5 Marh 2026
Good Morning Everyone,
It’s March 5 and it is Toby’s birthday! Here he is when he was first able to climb the cat tree after arriving when he was a very young 8 week old.
As I tell many people, I would not have survived the past year without Toby and The Girls. We plan to have his party when his goodies arrive, which I hope is today. Deliveries in Canada have been problematic due to severe storms in each area.
The snow is gently falling this morning, and the thirty-three European Starlings – yes, counted – have arrived for breakfast. They will return around 1430 this afternoon for their late meal. What are they eating? Cat and dog kibble!
Sally and Harry now have two of the sweetest little osplets. These two do not know how lucky they are to have such amazing parents.
Good news coming out of the UK. Lead ammunition to be banned from 2029. Of course I ask myself, why not 2027? Surely they can get it off the shelves by then.
There is so much confusion going on at the Dade County nest. These are the facts. I want you to read this carefully. Banding and the correct documentation are crucial. It cannot be haphazard.
R9 hatched on 12/20/25, and R10 hatched on 12/22/25. They were banded on 1/31/26 at 42 and 40 days of age. During banding, samples were taken to determine their genders, and it was revealed that they are both male. The intention was to band R9 with the #6/9 band, and band R10 with the #7/0 band. However, on banding day the eaglets were mixed up, and R9 was given the 7/0 band, R10 was given the 6/9 band. There are several expert viewers who have watched this nest most of the day every day, and they were always able to identify which eaglet was which, including on banding day, and since banding day. When the cams resumed after banding, every one of these viewer-experts knew right away that the bands had been reversed. On banding day, we had hoped that the banders would have been able to tell the eaglets apart by the distinct differences in their tails, and by the few fluffy white feathers that R10 still had on his neck on that day. The eaglets’ personalities regarding the dominant and submissive sibling were the same as they had always been… R9 dominant, R10 submissive, (although R10 has recently become more aggressive since R9 branched). The authorities refused to acknowledge the opinions of these expert viewers, who individually have probably watched these eagles more than the admin/mods combined.
No one ever said that the eaglets’ band numbers needed to be sequential. But, the admin apparently wanted their names to match his banding documentation. The admin mandated that chatters call the eaglets by the wrong names. Chatters are not permitted to call the eaglets by their real names, we are supposed to pretend that each eaglet is the other one now, lol. One of the long-time primary chatters, ‘mary_mcg’, quit the chat a few weeks ago because she refused to call the eaglets by the wrong names. Experienced chatters have resorted to simply calling the eaglets by their band numbers, rather than calling them the wrong names. More recently, even the admin and the mods have been calling the eaglets by their band numbers rather than a name! The result has been total confusion on the chat as newer chatters and those that haven’t been on the chat for a while drop by. The band numbers are confusing to them, and they ask which eaglet is which… but experienced chatters are not permitted to respond truthfully.
HERE ARE THE FACTS: R9 (band 70) branched on 2/27 at 69 days of age. R9 unintentionally fledged on 3/4 at 74 days of age. Ground observers stated that R9 is doing fine, was seen flying well, and then he perched in a tree. A little later on 3/4, R10 (band 69) branched for the first time, at 72 days of age. You can trust me on this. I put together a video showing R9 branching, R9’s fludge/fledge, and R10 branching. Video: https://youtu.be/BotBY9tD4U0?
I am working on a post that focuses solely on the Kakapo. Like the California Condors, they are so endangered and they breed only every four years so there is great excitement in New Zealand as this year’s eggs hatch into fluffy little flightless parrots.
Geemeff sends us another warning about using balloons – sorry, Toby. There will never be balloons used in any party at our house!
The dangers of releasing balloons:
https://www.sungazette.com/news/outdoors/2026/03/releases-of-mylar-balloons-can-endanger-wildlife
Shadow worked hard to keep the ravens away from the eggs! They are going to have to be diligent.
News from the nests in the Channel Islands from SK Hideaways: https://youtu.be/LoHana6raBc?
Ospreys have started arriving in the UK.
Big Red and Arthur continue to work on their nest.
Arrivals in parts of the US of ospreys are three weeks ahead of schedule. Keep your eyes to the sky.
My inbox has been full of readers upset by the seemingly contradictory information coming out of Fort Myers, Florida, regarding the death of F23. She was much loved. It took a while, but after Harriet by F23 won our hearts for being such a wonderful Mum. Now there is a petition for transparency in F23’s death. It is sponsored by Barb Henry. No money required. https://c.org/NvjPRCRWkb
At the NE Florida nest of Beau and Gabby, first hatch Kai has branched and guess what, so did Eve. Today is the first day that they have perched on the branches outside the nest, however.
Just a taste of some of the news coming out of our nests.
Thank you so much for being with us. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the individuals who created videos and posted information on FB, to Raptor Persecution UK for staying on top of the persecution of our feathered friends in that country, and to the owners of the streaming cams where I took my screen captures.
Stress is my enemy, but I can’t get away from it and still do what I love to do, so I try (often futilely) to manage it. 
