Tag Archives: Cornell

Second hatch for Alex and Andria…it is Thursday in Bird World

29 December 2022

With the warm weather, the garden has been a busy place. The European Starlings do not like the butter bark suet cylinders when they are frozen. They sure don’t know Canadian winter weather! Today, with the warm weather they softened up and the Starlings, the Crows, the Blue Jays, and the squirrels were out in full force filling up in case it gets really cold again soon. The weather says it is going to be a mild -8 or -9 as a high with -10 to -21 as lows for the next five or six days. Splendid.

I did manage to get some images of the garden animals to share while Lewis was on the table watching. Now, Lewis read the manual: when your mother makes that certain sound, turn and look cute! Missy is still reading the chapter in the Maine Coon manual about ‘affectionate and loving’. She certainly doesn’t like to pose for me today!

Lewis wants you to know that his nose is not dirty. His big sister likes to scratch the sides of his nose and the lines are from her nails. Ouch.

Mr Blue Jay was all puffed up today and so happy to have peanuts in the shell.

Little Red found a stash of peanuts in the snow and was enjoying them. Look how healthy he is and that beautiful red chestnut colour on his tail lined with the black. He is coming and going from the insulated boxes that we fitted in with the wood in the big wood storage unit. I think it is possible he has moved in. That would be brilliant. I have felt exceptionally guilty since his penthouse in the garden shed was torn down to make way for the conservatory this summer. But..he looks good. Beautiful ear tuffs. He is here every day foraging as well.

Elain’s wonderful video summaries of the adventures of Indigo! Be sure to have the sound loud so you can hear Indigo’s prey calling.

The AEF seems to feel that it is V3 that has been in and around the nest today and for the last 3 or 4 days and nights. He flew in with a big fish (after bringing in other prey items including a squirrel one day). Of course, how frustrating is it when you make the effort and despite calls, Gabby doesn’t show up? I hope he doesn’t give up on our girl (whichever V you are).

It is a big fish and it still has its head!

The male calls and calls. Eventually he gives up and eats the fish.

Gabby on the left. The male V on the right.

They flew in together – landing on the nest seconds apart – Wednesday evening at 1744. They did some restorations and went off to their own branches. Looking more like a couple – Gabby and V3 (who has an injury according to the AEF but it will heal).

There is any question down in Miami. Rose seems to have used all her feminine powers and won Ron over. She will be a good mate for him. I am assuming she is young with a few of the feathers in her head needing to turn white. Please yell at me if this is wrong!

It does seem to me that they need to get a little more nesting material in this nest if there will be eggs this breeding season. Maybe there won’t be – perhaps next year. We wait to see.

It is absolutely silly. Ron has a duck in his talon for breakfast. If you watch, he flies in from the bottom left corner to the back and around to land on the nest with Rose chasing him.

They need a good rain on the camera at Superbeaks! That would help with the view. The eaglets are now large enough that we could easily see them during feeding times when they are stretching their necks.

They are sure cute and there is still some soft dandelion fluff on their heads.

Pepe has just flown in and is getting a good look at the two eaglets. They have just finished a nice fish dinner.

Jackie and Shadow were working on their nest right before 1100 Wednesday morning.

Here is a video of their efforts even as the winds are increasing and a storm is approaching.

Alex continues to bring in the fish to the E3 nest. You can see them and many are buried underneath the nesting material. It looks like it is causing a lot of flies. Poor little E3-1.

The second egg at the E3 nest has hatched! Let us hope that the first hatch is a little darling to this one! 02:07:03.

The morning feeding at the Kisatchie E3 Bald Eagle nest on Lake Kincaid. Strong eaglets.

There was a posting that there was a pip at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest but that cannot be right. If you go to the Captiva Eagle cam, they have a clock counting the days from the egg is laid. Egg 1 is only 25 days old as I write this blog meaning that there is at least 10 days remaining if not more. Bald Eagle eggs take 35-40 days to hatch with many coming in on the 37-38th day.

Let’s all give a shout out to all these great Bald Eagle Mums. Here is Liberty – of Liberty and Guardian at the Redding Eagle nest in California – flying high. She is 24 years old. How many other female eagles can you think of that are in their late 20s? Harriet at SWFlorida for one. Cholyn at Two Harbours for another. Any more?

Meanwhile, the ospreys continue to visit the new platform nest on Lori Covert’s property on Captiva, one of the barrier islands just off the coast of southwest Florida.

If you are wondering, the Port Lincoln camera on the barge is offline. I do not know if it has been turned off intentionally, if there is maintenance, or if it is a technical or weather issue.

More and more eagles are being taken into rehabilitation for lead poisoning. It is simply outrageous that this is still an issue – one that can be easily solved by the simple outlawing of the manufacturing and sale of lead for any hunting and fishing equipment. There are alternatives.

Most of us are familiar with the Bald Eagle nest of Mr President and Lotus at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. The staff have discovered another nest. Is it another couple? or have Mr President and Lotus built a second nest? We wait to see.

It looks like L4 has a squirrel this morning at Cornell. Did Arthur deliver it? or did L4 catch it? My money is on L4 catching it since this was the first fledgling at Cornell to catch prey after fledging.

It is a shout out to the NZ DOC who take excellent care of the Royal Albatross at Taiaroa Head in New Zealand. It has been scorching hot in the south of Australia and in NZ and the rangers have set up misters for the nesting birds. Wow. How many of us wold like to see this type of ‘intervention’ on those scorcher days at the Osprey nests in the PNW and western Canada???

If you have been wondering about Annie and the ‘new guy’, he has been bringing prey into the scrape area. Is it for Annie? It is anyone’s guess but if he wants to win our Annie’s heart, he best be able to be a good provider!

Thank you so much for being with us this morning, Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their videos, their posts, their tweets, and their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: Elain and the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Superbeaks, FOBBV, KNF-E3, Window to Wildlife, Redding Eagles, Ventura Wildlife Society, @CornellHawks, Sharon Dunne and the Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons.

Is V9 the winner? and other news for Thursday in Bird World

22 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is still freezing. The last time I checked it was -26 degrees C. The furnace is working over time. But I am out of the parking pad and someone is coming to clear all of the snow so I won’t get stuck in there next time there is a blizzard. Tomorrow is the day to make sure that the birdseed and the cat food are topped up so that there is plenty to take all of the garden friends along with Missy and Lewis into the new year. I do not know about you but, I dislike crowds immensely, hate malls even more, and hope to get out and home before many wake up in the morning. Fingers crossed.

It is the day after the Winter solstice. A long time friend sent this to me and I want to share it with you – even if it is a day late.

A Winter Solstice Blessing

May you find peace in the promise of the solstice night, that each day forward is blessed with more light, that the cycle of nature, unbroken and true, brings faith to your soul and well-being to you. Rejoice in the darkness, in the silence find rest and may the days that follow be abundantly blessed. (Source unknown)

Bird World has gotten very quiet for the past few days. The only action that is happening is at the nests of Gabby and Ron where there remains some question as to which of the visitors each of them might choose. SuperBeaks is just steady as you go. This nest will go on my must watch list of eagle nests for next year.

Now at Northeast Florida. Too many visitors to follow. Too many discussions over who is who or if one is old enough to mate, etc. There is plenty of evidence for 4 year olds fathering healthy chicks including Harry at the MN-DNR nest in 2021 and again in 2022 before he disappeared. Is it possible Gabby might not have a mate this year? Of course it is. We should sit back and relax. It is a learning opportunity.

The camera has been down. There is another camera that the AEF have access to while the cameras we use to see the nest are down. Well done Gabby and V9. I gather they are friendly and working on the nest. Great news. Now if he can prove that he can keep intruders away, bring fish, and be truly a grand mate for Gabby — well, there could be little eaglets popping their heads up at this nest in the new year. Hopeful.

There is news of Rita requiring a little more removal of the wing. It is not clear if this is the tip that was removed several days ago or a new surgery. I am trying to clarify. It is certain that she will not fly again and they are looking for a permanent home for her. And this brings me to a problem that we all must consider every time we want a bird to be an ambassador or an educational bird —— they must have a place to go. That place has to have funds to feed and care for the wildlife they have. Many places are just over run with raptors and other birds. So when you consider making donations, please do keep this in mind. The costs involved are high and almost without exception these facilities work on a shoe string through the generosity of volunteers and donations.

Meanwhile Ron seems not to have settled on a new mate yet and appears to not like at least one of the females coming around.

In San Jose at the City Hall, Sequoia, the son of Grinnell and Annie, is calling his mate! This is just so wonderful. While it never makes up for losing birds, it is sure nice to see ones that we have watched from hatch to fledge begin their own families.

For those of you that love Peregrine Falcons and want to know more, here is a hefty book that has come out. Mark Avery wrote a good review in his recent monthly blog and this is part of his report, “This is a monumental book about what is regarded as the fastest animal on the planet (or flying over it). At over 500 pages, and amply and attractively illustrated, this is a tribute to and reference source about a marvellous bird. The brilliance of this bird is well captured in many of the photographs but the text is full of information about Peregrines from everywhere in the world where they occur. Chapters cover falcons in general, an introduction to this species, flight, diet, breeding behaviours and characteristics, movements, friends and foes and population numbers and trends. It feels like an encyclopedic coverage and the book is packed with information, but information delivered in a very palatable form.”

Speaking of falcons, Indigo is still being fed, still hiding food in the scrape and having Mum, Diamond, take it! Indigo has also started something unusual. Bringing grass into the scrape box! Goodness.

The SuperBeaks nest is wonderful. I am so glad that several readers asked me about them. I have had several giggles. While we have been frustrated not being able to see the eaglets, ‘S’ admits that we are getting a reprieve from worrying about them, too. We aren’t sitting and counting the bites this one or that one gets. We just sit and watch PePe bring in large fish and Muhlady feed the bobbleheads. We cannot even seen any beaking! It is actually quite nice. By the time we can see them clearly all of that will have passed!

There is a wee little head showing in the top image.

Both Pepe and Muhlady are on the nest vocalising.

Have not seen Jackie or Shadow at the Big Bear nest today but, there were a couple of Crows (or are they Ravens – difficult to tell) visiting trying to find any leftover bits of fish. Jackie and Shadow were there on Tuesday working away.

Here is a very short compilation for the winter solstice with recent images of the eagles at Big Bear – our adorable Jackie and Shadow.

The GHOs have been after M15 at the SWFlorida nest again – and, of course, since their nest is on the same property, we can expect an increase in this behaviour. Do the Eagles bothered the owls? Probably not. Maybe they should!

Cornell has put out its season highlights from the Royal Cam nest at Tiaroa Head. It opens with OGK doing a sky call – so get the tissue box. What a grand mate and dad he was. Last seen in mid-May (19 May I am told). We will forever miss him as will his long time mate, YRK, who will, perhaps, find another mate and raise more chicks. We will have to wait and see. And it could be a very long wait.

I know that many of you have wondered what happened to Mahlala, the Red tail hawk raised by the eagles on Gabriola Island. Their eaglet Junior, you will remember, was electrocuted on a power pole. I found this announcement today re their FB presence: “UPDATE: 12 20 22 GROWLS Eagle Nest Cam (Gabriola Rescue Of Wildlife Society). This FB Group is temporarily paused for 168 days. An admin paused this group on July 30, 2022. Group activity will resume on January 15, 2023 at 3:00 AM“.

No one knows why the FB was abruptly paused.

As for Mahlala, there are a large number of Red-tail Hawks in the general area. She was not banded so it would be difficult to tell her apart from any other unless you had clear identifying features which we don’t because the camera images were not clear. Did she return to the nest? Maybe GROWLS will tell us when they come back to life!

I posted an image of L4 that was taken during the Ferris Akel Tour last Saturday. Here are other images from this morning’s Cornell Hawks Twitter feed. It is nice to see the juvenile still doing so very well. That is a nice crop – and still in Mum and Dad’s territory without problem.

No. 21 The Red List. The Woodcock

Oh, look at that image. The eyes set way back on their head allow them to see predators when they have their long beak thrust into the ground hunting for food. They have short legs and are rather ’round’ compared to other birds.

Males perform a remarkable ‘sky dance’ on spring and summer nights, in a high, twisting flight, with chippering, twittering, bubbling sounds. These sky dances attract the females who will mate with one of the males. The males – like Daisy the Duck’s mate – take no part in the care of the eggs or the hatchlings!

Audubon Society says, “Downy young leave nest a few hours after hatching. Female tends young and feeds them. After a few days, young may begin probing in soil, learning to search for food. Young can make short flights at age 2 weeks, fly fairly well at 3 weeks, independent at about 5 weeks.” So not like ducklings or goslings that are precocial – able to care for themselves after 24 hours of hatching.

“Woodcock vintage drawing” by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

There are Woodcocks that are resident in the UK and there are others, several hundreds of thousands, that fly from Finland and Russia – a distance of some 3000 km, to over winter in the UK. They arrive during the first week in November. They like damp woodland where they nest in a feathered scrape on the ground. There are stories of the Woodcock carrying their chicks between their legs and body in their feet if danger should arrive. There are also stories of them carrying a stick in their mouth when they fly over the ocean to the UK so if they tire during their flight they have some wood to land on in the ocean.

Many feed at night thrusting their long beak probing around in the soil – their heads go up and down so often they have been compared to ‘sewing machines’. They fine worms and Beatles and suck them up like spaghetti. Can you imagine? I would love to see one.

British writers such as Drayton, Shakespeare, and Milton used them as a metaphor for ‘foolish love’.

“Woodcock Scolopax rusticola” by Peregrine’s Bird Photography is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The threats for the Woodcock vary from geographical location. In the US, fires are burning up habitat, climate change is drying up the wetlands, spring heat waves are driving the chicks from the nest, and heavy rains are endangering the eggs and the nests altogether. In all areas, habitat loss is driving a decline in populations. In the UK, those threats also exist along with the legal hunting of the Woodcock which begins on 1 November despite their being on The Red List. Wild Justice has asked the government to change the date to 1 December to try and help protect during the breeding season!

Two recent short articles from The Guardian are quite good.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jun/08/birds.woodcock?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/06/country-diary-claxton-norfolk-birds-woodcock-snipe-wigeon?CMP=share_btn_link

Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, their notes, their posts, and videos that make up my screen captures: Cornell Hawks Twitter page, Superbeaks Bald Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Mark Avery Book Reviews, San Jose City Hall, Openverse, NZ DOC and Cornell Bird Lab, FOBBV, San Jose City Hall, WRDC, and the NEFL-AEF.

L4 has been taken into care!

1 August 2022

Big Red and Arthur’s fourth hatch of the 2022 breeding season was found on the ground unable to fly last evening. He has been taken into care. Here is the announcement:

Red-tailed Hawk “L4” Recovery Updates

Send the most positive wishes!

Of the four juveniles L1 was killed by window strike on the Cornell Campus, l3 is in care due to an injury, and now L4. The only fledgling that is flying free at the moment is L2.

Sarafina flies, Too many fish at Osoyoos, and other good news in Bird World

31 August 2022

Good Morning! I hope this finds all of you well. For those of you waiting to see Sarafina fledge, she did it at 0655 Sunday morning, 31 July. Congratulations to Louis and Dorcha and to all at Loch Arkaig!

I am so glad that Saturday is over! This means that if the forecast is correct, the nests in the Pacific Northwest that are broiling will begin to get some relief from the heat in two days. Gosh, that seems like such a long time but they have weathered extreme heat for nearly a week and all are still with us.

Olsen and Soo have really done an amazing job keeping the two osplets in the shade on Saturday and, well, anyone who has ever fished know that the fish go down deep to get into cooler water. Ospreys are only able to dive 1m or 3 feet below the surface of the water – so they need those fish swimming around near the top not going deep to get cooler. By 0930 Olsen had delivered quite a number of fish, apparently some better sized than others. I did not count them. There was one delivery around around 19:30ish. It appeared that the two chicks were super full and Soo got some nice fish, too. — They look good at the end of today. Such a relief.

‘H’ sent this image of the ‘unwanted’ fish.

At 08:55 Sunday morning, One chick is sleeping on a fish piece, the unwanted is still there, and Soo has a super nice crop. I sure hope Olsen got some good fish, too. This family is depending on him! And Olsen, you get the gold star for the week. You and Soo are doing amazing.

On Saturday, Ferris Akel ended his tour, as always, with a stop at the Cornell Campus home to Big Red and Arthur. He found L4 prey calling to Mum and Dad. Big Red was also located.

Oh, my goodness, what a handsome fledgling. L4 has lovely light grey-blue eyes that will get darker and darker turning into an exquisite espresso colour in adulthood. He will also get his red tail when he is a year old.

L4
L4
L4
Big Red

The White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest is becoming much calmer. There is plenty of prey. Lady feeds SE29 and 30 still about every hour. I noticed that the feedings are getting a little longer and that both chicks have nice crops at the end. It will not be long until there are fewer feedings with the chicks consuming much more prey.

What to expect as we end week 2 and prepare for week 3? The chicks will have doubled their size. You might also notice that their shape is changing – they are getting longer and so is their beak! We will begin to see them climb out of the nest or egg cup exploring their surroundings and pecking at leaves. By week 4, some pin feathers on the wings will begin to show.

The last feeding before night fall in the forest. If you look carefully you can see how the down is ‘looking different’. There will be little ‘black dots’ soon.

If you love White-tail Eagles then you will be excited to know that the oldest WTE couple on Mull Island just fledged their 25th chick! Skye is 28 and Frisa is 30. Look at that beautiful baby!

https://www.birdguides.com/news/uks-oldest-known-white-tailed-eagle-pair-fledge-25th-chick/?fbclid=IwAR2VaicG4ZgKYXqWASf-x4qjwOstyti3NUx0uEiQnEJ51PY8waezLbHO-ig

Another article about our dear Victor’s recovery.

Please note that Victor is not standing on a towel but has moved to a low perch. Lovely.

https://www.ojaivalleynews.com/news/sick-bald-eagle-recovering-at-orc/article_c4540a4a-0f08-11ed-91fc-4ba35f94378b.html?fbclid=IwAR1dT0-m8dw_Q5mF4p4ZyPyaGIuZ6Wo_9uuVq1-WpQ4PLlLe3CI0LF-Fs3Q

I am certain that everyone will agree that you can see the improvements in Victor. The top image is a couple of days ago- the lower one is when Victor began his physio.

I saw no images but on thee Notre Dame chat, Little Bit ND17 was seen by someone at the park. That is good news.

Our other lad, Ervie, really flew about Port Lincoln yesterday!

You may recall that the Port Lincoln Osprey Project carried in parts of a new tower platform nest for the couple at Turnby Island. Previously their eggs had been predated by foxes on the island. The new tower was to stop that predation with a plan in place to rid the island of its invasive fox population. The time for egg laying is near – and look what is causing the ospreys to alert.

Port Lincoln says this foxes’ days are numbered. He cannot, however, get to the eggs which were previously laid on the ground. Thank you Port Lincoln!

The two Ospreys at the Janakkalan nest are safe from the Goshawk again. They eat and sleep, sleep and eat…

Eating..

Dad with another delivery.

Last but he could never be least – one of our ‘saviours’ of the year – Alden. Alden who insured that Annie’s eggs and the last of Grinnell’s chicks would hatch – with maybe a contribution of his own! (No word on that yet). Alden finally found a little time to ‘loaf’.

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is a little wet on the Canadian Prairies – again. My garden is like a jungle. The three fledgling Blue Jays and the three fledgling Crows continue to visit. Images to follow tomorrow. I hope that all of you are well and enjoying some time in nature today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, FB postings, etc which have become my screen captures: Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Osoyoos Ospreys and ‘H’, Sydney Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Sydney Olympic Forest, BirdGuides, Ojai Raptor Centre, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Cal Falcons.

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.

Welcome WBSE30 to the world and other brief news…

19 July 2022

“You do not need a lot of money and often do not need to do a lot to help a life.” Often you just need to pickup the phone and find the closest wildlife rehabber who will help. Remember that phone app – Animal Help.

I just saw a posting from a wildlife rehabber who gives sage advice – if you see a bird that is unable to fly, notify the wildlife rehab clinic right away — sooner than later might save their life. The story of this fledgling eagle reminds me of Little Bit ND17.

WBSE 30 has hatched!

Lady got up from brooding to show Dad his new baby. How touching…I just love it when the males first come to see their new little ones.

It won’t be long until 39 is fuzzy wuzzy.

Let us all hope that these two are the sweetest of friends.

If you did not see my update, the Mum at the Finnish nest is, indeed, very ill. She is most often on the nest and this allowed an intruder female to come into the nest today to steal the osplets fish and she was beaking at them. It is a very challenging situation with no one there to protect the babies. Dad is doing his job getting them food. He might not know about the intruder. Let us hope she goes away so that these two who are now flapping their wings will fledge and thrive despite all the problems this season.

The chicks are asleep and the intruder bird arrives.

The chicks start alarming and mantling.

The one had some fish and he is really covering it. They are still alarming. The intruder flies off.

Please keep these two in your warm thoughts.

The wildlife in this heat wave are struggling. Send positive thoughts to all including the Osprey family in Osoyoos. Dad is doing the best he can in the circumstances. Large fish go down to the bottom. His best fishing is early in the morning before the temperatures have amped up. —BUT of course there is another problem — fish die in warm water. This is happening with the Clarke Fork River (or was last year) when the temperatures rose. The streams are drying up and the fish are dying…they do not like warm water! Sending hugs of hope to this family. Currently 34 degrees.

Lilibet has been enjoying a fish and hanging out on the perch of the Fraser Point nest in the Channel Islands. Andor and Mama Cruz have been around today, also. It was nice to see Andor!

It was excellent news to hear that Victor stood for the first time without assistance this morning. Such a relief. If you ever hear of an eagle getting physiotherapy, smile – because you know it can work!

One of the Ls – and I think it was L2 – landed on the railing of the Fernow Lighttower nest in Ithaca. L2 loved playing on those rails before she fledged. Scared the wits out of everyone. L2 and L4 continue to do very well!

The latest tracking on Ervie shows that he has been all over the place on the 19th in Port Lincoln. Just look at this map! Goodness gracious. Our boy is really moving along the coast. Meanwhile, Dad has been seen bringing fish to the nest but not sharing with Mum. She might get miffed soon if he doesn’t share.

This is just a check in – a quick one – at some of the nests including those that are concerning us: Osoyoos and Janakkdan – and all other nests that are having difficulties including Kielder 1A.

Thank you so much for being in with me this evening. Stay safe, stay cool and please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or posts where I took my screen captures: Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Discovery Centre, Sydney, Explore and IWS, Osoyoos Ospreys, the Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Osprey FB, Cornell Bird Labs RTH.

Manton Bay Sadness and other news in Osprey and Falcon World

11 May 2022

I want to start this newsletter with something that is pretty wonderful before we get on to the big story of the day coming out of Rutland Water’s Manton Bay Osprey nest.

Forgive me if I am wrong but it looks to me like Alden is feeding the two chicks at Cal Falcons! Why do I think this is Alden? and why is this such a big deal? Well the left foot has a problem or did something happen to Annie? or is this just nothing and I am seeing things? Annie likes to feed the kids so that is why this is a big deal. But Alden has been nervous and seemingly shy of feeding. So what is going on?

Well this looks like an experienced parent.

The time is 06:03 and I am confused. The adult behaves like Annie but I am confused by the left foot.

At any rate, the chicks are fine. Gosh, golly. Do we have a foot injury on Annie??????? or has Alden suddenly turned into a pro at feeding chicks?

Everyone watching the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya are simply at a loss for words. A large fish came on the nest and flipped from the side over to the top of the nest cup hitting both chicks and the third egg. Just as watchers were stunned so was mum, Maya. Ospreys are used to fish flapping. Indeed, one of the historic reasons that the males eat the heat is to ensure that the fish is dead when they deliver it to the nest. Of course, that is not always the case. It can be a tragedy when day old osplets are on the nest.

One of the chicks has survived. The other was still breathing but was left exposed for a period of time. At 13:17 Blue 33 (11) comes to check on Maya. With what we can only believe as his encouragement, Maya moves the fish out of the egg cup and to the side of the nest where she eats some fish. With the fish out of the egg cup, she gathers both chicks under her to brood. Am I crazy to hope that wee one will survive?

Is the little one stuck under a stick or something? I wonder.

By 14:35 the rain is pouring down on Maya. She has both chicks and the egg under her and is hunkered down. Send your most positive wishes to this Osprey family. Hope for a miracle for that wee babe to come around and for two healthy osplets.

It is 15:30 and the rain has stopped. That is really good news for this Osprey nest. Maya is feeding a chick and eating herself. The other chick is drying off and is still moving but, honestly, it would be a miracle if this one makes it. Still, I hope.

Its little wing was raised up and moving. It is in front of the egg towards us. Maya will cover up both chicks and the egg. Mum is looking a wee better. We must remember that Maya may have had fish flop around in the nest before but she has never had a chick fatally injured by one. She has little time for mourning but did appear stunned and very lethargic when the event happened.

More tragic news has come from the Dahlgren Osprey nest. The third hatch has died. That nest is located at the mouth of the Machodoc and William’s Creek in King George County, Virginia. It is the nest of Jack and Harriet. The creek has had very high water and has flooded in places causing murky fishing for Jack. It is not clear but as of the 8th of May the third hatch was getting little food. It died this morning.

Things are, however, continuing to go well on the Captiva Osprey Nest. Middle Little or Captiva’s Daddy Long legs fledgling has been flying on and off the platform with a very large fish. He is flying like a pro now. So good!

There he goes in the middle to the 8island to enjoy his late breakfast!

After the Ospreys, it is often reassuring to check on the falcons and the hawks.

Everything appears to be fine as the day starts for Annie and Alden and the two eyases at the U-California Berkeley scrape.

All five eyases are alive and either preening or trying to sleep at the Manchester, New Hampshire scrape.

The three chicks at St Mary’s Church in Andover, Hampshire, UK had a really good feed today and all are doing well.

The two at the Indiana & Michigan Power scrape are also fine!

These two are really losing their baby down.

There are still only two eyases at the Utica NY scrape. Both are doing well and with sadness on the nests overall, two energetic chicks is great.

Sadly, there has been a unexplained death of the youngest eyas at the Cromer Peregrine Falcon scrape in the UK. Both chicks were eating fine and developing well. There appeared to be no problem. Sometime between 1315-1430 yesterday the youngest on died. I was not expecting that news. The fact that the chick ate well does not indicate Avian Flu. The owners of the scrape commented on its pale egg and feet thinking that there was something the matter with the wee ones health all along. Condolences go out to all the individuals associated with the Cromer scrape who work so hard to reintroduce the Peregrine Falcons into the UK.

All is well at the Dolina Baryczy Peregrine Falcon nest in Poland.

The chicks ate for a very long time and it was recorded. They look healthy. They are losing their down around the eyes and you can see the feathers coming in on the wings and the tail.

All is well at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca. the four eyases are growing like bad weeds, getting their feathers, and starting to spend a lot of time preening. Relief. They are sure taking up a lot of space along that ledge of the lightbox!

Thank you so much for joining me as I continue to monitor the situations at the Manton Bay and UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nests. Take care all.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: LRWT Manton Bay, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Cal Falcons, Peregrine Networks, I & M DNR, Utica Falcons, Sokoi D Baryczy Zdenka, and Cromer Peregrine Falcons.

Pip watch for Big Red and Arthur continues

20 April 2022

Big Red and Arthur have their territory on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. Big Red hatched in Brooktondale, New York in the spring of 2003. She was banded in Brooktondale as a fledgling Red-tail Hawk on 10 October 2003. It is not precisely know how many mates Big Red has had since she was old enough to lay eggs and hatch chicks. She was observed on the Cornell campus with her mate Ezra prior for two years prior to 2012 when the cameras were placed on the light stands on the campus. When they began to number the chicks, they began with C because of those two years. Ezra and Big Red raised eyases until the spring of 2017 when Ezra was killed defending their territory. Big Red had no chicks in 2017 but she did have a mysterious young visitor to the nest in April 2017. It was Arthur! And Arthur did not even have his red tail yet! After considering several potential mates, Big Red – to the dismay of many human animals – choose a youngster. Arthur has proved himself to be an invaluable mate. He is a fantastic hunter and takes part in all aspects of the breeding season including nestorations, incubation, prey deliveries, and teaching the youngsters how to fly and hunt.

Somewhere in my files I have precisely the number of chicks that hatched. It is likely that she has laid and hatched 54 eggs since she could first breed. It was a large number and everyone of them fledged except for one and that was last year. K2 had an issue with her beak and she was taken into care. The situation was thought dire and she was euthanized.

This is the first year that Big Red has laid four eggs. It seems to be a trend amongst hawk and falcon populations this year. Cornell has already alerted everyone that this is unknown territory and they do not know what to expect.

Red-tail hawks are the most wide-spread hawk in North America. They are medium sized and are distinguished by their beautiful red tail when they are a year old. They normally live in wide open spaces and you can see them sitting on top of poles hunting. Indeed, Big Red and Arthur often spend time on the poles along Highway 366 near Cornell. You might commonly hear that Big Red is sitting on the 366 pole. That is what it means. There are fields across the highway still in Big Red and Arthur’s territory where they hunt and where they teach the eyases to hunt.

You can watch the hatching of the chicks and the daily lives of Big Red, Arthur, and the Ls here:

When the chicks hatch they will be covered with white soft feathers with a black beak and the cutest fat little pink legs and feet.

The image below is K1 hatched and K2 pipping.

There are several video clips of highlights from 2021. Here is one of those that will give you an idea of what to expect this year.

It is going to be an exciting season on the Cornell Campus particularly if all four eggs hatch. Boy, Arthur start stacking up the chipmunks and the squirrels!

Thank you so much for joining me. I am eggcited! Take care everyone. See you soon.

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

Late Sunday in Bird World

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.

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.