Tag Archives: Captiva Ospreys

Troubles in Bird World

16 February 2022

Oh, good morning everyone!

Before we begin today, I want you to watch a really short and sweet video of Nugget and Valentine at the KNF-E3 nest by Rhonda. As you might recall, Nugget had an injured leg. Thankfully that is all better. Have a look – you will need this before you read the rest of the news, I promise. It is also a reminder that legs can heal, that good things can happen!

Also on the plus side – Diamond has returned to the scrape after the fearful fireworks set up near the tower several days ago. That was around 08:42 on the 16th in Orange. All three of the Orange falcons are now accounted for and all three have now been in the scrape. Diamond was the last. Welcome back, Diamond. sorry you had to go through that extreme stressful ordeal. Fireworks should be banned! Maybe, Diamond, they could use your beautiful face as the poster for why all loud sounding celebratory items need to be banned, not manufactured, not sold, banned…Every other raptor, wildlife, dog or cat will thank everyone.

Oh, goodness. Soap operas do not hold a candle to ‘As the Nest Turns’ and right now that saying goes for Redding Eagles Liberty and Guardian, Big Bear Valley Samson and Jackie, Captiva Ospreys Mabel and Angus, and, of course, SWFlorida with M15 and E21 and E22. Add the Frequent Female Visitor with the injured talon/s who is so hungry well, Wednesday was quite the day. There would be awards if this was afternoon television! Every nest would be signing contracts…just kidding, of course, but…what the heck?

There were quite a number of feedings at the SWFlorida nest today. I won’t go into them in detail but the one around 1300 caught one attention. M15 is really trying his best to get food to 22. We have all watched him move the fish around, side step, pause with a piece of fish hoping that 22 will grab it. Sometimes 22 is just too scared. Sometimes the fear of what has happened is cause to stop 22 from eating. So at this feeding, ‘A’ wrote this. It is lovely.

Towards the end of that lunchtime feeding, E22 eventually made a frantic grab while M15 was working on a piece, and got the tail of the fish, with some flesh attached. When he turned away with it, mantling, he couldn’t swallow it and M15 came over and picked up the piece. Just when I thought M15 was going to swallow it himself, he instead started feeding it to E22, who managed at least half a dozen decent mouthfuls plus the tail, which he was able to swallow once M15 had pulled off those half-dozen mouthfuls for him. 

No matter what happens on this nest…M15 is trying even going without himself to ensure that these two eaglets survive to fledge. He is exhausted. You can see that when he finishes feeding them for the evening and gets on the nest and his head just falls. He is ravenous if you look at how fast he ate some fish today, too. He really is Dad of the Year and he is certainly making me tearful just thinking at how hard he is trying to make this work.

7771 people watched M15 feeding the eaglets when the hungry female flies down landing on the nest and scuffling with the eaglets. She flew down, began eating the fish, and nipped at 21. It was 16:12-13:18ish.

She started eating the fish so quickly. She is – I am sorry to keep saying this – but, she is starving because she cannot hunt for herself with the condition her talon is in. (I cannot confirm it but there are rumours that there are more than one female around the nest with 2 of the females having injured talons).

She is ravenous and is eating. The eaglets give her a wide berth.

Then M15 is back at the nest and he sees what is going on. At 16:14:28, M15 flies down to the nest and gets rid of the female.

He moves the fish so that he can continue feeding E22 but he is also very hungry and eats ravenously, too.

21 already had a crop and is ready for a nap…good timing for 22.

E22 did get food – that was all I cared about and so did M15. He ate like he hadn’t seen fish for a month which made me – at first glance – think it was the female but there were those dark streaks on top of the head! M15 looks exhausted.

E22 got the fish tail and at 16:24:59 he tried to hork it without success.

There’s the part of the fish tail!

M15 is still feeding 22 at 16:37. E22 leans over and does a reasonable PS at 16:38:40.

Oh, it wouldn’t splatter to the pond but it was a ps and that is good – 22 is not dehydrated. 22 actually was doing a pretty good job eating that fish when the commotion began again. So glad he had some bites.

And, yes, M15 must have forgiven her – or he knows she is extremely hungry and is sick, hopefully healing from talon injuries. He also knows that she has helped defend the territory. Still, he will not give her food before he feeds 21 and 22 and himself. So…hunger is a driver for bizarre behaviour. I have seen osplets attack their older siblings which are 8 times their size. And let us all be honest…M15 is worn out and tense. He is ferociously hungry. The eaglets are hungry. And the female is ravenous like 22.

The female returned and ate all the scrapes. She is with M15 on the branch tonight. She is awake and he is getting some much needed sleep. M15 you are our hero…you are working so hard and it is taking its toll on you – a single dad with all these intruders to contend with!

The struggle for survival at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest is a good example for all of us – it is helping us to understand the challenges that our eagle families face each and every day of their lives.

The latest news:

At the Captiva Osprey nest, there are now ongoing battles that have lasted for at least six hours for control of the nest. This could get rather gruesome. Hormones are raging during breeding season and we all know that many of the trees that are good for osprey nests and – some established nests on Captiva and Sanibel – even on the mainland – were destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Everyone is looking for a nest. ‘H’ recorded more than 40 separate events in 8 hours..frightening.

Then the excitement came to the Redding Eagle nest when Liberty laid her first egg of the 2023 season last night.

And then, it waned. Liberty flew off the nest and left the egg. The Magpies came and pecked on it. Finally Guardian was there …According to ‘B’, there are boots on the ground looking for Liberty. These two are dedicated parents like Jackie and Shadow, M15 and Harriet…there is something wrong. Do they have intruders as well?

Relief. Liberty flew in…was she gone since morning. An avid Redding eagle lover, ‘B’ commented that she arrived at the nest in full alert mode vocalising. Oh, I hope that there is no trouble at this nest with intruders. It is simply too close to what might have happened to Harriet.

The problem with the success of the osprey and Bald Eagle breeding in the US – their big comeback after DDT – is that their habitat is being lost, their food supplies are diminishing and everyone wants and needs a nest, food, and security!  They will fight to the death to get it, too.

Then there is the lingering question of why Jackie and Shadow continue to be on and off again with the eggs? and Mating? Right now – it is early evening on the Canadian Prairies on Wednesday the 15th and the eggs at Big Bear were left for the last time at 16:28. No Eagles on them at 15:41. While eggs can survive for different periods of time and hatch, I am beginning to wonder if the eggs are non-viable to begin with…and when after a period of time, no sound or movement was detected – or they heard the eaglets and then it stopped – something has caused Jackie and Shadow to behave differently. Like everything at these nests, there is nothing for us to do but wait and watch. Or take a break and return in a day or two.

Last year we all wept when the fourth hatch – that energetic little scrambler – at PA County Farm died of hypothermia. It is congratulations to Lisa and Oliver on their third egg of the season. Oh, that nest bowl is deep this year…I wonder if they will have a fourth egg?

There is no news of Zoe. An osprey was on the power pole at Streaky Bay. Not identified as Zoe. So long and no news…surely with the way she flew before there would be some place she would ping cell service by now. Patience required.

Making News:

Audubon reports that there are several victories in Alaska at the start of the year that will have us all cheering. The Bristol Bay Project is one of those and the most recent is the Tongass Forest rulings. The Bristol Bay mining project had the potential of harming the waters and the fish and therefore, the birds that depend on those fish such as the Bald Eagles. The Tongass will not have roadless entry protections for species. Have a read.

https://www.audubon.org/news/victories-alaskas-bristol-bay-and-tongass-forest

Sometimes it just feels like a roller coaster. There is great environmental news and then, we turn, and there are 350 dead waterfowl in a Victoria nature reserve in Australia. Why?

Authorities believe it is a case of Avian Botulism which occurs when there is a lot of water and then that water dries up. “Avian botulism is a serious neuromuscular illness, causing problems with muscle paralysis which can result in death. Botulism outbreaks are common during drought when wetlands evaporate rapidly, causing more birds to be concentrated in smaller areas of warmer, shallow water, and resulting in a concentration of bird faeces”. So sad.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/15/birds-found-dead-parks-victoria-nature-reserve-bells-swamp?CMP=share_btn_link

Let us all wish our nests a little calmer day today! There was a small piece of fish (or small fish) brought on to the SWFlorida nest at 0928. 21 ate. 22 got a scrap….

The camera at the nest of Big Red and Arthur has been offline for a long time. It is now back on just in time for nest building!

https://www.youtube.com/live/ouQL2Gg-rXI?feature=share

Thank you so much for being with me. Please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, articles, and streaming cams that form my blog: ‘J’, ‘A’, ‘H’, Rhonda A and the KNF-E3, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Nancy Babineau and SWFL Eagles, FORE, M and FORE, FOBBV, PA Fair Country, Audubon.org, The Guardian and Cornell Bird Lab.

Beaking and hurricanes…and other news in Bird World on Wednesday

28 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

My thoughts are with everyone and anything that is in the path of Hurricane Ian. So many of you live in this area and my thoughts are with you and your families and our beloved birds and their nests.

This is the latest image of the eye as it moves. The wind at Captiva is currently 94 kph (or 55 mph). All of the streaming cams are down at Captiva and SWFlorida. The eye of the storm at 12:43 is moving towards Captiva/Sanibel.

Making News:

I started writing this blog on Tuesday so you will also be getting some hurricane news here (as well as above). Here is the news on Hurricane Ian. As I write this, the eye is approximately two hours from making landfall which could make landfall at around 1400 and that hit could come at Sanibel/Captiva. This is live coverage. NOAA is the only institution that can declare landfall and where/when. It looks like this huge and strong hurricane will impact all of our beloved nests. We will be so glad to see them when this is over.

This streaming station was working. If it should go out, check on YouTube for others that are covering this massive hurricane.

Farnley, a female fledgling of 2022, is making news as she continues to work her way south in the UK while she is thinking about migration. I note that in the long list of beautiful images of this juvenile, towards the bottom is an image of her catching a good sized fish. Most of the fledglings will never have caught a fish before they leave the nest for their journey to their winter home. We worry that they cannot do it. Well, if Farnley can so can the rest of them we hope!

Update on 1B3/Farnley | Kielder Ospreys (wpcomstaging.com)

It is now 2136 on the Canadian Prairies on Tuesday. This is the current satellite map and the cone showing the wind strength of Hurricane Ian as he moves towards making landfall near Tampa/Fort Myers as a category 4 hurricane.

At 22:25 Tuesday evening, the eye of Hurricane Ian was 100 miles from the Captiva Osprey nest.

Rita came in to check the status of her nest at 0845 this morning.

The platform at Captiva Ospreys was rocking and rolling with heavy rain drops (or hail) when it quit working around 0335. The Southwest Florida Bald Eagle cam is down and this is the view at Northeast Florida and the nest of Gabby and Samson.

Nest News:

Well, it has started – the beaking. It was Middle Bob giving Big Bob quite the headache. Little Bob looked the other way and ignored it. The behaviour, as predicted, began when Big Bob went into the reptilian phase.

Big Bob is miserable with all the itching from feathers growing in. It is Day 9 and this behaviour is pretty much right on schedule – it began yesterday. It is about nest dominance. I have included tonnes of screen captures because I have yet to import my little video programme I use. I hope you don’t mind. Some of the physical gestures and looks are quite interesting.

You have to feel sorry for Big Bob. Just look at him. You can really see how the soft down is leaving Big Bob’s body and being replaced by feathers. We saw this yesterday clearly happening. There is sweet Little Bob with its soft down. Each osplet still has their egg tooth.

The down from the back of Big Bob’s head is almost entirely gone. There are a few whisps of dandelions and a bunch of dandelions on top of his head.

Now you can see the back of Big Bob’s head. Slick and oily black. This will become magnificent coppery coloured feathers.

It all began with Big Bob hammering Middle Bob as Little Bob looks on.

And then Middle Bob got fed up and when Big Bob turned around, he gave it to him. These two would have a ‘draw’ if they were in a boxing ring. Meanwhile, Little Bob is on the other side of Middle Bob looking in the opposite direction.

I did say evenly matched but Middle sure did give Big a thrashing.

The Middle Bob moved over and Big Bob beaked Little Bob just because he was in the wrong place at that moment.

And then Mum finally sat down on all of them. Thankfully Little Bob did not get too much of a thrashing from Big. The beaking stops when dominance is established and normally by 28 days. Of course, siblings can be killed. The dominant bird normally gets fed first and will eat til it is full then the others can have their fish. If the deliveries fall short, which they have certainly done, then there can be death. I do not believe that is going to happen on this nest unless there is a sudden and long lack of fish deliveries. It will be an interesting outcome because Middle Bob is very strong. Let us hope Little Bob keeps getting lots of fish! He needs to grow. Middle Bob will get really cranky when his feathers really change which could be tomorrow late or the next day. Nothing like two itchy rivals in a nest!

The new male has made a stop at the ledge of the 367 Collins Street scrape. The Mum was kerchuffing and they had a bit of a conversation. She had been looking down at the eggs and, she did not leave right away even if lunch was waiting for her elsewhere.

The Mum has been quite restless. I wonder if we might have eyases for the 29th in Australia?

The Sea Eaglets are a bit worrisome. They are so energetic, jumping and flapping all over that nest. Last year SE28 fludged because of this kind of activity. They sure look like they want to fly but, I have not seen them self-feed properly. Have you? That is what I mean by worrisome.

Look at the height achieved in the last image.

Xavier and Diamond wait with one another. We will be ever so excited – like these two lovely parents – when those eggs hatch.

Thank you so much for being with me today. We are sitting on pins and needles for the hatch at the Melbourne scrape. The Sea Eagles will continue to bounce and flap higher and higher. Let us all hope that the PLo nest is flooded with fish and that things go smoothly there today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window to Wildlife, WRDC, NWFL-AEF, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

Poor Lena hangs on as Hurricane Ian comes to Florida and other news in Bird World

27 September 2022

Good Afternoon,

A brief check on what is happening at a few of the Osprey and Eagle nests that are on the edge of Hurricane Ian as it moves towards Florida and a peek at the Australian nests as the 28th of September begins there. At the moment, it appears that Port Lincoln Osprey barge is offline. Maybe that cam will start working again before I finish. The Sea Eagles appears to be offline as well.

I know that our thoughts are always with the people and birds when these treacherous storms arrive. Osprey Lena is hanging on tight to her new nest at Captiva as I write this. On top of having to hunker down and ride out what could be a category 3 or 4 hurricane by tomorrow, Lena also has not seen her mate, Andy, back at the nest. I just feel for her right now. The wind is blowing at 25 mph and the rain is intensifying at both the Osprey and Eagle nests at Captiva.

Lena continues to hunker down in the same spot.

An hour later she is holding on in the same spot. You can see on the live streaming cam the gulls and pelicans flying low to the water’s surface. Rain and wind are picking up.

At around 1700, Romeo, the young male tried to land on Lena and Andy’s nest so Lena not only has to contend with a hurricane coming but also is alarming and trying to protect her nest. She is not impressed.

Lena is blown off the nest.

There she goes.

You can watch the Captiva nest and Lena here:

You can catch the Captiva Eagle nest of Connie here:

The Achieva Osprey nest is starting to sway in St Petersburg and the wind seems to be picking up a bit at the nest of Harriet and M15 in Fort Myers. The nest of Ron and Rita in the Miami Zoo would make you seasick if you were so inclined!

The little sea eaglets – who are not all that little anymore if you look at that wing spread – are acting more and more like adults. Someone took a video clip of them sleeping. Have a look at how grown up they are standing with their heads tucked.

The Mum at Melbourne was doing some ker-chuffing at 0606. She did not take a break for several minutes later -at 06:10:43 -and she was gone long enough to have a nice meal and stretch her legs. While she was away the new male came to the end of the ledge. He did not incubate the eggs. He stayed for a few minutes and then flew off before Mum returned.

There she goes.

Mum appears to be a lot more careful when approaching the eggs and her body appears to be fluffed quite a bit. Can she hear her babies? From the pip to hatch can take anywhere from 24-72 hours. Oh, I wish we could get a real close up on those eggs!

Fluffed out and looking around.

This year Xavier appears to be spending much more time in the scrape box with Diamond.

Port Lincoln still appears to be offline. Send all your best wishes to the people and our beautiful birds in the line of Hurricane Ian. Captiva is S of Tampa and Tampa is expecting strong winds to hit tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you so much for being with me on this quick check as to what is happening. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window to Wildlife, Captiva Bald Eagles and Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

Tuesday morning in Bird World

27 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

It is clear blue skies on the Canadian Prairies this morning. The temperature when I began this blog was 2 degrees C. There was frost on the roof for the first time this year. The remaining flowers and herbs were not bothered so hopefully the second wave of hummingbirds that will be coming through will have some nectar. The Crows and Blue Jays along with the squirrels are busy collecting corn and peanuts this morning. Little Red has a new suet cylinder so all is well in the garden.

Making News:

Hurricane Ian is beginning to impact the Florida coast. This is the view of one of the Captiva Ospreys earlier this morning. For all of our raptor nests and everyone in this region – as I know so many of my readers are – we are all sending you our warmest thoughts. Stay safe. I will be checking on the Captiva situation throughout the day and evening.

It is currently calm in St Petersburg at the Achieva Osprey nest.

Some wind, which seems to be picking up in gusts, and rain at the nest of Bald Eagles Ron and Rita in the Miami Zoo.

You can hear the wind gusts at the Southwest Florida nest in Fort Myers of M15 and Harriet.

The winds at the Northeast Florida nest of Samson and Gabby appear and sound to be as strong as those at Southwest Florida.

Just checked. The wind speeds at Fort Myers (Harriet and M15) are at 17kph with Jacksonville, home to Samson and Gabby at 18 kph, and Ron and Rita’s nest in Miami at 19 kph. All have rain. We should expect these winds to pick up considerably later in the day.

This is the latest view from the Osprey nest at Captiva. There is one bird on a perch. You will have a front row seat to watch the storm according to the moderator on the cam. Hang on Lena!

Here is the link to the this camera:

Arctic Terns travel 44,000 miles during migration and now, once in the UK, they are met with Avian Flu. A good article that continues to discuss the demise of so many sea birds this year due to this wide spread disease.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/27/country-diary-a-cruel-end-to-an-arctic-terns-epic-travels

Dr Sharpe has boundless energy and his love for raptors is highly infectious. He is now looking to place streaming cam on Alcatraz for one of Grinnell and Annie’s daughters who has been nesting there and raising chicks for a couple of years. The Institute for Wildlife Studies posted this image of Dr Sharpe this morning checking out the situation.

Nest News:

We can all give ‘three cheers’ for Little Bob at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. At the mid-day feeding, Little Bob had himself right up there in the front row! This does remind me of our dear Ervie and it did take Ervie a couple of days to figure out the ‘sweet spots’ so he could get the most food. This is fantastic. Just look at that little bit of an osplet up there by Middle Bob. Gosh, he is a darling. Big Bob has such a long neck he can reach over both of them but what a tidy trio. It is also nice to see Dad on the nest. What a fantastic family this is.

Little Bob looks so proud of himself.

Dad came in at 1307 with a small headless fish and there was another feeding extremely close to the last one. By the time this feeding was over, all of the chicks were right ready for a good sleep!

The Mum at Melbourne seems to be ‘sitting’ on the eggs differently. Reports out of Melbourne seem to indicate that she is being fed and at one male did stand above the eggs, as if listening, yesterday. A soap opera in Falcon World. We wait but it should not be too long now. There could be pips as I am writing.

The two below appear to be the reigning adults at the Melbourne scrape. The female called simply a falcon (or Mum) has higher horizontal bars on her chest than the male. It is the only way I can tell them apart. Juveniles have vertical bars. The feathers of the female are darker than those of the male or the tiercel and, of course, she is bigger but it is often difficult to tell the size differential unless the pair are close together. I have watched the old male for quite a number of years and this tiercel does not look like him to me.

Mum was doing a lot of ‘looking down’ as if listening to the eggs beginning right after noon yesterday. She is quite beautiful but sure seems to give her ‘most fierce’ look at the camera sometimes.

Now she is being sweet and not so fierce.

It looked as if an eel were brought into the nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest with a wee bit of discord between SE29 and SE30 – but, in the scheme of things – that discord lasted 3 seconds with no pecking. Just a little feisty shuffle. Of course, the adults are watching everything that these two are doing.

Beautiful Diamond. At Orange, the eggs of Xavier and Diamond tend to hatch between 36 and 39 days. That means that the first pip should come on 1 October. As many of you know, the falcon eggs can hatch almost all at once. So 2-3 days. I do hope that these two have a very healthy chick or chicks. ‘A’ and I noticed that both Diamond and Xavier tend to be looking very healthy this year. Fingers crossed.

Thank you so very much for joining me this morning. We are really watching for pips and hatches at Melbourne and keeping our eyes and ears on what Hurricane Ian is doing to the nests within its range. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams which form my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Achieva Osprey Nest, WRDC, SWFL Eagle Cam and Pritchett Family, NEFL-AEF, NOAA, IWS, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

Monday Morning in Bird World

26 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that the start of your week has been a good one. It is 10 degrees C this morning and the birds in the garden are not happy. The men have come to put the skirting on the conservatory and they have a big saw. It is not very appealing! I did work outside and have moved in the some hot pink trumpet plants to reside inside along with the Hibiscus. Perhaps it will feel like a tropical paradise on the coldest days of winter. It is supposed to be excellent weather for the goose and duck flight arrivals as migration truly gets underway this week. Sandhill cranes have been spotted south of me and the honking and quacking at the ponds around the City is louder each night.

In the Mailbox:

‘L’ sends us a joyful little video she found showing ducks, swans, geese, flying.

‘A’ wonders if there are any raptors unique to Australia.

That is a great question since we are primarily looking at nests with eggs or youngsters pre-fledge in Australia right now. I cannot, at the first instance, think of a single raptor that is unique to Australia. One might think of the largest eagle, the Wedge-tail as living in Australia only it doesn’t. I have pulled out Penny Olsen’s Australian Birds of Prey to scour over today and this evening with hopefully an answer tomorrow.

If you are looking for information on Australian raptors, you can do not better than Penny Olsen. The book is sadly out of print and should be revised and reissued. If you happen to be able to find a copy, it is worth gold so hang on to it. The information is detailed and Olsen has a very interesting way of making data seem quite interesting. Very informative book and there seem to be a couple available at a very decent price on an on-line Australian bookseller. Just Google the name of the book if you are interested. Should be in everyone’s library – and not just those interested in Australian raptors as it covers raptors that reside around the world.

Many of you will have watched the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest of Harry and Nancy. Harry did not return to the nest and Nancy raised one eaglet to fledge. The other was pushed off the nest by its older sibling and subsequently had to be euthanized. Well, Nancy has been photographed on the nest with a new male interest. Congratulations, Nancy!

Another study for the reintroduction of the White-tailed Eagle to Cumbria:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-62994423?at_custom2=facebook_page&at_custom4=444E4F74-3B0C-11ED-BAB4-CD4C0EDC252D&at_medium=custom7&at_custom3=Regional+BBC+North+East+and+Cumbria+&at_campaign=64&at_custom1=link&fbclid=IwAR0JRNTahpIoyucAzK5vbbp7mLiN4CCipBid77TLRFiS7A-yzpxj-HvX6V0

Farmers are putting out water in the UK for all manner of wildlife. For us, living in other places, it is essential that the birds – songbirds, raptors, all of them, have water. They need it to rehydrate themselves while they are feeding so that they can have a safe and healthy flight – so please, keep the water out!

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-suffolk-62575058?fbclid=IwAR33H4tIitpYoIDG2Ixm-33435ppk3e-bU5t6W2DpENpWwg5rDniU_ZaYkU

The Swiss were set to be the first European country to ban factory farming on the 25th of September. Instead, they voted to retain the practice.

Nest News:

I could watch Samson and Gabby working on their nest in Northeast Florida all day. The moving the big sticks, the negotiating (or not) where they should go, and then moving them again. What an absolutely privilege to be able to see these two prepare for another breeding season.

They are an absolute riot – these two -you can laugh yourself absolutely silly for 10 or 15 minutes in one of these sessions especially if Samson brings in one of his huge twigs.

Thunder visited her nest at the West End Bald Eagle nest in the Channel Islands Sunday morning. She brought in a fish, ate it, and sunned herself on the rock. Isn’t she gorgeous?

SE29 has walked up to the branch of the White-bellied Sea Eagles in the Sydney Olympic Forest. This is not ‘branching’ – the eagles need to fly up to the branch but, we are getting close!

Dad brought in an enormous fish that has supplied the fish from Mum and the three osplets at Port Lincoln for four meals! Little Bob did miss a meal and sometimes he just gets turned in the wrong direction but, when he is up there he is getting full. Mum is fantastic at figuring out the feeding order.

Dad brought in more fish and at the end of the day, Little Bob had eaten so much fish and his crop was so big he could hardly stand up. Now isn’t that incredible.

Look carefully at the top image. There is Big Bob. Notice the head. After the chicks lose their fine light grey down they move into the reptilian phase. To me, they look like they have attended Carnival in Grenada and been out the morning when people throw oil, paint, or mud at one another as a way of freeing themselves from the past and in celebration of the new. That day is called J’ouvert and it marks the beginning of Carnival. Sometimes people dress as red and blue devils as they parade through the streets — and I always remind myself that it is in this phase that the older siblings can become unruly and domineering. Fingers crossed for Port Lincoln. Mum and Dad are doing fantastic and Little Bob is eating – not always at every meal – but, well.

It appears that the female at the 367 Collins Street scrape is accepting food gifts and that the bearer of those gifts is also on the ledge, sometimes in view of the camera and sometimes not. It appears that this is male 2. I stand to be corrected. The ID of the male falcons is very difficult unless you can see their neck!

The male arrived with a prey item when the female was off the eggs. He waited and then flew off with it. The exchange, if it took place, was off camera. Mum did not return for a few minutes so it is possible she was munching away on that nice food gift.

He is clearly looking for the female and he has made no indication of any attempt to try and harm the eggs. All of this is good news especially if the old male is no longer ‘in the picture’ and if those are the ‘old male’s eggs’. I will happily be corrected that this is the old male….

Peregrine Falcon males are, thus, quite interesting in their behaviours. If this is male 2 accepting the eggs and helping to raise the eyases (yet of course to be seen), then he grows a growing list of males that will help a female raise a clutch in order to gain the female and the territory. We know of both Alden and Xavier and studies in the UK have indicated that even fledglings of another year have worked to help with a clutch. These falcons get more unique. I would love to hear your stories if you have any examples.

Earlier in the day a male – I still cannot see the neck and the line that male 2 has – is on the ledge.

This is male 2 in the image below with the female. I believe then it is also male 2 in the image above that frequented the ledge several times on Monday (in Australia).

Diamond gave us a good look at the eggs when she left for a break today. Wonder where Xavier is??? He is missing eggie time.

1at the Captiva Osprey Nest in Florida, Lena is having nothing to do with the young male who keeps showing up. He has been dubbed ‘Romeo’ because of the small heart on his chest.

Migration News:

I want to begin with the news from the family of Karl II, the Black Storks from the Karula National Forest in Estonia. There is good news over the past couple of days. The father, Karl II, normally spends much time in the area around Odessa in Ukraine. When we last had a signal transmission from him, he was known to be in the area of heavy fighting on the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast. Karl II survived! he flew 361 km after deciding he did not wish to stay in Odessa to Olanesti in Romania. He is very near where his mate, Kaia, is. Tears are flowing.

Bonus, the foster storklet from the nest of Jan and Janikka, is also in Romania! So three from the nest – Karl II, Kaia, and Bonus – were safely in Romania, out of Ukraine, on the 25th. Waba is in Moldova.

Here is a crazy colourful map to show you where they are in relation to one another.

It is hard to imagine how dangerous it is for the birds that must migrate back and forth to their winter and spring homes.

You can see what I am talking about in the bright white going right down the centre of North America. Where I live we are in the yellow area. Those light areas are beginning to spread eastward.

Oh, it is joyful to hear that Karl II and his family are safe. I find it very interesting that they flew west and got out of Ukraine. We must be watching for hatch at Melbourne. The eyases can be heard, close to hatch, and I have noticed – and perhaps you have also – that the female is looking at the eggs sometimes. Today is the 27th and it is the first day of hatch watch for these urban falcons. We will mark down the 1-3 of October for Xavier and Diamond. The Sea Eagles will be jumping up and down on the branches but let’s see which one flies up there first – and they must be working on self-feeding. These two truly do love Lady to feed them. By the end of the week all three of the osplets will look different – enjoy the last of that light grey fluff for now.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Everything seems to be going very well everywhere. What a relief. Perhaps I should not have said that! Take care of yourselves. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and posts where I took my screen captures: NEFL-AEF, Explore.Org and IWS, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Looduskalender, Stepmap.com, and BirdCast.

Good Morning Australia

23 September 2022

Everyone is starting to wake up in Australia and there is some action at the Captiva Osprey nest, also. So…I thought I would send you a few pictures as their day begins and ours in a growing colder Canadian begins to wind down.

Gosh, those Sydney Sea Eagles are simply stunningly beautiful. There are not showing any signs of flapping their way up to the branches yet. They are walking all over the nest and it is incredible, if you look carefully, how well they are camouflaged (best when the camera is pulled out).

The sun is just casting that beautiful golden glow on the 367 Collins Street nest. Mum looks good. Someone is providing food – I wonder if we will get a glimpse of old dad today?

Mum is just waking up at Port Lincoln and it is going to be a busy day with those three! Gracious, goodness, those beaks are always open.

Right now, Big Bob is about twice as big as Little Bob. I was holding my breath when Middle and Big were beak to beak and eye to eye. Avoiding eye contact between siblings seems to help.

Beautiful Mum waits for the first fish delivery of the day.

Xavier has been and gone with a breakfast order from Diamond. I can almost hear her telling him, ‘Xavier, darling. An Eastern Rosella topped by a Galah would be perfect for breakie.’

Diamond took a quick break and we got a chance to see those gorgeous falcon eggs.

Meanwhile, in Florida, is trouble brewing? Lena has been at the new nest and so has this younger male. It is not Andy but he has a full crop and he is checking out the new camera and look at those nice perches. Remember. If it is an artificial nest the Osprey need perches!

Thank you so much for stopping in. I hope you enjoyed these images as the day begins with our four raptor families in Australia. Captiva will become interesting in a couple of months but, for now, we wait to see if Andy shows up. Take care. See you tomorrow.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife.

Early Friday in Bird World

27 May 2022

As the sun goes down, we say soon say goodbye to the Captiva Ospreys – Lena, Andy, Middle Little, and Little Mini O. What a delight this Osprey season has been. We were sad for Big to die so quickly and mysteriously but, we all rejoiced when it was not Avian Flu and the rest of the family members were healthy. The chicks grew and grew. Middle Little’s legs are like Aran Daddy Longlegs and he had quite the loud call when he wanted Andy to deliver. Little Mini O turns out to be a big sister. Both flew and fished with the parents and we wish them a long successful life.

We will look forward to the 2023 season with you, Lena and, of course, with Daddy Door Dash, Andy. What a great parents you are! Thanks to Lori Covert for sharing her raptors with all of us.

Little Bit 17 went to sleep with a full tummy. Mum brought in a nice fish at 21:18. By 21:20:40 Little Bit 17 was up there being fed on one side while a big sibling was on the other. In fact, Mum move the fish and it helped 17. The fish was finished at 21:30. Little Bit 17 had a crop and was ready for the day to end.

Mum has brought the fish in and one of the older siblings is pecking at it. Little Bit is at 9 o’clock. Mum will take the fish and move it up to the opposite side of the nest.

It takes Little Bit 17 about 10 seconds to get himself situated in a nice spot so that he will get fed but not pecked (the older siblings have been quite good lately, generally).

Little Bit ate for a good 10 minutes. Would I have liked it to be 20? Of course! You can see he has a nice crop and he will sleep good tonight. There is forecast for a lot of rain tomorrow. Let us hope a couple of good sized fish get on the nest.

At 09:12:48 Little Bit takes his turn at the prey item on the nest this morning.

A little earlier he was sharing that unidentified object with another sibling. It is so nice this nest has turned around.

It looks like there are now four storklets on the White Stork nest of Bukachek and Betty in Mlade Buky, The Czech Republic. They are so cute!

Kana’kini has been really getting some air under her wings as the two brothers look on.

Cody at the Kistachie National Forest Bald Eagle nest put together a great video showing Kincaid at various ages throughout the 2022 season. So many memories – we forget them. Thanks, Cody. This is awesome.

Are you a fan of Xavier and Diamond, the Peregrine Falcons at Charles Sturt in Orange? The three cameras are now being integrated with the CSU web site. The first one to be integrated is the nest box. Here is the new URL: https://youtu.be/su_eumVDeBs

The two osplets of Richmond and Rosie have been eating well. Richmond has been bringing in some nice striped bass and Rosie has been catching some huge fish, too, and bringing them to the nest. Rosie is one of the few females that – at this stage – goes out to fish when the male is doing brooding. It could be the secret to the success of their nest.

The four Ls are really getting their juvenile plumage! There is little L4 who is a month old today! Big Red and Arthur have also done an amazing job. Do you remember when people thought they could not handle four eyases? Arthur is also Daddy Door Dash and he sure kept the prey on the nest even in those torrential rains.

One of the things I love about Mrs G is her long experience raising chicks. Aran is a fantastic fisher (when he is not injured) and here they are together, proud of their first healthy hatch for 2022.

Idris and Telyn are doing fantastic at the Dyfi Osprey nest. There are two chicks! It looks like the males are busy catching flounder. There was a running joke at the Glaslyn nest – Mrs G hates flounder. She will only feed it to the chicks if there is absolutely nothing else. Aran brought in a flounder and Mrs G left it. Aran finally took it away! Reminds of Diamond in the CSU falcon scrape – Diamond hates Starling! Interesting.

Dorcha and Louis have been experiencing horrific weather at the Loch Arkaig nest. Louis brought in a big fish for Dorcha regardless. Oh, I hope this weather settles down before those babies hatch!

Louis is an incredible provider. Dorcha seems like she will be a formidable Mum. Last year the camera was set on the other nest and we could not watch Louis with his new mate. They did fledge two chicks. Can’t wait for this year!

The weather is so bad – high wind gusts and rain – that Dorcha has taken to eating her fish on the nest.

Laddie has just brought a big live fish to the nest at the Loch of the Lowes. I hope that Blue NC0 feeds all of the chicks including Little Bob. He missed out on an earlier feed. I am not staying to watch. The ringing at the Cal Falcon scrape at The Campanile is taking place in a few minutes. I do not want to miss it and the Q & A. I will being news of that later today.

I am a little nervous about this nest. Fingers crossed.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Take care everyone. Have a lovely end of the week.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cornell Red Tail Haws, Friends of Loch Arkaig and People’s Post Code Lottery, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, ND-LEEF, Captiva Osprey Project, Mlade Buky, Explore.org for the video on Kana’kini’s hovering, and to Cody for that great video on Kincaid from footage at the KNF Bald Eagle Nest.

Early Friday in Bird World

20 May 2022

Oh, the torrential rain has finally stopped and the temperature is dropping. The Baltimore Orioles – who are arriving in droves and have arrived for the past week – are still with us eating jellies of all sorts and oranges by the dozen. What I have learned is that they will eat any kind of jelly including a lovely Danish Orange as well as the cranberry sauce jelly in a tin. They will also eat out of any type of dish! From tiny little sauce ones to cereal bowls. It doesn’t matter as long as it has jelly in it!!!!!!!!!! A neighbour told me they would eat applesauce as well. They certainly are beautiful birds but gosh they aggravate me. The males will bully the females from getting any jelly. I tried spacing the little bowls but, no. They are like all the Bigs – they see a whiff of a movement and they dart to make sure the smaller not so bright coloured female stays in the Lilac bushes! Can you hear me growling?

The Orioles will also eat anywhere. You do not need a fancy feeder for them although they sure make an impressive line including ones with a roof. I bought a small hanging one to test. The placement of the nails to hold the oranges is such that the birds have to duck under the large navel oranges to get to the jelly. I would not purchase one of these again despite Mr O’s approval. He finished off one orange half and then moved to the other side to finish off this half and finally most of the jelly.

Oh, look who finally got some jelly!

I was hesitant to check on the ND-LEEF nest this morning. 17 would have been without food for approximately 60 hours. The fishing had been bad because of the high muddy waters but also the Mum just seemed less inclined to feed the small eaglet. Seeing nests like this makes us all anxious and sad. To survive the third hatch – especially if they are small on a nest with two much larger siblings – really have to become super clever. They need enough energy to be tenacious when food does come on the nest ——– and sometimes they have to feed themselves when Mum won’t do it! This morning a miracle happened on the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest. No, the mother didn’t go out of her way to feed the small one. That said a fish was left on the nest. The two older siblings did not bother but little 17, without food for at least 60 hours, self-fed the entire fish. Yes, he ate the entire fish and passed out in a food coma. This is the moment when the heartbreak turns into a glorious celebration!!!!!!!!

Little 17 moved around hoping that Mum might feed him but she did not.

A fish was left in the middle of the nest. One of the big siblings did peck at it but nothing more. Take a good look at the size of that fish.

19 minutes later. Little 17 pulled the fish to the other side of the nest and started eating. The siblings did not bother him. He ate and ate and ate some more. Fast.

That is all that is left of the fish – that little bit. Little 17 is sleeping on a huge beach ball crop. Smile. He has lived another day. While we would like for him to have food at every meal it does not appear that it is going to happen on this nest with this Mum. Will she change her ways if he grows big? We will see. But for now let us wish for large chunks of fish to be left on the nest with the other two having eaten. Little 17 can easily feed himself. He is a pro! This is what is going to keep him alive. So wish for fish – extra fish!

Why do I saw fish? Unless it is a catfish where the eaglet has to fight with that bony head, it is easier for this wee one to eat the fish than fight with fur, etc on a squirrel and, I would rather because of Avian Flu that the birds eat anything but birds!

Happy Eagle Dreams Little 17. You have the attributes of a survivor.

As we also know, the female at the UFloria-Gainesville nest favours the largest, Big. There is a fish on the nest. Big has intimidated Middle for a second but Middle is doing snatch and grab and Mum even fed him a couple of pieces. The level of intimidation and harm is so much less now that Middle is bigger. Hopefully Middle will persist and get a good portion of that fish!

Yesterday Dr Sharpe and team banded the two chicks at the Anacapa Peregrine nest on the cliffs in the Channel Islands. Dr Sharpe is so kind to move the backpack so everyone can see. Notice how gentle the person is holding the chick and how relaxed the chick seems to be. The other one appears frozen – . There is a boy and a girl in the scrape. Tremendous!

The five eyases at the Manchester NH Peregrine Falcon scrape are being banded today!

No one wants to show their bling and I have not seen any posting on the genders, etc. yet.

A nice lunch has arrived for the five after their ordeal!

Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 had their first hatch yesterday. There is now a pip in the second egg. How exciting. I hope that they all hatch one after another! Here is a short video clip of Blue NC0 feeding the first Bob.

Robert Fuller posted an update on the Kestrel chicks. For those that do not know, Mother Kestrel was in an altercation. She had six chicks in the nest. She returned once and then has not been seen. Robert Fuller removed 3 of the smallest chicks to feed leaving Father Kestrel the 3 largest. Father Kestrel learned to feed his babies. The plan was to return the 3 small ones to the nest box when they were strong enough and hope all would go well. It has! Father Kestrel has proven he is up to the task of caring for all 6 of his babies – and Fuller’s intervention meant that those 3 little ones get a second chance at life.

Here is the announcement on Robert Fuller’s FB page today:

Three perfect little osplets in a row! Blue 33 has been on and off the nest bringing food and enjoying a chance to feed the chicks. Maya takes every opportunity she can to get fish into them and look how they are changing. Can you identify the hatch order from the back of their heads, from the plumage development? Look close.

If you said – from left to right – 3, 1, and 2 you are correct. The oldest, in the middle, is losing the soft grey down and getting that oily head of the Reptilian period. So is osplet 2 but not as much. 3 still has its soft down.

The only eaglet on the nest at Dale Hollow is Middle or DH15.

At the National Arboretum nest of Mr President, Lotus, and DC9 hints are being given about ‘branching’.

Middle Little O has been on and off the Captiva Osprey nest this morning hoping that Dad Andy will deliver a fish to the platform! Oh, how nice it would be if Little Mini O flew up so we could see her.

There is no word yet when Dr Sharpe will be going to ring Two Harbours 1. It should be soon.

If you checked on the West End amigos and saw only 2, you are experiencing Highlights on one of the cameras. They are all still on the cliff nest!

Go to this streaming cam:

So many nests, not ever enough time! Today though it was enough to see Little Bob at the ND-LEEF fed itself to the point of crop explosion. Feeling joyful and relieved.

Thank you for joining me today. It is Victoria Long Weekend aka May Long Weekend in Canada and there are probably Bank Holidays in the UK and elsewhere. Have fun, stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Explore.org, ND-LEEF, DHEC, Captiva Ospreys, NADC-AEF, LRWT, Peregrine Network, Robert Fuller, Scottish Wildlife Trust, University of Florida at Gainesville Ospreys, Anacapa Peregrines and the Institute for Wildlife Studies.

Monday in Bird World

17 May 2022

Balloons.

“Balloon release – 1” by Jerry Downs is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
Copy text

Thank you to everyone who wrote to me about the balloons. I am not ‘Debbie Downer’ but there are sure lots of ways of having fun other than sending balloons up into the sky as in the image below!

My comment about starting in elementary school reminded a reader, ‘B’, of an incident. Out in the wilderness a balloon was found. There was a note attached to it asking whoever found it to please call the teacher at the elementary school that had released the balloons. The finder did, indeed, contact the school but did inform the teacher about the dangers of balloons to all wildlife. I am certain she had no idea. This got me to thinking. We really need to spread the word somehow.

I know that many of my readers are teachers or individuals who have friends or family who are teachers or group leaders for Cubs, Guides, etc. We do need to start with the children but let us educate them to the dangers. So how do the teachers do this? and how can we create a web of understanding so that people do not feel criticized but who realize the dangers and want to help? Why not have balloons and the environment as a topic for a staff meeting? or a conference? I am certain that a wildlife rehabber would happily come in and educate teachers and students on the dangers of balloons. They might even bring one of their ambassadors. It would be a great topic that could generate lots of interest! If you know of someone who provides children’s parties, talk to them as well. There are many types of decorations that are much more planet and wildlife friendly and who doesn’t want to be on the sustainable and environmentally-friendly side? Most don’t knowingly want to harm birds or other wildlife; they just simply do not know the bigger picture and how a simple act of releasing balloons for a celebration can have a lasting impact on birds causing their death or disability. Spread the word!

I have several other concerns that focus on simple solutions to a huge problem for wildlife. Lead. The Institute for Wildlife Studies – Dr Sharpe and gang that manage the Channel Islands Bald Eagles amongst other projects including Condors have put out an information pamphlet about the alternatives to the use of lead. I am attaching it. They do presentations at various sporting events. Please read it. If you know someone who hunts or fishes and uses lead, please gently inform them of the alternatives. Thanks!

Click to access Alternativesto+Lead_2011_final+draft_6.23.11.pdf

SF Bay Ospreys have posted an image of a crack in egg 2 for Richmond and Rosie. They believe that egg 1 is non-viable and stated that even egg 2 is late. It would be grand if 2 and 3 would hatch close to one another.

Duke and Daisy survived the storm that went through New Jersey last night. It is still windy today, though.

This is the view from the platform to where Duke does his fishing. Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. When you live inland on the prairies, you long for water! and sandy beaches! and mountains!

Middle Little O was on the Captiva Osprey platform with his long, long legs (he could challenge Idris in a couple of years) wanting some fish. Andy brought him a Lizard Fish this morning and later he brought him a Pinfish. Middle Little O is so loud — and always fish crying! So funny. [I could almost swear Middle Little O is a female].

I think the only time that Middle Little and Little Mini were hungry was when Big was alive. Andy and Lena are taking super care of their two surviving juveniles – their first since 2019. So happy for them. Andy is certainly devoted and doing his job getting fish to both the fledglings.

The five walking cotton balls at the Manchester NH scrape continue to do well. Enough food for all – eating,, sleeping, and growing. The fifth hatch is so cute! There he is by the exit to the exterior platform.

There are still serious issues for 17 on the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest. Prey comes in and at 14:26:19, he was able to snatch and grab a single bite. 17 has been conserving its energy by sleeping and was gnawing on some bones at various times. This is pretty sad. 17 is 6 weeks old today. Half way to fledge. The chick needs nourishment and the older siblings have always been aggressive and dominant.

17 did have a small PS. Oh, I wish for some food for this little one. It is hard having two great big siblings and being so small.

It is 15:13 nest time at the UFlorida-Osprey platform on the practice field. Middle has quite the crop. I don’t need to go back and check on a feeding. At some point while I was rustling up an electrician at the last minute, Mum came in with enough fish to fill Middle to the brim. That makes me so happy.

The storm left Big Red and the gang a little soggy yesterday. They are all doing fine. The oldest and the youngest have been flapping their wings today. It is like L4 says to the elder sib, “Anything you can do, I can do!” They are so cute. Watch at the end as they see a parent doing a fly by. Precious.

I haven’t seen any prey deliveries on the Dale Hollow nest. Both eaglets are still there. One found something buried in the nest and the other is watching closely as the sib tries to eat it. Hopefully some fish will come in later.

The chick at Cromer Peregrine scrape has been ringed. The measurements are inconclusive so DNA samples were taken to determine gender. The chick is either a large male or a small female!

Just look at the crops on the eyases at the San Jose City Hall Falcon Scrape. Wow. It’s so funny how you can tell if the crop is totally full – the skin looks really shiny where the feathers separate. Gosh they are cute.

Annie has a snooze and later feeds the two eyases. Cute, cute. Gosh. What is it? 8 or 10 days til they are ringed? Unbelievable. I remember when I was waiting to get my driver’s license and my mother assured me that time passed much faster when I got older. She was right. Weren’t we just waiting for a hatch yesterday?

These chicks always look like they are smiling and why not? They have Annie and Alden for parents.

The ND-LEEF nest is still the problem. I sure hope some giant fish arrive so that 17 gets some decent bites of fish. All of the falcon and hawk nests are fine. We are waiting for Osprey eggs to hatch in the UK.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, DHEC, Cornell RTH, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, ND-LEEF, Peregrine Networks, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Barnegat Light Ospreys, and SF Bay Ospreys.

Friday Morning in Bird World

13 May 2022

Good Morning Everyone! I hope that your Friday is a very good one.

Have you seen this old film titled Osprey?

In the Q & A discussion at Cal Falcons, one big difference between Grinnell and Alden that has been noticed is that Alden hunts at night. He also seems to be hunting in exotic places bringing in various prey items. Last evening the kids and Annie had a bed time snack at 22:00.

Alden on the left and Annie, who has just taken prey item, on the right. Look at those two smiling eyases! How grand. Both ate extremely well, the little one falling into a food coma first.

All are wide awake first thing in the morning and ready for fish at the Manton Bay Osprey nest at Rutland. Blue 33 (11) has been flying in with more and more fish during the day. The three are doing very well with the flapping perch incident well behind them! A great way to start a Friday.

At 11:50 Blue 33 took a turn feeding his chicks as Maya looked on.

More food around 14:00. Maya is pretty much feeding the chicks every two hours. The trio will grow fast!

The streaming cam to the nest of the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Anna and Andris in the Spruce Tree in a forest area at Lemgate, Latvia is back on line. The couple are incubating one egg which is set to hatch in June.

Both eaglets are still on the nest at Dale Hollow. They are 75 days old today if you count hatch day (28 Feb). Gorgeous birds who are now filling in almost the entire nest. They are definitely within fledge range which is normally 10-12 weeks for Bald Eagles.

The eaglet at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is four days older than the pair at Dale Hollow.

Middle Little was on the platform at the Captiva Osprey nest this morning early calling for dad, Andy, to bring in a fish. All four of the family can be seen flying around the area and since Middle Little and Little MiniO are the only fledglings, Lori has been able to take images from her kayak and is certain it is them screaming for the parents to bring fish. Lori is returning to Canada today. If you have enjoyed watching the Ospreys and all her help finding them to reassure us all are alright, why not go to the chat today and just give her a little thank you. It has been a great year at the Captiva Osprey platform – a first in a long time to have osplets fledge! Thanks, Lori.

At 07:25:29, Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Middle started cheeping right away and managed to get into position quickly, on the opposite side of Mum, to get some nice fish. That is a great way to start the day at this nest. It is 22 degrees C, winds were at 6 kmh at the time of the delivery with the pressure rising. The weather forecast is for a thunderstorm later today.

Nice to see that fish this morning before the weather turns bad.

Big did not seem threatening but Middle still got around the back of Mum and over to the opposite side calling loudly for food. Good for you, Middle.

Mum did give Big the first couple of bites before Middle got up front but then she fed both. I hope Middle is getting his confidence back!

Oh, this camera can be annoying. That is Middle with its wings spread. Growing. Getting to the point that Big really cannot do too much damage other than throwing Middle off the nest — which I hope is not going to happen. The thunderstorm is forecast to begin around 16:00 nest time.

Nancy and E1 – Harriet – were rearranging straw on the nest this morning. There continues to be a sub-adult around the nest. Both Nancy and E1 continue to do as well as expected as a nest with a single parent. Look at Harriet help her Mum!

Cholyn fed TH1 at 05:33 from the fish that was left overnight.

Just look at that beautiful golden glow over the nest shining on the face of our beautiful Mum. It won’t be long til Dr Sharpe climbs up the cliff to band the eaglet. I will see if I can find out when that is going to be for everyone. If you know already, let me know!

They have fledged but both Jasper and Rocket are still hanging around the nest tree getting food from Samson and Gabby. Gabby normally migrates north when it gets hot while Samson stays in the Jacksonville area. Last year he kept feeding Legacy for some time. It is so nice to see the birds on the nest. Look close. One of the eaglets is on a branch almost at the left bottom corner.

The two eaglets on the Decorah North nest of Mr North and Mrs DNF are well and doing just fine. Bad weather has been going through the area with a Derecho or Inland Hurricane with winds of 100 mph going through South Dakota and area yesterday. Fingers crossed for all that were in its wake.

Big Red and her gang of four eyases are doing just fine this morning, too. The chicks are relaxing after having breakfast and Big Red has been on the nest doing some allopreening.

Big Red is so beautiful.

This has been a great way to start a Friday morning. All of the nests appear to be doing well. In Canada we traditionally plant the annual flowers on the May long weekend which is connected with Queen Victoria’s birthday. That is next weekend. Everyone will be at the greenhouses stocking up on flowers and vegetables and mixed in there will be me today. Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Latvian Fund for Nature, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Explore.org, NEFlorida-AEF, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.