First hatch for Winnie and Swoop and Sasha fledges…Late Tuesday in Bird World

9 June 2026

Hello Everyone,

We are in the direct path of a series of supercells forming south of us and moving slowly north, so this post is going to be short and sweet. We are under a severe tornado watch and have had ping-pong-ball-sized hail. Toby has been very upset by the storm and the heavy, heavy downpours. We are fine. I grew up in Oklahoma, so I am familiar with those big F4S tornadoes, and we know what to do.

Image on FB by Katie Powell in St Anne Manitoba:

A dark, ominous sky with a large, swirling funnel cloud forming above a building, indicating a severe storm or tornado.

Sasha has fledged at the Fraser Point Bald Eagle nest of Andor and Cruz. Congratulations! SK Hideaways has it on video: https://youtu.be/TGfNgOd13wg?

Clark brought in two fish yesterday. Some of the local fisherpeople believe that he had to go to the Rattlesnake River to get them – one came late at night also. That was incredible. It is difficult enough for ospreys to see in rushing muddy water, but at night?

A pair of ospreys perched on a nest made of branches and twigs, with one osprey sitting while the other stands nearby. The background shows a parking lot and trees.
Close-up image of an osprey sitting in its nest, showcasing its distinct brown and white plumage and sharp beak.
A close-up of an osprey nest, showcasing a young osprey interacting with three eggs on a bed of twigs and grass.
Close-up view of an osprey's talons resting near two eggs on a nest, surrounded by pine needles and greenery.

It is just past 1500 on the Canadian Prairies. It is one hour earlier at Iris’s nest. I have seen no fish deliveries today, but it has been raining periodically. I wish we could find out more about the status of the river near the nest. This issue with getting fish is going to seriously impact these chicks!

Clark came in with a small fish that Iris quickly snatched.

Two ospreys near their nest, one holding a fish while the other stands nearby, with a blurred parking lot in the background.

‘PB’ alerted me to Jill’s big fish for the kids. This nest is doing so well and those fledglings are getting big and strong so they can survive on their own. She has been an outstanding mother.

A close-up of a dog holding a fish in its mouth while standing on a pile of sticks and debris.

Geemeff – thank you for following what is happening with that natural material or twine or whatever it is that Dorcha worked hard to try and get off that chick! We will appreciate any updates.

Geemeff Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 9th June 2026

It rained on and off today but more concerning than the weather was something wrapped tightly around the leg of one of the chicks, Chick2, it seems, but a closer look is needed to confirm. It appears to be organic rather than man made but it will be a relief when it’s off, Dorcha tried and failed to remove it today. Another, minor, concern is the attitude of the chicks – not yet in the reptilian phase, but their aggressive instinct to dominate and ensure priority on the feeding line has kicked in early. Chick3 does its best to keep out of the way of its older siblings but doesn’t always succeed. However, this is all perfectly natural and seen every season in varying degrees. Even a season with a solo chick had aggression – lacking siblings, the chick constantly attacked Dorcha! Louis ensures there’s a steady supply of food and each chick got fed from every fish so this season is proceeding along the usual lines, including the inevitable arrival of unsuitable sticks which cause mayhem, it was Dorcha’s turn today. Louis brought two fish, taking the Nest Two tally to one hundred and twenty one, and Garry’s single fish for Aurora takes the Nest One tally to one hundred and seven. Day forty for Aurora’s egg ended with no sign of a pip yet, but there are still a couple more days in the hatching time frame, perhaps we’ll have a surprise in the morning – fingers and talons firmly crossed for Garry and Aurora. Light rain forecast for overnight with a low of 7°C, changing to thundery showers with a high of 13°C tomorrow.

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/1ZJd_MubgFo N2 Two eldest chicks prefer fighting to fish! 07.44.17
https://youtu.be/jbhaZwjRscs N2 Not good! One of the chicks has something tight around its leg 14.23.01 (zoom)https://youtu.be/xD5vP8wcEUI N1 Garry arrives covered in fish blood, Aurora grabs the fish and goes 18.01.11

https://youtu.be/spH0oa8uJRI N2 Youngest chick doesn’t get much of fish two 19.15.39

You’re invited to join the lively community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s friendly, free and everyone’s welcome:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

At Dunrovin, the first hatch for Swoop and Winnie! That is one strong-necked chick.

An adult bird feeding a chick in a nest surrounded by eggs and natural debris.

It appears that the Little Tiny Bob at Steelscape did not survive the sibling rivalry.

Dewey Beach, on the other hand, is doing well. Love Baby Dewey. There are issues with fish deliveries at many of the nests that sadly might continue. Send good wishes. So far, Dewey isn’t one of them. Look at that chubby osplet chick. That is what they should all look like – fat.

An osprey standing on a nest with a chick and two eggs, overlooking a waterfront area with buildings in the background.

I am going to say good night. It looks like the storms are now east of the City of Winnipeg, so I am going to relax. We still have some lightning, but I hope no more hail or wind, but oh, there is thunder again. So far, only one tree fell on a car on our street (not mine).

Take care everyone.

Thank you to Geemeff for their daily summary and for keeping an eye on that material on nest 2, to SK Hideaways thank you for the videos, and to all who posted information and images on FB, I am very grateful.

We want fish! and more news in Bird World

24 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Our thoughts go out to all that are being lashed about by tropical storm systems and hurricanes.

It is a quiet drizzly grey Saturday morning in the garden. Little Red has been eating at the solid suet cylinder and the Blue Jays are pecking away at the cob of corn left for them. The sparrows have not really been around much. I hope to have some photos of Little Red cleaned up for tomorrow. But, so far, the gang is all here – Junior and the 3 fledgling Blue Jays and the 3 fledgling Crows plus Little Red, Dyson, and Scraggles. Dyson’s two from the summer come and go as well. There has been no sightings of Little Hedwig and the neighbours and I are beginning to fear the worst about those cats. Fingers crossed we see a bunny shortly.

The temperatures are dropping at night. All of the Grape tomatoes have been picked and will turn green in the lovely Birch basket. All of the plants to come inside are here but one which means a trip to the garden centre today for soil. Even so, we have not had a hard frost in the garden and this is absolutely remarkable considering it is now the 24th of September.

In the Mailbox:

The other day I was asked if non-parental male peregrine falcons could harm the eyases in the scrape. I told a story of an Osprey that had kicked the eggs out of the nest when he suspected they belonged to another male. Today, a cartoon that Chloe Baker did of Odin and EJ showed up on FB.

It was Loch Garten, 2013, and here is the video of that egg being kicked out of the nest. Odin waited til EJ went for a break! (not HD) I wish some of these great old videos could be cleaned up. They are fantastic. Of course, Odin was not the only male. Some of us waited to see if Aran would go after Mrs G’s eggs this season but, he didn’t. Presumably they were his and not the Pont Cresor Aeron Z2.

This also happened at Dunrovin a couple of years ago – much clearer image.

And here is another a couple of years ago. There are many examples. We do not know what will happen if the young male totally ousts the old male at Melbourne. Indeed, we do not even know if that will happen this year. My fingers are crossed that he goes and sits and waits til this breeding season is over! But, we also have to prepare ourselves for the worst. It is much better when the males get rid of the eggs.

Making News:

Some additional images were released of Victor taking his flight to freedom. He sure must have been so excited to be back in the wild. Victor is a magnificent eagle! Thanks to Paul K for cleaning these up!

Nest News:

It is all about life lessons at the Sydney Sea Eagles nest. The parents are deliberately branching, demonstrating how to ward off the Currawong, and then how to eat a fish. It is really a privilege to be able to watch the daily lives of these amazing raptors.

Xavier looking at the eggs. Hatch watch is 1-3 October! Xavier is one of the most devoted male Peregrine Falcons that I know. This is an incredible nest to watch and there are several cameras and a chat.

Xavier has been doing some of that enfluffing in the scrape.

I wonder how many of you are counting the number of fish flakes that Little Bob is getting at Port Lincoln. Big Bob is bigger and will need more and Mum is smartly feeding it several nice helpings before moving on to Middle and Little Bob. Dad, for his part, brought in a whomping size fish that will last the day.

Oh, Little Bob you are going to have to push and figure out how to get to the front with Big Bob in the front line!

Little Bob got himself in the right position for the next feeding at 10:50. Big Bob has a super crop and Middle is laying down. Little is going to get some really nice bites.

The camera operator gave us some fabulous close ups of the three after the 1415 feeding so we could see that each had a nice crop. Little Bob is holding its own. You can really see the egg tooth of each of the osplets – that hard piece of white beak used like a pick axe to get out of the shell. Enjoy this soft fluffy down. We will not realize it but time passes quickly and soon they will be in their reptilian phase.

Incubation continues at the 367 Collins Street scrape box. It is now the 25th in Melbourne and we are on hatch watch for the 27th.

For everyone who cannot wait for the Bald Eagle nests to be full of little eaglets, the first on streaming cam mating of the year occurred at the Northwest Florida nest of Samson and Gabby!

Migration News:

Do you know about EuroBirdPortal.org? It tracks all of the European Ospreys movements during the migration period.

I will be checking on Karl II and his family for tomorrow.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Little Bob is doing well. He isn’t our Ervie – no one could ever be Ervie but, I hope he holds his own against Big Bob and thrives. Mum and Dad are doing a great job. I fear that when Dad is late with fish it is either the wind or the gulls. Let’s blow those gulls away! Take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams that form my screen captures: Chloe Baker, Loch Garden RSPB, Dunrovin, Castnet, Bald Eagles 101 and the Ojai Raptor Centre, The Wonderful World FB, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Charles Sturt Falcons, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, EuroBirdPortal, and NWFL-AEF.