There is very sad news coming out of the Big Bear Valley. Sandy Steers, the woman behind all of us being able to enjoy watching Jackie and Shadow, has died from a battle with cancer.
I will always remember Sandi as being one of the biggest and most devoted advocates for wildlife and, especially, our beloved Jackie and Shadow. Condolences to all those who knew and loved Sandi.
There has been speculation at the Decorah North nest that Mr North was MIA. Well, he isn’t. Buddy’s Mum posted a video today of Mr North letting everyone know is well and present! https://youtu.be/7eZ6_pnIJ7w?
There is relief at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest as JBS24 is thriving. The average time for this eaglet to succumb to HPAI, if that was what killed its sibling – which is doubtful now – has passed.
Tiny Tim at the Winter Park, Florida nest is thriving. That little second hatch, five days younger than its older sibling, has struggled and triumphed.
They are looking for name submissions – please give these two babys super names! Note the deadline!
Window To Wildlife: #1Hello, if you’d like to submit names for the eaglets, please see this link: https://forms.gle/7vYPwneMakwbaw3T7 The landowners will be selecting a pair of names that has been submitted. Ending Feb 17
Thank you for being with us for this short announcement about Sandy Steers. Everyone is very sad. I also wanted to catch up with two nests we have been monitoring closely. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to all the news outlets for their coverage of Sandy Steers contributions to the welfare of wildlife, to the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to look into the lives of the raptors, to Buddy’s Mum for her video of Mr North, and to Window to Wildlife who is asking for our participation in naming those two cute eaglets at Winter Park.
Great news from the American Eagle Foundation. It is official. Beau and Gabby have a pip. This is what I have been waiting for – and what joy this little one will bring.
This image is from the AEF:
First, please do send me some of your favourite memories from our bird nests so that I can post them on 2 January! I really want to hear from you!
SK Hideaways Videos, week of 12/21/25
Channel Island Eagles
Fraser Point Eagles: Elusive Cruz Visits Nest with Andor ~ A Few Sticks are Shuffled (2025 Dec 27)
It was a real treat to see Cruz and Andor together after Cruz’s nearly 2-week absence from the cameras. For those who haven’t met this pair, we provided a little history as they did a bit of stick shuffling and hanging out.
The female, Cruz, hatched at the Pelican Harbor nest on Santa Cruz Island in 2006 and was the first known chick to naturally hatch on the islands since 1950. Andor hatched at the Baby’s Harbor nest, also on Santa Cruz Island, in 2017. Video: https://youtu.be/ijOvAohCxeA Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies, explore.org, Fraser Point Cam Ops Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4V_AppZ6s
Two Harbors Eagles Cholyn & Chase ~ 22 Years of Devotion & Territory Rule (2025 Dec 21) Cholyn and Chase briefly greeted the morning together at the nest before Chase departed to do eagle things. Cam ops then gifted us with close-ups of Cholyn and we took the opportunity to share some history of these 27-year-olds marvels, who have been together for 22 years. Their story is part of the eagle restoration program in the Channel Islands that began in 1980. Through trial, error, and extraordinary work by scientists at the Institute for Wildlife Studies, the program has been wildly successful. Cholyn and Chase, now the elders of the Channel Island eagles, are just one piece of that story.
Jackie With and Without Fishing Line 🎣 With Shadow and Wonky Stick (2025 Dec 26-27) Jackie arrived on December 26th with a long bit of fishing stuck to her beak. She stayed at the nest a short time, flying off with the line still attached. We were relieved to see her arrive the next morning without the fishing fine, but with a beautiful, big wonky stick. Shadow joined later to celebrate and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Video: https://youtu.be/qscEDVaWNwM
Jackie & Shadow Bicker, Beaky Kiss & Bump During Big Nestorations (2025 Dec 26)
Jackie and Shadow spent just over an hour bringing a wide variety of branches to build up rails and begin forming an egg cup in anticipation of nesting season. Along the way, they entertained us with bickering, beaky kissing, and bumping each other to and fro. Video: https://youtu.be/cn4LWsO8YQU
San Jose CH Falcons: Hartley & Monty Stop By to Deliver Holiday Greetings ❄️ (2025 Dec 25)
Hartley and Monty stopped by for some pair-bonding after opening and devouring their Christmas gifts.
AEF-NEFL Eagles: Gabby and Beau Have Long Conversation Before Changeover (2025 Dec 23)
Gabby and Beau may have been discussing the fact that pip watch for NE32 and NE33 is just 2-3 days away. They talked for quite some time before Gabby relieved Beau of incubation duty. The chortling and chirping was music to our ears. Video: https://youtu.be/2UAbkrjUyp8 Courtesy American Eagle Foundation/NEFL Eagle CamOps
FalconCam Project GIRRI RETURNS TO TOWER! 2025 Dec 23 Girri shows off her strength and flying skills as she returns to the top of the tower to meet up with her parents. She fledged just 5 days ago. Great job, Girri! (2025 Dec 23) Video: https://youtu.be/2Yvnm67rL2A Courtesy FalconCam Project, Charles Sturt University NSW (http://www.csu.edu.au/special/falconcam/)
We’re on HATCH WATCH at NE Florida for Beau and Gabby and it is raining Monday night. The AEF confirmed a pip in the afternoon around 3pm.
Gabby is restless.
There will be a little one tomorrow.
We have a hatch at Hilton Head.
Everyone else is doing fine.
My news is that my husband is in the ICU waiting for a bed in the hospital so that he can be fully treated. I do not know what the future holds but he is calm and knows me, and there is nothing nicer than lying next to him cuddling. Thank you for all your positive wishes – that beautiful energy sent from around the world is precious and is helping us I am certain.
Please take care of yourselves. I will check in tomorrow briefly.
Thank you to SK Hideaways for their great videos, to the owners of the streaming cams, and to those who post news on FB. My blog would be nothing without your input.
It was a bit nippy on Sunday, but spring is definitely here. It was time to shake off the winter and get back to walking 4 or 5 times a week. Our first trip was around St Vital Park and then over to the duck pond. There were approximately 85 Canada Geese there along with 5 male Wood Ducks and 2 females, and a couple pair of Mallards along with 3 Ring-billed Gulls. There is still some ice on the pond. It was nice to see families with proper seed feeding them as we wait for the grass to turn green and grow.
You have no idea how happy I am that the walkways are free of ice. This winter has been long because of this. I so enjoyed all the walking that we have done in previous years. Oh, this is wonderful!
Moving on to our feathered friends…
Eggs are starting to land in those osprey nests! Eaglets are growing or fledging or halfway there.
Birds of Poole Harbour: CJ7 laid the season’s first egg for her and mate, Blue 022, on Sunday.
Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home: There are now three eggs in this osprey nest.
Glaslyn: Ospreys can count and they ‘know’. Aran arrived on Saturday and Elen laid her first egg on Sunday the 13th. It would have been KC1’s, Teifi’s. Aran tried to evict it and then when that did not work, he buried it. Aran might have trouble holding on to the nest he shared with Mrs G and then Elen when Mrs G did not return from migration. We wait to see how this works out.
So why did Aran (and other males at different nests at different times) try to eject and then bury the egg?
Male ospreys eject eggs from their nest if they suspect they didn’t fertilise the eggs. We quickly learn that ospreys can count! This behaviour is a strategy to ensure their offspring survive, as they may eject eggs from the nest that they don’t believe to be their own. Ospreys are generally monogamous and mate for life, but if a male suspects infidelity, he may eject eggs to remove potential competitors.
Ensuring their own genetic line: Male ospreys are motivated to ensure their offspring survive. They may eject eggs if they believe they are not their own, as they are essentially removing potential competitors.
Guardianship of the nest: Ospreys fiercely protect their nests and mates. If another male is suspected of mating with the female, the male may eject eggs to ensure his own paternity.
Courtship and Mating: Male ospreys engage in frequent courtship displays and mating behaviours, which can increase the likelihood of fertilisation by their partner. If they witness a female with another male, they may attempt to eject the eggs to ensure their genetic line is the only one present.
Territoriality:Male ospreys are territorial and will defend their nest and mate from other males. This can extend to ejecting eggs if they suspect other males have been involved in mating with the female.
In summary, the ejection of eggs is a behaviour driven by the male osprey’s instinct to protect his mate and ensure his genetic line continues. It’s a natural defence mechanism against potential rivals and a strategy to maintain the success of his breeding effort.
Oh, what a worry KNF-E3 O3 was to everyone. Steve looked. Cody helped. And on Sunday that fledgling flew up to the nest like a pro wanting fish. Mum and Dad did not disappoint. Isn’t this wonderful? We will count every one of these moments as gold.
Little Miami Conservancy: These two are doing well but cannot yet thermoregulate their temperature.
Foulshaw Moss: White YW and Blue 35 have their second egg on Sunday. at 1308.
Fort St. Vrain: Less drama today at the nest. Both eaglets fine.
Fat little bottom. Cute.
NCTC: The trio of Scott and Bella are doing extraordinarily well. Little angels.
Port Tobacco: All is well.
Johnson City ETSU: I blinked and that little fluffy chick now has juvenile feathers!
Bluff City ETSU: And just look at these two!
Duke Farms: Then there is this trio. All doing well.
US Steel: Only Bob is doing well. Getting his pin feathers.
Sauces: Betty Lou. Look at those feathers coming in!
Fraser Point: Two adorable babies being well cared for by Andor and Cruz.
Big Bear Valley: Is it possible they will be too full to fly? We would love to keep them on the nest.
Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig. Just look at the number of fish that Louis has brought in. Now he started out, as Geemeff reminded me, like this last year. But bad weather and an illness and/or injury turned the tide on the nest and the two osplets were translocated. One survived. One did not.
Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 13th April 2025
Another calm day without intruders, Affric 152 or Prince dropping in. And sadly, no unattached female visitors for Garry LV0 despite his bringing a fish and making Nest One very cosy with sticks and bedding. Garry’s fish tally rises by a whopping 50% up to a total of three since he arrived on 9th April, fingers crossed that this will be the season he finds a mate. Louis on the other hand is providing so well for Dorcha that she initially refused the second of his two fish deliveries today, and his tally now stands at twentynine since they returned on 2nd April. At the time of filing this report (23.45) Nest Two is empty – will Dorcha return and spend the night as she did last night, will she lay the first egg tomorrow? We must wait and see. The weather forecast is light rain and light winds overnight and into tomorrow, not the best weather for eggs but Dorcha will cope.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.31.19 (05.28.03); Nest Two 21.29.45 (05.32.34)
“Over the last 5 days, things appeared to have settled into a fairly relaxed routine for LM24 (The Dark Intruder) and his new mate the Unringed Female. The pair have been spending more time on and around the nest, often appearing at first light, indicating they are likely to be roosting nearby. Mating has been regular, though the male is still sometimes getting himself back to front, but he has also busied himself with bringing material into the nest, skydancing and bringing in fish to his mate – everything you would expect a breeding male to do.
Throughout the week there had been little in the way of intruders, with only a fleeting incursion on the 9th April, which the Unringed Female easily defended against. Not content with LM24’s offerings, she brought in a huge trout yesterday, which unusually she caught on the Loch where it is usually more common to see pike and perch.
This morning it was only LM24 who appeared on the nest at dawn, and it remained quiet for much of the day, with no sign of the Unringed Female. Ospreys can be a little bit like buses, with not much happening and then everything happening all at once! True to form it all kicked off mid-afternoon with the arrival of yet another new intruding bird (another unringed female) who was very ‘hangry’!
This female wasted no time in demanding food from LM24, who although initially reluctant, passed his half eaten pike to her, before trying to attempt to mate. The female, with very striking markings (a large triangle on the back of her head, dark chest and a white gap between her eyes) was not keen to reciprocate, but quickly began rearranging the furniture. This female behaved in a way that was very confident and suggested that she may be a little older and more experienced than both LM24 and his Unringed Female partner.
The ‘hangry’ female (who devoured her fish) very vocally began demanding more food from the male, who was keeping a close and perhaps rather confused eye on the things from the top of the camera. After several more failed mating attempts, he finally managed to encourage the female to lift her tail and mate successfully, before……enter stage left; LM24’s mate, the Unringed Female landed on the nest, flapping her wings and mantling, clearly unhappy with proceedings!! She was closely followed by LM24, who briefly touched down before being chased off by the ‘hangry’ intruder!
All three osprey then took to the skies in a spectacular display of flying, diving and shouting, before the Unringed Female returned to the nest. Her respite was short lived however, with the other female returning to launch another furious attack! Once again the birds took off in a flurry of talons and wings, before order finally seemed to be restored 5 minutes later with both LM24 and his mate the Unringed Female settling back onto the nest together.
Things appear to have settled down and order for now seems to have been restored, but for how long?
Follow the webcam for all the action, or come and visit the centre, open 10:30am – 5pm each day”
Hellgate Canyon: Gorgeous Iris. Still waiting for Finnegan. He was there on the 14th last year. Fingers crossed he arrives today!!!!!!! Oh, tears will flow around the world. Please let this miracle happen again…
Salem Electric: Lots of work to do on this nest. I sure wish that humans in the US would follow some of the UK’s practices where the nest is refurbished each year while the ospreys are on migration!
Clark PUD: Both ospreys are on the nest. Lovely.
Port of Ridgefield: Both home.
Seaside: Bruce has been supplying Naha with some really nice fish since their return. Sunday was no exception with a Redtail Surf Perch and two trout.
Niagara Bee Ospreys: No eggs but a Canada Goose is visiting the nest.
Farmer Derek’s Owl Nest: Bonnie and Clive have one owlet this year, Starr. She is a beauty.
Russell Lake, Nova Scotia: Oscar arrived so early. It seems that he was so happy to have Ethel return that he has been out looking for any kind of gift to brighten her day! OK, Oscar. You can stop now. Those eggs and chicks don’t want to get mixed up with human litter!
Coeur de’Alene, Idaho: No ospreys in sight. Canada Goose nesting on the north platform.
In 2024, with four osplets on the nest and everyone hoping for them, the male disappeared during a heat dome. Mum tried but it is difficult to raise four even if both parents are fishing. Three of the chicks died of siblicide/starvation. One fledged.
Update from Fort St Vrain:
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, and articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post: ‘Geemeff’, Birds of Poole Harbour, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Maryland Western Shore Old Town Home, RAKPhotographic, Kistachie National Forest, Little Miami Conservancy, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Fort St Vrain, NCTC, Port Tobacco, Johnson City ETSU, Bluff City ETSU, Pix Cams, Duke Farms, IWS/Explore, FOBBV, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, Montana Osprey Project/Cornell Bird Lab, Salem Electric, Clark PUD, Port of Ridgefield, Seaside Ospreys, Niagara Bee Ospreys, Farmer Derek, Ospreys of Nova Scotia, City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Loch of the Lowes Visitor’s Centre, Fort St Vrain/Excel Energy
Update: Sadly the little eaglet at Decorah North with the crushed egg that fought valiantly to get out for more than 4 days has sadly died. The second pip is still in progress at DN. Andor and Cruz have their second hatch at Fraser Point. Chase and Cholyn were seen mating near their old nest.
Monday was glorious. The sky is blue with a few fluffy white clouds coming in from the West around 1633. We were outside for awhile. Geese are landing on the local soccer fields and flying overhead while the Crows are making a racket wanting more food. The two of them are quite loud. So glad that the weather is warming up and the animals are coming back to the garden daily.
At the time I am writing this there is not a lot of news – other than to say that the eaglets on all the nests seem to be doing alright today.
I missed it on Monday. Scout and Bella now have triplets and Blue 372, the female at Lyn Brenig in Wales has returned at 15:54 on Monday. At the Decorah North nest, the chick is still moving inside the egg after 4 days of trying to hatch on Monday. I hope by the time you read this that little one is safe and out of its shell – finally. Another eaglet at Decorah is also hatching as of Monday.
Gracie Shepherd posted Terry Anita’s message on FB:
The mystery of why the adults at the KNF-E3 nest did not feed their second hatch and did not bring in much food for four days remains. ‘MP’ reports that one of the Rangers (Steve) said plenty of Coots were in the lake for prey. Others cite recent chats where intruders were blamed and earlier claims of the eagles’ inexperience. Whatever the cause, watching the KNF E3 nest compared to the nest of Beau and Gabby at NEFlorida should give us all pause to reflect on whether it is better to resort to competition or cooperation. [Thank you to everyone who sent in comments and copies of chats regarding the KNF nest].
Gabby came in with a fish. Bodie was waiting on the nest and VJ flew in for a family meal. Gabby fed Bodie and VJ together Monday afternoon! Cooperation. Both eaglets thriving.
An unringed female has visited Tweed Valley Nest 2 on Monday.
Moorings Park: The Only Bob is entering the Reptilian Phase. Notice the copper-red feathers coming in at the back of the head and the nape of the neck. In a couple of days, this cute little bobble head will look like it dipped its head in dark black oil.
Manton Bay: Blue 33 delivering fish and helping Maya work on the nest. Guesses as to when the first egg will be laid were seen on the chat. I always lose, but it is fun to take part. My guess was 31 March. We will see how far off I am!
Loch of the Lowes: Blue NC0 continues to fish and to work on her nest while she waits the arrival of a male partner after the loss of LM12 Laddie last season.
Llyn Clywedog: Reports that two ospreys were seen flying over the reservoir and one landed on the nest of Dylan and Seren. The streaming cam is not yet operational. John Williams hopes to have it up and running today. Williams reports damage to nest 2 stating the couple will nee to work to get it in shape. Last year Dylan and Seren arrived on the 28th of March.
Bald Eagle News:
Sauces Canyon: Isn’t this just the most beautiful sight? A healthy full to the brim eaglet with a parent that tried so hard for this moment? I sure hope they get some more cot rails on this nest!!!!!!!!! That little one is scooting around like it has wheels on those talons.
Fraser Point: One eaglet and a second egg is pipping on Monday. Cruz and Andor do not like to show off their eaglet!
NCTC: Then there were three. Send this nest the most positive wishes that you can.
Big Bear: Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets are moving about and flapping those sweet wings. Their thermal down is coming in and look closely for feathers.
The largest was walking across the nest on Monday using its wing for balance.
It is no wonder these two are growing like bad weeds. They had 11 meals on Monday. Jackie and Shadow are going to make sure that these precious gifts are never hungry. I don’t know about you but just knowing that Jackie and Shadow and Jak and Audacity finally got to be parents again has really made the pain of this breeding season tolerable. Here is that last feeding caught on video by SK Hideaways: https://youtu.be/HAVcM_3_XiI?
Bluff City-ETSU: Squirrel and fish were on the menu Monday.
Johnson City-ETSU: The only eaglet is growing like a wild weed. Look at the little dandelion mohawk!
‘PB’ sent me great news. The ducks are coming, the ducks are coming!!!!!!!
Thank you for being with us. It is spring. We hope you can get outside and smell the freshness of the air. It is such a nice change from being inside for the winter so much. And smile. We are so lucky to spend time with these wonderful Raptor families. I am looking forward to the arrival of the ducks, many more Canada Geese, and the Pelicans! Take care of yourself. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, articles and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘H, J, L, MP, PB’, Gracie Shepherd and Terri Anita, NEFL-AEF, Kielder Forest, IWS/Explore, Osprey InfoUK, East Ayshire Trust, LRWT, Woodland Trust (LOTL), The Clywedog Osprey Group, FOBBV, SK Hideaways, Duke Farms, NCTC, Bluff-City ETSU, Johnson City-ETSU, SPO, Nonsuch Expeditions, Cohen Wildlife
There are more than 52,000 people watching Jackie and Shadow’s nest where it has now been confirmed there are two pips in the three eggs!
Jackie weathered wind and snow overnight to keep those three eggs perfectly warm.
If this one single happening does not put a smile on all of our faces and tears in our eyes, I do not know anything that could. These two adorable eagles that have garnered so much love from around the world know that if all goes well they will get to be parents again.
The excitement hit Los Angeles papers today as ‘B’ sends us the link from NBC news. No doubt the papers will be flooded with news of this adorable and hopeful pair of Bald Eagles.
NBC television in Los Angeles is on top of the news from Jackie and Shadow.
I am waiting for the European papers to catch up. The world needs a love story and it doesn’t get any better than this. Send all your positive energy to those eaglets to make it out of those shells safe and sound and to Shadow who will need to stock a huge pantry of FISH.
Thank you to ‘B’ for the story, to all who filled my inbox, SK Hideaways for her videos, NBC, KTLA, and ABC 11 and to all the good folks at FOBBV for keeping those cameras running and confirming the pips. I cannot imagine the excitement in their hearts today.
Before we get on with the news…I really want to put a smile on everyone’s face this morning. Ervie. Dear Ervie. A female was hanging out in Ervie’s territory. Now Ervie is visiting hers. Jumping up and down for joy and little tears…Can we even begin to imagine? Just remembering that tenacious little third hatch taking on big Bazza continues to bring joy…and of course, all the scraps with Falky. The puffers. The worry and now this!
Gosh, I thought I would not be adding to the Memorial Page at this time of year, but here we are at # 127. Three new additions in the last 24 hours. One of them is the second hatch of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus, who was discovered in bushes under a roof, indicating a building or window collision. M1 and M3 had been spotted on Campus. Condolences…everything was just going so well, and it would not be long until they would be leaving the territory and finding their way.
The other two deaths were the Black Stork fledglings, Jola and Derek.
Just breathe. That seems to be the mantra this season. Just breathe because balancing out all the deaths are some very good things that are happening.
You might recall that the Friends of Big Bear Valley were petitioning to have Labour Day fireworks cancelled in the Valley because of the stress put on Jackie and Shadow. This year it was several days before they returned to their nest. FOBBV asked for and received many articles on the damage fireworks cause to wildlife and domestic pets. ‘B’ wrote me this afternoon to inform me that there will be no more fireworks in the Big Bear Valley. Isn’t this wonderful? It should give us the understanding that what we do can matter – that our actions can drive meaningful change. We cannot give up in despair.
Sandy wrote in her FB post on 31 July: “Thank you for keeping up with Jackie and Shadow even as they are enjoying their summer break. They would like to announce that all of us can now relax—they heard that the Labor Day fireworks show planned for September in Big Bear Lake has been cancelled. Hooray!! Sandy”
This is the latest news from Loch of the Lowes. Blue NC0 has not been seen since 15 July and PF5 has not been seen since 28 July.
More good people helping an Osprey!
Oh, these Osprey fledglings are getting themselves into some mischief. Another rescue.
Checking in on a few nests:
At Patchogue, Mini continues to fare rather well. On Tuesday a fish arrived at 0826. I believe it was Mini that took the fish and flew off the nest with it. If it wasn’t she was definitely on the nest at 1028 and received a smaller fish. At 12:53 she was on the nest watching for Dad to fly through with a fish.
At 1700, Mini was ready and waiting when Dad delivered a magnificent fish! Look at the size of that fish. Mini will not need a late night top up. Way to go Dad!
Mini flies off with that big fish!
It is difficult to measure just how well each of the three osplets is being fed at Steelscape in comparison one to the other but the third hatch is still with us.
Pont Cresor: Home to Aeron Z2 and Blue 014. Three chicks fledged – 11, 16, and 19 July. Congratulations!
Collins Marsh: This nest continues to do amazingly well. Nice fish and the two chicks growing – one already fledged.
Pitkin County Open Space and Trails: It is good to remind ourselves that the battles for fish on the nest are helping our fledglings learn how to survive in the wild when there are many more vying for that fish they have in their talons. We have to breathe. In order to live, the ospreys must eat and that often means being ruthless.
Imperial Eagles, Tatarstan RU:
Port Lincoln Osprey: Dad brings Mum a fish on the nest!
Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Orange: Loving Xavier and Diamond. Wishing for a good season.
Sydney Sea Eagles: So delicate how Lady gives the tiniest of fish flakes to SE31 and SE32. Dad is keeping the pantry nice and full. He even fed Lady while she was brooding.
“Dad brought in the customary fresh fish at 06:52:25 this morning. It was intact and relatively large for this area. A lovely breakfast for the family. Mum had already fed them a first breakfast about an hour earlier, but SE32 was not really over-interested in eating at that time of day (exactly as it did yesterday morning). By the end of the morning, both had eaten plenty of lovely fresh fish. Always a happy sight.” – ‘A’ reports.
‘PB’ has been keeping an eye with ‘H’ on Fortis Exshaw. In fact, I am pretty certain that many of you are checking in and sending your wishes to this nest that is struggling with intruders. ‘PB’ writes: “Small fish 18:16 that #1 gets (from Mr O?), then Louise with bigger fish 18:26 and she feeds 2 and herself, mom is on extreme alert.”
Fortunately that chick 1 was busy with the earlier fish so Louise and 2 could eat.
I noted another fish that came in at 19:55. Chick 1 got that one and is getting really good at self-feeding! It is a good thing that Louise and chick 2 had the fish that Louise brought in – they must have been very hungry! In fact, we often forget that the parents have to eat as well…not just the chicks on the nest.
Oh, another fish at 2128! Did 2 get this one? It was mantling the delivery.
And ‘PB’ writes that Louise brought another fish in right after this one. Well, that is one way to make sure the very hungry second chick gets fed – one fish right after another and then another and another til the big one is so full it doesn’t care.
Louise flew off the nest. Has she engaged with an intruder? Two cannot self-feed and is picking at the fish – chick on the left.
One eventually goes into a food coma, while Two really tries to figure out what to do with his fish. And bravo…self-feeding for the very first time. This is a good thing.
‘H’ was keeping track and she put it very well…I love how she says Louse went into high gear! “It was touch-and-go for a while at the Exshaw nest. On 7/31, Chick #2 only had one meal, around noon. Chick #1 has begun to rush Mom or Mr.O to grab the fish upon delivery. #1 is quite capable of self-feeding an entire fish. Chick #2 is not at that level as yet, in fact #2 is downright polite about it, and won’t even try to steal a piece from #1. By 1800, there had only been two fish delivered, and #1 had claimed and eaten both of them. We were very worried about #2. Well, then Louise kicked it into high gear and delivered five fish between 1813 and 2137. Oh, bless her! Chick #1 grabbed the fish at 1813. And for the first time, #2 grabbed the fish at 1825, and tried to self feed. After a few minutes, Louise took the fish and fed #2. Yeah! Chick #1 claimed the fish delivered at 1955. Then at the 2128 delivery, chick #2 grabbed the fish from Louise and mantled it! Yeah! Chick #1 had designs on that fish too, and she seemed quite taken aback at #2’s new confident behavior, lol. There was one more fish brought by Louise at 2137, which was claimed by #1. Chick #2 did a nice job self-feeding from his fish, and was still eating it well after dark. I believe that Louise delivered all of the fish to the nest on 8/1. There was a delivery at 1103 where we had a very limited view of the adult, but there was a brief view of Louise’s distinctive back-of-head markings (quite different from Mr.O). Another questionable identification of the adult was at 2128, however both top and back head markings proved it to be Louise. In my opinion, Mr.O did not make an appearance on camera on 8/1. But, don’t worry, Mr.O was probably guarding the area so that Louise was free to do her thing.”
367 Collins Street: Not live yet. They were just testing the system! That said, it could be up and running right now.
Boulder County: ‘PB’ notes that the storm that swept through the area has taken out the camera on the Osprey nest. At the time all three osplets were on the nest. Let us hope that everyone is fine.
Cowlitz PUD: Everything appears to be just fine and the metal guards have protected the nest and not impeded any movement of the adults or the fledgling.
Hellgate Canyon, Montana: Everyone has a picture of Iris with her huge fish today on the Owl Pole. It is always good to see her here or on the nest! Looking’ good, Iris.
Osoyoos: There has been a question about removing the Middle chick’s body from the body. All of you have watched Osprey nests and chicks dying at various ages. Sometimes the adults remove the body of their dead chick while, at other times, it is left on the nest and becomes part of that historical object.
‘H’ reports: “Olsen brought 9 fish to the nest on 8/1, and a few of them were large. Soo, and her remaining chick were well fed. I have seen a few nests where a chick died from siblicide from aggression that was fueled by a lack of fish on the nest, and then the next day there were lots of fish. Chatters would ask, “where were all those fish when they needed them?” The weather conditions have not improved at Osoyoos . . it is still quite hot, and the air is smokey from the nearby wildfire. One difference seems to be that Soo was missing the last 52 hours of chick #2’s life. The Osoyoos osprey family of three carries on . . and we support them. The youngster is 37 days old.”
‘H’s other reports:
Kent Island – The livestream returned after having been down for nearly four days. It seems that Audrey and Tom’s 51-day-old chick may have grown a bit in those four days.
Severna Park – It was so nice to find both juvies on the nest in the afternoon. Earlier, one of the fledglings landed on the nest carrying a partial fish.
Barnegat Light – News Flash: Dorsett went diving and swimming! Dorsett spent a fair amount of time on a piling at the Bay beach, when at 1002 she decided to take the plunge into the Bay. Later in the afternoon she waded in the water and took a bath at the shoreline of Barnegat Bay.
Dahlgren – Members of this lovely osprey family are often seen at the nest. It is always good to see them.
Forsythe – In a flurry of fishing, Oscar delivered six fish to the nest for his two fledglings between 0724 and 0920. Owen and Ollie each received three fish. There were no fish delivered to the nest later in the day. The older sibling, Owen, seems to be spending the most time away from the nest.
Thank you so very much for being with me today. Please take care. L ooking forward to seeing you again soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, B. H, PB’, Fran Solly and Friends of Sth Australia, Cornell Bird Lab, Maria Marika, FOBBV, Loch of the Lowes Visitor’s Centre and Wildlife Reserve, Laura Asbell Stansfield, Barbara Walker and Osprey Friends, PSEG, Steelscape, Inc., Nyth Pont Cresor, Collins Marsh, Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces, Imperial Eagles RU, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sydney Sea Eagles, Fortis Exshaw, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Cowlitz PUD, Montana Osprey Project, Osoyoos, Kent Island, Forsythe Ospreys, Wildlife Conserve of NJ, and Dahlgren Ospreys.
So Tiger Mozone sends me a message saying, ‘Your bird has been identified’. Yes, Blue KW0 has been identified. The news is exciting. Tim Mackrill found the information on the ring number and the history of the bird. He has asked that this be kept confidential so as to publish it on the Roy Dennis Wildlife blog. When that happens, I will give you all the information. What I will say is that we were correct. It is a Scottish bird that was blown off course last summer and found itself in Barbados. Thank you to everyone who helped in this discovery.
Wednesday was one of the most beautiful days on the Canadian Prairies so far. Blue sky, little wind, -3. The first Canada Goose arriving in our City has been spotted. Mallards are coming in. Spring really might be coming…but, I will not say that too loudly. We have been known to have blizzards in May.
Lewis loves to pose! Today he got to help with more spring cleaning. How much fur can accumulate in corners when there are two large kittens? When do they stop being kittens and become cats? Lewis also believes that any surface in the house, especially in the conservatory, is his.
It is always nice to wake up to a good news story. Thank you, ‘MB’. Another osprey was saved after being tethered to its nest with a monofilament line. Can you imagine how that would cut through their legs and toes? Remember. Call your nearest wildlife rehabilitation centre if you see a raptor (or other bird species) tangled in a fishing line. Don’t know who they are? Take a few minutes to find out and put that information in your phone so that you can call them quickly! It could save a life.
Congratulations to Angus and Florence who have their second egg at Captiva. 22 March 2023. Looks like it was around 11:13.
‘H’ reports that Rose is now doing approximately half of the daily feeds at the WRDC nest in Miami. She is gradually easing her way into being a confident mother. She is more patient and the prey items are better for the eaglets who can, now, eat bigger bites. Great news. Thanks, ‘H’.
Since last summer, I have received many letters wondering what happened to Malala, the Red-tailed Hawk raised by the Bald Eagles on Gabriola Island in British Columbia. I had a running list to respond to everyone on my old computer but sadly, that list went with the computer when it caught fire. So apologies. Here, however, is the news we have been waiting for. Yesterday I spotted a posting by the head of GROWLS, and in her list of items she addresses is Malala, who was seen with the Bald Eagle parents fishing and hunting. Terrific news.
It has been a tough time for GROWLS. They received donations for a new camera because of the attention paid to Junior and Malala. Then the property owners decided they did not want the camera on their land. People have that right, and I can only imagine the level of invasion they felt when the eagles adopting the RTH made the news. It is entirely understandable that they had enough. This has left GROWLS looking for another site. They cannot do anything until fall, so please have patience if you were one of the donors.
PA Farm Country has a second hatch on Tuesday.
The Salisbury Cathedral Peregrine Falcons now have three eggs. Way to go!
Speaking of falcons, news has come that Shasta, the mate of Sequoia, at San Jose City Hall did, indeed, have HPAI, when she died. I have changed this in the memorial wall. Thanks, ‘H’ for drawing my attention to the announcement.
I am also going to add Sequoia to the memorial board as MIA. Like Sue and Otto, the Syracuse University Red-tail Hawks, if one of a pair dies of HPAI, generally the second does, too. All we know is that Sequoia went missing after Shasta passed. Unless Sequoia is spotted and he does have a band, we might never know what happened. Hence, the MIA designation.
I have also decided to add Zoe to the memorial wall. We may never know what happened to the Port Lincoln first hatch and the only surviving osplet from the Port Lincoln barge 2022 season. Did she fly out to sea, get on a boat, and is in an exotic location? Did she land on a hydro pole and get electrocuted? Is she happily fishing? Without a transmission for some 2 months, we do not know. If she turns up, I will joyfully remove her.
Robert Wright took the following photo and posted it on Port Lincoln Ospreys. It is believed that it is Mum, Dad, and Ervie – yes, Ervie – in one of Ernie’s favourite trees waiting for the fish to run—an incredible image of the three of them. Great timing.
You can really see the change in the Duke Farms eaglets. They now have little dandelion Mohawks and a lot of dark thermal down on their bodies. They can now regulate their own temperatures but Mum and Dad will still brood them and keep them dry and warm if the weather turns.
So civilised. Will they band the pair? I will love to see if they are two little boys if they do DNA sampling.
Jackie and Shadow continue to come to the nest to have a meal and work on bringing in sticks despite the snow.
Even if they do not have a replacement clutch, Jackie and Shadow and their antics and behaviour towards one another will continue to melt our hearts as long as they are visiting the nest!
It was tough to gauge how much food Victor had today. Often Sally had her back to us, and you could not see any of the feedings. Still, both Abby and Victor had crops at various times of the day and nice long feedings. The osplets can now consume an entire fish without even thinking about it. They are in a period of great growth and change. Fewer feedings but more fish. It is an adjustment for everyone.
We can tell that both are progressing nicely and have been fed. Their eyes are clear and shiny and their plumage is developing as it should.
Our little E22 is coming into its own and as Lady Hawk says, he is having some revenge for all that previous beaking by 21!
E22 has been the bravest in terms of reaching higher branches. Let us just hope that he gets himself down in the nest so the GHO does not cause him to fledge early!
There is ‘branching’ at the Corona California GHO nest.
Pip, Tootsie, and Hoot cuddled up together in the nest.
Lou has joined a long line of fantastic male falcons that want to feed their eggs! Xavier and the male at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne come to mind.
We have covered the hatch days of the Kakapo so why not some of the California Condors?
We are getting closer and closer to the first egg at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell campus. Her earliest was the 13th of March, but the norm appears to be the week of the 23rd of March. Fingers crossed.
Big Red just after having breakfast on the nest. 22 March 2023
We all get excited about rare birds in our area – or, well, I get excited about the ordinary, everyday ones that return from migration. There are some birds – Alpine Swifts -getting folks in the UK really, really joyful!
A book of Elizabeth Gould’s drawings will be released in October 2023.
Some sad news is coming out of the Channel Islands. One of the eggs of Chase and Cholyn at Two Harbours was broken during a storm a day or so ago. The good news at Sauces Canyon is that egg 7 is still intact! Oh, let us all hope that egg is viable and Jak and Audacity have a little one to care for – they sure deserve it. Eight eggs! I have no idea how Audacity managed that. No word on Thunder or Akecheta, Andor or Cruz as their new nests do not have cameras. Best wishes to all of them.
There is, of course, so much news out there. Waiting for more arrivals of ospreys in the UK. Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care.
Thank you to the following for their notes, announcements, videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up the information in my blog today: ‘H’, ‘MB’, San Diego Humane Society, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, GROWLS and Pam McCartney, PA Farm Country Eagle Cam, Salisbury Cathedral Peregrine Falcons, San Jose City Hall Falcons, Bart Molenaar and Friends of Osprey, Robin Wright and PLO, Duke Farms, FOBBV, Moorings Park Ospreys, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Live Owl Cam, Julie Krizmanich and Raptors of the World, Ventana Wildlife Society, Cornell RTH, and The Guardian.
It was simply a gorgeous day in the Canadian Prairies. The temperature worked up to -1; there was a cloudy sky and little wind. It was a perfect day for a walk at the nature centre until….DG3 decided to go walkies in the nest and found itself over by the rim! Needless to say…I didn’t go out but, stayed home, baked cookies, read your lovely letters, and enjoyed the kittens.
We have been shifting furniture. A bit of spring cleaning. Not sure the dried hydrangeas will survive. When the kittens first arrived, they enjoyed tearing them apart and eating the pinecones I had collected on my walks. In the winter, I smear suet over them and put them in the lilac bushes. Let’s see if these hydrangeas last! Not counting on it.
Missy and Lewis used to fit together on top of their climbing tree. No longer.
Dyson was here today eating peanuts. So lovely to see her and the three babies from last year. Little Red was running on the hydro wires on the lane and the lilacs were filled with birds, including Mr and Mrs Woodpecker. Life is good. Each survived the winter including Little Red who had to find another home after the garden shed was torn down to make way for the conservatory.
The woodpeckers love the logs with the drilled holes filled with suet.
Michael St John and I continue to track Blue KW0 and its adventures getting to Barbados from Scotland. Hopefully, Tim at the Roy Dennis Foundation will discover the owner of that mysterious band and where and when this lovely osprey was ringed in Scotland. This morning Geemeff sent me a really good article on birds – all manner of birds – hitching rides on the big ships. Geemeff asks an important question: do they land on the boats out of choice or necessity?
Jackie and Shadow have far worse weather than I do. Glad Jackie isn’t buried under that snow. They continue to visit the nest and are seen mating on the tree.
The wind could not have been more perfect at the Southwest, Florida Eagle nest of M15 and the Es. E21 was on the rim of the nest, letting the breeze blow against its wings. E E22 was in the nest. Then E22 began to flap his enormous wings, and at 17:04:34, he branched. It was magnificent. E22 was 73 days old on Tuesday.
After making it to the spike, E22 explored other branches higher up. Our brave little one. Yahoo….22.
Poor 22 had another first yesterday. It got hit by the GHO while it was sitting on the rim of the nest. Thankfully 22 went into the nest and not over the side! Thanks, Heidi!
All three eggs have now hatched at Achieva Osprey in St Petersburg, Florida. The third was Tuesday, the 21 March around 10:00. The hatch dates for the three are March 18, 19, and 21 so there is only three days difference between one and three. Not bad. Jack and Diane will be particularly busy. Fingers crossed.
Moorings Park Osprey platform. Just look at Victor’s ‘ps’. Looks healthy! And he has a fat little bottom—time 0739, 21 March.
A considerable fish came to the nest at 10:48. It had its head and Sally worked away trying to get the flesh from the bones.
That time Sally took allowed Abby to get herself into a right state.
Victor and Abby are 19 days old today. You can still tell them apart by their heads but Abby is now bigger.
Abby remains aggressive. She demands to eat first. Victor, of course, doesn’t like it.
Victor goes into submission. Good lad. There is lots of fish left. Either Victor needs to wait or he needs to carefully move around to the other side of Sally.
You can see how Ally is working away at the head of that fish.
Victor is very hot. He has moved around the rim but Abby is keeping him at the side. Come on Abby! There is fish left and you have had lots.
Victor got up in the shade and Abby followed him.
At 12:02, Abby is in food coma. Victor is up in the shade of Sally and there is fish left. Come on Victor! Come on Sally. Now is the perfect chance.
Harry’s eyes remind me of Blue 33.
To the relief of all, Victor is eating!
Victor got some fish and Sally finished the tail at 12:34. That means that she fed Abby, Victor, and herself from 10:48-12:34. Remarkable.
Thank you, Sally, for shading the babies!
Of course, Victor does not know when to leave a good thing alone. He went on a ferocious attack on Abby. Victor, everything is fine. Leave Abby be! No revenge is necessary.
In Virginia, Martin and Rosa continue to do well with the three eaglets at Dulles-Greenaway.
I do not know about the weather but these little ones cannot regulate their temperature yet and the oldest has gotten out of the egg cup and over to the rim of the nest. It needs to get back! This happened around 11:00 on Tuesday.
The chick is still moving at 12:37.
The oldest was out of the nest cup for over 5 hours. At one point, Rosa went over to encourage it to get closer to the egg cup. It must be extremely hungry, and I hope it has not gotten a chill. And then, a miracle happened. All three are in the nest! Tears.
The female eagles are at a loss as to when this happens. Most will not help because they could harm the little one. You might remember that one of the Es got out of the nest cup this year, and Harriet did use her beak to roll it back under. That was a brilliant solution.
I cannot see DG3’s head in this image.
Then a few minutes later it is there and seemingly tired.
Now all three are back in the cup. Thank goodness.
DG3 feeling better a few hours later.
At 17:04, the trio were enjoying a meal.
I continue to have mixed feelings about Rose. Thankfully Ron is feeding the eaglets! Rose flew off early on Tuesday morning and Ron flew in and fed the little ones.
Rose returns and does a feeding. Did she bring the fish?
She’s gone again. Ron is looking after the little ones. No worries. Ron is really rather amazing and is having a wonderful time looking after his babies while Rose eases herself into motherhood.
‘H’ has sent me a note. Apparently Rose has done an amazing feeding of the eaglets. She is being patient and offering small pieces. It was 16:16. Thanks, ‘H’. I do hope that Rose gains more confidence. ‘H’ says there was no beaking and both left the meal with nice little crops that you can see in the image below.
Bravo, Rose!
The two eaglets at Duke Farms are older than those at Dulles-Greenway and WRDC. They hatched on the 27-28th of February and are 23 and 24 days old. Their thermal down is coming in and Mum and Dad do not brood them all day long.
They also have enormous crops. It is a wonder they can sit! or move.
The Latvian White-tail Eagles, Milda and Voldis, continue to incubate their eggs. Gosh, these are beautiful eagles.
Arthur and Big Red continue to work on their nest. It seems that Arthur is very much aware of the construction across Tower Road. Let us all hope that this does not cause issues for this Red-tail Hawk couple on the Cornell campus this year.
Meanwhile in Mlade-Buky, The Czech Republic, everyone is awaiting the return of White Storks, Bukachek and Betty.
Checking on Karl II and his family. Waba continues to forage in Sudan. There was a hiccup on the tracker, but it shows that Kaia is on the move north from Chad. Precisely where is unknown. Everyone feels that Karl II should be arriving in Estonia at any time but there is no tracking news. We wait.
How long does a Bald Eagle live when it is cared for? fed? Mrs B was at least 49 years old when she passed. Wow.
Flaco, the escaped Eurasian Owl from the New York City Zoo, thrives in Central Park. Check out the latest on Falco and other NYC urban hawks with Robert at urbanhawks.com
In Canada, especially in some of the most beautiful parts of our country, the developers are taking over land traditionally supporting Bald Eagles. Dave Hancock and his foundation are working diligently to replace nests in trees lost to developments, including parking lots! I have mentioned it before, but it is worth pointing out again in case you missed it, Dave is including a sunscreen because of the rising summer temperature in the lower mainland of British Columbia.
The geese are taking over some unused Bald Eagle nests in Iowa. This one in Decorah had goslings jumping last year to our delight. Now there are eggs again this year! Bravo.
Red Tide has come to the coast of the Barrier Islands in Florida. So what is Red Tide? NOAA says, “Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae—plant-like organisms that live in the sea and freshwater—grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. While many people call these blooms ‘red tides,’ scientists prefer the term harmful algal bloom. One of the best known HABs in the nation occurs nearly every summer along Florida’s Gulf Coast. This bloom, like many HABs, is caused by microscopic algae that produce toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. The toxins may also make the surrounding air difficult to breathe. As the name suggests, the bloom of algae often turns the water red.” In fact, not all of the waters are red but, this can be very deadly as you can see form the Plover below in the care of CROW.
How will this impact our eagles and Ospreys?
If you are watching the Loch of the Lowes nest and are confused because you cannot see the Blue Darvic ring for Blue NC0, it appears it has split and come off. I cannot emphasise how important these rings are in identifying the birds. The recent mystery surrounding Blue KW0 would not even exist without that ring!
Maya and Blue 33 continue to reacquaint themselves after their return to Rutland after their winter migration.
The Scottish Government is trying to come to grips with the illegal killing of the raptors because of the grouse-hunting community. They have now implemented a grouse shooting licensing bill. It is a first step. Still, the legal system must deal with those who defy the laws allowing gamekeepers to get off with little or no penalties for horrible crimes against these amazing birds, such as stomping on five Goshawk chicks in the nest!
I want also to introduce you to a lovely Ukrainian tradition today. One of my former students from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, CD, teaches at a university in northern Manitoba. She posted that March 22 is the Day of the Forty Martyrs. Her baba (grandmother) would make bread (pasta) covered with little dough birds. Of course, I saw the post and thought how interesting. Here is the story from the Ukrainian Cultural Centre:
The importance of this day, which comes immediately after the spring equinox, pre-dates Christianity in Ukraine. According to folklorist Olexa Woropay, on this day the magpie puts forty twigs in its nest and forty larks migrate from south to north. Bird-shaped buns called zhaivoronky were baked – forty of them, of course – and were given to children so that the poultry breed well. Some traditions report the children playing with the forty bird-shaped buns, tossing them into the air to invite all the birds to return from their winter migrations.
What a marvellous tradition! Guess who is baking paska today?
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care all. Remember to get outside, even for a few minutes if you can! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, announcements, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, ‘H’, ‘CD’, Hakai Magazine, FOBBV, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Heidi Mc and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, Dulles-Greenaway, WRDC, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cornell RTH, Blade Buky, Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams and News, Urban Hawks, Hancock Wildlife, L Rose and Decorah Eagles Love Nest, Diane Lambertson Captiva Island Eagles and Ospreys, LOTL, LRWT, Raptor Persecution UK, and the Ukrainian Cultural Centre.
If you live in the United Kingdom, Happy Mother’s Day! And what a fantastic day it is with Maya landing on the nest. Blue 25 is there, and our guilty male, Blue 33, comes in with a fish! Thanks, Geemeff, for the head’s up!
Look at Blue 33’s eyes – like, oh gosh, what do I do now? Too funny. Go home, Blue 25. You just wanted free fish anyway!!!!!!! This is such a relief!
Oh, you can almost ‘smell’ spring on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting, and we have reached the balmy temperature of -5 C. Incredible. the Pileated Woodpecker has decided the garden is a good breakfast stop, and I must remember to fill up the suet logs for him. The Sparrows are singing and one Blue Jay has returned. Meanwhile, the Chickadees are busy in a tree in the front where I cannot see them. Are they making a nest?
Lewis has loved watching the squirrels and birds out the garden door! So happy he enjoys looking outside and not getting into mischief 24/7. He has only been inside the fridge twice now, and I have discovered that the loose tea packets sound like cat treats. I could not imagine what was making him so crazy. Of course, then he just had to have some treats. LOL. Thankfully he runs it all off during the day and night. Meanwhile, Missy lets Lewis get into trouble. She waits til the middle of the night for her turn when no one is looking!
After all the running around watching the birds and squirrels from room to room, Lewis is exhausted! Guess who takes up the entire big dog bed? and who has to sleep in the little basket?
The first hatch of the 2023 season for Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Platform in St Petersburg, Florida came Saturday morning! 10:22:21 seems to be about the time. These are Tiny Tot Tumbles parents and there are two more eggs to hatch. Congratulations to everyone at Achieva.
Jack looks down at his new baby – proud dad.
M15 seemed to be entered into some speed fishing derby this morning. He brought four fish to the nest for the Es, nice size fish, from 0927-12:54. I stopped watching after that, knowing that the pair were good to go for another 48 hours if necessary! M15 didn’t stop with those four deliveries, he kept on going! Are you trying to impress the new lady, M15, like you have impressed us this year?
So many fish and birds were landing on the nest today that 22 was eating one and had a spare! And 21 was so full he didn’t want it. My last count of deliveries was six.
At 17:54, M15 came down from his branch and fed the eaglets the bird that he had brought. Talk about sweet.
Lady Hawk gives us some close ups of the female and in the background you can hear E22 squeeing very loudly – if he didn’t we would think something was wrong, right? Gosh, I am going to miss that sound!
M15 has already brought in food to the Es on Sunday morning as I prepare to publish this blog. Amazing Dad and Mum.
We all love Indigo. We also know that Diamond and Xavier do, too. Alas, they are trying hard to suggest to Indigo that he is now old enough to strike out and find his territory, and it isn’t their scrape box! Poor Indigo. Oh, this reminds me of life with Izzi!!!!
Cute little Xavier. He will let Diamond take care of Indigo!
If you have been watching the Moorings Park Osprey platform, the beaking is sometimes very difficult. Abby is quite the aggressive young lady when she wants to be, and she signals to Victor she is the boss. You need to watch the feedings because Victor is getting fed. That is what we want to see. Victor eating. And he is!
The key is for the one being beaked and being submissive to never look the dominant chick in the eye. It seems to set them off. The feedings below were at 11:26 and 14:21.
The dominant chick needs to be reassured that they will get food. The younger ones learn, if necessary, to give in to that and wait their turn. Abby now has a darker, blacker head.
Victor does not always get fed at every meal. The key is that he is eating and this phase should pass. There is plenty of food and both Harry and Sally are good parents. It is part of growing up on an osprey nest. At the 1654 feeding, Victor was in an awkward position. I presume he wanted to stay out of Abby’s way. He did get some fish.
That is Victor up at Sally’s beak. He is getting some bites of the fish before Abby attacks. She is being extremely aggressive despite there being enough fish for both. Let us hope that Abby goes into food coma and Victor gets some more.
Abby leaves the feed with a nice crop and Victor wants Sally to keep feeding. Where is the fish, Mum?
Victor is fish-calling. There is nothing left. What we need, is for Harry to fly to the nest with another great big fish for the last meal. Fill Abby up, and then Victor can have a good old feed. That is what he needs.
The one thing I like about eagles is that they leave prey on the nest for the Mum to feed the babies. Ospreys do not do that. They do not leave anything that will attract predators or insects. So Sally and the chicks are heavily reliant on Harry for prompt deliveries. Any break in the pattern will set the dominant chick off into survival mode where they worry that food is in short supply.
These images are from an earlier feed in the afternoon.
If you were watching the Moorings, Harry came in right on time with a nice chunk of fish. It was 19:12. Abby was still full and Victor was right up at the table! Victor is the one that is lighter and with the more copper head.
Victor is still getting fed at 1937 – so a 25-minute dinner. Note that Abby is in a food coma and does not care what is happening. This is how you keep a nest from falling into siblicide. Good management of deliveries when things get ticklish. Over the years, I have seen the female remove fish from the nest and return with it to feed the little one once the dominant pass out. (A good example was Blue35 at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria 2 years ago).
Victor is still fed at 19:45. Abby is now at the table. No worries for our little one tonight. He just ate a huge amount of fish!!!!!!!!!!! Throughout, Victor continued to do crop drops to hold more food. Smart.
Even with Abby there, Victor has not backed down and continues to be fed. This is all good. It is 19:48. There is also a lot of fish left. Thanks, Harry!
R4 and R5 each had nice crops when I checked in on a late-feeding Saturday. Rose is getting there. Just have patience. There is plenty of food for these two, and she has Ron as a backup as she learns her new role.
Ron giving them an early morning feed.
Rose feeding in the afternoon.
Evening meal compliments of Dad, Ron. I did not see one of the eaglets eat. Full from an earlier meal? Issues? We would expect both to have their beaks up. It has been difficult to see how much prey the little ones get on the one camera as the adult’s back is to us, blocking the view.
Jackie and Shadow are still taunting us with the thoughts of a replacement clutch. Jackie was in the nest bowl yesterday and both were at Big Bear again today. We wait.
Jackie wasn’t the only one to check out the egg bowl. Shadow joined in the action, too. Now we need something to fill that ‘egg’ cup!
At the nest of Martin and Rosa at Dulles-Greenway, the third hatch was underway Saturday night as the sun was setting. Last year they raised a single super-eaglet. This year the pair are going to be triply busy!
Worried about the two eaglets at Duke Farms? Don’t. They are both doing fantastic.
Sometimes you get lucky, and today was one of those days. Tico and Pearl were up on their nest at Superbeaks, getting fed by Muhlady! They are doing precisely what eaglets are supposed to do. Remember this. When they fledge, they should return to the nest where the parents feed them while they, the eaglets, get their flying and hunting skills perfected. This can be a month or a little longer.
Connick is no longer ‘little Connick’. Clive and Connie continue to sit on the branches on the natal nest showing Connick where he will branch.
At the nest of Trey, KNF-E1, the GHO attacked all night! Poor little eaglet. Listen and watch how well Trey protects itself.
Oh, how I miss seeing the action at the nest of Thunder and Akecheta. What a blessing it is that they come to the old cliffs and nest so that we can see they are alright. Both eaglets were there on and off today, early morning and at dusk.
What an amazing eagle. I would love to see you with those little ones this year, Akecheta. You were incredible with the trio last year!
As we all know, it has been a turbulent season at the Centreport Bald Eagle nest on Long Island. Dad is no longer with us and there were a number of suitors vying for Mum and the nest. There was even a death spiral between two of then – D4 and D5. Neither died. The winner appears to be D3! Now, it looks like there is an egg.
Why is Mum not incubating the egg 24/7? It is called delayed incubation. This helps all eggs laid to hatch closer together and ultimately helps stop siblicide on nests!
A visitor was at the nest of Gabby and V3 in St Petersburg, Florida. An Osprey! According to Gracie Shepherd, this osprey is a regular visit to this nest. His name is Bogey, and he is waiting for his mate, Bacall. Someone liked the movies that named these two! Time 16:57.
Big Red and Arthur have been mating and continue to work on their nest on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. L4, the feisty little hatch from 2022, remains in or near the territory of her parents. They have tried to suggest she move but it looks like L4 is staying put.
The storks are back in Germany. These storks are in Chemnitz-Wittgensdorf and have their nest on an old industrial factory’s chimney. The nest is approximately 28 m off the ground. Here is the link to their camera which is part of a research project with the Saxon State Foundation for Nature and the Environment (LANU Sachsen).
BirdLife International does not want us to give up. Their scientists want us to understand that there are conservation efforts that are being rewarded. The following articles remind us of this, “For example, in 2005, the Azores Bullfinch was Europe’s most threatened bird, with a population of just 40 pairs. SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) helped to restore its native laurel forests, and it now numbers more than 1,000 individuals. On the other side of the globe, the Tahiti Monarch is recovering from just 19 birds through the hard work of SOP Manu (BirdLife in French Polynesia), who have managed to control not one, but nine invasive species.” We have to get out there and do what is necessary. What is good for our birds is also good for us! and our planet.
Migration is so dangerous. It is so hard to imagine the distance travelled in such a short time and the challenges that all the birds face. The other day the news carried a photograph of a kestrel that had flown from the southernmost part of Africa up to Northern Europe. Incredible. I am starting to use the other maps available to track the Black Storks of the Karula National Forest in Estonia as well as following the news on Looduskalender.
Still no news from Kaia or Bonus.
Remember to do what you can to protect their habitat, to save them from rodenticides, fly traps, song bird traps, shootings, monofilament line, lead ammunition and fishing gear, galvanised items, and the more than other 4o or more things that impede their lives.
We will be watching many places for a hatch, but Bella and Smitty at the NCTC nest – who have been fending off intruders – should have a pip on the 22nd of March. Getting ready for pip watch with Liberty and Guardian at Redding, too.
There continues to be no transmission from Zoe.
Thank you so much for being with me today and to those who wrote in hoping to help find out who banded Blue KW0. It is a considerable mystery with no records in Scotland, Canada or the US, but we hope to locate a bander in the Caribbean who did. Keep your fingers crossed. I will let you know if we are lucky! Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, announcements, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Geemeff, Geemeff and LRWT, Achieva Credit Union, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Moorings Park Ospreys, WRDC, FOBBV, Dulles-Greenway, Window to Wildlife, Tonya in NO, IWS and Explore.org, Lisa Schwartz and the Bald Eagles of Centreport, NY, NEFL-AEF, Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, LANU Sachsen, BirdLife International, Looduskalender Forum, and FORE.
Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish friends. Growing up, I was always told that the paternal part of my father’s family was from Scotland. No way. They were from Donegal and Cork!
There is so much happening in Bird World that I am having difficulty keeping up this morning. Eagle eggs pipping, hatching, eaglets branching (yeah, 21), and ospreys arriving in the UK as they all got on the Eurostar together! Even so, the kittens would feel entirely left out if I didn’t include some pictures. They enjoyed and were spoiled by the young ladies looking after them while I was away. It also seemed that they were as delighted to see me! Lewis decided to help put things in the fridge – yes, he did get in there – and also helped block the cashmere sweaters. That is a tip if you come to Canada during the winter – a cashmere turtle neck will be your best friend! Or other real wool clothing. Makes all the difference.
Lewis is the smallest, but he can take over the entire dog bed! Missy is too nice to him.
I have not watched the SW Florida nest much today – just on and off. I know the prey deliveries vary by day. Both eaglets continue to do fine as they approach their 11th week, and 21 branched on the spike. They had both been working on breakfast Dad had brought in, and 21 jumped up and down. Is this a real official branch up to the tree? Well, maybe not. If so, that won’t be long!
This is a compilation video from the 5th of March – so 12 days ago. It is lovely, and I thought it would inspire the rest of our Friday—beautiful images from one of the on-ground photographers in the area. It gives us an entirely different sense of what is happening. M15 is magnificent. Thank you to The Real Saunders Photography!
For awhile it was in doubt but R5 made it into the world when Dad, Ron, was on the nest. I cannot wait to see Rose’s face when she returns and finds two babies in the nest needing her attention instead of that pesky R4. Oh, R5 you are going to have to be strong little one.
Ron got up from brooding so that R5 could break free.
Well, R4. You are a spunky little character. Poor R5.
It seems that R5 is pretty strong, too. It was up hoping to get some fish after its feathers had dried off! My goodness. Ron and Rose make healthy robust eaglets!
Ron has been doing a fantastic job feeding R4, and he will undoubtedly be of great help with R5. Rose continues to give big pieces and, well, as ‘A’ notes, she loves her fish. Fingers crossed for this new Mum as she navigates two growing babies demanding food!
I do hope, as ‘A’ mentioned this morning, that Rose will stay on the nest more and let Ron out so that he can fish and hunt and protect the territory.
There are now two eaglets at the Dulles-Greenaway nest! Congratulations Martin and Rosa!
The beaking is still going strong on the Moorings Osprey nest. Harry continues to bring the food in, and I hold my breath every time I see the oldest one go after the youngest.
Will be happy when this period of their lives evaporates! There had been little beaking at meal times, but, it appears this has begun, and Abby is being very dominant. So far Sally has fed them both – so, go for it Sally. Give those 8 or 9 feedings with one an hour long. Fledge two!
So far, there have been five feedings on the 16th of March: 12:26; 02:34 (yes 2 in the night), 0803; 10:43, and an hour-long marathon at 13:14. I caught another feeding at 15:51 and another at 19:19, and I am presuming that there were others that I missed. The osplets, Abby and Victor, are getting plenty of food.
Oh, these two are changing so much. Nothing appears soft and cuddly anymore. The dark eye line has given away to almost spooky white goggles, and bald heads with black and copper coming through. Abby and Victor hatched on the 3rd of March. Today they are two weeks old!
Sally is a very relaxed and observant Mum. A piece of nesting material, a strip of bark, had covered Abby’s head. Sally casually went over and lifted it off with her beak and put it to the side. Well done, Sally!
Blue 33 was on the nest at Manton Bay working hard after eating his fish. Oh, he wants Maya to arrive! What a cute couple they are. Tradition has it that they will sleep together in the nest duckling style! It is beginning to rain and it is 1832. Blue is there hoping his gal will arrive.
Well, Geemeff writes this morning that there is a soap opera brewing at the Manton Bay nest. Remember the female that arrived first? Blue 25? Well, she is making a play for Blue 33 and he is falling for it (for the moment!). Geemeff warns us that Blue 33 has landed on Blue 25’s back a couple of times and there could have even been a successful mating at 13:21. Oh, and gosh, there is sky dancing heard off camera!!!!!!!!!! Maya will eat Blue 25 for breakfast if she catches her at that nest.
Oh, Blue! Did you happen to check that band number? Blue 25, go home!
Laddie and Blue NC0 have both arrived at LOTL on the same day! It looks like Blue NC0 arrived first.
Getting acquainted again.
The female has arrived at the Cromer Peregrine scrape!
My eyes have been on Jackie and Shadow on Thursday. They were at the nest early, working and they returned after 1900 to do some more nesting. Will there be a replacement clutch? Gosh, it is beginning to seem a little more of a possibility. We wait….birdwatching requires a lot of patience and a lot of waiting, no matter what species and what circumstance.
Look at that crop! Someone had a good breakfast!
During the evening restorations, Jackie even tested out the nest bowl. Are these two teasing us? I hope for a miracle – a replacement clutch and a single healthy hatch, just like Spirit last year!
At the Berry College Eagle Nest, B16 is 55 days old today. He is a little more than two weeks younger than the Es. As the apple of Pa and Missy Berry’s eye, B16 is – well, can I say it? A nice-sized young lady! Beautiful eaglet and doing so very well. LOL. The gender is just my guess based on the size of B16.
As the sun sets over Captiva, Connick is growing and flapping his wings. Just like 21, he is getting some air under there but, he still loves to be fed by Mum, Connie, or Dad, Clive.
Take a look at those great tail feathers. Such a gorgeous eaglet.
Today, Mum and D3 defended their nest at Centreport, New York. Six eagles! Six. Could you talk about intruders?
At the new National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus, BOGS have seen evidence that Lotus is feeding an eaglet!
Gosh, so many eaglets at so many stages of development. Ringo, at the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest, is getting some air under his wings.
Do you know the Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki?
For many decades there have been actions in our most western province, British Columbia, to protect the old growth forests. Today, I found a site on the Internet that has discussions/presentations with Suzuki and one of those is ‘The War of the Woods’. I thought you might enjoy it and some of the other topics listed. Last year, David Hancock reported that the British Columbia government approved the cutting down of 141 Bald Eagle nests in the area where the Site-C hydro dam is to be built. British Columbia is home to North America’s largest population of Bald Eagles. Any logging harms wildlife! And also helps to create the atmospheric rivers that have so devastated the region in the past couple of years. Christian Sasse and David Hancock had an on line discussion about these issues. I will check and see if I can find that for the weekend.
I will have to get my running shoes on today even to attempt to keep up with a few of these nests! Thank you so much for being with me today. Let us all send wishes for a tailwind for Maya, so she arrives safely home and boots 25 off to her nest! Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, The Real Saunders Photography and SW Florida Eagle Cam FB, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, FOBBV, Berry College, Window to Wildlife, Centreport Bald Eagles, AEF-NADC, Paul White and Webster Texas Bald Eagle Cam, and the CBC.
