If you think of Cal Falcons, you immediately say Annie and Grinnell. On October 29, Grinnell was injured in a territorial battle and was taken into care. Everyone was so joyous when he returned to The Campanile after his release.
Today Cal Falcons has just announced that Annie, Grinnell’s long time mate and fabulous Mum, is missing, been ousted from the territory, or is dead.
This was just posted:
It was only three weeks ago that we saw this beautiful courtship display between Annie and Grinnell:
Everyone’s heart is broken. It is hard to imagine “Grinnell and Annie” without the Annie.
I sincerely hope that Annie is taking a break to recover out of the spotlight just like Bella did when she was injured in a territorial battle at the nest she shares with Smitty.
Please send all your warm wishes and positive energy to Annie so that she might return quickly to The Campanile and Grinnell.
Thank you to Cal Falcons for their FB page where I took my screen captures.
I am so delighted to have found this Bald Eagle nest on the Dale Hollow Lake in Kentucky. Why had I not heard of it before?
The nest is located along the shore from the Dale Hollow Marina on Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee. The resident eagles are River, the female, and Obey, the female. I asked how old they were and was told they are at least 18-20 years old, perhaps older. In other words, they are very experienced eagles just like Harriet at SWFlorida and the Dad at Duke Farms who is 23 years old.
In the 1800s, it was believed that there were 100,000 Bald Eagle nests in the United States. Those numbers declined rapidly with the destruction of the habitat as cities grew and also because of hunting. In 1940 the US Congress passed a bill to protect them. However, the introduction of DDT after World War II, those numbers went into a tail spin. By the time the impact of DDT was known, in the 1960s and 70s, there were only around 400 breeding pairs left in the US. They were placed on the endangered species list. The eagles had recovered so much that by 2007 they were removed from the list.
In Tennessee, in particular, the eagles suffered from infertility and thin egg shells due to DDT. In the 1980s and 1990s, translocation projects to reintroduce eagles from Alaska, Wisconsin, and Minnesota was undertaken. Forty-four eagles were reared and released around Dale Hollow and Iron Creek in the hope that when they were adults they would return to where they were released. That process of translocation is known as ‘hacking’. Today there are approximately 200 Bald Eagle nests in Tennessee. Of course the threat to eagles continues and their numbers are declining. One of the most serious is lead poisoning – secondary poisoning from the shot left in the innards of deer and other hunted animals which the eagles ingest in the woods. Today, there is the added threat of habitat destruction as well as avian flu.
One of those successful nests is the one of River and Obey. They laid three eggs. Two hatched yesterday within an hour of one another – twins! The other is now believed to be pipping as I write this.
Here is the first feeding of the two eaglets that hatched within an hour of one another on 25 February 2022.
Here is the first attempt at feeding the wee ones by River. Obey had brought in a lot of food.
This is a more recent feeding by River.
I really urge you to add this nest to your watching list. It is easy to overlook for the more well-known nests like Harriet and M15, Samson and Gabby, as well as Jackie and Shadow. This is the link:
This is an image from the most recent feeding of DH14 and DH15:
Fantastic family!
It has been a good day. The Captiva Eagles were enjoying a nice fish at 14:51. Those kids were once again really hungry. Big Red has been working on her nest and Ferris Akel is entering the Ithaca area in search of Big Red. There were a lot of raptors on the tour today. Our snow is melting and tomorrow I will add some before and after images. Hopefully the melting will slow down a bit! The day will be perfect if Ervie decides to show up at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Grinnell arrived at The Campanile this morning. He has to be one of the most handsome Peregrine Falcons I have ever seen. Good to see you looking so good Grinnell. You were busy keeping other falcons out of your territory!
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Thank you so much for joining me for this close up look at the Dale Hollow eagles. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle and Cal Falcons streaming cams where I took my screen captures.
The Lost Words is a book by Robert MacFarlane, Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Its focus is on the words that the editors of the Oxford Children’s Dictionary removed. Its 128 pages, 27.9 x 37.6 cm in size, are gorgeously illustrated with the watercolours of Jackie Morris, writer and illustrator, who lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The missing words that concerned MacFarlane are the following: acorn, Adder, Bluebell, Bramble, Conker, dandelion, fern, heather, heron, Ivy, Kingfisher, Lark, Magpie, Newt, Otter, Raven, Starling, Weasel, Willow, and Wren. At a time when our focus as adults should be to strive to install the wonder of the natural world and our responsibility to it in the children, why, then, would anyone choose to remove words that are directly connected with our environment.
I mentioned this book awhile ago. I have returned to it many times always admiring the illustrations, such as the images of the Ravens on the forest floor amongst the fallen conkers. Conkers are the fruit of the Horse Chestnut Tree, Aesculus hippocastanum. Horse Chestnut trees can grow quite large. Ironically, the conkers are poisonous to horses and I believe, all other animals. The type of poison is called esculin.
That illustration conjured up a beautiful memory of the time my family spent in England. Up on the gorse was a Conker Tree. We had never seen conkers – it was something wonderful and new. The children played a game with them. First you had to drill a hole and run a cord through the conker and secure it with a nice big knot at the bottom. The children would then ‘conk’ their conkers trying to see whose would break first! It was free entertainment and kept them busy for hours.
The rolling hills with their public paths were marvellous places for the children and the adults to take walks and breathe in the air. We were fortunate to have a ‘gorse’ within 50 or 60 feet from where we lived. It was full of butterflies and birds and the most delicious blackberries. It was a time when children played outside with their mates. No one set in front of the telly or spent hours looking at screens. Bikes were ridden and trees were climbed. In the three years we lived in Lincolnshire, it snowed once. There was about 4 cm on the ground – just enough. Still, everything stopped. Children stayed home from school and anything and everything that could be used as a sled was used to slide down the hills of the gorse. I wonder what all those children would think about the snow in my garden today?
The nice thing about snow is that it can cause people to slow down. To enjoy a cup of hot tea and a book. To stop running around worrying about things that are not always that important, to pause long enough to take in the moments.
It seems like it is rather quiet in Bird World but, is it really? Eaglets are growing bigger by the day all the while their plumage is changing. Thankfully, none are ready to fledge. E19 and E20 spend time flapping their wings as does the Osceola eaglet. Other eagles are incubating eggs. It is not time for Osprey season unless they are in Florida. Diane is incubating 3 eggs at Achieva in St Petersburg while Lena, laying hers a month early at Captiva, will be on hatch watch this weekend. Annie and Grinnell are only dreaming of eyases. Today Grinnell had to tell a 2 year old juvenile female to get off the ledge of The Campanile. Cal Falcons posted a video of that encounter.
Ervie continues to fish call off the barge at Port Lincoln. We can hear him but we cannot see him.
Kincaid is 29 days old today. He is starting to walk. It is so cute to see those first ‘baby steps’. Louis brought in what looks like an egret (or a part of an egret). When it looked like Louis might want to eat some of it, Anna promptly arrived at the nest. To Anna, prey brought to the nest belongs to her and Kincaid, not Louis who brought it! Anna is pretty strict in that regard. Not all female Bald Eagles behave that way. Anna proceeded to try and remove one long leg while Kincaid, with an already large crop, waited patiently.
Kincaid is mimicking what Anna is doing as he grabs the other leg and pulls on it. So cute. Kincaid also keeps himself busy moving around nesting material. These little eaglets learn from watching the adults.
Kincaid is already making attempts at self-feeding.
Kincaid is, of course, not the only one trying out eating by itself. I posted an image of R2 at the WRDC nest a week ago eating a fish. The eaglets of Harriet and M15 are also attempting eating on their own. E20 has become a bit of a pro. It seems like all of the eaglets grew up faster than they have ever done previously. Does it seem that way to you?
At the White-tailed Eagle nest of Milda and her new mate near Durbe, Latvia, the snow has melted. Milda will be laying her eggs about the same time as Big Red in Ithaca, New York – the third week of March – if all goes to plan.
There is more snow forecast for Big Red’s territory. The temperature in Ithaca is 1 C.
What I like about the image below is that you can see the nest cup area that Big Red and Arthur have been working on. In Milda’s nest sprigs of pine with their cones line the area of the egg cup. It is so fascinating watching the couples prepare for the upcoming breeding season. It is so intriguing. I would love to ‘speak hawk’ and sit by Big Red and Arthur when they discuss what needs to be done!
At least five eagles poisoned, one dead, four in serious condition in Manchester Maryland. Was this lead poisoning? or was this something else more sinister to impact all of the birds at the same time? There is an investigation underway.
There is good news coming out of Australia about WBSE 27. You might remember that twice, after fledging, 27 was taken into care. 27 was not taught by the parents to take care of itself. Once 27 fledged, it was taunted and chased by the Pied Currawong. Both times 27 was extremely dehydrated. The last time the Currawong had gathered and had pecked 27s head. When 27 was taken into care the last time, I hoped that rehabilitation would include flight training as well as training for getting prey. This takes longer than a two week stay in a clinic. Some wildlife rehabbers keep birds for 2 years to make certain they are capable of caring for themselves with confidence. It looks like 27 is getting that great training. The news is excellent!
Isn’t she lovely? And – yes – 27 is a she!
I wish that all of the sea eagles that fledge from the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Park would not be harangued by the Pied Currawong. They chase them out of the forest. They never learn to fly or to catch prey. How many of them survive, if any, unless they wind up in care?
The camera is now working again at Port Lincoln. Ervie was on the nest and, at various times, in the shed with Dad. Sometimes he was in the shed alone. I cannot tell you if he had a fish but there was definitely a lot of fish calling.
Checking in on Jack and Diane at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest and Jack is busy delivering fish and helping incubate the eggs.
If you are into garden animals and song birds, with a few surprises, you might want to check out Wildlife Kate. She has several wildlife cams and is featured on Springwatch in the UK. Have a look. You might find something really interesting like Yew Pond, or the Kestrel Box, or the Woodland Pond.
This is Woodland Pond. The cameras are live with no rewind. Enjoy.
I haven’t posted anything about the eaglet at Berry College for a few days. Thermal down is coming in nicely. Pa Berry did a great job feeding the little one this morning. B15 is still walking around on its tarsus (not yet with its feet) and doing a lot of preening. B15 is doing great. Missy and Pa Berry are doing a great job raising this baby.
B15 is a sweet little eaglet. You can see how its plumage is beginning to change.
I will leave you with a gorgeous image of Jackie incubating her eggs at Big Bear Bald Eagle nest in California. Fingers crossed for a great season for her and Shadow!
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear, Achieva Credit Union, Wildlife Kate, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Sea Eagle Cam FB Page.
The wind has not let up at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. Gabby has gotten up twice to make sure the little NE26 and 27 are fed. Thank goodness that Samson filled up the pantry because he would not be able to go and fish in these winds.
The babies are growing and need more food. You can see the white dot of the ear on NE26 standing up.
These two still do not have their thermal down and Gabby has to be very careful to keep them warm and dry.
I feel for all of the birds who have these intense storms. They, on the other hand, just get on with life as best they can!
There are now two eggs on the Achieva Osprey Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida. Congratulations Jack and Diane. Jack has been bringing fish to the nest and taking his turn at incubation. That nest looks a little wet, too.
It is hard to believe it, sitting here in frigid Canada, but the first Red Kites have begun their northerly migration from Africa passing over Poole Harbour today! Gosh, golly. Red Kites are beautiful raptors. They are about 66 cm or one foot in length with a very distinctive forked tail, angular body, and reddy-brown body.
I am getting excited for the streaming cam to come on line in the Taiwan cemetery that has a Black Kite nest. That should be about the middle of March.
It is a gorgeous day in Pittsburg. We continue to be on egg watch at this nest.
Liberty and Guardian have both been on the nest in Redding, California and there is egg watch there, too, just like at Pittsburgh-Hays.
Thunder has three eggs at the West End Bald Eagle nest. Her and Cheta keep taking turns incubating them. Oh, I so hope these two have a successful season but they are going to have to be diligent! Those Ravens are intelligent and they sit back and wait and watch. We know this from Daisy the Duck’s experience on the WBSE nest.
Connie and Clive, as mentioned in an earlier blog, have buried their last unviable egg. The first broke. Both have brought greenery into the nest and covered the place where the egg is buried. Will there be a second clutch? or is this greenery a way of bringing closure to a lost season for this new pair?
It is a gorgeous day over at the Duke Farm Bald Eagle nest in Hillsborough, NJ. Gosh, I bet everyone was glad that storm was gone!
There is a really beautiful Snowy Owl over on the Mississippi Flyway Streaming Cam today.
Lena is on the eggs over at the Captiva Osprey Nest on Santibel. There are fire trucks in the background and oh, she is loud! You can easily hear human voices over the nest microphone, too. That is really something folks should be aware of when they walk by these nests!!!!!! If they know they are by a nest.
The eggs were laid on 8, 11, and 14 January. Can you believe we could be on hatch watch? To my knowledge, the streaming cam on Andy and Lena will be turned off if the eggs hatch. It will be kept off until such time the owner believes that the Crows are no longer a threat. I will try to keep you posted.
It is early Monday morning in Australia and it looks like Ervie is the only one on the barge. Individuals continue to ask where Mum is. Traditionally, in migrating Ospreys, the Mum leaves the nest and the Dad feeds the chicks til they leave. At that point he begins his migration. Australian Ospreys do not migrate. That said Mum has done her job and is probably over on the Old Barge resting and getting her strength back. There is no need to worry! She probably got tired of Ervie’s very loud prey calling. Dad hangs out on the barge with Ervie some of the time. Dad definitely provides food for Ervie.
I want to leave you today on the happiest of notes. It is a courtship display by our two favourite North American Peregrine Falcons, Annie and Grinnell, on The Campanile today.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Captiva Osprey Cam, Mississippi Flyway, Duke Farms, Explore.org, Captiva Bald Eagle Cam, Pix Cams, Redding Bald Eagles, Achieva Credit Union, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.
In my excitement about the eaglets this morning at the KNF and the NEFlorida nests, I really did forget to say thank you to the people and the companies or government departments that sponsor and take care of the streaming cams so that we can learn about wildlife. My great hope is that by learning and caring about these amazing creatures and the challenges that they face, the more each of us will do to help out the environment whenever and wherever we can so that the lives of these beautiful raptors and seabirds continues.
Some of you might have seen the posting elsewhere but I want to mention it here in case you did not. A fully grown adult Bald Eagle flew into a plate glass window in a house in PA. It is in care.
This is nor the first time an Eagle has flown into a window although you are probably more familiar with the smaller birds that hit the windows and either get stunned and are alright or their necks are broken. There are solutions to this problem. The first one is to not clean your windows so that you can see reflections in them! Yes, I am inviting you not to make ever window in your house spotless. What a concept. The second is to install decals to prevent bird strike. Some of these work better than others. The third is to have ultraviolet barriers put on your windows. The last is something ingenious that I saw at our nature centre yesterday. They had 2 x 2 wooden boards cut the width of the window. Holes drilled in the bottom of the boards every 3 inches. Inserted inside were 1/4 inch nylon cords cut to the length of the window. They were glued into the holes. You could easily put the hole all the way through and tie the cord. These were hung outside the windows of the nature centre. The cords blew in the wind and they have never had a window strike despite having so many windows. I will take a photo the next time I am out there. I have so many birds in my garden and they all go flying madly in all directions if Sharpie arrives so, my windows are never spotless clean – never. I also have vines that hang down and the birds sit there and eat the berries or build their nests so – so far, any window strike problem has ceased.
In other Bald Eagle news, R-7, nicknamed Rover by the people of Brooklyn, was in Central Park giving everyone an absolute delight. How many Bald Eagles have you seen in Central Park? Incredible.
If you love urban raptors as much as I do and want to keep up with what is happening in New York City, I highly recommend Bruce Yolton’s blog urbanhawks.com
Everyone knows that I have a huge soft spot for the little eaglet of Anna and Louis. How could you miss it? At 15 days old this little one is a real charmer. What a beautiful image of it looking so lovingly up to its Mum.
The pantry is full of the most amazing things – all freshly provided by Kincaid Lake – Coots, ducks, all manner of fish including a large Bass today, and yes, turtles. With such a varied diet, this little eaglet and its parents are super healthy.
I am getting more than curious. Anna is feeding the eaglet on the KNF nest and there are 50 people watching.
Just look at that little one’s crop. No shortage of food, great parents, beautiful setting, super mods on the chat, super cameras, and great sound! That is what KNF has to offer.
There are 2129 people, as opposed to 50 at the KNF nest, watching the Bald Eagle incubate eggs at Big Bear.
What makes one nest more popular than another? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to write me a comment or send me a note at maryannsteggles@icloud.com I seriously do not understand and want to!
The streaming cam at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge is still on the blink. For a few minutes Ervie was caught on the nest sleeping so all is well there.
For those of you that are fans of Xavier and Diamond, you might be aware that the temperatures in parts of Australia have hit all time highs of 50.7 C or 123.6 F. That heat really impacts the wildlife including the Peregrine Falcons who are being brought to the wildlife rehabbers for care. The one below is doing well!
Speaking of falcons, one of the pair (I could not make out which ones) was on the NE ledge of The Campanile just now at UC-Berkeley.
Diamond was on the ledge of the scrape. It was a bit foggy early in the morning with what looks like some rain. I checked and the temperatures seem to have cooled down considerably.
Well, I said it was civilized but despite an overflowing pantry provided by Samson, NE26 wants to be a bit of a ‘not so nice’ big sib at the most recent feeding. AWWWWWW.
Samson is really in competition with Louis for the most items in the pantry! Gabby is fabulous mother. “26, you need to settle down. Everyone gets fed.”
The eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest just ate.
Anna filled up its crop. That baby is sound asleep in slumberland.
So if you don’t want to watch 26 bash 27 a bit, tune into the cutest eaglet at KNF. Here is the link:
Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Nest were caught on camera mating on the nest today. Everyone is on egg watch as Diane settles. There is certainly excitement brewing amongst the chatters as Osprey season in Florida quickly approaches! Jack and Diane are the parents of Tiny Tot Tumbles – the third hatch no one though would survive last year but who did and became the dominant bird on the nest.
After watching Port Lincoln this year, we know that the atmosphere on a nest can change from year to year depending on the fish availability, the health of the adults, the temperature, and the gender make up of the chicks as well as the difference in hatch times. We wait to see how it will go.
The link to that camera is:
Thanks so much for joining me today. All other nests are doing well. We wait for Port Lincoln’s camera to get up and working again although there is no guarantee that Ervie will be there very much. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Falcon Cam Project at Orange and Cilla Kinross, Achieva Credit Union, and Minton Farms Animal Rescue FB, and Cal Falcons.
Oh, gosh, golly. Just when you think the day is going to be quiet, Missy at the Berry College Bald Eagle Nest in Mt Berry, Georgia, has a pip. The announcement of the pip was posted on FB this morning.
I just took this image a few minutes ago. The chick is making good progress! That is not a video. That arrow just shows up when you try to take a screen shot on their camera.
Speaking of cameras, Berry College has three – an approach one, one above the nest, and one closer to the nest. If you want to see thee action on hatch, I think the camera closer to the nest is the best. Their cameras are not on YouTube.
What spells Bald Eagle Fluff Ball better than cute? Be prepared to melt. Anna and Louis’s 15-hour-old chick is adorable.
Oh, the fluff balls grow too quick and get pin feathers in a blink. Soak them in when they are like this. So precious.
Bald Eagle parents work on instinct. There isn’t a manual on eagle parenting tucked under the nest. This is only Anna’s second chick. Last year I almost had a sore throat yelling at Anna to get closer to Kisatchie to feed him and for Kisatchie to turn around, face Mum (or Dad, Louis feeds his babies), and open that beak wide. Anna and this little one are struggling too. The little one is ready to eat and opens its beak wide and tries the grass in the nest! It has its back to Anna who is trying to feed it. She gets closer and the little one takes its first bite. This will only improve as Anna remembers and the little one figures out its part in the feeding-eating process.
Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinics work on donations and the sweat, tears, and love of volunteers. Our local clinic, Wildlife Haven, put out a call for donations to help a Snowy Owl in December. Today they were joyful in sending out a short video on its release. So happy to have been a small part of this success story!
There is currently no pip at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. Waiting for Friday!
There is also no Daisy the Duck on the Sea Eagles nest in Sydney and that is a good thing!
Down at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Ervie is on the nest crying for a fish delivery. Twice now he has flown off the nest as if he saw an adult with a fish. He returned quickly the first time. Let’s see if he comes back with a fish the second time. No, empty taloned!
In Durbe, Milda and Mr L have returned to the nest to move around some sticks. There is still lots of snow in Latvia, just like Manitoba! I am really looking forward to Milda laying eggs and having a successful fledge of chick or chicks this spring. That would be so wonderful. Losing her long term mate, Raimis, last spring just sparked more and more sadness.
Just like Milda and Mr L, Annie and Grinnell are hanging out on The Campanile. Their scrape box is ready and waiting for those precious eggs in a couple of months. Cal Falcons posted this on their Twitter site today. So happy it will be Annie and Grinnell. The interloper has not been seen for a month! Yeah!!!!!!!
Annie is still there several hours later. Can you see her by the camera, perched on the pipe?
For other baby eaglets, it looks like it is fish dinners in Miami-Dade County and over in Fort Myers. R2 and R3 really seem to enjoy the fresh fish that Dad brings in. There have been several other varieties of prey items including a parrot and a coot. Did you know that Bald Eagles fish in both fresh and salt water?
E19 and E20 are also having fish. It is so hard to tell them apart. There is a white line under the cere of one of them but E20 does not seem to be that much different in size from its older sibling, E20. It is difficult to tell who is who sometimes. I ‘think’ it is E19 at the bottom of the screen and E20 in the middle.
Oh, tomorrow, the chick at Berry College will have fully hatched, the little one at the KNF nest will be stronger with its eyes more focused, and then there should be a pip coming at Captiva. Goodness.
There has been more snow on and off all day on the Canadian Prairies. There were 57 European Starlings in the Lilac Bushes and back trees this morning. They are still here. The feeders were filled twice. It is now 16:08 and it will not be long til every bird goes off to roost. It is normally dark here by 16:45. It is now 16:25 and all the birds are gone. It is absolutely still in the garden as new snow falls.
Thank you for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon.
A big thank you to the following for their streaming cams, Twitter, or FB pages where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Eagles, Cal Falcons, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, SWFlorida and D Pritchett Bald Eagle Nest, Wildlife Haven, Bald Eagles Live Nest Cam News, and the Latvian Fund for Nature.
Yesterday we celebrated the arrival of R3 on the WRDC in Miami-Dade County. The third hatch of Ron and Rita did not make it and died. It would be seriously impossible to tell what caused the death. The nest cup is so deep and narrow that it might have just been suffocated. We will not know for sure. Rita removed its body from the nest cup at 11:18 this morning and placed it along the rim of the nest at 06:00. It will probably become part of the nest unless Rita or Ron remove the body completely from the nest.
R1 and R2 are healthy and growing. Let us celebrate that! As you know I had hoped that R3 would not even hatch. It is always better to have strong healthy eaglets, fewer of them, than more not so healthy.
It is also wonderful that the adults continue to work on this nest. Spanish Moss is coming in to fill up the nest cup and make everything soft while branches are going up on the side. I was a little worried about these curious Rs climbing on what appears to be chicken wire like construction. Yes, just another worried auntie!!!!
Rita looking lovingly at her two surviving chicks, R1 and R2 after R3 passed.
At the time, I actually thought that R2 might have been dying but it was only in a deep food coma. Seriously, I almost panicked. Thankfully, both chicks are fine as you can see from the time stamp above. They have been eating a green parrot and fish.
As the day progresses, the heat comes on the nest. Rita is busy helping R1 and R2 stay cool. As we know from the heat wave going through the Pacific Northwest in May and June of 2021, heat can cause bird deaths. In Canada, many jumped from their nests to avoid being ‘cooked to death’ during that heat wave. It is currently 27 degrees C in Miami with a chance or rain. These two little ones are unable to regulate their own temperatures so the parents must help them.
Here is the link to the WRDC nest:
Anna and Louis are approaching pip watch and official hatch watch (is there a difference?) tomorrow. The KNF Wildlife staff posted this notice on their FB page this morning. Steve and Cody, the Rangers who maintain the cam, appear to be super excited. So am I!
Here is the link to the KNF nest. There is one egg for Anna and Louis as the second egg was broken by accident when Anna landed one day. They fledged their first chick last year, Kisatchie. Kistachie was the first eaglet to hatch at this nest since 2013. Incredible. It is a beautiful nest close to Kincaid Lake in central Louisiana and belonged to an elderly Bald Eagle couple that quit using it in 2013. Louis and Anna arrived and then last breeding season returned to take over the nest and raise their family. Louis is an excellent fisher! No shortage of fish. Indeed, last year this pair could have started a fish exporting business to other eagle nests as they had way too much food!
Here is the link to their camera:
Well, gosh. There are going to be a lot of little eaglets hatching in the next week. I could not even begin to count them but we have Captiva and, of course, my faves, Samson and Gabby up at NEFlorida.
It is windy and there are showers near the Jacksonville nest of Samson and Gabby today. It is currently 15 degrees C – wow. That is a whole lot cooler than Miami or Fort Myers who are both reporting high 20s today.
Here is the link to Gabby and Samson up at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest near Jacksonville. They are a great couple to watch. I put them and Harriet and M15 right up at the top of the ‘do not worry’ list. For those of you that do not know, this was the adult male, Samson’s, natal nest. He has great DNA. His parents were Romeo and Juliet. Samson hatched 23 December 2013. He returned with his mate Gabby after the 2018-19 sadness with his parents. The American Eagle Federation gives this account, “However, the 2018-2019 season was very different, as several large mature eagles disturbed the peace and tranquility of this nest. The expectations of the season ended in heartache as Juliet returned to the nest with an injury and was subsequently driven from the nest by a rival just days before the eggs were to hatch, leaving Romeo to do the work of two. When an egg hatched on Christmas Day 2018, a female eagle following Romeo to the nest swooped down and took the hatchling. This was not A2.” The A2 they are referring to is Gabby who later partnered with Samson. Romeo and Juliet raised 19 eaglets to fledge in 10 seasons.
Gabby and Samson raised two their first season, Jules and Romey. They fledged Legacy – one spectacular juvenile – last breeding season. I am really looking forward to this year. Can you tell?
It is hot on the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15 today. All I can say about E19 and E20 is that they are absolutely precious. Harriet is keeping them cool.
You can see that Harriet is shading them but the two eaglets have moved into shady patches on the nest, too. They are older than Ron and Rita’s chicks and are moving quickly around this large nest.
Down in Port Lincoln, Australia, there are wee showers. It looks like Falky did have the nest reservation. He spent the afternoon, all evening on the nest, and he will be there, hopefully, to get the morning breakfast fish in about 3 or 4 hours.
Falky and Ervie had quite the dust up yesterday. Falky might have thought Ervie was not going to honour his reservation departure time!
Falky decided to lay down duckling style late in the day.
It is hard to see him but he is on the nest, nearly in the same spot. For some reason they all stand or sleep there. Must be something magical about that space.
Just look at this beautiful fledgling. Se McGregor posted a recent image taken of WBSE 27 by the National Parks and Wildlife Services of NSW. Gorgeous. She is doing well. Let us all send warm wishes for continual improvement. Many rehabbers believe it takes two years to fully train an eagle that has not been trained by its parents. I wonder how long they will keep 27? I hope a long time til this bird is confident and strong.
Annie and Grinnell continue to bond and have total control of their territory. Cal Falcons posted an image of Grinnell with a large crop on the ledge on National Bird Day.
Other than the death of R3, things in Bird World are looking pretty good at noon on a Friday. It is -27 C on the Canadian Prairies dropping to -32 later today. That is exactly 54 degrees C different than the temperatures Harriet and M15 and Ron and Rita are experiencing in southern Florida today. That is a 129.5 degrees F difference! Whew. Temperature extremes.
Thank you for joining me this morning. I will continue to monitor the reservation rota at Port Lincoln! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: WRDC Eagle Nest, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, NEFloridaEagle Cam and the AEF, KNF Eagle Cam, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Center FB Page, and Cal Falcons Twitter Page.
The last time we saw Daisy the Pacific Black Duck was when she returned to the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest on the 23rd of December. She brought Mr Daisy with her to show him that her eggs were missing or destroyed. Daisy pushed all her down into the egg cup after walking all around the nest quacking. She arrived at 20:22:52 and left at 20:34:56. My heart broke for Daisy that day. After dealing with the possum in the early morning and the rain, Daisy was forced to leave for her morning break late. It just happened that three Ravens decided to venture out early that day. Daisy returned to her fertilized eggs missing or broken. She was frightened and confused.
This was the second time that Daisy had attempted hatching ducklings on this nest. The previous time had been in January of 2021.
Now, on 1 January 2022, Daisy and her mate have returned. When the eggs are broken, the intermission between then and the ducks mating again can be as little as ten days. It has been 9 days.
If Daisy decides to use the WBSE nest again, and it appears that she will, January will be complicated because Lady and Dad, the Sea Eagles, will be spending more time at the River Roost and more time checking on their nest.
The Sea Eagles will not be a direct problem. They might pull all the down off the eggs and might break one but they had no interest in destroying the eggs before. No, the predators are the Ravens.
If only Mr Daisy would step up and help!
Daisy arrives.
Mr Daisy arrives.
Our beautiful Daisy.
I had so hoped that she might try her luck down on the ground.
And so, we all realize the worst but hope for the best for this precious little duck that just wants to be a Mum.
There will be a lot of sleepless nites and tears. Get the tissues ready! Here are 2 video clips of Daisy and Mr Daisy arriving and inspecting the nest.
Another big surprise and a most welcome one is the return of Grinnell to The Campanile today. Here is the video clip of that moment:
Wow. Two huge surprises. I have to say that I am more than delighted to see Grinnell up on the ledge of the area that him and Annie use to raise their chicks at The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley. This is just fantastic. On the other hand, I do wish that Daisy had a safe place to lay her eggs so that she could experience the hatching and the leading of her little ones to the water. I cannot think of anything that would make all of us happier.
Thank you so much for joining me. I am thrilled to bring you this news. Take care. See you soon! Wonder what else is in store for us?
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park and UC-Cal Falcons. I also want to thank ‘P’ for alerting me to Daisy’s return. I would have missed it otherwise.
It could be early Friday, Old Eve Night, if you are in Australia.
Our beloved birds never cease to amaze me. For so long I have worried about Bazza, the oldest juvenile on the Port Lincoln barge. Bazza just never seemed to have that drive that he needs to take and protect his fish in the wild that he needs to survive. Well, this morning Bazza surprised everyone. And I do mean everyone – including Dad, Falky, and Ervie. I wonder if Mum was watching?
Ervie and Falky are waiting for the first fish delivery of the day on the nest. As Dad flies in with it, Bazza appears out of no where flying in behind and stealing the fish. His older brothers surely wondered what happened! It took less than 30 seconds. Have a look:
As much of a kerfuffle as that was, we don’t need to worry about Bazza anymore. What is that old folktale about the tortoise and the hare? That surely is what is happening here on this nest.
Last night there was a horrific storm at the Bald Eagle nest at Berry College. It was all caught on camera. There is no editing (so you see the entire 30 minutes) but I guarantee that you have probably never seen an eagle nest twisted around live like this one. Missey is incubating 2 eggs when the rain begins. The rain changes to hail and the worst of the wind and hail begins around 10:27. Cameras have gone out. I did see Missey’s wing raised once. All cameras are off today and with it being a holiday we might not find out the fate of Missey and her eggs for awhile. If you hear anything, please let me know. Send this nest your most positive energy.
There is no news coming out of Cal Falcons about the love triangle with Grinnell, Annie, and the interloper. Looks like we will have to wait a little while longer for that to sort itself out. There is, however, fantastic news of one of Annie and Grinnell’s fledglings, Sequoia. Every sighting of a fledgling is a reason to celebrate. They survived!!!!!!!!! They are not part of the 60%. Well done, Sequoia.
There are the two little stinkers melting everyone’s hearts! Looks like we are waiting for a prey delivery at SWFlorida.
E19 and 20 are definitely the cutest with those little wings and fat pink legs and talons. They will keep Harriet and M15 very busy! And thank goodness. They are healthy and strong.
Adorable.
That is just a short catch up on some of the nests. There is some really good news and – well, what can I say? That tree at Berry College is strong and seeing that wing flap from Missey gives me hope that all is well. Fingers crossed.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots and video clips: Port Lincoln Osprey Project and SW Florida Bald Eagle Nest and the D Pritchett Family. Thanks also to Cal Falcons for the information and images of Sequoia on their FB Page.
As all of you know, Daisy the Duck has occupied my mind for some 20 days now without much of a break. She has just arrived home to the nest – it is the Summer Solstice 22 December in Australia – and I am going to take some time to check in on the other nests that are normally watched.
It has been a horrible day for Gabby who is incubating two eggs on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest called The Hamlet. It is just outside Jacksonville.
Bald Eagles generally have 35 days of incubation. Gabby and Samson were really wise. They did not start hard incubation until the second egg was laid meaning that the two eaglets will be born close together with no older sibling advantage. They will just bop each other taking turns! This means that the hatch date is 19 January. Mark your calendars.
For me, this is great timing. Harriet and M15s eaglets are set to hatch in 3-4 days. We won’t be watching two bobble head nests at once. Oh, those high winds are really hitting Fort Myers. You can see Harriet’s feathers blowing.
It is a beautiful day over in Decorah, Iowa with the Decorah Bald Eagles. No eggs – it is winter! But the Eagles are around. The nest is at a trout hatchery – lucky raptors. Smiling. Everyone should have a source of fish for their Ospreys and their Raptors. Takes about 350-400 a season. Not bad for giving life to these beautiful birds and their family.
The Bald Eagles in Iowa generally lay their eggs in mid-February.
The Decorah Eagles are not to be confused with the Decorah North Eagles!!!!! It is home to Mr and Mrs North.
The camera is live at Duke Farms in New Jersey. No eggs yet. In fact, it should be about a month until we see eggs on this nest. I hope this Mum has better weather this year! She was encased in ice and snow most of incubation in early 2021.
Diamond is starting the day in the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange. Both her and Xavier have been examining the new gravel that Cilla Kinross provided awhile ago. They have also had bad weather with torrential rains but it looks like they will have a nice day today. Fingers crossed.
Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear, California are doing nestorations. It looks like they are going to have a white Christmas.
Last year Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls, took over a young Bald Eagles couple’s nest on Farmer Derek’s property. They raised two owlets. The nest is currently unoccupied but one of the Bald Eagles did a fly by at 07:19 this morning. Will there be a battle over this nest?
The eagle is right at the horizon line with the blue sky. You should be able to see it.
Anna has taken over incubation duties of the two eggs on the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest. This is her and Louis’s second breeding attempt. They fledged Kisatchie last season.
Clive is on incubation duty at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. Another storm is really starting to churn in that area. It will effect the eagles as well as the ospreys – and, of course, it is the same storm that is hitting Harriet and M15 in Fort Myers.
It is a beautiful winter’s day – perfect for the Winter Solstice – at Glacier Gardens. I wonder what Kindness is doing? She was such a special juvie.
Alaska is a perfect place for Bald Eagles, too. When Dave Hancock put the satellite trackers on the 7 or 8 fledglings in British Columbia that survived that horrific heat wave, all of them flew north to Alaska.
Lena is waiting for Andy to bring her some fish at the Captiva Osprey Nest. This couple was really hit hard – along with Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest – from the storms the other day. It is good to see that all had no problems. There is another storm brewing today.
Ervie got the morning fish and Bazza is not happy. Apparently, Ervie woke up in the middle of the night and kicked Bazza off the nest. I can understand why he is grumpy.
Ervie is doing a great mantling job. Third hatch turned out to be the ‘King Pin’. Wonder if Bazza remembers how he tried to treat Ervie? Do raptors have a memory like elephants?
Daisy is fine. Wishing for a quiet day for her.
This is a wee bit of a catch up with some of our other favourite nests. Cal Falcons raised $3500 through the sale of t-shirts to support Lindsay Wildlife for treating Grinnell. That is fantastic! There is no news of who Annie will pair with for the 2022 breeding season. Watching birds is all about patience. Sometimes I don’t have any!!!!!!
Thank you so much for stopping in to check on the nests. The birds will weather the current storms in Florida. They are used to them but, still, we worry. Wishing all of you a very happy Winter solstice. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, SWFlorida and the Pritchett Family, Captiva Osprey, Captiva Bald Eagle, KNF Bald Eagles, Glacier Gardens, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Farmer Derek, Friends of Big Bear Eagles, Duke Farms, the Raptor Research Project at Explore.org, and the Port Lincoln Ospreys.
