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.
White YW delivered the tea time fish – a nice large one – to the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest in Cumbria. Blue 462 nabbed it first and then guess who pinches it off big sibling! Tiny Little!
Big Sibling 464 on the left and 462 on the right – all waiting for Tiny Little to make a wrong move with that nice fish. Go away both of you!!!!!
Then 462 got it back!
The first round both 462 and 463 struggled with the mouth and eye area. Wonder who is going to get that fish when it is nicely opened.
Ah, White YW cannot stand to hear one of his fledglings call for food. He promptly went out and got another one. Blue 464 got that one. It was such a nice fish that 464 was eating on it an hour later. Tiny Little flew off the nest probably chasing Dad. No one should be worried thought. Tiny Little had a nice crop prior to snagging that fish off 462. None of these chicks are hungry!
Blue 464 is enjoying his nice big fish – alone! No one is around sniffing for some pieces.
Good Night Foulshaw Moss Ospreys!
In Wisconsin, Malin is busy self-feeding on a piece of a fish that Dad delivered. What captivates me today are the wing feathers. They are looking so good. There is a condensation mark but if you look to the right that one dangling feather from earlier in the month is now ‘crossing over’ the way that it should. The other wing feather scallops are lined up perfectly. Oh, Malin, you are growing up!
The nests are so big and every streaming cam distorts the images (or so it seems). It is difficult to try and determine how big Malin actually is.
There is no time code on the Collins Marsh camera. I believe that there was another delivery by Collins to Malin – this time another piece of a fish. That is really helpful for Malin to work on its self-feeding and not get caught up with the bony mouths and eyes. Eventually Malin will need to do that. Right now one of the wonderful things is Malin’s anticipation of the food drop and his excitement and mantling on its arrival.
In the imager below, Malin sees Collins flying into the nest. Look at his eyes. He has also dropped his wings in anticipation of mantling that fish.
Malin pivots. Wings stretched down and out for mantling with beak forward to grab the fish from Collins’s talons.
Get out of the way Collins! Malin has secured the food.
Ah. Over. I notice also that Collins’s crop is nicely full. He has eaten the head and perhaps part of the fish before the delivery.
These two food drops for Malin to self-feed come after the aggressive manner that Malin approached the fish yesterday with Marsha. We are moving on to the next phase: no more feedings by mom? Let’s watch and see.
Is this the tail of a little Bullhead?
It is a beautiful day on the Canadian Prairies. For the first time in ever so long we can see blue sky, not sky filled with smoke. It is 21 degrees C. That is 69.8 F. Just lovely for a trip to the one of our local parks.
It was a delight to walk up to the duck pond and discover that our Parks Department has put up signs to educate people on why they should not feed the ducks bread. Last year the local birding group had a big campaign to get this practice stopped. Today, the signs are up. They are large and prominently placed at strategic entrances and exits. No one was feeding the ducks, they were just enjoying them! Well done Parks Department!!!!!!
Thanks to the recent rains many of the geese were out on the fields where people play soccer or cricket eating green grass.
A male juvenile Mallard enjoying the water fountain at the rocks.
There was real discussion on the identification of the duck above and the one below. The discussion ended when the little duck below showed us her feeding behaviour. She is a dabbler so she is a female Mallard – not a female Blue Winged-teal.
Mallards come to Manitoba to breed. They arrive in the spring and leave in the fall. Here the little female is mottled brown with a whitish tail, and orange feet.
When feeding, she tips up and dabbles in the shallow waters of the duck pond for pondweeds and aquatic invertebrates. They also feed on larval amphibians and fish eggs.
The female Wood Duck and her ducklings. You can tell the Wood Duck by its white tear-eyed eye patch. Her breast is a mottled brown and white.
Wood Ducks are migratory birds in Manitoba. They arrive in the spring, normally April, and will head south in October. They are cavity nesters. They will lay their eggs in a tree cavity or specially built enclosed wood boxes. The ducklings are ready to bounce from the nest when they are 24 hours old. Precocial animals and birds hatch/born with all their feathers, skin, etc. and are able to see, hear, and move about.
The little Wood Duck and her ducklings mingled with the Canada Geese. Only once did I see a goose get aggressive towards one of the little ones.
Malin’s initial feather issues have caused me to spend more time looking at the back and wings of birds than I ever would have thought possible. Each individual feather is simply beautiful – taken together they are like a wonderful musical symphony – each performing their own task to help this Canada goose swim, walk, and fly.
The tail and wing feathers of a non-breeding male Mallard.
As we were leaving, a Juvenile Bald Eagle was soaring above us.
Then the Northern Goshawk beats its large wings. The Northern Goshawk lives in Manitoba all year round except for the southern part where they can be seen only in the summer or in the winter if food supplies in the North fall.
It was a good day! The skies are turning grey and the wind is picking up a little and maybe, just maybe, we will have some more rain. Wishing and hoping.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest and the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest.
The Collins Marsh Osprey chick is due to get an official name. Suggested names have been turned in and voting should begin tomorrow for the name. Please go to the Neustadter Nature Center FB page and cast your vote. Here is the link to that FB page. Be patient if the names are not up on Tuesday. However, check back often because the voting will be open for only a short time.
Since ‘S’ came up with the name Malin meaning “little warrior”, everyone from the Achieva Osprey chat group has called this little one ‘Malin.’ It is difficult to let a name go once it imprints itself in one’s mind. My children could not say ‘Granny’ when they were talking about my grandmother, they said ‘Candy.’ And so, in her 80s, that is what she was called for the rest of her life – not only by my children but, by everyone. And so, it might well be the same for Malin.
Malin’s parents are Collins and Marsha – named after Collins Marsh. Malin hatched on approximately 16 June making him 55 days old today.* That means Malin is one day shy of his 8-week hatch birthday.
Sometimes fish deliveries are good and some times they are abysmal. Malin had no food from early evening Saturday until Monday morning. There were two deliveries Monday morning. It was the third delivery that roused my interest. I have taped several short segments of that feeding. It is better if you watch the one-minute clips than my trying to describe them. Pay close attention to Malin’s behaviour. The fish arrived around 6:43 pm (there is no time on the streaming cam).
Act 1: Fish Delivery
Act 2. Malin is ravenous.
Act 3. Malin wants every morsel of fish!
Act 4: Malin and Mom finish off the fish.
After Malin finishes eating, s/he is so energized. She begins flapping her wings. Watch out Mom!
According to Alan Poole, the female Osprey loses between 10-15% of their body weight during the nestling period. Only when a piece of food is too large or when the chick/s stop food calling will she take bites for herself. He says, “It seems likely that the female parents are hungry much of the time they are raising young, especially as the young get older and take more food.” Certainly that is what we are seeing on the Collins Marsh nest today.
In terms of growth, Osprey chicks triple their body weight during their first 8 days after hatching. They will double this, on average, in the next four days. From 15 to 30 days after hatch, the Osprey nestlings “gain an average of forty grams or .09 lbs, about 2-3% of their body weight, every day,” says Poole. At the end of the 30 days, Osprey chicks will be 70-80% of their adult weight. On average, the Osprey nestling will take its first flight between 50 and 60 days. There are two exceptions to that timing: if the bird hatched on a non-migratory nest or if the chick had less food.
Malin is definitely in a migratory nest but, Malin is behind in development because of a lack of food. Precisely how far behind is unclear. Still, growth is clearly evident. Today there were four distinct dark bands on the tail with a 5th peeking through. The feathers are coming in nicely but they are not fully formed. Roy Dennis says that the full set of juvenile feathers should have grown in at 6 weeks. Malin, at 8 weeks, is still working on his.
Malin is clearly not ready to take his first flight. He is beginning to exercise his wings. Fledglings normally remain on the nest for at least a month after their first flight. This time helps them hone their flying skills. During this period, the male parent provides the fish. Fledglings do not normally catch their first fish until they begin migration – that said there are always exceptions to the rule. Migration for the Wisconsin Ospreys normally begins around the end of August or the beginning of September. Let us all wish that Malin is fed and afforded the time to perfect his flying before he has to leave the nest for his journey south.
There is really positive news coming out of Hawaii that I want to share with you. The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is installing glow-in-the-dark diverters on electricity lines to try and stop seabirds that fly at night from crashing into the lines. By the end of 2021, the utility company expects to have installed 773 power line spans to help protect the Hawaiian Petrel, Newell’s Shearwater, and the Band-rumped Storm Petrel. Already Hawaii has banned the release of helium balloons.
It has been a good day. Thunder woke me up early on Monday and we had some nice downpours. Then the heavy rain changed to showers. Now the thunder and the pouring rain have started again. Every blade of grass has turned emerald green, the bushes and trees have all perked up, and the birds sang as loud as they could at dusk. It is simply wonderful!
Thank you so much for joining me. Everyone take care. See you soon.
Thanks go out to the Collins Marsh Nature Centre for their Osprey streamingcam where I took my video clips. A big thank you to ‘S’ who alerted me to the actions of the utility company on Kauai to divert night flying sea birds away from their power lines.
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.
One of the big announcements came today when four extremely rare Hen Harrier Chicks fledged in Derbyshire, England. They were predated by hunters and owners of estates where grouse hunting was popular as well as ‘land management practices’. They are now protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act.* In North America, the Hen Harrier is called the Northern Harrier while in France it is the Buzzard of St Martin.
Hen Harriers are a bird of prey like most of the birds that I write about. They are related to kites, hawks, and eagles. Have you ever heard of them? or seen one?
The males are pale grey as in the image below. The primaries are a dark espresso colour. Here the male is flying low over the countryside looking for prey.
The females are brown as are the juveniles with a white rump and long barred tail. The females are often called ‘Ringtails’ because of the bars or bands on the tail. Like the Honey Buzzard their heads are rather small in comparison to other raptors. They will measure no more than 42 cm with a wing span of 120 cm. They weight less than a pound at 300-400 grams. Hen Harriers eat small birds and mammals. Besides flying low and finding prey, they also use the cover of bushes in the woodlands to surprise and take their prey on the ground (normally).
When hen harriers are courting, they do a fabulous sky dance or rolling and tumbling. The Hen Harriers normally lay 4 to 5 eggs in a nest on the ground or in cattails or long dense grass. The male and female both take care of the chicks but the males provide the food. They hunt it and when successful pass the prey to the female by tossing it at them mid-air. They would make great softball players!
Look carefully at the image below. Notice that the facial features of the Hen Harrier look like an owl. Like owls, they have a parabolic facial disk which allows them to hunt by sound (like owls) as well as their incredible ‘hawk’ eyes.
*There continues to be the debate between the grouse hunting societies and those that protect birds and want grouse hunting banned. Any number of associations who do not support the killing of animals are active in supporting the reintroduction of the Hen Harrier. You can do a simple search on Goggle for ‘Hen Harrier Myths’. There is even a Hen Harrier Day celebrated in the Highlands of Scotland.
Other Bird World News:
Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, Cumbria: After waiting and moving about sticks, Tiny Little (Blue 463) was prey calling and in flew big sibling chasing after Dad or White YW. 464 took the fish and then flew off with it. Poor Tiny Little.
Nasty older sibling!
WBSE in Sydney Olympic Park, Australia: Well, they just can’t stop getting cute!
Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Wisconsin: Malin is looking really good to me. I focused on her wings whenever I checked in. She has been fed and the feathers look grand. I can also see four bands or bars on the tail now so Malin is continuing to grow and develop.
Besides this lovely tail growing and those gorgeous scalloped back feathers – I adore Osprey, can you tell? Malin is no longer dragging one of her wing feathers. It just seems it took almost 7 weeks to get these things sorted. Joy. Real joy. What a beautiful Osprey chick?!!!!!!
Patricia Fisher, the local wildlife rehabber just wrote and agreed that Malin’s feathers are looking much better. They still have to cross but fingers crossed on that one. More Joy. Thanks, Patricia for keeping an eye on this little one with all you have to do.
Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, Australia: Mum is busy rolling two eggs and I believe there remain two, awaiting third. Dad and her have been taking turns incubating.
Dad has returned to see if Mom would like a break. He is annoyed by the blue rope material and Mom seems to be annoyed by him pulling it out from under her! What a pair.
Fortis Red Deer: It is embarassing. I have not mentioned our Canadian Ospreys in Alberta for awhile. When I last checked you could only see Legacy’s little head hardly extended above the sticks. Look at this beauty now. Wow. These chicks have grown. This is what I want to say about Malin’s growth at Collins Marsh in a week!
Fortis Exshaw, Canmore, Alberta: It looks like the ospreys were practicing with their ‘ps’ or there was rain and enough blowing wind to throw mud balls up on that lens!
The good thing is that you can hardly tell which are the two chicks and who is the adult. Incredible.
It has been hot but more than that the smoke pollution has made it difficult to breathe at times on the Canadian Prairies. I am keeping an eye on the White Rock fire in British Columbia. You might all know Dr Christian Sasse and his love of Bald Eagles and Osprey. He often streams live generously showing us these beautiful birds. Well, his cottage where he streams them is in the path of the fire. Send warm wishes his way as well as all the wildlife in the region. The White Rock fire is misbehaving badly, not doing normal things so the firefighters are really having a time of it.
Thank you for joining me today. I had hoped to bring you some local hawk pictures. I am heading out hopefully later. Take care everyone.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams: the Collins Marsh Nature Centre, the Sea Eagle Birdlife Australia, and Discovery Centre, Cumbrian Wildlife and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Fortis Alberta Red Deer, and Fortis Alberta Exshaw. A Special thanks to Patricia Fisher from Wisconsin who cares about Malin and takes time to answer all our questions. I am so grateful.
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.
It was a rare treat to check on the Black Storks and find that Karl II was at the nest feeding the three fledglings. It was around 18:00I had been missing this. The ritual of the feeding and the eating is entrancing. This nest is in the Karula National Park in Estonia. As in Latvia, the Black Stork is very rare and much loved. Karl II and Kaia raised three healthy hatchlings this season. Congratulations!
In my last newsletter, everyone was waiting for the second egg at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest to arrive. If you missed it, it was around 3:27 am nest time on 6 August.
Last year’s PLO fledgling, Solly, is 320 days today. Wow. It is about time to get out the party hats and celebrate her one year hatch day. This just gives you hope. Today, Solly is going in and out and in and out at Eba Anchorage. She apparently has a favourite dead tree in the area that she likes to roost in.
Oh, it seems nestlings are just like human children. Let mom or dad get out of sight and they start picking on one another. This was the case with 27 and 28 at the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in Sydney, Australia. If this is all these two get up to – let them have a little fun. They are so close in size that neither has an advantage. Have a peek.
Dad and Mom are continuing to bring in fish about 5 fish a day to the Collins Marsh Nest. This is a big improvement over a few weeks ago. Malin’s tail now reveals three rows of dark bands and the beautiful scalloped juvenile feathers.
Oh, Malin is becoming such a gorgeous bird. The stepped up deliveries and the drop in heat seem to be suiting this Osprey family in Wisconsin, USA.
Such a little sweetie. Malin really loves this part of the nest. You can catch her sleeping there during the day (like in the image above) or at night. All tucked in with Mom watching over her. If we could only slip a little pillow under that wee head.
Suzanne Arnold Horning was on the Cornell Campus this evening and found K3. Oh, this is such a cute Red-Tail Hawk fledgling! She did not find the other three and commented that K3 must have missed the memo on where to meet tonight. He was apparently flying around food calling!
I didn’t think another Red-tail Hawk fledgling could ever win my heart like J3 did but look at that sweet face on K3. I am melting.
K3 is over on one of the light towers. What a gorgeous image of this third hatch against that clear blue sky. He has really grown into an amazing fledgling. These two, K1 and K3, are simply great fliers and K1 has turned into a fantastic hunter just like her parents, Big Red and Arthur.
Other Nest News:
Congratulations to Rutland Water. It is their 25th anniversary and today, the 200th chick, Blue 360, fledged! Wow. What a fantastic record for the translocation project. The announcement and photo of that lucky chick is on their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/324266140960825/posts/4294404503946949/
Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig (nest not on camera) have their first fledge this morning. Voting has ended to name their chicks. Hopefully we will know tomorrow! What fun. That Loch Arkaig nest was so empty this year without Aila. Hopefully another couple will claim it for the 2022 season or maybe Louis and Dorcha will move from the nest off camera to the one where we can watch their every move.
Between now and the beginning of the third week in August, the females of the UK nests will begin their migration to as far away as Spain/Portugal or West Africa. The males will remain as long as there are chicks calling for food. This is normally 2-3 weeks.
This is what fish calling sounds like thanks to one of the fledglings up at the Loch of the Lowes. This chick could be heard all the way to Glasgow! They are so loud. You can easily imagine that the male will know if there is a chick on the nest who is hungry.
Things seem to be going really well on the nests today. That is always worth a big smile!
Thank you so much for joining me. I will be back late Friday evening with a nest update. Take care everyone. Stay safe.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my video clips and screen shots: Eagle Club of Estonia, Collins Marsh Osprey Cam, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Loch of the Lowes, Port Lincoln Osprey Project and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project FB Page, and Suzanne Arnold Horning for letting me share the beautiful images of K3.
The featured image is K3 on the light stand taken by Suzanne Arnold Horning.
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.
