I want to thank ‘S’ and ‘L’ for really wanting the little osprey chick on the Collins Marsh nest to have a name. Long before the Nature Centre announced its contest to name the chick, we were calling that little one, Malin. It means mightly little warrior and he was ‘mighty little’ then. Since then the heat in that area of Wisconsin has dissipated and Malin has been getting a few more feedings. It is a marsh and the fish are smaller than what you see coming out of the lochs in Scotland. Today, Collins, the male, landed a nice one and it took Malin over half an hour to finish eating. There was even some left. Malin went to sleep with a full tummy and that is a wonderful thing.
Malin loves to sit with his face into the sun getting warm but also doing what appear to be his yoga exercises!
Recently Malin has really been exercising his wings. This will help them get strong. Indeed, the extra fish has given this one some added energy.
Malin’s parents are Collins and Marsha. This is their third or fourth year raising chicks on this nest on top of a wild fire tower that was brought to the centre so visitors can see the beautiful marshlands. The nest is on top of the observation area, 120 feet off the ground.
Malin was beginning to grow in the middle of July – slowly. Wisconsin was hit with a drought and then the rains came but also more hot. The last few days have been cooler.
Everyone worried if there would be feather issues and Malin might not be able to fly but all of the aunties and uncles have watched closely along with the local rehabber and we are delighted to report that those feathers are looking good.
Malin is a mighty little warrior. He is the only surviving chick on the nest at Collins Marsh. His two siblings died during the extreme heat wave. Malin is now exercising his wings and we hope that he will have plenty of time to hone his skills and get some fat on his body before migration begins.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a name for the contest and thank you to everyone who voted – no matter what name it was. It is wonderful to see so many people interested in this lovely little Osprey. Let us hope that we find ways for his life to be a good one. As you can see I continue to call Malin a ‘he’. I believe he is a small male and if that is the case then he will return to this area to set up his own nest and find a mate in a couple of years. By then I hope we have figured out how to make that successful on a planet that is getting warmer.
Thanks to Collins Marsh for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and for posting the official name contest for Malin. Thank you for joining me. It is always a pleasure to be among fellow bird lovers!
Oh, it is a gorgeous day on the Canadian prairies. The sky is blue – oh, such a beautiful blue without a cloud. Those, hopefully, will come this week and bring us some more needed rain.
White YW on the Foulshaw Moss nest certainly knows when Blue 463, Tiny Little, wants a fish. My goodness she can cry really loud. You might imagine everyone in the area of the nest could hear her. There is nothing shy about 463 anymore. If she wants something, everyone knows it. And that is the way Dad likes it. Otherwise, he will think she isn’t hungry.
Tiny Little is not subtle that she would like that fish sibling 464 nabbed. She is up to her old tricks – moving sticks, crying, flapping, and staring. Tiny Little is not starving! Yesterday, she had at least 3 of the fish Dad delivered to the nest. She is smart. Bulk up before migration.
When 464 finishes, Tiny Little also does what she is good at – cleaning up all the fish that the siblings leave behind.
The Crow would like it if Tiny Little would leave some fish for it, too.
Blue 463 is gorgeous. No doubt about it – she has grown into a stunning female! This looks like a good image to keep – to compare when she returns to us again in two years time. I am so optimistic about this one and Tiny Tot from Achieva. They are strong survivors.
A really beautiful – and short – video has been posted showing the ringing of two Osprey chicks at a nest in Finland. Have a look. The scenery is stunning!
As many of you are aware, Idris, the male on the Dyfi Osprey Nest in Wales, is super reliable. When he went missing on Wednesday and did not return until the late afternoon on Friday with a sunken crop, everyone became worried about what had happened to him. It was thrilling to see that he was alright. Indeed, he brought in 3 large fish for Telyn, Ystwyth, and Dysnni. While he was away, Telyn delivered fish to the two chicks on the nest without fail. Well done, Telyn!
Ystwyth on the Dyfi Nest eating a really nice fish. There are rumours that Dysnni has migrated but it is unclear if that is true. He has not been seen on the nest for a short period but he could also be getting fish somewhere else. Many birds, once they have fledged, eat off nest. Others like those at Loch of the Lowes always return to the nest. 463 at Foulshaw Moss certainly likes eating there.
Ystwyth eating a fish late Saturday, 14 August 2021. Unknown bird on perch – most likely Telyn.
Aran and Mrs G were seen on their nest in the Glaslyn Valley today together. They are keeping a close eye on that prime real estate!
The gorgeous and formidable Mrs G looking over her territory.
Idyllic.
The Osprey chick at Collins Marsh will get its official name this evening. Fingers and toes crossed. The last time I checked – thanks to so many of you – ‘Malin’ was leading the polling.
‘S’ caught a great shot of Malin getting its third feeding around 1pm today. Three fish before 1pm. We might get to that magical 5 or 6. Fantastic. But look – ‘S’ seems to have solved the mystery of why Collins is shy about delivering fish! Ouch.
Great screen grab, S!
NC0 is still at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest in Scotland. She delivered a really nice salmon to the nest Saturday evening. And isn’t that simply a gorgeous view as the golden rays of the sun kiss everything making it look like autumn?
Both of the chicks remain at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay Osprey Nest. Blue 33 is kept busy feeding these two.
Blue 096 with hers.
Often Blue 096 chases 095 off the nest but here he is below enjoying his fish! Nice one.
Nothing posted on the name but Malin has another fish drop and is doing some wingersizing! Thanks Dad, number four.
Thank you to all of you for joining me today. This was just a hop and a skip to make sure everyone on the Osprey nests were doing OK and they are. Doesn’t get any nicer than that. Take care everyone. Enjoy your weekend.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes.
Live-Streaming Wildlife cams need to post emergency contact information. That is the minimum that should be on their site and it should appear clearly at the top so when an incident occurs, help can be summoned quickly. Saving minutes can be crucial to saving the bird or animal.
This past July the need for quick action happened when the second Osprey to be re-nested on the Patuxent Osprey Cam 2 fell off the nest into the water. Immediately people on the chat, who heard the splash, set about trying to get in touch with someone to help. The problem was the “time” of the event. The office for Patuxent River Park had just closed for the weekend. Individuals from as far away as Hawaii began calling the various wildlife agencies in Maryland to get help for the chick. Luckily someone knew to contact Katherine Dami who rushed out and with her significant other were able to get the chick back in the nest. The chick was saved and Katherine said they were lucky that the tide had not come in! The Park has since posted an e-mail contact which Katherine told me is monitored by staff.
Since this incident, several others have come to my attention. One of the most touching is of a White-tailed Eaglet at its nest in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia. ‘R’ who was so kind to send me the detailed information said that this rescue, despite being three years ago, remains clear in her mind.
Here is a video of the eaglet falling out of the nest at 6:37 am 22 June 2018. The eaglet’s name was Knips and its parents are Cilla, the female, and Osis, the male. The sibling in the nest with Knips is Bossa.
As you watch, I want you to imagine that this could be any other nest. Would you want an emergency number at the very top so you can see it to call immediately?
Bossa comes near to Knips. Perhaps Bossa is wanting a bone or a piece of prey. Knips slips over the edge of the nest. This is witnessed on a live streaming cam. You see this. What do you do? What can you do if there is no urgent contact information? no active chat? a chat but no moderator?
It is very fortunate that the chat for the nests cared for by the Latvian Fund for Nature are monitored. This is very important. Many chat rooms are not monitored and there is no emergency information for the nest if something happens. The local vet, Janis Kuze, was contacted immediately. Lucky for Knips, he contacted and drove Ugis Bergmanis, Senior Latvian Environmental Expert and a renowned European eagle expert, to the nest site. Within two hours, Knips was in care at Bergmanis’s rehabilitation centre which is located near to this nest site. Just as heart warming was the response to the call for fish to feed Knips – more than 20 kilos arrived immediately. How generous.
My contact, ‘R’, says: “It helps that there are in fact two forums (the Estonian Looduskalender and the Latvian Dabasdati) associated to the Baltic nests and there are active chats and via the forum every member can contact someone who knows how to contact a responsible. And the helpful people are numerous and dedicated.”
Here is the image of Knips being released. What a joyful day for everyone this must have been. It certainly brings little tears to my eyes.
Knips and ‘Silo Chick’ are not the only birds ever to fall out of a nest. Each of you reading this might have a story or two, maybe more. It is horrifying watching something unfold like this. One gets quite anxious if they want to help and do not know how.
As you can also see from above, the active chats at both Putaxent and the White Tail Eagle Cam in Latvia are the front line of what I will call “immediate nest knowledge.” Chatters love the birds. They care for them as if they were their own family. It is essential for the health of the birds and animals on these live streaming cams that an easy-to-locate emergency number be provided if there is no moderator or responsible party on the chat 24/7. That number can be the local wildlife rehabilitation officer if they have a 24 hour emergency line – but that number needs to be the individual who will be responsible for getting help for the birds or animals.
There are other aspects of wildlife streaming cams that make the experience of watching more pleasurable. Information about the birds and their history help people care – and some, like me, love data. I want to know the history of the couple, the dates the eggs were laid, and the hatch dates. I would like a link to a full biography of the birds and a full history. Active FB groups help with individuals contacting one another if something happens on the nest. A reader noticed something not right in a nest and realized that an individual on the FB group lived nearby. They were contacted and able to assist the event to a happy ending. Every connection counts! The community of animal and bird watchers and lovers is about sharing information and observations, discovering new birds or animals – knowledge and educational sharing – as well as helping the animals and birds that need our help. As ‘S’ said to me, “letting our voices be known to change the world of birds and other animals for the better.”
So if you know a steaming cam or a FB group get involved. Help them make their streaming cam site “user friendly” in case of an emergency while, at the same time, adding current and historical information for educational purposes. Thanks!
In other news, the Collins Marsh chick that we have been calling ‘Malin’ will be getting an official name. To add a name suggestion please go to the Neustadter Nature Centre at Collins Marsh FB page (you don’t have to be a member of their group) and add your suggestion in the comments. Scroll down a little to get to the topic. You do not have to support ‘Malin’ but if you do – it means ‘little warrior’ and he certainly is going to have to be one.
Malin went without food all day Sunday. This morning a small fish was delivered and he practically sucked it up he was so hungry. I hope that Collins and Marsha will get out fishing and bring some more on to the nest for Malin. Thanks, ‘S’ for digging deep to find the names of these parents!
Do any of my readers live in this area of Wisconsin? I notice that there is a trend of little food during the weekend. Is there a reason for this? Are the rivers and lakes full of people and boats?
This was the first feeding today for Malin.
A second fish came in just a few minutes ago – around 3:05pm nest time. Malin could hardly contain herself.
This is great behaviour – the mantling. Since Malin is the only chick on the nest she has to learn to protect her fish!
On another topic, please look at how well these feathers are developing on this little one. There is an angel watching over this wee osprey.
Mom is getting the message – Malin is hungry!
According to ‘S’, Malin sucked that fish up in 8 minutes!
Our “Not so Tiny Little” on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest was waiting for White YW to deliver one of his whopper’s this afternoon.
Tiny Tot on the Achieva Nest became one of the most elegant Ospreys that I had ever seen. Tiny Little is becoming more gorgeous as each day passes. My heart still skips a beat when I think of these two – they thrived! Against the odds. It is a good lesson for all of us to never give up.
Thank you so much for joining on a day when it poured rain and is now lightly raining on the Canadian prairies. It is so wonderful – I don’t care if every joint in my body aches. Take care all, see you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Osprey Cam, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, and the Latvian Fund for Nature. I want to thank ‘R’ for the information about the rescue of Knips, for the links to the videos, and the images – what a wonderful rescue of that little white tail eaglet by the community. I also want to thank ‘S’ for her fabulous sleuthing.
Kindness, the Bald Eagle nestling in the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Nest in Juneau, Alaska is 70 days old today (5 August). Bald Eagles are considered fully grown at 12 weeks. The average age of fledging on the Glacier Gardens nest is 89 days while the rest of Alaska is 80 days. Kindness had a quiet Thursday. It was misting rain. Mid-afternoon Dad brought Kindness a small live fish. She ate it all!
Kindness is very good at mantling.
Kindness was fascinated by the flopping of the tail of the live fish.
She is growing into such a beautiful juvenile.
Kindness is such a sweet little Eaglet.
You can watch her here:
The little osprey nestling, Malin, on the Collins Marsh Nature Cam, had at least five feedings on Wednesday. A big shout out to ‘S’ in Hawaii for counting those feedings! Malin’s tail and wing features are looking so much better.
It was nice to see Malin with a bit of a crop early Wednesday afternoon. Those feathers are really developing and that girl loves to use her eye liner. Can’t wait to see what Malin looks like when she has all of her juvenile plumage.
Malin’s crop got bigger. So happy to see this. When Tiny Tot on the Achieva Nest needed food to really grow and begin to catch up, it arrived. Everyone’s warm wishes must be working for Malin! I do hope she grows feathers back over that shiny crop. I don’t think I have ever seen that in an Osprey chick, have you?
Malin is becoming quite the character. She is so happy when mom is on the nest. I wish I could sit in that yoga position like Malin does!
The Collins Marsh Osprey Cam is here:
At the White Bellied Sea Eagle nest in Sydney, it is all about the feedings. Unlike Kindness who eats more and requires less feedings, these little nestlings require lots of feedings with fewer bites. Lady and Dad have both been taking turns feeding and brooding. Lady does do all of the night time brooding. 27 and 28 can melt your heart. I have been told the bonking is minimal.
27 is 7 days old and 28 is 5 days old. These two are really sweet.
Lady just adores these little ones. She is so happy to be a mom again.
You can catch all of the action at the WBSE Nest in the Sydney Olympic Park here:
Hob Osterlund reports that Amazonia, the last of the Laysan Albatross Colony to hatch, fledged sometime between Monday and Tuesday off Kauai. For me, there are always a few tears when the birds fledge but no more so than for the Albatross who spend 4-6 years at sea before ever returning to land. What a leap of faith that first flight brings and how astounding it must be to fly. Take care H958. We hope to see you in Kauai in a few years with your sea legs on.
@ Hob Osterlund
There is troubling brewing down in Orange, Australia. Xavier and Diamond have been preparing the scrape box for the 2021 season. Izzi was officially 10 months old yesterday. There was a confrontation in the scrape box with Xavier. Neither bird was injured but it was Xavier that left the box. Most people feel that Xavier and Diamond will now have to treat Izzi like any other intruder – unless, of course, he wants to join in raising his siblings. It has happened – actually worked well – in the UK. We wait and watch.
Cilla Kinross posted a very short video of the unfortunate encounter:
It is a new day in the scrape box. Xavier arrives with a male Red-rumped Parrot as a food gift for Diamond around 11:20. He calls Diamond and she quickly arrives accepting the gift and fleeing the scrape box. Xavier waits and leaves after. This is good. I did not see anything of Izzi!
Diamond must have been so happy that Xavier brought a parrot than a Starling!
She grabs it quickly and goes out to enjoy her meal.
Here is the link to the camera for the Falcon Cam at Charles Sturt University:
The female at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge laid her first egg of the 2021 season two days ago. Today should be egg#2. It wasn’t there at 12:32 on August 5 (nest time) but Mum looked restless and uncomfortable.
Still only one egg. Old timers tell me that there can be 4 days between eggs.
The 2018 hatch, Calypso, has been seen hunting just north of the barge. She was the first Osprey banded for a long, long time in Australia. She stays within 10 km of the barge – a real difference from Solly who remains up near Eba Anchorage, more than 200 km away.
Those beautiful Black Stork nestlings are doing very well. Everyone worries because these lovely nestlings hatched so very late. It is hoped their parents will stay with them and not leave for migrate before they can fly.
My friend in Latvia, ‘S’, also included a video that was made showing how the nest looked after last year’s season was ending. Wow, that nest is really narrow at the base. Have a peek!
The light in the forest changes throughout the day. There has been lovely misty rain in the early mornings with the sun bursting through later in the day. I must rewind the streaming cam today to find the parents returning to this nest to feed this trio.
There is still plenty of time before these beauties fledge. You can watch this rare Black Stork nest in Latvia of Grafs And Grafiene here:
Thank you so much for checking in with our birds today. It looks like everyone is doing fine except for Xavier and Izzi. We hope that is sorted and Izzi, the little cutie pie that no one wants to leave, is on his way to start his journey and find a mate! Take care all. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots: The Latvian Fund for Nature, the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam, Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Sea Eagles, Birdlife Australia and the Sydney Discovery Centre, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Falcon Cam Project at Charles Sturt University in Orange, and to Hob Osterlund for the photo of Amazonia on her FB page.
The sun is bright but not too hot, the Hibiscus continues to bloom, and Tiny Little is on the Foulshaw Moss nest eating a large fish. That is a great beginning to the day.
This is actually ‘the tea time’ fish for our favourite little fledgling on the Foulshaw Moss nest. It is about 16:00 in Cumbria.
Tiny Little is so smart. She doesn’t waste her time and energy fighting with the mouth and eyes of the fish, she rips a part of the belly open and begins to eat the side and the bottom of the fish. She is ever mindful that there are also two hungry siblings lurking about.
Tiny Little ate off that fish for more than an hour. She got a lot of really nice fish Great work, Tiny Little!
After what appears to be an hour and a half, big sibling 464 arrives. I missed the hand off. Was Tiny Little finished or did 464 come in and take the fish? We will never know. 464 has been fighting with the front of that fish for over an hour now. Sibling 462 is waiting their turn! Tiny Little has flown off.
In the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Park, Lady has been busy feeding 27 and 28. Oh, they are so cute! I love this stage. Lady is so gentle feeding them with her big beak. They look like two little snow people with arms.
The Only Bob or Bobette in the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest in Wisconsin has had a couple of feedings this morning and perhaps more by now; it is now 13:33 on that nest. The fish that are being brought to the nest by both parents are quite small. I wonder if all the fish are that small? or are the bigger fish lurking around in deeper water?
The chick is being watched for feather development. It is hoped that the ‘blood’ feathers will grow fully and, at the time of fledging, the chick will have a full set of juvenile plumage.
In the image below, you might want to look at what some people call the quills on the left wing. As the feathers grow, those quills break open and eventually fall off. This is what we are watching.
Yesterday I reported that Bonifac, one of the male storklings cared for by the people of Mlade Buky had been electrocuted just like its mother. The other male, Servac had not been to the nest but was seen flying with other storks. Pantrac has been to the nest to be fed. There were no storks on the nest so far today. This is not unusual! The storks are beginning to gather for their migration to Africa. Yesterday might well have been the last day for them in Mlade Buky.
Before the age of Immarsat M and GPS, the only way to study the migration of the storks was if they were ringed. In 1933, a short entry in Nature Magazine (30 September, p 509) says that ‘Storks nesting east of the River Elbe have been found to use the Asia Minor route when migrating, and those nesting west of the Elbe are stated to take the route through Spain.’ Today those similar routes are simply called the Easter and the Western. The western is through Spain and the Straits of Gibraltar while the eastern has the birds flying through Egypt following the Nile. With Satellite tracking, the birds are now known to winter in Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Senegal, Nigeria and the Niger River Basin.
The observations of the success of the migration and the concerns in 1933 are similar to those in 2021. It is a two month journey for the Danish storks – anything can happen between the time the storks leave and arrive. Even with laws protecting migrating birds, these lovely creatures have been known to have been shot down in France, Malta, and in parts of Egypt. There are many other things that impact this hazardous journey – changing climates, lack of food and water can all contribute to the loss of the birds.
Because we are talking about European laws, it is essential that the countries that make up the European Union – and many who do not- work together to ensure that the killing of migrating birds in European states is halted. There also need to be uniform protections in the territories where the birds migrate. As the world changes, following the SARS Covid-19 pandemic, countries in African that have been devastated by wars, famine, droughts, and epidemics need to understand that ‘birding’ can be an economic success story. People will begin to travel. Bird Tourism can bring vital monies into these struggling economies.
There is, however, another very troubling trend. As the climates change some of the storks are not migrating. Traditionally, they travelled to Africa where food supplies were plentiful during the winter when they were not in Europe. One troubling occurrence is that many of the European storks who take the western route are now stopping and living in garbage dumps in Spain and Portugal during the winter. There are groups that are not happy with the storks being there year round. One of them is called ‘Stop Storks’. A discussion of the issues is in an article, “European Storks become Couch Potatoes and Junk Food Junkies” in Environment.
Speaking of storks, one of the nests that I have, embarrassingly not mentioned for some time, is that of the Black Storks in the Karula National Park in Estonia. The camera was broken during a severe storm on 25 June and was not operational again until 15 July. Oh, those wee babies sure have grown. Their parents are Karl II and Kaia.
The trio was ringed on 9 July. You can see the bands. Those bands contain Kotkaklibi transmitters. To my knowledge this is the first instance this type of satellite tracker has been used on the Black Storks. The band numbers are as follows 716U for the oldest chick, 716P for the middle, and 716T for the youngest. Names are pending.
In the image below you can see both the banding ring and the transmitters on the legs a little better. Hopefully reports will come back on a regular basis so that we can follow these three as they undertake their first migration.
Here is the link to the streaming cam of the Black Storks in the Karula National Park in Estonia:
Thank you so much for joining me today. Please go and see those lovely Black Storks. We are now at 1 August and they will not be with us for much longer. I hope everyone is well. Take care. Enjoy.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, the Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre, the Collins Marsh Nature Centre and Osprey Cam, the Mlade Buky White Stork Cam, and the the Eagle Club of Estonia.
Please Note. I have very strong opinions and will always advocate hard for ways in which to protect birds. My son sent me an article with some videos on a troubling conspiracy theory in the United States. It is the ‘Birds are Not Real’ group. They believe that birds are equipped with transmitters and are actually drones that are for surveillance. Those beliefs would cause the killing of innocents. If you know of someone who believes this, please have a gentle conversation with them. If you want to check out their beliefs and what is happening, please Google: Birds are Not Real.
