A big round of applause and thank you for Mirvac. The camera at 367 Collins Street has been moved so that it shows the eyases at their digs. Yesterday it was shot hot and all of the chicks were able to thunder down the gutter. They packed their bags and left their natal nest and moved. Mum and Dad had to go along with them!
They are enjoying a nice pigeon meal!
You can join the thousands who watch the antics of this first time falcon couple in Melbourne here:
Thank you so much to 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
Yesterday was a good day. All four of the Blue Jays were seen along with all four of the Crow family. The two Chickadees came flitting through. Four grey squirrels and one red one. Loads of Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. I know I have mentioned all of them recently but there is something so reassuring to see them – alive. Urban environments present particular challenges for our feathered friends and, it is like knowing that your whole family is fed, warm, and tucked in for the night. It feels good just like watching the little falcons eat. Something very rewarding.
Making News:
SE 30 was seen in a residential area around the Discovery Centre. What a beautiful sea eagle.
Jackie and Shadow have been working on the nest in the Big Bear Valley. Shadow has a new hair style to show off for this breeding season!
It is that time of year that lead begins to make news – and never in a good way. Read the post by one of my favourite Wildlife Rehab Clinics in the US, A Place Called Hope. It takes one lead pellet or one lead sinker to damage or kill an eagle. When there are alternatives, this is unacceptable. If lead paint is outlawed because it can harm humans, then lead hunting and fishing equipment that causes death to our raptors needs to be outlawed as well.
I wish that I could tell you that all is well at Port Lincoln. A whole fish arrived at 090824. Middle did get some bites but Big ate the majority of that fish making Middle have to do the snatch and grab. At 124709 another fish arrived on the nest. Big is going to eat all of it. She has beaked Middle so that he is afraid to come up to the table. Middle was tucked in tight. Listening and watching. At 13:10:58 Middle slithers up to Mum. Is there any fish left? No. Mum just ate the fish tail.
There will, of course, be other fish. But there is still a problem. We had high hopes that Big would calm down and everything would be civil on the Port Lincoln Nest on Monday. Big did get most of the fish but she was not chasing Middle away from the table.
Both eating on Monday.
By Wednesday everything had changed significantly. If Big continues to eat the way she is, Mum is not getting enough food and Middle will continue to be intimidated and afraid to go and eat.
Big will stop eating to intimidate Middle.
Middle really needs to have a good meal.
There were other fish but beyond the 0909, Big did not allow Middle much. Those fish came in at 1247, 1651, 1931, and 1952.
If Middle moves a speck, Big raises its head. This is not a good situation. Middle neeeds to eat today, Thursday in Australia.
At Melbourne, the problem was the heat. The eyases were very hot. Some made it to the other end of the ledge to enjoy the shade. Mum and Dad had turns acting as umbrellas to block the sun.
Both parents dug in their talons and tried to help the Melbourne Four.
Thankfully the shade came! What a difference a couple of hours makes.
Lots of prey came for the Melbourne Four. It looks like Mum took charge of all the 5 feedings. Thanks to ‘H’ and ‘A’ for the time stamps and information. At the 0552 feeding, the eyases ate for 9 minutes; at 0749 it was 21 minutes, at 1627 for 32-33 minutes, at 1734 for 12 minutes, and a bedtime snack came in at 1859 and the kids ate for 5 minutes.
Indigo and Rubus had five feeds yesterday, too. Those came at 072721, 100848, 105425, 144754, and the last one before light’s out was at 181056. The prey thought to be a Red Waddle bird at 100848 was positively identified as a Noisy Miner later.
Have a close look at little Rubus. He is starting to get pin feathers.
Diamond is making sure that Indigo uses her neck muscles, too!
Diamond is fascinated by the camera!
Migration News:
The news coming for Karl II and his family of Black Storks from the Estonian Karula National Forest appears to be all good. Little Waba flew 298 km and is now in Turkey. S/he did that in one day!
This is an image from where Waba’s tracker indicated s/he is feeding. Just lovely.
There was no new transmission from Kaia. She continues to be in Chad in a dry area it is believed.
Bonus is still in Romania feeding in the ditches east of Latinu.
Karl II really got to flying. he covered 373 km in one day and is now feeding along on the eastern side of the Nile River near Asswan.
Great News.
Two things I try to avoid when bringing you news about our feathered family are politics and religion. Sometimes, politics cannot be avoided because our wildlife are wrapped up in particular views and policies that belong to the different parties in the various governments around the world.
There is a quiet movement behind the scenes to see what can be done to change the intervention laws in South Australia in the memory of Little Bob. What we have learned is that David Speirs -often seen with the ospreys, Janet Forster (Port Lincoln Osprey founder), and who is now President of Friends of Ospreys- was the Minister of the Environment for the State of South Australia and, as you can tell, extremely supportive of the Ospreys. The Liberals lost the last election and the Labour Party is in power. David Speirs (Ervie is named after the village in Scotland where Speirs was born) is now the leader of the Opposition.
Every day something new is discovered. Current regulations and policies are being examined to see how to move forward. The last thing anyone wants to do is to damage the fine work that Port Lincoln and Friends of Osprey have already done. It takes time for change but, no one is forgetting Little Bob least of all Port Lincoln who support intervention but cannot within the current policies and guidelines or they would lose their licenses and everything they have gained in terms of being able to provide for the Ospreys. All of this is good. Little Bob is not forgotten.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you later today with the breakfast news. Send positive wishes to Port Lincoln, please.
Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sydney Sea Eagle Cam FB, Friends of Big Bear Valley, A Place Called Hope, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Looduskalender.
It is entirely possible that the most entertaining and educational streaming raptor cam of the year will be the Falcon Cam on the water tower at Charles Sturt University in Orange. It is the home of Xavier and Diamond, seasoned parents, and this year’s eyases, Indigo and Rubus.
How do you spell adorable? Indigo and Rubus! When Indigo was walking today, Rubus was very concentrated in watching his big sister.
Today, Indigo continued her quest to walk while, at the same time, she is practicing hitting the camera with her ps every day. The last one resulted in Dr Cilla Kinross, the lead researcher on the Peregrine Falcon Project, having to climb 170 steps inside the old water tower to clean the camera.
Watch Diamond’s reaction and then, don’t stop. Listen to how little Rubus is. Then, watch as Cilla finishes going down the ladder, Indigo has a near hit again!
Of all the streaming cams, this one with its three cameras gives you a view of the tower so you can see the peregrine falcons arrive and leave, and two views of the scrape. The closeness lets us catch the details that can be missed elsewhere including the incredible facial expressions and eye popping moments.
Indigo and Rubus have already had two feedings today. At 055209, Xavier arrives with the breakfast pigeon. That breakfast is over at 060314. At 074959, a bird with long red legs arrives. What is special about this feeding is that little Rubus is in front and gets some of the best and biggest mouthfuls yet. How splendid. He did not have to stretch his neck all the way to Sydney to eat! Cilla Kinross thinks it could have been a Red waddle bird.
Proud mama Diamond.
Indigo wants to walk and flap at the same time. She is just not quite coordinated yet!
This morning Indigo played, ‘Ring around the Rubus’.
That second prey item was very popular!
Look at that neck on Rubus!
The Melbourne Four had an even earlier breakfast. Dad arrives with the pigeon before Melbourne is even waking up. It was 055209. At 060314 Mum flies off, breakie is over. At 074959 there is another pigeon feeding! These parents are working hard to take care of the pigeon population in the CBD.
Port Lincoln was still waiting as the golden glow of the sun spread down on the nest with beautiful Mum and Big and Middle. It is the first time we will see Big stand.
Dad brought in a late fish last night but the osplets and Mum are starting to get a little peckish as 0800 gets closer. Big has pecked Middle a couple of times – late yesterday – but, in general the nest has entirely settled down. Middle is a beautiful bird. Look at the images of her/him next to Mum at the end.
We all miss Little. It is impossible not to grief that we have loved. What we need to learn is the ‘why’. But, now it is time to turn our attention to wishing well for Mum and Dad, for the nest to have a lot of fish, for these to fledge, and have productive lives building up the population of Ospreys in South Australia.
At the same time, take care of your garden birds, the birds at the park, and do whatever you can, how little or small, to make the world a better place for our feathered friends. A place where there is so much fish that all of the birds and animals depend on the oceans, the seas, the lakes, and rivers can thrive. We will talk about how you can do that later this week but, if you have good ideas or know projects, send them to me. I would be very grateful.
Middle is very smart. He tries not to make eye contact with Big yet. Instead, he moves over by Mum to look out over the water waiting for Dad’s arrival.
As Port Lincoln waits for breakfast, I will sign off. It is a sunny blue skied day in Manitoba. The temperature is 4 degrees C with the promise of a much warmer day coming on Thursday.
Thank you for being with me on our breakfast check up in Australia. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures.
As promised, here is a wrap up of the breakfast feedings in Australia. It is all good!
At the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Mum started doing her talon dance and calling to Dad at 07:46. He was over on the perch attempting to have the head of the fish he had just caught for his breakfast. She could see him. At 07:468, Dad gave in to Mum’s cries and flew the fish over to the nest.
Today Big is 30 days old. Peace descended this morning as both Big and Middle had their breakfast. No beaking. No intimidation. Just two siblings happy to be fed their breakfast by Mum.
Mum had some bites in between feeding the osplets and, at the beginning, Big got more bites per bites given than Middle. In the end, both ate well.
Notice the juvenile feathers coming in on the osplets. They are moving out of the reptile phase. Fantastic.
At 367 Collins Street, Dade flew on to the ledge and gave Mum a well-prepared pigeon. Mum fed the Melbourne Four who tore through that pigeon in record time. It arrived at 0646 and Mum flew off with a few leftovers at 0701. 15 minutes. Wow. Those eyases are getting quite large and strong. Gosh, they are gorgeous.
At the scrape box of Indigo and Rubus on the campus of Charles Sturt University at Orange, Xavier flew in with a Starling at 06:24:49. I have expected Indigo to run into the corner in fear after the Starling head yesterday. Diamond took it immediately feeding the two and flying out with the leftovers at 063727.
Indigo hit the bull’s eye on the camera with a rather large ps. That is why the image is cloudy.
All of the chicks in Australia did very well. They were all fed early. What a wonderful way to begin the day.
I have had several requests in the mail for a book list of readings for Ospreys and ‘H’ has suggested that I remind everyone about another book on Ospreys. That is coming up tomorrow! More in-depth news will also be coming tomorrow but, for now, smile. Port Lincoln is, as predicted, settled – at least for the moment and I am hopeful that it will stay that way.
Thank you for being with me. Take care all. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.
For us on the Canadian Prairies, we have been plummeted into cooler wetter weather. Chilled to the bones and it is raining snow. It reminds me of when I moved to the UK to go to Leicester University. It was December and it rained every day – heavy, beating down, cold rain. I understood immediately why a pot of hot tea, always at the ready, was important! And my friend from the Shetland Islands showed me why ‘wool’ socks and sweaters were her mainstay. I learned my lesson – I have my ‘woolies’ on right now and there is a big pot of hot tea sitting beside me.
It is 13:36 in Melbourne, Sydney, and Orange and a half hour earlier in Port Lincoln. Here it is 21:36 on a Wednesday. As I write this, the Melbourne Four are having another feeding. Geez to be such a rainy day, these urban falcons have been eating pretty good! Nice fat freshly caught pigeon has been on the menu and Mum has tried to make absolutely sure everyone is full at every feeding today as if there might not be another prey item brought in for a fortnight! She is teaching them a valuable lesson. All raptors know it – live for the now, eat all you can because you might not see food for a day or two.
The feeding is over, and Dad is now at the scrape giving Mum her long break in the middle of the day.
‘H’ summarized the day at Melbourne after I went to bed as 5 good feedings with Mum out for lunch with the girls from 1345-1518. Mum is training Dad well and my goodness, look at him in the picture above. He is so bonded to the care of those little ones.
Are you familiar with the term ‘food coma’? If not, you will hear it a lot when discussing raptors. It is when a chick has eaten so much, they literally fall asleep. It is an induced sleep caused by eating. That is precisely what happened to Rubus and Indigo at the Orange scrape today. They collapsed into a very sound food coma. They had a duckling for breakfast and not long after, Dad brought in a bird with some green feathers. Someone mentioned it was a ‘King Parrot’. Diamond kept filling their beaks and it was surprising when little Rubus had some really big bites but, also lovely. Diamond almost spent as much time feeding Rubus as Indigo!
The images below are from the second feeding – a King Parrot. The two eyases had previously had a duckling for breakfast.
This was a very large parrot and when the feeding was over 25 minutes later there was only a scrap left. Diamond had some good parrot at the end but, she really forced the food on the youngsters. She might well know that the weather is changing and they should eat all they can now. The little ones can only hold so much but, as you look through the images you will see when they begin to get really full and don’t care. Mum is still offering food.
Rubus is just so much more stable. He balances himself on his wing tips like in the image below and sometimes he leans on Indigo but not nearly as much as earlier in the week. He is also raising himself up, stretching his neck, to try and get level with Indigo’s beak.
The hawk and falcon mothers will raise the prey higher to get their eyases to stretch their necks. It helps develop their muscles! The eyases develop so fast that everything is a learning experience.
Rubus has a very nice crop…see the shiny purple area where the feathers are gone? For those of you that do not know what a crop is, it is a very thin-walled pouch at the bottom of the esophagus that stores food before it enters the rest of the digestive system. It is also the place where the raptors create pellets of prey parts that are not easily digested. They will ‘form a pellet’ and then regurgitate it. Scientists study the contents of these pellets to tell them what prey items the raptors have been eating. The raptor can eat and ‘drop the crop’ (allow the contents to enter the digestive system) so they can eat more. When the crop is very flat or sunken in, you know that the bird has not eaten for a while.
These two are just adorable. Indigo is so sedate and Rubus looks like he is going to be a real feisty one! What we want, of course, are two very healthy fledglings.
Diamond offers some big bites, Rubus can’t eat them. Sometimes she will break them into smaller pieces for the little one. Sometimes Indigo gets them but, today, she had more patience and tried more times to make sure that Rubus got really nice bites of prey. Even if he was no longer hungry.
They are both so full.
And now this is a food coma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We were all so joyful and relieved when Little Bob at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge got fed by Mum early Thursday morning in Australia. Despite the wind and the white caps, Dad did deliver a fish at 13:22:05. On its arrival, Little Bob was closest to the camera with Big on the other side and then Middle. Big Bob consumed 99% of the fish. Middle Bob moved from beside Big Bob and maneuvered its way around to the left side of Little Bob. All this time Little Bob has been rolled up like a roly-poly, tight, head down. Middle Bob kept its eye and ears open and did not move to get any fish until Big Bob had really slowed down. At 13:50:41, you can see the big crop that Middle Bob has. Little Bob made no effort to eat. The fish was all gone at 13:57:54.
I am only attaching one image. Little Bob was like this, curled up between both siblings the entire feeding.
There was another fish delivery at 14:54:33. ‘A’ informs me that Big had an enormous crop but kept eating. Middle did well and Little Bob was simply too frightened to eat. Mum offered and finally he had a good feed for three and a half minutes at 15:38:52. Mum fed Little Bob fast just like she did with the fish tail so that he could get as much as he could before Big started with the anger.
Little Bob was so hungry. He just appeared ‘beaten down’ in his demeanor prior to receiving these bites. I suspect he is just being careful. Big Bob is so large in comparison.
This image prior to Little Bob having bites.
The best feedings for Little Bob were the one early in the morning where Mum pulled all she could out of the tail and with the 2003 fish delivery where Little Bob had a big crop at the end of that feeding.
Just look at that crop! Tears with the coffee this morning.
As much as I am troubled by what is happening at Port Lincoln, the average time for nests to calm down that have had troubles is 28 days. By early next week, if this nest is going to calm down, it will. Please send them your warmest wishes. Little is not the only one hungry – Mum is, too! She did eat some during the night but she worked hard to find anything to feed Little Bob early yesterday morning. She needs a spa day.
367 Collins Street just keeps putting a smile on my face. There is so much food. Dad also seems to be enjoying his time with the kids every day around noon. Today Mum was a little late in leaving. He brooded the Melbourne 4 and then went to get them a pigeon so he could feed them. How fantastic is that?
Everyone did well including Little Bob. The birds are all sleeping in Australia now. Meanwhile the snow is getting heavier here in Manitoba. The Starlings are here, a Raven has come to visit the garden, and all seem to be in a bit of their own panic. I don’t blame them. They are outside in our dreadful weather. Speaking of dreadful weather, ‘A’ tells me there is very hot weather coming to Melbourne. She checked the dates and the two eldest eyases are 2 weeks old today (the 14th in Australia). They need about one more week before they can run down the gutter to the shade. So, let’s wish everyone well while it is rainy and then when it is hot. I wish I could send them some of the cold winds blowing this morning through my garden.
Thank you for being with me today. There will be a posting later with all the breakfast news. Please take care. See you soon.
Thank you to ‘A’ and ‘H’ for being my eyes when mine are closed. Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.
Oh, hello everyone! It warmed up to a balmy 9 degrees C on the Canadian Prairies. The day turned to be beautiful and I am not complaining. The sky is solid blue. Not a cloud in sight. There is a lovely breeze and the Canada Geese, ducks, and other birds continue to fly in from the north on their way south. The number of Dark-eyed Juncos in the garden is growing!
I am just doing a quick stop at the four Australian nests as the morning begins. Let’s see if everyone has had breakfast and what on earth is going on with SE30. Will s/he fledge today if the wind and weather is amenable?
Diamond gave both of her eyases a lovely feeding. The prey came in around 06:36. The little one, when it could keep its head upright and not twirling, managed to get some nice pieces of prey. It was a really welcome sight. Hopefully, tomorrow wee one will be able to focus a little better and stay erect. Big sibling stood behind and both of them will be quite full at the end. What a lovely surprise.
Wee one got a nice big bite! Yippeeeeeee.
The chicks names will be revealed Sunday evening 9 October. Cilla picked the names of botanical plants in the area for everyone to choose from.
Unless the rain starts in the forest, it looks like SE30 just might fly for the very first time from the nest – a fledge. S/he has been antsy going up and down the parent branch and flapping its wings. Looking out. Over and over again…the cam operator must be on pins and needles this morning!
I stopped watching at 0800. The routine continues, up the branch flapping, look out, flap some more, down to the nest. It makes me anxious just watching SE30! S/he wants to fly so much!! They can. They just do not know it. What a wonderful feeling it must be to have that wind under those wings. I will check back to see what SE30 is up to before I close.
Meanwhile, the osplets in the barge nest at Port Lincoln wait for their breakfast fish to arrive.
Melbourne is doing great. Do you remember when we were all worrying about what would happen to the eggs. Then there were questions about whether or not the new male would harm the eyases? Well, this male is fantastic. he is one excellent feeder! Everyone in this family is simply doing amazing. Unless something catastrophic happens we will be seeing four fledges from the ledge at 367 Collins Street.
Good morning Melborne.
Mum flew off and Dad returned to feed the eyases (I certainly believe this is Dad because of the mark on the neck. This gives Mum a nice break and time to eat.
Mum arrives to check on things. The feeding is going exceptionally well.
Mum has a very nice crop.
Is everyone full?
Dad goes over and works on the pigeon carcass to see if there is absolutely any meat left for the chicks.
He finds some and returns to feed them some more — as if anyone could still be hungry!
What a dream to watch after all that worry. If I got the two adults mixed up, I apologize. They look so much alike that I have to rely on that one line on the right side of Dad’s neck.
Beautiful proud Mum.
She’s off again. A good chance to have a look at the four eyases.
The little one looks like a snow person. It pecks at the older one’s beak – every beak could be a source of more food! It looks like it annoys big sibling.
It is 08:34 and SE30 is still on the branch. Port Lincoln is still waiting for breakfast. Give it up for the falcon families!
Thank you for being with me on this very quick check on our four nests in Australia. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Part, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.
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.
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.
This is a quick check in to see what is happening with a few of our nests.
The second hatch of Xavier and Diamond at Orange had its first bites of prey this morning. Goodness, there is certainly a difference in size. Diamond did a great job handling two different heights with one chick who can now see and another than can’t.
Just look at that big sibling flap its wings. Wow. What a strong chick!
The wee one is so tiny.
When eyas #2 connected with Mum’s beak and the prey, the first bite was quite a substantial one.
Both so very cute. It will be exciting to watch Xavier and Diamond with two chicks this year.
This is a video of the big sibling from the other day having an encounter with Dad and flipping over.
Yesterday it was pitching down rain in the Sydney Olympic Forest. SE29 and SE30 were having a bang-up time flapping in the pouring rain. Today, the camera appears to be down. So, we might not know if SE30 fledges or not. I suggest continually checking as it could come back online anytime.
It has been raining in Melbourne. Mum has fed the four eyases and is working really hard at being a great Mumbrella for the little ones. They are warm and dry.
Port Lincoln osplets were waiting for the first fish of the day. It looks like it will be a sunny morning in Port Lincoln turning cloudy with rain arriving around 1600. Hopefully Dad will get some good fishing in before those drops start falling.
In migration news: There is a lot of activity happening at the Mispillion Harbour Osprey platform in Delaware. And it is not necessarily ospreys! You might recall that a banded Peregrine Falcon arrived on the nest the other day drenched to the bone from the rain from Hurricane Ian. ‘H’ has been watching the nest and has been surprised to see at least one Bald Eagle on the nest today, if not two or three. They are not banded. Thank you ‘H’.
When I think of migration, Delaware doesn’t readily come to mind but I absolutely do not know why it doesn’t! After ‘H’ contacted me about the falcon and then the eagle – eagles bringing fish and turtles to the nest – I began to wonder what migration is like on the easter seaboard of the United States. Then I found this article on the birds that fly through there, some of them staying. I would also think that all birds would hug that shore, not flying out in the Atlantic so there would be tens if not hundreds of thousands of birds flying through.
Here is the video that ‘H’ made of the visit and uploaded to YouTube.
For those who are Jackie and Shadow fans, this much beloved Bald Eagle couple were working on their nest in Big Bear today.
Thank you for joining me for this quick check in. Isn’t that little one of Xavier and Diamond’s adorable — and there are two of them! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Mispillion Harbour and the Delaware DNR and ‘H’.
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.
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.
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.
Good Morning Everyone. I hope that each of you had a lovely Saturday. Thank you so much for joining me today!
From the Mailbox:
‘A’ asks: What is the average time difference or gap for Peregrine Falcons to lay their eggs? Diamond looks like she is ready today. Thank you, ‘A’. That is a very timely question as we sit staring at Diamond’s bottom for her tail feathers to begin to go up and down when she is in labour. In the nest notes that Cilla Kinross, the researcher at the Orange Falcon cam compiled, it says that the average time difference is 56 hours. As I write this, the time in Orange is 13:21 on Saturday. That egg is due anytime.
‘L’ asks: What is the purpose of molting? The feathers of our bird friends get damaged just like our clothes from normal living. They break and get tears. Moulting is the annual replacement of the feathers. In fact, think about it. Feathers are so important to birds – they keep them warm and dry and, of course, are needed for flying. They should be in tip top shape which is why birds spend so much time preening. Some birds begin to moult in the spring. Others wait until nesting has finished. Moulting is really hard on the birds and it is normally done when there is an unusually high level of prey so they can keep their energy up.
‘C’ writes: “I’m glad I helped with that information about galvanized steel that contains zinc. But in stainless steel, the component is chromium. Is it also bad for the health of birds? I searched very quickly, and in a very superficial search, I didn’t find anything that chromium is also bad for.” The information you provided was very useful. As one of our other readers ‘L’ writes there are some uses for zinc that are also helpful such as in ‘Zinc Ointment’ for baby rashes. I do not know a lot about chromium. It is also used in ceramics to make certain shades of green glazes and is highly toxic in its powdered form. It is not toxic after the pottery has been fired to a specific degree, however. — We assume that the things that we use for cooking are all ‘safe’. Sometimes it is only later we discover that there could be connections to specific ailments. However, if I had a beloved bird that lived in a cage – the cage wires would be stainless. We have a metal shop in our city that made all the SS backings for my kitchen and my island top. I am certain there are similar facilities in other cities where they could make the wires. I am still finding this whole zinc toxicity that impacted Victor very curious. I wish I knew more!
In the News:
The UK is still celebrating the arrival of more than 100 Hen Harriers.
The New York Times published the following article about how climate change will impact the birds we love and which are more likely to go extinct first. The cover shows the Kakapo and my readers know that the Kakapo Recovery Group is working hard to make sure that the flightless parrots survive. Today there are 205 of them on a couple of mall islands of New Zealand.
Nest News:
Chase showed up with a nice big fish and waited and waited on the Two Harbours nest for Lancer on Saturday morning around 10:38. Lancer never showed up. What a change it must be for the parents from nearly getting their talons torn off to sitting quietly to see if anyone will arrive. If you have left the territory, Lancer – soar high, be safe and always have a full crop!
Such dedicated eagle parents. Did you know that Chase & Cholyn have been together for 19 years?
Ferris Akel had a terrific tour on Saturday afternoon around Ithaca, New York. I was listening and doing other things until he got to the Cornell Campus where he caught Big Red, Arthur, and L2 on camera. Oh, it is lovely to continue seeing L2. According to Suzanne Arnold Horning, the latest a juvenile has been seen at the Cornell Campus is 28 August. L2 looks pretty comfortable. I wonder if she will shatter that record?
Arthur was hunting.
L2 could see Big Red in the distance when she was on the pole and was prey crying really, really loud. Since L2 was the second juvenile to catch her own prey in June I am imaging that Big Red’s answer to that is: “Get your own!”
Big Red looks a little ‘rough’. She is moulting. Like other Red-tail Hawks, Big Red undergoes a complete moult once a year. Normally, hawks begin their moult in spring and every feather has been replaced by September or October. Big Red, however, appears to begin her moult after the eyases fledge.
Xavier has been bringing Diamond some extra special treats during Sunday to help Diamond keep her energy up for the egg laying. One was an Eastern Rosella which is a very colourful parrot and the other was a nicely prepared pigeon. Diamond was excited for both!
The arrival of the Rosella meant that cute little Xavier could have some time with ‘eggie’.
Diamond had a very large crop when the pigeon arrived but she certainly wasn’t going to turn her nose up at that special food gift.
It is 13:57 in Orange and Diamond is sitting on the ledge of the scrape box while we wait and watch for an indication that the second egg might be arriving.
Diamond is back on the egg at 1400.
Diamond is very focused and she looks ‘heavy in the rear’. Egg 2 could be coming shortly. Diamond normally lays 3 eggs. For the past two years, only one egg has been viable each year.
Diamond laid egg #2 at 17:27. Yippppppeeee. Why am I so excited? Well, falcon eggs do not always hatch and for the last two years Xavier and Diamond have had only 1 out of 3 eggs hatch so it makes the chances better of having a successful hatch.
Xavier arrives at 17:33 to see the second egg and to bring Diamond her dinner. Notice that Diamond is being very careful. Falcons lay their eggs standing up. She is protecting the egg while the shell hardens in the air. The gap between eggs is 57 hours.
Diamond did not want to eat. She had already had two big meals. She remained in the scrape box. During the night she would sometimes incubate or, alternatively, stand above the eggs protecting them. Remember the Currawong know there are eggs in that scrape and they will eat them if the opportunity arises!
The Melbourne couple seem to be finished with three eggs and each takes turns incubating. Dad was very anxious to demonstrate that he was well seasoned in incubation. The Melbourne crew even made a video of the persuasion.
It is a very short and cute clip. Oh, do you ever wish you could speak falconese?
Friends of Osprey have posted some photographs of Ervie near the Marina where he had dived and caught the lovely fish he is eating. They were taken by Alex Ditton. Oh, goodness. It is always such a joyous occasion when someone shows us that Ervie is doing very well indeed! Check out the Friends of Osprey for more images of Ervie.
Kaia remains in Belarus around the Priypat River. This is what the area looks like where she is resting and fishing.
Bonus, the only surviving storklet of Jan and Janika that was fostered with Kaia and Karl II has begun his migration. His tracker tells us that he traveled 109 km and is now in Latvia near the village of Vietalva.
Travel safe dear Bonus, fly high, stay out of the war zones, always have a stream full of frogs and fish — prosper.
There should be more news but it appears that all might have left for their winter homes from the Karula Forest nest of Kaia and Karl II. I will confirm this tomorrow.
Bonus was always a very special Black Storklet. He would not have survived without the intervention of Urmas and Dr Madis and his team. They would have died on the nest. Urmas’s foresight to provide fish baskets meant that everyone had lots of fish. A special thank you to all who donated towards the food for the nest.
The Dahlgren Osprey nest in the US has announced that the male, Jack, has not been seen for a few days so that now Harriet, the female, and the sole surviving fledgling from the nest in King George County are on their journey south.
No one has been seen at the Loch of the Lowes since yesterday. Laddie LM 12, Blue NC0 and both of the fledglings appear to also be heading south.
It was another successful year for Ospreys in Wales and John Williams gives us the run down in his last blow of the season for Llyn Clywedog. The numbers of Ospreys in Wales are growing. There are now 7 ‘known’ pairs who produced 17 chicks this year. John catches up with all the nest news.
John also produced a chart for all the chicks hatched at Llyn Clywedog – noting that there is simply too much grey. Were those chicks ever seen or not? Sometimes they do get missed.
Handsome Aran on the perch at the Glaslyn nest this morning. He remains bringing fish to the nest for the fledglings. Mrs G was still home as well today.
Handsome, Aran.
Emyr Evans has provided us with the data of the fledges at the Dyfi nest asking the question: what happened to Pedran? Emyr is great with statistics and this is a good read about migration and young fledglings.
Rosie was still on the perch at the SF Bay Osprey nest this morning! Brooks has not been seen at the nest for some time now – this is not alarming. She is out exploring!
Congratulations to Glacier Gardens. Both Love and Peace have fledged. Here is a video of that moment on 25 August when Peace took to the air. Congratulations for another successful year Liberty and Freedom!
Thank you so very much for joining me this beautiful Sunday morning. I hope that you are doing well and I will look forward to having you with us again in Bird World.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, their posts, and their videos that form my screen captures: The New York Times, Explore.org and IWS, Ferris Akel Tours, Charles Sturt Orange Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Friends of Ospreys, Looduskalender, Dahlgren Ospreys, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, John Williams and The Clywedog Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon.
