Tag Archives: Jack and Diane

Late Thursday in Bird World

5 May 2022

Tonight, the Audubon Society believes that 380 million birds will be on the move from the south where they wintered to the north to their breeding grounds. Manitoba is set for a huge number of birds flying in especially to the very north near Churchill and to the wetlands in the middle of the province. I draw your attention to the Wapusk area because I want you to see Churchill. Churchill is now as the ‘accessible Arctic’. Here beginning in June you can see many species including Ross’s Gull, the Northern Hawk Owl, Smith’s Longspur, Spruce Grouse. the Three-Toed Woodpecker, and Harris’s Sparrow. Of course, the list is endless for the ducks and geese that make Hudson’s Bay and the area around Churchill their summer home. Raptors include the Northern Harrier, Gyrafalcons, Merlins, Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles. Lots of other wildlife abound in the area including Polar Bears.

North of Riding Mountain National Park, also in Green to the south and west of Wapusk is Winnipegosis. This is the place to see Osprey. Directly east and north of Gimli near Hecla Island is a large concentration of Bald Eagles. Canada Geese have arrived and the Trumpeter Swans are arriving now along with the American Pelicans and Red-winged Blackbirds. The shores of the two very large lakes, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, are home to a huge variety of shorebirds that are beginning to arrive.

It felt like I watched Annie and the wee hatchling all day under a microscope. Alden got to see the chick and brood it and incubate the other two eggs. There is a dent in one of the two remaining eggs.

Alden checked earlier to see if Annie wanted a break and she wasn’t ready yet.

The baby was wanting food so Annie gave Alden a shift. I noticed how extremely careful he was with his lame leg not to stop on the chick. Well, done, Alden.

Annie arrives with a bird for the little one’s first meal. I could not possibly tell you what species this is. It is not familiar to me in Manitoba.

First hatch had a nice meal.

Annie catching some sleep. She is going to need all she can as the next eyas appears to be working on its shell. So happy for Annie. Things feel like they are going to turn out just fine.

Afterwards I went to check on the osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. I had been watching earlier in the day but not early enough to catch a morning feed. It was apparent that the chicks and Mum had eaten as all three had crops heading into the evening.

It is good to see the Mum on the nest and the osplets – and her – nicely fed. Middle is the one closest to Mum.

Middle is growing. A few days of good meals makes all the difference in the world.

Big Red has a nest full!!!!!!! She must be in her glory. Oh, I hope the weather holds.

L4, the smallest one, hatched a week after the first, likes to be at the front of the line. Gosh, sounds like another Ervie!

At 19:32, two Crows arrived at the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida. This is the nest of Jack and Diane. Last year Jack and Diane fledged three – this is the home of Tiny Tot -. Those chicks hatched the beginning of March. Jack and Diane had a previous clutch of eggs that went down a hole in the nest. Diane laid three more eggs but the dates were unknown because the cam was offline. I know that the Achieva nest is a favourite of many but, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. It is really late to have osprey chicks in Florida due to the extreme heat.

It is doubtful that any of the eggs made it. Crows watch and wait just like they did with Daisy Duck’s clutch. Eggs left alone even for a few minutes will be eaten if there are Covids around.

Bird flu continues to be in the news as 37 million factory farm birds are killed.

https://kdvr.com/news/bird-flu-not-just-affecting-colorado-bald-eagles-other-wild-birds-dying/?fbclid=IwAR21A8vcIZW0WgdOK4c4rYk9prFMvvUbxDm3u6BqNHLQkV4cEq-YYHkkG6k

We are one week away from pip watch for Richmond and Rosie at the SF Osprey nest on the Whirley Crane in SF Bay.

One of my favourite Osprey nests in the UK belongs to Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi in Wales. Idris is know as Daddy Long legs but he is also one of the best fishers amongst all the UK osprey. Look at this one he hauled in today!

Beautiful Maya at the Rutland Manton Bay nest she shares with her mate Blue 33 (11). We are on pip watch for this couple!

Another fantastic Osprey Mum, Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland that she shares with Laddie. We will be watching for her eggs to hatch after Maya’s. What a beautiful setting for a nest!

The oldest Osprey in the UK is Mrs G. She is believed to be 22 years old. She is incubating the three eggs of her and Aran’s. They will be hatching late as Aran was late returning from migration. Today Aran was busy keeping intruders away from the nest.

Of the nests I have checked, all seem to be doing just fine.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dfyi Osprey Project, LRWT, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, and Achieva Osprey.

For the love of Ospreys

14 April 2022

The first time I watched an Osprey nest I swore I would never watch another one. Here I am years later. My book shelves are full of information on Ospreys, I dream about Ospreys, I do research on third hatches. My mind is filled with ‘Osprey’. These birds can take you to the lowest depths and send you to the highest heights of joy. Together many of us cheered on Ervie – the third hatch at Port Lincoln, Australia in 2021 – who was clever and survived winning our hearts and the sat-pak over Bazza and Falky. Since then he has had at least one talon pulled out – it is growing ever so slowly. As a result, Ervie has stayed around Port Lincoln. Ervie has entertained us by returning to the nest barge over and over with his puffers. It is the best! We get to enjoy him longer.

The camera at the Achieva Osprey Cam in St Petersburg, Florida is now on line. It looks terrific. While the camera was out of order, Diane laid three more eggs – a second clutch. The first fell in a hole in the nest (or so it was believed). Normally, the eggs would be hatching at the end of February or beginning of March. The hot Florida weather may pose a problem. I found it very endearing when I discovered, this morning, that David Hancock is adding a shade canopy to all of the Bald Eagle nests he is building in British Columbia. That is something that may become very necessary at the Florida nests!

Jack and Diane fledged three last year. It was not an easy nest to watch as Tiny Tot Tumbles struggled. More than three times we thought TTT would die but she was clever and persistent. She learned to eat old dried fish and she lived to become the most dominant – and beautiful. In the end, Diane went and caught cat fish to supplement what Jack brought to the nest. This is what turned the corner for Tiny Tot.

After fledging, Tiny Tot remained at the nest for some time. She even defended it against adult intruders on her own and with Jack. Oh, how I wish she was banded!

But, I will warn you. With the late hatch and the heat, there is no telling what will happen at this nest.

I have no idea how the three will be doing in a week at the U of Florida Gainesville nest. It is hot! The chicks are enjoying the shade under Mum.

These are also three of the most active little ones I have ever seen!!!!!!

At least two are up out of the egg cup. If Little Bit isn’t yet, he will be out of there soon clamouring around on the Spanish Moss.

Lena and Andy were one month ahead of the normal egg laying time in Florida. Their two osplets are just about ready to fledge. They are beginning to get a little air under their wings and it won’t be long til they are hovering about. Andy and Lena did a great job this year.

By laying the eggs a month early at Captiva, Andy and Lena might have saved their chicks from the Crows and other predators that predated their nest for two years.

The two are yelling at Andy to get the breakfast fish on the nest pronto! Lena can sit back and let them take care of it – if she chooses. They can be pretty loud.

You can still watch this nest and enjoy seeing these two beautiful birds fledge! Here is the link:

Idris has brought a large Mullet onto the Dfyi nest in Wales today but Telyn wants more fish and she is really telling him!

I am not sure what is happening in Loch Arkaig. Louis and Dorcha seem to be playing musical nests. Yesterday it felt certain that Louis and his new mate of last year would go back to the old nest but, today, Dorcha has been on the one that they used as a couple last year. It doesn’t matter for watchers – cam 1 or in this case, cam 2 – we can see them at either one!

Mrs G and Aran on the Glaslyn nest – now that everything is sorted and the females are where they should be – everyone can settle. Aran brought in five fish so far today – 3 yellow-bellied trout, 1 sea trout, and 1 flounder. He is an incredible fisher.

Mrs G, the oldest UK Osprey.

Aran! And he is very handsome.

While we wait for Mrs G to lay her first egg, Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest laid her first a day ago and we will be watching for egg 2 shortly.

Seren and Dylan have their first egg yesterday at the Llyn Clywedog Nest in Cumbria.

One of my favourite nests is the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria. This nest fledged three last year. It was the home of a third osplet that no one thought would survive – the others were monstrous when the third hatched. It was to the keen parenting and the tenaciousness of Tiny Little Bob. She fledged as Blue 463 and she was queen of this nest! It was incredible to watch her figure out how to get around the big ones.

They are not on YouTube and there is no rewind on the two cameras. You can access them here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

That is a very quick run through some of the nests. I wanted you to know about Achieva in case it was a nest that you watch. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida Ospreys at Gainesville, Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, Achieva Credit Union, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Dyfi Ospreys, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, and CarnyxWild.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

It turned out to be just a grand day for a walk at our park. In fact, while it was -11 C my winter walking clothes rated for the extreme winter temperatures to -30 C proved to be way too hot! It was hard to get the attention of the Red Squirrels because they were thinking ‘spring’ as they chased one another up and down the paths and up a tree, over a branch to another tree.

The photo below should go in the bin. When the little Red squirrel heard me, it stuck its head out of its nest. Before I could even get the camera focused, it was down on the ground. Sadly, the bars of the fence around The English Garden were very much in the way. But, there he is. Cute. Wanting some seed!

S/he scurried down the tree in anticipation of some seeds.

Quite the cutie and much more comfortable with humans than the squirrels in my garden.

Gosh, they are quick. Several big leaps like this and this wee Red almost landed at the fence.

Properly rewarded with some peanuts and Black Oil Seed.

This gorgeous Black-capped Chickadee landed right above me. I could hear the call but could not see the little songbird. So I turned quickly, turned the camera lens all the way to 600 mm and just hoped that I had an image.

When I finished my laps of the garden,, I returned to where I began. The little red squirrel was still eating its seed. No other squirrel cut in and took any. How wonderful.

There is always the question of feeding the animals at the park. Signage went up at the duck ponds not to feed the waterfowl. This was to stop people from feeding them bread so that they did not eat the plants growing in the water. But in the dead of winter? Habitats are lost, the seeds that might normally be available might not be. It is difficult. I have chosen to feed the wildlife. Make sure if you do that you always place the food in a safe place for them.

Annie’s return was cause for a major celebration. Cal Falcons posted a video of that moment! There is a close up at around 15:00 minutes.

This one shows Annie in the scrape reclaiming her ‘nest’.

Everything just feels right at The Campanile with Annie home.

The ospreys at Captiva, Florida had three good feedings today. The last one was at 18:14.

Lena arrives with a piece of fish. There was some concern as she had been away from the nest for 20 minutes leaving the chicks uncovered. Now that there are Crows about, this is a wee bit dangerous.

You can see how Big Bob is gradually changing and getting so dark. His head is like black oil and if you look carefully there are some coppery feathers coming in. Big Bob still has his crop from the earlier feeding at 15:51.

Little Bob is in the middle. The older siblings are rapidly changing in appearance.

Oh, look at those fat little bottoms. These chicks are doing well.

Bedtime! And look who is peeking out!!!!!!! Little Bob with a nice crop. Fantastic.

There is some concern at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest. Squirrels had been making holes in the nest. Diane had laid three eggs set to hatch in about 10-14 days. She has been seen spending less and less time on the nest. It is thought that the eggs have rolled down the holes created by the squirrel. There is only one camera and we cannot see down into the nest. There are certainly not any eggs visible but maybe the egg cup is just really deep. Still the behaviour indicates that something has happened. We wait and watch.

Today at the WWII Whirley crane in the Richmond Shipyards, Richmond and Rosie was taking in the view of their territory together! Looking forward to a great year from these two!

Aren’t they a gorgeous couple?

The feedings at Dale Hollow are going well. The twins wanted to exert their seniority at the table today but, in the end, a female Bald Eagle with at least 17 or 18 years experience raising eaglets can handle anything. River is an excellent Mum and Obey also likes to tandem feed the kids. I have no worries about this nest.

It is a gorgeous day at the nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear Lake, California. We remain on pip watch.

Shadow is on incubation duties and you can hear the Ravens in the background. Jackie and Shadow have to be extremely careful not to be tricked or lured by the Ravens who desperately would like those eggs.

According to the mods, the eggs are 35 and 38 days old. Again, due to the high elevation, pips will come later than other nests at lower elevations.

Thank you so much for joining me on a quick check of some of the nests we are watching. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Golden Gate Audubon and SF Ospreys, Cal Falcons, and Achieva Credit Union.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

22.2.22

Most of you know by now that I am not a great owl fan especially those that take over nests belonging to successful Osprey couples. That doesn’t stop me from thinking that they are also cute and adorable. This is a sweet little video of Mum eating a rodent and chewing it to a fine mush and feeding the owlet at the Savannah Skidaway Island nest.

The plumage of the female Great Horned Owl is simply gorgeous. The camera close ups of the feed are wonderful. You will note that the eyes of the owlet remain closed. It will be a couple more days before they are open.

Before I was able to post this, Cornell made a video of this Mum defending her nest. She really opened her wings fully. She had a look like ‘You had better not mess with me today!’

Ithaca, New York is in line for some of the rain in the system that is going through the Northeastern US. It has already started raining at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell University campus.

Andy and Lena’s trio had a really nice feeding – several of them – and they are now sound asleep!

There were four feedings in total today at the Captiva nest according to the chat moderator. I caught the times for three of them: 6:52:18, 08:59, 12:48. The last must have been later and for the life of me, I can’t find it but I know it has to be there. Four feedings. If you want to do a comparison, the average number of feedings per day at Port Lincoln was seven.

Lena had a break. Andy took over brooding and did a pretty nice job.

Lena continues to dry off.

Diane is busy incubating three eggs on the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Those eggs will be looking to pip the middle of March. Oh, it is exciting. This is Tiny Tot Tumbles nest!!!!! I hope the third hatch is as determined and creative as TTT. If so, it will thrive.

At the Minnesota DNR nest of Harry and Nancy, Nancy was shocked to find a racoon coming up to eat the eggs. Harry successfully defended the family!

R1 and R2 both had big crops this afternoon. R2’s was large when he started getting fed. It is just so nice to see these two doing well. I worried for awhile and my friend that watches this nest said not to – it would all work out – and it did! Thank you!

These two little darlings are Fern and Thunder. They are chicks of Blazer and Abby over at the Eagle Country nest. Adorable. Just look at them staring straight at the camera! It is nice to see a couple of bobbleheads! All of the other eaglets are growing so fast!

Before I close, it is time to start paying attention to some of the White-tailed Eagle nests in northern Europe. One of the ones that I follow is the nest of Milda near Durbe in Latvia. Last year Milda last her mate and her two miracle chicks to very unfortunate circumstances. She has arrived at the nest and there is another ‘new’ (?) male with her or is this is a dangerous interloper? I really hope that she has a reliable partner like she had in Raimis and we get to see some lovely little chicks this year.

Every nest does seem to be doing well. Bella and Smitty have been alerting and chasing an intruder – probably the new female that fought with Bella. It is so nice to see Bella feeling well, healed. Life is good!

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: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey, Cornell Bird Lab, Achieva Credit Union, Eagle Country, and the WRDC.

Friday in Bird World

The Lost Words is a book by Robert MacFarlane, Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Its focus is on the words that the editors of the Oxford Children’s Dictionary removed. Its 128 pages, 27.9 x 37.6 cm in size, are gorgeously illustrated with the watercolours of Jackie Morris, writer and illustrator, who lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The missing words that concerned MacFarlane are the following: acorn, Adder, Bluebell, Bramble, Conker, dandelion, fern, heather, heron, Ivy, Kingfisher, Lark, Magpie, Newt, Otter, Raven, Starling, Weasel, Willow, and Wren. At a time when our focus as adults should be to strive to install the wonder of the natural world and our responsibility to it in the children, why, then, would anyone choose to remove words that are directly connected with our environment.

I mentioned this book awhile ago. I have returned to it many times always admiring the illustrations, such as the images of the Ravens on the forest floor amongst the fallen conkers. Conkers are the fruit of the Horse Chestnut Tree, Aesculus hippocastanum. Horse Chestnut trees can grow quite large. Ironically, the conkers are poisonous to horses and I believe, all other animals. The type of poison is called esculin.

That illustration conjured up a beautiful memory of the time my family spent in England. Up on the gorse was a Conker Tree. We had never seen conkers – it was something wonderful and new. The children played a game with them. First you had to drill a hole and run a cord through the conker and secure it with a nice big knot at the bottom. The children would then ‘conk’ their conkers trying to see whose would break first! It was free entertainment and kept them busy for hours.

“Conkers on a string” by MrsEds is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Creative Commons had this historical picture of two young lads trying to break the others’ conker.

“Its conker time” by theirhistory 

The rolling hills with their public paths were marvellous places for the children and the adults to take walks and breathe in the air. We were fortunate to have a ‘gorse’ within 50 or 60 feet from where we lived. It was full of butterflies and birds and the most delicious blackberries. It was a time when children played outside with their mates. No one set in front of the telly or spent hours looking at screens. Bikes were ridden and trees were climbed. In the three years we lived in Lincolnshire, it snowed once. There was about 4 cm on the ground – just enough. Still, everything stopped. Children stayed home from school and anything and everything that could be used as a sled was used to slide down the hills of the gorse. I wonder what all those children would think about the snow in my garden today?

The nice thing about snow is that it can cause people to slow down. To enjoy a cup of hot tea and a book. To stop running around worrying about things that are not always that important, to pause long enough to take in the moments.

It seems like it is rather quiet in Bird World but, is it really? Eaglets are growing bigger by the day all the while their plumage is changing. Thankfully, none are ready to fledge. E19 and E20 spend time flapping their wings as does the Osceola eaglet. Other eagles are incubating eggs. It is not time for Osprey season unless they are in Florida. Diane is incubating 3 eggs at Achieva in St Petersburg while Lena, laying hers a month early at Captiva, will be on hatch watch this weekend. Annie and Grinnell are only dreaming of eyases. Today Grinnell had to tell a 2 year old juvenile female to get off the ledge of The Campanile. Cal Falcons posted a video of that encounter.

Ervie continues to fish call off the barge at Port Lincoln. We can hear him but we cannot see him.

Kincaid is 29 days old today. He is starting to walk. It is so cute to see those first ‘baby steps’. Louis brought in what looks like an egret (or a part of an egret). When it looked like Louis might want to eat some of it, Anna promptly arrived at the nest. To Anna, prey brought to the nest belongs to her and Kincaid, not Louis who brought it! Anna is pretty strict in that regard. Not all female Bald Eagles behave that way. Anna proceeded to try and remove one long leg while Kincaid, with an already large crop, waited patiently.

Kincaid is mimicking what Anna is doing as he grabs the other leg and pulls on it. So cute. Kincaid also keeps himself busy moving around nesting material. These little eaglets learn from watching the adults.

Kincaid is already making attempts at self-feeding.

Kincaid is, of course, not the only one trying out eating by itself. I posted an image of R2 at the WRDC nest a week ago eating a fish. The eaglets of Harriet and M15 are also attempting eating on their own. E20 has become a bit of a pro. It seems like all of the eaglets grew up faster than they have ever done previously. Does it seem that way to you?

At the White-tailed Eagle nest of Milda and her new mate near Durbe, Latvia, the snow has melted. Milda will be laying her eggs about the same time as Big Red in Ithaca, New York – the third week of March – if all goes to plan.

There is more snow forecast for Big Red’s territory. The temperature in Ithaca is 1 C.

What I like about the image below is that you can see the nest cup area that Big Red and Arthur have been working on. In Milda’s nest sprigs of pine with their cones line the area of the egg cup. It is so fascinating watching the couples prepare for the upcoming breeding season. It is so intriguing. I would love to ‘speak hawk’ and sit by Big Red and Arthur when they discuss what needs to be done!

At least five eagles poisoned, one dead, four in serious condition in Manchester Maryland. Was this lead poisoning? or was this something else more sinister to impact all of the birds at the same time? There is an investigation underway.

Multiple bald eagles poisoned after scavenging on deer carcass in Manchester, Md.

Here is a short informative video of why eagles eat carrion in the winter.

https://fb.watch/b6jnYJByKa/

There is good news coming out of Australia about WBSE 27. You might remember that twice, after fledging, 27 was taken into care. 27 was not taught by the parents to take care of itself. Once 27 fledged, it was taunted and chased by the Pied Currawong. Both times 27 was extremely dehydrated. The last time the Currawong had gathered and had pecked 27s head. When 27 was taken into care the last time, I hoped that rehabilitation would include flight training as well as training for getting prey. This takes longer than a two week stay in a clinic. Some wildlife rehabbers keep birds for 2 years to make certain they are capable of caring for themselves with confidence. It looks like 27 is getting that great training. The news is excellent!

Isn’t she lovely? And – yes – 27 is a she!

I wish that all of the sea eagles that fledge from the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Park would not be harangued by the Pied Currawong. They chase them out of the forest. They never learn to fly or to catch prey. How many of them survive, if any, unless they wind up in care?

The camera is now working again at Port Lincoln. Ervie was on the nest and, at various times, in the shed with Dad. Sometimes he was in the shed alone. I cannot tell you if he had a fish but there was definitely a lot of fish calling.

Checking in on Jack and Diane at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest and Jack is busy delivering fish and helping incubate the eggs.

If you are into garden animals and song birds, with a few surprises, you might want to check out Wildlife Kate. She has several wildlife cams and is featured on Springwatch in the UK. Have a look. You might find something really interesting like Yew Pond, or the Kestrel Box, or the Woodland Pond.

This is Woodland Pond. The cameras are live with no rewind. Enjoy.

https://www.wildlifekate.co.uk/

I haven’t posted anything about the eaglet at Berry College for a few days. Thermal down is coming in nicely. Pa Berry did a great job feeding the little one this morning. B15 is still walking around on its tarsus (not yet with its feet) and doing a lot of preening. B15 is doing great. Missy and Pa Berry are doing a great job raising this baby.

B15 is a sweet little eaglet. You can see how its plumage is beginning to change.

I will leave you with a gorgeous image of Jackie incubating her eggs at Big Bear Bald Eagle nest in California. Fingers crossed for a great season for her and Shadow!

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear, Achieva Credit Union, Wildlife Kate, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Sea Eagle Cam FB Page.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

Ever since our big storm with all the snow and -35 temperatures the number of birds visiting the garden feeders has decreased. The European Starlings that once graced the Lilac Bushes and all the neighbouring trees are down to a handful from a record number of 58. The regulars are here along with about 40 Sparrows. That is also a huge decline. I wonder what is going on?? It is -9 and the wind has ranged from 23 kph to now 16 kph. It was the first time that my fingers felt like they were freezing when I was on my walk. One bird and lots of squirrels running around, a few people walking dogs. The garden was so peaceful.

Diane at the Achieva Osprey Nest laid her third egg this morning, 9 February, at 07:36. She has been incubating the other two eggs since the second was laid. 37 days is the average for hatching to begin. So the middle of March there should be bobbleheads on this nest. My intention will be to stock up on all manner of ‘calming’ teas should sibling 1 turn out to the brute that it was last year.

The third hatch survived only by its sheer determination not to die many times over and finally, Diane recognizing this and she began to go and catch catfish and made sure it ate. Chatters dubbed #3 ‘Tumbles’ because it was tripping over its feet. I called it Tiny Tot and then merged the two names together. Turns out that Tiny Tot Tumbles became the most formidable chick on the nest, taking over control and staying to even help Jack defend the nest. She was an incredible bird.

The nest is located in a parking lot of an Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida. There is a chat connected with the streaming cam but there has been no moderator. Here is the link to the Achieva Camera:

This morning Big Red and Arthur paid another visit to the Fernow Tower Light Stand. This has been Big Red’s nest choice for the past few years. The nest is on the grounds of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The hawks live on their campus territory year round.

The couple will continue to refurbish this nest for at least another 5 weeks. The earliest Big Red has laid her eggs as on 13 March and she did that only once. She laid the first egg on 14 March once and the 16th twice. I tend to think of her as laying on average around the 23rd but, the birds are surprising everyone this year.

Arthur flew in with a stick at 09:56:36.

Getting the right placement of the twigs on the nest is important as Big Red is very particular.

Here comes Big Red to join Arthur with her own big stick.

Oh, there is our beautiful Big Red, the Queen of all Red-tail Hawks, in good form landing on her nest. She is 19 years old. Hatched in 2003 in Brooktondale, NY, just down the road from Ithaca. Banded on 10 October of that same year. Arthur is from a nest adjacent to Big Red’s territory. Arthur is 7 years old this year. Big Red and Arthur became a bonded couple after Big Red’s first mate, Ezra, was killed in 2017. This will be the 5th breeding season for Big Red and Arthur! Can’t wait.

Both are carefully looking at what needs to be done to whip this nest into shape for this season.

If you look carefully, Arthur has already had breakfast. The evidence is on his talons. Oh, I hope this is a good year for chipmunks for the Ls. Yes, they will be the Ls.

Arthur flies off to get more twigs and Big Red settles in to work on that nest cup.

And here is Arthur. Big Red has flown off and he is giving this nest cup a once over, too. Look at that magnificent tail. That is what makes the Red-tail Hawks ‘red tails’. The hawks do not get their red tails until they are a year old. Until then they have to settle with two colours of grey stripes. In fact, when Big Red picked Arthur out of other possible mates, he did not yet have his red tail! That tail is almost like a badge of honour. If you survive your first year, you get the mark of the red tail. In reality, only 1 out of 3 eyasses survive their first year. The challenges for the youngsters are enormous.

I am going to start marking the days on my calendar. There are two cameras and a dedicated team of moderators on the chat. You will learn everything you wanted to know about hawks and more. Once the chicks fledge there are birders on the ground (BOGs) that submit photos and videos so that we can keep up with them til they leave the territory.

Here is the link to one of the cameras:

Sadly, the streaming cam to the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge is still off line. Oh, I wonder how Ervie and Mum and Dad are doing.

The Netherlands is reporting the third White-tail Eagle killed by a wind turbine. This is 3 out of 15 specially banded birds. There is an easy fix for the birds – install bird alarm systems and/or paint one of the blades black so that the birds can ‘see’ the moving blade. It is well known that this really helps in diminishing the numbers of birds deaths. As we build more and more wind farms, measures must be taken to protect all of the birds, not just eagles. Painting one blade black is a cheap easy fix that can be done in the factory that has been known about for a number of years. So why isn’t this being done?

There was another ground search for Bella at the NCTC Bald Eagle Nest with no luck in finding her. Meanwhile, Smitty and the new female have been working on the nest and mating. I hope that Bella is somewhere recovering from her injuries.

Harriet and M15s eaglets continue to change into juveniles right before our eyes. They sure love to eat! And they have gorgeous juvenile plumage with only a few dandelions lurking about. The top image is E20. What a crop. Don’t need to worry about this one getting its share anymore.

Harriet and M15 keeping the babies full.

Things are going alright on the WRDC in Miami. Both R1 and R2 are progressing in their feather development. Both are getting much more steady on their feet and there is a nice big fish on the nest for dinner. R2 has survived. Worry time is past (for me anyway).

NE26 and 27 are doing great. They survived all the torrential downpours in Jacksonville two days ago. Gabby was such a trooper keeping those kids dry and fed. I was ever so impressed.

Still on egg watch at the Pittsburgh-Hays nest. The adults are busy watching a train pass on the upper tracks at the moment.

Here is a link to their streaming cam:

There is egg watch for Liberty and Guardian at the Redding, California nest. My goodness the wind is just blowing and howling there.

Here is the link to their streaming cam. Also watch out for those very informative videos by Gary.

This coming weekend it is hatch watch for Lena and Andy at the Captiva Osprey Nest on Santibel Island, Florida. I cannot find that streaming cam live anymore. The owner of the property said that he would cut the power once the eggs hatched so maybe it is just offline. I will check again later and report back if i find it operative tomorrow.

Everything is just fine at the Kistachie National Forest nest in Louisiana. The pantry has food and Kincaid is growing like crazy. This is the best set up to actually hear Eagles chitter with one another. Yesterday little Kincaid joined in. It was precious. Highly recommended. There is not a lot of action since the feedings are spread out but it is a great nest ‘to listen’ when the parents are about on and off the tree.

This is not even a dent into all the on line nests. B15 at Berry College is doing great as are the pair of eaglets at Hilton Head. Jackie and Shadow continue to incubate their eggs. So far so good. The same with Thunder and Cheta. While we wait for Big Red to get her clutch started, the wait is also on for the return of all the European birds from African to their spring and summer homes in Europe and the UK. In addition, Lady and Dad have been visiting their nest in the Sydney Olympic Park. Expect eggs around the beginning of June. Wow. Time melts.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. I am so happy to have you here with me and the birds.

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Achieva Credit Union, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, WRDC, KNF, Pix Cameras, and Redding Eagles.

Sunday in Bird World

The wind has not let up at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. Gabby has gotten up twice to make sure the little NE26 and 27 are fed. Thank goodness that Samson filled up the pantry because he would not be able to go and fish in these winds.

The babies are growing and need more food. You can see the white dot of the ear on NE26 standing up.

These two still do not have their thermal down and Gabby has to be very careful to keep them warm and dry.

I feel for all of the birds who have these intense storms. They, on the other hand, just get on with life as best they can!

There are now two eggs on the Achieva Osprey Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida. Congratulations Jack and Diane. Jack has been bringing fish to the nest and taking his turn at incubation. That nest looks a little wet, too.

It is hard to believe it, sitting here in frigid Canada, but the first Red Kites have begun their northerly migration from Africa passing over Poole Harbour today! Gosh, golly. Red Kites are beautiful raptors. They are about 66 cm or one foot in length with a very distinctive forked tail, angular body, and reddy-brown body.

“Flying red kite” by Tambako the Jaguar is licensed under CC.

Just look at this gorgeous under carriage.

“Flying red kite” by Tambako the Jaguar is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

I am getting excited for the streaming cam to come on line in the Taiwan cemetery that has a Black Kite nest. That should be about the middle of March.

It is a gorgeous day in Pittsburg. We continue to be on egg watch at this nest.

Liberty and Guardian have both been on the nest in Redding, California and there is egg watch there, too, just like at Pittsburgh-Hays.

Thunder has three eggs at the West End Bald Eagle nest. Her and Cheta keep taking turns incubating them. Oh, I so hope these two have a successful season but they are going to have to be diligent! Those Ravens are intelligent and they sit back and wait and watch. We know this from Daisy the Duck’s experience on the WBSE nest.

Connie and Clive, as mentioned in an earlier blog, have buried their last unviable egg. The first broke. Both have brought greenery into the nest and covered the place where the egg is buried. Will there be a second clutch? or is this greenery a way of bringing closure to a lost season for this new pair?

It is a gorgeous day over at the Duke Farm Bald Eagle nest in Hillsborough, NJ. Gosh, I bet everyone was glad that storm was gone!

There is a really beautiful Snowy Owl over on the Mississippi Flyway Streaming Cam today.

Lena is on the eggs over at the Captiva Osprey Nest on Santibel. There are fire trucks in the background and oh, she is loud! You can easily hear human voices over the nest microphone, too. That is really something folks should be aware of when they walk by these nests!!!!!! If they know they are by a nest.

The eggs were laid on 8, 11, and 14 January. Can you believe we could be on hatch watch? To my knowledge, the streaming cam on Andy and Lena will be turned off if the eggs hatch. It will be kept off until such time the owner believes that the Crows are no longer a threat. I will try to keep you posted.

It is early Monday morning in Australia and it looks like Ervie is the only one on the barge. Individuals continue to ask where Mum is. Traditionally, in migrating Ospreys, the Mum leaves the nest and the Dad feeds the chicks til they leave. At that point he begins his migration. Australian Ospreys do not migrate. That said Mum has done her job and is probably over on the Old Barge resting and getting her strength back. There is no need to worry! She probably got tired of Ervie’s very loud prey calling. Dad hangs out on the barge with Ervie some of the time. Dad definitely provides food for Ervie.

I want to leave you today on the happiest of notes. It is a courtship display by our two favourite North American Peregrine Falcons, Annie and Grinnell, on The Campanile today.

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Captiva Osprey Cam, Mississippi Flyway, Duke Farms, Explore.org, Captiva Bald Eagle Cam, Pix Cams, Redding Bald Eagles, Achieva Credit Union, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.

First egg at Achieva Osprey and other Bird World News

Jack and Diane are the Ospreys at the Achieva Credit Union Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Off and on there have been other couples coming and going when they were not on the nest. This morning, however, that is all changing. Diane laid the first egg of the 2022 season around 23:40 on 1 February! Congratulations Achieva!

Diane, I really hope that you stop at two this year! Despite Tiny Tot Tumbles surviving and then thriving last year.

Jack brought Diane a nice fish this morning and took his turn incubating the egg so she could eat and have a bit of a break. Good one, Jack.

There is something going on at the NCTC nest. Where is Bella? Smitty was seen mating on the nest with the intruder female this morning! There she is on the right with the brown feathers in her tail. She is quite easy to identify. It was 08:06.

Deb Stecyk caught it on video:

Ervie likes it down in Dad’s cave. He is still there but Dad is gone!

Anna and Louis’s baby at the KNF nest is 21 days old today. If you look carefully you can see the shafts starting on the wing tips for the flight feathers. The thermal down is really coming in nicely.

Typically, this eaglet has a huge crop as it sits in front of Anna.

I have not seen the final three names for voting posted. Cody has been in Texas until today and I am assuming that him and Steve will meet, figure out the three that were mentioned most often, and then set up the final public voting.

It’s that stage. Thermal down and clown feet and looking like Hulk. White dandelions on the head.

The little eaglet – B15- at Berry College is getting its thermal down, too. It was caught preening this morning! Did you know that the pin or blood feathers will grow where the natal down shafts were? So the thermal down always remains under the feathers to help the beautiful eagles regulate their temperature.

It looks like the eagle nests I have been reporting on will, for the most part, not be impacted by the snow and ice that is coming in through Saturday. The Love Trio along the Mississippi near Fulton, Illinois, the eagles in PA, Big Red and Arthur’s nest and Duke Farms will likely get some precipitation.

This is the current view of the Mississippi Flyway.

The Pittsburg Hayes Bald Eagles are already dealing with some snow. It is egg watch at this gorgeous nest. That is Mum on the left. Dad is looking down to that beautiful river that supplies this couple with some of their food.

Here is the link to the Pittsburgh Hayes Nest. That nest is only 5 miles from downtown Pittsburg on the Monongahela River. Remember this couple raised three lively chicks to fledge last year! Incredible. This nest is looking for 3-6 inches or up to 15 cm of snow with an ice coating tomorrow.

You might not have this next nest on your radar. This is the information on the streaming cam about the region and the eagles. “The Dulles Greenway Wetlands has been home to two American Bald Eagles since 2005. In 1995, TRIP II established a private 149-acre wetlands preserve in Leesburg, Virginia during the construction of the Dulles Greenway roadway to mitigate the loss of roughly 64 acres of federally protected wetlands. Today, the wetlands property is managed by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and utilized for local wildlife education.”

The first egg was laid at this nest yesterday, 1 February, at 14:47. The adults are currently changing over incubation duties.

Here is the link to this streaming cam. There is also an overhead cam that is off line at the moment. This couple will be seeing more snow and ice along with the nests in PA and NJ.

No worries for the nests in California. Akecheta is currently incubating the two eggs at the West End Bald Eagle Nest in the Channel Islands. Looks like a gorgeous day. The sky is blue in Winnipeg and the snow has stopped but it is bitterly cold. Oh, wish I could twitch my nose and arrive in California for a couple of days to thaw.

The first Kakapo chick has hatched. It was Pearl’s! And Pearl’s second chick is on the way. Here is the announcement from the Kakapo Recovery. Such good news. Hoping that all of the hatches survive and do well. This is so exciting!!!!!!!!! You are witnessing people working hard to recover a population of flightless parrots that could easily go extinct. Incredible the efforts that are being put into this. Makes me smile every day.

I wonder if Ervie will leave the Dad’s mancave today? Will monitor our beautiful boy. He is certainly settling in to a nice life on the barge! Who would have thought?

Thank you for joining me today. It is lovely to have you with me as I do a hop skip and jump around the nests. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Kakapo Recovery, KNF Bald Eagles, Berry College Bald Eagles, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam, NCTC Bald Eagles, Pix Cams, Explore.org, Achieva Credit Union, and CNN.

Sunday in Bird World

What a Saturday afternoon and night. It was such a huge relief to find Anna on the Bald Eagle nest in the Kistachie National Forest and that there had been either a misidentification or that Anna and Louis switched places at dawn. Whatever happened- Anna is alright. Both birds were stressed on Saturday. It is unclear what was the cause or was it a multitude of things together – humans, gun shots, other intruding birds or animals.

I just love the image below. Everyone is so happy and relaxed this morning.

If you are watching the KNF nest, listen for the ‘laughing’ frogs. They are actually called Southern Leopold frogs but because of the sound they make, they are nicknamed laughing frogs. I hope to goodness that is the only sound that the nest has to hear besides eagles today!

The eaglet is enjoying some of the duck that was delivered earlier.

Eaglet is in food coma. Hopefully by this time next week, this baby will have a name!

The Wildlife Biologist says this afternoon that Anna and Louis would not have made their nest in a place if they were bothered by humans being around. Yesterday was, however, different from any other time that I have watched this nest – last year and this.

I know that many of you are stork lovers. Did you know that there is a live streaming cam with storks at Dreisamtal, about 10 kilometres east of Freiburg, Germany? A pair of storks make their nest on the roof of the Church of St. Gallus. Normally the couple arrive in February but this year, they returned on New Year’s Eve 2021.

The couple come and go for foraging. They sleep on the nest at night. Here is the link to this camera to calm all of your longing-for-storks-to-return!

What gorgeous plumage these Storks have. Incredibly beautiful!

Ervie had a full crop and was being blessed by diamonds all around. Oh, our glorious boy! He has quite the crop in that image. While there are few fish deliveries captured on the streaming cam, it is now believed that Ervie is catching almost all of his fish himself.

Dad does still continue to deliver a fish on occasion when Ervie is crying on the nest. Ervie loves being an ‘only child’.

The other day a word showed up in respect to Ervie – extreme philopatry. Yes, it is possible that Ervie is tied as tight as he can, more than others, to this very nest and that he will not wander too far afield like Falky has done. Indeed, one day we might see Ervie as the adult male on the barge with his own family.

Look a Ervie’s crop! Our young man is doing well. It is a relief to imagine that Ervie is an excellent fisher now.

At the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida, everyone is waiting for the first egg to be laid this breeding season.

Of course, we are also waiting for Big Red and Arthur to begin working on their nest. It is, actually, awhile still. Last year Big Red laid her eggs on 26 and 29 March and 1 April! So we have about 7 weeks and a few days til our beloved Red-tail Hawk is incubating.

About the time Big Red is laying eggs, Iris will be returning from her winter migration. It is a snowy cold day in Missoula. I hope Iris is enjoying the warmth of her winter home.

At this very same time – as Big Red lays her eggs and we are on watch for Iris to land on her nest, Milda will be laying eggs on the White-tailed eagle nest in Durbe.

When I looked at my calendar and saw those three events – Big Red, Iris, and Milda – there was a big exclamation mark. Of course, all of the Ospreys and Storks will be returning from their winter homes to breed in the UK and Europe! It is going to get really, really busy.

For now, I will turn my attention back to the Bald Eagles. I don’t think NE26 is being an angel but it appears that s/he is not a ruthless brute either to NE27 – that is all good. Samson continues to have the pantry full and the fuzz balls nothing short of adorable.

In the image below, NE 26, the tallest, was trying to peck at 27. 27 did a pretty good job of standing up to its big sib. Bravo!

NE27 still has quite a dominant egg tooth. Sweet little babe with the golden glow of the morning sun shining on it.

A banana leaf was brought on to the WRDC nest. R1 thinks it makes quite a comfortable bed! So cute. It kinda’ fits with having a Papadam Chair for a nest.

R1 and R2 with their charcoal thermal down are growing and growing. Both are eating well and Ron has just brought a nice big fish on to the nest. It will not be long til these two eaglets are walking with ease around the nest. Just look at how big R1 is – looks like Hulk.

The eaglet at Berry College is wanting to have an afternoon snack and is looking intently at what the adult is plucking on the nest. This little one is a real little sweetie. Look at that lovely soft down head. You can see the thermal down coming in on the body of the eaglet. In a couple of days that soft light grey down will be nothing but dandelions!

And, last for today, if you are a Thunder and Akecheta fan, Thunder laid her first egg at the Channel Islands Bald Eagle Nest at 16:54 on 29 January! This is Cheta’s third breeding season and he no longer minds incubating the eggs. Last year the Ravens (or Crows?) got the eggs so this year, hopefully, neither adult will leave them alone!

Here is the link to the Channel Islands streaming cam:

Whew. All is well at the nests. Thankfully. It is supposed to warm up and start snowing on the Canadian Prairies in a short time. It is a good day for a walk out in the fresh air!

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone and just breathe a sigh of relief. Anna is fine.

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, NEFlorida and the AEF, WRDC, Explore.org, Latvian Fund for Nature, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Achieva Credit Union, and Storks Nest Live Stream.

Want to get up close and personal with some Bald Eagles?

I am just home from a wonderful day outside. Did not see a single bird! Yes, seriously. I did spot a lot of nests and it was just nice to be outside in the fresh air on a beautiful sunny day.

The image below is the nest of Anna and Louis in the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.

What caught my eye was an invitation by the Wildlife Biologists Steve Shively and Cody Austell of the US Forestry Service at the Kistachie National Forest for people to come and get up close to the Bald Eagles, Anna and Louis. OK. Not that close. They have a great eagle viewing area set up with spotting scopes and they will be giving private tours.

If you live near Central Louisiana and are free at 10 am on either February 10, 17, or 19 at 10 am, give them a shout to sign up. The e-mail is visitKNFeagle@gmail.com

I am also super excited. Cody and Steve will be setting up another camera stream with the same super sound they have for Anna and Louis for the other Bald Eagle family in the forest. Last year there were three nests. Sadly, both adults in area 2, were found dead. They had been shot. At any rate, there will be two different streams watching both nests next season. Fantastic. I wonder if the male on the nest is as great a fisher as Louis? There were 10 new fish on the nest today. The duck and the Coot have been eaten and I am not sure where the turtle is.

Just a couple of quick comments about happenings in Bird World. The camera is now back on in Port Lincoln on the Osprey barge. Ervie had been there earlier so he is fine. A huge storm ripped through the area and did tonnes of damage. Just waiting to see how everything is with the hearts that beat and run Port Lincoln Osprey Project. There is not an egg yet on the Achieva Osprey Nest even though Diane has been on the nest for long periods.

The winds and rain seem to have subsided at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest of Samson and Gabby. I have not been home long enough to see how NE26 and 27 are behaving but there are at least five fish in the pantry so food is not an issue!

They look like they are getting along. Fingers crossed!

OGK is busy being a great dad down in New Zealand at Taiaroa Head. This little Royal Cam chick is going to gain lots of grams! Sooooooo very sweet.

Lots of beautiful water birds were out on the Mississippi Flyway this morning.

If you like Roseate Spoonbills as much as I do, you need to check out this streaming cam in St Augustine Florida. Spoonbills forage in shallow water. This is an adult in the nest. The juveniles are a pale pink while the adults have that bring cherry red/pink on the wings. Their head is bare and is a yellow-green colour. Their name comes from the flattened beak that looks like a spoon!

B15 at Berry College seems to be doing just fine, too. The worry over an injury to the wing is gone. It is a really sweet little eaglet.

So if you are anywhere near to Central Louisiana and want a personal tour to see the Bald Eagles nesting in the Kisatchie National Forest, please do get in touch with Steve or Cody. I would love to go on one of their tours. They are so knowledgable and – need help identifying prey on a nest – they are great at answering those questions. I have learned all about turtles this year! Send all your positive and warm wishes to all the nests (and people) who are going to get really low temperatures in areas that do not normally have them!

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the KNF FB Page, Berry College, NE Florida and the AEF, Explore.org, Achieva Credit Union, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, and KNF Bald Eagle Cam for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures.