Tag Archives: Duke Farms Eagle Cam

Early Friday in Bird World

25.2.2022

For more than two years, the birds that we adore have given us solace and brought joy when there was no joy to be found. Like today. I hope that we can, one person and one step at a time, make the environment better for them so that they thrive. Their gifts to us cannot be measured.

I wrote and thanked ‘B’ last night for sending me a message saying ‘Ervie is on the nest’. I want to thank her again as so many of you have told me that you checked my blog before checking the nest and were so thrilled to be able to see our magnificent Ervie. Oh, how we hoped he would connect with Dad. Maybe Ervie will soon. It really does seem that he is coming to the nest at least every other day – it is a matter of catching him. Ervie came to the nest, left, and returned with his puffer yesterday. He flew off again and returned at 14:48:16. He was drying off and what a handsome lad he was once those feathers were all fluffed. He will stay on the nest until 15:40:58.

Ervie must have not seen an adult as he was not calling. H also seemed to have a bit of a crop which made me wonder if he had another successful fishing trip. Near the end, Ervie made some sounds and flew off. I wonder what he saw? who was he calling.

Stop for a minute and look at how large Ervie’s wing is!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the latest tracker download from PLO on the 25th of February. Because it reads that it was loaded to the FB page 21 hours ago, I believe that this is Ervie’s earlier trip to the barge, the day prior.

The snow finally arrived in Ithaca at the nest of Big Red and Arthur. After all the work yesterday, they have been at the nest this morning for more than an hour each of them working hard. If you want to see the morning visit live, check on the streaming cam from 10:30-11:30 nest time.

Big Red is just as beautiful as always.

She hatched in 2003. It is believed that she probably had her first clutch in 2005. Cornell did not have a streaming cam on her and her nest until 2012. We know that between 2012 and 2021 Big Red incubated 27 fertile eggs. Out of those she fledged 26. The only one not to fledge was K2 last year who had an issue with her beak and had to be euthanized.

It is possible that between 2005 and 2021, Big Red fledged 48 juvenile hawks. Incredible. She is, after all, the ‘rock star’ of the Red-tail Hawk World with an international fan base of thousands.

Big Red busies herself with arranging some twigs around the edge, the cradle rails, if you like.

I wonder if her and Arthur will return today? We are definitely on the countdown to egg laying! Two to three weeks. Oh, joy!

The winds have started to pick up in Ithaca and the nest of Big Red and Arthur is rocking. It is 5 degrees C and the wind warnings for the area will last until 15:00 today.

Richmond is waiting on Rosie. Oh, I do hope she appears soon. It ‘feels’ late for her arrival from her migration to me. Richmond has not been on the nest but he has been close according to the Golden Gate Audubon FB page.

But wait! There has been an unidentified female coming to the nest but one of the watchers just posted on FB this image saying they believe Rosie has just arrived – an hour ago! Well, this would be so reassuring if it is her!

There was a nice big feeding at 11:28 on the Captiva nest. Dad brought in a Sheepshead.

Lena goes to the mangrove tree under the nest to get the fish from Andy leaving the trio alone. Do not worry. Both her and Andy are close at hand.

Lena and Andy both return to the nest where Lena prepares to feed the chicks. Andy is on high alert!

All lined up for their second meal of the day. How comforting is it to just look at those three being fed?

Here are a few images of that early morning feeding at 06:45. I love the colour of the landscape and the stillness of the water as the sun rises on the nest. It looks like a glaze colour called celadon with a hint of blue. Just gorgeous.

Everyone is fed well. There are no great calamities with Big or Middle Bob having to go first shutting Little Bob out.

It is so peaceful- just like Port Lincoln was this year with the three Bobs. They were all fed and had a really nice sleep between morning and the arrival of that second fish at 11:28. Well done Andy and Lena.

There are 2288 people watching Jackie incubate her and Shadow’s two eggs at Big Bear. In the background you can hear Ravens. They know there are eggs there and they will also know when the chicks hatch. These two eagles have to be so careful. They have made it this far and, as you can tell, they are two of the most popular eagles on the internet. Pip watch begins tomorrow. Send all your positive wishes to these two who have tried so hard to have chicks the last couple of years. Eggs have been stolen, broken because the shell is to thin due to residual DDT in the area, and chicks have died trying to hatch. The couple even had two clutches last year but to no avail. This year we are all very positive that it is ‘their’ year for successful hatches and fledges.

You sure are beautiful, Jackie!

A quick check on Duke Farms. That little bobble that hatched yesterday at 14:28 is getting its first food. So if you are missing bobbles, head over to Duke Farms as you wait for Jackie and Shadow. This little one is soooooo cute.

It is time to feed our garden gang. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. It is sunny and mild in Manitoba – a good day for a walk after the gang is fed. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen capture: Cornell Bird Lab, Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Big Bear, Duke Farms, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and SF Bay Ospreys.

Late Sunday in Bird World

The other day, Jean-Marie Dupart took photographs of a Scottish Osprey in the Saloum Delta in Senegal. The band on the leg, slightly obscured, could read JJ2 or JJ7. JJ2 was believed to be a female at the time of banding. JJ7 was believed a male at the time of its banding.

Here is the photograph Jean-Marie Dupart took of the Osprey in question:

The Woodland Trust and People’s Post Code Lottery put out the following announcement today:

I had so hoped it was JJ7 but, in the end, it is wonderful to see a healthy Scottish fish eagle that hatched in 2019.

In a sadder note, the H5N1 highly pathogenic strain of Avian Flu that killed the two white-tailed eaglets in the spring of 2021 is striking again in the UK. First swans were culled and now the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary in Yorkshire.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-60188953

Ervie has been waiting on the nest hoping that Dad would either bring him a fish or that he would catch one as he focused on the beautiful waters of the cove. And then, at 8:20:39, Ervie finds an old fish tail on the nest. He did several double takes when he saw it a few seconds earlier. What a delight! An old dried up fish tail for our lovely boy.

Ervie really enjoyed that old piece of fish.

Ervie had been standing fish calling to the parents missing that piece of tail down by his talons. In the image below you can see that this is not a big piece of fish but for Ervie, it must have felt like he had found gold in that nest.

Gosh, Ervie is a handsome Osprey.

Ervie is still working on that old piece of dry fish. He is not giving up.

And he is still working on it…

You can see from the time how long Ervie has been pulling this dry fish. He is making good progress. Ervie would love to share some of the fish from the KNF nest! But he is not going to give up until he eats every single scrap of this tail. That is why you are a survivor, Ervie.

While Ervie is dreaming of having a big fish soon, the eaglet at the KNF nest in Louisiana has been filled to the brim by Anna. Look at that crop. Incredible.

Anna is making up for missing the feedings yesterday afternoon but, at the same time, Louis did a fantastic job taking care of the eaglet. The baby was never hungry and always had a bit of a crop. Louis was extraordinary – just like Samson was when Gabby was away for 24 hours before NE26 and 27 hatched.

Diamond did not seem to spend the night at the scrape but she is on the ledge early this morning. I wonder how much the hot weather impacted her and Xavier? As you know, many Peregrine Falcons wound up in care from dehydration.

Last breeding season the Mum at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest spent most of it buried in snow. This year is starting off the same way. Whether it is extreme heat or extreme winter storms, our feathered friends are being impacted.

Mum will keep the eggs warm and dry. These eagles are amazing.

I wanted to do a last check on the WRDC eaglets, R1 and R2. They are doing fine. R2 is being fed at the moment which must mean that R1 is full! You can tell the difference between the two because R1 still has a big drop of light natal down on its head.

If you are a Pittsburg-Hayes eagle fan, the couple were just mating on the tree. Eggs are not normally laid til 15 February or after. I wonder if they will be early this year? Looks like they have a nice egg cup created. Last year this couple raised triplets. Yes, three eaglets. 3.

Thank you for joining me today and for all your letters and comments. I really enjoy hearing from you. Take care everyone. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: WRDC, KNF Bald Eagles, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Duke Farms, Charles Sturt University at Orange Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, and Pix Cams.

Late Sunday in Bird World

Oh, what a day in Bird World it has been! The weather at the nest of Pa Berry and Missy clocked in at 3 degrees F. That is -16 C. As a comparison, it was only -5 in Winnipeg today. Poor Missy. The snow and sleet were coming down, she has a hungry baby – and she is hungry herself – and there is a chick trying to hatch! My heart went out to her. There were a few tiny breaks in the weather for Missy. She jumped up and ate ferociously and then quickly fed her baby. The bad weather is due to continue til at least Monday afternoon. I was almost afraid to check on her but, then I did.

Pa Berry had brought in another fish. He looks pretty dry compared to Missy, ironically. Missy worked hard to get some food into her little one before she had to brood and try to keep that baby warm and dry.

Missy took lemons and made lemonade with it. She ate and so did her baby. It was fast. She could not afford for the wee one to get soaking wet, cold, and die. I was impressed. Whatever will happen at this nest with all the horrible cold and wet weather will not be this Mum’s fault. She was trying as best she could.

There were tornado warnings and 60 mph winds down in Miami-Dade County at the nest of Ron and Rita. That nest held. I caught some of it on a video clip. Rita works really hard trying to get the two babies under her so they will not get wet and chilled.

R1 has been brutally aggressive today to R2. Indeed, Rita had R2 begging for food and twice she did not feed until R1 came up to the front. At the end of the day, R2 was fed three times today. I cannot confirm the amounts or if there was a big crop like R1s. You might have noticed. But R2 did eat.

Harriet was soaked but she took great care of E19 and E20 during the storm. The heavy rain actually hit Fort Myers well before it started in Miami hard.

None of these issues – extreme weather and/or sibling rivalry -are happening down at the Kisatchie National Forest nest of Anna and Louis. Louis is bring ever more fish onto the nest and that little one is just a sweet little roly-poly.

I can count the remains of one Coot and six fish.

You will think I am nuts continually talking about this kiddos cute tail but it is cute. I have never seen such a cute tail on such a young eaglet. It looks like a soft little ball, so sweet.

Both eagles were on the nest at Duke Farms working on the egg cup. There are expectations that an egg will be laid soon. This couple is in line for some of that storm as well.

Mum is on the nest and the snow has started. Last year she spent almost her entire incubation period encased in snow and ice. I ached for her.

The winds are picking up at the Hilton Head Island Trust, the home of Harriet and Mitch and their two eaglets. The gusts are blowing at 31 mph but there is no indication of rain or snow hitting the nest.

Here is the tracking of that storm as it moves NE as of 9:23 pm on CNN. It is out of Florida. Mt Berry Bald Eagles are in the purple area of Georgia near Atlanta. Pittsburg-Hays, Duke Farms, and even Big Red and Arthur are in the area of winter weather advisories. Continue to send your warm thoughts to everyone here and in all the extreme weather systems moving about the planet including those with the tsunami earlier today.

Snow has been falling in Pittsburg.

Snow continues to be heavy in the Ithaca and Finger Lakes area of upstate NY. This is Big Red and Arthur’s nest.

Meanwhile, in the UK, everyone is getting excited. It is only two months until the expected arrival of the Ospreys. The BBC did a short programme on CJ7 and her nest at Poole Harbour in June of 2021. CJ7 found love this past summer and it is hoped that her mate will return and there will be chicks on this nest for the first time in 200 years! Wow. I am showing it again as the anticipation is bubbling over. It is short and it will also get you excited for the arrival of some of the North American returnees as well.

In New Zealand, OGK, the Royal Cam Dad, returned to incubate his egg and let his mate, YRK, go and feed. That egg is due to hatch on the 27th of January give or take a day or two. Lady Hawk caught the return and the cuddles of this sweet couple.

We hold our breath and wait for the storms in the US to pass and wish all of the nests the best in handling the weather.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or video clips: WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, Hilton Head Island Trust, Pix Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, and CNN.

Late Saturday in Bird World and — Ervie is 4 months old

As this big weather system moves through the United States Midwest over to the East coast, a multitude of raptor nests are in its wake ranging from those at Decorah, Iowa to Berry College and Duke Farms.

There is snow on the Decorah North Bald Eagle Nest in Iowa. Not expecting egg watch for about six weeks – sure glad the eagles are missing all the snow! — Yes, I know they can handle it but it is difficult feeding just borns in the cold and wet. Better dry!

There is snowing covering the Denton Homes Bald Eagle nest in Iowa also.

The Pittsburg-Hays Bald Eagle Nest looks like it could get some of this nasty weather. Right now the adults are roosting on a tree above the nest. Not looking for eggs here for a bit. Last year this couple raised three to fledge! Amazing.

Right now at Berry College, this is the weather forecast:

B15 is doing great and B16 is trying to hatch. As you know, I am often rather out spoken. B15 is Missy’s first to survive little one and her and it are doing nicely. If B16 doesn’t hatch, it might be for the best. Let this young mom find her way.

There remains no signs of rodenticide poisoning with Ron and Rita’s two, R1 and R2. R1 is a real stinker to R2 lately and, in part, this is why I say let Missy raise one strong eaglet. The experienced Mums have ways of sorting out the rivalry issues such as gentle taps on the beaks or getting the assistance of their mate. Even so, it is not easy even for them. I want to see some success on this Berry College nest this year and right now, things look good with B15.

Duke Farms is in Hillsborough, New Jersey and it is set to really get hit by this storm as it gets to the eastern sea board. They are on egg laying watch there. Oh, I hope that egg can wait! Many of you have set through night upon night worrying about the Mum on this nest who was incubating eggs covered in snow for weeks. She is quite amazing. She is not on the nest tonight,.

The high wind warnings continue for the Kisatchie National Forest area. Anna fed the baby some Coot and hopefully the little one will sleep through the wind!

As night settled on the forest, the winds picked up. It is now 34 degrees F at the nest of Anna and Louis.

It is a little breezy at the Osprey nest of Lena and Andy on Sanibel Island, Florida. Lena is sleeping blissfully incubating those three eggs of hers.

The only hope left for the Captiva Bald Eagles, Connie and Clive is if the second egg is fertile. Egg #1 is 42 days old today.

Today is Ervie’s birthday. He is precisely 4 months old. How incredible. As many of us know, we held our breath when he hatched hoping beyond hope that #1 sibling would please leave the little one alone. What we didn’t know at that precise moment of hatch was the robust character that #3 was going to turn out to be. Today Ervie has been flying around the barge and might have even been up on the wheel house. Of course he is screaming his head off to be fed —— if he wasn’t, we would think something was wrong with the Erv. What a magnificent bird you have turned out to be #3.

Let’s hope that Ervie gets some extra fish today for his birthday. So happy with this Osprey. Send out positive wishes to all the people and the birds – not just our beloved raptors – in the path of this storm. Keep them in your thoughts as the wind and the snow and ice plow through the Eastern side of the US. I hope that Big Red and Arthur are hunkered down.

Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me on this quick report.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Decorah North and Explore.org, Captiva Osprey Nest, Port Lincoln Ospreys, KNF Bald Eagles, Berry College, WRDC Bald Eagles, Pittsburgh Hays Bald Eagles and Pix Cam, Duke Farms, and Denton Homes Eagles.

Winter Solstice in Bird World

As all of you know, Daisy the Duck has occupied my mind for some 20 days now without much of a break. She has just arrived home to the nest – it is the Summer Solstice 22 December in Australia – and I am going to take some time to check in on the other nests that are normally watched.

It has been a horrible day for Gabby who is incubating two eggs on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest called The Hamlet. It is just outside Jacksonville.

Bald Eagles generally have 35 days of incubation. Gabby and Samson were really wise. They did not start hard incubation until the second egg was laid meaning that the two eaglets will be born close together with no older sibling advantage. They will just bop each other taking turns! This means that the hatch date is 19 January. Mark your calendars.

For me, this is great timing. Harriet and M15s eaglets are set to hatch in 3-4 days. We won’t be watching two bobble head nests at once. Oh, those high winds are really hitting Fort Myers. You can see Harriet’s feathers blowing.

It is a beautiful day over in Decorah, Iowa with the Decorah Bald Eagles. No eggs – it is winter! But the Eagles are around. The nest is at a trout hatchery – lucky raptors. Smiling. Everyone should have a source of fish for their Ospreys and their Raptors. Takes about 350-400 a season. Not bad for giving life to these beautiful birds and their family.

The Bald Eagles in Iowa generally lay their eggs in mid-February.

The Decorah Eagles are not to be confused with the Decorah North Eagles!!!!! It is home to Mr and Mrs North.

The camera is live at Duke Farms in New Jersey. No eggs yet. In fact, it should be about a month until we see eggs on this nest. I hope this Mum has better weather this year! She was encased in ice and snow most of incubation in early 2021.

Diamond is starting the day in the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange. Both her and Xavier have been examining the new gravel that Cilla Kinross provided awhile ago. They have also had bad weather with torrential rains but it looks like they will have a nice day today. Fingers crossed.

Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear, California are doing nestorations. It looks like they are going to have a white Christmas.

Last year Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls, took over a young Bald Eagles couple’s nest on Farmer Derek’s property. They raised two owlets. The nest is currently unoccupied but one of the Bald Eagles did a fly by at 07:19 this morning. Will there be a battle over this nest?

The eagle is right at the horizon line with the blue sky. You should be able to see it.

Anna has taken over incubation duties of the two eggs on the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest. This is her and Louis’s second breeding attempt. They fledged Kisatchie last season.

Clive is on incubation duty at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. Another storm is really starting to churn in that area. It will effect the eagles as well as the ospreys – and, of course, it is the same storm that is hitting Harriet and M15 in Fort Myers.

It is a beautiful winter’s day – perfect for the Winter Solstice – at Glacier Gardens. I wonder what Kindness is doing? She was such a special juvie.

Alaska is a perfect place for Bald Eagles, too. When Dave Hancock put the satellite trackers on the 7 or 8 fledglings in British Columbia that survived that horrific heat wave, all of them flew north to Alaska.

Lena is waiting for Andy to bring her some fish at the Captiva Osprey Nest. This couple was really hit hard – along with Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest – from the storms the other day. It is good to see that all had no problems. There is another storm brewing today.

Ervie got the morning fish and Bazza is not happy. Apparently, Ervie woke up in the middle of the night and kicked Bazza off the nest. I can understand why he is grumpy.

Ervie is doing a great mantling job. Third hatch turned out to be the ‘King Pin’. Wonder if Bazza remembers how he tried to treat Ervie? Do raptors have a memory like elephants?

Daisy is fine. Wishing for a quiet day for her.

This is a wee bit of a catch up with some of our other favourite nests. Cal Falcons raised $3500 through the sale of t-shirts to support Lindsay Wildlife for treating Grinnell. That is fantastic! There is no news of who Annie will pair with for the 2022 breeding season. Watching birds is all about patience. Sometimes I don’t have any!!!!!!

Thank you so much for stopping in to check on the nests. The birds will weather the current storms in Florida. They are used to them but, still, we worry. Wishing all of you a very happy Winter solstice. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, SWFlorida and the Pritchett Family, Captiva Osprey, Captiva Bald Eagle, KNF Bald Eagles, Glacier Gardens, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Farmer Derek, Friends of Big Bear Eagles, Duke Farms, the Raptor Research Project at Explore.org, and the Port Lincoln Ospreys.