Tag Archives: Dale Hollow Lake eagles

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

26-27 March 2022

It seemed that Saturday started out to be a rather good day. And then it didn’t. The little hatchling at the National Arboretum Nest has died. There is one other egg for Mr President and Lotus. Perhaps it will survive. This is a very detailed explanation of the uncommon tragic accident that happened to this chick trying to hatch.

Big and Middle had the fish that had been left on the nest overnight and then Obey brought in another sucker. That second fish was finished by 11:30ish. Both Big and Little Middle had big crops. No other prey came to the nest during the afternoon. When River arrived -like an alarm clock – at 19:02:13 – she was empty taloned. Not good. Big began to attack Middle Little for no apparent reason at 07:03:12. Little Middle went into submissive mode. Neither eaglet was fed and there is no food on the nest. The eaglets are 26 days old.

At the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow, the eaglet is 23 days old. If you look at it physically you can see the resemblance to the developmental stage of the Dale Hollow eaglets.

The body is covered with thermal down almost completely but the head and a few dandelions on the neck and wing.

Jackie and Shadow’s feeding schedule until 15:20 today, the 26th of March, as posted on the rolling camera chat. There will be at least two more today but if those didn’t happen, there would have still been six feedings beginning at dawn.

Like children, nests need stability and regularity for security. It is Sunday morning. Obey brought a squirrel in prior to 08:00. The feeding was continuing when I opened up the streaming cam. Little Middle got none of that first prey item that I could see. Big had a crop.

A sucker came in at 08:46:16. It is a nice sized fish.

Big attacks Little Middle at 08:46:44 despite having eaten the squirrel and having a crop.

The parent begins to feed Big with Little Middle into submission.

At 08:51:02 Little Middle has moved to the other side of the parent and is being fed. Yeah Little Middle!!!!!

Little Middle got to eat until 08:56:46 when the parent abruptly flew off – perhaps to get rid of an intruder.

Little Middle is very hungry and pecks at the flesh of the fish watched by Big.

There is lots of fish left. Little Middle goes to the rim of the nest.

River returns to the nest at 10:19 alerting. Little Middle is cheeping and moves up to eat when River goes to fish. At the onset Big did not bother. Then at 10:25:28 it wants to go and eat. Big attacked Little Middle at 10:25:30. Little Middle moved to rim of nest. Big was still eating at 10:31.

Big just can’t stop with the beaking.

Little Middle had a crop but being clever, he is watching and waiting.

At 10:33, knowing Big has moved, Little Middle goes back to the fish. River begins feeding her youngest.

At the end of this feeding, Middle is going to have a bigger crop! It is now 10:36 and he is still eating! This is fantastic. Little Middle, despite the dominance posturing and some beaking, is getting quicker at its return to the feeding. Well done Little Middle!

Little Middle ate well. Look at this beautiful crop. Life is good!

There was a chat open at the Dale Hollow nest this morning. Because of that I was able to find out some information that would really be helpful under the streaming cam. The original nest of River and Obey was discovered in 2009. It fell with the two fledglings in 2020. Both survived. Prior to this year, River and Obey fledged 24 chicks. The nest on the cam is now one year old. There are 28 Bald Eagle nests around Dale Hollow Lake.

Akecheta continues to be ‘Super Dad’ at the West End nest that he shares with his mate Thunder and the triplets. They are doing incredibly well! There is still no discord between any of the three. They are well fed, sometimes tandem fed, and shaded during the heat of the day. It is nothing short of a fabulous nest to watch.

Here is a very short video of the four eaglets of Lisa and Oliver being fed at the PA Farm nest on 26 March. Warms your heart. These parents are going to be extremely busy!

Parents are doing a tandem feed at the PA Farm nest to ensure that the smallest one of the four gets fed. This is Saturday at noon.

You may remember that there was to be a rescue attempt at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo to retrieve R2 to remove the fishing line that the eaglet had tangled around its leg. As the rescuers were there, R2 fledged. Luckily it broke the fishing line. There is apparently a small bit of fishing line on its toe.

Sadly, this is why intervention is not normally done at this late stage unless the eaglet is ill or cannot fly away. They are hoping that R2 will return to the nest and with good fortune the remainder of the fishing line removed. There is an update by Ron Magill. He was able to get R2. The rest of the monofilament has been removed. R2 is fine other than having some flea lice. Great news!

There are more osprey arrivals in the UK. Blue 5F Seren arrived at the Llyn Clywedog Nest. Look at that nice fish she has brought in and look at that beautiful landscape – a perfect place to raise Ospreys. Seren shares this nest with her mate Dylan. They fledged one osprey – the largest male Osprey hatched ever in Wales last season.

Seren has to be strong. That is a huge fish. There is no footage of her getting it out of the lake but there is a video of the haul into the nest!

The Canada Goose on the Decorah unused Bald Eagle nest has laid her third egg!

There is also a pip at the Decorah North nest in egg for DN16. That was at 09:52 this morning.

The two sweet babies at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian are just getting fed as I close this blog. How adorable.

Life feels rather good as I close this blog. Little Middle is getting much more clever and quicker to get down and eat so the parent doesn’t leave thinking they are not hungry. Big has turned its beak on Little Middle at least twice this morning but nothing like the violence on the 23rd of March. Little Middle continues to grow! As far as I can tell all of the other nests are doing OK today. There are some significant ospreys that have yet to arrive including two of my favourites Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi Nest. We are also waiting for Aran, Louis, and the Foulshaw Moss couple plus CJ7 and Blue 022 if he returns to Poole Harbour. Hopefully there will be more to arrives this evening.

Thank you for joining me this morning. I hope that you have a beautiful Sunday. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: CarnyxWild, Explore.org, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Redding Eagles, WRDC, PA Game Commission, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and the NAE FB Page.

Annie lays her first egg and happiness at Dale Hollow…

26 March 2022

Just as I am starting to check all of the nests, there is an intervention happening on the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in the Miami Zoo. R2 got entangled in fishing line. The camera is down and let us all hope that there are no injuries to this amazing eaglet.

The big news of the morning came as a subject line a couple of minutes ago from ‘B’. “Annie has an egg!” Wow. Thank you ‘B’. (I was very busy watching Dale Hollow).

We have all been wondering how the soap opera with Annie and Grinnell was working out. This says it all. It looks like the egg arrived about 08:30:17 nest time in San Francisco. So happy…..wonder if Annie is going to join the ‘4 egg club’ for this year?

Annie is having a nest rest. She should sleep as much as she can. Once the eggs are all laid she will get a reprieve of 33-35 days and then there will be no rest! So, so happy!!!!!!!!!!! This really is turning out to be a joyous morning.

Cal Falcons just posted a video of this wonderful event.

It started out as a promising morning at the Dale Hollow nest. River and Obey had a big fish left on the nest overnight. Because of this, there was no waiting for breakfast and Big did not get herself into a ‘mood’. River was on the nest and at 09:04 she went over to the fish and lifted it up. Big went up to eat first. Little Middle stayed behind watching. Little Middle moved up to the feeding spot at 09:09:54. In other words, Little Middle let Big eat for about three minutes while listening and watching. It all worked out. River fed both chicks together up at the table. There was no intimidation by Big. Oh, joy!!!!!!!

Smart Little Middle. Test the temperature of Big before moving up. That said, Little Middle duly recognized Big as the dominant allowing her to eat first. Perfect.

Little Middle moves up and River stretches to give some great bites to her youngest.

Little Middle’s crop was flat at the start of the feeding. Now look! And also have a look at the size of Little Middle’s feet——– this kiddo is growing. Yippeeeeeeee.

What a wonderful start to the day at Dale Hollow.

River and Obey have found a stash of corn stalks and they are using them to create new railings around the nest. Smart. Big and Little Middle are going to need them. Several times I thought Little Middle was going to fall out of that nest.

By 10:00 the parents are away perhaps retrieving more rails. Meanwhile, the two eaglets are resting and the sucker Obey brought in is hidden.

At 10:50:30 River removes the Sucker from the centre of the nest to the rim where she can feed the eaglets. Little Middle watches and listens but does not go up to River and the fish allowing Big to be there first.

At 10:54:57 Big drops a bite, River holds it up and Little Middle does the snatch and grab!

Big was not happy and attacks Little Middle. Little Middle immediately goes into submission and moves away from the feeding to the rim of the nest.

I could hardly believe my eyes. River stopped and turned so that she could feed Little Middle at 11:01:20. This is quite the change!!!! Wow.

The wind almost blew her off the nest. It is so windy that River is going to have to go back to being parallel with the rim of the nest.

This gives the feeding advantage to Big.

By 11:08 Little Middle has moved up to get some fish.

By 11:17:18 Little Middle has a nice crop that has built up. The feeding finishes at 11:18. There is little to no fish left! This has been a good morning for Little Middle. Some intimidation but nothing that would have harmed him. Just reminders to remain cautious.

The Canada Goose at the unused Bald Eagle nest in Decorah, Iowa laid her second egg last night. She is using the twigs from the former eagle nest to cover them.

The sun rising over the Decorah Eagle nest home to a Canada Goose now!

It is a Cormorant food fest at the West End Bald Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. In the image below they are enjoying the one that Thunder brought in yesterday. Dad Akecheta’s performance at feeding is excellent. Look at all three of them lined up. No problems. Nothing. Serene and solace. There is a new Cormorant behind the big stick that appears to have been brought in today. By the time the season is over will there be any Cormorants left in the Channel Islands?!

At the Two Harbour’s Bald Eagle nest of Chase and Cholyn, Thunder’s parents, Cholyn is incubating. Pip watch should be soon.

The parents at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest are feeding their three now!

Everything seems to be going well at the National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus. The eaglet hatched at 14:55 on the 25th and is the first hatch at this nest in four years. Well done!

Wonder where that gold fish came from????

All cuddled up next to what could be a younger sibling.

The two eaglets at the Redding nest of Guardian and Liberty have been enjoying a lot of Coot for their first feedings. The oldest hatched on 20 March with the youngest three days later on 23 March.

Liberty is 23 years old and Guardian is 8 years old. Another nest where the female is much older. Liberty has fledged four sets of triplets – in 2009,. 2010, 2015, and last year, in 2021. It is a nice eaglet nest to watch and here is the link:

If you missed it, Mrs G arrived back at Glaslyn today. She is waiting for Aran and in the meantime, she is enjoying a fresh fish that she caught herself!

It has just been a pretty good day all around the nests. I am off to check on the arrival of geese and ducks here on the Canadian Prairie.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Lake Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, Redding Bald Eagles, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, National Arboretum Bald Eagles and the AEF, Pix Cams, and Explore.org

Friday Morning in Bird World with a detailed update on Dale Hollow eagles

25 March 2022

No one knew til it stuck its little head up that there are four eaglets on the PA Farm Nest!

I do not normally watch this nest but a friend alerted me. The issue is the ads that appear that drive you nuts and there is no re-wind. It is run by the PA Game Commission. Here is the link:

https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/pa-farm-country-bald-eagle-live-cam

We will wait to see how they do. The oldest is already bonking but these are early days and hopefully, it will settle. Last year a nest in the 1000 Lakes Conservancy area of Wisconsin had four fledge so it is possible! Fingers crossed.

There is a sand storm moving over Southern Spain and it is cold in the Alicante Region. This might count for a slow down in the return of some of the Ospreys migrating north from Africa.

Yesterday was a very good day for Little Middle at the Dale Hollow nest. No, the intimidation did not stop but it was not as frenzied, at all, like it was on the 23rd of March. Little Middle is growing and it is harder for Big. From past experience, I think Little Middle has 5-7 more days and this might be over. Always fingers crossed and positive wishes. He is clever but sometimes he forgets!

At the Dale Hollow nest, Little Middle has no crop. It is nearing 11:30 nest time. At 08:32:07 River comes on the nest. Big wants to eat the piece of fish from last night. She attacks Little Middle at 09:28:27. Little Middle immediately went into submission. He got no food.

You can see how much larger Big is than Middle Little still. There is the piece of fish left from last night.

River feeds Big only. Little Middle in submission.

Middle had a magnificent PS at 08:32:07. Good one. Middle is not starving. He is hungry but he ate a lot yesterday. Let us all hope the fish come on the nest – a bucket of suckers please!!!!

No one eats Suckers where I live except for a family that we met from Labrador living where I was teaching in Quebec. They canned the Suckers.

You can see Big’s crop. You can also see Little Middle has none. It is nearing noon. It looks damp and cold at the nest.

At 11:30:01 River arrives on the nest with a very large fish with its head still on. Little Middle is right up at the landing pad.

River offers the first bite to Little Middle. He is scared and he refuses to eat before Big. In fact, in the image below, Little Middle is pulling back from the offer of food in fright.

River then offers the bite to Big.

At 11:31:02 Little Middle moves up near to Mum and the fish. River continues to feed Big.

From then until 12:02 River feeds both of the eaglets with Big getting the majority of the fish. Little Middle will have a nice crop. Little Middle does not need to eat nearly the amount of food to fill its crop as Big but…it would be nice if he were stuffed to his eyeballs so if the day goes sideways, he had a good feed.

At 12:02:28, almost 2/3 of the fish appears to have been consumed. Little Middle makes a slight gesture to say it would like some more and Big goes on the attack.

Big continues to eat. It is hard to tell but be assured, the attacks on Little Middle are not over. It needs to eat and eat to grow. Fingers crossed for more big deliveries today.

At 12:11:30 Little Middle is up and is doing the snatch and grab. Go Little Middle, Go!

The other adult will arrive on the nest at 12:14. It even looks like the two parents had a chat about the eaglets. At 12:16:40, no feeding is going on but you can see the big crop of Little Middle.

River seems to drag the fish head around and then returns to feed the eaglets at 12:18:27. By 12:19 Little Middle, well over his fear of Big for the moment, does the snatch and grab!

Big passes out and River will continue to give small bites to Little Middle before stopping the feeding at around 12:27. There is some fish left but not enough for both probably. We need another fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my favourite Bald Eagle nests with another young male is the MN DNR nest. Harry was 4 years old last year and proved himself to be a good provider. He is doing the same this year for Nancy and their two nestlings – loading up the nest with prey items.

Here is the link to Harry and Nancy’s streaming cam:

That Minnesota nest is going to do just fine. It is a prey rich area with a stream running through. Perfect for Eagles to get a variety of fresh prey.

The young man that has melted my heart this year (besides Arthur as always) is Akecheta at the West End Bald Eagle Nest in the Channel Islands. He stepped up to the plate, protected the eggs, and now has turned into the best ‘Mum’ you could ask for! Thunder might be enjoying a bit of a break doing security duty and prey capture. I haven’t actually counted the time that Akecheta is on the nest brooding or feeding but 9 out of 10 times he will be there doing one or the other when I check – which is often.

It is really foggy out on Catalina island this morning. Babies are all sleeping in a cuddle puddle.

The first breakfast just as the sun kisses the horizon.

Another feeding! The oldest is large and has a huge beak. There is no discord on this nest. Some have wondered if nests of 3 eaglets that have a younger male as a Dad – like here or at Redding – do better than those where the parents are both on the side of elderly in eagle terms. I have not researched this but clearly Big Red selected the vastly younger Arthur because he demonstrated how good a hunter he was and a devoted partner. Arthur is 6 and Big Red is 19. It is something to consider as we watch the Dale Hollow nest where both parents are 24 years old.

Liberty and Guardian are getting used to feeding their two Bobble heads. The baby is gradually learning what it is supposed to do. What a couple of cuties at the Redding nest.

There is a hatch happening at the Iowa Bald eagle nest of Mr North and DNF at Decorah North.

Many of us have been worried about Grinnell and Annie. I even wondered if falcons go through a mid-life crisis since Grinnell was flirting with one of the 5 juvenile females the other day, again. So is this Grinnell and Annie this morning? Did he bring Annie a prey gift? Will there be eggs in the scrape? We wait!

I began wondering about these SF males. Richmond has been feeding himself instead of Rosie at the SFOspreys nest on the World War II Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipping Yards. Hopefully, Richmond and Grinnell will get their acts together!!!!!!!!

Our melt as stopped. It is -11 C. Ice crusts the remaining snow and water and most here are being careful not to go out walking if they don’t have to. I am enjoying a nice warm wood fire!

There is so much happening in Bird World. It is so difficult now to keep up with all of the nests. I did a quick run through of the Captiva Ospreys and Florida Bald eagles and all is good. I note not much osprey movement into the UK monitored nests yet. Loch of the Lowes and Rutland Water Manton Bay are the two I watch constantly and both couples are home. Fingers crossed for all the Welsh nests. Maybe tomorrow. We are also waiting for Iris! Despite the beaking and intimidation, I am thrilled that Little Middle went back up to eat and had a huge crop at noon. We take it a half day or a day at a time. Today, we rejoice – for now.

I hope you are all well. Thank you for being with me today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: MN DNR, Dale Hollow EC, PA Game Commission, Redding Eagles, and Explore.org

Tuesday in Bird World

22 March 2022

It is impossible to convey how joyful the image below makes me. River has been diligently shading Middle and Big since they finished an entire American Coot around noon.

As you can see both eaglets have big crops. Middle’s is enormous. That kid really likes American Coot!!!!!!

River stayed with the eaglets on the nest for most of the day. There were high level alerts between her and Obey and they both went into defensive mode. The two chicks ate and ate and still have a bit of a crop after some crop dropping. They will be fine til tomorrow but let us hope that something big comes in to the nest so things stay relatively peaceful. Middle is growing and that is a good thing and he is getting better at strategizing.

Middle is, however, scaring the wits out of me! I really hope that he doesn’t tumble over the edge when he tries to get upright. Oh, gosh, golly. What next?

At the MN DNR nest of Harry and Nancy, it was a cold torrential downpour this morning and the weather is still miserable in Minnesota. Nancy is doing everything to protect those precious eggs.

Poor Kincaid is one soaked eaglet and its nest is wet to its core. You can see all of the turtles that have been brought up for lunch by Louis! Goodness. This was another nest that often had American Coot along with the fish and the turtles.

It isn’t raining yet in Pittsburgh. Thank goodness. DH17 just hatched this morning. Two little Booble heads for Mum and Dad! DH16 wants to eat and the wee babe just wants to sleep. Cute.

The winds have really calmed down at the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena must be so happy. She was almost blown over last night! Just take a look at these two gorgeous osplets.

In the image Lena is moving around the edge of the platform to provide shade for the osplets. That is Little – yes, Little (or Mini) under Lena’s tail. Can you believe it?

And there is beautiful Middle Bob up front by Mum. The plumage that is coming in on these chicks is so gorgeous.

Both watching Mum fly!

The fourth fish delivery to the Captiva nest came around 14:00. Look at how well the chicks plumage camouflages them on the nest.

Everything looks good at Eagle Country. The two chicks of Abby and Blazer – well, it doesn’t seem right to call them chicks anymore. Gosh, they are beautiful and big! Won’t be long til fledging.

Well, what is up with Annie and Grinnell? Some are worried because the young females continue to come to the ledge of The Campanile wanting to court Grinnell. He has tried to get them to leave without a lot of success. Meanwhile, he tries to reassure Annie that he is the one. The pair have been caught on camera courting in the scrape. Annie, who normally lays her first egg on 10 March, is a bit late. She has been spending more time hanging around in or near the scrape. Thanks to ‘B’ we have a good time line of Annie’s activities this morning. ‘B’ notes the following (I missed it because of Dale Hollow): “Grinnell arrives on the wall to their balcony at 7:55, drops down to the scrape at 7:57.  Annie arrives on the wall almost immediately as G drops down, then Annie joins Grinnell in the scrape at 8:00:16, sixteen seconds late for their 8:00:00 pair bonding appointment.  G leaves within about a minute, but Annie remains, lying in the scrape until 9:30.  Annie moves to her roost on the lamp at that time and remained there until 10:23, when she returned to the scrape, where she remains now at 10:35.  Doing a little scraping, picking at rocks, lying.” Thank you, B. 

Annie has a really nice crop. I sure hope that meal was provided by Grinnell! Annie is gorgeous. They are even grandparents.

Here Annie is in the scrape.

Annie returns to the scrape. I sure hope we see some eggs in this scrape, soon

Martin and Rosa are taking really good care of their one and only chick for 2022. It is growing quickly – getting all the food that could be meant for 1 or 2 more. What a darling.

The first hatch at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian is certainly cute and fuzzy. It hatched on 20 March at 21:20 so it is 1.5 days old. The remaining egg is pipping!

Oh, those first little bites are so tiny.

Well, this is really how to feed three eaglets so that you have three fledges! Thunder and Akecheta are a great team. This keeps the volume and any rivalry down when they do their tandem feedings which is often.

In Manitoba we have the Peregrine Recovery Project and two of the breeding males have arrived back in our province a little early. One was trying to work on the scrape box on the Raddison Hotel and the gravel was still frozen. Meanwhile the Canada Geese continue to fly in while the Snowy Owls are departing for the north.

It is a beautiful day so far on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. What a gorgeous place to have a nest. There is the Queen of the Red tail Hawks, Big Red.

I want you to take in this beautiful Welsh landscape. Pastoral. Now look at the Osprey nest. The good people of Glaslyn have built up the edges for Aran and Mrs G on their return. Everything is fixed and wired. All the Ospreys have to do is bring in the nesting material!

I sure wish someone would have done this for Richmond and Rosie. Seriously there are twigs all over the Glaslyn Valley for Aran and Mrs G but no so plentiful on a shipping yard with concrete! Rosie was making progress yesterday and then the wind flipped her off the nest along with all her hard work.

The Dahlgren Osprey nest was a new build platform. Jack and Harriet have both been working and the locals are leaving more stuffed toys for Jack to take to the nest. Today’s delivery was number 2 toy. Jack and Richmond both have something in common. They love to bring bright and unusual things to their nest. Cute. Jack does get out of hand, helped along by the good citizens of the community. I don’t think I have ever seen an eagle bring a toy to the nest. Have you?

This is the most recent report from the Kakapo Recovery – it is a struggle with these amazing non-flying parrots. Those who work with them are so dedictated.

Thank you so much for all your notes and suggestions for viewing. I hope to have a listing to share with everyone in a couple of days. It has been a good day except for the weather and intruders. There are pips, hatches, eaglets and osplets eating, Ospreys arriving, intruders, tornadoes, torrential rain, high wind gusts, and all manner of anything that can happen at a nest.

Oh, River brought in a small rat or squirrel. It looks like Big will eat most of it. I am kinda’ glad about that if it is a rat.

Middle has now moved up and has not fallen off. Relief.

At 16:49:11 the camera goes to the lake. There were some horrible sounds at 17:07:23. What was that? I hope it is just my over active imagination.

There must be intruders about. Fingers crossed everyone!

Middle doesn’t need a rat to eat. He had half an American Coot this morning and some leftovers from it -small pieces later. He still had a nice crop. That said, I am certain he would get right up there for ‘rat’ if Big left any for him.

Thank you so much for joining me and thank you for all of your notes, your comments, your questions, and your recommendations. They are always appreciated. Please take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Kakapo Recovery, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Pix Cams, Dahlgren Ospreys, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, MN DNR, KNF, Dulles Greenway Eagles, Redding Eagles, Eagle Country, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife, and Cal Falcons.

Dale Hollow – still some beaking amidst the good

21 March 2020

It was a grey morning when Big and Middle wake up. Both immediately begin preening. Big is getting its blood feathers along the wing.

At 06:43:46 River flies in with what looks like to be a medium sized fish. Both babies are sleepy heads.

River offers Middle the first bite at 06:45:13. He moves to take it. Despite Big not seeming to be interested, this is a mistake.

Big is the dominant bird on the nest. Middle needs to be careful not to wake up Big’s bad side. Big gets angry and lashes out. Poor Middle is terrified and immediately moves to try and get away. Big could fatally injure the wee one.

Big will eat and Middle will keep a very submissive and self-protective pose until 06:47 when it moves to the rim of the nest closer to Mum River. River offers bites to Big who doesn’t seem to be interested. Middle notices and moves close to Mum’s beak eating quickly at 06:48:50.

River drops a piece of fish she is trying to give Big. Middle looks at it but is extremely aware that Big is moving. This clearly frightens Middle.

Big is moving so it can do a poop shot. Look at that PS. Gracious.

Big then moves up to River to eat.

Middle might look calm but it isn’t. It is frightened by the actions of Big, a reminder of what happened to it less than 48 hours ago when Big took its wrath out on Middle til late in the day on the 19th. Many of us thought Middle would not survive.

Middle is getting smart but it needs to continue to be extremely cautious. Middle moves between River’s legs to snatch some bites where it is protected from Big. The time was 06:54:43.

By 06:57:54 River has reached the fish tail. Little would like some. Big will eat most of the tail at 06:58:44 but then it drops a large piece. River gives Middle some of the tail at 06:59:13.

River moves to get another piece of fish that is on the nest at 06:59:35. Middle continues to eat. It is interesting that Big is less interested in food. Does it need to cast a pellet?

Obey arrives on the nest at 08:15:58. The eaglets have finished eating and River is shading them when he arrives. You can see that there is another piece of fish on the nest and behind River there is another. Fish magically appear from inside all that straw!

Obey does a quick check, an alert call, and he is off. By this time Big is hungry so River gets to the fish tail and begins to feed Big at 08:20. You can see the other piece of fish, a large portion, to the left of River. Middle stays in submission in the middle of the nest while Big eats.

At 08:26:22 Middle moves around to position itself for food. Middle is watching Big careful to not make Big angry.

Middle gets its first bite at 08:26:40. Middle has really perfected its move up to the beak and the snatch and grab. Both will eat until 08:34:30 when Middle is the only one left eating. The feeding is finished around 08:36:42. Middle had dropped its crop earlier and is now getting another one. Yeah!

At 10:20:17, Middle is crying for fish. Big is over at the rim and River, hearing Middle, moves up to the piece of fish near the feeding area.

River reaches down to feed Middle and Big immediately moves!

Another mistake! Middle cannot eat before Big. It is 10:20:33 and Big attacks Middle. Remember that Big is so much larger that it can still kill the smaller Middle relatively easy. Not good to wake up Big’s bad side.

Big moves up to eat for a few minutes. Middle stays in submission.

Then Big moves to the rim of the nest. Will Middle get any food?

Yes!

Middle moves very carefully over to the right of the nest.

Middle eats for awhile and then River offers a bite to Big at the rim.

At 10:24:54 something wonderful happens. Middle does a poop shot. This is so good. The plumbing is working fine.

Afterwards, Middle moves up and continues to eat. Big is quiet. Thank goodness.

By 10:26:48 Middle appears to be full and moves over to look at what is going on in the woods.

Big and Middle eventually wind up beside one another at the rim. Everything is amicable. Both are hot. Why is River not up here shading her chicks?

The two of them move around the nest trying to get cool. It is now 11:05 and the nest is quiet. No more feedings.

This nest is hardly settled. Middle is learning tricks to survive but has to remain very careful at the beginning of each feeding. Let Big go first and hope that lots of fish land on the nest. We have to take this nest at almost a feeding at a time for now. Send positive wishes!

Also a correction to an earlier post: Abby and Blazer’s two eaglets hatched on the 11th and 14th of February not March. Thanks ‘S’. LOL. They would not be ready for branching if it was March!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for joining me. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to Dale Hollow Eagle streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Happy Breakfish at Dale Hollow

20 March 2022

The atmosphere on the Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagle nest was decidedly different this morning. Yesterday, after DH15 Middle had eaten, it was hoped that the tide would turn at this nest for the better. I remain cautiously optimistic at this point.

River brought a large fish to the nest at 07:17:49. DH14 Big moved up to have her breakfast. DH15 Middle remained at the centre of the nest listening. While Big is eating, Middle is going to quietly move around the right rim of the nest in hope of getting some breakfast.

River walks away from the fish and over to Middle offering it bites of fish. It is 07:37:33. This is a clear change in River’s behaviour. Until last evening, River had ignored Middle’s cries for food. Now she is reaching out to it to feed it. This is wonderful.

River moves back up to the fish extending her neck to Middle with bites of fish encouraging him to come up where the fish is. For some time Middle is uncertain. Big is watching and Middle is scared. However, what Middle does do is the ‘snatch and grab’.

Because he is scared, he drops bites which River picks up and offers to him again.

It feels slow but it is actually quick – Middle gets the confidence to move up to the table. He is encouraged by River.

Middle has a really good feeding. He beings to slow because its crop is full. River eats a few bites, continues to offer to Middle, and then Big moves up to the table. It is 07:47:11.

River offers Big some bites.

I had to re-wind several times but, lo and behold, Middle does the snatch and grab on some pieces meant for Big. This is a very good change. Indeed, you might begin to think that River pauses to see if Middle will grab.

We have to pause and take this all in. Within a period of nine minutes, Middle has gone from being frightened to eat to snatching and grabbing fish flakes that had previously gone to Big. Incredible.

River stops the feeding at 07:48:07. She aerates the nest a lot and broods Middle.

Obey joins River and the two chicks on the nest at 09:25:36.

River and Obey seem concerned about possible intruders.

Obey flies off to do security on the territory and River aerates more of the nest. you can see how much of the morning fish remains on the nest.

Middle is sleeping and having nice fishy dreams while Big moves up to be offered some more of the remaining fish.

There is not much fish left when Big finishes eating. She has an enormous crop! Middle is being cautious and has moved over to the rim.

Both chicks are sleeping with crops when River flies off.

Big moves over by Middle. I have to admit that I held my breath because of the concern over Big harming Middle. But…nothing happened.

This is the last image of the nest when I quit the morning report. All is well. The huge fish that arrived three hours earlier is all gone but a few flakes. It appears that there are intruders in the area so we do not know when another fish will come. We take this nest a day at a time but clearly there has been a shift in behaviour by all three. River is offering food to Middle and has now noticed that Middle is not afraid to snatch and grab some bites intended for Big. Middle has gained confidence while, at the same time, Big has established dominance and the ‘I eat first’.

Let us all wrap this nest with the most positive wishes we can. This morning was nothing short of joyful.

It is so nice to send a very positive nest report! Today we are on pip watch at the Redding Bald Eagle nest and expecting the third egg at Big Red and Arthur’s nest at Cornell (it might have happened while I was writing this).

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

Thank you to the DHEC for its streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Efforts at Siblicide continue at Dale Hollow Friday Morning

18 March 2022

I got up specifically early this morning to check the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle Nest. I was shocked Thursday that Little Bit had survived the beakings of Big and wanted to see how it was.

WARNING: GRAPHIC EFFORTS AT SIBLICIDE

All of the chicks were cuddled together, all alive.

River left the nest and returned with a small fish at 07:07:04.

Big immediately went up to eat leaving the Middle chick and Little Bit in the middle of the nest.

Big immediately went over to Little Bit and started tossing it about despite eating all the fish alone and having a huge crop. Middle moved to the rails to get out of the way of Big’s attacks.

It didn’t matter. Big went between Little Bit and Middle with the continuation of its violent beaking from yesterday afternoon and early evening.

Having frightened Middle, Big turns back on Little Bit this time more ferocious than before.

Big gets Little Bit’s entire had in its mouth, shaking the little body.

Leaving Little Bit, Big turns back on Middle.

Big turns back to Little Bit who has moved slightly causing Big to look over.

Big passed out in a food coma but not before he had really beaked Little Bit. Middle moved up to where the fish used to be – perhaps to be ready if River brings in another fish?

Middle moves to the other side of Big and that wakes her up. The attacks begin again on Middle.

Big goes back and forth and begins attacking Little Bit again.

By 07:47 Big is laying on top of Little Bit. Little Bit has had, to my knowledge, no food for 48 hours unless he got some tiny bites around 19:00 when it gathered up the strength to get to where Middle was being fed the last of the fish tail. It is hard to imagine this fragile little eaglet being still alive.

It is very difficult to tell the status of Little Bit at this moment. It appears there is some slight movement.

It is clearly apparent that Big will not allow the other two siblings to eat unless it is a situation like last evening when some fish was left and Big had finally gone into food coma for good. Middle had moved up slowly perhaps thinking River would return to brood and it was ready. Little amassed some energy and got up there but because of the position of River, it was difficult to tell if Little Bit got any fish or not.

If River were to fly in with a fish the two younger siblings might be able to eat. Will she? We wait.

It is emotionally draining to watch siblicide happening on a nest. This is not the first Eagle nest and it will not be the last. I am sad to see Little Bit – or any sentient being – treated this way. River will not get involved. It is clear that there are other things happening at this nest. My first observation is that River has been bringing in the food. Obey seems to come to ruffle the nesting material but I have not observed him piling up the fish for his family. Why is he not helping? As you have probably seen, it is difficult for one parent to do everything. So what has happened to Obey that he is not providing food? There might well be other things happening but, at the moment, there is fish for one eaglet and Big is in high survival mode.

Because of the high emotional cost watching the Dale Hollow nest, I will not be checking it often but will return sometime later today to check on the eaglets. Take care all. I wish that this were a sunnier report.

Thanks to Dale Hollow for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Little Bit played possum at Dale Hollow – how will tomorrow turn out?

Thursday, 17 March 2022

I always hope to give accurate information on the nests. I believed Little Bit to have died earlier. Instead this ingenious starving little eaglet played the best possum I have ever seen! So I want to correct that and add in subsequent information.

Today, Little Bit at Dale Hollow endured more than an hour and a half of pecking from her big sibling preventing her from eating along with the middle sibling. The two have not had food since early Wednesday morning. I thought Little Bit was dead. Instead, he was playing possum and doing a grand job of it. I am shocked at what this chick endured and persevered – at the same time, I have to warn you that just because the little one survived until the next fish arrival, the terror reigning down on this nest is not over and the accurate word remains, ‘siblicide’. The deliberate killing of a brother or sister.

Before I proceed, it is believed that the oldest sibling is a female and that the youngest one is a male. Some of these images are horrific – they are even worse in video which is why I chose stills. Little Bit is still alive at 19:25 when he joins its siblings under River.

At 18:16:01, a parent arrives on the nest with a fish.

That delivery aroused the interest of Middle and Little Bit. Big immediately went to thwart them from wanting any fish.

Big rushes over walking on top of Little Bit to get to the Middle sibling.

Middle sibling has its neck down for protection and in complete submission. Big is standing on Little Bit now. It looks like River is going to reach over to feed Big.

Big settled in eating knowing that the siblings would not dare bother him eating.

Big ate his fill and there was still some meat and that lovely fish tail left. Before River flew off, Big went over to stop the two siblings from getting up to Mum to eat.

With her chick fed, River flew off the nest at 18:27. This is so odd to me. A parent seems to show up with a fish and then they leave.

Big has a ‘big’ crop. Indeed, Big is so full that she has trouble moving about the nest. This does not stop her attacks on her two siblings, however.

For a moment, Big went off to go into a food coma.

That food coma did not last long. Middle dared to raise its head and Big went back over to the two siblings. Big is a big clumsy because its crop is so full.

Big begins beaking Middle.

When Big is finished with Middle, he decides to go after Little Bit. It is a ferocious attack involved multiple pecking at the spinal cord on the back, tossing the nest and thrashing the chick about, and kicking.

I honestly do not know how Little Bit is still alive. If there is to be a miracle and this little boy survives this nest, he is going to be one tough eagle.

At 18:42, Big is not content and shakes Little Bit’s head and kicks him with her feet.

The skin of these birds must be really tough.

Big looks over and is pretty satisfied that he has ‘taken care of’ the two. Remember, to Big, this is about survival and Big is determined to be the last one standing.

No. Big is not finished. Big will not leave Little Bit alone.

At 19:03, Obey appears on the left rim of the nest.

Little raises its head and leans it on Big.

Obey goes over to where the fish tail is located.

Obey stirs up the nesting material as Big looks on. Big is leaning on Little Bit. Middle is moving up with the grass on its back thinking Dad might feed it.

At 19:09 Big goes to sleep.

The River flies up to the rim of the nest at 19:11. Middle scoots up to the Mum. He is under the grass. Little Bit raises his head and so does Big. River roots around. In my head I went Yippee…thinking of the fish tail.

River begins to feed Middle the fish tail at 19:15. Little Bit sees this. Will he get up to eat, too?

At 19:18 Little Bit is on the move. Will he make it in time to get any fish at all?

Little Bit did make it up to Mum and Middle. River turned her back. I cannot tell you how much, if any, fish Little Bit got to eat but Middle did have a tiny crop. You can see it in the image below.

Little Bit will join Middle and Big under Mum.

This entire afternoon reminds me of Tiny Tot Tumbles on the Achieva Osprey nest who was believed dead several times and wound up being the dominant bird on the nest. I do believe in strange miracles. But I also do not want Little Bit to suffer. We wait now until tomorrow.

Wednesday in Bird World

16 March 2022

Wow! What the morning. The two surviving chicks at the Captiva Osprey nest chirping for fish and Grinnell – finally – bringing Annie a gift of prey!!! You know the only way it could get better is if the Ravens would leave both Jackie & Shadow and Thunder & Cheta alone and if Little Bit at Dale Hollow grew ‘a mile’ overnight.

Peregrine Falcons. If you are new to this species, the female – in this case Annie – expects the male to delivery her prey and prove that he can take care of her and the chicks before she is ever going to lay any of his eggs!!!!! Well, Grinnell finally did that this morning. He had better sweeten the pot with several more nice fat pigeons! I have a feeling that Grinnell was in Annie’s ‘dog house’ for some reason.

CalFalcons did a video of the first prey offering. All of this is part of the mating and breeding rituals of the falcons. Notice how Grinnell is bowed in submission to his mate, Annie.

There will be several more Peregrine Falcon streaming cams coming on line. One of those is The Wakefield Peregrine Falcons in the UK. Here is the link to the camera.

If you are familiar with Ospreys and Eagles you might find it odd that Falcons prefer shallow areas with gravel called a ‘scrape box’ to lay their eggs. The female will ‘scrape’ in the box making a slight indentation for the eggs. These scrape boxes – now on high buildings and skyscrapers – mimic the traditional cliffs where the falcons bred. They have adopted to the urban landscape and are doing well in most instances. There are many challenges for them including traffic, cars, rodenticide secondary poisoning, and windows that rural falcons do not have.

Oh, the two remaining osplets on the Captiva nest look really good today. Here they are with big crops and it is 16:08 nest time. Andy and Lena are decidedly having to adjust the fish deliveries now that Big is no longer with us. Andy came in with another Ladyfish this morning before I went for my walk and Lena had most of a Ladyfish left from an earlier feeding. Even so, both chicks and Lena were full and happy.

I am anything but an expert on H5N1, the highly pathogenic strain of Avian Flu. I have, however, observed younger eaglets die from the virus on the nest and those chicks were not hungry. So the fact that these two are joyfully eating gives me real hope.

Lena went for her spa and returned to feed Middle and Little. Have a look at Little’s crop. I know it is big in the image above but look now. He is going to pass out in a food coma momentarily!

Popping crops is what it looks like.

Yeap. He is out for the count.

That Little Bit at Dale Hollow is really tiny. The difference in size between it and the eldest is quite unbelievable. Little Bit is still alive and has energy to scoot all around the nest. I am having trouble catching River or Obey feeding the three today but the last capture I took of them, Little Bit looks good.

Big has become a ‘couch potato’ of sorts preferring to sleep on the new hay brought to the nest. Wonder what Little Bit sees in the distance?

Will Little Bit be the smallest male eaglet from the region? Have a look at this really short video of it flapping its tiny little wings. What a sweetheart.

Thunder and Akecheta have been taking turns brooding their three chicks at the West End Bald Eagle nest on Catalina Island. I have not seen any new prey on the nest today – just the remains of the Cormorant. It is still early there! 13:52. Plenty of time for several fish to be brought in to the nest. Thunder is brooding so maybe Akecheta is out hunting.

Akecheta is getting better and better at feeding the three and also knows that it is good to saliva feed them as well so they get more hydration. It is really hot on that nest on Catalina Island.

The wing tags were put on as part of a research project so the birds that were introduced to this region could easily be identified. Akecheta still has his; Thunder has lost hers. They are meant to fall off eventually. That project to reintroduce eagles into the area began in the 1980s.

Akecheta shading his chicks from the hot California sun.

Thunder getting a chance to brood her chicks.

The little eaglet at the Big Bear Valley Bald Eagle Nest of Jackie and Shadow has been fed 5 times already. The last feeding was at 13:05 and one fish has been delivered to that nest by Shadow. There are various other items of prey there as well.

I wonder if that little one is hot?

How cute. They all look different. This one is simply a little sweetheart taking care of its ‘eggie’ once in awhile.

It is a beautiful day at Big Bear Lake. Jackie is as gorgeous as ever.

Sad news from the Kakapo Recovery coming today. Lung infections are the major killer of these non-flying parrots. The area they live in is also very damp.

The ‘baby’ at Berry College, B15, is no longer a baby. This morning he completely ate a fish by himself. Missy brought in a squirrel later and fed him and now, late afternoon, she has returned and is feeding B15 some more squirrel. This eaglet is doing great. So nice to see.

Two really beautiful eaglets at the WRDC nest. It is good to remember back when R2 had a really difficult time and we were worried that it would not survive. Look at both of them today. Rita and Ron sure have two gorgeous kids!

The weather is so much better here. The temperatures are around +2 C. The snow is melting and today the light was ‘bright’. I went for my walk determined to triple the distance that I normally try to do. When I finished I had done more than I wanted and, by the time I got to my car, really felt it. There was something wonderful about being out in the woods in the silence broken now and again by the honking of returning Canada Geese.

The resident pair of Bald Eagles was across the lake. I did manage to get their silhouettes against that bright sky.

I wish I could do calligraphy like the beautiful lines of the old bull rushes.

Nature is a much better artist than I would ever be!

The board walk looked particularly lonely today waiting for the ice to thaw.

The nature centre has set up a ‘Winter Bird Feeding Station’ as part of a bequest. What a wonderful idea. There were several benches to sit on, different kinds of feeders, and an illustrative board showing the birds, their names, and a little information about them. It was a nice place to stop and rest but the Black-capped Chickadees did not like me there. They would not come and eat so I quickly departed. Maybe having benches for observers is not a good idea – just food for the birds.

There are other feeders nearer to the building where you enter. Today I only saw the chickadee and the nuthatch. But I want you to notice the cords hanging in front of the windows. I tried to describe them one day. The cords are on wooden slats that are attached to the outside of the windows. They do not bother the view from the inside but they definitely prevent window strike.

I went to check on Captiva and everything is just fine. Middle seems to be finding its way to being the biggest on the nest. He is a beautiful bird. The nest ‘feels’ peaceful. Perhaps Little and Middle are little boys.

You cannot see Little (or Mini)’s head; he is to the right of Lena. You can see its fat bottom and those lovely velvet-like pantaloons. Middle is sound asleep. Lena was calling Andy for another fish delivery before bed. Life on the Captiva nest looks good.

Wish for a lot of fish at the Dale Hollow Lake nest of River and Obey – add to that a tandem feeding by Mum and Dad so that each chick goes to bed full. That would really help Little Bit. The others have their thermal down but it does not have all of its and it really needs cuddling or brooding on the cold evenings.

Thank you for joining me this afternoon. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, West End Bald Eagles and Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Kakapo Recovery, WRDC, and Berry College.

Wednesday Morning check at Captiva and The Campanile – and other Bird World News

16 March 2022

When I first woke up this morning I was hesitant to check the Captiva Osprey nest. When I finally did I had the sound turned up really loud and all I could hear were the cheep, cheeps wanting more fish! Tears rolled down my cheeks. There was Little and Middle (or Little and Mini) eating what appears to be their third fish of the morning! And they are eating enthusiastically!!!!!!!! Little is eating and eating.

This long silvery fish, a Ladyfish, was being eaten at 11:30. You can see Little’s sweet head under Lena enjoying that fish.

With the disturbance yesterday, Middle and Little had only two fish. They were ravenous this morning. Middle will be 28 days old tomorrow and Little will be 28 days old on Saturday. We will be looking for substantial growth for these two now.

Lena must be so happy to see two seemingly healthy chicks this morning wanting to eat. That is important – they want to eat.

This is an image of the chicks eating an earlier fish.

You can still tell Little from Middle because it does not have the feather growth coming in on the back. Both are doing so well. This is an incredible relief.

Oh, goodness. Lena was thinking that she was finished feeding the Ladyfish but, no. Little wants some more. It is nearing noon on the nest at Captiva and all is well with the world.

It is 11:48, Little is full! Lena is going to get to enjoy some fish and there will be either fish leftover or Andy will take it.

There was a Q and A session yesterday with Connor from Windows on Wildlife. It has been left up on YouTube and might answer many of your questions about what happened with Big at this nest yesterday morning. Here is the link:

There was a hawk attack at the Savannah Great Horned Owl Nest on Skidaway Island this morning. Mum Owl did a great job defending Little Grey.

Speaking of predator attacks, the Ravens at the West End Bald Eagle nest attacked Akecheta at the nest yesterday mid-afternoon. Akecheta bravely defended the nest while Thunder sent the Ravens packing out of the territory. This morning all is quiet there. Let us all hope it stays that way.

Akecheta is now really good at feeding all three of the babies. What an incredible Dad and he really shows he is loving it – all of it!

It is a cold wet damp – what other words are there – chill to the bone – morning at the Dale Hollow nest on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. I am a little surprised that River is not there keeping the chicks warm since they do not have their feathering to help them keep warm. Little Bit looks really cold. It is actually 12 degrees C with a rate of 94% humidity. Wet.

It certainly looks from the image below that the eldest has eaten from its crop but not Little.

New nesting material has been brought in. Look at the size of Big! This should help, I hope, dry out some of this nest. Little has also dried off and is looking much better.

It is a sunny 10 degree day in Ithaca and Big Red looks quite content incubating her egg. We will be looking for a second one later today.

Big Red got up for a break and we get a peek at the egg. Notice that Arthur and her are really building up the crib rails this year!

Speaking of eggs, what is going on at Cal Falcons?

Annie is on camera this morning.

Has Grinnell given her a prey item? Will there be eggs? Why is Annie late in laying her eggs? Was it the interlopers? the drones? her absence? Grinnell’s injury? We wait to see what will happen with our favourite Bay area Peregrine Falcon couple.

Annie is resting on one of her favourite slippery perches. As she gets closer to egg laying, she will stay closer to the scrape.

Someone is calling Annie at 09:33. She rushes out to the ledge. Grinnell has presented her with a nice pigeon on the ledge. Life is good at The Campanile!

You can see Grinnell’s two ID bands.

Annie is enjoying her present. What a relief! Seeing these two together on the ledge at The Campanile is as good as hearing two hungry osplets on the Captiva Nest.

Cal Falcons caught Grinnell’s first prey delivery to Annie for the 2022 season:

And with that I will say goodbye for the morning. Will do checks on other nests as well as Captiva, Dale Hollow, and The Campanile later today again along with some others.

Thank you for joining me this morning. Take care everyone. It is beautiful weather here and I am heading for a long walk! Much needed after being inside too much this winter. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, and Explore.org