Middle’s enormous crop…and then Big’s fury…plus more news in Bird World for early Thursday

27 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope this finds everyone well with a smile on their face!

Going for a walk, no matter how short or how long, can be invigorating for one’s mind and for our bodies. I remember when my mother broke her hip. Her surgeon, at that time, was the surgeon for the OU Football Team. I have forgotten his name but, I will never forget the day he looked into my mother’s eyes and told her if she didn’t get up out of that hospital bed, she was going to lose her ability to walk. It had been 2 days since the surgery and I laughed when he told me he was ‘nothing but a glorified carpenter’. What a character and an amazing surgeon. My Mum took it to heart and got herself up and within the month was walking 2 miles. Oh, she did well. The weather was lousy and her and her best friend, Dorothy, would go to the mall and window shop as they got their exercise. It was a good lesson for me, too!

It was a frigid early afternoon yesterday. It was 1 degree and the wind was blowing over the pond and bringing a chill even through the wool coat. I reminded myself that it will soon be parka weather. The state of the Wood Ducks needed checking. There was only one lonely male that I could find. He came swimming towards me thinking I had food. What a tragedy. Several of the ducks at that particular park pond had ‘Angel Wing’ this year. It is doubtful that they will survive. I left before he wasted his energy coming all the way to the shore. What a beautiful sight he was!

Did I tell you that I have the greatest fondness for ducks?

It is rather miraculous. When I look at a male Wood Duck, the patterns in the plumage remind me of weavers in India. Those women have the patterns emblazoned in their minds but, for these precious ducks, the pattern is laid out as the feather emerges from the follicle and grows. Feathers grow out of a quill or shaft. In young birds, we call these ‘blood feathers’ because they actually contain blood until the feather is completely finished growing.

A single follicle can produce, like a weaving, multiple colours and patterns. If I think about it for a long time my mind just becomes boggled. Just look at the multiple colours that go into this handsome duck. Did you know that the male Wood Duck plays no part in raising the young? Absolutely none just like poor Daisy, the Pacific Black Duck that laid her eggs on the Sea Eagle’s nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Daisy had absolutely no help – not even security. So if the male doesn’t bring food for the female or provide security or help with the little ones, what does he do? Well, guess what? He just has to look extremely handsome! The female picks him for his beautiful plumage – they want a male that stands out from all the others.

On the other hand, the female needs not to stand out in a crowd but, blend in with her environment. She needs to have good camouflage in order to not call attention to predators.

I really adore female Wood Ducks. It is because they are quiet and shy, often hovering in the background wanting seed tossed on the ground and concrete by visitors but not daring to do so. They are often chased by the geese and by the Mallards.

The females have a tiny crest compared to the males and instead of a red eye ring and eye they have a yellow eye ring in a gorgeous white teardrop shaped eye patch. No flamboyant colours for them. Grey leading into a dabbled brown breast with some lovely blue on the wing to match their bill.

Oh, to me she is the most beautiful delicate little thing. I missed seeing the females. This image was taken on 10 October. I will check again in the next couple of days as the weather warms to see if any were just lurking on the island where I could not see them.

In the mailbox:

‘L’ sent me a great article from BirdLife on a recent study on how to make overhead power lines safe so that birds do not collide with them. It is a good read.

https://www.birdlife.org/news/2022/10/24/new-study-how-to-stop-birds-from-getting-electrocuted-by-and-colliding-with-power-lines-across-the-eu/

Nest News:

Besides the sight of a few ducks putting a big grin on my face, it was absolutely the state of the Port Lincoln Osprey nest that has had me grinning from ear to ear. I continue to say that it is horrific to lose a chick, heart breaking every time and they are not forgotten. Never.

Middle is doing so well. He is really showing his stuff – sitting right by Big, doing the snatch and grab, not being fearful to eat the last bite offered. Confidence. Middle was doing really well for the past several days and most of Thursday in Australia and then…he wasn’t. Middle now has a bald spot on his head!

Another fish arrived on the nest and while it wasn’t as big as some of the early morning ones, it was large and everyone got a good feed. I almost think Mum caught it as she appeared slightly damp when she returned to the nest. I cannot be 100% sure, however.

Middle is on the left side of Mum and Big is on the right when she begins feeding. We can just see cute Middle peaking out from under Mum’s wing.

Middle standing getting ready to stretch his wings. You can see the dark thermal down that will be under their juvenile feathers on Big who is leaning over.

In the image below you can really see Big’s tail feathers coming in and her thick

In between rain and wind, Middle and Big continued to eat and eat and eat. It is difficult to even imagine where they put all that fish. In both of the subsequent feedings that I watched – and that was even before mid-afternoon, Middle got the lion’s share of the fish. There were no quarrels, no disputes, just Middle full of confidence eating away. It just put a smile on my face from one side to the other. Here are a selection of images from those later feedings.

Middle got the lion’s share of this feeding as well. By 1321 he is full and has moved away looking back at Mum with such a precious delicate face. Big is now having a turn.

The rain and the wind begin and Middle gets under Mum as best he can.

The storm passed and Mum flew off the nest. Look what is over on the rim of the nest? The rest of the fish that Mum was feeding Middle and Big when the rain and the wind started. Middle sees it. This time next week Middle would go over and grab that fish and start eating it but, he isn’t going to do that today.

Mum returns to feed her babies. Middle has found some room for some more fish. I honestly do not know where these two are putting the fish – they have almost been eating non-stop all morning.

At the end of that feeding, Middle, standing in profile, his showing off his enormous crop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a really good day so far for Middle and it isn’t even the middle of the afternoon.

Was Middle just feeling his oats when he decided to peck Big at 18:10? (I want to send a thanks to ‘H’ here. I was up with my coffee and had not rewound the end of the days footage. So thankful for her warning). As ‘H’ said, ‘It is a reminder not to mess with Big.’ It was a frenzied attack. Both had eaten well. Middle more than Big. I hope Middle has learned to leave his Big sister alone. Enjoy the peace and quiet and don’t push it or she will attack if provoked and Middle could be the big loser. As it stands, if you see feathers missing, Big did it but Middle provoked the attack. Gracious.

Big, satisfied that Middle, was submissive and would never do that again stopped the ferocious attack at 18:13:52 – a little over two and a half minutes from when it started.

The Melbourne Four are the most energetic and expressive eyases. They run up and down the gutter until their batteries are all worn down and their tummies are full and then they stop. All in a big puddle, altogether keeping one another warm on a drizzly day.

One of the highlights of the feedings today was when Dad brought in a freshly killed pigeon and began plucking it right in front of the four ravenous eyases. Now I say pigeon because once upon a time someone told me that the only reasons there are pigeons is for the falcons and hawks to have something to eat! The feathers were white and some of you might have a more clear idea if it was a pigeon or a gull or something more exotic. Then when the prey was plucked and all the kids were ready for some real bites instead of feathers — Dad flew off with the pigeon. What?! He did bring it back and was ready to fill those crops and then Mum showed up. She pulled a Diamond taking the prey away from Dad who had almost lost it to the oldest eyases. Mum then proceeded to fill their tanks.

Then Dad leaves taking the pigeon with him and leaving only feathers.

A few minutes later he returns with the prey.

Then Mum arrives to take over! Diamond-style.

Dad is off!

Everyone is hungry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

‘H’ clocked 7 feedings of various links at the 367 scrape on Thursday.

At Orange, Rubus and Indigo have been eating and eating, too. I love when Little Rubus gets full and turns his back to the adult who is feeding. When did he start this behaviour?

I could watch the expressions on Rubus’s face all day. He is quite the character.

Once Indigo finishes eating she goes over to cuddle with her little brother in the corner. A little cotton candy pile.

Beautiful Diamond looks over lovingly at her two eyases. What a real treat it has been seeing Diamond and Xavier with two – the very quiet grown up Indigo and the feisty little Rubus. Such treasures.

How many times a day do we need to thank these bird families for bringing such joy to us?

Migration News:

Bonus crossed the Dardanelle Strait and flew to the Greek island of Lesvos.

Bonus is feeding near this creek. It looks like a lovely place to be.

Little Waba was in Israel. He flew into Jordan and decided to return to Israel.

This is where Waba is feeding. There were reports of 85 Black Storks at this site. Hopefully Little Waba is there among others, safe and getting full and strong. There is still more flying to do!

There has been no transmissions from either Karl II who was last heard from in Egypt and Kaia whose last transmission was from Chad. Please send them your most positive best wishes, please.

Please send all kinds of positive wishes to Middle so that he will just leave Big alone from now on. No need to bother Big. Everything was going just fine. Middle has to remember that Big is the boss even if he gets to eat first. That is only because she is letting him.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross and to Looduskalender for their maps and news of Karl II and his family. 

Fledges, poisoned rivers, migration and more – early Saturday in Bird World

13 August 2022

It is a gorgeous day. A perfect 21 degrees C or 69.8 F with blue skies and sun. Rain is to come on Monday. It must be a good day to go and check on the ducks and ducklings! Dyson would not cooperate so I could not get his photo as he clung, swaying back and forth, on the tallest sunflower eating seeds. Hopefully he will do it again and I will be ready! This year Dyson and his friends planted those seeds. Next year we are going to have a big plot of them for everyone! Mr Crow and the juveniles have refused to ‘visit’ since I returned. It only happened a few moments ago once cheesy hotdogs were put out. Are they on strike against peanuts!!!!!!!!!

News came in from ‘H’ this morning. The second osplet at the Boathouse Osprey platform has fledged! Thanks, ‘H’ for keeping us informed. It is so sad that the camera is down and we cannot see this great transition in their lives. Happy to hear they are flying!

While I was away – or this morning – there was a fledge at the Osoyoos. BC has flown! Both chicks are looking good. They have survived some of the worst temperatures. So grateful.

Nest is empty except for LC at 0835.

Waiting for a delivery.

LC is really working those wings. On fledge watch for this one.

The wind is really helping us get a good look at Love and Peace on the Glacier Gardens nest in Alaska this morning. Oh, beautiful birds. Love has branched. Waiting for Peace. Enjoy these lovely eaglets while you can.

Stephen Basly continues to keep us informed about the comings and goings of our dear Little Bit ND17. Here he is fishing over the St Joseph River. Way to go Little Bit!

SE29 on left with a small crop. SE30 on right. It had not had food earlier.

The food deliveries at the Sea Eagles nest were few and small yesterday. SE30 did get some – eventually – but not before it had been beaked enough to cause it fear from SE29. Let us hope that this was a one off and not a pattern for several days.

SE30 withdraws -frightened – when there is a feeding.

SE 30 got some food but not enough to even make a dent on its crop.

Wish for fish! This was a nest that was calming down. It was 10 degrees C yesterday in the Sydney Forest. Fishing should be good?

Suzanne Arnold Horning captured some images of Arthur and L2 yesterday. L2 was on the Bradfield Building perches at Big Red and Arthur use at night. SAH got the shot and whee….L2 was off heading towards another favourite hunting spot, Beebe Lake.

Oh, it would be so grand if Arthur was to look up and L4 was back near the natal nest. I have not seen any recent updates on either L3 or L4 as they heal from their injuries.

Every moment with the fledglings is precious. Any day L2 could take to the skies to find his own territory.

It could be any day that the Black Storks on Karl II and Kaia’s nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia depart the forest for that long and arduous flight to the centre of Africa where they will winter. Urmas has given trackers to the strongest of the four so that we can follow their flights. (I wish little Ilks had gotten a tracker!) Bonus is 83 days old today, Waba and Voog are 77 and little Ilks is 74. He missed the nest flying in and everyone was worried but he is OK. Each of the four are there around noon wishing for a food delivery from Karl II.

Karl II arrives with a pouch full of frogs for the storklets.

Everyone is hungry!

We have not seen Kaia. She has begun her migration on 10 August, one day earlier than last year. In that first day she flew 325 k and is in a forest in Belarus.

She rested and flew 314 km on 12 August. She is at the edge of another forest in Belarus.

There is very real concern for an area in Poland called the Oder. Thousands and thousands of fish and birds have died. The Storks and White-tail Eagles are also dying along with beavers. It is a popular place for the Storks to feed. Let us hope that Kaia and all her family will avoid this gathering place.

Chemical waste has been dumped into the river! It is all over the European newspapers and is of concern to everyone.

The Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, “Huge amounts of chemical waste were probably dumped in the Oder River with full awareness of the risks and consequences,” he said in a video on Facebook. “We will not let this matter go. We will not rest until the guilty are severely punished.”

Punishing the guilty after the fact does not help the birds, the animals, and the humans in the wake of this catastrophe. The German authorities are saying that the poison is mercury. Sadly, industry and governments dump unseen toxins and waste into rivers and oceans daily. Humans need to get a moral compass so that they will stop these practices immediately. Pollutants like human waste and toxins join with warming seas. What life will there be for our birds in a decade?

https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/poland-investigates-ecological-catastrophe-of-fish-die-off/

https://www.rfi.fr/en/science-environment/20220813-dead-fish-everywhere-in-germany-poland-after-feared-chemical-waste-dump

https://www.dw.com/en/mysterious-mass-fish-kill-in-oder-river-climate-change-or-poison/a-62784099

Kaia’s transmitter has sent no further updates. We wait with worry. Please follow the travels of Karl II and Kaia and the storklets with transmitters here:

Of course, the migrating wildlife are caught in many dangerous situations. Poisoned waters in Poland and maybe other parts of Europe and an unrelenting war where the practice of the birds was to stop and stay for a period resting and eating to help them make it across the long deserts of Africa. This migration is fraught with obstacles that are highly dangerous to our beloved birds.

Poole Harbour has put together a short tribute to CJ7 and Blue 022’s second hatch that was predated by the goshawk.

If you missed it, Lady Hawk finished her tribute to Junior, the Bald eaglet that accepted Malala, the Red-tail Hawk as its sibling on Gabriola Island. Junior was killed when it landed on an unprotected hydro pole near the nest. Warning: Any tribute by Lady Hawk requires a stack of tissues!

Plucky, one of Nova Scotia’s juvenile ospreys, survived a Bald Eagle attack. Thanks to the quick reactions of everyone, Plucky is safely back on its nest!

Checking in at Port Lincoln. Mum and Dad have 2 eggs for the 2022 season. Ervie continues to fly by the barge to check on things but he is avoiding Mum’s wrath. Hopefully we will get some new images of Ervie and Dad fishing soon.

That’s a wrap in Bird World for this Saturday. I hope each of you is having a super day. Looking forward to having you with us again soon.

Thank you to the following for their postings and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation, Notre Dame Eagles, Lady Hawk and GROWLS, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Suzanne Arnold Horning and Cornell Hawk Chatters, Osoyoos Ospreys, Glacier Gardens, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

Books, bird count, bunnies, and beak bites (yes, a shark bit an eagle)!

The pandemic and the onset of winter and, now, the Polar Vortex, mean that more often than not, my friends are tucked up under an old quilt or duvet, sipping hot tea, and reading. It is a favourite pastime of Canadians in the winter! And a lovely one at that. It is so nice to find articles in the strangest of places remarking on how we have all come to love books in the past year and have supported small book sellers. Many of my friends order an armful of books each week. Sadly, our libraries have been closed. It has encouraged me to seek out small publishers and second hand shops.

A nice surprise arrived in the post today. It is a book I ordered several weeks ago from an on line shop that specializes in used book. The book is called On the Wing. To the Edge of the Earth with the Peregrine Falcon by Alan Tennant. I haven’t finished my last book but I was tempted to peek inside. Gosh. That first page got me really excited. Let me quote some of the lines: “With no companion, guided only by the ancestral memory she carried within, our little hawk was staking her life. Nothing like the abstract idea of migration that I’d imagined, it was humbling even to be a spectator to the mortal intensity of what the tiny, determined speck below was doing”. “No one would ever know what she thought, but it was clear as we watched, something had swirled to life within this falcon, becoming the driving force of her entire being”. Tennant was in a Cessna Skyhawk, 2000 ft in the air, following a female peregrine falcon, with a tracker glued to her tail feathers, from Padre Island to the Arctic. Oh, I can’t wait to join him on this journey!

And, speaking of migration, before it happens, there is the Great Bird Count from 12-15 of February. And everyone can take part from toddlers to seniors, experts to backyard birders. It is fun and it is free. You just need your eyes (OK, mine aren’t so good because of glaucoma but I can still spot those feathered creatures luring around), a good memory or a note pad and pencil, and a computer to submit your findings.

Just imagine everyone around the world looking out their windows from Friday to Monday counting the birds that they see. You can spend from fifteen minutes each day to as long as you wish. Everyone goes to birdcount.org and reports their counts. Then researchers at places like the Audubon Society, the Cornell Ornithology Lab, etc will create a giant map of where all the birds are. Bird counts happen several times a year. All those counts reveal how recent weather patterns impact the birds and their movements. I hope you will join in the fun!

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And now for some updates on some of our favourite birds.

First up is the NorthEast Florida Eagle cam nest near St. Augustine. E24 is filling itself up with nice big bites of fish for such a little one. Samson brought in several nice big fish today and stocked up the pantry. No worries for Gabby if she is hungry or E24. Not a worry in the world. One of the things I love is seeing the dad fill that fridge up good. It looks like armadillo could be on the menu tomorrow. If only Gabby had a fridge and some non-harmful insecticide spray. There are so many mosquitoes there.

Look at that little one, so fluffy and round.

Well, the second wee one has a problem. A half of the shell from the first hatch did not get out of the nest fast enough and it slipped itself right over the other egg. So, it is making it much more difficult for E25 to hatch. That is why it looked like the chick had pecked all the way around the middle. It was an illusion. Gabby is looking down at a new hole the one inside is making as she tucks E24 in for a nap.

This happens often. Sometimes it takes so long for the little one to hatch that the first born is just so much older and bigger and the second born doesn’t survive. The older one totally dominates everything.

You can see how the shell got slipped over. It looks like the little one inside cracked this egg all around but it didn’t. Look carefully. There is a pip on the left end toward the bottom corner of the picture. Let’s hope it works and gets out of there soon.

I wonder if it is hotter in Fort Myers where E17 and E18 are growing up. The eagles in NEFL just don’t seem to be panting as much today as Harriet, M15 and the twins are.

Just look. You would think they are the best of buddies sharing a joke. Born within two hours of one another, they are twins. But that doesn’t mean, as we all know, that there isn’t fierce competition when it comes to food.

They both had a great big breakfast this morning. Just look at that crop. E17, the oldest, can’t even see its feet.

And here’s E18, just as stuffed. Sometimes I just want to poke one of those crops to see how they feel.

As the day progressed and the temperature rose, the little eaglets searched for any shade they could find around the nest.

It wasn’t long until Mom Harriet flew in and rescued her babies from the scorching Florida sun. She is like a ‘mumbrella’.

Right around tea time, Dad comes in with a snack for the youngsters.

In the book I am reading, Late Migrations. A Natural History of Love and Loss, the author Margaret Renkl says: “The cycle of life might as well be called the cycle of death: everything that lives will die, and everything that dies will be eaten. Bluebirds eat insects; snakes eat bluebirds; hawks eat snakes; owls eat hawks. That’s how wilderness works, and I know it. I was heartbroken anyway”. Renkl was referring to the wrens eating the bluebird eggs in the nest box on her porch. But today, for a snack, M15 found a fluffy little bunny. My friend, Michelle, always tells me that the bunny will become an eagle. It still makes me sad. The hawk that comes to our garden and I have an agreement. He can’t touch the rabbit that lives there or the little Downy Woodpecker. Sparrows are fair game.

M15 has once again made sure that the eaglets are too full for E17 to cause any mischief to her little brother, E18.

But the day is not over. It is 6pm on the nest and the twins are getting fed the rest of the rabbit. E18 has watched and learned well. He is now the master of what we call ‘snatch and grab’. I have seen him do this several times today. Pretends he is not interested, parent offers, he rushes and grabs. It turns out the eat far faster but, hey, whatever works. It is hard to see but both have huge crops and will sleep like babies the rest of the night. Great work Harriet and M15. Gotta’ love this family. If only every eaglet were as lucky (or every child) to have such great parents.

I have not checked into the Captiva Nest on Sanibel Island for several days. The last time there was an intruder and after reading about Romeo and Juliet or the Trio, I just couldn’t stand another heart break. I call the Captiva nest “the sadness”. It has not always been this way, just this year. This is where Peace and Hope, the beautiful eaglets of Connie and Joe died from rodenticide poisoning. You will remember how remorseful the parents were. And then there was an intruder. But, things happen in an instant on these nests and to my shock, when I clicked on the camera for the Captiva Nest today, there was Connie wrestling with a small shark! Seriously, a shark. It actually bit her beak. You can see the blood. (Just a note, it wasn’t blood from the shark). She fought with that thing and didn’t let it get the best of her. And for all the bother, she had a massive lunch. That shark is now an eagle – a fish with feathers. The bleeding was reported to CROW and the vets watched the footage and noted that the blood had stopped. No need for an intervention. Yeah. A quiet little yeah. I honestly don’t know how you would try and help a full grown eagle if it didn’t want to be helped.

Connie must have been very proud of herself. You can see the water in the distance and that shark was alive when she landed on the nest with it. These female eagles really do impress me!

Joe came in to check and see if everything was alright. And Connie allowed him to share her fish when she was finished – but not before!!!!!!!!!!

You can see the blood on her beak form when the shark bit Connie.

This is an image from the other camera monitoring this nest. Looks like a small shark to me.

Over in Hillsborough, New Jersey, the Eagles at Duke Farm are experiencing very different weather from Florida. It is currently 1 degree C. or 34 degrees F. at the nest. Over the next couple of days the temperature will rise to 2 or 3 C and that snow should melt. And then, wham. Just about the time you think it is over for this nest, the snow comes back heavy on Saturday and Sunday.

I promised an update. It is nearing 9:30 pm on 9 February. Across North America the birds are trying to sleep. In Australia, they have been awake for a few hours.

Tomorrow we will check on the Royal Albatross and see if Gabby has one eaglet or two.

Sleep well everyone. Take care of yourselves and don’t get out in this extreme weather unless it is absolutely essential. Check out the site to put in the birds you count in a few days – just so you know where to go. It is such a joy to share my love of these beautiful creatures with you.

Thank you to the NEFL eagle cam, the SWFL cam and D. Pritchett Farms and Real Estate, Captiva eagle cam, and Duke Farms eagle cam for their streaming cameras. This is where I get my screen shots for you.