Tag Archives: Idris and Telyn

Late Monday and early Tuesday in Bird World

4-5 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone. It isn’t raining!!! The weather forecast was entirely wrong (so far). The sun is shining bright and it looks like it is going to be a fantastic day on the Canadian Prairies.

I mention Daisy the Duck quite often. It was Daisy that got me into loving ducks — despite the fact that I had a pet duck as a toddler – as an adult. She tried so hard – against the odds of a forest full of Crows and Ravens – to raise those little ones. I think it is why I am always out checking on the ducks at our local parks. But, today, I found a very interesting streaming cam and I thought I would share it with you. A female Wood Duck (oh, those females are so cute and sweet) has taken over an owl box and is sitting on eggs! Here is the link:

Fireworks. No one will ever invite me to their party! When we had our Canada Day celebrations there were fireworks set off 3 blocks away from the Peregrine Falcon scrape. I was equally upset and vocal locally – my comments could apply to any City.

Tonight, ‘B’ sent me a note about the fireworks and poor Takoda. 45 minutes later, they are still going off but are closer to the nest in the National Arboretum. Takoda is not the only wildlife impacted – every bird, every animal, every pet – and even humans – could have their hearing and/or breathing compromised. Tonight, I am ‘Miss Stick in the Mud’. At the same time I also wonder how much these big displays cost and how those funds could be used elsewhere. The US Government Accountability Office said that the display cost 19 million in 2019. Wow.

These are not silent fireworks either…just in case you were wondering. No, as ‘B’ said – it sounded like a battle zone. They started at 2109 on either side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and I still have screen captures near to 2200.

Someone may ask you ‘What is the importance of Raptors or Birds of Prey anyway?’ In 2013, the British Columbia government did a study on raptors titled, Guidelines for Raptor Conservation in Urban and Rural Land Development. Section 4.2 lists the benefits that raptors have for all of us – not just the residents of British Columbia. Indeed, there is a lot of wisdom in these 151 pages. Do look at section 4.2. It is quite interesting and not so long.

Click to access raptor_conservation_guidelines_2013.pdf

Checking in on the Black Stork intervention by Urmas, Kaia was caught on the camera finding the fish basket today. She returned and fed the four storklets who are growing and growing. Bonus appears to be fully integrated into the family.

You are doing great, Kaia. Look at those beautiful babies with those gorgeous black feathers. Just imagine. These four will take to the skies and fly all the way to the centre of Africa – and hopefully, return to Estonia.

The two chicks of Mr and Mrs AX6 at Llyn Brenig were ringed yesterday. One is showing off its new bling. Were we not just worried about these two in the cold rain last week and they were so tiny? Ringers think it is one female and one male. That gives the Welsh Osprey nests 6 females and 5 males so far.

Idris and Telyn have three big girls to feed and get off the ground. Some of the running jokes is that they are too heavy to fly! Pedran, Padarn, and Paith will do just fine. They will return in two years time looking for a Scottish mate, perhaps, or maybe they will check out any Rutland males that are about.

Aran and Mrs G have been keeping close watch over their territory today as it appears there are intruders about.

All of the nests seem to be doing very well. Dylan has brought a fish in and the three Bobs at Llyn Clywedog are being fed by Seren. It is a good way to keep one of them from taking over the fish – at least at the moment.

It looks like Blue NC0 has a nice crop – she looks so tiny compared to the two big chicks. So grateful that everything is going well on this nest after losing Little Bob. Should be two successful fledges soon.

Does everyone know Iris? the oldest Osprey in the world? She is, I believe 29 years old this year. Her nest is in Missoula, Montana and just look at that nest. Iris no longer has chicks. Her partner, Louis, since her devoted mate Stanley did not return, also has another nest in the baseball park with Star. Louis takes care of Star and her chicks. Every year Iris lays eggs and because one parent can’t do it all, the Crows or Ravens get them. Iris then spends the summer fishing, working on the nest, and taking care of herself. With the toll that chick raising takes on the female, this could be part of the secret to Iris’s longevity.

This morning Louis joined her early to keep intruders at bay but what interested me the most was how much work Iris has done on her nest. Just look at the amount of twigs! I wonder if Dr Green is going to gather up twigs from under the nest and have pens made as a fundraiser? The two I purchased from last year are beautiful and you can easily buy refills which makes them very sustainable.

Iris is a great fisher. Just look how strong she is. She has been working on this nest every day and it is so nice because we get to see her!

There is a lot of new nesting material arriving on the Mispillion Harbour Osprey nest in Delaware. The kids were hoping for a nice big fish but it looks like new straw. Is Mum going to weave a basket?

I was interested in this image because of the dark bands on the tail. For Red-tail Hawks, you check to make sure that there are 5 dark bands. It is a simple trick to see if the chicks are near fledging. It seems to also apply to Osprey. These two are getting very close to being able to fly. Whether or not they will want to is another story.

At the Boathouse Osprey platform on Hog Island, everyone seems very happy with the morning feeding. Dory did a crack up job making sure all three were absolutely full – including Little Bob.

‘H’ sent a screen capture – so happy that the wee one had a bit of a private feeding filling up its crop. Yeah for Dory our first time Mum. Thanks so much for this great image, ‘H’. — Look at those little fat bottoms.

At the Osoyoos Osprey nest, it looks a little drier this morning. The kids have already had a small fish for their breakfast and are cuddled under Mum.

I don’t remember a pair of Cal Falcon fledglings that have loved to spend so much time together. It is such a delight to see Lindsay and Grinnell Jr play together – and what a welcome to relief to catch them on the camera of The Campanile.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Everything ‘appears’ to be quite fine in the nests that we have been watching. Fingers all crossed and toes, too, that it stays that way. Take care everyone — stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: NADC-AEF, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender Forum, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Friends of the Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Montana Osprey Project and Cornell, Mispillion Osprey Project, Audubon, Osoyoos Ospreys, and Cal Falcons.

Brief Bird World News on Sunday late

3 July 2022

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you have had a really lovely weekend. Thank you for taking the time to join me this evening.

There are two important moments in a young Red-tail Hawks life. Their first flight marks them as a fledglings. They need to fly out and return to the nest for the proper definition to apply. They become juveniles only after they catch their first live prey item by themselves. So everyone give a big shout out and congratulations to Big Red and Arthur’s L4 (that little cracker) and L 2 who officially became juveniles today. Wow. Didn’t I say that L4 is amazing. No fear. I will never forget him climbing right over those big siblings to get at the front of the food line. No worries about siblicide on Big Red and Arthur’s watch.

Across the pond, Osprey parents are working hard to get their chicks in perfect condition for migrating. While Osprey chicks will fledge and fly and return to the nest for a feeding from Dad, they normally do not catch their own fish until after they have begun their migration. The parents do not teach them. Fishing is hard-wired into 60 million years of Osprey DNA and memory.

Blue NC0 flew out and brought in a whopper to her two – a big girl and a boy.

Idris is trying to beat every Welsh record that there is for fishing! This is an unbelievable catch! Three big girls and Seren to feed plus himself! Idris is up to the challenge!

Dylan took the approach that more deliveries are the best so he recorded 8 fish deliveries for Seren and the kids before 1700. Wow. It looks like a perch this time.

It was very sad news to learn of Pikne’s demise on the 6th of June on a hydro pole in Turkey. Searchers for her body and the transmitter could find nothing so she has been taken by humans or larger animals. My immediate concern after hearing this is where is Udu, the only surviving juvenile of Karl II and Kaia of 2021. Finally some indication of his transmitter on 16 June but questions lately. He was in the Central African Republic at the time. But this was April 2nd…with battery power at 0%. Since Urdu’s tracker tries to send data but the location is the same as April 2nd. Perhaps someone will be able to establish what is happening. My fear is that Udu’s transmitter is in the hands of a human playing with it and Urdu is no longer with us. Please let me be wrong.

I continue to watch the experiment of Urmas and Dr Madis V with the Black storklet chicks of Jan and Janika with much interest. Bonus was been placed in the nest of Karl II and Kaia and this morning Bonus was not defensive when Karl II brought food. It would appear that Bonus has now accepted he is part of Karl’s family. Amazing news. Bonus has been in the nest for 4 days.

As you know I believe in intervention when it is more likely to benefit the bird. This is the first time that anyone has tried to raise Black Storklets in a clinical setting and then foster them with other Black Stork families. Urmas and Dr Madis V went to great lengths to try and ensure the success including decoy parents, the feeding Toto and making certain that sounds of the forest was present. Urmas also distributed fish baskets to try and take the burden of feeding an extra storklet off the parents. We celebrate today that Eedie has found the fishing basket provided by Urmas. Jan and Janika’s storklet, Janus, is in Eedie’s nest. There is a picture of Eedie going to the fish basket to get food for the family. Thank you ‘T’ for sending us this confirming image. Tears! So many are learning about the behaviour of the Black Storks in these circumstances — this will prove important in the future should another nest lose a parent during the breeding season.

When there were statements about the Bald Eagles feeding ND17 it was important to have ‘proof’ in some form. There wasn’t any. In fact, ND17 was either fed little or nothing due to his condition when the rehabbers picked him up. To demonstrate that the intervention is working and what aspects are helpful to the storks, photos are being taken. This photo proves that Eedie found the fish and now will return to the nest to feed the four storklets.

At the nest of Karl II and Kaia, there were 5 feedings today – 3 by Karl and 2 by Kaia. Bonus has now been part of their family for 4 days. Is he eating enough? Yesterday his ‘ps’ was thin but today there is an image of a healthy ps by Bonus proving that he is eating well.

At 12:12:55 Akecheta flies to the nest with a fish. He looks around wondering which one of the fledglings was going to fly down and grab it.

It was Sky!!!!!!

That is a great mantling job!!!!!!

At 16:02 it is Ahote’s turn to get the fish drop! Oh, I so admire these parents who continually risk their legs and talons to feed their fledglings. It is amazing.

If you see an empty nest at Two Harbours, do not despair. Lancet has been seen eating on the overlook cam.

This is a very short report. It was warm on the prairies today with a beautiful blue sky and lots of happy people. I was out counting American White Pelicans and Double-Crested Cormorants. I will not bore you with the panorama of photos that I took to ensure the count was accurate but..they are such beautiful birds. It is an honour to see them fishing and raising their little ones in the summer. There are places where sport fishing is popular where the pelicans are not appreciated. Authorities can, even with the Migratory Bird Treaty, give permission for people to shoot them! Pelicans were fishing out of the rivers long before people were sport fishing. If people needed to fish for their survival that is one thing (and some do) but…I will let you finish the sentence. You know me well and what I would say.

If you are ever sent to help out with a bird count, it is much easier if you take various shots of the stationary birds and then try, as best you can, to count those flying about.

Take care everyone. Thank you for being with me this evening. See you soon.

Thank you so much to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB or forum pages: Looduskalender, ‘my friend T’, Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Services, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Eagle Club of Estonia, Scottish Wildlife Trust, and Ferris Akel Tours.

Friday in Bird World – brief notes

1 July 2022

What a busy day in Bird World and sadly, another entry on ‘that list’.

I want to start by thanking one of our readers, ‘AM’. She left her home and pushed through all kinds of Canada Celebrations and a parade for an hour to get to the Osoyoos Osprey Nest the minute she learned of the chick’s fall. Sadly, the little one did not survive. ‘AM’ found a quiet restful place for him near the nest. Thank you ‘AM’. I also want to add that she went prepared with all the things needed to drive him to a rehabber – gloves, towels, a box, etc. Fantastic.

It is always tragic to find a wee one dead or badly injured. It was a big fall and unlike goslings or ducklings, osplets just don’t have the bounce. Sadly, we cannot stop the ospreys from bringing material to the nest but, we can urge farmers to use best practices and different baling materials. Dr Ericke Green at Montana Raptors (Iris) has been studying this problem for a long time and has found a different material for baling that is less problematic for the Ospreys — if farmers would only use it.

I am very thrilled to see all of the donations and thank you’s to Humane Wildlife Indiana. For all of you that pushed the staff at St Patrick’s Park to get help – through your e-mails, phone calls, and in chat, thank you. It takes an army of people to get help and you are a great army.

If you want to send a direct thank you to Delilah Ruiz, here is the e-mail: druiz@humaneindiana.org

Our beautiful Little Bit in care, thankfully. Tears.

There is, however, some really super news in Bird World. It comes from Cal Falcons. Annie and Alden were doing a courtship ritual in the scrape box. Alden proved himself to us over and over again as being very capable of taking good care of Annie and any chicks but – Annie had to really make that decision. Alden passed – and Annie and Alden are a couple. Yes.

Alden figured out how to overcome a physical limitation and he now has Annie and the best territory in San Francisco. I hope that their lives together are long and productive.

Looks like we are going to see the chicks doing a lot of moth chasing and loafing just like Lindsay did today! Isn’t she gorgeous? Look at those eyes and those feathers. I hope that we see Little Bit 17 get his feathers into good condition now that he has regular food.

You know. Human animals should watch some bird cams before they have children so they learn that everything one does makes an impression on children.

Other good news is coming out of Cornell. Here is today’s update on L3 who was taken into care a week ago.

“We received a brief update from the Wildlife Hospital today, reaffirming that L3 continues to do very well. The veterinarians will be performing additional radiographs in another 1-2 weeks to check up on the fractured coracoid bone, at which point they should be able to better predict a future timeline for continued healing and rehabilitation. They also shared that, based on body weight, L3 is likely a female. We will plan to post another update following the next set of radiographs — thanks for sharing all of your concerns about L3’s continued healing!” Thank you ‘SAH’ for seeing that L3 was found and was in care quickly.

Dylan has just brought in the last fish for the day to Seren and the three Bobs.

The three at Llyn Clywedog have been ringed. They are 553 a big female weighing 1710 grams at 40 days, 554 a male weighing 1485 at 40 days and 555 another male weighing 1410 at 37 days old.

The parents lose weight when they are busy raising chicks. Just look at how small Maya looks compared to the three big gals that her and Blue 33 have been feeding. Maya lost about 33% of her body weight taking the great care she did of her chicks.

Idris brought in another whopper to the Dyfi nest despite the rainy weather. Him and Telyn (Maya’s daughter) are feeding three girls, too.

It hasn’t all been rosy with the four Black storklets in the nest of Karl II and Kaia. At first Bonus was hissing at Kaia. That got better. Then the biological storklets were biting Bonus’s legs. Karl II has brought in a meal a few hours ago and things look good. Urmas needs to observe the nest closely so that the biological osplets do not get in a position of not having enough fish due to the size of Bonus.

Fingers crossed that all of this gets worked out. The biological three are looking for more fish and there is Bonus busting his crop.

I intended to include more but a kestrel has a broken wing about an hour and a half away and needs to get to Wildlife Haven – so I am off!

Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me. Donate if you can – even $5 for Little Bit. Every $ helps. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB pages: Eagle Club of Estonia, Humane Wildlife Indiana, CarnyXWild, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Nest, Cornell Bird Lab and Cal Falcons.

Late Thursday in Bird World

30 June 2022

UPDATE ON LITTLE BIT 17: Message from Humane Indiana Wildlife. ” Hello! We will post an update on ND17 tomorrow. Today was stressful for him, as you can imagine, but he is doing well and receiving much needed care.”

I am feeling some comfort in the news that Little Bit ND17 was taken to Valpo to the Humane Indiana Wildlife clinic for a thorough examination and assessment at 11:40 this morning. This is the best news Bird World has had in a couple of weeks. ——–And in the update ‘much needed care’ indicates that getting him to the clinic was the right decision.

I know that the St Patrick’s County Parks staff could never have foreseen the events that would transpire at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest this season. There is an expectation of stability – business as usual – but as many know, we live in very unstable times. And so it was with the nest. The second hatch ND16 took exception to Little Bit’s existence. The aggression, the deterioration of the nest, and then Little Bit’s 60 foot drop to the ground would never have entered the minds of park staff as spring arrived in South Bend, Indiana. But, it did happen. I am grateful that they were able to get Little Bit 17 removed from the bushes and taken to the Valpo clinic. IDNR has stated that not all rehabbers will take birds now because of Avian Flu – so thank you Humane Wildlife Indiana, too.

We wait to hear how our little eaglet is doing tomorrow!

The Dyfi Osprey Project has published all the information on the ringing along with the video of the ringing and weighing and another earlier one of nest aggression attributed to the fact that all three were females. There is a map showing the rivers and a pronunciation guide to the chick’s names after those rivers. It is a good read. Have a look. This is the kind of information that becomes so useful about the nests. Here is that link:

https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/bendigedig-ringing-2022?fbclid=IwAR2OAkzY88lJjf-QaZNhY8Tyvx1AfH_NW6U15ayNz_tvyLlU50BYQhVJdQo

The ringing video is a really good one to watch. They are so careful and the chicks just pancake and stay still. It takes no time. Those colour Darvic rings with their numbers tell us so much information about these amazing birds and their life journeys.

There is also images and information on the ringing of nest 1A at Kielder. This nest had four babies ——yes, I did not get that wrong – 4. I did not mention it but once because I was so afraid that something would happen to little 4. There is a picture of him in there at 1000 grams. His big sister is 50% heavier at 1560. The other two were males. The ringers could not determine the gender of little 4 because he is so small for his age. I hope he proves mighty.

Nest 1A ringing 2022

I have been working on and off on a couple of stories about wildlife rehabilitation clinics. They are our go-to when it comes to getting care for our wildlife in need. Each is special in its own way. Some specialize in certain animals and will not take birds. Because of the spread of H5N1 Avian Flu this year, many will not take our feathered friends. So, a bit of a shout out to Valpo for taking Little Bit. They need your support whether it is with your time, volunteering, with a few dollars or a truck load. Every bit is appreciated. Believe it or not, old clean towels are always wanted!!!! So, while we wait to hear about Little Bit 17, I will spend a little time showing you what I did today.

This afternoon was a day to spend at our own rehabilitation clinic. It is the only wildlife clinic in Manitoba with a full time vet, operating room and diagnostic equipment and it is run entirely by donations and volunteers.

Wildlife Haven is not unique. Every facility – those that many of you know by their names – CROW, The Audubon Centre, A Place Called Hope – operate entirely on donations and the generous time offered by volunteers.

I have been working on a blog about 2 other wildlife centres that I will finish up shortly. I was moved to tell you a little bit about our facility because the first thing the Rehabilitation Manager said was, “99% of the injuries to wildlife are human caused.” Everything that we do has the potential to harm the animals that share this planet with us – it can range from kidnapping bunnies from their Mum, to road accidents, taking wildlife in our houses where they imprint on humans, to wind turbines, sticky or glue traps – the list as you know is endless. I am grateful that there is a big campaign to let people know that fishing line is dangerous. It is that time of year when people should be using non-lead fishing tackle, barbless hooks, and helping to clean up the shores as well as taking care of their own area where they fish. I had no idea that so many bunnies arrive at the care facility. Over 900 right now!

Tip regarding rabbits. If you see a brown circle on your lawn and remove the grass covering and see bunnies, do not think that their mother has abandoned them. Take 2 thin sticks and criss-cross them over the top. Go back in 24 hours. If the sticks are moved, the Mum has been in to feed the babies. If the sticks have not been moved, then take the babies to a wildlife rehabber. Put a towel in a box with a lid and holes for air and carefully transport them to the closest facility.

Our centre has been in existence since 1984 but it has only recently been able to have full vet facilities. The amount of rehabilitation work that they are able to do has increased with generous donations for flight and hunting training. That requires trained staff and intense dedication and it is precisely what Little Bit 17 will require. He is missing that by not being with Mum, Dad, 15 and 16. So he is like WBSE28. We want Little Bit kept so that he is able to successfully live in the wild and what I have learned from our local team is that this is a long slow process. It doesn’t happen in weeks. 6 months or more for some birds.

Our wildlife facility, Wildlife Haven, is determined to educate the public through open house days as well as taking the ambassadors to the schools. Start young, teach the children to love and care for the welfare of animals. So every week on Friday they will have what is called a Raptor Rendezvous Day. It was fantastic to see so many people with children at the first event. They also sponsor Open Houses and try hard to let people know how much effort there is in caring for the wildlife patients. From 5 am to 7pm, songbirds are fed every half hour. They constantly need volunteers to do this. The middle of the summer is the most crucial time. Some volunteers are trained in ways to enrich the lives of the raptors that will spend all their lives in the centre. Eagles get bored, too!

So today they introduced three of the ambassadors that help educate the public on how to respect wildlife and what to do if they find an injured animal. They were a Swainsons’ Hawk, a Great Horned Owl, and a Great Gray Owl. The Great Grey Owl is the provincial bird of Manitoba.

This is Avro. He is a light morph Swainson’s Hawk. He was hit by a car. The accident caused him to be blind in his right eye. Losing that one eye meant that Avro is unable to hunt and provide for himself in the wild.

There are lots of Swainson’s Hawks that come to the southern part of our province to breed in the summer. They migrate to Argentina in the winter. Avro is 18 years old now.

Uma is a very small Great Horned Owl. Uma’s nest was in the yard of a family that watched. They noticed that Uma was much smaller than the other owlets and it appeared ‘different’ to the other siblings. It was determined that Uma was under developed due to a lack of food — just like Little Bit 17. Uma was also missing an eye and its beak was out of alignment. Uma would never be able to survive in the wild.

Great Horned Owls are very plentiful and they adapt to all manner of environments from the forests of northern Manitoba to the deserts of Southwest United States and beyond. They have excellent hearing – a kind of shallow disk or satellite-shaped face. The tufts on their heads are neither ears or horns. The ears are on the side of the head, like all raptors, and they are covered with feathers. The tufts are feathers. You can see that Una lost his right eye. He is fed rats every day. He can fly and has a enclosure that is large enough for him to do that. Owls hunt from dawn to dusk and mostly within an hour of each of those times of day. They will hunt during the day time to feed their young, if necessary.

You can see the misalignment of the beak in the image below. Imagine trying to tear into a squirrel with that beak.

This is Zoe with Una. She gave an amazing presentation and answered every question and more.

The last ambassador today was Ash the Great Gray Owl. Ash was orphaned and his rescuers took him home to live with them. As a result he imprinted on humans and not owls. This means that Ash believes she is human, not owl. Despite Ash being in excellent health he will never be able to live in the wild and know what it is like to fly free and hunt.

With its excellent hearing, a Great Gray Owl can detect a mouse under 60 cm or 2 feet of snow. Incredible. In the image below you can see the fur covered legs and talons that help the Great Gray in our cold winters.

It was a great afternoon and came on a day to really think about the important work that these people do.

What can you do? Well you can volunteer or you can donate. Want to do something else? Talk to people about caring for the wildlife on our planet. Let them understand how important it is to get them to care quickly if it is needed. Put on window strips to stop bird strike. Talk to people about putting poison on their lawns. Have that chat about fishing line with people you know and the need for lead free equipment. Take a shovel in your car. When you see road kill, pull over. Of course, be careful but move the road kill off the road and away from it. Vultures, hawks, eagles, and all manner of wildlife will find it and it will be cleared down to the bone within a few hours. Put out bird feeders and water…..lobby for protective wind turbine blades…the list is, sadly, endless. Educate yourself and talk to the experts at your local wildlife clinic.

Several of the streaming cams are set to go offline today. One of those is UFlorida-Gainesville. We will look forward to joining Mum and Dad in the new year! Big and Middle are doing exceptionally well.

Tomorrow is Canada Day. I will be posting a short blog in the morning. I hope that some news of Little Bit will be available. I will also try to check on other nests that we are watching closely including Osoyoos, Boathouse, and FortisExshaw that have wee ones in the nest.

Thank you for joining me. Thank you to everyone who cares for our much loved feather friends and to everyone who worked hard and believed that Little Bit 17 needed to be assessed. It is a bit world out there with many polarizing opinions and intervention is one of those. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to Dyfi and Kielder for their ringing updates on their blog that I included here today – and to Wildlife Haven for all they do.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

29 June 2022

Everyone that watches the ND-LEEF nest loves Little Bit 17. They also like 15 and 16. Everyone associated with the park where the nest is located is trying to deal with the situation of ND17 as they can. It is best to keep in mind that no one yet – as far as I can determine from the public correspondence on the chat and FB – who has the expertise to determine if 17 is alright has examined him. The operative word is examined – not observed. If I fell 60 feet and pretty much stayed in the same spot and hadn’t moved for 3 days and had not had a good meal for at least 4 days – well, I would hope that they would get medical help not just observe me to be healthy and say it is best to leave me alone.

That is the issue at hand. 17 has not moved from where he was Monday morning and he has not eaten for at least 4 full days. If he was vigorous and lively he would be all over the place not sitting in the same place. He cannot fly. 16 and 15 returned to the nest where the parents wanted them to be to be fed. That nest is falling apart and 17 cannot get up there. Will someone just step back and get a wildlife rehabber – a licensed one – or a volunteer of the rehabbers to pick up 17 and take him to a clinic to be x-rayed and assessed? He can be brought back if he is well. The parents will not abandon him. I pick up wildlife for a clinic and transport the birds (mostly ducks where I have to muck in a pond but often songbirds) to their site as they are busy treating other animals. All clinics have volunteers that do this and we/they are trained in taking great care in picking up and transporting the patients.

Enough. I wish the world was full of individuals like Dr Sharpe and his team at the Institute for Wildlife Studies. Gosh…I bet he would even do a phone consult!!!!!!!!!

The nest continues to deteriorate. Those parents will have it back up and in fine shape for next season once these season’s three have left the territory. It is surprising how fast a nest can be built! I was amazed at how quickly Richmond and Rosie rebuild their nest on the Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipping Yards even while the Crows kept taking the sticks that they would bring in. Eagles can do that too.

There are holes popping up on the nest everywhere! What is doing that?

I wonder what the ratio of female osprey chicks to male will be in the UK in 2022? They endeavour to get every osprey chick ringed. I am so impressed.

Foulshaw Moss released the information on the banding of the three chicks of White YW and Blue 35 in their blog this morning. One large female – 1.8 kg or 1800 grams (only 30 grams less than the largest ever female at Dyfi) and two males.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/news/over-100-osprey-chicks-have-been-tagged-cumbria-2001?fbclid=IwAR2iHrOucTYXV7P1O_1MTveU0uhQpmyn0nzMiWeXaAPINSSVGqJy0YRkC00

In the blog they mention the 100th chick ringed – that was Tiny Tot, Blue 463. So small that no one thought she would survive but with the great care by her Mum and the tricks she played to get Tiny fed (removing the fish on the nest, letting the big ones fall into food coma and returning it to feed Tiny Tot).

Blue 35 feeding Tiny Tot after the two big siblings are fed and going to sleep.

The three chicks on the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G were ringed today. Mrs G kept guard and she is still watching and waiting for every human to get far away from the nest. Here is the information from the individual that ringed the chicks:

Yesterday the three chicks of Idris and Telyn were ringed at the Dyfi Nest. There are three girls. Their names are after Welsh rivers and lakes. A vote was taken and it was agreed that the names should all use the same first letter. The letter ‘P’ was chosen to honour a long time Dyfi supporter, Posh Pete. The chicks are: Pedran (7B0), weight 1695g. Padarn (7B1), weight 1790g and. Paith (7B2), weight 1830g. Paith sets the record for weight at ringing on this nest but ironically she has the shortest wing span.

Chloe Baker put together this chart to compare.

It is really a good thing that Idris is a good fisher with three large girls to feed plus Telyn and himself!

‘H’ mentioned her frustration at trying to find information on the streaming cam sites. Many have nothing and the FB groups often do not have the history either. I have often addressed the need for an emergency phone number if something happens at the nest but few places will post phone numbers for fear of getting inundated with worrisome calls. Many of the nests are on sites where there is no continuity of staff. I have found, however, that the UK sites have excellent websites. Many – if not all of the nests – are associated with a nature centre that does have dedicated staff and volunteers who try to keep information up to date and accurate.

I want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the Dyfi Osprey Project – they have all kinds of information under the streaming camera plus a very informative website with a family tree that I have placed on my blog in the past. Here is that information under the streaming cam image:

Out of all that information I am particularly pleased to see Intruder no 7, Blue KCB. This is why information and ringing is important. You can track and establish a history of the birds and their success. Tegid is one of my third hatches of 2020. It was not his sibling that beaked and harassed him but an adult female, Blue 024, an intruder. No one thought he would make it. Well, he did return and this is his third year to have chicks. The fact that he had a chick in his first clutch return as a juvenile at 2 years is fantastic. There is something about this fighting to survive that makes these birds fierce. There is also good DNA. Tegid is Monty’s son and KCB is Monty’s grandson. The dynasty continues.

Do you watch the Theave Osprey nest in the UK? Those chicks were ringed and there is one female, one male, and the other can’t be determined. Nice healthy osplets.

Today is the anniversary of the Osoyoos Osprey nest sadness of 2021 when all chicks died due to the heat wave in the Pacific Northwest. The three this year are doing so well and Olsen has been bringing in some nice big fish. Please send positive blessings to this family that this continues.

It is blowing like crazy in Canmore, Alberta. I wish those three chicks would pancake in that nest but it seems they like it! Mom returns and broods them so all is going to be well.

A reminder now that outdoor picnics are around, parties, weddings, anniversaries and celebrations of all kinds – make the confetti out of leaves (seriously awesome) and leave the balloons out. The raptors will thank you.

Ferris Akel had Arthur and the three Ls on camera tonight and he had seen Big Red but could not get to her. Arthur caught a bird or birds and one of them was delivered to an L. The other two really would have loved that bird delivered to the coop.

Mantling to protect its prey. Look at the tail. How many dark bands can you count? That is a tail that is long enough to help this hawk fly very well, indeed.

Two cutie pies. Big Red and Arthur have the most gorgeous chicks.

The chicks went over to the Fernow railing and they are hunting.

It was a breezy cool day here in Manitoba. Today it was nearly a 5k walk around all the trails and a discovery of a very quiet duck and some growing ducklings.

I took the longer path around the entire nature area and found this beautiful male Blue-winged Teal in a very quiet pond hidden by lots of reeds. These ducks arrive in Manitoba in April and will be migrating south in October. They are here to breed and sadly, it was a bad year because of the flooding for the eggs of the ducks and geese. They eat pondweeds and aquatic invertebrates as well as grass seeds on the top of the water.

American White Pelicans were flying overhead.

The Canada geese and goslings were preening after a nice swim.

It was a lovely day. When I got home Mr Crow was waiting for his tea time snack. Looks like Tandoori Chicken was a big hit.

I see no word on the Pitkin Osplet that fell off with its sibling and was in guarded condition.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in with additions to the memorial list. Please, if you know of birds that are on streaming cams and have perished this year please let me know.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or web pages or FB groups where I took my screen captures: ND-LEEF, Chloe Baker, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Osoyoos Ospreys, Fortis ExShaw, and Ferris Akel Tours.

Late Monday and early Tuesday in Bird World

27 June 2022

Latest news on Little Bit 17: This was posted by park staff:

10:54am 17 has been spotted on a low branch in the vicinity of the nest tree. Appears vigorous and healthy. As soon as searchers spotted him, he raised his wings & hissed. Searchers immediately left. 5:38 PMLJ ​We are celebrating!🥳🥳🥳

I am going to toss my 25 cents worth in here. Eagles hiss and go into a protective posture when they are banded. They hiss to keep humans and other animals away. We can definitely celebrate that 17 survived the night. That is fantastic. Still, it remains that Little Bit 17 needs to be observed and/or taken into care by a qualified rehabber. Eagles never show fear or pain. Everyone is right to leave him be. Chasing him would could cause a fatality. In comparison to the RTH chick that was force fledged off the Eagle nest in Gabriola, it was able to climb back up to the nest. This morning 15 and 16 are on the nest, there is no room for Little Bit and there is no indication that he is able to ‘climb’ or scratch his way up to the nest. Someone needs to be at a distance observing closely his movements and if the parents feed him. And, yes, did I say it ten times? A wildlife rehabber needs to come in and do a thorough check. They are the only individuals that can expertly assess his needs.

I don’t know about anyone else but it sure is hard waiting until tomorrow morning to find out if Little Bit 17 survived the night. If you are coming in late or catching up reading the blogs, Little Bit fell off the ND-LEEF nest at 15:45:12. The circumstances are confusing. Suffice it to say that ND16 had returned to the nest today and it was crowded with all three birds. 16 had pecked Little Bit and, perhaps in reaction to that, Little Bit wanted away from 16 and well, he fell. Whether or not 16 helped with that fall off the nest will be debated for eons. What matters most is that staff from St Patrick’s County Park in South Bend, Indiana were there immediately giving updates. One wildlife rehabber has Covid (from Elkart) and the second was out of office on Monday. I understand they have been notified and will help tomorrow, if necessary. Since Little Bit 17 is on the ground under the nest tree there is some concern about predators such as coyotes. Many of us hope that there are volunteers watching through the night so no harm comes. It is unclear if Little Bit 17 has any injuries. Will the parents entice Little Bit with prey and get it to fly? Can Little Bit fly or are there wing issues? We simply have to wait and waiting is hard! Because of the deterioration of the nest, it would simply be unwise to place him back on the nest. It could completely collapse at any time. Thankfully both 15 and 16 are both flying reasonably well. So….until tomorrow!

There is another fledgling eagle being closely watched by Dr Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies. This is Sky at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Dr Sharpe said, ” I’m aware that Sky seems to have an issue breathing, but it is not feasible to capture a free-flying eagle in the terrain around the nest. The stress to the bird in association with chasing it around for hours could also be fatal.” 

Do you know much about the history of falconry? My friend Wicky sent me this article that showed up in The New York Times. It is quite an interesting read.

The two chicks of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 were ringed on the evening of 27 June. This was the announcement from LOTL:

Loch of the Lowes reports that the Blue Darvic rings are LP8 (oldest) and LR0 (youngest) on the lower left leg identifying them as being Scottish birds. They could not determine gender – said it was too close to call or either small females or large males.

Everyone had a large trout compliments of Laddie at 0530 Tuesday morning.

The three at the Foulshaw Moss nest in the Lake District (Cumbria) in the UK were ringed yesterday. The streaming cam was off for most of the day. Here is a photo of the trio with one of the three showing their bling. No other information. Mary says that they will release information at the end of the week. Blue Darvic Rings on the lower right hand to indicate an English bird. Scotland puts them on the lower left. Numbers are 479, 480, and 481.

The close of the day at the Mispillion Harbour Osprey nest was really soggy. Kids are sleeping adult style instead of duckling!

They are having a lovely Tuesday at the Mispillion Harbour nest – thank goodness. Gosh they were so soggy on Monday. Nice.

It looks like wind is hitting the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn during Tuesday afternoon. The weather radar indicates that more rain is coming but it might just clip the area of the nest. No word that any ringing was done today for the chicks here at Dyfi.

It is extremely windy at Glaslyn and from the drops on the camera it has either been raining or is continuing to be wet. How miserable for Mrs G and the kids. The strong winds and rain were supposed to be gone by 1500 by they certainly are not!

It is wet at Llyn Clywedog as well. Poor Seren and the triplets. Soaked to the bone.

It is blowing and roaring and wet at Llyn Brenig also. Both adults on the nest helping with the two osplets.

Poole Harbour seems to be the place for beautiful skies, calm winds and no rain. Both CJ7 and Blue 022 were on the nest with their two osplets this afternoon. That is certainly a deep nest. We have only been able to see the tops of their heads but look how big now. Wow. There is a lot of change between those wee little babes and a 27 and 25 day old osplet. These hatched on 1 and 3 June. the other egg was non-viable. Just lovely.

Yesterday I mentioned the idea of an intervention. The head of the Estonian Medical University’s Vet Clinic, Dr Madis V and Urmas, the main Ornithologist in Estonia, believed that there was a chance to save the lives of the three surviving storklets of Jan and Janika. They removed the three off the nest and took them to the veterinary clinic where they devised as best they could with the resources they had an environment where they would not imprint on humans. They would also hear the sounds of the forest and be fed in a way as if they were on the nest. The three storklets of Jan and Janika continue to do well in care.

Skipping across the pond to North America, the three osplets at the Hog Island nest of Dory and Skiff are doing fantastic. First time Mum has figured out feeding and the three had a great breakfast. Skiff had the fish on the perch and was eating the head – the portion eaten by the males before giving it to the females. This ensures that the male gets fed too! He has to be in good shape to fish. You will also see whole fish brought to the nest and sometimes they are still alive and cause mischief or serious mishaps.

The Boathouse kids did do some beaking this morning. This should go away. There is plenty of food! When small they are struggling keeping their heads up and their eyes focused. Of course, we all know that this seemingly innocent playing is also part of a dominance strategy and can, in extreme cases, lead to serious issues on the nest. We should keep an eye on this behaviour.

The two fledglings at Cal Falcons are incredible. They are doing the cutest things and often appear to be together. From chasing moths like Alden showed them to playing tag, they are learning what it is like off the nest. ‘B’ noted that the moth catching was a great way to improve eye-talon co-ordination and he is absolutely spot on! Who would have thought? Alden turns out to be an amazing role model including his loafing on the ledge.

And here is the loafing by Lindsay!

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. We will wait to see the status of Little Bit 17 and Sky. Waiting is very difficult – maybe weeding my garden will help! But there is also a garden announcement. We were happy to discover and observe Little Red in his new home and to see the two baby squirrels. Last evening Junior (you will remember that Junior came to the garden with his parents for several years but the parents did not return this spring) brought 3 fledgling little Blue Jays to the garden to feed. They were so well behaved waiting on the cable line til they were told to move.

I could not believe how well behaved they were.

You get whiffs of the peonies all over the garden. They are so lovely and were planted in 1902 when the old house on this property was here – along with the climbing roses. They have survived nicely, thankfully.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am elated that Little Bit 17 survived the night. He has no nest to go to. Did parents feed him? That would need to be directly observed. How are his movements? going from one spot to another? Needs an expert to really assess. I hope that he is 100%. We all do. It is so much better if the birds are raised by their parents when possible. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Arlene Beech, Explore.org and Audubon, Cal Falcons, Liz M and the EMU, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Late Sunday in Bird World

26 June 2022

There is not a lot of news in Bird World today. The rainy cold weather continues for our osprey families in the UK.

Normally ringing in the UK occurs between 35 and 42 days, not after. Fledge watch for these chicks will begin on day 52.

Blue NC0 desperately wanted to keep her chicks dry and they wished to be under Mum but…alas, the pair are just too big. They are 38 and 36 days old.

Thankfully the weather did let up towards the end of the day.

The wet cold windy weather continues at Loch Arkaig. Dorcha is desperately holding on and trying to brood her big chicks too.

Mrs G looks miserable at the Glaslyn nest.

Interesting that the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn seems to have escaped some of it. They will be ringed this week.

Everyone was preening their wet feathers at the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. The chicks are 35 days old. Ready for ringing.

The worst place in Wales had to be at the nest at Llyn Brenig. Mom LM6 is trying to keep them dry and there is dad LJ2 who has arrived with a fish.

It was blue sky for CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour. Just look at him – he is three years old and is a first time dad. What a great family these two are to kick off the dynasty that will grow in the area!

Maya is a proud Mama. Just look at her and those three big healthy girls! My goodness. We wondered if they would survive the flapping fish but they did and wow. They are 48 days old. Can you believe it but in four days we will be on fledge watch for these big gals.

The two osplets at the Boathouse on Hog Island are growing! Looks like Dory has been better at the feeding and Skiff is getting the fish on the nest. Cute. They are so tiny. They have a long ways to go to be ready for migration.

Just look at the size of the fish that landed on the Mispillion Harbour Osprey platform! That should fill up those two and keep them from fighting! Thanks to Eagle Eyes ‘H’ it appears that bottle in the plastic bag turned out to be a vodka bottle. ‘H’ has watched the chicks use it for a pillow – she says, ‘Who knew a Vodka Bottle could be a pillow?!’ I am just glad that it is not a mesh bag or wire!

I received a nice letter from ‘C’. If I ever implied that an Osprey should go to battle with an eagle of any kind – I did not mean to. I have wondered what would have happened at the Cowlitz PUD nest if the egg cup had been deeper and if Mum could have pancaked along with the three chicks. But, no – not to fight with it. The talons of Ospreys are for carrying fish – not fighting. Because of this their nests with those lovely chicks become prey. I could not find anyone who had seen an Eagle attack an osprey nest and the adult stayed but I did wonder. As ‘C’ says, ‘Ospreys are peaceful in relation to an eagle or an owl.’ Indeed! Ospreys do not attack other raptor’s nests either. They are very gentle birds except with one another! Thanks, ‘C’!

At the UFlorida-Gainesville Nest, Big and Middle are pretty much matched. Middle gets the fish and in the end Big takes it away. They are both healthy! I caught Big with ‘snake eyes’ this morning.

My last nest is that of Little Bit 17. I went to count goslings and ducklings today and kept my fingers crossed that there would be no bad weather and the nest would be in tact. It is – and there should not be any rain or anything else until Friday. Little Bit was resting in the sun when I got home.

I am sad to announce that there were fewer goslings and ducklings north of where I live. The locals told me that the geese and ducks were there and had their nests and the two Colorado Lows came through and they all abandoned the nests and flew further north. Wow. I don’t blame them.

Two geese had a gosling each.
Killdeer

Thank you for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ND, LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LOTL and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Explore.org and Audubon.

Sunday Morning in Bird World

26 June 2022

There was a lot of excitement in Bird World with the fledge (forced) of the Red-tail Hawklet at 06:17:44 from the Bald Eagle nest in British Columbia on 25 June. All day long the team at GROWLS, Christian Sasse, and David Hancock waited and watched. Twelve hours later, they were all extremely worried. Flying takes a lot of energy and every fledgling should return to the home nest before the sun sets. That way they can rest and be fed. We have had some worries in the past – Sentry at the Redding nest was gone for 4 days, I believe. Some fledglings never return like Kisatchie at the KNF nest near Alexandria, Louisiana. It isn’t always bad but…Eagles are taught how to hunt by their parents. They get their flying skills down by working on those wings and flying about returning to the nest for food. But 12 hours later, almost to the second, Malala returned to the Bald Eagles nest. It was nothing short of fantastic.

A forced fledge is when a nestling flies from the nest but did not intend to do so. Malala was frightened by the arrival of the adult with the prey and bolted. She/he is home and safe now.

At the ND-LEEF nest we are all holding our breath. Every day that the nest holds together is good for ND-17. He is old enough but it would be far better if his tail grew in a bit more and well 7 to 8 days longer on the nest would be beneficial. But, Little Bit 17 might have a forced fledge if that nest gives way. Then where does he return to rest? On a branch? to be fed? This is a very tricky situation.

Adult feeds Little Bit and then will eat the remaining squirrel pelt much to Little Bit’s surprise.

Little Bit 17 has a nice big crop. This is very good. If something should happen to this nest tomorrow, he had a really good feed that will hold him til everyone figures out how to handle the situation.

If it were my nest, I would be on the phone to Ron Magill at the Miami Zoo and the WRDC nest – and that other nest that fell with the eaglets in it – and find out how to get a large basket nest up there asap. Fill it with nest material and maybe, just maybe the adults would use it to feed Little Bit.

Little Bit on the crumbling nest alone. The rim is really falling off on the right, more and more causing the nest to appear to be tilting. Is it? I don’t know.

Keep this nest in your thoughts and send all the positive energy you can this way. We know the nest is going to completely collapse and the adults will rebuilt but, please just let it wait another week – or until 17 fledges on its own.

Each extra day we get is truly a blessing for Little Bit.

As of Sunday morning the nest is holding. At least one fish, a Blue Gill, has been delivered by Mum. Little Bit got the fish. 15 jumped down but the nest is so narrow that he cannot get passed 17 if he is mantling. This could get really dicey. There is not much room and they could both go tumbling over.

The two long-since-fledged Ospreys at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest are still having quite the dust ups over fish. Middle initially gets the fish but Big will take it at the rim of the nest. What a pair!

Ferris Akel usually ends his Saturday tour at the Cornell Campus. He will go through Montezuma, Wildlife Drive, and then to Sapsucker Woods (and sometimes other areas) before reaching Ithaca. Tonight he found a lovely Barred Owl and Great Blue Heron before reaching the hawks.

What a beauty. Great Blue Herons fascinate me by the way they quietly walk through the shallow water of wetlands or little streams and rivers and silently catch their fish. Beautiful birds that build their nests in the tops of trees. In the summer, many migrate to Manitoba and last year there was even a visit from a rare to us Green Heron.

I am used to looking at the feet and talons of raptors that I found it fascinating when Ferris focused on those of the Great Blue Heron.

Ferris was able to find both Big Red and Arthur and the three chicks. The fourth, L3 is in care for a fractured shoulder. She is expected to have a full recovery in 6-8 weeks and will be trained in flying and hunting skills before letting her into the wild.

At one time both Big Red and Arthur were on the light stands keeping their hawk eyes on the Ls.

L4 is quite the character. He is watching Arthur and when he sees him move he immediately takes off and flies to the nest. Ferris caught a glimpse of Arthur doing a prey drop but he thought it was on top of the Emerson Building not the nest.

L4 watching.

Positioning himself to take off.

Up and away. According to those on the ground, L4 is quite the little flier. That is always good news.

A strange Black Stork flew past the nest of Karl II and Kaia. The storklets watched it go past and were frightened. I wonder who it was?

The four storklets of Bukacek and Betty at Mlade Buky are growing and growing and growing. The nest also has to deal with intruders. In one instance, Betty and Bukacek are on the nest and the storklets are pancaked.

Everything is fine on the nest. Just look at the size of the eldest compared to Dad! These storklets are very healthy.

Betty and Dad are both on the nest making sure nothing happens to the storklets. When I see this I think of the Cowlitz PUD Osprey nest and wonder if both adults were on the nest protecting the chicks would the outcome have been different?

Eating some fish later.

Louis says “If Idris can do it, so can I!” And with that he landed a monstrous fish on the Loch Arkaig nest for Dorcha and the chicks. Just look at those legs – my goodness these Osprey leg muscles must be strong.

Louis removed the remainder of this fish – the last for the day and brought it in a little after 0400 for breakfast. How do you tell a fresh fish from one stored in the pantry? The fresh fish is flexible and bends; the stored one is stiff.

Today we got a good look at CJ7’s and Blue 022’s chicks. They are large enough that their heads are now higher than the nest!

Windy with some wet on the Loch of the Lowes nest of Laddie and Blue NC0. Chicks hunkered down.

It’s windy in Wales, too. The babies are tucked into the side of Telyn keeping their heads warm. I understand that the two days for ringing that are preferred are Tuesday or Thursday for the Dyfi chicks. The key in the UK is to try and get all of the chicks – every one of them – ringed. What a huge effort this is. Lovely.

It looks like Blue 33 and Maya are trying to see if any of their girls can break into that Mullet! Lessons in self-feeding.

All the rain in Wales makes it really beautiful – like here! Dylan and Seren have had to contend with intruders again today!

Mrs G and the trio are in utter misery with the cold and rain in the Glaslyn Valley today. It has been two days of damp for them – last year this type of weather happened when Aran was injured. The combination of the injury and weather and no food killed the three wee ones. So glad these three are older.

I want to share with you a wonderful story that happened precisely a decade ago when the highest waters and a huge storm hit Wales. It is from the Dyfi nest and the adults at the time were Monty and Nora. It is a tale of a rescue and a chick – of why interventions help and why ringing is important.

https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/perfect-storm?fbclid=IwAR04gEdOvzC-8DHSssMzNJd7-Q0EXpyvWa-ivXxTUpw_xCTR3_uh6eYhL6c

Ceulan was such a remarkable bird that I would also like to post the last two blogs about him.

https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/ceulan-back-dead

And this one:

https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/ceulan-life-remember

Please continue to send positive wishes for Little Bit 17 that the nest will continue to hold. We take it a day at a time. Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, FB pages, and/or blogs where I took my screen captures or shared their stories: Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, LRWT, Poole Harbour Ospreys, ND-LEEF, Mlade Buky White Storks, and the EMU.

Late Saturday in Bird World

25 June

Hi Everyone. Just a quick check on some of our favourite birds for this late lazy Saturday in June.

Wow. Lindsay is one gorgeous peregrine falcon! Have a read:

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/06/22/uc-berkeley-falcons-fly?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_Berkeleyside&fbclid=IwAR135T5s_P5RpSCzOtAtDjst7vZ1bTgP6JaM9yD7kPMhOYEoOZN8deWtINw

There are some beautiful birds coming out of San Francisco and Rosie and Richmond have two of them. Brooks and Molate.

Oh, stunning. They remind me of Idris and Telyn’s chicks of 2021 – Dysynni and Ystwyth.

I once asked Tiger Mozone about the qualities of a good Osprey. He asked me if I knew about racing horses. Of course! So the answer to the question is that it isn’t ‘looks’ – it is performance. How many of their osprey chicks survive? fledge? return? breed? That is the measure of a good Osprey parent. So see if you can find a history of your favourite Osprey and look at their ‘track record’.

Here is the one for the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales.

One of the reasons that Monty is such a ‘Kingpin’ in the Welsh Osprey history – if you look at the family tree above – is that he had three different mates and in 8 years he fathered 8 returnees. Many of those have made Monty a grandfather. My favourite is Tegid Z1. You won’t see him on a streaming cam – on private land in Wales but his brother Z2 Aeron causes all that mischief with Mrs G. Z2 is at the Pont Cresor and this is his second year to raised chicks. As a female, Telyn who is now mated with Idris after Monty died has had 4 of her chicks return. You can only find out this kind of information if you ring the ospreys! They will be at the Dyfi Nest this week! We will find out the gender and names at the same time. Fantastic.

You can increase the size of the graph by going under View on your computer and zooming ‘in’.

I have to look up Blue 33 and Maya. They have done better than Monty, I think. There are gaps in the information. For example, there are no returnees listed for 2021 on the family tree. Perhaps there were none.

Malala fledged this morning, the little Red-tail Hawk brought in for dinner and raised by Bald Eagles on Gabriola Island, British Columbia. The time was 06:17:30. She flew by at 06:17:44. The video is quick. I hope they raised enough funds for a much better camera!!!!!

The adult arrives on the nest with breakfast and Malala takes that opportunity to fly off the nest. Perfect! Congratulations everyone!

My focus today has been on the ND-LEEF nest. It deteriorates by the minute – little pieces fall off here and there. It was therefore quite shocking to see an adult land with a squirrel and then have 15 fly in and Little Bit there trying to eat. Little Bit began to slide. Oh, I hope this nest survives a few more days.

Little Bit is eating it. The parent did not stay on the nest very long.

Hang on Little Bit 17!!!!!!!!!

Here is a video from today on that nest when breakfast arrives.

It is a warm steamy night on the Canadian Prairies. More rain. It is absolutely impossible to keep up with any weeding. The vines that grow and shelter the birds in the heat have doubled in size this month. It is crazy.

I do have some news to share with you. It appears that Little Red is father to a couple of new little ones. We have located his ‘new digs’ and have been entertained by the two babies. So cute. My goodness can they balance. I have not seen them anywhere but the tree nest and the wires.

It is hard to understand their size but they are very, very tiny. These images are blown up quite a bit. They chase one another back and forth on the wires! Their colouring is so beautiful. Little Red’s bright red colouring has faded a bit over the years. We sure hope they stay safe up there.

Thank you so much for joining me for this quick peek at a couple of the nests. I know that some of you watch Lady and Dad at the WBSE nest. It takes 42 days for the eggs to hatch (normally) and they were laid on June 8 and 12. So egg 1 is now 17 days and egg 2 is 13 days. There is a ways to go yet.

Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or websites where I took my screen captures: Dyfi Osprey Project, the ND-LEEF, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, GROWLS, and Cal Falcons.

Saturday Morning in Bird World

25 June 2022

You will almost always hear that ‘the parents know where the fledgling is’. Certainly the eye sight of the raptors is acute. I remember someone saying at one of the Cal Falcons Q & A sessions that Annie might have actually ‘seen’ Grinnell get hit by the car. Tonight, the question on everyone’s mind is: do the Bald Eagle adults at the ND-LEEF nest know where ND16 is?

It is good to remember just why the term ‘eagle eyed’ came about and how the adults might be able to see 16 at a distance.

https://www.allaboutvision.com/resources/eagle-vision/

Mum landed on the nest tonight with a really nice sized fish. Little Bit was ready to chow down and then ND15 arrived. Mum hesitated. When 15 took the fish, she flew over Little Bit almost knocking it off the nest to land on the other side. ND15 really enjoyed the fish. Little Bit tried to steal and got a bite or two but appeared to understand fully the limitations of the space and did not push it. Of course, Little Bit 17 is hoping that 15 will leave something!!!!!!! Mum returned to the nest. They are really trying to lure 16 back to the nest with fish. That branch breaking would have been traumatic and extremely frightening. Is ND16 really close by?

Mum lands with that nice fish. Little Bit is right there at its head. Then 15 jumps down from the branch it is perching on. Rats!

Little Bit continues to smell and pick a bit at the fish but Mum is waiting. She wants 16 to show up at the nest. Surely fish would do that!

ND15 comes closer and thinks that it wants that fish – s/he didn’t eat that much in the morning.

Mum practically rips Little Bit off the nest when she flies to the other side. 15 is mantling the fish and Little Bit is right on the spot where the nest is breaking off some more. Lump in throat. Holding my breath. I think it had to be when the Mispillion Osprey Nest mum pulled her two chicks off the nest unknowingly when she flew off after an intruder that caused me to really worry for Little Bit at that moment.

That is really a nice fish. 15 is enjoying it and Little Bit is watching.

The problem with the nest is that it is so narrow that Little Bit can’t do any fancy ‘snatch and grab’ manoeuvres or he might fall off.

Oh, but Little Bit wants some of that fish. Just look. He is trying to go under 15.

Ah, look. Little Bit got himself a small bite and pulled back.

Mum is looking. I really do hope that the parents know where 16 is. If you watched the Redding Eagle nest this season, you will know that Sentry fledged first and wasn’t seen for four days (I think that is correct) and then he was back at the nest with everyone.

Is 15 finished eating the fish? Little Bit is keeping a close eye.

Little Bit moves in.

Little Bit is mantling at 19:49:56. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it is when a raptor spreads its wings out full dipping slightly downward to hide what prey item they have. It helps them protect their food from snatch and grabs. They are also saying, “This is mine! Stay away!” Of course, it doesn’t always work. I am sure glad Little Bit got some fish even if it was the tail.

Little Bit is all finished!

I wonder if there will be more prey deliveries tonight? Will the parents have a fish and fly around the area trying to get 16 to fly out and follow them? Is 16 a wee bit lost? Unfortunately, we do not know the answers to those questions. Fingers crossed 16 is back tomorrow! But, I really do not want to see Mum and the three kids at once. Just imagine.

Dad delivered ‘something’ to the ND-LEEF nest at 09:28. Little Bit was hungry and immediately went to grab it.

There are reports that 16 was seen doing a fly by. Watchers report that twigs from higher up have fallen on the nest breaking off small parts. The nest is certainly very precarious. I know that Lindsay Grossman and others are alert to this fact. The nice thing is that Little Bit’s tail feathers are growing longer! You can see from the image above.

It is beautiful at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta and Kana’kini, Sky, and Ahote but no one is home. :(((((

Everything you might want to know and some things you didn’t know you wanted to know in Rutland’s newsletter about the ringing of Blue 33 and Maya’s three chicks at the Manton Bay nest.

https://www.lrwt.org.uk/blog/guest-blog/ringing-manton-bay-chicks?fbclid=IwAR1yFS88wQov1sVZicXFG2fwFOXyVagOpmcxLlf2_DwmZf4PNOAdOAQS7aI

Takoda knows where the nest is and where the food comes in. He is perched up on a branch ready to leap down during the day and is sleeping nearly in the same spot during the night. Wish I could put this lovely strong nest at the National Arboretum under Little Bit for awhile – or fly in one of Ron Magill’s chair nests until Little Bit fledges.

Dorcha and the chicks are waking up. It is 04:28 am on the Loch Arkaig nest and the sun has been up for a bit. Louis will soon be bringing in breakfast.

You can now see that the two chicks are too big for Dorcha to brood.

Then it started raining. No breakfast fish yet. Dorcha has everyone under cover.

Rain does not deter Louis from fishing or flying for his family. He delivers a nice sized fish even though big drops are falling. Dorcha is delighted.

Everyone dried off in a couple of hours. Louis arrives at the nest at 07:15 to check on things. He will return with another big fish at 11:32:24.

Just look at the size of those two Bobs! Incredible!

It started off as a rainy day at Loch of the Lowes, too. Laddie had a fish on the nest and Blue NC0 has been doing some supplemental fishing when intruders are in the area. Today Laddie has delivered four fish – not all whoppers but 4 in total.

No wonder Telyn is sleeping on the Dyfi Osprey nest’s perch! The three Bobs are taking up the entire nest! Ringing this week – and names. Can’t wait. No problems at this nest – not one other than room. 🙂

No problems with Aran’s deliveries at the Glaslyn nest for Mrs G and the triplets. For those of you that are just starting to watch this nest in Wales, Mrs G is the oldest Osprey in the UK at approximately 22-23 this year. Iris in the US is 29 this year.

It’s now 19:41 and Dylan has brought in what is most likely the last fish for the day to the Llyn Clywedog nest in Wales. Everyone home. No problem with the Goshawk that I am aware of late in the day.

Wing flapping is the order of the day at the Manton Bay nest with its three big healthy girls.

Three little Bobs under Dory at the Boathouse Osprey nest on Hog Island, Maine.

Yesterday, ‘H’ reports that there were 9 fish delivered to the Mispillion nest – a combination of both Dad and Mum fishing with some small ones. That seems to be quite a bit of fish but perhaps not if they were so small.

This morning the two were sharing a lovely fish – being fed by Mum.

All three become distracted by an intruder. The bird on the left the largest was still eating and the one on the right had finished.

All of a sudden the osplet on the left attacks the one on the right. It appears that the one on the right looked it ‘directly in the eye’.

It is the osplet on the right that is going to finish this fight. How dare the other one attack it?! Dominance issues for sure. They are pretty equal.

‘H’ sent me the image below. Thanks H! It is pretty frightening when you see two osplets on top of a very high nest fighting.

It’s 11:08 and both have settled down. It looks really hot on the nest today. That could have set off the beaking. If you are wondering, — yes, one or both could go over the edge of the nest in this type of tumble. At the Port Lincoln Osprey nest, one chick was thrown off at the nest by the eldest at 66 days several years ago.

One of the intruders that attacked the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey nest in Lewes, Delaware several weeks ago was back on the platform nest ironically watching for intruders this morning. I wonder if it is Mum that is coming around? She lost her mate, her three chicks, and her nest to this bird.

Electra was working on her nest at the Cowlitz PUD this morning. That just rips at your heart. Three beautiful babies this year all carried off by an eagle. Can’t imagine it.

I have not seen any updates for the Pitkin County osplet that was in guarded condition yesterday after being pulled off the nest when the female got her talon caught in fishing line. One of the chicks perished in the fall.

This is a brief look at what is going on in Bird World. I am keeping a close eye on the ND-LEEF nest. Little Bit 17 needs at least another week before fledging. Is that nest going to hold?

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Pitkin County Ospreys, Cowlitz PUD, Cape Henlopen State Park Ospreys, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Explore.org and Audubon, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bwywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code and the Woodland Trust, CarnyXWild, ND-LEEF, LRWT, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and the NADC-AEF.