Tag Archives: Melbourne falcons

Early Friday in Bird World

7 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Two Juncos, 1 Grey Squirrel – one of Dyson’s little ones – and a single Blue Jay are up and feeding this morning. It is -2 degrees C. It is now time to seriously begin finding the puffer coat, the Alpaca boot socks and scarf! The Anorak is no longer enough for a walk at the nature centre! Burrrrrrr.

This is also the beginning of the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada. The second Monday in October marks the end of the harvest and it is the fields with the grain left from the Combine Harvesters and Reapers that feed all the Canada and Cackling geese, Sandhill Cranes, and all the other birds landing in them during migration.

Making News:

Lori Covert, the owner of the property where the Captiva Osprey platform and Bald Eagle nest are put out an announcement for everyone today.

Harriet and M15’s rebuilding efforts continue to make the news in Fort Myers. The eagles are busy and they are inspiring everyone to move forward! I love how all of the raptors live in the moment. It is truly special to see them surviving the hurricane, checking the nest, deciding what to do, and then gathering up the materials to rebuild.

The correlation between factory farming and bird flu is being discussed more openly.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/06/bird-flu-an-urgent-warning-to-move-away-from-factory-farming

The article above comes from the most recent publication by Thijs Kuiken in Science.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf0956

We need to really examine our relationship with these industrial farming methods and what this means.

Nest News:

Oh, it is difficult to feed a much smaller eyas that cannot yet focus than it is an older one. That said, the wee one at Orange did get some nice bites around 18:34 at Orange. Soon its eyes will focus better and then, s/he should be able to position themselves better for Xavier and Diamond’s beaks.

There is a video of this feeding overlaid with a super interview with Dr Cilla Kinross, leader of the research project at Charles Sturt University at Orange. It is 10 minutes long and if you don’t have the time to sit and watch. Cilla Kinross has a great sense of humour – the water tower being dubbed the ‘Concrete Hilton’.

Cilla does mention how late the little one hatched and that it will be fed after the first one. Most of us are used to the falcons and hawks hatching close together and all of them making a circle of beaks reaching up for food with no prey competition. The issue is the height of the smaller one. Kinross says that Diamond and Xavier will feed the ‘strongest’ chick in this instance first. She also discusses the ability of Xavier to hunt in the horrific weather that Orange is having. She also discusses why it is important to study the falcons (and animals). Really, it is a good interview. Have a listen!

One single note. At the nest of Big Red and Arthur, L4 was tiny. That little one scrambled to the front of the line to get food with no fear of the others. In the end, L4 was the first fledgling to catch prey and, it is L4 that continues to reside on the territory of its parents on Cornell University. L4 turned out to be, perhaps, the strongest of the four eyases.

The weather in the Sydney Olympic Forest is dreary. The rain will continue until Sunday, and it is not such a great time for SE30 to decide to fly. SE29 and the adults continue to encourage SE30 higher on the branches. Not a lot of large prey is coming on the nest. SE30 got a small fish. There was no quibbling…is SE29 eating off nest? That is my question of the morning.

‘A’ wrote and mentioned that the Currawongs have become a problem around the nest of late. That is another good reason for SE30 to just sit and wait for the nice weather to come before venturing out into the forest with its first flight.

Oh, if Cilla Kinross wishes the falcons would eat more Noisy Miners, I wish the sea eagles would go after those Currawong! Have a banquet!!

SE29 is sleeping on the branch. Every once in a while, it moves, and you can see it – again above 30 as if the sibling is looking after and protecting the other sibling. What a pair these two have been this year. So fantastic to watch.

The parents at the Melbourne scrape are doing fabulous. I simply cannot say enough about how these two have come together as first-time parents (OK. parent and stepparent but I will call them parents) and are doing one fantastic job. The weather is not good in Melbourne either. You can always hear the faint call of the male telling the female of a fresh prey drop. (They also have a stash somewhere, like Xavier and Diamond, for the days when hunting is not good. Mum rushes off, has a break and a meal. Sometimes Dad feeds the four, sometimes Mum. Dad is pretty good at getting those bites in those beaks – and now, it seems the wee one is seeing better and holding that wobbly head upright. They are called Bobs – not in reference to the male name Bob or Robert but, because their heads ‘bob’.

Yesterday there were three feedings at Melbourne before noon. Several before light’s out.

Mum has been notified of a prey delivery and off she goes.

Every chick will be fed.

Look at that wonderful rainbow!

The four eyases are too big for Dad to brood! And even Mum is now having some difficulty.

When the 16:42 fish arrives on the nest on the Port Lincoln barge, all three osplets still have crops from earlier feedings. Little Bob managed well with getting himself up in the line in a position where he could get bites including stealing a few from Big Bob like he has done the past couple of days. At bedtime, all three were full – and that is wonderful. Today it will be partly cloudy in Port Lincoln, no rain predicted with temperatures ranging from 14 to 8 degrees C. The windspeed will be 16kph.

Little Bob has the same problem as the wee one at Orange. His neck is not long enough so eating position is key right now.

A nice fish arrives – big enough to feed everyone including Mum.

Mum tries her best to cover her fast growing family.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Lori Covert and Window to Wildlife, WINK News Fort Myers, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.

Late Thursday in Bird World

6 October 2022

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for joining me for a late check in. Our weather turned. Yesterday it was 21 C and we woke to 2 degrees C. It is now a balmy 4 degrees!!! Time to pull out that Possum beanie and a heavier jacket.

I have spent so much time checking on the Australian nests and worrying about Little Bob at Port Lincoln always getting his fill of fish that other nest news has been – well, neglected turns out to be the right word. So I have brought in some news form various sources that has been posted that should be of interest to everyone. I was particularly interested in Victor Hurley’s discussion of peregrine falcons and what has happened at the lege scrape – it certainly helps our understanding. Sadly, it does not bring our beloved M17 back. Other reports about eagles rebuilding and a lovely video on the banding of osplets. We will be looking forward to November when Port Lincoln chicks will be banded and weighed and measured. They will get names and one of them will get a sat-pak.

Making News:

Victor Hurley has posted an update on the adult falcons, M17 and F17, that were at the nest on the ledge at 367 Collins Street. This information is very helpful to understand what is going on at the scrape box with M22 and F22.

Photographs of Connie and Clive, alive and well, on Captiva have been released by Window to Wildlife. They will rebuild! I have seen no news on Lena and Andy. Their nest platform was completely destroyed and will, when the time is right, need to be replaced.

Harriet and M15 have been photographed rebuilding at their nest tree on the property of the Pritchett Family in Fort Myers, Florida following Hurricane Ian.

A great video showing the ringing of osprey chicks. Have a look!

The Bald Eagle couple on the E-3 nest at Kistache National Forest in Louisiana were caught on camera. The male delivered a fish to the nest and you should see the female squeeing and grabbing – first his poor talon and finally the fish. A quick look and then slo-mo. Incredible footage.

Cilla Kinross posted a video of the feeding of chick 2 at Orange. So cute. There has been some concern that the little one is not getting enough bites. Let’s see how it does today. I witnessed a few good bites at one feeding yesterday.

The sun came up at Melbourne and Mum22 went and found some leftover pigeon in the family pantry and is feeding the wee ones. It is 0645.

SE29 spent the night perched on the parent branch of the old Ironwood tree. SE30 did not have to be lonely. Later, you can see that an adult is higher up on the branch. SE29 and that adult have been encouraging SE30 to get higher on the branch and it worked! SE30 so wants to do what 29 is doing – flying but, s/he will in their own good time. Best to have the confidence than to get caught up being afraid with the Currawongs around.

Look carefully. SE29 is on the branch above SE30 and a parent is to the far left. You can see the white of their head in the V of the branch.

SE30 can sleep adult style!

You can see SE29 and the adult better in the image below.

SE30 is being encouraged by 29. It is up on the branch. Did I say that these two remind me so much of 25 and 26?

Well done 30!

29 has flown off and 30 is back down lower towards the nest looking out at that big world.

SE30 looks up to 29 (under the adult). I am sure we will see 30 getting higher on the branch, today. He so wants to be with his sibling.

They are waiting for a fish delivery at Port Lincoln. Big and Middle have already been at one another – the minute Mum gets off of them. Little just curls up and hides. It is the one difference from Ervie. Ervie stood up, looked at Big and gave it back. In this instance the beaking is much more violent than it was with Bazza. I don’t blame Little for just staying out of the way. No need to enter into the conflict. Just eat your meal and get out of the way.

Mum puts an end to it all but just sitting on them as best she can!

There was a feeding at 0633 at Orange. I could not possibly tell you how much the wee one got – but some, once its little head was still. Then, Diamond turned her back to the camera!

Such a big yawn out of such a little eyas.

Oopsie!

It appears that the wee one, once straightened up, did get some good bites.

Thank you so much for being with me this late afternoon. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures, their posts, and videos: 367 Collins Street Watchers, Window to Wildlife, SWFL Eagles and Donna Lee, RSPB, KNF, Dr Cilla Kinross and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.

QT is now Lillibet, Little Bob has a huge crop and other news in Bird World

6 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, goodness. One area of my City had its first snow last evening and the temperature for the rest of us is 1 degree C. (Think of 0 as 32 degrees F). We had our first heavy frost last night. This cold snap will surely put some of the birds that are arriving in our City on a path south!

The active nests remain in Australia while the Bald Eagles work on their nests for egg laying later in the year in the US. Rain is the issue at some of the nests. Melbourne received 3 inches of rain or 7.5 cm. Mum worked so hard to keep those eyases dry. Sadly, the Collins Street scrape will have more rain today – perhaps an inch – starting at around 0800. My weather report says that should end around 1300. It has really rained in Sydney and there are some areas that are flooding. Rain should begin in the Olympic Park where the Ironwood Tree nest of the Sea Eagles is located at around 1100 and then stop. Port Lincoln could be dry today! Yippee. It looks right now that Orange could be dry as well. We wait and see how the forecasts hold up BUT regardless, these amazing raptor families are doing well despite the heavy downpours that are occurring. That is simply wonderful.

There is word that Friends of Osprey – think Janet Foster, Ian Falkenburg, Fran Solly – from Port Lincoln and all those who donated or joined Friends of Osprey – have received four sat pack transmitters for this year. There will be one available for Port Lincoln and one each going to the three other nests should they have fledglings. Calypso has been seen numerous times and is flying well. She is the 2019 fledgling from PLO. Ervie is, of course, out and about being the man about town in Port Lincoln. This is excellent news. More platforms are planned for South Australia as well as the number of Ospreys grow in the area.

Friends of Ospreys has a new website and they are grateful for all donations. All funds go directly to the camera, etc at Port Lincoln, new platforms in the area, and those precious transmitters. This is their new site and it is packed with information. Not a member? Consider donating. Membership is $20 Australian.

https://friendsofosprey.com.au/

Here is the latest news from the blog on our darling Ervie:

https://friendsofosprey.com.au/our-tracked-osprey/

An announcement came out of the Royal Albatross Centre on Taiaroa Head yesterday that a decision was made and accepted by all members that the Royal Cam Chick known as QT be officially named ‘Lillibet’ after Queen Elizabeth II.

I was worried about Little Bob at Port Lincoln yesterday. Big and Middle continue to go at one another and well, I will sound like a broken record but, it is a real blessing that they stop fighting and act nicely at the fish table. ‘A’ noticed yesterday that Little Bob’s lack of a long neck is hampering him if he is not at the right position during feeding. That said, he walked away with several nice size crops later yesterday when larger fish came to the nest.

In the image below, have a look at Middle Bob. Notice the dark woolier down that is now replacing that light grey coat of down the osplets had when they hatched. They will retain this thermal wooly layer to help them regulate their temperature. Feathers will begin to appear. You can already see the rusty-gold ones on their head and nape. These will be followed by the wing, tail, and body feathers until they get their full juvenile plumage. They are going to be very itchy and will spend much time preening.

Remember that the feathers are often called ‘blood feathers’. The feathers grow from blood quills which will disintegrate and fall off as the feathers grow.

Little Bob looks great with that big crop of his. You will notice that all three chicks are in the full reptilian phase including having ‘clown feet’.

We all wondered if Little Bob would be another Ervie. He certainly does his best to get up front and at the beak for feeding. The beaking between the two older siblings does send him into safe positions and it does appear that he is often afraid of them — and for good reason. He is still very small. Let the older more evenly matched siblings take their angst out on one another!

Dad continues to provide lots of prey for the Melbourne eyases and he does his best to feed them and keep them covered from the sun. It is difficult for him to brood them – even last year, Old Dad has a huge problem when it came to four chicks. They all seem to be doing well including the smallest one.

Mum has been notified that prey is delivered. She has flown off to have a break and eat.

Dad arrives and stays with the eyases til Mum returns.

Some chatting and bowing and Dad is off!

The older chicks can see well. It is hard to determine if the 4th has its eyes fully open and focused yet. Oh, how I wish there was a zoom on that camera!

The wee one at Orange is getting some food while Big Bob is growing like crazy. Everything is going well at Orange for Xavier and Diamond and we will all get to see how these two manage as parents of two this year instead of one.

There have been lots of feedings and Xavier has been able to feed and brood his family! He so loves being such an active part in everything instead of just providing prey.

SE30 has not fledged yet. The heavy rains in the forest should slow down any flying but, SE29 does not seem to be bothered flying in and out of the nest. SE29 is roosting elsewhere. SE30 is so excited to see its sibling when it flies in. They seem to have such a special bond with one another this year.

Fish have been coming to the nest and Lady often feeds SE30 and also SE29 should s/he show up on the nest. SE29 is often more interested in what is going around making one wonder if s/he is not also being fed elsewhere.

All of the nests are as quiet as they can be in the middle of the night in Australia. Despite the weather, all of the parents are able to feed and keep their little and not so little youngsters fed and warm (if needed).

Migration:

Checking on Karl II family for 5 October. Bonus continues to stay in the same area of Romania. Tracking shows that he flew a lot. This is a map of where he is and an image of the area.

Waba is still in Moldova at an area around Glodeni.

Waba seems to be enjoying a pond in the landscape. You can see by the blue dots that he visits there often. How wonderful he has found a source of fish and frogs.

Karl II has just astounded people with a 450 km flight. He is now in Turkey!

I see that there are no tracking reports yet for Kaia. On 4 October she was 31 km from the Mediterranean Sea. She is perhaps in areas where there is little satellite transmissions available.

Don’t forget that 8 October is Big Bird Day at Cornell Bird Lab. Go to their website to register for the bird count if you are not already a part of eBird. It is free. Here is the information to get you started:

https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-2022

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and posts where I took my screen captures: Friends of Osprey, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Looduskalender Forum.

2nd chick for Diamond and Xavier and other news in Bird World

5 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

It looks like the clouds are breaking up and it feels like another beautiful fall day. Yesterday, the trip to the wetlands was stunning in its fall colour. Most spectacular were the Aspens with their bright yellow leaves flittering in the wind and some that were red – so red – with no other colour. I hope to have taken at least one image to share with you in another blog.

This morning there are more Dark-Eyed Juncos eating the millet. They like it on the wood or carpet. Junior and one of the fledglings is here eating corn and a squirrel has been seen scurrying about. Mr Crow has also been here. There is something so nice about seeing the birds eat their breakfast even if they do fight with one another over one of the cobs of corn. It is like seeing the chicks in the nests eating first thing – the reassurance that no matter what else happens that day, they have had one good meal. Over and over again I am struck about how challenging the life of a bird actually is.

Sometimes I start my blog for the morning in the early evening before. That is when I have moments free and really get to sit down and enjoy watching all of the chicks on the nest. October 5 in Australia was particularly interesting because of the crack clearly seen on one of the eggs at Xavier and Diamond’s scrape and the antsy pants of SE30 in the Sydney nest.

This evening though, I am glued to the screen as Diamond works that egg to help that eyas hatch. Who would have thought? The one thing that many did notice was just how healthy Xavier and Diamond are this year. If you want to know how healthy a falcon is look at the colour of its cere, the ring around the eyes, and the legs. You want a bright orange-yellow in the adult. Not a light yellow a bright yellow with an orange tint. Both Xavier and Diamond have that this year. Last year, both seemed a wee bit tired to me. Perhaps it had not been a good year for a lot of prey. This year it appears that there is lots of good prey, not just Starlings. The lead researcher, Dr Cilla Kinross, says the amount of prey is because it is a La Nina year. She also adds that the hunting is more difficult. So, it is a good year for two little eyases!

It was a pip and then at 12:03 you could see the crack. Diamond is wiggling around helping that egg shell come apart!

Some raptor mums will not, in the least, help the chick out of the shell. Others, when hatch is coming roll around and help loosen the shell so that the little one can get out easier. Many remove half a shell to help the process along. I wonder if they can tell if the chick has been trying to hatch for a long period of time and could be tiring?

Diamond is really turning around in the nest rubbing and working that shell for that wee chick.

At 1252, you can really see the hole and the crack!

Xavier brought in a Starling for Diamond and Big chick at 13:50. There was some confusion. Xavier took the prey over to Diamond but, he thought she didn’t want it. Then there was a bit of tug-o-prey. I am not sure that Xavier was, initially, aware that another eyas was making its way through the shell to hatch.

Diamond fed the wee chick while a wet Xavier readied himself to go out into the rain.

Xavier got some brooding/incubation time in the late afternoon when Diamond took off with the prey delivery. Look at that sweet little one. Not going to be an Only Bob much longer. Xavier and Diamond fooled everyone!

The empty shell was first noticed at 22:20 in the scrape. All are sound asleep.

You can vote for the name of the chicks! Join the fun. Remember that is Australian time. Here is the information: Voting for the chicks names is open until Oct 9, 5pm, link is in News section https://science-health.csu.edu.au/fal…

More feedings at 367 Collins Street. Nice big fat pigeons being brought in with at least 3 or 4 feedings since dawn. I normally do not worry about hawklets and eyases getting food but the 4th hatch is having some difficulty simply because it cannot see yet. It faces the wrong way – sometimes backwards, sometimes to the side. The other three are so far advanced and they are beginning to lose their baby down and look like chicks that are getting their pin feathers – not in the least attractive!

Dad came in with another fish at Port Lincoln. All of the osplets were full and it looked like Little Bob was going to get left out but, wait! Little Bob got right up there at the front and gosh, golly, did that kid get a lot of nice fish bites. Then Middle woke up and wanted some fish. Little and Middle ate. There was some fish left for Mum. One of the nice things about this osprey nest is that the three do not fight during meal times. This is seriously important. It means that Little Bob gets fed. In most instances where there is food competition, the little one is prevented physically from eating by one or more big siblings. That is not a worry at this nest, so far, this year.

More fish later. You can really see how much bigger Big Bob is than Little and Little’s wing size to Middle.

All full and some fish left for Mum.

Mum has to spread her wings like a Mumbrella to cover the kids and keep them warm and dry.

SE29 flew to the nest after SE30 had been fed a small fish. The pair of them together reminded me so much of SE25 and SE26…25 showing and encouraging 26. For several minutes, it looked like SE29 was going to get 30 to fly off the tree with her/him. It didn’t happen but at this very moment, which is around 11:00 nest time in Australia on Wednesday, it looks like 30 would really like to go. Dad ? arrived on the nest and pulled a fish out from some twigs and fed 2+30 on and off. 30 would eat then go look at the branch, then eat. You can tell immediately that 30 is antsy. Every family member is flying but her/him.

It is a bittersweet moment when both of the eaglets fly. We cheer them on triumphantly and secretly we try and hold back the tears. These have been two beautiful eaglets. Yes, there were some ruffles at the beginning and then, they became best friends. No competition. No disturbance.

Is it possible this year that birders on the ground near the Discovery Centre will be posting images of the pair of them flying around the Parramatta Riber and Dad and Lady’s River Roost? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I am terribly impressed with 29’s flying in and out. No torn wings on bushes, just good strong take offs and landings. Hoping that it is that easy for 30 when it takes to the air.

SE30 spent the night alone on the nest. No doubt SE30 will show up for breakfast!

In the News:

Do you read the Country Diary in The Guardian? If not, I want to share this lovely story so evocative, and it is about Ravens. I have grown to love the Crow family that visits my garden and the Blue Jays. Only once has there been a Raven.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/05/country-diary-the-mountain-silence-is-interrupted-by-ravens

Remembering a time in the fall when goshawks were everywhere in the fall.

When Goshawks Ruled the Autumn Skies

Today is Izzi’s 2nd birthday and someone put a video together to remember this fabulous character brought to us by Xavier and Diamond in 2020!

Migration News:

Karl II fed well at the Danuke River in Ukraine then flew across Romania and is now in Bulgaria. Awesome.

This is the area where Karl II is fishing.

There was no tracker information for Kaia. It is assumed that she is in Syria and transmissions there are sketchy.

Bonus was still in Romania while Waba remained in Moldova. Udi, one of the 2021 fledglings of Karl and Kaia, continues to be in Italy around the Po Valley. Here is their location:

This is the BirdCast migration map for 5 October. Note that the most birds moving continue to be down the centre of North America. That corresponds directly with what we are seeing in Manitoba.

I hope that today’s blog finds each of you well and enjoying all that life and the birds have to offer. We are so fortunate to be able to watch these glorious feathered creatures raise their families. They bring us so much joy! Thank you so much for being with me. You take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and posts where I took my screen captures: Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Looduskalender Forum, and BirdCast.

A pip at Orange and breakfast news from Bird World

4 October 2022

It was a gorgeous day and I headed north up to the wetlands to check on the geese and ducks. In the process, I discovered a Swan family and only wished I was in a canoe and not hiking the trail. It was simply amazing to be outside and then return to find the Australian nests waking up! I am also watching a pile of Dark-eyed Juncos eat millet. They would normally have been here three weeks ago and they are just arriving. The Blue Jays are here after the corn and one of the squirrels is eating peanuts. The Crows cleaned up the cheesy hotdogs while I was away so they are off elsewhere searching for a dinner.

I honestly did not believe it would happen at Orange but a pip was spotted by Holly Parsons and I was alerted by ‘H’. It would be really interesting with Xavier and Diamond having two. I wonder if this is the third egg? No way to tell. I hope the little one gets out of their soon!

It is the egg closest to diamond. Look at about 5 o’clock near the gravel.

Dad headed out bright and early for Mum and the kids. A nice big Zebra fish arrived on the nest at 07:11:40. The kids are all dark – it is difficult to tell them apart in a pile now!

Thank you Dad!

Little Bob got some nice bites at the end when Mum got near the tail. The feeding ended at 0731 with not a flake of fish left.

The Collins Street Four were fed early, just as the golden glow was coming over Melbourne. Everything is going fantastic here. It will be a little crowded if the rain starts as the eyases are getting so big!

SE29 has been flying on and off the big Ironwood Tree nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest since it fledged. SE30 always looks a little lonely without its sibling there. Both are wet from the rain this morning. Lady arrived with a fish and fed SE30 and then 29 appeared!

Everyone has had breakfast with the possible exception of SE29. Hopefully the rain today will not be so terrible at any of the nests so that it hampers food deliveries. It might, however, keep SE30 from taking flight. What is good is that SE29 continues to fly to and from the nest strengthening its wings and its muscles and seemingly without interference from the Currawong. I never remember this happening at this nest with any of the fledglings. Such a promising sign.

Thank you for being with me for this quick check in first thing in the morning. The day is starting out well everywhere. Keep checking on Diamond and Xavier. It is possible that there will be a second hatch. Remember from pip to hatch can take from 24-72 hours. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

Early Tuesday in Bird World

4 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is late Monday evening in Canada, and it is 14 degrees C. as I begin thinking about Tuesday’s blog. The difference in time between Canada and Australia means that I am going to bed when all of the action starts. I am very grateful to those readers who send me time stamps and information about the nests in case I missed it! So thank you.

Tomorrow promises to be another beautiful fall day. I would love to send a break in the rain to the Mum and Dad at Port Lincoln so they could get those three osplets fed. Part of the big fish was returned to the nest after Dad removed it. ‘A’ reports that Middle appears to be the only one to have had anything to eat; the other two desperately wanted to stay warm and dry. Melbourne will be getting the rain tomorrow and it looks as if it could continue at Port Lincoln for most of the week Xavier and Diamond’s wee eyas will be quite dry in the covered scrape at Orange. Eyes are on the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Park as it gets towards midnight in Canada. Will 30 fly while I am sleeping?

What does a Possum Merino beanie have to do with birds?

Well, it turns out that the beanie is sold at the Royal Albatross Centre on Taiaroa Head, New Zealand to fund the activities taking place on the headland. When you begin to think of donations or purchases, do keep the Royal Albatross in mind! Of course, like all the centres, they have more items for sale than beanies. That said, this beanie is the softest one I own and it is going to keep my head snug and warm when I am out birding in the winter here in Canada.

Everyone continues to be worried about Lena and Andy, their new platform and camera and, Lori Covert’s property. This is the latest announcement from Window to Wildlife with a satellite image of the nest on the left after Hurricane Ian and on the right, before the hurricane hit.

Wales is planning to increase areas of peatland to help biodiversity and to save species. After sitting in the grass near one of my city’s ponds this morning watching a Greater Yellowlegs, it is reassuring that countries are working hard to bring back conditions so that lovely shorebirds have a chance at survival.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/03/wales-unveils-plans-to-triple-rate-of-peatland-restoration

There is more news about the cost of Avian Flu to birds around the world.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/03/europe-and-uk-hit-by-unprecedented-number-of-bird-flu-cases-this-summer

There was a really informative programme (short) on the monitoring of the goshawks in Scotland. You can read about it or watch it if you have the BBC Player app.

Goshawk monitoring in Scottish highlands features on BBC Landward

Nest News:

The osplets were cold when Dad came with a fish at 16:23. Look at Little Bob all curled up. I so feel for the chicks when the weather is wet and miserble. They cannot yet regulate their temperature til they get all of that thermal down covering them from tip to talon.

If you are having trouble finding Little Bob, all of his soft down on the head is gone and he now looks like he dipped it into oil over the afternoon! I am so grateful that these three behave themselves when it is feeding time. This is a big, big help. Often the older ones do not allow the younger to eat at all until they are finished. Not the case here. Fantastic.

‘A’ tells me that Mum looked around for scraps for Little Bob after this feeding. He was still fish calling.

At Port Lincoln Dad came to the nest with a small much-needed fish at 19:14. It will be good for them to have fish in their tummies overnight. Gosh, those osplets lined up nicely but, each anxious for some fish. It looks like Little Bob certainly did get his share and did not get shut out by the big ones.

They all had nice little crops at the end of the feeding. Mum got right back on top of all of them – a great way to stop any dust ups and also it is cold and windy. These three need to stay super dry and warm.

So thankful Mum and the kids had some fish before bed. Mum had been screaming at Dad to get a fish on the nest. This one was not large but the osplets got fed. They would have liked more. It will be a long night and Mum is as hungry as the chicks. In fact, she is probably hungrier. Rain will start at 1100 on the 5th in Orange so hopefully, Dad will bring in a couple of nice big fish before then so that the family is stuffed to the gills as the rain drops fall later in the day.

It is, of course, the opposite problem at Orange right now but, they do not have any rain. Only Bob is enjoying the life of a single chick, nicely spoiled with plenty of food and no one to share it with but, Diamond. You might have noticed that Diamond does eat her share! Two extremely devoted parents sharing the life of their only chick. It is beautiful.

It does not appear that that either of the other two eggs have a pip. How long will Diamond continue to incubate them? Good question. Some will do so for 2-4 weeks. Many of you will remember the Dunrovin Osprey nest this summer where the eggs were incubated almost the entire summer with no hope of hatching. Shadow at Big Bear once incubated eggs for 60 days! They did not hatch. The little one will use the ‘eggies’ to prop on and, sometimes, in the case of the eagle nests anyway, the chicks actually incubate the eggs, too! Spirit did that with ‘eggie’ at Big Bear this year and Legacy at Northeast Florida became so attached to ‘eggie’ that people thought she would need a backpack so she could take the egg when she fledged. Samson, ultimately hid, it. It will be fun to watch to see what this little one does with those two extra egss.

Just look at the size of that little one!

Upside down roly-poly baby!

Here is a cute video with a good look at Xavier and Diamond’s chick.

There are reports coming out of Orange that Xavier and Diamond’s stash has been located. Many believed it was in the trees that you can see if you are watching the ledge cam but, it turns out the stash is on top of the tower. My goodness! Thanks, ‘A’ for that wonderful bit of news.

There is so much food coming to the 367 Collins Street scrape. This Dad keeps that pantry – at the opposite end of the ledge we think – full of nicely prepared pigeons. The four eyases are fed regularly and are growing like bad weeds. I so wish the camera was a little closer so you could see the change in their feathering. At least one of them is beginning to look like ‘bug eyed and thin necked’ as its plumage begins to change. There is nothing stopping this Dad from taking part in the lives of the eyases either. He has perfected feeding them but, because of his smaller size, still has some trouble getting them all under him for brooding.

The feedings at Collins Street generally last a full half hour. The top image is Mum brooding the eyases.

Mum has gone for a break and Dad is doing the feeding. He watched and learned.

Each eyas had a nice hard little crop after the long feeding.

Dad tries to brood them. Here comes Mum after she had a nice tea time and a bit of a rest.

Bye, Dad!

Mum feeding them again. They could hardly have been hungry but no one is going to go without on this nest. This couple have created perfect handovers and feedings. Just imagine how worried we were a fortnight ago? We can put that all aside now!

To my knowledge, SE30 still has not fledged. SE29 takes small flights and, so far, has been returning to the nest. I had been worried that SE29 was getting all of the fish deliveries as rewards for returning to the nest but, SE30 managed to get its talons on a delivery from Lady in the middle of the afternoon yesterday. SE29 flew in as 30 was trying to unzip the fish. No fights. No skirmishes. Totally civil.

It was really nice to see SE29 get that fish!

SE29 has just arrived on the nest. Look at Lady. She watches everything her eaglets do – she is looking at how well or not SE30 is self-feeding.

At one point, Dad flew in and both Lady and Dad were honking at the Currawongs. Yes, they want to keep them away from the nest and their eaglets. Sometimes I wish that the Sea Eagles actually ate the Pied Currawongs. Maybe then they would not bother this nest so much!

The chicks were more interested in the fish than the Curras.

Lady gave 30 plenty of time with the fish. SE29 did not come and take it over but wanted some fish and Lady has decided to feed both of them. I wonder how much longer she will get to enjoy her babies???

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Everyone in Australia is sound asleep. Now the weather app has rain starting at Port Lincoln at 1000. It is going to rain all day at the Sea Eagles nest and it will start raining at 0900 in Melbourne. Horrid days for keeping warm and dry and — for staying in the nest and not flying. Diamond and chick will be fine. They are nicely covered! Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and posts that make up my screen captures: Royal Albatross FB Group NZ, Window to Wildlife, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

Late Monday news in Bird World

3 October 2022

Hello Everyone,

It is going to begin to be a rainy week across Australian raptor nests and this is going to impact the birds and their feeding as well as their flying!

There is welcome beginning to come out of Captiva. Lori Covert’s house (Captiva Ospreys and Eagles) survived but the brand new camera and pole with perch did not. Connie and Clive have been seen and are rebuilding their nest and, if they are safe, then I am going to presume that Lena most likely is too. She just has no nest!

In the Mailbox:

‘P’ would like to know when Peregrine Falcon eyases can see?

Peregrine Falcon eyases are normally born with their eyes closed. The eyas at Orange has its eyes open as do the ones at Collins Street but they will not be able to completely ‘focus’ until they are about a week old.

This will be a really short update. The weather at Port Lincoln is horrible. As predicted, Dad brought in a very large fish but the rain was coming down so hard that Mum did not risk feeding the osplets. She is really having to spread herself out. Oh, I see Mum shaking off the rain at 0909. Poor thing. This lot are going to be in a right grumpy mood once they get some more fish even if they went to bed with huge crops. Poor Mum is hungry, too.

The forecast shows that it is supposed to continue raining all day at Port Lincoln. Fingers crossed that Mum will find an opening so she can feed the kids – and herself. These Osprey mothers – all raptor mothers – work so hard in bad weather to protect the chicks.

The little one at Orange has been well fed this morning. Xavier brought the prey and then went and ‘talked to his baby’ before departing. Diamond was really enjoying whatever it was that Xavier brought. Yesterday someone said that he brought in a Honeyeater and she was particularly delighted.

The four at Collins Street are doing marvelous. The wee one had some bites this morning and all seem to be thriving with a pair of parents that are trying their best.

Both 29 and 30 slept on the nest last night.

SE29 took off on a flight about 0748. I wonder if SE30 will follow today?? 30 is really flapping those wings. It would not surprise me.

In migration news, our little Black Stork Mum, Kaia, is now on the edge of the Mediterranean! Bonus is in Romania and Karl II is still feeding at the Danube River in Ukraine. How amazing. Little Kaia has flown so much!

Thank you for joining for me for this quick check in with our Australian raptor families. Wish for Mum to be able to feed some fish to the osplets and for continued safe flying for the Sea Eagles! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.

Late Sunday in Bird World

3 October 2011

Hi Everyone,

I cannot describe what a beautiful fall day it was out in the forest. The wind was only blowing at 2kmh. Leaves – the most gorgeous yellow, red, and orange were falling gently. Seven Black-capped chickadees, a few American Goldfinches, a sole White-breasted Nuthatch, and that lovely Red Squirrel kept me company at the hide. Oh, they must be so happy it is not raining and it is not too hot or cold – just right at 21 degrees C. It could not have been more perfect for humans or wildlife.

It seems that everyone was after the peanuts. They are so good at getting them out of the shells!

This beautiful White-breasted Nuthatch spent about 10 minutes at the feeders before flying off.

The little squirrel was enjoying all of the nuts on the forest floor. These squirrels are very lucky. There are Oak trees and acorns everywhere!

There were more geese on the ponds today than when I went to view them at dusk. There were only a few up in the grassy areas resting on a warm day.

The colours are changing. Autumn is my favourite time of year…it would just be nice if it would last longer! You can sit on the bench, close your eyes, and open your senses up to the smell of the leaves and the geese honking in the distance. Magical. Just try to be grumpy after sitting there for a half hour!!!!!

This Mallard was having a great time splashing about. What a bath.

And then…there was no mistaking the ‘Little Duck’. It remains the tiniest duck in the entire pond BUT — look, all of the back feathers are now in place. This duck cannot be more than 45 cm (8-9 inches) from the tip of its tail to the end of its beak. It looks larger in the photo but, it isn’t – and that is how I knew it was the wee one. (I did come home to compare with the former images just to make certain that the head line and beak were the same before I made a complete idiot out of myself). This tiny gaffer is a Blue winged Teal. It is positively adorable. I sure hope it gets a good wind to carry it south with those itsy-bitsy wings.

Besides finding the little duck, one of the great moments of this afternoon was seeing ten Cormorants in a tree sunning themselves on a beautiful day. Sometimes the Bald Eagle couple are up there in that tree. It is on a peninsula jutting out and there is no way for humans to disturb them. What a beautiful site. When I was standing admiring them, a couple walked up and told me that twenty years ago you would not have seen a Cormorant here. I felt blessed.

Whenever I am outside and getting tired, it is simply nice to remember that I am so lucky to be able to walk in the woods and be outside with nature. I know that many of you cannot – so I am taking it all in for you, too.

In the Mailbox:

So many of you have written to ask me if I think that any more eggs will hatch at either the Collins Street scrape in Melbourne or Xavier and Diamond’s scrape in Orange.

I do not expect the fourth egg at Melbourne to hatch. Falcons and hatch practice delayed incubation. This means that they will not incubate the eggs 24/7 until most of them are laid. This is so the chicks will hatch close together and not have issues of siblicide and food competition like exists in eagles and ospreys.

If a second egg is to hatch at Orange, I would really expect this to happen today or tomorrow. That said, I am not completely hopeful of another hatch there. Xavier and Diamond tend to have one hatch per 3 eggs.

I just received 3 letters with questions about siblicide. I presume that this subject has been brought up on chat or FB somewhere today.

The answer to your questions depends on the species and the circumstances. There are species of eagles where siblicide is almost always 100% (Black, Golden, Imperial). The eldest hatch always kills the youngest. Always. No wishing or hoping. Always. Siblicide is rare in hawks and falcons with most studies showing less than 1%. The stats come from watched nests. The average siblicide from studies at the University of Oklahoma is 3.8-4% in Bald Eagles. It is presumed to be the same or nearly the same in Ospreys. Some nests are more prone to siblicide than others. A good example of a nest where siblicide regularly occurred until last year is the Port Lincoln Ospreys. There is a history below the streaming cam that you can examine. The % at this nest would be much higher.

‘H’ wrote about the torrential rain and high winds blowing along the NE of the US because of Hurricane Ian. She has sent an image of a bird that has landed on the nest. It is banded. I believe it to be a juvenile Peregrine Falcon but I could be wrong. It is ahrd to identify birds when they are wet. So I am posting it here if anyone has any other ideas. This is the shores of Delaware at Mispillion Harbour. Birds are being blown off course. This one has two fresh new bands. Does anyone recognize them? If so, please send me a comment.

Nest News:

So it is time to check and see what is going on in Australia- when we left everyone yesterday afternoon, the Port Lincoln kiddos all had crops, the three at 367 Collins Street had been fed, the Sea Eagles were looking magnificent with SE29 basking in being up on the parent branch, and Xavier and Diamond had one beautiful eyas. Has anything changed today?

Diamond and Xavier have already fed their wee eyas twice this morning (it is 16:44 on the Canadian Prairies). The first was around 0533 and the second

The three eyases at 367 Collins Street have also had a good morning feed. I think that we can all relax and enjoy this new family learning how to parent in Melbourne. The male has brooded, shaded the chicks, fed them, and is bringing prey for Mum and them. It is time simply to sit back and watch these marvelous falcons grow! In less than 40 days they will be full grow and flying! So hold on – it is a fast ride!

The osplets at Port Lincoln were waiting on a breakfast fish to be delivered.

The two eaglets on the Sydney Sea Eagle nest are still home this morning! They are also waiting for breakfast!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Mispillion Harbour Osprey Cam duPont Centre and Delaware DNR, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

Hungry osplets, eyases eating and other news…Early Friday in Bird World

30 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

It was a beautiful autumn evening, just perfect for watching some of the geese arrive at the nature centre at dusk. There were not nearly as many as expected – normally the pond surface is covered and the honking is so loud but, not so tonight. So I am heading back in a week to see if the numbers of migrants has increased.

Cormorants were sitting on some of the logs in the water – far away in the distance.

The geese begin to arrive about 15 minutes prior to dusk.

They fly in from all directions.

The silhouettes against the sky are so beautiful. They remind me of cutting paper and making silhouettes as a child and sticking them to the windows.

The geese were flying about 70 metres above my head.

The pond should be filling up with geese as the sun set but, there were only about 5,000 scattered about the two large ponds. Perhaps next week!

In the Mailbox:

There have been several repeated questions. The first one is: “Has the Old Dad been seen at Melbourne since the eyases hatched?” Sadly, the Old Dad will not see his last chicks. He has not been seen at the ledge for 4 weeks. Male 2 is about and has been seen on the ledge. Let us hope that he is providing food for the Mum. When Xavier took over Bula’s place at the Orange scrape on the grounds of Charles Sturt University, he provided food but did not interact with the chicks that were Bula’s. The situation was slightly different with Alden as one of the eggs was believed to be his. Let us all hope that this new Mum at Melbourne and the new male provide for and raise these healthy babies. She is going to be exhausted having to do almost everything – let us hope she doesn’t have to hunt, too!

Question 2: “Has Harriet and M15 been seen?’ The Pritchett family released a statement that all of the cameras had been found. One tree that a camera was on was down and it is going to take some time to get things repaired. There has been no sightings of Harriet or M15 yet. Eagles can fly great distances and they are great weather predictors. Let us all hope that they are at some distance from the nest enjoying prey.

Making News:

Mum and Dad made the news!

The AEF has reported that Samson and Gabby’s nest in Northeast Florida near Jacksonville is intact.

The practice of Red Grouse hunting continues to impact the lives of raptors in the UK. Nine dead raptors were found, thrown into bags, outside a games keeper’s lodge. The book that I am reading, Bowland Beth. The Life of an English Hen Harrier by David Cobham speaks to the barbaric nature of this sport that threatens the lives of the raptors that seek out prey in order to live and find themselves on the hunting estates. There is a huge campaign to stop grouse hunting in the UK but, it might not have any legs in the current political situation.

Nine raptors found shot & dumped in bags outside gamekeeper’s houses on Millden Estate and at the nearby River Esk in the Angus Glens

Nest News:

On the 29th, the chicks at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge ate really, really well. The 30th turned out to be the opposite. Those three are hungry and they are moving about. Mum even took off and had a bath. I wonder if she tried to catch a fish. Today the chicks are 13, 12, and 9 days old. I am hoping that some fish come in later and these three have a really good feed. It is not the time for deliveries to be variable – they need to be steady.

A large fish came in at around 1500. All of the chicks were fed until their crop was popping. Oh, they waited such a long time and were so good to one another in the meantime. Let us all hope that the fishing for Dad is much better today.

Mum has been in and out and the two eyases at the 367 Collins Street scrape. She tried to feed the eyases earlier and they were not hungry. We all held our breath when she dropped the prepared pigeon. And each of us has worried how this would all work out.

At 12:11 the pair had their first feeding and they held those little beaks open and Mum fed them really well. I was surprised at how well she did putting the morsels of pigeon into their beaks. She looked like she had done this before! So, for now, male 2 is coming around and Mum is talking to him. The two hatchlings are eating well and – well, we could not ask for anything more. For all the worrying, I wonder how many of us shed a couple of tears of joy?

At Orange, we are on pip watch with Xavier and Diamond.

Beautiful SE29 and SE30 are still with us. Lady fed them their late meal yesterday. She must know that her time with them is limited. They simply could fly off the edge at any time but, hopefully, they will stay on the nest and get really strong.

Migration News:

Following the family of Karl II, Black Storks from the Karula National Forest in Estonia, there is all good news. Karl II is feeding on the Danube Delta betweek Ukraine and Romania.

Kaia, Karl II’s mate, was in Bulgaria and is quickly flying south. It is wondered if she will stop in Turkey.

Waba is in Moldova.

Bonus is also in Moldova.

So as of yesterday, all are safe and sound. What a relief.

It may be some time before we hear about the arrival of the eagles back in Florida. Captiva has simply been decimated, according to the news and with no land bridge to connect the barrier islands to the mainland, this will be a slow process of clean up and rebuilding. Our thoughts continue to be with every animal and bird that was impacted by this horrific hurricane – and, of course, all of the humans impacted, as well.

In the world of Australian raptors, we are looking forward to more feeds at Melbourne and a pip at Orange. Of course, our little scamper Little Bob is going to be right up front, like dear Ervie, when the morning fish comes in!

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and posts that made up my screen captures: AEF, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Looduskalender, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

It’s a Hatch in Melbourne

29 September 2022

Around 0316, Mum pulled a half egg shell from underneath her to the ledge. At that point, everyone knew that all the wiggling and fluffing earlier had signalled a hatch was in progress.

She completely ate it replacing some of the calcium from her body that had made that eggshell.

There is the fluffy little eyas on the left of two large eggs.

We wait for the others to hatch. It will be very interesting, also, to see how prey delivery and feeding plays out. Fingers crossed for these first time parents to have this worked out through millions of years of DNA and hardwiring.

In other news, nest 2 – the old nest of Harriet and M15 – has survived on the Pritchett Property. That said, we know that Eagles can rebuild nests quickly. We wait for all of our beloved birds — and it could be some time – since Captiva/Sanibel and Fort Myers have had devastating damage to communications, etc. The cameras are down at SWFlorida and, of course, we have no idea what has happened at Captiva. Thoughts remain with everyone impacted. I understand the storm is on the east coast of Florida, the Atlantic side, and was moving up from Daytona Beach.

Take care. Thanks for checking in. I am off to see some geese land at dusk today! It is 21 degrees C. – a perfect day! See you soon.

Thank you to 367 Collins Street by Mirvac for my screen captures from their streaming cam.