It is late Tuesday night. It was a warm day. Ann was here, and she took Toby and Don for a nice walk. Ellen had been here earlier, so Toby had two good walks! I did not get to making SK Hideaway’s Cranberry Orange scones, but that is on the list for this week. I have moved on from my disappointment with the health services and have pulled up the ‘boot straps’ and gotten on with life. Ann will be here more afternoons and Ellen will help with some dog walking. I spent a lovely afternoon with my bestie. It is Irish Women’s Christmas. Do you know this tradition?
January 6 was known as Nollaig na mBan – “women’s Christmas” when womenfolk across the country took a day off from their traditional domestic chores as a reward for all their efforts, and visited friends and family. The temperature rose dramatically by mid-afternoon before rain started around 3pm.”
We had lovely tea and conversation, and I forgot about the woes of the past weeks – like the eagles.
Speaking of eagles. Could we have ordered a more cute group of babies this year?
E26 seems to have a constant huge crop and is getting its mohawk along with that woolly deep charcoal—a prize for M15 and F23 whose love for this baby oozes out of that nest.
Beau continues to win the hearts and minds of everyone who watches the NE Florida nest. Could you think back to when Beau was V3? How did you feel when Gabby seemed to favour this young one who didn’t, at the time, seem to know which end was which?
Clown feet, mohawk, thermal down, and pin feathers at Captiva. All of the eaglets are growing quickly!
R9 and R10 have the same pin feathers, the same clown feet, the little Mohawks, and they are doing the cutest wingers. Ron and Rose are fantastic parents.
All appears to be well at the Superbeaks nest, too.
Huge winter storms are barrelling through North America raising havoc with our eagle nests – and their trees, many old, many with dead branches. Another suffered damage.
Good news coming from Redding and those following Liberty and Guardian.
An unbanded male eagle has been seen with Haku at the West End—no sighting of Akecheta.
Those caring for the Laysan Albatross on the Midway Atoll report that Wisdom, the oldest banded Laysan Albatross in the world at 74 years, returns frequently to the atoll. She did not, however, lay an egg this year.
Raptor Persecution UK continues to follow the illegal killings, charges, and court hearings in the UK for us.
I was delighted to hear from my friend whose son has been working too hard. He sat down by a lake, and there were ducks, and all the woes of the world slipped off his shoulders. I highly recommend that we all do this in the days and weeks ahead. The holidays are challenging for almost everyone for many varied reasons, but winter can be especially daunting. Try to get outside!
Now I imagine that in about 50 days we might see Iris land on her nest in Missoula. Just imagine. And then, sit back and consider that a fortnight earlier, the UK ospreys will start arriving home as well for their breeding seasons. I cannot wait.
Thank you so much for being with us tonight. I might not post again til the end of the week. No worries. All is good.
Thank you to Raptor Persecution UK, to the owners of the streaming cams where I took my screen captures and the authors of the FB posts. Without your keen eyes and sharing information, my blog would not be the same!
Dear Dyson.
Mr Crow waiting for Dyson to finish with the peanuts so he can have some!
Spring really has arrived. It was a balmy 14 degrees C here on Tuesday with a clear blue sky and bright sun. The same weather promises for today. Yipppeeee. When the weather is good, I encourage all of us to get outside. Even if you sit on a chair and let the sun warm your face. It is all beneficial. Make a habit of it!
The snow is melting and causing some local flooding, the geese, Cormorants, and pelicans fly overhead and it is a great day to be outside and appreciate all the effort the migrants have made to get here. A bald eagle flew low on the road, banked and landed on the ice at one of the lakes. I stopped and found it had spotted some carrion, likely a dead goose.
Other geese were finding open areas of water.
Geese are very territorial as they begin to prepare for nesting. I did not have my long, long lens on the camera. I am about 10 metres away, and he is still warning me off!
The staff have all of the goose and duck boxes full of fresh straw just waiting for new occupants.
Meanwhile, at home, all Lewis can do is dream about another Dove landing on the roof! Lewis makes Missy tired…he is still very much a kitten!
Missy prefers the Japanese snacks!
Ospreys move nests. Yes, they do. In fact, at Kielder Forest some have kept people guessing as to whether they would stay or go. The male at nest 1A White YA disappeared last year. Now the female has left that nest and moved to another. Kielder is putting out a call for female ospreys! Know anyone?
The remarkable story of a rock, an eaglet, and Murphy! From World Bird Sanctuary continues in the most positive way:
There is good news coming out of CROW. After treatment, Connick’s blood is clotting normally. Now they are trying to figure out why he had the loss of so many primary feathers. Thanks, CROW!
Annie and Lou’s little eyas is such a cutie pie. Cal Falcons caught the first feeding on video for us.
As I write this, it is 19:14 at The Campanile. Annie is giving us a good look at her sweet baby.
Lou meets his baby.
Annie even allows Lou to have a couple of incubation duties. Fantastic. Thanks SK Hideaways!
Ah, thank you, Annie for showing us the two little ones!
DHM and DHD have a precious little one, too – DH2.
At Dulles-Greenway, Martin and Rosa are doing such a fantastic job raising the three. ‘A’ comments today: “The three at Dulles Greenway have the most GIGANTIC crops. Three chicks in total food comas, mama looking down at her babies. She has fed them and fed them and I have rarely seen larger crops in my life… The youngest is just a firecracker. Always has the biggest crop on the nest. Always front and centre at meal times. Just the sweetest little eaglet. I have seen little or no bonking on this nest. The three just lie around, growing and playing, and eating like small peagles (pigs/eagles).”
The eaglets were fed several times in a row always crop dropping. This is a wonderful nest to watch. If you haven’t checked in on them, please do.
There are terrific storms hitting the UK. It was particularly windy and rainy in Wales so much so that Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi nest took to the ground instead of staying in the trees or nest. Poor Telyn. She was readying to lay her first egg.
The weather in Wales is very wet. The new female at the Glaslyn nest beat Aran there on Wednesday. Mrs G is now well past her return date, sadly. She left a fantastic legacy of ospreys and will always be remembered and loved. Glaslyn will no doubt be issuing a lovely memorial once they are sure Mrs G is not returning.
‘T’ writes: “What a wonderful day for the cameras and watchers in the Baltic countries! Karl II is back! Kaia is not too far. Osprey Teo is back in Latvian nest. And!! A new camera is already installed on Kergu’s nest. So more black storks we will see in Estonia. Kergu is on a bird map with Karl and others.” This is wonderful news. So many storks have been slaughtered in Malta and Lebanon- such sadness. Now will cute little Teo get a mate this year?
Karl II wasted no time getting from Moldova to his home! Fantastic.
Here is the video of Karl II’s arrival!
Welcome home, Teo!
Everyone loves SP chick in New Zealand. I have promised ‘A’ to put in this cute video and I kept forgetting amidst the drama of the hatch at Cal Falcons. Here we go! What a cutie pie. Life is good with our little gardener.
Everyone reading my blog knows I love ducks and look forward to their arrival. Here is a lovely short article on the Gadwall and why we should appreciate these little non-flamboyant ducks more.
Checking on Dale Hollow and Achieva: River brought in at least three nice fish for DH17 and DH18 and herself. Everyone ate well. Still, River had to warm off intruders while feeding her babies. She is doing well. Continue with your best wishes.
There also appears to be an issue of a possible nest takeover at Dale Hollow. Intruders have been about and landing. A floater? A take over? We can only watch and wait.
When I last checked, Jack had delivered two flounder to the Achieva nest in St Petersburg and both osplets as well as Jack and Diane had eaten well. Relief. Again, like Dale Hollow, send positive positive wishes to this nest also.
In fact, my count was wrong. Jack brought in five fish today!
This is a short report on what is happening in Bird World. All nests are good except those I worry about – Achieva and Dale Hollow. We take them one day at a time. Shadow continues to get in the nest cup, hoping for a spring miracle – the first male eagle to lay an egg! While he and Jackie are otherwise as affectionate as ever. Eggs are being incubated, eaglets fed, and Ospreys in the UK are either incubating or working on nests. Send them all your good wishes as we wait to see if either of the remaining two eggs will hatch at Cal Falcons.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘T’, Kielder Forest, Wild Bird Sanctuary, CROW, C White and the Captiva Island Eagle and Ospreys, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Dulles-Greenaway, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Estonia Eagle Club, Latvian Fund for Nature, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, The Guardian, Dale Hollow and Barbara Snyder and Achieva Credit Union.
Lewis and Missy hope you have had a wonderful start to the week. They are enjoying a new ‘dog bed’. It is so soft, and with their own blankets, they both decided that it was ‘OK’. They are way too big to share the small basket, and neither one will be alone!
They had to do everything together from the moment they came to their forever home. It is like synchronised living. Sleep, eat, drink water, poop, look out the window, play – it is always in tandem.
My goodness. Most of the time we think of a pip and then a wait to see how long it will be until hatch. Well, the first eaglet of the year has blasted out of the egg at Duke Farms. This is one strong eaglet. Want to bet she is a fierce formidable female?
Dad was on the nest checking on the progress.
The reveal came around 14:06.
Well, hello! Aren’t you amazing? Such a strong eaglet! Dad sees his chick for the very first time.
One strong eaglet! A nice fresh fish on the nest for Tuesday morning breakfast!
The first breakfast for Monday came in at 10:28:45 at the SW Florida nest of M15 and the Es. It was very difficult to see what that prey item was, actually. E22 mantled it and got a huge chunk. M15 found some small bits and kept 21 busy feeding him.
Another delivery came at 13:47:05. This time it was a small fish, not tiny but not huge. E21 was up at Dad’s beak first but 22 did his usual work around and got up to the beak to get some of that fish. E22 exhibited no fear as he touched beaks with 21 trying to get some fish. Meanwhile, the female is down in one of the trees not bothering what is going on at the nest. It appears that 21 and 22 play around trying to eat the skin and some bits and bobs.
E22 is the fastest eaglet on this nest and the best at self-feeding. He learned those traits early on when we all thought he might not survive. What a great eagle you will be 22.
M15 came in with another prey item at 14:54:14. It was difficult to tell which eaglet was which, but both got something to eat. I think it was 22 at the end who also had the bone and was chewing on it. Perhaps you held your breath seeing the adult above the nest, but thankfully, it was M15 just getting off the nest at 15:01:36.
I believe it is 21 on the left and 22 on the right by the tail feathers but, I could be so wrong.
M15 came in with another fish for the eaglets at 16:23:21. E21 got some first bites but E22 was quick to get itself into a position to snatch and grab from the right to the left!
E21 is on the left and E22 is on the right.
He just grabbed a big piece of fish!
22 pushes 21 back while keeping his beak up to get the fish.
The fish went back and forth, but E22 got it and finished it off quickly. Dad was back up to the branch at 16:28:38.
That might be the last feeding of the day. It has gone well. Thank you, M15.
They both look a little tattered. Harriet was M15’s first mate. She was a fierce eagle as we know and no one would mess with her chicks, her nest, or her territory. We wait to see how this goes.
I am warming up to her. Injuries, stress, hunger. They all trigger behaviours that might not otherwise take place. Yes, she has pecked and winged but, she has not injured E21 or E22. As we know she did, voluntarily or feeling forced, feed 21. She has protected the territory. M15 will need a ferocious mate to take on this popular territory together.
M15 brought a squirrel into the nest at 093215 for 21 and 22. He did some feeding but, in the end, it seems that 21 took some of it to self-feed. That is 22 getting fed by Dad below.
There appears to be, sadly, a territorial dispute going on at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian. Guardian returned to the nest where Liberty is incubating their single egg for the season injured on Sunday. Injuries appear to be the left eye, the top of the head, and some frayed tail feathers.
A short time in Ron and Rose’s nest, a shift change. I love the chortling.
Everyone is counting down the time to eggs and I am thinking that it is two weeks. Around 13 March for Big Red and Arthur. So happy they are back at the nest on the Fernow Light Stand so that we can watch them raise their eyases.
Meanwhile, L4 is still with the young hawk and still on Mum and Dad’s territory as far as I am aware.
The heavy snowfall promised to hit the northeastern US is now falling on Big Red and Arthur’s nest in Ithaca, New York.
Indigo is still home! And he is loud. Missy and Lewis always want the volume off. For some reason, Indigos’ screeching scares them.
If you want to glimpse the four owlets at the Corona Owl Nest, you need to watch during the night or do a good rewind. There are four of them, and voting will begin on naming the four on March 6. Check out the chat with the live stream: Corona Owls on YouTube.
At Taiaroa Head, home to the Royal Albatross Colony, Sweet Pea does her very first sky call. Lady Hawk caught it for us!
Jackie and Shadow made the news in Greece. I keep saying if love could fill that nest with little eaglets, that nest would be spilling over. Fingers crossed for a successful second clutch and hatch in the future. If you are wondering, yes, it is possible. When Harriet and M15 lost Sassy Pants, M15 wanted another clutch of eggs. Those two eaglets hatched and were named Miracle and Grace.
Making News:
I brought you the news from CROW about a GHO owlet that had fallen out of a tree and was placed in a laundry basket hoping the parents would feet it. The story gets quite amazing. A wellness check was done, the original nest located, a sibling and lots of food in the nest – and even more special, the adults welcomed the ‘lost’ baby back into the family! Thank you, CROW.
They stopped the fireworks in the UK not to disturb this amazing walrus named Thor. Today, he was discovered in Iceland!
Please don’t tell any gamekeepers on those moors!
‘EJ’ sent an article to me explaining it isn’t the type they usually send. It is hard to believe that some individuals take shotguns and are called ‘removers’. They are culling one owl species for another. Honestly, I think humans should leave nature to nature. Do we actually understand what we are doing to wildlife and the planet? — Sorry, I am ‘getting started’. Nothing has convinced me that we are proper conservators of our home and theirs or that we have insights that make us superior. I wish it were different.
The author says: “Remover” was an accurate term for what Hunt did. But it was a euphemism. Hunt is one of the best in the business at shooting barred owls out of trees with a shotgun. The twenty-eight-year-old, slightly-built wildlife management specialist from Belmont, New York, had spent five winters tracking barred owls and systematically blasting them from the canopy with a twelve-gauge. The goal was to reduce the barred owl population enough to relieve the pressure on spotted owls. It was a divisive study generating high emotions on all sides. But Hunt loved the work. “I’m kinda sad the removal part is over,” she said.”
This is wonderful news. I am certain that when Rita was injured, we wished this might have been the outcome. It was not to be but, for this couple, it was the perfect ending. Congratulations to all!
Some bird humour compliments of the Webster Texas Eagles FB page.
The season’s first egg is at one of the Peregrine Falcon’s nests in Japan. Congratulations! For those who would like to watch this scrape, I have messaged the site to get a link. The scrape fledged four little eyases in 2022.
A former student ‘CD’, now teaching her university-level science classes, posted this today. Do you know about these women who saved the birds?
Thank you so much for being with us today! Take care, everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their tweets, notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog: ‘CD’, ‘EJ’, Duke Farms, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Gary and FORE, @Cornell Hawks, Valerie Valicento and Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Corona Owls, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Maria Grigoriadou and FOBBV, Heidi Mc and WRDC, CROW, BBC, Google Maps, Yorkshire Post, Salon.com, Sydney Wells and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cam and Nests, Webster Texas Eagle Watchers, Ashai Falcon Kirara, Women Who Saved Birds.
It is overcast on the Canadian prairies. No rain forecast for here but it will be raining in Australia this week. In fact, heavy rains have already started at Port Lincoln. Let us all hope that it does not hamper any fishing or hunting of prey for our four raptor families.
I did not anticipate sending out a notice this early but the sighting of the 4th eyas at Collins Street – finally – was a wonderful surprise. I knew that you would want to know especially since I predicted early yesterday that there would be only 3. Mistake.
Making News:
The soaking wet bird that landed on the Mispillion Harbour nest yesterday was, indeed, a Peregrine Falcon. The green and black banding indicated that it was an ‘Eastern’ falcon. Thanks, ‘H’.
As many of you know, CROW, the wildlife rehabilitation centre that services the Sanibel/Captiva and Fort Myers areas, was located on the barrier islands that took a direct hit by Hurricane Ian. Here is an announcement from them and a view of their buildings, still standing, thankfully. They were also able to evacuate all their patients before the hurricane hit. Amazing. Please keep all of them in your thoughts.
Judy Harrington has released the most recent sat tracking for White-bellied Sea Eagle SE27 (2021). She is doing magnificently. There is also a report of her comings and goings from previous months. How wonderful it is to see one of Lady and Dad’s chicks thriving in the wild!
You will note that the Conservation Centre brings up the fact that there is so little known about the post-fledge life of the sea eagles because there are no bands and no trackers. SE27 has a tracker because she was in care twice – and I am so glad that she does. She is alive and well and finding her own areas for food.
Nest News:
It just doesn’t get much better than 367 Collins Street. Yesterday, I ‘thought’ I saw 4 eyases but, never got a good image of the four of them so did not report it but, yes, there are four. At 18:57 ‘A’ reports a clear view of the four and there they are – 3 facing forward for the feed and the wee one backwards! Meanwhile, Dad has stepped up to the plate in terms of staying with the eyases and bringing in more and more prey. Indeed, while Mum was feeding the eyases at 18:44, Dad returns with another nice plump pigeon at 18:56.
They are doing well despite the first-time parent ‘funnies’. Mum really did think that the eldest would love to have the entire pigeon leg to itself!
This one is going to win our hearts like Xavier and Alden. He is doing very well keeping the pantry stocked and having extras. All are eating well. The four eyases will keep them very busy!
Mum is doing the best to keep the kids at Port Lincoln full to the brim. There was another feeding after the long afternoon one at 17:22. Everyone was bursting at the seams. Fingers crossed that the heavy rains will not hamper Dad’s fishing abilities. In fact, looking back at my notes from years prior, Dad often has better fishing when it is raining.
Xavier and Diamond have a big healthy eyas. Just look at it. Wee things crop was so full that it could not hold its head up yesterday. With four at Melbourne and a single, much loved, well fed and spoiled eyas at Orange, watchers have the best of both worlds.
SE29 spent the night sleeping on the nest with SE30 after all the excitement of fledging yesterday. Did the parents presence at the nest tree prevent the Curras from harassing the eaglets?
That is a look at all of the Australian nests at the end of the day on 3 October. I wonder what will be in store for us today when the sun rises?
Thank you for being with me for this quick check of the news and what happened at the nests last evening in Australia. Take care all. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their posts or their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: CROW FB, Sea Eagles FB, 367 Collins Street by M, ‘A’ for some great time stamps, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
First up, Louis brought Iris a fish. He did not stay to incubate their egg at the Hellgate Canyon Nest in Missoula but, hey – he brought a fish. I am grateful. I am not going to get mad and stomp my feet. This is, I believe, the third fish this season. Grateful.
Iris, you are so gorgeous! The oldest osprey in the world and you look better every year.
It was also a good day, so far, at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Mum brought in a fish at 11:59:52 and low and behold Dad flew in with another nice fish at 13:04. Both of the eaglets ate. When one chick is dominant and eating the most, it really helps when the bigger fills up and another lands on the nest right after. That way Mum gets food and hydration, too. Happy.
Big wandered about a bit and even did a ps before he thought about more food. All the while Middle was gobbling up the fish as fast as Mum could get it to the beak.
Big had eaten and was not in an aggressive mood. Nice.
Both chicks get to eat. The fish is finished at 13:27.
It has been raining in Ithaca, New York. Not a torrent, thankfully. Big Red is trying to keep those wiggly nestlings dry! Are they cooperating? Not always.
That’s L4 with its head raised up.
CalFalcons posted a short video of Alden incubating the eggs. Gosh, it is possible there will be pips tomorrow but, more likely, on the 6th! Oh, I hope that all three hatch. That would be wonderful. Despite the injury to Alden’s left ankle, he really seems to have adapted and is doing well. He certainly has been a terrific mate to Annie since Grinnell was killed.
Nancy has stepped up and is delivering prey items to the MN-DNR in order that her and E1 survive without Harry. Nancy is perfectly capable of fishing and hunting and E1 has its juvenile feathers so that it can regulate its temperature. We are fortunate that the eaglets were older when Harry disappeared eight days ago. (For those who do not know this nest, Harry disappeared. Chicks were extremely hungry. E1 was very aggressive to E2 and had been for a long time. E1 pushed E2 off the nest and E2 had to be euthanized.)
Unless something dramatic happens, we should expect E1 to fledge and for Nancy to have a new mate next year – unless Harry miraculously, at this stage, returns.
Despite the fact that a UFO, a catfish, and a sucker were brought on to the Notre-Dame Bald Eagle nest, ND17 still struggles to get food. Today there were three feedings and a bit of one before noon. At the last feeding, the small eaglet got food to create a crop. Another Relief but another struggling nest trying to get enough food for everyone. Did I ever say I wish these nests would not have more than 2 hatches?
During the first UFO feeding, ND17 stayed in submission. It did not even try to get up to have something to eat.
He did go up after and try to find a place to nibble on the prey item.
ND17 also stayed away from the second feeding.
The little one managed to get some fish at the last feeding. There was even fish left on the nest. Thankful.
Fish delivery at Dale Hollow. Looks like Middle gets it first and then later Big comes down to have some. Nice sharing. That is Big up on the edge of the nest behind the parent.
The leaves are lush and green at the National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus. The day started off soggy and now the sun is shining on DCD9 and he has dried out.
Martin made two deliveries this afternoon to the Dulles-Greenway eaglet. The first was a duckling at 14:28 and this was followed by something else that I could not identify at 15:19.
One of my all time favourite wildlife rehabbers is reminding us to help the migrating birds. CROW posted this today on their FB page. Check your region and help! Thank you.
As predicted, we went from winter to summer on the Canadian Prairies. Everyone is outside – and most around me are having their first official barbecue of the season. The birds have not been happy with my clearing up their old seed and I suspect that Mr and Mrs Grackle once again have their nest in the wood shed which is why Mr Raven and Mr Crow have been around so often. My neighbour tells me that he saw about 20 Pelicans in a tree – sounds like the tree with the Great Egrets in Grenada to me. Summer is here. No spring. Just summer.
I hope this blog finds all of you well. Some of the nests are still struggling but life is good and it is pip watch for the Cal Falcons tomorrow!!!!!!!! Yes. I cannot wait to celebrate the three eyases.
Take care. Thank you so much for being here with us. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagles, ND-LEEF, Cornell Bird Cam RTH, CROW, NADC-AEF, MN DNR, and DHEC.
Good Afternoon Everyone. It does not feel like spring on the Canadian Prairies. The sky is snow white, the snow is melting, and it reminds me of the first winter I spent in the United Kingdom when I was cold to the bone and came to appreciate heavy wool sweaters and a warm fire! Canada Geese continue to fly into the city while fears of a flood are mounting. The river is rising and rising and rising some more.
I want to thank those individuals – in addition to each of you – that stepped up to help Little Middle or to help me find people to help: Keith Buch (falconer), Ron Magill (Miami Zoo Goodwill Ambassador and Communications Director who retrieved the monofilament line from R2 in the WRDC nest), Resee Collins (Eagle & Rehabilitation Permit Coordinator, Migratory Birds & Science Applications, USFWS Interior Regions 2 – 4), Rusty Boles, Al Cerere, founder of the AEF, and Jessica Halls with the American Eagle Foundation.
As of yesterday, Jessica Halls was awaiting permission from the Army to enter their property; the nest is on their land. It came to my attention that a video showing River removing monofilament line was posted yesterday. I shared that knowledge with Jessica. I have not seen the footage. If the line is off the nest, great! Jessica is in charge and is working to verify if that is true. I have every faith in each of these individuals – their only concern, as is ours, is the health and well being of the eaglets. I want to give them a big shout out for stepping up and helping in any way they could. Little Middle and the Dale Hollow nest are now in their expert hands.
At 09:342 this morning it appears that DH15 or Little Middle still could have some monofilament line around that left foot area. It seems to move. I took an overall image showing the date and time stamp and then blew up the area with Little Middle.
Jessica will certainly ascertain if that is fishing line. We have done our due diligence and hope for a happy ending for Little Middle. He has eaten well today! He is more mobile than earlier. And with the rain, the nest and the eaglets will be turning into soggy little birds.
At 12:21 there is an image of a wet Big walking over to River to eat. Does Big have fishing line over its back? or is it nesting material? I don’t want to be the person that sees monofilament line where it isn’t. There is enough real line along the shores of the two rivers that impact my City and our wildlife.
River is staying in the nest with the eaglets – too big to fit under Mum unless she wants to pop the umbrella for them.
I had a wonderful note from ‘MR’ from New York who wants me to mention the Peregrine Falcon nest in Utica, New York. So many of you adore the falcons and would like to see more ‘good’ nests. The couple are Astrid and Ares. Astrid laid her third egg on the 4th of April.
The group is really organized. They have an excellent web page with both current and historic information. There is also daily information so be sure to check out the ‘latest news’ section. There are six – yes, 6 – cameras. Here is the fish eye view:
You can find everything you needed to know on the website including access to the six cameras. Here is the link:
They also have a FB group called Watch Utica. Why not check them out?
The first egg is hatching at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest. The chick is making excellent progress and appears strong. Here is a short video of that action:
There is another hatch in progress as of 09:43 nest time at Two Harbours. Chase and Cholyn are getting ready to welcome a sibling for Thunder over at the West End nest!
Here is the link to their camera:
Kincaid from the KNF nest in Louisiana and the second eaglet of Anna and Louis fledged yesterday morning. It happened at 08:17. Congratulations to Cody, Steve, and everyone at the Kisatchie National Forest. It was a great year. This is a wonderful eagle nest to watch. Cody and Steve are always working on improving the camera and the sound and are often on chat to answer questions. The mod is also wonderful – Eagles at Work.
This is an image from today. Unlike Kisatchie who fledged last year and never returned to the nest, Kincaid has been lured back by his/her love of fish. S/He had the opportunity to eat three fish so far today. Fantastic. As we all know, the fledglings that return to the nest, get better at flying and learn how to hunt/fish have a much better chance at survival. Hopefully we will be able to see more of Kincaid over the next 2 or 3 weeks. S/he is a gorgeous fledgling.
Life continues to be good at the West End nest of Thunder, Akecheta, and the triplets. They are so big now and have all of their thermal down. There is a hint of feathers coming!
The naming contest for Jackie and Shadow’s only eaglet this year is set to be announced. The deadline was 4 April. The children from the grade three class of a local school pick the name from randomly drawn submissions. Can’t wait. Baby is getting quite big!!!
The two nestlings at the Decorah North nest of Mr North and Mrs DNF are thriving. Aren’t they cute? And seemingly well behaved.
The two eaglets of Harry and Nancy are also thriving. Harry continues to load the nest with prey.
No worries for the triplets at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest. They are all growing and doing quite well, transitioning from wee white fuzzy babes to getting their thermal down.
There is really good news at the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales. Idris is home!!!!! He is often called Daddy Long Legs and no matter short or long, welcome home. Telyn has been waiting for you.
Dr Bast at the CROW Clinic has issued a statement on the death of the eldest osprey on the Captiva Nest. The chick died suddenly on the 15th of March. There were, of course, worries that it was the highly pathogenic Avian Flu, H5N1, that is spreading through the region. However, the other two osplets continued to thrive. Here is that announcement:
I am so grateful for all the wildlife rehabbers who work tirelessly – and through donations – to care for injured wildlife or in this case to rush to retrieve a dead chick to find out the cause of death. Thank you CROW.
It is that time of years. Birds are returning, local counts are being undertaken, and everyone with a camera is out trying to get that ‘great’ shot or to fill in their ‘Life List’ of birds. Cornell posted these guidelines for the photographers. Even if you don’t take pictures, it is always good to respect the space of our friends – feather, furred, or scaled.
The tributes continue to come in for our dear Grinnell. It is so wonderful that a falcon could bring such joy to so very, very many. The role that birds play in enriching our lives should never be underestimated. Many who write to me feel closer to their bird friends than to humans. They find great solace in watching their lives and the care they give to their families. Grinnell certainly did all of that!
The ‘New Guy’ continues to bring Annie prey late at night, to help her protect the nest, and incubate the eggs. He is certainly rising to the occasion.
Karl II’s transmission for today has not come in. He was in Belarus yesterday having made it through the Ukraine without a problem.
I want to close today with a few images of the Canada Geese that I have been out counting for the past several days and for the rest of the week. As I said, I adore them! Some absolutely do not.
The local nature centre puts up wonderful nests and provides the straw – if the geese want to use them. This one did. Her mate is on the boardwalk and has decided that I will not walk through! I did turn around.
I remember when the geese used to arrive the middle of April. Now it is in March and we continue to have snow, rain, and melting snow. It is hard to find food.
The geese scour everywhere hoping to find a morsel of grass – green or dry. It doesn’t seem to matter.
There are geese everywhere!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care of yourself. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB pages where I took my screen captures: CROW, Pix Cams, Explore.org, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Dyfi Osprey Nest, MN-DNR, KNF, and Utica Falcons.
It was cold, damp, and dreary counting Canada Geese this morning. I did not take my camera – it is bulky and heavy – but I will return and take some images for everyone early this week. There are Canada Geese everywhere there is a large puddle!!!!!!
There is lots going on in Bird World – too much to keep straight. I want to start with dear Annie at the UC-Berkley Campanile. When Grinnell was killed we thought all was lost. Turns out Annie has her own ‘saviour’. It is thought that Annie laid an egg on Thursday but not in the scrape box. Cal Falcons felt that she thought she could only take care of 2 by herself. On time, she laid egg 4 and that is the big news. By my reckoning, this egg belongs to the new man since it takes approximately 2.5 days for Annie to make an egg. Oh, I hope this turns out well. It would be wonderful to see the last two chicks of Grinnell be healthy and fledge.
He’s a little raggle-taggled compared to Grinnell. I wonder how old you are Annie’s new man??
He is certainly trying to show Annie he has good intentions and is a good hunter.
Last evening Annie accepted ‘dinner in the scrape’ from the new lad. She stashed it for later and returned to incubate but how sweet was that?! Everyone remains hopeful.
Many of you are falcon fans. I have discovered a new scrape on top of the stadium at Michigan State University. It is brand new as of January 2022 so nothing is known, as far as I know, about the falcon couple. Here is that link – and there are 3 eggs!
Here is the link!
Michigan is working to reintroduce falcons into the state and there is another scrape that is funded by the Lansing Board of Water and Light.
How long do Red-tail Hawks live in the wild? I believe that Pale Male will be 33 this year. Him and Octavia have not had any clutches for the past two years. It will be three this year. Robert Yolton writes a wonderful blog on the wildlife around New York City’s Central Park. He found Pale Male eating a brown rat yesterday and took some video. His feathers appear to be fading a bit but what a legend Pale Male is.
Have you seen the free movie about Pale Male and how the community, including Mary Tyler Moore, lobbied and picketed for him and his mate to keep their nest on one of the nicest pieces of real estate in NYC? If not, watch it or save it for when you need something uplighting. The voices of people can really make a difference to the lives of these fantastic raptors. We just need the right person to hear us!
Pa Berry and Missy at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest have been trying to coax 78-day-old B15 into the nest for some food. Missy has been watching her first fledgling closely making sure that he is learning to fly and land but not venturing far from the nest. Late this morning B15 returned to the nest and Dad flew in with a fish immediately for his boy.
Meanwhile Kincaid is branching higher and higher at the Kistachie National Forest nest near Alexandria, Louisiana. No one will ever know for sure if Kincaid is a male or a female; the eaglet will not be banded. But from the size comparison with Mum and Dad at this stage – right before fledge – most think Kincaid is a female. She is definitely a sweet eagle. Anna and Louis did a fine job this season. Hats off to everyone at KNF who worked so hard to get the two camera system in place, for taking the time to mod the chat and answer questions most of the day.
Closely watching the progress of Karl II, the patriarch of the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest in Estonia, as he flies over a war zone to get to his nest. Isn’t he gorgeous? This image was taken in 2017. He is still as handsome!
Who doesn’t know CROW? and who doesn’t wish we could wiggle our noses and get them to land at the Dale Hollow nest to check on that monofilament line? Made famous for their rescue of E17 and E18 of the SWFlorida Bald eagle nest when they had non-human caused conjunctivitis, CROW this morning cleaned out an Osprey nest full of human garbage. It is a threat to the wildlife – just like all those toys at Dahlgren are, sadly.
Oh, the Osprey chicks of Andy and Lena have been so neglected by me. They are just gorgeous and getting way too big too fast. So happy for Andy and Lena. After two horrible years, it looks like they will fledge two this year.
There was a statement on a FB group about the number of eggs in a Bald Eagle clutch. They said it was ‘rare’ for three and rare for three to survive. (They did not mention the rarity of siblicide twice at the same nest). I dug around and found a very interesting study on the change of clutch size in Bald Eagles in the Chesapeake Bay area of the US. It is really interesting ready. The author, writing in 2017, begins with the age of egg collection and continues to 2011 demonstrating that the size of the clutches has increased significantly since the beginning of the 20th century. It is not onerous reading. Very insightful.
Dave Hancock of Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia did a study and found that the average for that province’s Bald Eagles in terms of clutch size is 2.
There are a number of 3 chick clutches currently being watched by us as well as one with 4, the PA Farm Bald Eagle nest. Pittsburgh-Hayes consistently has three and Redding would once again had three this year had their one egg not gotten broken. One of the most visited Bald Eagle sites is the West End where there are three eaglets this year. I wonder if this varies by region? Will look to see if I can find any solid information for us.
Deb Steyck made a video yesterday of the four at PA Farm being fed.
Meanwhile, Mr President seems to be really loving being a Dad again after 4 years and Lotus is figuring out everything as a first time Mum rather quickly. This is one spoiled little nestling that will grow fast and strong if Mr President’s prey deliveries are any indication of what is to come.
In contrast, nothing arrived on the Dale Hollow Bald Eagles nest until a two-bite teaser appeared at 11:24:55. We all know who ate that! These eaglets hatched on the 28th of February. Jackie and Shadow’s only chick hatched on 3 March. The Big Bear eaglet had been fed 8 times by 16:00 yesterday. The Dale Hollow nest continues to baffle me.
The eaglets are hungry.
At 12:31:34 a small fish was brought to the nest. Almost before the parent landed, Big went and began beaking Little Middle. Big’s beak is large and it can still encase Little Middle with its body hurting him. Big is a big bird.
To survive, Middle Little gets that head down and stays put.
I do not believe there will be enough for Little Middle to have any fish. I hope to be wrong. I also hope that the parent would change the direction they are feeding so Little Middle could move. It appears from the image above that the fishing line could be around some of the right talons??? But that is anything but 100%.
It is 12:44 and Little Middle has made no attempt to move to get any fish.
The fish is all gone at 12:45:24. Little Middle is still maintaining submissive posture. While it had been hoped that the attacks would stop, they continue because of the erratic fish deliveries. Like children, eaglets on the nest need some stability or they go into survival mode. Remember, Big wants to survive so it protects what it sees as a low supply of food. Middle Little protects itself for another time by being submissive and putting its head down. No sense in fighting a sibling that is twice your size.
A nest that is much calmer is that of Big Red and Arthur, the Red tail Hawks at Cornell who continue to incubate their four eggs which will hatch later this month.
Big Red is 19 years old this year and is the most well known RTH in the world. She is an incredible mother.Cute Little Arthur has learned how to puff up his feathers to keep those four eggs warm and dry!
And the last check of the day, the two eagles that hatched on March 20 and 23 are doing remarkably well at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian. They have sure grown out of the cute fluff ball stage now.
Liberty looks down at his two chicks while Guardian is aerating the nest.
It has been a busy day at the nests, many I did not get to check. Hopefully later. Thank you to everyone who has commented or sent me an e-mail. The inbox is full. I plan to have responded to everyone by tomorrow (Monday) at noon. Thank you so much for your patience and for your caring for Little Middle and all the birds. Your kind gestures bright light in a world that feels somewhat dark right now. Each of the nests seems to be doing exceptionally well. Dahlgren needs its garbage cleared, Richmond and Rosie have a good nest structure, West End babies fed well, and I have to check in with Chase and Cholyn to see if Thunder has a sibling. We continue to wait for the arrival of Ospreys Dylan, Aran, and Idris in the UK and for Iris in Montana.
Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB pages where I took my screen captures: Eagle Club of Estonia, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, MSU Fisheries and Wildlife Club, Lansing Board of Water and Light Peregrine Falcons, Berry College, KNF, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, CROW, Cornell Red Tail Hawks, and NADC-AEF.
Ron and Rita welcomed R3 early this morning. It appears that R3 hatched around 07:58. Notice also how Rita puts her beak at the tip of R1’s beak when it is wanting to peck R2. Very interesting.
Here is a very short video of R3 hatching.
R3 is officially fully hatched at 10:32:01.
Rita is now showing us anything as R1 and R2 look outside the nest cup.
That nest cup is very small. Fingers crossed for this little one to catch up and the older siblings to be kind. There is lots of food and experienced parents.
Congratulations Rita! (and Ron)
I have yet to see Daisy the Duck return to the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest since her and her mate came to check it again on New Year’s Day. The Ring-tailed Possum still has its own nest amidst the twigs that have been added to this enormous structure over the years. It was running up and down around the tree last night.
It is hard to see it but if you look at the left side of the ‘V’ branch, it is running down to the bottom of the V and on the nest image, it is running up the other side.
The Port Lincoln Osprey Lads must have a pact. Each one of them gets to spend an entire day on the nest! First it was Bazza, then Falky came the other day, and now it is Ervie’s turn again! Ervie flew in with a piece of fish yesterday and it is believed that he must have caught it himself. However, later, he also received a fish from Dad, the last fish of the day. They have also been diving off the barge – Falky is very good at this and it is wonderful to see them figure out how to fish. We most often do not get this opportunity.
There is Ervie protecting his fish on the nest from any siblings that think they will fly in and grab it.
Falky and Bazza are leaving Ervie alone to enjoy his dinner.
And perhaps by prior arrangement or reservation, Ervie gets to sleep on the nest alone. So when we see that one of them is staying by themselves all day on the nest, we will not worry about them. It looks like they are taking reservations for occupancy! What characters these three boys are.
There are so many things that humans use for one thing that wind up harming anyone that comes near them. Today, let’s look at ‘sticky paper’. Strands of sticky paper used to be common where I live to catch mosquitoes and flies. In France they are still used to catch birds! What horror and today there are used to catch mice and rats. Any bird or animal that gets near this gooey paper will be harmed. This was posted by CROW. The last sentence is not there but they suggest calling your local wildlife rehabber. Do not try to do anything yourself.
The wee ones at Hilton Head are still small and fuzzy but E19 and E20 are growing fast. Today, they are out of the nest cup and sleeping with their head on the sides of the nest. This is a major change for these two. Their pin feathers are also coming in and we can see their little tails starting to grow as their wings get bigger and bigger.
Another possum was just brought on deck for dinner along with the remains of yesterday’s two fish.
Eating and growing make for one very tired E19.
An earlier feeding of fish.
All is well at Harriet and M15’s. The beaking has really slowed down. Let’s hope it stays that way!
We are on egg watch at Big Bear for Jackie and Shadow.
Here is the link to the camera of this favourite Bald Eagle couple. We wish them the best of luck as they struggle to have nestlings up in northern California. It is perhaps the lingering DDT in the area that continually causes the shells of their eggs to be thin or the eggs to be unviable. But, let’s start 2022 off with all your warm wishes. I hope this is their year – they are so dedicated to one another.
Pip watch for those followers of Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle Nest this weekend. Hoping that this year is better for Mum Connie and her new partner, Clive. Connie lost both of her chicks to rodenticide secondary poisoning last year. They were Hope and Peace. It was tragic. And, of course, rodenticide, like sticky paper, needs to be banned. Raptors and Cats are the answer to getting rid of rodents.
Here is the link to the Captiva Bald Eagle Cam:
I am trying to find streaming cams for raptors in Japan. In my quest to find a raptor cam in Japan for one of your fellow readers, I have found squirrel cams, monkey cams, cams for traffic and temples, cooking, etc. But I have yet to find a mention of a raptor cam. I will continue my quest but if any of you know of one, please let me know so we can all enjoy. Thank you so much!
The squirrels are adorable!
And the most incredible monkeys and deer but no raptors! This is Awaji Island.
Thank you so much for joining me. It is so reassuring to know that there are so many people, from all of the world, that love the raptors – and all the birds and animals. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following where I took my screen captures: Hilton Head Bald Eagle Cam, SW Florida Bald Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Friends of Big Bear, Captiva Eagle Cam, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, CROW FB page, Awaji Island Monkey Center, and Yatsugatake Today.
If you live in the Commonwealth you are celebrating Boxing Day today. Centuries ago, all people working in the manors and upper-class homes were given the day off after Christmas as a holiday. Small gifts from the wealthy would go to their help and the tradespeople who worked for them during the year. The tradition might have begun during the Roman-Christian era when alms boxes were outside the churches for the poor.
We lived in a wonderful small town when I was a student in England. Boxing Day was lovely – visits from good friends, small exchanges of food items. Most prized for someone who never loved mincemeat were the tarts with the orange pastry shells made by Jane. If you liked or needed to, you could begin paying for your Christmas dinner and all the treats in January. The milkman arriving with the electric float had a small catalogue. You paid by the week. The meal with all the trimmings was delivered when Christmas came. I was most impressed with the focus on being together as a family and sharing a meal – not on presents. Typically, children received a new bike and a sock full of treats and candies. We were extraordinarily fortunate to have the most wonderful neighbours and acquaintances. I can close my eyes and return to our living room on Gorse Road – magical.
Today, I hope that you have been able to be with a friend, friends, or loving relatives – in person or virtually.
Ferris Akel is having a wonderful tour today. He was at the Finger Lakes Regional Airport where there were two, perhaps three, Snowy Owls.
There were also Bald Eagles.
There was a male and a female Hooded Merganser.
Male Hooded MerganserFemale Hooded Merganser
There were ducks and geese paddling around the partially frozen water.
The ones with the white breast are Northern Pintails.
There were so many ducks.
I wished that Daisy was there with them paddling around and eating. The image is not clear but Ferris believes that the ducks below are Black Ducks (similar but different to Daisy).
There were Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans flying about.
Canada Geese in formation.Trumpeter Swans
Ferris also found a very interesting goose. Is it a pale Canada Goose? or is it a hybrid? It is smaller than a typical Canada Goose. Mind you, we see various sizes here in Canada – the small geese pair up with the same size, the larger with the larger ones. Ferris believes this to be a hybrid – a Canada Goose and a Snow Goose.
There were also Sandhill Cranes.
Ferris is on his way to Ithaca – hopefully he will catch sight of Big Red and Arthur!
Meanwhile in Hilton Head South Carolina, Harriet, named after Harriet Tubman, and Mitch, named after General Mitchel, either have their first hatch or are close to it. There is no rewind function for the camera but the images are crisp and beautiful. More than 400 individuals sent in names for the pair. Great choice!
There will be twins again for Harriet and M15 with both eggs pipping this morning! The Pritchard family set the time as 09:55:54 on 26 December. Tears, Get your worry beads out. It will be rough and tumble in a couple of days!
M15 has had food in the pantry for Harriet who normally will not leave their eggs at this stage – no matter how persuasive M15 can be!
I am so excited. Harriet and M15 are amazing Bald Eagle parents and the Pritchett family has provided them with everything they need – including a stocked pond – and care when required. Here is the link to the camera. You will not want to miss these two!
It is very hot on the nest. Harriet is panting to regulate her temperature. She is used to the weather in Fort Myers so no worries. The eaglets will be listening to one another and that will give them momentum to hatch.
Last breeding season I believe there was only four hours difference between E17 and E18. Remember those two? How could we forget, you are thinking.
Not a week old and they go into care with CROW for conjunctivitis. The image below is after a couple days of treatment. Lucky eaglets, Thanks CROW. Thanks Pritchett family for insisting these kiddos got the care and treatment they needed.
E17 got time out in the peach towel because he was being too aggressive to 18.
Besties.
Thank you for joining me today and for going back to look at these two wonderful juvenile eagles, E17 and E18. The time between when they hatch and fledge will pass as if you only blinked your eye. I urge you to stay tuned and watch this marvellous family go about their every day lives – feeding babies and protecting one another in Fort Myers, Florida.
Thank you to the Hilton Head Eagle Cam, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and the D Pritchett family for their streaming cams and Ferris Akel for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots. I also want to thank CROW for their FB Page where I took the images of E17 and E18 in care.
