8 July 2024
Good Morning!
Oh, Sunday was a joyful and a tearful day. My superb neighbours have moved. To their little daughter, I was the ‘Tomato Fairie’. She loved the little grape tomatoes and paper baskets of them appearing regularly on her front porch. I shall miss them terribly. Friends visited, and later, we took the grandson, who works too hard and who we don’t see so often, for dinner and then picked up his sister to go for ice cream. We found a new little ice cream shop – they are popping up everywhere. It was delicious. Then we went for a walk to check out the river, which has flooded the walks and bike paths down to The Forks. We spotted a family of ducks who seemed fine.
It was a good day to be outside and to be with friends and family. The killing of the second Golden Eaglet by the first, followed by the little Dunrovin chick falling off the nest to its death, and the discovery that all three Redding osplets were dead in the nest —–well, it was a difficult day. These deaths should always remind us to hold those alive close and to celebrate those who survived this year. So many didn’t. As one of my friends told me today, please don’t wait for the politicians and policymakers to do anything to improve the lives of our wildlife and environment. If we each do something good positive, however small, our planet will be a better place.
My posting may meander a little today. Several people are monitoring nests, especially for fish drops in this heat so there might be some later inclusions.
Was it true or is it just a rumour? I am still trying to figure this out. It was reported that the second hatch, Raider, at the Patchogue nest on Long Island fledged at 0511 with a successful return to the nest. Patches was flapping and Raider joined in hopping and flapping and away it went!
Not true.
Raider fludged later. See post below by Heidi.
Check out the look on Raidier’s face as he slides down the perch. Patches is paying no mind. That fish is good!
Also from Patchogue, ‘MP’ says “Chickie takes dad’s toe almost off thinking it’s a fish. Fish under green line.”
We have been worried about Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay Nest. Deb Stecyk gives us an uplifting video showing Blue’s crop and a good ps. Relief.
At the Snow Lane nest in Newfoundland, Beaumont often brings fish to the nest and then flies to the camera pole to have a wee bit of a dinner for his efforts and returns the fish to the nest for Hope to feed their two chicks. She is doing much better than in previous years. Feeling hopeful.
Plenty of food continues to arrive on the Golden Eagle nest #2 after the eldest killed the youngest on the 7th of July. At one time, I hoped there was a shortage of prey. I even rationalised this to myself but, then, when the prey came on the nest, item after item, after the eldest had killed the youngest, it just confirmed that it was a strategy to get the one to kill the other. That second hatch survived the first attempt at killing it. Why not feed them both so close to fledge and see which one survives in the wild? Well, we will never know.
Great Bay nest is doing well. Osplets are really perfecting their self-feeding. I cannot confirm how much fish came on this nest on Sunday.
The males in areas where the extreme is going to be a factor appear to be going out fishing early and later in the day with success. Today’s high at Charlo, Montana will be 97 with 4 mph winds. It is forecast to be 99 on Wednesday. Let’s hope that the fishing continues to be good despite the heat.
This is Charlo Montana very early Sunday morning.
Finnegan also brought in an early fish at 0556.
In past summers, Iris would be in the shade catching her own fish. She is now trying to keep her two chicks cool while they wait for Finnegan to bring in another fish.
If Finnegan thought he was going to have some fish, Iris might have had another thought for him. She stuffed those two osplets to their little tiny talons and then back to the top of their heads. She knows it is hot. She knows they need hydration. Finnegan is making sure his family does not go without.
Just look at that crop!!!!!
The little one raises its neck and stands up and looks at the older sibling. It was hilarious.
Date Night on the Perch with Iris and Finnegan! (Thanks PB for alerting me to where they were!)
I did not see an early fish on the nest at Dunrovin but I might have missed it. The pair are enjoying a late breakfast or early lunch around 1130 on Sunday. This nest might miss much of the heat that other areas are getting. And then…the most horrific sadness hits the nest. The young one fell off the nest over the railing. Such a loss. A beautiful healthy osplet on a nest with food. Soar high, little one.
Note to self: I love how some nests are annual inspected and repaired by the owners of the property and the streaming cam. Glaslyn (if I remember correctly) checks the woven railing and rewires it if required when they do their annual renovations. Many nests could use nesting material, too. Thinking of MN LA. What if we helped the Ospreys this way? Could save a life or two.
Melbourne police rescue an osprey! Thanks, Geemeff. We need a good news story.
Steelscape is one of the nests in the high heat area.
‘PB’ watches Cowlitz PUD and despite the heat it was a good day.
There is no end to sad news and I thought June was the worst month. The Osprey family whose chicks survived the fireworks in Redding have died.
Fireworks are not the only stressors. Humans around nests trying to take photographs, dogs, motorised vehicles, etc. have been known to cause great stress. I am sure there is a list as long as my arm.
Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Sunday 7th July 2024
There was an intruder but no fish today – Louis teased Dorcha again by appearing several times without fish and staying nearby within sight so she kept calling to no avail. The nest was overflown by an intruder who returned and landed on the nest next to Louis and was seen to be a dark female with striking markings, possibly the same one who intruded in 2021, see bonus video. Dorcha arrived and chased her off, all the way past Nest One where Dorcha dropped in briefly for her first ever visit to that nest. Weather was settled today, tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy and light winds, but rain is due again tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.51.05 (03.18.25); Nest Two 23.54.50 (03.27.43)Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/FrXbbUeLP1k N2 Louis arrives without fish – Dorcha yells at him 13.01.45
https://youtu.be/2OI2t67rNhU N2 Intruder overflies Dorcha on the nest 13.35.35
https://youtu.be/rzFuxemIvPE N2 Unringed intruder female lands next to Louis 13.55.40
https://youtu.be/LwP5OtDRWKY N1 Dorcha’s first ever visit to Nest One! 15.06.42
https://youtu.be/AX4rxHJaSWoN2 Louis arrives and coy mantles but no fish for Dorcha 15:21:08
Bonus video – compare and contrast today’s dark intruder with the very dark one seen once only on 27 May 2021, is it the same bird?:
Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam
Tuffy landed on the nest with a nice-sized fish he had caught. What a joy to see him. The camera will be turned off today. It could be already by the time you read this. At one point, we did not think Tuffy would survive Ruffie. Well, he did. Please notice the distinctive head marking. You will always know that it is Tuffy. There is a dark patch at the back of the head, too. Their heads and underwing markings never change in an osprey. So even without rings on their legs, if you know these, you can tell which osprey is which.
Tuffy is one of the good survival stories of the 2024 breeding season and we will always remember him (or her). What a great nest. Camera will be turned back on when Sally and Harry return to the nest.
See Heidi’s report below.
For the Decorah North eagle family, there is no place like home even if it is a dead tree without a nest. They are all fine. What a joy it is to see them, too.
Fish are coming in at Boulder. It is 46 F and 1 mph winds. The high this week will be 80 at the nest.
It is a lot hotter at the Seaside nest of Bruce and Naha. Bruce flew in with a really big Red-tail for Naha and the kids at 1649. This will keep them nicely. Temperature is expected to be 90 degrees F with 14 mph winds on Monday.
‘PB’ reports that a nice late fish came into Steelscape. They are in the hot zone, too.
Cowlitz has fish, too. The Dads on that Columbia River are really working hard to get fish to their nests in this heat.
‘H’ reports:
7/7 Osoyoos osprey nest: It was a sunny day, and the temperature reached 100 F/38 C yesterday afternoon. Olsen brought eight fish to the nest, but most of them were quite small. When the ‘kids’ were little, that would have been ample, but now it may be only half (or less) of what they need. Five of the fish were delivered before 0900, while the sixth fish was delivered at 1657. Meal duration times were: 5, 7, 4, 3, 18, 5, 8, 5 minutes. Our views of the feedings were partially blocked at times, making it difficult to determine how much Little was eating. There was no aggression at the first three meals, and Little seemed to eat some fish at each of those meals. Big beaked Little at the third meal, which consisted of a tiny fish, and Little ate one bite of fish. The fifth fish, at 0849, was the largest. Little was beaked, but managed to start receiving some bites on the other side of Soo at 0855 for a couple of minutes. I could not tell how much Little was able to eat. When we say the osplets are ‘at the table’ or ‘at the chow line’, we are referring to them being in a position to receive bites of fish offered by the parent. When the ‘kids’ were little, the ‘table’ was small. They could all fit side-by-side compactly in a small area, easily within reach of Soo’s beak. But, at the current size of the chicks, the ‘table’ is wide. There was no aggression at the sixth feeding, at 1657. Little was skittish, and waited a couple of minutes before approaching. When Little was ‘at the table’, s/he was positioned closer to Soo’s tail. It was only a 5-minute feeding, and I did not see Soo reach back and offer a bite to Little. There was an 8-minute feeding at 2058, and once again, Little hesitated to approach. But when s/he did get to the table at 2103, he ate two bites, then was beaked. The last meal of the day was at 2122, and lasted five minutes. Little was beaked, and was not able to eat. Little’s crop was noticeably hollow. Unfortunately, Little did not eat much today, which is all the more serious due to the extreme heat which can hasten dehydration. Little’s last good meal was around 11:00 on 7/6. Middle was not prevented from eating today. It’s going to be another hot sunny day on 7/8, with the high temperature predicted to hit at least 102F/39C. Winds will be 14-22 mph. Wouldn’t it be nice if Olsen could find a big whopper of a fish? Surely, Little would then get a good meal. Good luck out there Olsen…we know that you are doing your best.
7/7 Patuxent River Park: The osplets are 57, 60, and 61 days old. A few days ago, Big and Middle were making some progress with wingersizing and managing some brief hovers. But, over the last couple of days, their activity has been reduced, possibly due to the extreme heat and calm winds. The temperatures have been in the upper 90’s.
7/7 Captiva osprey nest: Ding is 75 days old, and fledged 15 days ago. On 7/6, Ding caught her first fish, and it was a needlefish. This morning, on just her third fishing attempt of the day, Ding caught another needlefish! After she finished her breakfast, she resumed diving for fish. On her sixth fishing attempt of the day, Ding caught another needlefish, just 32 minutes after her last successful catch. You go girl! Ding may be known by some viewers as the ‘Needlefish Kid’. Ding made numerous attempts at fishing over the next six hours. Edie was not seen on 7/7. Ding is expending a lot of energy with her fishing. It would be wonderful if Edie would drop off a fish for Ding in the morning.
7/7 Moorings Park osprey nest: Monday morning at 0900 the camera will be turned off for the season. Tuffy treated viewers to some extended appearances today. At 11:29 we witnessed Tuffy dive into the water to try to catch a fish. He didn’t appear to come away with a fish on that attempt. About an hour later, Tuffy flew to the nest carrying a tilapia. Tuffy was wet, and shaking off water. He took a long time to eat that tilapia. How wonderful that we got to witness those events on the last day of the live stream. We have been blessed to witness your life thus far, Tuffy… through all your struggles and your victories. You are a survivor. We wish you a long and prosperous life.
Studies identifying the extent of the bycatch problem and our beloved birds like those cute little Royal Cam chicks. We do not want them, their parents, or any of the colony ending up like the ones below. Those trawlers gather the fish to provide feed for salmon and chickens. Want to save our seabirds? Stop eating farmed fish and industrially grown chickens.
New study shows the real scale of seabird bycatch in European waters.-https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/07/03/bycatch-tragedy-we-are-losing-200000-seabirds-annually/
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, MP, PB, TU’, PSEG, Heidi McGrue, Deb Stecyk, Newfoundland Power, Eagle Club of Estonia, Great Bay Ospreys, Charlo Montana Osprey Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Dunrovin Ranch, Space Coast Daily, Pam Breci, FORE, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Moorings Park, Raptor Resource Project/Explore.org, Boulder County, Seaside Ospreys, Steelscape, Cowlitz PUD, Birdlife International, Osoyoos, Patuxent River Park, and Window to Wildlife.
Somehow, 1 osprey chick did survive the “night of terror” and my friend followed that one for quite a while.
Those 20 minutes of horror felt like it went on forever! Watching those poor ospreys up there in the nest trying to comprehend what in the world was happening to them & to their peaceful, quiet habitat was absolutely torturous for me. 
