First, in my blog Birds and Drones Don’t Mix, the number of Tern Nests evacuated because of the drone crash on Huntington Beach in June 2021, was 3000 not 300 as I reported. Incredible. Can you imagine a whole generation of birds completely wiped out? That is what happened.
This morning Kincaid was waiting for his breakfast when I left to go for my walk. Louis brought seven fish on to the nest while I was away. Kincaid has a full crop. He is such a cutie. The sound is so good at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest that you can clearly hear the eagles chattering. Today, little Kincaid, all interested in what they were doing joined in with his own vocals. It was nothing short of adorable.
My goodness Kincaid is full to the brim! I wonder if that full of a crop is uncomfortable?
Are we heading into a food coma?
Louis is on the nest and Kincaid wonders, even with that huge crop, if he might get a few bites of fish!
Oh, gosh. How do you spell cute? Is it NE 26 and 27?
Samson did a great job of feeding his babies this morning. 26 and 27 both ate really well, had crops and were wonderfully behaved!
The storm has really wiped out the wifi at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. No news on Ervie. I am sure they are OK but I wonder how much Ervie has had to eat. With choppy weather, Dad excels at fishing but I doubt Ervie is good enough at fishing to be successful in stormy weather.
Big Red and Arthur both came to the Fernow Light Stand Nest today at 06:57 to check on it. Arthur stayed longer actually rubbing the nest cup to check on it. We are about six weeks away from egg laying – unless Big Red is early!
Falconer Laura Culley will be joining in on the morning chat discussions. It is a great time to learn everything about Red-tail Hawks that you thought you would never want to know.
This is the 25th anniversary of Cornell’s Backyard Bird Count. It takes place this year from 18-22 February. It is free and I urge all of you to join in. This is citizen science at its best – helping to establish which birds are where and how many before the spring migration. Please do take part. Please go to https://www.birdcount.org/participate/ to sign up. You can participate for as few as 15 minutes a day. You can use the Merlin Bird App on your phone or use your desktop or laptop computer. It is fun and it really helps understand bird population growth and decline.
Thanks everyone for joining me today. My regular blog will be coming later in the afternoon for the next week. Take care. Stay safe. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, KNF, and Cornell Bird Labs Red-tail Hawks.
There are lots of things that have not gone to plan. Put an expensive tracker on an Osprey named Ervie and you have high hopes that he is going to break world speed records and wind up in Sydney! So where is Ervie today?
He’s hanging out with Dad. I wonder if Dad enjoys the company? Yesterday, Dad brought three fish in for his lad – at 15:44, 16:30, and 18:06. Maybe it isn’t such a bad strategy! Will Ervie ever leave home? I hope not. It is sure fun to watch the changing dynamics on this Osprey barge.
Cody and Steve of the US Forestry Service for Kistachie National Forest thought that the on line counter to name the eaglet was working fine – until it wasn’t! The counting stopped today at noon, not on the 9th of February. As it happens I was watching when all of this was discovered. The % of votes for each of the three names has stayed consistent since the start of voting. With that in mind and 447 people voting in a single day, the eaglet is named Kincaid. Personally I am thrilled. It fits with the names of the parents and the older sibling, Kistachie, who fledged last year.
Annie feeding Kincaid the fresh fish that Louis brought in earlier.
A really quick luck at what this storm system is doing.
Big Red and Arthur’s nest in Ithaca is receiving snow, as expected. If this is all the snow they get it will be amazing.
In Northwest Georgia, Missy is being the Mumbrella over B15. They are getting a torrential amount of rain there.
Poor Missy.
It is wet at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.
I expected to see snow at both the US Steel Eagles and Pittsburgh-Hayes but it has been chucking down the rain there so far.
They are on egg watch at Pittsburgh-Hayes.
This is a little later and the rain drops are still coming down. I wonder if they are going to begin to get a little icy?
It has been a nice day for R1 and R2 and their parents, Rita and Ron, at the WRDC nest in Miami. Both eaglets ate well. R2 is already passed out in a food coma.
As the sun is setting in Fort Myers, E19 and E20 are having a mice meal before bedtime. They have had a nice day, too. Both the WRDC and the SWFlorida eaglets are really getting those dark juvenile feathers. R1 continues to have the most dandelions of all!
There are food comas at NEFlorida and no rain or snow! These two are absolutely precious. Good weather for Samson and Gabby!
It was a really nice day if you were up in Big Bear today with Jackie and Shadow.
The wind is picking up slightly at The Landings, Savannah Great Horned Owl nest. No precipitation that I can see and they should not be expecting any. The storm appears to be tracking North of them.
There are lots of nests. My friends in Oklahoma tell me that the snow has come down and that there are huge storms in Missouri. The birds in Ohio and the areas where the ice is accumulating are in our thoughts. Thank you so much for joining me for a quick check in on a few of the nests. Congratulations to everyone at the Kisatchie National Forest on the naming of their eaglet – Kincaid! Just love it.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages or both where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagles,, KNF Forest Rangers FB, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Cornell Bird Lab Savannah GHOW, Duke Farms, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Pix Camera, Explore.org, Friends of Big Bear, SWFlorida Eagle and D Pritchett, NE Florida and the AEF, and the WRDC.
I will only say it is ‘freezing’ once. First it was the snow and now we are -31 C. for all day Wednesday. The sky was blue and the sun was shining Wednesday morning signalling the extreme cold. Staring at the birds outside just makes me marvel at how they can survive a Winnipeg winter. It has now warmed up to -26 Thursday morning but we remain under an extreme cold warning.
The Black-capped Chickadees take so much time getting a single black oil sunflower seed, then finding a place to crack it. They do not seem to prefer – at all – the ones already shelled and broken. Yesterday they were flitting around in the blizzard coming into the vines and under the eave to get away from the wind.
I caught this little fellow cracking the seed on that tiny branch the other day.
I have a large tub of spreadable bark butter. The Woodpecker family will be delighted. I wonder if these chickadees might like it as well??? I have to say that while I am so happy to have the Starlings around, they can be intimidating. A friend has suggested that I get a feeder with a suction cup that goes on the window. They said the small birds like the chickadees will come to it while the big birds will stay away. I worry that a bird will injure themselves flying into the window. I wonder. Have you had any experience with these types of feeders? If so, I would love to hear from you.
There was a super surprise in the post today. The t-shirts from the fund raiser for Lindsay Wildlife arrived. Lindsay Wildlife treated Grinnell, the male Peregrine Falcon at The Campanile at UC-Berkeley, when he was injured on 29 October. These were part of a fundraiser by Cal Falcons to thank them.
The last posting on the falcon’s FB page. So happy Grinnell was able to be released so quickly and took his place back with Annie.
I can’t help it. Whenever I am checking on Annie and Grinnell, I think of Richmond and Rosie. Is it because one of Annie and Grinnell’s daughters has a nest on Alcatraz? I don’t know.
If you are looking for a stable Osprey nest, you need look no farther than that of Richmond and Rosie at the Point Potreto Whirley Crane in San Francisco. Richmond and Rosie are nothing short of incredible. They are entertaining and steady as you go parents. Richmond is known for bringing in quirky items to the nest – stuffed toys, aprons, and hats.
Rosie is in front and has the streaked breast.
Richmond has been at the Whirly crane for three days in a row. Oh, yes, the nest is on a Whirly Crane that belongs specifically to the Ospreys! Does Richmond think Rosie might come home early? You see, Richmond never leaves the area. He spends his time around the island of Alcatraz and fishing in the Bay. Rosie migrates and she typically returns around Valentine’s Day. Oh, they are always so excited to see one another!
The couple have been raising chicks on this nest since 2017. This will be their sixth breeding year. In the past 5 seasons, they have fledged a total of 13 chicks.
Here is the actual crane:
This is detailed historical data on all aspects from egg laying, banding, to fledge. Last year, Rosie and Richmond again fledged triplets like they did in 2020. Rosie, Sage, and Poppy were their names in 2021.
This is Richmond two days ago on the crane. He often visits during the winter just to check on the nest and protect his territory. There are currently 50 Osprey nests in the San Francisco Bay area.
Here is a link to one of the streaming cams for Rosie and Richmond:
The weather in the US is amping up. Here is the latest NOAA national map. If you are in this area which covers a huge population of the US, you take care!
There is a line of rain that includes Louisiana at an angle going NE that includes NYC and Duke Farms Bald Eagles in Hillsborough, NJ. Ice is in Southern Ohio and moving eastward and will impact the PA birds. Heavy snow for upstate NY. It is currently raining at the KNF nest in Louisiana and rain, or is it freezing rain?, at Berry College.
Anna and Louis were both wet. the little eaglet is dry. You can see that they are alerting. The cold has hit the nest. It is 3 degrees C or 18 F and it is set to fall to 0. Stay warm Anna, Louis, and the baby!
Missy is keeping B15 dry. It is 13 degrees C but the weather report is saying thunderstorms for the Berry College Bald Eagle nest. Stay safe everyone.
You can barely tell but snow is starting to fall on Big Red and Arthur’s nest in Ithaca, New York. It is currently 2 degrees C at the nest. It will get down to -6 C before this storm is over. This area of upstate NY is set to get pounded with snow. Keep Big Red and Arthur in your thoughts.
All of the nests in PA are set to be hit with ice and/or snow. There could be significant tree loss if the ice continues to build up like it is doing in southern Ohio at the moment.
Thank you for joining me. My thoughts go out to everyone and all the nests in this storm area. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Golden Gate Audubon, Cal Falcons, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, KNF, Berry College, and NOAA.
There is definitely snow and more snow and it is either still coming down or blowing like it is! Goodness.
Both Mr and Mrs Chickadee were flitting around on the vines under the eaves trying to find a place to get out of the wind. The Starlings are waiting for the Butter Bark feeder to be filled and dozens of House Sparrows are eating snow. It is a ghastly day for them. And for people. I think my appointment for a hair cut is once again cursed. Wish me luck though. I am going to try and make it!!!!!!!!
In all the flurry of the storm news, I missed the quick change over at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest. No sooner had YRK returned to relief OGK and he was back – in a day! Oh, the foraging must have been really good. That is fantastic.
There is the Royal Cam dad, OGK, first thing in the morning looking so content.
Someone is sleeping on the nest on the deck of the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. Is it Ervie? Sleeping in the nest seems ‘odd’ for the adults. What do you think? Is that a sat-pak on the back of that Osprey?
The winter storm warning for the US appears that it will be hitting Oklahoma around 21:00 tonight and moving eastward. I wonder what some of the nests will look like tomorrow?
The eaglet-without-a-name-but-soon-to-have-one is really getting its thermal down! Changing every day. There is another duck delivery and a bird with white feathers was slipped in some time when I wasn’t watching. Wind and some slight rain at the nest currently.
It is a bright sunny day at Big Red and Arthur’s nest. The snow and ice has not reached there yet.
It is still nice and sunny and clear in Hillsboro, New Jersey where our Mum at Duke Farms is incubating two eggs.
It still looks alright at Berry College. B15 is also getting its thermal down and it is such a cute little baby. Pa Berry and Missy must be proud.
R1 and R2 are doing great. You can see what full coverage of that thick thermal down looks like when you look at them and then look up at the little eaglet at Berry where the thermal down is just coming in.
R2 is the one at the front holding on to the fish that it will continue to nibble on. These two can be real comedians.
NE26 and 27 are doing grand as well, the youngest of the eaglets now. If you want soft, cute, and cuddly that is the place to watch – NEFlorida with Gabby and Samson!
This has been a quick check on some nests. So far all looks great. The system that is moving through the US is going to impact lots of birds and wildlife as it pushes its way through. Hopefully nests with chicks on them or eggs will be spared the worst of it.
Thank you for joining me today. Stay safe. Stay warm.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagles, NEFlorida and the AEF, NZ DOC, Berry College Bald Eagles, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Duke Farms.
The ‘Alberta Clipper’ is just starting to impact Winnipeg with some light snow flakes. We are in an extreme blizzard warning area until tomorrow morning when the winds and snow – getting up to 90 kph (or 55 mph) – dissipate. The garden birds were a little strange today. They ate and left. Normally they come and stay all day but a couple of waves of different groups came and went. I suspect they were going to try and find a place to hunker down for the duration. This storm system is also going to impact a huge part of the US including my childhood state of Oklahoma.
It is snowing on the Storks near Freiburg, too.
There is wind and blowing snow in Durbe, Latvia, the home of Milda, the White-tailed Eagle. The sound from the camera’s microphone makes you shiver – the wind is just howling through the forest.
The female Bald Eagle at Duke Farms is also under some snow and it looks like she might get more as this weather system moves through the eastern US.
There is good news in Bird World. Both of the USS Bald Eagles were seen at the nest today. The worry last night over whether or not there was an injury melted away. Nice.
The thermal down is coming in on the eaglet at the KNF in Central Louisiana. The light natal down is giving way to dandelions. Notice how much longer the beak is and how large the cere has become. The cere is the soft fleshy part above the black beak, seen below. The cere varies in shape, size, and colour amongst raptors. The beak will turn that beautiful yellow when this eaglet is approximately 4-5 years old and be pure yellow by the time it is 6 years old. At that time, it will also finish getting its adult plumage including that full beautiful white head.
The meals are more spread apart but the eaglet is eating longer and its crop is getting much fuller. Just look below. The crop is a pouch along the espophagus. It stores food before it gets to the stomach. It also processes prey items that cannot be processed in the stomach. The raptor will regurgitate a compressed pellet of those items that do not go to the stomach.
The Wildlife Biologist has just confirmed that this crop is at least 3-4 inches (10 cm) long! Wow.
Poor Baby. It took some maneuvering with the weight and flopping of that crop for it to get in a position to PS. Obviously the crop weighs more than the chick’s bottom does.
This baby has really grown in the last 4 or 5 days and is changing more and more with every blink it seems.
Despite being full to the brim and hardly able to move, Anna is making certain that the little one is topped up before bedtime.
NE26 and 27 are awash in Spanish Moss. The nest seems to be covered with it and fish. Lots of fish.
There are those sweet little fluffy dumplings in the nest bole.
Sleeping quietly under Mum.
At the WRDC Nest in Miami, R1 and R2 have popping crops, too. The pin or blood feathers can be seen coming in through the thermal down.
R1 is closest to you. R2 without the fluffy hair is in the back and also has a large crop. Both eaglets are doing well and there is plenty of food on the nest.
The 2022 Albatross Count on Midway Atoll is completed. Here is the information as it was posted by Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge today:
YRK flew in and switched places with OGK yesterday at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest in New Zealand.
Lady Hawk caught that sweet reunion.
The camera is still offline in Port Lincoln. Would love to have had a good look at our Ervie.
Tuesday February 1 is Lunar New Year for many of our friends. For all of you celebrating the Spring Festival, we wish you a healthy, happy, prosperous Year of the Tiger.
Thank you for joining me today. So happy to have you with me. Stay safe, stay warm!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Friends of Midway Atoll WildlifeRefuge FB Page, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, WRDC Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, and the Stork’s Nest Livestream.
What a Saturday afternoon and night. It was such a huge relief to find Anna on the Bald Eagle nest in the Kistachie National Forest and that there had been either a misidentification or that Anna and Louis switched places at dawn. Whatever happened- Anna is alright. Both birds were stressed on Saturday. It is unclear what was the cause or was it a multitude of things together – humans, gun shots, other intruding birds or animals.
I just love the image below. Everyone is so happy and relaxed this morning.
If you are watching the KNF nest, listen for the ‘laughing’ frogs. They are actually called Southern Leopold frogs but because of the sound they make, they are nicknamed laughing frogs. I hope to goodness that is the only sound that the nest has to hear besides eagles today!
The eaglet is enjoying some of the duck that was delivered earlier.
Eaglet is in food coma. Hopefully by this time next week, this baby will have a name!
The Wildlife Biologist says this afternoon that Anna and Louis would not have made their nest in a place if they were bothered by humans being around. Yesterday was, however, different from any other time that I have watched this nest – last year and this.
I know that many of you are stork lovers. Did you know that there is a live streaming cam with storks at Dreisamtal, about 10 kilometres east of Freiburg, Germany? A pair of storks make their nest on the roof of the Church of St. Gallus. Normally the couple arrive in February but this year, they returned on New Year’s Eve 2021.
The couple come and go for foraging. They sleep on the nest at night. Here is the link to this camera to calm all of your longing-for-storks-to-return!
What gorgeous plumage these Storks have. Incredibly beautiful!
Ervie had a full crop and was being blessed by diamonds all around. Oh, our glorious boy! He has quite the crop in that image. While there are few fish deliveries captured on the streaming cam, it is now believed that Ervie is catching almost all of his fish himself.
Dad does still continue to deliver a fish on occasion when Ervie is crying on the nest. Ervie loves being an ‘only child’.
The other day a word showed up in respect to Ervie – extreme philopatry. Yes, it is possible that Ervie is tied as tight as he can, more than others, to this very nest and that he will not wander too far afield like Falky has done. Indeed, one day we might see Ervie as the adult male on the barge with his own family.
Look a Ervie’s crop! Our young man is doing well. It is a relief to imagine that Ervie is an excellent fisher now.
At the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida, everyone is waiting for the first egg to be laid this breeding season.
Of course, we are also waiting for Big Red and Arthur to begin working on their nest. It is, actually, awhile still. Last year Big Red laid her eggs on 26 and 29 March and 1 April! So we have about 7 weeks and a few days til our beloved Red-tail Hawk is incubating.
About the time Big Red is laying eggs, Iris will be returning from her winter migration. It is a snowy cold day in Missoula. I hope Iris is enjoying the warmth of her winter home.
At this very same time – as Big Red lays her eggs and we are on watch for Iris to land on her nest, Milda will be laying eggs on the White-tailed eagle nest in Durbe.
When I looked at my calendar and saw those three events – Big Red, Iris, and Milda – there was a big exclamation mark. Of course, all of the Ospreys and Storks will be returning from their winter homes to breed in the UK and Europe! It is going to get really, really busy.
For now, I will turn my attention back to the Bald Eagles. I don’t think NE26 is being an angel but it appears that s/he is not a ruthless brute either to NE27 – that is all good. Samson continues to have the pantry full and the fuzz balls nothing short of adorable.
In the image below, NE 26, the tallest, was trying to peck at 27. 27 did a pretty good job of standing up to its big sib. Bravo!
NE27 still has quite a dominant egg tooth. Sweet little babe with the golden glow of the morning sun shining on it.
A banana leaf was brought on to the WRDC nest. R1 thinks it makes quite a comfortable bed! So cute. It kinda’ fits with having a Papadam Chair for a nest.
R1 and R2 with their charcoal thermal down are growing and growing. Both are eating well and Ron has just brought a nice big fish on to the nest. It will not be long til these two eaglets are walking with ease around the nest. Just look at how big R1 is – looks like Hulk.
The eaglet at Berry College is wanting to have an afternoon snack and is looking intently at what the adult is plucking on the nest. This little one is a real little sweetie. Look at that lovely soft down head. You can see the thermal down coming in on the body of the eaglet. In a couple of days that soft light grey down will be nothing but dandelions!
And, last for today, if you are a Thunder and Akecheta fan, Thunder laid her first egg at the Channel Islands Bald Eagle Nest at 16:54 on 29 January! This is Cheta’s third breeding season and he no longer minds incubating the eggs. Last year the Ravens (or Crows?) got the eggs so this year, hopefully, neither adult will leave them alone!
Here is the link to the Channel Islands streaming cam:
Whew. All is well at the nests. Thankfully. It is supposed to warm up and start snowing on the Canadian Prairies in a short time. It is a good day for a walk out in the fresh air!
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone and just breathe a sigh of relief. Anna is fine.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, NEFlorida and the AEF, WRDC, Explore.org, Latvian Fund for Nature, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Achieva Credit Union, and Storks Nest Live Stream.
Yesterday I took a walk in the English and the Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens. They are part of the larger Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg. In the summer, these areas are full of people walking and looking at the flowers, of people clamouring to see the latest hummingbird arrival, or me – sitting on a bench hoping to see the juvenile Cooper’s Hawks again.
There was not a single bird in this area of the park yesterday. The wind was bitter against your face. The only remnants of the birds were the nests, sometimes two to a tree. As I looked for nests I also notice this colossal Blue Spruce.
And another one full of Spruce cones. We planted a Blue Spruce in our garden. I am hoping that one day it will be full of cones like this for the Red Squirrels to eat.
There are a few snow flakes falling in the garden. Dyson & Co were up early eating off the suet cylinders and the square hanging feeder. Each had a spot – 3 civilized squirrels all having breakfast. Close your eyes and imagine it! By the time I had the charged battery in the camera they were off, chasing one another in the Lilac bushes.
I checked on Ervie first. The camera has been on and off at Port Lincoln due to the storm. One of the chatters posted a fish arrival time stamp for Ervie yesterday afternoon and thankfully, I could still rewind and find our beautiful boy.
Dad arrives with a nice fish. Here he is flying off. Ervie has it in his talons.
Ervie spends the next hour eating that fish – it was a nice sized one.
I wonder what has happened to Ervie’s feathers on his left wing?
It was just so nice to see Ervie and see him eating that I could have stopped checking on the birds right then! How much longer will we see this incredible Osprey on the barge? Every day is a gift.
It is good to see Port Lincoln posting updates. That means that they survived the big storm as well. Here is the latest tracking for Ervie from yesterday. Yes, he is traveling further afield! So glad he has a tracker!
Port Lincoln also posted information on Calypso. 2019 hatch. Here she is! What a beautiful Osprey!!!!!!
The little chick at Berry College is so adorable. You can see the dark thermal down coming in replacing the soft light grey natal down. Soon our wee one will be able to thermoregulate its own temperature. For today, however, it wants to be close to Mum to stay warm.
A great comparison is the plumage of E19 and E20 yesterday but first, look at that crop. Harriet and M15 have been keeping these two full and I have not seen any of the rivalry when I have been watching them that we did in early days. (Feel free to correct me!)
The thermal down layer now covers E19 and E20. There are a few dandelions of the natal fluff left. You can now see their contour and flight feathers coming in.
The image below shows the juvenile Bald Eagle at the Osceola Florida nest. Notice that it is a dark espresso brown/black. It will not be that long and E19 and E20 will look like this beautiful only Eagle.
The little eaglet is growing and growing at the KNF nest. It is out of its ‘hole’ that Anna had made for it and is up sleeping by the eleven fish and the turtle that Louis has in the nest. The pair have been busy moving Spanish Moss around covering much of the pantry at times.
Look at the size of that leg! You can see the thermal down coming in on the Anna’s baby. Soon there will be only dandelions, faint hints of it as a wee babe. It seems like it has doubled in size overnight.
The eaglets really grow fast. Samson and Gabby’s wee babes are some of the only ones now with natal down. They are darling. Samson seems to have been in some kind of contest with the number of fish on the nest with Louis. As someone reminded me, Samson has 2 to feed, not 1. Regardless, Louis and Samson are two of the best prey providers. Incredible what they bring to the nest.
These two appear to be getting along. They are both doing very well.
The two are not really that much difference in size. The camera angle and 26 having its neck pulled all the way out makes it look much bigger. Gosh they are cute.
The nicest thing about this year in terms of hatching is that the nests vary so much in the age of their nestlings. It is fantastic to see all the stages of development including their plumage!
It was reassuring to check on the WRDC nest and see that R2 (in front) and R1 (eating) both have crops albeit R1 is going to have the larger. The wind is very brisk at the nest. In fact, there is a wind advisory for Miami with a temperature of 13 C (or as you see on screen at 57 F).
There is a cold front moving through all of the Eastern US.
It is much colder in Ithaca. Indeed, Ithaca is -11 C which is precisely the same temperature as we have in Winnipeg today. Crazy. It is difficult to imagine that in less than 8 weeks we could have Big Red incubating eggs on this nest!
Except for the extreme wind and cold temperatures, everything seems to be just fine with all of the nests. Most of all it was wonderful to get a good look at Ervie and know that he has eaten in the midst of all the horrific weather in South Australia the other day. Good news continues to come out of Senegal. The Osprey count along the coast for the month of January was 1206. That is simply amazing Jean-Marie Dupart.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I will see you tomorrow!
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF Bald Eagles, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Berry College Bald Eagles, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, and the Osceola Bald Eagle Nest.
It feels like the lull after the storm which is possibly a good thing for everyone who was in the path of the snow and ice in the US yesterday, including our beloved birds and animals. That said, there are still parts of the US and Canada that continue to be having weather from that system.
The rain stopped in Ithaca, home of Big Red and Arthur, and it started snowing again.
It has stopped snowing at the nest of the Pittsburgh-Hayes couple.
In the wake of the storm, the female at Duke Farms laid her first egg about an hour and a half ago. No snow! Congratulations Duke Farms.
Over in Dale Hollow there is snow and the Bald Eagle couple also have their first egg of the 2022 season. Gos, I live in Canada but it looks cold there to me – and a little odd. Snow on the nest and green grass. Oh, Canadians living on the Prairies love to see the green grass come up in the spring.
Here is the announcement:
Did you ever watch the Bald Canyon Eagles? If so, you might be interested to know that the US Navy, the entity that owns and operates San Clemente Island, gave Dr Sharpe permission to install a new camera.
Here is the link to this nest with its new camera. There is no sound as per the US Navy regulations.
B15 is doing really well at the Berry College Bald Eagle Nest in Mt Berry, Georgia. The nest seems to have dried out and Missy’s feathers are all nice and fluffy. This little one is moving about nicely and appears to be quite strong – doing well for one less than a week old! B15 had a nice little crop after its late afternoon feed.
The aggression by R1 towards R2 at the WRDC Nest in Miami-Dade County continues. R2 had one meal by 16:16. Of course, this little one can still survive but it is very intimidated by R1 and will not raise itself to eat while R1 is eating.
E19 was being particularly aggressive today, too. In fact, horrible isn’t even the right word to describe the behaviour towards E20. This is despite some nice fish deliveries at the SWFlorida Nest. How does bad weather impact avian behaviour? These two eaglets were, just a few days ago, cited as being the most civil that Harriet and M15 ever had on the nest. The ‘trigger’ had to be the weather. I cannot account for anything else.
In the end, both eaglets were fed but it is to E20’s credit that it held out and finally had to do the old ‘snatch and grab’.
E20 kept its head down til E19 was full.
E19 was about to pop its crop and was still hammering its younger sibling. And then…E20 cleverly waited a second and got up to Mum. Harriet fed E20 til it was full.
I do not believe there is any reason to be concerned. There has never been a siblicide on this nest and I don’t believe it will happen this year either. These two will be fine. M15 and Harriet are known to tandem feed if required. They are very experienced parents ——- and they care!
Awww. So sweet. Finally being able to enjoy some dinner.
And then E19 full to the top of its head decides that E20 has had too many bites – well before there is any crop – and starts bonking it again. Sad.
To the credit of E20, it was so hungry that it began stealing bites. Bravo!
Sometimes you simply want to find an Eagle nest where there is absolutely no conflict. That nest for me is the KNF Bald Eagle Nest in Louisiana.
At the nest of Anna and Louis, the baby is so full from the last feeding that it is not yet interested in the 10 fish that are on the nest behind it. Yes, 10. Just look at it sit up tall and straight. This baby is 5 days old and curious.
Aww. Baby decided it had better get around to the other side near the pantry if it wanted a late snack.
Anna was very hungry but a couple of little cheeps and she was feeding the little one. It is nice and full and so is Mum.
If you want a peaceful, serene Bald Eagle nest to watch with a 5 day old eaglet, I highly recommend the KNF nest with its chat mods, Tonya from NO and the two rangers, Cody and Steve.
Here is the link to the KNF nest:
Ervie had a late delivery of a fish last night. He was sleeping on part of it this morning. Ervie is flying on and off the nest and everything seems perfectly fine at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge.
The sun is setting on Gabby at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest where we are approaching pip watch on the 21st.
The sun has already set on my garden and the birds have all left. We are expecting more snow tonight! I will check on the Kakapo Recovery tonight and report in the morning. There is a rumour going around that Nora, who laid her first egg in 1981, mated for 83 minutes with one of the males last night. She is really hoping for eggs this year. Fingers crossed.
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care, stay safe. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots: WRDC, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, KNF, Duke Farms, Berry College, Cornell Bird Lab, Pittsburg-Hays and Pix Cams, Bald Canyon, NEFlorida and the AEF, and Bald Eagles Live FB Page.
The snow and rain persisted in the North East longer after bringing bitter cold, rain, tornado warnings, and ice in the SE. Last night those white flakes piled up on Big Red and Arthur’s nest at Cornell University. This afternoon rain is falling in Ithaca.
There is still about 9 weeks before Big Red thinks about laying eggs. Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red preening in the snow this morning. Big Red is always beautiful, no matter the weather.
The sun has come out on the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita. Hopefully this will make R1 nicer. Even Rita tried to stop his nonsense with R2 yesterday.
The behaviour of R1, more aggressive than normal during the day of the storm, was mirrored in E19 who was entirely unpleasant to E20 on Harriet and M15’s nest in Fort Myers. These two have been called the ‘the most sweet’ and ‘the most caring’ of all of Harriet and M15’s eaglets and yet, yesterday brought out the aggression.
The cameras at SWFlorida are having problems this morning. The IR remains on and they are all on different times. The camera should, at this moment, be reading 12:30. Those eaglets are fine. Hopefully today will calm E19 down.
The one nest that I have been concerned with is that at Berry College. Missy did real well during the storm yesterday. It appears that the chick attempting to hatch in the second egg has failed. As one of the chatters said this morning, ‘we are thankful for one feisty chick’. Agreed. Let Missy get some experience with this one! Fingers crossed that this little one, B15, will grow and thrive.
I checked on Missy late last night and was thrilled to see the precipitation had stopped.
What I would like to see is a pile of fish on that nest! Pa Berry, let’s go fishing.
No egg at Duke Farm but the nest continues to be restored by the pair of Bald Eagles that gave us those two magnificent fledges last year.
It is breezy and sunny at Hilton Head Island Trust Eagles Nest, home to Harriet and Mitch and their two eaglets. It certainly isn’t hot there and the forecast indicates that the temperatures will plunge on Thursday. Right now the babies are full of fish and sleeping.
Lori Covert at Captiva Bald Eagles has announced that the two eggs of Connie and Clive are either unfertilized or non-viable. No eaglets for Connie and her new mate this year, sadly.
There was a late fish delivery to Ervie on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. I am not quite certain of the delivery time but Ervie was working on it after 20:00. At one point, Mum came over to see if she could get that fish off Ervie and he promptly booted her off the nest. Ervie!
Ervie did not finish that fish. He seems to have saved some of it for breakfast. He is sleeping on it!
Before signing off – I am late in feeding the garden birds and animals – a quick check on Anna and the little one. Louis has the pantry full – typical Louis -and this baby continues to delight. It is so strong. The Kisatchie National Forest nest is quickly rising like cream to the top in terms of my favourite Bald Eagle nests.
I know that there has been a lot of chatter about Louis being able to feed lots more chicks. Yes, he could. He could supply Berry College easily and keep Anna and babies full. That said, my preference will always be for one very healthy chick at each nest – always. Anna is a young Mum. This is only her second breeding season. Ease her into larger clutches gently! If ever.
This eaglet is the cutest! Seriously.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning. They all seemed to have survived the storms well. Such a relief. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Berry College, WRDC, SWFlorida, Hilton Head Island Trust, Port Lincoln Ospreys, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Cornell Bird Lab, and Suzanne Arnold Horning for the image of Big Red today.
Oh, what a day in Bird World it has been! The weather at the nest of Pa Berry and Missy clocked in at 3 degrees F. That is -16 C. As a comparison, it was only -5 in Winnipeg today. Poor Missy. The snow and sleet were coming down, she has a hungry baby – and she is hungry herself – and there is a chick trying to hatch! My heart went out to her. There were a few tiny breaks in the weather for Missy. She jumped up and ate ferociously and then quickly fed her baby. The bad weather is due to continue til at least Monday afternoon. I was almost afraid to check on her but, then I did.
Pa Berry had brought in another fish. He looks pretty dry compared to Missy, ironically. Missy worked hard to get some food into her little one before she had to brood and try to keep that baby warm and dry.
Missy took lemons and made lemonade with it. She ate and so did her baby. It was fast. She could not afford for the wee one to get soaking wet, cold, and die. I was impressed. Whatever will happen at this nest with all the horrible cold and wet weather will not be this Mum’s fault. She was trying as best she could.
There were tornado warnings and 60 mph winds down in Miami-Dade County at the nest of Ron and Rita. That nest held. I caught some of it on a video clip. Rita works really hard trying to get the two babies under her so they will not get wet and chilled.
R1 has been brutally aggressive today to R2. Indeed, Rita had R2 begging for food and twice she did not feed until R1 came up to the front. At the end of the day, R2 was fed three times today. I cannot confirm the amounts or if there was a big crop like R1s. You might have noticed. But R2 did eat.
Harriet was soaked but she took great care of E19 and E20 during the storm. The heavy rain actually hit Fort Myers well before it started in Miami hard.
None of these issues – extreme weather and/or sibling rivalry -are happening down at the Kisatchie National Forest nest of Anna and Louis. Louis is bring ever more fish onto the nest and that little one is just a sweet little roly-poly.
I can count the remains of one Coot and six fish.
You will think I am nuts continually talking about this kiddos cute tail but it is cute. I have never seen such a cute tail on such a young eaglet. It looks like a soft little ball, so sweet.
Both eagles were on the nest at Duke Farms working on the egg cup. There are expectations that an egg will be laid soon. This couple is in line for some of that storm as well.
Mum is on the nest and the snow has started. Last year she spent almost her entire incubation period encased in snow and ice. I ached for her.
The winds are picking up at the Hilton Head Island Trust, the home of Harriet and Mitch and their two eaglets. The gusts are blowing at 31 mph but there is no indication of rain or snow hitting the nest.
Here is the tracking of that storm as it moves NE as of 9:23 pm on CNN. It is out of Florida. Mt Berry Bald Eagles are in the purple area of Georgia near Atlanta. Pittsburg-Hays, Duke Farms, and even Big Red and Arthur are in the area of winter weather advisories. Continue to send your warm thoughts to everyone here and in all the extreme weather systems moving about the planet including those with the tsunami earlier today.
Snow has been falling in Pittsburg.
Snow continues to be heavy in the Ithaca and Finger Lakes area of upstate NY. This is Big Red and Arthur’s nest.
Meanwhile, in the UK, everyone is getting excited. It is only two months until the expected arrival of the Ospreys. The BBC did a short programme on CJ7 and her nest at Poole Harbour in June of 2021. CJ7 found love this past summer and it is hoped that her mate will return and there will be chicks on this nest for the first time in 200 years! Wow. I am showing it again as the anticipation is bubbling over. It is short and it will also get you excited for the arrival of some of the North American returnees as well.
In New Zealand, OGK, the Royal Cam Dad, returned to incubate his egg and let his mate, YRK, go and feed. That egg is due to hatch on the 27th of January give or take a day or two. Lady Hawk caught the return and the cuddles of this sweet couple.
We hold our breath and wait for the storms in the US to pass and wish all of the nests the best in handling the weather.
Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or video clips: WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, Hilton Head Island Trust, Pix Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, and CNN.
