Tag Archives: Cumbrian Osprey

Nest Hopping News for 1 July

Juvenile Osprey Blue 096 has fledged from the Rutland Manton Bay Nest of Maya and Blue 33 (11). It happened at 12:12:27 pm.

He looks up.

Wings begin flapping. Blue 095 goes, “oh, not this again! This nest is getting too small for flapping. I wish you would just go away!”

He’s on tippy toes and grabs the wind and…

Blue 096, male chick of Maya and Blue 33 (11) fledges on 1 July 2021.

Jack delivers a breakfish to Tiny Tot this morning. Oh, thank goodness! It is 28 degrees C and the weather service says there is a 40% of a thunderstorm around 5pm in St Petersburg, Florida. Thanks, Jack!

By 9:29 Tiny Tot will have that fish out of dad’s talons and she will be saying ‘Yum’.

There were, to my knowledge no fish deliveries to Tiny last evening. She was really waiting and watching for dad. Turns out it is a small headless fish, a bit of a teaser for our gal who chowed down on that whopper the other day, this morning.

Look at those magnificent wings. Tiny, you are such a gorgeous bird!

Well, one of those nests that I suggested you watch when others get stressful just turned up the noise. Lady Hawk posted a video of the Royal Cam chick going to visit her neighbor SSTrig and the neighbour gets into a big territorial dispute. Taiki is very social and meant no harm but we now know there won’t be any afternoon tea parties with these two. Here is that video:

There is great news coming out of New Zealand. Remember I love this country for the way in which it takes care of its wildlife. Well, today, New Zealand announced that it is putting surveillance cameras on all of its fishing boats to make sure that they comply with safe fishing so that no seabirds are caught as bycatch. Way to go New Zealand!

The landscape at the Glaslyn Nest of Mrs G and Aran in Wales is stunningly beautiful. I admit to dreaming of trees and places where you can look out and see birds and not the concrete of the city. Of sitting and smelling the wet grass and hay and not the petrol fumes of cars. Of disappearing into the wilderness.

Aran and Mrs G are spending more and more time together. Aran is able to fish after his injury in early June but he is still healing. There will be no more chicks this year but the couple was seen bonding. That is fantastic!

Aran brought in a big fish earlier that he was eating. I wonder if he shared it with Mrs G who now has a nice chunk and the tail in her talons. He has provided at least one fish to her that was caught on camera which is a great indication of Aran’s continuing progress in healing.

The two Bobs at the Dyfi Osprey Nest in Wales are enjoying a lovely fish that Idris delivered. Telyn is a fantastic mom but that nest is getting a little crowded. She may have to stand on the rails to feed her babies soon. These two are growing like crazy! You might remember that Dysynni, the male, is the largest male Osprey born on this nest ever. Idris has really brought in some of the large fish. It has been determined that many of those fish actually weigh more than Idris – breaking another myth that Ospreys can only carry a % of their actual weight.

It also demonstrates how much food and the quantity of it matter to the health and well being of the chicks. This is the nest of a super dad – as are many of those in Wales and other parts of the UK.

Meanwhile, over in Scotland, the two Bobs on the Loch of the Lowes nest are waiting for NC0 or Laddie to bring them in a tea time fish. Gosh these Bobs are beautiful. The time has flown by and they will soon be hovering and fledging but, in those very first days, I really wondered if Bob 2 would survive the bonking from Bob 1.

And goodness, I woke up this morning and had to look twice to figure out which of the chicks on the Foulshaw Moss Nest of White YW and Blue 35 was Tiny Little Bob! Which one do you think is Tiny Little?

If you said the one closest to the right looking out, you would be right. She or he is watching for one of the parents to arrive with a fish! As noted from the people who ringed the chicks, they could not determine the gender of Tiny Little from the measurements because of its small size at the time. Rumours had gone around that Tiny Little is, in fact, a female.

Today, the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust put out their announcement about the ringing of these three Ospreys. Part of the celebration is that Tiny Little was the 100th osprey chick to be banded in Cumbria since 2001. That is amazing. Here is part of the text that was posted:

“I’m incredibly pleased that we have ringed another three osprey chicks at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve this year. For a time we we’re unsure if the smallest chick was going to make it. It was rapidly being outgrown by its bigger siblings but it carried on fighting for its share of the food from mum and dad. Now there’s not much difference in weight – and it was the smallest one that was the 100th osprey chick to be ringed in Cumbria since 2001! Osprey chicks are weighed by the licenced bird ringer and each chick is given a coloured leg ring. This year we have Blue 462, a female weighing 1.6kg, Blue 463 weighing 1.5kg – gender unknown, and Blue 464, a male weighing 1.6kg”.

Paul Waterhouse, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

I wanted to check in on the little Golden Eaglet in Bucovina, Romania. He has changed so much in just a few days. Most of the white feathers are gone and are now replaced with the beautiful dark black kind of espresso coloured ones for the juveniles.

The female has come to the nest to feed the eaglet. There were lots of bones and scraps of meat left on them. It is unclear to me whether or not the mother has brought in new prey or is using what is in the pantry.

You can look and see the remote mountain area where this nest is located. I continue to hope that the parents are able to find enough prey for this little one to thrive and fledge.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I regret I have no images of the Ks for you – maybe later today. They are off exploring the trees and some of the buildings with Big Red and Arthur. Everyone is fine; they are just not around the nest!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I obtained my screen shots: Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Achieva Credit Union, Asociatia Wild Bucovina, LRWT and Manton Bay Osprey Nest, Cornell Bird Cam Royal Albatross and NZ DOC, and Dyfi Osprey Projec. I would also like to thank Lady Hawk for her video clip of the territorial dispute between Taiki and SSTrig.

Saturday Night with the Ks and other nest news

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

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

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

K3 loves watching the people moving on the sports field.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Storks almost blown off nest, a second egg, and more news from Bird World

My friend T always sends me exciting nest news. So, T, thank you so much, as always. It is much appreciated. This morning T sent me a video. I almost fell off my chair while watching it. High winds and a storm in Poland and a stork nest. Not a good combination. Watch the pine trees in the background. Here is the video:

https://fb.watch/v/102cLTLx2/

And, of course, lots of news from the other nests on a late Tuesday!

Lady laid her second egg in the Ironbark Tree in the Sydney Olympic Park at 1:18 am, 23 June. Congratulations Lady and Dad! Now the wait truly begins.

Tiny Little Bob waited and watched and got some of the tea time fish on the Cumbria Wildlife Osprey Nest. He has his beautiful curved feathers coming in now and looks so grown up. All that food from the last few days are really helping this little one grow!

Of course, the Big one who is moving out of the frame on the left decides that it isn’t quite full and comes in and interrupts another calm feeding for Tiny Little and Middle Bob. I plan to keep my faith that Tiny Little Bob is going to survive, fledge, and thrive.

If you missed the great news from Cornell, K1 fledged this morning at 8:27:31. Shortly after a bucket truck arrived and lifted a vet and rehabber up to the nest to take K2 into care. We will not know the prognosis for probably a couple of days but we do know that K2 is in the best of care at Cornell. Meanwhile, K1 is enjoying herself over in the oak tree.

The following photographs were taken by Suzanne Arnold Horning and posted on the Cornell Red Tail Hawks FB Page. I hope she does not mind my sharing.

Do you remember that Big Red left the oak leaves in the nest? Well, look. K1 flew directly to the oak tree just like Big Red told her! Incredible.

Here is the video of that smooth fledge in case you missed it:

At 51 days old, K1 broke the record for waiting the longest to fledge – indeed, this entire brood has waited the longest of any of Big Red’s hawklets. Meanwhile, K3 seems to have no intention of going anywhere and I was so sure he would take the leap first. Silly me.

K3 has kept everyone on the edge of their seats – he has stared across the street at his older sibling in the Oak Tree but so far, has not fledged.

And last but not least, those two beautiful chicks of Laddie and NC0 were ringed today. Chick 1 has LR1 and is a female. Chick 2 has LR2 and is a male. I wonder how many thought that from the start? I am glad that little male hung in there. They turned out to be gorgeous birds.

Thank you so much for joining me this afternoon. I will keep you posted on the status of K2 and will definitely alert everyone if K3 fledges.

Thank you to the Cornell Bird Lab for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and video clip, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust for their streaming cam where I took my video clip, to Suzanne Arnold Horning for the photographs she shared of K1 on the FB page, to Tatiana for always alerting me to the strange happenings in Bird World, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Loch of the Lowes for their streaming cam, to the WBSE Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia and the Discovery Centre for their streaming cam. Thank you to the camera and the man in Poland who went to check on the White Stork nest. So glad everything was alright.

The featured image is K3 teasing us!

Tiny Little Bob eats most of the flounder at Foulshaw Moss!

Oh, those third hatches that have been beaten down and abused by their big siblings can be so clever – if they survive. They also learn how to read their environment by being patient, looking, listening, and working their way in to get the food. Tiny Tot at the Achieva Osprey Nest was not afraid to walk the rails of the nest siding to try and get food or, in desperation, eat the old meat off a bone. Louis helped Aila feed the chicks at the Loch Arkaig nest and JJ7 fondly known as Captain thrived. Then there was Z1 and Congo. The list is growing. But today, a quick look at Tiny Little Bob at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest near Witherslack in Cumbria. The parents are White YW and Blue 35. They have been bonded mates for 8 years and in that time they have raised 18 chicks. That is a fabulous record!

The Bobs were born on 18 May, 20 May, and 22 May. Little Tiny Bob was so very tiny compared to the other two. There he is stretching really hard to get a bite of fish.

Tiny Little is still very tiny compared to its two older siblings.

White YW brought in a flounder at tea time and Tiny Little really wanted some of that fish. But Great Big Bob was wanting to eat first and saw Tiny moving towards mom and walked him back to the edge of the nest. Great Big Bob did not peck Tiny Little, she just let it be known that she eats first.

There is Tiny Little Bob staying out of the way of Great Big Bob and Middle Bob. Great Big Bob will go and begin eating the flounder.

Tiny Little Bob slowly moved along the nest railing to get out of view of Great Big Bob who was eating. He is watching what is happening closely and trying to figure out how to position himself to get some fish. He has no crop and he is really hungry.

Tiny Little raises his neck so that he can better see what is going on with the feeding. You can see his flat crop. There is still lots of fish left.

Tiny Little Bob waits until he thinks that Great Big Bob has had enough to eat that he will not mind Tiny Little Bob having some of that nice fish. Remember to survive all of these little pecked ones have to be extra clever, extra patient and very observant. They don’t want to get into a situation where their head and neck are being pecked and shaken.

Tiny Little Bob decides to move in for some fish. He has assessed the feeding situation and has figured out where he should go to be successful. Here is what happens:

Oh, Tiny Little Bob is ever so clever! Wonder if he will be able to eat all that flounder without the big siblings deciding they want some more????

At the end of the day, the big sibs were hungry again. Blue 35 has them all lined up to eat but guess who is still getting most of that flounder? If you said, Tiny Little Bob you are absolutely correct! He is in the perfect spot for mom to feed. Smart kid that one.

This is just the best way to begin a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. There are two cameras at the Cumbria Osprey Nest. Here is the link if you would like to watch this family. But just a note. The cameras do not have a rewind feature. That said I think their images are clearer and more detailed than many of the other cameras with a rewind feature.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

No fledges yet on the Red tail Hawk nest at Cornell but the birds are antsy and Arthur and Big Red are tempting them again today. K3 almost fludged this morning. K2 is hanging in there. I hope these other two fledge so that she can get some medical attention.

Fledges normally take place in the morning or evening. I will keep you posted if you are not watching. If you want to watch, here are the links for the two cameras:

Take care everyone. Thanks for joining me. Keep cheering on Tiny Little Bob. He is quite the character!

Thank you to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Osprey Cam where I took my screen shots and video clips.

Here a fish, there a fish, everywhere a fish!

One of the things that I have learned but which I continually have to remind myself is this: birds are individuals. They may have instincts that have developed over 50 million years but, at the same time, they definitely have their own character. One of the first times I noticed this was with the Royal Albatross Family in 2020. The Royal Cam chick was Atawhai (Pippa was her nick name). Her parents are OGK (orange-green-black) and YRK (yellow-red-black). OGK hatched in 1998 and he was 22 years old last year when Atawhai hatched. YRK hatched in 1994 and was 26 years old when Atawhai hatched. They have been a bonded pair since 2006 and 2020 was their seventh breeding attempt. They have four children and one foster chick as of 2020. So they are not ‘new’ parents. OGK would fly in to feed Atawhai. He loved to sit next to his baby girl and have the most animated conversations. OGK was never in a hurry to leave. Atawhai adored him and would go running when he would land. Sometimes he would even spend the night with Atawhai. In contrast, YRK liked to feed her daughter and leave! Then there are the adults that I call over providers. A case this year was Louis, the partner of Anna, at the Kisatchie Forest Bald Eagle Nest. They were first time parents of Kisatchie. At first I didn’t think that Anna would ever figure out how to feed her wee chick. The parents try to look straight at their chick and keep their beak straight and vertical but in fact, because of the way the raptors see, the mother needs to angle her beak. Anna figured it out – thankfully. Louis was the envy of all the people fishing on Lake Kincaid. One day there were eighteen fish piled up on that Bald Eagle Nest – 18! He had enough food for all the Bald Eagle nests in the southern US. Unbelievable. And then there are those nests where you just sit down and weep. I said I was not going to watch the Cowlitz PUD Osprey Nest but one day I peeked. How bad could this dad be? I know that I often called Jack at the Achieva Osprey Nest a dead beat dad and for several weeks he was but I didn’t think it could get worse than Jack. Oh, but yes it can! Wattsworth. I only have to say his name and those that watch the nest know precisely what he does and doesn’t do. Wattsworth gets caught not bringing in fish but if Electra catches one he is right on the nest expecting her to give it to him! Meanwhile the two barely living chicks – those poor little things – have barely enough food to live. They certainly don’t get enough food to thrive. And Electra is worn out and ever so hungry, too.

Can a nest be an indication of the success the couple will have with their nestlings? I know it sounds like one of those really stupid questions. The day that Louis landed on the rim of the nest at Loch Arkaig, the nest he shares with his mate Aila, he began to do nestorations. He repaired the walls of the nest, brought in new seaweed from the loch to dry and got everything ready for Aila’s arrival. As the days passed and Aila didn’t show up, Louis continued to work on the nest in case she was really late. Have a look at this nest. There has been snow, lots of rain, and some pretty windy storms but the nest is more or less the way Louis left it when Aila did not return this year.

From the moment Iris arrived at her Hellgate Missoula Montana nest she began to repair it. Iris had a lot to do. Last year she went on a rampage when a squirrel climbed up and tried to get in the nest cup. This was after the raven had eaten her egg. There wasn’t much left of the walls. So in 2021 it was almost like starting from scratch. One of the people who belong to the FB page of the Montana Ospreys commented on how Iris was still doing her best even though Iris knows that the outcome in 2021 will not be any different than previous years. The key is that she is doing her best, regardless.

Even CJ7 and 022, who are currently bonding on the Poole Harbour Nest but will not have chicks this year, are working on their nest!

Just yesterday one of the two chicks on the Cowlitz Nest almost fell out of the nest. There is no wall on the far side! You can see it plainly in the photo below.

Is this because there are no sticks to bring to continue building? or there are so many intruders there is no time to secure the nest? or is it indifference? or is Jack just lazy? or does he have another family or two? If anyone knows the answer, write to me – I would sure like to know!

How can you tell if a raptor has food in their system? We all know by looking to see if they have a crop but is there any other way? I happened to catch Tiny Tot on the Achieva Nest tonight doing his ‘ps’. That white streak ends between the C and the H in the Achieva logo below. The PS left Tiny Tot’s body like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle. The point of all of this is that Electra had such a tiny ps yesterday that you knew her system was almost entirely void of food. The same for those babies. They fight now – they each want to live. It is sad because that clobbering one another uses up their precious energy.

Tiny Tot doing a PS. 15 June 2021

The Cowlitz kids had feedings from two fish today and Electra was eating too. We can hope that all of that small fish will go to Electra and the babies and not into the talons of Wattsworth who was waiting to claim it! Wattsworth certainly gets the Dead Beat Dad award for the past two weeks!

Speaking of Dead Beat Osprey Dads. I have to give Jack a gold star. He has really turned around. Every day he brings at least one fish to Tiny Tot on the Achieva Osprey Nest. One day – was it Sunday? – he even brought in four – FOUR – fish for Tiny. Jack has not forgotten his little one protecting the nest!

Here comes Jack with that fish for Tiny at 7:05:17.

White YW and Blue 35 on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest have also been working on the nest. White YW is getting much better at bringing in fish to the nest for Blue 35 and the three chicks, too. My concern is really only Tiny Little Tot. Oh, he is starting to get clever like Tiny Tot did when he was starving and being picked on by the bigger siblings. One of the FB friends of the nest said it well today, “Little One saw the fish coming in and made sure he was in pole position!” Her observations were absolutely spot on. Tiny Tot got right in front of mama so that she could see him clearly and Tiny Little Tot didn’t move. Not only did he not move but he also took bites meant for one of the bigger siblings. Oh, I just adore this little sweetie. He could go on that list of third hatches that survive and thrive!

That was just brilliant! And the older ones didn’t even seem to mind. What a relief. Tiny Little Tot had a really good feed.

Speaking of crops, have a look at the crop of Little Bob on Loch of the Lowes. Looks like everything has straightened itself out on that nest as well. Both Bobs are really thriving.

Today’s winner of provider of the day goes to Idris, however. Sorry Laddie! Just look at that whale that he hauled in for Telyn and the Bobs. He didn’t even eat the head!

Oh, thanks so much for joining me. It is always a pleasure. I will be checking in on Big Red and Arthur and the Ks first thing tomorrow. Fledge watch is truly on for that Red tail Hawk Nest on the Cornell Campus.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I grabbed my screen shots: Dyfi Osprey Nest, Achieva Credit Union, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Cowlitz PUD Osprey Nest, Scottish Wildlife Trust and People Postcode Lottery, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab and Montana Osprey Project, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch Arkaig.

World Albatross Day is coming – 19 June!

The Guardian newspaper has consistently printed stories about the growing Chinese industrial fishing fleets. ‘It’s terrifying’: can anyone stop China’s vast armada of fishing boats?’ appeared on the 25th of August 2020.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/25/can-anyone-stop-china-vast-armada-of-fishing-boats-galapagos-ecuador

A few weeks later another article appeared titled, ‘Chinese fishing armada plundered waters around Galapagos, data shows’.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/17/chinese-fishing-armada-plundered-waters-around-galapagos-data-show

Just last week, The Guardian printed another article about the growing number of Chinese industrial fishing boats in the Pacific and the threat to the tuna. It stated that the number of Chinese boats had increased by 500% in a couple of decades. Another article addressed that these huge industrial boats switch off their trackers to avoid detection while they are engaged in illegal fishing.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/02/fishing-fleets-go-dark-suspected-illegal-hunting-study

All of this is really more than sad. It would not matter to me which country was doing it. About a year ago I wrote a blog on the labelling for sustainable fish that is sold in supermarkets. I am now wondering about those labels and whether or not all of the fish sold that carry them is actually sustainable. How much of that fish comes from the Chinese fishing trawlers? How do we really know? The whole notion of whether the fish is sustainable or not is linked to the theme and events for this year’s World Albatross Today which is coming up on 19 June.

The theme of World Albatross Day for 2021 is Ensuring Albatross Friendly Fisheries. The Albatross Task Force has lots of information on its website. There are tabs that come down and some of them will discuss the points I mention below in great detail.

https://www.acap.aq/world-albatross-day/wad2021-ensuring-albatross-friendly-fisheries?fbclid=IwAR2HCY4TmgofVJA7NEiLkypMo1_xciNtHgWwcJBX1ztoip7n34zVIVQkjfk

The mitigations against harming birds and stopping them from being bycatch are relatively easy to do so why don’t these huge industrial fishing ships want to help? In many instances, organizations will provide streamer lines for free for the boats! They include

  • streamer lines – those shiny coloured lines that will scare the birds away
  • setting their lines at night (gosh that sounds easy doesn’t it?)
  • shielding the hooks
  • integrated weight lines
  • using external weights for the lines

The other aspect of World Albatross Day is to introduce the general population to these beautiful, large, and gentle sea birds. Today, I will focus briefly on the Tristan Albatross which is the feature image of this blog. The Tristan Albatross are critically endangered because of longline fishing and mice. Yes, mice.

“Tristan da Cunha-12-010-albatross on Nightingale Tristan in background-Credit Paul Tyler and Alison Rothwell)” by darwin_initiative is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Tristan Albatross is listed as critically endangered because of its rapid population decline over the past 70 years. The two main causes are being killed by longline fishing boats and the chicks being killed by mice introduced to the islands by humans. The population of Tristan Albatross is mostly located on Gough Island. Do you know where that is? I wasn’t sure so I looked it up on Google Maps.

There are roughly 1750 pair of breeding Tristan Albatross on the Tristan da Cunha Islands and, in particular, Gough Island. Gough Island is a UK Protected Territory. At present, the decline is roughly 3.5%, according to Birdlife Australia, a year. Just like the Royal Albatross at Taiaroa Head, the Tristan Albatross breeds every other year. The single egg is laid in January and the chick, if it survives, will fledge in November. Juveniles return to the colony on Gough Island between the ages of 3-7 years. Most do not breed until they are 10 years old. The oldest recorded Tristan Albatross was 38 years old.

This is not a video for the faint of heart. It shows a small mouse killing a Tristan Albatross chick. You can certainly skip this one but it is good to know that humans introduced the predators onto the island in their boats. There have been plans to eradicate the mice from Gough Island. They were put on hold last year because of the pandemic. The little mice grow into mega-sized mice. They are really quite frightening. The plan continues to relocate the birds while the mice are killed.

Here is a short video clip showing how the Tristan Albatross flies over the ocean:

They are beautiful birds and I cannot possibly imagine a world without them.

A quick check in at the Cowlicks Osprey Nest showed a fish – albeit small – had been brought in for breakfast today so that is a good start.

The Ks on the Redtail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur are just antsy to fledge. K1 now has five dark bands on her tail. She is really a BIG girl – no doubt about the gender there. And I suspect that K3 is a little, little male. K2 – who knows?

Tiny Little Bob over on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest continues to hold its own.

Over on the Achieva Credit Union Osprey Nest, Tiny Tot is really hoping that a fish is coming in to the nest now that the rain has started in St Petersburg.

Thanks so much for joining me today. Will introduce you to another albatross tomorrow but we will also take a good look at what is happening on some of these Osprey nests as fledge watch hits them – and, of course, I will be checking on the Ks every ten or so minutes. Fledge looks eminent. Will it be K1 or K2? Last year, K2 fledged first. K1, also a big female, was the last to fledge and she did so reluctantly. Sadly, J1 flew into a window of the Weill Building, the same building that E2 flew into and died. Oh, I wish they would put up bird friendly windows so near to where these juveniles fledge – but that is a complaint for another day.

Take care!

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Achieva Credit Union, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and Cowlitz PUD.

Checking on ‘the Bobs’

There is actually something refreshing happening in the United Kingdom. All of the Osprey hatches are called ‘Bob’. The term references the fact that after hatch they are all ‘bobble’ heads. There are Little Bobs and Big Bobs and sometimes Middle Bobs and there are also Only Bobs. Strangely, unlike some of the North American sites, there doesn’t seem much discussion about whether they are male or female – or maybe I have just missed that. When the chicks are banded, information is usually given out on their gender. At the same time, blood tests may be taken to formally determine the gender and to put their identification into a DNA data base. When the blood tests have not happened there have been, on occasion, a few surprises – a particularly large Bob thought to be a female might return from migration and be found to be a male. But, generally, they seem to get the gender right with the weight and measurements.

There has been a lot of worry about Little Bob at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest of White YW and Blue 35. For a day or two I was even afraid to look. The Cumbria Wildlife Trust does not have a replay feature so when you are watching it is live. Sometimes the chicks are eating and sometimes they are sleeping. I was very lucky this morning and arrived there on time for a feeding – and it was marvellous. One of those feel good moments of a humid Friday! There were the three of them all lined up behaving themselves. Little Bob was getting most of the bites and then I realized I could film it for you. He is still getting some in the video but, prior to this he was getting more. The still image below captures one of those moments. The little one is beginning to get full in the video. That is a wonderful sight to see. Tears. This little one is another like Tiny Tot. Oh, send all the warm positive wishes you can!

Blue 35 is an excellent mother and she really seems to have this feeding under control today.

I want to thank the Cumbria Wildlife Trust from whose livestream I took this clip and the screen shot. Check out their live camera here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

The ‘Only’ Bob and Blue 5F Seren got really excited when they saw Dylan arriving with a whopper of a Rainbow Trout. Look – he hadn’t even eaten the head off! Incredible. I love the expression on Only Bobs face with his mouth wide open. Only Bob looks like he is saying, “Wow, Dad!” I bet Seren can already taste it.

Those dads often look like they could surf or ride skateboards really well.

“Only Bob, don’t you think you could have just one more bite!” I wonder what the size of that crop is after eating most of a trout? Only Bob just seemed to fall down in a face plaster. There are clearly some advantages to being an Only Bob and not living in a nest with Three Bobs.

I want to thank the Carnyx Wild Wildlife on the Web and Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymruy whose livestream I took these screen shots. Check out their live camera here:

The Two Bobs up at the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn were also enjoying a great big fish that dad had brought in. It seems like the weather and the wind are really working in favour of the fishing today.

One Bob is already fool and in a food coma.

Well, I had no more than turned around and Idris had another fish on the nest for Telyn and the Two Bobs. Is there some kind of fishing competition going on today between these male Ospreys? That is a really good looking fish, Idris!

You might recall that there was a mesh bag on the nest one day and then a bin liner. Telyn removed the bin liner – and I am not sure which adult removed the mesh bag. It is a really good lesson for humans to dispose of their litter carefully. You never know where it is going to wind up – in the rivers, wrapped around the little talons of the chicks, or stuck onto an adult.

I want to thank the Dyfi Osprey Project from where I took my screen shots. You can watch Idris and Telyn live here:

The condensation on the camera at the LRWT Manton Bay Osprey Nest doesn’t really let you see the Two Bobs of Maya and Blue 33 (11) very well. Blue 33 (11) is one of our super stars when it comes to bringing in fish for Maya and the chicks. These Two Bobs are growing and growing. It is fantastic to see them. I hope those of you that read my blog on a regular basis enjoyed that short BBC One show on Rutland with the film of Blue 33 (11) diving for that fish – and being successful first try. Amazing.

Thank you to the LRWT Rutland Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took this image. You can check out all the action of Maya and Blue 33 (11) and the Two Bobs here:

And last, but never least, is the Osprey Nest up at the Loch of the Lowes in Scotland with Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. Their Two Bobs are doing remarkable well. I worried so much about Little Bob and NC0 not being able to handle two chicks – and then sometimes Laddie was only bringing in appetizer size fish – but things have turned around there and these two look excellent.

It is so nice to see them leaving that Reptilian Phase and getting their juvenile beautifully curved feathers. Older Bob on the left really has a lot of peach coming in. You can see that Little Bob is a bit behind but he seems to be catching up.

What a beautiful setting. It looks like Laddie has been filling up the nest with moss. Maybe he didn’t know there is a Friday fishing competition!

Thank you to the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Friends of the Loch of the Lowes for their streaming cam where I grabbed my screen shots. You can watch all the antics of Laddie and NC0 and the Two Bobs here:

They are all doing well. Aran continues to improve at the Glaslyn Nest and the community continues to care for him and Mrs G. Everyone hopes that he is completely healed from his wing injury before migration in September. Today was especially heartwarming for me to see Little Bob on the Foulshaw Moss Nest getting fed right up with the other Two Bobs. He is so very tiny and the oldest Bob has been especially cruel at times. This was just a warm fuzzy day at that nest. Let us hope it continues.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope your Friday and the weekend is as good as it has been for these Osprey families today. Take all good care. See you soon!

Bird World Nest Spotlight: Foulshaw Moss (plus Glaslyn update)

The weather has calmed down in the United Kingdom. The birds are getting a break from those Force 11 winds and the heavy rains that caused flooding in several areas. The sun must feel really good on those feathers!

My focus today is on the Osprey Nest at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. Foulshaw Moss is one of the rarest and most threatened habitats in all of the United Kingdom and Europe. It is a raised bog. What is a bog? why is it so rare? and why do Ospreys and other wetland birds love this area in Cumbria so much?

Raised bogs are rare in lowland Britain because 94% of them have been drained so that trees could be planted. By planting the trees, which require water to grow, these former wetlands are anything but wet! The Foulshaw Moss raised bog is unique because of its peat. A Google search tells me that peat is “a brown deposit resembling soil, formed by the partial decomposition of vegetable matter in the wet acidic conditions of bogs and fens, and often cut out and dried for use as fuel and in gardening.” Peat was cut at the Cumbria site but the area still has a ‘dome’ of peat that is higher than the surrounding area.

In 1998, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust purchased the property. Their goal was to reverse the damage caused by drainage and afforestation. It is now designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is highly protected. Natural England has provided funds for the Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the British Dragonfly Society to reintroduce the White-faced Darter, an extremely rare species of dragonfly.

“White Faced Darter” by Martijn Nijenhuis is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

The acid pools, the mosses and the bog grasses are home to many other species of bird and insects. It is a very unique area that includes the rare Emperor Dragonfly, seen in the image below.

“Dragonfly – Foulshaw Moss” by Stephen Childs is licensed under CC BY 2.0

This is the female Emperor Dragonfly living in the wetlands.

“Female Emperor Dragonfly” by tsbl2000 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
“Bog Rosemary” by DenaliNPS is licensed under CC BY 2.0
“bog cranberry” by troutcolor is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The moss and pools are perfect places for nests and feeding for many wetland birds including the moorhen, snipe and water rail. The area is also home to many birds of prey such as Peregrine falcons, Sparrowhawks, and Buzzards.

“Grey Wagtail – Foulshaw Moss” by Stephen Childs is licensed under CC BY 2.0

It is also home to Ospreys – and that is what this blog is about – The Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest! They live in an incredible environment and grateful thanks to all those who made this raised bogland possible! Here is a short introduction to the conservation of the area and the Ospreys.

“Osprey (Foulshaw Moss) – Leighton Moss” by Stephen Childs is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Ospreys have been at the mossy bog since 2008 but it appears that they have only been nesting there and breeding since 2014. Like all other UK Ospreys, the couple migrate. They return to Foulshaw Moss in late March or April and leave for Africa or Southern Spain in August and September. The resident couple are White YW (male) born at Bassenthwaite in 2008. The female is Blue 35 and she was born in Kielder Forest in 2010. Both of them returned to the nest at Foulshaw Moss on the same day – 26 March 2021 -within hours of one another. So this begs a question.

UK Ospreys normally travel to either The Gambia or Senegal for winter; some stay in Southern Spain. This is a trip of 4000 km there and 4000 km back. It has always been assumed that the Ospreys do not stay in the same spot together. The females normally leave a few weeks earlier while the males remain at the nest feeding the fledglings only departing in September when the chicks are gone. Maya and Blue 33 (11) adore one another. Blue 33 often spends time in the nest with Maya. They simply like to be around one another and they, too, arrive – this year – within half an hour of one another. What if they do stay together in Africa? what if they travel together? I wish these couples had satellite trackers!!!!!!! Besides Foulshaw Moss, Rutland Manton Bay, two other UK Osprey couples arrived back at their nest within hours of one another and they were the resident pair at Bassenthwaite and Loch Doon.

Blue 35 and White YW’s first egg was laid on 10 April, the second on the 13th, and the last on the 16th. Hatches were 21 May, 23 May, and 25 May. There was some concern about the little one but here they are all thriving and loving their fish. Blue 35 always makes sure the little one gets fed.

Indeed, in 2015, Blue 35 worked hard to ensure that another little chick, Blue V4 always had food and fledged. She kept a close eye on the older siblings. Fantastic mother this Blue 35.

@ Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Blue 35 (f) and White YW (m) appear to have hatched twenty-two chicks since 2014. Here is the information:

2014 – 3 chicks (Blue 5A f, Blue 6A f, Blue 7A m)

2015 – 3 chicks (Blue V2 f, Blue V3 f, Blue V4 m)

2016- 3 chicks (Blue V8 f, Blue V9 m, third died after 3 days)

2017 – 3 chicks (Blue U9 m, Blue V0 f, Blue N0 m)

2018- 3 chicks (Blue 5N m, Blue 9N f, Blue 7N m)

2019 – 2 chicks out of 3 eggs (Blue 3N f, Blue 2N m). Note: Blue 3N was the largest chick they had ever seen. At six weeks when she was banded she weighed 1810 grams. Known as ‘Biggie’ no one thought she would be able to fledge she was so large but she did!

2020-2 chicks out of 3 eggs (Blue 410 f, Blue 411 f)

2021 – 3 chicks

So why do I include all of these coloured ring numbers? Numbered rings can immediately tell you where a bird is from. They are coloured. In Scotland, the coloured bands are on the left leg while in England and Wales, the Darvic ring is on the right leg. The chicks are normally ringed at around six weeks of age when their leg is fully grown. Without satellite trackers which are expensive, we cannot possibly know where the birds travel. Even if ringed, you still have to be able to read the numbers which is not always easy. Those pesky Osprey like to hide them for some reason!

Right now, there have been confirmed sightings or images of six of the nineteen fledges from Foulshaw Moss. One, Male Blue 7A (14) is mated with an unringed female at Esthwaite in the Lake District and they have three eggs ready to hatch in 2021. They have been breading there since 2017. Male Blue N0 (17) is at an unmonitored nest in Wales; he was seen at Montgomeryshire in Wales in May 2020. Male Blue V8 (16) was seen in January 2021 in The Gambia and also at Leighton Moss. Female Blue V3 was seen at a Kielder Nest in 2017. The two males from 2018, 5N and 7N (the tiny one) were seen in The Gambia and Spain, respectively. Not all sightings are recorded and I am still trying to see if there is a comprehensive listing. Tiger Mozone’s website has a list of returning two year olds and it is helpful. It is interesting, also, that of the six sightings, five were for male fledges. I wish I had more data (yes, I am a data nut!). Does this mean that males are more likely to survive the first migration? and if so, why? Why does one answer always lead to ten more questions???!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the link to the Cumbria Osprey Cam. You will not find it on YouTube. I personally think cam 2 is the best. There is no rewind feature.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

I would like to close with the latest news from Glaslyn:

“We would like to say thank you to each and every one of you for your support since we shared yesterday evening’s update from the Glaslyn Nest. It means a lot to us.
Aran has been looking stronger again today, taking longer flights around the nest area and making more of an attempt at chasing away persistent intruding ospreys. Mrs G has been bothered much less by the crows and both chicks have fed well.
We know how much you miss watching the Glaslyn family online and we are happy to announce that Live Streaming will return tomorrow morning. We will be live streaming from the nest between 8am-8pm for the time being. We can’t wait to ‘chat’ with you all again!”

That is just the best news that I can imagine on a late Wednesday afternoon on the Canadian prairies. Take care everyone. Thanks so much for joining me today!