Tag Archives: Kakapo Recovery

Late Thursday in Bird World

24.2.2022

The Kakapo Recovery are having a t-shirt fundraiser. They posted the following information on their FB today:

There are male and female styles and sizes range from the smallest to 2 or 3 XL. Shipping from New Zealand is reasonable should you wish to help out!

There are lots of chicks and where there are infertile eggs they are being swopped with fertile ones so some of the mothers get a chance to rear a chick. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that number of 201 to climb! It looks like it could be a good year for our non-flying parrots.

The tracking for Ervie indicates that he did visit the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge sometime yesterday. He was most likely checking to see if Dad was there so they could have a visit. No one spotted him on camera so maybe he landed on the wheelhouse.

Early Friday morning, nest time, and the barge is full of pigeons hoping to find leftovers. They certainly do a great clean up job for Mum!

The Mum at Duke Farms gives everyone a peek of the fully hatched chick 1 at 14:28. What a little fluff ball. So tiny!

It has been a really good day at Captiva. It is 17:46 and Lena is waiting on Andy to bring in the dinner fish. The three osplets still have crops from the earlier feed. All is good!

Gabby and Samson continue to demonstrate branching to Jasper and to be named NE27. Today the two eaglets were kept full to more than full. They have grown so fast. Time seems to go by in a blink. Just a few days ago it seemed they were only tiny fluff balls like chick 1 at Duke Farms today.

Oh, I love that beautiful glow over the nest in Jacksonville, Florida as the sun sets on Gabby, Samson, Jasper and NE27.

NE27 is going to clean up every bit of that fish! Sweet eagle dreams.

Lady Hawk did a great video of Samson bringing in this large carp for the eaglets. Listen to them cheeping. So cute. Gosh these two are just darlings.

There is snow and sleet falling on the nest of Bonnie, the GHOW, whose nest is on Farmer Derek’s land. The area extending from there over the Mississippi River and into Ohio are set to get quite a bit of precipitation.

This is what the Mississippi River Flyway Cam is showing. Looks like snow to me! The snow is really blowing around creating what we call ‘white out’ conditions at times. A white out is literally when you cannot see anything in front and beside you but snow. Highways and roads disappear. People do try to drive on it. They often wind up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Not recommended. You cannot even see approaching cars.

The female, Nancy, at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bald Eagle Nest near Minneapolis is getting snow as well. This nest fledged two great juveniles last year. Harry, the male, was only four years old and it was his first breeding attempt with Nancy. This year he looks much more like a mature Bald Eagle. Very handsome.

Checking in on the Iowa Bald Eagle nests, there is wet snow coming down on the Denton Home’s nest. No eggs there yet.

There is snow at the Decorah North nest of Mr North and DNF. If you look carefully you can see Mr North high up in the tree. What a beautiful sight.

When the city gets too much for me – as it often does – my mind moves to a cottage at the edge of a forest full of wildlife. This is so beautiful and serene. All you can hear is the snow falling and the wind. There is a creek in the background.

Mrs is keeping the eggs nice and warm and dry.

The other Bald Eagle nest with a streaming cam in Decorah also has snow. No eggs yet and no one on the nest. Right now I can hear lots of geese honking. My goodness they are super loud!

Here is the link to this camera. You might catch the geese flying in also at dusk.

The snow has not reached Pittsburgh but the wind is sure blowing at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest tonight. Mum is trying to keep those eggs warm and dry in that cold. With their 7000 plus feathers, the eagles are well equipped to ride out the cold, the snow, and the bitter winds. Regardless, I just ache for them.

The sound of those honking geese reminded me that Ospreys are moving north out of African towards Europe and the UK. A number were reported entering southwest France today. With all the snow here and in other places it is hard to imagine but the birds will be making their way home. In a month there should be Ospreys on a nest or two in the UK. I am counting on one of my favourites, Blue 33, and his partner, Maya, arriving at Rutland first. We wait to see!

In San Francisco, Richmond has been on and off the Whirley Crane nest in the shipping yards anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mate, Rosie. Those two are going to have a lot of work when she gets here. Just look at that nest. Maybe Richmond should take a page out of Louis’s book up at Loch Arkaig and start work before she arrives. Richmond, that would be a very sweet thing to do!

Dyson and Scraggles have been playing in the seeds and snow so they are both fine. The 50 or so European Starlings that visit the nest for food have been perching in my neighbour’s trees. Today they both got a gift certificate for two car washes. My goodness those birds can poop! Little Red has been busy. We did not see our chickadee today but it might have arrived, with or without its mate, while we were off for our walk. It felt good to get out in the fresh air.

Thank you so much for joining me. All the nests are doing quite well. It is comforting. Take care. See you soon. Saturday is pip watch for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Don’t forget.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Kakapo Recovery Project, Denton Homes, Explore.org, Stewards of the Mississippi, MN DNR, Farmer Derek, Golden Gate Audubon, Pix Cams, and Duke Farms.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

Big Red and Arthur were doing a late afternoon check on their nest on the Cornell Campus at Ithaca today.

Oh, Big Red, you are gorgeous. 19 years old and the Queen of the Red-tail Hawks.

We could just be 4 weeks away!!!!!!!!

For anyone who doesn’t think they will enjoy watching hawks raise eyases, I want to urge you to watch this couple. Big Red is often encased in snow, almost blow off the nest by winds, wet to the bone and she keeps those eggs and her babies dry! Everyone eats at Big Red’s table. Here is a link to the camera. There are two of them and one has an active chat with hawk experts at specific times of the day.

There is a new beer being launched in Scotland that will be supporting Scottish Ospreys! Now that is an idea.

https://www.bellfieldbrewery.com/blogs/news/osprey-platform-ipa-launched?fbclid=IwAR01zn5vD2Qjl9BH3b3J9jSsaTURzjvpNjPS7flDq0N-rGHwZJVBiTl5bME

So far, it seems to have been a pretty good day on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. I won’t say it is a grand day but Little Bit got fed and is clever at figuring out how to do an end run around big sib. The intruders have been coming for more than a week. Parents are on constant alert and that certainly impacts the amount of food brought to the nest. But…both eaglets are fine!

Lady Hawk posted a video of Gabby giving NE27 a private feeding last night. Here it is:

It always warms our hearts when the little one is fed and happy!

There is a hatch happening at the Captiva Osprey Nest. The landowner is unclear whether to take the camera down or not. Right now it is up and running. All we can do is wish Andy and Lena our best – that this year will be their year with a successful fledging of all the chicks!

Rimu Fruit. Do you know what that is? and why it is important?

“Ripe rimu fruit” by Department of Conservation 

Kakapo chicks are hatching. The food that they require is Rimu Fruit. Dr Andrew Digby who is one of the leads in taking care of the eggs and chicks announced today that the Rimy Fruit is ripening. The fruit that you can see – dark purple – is high in calcium and vitamin D. Oh, this is fantastic. It means that the chicks have a better chance of survival this year!

Many of us followed the Love Trio Bald Eagles on the Mississippi Flyway near Fulton, Illinois and enjoyed how Starr worked with Valor I and II to raise three healthy eaglets to fledge year after year. This year there will be no trio. It was confirmed that Valor I is with a new female named Jolene at their own nest. Starr and Valor II remain together!

My daughter seems to have a rabbit that likes to sit under her bird feeder. Indeed, she says that this time of year she is feeding squirrels and the rabbit. So proud of her. All of the wildlife is hungry and they struggle during the winter where we live.

Thank you for sharing with us!

Today during my walk people were leaving handfuls of bird seed around the English Gardens for the squirrels and the chickadees that are currently there. We had a lot in our pockets, too!

It feels like the end of a long day. The sun is shining and there is so much snow no one knows what to do with it! It is also getting very cold. Down to -32 C in a couple of hours.

That is it for today. The Port Lincoln Camera was going on and off. Last time I checked Ervie and Dad were both on the barge in the shed and a few minutes later, our dear Ervie was up in the nest and Dad was gone. Is he going to get Ervie breakfast? I wonder. Ervie, you know that you are really lucky, right? Dad is doing an amazing job of taking care of you his big boy.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FP where I took my screen captures: Kakapo Recovery, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey, and Cornell Bird Labs.

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.

Late late Sunday in Bird World

Is there a better way to spend a snowy Sunday than to watch little eaglets being fed in their nests?

Gabby and Samson’s NE26 hatched at 03:04 on the 23rd of January. It was caught in an image that Pascale Ragon posted on FB. What an adorable little eaglet! It is also very strong, holding its head up high and not bobbing along so much!

The image of this sweetie below shows clearly the very sharp egg-tooth that was used to break out of that shell. It looks like 26 has already caught on to the latest in eye liner styles!

This ‘new born’ is also eating large flakes of fish. I could not believe it. Oh, what a sweet little tongue.

Gabby and 26 have this all worked out. Mom tilts her big beak 90 degrees and baby brings its beak straight up the middle. Bingo! I cannot tell you how impressed I was with what was going on at this nest today — but mind you, Samson and Gabby are always at the top of my list for Baldie parents.

Look at this sweet one looking up to Mum. That is simply adorable.

Hi there.

I feel like a new grandparent showing off pictures — I could seriously have cut and pasted so many you would be bored to tears. It is hard to take your eyes off a 12 hour eaglet!

The eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest had 10 feedings today, again. They began at 06:47 and ended at 17:40. I compares the times from one day to another. So, on Friday, the first feeding was at 06:52 and the last one at 17:41. There was a similar pattern for Saturday. Does Anna have an app that tings at the same time each day? Or are the feedings linked to dusk and dawn? Bald Eagles are diurnal. They hunt and eat during the daylight hours. The little eaglets are trained and treated as such from the time they hatch.

You can see that this eaglet -who is 11 days old today- is beginning to change. The light grey fluffy down is giving way to the darker thermal down. This will mean that once that thermal down is all in, Anna will not have to brood the eaglet so much.

Today, Anna let the eaglet have quite a bit of warm, not hot, sunshine. Both her and Louis were close but they let the little one have some air!

In the image below, the ‘baby face’ is also disappearing. The beak is growing longer and the egg tooth is almost totally gone. If you look at the wings you can see little black lines. Can you believe feathers are coming??

I have had the Big Sur condors on my mind and was very thankful when Ventana Wildlife Society posted this message on their FB page today. What a relief! Little Iniko 1031 was only released back into the wild six weeks ago, on 4 December 2021, after being caught in the Dolan Fire and having a long rehabilitation.

The Kakapo Recovery are also very happy. This is the ‘white board score board’ for the eggs. It looks like it could be a really super year if they all hatch and the chicks survive.

Each time I went to check on Ervie, the nest was either empty or there were pigeons doing clean up.

Then, all of a sudden, at 13:00:51 Ervie comes flying in. He was sure putting on the breaks. Just look at those magnificent wings. Oh, Ervie, you are so special.

Ervie must have a motion detector for when Dad is coming to the nest with a fish! It was 13:01:09. Ervie arrived 15 seconds before Dad!

That timing is not a coincidence. So where did Ervie see Dad with the fish? Was Ervie on the old barge while Dad was fishing?

It was a really nice fish and Ervie will enjoy every morsel!

Ervie spends several minutes mantling and alarming before he digs into his lunch.

Ah, thank you Port Lincoln! Ervie is a beautiful bird.

Two hours later and Ervie is screaming for more fish!!!!!!!!! I bet they could hear him across the bay!!!!!! No wonder Mum and Dad don’t stay on the barge when Ervie is about.

R1 and R2 were well fed today. This is the coldest day Miami has experienced this season. It is currently 16 C – which on the Canadian Prairies would be considered a nice summer day! But, if you live in Miami, everyone would be cold.

Rita was making sure that everyone was eating.

Both eaglets had nice crops before Rita informed them it was bedtime!

Rita tucked both eaglets in as best she could to keep them warm from the wind and what would be to her, the cold temperatures.

There has been a bit of concern by the watchers of the Berry College Bald Eagle Cam. Missy stepped on the left wing of the eaglet. Something startled Missy about 20:12 and she got up abruptly. Is it hurt? I do not know. We will have to wait and see how it is doing tomorrow.

The eaglet was moving its wings fine at the time of the image below.

All is quiet now and then something startles Missy.

She gets up, looks to her right and stumbles around the baby.

Send warm wishes to this little one that everything is alright. They are so fragile at this stage and B15 is doing so well. Something startled Missy about an hour later, too. Everyone is tucked in now and we wait to see how the baby is doing tomorrow.

I will leave you with a nice shot of Ervie with his crop. What a handsome osprey you are, Ervie.

Thank you so very much for joining me today. With the exception of the worry at Berry College, Bird World is looking good. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen shots: The Kakapo Recovery, Ventana Wildlife Society, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagle Cam, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, and the WRDC Bald Eagle Cam.

Thursday in Bird World

I genuinely hope that the Bird World community does not have a fright like it did this morning when Gabby had not returned to relieve Samson of incubation duties for nearly 24 hours. Samson seemed nonplused by it all and maybe he knew where Gabby was. She has been known to disappear for a bit in the past but it seems unusual rip before pip. At any rate, all is well at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest outside of Jacksonville, Florida.

A video has been posted of an intruder chase at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest around the time that Gabby returned to the nest at 11:53. It would, thus, appear, as I thought, that her absence was based on a territorial issue rather than one of her ‘disappearing’.

B15 hatched this morning at 07:57 at Berry College. Everyone thought Missy might not ‘know to feed it’. She was up eating and looked over several times to see if its head was up and beak open. She knows what to do! Like the KNF eaglet, this little one is pooped from hatching.

B15 is a real little cutie! It looks very strong.

I sure wish Missey had gotten rid of those egg shells when B15 hatched. You will note that one has slipped over the end of the second egg. Hopefully this will not cause B16 trouble when hatching!

B15 looks so tiny compared to Harriet and Mitch’s eaglets at the Hilton Head Island Trust Bald Eagle Nest. Their feathers are starting to come in. Poor things. They are always preening and we think that they must be itchy.

I think this is a new take on ‘Sleeping with the Fishes’. Ron has been keeping the nest full of fish for Rita and the babies. He can often be seen feeding the little ones himself. They are doing nicely and this human-made nest seems to be working out well. Perhaps this design will be needed in areas that lose trees in big storms or fires.

The two of them are adorable. They scoot around all over the nest.

Bingo! Anna and the baby finally got feeding worked out. The little eaglet is going to have a nice crop. Louis is already beginning to fill the nest up with big fish.

I love seeing Louis and Anna on the nest. Look at that nice Pike that Louis brought in for lunch! And there is the little one with its crop holding its head up pretty good. It was so full it just fell over into food coma.

Louis has brought in more fish! No shortage of things for the family to eat. Louis is one of the most enthusiastic fisher-dads I have ever seen.

Anna and the yet to be named baby eaglet have figured all of this out! Just look there is a little tail!

This eaglet is seriously cute. The Rangers are looking for a name. Anyone can send in a suggestion. It should be gender neutral. Send name in an e-mail to: nameknfeagle@gmail.com Send it by 30 January.

You can see the tail and the strong wings below. Oh, adorable. This eaglet is going to be like Kisatchie – there were days you would think s/he was going to pop they had been fed so much. Anna is the kind of Mum that wants you to ‘take just one more bite, pleaseeeee’.

Just doing a quick check on the Port Lincoln Lads. Ervie was, of course, on the nest last night and Mum brought him a fish before bedtime. There are fewer and fewer fish deliveries indicating that the parents want all the boys to be out fishing themselves.

At 07:33:57, someone did, however, deliver Ervie a nice big chunk of fish!

Ervie has the fish.

That fish is under his talents but he is still mantling and flapping and prey calling. Just eat and enjoy it, Ervie.

An hour later Ervie is still eating his fish. His ‘gas tank’ is full!

I have been thinking about Ervie a lot. I have to tell a story to make my point. Years ago we had a black and white cat called Melvin. It was a time when cats could be outside where I live. Melvin loved nothing more than to roll in the dirt! He was always dusty. One day, when he was 2 years old, he disappeared. We looked and called but, nothing. Four days later Melvin was at the door crying to get in. We noticed some strange marks on his paws. It looked like thin wire had worn the fur off and there were a couple of holes. Had he gotten caught in a barbed wire fence? The result of his misadventure was real trauma. Melvin hid in the bedroom and walk-in closet. He rarely came out into the other areas of the house. When we had our cat sitter, Heather, she would take a flashlight to check he was OK under the bed and put his food there. Over the decade she helped us, she never actually saw Melvin, not once, just his eyes. Melvin lived 15 years in hiding, more or less. He would come out with us but no one else. While we will never know what happened to him, that event changed his life. This brings me to Ervie. If you remember, Ervie was the one going everywhere and being independent. It was Bazza on the nest. Then Ervie was away flying south of Port Lincoln. He has not left the nest since except to chase Falky. His behaviour has changed dramatically. Did he try to catch a fish and couldn’t get out of the water easily? We will never know what he experienced. I hope to goodness I am wrong about something traumatic happening to Ervie. He is clearly the dominant bird but why isn’t he out exploring?

The Audubon Society has announced today that the Migratory Bird Act has been brought back and will be strengthened in the US. Here is that information.

https://www.audubon.org/news/bird-protections-restored-and-key-process-advances-strengthen-rules?ms=policy-adv-email-ea-x-engagement_20220113_advisory&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20220113_advisory&emci=3a9150f3-9e74-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&emdi=35bb543f-a274-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&ceid=5004576

And, last but never least, the Kakapo Recovery. Today’s report on the breeding attempts and eggs. This is great news coming out of New Zealand.

It’s an exciting time full of ups and downs. We are on pip watch for Captiva and NEFlorida and with two recent hatches at Berry and KNF – well, it is difficult to keep track of all of them! I am really pleased at Anna and the eaglet getting the feedings worked out. It is all good down in Louisiana. I look forward to tomorrow. Think about a name for this cute eaglet and send it off!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, Kakapo Recovery, Port Lincoln Ospreys, WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, and Hilton Head Island Trust.

Late Tuesday evening in Bird World

It is 18:30 on the Canadian Prairie. It has been dark outside for approximately 2 hours. The weather is actually balmy at -6 C. This winter, for the past several weeks, the temperatures have gone up and down like a rollercoaster. It is difficult to get used to and somehow manages to make sure that you have a cold at one time or another. The tissue box is sitting right next to me!

The hatch at the Kisatchie National Forest in Central Louisiana of Bald Eagles Anna and Louis is going well. If this chick survives the process, it will be only the second Bald Eaglet to hatch in this nest since 2013. Anna and Louis are so lucky. It is one of the most beautiful Bald Eagle nests I have ever seen – for its location. Lake Kincaid is not that far away and is stocked with fish. Louis does not have to go far!

Anna, finally, had to get up and take a break. Louis was more than happy to step in. In fact, he had arrived at least one time and Anna was not giving in to letting him take over. Poor guy. When she did finally let him, when he got up to change shifts when his time was over, Louis pulled Spanish Moss over the egg hiding it. Anna had to look and look all the while the chick could be heard cheeping.

Anna finally found it and removed the covering. Whew! For a few seconds everyone watching must have held their breath.

The side with the egg tooth protruding is hidden. You can see the membrane and the cracked, crumpled shell.

It is great that Cody attached a small microphone to the nest for sound. That little one sounds like it has healthy lungs!

There is no pip at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest. Land owner, Lori Covert, said that Connie’s eggs usually hatch late at day 40. Today is only day 37.

Over at the Captiva Osprey Nest, however, Lena laid her second egg of the season at 17:06:01. Poor Lena. She has no idea how many people are watching her fluffy bottom!!!!!!!

R1 and R2 are really doing well. Ron has brought in fresh fish and has even fed the babies once today when I was watching. He is funny because he stands way back at the rim. I am hoping that he isn’t afraid of feeding them just cautious. It has been raining and there is currently a food warning for parts of Miami-Dade County.

About a month ago, the Kakapo Recovery posted a series of cartoons of the male Kakapo. Today they did the same for the females! Too funny. The one thing these cartoons do is point out that the birds that may look the same are actually individuals with their own personalities. I know that you have seen this with the birds that you watch in your garden or on screen.

Ervie had a fish delivery at 09:13:18 so all is well in the world of the Erv. The camera operator also showed the area around the barge and the clean up crew.

There are pigeons sitting on the top of the ladder waiting for Ervie to drop some of his fish now and again.

Some of you might remember when that barge sunk during the storm. Nice view off in the distance.

These are some of the places that Ervie visited – where the fish are brought in. A good place to find some unwanted fish, perhaps.

Anna is not giving away any secrets at the KNF nest. This little one is going to keep everyone up late pacing back and forth!

Harriet and M15 have been chasing off an immature eagle, perhaps 2 or 2.5 years old, from the nest! Lady Hawk posted the event as a video.

It is time for dinner. So looking forward to a fluffy little chick at Anna and Louis’s tomorrow!

Take care everyone. Thank you so very much for joining me. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB Pages where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Kakapo Recovery, Berry College Bald Eagle Cam, WRDC Bald Eagle Cam, and the Captiva Osprey Cam.

Monday in Bird World. 10 Jan 2022

I was so very excited last evening that I could barely sleep. It really is marvellous to be able to look into the lives of wild birds without harming them – watching them from egg to fledge. What an honour it was to see Falky catch a fish off the Port Lincoln barge yesterday. As far as I am aware, it is the first time a fledgling has been seen on camera catching a fish at the nest. Here is that incredible moment again:

Several hours later, with the camera focused on Falky’s perch, the sunlight playing on the water seemed to agree that Falky was a star.

Falky had another fish at 20:26:33 that he brought onto the ropes and ate. From the background noises, it would appear that this was a delivery to the nest.

Bazza has not been seen on camera since the 9th. At that time he had a nice crop indicating that he is either catching his own fish or is being fed off camera. He could be anywhere on the barge nest and we cannot him or he may have decided he wanted to move on to find his own territory ahead of Falky and Ervie. Right now Ervie is enjoying having fish deliveries. The lads are still sleeping. It is Tuesday, January 11 in Southern Australia. Wonder what will happen today on the Port Lincoln barge?

I continue to check on the three or four Bald Eagle nests I monitor for pipping. So far, I have heard nothing but, it is entirely possible that I missed something! Which reminds me. Thank you to ‘A-M’ for sending me a comment about Falky catching the fish. I am incredibly grateful. Luckily I had been watching and seen the catch but, if I had not known…well, thank you for the alert, ‘A-M’. It was an incredible moment. Still smiling.

The Kakapo Recover Project in New Zealand reported that the non-flying parrots had started breeding on Christmas Eve. This information was posted on their website yesterday.

R1 and R2 continue to do well on the Wildlife Recovery Nest of Dade County in Florida. Ron is keeping the pantry full of fish today and both of them have been feeding the eaglets.

The two eaglets of Mitch and Harriet on the nest at the Hilton Head Island Trust in South Carolina are really growing and doing fantastic.

Just look at the full crops on those kids!

The second egg for Lena and Andy 2 at the Captiva Osprey Nest on Sanibel Island is due tomorrow.

If you ever want to recommend a Bald Eagle cam to anyone, especially a first time streaming cam viewer, you cannot do any better than Harriet and M15 at the SWFlorida Nest. Experienced parents – and that makes a huge difference! Cool headed. Both help one another. Everyone gets fed at Harriet’s table.

E19 and E20 are really beginning to change their feathers and are moving into the next phase of their growth period. Both are having lunch and both have nice crops. One has stopped eating and is resting on his ‘cropillow’.

Hopefully there will be some pip or hatch news from some of the Bald Eagle nests for this evening and I will continue to monitor the lads at Port Lincoln during the day.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for your alerts and also thank you for your research into raptor cameras in Japan, ‘A’. I will include that information in my next report. Much appreciated.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB Pages where I took my screen shots and my video clip: The Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Kakapo Recovery, Berry College Eagle Cam, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Hilton Head Island Trust Eagle Cam, WRDC Bald Eagle Cam, and the Captiva Island Osprey Cam.

Ervie gave us a fright

Ervie kept quite a few people worrying yesterday. We all know Ervie. He is off flying around finding his own fish (we think) and sitting over on the perch, right? Well, his behaviour changed a bit and it had some of us wondering what was ‘wrong’. Ervie stayed on the same spot on the nest for over 12 hours. Seriously. We watched to make sure his feet or talons were not tangled in fishing line. They weren’t. And then he flew off the nest only to return to the same spot! ERVIE!!!!!!!!! Ervie was pulling a Bazza waiting on the nest to get a fish. Meanwhile the water was a bit choppy and the winds were blowing at 21 kph but gusting much higher.

Indeed, Ervie was still on the spot on the nest at 16:29 when he flew off for a second time. Ervie should have stayed a little longer!

Bazza does a quick fly over at 16:57:26.

Bazza returns to the nest to wait for a fish delivery.

Bazza intercepts the fish at 17:15:09. No one else is around.

Bazza protecting his fish dinner. Notice the waves and the white caps. The water is very rough. Dad is a great fisher!

I still do not know if Ervie managed to get a fish from Dad yesterday. The water is far too choppy for the juveniles to have much luck, if any, fishing. It is supposed to be windy today, too, at Port Lincoln.

M15 has been stepping in and feeding E20 when 19 is sleeping. It is really sweet. M15 also brought in a tree branch this morning just about knocking the babies out as he put it in place.

The branch incident happens at 07:33.

This is E20 sitting up. How did I know that? Two clues. First look at the size of the feet. The baby standing has smaller feet than the one sleeping. The one asleep also has a ‘dirty’ spot on its bad. That is E19.

You can see this a little more clearly. E20 is standing up.

Sweet sleeping babies!

So sweet.

Our great parents – M15 on the right and Harriet on the left.

So far there is no Daisy on the nest and the Sea Eagles have not returned since they were harassed so much.

Can you find Ruggedy the Kakapo? Hiding in plain sight. The rangers took a break and are now back at work checking transmitters and doing health checks on our favourite non-flying parrot!

I want to leave you with one of the most interesting radio interviews that I have heard. It is especially dear to me because the young woman being interviewed is from Oklahoma. She got her falconer’s license in 14 and went on to study in Mongolia. You can listen to this while you do other things or you can start and stop. You will be so inspired. She talks at length on what it was like living in Mongolia and being trained as an Eagle falconer. It is on Bird Calls Radio.

BCR 202: Lauren McGough, Falconer

It is warming up on the Canadian Prairies. It is -15. Feels almost like summer!!!!!

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so nice to have you with me. Take care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, SWFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Kakapo Recovery, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

Late Monday in Bird World

It has been a wonderful day in Bird World. It is a good time to reflect on how much joy the birds bring into our lives, how much they teach us as we observe them and, as always, what else we can do to enrich their lives like they have ours. I cannot even begin to imagine what my life would have been like. First was the feeding of the songbirds in our garden and then there was the arrival of Sharpie’s mate. All of that was followed by watching Red-tailed Hawks in New York City and in Ithaca on the streaming cams. Years later the pandemic hits. Two years ago we had barely returned from a trip to Quebec City to celebrate my retirement and the first discussions of a deadly virus were swirling about. It was not long until we learned about the cases in PRC and, of course, all of that is now history. The first hawks that I watched in New York City are no longer with us (secondary rodenticide poisoning) but Big Red is still going strong up in Ithaca. She gave so many a reason to get up in the morning and, at the same time, reasons for us staying up all night as well – worrying. The birds taught – and continue to teach – me many things including empathy and patience.

Today, the Hilton Head Eagles, Harriet and Mitch, had their second hatch. The nest was discovered in October and the Hilton Head Trust held a contest for names for the couple while also setting up a streaming cam. Harriet is named after Harriet Tubman, nurse and spy for the Union army, and Mitch is for Civil War General, Ormsby Mitchel. Tubman actually led 700 slaves to their freedom, 100 of them to Mitchelville, a community established by the General for formerly enslaved persons. Thus, the names have a connection to one another and also to the community where the nest is located.

They are just adorable – littl eaglets with their soft grey natal down and spiky hair. Look how strong they are in the image below. It is so reassuring when they hatch and are strong and ready to go! Have a look:

I have been watching M15 and Harriet and the hatch of E19 most of the day. If you missed it, I updated my earlier blog identifying M15 as the adult on the nest when E19 hatched. That hatch was at 12:43:04. Harriet saw her baby for the first time at 14:46. The couple have each had turns feeding their first hatch of the 2021-22 season.

Look how wide E19 is opening its mouth. Harriet is pleased.

M15 stands guard over his nest with mate Harriet, E19, and yet-to-hatch eaglet, E20.

All of these eaglets will spend 75-85 days in the nest, depending on where they hatched. Here are the three standard divisions of the eaglet’s development. The first stage, 35-40 days, is called ‘structural growth.’ This is when the eaglets rapidly gain weight. They seem to be eating all the time. They are building bones and muscles as well as their tissue, toes, claws, etc. The second stage is related to the eaglet’s future ability to fly. The eaglets are born with natal down. Next is thermal down, then their juvenile feathers come in, and over the course from fledge to the time they are five years old, they will go through stages of feather development resulting, finally, in an adult with a beautiful white head, gorgeous brown body and yellow legs and feet. The thermal down will begin coming in around day 10. Juvenile flight feathers begin growing between 24-27 days. You will notice the eaglets doing wingercizes which help them develop the muscles in their wings. Right now these eaglets do not have much control over their heads and beaks. They will, as their neurological coordination increases, begin to stand on their feet instead of scooting around on their tarsi. They will learn to tear food, holding the prey down with their feet and pulling with their beak. Instead of being clumsy unfocused bobble-heads, they will turn into beautifully focused chocolate feathered raptors.

Within the last hour, another GHOW strike has happened at the SWFlorida Eagle Nest. These attacks are occurring much more frequently. Several nests including one Osprey one at Hog Island employed lights and clothed dolls to thwart the GHOW attacks. Thank you for that information, ‘L’. Maybe it is time to consider lights for Harriet and M15.

The Kakapo Recovery posted the cartoon of their infamous bachelors about two weeks ago.

Well, the staff no longer have to wait for breeding season to begin on Whenua Hou Island. The Kakapo kicked it up into high gear starting on 24 December. Oh, let there be many baby Kakapo!

Over at Port Lincoln everyone is eating well. Bazza found a fish before day break on the floor of the barge, then Bazza received another fish. Did I say I think Bazza will never leave home? Ervie has been over on the ropes eating a fish that it appears he caught and when he couldn’t eat another bite, Falky took over. Wow. Sibling sharing. How nice!

Ervie is at the top and Falky is eating the rest of the fish Ervie caught on the ropes near the bottom of the image.

Diamond slept on the Cilla Rocks last night. It is comforting to see her sitting on the ledge of the scrape at first light.

As I approach the end of the day, the sun is waking up on the deserts of Africa. The little birds are flitting about the bore hole in Namibia getting drinks. What a beautiful view. So peaceful. So warm compared to the cold snowy weather of Manitoba!

Good Night everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this evening. Stay well, stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Hilton Head Eagle Cam, SWFlorida and D Pritchett Eagle Cam, Port Lincoln Osprey, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Nambia Cam, and Kakapo Recovery FB Page.

Bird World 13 December 2021

Samson and Gabby, the resident Bald Eagles on the nest in ‘The Hamlet’ near Jacksonville, Florida have been working on their nest all day. Yesterday, Samson brought in a really nice meal for Gabby – an American Coot. While they are a large waterbird breeding in the shallow marshes, ponds, and wetlands of my province and others in Canada, they are also what is called an ‘all terrain bird’. They are equally at home grazing in water or on the land looking for small fish, aquatic invertebrates, and plants. They can reach 40 cm in length and 70 cm wide. They are black with a white bill, red eyes, and yellow green-blue legs. Notice their lobed feet in the image below. Wow, those are different than Daisy’s!

“American Coot Feet 2” by bruce_fulton is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Here is a video of that breakfast delivery:

I have been spending so much time with Daisy that I have neglected all those other amazing birds that we all love.

Gabby and Samson continue to work on their nest. They have been mating and many hope that eggs will be laid today or tomorrow. Gabby continues to tease everyone!

Samson is delivering another large stick for the walls of the nest.

What a gorgeous couple. Gabby is on the left and Samson is on the right.

The Mississippi River is home to many species of birds. Did you know that there is a live camera? The types of birds vary by the season, the day, and the time of day. Right now there are loads of Sandhill Cranes!

There has been an update for WBSE 27. You might recall that 27 was taken into care twice. The Pied Currawongs were unmerciful to the beautiful fledgling. I am thrilled beyond words for the latest announcement. To my knowledge none of the fledglings over the past two years – 25, 26 (deceased), 27 (in care). and 28 have been trained by their parents to ‘be a sea eagle’ – in other words, how to hunt prey, fish, and have the time to hone their flying skills. Without these skills, they simply cannot survive. WBSE 27 will receive this training and hopefully will emerge a confident bird who can live in the wild.

I have seen no update on Annie and Grinnell and the interloper. We will wait until breeding season starts and see who Annie is with!

The Kakapo Recover posted a humorous cartoon about some of the male Kakapo. I needed a giggle. Maybe you do, too?

Sadly, the time to adopt a Kakapo is over. If you missed it, make a note for next year. Those Kakapo stuffies are really quite sweet and blend in with all your indoor plants.

Daisy has had a seemingly uneventful morning. Her first break of the day and foraging – before sunrise – did not happen because the Ring-tail Possums were crawling all over the nest. She has been sleeping most of the morning. There are lots of birds in the forest but I have not heard the Ravens yet and the cam operator did not find the WBSE on their River Roost earlier but she did capture several sea eagles flying. Fingers crossed. So far the WBSE have not been an issue. So all is well with our wonderful duck. It is 08:29. The Daisy update will be later this evening unless something untoward should happen.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen shots: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, Kakapo Recovery, and Explore.Org