Tag Archives: Dylan and Seren

Is a Tragedy Brewing at Dyfi and Clywedog plus other tales in Bird World Thursday Morning

26 May 2022

The Osprey season in the UK is getting off to a very stormy start. First, the Perch almost kills the chicks at Manton Bay when it flaps them, Laddie’s eye appeared to be injured, and now we have a missing Dad and another chick under a fish. The weather is terrible and fishing is difficult. Rain and damp. It reminds me of how the season began in Wales last year. I hope the weather and life on the nest improves soon.

The fish flap. The wee little hatch of Idris and Telyn is under it but it appears that Telyn does not know. She knows something is not right as she is restless but not precisely what it seems or she would be moving the fish. The good thing is the nest cup is deep and there are two more eggs and a shell under there. Fingers must be crossed and positive wishes. It seems like we just watched this happen at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya. I hope the ending turns out as well for the Dyfi couple.

Later. The fish has yet to be moved. Seren can’t seem to find the wee hatch. Let us just hope this turns out alright. At this moment, the chick has been under the fish 90 minutes. I hope it is sound asleep in the egg cup while all of us worry.

Dylan has not been seen since yesterday. Dylan is normally very reliable and I am worried about him and what will happen at this nest. He is known to chase intruders as far away as 25 miles from the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest stopping to pick up Brown Trout on the way home. There are three very hungry chicks on that nest with Seren. The weather has been terrible.

Seren has been fish calling and fish calling. She just let out a few loud calls. I hope that she has seen Dylan. John Williams who is on the chat and really takes care of this nest says that the weather has been so bad that Dylan might have had to go even further to get fish today. I sure hope that is what is going on!

Seren and Dylan’s three chicks calling for food. The intruder in the area is believed to be Dylan. The weather is terrible for fishing. John Williams has said that it is to improve tomorrow but right now Seren needs a fish of any size and shape for the babies! Oh, how I wish the Ospreys would stack up fish on the nest like some of the eagles do!

LOL. Everything is happening at once. Egg 2 has hatched for Idris and Telyn and it looks as if the fish has been pulled away a bit!!!!!!

The Glaslyn nest is fine but it is very windy and damp in Wales. Aran and Mrs G have their first hatch. Quite the cutie.

Aran brought Mrs G a nice Flounder after the hatch.

Aran sees the chick for the first time.

Everything seems to fine with Laddie’s eye at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest. Fish have been arriving and Blue NC0 has been feeding the three chicks. The two older boys are picking on the third hatch. Just so everyone knows.

After the initial terrifying time at the Manton Bay nest at Rutland with the fish trapping the two chicks and one being left exposed (Middle Bob) for 5-6 hours, life on that nest is back to normal. The three are in their Reptilian Phase and are growing like mad. I really like how Blue 33 acts as a security guard at the nest while Maya is feeding.

Mum was on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest this morning at 07:14. She did not have a fish and was fish calling. She flew away shortly after. It is now past 11:00 and I have not seen a fish delivery on this nest yet. (I could have missed it!)

Little Bit 17 has, so far, had two feedings. The first was at 06:34 and the second was from 08:25-08:33. Lots of bites at the first feeding and a lot of fish at the second.

Life is good at the ND-LEEF nest.

DC9 has branched at the National Arboretum nest this morning.

This is a very short report on how the Osprey nests are doing – or not – with a check in on Little Bit 17 and the Ospreys at UFlorida-Gainesville. I hope each of you has a lovely day. My report this evening will be coming very late. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, ND-LEEF, NADC-AEF, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn.

Early Wednesday in Bird World

25 May 2022

There is so much news that it is difficult to know where to start sometimes. But today it is going to be in Port Lincoln, Australia on the Osprey barge. Mum and Dad were sitting next to one another on the ropes. Mum then went to the nest and was looking around. She was not happy. One of the long time watchers of the barge of this Osprey family, ‘M’ suggested on the chat that Ervie had been trying to land to eat a puffer, like he has done now for nearly 5 months. The camera did not pull back so that we could have a clear view. Something was definitely making Mum quite upset and ‘A’ writes this morning and confirms that at 0952 Ervie was trying to land.

This is, indeed a sad day for all of us that loved Ervie and wished beyond anything that the parents might let him come to the barge. Maybe he will go to the old barge with his puffers – the alternative for Mum and Dad. (Is it still there?)

Mum was still preening at 11:10 on the nest.

The feeding of five little storks! They have grown so much in a week!

While those White Storks have been growing, Betty and Bukachek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic are welcoming their newly hatched storklets. Congratulations!

At the black stork nest of Jan and Jannika in Estonia, frogs and fish were brought in to feed all of the storklets. If you have never seen storklets fed, this is a great way to start watching. The parents regurgitate the fish for the little ones.

There is a very confusing situation at the Latvian Black stork nest of Grafs and Grafiene. The ‘real’ Grafiene returned late and now there are three on the nest with mating and fighting.

The second eaglet on the Fort St Vrain Bald Eagle nest in Colorado, US is sleeping quietly. The eaglet is 6 weeks old and I am so hoping that there is a parent near by. Last night a raccoon climbed and pulled an eaglet off the nest to feed it and possibly its babies. I hope this eaglet stays safe!

Before night, Little Bit 17 was flapping its wings on the ND-LEEF nest. They are getting bigger and he is getting stronger with every bite of fish that he eats.

A fish arrived on the ND-LEEF nest at 0820. Little Bit 17 began moving up to eat and was at Mum’s beat at 08:21:37 where he got fed. Yes! That is a very good way to start a Wednesday morning.

It got a bit wet on the nest this morning and Mum is there with the eaglets.

Lady and Dad are busy working on the nest first thing in the morning. Dad has been bringing fish to the nest every day for Lady. Lovely.

‘S’ was kind enough to forward a statement from the Scottish Wildlife Trust on the issue relating to Laddie, LM12’s eye. They said, “

Our breeding pair, LM12 and NC0 have made an incredible effort to provide for their growing offspring since the first chick hatched on 19 May.

If you’ve been watching the webcam you might well have noticed that resident male LM12 has an injury on his right eye – this may have been caused by an abrasion sustained when his protective, translucent, third eyelid, also known as a nictitating membrane, was open.

Fortunately this injury seems to minor and it doesn’t seem to have affected his ability to fish. LM12 brought two perch to his hungry family at 20:05 and 21:20 this evening.”

Laddie’s eye appears to be perfect. He has brought in a big fish for Blue NC0 to feed the babies!

The two osplets of Dylan and Seren at Llyn Clywedog are almost the same size. They are terribly cute. It is pitching down rain there today and the third Bob has hatched. Congratulations Dylan and Seren.

Both eggs have hatched at the nest of White YW and Blue 35 at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Idris and Telyn on the hatch of their first chick of the 2022 season at 1628 on the 25th of May! It is Tiffin Cake all around in Wales today I am told.

Both of the osprey chicks on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest were fed by Mum this morning. They were both full with Mum betting a chance to eat the tail at 1105. Later images show them with a nice crop each.

Look at the size of Middle’s beautiful wings!

The only surviving osplet on the Dahlgren Nest in Virginia US used to be the size of the Bobs at the Loch of the Lowes and Llyn Clywedog. Just look at how big that chick is today!

It was heart warming to learn that the Friends of Big Bear had so many letters of support to stop the development in Big Bear Valley. Jackie and Shadow are much loved. In terms of social media stars, they have the highest number of visitors to their streaming cam than any other Bald Eagle nest. This is fantastic news.

The day that Spirit flies off the nest is coming. It could even be today. She has been on the branch flapping her big beautiful wings and standing on one leg this morning.

Was Spirit getting some advice for the future?

DC9 has been sitting on the rim of the nest looking out at the world from the National Arboretum nest in Washington DC. Mr President is doing a great job taking care of his only eaglet this year. Mum Lotus has not been seen for several days now.

The triplets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are starting to get out on the branches!

The oldest US Steel Eaglet is 50 days old today while the youngest is 47 days.

Liberty and Guardian have been making regular prey deliveries to Star and Sentry throughout the day. Some viewers have worried. There is a chat associated with the nest and the moderator will list the times of prey deliveries and visits from parents. The two eaglets are so large they take up the entire nest!

The eyases at the Manchester New Hampshire scrape continue to loose more of their fluffy down revealing their beautiful feathers.

The San Jose City Hall falcons are so cute. They are starting to lose their fluff revealing some nice feathers, too. Such cuties sitting there like little Buddhas. They are 20 days old today.

Here is a short video of Pedro meeting those chicks. Look at how much they have grown.

Talk about losing baby down! The two Red-tail Hawks at the Presidio Trust nest in San Francisco sure look a lot different this morning. I have not checked on them for awhile and they are big hawks!!!!!

It is a crazy time in Bird World. So many nests and everything happening from mating to fledging – with lots of intruders! Let us hope that all of our feathered friends have uneventful days. One of our readers asked about the Berry College eaglet. B15 fledged – if my memory holds true – on the 28th of April. She was still visiting the nest to everyone’s delight at 110 days old. Good solid eaglet. Pa and Missy continued to provide food for her.

Gorgeous picture that someone sent me of Pa Berry and Missy. (Do not know who to credit). They are a beautiful couple and did a fantastic job this year with B15.

This has been a long blog today. Please pardon any crazy typos or wording – I tried to cover too many nests! I will do a short check in on some of the nests with recent hatches later today. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Berry College Eagles, Presidio Trust, San Jose City Hall, Peregrine Networks, Redding Eagles, Pix Cams, NADC-AEF, FOBBV, Dahlgren Ospreys, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Dyfi Ospreys, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, CarynXWild, Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, ND-LEEF, XCel Energy, Mlade Buky Storks, and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

Early Thursday in Bird World

19 May 2022

It is another coolish day. They continue to mention snow coming! But how pleasant was it to wake up to three Baltimore Orioles already in the garden. My dial for being irritated at some birds preventing others from eating goes from mildly irked to outrage. The male Baltimore Orioles prevent the females from having the oranges or jelly! So I took the tiniest little bowls and put grape jelly in them. There are six. Surely the males can’t be at each one of them if they are eating jelly! Aaaargh.

Do we think those pesky eyases of Annie, Grinnell, and Alden told Mum what they did when Dad Alden was trying to feed them? As ‘B’ said – it is very apparent that this is Alden’s first adventure with chicks! Alden you are adorable and you are determined to figure this out and be a great Dad! Annie is giving the chicks their breakfast and later, Alden is in to give Annie a break so she can eat, too. He is doing a great job brooding and shading the chicks.

Seeing Ervie at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge is such a treat and now he has been there several days in a row! It is definitely taking a long time for that talon to grow in. It is growing and that is wonderful. Has Ervie lived on Puffer Fish all this time? He sure seems quick to catch them! And is Dad still bringing him a fish once in awhile? I collected a few more images of one of our favourite Osprey fledglings to share with you. We never know when it will be the last time to see him.

Ervie had at least two fish. It is not clear if the earliest was a puffer or was a fish brought by Dad. I think it was Dad.

A shot I shared last evening showing that talon growing in ever so slowly.

Ervie should have perfected his fishing skills by the time that talon is in. My gosh. Will it be in by Christmas? It certainly has a long way to go and I wonder if he wears it down using it??

Ervie looks really healthy and strong despite the talon issue. I wonder how many Puffers he has caught and eaten? Ervie is also very handsome! Sadly his injury has probably allowed us to see him all the time – or maybe Ervie is also, in addition, a home body. Wonder what Mum and Dad will do when breeding season is very close?

Richmond and Rosie now have their full cohort of chicks. SF Ospreys made a video of that second hatch. You can see that first little cutie, too. Two Bobs.

The first chick hatched for Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes. No more than it was getting out of the last of the shell, Blue NC0 had to fight off an intruder. It has been terrible for them this year. Fingers crossed that their presence does not do any harm to the chicks!

There is a fish ready and waiting!

It certainly is prime Osprey real estate. No one is allowed on the loch from April to September during breeding season. Nothing to disturb the Ospreys! Can you imagine how nice this would be elsewhere? Why do humans with motorized recreational vehicles have precedence? Why not canoes or kayaks?

Speaking of water, the river level around the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest is dropping and this might help with fish deliveries to the nest. Little 17 will be in need of food today for sure. Both parents have touched at the nest but I have seen no deliveries. (0730 and 0830)

It has been very hot at the Llyn Clywedog Nest. Seren Blue 5F hasn’t had a fish either. Dylan is a great provider so hopefully as it gets cooler in the evening something will come to the nest. Seren should be hearing chicks as we are on pip watch for these two. The wet and cold weather really hampered the breeding season of the Welsh Ospreys last year. Seren laid three eggs but only one hatched. Still, they raised the Biggest Bob ever in Welsh Osprey history in 2021. Everyone thought the chick was a huge female – not so. An enormous male!!!!!!! Blue 496 weighed 1400 grams.

Seren is an incredible Mum. She spent a couple of years at the Pont Cresor nest in a polygamous relationship with Aran. After two seasons of unsuccessful breeding, she flew the coop and found Dylan at Llyn Clywedog. Dylan has been here since 2016. The couple have been a mated pair since 2020. Seren spends her winters in The Gambia. Chris Woods has tracke her there to the same tree every year!

The image by Chris Wood made the rounds of some of the FB groups so I do hope that it is alright to include it here. We are all very grateful for his efforts in tracking down the Ospreys at the Tanji Quarry in The Gambia during the winter months!

Chris reported this year that they are taking lots of sand from the Tanji Quarry and he is wishing that they would stop for the sake of the birds.

The American Eagle Foundation has put together a slide show of this seasons activities at the Northeast Florida nest of Samson, Gabby, Jasper, and Rocket.

I am very happy to report that the Kestrel chicks – the smallest three – that Robert Fuller took out of the nest and raised til they were strong enough to go back with the others have been returned to Father Kestrel who is now in charge of six growing nestlings! Fantastic. A good intervention on the part of a human when the female disappeared. Father Kestrel has accomplished being both security, prey provider, and feeder!

Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville nest at 11:42. Middle was right on the ball and mantled and grabbed that fish and started self feeding! Mum is going to fly in and feed the chicks but this is the second time today that Middle has been working on self-feeding. So proud of this little one. It is no longer as intimidated by Big as it was.

Our Middle is doing fabulous. So proud of him. He is now big enough that Big really cannot intimidate him like he could even a week ago.

All five of the eyases at the Manchester New Hampshire scrape are doing great.

The five at the Belgian scrape in Oundenaare Tower are sleeping on a feather bed and loosing their baby down. All are flapping and it is getting a little crowded inside that box.

The Anacapa eyases are also doing great. I love that they live in the cliffs in a natural setting. Everyone is working on self-feeding.

The only problem nest that I can see is the ND-LEEF one. I have not, however, checked all of the nests this morning. It is time to go out and work on that penthouse for Little Red! Before the snow arrives.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. 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: Explore.org, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Scottish Wildlife Trust, ND-LEEF, CarnyxWildd, Chris Wood, Robert Fuller, AEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Peregrine Networks, and Oundenaare Tower Falcons.

Late Friday and early Saturday in Bird World

22-23 April 2022

Friday was drawing to a close. Big Red had been restless all of Thursday and it was a wonderful relief when L1 hatched and was deemed ‘perfect’ after a worry over some blood coming from the egg earlier. Tonight (Friday late) Big Red is trying as best she can to get some sleep while L2 is hatching. The cracking is such that we now have gone beyond a mere pip.

If all four of the eggs hatch, Big Red s going to need to grab those naps as much as she can.

Big Red is not giving away any hints Saturday morning. But you can see the more than pip in the back right egg and a pip in the back left egg. L1 is doing fine. Being an Only Child – even for a short time – has its advantages.

Arthur brought in another starling in the morning. There are now 2 Starlings (one partially eaten), 1 grey bird, and a partially eaten snake in the nest.

Dawn is just breaking in the Tucholskie Forest in Poland. You can hear the songbirds singing as the sun rises through the pine trees. This just reminds me of a fairy tale forest. White-tail Eagles are so beautiful with their lighter heads and darker bodies – all seemingly touched with a bit of silver.

Mum left to take a wee break. Both of the eaglets are still alive and appear to be doing well.

Mum returns to brood the chicks in the soft morning light.

Do you know the Anacapa Peregrine Falcon Nest? This couple have been together since 2013 raising chicks on the cliff face on the remote Anacapa Island in California. They are known as Mr and Mrs A.

Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands where we have a couple of familiar Bald Eagle Nests, Two Harbours (Chase & Cholyn) and West End (Akecheta and Thunder).

Two chicks have hatched this year. Just look like white fluffy little teddy bears with big pink beaks and pink toes and feet. So cute. They are 3 days old. It is hoped that the third egg is non-viable. It is typical for not all of the falcon eggs to hatch. These chicks are big and strong and that chick would be behind.

Here is a feeding from yesterday.

This is a feeding from today.

This is the link to the streaming cam for all you falcon lovers!

https://explore.org/livecams/falcons/peregrine-falcon-anacapa

I want to check on the status of the Black Stork nest that was the home of Grafs and Grafiene last year. The very late arrival of the female last year caused issues at the nest. The male returned earlier in April this year. Many on the Forum are wondering if it was Grafs or another male. The male worked away bring twigs and moss to prepare such a nice nest. Now it is the 22nd of April and there is no female yet. The male sings and looks around. Fingers crossed for a quick arrival of a female to this gorgeous nest in Sigulda County. Come on Grafiene!!!!!

Here is the link to the nest:

Karl II is working very hard on the nest he shares with Kaia. He is very handsome!

Karl II and Kaia have had a male intruder land on the nest. Kaia helped magnificently in defending the nest. Unlike other species, the males and females will defend the nest against opposite genders. There are apparently a lot of single male floaters due to a lack of female storks. They are causing problems with established nests. We are waiting for an egg at this nest!

Here are the couple defending their nest.

Mum and Dad returned to Glacier Gardens yesterday! Looking forward to another great year up in Alaska. Kindness was the sweetest little eaglet. It was a great name and touched the heart of so many. It is so nice to see Mum and Dad.

There are now three eggs at the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dyland and Seren Blue 5F. Dylan is a great fisher but he also loves to incubate and he wasn’t wanting to give up that spot Saturday afternoon!

Mrs G and Aran have two eggs now.

Cheers are happening in Poole Harbour because CJ7 and Blue022 have their first egg. There will be more. The first hatch will be historic – the first Osprey in Poole Harbour in over 200 years!!!!!!!!! Incredible. The community worked hard to relocate Ospreys to the area and it looks like they will have success this year.

This is such wonderful news for this couple that began bonding last breeding season.

The very first osprey of the 2022 season has hatched in the Diaccia Botrona Nature Reserve in Maremma in Tuscany, Italy yesterday.

The situation at the Florida-Gainesville Osprey nest is not improving. I captured a couple of images of Little Bit taking a few bites of a fish on the nest before Middle went after him. You have to look carefully. Its tiny head is in the very centre of the nest under the tail of that fish.

The minute the older sibling notices Little Bit move it attacks despite it having a full crop.

The two large siblings prevented Little Bit from getting any food even though they were clearly full.

Feeding and any movement by Little Bit triggers their aggressive behaviour. The ability of both Big and Middle to dominate the food coming into the nest is directly seen in the growth progression of the three nestlings. I often smile when I see people in chat rooms saying not to call the dominant birds bullies but in his 1979 article “Sibling Aggression among Nestling Ospreys in Florida Bay” in The Auk (vol. 96, no 2, 415-17) Alan Poole says just that in discussing the difference in size of the nestlings “however, 3 days after the first sibling bullying was seen, nestling A was 165 heavier than B…” (416). The older two are simply that – bullies. What I did find interesting about Poole’s study was that he did not find the same level of aggression in the Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay area. Some of you will have observed, as I have, sibling competition and aggression at several Florida Osprey nests such as Achieva Credit Union (2021), Captiva (2022), Pink Pearl (2022), and Gainesville currently. You might well know of others in the last couple of years.

Little Bit mustered the courage to get to the beak but there was no fish left.

In the image below you can see the size difference between Big, Middle, and Little Bit. The older ones will continue to have the advantage unless this chick gets fed – it had a few bites yesterday and some fish later on the 21st. Tiny Tot lasted for 72 hours before getting some fish at Achieva in 2021. Indeed, that chick had – in a month – the equivalent of 12 full days without food. She went on to become dominant. It remains unclear to me if Little Bit will survive the weekend, sadly.

Little or MiniO fledged yesterday morning early (the 22nd) and has not returned to the nest. It is unclear to me whether she is in a tree or is grounded. Middle (or Little) is in the nest with Lena fish calling to Andy.

I never like to close with sad news but I have just heard that two of the eaglets at the Denton Homes nest have died. It is suspected that it is Avian Flu. We will see if the third survives but it is doubtful. The Dad is there and is very confused. The surviving chick is in the nest with the two deceased ones. — It was thought that Avian Flu was mostly staying on the East coast. This is a move into the heartland being triggered by migrating birds? There will be concern for other nests in the region. Please send them your warmest and most positive energy.

We have had rain since the wee hours of the morning on Friday. It has filled several of the low areas of the garden with water. The worry is that they are reporting a drop in temperature that would freeze the ground surface causing the rain not to soak in (the ground is already saturated) and create wide scale flooding. We worry about the animals. All of the squirrels, Hedwig, Mr and Mrs Woodpecker along with a myriad of Juncos, Sparrows, Grackles and Starlings have been trying to eat. It is difficult to convince Hedwig that we have special food for him on a plate that is relatively dry!!!!!!

Thank you for joining me. I hope to have some happy news on Big Red and Arthur’s L2 later this evening. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Brywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Biehki Online Bory Tucholskie, Estonian Eagle Club, Diaccia Botrona Nature Reserve, CarnyxWild, Explore.Org, and the Latvian Fund for Nature.

Early Wednesday in Bird World

20 April 2022

The number of intruders or interlopers – or floaters – causing tense interactions at or near nests is becoming increasingly more alarming. We have seen Grinnell at Cal Falcons chase a female intruder from The Campanile only to be killed. Both Alden and Annie have, since, had to defend their territory with one male interloper coming right into the scrape while eggs were being incubated!

When did we realize that the life of our feathered friends is not just fluttering around and singing at sunrise and dusk? It is becoming quite worrisome.

Rosie was incubating eggs at the SF Bay Osprey nest at the Richmond Shipping yard when an intruder arrived. Richmond does not seem to be around and well, just have a look. The adults that have eggs and chicks that depend on them need to be hunting for food not defending nests in situations that might injure or harm them fatally.

It is happening everywhere and events such as these are causing a lot of anxiety. This morning an intruder with a fish tried to land on the Llyn Clywedog nest with a fish after Seren had laid her third egg. Dylan chased it off! Is it my imagination or is it worse this year than last?

There is a real lack of suitable nesting sites. Ospreys have adapted well to various human made objects such as the Whirley Crane in SF or the light stand at the University of Florida in Gainesville. I just learned the other day that there is an Osprey nest on top of one of the light stands at the University of Manitoba. I had no idea. Ospreys will use human made platforms – what they require is that the sky be wide open so they have a 360 view of any predators arriving. Otherwise Ospreys like the tops of dead trees. Bald Eagles like trees but trees – good old sturdy trees – are in decline. Ron and Rita took to the Papadam nest that Ron Magill constructed and, as I have mentioned a couple of times, David Hancock of Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is construction eagle nests with sun shades! In San Francisco there is a real desire to have some of that prime real estate that The Campanile provides. Good trees and good territories with a growing number of birds looking for them tends to cause much distress.

It is a joy to see these two eaglets after the very rough start at the Dale Hollow nest. Both hatched on the 28th of February. If we count hatch day, they are 51 days old now. More growing, more wingersizing, and more jumping to do before fledging. Thankfully we will be enjoying them for awhile longer.

An adult brought in a small fish. Little Middle stayed back watching. Little Middle has not forgotten that he needs to be cautious. They have had days of many fish and then not much. Hunger could bring out the cranky side of Big. This is typical of eagle nests where the parents tend to show the older eaglets that sometimes it is feast or famine in the wild.

Little Middle moves up to eat before the fish is all gone, thankfully.

Cornell Bird Lab has posted a possible pip watch for Big Red and Arthur. They say they are in uncharted territory with four eggs. We will all be learning something. We will all be anxious to check on the status of this Red-tail Hawk nest first thing!

Wednesday morning. Cornell called a definite pip. Bit breezy there at times today.

You can see the pip in the third egg from the left as Arthur rolls the eggs this morning.

Big Red and Arthur are going to be really, really busy by the weekend.

B15 is 97 days old today. Pa Berry and Missy continue to come to the nest and to bring fish. Sometimes B15 self-feeds and sometimes she wants Mum to feed her. She tried both approaches Tuesday afternoon. It is such a joy that she is staying around the nest – getting strong, figuring out how to live on her own one day.

Well, the first fish of the morning did not arrive until 11:11:14 and it caused tension on the UFlorida Osprey nest at Gainesville.

Each of the chicks was hot and hungry and had been anticipating a nice piece of fish much earlier. As a result the eldest was cranky and Little Bit didn’t help itself by pecking at Big!

As you might well imagine a hot hungry bigger sibling wasn’t too happy and Big turned around and pecked Little Bit until he went into submission. Little Bit needs to not be so cheeky.

What was interesting to me was that, after a couple of minutes, the Mum got tired of the nonsense of the fighting and moved the fish and all three got in line and ate. Well done Mum!

Little Bit went and did a ps at 11:34 and went back to join the line. He has a bit of a crop forming and there is still fish left. Behave Little Bit!

There is a new study that is out in The Guardian this morning warning that protected areas aren’t always protecting the wildlife they should.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/20/protected-areas-dont-always-benefit-wildlife-global-study-finds-aoe

A quick check of what is happening in some of the nests.

Idris and Telyn have their second egg at the Dyfi Nest in Wales as of yesterday, the 19th.

Dylan and Seren 5F have three eggs at their nest at Llyn Clywedog as of today.

The Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 also have three eggs as of yesterday.

Everyone had a chance to eat fish at the Captiva Nest. Mum Lena is feeding Middle (Little) while Little (Mini) has his own fish on the left.

The two osplets are watching a Crow fly over head. Aren’t they just so beautiful? Look at those amber eyes and that plumage. Gorgeous. Did I say I love Ospreys?

The three eaglets on the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta are still on the nest. Oh, these kids make me nervous.

Just look at the size of the eaglet standing by Thunder being fed. My goodness. Check out the size of those legs. Wow.

It is certainly a gorgeous morning with that deep cobalt blue water and golden glow filtering on the Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn and their little one.

Voting closes today for the two eaglets of Liberty and Guardian. Be sure to fill in the form and get it in by 5pm Pacific time today! The link to submit a name is below the image.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepb87S7zrcMZI6PXzhLCeFD6t21xj5sjw7mEV9n2aT_34CWg/viewform

At the Northeast Florida nest of Samson and Gabby, both of their eaglets have now fledged. Congratulations Rocket!

There will be an on line Q & A about the Cal Falcons on 22 April – that is Friday at 2pm Berkeley time. You can set a reminder!

Betyanka and Bukachek have their first egg at the White Stork nest in Mlade Buky The Czech Republic.

Thank you so much for joining me. There are so many nests with things happening that it is hard to keep up. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: Capi Mlade Buky White Storks, Cornell Bird Labs, DHEC, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Redding Eagles, CarnyxWild, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Explore.org, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and Berry College Eagles.

Tuesday in Bird World

19 April 2022

This is a view of the storm that hit the other day. Today it is partly sunny but, there is another storm on its way. Winter continues for many of us!

Big Red and Arthur have snow. It seems every year Big Red will get encrusted in snow and ice and we sit and worry. She is used to the cold snowy wet weather living on the Cornell campus all her life (or nearby at Brooktondale where she hatched). Pip watch is the end of the week!

The Kakapo Recovery posted an announcement about their t-shirt fundraiser. That is incredibly wonderful – $27,000 is a wonderful amount for selling t-shirts. Well done. Waiting for ours to arrive!

This group and everyone associated with it does an amazing job trying to keep this critically endangered non-flying parrot alive. From changing transmitters, doing wellness checks, or ensuring birds that need care get off the islands to the Dunedin Vet – it is all fantastic.

And one another announcement that I am posting from FB. A Place Called Hope is one of those wildlife rehabbers like CROW that really goes all out for its patients. This Osprey needs fresh whole fish. Do you live in the area? Can you help? Do you know someone who does and could help? Give them a call!

Yesterday I was asked if I get terrified looking at the three West End eaglets now that one fell off and landed on a ledge below. (Thanks to Dr Sharpe, the baby is back on the nest.) The answer is ‘yes’. Utterly terrified.

I pondered that question for quite awhile before and after answering. We recognize that there are risks every day for our feathered friends. An eaglet could fall off the nest, a parent could be accidentally killed and not return with food for the female and chicks, a predator could come and predate the nestlings, fishing line can arrive at a nest and cut through the little legs and wings. We know these things like we have memorized a list of everything that could happen to the birds. But, until it happens, the absolute fragile life that they live does not register completely. That is what it was like for me with Grinnell. Grinnell was always going to return on the ledge and bring food to Annie. Grinnell was always going to protect The Campanile. Grinnell was always going to make a huge mess plucking a pigeon for the eyases. Grinnell would always be there. Until he didn’t come home. The eaglets were safe on the rock until one of them fell off. Absolutely ‘B’ terrified and helpless.

Here is a very different image of that Osprey nest at the University of Florida at Gainesville.

Gorgeous wide open spot for a nest just the way Ospreys love it.

The osplets are really hot today. Mum is trying to shade them just like yesterday. Huge change beginning for Little Bit’s plumage. The back of his head is now oily black!

Look carefully. He is sleeping to the left of Mum. Look at the back of his head. Then look at the older sibling just left of Mum’s shoulder. They are all actively moving into the reptilian stage.

Feedings have been difficult to observe with Mum keeping her back to us.

Not a Raptor. Ferris Akel loves Roseate Spoonbills. Audubon has a lovely article about the oldest Roseate Spoonbill in the world and she is still raising chicks!

https://www.audubon.org/news/oldest-known-roseate-spoonbill-identified-thanks-lucky-photograph?ms=digital-eng-social-facebook-x-20220400-nas_eng&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=20220400_nas_eng&fbclid=IwAR0m183W0GUsxBKYLbd4NlftbnJ24Qw5Ueo3sG_qAylZbqggecrw92hohZA

The two eaglets at the Dale Hollow nest are waiting for breakfast and lunch! It is often hard to tell them apart these days. Beautiful juvenile feathering.

Aran and Mrs G have been on their nest in the Glaslyn Valley protecting a piece of fish against a bunch of crows.

The rain has stopped at the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn. Everything is fine on their nest.

Blue NC0 and Laddie have a wonderful day at Loch of the Lowes. This is just the most beautiful place for an Osprey nest. So serene. No motor boats, no people. Three eggs.

Louis and Dorcha seem to have settled on the old nest with camera 1 at Loch Arkaig.

As far as I know, Dylan and Seren Blue 5F have not experienced any other visits from the Goshawk at Llyn Clywedog.

And I have two new Peregrine Falcon nests for you. One is in Buckinghamshire in the UK and the other is part of the streaming cams of the Chesapeake Bay Conservancy. Thank you to ‘L’ and her daughter for news of the nest in New England!

The camera on the Buckinghamshire Nest is really good – nice and clear, good definition and a great view. Waiting for eggs.

Here is the link to the Buckinghamshire streaming falcon cam:

The second nest belongs to Boh and Barb and they also have four eggs this year. It seems to be a year for four eggs! Those eggs were laid on March 15, 18, 20 and 23rd of March. We are on pip watch.

Here is the link to the Chesapeake Conservancy falcon cam:

Peregrine Falcon

And last but never least, we are on fledge watch for Little (known as Mini on the Captiva Chat). She is 59 days old today. Should be flying soon.

On the right is Middle (Little) and on the left is Little (Mini). You can clearly see the difference in their size. If you watch the streaming cam check out the difference in their legs. Little (Mini) has long legs to help him fish! Middle (Little) has short stocky legs and she is bigger overall.

Both ‘babies’ (hardly babies anymore) had fish this morning at 09:45. There is Middle (or Little on chat) eating its own fish on the left. Middle fledged at 08:13:12 on April the 16th. The long thin legs are like those of Idris at the Dyfi nest and most believe that Middle (Little) is a male. Little (or Mini) is being fed by Lena. She is a nice big female it seems.

Middle (Little) could fly any moment it seems. Here is a link to the Captiva camera:

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please 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: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Dyfi, Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Buckinghamshire Council Falcon Cam, Chesapeake Conservancy, DHEC, CarnyxWild, A Place Called Hope, Kakapo Recovery, and Explore.org.

For the love of Ospreys

14 April 2022

The first time I watched an Osprey nest I swore I would never watch another one. Here I am years later. My book shelves are full of information on Ospreys, I dream about Ospreys, I do research on third hatches. My mind is filled with ‘Osprey’. These birds can take you to the lowest depths and send you to the highest heights of joy. Together many of us cheered on Ervie – the third hatch at Port Lincoln, Australia in 2021 – who was clever and survived winning our hearts and the sat-pak over Bazza and Falky. Since then he has had at least one talon pulled out – it is growing ever so slowly. As a result, Ervie has stayed around Port Lincoln. Ervie has entertained us by returning to the nest barge over and over with his puffers. It is the best! We get to enjoy him longer.

The camera at the Achieva Osprey Cam in St Petersburg, Florida is now on line. It looks terrific. While the camera was out of order, Diane laid three more eggs – a second clutch. The first fell in a hole in the nest (or so it was believed). Normally, the eggs would be hatching at the end of February or beginning of March. The hot Florida weather may pose a problem. I found it very endearing when I discovered, this morning, that David Hancock is adding a shade canopy to all of the Bald Eagle nests he is building in British Columbia. That is something that may become very necessary at the Florida nests!

Jack and Diane fledged three last year. It was not an easy nest to watch as Tiny Tot Tumbles struggled. More than three times we thought TTT would die but she was clever and persistent. She learned to eat old dried fish and she lived to become the most dominant – and beautiful. In the end, Diane went and caught cat fish to supplement what Jack brought to the nest. This is what turned the corner for Tiny Tot.

After fledging, Tiny Tot remained at the nest for some time. She even defended it against adult intruders on her own and with Jack. Oh, how I wish she was banded!

But, I will warn you. With the late hatch and the heat, there is no telling what will happen at this nest.

I have no idea how the three will be doing in a week at the U of Florida Gainesville nest. It is hot! The chicks are enjoying the shade under Mum.

These are also three of the most active little ones I have ever seen!!!!!!

At least two are up out of the egg cup. If Little Bit isn’t yet, he will be out of there soon clamouring around on the Spanish Moss.

Lena and Andy were one month ahead of the normal egg laying time in Florida. Their two osplets are just about ready to fledge. They are beginning to get a little air under their wings and it won’t be long til they are hovering about. Andy and Lena did a great job this year.

By laying the eggs a month early at Captiva, Andy and Lena might have saved their chicks from the Crows and other predators that predated their nest for two years.

The two are yelling at Andy to get the breakfast fish on the nest pronto! Lena can sit back and let them take care of it – if she chooses. They can be pretty loud.

You can still watch this nest and enjoy seeing these two beautiful birds fledge! Here is the link:

Idris has brought a large Mullet onto the Dfyi nest in Wales today but Telyn wants more fish and she is really telling him!

I am not sure what is happening in Loch Arkaig. Louis and Dorcha seem to be playing musical nests. Yesterday it felt certain that Louis and his new mate of last year would go back to the old nest but, today, Dorcha has been on the one that they used as a couple last year. It doesn’t matter for watchers – cam 1 or in this case, cam 2 – we can see them at either one!

Mrs G and Aran on the Glaslyn nest – now that everything is sorted and the females are where they should be – everyone can settle. Aran brought in five fish so far today – 3 yellow-bellied trout, 1 sea trout, and 1 flounder. He is an incredible fisher.

Mrs G, the oldest UK Osprey.

Aran! And he is very handsome.

While we wait for Mrs G to lay her first egg, Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest laid her first a day ago and we will be watching for egg 2 shortly.

Seren and Dylan have their first egg yesterday at the Llyn Clywedog Nest in Cumbria.

One of my favourite nests is the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria. This nest fledged three last year. It was the home of a third osplet that no one thought would survive – the others were monstrous when the third hatched. It was to the keen parenting and the tenaciousness of Tiny Little Bob. She fledged as Blue 463 and she was queen of this nest! It was incredible to watch her figure out how to get around the big ones.

They are not on YouTube and there is no rewind on the two cameras. You can access them here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

That is a very quick run through some of the nests. I wanted you to know about Achieva in case it was a nest that you watch. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida Ospreys at Gainesville, Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, Achieva Credit Union, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Dyfi Ospreys, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, and CarnyxWild.

Late Tuesday and Wednesday in Bird World

12-13 April 2022

We continue to shovel the walkways so that we can put down seed. Then it snows lots more and we do it again!

It is nearing 23:00 on the 12th of April. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are closing all of the major highways in the province where I live. This is unprecedented and will actually be quite helpful in keeping people safe. For at least two days we have known about the historic storm that is due to arrive in a few hours and have been told to stock up on medicines, batteries, candles, food, etc. All of the schools are closed. As for me I am sitting back and waiting and watching the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest south of me in Minnesota to see how this system plays out with those eagles.

The nest is in a severe thunderstorm watch area. The winds were gusting earlier. I caught a few minutes of the nest as it creaked and swayed.

It is currently raining and the nest is still blowing about but not nearly as bad.

This is the nest Wednesday morning. They have gotten rain but not the snow that we are experiencing that is confusing many of the smaller birds such as the Juncos.

There have been two recent visits of Ervie’s to the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. One was 17:42 on the evening of the 12th (last night). The other was this morning, the 13th in Australia. Ervie arrived and then left and returned with a puffer.

In the image above, you can see the missing talon. Ospreys only have four talons. The image below has caused a lot of confusion. Does the nail on the right top belong to a different foot? or the one with the missing talon?

Is Ervie missing one or two talons? or is one curled under? Everyone is looking very closely at Ervie’s feet.

I wanted to do a quick check of many nests this morning so we can see how they are doing.

The rain from yesterday seems to have stopped. Both Big and Middle Little at the Dale Hollow nest are dry and there are large pieces of fish on the nest. Little Middle had a nice feed earlier, too. So all is well with those two!

This nest has settled down.

This is the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. It is gorgeous. Dylan is notorious for bringing back trout to the nest! Sadly, yesterday, a goshawk came and sat on this nest. Goshawks tend to like to lure the Ospreys into the forest where they attack. Fingers crossed that it will not return!

Aran and Mrs G together on the perch first thing on the morning of 13 April. Aran at the back and Mrs G with her really dark face at the front.

Handsome Aran with his fish on the perch at Glaslyn later in the day. Did he bring it for Mrs G? where is she?

Idris and Telyn on the perches at the Dyfi Nest. All is well.

Blue NC0 laid her first egg on April 12 at 18:35. What a beautiful nest at the Loch of the Lowes – so soft and comfy – and personally, one of the most gorgeous sites in all of the Osprey breeding areas.

Laddie LM15 comes to take his turn helping his mate Blue NC0.

CJ7 has been bringing nesting materials into the alternate nest at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 has been seen sky dancing all over the place. I hope he stays at Poole Harbour!

All is well at Rutland Water. Maya is incubating three eggs. Fantastic.

If you are following the UK arrivals, here is a good chart for you.

Thank you to Friends of Loch Arkaig FB Page for posting his chart.

Moving back to North America, the three osplets at the U of Florida at Gainesville continue to do well. Little Bob is still with us! And that is a good day.

Strong winds took out the camera at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the 12th.

Calmer winds are forecast for the Channel Islands today. That is fantastic. Looks like the view is pretty good from Two Harbours already. That wee one of Chase and Cholyn’s looks so tiny in that huge nest!

Andy has delivered fish. Little (or Mini) is calling for fish in the image below while Big flaps its wings.

Gosh, those chicks of Andy and Lena’s are sure beautiful. They will surely pop the corks when these two fledge! It has been a good year for Captiva Ospreys.

Mr President and Lotus’s chick has a nice big crop this morning. That little fuzzy teddy bear of a shape has sure changed over the past week! No signs of bad weather at the National Arboretum Nest in DC.

It is a little wet and windy in Iowa at the Decorah North nest. I wonder if they are going to get any of the system that is impacting us?

This is an image of Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle for Wildlife Haven, our local rehabber. She has been part of a fund raising campaign because of the Avian Flu. She has been moved indoors where she will be safe. Everyone loves Majestic!

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a virtual talk/discussion on what is being done about Avian Flu in our province on 19 April at 7pm. Here is the link to sign up. It is free. Since it is virtual and if you are wanting to learn more about Avian Flu, why not sign up?!

Avian Flu Seminar

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is having a GoFundMe drive for nests for Bald Eagles. David Hancock is ‘the eagle man’ in Canada. Most of you probably know him. He reminded me today that when he was sixteen years old and living at Blaine Harbour, you would see white buckets on the fishing boats with eagle legs. Yes, the legs cut off. They would be shipped to Alaska for $2 a pair. That was 1954. Sadly, David says that the same attitude of neglect towards the Bald Eagles continues.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-home-for-our-delta2-eagles-nest?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

Thank you for joining me today. We are busy trying to take care of the birds that come to our garden as best we can. The squirrels are tucked up warm and no where in sight. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, MN-DNR, DHEC, CarnyxWild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, Scottish Wildlife, Poole Harbour, Rutland Water, UFL Ospreys, Explore.org, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NADC-AEF, and Wildlife Haven.

Good News in Bird World, 31 August

The sky is blue, the sun is shining bright and it is 21 degrees C on the Canadian Prairies. Just a grand day for everyone. And it is a good day for our birds. Let’s dig into those good news stories.

Jan and Janika’s Black Stork fledgling, Juleg, is not in Russia! He managed to turn around. It would appear he flew because the speed is faster than a tanker but, does it matter? Juleg is back on course having spent the night at Jaroslawiek in Poland. Fantastic news!

The question now is whether ‘the brave one’ will continue going southwest or try to correct his heading heading through Greece and Turkey? We wait. He is alive and well. That is what matters most.

Hurricane Ida temporarily took out the connection to the streaming cam at the Kistachie National Forest in Louisiana. Everyone was worried. However, the winds and rain did not damage the system that the USFWS has put in place to watch the Bald Eagles, Louis and Anna. This is great news!

If you have been watching the Boulder Osprey Cam and were frustrated that it quit working, it is back on line today. The female is still delivering food to the fledgling. Everything is good.

Remember Only Bob? The only hatch of Dylan and Seren at the Llyn Clywedog Nest? the largest male Osprey ever to be born? Today the researchers issued the list of fish that were delivered to Blue 496. There were 354 of them! Rainbow trout were almost exclusively the fish at the beginning and end of the season with Brown trout making up the middle time slot. There were also 10 Grey Mullet that Dylan took from the Dyfi Estuary 15 miles away! —— Ah, you remember! Dylan is the one that flew 25 minutes one way, got a trout, and flew back 25 minutes with it. What a guy.

Here is Dylan delivering one of those whopper trout to Blue 496, Only Bob.

The arrival of fish at the Llyn Clywedog Nest in the Hafren Forest has puzzled some of the observers. It is now thought that when Dylan chased intruders away he sent them packing and instead of returning empty handed, he would stop and fish. Hence the reason from the Brown trout from Nanty Moch which is 7 km from the nest and the mullet from the Dyfi Estuary which is 12.7 km away. Dylan and Seren, Blue 5F, did a great job with their only hatch. Seren left and will be seen where she always spends her winters – in the Tanji Marsh in The Gambia.

Aran is still at the Glaslyn nest. Mrs G has not been seen since 30 August. Can you see him?

The tiny little birds all over the Glaslyn Nest yesterday have been identified as Mistle Thrushes.

Mistle Thrushes are common and are found all over the United Kingdom. They eat berries, earthworms, and insects. They would have had a grand time foraging in the Osprey nest!

Here is a short video showing the Mistle Thrust eating berries in the winter. Listen for their song.

All you have to do is look at the photograph of WBSE 27 and 28 – yes, that is 28 with that massive crop – to see that things are going quite well on the White Bellied Sea Eagle nest in Sydney. What a relief.

It feels like a good day. It would only be better if someone had a sighting of Tiny Little, Blue 463. White YW was seen on the nest today so he is still around.

Take care everyone. Enjoy the rest of the day wherever you are. I am off to check on the local Ospreys.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots: Sea Eagles, Birdlife Australia, and The Discovery Centre, City of Boulder Osprey Cam, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Carnyx Wild and Llyn Clywedog Osprey Cam, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, and BirdMap.

Monday in Bird World 26 July 2021

There have been dark clouds over our City since the morning. I think everyone I know was hoping for some heavy rain – gutter gushers are what I think they call it in some places in the southern United States. But, no. Enough to water the flowers for the hummingbirds and then stop. No more than four minutes of rain. So what do you do? Well, you go and check on Tiny Little at the Foulshaw Nest. No one was there this morning and guess what? No one is there tonight!

It is the time of year when we have to loosen the apron strings and begin to say farewell to all these beautiful bobbleheads that have grown into amazing birds. Their journey is just beginning as the cameras are shut down. There is at least a 4000 mile trip to Africa or Central America, or Brazil depending on where the birds begin their long, arduous flight. We wish them all well and hope to see Tiny Little in two years flying around, causing mischief.

Earlier, both of the chicks on the Loch of the Lowes Nest were home waiting for a fish drop from either Laddie or NC0 or both.

Feeling lucky after catching these two and watching them in that gorgeous setting, I decided to check on some of the other nests. Some luck at the Llyn Clywedog Nest, where Seren 5F had delivered a Mullet to Blue 496. That is one big baby. He has already been seen carrying a good size piece of fish on his talons to the trees.

No one visited Poole Harbour when I checked, but all of the chatter says that sky dancing continues to take place between CJ7 and the two-year-old fledgling Blue 022.

Blue 096 on the Rutland Manton Bay nest has been missing from sight since last Thursday. He turned up on the nest today for a few minutes, and his sister, Blue 095, sent him packing. He has a crop, so he is getting fish somewhere else. No worries with that chick! Alive and well.

And now for something completely different. Remember the small white storks that the people of Mlade Buky saved from starvation along with Father Stork?

The female has fledged, and I suspect the males have too (but I have not seen this information). They still return to the nest to be fed by Father Stork. Their animation and the sounds they make are incredible. Have a look, and a listen:

The little chick on the Collins Marsh Nest has had three feedings today. Mom flew in not that long ago with what looks like a Small Mouth Bass (feel free to correct me) for the wee one. That chick was excited to see that fish land on the nest. It remains warm up on that tower, 110 feet off the ground!

Look at the chick’s expression.

It is so exciting when food lands for everyone! Indeed, the parents simply become Door Dash – or other food delivery services. There are a lot of people looking out for this little one – at the Wisconsin DNR (Stephen), at the Collins Marsh Nature Center (James) and at the local wildlife rehabilitation clinic (Patricia). Their attention to the mother missing and the feather issues with the chick are so appreciated.

The nests are slowing down and I will also be slowing down with my postings. You can expect one posting a day in the late afternoon or early evening. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or my video clips: Mlade Buky White Stork Nest, Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, Poole Harbour Osprey Project, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Carnyx Wild and Llyn Clywedog Osprey Nest, and Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.