Tag Archives: Duke Farms

Tuesday in Bird World

01.03. 2022

I was in great need of a giggle and a smile and Jackie and Shadow provided it. This couple is incredible. Now that pip watch is upon us, Jackie is less and less prone to letting Shadow do any incubation duties. In the short video below, I captured the moment that Jackie returns from her break and wants Shadow to relinquish the nest.

I have re-figured my math (never a strong subject of mine). The first egg was laid on the 22nd of January with the second on the 25th. If we do not count the day the egg was laid, that means that egg 1 is 36 days old today and egg 2 is 33 days. At an elevation of 2058 metres or 6751.9 feet, Big Bear Lake is within the Bear Mountain Ski Resort area.

Because of the elevation of the area, it takes eagle’s eggs longer to hatch than those in nests at much lower sites. It might be, then, that Jackie and Shadow’s eggs will take the full 40 days to start pipping. Each of us and the more than 3000 fans needs to keep up the positive energy for this much loved eagle couple.

News has come that the second Hilton Head Island Trust eaglet of Harriet and Mitch has died. The bodies of both HH3 and HH4 have been sent for a necroscopy. It is believed that both have died from avian flu but this has to be confirmed. Our thoughts go out to Mitch and Harriet and all the people at Hilton Head Island Trust eagles.

The first fish of the morning came in at 08:44 to the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena fed the chicks for nearly an hour. She finished off the skin at 09:44.

Just look at Andy’s long legs or tarsi. These allow him to reach quickly and deep to get his fish. You will notice that the legs of other raptors are not quite as long.

It looks like a different fish than the Sheepshead Andy normally brings to the nest.

Turn around Little Bob!

Little Bob still sports his fuzzy down which is actually unbranched feathers. Alan Poole describes them as being “almost furlike”. Little Bob is changing though. His head is not as soft looking as it was.

Awww. There you are right, Little Bob, up there with that long neck of yours. Dinosaurs. Tomorrow or Thursday you will all look like dinosaurs!!!!!!

These nestlings still cannot regulate their body temperature. It will be another week or 10 days. Until then it is Lena’s job to protect them from the heat of Florida and the rain.

They are, however, quickly entering the period of their fastest growth – between two weeks and a month when they will gain an average of forty grams or .09 lb a day, according to Poole.

From this angle you can clearly see the change in the plumage between one of the older Bobs on the left and Little Bob with its still fuzzy lighter down on the right.

At the Dale Hollow Lake Nest in Tennessee, the third hatch, DH16, is eating along with its twin siblings, DH14 and 15. They are so cute. Here are the fuzzy bobbles everyone loves. Precious.

The nest can only be seen from the water. In May, there is a large group picnic with opportunities to go out and have a view of Obey and River and their eaglets. Check the Dale Hollow Lake website if you are interested.

The second egg has hatched at Duke Farms. Congratulations everyone!

1 March is the first day of meteorological spring. The followers of UK Osprey nests bring out their UK Arrival Sheets and start keeping track of who arrives where and when. The first official sighting of a returning came today from the hide in the Holkham Fresh Marsh in Norfolk. Of the public nests where there are streaming cams, I am hoping for Blue 33 and Maya to get back to Rutland Manton Bay quickly!

Loch of the Lowes is gorgeous. This nest fledged two last year. It is the home of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. I adore Blue NC0. She is a great angler and she is not shy about getting a huge fish up on the nest for her chicks if Laddie isn’t delivering food quick enough!

Everyone is hoping that 2022 will be a fabulous year for Aran and Mrs G at Glaslyn. What a serene pastoral setting. Last year their three chicks perished.

There are, of course, many people who fell in love with Ospreys because of this nest, Loch Arkaig. We continue to hope for a miracle to happen and Aila to return after not being seen since August of 2020. That year her and Louis fledged the JJs – they stole our hearts and I personally cannot wait to see if JJ7 will be seen in Scotland this year.

The JJs, July 2021

Last year Louis bonded with another female at a close nest and fledged two beautiful chicks but not with the one he shared with Aila.

There are many, many more Osprey streaming cams in the UK and as the birds arrive I will be posting those. One of my favourites is the nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria at Foulshaw Moss. It is the home of Tiny Little, a third hatch so wee compared to the two older siblings, no one thought she would survive but, survive she did thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of the parents and her very own cleverness and determination.

The sun is out and there is a hint of blue in the sky today. Yesterday it was -8 and today it is a little colder at -13 C. I had a lovely walk accompanied by seven Black-capped Chickadees, a White Breasted Nuthatch and a Red Squirrel. They all knew I had seeds in my pocket!

They were so cute and it was a nice warm day for them, too.

There is still no sighting of Annie at The Campanile. It is very sad to say goodbye to her. She gave us and the world 13 beautiful chicks in the five years she was at the scrape as Grinnell’s mate. I hope by some miracle she returns and is only away quietly healing from an altercation. Send her your warmest wishes.

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

My sincerest thanks go out to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clip: Glaslyn Bywyd Gwyllt, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Woodland Trust, Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery, Duke Farms, Dale Hollow Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.

Late Monday in Bird World

1.28.2022

It has been a bit of a very sad day in Bird World with the announcement that Grinnell’s Annie has been missing for a week plus the death of HH4 at the Hilton Head Island Trust Bald Eagle nest. I really hope that Annie is off healing and will return and reclaim her place. We must send out positive wishes.

In the middle of all that grey there was some sunshine and there is more to come.

Dale Hollow 16 (DH16) hatched at 13:21 today. (DH14 hatched at 11:16 on the 25th and DH15 hatched at 11:51 on the 25th).

River pulled the last bit of the shell off so that the wee one could join the twins. She quickly disposed of the shell making room in the nest bowl for all three of the nestlings.

Oh, 16 you are ever so tiny!

Of course, 16 is wobbly but holding its head up much better. after a couple of hours Looks like a strong little hatchling.

River and Obey are incredible parents. These three will be well fed and all the tandem feedings should keep any rivalry down to a minimum.

Babies are fed for the last time today.

Good night, River. Enjoy your dinner, Obey.

It was a much better day for the Captiva nestlings. I know of three good feeds. Maybe there was a fourth? All of the fish were Sheepsheads. Someone mentioned that this species of fish frequent the oyster beds by the mangrove roots. Andy might not have to go far to get his fish! The last fish brought in was at 17:33. Just in time to fill up the nestlings so they can sleep well tonight. They are growing so fast it must be difficult for Lena to get them organized to brood.

This time Andy had eaten the head so that he was sure to get some dinner. He did not get any of the noon fish – Lena and the kids were stuffed and there was not a flake left.

There is Little Bob right in front. I say it way too often but he really does remind me of Ervie. First one up at the table and most often the last one to leave.

Little Bob keeps his place after Andy flies off. I noticed that his head is slowly changing. It is not as soft and fluffy looking as yesterday. Oh, by Wednesday, Little Bob is going to look like someone poured the oil can over him, too!

At one point, Middle Bob was passed out in a very short food coma and Big Bob wanted to move back from the table. Big Bob got tangled up with Little Bob. It was a momentary mess of osplets. Little Bob managed to get undone. He immediately moved back up to Lena so he could have some more fish. Did I say this kid loves to eat?

Big Bob is in a food coma, Middle Bob is back up at the table, and Little Bob is ready to pass out next to Big Bob after eating so much. I hope there is something left for Lena! Gosh, these three can really put away the fish.

Little Bob actually looks like he ate so much he is going to be sick.

If you are a fan of Irvin and Claire at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest, Claire laid her first egg yesterday, 27 February, at 18:29. The view of that first egg is here:

There are still more than 3000 people watching the nest of Shadow and Jackie at Big Bear Lake. Shadow has been at the nest three times (plus when he brings in food for Jackie) wanting to incubate the two eggs and Jackie is not giving in an inch! Does she hear or feel a pip?

Beautiful Jackie.

Many of you are fans of the Royal Albatross Family of OGK, YRK, and QT chick with their nest at Taiaroa Head. The parents have been flying in and out, sometimes in less than ten hours, to feed the chick. At the same time, they get to spend time with one another. Those are really tender moments.

Quarry Track chick is growing fast. This little man doesn’t fit in the sock anymore! Today when the NZ DOC rangers came to weigh QT, they had to use the basket for the first time!

Look at that little QT sitting up so straight like it has its own nest next to Mum or Dad. Precious.

Here we go.

Last week QT weighed 2.4 kg or 5.29 lbs. They have not posted the weight for today as I finish my blog. I will post that weight tomorrow.

Ouch! This chick is too big to brood! The parent looks a little uncomfortable. I want to say that this is OGK just from the way he was standing over QT but it could well be YRK. She was on the nest yesterday. They change so frequently I cannot keep up and I cannot see the coloured leg band.

This little Royal Albatross chick is adorable. Look carefully at the light filtering through that soft down. We are on our way to puff ball stage. So sweet.

While the albatross are enjoying the warmth of summer in New Zealand, the storks on top of the church in Dreisamtal, 10 km from Freiburg, are working on their nest in the winter cold. Oh, they are so gorgeous and a reminder to all of us that spring and the beautiful light and warmth it brings is less than a month away.

There is a pip rapidly moving to hatch in the second egg at Duke Farms. You can really see that egg tooth working away. Tonight, sometime, there will be a new eaglet!

I wish I could close with an image of Ervie on the barge with Dad. Maybe another day! This is the most recent tracking of Ervie. He remains along the North Shore and it looks like he has found a good fishing spot. I wonder if he is still catching Puffers?

Wouldn’t it be grand to be sitting in a boat – at a distance so as not to disturb – watching Ervie with binoculars go about his fishing? I can’t think of anything nicer today.

Thank you so very much for joining me this evening. 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: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs and the NZ DOC, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Friends of Big Bear, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Stork Nest Streaming Cam, and Duke Farms.

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 Thursday in Bird World

24.2.2022

The Kakapo Recovery are having a t-shirt fundraiser. They posted the following information on their FB today:

There are male and female styles and sizes range from the smallest to 2 or 3 XL. Shipping from New Zealand is reasonable should you wish to help out!

There are lots of chicks and where there are infertile eggs they are being swopped with fertile ones so some of the mothers get a chance to rear a chick. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that number of 201 to climb! It looks like it could be a good year for our non-flying parrots.

The tracking for Ervie indicates that he did visit the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge sometime yesterday. He was most likely checking to see if Dad was there so they could have a visit. No one spotted him on camera so maybe he landed on the wheelhouse.

Early Friday morning, nest time, and the barge is full of pigeons hoping to find leftovers. They certainly do a great clean up job for Mum!

The Mum at Duke Farms gives everyone a peek of the fully hatched chick 1 at 14:28. What a little fluff ball. So tiny!

It has been a really good day at Captiva. It is 17:46 and Lena is waiting on Andy to bring in the dinner fish. The three osplets still have crops from the earlier feed. All is good!

Gabby and Samson continue to demonstrate branching to Jasper and to be named NE27. Today the two eaglets were kept full to more than full. They have grown so fast. Time seems to go by in a blink. Just a few days ago it seemed they were only tiny fluff balls like chick 1 at Duke Farms today.

Oh, I love that beautiful glow over the nest in Jacksonville, Florida as the sun sets on Gabby, Samson, Jasper and NE27.

NE27 is going to clean up every bit of that fish! Sweet eagle dreams.

Lady Hawk did a great video of Samson bringing in this large carp for the eaglets. Listen to them cheeping. So cute. Gosh these two are just darlings.

There is snow and sleet falling on the nest of Bonnie, the GHOW, whose nest is on Farmer Derek’s land. The area extending from there over the Mississippi River and into Ohio are set to get quite a bit of precipitation.

This is what the Mississippi River Flyway Cam is showing. Looks like snow to me! The snow is really blowing around creating what we call ‘white out’ conditions at times. A white out is literally when you cannot see anything in front and beside you but snow. Highways and roads disappear. People do try to drive on it. They often wind up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Not recommended. You cannot even see approaching cars.

The female, Nancy, at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bald Eagle Nest near Minneapolis is getting snow as well. This nest fledged two great juveniles last year. Harry, the male, was only four years old and it was his first breeding attempt with Nancy. This year he looks much more like a mature Bald Eagle. Very handsome.

Checking in on the Iowa Bald Eagle nests, there is wet snow coming down on the Denton Home’s nest. No eggs there yet.

There is snow at the Decorah North nest of Mr North and DNF. If you look carefully you can see Mr North high up in the tree. What a beautiful sight.

When the city gets too much for me – as it often does – my mind moves to a cottage at the edge of a forest full of wildlife. This is so beautiful and serene. All you can hear is the snow falling and the wind. There is a creek in the background.

Mrs is keeping the eggs nice and warm and dry.

The other Bald Eagle nest with a streaming cam in Decorah also has snow. No eggs yet and no one on the nest. Right now I can hear lots of geese honking. My goodness they are super loud!

Here is the link to this camera. You might catch the geese flying in also at dusk.

The snow has not reached Pittsburgh but the wind is sure blowing at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest tonight. Mum is trying to keep those eggs warm and dry in that cold. With their 7000 plus feathers, the eagles are well equipped to ride out the cold, the snow, and the bitter winds. Regardless, I just ache for them.

The sound of those honking geese reminded me that Ospreys are moving north out of African towards Europe and the UK. A number were reported entering southwest France today. With all the snow here and in other places it is hard to imagine but the birds will be making their way home. In a month there should be Ospreys on a nest or two in the UK. I am counting on one of my favourites, Blue 33, and his partner, Maya, arriving at Rutland first. We wait to see!

In San Francisco, Richmond has been on and off the Whirley Crane nest in the shipping yards anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mate, Rosie. Those two are going to have a lot of work when she gets here. Just look at that nest. Maybe Richmond should take a page out of Louis’s book up at Loch Arkaig and start work before she arrives. Richmond, that would be a very sweet thing to do!

Dyson and Scraggles have been playing in the seeds and snow so they are both fine. The 50 or so European Starlings that visit the nest for food have been perching in my neighbour’s trees. Today they both got a gift certificate for two car washes. My goodness those birds can poop! Little Red has been busy. We did not see our chickadee today but it might have arrived, with or without its mate, while we were off for our walk. It felt good to get out in the fresh air.

Thank you so much for joining me. All the nests are doing quite well. It is comforting. Take care. See you soon. Saturday is pip watch for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Don’t forget.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Kakapo Recovery Project, Denton Homes, Explore.org, Stewards of the Mississippi, MN DNR, Farmer Derek, Golden Gate Audubon, Pix Cams, and Duke Farms.

Wednesday in Bird World

2.23.22

We have a terrible problem in our neighbourhood. But, before I begin, let me say that for most of my life, I have had a cat or two or more. My Dad had a ‘warm’ spot for animals. Today he would be known for feeding feral cats and caring for them. More often than not, we adopted the strays, fed them, and found homes for the kittens. He taught me that they deserve love and respect as he went about rescuing puppies abandoned and starving cats. In other words, I grew up loving animals and am particularly fond of cats. I have not had a cat since last July when my dear Honey died of kidney failure. I do adore them.

Honey was a Sorrel Abyssinian. We rescued her from an apartment where she had been locked in for a month with no one home. She was amazing. She was a lap cat and loved to be into everything that was happening.

Our City has a by-law that cats must be kept inside. It was instigated so that the large feral cat population in the City would decline. The problem is that certain people do not adhere to the by-laws and, of course, no one does anything about it if they don’t. So that is the very back story to today.

The bird feeders were full and one of the small squirrels -either Dyson or Scraggles- was eating away in the square feeder when I left to go and get the produce for the week. Everything ‘seemed’ fine. When I returned an hour later, there were few birds at the feeders. I decided to refill the one for the Starlings. They do love the Meal Worms and Butter Bark for some reason. When I did, I noticed fresh blood under the Black Sunflower feeder and frozen blood in the centre of the square feeder where the squirrel had been. Something injured one of the squirrels while I was away. It was not Sharpie – he only takes a Sparrow once in awhile and there were no feathers flying about. The cats are the likely culprit. You will often find me chasing them away from the feeders. I could not see blood anywhere else. Did the cat actually carry the squirrel away? or did the squirrel escape? We wait to find out. I have looked everywhere for clues and nothing.

None of the squirrels are in the garden not even Little Red and there remain few birds. Events like this are traumatic for them. They can smell the blood and might not know what happened but they would not that something was harmed. Sadly, the wildlife rehabbers will not take squirrels for fear of rabies. So we just hope that whichever squirrel was harmed, it heals properly. It is normally Scraggles that gets in the way of the cats. He is called ‘Scraggles’ because of his shaggy tail and torn bits of fur when he came to the garden more than half dead a couple of years ago. He sat and ate black oil seed for days hardly moving and in a few weeks he was looking good. Fingers crossed for whoever is injured. Please send your warm wishes!

Why am I telling you this when I know you keep your cats inside? Because cats are the major predator to birds at feeders, bunnies, and squirrels. While people believe they need to be outside, most vets will tell you that cats are safer inside watching the wildlife from the window. They will not get injured, hit by a car, lost, or become prey to something larger. Spread the word to those that do let their cats roam.

Bird behaviour is very interesting. You might have read my blogs mentioning Jennifer Ackerman. She is the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way. I picked The Bird Way up again last night to read through a section and was reminded how good Ackerman’s writing is on the topic. So if you are looking for insightful books on our feathered friends and why they do what they do, when they do it – these are excellent choices.

The pattern of feeding at the Captiva Osprey nest is holding. Three good feeds in the morning with the last of the three around lunch time and the first right after dawn. The final feeding – the fourth – is around 16:00. Andy arrived with the fish at 15:56 and by the time Lena got it and the chicks were situated they were right at 16:00. You could almost set your watch by this nest.

One of the things that keeps chicks from having food competition is stability. This nest is regular and stable. Fantastic. There are no surprises. No long period without food save from the last one to the morning feed.

Turn around Little Bob!

Andy is being very vigilant.

The feeding lasted for forty minutes! Lena filled up those chicks so full but, remember, this will be their last meal for the day if the pattern these two adult Ospreys have been following holds. One of the chatters commented that, “Minibob’s got a crop so full that it’s not just getting fatter it’s getting longer as well!” (BJ). That is always good to see.

You can see a bird flying behind the palm tree. There are predators around the nest. It did not go unnoticed by Andy and Lena. Andy is being careful. No one will harm his family if he can help it.

The trio are slowly falling into a sleep coma. There was no fish left for Andy and even Lena didn’t get a lot. The osplets are demanding more and more each feeding as they grow. They will all be entering their second week by the end of this week and that is a big growth period for nestlings.

Andy is off to get his fish. Lena might be wishing he would bring in another one so she could have some more fish, too. Meanwhile she is trying to get the full and sleepy puddle of chicks settled.

Big Bob is not being very cooperative! Get to sleep Big Bob.

Finally! It is a cuddle puddle.

Spring is in the air for all of the California Condors at San Simeon and The Pinnacles. Ventana Wildlife Society just posted this beautiful image with an announcement of a Zoom session. You might want to check it out. I have attended several of these. They are free and very informative.

There is a pip at the home of the Duke Farms Bald Eagles!

Here is the link to their camera. I saw the announcement on FB but the view from the cameras is not good enough for me to get an image capture.

One of our readers, ‘S’ from Latvia reports that the swans are returning. They have been flying over her house and foraging in the nearby fields. Isn’t that wonderful. Next week I will include a discussion on all the nests in Latvia and Estonia – White-tailed Eagles and Storks – that you can watch. Eggs will be laid on some of the nests, such as Milda’s around the beginning of spring. It gives me hope – hope that warm days are coming.

All of the nests are doing well. NE26 and 27 ate so much today they could hardly walk! I have not seen Ervie but his tracker shows he is exploring the area around the bay where the barge is located. Hopefully we might get a glimpse of him, soon.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey Nest and Duke Farms.

Sunday in Bird World

Yesterday my friend, ‘R’ saw an article in her local newspaper in PA, the Philadelphia Inquirer, by Rita Giordano. Its title was ‘Copper Bullets could help with eagles being poisoned by hunted animals’. Today, one of the FB groups that I belong to trying to end lead poisoning in birds – both flying and waterfowl – posted some information. I would like to add fishing equipment to these topics, not just bullets. That article, ‘Those Bullets that kill Birds’ will be coming tomorrow. Sadly, those that hunt and fish with lead equipment will probably never read my blog but, hopefully, it will inspire you to reach out to those you know who do fish and hunt with the consequences and how they can help be part of the solution.

I am also working on Avian Flu and falcons. That is coming up.

It started off a wet yucky day in Jacksonville at the nest of Gabby and Samson. By mid-day, the eaglets were drying out. Poor Gabby needs to go to the stylist!

Gabby is an amazing Mum. I love watching her take care of her babies. She tries so hard to get them under her so she can keep them dry. She was also spread out like a huge Mumbrella at one time.

It’s a nice fresh fish for the family. Those babies are getting their mohawks.

It was the same for Harriet, M15, E19 and 20 at the Fort Myers Bald Eagle nest on the property of D Pritchett. The one difference between Harriet’s eaglets and Gabby’s is their age and their plumage. E19 and E20 have their juvenile feathers and the rain and cold can be controlled by them – but not by E26 and 27 yet.

still Harriet tries to stuff those big babies underneath her!

R1 and R2 were soaking wet when they woke up at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo, too.

Ron and Rita’s nestlings look more like eagles now. My goodness. They are catching up with E19 and E20.

The Osceola Bald Eagle nest looks dry. The Mum was there feeding the eaglet this morning even though it can easily feed itself now.

It is difficult to tell if there is a pip on the first egg for Andy and Lena at the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena has been rolling the eggs and calling for Andy to bring her some food! He brought in a small fish earlier but she is still hungry.

The poor Mum at the Duke Farms nest is under some snow! Dad has brought in food and has done some rotations in the incubation rota with her.

It is pretty nice down in Louisiana. Kincaid always looks so lonely on the nest when he is there by himself, just like the little eaglet at Berry and Osceola. The truth is that Bald Eagles are solitary birds, most often. It probably doesn’t bother them at all – just me! Anna is going to feed that entire fish that Louis just brought to Kincaid! His crop will pop.

The forest rangers are going to add an IR light that will light up the canopy of the tree, more sound, and a new camera. The sound they have now is incredible. This morning Kincaid was food calling and those little cheeps just tugged at your heart strings.

Are you a fan of Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls that took over the Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s property last season? If so, the GHOWs are back! They have visited the nest but no egg was laid last night.

You can see one of the Owls on the branch above the nest at dawn.

Remember that the owls are active during the evening and night – and most active at dusk and dawn. Once Bonnie lays her first egg, she will remain on the nest taking some breaks with Clyde providing food.

Here is the link to this camera:

On the 11th of February, three days ago in Orange, Australia, that little cutie pie Xavier chased a Wedge-tailed Eagle – the largest raptor in Australia – out of his territory! The encounter was caught on the new tower cam. Xavier, you are amazing.

This is the best I could do from the streaming tower cam. You can see the wings of the Wedge-tail eagle in a downward stance to the right of the image. Below and to the left you will see a small dark spot. That is Xavier.

Here is a 3 min 20 sec video on this magnificent bird so you can see how large a Wedge-tail Eagle is and then you can marvel more at Xavier’s ability to get it out of his territory. A short introduction to the Wedgie.

We are in the midst of another blizzard. The snow coming down is not big flakes but it sure is blowing. I thought I caught Dyson eating the nut cylinder but when I cropped the images it was Scraggles eating all those nuts. Dyson is sure missing out! Yesterday, no one in the garden had hardly touched this lovely nut cylinder and by the end of the day, Scraggles might well have eaten it all. Do squirrels get tummy aches?

The snow is sticking to Scraggles’s fur.

I love how Scraggles moves around eating the seed cylinder and hanging on. That cylinder was more than triple the current size when Scraggles started out. He is eating well and looks quite healthy except for his tail which is actually growing back. We believe he had a bad encounter with one of the local cats.

The Sparrows are all puffed to stay warm.

I put some chopped peanuts, meal worms, and Bark Butter balls on the snow for those that wanted to eat off the ground. It was nice to see the Starling and the Sparrow sharing the food.

Little Red has decided to stay inside his penthouse today. I have not seen him out at all. That suet he ate yesterday should keep him full for several days.

The Port Lincoln Osprey cam is offline again. It has just not been the same since the big storm. Hopefully it will be back up shortly and we can check on Ervie.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida and the AEF Bald Eagles, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, Osceola Bald Eagles, KNF Bald Eagles, Captiva Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, WRDC Bald Eagles, and Farmer Derek.

Friday in Bird World

Where is Ervie? I cannot tell you. Yesterday he spent the day with Dad. Right around 17:25, Dad left the barge and flew out to fish.

Ervie moved up to the nest to receive the fish from Dad about a minute or so before he lands. Fabulous eyesight!

There’s Dad. The day before he brought Ervie 3 fish – yesterday, as far as I know, it was only one.

That was a nice fish and Ervie was still eating quite awhile later.

Ervie was still on the nest and had a nice crop as the sun was setting. The camera has tipped and at the time of my writing this blog, it was positioned so you could not see anything but part of the barge.

Ervie does not expend much energy sitting. That nice big fish would do him just fine – our home-body boy.

Just had to check. The Port Lincoln Nest is up and running and there were a few really good close ups of Ervie on the nest. He has flown off of it and I bet he is down in the cave with Dad.

The snow is really hitting the nests in PA and NY. Big Red and Arthur’s Red-tail hawk nest on the light stand of Cornell University has had a lot of snow. They were even in a snow fall warning area. That snow is due to taper off in the next hour. It is currently -7 C in Ithaca.

Yesterday I kept checking on Pittsburgh-Hays and US Steel Bald Eagle nests. They had lots of rain and now that has turned to snow.

It looks pretty peaceful at the US Steel Nest. One of the eagles is looking out over the territory.

We are still on egg watch for the Pittsburgh-Hays nest. No Eagles seem to be about.

In Hillsborough, New Jersey, the female at Duke Farms is incubating two eggs. It is rainy with some sleet.

In contrast, Missy and B15 are having a not so bad day!

The two eaglets at the Hilton Head Island Bald Eagle Cam are really changing. Those juvenile feathers are quickly coming in on top of that dark thermal down. Both had huge crops. It is not a great image. There is no re-wind on that camera and it is difficult to get good images. .

These two have changed so much since I last checked on them! They are also walking around – not completely steady but getting there. They are adorable. You can see that the one standing has many more dark feathers coming in than the smaller, younger eaglet being a duckling.

Speaking of growing, NE26 and NE27 are changing. Look closely and you will see that they are no longer round fluffy balls. Enjoy them while you can!!!!!!!

Gabby and Samson are both experts at feeding the babes. A bite for you and one for you. Things have been very civil on this nest and the pnatry is kept full. Devoted parents. And the weather is grand. It is 27 C in Jacksonville, so warm on the nest. Quite a contrast with Ithaca, NY!

I decided to check into a few of the nests without eggs. There was snow on the Denton Homes nest in Iowa.

There is still snow on the nest at Decorah Eagles also. Iowa has been hit with a lot of storms this year. Thankfully, it is not time to be thinking about eggs on these nests – not just yet. Soon enough.

The male Bald Eagle is on the Dulles Greenway Nest at the moment. They are anticipating the second egg will be laid there today. We are now over the 72 hour mark from the laying of the first egg. The weather looks good.

Here is the link to this Bald Eagle streaming cam in case it is not on your list.

The Bald Eagle community is saddened by the continuing deaths of the eagles by lead ammunition. Lead ammo is outlawed for waterfowl why not just outlawed? Those that keep track of Bald Eagle numbers anticipate a drop because of the large number of deaths. The hunters could take the entire carcass with them and dispose of it instead of leaving the innards with all the lead shot in the woods. Or they could by all of the various non-lead ammunition. What humans do not realize is that the lead actually gets absorbed through their skin by handling the bullets and the lead expended at sport shooting ranges gets absorbed into the ground – the spent ammo is, apparently, never cleaned up!

Raptors are also dying because there are people who actually shoot them. Someone just shot and killed a Bald Eagle in Iowa. Here is the notice on the Bald Eagles Live FB Page:

I want to leave you with something a little more light-hearted. Can you figure out where Grinnell is and what he is doing? That is Annie on the ledge.

It is a bright sunny cold -27 C day on the Canadian Prairies. I am happy to report that for some reason the Starlings were away from the garden for quite awhile. They have just returned but this gave the Sparrows and the Chickadees a chance to feed in peace. Oh, and yes. Dyson. Dyson was complaining that the large suet cylinder needed replacing. I must go and do that right away! I hope to get some good images of him and the other birds this weekend.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Explore.org, Pix Cameras, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College, Hilton Head Island Bald Eagles, Dulles Greenway, Duke Farms, Cornell Bird Labs, and Bald Eagles Live Nest FB.

Tuesday in Bird World

There is definitely snow and more snow and it is either still coming down or blowing like it is! Goodness.

Both Mr and Mrs Chickadee were flitting around on the vines under the eaves trying to find a place to get out of the wind. The Starlings are waiting for the Butter Bark feeder to be filled and dozens of House Sparrows are eating snow. It is a ghastly day for them. And for people. I think my appointment for a hair cut is once again cursed. Wish me luck though. I am going to try and make it!!!!!!!!

In all the flurry of the storm news, I missed the quick change over at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest. No sooner had YRK returned to relief OGK and he was back – in a day! Oh, the foraging must have been really good. That is fantastic.

There is the Royal Cam dad, OGK, first thing in the morning looking so content.

Someone is sleeping on the nest on the deck of the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. Is it Ervie? Sleeping in the nest seems ‘odd’ for the adults. What do you think? Is that a sat-pak on the back of that Osprey?

The winter storm warning for the US appears that it will be hitting Oklahoma around 21:00 tonight and moving eastward. I wonder what some of the nests will look like tomorrow?

The eaglet-without-a-name-but-soon-to-have-one is really getting its thermal down! Changing every day. There is another duck delivery and a bird with white feathers was slipped in some time when I wasn’t watching. Wind and some slight rain at the nest currently.

It is a bright sunny day at Big Red and Arthur’s nest. The snow and ice has not reached there yet.

It is still nice and sunny and clear in Hillsboro, New Jersey where our Mum at Duke Farms is incubating two eggs.

It still looks alright at Berry College. B15 is also getting its thermal down and it is such a cute little baby. Pa Berry and Missy must be proud.

R1 and R2 are doing great. You can see what full coverage of that thick thermal down looks like when you look at them and then look up at the little eaglet at Berry where the thermal down is just coming in.

R2 is the one at the front holding on to the fish that it will continue to nibble on. These two can be real comedians.

NE26 and 27 are doing grand as well, the youngest of the eaglets now. If you want soft, cute, and cuddly that is the place to watch – NEFlorida with Gabby and Samson!

This has been a quick check on some nests. So far all looks great. The system that is moving through the US is going to impact lots of birds and wildlife as it pushes its way through. Hopefully nests with chicks on them or eggs will be spared the worst of it.

Thank you for joining me today. Stay safe. Stay warm.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagles, NEFlorida and the AEF, NZ DOC, Berry College Bald Eagles, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Duke Farms.

Late Monday in Bird World

The ‘Alberta Clipper’ is just starting to impact Winnipeg with some light snow flakes. We are in an extreme blizzard warning area until tomorrow morning when the winds and snow – getting up to 90 kph (or 55 mph) – dissipate. The garden birds were a little strange today. They ate and left. Normally they come and stay all day but a couple of waves of different groups came and went. I suspect they were going to try and find a place to hunker down for the duration. This storm system is also going to impact a huge part of the US including my childhood state of Oklahoma.

It is snowing on the Storks near Freiburg, too.

There is wind and blowing snow in Durbe, Latvia, the home of Milda, the White-tailed Eagle. The sound from the camera’s microphone makes you shiver – the wind is just howling through the forest.

The female Bald Eagle at Duke Farms is also under some snow and it looks like she might get more as this weather system moves through the eastern US.

There is good news in Bird World. Both of the USS Bald Eagles were seen at the nest today. The worry last night over whether or not there was an injury melted away. Nice.

The thermal down is coming in on the eaglet at the KNF in Central Louisiana. The light natal down is giving way to dandelions. Notice how much longer the beak is and how large the cere has become. The cere is the soft fleshy part above the black beak, seen below. The cere varies in shape, size, and colour amongst raptors. The beak will turn that beautiful yellow when this eaglet is approximately 4-5 years old and be pure yellow by the time it is 6 years old. At that time, it will also finish getting its adult plumage including that full beautiful white head.

The meals are more spread apart but the eaglet is eating longer and its crop is getting much fuller. Just look below. The crop is a pouch along the espophagus. It stores food before it gets to the stomach. It also processes prey items that cannot be processed in the stomach. The raptor will regurgitate a compressed pellet of those items that do not go to the stomach.

The Wildlife Biologist has just confirmed that this crop is at least 3-4 inches (10 cm) long! Wow.

Poor Baby. It took some maneuvering with the weight and flopping of that crop for it to get in a position to PS. Obviously the crop weighs more than the chick’s bottom does.

This baby has really grown in the last 4 or 5 days and is changing more and more with every blink it seems.

Despite being full to the brim and hardly able to move, Anna is making certain that the little one is topped up before bedtime.

NE26 and 27 are awash in Spanish Moss. The nest seems to be covered with it and fish. Lots of fish.

There are those sweet little fluffy dumplings in the nest bole.

Sleeping quietly under Mum.

At the WRDC Nest in Miami, R1 and R2 have popping crops, too. The pin or blood feathers can be seen coming in through the thermal down.

R1 is closest to you. R2 without the fluffy hair is in the back and also has a large crop. Both eaglets are doing well and there is plenty of food on the nest.

The 2022 Albatross Count on Midway Atoll is completed. Here is the information as it was posted by Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge today:

YRK flew in and switched places with OGK yesterday at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest in New Zealand.

Lady Hawk caught that sweet reunion.

The camera is still offline in Port Lincoln. Would love to have had a good look at our Ervie.

Tuesday February 1 is Lunar New Year for many of our friends. For all of you celebrating the Spring Festival, we wish you a healthy, happy, prosperous Year of the Tiger.

Thank you for joining me today. So happy to have you with me. Stay safe, stay warm!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Friends of Midway Atoll Wildlife Refuge FB Page, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, WRDC Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, and the Stork’s Nest Livestream.

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.