Tag Archives: Maya and Blue 33 (11)

Life in Osprey World

Maya laid her third egg today on the Rutland Mantou Bay Nest. You might recall that her mate, Blue 33 (11) was the first to return from the migration to Africa followed in a few minutes by Maya. That was on the 19th of March. Their first egg was laid on 30 March with the second egg on 2 April. So far, Maya and Blue 33 (11) are the only monitored Osprey couple in the UK to have eggs in the nest.

Wow. You can see the full colour range of the Osprey eggs, from cream to red. 5 April 2021. Rutland Mantou Nest

You can watch Maya and Blue 33 (11) at their Rutland Mantou Nest here:

Blue 3J or Telyn and her mate Idris have been working to build up their nest. Telyn arrived on 26 March followed by Idris’s return on the 29th. It is the end of the day and Telyn is waiting for Idris to bring her a fish for her dinner.

I love looking at bird nests. My favourite is still that of Daisy Duck, the little Pacific Black Duck that made a nest on the White Bellied Sea Eagles nest in Sydney’s Olympic Park. Oh, it was so beautiful with her down interwoven with the beautiful leaves from the nest.

Telyn and Idris’s nest is getting larger. Look at the colours of the lichen on the branches.

Here is another look at Telyn waiting for supper. Youcan also see how high the sides of the nest are getting.

If you want to check in on Telyn and Idris, here is the streaming cam:

Blue 5F – Seren – has been busy working on the nest that she shares with her mate, Dylan at the Hafren Forest, Clywedog Reserve in Wales. A lot of twigs have been brought in and she seems to be weaving them together with some local grass materials. Look at that amazing sunset that she has! Wow. She is waiting for her dinner delivery from Dylan and here it comes!

If you want to check in on Seren and Dylan, here is their streaming cam:

And if the wind tearing up their nest was not enough for Laddie and NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes, then the snow and blowing winds that arrived late today are surely to put a damper on any more nestorations for a bit. Gosh, it is like winter is happening all over again in Scotland!

If you want to check on Laddie and NC0, here is the streaming cam:

One of the most lonely Osprey nests is Hellsgate Canyon just outside Missoula, Montana. The nest is prime real estate despite it being located in a parking lot between Missoula College and the Riverside Health Centre. It is only 15 metres or 50 feet away from the Clark Fork River. It belongs to Iris, the ‘grand dame of the Ospreys’ according to Dr Green at the University of Montana at Missoula. In the image below, taken in 2018, you can see the distinctive band in Iris’s left pupil that identifies her. Iris is believed to be at least 23 years old if not older. Her original nest was on a pole down the highway. This platform nest in the image below was built in 2008. She had a wonderful mate named Stanley that did not return from winter migration in 2016. Louis arrived on the nest on 26 April 2016 and Iris accepted him immediately. Their eggs in 2016 were infertile, in 2018 their one chick got out from under Iris and died of hypothermia. In 2019, there were three chicks. L’el’e was born on 4 June and survived. The other two did not. The issue had to do with starvation. Louis was not bringing food to the nest. At the time it was thought that he was just inexperienced at fishing but it turns out he had two families.

Louis and Starr have arrived back in the area. We wait to see if Iris returns. If she does, I hope that she gets a fantastic new mate and she changes the research on how long Ospreys can lay fertile eggs! Iris was last seen at her nest on 8 September 2020 just before she migrated.

Here is the link to the streaming cam at Hellsgate. Fingers crossed. Maybe we can catch Iris arrival! I sure hope she survived the winter. Or maybe she decided to retire and stay in the warmer climates year round. She certainly deserves it. She has probably raised 30-40 chicks to fledge. Incredible. Iris, you are my hero! I have seen you protect your nest, bring in huge fish by yourself. You deserve a good retirement or a great mate.

And when I checked on Tiny Tot at the Achieva Osprey Nest, he still had a crop from his morning’s feeding. It is nearly 3pm. Would be fantastic for him to get another good feed before bed. He needs to put all that food into growth. His energy and his cleverness have returned. Someone told me he is like Lazarus rising from the dead. Others stopped watching the streaming cam because they feared his demise. Tiny Tot is not out of the woods. The other two siblings are quite large, especially 2 which now seems to have taken over the dominant role on the nest. I am very hopeful if big fish continue to come into the nest on a regular basis, Tiny Tot will fledge!

Tiny is in front of Diane in the image below.

If you wish to follow Jack and Diane and the trio, here is the link to their streaming cam:

Thank you so much for joining me today. Fingers crossed as we await the arrival of Louis and Aila in Loch Arkaig ——– and the return of Iris. If she doesn’t return, I hope she is relaxing somewhere very nice!

I also want to thank all of the Osprey streaming cams that I have posted today. Their cameras provide the feed where I get my screen captures. Many of the cameras, such as Glaslyn with Aran and Mrs G, survive only on donations from viewers. If you are watching one of those cameras, think about chipping in a fiver. Every little bit helps. I have posted the links in the hope that more people will watch these amazing birds build their nests and raise their families.

Ospreys – the raging mad and the wonderful

My daughter asked me today if I would continue to watch the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. She had a very good point. Tiny Tot or 3 (some call it Tumbles) was born on 5 March. Since the 12th of March, I have notes indicating that Jack, the male, needs to bring in more fish. I have notes that Tiny Tot was fed well one day and had no food for two days. That was three weeks ago. Many have invested in their own stress level height since food procurement on this nest became a visible problem – not only to streaming cam watchers but to the older osprey. The perception or the reality that there is not enough contributes to food competition and siblicide. This nest has literally been like a rollercoaster ride for everyone including Diane, the mother, who found as many morsels as she could to feed Tiny from 1:15-1:53 today. He had a bit of a crop. Continued large fish coming into the nest on a regular basis – a real effort on the part of Jack – is required.

There are ‘good’ Osprey nests to watch. Everyone has their favourite. I am going to only mention five today so if you have a favourite, let me know – and tell me why you like that nest so much! I am going to start with the first one because the female has already laid two eggs this season. That nest belongs to Maya and Blue 33 (11). This is a dad that cuddles with the female. They almost arrive together from their winter migration to Africa. They are an amazing duo. Blue 33 (11) does not have another nest with chicks to feed! He is totally devoted to Maya and their chicks and their nest is Rutland Mantou Bay.

Mary Kerr did the hearts on this image for the Loch Arkaig FB group. I want to make sure she gets the credit, not me. And one of the things Mary said was, ‘Maya really lucked out when she got him in 2014 as a mate’.

You can watch these two lovebirds on the Rutland Mantou Bay Nest at the following link:

The second nest is at Loch Arkaig, home to Louis and Aila. They are due to be back at the nest around 5 April. I will put in the highlights from their 2020 season. I like this nest because Louis works day and night to feed those babies. Last year Aila laid three eggs and they all hatched. I watched a tandem feeding when the little one, Captain, was fed by itself while the two bigger, older chicks were fed by the other parent. It was joyful and it brought my faith back in ospreys after seeing little Tapps die at Port Lincoln. Here is the video of the highlights from the 2020 nest at Loch Arkaig. The three siblings are believed to be 2 males and a female. Doddie the first born is a male, Vera the female, and Little Captain, a male is banded Blue JJ7. Enjoy it! When Louis and Aila return, I will be sure to let you know. The link to their nest is below the video.

And the link to the Loch Arkaig site for when Louis and Aila return in a few days:

All of these nests are wonderful and I have not listed them in rank order. My third nest is that of Idris and Blue 33 Telyn at the Dfyi Nest in Wales. Idris is known to be loyal, a great protector, and provider! You can access this popular couples nest here:

And I have two other nests to mention. One is in the UK and the other is in San Francisco.

I could not leave this page and not have included the nest of Mrs G and Aran. Mrs G is the oldest osprey in the United Kingdom, believed to be twenty-one years old. She is a powerhouse. This couple are at the Glaslyn Osprey Nest in Wales and here is the link:

And the last of the Osprey nests is the one in San Francisco Bay with Richmond and Rosie. Richmond is more known for his antics of bringing objects – aprons, toys, etc – to the nest but the two actually work well together. Richmond lives in San Francisco year round and Rosie migrates for the winter. Rosie is now incubating three eggs. The first was laid on 24 March, the second on 27 March, and the third on 30 March. That will keep Richmond busy bringing in fish when they hatch! Here is the link to their nest:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1gn6yIRa_cBKExVmHdg3jQ

That link provides you to a number of past videos, too.

A fish came into the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida at 5:33:51. Tiny Tot got a few bites after the two bigger ones but he still has a crop from his earlier feeding. This is much better than being sunk in all over as he had been. I live in hope that the momentum of fish – some big fish – a small one is not enough – come in and Tiny makes it.

I have written in-depth about many of the ospreys on these nests in other blogs. That information often includes their biography. When everything goes well, there is nothing more wonderful than seeing these amazing fish eagles thrive and fledge. They have a difficult life – the ones that migrate. The trip is 4000 miles one way over large bodies of water, mountains, and deserts. 50% do not make it.

Thank you for joining me today. All of the other nests that I follow seem to be doing really well today. For those of you that celebrate Easter – have a Happy Easter Weekend. Take care everyone.

Thank you so much to the following for their streaming cams. This is where I get my screen shots: the Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida; the Bywd Gwyllt Glaslyun Wildlife, Bay Osprey by Golden Gate Audubon, Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Friends of Loch Arkaig, Rutland Wildlife at the Mantou Bay Nest, Mary Kerr for her cute FB image of Maya and Blue 33 (11), the Woodland Trust and People Play Lottery, and the LRWT Rutland Osprey Project.

Maya lays first egg of the UK Osprey season

Maya is a untagged/unringed female Osprey. She is the mate of Blue 33 (11) at Rutland. For the 2021 Osprey season in the United Kingdom, the pair returned from their winter migration to Africa on 19 March. They were the first two to arrive back! Blue 33 (11) arriving at 12:29 and Maya (unringed) arriving at 12:56. That was fabulous timing. The pair actually mated at 1pm. And no sooner than the couple had finished their nestorations than Maya laid the first egg of the 2021 Osprey season. It was around 21:00 on Sunday the 29th of March. Congratulations Blue 33 (11) and Maya!

You can see the pair on the nest and Maya laying that historic egg here:

Maya left the egg to take a short break. There it is!

And while Maya and Blue 33 (11) will be contemplating a second egg, others are just arriving in from their migration. The list of the arrivals is growing and instead of making a lengthy list, you can check the arrivals on the following link:

http://ukospreys.uk/arrivals.htm

The list is updated including the column for eggs, chicks, and ring numbers daily. The United Kingdom loves their Ospreys and they have an amazing network to monitor arrivals and departures.

Here is a gorgeous shot of Blue F5 called Seren. She arrived back on the 29th of March. She is the mate of Dylan (unringed) on the Clywedog Reservoir Nest. Located near Llanidloes, Wales at the head-waters of the River Severn, it is truly an area of great beauty. In the winter 5F spends her time in the Tanji Marsh in The Gambia. She has been photographed there for the past seven years by Chris Wood.

Here she is with the sun setting looking out over her territory. Isn’t she gorgeous?

What a view Seren has!

“Llyn Clywedog” by Darryl Hughes is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Loch of the Lowes in Scotland is equally enchanting and is home to Laddie and NC0, we think. NC0 did return to Laddie’s nest after her migration to Africa and they have mated. We will have to wait to see how this goes! They are sometimes a bit awkward with one another.

“Loch of the Lowes” by Graeme Pow is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

It’s such a gorgeous place that Laddie and NC0 (in the nest) have had to chase off intruders! Too few great nests in good prey territory.

Here is beautiful NC0 all by herself on the nest:

Sadly, the third osplet on the St Petersburg nest has been shut out of all food deliveries today, thus far. There were two small fish and then one huge one. 3 or Tiny Tot got 1 bite. You can see him leaning over the rim of the nest at the back right behind one of the elder ones. The two older kept it from eating even when they were full.

The biggest one went over when it thought the mother would feed the small one and made sure it did not get up to get fed. It is a sad reality when there is a sense that there is only enough food for 1 or 2. If you could scoop Tiny Tot up and take it to a facility and it could eat and get bigger and stronger and put it back on the nest, this chick might survive. The issue is that no one is ready to intervene in that way – yet. They did at Rutland and I am very impressed. They even brought a food table for the mother. I often think of Spilve’s nest in Latvia. If someone had placed a food table for her, Klints might have lived and fledged. But the rules of engagement with wildlife have to be changed in order for these things to happen. If we can only help wildlife when something that a human did has caused the issue, then what about habitat loss, toxic water, and pollution reducing prey?

Will Tiny Tot survive another day with one bite of food in three days total and temperatures of 28 degrees C? I will remember this clever little one for the energy he drew up in himself to figure out and walk around the rim of the nest, to get under the mother to eat. He is too dehydrated today to do that. He is too worn down and he cannot PS anymore which means his body is shutting down. I hope his suffering ends. It feel utter despair and I hope that there will be a conversation of the role that humans need to have in helping the non-humans.

So when you see me say that I wish all nests had only two eggs hatch, Tiny Tot and Tapps from the PLO Nest and the third one of Iris’s osplets a couple of years ago are the reason.

We need to see a couple of other happy bird moments and there are so many. I want to close with two. The first is a picture of the two chicks in the Black Kite Nest in Taiwan. Their mother is feeding them. It is such a peaceful sight and to think they survived a fire just two weeks ago. They are simply adorable these two.

The two youngsters on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources nest are doing splendid. This is the nest of four year old Harry and his mate, unknown age, Nancy. Harry struggled and he has even caught on to feeding the little ones. It is magnificent.

Look at this girl. This is Legacy from the NE Florida Bald Eagle Nest in Jacksonville. Oh, this wee one had an eye irritation and then got Avian Pox and over came it to turn into this big strong eagle. Oh, how I wish we could put a coloured ring and number on these kiddos so we would know what happened to them. Sadly less than 50% of all juvenile eagles survive. She looks like a survivor to me!

Thank you so much for joining me. The birds bring us great joys and deep, deep sadness. Who would have thought? Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the streaming cams where I took my screen shots: the NEFL Bald Eagle Nest and the AEF, The Black Kite Nest in Taiwan, MN DNR, Achieva Osprey, Scottish Wildlife, the Rutland Wildlife Trust, and Clywedog.

Featured image is Mrs G and Aran at the Glaslyn Nest in Wales.