Tag Archives: Cornell Bird Lab

Thursday in Bird World

There are a number of Ospreys named Louis but the one that I am writing about today is the Louis of the Loch Arkaig Osprey Nest. His mate, Aila, did not return from migration this year and there is a new Mrs Louis. Her name is Dorcha. Louis chose not to make their nest on the one that he had shared with Aila. As a result, news of Louis and Dorcha comes from those who have access to see the nest. Today’s news is from the person who ringed the chicks. They report there are two healthy 4-5 week old nestlings. How grand. Louis is a fabulous dad – he even went fishing at night for Aila and the three chicks last year.

I am doing a bit of nest hopping. For whatever reason I am unable to access the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest. Others are having difficulties too but some seem to have some success. It is, of course, slightly frustrating because this is the nest of Tiny Little!

The eaglet on the Bucovina, Romanian Golden Eagle nest is hungry. Yesterday he only had a small bird and a bone. There seem to be days of bounty and then not much of anything on this nest. Is there enough prey? how far to the parents have to travel? are both parents still delivering food for the baby? For many this is the haunting memory of Spilve and Klints last year. The young Golden Eaglet cannot live on a little bird. Zenit is a beautiful bird and it will not be long til fledge. Let us all hope that Zenit gets a large prey drop today.

Zenit saw his reflection in the camera for the first time yesterday. It is so cute when they do this – the reactions to seeing another bird like them! Lady Hawk caught this precious interaction.

Wishes come true! I checked on Zenit just a minute ago and Zenit has an enormous crop! Looks like he swallowed a softball.

Scrolling back, Zenit’s mother came in to feed him. This was at 14:12. It also appears that a bird delivery was made around 17:00. It is not clear what the mother brought but as you can see above, Zenit has a very large crop and this is a good thing. It remains unclear to me how much prey there is in the area. Let us all hope it is good!

When the Royal Albatross chick was weighed on Tuesday (NZ time), she had dropped from 8.2 kg to 8.0. The rangers were monitoring Taiki’s weight and were considering whether or not she needed a supplementary feeding. Perhaps that won’t be necessary after today because her mother Lime-Green-Lime flew in for two feedings and her dad, Lime-Green-Black was there for one. Three feedings in a single day at 9:58 (LGL), 13:57 (LGK), and LGL arrives twenty minutes after LGK departed at 14:17. These were quick in and outs but it looked like Taiki got a lot of food.

LGL is so happy to see her daughter. Taiki would like her mum to dispense with all the formalities – the sky calls, the welcome – but LGL will insist. Her daughter needs to learn all of these and imprint them in her mind. Taiki will fledge in mid-September. She will not return to land for 4-6 years. At that time she will do a skycall just like Mum is doing now. Can you imagine being at sea and never stepping foot on land for that long?

Taiki is so excited to have a parent come in for breakfast.

LGK saunters in after Taiki has had her breakfast and is ready to feed her lunch at 13:57. It always looks like the adults have difficulty walking – and maybe they do if the chicks are digging holes and building play nests everywhere. Here comes dad!

It is so interesting that these little Albies stay put on their nest without moving about so much (at least at this stage). LGK does several sky calls but Taiki just wants food!

Taiki settles down to work on her play nest after LGK leaves and gets dirt all over her beak. It sure doesn’t matter. Look at how beautiful she is.

This is LGL’s second visit to feed her daughter. Taiki is so excited to see her again. I wonder if she told mum that she just missed dad? LGL does several skycalls when she greets her daughter.

The baby down is falling off and revealing a beautiful pattern on the back of Taiki.

LGL always looks like she is smiling.

Taiki must be about to pop after three big feedings! LGL must be fishing near to Taiaroa Head as she is returning so often. Taiki is lucky.

It was a golden morning on the Loch of the Lowes. No one was on the nest- they were all out flying and learning to fish. There are some trees around the nest that are apparently good perches for the birds. What a beautiful place. It looks so tranquil —- and safe for Ospreys.

It was just as beautiful at Mlady Buky in Czechoslovakia this morning. There is a mist, low lying clouds, or a fog hugging the mountains. The three storklings are on the nest. Everything is so quiet – you can almost hear the stillness.

Father Stork arrives at 6:19 with breakfast for the three almost fledging storklings.

The three continue to find small morsels on the nest after the frenzy when dad arrives.

The feeding gives them energy. The sun is up and they are warm and two are flapping madly on the nest.

The female is really covering the nest and moving her wings. She was getting some lift this morning as well. Father Stork and the people of Mlady Buky have done well. After the loss of the female, it has been simply a miracle to watch these three thrive. In a way, the people of the community stepped in and took over when supplementary feeding was necessary – just like the New Zealand Department of Conservation rangers.

Sadly, there is no one stepping in for Zenit if it is needed. I wonder if the people who operate the camera would consider setting up a food table if it were needed?

My goodness. Blue 022, the two year old who returned from his migration and stopped off at the Poole Harbour nest of CJ7, is so enthusiastic. He has been helping fix up the nest and has even provided fish for CJ7. He has also been seen ‘sky dancing’ on several occasions. This morning was no exception!

They make such a lovely couple. Oh, goodness. Everyone is already crossing their fingers and toes that these two return from their migration safely. The months will not pass quickly enough. Imagine – no chicks born in this area of England in 200 years! Incredible. There will be lots of celebrating!

Dylan and Seren are both on the nest at 7am watching and waiting for Only Bob to come and have some breakfast. He loves to go and fly often landing on the camera stand. It is so different when they fledge – at first babies always on the nest and hungry and then parents having to wait with food as they fly about.

Kindness is getting her legs stronger every day. She is standing straight and walking some on the nest. She is certainly growing fast – an advantage to being the only chick on the nest.

Kindness loves to do kissey-kissey with Mom. It is so funny watching these two.

At the Osprey nest on the Port Lincoln barge, Mom is on the nest and Dad was over on the ropes. Eggs arriving soon.

Oh, it is a bit like a bad joke. The camera at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest just started working. Both 462 and Tiny Little are on the nest. It is around 7am and they are watching for a parent to arrive with breakfast. Look at that nice necklace that Tiny Little has. Interesting. (TL is on the right) They are being kissed by diamond rain from the sun.

And when he wasn’t watching for a delivery, Tiny Little was flapping his wings dreaming of flying.

The more flapping he does the more the last tidbits of baby down disappear. It won’t be long Tiny but you were four days younger than everyone and you were behind in growth. You will get there just like Tiny Tot!

Hopefully that fish arrives! These two are both hungry. And it did. Tiny Little went over and ate some of the remaining fish and Blue 35 comes in and removes what is left (piece at the front) and will fly off with it.

The camera was still on the blink. I just checked and Tiny is fine. It is tea time and both Tiny and big sib are waiting for a delivery. It is so interesting that the big siblings know when to show up for food.

And last but never least, a lovely picture of Aran and Mrs G on the Glaslyn Nest together. This is a beautiful sight. There has been some bonding over the last few days. I was concerned that Aran was not in top form and Z2, Aeron, of the PC nest might want to take over this one. They are being kissed by golden raindrops, too! Mrs G doesn’t look like she is 21 years old, the oldest osprey in the United Kingdom. She is in really good shape. So sad that they lost their three chicks this year. That can cause issues but they seem to be a solid couple.

Thanks for joining me everyone. It is lovely to see the Golden Eaglet doing well today. That nest is a constant worry. And speaking of worry. The comments section on my blog seems to not be working all the time. It is like Tiny Little’s camera. Please feel free to send me an e-mail: maryannsteggles@icloud.com. I know that some of you had concerns and I regret that technology has caused you any worry. For the next while, til things step up in Australia, there may be only one blog per day. I hope to get more local Osprey news for you this coming week.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams. This is where I grabbed my screen shots: Bucovina Golden Eagle Nest Cam, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, Mlady Buky, Port Lincoln Osprey Cam, Glacier Gardens Eagle Cam, Dyfi Osprey Project, Clywedog Opsrey Cam and Carnyx Wild, Byrwd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, and Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes.

Oh, Tiny Little….and friends

I thought I would check on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest in Cumbria. That streaming cam does not have a rewind and so it is hit or miss as to what the chicks are doing. All three were on the nest and Blue 35 was feeding them. And bless his heart, Tiny Little was right there getting many bites – lots. It was magnificent. He was pecking for bites at Blue 35’s beak before she was ready!

Blue 35 is finished feeding in the image below. Honestly, if you can’t see the bands it is getting difficult to tell which chick is chick. Can you believe it? Tiny Little looked like a mere babe two days ago!

Blue 35 gave 464, who waited patiently without being a nuisance, the skin and the fish tail. Tiny is not taking his eyes off of that tail! 462 has moved up to the front where she is moving a branch. All Tiny Little wants is that fish tail!

Then 462 gets rather exciting and starts doing wing exercises. Tiny Little is still staring at the fish tail.

Tiny Little ducks when 462 starts flapping but his eyes are locked in on that fish tail, still. 464 seems to be having trouble eating. Tiny Little is probably saying, “Let me have a try!”

462 got some good lift. I thought she was going to fledge but she didn’t. I don’t think Tiny is next. To me his tail is not long enough! Tiny Little isn’t so Tiny anymore – almost overnight this third hatch changes. He is going to bed with a nice crop. Well done, Tiny ‘Not so’ Little.

Fledgling 464 left the nest and Blue 35 returned. She moved over and found the fish tail and some fish and just guess who was right there beak to beak wanting some more dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is why Tiny Little is not so Tiny anymore.

It is very interesting. There were individuals who thought that Tiny Tot on the Achieva Nest would to be doomed once the older siblings started self feeding. You know – we need to give these Osprey mothers some credit. They try and make sure everyone is fed. Tiny Tot blossomed before our eyes at Achieva once the other sibling 1 and then sibling 2 were flying – and it looks like having one off the nest (sometimes) at Foulshaw is helping as well.

I reported that one of Monty and Glesni’s chicks, Merin, was breeding in the Lake District. Emry Evans posted some images of Merin and his beautiful daughters in his blog. You can have a read and see the lovely images, too. If the link does not open automatically, do the old cut and paste method. You should also be able to sign up for Emyr’s blogs at the bottom if you wish to do so. Emyr includes a very helpful family tree on his blog today.

http://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/2021/07/07/merin-breeding-england?fbclid=IwAR1X6b1Qy5bYFNfXyFVgib_ah941eRBYXjaumRJsAZxMexV5xIGLknUz9wg

Janet Sampson is working on a very nice chart of the Rutland relatives in Wales. She has not polished it off completely but she said we can share as long as we give her credit. So thank you Janet Sampson! This is really brilliant.

Someone sent me a note and asked me if I had a favourite Osprey. Oh, my goodness. That is a difficult question to answer. So let me tell you a story first and then I will try and answer this for you.

I have always wondered what makes a ‘great’ Osprey. I have, in fact, praised the two nestlings daughters of Merin’s as being the most beautiful osprey chicks I have ever seen. Their picture is in Emry’s blog. That led me to wonder if it is performance or appearance or both. So, in that wonderful chat the other evening with Tiger Mozone, I asked him what makes a ‘great osprey’. {Tiger has an encyclopedic mind on Osprey history and Ospreys}Tiger answered with a question: “What do you know about horses?” “Well, some”. At one time I lived on an acreage and there were five horses. Had I heard of Northern Dancer was Tiger’s second question. I ask you, is there anyone who hasn’t heard of Northern Dancer? So there was my answer. Performance. Then one day my friend ‘T’ and I were chatting. If we came back in another life as an Osprey female who would we want our mate to be? Now there is the heart of the answer to my original question. I knew that ‘T’ would say Monty. I am actually quite fond of Blue 33 (11). Today I realized for me it would be a toss up between Blue 33 (11) and Idris if I were ever to return as a female Osprey….of the choices currently available. They perform for their families. These are the guys – Monty, Blue 33, and yes, Idris will prove himself – that get the fish out of the water and on the nest. There are lots of fish. Someone said today they thought that Idris could feed a four chick nest. I think he could, too and I think Blue and Monty could as well. Take good care of the females and the chicks, fledge those babies, and then have them return to breed successfully. That is a ‘great’ Osprey. I think Tiger might agree. Of course, every great male needs an equally great female. Nora, Glesni, Telyn, and Maya are doing fantastic. So think about your favourite Osprey.

There is Telyn feeding Dysynnis and Ystwyth late today. But this appears to be a first —— Telyn caught the flounder and brought it to the nest for the chicks! Yippeeeee.

Ferris had a great tour today. These are a few shots from the beginning to end.

There were two Green Herons along the drive.

When Ferris got to the Cornell Campus, he spotted K3 right away on top of the Rice Building.

Looking for K1, there was a lovely Mourning Dove family in the trees around the Fernow Building.

Big Red was up on Bradfield. Word came to the group that she had delivered prey to both K1 and K3 just a little earlier so they are both full and not food begging.

Isn’t she beautiful? She is already beginning to moult. In a week or so we will call her Big Blonde!

There she is again, same place.

Ferris looked in the pines. He could hear Robins vocalizing and thought K1 might be around. What he found was a lovely very young Robin. Oh, I wish this little one would hide! Those hawks would like you for breakfast – maybe. Robin is not their favourite treat for sure.

K1 was discovered on one of the light towers.

And then something happened and K3 came to join K1. K1 is on the top left and you can just see the little duckling, K3 laying flat out.

Arthur has joined Big Red. All four hawks are accounted for and they are fine. Good night Big Red, Arthur, K1 and K3. Have lovely hawk dreams.

That is it for a late Saturday evening. It is once again in the 33-34 C range on the Canadian prairies. The birds are draining the water bowls every couple of hours.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone and oh, tomorrow my blog will appear in the late afternoon or early evening. I have promised myself to clean out my office for several months —— it is now time! Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Ferris Akel Live, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, and Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn.

Bird Tales

Wow. I just want to sit and watch this short video over and over again. If you know someone who tells you that Ospreys are not intelligent and cannot problem solve, please show them this video of an Osprey nest in Vaasa, Finland:

https://fb.watch/6Da1-VNcEo/

I am going to recommend a lovely little book. It is called Hawk Mother. The Story of a Red-tailed Hawk Who Hatched Chickens by Kara Hagedorn.

The book has won outstanding awards for science for youngsters; I would say ages eight to twelve, elementary to the lowest level of middle school. My copy arrived in the post this morning. It is the true story of a Red-tail Hawk that was shot, would never fly, and was adopted by a zoologist that worked with the Cornell Lab. You can read more about their journey together on the website for Sunshine – that is the name of the Red tail hawk. That address is http://www.sunshinehawk.com Have a look.

You can purchase the book directly from Kara Hagedorn, the author and carer of Sunshine. It is also available through other on line outlets. It would be great for teachers or family who want to get children interested in birds. The images are photographs that Kara Hagedorn took of Sunshine. It is inspirational. Have a look and if you like the book and feel so inclined, recommend it to your local library. Hagedorn uses the proceeds to pay for the care of Sunshine.

Speaking of the adoption of Red-tail Hawks, I will mention again a book for adults, A Wing in the Door. Life with a Red-tailed Hawk. It is by Canadian Peri Phillips McQuay who took on the care of and rewilding of a hawk. Well written with great anecdotal stories. Find a used copy – your pocketbook will thank you. I ordered mine from amazon but went to the options so that I could get a used copy. I have no idea why the new price is so astronomical – avoid it at all costs!

And, of course, the best way to save money and space is to order through your local library. Ours will bring in books if they do not normally have them in stock.

When you finish reading the book, you will want to find out what happened to Merak. Go to Peri Phillips McQuay website and she will tell you!

I promised that I would post Ferris Akel’s Tour from Saturday, 3 July, once it was processed by YouTube and here it is. This is a full day tour that has been edited down to approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes. The Red-tail hawks on the Cornell Campus start 1:38:35 if you want to skip ahead. It starts with Big Red on the lights. There are some incredibly cute clips of the Ks preening and kissing one another!

There is not a lot going on in Bird World today. And that is a good thing. There was way too much drama when we had the storms and the extreme heat last weekend.

They continue to band ospreys in the UK – working flat out before they get too old and near fledge. Indeed, fledge watch is on for the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn. Dysynnis, the male, is 49 days old today. Ystwyth is 45 days old. The chart for fledge times was also posted for that nest. Here is that information:

I love data. Just look at all that wonderful information! How many of us have been frustrated to go to a nest and not even have a history! Personally, if there is to be a streaming cam someone should take the responsibility of keeping accurate records and post them in the information section below so subscribers can see it. It would also help to have knowledgable moderators. Moderators are volunteers – they are not paid. They give up their time – a lot of it -to help us learn more about the birds. Histories and moderators would help citizen birders gain knowledge.

Nestlings such as the Two Bobs on Loch of the Lowes are just itching to fly so we are going to see some more fledging this week. They still love to have NC0 feeding them, though. Two big babies – look at the size of them – at the Loch of the Lowes! Laddie and NC0 did a fantastic job raising these two this year.

Others, such as the Two Bobs on the Manton Bay Nest, have fledged and are honing those wings while returning to the nest to eat. Blue 096, the female, has returned for a nice piece of fish this evening.

My goodness. Both of the parents at the Glacier Garden’s Bald Eagle Nest in Juneau, Alaska love to feed Kindness. I counted nothing short of six feedings yesterday!

When Kindness is finished eating, she looks like she is going to try out for The Hulk role in a new movie. It is a good things crops stretch! She is just now learning to stand and making attempts at walking. It is so sweet to watch her.

That is it for today. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care and let’s all hope that the nests just remain calm.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grabbed my screen shots: Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam, LRWT and the Manton Bay Osprey Nest.

A surprise visit to see the Ks

I was not expecting to see a notification that Ferris Akel was on the Cornell University Campus in Ithaca this evening. What a wonderful surprise! The reason that everyone wants to see Big Red and her family is not to see spectacular things but, really, it is just to know that each and every one of them is safe and well. After the worry of Hurricane Elsa and the nests along the southwest coast of Florida, this was simply a joyful treat.

Ferris found K1 on a window ledge. How she got there is anyone’s guess. My goodness she is so cute. Whoever said that she is a mini-Big Red is so right. Her plumage is such a deep brick red and she has a full red-feathered belly band, too, with lots of peach on her chest.

Look at the image below. Notice the feathered area that extends above K1’s eyelid. It starts at the beak and goes to the back of the head. It is called the supercilium. The supercilium helps keep the glare out of K1’s eyes! It is often simply called a bird’s eyebrow.

Hawks can turn their heads 270 degrees. Sometimes it looks like they can do the complete 360 but they can’t.

You can see in the image below, despite it being blurry (rain at started), the peach on the chest and the low very dark feathers of the belly band.

The cere is the area around the nostrils above the beak. You can easily see it in the image of K1 above and below. It is light yellow. Notice that the eyes are a green-gray. When K1 is an adult they will be brown getting a deeper brown the older she gets.

Last year, Big Red and Arthur’s fledgling, J3, was born with deep brown eyes.

Ferris did some close ups of K1’s back so that we could see the scapular ‘V’. When both wings are held tight to the body it is the ‘V’ on the upper back. Examine K1’s scapular V. It has its own pattern. Some people use this along with the tail and the belly band to try and identify hawks that are not banded.

You can think of the scapular V as being the way the hawk’s back looks when the wings are closed.

K1 has a white terminal band on her tail feathers. In fact, it is rather wide. Notice the dark bands. When hawks fledge, we want them to have five, preferably six dark bands, so that they get lift and control and will be successful. K1 now has at least eight dark bands. We know that she is also an excellent flier.

The tail feathers help the hawk to do controlled manoeuvres. This is why it is so much better if they are longer at the time of fledge. The wing feathers – you can see the tips of them in the image below- are the most useful for flying. Did you know that the wing and tail feathers of the fledglings are actually longer than those of the adults? This is to assist them when they are learning to fly. After their first moult, they will grow in the standard length of an adult hawk (return to a normal length). Another interesting fact is that at the time of fledging, the feathers actually weigh more than the bird itself!

At the beginning of their second year, when they moult, the fledglings will get their red tails. When Big Red and Arthur bonded, Arthur did not yet have his red tail! Lots of people questioned Big Red’s intentions. She had many suitors but I think we can all agree that Big Red knew best. She has a wonderful mate in Arthur.

Ferris found K3 in one of the pine trees near to Rice Hall’s parking lot. What gave K3 away? Robins vocalizing!

K3 is looking at something intently.

K3 was doing a lot of preening. The preen or the oil glands are at the base of the tail. These oils reinforce or condition the surface of the feathers. Just like the oil you put in your car, the preen oil changes composition during the year. This oil, once it is exposed to sunlight, has been found to contain vitamin D.

Big Red was over on the ledge at Bradfield. I almost did not recognize her. In the summer when Big Red begins to moult, she starts becoming Big Blond. It looks to me like this process is starting.

But why do hawks moult? Feathers are made out of keratin, just like human fingernails. But unlike our fingernails, feathers do not continually grow. Once they are fully formed, they stop growing. Over time the feathers get damaged. This damage comes from normal wear and tear, the sunlight, parasites, and from injuries. These feathers have to be renewed. Hawks do not moult or change their feathers all at once. They would be unable to fly or function and would die. Moult is a gradual process. Big Red does not begin her moult during breeding season. It is too hard on her. The birds deplete their calcium producing eggs and Red tail hawks can lose approximately 20-30% of their body weight by the time the chicks fledge. Big Red will spend the summer and fall getting back into condition and replacing her feathers.

Feathers help the birds fly, they offer camouflage, and they also keep the birds dry.

Arthur was on ‘the throne’ on Bradfield. Neither Big Red nor Arthur moved from their locations during Ferris’s visit. Both Ks appeared to have a crop and neither were food begging. The crop is the first stage of digestion. It is like a pouch under the beak and the mouth. The crop expands with the food. The undigestables are rolled around in the crop to form a casting which the hawk throws up or ‘casts’. The rest of the food that can be digested enters the digestive system proper. The only raptor that does not have a crop is the owl. Owls have gizzards. If you watch Ospreys you will have looked to see if the chicks have crops. That way you can tell if they have had food recently.

It was an absolutely wonderful surprise. There is nothing nicer than spending the end of the day with Big Red and her family. I hope you enjoyed seeing them, too.

This is a great shout out to Ferris Akel. Thank you Ferris for taking your time to go and check on ‘the family’. It is wonderful to know that they are all fine and well.

What is gorgeous in Ospreyland?

This entire day has been ‘weird’. It started with only four hours sleep after checking on Tiny Tot’s nest all night. I have no idea what I was thinking. Tiny wouldn’t have flown from wherever she was just to be bounced about, would she?

And then there was the intruder on the nest. This intruder is just giving me a headache. I think I want Tiny Tot to show up on that nest so bad that I forget that there have been a number of visitors to the nest, several that Tiny Tot fought off valiantly. Still there is some kind of family resemblance.

This bird is still bugging me. It is nearly 4:30 pm. I know that I took a screen shot similar to the top one where you could see the white ‘V’ and the scalloped white of the crest making the heart. Tiny Tot had that. This bird has the thick short legs of Tiny and the sweep of the feathers is long BUT it is not elegant like Tiny Tot. The eyes are not the same. But then who knows what your eyes would look like after a hurricane.

This picture of Tiny was taken on 4 July the day before she ‘seemingly’ left the nest permanently for broader horizons. You will notice the white line above the wing is the same. Each of the birds have some dark on their legs, a little strip like a band but not a band.

And this is Tiny mantling her fish on 4 July.

Sadly, these birds are not banded and we only have images to compare that aren’t always sharp and from the same angle. What do you think?

Now, I think every bird is extraordinarily beautiful, but some more so than others. Today, the Dyfi Osprey Project posted an image taken by the individual who ringed two Ospreys in a nest in the Lake District in Cumbria England. They are females, Blue 460 and Blue 461. I took a deep breath and knew that I had to redefine what ‘gorgeous’ means when looking at an Osprey chick.

These are Monty and Glesni’s grandchildren. Their father is Merin. He hatched at Dyfi in 2015. They have Monty’s piercing orange eyes! Gosh I hope they do not lose them to become yellow. Look at the crest with the peach, the soft little white beards. I will be staring at these two beauties for days.

There are reams of files, both analog and digital, tracking UK Ospreys. And this again shows why it is important to get these birds banded. It is now known that at least four of Monty and Glesni’s chicks have returned to successfully breed. Of course, there could well be others. There is Aeron (Z2) who has been chasing intruders away from his PC nest at Glaslyn, then there is Tegid (Z1), one of my third hatch wonder children, who has a nest in Snowdonia, and Clarach in Aberfoyle, Scotland. Gosh, I would love to get a close look at the chicks of Tegid and Aeron!

Mama and Legacy were both asleep when I checked in at the Fortis Red Deer Osprey Nest.

There are both parents on the nest with Legacy yesterday. She is really growing now that the hot weather is gone.

There has been a lot of bad weather going around Alberta and there are dark clouds still around the Fortis Osprey nest at Canmore today. You can just see the two Bobs if you squint. Everything in the nests seems stabilized after a turbulent period of heat and storms. Warm wishes that it stays this way.

Here is a quick check in of a few of the nests. The Two Bobs at Rutland Manton Bay continue to perfect their flying skills after fledging. The Only Bob in the Clywedog Nest in Wales has been doing some wingersizes and the Two Bobs up at Loch of the Lowes are starting to think they might like to hover and fly. There could be a number of fledges coming up in the nest week. Mrs G has been catching fish and so has Aran. The overzealous two year old, Blue 022 has been bonding some more with CJ7 at the Poole Harbour Nest. If they both return from migration it will be great to see some chicks on that nest – the first chicks in 200 years born in Poole Harbour. Will that be the headline? The eldest fledgling of Big Red and Arthur, K1, the Red tail hawks at Cornell, probably caught her first prey item today – a little vole – witnessed by the Hornings. K3 enjoyed observing! Those two are excellent fliers. Can’t wait to take another tour with Ferris Akel to see how they are doing. Will be sure to let you know.

My friend, ‘R’ knows more about Albatross and Petrels than I will ever know. She is curious about the Goony Albatross that ended up in Bempton Cliffs in the UK. He should be in the South Atlantic. Maybe he thinks he is a yellow headed Short-tailed Albatross of the North Pacific? or a gannet? ‘R’ and I will try and put our heads around this one over the coming week. Here is the story on the BBC:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-57683184

And what is this about the fish being addicted to meth? What happens to the birds that eat the fish? I will be following up on that along with a tribute to Tiny Tot and a story of a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo in a Renaissance painting. Those are coming up this week.

Thank you for joining me today. Have a really enjoyable rest of the day no matter where you are.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grabbed my screen shots: Fortis Alberta Red Deer, Fortis Alberta Exshaw, and the Achieva Credit Union. I also want to thank the Dyfi Osprey FB Page where I took the screen shot of Merin’s chicks.

Monday Nest Hopping – to keep my mind off Elsa

There were some lovely letters in my inbox today – articles and quesions – to keep me busy and to try and curtail me from checking on Tropical Storm Elsa every half hour. My friend Wicky – lover of books and hawks as long as they leave her songbirds alone – pointed my noise to an article in The New York Times by Margaret Renkl. Renkl is the author of Late Migrations, a fabulous book that I pick up often to simply read a single entry. Today in “Hawk. Lizard. Mole. Human”, Renkl speaks to the garden that she can see out her windows. She says, “How lucky I am to live in a home with windows. Against all odds – the encroachments of construction companies and lawn services and exterminators – those windows still open onto a world that stubbornly insists on remaining wild”.

Here is the link. I hope that you can open it. Renkl is a wonderful writer always leaving me appreciative of her love of our feathered friends and – others. Thank you, Wicky.

Like Renkl, I am grateful for my windows and astonished at what happens in a tiny bit of paradise inside the heat and concrete of a big and growing city. The birds have returned to the garden after the extreme heat. It is simply glorious seeing them splash around in the baths, having drinks, and sneaking off with some birdseed that looks like trail mix. The Blue Jays love the cashews and the berries and have gone through the large berry-insect-suet cylinder in a few days. There seem to be fewer insects every year. Is it the spraying of the caterpillars who eat the leaves off the trees? the greening of the lawns so that they look like they came out of a magazine, or the opposite where concrete is replacing grass? What are the birds to eat? Thankfully a growing number of people are willing to put the time and effort into helping them survive.

A lovely note came in from Finland, also, telling me about the ten Osprey nests. Thank you Tiny Toefan! I admit to not knowing enough about the Finnish nests but tonight while that storm is churning through the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida I am going to begin my education on these Ospreys. I want to learn more about them so I am just not an occasional observer. Tiny Toefan says that their Ospreys had a bit of a sad year. The attack of the Raven at the Satakunta Nest and the death of Alma spread quickly within the community of Osprey Lovers around the world. Our hearts broke for that dear family. Intruders, lack of food, and weather-related events have wrecked havoc with all the Ospreys this year.

Speaking of intruders, the UK nests are having issues with the returning two year old juveniles. They are all excited and flying about while the adults are trying to take care of their chicks that will soon be fledging. Today there were three intruders at the Glaslyn nest. All hatched at the Dyfi Nest. Z2 (Aeron, 2017) has chicks on the PC nest with 01 at Glaslyn. He quickly moved Hesgyn KA3 (2019) and Dinas KS6 (2018) along before they could do any lasting damage. Here is a video clip of all that action:

There were intruders at Foulshaw Moss Nest also. While watching Tiny Little get ready to stand up, in a quarter of a blink he was flat down like a pancake. For a moment I thought he had broken his leg – but, no – somewhere there were unwanted guests.

Did the adults teach them to do this? or is this 65 million year old instinct at work?

My friend, “R” also wrote today to tell me of another bird in the wrong place. It begs to ask how many instances of birds being where they shouldn’t are there? There is a Stellar’s Eagle in New Brunswick, Canada that should be in Russia and there were definitely birds out of location in Toronto earlier in the season.

The bird in England is a beautiful Black-browned Albatross. It should not be in the Northern Hemisphere! Imagine what a sight it was for those in Britain. I will follow up later on this story with more information. Thank you, “R”.

Here is the article. If it won’t open, try to copy and paste the URL in your browser. What in the world is this bird doing in England!?

https://www.thisisthecoast.co.uk/news/local-news/rare-albatross-sighting-on-yorkshire-coast/?fbclid=IwAR2lu8erfI5wv_J-I0gGdUvcJ2YM35wipWkXornJDTVtlAdiUgMs372NWRQ

In a swing through the Osprey nests, Tiny Tot is not on the Achieva Osprey Nest. She came in during the night and then left. The fireworks for the 4th must have been really disturbing to all the Osprey in that area. I am going to hope that Tiny Tot is down by the water catching fish to hold her until Elsa passes. She might also be looking for a place to hunker down til the storm passes. Again, because she is a fish eater and not an insect or nectar eater, Tiny Tot should be alright. It is the wind and flying debris if it gets bad. Well, it is worrisome. We can all image a hundred scenarios. I continue to run Laura Culley’s advice in my head – “worrying is nothing more than establishing an outcome in your mind before it happens. Don’t do it!” Need to put that mantra on repeat. Culley would tell me that these birds are much smarter than we are.

Electra has a huge fish that she is eating on the Cowlitz PUD Nest. It is good to see her eating well. She needs to regain her strength. On the other hand, it also makes me very sad. It would have been grand if that size of a fish came on that nest when the little tykes were alive. It might have made all the difference.

Give a shout out to the linemen of Fortis Alberta and to the streaming cam watchers who notified them that Legacy was tangled in monofilament line. They got there in time and saved her life. Legacy was so wound up in the line that she could not even lift her head to eat – and this was during the heat wave. She needed that hydration! The linemen responded to the call quickly. They removed the fishing line as well as the two dead chicks from the nest. Today, just look at her. Legacy is chowing down on a nice fish on the Fortis Red Deer Nest. There are still dark clouds but the rain has stopped and the nest seems to be drying out. That said the forecast is calling for rain tomorrow. The temperatures are in the 17 degree C range, a far cry from the extreme 40s C.

The two chicks on the Fortis Exshaw Nest at Canmore, Alberta seem to be doing alright, also. They are both being fed by mom. The skies are the same as those at Red Deer but they are calling for a thunderstorm tonight and rain tomorrow at the nest. Oh, stay dry little ones!

There seems to be a constant stream of intruders on the Hellgate Osprey Nest of Iris. It is prime real estate right next to the river and the fishing continues, despite the heat and low water, to be good for Iris. Louis has come and helped ward off the Dunrovin juveniles looking for a nest but sometimes, Iris has had to fend for herself The indignity of it all!

There are not enough good trees for the Ospreys and the placement of platforms has to be carefully evaluated because of all the territorial issues. It is confusing. On the one hand old timers tell me that Ospreys do not have territories but if you watch, Louis certainly claims this nest and the one at the baseball park as his even if he fishes in the same river as the other Ospreys. As more male chicks survive and return, careful planning will need to be undertaken for nests – if the water in the rivers and the fish stay sufficient to support a growing population of these fish eagles.

The predictions for Elsa are becoming more worrisome. Each change in the model sees it bearing down more heavily along that Southwest coast of Florida including Fort Myers up to St Petersburg. Please send any warm wishes you have that the system pulls more to the West as it heads towards Florida after Cuba.

Thank you for joining me today. Stay safe wherever you are and thank you to everyone who writes to me. I do try and get to answer your letters as quickly as I can and please know that I appreciate them. I learn something new every day from you! And thank you to all of you for simply loving the birds and doing what you can to make their lives better.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Fortis Exshaw, Fortis Alberta, and the Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam.

Saturday Evening with the Ks and a Door Dash for Tiny

I cannot tell you how delighted I am that Ferris Akel has been taking his tour to the campus of Cornell University. Ferris has a gift for finding the fledglings and an attitude of pure innocence and joy as he watches them with us. This evening K1 and K3 could not have been any cuter. There they were on the top of the Rice Building together. It was their interaction with one another that was so precious and extraordinary.

I am going to let you make up your own story as you look through the images. K1, the bigger female and the mini-me of Big Red, is on the left. K3, the little brother whose tail might be muddy but sure looks reddish, is on the right throughout the sequence. Enjoy!

Aren’t they adorable? Big Red was sitting calmly on the light stand and Arthur was on Riley Robb Hall making his way later to another light stand. For awhile, K3 was food calling. As well all know, Big Red’s kiddos never go hungry. K3 was just wishing for a bedtime snack! All is wonderful in the world of Cornell’s most famous family, Big Red and Arthur, the Red Tail Hawks, and their Ks.

Jack who will possibly forever be known as Daddy Door Dash to me brought Tiny Tot a fish at 6:47:12 on the Achieva Credit Union Osprey Nest. Again, I have a sequence of images. The facial expression of Tiny Tot is incredible. Feel free to make up your own story – but as you do, imagine Jack, at least a couple of times, as a ballet dancer with those legs of his.

Tiny Tot has gotten really good at holding its fish! Remember when he used to lose them to sibling #2? I don’t think that would happen anymore. Actually, I don’t think either of the siblings would mess Tiny about anymore either. If they tried, they might wish they hadn’t.

I hope you enjoyed these few images tonight. It is always reassuring when Big Red, Arthur, and the fledglings are located – as it is when Tiny Tot goes to bed with a nice fully tummy.

I have just received a new book, Queen of the Sky. It is the story of a rescued Peregrine Falcon by a fabulous woman in Wales, Ffion Rees. I can’t wait to read it and tell you about it! I will continue to monitor Tropical Storm Elsa as it passes over Cuba on its way to Florida.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. Stay well.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Ferris Akel’s Livestream on YouTube and Achieva Credit Union.

Friday Night fun with Ferris and the Ks

I did not expect Ferris Akel to be over on the Cornell Campus tonight finding Big Red and Arthur and showing us what the Ks were doing but, he was there and I am terribly grateful. I want to share some of the images from this evening so you have an idea what our favourite Red Tail Hawk family was doing today 2 July 2021.

The event began a little earlier with Arthur dropping off a chipmunk on the nest at 17:47:08.

Here comes Arthur with that tasty little snack.

Arthur is looking around to see if any of the Ks saw him with the chippie and will follow him to the nest tower.

Time to get out of the way because here comes K1! And she is obviously hungry.

This gives you a really good view to K1’s gorgeous tail. Doesn’t it look like white scallops on each feather? I can count nine dark stripes. No wonder she is such a good flier.

At some point K3 comes over to the nest tower and finishes up the chippie that K1 had left. And then they are both off on their adventures.

One of the things I love to watch are the hawklets playing soccer with the pinecones. It is really good training for gripping their talons and holding on to prey. K1 found something that she was gripping and tossing – turns out it was a piece of asphalt. Yuck!

K1 had such a fun time playing. She is certainly good at entertaining herself.

When she finished playing, she flew and landed in one of her favourite trees.

Ferris had been able to locate everyone except K3. Ferris decided to check behind the Rice Building and then he heard Robins alarming. There sitting quietly in the pine was K3.

K3 remains in the pine trees provoking the Robins and K1 flies to the nest tower. Here is she is below. Maybe K1 will stay there as it is actually getting quite late.

Big Red, on the right, and Arthur, on the left, are clearly ready to call it a day. Good Night everyone!

Thank you for joining me. It is always wonderful to watch what Big Red, Arthur, and the Ks are doing. It is magic how fast they learn and grow!

Thank you to Ferris Akel for his love of the birds, his knowledge, and generously sharing his time with us. If you would like to follow the Ks or go on other Ferris Akel tours, everything is free. Just go to YouTube, do a search for Ferris Akel Tours and subscribe. Hit the bell for announcements. You will get an alert to when Ferris is livestreaming. Ferris will be on the Cornell Campus tomorrow. His tour normally starts at noon on Saturday, Eastern Time.

I have had several letters asking me about why certain nests get help from the wildlife rehabbers and others do not. I hope to have a complete answer formulated for my Sunday blog. It is a very complicated question that deserves a very considered answer.

Bird World News: Rescues, a fledge, and a Hurricane?

I want to give a shout out to Fortis BC for helping the South Okanagan’s only birds of prey rescue centre, SORCO, retrieve two baby Ospreys from a nest in Penticton. People saw the babies hanging over the sides of the nest panting and looking very dehydrated. The parents were unable to feed them because of the extreme heat driving the fish to the bottom of the rivers and lakes.

The Osprey platforms are out in the open – in the direct sun – and the chicks took a real hit by the heat when temperatures in the area rose into the high 40s on Wednesday.

@ CastaNet News Kelowna
@CastaNet News Kelowna

The babies are being fed and rehydrated. SORCO says they are doing well. They will be kept in care for approximately six weeks. SORCO says they have rescued 23 raptors during the extreme heat wave.

Elsa is now a hurricane and is expected to impact Florida and the region of the Osprey nests in St Petersburg early next week. The National Hurricane Centre is advising everyone to keep an eye on the hurricane as it now develops and what happens after it passes over the Antilles. You can follow the news here:

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?start#contents

All of our eyes will be on that system now that it has strengthened from a Tropical Storm to a hurricane because of our beloved Tiny Tot at the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg. The hurricane is currently located over Barbados (the white circle in the purple area).

Electra did not spend the night perched on the Cowlitz PUD Osprey nest but she has returned sometime this morning before 7am nest time.

The female chick, Blue 095, at Rutland Manton Bay has fledged today, 2 July, one day after her brother, Blue 096. Here is that flight:

It is definitely getting harder, at first glance, to tell who is who on the Foulshaw Moss Nest in Cumbria where Tiny Little Tot lives on the nest of White YW and Blue 35. Indeed, Blue 35 is testing the kids self-feeding skills today!

The male claimed the fish that arrived and didn’t do a bad job with the self-feeding. Tiny Little was right there hoping he would share! or feed him!! I do hope Blue 35 feeds Tiny Little today and doesn’t just let the bigger ones grab all of the fish.

The last time I saw Tiny Tot on the Achieva Credit Union nest she was waiting for a fish delivery. K1 and K3 had been fed and were over together on the Rice Building. So all is well in Ithaca.

Take care everyone. That is our early morning nest round up for Friday, 2 July.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam and the Cowlitz PUD.

Featured image is FortisBC and SORCO going up to rescue osprey chicks in Penticton.

Need a relaxing bird nest to watch?

After the trauma of the Cowlitz and Osyoos Osprey Nests, it is time sometimes good to pull back – to breathe – and watch a bird nest where there is absolutely no drama. Right now, these nests can be hard to find. The juvenile Bald Eagles in almost every nest in the United States have fledged. The Osprey chicks in certain areas of the US have already fledged. The Osprey chicks in the United Kingdom are preparing to fledge. In Australia, Lady and Dad have two eggs on their White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest while Mom and Dad at Port Lincoln are thinking about eggs (or were the last time I checked). Xavier and Diamond have yet to kick Izzi out of the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange and nothing as yet is happening with those two cute Peregrine Falcons on the CBD in Melbourne. So I am going to recommend two quite different nests for you to try. The chicks are nothing short of adorable. I have mentioned both of these nests at one time or another but they both need to be mentioned again.

Kindness is nothing short of cute. She just has her nice charcoal thermal down and she is just beginning to take steps. It doesn’t get much better than the Bald Eagle Nest up at the Glacier Gardens in Juneau, Alaska, this time of year. Her dad sometimes gets six big fish up to the nest in a day!

Kindness is 41 days old today. As per the average fledge age in Alaska, she is not even half way there. Look – she still has cute little dandelions on her head! 89 days to fledge in Alaska. So, please check her out.

Kindness is having her evening meal. Look at that crop and dad is still feeding her! (I think it is dad). She is going to be a big healthy girl.

Here is the link to watch Kindness:

The second nest is always calm. It is the Royal Albatross Cam on Taiaroa Head, New Zealand. Join the FB group administered by Sharon Dunne otherwise known fondly by so many of you as Lady Hawk, guess the chick’s weight every Monday, meet some nice people, and learn about the challenges these beautiful sea birds have.

This year’s royal cam chick’s name is Taiki. She is the daughter of Lime Green Lime (LGL) and Lime Green Black (LGK). She is old enough to be left alone on her nest while her parents fly out to sea to forage for food for her. And don’t worry. It isn’t like sitting around wondering if Wattsworth will ever show up with a fish or will Jack bring one to Tiny Tot – if something happens the NZ Department of Conservation Rangers will jump into action. Any chick that does not get fed and is under weight gets supplementary feedings of squid. If they get hot, they have their own sprinkler system! NZ knows that wildlife is at risk because of climate change. No one needs to ask for permissions that take days or weeks to come to help a bird.

Taiki is 157 days old. Her name means protector and carer. She weighed 8kg at the last weigh in. That is 17.64 lbs. The weight of the chicks is stabilizing now. Instead of gaining they will level off. Taiki will fledge in mid-September. So you have quite awhile to watch her build play nests, flap her wings, and change from a chick into a beautiful looking fledgling. Her black wings are coming through nicely.

Here is one of the feedings a few weeks ago. More of Taiki’s black wing feathers are visible now.

You can watch the Royal cam chick, her parents flying in to feed her, the rangers doing the weight checks using a laundry baskets, and Taiki visiting with adults and the chick close by. Remember to also check out the Royal Cam FB group.

Here is Taiki just waking up in New Zealand today. She will stretch her legs and wings as she looks out over the beautiful landscape.

Here is the link to the camera:

Thank you for joining me. I hope that you will check in on these two nests once in awhile. They can bring a lot of comfort when other nests get stressful.

Thank you to the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam and to the Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC for their streaming cams. That is where I took my screen shots.