We have another Osprey egg – the first one laid at Venice Beach for the season.
The latest Kakapo chart sent to us by ‘J’:
JBS24 remains seemingly healthy more than 18 hours after JBS passed. This is welome news. HPAI ‘normally’ takes siblings closer together – so, it would appear HPAI is not the COD for 25.
Family portrait late Tuesday 10 February.
News of the Laysan Albatross from Hob on the island of Kauai:
The USK Valley is in Wales. The region has recently had its very first osplet fledge. In 5 weeks we hope to be welcoming the adults back to the nest.
SPO posts about the anticipation of the first egg at the US Steel nest:
Jean-marie Dupart counted 61 ospreys in the Somone Lagoon in Senegal recently. They will be departing for their nests in the UK and Europe soon.
Scout and Bella have been so busy working on their nest. These wonderful pair lost their eaglets last year when their nest collapsed. It was a real tragedy – those beautiful babies had their juvenile plumage. Sending this pair good energy for a successful year.
SW Florida’s E26 stands on the rails in heraldic pose, is self feeding, and still loves to be cared for by Mum and Dad.
Eve and Kai are growing and doing so well. They are getting their ‘tails’ at the nest of Beau and Gabby.
That piece of fencing is still in the nest of Connie and Clive. Nothing can be done about it at this point. Notice where Quinn is standing. Quinn could have a pre-mature forced fledge. Let us just hope that this piece of human junk that made its way to the nest is not harmful to anyone and that it will be removed in the off season during camera maintenance.
R9 and R10 are doing very well at the Dade County nest, too. We have much to be thankful for despite the loss of three eaglets this season.
Gus and Willow laid their first egg at the Eagle Country nest in Florida on the 11th of January. Blaze has not been seen for some months. Skye was seen after Blaze went MIA.
Thank you so much for being with us tonight as we catch up with a few of our bird families. Take care of yourself. Spring is just around the corner! But our bunch have ‘Valentine’s Day’ on their minds despite the fact that Toby’s ‘bunny ears’ arrived today. (Toby wasn’t so sure about these!) They are supposed to be a bit of a hat with ears, but we need some alterations!!!!!
We hope to be back with you the end of the week.
Thank you to the owners of the streaming cams, the authors of the FB posts, the creators of the videos, OpenVerse for its image bank, and The Guardian. My blog would not be the same without your talents and generosity in sharing.
Winter is truly here. Snow is falling regularly. The temperature has warmed from the frigid cold of a few days ago to a balmy -9. Our walk with Toby as the snow danced down was wonderful. -9 C is just perfect winter weather. Toby loves the snow. He jumps and plays sniffing every tree or bush along the path.
This is Ellen’s photo from Monday morning. Ellen comes on Mondays and Thursdays. All I have to do is say her name, and Toby’s eyes literally light up. When she arrives, he jumps up and down for joy. Our lad loves his walks. They usually go from 1.3 to 1.7 km in half an hour. Toby is truly tired when he gets home.
One of the things I often get asked is how we stay warm in such cold weather. First, our houses are super insulated, and ours has triple-pane windows with a gas-filled cavity between the mullions and special glass that holds the heat in winter and dissipates it in the summer. Doors fit super tight. Our heating bills can be high, especially in January and February. We dress to go outside. Our coats are rated to -40 C. Our coats are ‘800 fill down’. This means that one ounce of this down expands to fill 800 cubic inches. Our coats are fluffy, very lightweight, and super warm, as are our boots, which are also rated to -40 C. We wear natural materials such as wool. I find a cashmere turtle neck layered with another sweater works when it is truly around -30 C. Hats and gloves are lined, and we have scarves of every thickness and size. I find that when we are moving, we stay warm, but when we stop to chat with other dog walkers, we often start to feel cold, especially our toes.
Holidays are just around the corner, and during the days and weeks ahead, your lives will get busier. Hanukkah begins at sunset on the 14th, Christmas is on the 25th, and Kwanza, St Stephen’s Day, and Boxing Day are on the 26th. For my friends in Japan, the tradition of cleaning comes just ahead of the new year celebrations. Oh, how I would love to be in Kyoto munching on mochi!
Calico reminds all of us that it is the precious time we have together, not the money or the presents (the stuff we will happily discard later), that make us joyful or peaceful. So, please, take a breath. Please just put away the credit card if it is out of your wallet, and think of something that you can do for someone to help them. It could be an afternoon of babysitting. Or taking someone for a walk and giving a caregiver free time? Why not find some objects and greenery and make some small wreaths for friends? Or cook them a simple meal – it does not have to be elaborate. Remember it is the time together that is important. I cannot tell you how much Thursday afternoons with my daughter, Jaine, taking Don out for a long walk means to me. I cannot put it into words. Made some homemade jam? Put a ribbon on it! What a lovely gift. Be creative and smile after the holidays because you will not be agonising over how to pay for them. Then send Calico a ‘thank you’. She would love to hear what you did that didn’t cost ‘the bank’.
Calico found a great article in The Guardian, ‘Shop secondhand, shred your veg and try ‘furoshiki’ wrapping: 14 easy ways to cut Christmas waste’. Grab a ‘cuppa and have a good read. I do love the orange peel stars. We are going to work on that this week!
Snow is dancing down. It is really quite beautiful and festive. I will try and capture some of their beauty with the camera phone.
The early morning, but most especially the time right before the sun begins to set around 1600, is magical. There is a golden glow to the light. All of the garden animals are out eating – the Chickadees, the four grey squirrels, Little Red, the Starlings and Sparrows, Mr and Mrs Crow and, sadly, only a single Blue Jay today. This worries me, but we will see about tomorrow. Maybe there will be two.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the frigid temperatures disappeared on Monday, and it was wonderful to be outside in the snow. Toby loves the snow. He runs, jumps, and rolls in his snow suit, and he doesn’t even mind having his boots put on. Boots, you say? Boots for a dog? They have super grip on the bottom, and that keeps him from slipping on the ice while protecting his back legs. We don’t want any dislocations!
On Wednesday, we have hired a local photographer to take some very informal and fun photos of Don and me – and Toby, of course, at our local park. ‘The Girls’ would not sign the waiver!!!!!!! We have not had our picture taken together in any professional way for decades – and I do mean decades. I am so excited. We are just hoping that the warmer temperatures will hold. If they come out, I will be posting them here on the blog.
Pepe and Muhlady’s first hatch at North Central Florida (Superbeaks) Bald Eagle nest has been named Mira. I stopped covering this nest because the owners of the Superbeaks streaming cam took exception to Heidi posting videos of the nest. Over a year later, it appears that the owners have had a change of heart. Paul Kolnik on Bald Eagles 101 now states that they have said that it is alright to post videos and images from the nest on social media.
I have no idea what the term ‘professional scraper’ means, so I am including a FB post today by Maria Johnson so you can see that little grey fluff ball. Since I do not earn any income from my blog, I assume the term does not apply to me. That said, I will rarely post anything from this nest until there is a clear understanding of what is meant by the term. I do love Pepe and Mulady – they are incredible eagle parents.
Pepe has brought in prey, and both adults have fed Mira.
Egg number 2 has a hole and egg number 3 has a crack. Mira will have brothers and/or sisters soon.
The Laysan Albatross are incubating eggs on Kauai. Hob Osterlund keeps us up to date – check out the battle for incubation. Doesn’t this look familiar?
Big things are happening at Big Bear Valley for Jackie and Shadow, and they are really early this season. Has this pair figured out that laying their eggs earlier might lead to a higher hatching success? SPO gives us all the details!
Beau and Gabby continue to take turns incubating their eggs. Do you remember when Gabby had more suitors than days in the week? We wondered if V3 was worthy. There was blood and skirmishes and that first year everything went sideways after Samson disappeared. Then we wondered if Beau was up to the task of fathering after burying the egg. We learned that he is up to the task last year. Fingers crossed that this one is even better for one of our favourite Bald Eagle couples.
The camera operators at the Trempeauleau Bald Eagle nest in Wisconsin (Raptor Resource Project) are to be commended. We got a beautiful look at the nest and surrounding area. Mr T has been chortling with Mrs T. I wonder if he is also doing the same with the ‘other Mrs T’ on the other side of the lake?
Snow in Iowa at the nest of Mr and Mrs North at Decorah.
At the US Steel nest of Irvine (Irv) and Stella, Pix Cams caught the pair fishing and soaring. https://youtu.be/SSV1vj5o09o?
Snow covers the nest at ND-LEEF in South Bend, Indiana.
It’s a little warmer on Captiva where Connie and Clive are incubating their two eggs.
Warmer at Fraser Point, home of Cruz and Andor.
Jolene and Boone are at their nest in Johnson City, Texas.
Ron and Rose – oh, I do love Ron. What a character! Incubating eggs in the heat of a Florida winter.
Knepp Farm reintroduced White Storks to the south of England. Now London will be getting their own in a rewilding programme. Can you feel the smile on my face?
Saving Monarchs posted this really informative image on FB. We have always had a lone rabbit coming to our garden in the winter. This year is no different – it appears that the large rabbit population of fifteen years ago has dwindled due to habitat destruction and road collisions.
Since it is the holiday season, Everything Gardening posted a very appropriate information poster on what can harm wildlife. Please look it over and make certain that you have not inadvertently put decorations outside that will harm our beloved friends.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself. We look forward to having you with us tomorrow as we continue our daily check in as we lead up to more eagle hatches.
Thank you to the owners of the FB groups and their posts, to The Guardian for covering wildlife stories and the environment, and to the owners of the streaming cams that give us a glimpse into the lives of these amazing raptor families.
We spent the day wringing our hands over Calico. She has not been herself for a few days, and off she went to the vet this morning. She is home and fine, but she is on a diet to lose 3 lbs and has to eat high-fibre foods. The others might not be keen, but they will also have their food dishes put out and removed when they are finished – even if they did not eat their entire portion. This should stop Calico from filling herself up with their extras!!!!!!
Thank you to ‘L’ who alerted me to the news of the day. Wisdom, the oldest banded albatross in the world has returned to the Midway Atoll for another breeding season. Tears of happiness are flowing around the world for this grand lady.
Here is the USFWS post on Instagram:
“At an approximate age of 75, Wisdom the albatross returned this week to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge for nesting season.
Like other Laysan albatross, or mōlī in Hawaiian, Wisdom returns to the same nesting site each year to reunite with her mate, and if able, lay one egg. Last year, the world’s oldest known wild bird successfully laid an egg for the first time in four years.
Wisdom’s arrival to the refuge in the central Pacific Ocean is slightly earlier than prior years. Her new mate from last year has not been seen yet, according to staff.
Biologists first identified and banded Wisdom in 1956 after she laid an egg, and the large seabirds aren’t known to breed before age 5.
It is estimated that Wisdom has produced 50-60 eggs and as many as 30 chicks that fledged in her lifetime.
Each year, millions of seabirds return to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago to nest and raise their young. Wisdom, specifically, has been doing this since the Eisenhower administration.
Friday was spent forest bathing and spending time with my closest friend who suddenly lost her husband in the summer. It was a great day to be outside. The temperature was 10 C and there was no wind. Only clear blue sky. Walking in nature and feeding birds can transform you. Please, please, get out in nature especially when you are feeling overwhelmed. It really helps. And be mindful, the full moon is here.
The sun setting.
There are some wonderful videos of Yira’s fledge and some flying around campus. You need to see them! The top one is Yira flying on the campus taken by the Falcon Cam Project:
It was nearing 1530 on Saturday and Wilko had some small fish early but Kasse had nothing. Will the fish fairies arrive?
No fish came but the little twiddler and Kasse had nothing on Saturday. Then the rain came. Not good. Let’s hope that there is a nest of fish when they wake up so that no one gets stressed.
At the same time, there was remaining on the ledge of 367 Collins Street the last hatch waiting to fledge.
The latest from Judy Harrington:
The fledgling, Bubba, at the Growing Home osprey nest near Sydney had a flight and returned to the nest. S/he is a gorgeous healthy osprey.
Sad news coming from ‘EJ’. Maybe everyone should tell this hatchery that its counterparts in the UK either allow people to take photos of the ospreys fishing and make more money (Gwash is a great example) or some allow the birds to eat!
“The fish hatchery is 220 acres with 49 ponds to raise fish for sport fishing. Maybe they should have to watch an osplet starving to death in its nest.”
‘J’ sent us Rita the Eagle’s Fun Fact Friday from Rita’s FB page. Check it out and send Rita a message and tell her how much you miss her!
We have some great news from Hob Osterlund with the Laysan Albatross in Kauai’, Hawaii:
Just a short catch up this morning because I did not include some of the Yira videos last evening. Thank you for being with us! Take care.
Have a great weekend. Thank you for your happy moments. They are coming through slowly in the blog.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘EJ, J, SP’, SK Hideaways, Judy Harrington and the Olympic Park Eagles, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, ktvg.com, Rita the Eagle, Hob Osterlund.
We are still experiencing life threatening extreme temperatures with the wind chill. Without the wind, it is -25 C now as I am writing – fifty degrees difference between Winnipeg and Melbourne!
Hugo Yugo has been watching television ‘again’. Isn’t she adorable?
The others are fine, and so is ‘The Boyfriend’, who is snug as a bug in his super-insulated home.
The Starlings had been in the garden, nearly 30 of them in November and December. Today, there were eleven that returned. They were eating snow and the solid suet cylinder on the big table feeder (it had fallen off its holden and broken).
I have a heater for the bird bath, but there was a problem with the closest plug, and the instructions say not to attach the cord to an extension cord. So I wait…I feel bad because studies repeatedly show that the birds need water more than seed, and if you feed seed in the winter, water should be provided.
The Pritchetts reported that it was a fish hook in E23’s mouth that M15 worked and got out. Was it that or a fishbone? Whatever it was, it was a miracle that M15 got it out. CROW was monitoring the situation. Thankfully, it was resolved by the hard work of M15 and F23.
Here is the video of that removal!
E23 is OK. What a relief. E23 is eating well later. As so many of you must be thinking – the best parents, lots of food, still do not protect these babies 100%. This precious little one, the only child to the new bonded pairing of M15 and F23, must thrive! That is all there is to it. I am so grateful that the Pritchetts and CROW monitor these events and will respond immediately if help is required.
It is 13:29 Sunday and the pip has turned into a pea size hole at the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita. Everyone is waiting for R6 to arrive safely.
Missing fish. Ron took it. Rita not impressed. Hopefully he will bring some back!
Pat Burke aka gr8lakes and all those staring at the screen waiting for the hatch are celebrating Sunday night. R6 is here!
HeidiMc made the best hatch video of the bunch and my system is not letting me post it directly. Please click on the link below and have a look at a nicely edited concise video from pip to hatch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSgwj-F6AwY
Rose talking to R6 as she appears to remove the last part of the shell.
So where is the food, Dad?
Good Morning Gabby.
Beau came and gave Gabby a much needed break in the afternoon.
Bella and Scout keeping a close watch over their nest and territory.
We so want Sauces Canyon to have an eaglet this year…8 eggs last year Audacity laid with no luck due to the lingering impact of the DDT sprayed and remaining in the area after fifty plus years. Send this couple positive wishes.
Both eagles were at the Dulles-Greenway nest today…Rosa and her new mate.
C10 and C11 are changing from little eaglets to getting their full thermal down and losing all those dandelions. Before we know it, they will have their juvenile feathers.
How many of you are checking out the Bald Eagle nest at Seagoville, Texas? You might just want to put this one on your watch list. It is in the John Bunker Sands Wetland Centre which is 25 SE of Dallas, Texas. The nest is 26 metres (85 feet) off the ground on the tower shown in the image below. The Eagles returned on the 10th of September. They are called Mum and Dad and both are believed to be approximately 19 years old.
The female is believed to be the one that was here in 2014 but there is a divided opinion on whether the male is the original or not.
Here is the link:
It is so nice to get some news of dear Ervie!
Meanwhile, it was very rough at Port Lincoln today. Mum, Dad, and Gil were spotted on the old barge while Brad stayed at the nest.
Brad got the first two fish deliveries with Gil getting the mid-afternoon one at 1529.
The two oldest eggs at the Royal Albatross colony in NZ are hatching!
News coming from The Gambia of Rutland fledglings. 2H2 from 2022 seen!
Also caught on camera was Arthur, mate to Big Red, on the Cornell Campus. You could be fooled into thinking this is Big Red until you see the apron across the breast. Not Big Red but our darling Dad.
Some interesting nest building happening on Kauai this year. Will there be torrential rains to impact the eggs? Let’s wait and see if these Laysan Albatross are better predictors of the weather than the meteorologists!
The climate crisis is killing some of Scotland’s wildlife including the smallest raptors, the kestrels.
Remember, the news at the bottom is not the least important. Often it is what comes to me right before I hit ‘publish’. A gamekeeper and his son pleaded guilty to selling wild peregrine falcons on the market in the UK. What is going on with their sentencing?
She is a special person and that is why I am including this today. You should remember Sacha Dench for her efforts in finding the answers to conserving the Ospreys and the flyway from the UK and Western Europe to West Africa. Some of her interviews with local people were linked to my blog – the goal was to get the people of West Africa on board with conservation efforts, and to do that, they needed education about the ospreys. 4K was the bird being followed at the time – the subject of Simon Curtis’s new book. That journey was undertaken after a horrific accident in the Scottish highlands. She is known as ‘The Human Swan’ because of her earlier 7000 km trip tracking the Bewick Swan and their migration from Russia’s Arctic region to the UK in 2016. A crowd funder to get prosthetic legs for Sacha Dench has been opened. Here is the information.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. Stay safe. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’A, H, J, M’, SW Florida Eagle Cam, SK Hideaways, WRDC, Heidi Mc, Pat Burke, Gracie Shepherd, NEFL-AEF, NCTC, Deb Stecyk, Dulles-Greenway, John Bunker Sands Wetland Centre, PLO, @TimMacKrill, @CornellHawks, Sharon Dunne, Holly Parsons, Raptor Persecution UK, and Conservation without Borders.
Today some in North America will be checking out to see if there are shadows that scare the groundhogs back into their hole. It is Ground Hog Day! Did you know that this particular belief comes to us from a very old Pennsylvania Dutch notion that if a groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees its shadow, it will be frightened and go back in for another more six weeks. If, however, the groundhog does not see its shadow – spring will be early!
It has sort of ‘warmed up’ on the Canadian Prairies. It is now 2345 on Wednesday and it is -18 C outside with winds gusting to 26 km/h. That translates into an extreme cold warning with ‘Dangerous wind chill values below -40 C tonight’. In other words, the skin on your face could get wind burn if it was exposed for 30 seconds. Frost bite. Death from the cold. It is not good to be outside. Next Monday, things will be much nicer – with temperatures around -7 C. The Polar Vortex will have moved elsewhere. So wherever you are, stay warm, stay inside, prepare ahead. Do not go out if it is not necessary. And for those of you having extreme heat, you must stay hydrated and cool.
In the News:
The second Kakapo to hatch in 2022 has been named.
It feels so good to read about an eagle being released from rehab! Soar high!
Looking at ways to prevent bycatch can vary from area to area. BirdLife is examining the area around the Mediterranean Sea and, specifically Malta in this article. It is a good read and helps us to understand that everything has to be balanced. You cannot just remove all the turtles and hope that the eco system will survive.
Tori lines have proven to be helpful if the right line is used.
More eagles being admitted with lead poisoning. I wonder how many there are in a day across the US?
At the Nests:
Are you missing Mr President and Lotus? like me you haven’t seen them at the National Arboretum nest? There is an explanation. It looks like they might be moving house – er’ nest – just like Akecheta and Thunder.
No worries. Zoe and Indigo are still around. Indigo has not been seen in the scrape but …here he is! Screaming up a storm.
Indigo, you sure are handsome! Hi there. Nice to have you back in the scrape…we missed you.
Gabby and V3 were said to have a ‘dust up’ over a squirrel around 0730 on the morning of Wednesday, 1 February. Gabby got her talon stuck in the squirrel and could not get it out and V3 wasn’t letting go either. They are definitely back to loving one another!
They were back working on the nest afterwards. These images are from 0850.
In other areas, Wednesday was a soggy day. The eaglets in Louisiana have been fed but word is coming from Paul White that neither Ringo or Boots have been fed earlier today because of the hard rain. It has stopped and at 1055 there was a feeding. Ringo ate. Even got out of the egg cup to stretch its neck. Boots made no effort to eat but, as you will see from a later posting, Boots had already eaten. He did, however, have only one meal yesterday. It is amazing how well eaglets can cope on so little.
People reacted to the feeding and also to the possibility that Boots cannot free its right leg – it is stuck in the nest. Let us please hope that this little one can get free. Send all of your positive energy. In order to bed fed, this mother is wanting those chicks up at the table and out of the bowl so Boots has to engage. He has had some food as you can see in the image below he has a bit of a crop.
It has been cold in and around the Houston area just like it has been in Louisiana with rain. hanks, ‘J’ for drawing that to my attention. It will not begin warming up until Thursday but it isn’t going to be hot, hot then. So no issues with dehydration from the heat, just lack of food because it appears Boots has been stuck in the nest for some days. There are certainly discussions about getting someone to the nest to release little Boots because that is possibly fishing line around its leg. Send good energy.
Anna, sensing the weather, was up feeding E03 several times before the storms hit including first light.
It is also cold – 36 degrees F – and rain.
Alex brought in a fish to go with the Coot and Valentine and 02 were fed early, just like E03.
Little E03 can still fit under Anna but, Valentine and 02 are having issues trying to get under Andria.
Either Tico or Pearl sent off a ‘ps’ that has caused the camera to be coated again at Superbeaks. Oh, goodness. Let us collectively wish for rain to clean that lens so we can see these two fledge…it is awhile but…Thankfully the ps is at the side!
Connick is adorable. There was a time when I wondered if this little eaglet was going to make it to this stage…we can see his ears! Connick has a mohawk, his beak is shiny ebony at the tip, his eyes are clear, and he is eating well and moving too much on the nest for comfort.
The birds seem to be doing fine. There are eggs being laid, birds incubating, raptors thinking about eggs, the temperature of the South getting warmer as we move through February.
Holly Parsons is long associated with the Peregrine Falcons at Orange. She runs the FB group there and also runs the Albatross Lovers FB Group. I admire Holly. Look her up and read her bio. A film that she posted a link to today in her Albatross Lovers Group is one of the most beautiful documentaries on the Laysan Albatross. The images are amazing – so close up. The story is detailed and thought provoking. It is inspiring and bittersweet. The film is about an hour and a half long. You might want to watch it with your popcorn on a Friday night or watch it in sections or just sit quietly and see the whole thing. It is difficult seeing what all the plastic that we use does…but, we need to watch this. It is a beautiful wake up call. We will all thank Holly collectively. It is a really good look at the life of these amazing sea birds on the Midway Atoll —-and the challenges these birds face because of us.
There is the trailer but on the right a tab says, Albatross the Film. That is what you are looking for.
Zoe is on the move again. She has been to an isolated bay where Osprey have been seen catching fish. Go girl! I hope our girl has turned out to be a good fisher.
Bonnie looks so pretty in that nest on the Kansas farm of Farmer Derek. After observing the GHOs run off the Bald Eagle couple, I found myself completely fascinated watching Clyde bring in rats and mice and other critters for Bonnie at dusk and dawn. And then the two owlets…so cute. So we will keep an eye on this GHO. (I have to admit that after causing such pain to Harriet and M15, I am not too thrilled about the relationship between the GHOs and the other raptors).
Thank you so much for being with me today. It is so nice to have you with us. This was a bit of a round up with some nests that are doing splendidly not mentioned. We will wait to see what will be the next Florida Osprey nest to have eggs – will it be Achieva or Captiva? Take care everyone! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, their posts, announcements, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Kakapo Recover, Tamarack Wildlife Centre, Birdlife Malta, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, AEF, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, NEFl-AEF, Paul White and the Webster Texas Eagle Watchers, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Superbeaks, Window to Wildlife, Port Lincoln Osprey, Farmer Derek, Holly Parsons and the Albatross Lovers Group plus The Midway Project film, The Albatross, by Chris Jordan.
Dr Sharpe has posted that he will arrive at the Fraser Point nest between 12-2 nest time. We wait.
It is always a hard day when a chick dies on a nest but to lose a beautiful little Osprey to starvation/siblicide is very difficult. I am speaking of the third hatch at the Janakkdan nest in Finland. There is various speculation about what is going on at the nest. Is the female injured in some way? Another chick is lethargic on that nest and it is feared that all three will be lost and then, also, perhaps the breeding female if the injury is acute. Some are asking if this is H5N1, the highly pathogenic Avian Flu. That could only be determined by testing and so far it is believed that Ospreys would be more immune because they eat fish almost exclusively. Whatever is happening it is very sad and it causes one to feel helpless.
There was also Victor with his injury wanting to jump and fly with Lillibet to only go tumbling to the ground, well…gosh. It can take the wind out of your sails. It will be a long wait for Dr Sharpe to get to the nest. He will have to get to the boat, get to the island and then get to the nest. Will this require a very difficult climb? I do not know the terrain he will be going through but, I trust Dr Sharpe. If anything at all can be done to give Victor a second chance, Dr Sharpe is the person who will pull this off. But, for now we wait and it is going to be agony until we know that he is on the ground and has Victor. Then we wait again. You can be assured that Dr Sharpe will give Victor an exceptional meal and maybe some fluids – Victor cannot help but be dehydrated.
There is sadness across the Manitoba Peregrine community this morning. The resident male, Hart, was found dead. He was 10 years old. The Manitoba Peregrine Recovery Project works diligently to return the numbers of these beautiful falcons in our community.
Here is the link to the blog with information about Hart and the falcons that live in my community. the text narration gives you an idea of the struggles that happen with all our feathered friends. Condolences go out to everyone associated with the MB Falcon Recovery Project.
Most of the birds that I write about are big birds of prey. I love them. At the same time, the Albatross pull at my heart strings, ducks make me laugh out loud, and well, I have really come to adore storks. Today Hob Osterlund posted a really touching image of a Laysan Albatross male and his chick.
Continuing with the mantra of Margaret Mead, “Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” – Hob Osterlund works tirelessly for the Laysan Albatross. Osterlund had a dream and because of it she moved to the island of Kauai. She was overcome with the love of the Laysan Albatross on her arrival. Osterlund is the author of Holi Moli: Albatross and other Ancestors, is the Founder of the Kauai’ Albatross Network, has worked to relocate albatross from Midway Atoll to Kauai’, is an artist, and many more things to thousands of people. She did the illustrations for A Perfect Day for an Albatross by Caren Loebel-Fried.
Moli is the word for Laysan Albatross. They are revered spirits on the island of Kauai’. For the people of Hawaii, their ancestors can take the form of birds or animals. This is ‘aumakua’. Laysan Albatross are among the aumakua.
Do you know who Wisdom is? Wisdom is the oldest known banded bird in the world. She still raises a chick and she is now at least 71 or 72 years old. She laid an egg and raised a chick in 2021. (Albatross often take a year off between laying eggs so that their body can be in good shape).
Wisdom’s breeding grounds are the Midway Atoll. Wisdom and her mate, Akeakami, return every year to the same nest site. This behaviour is known as nest fidelity. Millions of birds have nest fidelity at the Midway Atoll and there is a race on to figure out what to do with rising sea levels. Wisdom has hatched 40 eggs and outlived many mates. Albatross normally return and find mates at 5 or 6 years and return later to make a nest. Her 2011 chick – banded N333 – that survived the tsunami on the island, has returned and Wisdom now has a grandchick. How special. That year 110,000 chicks were killed by the raging waters of the tsunami covering over the shore. Wisdom’s chick survived because her nest was located inside a protected dune area.
Invasive species such as rats and mice that were killing the birds were dealt with in 2020. It is a problem around the world on small islands where birds nest – particularly albatross. Teams of scientists and volunteers work tirelessly to try and rid the islands of rats and mice that humans have brought on to the land. Climate change is another extremely serious issue with rising seas. Some translocation work has been done between the Midway Atoll and the island of Kauai.
Wisdom and her wee little moli.
This is Wisdom’s 40th chick Kukini hatched in 2016. Kukini means ‘Messenger’.
Here is a lovely article on this magnificent Laysan Albatross – Z333.
To clear my head, I went to sit with the ducks. I came away delighted. There are ducklings of every age!
Before I begin, there are goose eggs bobbing about all over the water. The spring floods that hit our region made the water level in the park pond rise and rise covering all of the nests of the Canada geese, the Mallards, and the Wood Ducks. It was a very, very sad time. The birds laid more eggs and it rained and rained and rained again. What I am seeing is that at this particular pond, the majority of survivors or second clutches are ducklings.
This Mallard mother seemed to be in charge of about eleven little ducklings.
It is incredible how well behaved the ducklings are. There they go – right behind Mama Mallard. They have really grown since I first saw these four about 8 days ago.
Mama Mallard is incredibly beautiful.
It was equally sad not seeing one gosling today. The reflections from the trees on the water was very painterly and this Canada Goose really stood out with all that chartreuse.
Because the male Wood Ducks get all the attention, I tend to take more photographs of the females. They are incredibly gorgeous but so overshadowed by the bright colouring of their mates.
Wee Mallard keeping an eye on me but not giving up his spot!
Mother Duck has all the little ones – and they are tiny – hiding in this type of clover grass on the edge of the pond. You can just see their wee heads.
This one looks like he has had a great feed. There are so many insects darting over the water and to see these little ones just quick as a flash grabbing and eating them – it is amazing.
This wood duckling is getting her ‘pin’ feathers. You can see them pushing out of the shaft or the quill.
This is Mama Wood Duck. You can tell the female by her white tear drop eye patch.
To my delight there were Wood Ducks everywhere around the island – on it, around the shores but, always on the north side. At the start of the season there were no Wood Ducks at this park and I was truly heart broken.
Are you a fan of Mrs G and Aran at the Glaslyn?
Raptor Persecution UK wrote a blog about the history of Mrs G today. She is the oldest breeding Osprey in Wales. She has raised 41 chicks to fledge. At least 5 are breeding in the UK and she has 3 grandchicks. I will post a link to that blog if you are interested. There is also a fascinating family tree included.
I am extremely grateful for ‘S’ who has supplied me with links to various cameras, wonderful historical and current videos, and all information to keep me learning about the Finnish nests. One of the fun things I learned is that the Finnish word for Ospreys ‘saaksi’ , when translated by Google, means ‘mosquito’. We have so many mosquitoes in Manitoba – I wish they were Ospreys. I will be including some of these for you if you are also not as familiar with the Ospreys of Finland. What beautiful countryside to have a nest! Yesterday I needed some laughs – like everyone and there was that chick on nest #3. What a character. ‘S’ describes him as a teenager without brothers and sisters to fight with so he has to fight with Mum. I am not sure you saw this video the other day when I posted it but this will give you some insights into this little character! Thank you ‘S’ for your kindness.
This little video shows the chicks in nest 4 having received their rings and some fish being left on the nest. The female returns and stares at the two nice fish wondering where in the world they came from! Enjoy.
I will bring a round up of the nests this evening. For right now, however, all eyes are on Fraser Point and Janakkdan nest. Please send all your positive wishes for Dr Sharpe, his team and Victor and for the Osprey family in Finland for the Mum to recover and the surviving two chicks to get healthy.
Thank you for joining me this morning in my attempt to move your attention elsewhere. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or blogs or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Hob Osterlund, USFWS, The Peregrine Chick, and the Finnish Osprey Foundation.
The ‘Alberta Clipper’ is just starting to impact Winnipeg with some light snow flakes. We are in an extreme blizzard warning area until tomorrow morning when the winds and snow – getting up to 90 kph (or 55 mph) – dissipate. The garden birds were a little strange today. They ate and left. Normally they come and stay all day but a couple of waves of different groups came and went. I suspect they were going to try and find a place to hunker down for the duration. This storm system is also going to impact a huge part of the US including my childhood state of Oklahoma.
It is snowing on the Storks near Freiburg, too.
There is wind and blowing snow in Durbe, Latvia, the home of Milda, the White-tailed Eagle. The sound from the camera’s microphone makes you shiver – the wind is just howling through the forest.
The female Bald Eagle at Duke Farms is also under some snow and it looks like she might get more as this weather system moves through the eastern US.
There is good news in Bird World. Both of the USS Bald Eagles were seen at the nest today. The worry last night over whether or not there was an injury melted away. Nice.
The thermal down is coming in on the eaglet at the KNF in Central Louisiana. The light natal down is giving way to dandelions. Notice how much longer the beak is and how large the cere has become. The cere is the soft fleshy part above the black beak, seen below. The cere varies in shape, size, and colour amongst raptors. The beak will turn that beautiful yellow when this eaglet is approximately 4-5 years old and be pure yellow by the time it is 6 years old. At that time, it will also finish getting its adult plumage including that full beautiful white head.
The meals are more spread apart but the eaglet is eating longer and its crop is getting much fuller. Just look below. The crop is a pouch along the espophagus. It stores food before it gets to the stomach. It also processes prey items that cannot be processed in the stomach. The raptor will regurgitate a compressed pellet of those items that do not go to the stomach.
The Wildlife Biologist has just confirmed that this crop is at least 3-4 inches (10 cm) long! Wow.
Poor Baby. It took some maneuvering with the weight and flopping of that crop for it to get in a position to PS. Obviously the crop weighs more than the chick’s bottom does.
This baby has really grown in the last 4 or 5 days and is changing more and more with every blink it seems.
Despite being full to the brim and hardly able to move, Anna is making certain that the little one is topped up before bedtime.
NE26 and 27 are awash in Spanish Moss. The nest seems to be covered with it and fish. Lots of fish.
There are those sweet little fluffy dumplings in the nest bole.
Sleeping quietly under Mum.
At the WRDC Nest in Miami, R1 and R2 have popping crops, too. The pin or blood feathers can be seen coming in through the thermal down.
R1 is closest to you. R2 without the fluffy hair is in the back and also has a large crop. Both eaglets are doing well and there is plenty of food on the nest.
The 2022 Albatross Count on Midway Atoll is completed. Here is the information as it was posted by Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge today:
YRK flew in and switched places with OGK yesterday at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest in New Zealand.
Lady Hawk caught that sweet reunion.
The camera is still offline in Port Lincoln. Would love to have had a good look at our Ervie.
Tuesday February 1 is Lunar New Year for many of our friends. For all of you celebrating the Spring Festival, we wish you a healthy, happy, prosperous Year of the Tiger.
Thank you for joining me today. So happy to have you with me. Stay safe, stay warm!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Friends of Midway Atoll WildlifeRefuge FB Page, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, WRDC Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, and the Stork’s Nest Livestream.
It is difficult to describe how much snow we have in our garden. It is impossible to give an accurate picture of the amount that has fallen over the past 48 hours. The snow on the wood pile boxes is a good measure as it lands and stays put, usually without blowing away!
The House Sparrows were glad there was food still left in the long cylinder for them. I had cleared the snow off the tops yesterday afternoon late.
The European Starlings are waiting for their meal worms and Bark bites. I have started mixing in Black Sunflower Seed. I wonder if they will still be as happy??? They sure love those Meal Worms!
Despite the wintery weather, there are reports of record numbers of Cedar Waxwings and Bohemian Waxwings in our City along with the usual suspects. My daughter was out walking and, lucky for us, she had her phone with her and snapped this Pileated Woodpecker. She said she thought someone was pounding wood with a hammer!
Oh, how lucky for her.
Hob Osterlund is reporting that it is taking as many as 30 days for the adults to find enough food to return to to replace their mates incubating eggs of the Laysan Albatross. Warming oceans and over fishing are responsible. We need some creative and brave leaders to do what is necessary which could include a moratorium on factory fishing. I was told by a very reliable source that we have lost 90% of the fish numbers since the end of the 19th century.
Can we fish farm to feed the oceans?
It was a rocky night for E19. Dad, M15, got hit twice by the Great Horned Owl and Harriet, Mum, was honking in warning. Meanwhile, Harriet continued to aerate the nest and turn E20 – which meant that E19 was tossed and turned too.
E19 does not look any the worse for wear. This is one strong little eaglet. Right now I am cooing and gooing but, when E20 arrives I will probably be calling E19 out for beaking its sibling.
Look how strong that neck is today. It isn’t even 24 hours. Harriet and M15 have some good DNA going into these kids. Already looks like a bossy older sibling!
There is a mid-morning snack of squirrel.
Harriet says, ‘Open Wide’.
This is the latest view of E20 working on that shell. If you are watching the camera you can see the little one working and moving about trying to get out. It won’t be long.
Bazza continues to be the ‘bully’, if you like, of the nest on the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. I counted at least three fish deliveries on the nest that he took yesterday —- knocking siblings off the nest so that he had it all. How many times will I wonder if this first hatch won’t wind up living on that nest til the parents kick him off?
All three are fine. Falky was the latest to be kicked off. He is working hard to catch his fish and it appears that Ervie is already having some luck in the water. Sadly, Bazza is the loser as he needs to learn to be independent.
If you go over to the cameras for the Orange Peregrine Falcons with Diamond and Xavier, you might find that they are off line. Cilla Kinross has turned them off at the suggestion of the IT office to try and get rid of the trolls that are hounding the chat rooms. She also mentions that she will be changing the view of the cameras periodically.
Big Red, the Queen of the Cornell Redtail Hawks is back on Campus. Meanwhile there are reports that Arthur was depending their Beebe Lake Territory against interlopers yesterday.
I will be trying to get my car out of the drive today. It is booster jabs. We have no idea what the back streets are like to reach the main ones. Wish us luck!
Take care. It is wonderful to have you with me on this journey with our beloved birds.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Port Lincoln Osprey, and Hob Osterlund.
Oh, gosh. We really are going to miss these three boys when they finally leave the Port Lincoln barge. Ervie was wet this morning. He has been focusing very hard on finding a fish and catching it. We might never know, sadly, when that moment occurs – unless he brings it up to the ropes like Dad. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?!
Bazza seems to have landed the first fish this morning on the nest. Falky doesn’t seem bothered and Ervie had flown off earlier.
Port Lincoln gave us a nice image of Bazza over on the ropes. These three males are quite handsome.
When Ervie flew back to the barge he was really keen on preening those feathers.
You can really see that sharply hooked beak that helps to tear the fish so they are easier to eat. Unlike Peregrine falcons, Ospreys do not have a tomial tooth. In my images it is a bit difficult to see that valve which seals the Osprey’s nostrils when they dive for their fish but, it is there.
Looking at that beautiful image of Ervie below you will notice that the Ospreys lack that very heavy eyebrow of some of the other raptors. Instead, they have that incredible black line which passes from the eye down to the neck. That black line helps them with the glare.
Ervie missed the the 8:14:14 fish that Dad brought in. Falky claimed in.
Port Lincoln has reported that Ervie has been flying farther. They also note that he has been checking out the coast. Here is the latest map of Ervie’s movements from the barge.
Ervie and his siblings will get their adult plumage at their first moult which is fully completed by the time they are a year old. That change in plumage does not indicate Ervie’s sexual maturity. Osprey do not normally breed until they are three years of age. The 2019 fledgling from Port Lincoln, Calypso, has been spotted sitting on a branch with a male. Might there be chicks next year? That would be marvellous!
When Penny Olsen’s book on the raptors of Australia was published in 1995, the map of Australia indicated that the Eastern Ospreys were located only around the coast. Ironically, that map did not indicate any ospreys in the Eyre Peninsula. This is one of the things that has changed since its publication. We have to look no further than the Port Lincoln Opsrey Barge and Thistle Island. We also know from Solly being the first tracked Osprey that the birds do go inland. Not all that far but further inland than anyone had understood previously. We are fortunate that Solly was able to provide so much information to us in the 14 months that she was alive. Port Lincoln can now compare the dispersal of a female to that of a male with the tracking of Ervie.
There are many threats to Osprey. I imagine that everyone reading my blog can name at least four. I want to add warming seas and the decline in fish numbers as yet another.
As you know, I highly recommend Dr Marc Bekoff’s book, The Emotional Lives of Animals. He also wrote The Ten Truths with Jane Goodall. A very moving story is coming from the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Some of you might recognize the name of Hob Osterlund. She posted a very moving story that can be added to the cornucopia of evidence that Bekoff and Goodall have that support animals having emotions which they express. Once you have read those two reasonably priced books, you will never ever apologize again for anthropomorphizing animals again.
Here is that posting:
Tears.
One of my readers ‘B’ asked me if I had seen the snow at Glacier Gardens. I had not! So I went to check. Oh, my goodness, it is so beautiful. If you close your eyes you can see that beautiful Kindness using that nest and those branches like a trampoline. What a magnificent juvie Kindness was. She is off eating Salmon along the river.
On Taiaroa Head, 122 birds have been seen so far and there are 36 eggs laid. No mention yet on who the Royal cam stars for 2021-22 will be! Soon. And there has been no update on Grinnell. No further updates on WBSE 27 either.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle Cam, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and to Hob Osterlund and her FB page for that moving story. Much appreciated.
