Tag Archives: fledging

Wednesday in Bird World

5 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone. It is such a blessing to have a beautiful day – almost mosquito free!

There are many times in our lives when we just need a good laugh..one of those rolling on the floor, letting it all out kind of hysterical moments. Just sit back and watch this Osprey couple solve a problem while the little one looks on. It took a day but they did it! Thanks to ‘T’ for the first volume and to ‘R’ for finding the finale – . Enjoy.

Just a note: This is the nest of Ossie and Alma. With the tragedy last year with the goshawk, the nest was abandoned. This is a new couple Eura (male) and Eine (female). May the wings of the goshawk never grace their territory.

You might remember that two osprey chicks were pulled off of the nest when the Mum got her talon caught in monofilament line. One died and the other was transported from the Pitkin Osprey nest to the wildlife rehabber. Thank you to everyone who got to that nest in a hurry and helped that baby. Here is the story and an update on the chick’s status:

Humans come to aid of Emma Osprey chick

Every once in awhile I get the question. This is a popular one at the moment: Do the female Ospreys fish? Yes, absolutely they do. Most will wait til their chicks are older than 35 days. At that age they are less likey to be predated. Some Osprey mothers have to fish to supply the food for the family earlier. Blue NC0 has been fishing for about a week and a bit at Loch of the Lowes. Rosie is a good fisher too and she brought in two very rare and protected fish to the nest today. Don’t tell anyone! The females will be entirely responsible for their food once they begin migration until they return to their nest during breeding season the following spring.

Another extraordinary effort to get a juvenile eagle – like our Little Bit 17 – to a rehabber so that it has a chance on living and flying. I will put a map of BC underneath so you can see where Powell River is!

Oh, wow. Another ringing and this time it is the historic moment that Ospreys return to Poole Harbour.

https://www.dorset.live/news/dorset-news/first-wild-osprey-chicks-england-7294802?fbclid=IwAR3lckBYdTwTjLC670Cd0c5ps_-JJX4AioxsOsAYYdny6D_hKle-asLUQ7g

Do you love the Dahlgren Osprey nest of Jack and Harriet? ‘H’ caught them on the nest today! How wonderful to see all three together. That nest has been empty for days. Thanks ‘H’ – this is a great screen capture.

It is the time of year when people are out fishing in Canada (and elsewhere). Yesterday at the Nature Centre there were dozens of youngsters with poles. Here is another reminder of what can happen to our birds. Let’s all make an effort to help our birds by spreading the word about the dangers of fishing equipment. This is a pickerel rig – line, hooks, lead sinkers – it is all there! I can only imagine what could happen to this beautiful Osprey.

So help spread the word to fishers – not only clean up after yourself but also anywhere you see fishing tackle, old line, make an effort to clear the shores and trees of it. Of course, there are fish that will break the line and take the hook and line with them and these also wind up on the nests of our Ospreys and Eagles. Herons get tangled. Pelicans have hooks in their pouches. It is endless.

I have no idea who took this imagine. I wish I did! It is a good one to share if you hope to make the point about the dangers that fishing tackle can have on wildlife.

Poor Dorcha. After Aila not returning in 2021, Louis did not take his new mate to the nest that he shared with Aila. Instead, Louis chose the alternative nest. The weather is much worse at the new one. It has pitched rain all season – and the winds have been gale force. It was like that last night at Loch Arkaig. Dorcha is still wet and keeping the two big kids protected as much as she can.

Later in the day, everything began to dry.

In contrast, Blue NC0 and Laddie LM12 have had nice weather at the Loch of the Lowes. I am told that Loch Arkaig has its own kind of micro-climate different from the rest of Scotland.

Notice how large the chicks are compared to Mum. Once they fledge, Blue NC0 is going to begin building up her strength and eating so that she is fit for migration. Laddie will remain at the nest and leave last – staying to feed the chicks til they leave. Then he will begin his journey.

Blue NC0 fish calling later in the day.

It is always good to know where places are in relation to one another. Here is a map showing the distance from Loch Arkaig and Loch of the Lowes. I want to draw your attention to Aviemore, too. There are some incredible ospreys that live in that area on private estates. If you ever plan to go to Scotland or the Lake District, print up a map and locate all of the Osprey nests with wildlife centres and hides so you can go and see them. Many are very close together. The same goes for Wales.

The Osoyoos chicks are both on the nest —- thankfully and Mum is feeding them their breakfast. It looks like it could be a morning without rain! The nest and the chicks need to dry out. Love the crop on the big one. Hope that baby gets enough!

The Ospreys in Canmore, Alberta are going to have a nice day! Beautiful sunrise this morning. The high will be 21 C or 69.8 F. Perfect. Last year the chicks were literally jumping off the nests in British Columbia and Alberta due to the heat. (Not at this one). Twenty-three were rescued in lower British Columbia and taken into care so that they would not perish. That was just remarkable. So glad that the weather pattern is different this year for them.

Oh, beautiful Boathouse Osplets on Hog Island in Maine. They are all Reptiles!!!!!!!!! That wonderful charcoal coloured thermal down is in and you can see the wee little dandelions of natal down that will come off. Their heads have lost the ‘soft’ look and appear as if they have been smeared with oil. The coppery red feathers are on the back of the head area, the nape. Little Bit is right in there between the two older siblings.

Aran is preparing a fish for Mrs G and the kids for their tea time meal.

Mrs G is anxiously waiting! Looks like a lovely afternoon at Glaslyn.

It looks like everything is fine with the Osprey nests this morning. If you are watching Carthage, TN, ‘H’ reports that the first fledge happened early this morning. Congratulations! And ‘T’ says that the two Imperial Eaglets in Russia were ringed yesterday. Fantastic. So cute.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. All nests seem to be doing just fine. Take care. See you soon.

Thanks to the following for the streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Boathouse Ospreys and Audubon, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos Ospreys, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Dahlgren Ospreys, Bald Eagles Live Nest cam and News, and Pitkin Outside.

L3 fledges at Cornell and other news in Bird World

13 June 2022

The third hatch of Big Red and Arthur fledged at 11:29:32. One of the older siblings had just taken off after eating some lunch and L3 followed right after them.

What a great flight! Look at that take off.

Cornell put out a video of the fledge! Oh, look – get your legs up! Just beautiful.

One of the FB chatters SAH got a photo of L3 in the trees where she landed. Thank you!

Ahote and Kana’kini had been venturing out to check out their surroundings. They returned home a little while ago thinking that Thunder had brought in some lunch!!!!!

The head of Scottish Wildlife sent this out to subscribers today. Thank you to ‘S’ for forwarding this to me. It seems that they are worrying about the state of the small chick, too. These chicks are getting their juvenile feathers. All of the nonsense should have stopped. It is noted that Laddie has cut down on his fish deliveries which is causing the issue. I remember last year Blue NC0 went out and fished – she is a good fisher and really did great supplementing the male’s deliveries. Those chicks were a little older. Fingers crossed and toes for the wee one.

There is no problem with fish deliveries at the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G. It seems that Mrs G no more than gets the kids fed and Aran is taking the head off another fish! The osplets are 16, 15, and 12 days old and are right in the Reptilian Phase. They are getting the dark wooly down that will help them thermoregulate their temperatures. there is Little Bob right in the middle. Oh, how they have grown.

The two bigger ones are really exploring around the nest. Little Bob looks like he is going to climb out of that nest cup soon.

It is late and Aran has another fish that he will be bringing to the nest either for the bedtime meal or for first thing in the morning. Way to go Aran.

Life is good at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. All three Bobs were packed with good fish before bed today. They are 19, 18, and 16 days old today.

The three Bobs at Llyn Clywedog are in their third week after hatching. They love looking out beyond the nest and thankfully the early angst over Little Bob is gone. Dylan is delivering fish regularly and life is good with Seren and the kids. They are now at the stage where predation is decreasing. Yippeee. The early signs of a Goshawk in the area were worrisome.

There are now two chicks at RSBP Loch Garten! The second arrived about 04:11 Monday morning and they were being fed at 19:38. Congratulations AX6 and Mrs AX6! It is lovely to have Ospreys at Loch Garten. Hoping for a very successful summer for all of you.

This is the link to this camera:

The Bobs at Manton Bay are now past the 35 day mark and they can be ringed anytime. It will be fabulous to find out who is a male or a female -. They have been a cuddle bundle to watch this year. Blue 33 kept them full and Maya fed them – and except for two flapping fish incidents early on – the three have survived those huge fish deliveries!

At the ND-LEEF the food has been very scarce. Little Bit had that bit of fish this morning for about a minute. Every one of the eaglets is hungry. All of them! The news this late afternoon is that ND15 has branched. Branching is when the ‘bird’ gets fully out of the nest and onto a branch. Branching normally takes place before fledging which is the first flight.

There has been more activity late in the day at the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey Nest. The bird that I believe is a large female intruder who has taken over the nest has been poking around the chick to the left as you view the nest. She finally lifted it and because of the size, the poor dead little one fell on the side of the nest box.

She is doing the quiet peeps that she has done all weekend. Ospreys normally do not move the chicks from the nest once they are this large.

I continue to find this just super sad. ‘EJ’ informed me that on one of the FB postings a dead osprey had been found on a trail near the nest about the time the male went missing.

It is not often we get such an upfront view of a tragedy on an Osprey nest – the loss perhaps of an entire family and the intruder trying to figure out what to do with ‘what’ is on the nest. She does not appear to recognize the dead chicks like the Mum would or us – as the once vibrant babies on the nest. She is also not strong enough to carry them off the nest. I think that she is also very hungry.

In another nest twist, Lady Hawk posted a video of the hawklet being raised by the Bald Eagle family on Gabriola Island. This was 17 hours ago.

The worry over Little Bob at the Loch of the Lowes and the happenings at the Cape Henlopen nest wear on one after a bit. Then there is the worry over Little Bit 17 getting something more to eat today. It seems that this year has been anything but smooth for many of our nests. Some of you might remember the Collins Marsh nest in WI last year. Little Malin was force fledged and was found later dead on the ground. Either the adults from last year did not return from migration or they took up another nest, perhaps closer to more fish. At any rate, there are no ospreys nesting on the top of that tower this year, thankfully.

When I need a smile I think of a few of the birds that we have met this year. Ervie is one that always gives me tears of joy. What a special third hatch he has turned out to be. He has been flying around Port Lincoln staying around the hotel and the silos. PLO posted his lastest tracking and it is for the 13th of June. Always good to see that tracker moving! Mum and Dad have been on and off the barge. Oh, how I wish they would let Ervie make an appearance!

Lots will happy between now and tomorrow. Let us hope it is all good! Thank you for joining me. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for the screen cams, FB postings, and videos: Lady Hawk, Cornell Red Tail Hawks, Explore.org and Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXwild, RSPB Loch Garten, LRWT, LD-NEEF, Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey Cam, and Port Lincoln Ospreys FB.

Late Sunday and early Monday in Bird World

12 June 2022

UPDATE: The smallest, the 5th hatch storklet, at the Mlade Buky nest of Betty and Bukacek was eliminated on Sunday. I had missed this.

It looks like it could be another rainy day on the Canadian Prairies. We are certainly making up with moisture this spring for 4-5 years of drought. Everything is green and beautiful.

Well, the weather is taking its toll on other nests in Scotland and Wales on Sunday. Those long, cold rainy days with a dip in fish deliveries are making some of the Bobs cranky – and aggressive. Big Bob on the Loch of the Lowes almost pushed both Middle and Little Bobs off the nest. Little Bob has also missed out on some meals. I sure hope this weather changes and these chicks settle down.

At tea time on Monday, Telyn went out of her way – finally – to make sure that Little Bob had fish. I was terribly happy to see this as the biggest Bob is working hard to exclude Little.

Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi nest made sure that all three of the Bobs were fed well before bedtime on Sunday. It has been a stinker of weather over in Wales, too.

Monday’s tea at Dyfi was a Sea Bass followed by the delivery of a mullet by Idris to Telyn and the kids. The weather had considerably improved.

My goodness. Aran caught one of his whoppers! He cleaned off the head before delivering it to Mrs G and the kids.

Mrs G fed herself and the kids. Big Bob is in food coma and Little and Middle are up at the table.

There was lots of fish left over when Mrs G finished so Aran decided to have a really good meal before he got on the perch. All appears to be good.

The wind is still blowing a bit on the Glaslyn nest at tea time. All of the chicks are wide awake. Look at how good Little Bob is doing. He is standing at the back.

We have learned that a good nest can change in the blink of an eye – or weather, intruders, lack of prey. So far the osplets on the nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya are doing fantastic. They are now all at least five weeks old and they will be ringed soon. Ringing normally takes place between 35-43 days in the UK. Any later and the osplets could bolt and any earlier and the leg would still be growing.

The weather has improved at Loch Arkaig – thankfully. Louis has brought fish in and has covered up Little Bob with some sticks brought in and from the nest. The surviving two Bobs appear to be fine this morning. They benefited from being under Dorcha during the cold rain and winds.

The rain appears to have stopped at the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren. Dylan is on the nest and in the early afternoon there was a male intruder with a blue Darvic ring that was flying around the nest. He was quickly sent off.

The three storklets continue to thrive in the care of the Veterinary School. Forest sounds have been added to their environment.

A very good article has been translated and placed on Looduskalender with the Forum for the Black Stork nest of Karl II and Kaia. The information could be applied universally to nests that depend on fish for their main food item. The specific nest that they are talking about is, however, that of Karl II and Kaia in the Karula National Forest.

“Black Stork – Ciconia nigra

The older chicks hatched on 28 May and turned two weeks old today. The third chick is considerably smaller but hatched three days later than the older two.
Mother Kaia and father Karl are managing to feed their chicks well, despite the youngest being significantly smaller than the others. We know and have observed that Black Storks sometimes carry out infanticide, i.e. the parent birds remove the weakest chick from the nest. The main reason for this is a lack of food. Chicks must be very well fed because they will embark on a long and dangerous migration in August on their own, but this is how black storks do it. Less than a third of this year’s chicks will be alive in a year.
What are we not seeing on the webcam?
In Karula National Park, where this black storks nest is located, Kotkaklubi has been organising clean-up campaigns for many years to clear the banks of the brooks of the Koiva river basin of undergrowth so that the birds can access them. Small natural streams quickly become overgrown with vegetation, but black storks are happy to feed in such remote places. Adult birds will also look for food in ditches where fish can be found during the breeding season. Still, these ditches may dry up during both spring and summer droughts, threatening breeding success. Therefore the birds need to be able to visit different feeding areas. Adult BS also forage in meadows, catching frogs and occasionally rodents. We can see on the webcam that fish is their primary food.
In addition, Urmas Sellis has installed a fish basket with live fish in a stream about ten kilometres away from the nest, and a trail camera has recorded the visits of black storks there.

Today, 13 June, the chicks are respectively 16, 16 and 13 days old.

The three storklets of Karl II and Kaia are waking up to a whole new day!

PLEASE NOTE THAT ON SUNDAY, BETTY ELIMINATED THE 5TH STORKLET. It looks like another rainy mucky day for Bukacek and Betty and their five little white storklets in Mlade Buky. I cannot look at the adult standing there without thinking about the plastic decoy with the storklets of Jan and Janika. Looks just like that decoy!

The storklets are getting their juvenile feathers.

A prey item has been brought to the ND-LEEF nest at 08:36:54. ND 15 stole it from ND16 and at 08:57:49 Little Bit 17 steals it, eats some, and then 16 gets it. They are all hungry but Little Bit is right in there!

Little Bit 17 is still ‘the king of the snatch and grab’. Fingers crossed for a lot more prey today!

It is extremely sad to see the Cape Henlopen nest with the three dead osplets of the long bonded pair on an empty nest. It remains unclear what happened to the 20 year old Dad and Mum from the nest after the intruders took over late Friday. An entire family lost because of intruders? So sad.

Will the intruders return? We wait.

Both fledglings were on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest this morning. Middle had control of the fish delivery. The parents have been excellent at bringing the two lots of fish during the day. They look to be in great health and their flying skills – and landing – are improving every day.

At 08:41 all four of Big Red and Arthur’s hawklets were on the nest. L2 fledged first followed by L1. L3 spent Sunday up on a higher level of the tower but it has yet to fledge along with the youngest L4.

L3 is 49 days old today and L4 is 46. The average of fledge at Big Red’s nest is 46.5 days. We could be looking at another two flying today or tomorrow.

Takoda is 69 days old today. On Sunday he had branched up to the height where Mr President normally perches. Early this morning he made it up to the cam which made for some lovely closeups just for us! Fledging is close at hand.

All eyes are on Star at the Redding Eagle nest. She is branching farther up and this early morning seems to have put out the sound on the streaming cam. As far as I know, there has been no sighting of Sentry since he fledged.

Could this be your day to fly Star?

Spirit is so beautiful. She is 3 months and 9 days old today. She hatched on 3 March and fledged on 31 May. She came down to visit the nest before taking off into the Big Bear Valley at 06:13. She might have been looking for breakfast!

There is one more fledge to go at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagles nest and that is H18. Both H16 and H17 fledged on the 10th of June within an hour and a half of one another (06:20 and 07:50). That third fledge could happen any time.

Both eaglets at the US Steel nest are considering branching! What a gorgeous view.

Ahote and Kana’kini were on the move this morning. What a beautiful camera view of both of them. Sky is still on the natal nest. The time is o7:03.

An early morning view of the San Jose City Hall Peregrine falcons.

At 03:58 Annie was sleeping in the scrape with Lindsay and Grinnell Jr. Precious moments. Fledge will come before we know it. Goodness. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Alden came into our lives???? It sure seems like it. Annie and Alden have been super parents and I am thrilled that these two chicks got a chance to make their own way in the world. It could have been dramatically different without Alden.

Fledge watch begins for Lindsay and Grinnell Jr tomorrow – 14 June!!!!!!

It is early morning on the Canadian Prairies. We have had so much rain that the landscape could be the green of Ireland! It is impossible to see the birds and squirrels and even the small bunny in the jungle that has grown. Birds can be seen flying in and out and the feeders are empty by noon so they are in there – just covered by all the branches and leaves.

There may be several fledges today. There are eyes on many, many nests!

I hope that your Monday is a good start to the week. Thank you for joining me. Take care!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or websites where I took my screen captures: Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery and Scottish Wildlife Trust, CarnyXWild, Eagle Club of Estonia, LizM, Mlade Buky, ND-LEEF, Cape Henlopen State Park Ospreys Cam, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, NADE-AEF, Friends of Redding Eagles, Pix Cams, FOBBV, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, San Jose City Falcons, and Cal Falcons.

Late Monday and early Tuesday in Bird World

Let’s have some fun first thing!

Ah, you can really enjoy a birder’s sense of humour and their love of music with this video of some Red-winged Blackbirds taken by Ferris Akel:

There is super news coming out of Cal Falcons. Annie and Grinnell’s 2020 fledgling Sequoia has a mate! This is just wonderful news. Here is the announcement.

So how far is San Jose from the scrape box in San Francisco? How far did Sequoia travel in her dispersal?

The wonders of banding birds can give us this kind of information.

This is really good news. Did I say that twice? or three times? The population of Peregrine Falcons in the Bay area is returning.

The Dale Hollow Eagle nest looks like it needs more straw! Reminds me of the wet and muddy nest of the storks at Mlade Buky in The Czech Republic. Obey has delivered lots of fish and he stepped in and helped River with the trio.

The little one at Duke Farms got a really good feeding and both of the chicks had a nice crop. Hoping that this wee chick gets much stronger and does well. This nest fledged two last year.

There is plenty of time for more feedings at Big Bear (it is 15:00) but, already, Jackie and Shadow have fed the little chick 9 times. Ten is about normal for this age – 4 days old. They eat such a little amount. Jackie can continue to increase the size of the fish flakes and the length of the feedings. Next week, we should be seeing fewer but longer feedings as the chick grows.

Shadow came in before bedtime and seems to have brought one of his famous sticks and placed it very near the little one to the left. Shadow is certainly thinking about crib rails!

Some images from Tuesday morning at Big Bear. The wee chick has already been fed at 05;35 06;35, and 07:29 – all by Jackie. Shadow has been in and out. A Red-tail hawk has been buzzing around the nest keeping everyone alert.

Jackie and Shadow and their ‘miracle’ baby are making all the papers and televisions stations it seems.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-07/big-bear-bald-eagles-jackie-shadow-welcome-new-eaglet?fbclid=IwAR3pnk8Hdd9S6PpBVDv4LLM1nnP3IRkIYKZdANjWxAt_Ndme1_pM-ZCuot4

I know that the storks are beginning their migration northward to their spring and summer breeding grounds just like the Ospreys are doing. You can see the route that the birds migrated to Africa in the late summer of 2021 below. It goes through Belarus and the birds stop over at various places in the Ukraine including spending much time on the Black Sea. Somehow I thought if I willed them to take a more westerly route they would but, of course, that is simply being nonsensical. Karl II is on his way home and this is what he will be facing.

The map below shows Karl II’s routing in royal blue that he took in the early fall of 2021 get to The Sudan.

The top map shows the different nature reserves that the storks rest and feed at clearer than the second image which shows Karl II and Pikne’s routes for migration south in 2021.

Karl II spent much time on the Black Sea resting and eating. This is currently a war zone.

The last update was on 4 March. It is believed that Karl II is in a desert area north of Sudan and is out of GPS range.

Karl II is a Black Stork whose nest is in the Karula National Park in Estonia. He is equipped with a satellite tracking GPS and is ringed. His number is 715R. His mate is unringed Kati. Last year they fledged three storklets. The oldest was the male Udu, the middle was the female Pikne, and the baby boy was Tuul. Both Udu and Pikne migrated successfully. Sadly, Tuul was lost.

If you want to follow this fabulous and much loved Black Stork, please go to the Looduskalendar Forum that is following his migration home. There are also good discussions and images of the terrain where the birds are staying. Here is the link:

https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/viewtopic.php?t=945&sid=ce860736f3960a78ca3fec577fa3c5fa&start=12280

There were heavy rains at the nest of Gabby and Samson near Jacksonville. Gabby did the best she could to keep Jasper and NE27 from getting too wet.

Gabby flew off later and Jasper and NE27 are preening. Looks like the weather is improving. Poor wet babies.

These two are growing and walking and self-feeding, well E27 is doing a great job. Jasper is still in kindergarten stage. Gorgeous eaglets. Samson and Gabby make beautiful babies.

Both Harriet and M15’s eaglets have branched. E19 is 10 weeks and 1 day old and E20 is 10 weeks old today putting them right at the beginning of the fledge range. Will they fledge today? Probably not. Hopefully they will wait for another week or more developing their branching skills.

Do you follow the West End eagles on Catalina Island? There is a pip in the first of the three eggs!

Here is the link to the cam:

Things are really beginning to pick up! In the UK the first official sighting of an Osprey returning from winter migration was today. The fish eagle was flying over the Loch of Clunie in the south of Scotland in Perth & Kinross. They are coming home!

Little and Middle Bob have learned to steer clear of Big Bob. This morning they let him eat, then they started eating and he got a second wind. Probably 90% of the fish went into Big. I would hope that Andy will get another fish on deck so that the two others can eat if Big finally passes out in food coma. In the image below, Big is getting his second wind and Little and Middle have moved away and not challenged for food.

At 11:25 Big passed out and the other two rushed up to get more fish! Oh, thank goodness! It is hot and these two need food. Big has dominated the nest since the weekend making life miserable for the other two.

Lena is working hard to find some meat on the skin of the fish that is left. Little Bob is hungry and still does not have a crop.

That is the quick summary of the early morning nest review. I hope that you have a wonderful day. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Explore.org, Captiva Osprey Nest and Window on Wildlife, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Friends of Big Bear, the Looduskalender Forum, Google Maps, and Ferris Akel Tours.

Is it really JJ7?

I woke up to wonderful news from Jean-Marie Dupart from the Saloum Delta in Senegal. The Saloum Delta is home to Mangrove forests and wetlands, perfect for an Osprey.

“Birds On Baobab Tree On Saloum River – Saloum, Senegal” by whl.travel is licensed under
“Saloum Delta 031” by Crane in Prague is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Dupart has already counted 1018 Ospreys this month. He has another week to go before his final monthly tally. This is fabulous news in terms of numbers. But – that is not why I am excited this morning although, it is reason enough.

This is Loch Arkaig in Scotland. In 2020, it was home to Louis and Aila and their three hatchlings: Doddie (male), Vera (female), and Captain (male).

A Scottish ringed bird from Loch Arkaig is at the Saloum Delta. Dupart could not tell if it is JJ2 or JJ7. Scottish observers note that it does not have the dark necklace of JJ2, a female. To me, the number appears to be JJ7.

copyright Jean-Marie Dupart

So why is JJ7 so special? There are several reasons. For some, JJ7 or Captain is the last ever hatch of Louis and Aila, the much loved Scottish Osprey couple at Loch Arkaig in 2020. Aila did not return from migration in 2021.

For me, JJ7 is a third hatch survivor. JJ7 is one among the list including others such as Tiny Tot Tumbles (2021, Achieva Credit Union, St Petersburg, FL), Tiny Little Bob or Blue 463 (2021, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria), and Ervie (2021, Port Lincoln, Australia). My 12 year research project focuses on third hatch survivors. I want to know if the creativity and persistence that kept these little ones alive on the nest also gives them a higher success rate in the wild. Unless the birds are ringed or have a sat-pak – or a very distinctive head like Tiny Tot Tumbles- then there is no way to know about their survival rates. That is why this sighting is so important. Is this JJ7? And if so, is JJ7 the only chick to survive from the clutch of three?

There is little Captain at the back of the food line. Doddie is on the right and Vera is on Captain’s left. You can clearly see the difference in size between Doddie, the oldest sibling, also a male, and Captain.

Little Captain is on the far right.

Despite lots of fish on the nest and the exceptional parenting of Louis and Aila, there was some intense sibling rivalry.

Louis and Aila worked together to try and ensure that all three chicks thrived. Louis fished at night and also assisted Aila in feeding. JJ7 was sometimes fed separately from the larger siblings in order to make sure he had enough to eat.

The chicks enjoyed some fish after being ringed.

JJ7 Captain fledges on the 24th of July 2020.

Captain thinking about leaving the natal nest for the last time.

And he’s off!

JJ7 flies off the nest to begin his migration on 23 August 2020. Will he return this year to find a mate? Gosh, I hope so and since no one has claimed his natal nest, I hope that Captain gets there before anyone else. He can say hello to Dad, Louis, at the loch.

Along with hundreds of others I cannot stop smiling today! This is incredibly good news.

In other Bird World News, NE27 hatched at 02:24 on the 25th of January. NE26 hatched at 04:06 on the 23rd – making them approximately 46.5 hours apart in age.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I didn’t think anything could take away from the excitement of NE27 hatching but having a sighting of JJ7 sure did! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam or FB pages where I took my screen shot: The Woodland Trust and People’s Post Code Lottery, Loch Arkaig FB Page, NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam, and Jean-Marie Dupart.

Thursday Happenings in Bird World

It has been a very difficult time for all of us since the Ravens destroyed Daisy’s nest. Things had gone so smoothly that most of us began to believe that those eggs would hatch. Sadly, it was not to be. I so wished that the male Pacific Black ducks had the instinct to go to the nest and relieve their mates! Daisy was quite distraught, understandably. A friend that is around the Discovery Centre has offered to take a photo for me of Daisy paddling around the canal after the holidays. There are not that many ducks there so she is confident she will recognize her again this year. Before I move on to other bird news, I am reminded that Daisy rushed to the big WBSE nest to lay an egg. She did not prepare the nest and it is possible that she had a nest elsewhere and something destroyed those eggs and, as a last resort, she came to the WBSE nest. There might well not be a safe place for our Daisy and that could account for so few ducks in the water there. If a duck hatches a normal clutch, it is normally 47 days before the pair mate again and this will only happen twice a year. If the eggs are broken, it can be as few as 10 days, a reliable source tells me. I hope that we do not see Daisy again – as much as I would like to see her and know she is safe! The WBSE are often at the nest in January and it would be wonderful if later Daisy was seen with little ones in the canal. We wait.

I needed ‘something lighter’ and that turned out to be the boys at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. It seems that Bazza picked off the first two fish deliveries. At some time Ervie got mad at him and kicked him off the nest. Falky continues to perfect his diving skills hoping to catch that elusive fish one day. They are so lucky that they have parents that continue to provide these big strapping lads with food!

Here is Falky diving off the ropes and coming out of the water in sequence:

No fish but, Falky tried! If you look at the time stamps you will see how quick that dive was. This family is just doing great. That is a wonderful thing! Falky is really trying.

Ervie’s satellite tracker indicates that he has been visiting the local boat ramps. The owner of PLO is wondering if Ervie has discovered places where he can get fed! Here is Ervie’s latest tracking:

Port Lincoln Osprey FB Page posted some great shots of Ervie and Falky. They were taken by Bazz Hockaday. I hope they don’t mind my sharing them with you. You can see how stunningly handsome and – well, these are just great Osprey fledges. A success story this year that gives us a lot of hope. I understand that Falky followed Ervie to the beach. Bazza stayed on the nest and cleaned up on all the fish. I am certain that Bazza will never leave home!

Ervie
Falky
Falky
Ervie

Port Lincoln also posted a picture of the barge from the other side. It really helps us visualize where the nest is.

This is dad delivering a fish dinner to the nest. What an amazing shot! Thank you Port Lincoln!

The hatching and fledging of the three males at this beautiful barge with its Osprey nest made history for this mated pair. For years they have had issues relating to siblicide and they have never fledged three. Everyone was cautiously optimistic and it happened. It is one of those great moments of 2021 that no one will forget!

I urge you to check in on this nest and also the Port Lincoln Osprey FB Page. You don’t have to be a member of anything to find out what the lads are doing. And this is such a happy site – we need it, we truly do.

There are lots of mothers incubating eggs. Two of my favourites are Harriet and Gabby.

Harriet and M15 have been taking turns at the SWFlorida Eagle Nest. It has not been easy for the male, M15. He has continual strikes by the Great Horned Owl whose nest is 900 metres away. M15 had an injury the other day. The GHOW also strike Harriet on the nest and will do the same to the hatchlings. Sad.

Samson and Gabby have been taking turns incubating their two eggs in the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest near Jacksonville. They have had a sub-adult intruder but nothing like the issues with the owls that Harriet and M15 have endured. As nests and trees become more precious – with growing numbers of eagles and owls – these fights for territory could come more often and many times the owls usurp the eagles from the nest. I continually remind everyone that they might be cute – the owls – but they are a formidable Apex predator.

Gabby – you can always tell the ‘shag look’.
Samson with his slick backed head.

Hatch watch for Harriet! Bobble heads coming real soon. I can’t wait.

I want to leave each of you with something that is just full of joy! Perhaps you have discovered this wonderful girl that loves squirrels. If you haven’t, then you are in for a real treat. Please enjoy -.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for all the letters and comments about Daisy. It was a very difficult time for the community of people from all over the world that loved her. I hope that we get a picture soon of her paddling away and that if she should lay more eggs, we don’t see them but they hatch and we get news of Daisy on the canal being a Mum. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for the streaming cams and their FB pages where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett Family, and NE Florida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF. I also want to thank Bazz Hockaday for those amazing images of Ervie and Falky.

Saturday in Bird World

Sometimes you don’t need any words to go with the images. It was 13:30 Saturday 20 November at Diamond and Xavier’s scrape box in Orange, Australia. Yurruga is 44 days old.

Some of the volunteers at the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital are on the grounds around UC-Berkeley in case there is a falcon that needs to go in care. So far nothing. Annie has been seen soaring with the intruder that injured Grinnell. Despite Grinnell returning to his and Annie’s territory there is no certainty that he will be successful in winning his mate back or keeping his territory. Will bring all news to you when I hear it.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/11/17/grinnell-uc-berkeley-male-falcon-released-annie?fbclid=IwAR0sp0crI3VQdyMu-WtnYufN1UfqL-eYySrH70PSvGTIzu4QV_KjWBH_rc0

Bazza ‘finally’ got a portion of a fish at 12:36 yesterday. Here is a parent delivering.

The boys and their wings.

You can see Bazza’s red leg band – he has the portion of fish. Good job, Bazza. Look at Dad’s nice crop. My goodness. He has delivered so many fish to this nest I wonder if he had any portions for himself. We know the answer now.

It is so funny. Falkey is mantled like he has a fish too. Ervie is full and doesn’t care. Bazza enjoyed every morsel. Now – everyone has eaten and it is only the middle of the day. Dad has brought in at least three fish in 6 hours. Gold star.

Falkey will go on to get the 17:15 delivery from Dad. Falkey is really getting good at grabbing those fish. He seems to have ditched his nickname ‘Mellow Yellow’.

At 19:13 Bazza is going to steal what is left of Falkey’s fish right from under him. Good work, Bazza. He’s catching on. That is grand.

Bless his heart, Dad brought in yet another fish at 19:50. Bazza and Ervie fought for it. Lost it and then Ervie found it. Dad is really taking care of his boys. Thanks, Dad. If you are wondering, Bazza has hovered but has not done any flying other than the day he had the fight with Ervie and landed on the deck of the boat in Dad’s area.

Other News:

For those of you wondering about the Cornell RTH camera of Big Red and Arthur, there is a power outage at the Alumni Fields that is affecting the camera.

Poole Harbour Osprey Friends will be holding a free on line talk about the importance of bird life. Here is the information:

https://www.birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk/event/osprey-project-talk?fbclid=IwAR0E886G-XBU-n5Q20cVXARlKaUNeaAxSsneJslHavl1Wjuza_EkqjSY1SQ

Bruce Yolton who writes the blog Urban Hawks and takes amazing images of the raptors in New York City, has been looking at the 86th Street Peregrine Falcons. Have a look.

86th Street Peregrine

I have been lucky to have stayed in Southeast Asia many times. I am particularly fond of Cambodia and Laos. The rice farmers in Cambodia have started planting a new type of rice to attract the birds back to their fields. It is a good little read.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/20/cambodia-rice-farmers-tempt-endangered-cranes-back-by-growing-their-favourite-food-aoe?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR3P4C2VM2b_Ugb0MeM_RTyCWl6-wEQq29TDM6jYZRsEAIGa4rRr09vfkw0

It has been a great morning. We have not seen the garden rabbit, Hedwig, for some time. We were afraid that the construction of new condos about three blocks away destroyed the rabbit burrows. Perhaps the rabbits have moved. I was delighted to see him. He must have been under the feeders eating seed for some time because I didn’t have time to get my camera before he left.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Enjoy your Saturday. I am going to step back and listen to Ferris Akel’s Tour until it is time to feed all the birds.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots: the Port Lincoln Osprey and Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Diamond is so patient

Little Yurruga has really been shaking it up – or should I say ‘off’? Those fluffy white down feathers, so soft and so cute when she was younger, must be driving her crazy. Underneath what is left is going to be a lovely bird, just like her Mum, Diamond.

There is no doubt that Yurruga can be loud and she certainly almost claims those eggs as her own in the video above. She can also persuade the parents to go to the ledge or leave entirely. But, Yurruga feels like a much gentler soul than Izzi. Diamond is simply a patient observant Mum and after a bit, Yurruga stops with the prey calling when she sees that nothing is coming. Rather nice.

A few minutes later, Yurruga was running around with a Starling beak. What a character!

There have been several fish deliveries at Port Lincoln. Ervie got the first fish and left a little for the brothers. That came in at 6:50:24. There was another delivery at 12:11 and another at 14:25:11. I could not tell who got the last fish but, Bazza picked up the noon delivery. Maybe Falky got the last one. Ervie didn’t. They are all getting fish to eat and no one is hungry despite the scramble for the latest delivery.

Port Lincoln posted Ervie’s flight path yesterday. He is definitely exploring around the barge.

Falky continues his flying and landing exercises and Port Lincoln adds that Bazza seems to figure if he stays on the nest, he has the best chance of getting a fish! One of the chatters wondered if he was too ‘heavy’ for lift off. Bazza will fly when Bazza is ready. We don’t need to urge him on. I am certain Ervie and Falky are very capable of doing that.

I am continuing to read and enjoy Emry Evans Monty more and more. I am on my second reading of parts of this marvellous book. While it is about the foundational male of Welsh Ospreys it is also about this wonderful species and insights into their behaviour. I was particularly moved by the essay on Monty’s mourning the loss of his daughter, Ceri, and the links drawn to all of the studies that demonstrate that animals not only experience ranges of emotion but also pain and suffering and to Dr Marc Bekoff’s writing as well as to that of Jane Goodall. One of those is The Ten Trusts.

Those trusts, according to Goodall and Bekoff are: 1. Respect all life; 2. Live as part of the Animal Kingdom; 3. Educate our children to respect animals; 4. Treat animals as you would like to be treated; 5. Be a steward; 6. Value the sounds of nature and help preserve them; 7. Do not harm life in order to learn about it; 8. Have the courage of your convictions; 9. Act knowing that your actions make a difference, and 10. Act knowing that you are not alone.

Because of the unnecessary death of Solly, the 2020 hatch at Port Lincoln, on the power line at Streaky Bay, I am particularly interested in #9. Each of us can make a difference and I note that in Wales, all that had to be done to keep the Ospreys off the power lines where they love to eat fish was to place two diagonal rods. How simple is that?! The South Australian Government could do this with all of the power lines near the coasts where the birds fish and eat.

There is an update on Grinnell, the male Peregrine Falcon who was injured in a turf war. Of course, everyone hopes that Grinnell is super fit and able to take on his assailant who is now courting Grinnell’s mate, Annie. This was 19 hours ago:

https://hoodline.com/2021/11/celebrity-berkeley-falcon-in-avian-love-triangle-close-to-recovery-after-injury/

It is a another grey day with the promise of more snow. Meanwhile everything seems to have a crust of ice on it or, in the case of walkways, several centimetres of ice making it nearly impossible to walk. The birds are very inventive. They have been burrowing tunnels in the snow and then standing in the holes – it is like having one’s on private igloo.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB groups where I took my screen captures and video clips: Port Lincoln Osprey Project Cam and FB Page, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Seeing Double?

If you are starting to wonder what is going on with the 367 Collins Street Peregrine Falcons in Melbourne, you are not alone! Early this morning there was only one falcon (I believe a female) left on the ledge of the building to fledge. She was pretty frantic early in the morning looking up and acting like there was a bird – maybe on the next ledge. She ran back and forth excited stopping to look. Then an adult brought in prey, she ran down to the other end of the ledge away from the camera to eat.

She was quite excited seeing the other bird.

Something really interesting happens after 11am. It has started to rain and the eyas on the ledge is quite dry. She is not agitated like she was a few hours earlier leading me now to believe that it was an adult with prey trying to lure her off the ledge as opposed to a sibling. Without another camera, we will never know for certain.

What we do know is that around 11:00, the lone eyas on the ledge began to look around. It is raining in Melbourne. You can see it on the ledge of the building and in the distance.

It is fairly dry – this ledge is a good place to be on a rainy day.

Something has her curiosity.

Ah, maybe it is just time to see if there is any leftover prey in the gutter.

After exploring, she gets very close to where the camera is and acts like she is going to run to the other end.

She does a pivot and runs back.

She finds an old piece of bone with some feathers in the scrape box and begins playing with it.

Then she stops and just looks out over the horizon very calmly.

Our girl cannot believe her eyes. Look at who is running down the ledge – a sibling!

People wondered if she might be lonely. It would certainly be different going from four to being the only one left and seeing the others flying about.

She turns her head really funny to see the sibling in the scrape.

Within a couple of minutes they are both sitting on the ledge, trying to stay dry. Whether or not they are enjoying one another’s company is anyones guess.

Yes, you are seeing double. People always wonder whether or not the falcons will fly back to the location of the scrape box. You now have an answer: yes, they will.

With hawks, the fledglings might continue to come back to the nest to be fed, sometimes they sleep on the nest or perch, and in other years, they never come back to the nest preferring to roost in trees or buildings. So, the answer is it varies from year to year and nest to nest. It sure is nice to see another one though, isn’t it? It just confirms that at least two of them are safe and sound. One fledgling, one nestling.

Maybe this returnee will encourage the nestling to fledge – after it stops raining. Falcons know that it is much easier flying with dry feathers than wet ones!

For those of you that might have been wondering what is going on, I thought I should let you know that there are two on the ledge. It could become more. Funny. The one that fledged has more fluffy down still stuck to its juvenile feathers. There is a tiny little mohawk on the crown.

Take care all. See you soon. Thank you so much for joining me and thanks again to 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures and video clip.

Checking on the birds

Oh, how they have entertained us. How we waited to see if that fourth egg would hatch. How we watched as Dad was incubating during the earthquake. It has been quite the season with the Melbourne Peregrine falcons. Today, there is another nice article on the 367 Collins Street Falcons today. I have attached it in case you missed it!

We are so lucky that the four of them have decided to come out so that we can see them. Those downy feathers are disappearing quickly and they look like grown up falcons capable of taking on the skies of Melbourne -for awhile – til Mom and Dad boot them out. Certainly Mom and Dad have been doing flying demonstrations trying to lure them into thinking about taking the leap! They are a little over 5 weeks old today. Forty days and onward is approximate for fledging.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/for-melbourne-s-falcons-and-their-fans-a-new-domestic-drama-20211001-p58who.html?fbclid=IwAR1bgeKR4w2H622TETCdcJ0r0bgzLtVEE9BoK_35wrlcuWA4b0BzJ9VC0JI

Over in Orange, or should I say ‘up’ in Orange, Yarruga was one hungry chick waiting for supper that did not arrive. S/he had two feedings yesterday so she is going to be ravenous when breakfast arrives. There is no need to worry, though. She had a nice crop, larger than Diamond’s and Yarruga will not starve. In the world of raptors there are days of plenty and days of naught. Little ones need to learn that, too. Yarruga is 28 days old today. Four weeks.

Diamond was seen putting her entire weight on her right leg in the middle of the night to clean her talons. This is very good news. She has moved over to the ledge to grab some sleep before dawn and Diamond seems to be doing much better. How grand.

The Port Lincoln osplets are sound asleep. Little Bob is 50 days old today – while the two big siblings are 52 days old. We will be keeping an eye on those numbers because last year Solly fledged at 65 days (in the Northern Hemisphere it is 49 days onward). Solly was banded at 47 days and DEW at 46. On Monday, 8 November, these three will be banded, named, measured, and at least one will get a tracker. They are just wonderful – the three of them. I am surely going to miss this nest – perhaps the most civilized brood I have ever seen.

There is sadly some commotion going on at Taiaroa Head. Our beloved OGK may have realized that his mate, YRK, is not returning. He tried to mate – rather vigorously – with BOK who is also waiting for her mate to return. Being the gentleman that he is, OGK, returned to apologize in the Albatross way by doing a sky call with BOK later.

If it happens that YRK, Pippa Atawhai’s mum, does not return, it will not be from old age but from being caught in the lines of the fishing trawlers. I hope that you will think about our beloved Pippa and what a horrible death that would be – and it is entirely preventable! I feel rather gutted because these are all useless deaths that never have to happen. An albatross does not need to be decapitated every 5 minutes! The fixes are really easy. They include setting the lines at night, line weighting, and bird scaring lines. Some organizations are supplying these measures for free to the boats. The deaths are preventable. There needs to be international laws. Every country needs to stand up and demand that the fishing factories take these simple steps or not be able to fish. Write letters, phone your political representative – do it for Pippa. Then check out what the RSPB is doing. They are working alongside the Albatross Task Force to help end bycatch. Check out their website, ask who to contact. And remember – writing e-mails does help. Public pressure helps.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/policy-insight/marine-and-coastal/saving-seabirds-globally/the-albatross-task-force/

The Bald Eagles are really busy working on their nests in the US while the ones who came to Manitoba for their summer breeding are very slowly making their migration. Images of 30 or 40 along the river in my City have been posted locally the last few days but are not available to share beyond the Manitoba Birding and Photography FB page. I still have a few Slate Grey Juncos and today that meant a trip to the seed seller to get some more Husked Millet for them. The day is just starting in Australia and New Zealand so no telling what will happen. I long for YRK to fly in and just land on OGK’s head! That would be a rather dramatic entrance fitting for this very patient male who has been working on a nest for about six weeks now. No doubt Yarruga is going to be screaming for breakfast! I will post the updates on Grinnell tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, thank you for joining me and take care everyone.

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC.