Tag Archives: Loch of the Lowes

Late Wednesday in Bird World

25 May 2022

Whew! I am still scrambling from looking at so many streaming cam nests this morning. There are so many different things happening from pips to hatches to fledges to deadly intruders. I took the afternoon off and went out to our nature centre for the 3 km walk. It was just beautiful – not too hot and the rain that came didn’t happen until later.

I was greeted by the cutest little Yellow Warbler the minute I stepped on the path.

One of the real treats was a lone Pelican flying overhead with its fish in its mouth. It was so high in the sky and the image is so very cropped but still, it is recognizable as an American White Pelican. At least 50% of North America’s American White Pelicans come to Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, and Winnipegosis during the summer. There is also a significant population at Lockport, Manitoba at the dam. I photographed those last year and will do so soon again.

There are several Canada Geese incubating eggs either in the nest boxes or in sites that are raised up close to water. These goslings are so lucky that they will be hatched inside the fence of the nature centre. They will not have to contend with concrete highways and parking lots like so many that have lost their habitat do.

One of the most intriguing images was a tree that had a number of birds on it. At first it appeared that it was only Double-crested Cormorants but then…you begin to see three other species – 2 Bald Eagles (it really is their tree) and a Hawk. There were, in addition, two more Cormorants I cut out of the image so that I could blow it up enough so that you could see the ones that aren’t Cormorants. So on the top left is a Baldie. Central Bottom is a hawk it appears. And on the bottom right is also a Bald Eagle. The eagle couple live year round in Manitoba.

There were Purple Martins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow Rumped Warblers, Black Capped Chickadees and some Mallards today.

In other Bird World news today, there is a pip in one of Mrs G’s eggs at the Glaslyn nest.

Mrs G is sleeping and not giving away any news but part of a shell has been seen on the nest.

There are now three osplets at the Foulshaw Moss nest in Cumbria. I might have mentioned this earlier. This is a favourite nest of mine. Blue 35 is a great mother – especially if the third hatch is small. Thanks to her and to the great fishing of White YW Tiny Tot, Blue 463, became the dominant nest on the bird and fledged. I think White YW is quite handsome.

The fish deliveries and eating were good at ND-LEEF. Little Bit 17 isn’t quite so little anymore. Thankfully.

Alden delivers another moth to the scrape in The Campanile at UC-Berkeley. He is calling to tell Annie. The chicks were much more civilized this time. So cute. So innocent. Annie and Grinnell certainly picked a kind friend to help out if something happened to Grinnell.

Idris and Telyn with their first Bob at the Dyfi Nest in Wales. Just look at that fish Daddy Longlegs brought in for the family! Congratulations again Dyfi!

Here is a video of that happy moment when the first hatch at Dyfi in 2022 became real.

Laddie’s eye looks amazing. He is delivering fish and Blue NC0 is feeding all three chicks! Life is good at Loch of the Lowes.

Father Kestrel at Robert Fuller’s Kestrel scrape in Yorkshire, UK has done an amazing job feeding and providing security for his eyases since the female was lost.

Lots more nests to check on tomorrow! Remember that Cal Falcons has changed the time for banding Annie, Grinnell, and Alden’s chicks to 8am Pacific Time Friday the 27th of May. Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I hope that each and every one of you had a fabulous Wednesday. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Robert Fuller, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, ND-LEEF, Cal Falcons, and the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust.

Early Wednesday in Bird World

25 May 2022

There is so much news that it is difficult to know where to start sometimes. But today it is going to be in Port Lincoln, Australia on the Osprey barge. Mum and Dad were sitting next to one another on the ropes. Mum then went to the nest and was looking around. She was not happy. One of the long time watchers of the barge of this Osprey family, ‘M’ suggested on the chat that Ervie had been trying to land to eat a puffer, like he has done now for nearly 5 months. The camera did not pull back so that we could have a clear view. Something was definitely making Mum quite upset and ‘A’ writes this morning and confirms that at 0952 Ervie was trying to land.

This is, indeed a sad day for all of us that loved Ervie and wished beyond anything that the parents might let him come to the barge. Maybe he will go to the old barge with his puffers – the alternative for Mum and Dad. (Is it still there?)

Mum was still preening at 11:10 on the nest.

The feeding of five little storks! They have grown so much in a week!

While those White Storks have been growing, Betty and Bukachek at the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic are welcoming their newly hatched storklets. Congratulations!

At the black stork nest of Jan and Jannika in Estonia, frogs and fish were brought in to feed all of the storklets. If you have never seen storklets fed, this is a great way to start watching. The parents regurgitate the fish for the little ones.

There is a very confusing situation at the Latvian Black stork nest of Grafs and Grafiene. The ‘real’ Grafiene returned late and now there are three on the nest with mating and fighting.

The second eaglet on the Fort St Vrain Bald Eagle nest in Colorado, US is sleeping quietly. The eaglet is 6 weeks old and I am so hoping that there is a parent near by. Last night a raccoon climbed and pulled an eaglet off the nest to feed it and possibly its babies. I hope this eaglet stays safe!

Before night, Little Bit 17 was flapping its wings on the ND-LEEF nest. They are getting bigger and he is getting stronger with every bite of fish that he eats.

A fish arrived on the ND-LEEF nest at 0820. Little Bit 17 began moving up to eat and was at Mum’s beat at 08:21:37 where he got fed. Yes! That is a very good way to start a Wednesday morning.

It got a bit wet on the nest this morning and Mum is there with the eaglets.

Lady and Dad are busy working on the nest first thing in the morning. Dad has been bringing fish to the nest every day for Lady. Lovely.

‘S’ was kind enough to forward a statement from the Scottish Wildlife Trust on the issue relating to Laddie, LM12’s eye. They said, “

Our breeding pair, LM12 and NC0 have made an incredible effort to provide for their growing offspring since the first chick hatched on 19 May.

If you’ve been watching the webcam you might well have noticed that resident male LM12 has an injury on his right eye – this may have been caused by an abrasion sustained when his protective, translucent, third eyelid, also known as a nictitating membrane, was open.

Fortunately this injury seems to minor and it doesn’t seem to have affected his ability to fish. LM12 brought two perch to his hungry family at 20:05 and 21:20 this evening.”

Laddie’s eye appears to be perfect. He has brought in a big fish for Blue NC0 to feed the babies!

The two osplets of Dylan and Seren at Llyn Clywedog are almost the same size. They are terribly cute. It is pitching down rain there today and the third Bob has hatched. Congratulations Dylan and Seren.

Both eggs have hatched at the nest of White YW and Blue 35 at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Idris and Telyn on the hatch of their first chick of the 2022 season at 1628 on the 25th of May! It is Tiffin Cake all around in Wales today I am told.

Both of the osprey chicks on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest were fed by Mum this morning. They were both full with Mum betting a chance to eat the tail at 1105. Later images show them with a nice crop each.

Look at the size of Middle’s beautiful wings!

The only surviving osplet on the Dahlgren Nest in Virginia US used to be the size of the Bobs at the Loch of the Lowes and Llyn Clywedog. Just look at how big that chick is today!

It was heart warming to learn that the Friends of Big Bear had so many letters of support to stop the development in Big Bear Valley. Jackie and Shadow are much loved. In terms of social media stars, they have the highest number of visitors to their streaming cam than any other Bald Eagle nest. This is fantastic news.

The day that Spirit flies off the nest is coming. It could even be today. She has been on the branch flapping her big beautiful wings and standing on one leg this morning.

Was Spirit getting some advice for the future?

DC9 has been sitting on the rim of the nest looking out at the world from the National Arboretum nest in Washington DC. Mr President is doing a great job taking care of his only eaglet this year. Mum Lotus has not been seen for several days now.

The triplets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are starting to get out on the branches!

The oldest US Steel Eaglet is 50 days old today while the youngest is 47 days.

Liberty and Guardian have been making regular prey deliveries to Star and Sentry throughout the day. Some viewers have worried. There is a chat associated with the nest and the moderator will list the times of prey deliveries and visits from parents. The two eaglets are so large they take up the entire nest!

The eyases at the Manchester New Hampshire scrape continue to loose more of their fluffy down revealing their beautiful feathers.

The San Jose City Hall falcons are so cute. They are starting to lose their fluff revealing some nice feathers, too. Such cuties sitting there like little Buddhas. They are 20 days old today.

Here is a short video of Pedro meeting those chicks. Look at how much they have grown.

Talk about losing baby down! The two Red-tail Hawks at the Presidio Trust nest in San Francisco sure look a lot different this morning. I have not checked on them for awhile and they are big hawks!!!!!

It is a crazy time in Bird World. So many nests and everything happening from mating to fledging – with lots of intruders! Let us hope that all of our feathered friends have uneventful days. One of our readers asked about the Berry College eaglet. B15 fledged – if my memory holds true – on the 28th of April. She was still visiting the nest to everyone’s delight at 110 days old. Good solid eaglet. Pa and Missy continued to provide food for her.

Gorgeous picture that someone sent me of Pa Berry and Missy. (Do not know who to credit). They are a beautiful couple and did a fantastic job this year with B15.

This has been a long blog today. Please pardon any crazy typos or wording – I tried to cover too many nests! I will do a short check in on some of the nests with recent hatches later today. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Berry College Eagles, Presidio Trust, San Jose City Hall, Peregrine Networks, Redding Eagles, Pix Cams, NADC-AEF, FOBBV, Dahlgren Ospreys, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Dyfi Ospreys, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, CarynXWild, Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, ND-LEEF, XCel Energy, Mlade Buky Storks, and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

Monday in Bird World

23 May 2022

It has been ‘one of those days’ in Bird World. A lightening storm has hit the Gainesville, Florida area and the streaming cam for the Ospreys on the light stand at the practice field at the university has been off line all day. It is hoped that the two chicks may be wet, may have had to endure some more hail, and might not have had fish deliveries but, they are alright.

One of the most worrisome events today has been the right eye of Laddie, the male at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest. His mate is Blue NC0. They have two chicks fully hatched and eating ferociously and one half in its shell. All day I wondered if Laddie would be able to fish. Is this another instance of an intruder perhaps causing fatal damage to an Osprey nest? It has been one intruder after another since Aran was injured at Glaslyn last year – both in the UK and ‘across the pond’. Not just Ospreys. Bald Eagles. Red-tail Hawks. Peregrine Falcons.

This was a huge concern to me all day. Will Laddie be able to fish? what will happen to the wee ones? can Laddie switch and incubate and Blue NC0 get out of brooding mode and become the fish provider? will the people of Loch of the Lowes provide a fish table like Glaslyn did for Aran and Mrs G? My mind was running at 500 mph.

Laddie has, indeed, been able to fish! Tears. Pouring tears. The camera was such that we could not see his eye but he did bring fish for Mum and the babies.

In the image below the third egg is just cracking. It was fully out of the shell at 20:11.

Laddie has obviously eaten the head of the fish – he has a nice crop. Fingers crossed. Send lots of good positive energy their way.

Awww. That sweet little third one is mostly out of the shell. Hopefully Blue NC0 will give that shell a nudge! Last year there were three but the third one was weak and could not keep up with the big ones and perished.

All three of the Manton Bay osplets are in the Reptilian phase. I so hoped that we would have a little soft downy third one for a day longer but, no…progressing right on schedule.

You can see all the down off their heads. Peek up above and see how soft and light grey it is after hatch. Now look – black and oily. Looks like they have been to Carnival in the Caribbean during Oil Down.

I included this one because even their facial features change! The wings get long and ‘lanky’. They will consume more and more fish at fewer feedings. We can be looking for the beautiful copper red to appear on the back of the head and neck soon. This is the point when the Ospreys most resemble the dinosaurs that they are.

The intruders have been around the MN-DNR with a sub-adult landing on the perch that Nancy uses. Nancy was able to leave and get prey to feed to E1 and herself. That is very good.

Everything could not be better on the ND-LEEF nest. Early this morning, 17 ate most of a fish and was not bothered by a sibling. There was another fish on the nest and 17 ate most of it. That was around 12:30. There he is in the image below working hard on that catfish!

It is around 1610 and a Salmon comes on the nest. Yes, the second one according to people in the chat. Look who is up there eating with its big siblings! There is no discord. Little Bit 17 will has a great big crop – for at least the third time today. What is even more surprising is that when he was eating with the two big siblings, 17 was a little bit aggressive. Fantastic.

It seriously cannot get any better than this! Ever since Little Bit 17 was so hungry – for two days – and then at the end of the third went over, moved an entire fish and ate all of it – things on this nest have started to change. Mum even began to feed her little one. The weather has been cooler, the water is clearer and more fish are coming on the nest. Let us all hope that it continues. If so, we are assured of three fledges (unless something terrible happens – and the lives of our feathered friends is so precarious that it could).

Chase & Cholyn’s Two Harbours 1 has a name! Here is the announcement:

According to my acquaintance Deb Stecyk, the Dale Hollow fledglings have been heard in the area. The parents delivered a fish and then returned and took it. They might have been trying to lure them to the nest – easier to feed them! But the nest is in the middle of a forested area (or so it seems) and it could be difficult for the eaglets to get back to the nest according to Deb.

I had a lovely visit with my daughter today and these are the only nests that I have checked. Will try and do a good run through most of them tomorrow! Thank you so much for joining me this evening. Take care!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: ND-LEEF, Scottish Wildlife Trust, MN-DNR, Institute for Wildlife Studies, and the LRWT.

Another great day in Bird World

22 May 2022

It is all good news.

Warrior has been sitting up in the nest tree since he flew up there yesterday. At 0530, Warrior flew/fell out of the top of the nest. DHEC cut it on camera and posted a video.

A fish was left on the nest by the parents and then an adult came with another fish this morning at 10:04. They are trying to see if the fledglings will return to the nest to eat. Hopefully they can lure them back to the nest to eat! Or will they feed them elsewhere? Lots to learn before they are ready to be their own independent selves.

Things continue to go well for Middle at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest. Dad made a delivery at 08:56. ‘R’ sent me a note about the intruder on the nest at the same time. I had missed it and the fact that there were a few swipes between Big and Middle over the fish. Thanks so much, ‘R’. (I really do hate the rewind on this camera).

Notice the adult on the far left – this appears to be an intruder who wants that fish!

Middle wanted that fish, too. In the end, Big got it but not without the two locking talons. Middle continues to ‘sniff around’ knowing that Big should get tired of working on that fish but will she? Middle wants some fish and he is getting much more confident despite Big’s little pecks!

At 0859 Middle is looking and wanting that fish intently.

Have you noticed how loud Middle’s fish calling is? She is really screaming at Big wanting that fish and staring.

At 0902, Middle gets the fish. Big is finished. It is a nice sized piece of fish with that beautiful tail. Middle will make quick work of this!

Middle cleans his beak at 1042. The fish is all gone. He joins Big Sis on the side of the nest.

Will the luck hold for little ND17 today? So tiny this one. At the ND-LEEF nest Big hatched on 31 March, Middle on 1 April eighteen hours after Big, and Little 17 hatched on the 5 April — a full six days younger than Big. As it turns out, the older siblings are hungry but they are also more interested in flapping their wings.

A parent is on the nest opening up one of the turtles at 0719. One of the big siblings has a fish. I could not see Little Bit 17.

By 0740 Little Bit 17 has that big hunk of fish. The older siblings cannot be bothered doing the work to eat it. This is going to be the lucky break we have been looking for at this nest. The older ones are peaking in terms of growth and Middle, being hungry, has the drive to get in there and find the food. The tail extends out 17’s right side so it is a nice piece of fish.

At 0757 Little Bit 17 has the fish on the other side of the nest. The two older siblings are watching but doing nothing. They are ‘not bothered’ with 17 eating. Isn’t that wonderful?

At 0812, Little Bit 17 has eaten that entire piece of fish and has another enormous crop!!!!!!!!! So happy. Three days in a row now 17 has had food. I hope there is another fish or two later but, for now, all is well.

Alden is continuing to surprise people with the variety of prey he provides to Annie and the chicks. This morning it was a Tern for breakfast. We have Common Terns here during breeding season. They do not scavenge for its meals like gulls do but, rather, catches fish.

The chicks are so cute….

The osplets are starting to hatch in the UK. We already have the three at Manton Bay’s platform of Blue 33 and Maya (much older now) and the two hatches at Loch of the Lowes with Laddie and Blue NC0.

Laddie and NC0’s two Bobs. 22 May 2022

There are now two at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35. Today, Dylan and Seren at the Llyn Clywedog nest welcomed their first hatch at 0612. Ten hours later they welcomed their second hatch!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations.

Beautiful Seren looking a little damp. I sure how this spring warms up for all of the birds and isn’t wet and cold like last year.

Wee one had a bit of a feed!

Seren feeding her first hatch of 2022.

We will be looking for hatch watches for the following nests on – Dfyi nest of Idris and Telyn on 23 May (tomorrow), Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G on the 26th of May, and Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig on 31 April.

Yesterday marked the anniversary of Aran’s injury in the Glaslyn Valley. He returned to the nest without a fish for the first time. Here is Aran a year later – healthy and strong – taking good care of Mrs G and himself. This would not have been possible without the intervention of the people of Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife. Do you know the story?

Handsone Aran. 21 May 2022

It was one of the worst springs – wet, cold, and windy. There had been big storms. Aran got into a ‘battle of sorts’ with another bird. Many of us believe that it was Aeron Z2 as they were later seen fighting over the river. Aran had a wing injury that did not allow him to fish for his family. The chicks hatched during the storm. No food. Meanwhile the people of Glaslyn are working hard to find a way to construct a fish table for the family so that they will survive. People are catching fish for them. It took a couple of days – too late for the wee babes but it saved Aran and Mrs G. A year later we are still thanking those lovely people for saving these two amazing Ospreys. What did we learn? Fish tables work. The Ospreys will eat recently dead fish. (They will not eat frozen fish). Bravo to everyone! This is the positive type of intervention that needs to happen at other platforms and nests. We may – with warming waters and higher temperatures – need to construct fish tanks for the fish eating raptors. We may need to stock ponds for them. After all, we took their habitat, heated the planet — shouldn’t we help?

Urmas and Gunnar have ringed the Golden Eagle chick in the Estonian nest. The chick weighed 2.3 kg and was 17 cm tall. They found the younger chick’s body in the moss in the underside of the nest. Golden Eagle nests are notorious for having only one chick survive. Urmas said that this eaglet is nice and fat. There is no food waste in the nest – everything is eaten (but not the younger chick – it was buried in the nest). They are hopeful this lovely little one will fledge!

It is the first day in some time that I have seen a blue sky and trees with green leaves on them. We were told the flood waters are receding but, in fact, they are now. We are now being told parts of our City could flood despite having a flood way. I am not worried where I live but it continues to be worrisome for the wildlife. A few goslings are being seen but there will not be many this year with nests full of eggs being flooded. The Baltimore Orioles are out and I am hoping to go for a long walk today to see if I can catch a few migrants passing through.

A reminder today to please cut any plastic drinks rings – and the small plastic tabs that seal bread. Birds can get in terrible trouble because of these things – and our masks – that seem to be just tossed anywhere. Gosh, the planet is not a garbage can! This incident comes from our most western province but it is an issue everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The nests are doing well. I haven’t seen any postings of footage from the banding at Two Harbours yet.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for being with me. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: DHEC, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cal Falcons, CarnyX Wild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Wildlife Rescue Association of BC, Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Early Thursday in Bird World

19 May 2022

It is another coolish day. They continue to mention snow coming! But how pleasant was it to wake up to three Baltimore Orioles already in the garden. My dial for being irritated at some birds preventing others from eating goes from mildly irked to outrage. The male Baltimore Orioles prevent the females from having the oranges or jelly! So I took the tiniest little bowls and put grape jelly in them. There are six. Surely the males can’t be at each one of them if they are eating jelly! Aaaargh.

Do we think those pesky eyases of Annie, Grinnell, and Alden told Mum what they did when Dad Alden was trying to feed them? As ‘B’ said – it is very apparent that this is Alden’s first adventure with chicks! Alden you are adorable and you are determined to figure this out and be a great Dad! Annie is giving the chicks their breakfast and later, Alden is in to give Annie a break so she can eat, too. He is doing a great job brooding and shading the chicks.

Seeing Ervie at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge is such a treat and now he has been there several days in a row! It is definitely taking a long time for that talon to grow in. It is growing and that is wonderful. Has Ervie lived on Puffer Fish all this time? He sure seems quick to catch them! And is Dad still bringing him a fish once in awhile? I collected a few more images of one of our favourite Osprey fledglings to share with you. We never know when it will be the last time to see him.

Ervie had at least two fish. It is not clear if the earliest was a puffer or was a fish brought by Dad. I think it was Dad.

A shot I shared last evening showing that talon growing in ever so slowly.

Ervie should have perfected his fishing skills by the time that talon is in. My gosh. Will it be in by Christmas? It certainly has a long way to go and I wonder if he wears it down using it??

Ervie looks really healthy and strong despite the talon issue. I wonder how many Puffers he has caught and eaten? Ervie is also very handsome! Sadly his injury has probably allowed us to see him all the time – or maybe Ervie is also, in addition, a home body. Wonder what Mum and Dad will do when breeding season is very close?

Richmond and Rosie now have their full cohort of chicks. SF Ospreys made a video of that second hatch. You can see that first little cutie, too. Two Bobs.

The first chick hatched for Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes. No more than it was getting out of the last of the shell, Blue NC0 had to fight off an intruder. It has been terrible for them this year. Fingers crossed that their presence does not do any harm to the chicks!

There is a fish ready and waiting!

It certainly is prime Osprey real estate. No one is allowed on the loch from April to September during breeding season. Nothing to disturb the Ospreys! Can you imagine how nice this would be elsewhere? Why do humans with motorized recreational vehicles have precedence? Why not canoes or kayaks?

Speaking of water, the river level around the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest is dropping and this might help with fish deliveries to the nest. Little 17 will be in need of food today for sure. Both parents have touched at the nest but I have seen no deliveries. (0730 and 0830)

It has been very hot at the Llyn Clywedog Nest. Seren Blue 5F hasn’t had a fish either. Dylan is a great provider so hopefully as it gets cooler in the evening something will come to the nest. Seren should be hearing chicks as we are on pip watch for these two. The wet and cold weather really hampered the breeding season of the Welsh Ospreys last year. Seren laid three eggs but only one hatched. Still, they raised the Biggest Bob ever in Welsh Osprey history in 2021. Everyone thought the chick was a huge female – not so. An enormous male!!!!!!! Blue 496 weighed 1400 grams.

Seren is an incredible Mum. She spent a couple of years at the Pont Cresor nest in a polygamous relationship with Aran. After two seasons of unsuccessful breeding, she flew the coop and found Dylan at Llyn Clywedog. Dylan has been here since 2016. The couple have been a mated pair since 2020. Seren spends her winters in The Gambia. Chris Woods has tracke her there to the same tree every year!

The image by Chris Wood made the rounds of some of the FB groups so I do hope that it is alright to include it here. We are all very grateful for his efforts in tracking down the Ospreys at the Tanji Quarry in The Gambia during the winter months!

Chris reported this year that they are taking lots of sand from the Tanji Quarry and he is wishing that they would stop for the sake of the birds.

The American Eagle Foundation has put together a slide show of this seasons activities at the Northeast Florida nest of Samson, Gabby, Jasper, and Rocket.

I am very happy to report that the Kestrel chicks – the smallest three – that Robert Fuller took out of the nest and raised til they were strong enough to go back with the others have been returned to Father Kestrel who is now in charge of six growing nestlings! Fantastic. A good intervention on the part of a human when the female disappeared. Father Kestrel has accomplished being both security, prey provider, and feeder!

Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville nest at 11:42. Middle was right on the ball and mantled and grabbed that fish and started self feeding! Mum is going to fly in and feed the chicks but this is the second time today that Middle has been working on self-feeding. So proud of this little one. It is no longer as intimidated by Big as it was.

Our Middle is doing fabulous. So proud of him. He is now big enough that Big really cannot intimidate him like he could even a week ago.

All five of the eyases at the Manchester New Hampshire scrape are doing great.

The five at the Belgian scrape in Oundenaare Tower are sleeping on a feather bed and loosing their baby down. All are flapping and it is getting a little crowded inside that box.

The Anacapa eyases are also doing great. I love that they live in the cliffs in a natural setting. Everyone is working on self-feeding.

The only problem nest that I can see is the ND-LEEF one. I have not, however, checked all of the nests this morning. It is time to go out and work on that penthouse for Little Red! Before the snow arrives.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care everyone, see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Explore.org, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Scottish Wildlife Trust, ND-LEEF, CarnyxWildd, Chris Wood, Robert Fuller, AEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Peregrine Networks, and Oundenaare Tower Falcons.

Early Saturday in Bird World

13-14 May 2022

First up. By the time you open this blog, it will be Saturday the 14th of May – Global Big Day. Join in. Check out the link in the notice by Cornell and follow the directions. Join in everyone around the world counting birds!

At 18:55:06 Friday the 13th, a fish landed on the Osprey nest at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Typically, Mum would feed Big almost exclusively but today, something else happened. Middle got himself positioned perfectly and he was fed, almost non-stop, for 13 minutes until the fish was entirely gone. The Mum feeds fast and this time, instead of Big getting all the fish, Middle did. He seemed desperately hungry. Relief.

Middle’s position is perfect. Big tries to get under Mum and for some reason cannot seem to move forward to get up to the beak. That was a good thing as Middle just snatched and grabbed all of those bites encouraging Mum to feed faster and faster.

I kept capturing images but, in the end, they all look the same. Big on the right side of Mum (if you face the image) and Middle on the left getting fed.

It was really nice to see Middle get a good feeding. Earlier in the day but, typically, Mum feeds Big about 15 bites to every one for little. This is a great way to end Friday!

Blue 33 (11) kept good tabs on Maya and the three Bobs at the Manton Bay nest. There was another flippy fish that came in today but no chick was injured. Thank goodness. Each time I saw Blue there I thought how supportive it was if something happened again. He even got to feed the kids a couple of times. Super Dad!

The fish came in on a regular basis and sometimes Maya fed the kids more frequently than every two hours. Look at them all lined up so sweet.

There is something so cute about the Bobs at this stage. They can get a little aggressive when they enter the Reptilian phase. I wonder if it is in part that they are growing so fast and are so itchy with the feathers coming in??

Maya feeds each one until it is so full it passes out in a food coma. Blue 33 looks on at his trio. I love this family.

Next week we will be looking for a hatch at the Loch of the Lowes nest of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. Last year the couple hatched three eggs with two chicks fledgling. Third Bob died within a couple of days. It was very tiny and weak and could not compete with a ‘Big’ sister.

Hatch watch will begin for Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi Nest in Wales on 23 May. That is 10 days away. Idris is incubating the eggs while Telyn enjoys her meal down on Monty’s perch.

It is just starting to get light at the Dyfi nest. The train is going by. Idris is on the nest again with Telyn on his perch having a break and a meal.

The surviving chick of Jack and Harriet’s at the Dahlgren Osprey platform on Machodoc Creek in King George, Virginia looks as if it will survive. The other two died this past week – probably multiple reasons such as lack of food and maybe cold and damp issues.

The triplets of Thunder and Akecheta are such striking eaglets. Here is a three minute short video of them – as we get closer and closer to fledge. Kana’kini, the only female of the three, has begun hovering. She will be 67 days old on the 14th.

One of the little eyases at the Cal Falcons scrape, is sleeping on the non-viable egg. It reminds me of those ‘medicine’ or exercise balls that people sometimes use for exercise or to sit on for their posture. Annie is such a sweet Mum brooding those fast growing chicks!

Every California Condor egg is precious. Many are not viable but when one begins to pip and hatch it is a time for hopeful joy. There is a Condor hatching right now. Here is a short clip of Cornell showing the pip. The egg tooth and beak are moving and the chick is alive! The nest is located in Tom’s Canyon which is part of the Hopper Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy.

It is past midnight and I am heading off to read and hopefully have ‘Sweet Osprey Dreams’. Thank you for joining me. Remember – join in and count the birds. Let’s find out where they are during spring migration! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, LRWT Manton Bay, Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Dahlgren Ospreys, and Cal Falcons.

Tuesday in Bird World

10 May 2022

Gosh, golly. 21 degrees C. This means summer!!!! The parks, both of them, were full of joggers, walkers, people having picnics, playing ball, or tennis. The Cricket pitch was busy. Canadians are wearing short sleeves and shorts and we are happy and smiling! Last week was a different story. If it rains again on Thursday we will be back grumbling. I promise. Summer is way too short. You realize I did not say ‘spring’. Honestly we don’t have it any more. A normal summer temperature a couple of decades ago was 18 degrees C. Of course can hit 35-38 C easy. Then we all go inside grumbling. There is a sweet spot around 21-23 degrees C that is just perfect for humans and for the birds on the Canadian prairies.

Note: Bear with me. I did not edit this today!

I left this morning in search of wood ducks. Where are they? I found one couple at one park and three males and one female at another. Even more absent were the Mallards. Sadly, what else I found was that the torrential rains and rising water levels everywhere have made many of the duck and goose eggs non-viable. If the outside coating gets wet, there is no oxygen. This was sad.

The water has receded and you can see some of the clutch that has been abandoned. This area is a small island – there are two islands – in the centre of the pond. It appeared very, very crowded with geese further back incubating and a pair of Wood Ducks walking through.

I wonder how man of our waterfowl lost their eggs this season? Some goslings have hatched but I did not see a single one today. Last year I could not walk for wee ducks and geese. Let’s see what next month brings.

This Mallard couple were taking turns trying to find pond vegetation and keeping an eye on me – I was about 20 metres away but they still knew I was there. The birds around the Witches Hut at St Vital Park are very friendly. During nesting season they get a bit touchy but I think they were waiting to see if I brought any food with me.

The light was not great today. In fact, it gave some rather bizarre colours to the birds.

The colours on this Mallard might even make a Peacock envious.

The Black-capped Chickadees, six of them, were dive bombing me. Did they know I had seed for them in my pocket? or do they now see humans and think seed? Probably the latter. It is a very popular spot for walkers and people that live close by to spend an afternoon, always with birdseed. The lens I had on the camera really compromised what would have been great images taken with a phone camera rather than a 600mm lens.

They came and went many times while I stood and watched. Picking up a single seed, flying up to the tree nearby to crack it on a branch and then back for another one. I wonder how many calories they burn flying back and forth??

The Canada Geese were everywhere – and I do mean everywhere.

Tucked in near to them was a Chipping Sparrow hunting for sees and bugs.

None of those images will win any awards for photography but they are a nice memory of my day and some of the birds that I saw.

When I got home I went back and checked on the Manton Bay Osprey Nest in the UK to see if the third chick had hatched for Blue 33 (11) and Maya. Not yet but you could clearly see a crack forming. One of the reasons that this couple has such huge success is that the eggs normally hatch within a couple of days. Maya always delays incubating the first two eggs until the last has been laid. Talk about a remedy to help with food competition. Of course, it helps to have a big lake with lots of fish in it and not much competition right under your nest!

There was Blue checking out his newly hatched Big and Middle Bobs.

Big Bob looks like it is going to have an attitude.

If you stare at the egg long enough at the back on the left at about 2100, it appears there are some cracks forming. Of course, I could be losing my mind also.

So all is well at Rutland. Then skipping over to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest and gosh. Middle had a crop at 16:18. So I went back and it appeared that another fish had come to the nest around 15:00.

The fish has arrived. Middle is just lucky. If Mum moved the wrong way she would knock him off that nest. He is on the far side. The chick you are looking at is Big.

Mum is feeding Middle!

Mum continues to feed Middle.

So, today, Middle ate and had a couple of crops. This nest is like a roller coaster. Did you know that birds can get stress lines in their feathers? I don’t know if all banders check but when they checked the three lads at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest they checked for stress lines and found none. Of course, they would not have. Those three males were like three choir boys until they fledged. They they really began to do the ‘dust ups’ shoving one another off the nest, intercepting fish, stealing fish and whatever else three brothers can think to get into. Here is a ‘dog fight’ between Ervie and Falky.

And here is the ‘dust up’ between Ervie and Bazza on the nest where one falls off:

For those of you that do not know the PLO nest it is on a barge at Port Lincoln, Australia. The nest always had a history of siblicide. This year everyone held their breath when the three eggs hatched and there was Little Bob. Well, Little Bob was quite the character. He had to always be at the beak, in front. When Bib Bob tried to bully him, Little Bob just didn’t let it happen and Big Bob got tired and quit. Still we worried until everyone realized that Little Bob was getting rather dominant. At the time the three were to be banded, it was decided that the heaviest of the three would get the one satellite-pak. Everyone was sure it would go to Bazza the eldest. No. Ervie – who never missed a meal and who had been right up front that morning – got the GPS system! And we cheered! The three were Bazza the eldest with the red band, Falky the middle with the yellow, and Ervie the youngest with the dark green band. Falky – being the middle – did not always get much attention until he dove off the barge and caught a fish! Falky was also the one spotted 300 km north of Port Lincoln. Bazza was the reluctant flier and stayed on the nest to let Mum feed him. Then he left. I hope we hear about Falky and Bazza. Ervie was flying about and then Ervie got one of his talons pulled out. Who knows how. As a result he stays around Port Lincoln and has a fondness for Puffer Fish! He is adored by many.

Sometimes it is nice to sit back and remember those really wonderful nests and last year, PLO was one of the best!

If you are into the translocation project that has been going on in the UK, you will be excited to read the announcement by Poole Harbour today on their FB page:

Single Bald Eagle Mums have a difficult job especially if the nest is in an area where there are constant intruders. There had been a bit of a dry spell at the MN-DNR nest but today around 16:15 nest time, Nancy brought in a huge fish. E1 ate well. I understand that a group of school children are calling E1 – Harriet. If it isn’t official, it should be. It is a perfect name to honour her missing and believed dead young dad, Harry.

The winds are still blowing strong in Scotland and the rain will start pelting down at the Loch Arkaig nest in the West. Dorcha is doing a great job keeping those eggs incubated.

At the Loch of the Lowes, the wind is blowing but you can hear the ducks and geese flying in for the evening. Blue NC0 looks pretty content on the nest of hers and Laddie’s. Not long til there will be chicks here.

One of the things that people/researchers/naturalists and lovers of Osprey look at it is the return rate. How many fledglings from a nest in a particular year with particular parents return as juveniles and are officially seen? Well the Llyn Clywedog nest is doing a bit of celebrating today. So far two out of three of the 2020 trio have returned – 550 and 551. They only need 552 and they would have a 100% success rate. They are going to have bragging rights regardless for some time. This is fantastic news.

Richmond and Rosie have been fighting off intruders this entire season. We are a few days til hatch watch. Here is the banner for SF Bays Hatch Watch announcement at the SF Bay nest of these two great Ospreys.

Here is the link to Richmond and Rosie’s streaming cam:

This is the 15:49 feeding at the Cal Falcon nest of Annie and Alden. Cute. So cute.

This is the 16:55 feeding at the Manchester New Hampshire Peregrine Falcon scrape. Crazy!

Everything is perfectly fine at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus. L4 can almost be heard saying, “My crop’s as big as your crop! Nah, nah, nah!” Every time L1 does something, L4 seems to copy her.

Big Red looks like she is ready for an evening break before she snuggles down with these four Ls.

So far, so good. Food was on both the MN-DNR and the UFlorida-Gainesville nests. One day at a time. Today it was all good. So from me and all the garden gang and TH1 at the Two Harbours nest in the Channel Islands, good night. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: LRWT, UFlorida-Gainesville, PLO, Birds of Poole Harbour, MN-DNR, Woodland Trust, Loch of the Lowes, SF Bay Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Peregrine Network, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, and Explore.org

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Late Thursday in Bird World

5 May 2022

Tonight, the Audubon Society believes that 380 million birds will be on the move from the south where they wintered to the north to their breeding grounds. Manitoba is set for a huge number of birds flying in especially to the very north near Churchill and to the wetlands in the middle of the province. I draw your attention to the Wapusk area because I want you to see Churchill. Churchill is now as the ‘accessible Arctic’. Here beginning in June you can see many species including Ross’s Gull, the Northern Hawk Owl, Smith’s Longspur, Spruce Grouse. the Three-Toed Woodpecker, and Harris’s Sparrow. Of course, the list is endless for the ducks and geese that make Hudson’s Bay and the area around Churchill their summer home. Raptors include the Northern Harrier, Gyrafalcons, Merlins, Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles. Lots of other wildlife abound in the area including Polar Bears.

North of Riding Mountain National Park, also in Green to the south and west of Wapusk is Winnipegosis. This is the place to see Osprey. Directly east and north of Gimli near Hecla Island is a large concentration of Bald Eagles. Canada Geese have arrived and the Trumpeter Swans are arriving now along with the American Pelicans and Red-winged Blackbirds. The shores of the two very large lakes, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, are home to a huge variety of shorebirds that are beginning to arrive.

It felt like I watched Annie and the wee hatchling all day under a microscope. Alden got to see the chick and brood it and incubate the other two eggs. There is a dent in one of the two remaining eggs.

Alden checked earlier to see if Annie wanted a break and she wasn’t ready yet.

The baby was wanting food so Annie gave Alden a shift. I noticed how extremely careful he was with his lame leg not to stop on the chick. Well, done, Alden.

Annie arrives with a bird for the little one’s first meal. I could not possibly tell you what species this is. It is not familiar to me in Manitoba.

First hatch had a nice meal.

Annie catching some sleep. She is going to need all she can as the next eyas appears to be working on its shell. So happy for Annie. Things feel like they are going to turn out just fine.

Afterwards I went to check on the osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. I had been watching earlier in the day but not early enough to catch a morning feed. It was apparent that the chicks and Mum had eaten as all three had crops heading into the evening.

It is good to see the Mum on the nest and the osplets – and her – nicely fed. Middle is the one closest to Mum.

Middle is growing. A few days of good meals makes all the difference in the world.

Big Red has a nest full!!!!!!! She must be in her glory. Oh, I hope the weather holds.

L4, the smallest one, hatched a week after the first, likes to be at the front of the line. Gosh, sounds like another Ervie!

At 19:32, two Crows arrived at the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida. This is the nest of Jack and Diane. Last year Jack and Diane fledged three – this is the home of Tiny Tot -. Those chicks hatched the beginning of March. Jack and Diane had a previous clutch of eggs that went down a hole in the nest. Diane laid three more eggs but the dates were unknown because the cam was offline. I know that the Achieva nest is a favourite of many but, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. It is really late to have osprey chicks in Florida due to the extreme heat.

It is doubtful that any of the eggs made it. Crows watch and wait just like they did with Daisy Duck’s clutch. Eggs left alone even for a few minutes will be eaten if there are Covids around.

Bird flu continues to be in the news as 37 million factory farm birds are killed.

https://kdvr.com/news/bird-flu-not-just-affecting-colorado-bald-eagles-other-wild-birds-dying/?fbclid=IwAR21A8vcIZW0WgdOK4c4rYk9prFMvvUbxDm3u6BqNHLQkV4cEq-YYHkkG6k

We are one week away from pip watch for Richmond and Rosie at the SF Osprey nest on the Whirley Crane in SF Bay.

One of my favourite Osprey nests in the UK belongs to Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi in Wales. Idris is know as Daddy Long legs but he is also one of the best fishers amongst all the UK osprey. Look at this one he hauled in today!

Beautiful Maya at the Rutland Manton Bay nest she shares with her mate Blue 33 (11). We are on pip watch for this couple!

Another fantastic Osprey Mum, Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest in Scotland that she shares with Laddie. We will be watching for her eggs to hatch after Maya’s. What a beautiful setting for a nest!

The oldest Osprey in the UK is Mrs G. She is believed to be 22 years old. She is incubating the three eggs of her and Aran’s. They will be hatching late as Aran was late returning from migration. Today Aran was busy keeping intruders away from the nest.

Of the nests I have checked, all seem to be doing just fine.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dfyi Osprey Project, LRWT, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, and Achieva Osprey.

Early Monday in Bird World

18 April 2022

The sun is shining bright, the sky is blue with some clouds, and the Dark-eyed Juncos and European Starlings arrived in the garden three or four hours ago! There is not supposed to be more snow for another five or six days – thankfully.

Mr Woodpecker came for some of the suet a few hours later. Normally he goes to the suet cylinder with the wooden flap that helps him sit better but today he decided he wanted the peanut suet.

I love the rustic garden we have created that allows us to interact with wildlife in an urban setting rather than setting boundaries to keep the birds, the squirrels, the rabbits, and sometimes a raccoon separate and apart. We seem to have all found a way to coexist which certainly brings a lot of joy.

I received a note from a friend of forty years this morning. They live in a beautiful flat in New Zealand near a place where they can observe ducks and swans but, with the sale of the family cottage, they are now longing for a home with a large garden. Whether it is a large or small space, each of us can bring joy to our lives by helping our feathered or furred friends. In fact, it is often so much easier to manage a small space with a single feeder. Everything helps! Yesterday a huge flock of robins came to our neighbours. She didn’t have seed of any kind but she had dried cranberries, frozen blueberries, and some apples she chopped up. The Robins were very grateful.

The day started off really well for Little Bit at the UFlorida Osprey nest in Gainesville. Mum called and Dad brought another fish to her at 09:34.

Little Bit – in the middle – stretches its neck really far and gets some amazing bites of fish. This little one is not bothered at all when it comes to putting its head in front of Big sibling. Did I actually think at one time this wee baby would not survive? He is so feisty and what a great Mum he has. She tries each beak when she has flakes of fish. Not one of the chicks is ever left out. Slow and methodical. I am so impressed by her.

Big Bob (left) has its dark oily head today and has been seen doing a lot of preening as its new darker-grey wooly down comes in. Little Bit (middle) still looks rather soft and young. It is healthy – look at that fat little bottom. Middle Bob (top right) is in between the other two siblings. Tomorrow Middle Bob will look much more like Big Bob. The dinosaur phase is upon us.

Yesterday, at the Captiva osprey nest, the last fish was delivered around noon. Was recreational boat traffic the cause of no deliveries later in the day? I always wonder especially on a holiday weekend.

The first fish today came in and Middle grabbed it. I think Lena was planning on dividing it up but she didn’t get a chance. [Chat uses the term ‘Little’ when I say Middle]. I hope Andy brings in another fish soon for Lena and Little [Mini].

Idris brought in a super fish for Telyn at the Dyfi nest and then incubated the eggs for her so she could have a good feed.

Idris is one of my favourites.

Aran and Mrs G have both been on the alert this morning at the Glaslyn nest. No eggs so far – that’s a good thing.

Aran looking around from the rim of the nest.

Mrs G. looking at the intruder above the nest.

Both on the look out from the perch. There are still floaters around looking for a mate and a nest. They often cause a bit of chaos.

Yesterday, Blue NC0 laid her third and, hopefully, last egg of the 2022 season. If all three hatch, Laddie LM12 is going to be one busy male at the Loch of the Lowes. Last year the couple fledged two chicks.

Here is a short video clip of the third egg being laid.

Maya and Blue 33 (11) will have the first Osprey chicks to hatch on the streaming cams in the UK. I will alert you as we approach pip.

All three eaglets at the West End had a nice early breakfast. Thunder told them to stay away from the edge!

There were some gorgeous views from the Two Harbours nest at sunrise.

Chase wanted some time with the eaglet so he brought in a big stick and coaxed Cholyn off the nest. Sounds just like Shadow at the Big Bear Valley nest! You can see that stick to the side of Chase.

The Pittsburgh Hayes eagle nest would sure like some of that warm California Sun today. Everyone looks miserable. I can only imagine what that stock of fish smells like.

Unbelievable. Only Bob at the National Arboretum nest is no longer a fluffy little white teddy bear. Just look at that eaglet with that big crop. There is still some white natal down on its head.

The image below is the eaglet on 6 April. Twelve days ago! The saying is: An eaglet grows from three inches to 3 feet in 3 months. That is incredible.

Mother Goose has her eggs in the old abandoned Bald Eagle nest at Decorah North in Iowa. She seems to be doing fine. No disturbances and unlike dear sweet Diasy, Mother Goose has help.

The camera operator searched and found the Bald Eagles working on their new nest this morning. It is really windy!!!!!!!!

Harry and Nancy were both on the Minnesota DNR nest as snow was falling this morning. Everyone was having a big feast. Each parent was eating and feeding an eaglet. Beautiful.

Liberty and Guardian were both on the Redding Bald Eagle nest this morning too. It looks, from the size of all of these eaglets, that we are really going to be busy when they all start fledging at once!

Would you like an opportunity to name the two Redding eaglets? Here is where you go to fill in the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepb87S7zrcMZI6PXzhLCeFD6t21xj5sjw7mEV9n2aT_34CWg/viewform

Names already used include the following: Liberty, Patriot, Spirit, Guardian, Conehead, Freedom, Hope, Peace, Shasta, Justice, Stormy, Windy, Lassen, Pi, Paddy, Poppy, Birdie, Bogey, Solo, River, Sky, Hope, Honor, Glory & Rebel.

The whole family was on the nest this morning at Big Bear after Shadow brought in a really super fish.

What a peaceful image. Spirit looking out on Big Bear Lake while Jackie finishes up some fish. Spirit has such a huge crop! Glad there was some fish left for Jackie.

While the ‘New Guy’ is incubating, Annie chases an unwanted male from The Campanile. Oh, and we so wished Annie would have some peace and quiet.

We are waiting for the announcement of the name for ‘The New Guy’.

Jan brought some moss to soften the nest that he shares with his mate, Janika. Their artificial nest is in Jogeva County in Estonia. It was built in 2021. Black Storks are very rare in Estonia and everything is done to encourage them to nest successfully. If you look carefully you can see that there are two eggs already in the nest.

Big Red and Arthur have been taking turns incubating the four eggs. In fact, this year, Arthur has become a bit bolder in his attempts to get Big Red off the nest so that he can care for the eggs, too. We will be on pip watch at the end of the week. I won’t be able to sleep!!!!!!

In past years we have seen Big Red encrusted in snow, blow off by high winds, and drenched by torrential rains. With four eyases it will be imperative that they get under the adult until they are able to regulate their own temperature if bad weather hits the Cornell campus.

Big Red is certainly a good name for the Queen of Red-tail Hawks. She has the most gorgeous deep red plumage whereas Arthur is lighter.

You can really tell the difference in the couple’s colouring by looking at BR above and then Arthur below.

It has been a wonderful day, so far, at the nests. That is a great way to begin the week. Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Captiva Osprey Cam and Window for Wildlife, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Explore.org, Pix Cams, NADE-AEF, MN-DNR, Redding Eagles, FOBBV, Cal Falcons, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.

Friday in Bird World

15 April 2022

It has been a cracker of an afternoon in Bird World. The ‘New Guy’ – to finally have an official name at noon on the 18th – is ready to step in and incubate when Annie calls. I like this fella’. No, he will never replace Grinnell – he is his own endearing self. Through his kindness and generous spirit of heart, ‘New Guy’ saved this clutch and won the heart of Annie and so many of us. Precious.

The more I watch the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest, the more that Mum endears herself to me, too – just like the ‘New Guy’. At lunch time, she had a huge chunk of Mullet (please correct me if I am wrong) to feed the trio. That is nothing extraordinary but how she checked on Little Bit offering it bites when Big Sib had calmed down, how she moved the fish to feed again when Dad came wanting leftovers, well…none of the chicks were left out. They all had a nice feed. Little Bit is spunky, too. Big tries to intimidate both Middle and Little Bit but, thankfully, is not all that aggressive. They wait and head back up, sometimes walking right in front of Big to get to the beak. I am impressed.

Each raptor mother has their own personality and way of feeding. Some feed fast and only to beaks open at the front. This Mum is slow and methodical, not stopping til all are full unless the fish runs out. Oh, I wish I knew more about this couple!

Little Bit managed to get some nice big bites amongst lots of smaller ones.

The bigger siblings can eat more at one feeding than Little Bit but this morning it appeared that Little Bit did a bit of a crop drop and wanted more fish. Excellent.

When the Dad arrived the Mum went to protect the hunk of fish and the chicks moved up and she fed them more.

Then Mum moved the fish and continued feeding -topping everyone up. She is very, very smart. She topped herself up, too. It is hot on top of that light stand – fill the kids up!

Little Bit wants more fish and Mum made sure he got some more.

Mum ate some of the nice fish once the babies were full and sleeping.

Then she began to call for Dad.

Food comas.

The third hatch at the Venice Golf and Country Club Osprey got some fish at the beginning of the 13:07 feed. All three are fine.

Blue NC0 and Laddie now have two eggs in their nest at Loch of the Lowes. Congratulations!

B15 is believed to be a female. She certainly is a big fledgling. B15 has stayed around the Berry College nest of her parents, Pa Berry and Missy, learning to fly and coming for food. Missy loves to feed her baby! This is such a huge help to the success of this gorgeous juvenile. It was a great year for Berry College.

There is another fledgling happy to visit home. Oh, is Kincaid ever loud! He will be just as happy if Anna wants to feed him, too, like B15. Last year Kistachie shot out of the nest never to be seen again. That is not especially a good thing. This year Kincaid is hanging around to the delight of everyone.

There is Kincaid on the branch of the nest in the Kisatchie National Forest near Alexandria, Louisiana. The sound on their camera is simply incredible.

Want to have a listen? Here is the link to the camera. The laughing frogs will put a smile on your face.

Martin and Rosa’s eaglet at the Dulles-Greenway Eagle cam lost all that baby down and is getting its juvenile feathering. The change seemed to come in a blink of an eye. The eaglet hatched on 13 March making it (counting hatch day) 33 days old today.

Just look at those ‘Daddy Longlegs’ on Little at the Captiva Osprey nest! Good gracious. He will rival Idris!!!!!! Little got the 11 am fish. Lena is calling Andy to get some more fish on the nest. She is so loud, you could hear her in Fort Myers.

There was a wonderful article about the Bald Eagle Mum at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest that defended her three eaglets against a determined intruder. Have a read and look at the picture. That was an amazing event on this nest. I would never want to make an Eagle mother upset – absolutely never.

https://triblive.com/local/dont-mess-with-momma-hays-bald-eagle-defends-against-intruder/?fbclid=IwAR3mMoCGGnzMsuESvp53P4ndAqCpyeHk6dCO_nlt8xKR4Wy-wc3KM8pDMK4

It is always nice to see Iris. What a joy it was when she returned to her nest at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana this year — the oldest Osprey in the world believed to be 28/29 this year.

So loved.

Port Lincoln posted a great remark on the chat for the PLO barge:

​”Who said Ospreys don’t fly around at night. Mum returned to the barge at 23.02 tonight and Ervie was fishing off the end of the main wharf at 20.47.”

It is always wonderful to hear about Ervie!

Aran and Mrs G have been in the nest. Later in the evening, the pair fly out to a favourite tree of Aran’s admiring their territory. This is what ospreys do on a Friday night in Wales.

Idris is on his perch while Telyn works on nestorations. She is a great one for moving large twigs. Wow.

A nice fish came to the Dale Hollow nest at 13:45. Both of the eaglets had a great feed.

Big is full and now it is Little Middle’s turn.

Then Big wanted some more of that nice fish.

Both eaglets were happy and had nice crops. A whole fish doesn’t go a long way anymore. If you count hatch day, the DH eaglets are 47 days old today.

Can you tell who is who?

The way to tell Little Middle is that he has a more prominent white ruffle on the end of his tail! (The angle of the camera makes Little Middle who is closest to the bottom appear slightly larger than he is but…that good fish is really causing this eaglet to grow).

It has been a great Friday in Bird World! The sun is still shining on the Canadian prairies, the wind is calm, and the snow has stopped. Nice.

Thank you for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida ospreys, VGGCO, Woodland Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Berry College, KNF, Dulles-Greenaway, Port Lincoln Ospreys FB, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Montana Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, and DHEC.