Wow. What a day! I could not keep up with the notifications coming in of eggs being laid, beaks pipping eggs, and owlets grabbing and eating entire mice. And then there was Tiny Tot on the Achieva Nest simply losing it and attacking its much larger old siblings today. It felt like someone put my head on a turntable and set it at high speed.
Richmond and Rosie have an egg. It is their first egg of the year and after a six minute labour, Rosie laid it at 19:12 on 25 March. Richmond was right by her side. This is the delightful couple that have their nest on the Whirley Crane in San Francisco Bay. Richmond is notorious for bringing toys to the nest. They are a great couple and there is never a dull moment! They often fledge three a year so be prepared. It is a wonderful nest to watch. Links to nests will be posted at the end today.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Eagle nest (MNDNR) has a new couple, Nancy and Harry. The male is only four years old and has not yet fully acquired all of his adult plumage. Their first egg was laid on 17 February and the second was on 20 February. The pair have had a lot of bad weather to deal with so it is especially exciting that at 6:27 there was a pip and at 6:29:52 a beak poked itself out of the shell. Hatch is under way!
The Love Trio over near Fulton, Illinois on the Mississippi River seem to have had a hatch today. The nest is the home of Starr (female) and the two Valors, I and II. Yes, it is a ‘love’ trio. No one knows precisely the time. Their nest with the camera was blown down last year and they built a new one in a place where a camera cannot be attached. So news comes from eyes on the ground. Today they noticed the movements of an eagle feeding a little one. And we don’t know how many eggs were laid. But for now, congratulations to the Trio!
The Ospreys are really beginning to arrive in the UK. Tomorrow is the last day of World Osprey Week and there are still many more to come. There were three arrivals today and one last evening, on the 24th. Others with trackers are on the move out of Africa. Check my earlier posting today for details.
I am not even scratching the surface of all that is happening today. If I did, I would bore you to death with long lists of hatch or eggs laid times. I don’t want to do that but I do want to close with a few images of nests that might have been lost in the cracks during Osprey Week.
The first is actually an Osprey nest – too funny. Jack and Harriet are the Ospreys at Machodoc Creek, King Georg, Virginia. Jack is one of the ones that loves to bring toys and other items to the nest. Poor Harriet laid her first egg two days ago and her second today at 20:57:04. Sadly, the first egg might be lost under all of Jack’s presents. Jack has brought in lettuce, someone’s mail, several toys, and fall decorations to add to his earlier treasures this week. What was a nest is starting to look very much like things that have been brought in during high tide!
And the next image is Legacy, N24. Legacy overcame eye irritant issues and the Avian Pox and look at how gorgeous she is today. There are only a couple of pieces of baby down left on the top of her head. It has been raining at her Jacksonville nest with parents, Samson and Gabrielle, for the last week. Tornadoes were in the area and the nest was soaked. Gabby stayed on the nest with Legacy when the weather was really bad. Legacy is now self-feeding exclusively. What a beautiful eagle she is.
This is Legacy with her mother Gabby on 21 March. They are both stunning.
This is one of the most touching images I have ever seen of any birds. Yesterday, a sub-adult eagle, an intruder, landed on the branches of Harriet and M15’s nest tree on the D Pritchett property in Fort Myers. Immediately, E18 (the youngest by a few hours) mantled over its slightly older sibling, E17 to protect it. If you are scratching your head trying to remember these beautiful eaglets, think back to the two little ones who had Conjunctivitis and had to removed from the nest. CROW took them off the nest with a cherry picker for treatment. While in care, E17 was so aggressive to E18 that 17 had to be put in time out during feedings. My how the tables have turned and here we have 18 taking good protective care of 17. Amazing.
Here are links to the streaming cams:
SFBay Osprey:
https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/golden-gate-osprey-1
The MN DNR:
The Dahlgren Osprey Nest:
NEFL Eagle Cam:
SWFL Eagle Cam:
Look out for pictures of the new hatch on the MN DNR nest tomorrow. In the meantime, thank you for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to all the streaming cams: SF Bay Ospreys and Audubon, Dahlgren Osprey Nest, NEFL and AEF Eagle Cam, SWFL Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, and the MN DNR. These are where I obtained my scaps.