The snow up at Big Bear Valley that had accumulated on Jackie and Shadow’s Bald Eagle nest has now melted. I think they sent it to the Canadian Prairies! The snow is really coming down as I write this – and it had almost melted.
I love the top picture with the baby who will soon be named looking at that fabulous Mum, Jackie.
Jackie and Shadow have seen lots of weather that quickly changes at Big Bear but this is the first time for a couple of years that there has been a baby to protect. So sweet. Nothing was going to move Jackie or Shadow when the winds and the snow came. Lucky little one.
The snow began to quickly melt around noon.
Have you ever noticed that there are piles of fish on the nest the minute a wee one hatches? Thee National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus had seven large fish on it today! Seven. For one chick – and family. Would love to send some of that fish down to Middle Little at Dale Hollow.
Proud parents Mr President and Lotus. That little bobble looks so tiny in that nest!
The single eaglet of Martin and Rosa at the Dulles-Greenaway nest is doing just fine. It is so cute!!!! Eating well and no problems at this nest!
The little one ate and ate…and then ate some more! Tummy is full and the sun is setting. What a sweetie.
Pittsburgh-Hayes now has triplets. They have raised lots of triplets on this nest including last year. Oh, they are so cute lined up to eat!
The Canada Goose on the Decorah unused Bald Eagle nest laid four eggs. she gathered down from her breast to create the nest cup when she finished and she is now incubating.
As time gets close for hatch and jump, I will remind you so that you can watch.
Parents are busy at the PA Farm Bald Eagle Nest. It is tandem feeding for the four! And so far, so good!
The rain, winds, and storm have stopped in the Channel Islands. It is now hot! You can see the eaglets of Thunder and Aketcheta panting to get cool. Dad is trying is best to provide shade!
It is 17:48 on the Dale Hollow nest. There was a fish tail left from the morning feeding and River fed that to Big at 13:54:55. I hope that there is enough fish coming in tonight so that Little Middle has some. He had a crop this morning and can, of course, survive til tomorrow but his growth and health will do better with more feedings, not less.
My last report is about Karl II who is now in The Ukraine. Anne7 is terrific at keeping images and maps going of Karl II’s travels for the Looduskalender Form in English. I am so grateful to her.
If he will fly fast and due north he can get home to Estonia. Please do not go to the east!!!!!!!!!!
This was a very quick check on a few of the nests. Thank you so much for joining me. I see some of you are in bad weather areas. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their pages where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar Forum, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, NADC-AEF, Friends of Big Bear, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Pix Cams, Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagles, PA Game Commission, and Explore.org
This is actually more a quick glimpse of late Monday activities in Bird World up to noon on Tuesday.
At 20:57:27 Monday night, you could see an eaglet with the two halves of the egg acting as book marks at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle nest in DC. It is home of Mr President and Lotus. They lost their first eaglet to a tragic accident during pipping so it looks like once the AEF officially announcements the hatch, it is congratulations!
At 07:07, you can get a good luck of the dried fluffy baby. Congratulations Mr President and Lotus. This is wonderful news. May DC9 stay healthy! This is now the historic moment of having a hatchling in the DC nest for the first time in four years.
Oh, you are cute and you are blessed. You will be an only eaglet like Jackie and Shadow’s baby.
Here is a really short video of that hatch.
Jackie and Shadow have certainly had a terrible day with the strong winds, rain and ice pellets.
There is snow on the Big Bear nest this morning but the winds have lessened. Thank goodness. Everyone is just fine!
What a gorgeous landscape!
Samson made the egg cup quite deep the other day knowing that the baby would be snug as a bug when the storm hit. Lovely family.
Amanda777 made a short video of Jackie feeding the baby in the snow.
The rain and the winds stopped on Monday for the West End eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. This morning it is beautiful. Someone who knows fish species told me that the red flesh fish that are brought to the nest are Alders. They are apparently quite good if you like to smoke your fish.
How many stared at Annie in the scrape watching for every moment? CalFalcons predicted around 20:10. I hung on waiting for a little longer only to get up later and, thankfully, to a note from ‘B’ discovered that second precious egg of her and Grinnell’s had been laid around 21:18:37. Thank you! Both were clearly visible at 21:41:17 when Annie rose up to display those beautiful deep red eggs.
CalFalcons made a quick video of Annie laying that second egg.
Here are the two eggs this morning! Good thing egg collectors have learned that their actions almost made many bird species extinct in the late 19th century and early 20th. They are beautiful! We will look forward to them being fuzzy white eyases in 33-35 days.
While I was watching Annie I was also checking on Karl II. Oh, bless that Black Stork’s heart! Now if he will continue his north westerly route avoiding the area of The Ukraine…Fingers crossed. Looking forward to having him back on his nest at the Karula National Forest in Estonia.
He spent the night in Motoseni, Romania.
My happiness at Karl II’s route was matched by Obey flying into the Dale Hollow nest at 18:02:32 with a small fish last evening. At 18:02:51 Little Middle went into submission.
Big had finished at least a fish and a half, if not two, one hour earlier. Big could not be hungry!
Watching and watching and listening, Little Middle gets to the rim, head down.
He sits up and looks over hoping, perhaps, that Big wouldn’t finish that small fish! Big did not attack.
Little Middle moves around the nest. Big doesn’t do anything. Is there any fish left?
He gets up there, beside Big.
Little Middle gets his first bite at 18:09:22.
Little Middle got the remainder of the fish thanks to Obey. The tail was gone at 18:14:12. Not a long feeding and not a lot of fish but Little Middle had a crop. Oh, I would love to see this wee one get to eat an entire fish by itself! Talk about a growth spirt.
I loved this image of Little Middle looking up at his Dad. Obey has done some nice feedings for the wee one, holding back, going slower, moving the fish. It is nice to know that Little Middle went to bed with a full tummy.
This morning a really large fish on to the Dale Hollow nest. I cannot comment on what happened prior to 08:14 on the feed as it will not rewind beyond this and I could not check this nest earlier. It appears that the two eaglets were fed half of the large fish with half remaining on the nest. There is no discord between them after 08:14 so maybe there wasn’t any! I live with hope.
It appears that Big ate first and Middle moved in later. That would be my guess based on past experience.
Big is obviously full.
The parent turns the other way to feed Little Middle. Big has moved away already having consumed 1/3 of the big fish. There will still be fish left when Middle finishes eating.
I have included the three images below. It is hard to get a sense of the true difference in size or even the actual size of the eaglets.
It is nice to see them looking out at the big world together. Big has almost lost her dandelions and, of course, Middle Little had his pulled off so he is ahead with that regard.
Little Middle is surely growing and has some nice blood feathers at the tip of its wings coming in. Big has quite a few. Both are doing a lot of preening. Hopefully more fish will come in today – surely there will be!
Everything continues to go well for Andy and Lena and the two Osplets at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Both are healthy and continue to eat well and grow in their juvenile plumage.
Every once in awhile you can get a glimpse of all the triplets at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. It can be tricky though. I have waited and waited with no luck!
The two eaglets of Liberty and Guardian seem to be going through the bobbling head phase. One had a great PS this morning while the other stood up and watched it. Cute. Their rain has stopped and they are drying out.
There was a Great Horned Owl that landed below the nest in the middle of the night. Hope it stays away!!!!!
There are so many nests to cover and Ospreys arriving or not. It is difficult now to keep track of all that is going on. I have not seen any announcements of any of the monitored nest Ospreys returning in the UK since Telyn arrived at Dyfi late Monday. I will continue to monitor that situation.
Thank you for joining me this morning for a bit of a hop, skip, and jump through the nests. We are expecting rain and then 100% chance of more snow – just when we thought spring was coming!!!!!!! I recall actually having snow on the 15th of May one year. Hopefully it will not be that late in 2022. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Eagles, Cal Falcons, Pix Cam, Redding Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys, Looduskalender Forum, West End Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, and the NADC-AEF.
A wonderful lady from Poland who rescued a Crow and took care of it for 5 months so it could return to the wild asked me how I could stay ‘distant’ and not get involved emotionally in the nests. That was perhaps two years ago now. I hope she still joins us here with the birds. The truth is I often scream at the screen, get upset, yell at particular birds as if I know better than then, can’t sleep at night if a bird is encased in ice, etc.
Most of the time the nests are brilliant but sometimes you meet up with one that simply doesn’t make sense the way the others do. For me, this year, that is Dale Hollow.
At 17:02:41 today, River returns to the nest having been there earlier. She has decided it is time to feed the eaglets even if they are sleeping. Immediately Big gets up – has a leftover crop from the 11:52:51 feeding. Big attacks Little Middle just to make sure it didn’t move up to eat. Even then Big hangs back close to Little Middle so he won’t move up near to the food. Middle Little tucks its head in way under and he stays that way.
In the middle part of the feeding, there is another attempt at intimidation. It is clear from the first part that Middle can still get up to Little Middle’s head.
In the third part, Middle begins to move, finally. River reaches out and gives it a bite of food. Why did she not slow the feeding? Why did she not turn with her head to the rim? It is an easy thing to do – after all, she has done it before. Little Middle could have eaten but it was too frightened. I find this nest to be so sad. Even with 6 fish coming in yesterday nothing stopped Big’s wrath.
Thankfully the weather has cleared at the West End Bald Eagles nest. Thunder, Akecheta, and the three babies are fine! In the image below, Dad is drying off his wings. The babies are in front of him sound asleep.
Everyone is fed.
I yelled at Akecheta last year about his refusal to guard the nest. He was 5 years old and figuring out slowly – very slowly – what his role was. Thunder had faith in him and it has surely been rewarded this year. Cheta wouldn’t let anyone touch those kids of his – and everyone eats. Not one of them has been hungry, left out, or bonked and the little one is 4 days younger than the oldest! They are also very healthy and growing strong. No fear or intimidation just trying to corral curious kids with wooden blockades!
Look at how big and tall the oldest is. Beautiful. Looking out over the sea where she will be flying one day. Too soon.
There is your power couple.
There was a prey drop and a bit of a ritual bonding in the scrape of Annie and Grinnell at The Campanile on the campus of UC Berkeley. Here is a video clip of this ritual….BTW. We are expecting Annie to lay the 3rd egg this evening. Cal Falcons predicts it will be 20:10 scrape time.
Look carefully and you can see the pip progressing in the egg at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest. They say you can hear it peeping now. Mr President and Lotus are not giving a thing away.
It is just miserable at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. The icy snow has turned into rain for now. The nest and adults are soaked to the core.
Poor Jackie. The weather is so bad. Shadow filled up the nest with food, bless his heart. You can see the stacks of fish behind Jackie. Hopefully there is a break to feed the baby who should have a name soon! One of my readers, ‘A’, a teacher who wants to ensure her students are empathetic with wildlife sent in the name ‘Hope’. It is so fitting for this time. I did not mention this while the contest was open but it is certainly what we all must have – Hope.
It is definitely a busy day on the nests. I am going to bring this blog to a close with a look at the female star of the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales, Telyn, the mate of Idris! These two are so close to my heart. Telyn arrives and doesn’t sit on the nest waiting for Idris to bring her a fish – and he is truly the king of bringing in huge fish. No, she goes off and gets it herself. I sure hope her mate and the others we are missing are home soon. Welcome back, Telyn, Blue 3J. Eat and rest!
Thanks so much for joining me today. You couldn’t hear me yelling at River to turn herself around. It is hard to see one eaglet with a crop eat a fish and a half and the other get a single bite. But…At any rate, take care. It feels like there is going to be lots of news tomorrow. See you soon!
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips today: Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear, National Arboretum Eagles and the AEF, and Dyfi ospreys.
I thought that my blog would appear tonight but the day got flipped so it is out by noon but, if there is an evening report, it will be quite late.
The weather in California is not good. The storm hitting the Channel Islands is intensifying while it is yet to hit Big Bear Valley. One with rain and high, high winds – the other with high, high winds and snow.
The weather forecast was dire for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Lake with high winds and snow. The wind is currently blowing at 14 mph with a temperature of 38 F.
The winds remain with the snow expected to arrive today.
At 10:47, the weather is better for Jackie and the baby.
Those same winds are hitting the Channel Islands and the nest of Thunder and Akecheta at the West End. In still images you cannot see the wind or hear it but for Thunder, Akecheta, and the trio it is blowing at 29 mph.
The winds turned into winds and rain. Akecheta is hunkered down on those three babies so nothing will happen to them! Please keep this family in your thoughts today and send them positive energy. The storm is, at present, much worse here than at Big Bear.
Here is a video clip I took so that you can see the intensity of what the eagles are facing.
At 09:47:
Akecheta and kids at 10:44. Soaked.
It is raining on the Redding California nest of Liberty and Guardian but so far they seem to be spared the high winds that West End and Big Bear are getting.
It started out foggy for the east coast of Florida a the nest of Samson and Gabby in Jacksonville. The fog will burn off and it is going to be nice for our eaglets, Jasper and Rocket, who are working on wingersizing and getting their balance down perfectly. Both are self-feeding and well branching and hatching is going to come soon.
Jasper hatched on the 23rd of January (04:06am) and Rocket on the 25th (02:24am). Jasper is 63 days old and Rocket is 61.
Note: The information on the streaming cam indicates that the pair are only 21 hours apart but the hatch times listed must then be incorrect. Whatever the date it will be another 2 weeks when we will really be looking for fledging.
At the Dale Hollow Nest of Big and Middle Little, Middle Little is crying to be fed despite 6 fish being delivered to the nest on Sunday, Little Middle got hardly any food after noon because of Big’s intimidations and beakings. River brought a fish to the nest at 06:54:39 but did not feed them. They are both hungry and a little restless.
They look like wooly insulation today.
River arrived at 10:18:14 to feed the eaglets. Big went up immediately. Little Middle observed and then moved to the left of the nest – and River changed her position so she could feed it and Big – separated by her body! Well done, River! Both got to share the small fish and both had crops, not huge but they both ate well enough. Now we need more fish!
River used her ‘eagle eyes’ to notice that Little Middle was moving up and wanted food. See how she turned to face the rim which protected Little Middle from Big.
Did you know that the term ‘eagle eye’ was first used in the 1500s before science understood eagle vision. Eagles have 5x the amount of light cells packed into a square inch. Humans can see at 110 degrees with both eyes, eagles have two foveae (the place in the retina where the cells that sense light are located) in each eye. They can see much better in all directions – including almost 360 degrees of peripheral vision, according to Sibley.
Both eaglets are getting some of their blood feathers – more, of course, on Big.
Some of you have commented about a chat at Dale Hollow. The chat for Dale Hollow appeared yesterday and then today for a bit. According to one of the moderators, it is only on when the cameras are re-booted and probably won’t be on at any regular times if at all.
The eaglets are 28 days old – 4 weeks. Remember when you look at their size that only 51 minutes separates them in terms of hatch time. Big is just huge. You can easily see those wing and contour feathers coming in on Big in the image below. Look at the tip of the wing.
River flew in with a nice fish at 11:50:51.
Notice Big’s large crop from eating almost an entire fish earlier as she moves over to get fed. Little Middle puts its head down.
But wait! Is Big too full? ready to cast a pellet? (they don’t always want to eat them) The adult is stretching out to feed Little Middle! Oh, kiss that eagle!
Big decides it wants some fish, too. But there is no discord. Eventually the adult moves away to the other rim so that the two are divided.
Just look at Little Middle’s crop!!!!!!!!!!! Yahoooooooooo.
Excellent. Little Middle made up for missing much of the earlier fish and winds up with an enormous crop. Well done, Little Middle.
It has been awhile since we had a really good look at the osplets on the Captiva Osprey nest. With the death of Big on the 15th (cause unknown still), the two remaining chicks have thrived with absolutely no discord. Today they are standing and it is seriously difficult to tell Middle from Little.
They are seriously beautiful little Ospreys and it is wonderful for Andy and Lena to continue to have two healthy babies who look like they will fledge without a problem.
Can you tell between Middle and Little? It is difficult. Middle is standing in the image below. Its feathers are a little darker having grown out longer.
Harry is keeping the MN DNR nest full of prey – talk about choice! – for his two wee ones and Nancy. Their weather is so much nicer than in other parts of the US.
It is cool in Ithaca where Big Red and Arthur have their nest with some snow falling on occasion. Big Red and Arthur are incubating four eggs – a first for this nest and a rather rare event even if hawks can lay up to 5 eggs. Ironically, the University of Syracuse RTHs now have four eggs, too!
The same snow that is falling in Ithaca is hitting Pittsburgh and the Bald eagle nest out in Hayes even more. Mum and Dad are brooding three chicks. Stay warm!
There was a pip in the second egg at the National Arboretum nest. Here is an image of the egg during a shift change today and the adult. Will hopefully have good news tomorrow on a successful hatch for Mr President and Lotus.
In the image below, taken at 09:22 this morning, you can clearly see the egg tooth chipping away. Oh, my goodness, fingers crossed for these two.
Here is a recent video of the hatch for Mr President and Lotus as it progresses:
There was some speculation about the Dale Hollow nest when the camera was turned away from the nest. It appears, from comments I saw by the woman who does the videos, that at one time or another – perhaps during that long view – Little Bit was removed from the nest and probably fed to Big. Several of you thought that was the case. Eaglets from other nest also brought on. Good sleuthing. Sad.
Thank you for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Pix cams, NADC-AEF, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, MN DNR, Redding Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and AEF.
There is a winter storm warning in effect for the Big Bear Valley area. Heavy snow fall and winds are expected. It is to peak, according to the weather forecast, tomorrow tapering off on Tuesday.
Samson loaded up the nest wish fish. This is their home and has been for many years. The adults are certainly accustomed to the wind and snow in the mountains east of Los Angeles. The trio will be fine. Jackie and Shadow are standing guard over the little one in the nest this evening.
The first two images are from earlier today. You can see the fish in the pantry.
As the storm begins, both Jackie and Shadow are at the nest.
It is nearing 21:00 and the winds are beginning to pick up. They are supposed to be quite gusty at 45 mph. You can currently hear what sounds like hail on the camera. It is really starting to blow. The baby is hunkered down in the nest. Hang on Mum and Dad!
You will notice how carefully they move around the nest in the winds. Get your head down little one!
The winds will continue to pick up in velocity. Here is a glimpse of what is happening at the nest around 21:00 the 27th of March.
Please send your good wishes to these amazing parents and this little one as they ride out the winds and the heavy wet snow that will be coming. I will include a review of the happenings at Big Bear but you can also watch them here:
The nest is at the top of the tallest tree, a tree that has know so many storms.
I know that many of you adore Jackie and Shadow, as I do. You might not know that the weather is going to bet increasingly challenging in Big Bear Valley. Again send your positive wishes to this beautiful family of three. Thank you! Take care.
Thank you to the Friends of Big Bear Valley’s streaming cams where I took my screen shots and video capture.
It seemed that Saturday started out to be a rather good day. And then it didn’t. The little hatchling at the National Arboretum Nest has died. There is one other egg for Mr President and Lotus. Perhaps it will survive. This is a very detailed explanation of the uncommon tragic accident that happened to this chick trying to hatch.
Big and Middle had the fish that had been left on the nest overnight and then Obey brought in another sucker. That second fish was finished by 11:30ish. Both Big and Little Middle had big crops. No other prey came to the nest during the afternoon. When River arrived -like an alarm clock – at 19:02:13 – she was empty taloned. Not good. Big began to attack Middle Little for no apparent reason at 07:03:12. Little Middle went into submissive mode. Neither eaglet was fed and there is no food on the nest. The eaglets are 26 days old.
At the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow, the eaglet is 23 days old. If you look at it physically you can see the resemblance to the developmental stage of the Dale Hollow eaglets.
The body is covered with thermal down almost completely but the head and a few dandelions on the neck and wing.
Jackie and Shadow’s feeding schedule until 15:20 today, the 26th of March, as posted on the rolling camera chat. There will be at least two more today but if those didn’t happen, there would have still been six feedings beginning at dawn.
Like children, nests need stability and regularity for security. It is Sunday morning. Obey brought a squirrel in prior to 08:00. The feeding was continuing when I opened up the streaming cam. Little Middle got none of that first prey item that I could see. Big had a crop.
A sucker came in at 08:46:16. It is a nice sized fish.
Big attacks Little Middle at 08:46:44 despite having eaten the squirrel and having a crop.
The parent begins to feed Big with Little Middle into submission.
At 08:51:02 Little Middle has moved to the other side of the parent and is being fed. Yeah Little Middle!!!!!
Little Middle got to eat until 08:56:46 when the parent abruptly flew off – perhaps to get rid of an intruder.
Little Middle is very hungry and pecks at the flesh of the fish watched by Big.
There is lots of fish left. Little Middle goes to the rim of the nest.
River returns to the nest at 10:19 alerting. Little Middle is cheeping and moves up to eat when River goes to fish. At the onset Big did not bother. Then at 10:25:28 it wants to go and eat. Big attacked Little Middle at 10:25:30. Little Middle moved to rim of nest. Big was still eating at 10:31.
Big just can’t stop with the beaking.
Little Middle had a crop but being clever, he is watching and waiting.
At 10:33, knowing Big has moved, Little Middle goes back to the fish. River begins feeding her youngest.
At the end of this feeding, Middle is going to have a bigger crop! It is now 10:36 and he is still eating! This is fantastic. Little Middle, despite the dominance posturing and some beaking, is getting quicker at its return to the feeding. Well done Little Middle!
Little Middle ate well. Look at this beautiful crop. Life is good!
There was a chat open at the Dale Hollow nest this morning. Because of that I was able to find out some information that would really be helpful under the streaming cam. The original nest of River and Obey was discovered in 2009. It fell with the two fledglings in 2020. Both survived. Prior to this year, River and Obey fledged 24 chicks. The nest on the cam is now one year old. There are 28 Bald Eagle nests around Dale Hollow Lake.
Akecheta continues to be ‘Super Dad’ at the West End nest that he shares with his mate Thunder and the triplets. They are doing incredibly well! There is still no discord between any of the three. They are well fed, sometimes tandem fed, and shaded during the heat of the day. It is nothing short of a fabulous nest to watch.
Here is a very short video of the four eaglets of Lisa and Oliver being fed at the PA Farm nest on 26 March. Warms your heart. These parents are going to be extremely busy!
Parents are doing a tandem feed at the PA Farm nest to ensure that the smallest one of the four gets fed. This is Saturday at noon.
You may remember that there was to be a rescue attempt at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo to retrieve R2 to remove the fishing line that the eaglet had tangled around its leg. As the rescuers were there, R2 fledged. Luckily it broke the fishing line. There is apparently a small bit of fishing line on its toe.
Sadly, this is why intervention is not normally done at this late stage unless the eaglet is ill or cannot fly away. They are hoping that R2 will return to the nest and with good fortune the remainder of the fishing line removed. There is an update by Ron Magill. He was able to get R2. The rest of the monofilament has been removed. R2 is fine other than having some flea lice. Great news!
There are more osprey arrivals in the UK. Blue 5F Seren arrived at the Llyn Clywedog Nest. Look at that nice fish she has brought in and look at that beautiful landscape – a perfect place to raise Ospreys. Seren shares this nest with her mate Dylan. They fledged one osprey – the largest male Osprey hatched ever in Wales last season.
Seren has to be strong. That is a huge fish. There is no footage of her getting it out of the lake but there is a video of the haul into the nest!
The Canada Goose on the Decorah unused Bald Eagle nest has laid her third egg!
There is also a pip at the Decorah North nest in egg for DN16. That was at 09:52 this morning.
The two sweet babies at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian are just getting fed as I close this blog. How adorable.
Life feels rather good as I close this blog. Little Middle is getting much more clever and quicker to get down and eat so the parent doesn’t leave thinking they are not hungry. Big has turned its beak on Little Middle at least twice this morning but nothing like the violence on the 23rd of March. Little Middle continues to grow! As far as I can tell all of the other nests are doing OK today. There are some significant ospreys that have yet to arrive including two of my favourites Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi Nest. We are also waiting for Aran, Louis, and the Foulshaw Moss couple plus CJ7 and Blue 022 if he returns to Poole Harbour. Hopefully there will be more to arrives this evening.
Thank you for joining me this morning. I hope that you have a beautiful Sunday. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: CarnyxWild, Explore.org, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Redding Eagles, WRDC, PA Game Commission, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and the NAE FB Page.
Many of you have been watching the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida along with me. It is the home of Lena and Andy and their chicks. The oldest sibling, Big Bob, passed away on the 15th of March around 08:39. This was a shock to everyone as all of the osplets appeared to be in good health. Big Bob’s body was take to the University of Georgia at Athens where a necroscopy was undertaken because CROW did not have the sophisticated equipment to conduct the tests. It was originally anticipated that the cause of Big’s death would be know at the end of that week. it has been announced that the tests are now being run by a national laboratory with even more sensitive testing equipment than the UGA Vet School.*
Andy, Lena, and the two remaining chicks are doing very well. Little’s plumage is almost catching up to Middle’s and they are relatively equal in size. Gorgeous Ospreys.
Andy is arriving with a morning Mullet appetizer at 08:14:57.
Look at those beautiful ‘babies’. Middle is on the left and Little is on the right.
Andy is off to get a bigger fish so he can eat the head and have some breakfast, too. He brought in the tiny teaser Mullet in tact. Look at the back plumage. Soon we will have difficulty telling the two chicks apart.
At the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur, Arthur flies in to relieve Big Red at 06:40. He already has her breakfast waiting for her and she is off!
Arthur got to incubate their eggs for about forty-minutes before Big Red returned to take over.
Big Bob and Middle Bob had a really good feed yesterday morning at the Dale Hollow Nest. That Coot that filled both of them up to the brim and more was a blessing since it appears that nothing came on the nest but a small unidentified object (rat? small squirrel skin?) later. That said, the camera was diverted to the lake in the early evening. It appears – but I cannot confirm 100% – that River was digging in the nest at the time. It also appears that she found Little Bit’s body and fed it to Big. Again, I cannot confirm that for certain. It was only by going back and slowly moving the feed that we were able to catch the momentary checks on the nest.
Both were very hungry this morning and Big let it be known that whatever was coming in, he ate first. The parent arrived empty taloned.
A little later the parent returned and fed the unidentified object to the right of it above to Big. Middle did not venture up to even sniff the prey knowing that Big is very hungry and not in a good mood.
I will monitor the Dale Hollow nest again before I finish and bring any updates below. I find myself returning to the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Thunder looks on with pride last evening as Akecheta feeds the three eaglets. We are all so proud of how far Akecheta has come – a doting, loving, protective Dad at age six. I also like to point out that the smallest chick on the West End nest is 4 days younger than the oldest. The youngest chick at Dale Hollow was only 3 days younger than the oldest.
This is an amazing image!
The eaglet on the Big Bear Valley nest was left alone this morning as Jackie and Shadow appeared to be on high alert.
While everyone is anxiously awaiting and mapping the return of the UK Ospreys on charts, graphs, and maps, thousands are awaiting the arrival of the oldest female Osprey in the world, Iris, from her winter migration. Her spring and summer home is the Clark-Fork River area of Missoula Montana and her nest is on a platform a parking area of the Riverside Clinic. Workers have been busy putting up fencing so no one will get too close to the nest and frighten Iris away.
At the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15, E20 officially fledged yesterday, the 22nd of March.
E20 had fludged after E19 fledged on the 21st. Congratulations to the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest for two successful fledges and a fantastic year. Thank you to the D Pritchett family for caring so much for their eagles and for allowing us to enjoy watching their daily lives.
At the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian, the parents are celebrating the successful hatch of chick # 2 at 08:47 this morning, the 23rd of March. Chick #1 hatched on the 20th.
In the wee hours of the Morning at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo, R1 was accidentally pushed off the nest. I have no further news on the status of R1 at this time. Will update later if there is news.
R1 was spotted at the base of the tree. It then flew – yes, flew! – to an adjoining tree! R1 is fine. Not to be left behind, R2 the only eaglet on the nest at 12:30 is appearing to want to join its sibling. Wow. This is all good news!
The surviving oldest eaglet on the Duke Farms nest is continuing to do very well.
Lots of people are busy watching the Sauces Bald Eagle cam hoping for that pip! Jak and Audacity are getting anxious, too!
It was announced that there will be a live chat with Dr. Sharpe today on bald eagles on the islands, restoration, nesting, at 2 pm Eastern/11 am Pacific on the Live Chat Channel https://youtu.be/4nSIhl1fOFk
I want to end this here so that you have an opportunity to know about Dr Sharpe’s talk.
It is 11:37 nest time at Dale Hollow. No prey brought in yet. Middle flapping its wings.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I will have a late report today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams: Redding Bald Eagles, Explore.org and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Duke Farms, Friends of Big Bear Valley, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab and the Montana Osprey project, and Dale Hollow Eagles.
We had more snow last night – not a lot. But the humidity this morning is impacting the key pad on my computer. Has that ever happened to you? It is driving me crazy.
Oh, my goodness. Out in Bird World there are lots of storms moving through. One of them, with winds gusting to 46 mph, went through Captiva during the night. Lena held on tight and kept both of her babies safe.
By the time Andy brought the very first fish to his family things were a lot calmer.
It is still a bit windy. You can see Lena’s feathers blowing. Aren’t the feathers on Middle and Little gorgeous?
There is another storm system that is going to impact almost all of the nests we have been watching as it moves east – save for those nests in the West.
In the Kisatchie National Forest, home to the Bald Eagles Anna and Louis and their eaglet of 2022, Kincaid, they are waiting for the very severe weather shown in the top map to hit any moment. Kincaid is already finishing his breakfast.
Kincaid loves the wind and is flapping all over the nest as the storm approaches. Kincaid, wait! No branching today.
The storm has hit. Anna and Louis will be perched in nearby trees. Kincaid is hunkered down. Fantastic.
That same system is also going to impact the Dale Hollow nest where Middle DH15 needs big fish deliveries today. River stayed on the nest with the two during the night. I hope she returns with a huge fish so that the trauma DH15 endured yesterday does not happen again today. If you are wondering why it does not fight back, take a look at the difference in size. DH15 or Middle wants to survive, too.
Amanda777 posted the following video about the Dale Hollow nest yesterday.
I don’t know Amanda777 but in a comment on the video, she said, “This is a very strange nest”. Indeed, it is in so many ways. First, siblicide on a Bald Eagle nest appears to be very rare. This is supported by much academic research. To have the same Bald Eagle nest with the same parents have at least two incidents of violent siblicide is not normal. One might begin to wonder if the offspring are predisposed genetically? or is it this nest territory? the weather? intruders? available prey? gender of the siblings and birth order? the distinct type of parenting ? or the synergy of all the factors?
I asked a couple of eagle experts about the life expectancy of Bald Eagles in the wild. The general consensus is that it is about 20-24 years. Some do live longer. Many never reach their first birthday. Keeping that in mind and knowing that River and Obey are both supposed to be 24 years old also gives a different perspective. They are elderly. When siblicide happens, the biggest question is always ‘why’? Sadly it appears that the eagles are driven to breed whether they want to or not and to lay eggs, the number they do not seem to be able to control.
Obey has just landed on the nest alerting! Then River comes. It is 07:43. Oh, goodness. This is not a good start to the day!
It is nearly 010:30 and Big and Middle are still waiting for breakfast. This does not bode well unless this is an enormous fish when it comes. Fingers crossed.
At 10: 27:03 one of the parents flies in with an American Coot which it is plucking. Big is very hungry and is right up there. Middle is watching and listening but staying out of the way. Smart! Let Big go first. You will save yourself, Middle, if you do! (It is possible that this is Obey, the Dad, but I am not 100% sure. The feeding method is different).
The adult twists and turns plucking and maybe nibbling?? Middle is very attentive but no matter how hungry he is, he is looking like he knows to stay away from Big.
Well, would you look at this! Middle didn’t wait!!!!!!! He is right up there at the beak. I sure hope Big doesn’t get mad.
Big did get mad! Middle ducked and began moving along the rim away from the food. That appeared to satisfy Big who is extremely interested in the plucking.
Middle had a plan. He gets over to his normal spot on the rim and he turns and checks on Big. And then he makes his move.
Still watching Big very closely Middle moves around the rim of the nest.
He gets himself right up by Obey and he Dad starts feeding his boy some Coot. Middle really likes it.
Did I say Middle really likes Coot? He is practically under Dad’s head trying to get some more.
Middle is going to eat much more of this Coot than Big.
Can you see Middle’s crop?
At 11:00 Middle is still eating. It has been a half hour feed.
At 11:04 Obey is pulling out the stringy bloody bites and Middle wants them!
The feeding might have finished at 11:07 but Middle thinks that there could be a little more food and continues until 11:10. Both Big and Middle have gigantic crops!!!!!!! Seriously huge. Middle will be waddling around and sleeping on a cropzilla.
Middle did a PS at 11:11:13. These babies are so full. Life is good. Tears are rolling down my cheeks. Middle is getting strategic and that was a great meal.
A Bald Eagle nest with three sweet little babies that is thriving is the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.
The winds have really calmed down for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. They were practically blown off the nest yesterday. Little one had a wonderful early breakfast.
A quick check at the nest of Cornell’s Red tail Hawks, Big Red and Arthur and all is calm. Arthur has come to give Big Red a break. Isn’t he cute? Yesterday, Arthur brought a snake on to the nest. It’s true. He ate it while he was incubating the eggs!
Was the snake meant as a treat for Big Red? If so, she might not ever know.
I know that many of you fell in love with Harry, that young 4 year old dad that did so well on the MN-DNR nest last year. Well, Harry was busy packing the prey in the nest yesterday. Him and Nancy had their first pip of the 2022 season! I was expecting a hatch during the night or early morning. Waiting for word. Nancy is not giving a thing away!
Two of the three eggs have hatched at Pittsburgh-Hayes. Here is a great look at one of the recent feedings.
LM12 or as he is fondly called, Laddie, has been creating the nicest nest of all it seems. I wonder if Blue NC0 will like it when she arrives?
Maya and Blue 33 (11), two of my favourite Osprey parents, have been working on their nest and getting reacquainted after their winter migration. Blue 33 returned yesterday. Maya was home at Rutland Water on March 15. Last year the couple arrived within half an hour of one another.
While Maya and Blue 33 work on their nest, the three little Bobble heads of Thunder and Akecheta are just waking up and having breakfast. It is 06:27 on Catalina Island in California.
Liberty and Guardian are also waking up in Redding, California with their first hatch wanting breakfast. This was actually egg2 and it joined us at 21:24 on March 20th. Liberty has a nice big fish in the nest already.
At the Dulles Greenaway nest of Martin and Rosa, the wee babe is wide awake and Rosa moved so we could have a peek.
Sweet and sleepy.
There is so much happening in Bird World. I hope to get someone to do a quick cleaning of my laptop today. You might not hear from me until much later. Please send your warmest wishes to all of the nests and, in particular, Dale Hollow. Middle did fantastic this morning! Joyful tears. We just need this to continue.
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, KNF Bald Eagles, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Cornell RTH, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, LRWT, Woodland Trust and Loch of the Lowes, Pix Cams, MN DNR, Friends of Big Bear Valley, and CNN Weather Tracker.
What a busy day it was in Bird World and what a gorgeous day it was on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting and causing all manner of problems but the Canada Geese are flying in, the Grackles have arrived in mass, and the first White-throated Sparrow appeared at the feeders along with the usual woodpeckers, European Starlings, House Sparrows and, of course, Dyson! We had another visitor too that seems to be coming every morning around 08:00, an unusual time for a rabbit. I wonder if Hedwig’s burrow is full of water????
Hedwig is an Eastern Cottontail. They are the most prevalent of the five rabbit species in Canada. The four others are the Artic Hare, the Mountain Hare, White-tailed Jackrabbit, and the Snowshoe Hare.
Hedwig being an Easteern Cottontail is the smallest of the five. His mother left him underneath our Peony Bush. He was about a month old. He found safety with all of the birds feeding and discovered that if he hung out under the feeders, he never had to worry about food. We have tried to give him carrots and he refuses them. He often eats the bark off of our Lilac Bushes where he can easily hide. We don’t care. It doesn’t seem to damage them. Isn’t he a cutie? He has some special marks on him that we know it is the original Hedwig. Let us hope he has another good year.
There is a pip/hatch watch going on at the Pittsburg-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. This couple fledged three last year! The pip happened at 09:39 this morning.
There was a good look at the size of the pip at 19:21.
Liberty and Guardian have a pip over at the Redding California Bald Eagle Nest. That happened around 07:04. There is a race between them and Pittsburgh-Hayes to see who hatches first! They also fledged three!
This morning on the SWFlorida Nest on the Pritchett Family Farm, E19 the eldest, fledged before noon. It was caught on camera by a couple filming the event. E20 was flapping, too, and the streaming cam operator did not know who would go first. Talk about sibling competition between these two. E20 did not have a very solid branch like E19 did who used it like a trampoline jumping up and down and flapping. As a result, E20 fludged and then flew away. Both flew like the great birds they are on 20th of March. How lovely. Congratulations to M15 and Harriet and the Pritchett family for another successful year. The fledglings will hang around with mom and dad. They will perfect their flying while being provided food. This is what it is all about.
Here is E19s fledge:
The cameras are down and I do not know if anyone caught E20’s flight. What a day for them to go down.
Well, this is a great way to feed chicks if you have three! Akecheta is feeding the Middle chick while Mum Thunder feeds Little Bit and Big. I wish you could see the smile on my face. Look at the size between the two Thunder is feeding. Little Bit is four days younger than Big. There are no squabbles.
Thunder and Akecheta are – to me – a real powerhouse couple. They may have had two unsuccessful years until Akecheta matured but just look at them now.
Andy came in at 17:28 with the last fish of the day for Lena, Middle and Little. It has been some time since Big died suddenly. The nest is doing really well. There is no word on the cause of Big’s death. I do not wish to speculate but had it been a physical cause like choking on a pellet, the vets would have found that immediately when they did the necroscopy. Toxin tests take longer. In the Balkans, the tests for Avian Flu only took a few days and – all the birds on this nest are fine. I wonder if any raptors die of heat stroke or heart attack? Do you know?
This was the 4th feeding for the osplets and it was a whole Sheepshead. Middle and Little ate and ate. In the image below, just look at how beautiful they are standing with Lena, a very proud Mama. That beautiful setting son casts a lovely glow on this Osprey family at Captiva, Florida.
The eaglets of Abby and Blazer (Eagle Country) hatched on the 11th and 14th of March. Just look at them now. Wow. Gorgeous babies. Nice crops. Both appear to be self-feeding.
If River and Obey do not stop bringing fish to the nest and feeding Big and Middle, I am not ever going to be able to take a walk! All kidding aside. It has been one big fish fest at the Dale Hollow Nest today which is the miracle that we were all hoping to see happen. This should be the last of many feedings at this nest today.
This fish arrival is at 18:19:36. Here comes River!
River has not started her feeding. Just look at the crop on Big. This eaglet is going to be an enormous female. And I really do mean enormous. The size of its legs are huge. I wish we could get a good comparison between Big and Mum.
Middle is still very shy of Big. I do not blame him. Big eats the first bites but River just then decides to put her beak in the middle of the two and sees who wants the fish. It also appears that River has slowed down in the speed of her feeding.
Once Big is full, Middle begins accepting bites. Remember – the key is survival. Middle has eaten and eaten today and it is not going to do a thing to wake up Big’s wrath.
Middle eats and eats. By 18:35 his crop is so big you might think it is going to explode. River continues to push fish at him.
At 18:35:38 Middle is so full he walks away from the table! He simply cannot hold another bite. It looks like he might not be able to hold up that crop.
Middle has to try and lay down. It must be awfully uncomfortable with that massive crop.
But wait! Middle stands up.
And with a crop as big as half a baseball, Middle turns around to head back to the table to the shock of Big.
As he turns, Big reaches over to pull off the piece of straw across Middle’s crop. Middle is a little shy and doesn’t seem to know if this is a friendly or hostile gesture. I don’t blame him. The gesture is friendly.
Both kiddos eat a couple of more bites and collapse. They are certainly going to have sweet eagle dreams! And so am I!
I have focused on the Dale Hollow Lake nest with more information than the other nests because it had been so full of strife. My mailbox has been full of questions and you might be wondering about some of these.
Where is DH16? When a nestling dies, Eagles either consume the dead chick, bury it in the nest, or carry it off. River buried DH16 in the nest last night, the 19th of March.
Why such a change in this nest? There are many possible reasons and my answers are based on a large body of academic literature. 1) Threats and intruders to the territory of River and Obey have diminished and they are able to focus on hunting and feeding. 2) Fishing and hunting have greatly improved for the eagles. There could be many causes for this including the most obvious weather. 3) The reduction of the brood was accomplished. 4) Middle was able to garner enough energy to show that it was determined to live and River took notice of this and is now feeding it. 5) Some or all of the above. One reader ‘B’ suggested that maybe River and Obey had read by blog about needing to have a spare in case Big died! That is a good point with Avian Flu tearing through the region.
Whatever has happened, we have had a wonderful 36 hours and let us all hope that this continues. Things are going very well. Big has calmed right down. The fact that so many fish were brought in today and another found buried on the nest kept Big full and happy and allowed Middle to gain confidence and to eat its fill. Middle will literally grow over night. I am sure many of you have been shedding tears of joy. I sure have.
Will close with Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. Five feedings for the little eaglet today! The baby is eating longer and more fish and the feedings are slowly decreasing because of that. The naming contest closes on March 25 and several names will be drawn out of those suggested by donors. The 3rd grade class at the local school will vote. Hopefully this cutie will have a name next week!
Life in Bird World has been very good today. Very, very good.
Thank you so much for joining me. Please take care. See you soon!!!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Dale Hollow Eagles, Pix Cams, Redding Eagles, Eagle Country, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.
This will be a very short report on a few of the nests we have been watching. Each of those nests is doing fine. Indeed, they are doing really well.
Thunder and Akecheta are such an amazing team this year at the West End Bald Eagle nest. It has been a real treat to watch Akecheta mature into the genuinely passionate father of three chicks that he is. There isn’t anything that he will not do and he loves to shade, brood, and feed! This Bald Eagle nest of three chicks is doing very well. there are no issues.
Some of you may well be familiar with the Trio Love Nest on the Mississippi River near Fulton, Illinois. In 2017, the female, Hope, was probably killed by an interloper. There were two beautiful chicks in the nest and the two fathers, Valor I and Valor II raised them. It is a beautiful story that will lead both of them to find Starr or Starr find them and ‘the Trio’ to raise chicks together. It is not clear what is happening at the Trio Nest this year. It was believed Valor I had left and then he returned. This morning the Stewards of the Mississippi River said they believed that some sub-adult Bald Eagles had cleaned up the nest. We wait to see but this might be the end of The Love Trio. So sad. They were such a great team raising big healthy chicks to fledge.
This is an old video. Hope is believed to have been killed and the two males, Valor I and II, take over the care of the eaglets. They will raise them to fledge. It is really a good news story. I wish we had one today for all of them.
It has been 5 years since Big Red’s long time partner, Ezra, was killed. There were no eggs laid in 2017. In April of that year, a young Red-tail Fledgling made a visit to the nest that Big Red shared with Ezra. The young ‘whippersnapper’ as many on the Cornell chat call him wooed Big Red over all the other males that courted her. This is Arthur before he even had his Red tail!
This is Arthur today incubating the eggs for the 2022 breeding season. This is his 5th year together with Big Red. He is a cutie pie and Big Red is giving him more duties. Yippeee.
Gorgeous Big Red. Her and Arthur sure make great babies. She is 19 this year. Her life as a Mum has been tracked since 2012. No one knows if she had other mates before Ezra or how many chicks she fledged but, since 2012 she has only not fledged one. That was K2 who had a beak or jaw issue last year. That is an amazing testament to the amazing parenting that happens on this nest and the prey rich territory where she resides.
By 12 noon, Andy had made 3 fish deliveries at the Captiva Osprey Nest. They were a Sand Perch at 08:23; a Pinfish at 09:59, and a large Striped Mullet at 11:52. Everyone ate well and Lena has been shading her two surviving chicks from the hot Florida sun when she is not feeding them. I have seen no report from Captiva about the results of the necroscopy on Big Bob who died suddenly on the nest. Captiva and Window on Wildlife anticipated that they would have those results by the end of this past week.
Its 16:39 and the two at Captiva are eating again! Both have huge crops. Little Bob is pausing but there is so much fish left that surely he will return to the table for his usual second helping. All is good on this nest! That is such a relief. Hungry, healthy chicks!
For the followers of Ma Berry, the former mate of Pa at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest, a photo of Ma at Lake Allatoona was posted today by one of the members of the Berry College FB group. She looks good. The photo was September 26, 2021.
Pa’s and his new mate, Missy, have one chick this year, B15. A real sweet little eaglet. Well B15 has branched on 17 March! This is the announcement on the Berry College Eagles FB group.
B15 is a really healthy eaglet that loves using the nest like a trampoline.
Jackie and Shadow continue to do a great job at Big Bear just as anyone might expect. There have already been 7 feedings on this nest and it is barely 14:00. Feedings were at: 6:42; 8:01; 9:37; 10:29; 11:12; 12:16; 13:20. There appear to be several fish on the nest waiting. The Little One is growing like a beautiful read.
Everyone is good with the exception of Dale Hollow and whatever is happening at the Trio nest. The chick at Dulles Greenaway is happy, shaded, and fed. Rosie and Richmond, the Ospreys at the Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipyards in SF Bay, are busy trying to rebuild their nest. That is going to be a huge job. There is no recent news of Annie and Grinnell.
I will do a separate report about the day’s happenings at the Dale Hollow Lake nest probably late this evening. I can tell you that Middle got 2 or 3 bites of fish this morning, the very first since the meal late on the 17th. (I think I said the 18th in an earlier report). The oldest has launched ferocious attacks on the Middle one like he did with Little Bit. The Middle One has tried to fed but can’t on a big fish on the nest. Middle has even tried eating dirty straw. It sat at the feet of the mother begging with a huge fish and River allowed Big to continue its terror. I will put a warning on that posting. Suffice it to say that I do not believe that any miracles are going to happen on this nest. There will be one chick at the end. A huge ferocious female. I hope to post at least one academic article that argues that siblicide is simply selfishness and that evolutionary success depends on many factors but definitely not siblicide.
Thank you for joining me today. It is gorgeous and sunny and all the snow is in full melt. Geese continue to come, several Blue Jays are back and I saw my first White-throated Sparrow of the year. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Cornell Chatters Group FB Page (image of young Arthur); Berry College Eagles FB Group; Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife; Cornell Bird Lab and RTH; Friends of Big Bear Valley; West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies.
