Tag Archives: Florida Ospreys

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

16-17 April 2022

The garden rabbit, Hedwig, came for a visit this morning. He stayed under the peony bush for about an hour. Six years ago, a mother rabbit left her one month old baby, under that peony bush when it was blooming. The wee bunny lived on the seeds dropped down from the feeders preferring them to the grass or twigs. Whether or not this is the original Hedwig is, of course, questionable but, they all wind up being called Hedwig!

Hedwig often stays back underneath the square hanging feeder where the birds are generous in what they throw overboard. By coming and staying at the Peony Bush it allowed us to enjoy seeing him a lot better. Thank you, Hedwig! It is always nice to see you.

The youngest of the West End eaglets is back up with its siblings and Thunder and Akecheta thanks to Dr Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies who had gone up to repair the camera and wound up with a rescue to do as well.

The sun rained gold down on the three of them as it set on the Channel Islands.

Jasper had a tremendous fledge. No hesitation, just flew yesterday morning. She returned hungry and tired! Flying uses a lot of energy.

The AEF did a nice video capture of that first flight.

Jasper and Rocket seemed to be happy with one another’s company. It will not be long until Rocket fledges – indeed, he could be flying as I write this!

The Dyfi Osprey Project posted some excellent information on incubation and egg development for Ospreys this morning that I want to share with you. Did you know that each of the eggs is a little smaller and lighter than the first so they do not have to develop so long?

The little crackerjack at the University of Florida Osprey nest reminds me of Ervie so much. He isn’t intimidated at all by the big siblings and is right up there eating at the front most of the time.

Stop for a second and look at the heads of the two eldest and even Little Bit. They are starting to enter the Reptilian Phase.

That light coat of down is now giving way (10-12 days) to the darker wool down. They will have dark heads that look almost like they have been dipped in a vat of black oil soon. You will also notice the distinctive coppery colour to the back of the neck also. There will be a period of substantial growth between 15-30 days. In his book, A Life of Ospreys, Roy Dennis notes that blood feathers are often seen coming in at 21 days. Sadly, there is no information on when these wee ones hatched so we more or less have to go by their change in plumage.

The chicks are well behaved. There is another large chunk of fish this morning just like yesterday. All will be fed til they are full. This is a fantastic Mum! She feeds them slow and deliberate. She is quickly getting on the list of amazing Osprey Mums.

The wee chicks of Mr North and Mrs DNF have grown leaps and bounds. My goodness. Forget to check a nest for a couple of days and there is a complete change in development. It is a reminder to us of how fast these birds have to grow between hatching and fledgling!

The two eaglets of Liberty and Guardian still have some of that soft baby down, like the eaglets at Decorah North, on the top of their heads and are doing fantastic. It is so nice to go through the nests and find that all of the eaglets and their parents are OK especially with Avian Flu making its way around North America this spring.

Little Middle has decided to sleep on the remaining fish in the nest. Oh, goodness. Look at the size of that leg! Little Middle is doing very well. No worries.

If any of you were worried about the beaking going on at the MN-DNR nest about a week or so ago (time does fly by quickly), there really is no cause to alarm. Both of the eaglets are doing well. The nest survived the wind and the storm nicely and both were happy eating away this morning.

Cholyn and Chase’s wee babe at the Two Harbours nest in the Channel Islands is growing and doing well – as expected with these very experienced parents. I love the crib rails around the top of that nest. Wish we could get some made for the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

I know that many of you are Tom and Audrey fans from the Chesaepeake Conservancy Osprey nest. Did you know that there is a great book showing Tom and Audrey and their nest along with the fostering of chicks there? It is a remarkable story with oodles of images in a nice hardback binding.

Here is the link to Tom and Audrey’s streaming cam:

The Glaslyn nests are settled. Mrs G looks quite content today perched on the nest she shares with Aran.

Pip watch begins later this week for the first of Big Red’s four eggs!

Here is the information about the chat that opens on Monday the 18th for the Cornell Red-tail Hawk cam. All are welcome. The moderators are excellent and they keep the focus on the birds. They also post some very interesting historical and current information about the nest. Everyone is welcome.

This was really a hop and a jump around some of the nests late Saturday and early this morning. Everyone seems to be doing very well, indeed. Such a joy. Tomorrow we will learn the name of Annie’s New Guy. There should be some more eggs on those UK Osprey nests and I am personally looking forward to getting closer to pip watch for Big Red.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Be kind to one another. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: UFL-Gainesville Ospreys, DHEC, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Chesapeake Conservancy, MN-DNR, Redding Eagles, Explore.org, NEFlorida-AEF, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn.

Lena and the Catfish – late Saturday at Captiva

16 April 2022

It is so much better in video. Lena just had her bath and returned with a fish. There are two ravenous Osplets! She lands on the nest with a Gafftopsail Catfish! This is at 17:42:31.

Enjoy.

Make sure you have your volume turned up!

This was just too funny not to share.

It has been a great day. Dr Sharpe rescued the youngest of the West End Eaglets that fell off the nest and got the camera running again at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. The three osplets have eaten and eaten at the Gainesvlle Osprey nest. Life is good.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to Captiva Ospreys and Window to Wildlife for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures and video clips.

For the love of Ospreys

14 April 2022

The first time I watched an Osprey nest I swore I would never watch another one. Here I am years later. My book shelves are full of information on Ospreys, I dream about Ospreys, I do research on third hatches. My mind is filled with ‘Osprey’. These birds can take you to the lowest depths and send you to the highest heights of joy. Together many of us cheered on Ervie – the third hatch at Port Lincoln, Australia in 2021 – who was clever and survived winning our hearts and the sat-pak over Bazza and Falky. Since then he has had at least one talon pulled out – it is growing ever so slowly. As a result, Ervie has stayed around Port Lincoln. Ervie has entertained us by returning to the nest barge over and over with his puffers. It is the best! We get to enjoy him longer.

The camera at the Achieva Osprey Cam in St Petersburg, Florida is now on line. It looks terrific. While the camera was out of order, Diane laid three more eggs – a second clutch. The first fell in a hole in the nest (or so it was believed). Normally, the eggs would be hatching at the end of February or beginning of March. The hot Florida weather may pose a problem. I found it very endearing when I discovered, this morning, that David Hancock is adding a shade canopy to all of the Bald Eagle nests he is building in British Columbia. That is something that may become very necessary at the Florida nests!

Jack and Diane fledged three last year. It was not an easy nest to watch as Tiny Tot Tumbles struggled. More than three times we thought TTT would die but she was clever and persistent. She learned to eat old dried fish and she lived to become the most dominant – and beautiful. In the end, Diane went and caught cat fish to supplement what Jack brought to the nest. This is what turned the corner for Tiny Tot.

After fledging, Tiny Tot remained at the nest for some time. She even defended it against adult intruders on her own and with Jack. Oh, how I wish she was banded!

But, I will warn you. With the late hatch and the heat, there is no telling what will happen at this nest.

I have no idea how the three will be doing in a week at the U of Florida Gainesville nest. It is hot! The chicks are enjoying the shade under Mum.

These are also three of the most active little ones I have ever seen!!!!!!

At least two are up out of the egg cup. If Little Bit isn’t yet, he will be out of there soon clamouring around on the Spanish Moss.

Lena and Andy were one month ahead of the normal egg laying time in Florida. Their two osplets are just about ready to fledge. They are beginning to get a little air under their wings and it won’t be long til they are hovering about. Andy and Lena did a great job this year.

By laying the eggs a month early at Captiva, Andy and Lena might have saved their chicks from the Crows and other predators that predated their nest for two years.

The two are yelling at Andy to get the breakfast fish on the nest pronto! Lena can sit back and let them take care of it – if she chooses. They can be pretty loud.

You can still watch this nest and enjoy seeing these two beautiful birds fledge! Here is the link:

Idris has brought a large Mullet onto the Dfyi nest in Wales today but Telyn wants more fish and she is really telling him!

I am not sure what is happening in Loch Arkaig. Louis and Dorcha seem to be playing musical nests. Yesterday it felt certain that Louis and his new mate of last year would go back to the old nest but, today, Dorcha has been on the one that they used as a couple last year. It doesn’t matter for watchers – cam 1 or in this case, cam 2 – we can see them at either one!

Mrs G and Aran on the Glaslyn nest – now that everything is sorted and the females are where they should be – everyone can settle. Aran brought in five fish so far today – 3 yellow-bellied trout, 1 sea trout, and 1 flounder. He is an incredible fisher.

Mrs G, the oldest UK Osprey.

Aran! And he is very handsome.

While we wait for Mrs G to lay her first egg, Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest laid her first a day ago and we will be watching for egg 2 shortly.

Seren and Dylan have their first egg yesterday at the Llyn Clywedog Nest in Cumbria.

One of my favourite nests is the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria. This nest fledged three last year. It was the home of a third osplet that no one thought would survive – the others were monstrous when the third hatched. It was to the keen parenting and the tenaciousness of Tiny Little Bob. She fledged as Blue 463 and she was queen of this nest! It was incredible to watch her figure out how to get around the big ones.

They are not on YouTube and there is no rewind on the two cameras. You can access them here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

That is a very quick run through some of the nests. I wanted you to know about Achieva in case it was a nest that you watch. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida Ospreys at Gainesville, Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, Achieva Credit Union, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Dyfi Ospreys, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, and CarnyxWild.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

13 April 2022

The snow on the Canadian Prairies arrived later than expected – around 07:45 in my garden this morning. The wind roared and the snow blew and then, around 15:30 it calmed. We have been told that there will be several calm periods with rain and snow arriving again later tonight. The 27 European Starlings came. The woodpecker arrived for suet. Tens of dozens of Sparrows and seriously, I am not exaggerating, 350 Dark eyed-Juncos. We continued to clear paths on the deck and pour a line of millet and sunflower seeds – about 30 feet long – several times today. Everyone ate there or at the seed and suet cylinders and feeders. It felt good to help them. Many are arriving or returning to eat now that the snow has stopped. We received about 55 cm of snow. Thankfully the old snow had all melted. The whole of western Canada can use the moisture. We have had droughts for 4-5 summers. I hope that this lessens the wildfires during the summer.

The UFlorida Gainesville Osprey Nest was on ‘S’s list of top ten osprey nests to watch. I must find out more about this family from her. My interest is, of course, the fact that there are three little ones and how well this wee osplet can manage against the older siblings.

Little Bob at the UFlorida Gainesville campus Osprey nest is doing fine. He is growing. They all scramble about in the nest bowl and I really dislike the camera they are using but…all that matters is that he is doing well.

There is Little Bob on the far left.

The chicks at the Captiva Osprey nest are almost ready to fledge. They love to self-feed but, Lena being the great Mum that she is prefers to do it so that both get fish. Keeping it fair. I love it. Here are some images from today.

Chicks watching, totally focused. Such beautiful birds.

Lots of flapping. Look at those long legs! This osplet wants to compete with Idris at the Dyfi Nest for the nickname, ‘Daddy Longlegs’.

Those legs of Middle sure look a lot longer than Mum’s! Little continues to love looking out over the side of the nest rim.

Another nest on ‘S’s list is the osprey nest on the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. Here is a view of the nest. No occupants yet! And a link to their camera in case you want to check later.

https://narrowriver.org/ospreycam/

The Ferris State University Ospreys are also on ‘S’s list and there is an osprey on the nest but no eggs yet! The couple have been working on getting the nest in good shape.

Here is another view of the nest at Ferris State University in Michigan.

This is the link to their camera: https://osprey.ferris.edu/

In the UK, Louis has decided that he likes the nest that he shared with Aila better than the nest he had with Dorcha last year. As a result, Louis has convinced Dorcha to change nests. This is very interesting behaviour. It is such a gorgeous nest. Louis seems, by the move, to have accepted that Aila will not be returning. This will be her second season not to return from migration. Louis and Aila were an incredible pair. I am looking forward to watching Louis with his new mate this season.

The couple are settling in doing what Ospreys do when breeding season hits!

Dorcha is very dark and quite stunning. She reminds me of Mrs G at the Glaslyn nest.

Beautiful Iris has been on the perch and sitting in the nest today. It is a good place to get out of the wind. Gosh, she is gorgeous. Louis has, of course. been around doing what Louis does.

There always seems to be a train going through Missoula, Montana behind Iris!

Iris has a fantastic nest. In her time with Stanley she was a magnificent mother. No doubt, as I often say, she has earned the right to let Louis do his thing, lay the eggs, let the Crows get them, and then relax for the rest of the summer.

They are not friends to the Ospreys but, Northern Goshawks are incredibly beautiful medium to large-sized hawks. There are rare in my province. Those that live or breed head to the dense northern forests in the north. The adults have red eyes with a dark crown (the eye colour changes as they age). Their plumage is a gorgeous blue-grey slate colour with streaks on their pale breast and belly. They are known for grabbing chickens in farmer’s enclosures, rabbits, squirrels of all varieties, grouse, and Rock Doves. They have been known to lure Ospreys into the forest to kill them and to take their chicks- a sadddness which happened at the nest in Finland last year.

The numbers of nesting pairs has dropped considerably when there were 1000 couples to today when there are only between 400-600 pairs.

The images below are from a nest near Riga in Estonia.

This is some very interesting information about this nest and the hawk couple from Looduskalender:

“The nest of goshawks in this location in Riga has been known since 2016 – it is believed that the breeding couple moved here from another nest about 600 metres away. In the immediate vicinity of the nest there are both industrial objects, the sounds of which can often be heard, and private houses. The tree of the nest is located in a small wet area overgrown with weeds and shrubs. The nest is built in a black alder, which grows on the edge of a ditch. The goshawk has built his dwelling on the remains of a crow’s nest. The metal wires twisted in the nest still evidence that the crow was a supporter of durable building materials.

The nest was controlled during this time and the nestlings were ringed in it. This couple, and especially the female, is known among the ornithologists for their special character – she tends to behave particularly aggressively and attack people when they are just approaching the nest. On the other hand, birds are accustomed to people and equipment operating behind the fence in the nearby industrial facility and do not pay attention to them. Interestingly, at the time the female laid her first egg, very close, about 50 m from the nest, a crow couple were building their own nest. Crows are a common food item for Goshawks, but it happens that hawks do not touch other nesting birds near their nest, and they make use of this safety zone.”

This is the link to this Goshawk nest:

Mum is on the ropes at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge this morning in Australia. I wonder if Ervie will come and visit again today making it three days in a row? It is always reassuring and such joy when he visits.

Please help select the name for Annie’s new mate. He deserves a super name and Cal Falcons have narrowed the field down for you to select the finalist. (Go to the link for the names and their associations with UC-Berkeley)

This is just a quick glance at some new nests and a check in on the UFlorida triplets. Both of the eaglets, Jasper and Rocket, have now branched at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. Avian flu continues to be a concern in many areas in the US and Canada.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, UFlorida Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys an Window on Wildlife, Angel, Twitch, Woodland Trust, Montana Osprey Project, RMC, Narrow River Ospreys, Ferris State University, and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

Friday at the Captiva Osprey Nest

08 April 2022

As Ospreys return and eggs are laid in the UK and northern areas of the US, it is time to stop for a second and congratulate Andy and Lena, Lori Covert, and the team at Window on Wildlife for a very successful year at the Captiva Osprey Nest.

Lena and Andy incubated three eggs. The hope was that the Crows would not predate them. All hatched. Big Bob hatched at 21:24 on 16 Feb while Middle Bob came along about five hours later at 02:02 on the 17th. Little Bob joined the pair on the 19th at 16:29. Sadly and without any notice, Big Bob died on the morning of 15 March; he was 27 days old. Middle and Little Bob (affectionately known as Mini) have thrived. Today, Middle is 50 days old and Little is 48. The average nesting period of Western Ospreys is 50-55 days. We are now approaching fledge at Captiva. After fledge, the fledglings return to the nest to be fed and to work on their flying before leaving the parent’s territory.

Here is an assortment of images of Lena and her babies from 08 April 2022. There is still lots of fish arriving on the nest. It seems Lena is always feeding the chicks.

Lena is a very devoted mother.

Little Bob still loves to look over the side of the nest!

Food coma.

Seriously look at how big Little Bob is standing up so straight.

Soon Lena will be able to rest her vocal cords! Here she is reminding Andy that the kids would like to have a fish before bed – and so would she!

What a gorgeous image as the sun sets and sends that beautiful rose-gold tint over Lena and the babies.

Lori Covert is an excellent steward or custodian for the wildlife that have their nests on her property. Last year, Connie and Clive lost their two eaglets, Hope and Peace, to rodenticide poisoning. In that same year, fishing line was noticed on the nest and Lori promptly had CROW out to remove it. This year fishing line was noticed on the Captiva Osprey nest. Lori and Window on Wildlife posted the following on the information below the streaming cam:

3/28 Update: There seems to be a bit of fishing line in the nest. If it is causing significant issues, and we can document it, we will ask permission to retrieve it. The line seems to be embedded in the nest and would be a major operation to remove without damaging the nest or putting the chicks in danger. Will monitor it very closely. If it becomes an immediate danger, we can act within hours, as we have a ladder on site ready to go.

There is still time to enjoy watching these two Ospreys. What a great vantage point to see them begin to hover and fly! If you have never ever seen an Osprey hover, you are in for a real treat. Little helicopters. Here is a link to the streaming cam:

I want to thank Lori Covert and Window on Wildlife for their love and care of this wonderful Osprey family. The mods on the chat have been excellent and information has been passed on to those watching as it becomes available. Window on Wildlife also had a streaming discussion session after Big died. It was awesome. The Captiva Osprey Nest has and will continue to be a joyful nest to watch for the rest of the season! Check it out.

Thank you for joining me today. It is always such a treat to talk about a successful nest. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Update on Karl II: Karl II is on the nest in Estonia. The camera should be operational shortly. Relief.

Thank you to Lori Covert and Window on Wildlife for the streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Update on the Captiva Osprey Nest

Tuesday, 15 March 2022

Some of the information in this posting might be a repeat for some of you. There might be something else that you learn, too!

It is often difficult to process deaths on nests. This is so true for now when we turn to the birds and other wildlife as a place of solace. Sadly, we have no control over what happens on the nests but, we can certainly mourn with the family when there are issues. Wildlife face repeated challenges day in and day out. While we cannot always make their lives better, it is up to each of us to try in any small or large way that we can.

Early this morning, around 08:39ish, the oldest osplet, Big, on the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida died. There was nothing leading up to the death that would have alerted to anyone watching the streaming cam that there was anything at all wrong with any of the chicks never mind one of them dying at the feet of its Mum while she fed the others breakfast. There were no visible tremors of any sort, no choking, nothing. The only thing that was noticed was that Big was less aggressive towards the other two chicks at meal time yesterday. There could be any number of reasons for Big to stop beaking its younger siblings. Big might have felt more food secure after Andy brought in 11 fish the day prior. Often raptors who are getting ready to pass a pellet are not that much interested in food. We could speculate forever but we will never know the answer to that question. All we know is that an apparently healthy osplet, 27 days old, died.

The owner of the property, Lori Covert, immediately sought permission from state and federal authorities to have a necropsy done on the chick to find out the cause. CROW, one of the best wildlife rehab clinics in the US, was also alerted. Permissions were quickly granted and CROW came quickly to remove the body of the chick. That took place at 15:21.

Lena immediately began alerting as she flew over the water and the property making circles around the nest. She returned immediately once the technician and the ladder were no longer present.

Both Middle and Little (Little and Mini on chat) went flat. You could tell they were afraid by their eyes but they did not move. Instead they stayed pancaked panting from the heat. Lena is hot too. It is that time of year in Florida.

Because CROW does not have the equipment to do complicated toxicology screening, Big’s body was sent to UGA College of Veterinary Medicine in Athens, Georgia.

Some causes of death such as a pellet that could not be passed or a fish hook can be established with a physical exam. Those results are pretty immediate. My understanding is that it will be a few days, perhaps the end of the week, until the results from the tests are known. They will be posted on the Captiva Osprey streaming cam site.

Some of my readers were concerned because one of the chicks appeared to be choking early this morning and they thought it was the one who died. It was Little (or Mini) that was casting the pellet at the time.

There was a Q & A session with Window on Wildlife staffer Connor this afternoon. It has been posted on YouTube so that you can watch it. Connor took questions off the chat so you might find some of this very interesting and educational.

After everyone has left the area, Andy arrives with a fish for Lena and the two surviving osplets at 15:38. If you look at the eyes of Andy and Lena they are very alert and probably none too happy with the events of the last few minutes.

Lena feeds the two remaining chicks, Middle and Little.

They will both be full. There was nothing wrong with their appetites.

Middle and Little (or Little and Mini) are hot but they are both eating well and were anxious for the arrival of a fish. That fish will provide them not only with nourishment but also their water or, hydration! There is no reason to believe from looking at the two of them or the adults that there is anything ‘wrong’ at this nest. They were hot and did sleep but that is normal on a day with high temperatures and being in the hot sun. Ospreys really like their nests to be out in the open so that they can see predators coming from 360 degrees.

To answer the question of a reader: Yes, of course, Andy and Lena and the two remaining chicks know that Big is no longer with them. The entire atmosphere of the nest has changed. They understand that he has died. They have not had any experience with adults taking a deceased chick off their nest so it is understandable that Andy and Lena have no knowledge of ladders and technicians. There is really no time for mourning. The couple have been battling predators and the two other chicks require care. The parents cannot simply take a day or two ‘off’. Andy did bring in Spanish Moss to cover Big. You might recall that happening on other nests. I believe (but will happily be corrected) that Clive and/or Connie covered up the body of one or both of the chicks, Peace and Hope, that died on the Captiva Bald Eagle nest from secondary rodenticide poisoning last breeding season. I have seen it done at other nests and on others, nothing.

Lori Covert loves the birds that live on her land on Captiva. If you get a chance and you are on chat, please send her, the chat moderators, and everyone associated with the Captiva Ospreys your condolences. They really would appreciate it.

Before I close, I want to mention something and that is ‘donations’. Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinics exist solely on donations. They receive no federal or state funding. Their benefactors range from the person who can afford to donate $5 a year to those who are able to give them more. CROW is one of the best wildlife rehab clinics. If you feel so inclined, they would appreciate any size of donation. Here is the link to their website:

Home

Please send your most positive energy to this wonderful Osprey nest in Florida. Andy, Lena, and the two surviving chicks need all the good wishes they can get. I so hope to sit and have some tea Wednesday afternoon watching Middle and Little (Little and Mini) ferociously eating fish and hearing Lena call Andy for yet another fish.

Thank you so much for joining me today. There is lots of news in Bird World. Take care!

Thank you to the Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Early Saturday in Bird World

05 March 2022

Weather wise it is a horrible morning at the Big Bear Valley nest of Shadow and Jacket. Snow or ice pellets are flying through the air. Yes, literally, the wind is terrible. On top of all of that, a sub-adult Bald Eagle has been trying to land on the nest tree and Shadow has had to move it out of the territory.

Some believe that the intruder might be Simba, Jackie and Shadow’s 2019 fledge. The problem with all intruders is that the responsible parent for the nest can get injured. I wish they would stay away!

That is Shadow escorting the sub-adult out of the territory at 08:44.

The wee babe had its first feeding at 07:45. You cannot tell – it is a ‘still’ image- but the wind is really whipping the adult around trying to get to the prey for the baby’s first feeding of the day.

This little one will be fed quickly and then back under the adult so as not to get a chill.

This is Shadow giving the baby its first feeding for the morning.

Jackie will feed the baby at 09:57.

I have simply not been able to take my eyes off this little one. It is incredibly strong. Just look at it sit up straight. It knows precisely which way to go to line up for a feeding. It is not 48 hours old yet. A beautiful healthy eaglet. For Jackie and Shadow this is a miracle baby. I have to admit that I have not thought much about the other egg instead focusing on the needs of this one and how well it is doing.

Little ones have been fed and are wiggling around the nest and out of the egg cup at Dale Hollow Lake, home to River and Obey.

At first, when I only saw the one, my heart sank.

There they are. Everyone is moving to get into the shade provided by River.

Little cuties. The third hatch appears to be doing well despite its small size in relation to the twins.

There is an issue with the nest and three eggs of Jack and Harriet at the Achieva Credit Union’s Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida. There is no certainty as to what has occurred – did squirrels get the eggs? did they fall down a hole in the nest made by squirrels so that they cannot be incubated and are now unviable? did a predator take the eggs? Whether or not Jack and Diane will try for a second clutch is unknown at this time.

So far, there have been two feedings at the Captiva Osprey Nest. The first came after 08:00 but before the 08:34 listed by the chat. The second was at 10:08:07. All are doing well but, like Shadow and Jackie, Andy and Lena are having to deal with several intruders in their air space this morning.

There is Little Bob up front eyeing that fish just like our precious Ervie. Everyone seems to have a bit of a crop left from the earlier feeding. Let us hope that Andy is able to do some good fishing this afternoon so that these babies can have full tummies and crops for bedtime.

Ferris Akel’s tour turned up a Northern Harrier right away. As we were watching it, you could hear the Canada Geese overhead migrating to the north. They are coming home!

Northern Harriers are often the easiest of the hawks to spot because they fly low over the ground. Like owls, Harriers can also hunt by sound because of their large parabolic facial disk. You can see that easily in the image below. They eat small mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects.

What a beautiful hawk. They are large hawks standing from 43-58 cm high with a wingspan of 97-122 cm.

We see them on the Canadian Prairies hunting low.

The Canada Geese are in formation which means they are migrating. I always love hearing them in the sky. It is a good sign that spring has returned to the Canadian Prairies.

Ferris also saw five Hooded Mergansers and now has spotted a group of Red-wing Blackbirds. Oh, I loved seeing those at our wetlands centre last year. They are not common in the urban area where I live.

The snow is melting in the Finger Lakes area of New York and making areas of water for the waterfowl as well as revealing any grains left from the harvest.

There are ducks, swans, and geese landing to rest and feed.

The sounds of the waterfowl vocalizing is beautiful.

There were hundreds of Snow Geese flying in to feed and rest.

What a beautiful sight. Thousands of these birds settle on the farmer’s fields here on the Canadian Prairies as they begin to arrive for spring. They breed in the far north, in the tundra, of my province on Hudson’s Bay. They will feed on waste grain and new sprouts coming up. In the image below they are taking advantage of the grains and vegetation that have been covered by snow. They are large waterfowl, 60-80 cm in length with a wingspan of 1.3-1.5 m.

Their arrival in northern New York, near the Canadian border with Ontario, gives me hope that spring is, indeed, coming.

Thank you for joining me this morning. It is a beautiful cloudy but albeit warmer day here and I hope to get in a good walk today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, Achieva Credit Union, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and, of course, Ferris Akel Tours.

Sunday lunch at Captiva Ospreys

02.27.2022

Before I begin the morning report on Captiva, sad news. HH4, the sibling to HH3 that fell off the Hilton Head Island nest yesterday, also fell off the nest. The eaglet was noticed to behave oddly before falling over the edge. He has been rescued. If he survived last night, he will go into care this morning. The father brought a fish but the mother has not been seen for a couple of days. This is not the first Bald Eagle nest that has had juveniles falling off the nest or eagles just not being seen. Pembroke Pines have now lost 2 out of 3 eaglets. Our thoughts go out to all of the bird nests at this challenging time. It clearly sounds like the pathogenic Avian flu, H5N1. This is so very, very sad. However, we have to prepare ourselves that so many of the birds may die due to this disease. Our positive wishes go out to everyone working so hard to save these beautiful babies.

Here is the update from the Hilton Head Island Trust.

I am so glad that I did not have the opportunity to check the Captiva Osprey nest until just now when a fish was being delivered. Andy brought it in at 11:59:50. Little Bob worked his way to get to the front. This is the first fish that the chicks and Lena have had in approximately 22 hours. Lena did go for a swim to cool off and the chicks have been outside of the nest bowl this morning. It is so hot on that nest with the air temperature at 24 degrees C and a wind of 11 kph. Oh, I hope Andy manages to bring in some more fish so that everyone is full and hydrated today. They are eating nicely even though each is so very, very hungry including Lena.

Bobs peeking out from under Lena at dawn.

Out of the nest cup and in the shade of Mum. Everyone is hot.

Lena goes for a much deserved dip to cool off.

Andy delivers the first fish of the day to the family at 11:59:50. He did not eat the head.

Lena will fight that bony head to get some food to feed the wee ones quickly.

You can well imagine that being literally empty of food and hot and perhaps even a bit dehydrated that the Bobs were really scrambling for food. Lena is still feeding them at 12:20 and there are no crops to be seen yet. She is pulling really hard to get meat off the fish. Meanwhile, Andy has returned doing security duty and also hoping that there will be some fish left for him, too.

It is so good that this is a very large fish. There is lots for everyone. One of the Bobs (Middle?) seemed that it might have been suffering from the heat. It looked slightly dazed. They should be rehydrated from the moisture of the fish.

The osplets are getting crops. Little Bob has eaten well. He pulled an Ervie and he got right up there at the beginning. Such a relief! I will always worry about those little ones, the third hatch. They cannot hold so much but need to be fed much more often than this. Wonder why the fishing is so bad on the weekend at Captiva?

Lovely crops!

At 12:33 the chicks are still being fed.

One chick is in a food coma and the other two simply want to make sure they get all the fish that they can. I don’t blame them. This nest was steady as you go until yesterday with four big feedings like this one a day – at dawn and nearing 17:00. Now they do not know when there will be another fish delivery.

Little Bob has dropped its crop and is now up in line wanting more fish.

Despite Dad standing and hoping there is some fish for him – and he needs to eat too to have the strength to fish, Lena continues to feed the chicks because she doesn’t know when food will come again either.

Little Bob has a big crop again. This is good. Lena is making sure they are well fed. I hope she is also eating!

You can see the size of the crops growing and growing. Little Bob is so full he fell backwards.

There might be some left for Dad. Maybe.

Just about the time Lena thinks she is finished and Andy figures he might get a couple of bites, Little Bob decides he wants some more fish. This has been the remarkable trait of this mother. She feeds and feeds til every chick is full. That could be the one single reason that the beaking has not been more profound the last couple of days.

At 12:47 Lena offered to feed Andy. It was one of the most moving scenes I have seen on an Osprey nest. She knows that he is also very hungry. He did not ‘just decide’ not to bring fish to the nest. Something has caused the fishing to be ‘off’ this weekend.

It is 12:50 and Lena is still feeding the chicks. She has taken some big bites for herself, too, as the end of the fish draws near. Andy has flown off to hopefully get another fish.

Lena ate the fish tail at 13:01.

If you watched the Achieva Osprey nest last season, you will realize that the chicks at Captiva are so full that they can, if need be, survive until tomorrow without any more fish. I hope that they don’t but they would survive.

Oh, my. Lena went over to clean up the fish skin and Big and Little went over too thinking more fish! Send positive wishes to this nest. They really need another one or two feedings today to keep the stress levels down.

There are pips at Duke Farms and at Dale Hollow but no pip for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear yet. Let us hope those eggs are viable for those two!

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the Captiva Osprey Cam and Window on Wildlife and the Hilton Head Island Trust for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures.

Early Friday in Bird World

25.2.2022

For more than two years, the birds that we adore have given us solace and brought joy when there was no joy to be found. Like today. I hope that we can, one person and one step at a time, make the environment better for them so that they thrive. Their gifts to us cannot be measured.

I wrote and thanked ‘B’ last night for sending me a message saying ‘Ervie is on the nest’. I want to thank her again as so many of you have told me that you checked my blog before checking the nest and were so thrilled to be able to see our magnificent Ervie. Oh, how we hoped he would connect with Dad. Maybe Ervie will soon. It really does seem that he is coming to the nest at least every other day – it is a matter of catching him. Ervie came to the nest, left, and returned with his puffer yesterday. He flew off again and returned at 14:48:16. He was drying off and what a handsome lad he was once those feathers were all fluffed. He will stay on the nest until 15:40:58.

Ervie must have not seen an adult as he was not calling. H also seemed to have a bit of a crop which made me wonder if he had another successful fishing trip. Near the end, Ervie made some sounds and flew off. I wonder what he saw? who was he calling.

Stop for a minute and look at how large Ervie’s wing is!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the latest tracker download from PLO on the 25th of February. Because it reads that it was loaded to the FB page 21 hours ago, I believe that this is Ervie’s earlier trip to the barge, the day prior.

The snow finally arrived in Ithaca at the nest of Big Red and Arthur. After all the work yesterday, they have been at the nest this morning for more than an hour each of them working hard. If you want to see the morning visit live, check on the streaming cam from 10:30-11:30 nest time.

Big Red is just as beautiful as always.

She hatched in 2003. It is believed that she probably had her first clutch in 2005. Cornell did not have a streaming cam on her and her nest until 2012. We know that between 2012 and 2021 Big Red incubated 27 fertile eggs. Out of those she fledged 26. The only one not to fledge was K2 last year who had an issue with her beak and had to be euthanized.

It is possible that between 2005 and 2021, Big Red fledged 48 juvenile hawks. Incredible. She is, after all, the ‘rock star’ of the Red-tail Hawk World with an international fan base of thousands.

Big Red busies herself with arranging some twigs around the edge, the cradle rails, if you like.

I wonder if her and Arthur will return today? We are definitely on the countdown to egg laying! Two to three weeks. Oh, joy!

The winds have started to pick up in Ithaca and the nest of Big Red and Arthur is rocking. It is 5 degrees C and the wind warnings for the area will last until 15:00 today.

Richmond is waiting on Rosie. Oh, I do hope she appears soon. It ‘feels’ late for her arrival from her migration to me. Richmond has not been on the nest but he has been close according to the Golden Gate Audubon FB page.

But wait! There has been an unidentified female coming to the nest but one of the watchers just posted on FB this image saying they believe Rosie has just arrived – an hour ago! Well, this would be so reassuring if it is her!

There was a nice big feeding at 11:28 on the Captiva nest. Dad brought in a Sheepshead.

Lena goes to the mangrove tree under the nest to get the fish from Andy leaving the trio alone. Do not worry. Both her and Andy are close at hand.

Lena and Andy both return to the nest where Lena prepares to feed the chicks. Andy is on high alert!

All lined up for their second meal of the day. How comforting is it to just look at those three being fed?

Here are a few images of that early morning feeding at 06:45. I love the colour of the landscape and the stillness of the water as the sun rises on the nest. It looks like a glaze colour called celadon with a hint of blue. Just gorgeous.

Everyone is fed well. There are no great calamities with Big or Middle Bob having to go first shutting Little Bob out.

It is so peaceful- just like Port Lincoln was this year with the three Bobs. They were all fed and had a really nice sleep between morning and the arrival of that second fish at 11:28. Well done Andy and Lena.

There are 2288 people watching Jackie incubate her and Shadow’s two eggs at Big Bear. In the background you can hear Ravens. They know there are eggs there and they will also know when the chicks hatch. These two eagles have to be so careful. They have made it this far and, as you can tell, they are two of the most popular eagles on the internet. Pip watch begins tomorrow. Send all your positive wishes to these two who have tried so hard to have chicks the last couple of years. Eggs have been stolen, broken because the shell is to thin due to residual DDT in the area, and chicks have died trying to hatch. The couple even had two clutches last year but to no avail. This year we are all very positive that it is ‘their’ year for successful hatches and fledges.

You sure are beautiful, Jackie!

A quick check on Duke Farms. That little bobble that hatched yesterday at 14:28 is getting its first food. So if you are missing bobbles, head over to Duke Farms as you wait for Jackie and Shadow. This little one is soooooo cute.

It is time to feed our garden gang. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. It is sunny and mild in Manitoba – a good day for a walk after the gang is fed. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen capture: Cornell Bird Lab, Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Big Bear, Duke Farms, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and SF Bay Ospreys.

Funny Moment at Captiva

2.24.22

It is alright to laugh at silly moments -when a raptor nest is flourishing as the Captiva Osprey Nest is this year. The giggles started with the delivery of the 12:51 fish by Andy.

Andy has arrived with a really nice fish and Lena has already taken it out of his talons and moved the fish to the other side of the nest to feed the chicks. The chicks have been sound asleep and there is a bit of a scramble to position themselves.

So this is what happens. Look below. The two older Bobs turn towards Andy. Meanwhile, Little Bob is facing Mum and getting all the fish! Yeah for Little Bob. He is smart.

Several minutes have passed. Big Bobs with their cute little tails and fat little bottoms are still hoping that Andy is going to feed them. Meanwhile, Little Bob is getting a nice crop. This kid, by the way, has the longest neck of any little Osprey I have ever seen! Just look at it.

Little Bob is pretty full and he has turned around to join his big siblings checking on what is happening on their side. Meanwhile, Lena, who had a lovely bath in the Gulf of Mexico this morning, is enjoying that fish. Andy must wonder what in the world is going on.

Little Bob whispered in their ear and told Big and Middle, ‘Hey guys the food is over here!’ They began to turn around in a bit of a mini-scramble.

All lined up. Little Bob is going to sleep at the table he is so full and Andy is taking a time to have a quick nap during his security duties.

Well done Lena and Andy. You are doing a great job of parenting these young osplets.

The chicks were so full they could hardly stand up. Most of them are sleeping in place.

I love the facial expressions that Andy makes. He is a great Dad. Look at those long, skinny but very strong legs he has. Fabulous family.

If you love Ospreys then you really need to stop in and enjoy this family with all the other viewers. There is a great rewind feature, it is a beautiful location, and the moderators are well informed.

Here is the link:

Thank you for joining me for a bit of a giggle. We can always use one once in awhile, especially when it all turns out well in the end. Take care.

Thank you to Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys for their streaming cam where I took these screen captures of Lena and Andy’s family at Captiva, Florida.