of this!
Middle cleans his beak at 1042. The fish is all gone. He joins Big Sis on the side of the nest.
Will the luck hold for little ND17 today? So tiny this one. At the ND-LEEF nest Big hatched on 31 March, Middle on 1 April eighteen hours after Big, and Little 17 hatched on the 5 April — a full six days younger than Big. As it turns out, the older siblings are hungry but they are also more interested in flapping their wings.
A parent is on the nest opening up one of the turtles at 0719. One of the big siblings has a fish. I could not see Little Bit 17.
By 0740 Little Bit 17 has that big hunk of fish. The older siblings cannot be bothered doing the work to eat it. This is going to be the lucky break we have been looking for at this nest. The older ones are peaking in terms of growth and Middle, being hungry, has the drive to get in there and find the food. The tail extends out 17’s right side so it is a nice piece of fish.
At 0757 Little Bit 17 has the fish on the other side of the nest. The two older siblings are watching but doing nothing. They are ‘not bothered’ with 17 eating. Isn’t that wonderful?
At 0812, Little Bit 17 has eaten that entire piece of fish and has another enormous crop!!!!!!!!! So happy. Three days in a row now 17 has had food. I hope there is another fish or two later but, for now, all is well.
Alden is continuing to surprise people with the variety of prey he provides to Annie and the chicks. This morning it was a Tern for breakfast. We have Common Terns here during breeding season. They do not scavenge for its meals like gulls do but, rather, catches fish.
The chicks are so cute….
The osplets are starting to hatch in the UK. We already have the three at Manton Bay’s platform of Blue 33 and Maya (much older now) and the two hatches at Loch of the Lowes with Laddie and Blue NC0.
Laddie and NC0’s two Bobs. 22 May 2022
There are now two at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35. Today, Dylan and Seren at the Llyn Clywedog nest welcomed their first hatch at 0612. Ten hours later they welcomed their second hatch!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations.
Beautiful Seren looking a little damp. I sure how this spring warms up for all of the birds and isn’t wet and cold like last year.
Wee one had a bit of a feed!
Seren feeding her first hatch of 2022.
We will be looking for hatch watches for the following nests on – Dfyi nest of Idris and Telyn on 23 May (tomorrow), Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G on the 26th of May, and Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig on 31 April.
Yesterday marked the anniversary of Aran’s injury in the Glaslyn Valley. He returned to the nest without a fish for the first time. Here is Aran a year later – healthy and strong – taking good care of Mrs G and himself. This would not have been possible without the intervention of the people of Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife. Do you know the story?
Handsone Aran. 21 May 2022
It was one of the worst springs – wet, cold, and windy. There had been big storms. Aran got into a ‘battle of sorts’ with another bird. Many of us believe that it was Aeron Z2 as they were later seen fighting over the river. Aran had a wing injury that did not allow him to fish for his family. The chicks hatched during the storm. No food. Meanwhile the people of Glaslyn are working hard to find a way to construct a fish table for the family so that they will survive. People are catching fish for them. It took a couple of days – too late for the wee babes but it saved Aran and Mrs G. A year later we are still thanking those lovely people for saving these two amazing Ospreys. What did we learn? Fish tables work. The Ospreys will eat recently dead fish. (They will not eat frozen fish). Bravo to everyone! This is the positive type of intervention that needs to happen at other platforms and nests. We may – with warming waters and higher temperatures – need to construct fish tanks for the fish eating raptors. We may need to stock ponds for them. After all, we took their habitat, heated the planet — shouldn’t we help?
Urmas and Gunnar have ringed the Golden Eagle chick in the Estonian nest. The chick weighed 2.3 kg and was 17 cm tall. They found the younger chick’s body in the moss in the underside of the nest. Golden Eagle nests are notorious for having only one chick survive. Urmas said that this eaglet is nice and fat. There is no food waste in the nest – everything is eaten (but not the younger chick – it was buried in the nest). They are hopeful this lovely little one will fledge!
It is the first day in some time that I have seen a blue sky and trees with green leaves on them. We were told the flood waters are receding but, in fact, they are now. We are now being told parts of our City could flood despite having a flood way. I am not worried where I live but it continues to be worrisome for the wildlife. A few goslings are being seen but there will not be many this year with nests full of eggs being flooded. The Baltimore Orioles are out and I am hoping to go for a long walk today to see if I can catch a few migrants passing through.
A reminder today to please cut any plastic drinks rings – and the small plastic tabs that seal bread. Birds can get in terrible trouble because of these things – and our masks – that seem to be just tossed anywhere. Gosh, the planet is not a garbage can! This incident comes from our most western province but it is an issue everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The nests are doing well. I haven’t seen any postings of footage from the banding at Two Harbours yet.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for being with me. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: DHEC, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cal Falcons, CarnyX Wild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Wildlife Rescue Association of BC, Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
It has been a very, very challenging breeding season. The weather has not cooperated causing diminished prey deliveries and deaths either by starvation or siblicide/starvation. Eaglets have fallen from their cliff nests – thankfully rescued by their guardian angel, Dr Sharpe. Adults have been killed or driven from the nest by intruders with many others dying of Avian Flu. Some have died of indeterminate causes while others were injured and taken into care. Some eggs never hatched having become breakfast for the Crows. We have favourite nestlings and then, things go sideways. We become afraid to watch their lives – it really does hurt that much when they are attacked by their older siblings or ignored by their parents.
Not all chicks who are attacked by their siblings survive. We know this. Sometimes we think that they will not last another day. Then, something happens. Yesterday when its mother would not feed it, ND17 ate an entire fish that was left on the nest and ignored by the older siblings —by itself. Today, its mother fed it a few bites. Later 17 found a piece of fish hidden in the nest and horked it. There he is on the far left. Note 17’s size in relation to the two older siblings who not only have their juvenile plumage but also have tails that are growing and growing.
At 17:01, something extraordinary happens. This is ‘why’ you keep watching, ‘why’ you keep hoping because in a single moment the nest that had gone sideways can right itself. It is the most exhilarating feeling — by far a greater sense of happiness than watching a nest where everything is perfect.
Mum arrives with a fish. At 17:01 and for the next sixteen minutes, Little 17’s life takes a turn. 17 is on the right side of Mum with big sibling on the left. The other is at the other side of the nest not paying much attention. What was it that suddenly changed 17 from a submissive little eaglet to an extremely brave one? Was it eating the entire fish itself yesterday? was it the finding and horking of the fish piece? was it Mum feeding it a few bites this morning? or was it hunger and a new found confidence that drove 17 to become the ‘king’ of the snatch and grab today? We will never know but this third hatch showed us just the kind of ‘stuff’ it is made of – this is going to be a formidable eaglet if he survives. Fingers crossed.
Still images do not do the actions of this this brave little eaglet justice. Watch carefully – about half way through 17 actually grabs the fish out of the older siblings beak! Yes, I am serious.
I wonder – having seen her youngest stand up and fight for its place at the table – will Mum feed her youngest chick? Will she position the fish so that the little one can eat and not have to contend with the peckings from the older siblings? We have to wait and see. One thing is for sure – 17 has a burning desire to survive. He is not afraid to root in the nest and find pieces of dry fish if eating them means he will stay alive. He is a survivor.
In the image below you can see the enormous crop that 17 has! Fantastic.
In other news, Dr Sharpe gave Chase and Cholyn’s only eaglet a thorough examination. The eaglet was measured, weighed, and banded. She is 11D, a sister to Thunder and an auntie to Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets.
The camera came on for just a second. Look at that nice red bling! And her silver federal band.
The two osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest experienced something very different today– pelting rain and hail. I was just glad it wasn’t a tornado!
After the storm passed, Mum returned to the nest. There was some fish and, despite Big standing tall and trying to unhinge Middle, Middle stayed put and kept eating.
Middle is on the left and Big with her longer tail and long, long legs is on the right.
In the image below, Big tries to scare Middle away from the food. It doesn’t really work so well anymore.
It is a beautiful evening at the Dale Hollow nest. Looking at that big stick that Warrior pulled across the nest it is almost like River said “when you leave, shut the door and put the key under the mat!” The older sibling, DH14, fludged on the 19th of May. I hope that Warrior had a smooth flight! (or is he still sitting in the top of the nest tree?)
Lady and Dad have been spending more and more time at their nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Today they were rearranging twigs and building up the crib rails while. They were also busy placing fresh leaves down on the nest bowl. We are getting close!
This is the link to their camera:
Those were just a few of the numerous highlights at the nests today. New hatches are being fed and with the exception of several intruders, all of the other nests seem to be doing well. It was such a relief to see ND17 well fed two days in a row. I hope that Warrior’s first flight – if he did fledge – was a perfect take off and landing. Hopefully there will be some footage of the banding of 11D today at the Two Harbours nest. Cal Falcons should be banding Annie, Grinnell’s and Alden’s chicks soon. I did watch Alden feed the chicks again. He is getting quite good this!
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care all. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, ND-LEEF, DHEC, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre.
It is the end of what seemed like Saturday but it was only Friday. The snow did come to Manitoba but not to the City but the temperatures fell here. The Baltimore Orioles are all over our City to the delight of everyone who can lure one of those orange and black beauties into their garden. One man built a big segregated feeder with alternating jelly, orange halves, and watermelon. My friend Wicky lives on the NE coast of the US and she says her Orioles will not eat the oranges. They want the Quince buds on her tree! What I found interesting today about the garden was the lack of European Starlings and the return of the Grackles and the Dark-eyed Juncos. It was rather odd. I wonder if it was the snow in some of the rural areas that pushed them back into the urban sphere???
We relish the triumphs of the birds who we thought might not make it. Middle at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest is just one of those birds. After Little Bit was killed by Big, she set her sights on Middle. Things went smoothly then when fish deliveries were at a minimum the dominance returned. Mum and Dad are dropping off pieces of fish and small fish for the two on the nest. I happened to check on the pair this evening and there was Middle with his prize tiny fish! He was so happy and making such a racket (that bird really is loud – loud like Middle Little at Captiva) it is a wonder that Big did not try to take it away.
Middle has the little fish. It reminds me of a very small sun fish. He is mantling and protecting himself and his prize.
At one point Big looked like they were interested in what Middle had but then they went back to flapping their wings. Middle protected the fish for a few minutes before trying to figure out how to unzip it. The key would just have been to hork it – but Middle will learn that later!
Big is still watching but he is not making any attempt to interrupt Middle.
Middle turns his back to Big to finish the tiny morsel.
Sound asleep. It is very difficult to tell the two apart now. You have to look closely because Middle’s plumage is getting darker.
Sweet Osprey Dreams.
Big on the left and Middle on the right.
The first chick has hatched at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria. These are the parents of Tiny Little who fledged last year as one of the smallest third hatches I have ever seen.
Both Lady and Dad spent the night on the nest tree in the Sydney Olympic Forest waking up to sing their lovely duet. Will we have eggs within 2 weeks? Probably!
Staying with the Australian raptors for a moment, Diamond and Xavier have been bonding in the scrape on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange.
It has been wonderful to see Ervie on the Port Lincoln barge. I checked a few minutes ago and he was not there but it does not mean he won’t be with one of his delicious puffers at some point during the day.
The Anacapa Peregrine chicks are no worse for ware after getting their bling from Dr Sharpe this morning. One girl and one boy. Dr Sharpe banded them on the edge of the cliff.
I mentioned that the five Manchester NH chicks were banded this morning. A picture posted on FB with the news shows them on a table in a room with an audience being banded. Quite the opposite experience from the chicks at Anacapa.
Picture credit goes to Linda Furlizz.
The pair at the University of California at Berkeley scrape gave their Dad, Alden, a tough time the other day. Someone said it was like Alden being a substitute teacher! I smiled. Today they gave Annie a bit of a time.
The trio at the Manton Bay nest have so much fish to eat they cannot help but grow. Dad brought in the breakfast fish and Maya immediately fed the chicks. Dad returned to take some leftovers for his breakfast but Maya convinced him to leave it and then she fed the chicks a second breakfast immediately. There was still some fish on the nest for later.
The wee babe at Loch of the Lowes looks up to its beautiful Mum Blue NC0. There was a pip in the second egg. Looking for a hatch when I wake up in the morning.
Richmond and Rosie’s two little ones are adorable. Rosie is so good at trying to get a flake of fish in a bobbing mouth!!!!!!!
That was so cute and it is a wonderful way to end this very short late report of happenings in Bird World. There should be a couple of fledges coming up and some more hatches at the Osprey nests. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Orange, Australia Peregrine Falcons, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Explore.org, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and University of Florida-Gainesville Ospreys.
It is another coolish day. They continue to mention snow coming! But how pleasant was it to wake up to three Baltimore Orioles already in the garden. My dial for being irritated at some birds preventing others from eating goes from mildly irked to outrage. The male Baltimore Orioles prevent the females from having the oranges or jelly! So I took the tiniest little bowls and put grape jelly in them. There are six. Surely the males can’t be at each one of them if they are eating jelly! Aaaargh.
Do we think those pesky eyases of Annie, Grinnell, and Alden told Mum what they did when Dad Alden was trying to feed them? As ‘B’ said – it is very apparent that this is Alden’s first adventure with chicks! Alden you are adorable and you are determined to figure this out and be a great Dad! Annie is giving the chicks their breakfast and later, Alden is in to give Annie a break so she can eat, too. He is doing a great job brooding and shading the chicks.
Seeing Ervie at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge is such a treat and now he has been there several days in a row! It is definitely taking a long time for that talon to grow in. It is growing and that is wonderful. Has Ervie lived on Puffer Fish all this time? He sure seems quick to catch them! And is Dad still bringing him a fish once in awhile? I collected a few more images of one of our favourite Osprey fledglings to share with you. We never know when it will be the last time to see him.
Ervie had at least two fish. It is not clear if the earliest was a puffer or was a fish brought by Dad. I think it was Dad.
A shot I shared last evening showing that talon growing in ever so slowly.
Ervie should have perfected his fishing skills by the time that talon is in. My gosh. Will it be in by Christmas? It certainly has a long way to go and I wonder if he wears it down using it??
Ervie looks really healthy and strong despite the talon issue. I wonder how many Puffers he has caught and eaten? Ervie is also very handsome! Sadly his injury has probably allowed us to see him all the time – or maybe Ervie is also, in addition, a home body. Wonder what Mum and Dad will do when breeding season is very close?
Richmond and Rosie now have their full cohort of chicks. SF Ospreys made a video of that second hatch. You can see that first little cutie, too. Two Bobs.
The first chick hatched for Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes. No more than it was getting out of the last of the shell, Blue NC0 had to fight off an intruder. It has been terrible for them this year. Fingers crossed that their presence does not do any harm to the chicks!
There is a fish ready and waiting!
It certainly is prime Osprey real estate. No one is allowed on the loch from April to September during breeding season. Nothing to disturb the Ospreys! Can you imagine how nice this would be elsewhere? Why do humans with motorized recreational vehicles have precedence? Why not canoes or kayaks?
Speaking of water, the river level around the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest is dropping and this might help with fish deliveries to the nest. Little 17 will be in need of food today for sure. Both parents have touched at the nest but I have seen no deliveries. (0730 and 0830)
It has been very hot at the Llyn Clywedog Nest. Seren Blue 5F hasn’t had a fish either. Dylan is a great provider so hopefully as it gets cooler in the evening something will come to the nest. Seren should be hearing chicks as we are on pip watch for these two. The wet and cold weather really hampered the breeding season of the Welsh Ospreys last year. Seren laid three eggs but only one hatched. Still, they raised the Biggest Bob ever in Welsh Osprey history in 2021. Everyone thought the chick was a huge female – not so. An enormous male!!!!!!! Blue 496 weighed 1400 grams.
Seren is an incredible Mum. She spent a couple of years at the Pont Cresor nest in a polygamous relationship with Aran. After two seasons of unsuccessful breeding, she flew the coop and found Dylan at Llyn Clywedog. Dylan has been here since 2016. The couple have been a mated pair since 2020. Seren spends her winters in The Gambia. Chris Woods has tracke her there to the same tree every year!
The image by Chris Wood made the rounds of some of the FB groups so I do hope that it is alright to include it here. We are all very grateful for his efforts in tracking down the Ospreys at the Tanji Quarry in The Gambia during the winter months!
Chris reported this year that they are taking lots of sand from the Tanji Quarry and he is wishing that they would stop for the sake of the birds.
The American Eagle Foundation has put together a slide show of this seasons activities at the Northeast Florida nest of Samson, Gabby, Jasper, and Rocket.
I am very happy to report that the Kestrel chicks – the smallest three – that Robert Fuller took out of the nest and raised til they were strong enough to go back with the others have been returned to Father Kestrel who is now in charge of six growing nestlings! Fantastic. A good intervention on the part of a human when the female disappeared. Father Kestrel has accomplished being both security, prey provider, and feeder!
Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville nest at 11:42. Middle was right on the ball and mantled and grabbed that fish and started self feeding! Mum is going to fly in and feed the chicks but this is the second time today that Middle has been working on self-feeding. So proud of this little one. It is no longer as intimidated by Big as it was.
Our Middle is doing fabulous. So proud of him. He is now big enough that Big really cannot intimidate him like he could even a week ago.
All five of the eyases at the Manchester New Hampshire scrape are doing great.
The five at the Belgian scrape in Oundenaare Tower are sleeping on a feather bed and loosing their baby down. All are flapping and it is getting a little crowded inside that box.
The Anacapa eyases are also doing great. I love that they live in the cliffs in a natural setting. Everyone is working on self-feeding.
The only problem nest that I can see is the ND-LEEF one. I have not, however, checked all of the nests this morning. It is time to go out and work on that penthouse for Little Red! Before the snow arrives.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning. 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: Explore.org, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Scottish Wildlife Trust, ND-LEEF, CarnyxWildd, Chris Wood, Robert Fuller, AEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Peregrine Networks, and Oundenaare Tower Falcons.
Annie’s new mate, Alden, is trying really hard to feed the chicks and be a good mate. One day he brought in a moth and tried to feed them. Annie rushed in! Alden has incubated and has brooded the chicks and he is fantastic at bringing in interesting prey items. Alden loves to hunt at night and has found many different species than Grinnell who liked to hunt his prey in downtown San Francisco. Pigeons are larger and it doesn’t take lots of them to fill up the female and the chicks. Most times Alden’s prey items are smaller.
Today the two chicks were in the scrape. Annie was not there. It was hot. They certainly did not need brooding.
Annie was not around later and Alden came in with a prey item. The chicks were hungry. Alden decided to feed them. The following video that Cal Falcons posted is better than any comedy I have seen in a long time. Enjoy!
