Tag Archives: Cornell University

Sunday News in Bird World

20 November 22

Greetings from a wintery wonderland on the Canadian Prairies. We have snow – thankfully not like what has been landing in the Great Lakes area of the US. Just lovely snowy drifting down giving everything a crisp clean Hallmark card ‘look’.

Before I go any further, Rubus and his fludged-fledge has been located in a tree near to Indigo by Shines. Later Indigo flies up to the scrape but has difficulty due to the very strong winds getting the landing perfect. It was like Rubus who had little control with those winds as he exited the scrape but greater control near the ground. Both are safe and sound. We can all breathe a little lighter! Zoe remains on the nest as I write this. So everything is, so far, alright at both of the Australian nests we have been watching. Only one fledge to go, Zoe, the Port Lincoln osplet.

If you missed it, here is Rubus’s start to his great adventure:

Thanks to ‘B’, who sent me this link, we can see Rubus and Indigo perched in trees! Thank you so much ‘B’.

Rubus fledges

This is the feeding recap for Zoe at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge up until 1500. ​06:14 Dad with partial fish. 06:14:12 Zoe steals fish from Mum.8:24:50 Partial by Dad. Zoe self feeds. 9:10:50 Zoe finishes the tail.

Making News:

Paith, the third hatch at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn of 2022, has been spotted in another country. Emyr Evans needs permissions for all the details, etc. but this is fantastic news. Oh, tears. Need these third hatches to do well!!!!!!

The Melbourne Four make the news again and they are right. Who needs Netflix when we can have Nestflix?

https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/bird-s-eye-view-who-needs-netflix-when-you-can-tune-into-nestflix-20221116-p5bywe.html?fbclid=IwAR2MHVlDtBYcr46mtwCPkpd9gkSg7bJDEqoFy_7MiTjJu6XQcAoFQbneNiE

There was also just an amazing season tribute to the Melbourne Four that included ‘Old Dad’ (M17). Thank you for this! It came on a day when we needed some really positive news with Rubus fledging/fludging.

The Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon was thought to be extinct. It was last seen in 1887. It has been found in New Guinea.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/this-bird-hadn-t-been-seen-since-1882-then-scientists-captured-video-of-it-in-papua-new-guinea-1.6160514?cid=sm%3Atrueanthem%3Actvnews%3Apost&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR02x5i0QFNU25sIas0XdNXpQe_6OKRZ6pkiZ7Sie_zGqecHKXySVkHbdF4

The very first egg of the season at the Kistanchie National Forest nest has been laid on Nest E-3. Congratulations!

Big Red was spotted on the Cornell campus along with one of the juveniles. It is always great to see Big Red, the international star of all Red-tailed Hawks! She is all flooded up to keep warm. Big Red had been spotted earlier out hunting – and it was successful. There is great comfort in knowing that she is alright. It seems that L4 is also still around the campus. That is also wonderful news.

No 10 The Red List: The Tree Pipit

“Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)” by gilgit2 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

I have never heard of a Tree Pipit. As far as I know, we do not have them in Manitoba. Ed Douglas describes them this way, “Pipits are often regarded as dreary-looking birds, the avocado bathroom of the avian world. That only makes me love them more, but telling these flecked brown birds apart visually is a task of tooth-grinding attention to detail.” The Tree Pipit is a bit bigger than the other Pipets and its beak is thicker. “The Tree Pipit has a touch of swagger, strutting across the ground, tail pumping rhythmically, like a wagtail, as it hunts for insects.” The birds also breed on the ground laying a clutch of approximately six eggs in the grasses beneath the trees. Indeed, the birds like the woodlands and the fringes at the edges for raising their families. They flutter through the air in a way not dissimilar to a Black Capped Chickadee.

“Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)” by gilgit2 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Personally, I do not think they are Avocado Bathroom at all. The colouring is marvellous. Stop for a second and examine the range from a soft silvery white to the creams, the darker ash blonde, moving into the very dark blond and on to that deep 70% chocolate. They are stunning! Notice the white eye ring and the very subtle eye line.Move on to the wing and the teardrop pattern with the dark espresso lined by the white. Incredible. Striations only on the upper breast. This melody of brown and its hues is all topped off by velvety light rose legs and beak. I expect this little one to be wearing a matching light rose velvet hat with feathers carrying a matching handbag!

There are parts of the world where the Tree Pipit is of least concern but in the UK, its song and it are in dramatic decline. They migrate annually to Africa and when in the UK, their diet consists of insects gleaned from the woodland floor and old rotting trees. Declines can also be attributed to the use of insecticides and herbicides both in the UK and in Africa – to kill the insects which are then eaten by these small birds causing them to die. Secondary poisoning.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/13/country-diary-the-song-of-the-tree-pipit-is-a-rare-pleasure?CMP=share_btn_link

Migration News:

Little Waba is still in the Sudan fishing at the Nile River near Nori. She is obviously doing very well. The temperature in the area today was 26 degrees C.

Bonus is also in the same area in Turkey in Konya Province. It is considerably cooler there at 13 degrees C. Bonus also landed on a transmission tower today and everyone was very, very concerned because of the deaths from electrocution. He left, thankfully!

Oh, the time just flies by. It is hard to believe that we have our first Bald Eagle eggs in Florida and in Louisiana now and that we have only one more raptor to fledge in Australia, Zoe. It is a good time of year to take a deep breath, to remember those lovely feathered friends we have lost, and to be ever so grateful for those that survived.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourselves. Looking forward to having you with me again soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘B’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Looduskalender Forum, OpenVerse, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Cornell Bird Labs, US Forestry Service KNF Bald Eagle Nests, CTV News, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, The Age, Ospreys. Ringed Birds and Sightings (UK), and 367 Collins Falcon Watchers.

Port Lincoln’s Middle Bob is getting some confidence…and other tales in Bird World

22 October 2022

Oh, good morning to everyone,

I hope that you are already having a wonderful weekend by the time you read this update on our feathered friends. Things are really beginning to look up at Port Lincoln. I am cautiously optimistic that Big is moving out of her aggressive stage.

My friend “S’ and I were talking about books – holding books, feeling the paper, turning the pages – a few weeks ago. She is encouraging her graduate students at university to read real books, to go to the library, to feel the pages. Of course, she was talking to a ‘member of the choir’, so to speak, when we had our chat. I love books, good quality books with beautiful images. Today, it wasn’t a book that arrived in the post but Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Living Bird magazine that arrived. The cover featured a beautiful goshawk. Inside was a treasure trove of information for every species lover. There was a lot of information on migration, loss of biodiversity and what this means alongside reports on projects aimed at mitigating loss. The core of every article is how each of us can help mitigate the issues- sparking action to bend the curve.

As researchers and citizen scientists discovered with the great bird counts, the number of songbirds increased dramatically when ordinary people, just like you and me, began putting out bird feeders. Today, one of the most pressing issues is biodiversity. It is the word of the moment. One of the articles in this edition of Living Bird, ‘The Most Distinct Birds are at Greatest Risk of Going Extinct’ goes straight to the heart of the loss of entire species. On that list of Red Species, to my surprise, was the House Sparrow and the European Starling. The lead researcher, Emma Hughes from the University of Sheffield, said that birds with unusually long or short beaks, long or short legs were more likely to go extinct than others. Climate change and habitat loss is at the heart of the loss of these others such as the Red-headed Vulture, Giant Ibis, Seychelles Scops-Owl, the White-headed Duck, the Bee Hummingbird to name only a few on her list. They are going extinct because of their weirdness and the particular ecosystems that support them are being lost. For Hughes, the only way to stop the extinction is to increase efforts at biodiversity (21). This is precisely what they are trying to do with two species that depend on one another for survival – the White-barked Pine and the Clark’s Nutcracker. As the author of the article in Living Bird states, ‘Some pairings are so iconic that one is not complete without the other: Macaroni and cheese, Abbott and Costello. Peanut Butter and Jelly. In the northern Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, that duo is the white bark pine and Clark’s Nutcracker.’ (28)

To read the latest addition of Living Bird magazine, go to this URL: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/living-bird-latest-issue

There is a lovely video of the work being done on the Clark’s Nutcracker in this latest edition. Be sure to check it out.

I used the term ‘Red List’. Do you know what this means? It is the full name is the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. It just so happens that there are two wonderful and exquisitely produced books on these threatened birds. They are Red Sixty Seven and the most recent edition, Into the Red, by Kit Jewitt. Both editions are collaborations between authors and artists whose goals are to call attention to at-risk-birds as well as to raise funds to support conservation work to halt their extinction. The books were published by the British Trust for Ornithology. Go to bto.org for more information, to view some pages and read about the artists, and to purchase. The purchase will go directly to helping. I urge against buying through on line book sellers as the prices on their sites are way too high or they say not in stock.

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It is nearly 2300 on the Canadian prairies. There are no stars out tonight but there is one brave little Osprey in Port Lincoln, Australia who needs a round of applause. That ospreys name is Middle.

At 111232 a whole large live fish landed on the nest. Middle is being overly cautious not trying to grab any bites. Letting Big get those precious first bites and get her crop a little full. Meanwhile, Middle is pecking away at the tail of the fish. This is very interesting. You have probably seen, as I have, siblings eating from the tail while the breaking sibling is fed up at Mum’s beak. It is a good strategy once Middle figures out how to unzip that tail. By 112218 Middle is up by Big and is doing the snatch and grab. Sometimes Middle pulls back – he is very cautious. Mum gets to eat some fish. In fact, she is feeding the ospreys a little slower than usual. Big moves away from the fish feeding a couple of times. The first is at 112506. Big has been eating for 13 minutes and is getting full. Mum begins to feed Middle. At 112951 Big moves away. Middle remains cautious and then, at 114139, Middle pecks Big before he moves up to begin getting fish. So to summarize, even thought Middle is afraid and displays this as we watch, he is hungry and he is getting braver in order to get fed. Eating is essential to his survival. Middle is doing well. He will end the feeding with a nice crop.

I also noticed that Big is not as grumpy as yesterday despite there being 5 hours between fish deliveries. Perhaps she is slowing down, hitting that plateau. That would really bring peace to this nest.

By the time the 1637 Zebra fish arrives on the barge, Middle is feeling much better, more confident, and Big is being nicer. That feeding went well and even at 1817 when Mum and the two ospreys saw Dad and were feverishly calling for another fish, Middle (and Big) had enormous crops from the day’s takings. I have spent much time watching this nest as opposed to the two falcon scrapes because the fate of Middle was not quite clear. I will have said it twice today, at least, but, it appears that Port Lincoln has turned a corner.

Look carefully at the bottom image. That is Middle, full to the brim. Just sit and smile. Cry. Life appears to be good at Port Lincoln. Still, send all your best and warmest wishes to this family for continued supplies of fish.

It is getting more difficult to tell the female Peregrine Falcons from the males. You must look closely. Diamond just about fooled me yesterday. They lose weight. All of the females lose approximately 30% of their body mass during incubation and raising their chicks. Diamond now has the look of a male with his tight little striped pants.

The same is true for Melbourne where the camera is now positioned so we can see the happenings at the far end. Mum seems to be enjoying it. She has a nice perch above the chicks so that she can watch them but not have any one or all of the Melbourne Four rumbling around underneath her all night. Like human parents, she can get some sleep now!!!!! Thank you to ‘H’ who watched and clocked the feedings at 367 Collins Street yesterday. Much appreciated. There were 5 of them. At 0650 a large unprepared prey arrived on the ledge. The erases were fed for 22 minutes. Leftovers came at 1153 and that was an extremely short feeding of 4 minutes. At 1358 D arrives with a big prey item and feeds the eyases and then Mum arrives and takes over. That lasted 16 minutes. The final two feedings at 1657 and 1836, were large prey items fed for 24 and 18 minutes, respectively. Four active growing eyases can eat a large unprepared bird in such a short time!

This is just a short catch up. Everything is absolutely fine at the two scrapes in Australia – at the 367 Collins Street location and at Orange. I am cautiously delighted about the happenings at Port Lincoln and extremely proud of Middle Bob who is getting ever so clever. Middle Bob is a ‘survivor’.

Thank you so much for joining me. I hope that you are all well. I am back to normal. it was the flu shot that caused me to feel like I had been hit by a big truck. It is cloudy this morning but it appears to be a reasonable day to go and check on ducks. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Stuart Falcon scrape, and ‘H’ and ‘A’ and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.

Norway osprey numbers grow plus Brooks kicked off nest by intruder…plus other brief news in Bird World

26 July 2022

It has been a beautiful day on the Canadian Prairies. The temperature is just right after our midnight thunderstorm. The forecast shows we could be in for another unsettled night. There are intruders everywhere in Bird World. Some are harmless – others not so much.

There is wonderful news coming out of Norway. Efforts to lure Ospreys to better locations after they have been impacted by extreme weather and deforestation are working. The number of Osprey chicks in 2022 is up 50%! In 2021 there were 54 chicks and this year there are 70. Fantastic.

https://www-smaalenene-no.translate.goog/hils-pa-tre-nye-skjetvinger-stor-suksess-for-orne-prosjekt/s/5-38-1197055?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&fbclid=IwAR0LDlZvDHfkGXlw0XyFcSlpbEmbfPxUinYdqbpKYZvvIacOrSp2HrluRVc

Sadly, the news out of the SF Bay Osprey nest of Richmond and Rosie is not good but, worrisome. On 25 July Brooks was sent off the nest by an intruder. in a rather violent attack.

At present, 1118 PST, neither Brooks or Richmond have returned to the nest. Rosie is there somewhere with the intruder who has returned and is eating a big fish on the nest.

Since the intruder arrived, Richmond and Rosie have provided six fish. The intruder has not let Brooks return to the nest. The location of both Richmond and Brooks is unknown the last time I checked.

Thanks to ‘A-M and Burky 4’ for the time stamps at the Osoyoos Osprey nest. They are sooooo appreciated. We know from the weather report that it is going to be a scorcher. According to our avid hawk eyed chatters, there have been at least 6 fish deliveries, some of good size, to Soo and the chicks. The last one was at 11:03. The chicks were full from the previous deliveries at 0554, 0616, 0944, 1955, and 1103. There was some indication that the 0554 delivery was either the 2nd or 3rd of the morning. This is great. They need all the hydration they can get as the temperatures rise during the afternoon. Thank you, Olsen!

A lovely tribute article to Big Red and her two mates, Arthur and Ezra, and the chicks on the Cornell Campus.

Cornell’s Beloved Hawks Raise a Family, Far Above Campus

Many of you have written letters and e-mails to BC Hydro. I still get the most welcome letters asking “What else can I do?” Tomorrow Christian Sasse will hold a discussion on that very topic. It is on YouTube and it is free. The time below – 3pm – is, as far as I know MY time which is CDT. The Pacific time would be 1pm or 1300. Go on line and check to be sure. YouTube should give the time locally at the event! Let’s try and have a good turn out. BC Hydro needs to know that we care!!!!!!!! And that we are not giving up. It will help everyone in other regions and countries when they go to demand their hydro poles protect our much loved raptors and storks.

Good to know.

At least three large fish have landed on the Jannakalan Osprey nest in Finland. Dad is taking very good care of his youngsters who are 51 days old today.

At 1904 both are working on fish.

Not quite 2 hours later, Dad arrives with another! I wish we could courier one of these to Osoyoos.

The little Sea eaglets could share some of the five fish on the nest in the Sydney Olympic Park. The cute little fluff balls finally got interested in breakfast. Sometimes there is just too much fish!

In fact, too much fish is what ‘H’ is report about the two fledglings at Mispillion Harbour. It appears that they are eating both on and off the nest. So much fish! That is another one of the Dog Fish Sharks landing on the nest in Delaware. Thanks, ‘H’.

Rescues of our beautiful raptors caught up in fishing line are always inspiring. Two surfers and a fisherman came to the rescue of an exhausted Osprey. Stories like these reach large audiences and help those who fish at least become aware of the problem and, hopefully, if they love wildlife they will become part of the solution. Thank you ‘B’ for calling my attention to the good news!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/24/surfers-and-angler-combine-to-rescue-osprey-caught-in-fishing-line-off-north-stradbroke-island

Oh, please keep Richmond, Rosie, and Brooks as well as Olsen, Soo, and the two kids at Osoyoos in your positive wishes. Those two chicks at Osoyoos are big and walking around. So far Olsen is doing good going out early. That might pull them through this week if he can keep it up———— . Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. Remember Christian Sasse’s discussion tomorrow!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB postings where I took my screen captures: SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Osoyoos Ospreys, GROWLS, and Cornell Bird Lab.

An evening with Big Red, Arthur and the Ks

If you hear the name Ferris Akel, you might recognize the individual that gives a regular Saturday afternoon virtual birding tour of the area around Montezuma National Park, Wildlife Drive, Sapsucker Lake, and the Cornell Campus at Ithaca. Ferris also surprises us with ‘pop up’ tours of the Cornell Campus at other times so that he can see what is going on with Big Red and her family and share it with us. Tonight, we got a special tour and were able to see all four members of the Big Red family.

For those of you unaware, Big Red is a Red-tail Hawk. Red tail hawks are easily identified by their bright orange-red tail feathers once they are adults. The females are larger by approximately 30% than the males. This is called reverse sex size diamorphism. Red tail hawks have amazing eye sight. They will scan for food while they are soaring or are know to sit quietly on a perch for long periods of time watching for their prey. They will immediately fly to get it. Unlike the Peregrine Falcons who take their prey in the air, Red tail hawks normally fly down and get their prey on the ground. They do not normally eat carrion (dead animals) unless they are really starving. Their wing span is 1.2-1.5 metres for both males and females or 3.9 feet to 4.9 feet.

Big Red is a huge celebrity within the birding community. Big Red is now 18+ years old. She was banded near Ithaca, at Brooktondale, on 20 October 2003. Her current mate, Arthur, hatched in a territory next to the Cornell Campus in 2016. He has been Big Red’s mate since her mate, Ezra, died in March 2017. Arthur was first spotted visiting the nest in April of 2017. Big Red and Arthur were an ‘item’ by the fall. Their nest is on one of the light boxes across Tower Road from the Fernow Building. This year they hatched three chicks, the Ks. Two of the three fledged – this is the only time that Big Red did not have all of her chicks that hatched fledge. K2 sustained an injury to her right cheek and beak in the nest and had to be euthanized. She would never have been able to live in the wild nor would she have been able to have any quality of life in captivity. The two surviving chicks, K1 and K3, have already proven themselves to be excellent flyers and it looks like K1 has already had some successful hunts.

K3 on the nest. 21 June 2021. She was taken into care the following day.

Big Red was named after the territory she dominates, the Cornell Campus. She is also a large Red-tail Hawk with a lot of the beautiful rusty brown colour and bring orange-red tail feathers. In the image below she is beginning to become ‘Big Blond’ as she is moulting.

She is the matriarch. It is estimated that she has probably hatched chicks for fifteen years. Ezra was probably her first mate. If she hatched three chicks per year, that means that she has fledged 44. That is an incredible record! Sadly none of the chicks were banded so there is no knowledge of their whereabouts or status. A small number are known to have died after fledging. One was injured and is an ambassador bird for Cornell, E3.

Big Red is noted for her very dark plumage and that amazing red feathered apron.

Ferris first spotted one of the Ks on a light tower.

Big Red was spotted on the Water Cooling Plant.

You can see that her feathers look a little ruffled, untidy. This is the moulting.

Those piercing dark eyes just make you melt.

Can you spot the hawk? Seriously I believe that Ferris Akel has ‘hawk eyes’!

Oh, look it is Arthur! He is Big Red’s mate and is one of the most amazing hunters I have ever seen. He is also moulting!

This is K1 looking out. She is a really good flier and is also believed to have already made a couple of ‘prey kills’. Yesterday she had a little chipmunk and was doing a war cry when K3 came around hoping to get some of it. Normally if the bird is war crying they are the ones that caught the prey and will not share! Even if it is their cute little brother.

At first Ferris and the gang were not sure but once we saw the stripes on the tail, we knew it was K1. K3 has a muddy tail almost verging on red – a first for all of Big Red’s chicks.

K1 is gorgeous and very dark. These images are soft not because Ferris could not focus but because of the heat shimmer off the buildings.

And here is cutie pie, K3. All those little third hatches just soften my heart.

Oh, you wanted your sister to share her chippie and she told you to go and catch your own! Poor little thing.

And that was a wrap. Ferris persisted in finding all of the Ks and trying to get some good images of them despite the heat shimmer and the fact that it was getting dark.

Good night Big Red, good night Arthur, good night K1 and K3.

Big Red and Arthur are moving the Ks around the buildings on the Cornell Campus. They can now be found around the Water cooling buildings, Bartels, and across the ravine. It will not be long til they have them out by the buildings with the cows and the open fields. It is part of their training – enlarging their territory bit by bit. How do they do thus? Food is a great motivator and the adults will carry prey to different areas of the campus and the Ks will follow! It is that easy.

If you see the hawks coughing and shaking their heads and necks and something gets ‘thrown’ out of their mouth, this is called a ‘cast’. It is the bits and bobs of the prey that cannot be digested that is sort of compressed into a small pellet. The raptors cannot digest this and so they throw it up. This is properly called ‘casting a pellet’. This is with the exception of the owls that have a gizzard for digesting these parts of the prey.

It is now getting towards the last week of July. The Ks will be with us for a bit longer. I remember last year. Once J2 and J3 had been catching their own prey around the barns they began soaring. It was not long after that that J3 went poof and was gone with the winds to be followed by J2 the following day.

The last bit of news this morning is that Tiny Little and siblings were fed by White YW (dad) this morning. 462 was first followed by Tiny Little.

It is now around tea time, late afternoon, and Tiny Little has been like a ducking food crying in the nest for a bit.

Thanks so much for joining me. It was a great evening with Big Red and the Ks. They are progressing so well towards their own independence. Sadly, they do not get bands and we will not know where they go or what they do. Lucky for us Tiny Little is Blue 463! Take care all.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Ferris Akel’s Livestream and Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.

Saturday Night with the Ks and other nest news

I want to thank Ferris Akel for his Saturday Bird Tours. Ferris begins near his home, travels to Montezuma, goes down Wildlife Drive, winds up at Sapsucker Lake and then hits the Cornell Campus. Ferris begins around noon NY time and is often still sharing the birds with everyone after 7pm. You can hop in and out of the tour at your will and you can even join the chat. It is free. If you subscribe and click on the bell you will get notifications when Ferris is streaming live. So, thank you, Ferris Akel. I would not have the screen shots of the Ks from Saturday evening without you!

Big Red on one of the light stands watching over K1 and K3 on the Fernow Light Tower

K1 and K3 are really different chicks from the Js last year. K1 and K3 like being around their natal nest. The Js were flying around the buildings over between Bradfield and Rice and playing on the lawns. Yesterday, K1 amused himself watching the soccer match below their light stand nest on the athletic field.

K3 loves watching the people moving on the sports field.

We know this is K3, how? From the back K3 has a really muddy tail with no clear defined dark lines and a thin, rather ratty white terminal band. K1, on the other hand, has a wide white terminal band and distinct dark lines on her tail feathers.

K3 amused himself for a very long time watching the people below him.

Meanwhile, K1 was on the railing above K3 watching the people and the soccer match. She did not appear as mesmerized as K1 was. Wonder what K1 is thinking? would he like to play with the ball? Certainly the Js had their own kind of soccer game last year with the pinecones lying around the fence.

All of a sudden, K1 sees something and she flies off the light stand, across Tower Road, over the Rice Building and beyond – and then returns to the nest! Wonder what she saw that attracted her attention? She didn’t stop anywhere, just took a great flight.

K1 is a very large hawklet and she is a very strong flyer. She is able to establish her target and return to the thin railing on the nest without any effort at all. She is very different than J1 last year who appeared hesitant to fly.

K3 pays K1 no mind. He is still watching the soccer match! Isn’t he just such a sweet little cutie pie? Last year J3 won my heart. This year K3 has stolen it completely!

After spending a little bit of time on the nest, K1 decides to fly to the Oak Trees near the driveway between the Fernow and Rice Buildings. Ferris was able to find her rather easily because of the Robins alerting in the area.

While K1 is over in the Oak trees, Big Red lands on the nest. Big Red has found the chippie that the Ks left. She starts eating it trying to lure both of the Ks to the nest. K1 can see her from the trees.

I find this interesting. In past years, Big Red has almost insisted that the chicks, once they have fledged, eat ‘off’ the nest. But this year, she seems to be completely content having them self-feed or she feeds them right in the nest cup.

K3 held back and let mama eat for awhile before moving up so she would feed him some of the chippie.

Meanwhile, Arthur is over on another light stand protecting the territory, Big Red, and the Ks from intruders. This has been a terrible year for intruders and tragedies at other nests. I hope none of that comes to the Cornell campus.

After feeding K3, Big Red returns to her favourite light tower so that Arthur can eat. She is on sentry duty now.

As the evening comes to a close, both of the Ks are on the nest tower for the night. What a lovely unremarkable day – thank goodness. Bird World can do without any drama for a day!

The little chick on the Cowlitz PUD nest had a fish this morning. Thank goodness. It must have arrived around 8:45 nest time (there is no clock that I can find on their streaming cam). It will be 40 degrees C in the area and no doubt hotter on the nest. This little one needs all the hydration it can get – so does Electra. It was a nice sized fish but they are going to need many more today. Most of you know that it is difficult to fish when it is so hot. The fish go to the bottom where it is cooler. Fingers crossed for Wattsworth and Electra – who should also be out fishing today.

The image below reminds me so much of Tiny Tot when his siblings were so large and he was running around the nest trying to find food to eat. No doubt this chick is way behind in its development. It needs to grow and develop quickly before migration!

It was so nice to see Lady Hawk on the chat of the Golden Eagles in Bucovina this morning. She has done an amazing series of videos on this little fellow. And this eaglet now has a name – it is Zenit! In the late afternoon the Dad brought in a small bird for Zenit. So happy that the dad is feeling much more comfortable coming to the nest with prey. The mother had been but had no prey.

Over on the Foulshaw Moss Nest in Cumbria, you can see that great Big has a ‘great big’ crop! Blue 35 is busy feeding Tiny Little Bob and hopefully he will have a huge crop, too! Always wonderful when Tiny Little gets a good meal.

Thank you for joining me today to check in on the Ks. Everything is fine. Stay safe, take care. For those of you in the high heat warning areas, drink lots of fluids and try to stay cool. When I was a little girl, we did not have air conditioning. Instead, my mother would spray my sheets with water and turn the fan on. Oh, it is gloriously cool! Try it.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Bucovina Golden Eagle Cam, Cowlitz PUD, and Ferris Akel YouTube Live Stream.

A Fun Day with the Ks

As Ferris Akel said this evening – some people think that once Big Red’s kids fledge that is it but, of course, it isn’t. The fun just begins once they fledge. Today, we were treated to K1 and K3 figuring their way out of predicaments and then watching Big Red try to lure them back to the nest with prey. We got a look inside a world that at one time, we might not have even noticed.

K1 left the nest at 13:38 and flew to the Oak trees across Tower Road. Half an hour later, K3 fledged. He wanted to be with his big sister not alone on the nest for another day while she was out having fun.

K3’s fledge had many of us holding our breath. K3 flew towards the Oak tree in front of the Fernow Building where K1 was but, he made a turn, almost hit Bradfield but, instead, clung to the building and fell down. Until K3 was spotted by boots on the ground – and believe me it felt like it took forever to get someone there – we had no idea if the last hatch of Big Red’s 2021 season was dead or alive. Thankfully K3 was fine – probably a little more tired and anxious but no physical injuries. How lucky!

K1 spent much time in the Oak Tree and then decided to do a little tour of the area. Maybe that wasn’t such a smart idea. She wound up hanging on to a thin window ledge on Bradfield – as if she were a moth.

We know it is K1 because of the wide white terminal band and the distinctive six dark bands on her tail. K3 has a ‘muddy’ tail.

She looks rather elegant holding on to the ledge with her talons but it must have been physically tiring. She managed to pull herself up eventually but the ledge was not wide and she was scrambling.

Still, she was able to manoeuvre so that she could fly back to her favourite tree – the Oak tree that she fledged to – her security blanket tree.

Meanwhile, Big Red is over on the light stand taking it all in. She has a perfect line of sight to both K1 and K3. They probably had no idea their mother was ‘watching them like a hawk’.

K3 is somewhere in the Oak Tree. Earlier he had landed on one of the Bradfield ledges and all he wanted to do was get to his big sister, K1 in the Oak Tree. And he did, eventually, get to the tree but she was high above him and his laddering abilities found him going down, even falling down, instead of going up.

Gosh that little K3 is soooooo cute.

K3 wound up on top of the sculpture in front of the Fernow Building.

He flew back into the Oak tree trying to get to his big sister – again!

Big Red decides that it is time to try and lure these kids back to the nest on the Fernow light tower for the night. She has prey and everyone knows that food is a great motivator.

First, Big Red took the prey to the nest. She is hoping that one or both of the Ks will fly over to the nest for a nice meal with mama.

When that didn’t work, Big Red decides to take the prey over near the Ks. Seriously, how could they resist a nice fresh chippie snack?

There she goes. No one ever has to worry that Big Red’s kids will go hungry. They won’t!

Big Red lands on a corner of Bradfield.

Indeed, Big Red flies to various spots around the Fernow lawn trying to entice the two hawklets to come out and eat. She even flies back to the nest to see if they will follow her. Then she returns to the buildings around the treed area of Fernow.

She flew to the top of the Rice Building. Rice is a popular prey drop for Big Red and Arthur and all of this little exercise tonight is a teaching. Big Red is showing them places that will become food drops.

Still no takers. Is it possible these Ks are not hungry?! She flies around some more with the prey in her talons.

Before she gives up, Big Red decides to take the chippie to the tree close to K1. Surely K1 will come for dinner!

Big Red waited. And she waited. In the image above you can see the chippie in Big Red’s talons.

But, after awhile, when it appeared that no one was going to come down and take the chippie, Big Red decides to eat it. Another good lesson – eat the chippie when you have it, don’t wait. Someone else might eat it!

While all of this was going on, Arthur was protecting the territory from one of the light stands while being harassed by a Robin.

As the full moon comes up and lights the night sky, K1 tries to get to the light stand with the nest. She winds up on the wrong one.

K3 remains in the Oak tree where he will have to perch for the night.

Big Red returns to Bradfield where she has a clear sight line to both of her children.

Arthur later flies to Bradfield.

It is a beautiful night. There is a full moon and everyone is settled where they are – like it or not – for the night. One can only imagine that little K3 would love to be in the nest cup sleeping comfortably instead of standing in a tree with all kinds of noises he is not used to. That little one has had a lot to take in today since it fledged!

Good Night Big Red, Good Night Arthur, Good Night K1 and K3. Sweet Hawk Dreams.

Thank you so much for joining me. It is such a joy to watch this family.

Thank you Ferris Akel for your live streaming of the Red tail hawks this evening on the Cornell Campus. That is where I grabbed my screen shots.

Tense Day in Bird World

It has been one of those days. Two things happened that were expected. One was a good expectation that almost turned into a tragedy – and sadly, the other one was the siblicide of one of the chicks on the Cowlitz Osprey Nest in Longview, Washington.

K3 fledged from the Fernow Light Tower at 13:42. K3 is 49 days old and is a tiny little hawklet standing at just a little less than 30 cm (12 inches) tall. The flight was dramatic. K1 had been visiting the nest. Indeed, the K1 had spent the night on the nest with her little brother, K3. They were sooooo cute.

K1 is a great big hawklet – a big female and a cute tiny little male. K1 flew over to the Oak Tree where she had fledged yesterday at 13:38. I don’t think K3 wanted to be left out of the action that his big sis had described. If you missed it, here is that fledge:

K3 flew around the Oak tree where K1 was, did a turn, and tried to grab onto Bradfield and missed. But he was not injured and has spent the afternoon exploring the ledges and being dive bombed by Robins.

Here is an image of K3 after fledging taken from the nest cam:

K3 has even had a rest. Meanwhile K1 flew back to the nest where a chippie was dropped off for a tea time snack.

After all the stress I thought that I should just follow it up with a check on Tiny Little Bob on the Foulshaw Moss Nest. There are three chicks on that nest and Great Big Bob is a bully. It was not certain that Tiny Little Bob would survive but it seems like he will. Fingers continue to be crossed. The older and bigger that Tiny Little gets the more chance he has.

When I turned on the nest cam the chicks were looking around and you just knew something was happening. They were looking around everywhere. Mom landed on the nest followed by White YW, Dad, with a Flounder!

Here is that video clip of the arrival of that fish:

Tiny Little was not comfortable eating first as you can see and then Tiny Little Bob realized that Great Big Bob wasn’t pushing for food so Tiny Little went for it. He ate for about 4 or 5 minutes without stopping. You could tell he kept wanting Blue 35 to hurry up before Great Big got hungry!

Great Big and Middle let Tiny Little go first.

Seeing Tiny Little eat made me feel really good but, of course, I am still uneasy about the size difference between Great Big and Tiny Little. I needed one of those feel good moments and that sent me checking on Richmond and Rosie. Richmond and Rosie are the equivalent of going over to check on the Royal Cam chick in New Zealand. You just know before you look that everything will be alright.

Richmond and Rosie had three boys this year. Gosh, there are a lot of male ospreys being born! I also wanted to see what names were selected for the trio. There they are on the natal nest on the historic Whirley Crane on the Richmond Shipping Yards. The third chick is on the other side of Rosie.

The Golden Gate Osprey FB – the SF Bay Ospreys – posted the image below with pictures of the boys, their ring numbers, and their names. Over 700 people voted. That is pretty amazing. Now look at the beautiful necklaces on those boys! Don’t let anyone tell you that only female ospreys have necklaces. 022 on the Poole Harbour nest has one of the best necklaces I have ever seen! And look here at Sage.

Richmond and Rosie always make me feel good. They are a stable couple with a male who provides well for his mate and children. There is never the issues of sibling rivalry and siblicide as we have seen on the Cowlitz Nest. It is refreshing and calming.

Jack brought Tiny Tot a fish at tea time so everything is all right with the world on the Achieva Osprey Nest. Oh, Tiny has grown into such a beautiful bird and a great protector of the realm. Who ever would have believed this in March? A whole lot of love went out to this third hatch – so many people wanted 3 to survive and well…just look!

There is Tiny mantling really big and tight! S/he wants that fish. Thanks, Jack!

Thanks for joining me today. Looks like it could be a stormy evening on the Canadian prairies. Take care everyone. Be safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my video clips and screen shots: Achieva Credit Union, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, and the Cornell Bird Lab and RTH.

K1 fledges and K2 is rescued

This morning on the Red tail hawk nest on the Fernow Light Box in Ithaca, New York, the first hatch of 2021, K1, fledged. It was one of the best leaps of faith I have seen in a long time. That happened at 8:27:31.

No sooner than K1 had fledged than the team from the Cornell Bird Lab went up in a bucket truck to rescue K2. Indeed, the fledging of K1 was perfect as the staff had decided that K2’s health was not improving and they needed to take her into care.

Here is the official video of that rescue:

Watch the reaction of K3 at the end! This went so smoothly. No falthy fledge from K3. Thank you everyone!

K3 just teased everyone. We are told that Big Red and Arthur’s kids fledge before noon or after 4pm. They like their afternoon siesta and K3 was no exception. He taunted the camera operator into thinking he was going to go and then would lay down and have a rest!

There was a lot of scratching about on the ledge above and K3 was listening and watching everything.

Despite settling down rather comfortably in that egg cup – seriously K3 rubbed its breast just like Big Red does when she is incubating or brooding – K3 knew someone was about.

Guess who it was? K1. K1 flew back to the nest to join K3. Fabulous effort.

They had diamonds sparkling all around them. You can just imagine K1 telling K3 how much fun it is to fly and showing him the landing spot he is going to take in the morning.

One of the most fun things that the fledglings do is play soccer with the pinecones. It really helps them with strengthening their grip – who said you had to go to a gym!!! Talon strengthening for prey. Amazing.

Hopefully tomorrow K1 and K3 will be out having fun over on the Fernow Lawn across the street and flying to the top of Rice to get prey drops from Big Red and Arthur.

Thank you for popping in. I knew you would enjoy seeing K2 getting rescued. The poor little thing. She was just too sick to put up any fight. Let us all send warm wishes for a quick recovery.

Thank you to the Cornell Bird Lab for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.

Big Red, Arthur, and the Ks

It’s Monday. What in the world can happen in Bird World on a Monday? So I was thinking yesterday as I was watching Big Red and the Ks that an update on their progress would be good today. However, I woke up to a request in my neighborhood newsletter for support in stopping our public utility company, Manitoba Hydro, from clear cutting 12-15 ft around their poles at a local park. The reason was clear: there is an active hawk nest in the trees with little ones on their way to fledging. So everyone got busy in the ‘bird’ community in my city and for now, the clear-cutting is on pause. It is the Sandra Crowson Park in East Fort Garry. If you read this and you live in Winnipeg – or elsewhere – send Manitoba Hydro and the Mayor’s Office a note! According to one of the long standing birders in our community, this was also done in Windsor Park in our City. Another woman noted that local arborists are known to cut down trees and put the nests, eggs, and birds into the chipper. I have not seen that but if it happens it is all against the 1918 Migratory Bird Act that is signed by Canada, the US, and Mexico. If you know of such actions, let me know. They can do their trimming after the birds leave – there is still time. Note that I use the word ‘trimming’. Clear cutting that much of an area around hydro poles would mean destroying unnecessarily trees – when our City is promoting the planting of 1 million trees this summer. I wonder if they take off the ones they cut from the ones planted. I doubt it. ——— So for now the hawks and their nest are safe.

So what is going on with Big Red and the Ks? And what do the Ks do when mom is not on the nest. Big Red spends an inordinate amount of time incubating eggs and then staying on the nest when the chicks are smaller. Now that they are being encouraged to self-feed and as we approach fledge she is spending less time on the nest during the day. Here she is taking a break today on the light tower. She is never far away from the nest and, indeed, with their ‘hawk’ vision, the Ks can often see her from the nest.

Let’s have a look.

Sometimes the Ks are little mother hawks and they preen one another just like Big Red preens them. Did you know that birds spend approximately 70% of their time conditioning their feathers? Why do birds preen? Well, the little one poking around the head and ear of its sibling is looking for dirt and parasites. You see they cannot readily see their own head to do this. They also preen to align their feathers, they repair feathers by rehooking the barb hooks on the feathers and applying oil to condition and waterproof their feathers.

In birds, the uropygial gland (preen gland) is located at the base of the tail. The oil from the uropygial or preen gland reinforces or conditions the surface of their feathers. The oils change composition during the year – just like the oil you put in your car is different from summer to winter. The oil that the hawks spread on their feathers when they are preening contains vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Redtail hawk adults do an incomplete moult annually. They do not do this all at once. It would be too much stress on their system. In fact, Big Red turns into a blond during the moulting period.

They practice their self feeding but it is still so nice to have Mom break up the prey and feed the little ones.

The Ks are entering their running, jumping, and flapping period. Look at those gorgeous legs. This is one beautiful bird with all that peach and red. I hope she is a glorious dark red like Big Red.

Sometimes Big Red and Arthur get up on the higher rails and the little ones can see them. Now look at the little baby standing up, K3. Talk about peach on the chest and a gorgeous red feathered apron. This one might look like Big Red for sure! We still need some feathers to cover up those ears and this one will also be getting some head feathers. The ear feathers generally come in first.

When these three fledge in a few weeks time, their wing and tail feathers will be the longest they will ever be – longer than Big Red and Arthur. When they first moult, they will return to normal size. The longer length helps them to fly easier. The juveniles will have their first moult in the spring of 2022 and continue moulting to the early fall replacing P1-7.

This diagram will show you those primary wing feather locations:

Besides working on their feathers, they also spend a lot of time looking around at their environment. I wonder what they think of all the PS they have splattered on those boxes? Or are they just admiring their art work?

Sometimes they will spot Big Red if she flies to the top of the light box where the nest is located.

They also spend a lot of time watching people and cars on the Cornell University Campus. Remember – they are on a nest about 20 metres off the ground. They have a really good view.

Sometimes they see their mom arriving. They must think she is so beautiful. But no food this time Ks. Mom is returning from having some time alone. Dad will be out hunting.

Oh, mom. Don’t jump on me, jump on K1 please!

K1 hatched on the 2nd of May. 46 days is average for Big Red’s eyases but some wait till 48 and last year it was longer. So…for K1 today is 36 days. That means 10-14 days to fledge. These little ones need to grow more feathers in their wings and tails and we will see some changes in Big Red’s behaviour as fledging approaches. One good sign is when she no longer spends the night in the nest with the Ks.

Thank you so much for joining me today. If you hear of tree clear cutting near you and bird nests, please get in touch with everyone you can think of who is responsible. All birds but house sparrows, pigeons, and Starlings are protected under the 1918 North American Migratory Bird Treaty. Take care!

Thank you to the Cornell Bird Lab and their streaming cam on the Cornell campus at Ithaca. That is where I grabbed my screenshots.

As the Nest Turns – late Thursday and early Friday edition

The Cowlitz PUD Osprey nest can be really frustrating. Or maybe it is just Wattsworth that causes my blood pressure to go up. He brought in a couple of appetizers on Thursday, 3 June. Electra promptly fed the babies who were sitting up straight and polite wanting their lunch. The fish is between Electra’s feet – it really is small.

So Electra took it upon herself to leave the two wee ones on the nest and off she went to fill the pantry – and she did! Electra had a really good feed on that fish. She was hungry and she fed the little ones, too.

As the sun sets, everyone has had several fish meals. Electra corrals the two little ones under her so she can keep them warm over night.

And, guess what? Wattsworth comes in Friday morning with another tiny tiny fish for Electra and the kids.

And speaking of fish, Jack must be really happy to have Tiny Tot defending the natal nest. Jack flew in at 5:30:17 with a nice fish for Tiny Tot.

3 June 2021. Jack delivers a much earned fish to Tiny Tot.

Tiny Tot immediately grabbed that fish out of dad’s talons and began mantling it. While it didn’t look like there were any intruders or older siblings about who would challenge Tiny Tot for his evening meal, Tiny wasn’t taking any chances.

It was a nice size fish and Tiny ate for quite awhile.

There is a real preciousness in these moments looking at Tiny Tot – so beautiful a juvenile – perched. The golden glow of the setting sun shows off the beautiful plumage.

As the sun went down, Tiny Tot was up on the perch protecting the nest. Sleep tight, Tiny. Have fish dreams!

And early Friday morning, Tiny Tot is defending the nest again against the adult intruder! Poor Tiny.

There was a nice chippie on the nest of Big Red and Arthur. Big Red kept fiddling with it hoping that the Ks would come round to wanting their last meal of the evening. It was 19:00.

They had eaten earlier and had nice crops. Just look how full those Ks are! Those peachy chests make them look like they have swallowed beach balls. Big Red has the chippie ready for a feeding thinking they might want some more but, no. None of them are lining up to be fed with their beaks open. I wonder if Big Red would like a late chippy snack?

“Would you like some of this nice chippie, sweetie?”

Big Red did not have any takers. That had eaten a lot of rabbit earlier and it looks like they just want to sleep. It will be a chipmunk breakfast unless Big Red decides to have a meal after the Ks are asleep – and she probably won’t. She is hardwired to feed those babies of hers.

It’s Friday on the Cornell nest. Big Red is sunning herself on the light stand and it looks like K1 is self-feeding. Wow. Leaving some open prey on the nest has finally enticed this one to dig in there. Good for you, Big Red. We are now moving into two to two and a half weeks til fledge.

Laddie brought in one of those teaser fish – smaller than a Wattsworth Appetizer – to NC0.

She did the best she could with the little fish she had. NC0 your babies are growing and doing great. You’ve grown into being a very good mom. Look at the head of the one grabbing that piece of fish. All of the down on its head is gone. It looks like it got black oil on its head. Reptilian phase is coming!

Your word for the day: nictitating membrane. The word comes from the Latin word nictare meaning to blink. It is a translucent third eyelid. It comes up from the bottom to the top and has been described as acting like a windshield wiper. It cleans the eye and helps produce tears. You can see NC0’s nicitating membrane in the image below.

It looks like it is going to be a nice day in Scotland for NC0, Laddie, and the Bobs. The sun is just coming up. Laddie must be out fishing.

Blue NC0 is having a rest with the Bobs.

It’s Friday tea time on the Loch of the Lowes Nest and all is well. Laddie has just brought in a brown trout and NC0 is already feeding the Bobs.

Blue 33 (11) was right off the mark. He hauled in one of his whoppers first thing for Maya and the Two Bobs. This along with the big piece of fish left from the evening prior should be a great start to the day for this family whose nest is at Rutland Manton Bay.

Look at all those feathers

Idris was also up early and had a nice fish for Telyn and their two Bobs. At one point it was hard to tell what was happening but it looked like Idris was feeding Telyn. I am told he does this. What a sweetheart!

Idris comes in with a fish for Telyn.

For sure he did feed the two Bobs some fish.

Idris is feeding the Bobs.

And as the sun is rising over the Urdaibai Biosphere just 38 minutes outside of Bilbao, Spain, our little albino Osprey is waking up. Zuri is still alive. This is such a rare event – the first known for certain instance in the wild – that everyone will be learning something from this little one. There are rumours going around that the wee one is blind and cannot hear. But, we wait. Clearly its eyes are very sensitive to the light and, yes, if he lives to fledge it will have heavy challenges to overcome because of its plumage. Still, a miracle would not hurt us and this would be a cute one.

The rain has really been pitching down in Spain. Around 13:00 on Friday, a fish came into the nest for Landra. That wee albino one was up there with the other two osplets wanting some fish! In the first image it is facing the opposite way but it moves to get in line with the other two siblings thirty seconds later. Again, a miracle in Spain might be what we all need as some pandemic lockdowns are eased and others as Portugal begins another lockdown. Go little Zuri – eat, grow, teach us.

On Friday there is some thinking that the three have an eye infection. I will keep you posted. That is not clear from the image below taken today. Some of you might recall the eaglets in the Southwest Florida nest, E17 and E18 having conjunctivitis. Fingers crossed. Send warm wishes.

Oops. Turn around! Wait…who is doing the feeding?
It rained so hard for so long. The little ones are really hungry.

We still have heat warnings on the Canadian Prairies – the sky is blue and the sun is bright. The leaves are getting even more thick and now all the birds that come to my garden are hidden by the vines that grow everywhere or the thick lilic bushes. One thing I will really miss is that lovely lilac scent that enveloped us earlier in the week. The heat has really killed the flowers. Still, it was grand to have them when we did!

Thank you for joining me. Stay safe, stay cool! See you soon. I will be checking on the little one in Urdaibai and Tiny Tot throughout the day.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Cowlitz PUD, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Achieva Credit Union, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Loch of the Lowes. LRWT and Rutland Ospreys, and the Dyfi Osprey Project.