Toby and I have watered the garden, planted an area of wildflowers for bees, swept, cleaned the bird baths, and finished all of our evening chores. Now we return to the Bald Eagle nest at Traverse City, MI, where Snow, the 6-week-old plus a few days eaglet, is in a nest that has lost its support limb. It appears that the limb has somehow caught itself on a neighbouring tree, and that, along with calm winds and good weather, might bring some luck to this tense situation.
The adults have been on the nest and fed Snow.
When I checked Snow had a crop. Single adult returned to the nest and tried to lure Snow up to the top rim to have some fish that was buried there.
The adult made its way a little lower being very cautious and Snow did get some more bites of prey.
Then the adult carefully made its way to the branch that extends at the bottom right in the image.
Snow will go to beed with a nice crop.
Snow is resting at the bottom of the nest as sunset begins.
Send this family your very best wishes. This is a situation that happens in the wild, far more often than we probably imagine. I was hoping someone would fabricate a false nest and somehow get it below this one so that if the nest slid down, it would land on the artificial nest rather than plunge 100 feet. (There appears to be some difference in opinion on whether the nest is 100 ‘ or 200’ off the ground.)
Kudos to the mods on the live chat and to those who are leaving the camera running. You are the best!
FOBBV is doing a magnificient job in collecting donations to purchase the land where Jackie and Shadow’s nest resides – along with many other species. (This is only part of their post).
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 26th May 2026
Another peaceful day, although Louis spent a few minutes alarm chipping at an unseen intruder while he was on incubation duty, but nothing came of it and he didn’t leave the nest. He brought two fish for Dorcha, taking his tally to eighty six and the Nest Two tally to eighty eight. Nest One was untroubled by intruders, unseen or otherwise, but Garry LV0 only brought one fish for Aurora 536, taking his and the nest’s tally to eighty two, keeping in mind that Cam One is offline for a few hours each morning. The weather forecast is dry overnight and for the next two days, with a low of 9°C and a high of 22°C tomorrow. The days are getting longer as the countdown to hatching ticks away and at the time of filing this report, midnight, Cam Two is still on day mode, with a very light sky and the loch clearly visible.
The Condor Chat is live on Thursday the 28th. They also have a fantastic on line auction if you wish to help out these incredible people who work hard to protect this very endangered species.
The Least Flycatchers are flitting about all over the garden. I can see several grey squirrels coming for peanuts along with Mr Crow. They are especially enjoying the nice, clean, cool water that Toby and I put out. Meanwhile, Little Red is inside the small covered feeding helping himself to Black Oil Seed. I will try and get some photos this week but for now it is good night.
Take care everyone.
Thank you to Geemeff for their daily post about all things Loch Arkaig. There are many more videos, but sadly, this system will not post them! Makes me growl. Thank you to all the people who are posting on FB and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to watch our bird families in the good, the bad, and the unknown times.
It has been a long wait since TH1 grabbed onto Cholyn’s talons on Monday afternoon at the Two Harbours nest. Cholyn flew off and the baby fell from her talons – luckily landing on a tiny ledge about 10 feet below the nest. It was the middle of the afternoon. That little eaglet held on until the rescue team could reach it!
At 10:46 Pacific Time, Dr Sharpe and his two member team prepared to lower Dr Sharpe to retrieve the eaglet. Here are the images from the rescue.
The team prepares to lower Dr Sharpe with a carrier to retrieve the eaglet. Notice the condition of the railings on the nest pre-rescue.
Dr Sharpe descends to remove the tiny eaglet from the cliff edge. You can see the small grey ball above the letter ‘W’ in Wildlife below.
Dr Sharpe goes below the eaglet with the carrier bag.
Dr Sharpe gently removes the little one from the cliff. He will place it in the carrier bag he has over his shoulder.
The precious cargo is lifted back up to the top of the cliff.
The team have brought up twigs to create railings on the Two Harbours nest.
Dr Sharpe is cradling the eaglet in his left arm.
TH1 is home!!!!!!!
People and news stations from around the world were watching this rescue. In less than two weeks, Dr Sharpe has rescued two eaglets this season – one of Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets fell out of the nest and now Chase and Cholyn’s baby. The world needed a happy ending and we need a hero and Dr Sharpe you and your team are it!
TH1 you are now an international celebrity!
When you consider making donations, think about the Institute for Wildlife Studies and others who actively assist and rescue these amazing raptors when others turn a blind eye.
Thank you to Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
Good afternoon Everyone! The sun is shining bright on the Manitoba prairies this morning. Even 2 metres of snow looks beautiful! It is a balmy -8 C and it feels like summer. It is too hot for winter coats today. Now if all of this snow will melt slowly…ever so slowly so we do not have floods. The soil needs the moisture!
If you missed it yesterday, there is real cause for celebration at the American Osprey nests. Rosie has returned form her migration to be reunited with Richmond on the Whirley Crane in San Francisco Bay yesterday. Richmond had been hanging around the nest for three weeks. Some of us were beginning to worry a little and then…Rosie showed up right at dawn 06:43 on 25 February! If you are new to watching Osprey nests in the US, this is a rock solid nest. I am a huge fan of the UK nests and this is my number 1 for stability and the occasional humorous moment in the US. Richmond is great at fishing at night amongst other antics.
As you can see this is the couple’s sixth season on the Whirley Crane. Last year they fledged three fine Juveniles! Here is that great reunion video again.
Here is the link to their camera for those who do not have it. It is not on YouTube. The camera is, as I write this, currently off line.
Ervie did not come to the nest yesterday as far as I could tell from having eyes glued on the screen and doing a lot of rewinds. The barge was visited by a number of the pigeon clean up crew and a lovely Cormorant. There was also another bird that landing on the moorings but I cannot accurately identify it. In the image below, the Cormorant is on the perch and the other bird is on the perch.
Port Lincoln has not updated Ervie’s sat-pak tracking yet. So, it remains a mystery where he captures his delicacies – those puffers!
There is sad news coming out of the Hilton Head Island Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and Mitch. I report on this nest occasionally. Two eaglets hatched and the last time I checked on them they had their juvenile feathers and were self-feeding. Yesterday one of them was found on the ground below the nest. It has been taken to Corvian Avian Conservation, a wildlife rehab clinic. It is unclear the state of the eaglet at the time it was rescued. This morning food has been brought to the nest. The remaining eagle did mantle the prey and is seen eating but not enthusiastically. The nest is being monitored. There is some concern that the bird prey brought might have avian flu, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that is spreading. I assume the remaining eaglet might also be removed from the nest for testing if authorities are concerned. Will monitor and post.
I will do a post just on Avian flu early nest week. There are other nests where the eaglets have fallen over the edge of the nest and they are being tested. Do not discount it. This is very, very serious. There are virologists looking at these deaths to try and understand the spread and the remedies. It could impact much of the nests other than the Ospreys who seem to be less prone because they eat fish almost entirely.
We all worry when these things happen and it is easy in small nests where there is prey competition, parental neglect, and a lot of wingersizing. I want you to watch, when you have time, this lovely video of a rescue of two eaglets in Sweden so you will understand that wildlife rehabbers can do amazing things. This is a heart warming story of individuals who really wanted a success.
The number of people watching the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear, California continues to grow. It was 2131 not long ago. Today is pip watch and you can join in, too.
While we were focused on the Captiva Osplets, Ervie, or Jackie and Shadow, something wonderful was happening over at the nest of River and Obey at Dale Hollow Lake. Twins hatched at 11:16 and 11:51 yesterday. There is a pip in the third egg. Wow.
If you are wondering where Dale Valley Lake is, it is in Kentucky. It is one of the oldest human made lakes in the region, created out of the Obey River, in 1943. Now you know how these two eagles who have used this nest for six years came by their names. The lake has 27,700-acres of water and is well stocked with fish for the Baldies.
Just when I praise the nest for being located right above the lake, I see Dad has brought in a rabbit for the eaglets lunch! Too funny.
Here is a link to the streaming cam so you can join this nest with the two grey little bobbles and another on the way:
I suggest you put this nest on your watch list. I am really hoping that the parents will not bring in any birds to this nest due to H5N1’s potential spread.
Kincaid is doing really well at the Kisatchie Forest Bald Eagle Nest near Alexandria, Louisiana. Louis brought in another big fish and Kincaid is really enjoying this late morning feed. Like many nests located near a stocked body of water, Louis mostly brings in fish but he also brings in Coots and other waterfowl. If you are new to watching Bald Eagles and want to add a nest to your long list, I highly recommend the KNF nest. It is on YouTube. Cody and Steve have made sure the image is great and the sound is awesome. Next year they will have the two nests on Kincaid Lake on camera. Great moderators on chat. Cody and Steve are often on there to answer your questions along with Tonya.
Normally I start with the Captiva Osprey Nest but, today, I will almost close with it. Lena was hollering at Andy to get a fish on the nest at dawn. I could not see a delivery. Please correct me if I am wrong. By 09:34:03 Big Bob was getting agitated and did some beaking.
Little Bob was smart. He moved far to the right out of harm’s way. You can barely see him. He has his neck stuck down in the twigs. Smart.
Their last feeding was in the afternoon yesterday and the trio were very hungry by the time Andy landed that fish on the nest at 10:30:42.
It was a large fish and Lena moved around the nest making sure that each of the babies was full.
They are all lined up nicely to eat. Big Bob’s slight aggression ended as soon as food arrived. Please note that if you are reading the chat, the moderator calls this ‘playtime’. They are all a week old and some aggression is typical at this age but more so now that the early regular and very stable feeding routine has been thwarted.
I hope that Little Bob gets up in the front despite the fact that he has one of the longest necks I have seen on an osplet!
Lena will continue to fed until the fish is gone if that is what it takes to fill her and the babies to the brim.
Nice crop!
It is now 12:43 nest time in Florida and Lena is yelling at Andy for fish.
It is 13:32. Lena is calling Andy again and you can hear him in the distance along with the cheeping Bobs.
There are so many recreational vehicles on the water today. I wonder if this is hampering Andy’s fishing. It is also quite warm in Florida today. Lena is doing a good job of shading the babies who cannot yet regulate their own temperature.
Til later…
We all need a giggle and today’s laugh is brought to you by a Raven in Poole Harbour, England at the nest of Osprey CJ7 (Rutland fledge 2015). The Raven is leaving two lovely chocolates that it will bury in the nest. How romantic a gesture this could be. I hope that this is for the arrival of CJ7 and the male, Blue 022, that we hope will also return and have their first successful breeding season together. If you want to see the whole video posted the Poole Harbour Osprey Project, please head over to their FB page. You do not need to be a member.
Here is the link to this streaming cam. Last year it was too late for this potential couple who delighted observers with their mating antics all over the town. If we get a hatch and a fledge, it will be the first time in over 180 years since their extinction! That is something to cheer about.
And on that happy note, I will say goodbye. Keep your eyes out for Ervie and a pip at Big Bear and a successful hatch for Dale Hollow. Things are really gearing up. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Poole Harbour Osprey Project, KNF Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Dale Hollow and Golden Gate Audubon and SF Bay Ospreys.
