Tag Archives: Channel Island Eagles

Early Sunday in Bird World

4 September 2022

Oh, Good Morning Everyone. I hope this newsletter finds you well and happy.

It is a beautiful holiday Monday on the Canadian prairies. The sun is shining bright but the temperature is not going above 24 C today – a great day to go out and continue checking on the ducks and geese. Autumn is one of my most favourite times of year despite the fact that it leads us directly into winter and is often too short!

Yesterday the Cormorants and American White Pelicans were enjoying time in the shade near the dam at Lockport, Manitoba. The image below is one tiny section. There were more than 60 pelicans and 45 Double-crested Cormorants swimming and drying off in the sun.

If you live in or around Winnipeg, Fort Whyte will begin staying open Wed-Sunday beginning 21 September so that you can watch the Canada Geese arrive in the thousands at dusk. It is an amazing sight. There will be food trucks or you can bring your own picnic. The cafe might be holding its Goose Flight dinners but this is uncertain due to the same staffing shortages that are hitting the hospitality industry worldwide.

From the Mailbox:

‘H’ writes to ask me if I am familiar with moon_rabbit_rising on Instagram? Oh, yes, I am and if you love the Cal Falcons then you need to head over and see Bridgette Ahern’s incredible – and I do mean incredible – images of Annie and Grinnell and their family and now Annie and Alden and their family.

‘D’ wrote as did several others following my UK Osprey postings and information about the female departures: “Are the Dads usually the last to leave the nest?” Yes, the males are normally the last ones that leave the nest. The females usually depart about two weeks prior to the fledglings leaving and then the male stays, eats well getting his strength back, and then departs. There are always exceptions to the rule! I just had a couple of notes from ‘N’ who comments that the nests she normally watches generally have the males leaving first! It is a very poignant moment when the male arrives with a fish and waits – and waits some more – and no one comes to collect it. By now, Louis is wishing that Sarafina would fly in the same way that Idris would like to see Padarn off the nest.

Making News:

There are many times that I am proud to be a Canadian and today, it is so reassuring to see that the people in Callander, Ontario care about their Bald Eagle and its nest!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/callander-bald-eagles-1.6568714?fbclid=IwAR28VsUDKWDWjy5S-uop8h2WKVcyL8DVLdS-cV5llN-id623Kb0QHuE-hvg

If you missed the video that Ojai Raptor Centre posted of Victor flying – here it is. It is also worth a second or third viewing. Victor is doing so well.

Another juvenile eagle – this time caught up in fishing line is saved!

https://www.uticaod.com/story/sports/2022/09/03/eagle-rescue-canadarago-lake/65470809007/?fbclid=IwAR1CnT1OpPF1U68N8_S3q017q5b8WjnF56qr1ElgZt-RgvVTg9E0JePjfpk

The citizens living in the NE of England are demanding answers from the government on why hundreds of thousands of lobsters, crabs, and sea birds wound up on the shore dead.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/03/we-just-want-the-truth-british-coastal-towns-fight-for-answers-over-mystery-sealife-deaths

Raptor Persecution UK is calling out Natural England as being compromised in the handling of the killing of Asta, the Hen Harrier. This is their description of the crime:

“The level of depraved brutality involved in this crime is quite shocking, even to those of us who have become hardened to the relentless illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK. It’s virtually impossible not to look at these images of Asta and imagine the horror she faced at the hands of her killer.

The calculated deviousness of whoever committed this crime deserves the full attention of the statutory regulator, Natural England, and widespread publicity about the lengths these criminals will go to hide their ongoing, appalling violence towards this species and other birds of prey.” After 18 months nothing has been done and birds of prey continue to be killed over the grouse moor hunting estates. It is not just the brutality of the killing of this single Hen Harrier but also the other 72 that have been killed and the lack of accountability that is worrisome.

https://raptorpersecutionuk.org/2022/09/04/natural-england-utterly-compromised-on-tackling-hen-harrier-persecution/

Along this same theme, the Countryside Alliance is waging an all out campaign to get Chris Packham removed from the BBC because of his views about ending grouse hunting and thus, the illegal killing of raptors. If you live in the UK and have a view on this matter, please make it known.

The raptors are moving and Cape May, New Jersey likes to call itself the ‘raptor capital of North America’. See what is happening and why people are getting excited.

Cape May Hawkwatch

A win for all the sea birds comes as a South Africa court refuses to give Shell permission for offshore gas and oil drilling.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/01/south-african-court-bans-offshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-by-shell

Nest News:

It is the 10th anniversary of the Bald Eagle nest at Berry College. Who didn’t love Ma Berry? and who of us did not lose their heart to B15 this season? The Bald Eagle experts take you on a trip down memory lane with the Berry Eagles but, you have to go to the Berry College FB page. They will – despite saying I can embed the link – well, it doesn’t happen! Regrets.

Suzanne Arnold Horning posted some great images of our lovely Red-tail Hawks on the Cornell Campus over this past season on the FB banner! I have not seen a new update on L3 or L4 and in this case, no news is good news.

This is one of the last shots Suzanne took of L2 before his/her migration. L2 has not been seen in a week and so she/he is off to find their own spot in the world. L2 was the first to fledge and the second to catch her own prey. Often noted as being a ‘mini’ Big Red. Beautiful hawk. Soar high and always have a full crop!

Following Karl II’s family on their migration:

Waba is in Ukraine where he has been exploring the banks of rivers for food.

Kaia remains in Ukraine in des Desna near Vovchok. She only flew 47 km – around the area feeding.

Bonus is still in Belarus in the Prypjat wetlands near Makarichi.

There is no current tracking news for Karl II.

Thunder visited the West End Bald Eagle nest in the Channel Islands at 10:38 Saturday morning. Listen to her calls. You will notice another bird flying around – you can just see the silhouette.

The Sydney Sea Eagles did not have to wait until afternoon for their breakfast today. I caught several feedings for these fast growing eaglets. Notice how well behaved they are!

It had rained and Lady is offering some comfortable out of the rain for SE29 and SE30’s heads. Poor things. They are too big to fit under her.

Dad brings in a nice fish. Lady jumps down from her parent branch to feed the wet youngsters.

Dad comes in with another prey item. It looked like a small bird but I am not entirely sure.

Ranger Sharyn posted the following information for viewers of the Royal Albatross streaming cam on Taiaroa Head, NZ after the fledgling of the Royal Cam chick QT yesterday.

It should be relative quiet while birds are incubating eggs but yesterday, there was an intruder at the scrape on the Charles Sturt campus in Orange. Cilla Kinross caught it in slow-motion:

Xavier has spent some time on the ledge protecting Diamond and their eggs.

At Port Lincoln, all is well. Mum is sleeping and incubating the eggs and Dad is down in his shed, a place he spent having some good old’ chats with Ervie. It is the 5th of September with hatch expected in a fortnight (2 weeks).

It is quiet in Melbourne at the 367 Collins Street scrape. Where is Dad you ask? He will be perched nearby – sometimes on the camera.

The amount of detail that people keep on the UK Osprey nests is truly impressive. If every nest in the world had a dedicated group keeping every single detail for each season what an impressive amount of information we would have on the breeding and behaviour of Ospreys. Llyn Clywedog just posted the number and type of fish and what this means in comparison to average deliveries elsewhere. Well done, Dylan!

Peace and Love, the two fledgling Bald Eagles of Liberty and Freedom at the Glacier Gardens nest, were on the natal nest this morning watching the traffic along the road. How lovely to see them.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and their posts that made up my screen captures today: moon_rabbit_rising, CBC, Ojai Raptor Centre, Cape May Hawkwatch, Cornell Hawk Chatters and Suzanne Arnold Horning, Looduskalender, Explore.org and IWS, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, NZ DOC, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Llyn Clywedog Ospreys, and Glacier Gardens.

Featured image is L2 taken by Suzanne Arnold Horning.

Monday morning in Bird World

22 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone! The sun is out and it promises to be another hot day, 28 C. No rain forecast until tomorrow — and they might well change that. I am delighted to report that Dyson was seen in the garden this morning. One of the juvenile Blue Jays was screeching so loud – at Dyson – who was helping herself to ‘his peanuts’. The three juvenile Crows were in the garden on Saturday and again this morning. The little female was cooling her feet off in the bird bath.

I have also been out checking on the ducklings. Some are really growing!

Last week, there were 11 with this female. I am now counting 9.

This little sweetheart watched me quietly walk towards and around her. She never moved. How delightful.

If you are a duck and it is hot and humid, what do you do? Try to find some shade and/or a breeze. Duck Siesta time.

Then I found these two ducklings. They do not have their tails and are still sporting their downy fluff. Oh, I am going to worry about them and, hopefully, I can find them today or tomorrow when I am out checking again.

Update. There was some concern about the situation with AX6, Axel, at the Loch Garten nest. Yesterday, I posted that AX6 had not been seen on the nest and was feared to be ousted by the intruder, KL5, injured, or worse since 15 August at 0635.  Good news arrived from ‘DV’ who wrote to tell me “AX6, Axel, was seen on the Loch Garten nest this morning (Sunday), according to watchers.” Oh, fantastic. I checked on the Loch Garten FB page and they confirmed the time as 0835. Axel remained on the nest for 5 minutes. There is YouTube video confirmation. Thank you so much DV! Now has he been feeding the sole surviving chick from the nest 1C2 off camera? That is the question. He looks good!

The nest was empty later.

From the mailbox. There are several nests that many of you might have been wondering about. First up, Titi and Boris at the Janakkalan Nest in Finland. I have heard nothing since the camera shut down quickly and abruptly. I do not know why a decision was made to go offline at that time.

The streaming cams operate for many reasons but research and education/entertainment seem to be the main categories. The owners of the streaming cams often do not take into account the impact that watching a family of raptors has on viewers. Each of us has our favourite nests. Some may be the same for all of us but there are always nest surprises. We have our favourite nestling and we cheer them on and yell at the screen, fret when the weather is bad often staying up with them. We worry when there is not enough food. We clap and jump when they fledge and then we worry about where they are and if they are alright Sometimes (and it was a lot this year), we cry when one or another or all die.

For me the streaming cams have always been a way for us to connect with nature. They became particularly important during the pandemic as shown by Loch Arkaig having over 400,000 viewers watch Louis and Aila raise JJ5, JJ6, and JJ7 in 2020. Many have written to tell me that they are in hospital dying and it is the birds that are keeping their spirits up. One of my readers who became a good friend had cancer. Anyone on the Sydney Sea Eagle chat will remember Phyllis. The sea eagles and the chatters kept Phyllis going much, much longer than the doctors could ever imagine. The birds enrich our lives. I have had people say why not go outdoors and watch the birds, why on screen. I always tell them that it is like going to a sporting event or a Formula 1 race – you actually get a better view on the telly. Of course we go outside and see the birds if we are able! But where could you see up close an Osprey, an Eagle, a Peregrine Falcon raising their chicks? I surely couldn’t! They have brought us joy and touched our hearts so when that camera is suddenly turned off without an explanation or warning, we wonder why. It is shocking.

And so it was with Titi and Boris. They had lost their mother and their sibling. Dad continued to bring food and the goshawk was around. We worried about Titi who waited so long to fledge and then boom…nothing. We never got the opportunity to see if Titi would return to the nest. Some of you have written to ask the Finnish Osprey Foundation why did they turned the camera off so early. You have not received an answer. I have written to one of my Finnish contacts and readers to see if they know anything. I will certainly post any news here for everyone if I should hear.

My inbox has been full of letters about Malalam the little Red-tail Hawk adopted by the Bald Eagle family on Gabriola Island, British Columbia. When her nest mate turned sibling, Junior, was electrocuted on a pole owned by BC Hydro, GROWLS posted all manner of information so that a campaign could be directed towards BC Hydro. Many groups joined in. I carried their request to you. Malala is not ringed. The Red-tail Hawks and hawks in general are beginning their migration. Will we ever know what happened to Malala? is anyone watching the nest to see if she returns? She could be heard on the cam on the 30th of July. That same day, GROWLS FB said that the season was closed and the camera was immediately turned off. No information has been posted since. It felt abrupt especially after so many wrote to BC Hydro on their behalf after the call to do so on July 22, ‘Justice for Junior’.

I am fortunate to have a friend and former student in the area. They have confirmed for me that there are a number of red-tail hawks and without any method for identification no one will know unless they happen to see Malala at the nest or eating fish. If I do hear anything – or if you do – please let us know.

Many of you fell in love with this family and the story. That is the missing link in the streaming cams that I am trying to emphasize. If we are to try to make any positive impact in the lives of wildlife, then it would be good if the administrators of the streaming cams would agree to post any updates and warn individuals when and why cameras are being turned off. Annual maintenance is one of the biggest reasons and well established cameras with high traffic always warn their viewers. I am thinking of SWFlorida Bald eagles. In this instance so many of you wrote to BC Hydro and it would be reassuring if we heard that the pole that killed Junior had been made safe for any future fledglings. I would love to see a FB post about that and if GROWLS had their new camera. I think you would, too.

Just when we should be expecting the nests to be so empty, there continue to be surprises. Lancer visited the old Two Harbours nest and the cam operators were simply fantastic, getting great captures.

The Channel Islands just look like a perfect place for Bald Eagles to live. What a magnificent view of the water.

A video was put together of Lancer’s visit to the original Two Harbours nest. No one is sure why Chase & Cholyn decided to move their nest. Here you go:

Thunder visited the West End nest with a fish today, too. She must be lonely without any one of the three fledglings not rushing her to grab that fish out of those talons!

I decided that perhaps there might be some luck checking on the other nests. There was no one to be seen at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Mama Cruz. I have had quite a number of letters asking about Trey and what happened to her after Mama Cruz winged her. I have heard nothing and there seems to be no mention on any of the normal sites associated with the Institute for Wildlife Studies. This time it would seem that no news is good news – she has gone on her way. If I should see or hear anything otherwise, I will definitely let you know. I will also add that this is not the first time that Trey -who hatched and fledged from the Fraser Point nest – has returned home. She fledged on 6 June 2019. Her first return to the nest tree was 15 July 2021. She returned again on 25 July 2021 and then again this year on the 16 August 2022.

There was no one about the other nests in California that I could see. I then went over to Florida to the nest of Samson and Gabby at Jacksonville and got a pleasant surprise – it was a Red-shouldered Hawk having a rest.

Migration has begun, of course, and there will be many raptors (and other birds) stopping to rest along the way. What a beautiful, beautiful hawk this one is! And what a delight to get to admire the gorgeous plumage for a bit.

Karl II is still feeding the four Black Stork fledglings at the nest in the Karula National Forest. Bonus was there so all four are still around and have not left.

Meanwhile Kaia remains in Belarus near the fields and marshes near Lake Veluta.

If you are a fan of the Kielder Forest Ospreys, here is a full up-to-date report on each nest! It was joyful reading that Mum had managed to fledge her two chicks after losing her mate, YA. They flew on 9 and 13th of August. She remained another 11 days fattening up for her big trip.

https://kielderospreys.wpcomstaging.com/2022/08/22/departure-news-and-more/?fbclid=IwAR2Bzw_Y4Ot6japO38CRN5sgBvK7FjV830N3UDNctuJfwDgfDsIbyoEZtHA

Dorcha has not been seen at the Loch Arkaig nest for several days. I am presuming that she has begun her migration, too. Louis is keeping Willow and Sarafina satisfied with fish — as he always does. What a fantastic mate he is. Louis delivered a fish to both this morning.

At the Foulshaw Moss nest in Cumbria, Blue 35 and fledgling Blue 480 have not been seen for a number of days and, like Dorcha, are believed to be in the midst of their migration. White YW is supplying fledglings Blue 481 and 497 with fish at the nest.

Dylan is delivering nice trout to the Llyn Clywedog nest…and the fledglings are not always holding on tight enough and oops…off it goes. As long as the fledglings are around, Dylan, like all the males, will continue to bring fish to them. Then they will feed and go on their way to their winter home. Seren Blue 5F was still seen fishing on the 21 August.

Mrs G is still at the Glaslyn Valley nest she shares with her mate, Aran.

It is a little soggy at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. The information below the camera states that Telyn was last seen on the 20th. As it happens, however, Telyn was seen on camera at 16:08 today and there were great views of the second hatch, Padarn.

Here is a lovely video of Telyn bringing a Mullet to the nest with Padarn and Paith doing some loud fish calling!

It is raining with some wind at the Mlade Buky White Stork nest in The Czech Republic. I have seen only one stork on the second nest that Bukacek built. Awaiting confirmation that Betyhka has started migration along with the four fledglings.

In the UK Raptor Persecution news, the Moy Estate in the Scottish Highlands has lost its license (in an appeal) for the poisoning of a Red Kite on its estate.

https://raptorpersecutionuk.org/2022/08/22/moy-estate-loses-appeal-against-general-licence-restriction-imposed-for-wildlife-crime/

There will be more and more prosecutions of estates where grouse hunting takes place and when the wildlife estate managers kill the raptors that the UK is working so hard to reintroduce. Indeed, there is a growing movement to end the practice of grouse hunting.

Dad brought Lady and SE 29 and 30 a nice big chunk of fish yesterday. All ate and then, surprisingly, Lady decided to brood the chicks. This nest appears to be doing very, very well this season.

Waiting for eggs at the scrape of Xavier and Diamond. The rejected Starling in the corner appears to be ‘past its sell-by-date’. If the amount of mating that these two have been doing is any indication of the number of eggs, this scrape should be full from top to bottom and side to side. I am hopeful that we might have the first egg in a few days!

367 Collins Street in the CBD (Central Business District) of Melbourne has not gone live so no eggs there yet either.

It is pouring down rain in Port Lincoln this morning. Mum is really tucked in so those precious eggs do not get wet.

It’s a wrap! Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope that the start to the week is a wonderful one for each of you. Please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, posts, and videos that form my screen captures: Loch Garten RSPB, GROWLS, Explore.org and IWS, NEFlorida-AEF, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Kielder Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, CarnyxWild, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dfyi Ospreys, Mlade Buky, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, UK Raptor Persecution, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

Featured Image: Thunder at the West End Bald Eagle nest, 21 August 2022.

Early Monday in Bird World

15 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

The hoped for blog on migration will be written tonight and appear Wednesday morning. Lots of good information has come in! Thanks to all. If you are still thinking about migration challenges – even in your own area – send them to me before 1800 CDT Tuesday the 16th.

When will Diamond lay her first egg of the season with Xavier at Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia? That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind. Xavier continues to bring in lovely prey items – some not so welcome like the Starlings but, it would seem that Diamond is in really good shape for this breeding season. Many of you might have noticed that Diamond appeared to be in less that stellar form last year and there was some concern that little Yurruga did not have good feather development. We are wishing Xavier and Diamond a successful season – meaning lots of prey items for the hatchlings, good weather for fledge, and success.

Here is the data on previous years:

Egg-laying time approaches…

Surviving Poole Harbour fledgling, 5H1, immediately flies away when it hears a predator approaching. Everyone learned fast after 5H2’s death by Goshawk. Today it was a Buzzard – a friendly. The little one is taking no chances though. Well done. You even took your fish dinner with you!

There was a question: Do goshawks eat fish? Goshawks are carnivores. They eat mammals and large sized birds found near the edge of the forest. They also eat amphibians, insects – and, yes, fish!

I had a comment in more the form of a question from my good friend, ‘T’. She noted that for years people have loved looking at the Osprey nests in the UK. The only things that were of concern were the weather and enough fish. They brought a lot of solace. Now Goshawks? ‘T’ wonders when the UK is so active in reintroducing the Ospreys to their country that there are now goshawks – long time enemy in the forests.

‘T’ here is your answer. A reintroduction project began in 2018 with Goshawks taken from Norway and Sweden to the UK.

Goshawk reintroduction to the UK

Watching our raptors lay their eggs can emit all kinds of empathy especially if the eggs are big and more hard than soft when laid. At the Port Lincoln Osprey nest, Mum laid her third egg of the 2022 breeding season right on time. She looks tired. Watching birds incubate eggs is like watching water boil when the heat on the stove is ‘off’. But, Mum will get a rest and then in about 38-43 days she is going to be really busy. Should I wish for a clutch of all males or all females so life is civil again this year?

Sadly, it appears that Dad might have had another issue like he did a number of days ago. ‘H’ caught it! Is Dad having some kind of a seizure? or is the wind whipping him and his beak gets caught in nest material? It really is not clear but please send warm wishes to this amazing male – Ervie’s best buddy. Here is the video:

What a treat it is to check on a steaming cam and have a fledgling sitting right there as the sun sets. That is what happened when I went to see if Lancer had visited Two Harbours today. She is probably hoping for food! Chase & Cholyn haven’t delivered anything on camera for a few days. Not to worry. Lancer is not going to starve to death. They are seasoned parents. Cholyn is 24 years ‘young’.

Remember we talked about the things that wildlife rehabilitation centres need – besides cash donations. We talked about old clean towels – well, add old clean sheets and egg cartons to your list. Collect them from neighbours, friends, and family. Create a box. Everything helps! Most centres offer enrichment to the animals in their care. This comes in many forms from using toys to crumbled up paper to egg cartons!

The very latest on our Little Bit ND17. What a fantastic image. We can all be assured that Little Bit has been eating and that his flying is getting stronger. He has been back in St Patrick’s Park for many weeks now! So grateful to those on the ground who continue to track Little Bit and send us images. Thank you Stephen Basly!

The Sydney Sea Eaglets are fine. They ate and ate yesterday. Both had enormous crops – and yes, they do still get a little scrappy but I will venture to say that there is nothing to worry about unless there is an absolute food shortage. SE29 is the dominant bird. 30 knows it but sometimes doesn’t like it!

I continue to track Kaia, Karl II’s mate as she migrates towards Africa. She did a round turn and left the Ukraine and went back to Belarus! Dates on second image below.

What caused Kaia to flee the area and return to a safe spot she knew? Will she be resting and trying to figure out a different route? will she feed up so that she does not have to stop in the Ukraine? This is an extremely worrisome situation for both Kaia and Karl II but also for the four Black Stork fledglings – they represent the only storklets to survive this year.

War is a very terrible thing no matter where it is happening. We read about the costs to people and infrastructure but never to the wildlife that are suffering. Most of the birds from Estonia will be flying through the Ukraine – or have traditionally. Send them your most positive wishes.

While Kaia tries to work her way around a war zone, Karl II is keeping the four fledglings full — they will need to fatten up and so will Karl II for their long journeys.

There is a rumour that all of the chicks on the Boathouse Osprey platform have now fledged.

Chicks are doing fine on the Osoyoos Osprey Platform. BC was self-feeding and LC was enjoying being fed by Soo. Hats off to them. They have survived the two heat domes and it continues to look good for this nest in Canada!

That’s it for today in Bird World. Thank you so much for joining me. I will be keeping my eyes on Kaia’s movements and, at the same time, I will be trying to find out what is happening in the area of The Ukraine where she had landed that sent her back to Belarus.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or postings where I took my screen captures: Osoyoos Ospreys, Audubon Explore, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Notre Dame Eagles FB, Explore and the IWS, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Poole Harbour ospreys, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam.

L4 fledges and other news in Bird World

18-19 June 2022

The record breaking rains coupled with our current heat warning mean that it feels like a rainforest on the Canadian Prairies. The songbirds are happy. The lilacs and vines have grown enough that they are providing cooling shade for the birds. The temperature drops tremendously – just like walking into the Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama outside of Kyoto – when you enter their area of the garden.

“Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama, Kyoto 京都嵐山の竹林” by CLF is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

37 degrees C or 98.6 F today. Heat warning. Winter went to summer with tonnes of rain and flooding. The new normal?

Yesterday L4 was jumping all over the rails just as he had done the day before. The question on everyone’s mind was when is L4 going to fledge? Well, he flew this morning! 07:03:36. L4 landed in the trees across the street taking off from the rail where he loved to dance and jump. Congratulations! Big Red and Arthur have successfully fledged 4 hawks.

Ready…set…

Go!!!!!!!!! And L4 is off to the trees over by the Fernow Building across the street.

Rosie and Richmond’s two osplets were banded yesterday and the banders believe that they are two little boys by the leg measurements. Sweet. Today is the last day to vote on the name pairings! Here is the SF Bay Ospreys announcement:

The little Red-tail hawklet- Malala- that arrived for lunch and stayed to be adopted at the Bald Eagle nest on Gabriola Island (just off Vancouver Island) – has branched and is really growing. Consider its size compared to the eaglets and how fast it is at getting prey. Now think of Little Bit 17. ND15 and ND16 might be big but ND 17 is quick, like the hawklet, as lightning.

Yesterday Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets were on the nest together for awhile. So nice to see the Three Amigos. Beautiful, beautiful juvenile eagles.

Thunder’s sister at the Two Harbours nest of Chase & Cholyn is big and beautiful. Parents are bringing in the fish – there were three yesterday!

Spirit is a regular visitor to her Big Bear Valley natal nest. Her ‘eagle’ eyes see Jackie and Shadow coming in with fish and she is on that nest! Fabulous.

In the first image, Spirit has spotted a fish delivery. She rushes to the nest.

Those parents really have to be careful with those talons. Shadow’s beak is extremely sharp.

Whew.

It did not take long for Spirit to polish that fish off!

Remember when?

Saturday evening Mum arrived on the ND-LEEF nest and fed the three eaglets the rest of the raccoon. ND17 had a nice little crop after – he did appreciate the raccoon! 15 and 16 had some bites and left.

Sunday morning a really large fish was brought to the nest at 08:52. Little Bit 17 stole some of that fish at 09:01.

At 09:14:24 Little Bit 17 grabs more of that fish and rushes over to the rim to eat it while a big sibling stands behind him. I sure hope he got that nice tail portion!

Takoda is still branching – have not heard of a fledge at the National Arboretum nest in Washington, DC yet.

The nest of Aran and Mrs G is really getting to look like part of the field down below. All three of the chicks are doing grand.

Aran flew in with a really nice fish at 13:43! It was a lively one.

Not to be undone by Aran. Idris is on a roll and this morning he brought in a very rare Shad to the nest to the envy of all watching. Telyn was quite happy to take that whole fish and feed it to the Bobs!

CJ7 might be a first time mother but she is a really smart one. She had a nice piece of fish tucked under some nesting materials to feed the Bobs first thing this morning – they were hungry very early.

Blue 022 has proven himself to be a young but reliable Dad – several fish deliveries including this one at 15:47. Blue 022 is flying off and CJ7 is up and ready to feed the babies.

The three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya are as big as Mum when she is feeding them. All bets are on for tomorrow (Monday the 20th) being banding day provided a boat and a bander are available.

Everyone is tired after a big meal.

The latest tracking for Ervie shows him staying around Port Lincoln and his unusual haunts. This comes from the 18th. Did he visit the barge?

Other quick news. News is coming from Patuxent River Park. An osplet fell through the platform because a Beaver chewed a large hole. A new platform is going up. Will follow up on this. There was a hatch at the MN Landscape Arboretum Ospreys on June 17 at 08:26:34. A pair of Ospreys landed on the Collins Marsh nest above the old fire viewing tower. I hope they do not stay. This nest needs to be removed and a new platform built with a ladder and a perch! And the pond needs to be stocked with fish for them. The fishing has been hard for Laddie and Loch of the Lowes with no fish delivery so far on Sunday. I sure hope Blue NC0 goes out fishing – the Bobs are too big to let starve!!!!!!! Has something happened to Laddie? If you watched the Decorah North nest, DN16 has fledged. The three Black Storklets of Jan and Janika have yet to be moved to their ‘forest room’. I am told it will be soon. This is the latest feeding video from Liz. They are getting their itchy feathers!

Happy Father’s Day to all those bird fathers out there caring for their mates and their chicks and/or eggs! Here is a lovely tribute from Cal Falcons – grab a tissue! Lindsay and Grinnell Jr are one of the positive things to come out of Bird World this year!

Take care everyone. It is a busy day on the nests with lots of things happening. 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: SF Ospreys, GROWLS, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, FOBBV, NADC-AEF, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Cornell RTH Cam, EMU and Liz, ND-LEEF, and Cal Falcons.

Feedings and Flying

1-2 June 2022


Wednesday was a positively beautiful day. Chilly enough for a jacket but the sun and blue sky were perfect. The water is so very, very high in the Red River (it is everywhere). Last year there were literally hundreds of American White Pelicans at the dam at Lockport, Manitoba getting fish. They were sleeping along the shore for the most part today.

These pelicans were in the water like a synchronized swimming team fishing.

And all back up again!

There were Canada Geese but not a gosling in sight.

What is it about watching a mother raptor feed her little ones? Blue NC0 is doing a much better job with the Three Bobs. Little Bob has also figured out ‘the way of the world’ and will let Big Bob eat, get full and pass out and move up front.

Look at Little Bob trying to stretch that long neck of his up so Mum will see him. Big Bob is already getting full.

Both Big and Middle bobs are full and it is Little’s turn. He has wiggled right up there in front so Blue NC0 won’t start feeding herself and forget about him.

Little Bob is quite the cheeky little one! He is also full.

Idris brought in another one of his monster Flounders at the Dyfi Nest. Telyn makes sure that all the Bobs are also full and feed. Gosh, can you imagine brooding three wiggly Bobs?

I would really like to ship that nice big Flounder to Little Bit 17. He has been eating off and on all day – a small fish and some road kill. When I went back to check on him he was still working on the raccoon – trying to hork the last wooly piece of it.

You can sort of see a fuzzy bit of fur in his beak in the image below.

Then Little Bit was really courageous! No one should ever think that Little Bit could not survive in the world. He is as fast as lightning when he does his Snatch and Grab! He knows to stay away from 16 and he also knows that 15 will not hurt him. Street Smart Kid. An adult brought a fish on the nest at 20:46:01.

One of the big siblings got it. But a couple of minutes later, the adult took the fish away from the big sibling. In the process a piece broke off and Little Bit, the ‘King of the Snatch and Grab’ went for it – straight to the adult beak and had a tug-o-war. Little Bit won his piece of fish!!!!!!! Brilliant.

It wasn’t an enormous piece of fish but Little Bit got it and ate it. The adult fed the two big siblings. Little Bit got up to the feeding spot to get 1 maybe 2 bites. Little Bit also looked over the floor of the nest for any other pieces and found some.

As the sun is setting, Little Bit had a small fish, some more bites of fish, and it looks like he might have finished off that Raccoon pelt along with some squirrel. Would we have liked him to have more? No doubt. It is still better to have had this food and to go to bed – not with a big crop – but at least not starving. Let’s think positive. Hoping the cool weather keeps up and that there are no storms to murk up the river. Let’s wish for fish for Thursday!

And the fish came. Little Bit pulled a fish out from under nesting material at 10:34:11. It had been brought in at 10:31 by an adult. It is very hard to say how much fish, if any, Little Bit got. He moved around the nest from place to place very uneasy. He had possession of the fish until 10:40. The nest is very restless today. Little Bit is hungry.

The West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta in the Channel Islands has the most beautiful sunsets! The profiles of Kana’kini, Ahota, and Sky just seem perfect up on that cliff.

The Osplets on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest at the practice field are getting ready to fledge. I wish I could tell you which one did all the hovering but I can’t. I believe, from a rough count of the dark bars on the tail, that it is Big Bob – . Big Bob hatched on 5 April followed by Middle Bob on the 6th. They are 57 and 56 days old. Western Ospreys fledge from 7-8 weeks or 49-56 days. They are ready to fly!!!!!!!!!

A shout out to ‘B’ who alerted me to the fact that Spirit and both of her parents, Jackie and Shadow, were on the nest tonight. This is just amazing. Jackie and Shadow are really going to prepare Spirit for a successful life in the wild. Another thing that will help Spirit is that the habitat is closed by the USFS so that Spirit will not be disturbed while she learns to fly.

A fish was delivered and Spirit that gorgeous daughter started going wheeee, wheeee for the fish! She had to figure out how to get down from the tree and to the fish. (Someone said it was Jackie that delivered the fish but this sure looks like Shadow to me in his tight jeans!)

Spirit was carefully fed just like she had been the night before. How sweet.

Spirit gets left to clean up the rest of the fish.

And then all of the family are on the nest. What a beautiful sight to see!!!!!

The sun is setting on another perfect day at the Big Bear Valley Eagle nest. Spirit flew off in the morning and returned, spent time with her parents, had a nice fish meal partially fed by Dad. She is going to sleep on the perch again and hopefully repeat this same day tomorrow until she can fly and find prey and live without parental support.

Spirit is a sweetie. In some ways she reminds me of Legacy at the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby. I am not sure how but she does.

Oh, speaking of cutie pies. SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon made a compilation of Week 2 with the two osplets of Richmond and Rosie. They are so cute….Have a look!

Both of the chicks at the Cal Falcons scrape are now out and running about! No worries. They love their food and they will definitely come when either Annie or Alden has prey!!!!!!!! They will come screaming. Oh, just think. Friday we will get to call you by your names. Vote Everyone! Get your friends to vote – get these two cutie pies super names.

The three osplets at the Glaslyn nest continue to do well. You could not tell for an instant that Aran had an injury a year ago. He is really back in prime condition supplying Mrs G and the triplets with huge fish! Wonder if I could get them to adopt Little Bit?

Congratulations to Louis and Dorcha on their second hatch. Both chicks could be seen at 06:09 this morning.

It is clearly evident how much a headstart Maya and Blue 33 (11) have with their chicks. Just look at the difference!

Big Red and Arthur’s first hatch of the 2022 season at their Cornell Campus nest, L1, is checking out the fledge ledge! Fledge watch for L1 begins tomorrow!!!!!

And, last – there are now two little nestlings at the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle nest in Alaska of Liberty and Freedom. They are three days apart. How cute!

When Charles Broley (The Eagle Man) studied and banded Bald Eagles, he was one of the first to note that the northern eagles are much larger than their southern counterparts. Alaskan eagles do not migrate. They stay and eat the salmon chum (dead salmon after laying eggs). It has been very plentiful.

It is cold and grey today. One beautiful warm day, one not so nice! I am just reading an article that is not making me very happy. It seems it has been going on for several years – the killing of Double-crested Cormorants in Newfoundland and Labrador with Parks Canada providing the justification. Are they serious? We take over their habitat and now we complain about their guano or that they are eating the fish!!!!! Are not Cormorants protected under Migrating Bird Laws? You would think but, not always. Apparently our provincial governments can also alter the laws about migrating birds. Who actually protects our wildlife?

Continue to wish for fish for Little Bit 17. I don’t think he got much of that fish this morning – I sure hope so but he is so nervous. 16 is a very, very nasty bird. The water level at the river where the adults fish at ND-LEEF is about a foot and a half or 45 cm higher than normal making it difficult for the adults to fish. It is going down but slowly. From seeing the high water around me and the opaque mucky colour, it is understandable that it is hard for the parents to fish. I imagine that they are also hungry.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clip: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, ND-LEEF, Dyfi Osprey Project, Explore.org, FOBBV, Friends of Loch Arkaig and People’s Postcode Lottery, the Woodland Trust, Cal Falcons, LRWT, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Glacier Gardens, and Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn.