Tag Archives: Loch Arkaig Ospreys

Friday in Bird World

27 May 2022

I have been away most of the afternoon and have not been able to check on all the nests on my return. It was raining on the two osplets on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest and it looks like they have been at the hair salon, too!

It has been terrible weather at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest. As I understand it the last big feed for ND17, Little Bit was last evening at 21:25. Little Bit was quite full. Eagles do not have to eat every day but 17 would benefit from having more regular food. I saw a discussion about the feathers on Little 17s head. Chicks show stress in their feature development if they have not had regular feedings or as much food as they should be having. In addition, siblings can during beaking pull out feathers. For 17 it could be a combination of both. He will be fine when food comes in later – except that the big siblings will also be hungry. Fingers crossed for lots of fish once the storm passes and the waters clear for fishing.

Sean and Lynn have posted the banding and Q & A session for Cal Falcons. There is some really interesting information in there and if you are interested, please do take the time to listen. Make sure to start it back at the beginning.

Mrs G and Aran now have two chicks as of 20:42 at the Glaslyn nest in Wales! This is the 51st chick for Mrs G and the third egg is cracking!!!!!! These three will be very close together. Fantastic. I continue to worry about the third hatches at both Loch of the Lowes and Llyn Clywedog.

Idris and Telyn have two of the cutest little osplets on the planet at their Dyfi nest, also in Wales.

Idris has two fish on the nest for Telyn and the kids. He is eating some of the second fish before departing for security duty.

There are three chicks on the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren. Yesterday, Dylan had been missing and the weather was terrible. A fish finally came to the nest. Everything seems to have been fine since then. Things have dried out. The third chick is quite small. A nice fish was delivered at 20:51.

The chicks at Manton Bay are so big compared to these wee hatchlings. They no longer fit well to be brooded by Maya.

Blue 33 was acting like there were intruders around. He kept looking around with his snake eyes.

I can hardly believe it. The rain and wind are gone. Dorcha has been able to dry out. We should be on hatch watch by the 31st for her and Louis’s chicks.

I am very concerned about the third hatch at Loch of the Lowes. Blue NC0 has a tendency not to feed them if they are not right in her face and beak. The two oldest at Llyn Clywedog are a bit of a handful, too. This was the early morning feeding at Loch of the Lowes. The wee one did not get any food and I haven’t seen it get fed today – I hope I missed it and please tell me if I did.

So the worries are Llyn Clywedog and Loch of the Lowes. A great nest to watch, if you are looking for one with little drama is going to be Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi. They are as steady as you go, just like Blue 33 and Maya at Rutland. Mrs G and Aran are the favourites of many and I personally like Foulshaw Moss with White YW and Blue 35 but I do not like their camera – no rewind!

Take care everyone. It was great to know that Annie was in the scrape with the two eyases – a daughter and a son – five minutes after the banders left! That is fantastic. Thank you so much for being with me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages: Cal Falcons, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the People’s Post Code Lottery, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and LRWT.

Early Friday in Bird World

27 May 2022

As the sun goes down, we say soon say goodbye to the Captiva Ospreys – Lena, Andy, Middle Little, and Little Mini O. What a delight this Osprey season has been. We were sad for Big to die so quickly and mysteriously but, we all rejoiced when it was not Avian Flu and the rest of the family members were healthy. The chicks grew and grew. Middle Little’s legs are like Aran Daddy Longlegs and he had quite the loud call when he wanted Andy to deliver. Little Mini O turns out to be a big sister. Both flew and fished with the parents and we wish them a long successful life.

We will look forward to the 2023 season with you, Lena and, of course, with Daddy Door Dash, Andy. What a great parents you are! Thanks to Lori Covert for sharing her raptors with all of us.

Little Bit 17 went to sleep with a full tummy. Mum brought in a nice fish at 21:18. By 21:20:40 Little Bit 17 was up there being fed on one side while a big sibling was on the other. In fact, Mum move the fish and it helped 17. The fish was finished at 21:30. Little Bit 17 had a crop and was ready for the day to end.

Mum has brought the fish in and one of the older siblings is pecking at it. Little Bit is at 9 o’clock. Mum will take the fish and move it up to the opposite side of the nest.

It takes Little Bit 17 about 10 seconds to get himself situated in a nice spot so that he will get fed but not pecked (the older siblings have been quite good lately, generally).

Little Bit ate for a good 10 minutes. Would I have liked it to be 20? Of course! You can see he has a nice crop and he will sleep good tonight. There is forecast for a lot of rain tomorrow. Let us hope a couple of good sized fish get on the nest.

At 09:12:48 Little Bit takes his turn at the prey item on the nest this morning.

A little earlier he was sharing that unidentified object with another sibling. It is so nice this nest has turned around.

It looks like there are now four storklets on the White Stork nest of Bukachek and Betty in Mlade Buky, The Czech Republic. They are so cute!

Kana’kini has been really getting some air under her wings as the two brothers look on.

Cody at the Kistachie National Forest Bald Eagle nest put together a great video showing Kincaid at various ages throughout the 2022 season. So many memories – we forget them. Thanks, Cody. This is awesome.

Are you a fan of Xavier and Diamond, the Peregrine Falcons at Charles Sturt in Orange? The three cameras are now being integrated with the CSU web site. The first one to be integrated is the nest box. Here is the new URL: https://youtu.be/su_eumVDeBs

The two osplets of Richmond and Rosie have been eating well. Richmond has been bringing in some nice striped bass and Rosie has been catching some huge fish, too, and bringing them to the nest. Rosie is one of the few females that – at this stage – goes out to fish when the male is doing brooding. It could be the secret to the success of their nest.

The four Ls are really getting their juvenile plumage! There is little L4 who is a month old today! Big Red and Arthur have also done an amazing job. Do you remember when people thought they could not handle four eyases? Arthur is also Daddy Door Dash and he sure kept the prey on the nest even in those torrential rains.

One of the things I love about Mrs G is her long experience raising chicks. Aran is a fantastic fisher (when he is not injured) and here they are together, proud of their first healthy hatch for 2022.

Idris and Telyn are doing fantastic at the Dyfi Osprey nest. There are two chicks! It looks like the males are busy catching flounder. There was a running joke at the Glaslyn nest – Mrs G hates flounder. She will only feed it to the chicks if there is absolutely nothing else. Aran brought in a flounder and Mrs G left it. Aran finally took it away! Reminds of Diamond in the CSU falcon scrape – Diamond hates Starling! Interesting.

Dorcha and Louis have been experiencing horrific weather at the Loch Arkaig nest. Louis brought in a big fish for Dorcha regardless. Oh, I hope this weather settles down before those babies hatch!

Louis is an incredible provider. Dorcha seems like she will be a formidable Mum. Last year the camera was set on the other nest and we could not watch Louis with his new mate. They did fledge two chicks. Can’t wait for this year!

The weather is so bad – high wind gusts and rain – that Dorcha has taken to eating her fish on the nest.

Laddie has just brought a big live fish to the nest at the Loch of the Lowes. I hope that Blue NC0 feeds all of the chicks including Little Bob. He missed out on an earlier feed. I am not staying to watch. The ringing at the Cal Falcon scrape at The Campanile is taking place in a few minutes. I do not want to miss it and the Q & A. I will being news of that later today.

I am a little nervous about this nest. Fingers crossed.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Take care everyone. Have a lovely end of the week.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cornell Red Tail Haws, Friends of Loch Arkaig and People’s Post Code Lottery, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, ND-LEEF, Captiva Osprey Project, Mlade Buky, Explore.org for the video on Kana’kini’s hovering, and to Cody for that great video on Kincaid from footage at the KNF Bald Eagle Nest.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

13 April 2022

The snow on the Canadian Prairies arrived later than expected – around 07:45 in my garden this morning. The wind roared and the snow blew and then, around 15:30 it calmed. We have been told that there will be several calm periods with rain and snow arriving again later tonight. The 27 European Starlings came. The woodpecker arrived for suet. Tens of dozens of Sparrows and seriously, I am not exaggerating, 350 Dark eyed-Juncos. We continued to clear paths on the deck and pour a line of millet and sunflower seeds – about 30 feet long – several times today. Everyone ate there or at the seed and suet cylinders and feeders. It felt good to help them. Many are arriving or returning to eat now that the snow has stopped. We received about 55 cm of snow. Thankfully the old snow had all melted. The whole of western Canada can use the moisture. We have had droughts for 4-5 summers. I hope that this lessens the wildfires during the summer.

The UFlorida Gainesville Osprey Nest was on ‘S’s list of top ten osprey nests to watch. I must find out more about this family from her. My interest is, of course, the fact that there are three little ones and how well this wee osplet can manage against the older siblings.

Little Bob at the UFlorida Gainesville campus Osprey nest is doing fine. He is growing. They all scramble about in the nest bowl and I really dislike the camera they are using but…all that matters is that he is doing well.

There is Little Bob on the far left.

The chicks at the Captiva Osprey nest are almost ready to fledge. They love to self-feed but, Lena being the great Mum that she is prefers to do it so that both get fish. Keeping it fair. I love it. Here are some images from today.

Chicks watching, totally focused. Such beautiful birds.

Lots of flapping. Look at those long legs! This osplet wants to compete with Idris at the Dyfi Nest for the nickname, ‘Daddy Longlegs’.

Those legs of Middle sure look a lot longer than Mum’s! Little continues to love looking out over the side of the nest rim.

Another nest on ‘S’s list is the osprey nest on the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. Here is a view of the nest. No occupants yet! And a link to their camera in case you want to check later.

https://narrowriver.org/ospreycam/

The Ferris State University Ospreys are also on ‘S’s list and there is an osprey on the nest but no eggs yet! The couple have been working on getting the nest in good shape.

Here is another view of the nest at Ferris State University in Michigan.

This is the link to their camera: https://osprey.ferris.edu/

In the UK, Louis has decided that he likes the nest that he shared with Aila better than the nest he had with Dorcha last year. As a result, Louis has convinced Dorcha to change nests. This is very interesting behaviour. It is such a gorgeous nest. Louis seems, by the move, to have accepted that Aila will not be returning. This will be her second season not to return from migration. Louis and Aila were an incredible pair. I am looking forward to watching Louis with his new mate this season.

The couple are settling in doing what Ospreys do when breeding season hits!

Dorcha is very dark and quite stunning. She reminds me of Mrs G at the Glaslyn nest.

Beautiful Iris has been on the perch and sitting in the nest today. It is a good place to get out of the wind. Gosh, she is gorgeous. Louis has, of course. been around doing what Louis does.

There always seems to be a train going through Missoula, Montana behind Iris!

Iris has a fantastic nest. In her time with Stanley she was a magnificent mother. No doubt, as I often say, she has earned the right to let Louis do his thing, lay the eggs, let the Crows get them, and then relax for the rest of the summer.

They are not friends to the Ospreys but, Northern Goshawks are incredibly beautiful medium to large-sized hawks. There are rare in my province. Those that live or breed head to the dense northern forests in the north. The adults have red eyes with a dark crown (the eye colour changes as they age). Their plumage is a gorgeous blue-grey slate colour with streaks on their pale breast and belly. They are known for grabbing chickens in farmer’s enclosures, rabbits, squirrels of all varieties, grouse, and Rock Doves. They have been known to lure Ospreys into the forest to kill them and to take their chicks- a sadddness which happened at the nest in Finland last year.

The numbers of nesting pairs has dropped considerably when there were 1000 couples to today when there are only between 400-600 pairs.

The images below are from a nest near Riga in Estonia.

This is some very interesting information about this nest and the hawk couple from Looduskalender:

“The nest of goshawks in this location in Riga has been known since 2016 – it is believed that the breeding couple moved here from another nest about 600 metres away. In the immediate vicinity of the nest there are both industrial objects, the sounds of which can often be heard, and private houses. The tree of the nest is located in a small wet area overgrown with weeds and shrubs. The nest is built in a black alder, which grows on the edge of a ditch. The goshawk has built his dwelling on the remains of a crow’s nest. The metal wires twisted in the nest still evidence that the crow was a supporter of durable building materials.

The nest was controlled during this time and the nestlings were ringed in it. This couple, and especially the female, is known among the ornithologists for their special character – she tends to behave particularly aggressively and attack people when they are just approaching the nest. On the other hand, birds are accustomed to people and equipment operating behind the fence in the nearby industrial facility and do not pay attention to them. Interestingly, at the time the female laid her first egg, very close, about 50 m from the nest, a crow couple were building their own nest. Crows are a common food item for Goshawks, but it happens that hawks do not touch other nesting birds near their nest, and they make use of this safety zone.”

This is the link to this Goshawk nest:

Mum is on the ropes at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge this morning in Australia. I wonder if Ervie will come and visit again today making it three days in a row? It is always reassuring and such joy when he visits.

Please help select the name for Annie’s new mate. He deserves a super name and Cal Falcons have narrowed the field down for you to select the finalist. (Go to the link for the names and their associations with UC-Berkeley)

This is just a quick glance at some new nests and a check in on the UFlorida triplets. Both of the eaglets, Jasper and Rocket, have now branched at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. Avian flu continues to be a concern in many areas in the US and Canada.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, UFlorida Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys an Window on Wildlife, Angel, Twitch, Woodland Trust, Montana Osprey Project, RMC, Narrow River Ospreys, Ferris State University, and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.