Kindness, the daughter of Liberty and Freedom, in the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle nest branched at 9:39 am nest time in Juneau, Alaska.
Kindness spent quite a bit of time off the nest – playing with the nest and dismantling it a bit. She was rewarded with a really big fish by Mom on her return!
Kindness is 82 days old today. The average age for fledging at the Glacier Gardens nest is 89 days. It is an average of 80 days in Alaska.
Oh, Kindness really likes the feel of the air under her wings! GG4 left the nest 14 days after branching. GG5 left the nest 8 days after branching.
Kindness is GG6. Let us hope we have a little more time to spend with her. She is so sweet!
You can still catch a lot of action as Kindness works those wings. Here is the link to the streaming cam:
Oh, I love that picture on the streaming cam. Look how little Kindness was up against Mom Liberty!
It’s 4:42 nest time in Collins Marsh. The last time I peeked at Malin he was eating another fish delivery. That was at 2:16. There will most likely be another one before dusk. Gosh, Malin is growing. He has six clear bands on his tail and before long, he is going to be hovering around that nest.
Here are some cute Malin pictures to put a smile on your face.
Here is that 2:17 delivery.
Malin ate it all and laid down on the nest duckling style.
It’s been a great day for these two – Kindness and Malin. Congratulations to Kindness, Liberty, Freedom and all the folks at Glacier Gardens.
For those looking to get an Iris pen, I checked. Dr Greene has picked up another box of twigs that have been turned into pens. There are a few left. If you don’t remember how to order, send me a comment and I will give you the instructions Dr Greene left.
Thank you for joining me. We needed a good news story today and we have two of them. That is wonderful. I am hoping to wake up tomorrow and read that Grafs has found that gorgeous Grafiene 2 and is filling his kids with fish!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams: Glacier Gardens Park in Juneau, Alaska and Collins Marsh Nature Cam in Wisconsin.
A lady in Manitoba is trying to figure out if anyone has ever seen what is happening at her house. Keely calls it a ‘strange domestic situation’. The nest has 3 robin chicks. The couple taking are of them are a Robin and a Sparrow. Both of the birds sit on the nest, feed the chicks, clean up the nestlings pop sacs, as well as standing guard. The couple often sit next to one another on the telephone line. Keely finds it fascinating. Have you ever seen such an adoption?
The little sparrow’s head almost fits into the mouth of the Robin nestling when he comes to feed it.
The proud couple!
In Montana, there has been a second life given to an Osprey chick. Ospreys are known to be very good foster parents. The researchers at the Montana Osprey Project have been busy. They are trying something very complicated called cross-fostering.
Yesterday they found a second chick that was found tangled in baling twine at the Steinbrenner’s House. It was an only chick. If they removed it to care the parents might leave for their migration. At the same time, the original chick that was taken to care for baling twine entanglement was ready to go back to its nest. That chick’s name was Kona. But its older sibling had fledged and the parents weren’t at the nest much.
So Kona was put in the nest at the Steinbrenner’s house. The plan is to keep the parent’s busy taking care of Kona until their chick is out of rehab in a week or so. Then they will have two chicks to look after.
So how did it work? Kona was placed in the Steinbrenner nest and she begin flapping and wingersizing. At the same time, the person with the Montana Osprey Project put two trout in the nest with her.
Kona with her two gift trout in the Steinbrenner House nest. @ Montana Osprey FB Page
The female landed on the nest and there was no aggression spotted. The female took one of the trout and flew to eat it. Kona began eating the other trout. Meanwhile, the male arrived with a fish which, when seeing everyone eating, he took off to eat himself. The female went back to the nest and both her and Kona are eating on the fish. Another great intervention to help the birds. Smile. It is fantastic! The latest news is that all is well.
Those stories just make you feel really good!
Other Nest News. If you are needing to see some Bald Eagles, Harriet and M15 are back hanging out at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest on the Pritchett Property in Fort Myers. Samson was seen on the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest and that streaming cam is up and running after its annual maintenance. The Collins Marsh Osprey is looking good.
The Achieva Osprey nest has had an adult visitor today. Rumours have it that it could be Jack, the female, just checking on his territory. Blue 463 otherwise known as Tiny Little Tot on the Foulshaw Moss Nest has become the dominant bird on the nest – wow. A mighty third hatch. She was there today waiting for a fish delivery and looking good.
Zenit continues to grow and stay close to the nest for prey deliveries. This Golden Eagle juvenile has really grown! The Asociata Wild Bucovina that sponsors this nest have received enough donations to have two cameras operating next season. Congratulations to them.
It has been a really uplifting day in Bird World. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Asociata Wild Bucovina, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, and the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest Cam. Thanks also to Keely on the Manitoba Birding & Photography FB Group for allowing us to share her story and to the Montana Osprey Project FB Page.
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.
Friday morning started off fantastic with Tiny Little on the nest alone food calling. She was later joined by older sibling, 462.
What you need to know is that Tiny Little had an entire fish to herself a little earlier for breakfast! Just look at her enjoying that fish!
7:45 nest time. Nice fish delivered by White YW to his girl.
Tiny Little returned later and was joined by 462. Yes, I said that already! They waited and waited. All that waiting and food calling paid off! Both Tiny Little (or Bobbie to some) and older sibling got a fish – older sib gets the flounder, Tiny Little has something else (?). Dad, you are fantastic. This is the way to keep the kids happy and quiet.
Tiny Little is the fledgling on the right. She is a ‘big’ girl! I am just so delighted to be able to see her. She is growing and growing. Tiny simply doesn’t fit anymore!!!!!!
This is the link to the Osprey Nest at Foulshaw Moss managed by Cumbrian Wildlife Trust:
But there was more happiness. To top it off, the little Osprey nestling at Collins Marsh Nature Centre had two feedings before 9:30 this morning. If this pace keeps up Malin is really going to have a big growth spurt this week. Already the tail and back feathers are remarkably changed from last week.
And another feeding here. So happy to see these parents stepping up the food. Malin is really starting to present as a juvenile Osprey now. I keep looking at those little feet – wonder if we have a little boy here? Male or female it doesn’t matter. Malin is really a gorgeous/handsome.
The link to the Osprey nest at Collins Marsh is here:
One of my readers was asking about the nest for the Black Storks in Latvia. I was able to find some information and a couple of images so that you can see the beautiful forests in the area.
The nest is in a forest in the Sigulda region of Latvia. It is 53 km southeast of the capital, Riga. It is the orange area on the map below.
The area is home to Sigulda New Castle and the remains of a medieval castle built in 1207.
These are the remains of the medieval castle. It is a major tourist site and because of this, Latvia has stabilized some of the walls so it can be fully appreciated.
The nest in the forest is on a pine branch that extends about 1.8 metres from the trunk of the tree. So, in plain English, the nest is on a branch that is sticking out —- just a big branch! I know. Take a deep breath. It could make you nervous. The nest is 18 metres from the ground. Imagine these storks on such a branch! I kept thinking they could slide off the edge.
The youngest storkling is 53 days old today. It is flapping its wings and gets really excited. The eldest is 56 days old and the middle one is 54 days.
The adults, Grafs and Grafiene, have to be very careful when they come to feed their little ones now so they do not slide off the nest. It is getting a little crowded as the nestlings grow!
One of the moderators for the nest forum created a video of Grafiene coming to feed the storklings about one month ago. It is very short but shows us just how much these nestlings have grown in that time. Just look how tiny they were.
All of the storks meet to begin their migration. ‘S’ tells me that they land on the tops of all the houses, the hydro poles, and the trees. And then they begin clacking and this is the beginning of their long journey as far as South Africa. Everyone is a little sad when they leave.
The link to the Latvian Black Storks is here:
Don’t all babies look sweet when they are sleeping? The little sea eaglets are no exception. You would never know that they are so tired from all the mischief they cause when their parents aren’t watching.
They look like little angels.
Dad is making sure that there is lots of food on the nest.
Here is the link to the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in Sydney’s Olympic Park. It is the only WBSE nest in the world that is streaming live. One of the really neat things is just listening to the forest sounds when the streaming cam is on. You will hear many Australian birds. There are lots of YouTube videos of the birds and the sounds they make. Just do a search of ‘Australian Bird Sounds’.
There has been a lot of chatter about when the female ospreys in the UK will be leaving the nests and heading off on their migration. Blue NC0 is still up at the Loch of the Lowes working hard, along with Laddie, to feed LM 1 and LM 2. She is known to catch big fish and this morning she brought in a whopper. The sad part was NC0 worked so hard to get this fish out of the water and on to the nest and one of the kids let it fly off the nest. It happens but we all must appreciate the real effort these parents put into feeding these juveniles especially when they must be eating themselves, fattening up, to make their journeys.
NC0 has turned into one wonderful mom over the season. It has been such a joy to watch her develop from when the little ones hatched and we had no idea if she was going to figure out how to feed them!
The fledglings still associate the nest with food so you might still get in some good action. This has to be one of the most beautiful nest locations in the world. When I went to check, I could see the Ospreys flying around and food calling on the branches at the top left of the image below. So turn up your sound and look there when you check on this nest.
Here is the link to their camera:
I checked to see if the names had been announced for Louis and Dorcha’s chicks on the ‘other’ Lock Arkaig nest. There seems to be no mention or I have missed it. So hold on. Will let you know as soon as I hear anything! I am also waiting for the Collins Street Peregrine Falcon cam to come on live. You are going to be in for a real treat with that falcon nest! I promise.
Thank you for joining me today. I hope everyone is well. Tomorrow I am heading out to find the local hawk. Expect news to come in the late afternoon for all the nests. Enjoy your weekend. Stay safe.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cameras where I took my screen shots: The Latvian Fund for Nature and the Sigulda Black Stork Nest, the Collins Marsh Nature Centre and Osprey Cam, the Sea Eagles, Birdlife Australia, and Discovery Centre, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Friends of the Loch of the Lowes.
Every once in awhile I hear from one of my former students. It is always a treat. Yesterday a letter popped into the inbox from Taiwan. This student was excited when I wrote about the Black Kite nest in the cemetery near Taipei but on Monday, they said that their absolute favourite raptor is the Oriental Honey Buzzard. The Honey Buzzards live in the high mountains and unlike other raptors who eat meat, birds, or fish, the Oriental Honey Buzzard eats bee pupae. Bee Pupae is the third stage in the development of the bee with the first being the egg, then the larvae, the pupae, and then finally the adult honey bee. Honey Buzzards are from the Genus Pernis. This includes the Western Honey Buzzard that lives in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa , the Barred that lives in the Philippines and Sulawesi, and then the Oriental whose nests are in eastern Asia including Taiwan.
Just look at the beautiful colouring. The female is larger than the male; they range from 57-61 cm long (or at the maximum a little over 2 ft). The wing span is 121-135 cm or at their maximum 4.5 ft. The head is smaller in proportion to the body than many raptors.
I am just learning about this very interesting raptor. They are quite beautiful. There are several YouTube videos. The shortest is interesting but the images are not clear. The longer one has gorgeous images of all the animals that live in the forest with an excellent introduction into this amazing raptor. Enjoy at your leisure!
As you might know, I have been hoping to get a glimpse of Tiny Little (or Little Bob) at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest in Cumbria. She has alluded me. Still awake at 2am I decided to check on that nest – and guess what? There was Tiny Little doing what she does best – trying to take a fish from one of her older siblings. Tiny Little tried her normal tactics including wing flapping the older sib who decided to wing flap back!
After the older sibling got tired of Tiny Little’s activities, it took the fish and flew away. Tiny Little then did what she does best. She found all kinds of fish that the bigger sibling had lost in the nest! Well done Tiny Little!
Malin, the chick on the Collins Marsh Nature Centre’s Osprey Nest had at least two feedings this morning. I was running in and out and did not rewind to dawn. The feather issue appears to be a missing/yet to be developed primary feather but I am not an expert.
Malin’s feathers might be late growing in. We continue to be optimistic. Despite the fact that the fish are small, they are coming in to the nest and she appears to be eating well and growing.
You can see how that section of Malin’s wing hangs in a worrisome way.
The joint between the upper wing or patagium and the primaries is called the wrist. The feathers of the upper wing are growing nicely and every day the tail appears longer.
OTHER NEST NEWS:
Blue 494 fledged today at the Pont Croesor nest at Glaslyn, 50 days old. 494 is the son of Blue 014 and Z2 (Aeron). He has great DNA! Congratulations to everyone.
Zenit continues to grow into the most beautiful Golden Eagle in Bucovina, Romania. He has been sharing parts of a deer with his mother and Zenit has the most enormous crop. I would love to see this size of crop on Malin!
The colour of the plumage is simply gorgeous. It has been a real privilege to see this Golden Eagle grow from a tiny bobble.
Hopefully the little sea eagles, 27 and 28, will grow and be nice to one another. Dad has been sharing in some of the brooding and Lady and Dad have both fed the babies. Postings on FB say that Lady fed the chicks ten times today! There is no shortage of food although some are giggling that they do not particularly like Bream. Interesting.
Gough Island Restoration. The second bait application is now complete. The drive to eradicate the mice and rats killing the Tristan and Sooty Albatross got a break in the weather and completed their mission. We will be looking forward to a wonderful assessment.
That is it for today. Tomorrow I am heading out to attempt another day of ‘bird photography’. This could become a running joke. I had forgotten how heavy big lenses are. Wish me luck.
Thank you for joining me today. If you did not know about the Honey Buzzard, I hope you found those birds quite interesting. Take care. Tomorrow we will catch up on what is going on with the storks in Latvia and Estonia and with Big Red and the Ks.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots: Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre, Collins Marsh Nature Centre Osprey Cam, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, and the Bucovina Golden Eagle Cam.
It is a gorgeous day on the Canadian Prairies. The extreme heat of the past has dissipated and the sun is shining. There is no wind, every leaf is still. The only thing moving in the garden are the little songbirds waiting for the feeders to be filled. No wind means there is no smoke from the wildfires farther north. It is a nice change. We are all hoping for big downpours and, if the weather report is correct, that will come at the weekend.
A serious lump came in my throat this morning when I went to check on Tiny Little at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest. No one was there this morning (nest time) and now the crows are picking at the nest. Normally, at this time of day, Tiny Little would be on the nest waiting for a fish drop. There appear to be no birds in the parent tree in the background. The Crows are a reminder that the days of seeing our Ospreys are precious ones.
I returned to the Foulshaw Moss nest several times. The last visit revealed Blue 464 – the first of White YW and Blue 35’s chicks to fledge – on the nest food calling. You could see the shadow of another bird on the camera at times.
There are some ‘late’ nests and some just starting in case you are having empty nest syndrome.
One of those nests is at the Collins Marsh Nature Centre in Wisconsin. So as not to confuse everyone, the constant watchers got together. Each felt the chick needed a name, even if it was just for us. ‘S’ from Hawaii suggested Malin which means ‘strong little warrior.’ It fit perfectly for this small chick. Voted for unanimously amongst our small but caring group! So from now on I will refer to him or her as Malin, just so you know.
The female was not on the Collins Marsh nest when I checked. She is absent for long periods of time. I want to think she is fishing and will be back to feed Malin or she is just resting. The male has made a fish delivery. This time it is headless. Malin is confused because Dad will not ever do any feeding. Malin is standing and walking much better than last week but he still wants to be fed by the adult.
Malin continues to try and get the male to feed him the fish but it is not happening!
Once Malin realized that he was being left to fiend for himself, he started self-feeding on the fish. Because this one is headless, Malin is making much better progress. This little one is trying very hard.
There is a concern about the feather growth of Malin. Unfortunately, the camera is not clear. Yesterday, ‘S’ took some screen shots that indicated some wing feathers near the tips could be missing. If you look carefully at the image below, you can see the green grass through both wings clearly. This could be a serious concern for this young bird.
Thinking about Malin’s development, a search through the FB pages of the nature centre indicates that three chicks hatched on this nest on 16, 18, and 20 of June. Historically, the smallest – the third – has died on this nest with the exception of one year. This year Malin is the only one to survive leaving us to believe that he was either the first or second hatch. That would mean that he is either 46 or 44 days old. From Osprey development charts, it appears that Malin is about two weeks behind the average in growth. This is most likely due to the low food deliveries.
Maris Strazds, from the Institute of Biology at the University of Latvia states that the availability of food determines the dates of fledging and also that the survival rate of chicks is better if they spend more time on the nest after fledging. Strazds is speaking specifically about storks but this is also known to be true in hawks and falcons and I would like to think that it also extends to Ospreys and Bald Eagles.
While the feather growth is being monitored by the Wisconsin DNR Biologist and a concerned Wildlife Rehabber of the area, access to the nest is a problem. The nest is situated on top of a wildlife tower that was moved to this site so that people could climb the stairs and view the countryside. Here is a close up view. It appears that a metal roof with a peak was fabricated to fit on top of the flat roofed water tower.
In this image the nest looks quite deep. This image was taken several years ago and it seems that the nest has been reduced in size – perhaps by strong winds. Photographic comparison of the nest cup now with the chick and a couple of years ago also indicates a loss of nesting material, perhaps substantial amounts, missing.
It is difficult to determine if there is a wooden support under the twigs. If you look at the images of the nest with Malik (above) it appears that there is something ‘square’ underneath a couple of layers of twigs.
My concern is that if the feather development on Malin is problematic, there is no emergency access to the nest from the observation box. In other newsletters I have indicated that there should be a means to access the nest without compromising the safety of the individuals trying to help the birds.
There is only one operational White-Bellied Sea Eagle cam in the world. It is at the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Park and the excitement there is just beginning. These two little ones, 27 and 28, appear to be getting along without food competition. Of course that can change but there has been plenty of Catfish Eels (or is it Eel Catfish?) on the nest.
Right now the sea eagles are sleeping. One little babe can be seen sleeping on Lady’s leg.
You can access this streaming cam here:
Tomorrow I will give you some information on other nests in Australia including two Peregrine Falcon streaming cams.
If it is Bald Eagles you love then the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Nest in Juneau, Alaska is not to be missed. Kindness is such a little sweetheart. Liberty and Freedom are helping her by trying to get her self-feeding skills honed. The eagles fledge later in Alaska because they are bigger in size than the ones hatching in the Southern US who are already off the nest. At Glacier Gardens, the average fledge is 89 days after hatch while the rest of Alaska is 80 days on average.
‘L’ also sent me the link to an Osprey nest that she has just discovered. The chick hatched on 23 June. It is a real little sweetheart ——- and the camera definition is excellent!
It is the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey Nest. There is only one surviving chick. The other perished on 26 June; the cause is not clear. This chick looks extremely healthy. The nest is on top of a platform at the University of Minnesota. Enjoy!
Because so many of you love storks, I want to mention two that my friend, ‘S’ in Latvia says are very special. One nest is in Latvia and the other is in Estonia.
The Black Stork nest in Latvia is very special. The birds are listed as critically endangered and it is rare to see them in Latvia even though the White Stork population is healthy. The male is Grafs. ‘S’ explains to me that the nest is late because Grafs was a bachelor and waited a very long time for his mate, Grafiene, to arrive. The three storklings hatched on 12, 14, and 15 of June. There are many challenges for this couple and their trio. The first is the late hatching date and the worry about whether or not the parents will remain with the storklings until they are developed and strong enough for migration. The storklings will be ready for fledging in 20 or more days. That puts it at the third week of August. As we know, storks are already gathering for their migration so watchers can only wait and hope and take the beauty of this nest a day at a time – as we always do with other nests. The second concern has been the dangerous heat that has hit nests all around the world causing a drop in prey delivery. The third is the nest itself. It appears to be unsafe despite the fact that other stork couples have fledged chicks in previous years.
I want to add that the chicks are very healthy – they are doing so well so I want all of us to be optimistic. This year I have seen miracles happen on nests – I only have to look at Tiny Tot on the Achieva Osprey Nest and Tiny Little on Foulshaw Moss to know that positive things can happen if we all send warm wishes. Even the turning of the deadly storm cells away from the nest at Collins Marsh was another of those miracles or the safe return of the male at the Barnegat Light Osprey Nest in NJ after being missing for a day due to that same weather system. So, we wait, watch, and hope.
You can watch this beautiful nest here:
It is raining today on the nest. Oh, how I wish the beautiful storklings could send some of that moisture to Canada!
There is also a forum in English for this nest where you can go back and see the long history and discuss the nest. You can access it at
The second Black Stork nest is actually in Estonia. As in Latvia, Black Storks are loved in Estonia and are rare.
It is also raining at this nest today, too.
The parents are Jan and Janika. The nest is very stable so there are no worries with the structure. But because of the horrific heat that has impacted all nests, food deliveries have sometimes been problematic. Janika, like the mother on the Collins Marsh Osprey nest also disappears for long periods. These storklings will also have a challenge to be flight ready for when the migration begins. Again, we can watch with wonder at these extraordinary birds but we must be aware of some of the challenges that birds encounter. Life is not easy.
I really want to thank ‘S’ for bringing these two Black Stork nests to my attention plus sending me all of the information about them. They are such beautiful and rare birds and it is a real privilege to see them hatch, grow and learn, and then begin their journeys. In addition, I want to thank ‘L’ for sending the information on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Ospreys and ‘S’ for finding all the images of the tower at Collins Marsh and the Nest and the great name for the Collins Marsh chick – Malin.
And I want to thank you for joining me today. It is always a pleasure to have you here with all the other bird lovers around the world. Stay safe everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Eagle Club of Estonia, Latvian Fund for Nature, Collins Marsh Nature Center, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre, Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Nest, and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey Cam.
Do people who love storks like to send me private notes? Most often, no one will mention in a comment that their favourite bird is actually ‘the stork’. It is curious. My interest in storks is their behaviour, and sometimes their actions can be alarming. This is especially true when the adults decide there is not enough food available for seven storks, only three or four. Of course, the question lingers: why do some storks lay so many eggs that hatch when there is not nearly enough food for even half? The only answer that I have is that they are ‘insurance eggs’ like the second egg in an eagle nest.
For those people who love storks, here is something special. This video clip is of the White Stork nest in Mlade Burky, Czech Republic, this afternoon when two are on the nest in the hope of getting a meal from Father Stork. You might think that this is a ‘contemporary’ stork dance! They are incredibly graceful.
Pantrac with Father Stork. 31 July 2021
This video clip shows Pantrac, the female, on the nest. She has just flown in. She sees Father Stork arriving in the distance and is food begging.
This is the link to the streaming cam for the White Storks in Mlade Buky:
The storks were given lovely names. Pankrac (CE887) is the female seen in the video clip above with the dad, Bukacek. Servac (CE886) and Bonifac (CE885) were the two males. Sadly, I received a message today that Bonifac has been electrocuted in the same manner as his mother. He was killed on 29 July at approximately 14:08. It was not the same pole.
Is there a silver lining? My reader ‘S’ believes so. There are two healthy storks alive thanks to Sandor Havran and Jin Zeman, who organized feeding the little ones and then feeding Bukacek separately to not frighten the growing storks. Bukacek often fed his little ones ten times a day. That is incredible. The issue of electrocutions is not limited to Czechoslovakia. It has happened in my province also.
My reader, ‘S’, informs me that a law was passed to place protections for the birds on the electric transmission lines in 2009. That law was 458/2009 Coll. According to ‘S’, “it imposes a duty to secure all high voltage lines against bird injury by 2024.” The work is scheduled to begin in August of this year. I am not surprised that the company is waiting until the very last minute to put these protections for the birds. Ironically, it might have been much more cost-effective if they had begun the project in 2009 instead of eleven years later. It is only through the public’s caring that our Manitoba Hydro follows the laws in my province. Just a few months ago, they were caught clear-cutting around hydro poles in an area with active nests. Phone calls to the company, our provincial premier, and the newspapers and television stations paused until the birds left the area. Sadly, in the Czech Republic, it is too late for Bonifac and his mother, Barunka and hundreds of other birds of all species who die annually.
I see only Pantrac sleeping on the nest tonight. The father, Bukacek, came to the nest to feed the two fledglings before night. He called Servac, but he did not come, so Servac is not close to the nest. Only Pankrac got to eat. Here is she sleeping so beautifully on one leg! Servac was seen flying with other storks during the afternoon.
I found another little video on YouTube. It is only about a minute long and was shot by someone ‘shocked’ by all the stork nests! The community in a village in Poland love their storks. In fact, more storks live in the village than people who share their rooftops with these amazing birds.
In other bird news, the cuteness factor certainly exists on the White Bellied Sea Eagle nest in the Sydney Olympic Park Forest. Here is Lady feeding the two little ones, 27 and 28, a couple of hours ago.
The Collins Marsh chick has had a few feedings today. This one was about 4pm nest time.
If you have been wondering about the Black-Browned Albatross that is at Bempton Cliffs in the UK and not in the Southern Ocean, here is an excellent article:
I found only an empty nest every time I checked on Tiny Little today. So, let us assume that with wonderful parents like she has, she had some fish sometime today!
I would like to introduce you to some of the ‘wildlife’ that live in my urban garden that has ‘gone to the birds’.
This is ‘Little Woodpecker’. He shares the large suet cylinder with insects with the Blue Jays, three grey squirrels, and Little Red. It was not so long ago that Little Woodpecker brought the fledgling to find the feeder.
This is Little Red. He has decided to come and have a drink while the bowls were lined up to be cleaned. Little Red – and all the Little Reds after – have a lifetime lease on our large shed. The City believes it is a garage, and they have no sense of humour when I tell them my car won’t fit in there, and it is a squirrel that lives there! He takes all the seeds from the Maple Trees and builds very warm baskets throughout the space.
This is Hedwig. Hedwig’s mother brought him and left him under the bird feeders when he was about a month old. Here he is at one year with his short little ears. To this day, Hedwig sits under the bird feeders and loves it when they are full of birds tossing seeds everywhere!
Thank you so much for joining me today. I am so sorry to bring you the sad news about Bonifac. Send warm wishes out to all our bird friends for plenty of food and a safe environment. We owe it to them! Take care, everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to ‘S’ for writing to inform me about Bonifac and the laws regarding protections. It is much appreciated. Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots and video clip: Mlade Buky White Stork Cam, Collins Marsh Nature Centre and Osprey Cam, and the Sea Eagles, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre.
Oh, what a relief to go to the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest and see all three of White YW and Blue 35’s fledglings on the nest. Big Sibling 462 had the fish.
Of course, Tiny Little had her back of tricks open to try and get that fish and sibling 462 knows that Tiny Little is getting much better at stealing fish.
So, 462 decides that the best approach is to take off with the fish in talon! Meanwhile, 464 is at the back of the nest, only partly paying attention.
Tiny Little reminds me so much of Tiny Tot from the Achieva Osprey Nest. No matter what, Tiny Tot would dig around in the nest and find food. That is precisely what Tiny Little is doing right now. The first thing she eyes is a nice fishtail.
She eats all of the fish and horks down that tail like the pro at self-feeding she now is.
Then after digging around a little more, look what she finds. Wow. A great big piece of fish. Way to go, Tiny Little.
When she finished those treasures, Tiny Little began to move sticks around. Was this to pass the time? Or was it in search of more hidden treasure?
Both Tiny Little and 464 ‘think’ that a fish drop is imminent. They have seen an adult, and they are both food calling.
Each has tried to find the perfect position to get in close and take the fish from dad, White YW.
And now both have flown off the nest! That fish drop must have been made somewhere else, off-camera. It was so good to see all of them but, particularly, Tiny Little. She is looking really well.
News has come in from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation that this year’s chicks, eight of them taken from nests in Scotland, were successfully translocated to Poole Harbour. They were placed in cardboard boxes filled with moss and closed – kept in a temperature-controlled van. The party stopped in Staffordshire for the night. The chicks were fed then and fed again in the morning. They have all been at Poole Harbour for about a fortnight and will be released the first week in August. Let us hope that the birds that have been translocated return and help build up the population of Ospreys at Poole Harbour in the future.
Roy Dennis’s website is full of information. You should check it out when you have time. Roy Dennis is one of the main individuals responsible for bringing back the Ospreys and other large raptors to the UK. Here is the link:
There should be another hatch – WBSE 28 – today. Indeed, maybe Lady isn’t given up secrets, and we already have two soft little chicks. Meanwhile, WBSE 27 could not get any cuter. It is hard to imagine that this little soft ball of down will be a big sea eagle by October!
I did check on the Collins Marsh chick before things got hectic. By 13:13, the wee babe had at least three feedings. Oh, that was really wonderful to see. This is not a popular Osprey nest. When I look down and see ‘3 people watching’, I know precisely who those three are! This is an image of the last fish delivery around 13:00.
Despite two earlier feedings, our wee babe is happy to tuck in. So three feedings in one morning. That is sometimes better than what happens in an eight hour period on this nest. Yeah, dad! Keep it up. This wee one needs to really grow and begin to put on some fat, too.
Ferris Akel has been out finding that beautiful Roseate Spoonbill, and he has made another video of it fishing. In past images or videos, this gorgeous bird has been in the trees. Here that is for your pleasure:
The White Storks at Mlade Buky are doing fantastic. They come to the nest for food, but it also appears that they are now spending time off the nest doing their own fishing. Here are some images from the late afternoon.
There were always only two storks on the nest. The other one must be catching enough fish to try and be on the nest when Father Stork returns to feed.
They did a lot of preening.
They also did a lot of looking for Father Stork, but he did not show up.
One flies off to the left. That bird will fly over the rooftops and fly beyond the highway on the other side of the tree line about 3/4 from the bottom of the image.
Then the other one departs. What beautiful wings.
Tomorrow I will bring you some more news from the Gough Island Recovery Project to eradicate the mice and rats killing the Sooty and Tristan albatross chicks and adults.
The only news in my garden included the ‘usual gang’ was a Golden-Crowned Sparrow this morning. Not very exotic for sure, but since the heatwave came through, there are fewer ‘visitors’ to the garden despite plenty of water and food.
Thank you so much for joining me today. We will hope that Tiny Little landed another fish before the fishing stops for the day. Regardless she looks really great – and that necklace of hers is more prominent along with her stout legs. I hope you are all doing well. I will look forward to bringing you updates and news about the Gough Island Recovery tomorrow. Take care! Stay well.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia, and the Sydney Discovery Centre, Collins Marsh Nature Centre Osprey Nest, and the Mlade Buky White Stork Cam.
It was just so nice to start the day knowing that the Collins Marsh osprey chick was still with us. It was nothing short of a miracle that the very serious storm cells turned and headed away from the nest – and all the other Osprey nests in the area! Watching the satellite feed and then seeing those cells turn southeast – well, it was hard to believe. After 1am, the lightning strikes began to wane.
The site of the Collins Marsh nest is at the red pinpoint. In this area are also numerous Bald Eagle nests along with countless other Ospreys. The storm turned as it approached Lake Winniebago.
The little one has had several feedings today and, hopefully, this will be the last big drama this baby has to face before fledge.
‘S’ just wrote to tell me that the Dad on the Collins Marsh Nest had brought in a sizeable fish for Mum and babe just after 6pm. Many of the fish have been small. Thank you ‘S’. Much appreciated!
Right before the fish delivery the chick was being fed. Oh, what a lovely image – a little crop growing and mum on the nest feeding this very brave baby.
Here’s dad just about to leave after dropping off a bigger fish for these two. So glad that the waters were not stirred from the rain and storm last night.
Wee Bob had a nice crop. Mum is finishing up that nice fish. Both of them are going to sleep well tonight.
Everyone is celebrating the hatch of WBSE 27 and the pip of 28. Thankfully, they will be hatched close together. The sea eaglet bobbles are known for their sibling rivalry and fights over dominance in the nest. Perhaps this will help. We will see. For now, WBSE 27 is simply a little cutie leaning on ’28’.
This is not a great image of the chick. Apologies. But you can see the pip starting in the second egg.
Lady sure looks happy with that little fluff ball sticking out in front of her.
Two things to notice. First, that white line down the front of the beak is the egg tooth. It actually sticks up like a little spike. The chick uses it to pound away at the shell. It will eventually disappear as the beak grows. Secondly, if you are used to Bald Eagle babies, you will notice that the natal down on the White-bellied sea eaglet is white, not grey.
This is the first breakfast of fish for this little one.
We are having wildlife fires in Canada just like parts of the United States. On Vancouver Island, the Bald Eagle juveniles have been heavily impacted by the fires, the drought, and the lack of fish in some areas. There are lots of eagles, ospreys, and other species in care.
My daughter sent me an article this morning about how the people on Vancouver Island have joined together to provide fish for the Bald Eagles in care. It is one of those feel good comings together – just like the people of Mlade Buky who fed Father Stork and the little ones or the people of the Glaslyn Valley in Wales who provided fish for Aran and Mrs G when Aran was injured and could not fish for his family.
Here is the link to this wonderful story of a community helping these amazing birds.
No one will ever hire me to be a wildlife photographer! I have a large lens that intimidates me at times but, after today, there will be another trip north to one of our provincial parks to take Osprey pictures ‘properly’.
This is the marshy wetland in front of the Osprey nest. There were lots of pelicans who did not want me to take their picture!
There is a mother and her two chicks in the nest. The mother is leaning down. Before I could get my camera ready the Dad had delivered a fish and left. My goodness. When this mother and the chicks saw the fish delivery getting closer, they were so loud that you could hear them easily 45 metres away.
You can see the profile of the mother better in the image below. The sky is so hazy because of the wildfires and smoke in the area.
This is an area of the park between the West and East entrance gates. This is where the Dad fishes.
Just across the road is this area full of pelicans fishing.
What you are seeing below is an Osprey platform that is unused. It is only about 7 metres from the road leading into and out of the park. The noise of the traffic would be a big deterrent to occupancy – at least to this auntie.
There is going to be camera and lens practice this weekend with a return visit before these juveniles fledge. As it turned out, the images taken with my phone were better than with my small camera. Next week, I will try and be brave when I use that other lens – like the Collins Marsh chick was during the storm.
Tiny Little has evaded me today. Hopefully tomorrow!
Thank you for joining me. It was so nice to get out of the city and get to see and hear the Ospreys that travel here to breed in the summer. It was a gift to see all four of the family today. Take care everyone. Keep sending warm wishes to the Collins Marsh nest. They are certainly working.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots: Sydney Sea Eagle, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre and the Collins Marsh Nature Reserve.
There is this overwhelming sinking feeling in your throat and the tears begin to swell up in your eyes when you know something horrible is going to happen to someone or some animal or bird and you can do absolutely nothing but sit, watch, pray, and wait. That is what is happening with a few of us as the storms move into the area of the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest. The weather forecast is for severe thunderstorms, heavy winds up to 75mph, hail, and tornadoes.
The mother is not on the nest with her chick. There are seemingly no tall sides to the nest, nothing for the chick to cling to but scattered non-secured twigs.
This is the chick earlier in the day waiting for a fish to arrive.
From the angle of the camera it is extremely difficult to understand if these twigs are level or if there are sides. When the chick has looked below at activity around the tower, it appears that there are not high sides.
There are many Ospreys who build their nests in trees. Year after year they add twigs and sticks. There are artificial platforms built for the birds. Is there a standard? would walls help in times of high winds?
Notice the amount of twigs interwoven together on the Osprey nest below. You can see the metal disk that holds them. That looks similar to what the Collins Nest is on but then it is attached to the top of a retired wild fire tower. In New York City, to secure the nest of Pale Male and his mate, Octavia, spikes were installed to hold the nest in place.
It is very difficult to see what is happening at the nest at this time. There is no moon and even if there were the cloud cover could block that light out.
This is not the first night that this wee babe has been alone. That in itself is unheard of. I used to give out ‘beefs’ to the ‘dead beat dads’ of the Osprey world but this mother beats them all. It could possibly be the first night it has been alone with a major thunderstorm system passing through the area. Right now there is lightning overhead and a system heading SE towards the area of the nest that is coloured mostly red with yellow meaning high winds, hail, possible tornadoes. The lightning is now illuminating the sky. You can see the chick hunkered down below and slightly to the left of that light in the centre top.
This baby has to be terrified.
The lightning is now so steady that the nest is illuminated as if it is daytime.
This is the current system heading to this nest. I am going to try and watch the sticks to see what the winds are like. Right now there is lightening and maybe rain. The nest is just to the right of Chilton on this map.
I hope when I wake up that this chick is wet but safe. Wonder if there is drainage for this nest?
WBSE 27 is making great progress on getting out of its shell. That egg tooth is really tapping away at that hard shell.
I suspect by the time I wake up in the morning that WBSE 27 will be a bobble head trying to eat fish and I hope, beyond hope, that our wee Osprey chick will be alive.
Thank you for joining me. I wish that this were a more optimistic blog today. The lightening is intensifying at the nest. The winds are only 11 mph right now according to ‘S’ who seems to find this information so quickly. I am so grateful to her. Some of us are staying awake with the little one.
Chicks in nests with their parents protecting them have survived gale force winds in Wales. Those nests had rather deeper sides. But let us just continue to hope that there is a good ending in the morning. The weather says two more hours and the storms will pass this area.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, the Sydney Sea Eagles, Birdlife Australia, and Discovery Centre WBSE Cam. I also took screen shots from the channel 12 news in Wisconsin.
UPDATE: It is 12:41 am nest time at Collins Marsh. We are holding our breath but it does appear that the most severe of the storm swerved SE and will not hit the Collins Marsh Nest. Let us hope that this is the case. Severe weather warning until 2am continues. The chick continues to hunker down in its safe spot on the nest and it has to be terrified but we remain hopeful that it will be alive and well in the morning.
