Tag Archives: Glaslyn Ospreys

Saturday in Bird World

1 July 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Canada Day.

Friday was tough. A GHO wiped out a nest of 37-34 day old osplets at Moraine Park, PA, beginning around 0135. What a tragedy. These three were doing fantastic. When the totals come in for the season, how high will the percentage be for predation by raptors? It hit me hard…because I enter those deaths three times: here in the blog, on the Memorial Wall, and in the data forms. I am ‘sick and tired’ of entering ‘Died’. To top it off, a feral cat took one of the baby Blue Jays that got too low…Not a good morning so I cannot promise you that this blog will be even intelligent today! Apologies beforehand.

Other good news…The Tom and Angel mugs arrived today and they are cute and super. Coffee in them tonight! Thanks Windows to Wildlife for the fundraiser to upgrade your camera for this beautiful RTH family in Tennessee. Tom brought Deyani a lovely meal today. She must perch and watch for the adults to fly in with prey. Deyani was hot on Dad’s heels.

The other good news is that two other things arrived in the post. One were some new window markers. With the fledgling Blue Jays it is not too soon- and all the fledgling sparrows and now little Crows – to redo all the squiggles. Remember to always put the decals and do the window painting on the OUTSIDE – not the inside of the windows. The other was David Gessner’s new book, A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World. Gessner inspired me by his early books on Ospreys along the Cape and to travel to Cuba to see the Osprey migration over the mountains in September which I hope to do soon.

The really good news is that Mini did eat – and she is not being so aggressive today. Hunger can change a chick’s behaviour. If they think they are dying they have nothing to lose if they attack to test their chances. Mini even wound up with a crop today. That was a fantastic lift to the spirits!

‘R’ sent me a running list of events at Patchogue for which I am terribly grateful. It was a busy day today and I could not keep up. Please read this carefully there are a couple of surprises in there.

“Here is what has happened so far today. 0556 – Mini working on scrapes. 0627- 0638- Mum pulls out a large chunk of fish and feeds Mini over 100 bites! Nothing left for the Bigs. 0853-0857 – Mini and 3 are fed by Mum. Both get equal portions. 1201 – large fish delivered but Mum sits on perch while Bigs eat the whole fish.  Nothing for Mini. Despite this she has a nice crop in the afternoon. 1549 – Big stands up and has been laying on a large fish!  Can’t find when it was delivered, but Mini gets nothing, nor do 2 or 3.1606 – Bigs eating away. Mini watches. 1728 – Dad delivers another fish. Mini and 3 watching as 1 and 2 gorge themselves!” Now follow the images below and see what happens at 1741. Thanks so much, ‘R’ – so grateful for your eyes on this nest.

Mini has a crop at 0950.

1015. Mini eating. Mini is on the right side of Mum and had a good 14 minute feed.

1137: Nice crop.

1233. Big got the next fish. Mini did not get any.

‘3’ got the 1738ish fish. Mini would like some fish.

‘R’ reports: “1741.  Mini eating from tail of large fish while 2 eats from head. Still going strong at 1756!  Sneaky!” That is so brilliant of our Little Mini.

The other good news is that with the sibling rivalry happening in the Borders nest, Juno, the female, took matters into her own hands and went. fishing. Read this blog post. It will give you a smile because now there is hope that the third hatch will survive. Way to go Juno!

FAMINE-AND-FEAST-–-Border-OspreysDownload

Then Jackie and Shadow were up in Big Bear and that couple lives on hope..the failed seasons and then the beautiful eaglet, like Spirit. They make me happy and help the sad go away!!! This couple loses brood after brood to crows and DNH and yet they continue to love one another and are now at the nest waiting for the next season. Let us all hope it is a good one for them!

‘MP’ wrote to me about the MN Landscape Arboretum nest and the band on the male. We could tell a certain alphanumeric. ‘MP’ went on to find this information. “Black MS – was banded in 2002 at the nest off of Kings Point Road just north of HWY 7 and Carver Park Reserve in Hennepin County.” The only other possibilities were bands with combinations of green and black so it appears that the male at this nest is 21 years old. Is this a new female? I wish we knew more. As a male he would certainly know what to do after surviving for more than two decades —- that just makes me happy and washes some of the sadness of the day away. Thank you ‘MP’.

Mum has fed and shaded the little one better today. The grassy materials brought in are not flying away either but hardly any sticks are staying on the nest. This couple needs a pile of nesting material! But, just seeing this chick alive today is good. Very good.

Twin Cities Metro was really happy with the National Arboretum nest today too, so she went to check on another nest. Please read it all..you will recognise yourself in that post.

Our ‘not so little’ Cowlitz chick is doing well. Please, please let those metal grids hold so that this nest is not attacked by the eagles and this baby taken. If this works, every nest should put up similar grids. We would then not lose 3 precious babies to a GHO at Moraine, or at Lake Murray…well, I could go on and on.

Geemeff wonders if ospreys can have a brain freeze? Do birds go crazy? or have fogs? What is up with Elen when she repeatedly attacks Aran at Glaslyn? I am bewildered by it all. Aran was just sitting on the perch minding his own business.

I am so upset with Patuxent River Park that has the osprey nests. These are the reasons that I will not promote this nest at all in any of my blogs next year and I urge people to boycott their streaming cam.

First, Patuxent nest 2 was the site of tourist boat encroaching in the area of the nest that left the adult birds stressed and away from the chicks for several hours. Then the third hatch on Patuxent 1 was ill (lack of food?) and placed in another nest where it died the following day. Now why was this chick not taken to rehab and then returned to a nest – either its own or another? That was 1 June. The chick died on June 2.

But this is really getting to me. Yesterday, nest 1 received a foster chick from a nearby tower with its Darvic ring and metal band. Today, they ringed the two chicks from nest 1 – Big and Middle. The individuals retrieving the chicks out of the nest did not cover them with anything. Instead – well, you can see the images but because the chicks were stressed, their bodies were ‘yanked’. If the chicks had been covered with a cloth, they could have been removed easily. We have seen this many times – at Barnegat Light recently and at Dale Hollow when DH18 was rescued. Oh, but that wasn’t all – the bangers caused the forced fledge of the foster chick.

Removing second chick for ringing. Why not a towel to cover them so they are not frightened? And ouch! Geez. I don’t want anyone grabbing me like that.

At the end of the ringing, as is customary, no fish were placed on the nest. Seriously they can probably hear me screaming in Maryland.

Foster chick returned wet. I am sure that you can come to your own conclusions but I prefer slow, kind, and compassionate when dealing with our raptors.

The female at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform is a sweetie.

The Outer Banks is doing great….I wonder how many of these amazing nests have GHOs around?

Oyster Bay continues to thrive.

The WDNU Tower camin South Bend, Indiana, is back on line. This is the nest where two chicks died on the 14th of June for unknown reasons. Then the camera was taken offline so viewers did not see the dead bodies…they are now more incorporated into the nest and the third chick is thriving. It is the oldest and has been named Huey. This is wonderful news.

The two chicks at Island Beach, NJ have been banded by Ben Wurst. They are Red 24N and Red 25N. They are part of the RedBand Project which is “A citizen-science based banding and re-sighting project on Barnegat Bay that is menat to engage locals and visitors to the New Jersey coast in osprey management and conservation.”

It is worth posting what NJ is doing and why this project is so important. Here is the information from the website so that you can see how funding cuts can lead to citizen science.

Ospreys have made a remarkable recovery in New Jersey. Over the past 40 years we have seen the population grow from only 53 pairs in 1973 to over 700 in 2022! Over that same time funding needed for their management has declined. Today their population is not in jeopardy of being extirpated as it was in the early 1970s. As funding is being directed towards species that are in decline, we move to utilize our citizen scientists and volunteers to help monitor and manage the population.

To help engage citizen scientists and for the first time in over 20 years, young ospreyshave been marked with an auxiliary band in New Jersey. The new band, which is a red anodized aluminum rivet band bears an alpha-numeric code. This allows birders, osprey watchers and wildlife photographers the ability to identify these individual birds by their bands — when they are alive!

This new project is being focused on ospreys that nest in the Barnegat Bay watershed from Point Pleasant south to Little Egg Harbor. The main goals of the project are to engage the public in osprey management and conservation along the Jersey Shore. At the same time, while collecting data from re-sightings, we will learn about their dispersal, foraging habits, site fidelity, migration routes, and their life span.

Project Redband

#4 Finland: All three accounted for – and doing well.

#3 Empty. Let us hope that there is a couple and chicks here in 2024.

#5 LS: Two chicks only. Doing fine.

Nest #3 in Finland appears so lonely after the Mum was killed and one chick died with the other two taken into care. Likewise South Cape May Meadows, lost the male and all three osplets during the extreme weather system that hung over the area. The camera is back on. No one home. No, I was wrong. ‘H’ tells me that Hera visited yesterday. It must be so sad for her – no mate, no chicks. Zeus has been missing since the storm and did not return like Duke at Barnegat Light.

‘H’ reports that all is well at FortisExshaw near Canmore, Alberta: “Another good day.  The older two chicks, (both aged 12 days on 6/30) have been climbing up to the edge of the nest cup and checking out the local landscape.  I observed two feedings.  Louise always makes sure that ‘Little’ gets fed (age 10 days).  There was a little bonking squabble between the three nestlings in the morning that appeared to have been started by Little.  There was no parent on the nest at the time.  When Louise landed, Little scooted right up to her and appeared to be explaining his innocence, lol.”

The following reports also come from ‘H’-

“Osoyoos:  The little chicks are doing well, ages 4 and 3 days on 6/30.  Egg #3 will be 37 days on 7/1.”

“Severna Park:  Lots of flapping going on, with a little lift!.  Ages 53 and 52 days on 6/30.”

“Dahlgren:  Those two Osplets are doing great, and they are practicing their wingers (especially ‘Big’).  Ages 43 and 39 days on 6/30”.

‘Forsythe:  Things have really settled down at this nest.  The fish are usually small, but they are plentiful.  There were 11 fish delivered to the nest.  The siblings are 39 and 38 days old on 6/30.”

“Barnegat Light:  Duke, Daisy, and their surviving chick are doing quite well.  I just can’t quite get some of the recent sadness out of my mind, and am still grateful that Duke was able to make it back after the storm.  We tend to take the adults for granted . . until one day they don’t return.  Oh, and Duke loves the new perch installed by Ben!  ‘Big’ is 30 days old on 6/30, and no name has been given to Big as yet.”

“Kent Island:  Tom continues to provide for his family and delivered five fish that I saw.  Tom and Audrey’s only chick is 18 days old, and lovin’ life on the Bay.”

“Audubon Boathouse:  Dory and Skiff’s 20 day old nestling is also lovin’ life on the Bay!”

Thanks, ‘H’. So grateful for your monitoring these nest and your daily reports!

Now what is happening in the world of storks?

The three storklets in the nest in Tukums, Latvia are growing so much they could become confused with the adults soon.

Karl II and Kaia are keeping close watch on their three storklets in Estonia.

The four storklets of Bety and Bukacek will definitely be ready for fledging and migration. They are big and strong.

Dmitri’s fostered storklet is doing wonderfully.

Checking on that nest of Imperial Eagles in Tartan Russia…both have survived, and they are getting so big.

There is so much prey on the nest of Golden eagles Lucina and Caliman in Romania. This chick is very lucky.

Ventana Wildlife has released the recording of the June 2023 Zoom chat on the state of California Condors. Have a listen.

Suzanne Arnold Horning found the Ms around the Cornell Campus Friday night. Gosh, she must have a ‘hawk eye’. They are doing fine and so very grateful for that protective curtain on that glass building and walkway that a few have hit and injured themselves or died. It is important that humans be pro-active in caring for our wildlife.

This is the latest update on the Sydney Sea Eagles from them but ‘A’ tells me that while Dad is flying he still seems to be unsteady on those legs:

There is also a worrisome update about Tuffy, the RTH in the Eagle’s nest. It sounds like the eagles are starting to think that Tuffy is prey.

The latest edition of the Journal of Raptor Research – volume 57, no 2, June 2023- is all about kestrels. I love them but know little about them. The stated fact is that there is a “widespread, long-term decline of American Kestrels that persists across North America” (152). The studies were attempting to discover the causes. They include an increase in Cooper’s Hawks, habitat loss, habit loss while nesting, the emergence of anthropods and grasshoppers, rodenticides, the use of neonicotinoids, and climate change. For my purposes, the study that Claudio and I and ‘H’ are conducting studies just Ospreys. The predation by other raptors is of real concern – more than twice the number of chicks killed by predators than siblicide. We will know after all the chicks have migrated, but it is becoming worrisome.

Want to see some nest repairs? Check out what is happening in the Kistachie Forest, home to the nest of Anna and Louis, Alex and Alexandria.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Today is Canada Day and the Fourth of July is coming up along with Bank Holidays and all other celebrations as summer begins so take care. I hope that you live in an enlightened community and are not having fireworks as they do so much damage and stress out the urban wildlife…See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, reports, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, H, Geemeff, MP, R’, Sunnie Day, Window to Wildlife, PSEG, Border Ospreys, FOBBV, MN Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities Metro Osprey News, Cowlitz, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Patuxent River Part, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Outerbanks 24/7, WDNU, Island Beach, Project Redband, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos, Severna Park, Dahlgren, Forsythe, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Audubon/Explore, Latvian Fund for Nature, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlady Buky, Dmitri Storks, Imperial Eagle Cam, Bocina Wildlife, Ventana Wildlife, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Sydney Eagle Cam, Nor Cal Birding, Tonya Irving and the US Forest Services, and JRR.

Coming to Grips with the loss…Sunday in Bird World

25 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

My colleague ‘H’ tells me that storm system over the NE US was the ‘gift that just kept giving’. And it did. Now that the skies are clear all of the volunteers can go out and get a sense of what has happened at the unmonitored nests. The loss was significant but now it is time to pull up our proverbial ‘boots’ or socks and wish those nests that did have survivors the absolute best. Watch them and cheer them on, please! They went through an awful time.

Today has been the worst day for me. The sheer toll of the loss has only sunken in, and the after-effects on the nests will linger – the chicks worrying that it could happen again. I am so grateful to have the garden animals and Lewis and Missey. Dyson is looking so much better these days.

We have a couple of giggles/surprises for the morning. The first one comes from the Glaslyn nest in Wales. If you are a Crow, do not, under any circumstances, land on the nest of Aran and Elen. You might live to regret it. Here is Aran flying in with a fish. Elen has been vocalising since the Crow landed on the perch. Aran took the Crow ‘out’ with the fish and even kept hold of it to take to the nest…ah, isn’t he wonderful?

The second is from Mary Cheadle who has the most extraordinary screen capture of Louis and Dorcha’s osplet.

In the UK, the word on everyone’s lips is ‘ringing’. All of the chicks are getting their bling right now. Let’s take a look and see what happened.

Llyn Clywedog: It is hardly a surprise to say that those two beautiful osplets of Dylan and Blue 5F Seren are boys. Seren has had 8 boys and 1 girl.

Manton Bay: Blue 33 and Maya had three chicks this year – two girls and a boy. The first hatch is a girl and is 3H3. The middle hatch was a boy, 3H4, and the third hatch was a girl, 3H5. They said they would release more details later. There they are with their new bling. What beautiful babes.

Family portrait at Rutland:

Looking for another Osprey nest to watch in the US? The Iowa nests are currently doing well. The weather so far (although there are storms brewing tonight) has been favourable.

This is the Wells Fargo DNR nest in Des Moines. Go to iowadnr.gov

Conner at Window to Wildlife is helping rebuild the Dulles-Greenway Eagle Nest. Way to go!

Two of our favourite Black Stork fledglings, Waba and Bonus (the foster chick of Jan and Jannika on Karl II and Kaia’s nest in 2022) are on the move:

The latest news on Tweed Valleys Glen:

Good news is coming in from South Bend, Indiana.

News about the 2 chicks that fell out of the Great Bay Osprey nest:

The current sadness is Finnish Osprey Nest #3 where the Mum is missing and the Dad has loaded the nest with fish but he is not feeding the chicks. They are hungry and fish crying and are not old enough to self feed. It is hard to watch three healthy chicks starve to death on a nest full of fish.

At Patchogue, Mini has eaten. There are rumours abounding that Mini is not being fed. It is true that Mini is not getting the amount of fish it did a week ago. The Big ones are self-feeding and are up at the beak but Mini has eaten. We just have to wait and see how it pans out. Mini ate from 1330-1336 and then again beginning at 1418 for an unspecified time. He had some fish in the early morning. Again, how much I cannot tell because Mum blocked the view. Please send good positive energy to this nest! Mini is growing. Look at the feather development below. Mini is flapping its wings after eating!

We just must wish for lots of fish.

Mini is eating at 0511!

There have been expressed concerns about the female’s behaviour at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey nest. I am copying the posting made on FB. Also, we have seen first time mothers – regardless of the species – struggle to figure out their new role. Fathers, too. At the falcon nest, Monty wanted to feed the egg! We worried about Soledad…well, she was an only eyas and the three of them certainly managed to figure it out. Let us all hold our breath and hope that this new Mum does, too. She has three little ones on the nest.

I was also reminded by Geemeff today of the phrase ‘wildlife commodification’. Earning money off the wildlife. There is a set of nests that will not be in my blog net year – I will follow them for the data but will not promote them – because of their actions recently. Nests are not to be disturbed. Taking tours to see nests should only take place at a great distance using a scope. You will know the nest I am talking about and the circumstances if you have read my blog in the last couple of days. Animals and raptors have rights. We must respect them.

OK. Off the soap box. A whirl around the nests!

Seaside: both osplets are well fed, growing and doing wonderfully.

Great Bay: A few dominance issues.

Severna Park: some rain, fish, and self-feeding. The two chicks are doing well.

Outerbanks 24/7: Three beautiful osplets, nice fish. All is good.

Chesapeake Conservancy, Tom and Audrey: There were early concerns about new Audrey feeding her chick. She figured it out. ‘H notes that Tom brought six fish to the nest on Saturday.

Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home: Two beauties flapping their wings. Gorgeous sunset.

All is well at Boulder County Fairgrounds. The two adults appear to work so well together making sure that Little gets fed.

Moraine Preservation Fund: Seems to be quite enough fish and all three doing well.

Cowlitz PUD: Doing great! Chick is getting its feathers…

Forsythe: Oscar is on a mission. Huge fish at 17:15 along with all the others. Two surviving chicks out of four but, despite this, as ‘H’ notes: “
I saw this once yesterday, and so far twice today.  Big has started to push Middle, to the point that Middle has very nearly gone overboard a couple of times.” The stress of the days without food and seeing your siblings die around you has a profound impact on these birds.

Barnegat Light: Daisy continues to hope and wait for Duke’s return. Even then, she is out fishing for her and her only surviving Bob. She has removed the body of Little but brooded Middle. I cannot imagine the sadness that these females are feeling or the sheer mental stress of them and the chicks. So sad but so proud of Daisy and her determination to keep herself and this one chick alive.

Many of you have expressed sheer exasperation about the plight of the ospreys during the storm not least of all Barnegat Light. K notes, “

I was just thinking about Barnegat Light and how initially I was happy to watch a nest be monitored by a nature CONSERVATION. Key word conserve. They are meant to preserve not slowly watch them all suffer to death for online views and not provide them assistance when they are suffering. We vow to protect these animals and we are not helping them in the easiest way we can – providing food. There is a responsibility when setting up a camera and we should take it seriously. 

‘L’ was heart broken beyond words.

Dahlgren: ‘H’ reports that all is well.

Fortix Exshaw: ‘H’ observed “I found fish delivered by Jasper at 0543, 0631, 1041, 1638, and 1821.  There may have been others.  There were more feedings however.  Louise does save leftovers, she hides them inside the nest cup, and pulls them out for additional feedings.  The nest cup is deep, and Louise lays the leftover fish vertically down the side.  She broods her leftovers, lol.  I have seen her do this several times.  At 0631, there was a dual feeding! I want to follow this nest more closely, to make sure Little is getting fed.  The visibility varies from day to day.”

  

The wait is finally over! After wondering what was happening on the Durbe nest of Milda and Voldis (the camera was totally covered), we now see that there are two beautiful White Tail Eaglets on the Latvian WTE nest. I am so happy for Milda! She lost her earlier mate and suffered two unsuccessful years of breeding. Now success! This is a cause for celebration. Look at those two beautiful eaglets.

Kathryn asked me about intruders and the harm that they might do. Here is a good example.

Intruder storks attacking a nest in Germany.

In Tukums, Latvia, the three white storklets are doing so well now that the rains came and there is food.

Look at the crops on the three storklets of Karl II and Kaia! My goodness. Was so worried about this nest.

Bety and Bukacek’s four are so big and so healthy looking. They will be ready for migration, no problem.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please send your positive wishes to all of the nests so that those that have suffered or are suffering might get some relief today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘Geemeff, H, K, L, L, T, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Mary Cheadle and Friends of Loch Arkaig osprey FB, CarnyXWild, LRWT, Iowa DNR/Wells Fargo, Window to Wildlife, Maria Marika FB, @Jane Dell, WNDU, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Finnish Osprey Foundation, PSEG, MN Landscape Arboretum, Seaside Ospreys, Great Bay Ospreys, Severna Park, Outerbanks 24/7 Chesapeake Conservancy, Maryland West Shore for Old Town Home, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Moraine Park, Cowlitz PUD, Forsythe Ospreys, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Dahlgren, Fortis Exshaw, Sassa Bird, Storchennest Kirchzarlen, Latvian Fund for Nature, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Mlady Buky Stork Cam.

M15 is still the ‘Man of the Hour’…Saturday in Bird World

25 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, gosh, golly. I am going to bed feeling better than when the day began. The mantra, ‘Trust the Eagles,’ should be printed and put on the bulletin board before me. Yesterday, I worried that the intruding female had caused M15 to reconsider feeding the eaglets for fear of his and their safety. Thankfully, that was not the case. He was trying to figure out how to discourage that female and get on with being the great dad that he is.

On Friday, M15 hatched a plan that worked. He brought 3 prey items for the Es, and eventually, the pair had crops. I worried he might abandon them if the black-taloned eagle kept up her attack if he brought whole fish to the nest. So no whole fish. Some would consider those scraps, but the eaglets ate. The prey item times were: 1300, 1353, an 1515.

M15 flew to the nest and quickly dropped a fishtail off. E21 got it. Maybe this is the way to keep the female away…make tiny drops to the eaglets. They will need a lot of them, but they can self-feed now. Thank goodness. E22 will get some of that fish, too. No worries.

22 still eating. 1339. M15 more food! 21 watches how well 22 is doing at self-feeding.

The other fish part came in at 13:53. It was a really niced size piece that fed both eaglets.

They see Dad flying in with more food.

At 15:15, M15 flew in with a carcass of ‘something’ with feathers and long yellow legs. Perhaps carrion/road kill he found on the way home. Or did he raid a nest. He dropped to the nest with it and was rushed by two extremely hungry eaglets. It is difficult to say how much meat was on that piece or who benefited. E22 was self-feeding at the end. Is this M15’s plan – to bring scraps to the nest for the eaglets, small pieces and get out so as not to attract that female?

My friend ‘A’ has nothing but praise for 22 doing this feeding. She says,

‘The feeding at 15:15 saw E22 get brave. He snatched and grabbed some big bits of that feed and he swallowed one giant bit of bone with flesh attached to it that even I doubted he could manage – but only for a moment. For a few mouthfuls there, he still had about ten inches of that hanging out the left side of his beak while he grabbed another three good-sized mouthfuls from dad, then returned to swallowing, and repeat. So he did well. He has had enough food to get through to another day. He mantled that food too when he grabbed it – and when E21 tried to intimidate him out of the position right next to M15’s beak, E22 fought for his spot and refused to be driven away from it.’

22 is in there first.

22 is doing some snatch-and-grab as 21 gets to the beak of M15. The intruder did not bother M15 today.

At 16:18:53, E22 is full for the first time in 48 hours or more. He cannot hold up his crop or keep his eyes open. The three prey items came in a flurry of deliveries from 1300-1515, 2 hours and 15 minutes. That interests me because not only did It fill up the eaglets, but coming in such rapid succession meant that both ate without intimidation. The female intruder did not come around. Good job, Dad.

M15. Thank you! You are so loved and admired. It has taken some time to figure out how to manage all that you have on your plate – eaglets to be fed, your own needs for prey and keeping healthy, sleep, security, and keeping intruders away from the eaglets. You have worked that out. I am so sorry if I ever doubted you!

Good night Dad! Good night Es. SEDs.

If you are wondering, ‘she’ is not on the same branch or cuddled up to M15 tonight, as I write. She is, however, on the nest tree. She could be as formidable as Harriet and make a great mate, protecting future eaglets, but right now, M15 doesn’t need her attention, nor does he need her in the nest stealing food. As we know, male Bald Eagles do not normally fight larger, more aggressive female eagles. I am glad he has figured out how to deal with all that has been ‘thrown’ at him. The Es are seven weeks old. They are going to branch and fledge before we know it.

Around 0835, M15 dropped off an Armoured Catfish to the eaglets and did some aeration on the nest. He did not stay to feed the eaglets at that time. It appears that they have broken through the head and are self-feeding. This is a great start to Saturday!

E21 seems to have given up and 22 has been working on the tail..smart. It is 0903.

In other news, the Peregrine Falcons are back in the scrape box and have been for some days. Elain caught all of them -Diamond, Xavier, and Indigo – yesterday in her scrape highlights.

Do you remember the fireworks that caused Diamond so much distress? The discussion over what happened continues.

You can still hear the ice pellets at the nest of Bald Eagles Jackie and Shadow. Shadow did bring in a very nice fish to Jackie! Oh, how I wish she would stand up and we would see a huge crack in one of those eggs.

I so admire how Californians love Jackie and Shadow. They are making the news with their endurance during this terrible winter storm that has hit Southern California.

There is something about Angus. Is it his youth? or the funny expressions he makes? Looking forward to eggs for Angus and Florence at Captiva!

Other Osprey nests are now coming into play. At the Lake Murray platform, Lucy has returned on the 17th of February and Ricky was back on Thursday the 23rd.

‘H’ writes to tell me that there is a possible first pip at the Moorings Park Osprey Platform in Naples, Florida!

And speaking of Ospreys, how would you like to help protect the Glaslyn Ospreys? Do you live in Wales near the Glaslyn Valley? Geemeff writes that this is a great opportunity – and it is. I wish I lived there!

https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/volunteers-needed-to-protect-glaslyn-ospreys-597028

As so many of you know, the Royal Cam chick is a delight to watch. Yes, it is difficult to see them alone on those nests! It is rather amazing that they stay so close to home. My kittens would never be so disciplined. Sweet Pea is gardening already. Sharon Dunne caught it on video:

The Steller’s Sea Eagle was first seen more than a year ago along Canada’s Atlantic coast. Then it went to Maine, returned to Canada, and is now back in Maine. It appears that a large raptor that should be spending its winters in Ussuriland, Japan, or Korea is finding life rather pleasant in Maine. Obviously, there are no food worries. The Stellar’s Sea Eagle breeds in areas of Russia and in particular, the Bering Sea. As far as I know, there is no mate.

One of the nature centres about an hour from where I live is getting ready for the ducks and geese to begin arriving. So lovely to involve students from one of the local universities to get their hands in there and help them with their duck tunnels!

Elsewhere in Canada, old-growth forests are continually under threat in British Columbia. This past year numerous Bald Eagle nests have been cut down. There is a move for legislation to save the very last of these lovely spotted owls before they are completely extinct.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/24/environment-minister-calls-for-emergency-order-to-save-last-of-canadas-spotted-owls?CMP=share_btn_link

I promised I would check on the GHO nest in Corona, California. There are four owlets in that nest! On Thursday night, Hoots brought Owlvira the following: 1 RODENT, 1 MOUSE, 1 RABBIT / Tonight: NO deliveries as of yet on Friday as I am writing this. The weather is a little frigid and mice might be tucked in tight.

This is the link to this streaming cam. Best action is during the night when food deliveries and feeding occurs.

https://www.youtube.com/live/xqvrR6dkWeg?feature=share

In Kansas, on Farmer Derek’s land, Bonnie and Clyde are incubating eggs. You might recall that in 2021 they took over the nest of a young Bald Eagle couple. They raised two owlets to fledge. They were adorable, and seeing them climbing around on this giant nest was a treat. It will be a good comparison to that deep nest in California. Highly recommended.

Here is the link to their streaming cam:

https://www.youtube.com/live/MRMzzjyumHs?feature=share

I wish I could tell you that Jackie and Shadow have a pip or a hatch or that Zoe has checked in, but I can’t. We wait until the eggs are unviable, and with Zoe, we hope her transmitter begins working. CROW does not need to intervene in SW Florida. M15 has this under control! Relief.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Susan Starck Romano and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam Project and Cilla Kinross, Cilla Kinross and Orange Australia Falcons, FOBBV, Jason Robertson and FOBBV, Window to Wildlife, Moorings Park Osprey Nest, Shela Staley and Osprey Friends, Cambrian News, Sharon Dunne and NZ DOC, Matt Felperin and Maine Birds, Oak Hammock Marsh, The Guardian, Carona California Owl Cam, and Farmer Derek.

Iris is still here and more news on Tuesday in Bird World

13 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone! It is 11 degrees C (51.8 F) and will only rise to 17 C (62.6) – a great day for a long walk! As the temperatures begin to fall and the summer clothes make way for sweaters, it is a reminder to enjoy every moment outside that we can – here on the prairies of Canada. Winnipeg has been known to actually be colder than Mars in the winter so every precious minute outside is a gift.

Oh, it was a nice day yesterday. The best treat was I found the little duck. It is the tiniest wild duck I have ever seen in my life. There is still a lot of down and its wings seem ‘small’.

5 September:

12 September. The head is larger and it appears that some more feathers on the back have grown in. The little one was so busy scooping up what looks like confetti made out of leaves. It is called Duck Weed and is not the best thing to have growing on the ponds but – the ducks love it!!!!!!! In fact, ducks will eat whatever food is in front of them including pondweed, sea weed, reeds and flowers as well as berries and seeds and we have seen them eat frogs, too.

The Canada Goose couple that had lost one another the other day and were honking up a storm had taken possession of the only island in the pond. It seems that the water level is rising due to the staff at the centre draining one area to move the water to another. The geese were sharing with some Mallards but they were not moving and giving up their lease!

Aren’t they a gorgeous couple?

In past years there seem not to have been as many juvenile American Coots. They are everywhere at the nature centre – hiding in the reeds, riding on pieces of branches, or just standing quietly around a corner this year and I have seen others at ponds around the city.

You can see how thick that duckweed is on the pond. Someone of it should be cleaned with a filter – and maybe that is what the staff are doing.

Over the years the Mallards have just gotten more beautiful to me. They are common and often over-looked because of it. So many sweet little females around the edge of the pond.

Most looked nice and full from their foraging. It was bottoms up everywhere!

Oh, look at those beautiful primary and secondary feathers. Let us all hope that our wee one will have as many by the end of October.

In the Mailbox:

No questions just outpourings of love for Izzi who was the subject of yesterday’s archival photo. Oh, what a character he was and each of us that watched Xavier and Diamond’s scrape and Izzi so intently has so many stories of his antics.

Making News:

A Bald Eagle death in Canada attributed to Avian Flu. This is very sad. It was believed that the H5N1 was slowing down. Now it might be spread again by migratory birds.

The EU is being heavily criticized for not protecting marine life from overfishing. Why is this in a bird blog? Well, the birds that eat fish need them so the setting up a moratorium for fishing for human consumption might help.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/12/eu-slammed-over-failure-to-protect-marine-life-from-destructive-fishing

One of my favourite books, Goshawk Summer, has won the Wainwright Nature Writing prize. James Aldred spent the early part of the pandemic in the New Forest. His assignment was to document the life of a Goshawk family. Written like a daily diary, Alden captures the solitude of the forest and the magical experiences of the chicks. “The wood holds its breath, the only sound the begging of the chicks and the gentle breeze through trees. The forest hasn’t been this peaceful for a thousand years.” Despite Aldred being a wildlife photographer there is not a single image of the Goshawks in the book but, they are not necessary. Through his words their presence is evoked as clearly as a newly cleaned window.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/07/wainwright-nature-writing-prize-goes-to-inspirational-goshawk-summer

Two lucky Bald Eagles were helped in Maine when they were relieved from being entangled with one another. They were mid-air and crashed into the water. Both could have died with out the help of the kind couple.

Maine couple frees entangled bald eagles that crashed into the water

Nest News:

I wasn’t quite sure where to put this wonderful news. Many of you will have already heard that Iris – thought, perhaps, to have migrated from her spring and summer home in Montana – was eating an enormous fish she had caught on the Owl Pole today in Missoula. The oldest Osprey in the world looks magnificent.

Here is a 4 minute video of this magical event.

12 September is a very special day. It is the day that Gabby normally returns to her nest near Jacksonville, Florida that she shares with her partner, Samson. Out of 4 years, 3 of the returns have been on the 12th of September. How incredible. Samson has been waiting and looking and bringing in some sticks. Gabby did not disappoint! She arrived today!!!!!!!!!!!!! The couple got busy working together getting ready for the wee eagles this year. Oh, it is so wonderful to see you home, Gabby.

Good night Samson and Gabby. All is well with the world. See you tomorrow.

Lady Hawk caught the reunion on video!

Padarn appears to still be with Idris at the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales.

Blue 497 is still on the nest at Glaslyn and Aran delivered a really nice fish for tea time.

Did you know that both Padarn and Blue 497 hatched on the same day? It was 26 May. 497 is the oldest and Padarn is the middle chick. Both, as we can see, are still at home.

Idris brought a flat fish later and is looking around for Padarn. Is she gone?

Everything seems to be fine on the Sea Eagles nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest.

The eaglets had an early breakfast. Looks like one of the Silver Gull chicks from the old barge down the Parramatta River.

Even with a great big nest SE29 and 30 prefer to snuggle together. Lady keeps watch.

A lovely family portrait.

At the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Mum has been rooting around in the nest and rolling those three precious eggs. It is the 14th of September in South Australia. Is it really possible that in 4 more days we could have a hatch? At times it felt like it has taken forever and on other days it seems like we just had the last egg laid. Does it feel that way to you?

At the 367 Collins Street scrape, Mum got up to stretch her legs. Gosh these birds must get stiff sitting on those eggs for so long —- yes, I am projecting human needs on them! If they had a little buzzer to remind them to stand up and get the circulation moving it might help. Oh, she made me ache as I watched her raise off those eggs. She was hardly gone…someone played a trick on this female. They told her that she had to do all the incubating herself. Hopefully she will give Dad some more time.

Oh, just when you say the birds eat off camera, someone brings a nice juicy pigeon and there you go – eaten on the nest! It is like having a sick child and taking it to the doctor and your little one is immediately well on arrival!

Migration News:

Just imagine 428 million birds making their migration flights tonight.

Remember it is time for lights out. If you want to check your own area of migration, go to this link and put in your postal code or the name of your city – sadly lower mainland US only.

Home

Karl II’s family migration – Waba is still around the area of Manachyn and has flown a short distance south where he has discovered a little lake.

Bonus is still in the wetlands along the Prypjat River south of Makarichi.

Kaia is still around the Desna River. So all three appear to be doing well. What a glorious relief. No news from Karl II.

From the Archive:

Do you know my name? I was the only eaglet on an enormous nest. My parents names are Liberty and Freedom. When I branched and started jumping and flapping my wings, your got very worried.

I hope that your day is as lovely as ours on the Canadian Prairies. Thank you so very much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their blogs, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Wreckhouse Weekly News, The Guardian, Bangor Daily News, Montana Ospreys and Cornell Bird Lab, NEFL-AEF, Lady Hawk, Dyfi Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, BirdCast, Looduskalender, and Glacier Gardens.

The eaglet was Kindness who hatched in Glacier Gardens, a large botanical garden within the Tongass National Park, Juneau, Alaska. The year was 2021.

Early Monday in Bird World

12 September 2022

A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.

I had a lovely time at an industrial park in the city again Sunday. There was the Great Egrets, the Great Blue Heron, the fast little shorebirds, some ducks, some gulls, and a lot of Canada Geese. As the Egret was flying away, a couple stopped on their bicycles and chatted with me for a long time. After they made me feel rather good by saying they watched and noticed that I did not get near the birds but rather used that long lens on my camera so as not to frighten them. (I was 250 ft away). I was very humbled. I have seen people find out there is an owl and take their children running and practically land on the raptor or people using fishing poles with line and a mouse to try and get that perfect ‘shot’ of the owl flying directly at the camera person. To me, those are not ‘birders’ they are a special irritating ilk of photographer. At any rate the couple told me about another lake not that far from where we were standing and we talked about how the city planners required the area to keep 30% of the land for nature. It is certainly a beautiful green area in the middle of gravel pits!!!!!!! Yes, I am serious. I also got a tip about a cemetery with a Cooper’s Hawk family. That was so nice.

Decades ago I looked at the world through the eyes of a ‘human’. Oh, I can hear you laughing, I haven’t turned into a hawk yet!!!!!!! Or have I? At that time I considered golf courses and cemeteries as wastes of precious land — and that was a time when I was researching British cemeteries on the Indian subcontinent! Today, the view from my eyes is very different. As humans eat up all the land they can with bigger houses and ever expanding amounts of land, the golf courses and the cemeteries are places of refuge for the birds and the raptors. The geese fill the newer cemeteries that only allow flat markers while the Crows and hawks make their homes in the older ones with the mausoleums and large head stones. If I could increase the number of golf courses and cemeteries I would! And that is a 180 degree change in thinking. (Of course the golf courses should not be using rodenticide!)

From the Mailbox:

‘L’ writes: I don’t see the male at Melbourne bringing prey to the female. Do you know what is happening?”

What a really good question because we often see Xavier bring prey directly into the scrape box at Orange for Diamond. It seems, at Melbourne, that the male has hidey-holes on the other ledges and behind some of the architectural features of the building. He will have a stash of food there for the Mum and for her to feed the eyases. You might have seen Xavier put prey in the corner of the scrape at Orange. Rest assured, she is eating and the amount of time she spends incubating, she is not catching it but the little male is doing the hunting. He is also a very good hunter from previous years – if prey stocks remain good.

Just a note about Melbourne. ‘A’ wrote and asked what was on the nest fluttering around and then answered her question. A white plastic bag had made its way up to that scrape! That is so worrisome. The Mum got it off by tearing it but oh, we humans need to pick up after ourselves.

Making the News:

There is a webinar today on migration. I just saw this posting on the Cornell Chatters FB page. Apologies for not knowing about it earlier. I hope that they will post the webinar on YouTube after. Fingers crossed.

Six more Golden Eagles were released in the UK as part of a reintroduction programme.

More golden eagles released in South Scotland

The bird photographers of the year have been announced….It is so sad to see that some of the images of the urban birds are around human garbage but that is their reality. Indeed, many of the European storks – and those Adjutant Storks in India – spend their time in the landfills trying to find food. I was chatting with my granddaughter this afternoon about the need for dead but not diseased animals to be taken to a specific spot for all the birds that eat carrion. It would be a tremendous help. Instead of running big incinerators using energy and pouring ash into the air, the animals like Bald Eagles, Crows, and Vultures would have food.

A detail of Kerry Wu’s award winning image of a Barred Owl.

The winners are shown in this article of The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2022/sep/09/bird-photographer-of-the-year-2022-winning-pictures

This beautiful Golden Eagle gets a second chance at life because of the Audubon Centre and now she has a new home!

Nest News:

Thanks to ‘J’ I was able to go and see the Magpies attacking the two little sea eaglets on the streaming cam. Thank you ‘J’.

A number of years ago I was mortified when I saw the Magpies and Currawongs swooping at the little sea eaglets. My heart sank to my feet and my palms got sweaty. It is a difficult thing to watch for the very first time… maybe even the second. Far more enjoyable are the visits of the Rainbow Lorikeets! I did not see Lady or Dad to the rescue today…another learning experience for these two eaglets who are now in their 8th week. Soon they will have to contend with these aggressive little birds alone – even without a sibling – so best they get used to them and honk those wonderful horns of theirs.

The Sea Eaglets will be the top dogs wherever they take up residence like Lady and Dad are in the Sydney Olympic Forest. For the remainder of their lives, the smaller birds will be annoying – sometimes even downright dangerous – because they have nests with babies, too and they don’t want the big Apex Predators around them. We see it with the Mockingbirds attacking Big Red all the time. The older the eaglets get the more they will ignore the smaller birds but, for now, this is good training. I caught it on video for you.

The Sea Eaglets were fed early. You sure miss those hourly feedings when Lady was giving those wee ones little bites. Now it is so long between meals.

The adults were in the nest tree looking about for pesky intruders around mid-day.

Cornell has been busy posting images of L4 since her release from care as well as other members of the family including L2. It is so good to see the four of them – Big Red, Arthur, L2 and L4 out in the wild doing what hawks do. Cornell has said that it is working to improve the areas where the hawks might get injured – let us hope they get to it fast!

The two posts below are from Cornell’s Twitter feed.

They were not together long-Idris and Padarn. The moment reminded me of Iris and Louis on the Hellgate Canyon Osprey platform in Missoula, Montana a week plus ago. There was Idris with his daughter, Padarn, on the Dyfi nest in Wales. Idris wasn’t looking straight at the camera but Padarn was – and it gave me that same feeling of ‘goodbye’ like that eerie image of Iris and Louis. Stunning image of father and daughter – Padarn looks even more like Mrs G with ‘that look’.

BTW. Some of you will remember a question about which gender migrates first. I had used the Dyfi statistics which were colour-coded. My good source tells me that the first hatch, Pedran (2022), who was identified as a female at the time of ringing, is now deemed to be a male by Dyfi. Is this from mouth swabs? or because Pedran migrated so much earlier than Paith and well…Padarn is still with us, bless her heart. She is one healthy and robust Osprey who is well taken care of by Dad. Just look at those legs – short and stout.

Blue 497 is still at Glaslyn with Aran. It started raining last night and looks a little miserable this morning, too!

Something has caused Xavier and Diamond to leave the eggs and check on their territory at Orange.

There was a lot of alarming and looking at the sky but nothing could be seen on the ledge or tower cams. There is work, however, going on somewhere near the tower. You can hear the machinery in the background.

It was, however a great day for Xavier to have some time with the eggs. He had a two hour incubation!!!!!!!! Couldn’t hardly believe it.

Alden and Annie have been bonding and doing their little kisses in the scrape box today. Oh, isn’t it fantastic to get to see them together outside of breeding season?!

At the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Mum had had enough of that pesky piece of pine bark and was moving it. While she did, we got a good glimpse at those precious eggs that are due to hatch at the end of the week. Can you believe it? We are finally getting there!!!!!!!

It could be my imagination but things seem to be settling down a bit at the Melbourne Collins Street scrape. The new Mum does not give Dad a lot of incubation time which he has really enjoyed in previous years. So far today, though – and it is only mid-day (1335), the eggs have not been left for long, long periods of time (like hours).

What a gorgeous view!

Migration News:

It appears that Sarafina is on her journey. It is unclear if Louis has left Loch Arkaig. He might well be eating and resting up after feeding his daughter well into September!

Checking on Karl II’s Black Stork family. Waba remains in Ukraine in an area around Manachyn.

He is fishing along the river bank.

Bonus remains in Belarus around the Priyapat River.

There is no transmission signal for Karl II. In the Kherzon region some of the villages are only now getting their cell service restored. No transmission that I can see for Kaia either.

From the Bookshelf:

Jonathan Elphick is no stranger to birds. Just Goggle his name and you will find a long list of titles by this wildlife writer and ornithologist. Birds. A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behaviour is the first title of his on my bookshelf and what a great addition it is. The book begins with a look at birds and their relationship to dinosaurs and moves quickly to bird anatomy. Anything and everything you could possible ever want to know is in this detailed chapter. The chapter on ‘flight’ was one of my favourites with its intricate drawings of the wings with the feathers labelled as to their correct names. How different birds fly, their speed, discussions on wing loading are all there along with hovering and energy saving flight. Further chapters examine food and feeding, birds as a group or society, breeding, where birds live and migration. It is, in effect, an excellent reference book filled to the brim with the most beautiful imagery. I was particularly interested in the discussion on birds and humans and was not disappointed. Elphick starts with the earliest assaults by us on birds and continues to the problems of today including human overpopulation and climate change. There are also surprises – I learned a myriad of things from each page. We listen to the duets by the White-bellied Sea Eagles at Sydney but did you know that there are actually 44 distinct bird families that sing duets? The Eastern Whipbird and the Common Swift are two. There is an excellent index and a good bibliography. Highly recommended if you are looking for a comprehensive book on all aspects of our feathered friends — including some of their quirky behaviours.

From the Archives:

Everyone fell in love with me. I have the loudest voice of any eyas! I kept the researcher fully fit walking up the stairs to keep putting me back in my scrape box. Who am I? Who are my parents? and where is my scrape box?

I have seen no recent updates on Victor or tracking information on Ervie.

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

Thank you to the following for their tweets, posts, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, The Guardian, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Cornell Hawks, Dyfi Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Looduskalender.

I am Izzi. My parents are Xavier and Diamond and I hatched in 2020. First I fludged – fell over the edge when I was sleeping. Cilla Kinross climbed the 170 stairs to put me back in my scrape. Then I fledged but hit a window and went to rehab and was taken back up the 170 stairs by Cilla Kinross. Finally, I fledged! But Mum and Dad couldn’t get rid of me. Finally as the 2021 season approached, Diamond blocked my way into the scrape which is on the water tower at Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia. Aren’t I the cutest little falcon you have ever seen?

Saturday in Bird World

10 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Friday morning turned out to be a fantastic day to go and check on the birds in a pond in one of the industrial areas of the city. There had been a Great Blue Heron spotted there according to eBird and I hoped to get a glimpse. That beautiful bird and the Lesser Yellowlegs, the Canada Geese, the Mallards, and the gulls did not disappoint.

Then as I was driving around the other side to leave I looked over and saw something ‘white’. It was a beautiful Great Egret wading in the water fishing.

What a lovely way to start the morning! I feel blessed. It is always good for the mind and soul to get out into nature, however long or short one can, and if, by chance, we get to see these beautiful creatures then it is doubly wonderful.

It is also the full moon. Around the world people will be looking up and hoping for clear skies. It is known as the Harvest Moon and is a time of thanksgiving. Many years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to be in Kyoto during the Tsukimi or Moon Viewing Festival. Moon Viewing has been practiced in Japan since the Nara Period from 710-794. One did not look at the moon directly but, rather, observed the moon’s reflection normally in a beautiful pond. Many residences of the aristocracy had moon viewing platforms. Poems were written. Auspicious gifts placed on the tokonama while the flowers, the incense, and the hanging were changed to reflect the move to autumn. I recall stacks of mochi and vases with beautiful sheafs of grain. ‘A’ also reminds me that it is a time for eating dumplings – which we will do later this evening while watching the rabbits pound the mochi in the moon!

Making News:

Yesterday I reported that Big Red and Arthur’s youngest hatch for the 2022 breeding season had been released on the Cornell Campus. Here is the YouTube video of this fantastic event! Please note that L2 is still on campus and has not left- as believed- and hopefully these two will hook up. They were always best friends.

L4 was spotted on the Campus this morning. She has made herself right at home! Suzanne Arnold Horning got a shot of her with her phone.

The raptors really need our help to spread the word. Making the news today is an Osprey with a balloon tangled around its legs. Don’t wait to get to the state that I am in – chasing after every loose balloon I see – but help educate. Tell everyone you know and ask them to tell 5 friends and family. Soon, the web of knowledge will grow and the birds will be safer.

If you live in this area, please keep your eyes open for this bird. Thank you.

It is sadly that time of year. The Bald Eagles and other birds of prey that eat carrion get lead poisoning because our governments will not outlaw the use of lead in any hunting and fishing equipment! They need to ban the manufacture, remove the supplies off the shelves, and stop this senseless pain, suffering, and death. We know the solution. Tell your elected officials. There are alternatives. ——— Of course, as you know, my alternative is to end the recreational shooting of animals – it is barbaric.

Nest News:

Idris brings his daughter, Padarn, a flat fish for her evening tea. What a fantastic dad he has been to this healthy and robust female that will soon, should the winds blow in the right direction, head off on her migration leaving Dad some time to recuperate from what has to have been a tiring summer with three girls and Telyn to take care of!

Padarn was on the perch for the night.

She was still there on Saturday!

The sun was setting on Loch Arkaig. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see if Sarafina is still with us! But there has been no activity on the nest today.

On Saturday Louis was seen on the nest. The last time that Sarafina was seen on the nest was at 0634 on the 9th of September. There have been no visits and no nest calls by Sarafina on Saturday.

Who is home at Glaslyn? It looks like it is Aran and 497. The boys and Mrs G are gone!

Aran is over in the Oak Trees.

497 has been in the nest and on the perch. Aran did not seem to be responding! 497 has had a hard time with siblings and Mrs G around to get some of those fish. Perhaps a few days longer will get this little one in shape to fly if Dad obliges with a nice big breakfast tomorrow!

Talk about beautiful. You can sure tell she is Aran’s offspring. She may have the glare of a female Osprey, but that lovely head turned…that is Aran. Until you see the dark necklace – then Mrs G comes in.

Her dark necklace she gets from Mum, Mrs G.

The nest was empty at dusk.

497 was there on Saturday and Aran was busy bringing her fish!

Xavier convincing Diamond that it is time for her to have her breakfast so he can get some eggie time.

You can see a big change in the Sea Eagles at the Sydney Olympic Park nest. They are standing more on their feet and walking about the nest more. SE29 is really flapping its wings and investigating the branches! Yesterday, SE29 got the fish that Dad had brought to the nest but wasn’t sure what to do with it. Lady took it and fed both!!! ‘J’ wrote that she thought this was the cutest part of it – 29 trying to figure out what to do with the fish! I am grateful she mentioned those moments. You might have seen that instance. I am certain SE30 was delighted when Lady fed both of them.

Look at those nice strong legs. Great wings, too! Developing those muscles. These two are simply precious.

It is fascinating – looking at the nest – how the branches help to camouflage the eaglets.

SE29 will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. What to expect for the next couple of weeks in their development? Their wings will begin to get heavy and you will notice that they will begin to sit with them drooping. There will be more hopping and flapping of their wings and by the end of week 9 they should be able to mantle, hold their food and tear off pieces to eat. They will begin sleeping upright with their head tucked into their wing like the adults. Their feathers will continue to develop all over their body. Watch at the end of the two weeks to see them standing on one leg!

Dad on the ropes and Mum on those three eggs at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. It is the 11th of September in Australia. Do you know what this means? We could be one week from hatch!!!!!!!!!!!

Incubation continues at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne! But there are strange things going on…I wonder how this will turn out.

Mum departed around 0856. Dad came and stayed on the eggs after they had been left for an hour. He stayed about 15 minutes. The eggs were left uncovered for another 43 minutes…and then Mum finally comes and settles down after 2 hours. She then leaves again briefly a little later. This couple appears to have trouble getting their rhythm going…let’s hope it is all worked out by hatch.

Mothering is not always easy, especially the first time!

There are still chicks on one of the Finnish Osprey nests.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has produced a video diary of the 2022 season. It is delightful. I am missing Laddie and Blue NC0 already. Here is the link: https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2022/09/osprey-diary-at-loch-of-the-lowes-so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish/?fbclid=IwAR3JhvUSWIUsN8cXuNCKE7jsqFG9pmHwewEXuPBkGB4B__4gCLFpE1O7dsA

Migration:

CROW provided a really good post today especially with regard to birds and window strike. It is migration season…have a read. Tell your friends and family to turn off their lights and also tell them how to help stunned birds. Thanks so much!

Continuing in our tracking of the Estonian Black Stork family of Karl II, there is no tracking or transmissions for Karl II today.

Bonus remains in Belarus in the same general area of the Priyapat River he has been feeding at. The fish and frogs must be plentiful!

Kaia is still feeding near the Desna River in Ukraine.

Waba is near the Makachinsky Hydrological Reserve which is also in Ukraine like his parents Kaia and Karl II.

Maya and Blue 33’s first hatch of the 2022 season, 1H1, has been seen in Portugal.

From the Archives. Two images today!

First: Can you name this nest? Do you remember the names of the chicks? It was 29 September 2021. Gold stars for anyone who can put the name with the right osplet!

Second: Do you remember the circumstance where these two images were taken?

Thank you so much for being with me today. I hope that you have a wonderful start to your weekend. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their tweets, posts, and streaming cams that formed my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab, Suzanne Arnold Horning, A Place Called Hope, Raptor Educational Group, Dyfi Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Ospreys, BirdCast, CROW, Looduskalender, LRWT, and Cape Wildlife Clinic.

Answer to From the Archives:

First. It is the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Mum is feeding Bazza (top), Ervie (middle), and Falky (bottom). You can see that the osplets have lost their soft down and are in the Reptilian Phase – looking like dark black crude was poured over them.

Second. This is Arnold and Amelia the bonded pair of Canada Geese. Arnold had its foot injured by a snapping turtle and had to have surgery. It shocked the vets when they heard a tapping on the glass door. There was Arnold’s mate. The vets realized that the pair had to be together. Amelia was allowed to share meals and whenever Arnold was moved outside she would break into the pen to be with him. This was a really learning moment if every wildlife rehabber paid attention ——–do not take one Canada Goose into care without its mate. Many times volunteers pick up the injured one and whisk it off tens of miles away. The remaining one of the couple is ‘lost’ and depressed and sometimes does not eat.

A new supporter for the Albatross? has Mrs G left for migration…early Friday in Bird World

9 September 2022

Thursday was truly a bit of an uneventful day mostly spent waiting on a parcel delivery that came much, much later than anticipated! It was a good time to just watch the garden to see what was happening. For Dyson fans, she is back to her normal self since having the babies. She was flying off branches today, landing on the deck, grabbing peanuts and running so fast I could not catch her on camera! Two of the Crows alerted me to the presence of the cat under the bird feeders. My goodness, they are quite remarkable and were given ‘extra treats’ – cheesy sausages – for their good work in protecting the rabbit and the songbirds. It has also been quite in Bird World, pretty much. These images have been shot quickly through a screen!

The Crows on the line cawing very loudly and looking at the cat below the feeders.
The culprit – a well fed pet!

In the Mailbox:

A couple of days ago, ‘B’ asked which gender migrated earlier – males or females? I have spent time asking Osprey experts and have uncovered some preliminary data using the Dyfi charts. It seems that gender is always discussed with regard to fledging but is only a footnote when it comes to migration. With a very small sample, males are 75% more likely to migrate first than females 90 days and under.

The chart below is of the Dyfi chicks. So those who fledged at 90 days, 75% more males than females. As you can see the older the chicks get, there are more females that take longer in the nest to migrate after fledging. I cannot assume that this is the same for other nests but, for now, this is the clearest data chart I have found for us to interpret. I will be looking for others in the days to come.

‘L’ wrote to me about the new climate bill in the US. The Audubon Society had posted an article on the 12 ways that it will help birds – and other wildlife. Thanks for sending me that article, ‘L’. I am certain others will find it of interest, too.

https://www.audubon.org/news/12-ways-inflation-reduction-act-will-benefit-birds-and-people?ms=policy-adv-email-ea-x-engagement_20220908_advisory&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20220908_advisory

Making News:

The Osprey lost at sea that hitched a ride on a boat is making news in Scotland.

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/uk-news/boaty-mcboatface-rescue-osprey-lost-27938175

Mississippi Power is putting up some Osprey Poles. How wonderful! Maybe they will place some more nests and other utility companies will follow suit. Sitting on the Canadian Prairies it is easy to imagine the number of Ospreys that might choose to winter along the Gulf or in the Gulf States.

The Royal Albatross and the campaign to change the long line fish trawling practices may have a new champion in King Charles III.

Nest News:

Based on their size and weight, the wildlife rehabber believes that Big Red and Arthur’s L3 and L4 are both female! Nice. That explains a lot about L4’s behaviour in the nest — not afraid of anything, just barreling over the others to get to the beak. Is it possible they were all females?

L4

At the Osprey nest of Aran and Mrs G in the Glaslyn Valley in Wales, all three of this years fledglings have joined the 100 Club. This means that they have been on the nest for over 100 days and counting before migrating. Today they are 106, 105, and 102 days old! Aran might be wondering if everyone has decided to over winter.

This was early Thursday morning. Mrs G is in the second photo. It was the last seen of her. The time was 08:58. If she isn’t hiding down in the Oaks or trying to fool us, Mrs G has now left for her migration. She took a piece of fish off one of the fledglings just to top up her tank! If you have left Mrs G, safe travels, lots of fish, and return again next spring – you remain the oldest osprey in the UK and what a lovely group of offspring this year!

Idris continues to deliver fish to Padarn. It looks like some are very happy to stay in Wales!

Padarn this morning. She is still in Wales!

Louis still has Sarafina fish calling!

The Melbourne scrape seems to be getting a lot of attention lately. First up, the building number is 367 Collins Street. There are now 36.7 members of the FB group. That is an incredible number of supporters. Here is the announcement:

There has been much concern over the incubation time and whether or not there was another male falcon present at the building. Victor Hurley, the chief researcher of the nest for the Victorian Peregrine Falcon Research group posted this today on FB:

The images that I have taken today appear to me to be the same male that has been at this nest since I began watching some years ago. Dad is relieving Mum so she can have a break this morning.

Later the couple were having a conversation.

In Orange, there is heavy rain falling. Diamond watches it from inside the scrape. Xavier has been in and out helping with incubation duties. I hope he is somewhere trying to stay dry.

At the Sea Eagles nest, it was chilly and the two eaglets wanted nothing more than to be able to shrink so all of them would fit under Mum.

Dad brought a little fish in for their breakfast so that Lady could feed the two.

Both SE29 and SE30 are really getting much more steady on their feet and they are spending more time walking on top of this twig nest. That surely cannot be easy!

At the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Mum has been hungry. Dad has been known to bring in a fish, eat a large portion of it before bringing her a piece. Today he brought her a really nice sized larger fish for her tea. How wonderful. Thank you, Dad! Mum was really excited for that lovely dinner.

Looks like Alden’s funny quirks have rubbed off on Annie who was caught ‘loafing’ on the ledge of The Campanile on Thursday.

Oh, how I love Samson. He was at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest today waiting for his mate, Gabby, to arrive from her migration. Like Richmond, the SF Bay Osprey, Samson stays in the area of the nest and does not migrate. Both Rosie (Richmond’s mate) and Gabby, do. Gabby is usually home by the 12th of September.

Migration News:

There is information from Bonus, Jan and Janika’s Black Storklet that was fostered by Kaia and Karl II. Bonus remains in Belarus near the Pripyat River where he has been feeding for some time.

Kaia remains in the general vicinity she has been in Ukraine.

Karl II is still believed to be in the area of Kherzov. We now know that the telecommunications in the area is down. Storks should, unless shelled by accident, wish to stay away form the people and there are the many nature reserves in this area where Karl II stayed for long periods in previous years. I am trying to remain positive for him!

Waba has had trouble with the tracker so there is no conclusive report.

From the archive:

Do you know which nest this was? The year is 2020. The older sibling supported the younger. The Magpie helped ‘this eaglet’ when the Pied Curra were attacking? The third image is the last one at the nest.

Thank you so much for being with me on this very quiet Friday in Bird World. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Dfyi Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab, The Scottish Daily Express, Mississippi Power, Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cal Falcons, NEFL-AEF, and Looduskalender.

From the Archive Answer: That is SE25 supporting SE26 after its little leg was broken. Lady is feeding both of them. SE26 struggled in the forest after fledging. After 6 days returned to the nest massively hungry and exhausted. Lady and Dad fed SE26. When 26 had recuperated, she flew to the camera branch where she was attacked by the Pied Currawong. A Magpie came to help 26. That is the last picture we have of SE26 in the forest. She flew out, chased by Curra, during the time of a storm and landed on the balcony of a 22nd floor condo some 1.5 km away in Horn Bush. SE26 was taken into care and euthanized, sadly. It was believed the damage to her leg would cause extensive pain and could not be repaired properly. It was a very, very sad day. SE26 was inspirational to all you watched her struggles to ‘be an eagle’…she flew. That is one consolation. What we learned was that the Pied Currawong are unrelenting in chasing the Sea Eagles out of the forest. This has caused extensive difficulties which have been noted in recent years with SE27 going in and out of care and requiring training to fly and hunt prey.

Updates on the Ls, Red Kite shot in Epping Forest and more news in Bird World

8 September 2022

Oh, good morning to you! I hope that your week has been a really good one. I see changes…in the colour of the vines growing up the hydro poles which are now turning a beautiful burgundy and the number of children going down the sidewalks in the morning and afternoon with their backpacks. Truly summer has just about come to an end although the official day for the beginning of autumn is a couple of weeks away. The temperatures are still in the mid-20s C and I am not ready to box up the linen just yet.

It was a gorgeous evening with a nice crisp breeze. The sun was setting and it looked like a Monet painting as it reflected on the pond where the ducks and geese were gathering. To my surprise there were a pair of Loons and about 8 Greater Yellowlegs punching in the soft mud at the edge of the pond for a meal with those long bills.

A pair of Loons
Greater Yellowlegs
A couple of American Coots in with the other water fowl

It is always good to get outside if you can. I remember when my mother fell and broke her hip. She was reluctant to get up and walk again and her doctor was quite stern in his response – “Either use them or loose them!” It is good for me to remember on those days when I would rather curl up with a book instead of getting out in the fresh air. The long hours of book reading and sipping hot tea will be here soon enough!!!!!! It was not a terribly long walk around the pond and blood was given to the mosquitoes! It is a shame that they love to come out at dusk and feed right when all of the migrating birds are landing and settling down for the night.

I want to go back to this location during the day to see the shorebirds better. Wish me luck! There is a chance that a Blue Heron might be there as well.

In the Mailbox:

Question from ‘A’: “I am worried the new mum at Collins Street is inexperienced and this may affect the success of the breeding season. Today, at least 10 days into hard incubation, she left the eggs for nearly two and a half hours. Dad did not arrive to take over. It is a relatively warm but very wet and overcast day in Melbourne, so there was no warming sunshine to maintain egg temperature. How dangerous could such a long gap in incubation be to the developing chicks inside?”

This is a very timely question, ‘A’. Thank you for asking it. There has been quite a bit of concern about the new female at the Melbourne scrape. We learned much and were incredibly surprised about incubation times with Milda at the White-tailed Eagle nest. Her mate died and she stayed on the nest for 8 solid days before seeking food. It was cold and wintery. At one time the two eggs were left for 8 hours and at other times for shorter but considerable time. No one believed they would hatch but hatch the two did. Sadly they did not live because Mum was starving and there was no food even from a male that seemed to want to play Dad. Now these eggs were in a big twig nest that holds heat but the temperatures were much lower than those in Melbourne which are in a scrape. The gravel will hold heat but perhaps not as much as the twig nest. Dr Victor Hurley has stated on FB that an hour and a half will cause no damage at all. I would think that the time she was away is fine but my concern would be if the surface of the eggs were damaged at all by the rain. This can cause undue problems. We wait. There is often a failure for first time parents – in this case just the Mum. Dad and our former Mum worked like clockwork – they were a great team but that takes time to know the other partner well. We will wait but my hope is that only a couple of the eggs develop well as it will be easier for a first time Mum to cope. Many experienced females have difficulty with four!

I found this article on the issues with egg development and incubation that might be helpful:

The Failed Eggs Explained

Question from ‘B’: “Do male Osprey fledglings migrate before female Osprey fledglings?”

That is a fantastic question and I do not have the scientific data at hand to state that the males go first although many believe that this is true. I want to check some data and will get back to everyone on Saturday morning with a data driven answer to this question. The research will be limited to the UK birds because they are ringed and measured. Let’s see what we can find out. Thanks, B!

A rant and a question from ‘J’: “There is a lot of arguing going on over calling the parents of nestlings Mum and Dad at the Melbourne scrape. There is a person telling everyone to stop and use male and female so that we are not anthropomorphizing the birds. What do you think?” Thank you so much ‘J’ for sending me this question. I actually went and found the post and made a comment – something that I do not often do but I feel very strongly about this particular subject and I am happy to address how I ‘feel’ about this!

I get outraged when I see someone jump on another individual for giving human qualities to a non-human. In the study of animal behaviour, anthropomorphizing is attributing human characteristics to non-humans. That is the simple definition. Using words such as joy, grief, embarrassment, anger or jealousy are anthropomorphic terms. Dr Marc Bekoff, an expert in animal behaviour and emotions, and his colleagues use human terms all the time when they are dealing with the emotional lives of animals. “Being anthropomorphic is a linguistic tool to make the thoughts and feelings of other animals accessible to humans.” (123) Bekoff continues, “If we decide against using anthropomorphic terms we might as well pack up and go home because we have no alternatives. Should we talk about animals as a bunch of hormones, neurons and muscles???” (124). “When we anthropomorphize, we’re doing what comes naturally, and we shouldn’t be punished for it. It’s part of who we are.” (125).

Bekoff continues for many pages noting that we observe animals being happy, feeling grief. You have seen these behaviours. Anyone watching a streaming cam of any raptor will, at one time or another, note joy, anger, and all too often, grief. I can still “see” Connie and Clive standing over the dead body of their eaglet who had been flapping and jumping and broke a blood feather. She died of rodenticide poisoning like her younger sister. The blood in the growing feather should have coagulated but it didn’t because someone decided to poison the rats and Clive brought one to the nest. It was an incredibly moving time and Clive never got over the deaths. He left the nest.

We must acknowledge that animals experience joy, passion, grief, and suffering. They feel love and they feel pain. If we fully grasp that the animals and the birds are really no different than we are, then we might stop to think about how we treat them. That would be the beginning of real change in our world. I personally believe that it is our duty to make the planet a better place – to do all that each of us can do to make the lives of non-humans better. If calling them Louis or Sarafina helps to do this then fine. The adults at the Collins Street scrape are parents as we know it. The female is the Mum and the male is the Dad. What in the world does it hurt to call them that!?

Making News:

The only surviving Osprey chick from the Pitkin County Open Trails platform is now out of ICU and in the flight aviary! What fantastic news. In June, the female pulled her two chicks out of the nest when her talons inadvertently got caught on nesting material entangled with monofilament line. One chick died as the result of the long fall; the other was lucky that passersby took immediate action to get it into care.

Sharon Dunne posted some really good information about issues related to plastic and sea birds today. Thanks, Sharon, for reminding us that humans seem to use the ocean as their garbage can – or as is the case with the UK reporting, as their toilet for releasing raw sewage. We need to clean up our act.

Can you image if this beautiful little Albatross chick was fed that plastic horse? Thankfully the parent seems to have regurgitated it on the ground. It could have killed them also. We want the sea birds to eat fish and squid and not fill up on plastic so they are not hungry and die. That is just horrid.

Fledgling osprey from the UK flies west and gets into a bit of a pickle landing on the RRS Sir David Attenborough west of Sula Sgeir. Thankfully they are heading into port. This youngster will get a second chance to get his flight coordinates set!

Two announcements have come for L4 and L3. The first was for L4 who appears to have done so well that release is now almost at hand. This was followed by a statement that L3 is also a candidate for release at a later date. This is great news. L4 was the first of the four siblings this year to catch its own prey and was a real favourite of many of us. I will never forget the fearlessness when L4 wanted to be first at Mum’s beak and scrambled over the older bigger siblings to get there. If you are wondering — will L4 be fine. Absolutely!

Another raptor has been shot in the UK. This was a Red Kite that was shot at Epping Forest! It is now undergoing extensive rehabilitation and vet treatments. The police are appealing for help in finding the perpetrator.

Red kite reported shot in Essex – Police appeal for information

Nest News:

Sarafina had to go between Louis’s legs to get her tea time fish! ‘B’ reminded me that Sarafina is now 97 days old today (Wednesday), the same age as Vera in 2020 when she fledged. If Sarafina stays on another day, she will have the record for Loch Arkaig’s longest lingering fledgling.

Yes, Sarafina now has the record for the longest lingering fledgling at Loch Arkaig! She may also get the award for tackling Dad with her landings to get the fish he continues to supply.

Padarn now has the record at the Dyfi Nest for the longest lingering fledgling.

Aran still has his entire family at Glaslyn this morning. No sign of anyone thinking of packing their suitcases.

Xavier is really enjoying incubating those eggs in the scrape in Orange. I love how he talks to them in ‘falconese’. Diamond is not always obliging in his requests for ‘eggie time’. Xavier is simply adorable. Oh, let us all hope that there is one great big healthy chick this year like Izzi. And if there are more – let them be healthy too…and let the pigeon population increase so that everyone is full to the brim.

Xavier hoping for some more time with the eggs…

The Sea Eagles are nothing short of gorgeous. They are now almost completely covered with their juvenile plumage. It is SE29 standing. SE30 is still a little lighter at the shoulder and the beard.

Just look at the expressions on their face – so intently watching and taking in ‘something’ outside the nest. Great development.

The Sea Eagle FB page reminds individuals that there is an entire website devoted to the Sea Eagles. There is all kinds of interesting information there. Have a look if you are interested. Here is the link:

https://sea-eaglecam.org/?fbclid=IwAR0J6f2m0AzrMyfnpm2kgnNCZtzJ2tAwYfU7NRYQiRcu8RXr8VNlhqZHF-Q

Mum has been doing quite a bit of yelling at Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge for the last couple of days. Sometimes Dad will slowly eat the fish he has caught and bring her the leftovers….don’t think she is any too happy about that. Maybe if he brings her another big fish she will take it and let him incubate the eggs longer. Could be a good strategy Dad!!!!!!!!!! Just like Xavier, Dad loves time with the eggs in the nest.

Marrum shows her partner, Partney, the second egg of the 2022 breeding season on Tumby Island, South Australia. Congratulations!!!!!!

Migration News:

Rutland has confirmed that all of Manton Bay Ospreys are now officially deemed to be on migration and away from the nest. Here is the announcement with the last image of Maya before she departed. What a grand year it was and what beautiful daughters they raised.

A great article on Osprey migration with maps and dates to answer almost all of your questions and to refresh our memories.

avianreport.com/osprey-migration/

Here is a good article on the tools that scientists use to study bird migrations. Thanks Sharon Dunne for bringing this to my attention!

https://theconversation.com/birds-migrate-along-ancient-routes-here-are-the-latest-high-tech-tools-scientists-are-using-to-study-their-amazing-journeys-187967?fbclid=IwAR0DxCrzhLBZsSaMSy5jZwPacTBBUSil5tufCL6ZUcj6HxlvBKreVVVXgdM

There is still no tracking data for Karl II who is known to have been in the Kherzon region of Ukraine where the fighting is said to be intense as Ukrainian forces seek to take back the region from Russian forces. There are 2 reports for the 7th of September. Bonus remains in Belarus and we have heard from Kaia who is in Ukraine but appears to have found a good spot to fish.

Kaia did not fly far. She is fishing in the Desna River.

Tweed fledgling positively IDed and photographed on the Iberian Peninsula.

On 1 September at 17:44 Iris stood proudly with her mate, Louis, at the Hellgate Canyon Osprey nest in Missoula, Montana staring straight into the camera. It is one of the most poignant, beautiful, eerie and haunting images (all wrapped up into a lot of emotions) of this year. It felt like goodbye. Is this the last image of the year? I hope not for forever – but that is why it strikes me as so strange. Sealed in our memories in this singular instant is the fact that Iris is happy to stand next to Louis, happy with the way things are, happy with her life. They look beautiful together. If they were humans they would be having this image printed on cards to send to all their friends.

Safe travels dear one…we hope to see you in late March or April.

There have been a lot of questions about the Melbourne scrape and a lot of anxiety amongst viewers. I propose a deep breathe or several and let us wait and see what happens. Not every nest is a success. Xavier and Diamond often lay 3 eggs with only 1 developing and hatching and this could be a good thing for the new Mum in Melbourne. One healthy eyas is a great thing! A blessing. We will continue to keep our eyes on those UK nests for migration but no one appears to be wanting to go on a holiday to the south as yet. We just had a hummingbird in the garden and the rabbit was on the deck eating being protected by the crow who was above it in the bird bath. How beautiful!

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care of yourselves. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams, their Tweets, etc where I took my screen captures: Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ, NZ DOC, Hugh Venables, Cornell Hawks, Raptor Persecution UK, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Friends of Osprey, LWRT, Looduskalender, Conservation without Borders, and Montana Osprey Project.

QT will get a name, photos of Victor and more in Bird World

7 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone. The first part of the week has flown by. I hope that you had a lovely long weekend (if you had a holiday) and that Tuesday was good.

The Crows continue to alarm every time “THE cat” comes into the garden and, in particular, when the rabbit is visiting and eating under he bird feeder. Today it happened twice. That bunny doesn’t know he has three guardian angels! How lucky.

Meanwhile Junior, the male Blue Jay, is moulting. Poor thing. He has lost his beautiful crest and he looks so out of proportion. He has finished up all of the peanuts and has decided to try some of the seed spilled when filling the feeders.

At sunset, hundreds if not a thousand gulls flew low to the ground looking for their evening resting area. The sky was simply full of them in every direction moving and looking like a swarm of mosquitoes. Several ‘V’s of Canada Geese could also be seen. The expectation is that the majority of duck and geese migration will take place starting the third week in September. If so, I hope to get some great images for you.

In the Mailbox:

‘G’ wonders how on earth an osplet could get salmonella poison and die? The necroscopy tests have revealed that the Loch Garten chick died of salmonella poisoning. The chick was lethargic several days before dying on the nest. A number of studies and several reports and articles such as “Incidence of Salmonella in fish and seafood” published in 2000 states, “Field laboratories of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration collected and tested 11,312 import and 768 domestic seafood samples over a 9-year period (1990 to 1998) for the presence of Salmonella. The overall incidence of Salmonella was 7.2% for import and 1.3% for domestic seafood. Nearly 10% of import and 2.8% of domestic raw seafood were positive for Salmonella”.

The study was, of course, related to the risk of food poisoning in humans but this would be the same way that osplets would get salmonella is by eating raw seafood that contains the bacteria.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10826714/#:~:text=Nearly%2010%25%20of%20import%20and,and%20one%20shark%20cartilage%20powder.

Making News:

The NZ DOC has done an 180 degree turn and has decided to hold a naming competition for the Royal Cam Quarry Track chick. QT, instead of leaving her with her code name. Here is the announcement:

Some additional images of Victor in the large flight area have been posted by the Ojai Raptor Centre. Oh. Victor is doing so well. I wonder if he is still rejecting the Trout and only wanting to eat Whiting??

Victor is getting stronger every day! Oh, how lucky this beautiful juvenile is to have such good care.

If you are intending to donate and/or purchase some items from the Ojai Raptor Centre’s shop, remember to include that it is for Victor! I might have mentioned that they have included a shopping option for Canada in addition to the US. If you live elsewhere, send them a note and they will set up the shipping. I received the two t-shirts and the tote bag today. They are super!

There is a wildfire in the Big Bear Valley. It is being called the Radford Fire. Many were concerned that it might bring harm to Jackie and Shadow and their nest but they are safe. The fire is on the SE part of the lake. We all love Jackie and Shadow and many of you might have heard about the fire and were worried. Here is that confirmation:

University of Louisiana grounds keepers saw the hawk tangled in fishing line and acted quickly in order to save its life. Remember and spread the word – be responsible. Clean up monofilament line both yours and that of others if you see it. Make the shores, lakes, and rivers safe for the birds and fish.

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister for Scotland has announced a draft bill on grouse moor licensing to be introduced in this year’s parliamentary legislation. Many like Mark Avery and Chris Packham have lobbied to end the senseless killing of the raptors on the driven grouse moors. This is a huge step forward and is coming none too soon.

Scottish Government announces draft bill on grouse moor licensing to be introduced this parliamentary year

The Guardian carried an article, “Dark matter and lithium water: 15 big issues poised to affect oceans and coastlines” today. You will already be aware of some of the concerning actions and issues including the dumping of toxic chemicals into the oceans. The example came from Senegal but it could easily have come from large westernized countries! My biggest disappointment was the glossing over – no, not just glossing over – not even acknowledging what will ultimately happen to the sea birds that depend on the oceans for food.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/06/water-issues-oceans-coastlines-marine-coastal-biodiversity

Nest News:

Mrs G and the three fledglings remain at the Glaslyn nest with the male, Aran. They are the only ‘full family nest’ still resident in the UK.

All three siblings lined up waiting for Aran and fish.

Mrs G is hiding!

News coming out of the Dyfi nest other than Idris continuing to feed Padarn is that Pedran, the first fledgling, did not fly straight south from the nest to begin migration but, rather hung around the UK and has been spotted! So remember this – the birds do not always fly directly south but can spend time flying and perfecting their fishing while getting strong! (Note- all three were deemed to be female. Disregard the use of the words he/him below).

Bella has arrived at the NCTC Bald Eagle nest waiting for her mate, Smitty.

An unknown female Peregrine Falcon interrupted Alden’s ‘loafing time’. Let us hope that this is not the female intruder that Grinnell had chased away from The Campanile scrape.

After an encounter with a female intruder at The Campanile, Annie and Alden renew their bond in the scrape.

All is well at the Australian nests. The only one with chicks is, of course, the Sydney Sea Eagles and SE29 and 30 are growing and changing and, like clockwork on the development chart, getting all of their juvenile feathers. It may be difficult to tell them apart soon!

It is incubation duties at the other three nests – the two Peregrine Falcon scrapes at Orange and Melbourne and the Port Lincoln Osprey barge.

Sunny in Melbourne.

Beautiful Diamond.

The sunshine gave way to rain later in the day at Port Lincoln.

Dad eating his portion of fish before taking it to Mum. Thanks, Dad. We don’t want any more flapping fish on those precious eggs!!!!!!

Migration News:

No tracking news for Karl II or Kaia. Karl II is in the most dangerous area of Ukraine at the moment. Their transmitters could be jammed. The only news is of Waba and he is doing fine and has found a small area to fish. We wait.

Memory Lane:

Do you remember these two cutie pies? Who are they? what is their natal nest? and what are the names of their parents?

Thank you so much for joining me today. I will be pulling out photos from the archives for the next week or so to see if we can tell who is who! Take care everyone. See you soon!

Answer to Memory Lane: This is E17 and E18 from the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest. They were removed to CROW for conjunctivitis and safely returned to Harriet and M15 after a successful treatment. Known for their early sparring the twins became best buddies.

Thank you to the following for their posts, their streaming cams and videos that make up my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC,, Ojai Raptor Centre, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Bald Eagles 101, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, NCTC, Cal Falcons, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and SWFlorida Bald Eagles and CROW.

Flapping fish, pip dates and…more in Bird World for Tuesday

6 September 2022

The families are back at work and the children will be in school. There will be no more loud yelps when a grasshopper has been found and checked off the list of treasures in the ‘Nature Scavenger Hunt’ at the nature centre or toddlers trying to pull the tails of the ducks. It will be quiet.

it was 26 degrees C on a sunny Sunday afternoon as I set about trying to find that dear wee duckling at Ft Whyte. Originally there were two. I did not see the second one today either when I went around the final bend but I did find the tiny one sleeping in the sunshine. Now that the water level is falling all manner of little islands are appearing in the ponds. They are nice places for ducks to sun themselves in the middle of the day.

The wee darling even had its eyes closed. You can see the downy fluff on its back. I am so worried that the feathers are not developing correctly – a little bit like Yurruga last year at the Orange scrape of Diamond and Xavier. Will they fill in, I wonder.

Have you had experience with ducklings? Can you offer advice. The little one has grown since I was there a couple of days ago.

Sibley tells us that the wing feathers of the Mallard require 60 days to fully grow so that the duck can adequately fly. This little one is about 3 weeks old or 21 days – the closest I can guess from my visits and seeing it – at the nature centre. We need 40 more days. This duckling will make it. That would be the 15th of October! Help me cheer it on.

This beauty looks so gorgeous in the sun between the springs of plants. I love how the tail feathers are fanned out and look like lace with a beautiful satin blue ribbon trimmed with black and white. Mallards are lovely. The more I see them, the more special they become.

All of the ducks seem to have been eating rather well and filling out. They will need all of that energy for their long flights.

The plants are beginning to change adding some oranges, reds, and browns to the green leaves. The ducks can melt into the landscape if you do not look closely. These three were characters. Just look at their crops, especially the one facing us nearly straight on. Well fed I would say!

Sometimes it is nice to be able to look down and see the gorgeous orange legs paddling – it means that the water is no longer murky. This duck seemed to be smiling at me.

This one was tucked up nice and tight on one of the islands. It took some time to see her.

One of the silliest things that happened today was between two Canada geese. They were both on the boardwalk. On stayed put while I tried, as quietly as I could, to pass. The other decided to walk in front of me going around the corner out of sight of its partner. They then started ‘talking’ to one another. This went on for nearly 6 minutes without either moving to go to the other…I left to go and check on the wee duckling that I had spotted ahead of me. I wonder if those geese are still honking?

This morning I woke to the alarm calls of the three Crows in the garden and sure enough, there was the cat – and the rabbit. They are protecting little Hedwig by calling me out to chase the cat away. I do wish that people would be responsible for their pets.

In the Inbox:

‘J’ wrote to tell me the story of the two Sea Eagles and the fish tail. I had not seen it. ‘J’ said, very appropriately, “It seemed more educational for them both than anything.” I missed this specific occasion and I am terribly grateful that ‘J’ gave me the time stamp because I was able to catch a few minutes of SE29 and SE30 doing some friendly exchanges with that tail – they even got a few nibbles of fish, too!

‘R’ writes: Why do the Magpies continually dive bomb the sea eagles? Anyone who has been watching the Sea Eagles nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest will have seen the most recent attacks by the Magpies on the Sea Eagle nest. There will be others such as Boo Book Owl, too. The Magpies have their own nests. It is believed that there are about 50 breeding pairs of Magpies in the forest. The Sea Eagles are the top predator in the forest. The Magpies have no hope when it comes to a challenge with them but they dive bomb them hoping if they are such a nuisance the eagles might leave the forest. Of course they will not! That said, the smallest owl has inflicted injury to Lady in the past. They are silent when they attack and have hit Lady and hurt her eye. You might also have seen the Great Horned Owls attacking the SWFlorida eagle nest of M15 and Harriet. The GHOWs are formidable enemies to the eagles but Boo Book is so much smaller. Still he can do harm and any of them might want a tasty eaglet for dinner. The sea Eagles must be careful with the owls. The Magpies are a nuisance to the adults but can and do drive the youngsters from the forest when they fledge, like the Pied Currawong do. You will often see larger predators being constantly attacked by smaller birds. The Mockingbirds continually follow Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus.

‘A’ asks: “Why don’t the Osprey parents just kick their fledglings off the nest or stop feeding them?” That is a great question and I am certain that there are a lot of people wondering the same thing. I am going to use the term that is often employed ‘good parents’, if you will excuse me for that. The goal of the breeding season is to raise healthy chicks and to either increase the population of the species or, as one researcher noted, hope to have a replacement for each parent when they die. Not feeding the chicks or kicking them off the nest is counter to all of that. The adults might begin to limit the feedings encouraging independence but the chicks will depart for their own territories or for migration when they are strong enough. When that day comes, nothing will hold them back! Until then, ‘good parents’ continue to feed their chicks as best they can while also building up their own strength. Louis and Idris are great examples. Everyone has left but Sarafina and Padarn. They will continue to feed their girls until such time as they leave. Both are excellent dads. Aran and Mrs G are doing the same. None of the fledglings have left. Fish is continually supplied. Mrs G would normally leave before the fledglings. Let’s keep an eye out and see what happens.

Padarn is one of the most beautiful fledglings I have seen!

Making News:

You may recall that Loch Garten’s Osprey chick 1C1 died after being unwell for several days. It was believed that she had an infection and it was confirmed today through the necroscopy that it was a case of salmonella. It is unclear how the little osprey got salmonella.

Do you know the term ‘war wilding’? Ukraine re-flooded the Irpin River so that the Russian army could not get to Kyiv. What is fascinating to me is that this has created a wonderful wetland for the birds that could last for years creating new opportunities out of war.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/05/warwilding-a-new-word-to-describe-the-startling-effects-of-using-nature-as-a-weapon-ukraine-korea-aoe

The author cites cases where warWilding has been used to create biodiversity hotspots and bring new hope for wildlife such as in Mozambique but, he also tells us how this can be turned against wildlife – when water is drained to cause harm to people and, as a result, to the birds and animals. It is a good read. Check it out when you have time. There is a link to another very good paper within the article on the same topic, if you are interested.

There is a new book, Peregrines in the City by Andrew Kelly and Dean Jones. Do you recognize the scrape? More to follow after I have had a chance to read this book on such an interesting topic!

Nest News:

It appears that there might be only one Osprey nest in the entire UK that has both adults and all the fledglings still at home. That is the nest of Aran and Mrs G in the Glaslyn Valley in Wales.

The sun is just starting to show. You can hear the songbirds, the cows mooing, and the sheep bleating. One chick is already fish calling!

It might have been the one that was calling from the perch as the sun was setting on Monday!

It has been a wonderful year for Aran and Mrs G, one that certainly made up for the loss of their three nestlings last year and Aran’s injury. Everyone is really healthy and getting strong.

At the Charles Sturt scrape box on the campus at Orange, we will be on pip watch for the first of Xavier and Diamond’s eggs on the 29th of September with hatch watch from 1-3 October. Mark your calendars!

Handsome Xavier got some eggie time!!!!!!!!!

If pip watch is the 29th for the Orange Peregrine falcons, then we have to be checking on the Melbourne falcons earlier. I am going to mark my calendar for the 23rd for pip watch at 367 Collins Street!

At Port Lincoln, if all goes to plan, we are less than 2 weeks away from the first hatch!!!!!!!!!! In the meantime, Dad had everyone a little anxious when he brought a live whole fish on to the nest for Mum’s breakfast. Let us all hope that the eggs are OK.

At the Sea Eagles nest, it looks like an eel was brought in – or was it a fish? – at 1330.

In Florida, Samson has delivered at least one stick to start rebuilding the nest in NEFlorida and Harriet and M15 have returned to the SWFlorida Eagle nest in Fort Myers.

Blue 022 fooled everyone. Believed to have left for his migration after his family, he shows up at another platform in Poole Harbour. Is he scouting for another nest after the goshawk attack? or just resting?

Migration:

No tracking news for Karl II. It could be that his tracking signal is being jammed as he is in the location of Cherson (Kherzon), Ukraine. Bonus is still in Belarus near the River Pryjpat. Kaia flew a short distance but remains near the Desna River in Ukraine. Waba is between two rivers, the Buzhok and Slutsch. Please keep this beautiful Black Stork family from the Karula National Forest in Estonia in your warmest thoughts.

From the Book Stack:

Bill McGuire’s, Hothouse Earth. An Inhabitant’s Guide, minces no words when it comes to the destruction of our planet and the inability of anyone to stop the warming. McGuire is Professor Emeritus of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at University College, London. He accepts neither climate deniers or climate doomists and insists that we must be prepared for what is currently happening and for what will come in the future. We have not been able to halt the 1.5 degree C rise in temperature that was thought to be the tipping point. “How Bad can things get?” is a complex and intertwined question surrounding the relationship of the climate, the natural world, and human society and economics. McGuire says, “…what we can be certain of is that climate breakdown will be all-pervasive. Insidiously worming its way into every corner of lives and livelihoods, no one, anywhere – not even the tech billionaires in their guarded redoubts – will be immune” (143). He warns against all of the geoengineering methodologies and climate hakes being proposed including volcanic cooling and the refreezing of the poles. Instead, McGuire is very pragmatic. If we want to limit the worst effects of climate chaos til the end of the century, then there are some things that humans must do immediately: 1) methane emissions is a top priority; 2) the scraping of subsidies for the oil and gas industry; 3) the ceasing of new exploration licenses for gas and oil must stop forthwith; 4) banks must be made not to invest in gas and oil ventures; 5) damaged and desecrated land must be restored by reforestation and rewilding; 6) progressive phasing out of beef and dairy farming; 7) the restoring of peatlands and wetlands – places that store more carbon; 8) cutting back on flying and shipping consumer goods around the planet; 9) massive investment in home insulation and green domestic energy. I note that he questions the cost and value of electric vehicles (replacing world’s 1 billion fossil fuel vehicles, the lithium farming, etc) and focuses instead on green public transportation, journey based car pools, and car shares and more cycling and walking. ————Of course, it is not just humans that are impacting by the escalating heating of the planet but our beloved wildlife – and our dearest feathered friends, many who are struggling now. McGuire says his intention is to frighten people into the reality of what we are facing.

Tomorrow a look at Birds. A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior.

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so nice to hear from so many of you. Stay safe. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their tweets, postings, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Dyfi Ospreys, Loch Garten RSPB Abernathy, The Guardian, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SWFlorida Eagle Club, and the Birds of Poole Harbour.