Tag Archives: Glacier Gardens

Thursday morning in Bird World

21 April 2022

The snow that was forecast did not materialize in southern Manitoba and Winnipeg. That is wonderful! We needed a break from the last storm to melt the snow and to be outside. The birds needed a break in the weather, too. Sadly, there is another special weather advisory for the southern part of Manitoba starting tomorrow morning through Sunday. Perhaps we will only get the wintery rain. Oh, the poor Wood Ducks. They have just arrived.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The Q & A session on Cal Falcons is at noon in Berkeley! When you go to the YouTube site and set the alarm reminder, it will confirm your local time – hence the confusion. Thanks ‘B’ and ‘S’.

You can tell by Big Red’s demeanour that ‘something’ is happening. She does a little wiggle and then you catch her with this focused look as if she can see the eyas advancing in its pecking. Of course, she can hear it cheeping and, apparently, so can the other three. Some believe that this encourages them to hatch faster so they can join their sibling. That would be grand.

Arthur revealed the progress of the hatch when there was a shift change.

Hatching!

The White-tailed eagle nest of Tula and Borek in the Tuchola Forest had three eggs. The eaglets hatched on 8, 12, and 14th of April. There are only two surviving eaglets today. Siblicide is not as widespread in White-tail Eagle populations as it is in Golden Eagles. That said, when the third eaglet hatched the eldest at this nest began immediately to beak it. There was 6 days difference in their age and size. I believe the two surviving are hatches 1 and 2. I will refer to them as Big Bob and Middle Bob to try and keep things straight.

Today, Middle was clever and crawled up leaning half in and half way out of the nest cup so it could get some food. This is a very determined youngster. The eldest had eaten and so the youngest was not tormented. I hope that these two survive just like the two oldest hatches at the Dale Hollow Nest.

The nest is 25 metres above ground on a 140-year-old pine tree. The White-tailed eagles have been using the nest for four years. At another place in the forest, eagles had been nesting since the late 1990s on a 160-year-old pine near to one of the fish lakes. So for 25 years eagles, at some location in Tuchola Forest, WTE have been breeding. There is a year round protection area around the nests extending 200 metres in any direction.

The nest is located in this large, 46 sq kilometres, nature reserve in northern Poland. The two main types of trees are the Pine and the Oak Bartek. It is the oldest oak tree in Poland believed to be 686 years in age.

“Polek i Bartek w jednym lesie stali” by Polek is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The park is full of rabbits, deer, and 80 species of birds. There are also nearby rivers for fish. It is anticipated that there should be plenty of food for the adults and both of the chicks.

There are about 1200-1500 pairs of White-tailed Eagles in Poland. Their conservation status is ‘very scarce breeding bird’. Most of the eagles live in the northern areas of Poland.

Here is a link to this White-tailed Eagle nest in Poland:

Both eaglets were being fed well Thursday morning:

Idris and Telyn were watching the train go past the Dyfi Nest in Wales. Two eggs. We will be watching for the third tomorrow.

Little (or Mini) is still on the nest with Lena and has not fledged yet. Middle (Little) took off this morning about 10:05 for a flight and is perched on some greenery near the nest. He is probably going to watch for when Dad delivers a fish. This morning Lena has also had to chase away an intruder, another Osprey.

It looks like the MN-DNR nest is getting a bit of sun this morning. It will help dry out the nest of Harry and Nancy but will they get some of that snow and rain that is coming?

What is enfluffeling?

Jackie and Shadow’s 2022 eaglet, Spirit, sure loves it when the wind blows hard through the nest. She is working those wings today!

For all us worrying aunties and uncles, the cam operator did Zoom out and there are three eaglets on the West End nest. Relief. When the camera is in the normal position, you might only see two.

This is the view of the Glacier Gardens Nest this morning. Oh, it is beautiful. Liberty and Freedom should be returning soon.

It is a bright sunny day for Chase, Cholyn, and the little one at the Two Harbours nest.

The Redding Eagles are asking for you to vote for your favourite name for Liberty and Guardians 2022 hatches. Here is the announcement:

Friends of the Redding Eagles​ NAMING: Step 2: Vote for your favorite pair of names, just ONCE please. Click here to vote- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA…

Jasper and Rocket from Samson and Gabby’s NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest have both fledged. They have also returned to the nest. Yahoo. Today they were perched on a branch of the nest tree looking out. I wonder if they might do some tandem flying?

Mum flew in with a hunk of fish at 09:22 at the UFlorida Osprey nest. Look where where that one osplet is positioned for the feed! I believe this to be either Big or Middle. It is not Little Bit.

That chick got a lots of nice big fish bites while the other two were fighting at the back of Mum. It is difficult to tell who is who and the dark shadow is not helping. I first thought it was Little Bit on the rim of the nest but I believe that Little Bit is getting hammered by Big while it is Middle eating. But that is not a 100% certain ID.

The chicks are really, really hungry. Clever of that one to get up there to be fed. It walked away and fell into food coma. Smiling. Ah, is he playing possum? He looked up to see the other two eating. Wonder if he will return for some more fish?

That osplet would certainly like some more fish.

Sadly it looks like Little Bit is lodged between Big and Middle. This is not good especially with less fish coming on the nest and the hot weather dehydrating the little guys.

Little Bit cannot seem to get around the bigger sibling. He will be getting tired and dehydrated.

At 10:00 the Big sibling was laying on top of Little Bit.

I do not believe Little Bit did get any fish. The feeding was over and Mum went to brood the chicks.

I will monitor the UFlorida nest on and off today. What looked good a few days ago has now turned. Let us all hope that another big chunk of fish gets on that nest quickly so Little Bit can have some food.

This is the latest on the hatch for Big Red and Arthur. The image was shot in a change over from Arthur to Big Red. I am really hoping that is blood from a prey item.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care everyone. I will be back with what I hope is good news on Little Bit later today along with hatch news from Cornell. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Explore.org, Tuchoskie Forest Eagle Cam, NEFlorida and the AEF, Redding Eagles, MN-DNR, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Cal Falcons, Glacier Gardens, and Dyfi Osprey Project.

Late Thursday and early Friday in Bird World

14-15 April 2022

Everyone is anxiously awaiting the end of the storm system that is staying over Manitoba. Hopefully it will be on its way eastward late on Friday. There is so much snow. It has been a privilege to feed so many visiting Dark-eyed Juncos over the past two days as well as the regular garden birds, squirrels, and rabbit. My live is so enriched by their presence that it is hard to imagine not having them visit daily.

Things are really busy in Bird World. The UK and European raptors are busy laying eggs, eagles are preparing to fledge or just hatching, US Ospreys are arriving and laying eggs and some nests are just coming back on line.

I know that many of you love the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagles. That nest is now back on line with eggs being laid when? the end of April? or beginning of May? For whatever reason, that camera will not allow me to post it here so do go to YouTube and search for Glacier Gardens! Isn’t it gorgeous. There are so many Bald Eagles in Alaska – they love the salmon and the cooler temperatures. Indeed, the 67 or 68 Bald Eagles taken into care during the heat of last summer in British Columbia flew north to Alaska, not south. This will be a growing trend as the raptors adapt to climate change.

Oh, goodness. Little Bit at the UFlorida Gainesville Osprey nest is doing so well. What a little cutie pie. He is still tiny compared to Big but Mom is doing really well.

Look at him stretch those neck muscles to reach his fish. Yes, that is him at the back. Big has already eaten, is full, and is walking away to the left front. Excellent!

The Patuxent River Park has started the streaming cams to their osprey nests. This is cam 2. Now isn’t she gorgeous?

This is the nest where the foster chick went overboard last season and where a staff member took her canoe out and retrieved the chick and got it back on the nest – after hours! So many were grateful for that act of kindness.

Thank you ‘L’ for alerting me to this camera being back on line.

Here is the link to cam 2:

And this is the link to cam 1:

I decided to go and check on Jasper and Rocket at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby at Jacksonville. And look where I first found them! It will not be long for their first flights.

The AEF did a short visit of Rocket joining Jasper.

Besties.

At the SWFlorida Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, E20 is turning into a great prey stealer. Lady Hawk made a video of M15 with prey by the pond when E20 snatched it and took it to the nest to eat. Bravo!

I am going to bed with a smile on my face. Look at that crop of Little Middle at the Dale Hollow nest!

Spirit continues to grow and be well loved and cared for by Jackie and Shadow at the Big Bear nest. Gorgeous.

For all of those waiting, the chat will open for Big Red and Arthur’s streaming cam on Monday. Normally the chats vary the times between M-W-F and T-Th-S. Great moderators with years of experience are there to educate you about the hawks, their history, and what to expect. I hear Laura Culley, the falconer, will be with us again this year. Fantastic.

Here is the link to access the camera:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/red-tailed-hawks/

You will see the page below. Click on the red chat symbol! It is easy. Just don’t go to YouTube expecting a chat!!!!!!!!

As some of you may know, the female at the Duke Farms nest left on the 11th when the eaglet was banded. She has yet to return to the nest. While we all want her to be safe and return soon, it is reassuring that the eaglet is of the age that it can be left alone and would naturally have been at times. The male is bringing in food and feeding and caring for his eaglet and this is all good.

UPDATE: Biologists have spotted the female this morning and she is fine.

Harry, Nancy and the two eaglets at the MN-DNR nest seem to be just fine – for now. North Dakota got really dumped on with the snow. The storm is moving east. I hope it stays away from this nest in Minnesota!

The Black Storks at the Sigulda County nest in Latvia are busy. They are doing a lot of restoration work on their nest for this breeding season.

Here is the link to the camera of Grafs (m) and Grafiene (f):

Here is Grafiene feeding the storklets in July 2021. The parents go fishing and regurgitate the small fish onto the nest for the babies.

The nest seems to get so small as the storklets grow.

It was a hot summer with food becoming scarce. Many individuals helped the storks and the storklets by setting up a pond with a decoy to try and lure the fledglings to they could get food. I was very grateful for the efforts made at some of the Black Stork nests last year including the delivery of fish to keep Jan and Janika’s storklets alive. Droughts, rising summer temperatures, the erosion of wetland habitat all impact our beautiful feathered friends.

The Poole Harbour Osprey couple made the BBC news.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-61109786

Have you voted for the name for Annie’s ‘New Guy’? You have until noon PST 17 April. New name announced on Monday the 18th!!!!!!!! Yahooooooo.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/04/13/nine-names-one-falcon-vote-to-give-uc-berkeleys-new-guy-a-new-name/?fbclid=IwAR1y1UU5qtPvCT2w5kCi-51qPYWOaog27Lo7uVTpWuBQ5brVbKlGQDmLgcE

I know that some of you love Dyson. I don’t normally post other wildlife but I found this streaming cam with a grey squirrel box, a mother and 3 wee ones. You might enjoy watching it!

https://pixcams.com/gray-squirrel-nest/?fbclid=IwAR3wT558zbJ7Ms7qhTjdHkFKal_h7mMN8uG-iiLzL4nbbOCkpNV_js-5XbU

We still have light snow falling and the Juncos are still in the garden in full force. The great thing about this morning – the sun is out!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell RTH, DHEC, UFlorida Ospreys, Looduskalender, Latvian Fund for Nature, Duke Farms, Friends of Big Bear Valley, MN-DNR Eagles, NEFlorida and the AEFR, Patuxent River Park, and Glacier Gardens.

Thursday in Bird World

It is still super cold on the Canadian Prairies. You don’t even have to look at the temperature on the phone when you hear a super loud crunch when you walk on the snow. It is so dry, the snow, that you cannot even pack it into a snowball or a snowwo/man. The European Starlings were waiting for the first food drop, all lined up on the tips of the Lilac Bush branches. Surprisingly, the Sparrows beat them out. Four sparrows to one Starling. They will all eat but, most of the time, the Sparrows get shut out. The other day Little Woodpecker was here. He just stays away from all of them. Which reminds me – I need to go and fix his suet!

Looking back on the history of the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, I realize that we probably have another month with the three lads. Last year DEW was last seen on 17:01 25 January. He was never sighted again after that time. Solly departed and flew West on 2 February. We know from her tracker that Solly thrived until that tragic day this fall when, after catching a fish, she landed on a power pole and died. I know that Port Lincoln has lobbied hard to get those poles covered and I understand that the power company is cooperating. For those who wrote letters to the Minister, thank you. Public pressure can help.

Ervie had advanced from flying to the fishing ramps to hanging around the commercial shipping yards over at the Marina!

That is Ervie on his perch. You can see that is crop is full.

Ervie and Falky on the nest hoping to get a fish from Dad.

The nest of White-tail Eagle, Milda, at Durbe has been covered with snow. Still, nest visits have taken place. Just look at the forest and the view. So beautiful. This nest will not become active until spring when I will be reporting daily on the happenings. Looking the White-tail Eagles raising chicks and the return of the Black storks.

Kindness’s nest is all covered in snow up at Glacier Gardens in Juneau, Alaska.

If you are wondering what Kindness might be doing, please have a look at this 2 minute video. It is a bit dated in the sound but the information is correct to the present time. The images of the eagles flying and eating are gorgeous. The video ends abruptly. I would have loved to hear about the two clans but, another time! There are so many Eagles in Alaska. They sometimes take over small trucks delivering fish to the canneries.

The Roe Deer feeder is in Latvia. Yesterday, for the first time, they caught a female deer cow and her calf coming to eat. You can see them arriving on the right to try and get some food. The males are the ones with the antlers and from my reading it can be dangerous. The mother and her baby will wait after being escorted by the leader of the bucks and return.

You can see the little one eating here. There is a hierarchy in all of the groups. This is, of course, why our birds try so hard to be dominant and why Ervie, once he established himself, expected to get the first fish of the morning. E19 and E20 are going through this process currently.

Andy and Lena were both alert and alerting at the Captiva Osprey Nest this morning.

Of course their eyes are so good. All I could hear were people below. I wonder if that is the issue? They sure have a beautiful site for a nest! Hopefully it will be a successful season for this lovely pair who continue to try and continually have the Crows steal their eggs.

You can watch Andy and Lena here:

Harriet and M15 are being kept busy by E19 and 20. You can hear the little ones chirping away to Mum and Dad.

The pair got started on all the beaking as soon as Harriet got up to feed them. Oh, my.

There are over 4000 people watching these two at any one time and a myriad of videos coming up on YouTube. You won’t be able to miss them!

Everything is just fine in Bird World. The eggs at Taiaroa Head have been candled and OGK and YRK’s egg is developing normally. We are a month away from hatch. Gabby and Samson are taking turns up at NEFlorida and you will see me getting pretty excited in a couple of weeks. Thankfully, Daisy has not yet returned to the WBSE nest that I am aware. The latest news was awhile ago on WBSE27 who is currently in rehabilitation. The two chicks at Hilton Head are doing great. My copy of The Season of the Osprey arrived in the post this morning. That is on the agenda for today. It is far too cold to be outside for very long.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Stay warm, stay safe and take care until I see you again.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Glacier Gardens, Roe Deer Feeder in Latvia, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett Family, Port Lincoln Osprey, Captiva Osprey Cam, and the Latvian Fund for Nature.

Winter Solstice in Bird World

As all of you know, Daisy the Duck has occupied my mind for some 20 days now without much of a break. She has just arrived home to the nest – it is the Summer Solstice 22 December in Australia – and I am going to take some time to check in on the other nests that are normally watched.

It has been a horrible day for Gabby who is incubating two eggs on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest called The Hamlet. It is just outside Jacksonville.

Bald Eagles generally have 35 days of incubation. Gabby and Samson were really wise. They did not start hard incubation until the second egg was laid meaning that the two eaglets will be born close together with no older sibling advantage. They will just bop each other taking turns! This means that the hatch date is 19 January. Mark your calendars.

For me, this is great timing. Harriet and M15s eaglets are set to hatch in 3-4 days. We won’t be watching two bobble head nests at once. Oh, those high winds are really hitting Fort Myers. You can see Harriet’s feathers blowing.

It is a beautiful day over in Decorah, Iowa with the Decorah Bald Eagles. No eggs – it is winter! But the Eagles are around. The nest is at a trout hatchery – lucky raptors. Smiling. Everyone should have a source of fish for their Ospreys and their Raptors. Takes about 350-400 a season. Not bad for giving life to these beautiful birds and their family.

The Bald Eagles in Iowa generally lay their eggs in mid-February.

The Decorah Eagles are not to be confused with the Decorah North Eagles!!!!! It is home to Mr and Mrs North.

The camera is live at Duke Farms in New Jersey. No eggs yet. In fact, it should be about a month until we see eggs on this nest. I hope this Mum has better weather this year! She was encased in ice and snow most of incubation in early 2021.

Diamond is starting the day in the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange. Both her and Xavier have been examining the new gravel that Cilla Kinross provided awhile ago. They have also had bad weather with torrential rains but it looks like they will have a nice day today. Fingers crossed.

Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear, California are doing nestorations. It looks like they are going to have a white Christmas.

Last year Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls, took over a young Bald Eagles couple’s nest on Farmer Derek’s property. They raised two owlets. The nest is currently unoccupied but one of the Bald Eagles did a fly by at 07:19 this morning. Will there be a battle over this nest?

The eagle is right at the horizon line with the blue sky. You should be able to see it.

Anna has taken over incubation duties of the two eggs on the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest. This is her and Louis’s second breeding attempt. They fledged Kisatchie last season.

Clive is on incubation duty at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. Another storm is really starting to churn in that area. It will effect the eagles as well as the ospreys – and, of course, it is the same storm that is hitting Harriet and M15 in Fort Myers.

It is a beautiful winter’s day – perfect for the Winter Solstice – at Glacier Gardens. I wonder what Kindness is doing? She was such a special juvie.

Alaska is a perfect place for Bald Eagles, too. When Dave Hancock put the satellite trackers on the 7 or 8 fledglings in British Columbia that survived that horrific heat wave, all of them flew north to Alaska.

Lena is waiting for Andy to bring her some fish at the Captiva Osprey Nest. This couple was really hit hard – along with Connie and Clive at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest – from the storms the other day. It is good to see that all had no problems. There is another storm brewing today.

Ervie got the morning fish and Bazza is not happy. Apparently, Ervie woke up in the middle of the night and kicked Bazza off the nest. I can understand why he is grumpy.

Ervie is doing a great mantling job. Third hatch turned out to be the ‘King Pin’. Wonder if Bazza remembers how he tried to treat Ervie? Do raptors have a memory like elephants?

Daisy is fine. Wishing for a quiet day for her.

This is a wee bit of a catch up with some of our other favourite nests. Cal Falcons raised $3500 through the sale of t-shirts to support Lindsay Wildlife for treating Grinnell. That is fantastic! There is no news of who Annie will pair with for the 2022 breeding season. Watching birds is all about patience. Sometimes I don’t have any!!!!!!

Thank you so much for stopping in to check on the nests. The birds will weather the current storms in Florida. They are used to them but, still, we worry. Wishing all of you a very happy Winter solstice. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, SWFlorida and the Pritchett Family, Captiva Osprey, Captiva Bald Eagle, KNF Bald Eagles, Glacier Gardens, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Farmer Derek, Friends of Big Bear Eagles, Duke Farms, the Raptor Research Project at Explore.org, and the Port Lincoln Ospreys.

From Port Lincoln to Kauai to Juneau

Oh, gosh. We really are going to miss these three boys when they finally leave the Port Lincoln barge. Ervie was wet this morning. He has been focusing very hard on finding a fish and catching it. We might never know, sadly, when that moment occurs – unless he brings it up to the ropes like Dad. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?!

Bazza seems to have landed the first fish this morning on the nest. Falky doesn’t seem bothered and Ervie had flown off earlier.

Port Lincoln gave us a nice image of Bazza over on the ropes. These three males are quite handsome.

When Ervie flew back to the barge he was really keen on preening those feathers.

You can really see that sharply hooked beak that helps to tear the fish so they are easier to eat. Unlike Peregrine falcons, Ospreys do not have a tomial tooth. In my images it is a bit difficult to see that valve which seals the Osprey’s nostrils when they dive for their fish but, it is there.

Looking at that beautiful image of Ervie below you will notice that the Ospreys lack that very heavy eyebrow of some of the other raptors. Instead, they have that incredible black line which passes from the eye down to the neck. That black line helps them with the glare.

Ervie missed the the 8:14:14 fish that Dad brought in. Falky claimed in.

Port Lincoln has reported that Ervie has been flying farther. They also note that he has been checking out the coast. Here is the latest map of Ervie’s movements from the barge.

Ervie and his siblings will get their adult plumage at their first moult which is fully completed by the time they are a year old. That change in plumage does not indicate Ervie’s sexual maturity. Osprey do not normally breed until they are three years of age. The 2019 fledgling from Port Lincoln, Calypso, has been spotted sitting on a branch with a male. Might there be chicks next year? That would be marvellous!

When Penny Olsen’s book on the raptors of Australia was published in 1995, the map of Australia indicated that the Eastern Ospreys were located only around the coast. Ironically, that map did not indicate any ospreys in the Eyre Peninsula. This is one of the things that has changed since its publication. We have to look no further than the Port Lincoln Opsrey Barge and Thistle Island. We also know from Solly being the first tracked Osprey that the birds do go inland. Not all that far but further inland than anyone had understood previously. We are fortunate that Solly was able to provide so much information to us in the 14 months that she was alive. Port Lincoln can now compare the dispersal of a female to that of a male with the tracking of Ervie.

There are many threats to Osprey. I imagine that everyone reading my blog can name at least four. I want to add warming seas and the decline in fish numbers as yet another.

As you know, I highly recommend Dr Marc Bekoff’s book, The Emotional Lives of Animals. He also wrote The Ten Truths with Jane Goodall. A very moving story is coming from the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Some of you might recognize the name of Hob Osterlund. She posted a very moving story that can be added to the cornucopia of evidence that Bekoff and Goodall have that support animals having emotions which they express. Once you have read those two reasonably priced books, you will never ever apologize again for anthropomorphizing animals again.

Here is that posting:

Tears.

One of my readers ‘B’ asked me if I had seen the snow at Glacier Gardens. I had not! So I went to check. Oh, my goodness, it is so beautiful. If you close your eyes you can see that beautiful Kindness using that nest and those branches like a trampoline. What a magnificent juvie Kindness was. She is off eating Salmon along the river.

On Taiaroa Head, 122 birds have been seen so far and there are 36 eggs laid. No mention yet on who the Royal cam stars for 2021-22 will be! Soon. And there has been no update on Grinnell. No further updates on WBSE 27 either.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and to Hob Osterlund and her FB page for that moving story. Much appreciated.

Feedings and fires…Storks fall from the sky over Athens

Today is a gorgeous day on the Canadian prairies. The rains helped to contain or put out many of the wild fires in our province and this morning, for a second day, we woke up to blue skies and white clouds! All of the plants are a vibrant green and the birds continue to sing. There was not enough to fill the dry creeks but the downpours we did get are a reminder of how much all life depends on water. The nestlings and fledglings would add ‘food’ to that list!

There is a constant worry that some of the late hatches are seeing dwindling food deliveries and that the parents might leave for their migration with young still on the nest. My friend, ‘S’ is concerned, as are many others, for the nestlings on two Black Stork nests – one in Latvia and the other in Estonia. Some others worry about the little osprey on the Collins Marsh Nature Centre nest that we have been calling ‘Malin’. (The official contest is underway for the official name).

Malin self-feeds from small Bullhead. 11 August 2021

Malin was receiving 5 feedings on occasion. Those were good days. The chick has not been fed well by the standards of other nests. This past Sunday, 8 August, Malin had no food. Yesterday, 10 August, he had two feedings. Today, there have already been 2 – one at 9:35 and the other around 11:42. Always these are small whole fish or pieces of fish. I have not seen a whopper on this nest.

Malin is hungry and several of us are trying to ascertain if the fish are ‘fished out’ or if the Dad has another nest – it really is unclear. A report by the Wisconsin DNR on the number of Bald Eagle and Osprey nests in the state indicate a drop of Ospreys in area 3, where the Collins Marsh nest is located, by -25.2%. While every other area saw an increase in Ospreys, Collins Marsh was only one of two that showed a decline. Does all of this reflect a growth in Bald Eagle Nests in the area? If you would like to read the report from 2019 (I have not found one for 2020), I am attaching a copy. A big shout out to ‘S’ who found this and sent it to me. Thank you.

wisconsin-2019eagleospreysurveysDownload

The feedings for the nestlings of Grafs and Grafiene at the Sigulda Nest show a similar up and down pattern to that at Collins Marsh. However, there has not been a day without food to my knowledge at Sigulda.

‘S’ reports that on 9 August, the storklings had four feedings – which is considered low – but yesterday, they had only two. Today, there have been 2 deliveries by the female, Grafiene, and one by the male, Grafs. Grafiene is also like the female at the Collins Marsh nest, Marsha, who leaves for periods up to 24 hours at a time. The behaviour of these two females is very curious.

It is hoped that there is time for both the Black Storklings and the Osprey to fledge. ‘S’ advises that the minimum is ten days for the storklings. The Ospreys tend to migrate at the end of August or beginning of September in Wisconsin.

Malin is not ready to fledge. It is very worrisome for many reasons. I look at the development and growth of the Osprey fledglings in the UK and then compare this with Malin. Those in the UK have fully developed feathering and have really perfected their flying skills. They are self-feed with ease. Most have been fledged for a month. Will Malin have a month to further develop his body and skills? Will the storklings? The nest that is on the branch of the pine tree in the forest near Sigulda is so very narrow and has collapsed in the past. Will the hopping and flapping cause the little ones to fall?

The storklings are so excited when a parent arrives with fish that it does make you wonder if the could make the branch nest collapse. Grafiene covered the nest with little fish around 17:20. There was lots of food for each of the nestlings.

The storklings were eating and eating and had large crops. I wonder if a parent will bring another delivery before night?

I am including the link to the Black Stork Nest in Sigulda County, Latvia. If you wish to find the chat room or forum (with lots of information) please check the information under the streaming cam.

In Alaska, Kindness is not short of food. She has gone some days with few deliveries and other days, Dad not only leaves her food for self-feeding but today, he fed his baby girl. Dad just can’t help himself. He has an enormous soft spot for Kindness. The image below of Dad feeding Kindness is right after he had delivered prey 20 minutes earlier! Oh, Kindness, how lucky you are.

Did you know that Bald Eagles have a polarizing lens that helps them see fish in muddy waters? (Just like those who fish often wear Polarizing sunglasses.) That said Bald Eagles normally only feed in the top 15 cm or 6 inches. Their bare legs are designed to only go into the water 15 cm or 6 inches. Like the Ospreys and Sea Eagles, if they had feathered legs, they would get water logged.

You can watch Kindness here. The moderator on the camera chat is reminding everyone today that Kindness is 76 days old today. She is already flapping and jumping. The average act for fledge on this nest – not the whole of Alaska – is 89 days. (The whole of Alaska is 80 days). If she behaves like the other eaglets on this nest, you should be able to watch her until mid-September. Here is the link to that camera:

The White-Bellied Sea Eagle, Lady is feeding 27 and 28. Those little ones continue to look like white fluff balls but if you look carefully, their necks and wings are getting longer and there is a hint of ‘dark plumage’ underneath that natal down. The WBSE nest had a fright a few days ago. Dad showed up on the nest with a laceration on his leg and a cut near his throat that was bleeding. That seems to have subsided and Dad is busy catching fish for the family. (I am wondering about the small amount of salt water in the Parramatta River and its healing effects on Dad’s foot.)

27 and 28 do bonk but not much anymore. Some of the time it is instigated by the ‘little one’! They really are a good match for one another and unlike past years, viewers are remarking that they are really enjoying seeing the nest this year.

The egg tooth is disappearing as their beaks grow longer.

If you wish to watch then, here is the link to the cam:

There is some troubling news coming out in Bird World. ‘S’ informs me that the storks crossing over Greece where the wildfires are raging are being injured in large numbers as they migrate to Africa on the eastern routing. Various news agencies are reporting that people in Athens have been picking up dead storks off their lawns. This is more than sad. Here is a short news report by Reuters. I hope you can open it.

https://www.livetube.tv/news/video-greek-wildfires-are-causing-sky-high-danger-for-storks

Here is a news article on the plight of these poor birds.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/9/disoriented-by-wildfires-migrating-storks-die-crossing-greece

A second is the number of raptors going into care. In the United States, there is an all out assault on plant life. Various levels of government are asking for and receiving permission to undertake ‘aquatic treatments’ using either Tribune or Harpoon. These are chemical herbicides and they poison birds!!!! At the moment, A Place Called Hope, has raptors in its care because of these treatments.

In Jacksonville, crews have been up doing maintenance on the NE Florida Bald Eagle cam. The presence of humans on ‘his’ nest brought Samson out from the trees and onto the nest yesterday. Wow. What a wonderful treat. Samson remains in the area and does not migrate while Gabby leaves early to travel north to cooler weather. Ironically – and sadly – this year it has been as hot in Ithaca, New York as it has been in Florida.

All three of the fledglings at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest were present yesterday. Poor White YW. Tiny Little Bob almost ripped his leg off trying to get at a fish delivery. Tiny Little! To steady himself, White YW had to put his talon on Tiny Little’s head. Gracious. It ended OK – no bird was injured.

For some reason all of the fledglings have been coming to the nest for fish. One will get the fish from dad, one will stalk that sibling, then they will get it and then White YW will arrive with another fish and confuse the entire situation. It is really quite hilarious. The fledglings are as big (or bigger) than Dad! You can watch them here:

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

Oh, wow. Tiny Little just snagged a fish from sibling 462. Fantastic.

Tiny Little is a ‘scrapper’ just like Tiny Tot. They both learned ‘street smarts’ to survive. Well done, Tiny Little! It was not that long ago that Tiny Little was shy. Her aggression will help keep her alive in the future.

News Flash. The female companion of Bucacek on the Mlade Buky White Stork nest in Czechoslovakia has been named Marketa.

Everyone reading my newsletter loves birds and animals or you wouldn’t be here. I was sent a delightful story – a view of rewilding through the eyes of a deer. Since we have so many deer in our city that have been displaced for ever more condominiums and roads, it really struck home to me. Perhaps you would enjoy reading it, too. Here is the link to ‘Rewilding is a Two Way Street. A letter from your neighborhood deer’.

https://www.hcn.org/articles/essay-wildlife-rewilding-is-a-two-way-street/print_view

Whew. That was a long newsletter. Sorry. Thank you so much for joining me. Send warm wishes to all the birds – for food and for the storks to survive as they travel from northern Europe to Africa. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Reserve, Glacier Gardens Park in Juneau, Latvian Fund for Nature, WBSE Sea Eagle Nest, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.

Oh, Tiny Little…and other tales

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 screen shots: Collins Marsh Reservoir and Neustadter Nature Center, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, and Glaciers Gardens Bald Eagle cam.

Bird Tales

Wow. I just want to sit and watch this short video over and over again. If you know someone who tells you that Ospreys are not intelligent and cannot problem solve, please show them this video of an Osprey nest in Vaasa, Finland:

https://fb.watch/6Da1-VNcEo/

I am going to recommend a lovely little book. It is called Hawk Mother. The Story of a Red-tailed Hawk Who Hatched Chickens by Kara Hagedorn.

The book has won outstanding awards for science for youngsters; I would say ages eight to twelve, elementary to the lowest level of middle school. My copy arrived in the post this morning. It is the true story of a Red-tail Hawk that was shot, would never fly, and was adopted by a zoologist that worked with the Cornell Lab. You can read more about their journey together on the website for Sunshine – that is the name of the Red tail hawk. That address is http://www.sunshinehawk.com Have a look.

You can purchase the book directly from Kara Hagedorn, the author and carer of Sunshine. It is also available through other on line outlets. It would be great for teachers or family who want to get children interested in birds. The images are photographs that Kara Hagedorn took of Sunshine. It is inspirational. Have a look and if you like the book and feel so inclined, recommend it to your local library. Hagedorn uses the proceeds to pay for the care of Sunshine.

Speaking of the adoption of Red-tail Hawks, I will mention again a book for adults, A Wing in the Door. Life with a Red-tailed Hawk. It is by Canadian Peri Phillips McQuay who took on the care of and rewilding of a hawk. Well written with great anecdotal stories. Find a used copy – your pocketbook will thank you. I ordered mine from amazon but went to the options so that I could get a used copy. I have no idea why the new price is so astronomical – avoid it at all costs!

And, of course, the best way to save money and space is to order through your local library. Ours will bring in books if they do not normally have them in stock.

When you finish reading the book, you will want to find out what happened to Merak. Go to Peri Phillips McQuay website and she will tell you!

I promised that I would post Ferris Akel’s Tour from Saturday, 3 July, once it was processed by YouTube and here it is. This is a full day tour that has been edited down to approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes. The Red-tail hawks on the Cornell Campus start 1:38:35 if you want to skip ahead. It starts with Big Red on the lights. There are some incredibly cute clips of the Ks preening and kissing one another!

There is not a lot going on in Bird World today. And that is a good thing. There was way too much drama when we had the storms and the extreme heat last weekend.

They continue to band ospreys in the UK – working flat out before they get too old and near fledge. Indeed, fledge watch is on for the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn. Dysynnis, the male, is 49 days old today. Ystwyth is 45 days old. The chart for fledge times was also posted for that nest. Here is that information:

I love data. Just look at all that wonderful information! How many of us have been frustrated to go to a nest and not even have a history! Personally, if there is to be a streaming cam someone should take the responsibility of keeping accurate records and post them in the information section below so subscribers can see it. It would also help to have knowledgable moderators. Moderators are volunteers – they are not paid. They give up their time – a lot of it -to help us learn more about the birds. Histories and moderators would help citizen birders gain knowledge.

Nestlings such as the Two Bobs on Loch of the Lowes are just itching to fly so we are going to see some more fledging this week. They still love to have NC0 feeding them, though. Two big babies – look at the size of them – at the Loch of the Lowes! Laddie and NC0 did a fantastic job raising these two this year.

Others, such as the Two Bobs on the Manton Bay Nest, have fledged and are honing those wings while returning to the nest to eat. Blue 096, the female, has returned for a nice piece of fish this evening.

My goodness. Both of the parents at the Glacier Garden’s Bald Eagle Nest in Juneau, Alaska love to feed Kindness. I counted nothing short of six feedings yesterday!

When Kindness is finished eating, she looks like she is going to try out for The Hulk role in a new movie. It is a good things crops stretch! She is just now learning to stand and making attempts at walking. It is so sweet to watch her.

That is it for today. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care and let’s all hope that the nests just remain calm.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grabbed my screen shots: Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam, LRWT and the Manton Bay Osprey Nest.

Continuing to Track Elsa -and other news in Bird World, Sunday 4 July

Everyone that watches the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida is following the tracking of Tropical Storm Elsa. The latest weather news is that Elsa will remain a Tropical Storm bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes, and some wind to Florida. The current tracking has Elsa interacting with Jamaica and that is slowing her down. She will speed up a bit as she hits the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Elsa is not expected to intensify to hurricane status.

The good news for Tiny Tot and the Achieva Nest is that the current model shows the intensity off the west coast of Florida (but it could shift). Elsa will be trying to make landfall North of Tampa early Wednesday morning. I pulled the following model shots off of the weather broadcast in the area. The white thicker arc line on the left is the current believed path that Elsa will take. That could shift, however, and be anywhere in the area between it and the darker blue arch line.

This is Elsa at 11 am EDT. You can see the strongest area is right over Kingston, Jamaica.

I will continue to follow Elsa and report as we get closer to the beginning of the week with more certainty as to how the storm will impact St. Petersburg.

The last time I checked on Tiny Tot was 1:54 nest time and she was there fish begging hoping Jack would hear her and bring some lunch in. I do not believe Tiny Tot has had any fish yet today. She had a nice fish at 6:47 last night.

I checked on the Fortis Exshaw Osprey Nest in Canmore, Alberta. There was a fish delivery at 9:30 this morning and both of the surviving chicks were eating. Last night one of them had an enormous crop. So this nest is bucking the trend and has 2 survivors and 1 dead from the heat. Indeed, last night I thought we might have lost 2 but this morning there were two little heads eating.

The top image is last evening. You can see that huge crop on the little one.

This was right after the fish delivery on Sunday morning around 9:30.

There were two heads clearly seen in the image below. Well done Exshaw!

Kindness just gets cuter every day. This is Sunday morning in the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Nest in Juneau, Alaska. Talk about one very much loved eaglet. Her parents Freedom and Liberty really take good care of her.

It looks like it is the end of the season at the Newfoundland Power Osprey Nest, sadly. We know that the oldest chick got on top of the little one hatching. Mom tried to pull the bigger one off by its legs and both died. There was one remaining egg. That egg now seems to be broken and abandoned. If I am reading this wrong, please let me know.

Tiny Little Bob continues to rebuild the Foulshaw Moss Nest. It is interesting that he is also finding pieces of dry fish there that must be yummy. Tiny Little isn’t sharing with Big Sister when he does find a piece!

It is still wet up at the Loch of the Lowes. Laddie delivered an evening fish and got out of that nest fast! There was quite the scramble. NC0 will try and feed the Bobs so everyone gets something. Sadly, it was a bit of a twiddler that was delivered so it won’t go far.

News out of Australia. Mom and Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge have been mating and Mom is feverishly working on nest restorations. Mom is watching dad eating a fish not far away and wondering why he isn’t sharing and hasn’t been helping her! With all the twigs in and now the soft lining…it won’t be long!

Last year’s first hatch, Solly, returned to Streaky Bay and then went right back to Eba Anchorage. It appears that this might be where Solly is making her permanent home. Thanks to the satellite tracker her every move is monitored! Solly is doing well. That is excellent news.

News coming out of New Brunswick, Canada. A rare Stellar’s Sea Eagle – not seen in Canada – but in Russia – is in Canada on the Restigouche River! Have a read:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/stellers-eagle-new-brunswick-bird-1.6086439?fbclid=IwAR0AlwJvLZcMP4kaHkwTWzVPN6CWSIcngRufRVWPF3DZoi1Jwb63y3z6KFQ

And while I would like to leave us on a happy note, another Osprey was found entangled in monofilament fishing line in an Osprey Nest in Alberta and had to be detangled. Please, please, if you fish be responsible. Don’t fish where you know your line is going to get caught up and broken in underwater tree trunks leaving line and hook to harm the wildlife. Thank you.

Thank you for joining me today. Take care all. For those of you celebrating 4 July – have a happy one.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grabbed my screen shots: Achieva Credit Union, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, Newfoundland Power Corporation, Fortis Alberta, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Port Lincoln FB Page, Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam, and Channel Two Weather News.