Tag Archives: Ferris Akel Tour

Boxing Day in Bird World

If you live in the Commonwealth you are celebrating Boxing Day today. Centuries ago, all people working in the manors and upper-class homes were given the day off after Christmas as a holiday. Small gifts from the wealthy would go to their help and the tradespeople who worked for them during the year. The tradition might have begun during the Roman-Christian era when alms boxes were outside the churches for the poor.

We lived in a wonderful small town when I was a student in England. Boxing Day was lovely – visits from good friends, small exchanges of food items. Most prized for someone who never loved mincemeat were the tarts with the orange pastry shells made by Jane. If you liked or needed to, you could begin paying for your Christmas dinner and all the treats in January. The milkman arriving with the electric float had a small catalogue. You paid by the week. The meal with all the trimmings was delivered when Christmas came. I was most impressed with the focus on being together as a family and sharing a meal – not on presents. Typically, children received a new bike and a sock full of treats and candies. We were extraordinarily fortunate to have the most wonderful neighbours and acquaintances. I can close my eyes and return to our living room on Gorse Road – magical.

Today, I hope that you have been able to be with a friend, friends, or loving relatives – in person or virtually.

Ferris Akel is having a wonderful tour today. He was at the Finger Lakes Regional Airport where there were two, perhaps three, Snowy Owls.

There were also Bald Eagles.

There was a male and a female Hooded Merganser.

Male Hooded Merganser
Female Hooded Merganser

There were ducks and geese paddling around the partially frozen water.

The ones with the white breast are Northern Pintails.

There were so many ducks.

I wished that Daisy was there with them paddling around and eating. The image is not clear but Ferris believes that the ducks below are Black Ducks (similar but different to Daisy).

There were Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans flying about.

Canada Geese in formation.
Trumpeter Swans

Ferris also found a very interesting goose. Is it a pale Canada Goose? or is it a hybrid? It is smaller than a typical Canada Goose. Mind you, we see various sizes here in Canada – the small geese pair up with the same size, the larger with the larger ones. Ferris believes this to be a hybrid – a Canada Goose and a Snow Goose.

There were also Sandhill Cranes.

Ferris is on his way to Ithaca – hopefully he will catch sight of Big Red and Arthur!

Meanwhile in Hilton Head South Carolina, Harriet, named after Harriet Tubman, and Mitch, named after General Mitchel, either have their first hatch or are close to it. There is no rewind function for the camera but the images are crisp and beautiful. More than 400 individuals sent in names for the pair. Great choice!

Here is the link to the camera.

https://www.hhilandtrust.org/eagle-cam?fbclid=IwAR2ncSAkZt2o_OXyTxtRDwpDj3Zgp1aNFHKD8ybz4b1-RZvdIEQ5BogeMFc

There will be twins again for Harriet and M15 with both eggs pipping this morning! The Pritchard family set the time as 09:55:54 on 26 December. Tears, Get your worry beads out. It will be rough and tumble in a couple of days!

M15 has had food in the pantry for Harriet who normally will not leave their eggs at this stage – no matter how persuasive M15 can be!

I am so excited. Harriet and M15 are amazing Bald Eagle parents and the Pritchett family has provided them with everything they need – including a stocked pond – and care when required. Here is the link to the camera. You will not want to miss these two!

It is very hot on the nest. Harriet is panting to regulate her temperature. She is used to the weather in Fort Myers so no worries. The eaglets will be listening to one another and that will give them momentum to hatch.

Last breeding season I believe there was only four hours difference between E17 and E18. Remember those two? How could we forget, you are thinking.

Not a week old and they go into care with CROW for conjunctivitis. The image below is after a couple days of treatment. Lucky eaglets, Thanks CROW. Thanks Pritchett family for insisting these kiddos got the care and treatment they needed.

E17 got time out in the peach towel because he was being too aggressive to 18.

Besties.

Thank you for joining me today and for going back to look at these two wonderful juvenile eagles, E17 and E18. The time between when they hatch and fledge will pass as if you only blinked your eye. I urge you to stay tuned and watch this marvellous family go about their every day lives – feeding babies and protecting one another in Fort Myers, Florida.

Thank you to the Hilton Head Eagle Cam, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and the D Pritchett family for their streaming cams and Ferris Akel for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots. I also want to thank CROW for their FB Page where I took the images of E17 and E18 in care.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 18

At 03:43 in the morning I was waiting for Daisy to return home, like a parent waiting for their teenager to the first time they borrow the family car. My math wasn’t good at all. So, let’s go back and get this right. Daisy laid 8 eggs. She began hard incubation (perhaps on Day 7) but for sure on Day 8. That is 11 days. The duck eggs require 26-30 days of incubation. So, as of today, we have 15-19 days left.

Daisy is, of course, starting to drive me a little bonkers. She was so careful with the timing of her foraging trips until a couple of days ago. During that time, Daisy left the nest after sunset and took her morning break before sunrise. That guaranteed that she would miss the Ravens and the Sea Eagles. They are diurnal – daytime hunting birds. Now, she is gambling. She left for her break last evening at 15:30 – two and a half hours before sunset. She was simply lucky that those Ravens did not fly by and see her gone.

Daisy returned at 19:11:56. The beautiful glow of the setting sun makes Daisy and the nest look ‘rose gold’.

Isn’t she gorgeous?

This morning, sunrise was at 05:40. Daisy did not leave to go foraging until 05:43:21.

Daisy put considerable effort into concealing her eggs underneath that thick layer of down.

She walked around the nest several times tucking and poking.

Certain that everything was to her liking, Daisy flew off for breakfast.

You can just see her flying out of the right hand side, middle ground.

Seconds after Daisy left, the camera went offline. The wind is blowing at only 10 km/h and the current temperature is 21 degrees C. It will go up to 29 C today in the Sydney Olympic Forest. The time is 07:23. I hope our darling Daisy has returned or will return soon. The Ravens do tend to come in the morning.

Daisy is home! Whew!

The Rainbow Lorikeets have flown in to say good morning. They are so colourful and what a nice voice they have.

It looked like there were 7 or 8 visitors. Several seem to be curious about the Ringtail Possums hole on the right side of the nest below the top of it. There is a Lorikeet close to the entrance.

They come in a ‘migraine’ (that is what a group of Rainbow Lorikeets is called) and leave together just as quickly moving on to other areas in the forest.

Daisy looks really comfortable in that fluffy down nest.

Daisy removes some down.

It is 09:10 on the nest and for the moment, everything is fine! That is a good thing.

But at 09:31:11, Daisy raised her head from a sound sleep. Her head shot up! She is alert. Is there a predator around?

Whatever it is, is now gone and Daisy is back in her relaxed mode.

So, as of now, everything in Daisy’s world is calm. It is often very tense watching Daisy – that is because we know that anything could happen at any moment. Right now thought – everything is fine. Daisy is safe and so are her eggs. Can hour at a time.

Other Bird World News: Ferris Akel’s Tour located a large group of Sandhill Cranes and Red-breasted Mergansers. The images are quite ‘soft’ but I think you can see the beauty in the birds. The cranes flew and went to an area of water after feeding on the fields.

There were also Red-Breasted Mergansers. I have never seen them. I checked my Waterfowl book and they say that the Red-headed Mergansers will often completely jump out of the water when they are diving. At other times they slip straight under the water without even making a splash. They are known as the ‘wolves of the water’ – they ‘cruise the water’ in packs in an effort to catch fish. There are two males below and a female. The males have the dark head, red bill, and the lovely white collar. The females have warm brown heads and grey bodies with a red bill. They are found in various locations in North American and Asia but they really like the coastal waters and lakes. Known for their elaborate courtship rituals, unlike other ducks, they do not mature until they are two years old.

It has warmed up. It is only -5 C on the Canadian Prairies but it is a wet cold that goes all the way to your bones. Daisy is now 24 degrees C going up to 29 C this afternoon for our little duck. She will be happy for that evening swim. No storms and no rain forecast. Yippeeee.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I will continue to monitor Daisy throughout the day and report any issues if they happen. If it is quiet you can expect to hear from me tomorrow. Take care. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Ferris Akel Tour and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Forest.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 13

Ever since Daisy landed back on the nest this morning, I have been more than curious. Her neck was ‘huge’. This image is later but squint and see that floppy large ‘crop’! It is so big that it is catching the light and looks like a shiny ball almost in the centre of the picture. She looks like she is sleeping on a puff pillow.

Over the time Daisy has been on the nest, I have had conflicting reports about whether or not ducks have crops. I was told that they have an expanded esophagus as well as a gizzard.

I continued to research this because I was completely dumbfounded about Daisy. She has obviously foraged very well during the three hours she was away before dawn. That bulge looks like a crop – a term used with raptors – for a place to store food before it goes to the main stomach. So I found this image by Murray State University. The vet students were dissecting a wild duck. Do you see what I see? The arrows for the Empty Crop and the Esophagus point to the same place. If we look at our live duck, Daisy, I think it is safe to say that an extended esophagus is also a crop. Mystery solved. Daisy is literally ‘full to the brim’. Hopefully she will be quite content to wait til sunset not have to leave. It seems that the Ravens check at least twice a day to see if she is on the nest.

So far, it has been another wonderfully uneventful morning on Daisy’s nest. I just want to pinch myself. Could our little duck actually fledge those 8 ducklings to be?

A Noisy Miner came to visit. It is right on the branch that is illuminated – look right above Daisy. This bird will not harm Daisy – it doesn’t have the nicest voice but it will not hurt our Duck or her eggs!

Last clutch, everyone wished that Daisy had come to the nest earlier – in December – because that is when Lady and Dad seem to spend the most time on Goat Island. Lady loves Goat Island. Dad’s former mate liked a different location after fledging the eaglets. No sign of Dad or Lady at the River Roost so far today.

Daisy is just sleeping away with the warm sun shining down on her and her 8 eggs. Oh, what a little sweetheart.

It is after noon for Daisy. I cannot tell you how quiet the forest has been. It is positively wonderful. There is a gentle wind that rocks Daisy and her eggs. You can hear a plane fly over once in awhile. Blissful.

Here are some images that I enlarged so we can see Daisy better. She is so camouflaged in those images above that you can hardly make her out from the sticks.

Other Bird World News: Wow. Ervie, that incredible third hatch at Port Lincoln Osprey barge, is really flying. Fran Solly, Take2Photography, reports that Ervie’s tracker shows he is following Dad to go out when he goes fishing. ​Solly says that “He (Ervie) went around the corner to the main Bay and along the wharf. I’ve seen Mum and Dad both fish there.” Oh, Ervie, you are a survivor! At the Kisatachie National Forest Bald Eagle Nest, Anna broke one of the two eggs while landing today. While that is very sad, hopefully the other one will stay safe and hatch. One healthy eaglet is good! Last I checked there was not an egg on Samson and Gabby’s Bald Eagle nest in Jacksonville, Florida. We wait. Anxiously.

Oh, I wish the NE Florida nest used a 24 hour clock!

Ferris Akel has cut down his streaming tour of last Saturday to show the Snowy Owls. For the people around the Finger Lakes of NY, Snowy Owls were a rarity. In Manitoba, you can often see 25 or 30 within a short distance during the winter. If you want to see these fluffy owls, here is the link:

Everything is alright in the world of Daisy. This is so wonderful. I will continue to monitor her until she leaves for her evening foraging. I hope this time is as quiet as the morning has been!

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care everyone. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sea Eagles@ Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, NE Florida Bald Eagles and the AEF, and Murray State University.

Catching up with Ervie

I have spent so much time watching Daisy, recording the happenings on the nest, and sleeping at odd hours that many of the other nests have been neglected. One of those is the Port Lincoln Osprey nest in Australia. I stopped in today to check on Ervie’s movements by the Sat-Pak and there were some gorgeous images of this juvenile male Osprey by Take 2 Photography, Fran Solly.

Ervie has been all over the place. Many are expecting him to leave the area of the barge. I wonder how far Ervie will go?

These were Ervie’s movements yesterday. Oh, he does love to fly.

Fran Solly went out and took these images of Ervie flying around the coast. Isn’t he just such a handsome bird?! My goodness, Ervie. You are doing Mum and Dad proud.

Male Ospreys tend to return to where they hatched to make their nests. I wonder if all three lads will show up at the same time? And I learned a new word today ‘Dust Up.’ Do you know this word? Remember when Ervie and Bazza were knocking one another about the nest – or off it – that is apparently a ‘Dust Up.’ Love it. Sounds so much better than saying Bazza just knocked Ervie off the edge of the nest! or Vice Versa.

Other Bird News: Gabby and Samson continue to have a sub-adult intruder coming around. No eggs on that nest yet. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Samson on the left and Gabby on the right.

We could be less than 2 weeks away from the first hatch at the Southwest Florida nest of Harriet and M15.

I have seen no weather warnings for Florida – like the disturbances going through the Midwest and the winds up in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York.

Harriet is alerting. There is a predator around. Is it the Great Horned Owl (GHOW)?

Anna is incubating two eggs at the Kistachie National Forest Bald Eagle Nest in Central Louisiana. Louis continues to be so exciting. He is great for bringing in the fish but he is also softening up that nest with tonnes of Spanish Moss.

Connie is incubating two eggs over at Captiva, too. Her new mate is Clive. Hopefully this nest will have some luck. That said, local pelicans are being brought into care for red algae.

All of the Bald Eagle nests outside of the tornado and storm areas in the US are fine. More Ospreys are being spotted on the Iberian Peninsula and in Africa which is a grand sign. Ferris Akel was thrilled to see three Snowy Owls today on his tour. One even flew for him. I should invite him to Manitoba for the winter. One of our birders spotted 25 Snowy Owls in a short drive around the agricultural fields. — And a reminder. The owls in the Central US have been found to be thin and dehydrated. They are blaming this on photographers trying to get images and scaring away their prey. As you know I am a raptor lover – they often do not eat for several days so when you see one hunting or eating – leave it alone, please. Stay way, way back. Invest in a long lens!

It is very quiet morning at Daisy’s nest. A couple of times I have heard the cawing of the Ravens but Daisy has been peaceful, unfluttered would be a good word. There will be a late night catch up on her nesting activities.

This is not a Raptor Time: Watch this Titmouse modify its nest, bring in nesting materials, and hatch and fledge 11 chicks in Japan. Seriously it will put a smile on your face. I wish I could transport Daisy and her eggs into a box like this! Oh, she even wiggles her little bottom like Daisy. Here is the link:

Happy Saturday everyone. Take care. Thank you so much for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, their photos, or their FB Pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Port Lincoln Osprey FB Page, Fran Solly, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett Family, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Captiva Bald Eagle Cam.

Saturday in Bird World

Are you having Peregrine Falcon withdrawal since the Collins Street kids and Yurruga fledged? Did you know that there are a pair of falcons living in Baltimore, Maryland that do not migrate? Their names are Barb and Boh. Barb will lay her eggs in March (normally) but for now the camera is live every day! The history of the scrape is located on the web cam page.

Peregrine Falcon

Urban hawks are very fascinating as are the amount of wildlife that exist in the very large urban parks such as Central Park in NYC. I always recommend this site. There are some good videos on Cedar Waxwings and the Peregrine Falcons as well as the RTH’s. The blog is run by Bruce Yolton who is extremely knowledgable. Check it out if you are interested in how wildlife survives in some major cities like New York.

https://www.urbanhawks.com/

There is also an Osprey streaming cam in Maryland that you should have on your radar. It is the home of Tom and Audrey 2 on the property of The Harrison Family.

Osprey

This Osprey family, Tom and the original Audrey, were the subject of a book full of wonderful images, Inside An Osprey’s Nest. A Photographic Journey through Nesting Season. The images and text are for year 2015 when Tom and Audrey became adoptive parents – twice! The story is as good as the images showing the arrival of the two chicks to the nest and then, a little later, another chick lands on the nest and wants to be part of the family.

The eggs of Tom and Audrey are determined to be non-viable. The eldest two nestlings are removed from a nest with four chicks. Imagine Audrey’s surprise when she returns to her nest from a break to find not three eggs but two chicks and an egg. It is a very heart-warming story!

One of our readers asked if I would share some information from that big book on Australian birds of prey – and the answer is definitely yes! It is too difficult to find that volume and too expensive to purchase but, oh so wonderful to share! We will work our way through Australian birds of prey!

The latest news on two peregrine falcons that we are watching – Grinnell, the mate of Annie at UC-Berkeley’s Campanile – and Yurruga, the recent fledge at Orange is no news. The last posting from UC Falcons is that the interloper male appeared briefly on the ledge and was greeted by Annie. It was raining in Orange. Diamond and Xavier were about but Yurruga was not seen. He could be in the trees staying quiet out of the weather. Perhaps he will be spotted today.

The boys at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge are doing fine. Bazza decided to be a little aggressive when he received one of the morning fish deliveries from dad. Afraid that Ervie might steal his late breakfast, Bazza decided to mantle and then thrust himself at Ervie just to make sure Ervie understood.

Bazza was very quick to protect its fish and mantle Ervie. The mantling is not the problem it is that beak. They can do a lot of damage to one another if they decide that is what is necessary.

Bazza finally settles and goes back to eating his fish.

Later. All is forgotten. Simply beautiful fledglings. Falky is on the right, Bazza with his great crest is on the left and Ervie is behind with his sat-pak.

Someone said that Falky had a wing or feather injury but I can see nothing to indicate that in these images. Falky is definitely one beautiful elegant bird. He has really come into himself in terms of flying. I also hear rumours that Ervie is trying his hand at fishing. Wonderful!

Just beautiful. Sometimes I just stare at these three boys. What joy they gave to us this year. I wish each had a sat-pak because we get so attached to them and then – poof. Nothing. What happened? Rather than think things are well, I like to know. If something happens, then we need to deal with it. Like Solly’s electrocution. Put the protectors on the poles. It is simple.

As we prepare for Bald Eagle season, I want to stop and say that there are so many many nests. You have your favourites and I have mentioned mine in the last few days. Some of the first eggs that will hatch belong to M15 and Harriet at the SWFlorida Eagle nest in Fort Myers on the property of the D Pritchett family. Those eggs are set to hatch from the 25-28 of December. They are an experienced family with little trauma – the GHOW being the exception. If you are after an eagle family to watch, SW Florida should be your first go to this season. There are three cameras. You can find the others on YouTube.

Ithaca, New York is the same temperature as the Canadian prairies today, 0. Yes, it warmed up and the sun is out! Ferris Akel’s tour is live at the moment. He is on Wildlife Drive and it is snowing but he did find some beautiful swans.

If you are reading this at the right time you can still join the tour. On Thursday Ferris found Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus. Maybe he will do the same today!

I am also happy to report that so far, knock on wood, Dyson has not found the new feeder for Little Woodpecker! Yippee.

Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. I hope you have a marvellous Saturday. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project and Ferris Akel.

Thanksgiving Thursday in Bird World

Our wildlife rehabilitation clinic has seen a 21% increase in patients in the last week. If you live in Manitoba and have the finances, send them a donation, however small or large. They receive no government funding. Everything is done on a donation basis – as is the case with most wildlife rehabilitation clinics. They have a long list of items they need on their website and all monetary donations are tax deductible.

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/a-pelican-an-otter-and-an-eagle-manitoba-wildlife-hospital-seeing-a-spike-in-patients-1.5680218?cid=sm%3Atrueanthem%3Actvwinnipeg%3Amanualpost&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20New%20Content%20(Feed)&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR21n7ST7rsSOyUC4DSopHusFxjrxTLsBYX1xrGVrGQePviHj7AAQ58N0dI

I know that many of my readers live elsewhere but if this is happening here then perhaps it is happening all over.

There was a very sobering article on that cute little Korora (Tiny Blue Penguin) that is doing well in NZ. Its sibling died because the parents have to go so far to feed. For those that love those New Zealand birds such as the Royal Albatross at Taiaroa Head and wildlife that depend on the oceans to survive, what they are seeing is warming waters which mean the fish move or even die (like the trout did in Montana when the Clark Fork River got too water). It is time we demand that governments get serious and take radical steps to try and stop the situation from getting worse.

I want to remind everyone of Ferris Akel’s tours. You can go to YouTube, search for Ferris Akel, and hit the subscribe button to the live stream. He has lots of archived video tours as well. They normally take place on Saturdays at noon, Ithaca NY time. Ferris is out at Sapsucker Woods today for Thanksgiving and he has just found a beautiful juvenile Red-tail hawk that is hunting.

Notice the ‘eyebrow’ that helps to keep the glare away from its eyes when hunting. Oh, isn’t this a beautiful raptor?

Ferris just caught a Belted Kingfisher close to the RTH. There have been other birds this morning included Canada Geese and maybe another Kingfisher.

In the summer and fall, Ferris finds lots of shore birds and in the winter there will be owls! You can leave Ferris on like a radio if you are busy or you can watch as little or as much as you like. There is also a chat function with great people who can answer questions.

I am so thankful for Ferris Akel and his tours and his generosity in allowing us to share his images. I have learned so much from him over the years just wish I had a better ear to know which birds are out there by their beautiful voices.

Little Yurruga, the Peregrine Falcon fledgling at Orange, has been seen on top of a building so it is flying alright. Xavier and Diamond have been seen taking food in and out so she/he ? is being provided for. Isn’t this wonderful?!!!!!!

Below is the image that Dr Cilla Kinross took the day Yurruga fledged. She placed it in a tree. What a lovely little falcon you are, Yurruga.

This appeared on the FB Page of the Orange Peregrine Falcons today.

Have you ever wondered about the colour morphing of birds? The Audubon Society has a nice ‘Ask Ken’ article on that very topic! Thanks BM for letting me know!

https://www.audubon.org/news/ask-kenn-whats-bird-color-morphs-and-phases?ms=digital-eng-social-facebook-x-20211100-nas_eng&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=20211100_nas_eng&fbclid=IwAR2XS87f_pwTIWI43MJ957DquX33kHpShF5aepmSdXZjiMItvUxE8s8kQdY

The NZ DOC rangers at Taiaroa Head are deciding which Royal Albatross couple will be the Royal Cam family this year. There are 36 eggs and they believe that is all for this year. The favourite couple, WYL and BOK, who have made us so happy with their cuddles have not laid an egg – maybe next year! Will keep you posted!

It is a quiet day in Bird World and that is something to be very thankful for – no drama, nothing horrible happening.

Take care everyone. Have a marvellous day. To those having Thanksgiving, enjoy. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures or their FB pages: Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, Ferris Akel Tours, Orange Peregrine Falcons FB page and the Cornell RTH FB Page.

Tiny Little makes second flight!

This will be a concise posting. Today my hair will be getting a makeover for the first time since November – or was it August of 2020?

There is great news. Tiny Little (aka Little Bob) on the Foulshaw Moss took her second flight at 13:34 on 21 August. Polly Turner caught the action:

Earlier, around 8:20, Tiny Little’s crop was concave, as it is in the picture above. White YW landed on the nest with a stick. Stayed a couple of seconds and flew to land on the top of the parent tree in the background. Tiny Little got antsy. You could just feel that she wanted to fly, too.

Congratulations, Tiny Little! Let’s get those wings to working hard before you have to start your migration.

Ferris Akel has posted the highlights for his 17 July tour. Here is that link:

In other Osprey news, Osprey House in Brisbane, Australia had their first hatch on 14:58 on 20 July and their second hatch at 7:05:54. That is only forty hours apart. Well done. There is no streaming cam, but they do have a FB page if you are interested.

Thank you for popping in and joining me. Have a wonderful day. I will be back with a full report of the nests early this evening.

Thank you to the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest for their streaming cam, where I grabbed my screenshots.