Tag Archives: Maya and Blue 33 (11)

Late Wednesday in Bird World

8 June 2022

We are continuing to have the most beautiful days with bright sun and blue skies and no rain. The ground is actually spongy the water table is so high and there remains clear evidence of how high the river continues to be when I drive through the park. For the past week I have attempted to find and count goslings and ducklings. In the beginning it was very frustrating as all I could find were six goslings with two other Canada Goose couples incubating eggs. Then a couple of days ago I decided to go ‘somewhere else’ to see what was happening! There sure won’t be Guinness World Records broken this year for the number of goslings and ducklings in our City. It is quite sad! At the same time, when I hear someone interviewed about the issue of Canada Geese down by our Legislative Building and their solution is to tear up the nests and break up the eggs, I go wild! What they have now is a loud speaker projecting the sounds of hawks that are keeping the geese away from the water and the grass. Why not hire workers to clean the sidewalks? One day we will wake up and there will be no songbirds singing or geese honking or little ones scurrying to catch up with the attitude that it is simply alright to destroy their nests. It isn’t alright. They are protected by our 1994 wildlife protections for migrant birds.

At any rate, I found spawning fish, an Osprey flying overhead, a single American Pelican, and lots of geese along with a couple of duck couples at one site.

A female Mallard with her 9 ducklings. She never took her eye off me. The male left the edge of the pond first and then she went in with the 9 ducklings. I was approximately 37 metres or 120 feet away.

One Canada Goose family with four little ones.

At another park, I found a couple of Mallard and Goose families along with a lot of male wood ducks and only one female in sight.

These little ducklings were having so much fun racing ahead of their Mum.

At the other end of the pond, a single gosling constitutes the ‘family’ for these two geese this year. Back on the island scattered about are abandoned eggs that would have been destroyed by the flood waters at the pond.

The Wood Ducks were not at this park the last time I visited. It was very disappointing as the pond is normally full of them. There were some this time, thankfully.

The little female Wood Ducks are adorable.

Mixed in with the geese and ducks was this one particular shape that did deep dives into the water. The light was not good but what you are looking at is a very wet Common Goldeneye below.

What is interesting to me is that Common Goldeneyes will seek out tree cavities or stumps – even chimneys. The females have also been known to lay their eggs in another duck’s nest (if they do not have a suitable one). This is known as ‘brood parasitism’. Thankfully ducklings are precocial – they can take care of themselves once they hatch! There could be as many as 30 in a single clutch! Since ducks return to the site where they hatched, it is common for them to be related to one another.

This is the first time I have seen this species at this pond. It is a female. It is possible the floods have caused a variety of species to come to the city where it is dry than stay in the rural areas where the fields are totally flooded.

At another park this afternoon, there was one group of goslings totalling 11 with both parents and another younger group totalling 9 with no parent visible. It felt odd to see them alone and not a single goose with them!

It was, however, great to see those fuzzy little bodies on the water paddling or eating grass.

Let’s take a spin around the nests and see what has been going on.

At the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest, ND17 Little Bit 17 does an amazing steal at 13:08. Little Bit just seems to be coming into his own – much more confident. Today at 13:08:53 he made a major steal from one of the big siblings. I believe it was 15.

In the beginning Little Bit went up between the two sib siblings looking to snatch and grab. That didn’t work so well.

He crept closer to the beak but the big sibling only started flapping its wings.

Little Bit went back by the porch when 15 started flapping. Meanwhile 16 is looking to see what is going on.

Little Bit wasted no time getting up on the other side of the big sibling.

The kid is lighting fast – he grabbed that prey item and off he went to the porch. Both big siblings look on in dismay. Dismay because Little Bit actually pulled the prey item out of the beak of 15 and ran with it!

Little Bit ate all of it! Great steal. This kid is really getting so confident. When he wants something he has been able to get it – at least for the past couple of days. Just imagine if he had food everyday. This eagle would be a very formidable opponent – long ago. He is getting there now.

As evening arrives, it is pitching down rain on Little Bit 17.

All three Bobs are growing and doing well at the Loch of the Lowes nest of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. Even Little Bob is growing – still smaller but right up there.

Aran has a huge Perch for Mrs G and the trio at the Glaslyn nest.

Come on Little Bob get up and get some fish before bedtime.

The winds are blowing a gale up at the Llyn Clywedog nest. They even sent Seren flying over the edge of the nest earlier. Here Dylan (on the right) is helping Seren feed the three Bobs so that everyone eats. There has been some nonsense on this nest in the past couple of days.

Idris just keeps catching whoppers for Telyn to feed their three Bobs at the Dyfi nest. Just look at that fish! And they still have big crops from an earlier feed.

Idris takes the fish he just brought and Telyn gets a piece from the nest and they do a tandem feeding. Everyone gets fed – once again before bed – including the littlest Bobbi who goes over to Dad!!!!!!! Do you find that the males seem to empathize with the small little males having to fight sometimes for food? like they might have had to do once?

The three Bobs are still lining up like a perfect choir for Maya to feed them at the Rutland Water Osprey nest she shares with Blue 33.

Besides L1 and Clem fledging, Jack at the Cromer Peregrine Falcon scrape fledged yesterday.

Speaking of Clem fledging. They are keeping an eye on her and Maria, the local Wildlife Rehabber, will return her to the scrape if she can. A big shout out to all the wildlife rehabbers that help these wee ones.

Middle has dropped his crop at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. For several days, many of us have watched intently believing that now was the moment he would fledge. Middle is still with us! He will fly off easily, just like L2 as if he had been flying all his life.

That is just a quick stop at a few nests this afternoon. Everyone of the Ospreys nests in the UK appears to be doing fine. Lots of eaglets wanting to fledge in the US. Different events happening all over the place! Looking for more fledges at Cornell this week and surely Middle at UF-G will let the wind carry him upward and forward. I am working on an article on a couple of amazing Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres for the beginning of next week. If you have a favourite send me a note and tell me how they pulled your heart strings!

Thanks so much for joining me this afternoon. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ND-LEEF, Dyfi Osprey Project, Llyn Clywedog and CarnyXWild, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Loch of the Lowes and Woodland Trust, Cromer Peregrines, LRWT, and Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn.

Late Friday in Bird World

20 May 2022

It is the end of what seemed like Saturday but it was only Friday. The snow did come to Manitoba but not to the City but the temperatures fell here. The Baltimore Orioles are all over our City to the delight of everyone who can lure one of those orange and black beauties into their garden. One man built a big segregated feeder with alternating jelly, orange halves, and watermelon. My friend Wicky lives on the NE coast of the US and she says her Orioles will not eat the oranges. They want the Quince buds on her tree! What I found interesting today about the garden was the lack of European Starlings and the return of the Grackles and the Dark-eyed Juncos. It was rather odd. I wonder if it was the snow in some of the rural areas that pushed them back into the urban sphere???

We relish the triumphs of the birds who we thought might not make it. Middle at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest is just one of those birds. After Little Bit was killed by Big, she set her sights on Middle. Things went smoothly then when fish deliveries were at a minimum the dominance returned. Mum and Dad are dropping off pieces of fish and small fish for the two on the nest. I happened to check on the pair this evening and there was Middle with his prize tiny fish! He was so happy and making such a racket (that bird really is loud – loud like Middle Little at Captiva) it is a wonder that Big did not try to take it away.

Middle has the little fish. It reminds me of a very small sun fish. He is mantling and protecting himself and his prize.

At one point Big looked like they were interested in what Middle had but then they went back to flapping their wings. Middle protected the fish for a few minutes before trying to figure out how to unzip it. The key would just have been to hork it – but Middle will learn that later!

Big is still watching but he is not making any attempt to interrupt Middle.

Middle turns his back to Big to finish the tiny morsel.

Sound asleep. It is very difficult to tell the two apart now. You have to look closely because Middle’s plumage is getting darker.

Sweet Osprey Dreams.

Big on the left and Middle on the right.

The first chick has hatched at the Foulshaw Moss nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria. These are the parents of Tiny Little who fledged last year as one of the smallest third hatches I have ever seen.

Both Lady and Dad spent the night on the nest tree in the Sydney Olympic Forest waking up to sing their lovely duet. Will we have eggs within 2 weeks? Probably!

Staying with the Australian raptors for a moment, Diamond and Xavier have been bonding in the scrape on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange.

It has been wonderful to see Ervie on the Port Lincoln barge. I checked a few minutes ago and he was not there but it does not mean he won’t be with one of his delicious puffers at some point during the day.

The Anacapa Peregrine chicks are no worse for ware after getting their bling from Dr Sharpe this morning. One girl and one boy. Dr Sharpe banded them on the edge of the cliff.

I mentioned that the five Manchester NH chicks were banded this morning. A picture posted on FB with the news shows them on a table in a room with an audience being banded. Quite the opposite experience from the chicks at Anacapa.

Picture credit goes to Linda Furlizz.

The pair at the University of California at Berkeley scrape gave their Dad, Alden, a tough time the other day. Someone said it was like Alden being a substitute teacher! I smiled. Today they gave Annie a bit of a time.

The trio at the Manton Bay nest have so much fish to eat they cannot help but grow. Dad brought in the breakfast fish and Maya immediately fed the chicks. Dad returned to take some leftovers for his breakfast but Maya convinced him to leave it and then she fed the chicks a second breakfast immediately. There was still some fish on the nest for later.

The wee babe at Loch of the Lowes looks up to its beautiful Mum Blue NC0. There was a pip in the second egg. Looking for a hatch when I wake up in the morning.

Richmond and Rosie’s two little ones are adorable. Rosie is so good at trying to get a flake of fish in a bobbing mouth!!!!!!!

That was so cute and it is a wonderful way to end this very short late report of happenings in Bird World. There should be a couple of fledges coming up and some more hatches at the Osprey nests. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Orange, Australia Peregrine Falcons, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Explore.org, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and University of Florida-Gainesville Ospreys.

Thursday in Bird World

12 May 2022

What a great day it has been- OK. I haven’t gotten to checking all the nests. There are way too many and I did get caught wondering what in the world is going on at the Hellgate Canyon Osprey nest of Iris. Then I had to check and see how the three chicks at the Manton Bay nest are doing. Was the one slapped by the fish still OK? The promised rain has not materialized as yet but the sunny sky is gradually turning grey again. It was a beautiful day to be outside. The grass is green and the leaves are beginning to pop out of the bud state. I can, of course, take the laptop outside but, you see, the garden birds start telling me that I am interrupting and in their space. You can hear them vocalizing a half block away. So trying to keep the neighbour’s friendly, I went for a walk and had a very sad chat with someone I have know for years from the Ukraine. She is passionate and optimistic. A lovely woman.

In the image below, Iris greets a male visitor.

They are actually a cute couple.

Iris is the oldest osprey in the world. Her nest is at Hellgate Canyon by the Clark Fork River in Missoula, Montana. Iris had a wonderful mate named Stanley. Then Stanley died. Then Louis showed up. Now Iris is a cracker. She can out fish any of the male birds, she is beautiful, and she has an attitude. How she accepted Louis is beyond me. They had one chick survive and then Louis bonded with Star and they have their nest at the baseball park. Louis mates with Iris every year, she lays the eggs, and they get eaten by the Crows because she gets hungry. Louis has shocked everyone this year by bringing some fish to Iris. Did we have hope he would change his ways? Seriously, it takes a Blue 33 (11) or a Monty to handle two nests with two females and at least four or six chicks. Sorry, Louis, but I just don’t think you are up to it. Still, Louis has never let Iris have another mate because it is a ‘territory’ thing. So Iris does what Iris does, the eggs get eaten and she is free to have a leisurely summer. It is the same this year. But,…something seems to be happening. There is a male around. Iris let him land on the nest. Iris asked him to bring her fish. Strikingly Louis did not come and try to chase the male visitor away. In fact, I wonder if Louis would win that fight if it happened. The Montana Osprey Project video taped it. I had some stills but the video is better! BTW. The male’s name is not ‘Elvis’. If he were to stay around, Dr Erick Greene would give him a name.

Everything is just fantastic at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya. Blue has brought in two huge fish since the perch yesterday that was thrashing about. One of those monster fish today was another perch. The three nestlings have eaten well. Maya feeds them, on average, every 2 hours from the first light of the day til sometimes after dark. They are growing strong and there is no evidence now after about 36 or so hours that the wee one thumped by the fish has any lasting issues. At least not visible to the eye. All three are right up there, eyes open and beaks wide when it is dinner time.

Adorable. Everyone eats. All get full to the brim and they will sleep well. Enjoy the nestling cuteness. They change and grow so fast. I love their little wings and the soft down, the stripe through their eyes and down their back. Cute pies.

Every evening Blue 33 comes to check on the pantry to see what is needed for the morning and to say goodnight to Maya. Sometimes during the incubation period, he will sleep on the nest with her but not normally once the chicks hatch.

Every day I do check on Big Red and Arthur and it is astonishing how well those four little Red-tail Hawks are doing. They are now regularly all over the nest. Soon they will be jumping and flapping all over that metal grid ledge. They have done so well.

There is great raptor DNA running through the nests! Just look at the trio that Akecheta and Thunder parented. All I am going to do is say ‘Wow’.

Star (left) and Sentry (right) have dried off from all the rain that was pounding the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian yesterday. Gosh, we blinked. Do you remember waiting for them to hatch? and now look!

Sticking with California for a minute or ten, the trio of Osplets on the Venice Golf and Country Club platform have all done well despite early worries about the third hatch.

The Captiva Osprey nest had a 66% success rate this year. That is really good. Middle Little is still letting Andy deliver fish on the platform on the grounds of Lori Covert’s property. Middle Little is such a handsome bird.

So what about Little MiniO? Lori has been out kayaking and at the same time, keeping an eye on the birds. She has spotted the family together many times, the youngsters with parents Andy and Lena flying around the property and over to the island. The Windows for Wildlife chat has posted a link to an image that Lori took. Lori believes this is Little MiniO on her favourite tree. Stunning bird!

I don’t know if anyone reading this is interested in having their own Osprey and Bald eagle nests but Lori’s property at Captiva was for sale. It might have sold, I don’t know. But how grand. Sit and have dinner and watch the Ospreys!

Middle has a bit of a crop. I did not rewind to the beginning of the feeding but the positioning was good at 16:20, one chick on one side and one on the other, with Mum feeding Big a couple of bites to Middle’s one. I will take it! Middle is looking good. It is 26 degrees C, winds have dropped to 13 kph, and the barometric pressure is falling.

Nap time!

Mum has been spending more time on the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge as of late. It is wonderful to see her. It is hard to imagine but her and Dad will begin working on getting the nest back in order after their triplets Bazza, Falky, and Ervie had all those dust ups on it last season!

A nest known for siblicide fledged three. Was it just because they were all male? Let’s wait and see what this year brings. Mum needs to enjoy that fish. Soon she will be busy feeding a nest of little ones. For those of you following Ervie he is still hanging around Port Lincoln. Calypso appears to be with a male and we hope that she has her own nest this year. Mum and Dad can be grandparents!

I sometimes mention fundraising that groups are doing. The Port Lincoln Osprey Project takes care of the costs of the streaming cam, the barge, etc that many enjoy. They also raise awareness about the needs of the Ospreys in South Australia and lobby to get the hydro poles change, etc. They are now wanting to build more platforms for the growing population of Eastern Ospreys in South Australia. If you feel so inclined, you can join as a member or make a donation or do both or neither! [Please note: I post the information to support the groups. I do not make a penny on any memberships or donations.]

Here is the information that was posted on the Port Lincoln Osprey FB page today:

I want to close with something pretty special. It is a mid-air prey transfer between Alden and Annie. Quite amazing! These two are a great couple.

Thank you so much for joining me today. The one chick is still alive at Dahlgren Osprey Platform, all three are crackers at Manton Bay, the three at Venice are doing great, Middle had a crop – it couldn’t get much better than that. 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: Port Lincoln Osprey, Lori Covert, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, VGCCO, Friends of Redding Eagles, Explore.org, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Cal Falcons, LRWT Manton Bay, and Montana Osprey Project.

Late Friday and early Saturday in Bird World

6-7 May 2022

The Cal Falcons hatch day was a complete success. One eyas arrived on Thursday and the second hatched during the festivities. You could tell at the beginning of the Cal Falcons Q & A today that both Sean and Lynn were overjoyed. Here are some images from today and at the bottom of them I will put the link to the archived session from today if you missed it.

One of the most remarkable moments for me today was when Annie and Alden were ritually bonding in the scrape with chick 1 chiming in. Adorable.

Feeding and eating take some practice.

Alden checks on the newly hatched chick while Annie goes to get some food and has a break.

They know to hold that pink beak up high and to open wide from the minute they hatch.

Sean and Lynn believe – based on the coloration of the eggs – that the oldest chick was egg 1 and that chick 2 was actually the third egg. They noted that the third egg was darker than the other two. Historically, Annie has never had all of the eggs hatch. If the egg that remains is to hatch it will be by tomorrow afternoon. It is not clear if the second chick is Grinnell’s or Alden’s. They hope to test the feathers to determine paternity and they are looking for someone within the University of California system who would be interested in helping.

Newly hatched falcons can live on the nutrients from the yolk of the egg for approximately 24 hours. This means that they do not need to be fed until then. However, they can eat as soon as 4 hours after hatching according to Sean.

Saturday morning 0611.

It is hard to imagine but these wee babes will have adult size legs when they are 24-26 days old. That is when they will be banded. Falcons fledge from 38-42 days old. This is very quick and is one way that they are very different from the eagles and the ospreys. Their time in the scrape is short. They will spend approximately a month with the parents after fledging learning to fly better and to hunt.

Names? After the banding name suggestions will be taken with a final vote. One of the leading names is Grinnell. I totally agree.

Here is the link to the Q & A session from today.

The banding at the MN-DNR nest is completed. There were no surprises. E1 is a very big robust female weighing in around 9 lbs. Incredible. Sadly, those big females appear to be the ones that cause siblicide more than the males if food appears to be getting short on the nest. Solly at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest in 2021 and E1 this year on the MN-DNR nest. (Confirmed females by testing and/or measurements). Nancy circled around the nest and returned fairly quickly to E1. E1 will be a formidable female just like her Mum.

Iris laid her second egg of the 2022 at 15:14:36 Friday afternoon at her Hellgate Canyon nest. Iris appeared to go into labour a few minutes earlier with the feathers on her back rising and falling.

Maya at the Rutland Water Manton Bay nest in the UK is not giving away any hints – not a single one. Here are the eggs at 20:12. She is very restless during the wee hours of Saturday morning. Do we have a pip on any of those eggs?

Saturday and no obvious pip that I can see on Maya’s eggs, yet.

A beautiful image of Chase and Cholyn’s only hatch for 2022. Just gorgeous. One month old.

Quite a change from the beautiful blue waters of the Channel Islands and the bright sun to the dreary rain of the Dulles-Greenway nest of Martin and Rosa and DG1. They were soggy yesterday, too.

Gosh, Middle Little at the Captiva Osprey nest has such strong long legs. He watches and waits for Andy to come in with a fish for him. Stunning fledgling. Just stunning.

Lori Covert, the owner of the property with the Captiva Osprey and Bald Eagle nests on them went out in her kayak and posted an image of the tree where Little MiniO likes to perch.

It is wonderful to have the two around getting stronger with their flying, figuring out the world, and perfecting their fishing skills.

The two eaglets at the Dale Hollow Lake will make you very nervous as they stand on the rim of the nest and flap their beautiful big wings. They are 69 days old! The date of fledging depends on many factors but 11-13 weeks is good. These two are approaching that early window.

Are you a fan of the eaglet at Duke Farms? Look at the air under those wings Saturday morning early! It will not be long.

Family photo of Arthur brooding, Big Red on the railing and those gorgeous Ls at the Cornell Campus RTH nest. Big Red, like all other raptor females, is very cautious and keeps the chicks close to her after hatch. Now Arthur is getting some great ‘Daddy’ time as the Ls get older. Cute. I don’t know who is cuter – Arthur or the chicks

The engineers who took care of the White Stork Bukacka and his storklings last year have put together a short video clip about the life of Bukacka and his mate, Betynky. It is sweet.

The livestream at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest is offline Saturday morning. I will be checking in with them, more of the European nests and, of course, with the CalFalcons later today. In the meantime, enjoy your Saturday. Ferris Akel will be having his tour around noon Ithaca time. Google Ferris Akel Tour on YouTube if you are interested.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me as we wait…pip watch is going to happen at several nests this week including Rosie and Richmond. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, MN-DNR, Montana Osprey Project, LRWT, Explore.Org, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, Captiva Osprey Nest and Lori Covert, DHEC, Duke Farms, and Cornell Bird Lab and RTH.

Late Tuesday and Wednesday in Bird World

12-13 April 2022

We continue to shovel the walkways so that we can put down seed. Then it snows lots more and we do it again!

It is nearing 23:00 on the 12th of April. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are closing all of the major highways in the province where I live. This is unprecedented and will actually be quite helpful in keeping people safe. For at least two days we have known about the historic storm that is due to arrive in a few hours and have been told to stock up on medicines, batteries, candles, food, etc. All of the schools are closed. As for me I am sitting back and waiting and watching the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest south of me in Minnesota to see how this system plays out with those eagles.

The nest is in a severe thunderstorm watch area. The winds were gusting earlier. I caught a few minutes of the nest as it creaked and swayed.

It is currently raining and the nest is still blowing about but not nearly as bad.

This is the nest Wednesday morning. They have gotten rain but not the snow that we are experiencing that is confusing many of the smaller birds such as the Juncos.

There have been two recent visits of Ervie’s to the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. One was 17:42 on the evening of the 12th (last night). The other was this morning, the 13th in Australia. Ervie arrived and then left and returned with a puffer.

In the image above, you can see the missing talon. Ospreys only have four talons. The image below has caused a lot of confusion. Does the nail on the right top belong to a different foot? or the one with the missing talon?

Is Ervie missing one or two talons? or is one curled under? Everyone is looking very closely at Ervie’s feet.

I wanted to do a quick check of many nests this morning so we can see how they are doing.

The rain from yesterday seems to have stopped. Both Big and Middle Little at the Dale Hollow nest are dry and there are large pieces of fish on the nest. Little Middle had a nice feed earlier, too. So all is well with those two!

This nest has settled down.

This is the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. It is gorgeous. Dylan is notorious for bringing back trout to the nest! Sadly, yesterday, a goshawk came and sat on this nest. Goshawks tend to like to lure the Ospreys into the forest where they attack. Fingers crossed that it will not return!

Aran and Mrs G together on the perch first thing on the morning of 13 April. Aran at the back and Mrs G with her really dark face at the front.

Handsome Aran with his fish on the perch at Glaslyn later in the day. Did he bring it for Mrs G? where is she?

Idris and Telyn on the perches at the Dyfi Nest. All is well.

Blue NC0 laid her first egg on April 12 at 18:35. What a beautiful nest at the Loch of the Lowes – so soft and comfy – and personally, one of the most gorgeous sites in all of the Osprey breeding areas.

Laddie LM15 comes to take his turn helping his mate Blue NC0.

CJ7 has been bringing nesting materials into the alternate nest at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 has been seen sky dancing all over the place. I hope he stays at Poole Harbour!

All is well at Rutland Water. Maya is incubating three eggs. Fantastic.

If you are following the UK arrivals, here is a good chart for you.

Thank you to Friends of Loch Arkaig FB Page for posting his chart.

Moving back to North America, the three osplets at the U of Florida at Gainesville continue to do well. Little Bob is still with us! And that is a good day.

Strong winds took out the camera at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the 12th.

Calmer winds are forecast for the Channel Islands today. That is fantastic. Looks like the view is pretty good from Two Harbours already. That wee one of Chase and Cholyn’s looks so tiny in that huge nest!

Andy has delivered fish. Little (or Mini) is calling for fish in the image below while Big flaps its wings.

Gosh, those chicks of Andy and Lena’s are sure beautiful. They will surely pop the corks when these two fledge! It has been a good year for Captiva Ospreys.

Mr President and Lotus’s chick has a nice big crop this morning. That little fuzzy teddy bear of a shape has sure changed over the past week! No signs of bad weather at the National Arboretum Nest in DC.

It is a little wet and windy in Iowa at the Decorah North nest. I wonder if they are going to get any of the system that is impacting us?

This is an image of Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle for Wildlife Haven, our local rehabber. She has been part of a fund raising campaign because of the Avian Flu. She has been moved indoors where she will be safe. Everyone loves Majestic!

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a virtual talk/discussion on what is being done about Avian Flu in our province on 19 April at 7pm. Here is the link to sign up. It is free. Since it is virtual and if you are wanting to learn more about Avian Flu, why not sign up?!

Avian Flu Seminar

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is having a GoFundMe drive for nests for Bald Eagles. David Hancock is ‘the eagle man’ in Canada. Most of you probably know him. He reminded me today that when he was sixteen years old and living at Blaine Harbour, you would see white buckets on the fishing boats with eagle legs. Yes, the legs cut off. They would be shipped to Alaska for $2 a pair. That was 1954. Sadly, David says that the same attitude of neglect towards the Bald Eagles continues.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-home-for-our-delta2-eagles-nest?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

Thank you for joining me today. We are busy trying to take care of the birds that come to our garden as best we can. The squirrels are tucked up warm and no where in sight. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, MN-DNR, DHEC, CarnyxWild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, Scottish Wildlife, Poole Harbour, Rutland Water, UFL Ospreys, Explore.org, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NADC-AEF, and Wildlife Haven.

Middle out smarts Big at Dale Hollow and more Bird World News

22 March 2022

We had more snow last night – not a lot. But the humidity this morning is impacting the key pad on my computer. Has that ever happened to you? It is driving me crazy.

Oh, my goodness. Out in Bird World there are lots of storms moving through. One of them, with winds gusting to 46 mph, went through Captiva during the night. Lena held on tight and kept both of her babies safe.

By the time Andy brought the very first fish to his family things were a lot calmer.

It is still a bit windy. You can see Lena’s feathers blowing. Aren’t the feathers on Middle and Little gorgeous?

There is another storm system that is going to impact almost all of the nests we have been watching as it moves east – save for those nests in the West.

In the Kisatchie National Forest, home to the Bald Eagles Anna and Louis and their eaglet of 2022, Kincaid, they are waiting for the very severe weather shown in the top map to hit any moment. Kincaid is already finishing his breakfast.

Kincaid loves the wind and is flapping all over the nest as the storm approaches. Kincaid, wait! No branching today.

The storm has hit. Anna and Louis will be perched in nearby trees. Kincaid is hunkered down. Fantastic.

That same system is also going to impact the Dale Hollow nest where Middle DH15 needs big fish deliveries today. River stayed on the nest with the two during the night. I hope she returns with a huge fish so that the trauma DH15 endured yesterday does not happen again today. If you are wondering why it does not fight back, take a look at the difference in size. DH15 or Middle wants to survive, too.

Amanda777 posted the following video about the Dale Hollow nest yesterday.

I don’t know Amanda777 but in a comment on the video, she said, “This is a very strange nest”. Indeed, it is in so many ways. First, siblicide on a Bald Eagle nest appears to be very rare. This is supported by much academic research. To have the same Bald Eagle nest with the same parents have at least two incidents of violent siblicide is not normal. One might begin to wonder if the offspring are predisposed genetically? or is it this nest territory? the weather? intruders? available prey? gender of the siblings and birth order? the distinct type of parenting ? or the synergy of all the factors?

I asked a couple of eagle experts about the life expectancy of Bald Eagles in the wild. The general consensus is that it is about 20-24 years. Some do live longer. Many never reach their first birthday. Keeping that in mind and knowing that River and Obey are both supposed to be 24 years old also gives a different perspective. They are elderly. When siblicide happens, the biggest question is always ‘why’? Sadly it appears that the eagles are driven to breed whether they want to or not and to lay eggs, the number they do not seem to be able to control.

Obey has just landed on the nest alerting! Then River comes. It is 07:43. Oh, goodness. This is not a good start to the day!

It is nearly 010:30 and Big and Middle are still waiting for breakfast. This does not bode well unless this is an enormous fish when it comes. Fingers crossed.

At 10: 27:03 one of the parents flies in with an American Coot which it is plucking. Big is very hungry and is right up there. Middle is watching and listening but staying out of the way. Smart! Let Big go first. You will save yourself, Middle, if you do! (It is possible that this is Obey, the Dad, but I am not 100% sure. The feeding method is different).

The adult twists and turns plucking and maybe nibbling?? Middle is very attentive but no matter how hungry he is, he is looking like he knows to stay away from Big.

Well, would you look at this! Middle didn’t wait!!!!!!! He is right up there at the beak. I sure hope Big doesn’t get mad.

Big did get mad! Middle ducked and began moving along the rim away from the food. That appeared to satisfy Big who is extremely interested in the plucking.

Middle had a plan. He gets over to his normal spot on the rim and he turns and checks on Big. And then he makes his move.

Still watching Big very closely Middle moves around the rim of the nest.

He gets himself right up by Obey and he Dad starts feeding his boy some Coot. Middle really likes it.

Did I say Middle really likes Coot? He is practically under Dad’s head trying to get some more.

Middle is going to eat much more of this Coot than Big.

Can you see Middle’s crop?

At 11:00 Middle is still eating. It has been a half hour feed.

At 11:04 Obey is pulling out the stringy bloody bites and Middle wants them!

The feeding might have finished at 11:07 but Middle thinks that there could be a little more food and continues until 11:10. Both Big and Middle have gigantic crops!!!!!!! Seriously huge. Middle will be waddling around and sleeping on a cropzilla.

Middle did a PS at 11:11:13. These babies are so full. Life is good. Tears are rolling down my cheeks. Middle is getting strategic and that was a great meal.

A Bald Eagle nest with three sweet little babies that is thriving is the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

The winds have really calmed down for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. They were practically blown off the nest yesterday. Little one had a wonderful early breakfast.

A quick check at the nest of Cornell’s Red tail Hawks, Big Red and Arthur and all is calm. Arthur has come to give Big Red a break. Isn’t he cute? Yesterday, Arthur brought a snake on to the nest. It’s true. He ate it while he was incubating the eggs!

Was the snake meant as a treat for Big Red? If so, she might not ever know.

I know that many of you fell in love with Harry, that young 4 year old dad that did so well on the MN-DNR nest last year. Well, Harry was busy packing the prey in the nest yesterday. Him and Nancy had their first pip of the 2022 season! I was expecting a hatch during the night or early morning. Waiting for word. Nancy is not giving a thing away!

Two of the three eggs have hatched at Pittsburgh-Hayes. Here is a great look at one of the recent feedings.

LM12 or as he is fondly called, Laddie, has been creating the nicest nest of all it seems. I wonder if Blue NC0 will like it when she arrives?

Maya and Blue 33 (11), two of my favourite Osprey parents, have been working on their nest and getting reacquainted after their winter migration. Blue 33 returned yesterday. Maya was home at Rutland Water on March 15. Last year the couple arrived within half an hour of one another.

While Maya and Blue 33 work on their nest, the three little Bobble heads of Thunder and Akecheta are just waking up and having breakfast. It is 06:27 on Catalina Island in California.

Liberty and Guardian are also waking up in Redding, California with their first hatch wanting breakfast. This was actually egg2 and it joined us at 21:24 on March 20th. Liberty has a nice big fish in the nest already.

At the Dulles Greenaway nest of Martin and Rosa, the wee babe is wide awake and Rosa moved so we could have a peek.

Sweet and sleepy.

There is so much happening in Bird World. I hope to get someone to do a quick cleaning of my laptop today. You might not hear from me until much later. Please send your warmest wishes to all of the nests and, in particular, Dale Hollow. Middle did fantastic this morning! Joyful tears. We just need this to continue.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, KNF Bald Eagles, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Cornell RTH, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, LRWT, Woodland Trust and Loch of the Lowes, Pix Cams, MN DNR, Friends of Big Bear Valley, and CNN Weather Tracker.

The Biggest Adventure of their Lives

Chris Wood from Rutland described what he believes is Maya and Blue 33 (11)’s 2021 fledglings leaving home and starting their own journey. It was so poignant that I thought I would include it in its entirety here today.

No one home. Manton Bay, Rutland Water, UK

For those of you who do not know, Blue 33 (11) and Maya are the resident couple on Rutland Water’s Manton Bay Osprey Nest. They are normally the first to arrive back from migration and often within a half hour of one another. Imagine – 4000 miles and landing that close. Do they spend the winter together? No one seems to know. They are a Super Osprey couple, hatching and fledging 19 chicks as of today. This year the couple had 2 fledglings but they have had nests of four and it has not been a problem for either of them.

A video from a month ago. Maya is not ringed. The two fledglings are. In the image for the video, Blue 33 (11) is on the front left. Maya is looking at the fish and one of the chicks, now a fledgling, is in the back. Blue 33 always made sure that there was a fish on the nest first thing in the morning – right at dawn! Which is why his behaviour Yesterday was so unusual.

Chris Wood says:

“Yesterday at Manton Bay an extra shift proved to be quite eventful very early on. 095 had been very active early on in the morning, we get there for 6am, ok I was late yesterday, 6.45. She was flying around the bay, diving from the camera perch and from the air, skimming across the water as if to wash her feet and as usual plenty of food begging. But 33 wasn’t present, in fact we didn’t see him until midday, had he planned this? Around 9.10am, ten minutes into the extra shift 095 suddenly took to the air and started to fly across the bay, she started circling, round and round, gaining height slowly and gradually she passed over Waderscrape hide continuing on over the trees to the rear of the hide until we could see her no more, was she gone? Only 3 minutes later, 096, who had been sat on the far left perch all the time suddenly took flight and headed very purposely across the bay. He too headed towards the hide circling to the right and headed on past over the trees, he was gone. Had he seen his sister in the distance circling higher and higher heading away, south from the bay. Was he following, had they both left or was it just coincidence. Had 33 stayed away yesterday morning to encourage the youngsters to leave? All in all it was a spectacular sight if they had left, one tinged with sadness another with how fantastic to see two young Ospreys make it to migration and start the biggest adventure of their short lives, another great success for the Manton bay pair of Maya and 33(11).” Another person watching this, added, “Just before 095 left she also flew across to 096 on his perch – chipping at him – and Maya took to the air for the first time that morning as they left and circled upwards as if watching events.”

095 as she begins migration.
096 as he begins his migration 3 minutes after his big sister.

Oh, I wish those two had satellite transmitters.

Blue 33 is already doing some bonding with Maya before she leaves now that the kids are gone.

There has been no one home on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest of Tiny Little at the times when the kiddos would normally have been there screaming for food.

Does this mean that they caught that same wind that draws our juveniles to start their own independent lives?

Someone who is home is Kindness, the fledgling Bald Eagle at the Glacier Bay Park in Juneau, Alaska. Kindness fledged on 21 August. Since then she has been enjoying short trips around her beautiful natal tree. So far she has slept on the nest but soon she will move to roosting on a branch.

Where Kindness is standing is called the ‘Bouncy Branch’. Oh, she looks so tiny next to those huge Pine Siskin Trees!

Kindness bounces and flies.

Liberty and Freedom always lure her back with a meal! And it works – Kindness has learned that if you leave food someone else will eat it. She is normally back on the nest within 3-5 minutes of a delivery.

This is precisely how fledging should go. Remember that and if you watched E17 and E18, Harriet and M15’s two fledglings from 2020 – that is a perfect example of a normal raptor fledge, the fledglings flying and playing with parents providing food.

When I last checked, the female peregrine falcon on the Collins Street nest was sure bulking up like she was going to lay that second egg today. Let me check!

Mom needed a break. Still only one egg at 4am 24 August. Sometime on the 24th for sure.

Another Australian bird, the Galah. Here is a very short video of an exchange between this fabulous pink and grey bird and some kangaroos. Try cutting and pasting. So cute! We need cute today. It is from the Kangaroo Sanctuary at Alice Springs.

https://fb.watch/7zJYVKBHM5/

Today there were some visitors to the garden in addition to the hundreds of various sparrows. The rain is coming down and it seems that they prefer the cylinder suet – fantastic. Even with domes the bird seed seems to still get wet. What a mess. Rain doesn’t stop the birds and squirrels from being hungry! The light was terrible and my laptop didn’t want to recognize the new card in the camera so I am attaching these even tho they are not the best images.

The image below is ‘Little Red” who has a life-lease for the garden shed penthouse.

Merlin identifies the bird image below as a Juvenile Male Ruby-throated hummingbird. If this is the case, the hummers are moving south on their way to winter vacations.

One of the resident Blue Jays who would love Little Red to get off the suet — or for me to go out and hang a new cylinder up in another place. He looks like he is doing a little moulting.

There is no word on Malin. Again, ‘no news is good news’. I am practicing patience or at least pretending that I am trying! We are all anxious for Malin and the youngsters of Grafs and Jan. Yesterday Grafs was in once and Jan twice. Better than nothing! And those storklings are starting to fledge. That feels like a miracle. I hope that they find the feeders.

I hope to have news soon on Malin. I am guessing that there are difficulties with the identification of the two birds – maybe neither is Malin. We wait.

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone, see you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or found photographs: The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, Glacier Gardens Park in Juneau, Alaska, The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Chris Wood and the Rutland Osprey Project FB Page, and the Collins Street Falcon Cam by Mirvac.

Early Morning Check in on UK Ospreys

It’s about 4:20 in the morning up in Scotland and in Cumbria but already it is really light outside. The chicks – or should I say Big Bob – was eating a late meal at the Foulshaw Moss Nest around 22:30. At this time of year it stays light til about 11pm and the sun is already coming up around 3 or 3:30. That makes for really long beautiful summer days.

The water in the loch is as smooth as a mirror. There is that gorgeous pink tint on everything at dawn. Idyllic. Oh, to be able to smell the freshness of the air!

Laddie came in first thing with a bit of a teaser for breakfast for NC0. That one Bob looks like it is still bursting from the last meal late last night! Gracious. Bet he wishes mom wasn’t so loud every time she sees dad coming in with a fish!

In fact, neither one of the Bobs look too interested in that small fish.

I think NC0 ate most of it herself! Good for her. She has done an excellent job raising these Two Bobs. And so has Laddie. They have made a good team and this has been a wonderful nest to watch save for the first week or so when Little Bob was being shut out of the fish by Big Bob.

They are going to ring the Two Bobs at the Rutland Manton Bay nest in the next few days. There was some discussion over this ringing being too late so I asked some questions and Tiger Mozone answered every one of them for me. Thank you! Tiger Mozone explained to me that there is a tiny window for ringing. It should not be done after the chick is 45 days old and cannot be done if the weather is bad. Tiger said the youngest he had seen ringed was 25 days old but most are in the 30s. When I wondered if all osprey chicks were ringed in the UK, Tiger said only about 33% of them. Some cannot be ringed because the tree the nest is in is not save for someone to climb. And considering all the chicks I began to wonder how many banders you would need for all of them to be ringed. Tiger also said something very interesting. Roy Dennis actually puts the satellite transmitters on the chicks when they are on the nest at 42 days! Wow. You don’t want to scare them and cause an early fledge. Is Roy Dennis an Osprey Whisperer?

Perhaps they will clean the camera when they ring the chicks! One of the Bobs did a big PS and there has been no good rain to clean that off.

The Bobs are 41 days old today. Blue 33 brought in an early fish just like Laddie. The Two Bobs are self-feeding now. You can tell the one that doesn’t have the fish is watching and waiting for a chance.

Little Tiny Bob had a good feed early this morning but Great Big Bob was in a bit of a mood at the last feeding around 22:30. Both Tiny Little Bob and Medium Bob kept their heads down while he ate. Both of them tried to raise them up and Great Big Bob just gave them both ‘the look’ and they tucked their heads down and kept still. He is a bit of a brute that one – or, more likely, she is a bit of a brute!

Speaking of brutes reminds me. I have an interest in all third hatches that were abused by their bigger siblings and survived. I am curious to find out which of that clutch survived – which is why banding or satellite trackers or both is very important. Tiny Tot is one of those third hatches. Z1 was one of those and he is now in his second season of raising a family. His sister that bullied him did not survive. Today, my friend, Tatiana, mentioned to me that Congo was terribly abused by his older sibling. Congo hatched at the Dunrovin Osprey Nest in 2018, just down the road from Iris’s nest at Hellgate. He is actually the middle chick. I am not clear on what happened to the third.

As it happens it was Congo that came to visit Iris. He might have been bringing her a fish if Louis hadn’t arrived. Tatiana sent me a link to a YouTube video that was posted showing the arrival of a fish and the older sibling actually pulling the feathers out of Congo’s head. You will see them in her beak! How horrible!!!!!

The sun is just coming up over the Dyfi Nest in Wales. The two Bobs are still sleeping. Idris brought in a couple of really large fish yesterday and these two might be as full as the chicks up on the Loch of the Lowes Nest. They sure are going to wake up to a gorgeous day!

That’s your late Thursday night check in on UK Ospreys Nests —– where they are just waking up and starting their Friday. I hope all their fish dreams come true today.

Happy World Albatross Day to everyone. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Dyfi Osprey Project, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, and LRWT.

Checking on ‘the Bobs’

There is actually something refreshing happening in the United Kingdom. All of the Osprey hatches are called ‘Bob’. The term references the fact that after hatch they are all ‘bobble’ heads. There are Little Bobs and Big Bobs and sometimes Middle Bobs and there are also Only Bobs. Strangely, unlike some of the North American sites, there doesn’t seem much discussion about whether they are male or female – or maybe I have just missed that. When the chicks are banded, information is usually given out on their gender. At the same time, blood tests may be taken to formally determine the gender and to put their identification into a DNA data base. When the blood tests have not happened there have been, on occasion, a few surprises – a particularly large Bob thought to be a female might return from migration and be found to be a male. But, generally, they seem to get the gender right with the weight and measurements.

There has been a lot of worry about Little Bob at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest of White YW and Blue 35. For a day or two I was even afraid to look. The Cumbria Wildlife Trust does not have a replay feature so when you are watching it is live. Sometimes the chicks are eating and sometimes they are sleeping. I was very lucky this morning and arrived there on time for a feeding – and it was marvellous. One of those feel good moments of a humid Friday! There were the three of them all lined up behaving themselves. Little Bob was getting most of the bites and then I realized I could film it for you. He is still getting some in the video but, prior to this he was getting more. The still image below captures one of those moments. The little one is beginning to get full in the video. That is a wonderful sight to see. Tears. This little one is another like Tiny Tot. Oh, send all the warm positive wishes you can!

Blue 35 is an excellent mother and she really seems to have this feeding under control today.

I want to thank the Cumbria Wildlife Trust from whose livestream I took this clip and the screen shot. Check out their live camera here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

The ‘Only’ Bob and Blue 5F Seren got really excited when they saw Dylan arriving with a whopper of a Rainbow Trout. Look – he hadn’t even eaten the head off! Incredible. I love the expression on Only Bobs face with his mouth wide open. Only Bob looks like he is saying, “Wow, Dad!” I bet Seren can already taste it.

Those dads often look like they could surf or ride skateboards really well.

“Only Bob, don’t you think you could have just one more bite!” I wonder what the size of that crop is after eating most of a trout? Only Bob just seemed to fall down in a face plaster. There are clearly some advantages to being an Only Bob and not living in a nest with Three Bobs.

I want to thank the Carnyx Wild Wildlife on the Web and Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymruy whose livestream I took these screen shots. Check out their live camera here:

The Two Bobs up at the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn were also enjoying a great big fish that dad had brought in. It seems like the weather and the wind are really working in favour of the fishing today.

One Bob is already fool and in a food coma.

Well, I had no more than turned around and Idris had another fish on the nest for Telyn and the Two Bobs. Is there some kind of fishing competition going on today between these male Ospreys? That is a really good looking fish, Idris!

You might recall that there was a mesh bag on the nest one day and then a bin liner. Telyn removed the bin liner – and I am not sure which adult removed the mesh bag. It is a really good lesson for humans to dispose of their litter carefully. You never know where it is going to wind up – in the rivers, wrapped around the little talons of the chicks, or stuck onto an adult.

I want to thank the Dyfi Osprey Project from where I took my screen shots. You can watch Idris and Telyn live here:

The condensation on the camera at the LRWT Manton Bay Osprey Nest doesn’t really let you see the Two Bobs of Maya and Blue 33 (11) very well. Blue 33 (11) is one of our super stars when it comes to bringing in fish for Maya and the chicks. These Two Bobs are growing and growing. It is fantastic to see them. I hope those of you that read my blog on a regular basis enjoyed that short BBC One show on Rutland with the film of Blue 33 (11) diving for that fish – and being successful first try. Amazing.

Thank you to the LRWT Rutland Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took this image. You can check out all the action of Maya and Blue 33 (11) and the Two Bobs here:

And last, but never least, is the Osprey Nest up at the Loch of the Lowes in Scotland with Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. Their Two Bobs are doing remarkable well. I worried so much about Little Bob and NC0 not being able to handle two chicks – and then sometimes Laddie was only bringing in appetizer size fish – but things have turned around there and these two look excellent.

It is so nice to see them leaving that Reptilian Phase and getting their juvenile beautifully curved feathers. Older Bob on the left really has a lot of peach coming in. You can see that Little Bob is a bit behind but he seems to be catching up.

What a beautiful setting. It looks like Laddie has been filling up the nest with moss. Maybe he didn’t know there is a Friday fishing competition!

Thank you to the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Friends of the Loch of the Lowes for their streaming cam where I grabbed my screen shots. You can watch all the antics of Laddie and NC0 and the Two Bobs here:

They are all doing well. Aran continues to improve at the Glaslyn Nest and the community continues to care for him and Mrs G. Everyone hopes that he is completely healed from his wing injury before migration in September. Today was especially heartwarming for me to see Little Bob on the Foulshaw Moss Nest getting fed right up with the other Two Bobs. He is so very tiny and the oldest Bob has been especially cruel at times. This was just a warm fuzzy day at that nest. Let us hope it continues.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope your Friday and the weekend is as good as it has been for these Osprey families today. Take all good care. See you soon!

Watch Osprey Blue 33 (11) dive for a fish!

It is Wednesday night and the BBC One Show aired a programme on Rutland Water and the ospreys today in the UK. As the hosts know, one of the most impressive things Ospreys do – and they do a lot – is their particular dive to catch fish.

So, instead of showing you still shots here is the programme. It is just a little over 5 minutes so enjoy!

Thanks for checking in today. I really hope you enjoyed seeing where Blue 33 (11) and Maya’s nest is in relation to everything else at Rutland Water. It is a wonderful setting and maybe one day all of us will be able to visit and see these magnificent fish hawks.