Tag Archives: hatch

Late Saturday Bird World News

I have spent the morning sorting books and clearing out paper and all that gets accumulated before you realize it. In the midst of all of that I found a really nice letter from the Director of the 1000 Islands Environmental Centre in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. I think that each of you will be interested in the contents of this letter – indeed, I know you will.

“Bald eagles typically have a clutch of 1-3 eggs laid in late February or early March and hatch approximately 34-36 days later…Observations on the nest of the 1000 Islands Conservancy Zone confirmed a successful hatching with video and photo evidence of eaglets. Over the weekend, additional video of the nest was able to show that the adult pair have successfully hatched four eaglets.”

This is an extremely rare occasion. Nowak continues, “Successfully hatching four chicks in one nest is a very rare occurrence for bald eagles and it is an event to celebrate and safeguard. There have been very few documented cases of nests with four eaglets, and despite the success the eagles have had to this point, the adults face a significant challenge to provide enough food to sustain the young eaglets until they are independent this summer.”

There are the four nestlings being fed by Mum. Can you imagine how busy those parents were providing food?!

Here is a video of one of those feedings:

And guess what? The four eaglets fledged!!!!!!!! So if anyone ever asks you if you know of a Bald Eagle nest fledging four, you can now say ‘yes’ with confidence. This is one of those really feel good stories.

Today, I have spent more time cleaning than checking on the birds. Ferris Akel has his tour going on behind me and he has made me really miss the ducks in our City. I am just counting the weeks until April when they return.

In other Bird World news, we are still eggspecting Liberty to lay her second egg today. Lots of people watching and waiting. I continue to check.

UPDATE: Liberty laid that second egg today, as expected, at 14:42. I have to say I even felt for her as she was in labour! Congratulations Liberty and Guardian.

Andy is giving Lena a bit of a break at the Captiva Osprey nest. We are now on pip watch for this couple. It remains unclear to me if the owner still intends to shut off the camera after a hatch. The Ospreys have had bad luck in the past with the Crows taking the chicks. My understanding is that the camera is to be shut down until such time the chicks would be too big for the Crows. We wait to see.

And sadly, the camera at Port Lincoln is off line again. This is the last available image of Ervie and Dad on the barge. I always keep these. You never know if this will be our last sighting of Ervie for some time.

UPDATE: The Port Lincoln Osprey Barge camera is now up and streaming again. Ervie is watching the water! That is a good sign. Oh, wouldn’t we love to see him catch a fish off that barge! And not a Puffer or a Toadfish, please, Ervie.

It is a beautiful blue sky with sun here creating deep shadows on the snow. It is -19. Today’s garden adventure is brought to you by Little Red. A week ago I put a suet bell on a hanger for Little Woodpecker. Someone has been working very hard because they got the heavy suet off the holder, took it across the snow and got it on top of the small wood shed in the back. At that point the suet got stuck on a branch. (I lay them on top of one another on the top so the birds can get inside and hide if Sharpie comes!). That someone is Little Red! What a surprise. He deserves every bite of that suet. What a character! And a hard worker.

There is the object of desire. That little squirrel really managed to get it quite far.

Little Red got big bites of the suet. He would then run up to Sharpie’s post and eat it in the sun and then run back and get some more.

Isn’t this squirrel adorable?

Oh, the joy and the giggles these garden animals bring!

Thank you so much for joining me today. Little Red says to remember to leave some food for the squirrels, too! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB page where I took my screen captures: Redding Bald Eagles, Explore.org, Captiva Osprey Cam, and 1000 Islands Conservation Zone FB page.

Good night from Thunder and Aceta at the West End Bald Eagle Cam on Catalina Island. Looks hot.

d
Catalin

Royal Cam Chick Hatches!

YRK and OGK laid their egg at the Quarry Track nest, created by OGK, on 9 November 2021. Yellow-Red-Black (YRK) and Orange-Green-Black (OGK) are no stranger to the Royal Cam spotlight. They are the parents of the very popular Miss Pippa Atawhai, Royal Cam Chick at Top Flat in 2020. The moments viewing Atawhai with her dad, OGK, melted people’s hearts. Those who watched these very gentle birds will never forget the pair of them together.

YRK is 28 years old and OGK is 26 years old. They have been a bonded pair since 2006. This year is their 8th breeding attempt. They are also grandparents. This year their son RLK (Red-Lime-Black) successfully fledged SSTrig, the chick in the nest close to Royal Cam chick, Tiaki.

It took five days for the little one to hatch. The rangers say that the reason it takes the seabirds so long to get out of their shells is that they are such long lived birds. The Royal Cam chick is the 11th to hatch this season.

Ranger Sharyn returned the new hatchling to its mother, YRK, at 19:40 on 26 January. Before placing the chick under the mother, the area of the nest is sprayed with a bird-friendly insecticide in order that there is no fly strike on the youngster.

Ranger Sharyn carefully removes the chick from the insulated container.

She has already removed the dummy egg and sprayed the nest area before placing the chick under YRK.

Ranger Sharyn watches with delight as YRK accepts her little one.

YRK gives a shimmy and settles down to brood.

Once Ranger Sharyn is away, YRK raises up and looks down with the most gentle love to the new bundle.

It is extremely windy today. I wonder when OGK will fly in to relieve YRK and have his first look at the baby?????

Southern Royal Albatross are endemic to New Zealand. After the chick hatches, it will fledge in mid-September, spending 4-6 years at sea foraging for food in the waters off the coast of western Chile. Then the juvenile will return to Tairoa Head to find a mate. This choosing and bonding could take years. These seabirds are known for their socializing and elaborate dancing as well as the beautiful sky calls.

Once a couple have bonded, they will lay one egg every two years. Why not every year? It is too physically difficult to raise chicks that close together. The adults have to travel many hundreds if not thousands of miles to forage to feed their chick. They each take turns incubating. Once the chick has hatched they will take turns flying in and out of the headland to forage and feed their chick. They will do this until the chick fledges and begins its life on the sea. Imagine flying for the first time and not landing back on ground for another 4-6 years. I often cannot get my head around that!

The Albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird at 3 metres or 9.8 feet. They stand 115-123 cm or 45-48 inches and weight 8.5 kg or 19 lbs. The males are larger than the females.

The population of the Southern Royal Albatross is vulnerable and stable at the moment. The challenges they face are longline and trawl fisheries, oil and plastic waste in the sea waters, natural disasters, and warming seas as part of climate change. The New Zealand Department of Conservation makes every effort to ensure that all of the Royal Albatross on Taiaroa Head are healthy. They provide supplemental feedings to both chicks and adults as well as elaborate sprinkler systems to cool the birds and medical care.

Here is the video of Ranger Sharyn returning the chick to YRK:

Here is a very short video by Liz of YRK revealing the chick three times.

You can watch the streaming cam for YRK and OGK here:

What wonderful news! I have peeked at all of the other nests and everyone is fine.

Ervie looked like a wet rat Wednesday afternoon late in Australia.

Ervie was alone on the barge last night while the rain is caught by the camera pelting down.

Thankfully the rain has stopped!

Gabby has been giving Samson time to brood the babies and feed them. Both 26 and 27 are doing very well! Gabby is much more relaxed this year with her third clutch.

Aren’t they so cute??

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: the Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and the NEBald Eagle Nest and the AEF.

Tuesday in Bird World

All of the eaglets are doing well. It is a great Tuesday. It is seriously a great Tuesday with the hatch of 27 and the sighting of JJ7 in Senegal.

NE27 is only a little over 13 hours old and it is right up there with big sib having some fish. 27 looks almost as big as 26. Hopefully they will both hold their own and be nice to one another. Samson is not letting the pantry even think about getting low on stock! Gosh, I adore this Bald Eagle couple – Samson and Gabby.

These two are going to keep Gabby and Samson on their toes! That is 27 with its beak wide open calling for food despite the fact that it could live on the yolk of the egg for some hours, up to 24.

Pa Berry brought in a rabbit for the Tuesday nest feast at Berry College. B15 seemed to really enjoy it! It was caught on video and is impossible for me to replicate the joy in Missy at the rabbit’s arrival. Notice how B15 pancakes it as Pa lands.

Bless-Her-Heart Anna did the Mumbrella for more than 7 hours straight last night and early this morning so her baby would stay warm and dry in the torrential downpours in the Kisatchie Forest.

Anna and the nest were soaking.

When the rains stopped and things began to dry out, Anna started digging up the nest to aerate it. Her little eaglet isn’t so little anymore and was sitting up straight with its big clown feet today enjoying some fish. According to the rangers, the eagles have not eaten the turtle yet.

To be named shortly eaglet was doing a lot of preening with those itchy feathers coming in. This is the cutest little one. Anna certainly makes sure it is never hungry. The eagles have been bringing in pine to help with the insect problems and all that fish. The eaglet is 13 days old today.

Ervie woke up to thick fog this morning. By the time it had cleared, Ervie had flown off in search of fish.

Got a good look in the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. No second egg yet but soon. What we can see is that the eagles have found some soft material to line that egg cup. It is not just sticks and twigs. Thanks cam operator!

Something very interesting is happening at the WRDC nest of Rita and Ron. R2 has discovered self-feeding and s/he is not giving up trying to eat that fish. I think this is absolutely brilliant. R2 is the one that often doesn’t get fed until R1 is stuffed. This is a solution. Feed yourself. This is definitely the sign of a survivor.

A little earlier both eaglets had nice crops which you can see in the image below. Just hold on and take a deep breath. They love getting to the edge and looking over.

At the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, both parents were feeding and both E19 and E20 had huge crops.

Indeed, it appears that someone has put a beach ball in their crops! What you are looking at is that wonderful thermal down that will remain under the feathers to help the eagles regulate their temperature. If you look carefully you can see the feathers coming in on the wing tips of the one closest to the bottom of the screen.

For the fans of Honour and Liberty at Redding, nestorations are underway!

And if the Redding Bald Eagle nest is not on your list, here is the link:

And last but never least, we are coming up to egg watch for Jack and Diane at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida. They fledged three chicks last year….one of a handful of nests world wide on streaming cam to do so. It is a dreary rainy day and at least one adult, looks like Jack, has come and gone.

Look at that gorgeous bark!

Here is the link to the streaming cam.

Life is good. Everyone is happy. All have eaten. What more could we want?

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Achieva Credit Union, Port Lincoln Osprey, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Friends of Big Bear, WRDC, and Redding California Eagles.

Late Monday in Bird World

For now NE26 is an ‘only child’. NE27 is steadily working its way through the hard shell that has enclosed it for the past 35 days.

Will 26 be a brute of a big sibling or a sweetheart…we wait.

NE26 is really cute and fluffy. I did notice that the tiny pick at the end of the egg tooth seems to be gone. That beak will grow, just like our finger and toe nails. Any remaining bits of the egg tooth will be gone by the time the eaglet is losing its furry light grey down and switching it for its darker charcoal coloured thermal down.

As the sun sets on Samson and Gabby’s big stick nest, NE26 is having a late meal while NE27 continues breaking that shell. Hopefully by tomorrow morning we will have a new fluffy baby in this nest.

Someone asked me about the large stick nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Lake. Do the eagles have anything to line the nest that is soft besides sticks? That is a great question.

Today, Shadow was incubating the egg. Anyone that has watched this nest knows that the eagles bring in huge twigs. Just compare Jackie and Shadow’s nest with Gabby and Samson’s above. The eagles have to use what is available to them. Gabby and Samson along with Harriet and M15, Ron and Rita, Connie and Clive, and Lena and Andy favour lining their nests with Spanish Moss. That is what is available to them. Looking out over the landscape of northern California there is, of course, nothing like Spanish Moss. Conifer needles are wonderful when they are fresh but anyone who has gotten pricked by one of their dry needles instantly knows why they do not line the nest with them. According to Peterson, the type of nest that Bald Eagles create are platform nests made of sticks and twigs. In terms of the nest placement, it will be at the top of the tree where the branches are stronger and larger as opposed to being on lower branches. The eagles will re-use their nest adding to it every year. Some nests weight are estimated to weight up to a metric tonne or 2200.04 lbs. The vantage point allows the eagles to have a full view of their territory and any incoming predators. Peterson says that they line the nest with feathers and greenery.

As many of you know, Jackie and Shadow have had challenges. I hope their eggs are strong and they fledge a very healthy chick or chicks. I have not seen any announcement (yet) of a second egg but stay tuned for news tomorrow!

All of the other birds are doing fine. E19 and E20 ate a bird and 2 fish. The KNF eaglet has had its multiple feedings of fish. The eaglet at Berry College seems to be fine after scares that its wing was injured after being stepped on yesterday. R1 and R2 have eaten. The parents have slowed down the feedings and some watchers were worried. You will notice that once the eaglets have their thermal down and are getting feathers, the number of feedings decreases but there is more food at a feeding. The eagle parents know what they are doing! I would only be worried if there was a shortage of prey. Speaking of prey. I think Samson at NEFlorida has heard all of the praise for Louis in Louisiana who is known to have 10 fish on the nest at one time. Today, it looks like Samson has 5, at least. Gabby is quite pleased!

An ex-library book came in the post two days ago. It is Mark Avery’s A Message from Martha. The extinction of the Passenger Pigeon and its relevance today. This book tells of Martha, a Passenger Pigeon, who died on 1 September 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo between noon and 13:00. Martha was the last Passenger Pigeon in existence. At one time there were millions of Passenger Pigeons. They lived in a distinct geographical area of the United States and ate a specific food, mast from the Beech and Oak trees.

Avery worked for the RSPB for over 25 years. He is a scientist, a naturalist, and a writer who is concerned about the impact of modern day farming, the landscape, and the extinction of our birds. Avery is a very descriptive writer who helps you visualize hundreds of thousands of birds flying through the sky making it dark or how their process of eating mast is like a contemporary combine-harvester. The most birds I have seen at one time are the evening gatherings of the Canada Geese during migration. It helps to have seen that but to go from millions of birds to only one living one is frightening. We all know that if we do not do something, there will be more Marthas. Avery traces everything that is known about these plentiful birds and what it was that led to their demise. The book is not doom and gloom. We cannot bring back the Passenger Pigeon but we have to be on alert creating new partnerships with nature so that everything can survive in harmony. Avery provokes us to think about what it would be like without birds and what we can do to make sure that what happened to Martha does not happen to others. I highly recommend it! It is available as a Kindle book but also, if you like to hold a book and turn the pages, used through several outlets.

Ervie was on the nest this morning. The camera had been off line and it is impossible to know if he had a fish earlier. Ervie will spend even less time on the barge. Port Lincoln has posted his latest tracking and Ervie is getting his mojo back. Whatever happened on that trip to Sleaford and Tulka is dissipating and Ervie is returning to his old wandering, curious self.

Here is Ian Falkenberg’s (the bander) report on Ervie:

There is other good news coming out of the Australia streaming cams – Daisy the Duck has not laid a clutch of eggs on the WBSE nest. It is 25 January in Australia. Daisy visited on 1 January. Let’s all hold our breath that she is safe somewhere incubating a cup full of eggs!

Trudi Kron posted a video of the Hilton Head Island eaglets of Mitch and Harriet’s. They are both eating well. Watch to see that one of them is thinking about taking some bites out of the fish on its own! I really appreciate this video because you cannot rewind on the camera. Both eaglets were full to bursting!

Thank you so much for joining me for our evening nest check. Take care of yourself! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen capture: NE Florida Bald Eagle and the AEF, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Osprey Project and FB Page, and Friends of Big Bear Eagle Cam.

What keeps us busy while NE26 hatches?

Samson has come to the nest to check on the progress of the hatch and to see if Gabby wants anything. Samson is more than anxious for NE26 to hatch – just like the rest of us.

Samson comes in to check on Gabby. Do you need anything, sweetie?

26 is using his egg tooth to chisel away at that shell. At 08:20 this was just a tiny hole.

Looks like a nice hole!

You can see that egg tooth chipping away.

Hello, NE26

Samson is back again, just checking on progress.

Samson decides to redo the rim of the nest and add and move sticks while he is waiting.

Waiting is hard!

Gabby has rolled the eggs. Look carefully you can see some cracks underneath the branch on the egg.

Samson is as anxious as the rest of us. He keeps jumping down on the nest to see how 26 is doing.

What a great portrait of our NEFlorida couple.

Look at the progress! Wow. This little one is getting that egg open quickly. I am really impressed with the progress. It won’t be long til 26 can give a karate kick and be free!

Come on NE26! We want to see you.

Progress!

Thank goodness for Ferris Akel. I was getting a little bit like Samson wondering how things were going with the hatch and the notice popped up that Ferris was on his tour. So between Ferris and the garden birds it is helping to pass the time while we wait for N26 to hatch! There is heat shimmer on the images and some were at a great distance.

It has been a great day to see raptors on Ferris’s Tour especially in the Montezuma area. There was an American Kestrel, a Rough-legged Hawk, and a Red-tail Hawk mixed in with Starlings and Horned Larks.

Rough-legged Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk

This is one gorgeous hawk!

Rough-legged Hawk

There were a pair of them hunting. The light one above and a darker plumaged one.

Rough-legged Hawk

This is such a beautiful dark Red-tail Hawk. Look at that amazing patterning on the scapula, the ‘V’ formed on the back when the wings are folded.

Red-tail Hawk, Adult

Horned Larks do not really have horns. They normally show two little feathered tufts on their heads. Horned Larks are the only true species of lark in North America. There is one other lark, the Sky Lark, that was introduced to Vancouver Island.

The Horned Lark is larger than a sparrow. The pattern is striking. Notice the yellow under the beak and then the dark brown/black line across separating the head from the breast.

Horned Larks
European Starlings

All of a sudden there was open water and there were Mallards, Black Ducks, and a female Red-breasted Merganser plus an array of Canada Geese.

Ferris took us to see some amazing water falls on the way to Ithaca. They are Taughannock Falls at Ulysses, New York. Incredibly beautiful. They are 8 miles away from Ithaca and if you are ever in the region, this would be a great place to visit.

Having promised myself to take images of a wasp nest hanging over the street in the tree canopy, it seemed like a good time between the falls and Ithaca to do that.

This nest is so fragile looking. It was in tact, like a tight round ball, until our snow storm the other day.

I will go out during different lighting conditions to document the change in the nest as winter progresses.

This little Black-capped Chickadee kept itself busy getting seeds and moving around the many European Starlings.

It seems like they would use more energy retrieving the seed and cracking it than the energy contained inside. But what do I know? I am just a silly human.

One brave sparrow sat with a sea of European Starlings today.

This fellow decided it was easier to knock the seed cylinder down and eat on the ground! The Chickadee thanked him.

Ferris is trying to find Big Red and Arthur. NE26 continues to work itself out of that shell. All of the other birds are doing well even with the cold temperatures in areas such as Louisiana.

Dad delivered a fish for Ervie. It was a bit of an appetizer. Ervie has been away from the nest. Maybe he is out fishing!

Ervie knew that day was coming before we could see him. Ervie flew into the nest and started prey crying.

Ervie is great to flap his wings and call for food at the same time. He can also stand on its tippy-toes.

There is Dad. Mum watches from the perch.

It is a flurry of wings and feet. Thanks, Dad!

Everything seems to be fine in Bird World. So far Ferris has found lots of Crows but not Big Red and Arthur. What in the world is going on? The Crows are flying, in the trees, just moving about.

They are also on the roof of Barton Hall at Cornell University. Is the beginning of hundreds of Crows gathering together? Researchers believe that they gather at dusk to share food sources and to find breeding partners in the spring.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. Just think tomorrow there will be a new eaglet in the world. Yes!

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Ferris Akel Tour, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, NEFlorida and the AEF.

It’s a Pip for Gabby and Samson

Eyes have been on the two eggs of Gabby and Samson at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest for several days. This morning what everyone was hoping for happened – a pip – the egg tooth broke through the shell. The time was 08:20.

The AEF produced a short video:

Last year Samson and Gabby fledged Legacy – how can we ever forget that incredible juvenile? And the year before it was Jules and Romey named after Samson’s parents, the occupants of this nest before Samson. Oh, I am so excited!

Gabby was restless before the pip. She could hear that little one inside that shell wanting out.

Samson is getting to see the progress their baby is making!

If you want to join the action at this nest in Jacksonville, Florida, here is the link:

There should be a little one at The Hamlet by tomorrow morning from the progress being made.

Thank you for joining me this morning. There will be a full check on Bird World late this afternoon or early evening. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF where I took my screen captures.

Late Friday in Bird World

There is excitement on Taiaroa Head. The Royal Cam chick for 2022 pipped its egg today and the NZ DOC rangers promptly removed that egg from under YRK replacing it with a dummy. Why you ask? Fly strike is when flies lay their eggs, in the hot summer months, on various things including hatching Albatross chicks. Fly strike can be fatal as the fly eggs hatch into maggots that eat their host. So, for the safety of the very endangered Royal Albatross, the eggs are removed at pip to hatch in an incubator. The chick will be returned to the parents to feed and brood as soon as it is safe to do so. Last time OGK was on the nest. Wonder if he will fly in just time time for the return of the chick? Oh, it is so exciting.

The NZ DOC made a short video of the removal of the egg:

At the end of the day, the Kisatchie National Forest yet-to-be-named eaglet was fed 14 times between 06:52 and 17:41. That is 14 feedings in 10 hours and 45 minutes. Wow.

Anna wanted to feed the little eaglet at 17:08 but the baby had something over its beak. You can see it in the image below. Turns out it is some of Anna’s underbelly feathers. Anna tried to feed the chick but it could eat with that big wad over its beak.

Anna realizes the problem and begins to pull the fluff off the little one.

To the relief of everyone, Anna removed the fluff without a problem and the baby had its penultimate feeding of the day.

This is one of the most hilarious Bald Eagle couples I have ever seen. Louis fills the nest with food, so much it could not possibly be eaten. If he comes around to try and have a snack without having to go fishing, Anna perks up.

This is precisely what happened below. Anna was brooding the eaglet and she sees Louis arriving. She makes this very interesting vocalization and gets up and goes over to move a piece of fish. Louis is watching all of this. The little one says, ‘Sure, Mum, if you want me to, I will eat again!’

Louis decides he will be cool and he plays ‘hide the baby’ while Anna is trying to feed the eaglet (again). In the end, Louis winds up digging in the nest and finding a piece of old fish bone which he takes with his beak and flies off the nest. Meanwhile, the little eaglet is still being fed by Mum! That was the last feeding documented before the camera froze. Maybe you had to be watching. The interaction between these two parents is so funny. Louis did do something very useful today. He brought in some more branches to build up the walls of the nest. There are places with holes in them that will need to be covered.

Dad delivered Ervie’s breakfast fish to the nest at 08:30:59.

Here comes one dedicated Osprey dad with a fish!

Ervie was so happy when he saw Dad flying in with a fish.

Later, the cam operator gave everyone some really nice close ups of Ervie staring at the water looking for fish.

Ervie focused.
Even when he was looking for fish, Ervie was prey calling to Dad.

I made a short video clip. It was wonderful to see Ervie interested in the water and the fish! Enjoy. There is a severe weather warning for Port Lincoln. The warning is for intense rainfall, severe warnings for heavy rain beginning at 16:00. Later in the evening possibilities of thunder and lighting. Stay safe Osprey family!

At the WRDC nest, it has been hot. Tomorrow they are looking for temperatures around 18 with a 40% chance of rain. I am happy to report that R2 ate and both eaglets seemed perky and happy. In the image below, R1 is full and looking out of the nest while R2 is eating.

R1 full and distracted so R2 can get a nice feeding.

Happy sleeping babies.

R1 and R2 in a food coma.

CROW has announced a virtual speaker series. Some of you might be interested. The guest is Ron Magill, ‘Mr Miami Zoo’ who is responsible for this human made nest for Ron and Rita. It sounds like a really interesting topic.

It will get down to 11 degrees C at the nest of Samson and Gabby in Jacksonville, Florida. That is 51.8 F. There is a chance of rain on Saturday.

Northeast Florida Bald Eagle Nest. 21 January 2022. Gabby rolling the eggs.

The American Eagle Foundation posted the following information today about hatching. Super informative as we wait for Gabby and Samson’s eggs to pip!

Hatching is hard work. Before starting to break out of the egg the chick has three things it must accomplish. It must first switch from being dependent on the oxygen diffusing through the pores in the eggshell into the network of blood vessels that line the inner surface of the shell and start to use its own lungs to breathe. The chick takes its first proper breath and fills its lungs the moment it punctures the air cell inside the top of the egg. (Internal Pip) This step is essential because by this stage of development there is not enough oxygen diffusing through the pores in the shell to support the chick’s respiratory requirements. Taking a breath from the air cell provides the oxygen and the energy necessary to break through the eggshell. Before it takes that first breath, the chick has to start shutting off the blood supply to the network of blood vessels that line the inner surface of the shell, and withdraw that blood into its body. The blood vessels are programmed to close off at the point where they emerge from the bird’s umbilicus, and just before the chick starts cutting round the shell. Third, the chick has to take what is left of the yolk and draw it into its abdomen. It does this by sucking up the remaining yolk through the stalk that connects the yolk to the chick’s small intestines. This “yolk sac” is a food reserve for the first few hours or days after hatching.

Hopefully we will have a pip tomorrow at NEFlorida. We are also watching the Achieva Osprey nest of Jack and Diane. There have been gifts of food and mating on the nest. Diane normally lays her eggs on the 22 or 23rd of January. Oh, so close! Stay tuned for news. So we are on pip watch, hatch watch, and egg watch! Crazy.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots and my video clips: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, and the WRDC.

Late Sunday in Bird World

Oh, what a day in Bird World it has been! The weather at the nest of Pa Berry and Missy clocked in at 3 degrees F. That is -16 C. As a comparison, it was only -5 in Winnipeg today. Poor Missy. The snow and sleet were coming down, she has a hungry baby – and she is hungry herself – and there is a chick trying to hatch! My heart went out to her. There were a few tiny breaks in the weather for Missy. She jumped up and ate ferociously and then quickly fed her baby. The bad weather is due to continue til at least Monday afternoon. I was almost afraid to check on her but, then I did.

Pa Berry had brought in another fish. He looks pretty dry compared to Missy, ironically. Missy worked hard to get some food into her little one before she had to brood and try to keep that baby warm and dry.

Missy took lemons and made lemonade with it. She ate and so did her baby. It was fast. She could not afford for the wee one to get soaking wet, cold, and die. I was impressed. Whatever will happen at this nest with all the horrible cold and wet weather will not be this Mum’s fault. She was trying as best she could.

There were tornado warnings and 60 mph winds down in Miami-Dade County at the nest of Ron and Rita. That nest held. I caught some of it on a video clip. Rita works really hard trying to get the two babies under her so they will not get wet and chilled.

R1 has been brutally aggressive today to R2. Indeed, Rita had R2 begging for food and twice she did not feed until R1 came up to the front. At the end of the day, R2 was fed three times today. I cannot confirm the amounts or if there was a big crop like R1s. You might have noticed. But R2 did eat.

Harriet was soaked but she took great care of E19 and E20 during the storm. The heavy rain actually hit Fort Myers well before it started in Miami hard.

None of these issues – extreme weather and/or sibling rivalry -are happening down at the Kisatchie National Forest nest of Anna and Louis. Louis is bring ever more fish onto the nest and that little one is just a sweet little roly-poly.

I can count the remains of one Coot and six fish.

You will think I am nuts continually talking about this kiddos cute tail but it is cute. I have never seen such a cute tail on such a young eaglet. It looks like a soft little ball, so sweet.

Both eagles were on the nest at Duke Farms working on the egg cup. There are expectations that an egg will be laid soon. This couple is in line for some of that storm as well.

Mum is on the nest and the snow has started. Last year she spent almost her entire incubation period encased in snow and ice. I ached for her.

The winds are picking up at the Hilton Head Island Trust, the home of Harriet and Mitch and their two eaglets. The gusts are blowing at 31 mph but there is no indication of rain or snow hitting the nest.

Here is the tracking of that storm as it moves NE as of 9:23 pm on CNN. It is out of Florida. Mt Berry Bald Eagles are in the purple area of Georgia near Atlanta. Pittsburg-Hays, Duke Farms, and even Big Red and Arthur are in the area of winter weather advisories. Continue to send your warm thoughts to everyone here and in all the extreme weather systems moving about the planet including those with the tsunami earlier today.

Snow has been falling in Pittsburg.

Snow continues to be heavy in the Ithaca and Finger Lakes area of upstate NY. This is Big Red and Arthur’s nest.

Meanwhile, in the UK, everyone is getting excited. It is only two months until the expected arrival of the Ospreys. The BBC did a short programme on CJ7 and her nest at Poole Harbour in June of 2021. CJ7 found love this past summer and it is hoped that her mate will return and there will be chicks on this nest for the first time in 200 years! Wow. I am showing it again as the anticipation is bubbling over. It is short and it will also get you excited for the arrival of some of the North American returnees as well.

In New Zealand, OGK, the Royal Cam Dad, returned to incubate his egg and let his mate, YRK, go and feed. That egg is due to hatch on the 27th of January give or take a day or two. Lady Hawk caught the return and the cuddles of this sweet couple.

We hold our breath and wait for the storms in the US to pass and wish all of the nests the best in handling the weather.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or video clips: WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, Hilton Head Island Trust, Pix Cams, Cornell Bird Lab, and CNN.

Handsome Ervie, you have come a long way!

Dad brought in two fish to celebrate Ervie’s 4 month birthday on the 16th of January. They were delivered at 18:57 and 20:41. Port Lincoln also gave us some wonderful close up time with the Erv.

From the moment Ervie hatched at 00:51:50 on 16 September 2021, he watched the behaviour of the adults and, in particular, Mum. In the images below, Ervie mimics what Mum did when Dad was bringing in a fish.

I think this is a great image for a fridge magnet.

Ervie sees Dad coming and starts prey calling.

Ervie begins to back up prey calling louder. Have you noticed how the recipient on the nest moves around calling trying to figure out where the adult delivering the fish will land.

Dad lands.

Ervie grabs that precious food.

It isn’t long until Dad comes in with another fish and Ervie repeats his actions.

That was a nice fish and Ervie went to sleep on his birthday with a full tummy.

It was not clear how the third hatch at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge would fare. Sibling #1 Bazza hatched at 22:03 on 13 September and sibling #2 Falky hatched at 02:30 on the 14th. I was particularly worried even though the hatch time difference was only 53 or 54 hours, not 4 or 6 days.

Ervie’s first feeding. He was roughly 5 hours old.

Ervie is a week old. There he is on the left of the trio. You can see that he has a little crop. When Mum finishes he will have a nice one. By the time Ervie was a week old, a lot of the thunder had been taken out of Bazza and he was not attacking Ervie so much. Ervie was also becoming very clever.

The following day Ervie and Mum took advantage of Bazza and Falky sleeping and Mum filled Ervie to the brim! The parents really were amazing at bringing in food and helping Ervie that first week or so.

Ervie learned how to stretch his long neck to get the food from Mum’s beak. He is 9 days old and he is losing his soft down. You can easily distinguish who is who because of the plumage. Bazza and Falky are getting the copper red feathering on the back of their heads and neck. There are a few sprinkles of copper red on the back of Ervie just coming in.

Ervie is 25 days old in this image. Look at that crop. Ervie always loved his fish – he still does! – and he had figured out how to survive around Bazza. Most of you will remember Ervie demanding to be right up at Mum’s beak. We were no longer worried about Ervie! Indeed, Ervie will become the dominant bird on the nest. Well done little third hatch!

Other Bird World News: The second egg at Berry College appears to be coming along for a hatch. B15 is crying for food but it is raining so hard that Missy cannot risk feeding it and having it chill. Last night the nest got some icy snow and the temperature remains unseasonably low at -16 C or 3 degrees F. To put that in some perspective it is only -5 C in Winnipeg at the same time. I have concerns for this nest. The weather does not appear that it will improve for several days. I feel really sorry for this family. I hope there is a break so that B15 can have some fish.

Both R1 and R2 have eaten well at the WRDC nest in Miami-Dade County. No signs of any effects of rodenticide! That is wonderful. However, they are under a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch until 15:00. In fact, the nest is right in the centre of the storm area. The nest is really beginning to rock and roll. Hang on little ones!

If you want to check in on the eaglets periodically to see how they are doing, here is the link to the streaming cam:

Everything is fine at the KNF nest. Louis continues to fill the pantry and the little eaglet and Mum continue to eat well.

Send all your positive wishes and energy to the Berry College Nest and the WRDC. They are going to have a tough time of it for awhile. We are on egg watch at Duke Farms.

Thank you for joining me today. It is always my pleasure to write about Ervie! Take care. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, KNF, and Berry College Bald Eagle Cam.

Where was Gabby?

My goodness! Everyone got a real scare this morning.

Gabrielle, Gabby, and Samson are getting ready for their two eggs in The Hamlet Bald Eagle nest, near Jacksonville, Florida, to pip. In the 2020-21 season they raised Legacy and in the 2019-20 season they raised Jules and Romey, named after Samson’s parents who had this nest first, Romeo and Juliet.

Gabby flew off the nest for a break yesterday at 12:30pm and was not been seen for nearly 24 hours. Samson has been on the nest incubating the eggs waiting for Gabby to return.

The trees surrounding the nest were examined and wildlife rehabbers within a 2 miles radius were called to see if a mature female Bald Eagle is in care. Nothing.

I began to dread that this was a repeat of Romeo and Juliet’s history on this nest. Juliet was injured (or killed). Romeo tried to take care of the nest to have a female intruder remove and kill the hatched eaglet. He subsequently left the nest. Samson, their son, hatched on 23 December 2013 took over the nest in 2019.

Well, we will never know where Gabby was but, she has returned to the nest!!!!!!! I kept looking at the eagle on the nest and saying to myself, ‘This sure looks like Gabby’. The American Eagle Foundation just announced her return. My heart skipped three beats.

There have been intruders. Samson is alarming.

Gabby is on the right and Samson is on alert. Neither parent is on the eggs. Protecting their territory is more important than the eggs.

Gabby back on the two eggs.

Gabby is very nervous. The wind is blowing and she is being ever vigilant. The other rule amongst eagles is that if it is a male intruder, the male chases it. If it is a female intruder, the female goes after the interloper. I hope whatever is concerning Samson and Gabby leaves!!!!!!!!

This is the link to their camera.

Please send out your warm positive thoughts to Gabby and Samson as they enter the pip stage. We do not want a repeat of Samson’s parent’s tragedy to happen to this wonderful Bald Eagle couple!

Just some quick news. Berry College has its first hatch.

Anna and the little one at the KNF Bald Eagle nest are still figuring out feeding and eating. It is a repeat of Kisatchie last year! Made me incredibly nervous. They figured it out so fingers crossed again.

I will return with more Bird World News in the early evening. Waking up to see Gabby had been missing so long took the air out of my sails.

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

Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took these screen captures.