Tag Archives: Marc Bekoff

Wednesday in Bird World

18 March 2026

Hello Everyone,

We are in the midst of an unexpected blizzard, while thousands of miles to our southeast, it is green, and geese are enjoying the grass on a golf course. Thank you, ‘L’, for letting me share this lovely image of spring! We love our geese, but there is no place for them here, and yet, many arrived several weeks ago! The ponds have frozen, but there remains some open water in the two rivers that wind their way through our City. It is supposed to warm up beginning tomorrow, but I will believe it when I see it. We were not expecting this much snow today!

It doesn’t look like much, but the snow is blowing and accumulating so quickly! The lad who shovels or us thought snow was finished – he is going to get a real surprise! It is more than 30 cm deep on the walkway he cleared a few days ago, and is within 45 cm of covering the large bird table feeder. Unbelievable.

Toby loves it. He bounces through the snow if there is even a whiff of a ‘cat’ in the garden. My plan is to have a tall wooden fence built to match the one constructed a few years ago. I had not planned to put a fence on that part of the property, but the theft of dogs in our City has become quite troubling. Of course, ‘the cats’ – distinguished from ‘The Girls’ – come in from that back corner, so it is important to close it in. Toby loves his sisters, ‘The Girls’. He plays with them, but those that make their way into his outdoor territory will be ousted unless they are Brock (who now still spends 99% of his time at the neighbour down the street)!!!!!!!!!

I hope, after all these years, that each of you knows that I love all animals, but there is a special place in my heart for Big Red and Arthur, the late Annie at The Campanile, and ospreys. I have posted this song before, but I want you to get in the mood. Osprey season is starting in the UK – and has already begun in the US. Here are those wonderful school children with the Osprey Song (2011): https://youtu.be/KoOQK6ejuXY?

At the Lake Murray Osprey platform, Lucy has laid her second egg with a new mate. Please, please put up the owl defences for this family Lake Murray!

Company for Brutus. Storms are tearing down eagle and osprey nests around the US including an osprey nest that Penny Albright monitored near Sanibel that lost two chicks when the nest collapsed. These eaglets made it through…

Blue 25 has made another visit to Blue 33 and Maya’s nest at Manton Bay – Blue 33 normally arrives a few days prior to Maya, and Blue 25 enjoys his company! Geemeff caught her time on the nest: https://youtu.be/HU_XGU3NTro?

We have an osprey at the MNSA Osprey nest in Oceanside’s Jay Cool platform.

“WYL greets his chick upon returning to the nest in New Zealand. The adult male arrives from a foraging trip over the Pacific to feed his growing chick at the Plateau nest site. As the chick gets bigger, the parents will take longer foraging trips to collect enough food for both themselves and their chick.” (Cornell Bird Lab)

Peanut defended the Winter Park Florida nest against a RTH! Nestflix Memories (Gracie Shepherd) caught it on video: https://youtu.be/cQksMDubVEc?

Tonight, Wink is taking now chances. She is right in the nest with Peanut if that GHO returns – and, of course, it will – they never give up! Wink is an incredible mother – I am truly amazed and thankful for her diligence.

Gabby with her babies, Kai and Eve, at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest in Florida. Best keep a close eye on these two – they could fledge before you blink.

At the Johnson City nest of Boone and Jolene in Tennessee, snow arrived. Jolene kept those two babies warm and tried to feed them at the same time. Like Wink, she is an experiened and an exceptional Mum.

Huge crop on JBS 24. Mum and Dad are delivering food and leaving it for self-feeding on occasion.

Harry and Sally are up there in my list of osprey parents. Three babies, three little fat bottoms. Large fish coming in and Harry on guard as it appeared there could have been an intruder around today during a fish delivery. If you haven’t been watching Moorings Park, then check out this osprey family. It is a success story – and believe me when I tell you that there will be few such stories in the NE USA this season unless a miracle happens.

Rutlands Lagoon 4 nest is trying to keep the Egyptian Geese from laying eggs while everyone waits for the ospreys to arrive. This is a second nest with a camera amongst several nests at Rutland Water. AI says: “Based on 2025/2026 sightings, the Lagoon 4 nest at Rutland Water is often occupied by male 359 (a 2021 Rutland-born osprey) and female 3H9 (a 2023 Rutland-born osprey). They have been observed investigating the nest and strengthening bonds. Note: 359 and 3H9 are a distinct pair from the main Manton Bay pair, Maya and 33(11).”

I am getting impatient – and it is a tad early – for Maya and Blue 33 to arrive at Manton Bay.

At the Whitley Crane nest known as the Golden Gate Audubon Osprey nest, Richmond has worked and worked. There is a new female at the nest with him. I do not believe Rosie will make an appearance. Why do I say this? Well, when Aila did not return, Louis moved his nest to another location when he bonded with Dorcha. We often think animals and birds are not intelligent. If I have said it once, I will say it again million times, my teacher about raptor behaviour, the late Laura Culley, taught me that they are smarter and use higher levels of intelligence and communication that humans have lost.

I noticed in one of the chats – it was the Winter Park Florida chat – that someone noted that ‘animals have feelings’. Dr Mark Beckoff and Dr Jane Goodall taught us this. There are several good books out there. I urge you or anyone who is interested in the behaviour of non-humans to read any or all of the following.

Saddness at the Two Harbours as Chase & Cholyn lose their last egg. SK Hideaways has it on video: https://youtu.be/8vmMpnkNsh4?

Big Red and Arthur have snow on their nest at Cornell University.

Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red relaxing on the lights!

Cameras are now live at the Poole Harbour nest of CJ7 and Blue 022.

We have an osprey at Threave. Is it Black 80?

At Achieva the third egg was laid on the 25th of January. Can someone who is watching this nest tell me if Jack is delivering enough fish to his mate? I did not see deliveries today, but I might have missed something.

Dyfi is live! Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/tOS_34MKI5E?

In fact, start checking out all your favourite UK and European nests as the cameras are being turned on faster than I can keep a list.

The Pitkin County Osprey nest in Colorado is live.

I have such a soft spot for this White-tail eagle in Durbe County Latvia. Milda. Her current mate is Zorro. There was sorrow and now Zorro has proved to be a good mate and provider.

April 7. Hellgate Canyon. Iris’s favourite day to return to her nest in Missoula, Montana. Count the days – 20. Less than three weeks! The snow has melted.

There is evil in the world. I cannot imagine how anyone could harm an animal and yet, every day I find myself telling people not to give their kittens away to anyone. Russell Mason beat a Goshawk to death – how in the world can someone do this?

Large estates, with no eyes around in Scotland (and elsewhere), allow many horrific things to happen to our beautiful feathered friends. What can be done to stop this?

Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason pleads guilty to battering a Goshawk to death on shooting estate iDownload

The Cornell Bird Lab gives us hope that people around the world are increasingly engaging with nature and birds. Yes, there are incredibly vicious people anywhere in the world that will harm birds and other animals, but there are more, I hope, that love and help them.

To put a smile on your face:

A total hoot! Beautiful birds – in pictures

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/mar/17/a-total-hoot-beautiful-birds-in-pictures-claire-rosen?CMP=share_btn_url

Thank you so much for being with me today and for your patience, as my posting is often irregular. I had hoped to keep to Fridays and Mondays til the UK osprey season began, but every day there is something new and exciting! I will continue to post at the oddest of times, sometimes two or three times a day as news comes in. As you can imagine, my life is anything but routine. We do have a schedule, but it all depends on my husband’s mood, which can vary. I am impatiently waiting for spring to arrive. What I miss most is reading. Yes, we have story time, but it isn’t the same as sitting quietly on a park bench with squirrels dashing around, the wind gently blowing, with a good book in my hand, reading in silence. So, no promises other than there will always be a Monday blog, often coming out late Sunday, until we have osprey chicks on the nests in the UK and Europe.

Thank you to everyone who created videos, wrote informative FB posts, to Raptor Persecution UK for keeping us informed, and to the Cornell Bird Lab for continuing to support education. I remain forever grateful to the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to venture into the challenging lives of our feathered friends. To all my readers who are now long-time friends, I appreciate your support. Your letters and comments mean the world to me.

Owl strike, hail…M15 carries on. Sunday in Bird World

12 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

First, I want to address the issue of the blog where I reported that Harriet had returned to the nest. If I discover that I have made a mistake, I will always rectify it as soon as I can. I am human and each of you have my sincerest apologies. I do know the little wisps on M15’s head (but not Harriet’s head) and I saw the younger eagle on the branch and the older one in the nest feeding the eaglets. As did so many. I was not the only one fooled at the time in believing that somehow Harriet had just casually flown back into the nest. But neither one of those eagles were Harriet. I wish one of them had been. Instead, it was M15 feeding the old bunny leg to the kids (thanks H). The intruding female was on the branch and then on the rim of the nest and then in the nest before M15 ran her off. Not Harriet. I feel awful.

So let’s go over to the SWFlorida Nest for Saturday and see what did happen, even in all that confusion at the end of the day.

It is after 1455 and the Es have only had one meal so far today. That was at 09:11:45. In fact, it was the fish left from yesterday and 22 got it and I hope Dad had some, too.

Beautiful 21 with its gorgeous ebony juvenile feathers coming in…and look, the yellow mouth! 21 missed breakfast.

It is really windy today in Fort Myers. M15 has been away and is back. Is there an intruder at the nest?

M15 has been feeding his eaglets many times per day but, not today. Was it just the intruder that stopped his hunting? As we all know, stress can do many things. Just today, an individual moving a log near a bear den in Canada caused the mother to run away, abandoning her nest and her cub.

Most of the people around the SWFlorida Eagle nest mean well. Like the person moving the log, they do not understand what could result from their actions. People make mistakes. We do not intend to. The person using the flashlight and the flash camera has apologised. S/he wanted to do something nice for their parent. They stood up, explained, and said they were truly sorry. I am certain that they felt horrible when they discovered that the flash drove M15 off the nest for 3 hours. Yes, the GHOs could have snatched the eaglets during that time. Thankfully, nothing happened. A GHO was probably the farthest thing from the person’s mind. I can only imagine how wretched they would feel if they discovered their actions had led to the death of the eaglets. To the person who was there, thank you for stepping up and admitting to your error.

We think of the flash, the releasing of the two white mice, leaving food at the base of the tree as interfering. As humans we do not know how this will turn out. Many of you wrote and said that you were so happy that no one had taken E21 and E22 off the nest – that M15 rose to the job. He certainly did and we hope that he can continue. Indeed, one of the threads that will run through any breeding season is: should humans interfere? and if so when? and to what extent? There are certainly laws pertaining to this but, in some cases there is reason to help such as the little abandoned bear cub mentioned above.

Keeping with this vein of intervention, interference, etc, Geemeff sent me an essay by Dr Marc Bekoff, a leading expert of animal behaviour. It is called “Four-Day-Old Baby Orangutan needlessly Killed at the Basel Zoo”. I know that – despite it being about other wildlife, we need to read this. Geemeff thinks I need to include a health warning. Duly noted. Thank you for this Geemeff. This is the situation and the question: The mother died. There was nothing wrong with the Baby Orangutan. The ‘zoo staff’ did not think it would thrive so they killed it! Do humans have the right to make this decision? These are things we should be thinking about.

https://marcbekoff.com/marcs-essays/f/four-day-old-baby-orangutan-needlessly-killed-at-the-basel-zoo

There are some links at the end of the blog that will lead you to more information. It is time that we began asking difficult questions about how we approach wildlife in terms of ethics and morals. Our track record of protecting our planet and all its living beings is dismal. Why do we think we have the right? or even the knowledge to decide life and death?

I have also started putting together the material for Harriet on the 2023 Memorial page. I hope to be finished in a fortnight. I think that we can all presume that the nest is now that of M15, E21, and E22. There is much information on where eagles go to die as I am reminded by my friend, ‘A’. I hope to touch on that this week as we begin to process life without dear Harriet.

As everyone knows, at around 15:45, M15 landed on the nest. He was being chased by the female intruder. He brought a fish to the nest to feed the babies. Was the female hungry? was that why she chased him? ‘H’ confirms that M15 was also on the nest later, at 17:13:57 and fed the rabbit left overs. So a fish this morning left from yesterday was fed to 21. The additional fish and then rabbit leftovers were fed at the end of the day, 22 got some at the end of the feeding. With all the commotion let us hope that things normalise Saturday night for Sunday. Thanks ‘H’. I had not seen that fish!

M15 feeding 21 who is enjoying this fish. S/h had missed out on the morning fish so is hungry. Time is 1608.

Lady Hawk caught the GHO strike- thanks ‘A’:

And then there was the bad weather with either hail or heavy rain when M15 came down to the nest to be with the eaglets. It was 02:45. He stayed until approximately 0414.

M15 brought a fish to the nest and was feeding 21 and 22. It was just after 1004.

In the other nests:

Gabby and V3 certainly have an awkward relationship sometimes…especially when it involves food. Gabby thinks that any prey brought to the nest is hers. That is what Samson did but her new mate, V3, has always eaten his food on the nest. We have watched him do this. So was this V3’s lunch and Gabby wanted it? Talons hooked again. If I were V3 I would think hard and act quick…your gal Gabby is hungry and she will rip your talon off for that squirrel! or bird or fish. HeidiMc caught Saturday’s action.

At the KNF-E3 nest of Valentine and Nugget, Nugget stood on both feet/talons Saturday morning. This means that leg is healing. Fantastic. They both have their juvenile feathers and the weather continued to be soggy.

At the KNF-E1 nest of Anna and Louis, the eaglet has been named Trey. Can you see Trey’s crop? And look at that mohawk? Is it in the shape of a heart? Trey is a big eaglet!!!!! Wonder how long it will take them to make their way through all that fish?

Tonya Irwin edited all those fish deliveries the other day into a single video. Have a look and a giggle. Louis, you are amazing.

Elain brings us up to date with what is happening at Orange with Xavier, Diamond, and Indigo…

Indigo is simply tooooooooo cute. Once they discover the reflection on the camera lens it is adorable the poses the eyases and fledglings make.

There are now two eggs at the Bald Eagle nest of Rosa and Martin (Dulles-Greenway). There is going to be an informative discussion. Here are the details. You might want to listen in.

Angus seems to have a new step stool? or is this a new mating technique? Mabel does not seem too impressed. I do wonder if these two will have eggs this year at Captiva?

It was another great day at the Superbeaks nest. Pearl and Tico are just beautiful juveniles. Well done Pepe and Muhlady. Did I tell you? There was an announcement that the nest would be on line next year. Nice. I am so glad that it was recommended to me.

Making News:

An arrest for smuggling songbirds into the US. Finally! I want you to imagine being stuffed into a hair curler on a flight!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/09/finch-smuggling-kingpin-insaf-ali-sentenced-prison?CMP=share_btn_link

Woodpeckers seem to like to stash peanuts in people’s chimneys.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/07/woodpeckers-700lbs-acorns-santa-rosa-california?CMP=share_btn_link

Two more Kakapo named today.

Only 3 of the 6 ospreys with trackers checked in today and one of those was Ervie!!!!!! Still at Port Lincoln. Living the good life. Zoe has missed quite a number of check ins. Not sure whether to worry or sit back and wait to see if her tracker comes into range.

Thank you so very much for being with me and thank you for your kind letters today. I really appreciate your understanding. Take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, their posts, and their streaming cams where I took my screen capture to create this blog: ‘H’, ‘A’, Geemeff, SWFlorida Eagles and D Pritchett, Black Bear Rescue Manitoba, Marc Bekoff, NEFL-AEF, Heidi Mc and NEFL-AEF, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Tonya Irwin and KNF-E1, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Sassa Bird and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Window to Wildlife, Superbeaks, The Guardian, Kakapo Recovery, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

If you would like to subscribe to the blog, we would be happy to have you join us in Bird World. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Thursday Morning in Bird World

14 April 2022

Dyson sends his love to everyone and he wants you to know that he is doing what he does best – getting seeds off the hard seed cylinders!

Thank you so much for your kind notes. The snow storm did precisely what had been predicted. There was a lull yesterday in the late afternoon and then the snow began with earnest around midnight. The forecast is now at the higher end of the snow accumulation at 80 cm or 2.62 feet. We continue to clear periodically and put down a line of seed that extends across 9 metres or 30 feet of decking and keep the feeders full and check on the hard seed cylinders as they need replacing. It has been a challenge. The sheer number of birds in the garden speaks to the recent arrival of thousands of birds during spring migration. Rain is set to start shortly turning to snow in the afternoon. Could it get worse for our feathered friends? The winds continue to bring some white out conditions. Hopefully the storm will taper off, as predicted, late Friday. Sadly, it brings out the worst in the birds who are hungry and fearful that they will starve to death. It is not unlike the beaking in the streaming cam nests when a weather event or diminished prey delivery sets off the ‘survival’ instinct in the biggest bird. Difficult to watch.

When you think you have absolutely ‘had it’ – you ‘are done’ with the birds and their beaking and bonking, stop and watch this piece of archival film that Charles Puleston shot in one of his Osprey nests on Long Island in the 1950s. It is called ‘My Turn’.

I can promise you that there is nothing more joyful, more tearful, and more satisfying than having a third hatch almost die in front of your eyes and then to have them turn around and become the most clever and dominant bird on the nest! It happens! Those are the nests you never forget.

A few of you have written to me in the last week about your need to pull back from the streaming cams and the chats that go along with some of the nests. The last note came this morning from a reader and I thought it would be a good time to discuss this. Watching the streaming cams can often bring about a sense of utter helplessness and frustration instead of the joy you anticipated. Instead of shutting the birds out of your life, I would like to make a couple of recommendations. The first is to educate yourself about the species you are watching. You do not have to purchase the books, go to your local library and if they do not have a copy see if they can order one in for you to borrow. The second is to arm yourself with emergency call numbers. Last year when a fostered Osprey chick fell off the nest at Patuxent River’s nests, the nature centre was closed. No one was answering the phone. People watched in horror hearing the chick splashing in the water. A number of us began to call leaving messages. One of the staff heard these and took their canoe back out to the park and found the chick – just in time – and literally tossed it back on the nest. This was a perfect outcome. That said frantic phone calls came from Hawaii, Canada, and the US to anyone who would listen. Every streaming cam needs the number of the local wildlife rehabber. Sadly, they do not post them. So it is up to you to find those numbers and have them ready if something happens. You also need to understand that most times help does not come. That is why Patuxent was simply so fantastic.

OK. Back to educating yourself. If you want to understand how the use of DDT caused the large Apex predators such as Eagles and Osprey to become almost extinct, get a copy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Here is an article that speaks to the importance of this book.

Find out who Dennis Puleston was to the environmental movement and how he signalled the decline in Ospreys. Who was Charles Broley to the Bald Eagle community? These are people who fought the good fight to protect and restore the populations of Ospreys and Bald Eagles. You should know who they are. For a specific UK approach, any of the books by Mark Avery who headed the RSBP for 25 years are excellent.

The current threat is often from climate change and for eagles it is heat. Many eagles went into care last summer as did Ospreys particularly in the Pacific Northwest. One of the newest additions that David Hancock (Hancock Wildlife) is adding to the artificial nests for the Eagles in British Columbia, Canada is a shade screen. Ground breaking. How fantastic! Indeed, you might have noted the artificial nest in the Miami Zoo for the WRDC nest. These human-made nests will become more common as trees fail just as artificial platforms are now common for Ospreys.

How many times have you seen individuals belittled and having to apologize for putting human emotions on birds? This especially happens in some chats. I suggest that you read Marc Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals. Good solid research. You won’t apologize again! Jennifer Akerman’s The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way are also very good.

My library is mostly full of books on Ospreys and the smaller raptors, Peregrine Falcons and Red-tail Hawks.

Falcons: The Peregrine by J.A. Baker, Falcon by Helen Macdonald, and H is for Hawk are some good starters. Winter’s Hawk speaks to the persecution of the Red-tail Hawk where I grew up, in Oklahoma. The Kings and their Hawks gives a particular historical perspective. These are a few to get you started.

Ospreys: Alan Poole’s Ospreys is a good solid introduction to the birds. I am particularly fond of David Gessner’s Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond for a good look at the issue of migration, particularly the New England ospreys. It is a good read. Gessner’s other books speak to various environmental issues impacting birds. There are others: Scottish Ospreys by Philip Brown, Lady of the Loch by Helen Armitage amongst others. I will try and bring one up now and then.

If you want to understand migration, A World on the Wing. The Global Odyssey of Migrating Birds is a great start!

If you want a good laugh, Zarankin’s Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder is excellent!!!!

I did a quick check on some of the nests. The third hatch is hanging in there at the UFlorida Gainsville Osprey nest! Good for it. Spunky little thing.

Here is the link to the UF Osprey cam. It is not on YouTube.

https://wec.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/ospreycam/

The sun is coming out on Little Middle and Big at the Dale Hollow nest. They will be anxious for some fish to arrive on their nest.

Deb Stecyk did a short video of Big and Little Middle in the storm.

I found a new Peregrine Falcon nest this morning! It is in the UK at the Chichester Cathedral. There are four eggs.

When people get burnt out of watching Bald Eagles and Ospreys – where there is often a lot of beaking – I highly recommend both falcon and hawk nests. They are often overlooked because they are smaller raptors but the way that they take care of their young is reassuring that life is good.

There is also a Kestrel nest in Yorkshire. Eggs soon!

I highly recommend the streaming cam of Big Red and Arthur at the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. Good solid nest. Big Red is 19 and Arthur is 6. Big Red has been raising little hawklets for 17 years – for ten on camera. Only one did not fledge and that was K2 in 2021 due to a beak injury and infection. There is also a good respectful moderated chat for a couple of hours in the morning.

The Queen of the RTHs, Big Red incubating four eggs on the Fernow Light Tower. This is the first time she has laid 4 eggs since the camera was set up in 2012.

Indeed, you will notice a lot of nests of falcons and hawks with four eggs this year. It could be nature’s way of adjusting for the quickly spreading Avian Flu.

Half way around the world, Lesser Spotted Eagles will be nesting in Latvia. The nest of Anna and Andris is now happy as Andris returned from his migration yesterday. Anna came home on the 12th.

And because incubation can be so boring to watch, Cal Falcons has done a really fast day in the life of Annie and the New Guy incubating! So funny and a good way to end this blog.

All of the nests seem to be doing fine. The first egg at Llyn Clywedog was laid at 10:27 this morning UK time. That is the nest of Dylan and Seren. I will be checking on those UK Osprey nests later today.

Thank you so much for joining me and for all of your good wishes, prayers, and warm thoughts for us and the garden birds and animals in the storm. It is much appreciated. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Under the Feeders. 14 April 2022

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: DHEC, UFlorida Osprey Nest, and Cornell Bird Lab and RTH.

Diamond is so patient

Little Yurruga has really been shaking it up – or should I say ‘off’? Those fluffy white down feathers, so soft and so cute when she was younger, must be driving her crazy. Underneath what is left is going to be a lovely bird, just like her Mum, Diamond.

There is no doubt that Yurruga can be loud and she certainly almost claims those eggs as her own in the video above. She can also persuade the parents to go to the ledge or leave entirely. But, Yurruga feels like a much gentler soul than Izzi. Diamond is simply a patient observant Mum and after a bit, Yurruga stops with the prey calling when she sees that nothing is coming. Rather nice.

A few minutes later, Yurruga was running around with a Starling beak. What a character!

There have been several fish deliveries at Port Lincoln. Ervie got the first fish and left a little for the brothers. That came in at 6:50:24. There was another delivery at 12:11 and another at 14:25:11. I could not tell who got the last fish but, Bazza picked up the noon delivery. Maybe Falky got the last one. Ervie didn’t. They are all getting fish to eat and no one is hungry despite the scramble for the latest delivery.

Port Lincoln posted Ervie’s flight path yesterday. He is definitely exploring around the barge.

Falky continues his flying and landing exercises and Port Lincoln adds that Bazza seems to figure if he stays on the nest, he has the best chance of getting a fish! One of the chatters wondered if he was too ‘heavy’ for lift off. Bazza will fly when Bazza is ready. We don’t need to urge him on. I am certain Ervie and Falky are very capable of doing that.

I am continuing to read and enjoy Emry Evans Monty more and more. I am on my second reading of parts of this marvellous book. While it is about the foundational male of Welsh Ospreys it is also about this wonderful species and insights into their behaviour. I was particularly moved by the essay on Monty’s mourning the loss of his daughter, Ceri, and the links drawn to all of the studies that demonstrate that animals not only experience ranges of emotion but also pain and suffering and to Dr Marc Bekoff’s writing as well as to that of Jane Goodall. One of those is The Ten Trusts.

Those trusts, according to Goodall and Bekoff are: 1. Respect all life; 2. Live as part of the Animal Kingdom; 3. Educate our children to respect animals; 4. Treat animals as you would like to be treated; 5. Be a steward; 6. Value the sounds of nature and help preserve them; 7. Do not harm life in order to learn about it; 8. Have the courage of your convictions; 9. Act knowing that your actions make a difference, and 10. Act knowing that you are not alone.

Because of the unnecessary death of Solly, the 2020 hatch at Port Lincoln, on the power line at Streaky Bay, I am particularly interested in #9. Each of us can make a difference and I note that in Wales, all that had to be done to keep the Ospreys off the power lines where they love to eat fish was to place two diagonal rods. How simple is that?! The South Australian Government could do this with all of the power lines near the coasts where the birds fish and eat.

There is an update on Grinnell, the male Peregrine Falcon who was injured in a turf war. Of course, everyone hopes that Grinnell is super fit and able to take on his assailant who is now courting Grinnell’s mate, Annie. This was 19 hours ago:

https://hoodline.com/2021/11/celebrity-berkeley-falcon-in-avian-love-triangle-close-to-recovery-after-injury/

It is a another grey day with the promise of more snow. Meanwhile everything seems to have a crust of ice on it or, in the case of walkways, several centimetres of ice making it nearly impossible to walk. The birds are very inventive. They have been burrowing tunnels in the snow and then standing in the holes – it is like having one’s on private igloo.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB groups where I took my screen captures and video clips: Port Lincoln Osprey Project Cam and FB Page, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.