As promised, I am including a review of the latest children’s book on ospreys by Connie Dennis from Nova Scotia, Canada. Calico and I have read it several times since its arrival last week and Calico gives the book her Golden Paw Award! The cover below gives you a good idea of the quality of the images and the other page shows the great layout.
I am going on a little holiday to Toronto from Wednesday evening through Saturday. I will take you to some of the City’s parks where I will be ‘birding’. The blog will be much shorter on Thursday than usual – I arrive in Toronto late, late Wednesday night. However, we will have Heidi’s reports, Geemeff’s, and a few nests Thursday morning! Things will be back to usual Sunday. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my little excursion.
BOOK REVIEW:
Connie Dennis and her husband, Don, are more than just residents of Nova Scotia. They are privileged observers of the lives of the Osprey couple, Ethel and Oscar. Their home provides a front-row seat to the incredible fish-eating raptors, and they have used this unique perspective to create Pickles the Osprey. An Osprey’s Journey in Nova Scotia. This children’s book is beautifully illustrated with Don’s photographs, offers a rare glimpse into the life of these majestic birds, a perspective that only Connie and Don could provide.
Pickles the Osprey is a delightful book. It has Calico’s seal of approval, which is very hard to earn! Pickles gives us a first-hand view of his life as an osplet in a nest in Nova Scotia. He introduces us to his parents, who work hard to provide their chicks with a nice nest and fish. We learn what kind of fish ospreys consume in Nova Scotia, which differs from fish hawks in other parts of the world. Connie provides useful scientific facts in a manner that is not dull to young people. She also peppers the story with ‘Fun Facts’ alongside the humour of Pickles. Children will learn about the unique talons of the osprey that allow them to grasp fish and carry them back to the nest. They will learn about fledging and migration. In addition, Dennis brings up one of the main challenges of our raptors – hydro poles. The couple worked tirelessly to ensure the ospreys in Nova Scotia were safe. They have provided images of the help that Nova Scotia Power has given to the raptors such as Oscar and Ethel.
The book has stunning close-up images of Pickle’s nest and great graphics. Included are photos of Canadian currency with ospreys and some fun photoshopping with Pickles sharing a meal of fish tacos with his parents after migration. I had no idea that ospreys appeared on our paper currency! And I did not know that Ospreys are the provincial bird of Nova Scotia. This proves that there is always something for us to learn. Grandparents, parents, and teachers will find this an excellent resource to help young people understand the life cycle and the challenges that ospreys face in a contemporary world—highly recommended!
All profits from the sale of Pickles the Osprey: An Osprey’s Journey in Nova Scotia go to Hope for Wildlife. Connie will also sign and mail copies anywhere. This way, ALL profits go to Hope for Wildlife. The address for ordering is below. Copies can also be obtained from Amazon and Indigo.
For slightly older youngsters, I highly recommend Belle’s Journey. An Osprey Takes Flight by Rob Bierregaard and Kate Garchinsky. This book gives you an excellent glimpse at osprey migration using a GPS satellite-tagged bird and twenty years of research into bird migration. Belle takes her first flight from the nest and travels down the coast of the United States all the way to South America. Through her trials and tribulations, we learn about the great challenges and why so many do not last the journey. It is another Calico favourite, and Heidi tells me it suits adults, too.
It remains hot with no break in sight for some of our Pacific Northwest nests. Let’s check and see how a few of them are doing:
At Charlo Montana, Lola’s posture says it all.
It is much nicer for the ospreys in the early morning and evening. Iris is hot like Lola and keeping her babies cool. These poor females.
Iris doesn’t know but Finn has a big fish coming in if he doesn’t lose it!
Finn ate on the fish for nearly an hour and delivered a huge headless piece to Iris. She is delighted as are the chicks.
‘PB’ sent me the Owl cam view of this feeding!
Dunrovin. It is hot there for Swoop and Winnie.
At McEuen Park, Mm continues to try to keep her only surviving baby safe and fed as best she can. She often alerts that intruders are near. Did they harm her mate? Will they try a nest takeover?
Cowlitz PUD: The one remaining osplet, not taken by the eagle, is getting to be a fair size. Maybe the eagle will give up. That would be wonderful for Electra. It started out promising until the heat hit the nest and the eagle. Take a breath.
Steelscape:
The Only Bob at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum continues to appear to be thriving.
Expecting fledges at Field Farm any time!
Hoping Beaumont and Hope keep up the good work with their two osplets. Knocking on wood!
For those birds in the area where Menhaden is their main source of food – and it is being scooped up by the millions of pounds, let’s stop this.
Bailey isn’t the only raptor donating blood. Connick did and saved a Red-tailed Hawk. Thanks, ‘J’!
A great Osprey rescue.
Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Tuesday 16th July 2024
A slow day today, no fish arrived on the nest but Louis did bring a very impressive ten foot pole, and spent some time positioning it on the nest and doing some nest-scraping. Despite Dorcha calling loud and long for fish, he decided to attempt mounting her but a wayward breeze put paid to that by blowing him away. LizB says: The mating attempts, along with coy mantling, skydancing, nest scraping and bringing in nesting materials are all normal bonding behaviours to reinforce their bond after what they see as a nest failure following the loss of their chicks. No Ospreys visited Nest One, just a Thrush visited and perched for a few moments. The light rain and light winds of tonight’s forecast were already in evidence when night cam switched over much earlier than usual, and thundery showers are expected tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.24.45 (03.27.14); Nest Two 23.10.47 (03.40.54)
7/16 Osoyoos osprey nest: The live stream was offline until 0930, so we may have missed a couple of Olsen’s early fish deliveries. It was another very hot day, with a temperature of 102F/39C at 1600. We did not see a fish delivery until 1759, and it was a very large whole fish brought by Soo. After such a long time without a meal, I was concerned that there might be some aggression, but there wasn’t. It was a peaceful, 41 minute feeding, and Soo and her two remaining chicks had a nice meal. At 2113, Olsen dropped off a small partial fish, and there was some slight intimidation from Big toward Middle. This feeding lasted for 7-minutes, and Middle was able to eat during the last 2 minutes. Weather for 7/17: Partly cloudy, high 99F/37C, light winds.
7/16 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: As you know, Dory and Skiff’s two young chicks were killed by a Great Horned Owl in the early morning hours. There was some light rain in the evening. Dory dropped down from the perch and tried to cover her chicks’ bodies to protect them from the rain. In 2022 Dory and Skiff fledged three chicks. They have had 6 chicks over three seasons, and half of them were predated by a GHO.
7/16 Mispillion Harbor osprey nest: Della and Warren have done a wonderful job raising their two 49 and 50-day-old chicks. The chicks have both been doing some major wingercising. They have not achieved any significant lift as yet, but it won’t be long!
7/16 Chesapeake Bay Foundation osprey nest (Annapolis): This is a cam without rewind. Three eggs were laid, and three hatched. The two youngest nestlings died within days of hatching. The oldest chick seems to be doing very well, and is estimated to be 37 days old.
7/16 Patuxent River Park osprey nest: It is still difficult for Little to acquire food because of his aggressive fledgling sibs. Mom doesn’t even get enough to eat. It has been extremely hot at the nest area (101F on Tuesday), and the fish count to the nest has dropped. Little’s only meal of the day was at 0515 from a large leftover fish, but it was a good, long feeding from Mom. For the first time, Little was performing some high hovers that were completely out of our sight. I think the kid may be ready to fly…but he needs a good meal first.
7/16 Colonial Beach osprey nest: This area reached at least 97 degrees today. Once again, there were only three fish brought to the nest. The chicks are 21 and 22 days old. Chick #1, Big, has just started to become aggressive during meals over the past couple of days. At 0720 David dropped off a large flatfish, and Big prevented Little from eating during the meal. David delivered another large fish at 0900, and Little was finally able to eat for about 5-minutes at the end of the meal. More than 8 hours passed, and finally Betty arrived with a medium sized fish. Due to aggression by Big, Little was only able to eat two bites of fish and the fish tail. I am worried for Little.
Sweet Baby Blue at the HWF-BBC Central Nest in British Columbia. I am so glad that you have been enjoying seeing the fish pieces fly to the nest! They all deserve our help.
Kristel had a Raven and, consequently, a huge crop on the 15th. Kristel was 10 weeks old. She is waiting for more prey deliveries this morning.
Cute little Dorsett Hobby Mum is learning!
Mr Crow would like you to learn more about Crows so that you will consider feeding them! Just as the creator of the video states – the Crows know our car! And there is nothing shy about them when it comes to telling us their food trays are empty. Just like all the other birds living in an urban environment, their habitat is being destroyed as I wrote and there are little food choices for them. Please help if you can. You will be rewarded much more than you give.
Thank you for being with us. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, videos, images, screen captures, posts, comments, and letters: ‘Geemeff, H, J, PB’, Connie Dennis, Don Dennis, Morning Dove Press, Charlo Montana, Montana Osprey Project, McEuen Park, Dunrovin Ranch, Cowlitz PUD, Pam Breci, MN LA, Field Farm, Newfoundland Power, Lesley the Bird Nerd, SK Hideaways, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Osoyoos, Audubon Boathouse, Mispillion Harbour, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Patuxent River Park, by Rob Bierregaard and Kate Garchinskyand Colonial Beach.
Oh, goodness. The operative word in parts of North America is ‘hot’. It is not as hot as it has been in Winnipeg – say last summer when we reached 38 degrees C and that might still happen – but, it is ‘hot’ and humid. The garden feels like you are inside a greenhouse. ‘The Boyfriend’, Calico’s tuxedo cat friend with whom she used to visit the garden last summer, slept in the shade of the lilacs while we were planting. We voted, and he got a big tin of sardines for his supper—poor thing. I wish he would stay in the garden. There is a fantastic place for him to sleep, lots of water, and lots of food. Much to my dismay, he can catch a sparrow if he wants. Oddly, he never bothers the birds at the feeders. It was Calico that did!!!!!!!!
Saturday morning, Baby Hope and Calico rested on the tiles in the conservatory, watching a host of baby birds trying to eat seed and Virginia Creepers. One of those babies was a Brown-headed Cowbird. You might recall I mentioned that the Cowbirds had visited the garden 4-6 weeks ago. Well, they snuck at least one of their eggs into the nest of either a sparrow or a European Starling. Those parents fed that baby Cowbird while its parents were off having a holiday! It is approximately three times the size of the baby sparrows. I do hope to get some good photographs of them.
Playing with the phone!
Everyone is vying for a chance to get some cheesy dogs on Saturday evening. There are 9 Blue Jays and 6 European Starlings, a handful of Grackles and 7 Crows at the buffet. The squirrels are over in the lilacs going after peanuts, and a little woodpecker was here eating suet. Oh, they are all so happy. Their songs are beautiful and loud.
We went for a walk at the nature centre and sat on a bench overlooking one of the ponds in the shade. It was idyllic. The slight breeze was cool.
After, I did something I shouldn’t have. We returned to the greenhouse to search for Allium, more tomatoes, and another Hosta. We came home with those, along with a tray of Persian Peppers (they are super sweet) and eggplants, celery, some colourful Milkweed and daisies, and some Jalapeno pepper plants. Almost the makings for salsa! Does anyone have a favourite homemade salsa recipe they would like to share? The greenhouse is closing tomorrow and they were practically giving the plants away today. As I drove away, I wondered what they do with the plants that are left. I hope they give them to people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy some fresh flowers or veggies.
We are always looking for real-life examples to demonstrate that human behaviour has a significant impact on our raptor families. Here is Terri from FORE, who tells us how she helped protect one Osprey family that has had problems in the past with fireworks. Please read! And thanks, ‘J’, for sending this to us! Thank you, Terri, for making sure this family was safe. You are our hero.
Every year on the 4th of July, I am always deeply concerned for the Osprey family who just happen to nest directly across the river from the Redding Freedom Festival where the fireworks display occurs. Last year, 2 of the 3 chicks bailed out of the nest sometime on the 4th of July & were never seen again. Somehow, 1 osprey chick did survive the “night of terror” and my friend followed that one for quite a while.
My dear friend and our old mutual friend, “Ospreyman Jim”, R.I.P. have spent many hours watching this beautiful raptor family. Ospreyman Jim named this pair “Ozzie & Harriet” and over the years “Eaglewoman” & “Ospreyman” had a lot of fun joking about who was the better raptor, eagles or ospreys? Sorry Jim, but you know where I stand on that one!
But, honestly I love all raptors including ospreys & all wildlife & I have deep concerns going forward for all of them. I am committed to do whatever I can do to help them & give them a voice, as are all of my Wildlife Warrior friends out there!
So, on this 4th of July, my friend & I worked with our Raptor Rescue Angel Marily Woodhouse from Defiance Canyon Raptor Rescue to come up with a plan to do what we could do to help this beloved Osprey Family.
My friend & I met down at the Osprey Nest Area at 9:30pm, which was a complete Zoo on the 4th of July! This is a very popular spot to watch the Redding firework display since it is literally right across the river from it! We had scoped out a spot ahead of time where, using my binoculars, I could keep an eye on the nest & watch to see if any of the chicks bailed out during the fireworks. Then, we found a trail that we could easily go down to the area under the nest if any of the chicks bailed. We brought all of the supplies we needed to capture them, if we could reach them, and then we planned to meet Marily so she could take them to her Raptor Rehab Center up in Manton. (My only fear was they might end up in the river where I believe last year’s 2 chicks ended up & then we wouldn’t be able to reach them.) But, we figured we needed to take a shot because there was also a chance they could land down below the nest in the blackberry bushes or in a spot where we could reach them.
Thankfully, my friend advised me ahead of time to bring ear plugs & I honestly don’t think I would’ve made it without those! I have extremely sensitive hearing along with being a very sensitive person, so this was not somewhere I really wanted to be! It was truly one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! And I’ve had to do some really difficult things lately as you all know. 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. It sounded like they were being shot at with a shotgun repeatedly for 20 minutes!
Mama Harriet stayed in the nest with the 3 chicks the whole time, but at one point when the fireworks first started, she began flapping her wings & hovered above the nest for a second before she landed back in there with her babes. I was so glad she did!
I thought for sure they were going to all bail out, because if I had been up in that nest I know I would have! There were so many extremely loud concussive blasts this year, and the last few minutes were filled with them! And it is so close to the Osprey Nest which is right across from the Redding Rodeo Grounds.
We were so relieved when it finally ended at 10:20pm and none of the chicks had bailed out!!! I was so glad it was over & I know Harriet & her chicks were, too!
My friend went down the next morning at 6:30am to check on the Osprey family & all 3 chicks were in the nest with their sweet Mama Harriet. He said Harriet stayed in there the whole time he was there & I’m sure it was going to take her a while before she felt safe enough to leave her babies alone after what had happened there the night before! Good ‘ole Ozzie brought in 2 fish for the kiddos while my friend was there, so that was a great sign & they need all of the hydration they can get right now with these ridiculously high temperatures we’ve had! It reached 117 degrees yesterday & expecting 119 degrees today! What wildlife can survive these temperatures?!? These 3 chicks are due to fledge around July 12th so they still have a ways to go so I’d ask that you please keep them in your thoughts this next week & hopefully they will make it!
I know part of why this is so upsetting to me is partly because I’m older & wiser now. I still remember when I was younger I really enjoyed watching firework displays with my family & friends & never even considered how it affected wildlife! But, it’s also because now I am so lucky to spend so much time observing our Redding Eagles & many other Eagles & wildlife on a daily basis. I’ve grown to love them & care for them so deeply as if they are members of my own family. So, watching this osprey family having to endure 20 minutes of pure terror felt so wrong to me? It almost made me physically sick to my stomach. I’m sure It didn’t help that I’m still traumatized from what happened or our Luna & Sol
Aren’t there any protections for these nesting Ospreys? I know they are protected by The Migratory Bird Act & several Federal Laws just like Bald Eagles are? According to those laws, you are not allowed to disturb an active raptor nest? So, I’m not sure how this has been allowed to happen each year? Because I can tell you, it was definitely disturbing to this Osprey Family!
So, I’m not trying to be controversial, but I simply would like to start a conversation about what can be done? Is there anything Fish & Wildlife can do? (I will be speaking to them about this & I will let you know what they say.) Would the City ever consider changing the location? I know this has been happening at this location for many years & I’m sure there are good reasons for it being there. Would the City consider using an alternative to fireworks? As many of you know, we live in a high fire danger area & this really seems to be a potential recipe for disaster? Anything we can do as a City to prevent future wildfires is a positive step in my book! I don’t see things getting better as far as our fire danger goes…
Several other Cities are beginning to use drones instead of fireworks, is that something the City of Redding & the McConnell Foundation who pays for the event would consider doing? Raptors don’t like drones, but as long as they are not flying immediately above the Osprey Nest I think they would tolerate drones since it would be happening at 10pm when it is dark & they are not active or flying around. So, that might be a good alternative to consider?
I honestly don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone! But, if we could put our heads together & try to find something that is still awesome & enjoyable for us humans to watch, but at the same time doesn’t disturb wildlife, that would be a win-win for all of us! Not to mention our own dogs & cats!
Here’s an article with more information about other Cities who are now using Drones instead of Fireworks & it looks really cool! I know change is hard for all of us humans, but maybe it is time for us to start thinking outside the box & try something new?!? We are the ones who are supposed to be taking care of the wildlife on our Planet so this would be a great start!
~Terri
If you are concerned about Blue at the Hancock Boundary Bay nest, things looked alright on Saturday. Blue had an early breakfast. Mum was in the nest during the night. It was a nice chunk of ‘something’, and I bet it is enough to keep Blue alive for another day.
Look at Blue. He looks good – I can’t tell if that is a wing or a huge crop. That shade that David Hancock designed for the eagles is really important. It is nice that someone is thinking about their welfare in times of extreme heat.
The Estonian Golden Eagle nest has lost its second chick. The oldest killed it during the past day. This has been expected since the eldest was not successful when the second chick was quite small. The parents withhold food, waiting and watching. Once the second is killed they bring in food.
The Dorset Hobbys welcomed their first hatch on Saturday! No doubt there could be more by the time you read this post.
At Cal Falcons, Sol wants back in the nest.
Mary Cheadle posted a compilation video from 2018. It was the only other year the Loch Arkaig nest did not fledge chicks. The Pine Martens took the eggs of Louis and Aila.
It was windy in Newfoundland on Saturday. Even so, Beaumont continued to provide nice fish for the family. Hope is doing better than she has in previous years feeding their babies—I just wish she would focus more on making sure that they get lots. That little one is feisty and figured out how to get around the big sib for some nice bites at one meal.
Field Farm is still doing great. The four are magnificent. What a nest! It should put a smile on all our faces when others fail.
Clark PUD is in the centre of the heat in the Pacific NW. Dad brought in a small fish for Mum and Only Bob mid-morning on Saturday. Both ate! ‘PB’ reports a large fish coming in later for the family. Way to go Dad!
The Port of Ridgefield cam keeps going offline. Let me know if you happen to catch in on and see how Only Bob is doing. Thanks!
Need a Jackie and Shadow ‘stick fix’? I sure did!
It sounds like Eclipse is wanting some prey, Annie and Archie. No one is reponding..ah.
Little Bob at Blackbush has been brow beaten during a dreary day on the nest. Sometimes it was difficult to see if it got any fish, but it was clear in this feeding that once Big was satisfied, then Middle, Little could eat. Relief.
Things look alright for Only Bob at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum nest.
Geemeff sends us her Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust:
Daily summary Saturday 6th July 2024
Dorcha visited the nest several times today and spent long periods fish-calling, but to no avail. Louis didn’t appear on nest cam although the off-nest reports from LizB showed he was in the area for long periods of time but chose not to respond to Dorcha. He has brought four fish to the nest for her since the chicks were removed on 1st July, perhaps he’ll arrive on the nest with one tomorrow, or possibly give it to her on her favourite perch tree. No activity at Nest One today, no sign of Garry LV0 and the only other nest visitors were a pair of Hoodies pecking around Nest Two without finding any scraps. The weather was much more settled, none of the thunder showers materialised, and tonight’s forecast is partly cloudy with light winds, and some sunshine with a few showers tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.39.42 (03.29.32); Nest Two 23.27.44 (03.33.56)
The trio at Mashpee NWR in Massachusetts are doing so very, very well. Fledges coming!
The heat that is hitting the Pacific Northwest nests will be moving through and ‘PB’ sent me information that shows that the Missoula nest of Iris and Finnegan will have 101 F temperatures in the coming week. This will hit other nests in Montana. Send them good wishes
.The third hatch at the Ferguson Museum Osprey nest has died of starvation. Sadly, we may see quite a few more before next weekend. This season began with great saddness at many of the eagle nests and continues with the ospreys and even the hawks as Angel and Tom did not, as far as we know, have a clutch this season.
Sandpoint had an early fish and a late one. Both small but Mum and Only Bob had some fish. Thanks, Dad.
The nest is in Sandpoint, Idaho. The weather for the coming week at Sandpoint:
This Osprey breeding season the weather is having a huge impact on nest success worldwide. The chart below is from the eggs that we are monitoring. Those numbers will change by the time that all have migrated but weather is significant.
Two beautiful fledglings at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on their nest wishing for a fish.
Marilyn feeding her two beautiful osplets at Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home. The third hatch died of siblicide/starvation on 31 May.
At the BUNDstiftung Goitzsche-Wildnis, the nest is really full of osplets with flapping wings! They were ringed on the 25th of June and fledgling is expected any moment!
At the Great Bay nest in Greenland, those osplets are big, appear to be healthy and well, they are just beautiful. Mum feeds, some want to feed themselves.
The Only Bob at Marder’s Osprey nest on Long Island is doing nicely. The other two eggs did not hatch. This sweet baby is 28 days old today.
‘H’ sends in her wonderful reports:
7/6 Osoyoos osprey nest: It is quite warm in Osoyoos, and predicted to be even hotter in the next few days. Osoyoos reached 35C/95F at 17:00. There were only three fish brought to the nest today. The first fish at 0841 was tiny and only provided for a 4-minute meal. Little only ate a couple of bites. The next fish at 1017 was large. There was some initial beaking of Little and intimidation of Middle by Big. Middle started to eat at 1023, and by 1028 Big moved away from Soo. At 1030 Little had a 6-minute private feeding. Soon, the siblings were all eating side-by-side. Little also ate solo for another eight minutes at 1049. The meal lasted for 50 minutes, until 1108. The next fish was delivered 9.5 hours later. The kids had spent all day trying to stay in the shade of ‘Mombrella’. At 2041 Olsen delivered a medium sized headless fish. Middle beaked Little, and Big beaked both Middle and Little, so Soo fed Big. Middle was allowed to join in the meal at 2052. Little grabbed a quick bite at 2056, so Big tried to beak Little, but missed and beaked Middle instead. So, both Middle and Little were out of the feeding, and Middle beaked Little. At 2059 Middle was back at the table and Big moved away. Little arrived, but there was hardly any fish left. Little ate a total of 8 bites of fish and the tail at this feeding. The meal lasted 20 minutes. None of this was unexpected. We knew that Olsen was going to have a difficult time finding fish to catch in this heat. And, we knew that the previously peaceful nest might become unsettled. On 7/7, the temperature is predicted to reach 100 F/ 38C, sunny with light winds.
7/6 Audubon Boathouse osprey nest: Things are going well for these ospreys that live on top of a boat house. Harbor is 22 days old, and Gray is 18 days. Despite being four days apart in age, the siblings seem to be getting along well.
7/6 Forsythe osprey nest: 46-day-old Larry is doing well. Despite the heat, Oscar and Opal have been able to provide fish for their only remaining osplet out of four. Larry was achieving some lift while wingersizing today. All hopes are for Larry to successfully fledge, in order to salvage some joy for this nest that has been incredibly sad this season.
7/6 Captiva osprey nest: Ding did not eat on 7/5, and had made several unsuccessful attempts to catch a fish by diving from the nest platform. This morning, Ding started out her day by resuming her fishing attempts. At 10:26, we saw her dive from the right perch into the water below. She quickly exited the water, circled around and landed back on the nest with a fish! Ding had caught a needlefish. Congratulations, Ding! How wonderful it was that we got to see Ding catch her first fish. We savored every bite of that needlefish right along with Ding. After her meal, Ding resumed her fishing, making multiple attempts. Later in the afternoon, Edie delivered a meaty partial tilapia for Ding. Even though her catch-to-attempts ratio will be very low at first, we are all so relieved to know that Ding may be able to provide for herself, so that she doesn’t have to rely on her parents. We have been told not to expect a report on Darling from CROW until Monday at the earliest.
7/6 Fortis Exshaw osprey nest: Louise, Harvie, and their 21, 23, and 25-day-old youngsters continue to do well. Harvie is a great provider, and there has been no significant aggression among the siblings.
‘A’ reports:
The weather in southeastern Australia is due to start warming up but only to be replaced by a lot of rain. Poor Lady and Dad are incubating in this weather, and obviously, the need to keep the eggs dry is paramount. It is now 9pm and here is today’s ranger report from WBSE:
July 7: Lady incubated all night, and was then relieved by Dad shortly after 7am. All day, she was reluctant to get off the eggs when he returned to the nest, whereas he backs straight off. Both have brought in green leaves several times, though no food. Late in the afternoon, Lady was whining for food when Dad turned up, but no delivery. She spent longer today on the eggs than he did – over 7 hours. As usual, the eggs were uncovered only very briefly. At dark, Dad settled early, as did Lady – though she was hungry. The picture shows Lady, reluctant to move off the eggs.
At Orange, it is also 9pm, Xavier is currently perched on the ledge of the scrape (Diamond is perched on the microwave), which is unusual – They are each using the other’s normal sleeping place tonight for some reason. Dear Xavier. Such an adorable little falcon. He has been mating with Diamond, bringing her food gifts and generally bonding. These two still have a way to go until egg-laying time (as I mentioned, she laid her first egg on 26 August both last year and also the year before).
Finally, at Taiaroa Head, the chicks are becoming friends again after the altercation that resulted from TFT’s attempt to take over TF chick’s nest, an advance that was not well-received. TF has reorganised his garden and resumed his throne after the small disagreement. Both chicks are well, growing fast, and starting to look like albatrosses instead of giant cotton balls. Those wingspans are looking impressive, reminding us that we are approaching the age where they will start to try feeling the sensation of wind beneath their wings. Bittersweet, like all fledges, but in this case, even more so, because it will be so very long (if at all) until we see them land back near their natal nest. It astounds me that after all those tens of thousands of kms and all that time at sea, each of them has somehow imprinted the place from which they fledge, returning there for their first forays into socialising and the task of finding a mate. It is astounding.
Finn brought one of his huge whitefish in about 18:57 but took it away again (luckily everyone already had smallish to medium crops) and didn’t return it until after 19:43, by which stage Finn had a very large crop. Only after he had eaten for nearly an hour did the chicks get fed. This is not a habit I like. Surely, he can wait for the chicks to eat before he has to spend an hour stuffing his face. It is the one thing that really annoys me about him. Why bring it in, give it to Iris, and then wrestle it back from her almost immediately? If there was sibling aggression on this nest, that is exactly the sort of behaviour likely to trigger it.
But fortunately, that is not happening on this nest and the chicks are well fed and well behaved enough for it not to be creating a problem. Hopefully, Finn will learn not to do this, especially when the osplets are young. He is still spending all night, every night, on the perch, guarding his family, and if the intruder landing on the nest the other day is anything to go by, he has a reason to be wary. He is doing a wonderful job, despite my nit-picking at his delivery routine. He is bringing a lot of fish to this nest and he is looking after both Iris and their chicks. You know how impressed I am by him.
‘PB’ reports that fish have come in to Cowlitz and Steelscape ahead of today’s high heat and that all ate including Little at Cowlitz who had about 100 bites. This is wonderful.
And last, a run away yacht crashed into the Port Lincoln Osprey nest barge! Thanks to Bart M and Port Lincoln was notified immediately. So glad no eggs or chicks on that nest.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. Remember to drink lots and lots of water and to eat some watermelon – low in calories and it is 91% water! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, questions, videos, announcements, articles, images, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J, PB’, FORE, Eagle Club of Estonia, HWF-BBC Central, SK Hideaways, Mary Cheadle, Newfoundland Power, Field Farm, Clark PUD, Blackbush Ospreys, MN Landscape Arboretum, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Mashpee NWR, The Weather Network, Ferguson Museum, Sandpoint Ospreys, International Osprey Data Project, VIMS, Maryland Western Shore for Old Town Home, Goitzsche-Wildnis, Great Bay Ospreys, Marder’s, Osoyoos, Audubon Boat House, Forsythe, Window to Wildlife, Fortis Exshaw, Sea Eagle Cam, Orange Falcons, Royal Albatross Colony, Lady Hawk, Montana Osprey Project, and Port Lincoln.
‘J’ asks: “I was just wondering if you could talk about R23-3’s damaged talon. Do they heal? Will the actual nail fall off? Will it grow back?”
These are great questions; they have been on everyone’s mind since we first saw R23-3’s injured feet. First, let’s get to some facts in case some do not know. Those talons (and beaks) carry the eagle’s prey and nesting materials to the nest. They are also used to fight their enemies. Talons are essential for the eagle’s survival. Each foot has four talons, three in the front and one in the back, the hallux. The talons are made out of keratin. It is a protein. Human hair and nails are also made out of keratin.
So have a good look at the image below. Do you remember where the main injuries were on R23-3’s feet and talons? She appeared to have multiple marks and gouges, with one main injury on DIGIT IV, the Outer Talon. We saw it early as black, and I even called her ‘black taloned’. I feared that the injury was necrotic and would eventually kill her. There was no soft tissue swelling, just a deep gouge with a dark, dry scab. That scab eventually came off. The female adult appears to be eating and in good health. She enjoys her baths with M15 and socialising with him in the pond and on the branch. In other words, she is not lethargic.
That hallux is important because it digs into the prey items and allows the raptors to carry their food to where they will eat it or feed their young. The talons are grey in colour when the eaglets are in the nest and turn a shiny black as they age and fledge. They will remain that shiny black throughout their lives..
Now back to the question. The injuries on the female R23-3 appear to be healing. She has yet to lose her talon. If the entire talon were to be pulled out, growing a new one would be a very slow process. You might recall that Ervie, the third hatch Osprey at Port Lincoln in 2022, lost a talon. It was believed to be pulled out when he was fishing, but we do not know. It took nearly 8 months to see any growth in that talon.
We know that the female can bring carrion to the nest tree. We have seen her. She is also eating, arriving with a crop when she has yet to take a fish from the nest. We have yet to see the female actively hunting and carrying a large, heavy prey item to the nest tree. We, therefore, cannot make any observations on her ability or lack of ability to transport prey with that right foot.
If the foot continues to heal as it appears to, this female will be fine. Some eagles are flying and living with only one leg, as we have witnessed this year or managing with a leg with an old injury that did not heal properly, as Ma Berry did for years at Berry College. Feet get damaged regularly. V3’s feet are rough at the NEFl nest (with Gabby). Let us wait and watch to see how she does!
Hard to see the full extent of the injuries in the image below. We can, however, determine which is the most injured toe on the right foot.
We can also see some damage on the left foot.
It must be noted that Peregrine Falcons have been observed with talons with broken ends, which do not appear to grow back. In other words, the entire black talon needs to be pulled out and it is possible that it will regrow slowly.
In the News:
How might climate change impact the Northern Hemisphere’s sea birds? This is a great article coming out of Birdlife International on this topic. Have a read!
Have you been missing Indigo? wondering if he was still around the scrape on the campus of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia? thinking that Diamond and Xavier might be having some peace and quiet? No. Indigo is still there! Elain caught him on video!
Jackie and Shadow are so loved. They get more visitors to their streaming cam in the Big Bear Valley east of Los Angeles than any other eagle family in the US. We are saddened by the non-viability of their first clutch of eggs in 2023. It is not clear whether or not they will lay more eggs. The couple has left these two and the wind and ice are pelting down. Love you, Jackie and Shadow! Today, they made the USToday News. Thanks, ‘B’, for letting me know!
M15 is on top of his game. On Sunday, the single parent delivered 3 fish to the nest of E21 and 22 before noon! Way to go, Dad! There were a total of five for the entire day.
Gosh, these eaglets are gorgeous.
The tails indicate the difference. E22 on the left and E21 on the right. Otherwise it is really difficult to tell them apart.
Such beautiful and precious babies. E21 below panting to keep cool.
The end of the day posting from SW Florida Eagles:
I mentioned that Duke Farms’s male will be 23 this year. That hatch date is 11 March. He was taken in as a foster eaglet at Duke Farms when he was a fortnight old. His two recently hatched eaglets are growing and are ever so strong! Just fluffy little snow people…adorable.
The osplets at Moorings Park in Naples, Florida are doing great. No worries at this nest so far.
Monday morning there was some frustration on the osprey nest by the osplets. Sally was hungry and there was a lot of fish. Harry finally gave her a break so that she could eat. The little osplets sure wanted some fish! They were up and waiting as Mum ate. There is nothing to worry about. At this stage of their development, they will eat a little fish many times a day not a lot of fish a few times.
At the Achieva Osprey nest, Jack and Diane have been doing incubation rotations. There are still some days til pip watch for these two.
Big Red and Arthur continue to work on the nest and mate on the light stands. Eggs soon, please!
Big Red and Arthur’s 2022 hatch, L4, remains on the Cornell Campus. Bravo! They are paying her no mind and she is going on about her business hunting in a very prey rich territory.
Happy Hatch Day!
There are now four eggs at the Peregrine Falcon nest in Japan. Will there be a 5th?
Watching for the second egg to be laid at Cal Falcons. Annie has been in the scrape box most of the day.
At 14:51 there was still just one egg. Soon!
At 15:09, Lou is on incubation duties.
‘H’ sent me news that the second egg arrived around 0430 Monday 6 March. Thanks, ‘H’.
Lou is getting the hang of ‘enfluffeling’!
Connie and Clive’s only eaglet, Connick, is looking for roles in more superhero movies. Looks at those legs!!!!! Wow. This eaglet is big and strong.
Connick is a huge, beautiful, well-nourished eaglet! Sometimes there is no place to go when the sun is hot on the nest. Connick can regulate his temperature now.
Gabby and V3 are both at the nest tree today. V3 provided for Gabby the security she needed with so many intruders and hopeful suitors. This nest is pleasantly peaceful now. Have you noticed that it is the same at SW Florida except for the GHOs?
Thanks, ‘T’ for the head’s up. The West End streaming cam was panning around, and guess who the camera caught? Akecheta!!!!!! Oh, it would be grand if they could figure out how to get this camera to focus on the new nest of Thunder and Akecheta. The time is 13:13 Sunday, 5 March. Nice to see you, Dad.
We may not be able to get everyone to stop using rodenticide but each of us can start by remembering that ‘Raptors are the Solution.’ If you know of someone with rodent problems, discuss with them why you do not use these highly designed poisons. If they have domestic pets, it might help save their lives, too. My cat Duncan would still be alive if a neighbour had not used this terrible poison and if Duncan had not caught the mouse that ate it. We will simply not be able to convince everyone but it is worth a try.
I want to thank Dave Hancock and all the folks in British Columbia who work tirelessly to support the well-being of Bald Eagles. There are more Bald Eagles in British Columbia than anywhere in the world. Due to climate change and rising temperatures during breeding and nesting season, Dave Hancock has also been working on eagle nest shades. He is an amazing man who has spent his entire life trying to improve their lives. Some of you will be familiar with the nest cams in British Columbia. They also have a web site with lots of information on eagles.
At the Corona, California GHO nest, the four owlets appear to be very healthy. The fourth is tiny, but size does not mean it is not well. Owlvira seems to be able to manage to feed all of them quite well. Potential names have been posted on chat, and now those are being put into a list for voting.
You can see the size difference in the image below as all are snuggled upright to stay warm.
Thanks so much for being with me today. Take care of yourselves! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘B’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘J’, Superbeaks, Lady Deeagle55 and Superbeaks, Avianreport.com, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Birdlife.org, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, SWEagleCam.com, Duke Farms, Moorings Park Ospreys, HeidiMc and Achieva Credit Union, Cornell RTH, @Cornellhawks, Kakapo Recovery, JPFalcon Cam, Cal Falcons, SKHideaways and Cal Falcons, Window to Wildlife, NEFL-AEF, IWS and Explore.org, Raptors are the Solution, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and California Corona Owls.
We continue to shovel the walkways so that we can put down seed. Then it snows lots more and we do it again!
It is nearing 23:00 on the 12th of April. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are closing all of the major highways in the province where I live. This is unprecedented and will actually be quite helpful in keeping people safe. For at least two days we have known about the historic storm that is due to arrive in a few hours and have been told to stock up on medicines, batteries, candles, food, etc. All of the schools are closed. As for me I am sitting back and waiting and watching the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest south of me in Minnesota to see how this system plays out with those eagles.
The nest is in a severe thunderstorm watch area. The winds were gusting earlier. I caught a few minutes of the nest as it creaked and swayed.
It is currently raining and the nest is still blowing about but not nearly as bad.
This is the nest Wednesday morning. They have gotten rain but not the snow that we are experiencing that is confusing many of the smaller birds such as the Juncos.
There have been two recent visits of Ervie’s to the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. One was 17:42 on the evening of the 12th (last night). The other was this morning, the 13th in Australia. Ervie arrived and then left and returned with a puffer.
In the image above, you can see the missing talon. Ospreys only have four talons. The image below has caused a lot of confusion. Does the nail on the right top belong to a different foot? or the one with the missing talon?
Is Ervie missing one or two talons? or is one curled under? Everyone is looking very closely at Ervie’s feet.
I wanted to do a quick check of many nests this morning so we can see how they are doing.
The rain from yesterday seems to have stopped. Both Big and Middle Little at the Dale Hollow nest are dry and there are large pieces of fish on the nest. Little Middle had a nice feed earlier, too. So all is well with those two!
This nest has settled down.
This is the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. It is gorgeous. Dylan is notorious for bringing back trout to the nest! Sadly, yesterday, a goshawk came and sat on this nest. Goshawks tend to like to lure the Ospreys into the forest where they attack. Fingers crossed that it will not return!
Aran and Mrs G together on the perch first thing on the morning of 13 April. Aran at the back and Mrs G with her really dark face at the front.
Handsome Aran with his fish on the perch at Glaslyn later in the day. Did he bring it for Mrs G? where is she?
Idris and Telyn on the perches at the Dyfi Nest. All is well.
Blue NC0 laid her first egg on April 12 at 18:35. What a beautiful nest at the Loch of the Lowes – so soft and comfy – and personally, one of the most gorgeous sites in all of the Osprey breeding areas.
Laddie LM15 comes to take his turn helping his mate Blue NC0.
CJ7 has been bringing nesting materials into the alternate nest at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 has been seen sky dancing all over the place. I hope he stays at Poole Harbour!
All is well at Rutland Water. Maya is incubating three eggs. Fantastic.
If you are following the UK arrivals, here is a good chart for you.
Thank you to Friends of Loch Arkaig FB Page for posting his chart.
Moving back to North America, the three osplets at the U of Florida at Gainesville continue to do well. Little Bob is still with us! And that is a good day.
Strong winds took out the camera at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the 12th.
Calmer winds are forecast for the Channel Islands today. That is fantastic. Looks like the view is pretty good from Two Harbours already. That wee one of Chase and Cholyn’s looks so tiny in that huge nest!
Andy has delivered fish. Little (or Mini) is calling for fish in the image below while Big flaps its wings.
Gosh, those chicks of Andy and Lena’s are sure beautiful. They will surely pop the corks when these two fledge! It has been a good year for Captiva Ospreys.
Mr President and Lotus’s chick has a nice big crop this morning. That little fuzzy teddy bear of a shape has sure changed over the past week! No signs of bad weather at the National Arboretum Nest in DC.
It is a little wet and windy in Iowa at the Decorah North nest. I wonder if they are going to get any of the system that is impacting us?
This is an image of Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle for Wildlife Haven, our local rehabber. She has been part of a fund raising campaign because of the Avian Flu. She has been moved indoors where she will be safe. Everyone loves Majestic!
The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a virtual talk/discussion on what is being done about Avian Flu in our province on 19 April at 7pm. Here is the link to sign up. It is free. Since it is virtual and if you are wanting to learn more about Avian Flu, why not sign up?!
Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is having a GoFundMe drive for nests for Bald Eagles. David Hancock is ‘the eagle man’ in Canada. Most of you probably know him. He reminded me today that when he was sixteen years old and living at Blaine Harbour, you would see white buckets on the fishing boats with eagle legs. Yes, the legs cut off. They would be shipped to Alaska for $2 a pair. That was 1954. Sadly, David says that the same attitude of neglect towards the Bald Eagles continues.
Thank you for joining me today. We are busy trying to take care of the birds that come to our garden as best we can. The squirrels are tucked up warm and no where in sight. Take care everyone!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, MN-DNR, DHEC, CarnyxWild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, Scottish Wildlife, Poole Harbour, Rutland Water, UFL Ospreys, Explore.org, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NADC-AEF, and Wildlife Haven.
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. 
