I want to thank everyone who wrote, yelled, hollered, screamed, prayed and continued to tell the folks at St Patrick’s County Park that he needed to be in care. Your fight for him made the difference in his life or death.
Please read the information from the wildlife rehabber carefully and be grateful that they were ‘finally’ called as Little Bit would have been dead if he had been left in the bushes much longer. He was not being fed and he could not fly!
Please thank the Humane Wildlife Clinic for all they are doing for Little Bit 17. Go to their FB page or send them an e-mail at druiz2humaneindiana.org
Warrior has been sitting up in the nest tree since he flew up there yesterday. At 0530, Warrior flew/fell out of the top of the nest. DHEC cut it on camera and posted a video.
A fish was left on the nest by the parents and then an adult came with another fish this morning at 10:04. They are trying to see if the fledglings will return to the nest to eat. Hopefully they can lure them back to the nest to eat! Or will they feed them elsewhere? Lots to learn before they are ready to be their own independent selves.
Things continue to go well for Middle at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest. Dad made a delivery at 08:56. ‘R’ sent me a note about the intruder on the nest at the same time. I had missed it and the fact that there were a few swipes between Big and Middle over the fish. Thanks so much, ‘R’. (I really do hate the rewind on this camera).
Notice the adult on the far left – this appears to be an intruder who wants that fish!
Middle wanted that fish, too. In the end, Big got it but not without the two locking talons. Middle continues to ‘sniff around’ knowing that Big should get tired of working on that fish but will she? Middle wants some fish and he is getting much more confident despite Big’s little pecks!
At 0859 Middle is looking and wanting that fish intently.
Have you noticed how loud Middle’s fish calling is? She is really screaming at Big wanting that fish and staring.
At 0902, Middle gets the fish. Big is finished. It is a nice sized piece of fish with that beautiful tail. Middle will make quick work of this!
Middle cleans his beak at 1042. The fish is all gone. He joins Big Sis on the side of the nest.
Will the luck hold for little ND17 today? So tiny this one. At the ND-LEEF nest Big hatched on 31 March, Middle on 1 April eighteen hours after Big, and Little 17 hatched on the 5 April — a full six days younger than Big. As it turns out, the older siblings are hungry but they are also more interested in flapping their wings.
A parent is on the nest opening up one of the turtles at 0719. One of the big siblings has a fish. I could not see Little Bit 17.
By 0740 Little Bit 17 has that big hunk of fish. The older siblings cannot be bothered doing the work to eat it. This is going to be the lucky break we have been looking for at this nest. The older ones are peaking in terms of growth and Middle, being hungry, has the drive to get in there and find the food. The tail extends out 17’s right side so it is a nice piece of fish.
At 0757 Little Bit 17 has the fish on the other side of the nest. The two older siblings are watching but doing nothing. They are ‘not bothered’ with 17 eating. Isn’t that wonderful?
At 0812, Little Bit 17 has eaten that entire piece of fish and has another enormous crop!!!!!!!!! So happy. Three days in a row now 17 has had food. I hope there is another fish or two later but, for now, all is well.
Alden is continuing to surprise people with the variety of prey he provides to Annie and the chicks. This morning it was a Tern for breakfast. We have Common Terns here during breeding season. They do not scavenge for its meals like gulls do but, rather, catches fish.
The chicks are so cute….
The osplets are starting to hatch in the UK. We already have the three at Manton Bay’s platform of Blue 33 and Maya (much older now) and the two hatches at Loch of the Lowes with Laddie and Blue NC0.
Laddie and NC0’s two Bobs. 22 May 2022
There are now two at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35. Today, Dylan and Seren at the Llyn Clywedog nest welcomed their first hatch at 0612. Ten hours later they welcomed their second hatch!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations.
Beautiful Seren looking a little damp. I sure how this spring warms up for all of the birds and isn’t wet and cold like last year.
Wee one had a bit of a feed!
Seren feeding her first hatch of 2022.
We will be looking for hatch watches for the following nests on – Dfyi nest of Idris and Telyn on 23 May (tomorrow), Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G on the 26th of May, and Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig on 31 April.
Yesterday marked the anniversary of Aran’s injury in the Glaslyn Valley. He returned to the nest without a fish for the first time. Here is Aran a year later – healthy and strong – taking good care of Mrs G and himself. This would not have been possible without the intervention of the people of Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife. Do you know the story?
Handsone Aran. 21 May 2022
It was one of the worst springs – wet, cold, and windy. There had been big storms. Aran got into a ‘battle of sorts’ with another bird. Many of us believe that it was Aeron Z2 as they were later seen fighting over the river. Aran had a wing injury that did not allow him to fish for his family. The chicks hatched during the storm. No food. Meanwhile the people of Glaslyn are working hard to find a way to construct a fish table for the family so that they will survive. People are catching fish for them. It took a couple of days – too late for the wee babes but it saved Aran and Mrs G. A year later we are still thanking those lovely people for saving these two amazing Ospreys. What did we learn? Fish tables work. The Ospreys will eat recently dead fish. (They will not eat frozen fish). Bravo to everyone! This is the positive type of intervention that needs to happen at other platforms and nests. We may – with warming waters and higher temperatures – need to construct fish tanks for the fish eating raptors. We may need to stock ponds for them. After all, we took their habitat, heated the planet — shouldn’t we help?
Urmas and Gunnar have ringed the Golden Eagle chick in the Estonian nest. The chick weighed 2.3 kg and was 17 cm tall. They found the younger chick’s body in the moss in the underside of the nest. Golden Eagle nests are notorious for having only one chick survive. Urmas said that this eaglet is nice and fat. There is no food waste in the nest – everything is eaten (but not the younger chick – it was buried in the nest). They are hopeful this lovely little one will fledge!
It is the first day in some time that I have seen a blue sky and trees with green leaves on them. We were told the flood waters are receding but, in fact, they are now. We are now being told parts of our City could flood despite having a flood way. I am not worried where I live but it continues to be worrisome for the wildlife. A few goslings are being seen but there will not be many this year with nests full of eggs being flooded. The Baltimore Orioles are out and I am hoping to go for a long walk today to see if I can catch a few migrants passing through.
A reminder today to please cut any plastic drinks rings – and the small plastic tabs that seal bread. Birds can get in terrible trouble because of these things – and our masks – that seem to be just tossed anywhere. Gosh, the planet is not a garbage can! This incident comes from our most western province but it is an issue everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The nests are doing well. I haven’t seen any postings of footage from the banding at Two Harbours yet.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for being with me. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: DHEC, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cal Falcons, CarnyX Wild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Wildlife Rescue Association of BC, Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
It has been a long wait since TH1 grabbed onto Cholyn’s talons on Monday afternoon at the Two Harbours nest. Cholyn flew off and the baby fell from her talons – luckily landing on a tiny ledge about 10 feet below the nest. It was the middle of the afternoon. That little eaglet held on until the rescue team could reach it!
At 10:46 Pacific Time, Dr Sharpe and his two member team prepared to lower Dr Sharpe to retrieve the eaglet. Here are the images from the rescue.
The team prepares to lower Dr Sharpe with a carrier to retrieve the eaglet. Notice the condition of the railings on the nest pre-rescue.
Dr Sharpe descends to remove the tiny eaglet from the cliff edge. You can see the small grey ball above the letter ‘W’ in Wildlife below.
Dr Sharpe goes below the eaglet with the carrier bag.
Dr Sharpe gently removes the little one from the cliff. He will place it in the carrier bag he has over his shoulder.
The precious cargo is lifted back up to the top of the cliff.
The team have brought up twigs to create railings on the Two Harbours nest.
Dr Sharpe is cradling the eaglet in his left arm.
TH1 is home!!!!!!!
People and news stations from around the world were watching this rescue. In less than two weeks, Dr Sharpe has rescued two eaglets this season – one of Thunder and Akecheta’s eaglets fell out of the nest and now Chase and Cholyn’s baby. The world needed a happy ending and we need a hero and Dr Sharpe you and your team are it!
TH1 you are now an international celebrity!
When you consider making donations, think about the Institute for Wildlife Studies and others who actively assist and rescue these amazing raptors when others turn a blind eye.
Thank you to Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
As Ospreys return and eggs are laid in the UK and northern areas of the US, it is time to stop for a second and congratulate Andy and Lena, Lori Covert, and the team at Window on Wildlife for a very successful year at the Captiva Osprey Nest.
Lena and Andy incubated three eggs. The hope was that the Crows would not predate them. All hatched. Big Bob hatched at 21:24 on 16 Feb while Middle Bob came along about five hours later at 02:02 on the 17th. Little Bob joined the pair on the 19th at 16:29. Sadly and without any notice, Big Bob died on the morning of 15 March; he was 27 days old. Middle and Little Bob (affectionately known as Mini) have thrived. Today, Middle is 50 days old and Little is 48. The average nesting period of Western Ospreys is 50-55 days. We are now approaching fledge at Captiva. After fledge, the fledglings return to the nest to be fed and to work on their flying before leaving the parent’s territory.
Here is an assortment of images of Lena and her babies from 08 April 2022. There is still lots of fish arriving on the nest. It seems Lena is always feeding the chicks.
Lena is a very devoted mother.
Little Bob still loves to look over the side of the nest!
Food coma.
Seriously look at how big Little Bob is standing up so straight.
Soon Lena will be able to rest her vocal cords! Here she is reminding Andy that the kids would like to have a fish before bed – and so would she!
What a gorgeous image as the sun sets and sends that beautiful rose-gold tint over Lena and the babies.
Lori Covert is an excellent steward or custodian for the wildlife that have their nests on her property. Last year, Connie and Clive lost their two eaglets, Hope and Peace, to rodenticide poisoning. In that same year, fishing line was noticed on the nest and Lori promptly had CROW out to remove it. This year fishing line was noticed on the Captiva Osprey nest. Lori and Window on Wildlife posted the following on the information below the streaming cam:
3/28 Update: There seems to be a bit of fishing line in the nest. If it is causing significant issues, and we can document it, we will ask permission to retrieve it. The line seems to be embedded in the nest and would be a major operation to remove without damaging the nest or putting the chicks in danger. Will monitor it very closely. If it becomes an immediate danger, we can act within hours, as we have a ladder on site ready to go.
There is still time to enjoy watching these two Ospreys. What a great vantage point to see them begin to hover and fly! If you have never ever seen an Osprey hover, you are in for a real treat. Little helicopters. Here is a link to the streaming cam:
I want to thank Lori Covert and Window on Wildlife for their love and care of this wonderful Osprey family. The mods on the chat have been excellent and information has been passed on to those watching as it becomes available. Window on Wildlife also had a streaming discussion session after Big died. It was awesome. The Captiva Osprey Nest has and will continue to be a joyful nest to watch for the rest of the season! Check it out.
Thank you for joining me today. It is always such a treat to talk about a successful nest. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Update on Karl II: Karl II is on the nest in Estonia. The camera should be operational shortly. Relief.
Thank you to Lori Covert and Window on Wildlife for the streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
It is a great morning – feedings at Dale Hollow, Ervie at the barge, and the romance continues at The Campanile.
The morning started out with real positive energy in terms of an intervention to get the monofilament line off of DH 15 Little Middle and remove any other line off the Dale Hollow Nest. Approval has come down from the top permit officer so we wait to see if the local officer will assist. Jessica Halls and her team from the AEF are prepared to leave and help the eaglet. We do not know what the tree is like – that is the one very unknown in all of this. But however this turns out, it was a real ray of sunshine to connect with the people who love eagles and move into action when there is a problem.
If you missed the earlier posting with the letters from Ron MacGill who helped get me in touch with the USFWS head permit provider, they are here:
The adults at the Dale Hollow nest have not fed Little Middle since 2 April. Big continues to intimidate – more than twice this morning at 10:17:29 (just got up close and LM went into submission) and wings out at 12:04:20 and again at 12:05:44. There is plenty of fish on the nest – 2 have been delivered.
This morning, very hungry, Little Middle self-fed and in the second video stands on the fish and pulls and tugs developing good neck muscles. This eaglet is a survivor. I sure hope it gets the chance out in the wild.
Really proud of how well Little Middle is feeding itself. At one point the crop was full but, because he had not eaten for so long, he dropped that food rather quickly.
River has not fed Little Middle any of the fish this morning. Big is always threatening.
Big is full. At 12:23:53 Little Middle begins to move over to the piece of fish left to self feed.
As I write this, Little Middle is self-feeding. Hunger and the will to survive are driving this wonderful little eaglet. These are great skills for the wild.
An adult returned to the nest and Little Middle moved and then began to go around the rim to be fed.
Little Middle was being fed and then…Big noticed.
At 12:33, the adult is feeding Big. There is plenty of fish. Stay up there Little til Big leaves. That is all you have to do!
Big’s crop is big enough to pop.
In another golden moment, the adult got between the two eaglets and is turned and feeding Little Middle. If the adult will stay there, Little Middle will really be able to have a good feed. There is plenty of fish.
An adult brought in more fish at 12:48:54. There has been lots of fish on the nest. I wonder if the weekend leisure boat traffic, etc. in any way impacts the fishing for the eagles?
I cannot promise you that the rescue and intervention will happen. What I can say is that the removal of the fishing line is in the hands of the USFWS and the AEF. If it is possible, I believe we will have a good resolution. It clearly depends on many factors including the tree the nest is in. I have not been able to get a proper height for it other than very, very, very tall.
There is also good news coming out of The Campanile and the Cal Falcons. Annie’s ‘new man’ – please give him a great name Cal Falcons – brought her a large prey item which she accepted last night. Despite his lame foot, this fellow is a good hunter and provider. Annie how lucky!
The two changed incubation duties just a few minutes ago! Courting ritual in scrape. Seriously, can there be a better written romance?
And in the midst of everything, Ervie was at the Port Lincoln Barge begging Mum for a fish! I want to thank ‘A’ from Japan for alerting me to his presence. The Port Lincoln Osprey folks did a close up of Ervie’s foot so that they can see how that talon is growing. It is growing in slow.
You might be able to rewind to the times above and get to see Ervie! Here is the link, Ervie is still on the barge!
As I mentioned yesterday, Dale Hollow can be mentally exhausting. The intervention and removal of the line is in the hands of those who have the opportunity to help. I am going out for a long walk in the forest because waiting and watching is agonizing.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.
I want to thank everyone who sent notes and who contacted folks in Tennessee around the Dale Hollow area. When I came home from my appointment, it was late but I realized that the issue is knowing who to call. Many of us live in various parts of the world. We know who helps there. But not in Tennessee. As I sat and pondered the dilemma, I remembered that Ron Magill of the Miami Zoo had recently rescued R2, the youngest fledgling of Rita and Ron at the Zoo, because of monofilament line. It is a long shot but, perhaps, he knows someone in Tennessee who believes in action not apathy! So I e-mailed him. Each of us can say that we have tried to help Little Middle in our way. Sometime we succeed and sometimes we don’t. I continue to hope for this little one who has been through so much and now this.
The good news is rather perplexing but, it is good news. Yesterday the male Peregrine Falcon, Grinnell, who had been with his bonded mate Annie for five successful seasons breeding on The Campanile – and they had two eggs laid for their sixth season – was killed. Annie was due to lay her third egg yesterday. She did not lay in in the scrape box at The Campanile. This raises an interesting question. If Annie did lay a third egg – dispose of it somewhere – was she aware that Grinnell had been killed? did she think she could only care for two chicks herself? The researchers at Cal Falcons believe this could be the case. Who knew what when??? As everyone watched Annie thinking there would be a third egg last evening and upset because we believed she did not know about Grinnell, Annie was kerchuffing to another falcon. I believed that it was possibly one of the female juveniles hanging about. But was it the male? This morning Annie and the male had two bonding sessions in the scrape box. I understand from the Cal Falcons FB page that Annie and the male were seen mating. This is certainly not normal and Annie’s behaviour has taken many by surprise. This afternoon the male incubated the two eggs for a short time. Is this the same male Annie was with when Grinnell was in the wildlife rehab clinic at the end of October? Who is he? Will he help Annie with the eggs? will he bring her prey? will he bring prey to the hatchings. I live in hope for Annie as well as Little Middle.
It is curious.
Annie and the male bonding in the scrape for the first time today.
Second bonding.
Male incubates eggs.
It is 17:30 in California and Annie is incubating the eggs.
There were several large fish on the Dale Hollow Nest when I left the house this afternoon. I was away for approximately 5 hours. The fish are either covered up or were eaten. Rewinding the camera did not help me. Little Middle still has the monofilament line around his legs and talons but he was eating, had a crop, and could move about. Continue to send your best wishes to this wee babe.
‘L’ sent me a note and said that another juvenile fledgling has a hook and line attached to it. This is E20 from the SWFlorida Nest of Harriet and M15. And, I mentioned Ron Magill, because he rescued R2, the youngest of Ron and Rita’s chicks the other day because of fishing line. SWFlorida will have CROW involved if there is a way to lure E19 to the nest. It is difficult once they fly. Here in a week, three known instances of fishing line and/or hooks. It is a growing and tragic problem for wildlife. People need to clean up after themselves, scour the shoreline when they are, get out in boats and get this stuff off the trees and their roots in the water. Please spread the word.
Sharon Dunne posted this image on the SWFL website. I know she will not mind if I share it with you.
There it is. If anyone can help, CROW can and E20s nest is in their region!
One of the most frustrating things that I have written about over the past few years is the need for emergency phone numbers should someone watching a streaming cam see something happening that needs attention. How we get the cams to do this is beyond me. We had some success last year but knowing who to contact is essential.
I have not been able to check on all the nests I had hoped to for this posting. I did look at Akecheta and Thunder because they give me a smile and all is well.
Akecheta trying to keep his babies cool.
Everything is fine at the Captiva Osprey nest of Andy and Lena.
There is BTW an osplet in the care of CROW from Captiva but it is from a different nest.
These two have really grown and thrived. Middle has the darkest plumage in the front. Little loves to look over the edge and the feathering is slightly lighter.
DC9 is the cutest, fluffiest little baby – the recent hatch of Mr President and Lotus at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle nest in DC. Just imagine a piece of fishing line here! I bet someone would be up there to make things right in a matter of hours.
Just look at those precious wings, that little fat bottom, and tail. So cuddly.
The two recently hatched babies at the nest at Decorah North, Iowa, are doing alright as well. It is so odd. Some eaglets hatch and appear to be wearing ‘goggles’.
It often takes two if you have triplets! Mum and Dad at Pittsburgh-Hayes may be used to fledging three but it is always a challenge.
Harry continues to fill the pantry with ever more prey for the two eaglets he shares with Nancy at the Minnesota DNR nest.
I hope these two are good to one another. There is lots of food!
The wee one at Dulles-Greenaway seems just fine. Martin and Rosa really make sure it is fed. What a beautiful place for a nest.
I wanted also to continue to check on Karl II’s progress to Estonia and can do so because of Anne7’s good reporting on Looduskalender Forum. I had so hoped that he would veer to the West. But he flew north and then returned to Moldova. But today the GPS coverage is erratic I am told and he is not in a good place. He is at Berdichev, Ukraine. There are issues with cell coverage and this is an area of attacks in this horrible war. I hope Karl II is safe. We need some good news – lots of it. Take care Karl II. We need you home!
This is the distance. Very close to major military activity and if flying north going through Belarus.
This is just a quick peek. I would love to wake up in the morning and find that someone had removed the monofilament from both DH15 and E20 who also has a hook. I want to hear that all is well with Annie and that the 4th eaglet on the PA Farm nest is eating well. No more monofilament. If we see three instances in a week on monitored nests wonder what it is like in the wild? It appears that leisure activities that humans undertake like fishing and hunting are life threatening to wildlife. So sad.
Please excuse my grammar and typos. It has been a long day and I didn’t get a chance to proof read this blog.
Thank you for joining me. Please take good care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Sharon Dunne and her posting on the SWFlorida FB page, Dulles-Greenaway Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, MN DNR, Pittsburg Hayes and Pix Cams, Explore.org, Looduskalender Forum, Cal Falcons, and the NADC-AEF.
The plumage on a Peregrine Falcon is incredibly cute. Those beautiful slate grey heads, the horizontal striped pantaloons, the white chest, the gorgeous yellow legs and talons and cere.
One of the cutest is the little 8 year old lad below, Grinnell. Grinnell was, until the 29th of October, the resident male along with his mate, Annie, at The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley in San Francisco. On that day, Grinnell had an altercation with two falcon interlopers. He was found grounded on a garbage can about a mile and a half from The Campanile. Was he driving the interlopers out? was he fleeing? We will never know. Fortunately, he was found and taken into care at the Lindsay Wildlife Centre. There he had surgery on his wing and received antibiotics, anti-parasites, and anti-inflammatory drugs. He was doing well enough when he arrived at the clinic that he could feed himself. Apparently he quite loved the quail!
As you can see from the FB posting below, Grinnell is doing well.
Decisions will be made as to where he will be released by a couple of agencies. It is not known if Grinnell will return and fight for his territory and Annie, his mate of 6 years. Only time will tell. The good news is that Grinnell is recovering from his injuries.
Meanwhile, Annie has been getting friendly with the intruder. Oh, I wish it would go away! Annie does not know where Grinnell is and she has been scraping in the box, etc indicating that she is receptive to the new male. Falcon experts have stated that Annie will not enter into the battle if the two males rival for the territory – prime real estate! She will want to protect herself so that she will be healthy during breeding season.
Keep sending positive thoughts Grinnell’s way.
I know that some have been worried about the falcon left on the ledge at 367 Collins Street. At 11:12, Dad brought a huge prey item onto the ledge. You can see the eyas beginning to mantle, very excited. The bird was not prepped and Dad worked on it but the chick was not eating. I am not a vet but it appears that something is causing the chick to not be able to open its beak wide enough to eat. The chick appears not to be preening despite the floof (this normally causes them to itch and preen constantly) and I am concerned that there is ‘something’ not right.
I am not that familiar with the birds in Australia but it looks like it could be a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo or a Gull.
I feel really sorry. The Dad is working hard to feed and get the little one to eat and well, it appears that it can’t. It is only a guess as to what is wrong with the chick. Will anyone do anything to get it into care, I do not know. Every country and even every state is different in their laws and attitudes. All we can do is hope that the wee bird will improve on its own.
The weather in Port Lincoln is dire. One of the boats near the barge has gone under the water in the rough waves. No one was on board. It is a cold front moving through the area. It is 13 degees C with 32 kph winds. It is not a good day for fishing with the choppy water but the osplets have been doing some hovering. I hope they don’t get blown off the nest prematurely! So far they are all safe and secure!
I wish I had better news about the little falcon on Collins Street. Send lots of love and positive wishes for there to be a turn around or — for a miracle and someone approve it going into care.
Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project. I would also like to thank the individuals who have shared the FB posting about Grinnell.
