Tag Archives: Great Horned Owls

Tuesday in Bird World

9 January 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

It is -21C on the Canadian Prairies. The cold weather has arrived. It was a good day to wake up to hot coffee and warm cardamon rolls out of the oven. LOL. The girls didn’t care! They wanted breakfast and story time before I started my day. Calico now ‘walks’ me out to the conservatory sofa to read. It is too funny. The cats have me fully trained. 

As you know, if you have read my blog over the summer of 2023, a large family of Crows lives in my neighbourhood. They bring their fledglings to the garden to get peanuts and for the bird bath, where they dunk their food and have baths. The numbers have decreased since the end of autumn, and I am worried about them. Today, I was happy, but simultaneously sad, to see a single crow at the corner waiting for another person who feeds birds. I know she specifically feeds the crows, but where are the others?

I have also been reading more about Crows, and if you are interested in the intelligence level of the members of the Corvid family include Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays, I have a book for you! It is called Bird Brains, and it is by Candace Savage. This is the latest edition from 2018. 

I was impressed by the writing that drew me in and made the new findings on this amazing species’ intelligence level relatable. The photographs are top-notch. (Sorry about the glare from the light)

The introduction included mention of anthropomorphism. Put simply it is ascribing human traits to animals. if, however, you study the behaviour of animals, the apologies of individuals such as many on chat for doing just that will more than irk you. 

Savage discusses the ‘ascription of meaningful intelligence to nonhuman creatures’ as problematic. She notes that at a point, scientists and researchers into behaviourist psychology who looked into memory, insights and thoughts stopped looking at nonhumans. Some had been tricked, and she noted that no one wanted to be embarrassed. It paused the subject of knowledge and intelligence…She notes that anyone who dared to state that nonhumans were intelligent was accused of the dreaded anthropomorphism. Savage’s entire book bunks the notion of ‘dumb animals’, stating that humans ‘have a lot invested in keeping animals dumb’ (19). Think about it – humans can treat animals any way they want if they believe they do not feel pain, have feelings, share emotions, solve problems, etc. Savage points to the research of many, including Irene Pepperberg from the University of Arizona, who concludes that Corvids are superbly intelligent, capable of identifying items by name, able to distinguish similarities and differences in objects, as well as ‘capable of acquiring complex vocal and nonvocal behaviours that many scientists believe are co-or prerequisites for referential communications’. Pepperberg, in her research, discovered that Corvids have the same cognitive capacities as primates. Indeed, their superior powers might be higher than primates (18).

If you are interested in avian behaviour and love the Corvid family or want to learn more about the intelligence of our feathered friends, this is an excellent book. It is well-written, wonderfully illustrated, and at a good price point. 

One of my favourite Corvids, the baby Blue Jay from the summer, came to visit the feeder on Monday. Delighted to see it!

The girls are doing great. The plumbers were here again today – they will be finishing up tomorrow – and I could not ask for better behaviour. They all stayed out of the way of any danger!

Missey has a new sleeping spot. It is on top of one of the tallest cabinets – almost touching the ceiling – next to a carved cat on a skateboard that my late friend, Charlie Scott, made. Missey is very smart. What a safe place and out of the way of Calico. They do not always get along. I would say they tolerate one another.

Hugo Yugo and Calico slept on the cat tree together, ignoring the workers who dumped the vanity behind them piled with anything and everything.

I was so delighted when ‘AM’ sent me some beautiful images they had taken of Blake Kites near their home in Japan.

Nature Japan gives us some information on one of the country’s most beautiful raptors: ”The Black Kite or “Tobi” トビ as it is known in Japanese is a common sight in the skies throughout Japan. This raptor is thought to be the world’s most abundant bird of prey. Its numbers are healthy and is under no threat.

This bird can be mainly found in Eurasia, Australasia, Oceania and is a year-round resident here in Japan. You can see this powerful looking bird often soaring in the thermals high above coastal areas, rivers and lakes. I’ve also seen them in farming areas throughout the Kansai region of Japan. They are very graceful flyers that soar with ease and turn with precision.

Male and female Black Kites look very similar and are very opportunistic hunters. They prey upon fish, rodents, and other birds. They are also known to scavenge which is one of the reasons they are so successful a species. I have watched them dive towards the ocean plucking fish from the water and I have also seen them dive-bomb people at highway rest stops trying to steal their rice balls and bento box lunches.” Their only predator is the Eurasian Eagle-owl. “This powerful owl can easily pick off even adult Black Kites and can sometimes be found in northern parts of Hokkaido (common throughout Europe and other parts of Asia).”

Wilde Nature gives us the size variations for these birds of prey: “The Black-eared Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey, measuring about 45–55 centimetres in length with a wingspan of up to 150 centimetres. The distinguishing feature of this subspecies is the black patch of feathers on the sides of the head, located behind the eyes, which gives it its name. Its eyes are dark brown; its bill is short and hooked. The outer wing feathers are black, with dark crossbars and a mottled base. The underparts are pale brown and become lighter towards the chin. The body feathers have a dark shaft, giving it a striped appearance. The corner of the mouth is yellow, but the bill is black. Male and female birds look the same, but females are slightly longer with a larger wingspan.”

Black-eared Kites are opportunistic hunters and feed on various prey such as small mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles. They are often seen soaring high in the air on thermal updrafts, effortlessly gliding while searching for potential prey on the ground.

Thank you ‘AM’ for allowing us to share these beautiful images of the kites.

Look at this beautiful White-tailed Eagle that visited one of Finland’s Osprey (Selli Island) nests on Monday. Gorgeous.

Connie with C10 and C11 today. Note more dandelions are missing! There are pin feathers coming in along the wing tips.

‘A’ comments on these little eaglets: ”Speaking of having enormous appetites, so does CE10, who is absolutely massive in comparison to baby brother CE11. I am still not entirely sure that CE10 has the temperament of a female, but certainly she has the physical characteristics of one. Little CE11 seems to eat his fill most of the time, but she can eat SO much more. Today, both of them had very big crops mid-afternoon (of course CE10’s was larger), and then Connie came in and CE10 was fed the majority of a good-sized speckled trout! CE11 lifted his head from his afternoon nap and initially decided not to bother, but about 20 minutes later, he eventually got up and made his way to the table, by which stage you might have expected CE10 to have long since fallen into a food coma, but no, she was continuing to eat, so that CE11 still had to wait some time to get perhaps a dozen mouthfuls out of the entire fish. CE11 is definitely getting enough to eat, but CE10 is bottomless. She is making no specific effort to prevent CE11 from eating, and has not really done so at any point in their development. She eats and eats and eats, while CE11 is a confident eater but not a pushy eaglet at the table. Occasionally, when big sibling is asleep, CE11 gets a quiet private feeding, usually from Connie, but the size differential continues to grow between the two eaglets. Fortunately, there has been no real food shortage (except one day where there was an inkling of ‘hungry’ experienced on the nest). The bonking has been minimal throughout (and instigated often by CE11, who has been prepared to look his older sibling in the eye from an early age, despite the inevitable results). “

‘J’ has a reminder: Today is also Connick’s first birthday. Connie and Clive’s 2023 hatch will be the Ambassador at the Smithsonian. Maybe you will be able to travel to see him!

Changing before our eyes. Thanks for the close-ups, cam op.

Faxinating caught the whole fish drop to F23 for her and E23 today – we all cheer when the Dad doesn’t eat the head, but we also cringe when the fish flops everywhere. Not to cause alarm, but these live fish have killed eaglets and Osplets. (more on SW Florida below)

Tonya Irwin reports on the action at the Kistachie National Forest E1 nest that Louis shared with his late mate, Anna.

Not a lot of action at the nest of Beau and Gabby. I really hope Gabby is getting to eat enough. It looks like Beau is busy with the defence of their territory.

All is well with M15, F23, and E23 at the SW Florida Eagle nest after the earlier fish delivery. Dad stopped in before bedtime to feed the cutie pie some fish.

The Great Horned Owls are nesting at the Hilton Head nest it seems.

On their social media page, the Hilton Head Island Land Trust posted a short video of the male bringing prey and being in the nest with the female. You can see the two eggs.

Meanwhile at the nest of Bonnie and Clyde on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas, it is snowing. No sign of the owls.

Just northeast of Kansas, in Iowa, the snow is coming down in Decorah, home to the Decorah North Bald Eagle family as well as the Hatchery Bald Eagle Family.

Snow was also coming down on the Denton Home Nest.

Baiba caught Blazer going after a squirrel coming up to the Eagle Country nest where he is incubating his and Abby’s eggs.

At Port Lincoln, Gil got himself a really nice fish off the nest. This is not just any fish – this is a delivery by the fish fairy at 0938.

The lads have been fighting for the fish and today Gil was the clear winner until…

Mum came in with a really large fish at 1344. The lads struggled. Gil had a nice crop – come on, Gil. Let Brad eat! Brad was hungry and got that fish and really enjoyed it. Well done, Brad.

‘A’ sends the report for the WBSE: “January 9: Early this morning, just one eagle was spotted at the river, moving between roosts. Just before 9am, SE31 was finally seen soaring high above the wetlands and the river. Then, at 9:15am, she was at River Roost with Lady, both flying back and forth a bit. At 9:20am, SE31 took flight, followed by Lady, up high, circling then off over Homebush Bay. Neither had returned at 10:15am. Just after 12 noon, SE31 was seen at River Roost, but no parents. But then we heard that at 11:06am, she had been seen catching a fish shortly after returning from her flight with Lady. At 4:30pm, one adult was seen at River Roost, and it then flew off to the west. Shortly after, at 5pm, both adults were spotted on the island, then SE31 was seen there as well.” 

BirdGuides review of the week for the UK, including some unusual finds.

Review-of-the-Week-2-7-January-2024-BirdGuidesDownload

Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretative Centre is closed for renovations, but they have some online events for people living in my province. Want to know where to go birding? Check this virtual information session on the 14th of January from 1300-1400.

Virtual-Birding-Hour-Where-to-Find-Birds-in-Manitoba-Oak-Hammock-MarshDownload

Thank you so much for being with me. Please take care everyone. See you soon.

I would like to thank the following who also helped me with my blog today: ’A, AM, J’, Nature Japan, Wilde Nature, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Window to Wildlife, Faxinating, Tonya Irwin, Carol Shores Rifkin, Hilton Head Island Trust, Farmer Derek, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Denton Homes, Baiba, PLO, Bart M, Eagle Cam, Bird Guides, and Oak Hammock Marsh Wetland Centre.

Update on Victor and other Bird World News

13 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone. I hope the start of the week was a good one as we celebrate the rescue of Victor at the Fraser Point nest in the Channel Islands.

Here is the latest news on the Fraser Point eaglet of Andor and Mama Cruz:

As new birds go into wildlife rehab, it is easy to forget some that remain in care. At the Pitkin County Osprey nest, both chicks were pulled off the nest when the female’s talon was tangled in nest material that had fishing line. Here is an image of the chick in care and below it is the mass of fishing line and nest material that came off. One chick died. This one will be in rehab for some time and will not be returned to the nest area as the parents will have migrated when it is ready to be released.

How possible is it for every nest that is on a streaming cam to have the nest material examined and any fishing line, hooks, or other dangerous items removed when the camera gets its annual maintenance? That would help – it certainly won’t keep new items from coming on the nest but it would go a long ways to mitigating issues. Then, of course, there is the whole issue of educating the public about fishing line and hooks! And how dangerous they are to the water birds.

There has been no update on Little Bit ND17 this week. Will post as soon as I see one. No news is good news!

The Patuxent River Park Osprey nest 1 is empty. Was there a fledge?

Tonight there is a huge storm with thunder and lighting at the Patuxent River Park #1 nest. It could even scare me! You can see the nest because the lightning is making the entire sky glow.

Yes, it was a fledge at Patuxent River Park and the new flier has returned to the nest to the delight of Mum and Dad.

It has been 25 hours without her brother, Victor. Lillibet is on the nest panting and hot in the California sun.

The mother has returned to the Janakkdan nest in Finland to her two osplets. There has been lots of fish and she has been feeding them. Let us hope that what has been ailing the female is getting better. They are super beautiful and big osplets. It was just lovely to see her and the chicks are getting stronger and older and should be feeding more to themselves. That will certainly help. Mum does look better than the past couple of days. Fingers crossed. Send those good positive warm wishes to her. They help!

The first egg at the Sydney Sea Eagle nest is 35 days old today. Pip watch begins on day 40 which will be July 16/17. Lady and Dad are busy incubating and rolling the eggs. The cam operator gave us a good look. Thank you!

The White-bellied Sea Eagles are the second largest bird of prey in Australia.

Diamond looking out of the scrape at Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia.

The scrape box on the water tower has been used by falcons for the past twelve years. Before that they made their nest on the water tower itself. The first couple were Swift (female) and Beau (male). In 2015, an entirely new couple were in the scrape. They were Diamond and Bula. In 2016 just when their three eggs were hatching, Bula disappeared and was presumed dead. Xavier means ‘savior’. He came along, just like Alden, right at the moment he was needed. He saved the breeding season. Xavier provided prey for Diamond and the chicks. He proved to be a very capable mate and Diamond accepted him with wonderful bonding displays in the scrape. Xavier is a darling. This will be Diamond and Xavier’s 6th breeding season. Diamond is at least eight years old and Xavier is at least seven years old.

The average life expectancy of a peregrine falcon in the wild is often considered to be quite low, 2-4 years. Our Princess in Winnipeg lived to be 19 years old. It is unclear to me how accurate that 2-4 years estimate is.

Diamond. 13 July 2022
Xavier. 13 July 2022 with a prey offering for his mate.

The other peregrine falcon nest in Australia is in Melbourne. They will start streaming nearer to hatch once eggs have been laid. It is quite interesting to watch the rural nest of Xavier and Diamond with the urban one in Melbourne.

Do you like Great Horned Owls? Would you like to learn more about their lives on the prairies? Here is a free Zoom talk that you might wish to join.

Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets were ringed yesterday. They have two girls! LW6 was 1760g with a wing of 300mm and LW5 weight was 1910g with a wing of 350mm.

Chick LP8 fledged at Loch of the Lowes today. In celebration of this achievement, Louis brought in a fabulous fish! Congratulations LOTL.

The three girls at the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn are really hovering. Who will be next to fly?

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. We send our good wishes to L3, Little Bit ND17, the Pitkin Osprey, and Victor as they continue to work hard to get better in care. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: the Ojai Raptor Centre, Patuxent River Park, the Finnish Osprey Foundation, Pitkin County FB Page, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Prairie Conservation Action Plan, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and Woodland Trust and the Dyfi Osprey Project.

Sadness at Captiva … and other Bird World News

15 March 2022

There are so many things happening in Bird World that it is impossible to keep up with the nests. There are also so many nests that have not even been mentioned in my blog. I will try to cover a few different ones, once in awhile. Hopefully you will discover something different and interesting. But I have to start with some sadness that could potentially grow to the entire nest.

This morning it was discovered that one of the three chicks on the Captiva Osprey nest has died. It is not clear which one it is yet as I write. Lori has asked permission to go to the nest and have the body removed so that it can be tested.

All of the chicks were alive at 07:43.

A fish came in and Little who had been up moving sticks was eating.

From what I can tell, it is the Middle chick that I have been calling Middle Bob that has passed. He did not come up to eat as quickly as the others but did try to feed at 08:33.

Andy came in with sea grass to cover the body of his baby.

How sad this is for these two lovely Osprey parents. They will not know what happened to what appeared to be a fully healthy chick. These two have tried so hard and lost chicks to Ravens but to have one die mysteriously is so tragic. My thoughts go out to Andy and Lena. I hope that this is not the avian flu and that Big and Little will be fine and fledge.

However, if this happens to be H5N1 the highly pathogenic avian flu all of these beautiful osplets could perish. We wait to see.

CROW has been given permission to remove the body and is on high alert over Avian Flu. Permission still needs to come from the USFW service. This is such a sad day. Condolences go out to everyone at Captiva who worked so hard towards a successful nest for Andy and Lena this year.

I will admit to not being happy when the Great-Horned Owls took over the Savannah Skidaway Island Osprey Nest. Not happy. The female hatched one chick that is affectionately known as ‘Little Grey’. I have to admit that wee one is cute and is always so happy when the Mum appears on the nest. It will go running for a cuddle. Here is a video of the Mum bringing a Barred Owl to the nest for lunch. Watch Little Grey when it sees its Mum and runs to her. Enjoy!

Some of you will remember that I wrote about Isabella Tree’s book Rewilding and the move at Knepp Farm in Surrey to turn away from modern agriculture practices and return their farm into a place where nature thrives on its own accord. They have set up the only streaming cam for White Storks in the UK. The birds are not always on the nest so be patient. I am hoping to see some eggs soon! You can find this new streaming cam here:

https://www.whitestorkproject.org/live?fbclid=IwAR38_Hoj5djOymLqdGX8cCltvtfkrkMYCf1nFplBFLC6bK-aoH6izrZyquA

Are you a fan of the Dulles Greenway Eagles in Virginia? The nest is located in a wetland area. The first egg was laid on 1 February with the second on 4 February. Egg 1 hatched on 13 March at 08:18.

Oh, this little one is a real cutie pie.

Rosa is feeding the wee one some duck. What a beautiful nest.

There is no history of this couple at the nest. They arrive in 2021 and the information on the streaming cam suggests that Rosa is a first time mother this year. Whatever, congratulations Rosa and Martin on hatch 1! Hatch 2 should be happening soon.

Here is the link to their cam:

Normally Maya and Blue 33 are the first Ospreys back in the UK. To go along with that they usually arrive within half an hour of one another. The first this year was Laddie LM12 at Loch of the Lowes but, the second was Maya! She arrived officially on 15 March, today.

She is in remarkably good shape and begins immediately to work on her nest!

There is another female working with some fairly large sticks, too, and that is Rosie of Rosie and Richmond Osprey nest at the SF Bay Whirley Crane. The Ravens removed all of the twigs from their nest over the winter so there is a log of work today in California. Maya is a little luckier.

I started this blog last evening and to find one of the chicks at Captiva is dead is quite overwhelming. They were so healthy. It is not good to speculate what happened. There could be a number of causes. We normally think of birds having to come in contact with a sick bird or its feces. The chicks have only eaten fish. But, still, everyone is on high alert as this is a very contagious disease. Sadly, Andy or Lena might dispose of the body before it can be retrieved for testing. In the UK, studies have show that they take the body about 300 metres from the nest – if they do not leave it in the chick in the nest to become part of its history.

It is now after noon and Lena has stood over her chicks shading them from the sun including Middle. My heart just breaks for these parents.

On this very sad note I am going to end my blog this morning and watch the other two chicks and their behaviour.

Thank you for joining me. I am so sorry to bring you this sad news this morning. This was not the nest I was worried about! Dale Hollow is. I will check on it, too, later. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: LWRT Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Golden Gate Audubon and SF Bay Ospreys, Dulles Greenway Bald Eagles, and Cornell Bird Lab.

Late Thursday in Bird World

24.2.2022

The Kakapo Recovery are having a t-shirt fundraiser. They posted the following information on their FB today:

There are male and female styles and sizes range from the smallest to 2 or 3 XL. Shipping from New Zealand is reasonable should you wish to help out!

There are lots of chicks and where there are infertile eggs they are being swopped with fertile ones so some of the mothers get a chance to rear a chick. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that number of 201 to climb! It looks like it could be a good year for our non-flying parrots.

The tracking for Ervie indicates that he did visit the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge sometime yesterday. He was most likely checking to see if Dad was there so they could have a visit. No one spotted him on camera so maybe he landed on the wheelhouse.

Early Friday morning, nest time, and the barge is full of pigeons hoping to find leftovers. They certainly do a great clean up job for Mum!

The Mum at Duke Farms gives everyone a peek of the fully hatched chick 1 at 14:28. What a little fluff ball. So tiny!

It has been a really good day at Captiva. It is 17:46 and Lena is waiting on Andy to bring in the dinner fish. The three osplets still have crops from the earlier feed. All is good!

Gabby and Samson continue to demonstrate branching to Jasper and to be named NE27. Today the two eaglets were kept full to more than full. They have grown so fast. Time seems to go by in a blink. Just a few days ago it seemed they were only tiny fluff balls like chick 1 at Duke Farms today.

Oh, I love that beautiful glow over the nest in Jacksonville, Florida as the sun sets on Gabby, Samson, Jasper and NE27.

NE27 is going to clean up every bit of that fish! Sweet eagle dreams.

Lady Hawk did a great video of Samson bringing in this large carp for the eaglets. Listen to them cheeping. So cute. Gosh these two are just darlings.

There is snow and sleet falling on the nest of Bonnie, the GHOW, whose nest is on Farmer Derek’s land. The area extending from there over the Mississippi River and into Ohio are set to get quite a bit of precipitation.

This is what the Mississippi River Flyway Cam is showing. Looks like snow to me! The snow is really blowing around creating what we call ‘white out’ conditions at times. A white out is literally when you cannot see anything in front and beside you but snow. Highways and roads disappear. People do try to drive on it. They often wind up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Not recommended. You cannot even see approaching cars.

The female, Nancy, at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bald Eagle Nest near Minneapolis is getting snow as well. This nest fledged two great juveniles last year. Harry, the male, was only four years old and it was his first breeding attempt with Nancy. This year he looks much more like a mature Bald Eagle. Very handsome.

Checking in on the Iowa Bald Eagle nests, there is wet snow coming down on the Denton Home’s nest. No eggs there yet.

There is snow at the Decorah North nest of Mr North and DNF. If you look carefully you can see Mr North high up in the tree. What a beautiful sight.

When the city gets too much for me – as it often does – my mind moves to a cottage at the edge of a forest full of wildlife. This is so beautiful and serene. All you can hear is the snow falling and the wind. There is a creek in the background.

Mrs is keeping the eggs nice and warm and dry.

The other Bald Eagle nest with a streaming cam in Decorah also has snow. No eggs yet and no one on the nest. Right now I can hear lots of geese honking. My goodness they are super loud!

Here is the link to this camera. You might catch the geese flying in also at dusk.

The snow has not reached Pittsburgh but the wind is sure blowing at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest tonight. Mum is trying to keep those eggs warm and dry in that cold. With their 7000 plus feathers, the eagles are well equipped to ride out the cold, the snow, and the bitter winds. Regardless, I just ache for them.

The sound of those honking geese reminded me that Ospreys are moving north out of African towards Europe and the UK. A number were reported entering southwest France today. With all the snow here and in other places it is hard to imagine but the birds will be making their way home. In a month there should be Ospreys on a nest or two in the UK. I am counting on one of my favourites, Blue 33, and his partner, Maya, arriving at Rutland first. We wait to see!

In San Francisco, Richmond has been on and off the Whirley Crane nest in the shipping yards anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mate, Rosie. Those two are going to have a lot of work when she gets here. Just look at that nest. Maybe Richmond should take a page out of Louis’s book up at Loch Arkaig and start work before she arrives. Richmond, that would be a very sweet thing to do!

Dyson and Scraggles have been playing in the seeds and snow so they are both fine. The 50 or so European Starlings that visit the nest for food have been perching in my neighbour’s trees. Today they both got a gift certificate for two car washes. My goodness those birds can poop! Little Red has been busy. We did not see our chickadee today but it might have arrived, with or without its mate, while we were off for our walk. It felt good to get out in the fresh air.

Thank you so much for joining me. All the nests are doing quite well. It is comforting. Take care. See you soon. Saturday is pip watch for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Don’t forget.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Kakapo Recovery Project, Denton Homes, Explore.org, Stewards of the Mississippi, MN DNR, Farmer Derek, Golden Gate Audubon, Pix Cams, and Duke Farms.

Late Monday in Bird World

It was not a particularly nice day in Ithaca, New York. In fact, it was 2 degrees C when Arthur arrived at the nest this morning at 08:16:35. He brought some twigs, tested the nest bowl, and looked around. Arthur has really been bringing twigs at an exhaustive pace recently. According to one of the founders of the FB group, Big Red did once lay her first egg on 13 March. Are we in for an early start this year? Or does Arthur know that bad weather is coming and realize that when it is good to restore Big Red’s nest he should waste no time? Arthur, you are quite adorable.

Arthur was still scurrying back and forth with sticks two hours later.

My very first love was an urban hawk – a Sharp-shinned Hawk that visited my garden one frosty January day. I ran out in my slippers and housecoat thinking that the hawk had killed and was eating the garden rabbit, Hedwig I. The hawk kept eating until I got within 15 cm or 6 inches of her. I have learned so much since that early morning and I would never ever go out and interfere with Sharpie having some breakfast or lunch now. She was not eating the rabbit but a sparrow. We looked into one another’s eyes for several minutes, not moving. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. And how blessed I was – looking into her eyes that morning changed my life. Thankfully, I quietly returned to the house and Sharpie finished.

As a result of this beautiful, close encounter, I have an interest in urban raptors that has grown over the years. Sharpie still comes to visit the garden. Of course, I now also know that Sharpie is a male! He is very cheeky – always pausing to see if I am watching from the window he will turn his head til our eyes meet and then he flies away. I always wonder where he roosts and how far his territory extends. It seems that the peregrine falcons are in the centre of the downtown area which is between 4 and 4.6 km away from where I live. So it would seem that their territories do not overlap. It is curious. I think he has a route and I know that he is ‘mad’ at me for removing a twenty-foot tall cedar tree. The little birds would get inside that tree filling it up. Sharpie would come ripping through a small space between my house and the neighbour’s making a sharp right angle turn into the tree. He was always successful at hunting – always. Sadly for all of us, we had a four year drought and no matter how much water the tree was given it simply was not enough and wasn’t the heavy rains that nature provides. It died and had to be removed. Now, Sharpie really has to work for his lunch. And if you are wondering, yes, I have thought about planting another large conifer for Sharpie! It isn’t a cat or dog that rules our house but the garden animals!

Sharpie was very puffed to stay warm on his last visit. It was -32 that day. He is sitting on his plucking post and if he raises his head slightly, he can see me watching him from the kitchen window. I do not go outside when Sharpie is hunting so all of the images are through glass – and he is fast. Not as fast as a Peregrine Falcon, of course, but fast enough for me not to be able to grab my good camera — unless, of course, he is eating lunch which takes about 35-40 minutes.

He glances back to me and is gone in a blur. Such a beautiful much loved raptor.

Robert Yolton writes a great blog on urban raptors. His focus for years has been the Red-tail Hawks that live in and around Central Park in NYC. While he writes about other birds in the area, I really enjoy this time of year when he begins to report on the hawks preparations for spring breeding season. On 16 February, five days ago, he has lovely images of the couple whose nest is on a balcony of a high rise apartment at 84th and East End Avenue. He wonders if they are merely working on the nest or if the eggs will be laid early this year. And that, of course, is what we are wondering about Big Red and Arthur. Yolton’s reports are always accompanied by beautiful photographs. One other recent one has images of hawks, Kestrels, and a Great Horned Owl in Central Park. I urge you to take a look at his blog: urbanhawks.com You will not be sorry!

I have checked in on the three Osplets at the Captiva nest in Florida on and off today. It was actually wonderful to see my daughter today which meant that I was not sitting and counting the bites Little Bob got in a feeding! Here they are all lined up from the eldest on the far end to Little Bob on the end close to us. They look like a choir. I hope this continues. It reminds me of the three Port Lincoln lads (until they fledged).

Speaking of Port Lincoln lads, if you missed it, Ervie visited the barge yesterday. He was there from 19:15-20:31. He missed seeing Dad who arrived half an hour after he left.

Port Lincoln has asked everyone along the north shore to kept an eye out for Ervie. This is his latest tracking in the area. The green pin indicates his position at the time of the tracking. Continue to notice that Ervie goes back to the nest on the barge. For several weeks I have said that I felt Ervie would continue to stop in. Let us all hope so! It was lovely to see him yesterday. He is in good form.

One of Ervie’s greatest fans is ‘A-M’. She believes that Ervie stopped by to see Dad and to tell him, “ I found a place, it’s cool. I need help moving sticks and nest stuff. Come visit and bring fish!” It brought tears to my eyes. This is the first time I have been able to watch the interaction between the adults and the juveniles after they have fledged other than the adult bringing a fish and getting out of the way quickly. There was something very heartwarming about seeing Ervie and Dad just sitting around the sticks, as if it could be a campfire, with one another.

So keep watching the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. You might catch a glimpse of our handsome Ervie.

After seeming to be missing in action for two days, the male GHOW at the Savannah Owl nest has returned. The Mum was so excited. His return is on video when he brings a nice fat rodent for her to feed the owlet. The sounds from the owls is adorable.

That is excellent news. With all the intruders at that nest, including that Red-tailed Hawk, it would have been almost impossible for the Mum to raise the owlet alone. Cornell did a very cute video of the female GHOW feeding the two-day old owlet Dad’s prey. Have a peek:

Gabby and Samson are doing a great job trying to entice NE26 and 27 to self-feed. Fish are brought to the nest unzipped and left for the two hungry eaglets. So far NE27 who learned to feed itself more than a week ago has done the best. After the eaglets work on the fish then either Gabby or Samson comes in and fills the two up! This nest is doing so well. No one is hungry.

That old saying is knock on wood. And that is what I am doing. It seems that the nests are doing well. If you are a fan of the National Arboretum nest, Lotus laid her second egg yesterday – the 20th of February – at 18:39. Bella and Smitty are both working on the NCTC nest. Another eagle has been seen soaring and both Bella and Smitty have taken to easing it out of the territory.

The couple at the new Bartlesville Oklahoma Bald eagle nest are incubating two eggs laid on 15 and 18 February. I grew up in Oklahoma and it will always hold a special place for me. I hope this couple are successful and have to great fledges. The link to the camera is:

Live Eagle Camera

Look closely at the image below. Do you see a ‘meadow muffin’ or a ‘cow pie’? Looks like the Oklahoma eagles have a unique item that they are going to line their nest with!!!!!!! Can I say ‘only in Oklahoma’?

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB where I took my screen captures: The Sutton Group, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Window on Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.

Encounters with a GHOW

As many of you know, there are problems for the Bald Eagles with the Great Horned Owls wanting to take over their nests. We saw Bonnie and Clyde be successful in stealing a young eagle couple’s nest in Newton, Kansas located on the grounds of Farmer Derek. Those two have visited the nest as recently as 2 days ago. Great Horned Owls have taken over the Savannah Osprey Nest and laid eggs so no more Ospreys there, sadly.

Those are two instances on streaming cam where the owls have been successful. It has to be more common in the wild. I imagine that you could also provide me with several more examples. We know that a GHOW has been systematically attacking M15 and Harriet on their nest in Fort Myers, Florida. Just a few minutes ago a GHOW flew and knocked the female adult eagle off the US Steel Eagle nest at the Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, PA.

The camera operator for the USS Bald Eagle nests is panning around the area. It is not a search and they said that the panning does not imply a search is needed. They are simply looking to see where the GHOW might be. These are the time stamps for the events this evening according to the camera moderator: “18:52:20 GHO swipes USS female(?) off her roost, 18:55:42 USS male(?) reacts to nearby swipe, 18:58:07 USS male relocates, chatter from both follows through 19:01”. The eagles cannot be heard on the streaming cam. Previously you could hear them so they are probably roosting at a distance and are safe and sound.

This is a daylight view of the nest. It is a gorgeous area.

Here is a link to the USS Bald Eagle cam:

The situation in PA at the USS Bald Eagle nest is unclear. It is my understanding that neither eagle has been seen on the streaming cam this morning. Everyone is hoping that they will show up so that worries can be put aside.

I was reminded, by someone using a three letter code for the Great Horned owls, to provide you with a listing of the proper four letter Alpha codes for all birds. Great Horned Owls are GHOW. The listing provided by the Carolina Bird Club also discusses the origin of the codes. Have a look:

https://www.carolinabirdclub.org/bandcodes.html

Liberty (f) and Guardian (m) were on the nest doing renovations and checking out the nest cup at Redding today. This couple raised triplets last year: Honor, Glory, and Rebel. We should be looking for eggs to be laid mid-February. Wouldn’t Valentine’s Day be nice?

Here is a history of the nest from last year’s breeding season by Judy B on the Hancock Wildlife Forum:

“A new camera was installed at the Turtle Bay nest for the 2021 nesting season (big thanks to Terri/Eaglewoman and the Friends of the Redding Eagles!) – and happily the eagles chose to use that nest! They laid three eggs in mid-February, and the three eaglets hatched March 21, 22 and 24. They were named Honor, Glory and Rebel by a poll of viewers. All three fledged successfully, if a bit non-traditionally. It was very hot in late May/early June as the eaglets turned 10 weeks old, frequently going above 100F/38C. Oldest eaglet Honor (who had never branched) had a very intentional fledge on June 3rd (74 days old). The following day, youngest eaglet Rebel left the nest as well, possibly slipping while trying to branch (the angle of the cam made it hard to be sure); Rebel was 72 days old. Happily local observers found both of them on the ground with an adult perched above; they landed near the river, and were able to have a drink of water. Middle eaglet Glory apparently liked having the nest all to his/her self, staying there another two weeks before fledging on June 18 (88 days old). All three fledglings were seen together perched beside the river on June 22, and all were seen through July 5. Both adults and two fledglings were seen in the area July 18, and one fledgling was around a few days later (it might be Honor who left first, but not sure). A happy year in spite of the challenges of the very hot weather.”

Why did I bring up the Redding nest? Because on 7 November 2021 a GHOW comes to the Redding nest! The video below uses slo-motion, graphics, and a narrative to highlight the encounter between Liberty and Guardian and the GHOW. The video is very insightful into the behaviour of Bald Eagles in alert and attack mode – if they are experienced:

Here is the link to the Redding Eagles streaming cam:

As breeding season continues, we might see more GHOW invasions. While GHOWs look soft and cuddly and through children’s stories we learn they are ‘wise’ – often portrayed as teachers – they are formidable adversaries. Liberty and Guardian are older and more experienced than the young Bald Eagle couple in Newton, Kansas that gave up their nest easily to the owls. Better to be safe than injured or dead.

Harriet and M15 have been the constant targets of GHOW attacks. Just go to YouTube and search for GHOW attacks M15 and you will find pages of videos going back years to the more recent occurrences. Here is one good example just 8 days ago:

On different occasions, M15 has been hit and has fallen down into the nest with Harriet and either eggs or nestlings. If you are a regular watcher of this great eagle couple, you will have seen M15 with injuries on his head because of the stealth attacks during the night.

In other Bird World News:

The first egg was laid at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey Nest (VGCCO) yesterday at 08:45. I know that some of you really enjoy this watching this nest in California.

Here is the link to this nest:

Still waiting at Achieva:

Two Osprey cams in New York say it is way too early to be thinking about eggs! Are either of these on your list to watch? Oyster Bay and PSEG?

After the fright the other day, everything appears to be relaxed and back to normal at the KNF nest. I am hoping we get the list of three possible names for this adorable eaglet today!

The eaglets on the WRDC are nice and full. Their thermal down has come in nicely. R1 still has some dandelions on its head. Soon we will begin to see thee contour and flight feathers on R1 and R2.

There are still cute fuzzy nestlings at NE Florida! They are doing great, too.

And just look at the change in Harriet and M15’s ‘babies’! Wow. I love seeing the plumage develop from that light soft down still on NE26 and 27 to the juvenile plumage that is really coming on E19 and E20.

No checks on Ervie. PLO is offline. Warm thoughts going out to the USS Bald Eagles. I am sure this is not the first time they have had to deal with this owl or another. Still, there is always cause for concern. That was a particularly ‘hard hit’ yesterday. Waiting for the final 3 names so voting can take place for the name of the little eaglet at KNF.

Thank you for joining me today. Please take care of yourselves. Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: USS Steel Bald Eagles and Pix Cams, Redding California Eagles, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Achieva Credit Union, VGGCO, Oyster Bay Ospreys, PSEG Ospreys, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagles, Savannah Great Horn Owl Cam, and the WRDC.

Friday in Bird World

Just about the time I begin to think, and then say, that it looks like the parents at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge are slowing down with fish deliveries, they bring two nice sized fish to Ervie. There was a huge chunk at 07:34 and another nice fish arrived at 15:20. Ervie didn’t actually start eating it until 16:25. Ervie was the only lad about. Bazza was last seen on Sunday the 9th and Falky was last seen on the ropes with Mum and Dad at 19:40 on the 12th. Will Ervie stay or go?

Ervie is still full from the morning fish when the afternoon delivery arrives.

Ervie is still eating at 17:34! My goodness those were nice fish brought to the nest. Ervie finished off his fish and flew off the left side of the nest.

Will that be our last sighting of Ervie on the nest? No one slept on the barge last night. We wait.

Missy has been feeding the little one on the Berry College Eagle Nest. It appears to be doing fine. Everyone is watching for the second egg. Sadly that broken shell has really attached itself to that egg.

I believe this is Missy’s first eaglet to survive. She is figuring feedings out!

B15 is getting stronger. You can see the issue with the second egg clearly here. I cannot tell if the extra piece of shell is over the narrow or wide part of the egg. The eaglets pip on the wider end. Pip watch coming for that second egg.

The nest is empty this morning at Big Bear, California but everyone is on egg watch for Shadow and Jackie.

Anna let Louis brood the chick this morning! Last year she waited a long time and Lous is delighted to be involved with his chick. Both Anna and Louis have been on the KNF nest this morning and the eaglet is eating well. Lots of nice fish for everyone on that nest!

There seem to be two words used for Harriet and M15’s E19 and E20. They are ‘nice’ and ‘cute’. Look at the feathers coming on E19 and E20 and then look at Anna’s baby above. They change so quickly!

This is a great little film about the Kakapo. Since it is breeding season and we are looking at eggs, it seems like a good time to refresh what we know about this very endangered non-flying parrot and how they are cared for. The update on the numbers is that there are now 202 Kakapo down from 208 the beginning of last year.

Daisy the Duck has not returned to the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest to lay eggs since she visited with her mate on 1 January. That was two-weeks ago. Fingers crossed she has found another spot and is successful. One of the women who visits the centre was to send us images of Daisy paddling but nothing so far. Maybe Daisy is away from the area of water around the Discovery Centre and the Duck Pond.

Great Horned Owls have been mating on the Savannah Osprey Nest and the GHOWs have been mating on the nest that was stolen from a young Bald Eagle couple in Newton, Kansas last year. The couple who became known as Bonnie and Clyde raised two of the cutest little owlets on this nest. When the eggs are laid, I will definitely let you know.

For the most part the Owls and the Eagles live cooperatively but I really don’t like the owls when they try to knock the eagles off or hurt their eyes and heads as at the WBSE Nest by the small BooBook Owls and at SWFlorida when it is a GHOW hitting M15 and knocking him off the branch into the nest, sometimes.

One thing I did not know is that there are no Great Horned Owls near the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest in Miami-Dade County. The Coot delivered yesterday, the second one to arrive as prey on the nest, is gone! They seem to love the taste of that waterfowl. My eagle expert tells me that the WRDC are thinking about putting up more nests like this one for the eagles. Fantastic. It seems to be a really good design and they can work out any kinks watching this nest.

R1 ate well and now Dad is making sure that R2 is full to the brim. Ron, you are a great Dad! You can see R1 passed out in a food coma and Ron has even moved across the nest to feed the youngest sibling. Fantastic.

Today is Day 40 for the eggs at Captiva Bald Eagle Nest on Sanibel, Island. It is the home of Connie and her new mate, Clive. There is some chatter that the eggs might not be fertile. Let’s wait and see.

I haven’t seen any of Ervie’s tracking uploaded since 26 December. I will be checking on the PLO nest during the rest of the day to see if anyone returns to the barge at Port Lincoln. That wing of his could be our last sighting of the Erv until people along the coast send in images of him. There appears to be a huge interest ‘and caring’ for the Osprey in the region. That really helps!

Take care everyone. Have a great end to your week. Thank you for joining me. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Berry College Eagle Cam, KNF Bald Eagles, Friends of Big Bear, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Forest, Captiva Bald Eagles, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, and the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest.