Yesterday, the two eaglets in the Duke Farm Bald Eagle nest in Hillsborough, New Jersey, fludged. Big had followed Li’l up the branch and Li’l could not figure out how to get around Big to go back down. THe started flapping and the end result was both of the juveniles falling off the branch and flying off to the farmland. Today, the parents wisely put a fish on the nest and left it to lure the two back to the nest. Gosh. And it worked! Li’l flew in first and on to the nest for food and was followed by Big. Sighs of relief all around.
Parent in at 10:21 leaving a piece of fish for the two:
Little flies in about half an hour later, landing on a branch first and then flying down to the nest.
Li’l really enjoyed the fish! Big flies in on a branch a little later. Hopefully these two will now stay around the nest like Legacy who will be 100 days old on Tuesday!
For those worried that K3 is not getting enough to eat on the nest of Big Red and Arthur, the honour of having the first ‘slice’ go off the tower and land down below on the cars goes to K3. That was one powerful shot!!!!!! Didn’t I tell you he is a pistol? A puddle of full sleeping babies. Lots more starlings and few chipmunks this year. I wonder how that impacts the amount of prey that needs to be brought to the nest?
Big Red has them all line up nicely. Everyone eats at Big Red’s table! Everyone. There is no need to worry. I do think they would love a few tasty chipmunks if you happen to have extra in your garden!
Yesterday afternoon NC0, Nessie, at the Loch of the Lowes nest was listening to her chick chirping in the egg. This will be her first little one. It has to be very exciting. I do hope that Laddie, who is lucky to have such a beautiful mate, keeps up his end of the bargain and brings in lots of fish for her and the little ones. Pip was official at 6:15 pm on the 16th of May. Hatch watch is on for Loch of the Lowes!
Look at the top egg. You can see the egg tooth hammering away! Lots of work for this little one to do yet.
Oh, it looks like it is going to be a race between Telyn and Mrs G on the Glaslyn Nest. Just a few minutes ago a large crack was seen on camera.
Right now everyone in the United Kingdom is welcoming the second year Juvies back after their first migration. Those are the ones born in 2019 and, as you know, they are looking for their own territory and mates. Some have caused some mischief and some disruption!
Today, however, the Kielder Nests are celebrating something very special. A male, Blue 39 (11) born in Nest 1 in 2011, was last seen in 2014 at the Derwent Reservoir near Consett. There has been no news of Blue 39 until yesterday when he was photographed catching a fish near Hawick in the borders. This is just incredible news – survival always is. The photographer notified Roy Dennis at Rutland immediately – that is the thing to do if you see a banded Osprey in the UK.
There are some incredible images of this strong male on the Kielder Website here:
Idris and Telyn have had one of Telyn’s sons with Monty, the very last one, KA3 hatched in 2019, return to their nest. But that is not all. Telyn is incubating three egg; the first was laid on 11 April so hatch watch is on. On 15 May she flew off the nest for a comfort break. Idris was on the camera pole and – a crow flew in. What could have been the saddest end of the season can be seen in this short video:
Everything is fine and Idris sent KA3 packing – it isn’t his nest anymore but as a male he returned to his natal nest area to find a mate and set up his own nest. Good luck KA3! There are some females out there looking! Go find a good one.
The two little ospreys at The Landings Nest on Skidaway Island (Savannah Ospreys) are doing great. They have the most beautiful plumage that I have ever seen! Dad brought in at least four fish, maybe five, yesterday for them. They went to bed with full crops and food coma! Scarlett and Rhett are doing a great job with these two.
The centre of my Bird World heart, Tiny ‘Biggie’ Tot gets stronger and more confident every day. It is simply amazing – a true tale of cleverness, persistence, and survival. Well done Tiny! I still believe you are a male – the third, the tiercel. You are going to join the leagues of the other small 3s who came back super strong – like Tegin Z1 of the White Egg and another of Monty’s boys, KA3, Hesgyn. If you know of a three that overcame tremendous obstacles, please let me know.
Tiny is a real beauty.
For those wondering about Tiger and Lily in the nest on a farm near Newton, Kansas, it has been really damp there today. One of the owlets was on a branch above the nest around 4am but I am not certain which one it was.Look carefully and you can see it standing where Clyde would come to drop the mice off to Bonnie.
The only child of the Bald Eagles at the Fort Vrain Bald Eagle nest in Colorado is doing splendid. Covered completely in thermal down, you can now see the contour feathers coming in! Someone asked me if the only children – Bald Eagles or Ospreys – get lonely. I have no idea but they spend their lives until they have a breeding mate alone – they even migrate to different regions. My immediate answer is I don’t think they are lonely. They are normally very well fed and cared for! The parents do have to play surrogate siblings so they learn to protect their prey. So, it is a little more work for the parents training them but less food to have to bring into the nest.
Thank you for nest hoping with me today. I will be watching the nests in the UK for hatches! Stay safe.
Thank you to the following for the streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Achieva Credit Union, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Duke Farms, X-cel Energy, Farmer Derek, Cornell Bird Lab and Skidaway Audubon, Bywrd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife, and Woodland Trust Loch of the Lowes.
