A lady in Manitoba is trying to figure out if anyone has ever seen what is happening at her house. Keely calls it a ‘strange domestic situation’. The nest has 3 robin chicks. The couple taking are of them are a Robin and a Sparrow. Both of the birds sit on the nest, feed the chicks, clean up the nestlings pop sacs, as well as standing guard. The couple often sit next to one another on the telephone line. Keely finds it fascinating. Have you ever seen such an adoption?
The little sparrow’s head almost fits into the mouth of the Robin nestling when he comes to feed it.
The proud couple!
In Montana, there has been a second life given to an Osprey chick. Ospreys are known to be very good foster parents. The researchers at the Montana Osprey Project have been busy. They are trying something very complicated called cross-fostering.
Yesterday they found a second chick that was found tangled in baling twine at the Steinbrenner’s House. It was an only chick. If they removed it to care the parents might leave for their migration. At the same time, the original chick that was taken to care for baling twine entanglement was ready to go back to its nest. That chick’s name was Kona. But its older sibling had fledged and the parents weren’t at the nest much.
So Kona was put in the nest at the Steinbrenner’s house. The plan is to keep the parent’s busy taking care of Kona until their chick is out of rehab in a week or so. Then they will have two chicks to look after.
So how did it work? Kona was placed in the Steinbrenner nest and she begin flapping and wingersizing. At the same time, the person with the Montana Osprey Project put two trout in the nest with her.
Kona with her two gift trout in the Steinbrenner House nest. @ Montana Osprey FB Page
The female landed on the nest and there was no aggression spotted. The female took one of the trout and flew to eat it. Kona began eating the other trout. Meanwhile, the male arrived with a fish which, when seeing everyone eating, he took off to eat himself. The female went back to the nest and both her and Kona are eating on the fish. Another great intervention to help the birds. Smile. It is fantastic! The latest news is that all is well.
Those stories just make you feel really good!
Other Nest News. If you are needing to see some Bald Eagles, Harriet and M15 are back hanging out at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest on the Pritchett Property in Fort Myers. Samson was seen on the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest and that streaming cam is up and running after its annual maintenance. The Collins Marsh Osprey is looking good.
The Achieva Osprey nest has had an adult visitor today. Rumours have it that it could be Jack, the female, just checking on his territory. Blue 463 otherwise known as Tiny Little Tot on the Foulshaw Moss Nest has become the dominant bird on the nest – wow. A mighty third hatch. She was there today waiting for a fish delivery and looking good.
Zenit continues to grow and stay close to the nest for prey deliveries. This Golden Eagle juvenile has really grown! The Asociata Wild Bucovina that sponsors this nest have received enough donations to have two cameras operating next season. Congratulations to them.
It has been a really uplifting day in Bird World. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Asociata Wild Bucovina, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, and the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest Cam. Thanks also to Keely on the Manitoba Birding & Photography FB Group for allowing us to share her story and to the Montana Osprey Project FB Page.
White YW delivered the tea time fish – a nice large one – to the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest in Cumbria. Blue 462 nabbed it first and then guess who pinches it off big sibling! Tiny Little!
Big Sibling 464 on the left and 462 on the right – all waiting for Tiny Little to make a wrong move with that nice fish. Go away both of you!!!!!
Then 462 got it back!
The first round both 462 and 463 struggled with the mouth and eye area. Wonder who is going to get that fish when it is nicely opened.
Ah, White YW cannot stand to hear one of his fledglings call for food. He promptly went out and got another one. Blue 464 got that one. It was such a nice fish that 464 was eating on it an hour later. Tiny Little flew off the nest probably chasing Dad. No one should be worried thought. Tiny Little had a nice crop prior to snagging that fish off 462. None of these chicks are hungry!
Blue 464 is enjoying his nice big fish – alone! No one is around sniffing for some pieces.
Good Night Foulshaw Moss Ospreys!
In Wisconsin, Malin is busy self-feeding on a piece of a fish that Dad delivered. What captivates me today are the wing feathers. They are looking so good. There is a condensation mark but if you look to the right that one dangling feather from earlier in the month is now ‘crossing over’ the way that it should. The other wing feather scallops are lined up perfectly. Oh, Malin, you are growing up!
The nests are so big and every streaming cam distorts the images (or so it seems). It is difficult to try and determine how big Malin actually is.
There is no time code on the Collins Marsh camera. I believe that there was another delivery by Collins to Malin – this time another piece of a fish. That is really helpful for Malin to work on its self-feeding and not get caught up with the bony mouths and eyes. Eventually Malin will need to do that. Right now one of the wonderful things is Malin’s anticipation of the food drop and his excitement and mantling on its arrival.
In the imager below, Malin sees Collins flying into the nest. Look at his eyes. He has also dropped his wings in anticipation of mantling that fish.
Malin pivots. Wings stretched down and out for mantling with beak forward to grab the fish from Collins’s talons.
Get out of the way Collins! Malin has secured the food.
Ah. Over. I notice also that Collins’s crop is nicely full. He has eaten the head and perhaps part of the fish before the delivery.
These two food drops for Malin to self-feed come after the aggressive manner that Malin approached the fish yesterday with Marsha. We are moving on to the next phase: no more feedings by mom? Let’s watch and see.
Is this the tail of a little Bullhead?
It is a beautiful day on the Canadian Prairies. For the first time in ever so long we can see blue sky, not sky filled with smoke. It is 21 degrees C. That is 69.8 F. Just lovely for a trip to the one of our local parks.
It was a delight to walk up to the duck pond and discover that our Parks Department has put up signs to educate people on why they should not feed the ducks bread. Last year the local birding group had a big campaign to get this practice stopped. Today, the signs are up. They are large and prominently placed at strategic entrances and exits. No one was feeding the ducks, they were just enjoying them! Well done Parks Department!!!!!!
Thanks to the recent rains many of the geese were out on the fields where people play soccer or cricket eating green grass.
A male juvenile Mallard enjoying the water fountain at the rocks.
There was real discussion on the identification of the duck above and the one below. The discussion ended when the little duck below showed us her feeding behaviour. She is a dabbler so she is a female Mallard – not a female Blue Winged-teal.
Mallards come to Manitoba to breed. They arrive in the spring and leave in the fall. Here the little female is mottled brown with a whitish tail, and orange feet.
When feeding, she tips up and dabbles in the shallow waters of the duck pond for pondweeds and aquatic invertebrates. They also feed on larval amphibians and fish eggs.
The female Wood Duck and her ducklings. You can tell the Wood Duck by its white tear-eyed eye patch. Her breast is a mottled brown and white.
Wood Ducks are migratory birds in Manitoba. They arrive in the spring, normally April, and will head south in October. They are cavity nesters. They will lay their eggs in a tree cavity or specially built enclosed wood boxes. The ducklings are ready to bounce from the nest when they are 24 hours old. Precocial animals and birds hatch/born with all their feathers, skin, etc. and are able to see, hear, and move about.
The little Wood Duck and her ducklings mingled with the Canada Geese. Only once did I see a goose get aggressive towards one of the little ones.
Malin’s initial feather issues have caused me to spend more time looking at the back and wings of birds than I ever would have thought possible. Each individual feather is simply beautiful – taken together they are like a wonderful musical symphony – each performing their own task to help this Canada goose swim, walk, and fly.
The tail and wing feathers of a non-breeding male Mallard.
As we were leaving, a Juvenile Bald Eagle was soaring above us.
Then the Northern Goshawk beats its large wings. The Northern Goshawk lives in Manitoba all year round except for the southern part where they can be seen only in the summer or in the winter if food supplies in the North fall.
It was a good day! The skies are turning grey and the wind is picking up a little and maybe, just maybe, we will have some more rain. Wishing and hoping.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest and the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest.
The sun is bright but not too hot, the Hibiscus continues to bloom, and Tiny Little is on the Foulshaw Moss nest eating a large fish. That is a great beginning to the day.
This is actually ‘the tea time’ fish for our favourite little fledgling on the Foulshaw Moss nest. It is about 16:00 in Cumbria.
Tiny Little is so smart. She doesn’t waste her time and energy fighting with the mouth and eyes of the fish, she rips a part of the belly open and begins to eat the side and the bottom of the fish. She is ever mindful that there are also two hungry siblings lurking about.
Tiny Little ate off that fish for more than an hour. She got a lot of really nice fish Great work, Tiny Little!
After what appears to be an hour and a half, big sibling 464 arrives. I missed the hand off. Was Tiny Little finished or did 464 come in and take the fish? We will never know. 464 has been fighting with the front of that fish for over an hour now. Sibling 462 is waiting their turn! Tiny Little has flown off.
In the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Park, Lady has been busy feeding 27 and 28. Oh, they are so cute! I love this stage. Lady is so gentle feeding them with her big beak. They look like two little snow people with arms.
The Only Bob or Bobette in the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest in Wisconsin has had a couple of feedings this morning and perhaps more by now; it is now 13:33 on that nest. The fish that are being brought to the nest by both parents are quite small. I wonder if all the fish are that small? or are the bigger fish lurking around in deeper water?
The chick is being watched for feather development. It is hoped that the ‘blood’ feathers will grow fully and, at the time of fledging, the chick will have a full set of juvenile plumage.
In the image below, you might want to look at what some people call the quills on the left wing. As the feathers grow, those quills break open and eventually fall off. This is what we are watching.
Yesterday I reported that Bonifac, one of the male storklings cared for by the people of Mlade Buky had been electrocuted just like its mother. The other male, Servac had not been to the nest but was seen flying with other storks. Pantrac has been to the nest to be fed. There were no storks on the nest so far today. This is not unusual! The storks are beginning to gather for their migration to Africa. Yesterday might well have been the last day for them in Mlade Buky.
Before the age of Immarsat M and GPS, the only way to study the migration of the storks was if they were ringed. In 1933, a short entry in Nature Magazine (30 September, p 509) says that ‘Storks nesting east of the River Elbe have been found to use the Asia Minor route when migrating, and those nesting west of the Elbe are stated to take the route through Spain.’ Today those similar routes are simply called the Easter and the Western. The western is through Spain and the Straits of Gibraltar while the eastern has the birds flying through Egypt following the Nile. With Satellite tracking, the birds are now known to winter in Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Senegal, Nigeria and the Niger River Basin.
The observations of the success of the migration and the concerns in 1933 are similar to those in 2021. It is a two month journey for the Danish storks – anything can happen between the time the storks leave and arrive. Even with laws protecting migrating birds, these lovely creatures have been known to have been shot down in France, Malta, and in parts of Egypt. There are many other things that impact this hazardous journey – changing climates, lack of food and water can all contribute to the loss of the birds.
Because we are talking about European laws, it is essential that the countries that make up the European Union – and many who do not- work together to ensure that the killing of migrating birds in European states is halted. There also need to be uniform protections in the territories where the birds migrate. As the world changes, following the SARS Covid-19 pandemic, countries in African that have been devastated by wars, famine, droughts, and epidemics need to understand that ‘birding’ can be an economic success story. People will begin to travel. Bird Tourism can bring vital monies into these struggling economies.
There is, however, another very troubling trend. As the climates change some of the storks are not migrating. Traditionally, they travelled to Africa where food supplies were plentiful during the winter when they were not in Europe. One troubling occurrence is that many of the European storks who take the western route are now stopping and living in garbage dumps in Spain and Portugal during the winter. There are groups that are not happy with the storks being there year round. One of them is called ‘Stop Storks’. A discussion of the issues is in an article, “European Storks become Couch Potatoes and Junk Food Junkies” in Environment.
Speaking of storks, one of the nests that I have, embarrassingly not mentioned for some time, is that of the Black Storks in the Karula National Park in Estonia. The camera was broken during a severe storm on 25 June and was not operational again until 15 July. Oh, those wee babies sure have grown. Their parents are Karl II and Kaia.
The trio was ringed on 9 July. You can see the bands. Those bands contain Kotkaklibi transmitters. To my knowledge this is the first instance this type of satellite tracker has been used on the Black Storks. The band numbers are as follows 716U for the oldest chick, 716P for the middle, and 716T for the youngest. Names are pending.
In the image below you can see both the banding ring and the transmitters on the legs a little better. Hopefully reports will come back on a regular basis so that we can follow these three as they undertake their first migration.
Here is the link to the streaming cam of the Black Storks in the Karula National Park in Estonia:
Thank you so much for joining me today. Please go and see those lovely Black Storks. We are now at 1 August and they will not be with us for much longer. I hope everyone is well. Take care. Enjoy.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, the Sea Eagle Cam, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre, the Collins Marsh Nature Centre and Osprey Cam, the Mlade Buky White Stork Cam, and the the Eagle Club of Estonia.
Please Note. I have very strong opinions and will always advocate hard for ways in which to protect birds. My son sent me an article with some videos on a troubling conspiracy theory in the United States. It is the ‘Birds are Not Real’ group. They believe that birds are equipped with transmitters and are actually drones that are for surveillance. Those beliefs would cause the killing of innocents. If you know of someone who believes this, please have a gentle conversation with them. If you want to check out their beliefs and what is happening, please Google: Birds are Not Real.
Well, it looked like Sunday in Ospreyland might have been off to a tricky start but so far, so good.
Tiny Little (Blue 463) of the Foulshaw Moss nest in Cumbria continues to get those street smarts. White YW flew in with a really large and fat fish at 17:11 and Tiny Little claimed it. Sibling 464 arrived too late. Tiny Little mantled that dinner and took it to the other side of the nest. I am so impressed with how this little one is doing. One of the FB chatters caught it and made a video so you can see the action. It is fantastic!
Tiny Little spent an hour eating and then 464 came in to eat the rest.
At the Collins Marsh Nest the mother showed up, after being away for nearly 21 hours, around 9:37 this morning. The chick was ‘starving’ – the little bit that it was able to self-feed just kept it hydrated. The mum seemed a bit strange but she began feeding the baby and has continued to do so. I asked the Wildlife Rehabber and bander, Patricia Fisher, if she had ever experienced a female Osprey being away this long and leaving their chick unattended overnight and she said, ‘no’. I continue to wonder if the mother is ill, was caught in something and couldn’t get away, etc. It is very unusual behaviour.
The male has brought in another fish. It is mid-afternoon in Wisconsin. The mother fed the chick for about eleven minutes before alerting. The chick flattened. It appears there is an intruder in the surrounding area.
Dad has made several deliveries today. This is good as it is hot in Wisconsin.
Mom and chick were both enjoying that nice fresh fish. Mom had fed the chick and herself every scrap on the nest. It makes me believe that something happened to her yesterday so she could not return to the nest and not eat. I wonder if she was tangled in something? While we will never know unless someone comes forward, it is good to have her on the nest and being attentive to the chick.
The chick has a nice crop. Shortly after the chick was down flat and mom was alerting. Stay safe!
Another Osprey caught in baling twine and another one released that had been caught in baling twine. Baling twine and hydro lines are showing up as two prominent dangers for juvenile Ospreys as this week begins.
It is a serene evening in Wales at the Glaslyn Nest of Aran and Mrs G. There continue to be sightings of the two of them on their favourite perches and Aran is improving in his flying and fishing all the time. He should be in tiptop shape for migration. That is good news.
Oh, what a treat to catch the two fledglings on the Loch of the Lowe Nest. One has the fish from the delivery and the other is food begging. There is still time for Laddie or NC0 to deliver another meal. NC0 is very good at fishing!
I can’t read the band numbers well enough to tell who has that fish but my goodness the one who is emptied taloned is awfully loud. You could hear it on the other side of the loch.
Looks like they all have the same tricks up their sleeve to try and get the fish from the sibling. This could have been Tiny Little a few days ago.
The sibling with the fish is finding the prey crying annoying. And now we can see the band. It is LR1 who has that fish. He is going to try and finish it.
What a beautiful setting for a nest. No baling twine. No monofilament fishing line. No boaters. The Scottish Wildlife Associations are making great headway in trying to protect their wildlife and their natural environment. It is refreshing to hear the efforts at restoring the Cairngorms National Park.
Around 1 August many of the streaming cameras on the Osprey nests in the UK will shut down for the season. Most of the activity is off camera. That is why it was such a wonderful surprise to find the two fledges of Laddie and NC0 on the Loch of the Lowes nest this evening. Look how big and healthy they are. Amazing.
I have had and seen questions about when the Osprey parents will teach their chicks to fish. The answer to that question is – Osprey parents do not teach their chicks to fish. Fishing is an instinct that has been developing in the Osprey for millions of years and it is programmed directly into their genetic makeup or their DNA. If they were to see a fish swimming in a lake or a stream, their ‘instinct’ would kick in and they would immediately respond. However, fishing takes practice and they will also learn by doing. Most of the chicks will not have caught a fish before their migration. There are always exceptions, however!
Thank you so much for joining me. Keep sending warm wishes to the Collins Marsh Nest. Hopefully whatever was wrong with the mum is now behind the family. I am very grateful to Patricia Fisher for answering all my questions and for her willingness to take this chick into rehab if it is necessary. I am also grateful to James Downey of the Collins Marsh Centre for his quick response to the concerns of many.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Park, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes.
It is really, really hot on the Canadian prairies today. There are dire warnings of water shortages in small towns southwest of Winnipeg. And there are birds in the wrong locations. I wonder if they are scouts sent to check out new locations? Like the Spoonbill on the river near Highway 89 around Montezuma or the Wood Stork? Ferris has his Saturday tour and there will be some images from that tour on Sunday. But, in Bird World, there are some exciting things happening.
First up, Tiny Little on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest successfully defended its fish twice against big sibling 462. I was shocked when Tiny Little used its wings to great effect to keep her from getting its late night meal. You would have thought it was the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ Heavyweight Boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. I say that because it was the strategy of Tiny Little. He put the fish (finally) in a place where it was secure. He could eat and 362 could not take it off the back by pulling. Then he fixed it so that he could eat fast and watch 362 out of his right eye. When 462 started coming close, Tiny Little just opened those great big wings of hers and started flapping. 462 backed off. This is a ‘big win’ for Tiny Little. She took a fish off dad to have it stolen but today she successfully defended her food until she was finished and walked away leaving a nice piece and tail for sibling 462. Tiny Little is getting the street smarts that Tiny Tot had earlier. Give her a round of applause. It is what is going to work in her favour and keep her alive. Well done, Tiny Little. So proud of you. Those big siblings will no longer intimidate you!
Sibling 462 staring down Tiny Little’s fish.
462 using some of Tiny Little’s early strategies: stare down the sibling, move in closer, create a distraction.
“Ah come on and let me just have a little bit. Oh, please. I am sorry for all the horrible things I did to you when you were a wee babe, Tiny Little.”
No!
I told you to get away! This is MY fish!
462 gives up and heads towards the perch.
Peace and quiet.
Tiny Little was able to eat comfortably after keeping sibling 362 at bay twice.
After eating for about forty minutes or longer, Tiny Little cleans her beak. 462 is watching and wondering if there is any fish left. Tiny Little did a great job self-feeding under that pressure. She left her big sibling a good portion of fish by the tail and the tail. It worked out well for both and both went to bed with fish in their crop.
At 20:12:26, 462 flies away with the piece of fish towards the parent tree. You can see her dark wings heading toward the tree between the nest and the tree. Looks like a black line on the fields. That took Tiny by surprise but no matter. You can see his crop is nicely full. You will have sweet dreams tonight Tiny Little. Congratulations. Every day you show us that you are learning to take care of yourself.
The second big event is that Zenit, the little Golden Eaglet, now a Big Golden Eaglet, has branched and fledged on the same day. This is so fantastic. I hope that its life is long and that it has a great nest to raise its own family near Bucovina. My concern is the prey and the spread of Avian Flu H5 N7. The Golden Eagles are opportunistic hunters and when prey is low they eat what is available to them including a domestic cat – which Zenit did on the 23rd of July. He has had fox, roe deer, buzzards, a kestrel, and other small birds along with a host of mammals and parts of other mammals.
Lady Hawk caught the branching and the fledge for us.
Now just to have you know how many fish a great Osprey dad brings in, Richmond had, as of yesterday, brought in 600 fish to the Whirley Crane Osprey Nest in San Francisco Bay. Rosie brought in a Halibut so big that it took the three 4.5 hours to finish it off! Today Richmond brought in a Golden Trout and one of the fledglings was on the nest and grabbed it and dad at the same time. This happened around 3:05 nest time.
Poor Richmond! My goodness. I never thought I would see a chick jump into the air to grab a fish out of the talons. Look at Richmond, how strong he is to hold the fish and the chick. Incredible. Richmond is holding them up with a couple of talons!
I understand from my virtual friend and reader ‘S’ that there have been two fledges at the Patuxent 2 nest – and she believes she got to see one of those happening live. Congratulations! Those chicks did really well. The rangers that decided to put two fosters on a nest with only one chick made a great decision. Everyone is thriving.
It is hot and smoky in Alberta. Mom is shading the two Bobs. Birds need clean air, too. I wonder just how much this impacts their lungs — the smoke from all those wildfires? We have some smoke in our city today but not nearly what it was a couple of days ago but it is hot. And the birds have been emptying the bowls that have been left in the shade and are just now coming to the ones on the deck. It is 5:30 and the shade is covering them now.
It is really hot down in Red Deer and Legacy has a hard time getting in the shade and being cool at all. She had a nice fish meal at 3pm nest time.
It is so nice to see fish on these nests on a hot, hot afternoon!
I am not so impressed with the Collins Marsh Nest. The little one has been on its own trying to find shade for what seems like most of the day. If there was a feeding earlier I have missed it. Sadly, over and over again, these nests remind me of Cowlitz. Now with the extreme heat and the drought and the height of this nest. Well, I wish for a good outcome.
The mother has shaded it a bit. I wonder if she is out fishing – that was what took the life of the last chick on the Cowlitz nest – heat stroke. It had a full crop. This chick, unfortunately, doesn’t have that.
Thank you so much for joining me. It is a hot day out in Bird World. I feel for these beautiful Ospreys as droughts set in areas where they have their nests. Let us hope that cool air will come! And rain.
Take care everyone!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I take my screen shots: Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, Fortis Alberta Red Deer Osprey Nest, Fortis Alberta Exshaw Osprey Nest, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.
The Royal Albatross ‘Cam Princess’ for 2021, Taiki, was banded on Taiaroa Head, New Zealand on 22 July. Taiki is Maori and means ‘protector of the land and sea’. She now has a permanent metal band with a unique number to her and a white plastic band with the number 60 on it on the other leg. The white designates the chicks that were born this year. All 34 of them will get a white band. When they return to land, after being at sea from 4-6 years, they will receive the adult colour bands. For example, Taiki’s mother is Lime-Green-Lime (LGL). Can you imagine being at sea and only returning to walk on the ground after being away for all that time?
Here is an image of Ranger Sharyn putting on the bands.
And here is the video that the Cornell Labs did of the entire banding session.
It is unclear how many fish came up to the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest today. ‘S’ noted one medium fish. I did check in on the nest and caught the chick standing. That is very good. It is getting its juvenile feathers and it is beginning to get strength in its legs to walk and stand up. Excellent.
One of the most beautiful times of day at the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in the Old Ironbark Tree in Sydney is early morning. The forest is waking up. You can hear all the birds singing including the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, the Noisy Miners, and the Currawongs. We are just getting a trade off on incubation duty (I believe) when I checked the nest. We should be on hatch alert in a couple of days!
It is so calm and peaceful in the forest. No one is allowed inside this restricted area other than the Rangers and specific staff of the Discovery Centre.
Here is another hand off around 13:30 this afternoon.
The adult plumage is this beautiful slate blue grey with a white head and underbelly. The juveniles are the most gorgeous rusty-espresso.
I want to give you the link to the Sea Eagle camera so that you can start watching. It is very exciting. The little ones are fuzzy white when they hatch. So cute.
It is 4:59 and Tiny Little has already flown off the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.
Just looking at that nest reminds me how grateful everyone was when Tiny Tot stayed around the Achieva Osprey nest for so long. In fact, for four months we got to enjoy seeing that wee one grow up. We saw her change from the beaten, pecked, and starved little one to a ferocious independent fledgling. What a gift we were given! We never know how long we are given with these ‘special survivors’ so we have to savour every minute. Tiny Little will, no doubt, return to the nest when there is a fish drop unless the parents begin to feed the fledglings off nest.
Ah, and before I stopped writing it seemed like a good time just to check on that Foulshaw Moss Nest again and guess what? Tiny Little is there with another sibling waiting for the breakfish drop!
Tiny Little, 463 on the left and 462 on the right.
And they both got their wish!
Some good news was posted today. Seventy eggs of the Black Foot Albatross from Midway Island were transported to Guadalope Island, Mexico. I mentioned this in an earlier blog last week. It has now been confirmed that all 70 of the eggs hatched and all 70 of the chicks have fledged. You can’t get any better than 100%.
One of my friends and readers lives on the Hawaiian Islands. She mentioned the colony of Albatross Hawaii they have. That reminded me to introduce you to a very special person who founded the Kauai Albatross Network.
Her name is Hob Osterlun. In this short clip, she is doing a one person play on her life as a nurse for nurses and doctors and she talks about how the albatross changed her life.
That short video, Kapuna Life, mentions Hob’s book, Holi Moli. I recall the first time I read it. I devoured the pages reading from late in the evening to the wee hours of the morning.
So many of you reading my blog have been moved by ‘the birds’. Whether it was during the pandemic or before, a two legged creature with feathers – that fly or not (we can’t forget about the Kakapo) – touched you in a way that is probably hard to describe. For Hob Osterlund, having that Laysan Albatross touch her foot was extremely powerful.
Here is a beautiful video about Hawaii and the Albatross. It is an hour long. Watch pieces of it or the whole thing when you have time. These are such beautiful birds. Hob never gets tired of talking about them!
It is a scorcher in southern Manitoba and Winnipeg today. Yesterday my daughter and her sons got to see an Osprey dive for its fish at Lake Winnipeg. She saw the nest using binoculars with its two chicks, too. We have a number of Osprey platforms placed by Manitoba Hydro around Victoria Beach, Grand Beach, Grand Marais and on the way to our Iceland city, Gimli. How lucky they were!
Thank you for joining me. Stay safe everyone! Stay cool. Remember to leave water out for the birds.
Thank you to the following whose streaming cams I use to get my screenshots: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Collins Marsh Reservoir Osprey Cam, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, Sydney Sea Eagles, Australian Bird Life, and the Discovery Centre.
It doesn’t really matter what you call him or her, the third hatch on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest in Cumbria has had a really great 24 hours. Everyone was waiting for Tiny Little (aka Little Bob) to do some more flying, to get a little aggressive towards nabbing a fish drop, and for her to sleep like an adult. Well, all of that has now taken place.
Last night, for the first time, Tiny Little slept on the perch, head tucked in sometimes – and sometimes standing on one leg. Grown up style.
Between 6:00 and 18:00 (a long period of time) I did not see what Tiny Little accomplished.
At 18:25:41 Dad, White YW, delivered a fish. 464 grabbed that one. By 18:34 Tiny Little had moved up and was trying to get that fish. Tiny Little is so funny. He was trying to take bites out of 464’s mouth and was doing his usual ‘stare down’. 462 had arrived on the nest but he was hanging back from the action around the fish. At 18:53 sibling 462 moves in for the steal and takes the fish from 464. Tiny Little then focuses its sight on that fish.
In 37 minutes, at 19:02 White YW flies in with another fish! This time Tiny Little fights Dad for control of the delivery.
White YW must be looking down at Tiny Little feeling very proud. These are the lessons these parents want their children to learn and do. It will be a hard world out there for Tiny Little and White YW and Blue 35 need their youngest to be able to survive.
Tiny Little uses her beak to try and tear that fish off Dad’s talon. Dad just wants to get out of the nest!
Tiny Little has moved around and opened her wings to keep sibling 462 from the fish.
Tiny Little did not win the battle but she did not get injured either. Sibling 462 won this one but, it is the very first time that Tiny Little has shown any aggression during a fish drop. Bravo, Tiny Little!
At 19:04, Tiny Little moves over and finishes eating the last of the first delivery. There is still a bit of fish and the tail for her.
Once she finishes that little tidbit, Tiny Little is still hungry. Sibling 462 is chomping away at that big fish dad brought in. So what does Tiny Little do? You guessed it right – she starts doing her antics. She stares, she picks up sticks, she moves around the fish getting right close to the face of her sibling.
Wouldn’t you just like to share a little, 462?
Then Tiny Little tries pulling pieces of fish out of 462’s beak when she is pulling the pieces from the fish to their beak. That must be very annoying. And, of course, that is precisely what Tiny Little wants to do — annoy their sibling to give up the fish without having to have a fight and get injured.
Tiny Little begins to focus more on the location of the fish and the balance of 462. Look at how Tiny Little is staring between the legs of its sibling.
Tiny Little is beginning to remind me of Tiny Tot on the Achieva Osprey Nest. She is getting smart. She is moving in to get that fish. She has spotted that 462 does not have complete control of the fish.
Feeling very confident, Tiny Little steals the fish from sibling 462 at 19:20:49. Wow. Tiny Little, your fan club is cheering you!
Tiny Little gets the fish and pulls it over to the other side of the nest so that 462 will not try and take it back.
Yum!
Tiny Little is focused on eating. She knows that at any moment the other sibling could arrive on the nest and want some fish. Tiny Little is learning to eat fast and not be distracted.
Despite sibling Blue 464 arriving on the perch at 19:32, Tiny Little pays no mind and continues to eat.
Ah, nothing like eating almost an entire fish to warm a little one’s tummy.
It looks like Tiny Little is going into a food coma for the night. Nite nite Tiny Little. Happy fish dreams!
It has been a great day for Tiny Little. That is about as much excitement as one can take in a day! Thanks so much for joining me. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest for their streaming cam where I took my screenshots.
You can watch the antics of Tiny Little and her Osprey family here:
There are people with insomnia who are awake and get to see what Tiny aka Little Bob on the Foulshaw Moss Nest in Cumbria is doing. Has she taken another flight? Did she get a fish today? Is she sleeping duckling style? Tiny Little, you have an amazing fan club cheering you on — people from all parts of the world joined together in the adoration of a little osprey that survived and grew into a beautiful fledgling.
Some of us manage to get their first haircut in almost a year and all we want to do is get the wifi password and check in with you! We have your back young lady (or young man).
Today, Tiny Little took her third flight at 18:25:40. You weren’t gone long but you sure looked like you were excited and having some fun when you landed at 18:40:51 on the rim of the nest. You had lost that frightened look of a day or so ago.
You got yourself settled and looked out over your domain. Just look at you! You are gorgeous. It is hard to actually call you Tiny Little or Little Bob anymore since you have grown into a large bird with stout legs, big wings, and the beginnings of what could be a lovely necklace.
You were panting a little bit but you were also looking around as if you wanted to take off again! I bet flying is tiring until you get used to it and build up the strength in those wings. Now all of your aunties and uncles are telling you to do just that – you are going to be on your way to Africa in six weeks and you don’t have a ticket on a commercial airliner. You are your own pilot and navigator.
You were also hungry and hoping that a fish drop would be made. I missed the actual drop but around 19:43 you are on the nest, Tiny Little, and your sibling is tucked into a fish.
One of your admirers told me that you actually had the fish and that big sibling came and took it away. They also told me that you —– yes, you, Tiny Little – stole it back at 20:12. They even sent me a screen capture to prove it. Fantastic Tiny Little!
When I checked on you a few minutes ago, you were sleeping away. But — Tiny Little! You are not sleeping like a duckling! You are standing on the perch like an adult. One more big giant step for you today, Tiny Little.
It looks like all the rays from the moon and stars are shining down on you. By the way, did anyone tell you, Tiny Little, that they want to permanently name that perch after you? What an honour! You have sweet fishy dreams, Tiny Little. We will be waiting to see what you get into tomorrow.
Someone caught Tiny Little’s second flight. You might want to see it again!
In other Osprey news, there was a bit of a giggle over at the Llyn Clywedog Nest in Wales. If you are Only Bob and your dad, Dylan, flies in with a nice Brown Trout and your mom, Seren 5F, flies in with a mullet — which are you going to choose?
Remember. Dylan just loves Brown Trout. He will fly for 25 minutes to and 25 minutes home to get Brown Trout if he can’t get it at the local reservoir. Sometimes Dylan doesn’t like all the fishers down at the end of the reservoir where the trout are so he will travel a distance. Today, it turns out that is a good thing because Only Bob – who already has a huge crop – decided he wants mom’s Mullet. Dad, you get that Brown Trout all to yourself – and you deserve it! Look at the size of this baby of yours.
Do you think Only Bob picked Mom’s mullet because he was certain she would feed him?
The hot weather is also in Wales. The temperature was to be no less than 95 degrees F there today — that is entirely unheard of in the country. That is 35 C. Fingers crossed that there are no casualties.
I was extremely happy to pop into the Collins Marsh Nest in Wisconsin to find that the little chick on the nest was being fed. I am going to assume that there were at least two other meals after this one. Feel free to correct me if you know. I am also hoping that the local temperatures getting cooler after two days of high heat will mean regular fish drops on this nest!
Even before he was finished, the chick has a nice crop. That is very reassuring. Gosh, it wasn’t that long ago when Tiny Little was this small.
I literally just did a quick peek at the Patuxent Osprey Nest 2 to make sure that ‘Silo Chick’ had not fallen out again! I wonder if he knows that he is now known around the world for falling out of two Osprey nests in two days? It must be a record.
This is short. The haircut took the priority today. I almost feel human again.
Thank you so much for joining me. It is always a delight to have you here with us. I also enjoy all of your messages and the news you send. Take care everyone. And for those who asked, I almost forgot. We got even more rain overnight. I do not know if it is helping with the wildfires that are out of control. Many of the Ospreys that come to Manitoba in the summer to breed have their nests in these areas and it is worrisome.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Neustadter Nature Center and the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, Patuxent Park Osprey Nest 2, CarnyX Wild and Llyn Clywedog Osprey Nest, and the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.
This will be a concise posting. Today my hair will be getting a makeover for the first time since November – or was it August of 2020?
There is great news. Tiny Little (aka Little Bob) on the Foulshaw Moss took her second flight at 13:34 on 21 August. Polly Turner caught the action:
Earlier, around 8:20, Tiny Little’s crop was concave, as it is in the picture above. White YW landed on the nest with a stick. Stayed a couple of seconds and flew to land on the top of the parent tree in the background. Tiny Little got antsy. You could just feel that she wanted to fly, too.
Congratulations, Tiny Little! Let’s get those wings to working hard before you have to start your migration.
Ferris Akel has posted the highlights for his 17 July tour. Here is that link:
In other Osprey news, Osprey House in Brisbane, Australia had their first hatch on 14:58 on 20 July and their second hatch at 7:05:54. That is only forty hours apart. Well done. There is no streaming cam, but they do have a FB page if you are interested.
Thank you for popping in and joining me. Have a wonderful day. I will be back with a full report of the nests early this evening.
Thank you to the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest for their streaming cam, where I grabbed my screenshots.
More rain has come to the Canadian prairies and that is good. There are wonderful things happening at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, too.
Earlier today 462 was eating on the flounder that came in. Tiny Little wants some and she is doing her usual wing flaps and playing with sticks, even pulling on the tail of the live fish to get at it. What a character. The two older siblings have become very tolerant of the ‘little one’ that isn’t so little!
It is Tiny’s usual look towards the tail before getting back there and pulling on it. Gosh, these birds are gorgeous.
Tiny Little has been moving sticks getting back by the tail and pretending to give it an accidental yank once in awhile. Too funny.
Tiny Little takes over from 462 eating the fish. 462 flies off the nest and 464 is quietly waits in the wings.
Tiny Little is really doing a great job of that self-feeding. She has been working on that flounder for quite awhile.
White YW flies in and delivers another flounder to 464 who begins mantling and telling the parent how happy they are.
Of course, 462 sees all the action on the nest and decides to come and check it out. They don’t want to miss anything — especially a parent on the nest to feed them. Yes, even the older ones love to still be fed by mum. But mum is not doing it. This is tough love Osprey style.
Tiny Little will not be distracted! And 464 is holding on to its flounder as best it can. Gosh those heads are hard to open. Wonder if 462 will get this one later?
These kiddos are pretty polite. I am glad that White 35 has stopped rushing in to feed Tiny Little. That might sound cruel but TL needs to become really good at self-feeding to survive. These are terrific parents. 462 has eaten earlier and both TL and 464 along with 462 will have nice full tummies for nite-nite.
Earlier Tiny Little did some great hovering.
After Tiny Little finished all of the flounder she could eat, White 35 flew in quickly and took it to the parent tree. Those adults have to be watching everything these kids do – like a hawk! The removal of the fish inspired Tiny Little to do more great hovering. I thought she was gone! If not, tomorrow. Tiny Little is now inspired to self-feed and fly. The confidence is really growing.
Tiny Little also seemed to enjoy the hovering and looking down – the fear from earlier days seems to have dissipated.
I just checked and 464 is still working on its flounder. Tiny Little is staring 464 down and 462 is simply waiting. These three are so funny. Did I tell you that 462 actually fed Tiny Little some bites earlier she begged so much!? And if I told you twice, laugh twice. That is just a hoot.
No one is rushing 464 anymore. Tiny Little and 462 have decided to become ducklings and wait!
There is a lot of worry about the Collins Marsh Reservoir Osprey Nest in Wisconsin. It is hot there. They are now experiencing some of that relentless heat that hit the Pacific NW a couple of weeks ago and the Canadian Prairies last week. It is close to 45 degrees in the nest. That could easily account for the deaths of the other two chicks. The little one was fed at sometime. I rewound the tape. I could not see the mother protecting that chick from the sun. I really hope that this is not another Electra-Wattsworth scenario! There are some Osprey parents that are ‘the greats’ – Monty and his mates Nora and Glesni, Blue 33 and Maya are up in the super strata. There are others who are normal average and some who, are not good parents. Maybe they came from a nest where food was not brought in regularly. Who knows what is the difference. Some of us believe it is good DNA. The Cowlitz nest is an example of a nest that is not that good. If taking care of your family and fledging chicks who survive migration and return to breed is the measure, Cowlitz fails. Sadly, we cannot expect every nest to be like that of Blue 33 at Rutland. Maya and Blue even fledged a nest of four chicks in 2018. Some of the others can hardly keep up with two. Still. we all want to help if we can.
There have been any number of questions about intervention to save the chick at Collins Marsh. At the present time the archaic laws of the US – those of 1948 – do not allow for interventions unless it is something clearly caused by humans. Think monofilament line in the nest. That said I will go over some interventions this year. In the early spring, the two eaglets of E17 and E18 on Harriet and M15s Bald Eagle Nest got conjunctivitis. There were probably more than a 1000 people who called in about the eaglets and their eyes. Action was taken. CROW retrieved the eaglets with the help of Joshua Tree and they were off the nest for 5 days. They returned well. Conjunctivitis is not caused by humans. At the Captiva Bald Eagle Nest, CROW removed a monofilament line. However, when the two eaglets ate a rat that was brought to the nest that had eaten rodenticide, the youngest died and the oldest lived until they were flapping and jumping and broke a blood feather and bled out on the nest. Help did not come for the eaglets when the first one looked ill. Citizen watchers warned of the rat on the nest but there was nothing happened. It was extremely frustrating. Both of the eaglets died. This was not the fault of CROW. You need action by the bodies that govern the nests. Lately a number of chicks have gone to foster parents which is also an intervention. A chick was rescued that fell into a river. That is an intervention. Laws are applied differently by different people. The laws need to be changed and brought up to date. There should also be laws against lead in hunting and fishing equipment and Minnesota is taking that on. Every state should ban the use of these because that lead is killing the birds or making them severely ill. Every day there are examples on the rehabbers sites. Hawaii just passed a law banning helium balloons because the albatross get entangled in them. Then there is the entire issue of rodenticide – which kills wildlife as well as domestic pets. Research shows that raptors kill more mice and rats than poison. Perhaps the answer is to begin at the State level with copies of appeal letters to the Under Secretary of State for the Department of the Interior.
I checked on Kindness and her dad had fed her and within fifteen minutes he was flying back in with more food for his little girl. It might seem lonely but there are benefits to being an only child on a great nest. Freedom and Liberty are fantastic parents at the Glacier Gardens nest. It is a wonder Kindness did not pop her crop today.
I have really watched Tiny Little closely today and just popped in to the other nests. The only other news I have is that the Albatross is still at the RSPB Bempton Cliffs in the East Riding of Yorkshire as reported by Sally White on the FB page. Maybe that Albatross isn’t lost. Perhaps they know something we don’t!
Thank you so much for joining me. Great progress has been made at the Foulshaw Moss. It is wonderful to see Tiny Little getting some confidence. Our rain has stopped but everything is green! It’s a good day. Take care all.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots: Collins Marsh Reservoir and Neustadter Nature Center, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, and Glaciers Gardens Bald Eagle cam.
