Tag Archives: heat and birds

Cute little Sea Eagles, an angel of a step-Mum, and more in Bird World

Wednesday 20 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone. It is not raining! The sky is a beautiful blue, there is a breeze, and it will be a high of 27 today. That is the same temperature as at my son’s house in the Caribbean! Mr Blue Jay has come to visit the new bird bath and after having some big drinks jumps down to get a peanut. Too quick for me. Oh, there he is planting them in the gutter! Silly bird. I love those images of trees where the Blue Jays have pushed their stash into the grooves of the bark. I am surprised that Dyson is not around! Images are shot through a screen with my phone so not great, apologies. The glass in the sunroom also causes some very strange reflections.

White-bellied Sea Eagles live along the coastal waters of Australia, New Guinea and parts of Asia extending all the way to India. If you have ever been in Singapore you can see them at the harbour. You will find them along inland rivers as well. They are sometimes called the White-bellied or White-breasted Fish Hawk because, in many places, their diet consists of mostly fish. Unlike the Osprey who lives exclusively on fish (unless there is nothing else), the White-bellied Sea Eagles do eat birds and mammals.

Lady and Dad live in a typical stick nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Like other White-bellied Sea Eagles, Lady laid a clutch of two eggs. It is extremely rare to see a clutch of three like we do in Bald Eagle populations.

WBSE29 hatched on the 19th of July with WBSE30 hatching on the 20th. Incubation by Lady was deliberately delayed so that the hatches would be close together. During the first week of their life, the hatchlings will be covered with soft fluffy down. Their beaks are black; the little white spot on the end is the egg tooth. By day 7 the chicks will be sitting nicely, no more bobbing of the heads, etc. You may see some sibling rivalry.

The newly hatched chicks, once they are dried off, look like little snow people with arms. Darling.

Tumbling around. In a few days they will be ever steady on those cute pink legs.

The Janakkalan Osprey nest in Finland is still causing some confusion over what is precisely happening on the nest but, I believe the mystery is now solved. The Mum has been very ill and on the nest yesterday, very tired and looking ill. (Mum of chicks has red Darvic ring – the Dad has a yellow ring). I have not seen her since. Maybe you have?

A female intruder and other visitors have been around. This is the female intruder eating some fish on the nest with the chicks. She does not have a Darvic ring. She is the one that pecked at the chicks and took their fish the other day, I think. Darvic rings are very helpful….we need all the birds to have them.

There is a fish delivery at 12:29. The chicks were calling as the adult came into view with their lunch. This is the female intruder bringing a fish to the two osplets. There is no Darvic ring on her leg.

The largest of the chicks mantles and gets the fish.

The female looks around.

The largest chick will enjoy some good fish. There has been fish all over the nest lots of it so neither are starving. This is a good thing. They prefer, of course, the fresh fish! I would, too. Sometimes the new female takes the fish and then brings it back.

The female flies off the nest and leaves the chick to eat.

It would appear that the one chick that got the fish is finishing the tail at 13:06. The other one did not eat but there is plenty of fish coming to the nest so no worries.

One would have to understand that the female has died or is dying. Is the father accepting the female for maybe next year? It appears that the two osplets will not perish but will thrive. They have another female helping. This reminds me of Alden moving in to help Annie. It is brilliant!———-I am glad that the confusion is turning into something good for this nest. I wonder then how many times will potential mates step in to help a single osprey family member? and help raise their chicks? Is this behaviour more common than we think?

‘H’ was able to get a great capture of the Exshaw nest at Canmore, Alberta. The camera has, for days, had condensation, so that we could not see the three chicks properly. Well, look at them this morning! They are doing fabulous. Thanks, ‘H’.

In the UK, the Belgravies Osprey nest has collapsed. I have no images but the juvenile is on the ground. No word if it survived the nest failure. So sad. So many issues with nests this year. It is a good opportunity to consider checking every single platform and nest that can be checked and refurbished/re-supported after breeding season this year.

Lindsay has been taking some lessons from her younger brother Grinnell Jr! BTW. I feel so blessed to be able to see these two darling fledglings as much as we have. Oh, we will miss them when they depart the area.

Fish deliveries were early on the Osoyoos nest. It is cooler but will be going up to a high of 35 C. A scorcher. You can see that both of the chicks have a nice crop in the image below including the younger one. I hope Mum got some nice bites too. So want this nest to succeed this year after the tragic ending to the 2021 season. Mum is fantastic. She will make sure that the pair of them are shaded as best she can from the heat of the sun this afternoon.

All around the UK and Europe, temperatures are climbing into numbers never before seen. I did not check all the temperatures in Scotland but their weather looks nicer – sitting at 23 degrees C. It looks like a gorgeous evening at the Loch of the Lowes. Both chicks have fledged and if you squint you can see Ospreys on the dead tree to the left. This is one of the favourite places for Laddie. One fledgling on the nest hoping for a fish delivery.

Loch Arkaig has its own microclimate. The two osplets of Dorcha and Louis are not panting…it looks like a good evening for them, also.

Louis arrives with a nice fish for everyone. How lovely. These chicks are also starting to work their wings.

Wales is cool also — at 22 C. Everyone is on the nest in the Glaslyn Valley – Mrs G and the kids – awaiting Aran with the evening delivery. I believe there is one more osplet left to fledge on the Glaslyn nest (Blue 499?).

I apologize for forgetting to report on the Ospreys nest in Estonia. I forget – lost in what is happening on the Black Stork nests. The three osplets of Ivo and Liris were ringed by Urmas. That took place two weeks ago. It is wonderful that this nest has osplets that are now fledging – no Goshaw issues!

Urmas is one of my great heroes. As ‘the’ ornithologist for Estonia, he is always thinking of clever ways to help their wildlife survive. The rescue and fostering of the Black Storks and the creation of the fish baskets when fish supplies are low is commendable. He gets it. I wish that others around the world would take note of the fish supplies. He has even climbed up to the nests and placed fish on them (Grafs and Grafiene 2021). Here he is banding these fantastic osplets. Look at the one stand up and become fierce as Urmas approaches.

Ivo flies with a fish encouraging the osplets to continue their hovering but to think about flying! It seems that the chicks are flying…I will try and get the details.

It appears that for today the two nests of concern – Osoyoos and Janakkalan – are alright. Osoyoos had a larger fish early on and it is the fish deliveries that are important in the heat. We all know that is where the ospreys get their hydration. We hope for more during the day. I am delighted to have been so confused by the Finnish nest – and to see a female stepping in showing that she will not harm but help raise the chicks to become the potential female for nest year is nothing short of heartwarming. All of the other nests appear to be doing well except for Belgravies which has collapsed. No word yet of the fate of the occupant juvenile.

I want to close with a very cute video of Diamond and Xavier in the scrape box at Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia. These two are real characters when it comes to prey delivery. They are delightful. Diamond does not always accept the prey. Xavier doesn’t always leave it. Sometimes it is a Starling and Diamond does not like Starlings. Too crazy. Too fun!

Thank you so much for joining me. It is nice to bring some good news. I will not be posting an evening report today. I am hoping to make the rounds of our own birds to see how they are doing. It has been a scorcher for them, too. Take care everyone. Stay cool. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their FB posts, their videos, or their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Falcon Cam Project Charles Sturt University, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney, Finnish Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllyt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Fortis Exshaw, and Osoyoos Ospreys.

Welcome WBSE30 to the world and other brief news…

19 July 2022

“You do not need a lot of money and often do not need to do a lot to help a life.” Often you just need to pickup the phone and find the closest wildlife rehabber who will help. Remember that phone app – Animal Help.

I just saw a posting from a wildlife rehabber who gives sage advice – if you see a bird that is unable to fly, notify the wildlife rehab clinic right away — sooner than later might save their life. The story of this fledgling eagle reminds me of Little Bit ND17.

WBSE 30 has hatched!

Lady got up from brooding to show Dad his new baby. How touching…I just love it when the males first come to see their new little ones.

It won’t be long until 39 is fuzzy wuzzy.

Let us all hope that these two are the sweetest of friends.

If you did not see my update, the Mum at the Finnish nest is, indeed, very ill. She is most often on the nest and this allowed an intruder female to come into the nest today to steal the osplets fish and she was beaking at them. It is a very challenging situation with no one there to protect the babies. Dad is doing his job getting them food. He might not know about the intruder. Let us hope she goes away so that these two who are now flapping their wings will fledge and thrive despite all the problems this season.

The chicks are asleep and the intruder bird arrives.

The chicks start alarming and mantling.

The one had some fish and he is really covering it. They are still alarming. The intruder flies off.

Please keep these two in your warm thoughts.

The wildlife in this heat wave are struggling. Send positive thoughts to all including the Osprey family in Osoyoos. Dad is doing the best he can in the circumstances. Large fish go down to the bottom. His best fishing is early in the morning before the temperatures have amped up. —BUT of course there is another problem — fish die in warm water. This is happening with the Clarke Fork River (or was last year) when the temperatures rose. The streams are drying up and the fish are dying…they do not like warm water! Sending hugs of hope to this family. Currently 34 degrees.

Lilibet has been enjoying a fish and hanging out on the perch of the Fraser Point nest in the Channel Islands. Andor and Mama Cruz have been around today, also. It was nice to see Andor!

It was excellent news to hear that Victor stood for the first time without assistance this morning. Such a relief. If you ever hear of an eagle getting physiotherapy, smile – because you know it can work!

One of the Ls – and I think it was L2 – landed on the railing of the Fernow Lighttower nest in Ithaca. L2 loved playing on those rails before she fledged. Scared the wits out of everyone. L2 and L4 continue to do very well!

The latest tracking on Ervie shows that he has been all over the place on the 19th in Port Lincoln. Just look at this map! Goodness gracious. Our boy is really moving along the coast. Meanwhile, Dad has been seen bringing fish to the nest but not sharing with Mum. She might get miffed soon if he doesn’t share.

This is just a check in – a quick one – at some of the nests including those that are concerning us: Osoyoos and Janakkdan – and all other nests that are having difficulties including Kielder 1A.

Thank you so much for being in with me this evening. Stay safe, stay cool and please take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or posts where I took my screen captures: Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Discovery Centre, Sydney, Explore and IWS, Osoyoos Ospreys, the Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Osprey FB, Cornell Bird Labs RTH.

Day 11 of incubation

It is noon on Daisy’s nest in the Sydney Olympic Park forest. She has started to pant as the sun shines directly on her. Like other birds, panting is a way for Daisy to regulate her temperature; she does not sweat like humans. It is, as summer days go, hot. The weather at Homebush Bay indicates that it is 34.1 degrees C. I wonder if it is actually hotter on the nest?? It is normally understood that heat rises. And, as you can see from the image below, Daisy is in direct sunlight right now. Some parts of Australia are bracing themselves for very hot weather in a few days, up to 39 degrees C.

The hot sun at high noon is shining directly on Daisy.

Many have thought that Daisy would need to take more breaks during the day as the heat builds. However, since it is 12:30 and she remains, I am thinking that she will follow her regular pattern of going off in the afternoon to forage. She has now gathered up more down to cover up the eggs from predators.

At 13:18 Daisy begins to take the down of the nest cup and fold it over inwards. Sometimes she just does this and then will turn and do her cute tail wiggle. Occasionally, she does this when she is rolling her eggs but, most often, it is a sign that she is thinking about leaving to eat. Remember, Daisy does, if all things go serenely, have a pattern of leaving the nest between 1300 and 1400 to forage. Yesterday it was 14:02. And yesterday, she returned at 16:49 but noticed both WBSE on the camera tree and aborted her landing on the nest. So, on average, if voluntarily, it appears that she takes about a two and a half to a three hour break.

In the images below, Daisy begins to tuck the down in around the egg cup. Once the down is folded onto the top of the eggs, she then goes about placing leaves and plant material, and small twigs to further disguise the location. It took her eight minutes to get everything right so that she can leave. She departed at 13:26.

Daisy is busy folding the down that lines the nest cup inward.
Very methodically she continues folding the down in a clockwise direction.
After folding the down, Daisy begins to use her bill to bring in plant material.
It is not always easy to move the leaves and twigs with her bill but Daisy is tenacious.
Once she is satisfied that the eggs are covered as best she can, she leaves to forage to keep up her strength. It is very hot in Hornbush Bay and she needs food and water.
Daisy’s nest is nicely concealed.

All birds have predators and Daisy is particularly vulnerable as she is an outsider to the forest. Her presence and her seven eggs have caught the attention of some, like the Raven and Pied Currawong, that would eat her eggs. Like Daisy’s plumage that serves as camouflage, the manner in which she has concealed her nest is meant to distract any potential threats. She has used the leaves and plant material on top. They blend in perfectly, there is absolutely nothing that would call attention. Daisy is also very discreet and alert in her comings and goings from the nest. Every move is slow and calculated unless she is frightened off by the approaching sea eagles or if she notices their arrival in another tree. Then she leaves quickly!

This is day 11 of Daisy’s brooding or incubation. Even though the eggs were laid on different days, Daisy did not start hard incubation until the last egg was in the nest. Imagine that one minute there are eggs, and within a few minutes the nest will be brimming full of peeping and clacking ducklings. This is precisely what will happen. This is known as synchronized hatching. The number of incubation days to hatching varies but is normally 28-30.

Daisy’s little ducklings – should the nest survive and they make it through the forest to the water – will be covered with fuzzy yellow down. They will have a characteristic dark chocolate brown-black line running from their bill through their eye. There are some white patches on their wings. They will be ever so cute!

Black Pacific Ducklings

Daisy’s ducklings are precocial at hatch. This means that they do not need Daisy to feed them. Daisy’s role will be to lead them to the water where they can forage themselves. Daisy will also help them to learn about predators and she will keep them warm in the evening. In a couple of months their new plumage will be that of an adult Black Pacific Duck, like Daisy.

They are known as ‘dabbling or puddle ducks’. They feed by tipping rather than diving to the bottom of the shallow water. They often forage at the edge of the river and lake like they are doing in the images below. They do not, however, hunt for food on land.

Black Pacific Ducks foraging on the shore. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Dabbling along the muddy shoreline. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A great image of a Black Pacific Duck foraging in shallow water. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

It is due to be another hot day in the forest tomorrow. The prediction is that it will be 37 degrees Celsius. This might turn out quite well for Daisy as the White Bellied Sea Eagles could be at Goat Island enjoying the cooler weather near the water. It is 16:42 and Daisy has not returned to her nest. She will be enjoying the cool waters of the canal and the river and, since it is so hot, might decide til near dusk when it is safe for her to return to her nest. The sea eagles are normally roosting then.

An uneventful day is a good day for Daisy the Duck.

Thanks for dropping by to check on the little duck who is occupying the large sea eagle’s nest in Sydney Olympic Park forest. Stay safe everyone. See you tomorrow!

I am grateful for the Sea Eagle cam, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery centre for the cameras they support. This is where I get my scaps.