I am thinking about all of you living in Europe sweltering in this heat and the wildlife. Or those in Japan and elsewhere who have had earthquakes and now, my son tells me two storms coming to Japan as he is set to fly out for Canada. Please take care of yourself.
I had a lovely Saturday. A friend was here for tea. At the same time, Don needs to go to the hospital, and his brother is taking him tomorrow. It is a prostrate issue again. So today’s report is going to be shorter than normal.
One thing I want to mention is that our dear Ervie has been spotted fishing where he did when he first fledged with dad at Delamere Wetlands.
My goodness – our favourite third hatch. Ervie hatched on the Port Lincoln barge on 16 September 2021 at 00:51:50. He will be five years old this year. Mark your calendars. Let’s all eat some birthday cake in celebration.
‘PB’ has sent me some good reports from the nests.
“Blackbush Little tiny 4 has an open head wound, this bravest of all souls, like Cape Henlopen #3, just keeps getting back up to eat. If it didn’t get food, it would be the end. But this nest has lots of fish, and #4 is fighting to survive.”
“Now tiny 4 moved by Dad, dad feeding 4 privately, rhen mom walks up and gets food from dad to give to 4. I hope the food gives this brave one some good nutrients to grow.”
4 has been injured by 3 and there are certainly concerns since its head now ppears to be bleeding.
“Oyster Bay mom can’t wait for dad she goes fishing 2:25 but #1 eats most of it. I fear we may lose one here. Not enough to keep oldest full.”
“Sandy Hook may be only nest along NJ with 3. All look good still.”
Little Dewey hit the jackpot today. Mum has been bringing in the fish.
Dewey mom found 4 more Menhaden, Heidi told me: 13.22.00, 13.36.12, 13.52.54, 14.15.34, 5:29:44 Dewey mom another menhaden. She had brought in some in the morning.
SK Hideaways brings us up to date with Sandy and Luna, who are now ready to fledge – something we all feared as 4th of July celebrations in the US approach with their useless fireworks. https://youtu.be/glMMMrK8mmI?
Cornell Bird Lab captures the visit of P2 to the nest as P3 gets some inspiration for an impending fledge! https://youtu.be/fqaMN3W40UI?
Super couple CJ7 and Blue 022. The fish brought in today, according to the chat: 05:09, 09:01, 13:24, 16:41, 17:44, 18:33, 20:07, 21:04. Just think about that. Four chicks are thriving. I believe they will break Maya and Blue 33’s record of fledging four this year. Poole Harbour has fledged four chicks in 2024, 2025, and appears to be ready to do it again in 2026, breaking the record.
Manton Bay: 2020 and 2019 were the two years that they fledged four chicks. They had four chicks in clutches other years but at least one died each year.
CJ7 with her four feathered babes of 2026.
A happy story. House Martins return to a UK street.
Young country diary: The house martins are back – I can hear the chicks from my bedroom
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig 27th June 2026
Another calm and routine day, no intruders or alarms, the only negative is the wet weather as it rained steadily with only a few breaks throughout the day. However that didn’t prevent the males from fishing – Garry LV0 brought two on-cam fish for Aurora 536, taking the Nest One tally to one hundred and forty one, and Louis brought four fish for Dorcha and the chicks, taking the Nest Two tally to one hundred and ninety seven. As Steve Quinn showed in his weekly stats published today, Louis is setting records and performing very well. Links cant be posted unfortunately, but just pop Nest 2 fish summary to week 10 into the search field and it’ll come up. It’s raining as this report is posted (midnight), and set to continue overnight with a low of 14°C throughout tomorrow with a high of 17°C and the possibility of sunny intervals.
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourselves. I hope to be back with you either tomorrow or Monday.
Thank you to SK Hideaways, Cornell Bird Lab, and Geemeff for their videos and/or daily summaries. I am also grateful to ‘PB’ for keeping a keen eye on some of those hard-to-watch nests. Thank you to the others who post on FB, the owners of the streaming cams, The Guardian for reporting, and Raptor Persecution UK for keeping us apprised of the good, the bad, and the very ugly in the world of raptor persecution in the UK.
Greetings. It only got up to 25°C today, but it still felt hot. We had on-and-off rain with Toby running in and out on occasion to ‘do his business’. Miyoung arrived to cut hair and was shocked when I asked for an extra short pixie cut. I laughed and reminded her that when I was her age, I was wearing a miniskirt with thigh-high boots, a nose ring, and a shaved head. I believe she left in shock. I wonder why young people assume us oldies have not had adventurous lives?????
She added some pink, cut it short and life goes on.
As you have noticed, there have been terrible earthquakes around the world, and Europe is just cooking. I know readers whose living room temperatures in London are 27, and in Berlin, even hotter. Please, please take care of yourselves. If you have a fan, great. If you have AC, great. You can also dampen your clothes and your sheets to help cool you. Please do not take your dogs for walks in this heat.
Please leave water out for animals and birds. It will save their lives.
Lighting has hit Loch Arkaig’s streaming cams, and they are down. It is unclear whether they will be available for the rest of the season.
While it might have been cooler in Scotland, the Welsh and nests in the South of England have had lots of hight temperatures.
Usk Valley this morning:
Lots of fish coming to the Poole Harbour nest for CJ7 and Blue 022’s four kiddos. What do I mean by lots? Blue 022 delivered TEN fish today to the nest – good size ones. His kids are not going to get dehydrated nor is his mate!
Above the water at Rutland is surely an advantage in the heat.
Tweed Valley 2 had its first hatch today. This is incredibly late. I wonder what will happen in September when it is time to migrate?
Information about the ringing of the Loch Doon nest:
Screenshot
The temperature at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn and chicks is 31.9 C at night.
The third little one at Cape Henlopen State Park’s osprey platform died this afternoon. Poor thing was so battered. Aggressive siblings. Just a whiff of not enough food, and well, the wee little ones suffer. I know people are horrified by storks, but they take a look at their brood, their size, analyse food availability and well – it is quick. This baby suffered.
There are still four at Blackbush Osprey platform on Prince Edward Island. The little one is to the far right and getting bites in the screen capture below.
Two at Cowlitz PUD. This nest IMHO needs more fish.
We have lost one at Osoyoos and the oldest gets most of the fish that I can see. This nest needs more fish, too. Lots more fish.
Pitkin County Trails Osprey platform looks OK. I wish these nests had the temperature at the nest posted.
The two osplets at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest are doing splendid.
Only ‘surviving’ Bob at Charlo Montana trying to keep cool. The temperatures were 79 F.
At the US Steel nest of Irv and Stella, both eaglets have now fledged. Hutch flew and met up with Maz. How grand! https://youtu.be/7Juu2c9N1aw?s
Clark continues to bring in whoppers! Iris and Baby are certainly lucky.
The White Storks at Bad Salzungen, Thüringen are ready to fledge. Here is a whole lot of flapping going on. https://youtu.be/H1etyMkz76o?
Fostering. Helping one nest with another. Love it!
Audubon writes about the crisis that is facing all ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay Area. We need more news – every type of news to explain why this is unforgivable.
I understand that Whooping Crane protected lands are now NOT protected. With only 500 remaining in the wild, what in the world do these government officials south of where I live think they are doing? I am starting to think the goal is to kill off all wildlife. Can this actually be true? Pacific areas have now also been opened to commercial fishing – trying to create another area that has no wildlife like the Chesapeake? I wake up and shake my head every morning. I have tried to keep politics out of my blog but sometimes it is difficult when it is the politicians killing the wildlife with their inaction or in some cases turning the world upside down actions.
Has anyone had trouble accessing the Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho osprey cam?
Ospreys in the Southern Hemisphere are preparing nests!
At the Port Lincoln barge – home to Mum and Dad, parents of dear Ernie – they are making preparations. Mum is working on the nest and Dad is not sharing his fish. Fish fairies, are you ready?
Some news of Giliath and our dear Ervie from the 20th:
“2026.06.20 – An update on Ervie & Giliath’s trackers. Giliath is still staying local and fishin in the usual spots then heading back to the main wharf for the night. Ervie has gone on another trip to Tumby Bay but has not visited the island as yet. Will be interesting in the morning to see where he spends tonight.”
Ervie’s tracking:
Chesapeake Bay trio.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch ArkaigThursday 25th June 2026
The day was going very well, with settled weather and both males bringing three fish each – Garry LV0’s Nest One tally now rises to one hundred and thirty eight, and Louis takes the Nest Two tally to one hundred and eighty nine. Aurora continues to incubate the egg but is leaving it for longer periods of time, Dorcha caused havoc with another unsuitable stick, and the chicks had a short and not very serious fight. However – the weather’s changed and around 21.30 a loud clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning scared Louis off the nest and both livestreams have gone down. It may be that the relay signal has been knocked out, we’ll have to wait and see if service can be restored. A weather warning for thunderstorms is in effect for the nest area until midnight tomorrow, and overnight there’ll be light rain with a low of 17°C, continuing tomorrow with a high of 22°C.
One of the Great Bay osplets fell out of the nest and has been rescued. The other one is not doing well – there isn’t enough food. Another starved to death. So sad. I know the law doesn’t allow for retrieval but surely we might establish that humans are responsible or a lack of fish and then it would be alright to intervene.
P3 is often on the nest of Big Red and Arthur alone until food is brought in and big siblings find their way! What a little sweetie. Standing and self-feeding. So far all are doing well.
How can birds in Australia be protected as Bird Flu spreads?
So many, many things our wildlife have to face every day just to even begin trying to survive.
Good night, everyone. Thank you for being with us today. Toby and I are up enjoying some quiet time. Life has been very challenging at home the last week or so as Don’s mental health deteriorates. There are moments of clarity, and then he cannot tell the sink from the bedroom. It eats at my heart, and there is nothing more that I can do for him other than try to make him happy, keep him clean and in as good mental health care as possible. I am going to have a holiday – it is being planned in my head. When I get really tired, I start focusing on the little details. In the meantime, Toby and I are moving furniture. I have a very large silk-and-wool rug that I purchased decades ago. It has been cleaned many times, including the time that a huge mug of hot chocolate went everywhere. Last night I moved the sofas, having decided that the rug had to go. As I rolled it, I noticed that the beautiful natural colours that had faded on the top side were staring me in the face. It is so beautiful. I pulled and pushed, and we got it laid out. That rug isn’t going anywhere! I will enjoy the flat weave side now.
Oh, please do take care of yourselves. Check things you might toss or donate in case they turn out magical like this old rug. I might not see you until Saturday. I am tired today.
Thank you to Geemeff for her daily summary and videos, The Guardian for continually reporting on issues related to wildlife and the environment, to those who post information on FB along with screen captures, to the authors of other newsletters, and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to watch these families.
The end of the weekend and the beginning of June tomorrow. Summer is feeling like it is here. Children are still in school in Manitoba for a few more weeks but I suspect summer holidays have begun in the US. Please take care if you are out on the roads!
At the Dale Hollow Nest, there was almost a problem. DH23 was knocked from the nest. It is on a branch lower in the tree calling for food and flapping.
Images before:
Fish has come to the Dewey Beach nest and Mum and Only Little Baby are so full and happy. Thanks, ‘PB’.
Such a cheeky little one. Oh, please keep the fish coming.
It is raining again in Missoula and the Clark Fork River is once again raging – dirty and fast. It will be tough fishing for NewGuy2 again.
Despite this, Iris’ ‘man’ brought her a fish. He is incredible.
Monty and Hartley’s four fledglings are keeping absolutely everyone busy chasing, tracking, and taking back to the roof! Those volunteers must be worn out.
The latest post cut and pasted as it is long:
The San Jose City Hall Falcons
· And another more detailed report of Day 2 from BOG: Yup, still late, but here is my recollection of Fledge Watch day 2. After a few hours atop the Rotunda (starting from around 6AM), working his way up and down and all around, Walton takes off south from the Rotunda. It looks like he’s going to land near Stewart on the elevator shaft but keeps on going. He ends up in a palm tree on 6th street, where he’s harassed by crows. An adult followed him and briefly attempted to drive off the crows. Walton eventually takes off first heading west then heads southeast where he lands on the roof of the SJSU Student Union. He eventually takes off and heads back toward City Hall, heads around the east side then the north side, and is next seen on the southern tan perpendicular under a satellite dish. He eventually makes it back down to the nest area. Sometime after 1PM Stewart departure from the Council Chambers elevator shaft has him flying low to the east, at one point going up against the western slats of the elevator shaft on the southern part of City Hall. He ends up on the exterior walkway that runs on the north side of the corridor that connects City Hall to the Council Chambers. As collectors approach from both sides to try to pick him up, he flees through some bars and ends up mothing and trying to grab hold of a window edge on the west side of the North tower. Eventually he gives that up and floats to the ground where he is surrounded and picked up for a ride up to the roof. While he is being brought up, Scout departs from the nest area. He flies over the garage and is last seen heading west. I head in that direction and catch a glimpse of a falcon flying past the east side of the 88 building, going north to south, at a down angle then going up around the south side and disappearing around the west side While this is happening Jet takes off. I circle the 88 building but don’t see anything. But from the library, Deb spots a bird on the roof of the 88, behind the glass wall above the penthouse. Paula H confirms the sighting and it is later verified as Scout. Scout makes it to the top of the glass wall on the 88 and takes off heading south. He goes about a block or so before turning back to disappear behind the west side of the 88. I find him on top of a white wall on the southern part of the roof and right when I do, he takes off and heads toward City Hall to land on a louver on the south side. While out looking for Jet, Animal Control contacts Falcon Central that someone reports a bird on the ground on Second Street, just south of San Fernando. A person there tells us it was sitting on a railing, was spooked by someone and flew a short distance into the glass wall of a business. The business had told Animal Control it was there about 30 minutes. Thankful that they reported it! We picked him up and returned him to the roof to join Stewart. At some point Scout departs City Hall and lands on the roof ledge on the north side of the business center. A crow harasses him for a bit but he pays it no mind. At some point he takes off and makes it to a northeast roof edge of the library. Hartley brings in a big meal and lands on another nearby northeast edge, but Scout shows no interest. But Walton does and takes off from the upper front ledge of the nest area and makes straight for Hartley and claims the meal. Walton begins to pluck and eat. Hartley is often perched nearby, constantly complaining about something. At one point Walton drops the meal over the edge but quickly grabs it with a talon before it is lost and pulls it back to the roof. Hartley lands later and attempts to take the meal from Walton but he has none of that and Hartley takes off. Later, Hartley lands and is able to take the meal and starts feeding Walton. When Walton has had enough Hartley continues to eat. When Hartley is done she takes off heading north toward the Miro building. She starts circling to gain altitude, then heading south of City Hall and then she turns back to deliver the meal to Stewart and Jet on the roof of City Hall where they share the meal. Scout and Walton spends some time together on the library before Scout takes off toward City Hall. He tries for the southern louvers but hits the wall, slides down trying to grab a hold, and turns away. He ends up on top of the bars that partially encase the rotunda. Walton soon takes off from the library and heads toward City Hall, but ends up turning south and lands on the northeast tower of Clark Hall. While no one is looking, he suddenly appears back on the library roof. After a short appearance he takes off toward City Hall and lands on a 17th floor louver on the south side.
Three osplets at Clark PUD in Washington State are entering the Reptile Phase.
At Allin’s Cove East, there is at least one osplet. The nest is high and deep and we cannot see to confirm how many babies there are.
For those of you asking about Scout, the last news I saw was five days ago on 26 May.
As we wait for Geemeff’s excellent report and videos from Loch Arkaig, it appears that there is a pip at the nest of Louis and Dorcha. We are hoping that Aurora’s single egg is viable and there will be another chick at nest 1 soon.
We are on Pip Watch at Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle nest! “@LadyDeeagle55 5/31/26.. Egg #1 is 35 days old..Pip watch has begun on egg#1..https://www.tickcounter.com/countup/5…”
Fish is coming to the nest. Snow is adjusting beautifully and the parents are so careful and gentle. Snow is 50 days old today. We need a good three weeks for her to fly. Keep sending very positive wishes. So far the nest is holding.
Just look at that wee baby at Poole Harbour.
If you have not heard, I want to tell you about an amazing situation taking place in Minnesota. A female osprey lost her mate. She incubated her three eggs all by herself for 37 days. The three have hatched and she is feeding them herself – flying off briefly and returning. Imagine. I thought Jill was incredible, but here is yet another female this year that is doing amazing things without a mate.
Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch
OMG….my heart! I visited the female who is raising chicks alone today….she has THREE beautiful bobble heads….and I was overwhelmed with love and anxiety. How will she feed three chicks alone….and get enough food herself? She left for about 7 minutes to get a fish….and during that time I saw one little head pop up briefly….but when she came back with a fish at first I saw two heads and then OMG three…. Wow. I was mesmerized watching them. It was so damn hard to move on to other nests…. So this post will just be about her. That males other nest has not hatched yet…. Why do these pictures make me cry? So many big feelings…. I love what I do, I love these birds, I love THIS osprey in particular, and I am so lucky to be skilled enough to even know what’s going on each nest.. how many people would even know her story without following that male, reading bands, watching her so closely. I have been challenged lately by trying to explain what is going on to many of the volunteers….somehow I notice more….and I can’t figure out why. I understand behaviors after all these years….and I am patient, and I am still deeply curious about what is happening, so I often add up behaviors differently, I spend more time, I come to different conclusions, I have a good scope….I ran into a lot of new people today and shared a lot of stories…I LOVE teaching people about ospreys! I literally feel so much in my chest right now looking at these photos and thinking about this female and all she has faced, endured, and is up against in the coming days and weeks. On two different nests in my 33 years of studying them, ( only two) I have seen an unrelated male bring fish to a nest where he was NOT the father. I remember talking to my mentor Sergej about this and he explained to me it is an unusual behavior, but it is a way for a male to secure a territory. He gets a territory and a female….but he has to bring food to chicks that do not carry his DNA. It’s also unusual for a female to allow an unrelated male anywhere near her nest.…but if he has a fish….and she is desperate, well maybe. Dare I hope for this? I do have a monitor, Pat, who witnessed this several years ago on a nest she was monitoring. My goodness we witnessed a lot and learned so much as we both put in many extra hours observing and documenting this unusual behavior. ( too long a story and too much to write now). I also witnessed an unrelated male bring fish to a nest many years ago, in the beginning of my researching days…..after a male was hit by a car and killed when the female had young chicks. He never actually fed the chicks or brought fish directly to them, but he brought fish to the female, as a courtship behavior, which allowed her and her chicks to survive….and he became the territorial male at that for many years after that. But that first year, she never let him stay on the nest with the chicks….he would just drop a fish at her feet and she would say, scram, and he would leave. I am hoping for something miraculous to happen for this female and her awesome little family. Think about her, incubating alone for 39 days, leaving to feed herself without being gone too long. She had a perfect success to hatch three chicks.
Find the positive energy and send it to this mother who is going beyond what anyone might believe. No mate, nothing, three little babies to feed and herself. Fishing for an osprey is not easy. Oh, my.
Mum at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is keeping her eggs dry on a soggy day.
The difference in size at the Pitkin County Trails Osprey nest in Colorado is incredible. There is bonking that has begun.
There are three babies on one of three ospley platforms at the City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
It is unclear to me if this is the same female. She lost her mate in a previous year and chicks died but one (if I remember correctly – perhaps all did – it was sad). I hope they get lots of fish. Three little cutie pies.
They are doing an amazing job in introducing ospreys to South Australia – think Port Lincoln, Ervie and his family and all the others. A few people can make a huge difference! Also remember that these are the fish fairies.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 31st May 2026 Today’s big news is that one of the eggs is pipping! Louis & Dorcha’s first chick is on the way! And just in time, Nest Cam Two was zoomed in to give us great closeups of all the action at the heart of the nest. Nest Cam One will also be zoomed in soon, Aurora 536 laid her egg four days after Dorcha’s first, so there are a few more days before we’ll be on double-nest pip watch. Louis delivered two fish to Dorcha, including the season’s first Silver Tourist, and the Nest Two tally rises to ninety seven, while Garry’s single fish takes his tally to ninety. It was damp today, it rained on and off, and it’ll be
11°C,wet and windy overnight and continuing with heavier rain tomorrow and a high of
17°C. Dorcha is going to have to do her best mumbrella to shelter the little one when it hatches.Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/dLfbf8qndhg N2 Louis is in charge when Dorcha departs with fish one 10.24.59https://youtu.be/A9s1lx_2yG4 N1 Both Aurora with her fish & Garry depart but he quickly returns 15.40.40https://youtu.be/-ert550qbjw N2 Nest cam is zoomed ready for hatching but is there a pip already? 20.04.58 (zoom)https://youtu.be/0BKHmOZJwgs N2 A second fish for Dorcha – this one’s also very silvery 21.41.34 https://youtu.be/4LHyxhrugEE N2 Louis stands guard as the pipping egg starts chupping (zoom, audio-boosted) 22.12.45
Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care as we end the weekend and start the week. See you soon!
Thank you to all the individuals today for chasing down what is happening to the birds in our world. I am so very grateful to those who post on FB, send me notes, create videos to highlight the amazing adventures of our birds and their families and to Geemeff and SK Hideawys and ‘PB’ for all their contributions over the years. Thank you also to the owners of the streaming cams and to the newspapers that continue to write about nature and the environment.
[I am sending this out at 2200 Sunday evening in case things get hectic Monday morning – have a great day everyone].
Yesterday was the Winter Solstice. From now on, we will have a tiny bit more daylight, which is always welcome. Sunday was bright and sunny, and there is nothing better to energise a weary body after days of snow and grey than bright light. The Girls certainly enjoyed having those beautiful rays of warmth fill the conservatory.
For the past several weeks or months, I have encouraged each of you to slow down – to savour the moment at hand without worrying about what happened a week ago, what will occur in a month, or if your holiday dinner is perfect, or your house looks like the best cleaning service has detailed it. You would be too worn out to enjoy any of the fun if you did that. Instead, relax. Make the days simple so that you can enjoy them.
I found a blog post about ‘How Not to Feel Lost in a Parisian Cafe’, and I want to share it with you, not that you are going to Paris soon (or maybe you are), but because it speaks to sheer relaxation. Take a quiet moment with a cuppa and enjoy it. Practice relaxing. It is one thing that North Americans are not good at! Endless lists, too much goal orientation and achievement having priority over simple living.
This led to a link about the joys of doing nothing in retirement. In this article in The Wall Street Journal, there is this quote: “Earlier this summer, I read ‘This Is Happiness,’ by Niall Williams, about a fictional Irish community in the mid-20th century where rain is a constant presence in the lives of the town’s poor residents, until it isn’t. “You don’t see rain stop, but you sense it,” he writes at one point. “You hear the quietness you thought was silence get quieter still, and you raise your head so your eyes can make sense of what your ears have already told you, which at first is only: something has changed. The quote describes more eloquently than my words how I felt that morning at the cabin when something for me had changed. It was the realization that in experiencing the peace that doing nothing brings, I could acknowledge quietly to myself, “This is happiness.”
Nellie arrived. The pups have been in and out, and then a rest, and then in and out again. Nellie loves the deep snow in the garden – she is a big girl. Toby likes to go out but not stay out as long. It has been great fun watching them play.
We had a proper ‘tea’ and christened a new teapot. This year we managed to break two teapots – the daily glass one and a much-loved temmoku one made by my friend Gunda Stewart years ago. There are ‘art’ teapots in my cupboards made by people across Canada, but I don’t use them. So…dear Anne brought us a replacement glass one, and I went over the top and purchased a rather glitzy version for special occasions. It is entirely unlike me; I am a much more rustic, handmade person. I like the story behind this design. It is based on the ceiling of the Library in the Fairmont Hotel in Toronto. This is where the ladies had to wait and have tea while the men checked them into the hotel.
I met a wonderful woman years ago in Yangon. Besides the fact that we both looked up and noticed that we were each reading Burmese Days, we were also sequestered inside our hotel for a few days during bombings in the City. Victoria introduced me to Coronation Chicken, and that is what we had today, along with egg mayo, sausage rolls, vegetable samosas, cranberry, orange, and mince tarts, shortbread cookies shaped like Scotty dogs, Fortnum’s Christmas cake, and chocolates. It was a fantastic way to celebrate the solstice! (I meant to take photos and forgot in the flurry of Nellie’s arrival!)
I wondered if Nellie was going to get stuck. She didn’t. She jumped and rolled.
A really tired Toby. He went to sleep before he even got in his bed.
Next to Toby, Nellie is in her big dog bed.
All is right in ‘dog’ world.
SK Hideaways Videos, week of 14 December 2025
Sauces Canyon Eagles: Jak and Audacity Chortle in the Dawn ~ An 11-Year Love Story (2025 Dec 19) As Jak and Audacity greet the day with nature’s most perfect music ~ chortles ~ we share a little history of this 11-year love story. Video: https://youtu.be/jCVVKQNIbfw Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies | explore.org Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnTsOesC6hE
Haku Issues Mating Invitation ~ Akecheta’s Not in the Mood (2025 Dec 20) As Akecheta and Haku enjoyed their often frequented ocean view, Haku started feeling a little frisky. She let out some beautiful chortles and lowered her head, making it clear she was inviting Akecheta to mate. This time, Akecheta was focused elsewhere and did not respond. These two are spending a lot of time together on camera, so we could guess they’re doing so off camera as well. We have seen at least 2 mating attempts before this event, so may also guess that such attempts are being made behind closed tors. We are feeling optimistic about a fruitful nesting season for these two. Video: https://youtu.be/zhov66JVXDI
Akecheta Attempts Mating After Haku Casts Massive Pellet (2025 Dec 17) After spending the night together on the night perch, Haku woke before Akecheta and cleared her gizzard by casting a rather large pellet. So large, in fact, that when it hit the ground, it woke Akecheta. Unperturbed, he went right back to sleep before waking later to attempt the first mating we’ve seen on camera. While unsuccessful, it bodes well for these two pursuing nesting and mating behaviors for the season ahead. Akecheta later did some nestorations before setting off to the middle tor, posing beautifully for the camera. (2025 Dec 17) Video: https://youtu.be/YWxv9J9LbMM
FOBBV Eagles: Two Juvie Eagles Visit Nest Tree ~ Jackie & Shadow Let Them Be (2025 Dec 15) Two first year juvenile eagles (2025 hatch year) visited the nest tree. The first flew to the very top while Jackie and Shadow were finishing their day’s nestorations. While their hackles were raised and they were very vocal, Jackie and Shadow did not physically approach the visitor. The second juvie arrived at the nest tree after Jackie and Shadow had retired to their Roost Tree. Who might they be? #CouldBeSunnyOrGizmo Video: https://youtu.be/F6R4BuHTTOc Courtesy FOBBVCAM, Friends of Big Bear Valley, CA
GIRRI FLEDGES at 43 Days Old (2025 Dec 18) Girri woke early on her fledge day, full of energy and raring to go. After some vigorous wingercises and a full frontal attack of the camera, Girri took a wee rest and did a bit of yoga before taking flight. The fledge was perfect, as she flew across the flatlands to a perch tree. Cilla Ross captured video of her perched safely to everyone’s delight. Wishing Girri well in this exciting new phase of her young life. Video: https://youtu.be/96yPLdvaixU Viewer Discretion: Diamond’s Prey Unzipping Lesson ~ Girri Chases Gimbir (2025 Dec 15) Diamond brought another galah (aka pink and grey cockatoo) to the nest for Girri. She watched as her chick tried to consume the galah, but Girri does not yet possess the skills to prep prey. After letting Girri struggle a while, Diamond demonstrated how to prepare and ultimately consume prey. While SK Hideaways doesn’t normally publish graphic displays of raptors eating, we felt Diamond’s master class was interesting and educational. This is something raptor lovers may want to understand about these birds of prey. But we understand if you’d rather skip this lesson. When Gimbir came for the second seating, Girri chased him around the nest. Then Diamond fed him a few bites, but decided better of it. Best he remember that he’s a mate/parent and not a chick. Video: https://youtu.be/rgCWPyT11No
There is nothing cuter than a couple of bobbleheads – .
Dade County R9.
SW Florida E26.
Two very much loved eaglets. R10 appears to be on its way.
I am unclear as to the status of E27’s egg. A single healthy eaglet fledging strong would be fine for me for each nest.
It looks like a juvenile eagle on the Berry College Bald Eagle nest in Georgia.
For those following the ups and downs of Lumi, the young lynx that found itself in the care of our local wildlife rehabilitation clinic, Wildlife Haven, is improving all the time. A video was posted on Instagram of Lumi going through the morning zoomies. She certainly looks like she is getting stronger each day!
We have eggs with Louis II and Anna II at Kisatchie National Forest’s E1 Bald Eagle nest. Now there is a bonded pair at the E3 nest. Tonya suggests that we are now on egg watch for them. Nice. https://youtu.be/NkSdsMy2WAo?
Gimbir in the Charles Sturt University Falcon scrape overlooking the wooded area below where Cilla saw Girri yesterday. I wonder if Gimbir can encourage Girri to try and make her way up that steep flight to get to the scrape where she hatched?
At Port Lincoln, let’s see what Giliath and Ervie have been up to – Giliath has been to Lincoln National Park, Boston Point, and Boston Island (very similar to Ervie).
Ervie’s tracker – both lads come back to the wharf at Port Lincoln to roost at night.
I don’t know about you but I am always relieved to see our dear Ervie doing so well.
I read Mark Avery’s Blog every month and he always reports on Bird Flu in the UK. Having seen the deaths of hundreds of Canada geese near to where I live, I continue to be interested in how HPAI is still impacting wildlife.
This was the report in Mark Avery’s most recent blog:
“Bird flu: Defra’s most recent update seems to cover the period up to 30 November and has a lot of positive records, especially of wildfowl, and adds Woodcock to the 2025 list of affected species bringing the total to 53: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Bewick’s Swan, Black Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Eider, White-tailed Eagle, Red Kite, Buzzard, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Curlew, Woodcock, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Kittiwake, Little Gull, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Gannet, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Cormorant, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Black Guillemot, Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Grey Heron, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Greenfinch and Starling. The flaws in the ‘surveillance’ scheme mean that it is difficult to know what this species list means in terms of species affected – click here. “
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care! Have a great beginning to the week. See you on Tuesday!
Thank you to SK Hideaways for those great videos and to the owners of the streaming cams who give us a look into the lives of our eagles. I also want to thank those who take the time to post reports and images on FB so that we know what is going on with our beloved raptors. Thank you to Mark Avery for his blog where I used his bird flu report today as well as to the authors of the articles in Substack and WSJ.
Today, it was -22 degrees C. It was cold. Despite this, Ann braved the cold with Don and Toby to go for their walk along the river.
It’s funny. We know winter is coming when we complain it’s too hot in summer. Still, it takes time to get our heads around the fact that we do need to find all our winter kit. We have coats and boots down to -40 °C. We have scarves and toques. We have ski pants. I have discovered we need a few things because we are finding ourselves outside, walking Toby three times a day, no matter the weather. Today, two out of the three winter wardrobe essentials arrived – Merino wool Long Johns to go layer with those ski pants. They are rated for extreme cold. The next are faux fur-lined bomber hats, complete with flaps. We are just waiting for some much warmer mitts with glove liners. Toby, as you know, is all kitted out with absolutely everything. He doesn’t mind his boots, and those jump suits lined with thermal blanket are pretty amazing. If the ice on the roads would disappear, it would be really nice to go for a long walk through the forest with the chickadees.
We had ‘sun dogs’. This image was taken out of the screened window of the conservatory around 1530. Sunset is an hour later. Sun dogs appear when it is very, very cold on the Canadian Prairies.
So what are sun dogs? Mr Google says, “Sun dogs are bright spots of light that appear on either side of the sun, formed when hexagonal ice crystals refract sunlight in the atmosphere. They are also called parhelia or mock suns, and are most visible when the sun is low on the horizon, like during sunrise or sunset. The ice crystals act like tiny prisms, bending and separating the light into a spectrum of colors, with red on the inside closest to the sun.” There is another one on the other side of the sun that is low on the horizon – too low for me to get an image of the entire scene.
There is a new FB group organised by Cali Condor and a few of their friends. I am putting the link here, and I urge you to step up and join.
I caught Toby and Hugo Yugo again, so here is another of their ‘loving’ videos! I hope these two cutie pies bring you some joy today.
Want to help support ospreys in South Australia? Why not purchase a copy of Fran Solly’s book about Marie!– – Let’s talk Fran into writing a book about Ervie and that clutch! Hint, hint. The story of Ervie and his brothers, Falky and Bazza, is remarkable. There were no fish fairies that year. It was just heart-warming.
Here is the link if you wish to purchase and have the book sent to another country other than Australia:
SK Hideaways caught Liberty and Guardian having a ‘discussion’ over stick placement. Don’t you just wish you could talk ‘eagle’? I bet it sounds something like humans talking about furniture. https://youtu.be/a_YZBv6zTZo?
SW Florida’s M15 and F23 – November 12 was the day the first egg was laid. So today is day 31. The range is 34-38 days.
WRDC nest of Rose and Ron – November 12 was also the day the first egg was laid. So it is also day 31 at the WRDC nest.
Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Clive and Connie – November 16 is the date for the first egg.
This coming week is going to be very busy in terms of pip watches and hatch.
Gabby and Beau’s first egg was laid on November 23 so we have a couple of weeks before we are on pip watch for NE Florida.
The American Bird Conservancy’s Bird of the Week is the Waved Albatross – a new seabird for me. Have a read! These beautiful birds are critically endangered. Like other albatross, there are many ways we can help and changing the nature of long-line industrial fishing is at the heart of it.
Menhaden – Always on my Mind should be a popular song. Wonder what would happen to those osprey nests – the adults and any chicks that hatch – if 112 million tonnes of Menhaden got dumped in The Bay? Check out this meeting!
Wishing you a lovely weekend from our house to yours!
Thank you to Cali Condor, Friends of Osprey South Australia, Port Lincoln Osprey, and SK Hideaways for the content I added to my blog today. I am very grateful for all they do and their love and support for our Raptors. I guess I should also thank Toby, Hugo Yugo, and the American Bird Conservancy, too!
I hope that the beginning of the week was a good one for all of you. As the holiday season draws closer, even if you do not celebrate anything at all, you will feel the rush and the stress without knowing it. There is more traffic, the crowds are bigger, and people are not always polite. Everyone has forgotten to slow down, breathe, and have fun. Cranky might be an apt word for many others, but I hope it doesn’t describe you.
Look for the good and the beautiful, and do not let the bad and the ugly get you down; do not let them ruin your life. And don’t let the drive to have the cleanest house, the most perfect meal, and the most ideal table decorations, along with stacks of presents, ruin the moment. None of that really matters. Time with friends and family sharing laughter – and maybe a sandwich instead of a meal that took hours and hours to prepare and made you dead tired on your feet – is really what the holidays should be about.
It continues to be warmer on the Canadian prairies with temperatures on Tuesday around -9 C. Snow continues to fall and the young man who shovels for us will, no doubt, be coming again tonight as he did last evening. It is quite beautiful, but the roads are ‘greasy’ and someone even wrote to say it was raining on one side of our city. It is near the middle of December. This season is strange.
I took a very short video in the small front garden where the conifers are planted. The small tree is in memory of Melvin, one of our cats (a tuxedo like Brock). Melvin was a sweetheart. We put solar lights on his tree this year. There is a Scotch pine planted in memory of Don’s mother, a large Blue Spruce we planted in 1998 in memory of our youngest son, William, and an apple tree that was relatively small when we purchased the property. A family of chickadees lives in the Blue Spruce. Missey often sits atop a small dresser, watching them. Gosh, it makes me so happy to have a garden in the middle of a city where wildlife feel safe.
I tried to capture the snow falling, but the iPhone camera didn’t quite do it justice. Squint. You can see a bit of snow falling. LOL. If you have suggestions on the settings that will help me improve, by all means, please tell me! Please.
Ann took the boys out for a long walk in the snow. We will go out again tonight. -9 °C is simply the perfect temperature. Toby loves to romp. As I always try to mention, ‘The Girls’ do not have any desire to go outside. They easily find the closest vent with the heat pouring out – or their heated beds that ‘EJ’ recommended a couple of years ago. They still love them, especially when the floor is cold.
Everyone in the garden has been accounted for, except for one Blue Jay, missing for over a week. That leaves a sad hole in my heart. I wonder what happened. I hope that one is just off visiting the kids and will return. Stay tuned. You will be the first to know. The Crows are here, but they are not coming as often; as a result, only about half of the peanuts are eaten. The small birds have increased in number so that we will increase the amount of wild bird seed and Black Oil seed for them. They are fluffed up to stay warm.
This year, I have not ordered many books, simply because few interested me. One did entice me, though, and that was Amy Tan’s The Backyard Bird Journal.
You will never know which birds are visiting your garden or their seasonal patterns unless you keep a journal. This book is an excellent gift for you or for inspiring someone to look more closely at the natural world around them. You need to be sure to add the date and the year and I also recommend adding the temperature and wind conditions. Later, you can go back and do an annual comparison.
The Backyard Bird Journal is more than a journal if you let it be. Tan discusses how nature ‘saved her’ and how being outside in the natural world can reduce stress. Her ‘Introduction’ is very personal – read it. Think about how wildlife, being in nature and actually ‘seeing it’, can change your life. Her other book, Backyard Bird Chronicles, is beautiful and tells her journey to find happiness after the stress she felt when she began. I highly recommend both – especially now when you might be feeling there is no hope for nature.
The second eaglet has hatched at the Central Florida nest of Pepe and Muhlady and its name is Froto.
I mentioned issues with disclaimers at Superbeaks. I am so grateful that Heidi spoke up with what happened to her. This is the reason that I am very weary of covering this nest.
This is in the comments section of my blog, but, because many people do not read the comments, I want to include it here.
Heidi wrote:
“About 18 months ago I made 3 videos to show the fledges of the eaglets (Mason and Dixie) and their return to the nest. The videos were complex with transitions, overlays, and graphics, and took a lot of time to make. I gave credit to Superbeaks, and their logo was on the videos. My YT channel is not, and has never been monetized. SB/CF took my videos, cropped off my watermark, and posted them on their own channel. When I protested, they replied that the videos I made were their property. I filed copyright strikes with YT, I won, and YT removed the videos from the SB/CF site. Then, SB/CF filed a counter-strike with YT and threatened to sue me. YT washed their hands of it at that point, and told me that I had 15 days to show proof that I was suing SB/CF. Of course, I was not going to spend the money and go that far. It was after their issue with my videos that SB/CF posted their current legal language below their live feed. Their copyright statement is not new, it has been posted for about 18 months. There was no such language posted before I made the fledge videos. By the way… I was not, nor have ever been a ‘professional scraper’. Beware.”
For those of you who are capturing images and making videos, like Heidi, I recommend being careful.
One nest I do love is the Charles Sturt Falcon cam. Girri is getting so big. She is waiting for breakfast to arrive and in it comes!
Dad was on the nest of the barge at Port Lincoln in South Australia. Hello, Dad! So nice to see you again.
Hawk Mountain has posted their migration chart for the week of December 9:
Look over those numbers. Some birds have really increased in numbers – like the Bald Eagle. Others have had a sharp decline (so far). We still have eagles in Manitoba. I continue to say that they know more about the changes in weather patterns than we do. It is going to be a very interesting winter.
A close encounter with a Buzzard. The following commentary, “Six feet away, the buzzard crouched, as though preparing to leave if I came any closer, and I wondered what kept her there. Was she weak with hunger? Or sick? Or reluctant to waste energy against the cold wind? What remains with me now is the intensity of her eye, glossy black in the light, how the buzzard’s gaze drilled into mine, as if the world were simply endless calculation.” reminds me of my encounter with a very large female Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk years ago in my garden. Looking deep into her eyes changed my life. I have not experienced anything so powerful since that cold winter’s morning in the garden. This is one of those lovely little Country diary articles of 350 words or fewer. Enjoy.
The RSPB describes Buzzards: “Now the most common and widespread UK bird of prey, the Buzzard is quite large with broad, rounded wings, and a short neck and tail. When gliding and soaring, it will often hold its wings in a shallow ‘V’ and the tail is fanned. Buzzards vary in colour from all dark brown to much paler variations, but all have dark wingtips and a finely-striped tail. Their mournful mewing call could be mistaken for a cat.”
“Key features to look out for:
Not to be confused with the Honey Buzzard, which is a rare summer visitor to the UK. They glide with their wings held flat, tilting their tail like a kite. Their wings are not held raised in a ‘V’. They are neatly barred underneath, with a prominent small head.
Usually brown, with white undersides to the wings, but their plumage is quite variable
Adults have an obvious dark tail band and dark trailing edges to their wings
Long, broad wings with prominent ‘fingers’
Buzzards tend to hold their wings in a raised ‘V’ when soaring, whereas Red Kites hold their wings flat, or slightly downcurved
Short tail, often fanned in flight, which lacks the distinctive fork of a Red Kite’s
Yellow beak, with a black tip
Yellow legs
Often sits with a hunched posture”.
In the UK, Buzzards are on the UK Green List meaning they are doing well and have no conservation concerns. I love them. They remind me of Red-tail Hawks despite the difference in their plumage.
Calico sends everyone some love.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Thank you to Heidi for carefully explaining what happened to her when she posted a few of her videos. At the time, I was so taken aback by the way she was treated that I stopped covering this nest, and despite how much I admire Pepe and Muhlady as parents, other nests will get my attention and donations. Thank you to Hawk Mountain for providing their detailed charts and to Amy Tan for her new book. Thanks, Gracie Shepherd, for the FB post about the second hatch at Superbeaks. Thanks to everyone connected with the Charles Sturt Falcon scrape – Cilla Kinross and to Holly Parsons for being such a great FB group moderator. Once again, I want to thank The Guardian for its articles on wildlife and the environment and OpenVerse for images that can be used on various social media platforms if citations are included.
I am sending this out Sunday evening as Monday morning is going to be a little hectic. Enjoy!
It is -17 C on the Canadian Prairies, and Brock is at the feeder for the fourth or fifth time today! It was much colder overnight, and he really needs a lot of food – like the birds – to survive.
Brock was the subject of our neighbourhood FB chat. It worried me because I am so afraid that someone is going to get him trapped and take him to our humane society. They would euthanise him as he is not ‘socialised’ with no hope for adoption, even though he has survived outdoors, alone for at least four years, and is much loved.
Several feed him, and we might have even found his bolt hole – a small house with an opening under the porch, either into a crawl space or the basement. No one lives in the house, and eventually it will be torn down, and one of the new ‘infill’ houses will go in. I hope this takes years.
Calico will not wear a parka, but she sure likes sleeping on something soft. She is looking out the window at Brock. Is she his mother? Or his friend, who was also dumped at the same time? I will always wonder.
There is news in Bird World – and that is what I am supposed to be writing about today!
Mum and Dad put in appearances at the barge in Port Lincoln, South Australia, on Sunday. Mum was in the nest, and Dad was in his cave. It is so lovely to see them after the nest failed this year, when Mum abandoned the eggs. There have been other visitors – Ervie has been at the barge nest along with Calypso and friends.
Mum and Dad are looking quite well. I wonder if they have returned to the nest to check and see what their kids have done while they were away?
Diamond and Gimbir’s daughter is getting huge. Girri has turned out to be quite the character.
The necroscopy on SE36 has been released.
Thank you to SK Hideaways for their great videos of the week:
SK Hideaways Videos, week of 30 November 2025
Channel Island Eagles Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies, explore.org Two Harbors: Supermoon 🌕Chase ❤️🔥Sunset 🌅 Life is Good explore.org 2025 Dec 5
Cam ops captured the last supermoon of 2025 as it set over the hills. Chase soon arrived with a nice, big stick to continue shoring up the nest rails. We got a nice close-up of the nose bling he’s sporting at the moment. Later, he was found on his and Cholyn’s sofa, while Cholyn remained incognito. Finally, a stunning sunset capped off a lovely Two Harbors Day. (2025 Dec 5, 6:17-16:40)
Girri Gets as Close to Diamond as Possible ~ Precious Mum-Daughter Time (2025 Dec 6)
Girri couldn’t get enough of Diamond during this long visit. She got as close as she possibly could, nibbled Di’s talons, her feathers, and took a little nap with her. A sweet scene between mother and daughter.
Girri Sleeps in Mock Yogi Pose ~ Then Gravity Takes Control (2025 Dec 5) There’s something incredibly addictive about watching birds sleep ~ especially big, fluffy falcon chicks. Girri took the captivating, adorable slumber fest to a new level. Bonus: dancing around the egg and huge wingers. Video: https://youtu.be/dC31StjFAxs
Girri Grabs Whole Prey from Diamond 🍗 Mantles, Tries to Self-Feed🍽️(2025 Dec 4) Diamond brought Girri a large breakfast, which Girri was eager to consume. The chick grabbed the prey, pulled it away from her mum, and attempted to self-feed. Her fluffy mantling of the prey was a little comical, but she persisted. Diamond patiently waited 12 minutes before taking over the feeding. Once Girri calmed down, she realized that this was a more efficient way to eat. In the end, Girri had another huge crop, stretched to show her magnificent height and wings, and ultimately gave us a selfie on the Cilla stones. Another milestone completed. Video: https://youtu.be/CbDNoL_XujU Courtesy FalconCam Project, Charles Sturt University NSW
Jackie & Shadow Begin & End Day in Song🎶➕Nest Bumps, Nibbles & Beakies🥰 (2025 Dec 1) As nesting season begins, there are more visits from Jackie and Shadow, and the most glorious serenades, filled with chortles and snortles galore. Today we got those gifts as well as body bumps, tail nipping, beaky kissing, and a sleepover in the Roost Tree. Welcome back, Jackie and Shadow! Video: https://youtu.be/Z9lSEHWL2yY
Jackie & Shadow Defend Nest 🪹 Juvenile Chooses Bad Time to Visit 😬 (2025 Nov 30) Jackie and Shadow were doing nestoration chores when a beautiful juvenile decided to stop by for an uninvited visit. Shadow karate kicked the young one away from the nest and Jackie delivered her one-two kick from a basement branch. She then appeared to follow the juvie, likely giving her one more piece of her mind before returning to perch on the Lookout Snag. Shadow remained in the nest a while longer. This defensive behavior is a good indication that nest restoration had begun in earnest. Video: https://youtu.be/0nMw_5DvSlk
At the Central Florida Bald Eagle nest of Pepe and Muhlady, there is a hatch. Congratulations! This nest has been the first to have hatches over the past few years. Next should be M15 and F23.
Raptor Persecution UK is following several stories including the shooting of a peregrine falcon in Derbyshire and a halt to international trade in falcons by downgrading their status.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Looking forward to having you with us again tomorrow!
Thank you to SK Hideaways for their videos, to the authors of the FB posts and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to witness the lives of these beautiful birds. Thank you also to ABC and their Bird of the Week highlights and The Guardian for their wildlife stories.
I am so happy that Toby and Hugo Yugo’s little kissing/licking fest touched your hearts. It is really easy to see why they bring such joy to our lives! SP wrote, “Mary Ann, you are my Santa! The Toby-HY love fest… I’ve only watched it three times… so far. xoxo”
Brock reminded me today that it is ‘essential’ to find a way to have water for the outdoor animals that we feed. This is easy if you live in an area where it never gets below freezing. Here, it can be problematic. You MUST be careful so as not to cause the little birds to freeze their feet and feathers. Because of these issues, I am reluctant to use a heater in the bird baths if there is any chance their little feet will stick and be pulled off! Luckily for Brock, there are two dishes in his heated feeding station – one for wet food and the other for water. He had several long drinks today!
The small sparrows and Starlings were busy eating snow. They don’t get as much as they would if there were a bird bath for them, but they do get some hydration, which is really important if you are feeding them.
I hope you did not worry about Gabby being away from her nest and leaving Beau to incubate for approximately 24 hours. This is ‘Gabby’s Way’. Every year, she takes a break before the eggs hatch. The first time I saw this panic set in, I thought she had died, leaving Samson to care for their family, but no. Gabby was having a ‘spa time’ – I liked to call it. Gabby is now home, and Beau was so happy to get off those eggs, he flew off the nest when he caught her flying in!
Beautiful Gabby back in the nest.
I decided to take a sheet out of Gabby’s playbook today while Anne was caring for Don, Toby, and The Girls.
You probably know someone who was or is a caregiver to another individual – their partner, a parent, another family member, or a friend. It is stressful. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Caregivers are often ‘tired beyond belief’ and rarely take time for themselves. You might know someone who cared for another person and actually died before them. It happens more often than you might think. As Don’s illness progresses, I am trying hard to make sure that my life is a bit more balanced. So, going back to Gabby…I gave myself a ‘treat’ today. I spent the afternoon at the Dior counter today getting a ‘refresh’ from a wonderful woman who has worked for this French cosmetics company for 35 years. It was fun – and a reminder that each of us needs to create time to relax and laugh!
Moving back to our birds. As you know, Heidi and I have been monitoring osprey nests for mortality numbers and causes. Heidi sent this to me today and I thought that you might be interested, too.
“This was the presentation held yesterday on Virginia Eastern Shore by Dr. Watts and Ben Wurst. The presentation itself is only about 67 minutes long, and is very informative.https://youtu.be/bR8byYABd8s?s
A lot of takeaways. VV’s nests all had abandoned eggs. But, Watts’ data indicated the majority of nest failures were from brood reduction due to a lack of menhaden. Most of the eggs hatched, but most chicks didn’t survive. Interesting.”
Overfishing has led to the death of 60,000 penguins! The Guardian gives us the details. “More sustainable fisheries management could improve the penguins’ chances of survival. Conservationists are taking action on the ground, by building artificial nests to shelter chicks, managing predators and hand-rearing adults and chicks who need rescuing. Commercial purse-seine fishing, which involves encircling a school of fish with a large net and then trapping them by closing the bottom, has been banned around the six largest penguin-breeding colonies in South Africa.
It is hoped this will “increase access to prey for penguins at critical parts of their life cycle”, said the study co-author Dr Azwianewi Makhado, from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in South Africa.”
I don’t know about you, but my calendar is counting down to the arrival of the ospreys in the UK! Of course, there is a big gold star at the beginning of April to remind me to be on the lookout for Iris’s return to Missoula, Montana.
Lots of couples are incubating. Eagles and Albatross.
You can watch the Royal Albatross Royal Cam Pair, BOK and WYL, in New Zealand. If you are not aware, the letters relate to the coloured identification bands on their legs. BOK (female) is Blue-Orange-Black with ‘K’ being for Black. WYL (male) is White-Yellow-Lime.
Today, the couple were reunited as they switched incubation duties. The note under the video reads: “WYL returns to the Plateau nest site to give his mate BOK a well-earned break from incubation. Watch him enter from the left of the frame to greet her, and after a brief reunion, BOK lifts off and hands over nest duties. Following a few vocal exchanges with the neighbors, she heads back out to sea. Join us live as we follow their journey through the 2025–26 breeding season! RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation and the Cornell Lab has been collaborating with DOC since 2019 to bring the cam to life. To learn more while watching, view the cam at https://www.doc.govt.nz/royalcam“
At Port Lincoln, Dad was on the barge during the early morning hours having a nap. The camera panned to the old barge but no ospreys were visible.
Girri is such a character. She has even been incubating the remaining egg in the scrape on and off!
Just look at those juvenile feathers coming in!
Girri is a BIG girl.
There has been no news of any peregrine falcons from the CBD of Melbourne coming into care. This is great news!
Liberty and Guardian have been at the Redding Eagles nest.
More eagle news on Monday!
Signing off with Hawk Mountain’s migratory count for the week of 3 December. Osprey count way down. Bald Eagles up. Sharp-shinned Hawks down along with many others. My goodness…but a growth in Broad-winged haws.
It isn’t just at Hawk Mountain that some species numbers are beginning to plummet. In the UK, recognizing this horrific act, people are opting to name streets after our amazing birds in order that they not be forgotten.
I don’t need to tell you that Toby and The Girls make my life worth living.
After a day of frolicking in the snow, there is nothing nicer than napping on a toy duck.
Thank you so much for being with us today. We hope to have you with us again tomorrow!
Thank you to Heidi for sending us the link to that presentation on the Ospreys with Dr Watts and to SP for allowing me to quote them. I am also grateful to the owners of the streaming cams – Charles Sturt University, Port Lincoln Osprey, American Eagle Foundation, and NZ Dept of Conservation/Cornell Bird Lab – where I took my screen captures today and to the authors of the articles on providing water for wildlife in winter, The Guardian for covering the death of the African Penguins or OpenVerse for the image of the African Penguins.
I cannot thank you enough for your letters. Please keep them coming! I love hearing from you, and it was so nice to know that you are enjoying the photos of The Girls, Toby, and the garden animals and birds. I have included more today, as well as another video. – More and more of you are in the hospital or have a partner who is. I hope Toby and HY’s antics bring some smiles to what could be very challenging situations.
We went to sleep with snow falling, and it was still coming down when we woke up Thursday morning. It is snowing as I write. Indeed, it has been snowing on and off for several days now.
Temperatures warmed up to a balmy -5 °C. Toby had a marvellous walk in the snow -he loves winter, frolicking through the snow while kicking up his heels in his new snowsuit. This one has one of those ‘silver astronaut blanket’ thermal linings. I was shocked at how toasty warm he was!
He does have boots and a hat – no scarf yet. The boots are so challenging to put on. He doesn’t seem to care – snow brings joy to his step. We clean his feet when he gets in and lotion is applied to keep the pads from cracking. Did I say that dogs are a lot more work than cats?!
Speaking of cats and dogs. Toby and Hugo Yugo had one of their little love fests. Enjoy.
Our Australian commentator, ‘A’, found some interesting news. I think you might be terribly interested in this:
“Watching an episode of one of my favourite shows this morning – Who’s Who in the Zoo (the episode is called Baby Boom). Apart from the babies, the episode covers a female WBSE that was rescued near the Olympic Park forest. From the dialogue, it sounds as though this was definitely one of our girls. Here is the WIRES post about the rescue:
The show includes them checking her injured/broken wing – initially they thought she would have to be euthanised but they keep trying with her and she is eventually released.
This was definitely one of our girls. Thought you might be interested. But it’s good to know that people like these are there for them.”
Reports are circulating of a sighting in the mangroves near the Parramatta River of a juvenile sea eaglet. Could that one be SE35? I sure hope so! Without a Darvic band or DNA, we can never ever be certain but it is so nice that there are people who love these eagles and look out for them!
There were 31 European Starlings at the feeders on Thursday morning.
The Starlings are going after cat and dog kibble. They even ate the kibble out of Brock’s dish.
Notice the beautiful, iridescent green back feathers. Do you know what those white tipped feathers indicate?
Rosemary’s blog has some excellent images and drawings explaining the Starling plumage.
Lots of sparrows were on the ground and in the little covered feeder searching for seed.
Mr and Mrs Crow were feeding along with three grey squirrels, one red squirrel, and at least one Blue Jay came to visit today.
The Blue Jay images above were taken with the iPhone and are very cropped – hence their softness. The ones below were taken in late August with the new lighter P1100. Certainly better images! (I am still getting used to this camera). Oh, I miss the green leaves and grass!
Hello Junior.
Oh, it seems like those warm days were aeons ago. I am already sick of the browns and greys of winter.
One of Dyson’s kits.
Beautiful Hope.
A last bit of news. The White-bellied sea eaglet that hatched on that crane in Port Lincoln has taken its first flight.
We hope you have enjoyed the videos, images, and today’s news tidbits. Thank you so much for being with us! Just imagine. It is approximately 108 days til the ospreys begin arriving back in the UK. I can’t wait. The failure of Port Lincoln to have nestlings this year has sure left a hole.
Take care. We hope to see you again tomorrow.
I thought that was the end of today’s offering…BUT. Around 2230, Toby began barking his curly ears off in the conservatory. Much to our surprise, there was a very large deer at the bird feeding table. Not a great shot through the glass in the dark, but this is what has caused all the commotion. What an extraordinary evening.
Thank you to ‘A’ for the news on the sea eaglet in care and to the BOGS near the Olympic Forest who keep an eye out for SE35. Let’s hope they saw it!
I am so happy that you enjoyed Toby and his photograph with Santa. It seemed the most appropriate image to help us settle into the December holiday season.
We woke up to -19 °C with some more snow. Snow will continue, on and off, for the end of the week. Our young man who clears it will come in the wee hours of Friday morning so that everything is clear for Anne’s arrival that afternoon. It is hard to get moving when it is so cold. Toby scooted outside to do his ‘business’ and quickly got back in until it was time to feed the birds. The sun was up by then, and despite the frigid temperatures, it felt warmer.
I had a very good laugh. A few of you wondered if there was any hope in getting ‘The Girls’ dressed up for Santa – I don’t think so. Cats, as you know, are very different than dogs. Toby loves getting dressed up and his basket of sweaters, coats, hats, and boots tells it all. ‘The Girls’ prefer their toys, reading time, and treats!!!!
Baby Hope says you ‘wouldn’t get her caught dead in an outfit!’
Toby and Hugo Yugo could not be upstaged by Baby Hope so they want to put another smile on your face – playtime last night. The interchanges between these two best friends goes on all day long. Hugo Yugo and Toby sleep together, play together, and eat together!
We can’t promise to send you a greeting every morning from now until the new year but we are going to try! Our main blog will continue on Mondays until there are some baby eaglets in those nests that we follow.
News from South Australia is getting exciting. I have always hoped that Ervie would take over the barge nest. It seems that Ervie’s older brother, Calypso, has been visiting the barge along with two other ospreys. Which one will delight us in the future – Ervie or Calypso? The other good news is that Big Red and Arthur continue to be spotted on the Cornell campus while our eagles are busy incubating.
Have a wonderful day, everyone! The Girls and Toby send each of you a virtual hug to start your day.
