I hope that you had a lovely Thursday. Jaine and Tammy came and picked up Don for an outing while Toby and I put on his Advantage Multi treatment (ticks andand went for a walk.
While there is much doom and gloom in the world to make us drop into a pit of despair, we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to that way of thinking. As I look out at the garden with Dyson’s family and the Blue Jays at the feeders, I see life. It has rained and the Robins and Jays have been pulling worms out of everyone’s lawn along with the Starlings and their excellent beaks for digging. The peonies I planted last year bloomed and the sheer amount of rain has turnede my garden into the forest I always dreamed it would be. There are baby birds everywhere – six Blue Jays and I could not possibly tell you how many sparrows. I wake up and feel lucky to have each of them a part o my life – they enrich our days just as The Girls and Toby do.
Which reminds me! Baby Hope is three years old today. We will have a small party for our shy girl later today.
My days on this planet are shorter than they were longer when, as a teenager, I dreamed of getting my driver’s license. My hope now is on the young people to fix the mess that we have created on this planet. One of those brilliant stars rising in the field of environmental/wildlife research is Wes Melker, a student from Gainesville, Florida, and grandson of one of our Bird World readers, Dr Richard Melker.
Don’t let the title, ‘American Icons: A Toast to White Oaks, ‘ fool you. The articles that Wes writes while he is an Intern at the Smithsonian Institution will inevitably teach you something that you did not know, and they all connect back to the need to protect our beautiful resources. Richard sent me a copy of the article and graciously asked Wes if I could include it for you to read. The answer was yes! So, enjoy the work of a young man whose name you need to remember.
The White Oak Initiative says: “Hope for the Future”. While there are plenty of mature white oaks in our forests today, the regeneration issue must be addressed immediately as oaks take decades to grow to maturity. We have a limited window to be proactive, but it can be done. By working together, we can reverse the decline of American white oak and ensure a sustainable future for white oak-dominated forests for generations to come.”
I like to think of the challenge faced by the White Oaks as similar to that of the keystone species of fish that our Ospreys depend on – along with other fish and aquatic creatures in the NE USA. Of course, I am talking about Menhaden. Tomorrow, I will take a look at the chicks that were ringed in the UK on Thursday along with a great documentary for you to enjoy over the 4th of July weekend.
Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to Wes and Richard Melker and the Smithsonian Institution for allowing me to include Wes’s article in my blog. I also want to thank OpenVerse for the cover image of the Great White Oak.
You might want to check out the Smithsonian Institution and what they are doing to help the environment – maybe register as a member or purchase their magazine to help fund projects and internships such as Wes’s.
Geemeff was the first to spot the handsome visitor to Loch Arkaig’s nest 2! Here is the video: https://youtu.be/gUBZwBc-KU4?
We wait.
It is believed that this is the same osprey that intruded on Dorcha when she was on nest 2 on the 9th of April. At the time, Geemeff could only see a ‘J’.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 12th April 2026
Amidst the disappointment of the continuing absence of Louis, Loch Arkaig’s resident male since 2017, a shining event occurred with the arrival of the very handsome male JJ4. He’s a local lad, fledged in 2020 from the non-cam nest on private land at the western end of the loch, and he looked right at home perched on Nest Two. After a bit of fiddling with the troublesome stick (which wasn’t a bother at all until Dorcha decided to move it a few days ago), he left his mark on the nest with a well-aimed squirt before flying off towards the loch. Unfortunately, Dorcha missed him as she didn’t put in an appearance at all today, we can only speculate on her motives and hope to see her tomorrow. As a six year old and Dorcha a minimum of 9 years old, JJ4 would be a good match for her should the position become vacant. But that is getting ahead of ourselves. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 and Aurora had a typical day with fish arriving and departing the nest, sticks being brought and furnishings being rearranged, and the odd mating attempt, untroubled by any intruders.
If our birds did have enough challenges, there are the cats – Cats are the number one killer of bird species. Now they are after the oyster catchers. ‘PB’ sent this to me – we both have cats and we want to pass on the message to please keep your cats indoors.
I want to say, up front, a huge thank you to Geemeff, Mary Cheadle, and Jeff Kerr for keeping us informe on what is happening at the UK osprey nests an managing so much data so that it is not lost!
Maya is currently incubating three eggs with mate, Blue 33 at Rutland’s Manton Bay platform.
No eggs yet for CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour. Will they raise four again?
In the US, Richmond and Wendy have their first egg at the Golden Gate Audubon nest on the WWII whirley crane on Sunday the 12th.
Heidi reports that we have the first egg at Dewey Beach – the site of much saddness last year.
Pitkin County Trails improved its camera this year and we have ospreys incubating egg/s.
The eagles seem to be doing well. There are fledglings and there are babies. The Dale Hollow nest has three getting their feathers.
There are three for Andor and Cruz at Fraser Point.
FOBBV put out a video of the rain at Big Bear and those precious little eaglets with their full crops of Jackie and Shadow. https://youtu.be/IQjt6zysT30?
Closing with Iris’s familiar pose on her perch overlooking one of the finest osprey nests that I know of – she works hard to tidy it up for departure and returns to something lovely that she continues to fix. (She did not sleep on her perch overnight).
For your reading – the interesting story of a man who put the sound of birds on vinyl – from The Guardian:
It is a heavily overcast day in Winnipeg. 0 degrees at the moment. It should not get warmer than 4 C today with the strange promise of 18-20 C on Wednesday! Mr Crow has just been to the feeder, and Mr Blue Jay is making his way through the lilacs to grab a peanut or two. The European Starlings are arriving as the chickadees leave. I can see the white of the tails of the Dark-eyed Juncos flitting about quietly from the ground to the branches. The promise of rain today is not bothering the birds. They seem especially interested in the seed that Toby and I have been stirring up, or should I say the shells of the seed from the winter. Much will be spread to create compost and new soil towards the back of the garden. Toby and I have now been working on this for three days. At some point, the plan is to get some topsoil and a large container of wildflower seeds and plant them. Whether it will be too shady once the lilac leaf is unknown, but we are going to try it.
What are we reading during Story Time? Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark. I sometimes need to be reminded that if we think locally, we can get ‘things’ done and not give up hope when the world seems to be falling apart. I have often said to you that if each one of us took care of the animals in our own gardens, or the ones that come to our gardens like Brock, the world would be immensely improved. Solnit talks about being local – you might be part of the movement that only eats seasonally within a 100-mile radius of your home. Imagine how much fuel that would save if we all ate the harvests of the time instead of wanting to have strawberries in Winnipeg in February? We do have really delicious ones in June and July! We try to practice this, and it was refreshing to read that in doing so, it is a bit of a resistance to huge corporations. I did grow up in the 60s and 70s and was part of the back-to-the-land movement. I only wish I had the energy to do that again! The book is good. If you are feeling powerless, pick up a copy from your library or order online. Have a good read – I think it will do wonders for bringing hope back into your heart.
Oh, three crows! The baby from last year is home to help with this year’s brood.
I was wrong. There were at least 8 crows in the garden, with one being attacked. Was it out of its territory and hungry? I wonder.
Thank you for being with us today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to Geemeff for the news from the Woodland Trust and all the wonderful links, to the UK Osprey Info FB group for always keeping us up to date and to those others who post on FB. Thanks, Heidi, for watching the nests that are not easy. I am grateful to The Guardian for their continuing coverage of the interesting stories about wildlife and the environment, and to all the owners of the streaming cams – without you, we would not be so involved in the lives of these magnificent creatures.
