Tag Archives: Fortis Exshaw

Saturday in Bird World

14 September 2024

Hello Everyone,

The weather is still warm and will continue to be. The air was heavy Friday morning. We headed out to the nature centre to see how many geese were on the lake and check on the Mallard family with the two small ducklings. The sky was black, and it looked like rain could start any minute. In the forest, we could hear the Black-capped Chickadees and the American Goldfinch. The Goldfinches migrate, but the Chickadees stay all winter!

We found the Mallard family, but we could only see one duckling. I hope the other one was hiding in the reeds. The tiny duckling has grown but is still not large enough to migrate. Our weather is supposed to stay warm through October, so it should be fine to take off then.

At the hide, a female Downy Woodpecker was at the peanut feeder while another Mallard looked for seed in the grasses. Honking was constant overhead as the winds grew stronger, and the dark clouds gathered.

Even with the impending rain, it was a good morning to be outside for a walk. Always makes our day!

I was just so happy to see Annie! Annie is loafing!!!!!! Oh, it is so good to see you, Annie. https://youtu.be/3Vcnr3Fg9yU?

In Bird World, Hartley and Monty are back at the scrape in San Jose, too!

https://youtu.be/bg-SeoBSjDc?

Please tell everyone to please store their sports nets (of any kind) but especially soccer when they are not in use. Look what happened to this owl!

West Nile Virus killed the only surviving, of two, hawlets of Big Red and Arthur this year. It is also having an impact on all of our feathered friends including ospreys.

What is West Nile Virus and how is it impacting birds? Sadly, the most common in Canada are my beloved Crows and Blue Jays.

West Nile and Dead Birds | West Nile Virus | CDCDownload

“As of September 2003, West Nile Virus has been identified in 11 Page 2 species of native owls, 4 species of falcons, and 15 native species of diurnal raptors, including osprey, vultures, and bald and golden eagles.”

This document from the Cascade Raptor Centre is particularly good:

West-Nile-virusDownload

Heidi reports that Harvie and the two juveniles at Fortis Exshaw Canmore Osprey Platform are still home. You can see the wildfire smoke spreading through the valley behind the nest. Yesterday, Heidi saw five fish delivered in a short period of time to the fledglings at the nest after a period of rain.

Heidi checked on Fenwick Island and Johnny is still bringing Fen fish.

At the Hellgate Canyon nest, Antali had a very late night fish. I can’t rewind but he is holding it at 22:46 and is till eating in the wee hours of the morning. Antali has an enormous crop. It seems Finnegan wants to fill his fledgling up and hopefully get him on his way south.

Antali’s crop was still huge at 0741 when he was fish-calling. No delivery. Antali flew off after Dad (or so it would seem).

Finn sits on the nest with a lunch fish looking around and Antali comes flying in! He is not going to miss that fish dinner.

Finnegan takes good care of his boy. Another headless fish is delivered at 1644. Antalia has not had a sunken crop all day!

Now I love geese and on my ‘Bucket List’ has been a trip to see the Pinkfooted Geese that breed in Iceland and Greenland and then travel with their fledglings to the UK to winter arriving sometime after September 1. In the 1880s, the birds did not come to the UK til the last week of October. Now, to the astonishment of all, a pair of Pink-footed Geese have bred in Lancashire!

The concern was with climate change and the melting tundra that the Pinkfoots might not migrate to the UK. So this is very interesting.

Look at the image below. The heads are the colour of a cafe lait. This dark to medium brown head fades into a boey that is blue grey. The lowest part of the neck is pink! The goose has fluffy white underparts. The legs are, of course, pink matching the lower neck which gives these geese their name.

The female lays a clutch of 3-5 eggs. It takes 26 or 27 days for the wee ones to hatch. At that moment, both the male and the female will lead the clutch to wetlands to feed. In Iceland, they also eat crowberries, which makes their ‘ps’ pink!!!!! Their main enemies in Iceland are foxes and gyrfalcons.

“Pink-footed Geese” by naturalengland is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Pink-footed Goose pair breeds in Lancashire – BirdGuidesDownload

Some absolutely gorgeous closeups on this video by Cornell Bird Labs of the Royal Albatross chick. https://youtu.be/PsUNmjyrOFU?

The area of Shadow and Jackie’s nest is under voluntary evacuation for the Line Fire that is scorching parts of San Bernadino County. Shadow was spotted at the Snag and Roost Tree despite the wind and smoke by Eagle22 on the 12th of September. https://youtu.be/VNOQ7VrBTXc?

They say Jackie and Shadow are safe from the Line Fire (as of 9 September).

Are eagles Jackie and Shadow safe amid California fires? | Raleigh News & ObserverDownload

Connie Dennis reports that Oscar is still feeding Skylor at the Russell Lake nest in Nova Scotia. So no migration other than Mum, Ethel, so far.

Skylor you crack me up!

Dad is still providing fish at Niagara Bee.

Charlie is still supplying fish to C16 at Charlo. Interesting that it is the males staying behind at the nest and having Dad fish and fish and fish!

No love is lost at the Newfoundland nest of Hope and Beaumont between fledglings when a much-desired fish dinner arrives at the nest. That was the only delivery I saw at the nest – fish could be provided elsewhere, I do not know.

Juveniles in Latvia fight over dinner! https://youtu.be/eh85H6lpaW8?

A juvenile at the Kurzeme Osprey nest in Latvia gets a goldfish dinner. https://youtu.be/E-Bm_C8mv4E?

There was an odd break in the transmission from Sandpoint. Keke is still delivering fish. River was on the perch and then mysteriously on the nest with a nice fish. It was the camera. River is not catching fish – as far as I know, none of the males at these nests are getting their own food. Gorgeous wingspan on this fledgling.

At Orange, a Willy Wagtail comes to visit Diamond.

https://youtu.be/fl7TSd-6KiU?

Incubation continues at 367 Collins Street.

Still no breakfast at the Olympic Sea Eagle nest by 1130. Lady found a few scraps in the nest.

Do you love seabirds and Puffins? Dani Connor Wild has some amazing images in her recent video. https://youtu.be/IJi4vnEk1do?

Calico’s Tip for the Day: When the sisal on the scratch post cylinders is ragged, and you are ready to toss the entire thing in the garbage, don’t. First, could you check your online retailers for replacement sisal disks? They are about half the price of a replacement post where I live. The package we ordered also contained new hardware and an Allen key. Calico knows that I am the least ‘handy person’ in the neighbourhood, so if I can do this, so can you!

The Girls had really scratched up that sisal!

New cylinders to compare. Note the small bag with the hardware and Allen Key. We used our handy dandy cat fur remover and tried to get the old scratch post in near new condition.

What do you think? You can see that we got it all finished. Make sure that the Allen Key has everything secure. Gosh, I even amazed Calico and she gave the new sisal cylinders her Golden Paw Award – because they had a small bag of hardware with the Allen Key so I didn’t have to go rummaging around trying to find one!

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourselves. We hope to have you with us soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, notes, comments, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: SK Hideaways, Farmer’s Way, Diana Lambertson and The Joy of Ospreys, the CDC West Nile Virus, Cascade Raptor Centre, Fortis Exshaw Canmore, Heidi McGrue and The Joy of Ospreys, Montana Osprey Project, Openverse, BirdGuides, Cornell Bird Lab, Eagle 22, News & Observer, Connie Dennis and Ospreys of Nova Scotia, Pam Breci and The Joy of Ospreys, Charlo Montana, Newfoundland Power, Sandpoint Ospreys, Liznm, Holly Parsons, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac,

Wednesday in Bird World

21 August 2024

Good Morning,

It is actually Tuesday afternoon, late afternoon, that I am beginning to write the post for tomorrow. The sounds of the Blue Jays squawking at something are overlaid with the sound of a jet aeroplane flying overhead. It was a hot day today. 29 C. Sweltering at the nature centre. A few songbirds were out getting seed at the feeders, and some ducks were sitting under one eating dropped seed, but not much more. Only a few humans were venturing out at 1400 these days! We are all idiots likely to get heat stroke! Thank goodness for the small shade gardens scattered about with benches. These have been growing to accommodate the increasing summer heat and the need for people to stop and take a breath.

The ducks are having a wonderful time searching for seed under one of the feeders near the hide. They knew I was there and cared little. Humans are no threat to the wildlife in the centre. Thank goodness there is a safe place for them.

There is a group of volunteers that care for the garden areas. They have recently finished a couple of small ponds with koi and turtles. The sound of the water is so relaxing.

A second pond.

Looks like a grebe to me!

An American Goldfinch and a Black-capped Chickadee.

There is very little news in Bird World. The revelation that Laddie died a natural death while very sad, is a tremendous relief to everyone. The thought of an individual or individuals purposefully killing this beloved osprey at Loch of the Lowes was simply unthinkable.

A few sites continue to post some of the highlights from the season. Just look at the snow at Clywedog!

There are rumours that F23, the mate of M15 at Southwest Florida, has been seen at the nest on Tuesday.

He is one of my favourite dads in the UK, and his mate Blue 35 ranks right up there, too. She is the one who creatively fed Tiny Little several years ago – the tiniest third hatch I had seen in years compared to the big siblings already in reptile plumage. Tiny Little became the dominant bird in the nest and was called Blue 464. White YW stayed late and fed her. I have seen no sightings, but I hope she has survived.

Our friend Geemeff that supplies the summaries for Loch Arkaig loves polar bears. I hope to travel up to the Arctic with them to see these beautiful creatures but, in Manitoba, you are having to travel greater distances. The bears that come into the town because they are starving to death get little respect. It is the three strikes law. After three visits, they are shot. Of course, the ice and the seals they rely on are few these days. It isn’t about birds but I am including this article because Geemeff loves those beautiful bears so much.

“The fatal encounter and sightings in unusual locations foreshadow what experts say is a looming clash between polar bears and northern communities as climate change upends the habitat and food sources of the apex predator.” “Across the region, sea ice will play a critical role in polar bears’ future prospects, including where they are spotted and how well-fed they are. Some populations faced near-record-low ice cover this summer, while other bears like the western Hudson Bay population had “excellent” ice coverage. But even extensive ice cover isn’t enough: across swaths of the bay, the ice was thick but lacked ridges and snow cover, meaning it was a poor breeding site for ringed seals, a top polar bear prey. Shifts in seal populations will put immense pressure on bears to find enough food.”

They are starving. I wonder what humans do when they are starving and their children are starving?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/20/polar-bears-climate-change-human-encounters?CMP=share_btn_url

Royal Albatross Chick is spreading those big wings and it is only the 20th of August!

‘A’ remarks: “The Cornell footage of our TF testing his wings is impressive. What a wingspan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzeozQW_SM&list=TLPQMjEwODIwMjQgpA2JbubKqA&index=5 Isn’t that magnificent? I am unsure whether that is TF or TFT. If it is TF, he has far more fluff left on him than I thought from last week’s shots, when there appeared to be very little left on his wings and back. And he should have lost more since those pictures, so this chick appears to have quite a lot to still get rid of. “

‘MB” sent us a great article about the growing White Stork colony at Knepp Farm. It is on my bucket list!

Young Storks Begin New Life at Knepp – KneppDownload

There is still activity at the Hellgate Canyon nest of Iris and Finnegan.

Geemeff sends her daily report for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Tuesday 20th August 2024

Nothing to say, not one visitor big or small on the nests today. Affric and Prince are perhaps still around looking after their fledgling on the Bunarkaig nest as the male and chick were seen there as recently as Sunday 18th, but Bird Guides reports more and more sightings of Ospreys on the move and we wish all of them a safe migration journey and hope to see the adults back next year. The wet and windy weather certainly makes migrating now the best option, for Scottish Ospreys anyway.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.41.41 (05.08.00); Nest Two 21.36.44 (05.13.09)

Today’s videos: None!!

Bonus Highlands walk report including Loch Arkaig:

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=125825

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

The latest from Richmond and Rosie’s nest on top of the light stand in San Francisco:

‘H’ caught up with Fenwick Island:

Remember. Those Omega ships in the Bay are causing the ospreys to starve especially in the extreme heat periods. If you live in the US and feel strongly about this issue, please write your Senator!

There is growing concern that the area that Omega has been fishing has caused this – impacting jobs and tourism.

One of the things that keen observers of Canadian geese know is how loyal the mates are to one another. In one of the books at the farm animal sanctuary, there was a story of a couple. The female had a broken wing and could not fly. The male would walk, fly a short distance, and wait for his mate to catch up. The story of the swans in the post below reminded me of this kindness. How many of you remember the story of Arnold and Amelia? Two Canada Geese living at a pond on the grounds of a wildlife rehab centre in the NE US? Arnold had his foot attacked by a snapping turtle and required care. Amelia waited on the porch of the clinic, looking in. Eventually, they were allowed to eat together and then be together as Arnold improved. It was beautiful – sheer devotion.

Beaumont and Hope’s second hatch has been doing a lot of hovering. It will be flying with the rest of the family soon.

Four at home at Dyfi – still not seeing Senni.

Remembering SW Florida’s beautiful season.

Nine fish were delivered to the Muonion nest in Finland on the 20th of August! NINE. Everyone was seen.

Altyn and Nova’s fledglings at the Imperial Eagle nest in RU.

For those of you that remember the agonising death of Golden Eagle Spilve’s chick, Klints, I am happy to say that Spilvie and her new mate are at the nest in Latvia doing some restorations.

Thunder and Akecheta at the West End nest in the Channel Islands on Tuesday. Cholyn, Thunder’s Mum and mate to Chase, was seen at the Two Harbours nest a few days ago.

The USK Valley in Wales has a new streaming cam for ospreys! Congratulations.

View the birds — Usk Valley OspreysDownload

We have something a wee different from a reader. I want to add that every living creature is impacted when humans use poisons.

‘MP’ writes: “I thought I’d send a little something different. Like the rodenticide to Raptors, insecticides have done the same to the hog-nosed skunk. Skunks don’t ask for anything other than to just be left alone. Insecticides have done in many insects which is what the hog-nosed skunk feeds on and the insecticide that killed the insects too kills the skunk who eats the insect. This species of skunk is hard to find now in Texas where it was plentiful once. 

image.png

Hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus mesoleucus) are about the same size as striped skunks but have some differences in appearance. They have a long, hairless nose pad and come equipped with long claws and powerful front legs that are good for digging. They typically have a single broad, white stripe that starts at the head and extends down the back to the end of the tail. Their diet consists mostly of insects. Hog-nosed skunks are found in the western parts of the state. A subspecies from the Big Thicket of East Texas is thought to be extinct. Alternate name: rooter skunk. Texas Parks and Wildlife.”

‘A’ writes about the little sea eaglets: “Early breakfast at WBSE was lovely. Both chicks ate side by side, with mum offering them both bites and no bonking was observed. SE34 is noticeably smaller than SE33 but not fearful to eat today at all. He leaned forwards and even shuffled forwards a couple of steps at one stage to get closer to mum’s beak. SE33 did do better from the feeding but this was due to Lady favouring the older eaglet. 

Certainly, both had enough food at that meal, which ended when Dad turned up and shortly before 06:32 began that godawful cackling that the ranger’s report calls ‘duets’. There is nothing musical about them – they are a dreadful din, slightly reminiscent of a gaggle of backyard geese greeting a rain shower. Duet? I don’t think so. Anyway, participation in said duet distracted Lady from the job of feeding the eaglets. By 06:33 when it ended, the chicks had both dozed back off. 

Around 06:35 the littles again wake up and the feeding resumes. But Lady now has to stretch too far to reach SE34 so she feeds SE33. SE34 is looking interested, head up, and even tries to get a little closer to mum, who ignores him. Finally, at 06:37:41 Lady reaches the extra distance to SE34 and gives him a bite. And a second. She then resumes the easier option of feeding SE33. When SE33 refuses a bite at )6:38:10, Lady offers it to SE34, who takes it gratefully. Lady is now down to leftover scraps and is working hard to get edible pieces for the littles. 

She feeds the second half of a bite to SE34, but otherwise feeds SE33. SE34 gets a bite at 06:38:40. Again, Lady resumes feeding SE33. By 06:39:30, SE33 has decided it is still hungry and stands up to better reach the food. SE34 shuffles forward as well, but SE33 is now even closer to Lady and is now eagerly eating, so SE34 is not offered any food until 06:40:24, when Lady makes a real effort to reach SE34 with a bite. SE33 again shuffles forward. SE34 does the same but SE33 is much closer to mum, who resumes feeding SE33. 

By 06:41:20, SE34 is obviously trying to eat and each time SE33 gets a bite, SE34 watches and tries to get closer to mum. Lady eventually stretches to give him a bite just before 06:42. She then gives him a second bite, before cleaning his face and feeding what she removed to SE33. SE33 again sits up eagerly, moving forward, so gets offered the food. At 06:42:46, SE34 sits up tall, hoping mum will notice him, and she does. He gets a bite. SE33 considers, then rejects the idea of turning away from the table. 

Around 06:43 Lady is patiently feeding a bite to SE34 when SE33 leans in and steals the last piece from literally in front of SE34’s beak. Lady is only feeding SE33. The two are sitting up side by side looking cute as fluffy little buttons. At 06:45:28 Lady reaches to give SE34 a bite but then resumes feeding SE33. At 06:46 Lady makes a real effort to feed a bite to SE34. There has been no intimidation or bonking and no sign that SE34 is nervous or reluctant to eat. Both eaglets behave perfectly throughout the meal. 

Lady then takes the remaining carcass (bones mainly) off the nest, and the littles were then left alone for a long time. SE34 is determined to use SE33 as a pillow, then they switch positions, and eventually the two settle down into a cuddle puddle. There is obviously still some close parental supervision, as evidenced by a periodic cackle. The littles are sleeping. 

At 08:42 a parent visits the nest and checks the babies, scattering some dry leaves over them like a blanket. SE33 wakes up and what I believe to be Lady does some allopreening of her older hatch. SE33 sits up and turns around, revealing its large crop. Around 08:46 Lady heads up the perch branch. She flies off just before 09:23. The little pile of white fluff is already asleep again. 

These two seem to be doing okay, but SE33 is certainly dominating most of the feedings, largely because of Lady. I am not sure whether this is happening at all the feedings, and certainly SE34 did not appear intimidated when offered food at this feeding. Whenever Lady bothered to reach far enough, SE34 readily accepted the mouthful. There was no hesitation. He did look at his sibling a few times, but never in the eye. Nest etiquette was observed and as a result, there was no aggression and both were very civilised. This is what we want to see. “

‘H’ posts about the Fortis Exshaw nest – doing good!

Please lobby to get the lights turned out in your town or City. It is migration season. Billions die from collisions each year because the lights in our city’s tallest buildings are full on.

Global Bird RescueDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Hugo Yugo wants you to have the most marvellous day ever!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, MB, MP, PB’, George Green and The Clywedog Osprey Group, @Foulshaw Ospreys, The Guardian, Knepp Farm, Montana Osprey Project, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SF Bay Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Heidi McGrue, Menhaden – Little Fish, Big Deal, Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary, Newfoundland Power, The Real Saunders Photography, Saaksilvie, Liznm, IWS/Explore, USK Valley Ospreys, Wesley A. Brasheat, Global Bird Rescue, and Olympic Park Eagles.

Friday in Bird World

16 August 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Thursday turned out to be a great day for Bald Eagles, just when I thought that there were none to be seen until winter. The local chicken farms, which cover a large area of the Annapolis Valley, provide carrion for the eagles – all of them I am told as well as the other farmers. It made me smile. Not the chickens crunched up in tiny cages, but their lives do not go to waste when they die.

Eagles were soaring over the estuary and at Grand Pre National Monument, the site of the Evangeline memorial. I was walking through the gardens when I heard the distinct call of a juvenile, and I saw two adults flying overhead. Following the sound, I located the baby in a gorgeous pine tree by the potager (kitchen garden area). The minute the adults and a fledgling appeared, this one cried for prey. It was a beautiful juvenile doing what juveniles do when they do not hunt for themselves- tracking the adults. What a distinctive call so different from an osprey.

Taken with a 200 mm lens and cropped – oh, how I wish I had my larger lens with me!

The nest was on the grounds of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I think they are pretty lucky – quiet and protected. It is the memorial site to the Acadians forced to leave Nova Scotia by the British. The Acadians were farmers living in the 1680s in an intertidal area. The tides were over 11 metres, some of the highest in the world. They reclaimed land using dykes, wooden sluices, and a series of drainage networks creating a rich soil that enabled them to become excellent farmers.

The memorial site remembers not only the cultural legacy of the Acadians but it is also the site of the Great Expulsion. The deportation of the Acadians began in the fall of 1755 and continued through 1778. The first group was approximately 7000 individuals. In total, about 11,500 out of a population of 14,000 were deported. Why? Well, two reasons. The Acadians would not be loyal to the British, but the second was more economical. The British wanted their prime agricultural land.

Brochures state: “The Memorial Church expresses the Acadian’s strong attachment to Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada. Built in 1922, with funds raised from Acadian communities throughout North America, the Memorial Church symbolizes the spirit of Acadian nationalism and the deep-seated desire to commemorate the tragedy of the Deportation. Architect René Fréchet of Moncton, New Brunswick, drew up the plans for the church, which reflect Normandy-style architecture of the 1700s.  The design does not duplicate the original pre-Deportation church whose appearance is unknown. “

The Memorial Church at Grand Pre.

On the path leading to the entrance to the Memorial Church is a bronze statue of Evangeline. She is the focus of Longfellow’s poem, Evangeline, written in 1847. “Almost immediately after its release, the poem obtained worldwide popularity. Millions of people were drawn to the story of a young Acadian couple from the village of Grand-Pré, Evangeline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse, who were separated by the events of the Deportation. Evangeline, being a faithful, pious woman, vowed to find her true love Gabriel, yet she always seemed to be two steps behind. More than a fictitious character, Evangeline became a symbol of the Deportation and the perseverance of the Acadian people.”

EvangelineDownload

View over the Annapolis Valley from ‘The Lookout’ north of Canning.

There are orchards and vineyards everywhere you turn. Indeed, the local artisans have been invigorated by the steady stream of tourists coming to the wineries and the distilleries in the area. Small villages that were losing young people appear to be stabilising according to the young ladies at one of the many coffee roasters in the area.

Tomorrow I am heading out in search of some shore birds. The Noodle Guy’s food is too good to pass up so you will find me there again before leaving for home Saturday afternoon. The joy has been staying in the quiet farmlands of the valley away from the tourist areas – loud, crowded, and overpriced. The cat sitter says that ‘The Girls’ are doing fine. Calico has even come out from under the sofa for pets. It is good to get away, it will be great to be home. The trip has turned out to be a good one. erful

Cornell Bird Labs gives us a hint as to what to expect now that Iris and Finnegan are ’empty nesters’.

Youngest Osprey Chick %22Antali%22 Takes To The Skies! | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird CamsDownload

Comings and goings at Iris and Finnegan’s nest:

Concerns have been growing for Antali who has not been seen on camera. Thank you, Dr Green and than you ‘PB’ for seeing this alert and sending it to me. Postiive energy out there please to help find Iris’s second baby.

‘A’ comments: “It was an awful day at Hellgate, with driving rains. But despite this, Finn brought in a fish for Sumeh, which she demolished in short order, finishing with a large crop. Antali flew in late (it was nearly 9pm) followed by both mum and dad. Dad brought the fish, which Iris took charge of, despite Antali trying to wrestle it from her. She fed Antali, so that once again he did not get to practice his self-feeding. He was hungry, grabbing at the bites, and vocalised throughout the feeding. But despite the dreadful weather, both fledglings had a decent-sized fish of their own today, Sumeh’s self-fed, Antali’s fed by Iris. The winds were so strong, Sumeh was literally tossed about by them when she flew off the nest. She started off by lying duckling style on the nest after she finished her fish, but as the rain grew heavier, she decided to head elsewhere, and took off in the gusty conditions. It is good to see the parents looking after this pair, and both fledglings coming to the nest for fish (obviously keeping an eye out for any sightings of an incoming Finn, in particular – he has been doing such a great job for this family. I was a little worried about this stage, where the fledglings have such a high caloric requirement, but at least Iris can fish for herself now and so Finn is only providing for three. Iris is helping with that too, I presume – today, though, it was Finn doing the fishing. 

I too worry about Iris. She is so devoted to her osplets. She goes without food herself if the chicks need it. She has been stoic in the heat, shading the osplets even once they were pretty much fully grown, and sheltered them through a very hot summer. She has been the best mumbrella in heavy rains with howling winds, keeping her babies warm and dry whilst being soaked to the skin herself. She has been the most dedicated of mums, and I do feel concerned to consider how much this season may have taken out of her, and whether she will have the time and the opportunity to rest and eat before she heads off on migration. I do wonder why there is a need for these ospreys to migrate as far as they do – surely southern USA would  be far enough. Africa seems a little extreme (and unnecessarily dangerous). 

Antali returns to the nest at 20:08, in time to meet dad with yet another fish. Iris turns up as well. Finn leaves her to it and Iris claims the fish. Antali tries to peck a little at the fish but then just waits to be fed by Iris. At least he is getting fed – I was very worried about whether he would be able to compete for food with Sumeh at this stage of their development, and although I do wish Antali would be left to self-feed a bit more, I am basically just pleased that both osplets are being fed, and apparently fed enough, to be growing and looking healthy. Both appear to be mastering this new flying skill, though the winds were very challenging today. “

‘H’ reports:

8/15 Osoyoos osprey nest:  Chick 2 fledged on 8/14 at 67 days of age, and s/he returned to the nest in about a minute.  The cam was frozen for about three hours, and we didn’t know if Chick 2 flew again during that period of time.  But, after the live stream was restored at 1149, we did not see Chick 2 leave the nest again on 8/14.  On 8/15, Chick 2 decided to take an early flight at 0552.  For the next few hours, Chick 1 flew out and back to the nest several times, but we did not see Chick 2 return.  Then the cam froze again for almost 2.5 hours, and resumed at 1230.  At 1230, Soo was seen on the nest eating alone.  Hours passed without seeing Chick 2, and we were worried.  Finally, at 1649 Chick 2 landed in the center of the nest right on top of Chick 1, practically knocking him/her off the nest.  It is entirely possible that Chick 2 may have returned to the nest during the cam downtime, but we were relieved to see Chick 2 return after 11 hours.  The siblings were both hungry, and did a lot of fish-calling.  Olsen brought a small whole fish at 1923, and it was grabbed by Chick 1.  The cam froze again at 2020.  (There is talk of setting up a fund to raise money for a new camera for next season.)

8/15 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest:   We are lucky that we still get to see all three of the fledglings at the nest or the perches.  Louise has not been seen since she provided feedings on the t-perch on 8/10 and 8/11.  Harvie is continuing to bring fish to the nest.  It may not seem as though he is delivering enough fish to the nest to feed three active and hungry juvies, but he may be providing meals for them at off-camera locations as well.  The intruder is still around.  She has not been a major problem, and has not stolen a fish from the juvies in three days.  The intruder sometimes lands on the nest, or the nest perches or the t-perch.  At 1502, the intruder was standing on the nest-pole, when an adult osprey flew in quickly and flushed her off the pole.  Then there was a brief chase that occurred within our view.  We assumed that other adult osprey was Harvie.  The fledglings are becoming more confident and bolder around the intruder.  At 1908, the intruder landed on the nest, and she was forced off by one of the juvies.  Harvie delivered a fish at 2018, and the intruder landed on the nest at 2020.  The intruder simply stood there while one of the juvies was eating, but then she was forced off the nest at 2033 by one of the juvies… Well that did it, now the intruder was mad, lol.  Over the next 25 minutes, the intruder dive bombed the two juvies on the nest at least 14 times.  It seemed that she was mostly trying to harass them.  There was only some occasional minor contact with her talons on their backs, but nothing too serious.  She was not trying to hurt them… if she had been, she would have.  The fledglings are learning life lessons.  Unwanted ospreys interfering in their lives will be a part of their world.

WYL arrives to feed the Top Flat chick at the Royal Albatross Colony in New Zealand.

SE33 and 34 are getting bigger. The wings are longer as are their necks and as you can see they are nearly the same size. Lady is feeding them a small bird.

‘A’ visits the sea eagle nest: “It was also another wet day at WBSE. It seems that both eaglets are getting fed. SE34 is not at all intimidated by SE33, and is quite capable of starting a bonking incident if it feels antsy. Lady is reaching across SE33 to feed SE34, and there seems to have been quite a bit of red meat on the menu. It looks very nutritious. It may be easier to catch small birds at the moment than to fish in the rain. As long as the eaglets are being fed, we are happy. There does however appear to be a distinct size difference appearing between the eaglets, with SE34 looking noticeably smaller than its older sibling. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about at this stage but it is worth keeping an eye on. I was worried about one or both of SE34’s eyes the other day but they appear to be normal now so it may just have been rain or fish juice. (There’s often a chunk of fish stuck to the end of his beak, skewer-style, so there’s bound to be fish juice on his facial feathers.) They do both seem healthy and they are both being fed. Dad is doing a great job of keeping food on the nest and Lady is making sure both eaglets are fed. So far, so good. “

C16 on the Charlo Montana nest screaming for fish!

Oh, just look at how big those little ones are at the Osprey Environment Centre in Australia! If you recalled that there were three, sadly, one has died, but two are well.

Geemeff’s daily summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:

Daily summary Thursday 15th August 2024

Plenty of action today as Affric 152 and Garry LV0 flew on and off Nest One over a period of several hours, ignoring a quick flypast by the RAF. She spent a lot of time fish-calling and was eventually rewarded with a fish – but it was a teeny tiny little tiddler which she demolished in about three minutes. She called for more, but Garry didn’t oblige. The weather wasn’t very obliging either, wet and windy most of the day, and same again expected tonight and tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.02.27 (05.12.15); Nest Two 21.52.38 (05.17.08)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/pL-09gIw4A8 N1 Garry LV0 brings moss, tidies, and has a preen 12.08.32 

https://youtu.be/sAin2I829BE N1 Garry LV0 returns with a stick 13.05.22

https://youtu.be/1mt2ZZZhteM N1 Affric 152 arrives followed shortly after by Garry LV0 14.55.05

https://youtu.be/U9CxLSmhoTM N1 Noisy RAF flypast doesn’t faze Affric & Garry 15.30.39

https://youtu.be/-c3lZKY7Blc  N1 Garry brings Affric a teeny tiny fish  16.36.28 

Bonus action – last chance to nominate Woodland Trust for a £5k grant, closes midnight tomorrow:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15743696

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Jack and Shadow continue to let us see them, returning to the nest and the roost tree often. It is fall. Oh, these two!

Growing concerns for the lack of insects in the UK. But, it isn’t just the UK. There appears to be an international decline. What is causing it? We should all be concerned because the insects are part of this great food chain. The small birds eat them – think of that little Hobby and all the Dragonflies it eats. The larger birds eat the Hobby – and, ultimately, we have our Apex Raptors. They are the measure of the health of a region – without the ladder of prey they do not survive.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/15/britain-insects-surveys-butterflies-climate-aoe?CMP=share_btn_

Thank you so much for being with us today! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, PB’, Montana Osprey Project, Montana Osprey Cam FB, Hellgate Ospreys, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Fortis-Exshaw, Olympic Park Eagles, Living Bird Life and More, Charlo Montana, Cornell Bird Lab, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, SK Hideaways, and The Guardian.

The curious happenings at Fortis Exshaw…Wednesday in Bird World

23 August 2022

Good Morning to each of you!

It was a drizzly sort of day in the garden. The sun never came out and everything felt cold and damp. Everyone was here, at one time or another, including one of the Crows. Calico had her tracker on during the day. In the early afternoon, she was here, and when I went outside to freshen up the table feeder, she lept to the deck. It startled me as I am so used to her meandering in from the back of the lilacs. She ate her food, chased a moth, and then had a siesta under the lilacs. It was different behaviour, but in a bit, she went back to the place where she has her kitts. She returned at her usual time in the evening, and while she ate, I removed her tracker for charging. Once in a while, I will check to ensure she has not moved the Kitts.

Dyson was here chasing peanuts and trying to get as many or more than Little Red.

Dyson was smart. She had dumped the covered feeder and then when the drizzle began she decided to go inside the feeder!

This is one way to get a drink!

In the frenzy between Little Red and Dyson, the Black-capped Chickadee swooped in and occasionally grabbed a seed!

There is some celebrating going on!

Jane Dell posted (on a couple if FB websites) a really good document on Western Osprey identification. This will be a very helpful resource – maybe put it in a file with useful articles, etc. for when the time comes.

Western-Osprey-–-Raptor-Identification-–-The-complete-raptors-guideDownload

‘H’ has one report for us today and that is about the intrusions that continue at the Fortis Exshaw nest in Alberta, Canada.

8/21 had been an unusually tranquil day for the fledgling Banff.  The first half of the day was also very peaceful on 8/22.  Banff took a couple of early morning flights, and she was out when Louise delivered the first fish.  Banff flew in quickly at 0715 to claim the large whole fish.  At 0729 Louise delivered a tiny whole fish to Banff.  Banff managed to swallow the last half of the fish in one big gulp!  For the next three hours Banff enjoyed numerous out-and-back flights and spent some time on the big T-perch and the nest perches.  At 1032 Louise brought the third fish of the day, a medium sized whole fish.  After she ate that one, Banff resumed her brief fly-abouts.  Fish #4 from Louise at 1155 was a huge live fish.  Louise wanted to keep the fish, and there was a brief tug-o-fish, but Louise gave in.  Banff was eating intermittently, and had eaten about 1/3 of the large fish, when, at 1313 a female intruder landed on the nest.  At 1316 the intruder made a move for the fish, but Banff fended her off.  Then there was a long standoff.  At 1334, the intruder moved aggressively to take the fish.  There was a struggle as Banff tried to hold on to her fish.  Both birds ended up going overboard, and it looked like the intruder had the fish in her left talon.  At 1335 Banff flew back to the nest, and was almost immediately dive bombed three times by the intruder (apparently the intruder had dropped the fish).  Banff flew off the nest.  An aerial chase between ospreys could be seen at 1409, but we don’t know who was involved.  At 1438 Louise landed with a partial fish, but Banff was still off the nest.  Within seconds, a different intruder landed on the nest.  Some thought it was O’Hara, but the markings didn’t seem quite right.  Louise was not happy at all, and at one point she flapped at the intruder, but that had no effect.  Louse flew off with the fish at 1447.  The intruder starting moving some sticks around, and that really confused us!  At 1458, as Banff flew toward the nest, the intruder flew off, but it immediately circled back and dive bombed Banff a couple of times.  Louise immediately returned with the partial fish and Banff grabbed it.  The intruder dive bombed Banff three more times while Louise was on the nest.  That was a first.  No intruder had ever attacked while Louise was on the nest.  We were dismayed that the intruder had become more brazen and had elevated its aggressiveness to a higher level.  Banff flew off the nest at 1459, leaving the fish behind.  Louise waited for Banff to return, but she flew off with the fish at 1545.  At 1553, the intruder brought a stick to the nest, and left.  That was so bizarre, and so confusing for the viewers, who were trying to make some sense out of everything.  Louise landed on the nest with a different headless fish at 1655 (fish #6).  Banff quickly flew to the nest to claim it and Louise departed.  Banff was nervous, and mantled the fish, scanning the sky.  At 1702 the intruder buzzed and dive bombed Banff at least six times, and at 1703 Banff hurriedly flew off, leaving the fish on the nest.  The intruder departed.  Banff flew back to the nest at 1734, and grabbed her fish.  This time, she got down to business and ate without hesitating.  The latter part of the evening was intruder-free.  Banff took a couple of short flights, and she landed on the T-perch at 2026.  Dear, sweet Banff elected to roost on the T-perch overnight.  It had been a very complex, and stressful day for Banff, but she was well fed.  Onward, Banff.

Thanks so much ‘H’.

As of Tuesday, Elen was still at Glaslyn and Aran had delivered a double-header at 1735 – there were more fish during the day despite some windy periods. Aran you are amazing. Everyone is home and safe, eating well thanks to this amazing dad – and well, what a great year with new Mum, Elen. So happy for Glaslyn!

Elen eating a flounder Aran brought for her. She will be gone very soon. are travels, return to us!

Maya and Blue 33 were still on the nest on Tuesday 22 August. You can always tell Blue from that look in his eyes before you see the Blue Darvic band.

That is one brave Hoodie going after Ludo! Good thing Ludo is an osprey and not an eagle.

What is happening with Bird Flu? It was big news and then something else takes over and the impact of this deadly disease is put aside. What is going on and what is happening in Africa where our beloved European and UK birds will spend their winter. Mark Avery brings us some of the latest data to his blog on Monday, 21 August. “In 2023, up until 14 August, 45 species have tested positive. The last month has seen a bunch of colonial seabirds adding their names to this year’s casualties. Here’s the list (with additions in bold): Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Fulmar, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Teal, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Roseate Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Curlew, Ringed Plover, unspecified heron (!), Grey Heron, dove/pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Red Grouse, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Reed Warbler and Carrion Crow.  Last year will be remembered as the first year when impacts on seabirds in the breeding season were noticed. This year the disease spread to many colonial gulls, in particular Black-headed Gulls, all over the UK.”

Mini has been eating well, resting her leg, and using the right foot more.

Early morning.

0815. Beautiful. I think this one will deserve a spot on the bulletin board. She is so lovely.

1605. Looking up and expecting a delivery?

She was slightly wonky on that leg with that 1609 fish.

1908

Mini flew into the nest with a huge drop around 1957! Gracious. It looks like our girl had a nice fish meal off-camera.

At Dunrovin, Harriet is still home and there was at least one chick at the nest today – possibly all, I did not watch or rewind. This nest of Swoop and Harriet has done well this season! So happy for them.

Boulder County: Throughout the day I only saw two fledglings at the nest at any one time. It is impossible to know if they are the same two each time.

At Orange, Xavier came in with a Starling for Diamond. What a guy. She doesn’t always want them! Eggs should be coming before the end of the month. But then later Xavier comes in with a Red-Rumped Parrot (thanks ‘A’) to the delight of Diamond who is looking a little eggy these days.  

In California, Annie and Lou continue to come to the scrape in The Campanile. They also bond in the scrape but we won’t be seeing any eggs until spring of 2024. Stay safe you two!

It is sometimes painful to watch the early feedings at the Sydney Sea Eagles. Even after 31 was full and 32 had finally gotten itself up to Lady’s beak, Lady had to try and try to get this very intimidated little man to eat. ‘A’ provides a complete narrative for us: “The little one gets up to the table by about 06:45 but he cowers away from Lady’s beak when she tries to feed him. She keeps feeding SE31, even though SE32 is right up to the table – she tries periodically to coax SE32 to eat but he just won’t accept the food, no matter how patient mum is. He finally takes a bite at around 06:50:45, just before dad arrives at 06:50:50 with yet more food. Surely there wasn’t another nestling in that nest. It is a fourth! At 06:54 mum finally manages to get him to start eating, albeit very gingerly. He is so nervous that even though SE31 is full and nowhere near him, he is still not confident about taking a bite from Lady, who is only inches from him. He is facing her, watching the food, but still cringes each time she tries to feed him. It is SO frustrating to watch. But there are still at least two nestlings on that nest and SE31 is full, so surely SE32 will get a decent breakfast. Lady is doing everything she can but she cannot force-feed SE32! She is certainly being as patient as she can. By 06:56 he is eating with a bit more confidence but SE31 is moving back towards the table, considering a second helping. She stays back for now. SE32 continues to eat, very nervously. Lady is now feeding them alternate bites. SE32 grabs at each mouthful, turning away as he does so. He is SO scared, even though he has not been bonked at all during this feeding and SE31 is sitting back, not leaning over him or making any contact with him. He should be gaining confidence and eating faster but he is still cringing with each bite. Lady returns to feeding SE31, offering SE32 a single bite for every four or five she gives his big sister, whose crop is now huge. Around 07:05, she returns to feeding SE32 bite after bite. This is fresh juicy red meat and should be very nutritious for SE32, who is slowly developing a crop. And surely, out of four nestlings, there is enough food for both to eat plenty. Lady is also eating. Dad is the only one who seems to have missed out on breakfast, so I would suggest he is currently out fishing. Mum was certainly not letting him take any of the four chicks he brought in for his own chicks to eat! She made that very clear, physically and verbally, when he delivered the fourth. At 07:08 she is still feeding SE32 bite after bite, some of them extremely large. He is eating everything he is offered, no longer turning away from Lady but confidently staying at her beak at last. He has a good crop and has eaten a lot of food quite quickly (he is grabbing huge chunks and swallowing them all). At 07:10 she gives SE31 a few bites, then returns to feeding SE32, whose crop is still only half the size of his sister’s. At 07:20, she is still feeding SE32 the last remnants of the nestlings. He now has a very large crop, though nowhere near the size of his sister’s, which is so huge that she actually refused a mouthful a few seconds ago.”

 

Another prey delivery and ‘A’ notes: “Dad brought in a small whole fish just before 08:38 but by the time the little one got up to the table, the fish was all gone. He is still SO nervous, he cannot eat, even with a full crop and SE31 not being aggressive. He did take one small mouthful and was beaked in the head (just once) for doing so, which of course sent him straight into submission for the remainder of the feeding. This attitude is so worrying, but then occasionally, when he is hungry enough, he suddenly finds some courage and stands up for himself and his food.”

Port Lincoln: Mating but no eggs yet.

Taiaroa Head: ‘A’ reports: “In New Zealand, there was no weighing of Manaaki yesterday, but he has had six or seven parental feedings since last week’s 9.8 kg so is no doubt at a healthy weight! Mum arrived around 09:54 this morning to feed her little man yet again, leaving again at 10:01. It’s great to see you, mama. We missed you so much. We adore Manaaki. He is such a special little person, very laid back but also very confident, having spent his childhood living on a crowded street corner. He has been the most entertaining chick to watch, excavating and gardening as he engages in his endless nest-building, as well as exploring his surrounds and visiting his many neighbours. We will miss you, Manaaki. We have another fortnight or so with him, but that fluff is fast disappearing, and he will fledge in the not-too-distant future.”

He found the camera!

 

Karl II’s mate, Kaia, who had not been at the nest since 23 July but had been out foraging to regain her strength for her long travels, came to the nest to say goodbye on 15 August and began her migration on the 22nd. Thanks, ‘PB’ for the confirmation. Here is the information from Looduskalender.

Maria Marika reports that Timmy has also begun its migration. Soon they will all be on their way and we will be fingering our worry beads until we know that they are safe and sound in their winter homes.

Karl II continues to feed the three fledglings at the nest. All three were present on the night of 22 August. They, too, will begin their migration shortly.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, posts, articles, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to compose my blog this morning: ‘A, H, PB’, Megan McCubbin, Jane Dell, Fortis Exshaw, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Mark Avery, PSEG, Dunrovin Ranch, Boulder County, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cal Falcons, Sydney Sea Eagles, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, Looduskalender, Maria Marika, LizM and the Eagle Club of Estonia.

Monster Fish, Mini and more…Friday in Bird World

11 August 2023

We are supposed to have rain over the next week. Everyone knows this and was in a bit of a panic to get outside and be in the nature centre today before it rains for 6 or 7 days. Of course, it never rains all day long. It is like Asia when it looks like the forecast is 100% for all day, but the rains begin, on time, at 1600 and are downpours and then stop. That said, it has been raining for the past four hours…Little Red, the Blue Jays, and all the sparrows continue to eat regardless. I am putting a bit of food out every hour so that it does not get wet for them. They also have seed cylinders, the solid ones inside the lilac bushes.

Calico has a covered area where she can eat (along with a few of her friends if they stop by). She comes on the dot just about every 3 hours. Her fur looks better since the worm and flea/tick treatment. I was reminded by ‘RP’ today that often kittens will follow their mother to find food. Maybe a kitten or two or three will show up! I live in hope because Calico surely has them hidden well.

The new wetlands area begins at the lake. The water is pumped to another pond where it flows downwards, filling all of the pool areas in the park. (All photos taken with iPhone).

I went to count goslings. There were only 14 visible but mostly there were mature Mallards, a few American Goldfinches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Black-capped Chickadees. The animals and birds were quiet. Humans were loud. It was nice to have the nature centre garden market open – lots of freshly picked veggies, the profits going to a good cause.

The day continues to be consumed with Mini and her left leg. There are visible two puncture wounds above the ankle and before the knee of the left leg. Did Mini injure her leg stretching it and having someone’s talons caught in hers? A fish fight? We don’t know.

Indeed, any observer knows very little. We can deduce that she is keeping her balance with her wings. She appears to be in some pain. She is still flying and she is hungry. She is not – and I want to repeat this – she is not lethargic. She is not grounded. My friend ‘R’ and I know that if it is a sprain it will heal. If it is a break, it will heal – maybe not the precise way that it would if set in a cast but there is no guarantee that a wildlife rehabber would —- OK and this is harsh — put Mini’s leg in a cast and keep her in residence til late next spring when she could be released. She would not be ready for this year’s migration. This is something that has to be considered. I know that it is hard to watch her but she is alive, eating, flying, screaming for fish.

My reaction to Mini comes out of remembering many others, like Mini, that did not get a second chance. The first one that comes to mind is WBSE 26. We need to take a deep breath, send positive wishes, and not panic but observe.

1530: Fighting with one of those hard to eat fish unless the head has been taken off…it is good practice for our girl to try and open up these fish, though. No matter how frustrating it is to watch. She will have to do it soon enough in the real world without parents.

The two puncture marks above the left ankle before the knee. Two spaced black dots the distance of talons. We do not want these to get infected. (Mini could we ask that you go and stand in some salt water and soak that leg? Salt water aids healing).

You can see the punctures better here.

Mini has been on and off the nest. She has been fish-calling. Flying down from the perch. It was not a bad landing.

Our beautiful survivor.

Gone.

Bobby Horvath has a practice on Long Island. He rescued Pale Male (the 31-year-old celebrity Red-tail Hawk with its nest on one of the most expensive properties in Central Park) and held him as Pale Male was dying. Horvath is willing to come out to help Mini if she is lethargic. Here is the note that he sent ‘L’ and the phone number. Write it down! Bobby might be our best hope that she would get good care instead of being euthanised. But he is busy – like everyone, and please note that he is stressing weak or lethargic – low or on the ground – not on the nest. Please don’t call him otherwise. All the rehabbers are busy. There are strict laws – and we don’t want anyone to get tired of hearing about Mini. We want them to respond when it is necessary. At least one local individual is making trips to check around the nesting area if Mini were to get grounded.

One diagnosis from a trained reader ‘MP’ suggests that this could be a lunated patella (a dislocation). I found an academic paper on this orthopaedic problem.

Avian-luxations-occurrence-diagnosis-and-treatmentDownload

Steelscape: The third hatch has a huge crop today. And wait…more news. The third hatch had 3 fish today…and one of the older siblings had a huge crop. All is fine. We can relax. Thanks so much for the images and the report ‘PB’.

Fortis: ‘PB gave me the head’s up early that we would be getting a very good report from ‘H’. There were two whoppers brought on to the nest!

‘H’ writes: “It turned out to be a very good day.  The youngest osplet, JJ, had not had very much to eat for the previous three days.  The viewers were all extremely worried for him.  The day started out with Louise delivering a headless fish, which JJ initially acquired.  JJ had the fish for a couple of minutes and managed to pull off a few bites before big sis, Banff, took it away.  Banff ate that entire fish, but JJ managed to grab the tail.  For JJ’s sake, we knew there had to be another fish delivered soon while Banff was still full, but the next fish did not arrive for four hours.  At 1215, Louise delivered the largest fish to date this season.  It was massive.  Louise initially wanted to hold on to the fish to feed, but Banff took it.  It was a tough fish and Banff had not made much headway, when JJ managed to drag the huge fish from Banff at 1242.  They traded possession of the fish a couple more times before Louise returned to the nest at 1355.  She confiscated the fish and fed JJ!  That’s what we were all hoping she would do.  JJ was fed for 10 minutes before he got the boot from Banff, and then Louise fed Banff.  By 1422 Louise was clearly distracted by something and she stopped feeding.  She was on alert.  At least 1/2 of that huge fish was left, and JJ tried to pull off a few more bites.  Louise flew off the nest at 1456 taking the rest of the fish with her!  She returned at 1535, with the same fish.  There was still about 1/2 of the fish remaining, it did not appear as though Louise had eaten any of it.  Banff claimed the fish at that point and ate until 1608.  JJ then fed for an hour before Banff reclaimed the fish at 1707.  When Banff quit eating again, JJ ate from 1730 to 1808.  Then Banff ate some more, and finally downed the tail of that massive fish at 1821.  That had been a 6-hour fish!  So, there were only two fish delivered to the nest, but the monster fish had provided at least six or seven meals each for JJ and Banff.  JJ had his largest crop in days.  The siblings are 54 days old.  Banff has managed to increase her lift off the nest during her wingers, but has not hovered as yet.  JJ has only achieved a few inches of lift off the nest while wingercising.  During the night of 8/11, the siblings both slept upright and tucked for the very first time.”  

Those are two North American nests I have been concerned about in addition to Mini. The other nest is PSPB Loch Garten and the attacks on the two male juveniles by a male fledgling from that same nest in 2020. Remember the males return to their natal nest area and things are getting crowded in parts of Scotland.

There remain intruders including an unringed female at Loch Garten. The injured chick 2C4’s wing has stopped bleeding. Hopeful he will be fine.

Sadly, the 2020 fledgling KL5 is back again this morning at the nest.

Thankfully all is well at the nest of Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig – and Ludo is as noisy as ever.

Suzanne Arnold Horning found all of the hawks on the Cornell Campus Thursday. So grateful for her diligence and kindness in sharing her images of Big Red and Arthur’s family.

‘A’ reports on the Australian and NZ nests:

Sydney Sea Eaglets: “This morning’s breakfast had to wait for Dad to bring in a fish. Eventually, just before 09:20, he came in with a whole fresh small-medium fish, which Lady fed to the chicks and ate herself. After the breakfish was consumed, Lady headed off. Dad brought in part of a fish (slightly less than half – he had eaten the head and then kept going for a bit longer). He stood there for some time, waiting for Lady to arrive and feed the eaglets, but she never came and the chicks were obviously begging him for food, sitting up at the table and trying to move closer to him and the fish. Eventually, he decided to feed them, and both got quite a few bites before Dad downed the tail, fed the kids a few more bites, then took the remaining morsel to the perch branch to eat himself. So now the nest is again devoid of food and we do need a good feeding day today. I was happy to see that both chicks waking up hungry and waiting for a later-than-usual breakfast did not precipitate bonking behaviour. Both were peaceful while they waited for food to arrive and once it did, there was negligible bonking. SE32 has taken to pushing itself forward, in front of SE31, to ensure it gets fed, and SE31 is allowing it to eat without interference most of the time. SE32 is still wary, and ducks for cover if SE31 does beak it, but the shaking by the back of the neck has largely ceased.”

Royal Cam Albatross: “We are hoping that Manaaki gets his supplementary feeding today – he looks literally flattened as he lies in his nest and seems to be low on energy (or just conserving it). He had built up significant reserves, according to the rangers, and is not on the high priority list but is still scheduled to be fed by today. As every day passes, I worry more and more about his parents.”

I just noted before I closed the blog this morning that the supplementary feeding was given to the Royal Cam chick. This is a great relief to everyone who sat and worried about this little bundle of joy.

Collins Street: “Cameras won’t be back up at Collins Street until the first egg is laid (last year, that was 25 August, so some time in the next two weeks is likely).”

Port Lincoln: “At Port Lincoln, they are on egg watch. To be honest, every time I watch and see mum sitting on the nest, I wonder whether she is laying that first egg. She is in that position now and I am wondering if this is the big moment. Surely, there will be at least one egg on that barge before the weekend is over.”

Orange Falcons: “Orange is as it always is – Diamond with a full crop, Xavier dancing about looking handsome. It’s just after 1pm in eastern Australia. A lovely day in Sydney, Orange and Melbourne, though they are expecting rain in Port Lincoln.”

Wondering about Dmitri and his stork? Excellent post on Thursday from Karla Pilz!

At the nest of Karl II, the three fledglings slept on the nest and then were there for the morning and flew off.

‘H’s other reports!

Kent Island – This Chesapeake osprey family is doing very well, and dear Mollie seems to be very close to fledging.  She hovered high out of sight for several seconds, and for a while we didn’t know if she had fledged.  Audrey and Tom’s youngster is 60 days old.

Barnegat Light – Life is grand for the fledgling, Dorsett.  And, she has shown a definite preference for eating her meals on the utility pole.  Dorsett is 72 days old, and fledged 12 days ago.

The Osoyoos osprey cam was offline for the second straight day.  We miss the ‘O’s and we are anxious to see how they are doing.  The young nestling is 46 days old.

Thanks ‘H’.

Skipping to a couple of other nests before I close for the morning.

Boulder County: All three fledglings were perched for the night and off the nest in the morning. They are being fed off cam it appears and all is well for this family as it prepares to migrate.

At the Dyfi Osprey Centre, they are remembering Monty. Monty was the male at Dyfi from 2011-19. He had three mates – Nora, Glesni, and Telyn. Of their children, 8 have returned as two year olds. A remarkable number and his DNA continues throughout the area….his perch is inside the new Centre.

The Dyfi website adds: “Monty was the breeding male at the Dyfi from 2011 to 2019 and he is arguably the most famous, and loved, osprey in the world!
Monty was unringed so we never knew exactly how old he was or where he came from. We know that he has been around on the Dyfi since at least 2008 and probably 2007, so his year of birth has to be 2005 or earlier…Monty was a fantastic fisherman whose fishing habits have been closely studied.  Two separate scientific studies conducted in 2013 and 2015 have concluded that there is no correlation between the fish species that Monty catches and environmental factors such as tidal phase, temperature, time of day etc. It seemed he was able to catch a fish whenever he (or his family) was hungry and did not need to link his fishing trips to any other factor. Monty’s typical catch was grey mullet but he has been known to bring home some more unusual fish including a long eel-like garfish, a poisonous greater weaver fish and the occasional twait shad!”

The other nest I want to mention is Iris. She is still with us in Missoula and she has not been visited by Louis as much this year (it seems) as in years past. Pe chaps it is the weather and the challenge of feeding the trio and Starr. Iris has had a persistent visitor, a ringed male and here is some information posted on him this morning. Iris is, by the way, not chasing him off.

Thank you for being with me today…please send good wishes to Mini. Take care. See you soon!

I am so grateful to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: “A, H, L, MP, PB, RM, RP’, PSEG, Steelscape, Veterinary Quarterly, Fortis Exshaw, RSPB Loch Garten, Sue Wallbanks and Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, SK Hideaways and Sydney Sea Eagles, NZ DOC, Lady Hawk and NZ DOC, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Karla Pilz and Stork 40, Eagle Club of Estonia, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife of NJ, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Mary Anne Miller and Montana Ospreys at Hellgate.

Crash landings, itchy wings…Friday in Bird World

21 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is the end of the week. It is almost the end of July. We are less than a month away from some of the females in Europe and the UK preparing for and possibly leaving for their migration. Indeed, migration is on my mind and I have a book recommendation (below) for those that want to learn more of the history of how scientists discovered where our feathered friends go in the winter or spring/summer for breeding. I am also including a study on the impact of Avian Flu and some suggestions on what must be done to curtail it before populations are decimated. There will be continuing news about fledges and, of course, our Little Mini – not so little anymore – who is hoping to take those beautiful wings of hers and hit the skies.

In the meantime, there was a Crow funeral this morning. At first, I did not know what was happening as a dozen or more Crows gathered and flew in circles over the back lane and in front of the house behind me. I thought the GHO had come into the neighbourhood, and I knew the adults would not have that with their fledglings being out of the nest for less than a fortnight. So I investigated, and sadly, one of the fledglings was dead on the side of the street. They had all come to mourn and say goodbye. Usually, I would pick up the carcass and place it on the boulevard, but a wise and knowledgeable Corvid person once told me that the Crows do not like humans to touch their dead. So, I left the lovely one there. How sad.

One of the fledglings on my fence – along with four of its siblings – waiting for its scrambled eggs and cheesy dogs. Sadly taken through a screen of the conservatory so the image is soft and this is as light as I could push it. They are so beautiful. Their beaks are like highly polished ebony and those dark piercing eyes. They know precisely when I am cooking those eggs and arrive and wait so they can get to them before the Blue Jays. I adore them.

That one little Blue Jay is so funny. He likes to take his naps here and he loves to be in the bird bath. He went to sleep eating and kept his lids closed for over fifteen minutes. He was only woken when another sibling flew in to gnab a peanut. Looking over my photographs, there are more than 600 digital images of this one fledgling. Don’t tell my children!

Did you know it is impossible to tell a male blue Jay from a female one unless you see them during courtship or laying eggs? Blue Jays bond for life just like our raptors.

This little one does not mind sharing the table feeder with the Sparrows.

Take the time to observe the birds around you. They are precious. Listen to their songs. Focus on their behaviour and their markings. Soon you will get to know them and they will become ‘family’.

Speaking of family. Mini will never know all the people who have sent positive energy to the nest so that it might survive but, today, this wee fourth hatch has survived and is ready to leave the nest and become a bird.

Three is on the Patchogue fish calling, and Mini just dreams of flying. She has had two good fish from Dad today – perhaps even more I missed. One was at 0920 and the other at 1523. Nice fish, so Mini is not hungry. Gosh, I am going to miss her when she fledges. What a survivor…I hope all she learned on the nest and her fortitude carry her well through life.

Oh, Mini wants to fly. She is getting some height. 1918 Thursday night. Stay home Mini until Friday.

Good night, Mini.

‘L writes that Mini got a fish at 0740 on Friday and that Three had a fish shortly after, too. That is fantastic news!

Mini got the fish and that darn black bin liner. It continues to stick to Mini’s talons. I hope when she fledges she does not take it with her!

There are lots of fledges and some hard to keep up with. All of the three osplets at Alyth have fledged with the last one flying on the 18th of July, 9 days after the first. They are being fed on the nest by the parents although, like all nests, there is a bit of a scramble.

At the Loch of the Lowes, the scramble between the two siblings for fish is intense. It reminds me of Achieva when Big knocked Middle off – these chicks are hungry! Here is the latest posting about conditions on the nest and why they are what they are from The Loch of the Lowes:

What we want to see is all the fledglings return to the nest for a good month to get fed well, fattened up for migration, and get their flying skills in order and those wings strong for that 5000 km journey most will make starting in August – in a month.

Everyone is home at Rutland! These three are keeping the adults busy catching fish…soon Blue 33 will be the sole provider of fish and I can’t think of a better Dad to fatten up these three for their migration.

Another of the Kielder nest 7 chicks has fledged. This time Blue 2B0 Gilsland.

At the Borders nest, Blue 733 Jed flew on the 20th, Thursday. Time 1600. He was airborne for 3 minutes! Well done. Thanks Rosie Shields for that great blog…congratulations, Jed!

Landing back at the nest.

There are still three chicks on the Boulder County nest but not for long.

Pitkin Open Spaces and Trails: One of the osplets is getting a lot of height and is really working its wings today. Fledge is going to be soon – just like Mini, this one wants to go!

Three beauties at Poole Harbour. I want everyone to send positive energy to the nest of CJ7 and Blue 22 that the goshawk does not return to the nest this year and snatch one or more of these beautiful babies.

At Loch Arkaig, there was a bit of an issue with one of Ludo’s flights. Geemeff says, “Ludo LY7 had a bit of a day today – made his second flight with no problems, but got divebombed by his mum Dorcha on his third flight, and missed his landing, tumbling over the edge of the nest and landing in the branches. Fortunately not hurt, took a few minutes in the tree with a few squeaks, then flew off, did a circuit, and landed properly. Relief!” Here it is on video – thanks, Geemeff.

The chick at Cowlitz has really grown and is hopping and flapping. The metal protective grids are not a bother.

Some information on the translocation project for Ireland that involves removing osplets from Norway and transporting them to their new home. Ireland has no breeding pairs of ospreys at this time.

Time for the reports form ‘H’:

Fortis Exshaw: “It was a peaceful day for this osprey family.  There were four fish brought to the nest, including one by stepdad, Mr. O.  A couple of the fish were very large, including a monster fish delivered by Louise at 0604, and there were at least 6 feedings.  No one went hungry.”

Patuxent Nest 1 – The fledglings were both seen partaking of fish at the nest.

Osoyoos – Dad delivered at least 7 fish on 7/20.  The kiddos are 24 and 25 days old, and are doing very well.


Barnegat Light – Thanks to the efforts of Duke and Daisy, there is no shortage of fish at this nest.  Little Dorsett is 51 days old, and is not so little any more.


Patuxent Nest 2 – One of the fledglings was seen on the nest enjoying a meal.

Suzanne Arnold Horning is diligent in finding the Ms after they have fledged their nest on the Cornell Campus – she spots Big Red and Arthur too. SAH has ‘hawk eyes’ – for sure! All of the family are safe and sound today.

I wanted to check in on the nest of Bald Eagles in Juneau. Look at beautiful Hope who is now self-feeding rather well.

‘A’ gives us a report on the Royal Cam Albatross: “

Later on 19 July, after GLY came in for that short breakfast feed, have a look at the late afternoon feeding on the same day. Those chunks of octopus or squid of some variety are MASSIVE. Well done dad! And then we had a feeding from mum L around 08.23 yesterday morning (20 July): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXxHaJngJXs (Notice L’s standing feeding position, different from GLY, who tends to get down really low, as he did when Manaaki was still a tiny chick. These little differences are what we rely on when it is impossible to discern leg bands, which is often the case in the half light or the long grass.) It’s a short feed and Manaaki continues to whee away as she leaves (‘Don’t go, mum!’), but then he did have two meals the previous day, including the giant chunks of squid the evening before this feed. He’s certainly not starving, our giant fluff ball. Manaaki was not weighed on Tuesday but we will see how his weight is going next Tuesday. With half the local cephalopod population being swallowed by Manaaki this week, there should be no problems in that department! What a gorgeous albie he really is. No wonder we all call him Prince Manaaki. He is just the most beautiful bird. So healthy and active and with such a curious personality. He loves to explore. We will all miss him a great deal when he does finally fledge. Day 240. It suddenly seems all too close – day 200 is looming.”

Worried about an animal in need that is not in a nest – phone the fire department! A feel-good moment.

Do you know about migration? There are several books on the subject, but Rebecca Heisman’s Flight Paths has been on my reading list. Migration is a topic that is coming up for almost all of our feathered friends. What I liked about the book is that it is full of science and what we have learned about migration through new methods using satellites, satellite tracking as well as boots on the ground, It is a page-turner—primarily black and white text with images in the middle. I didn’t miss seeing the images of birds. The writing is so good it draws you in. I was fascinated with the study of where birds go —so where precisely will the baby Blue Jays in my garden travel for winter? or the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks? What about the birds in the Himalayas that fly through really thin air to those tiny warblers that weigh no more than a ballpoint pin and travel three days over the ocean to get to their winter homes? This is exciting reading – well, to me it is – the history of migration, how humans discovered the amazing journeys our feathered friends take. This book will add much to your knowledge, deep appreciation, and respect for our feathered friends. It was $37 CDN for a hardback copy. Why not ask your local library to order a copy? Surely this is a subject that will interest many!

It isn’t about raptors but, it is about a natural solution to a problem – instead of using herbicides and pesticides. Just like raptors are the solution for rodents!

Canada is working to save the endangered Piping Plover- it is a good news story in amongst the bad – the BC Government allowed shooting and logging in the area of the endangered Spotted Owl – in fact, there is only one of them and there is shooting. Am I angry? You bet’cha. When will nature be a priority and not the economy? Without nature, there is no economy.

Record-number-of-piping-plovers-pair-up-across-Great-Lakes-The-NarwhalDownload
B.C.-sanctions-shooting-logging-in-endangered-spotted-owl-habitat-The-NarwhalDownload

Lots to read today but Birdlife International has published a report on Avian Flu and some possible solutions that must be taken if our feathered friends are to survive this global catastrophe. The report states, “Bird Flu has evolved to spread more rapidly and easily in wild bird populations. Previously, this disease spread significantly in farmed bird populations and it was quite rare for wild birds to catch it – when outbreaks did occur, they usually impacted a limited number of species and only lasted a few months. This is no longer the case. With birds under greater threat than ever before, this virulent strain of Bird Flu cannot be categorised as a natural process and left to wreak havoc.”

CMS-FAO-TF_avian_influenza_statement_July2023Download

Lots more nests with fledges to come today. Little Mini is just itching to fly – so keep an eye! But if you feel low, think of Fortis Exshaw and how wonderful this season has been with Mr O. He is our Osprey Super Hero! Thank you for being with me. Take care all.

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, L’, PSEG, Alyth, LOTL, LRWT, Rosie Shields, Boulder County FG, Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces, Anne Ryc and Poole Harbour, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Cowlitz Pud, Gregarious Joris Toonen and Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Patient River Park, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Glacier Gardens, NZ DOC, KRCR News 7, Amazon, 27east, The Narwhal, and Birdlife International.

Too much news…Thursday in Bird World

15 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

The inbox was bulging with happiness as each of you watched Little Mini at Patchogue eat its heart out Wednesday morning. My goodness, that little one even went back for seconds! More on Mini, later, but suffice it to say it made my day on Wednesday just a wee bit better.

The wildfire smoke is somewhat gone, the air outside is a little cleaner, and the skies are clear in southern Manitoba. There is no sign of the Blue Jay fledgling in the garden Tuesday evening, but I will check again as it gets late. Maybe. What a joy that little one was to observe! And the parents, too, keep a close watch. Overhead, at least 150 Canada Geese headed north to find space, food, and cooler temperatures. They might find some of this smoke from the burning fires. These are the ones without families to care for – so many, and this is not the first chevron of geese going over in the last week. So many without families this year. It is worrisome.

On Monday the 16th, I will be travelling north to do a Bald Eagle nest count. I hope to have some good images of wildlife for you on Tuesday. Today I am going to Delta Marsh on the southern tip of Lake Manitoba to see if I can find some shorebirds! Wish me luck. I will be out all day so hopefully, Little Mini will be persistent and get some nice fish.

Lewis was growling at the rain at couple of days ago.

Today he decided to play with his piece of Honeysuckle branch.

Missey just wants to remind everyone that she is ‘sweet’.

Both kittens remind everyone that planting a tree to remember someone or some pet is good for the environment!

Lewis and Missey also remind us that if you are doing some late spring cleaning, see if there is anything you have and don’t need that your local wildlife rehab clinic could use. It is incredible the things they need – check their wish lists and then also think of power tools to help build and repair buildings and fences. Anyone die recently leaving a lot of tools? Find out if the rehab can use them. What a lovely way to remember a loved one by donating to a good cause.

Wednesday turned out to be a mixed blessing day. We might as well start with the ‘good’ before I throw in a little of the sadness.

‘H’ reports that the Dahlgren Osprey platform and its osplets are doing fantastic. You can see the age difference in the plumage…this is good news.

It is day 41 for the second egg at Kent Island. I wonder if that one is unviable as well.

The other nests that ‘H’ has been monitoring are all doing well and she hopes that there are no turn arounds on them! Me, too.

Severna Park: Oh, we worried about Middle after we lost Little to siblicide but, things continue to go well. Middle is older and bigger and the pair are eating side by side. ‘H’ reports that fish are plentiful.

‘H’ reports that the Barnegat Light feeding 0944 to 1006:  The feeding was peaceful eating side by side until, at 0955 Big beaked and bit Little.  Little was able to return at 1001 and ate beside Big.  Total bites for Little = 60. (I hope this nest won’t go sour now, like so many others that started out peacefully).” We wait and see. Send good wishes..that Big one is rather vicious. Let them make it out of the reptile stage!

At the Cape May Osprey nest, it is day 38 for egg one and ‘H’ says we are on pip watch.

I spent the day checking on some nests that I monitor but do not often report on – or a few even that have fallen through the cracks for one reason or another. At the Collins Marsh nest in Wisconsin, there are three osplets for what I believe to be new adults at the osprey platform near the local nature centre. This nest is very difficult to watch as fish are not always plentiful – at all! Malin, the only surviving osplet, force fledged in 2021. I criticised the local caretaker consistently because help was not at hand and the little one died on the ground. There is a new person at the nature centre. I hope if there are issues they will get out and look for those babies on the ground! The nest is on top of a fire tower that was moved. There is no perch and access to the desk would be difficult (or so I was told by the last caretaker – I don’t believe it!).

No chicks yet at Fortis Exshaw near Canmore, Alberta. You can see the fires burning in the distance. It was raining when I checked in. That is good…no chicks! Bad for little ones.

What you are seeing below is the Marsh Meadows osprey platform in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It is one of several nests on Conanicut Island. The three eggs hatched on May 29, 29, and 1 June. By the 7th of June, all three chicks were dead. Was it starvation by parental neglect? or was it starvation through mitigating circumstances – male was missing?

Both adults were on the nest this morning so, since the male is not missing (so he did not die of Avian Flu as suggested on 7 June), did the chicks die of starvation from inexperienced parents?

Bay and Beau’s two little osplets at Island Beach are doing well.

The three at Wolf Bay, Alabama are thriving. Gosh, look at those three big osplets!

The three at Oyster Bay should be getting along but, there is often beaking.

Dad delivering a fish to the Oceanside, NY, Osprey platform.

Two chicks at Seaside. So far so good.

‘H’ reports that both of the Patuxent River Park Osprey nests have osplets that are full and civil!

I just caught the Dad at Patuxent II bringing in a monster of a fish at 2002. Wow.

Oh, just sit down and cry – joyful tears. It really is OK. Newmann is feeding his peregrine falcon babies. Their Mum, Savanna was killed protecting her nest from a GHO. Newmann has called Savanna and called her and is now taking full responsibility for their last chicks together.

Dale Hollow DH17 has been caught on cam and appears to be doing quite well. River has a new mate (or so it appears). Only time will tell if she rebuilds at the original nest she shared with her partner, Obey, who disappeared this spring.

Bonus and Waba are on the move (slightly).

Now, let’s take a look at Little Mini at Patchogue. Is the saying ‘The Early Bird gets the fish’ applicable? Mini did well for when the Big ones were sleeping. That early fish that landed on the nest at 0536 was a bonus. Little Mini ate, then the Bigs woke up, and by 0639 Little Mini decided he would go back to the table for seconds. He finished eating at 0652. Mini got some from the 0846 delivery between 0908 and 0912. He had nothing from the 1526 delivery. He was in submission. At 1537 two of the Big siblings are having a tug o war with the fish. Then it rains. During some of this time Little Mini seems to be shoved down and around. Parents are trying to encourage self-feeding amongst the big siblings. This may or may not be an issue for Mini. If he can get those early feeds, he is OK.

According to someone on the chat there are three lakes nearby and 2 creeks connected to the bay. Should be lots of good fishing.

0540

0639 Up for seconds.

0652. Full. Leaving the table for the second time.

0912. Enjoying a meal. How does it feel to go hungry and see all the other siblings fed. I hope Little Mini feels full and alive this morning!

Later…after ‘they’ wake up. LOL.

1536. Mini shut out.

1537. Tug o war for the fish.

Fish – teasers and big fish – land at the Patchogue nest after the rain and all the time that big chunk of fish is still on the nest. Mini is quick to take opportunities when the Big ones show no interest. Mum feeds a small live fish at 1723 and then moves to the big chunk left at 1736. Mini rushes and is at the beak at 1737 . He ate until 1751ish. Then another big fish comes on the nest at 1800. Mini is right there – two big pieces of fish. He starts getting fed at 1802 and is moved out of the way at 1830. We should really see some growth in Mini by Friday with all this fish.

Smart Mini. He is filling his crop and then dropping it so he can hold more fish. I hope Mum has a good look at this persistent third hatch. It reminds me of Tiny Tot Tumbles from Achieva or Blue 464 from Foulshaw Moss. A Survivor.

Mini had a really good day and he is going to sleep well tonight. Happy Osplet dreams, Mini.

Mini was up and had an enormous crop Thursday morning…way to go Mini! Dad came through at Patchogue with three large fish by 0959.

Speaking of the Foulshaw Moss nest, White YW and Blue 35 have three osplets again this year.

At the Boulder County Fairgrounds, a team feeding by the adults really helped the third hatch, Little, who has been beaked and shut out from most feedings. This nest is still problematic…and each pulls at our heart.

After…this little guy is really struggling. Send your best wishes that they team up to feed the chicks until Little is old enough to hold its own.

At the SWFlorida Eagle nest, M15 visits. Unclear if E22 is still around. Not seen at the nest for a couple of days. M15 will not leave the area until E22 is known to be gone. M15 has taken his parental duties very seriously since Harriet went missing in early February. Thanks Vijay!

The Ms are well…growing up on Big Red and Arthur’s nest. Fledge watch is what? a week away? They may be big but, when the rain came they all wanted under Mum! Oak leaves. Across Tower Road there are Oak Trees. Big Red likes her chicks, when they fledge, to fly to those trees. The eyases have imprinted everything from the type of prey that is safe to eat to now these leaves. (The pine is for insects).

Big Red’s E3 was out doing an educational visit today.

Murphy is enjoying the life of a single foster dad now…it is quiet and no one takes his food!

There is now only one eaglet in the Estonia hybrid eagle nest. ‘T’ explains: “Good news in Estonia is that the baby hatched in the nest of Greater and Lesser Spotted eagles. There are not enough Greater Spotted eagles, and many of them are lost during their massive European-African migration. They create mixed couples. This nest, in Harju County, Estonia, was the nest of male Tõnn, who used this nest since 2016. Sadly, Tõnn, did not return from Spain in 2020. We don’t know what happened to him.”

Here the chick is taking a mouse form one of the adults.

‘T’ writes that the Russian Ornithologist “Michail Korepov went to the National Park “Sengileevskiye Gory” to check the breeding situation of large raptors. So this year, they found 12 white tail eaglets, 6 owlets and 2 Imperial eaglets – they are growing up in the national park! And the number is not including 2 chicks of Altyn and Altynay.” Very good news on trying to increase the population of these critically endangered raptors for the area.

‘A’ has been keeping an eye on Deyani and writes, “Meanwhile, there are either storms on the way or Angel is having a sudden burst of empty nest syndrome at the thought of Deyani fledging, because at 7.30pm, Deyani has an OBSCENE crop and the nest is FULL of prey. A rabbit, a vole and something unrecognisable are literally filling the nest bowl. I have NEVER seen this on this nest. Any food that arrives is dealt with in seconds by Deyani and nestovers are non-existent. But not tonight. Angel is attempting to tempt Deyani, who is taking the occasional small mouthful from her, but essentially, mum and daughter are standing side by side at the back of the nest, surveying the smorgasbord spread out at their feet. Deyani is going to have to find an appetite if she is to sleep on that nest tonight. It is just after 9.30am here in Melbourne, and it is another cold day. Sunny thus far, but that will change apparently.”

Baby bunnies. They seem to have cleared out an entire nest! Oh, dear.

‘H’ reports that Mini at the Forsythe Nest had only 30 bites on Wednesday. It is, as she says ‘feast or famine’ for this little one.

The third hatch at the Evergy Topeka Falcon scrape still has feather issues. The feathers have grown but have not broken the shaft and it is having difficulty jumping up to the ledge of the scrape to get food.

Will be sending a note to Evergy. The little one tried to jump up to the perch so it could have prey but failed…

Everything about Peregrine Falcons in a nutshell:

Peregrine-biology-natural-historyDownload

Just look who has returned to the Cal Falcons scrape!

Doug Gillard reports on the little Red-tail hawk, Tuffy, let that has survived in the Bald Eagle Nest with his foster sibling, Lola.

Kathryn reports that one of the goshawks in Estonia has branched. She adds, “I have somehow watched this nest since the eggs were laid and I thought none of them would hatch since they were left out in the cold so often! But look at them now!” Beautiful hawks.

At the Black Kite nest in the Kurzeme Forest, the only chick of Gold and Griegis is doing well.

Dulles-Greenway gives us an update on Pat, the eaglet of Rosa and Martin, that is in care.

Meanwhile, Pi and Flora are being fed by the adults in the wetlands.

Each of us needs to know that what we do matters. We can change the lives of our raptors, but we have to take action. Sometimes it is simply ‘baby steps’ towards our goal, but each success will lead to another. We must realise and inform others that the fate of our wildlife, our beloved raptors depends on us because most of their challenges are human-caused.

Thank you to everyone for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, Kathryn, T’, Dahlgren Ospreys, Severna Park Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Collins Marsh Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Marsh Meadows, island Beach Ospreys, Wolf Bay Ospreys, PSEG, Oceanside Ospreys, Seaside ospreys, Patuxent River Part Ospreys, Lachelle Koestert and Peregrine Falcons at Great Spirit Bluff, Aliengirl and Bale Eagle Live Nests and Cams, Maria Marika FB, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Boulder County Fairgrounds Ospreys, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Vijay and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Cornell RTH, Cornell Cam Chatters, World Bird Sanctuary, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender Forum, Window to Wildlife, Evergy Topeka Falcon Cam, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, Canadian Peregrine Falcon Foundation, Doug Gillard and Nor Cal Birding, Latvian Fund for Nature, Dulles-Greenaway and Forstythe Ospreys.

Early Thursday in Bird World

4 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone! I was not going to write my newsletter until the end of the day but some of you might wish to know about the banding of the Royal Cam chick. There is a bit of other news as well. Both chicks at the Loch Garten Osprey platform fledged today – so every osprey chick in the UK has now fledged. Fantastic. I am getting notices that the cameras at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15 and the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson will go live in two weeks. Wow. Time is speeding by. Those cameras will turn on just about the time we have Osprey and falcon eggs in Australia.

The little fledgling Blue Jay has decided that it is time that I get some more peanuts outside for the three of them! Too funny. These wee ones can be quite loud when they want to be. They are getting their beautiful blue crests. I believe this is the smaller of the three – a little female -. She has that developing crest raised up high because she is excited! They are so cute and so animated.

The NZ DOC rangers will be banding the chicks on Taiaroa Head today. Here is the announcement by Ranger Sharyn Broni posted by Sharon Dunne on the Royal Cam FB page. There is no mention of the time. There will be an archived video of the banding of QT if you miss it!

I know many of you are anxious to also find out about the naming of QT. They may mention how this will be done this year. On line voting took place during the pandemic but this might change now.

Here is the link to the camera:

An Osprey rescue in Scotland that warms our hearts. You might have to keyboard the URL if it doesn’t give you an automatic link. It is the story of the collapse of the Balgavies Osprey nest mentioned a few weeks ago in my blog – this one has pictures!

scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk

The youngest chick on the Janakkalan Nest has yet to fledge. Titi often remains on the nest now that Boris is flying about for longer periods of time. With intruders and goshawks in the area, it is dangerous for Titi not to be flying.

Boris arrives in the bottom image to protect the nest. Hopefully s/he will take care of its sibling.

This brings me back to the mystery of why a normally wonderful Mum on a Finnish Osprey nest would attack her children. Nuppu on nest #4 attacked her youngest who had not fledged and the eldest who had fledged (much less) last week. Humans wondered how this loving mother could turn on her children. One of my readers ‘L’ suggested that it might have been to get the youngest to fly. Nuppu, knowing that a goshawk was in the area, wanted both of her chicks off the nest and flying free to lessen the threat of predation. I spent some time asking several osprey experts if this could be the case and they said, ‘absolutely’. The youngest did not fly and was predated when the intruder came to the nest. The eldest flew. So, there we are – the mystery of the physical attacks was to get the second chick off the nest and flying. Nuppu wanted to save her chicks, not harm them.

The only surviving fledgling on nest #4.

I do not understand why Titi on the Janakkalan nest has not flown yet. S/he has been doing some exercising of the wings. Hopefully soon!!!!! This is the nest without a female so Boris has taken on the job of security when Dad is not around.

The Sydney Sea Eaglets are doing fantastic. The tips of the wing feathers are beginning to show. You can see them coming in on both chicks – look carefully at the wings.

You will notice that the time between feedings is a little longer. That is because the eaglets can eat much more at a sitting than when they had just hatched and needed a few morsels of fish every 45-60 minutes from dawn to dusk.

SE30 even did a little beaking of 29 yesterday. Nothing major but it was cute when it sat up and gave it a bop.

Both had nice crops! Fish will not be stacked on the nest so much now because it could cause predators to become interested in the nest and the eaglets. They are not big enough yet to be out of danger. They need to be 28-30 days old.

It is raining in Orange and Diamond arrives at the scrape box on the water tower soaking wet! But with a full crop. Looking for eggs in a couple of weeks.

The high temperature for the day will be 23 C at the Osoyoos nest. What a change! A nice fish arrived early on the nest and Soo fed both of the chicks. They made it! Olsen and Soo you should receive a reward – you did fantastic in your strategies to protect the two osplets. Just look at them.

Right now the camera is fairly clear at the Fortis Exshaw Osprey nest in Canmore, Alberta. We can get a good look at those three good looking osplets! We are on fledge watch for this nest. At least two are flapping and starting to hover. It will not be long.

Karl II delivered a number of fishes just a few minutes ago to the four Black storklets in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. So far all is well. The storklets are hovering and jumping and practising their perching to prepare for fledge.

A portrait of the three females at the Loch Arkaig nest this year. From left to right: Willow, Sarafina, and Mum Dorcha (unringed). When we talk about the females having beautiful necklaces have a look at these three! Gorgeous.

I am not sure I have ever seen three females with such elaborate necklaces. Dorcha is really influencing the genetics at this nest. Bravo!

A blast from the past. The four Peregrine Falcon eyases being fed at the CBD-367 Collins Street scrape in Melbourne. Time is ticking away. The camera will be up and running in September. Just in case you forgot how incredibly cute little falcons are!!!!

Thank you for joining me this morning. Things look pretty good in Bird World. Take care. See you soon!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to the following for their posts and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Eagle Club of Estonia, Fortis Exshaw, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Osoyoos Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, CBD-367 Collins Street Falcon Cam, and Royal Cam Albatross NZ.

Monday Morning in Bird World

1 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Oh, one half of the sky is blue with cottonball-like clouds. The other side is a solid mass of heavy grey clouds. It is 22 C and more rain forecast for 1700. The Crows are already in the bird bath eating their ‘sandwiches’ and peanuts. Given a chance tens of sparrows gather in there after they have left. The squirrels are running about and the birds are flitting in and out. Dyson came to drink out of the bird bath yesterday and all the rabbits have been here. The weather is hot for here and having water out for the animals is, hopefully, helping them to cool down. It is so reassuring – just like when we check on the streaming cams and everyone is home!

The three young Crows are constantly with one another. Their flying is improving. The bird bath water is in constant change for one reason – everything is washed by the Covids. I wonder if it was to soften the shell of the peanut??

One of the fledgling Blue Jays waited its turn until the Crow departed.

This Blue Jay is yelling at Dyson! The squirrels do not wait in line – they just go and grab the peanuts. It is too funny. The juveniles are just getting their crests.

Poor Junior. He is moulting. If you see a Cardinal or Blue Jay looking scarce on top, they are not ill, just replacing their feathers.

Hello Dyson. Thank goodness the new bird bath is heavy enough that Dyson doesn’t go flying when he jumps up for a drink.

Adorable Hedwig. He spent about an hour eating the spilt seeds under the feeder. Hedwig was discovered under the Peony bush. He was such a wee rabbit. He never left the garden but ate the seeds as the birds flitted around him. He is never frightened by them. His burrow is somewhere else now but you can always count on his arrival around 1730 rain or shine, winter or summer. He’s an Eastern Cottontail.

Olsen really seems to have outdone himself on Sunday. As I begin to write this, there are two partial fish sitting on the nest. The chatters have been keeping close tabs and ‘H’ provided detailed time stamps. These are invaluable for viewers coming on line. Much appreciated. By 0900, Olsen had delivered 8 fish of varying sizes. Everyone was chock full of fish. It appears that there was some nibbling on the old fish (gosh they must be like dried fish now!) with another fish delivery at 18:33.

Soo has done a fabulous job keeping the chicks shaded. It is currently 37 C but rose to 40. Or 98.6 F to 104 F.

The nest still has horrific temperatures tomorrow. They seem to just keep adding on an additional day of heat. When did I ever believe I would say that 34 C was a welcome drop in temperature? The night will be welcome cooling off periods. The Osprey parents are doing the best they can and thank goodness those two chicks are feathered nicely this year.

Send positive thoughts, please. Soo and Olsen deserve success. In 2020 they lost a chick and one fell out of the nest and in 2021 the three died in the heat dome that stayed over the area. This year we have had one fall over the nest so let us keep fingers crossed. I think Soo and Olsen will succeed this year.

It is now Monday morning and Olsen has already brought at least five fish according to the chatters and here he is at 0656 feeding his babies fish number six!

I do not know if you have read the history of this nest but it is one of those great cooperative measures. FortisBC worked with the Town of Osoyoos put up a separate de-commissioned hydro pole for the Osprey and also donated the funds for the camera – the nest and streaming cam you are watching. They were proactive – indeed, it is in their best interests not to have the local power knocked out but, grateful, so grateful.

It is cooler at the Fortis Exshaw Nest in Canmore, Alberta. Mum and the trio are doing very well it seems.

Because it is in the same heat warning area, I have been checking on and off at the McEuen Park Osprey platform in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho.

There were two of the fledglings on the nest when I popped in.

With all the heat warnings, it is nice to have something to laugh at and it is provided by Bukacek and the adult only nest. You might well remember that Bukacek had built a second nest for him and Betty. Having four large White storklets on the natal nest gets a little crowded. Now that the storklets are flying – they have taken over the new nest! Bukacek will have to build another!!!!!! Betty meanwhile lures them back to their own nest with food. Perfect. Ooops….they ate and left. Oh, goodness.

Beautiful Betty.

There has been some concern about a blood spot near the wing of SE30 on the Sydney Sea Eagles nest. What was the cause? Often the eaglets get fish blood or bird parts on their body but this does not seem to be that. It looks instead as if some feathers have clumped together either with fish juice or ps and they were, perhaps, pulling and it annoyed the eaglet who pulled them out and left a small bloody spot. The eaglet appears to be fine.

You can clearly see the spot on the right wing- and that enormous crop of SE29’s. 30 is eating well. No worries. Lady sometimes feeds it so much that 29 gets itself in a little knot. With the amount of prey coming on the nest there is no need for food competition – and even with feedings spreading a bit, everything should be fine. The eaglets are getting older. Getting ready to get some really itchy pin feathers soon. As long as food continues and Lady keeps up her remarkable feeding schedule..these two are going to grow and fledge.

There will not be any ringing or DNA tests unless one or both wind up in rehab after fledge. But I might be already inclined to guess that we have a really big sister in 29 and a little brother in 30.

We can always use good news in our lives. Here is another story of an eagle rescue that will warm your hearts! Thanks, ‘L’, much appreciated.

Rescuing a young bald eagle: Call to SPCA Serving Allegany County turned to action plan

Our beautiful Victor. I love this photo of him standing on a low perch. You are progressing, Victor. Keep up the good work!

Since the rescue of Victor, some of us have been more than perplexed about where the zinc came from that poisoned his body. I have rattled my brain with several of you – flakes coming off of anything galvanized, warnings on garden hoses about zinc, the shale in the area contains zinc, etc. I really do not think our dear Victor sat and ate pennies knowingly. ‘C’ sent me the findings of a study by a Brazilian researcher. It has been translated by Google from the Portugese. If you are interested in how Victor might have gotten the zinc and how our contamination of the planet spreads to birds 10,000 miles away even…have a read.

Thank you, ‘C’. Much appreciated.

Title: “Not even the “end of the world” is free from human-caused pollution”

Animals that live in the waters of the Kerguelen archipelago, 3,000 km from the nearest inhabited region, are contaminated by metals such as cadmium and mercury.

Not even the “end of the world” is free from the pollution generated by humanity. Located in the south of the Indian Ocean, 3,300 km from Madagascar, the nearest inhabited region, the Kerguelen archipelago, formed by about 300 islands and islets, is contaminated by metals such as cadmium and mercury, copper and zinc. The observation is made by Brazilian researcher Caio Vinicius Cipro, a postdoctoral fellow at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (IO-USP), in two studies he carried out at the University of La Rochelle, in France, in partnership with scientists there.

Of volcanic origin, Kerguelen is 4 thousand kilometers south of India and 2 thousand kilometers north of Antarctica. The archipelago belongs to that country and is administratively part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). There is currently a scientific station and structures associated with it. “There is also fishing activity due to France’s exclusive economic exploitation zone”, says Cipro. “Biologically, there are countless species of birds and marine mammals that have established colonies on the island and many others, in addition to significant amounts of fish and invertebrates thanks to the high primary productivity of local food. There are also several species introduced by humans, such as mice and reindeer, and some plants.”

He says that the idea for the study came during a period when he worked as a guest researcher at the University of La Rochelle. “My supervisor at the time, Professor Paco Bustamante, had told me about a dataset he had obtained years before, which he began working on during his own doctorate, and whose publication he never had time to pursue,” he says. “I volunteered to carry out the task and write the publication.”

Cipro then went on to study the occurrence of four chemical elements (cadmium, copper, mercury, zinc and selenium) in more than 30 species of invertebrates and fish, most of them at a lower trophic level (of the food chain). The objective was to understand how the concentrations of these inorganic pollutants behave at these lower levels that will influence organisms above them in the food chain.

Cipro’s first study was carried out in 2014, shortly after he arrived in France, on samples that had been collected by Bustamante’s team in the southern summers of 1997 and 1998. The Brazilian scientist analyzed metal contamination in a species of bird, the black shearwater petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis). “We found contamination by cadmium, copper, mercury, selenium and zinc”, he says. “An article about the work was published in 2016 in the scientific journal Polar Biology.”

The second research was carried out in 2018 and yielded another article, published in the same journal. “In this case, we analyzed the levels of contamination of the same metals, with the exception of selenium – there were no conditions at the time to do this with this element in the laboratory at the University of La Rochelle – in 18 species of fish and 11 of invertebrates”, explains Cipro . The result of the work also pointed to the contamination of animals by metals.

According to Cipro, what can be concluded from the results of his research is that in this specific case of Kerguelen, cadmium values ​​varied much more than mercury values ​​(four orders of magnitude against one) and depended more on specificity in food ecology. and in the habitat than at the level of the food chain plain and simple.

In other words, the results of the studies showed that, contrary to what happens in most cases, the concentrations of pollutants found in animals depended little on their position in the food chain, but more on specific mechanisms of physiology and exposure, in such a way that predators from lower trophic levels could be more subject to some contaminants than others from higher positions.

This means, according to Cipro, that work with species of higher trophic level or sentinels needs more in-depth food ecology studies before reaching certain conclusions and that the food chain by itself does not mean much in this environment. “Furthermore, my research provides solid foundations on the exposure to which predators are subject, as in most cases this discussion remained on hypothetical terrain due to lack of field data,” he explains.

The work also showed a possible influence of a local secondary source of contaminants, probably the bird colonies themselves, a hypothesis confirmed in the Antarctic environment during his current research project. Going into more detail, Cipro explains that the analyzed metals have natural sources, but human activity certainly plays a bigger role than them in general. For mercury, for example, current emissions are estimated to be three to five times higher than before the industrial age. This element can reach the Kerguelen archipelago from dumps made by factories located 10,000 kilometers away.

Nevertheless, locally, in addition to bird colonies, some other natural sources may be significant, such as certain rocks and fossil fuels. “In the case of bird colonies, some studies that I proposed suggested and later confirmed their role as a local and relevant source of some elements and also of organic pollutants”, says Cipro. “In Kerguelen, we raised this hypothesis, comparing mussels from inside and outside the Gulf of Morbihan, and it seemed to be confirmed by the results obtained.”

The Dad at the Janakkalan Nest, Red CCL, continues to deliver the fish. The chatters have nicknamed the pair. Boris is the oldest and Titi is the youngest. The fish are so big that they take turns with no need to squabble. Titi is on the left. He has not figured out – yet – to hold the fish down with its talons.

Dad arrives with another fish at 1805. Titi is in the back with the huge crop from eating the fish in the image above. Boris is going to claim this one and Titi is absolutely too full to care! Lovely. Thanks, Dad.

The four Black Storklets on the nest of Karl II and Kaia are really wanting a food delivery. While they wait it is raining – they shake off their feathers, flap about, and jump on and off the perch. Kaia arrives with food at 16:58, the last image.

Just look at this beautiful juvenile Red-tail Hawk, L4. Stunning. L2 and L4 will probably be soaring in the thermals soon and leaving the Campus. Every moment with them is special as it is with Big Red and Arthur.

The latest update on L3 from the Cornell Lab:

L3 is gorgeous. Looking forward to her release when she is all healed.

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is wonderful to have such good news in Bird World. To my knowledge, all of the UK Ospreys have fledged. They will be eating and gaining weight as will their mothers for migration. Soon these flights will be charted. In the meantime continue to enjoy them. The same with the storks! Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, websites, and postings where I took my screen captures: Osoyoos Ospreys, McEuen Park, Coeur d’Elene, Idaho, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Cornell Bird Lab, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Mlade Buky Storks, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Ojai Raptor Centre, and Fortis Exshaw.

Cute little Sea Eagles, an angel of a step-Mum, and more in Bird World

Wednesday 20 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone. It is not raining! The sky is a beautiful blue, there is a breeze, and it will be a high of 27 today. That is the same temperature as at my son’s house in the Caribbean! Mr Blue Jay has come to visit the new bird bath and after having some big drinks jumps down to get a peanut. Too quick for me. Oh, there he is planting them in the gutter! Silly bird. I love those images of trees where the Blue Jays have pushed their stash into the grooves of the bark. I am surprised that Dyson is not around! Images are shot through a screen with my phone so not great, apologies. The glass in the sunroom also causes some very strange reflections.

White-bellied Sea Eagles live along the coastal waters of Australia, New Guinea and parts of Asia extending all the way to India. If you have ever been in Singapore you can see them at the harbour. You will find them along inland rivers as well. They are sometimes called the White-bellied or White-breasted Fish Hawk because, in many places, their diet consists of mostly fish. Unlike the Osprey who lives exclusively on fish (unless there is nothing else), the White-bellied Sea Eagles do eat birds and mammals.

Lady and Dad live in a typical stick nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Like other White-bellied Sea Eagles, Lady laid a clutch of two eggs. It is extremely rare to see a clutch of three like we do in Bald Eagle populations.

WBSE29 hatched on the 19th of July with WBSE30 hatching on the 20th. Incubation by Lady was deliberately delayed so that the hatches would be close together. During the first week of their life, the hatchlings will be covered with soft fluffy down. Their beaks are black; the little white spot on the end is the egg tooth. By day 7 the chicks will be sitting nicely, no more bobbing of the heads, etc. You may see some sibling rivalry.

The newly hatched chicks, once they are dried off, look like little snow people with arms. Darling.

Tumbling around. In a few days they will be ever steady on those cute pink legs.

The Janakkalan Osprey nest in Finland is still causing some confusion over what is precisely happening on the nest but, I believe the mystery is now solved. The Mum has been very ill and on the nest yesterday, very tired and looking ill. (Mum of chicks has red Darvic ring – the Dad has a yellow ring). I have not seen her since. Maybe you have?

A female intruder and other visitors have been around. This is the female intruder eating some fish on the nest with the chicks. She does not have a Darvic ring. She is the one that pecked at the chicks and took their fish the other day, I think. Darvic rings are very helpful….we need all the birds to have them.

There is a fish delivery at 12:29. The chicks were calling as the adult came into view with their lunch. This is the female intruder bringing a fish to the two osplets. There is no Darvic ring on her leg.

The largest of the chicks mantles and gets the fish.

The female looks around.

The largest chick will enjoy some good fish. There has been fish all over the nest lots of it so neither are starving. This is a good thing. They prefer, of course, the fresh fish! I would, too. Sometimes the new female takes the fish and then brings it back.

The female flies off the nest and leaves the chick to eat.

It would appear that the one chick that got the fish is finishing the tail at 13:06. The other one did not eat but there is plenty of fish coming to the nest so no worries.

One would have to understand that the female has died or is dying. Is the father accepting the female for maybe next year? It appears that the two osplets will not perish but will thrive. They have another female helping. This reminds me of Alden moving in to help Annie. It is brilliant!———-I am glad that the confusion is turning into something good for this nest. I wonder then how many times will potential mates step in to help a single osprey family member? and help raise their chicks? Is this behaviour more common than we think?

‘H’ was able to get a great capture of the Exshaw nest at Canmore, Alberta. The camera has, for days, had condensation, so that we could not see the three chicks properly. Well, look at them this morning! They are doing fabulous. Thanks, ‘H’.

In the UK, the Belgravies Osprey nest has collapsed. I have no images but the juvenile is on the ground. No word if it survived the nest failure. So sad. So many issues with nests this year. It is a good opportunity to consider checking every single platform and nest that can be checked and refurbished/re-supported after breeding season this year.

Lindsay has been taking some lessons from her younger brother Grinnell Jr! BTW. I feel so blessed to be able to see these two darling fledglings as much as we have. Oh, we will miss them when they depart the area.

Fish deliveries were early on the Osoyoos nest. It is cooler but will be going up to a high of 35 C. A scorcher. You can see that both of the chicks have a nice crop in the image below including the younger one. I hope Mum got some nice bites too. So want this nest to succeed this year after the tragic ending to the 2021 season. Mum is fantastic. She will make sure that the pair of them are shaded as best she can from the heat of the sun this afternoon.

All around the UK and Europe, temperatures are climbing into numbers never before seen. I did not check all the temperatures in Scotland but their weather looks nicer – sitting at 23 degrees C. It looks like a gorgeous evening at the Loch of the Lowes. Both chicks have fledged and if you squint you can see Ospreys on the dead tree to the left. This is one of the favourite places for Laddie. One fledgling on the nest hoping for a fish delivery.

Loch Arkaig has its own microclimate. The two osplets of Dorcha and Louis are not panting…it looks like a good evening for them, also.

Louis arrives with a nice fish for everyone. How lovely. These chicks are also starting to work their wings.

Wales is cool also — at 22 C. Everyone is on the nest in the Glaslyn Valley – Mrs G and the kids – awaiting Aran with the evening delivery. I believe there is one more osplet left to fledge on the Glaslyn nest (Blue 499?).

I apologize for forgetting to report on the Ospreys nest in Estonia. I forget – lost in what is happening on the Black Stork nests. The three osplets of Ivo and Liris were ringed by Urmas. That took place two weeks ago. It is wonderful that this nest has osplets that are now fledging – no Goshaw issues!

Urmas is one of my great heroes. As ‘the’ ornithologist for Estonia, he is always thinking of clever ways to help their wildlife survive. The rescue and fostering of the Black Storks and the creation of the fish baskets when fish supplies are low is commendable. He gets it. I wish that others around the world would take note of the fish supplies. He has even climbed up to the nests and placed fish on them (Grafs and Grafiene 2021). Here he is banding these fantastic osplets. Look at the one stand up and become fierce as Urmas approaches.

Ivo flies with a fish encouraging the osplets to continue their hovering but to think about flying! It seems that the chicks are flying…I will try and get the details.

It appears that for today the two nests of concern – Osoyoos and Janakkalan – are alright. Osoyoos had a larger fish early on and it is the fish deliveries that are important in the heat. We all know that is where the ospreys get their hydration. We hope for more during the day. I am delighted to have been so confused by the Finnish nest – and to see a female stepping in showing that she will not harm but help raise the chicks to become the potential female for nest year is nothing short of heartwarming. All of the other nests appear to be doing well except for Belgravies which has collapsed. No word yet of the fate of the occupant juvenile.

I want to close with a very cute video of Diamond and Xavier in the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia. These two are real characters when it comes to prey delivery. They are delightful. Diamond does not always accept the prey. Xavier doesn’t always leave it. Sometimes it is a Starling and Diamond does not like Starlings. Too crazy. Too fun!

Thank you so much for joining me. It is nice to bring some good news. I will not be posting an evening report today. I am hoping to make the rounds of our own birds to see how they are doing. It has been a scorcher for them, too. Take care everyone. Stay cool. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their FB posts, their videos, or their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Falcon Cam Project Charles Sturt University, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney, Finnish Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllyt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Fortis Exshaw, and Osoyoos Ospreys.