Tag Archives: Knepp Wilding

Pip at Dyfi…Late, late Friday in Bird World

22 May 2026

Hello Everyone,

Update: Egg pipping at Dyfi.

A close-up view of an osprey in its nest, incubating eggs among sticks and grasses.

I was not feeling well today, and everything that could go sideways just seemed to do so! It was ‘cake day’ – a celebration that I have mentioned before, of having survived another week. But there was still a lingering ‘greyness’ that should not have been there. We ate outside, the weather was glorious, Toby is doing so well with his walking training, Ann was with us – is there anything else I could want? And yet, what is happening to our wildlife around the world outrages me. It simmers and then comes to a head. Today was that day. I grew up believing that people had the power to change things if they worked together. We made a lot of progress – and I know many of you grew up in that era too. And now to see it all torn apart. If you turn your head, get distracted for a second, someone is doing something to destroy vast swaths of our planet. I sat and contemplated that if those who cared about the land formed a group – a vast group – and each contributed a small amount, to buy the land. Stop the destruction. Is it possible? It would take a keen organiser.

At the same time, vote – and make sure you know what you are voting for. We have some of the most dismal candidates for mayor I have ever seen. I want to know where the young people who are driven by ideas are????

OK. Off the bandstand.

Many people have posted a video of the encounter of Iris with the little European Starling, and if this cannot raise our spirits to new heights, nothing will. It should make the national news – maybe it has!

Thirty-year-old Iris goes ballistic!!!!!!!! She calls NG2 and he comes to save the day!

Dr Green is going to post a selection of names for viewers to pick the name for NG2 soon.

Trudi Kron: https://youtu.be/svch5WHq-bM?

An osprey sitting in a nest with twigs and pine needles, alongside a chick visible in the nest.

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 22nd May 2026

Another perfectly routine day, calm and reassuringly normal. Garry LV0 delivered two fish for Aurora 536, and his personal tally, which is also the Nest One tally, rises to seventy six. Over on Nest Two, Louis delivered three fish for Dorcha, taking his personal tally to seventy seven and the nest tally to seventy nine. Garry seems to enjoy incubating duty as much as Louis does which is a very important characteristic as hatching day comes closer. The weather forecast for Inver Mallie, which covers the nest areas, is for light rain and gentle breezes throughout the night and continuing tomorrow, with an overnight low of 10°C and a high tomorrow of 16°C.

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/g8Pr8Vq3ECc N2 Louis is in charge when Dorcha leaves with breakfast 06.37.26

https://youtu.be/QdmR05mieMs N1 Garry’s first fish is a very small trout 14.58.22

https://youtu.be/jSnhOEHml6s N2 Teatime for Dorcha when Louis brings a nice fresh trout 15.49.25

https://youtu.be/5jBE8io4qIE N1 Aurora’s second fish is much bigger than the first 19.51.17

https://youtu.be/VLeYKaNMB2c N2 Louis arrives with Dorcha’s dinner 20.36.18Bonus history – how much do you know about the remarkable Kenneth Watkins who founded Woodland Trust in 1972?

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/working-with-us/our-people/our-founder/
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/media/43909/ken-watkins-timeline-only.pdf

Blast from the past, this day in previous years: 

https://youtu.be/NpuyQyh8iZE  N1 Garry circles round before landing and giving the fish to Aurora 2025

Thank you!

Golden Eaglet being fed!

A golden eagle is seen interacting with its fluffy white chick in a nest, surrounded by trees and greenery.

Kaljukotkas 2 :: https://www.youtube.com/live/EBRGoS6U…

Are you a keen observer? Read below how you can take part in this research project:

“The Golden Eagle nest camera is situated near military training ground. Therefore military training noise is possible to hear quite often. The purpose of this camera is to detect the reaction of breeding eagles to the noise disturbance heard. We invite volunteers to participate in virtual Golden Eagle observations and record them in the appropriate forum (link above). The forum has instructions on how to become a member of the forum and how to post your observations there. This is also possible with pictures or videos proving the event. At the end of the season, we summarize all observations and analyze to what extent the particular Golden Eagle pair is affected by noise disturbances in the breeding area. If necessary, it is also possible to review the recorded video material. Expenses of this webcam are covered by Centre for Defence Investments of Estonian Republic. There in the same nest was one chick fledged in 2024, 2023 and 2022. 2025 the nest was in other place, but not successful. Female is currently without of rings. Male has one ring and transmitter on back. Often these are covered with feathers. Kotkaklubi Link –    / @kotkaklubi   The Eagle Club (est. 1999) is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to protect, study and introduce the eagles and the black stork in Estonia. Since 2007, the Eagle Club has been running live web-cameras on the nests of protected bird species – black stork, white-tailed eagle, greater and lesser spotted eagles, osprey and golden eagle. Find out more here: https://www.kotkas.ee

CJ7 looks tenderly at her recently hatched chick. Three more to go!

A bird sitting on a nest with three eggs and a newly hatched chick, captured in black and white.
Two baby birds sitting among eggs in a nest made of twigs and straw.

Big Red often seems to just stand and smile overlooking her little nest of hawklets.

A red-tailed hawk standing over its fluffy chicks in a nest, surrounded by twigs and greenery in the background.
A nest of red-tailed hawk chicks resting together, surrounded by twigs and branches. The scene is outdoors on a rooftop, showcasing the nest's natural setting.

Dylan comes in with a late fish for Seren Blue 5F to feed the two hatches.

An osprey interacting with its chick in a nest, surrounded by greenery.
An osprey with a blue leg band stands on its nest, surrounded by sticks and moss, with two eggs visible in the nest.
An osprey is seen caring for its chick in a nest, with the chick appearing next to an unhatched egg.

Little started slow, hatching five days after Big. The wings are getting quite long. Big is not as big as Jill, and most who have watched believe Big is a male; I think Little survived because she is a female. Of course, no one will know unless a DNA test is done (and it won’t be, but it sure would be nice to have them ringed.)

A bird sitting in a nest made of sticks, with a view of a residential area and trees in the background.
A close-up view of an osprey nest filled with twigs and a young osprey chick, with an adult osprey perched nearby on a pole, surrounded by trees and a road in the background.

Harry continues to deliver fish to Winken at the Moorings Park nest throughout the day. There was at least one other delivery after 7pm.

A pair of ospreys feeding in their nest, with one osprey holding a fish, surrounded by greenery and a lake in the background.
A close-up view of two osprey birds standing on their nest, overlooking a lake and golf course in the background with vibrant red flowers nearby.

Another way that wildlife are losing their habitat. I want to be very clear – it would not matter to me which political party or person was in power – in my City, my Province, or another country – the ability to damage our planet and the living souls that share it with us – needs to be protected. So please see these posts as pro-wildlife/nature/biodiversity/environment. We need balance not destruction.

A landscape featuring a wetland with dead trees, surrounded by grassy areas, highlighting the environmental impact of livestock grazing.

What a difference. Knepp Wilding’s newsletter celebrations their breakthroughs in rewilding.

Knepp news Springwatch at Knepp White Stork FestivalDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please do take care of yourself. I hope to see you again tomorrow night.

Thank you to Geemeff for her Loch Arkaig summary, to all those who posted information on FB and elsewhere, to the owners of the streaming cams and everyone who loves wildlife.

Blue KW0, 3 eaglets for Martin and Rosa…Tuesday in Bird World

21 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

The first spring day saw the first Peregrine Falcon return to Winnipeg from its winter migration! On top of that, an e-Bird submitter apparently ran into 150 Mallards at one of our parks yesterday. Let the fun begin.

Well, Michael St John and I are inching our way to discovering how the mystery Osprey, Blue KW0, came to be in Barbados! First, I want to thank everyone who reads my blog and to all the folks who don’t but who answered our calls to find out about this stunning bird. Today, I decided to write to John Williams. Many of you will know of John and his work in Wales for Llyn Clywedog. Why did I decide to write to John? Well, first of all he is curious. Second, he is tenacious. He once set out to figure where Dylan was getting his Brown Trout. Talk about a spy operation! So, it cost me an e-mail and did I learn some valuable information.

John Williams (Llyn Clywedog) says the K rings were only used in 2018/19. Great information. If this turns out to be accurate, this would make Blue KW0 five years old. Secondly, John said that Dylan was ten days late returning to Clywedog last year because “Last year around this time we in Britain had quite strong storm force winds from the northeast, in a south-westerly direction. Many birds were delayed or lost, including Dylan, who was 10 days later than the previous year. I wonder if KW0 was blown off course and out to sea and found a passing ship.” So grateful; thank you, John! I also learned that the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation gives out the Scottish bands, so Tim – who did not work for them then – should be able to discover the bander and location when he has time.

Of course, Blue KW0 may, sadly, spend his life as a bachelor (or her) on Barbados. Should we put an ad in the papers for a mate? Like they did with the domestic goose in the Iowa cemetery? Just kidding. There are plenty of Ospreys on Barbados for KW0 to find a mate and he is young.

I did not look at many of the nests in depth on Monday. Sometimes it is good to take a little break, and re-stocking the kitten’s pantry was a priority today! That said, I did check on little Victor; he was my priority. The news is good. No, the beaking has not stopped, and no, Victor has not learned to stop provoking Abby, but Victor ate well and is up at the table, as you can see in the images below. On occasion, Abby is in a food coma, and Victor gets an excellent private feeding. As long as Victor is eating, I am not concerned. It is worrying when the eldest sibling can prevent the younger ones from eating. Sally is an excellent Mum – quite amazing for this being her first year to raise osplets. She appears to be negotiating this well.

Sally fed both Victor and Abby at least once during the night and finished off the fish early in the morning. Too sleepy to fight in the early hours?

There were periods when Victor went into submission, but there were good feeds, too.

At 13:35, Sally is between us and the chicks. It is impossible to tell who gets what when she blocks the view.

At 15:54, both are up at the table and both have crops.

At 17:31, Sally is between the osplets feeding them. Victor got a really nice feeding this meal.

Victor having a private feeding at 20:51.

Victor is still eating at 21:06 and has a very nice crop! This is what we want to see. Victor had fish first thing in the morning, at least one very good feeding during the day (if not more), and he is eating again at the end of the day, getting his entire tank filled. It is all good.

Sally is feeding them again at 10:55. That is Victor eating!

Congratulations Lisa and Oliver on the first hatch of the 2023 season at PA Farm Country. The couple has four eggs again this year! This lucky first hatch on the first day of spring is getting a tandem feeding from these two delighted parents.

At SW Florida, M15 keeps up his campaign to feed the Es well and have two fabulous fledges. We have seen E21 branch but not 22 and even 21 is not doing a lot of branching. One answer was provided by one of the FB groups – the rebuilding of the nest resulted in a deeper cup, farther away from the branches! Great explanation.

They may love one another but not when a fish is concerned.

The two eaglets at the Duke Farms nest continue to do fine.

There continues to be ample food on the nest of Ron and Rose in Miami but, there is something wrong with the camera or is at the time I am writing this.

‘H’ reports that the eaglets at WRDC were fed ten times on Monday. Out of the ten, Rose only fed the eaglets four times. I am thankful that Ron is feeding his babies. He is much better at caring for them. Is this because Rose is so young?

Martin and Rosa have three eaglets to look after at the Dulles-Greenway nest. They are adorable.

Today, ‘L’ asked me if I ever checked in on the First Utility District Osprey cam. I didn’t even know this nest. Thanks, ‘L’. It looks like they have two eggs for the first day of spring, and what a gorgeous location.

Here is the information about their platform from the information below the streaming cam: “These Osprey built their nest on a dangerous power line in 2018. In response, First These Osprey built their nest on a dangerous power line in 2018. In response, First Utility District operations staff built a nesting platform for the Osprey. The Osprey relocated to their new home within 24 hours, and we have enjoyed their presence ever since. They return yearly to nest. Intermittent breaks in broadcast may occur due to weather conditions. The camera is solar powered and depends on good weather for a successful charge.”

Here is a link to Ricky and Lucy’s streaming cam:

https://www.youtube.com/live/hqmP06kJ3F4?feature=share

The 7th and only egg in the nest of Jak and Audacity is holding firm at Sauces Canyon. Fingers and toes crossed.

‘H’ sent me a note confirming that Daisy arrived at the Barnegat Light osprey platform in New Jersey on the 19th at 14:44. Now we wait for Duke!

Peregrine Falcon lover? There are now lots of streaming cams. One of those is at Salisbury Cathedral in the UK. There are now two eggs!

Meanwhile, Annie and Lou continue incubating their four eggs at The Campanile. Hatch watch beings on the 11th of April.

I don’t always report on them, but this is for ‘A’ since I have been more than neglectful – the three surviving GHOs at the Corona California basket nest are doing fantastic. They are filling up the space.

Their names are Pip, Tootsie, and Hoot.

I am a huge fan of Knepp Farm who chose to step outside the box and rewind their property in the south of England. Those courageous efforts are paying off!

If you want to read more about the history of Knepp Farm, the issues related to traditional agricultural practices and biodiversity in the UK, and the moment that a decision was made to rewind the land, pick up a copy of Wilding. The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree. If you are in the UK or visit the area, go over, show your support, take a tour!

Darling Big Red and Arthur continue to work on their nest…

It is certainly looking like it is ready for eggs!

If you are wondering about Bird Flu, it remains within the environment and things are not looking well. Here is the report from the UK that indicates that 18 different species have tested positive so far.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1142730/ai-findings-2023.csv/preview

Thank you so much for being with me as we did a quick spin around some of the nests. The storks are arriving in Europe so there should be much to report just like the ospreys over the next week. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, tweets, videos, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘H’, ‘L’, John Williams, Manitoba Birding – Bird and Wildlife Photography, Michael St John, Moorings Park Ospreys, PA Farm Country, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Sunnie Day, First Utility District, IWS and Explore.org, Barnegat Light and the Nature Conservancy, Salisbury Cathedral and Peregrine Falcon Group, Cal Falcons, Corona California owls, @Knepp Wilding, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, gov.uk.