Tag Archives: migration

Did Rubus fly to the tower? an osprey eating a fish in Central Park? and other news in Bird World

27 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, we have all worried about Rubus and it seems that there might be some good news coming. I sure hope so! There is, currently, a lot of confusion about whether or not Rubus was flying around the tower with Xavier and Diamond yesterday. We wait for positive confirmation with high hopes.

It has been warm on the Canadian Prairies but it appears that we will now be sliding from +5 C to -10 C. It can be a bit of a roller coaster here sometimes but, a blue sky and sunshine are always welcome and that is what it is like this morning.

Little Red has mastered balancing himself on the feeder and eating so he is well and appears to be in good health as the winter begins to set in.

I love the Sparrows. While they generally eat the Black Oil Seed and Millet, they also seem to be liking the Butter Bark. It will certainly give them a lot of energy. You can make your own. There are recipes on the Internet using primarily peanut butter and cornmeal. If you have a good one, send it to me! Please.

I think Sparrows are beautiful. Just look at the range of colours out of a very simple paint box for them.

In the Mailbox:

Do you a follow the Tweed Valley fledgling, Glen, Blue 708? Well you might have gotten a real lump in your throat when everyone was worried that he was grounded on top of a building in Portugal. But great news has been posted and sent to me by ‘G’. This is fantastic news. Here are those two tweets:

We have seen those sat pads going haywire in areas where there are a lot of hydro or cell towers or both. But it is possible, looking at the map above, that Glen took off over the Atlantic where there would be no transmissions and then – wow – he lands in Morocco and the signal returns. ‘G’ reports that after flying over the Atlantic for 36 hours, Glen then rested for 12 hours in Khnifiss Bio-reserve and is now fishing in the same area. Thank you ‘G’ and what a relief this is to have everything fully confirmed. Glen is a strong bird, my goodness. Wishing a long and productive life for this fledgling!

Oh I get the most marvellous mail and today, ‘M’ sent me a link to something very special. Imagine an Osprey catching a fish in the pond in Central Park in the middle of New York City. Yes, you read that correctly! It is a rare sight indeed!!!!!!

There is more news from Bernard in Brittany!

I am certain that everyone was so excited to hear the news about Willow being spotted in Brittany in mid-September. That news comes on the heels of another Scottish bird being spotted in the same region which Bernard reported. Here is the information on it that Brian Etheridge sent to Bernard. Some of you might be quite interested in this osprey sighting. Osprey, blue/white 527 at Anse of Combrit, Brittany 29 on 3 September 2022. “This bird was ringed on 25 June 2022 as a chick in a nest of three young near Errogie, Scottish Highlands, 57. 46’12″N, 004.23’19″W by myself, Adam Ritchie and Ian Perks. The British Trust for Ornithology metal ring number is 1489674. This is the first sighting of this bird since fledging in July.”

Well, 527 has been spotted again! Mary Cheadle’s tells me that Blue/White 527 was one of many Ospreys photographed and counted by Jean-marie Depart in Senegal on 16 November. Now that should put a smile on our faces! I am very hopeful that Willow LW5 will be sighted if she is in Jean-marie’s territory!!!!!!

527 as photographed by JMD on 16 September 2022, above.

“Atlantic puffins” by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

‘N’ sent me a lovely announcement from Audubon. The focus is on Puffins. I had no idea that warming seas could cause the fish to grow larger causing starvation in the Puffins, did you? Here is a brief extract from that mailing by Audubon:

We monitor nesting on remote islands in the Gulf of Maine and this year they have great news! Despite a steep decline in 2021, seabirds like Atlantic Puffins finished this past summer on a remarkably higher note with twice as many chicks surviving and fledging compared to last year. Thanks to generous support from you and your fellow bird lovers, Audubon is able to closely monitor delicate habitats like this one and carefully tend to the birds that very much depend on us to survive.
 
The puffins’ precarious journey for survival is just one of countless examples in which the climate crisis harms and threatens our beloved birds. Last year, warming waters gave rise to increased butterfish counts, a food source too large for small Atlantic Puffin chicks to swallow, tragically leading to starvation. The climate crisis is also making storms more frequent, much stronger, and increasingly unpredictable. 

Australian Nests:

This was posted under the streaming cam by Cilla Kinross. Please keep reading as the news gets better throughout the afternoon.

“Our small search party scoured the campus today for Rubus without luck. The only place that adults gave warning calls was in Girinyalanha (when Indigo was in the box), so there is still a chance that he is there, but just hard to find. I’ll send another call out to staff to keep an eye out for him. However, at this stage, I’m not that hopeful. I have received a lot of criticism about why Rubus was not put back in the box (including hate mail, which I could do without, thank you). On reflection, Rubus probably should have come into care when he was found on the ground, not put in a tree (and certainly not put back in the box). But I was reassured by Victor Hurley’s assessment that it was unlikely that he had trichomoniasis (canker) and we often have birds still with a bit of fluff, that fly poorly for a couple of days before they come good. He was flying and his parents were feeding him, so I was not too worried. I take responsibility for that decision, even though I was not able to be present at the time (for personal reasons). If found, he will taken into care for veterinary assessment and rehabilation if necessary. I will let you know if and when that happens.”

Later there was some more positive news: “NEWS 27th November 2022 1300 h While our small search party was looking in the woods below the tower, a falcon flew out towards the tower. As I couldn’t see Indigo in the box any more, I assumed the bird we saw flying was Indigo BUT Indigo was in the box (at the back), so it was a different falcon. On tower cam, at that time, this same bird was seen to harrass Xavier into leaving the microwave, so I believe it was Rubus. This is typical juvenile behaviour, not something Diamond would do. She would land on the roof. Hopefully, we will soon see all four falcons on the roof together, so we can be sure.

This would be grand. I am so hoping that the mystery falcon is Rubus and all is well.

Breakfast came in the form of a Quail for Indigo who carried it to the scrape box and ate it, leaving leftovers in the corner just like she has been taught by Diamond and Xavier. Approximately 0613.

Diamond came and raided the pantry! There will be a lesson in this for Indigo!

Now let us go back to where this mystery of Rubus begins. At 084155, the tower cam shows two falcons flying. Indigo was in the scrape box at the time. Is there a third flacon sitting on that appendage sticking out on the right near the top? I hope so!

Diamond had been in the scrape and flew out – top image. Then Indigo came into the scrape – bottom image.

It is a tad confusing and perhaps misleading. If there had been three clear falcon profiles around the tower while Indigo was in the scrape box, then yes, we would know. On one occasion a flying bird thought to be a falcon was, indeed, a Swallow. Cilla has said that she will go out and investigate before she heads home. What she needs is to see 4 falcons on top of the tower. Proof. Fingers crossed — and toes.

Cilla has posted a video of the event at the tower. She says she is not wanting to get our hopes up but here is the footage.

There is some indication that the juvenile that was in the scrape box for so long on the 26th in Australia was Rubus but nothing is confirmed.

Breakfast came to Port Lincoln about 090609. Mum was on the nest with the fish and Zoe was elsewhere. Zoe flew in and took that fish and had her fill.

Here comes Zoe wanting that fish!

In Port Lincoln, it looks like Mum has landed another big flat fish at 1309. There she is eating it on the ropes while Dad sits stoically and Zoe is in the nest screaming for fish. I hope that Mum eats her fill. She will always share with her daughter, always, unless she is absolutely starving and sometimes, as we have seen this season, even then.

Well, it is hard to tell what happened with that fish. The camera was fixed in a particular location and if there was a fish transfer to Zoe, we could not see it. In the background you could hear Zoe fish calling so maybe Mum didn’t land on the nest?? Zoe is definitely not going to starve. This fledgling eats more fish than I could imagine. And still wants more!

Dad delivered his second fish of the day at 2043. Zoe in the nest and took it but Mum flew over. I wonder if she still wants to feed her daughter and have a bedtime snack?

No 16. Red List Bird. Pochard

The Pochards are a stunning duck that arrives in the United Kingdom from Scandinavia to over winter in the slower moving rivers and estuaries. There is now, also, a small group of Pochards that stay in the United Kingdom year round. They populate the newly created reservoirs and gravel pits. the Pochard feeds on seeds, roots and other plant material as well as small invertebrates by diving and also tabling.

There are declines in Northern Europe and this will decidedly impact the number coming to the United Kingdom in the fall. One of the major threats to the Pochard are the predatory mink that have invaded their breeding areas. The draining of lowland marshes and fish ponds for agriculture is causing a massive decline in the numbers. The major cause is climate change and there is also a growing number of mink – predators – in their breeding grounds in the north. That could account for a great loss of these gorgeous waterfowl. Other threats include egg collecting, fishing, disease such as Avian Flu, human disturbance, and illegal hunting!

“Red-crested Pochard” by Andrej Chudy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Let us have a look at this duck more closely in his breeding plumage. He has intense red eyes with a fiery rusty-copper head, a distinctive black breast, a dark taupe on the wings and back, a black rump and grey at the tip of the tail. The under area is white. In this image the bill appears to be red. You would recognise them immediately. The legs and feet are a blue grey for both genders.

Now just look at the female. How beautiful she is with her two little goslings. The eye is the deepest brown-black – not red -with a softer auburn head. The body is white mingled with the same soft auburn from the head.

“mare i fill 06, xibecs – madre e hijo, patos colorados – mom and son, red-crested pochard” by ferran pestaña is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

In his text for Red Sixty Seven, Mike Dilger states, ” I will concede that of all our threatened bird species, the more glamorous and charismatic species, such as the Puffin and Cuckoo, will undoubtedly grab the headlines. But, I’d argue, a winter without spotting a Pochard would be even worse than Christmas without a turkey.” (12)

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their videos, posts and streaming cams which make up my streaming cams: ‘G’ and Conservation without Borders, ‘M’, Quoteny, MC, Bernard, and Jean-marie Dupard, OpenVerse, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Port Lincoln Osprey.

Middle’s enormous crop…and then Big’s fury…plus more news in Bird World for early Thursday

27 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope this finds everyone well with a smile on their face!

Going for a walk, no matter how short or how long, can be invigorating for one’s mind and for our bodies. I remember when my mother broke her hip. Her surgeon, at that time, was the surgeon for the OU Football Team. I have forgotten his name but, I will never forget the day he looked into my mother’s eyes and told her if she didn’t get up out of that hospital bed, she was going to lose her ability to walk. It had been 2 days since the surgery and I laughed when he told me he was ‘nothing but a glorified carpenter’. What a character and an amazing surgeon. My Mum took it to heart and got herself up and within the month was walking 2 miles. Oh, she did well. The weather was lousy and her and her best friend, Dorothy, would go to the mall and window shop as they got their exercise. It was a good lesson for me, too!

It was a frigid early afternoon yesterday. It was 1 degree and the wind was blowing over the pond and bringing a chill even through the wool coat. I reminded myself that it will soon be parka weather. The state of the Wood Ducks needed checking. There was only one lonely male that I could find. He came swimming towards me thinking I had food. What a tragedy. Several of the ducks at that particular park pond had ‘Angel Wing’ this year. It is doubtful that they will survive. I left before he wasted his energy coming all the way to the shore. What a beautiful sight he was!

Did I tell you that I have the greatest fondness for ducks?

It is rather miraculous. When I look at a male Wood Duck, the patterns in the plumage remind me of weavers in India. Those women have the patterns emblazoned in their minds but, for these precious ducks, the pattern is laid out as the feather emerges from the follicle and grows. Feathers grow out of a quill or shaft. In young birds, we call these ‘blood feathers’ because they actually contain blood until the feather is completely finished growing.

A single follicle can produce, like a weaving, multiple colours and patterns. If I think about it for a long time my mind just becomes boggled. Just look at the multiple colours that go into this handsome duck. Did you know that the male Wood Duck plays no part in raising the young? Absolutely none just like poor Daisy, the Pacific Black Duck that laid her eggs on the Sea Eagle’s nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Daisy had absolutely no help – not even security. So if the male doesn’t bring food for the female or provide security or help with the little ones, what does he do? Well, guess what? He just has to look extremely handsome! The female picks him for his beautiful plumage – they want a male that stands out from all the others.

On the other hand, the female needs not to stand out in a crowd but, blend in with her environment. She needs to have good camouflage in order to not call attention to predators.

I really adore female Wood Ducks. It is because they are quiet and shy, often hovering in the background wanting seed tossed on the ground and concrete by visitors but not daring to do so. They are often chased by the geese and by the Mallards.

The females have a tiny crest compared to the males and instead of a red eye ring and eye they have a yellow eye ring in a gorgeous white teardrop shaped eye patch. No flamboyant colours for them. Grey leading into a dabbled brown breast with some lovely blue on the wing to match their bill.

Oh, to me she is the most beautiful delicate little thing. I missed seeing the females. This image was taken on 10 October. I will check again in the next couple of days as the weather warms to see if any were just lurking on the island where I could not see them.

In the mailbox:

‘L’ sent me a great article from BirdLife on a recent study on how to make overhead power lines safe so that birds do not collide with them. It is a good read.

https://www.birdlife.org/news/2022/10/24/new-study-how-to-stop-birds-from-getting-electrocuted-by-and-colliding-with-power-lines-across-the-eu/

Nest News:

Besides the sight of a few ducks putting a big grin on my face, it was absolutely the state of the Port Lincoln Osprey nest that has had me grinning from ear to ear. I continue to say that it is horrific to lose a chick, heart breaking every time and they are not forgotten. Never.

Middle is doing so well. He is really showing his stuff – sitting right by Big, doing the snatch and grab, not being fearful to eat the last bite offered. Confidence. Middle was doing really well for the past several days and most of Thursday in Australia and then…he wasn’t. Middle now has a bald spot on his head!

Another fish arrived on the nest and while it wasn’t as big as some of the early morning ones, it was large and everyone got a good feed. I almost think Mum caught it as she appeared slightly damp when she returned to the nest. I cannot be 100% sure, however.

Middle is on the left side of Mum and Big is on the right when she begins feeding. We can just see cute Middle peaking out from under Mum’s wing.

Middle standing getting ready to stretch his wings. You can see the dark thermal down that will be under their juvenile feathers on Big who is leaning over.

In the image below you can really see Big’s tail feathers coming in and her thick

In between rain and wind, Middle and Big continued to eat and eat and eat. It is difficult to even imagine where they put all that fish. In both of the subsequent feedings that I watched – and that was even before mid-afternoon, Middle got the lion’s share of the fish. There were no quarrels, no disputes, just Middle full of confidence eating away. It just put a smile on my face from one side to the other. Here are a selection of images from those later feedings.

Middle got the lion’s share of this feeding as well. By 1321 he is full and has moved away looking back at Mum with such a precious delicate face. Big is now having a turn.

The rain and the wind begin and Middle gets under Mum as best he can.

The storm passed and Mum flew off the nest. Look what is over on the rim of the nest? The rest of the fish that Mum was feeding Middle and Big when the rain and the wind started. Middle sees it. This time next week Middle would go over and grab that fish and start eating it but, he isn’t going to do that today.

Mum returns to feed her babies. Middle has found some room for some more fish. I honestly do not know where these two are putting the fish – they have almost been eating non-stop all morning.

At the end of that feeding, Middle, standing in profile, his showing off his enormous crop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a really good day so far for Middle and it isn’t even the middle of the afternoon.

Was Middle just feeling his oats when he decided to peck Big at 18:10? (I want to send a thanks to ‘H’ here. I was up with my coffee and had not rewound the end of the days footage. So thankful for her warning). As ‘H’ said, ‘It is a reminder not to mess with Big.’ It was a frenzied attack. Both had eaten well. Middle more than Big. I hope Middle has learned to leave his Big sister alone. Enjoy the peace and quiet and don’t push it or she will attack if provoked and Middle could be the big loser. As it stands, if you see feathers missing, Big did it but Middle provoked the attack. Gracious.

Big, satisfied that Middle, was submissive and would never do that again stopped the ferocious attack at 18:13:52 – a little over two and a half minutes from when it started.

The Melbourne Four are the most energetic and expressive eyases. They run up and down the gutter until their batteries are all worn down and their tummies are full and then they stop. All in a big puddle, altogether keeping one another warm on a drizzly day.

One of the highlights of the feedings today was when Dad brought in a freshly killed pigeon and began plucking it right in front of the four ravenous eyases. Now I say pigeon because once upon a time someone told me that the only reasons there are pigeons is for the falcons and hawks to have something to eat! The feathers were white and some of you might have a more clear idea if it was a pigeon or a gull or something more exotic. Then when the prey was plucked and all the kids were ready for some real bites instead of feathers — Dad flew off with the pigeon. What?! He did bring it back and was ready to fill those crops and then Mum showed up. She pulled a Diamond taking the prey away from Dad who had almost lost it to the oldest eyases. Mum then proceeded to fill their tanks.

Then Dad leaves taking the pigeon with him and leaving only feathers.

A few minutes later he returns with the prey.

Then Mum arrives to take over! Diamond-style.

Dad is off!

Everyone is hungry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

‘H’ clocked 7 feedings of various links at the 367 scrape on Thursday.

At Orange, Rubus and Indigo have been eating and eating, too. I love when Little Rubus gets full and turns his back to the adult who is feeding. When did he start this behaviour?

I could watch the expressions on Rubus’s face all day. He is quite the character.

Once Indigo finishes eating she goes over to cuddle with her little brother in the corner. A little cotton candy pile.

Beautiful Diamond looks over lovingly at her two eyases. What a real treat it has been seeing Diamond and Xavier with two – the very quiet grown up Indigo and the feisty little Rubus. Such treasures.

How many times a day do we need to thank these bird families for bringing such joy to us?

Migration News:

Bonus crossed the Dardanelle Strait and flew to the Greek island of Lesvos.

Bonus is feeding near this creek. It looks like a lovely place to be.

Little Waba was in Israel. He flew into Jordan and decided to return to Israel.

This is where Waba is feeding. There were reports of 85 Black Storks at this site. Hopefully Little Waba is there among others, safe and getting full and strong. There is still more flying to do!

There has been no transmissions from either Karl II who was last heard from in Egypt and Kaia whose last transmission was from Chad. Please send them your most positive best wishes, please.

Please send all kinds of positive wishes to Middle so that he will just leave Big alone from now on. No need to bother Big. Everything was going just fine. Middle has to remember that Big is the boss even if he gets to eat first. That is only because she is letting him.

Thank you so much for being with me today. 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 and to Looduskalender for their maps and news of Karl II and his family. 

Fish and more fish…Ernie sighting and Middle could pop his crop!

24 October 2022

It is just past 2300 on the Canadian Prairies on Sunday evening the 23rd of October. Within the hour we are supposed to have the beginning of thunderstorms that are forecast to last through all of Monday. We could use the moisture. It is always good when the trees and shrubs get a really good soaking before the ground freezes.

And we did. The thunder boomed throughout the nite and everything is soaked this morning. The wind is gusting and there are few birds at the feeders. The only ones that appear to be nonplussed by it are the Blue Jays. What a change from yesterday when the sparrows and finches were splashing about in the bird bath. Today they are hiding at their roost.

It is always great to get a picture of Ernie, everyone’s favourite Port Lincoln Osprey. This image was taken by Pam Hewstone and posted on Fiends of Osprey FB page. His tracking indicates that Ernie continues to hang around the Main Wharf and the ‘silos’. This image was taken at Delamare Beach where Ernie and Dad like to fish together. Oh, he looks so good. Can’t see how that talon is growing back in but, it looks like Ernie is having no problem catching good sized fish. He already has a nice-sized crop.

Friends of Ospreys have been erecting Osprey platforms. You might recall they put in place one on Turnby Island for the bonded couple whose eggs were always predated when they laid them on the ground. Sadly, the two eggs the couple laid this year are now 45 and 46 days old and deemed unviable.

Monday was a really good day at Port Lincoln. What a joy to watch Middle be able to enjoy a meal without once being beaked by Big. Ironically, if you just started to watch this Osprey nest and knew nothing of the background and what happened a little over a week ago, you will talk about how calming it is to watch the ospreys fed by Mum. Big is 36 days old and Middle is now 35 days old.

So far there have been three feedings on Monday at Port Lincoln. There will be more at all of the nests as Canada slips into evening and darkness.

They came at 06:57:57. That was a flat striped fish. The second fish was at 0908. Middle Bob got the lion’s share of that fish and waddled away with a big crop. The third fish landed on the nest at 13:07:52. It was a huge fish. Mum and the two ospreys are going to eat well. So far Middle is doing well and the last I checked he was already getting a nice crop. Just brilliant.

Middle is the chick closest to the viewer. Notice that nice crop. Just look at how much of that fish is left. Everyone is going to have a good feed — including Mum! Thank goodness.

Seriously. Did you think you would ever see Middle with a crop like the one he has on display?? And just look at Mum. The two ospreys full and she is finally getting to enjoy a fish lunch, too.

For two days now this nest has been calm. It took Big 33 days, not 28-30 to settle but, in the end, she did. Grateful.

Middle and Big are at the age that Mum can now roost over on the ropes if she wishes.

Middle and Big do a lot of preening all day long keeping those feathers that are coming in good shape. Oh, didn’t you love it when they left that Reptilian stage and got this gorgeous plumage that is coming in. ‘R’ and I decided awhile ago that the juvenile Osprey plumage is much prettier than the adults.

Rubus and Indigo have had their second feeding. Xavier flew in with what looked like a Rainbow Lorikeet to me – and I will happily change that. It is the closest I could come to identifying that multi-coloured prey item that Xavier brought to the scrape at 092921. Oh, Rubus was ravenous. I have no idea where this eyas puts all of this prey but this wee one sure has an appetite! Xavier does a great job feeding his babies. Diamond doesn’t arrive for 12 minutes- the feeding is almost over. Xavier fed both Rubus and Indigo nice big bites.

A nice big pigeon arrived at 11:40 – all part of a crash landing by Dad (?) into the scrape box. Everyone had their fill and immediately starting working on those leg and wing muscles. ‘H’ notes that Dad fed them for 12 minutes while eating himself for about 25% of the time.

There was once again 5 feedings at the 367 Collins Street scrape yesterday. They came at 0634. That feeding lasted 18 minutes. A second feeding was at 1120 for 16 minutes then the 3rd hot on the heels of the second at 1140. Then there was a break with the 4th feeding at 1707. The Melbourne Four ate well. Then Mum came in with a pigeon at 1859 and looked around and only fed for about 1.5 minutes. ‘H’ thank you for the times and the notes. Mum and Dad need to coordinate their delivery times!!!!!!!!

It is now past midnight. The day is halfway over at our Australian nests. Everyone is doing fantastic. The Melbourne Four are growing faster than any good weed in your garden! Rubus continues to bug Indigo by following her everywhere. Such a sweet character. Most of all Middle is a confident Osprey. That nest is just so satisfying to watch now. I do hope that it continues. The banding of Big and Middle will take place in about 3 weeks.

In migration news, there are no new transmissions from Karl II and Kaia. Last time we heard from them Karl II was near Aswan in Egypt and Kaia was in Chad. I can also not find any new information on Bonus who has spent much time in Romania. The real news has come from little Waba who was in Turkey, flew near to Beirut and is now in Israel and has been feeding at some fishponds there.

While it is expected that there will be little transmissions coming from certain areas in Africa, I really do hope that we hear from Bonus soon.

The Bald Eagles are continuing to do their nest building. For those who watched Little Bit ND17 at the Bald Eagle nest in St Joseph’s Park in South Bend, Indiana, both Mum and Dad have been working on that nest. They are making slow progress. Harriet and M15 are doing a terrific job. Both couples lost their nests – Harriet and M15 in Hurricane Ian and the nest at Norte-Dame just fell apart. It is amazing what eagles can do in a short period of time. An adult has been on the perch at the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg. I could not see its head to determine any markings. That nest is going to need a lot of work. In Redding, California, Liberty and Guardian are also working on their nest. Liberty has been using this nest for 18 breeding seasons. She has fledged 26 eaglets and has had 3 mates. Liberty is 24 years old and Guardian is 9 years old. Bald Eagle season is not far away!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Osprey and Pam Hewstone, Port Lincoln Osprey, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Looduskalender, and Charles Stuart Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Early Sunday in Bird World

23 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

As is my usual routine, I am starting my blog for Sunday morning late on Saturday evening. That flu shot has had me a bit under the weather and I have not ventured out to check on the local duck populations. I hope to do that tomorrow with some new images for you. The number of birds in the garden is certainly dwindling. Instead of 40 or more Dark-eyed Juncos there are only a handful and the number of sparrows is about half. The squirrels continue to hoarde the peanuts at the dismay of both the Blue Jays and a single crow. All four of them are in the neighbourhood but, one family has taken to feeding them bread. Crows love bread – it is sweet and salty. It is junk food. And the ones that come to my garden would much rather have bread than healthy nuts, fruit, and protein. Drives me crazy! Angel Wing is why – when we went for a walk around the local duck pond on Thanksgiving, we found two Mallards with Angel Wing. They have since been taken to the wildlife rehab clinic. It is unclear if they will survive. People believe they are helping because the ducks come running for the bread. Sadly, not.

Have you ever heard of Angel Wing? It is a condition in waterfowl caused by a nutritional deficiency. The wings droop or are crooked. The birds cannot fly. It is normally caused by humans feeding bread to the ducks and geese! It can kill them. Feed only high nutrition feed such as wild bird seed OR do not feed them at all.

Making News:

The United Kingdom has been hit particularly hard by Avian Flu. Indeed, scientists now believe that this deadly disease for wild birds and commercial poultry farms will remain in the country year round. The plan is to require anyone who has poultry to move them inside — no more free range eggs or chickens. That is very sad and, well, it is known by Virologists such as Thijs Kuiken -who examines the spread of Avian Flu – that factor farms are the likely cause. I wonder if what is being done in the UK will spread to other European countries?

The finalists in the funniest wildlife shots of the year:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-22/the-comedy-wildlife-photography-awards/101561274?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf261214873&utm_campaign=fb_abc_news&utm_source=m.facebook.com&sf261214873=1&fbclid=IwAR0bcAsC0HbXMV91qCc53s10V3vBKArRFvJVJmTcFU2VBNhWOKRH8SiSdyc

Do you like Chimney Swifts? Have you ever gone birding in Central Park? Are you wondering what the 33 year old Pale Male, the resident Red-tail Hawk of 927 Fifth Avenue is doing? (Yes, he really is 33. He hatched in 1990 and has his own Wikipedia page!). I urge you to check out the blog of Bruce Yolton. Yolton is an excellent wildlife photographer and knows Central Park and its surrounding area as if it were his own hand. He has recently changed his blog template and it is easy to search using the box on the right. There are recent YouTube videos of the swifts as well as one of Pale Male from the 1st of September. Yes, he is still alive. Just do a search using Pale Male on Yolton’s site to see the latest video.

Urbanhawks.com

‘H’ wrote and said she had just watched the film about Pale Male. With all that has gone on at PLO, it is sometimes easy to forget what brings one happiness. So, if you haven’t seen it or if you are like me and you need to watch something that clearly demonstrates just how people can influence a hawk’s life, check it out. It’s free and it is very heart warming and uplifting.

thelegendofpalemale.net

LGK (Lime-Green-Black) is one of the favourite male Albatrosses and is the father of Taiki, last year’s Royal Cam chick. LGK has returned to Taiaroa Head! Here is the announcement by Sharon Dunne:

Damon and Gabby continue to work on restorations on their nest. Just look at the huge stick Samson brought in!

Harriet and M15 continue to work on their nest and rebounding.

Nest News:

The eyases at 367 Collins Street are simply having a fabulous time wandering up and down the gutter. It seems to cause some confusion in the adults still but everyone is coping well. Mum loves her perch and as ‘A’ notes, the pair of them don’t seem to fully understand their duties so both are hunting and bringing prey. I love it – cooperative parenting. In fact, Osprey Mums often start hunting when the ospreys turn 30 days. It really helps during then and fledge when more prey is required.

The Melbourne Four were fed 5 times yesterday. In fact, five seems to be the average feeding per day. I have not sat down to compare delivery times. Once I tracked a hawk family that delivered prey 7 times a day at almost the exact same times. It was like they had a food supply delivery! The four ate at 0628 for 20 minutes, then again at 1108 for 7 minutes (a snack), at 1209 for 22 minutes, at 1540 for 17 minutes and their last meal at 1915 for 16 minutes. Mum continues to perch above the scrape box.

This adorable video of Diamond feeding little Rubus and Indigo popped up on my screen. It is now 6 days old but, it just shows hot cute these two eyases are and how much they have changed. Indigo was a cotton ball then. Poor Little Rubus. I wondered if he would ever get any feathers. Rubus is quite the character, full of vinegar and mischief with as loud a voice as his brother, Izzy. ‘A’ says he is as loud as Yurruga, too!!! It is hard to imagine how much they have grown in 5 days. Just look. They are all white down with no pin feathers.

Meals are coming in on a regular basis for Indigo and Rubus. The pair of them are a delight. Like any younger sibling, Rubus wants to do everything that Indigo does. He has now migrated over to Cilla’s stones to stay with Indigo! And he is enjoying the camera.

The weather appears to not be so good at Port Lincoln. It is now 1439 and I have not seen a fish arrive on the nest since the large breakfast fish. It is entirely possible that Dad has not been able to catch anything. There is an image of Mum eating a fish by herself at 2016 (the clock on the camera is incorrect). She is the one that I worry about. She needs to eat – a bite for Big, one for Middle, and then one for Mum. That would be good! She does not require as much prey as Dad as he is actively fishing but, she has been out fishing and will probably continue to do so to supplement the takings.

If you have been watching the Port Lincoln nest and noted more deliveries to the ospreys on Sunday in Australia (when they wake up it will be Monday), please do let me know.

The cam operator did some really good close ups of the ospreys yesterday. You can see how their feathers are developing and once again, we get a look at those gorgeous amber eyes.

Migration:

We have been following the Black Stork family of Karl II from Estonia to their winter homes in the central part of Africa. There has been no recent transmission from the female, Kaia. Her last transmission was from Chad on the 16th of October. There has been no news from Karl II. His last transmission was from Egypt on the 18th of October. It is likely that both of the adults form the Karla National Forest nest are out of range for transmissions. The two fledglings with satellite transmitters are Bonus and Waba. Waba flew 161 km and is now in Turkey near Antalya along the coast.

Bonus flew 106 km and is near the village of Gravita in Romania.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Wish for fish at Port Lincoln. All is well at the other nests. The Bald Eagles are busy building and there is word that an artificial nest might go up for Connie and Clive at Captiva as the trees are mostly destroyed – the ones good for Eagles. Take care everyone – see you soon! Please note that my check on breakfast feedings in Australia will be coming out late. Just wanted to let you know.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sharon Dunne aka Lady Hawk videos, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, AEF-NEFL, Looduskalender, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, BBC, Royal Albatross FB Group, and Charles Stuart Falcon Cam.

SE30 is in care, Middle and the two fish…and other news in Bird World

21 October 2022

It is 14 degrees C in Winnipeg. That is really hard to believe and it is almost 2200. I am again starting my newsletter for tomorrow early. With the improved weather I hope to get some photographs of the birds foraging and building their strength to migrate tomorrow. I wonder if that little fuzzy duckling that was getting its back feathers is still around? Tomorrow will be a lovely day to be outside and this morning newsletter might be my only one for the day with a little brief account late about the breakfast feedings.

Oh, how things change overnight. My super powerful flu shot seems to have given me the flu! I am behind in answering e-mails as a result but I wanted to get the bird news off to you. I plan is to feel better. You hear a lot about my grandmother. She was a great believer in honey ginger tea and sweating out the sickness. We will see if she was right. Have a wonderful day. Thank you!

Making News:

SE30 has been taken into care. The birders on the ground in the vicinity of the Discovery Centre near the Sydney Olympic Forest have been keeping an eye on her. No details are given on what caused her to go into care. It was, however, believed that she had not been fed by the parents. It is very challenging for the WBSE fledglings once they leave their natal nest in the forest. The Magpies and the Currawongs continually chase and harass them. It has been happening for years, never slows down, and always seems to wind up in tragedy for our eaglets that we treasure.

This was the announcement:

There are two main spotters of European Ospreys in their winter homes in Senegal and The Gambia. Jean-marie Dupart reports from Senegal and Chris Wilson reports from The Gambia. The images give you an idea of their winter homes along the coasts of Africa and the inland waters. These are the latest sighting reports by duPart:

Jean-marie Dupart travels to various sites in Senegal reporting throughout the season. You can find his page on FB. Just do a search using his name.

Australian Nest News:

For those that missed it, the second camera at 367 Collins Street has been activated and you can now watch the comings and goings of the Melbourne Four. So grateful to Mirvac for acting so quickly. We were all in a panic.

The heat from the sun was such a worry especially with this first time falcon mother leaving her eyases for extended periods of time. When she was with them in the heat of the day, Mum made a magnificent umbrella. ‘A’ and I were counting the days until the eyases could run down the gutter to the other end and get in the shade. This area is also protected from the rain. Perhaps the four will persuade Mum to choose that end next year to lay her eggs!

Rubus and Indigo could have their own comedy programme on cable television. What a pair they are.

Rubus and Indigo have had 3 feedings so far today. They were leftovers at 070557, a parrot at 074247, and what looks like to be another parrot or rosella at 105333.

Be sure to notice Rubus’s little wing flaps. Seriously. What an adorable eyas. I could watch his antics all day!

Indigo had been flapping her wings and Rubus had been watching. Just look at him give it a go!!!!!!!

There was high hope in Port Lincoln that the arrival of that huge fish at 0649 was a good omen and that many fish would be brought to the nest in quick succession. You can see from Big’s enormous crop that it had a fantastic breakfast. Middle had some beaking from Big but, wound up with a nice crop, too.

The pattern has been that Big is not so ‘grumpy’ at breakfast but gets more anxious as the day progresses. This translates into the beaking of Middle. It is now after noon and a second fish is yet to arrive.

The cam operator did give us some wonderful close ups. You can see the feather development on Big.

Please note that Port Lincoln have set the 12-14th of November as ringing day on the barge. The chicks will get their names and their measurements should give us an indication as to their gender. What do you think?

The amber eyes of the youngsters will change to yellow when they are adults. The only exception to this that I know is Monty at the Dyfi nest in Wales. He kept his amber eyes – something that was very striking in an adult bird.

At 1300 Dad brought in a flat fish – at times it looked like one of the Zebra fish. It looked a little stiff. Middle immediately took the fish doing a superb mantling job. Big was not going to let Middle have a whole fish to himself and a brutal attack occurred. Big took the flat fish while Middle was curled up in submission. Big managed to open the fish and eat.

Yeah for Middle!

Middle defends himself and the fish.

Big uses her brute strength and size to push Middle over. Look at her enormous legs and feet.

Big also has quite the bottom – a sign of a chick that has not gone without.

Having whipped Middle into submission, Big moves over to the rim of the nest. She has completely forgotten about what she was fighting for.

Then she remembers.

Big was able to find a place and tear off the skin and eat.

At 1312 Mum flies in with a whole big fish. She caught it. You can see the white feathers of her fluffy behind are wet. Big immediately drops the fish Dad brought and moves up to Mum to be fed. Middle stays in submission. At 132939 Middle moves over and Mum begins to feed her second chick. Six minutes later, Big decides he wants more fish! He eats, moves, then Mum feeds Middle again.

Once Big leaves, Middle moves over slowly to get some food. Remember. Big ate the majority of the breakfast fish and still had a big crop at 1300. Middle has only had ‘some fish’ – hard to tell how much but, clearly Middle needs to eat much more, just like Mum does.

Big gets a hankering for more fish.

Topped up, Big goes to watch the water while Mum finishes up the big fish she caught. I bet she thought she might get to eat something, too. Big reminds me so much of the second hatch at Achieva Ospreys in 2021. That osplet would eat and eat just to spite everyone else.

At 1346 Mum takes the flat fish and begins to feed Middle. She will move this fish and eat some herself. She is ‘very’ hungry. These two leave little fish for her.

Middle has a crop. Mum must eat to replenish her energy.

Mum ate some but could not ignore Middle’s calls for fish. She turned around and fed Middle and, at the end, treated herself to the fish tail. I want you to look at the size of Middle’s crop. There are no worries for Middle. If he gets no more food today, he will be fine. If he does, it will be a bonus.

Note the time. Mum has really been feeding these chicks! She should get a reward for looking out for Middle. She has certainly done that in very subtle ways the last two days.

Middle’s crop is just about to pop!

Migration News:

There are no new transmissions for Karl II who was in Egypt and Kaia who was in Chad. They could be in areas with very little service. Everyone was quite worried because no transmission had come in for Bonus. It is well known by the data kept in Estonia, that only 20% of Black Stork fledglings survive their first migration. This caused much anxiety and then…Bonus’s data came in. He is still in Romania near Latinu.

Waba had his breakfast at a lake formed by the Koca Stream (?) then he flew 284 km and was at Baklankuyucak, Turkey.

Send all your warm wishes for their continued safe travels.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take good care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, their videos and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Sea Eagles Cam FB, Jean-marie Dupart FB, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Looduskalender Forum.

Big shuts Middle out of fish…and other breakfast news from Australia

20 October 2022

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.

Early Saturday in Bird World

15 October 2022

It is 0500 on the Canadian prairies and the sky is solid clouds with a temperature of 5 degrees C. I am surprised at how toasty warm it is in the conservatory and how quiet it is. No cars, no people, no geese honking, or songbirds. Quiet.

The situation at Port Lincoln has had me up and down most of the night. I had so hoped that Little Bob would get some more food during the day but Big has made sure that Little and Middle are so frightened of eating that Little wouldn’t hardly raise its beak. It is a worry. If Big is going to calm down, it should begin to happen. What I witnessed on Saturday was a huge sibling demanding all the fish including any that would go to Mum. I am up early today because one of the things that relieves stress is to go for a walk in the forest and that is where I will be headed. As much as I would like to remove Big from the entire situation at Port Lincoln, I can’t. You can’t. Sometimes it is simply hard to watch abuse.

A sweet story about Blue Herons by an 11-year-old, how weather changes might impact Chiffchaffs, and a couple of videos to start the day:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/15/young-country-diary-grandmas-favourite-walk-was-to-see-the-herons

Besides the little warblers in the article below, how many other birds will be impacted by weather?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/12/weatherwatch-chiffchaff-garden-winter-breeding-population

Before we go and get the round up of the days events in Australia, Lady Hawk made a very short video of Samson and Gabby for all of us who are missing them!

And for those who cannot wait until the next season of Royal Albatross begins, Sharon Dunne aka Lady Hawk, made a much longer video of the albatross arriving at Taiaroa Head. I wonder who the Royal Cam family will be?

Oh, I had so hoped that Big Bob at Port Lincoln was ‘cooling her jets’ and settling down. The breakfast meal on Saturday went well. Big filled up. Middle got quite a bit, and Little got a couple of bites and then was able to get fed some fish before the tail area. Everyone settled down. As the anticipation of another fish arrival grew, Big ‘decided’ to remind Middle and Little Bobs with some savage beaking and pulling at the neck and some tossing that – she – and only she – was to eat first.

As the morning wore on with no additional fish delivery, Big got increasingly angry. The chatters who were watching the live stream were urging Little Bob to just not make a sound. Big is in a frenzy. Will Big be one of the exceptions to the rule of calming down? Middle and Little would gladly be fostered about right now. No matter what size the next fish is, it is Big’s. And no one will have any peace until there are several fish deliveries in a row that are huge…deliveries that have a late one and then an early one the next morning. Gracious.

Neither sibling is spared. The meal was over. Both Middle and Little were minding their own business and Bob decided to go after them.

At 11:50 Little Bob insists on cuddling with Big Bob – right under her neck. Interesting. Big Bob gave Little ‘the look’ but, didn’t beak.

It is windy and choppy. No fish delivery yet. It is after 1330. It could be quite nasty with Big on edge. I sure hope it is a monster of a fish.

There will be two more fish deliveries at Port Lincoln. The mid-afternoon delivery saw Bob terrorizing both Middle and Little again. Does anyone remember the days when Big only went on a rampage between meals and everyone got to eat? It has been a long time since that happened. Now, both Middle and Little are fearful of eating. Little Bob did not get anything to eat. Middle did a do around and pulled some pieces of fish from behind Mum.

On the PLO nest there was a late fish delivery at 20:13:24 but Little did not get anything to eat. Middle got to enjoy some fish. It is very clear that Big Bob has scared Little from eating. Let us hope, beyond hope, that he gets some food Sunday morning. Of course, the other miracle would be that Big would slow down in the aggression. Will this happen?

At 367 Collins Street, Mum returned after Dad had fed the chicks. The prey that he brought in was identified as a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. You can just see a few of the yellow feathers remaining. Apparently these are very dangerous birds for the falcons to catch as they can break the tarsus.

So we can be clear. The prey breakfast that Dad brought was not the pigeon that Mum caught and brought to the ledge. From the look of her enormous crop when she returned, she must have been ravenous and finished off that entire bird.

Mum cleaned up pieces of prey in the scrape, stayed with the chicks for a bit, and then left. Dad returned when the chicks were panting to try and shield them from the sun. Again, this is the strangest Peregrine Falcon scrape I have ever seen.

The eyases have grown so much that little Dad has a hard time just shading one of them. We are still about a week away before they can run down the gutter to the other end when it is in shade.

Top 2 images of Mum shading the chicks when she returns. Why didn’t she stay? It is so hot for them.

Little Dad comes and does his best. Look at how big they are. Oh, the shade cannot come quick enough and my calculations are that is 2 hours away.

I have included this ‘behind the scenes’ view of what I believe is the oldest or next oldest of the chicks. Just look at the feathers coming in, that huge tail, and yes, that fat little bottom and legs. It will not be long til this one is running up and down the gutter.

The Melbourne Four are eating well. The last delivery arrives around 1725. Dad comes in with a nicely prepared piece of prey. None of the four will be going hungry!

After Dad feeds them, Mum returns to brood the eyases.

Diamond fed Rubus and Indigo again around 10:17. Oh, she must enjoy facing away from the camera so we cannot possibly count the bites each of them gets! Of course, now that Rubus can see better and is more stable, there is no cause to worry. Rubus gets fed! And so does Indigo. She had an enormous crop when Diamond left the scrape with leftovers at 10:32.

We have to assume that with how well the feedings have been going that Rubus was full as well as both chicks will go into food coma.

Rubus had a really good feed at noon. At 1209 Diamond was insisting that he eat this huge piece of prey but, he tried and tried and couldn’t. Eventually Diamond ate it giving Rubus lots more bites after. The feedings are going so well now.

At the last feeding of the day, Indigo had an enormous crop and Rubus had a wee one. When you are watching a feeding at Orange, turn the sound up. Rubus is sooooooo loud!

Migration:

Here is a link to the interactive Bird Map showing ospreys, Black Storks, and other raptors on their way to their winter homes:

https://birdmap.5dvision.ee/index.php?lang=en

I will bring news of Karl II and his family – Kaia, Waba, and Bonus as soon as new transmissions are received.

Bird Cast shows us the changing nature of migration through North America.

As the sky begins to lighten, I can smell the coffee. Once upon a time I had a cat named Duncan. She knew that when the morning and evening coffees came, she would be able to go outside. She would sit at the edge of the counter waiting for her harness to go on and we would sit, enjoying the beautiful outdoors. What a great friend she was! I am not sure what the birds would make of having a cat outside but, as the sky turns a light grey, the Dark-eyed Juncos are arriving in droves. There are, perhaps, 40 of them this morning searching for any Millet left from yesterday. It looks like that is my reminder to feed them before I enjoy that coffee. The songbirds have arrived and broken the silence…and it is wonderful. A single Blue Jay has arrived as well. Time to get moving!

Let us all send the warmest wishes that we can to the Port Lincoln barge. May there be so many fish that Big gets sick of seeing fish and allows Middle and Little to eat, unharmed.

Thank you for being with me today. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their stories, posts, videos, and streaming cams that form my screen captures: The Guardian, Lady Hawk, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Early Friday in Bird World

14 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Some snow fell last night and it was still here – not melting – until half an hour ago. Everyone has been in the garden this morning and Canada Geese have been flying overhead. Everyone is visiting the garden. The number of Dark-eyed Juncos has increased, and the Starlings are here waiting for me to go and get Meal Worms and Butter Bark. I plan to do that shortly. They do cause chaos, but they are such beautiful birds and they also deserve a good feed on a cold day.

Making News:

Oh, I adored Rosa and Martin’s 2022 eaglet, Orion, at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest. What a gorgeous chick. Orion hatched on the 13th of March. Well, guess what? Orion returned to the nest! But it gets better ———— Martin and Rosa were there!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is the video:

Harriet and M15, the famous Fort Myers Bald Eagle couple, have made The Washington Post with their rebuilding activities! The raptors can show us all the way. Don’t grumble about what life throws at you, just get on making it better!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/14/bald-eagles-rebuild-nest-hurricane/?fbclid=IwAR2VxX84BEELvFGm6uHJXCm2lIm2qfvsDUHwDj4GLnnYCx9GTfPR0YsTYZU

Abby and Blazer from Eagle Country are on their nest tree. Just look at what Hurricane Ian did to their wonderful nest. I wonder if they will rebuild in the same place?

Do you adore the Kakapo, the charming green flightless parrots of New Zealand that are so threatened? Well, I do and am always thankful for the care they are given. They were New Zealand’s Bird of the Year for two straight years but, because of that, they have been struck from the ballot this year. Some are wondering if that is fair.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/12/new-zealand-bird-of-the-year-contest-favourite-kakapo-blocked

New research comes from all the poo samples collected of the Kakapo. Here are the results that shows gut health is key to their survival.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/10/kakapo-gut-bacteria-key-to-its-survival.html?fbclid=IwAR3ArV1bv8gLBVh4wIP0drEOQQICOkkxbimeWUZwoMlwQTou2g6UZz5S3Is

Nest News:

Today, at Port Lincoln, Big is 27 days old, Middle is 26, and Little Bob is 23 days. Those four days and, perhaps, a gender difference with Big Bob certainly being a female, sure set those two apart. According to Port Lincoln’s data chart, there were 4 fish delivered with 5 feeds. That does not tell us much about what happened on this nest. I was, however, delighted to see that Little Bob had a feeding around 0100 Friday morning. That is interesting as the night before, Middle had been the recipient of those precious bites. I could not rewind to see how much fish Little Bob got but, on Friday in Australia, Big ruled the roost in frenzied attacks on all the siblings. Little Bob had some fish around 10:45 before it was attacked by Big three minutes later. That feeding was highlighted in my last blog.

There was a feeding at 12:36. Little stayed rolled up tight and did not get any. The third feeding at 16:28 Middle got some but Little did not. It was the break through very large whole fish that helped Little Bob. It arrived at 17:17:45. Little Bob moved up to eat with Middle at 17:36 getting its first bite at 17:37:58. After that Mum worked that fish tail again giving Little huge bites at the end. Little Bob went to bed full of fish. That is a good thing.

There was not a late fish delivery like there had been the night before. It sure would have benefitted Mum and Little. Big is out for the count so full after gorging all day. I remember the second hatch at Achieve Ospreys in 2020. That osplet would eat and eat and eat so that Tiny Tot could not get any food. We wondered how it could even hold another bite.

Looking at Port Lincoln and the age of the Osplets, let us remember that the beaking started on day 8. The late and only fish delivery that day came after 1500. It was also the onset of the Reptilian phase. We are now moving out of the Reptilian Phase and this nest should settle —- if it is going to. It is why the ages of the osplets are now important as the development of their juvenile feathering. Oh how I wish we could measure their hormonal levels leading up to that Reptilian Phase and then coming out of it.

The chicks at Melbourne were once again left out in the hot sun yesterday. I am mystified at the female at this scrape. I have never seen a female consistently leave her chicks for an hour and a half or longer every day. They were so hot. Hopefully in another week – when, according to the Melbourne weather reports it is to get hotter – they will be able to run to the other end of the gutter for shade. I want to say ‘should Mum leave them alone in the hot sun again’ but, it seems that a pattern has formed and that is precisely what Mum will do, sadly.

Indigo and Rubus are being well fed and taken care of. Rubus now gets lots of food and you can see that it knows precisely where Mum’s beak is. The eyes are open and they are focusing. When Rubus is an adult it will be able to see a prey item a mile away. There were six feedings yesterday at Orange.

Rubus and Indigo are just cute little buttons of things. Indigo is so calm and Rubus seems to be a live-wire. I do love watching Indigo take food out of Rubus’s mouth – but, only if, Diamond replaces it for Rubus!

There is no news about SE29 or SE30. I will be back with updates on migration later today along with the breakfast news from the nests. For those watching the Finnish Ospreys, Salli left Finland on August the 25th and she arrived at her winter home in Rwanda on the 13th of October. She is now feeding at Lake Llaema. Fantastic. The adult Royal Albatross have been arriving on Taiaroa Head. Some have been around Lillibet’s nest. Check it out.

Thank you so much for being here with me. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their news, their posts, and their screen cams where I took my screen captures: ‘A’ and ‘H’, Dulles-Greenaway, Osprey Friends, Eagle Country, Kakapo Recovery, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

Late Thursday in Bird World

13 October 2022

I know few people that do not love autumn with the kaleidoscope of oranges, yellows, and red foliage. It is what comes after that we don’t like and that is what has been happening this morning. It is raining snow. The three Blue Jays are eating as much corn as they can – 5 cobs already this morning! Plus, peanuts in the shell. Humans begin to dig around to find their winter parkas, toques, gloves and mitts, scarves, warm boot socks, and, absolutely essential, boots. All sandals, linens, and summer things can now safely be packed away without fear of being needed for another 8 months! Like the Box Turtles at the nature centre, most of us would like to hibernate under a down duvet, sipping tea, and reading a stack of good books for several months.

As for Little Red’s house, it appears to have been taken over by birds…it is a rather posh nest!

Making News:

We have all been wondering what is happening with SE 29 who was found injured in a residential area near the Discovery Centre and SE 30 who was mobbed by Currawongs and grounded. The news of 30 is very, very promising. He is at the river with the parents and not being chased by Currawongs any longer! Here is the latest news from Eagle Cam:

Always time for a good news story! A Bald Eagle is returned to the wild after being shot.

https://www.kezi.com/news/bald-eagle-to-take-flight-after-healing-from-shotgun-wounds/article_c06ce7e2-4a88-11ed-af16-57f7c95d00d0.html?fbclid=IwAR0hgBJtvaIGuknrq7gaeETtNeuFRLQrvwVAHZXc3D2McQnnKu6NE0eq9B8

This video shows the crews crossing the causeway bridge that had one large section destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Things are being restored. This is good news for all of us including Lori Covert and Windows to Wildlife. Hopefully cameras will be back in place by December at Captiva.

‘H’ has been watching the Mispillion Harbour Cam in Delaware. She discovered something very important – you need to watch the nests after the fledglings leave because you have no idea who will come calling and what will happen. First it was a drenched Peregrine Falcon, then one Bald Eagle and now it is two! Check out her other videos of visitors to the MH nest on YouTube.

Here is one with the Bald Eagle bringing an eel to the nest! Eagles seem to really love eel. Certainly, the Sea Eagles in Sydney do.

Speaking of nests, Harriet and M15 are making great progress rebuilding their nest on the property of the Pritchett family in Fort Myers, Florida after Hurricane Ian destroyed it. So happy. They should not be short of building materials – the locals say there is plenty around after such massive destruction in the area.

Harriet and M15 are not the only ones making nestorations. Jackie and Shadow were on the Big Bear Valley nest last night for a short time and it appears that all of the others including Eagle Country are working hard to get ready for the 2022-23 season.

Australian Nest News:

Have you noticed? One of the first things we wonder about the nests is: Have they eaten today? It is the big question on everyone’s mind. So far, Melbourne is in the lead with one feeding from Mum and another from Dad. It is after 8 in Orange and 0730 in Port Lincoln and, at the moment, they are both waiting for deliveries.

Good morning, Melbourne!

Mum was off the ledge scrape at 06:22:53. She returned with a rather bedraggled pigeon at 06:24:26. I suspect that Dad will be flying in with a nice fresh one any time.

Dad really likes to be actively involved with the family. He arrives at 07:01 with a prey item and feeds the eyases while Mum watches and broods. What a guy!

Mum has been gone for an hour flying off at 0853. The eyases are getting hot!

Everyone is still sleeping at Port Lincoln. I thought I saw a rain drop but the forecast is not seeming to call for rain there today, not until Monday and Tuesday. Big Bob will be 28 days old on Sunday. Little Bob will be 24. I am really hoping that by early next week we see some semblance of civility return to this nest. Big Bob had a huge crop – tears were flowing and there was joy in the air after that 20:03 feed last night. And three cheers for Dad for bringing in that late fish. It really saved the day for our third hatch.

Mum in the nest and Dad is over on one of the perches to the right. They certainly have a nice home here on the barge. Sure, loved watching when Ervie would spend time with Dad down in the shed having their little talks.

Gosh, do you remember how civil Bazza, Falkey, and Ervie were until after they fledged? A couple of little pecks at the onset by Bazza to Ervie which only caused Ervie to turn around and stare at Bazza…and get closer to Mum’s beak. But just thinking about their dust ups after. Gracious. What will this bunch be like????????

The crop on Little Bob last night gives me hope. Mum is looking out for him, even at her own expense of not getting food. Dad came in with a late fish. That was fantastic.

The nest is already antsy this morning. ‘A-M’ notes that Little Bob pecked Big and then Big pecked Middle. It all happened around 0628. Not a good start to the day. Now Little Bob is pecking Big and running away from the scene. ‘Not me, I didn’t do it!’

At 07:31 Little Bob is toasty warm underneath Mum waiting for the first fish delivery.

As they wait for the breakfast fish to be delivered at Port Lincoln, Mum has stopped brooding the chicks and we can really see the size difference between Big Bob and Little Bob.

They all still have crops from the 2003 feeding last night.

Sweet Mum waiting for Dad.

Sadly, Mum is still waiting. It is 0915.

In their scrape on the water tower on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Diamond waits with Rubus and Indigo for Xavier to bring breakfast.

Diamond is getting as restless for breakfast to arrive as Rubus and Indigo.

Diamond returned quite wet! Her talons were empty. It looks like it is raining pretty heavy in Orange.

Indigo and Rufus are having a Starling for breakfast around 0900.

Flashback Video:

Izzi, Diamond and Xavier’s 2020 fledgling with a female Superb Parrot.

Migration News:

Oh, there is good news coming out of the tracking of Karl II’s family’s migration. First up, little Mum, Kaia, is now in Chad. She has flown a total of 2, 298 km on her migration journey. People are predicting that she will winter in the same spot as Karl II!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is her map from flying from the Suez Canal to Chad.

Here is the area where she is in relation to where Karl II over winters.

Karl II is near the Syrian border with Turkey. Waba is still in Bulgaria.

Bonus is finding fish and frogs at the confluence of the Buzau and Siret Rivers in eastern Romania.

Oh, it would be just so nice if Mum were shading her chicks at Collins Street and Dad had delivered two huge fish already at Port Lincoln. We wait for both! That is it for today. Thank you so much for being with me. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Eagle Cam FB, ‘H’ YouTube Videos, NEFL and SWFL Eagle Watcher’s Club, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, CSU Falcon Cam Project, and Looduskalender.

Little one at Orange gets first breakfast and more news in Bird World

5 October 2022

Hi Everyone,

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.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/delaware/stories-in-delaware/delaware-fall-bird-migrations/#:~:text=Birds%20like%20Green-winged%20Teal%2C%20Blue-winged%20Teal%2C%20Northern%20Shoveler%2C,the%20north%20arrive%20to%20spend%20the%20winter%20here.

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’.