Tag Archives: climate change and birds

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.

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.

Early Thursday in Bird World

24 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone! Do you feel like autumn is coming? It is chilly in the house this evening (Wednesday), The evening temperatures are dropping on the Canadian Prairies but, it will be 28 C this week during the day. I watched the squirrels in the garden fetching peanut after peanut – storing them away in their nests and around the garden for the winter. They do not remember that there are plenty of peanuts and solid seed cylinders during the winter for them. In a week and a half many of us will be traveling to birding hotspots outside Winnipeg to see the beginnings of the arrival of large numbers of birds from the North. Already there are postings about long lines of Canada Geese flying South. Thursday turns out to be a crisp morning – sweater weather now but that will be shed shortly.

A young Least Chipmunk comes to visit. Least Chipmunks are the smallest of all chipmunks. They have five dark and four light stripes along their sides and three dark and two light stripes on the face. Their fur is orange-brown, and their underside is greyish-white. Their habitat in our neighbourhood was destroyed with the building of large condos and they are finding new places to live.

In the Mailbox:

From ‘P’. “We are always told that Ospreys do not respond well to being in care. Is this true?” The first example that I think of when I hear this question is Smedley, the Osprey with the droopy wing who lived in care for 28 years at the Audubon Centre. One of the care givers at the Audubon Centre, ‘L’ answered the question this way for us: “Many times, people assume Ospreys do not do well in care. They do overcome the nervousness that is characteristic of osprey. They’re known to be the lovers and not fighters of the raptor world but they show the same adaptation, feisty spirit and will to survive as all species do. We have had so many here at Audubon with injuries from the short term to severe long term….adults to juveniles to fledgling. I walked into the clinic a couple of weeks ago and saw half a dozen with hoods on so they stay calm just stood around waiting to be hand fed. You definitely can’t do that with hawks, eagles and owls.”

Many have written to ask what happened to the Osplet on the Finnish nest that was always attacking its mother? As a reminder that was the chick on nest #3. The parents are Ahti (male) and Nuppu (female). FYI: Nuppu had on a couple of occasions taken the fish arrival and not fed the chick which might have just prompted that aggressive behaviour.

Here is that famous video:

That very healthy chick fledged and here is a video of Tuulos returning to the nest to get a fish meal two days ago. Lovely juvenile Osprey. Oh, I hope this one is a survivor – he sure has the drive.

A Sparrow Hawk visited nest #3. As it happens everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is getting empty nest syndrome right now.

In the News:

Worrying news coming out of the UK this morning. A white-tail Eagle on the Isle of Mull has tested positive for Avian Flu. A number of eaglets have died on the nest or right at fledge. This is terrible news for the WTE population. Here is the article on the impact from the RSPB:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/mull-white-tailed-eagle-chick-dead-from-bird-flu/?fbclid=IwAR0ae5Qd6FSGEI9MFj5zxbPL4bIDracUna3nkCqj-dH7ktFu8CxO6V6cu1g

Port Lincoln Ospreys has made its mark in Australia for its efforts to save the Ospreys. They need no introduction on my blog for their tireless efforts to get platforms up and nests off the shores so that predators do not get the eggs, chicks, or the adults.

They shot the hen harrier. In order that its killing would go undetected, its wings were cut off with the tag and tracker attached to a Crow. It is not know if the wings were ripped off the raptor when she was alive or dead. Her name was Asta. “She vanished from a known raptor persecution hotspot, in an area managed for driven grouse shooting – an industry with an acknowledged filthy history of persecuting birds of prey, and particularly hen harriers, as demonstrated by decades of prosecutions, convictions and endless scientific evidence.” I have never suggested that violence was in any way the right choice in any conflict but I often do wonder what if the individuals who tear the wings off a helpless bird, or shoot an arrow through the head of an innocent goose or other bird or animal were to have the same treatment done to them – would it help stop this inhumanity! I am happy to attach the short blog that explains this story in full. We are at a time when we are celebrating the successful fledge of two hen harriers in the reintroduction programme in the UK. Will they also be shot over a grouse hunting estate ——or can we begin to hope that that archaic sport is pasts its sell-by date?

Hen harrier’s ‘wings removed’ & its satellite tag fitted to a crow in sick ploy to disguise the crime

There are growing calls to ban the killing of wildlife in the United States. Can you hear me saying, ‘thank goodness’! What happens in the US often has a reciprocal impact on us in Canada. Indeed, one of the wetland areas that I visit just sent an invite for a Zoom talk on this years numbers and how this will impact hunting!!!!!! No thank you.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/how-killing-wildlife-became-a-game?fbclid=IwAR2kwKSzHZXKlUpFN7RqWymrwbqz4WmXO0-40zkmdK3xNNy1YmV6FUik-9I

The BBC is asking people in the UK what it will be like where they live as our planet continues to heat up. I would love to see this for the rest of the world. My concern is – of course – the raptors. Will they arrive earlier? Will the intensification of rain along the coasts cause issues with osplet health and survivability in Wales? The whole story is here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-d6338d9f-8789-4bc2-b6d7-3691c0e7d138

Alongside this news I am always asking how can we help our raptors and other wildlife mitigate or adapt? One of my dear friends lives in Singapore and before the pandemic, I visited this area often. Her father was the second President of Singapore from 1971-81, Dr Benjamin Sheare’s. Sheares’s predecessor, Lee Kwan Yew launched Singapore as a garden city in 1967. The idea was carried further in 1992 with the sustainable blueprint, Singapore Green Plan (SGP). This was updated in 2021. Today, half of Singapore is gardens and this is set to increase. Every family will live within 10 minute walk of a green space, cycling areas are being extended while car licenses will only go to clean green aka electric cars. The ash from the garbage collection will be used as an alternative for sand in concrete. Water, green spaces, and even more trees will provide a richer environment for the birds that live in this island City. Further clean ups of the environment will also benefit all of the large raptors that live by the docks and the marina such as the White-bellied Sea Eagles.

https://www.greenplan.gov.sg/

I have been increasingly concerned about heavy metal toxicity in our raptors since Victor tested positive for zinc. As many of you know our world seems to be full of galvanized materials. Yesterday my galvanized chain link fence put here by the previous owner in 1991 was removed. For those of you that have bird cages, last week I posted an article that ‘C’ had sent about the bars being zinc and Cockatiels showing a high level of zinc when tested. ‘C’ has sent me another article on the impact of lead. Thank you ‘C’.

https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/12701

Nest News:

In Winnipeg, there are some really late hatches. You have already been subjected to my concerns over the late-hatch ducklings at the nature centre where I walk and at a few other manmade ponds in the City. Last year I was taking photographs of the Cooper’s Hawk fledglings in late June at our Zoo. This year they had to wait for the owls to fledge their owlets (they used the hawk nest) to lay their eggs. The hawklets are so little. There are 5 of them. The crystal ball foresees some sleepless nites come October!

At Glacier Gardens, Peace has yet to fledge. Sibling Love as been flying around, on and off the nest early showing how it is done.

I have a new osprey nest for you with what appears to be a good camera. Put it on your list for next year as it seems the female has already left on migration from Maryland (30 July). The information page includes the history of the nest for the past 2 years.

It is the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Nest and they raised two chicks this year. Here is all the information:

https://www.friendsofblackwater.org/river-osprey-cam.html?fbclid=IwAR1oRNIiMjuYO8SgfVnAJV-jB-CaEBqLq_cJZ7qzIfgU53igmdIct-0xeuE

You might remember that Harry, the male at the Minnesota DNR nest was injured or died. Nancy had to raise the two eagles alone. The youngest was pushed over the nest by its elder sibling when food was in short supply and had to be euthanized. The eldest fledged. Now there is a new male suitor for Nancy. Lady Hawk caught him in a video with Nancy on the nest.

Rosie was on her perch this morning in San Francisco. Any day she will depart for her migration leaving Richmond behind who will be waiting for her return on Valentine’s Day.

The Birds of Poole Harbour posted a fantastic tweet. The one surviving historic fledgling from the Poole Harbour nest in 2022 was seen in the harbour fishing!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone that has ever watched the Loch Arkaig Osprey nest knows that Louis is quite amazing. Today he delivered two big fish – 9 minutes apart – so that both Sarafina and Willow would have their own. Incredible. Is this a record? Willow on the left and Sarafina on the right — two great fledglings for 2022.

Dorcha, Louis’s mate has left on her migration but Mrs G is still at Glaslyn. She was spotted eating a fish in the trees today. Aran continues to keep the fledglings fed. Today Blue 499 has had at least two very large fish!

Idris is not only keeping Padarn and Paith in fish but also himself as well as chasing off intruders today.

Blue 022 continues to deliver fish to H51 at the Poole Harbour nest. Happiness still abounds at the presence of their own ospreys despite losing one to the goshawk attack. CJ7 and Blue 022 did an amazing job as first time parents…a dream come true for CJ7 who waited several years to find a mate.

It is impossible to see the band but at least one of the female fledglings is still on the nest at Rutland waiting for Blue 33 to bring in the tea time fish.

No worries about SE30 getting enough to eat. Goodness. That crop is so full it isn’t even making a nice soft pillow! You don’t look very comfortable 30!

Lots of Kissy-Kissy going on early in the morning between SE 29 and 30.

When the pair turned around you can see some dramatic changes. Look at the plumage on the heads, the chest, and then notice…some of that incredible rusty brown is showing on SE29 under the wings and moving over the chest. Gorgeous.

Bets continue to be made on when Diamond will lay her first egg. If the number of mating attempts is anything, that nest should be full to the brim this year! Moderators are saying in less than 5 days. That would be 29 August. I will say 28 August. What do you think?

Bonding in the scrape…then mating on the tower and then Xavier returns with a nice juicy pigeon. Doin’ good today Xavier!

Diamond got out quick before Xavier could change his mind and want it for his breakfast.

You did really well Xavier – a nicely plucked and prepared fat pigeon for Diamond.

A video of a prey transfer between Diamond and Xavier.

Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus Wednesday evening — and she also spotted L2. So L2 is still living with Mum and Dad in their territory.

Big red is moulting. 23 August 2022
L2. 23 August 2022
Sweet Arthur. 23 August 2022

So many things going on in Bird World but for the Northern Hemisphere, the birds are on the move…while many of us turn our attention to Australia. Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their videos, streaming cams and posts that made up my screen captures: Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Ospreys, CBC, BBC, Glacier Gardens, Blackwater Ospreys, MN-DNR, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, LRWT, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and Suzanne Arnold Horning.

Welcome WBSE30 to the world and other brief news…

19 July 2022

“You do not need a lot of money and often do not need to do a lot to help a life.” Often you just need to pickup the phone and find the closest wildlife rehabber who will help. Remember that phone app – Animal Help.

I just saw a posting from a wildlife rehabber who gives sage advice – if you see a bird that is unable to fly, notify the wildlife rehab clinic right away — sooner than later might save their life. The story of this fledgling eagle reminds me of Little Bit ND17.

WBSE 30 has hatched!

Lady got up from brooding to show Dad his new baby. How touching…I just love it when the males first come to see their new little ones.

It won’t be long until 39 is fuzzy wuzzy.

Let us all hope that these two are the sweetest of friends.

If you did not see my update, the Mum at the Finnish nest is, indeed, very ill. She is most often on the nest and this allowed an intruder female to come into the nest today to steal the osplets fish and she was beaking at them. It is a very challenging situation with no one there to protect the babies. Dad is doing his job getting them food. He might not know about the intruder. Let us hope she goes away so that these two who are now flapping their wings will fledge and thrive despite all the problems this season.

The chicks are asleep and the intruder bird arrives.

The chicks start alarming and mantling.

The one had some fish and he is really covering it. They are still alarming. The intruder flies off.

Please keep these two in your warm thoughts.

The wildlife in this heat wave are struggling. Send positive thoughts to all including the Osprey family in Osoyoos. Dad is doing the best he can in the circumstances. Large fish go down to the bottom. His best fishing is early in the morning before the temperatures have amped up. —BUT of course there is another problem — fish die in warm water. This is happening with the Clarke Fork River (or was last year) when the temperatures rose. The streams are drying up and the fish are dying…they do not like warm water! Sending hugs of hope to this family. Currently 34 degrees.

Lilibet has been enjoying a fish and hanging out on the perch of the Fraser Point nest in the Channel Islands. Andor and Mama Cruz have been around today, also. It was nice to see Andor!

It was excellent news to hear that Victor stood for the first time without assistance this morning. Such a relief. If you ever hear of an eagle getting physiotherapy, smile – because you know it can work!

One of the Ls – and I think it was L2 – landed on the railing of the Fernow Lighttower nest in Ithaca. L2 loved playing on those rails before she fledged. Scared the wits out of everyone. L2 and L4 continue to do very well!

The latest tracking on Ervie shows that he has been all over the place on the 19th in Port Lincoln. Just look at this map! Goodness gracious. Our boy is really moving along the coast. Meanwhile, Dad has been seen bringing fish to the nest but not sharing with Mum. She might get miffed soon if he doesn’t share.

This is just a check in – a quick one – at some of the nests including those that are concerning us: Osoyoos and Janakkdan – and all other nests that are having difficulties including Kielder 1A.

Thank you so much for being in with me this evening. Stay safe, stay cool and please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or posts where I took my screen captures: Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Discovery Centre, Sydney, Explore and IWS, Osoyoos Ospreys, the Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Osprey FB, Cornell Bird Labs RTH.

Life and Death in Bird World…

18 July 2022

We are going to start off with the good news…a hatch! Sydney’s Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre is giving the official hatch time of WBSE 29 at 1426. There is also a pip in WBSE30’s egg.

Beautiful Lady. By the time we wake up tomorrow morning there should be two healthy White-bellied Sea Eaglets in this nest getting ready to bop and bob.

I thought I might make it through Sunday evening without finding out about another Osprey death. Not so. A much loved male Osprey of a long time mated pair in Bitterroot Valley, Montana was shot with a soft bullet and died. Local animal right’s activists have issued a reward for the identity of the shooter.

Shootings of protected raptors are on the rise in the area. There were 7 last year and already there are 5 this year in this single area of Montana. Reports from wildlife rehab clinics often cite either shootings or – heavy lead toxins due to the eating of prey with bullet fragments – as the major reason for eagles to be in care or dying.

It is, of course, illegal to shoot a protected species but, it doesn’t seem to matter. It has happened in my City, all over the US, in various countries in the EU such as France and Malta. And, of course, there are the ongoing issues in the UK on the private estates where grouse hunting is permitted.

https://mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/bitterroot-osprey-shooting-leaves-activists-looking-for-answers/article_fe7ff6c8-f90b-535f-98b6-9a3826e123ee.html?fbclid=IwAR3qVHQb8gMmqRYhFw6CQZX24PHNfYuaFMh57p_EOndiZBTT7NLxDI5dwno

There is good news coming out of the Osoyoos nest. One look at the image reveals the remains of a large fish still on the nest. ‘A-M’ mentioned on the chat that both chicks had eaten well today and Little Bob even had a really full crop. Apparently both parents brought in 2 big fish. It is wonderful to see Mum with a big crop, too. Oh, we could not ask for anything better coming out of the heat in the area. Fantastic.

With all the sadness, the fact that this nest got 2 great big fish and everyone is full and there is still fish is something to celebrate. I wanted fish to fall from the sky but coming in from the lake is just as good.

To also put a smile on your face, Lilibet at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Mama Cruz had something to say to the fox cub that keeps getting on her nest! And she was very vocal about it.

There is other good news. The youngest osplet of the trio at Llyn Clywedog fledged at 10:22 on Sunday the 17th. Congratulations Dylan and Seren for another successful year and to all those at Llyn Clywedog in Wales.

Seren on one perch and two of the fledglings on the other perch.

The two osplets on the Llyn Brenig nest in Wales have not fledged. They certainly have grown since I last checked on them! Mom looks happy and I bet that fish Dad brought in really tasted good.

Dorcha looking over her two osplets as the sun was setting on Loch Arkaig.

and dawn over Loch Arkaig. I has been impossible to tell how Dorcha is doing. Hopefully she will go for a good swim and get the blood off from her injury – continuing good thoughts for her to heal quickly.

The area is so beautiful.

The Glaslyn Valley nest of Aran and Mrs G is so very different than Loch Arkaig and Loch of the Lowes. The cows and the sheep make the entire scene look like it could be a 17th century painting.

At the Loch of the Lowes, one of the fledglings slept ‘adult style’ on the nest perch all night. There is another (or two?) osprey/s on the dead tree at centre left. Where is everyone else? Laddie? Blue NC0?

Later. Waiting for a delivery!

Dad delivers fish to the Janakkdan Osprey nest on a regular basis. Here is the last delivery for the 17th at 19:28. The osplets will take turns self-feeding.

I have not seen the female on the nest for some hours – from 1900 to 0700. The chicks have not fledged. Some on the chat questioned if she has begun her migration. No, it is too early. Let us hope that she is well.

It is possible there is a perch and Mum is there. She was on the nest at noon today. Both chicks appear to be capable of eating on their own. One better than the other but it has had more practice.

‘H’ reports that it is Smooth Dogfish Shark for breakfast at the Mispillion Harbour Osprey nest! Dad brought in two in quick succession. Everyone was hungry – one fledgling trying to self-feed and the other being fed by Mum who eventually feeds both.

While the ospreys in Delaware were enjoying their Smooth Dogfish Sharks, Karl II was delivering large fish to the Karula National Forest Black storkling nest – that includes Bonus, the adopted storklet of Jan and Janikka. I am so happy that the four are doing so well and so grateful to Urmas for his fish basket! Thank you, Urmas.

The camera was down at Glacier Gardens for part of the 17th. NitBot reports that there were four fish deliveries with Peace getting 1 fish and Love seeming to get the other 3. It is so hard to see the eaglets – is it condensation on the camera? and the cars racing up and down that road are making me nervous. But…Liberty and Freedom know best!

There is no word yet on what caused the 9 day old osplet of Tom and Audrey at the Chesapeake Conservancy to suddenly die. Will keep you posted on any news. Its death was entirely unexpected. There was lots of fish and it was eating well.

Everything seems to be fine for Dory and Skiff and their three osplets on Hog Island in Maine.

Here is a short video of Dory feeding the three just a short while ago.

Like everywhere else, it has been hot and stormy on the Canadian Prairies. If you are in an area of high heat and have shallow bowls (no deeper than 2 or 3 inches), put some water in them if you do not have a bird bath. All manner of raptor are coming to cool down including the local crows and owls – even the rabbits have been in to drink water and get in the shade of the lilacs and ‘the bush tunnels’. I will try to get a photo if I can but Mr Crow was on top of the sunroom/greenhouse this morning telling me that he wanted breakfast!

An osprey expert in the UK told me that never rule out dehydration in the death of Ospreys. He was talking about Molate. But, remember that all of the birds can suffer in the heat without water!

The image below is (I believe) Hedwig’s baby. It is really cropped and blown up – the rabbit is tiny. Those are dandelion leaves and they are not long. He thought he was hiding behind some of the builder’s garbage! But we saw you, cutie pie. Caught in the act. You can eat all of the dandelion leaves you want!

This is Hedwig the Elder over eating the seeds that the birds spill everywhere! What they are really enjoying are the tender shoots.

Bye Hedwig!

Hedwig and Little Hedwig took off together to go to their burrow which is across the back lane underneath a garage.

It has been a week since Victor was rescued. I have not seen an update but it is early in California. Looking forward to some news. Things are rather quiet in Bird World — and goodness, gosh, golly…quiet is welcome. There will be more fledges in the UK and another baby Sea Eagle tomorrow. Something to look forward to….

Thank you for being with me today. Take care Everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Osoyoos Ospreys, Explore.org and IWS, CarnyXwild, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and the Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, Eagle Club of Estonia, Glacier Gardens, Chesapeake Conservancy, and Explore.org and Audubon.